Perusteellinen tietokirja homomiehistä

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Äidin syli

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Health-related quality of life in school children: validation of instrument, child self assessment, parent-proxy assessment and school nursing documentation of health check-ups

The aims of this study were to validate an international Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) instrument, to describe child self and parent-proxy assessed HRQL at child age 10 to 12 and to compare child self assessments with parent-proxy assessments and school nursing documentation. The study is part of the Schools on the Move –research project. In phase one, a cross-cultural translation and validation process was performed to develop a Finnish version of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 (PedsQL™ 4.0). The process included a two-way translation, cognitive interviews (children n=7, parents n=5) and a survey (children n=1097, parents n=999). In phase two, baseline and follow-up surveys (children n=986, parents n=710) were conducted to describe and compare the child self and parent-proxy assessed HRQL in school children between the ages 10 and 12. Phase three included two separate data, school nurse documented patient records (children n=270) and a survey (children n=986). The relation between child self assessed HRQL and school nursing documentation was evaluated. Validity and reliability of the Finnish version of PedsQL™ 4.0 was good (Child Self Report α=0.91, Parent-Proxy Report α=0.88). Children reported lower HRQL scores at the emotional (mean 76/80) than the physical (mean 85/89) health domains and significantly lower scores at the age of 10 than 12 (dMean=4, p=<0.001). Agreement between child self and parent-proxy assessment was fragile (r=0,4, p=<0.001) but increased as the child grew from age 10 to 12 years. At health check-ups, school nurses documented frequently children’s physical health, such as growth (97%) and posture (98/99%) but seldom emotional issues, such as mood (2/7%). The PedsQLTM 4.0 is a valid instrument to assess HRQL in Finnish school children although future research is recommended. Children’s emotional wellbeing needs future attention. HRQL scores increase during ages between childhood and adolescence. Concordance between child self and parent-proxy assessed HRQL is low. School nursing documentation, related to child health check-ups, is not in line with child self assessed HRQL and emotional issues need more attention.

Kuinka tutkimustyö ja äitiys yhdistetään?

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Näkökulmia seksuaalisuuteen ja sukupuoleen

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Työssä maan tavalla

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in angiosperm communities in the Baltic Sea

The biological variation in nature is called biodiversity. Anthropogenic pressures have led to a loss of biodiversity, alarming scientists as to what consequences declining diversity has for ecosystem functioning. The general consensus is that diversity (e.g. species richness or identity) affects functioning and provides services from which humans benefit. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how aquatic plant species richness and identity affect ecosystem functioning in terms of processes such as primary production, nutrient availability, epifaunal colonization and properties e.g. stability of Zostera marina subjected to shading. The main work was carried out in the field and ranged temporally from weeklong to 3.5 months-long experiments. The experimental plants used frequently co-occur in submerged meadows in the northern Baltic Sea and consist of eelgrass (Z. marina), perfoliate pondweed (Potamogeton perfoliatus), sago pondweed (P. pectinatus), slender-leaved pondweed (P. filiformis) and horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris). The results showed that plant richness affected epifaunal community variables weakly, but had a strong positive effect on infaunal species number and functional diversity, while plant identity had strong effects on amphipods (Gammarus spp.), of which abundances were higher in plant assemblages consisting of P. perfoliatus. Depending on the starting standardizing unit, plant richness showed varying effects on primary production. In shoot density-standardized plots, plant richness increased the shoot densities of three out of four species and enhanced the plant biomass production. Both positive complementarity and selection effects were found to underpin the positive biodiversity effects. In shoot biomass-standardized plots, richness effects only affected biomass production of one species. Negative selection was prevalent, counteracting positive complementarity, which resulted in no significant biodiversity effect. The stability of Z. marina was affected by plant richness in such that Z. marina growing in polycultures lost proportionally less biomass than Z. marina in monocultures and thus had a higher resistance to shading. Monoculture plants in turn gained biomass faster, and thereby had a faster recovery than Z. marina growing in polycultures. These results indicate that positive interspecific interactions occurred during shading, while the faster recovery of monocultures suggests that the change from shading stress to recovery resulted in a shift from positive interactions to resource competition between species. The results derived from this thesis show that plant diversity affects ecosystem functioning and contribute to the growing knowledge of plant diversity being an important component of aquatic ecosystems. Diverse plant communities sustain higher primary productivity than comparable monocultures, affect faunal communities positively and enhance stability. Richness and identity effects vary, and identity has generally stronger effects on more variables than richness. However, species-rich communities are likely to contain several species with differing effects on functions, which renders species richness important for functioning. Mixed meadows add to coastal ecosystem functioning in the northern Baltic Sea and may provide with services essential for human well-being.

”Du sköna sång, vårt bästa arv” - kanonisering av en sångskatt ur ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv

Songs have the power to get through to people. When lyrics are combined with a tune, the result is an entity where the first few notes of a melody can evoke emotions of recognition and belonging. A song treasury consists of such songs that are part of a canonized song tradition. The process where certain songs become part of an established song treasury is long, and many other aspects than the tune itself influence the forming of a song treasury. By examining the characteristics of a song tradition, the history of an ethnic group can be illuminated. In this study, music, pedagogy, and the sociocultural context are merged into a whole where a common song tradition, the song treasury, is in focus. The main aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of a song treasury, its development and contents. This understanding is accomplished by analyzing the musical and lyrical characteristics of 60 songs, which have been sung in schools, homes, and communities, thereby becoming popular among the Swedish-speaking Finns during the 20th century. The songs have been chosen by combining three song lists, of which two lists are closely related to school curricula. The third song list is a result of a survey on favourite songs, according to the situation around year 2000. The songs are examined in their notated versions, a number of song books and text books (n = 29) forming the empirical material. In this study, a hermeneutical approach is applied, content analysis being the method. The analysis is based on three perspectives: the sociocultural perspective, the music-pedagogical perspective, and the musico-analytical perspective. Within each perspective, two aspects are studied. This results in a hexagonal model which forms the structure of the study as a whole. The first two perspectives form the background; a historical context where nation, education, home country, and homestead are regarded as highly important. A common song repertoire is considered to be an effective means of building collective identity within ethnic groups, the common language and the cultural heritage being used as rhetorical arguments. During the early 1900s, choir festivals become an educational platform where conceptions of a common belonging are developed and strengthened through religious, patriotic, and poetical expressions. National school curricula in singing and music have similar characteristics, cultural heritage and values education being in focus. The song lyrics often describe nature and emotions, and they also appear to be personal and situated in a given time and place. Patriotic expressions and songs about music are also fairly common. The songs generally express positive attitudes, which are intensified by major tonality, rich and varied melodies with stable rhythms, and a strong tonal base. The analyzed details of the studied aspects are merged into a thick description, which results in an interpretation pattern with three dimensions: a song treasury can be considered an expression of collective identity, cultural heritage, and values education.

Kenttätykistön erikoisampumatarvikkeiden käyttö suomalaisissa olosuhteissa

Nykypäivän taistelukentällä käytettävä taisteluvälinemateriaalin on oltava kustannustehokasta. Entistä pienempien joukkojen on taisteltava laajalla alueella ja valmistauduttava vaikuttamaan viholliseen myös syvyydessä. Materiaali ja kalusto erikoistuvat saavuttaakseen mahdollisimman suurta tehoa ja tuhoa tietyissä maaleissa. Tykistön tehtävinä ovat edelleen vastatykistötoiminta, torjuntatuli sekä joukkojen lähituki. Tykistöjärjestelmien merkitys kokonaistulivoiman aikaansaamisessa pysyy ennallaan muun muassa sen monipuolisen käytettävyyden, tehokkuuden ja nopean reagointikyvyn ansiosta. Tykistöasejärjestelmillä halutaan vaikuttaa yhä syvemmälle vihollisen ryhmitykseen. Kasvaneen ampumaetäisyyden johdosta on tarvetta varustaa ampumatarvikkeet ohjausominaisuuksilla. Vihollinen on suojautunut kevyesti panssaroituihin ajoneuvoihin tai liikkuu jalan. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on esitellä eri erikoisampumatarvikkeiden käyttötehokkuutta tiettyjä maaleja vastaan tietyissä suomalaisissa olosuhteissa. Erikoisampumatarvikkeina käsitellään kenttätykistön erikoisampumatarvikkeita. Erikoisampumatarvikkeisiin luetaan valaisu-, savutus- ja kuorma-ammukset sekä ohjautuvat ja ohjattavat ammukset. Tutkimuksessa ei käsitellä raketinheittimistön tai kranaatinheittimistön ampumatarvikkeita eikä NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical)-ampumatarvikkeita. Tutkimuksesta on jätetty pois ampumatarvikkeet, joilla on mittausominaisuuksia tai ovat muotoilunsa ansiosta suunniteltu saavuttamaan pidempiä ampumaetäisyyksiä. GPS-ohjautuvia ampumatarvikkeita käsiteltäessä tarkastellaan vain yhdysvaltalaista Global Positioning System:iin tukeutuvaa järjestelmää. Eurooppalaista GALILEO Positioning System:iä ja venäläistä Global Navigation System:iä (GLONASS) ei ole tarkasteltu. Nykyajan ampumatarviketeollisuudessa yleisimpänä kenttätykistön kaliiperina on 155 millimetrin ampumatarvikkeet. Tälle kaliiperille löytyy suurin valikoima erilaisia ampumatarvikkeita. Tutkimuksessa on siksi tarkasteltu vain tälle kaliiperille valmistettuja ampumatarvikkeita. Maalilla tarkoitetaan tutkimuksessa esitettyjä yleispäteviä kenttätykistön maaleja. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on kartoittava ja kuvaileva asiakirjatutkimus. Tiedot on analysoitu ja johtopäätökset tehty lähinnä teknisestä näkökulmasta. Kaikki tutkimuksessa käytetyt lähteet on verrattu ainakin yhteen muuhun lähteeseen, mahdollisimman suuren totuudenmukaisuuden saavuttamiseksi. Tutkija on pyrkinyt vähentämään lähteiden määrää ja täten käyttämään mahdollisimman laadukkaita lähteitä. Tutkimuksen pääkysymykset ovat: Mitkä kenttätykistön erikoisampumatarvikkeet ovat käytännöllisimmät mitäkin maalia kohti? Miten suomalaiset olosuhteet vaikuttavat mihinkin erikoisampumatarvikkeeseen? Saavuttaakseen pääkysymyksiin vastauksen on tutkija käsitellyt seuraavia alakysymyksiä: Millä tavalla erikoisampumatarvikkeet toimivat? Mihin tarkoitukseen ne ovat suunniteltuja? Mihin maaliin on mikäkin erikoisampumatarvike suunniteltu?

Indelning av finlandssvenska dialekter med särskild hänsyn till Åboland

Artikel i tidskrift

Extremfall, stjärnelever och verktygsskramlare : en diskursanalytisk studie av lärares tal om studerande som behöver särskilt stöd

The groups within Finnish vocational upper secondary education and training (VET) are often heterogeneous with respect to the student's need for support in their studies. According to the national core curricula, Special Education Needs (SEN) students should in the first place, get their education in the same group as everyone else. This dissertation aims to clarify and create an understanding about how the ideals and intention of equality in education is constructed in communication among teachers in VET in the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland. Through this understanding it should be possible to highlight a potential which could ultimately contribute to a positive development of a more inclusive education within VET. The epistemological platform of the study is to be found within the post structuralist philosophy of language that is considered as subsumed in a social constructionist thinking. The data has been collected through focus group discussions in groups of 3–6 participants (teachers) in seven schools in Finnish-Swedish VET. The analyses are based on a discursive psychological analysis combined with an analysis based on Michel Foucault's concepts with an emphasis on the subject, government and power. Four discourser where identified in the analysis of teachers' constructions of the educational assignment in relation to SEN students. The most dominant was discussing the educational assignment as a pragmatic project i.e. as a matter of transmission of knowledge. The discourse included both interpretative repertoires where the heterogeneous group was constructed as self-evident and possible to manage as well as a constructed as an impossible project. The educational assignment was also constructed as a holistic project, as part of a democratic project, and as a labor market project. Each discourse contains both including as well as excluding features in relation to SEN students. The development of an inclusive practice can and should therefore include elements from all of them. Three discourses were identified in the analysis concerning teachers' versions of SEN students: students with difficulties and problems; students who do not use or do not have ability and students who are irresponsible and lack the will to study. Within the various discourses and interpretative repertoires were both constructs when teachers described a concern and kindness in relation to the individual SEN student and constructions where teachers mainly expressed fears that other students in the group would be negatively affected by students in need of special support. Results from the third research question conclude the results from the two others, the analysis is done out of a government perspective. In the material use of different government techniques are identified: disciplinary power through direct reprimands; pastoral power by a desire of insight in order to promote the opportunities for consultation and the use of bio-power that primarily focuses on what is best for the population and whose tool racism results in a legitimation of the exclusion of SEN students. The conclusion is that teachers in VET need to pay attention to inclusive and exclusive elements identified in various discourses.