Participatory Design of Classrooms: Infrastructuring Education Reform in K-12 Personalized Learning Programs

The redesign of the physical spaces of classrooms and schools has become a prominent feature in many K-12, personalized learning schools, though it is often dismissed as a peripheral aspect of change. Through observations and interviews at four public schools, I examine the affordances of these new spaces and the narrative of their design. I situate these spaces-turned-places as pedagogical artifacts in a participatory design process to examine how educators and students create functional and meaningful learning spaces. Reframing the physical spaces in this way suggests how the spaces may be supporting the sustainability of the reform

Steady State Analysis of the Finnish Forest Sector

During the recent years the total cost of round wood for the Finnish forest industry has been in the order of US$1.5 billion annually. The share of stumpage price represents roughly one half whereas harvesting, transportation etc. account for the rest. The purpose of this study is to investigate long term equilibrium prices for wood (and thereby total round wood costs) under various conditions of world market of wood products. In the first part of this paper a (discrete time) dynamic linear model for the forest sector is discussed. The steady state version of it is analyzed in more detail. An application of the steady state forestry model is carried out for the Finnish forests. As a result, alternative sustained yield solutions for the Finnish forests are obtained. In the analysis of the second part, a steady state sectoral model is adopted to carry out a Stackelberg equilibrium analysis for the round wood market. Further elaboration appeared necessary until the steady state model became suitable for this game theoretic analysis. This elaboration involves definitions of objective functions of the key parties (the forestry and the industry) in the forest sector game. A demand function of constant price elasticity is adopted for wood products

A Fortran Code for the Transshipment Problem

A code written in FORTRAN for PDP-11 is reported for solving the capacitated transshipment problem

Environmental responsibility in hospital care : findings from a qualitative study

Objective: To identify the key elements of environmental responsibility in hospital care and the stakeholders involved. Background: Hospital care causes a significant global environmental burden, which threatens human health and wellbeing. Environmental responsibility has been identified as an essential part of patient care with regard to health promotion and wellbeing of humans, but it has often been regarded as a secondary issue in hospitals. In addition, the lack of organizational structures and administrative as well as managerial support inhibit the promotion of environmental responsibility in hospitals. Methods: We used a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Our data was drawn from the environmental managers of five Finnish university hospitals and documents on their environmental programs. Results: We found that the aim of environmental responsibility in hospital care was to avoid unnecessary emissions, and that it was guided by the authorities and by ethical values. It included targets for sustainable use of material, electricity, water and transport. Environmental responsibility required the involvement of several stakeholders, including administrators, environmental manager, immediate leaders, environmental support people, staff and patients. Implementation of environmental responsibility was promoted by collaboration, education, diverse initiatives to motivate staff, and continuously developing practices. Conclusions: Environmental responsibility extended throughout a hospital organization. Staff was in a key position to implement it, but they needed versatile organizational support, including education, clear procedures, defined roles, and a motivational culture and facilities. Implications for hospital management: This study yields new knowledge that will provide information for the development of organisational structures with respect to environmental responsibility in hospital care. Keywords: Environmental manager, Environmental program, Environmental responsibility, Hospital, Key informan

Generation of Anatomically Inspired Human Airway Tree Using Electrical Impedance Tomography: A Method to Estimate Regional Lung Filling Characteristics

The purpose of lung recruitment is to improve and optimize the air exchange flow in the lungs by adjusting the respiratory settings during mechanical ventilation. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a monitoring tool that allows to measure regional pulmonary filling characteristics or filling index (FI) during ventilation. The conventional EIT system has limitations which compromise the accuracy of the FI. This paper proposes a novel and automated methodology for accurate FI estimation based on EIT images of recruitable regional collapse and hyperdistension during incremental positive end-expiratory pressure. It identifies details of the airway tree (AT) to generate a correction factor to the FIs providing an accurate measurement. Multiscale image enhancement followed by identification of the AT skeleton with a robust and self-exploratory tracing algorithm is used to automatically estimate the FI. AT tracing was validated using phantom data on a ground-truth lung. Based on generated phantom EIT images, including an established reference, the proposed method results in more accurate FI estimation of 65% in all quadrants compared with the current state-of-the-art. Measured regional filling characteristics were also examined by comparing regional and global impedance variations in clinically recorded data from ten different subjects. Clinical tests on filling characteristics based on extraction of the AT from the resolution enhanced EIT images indicated a more accurate result compared with the standard EIT images

A Model for International Trade in Forest Product and Some Considerations in the Input Data

The research program of IIASA's Forest Sector Project includes an aggregated analysis of long-term development of international trade in wood products, and thereby analysis of the development of wood resources, forest industrial production and demand in different world regions. The aim of this paper is to describe the current status of the formulation of the global trade model to be employed for trade analysis. The data definition and availability have been discussed to a considerable extent as well. The work draws heavily on several earlier papers of the project as well as on comments by a number of collaborators on these papers

Laaja-alaisen mediakasvatuksen tavoitteiden ja opetussuunnitelman asettamien vaatimusten toteutuminen koulujen mediakasvatuksessa:ilmiön tarkastelua opettajien näkökulmasta opetussuunnitelmauudistuksen murrosvaiheessa keväällä 2014

Tiivistelmä. Mediaympäristömme on muuttunut radikaalisti viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana, ja mediamaisemassa tapahtuu jatkuvasti muutoksia uusien teknologioiden, laitteiden ja sovellusten kehittymisen myötä. Erilaiset mediat ja niihin liittyvät teknologiset laitteet ovatkin tulleet erottamattomaksi osaksi arkeamme (Luomanen, 2010), ja niiden käyttötaidoista on tullut tärkeitä — jopa niin tärkeitä, että mediataidoista on alettu puhua uusina kansalaistaitoina (Opetushallitus, 2011c). Lapset ja nuoret ovat aikuisten tavoin mediayhteiskunnan jäseniä (Inkinen 2005; Rahja, 2013) ja muovaavat omaa mediamakuaan ja -suhdettaan pienestä pitäen. Mediakasvatuksen rooli lasten mediaosaamisen kehittämisessä ja medialukutaitoisuuden tukemisessa on kiistatta merkittävä. Halusimme tutkia, miltä suomalainen mediakasvatusmaisema tällä hetkellä näyttää: millaisia mediataitoja kasvatettavien toivotaan kehittävän, ja millainen rooli koululla ja opetussuunnitelmalla on tuon kehityksen tukemisessa ja ohjaamisessa. Tutkimusasetelma laajentui kouluissa tapahtuvan mediakasvatustyön arkitodellisuuden tarkastelemiseen. Työmme ajallinen sijoittuminen opetussuunnitelmauudistuksen murrosvaiheeseen on tutkielmassamme erityinen aspekti. Näin ollen asetimme tutkimuksellemme seuraavat tavoitteet: 1)Tutkia opettajien näkemyksiä mediakasvatukseen liittyvistä ilmiöistä koulun toimintaympäristössä, ja 2) tutkia mediakasvatukselle opetussuunnitelmassa määritellyn aseman vaikutuksia mediakasvatuksen toteuttamiselle. Nämä tavoitteet muotoutuivat kolmeksi tutkimuskysymykseksi: 1) Miten opettajat suhtautuvat tieto- ja viestintäteknologian hyödyntämiseen osana opetusta ja millaisia käytäntöjä medialaitteiden käyttöön koulussa liittyy? 2) Mitä mediakasvatus opettajien näkökulmasta tarkoittaa ja millaisia tavoitteita ja käytäntöjä koulujen mediakasvatusarki pitää sisällään? 3) Miten opettajat kokevat vastuunsa ja valmiutensa mediakasvatuksen toteuttamiseen opetussuunnitelmauudistuksen murrosvaiheessa? Keräsimme aineistomme erään oululaisen alakoulun opettajilta ja opetushenkilökunnan jäseniltä keväällä 2014. Kahdentoista vastaajan vastauksista koostuva tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kyselylomakkeen avulla. Analysoimme aineistomme fenomenologisen analyysin menetelmin, käyttäen Giorgin metodia. Fenomenologiselle tutkimukselle tyypilliseen tapaan, muodostimme aineistomme perusteella yksityiskohtaisen kuvauksen aineistossa esiintyneistä merkityksistä tavoitteenamme kuvailla ilmiötä sellaisena kuin se todellisuudessa ilmenee. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman teoreettinen viitekehys muodostuu mediakasvatuksen, kriittisen pedagogiikan sekä monilukutaidon ja multimodaalisuuden teoreettisten lähtökohtien ja keskeisten sisältöjen kautta. Ne kietoutuvat yhteen POPS2016-luonnoksen sisältöjen ja tavoitteiden kanssa. Tutkimuksessamme ilmenee, että koulujen mediakasvatuskäytännöt ovat moninaisia ja medialaitteiden hyödyntäminen opetuksessa vaihtelee. Innovatiiviset ja omaan osaamisensa luottavat opettajat uudistavat käytäntöjä vanhentuneen opetussuunnitelman rajoituksista riippumattomina, joten uusien teknologioiden käyttöönoton onnistumiseksi olisi syytä tarkastella hyvään alkuun pääsemiseen johtavia keinoja, jotta innostusta ruokkivien kokemusten syntymistä voitaisiin edistää. Näin ollen väitämmekin, että opettajia tulisi tukea sekä opetussuunnitelman tavoitteiden mukaisen mediakasvatuksen roolin että oman mediakasvattajaroolin hahmottamisessa. Tutkimuksemme on toteutettu kaikkia tieteen tekemiselle asetettuja periaatteita noudattaen Uskomme, että tutkimukseemme osallistuneiden opettajien kokemukset ja niistä kumpuavat näkemykset kuvastavat laajempaa sosiaalis-kulttuurista kokemusta. Uskomme tutkimuksemme tarjoavan tietoa laadukkaan ja tasa-arvoisin lähtökohdin tarjottavan mediakasvatuksen toteuttamiseen liittyvistä esteistä ja niiden purkamisen keinoista. Koemme sen myös tarjoavan opettajaopiskelijoille ja jo työssä oleville opettajille aineksia oman mediakasvattajaroolinsa selkiyttämiseen ja sitä kautta innovatiivisten ja rohkeiden mediakasvatuskäytäntöjen muodostamiseen

The impacts of hydropower and mining on water quality: an example from the Nam Ngum catchment, Lao PDR

Water quality can be thought of as a measure of the suitability of water for a particular use based on selected physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The water quality of rivers and lakes changes with the seasons and geographic areas. There is no single measure that constitutes ‘good’ water quality. For example, water suitable for drinking can be used for irrigation, but water used for irrigation may not be suitable for drinking. Typically, water quality is measured against standards for particular uses. Thus, water for drinking needs to be of very high quality, but water used for transport does not need to be of high quality at all. Very poor quality water can be highly toxic to life. Water of this kind may be contaminated with chemicals, pollution and/or pathogens, rendering it poisonous to fish and other aquatic organisms; trees and other vegetation along river banks; and to humans who may come into contact with it or consume it. Industrial waste and sewerage and common sources of water contamination. Because all life depends on water, its quality is therefore essential to sustaining it. Water quality is closely linked to the surrounding environment and land use. Unless it is in vapour form, water is never ‘pure’, and is affected by community uses such as agriculture, urban and industrial use, and recreation. The modification of natural stream flows by dams and weirs can also affect water quality. The weather, too, can have a major impact. The water quality of rivers is generally best in the headwaters, where rainfall is often plentiful. As they travel into lowland areas, however, they encounter areas of high human activity, and quality typically deteriorates. Rivers frequently act as conduits for pollutants by collecting and carrying wastewater from catchments to the ocean. Storm water can also carry heavy loads of nutrients, organic matter and pollutants into streams, rivers, lake, and, eventually, the ocean. Evaluating water quality typically focuses on the following indicators: • Biological: bacteria, algae. • Physical: temperature, turbidity and clarity, colour, salinity, suspended and dissolved solids. • Chemical: pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, nutrients (including nitrogen and phosphorus), organic and inorganic compounds (including toxins). • Aesthetic: odours, taints, colour, and floating matter. • Radioactive: alpha, beta and gamma radiation emitters. Clearly, if the quality of water is too poor to sustain life, then it is a major problem. Water resources are of major environmental, social and economic value everyone, and if water quality becomes degraded this resource will lose its value. Water quality is important not only to protect public health: water provides ecosystem habitats, is used for farming, fishing and mining, and contributes to recreation and tourism. If water quality cannot be maintained, then the uses for which we need it cannot be met

Recording of diagnoses in public primary oral health care in a retrospective longitudinal observational study in a Finnish town: Underrepresentation of periodontitis diagnoses

Abstract Objectives This study investigates which oral diagnoses public primary dental care dentists record. Methods An observational register-based retrospective follow-up study was performed in the public primary oral health care of a Finnish town after the dentists were advised to mark the diagnoses in their practices. The rate of recorded diagnoses resulting from visits to the public primary care dentists was studied. The assessed diagnoses were recorded with the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases. The distribution of diagnoses was recorded during a 2-year follow-up period. Results The most frequent diagnosis groups were dental caries (K02, 38.6%), other diseases of dental hard tissues (K03, 14.9%), diseases of pulp and periapical tissues (K04, 11.4%), periodontal diseases (K05, 9.7%), and different types of bone fractures (S02, 8.1%). Periodontitis was underrepresented. Conclusions In public primary oral health care, there may be difficulties in adequate recording of certain chronic diseases.Peer reviewe