Virtual versus classroom language teaching : A comparative study of the learning outcomes and student responses between two English reading comprehension groups

A 26-hour English reading comprehension course was taught to two groups of second year Finnish Pharmacy students: a virtual group (33 students) and a teacher-taught group (25 students). The aims of the teaching experiment were to find out: 1.What has to be taken into account when teaching English reading comprehension to students of pharmacy via the Internet and using TopClass? 2. How will the learning outcomes of the virtual group and the control group differ? 3. How will the students and the Department of Pharmacy respond to the different and new method, i.e. the virtual teaching method? 4. Will it be possible to test English reading comprehension learning material using the groupware tool TopClass? The virtual exercises were written within the Internet authoring environment, TopClass. The virtual group was given the reading material and grammar booklet on paper, but they did the reading comprehension tasks (written by the teacher), autonomously via the Internet. The control group was taught by the same teacher in 12 2-hour sessions, while the virtual group could work independently within the given six weeks. Both groups studied the same material: ten pharmaceutical articles with reading comprehension tasks as well as grammar and vocabulary exercises. Both groups took the same final test. Students in both groups were asked to evaluate the course using a 1 to 5 rating scale and they were also asked to assess their respective courses verbally. A detailed analysis of the different aspects of the student evaluation is given. Conclusions: 1.The virtual students learned pharmaceutical English relatively well but not significantly better than the classroom students 2. The overall student satisfaction in the virtual pharmacy English reading comprehension group was found to be higher than that in the teacher-taught control group. 3. Virtual learning is easier for linguistically more able students; less able students need more time with the teacher. 4. The sample in this study is rather small, but it is a pioneering study. 5. The Department of Pharmacy in the University of Helsinki wishes to incorporate virtual English reading comprehension teaching in its curriculum. 6. The sophisticated and versatile TopClass system is relatively easy for a traditional teacher and quite easy for the students to learn. It can be used e.g. for automatic checking of routine answers and document transfer, which both lighten the workloads of both parties. It is especially convenient for teaching reading comprehension. Key words: English reading comprehension, teacher-taught class, virtual class, attitudes of students, learning outcomes

Päällekkäispuhunta suomalaisessa ja virolaisessa arkikeskustelussa: mitä, missä ja milloin

Tutkielmassa perehdytään suomalaisessa ja virolaisessa arkikeskustelussa esiintyvään päällekkäispuhuntaan keskustelunanalyyttisella menetelmällä. Aineistona on käytetty tuttavien välisiä, kasvokkaisia arkikeskusteluja. Aineistoa on kolmesta suomalaisesta ja kolmesta virolaisesta keskustelusta yhteensä noin tunti kummallakin kielellä. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää päällekkäispuhunnan esiintymistä yleisellä tasolla: mitä päällekkäin aloitetuilla vuoroilla tehdään ja millaisissa keskustelun tilanteissa päällekkäispuhuntaa käytetään, sekä missä kohden edellistä vuoroa päällekkäisenä alkava vuoro aloitetaan. Tutkielmassa myös vertaillaan suomalaista ja virolaista päällekkäispuhuntaa toisiinsa lähinnä laadullisesti. Tärkeiksi käsitteiksi nousevat vuoro, vuoron rakenneyksikkö, vuoronvaihdon mahdollistava kohta, keskustelun puhetila sekä vuorottelun sujuvuus. Päällekkäispuhuntana tuotetut vuorot jaetaan tutkielmassa kolmeen ryhmään, jotka esitellään omissa pääluvuissaan. Tutkimuksen mukaan osa päällekkäispuhunnasta on sellaista, jonka voi selittää vuorottelun ja vuorojen rakenteista käsin. Tällainen päällekkäisenä aloitettu seuraava vuoro alkaa hieman edellisen vuoron lopun päältä vuoron tullessa juuri valmiiksi eli vuoronvaihdon mahdollistavaan kohtaan. Vuoro voi alkaa jonkin verran aiemminkin, jolloin päällekkäisenä seuraavan vuoron aloittava puhuja näyttää ennakoivan, että edellinen vuoro on pian tulossa valmiiksi. Kolmas vuorottelun rakenteilla selittyvä päällekkäispuhunta liittyy tilanteeseen, jossa ketään ei ole valittu seuraavan vuoron käyttäjäksi. Tällöin kuka tahansa voi valita itsensä seuraavaksi puhujaksi, ja usein näin tekeekin useampi puhuja yhtä aikaa. Muiden päällekkäisyyksien analysoinnissa otetaan huomioon myös vuoron luonne ja tehtävä vuorovaikutuksessa. Nämä jaetaan edellä mainituin perustein kahteen ryhmään: osa päällekkäisyyksistä on luonteeltaan yhteistyöhakuisia, osa kilpailevia. Tässä jaottelussa keskeisenä tekijänä on se, pyrkiikö päällekkäin vuoronsa aloittava puhuja hallitsemaan keskustelun puhetilaa, vai tukeeko hän jonkun toisen puhujan puhetilan hallintaa. Toisen puhetilan hallintaa tukevia päällekkäisyyksiä on monentyyppisiä: kommentoivia dialogipartikkeleita, samanmielisyyden ja kiinnostuksen osoituksia, tarkistuskysymyksiä ja sanahaussa auttamista. Aineistosta löydetyt useat tiimiytymistapaukset osoittavat, että puhetilaa voidaan hallita myös yhdessä. Huumoriin ja nauruun liittyvät vuorot voivat olla sekä toisen puhetilan hallintaa tukevia että yhteisesti puhetilaa halliten tuotettuja. Sijaintinsa ja luonteensa perusteella kilpaileviksi määritellyt vuorot alkavat joko moniyksikköisen vuoron vuoronvaihdon mahdollistavassa kohdassa taikka vuoron rakenneyksikön keskeltä. Kilpailevan vuoron käyttäjä pyrkii saamaan puhetilan hallitsijan aseman itselleen. Useiden kilpailevina tuotettujen vuorojen voidaan sanoa jollakin tavalla rikkovan vuorottelun perussääntöjä, mutta tutkielmassa havaitaan, että siitä huolimatta ne harvoin aiheuttavat vuorovaikutukseen ongelmia tai häiriöitä. Tutkielmassa todetaan, että päällekkäispuhunta on tutkituissa suomalaisissa ja virolaisissa keskusteluissa laadultaan pääosin hyvin samankaltaista. Aineiston perusteella näyttää kuitenkin siltä, että virolaisissa keskusteluissa päällekkäispuhuntaa esiintyy yleisesti ottaen jonkin verran suomalaisia keskusteluja enemmän, ja kilpailevaa päällekkäispuhuntaa esiintyy jopa huomattavasti enemmän. Tutkielmassa havaitaan, että valtaosa kaikesta päällekkäispuhunnasta on ongelmatonta, ja sen esiintymisessä ja rakentumisessa näkyy keskustelijoiden pyrkimys sujuvaan vuorotteluun. Päällekkäispuhunnan todetaan olevan keskustelussa taajaan esiintyvää ja ennen kaikkea järjestäytynyttä toimintaa.

Monikulttuurisuuskasvatus päiväkodin monikulttuurisessa esiopetusryhmässä

This study reports on the realisation of multicultural education in a multicultural pre-school group of one kindergarten. The research questions were: 1) what multicultural goals and contents did the kindergarten´s own pre-school curriculum contain? and 2) how did the pre-school educators´ views on multicultural education appear in their actions in a multicultural pre-school group? The research was conducted by analysing the curricula, interviewing the educators, and observing of the preschool groups. Pre-school education is seen as part of institutionalised education which is defined through culture. Education is considered from the point of view of critical multicultural education, paying special attention to the role of society in the definition of education. The research is a case study, and it concentrates on the interpretation of the working philosophy of one preschool group with respect to its implementation. The target group consisted of 20 6-year-old pre-school pupils in a kindergarten and their four pre-school educators. The research results showed that the kindergarten´s own pre-school curriculum (1997) was in structure and form consistent with the structure and form of the National Core Curriculum for Pre-School Education from 1996. The only difference was in the classification of the various subject fields and objectives. The contents of the two curricula showed hardly any variation, and both of them contained only few goals and contents for multicultural education. According to the interviews, the educational views and learning philosophy of the pre-school educators represented a child-centred point of view that takes into consideration the individual pupil´s needs and skills. This is also one of the basic principles of multicultural education. The principle was not, however, realised in the directed activities of the pre-school group. The heterogeneity of the pre-school group was dealt with by dividing the children into smaller groups, but the contents of the tuition were not differentiated. All children were provided with the same goals and contents. Multicultural education was seen as remote and separate from the overall educational philosophy. The contents of multicultural education were interpreted by the educators as teaching Finnish as a second language and teaching the children their own mother tongue and religion. After the evaluation of the state of the kindergarten´s multicultural education using four different models, I determined that the kindergarten emerged as a representative of the model where multicultural education is seen as something meant for immigrants only. The aim of the model is a rapid integration of the immigrant children with the majority population. Keywords: education, pre-school education, multicultural education, critical multicultural education, language, culture

Mitä autismin kirjon opiskelijat oppivat valmentavassa koulutuksessa

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the special vocational training programme, which aimed at enhancing the pupils with autism spectrum to prepare themselves for work and independent life. The vocational training programme is based on TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication handicapped CHildren), which takes into account the autism spectrum disorders and autistic behaviour. TEACCH is based on the principles of structured teaching, functional teaching and preparation training for work and independent life. The TEACCH has been adapted to Finnish society and the educational system. Treatment programmes were individually designed for each student´s educational needs. There is also an important role for the AAPEP rating scale (Adolescent and Adult Psychoeducational Profile). The AAPEP has been the major tool for planning and following the courses. The AAPEP is an assessment instrument designed by the TEACCH programme, and it is used to provide an evaluation of current and potential skills. The AAPEP contains three scales: a direct observation scale, a home scale and a school / work scale. The AAPEP includes six test variables: vocational skills, independent functions, functional communication, interpersonal behaviour, vocational behaviour and leisure skills; these are evaluated at three levels: pass, emerge and fail. The subjects were 49 students (65% male and 35 % female) with autism spectrum, who have been followed and tested several times, also one year after the vocational training. The design is therefore a longitudinal one. The research data were collected 1997-2004 using the AAPEP rating scales. The teachers have used the AAPEP scales and the codings have been checked by the researcher. The results of the principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that the structure of AAPEP rating scales works quite well as a hypothesis. The factor structure of the scales of the AAPEP was almost the same in these data as in the original publications. The learning-and-changes results showed that learning is a slow process, but that there were also intended changes in several AAPEP areas. The Cohen´s kappa was used as an effect-size measure and the most important result of this research showed that the student´s skills were developing on a school / work scale; vocational skills variable (0,34), vocational behaviour variable (0,28), leisure skills variable (0,26) and on a direct observation scale; interpersonal behaviour variable (0,21). On a home scale skills of some students were developing negatively and also that effect-size was small. The results showed that the students´ vocational skills and vocational behaviour will continue to develop after school in many areas. There were differences between scales. The result of this research shows that the student´s skills were developing significantly in 3 of 48 variables on a direct observation scale and also on a home scale. On a school / work scale student´s skills were developing significantly in 17 of 48 variables. This result implies that students can do the work without extra assistance if there exist continuing supports for the skills after the vocational training. The fully independent life of students will be difficult, because their independent functions, functional communications and leisure skills regressed after the schooling. This seems to indicate that they will not manage their daily life without support. The students and their parents said that the treatment programmes were individually designed for each student s educational needs, and that they were satisfied with the programmes and services. Generally, it can be concluded that vocational special education can be developed for pupils with autistic syndrome and the detailed teaching can be done using TEACCH principles and applying the tool of AAPEP.

"Olen enemmän alkanut pohtimaan ja sanomaan ääneen mitä ajattelen" : ammatillinen kehittyminen ja yhteisöllinen palaute päiväkodin työtiimeissä

I have more often thought over what I am thinking and also I have often told it to others - professional development and collegial feedback on kindergarten teams. The need for professional feedback surfaces year after year in enquiries made among staff members in the field of early childhood education. Because the pressure to be effective adds to the workload of the heads of kindergartens, there are few opportunities to give staff concrete feedback on a daily basis. Because peers are able to observe each other close at hand, their reciprocal feedback can compensate for that of the kindergarten head. In this study the practical training process of collegial feedback is studied and also the opportunities for feedback as a means of supporting professional development in the context of kindergarten. The development project involving the entire kindergarten community (N=21) was implemented in 2003-2004 through three developing cycles. The Johar´s Window , produced by Luft and Jung with the Model of Situational Leadership by Hersey and Blanchard, acted as a theoretical frame of reference. It has been used in this study both for its qualitative and its quantitative methods. The data were carried out through questions, interviews, diaries, written descriptions and monthly evaluations. The qualitative and quantitative methods were also used in analysing the data. The results showed that during the training process, the staff as a giver of feedback moved from the professional basic level to the professional maturity level. Their awareness of both their own and their peers´ know-how expanded from the initial state to the final state. It became evident that team size is the essential key element in the practise of giving feedback to team members. The team atmosphere and the commitment of the team members are in significant factors in the training of giving and receiving feedback. As a result of analyses, delivering feedback was grouped into three categories: developmental feedback, descriptive feedback and either supportive or destructive feedback. Receiving feedback was likewise groupped into three categories: aspiring to develop, unaccommodating and accepting. The ability to control feelings improved along with the skills of giving feedback; it was possible to analyse development through the professional development model represented in the theory of the study. The results showed that professional know-how of other kinds also developed during the process. Giving feedback among fellow workers enables team members to receive feedback everyday. Training to give feedback means examining a field of professional know-how and also formulating shared rules. The results of this study give support to previous studies that have emphasised practical training in natural circumstances. Keywords: feedback, professional development, learning at work

Mikä on ihme ja mitä ihmeistä voidaan tietää? : Keskustelu ihmeistä uusimmassa englanninkielisessä uskonnonfilosofiassa

What is a miracle and what can we know about miracles? A discussion of miracles in anglophone philosophy of religion literature since the late 1960s. The aim of this study is to systematically describe and philosophically examine the anglophone discussion on the subject of miracles since the latter half of the 1960s. The study focuses on two salient questions: firstly, what I will term the conceptual-ontological question of the extent to which we can understand miracles and, secondly, the epistemological question of what we can know about miracles. My main purpose in this study is to examine the various viewpoints that have been submitted in relation to these questions, how they have been argued and on what presuppositions these arguments have been based. In conducting the study, the most salient dimension of the various discussions was found to relate to epistemological questions. In this regard, there was a notable confrontation between those scholars who accept miracles and those who are sceptical of them. On the conceptual-ontological side I recognised several different ways of expressing the concept of miracle . I systematised the discussion by demonstrating the philosophical boundaries between these various opinions. The first and main boundary was related to ontological knowledge. On one side of this boundary I placed the views which were based on realism and objectivism. The proponents of this view assumed that miraculousness is a real property of a miraculous event regardless of how we can perceive it. On the other side I put the views which tried to define miraculousness in terms of subjectivity, contextuality and epistemicity. Another essential boundary which shed light on the conceptual-ontological discussion was drawn in relation to two main views of nature. The realistic-particularistic view regards nature as a certain part of reality. The adherents of this presupposition postulate a supernatural sphere alongside nature. Alternatively, the nominalist-universalist view understands nature without this kind of division. Nature is understood as the entire and infinite universe; the whole of reality. Other, less important boundaries which shed light on the conceptual-ontological discussion were noted in relation to views regarding the laws of nature, for example. I recognised that the most important differences between the epistemological approaches were in the different views of justification, rationality, truth and science. The epistemological discussion was divided into two sides, distinguished by their differing assumptions in relation to the need for evidence. Adherents of the first (and noticeably smaller) group did not see any epistemological need to reach a universal and common opinion about miracles. I discovered that these kinds of views, which I called non-objectivist, had subjectivist and so-called collectivist views of justification and a contextualist view of rationality. The second (and larger) group was mainly interested in discerning the grounds upon which to establish an objective and conclusive common view in relation to the epistemology of miracles. I called this kind of discussion an objectivist discussion and this kind of approach an evidentialist approach. Most of the evidentialists tried to defend miracles and the others attempted to offer evidence against miracles. Amongst both sides, there were many different variations according to emphasis and assumption over how they saw the possibilities to prove their own view. The common characteristic in all forms of evidentialism was a commitment to an objectivist notion of rationality and a universalistic notion of justification. Most evidentialists put their confidence in science in one way or another. Only a couple of philosophers represented the most moderate version of evidentialism; they tried to remove themselves from the apparent controversy and contextualised the different opinions in order to make some critical comments on them. I called this kind of approach a contextualising form of evidentialism. In the final part of the epistemological chapter, I examined the discussion about the evidential value of miracles, but nothing substantially new was discovered concerning the epistemological views of the authors.

Mitä miehen pitää olla? : Tutkielma Saarnaajan kirjan ja Sirakin kirjan mieskuvasta

Tässä tutkielmassa tutkitaan Saarnaajan kirjan ja Sirakin kirjan mieskuvaa. Tutkimuksessa nämä kirjat ajoitetaan 200-luvulle eKr. Ptolemaiosten valtakunnan aikaan ja etsitään vastausta siihen, millaiseen miehuuteen Juudean eliittiin kuuluneet viisaudenopettajat Saarnaaja ja Ben Sira opastivat virkauralle pyrkiviä niin ikään eliittiin lukeutuneita oppilaitaan. Metodina on tutkia lukijalähtöisesti tekstin sisältöä ja etsiä siinä piileviä ideologioita, tässä tapauksessa siis miehenä olemiseen liittyviä oletuksia, joista nämä tekstit eivät puhu suorasanaisesti vaan joita on tulkittava rivien välistä. Tavoitteeseen pääsemiseksi Saarnaajan kirjan ja Sirakin kirjan tekstiä peilataan antiikin ajan mieskäsitystä ja toisaalta Vanhan testamentin maskuliinista ihannetta vasten. Samalla pyritään myös vertailemaan Saarnaajan kirjan ja Sirakin kirjan yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroja. Lähteinä ovat Saarnaajan kirjan masoreettinen teksti sekä pääasiassa Sirakin kirjan hepreankieliset ja niiden puuttuessa kreikankieliset käsikirjoitukset. Tutkimuksessa todetaan, että antiikin ajan juutalaisen yhteisön suurin miehelle asettama odotus oli se, että miehen oli aina, kaikkialla ja kaikissa tilanteissa hallittava itsensä. Tämä tarkoitti sekä oman käytöksenä että omien tunteittensa hallitsemista mutta myös elämän olosuhteiden ja siihen liittyvien ihmisten hallitsemista. Elämän oli siis oltava järjestyksessä ollakseen kunniallista. Eliittiin kuuluva juutalaismies saattoi myös epäonnistua eikä silloin täyttänytkään miehelle asetettua mittaa. Yhteisön kunnioituksen menettänyt mies oli pahassa tilanteessa. Juuri tilanteessa, missä häpeä astuu miehen elämään, käy parhaiten selväksi Saarnaajan ja Ben Siran ajattelun perimmäinen ero. Ben Sira perustelee miesihannettaan kunnian ja häpeän käsitteillä. Saarnaajalle kunnian ja häpeän käsitteillä ei ole merkitystä. Todellinen ongelma on Saarnaajan mielestä kuolema. On parempi elää vaikka häpeässä kuin olla kuollut, ja vaikka viisaus tuokin miehelle menestystä, sen olennaisin tehtävä on pitää mies hengissä ja elossa vaikka elämä ei niin kovin kunniakasta olisikaan. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa päädytään toteamaan, että mieheen kohdistui paljon vaatimuksia mutta hänellä oli myös voimavaroja, jotka tukivat hänen suoritustaan. Toinen näistä tukevista elementeistä oli miespuolinen ystävä ja uskottu. Saarnaajasta ja Ben Sirasta muistetaan usein heidän hyvin negatiiviset toteamuksensa naisen pahuudesta. Silti kummankin teksteistä juuri nainen paljastuu yhdeksi miehen voimavaroista.

Hänellä on näky siitä, mitä me olemme huomenna! : Keskijohdon kokemukset seurakuntien yhdistymisen johtamisesta

Pro gradu -tutkielmani on laadullinen aineistolähtöinen tutkimus seurakuntien keskijohdon kokemuksista seurakuntien yhdistymisprosessin johtamisesta. Toteutin keväällä 2010 laadullisen Internet-kyselyn, jossa pyysin keskijohtoa arvioimaan ylemmän esimiehensä johtamistoimenpiteitä organisaatioiden yhdistymisprosessin suunnittelu-, käynnistämis- ja vakiinnuttamisvaiheen aikana. Tutkimusjoukoksi valitsin seurakuntayhdistymisen vuoden 2009 alussa toteuttaneiden seurakuntien keskijohdon, joka toimii hengellisessä työssä. Vastausprosentiksi muodostui 61 %. Luokittelin aineistoni sisällönanalyysin keinoin. Saamieni vastausten perusteella luokittelin johtamistoimenpiteiden perusteella ideaalityypin johtajasta, joka voisi toteuttaa seurakuntien yhdistymisprosessin keskijohdon kannalta onnistuneesti. Luokittelussani löysin viisi johtajuustyyppiä: läsnäoleva, asiantuntijuuteen luottava, oikeudenmukainen, suunnitteleva ja hallinnon hallitseva johtajuus. Kukin johtajuustyyppi muodostui useammasta johtamistavasta. Johtamistavat muodostin vastaajien mainitsemista johtamistoimenpiteiden kuvauksista. Tarkastelin näitä johtajuustyyppejä ja niihin liittyviä johtamistapoja myös ajallisessa perspektiivissä. Muodostin ajallista tarkastelua varten aiemmasta tutkimuksesta suunnittelu-, käynnistämis- ja vakiinnuttamisvaiheet. Järjestelin Internet-kyselyn avoimet kysymykset näiden muutosvaiheiden mukaan. Tutkimustuloksinani totean, että keskijohdon mielestä organisaatioiden yhdistäminen tulisi nähdä ensisijaisesti strategian päivittämisen prosessina. Tutkimukseni tulokset vahvistavat Strandmanin esittämän strategian päivittämisen prosessin mallin sisältöjä muutamia muutoksia huomioiden. Olen muokannut tutkimustuloksieni perusteella Strandmanin esittämän mallin organisaation yhdistämistilanteeseen sopivaksi. Mielenkiintoisena tutkimustuloksena pidän myös havaintoani, ettei keskijohto näe kirkkoherraa hengellisenä johtajana muutostilanteessa. Kirkkoherra näyttäytyy keskijohdolle työyhteisönsä hallinnollisena johtajana. Tutkimukseni nostaa esiin kokonaiskirkollisesti mielenkiintoisen muutoksen, jossa kirkkoherran rooli muuttuu seurakunnan hengellisestä johtajasta seurakunnan hallinnolliseksi johtajaksi, ja hengellinen johtajuus siirtyy työalaa tai -aluetta johtavalle kappalaiselle eli keskijohdolle.

Mitä hyötyä tehohoidosta? : Tehohoitoa sisältäneiden hoitojaksojen vaikuttavuuden arviointi

Intensive care is to be provided to patients benefiting from it, in an ethical, efficient, effective and cost-effective manner. This implies a long-term qualitative and quantitative analysis of intensive care procedures and related resources. The study population consists of 2709 patients treated in the general intensive care unit (ICU) of Helsinki University Hospital. Study sectors investigate intensive care patients mortality, quality of life (QOL), Quality-Adjusted Life-Years (QALY units) and factors related to severity of illness, length of stay (LOS), patient s age, evaluation period as well as experiences and memories connected with the ICU episode. In addition, the study examines the qualities of two QOL measures, the RAND 36 Item Health Survey 1.0 (RAND-36) and the 5 Item EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and assesses the correlation of the test results. Patients treated in 1995 responded to the RAND-36 questionnaire in 1996. All patients, treated from 1995-2000, received a QOL questionnaires in 2001, when 1 7 years had lapsed from the intensive treatment. Response rate was 79.5 %. Main Results 1) Of the patients who died within the first year (n = 1047) 66 % died during the intensive care period or within the following month. The non-survivors were more aged than the surviving patients, had generally a higher than average APACHE II and SOFA score depicting the severity of illness, their ICU LOS was longer and hospital stay shorter than of the surviving patients (p < 0.001). Mortality of patients receiving conservative treatment was higher than of those receiving surgical treatment. Patients replying to the QOL survey in 2001 (n = 1099) had recovered well: 97 % of those lived at home. More than half considered their QOL as good or extremely good, 40 % as satisfactory and 7 % as bad. All QOL indexes of those of working-age were considerably lower (p < 0.001) than comparable figures of the age- and gender-adjusted Finnish population. The 5-year monitoring period made evident that mental recovery was slower than physical recovery. 2) The results of RAND-36 and EQ-5D correlated well (p < 0.01). The RAND-36 profile measure distinguished more clearly between the different categories of QOL and their levels. EQ-5D measured well the patient groups general QOL and the sum index was used to calculate QALY units. 3) QALY units were calculated by multiplying the time the patient survived after ICU stay or expected life-years by the EQ-5D sum index. Aging automatically lowers the number of QALY units. Patients under the age of 65 receiving conservative treatment benefited from treatment to a greater extent measured in QALY units than their peers receiving surgical treatment, but in the age group 65 and over patients with surgical treatment received higher QALY ratings than recipients of conservative treatment. 4) The intensive care experience and QOL ratings were connected. The QOL indices were statistically highest for those recipients with memories of intensive care as a positive experience, albeit their illness requiring intensive care treatment was less serious than average. No statistically significant differences were found in the QOL indices of those with negative memories, no memories or those who did not express the quality of their experiences.

Kokonaisvaltainen fysiikanopetus peruskoulussa fysiikan valinnaiskurssilla

Holistic physics education in upper secondary level based on the optional course of physics Keywords: physics education, education, holistic, curriculum, world view, values A physics teacher s task is to put into practice all goals of the curriculum. Holistic physics education means in this research teaching, in which the school s common educational goals and the goals particular to the physics curriculum are taken into account. These involve knowledge, skills and personal value and attitude goals. Research task was to clarify how the educational goals involving student s values and attitudes can be carried out through the subject content of physics. How does the physics teacher communicate the modern world view through the content of the physics class? The goal of this research was to improve teaching, to find new points of view and to widen the perspective on how physics is taught. The teacher, who acted also as a researcher, planned and delivered an optional course where she could study the possibilities of holistic physics education. In 2001-2002 ten girls and two boys of the grade 9th class participated in that elective course. According to principles of action research the teacher-researcher reflected also on her own teaching action. Research method was content analysis that involved both analyzing student feedback, and relevant features of the teacher s knowledge, which are needed for planning and giving the physics lessons. In this research that means taking into account the subject matter knowledge, curriculum, didactic and the pedagogical content knowledge of the teacher. The didactic includes the knowledge of the learning process, students motivation, specific features of the physics didactics and the research of physics education. Among other things, the researcher constructed the contents of the curriculum and abstracted sentences as keywords, from which she drew a concept map. The concept maps, for instance, the map of educational goals and the mapping of the physics essence, were tools for studying contents which are included in the holistic physics education. Moreover, conclusions were reached concerning the contents of physics domains by which these can be achieved. According to this research, the contents employing the holistic physics education is as follows: perception, the essence of science, the development of science, new research topics and interactions in physics. The starting point of teaching should be connected with the student s life experiences and the approach to teaching should be broadly relevant to those experiences. The teacher-researcher observed and analyzed the effects of the experimental physics course, through the lens of a holistic physics education. The students reported that the goals of holistic physics education were achieved in the course. The discourses of the students indicated that in the experimental course they could express their opinions and feelings and make proposals and evaluations. The students had experiences about chances to affect the content of the course, and they considered the philosophical physics course interesting, it awakened questions, increased their self-esteem and helped them to become more aware of their world views. The students analytic skills developed in the interactive learning environment. The physics teacher needs broad knowledge for planning his or her teaching, which is evaluated in this research from contents maps made for the tools of the teaching. In the holistic physics education the teacher needs an open and curious mind and skills for interaction in teaching. This research indicates the importance of teaching physics in developing attitudes and values beside substance of the physics in class environment. The different points of view concerning human beings life make it possible to construct the modern world view of the students and to develop analytic skills and the self-esteem and thus help them in learning. Overall and wide points of view also help to transfer knowledge to practice. Since such contents is not employed by teaching the physics included in the standard curriculum, supplement relevant teaching material that includes such topics are needed.

Pelon ja toivon välissä : Pätkätyöläisen urakerronta

This study analyzes the forming of the occupational identity of the well-educated fixed-term employees. Fixed-term employment contracts amongst the well-educated labour force are exceptionally common in Finland as compared to other European countries. Two groups of modern fixed-term employees are distinguished. The first comprises well-educated women employed in the public sector whose fixed-term employment often consists of successive periods as temporary substitutes. The other group comprises well-educated, upper white-collar men aged over 40, whose fixed-term employment careers often consist of jobs of project nature or posts that are filled for a fixed period only. Method of the study For the empirical data I interviewed 35 persons (26 women and 9 men) in 33 interviews, one of which was conducted by e-mail and one was a group interview. All the interviews were electronically recorded and coded. All the interviewees have two things in common: fixed-term employment and formal high education. Thirteen (13) of them are researchers, four nurses, four midwives, four journalists, and ten project experts. I used the snowball method to get in touch the interviewees. The first interviewees were those who were recommended by the trade unions and by my personal acquaintances. These interviewees, in turn, recommended other potential interviewees. In addition, announcements on the internet pages of the trade unions were used to reach other interviewees. In analysing process I read the research material several times to find the turning points in the narrative the interviewees told. I also searched for the most meaningful stories told and the meaning the interviewees gave to these stories and to the whole narrative. In addition to that I paid attention to co-production of the narrative with the interviewees and analyzed the narrative as performance to be able to search for the preferred identities the interviewees perform. (Riesman 2001, 698-701). I do not pay much attention to the question of truth of a narrative in the sense of its correspondence with facts; rather I think a working life narrative has two tasks: On the one hand one has to tell the facts and on the other hand, he/she has to describe the meaning of these facts to herself/himself. To emphasize the double nature of the narrative about one’s working life I analyzed the empirical data both by categorizing it according to the cultural models of storytelling (heroic story, comedy, irony and tragedy) and by studying the themes most of the interviewees talked about. Ethics of the study I chose to use narrative within qualitative interviews on the grounds that in my opinion is more ethical and more empowering than the more traditional structured interview methods. During the research process I carefully followed the ethical rules of a qualitative research. The purpose of the interviews and the research was told to the interviewees by giving them a written description of the study. Oral permission to use the interview in this research was obtained from the interviewees. The names and places, which are mentioned in the study, are changed to conceal the actual identity of the interviewees. I shared the analysis with the interviewees by sending each of them the first analysis of their personal interview. This way I asked them to make sure that the identity was hidden well enough and hoped to give interviewees a chance to look at their narratives, to instigate new actions and sustain the present one (Smith 2001, 721). Also I hoped to enjoy a new possibility of joint authorship. Main results As a result of the study I introduce six models of telling a story. The four typical western cultural models that guide the telling are: heroic story, comedy, tragedy and satirical story (Hänninen 1999). In addition to these models I found two ways of telling a career filled with fixed-term employments that differ significantly from traditional career story telling. However, the story models in which the interviewees pour their experience locates the fixed term employers work career in an imagined life trajectory and reveals the meaning they give to it. I analyze the many sided heroic story that Liisa tells as an example of the strength of the fear of failing or losing the job the fixed term employee feels. By this structure it is also possible to show that success is felt to be entirely a matter of chance. Tragedy, the failure in one’s trial to get something, is a model I introduce with the help of Vilppu’s story. This narrative gets its meaning both from the sorrow of the failure in the past and the rise of something new the teller has found. Aino tells her story as a comedy. By introducing her narrative, I suggest that the purpose of the comedy, a stronger social consensus, gets deeper and darker shade by fixed-term employment: one who works as a fixed term employee has to take his/her place in his/her work community by him/herself without the support the community gives to those in permanent position. By studying the satiric model Rauno uses, I argue that using irony both turns the power structures to a carnival and builds free space to the teller of the story and to the listener. Irony also helps in building a consensus, mutual understanding, between the teller and the listener and it shows the distance the teller tells to exist between him and others. Irony, however, demands some kind of success in one’s occupational career but also at least a minor disappointment in the progress of it. Helmi tells her story merely as a detective story. By introducing Helmi’s narrative, I argue that this story model strengthens the trust in fairness of the society the teller and the listener share. The analysis also emphasizes the central position of identity work, which is caused by fixed-term employment. Most of the interviewees talked about getting along in working life. I introduced Sari’s narrative as an example of this. In both of these latter narratives one’s personal character and habits are lifted as permanent parts of the actual professional expertise, which in turn varies according to different situations. By introducing these models, I reveal that the fixed-term employees have different strategies to cope with their job situations and these strategies vary according to their personal motives and situations and the actual purpose of the interview. However, I argue that they feel the space between their hopes and fears narrow and unsecure. In the research report I also introduce pieces of the stories – themes – that the interviewees use to build these survival strategies. They use their personal curriculum vitae or portfolio, their position in work community and their work morals to build their professional identity. Professional identity is flexible and varies in time and place, but even then it offers a tool to fix one’s identity work into something. It offers a viewpoint to society and a tool to measure one’s position in surrounding social nets. As one result of the study I analyze the position the fixed-term employees share on the edge of their job communities. I summarize the hopes and fears the interviewees have concerning employers, trade unions, educational institutions and the whole society. In their opinion, the solidarity between people has been weakened by the short-sighted power of the economy. The impact the fixed-term employment has on one’s professional identity and social capital is a many-sided and versatile process. Fixed-term employment both strengthens and weakens the professional identity, social capital and the building of trust. Fixed-term employment also affects one’s day-to-day life by excluding her/him from the norm and by one’s difficulty in making long-term plans (Jokinen 2005). Regardless of the nature of the job contract, the workers themselves are experts in making the best of their sometimes less than satisfying work life and they also build their professional identity by using creatively their education, work experiences and interpersonal relations. However, a long career of short fixed-term employments may seriously change the perception of employee about his/her role. He/she may start concentrating only in coping in his/her unsatisfactory situation and leaves the active improvement of the lousy working conditions to other people. Keywords: narrative, fixed-tem employment, occupational identity, work, story model, social capital, career  

"Sitähän me ollaan, mitä me syödään" Ammattikuljettajien käsitykset ja mielikuvat terveellisestä ruoasta

Ammattikuljettajien elintavoissa ja terveydessä on parantamisen varaa. Ammattikuljettajien elintapojen taustalla vaikuttavat epäsäännölliset ja pitkät työajat, yötyö ja vähäinen liikunta. Monet ammattikuljettajista ovat ylipainoisia, mikä altistaa sairauksille, kuten diabeteksen, uniapnean, tukija liikuntaelinongelmien synnylle. Kuljetusalan ammattilaisten työ sisältää ominaisuuksia, jotka heikentävät terveellistä ruokailua. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, minkälaisia käsityksiä ammattikuljettajilla on terveellisestä ruoasta ja aterioista ja minkälaisia mielikuvia heillä on terveellisyydestä. Tutkimuksen teoriaosassa terveellisyyden käsityksiä tarkasteltiin aikaisempien tutkimusten pohjalta ja terveellisyyden merkitystä ja ruoan valintaa ohjaavia tekijöitä selvitettiin terveyskäyttäytymiseen sovellettavien mallien kautta. Tutkimusmenetelmänä oli kvalitatiivinen tutkimus. Tutkimusta varten haastateltiin 12 taksiautoilijaa pääkaupunkiseudulta, jotka kuuluivat Työterveyslaitoksen ”Virkeänä ratissa- ruoasta terveyttä tien päälle” hankkeeseen. Haastattelut suoritettiin joulukuussa 2009 ja tammikuussa 2010 ja ne analysoitiin sisällönanalyysillä. Haastateltavat tiedostivat ruoan terveellisyyden tärkeyden hyvin, mutta terveellisyys ei ohjannut ruoan valintaa ensisijaisesti. Haastateltavat tunnistivat epäkohtia omissa ruoan valinnoissaan, mutta kukaan ei sanonut syövänsä pelkästään epäterveellisesti. Työn aikainen ruokailu koettiin hankalana, eikä silloin tarkkailtu ruokailua. Usein vasta terveysongelma herätti miettimään syömistä ja sen vaikutusta omaan terveyteen. Terveellisten ateriavalintojen tekeminen koettiin hankalampana, kuin epäterveellisten. Terveellisyys koettiin suhteellisena käsitteenä. Tärkeimmät terveellisyyteen liitetyt käsitykset olivat oma hyvinvointi, vaihtelua työjaksoon, tankkaus, tunnesidonnaisuus, valinnan vaikeus, taloudellinen uhrautuminen, luopuminen ja epäluulo. Tulosten mukaan kehittämistarpeita olisi etenkin työaikaisen ruokailun mahdollisuuksien parantamisessa, jossa tienvarsiateriapalveluilla on tärkeä rooli terveellisempien tuotteiden tarjonnalla asiakkailleen. Aineiston mukaan kysyntää olisi pienemmille annoksille, keitoille ja puuroille, joiden saatavuus koettiin etenkin yöaikaan heikoksi.