School tracking and development of cognitive skills

The Finnish comprehensive school reform replaced the old two-track school system with a uniform nine-year comprehensive school and significantly reduced the degree of heterogeneity in the Finnish primary and secondary education. We estimate the effect of this reform on the test scores in the Finnish Army Basic Skills test. The identification strategy relies on a differences-in-differences strategy and exploits the fact that the reform was implemented gradually across the country during a six-year period between 1972 and 1977. We find that the reform had a small positive effect on the verbal test scores but no effect on the mean performance in the arithmetic or logical reasoning tests. Still in all tests the reform improved the scores of students from families where parents had only basic education.Education; school system; tracking; comprehensive school; test scores

School Tracking and Development of Cognitive Skills

The Finnish comprehensive school reform replaced the old two-track school system with a uniform nine-year comprehensive school and significantly reduced the degree of heterogeneity in the Finnish primary and secondary education. We estimate the effect of this reform on the test scores in the Finnish Army Basic Skills test. The identification strategy relies on a differences-in-differences strategy and exploits the fact that the reform was implemented gradually across the country during a six-year period between 1972 and 1977. We find that the reform had a small positive effect on the verbal test scores but no effect on the mean performance in the arithmetic or logical reasoning tests. Still in all tests the reform improved the scores of students from families where parents had only basic education.education, school system, tracking, comprehensive school, test scores

Educational policy and intergenerational income mobility: evidence from the Finnish comprehensive school reform

This paper estimates the effect of a major education reform on the intergenerational income mobility in Finland. The Finnish comprehensive school reform of 1972-1977 replaced the old two-track school system with a uniform nine-year comprehensive school and significantly reduced the degree of heterogeneity in the Finnish primary and secondary education. We estimate the effect of this reform on the intergenerational income elasticity using a representative sample of males born during 1960-1966. The identification strategy relies on a difference-in-differences approach and exploits the fact that the reform was implemented gradually across country during a six-year period. The results indicate that the reform reduced the intergenerational income elasticity by about seven percentage points.Intergenerational mobility; education; comprehensive school reform

Post-secondary education and information on labor market prospects : A randomized field experiment

We examine the impact of an information intervention offered to 97 randomly chosen high schools on post-secondary education applications and enrollment in Finland. Graduating students in treatment schools were surveyed and given information on the labor market prospects associated with detailed post-secondary programs. We find that students who were the most likely to update their beliefs due to the intervention started to apply to programs associated with higher earnings. However, this subgroup is too small to give rise to a statistically or economically significant impact on the overall application or enrollment patterns.Peer reviewe

Characterization of low-density granulocytes in COVID-19

Author summary The emergence of SARS-COV-2 and the ensuing COVID-19 disease has revealed an unprecedented need to understand the pathological mechanisms of acute respiratory infections in more detail. Granulocytes are highly abundant cells of the innate immunity, and thus first responders towards acute infections. However, their excessive activation can cause unwanted tissue damage and detrimental effects in humans. This study identifies a population of low-density granulocytes (LDGs) in COVID-19 patient samples, which has been poorly described in the context of acute infections so far. These cells were subclassified and found to be mainly of immature phenotypes. Further characterization revealed COVID-19 LDGs as a phenotypically diverse population with immunosuppressive characteristics, which seemed to be in line with an elevated recruitment and activation of granulocytes. Altogether, these findings suggest LDG may play a role in COVID-19 disease progression. Severe COVID-19 is characterized by extensive pulmonary complications, to which host immune responses are believed to play a role. As the major arm of innate immunity, neutrophils are one of the first cells recruited to the site of infection where their excessive activation can contribute to lung pathology. Low-density granulocytes (LDGs) are circulating neutrophils, whose numbers increase in some autoimmune diseases and cancer, but are poorly characterized in acute viral infections. Using flow cytometry, we detected a significant increase of LDGs in the blood of acute COVID-19 patients, compared to healthy controls. Based on their surface marker expression, COVID-19-related LDGs exhibit four different populations, which display distinctive stages of granulocytic development and most likely reflect emergency myelopoiesis. Moreover, COVID-19 LDGs show a link with an elevated recruitment and activation of neutrophils. Functional assays demonstrated the immunosuppressive capacities of these cells, which might contribute to impaired lymphocyte responses during acute disease. Taken together, our data confirms a significant granulocyte activation during COVID-19 and suggests that granulocytes of lower density play a role in disease progression.Peer reviewe

Kokeilut käytäntöön -työkirja

Palvelutalouden vallankumous – Ihminen digitalisaation keskiössä -projekt

Asuntomessujen kehittäminen

Osuuskunta Suomen Asuntomessut on järjestänyt asuntomessuja Suomessa vuodesta 1970. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli Valkeakoskella kesällä 2009 järjestettävien asuntomessujen pohjalta tuottaa konkreettisia kehitysideoita tulevia asuntomessuja varten. Tutkimus vastaa siihen, kuinka asuntomessukokemus saadaan messuasiakkaille kokonaisvaltaisesti mielekkäämmäksi. Tutkimuksen osaksi liitetään parannusehdotukset siihen, miten Valkeakosken asuntomessujen internet-sivuista saadaan käyttäjäystävällisemmät. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena tutkimuksena. Tutkimus toteutettiin avustavaa ryhmää hyödyntämällä. Avustava ryhmä osallistui tutkimuksen kaikkiin kolmeen osa-alueeseen. Tutkimuksen osa-alueita olivat Internet-sivujen analysointi, vierailut Valkeakosken asuntomessuilla sekä ideointi. Vierailuiden aikana toteutettiin lisäksi 40 satunnaisten messuasiakkaiden haastattelua. Toteutuksessa käytettiin hyväksi Tiimiakatemialla opittuja uuden synnyttämisen työkaluja. Tutkimuksen perusteella asuntomessuilla on tehtävä yksinkertaisia ja näkyviä parannuksia. Esille nousi viihtyvyyden kannalta pieniä osa-alueita, joiden toimimattomuus tulee esille suurena puutteena. Asuntomessuja järjestettäessä on otettava huomioon pieniä yksinkertaisia asioita, jotta pohja olisi kunnossa isommille elämyksille. Internet-sivujen osalta esille nousivat myös yksinkertaistavat kehitysideat. Selaamista helpottavaa olisi, jos löydettävissä olisi vain yksi kattava sivusto. Jos useampaa sivustoa pidetään yllä, on niiden välille luotava selkeä yhteys. Nämä tulokset saatiin aikaan käyttäjäystävällisyyden eri osa-alueiden tutkimisen kautta.Co-operative Finnish Housing Fair (Osuuskunta Suomen Asuntomessut) has arranged housing fairs in Finland since 1970. The objective of the thesis was to create concrete development ideas for future fairs based on the housing fair held in Valkeakoski in the summer of 2009. The report answers the question of how the housing fair experience can be made comprehensively more enjoyable for customers. Results include improvement ideas as to how the Valkeakoski housing fair Internet site could be made more user friendly. The study was conducted as a qualitative survey. The study was carried out with the help of an assist group. The assist group took part in all three sectors of the survey. The sectors were analyzing the Internet sites, visiting the Valkeakoski housing fair, and creating ideas. During the visits also an interview of 40 arbitrary fair visitors was made. The realization utilized the birth giving tools used in Team Academy. Based on the study the fair needs some simple but visible improvements. Small issues rose when it came to overall enjoyment, which when not functioning properly will show as a great deficiency. When arranging the housing fair the small and simple details must be kept in mind at all times, so that the larger experiences will have a solid foundation. Simplifying ideas also were created for the Internet pages. It would make browsing as simple and easy as possible if there was only one site covering the entirety of the fair, or if more than one sites are kept, they must have a clear connection to each other. These results were gathered bearing in mind the different areas of user friendliness

Liikutaan laulun mukaan : musiikkiliikuntakasvatus perhepäivähoidossa

Tämä opinnäytetyö oli työelämää kehittävä. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää keinoja, joilla innostetaan ja rikastutetaan musiikkiliikuntakasvatustuokioita. Toisena tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli koota perhepäivähoitoon opas. Opas sisältää musiikkiliikunnan toimintasuunnitelmakokonaisuuksia, jotka ovat käytäntöön sovellettavia malleja. Oppaan toimintasuunnitelmia luotiin yhdessä Lahden perhepäivähoidon kanssa. Perhepäivähoidon puolelta toivottiin musiikkiliikuntakasvatuksen rikastuttamista. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmä koostui kolmesta perhepäivähoitoryhmästä. Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin laadullisin tutkimusmenetelmin. Tässä tutkimuksessa käytettiin aineistonkeruumenetelminä tiedekirjallisuutta, havainnointia sekä kirjallista, suullista ja piirustuspalautetta. Tutkimustulosten analysointimenetelmänä käytettiin yksityiskohtaista tarkastelua, ja tuloksia tulkittiin systemaattisen analyysin avulla. Tämän tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä oli, että innostavan ja rikastuttavan musiikkiliikuntatuokion rakentamiseen tarvitaan valmistautumista ja suunnitelmallisuutta. Tällä tavoin tuokiosta saadaan ehyt ja johdonmukainen kokonaisuus. Lisäksi on tärkeää lapsiryhmän osallistaminen, jolloin lapset pääsevät vaikuttamaan toiminnan kulkuun. Musiikkiliikuntatuokiolla käytettävät välineet rikastuttavat toimintatuokioita ja ruokkivat mielikuvitusta. Johtopäätöksissä todettiin myös, että musiikkiliikuntaharjoitteita on tärkeä toistaa, jotta lapset oppivat harjoitteiden sisällön. Harjoitteiden vaihtelevuus rikastuttaa tuokiota ja innostaa uudenlaisten harjoitteiden pariin. Musiikkiliikuntatuokion ohjaajalla on suuri rooli lapsiryhmän innostamisessa, koska aikuinen omalla eläytymisellään, kannustuksellaan ja ohjauksellaan rohkaisee lapsia toimintaan. Oppaan sisällössä hyödynnettiin tutkimuksen johtopäätöksiä. Opas suunnattiin perhepäivähoitoon, mutta sitä voidaan hyödyntää muissakin varhaiskasvatusympäristöissä.This thesis aims at developing working life. The goal of this research was to find ways to excite and enrich the activity hour of music and movement. The second goal of the research was to compose a guidebook for family day care. The guide book includes complete action plans of music and movement which are applicable examples. The action plans of the guidebook were created in collaboration with the family day care services of Lahti. Enrichment of the music and movement education was hoped by the family day care services. The target group consisted of three family day care groups. The thesis was implemented with qualitative research methods. In this research the material was collected with scientific literature, observation and written, spoken and drawing feedback. A specific examination was used as an analysis method and the material was interpreted with a systematic analysis. The conclusions of this research were that to build exciting and enriching moments of music and movement, preparations and orderliness are needed. This way is intact and consistent entirety. It is also important to make the child group participate, so that the children can have an impact on the action progress. The equipment used in the activity hours of music and movement enrich the activity hours and feed imagination. It was also stated in the conclusions that it was important to repeat the music and movement exercises so that the children learn the content of the exercises. The variety of exercises enriches the action hour and gives enthusiasm for new exercises. The instructor of music and movement has a big role in exciting the children because through one’s empathizing, cheering and directing the instructor encourages the children to act. The conclusions of the research were utilized in the content of the guidebook. The guide book was aimed at family day care, but it can also be used in other early childhood education environments