Visual voice : exploring youths’ visual design thinking through visual literacy

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on parantaa nuorten visuaalista suunnitteluajattelua (VDT) käyttämällä visuaalista lukutaitoa (VL). Korostamalla taidelähtöisen tutkimuksen (ABR) merkitystä, tutkimus tarjoaa nuorille alustan tutkia luovaa potentiaaliaan ja luoda uusia ideoita yhteiskunnallisten ongelmien ratkaisemiseksi. Tutkimus osoitti, että nuorten rohkaiseminen tunteiden ilmaisuun ja havannointiin taidelähtöisillä interventioilla oli olennaista heidän luovan kehityksensä kannalta. Tämä tutkimus esittelee pienellä rovaniemeläisellä nuorisoryhmällä tehdyn taiteellisen kokeilun tuloksia. Tutkimus tehtiin Lapin yliopistossa Horizon 2020–2023 -rahoitteisen tutkimushankkeen Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture (AMASS) puitteissa. Visuaalisen lukutaidon (VL) tietoisuutta ei ole tutkittu tai keskusteltu pelkästään taidelähtöisiin menetelmiin (ABM) keskittyvissä tutkimuksissa, joka helpottaa taiteellisen ja henkilökohtaisen tutkimuksen yhdistämistä. Tämä tutkimus auttaa osaltaan täyttämään tätä aukkoa pohtimalla: Miten nuorten visuaalisen suunnittelun (VDT) taitoja voidaan parantaa visuaalisen lukutaidon (VL) avulla? Tutkimuskysymystä analysoitiin viidessä eri julkaisussa, mikä tarjosi validointia useista näkökulmista. Ensimmäinen julkaisu tutkii luovien prosessien ja nuorten visuaalisen lukutaidon (VL) välistä yhteyttä. Toinen julkaisu käsittelee dokumentaation tulkitsevaa roolia taiteellisen yhteisluontiprosessin kontekstissa. Kolmas julkaisu tutkii osallistavien taidelähtöisten menetelmien (ABM) roolia nuorten moniarvoisten arvojen ilmaisussa. Neljännessä julkaisussa tarkastellaan, miten lasten visuaalista suunnitteluajattelua (VDT) voidaan kehittää prototyypin VDT-mallilla. Lopuksi viides julkaisu vahvistaa, että nuorten luovuutta voidaan lisätä säännöllisen visuaalisen lukutaidon (VL) avulla. Julkaisuihin liittyvän työskentelyn aikana arvioitiin prosessin aikana kerättyjä taideteoksia. Filosofisena viitekehyksenä käytettiin tulkitsevaa fenomenologista analyysiä (IPA). Tämä monitasoinen kvalitatiivinen tutkimus esittelee havaintoja osallistavan taidelähtöisen tutkimuksen (ABR) lähestymistavasta, joka herättää opiskelijoiden luovan ilmaisun heidän henkilökohtaisten taideteostensa kautta. Haastattelujen, tutkimuspäiväkirjojen, fokusryhmien, muistiinpanojen ja taideteosten avulla kerätyn tiedon analysointi tehtiin ajankohtaisilla, temaattisilla, sisältö- ja refleksianalyysimenetelmillä. Arviointityökaluna käytettiin yhteistä eurooppalaista visuaalisen lukutaidon viitekehystä (CEFR-VL). Lisäksi Visual Design Thinking (VDT) -malli otettiin käyttöön interventioiden parantamiseksi ja skaalauttamiseksi. Tällä tutkimusmenetelmällä pyritään osoittamaan, että visuaalinen lukutaito (VL) on ratkaiseva tekijä visuaalisen suunnittelun (VDT) kompetenssien kehittämisessä, jotta nuoret voivat parantaa tietojaan ja rakentaa taitojaan, mukaan lukien itsearviointi, uskomukset, arvioinnit ja käyttäytyminen. Viisi julkaisua selventää edelleen, että taidelähtöiset tutkimusmenetelmät (ABM) avaavat uusia lähestymistapoja yhteiskunnan haasteisiin tutkia tuntematonta, mikä voi tarjota oivalluksia taustalla oleviin tarinoihin. Taidelähtöiset menetelmät tarjoavat helppokäyttöisen ja luovan tavan kuvata ja ilmaista henkilökohtaisten ja sosiaalisten asioiden monimutkaisuutta. Ne tarjoavat myös alustan uusien taitojen kehittämiseen ja tiedon jakamiseen. Lopuksi ne voivat helpottaa yhteistyötä, vuoropuhelua ja sosiaalista muutosta. Tämän tutkimuksen tuloksena syntyneissä viidessä julkaisussa on useita tavoitteita. Ensimmäinen on visuaalisen lukutaidon (VL) merkityksen ymmärtäminen ja sen määrittäminen eli voiko visuaalinen kompetenssi (VC) auttaa nuoria kehittämään sekä muodollisia että arkioppimistaitojaan. Toinen on tarjota nuorille tietoa moniarvoisuudesta ja siitä, miten sitä voidaan soveltaa uudelleen suunnitteluajatteluunsa (DT). Kolmas on havainnollistaa nuorten havaintoja, tulkintoja ja merkityksenmuodostusta luovien taiteellisten prosessien avulla stimuloidakseen heidän visuaalista ajatteluaan (VT). Lopuksi tulisi parantaa nuorten mahdollisuuksia vaikuttaa heidän luoviin näkemyksiinsä. On tärkeää edistää avointa, tutkivaa ja yhteistyöhön perustuvaa oppimistoimintaa, jonka avulla nuoret voivat rakentaa tietojaan ja taitojaan. Tämä tutkimus tukee sitä, että kattotermi ”visuaalinen lukutaito” (VL) kattaa erilaisia taitojen, tietojen ja asenteiden klustereita, mukaan lukien klusterin, joka tunnetaan nimellä ”visuaalinen suunnitteluajattelu” (VDT). Lisäksi tämä tutkimus on osoittanut, että säännöllinen visuaalinen lukutaito (VL) voi lisätä nuorten luovuutta ja tarjota heille visuaalisen äänen, joka tukee heidän visuaalisen suunnittelun (VDT) taitoja. Lopuksi se vahvistaa, että visuaalinen lukutaito (VL) voi edistää nuorten luovia ajattelutapoja ja helpottaa asennemuutosta ja päätöksentekoa.This research aims to enhance youth’s visual design thinking (VDT) skills through the frequent use of visual literacy (VL). By emphasizing the importance of artsbased research (ABR), this research provides youth with a platform to explore their creative potential and generate new ideas for addressing societal issues. The research found that encouraging youth to express their feelings and perceptions through arts-based interventions was essential to their creative development. This research presents the results of an artistic experiment conducted on a small group of youths from Rovaniemi, Finland. The research was conducted at the University of Lapland, Finland, under the project Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture (AMASS), a Horizon 2020–2023-funded research project. There has been no examination or discussion of visual literacy (VL) awareness through studies focusing only on arts-based methods (ABMs) that facilitate the integration of artistic and personal inquiry. This research contributes to filling this gap by exploring the main question that encompasses this fundamental research: How can the visual design thinking (VDT) skills of youth be improved through visual literacy (VL)? This research question was analysed in five publications from different perspectives, providing validation through multiple perspectives. The first publication investigates the connection between creative processes and the visual literacy (VL) of youth. The second publication discusses the interpretive role of documentation in the context of artistic co-creation processes. The third publication explores the role of participatory arts-based methods (ABMs) in expressing pluralist values in youth. The fourth publication examines how to enhance children’s visual Design Thinking (VDT) skills using the prototype VDT model. Lastly, the fifth publication validates that youth’s creativity can be boosted through frequent visual literacy (VL) engagement. During working on the five publications, the research was designed in order to assess artworks collected from this creative process. An interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used as a philosophical framework. This multi-layered qualitative research presents findings from a participatory arts-based research (ABR) approach that elicits students’ creative expressions through their personal artworks. Analyses of data collected from interviews, research diaries, focus groups, note-taking and artworks were conducted using topical, thematic, content and reflexive analysis methods. The Common European Framework of Reference for Visual Literacy (CEFR-VL) was used as an assessment tool. In addition, the Visual Design Thinking (VDT) model was introduced as new knowledge for improving and scaling interventions. With this methodology, the research aims to demonstrate that visual literacy (VL) is crucial to developing visual design thinking (VDT) competencies that enable young people to enhance their knowledge and build skills, including self-assessment, beliefs, judgments and behaviours. The five publications further clarify that arts-based methods (ABMs) open up new approaches to society’s challenges for exploring the unknown that can provide insights into the underlying narratives. ABMs offer an accessible and creative way to represent and express the complexities of personal and social issues. They also provide a platform for the development of new skills and the sharing of knowledge. Finally, they can facilitate collaboration, dialogue and social change. There are several objectives within the five publications resulting from this research. The first is understanding the importance of visual literacy (VL) and determining whether having visual competency (VC) can assist young people in developing both their formal and informal learning skills. The second is to provide youth with knowledge about pluralism and how to reapply it to their design thinking (DT). The third is to illustrate youth’s perception, interpretation and meaning-making through creative artistic processes to stimulate their visual thinking (VT). Finally, they should enhance their reflections in a way that can influence their creative viewpoints. It is essential to foster open-ended, exploratory and collaborative learning activities that allow youth to construct their knowledge. As a result, this research supports that the umbrella term ‘visual literacy’ (VL) encompasses a variety of skill, knowledge and attitude clusters, including the cluster known as ‘visual design thinking’ (VDT). Additionally, this research has found that frequent engagement with visual literacy (VL) can enhance youth’s creativity and provide them with a visual voice that supports their visual design thinking (VDT) skills. Finally, it verifies that visual literacy (VL) can boost youth’s creative mindsets and facilitate attitude change and decision-making

Engaging youths through visuals

This chapter explores the significance of creative freedom and self-expression by evaluating four research cycles of artworks created by a small group of youth from Rovaniemi, Finland. Artworks created in this creative experiment were assessed using the interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). Based on the arts-based research (ABR) approach, this research aims to investigate how visual thinking (VT) can be used as a tool and a method for stimulating the creative process among young people and youth. VT is an integral part of learning and can be honed through practice during the various stages of the learning process. Therefore, in this multi-faceted qualitative study, youths' creative expressions, such as mandalas, photography, interviews, essays, portfolios and documentation, were examined during each research cycle. By adopting this methodology, the study was eventually designed to demonstrate that visual literacy (VL) can enhance and build the knowledge of youth, such as self-assessment, beliefs, judgements and behaviours. Thus, the findings of this research establish that youth creativity can be boosted through frequent engagement with VL

Framework for privacy-aware content distribution in peer-to- peer networks with copyright protection

The use of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks for multimedia distribution has spread out globally in recent years. This mass popularity is primarily driven by the efficient distribution of content, also giving rise to piracy and copyright infringement as well as privacy concerns. An end user (buyer) of a P2P content distribution system does not want to reveal his/her identity during a transaction with a content owner (merchant), whereas the merchant does not want the buyer to further redistribute the content illegally. Therefore, there is a strong need for content distribution mechanisms over P2P networks that do not pose security and privacy threats to copyright holders and end users, respectively. However, the current systems being developed to provide copyright and privacy protection to merchants and end users employ cryptographic mechanisms, which incur high computational and communication costs, making these systems impractical for the distribution of big files, such as music albums or movies.El uso de soluciones de igual a igual (peer-to-peer, P2P) para la distribución multimedia se ha extendido mundialmente en los últimos años. La amplia popularidad de este paradigma se debe, principalmente, a la distribución eficiente de los contenidos, pero también da lugar a la piratería, a la violación del copyright y a problemas de privacidad. Un usuario final (comprador) de un sistema de distribución de contenidos P2P no quiere revelar su identidad durante una transacción con un propietario de contenidos (comerciante), mientras que el comerciante no quiere que el comprador pueda redistribuir ilegalmente el contenido más adelante. Por lo tanto, existe una fuerte necesidad de mecanismos de distribución de contenidos por medio de redes P2P que no supongan un riesgo de seguridad y privacidad a los titulares de derechos y los usuarios finales, respectivamente. Sin embargo, los sistemas actuales que se desarrollan con el propósito de proteger el copyright y la privacidad de los comerciantes y los usuarios finales emplean mecanismos de cifrado que implican unas cargas computacionales y de comunicaciones muy elevadas que convierten a estos sistemas en poco prácticos para distribuir archivos de gran tamaño, tales como álbumes de música o películas.L'ús de solucions d'igual a igual (peer-to-peer, P2P) per a la distribució multimèdia s'ha estès mundialment els darrers anys. L'àmplia popularitat d'aquest paradigma es deu, principalment, a la distribució eficient dels continguts, però també dóna lloc a la pirateria, a la violació del copyright i a problemes de privadesa. Un usuari final (comprador) d'un sistema de distribució de continguts P2P no vol revelar la seva identitat durant una transacció amb un propietari de continguts (comerciant), mentre que el comerciant no vol que el comprador pugui redistribuir il·legalment el contingut més endavant. Per tant, hi ha una gran necessitat de mecanismes de distribució de continguts per mitjà de xarxes P2P que no comportin un risc de seguretat i privadesa als titulars de drets i els usuaris finals, respectivament. Tanmateix, els sistemes actuals que es desenvolupen amb el propòsit de protegir el copyright i la privadesa dels comerciants i els usuaris finals fan servir mecanismes d'encriptació que impliquen unes càrregues computacionals i de comunicacions molt elevades que fan aquests sistemes poc pràctics per a distribuir arxius de grans dimensions, com ara àlbums de música o pel·lícules

Histiocytic Sarcoma Associated with Coombs Negative Acute Hemolytic Anemia: A Rare Presentation

Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) rarely involves extranodal sites, such as the spleen. We report a unique pediatric case of massive splenomegaly and refractory Coombs negative hemolytic anemia (CNHA) secondary to HS. The CNHA resolved completely after an emergent splenectomy. Next generation sequencing (NGS) revealed novel ASXL1, PTPN11, KIT, and TP53 mutations, unmasking a clonal heterogeneity within the same neoplasm

Breast carcinoma grading, estimation of tumor size, axillary lymph node status, staging, and nottingham prognostic index scoring on mastectomy specimens.

Introduction: Breast carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor and the leading cause of cancer death in women. In western countries, a sharp increase in the detection of breast carcinoma, largely due to widespread use of mammography, has recently led to a fall in breast cancer mortality. This, however, is not true for less developed countries, in which mortality continues to rise.Objective:The aim of this study was to acquire information about the extent and spread of breast carcinoma in our Patients by grading the tumors, determining the tumor size, and axillary lymph node status, staging of the tumors and Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) scoring on the available material. Materials AndMethods:One hundred and twenty consecutive mastectomy specimens with axillary lymph node sampling removed for breast carcinoma and received in the section of histopathology, Aga Khan University, in the year 2005, were included in the study. Standard protocols were used for the processing of the specimens, and reporting was done using a standard format incorporating all relevant tumor parameters. NPI was applied to the cases.Results:Out of the 120 cases, 5 (4.17) were grade 1, 91 (75.83) were grade 2, and 24 (20%) were grade 3. Also, 9 cases (7.5%) were T1 (4 were T1b, and 5 were T1c), 53 (44.16%) were T2, 50 (41.66%) were T3, and 8 (6.66%) were T4. Axillary lymph nodes were available in 107 cases. In 13 cases, no lymph nodes were recovered. Out of 107 cases 27 (25.23%) lymph nodes were negative for metastases pN0, 29 (27.10%) cases were pN1, 26 (24.30) were pN2, and 25 cases (23.36%) were pN3. Extranodal spread was present in 56 (70%) out of the 80 cases in which lymph nodes were positive. The average microscopic size of nodal metastasis was 1.7 cms. Significant statistical association was found between the number of positive nodes and perinodal extension (P = 0.001). Tumor necrosis was present in 76 out of 120 cases (63.33%). Vascular invasion was present in 43 out of 120 cases (35.83%). NPI scores were greater than 5.4 in 60 out of 107 cases (56.1%) indicating poor prognosis.Conclusion:The large majority of the cases were grade 2 tumors. Most cases (all grades) were T2 or T3, and were axillary lymph node positive. Large majority of cases with nodel metastases showed extra nodal spread. The majority of Patients had NPI scores greater than 5.4 indicating poor prognosis. Significant statistical association was found between the number of positive nodes and perinodal extension (P = 0.001). The findings show extensive and advanced disease trends in our Patients

Epilepsy Risk Following Bariatric Surgery for Weight Loss

Background and objectives: A previous study reported finding that epilepsy risk is elevated following bariatric surgery for weight loss; however, this association has not been adequately explored. Our objectives were to (1) estimate the risk of epilepsy following bariatric surgery for weight loss relative to a non-surgical cohort of patients with an obesity diagnosis, and (2) identify epilepsy risk factors among bariatric surgery recipients. Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using linked health administrative databases in Ontario, Canada. Participants were accrued between July 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016, and followed until December 31, 2019. All Ontario residents 18 years of age and older who had bariatric surgery during the accrual period were eligible for inclusion in our exposed cohort. Patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of obesity and who did not have bariatric surgery during the accrual period were eligible for inclusion in our unexposed cohort. We excluded patients with a history of seizures, epilepsy, various seizure or epilepsy risk factors, psychiatric disorders, or drug or alcohol abuse/dependence. In our primary analysis, we used inverse probability of treatment weighting to control for confounding. A marginal Cox proportional hazards model was then used to estimate the risk of epilepsy associated with bariatric surgery. A Cox model was also used to identify epilepsy risk factors among exposed participants. Results: The final sample included 16,958 exposed participants and 622,514 unexposed participants. Following inverse probability of treatment weighting, the estimated rates of epilepsy were 50.1 and 34.1 per 100,000 person-years among those who did and did not have bariatric surgery, respectively. The hazard ratio for developing epilepsy after bariatric surgery was 1.45 (95% CI=1.35, 1.56). Among participants who received bariatric surgery, stroke during follow-up increased epilepsy risk (HR=14.03, 95% CI=4.26, 46.25). Discussion: In this study, we found that patients with a history of bariatric surgery were at increased risk of developing epilepsy. These findings suggest that epilepsy is a long-term risk associated with bariatric surgery for weight loss

Consensus interferon plus ribavirin for Hepatitis C genotype 3 patients previously treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin

Background Not enough data are available about the effectiveness of consensus interferon (CIFN) among HCV genotype 3 patients who failed to respond to pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Objectives We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of CIFN and ribavirin in non-responders and relapsers to pegylated interferon with ribavirin therapy. Patients and Methods This open-label investigator-initiated study included 44 patients who received CIFN 15 µg /day plus ribavirin 800-1200 mg daily. In patients with an early virological response (EVR), the dose of CIFN was reduced to 15 µg thrice a week for further 36 weeks. Patients with delayed virological response continued to receive daily CIFN plus ribavirin to complete 48 weeks. The patients were considered “non-responders” if there were less than 2 log reduction in HCV RNA at 12 weeks and detectable HCV RNA at 24 weeks. Results Twenty-four patients (55%) were non-responders and 20 patients were relapsers to the previous treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin (mean age 43.6 ± 9.4 years, males 25 (57%)). Nine patients were clinically cirrhotic (Child A). End of treatment virological response was achieved in 19 (43.1%) patients and sustained virological response (SVR) occurred in 12 (27.3%). Out of these 12 patients, eight were non-responders and four were relapsers to the previous treatment. Advanced fibrosis or clinical cirrhosis was associated with low SVR. Adverse events were fever, myalgia, anorexia, depression, and weight loss. Two patients received granulocyte colony stimulating factor for transient neutropenia. Seven patients were given erythropoietin to improve hemoglobin, and six were treated for mild depression. Two patients developed portosystemic encephalopathy. Conclusions More than one-quarter of treatment-experienced patients with HCV genotype 3 achieved SVR after re-treatment with consensus interferon plus ribavirin