Pohjois-Pohjanmaan lukiolaisten valmiudet muuttaa toimintaansa kuluttamisen ja matkustamisen osalta ilmastosyistä

Tiivistelmä. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää Pohjois-Pohjanmaan lukiolaisten valmiuksia muuttaa omia kulutus- ja matkustustottumuksiaan ilmastosyistä. Tutkimus on toteutettu yhteistyössä Opetushallituksen rahoittaman Ilmastonmuutos lukioihin! -hankkeen kanssa. Hankkeen tavoitteena on edistää lukioiden ilmastotyötä esimerkiksi täydennyskouluttamalla opettajia ja kehittämällä ilmastokursseja toisen asteen opiskelijoille. Aiheena ilmastonmuutos on ajankohtainen ja merkittävä, sillä se vaikuttaa erityisesti nuorten sukupolvien tulevaisuuteen. Tämä huomioidaan myös vuoden 2021 lukion opetussuunnitelmassa, jonka laaja-alaisissa tavoitteissa mainitaan kestävä kuluttajuus ja tutkimustietoon pohjautuva ilmasto-osaaminen. Ilmastonmuutokseen merkittävästi vaikuttavina tekijöinä voidaan nähdä kuluttaminen ja matkustaminen. Suomessa ylikulutus on huomattavasti runsaampaa kuin maailmassa keskimäärin, ja lisäksi suomalaisista yli puolet matkustavat kotimaassa tai ulkomailla. Nuorten harjoittama ilmastoaktivismi on kuitenkin yleistynyt ympäri maailmaa. Tässä tutkimuksessa haluttiinkin selvittää suomalaisten nuorten valmiutta muuttaa omaa toimintaansa kuluttamisen ja matkustamisen osalta ilmastosyistä. Tämä tutkimus toteutettiin monimenetelmätutkimuksena, jossa hyödynnettiin hankkeen puitteissa kerättyä laajaa (n=1889) kyselyaineistoa. Tutkimustuloksia tarkasteltiin kvantitatiivisten ja kvalitatiivisten tutkimusmenetelmien avulla. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin määrällisesti, kuinka valmiita lukiolaiset ovat tekemään muutoksia kulutus- ja matkustustottumuksiinsa ilmastosyistä. Tuloksia pyrittiin avaamaan aineistolähtöisen sisällönanalyysin avulla. Tämä tutkimus osoitti, että suurin osa lukiolaisista on tietoisia ilmastonmuutoksesta ja siihen vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Lukiolaisista jopa 70 % onkin valmiita vähentämään kuluttamistaan tai tekee jo niin ilmastosyistä. Kuitenkin matkustamisen osalta jopa 52 % lukiolaisista ilmoitti, ettei ole valmis vaihtamaan Euroopan matkaa kotimaanmatkaan. Tästä huolimatta yli 60 % lukiolaisista on valmiita vaihtamaan esimerkiksi Aasian matkan Euroopan matkaan ilmastosyistä. Kuluttamisen osalta nuoret kritisoivat muiden kulutustottumuksia, kun taas omaa matkustamista oikeutettiin eri syillä.Abstract. The aim of this master’s thesis is to discover Northern Ostrobothnia upper secondary school students’ preparedness to change their actions related to consumerism and travel from the point of view of climate change. This thesis is carried out in collaboration with the Ilmastonmuutos lukioihin! (Climate Change in High Schools!) -project, funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education. The aim of Ilmastonmuutos lukioihin! is to advance climate change education in Finnish upper secondary schools, for instance by updating teachers’ knowledge and developing courses regarding climate change. Climate change is an important current issue, as its effect, especially for the younger generation, is notable. This is noted in the 2021 general upper secondary curriculum as well, where sustainable consumerism and research-based climate knowledge are listed as part of the transversal competencies. Consumerism and travel are prominent factors in the progression of climate change. Overconsumption in Finland exceeds the worldwide average, and more than half of Finnish people travel domestically or abroad. However, youth climate activism has developed in recent years. The aim of this study was to explore Finnish youth’s willingness to change their consumerism and travel behavior due to climate change. This thesis was conducted as a mixed methods study, and the questionnaire-based material (n=1889) was collected by the Ilmastonmuutos lukioihin! -project. The results of the study were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. Upper secondary school students’ preparedness to change their behavior regarding consumerism and travel were examined through quantitative methods, and these results were reviewed through qualitative content analysis. This study shows that the majority of students are aware of climate change and related factors. 70 % of students are willing to reduce consumption or have already done so due to the acknowledgment of climate change. However, over 50 % of respondents are not willing to change the destination of their travel from Europe to domestic travel. On the other hand, more than 60 % of upper secondary students are willing to change the destination of their travel from Asia to Europe for the climate. Some of the students criticized others’ consumption-related behavior, whereas many justified their own reason to travel despite the acknowledgment of climate change

Risks for Central Nervous System Diseases among Mobile Phone Subscribers: A Danish Retrospective Cohort Study

The aim of this study was to investigate a possible link between cellular telephone use and risks for various diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). We conducted a large nationwide cohort study of 420 095 persons whose first cellular telephone subscription was between 1982 and 1995, who were followed through 2003 for hospital contacts for a diagnosis of a CNS disorder. Standardized hospitalization ratios (SHRs) were derived by dividing the number of hospital contacts in the cohort by the number expected in the Danish population. The SHRs were increased by 10–20% for migraine and vertigo. No associations were seen for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy in women. SHRs decreased by 30–40% were observed for dementia (Alzheimer disease, vascular and other dementia), Parkinson disease and epilepsy among men. In analyses restricted to subscribers of 10 years or more, the SHRs remained similarly increased for migraine and vertigo and similarly decreased for Alzheimer disease and other dementia and epilepsy (in men); the other SHRs were close to unity. In conclusion, the excesses of migraine and vertigo observed in this first study on cellular telephones and CNS disease deserve further attention. An interplay of a healthy cohort effect and reversed causation bias due to prodromal symptoms impedes detection of a possible association with dementia and Parkinson disease. Identification of the factors that result in a healthy cohort might be of interest for elucidation of the etiology of these diseases

A low-cost paper-based platform for fast and reliable screening of cellular interactions with materials

A paper-based platform was developed and tested for studies on basic cell culture, material biocompatibility, and activity of pharmaceuticals in order to provide a reliable, robust and low-cost cell study platform. It is based upon a paper or paperboard support, with a nanostructured Latex coating to provide an enhanced cell growth and sufficient barrier properties. Wetting is Limited to regions of interest using a flexographically printed hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane Layer with circular non-print areas. The nanostructured coating can be substituted for another coating of interest, or the regions of interest functionalized with a material to be studied. The platform is fully up-scalable, being produced with roll-to-roll rod coating, flexographic and inkjet printing methods. Results show that the platform efficiency is comparable to multi-well plates in colorimetric assays in three separate studies: a cell culture study, a biocompatibility study, and a drug screening study. The color intensity is quantified by using a common office scanner or an imaging device and the data is analyzed by a custom computer software without the need for expensive screening or analysis equipment

UN Peacekeeping at 75: Achievements, Challenges, and Prospects

This year marks the 75th anniversary of what the UN itself understands to be its first peacekeeping operation. It is therefore an appropriate time to reflect on the track record of UN peacekeeping in its efforts to try to maintain and realize peace and security. Moreover, this milestone invites us to ponder what lies ahead in the realm of peacekeeping. For this reason, this forum article brings together both academics and UN officials to assess the achievements and challenges of UN peacekeeping over the past 75 years. Through a dialogue among peacekeeping scholars and practitioners, we hope to identify current trends and developments in UN peacekeeping, as well as explore priorities for the future to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations in terms of achieving their mandate objectives, such as maintaining peace, protecting civilians, promoting human rights, and facilitating reconciliation. This forum article is structured into six thematic sections, each shedding light on various aspects of UN peacekeeping: (1) foundational principles of UN peacekeeping - namely, consent, impartiality, and the (non-)use of force; (2) protection of civilians; (3) the primacy of politics; (4) early warning; (5) cooperation with regional organizations; and (6) the changing geopolitical landscape in which UN peacekeeping operates

Quantitative image analysis for the characterization of microbial aggregates in biological wastewater treatment : a review

Quantitative image analysis techniques have gained an undeniable role in several fields of research during the last decade. In the field of biological wastewater treatment (WWT) processes, several computer applications have been developed for monitoring microbial entities, either as individual cells or in different types of aggregates. New descriptors have been defined that are more reliable, objective, and useful than the subjective and time-consuming parameters classically used to monitor biological WWT processes. Examples of this application include the objective prediction of filamentous bulking, known to be one of the most problematic phenomena occurring in activated sludge technology. It also demonstrated its usefulness in classifying protozoa and metazoa populations. In high-rate anaerobic processes, based on granular sludge, aggregation times and fragmentation phenomena could be detected during critical events, e.g., toxic and organic overloads. Currently, the major efforts and needs are in the development of quantitative image analysis techniques focusing on its application coupled with stained samples, either by classical or fluorescent-based techniques. The use of quantitative morphological parameters in process control and online applications is also being investigated. This work reviews the major advances of quantitative image analysis applied to biological WWT processes.The authors acknowledge the financial support to the project PTDC/EBB-EBI/103147/2008 and the grant SFRH/BPD/48962/2008 provided by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (Portugal)