La mediació del cavall i la seva relació amb l’adquisició de competències

La mediació educativa raonada mitjançant la interacció amb el cavall facilita una nova forma d’aprenentatge, basada en el desenvolupament integral de la persona; partint de les seves capacitats i transformant-les en competències. Presentem el Treball Reconduït Amb Cavalls (TRAC) com un espai natural per potenciar i desenvolupar diferents habilitats personals, socials, cognitives i fisicomotrius, per tal d’aconseguir competències que puguin aportar un ajust social complet des de la realitat personal de cada educand. Els canals comunicatius, l’actitud per afrontar la realitat de l’entorn de forma positiva, activa i creativa, els comportaments passius o de dependència que es manifesten en aquesta situació, les qualitats coordinatives necessàries per reorganitzar el coneixement de l’esquema corporal i les experiències perceptives, unides als moviments del cavall, aglutinen expectatives interessants que podem proposar-nos gràcies al TRAC.

Affinity distribution functions in multicomponent heterogeneous adsorption. Analytical inversion of isotherms to obtain affinity spectra

An analytical approach for the interpretation of multicomponent heterogeneous adsorption or complexation isotherms in terms of multidimensional affinity spectra is presented. Fourier transform, applied to analyze the corresponding integral equation, leads to an inversion formula which allows the computation of the multicomponent affinity spectrum underlying a given competitive isotherm. Although a different mathematical methodology is used, this procedure can be seen as the extension to multicomponent systems of the classical Sips’s work devoted to monocomponent systems. Furthermore, a methodology which yields analytical expressions for the main statistical properties (mean free energies of binding and covariance matrix) of multidimensional affinity spectra is reported. Thus, the level of binding correlation between the different components can be quantified. It has to be highlighted that the reported methodology does not require the knowledge of the affinity spectrum to calculate the means, variances, and covariance of the binding energies of the different components. Nonideal competitive consistent adsorption isotherm, widely used in metal/proton competitive complexation to environmental macromolecules, and Frumkin competitive isotherms are selected to illustrate the application of the reported results. Explicit analytical expressions for the affinity spectrum as well as for the matrix correlation are obtained for the NICCA case. © 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Scaffolding through the network: analysing the promotion of improved online scaffolds among university students

This article explores how to enrich scaffolding processes among university students using specific Computer Supported Collaborative Learning –CSCL- software. A longitudinal case study was designed, in which eighteen students participated in a twelve-month learning project. During this period the students followed an instructional process, using the CSCL software to support and improve the students’ interaction processes, in particular the processes of giving and receiving assistance. Our research analyzed the evolution of the quality of the students’ interaction processes and the students’ learning results. The effects of the students’ participation in the CSCL environment have been described in terms of their development of affective, cognitive and metacognitive learning processes. Our results showed that the specific activities that students performed while working with the CSCL system triggered specific learning processes, which had a positive incidence on their learning results.

Liikearvon arvonalentumistestaus IAS 36:n mukaan

The main object of this Master´s Thesis was to study the goodwill impairment testing under IAS 36. The aim was also to study the process of impairment testing in companies. The definition, treatment and impairment testing of goodwill were based on the interpretative literature of the standard, articles in trade papers and in international journals. Research methodology was descriptive, qualitative and normative. The empirical data was gathered from focused interviews of companies, consultant and auditor. In the impairment testing of goodwill under IAS 36 carrying amount of cash-generating unit is compared with unit´s recoverable amount, which is defined by either fair value less costs to sell or value in use. Value in use, which is based on unit´s net present value of the future cash flows, is clearly more generally used. The greatest black spots of testing are determination of cash-generating units and allocation of goodwill to them and determination of the discount rate. These black spots enable covering-up goodwill impairment. Companies testing processes differed, which makes comparison more difficult. The documentation of testing should also be invested more in companies.

Effect Estimation of an Innovative Nursing Intervention to Improve Delirium among Home-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.

AIMS: Estimating the effect of a nursing intervention in home-dwelling older adults on the occurrence and course of delirium and concomitant cognitive and functional impairment. METHODS: A randomized clinical pilot trial using a before/after design was conducted with older patients discharged from hospital who had a medical prescription to receive home care. A total of 51 patients were randomized into the experimental group (EG) and 52 patients into the control group (CG). Besides usual home care, nursing interventions were offered by a geriatric nurse specialist to the EG at 48 h, 72 h, 7 days, 14 days, and 21 days after discharge. All patients were monitored for symptoms of delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method. Cognitive and functional statuses were measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Katz and Lawton Index. RESULTS: No statistical differences with regard to symptoms of delirium (p = 0.085), cognitive impairment (p = 0.151), and functional status (p = 0.235) were found between the EG and CG at study entry and at 1 month. After adjustment, statistical differences were found in favor of the EG for symptoms of delirium (p = 0.046), cognitive impairment (p = 0.015), and functional status (p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Nursing interventions to detect delirium at home are feasible and accepted. The nursing interventions produced a promising effect to improve delirium.

Being Small for Gestational Age: Does it Matter for the Neurodevelopment of Premature Infants? A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Whether being small for gestational age (SGA) increases the risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome in premature infants remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: to study the impact of SGA (birthweight < percentile 10) on cognition, behavior, neurodevelopmental impairment and use of therapy at 5 years old. METHODS: This population-based prospective cohort included infants born before 32 weeks of gestation. Cognition was evaluated with the K-ABC, and behavior with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Primary outcomes were cognitive and behavioral scores, as well as neurodevelopmental impairment (cognitive score < 2SD, hearing loss, blindness, or cerebral palsy). The need of therapy, an indirect indicator of neurodevelopmental impairment, was a secondary outcome. Linear and logistic regression models were used to analyze the association of SGA with neurodevelopment. RESULTS: 342/515 (76%) premature infants were assessed. SGA was significantly associated with hyperactivity scores of the SDQ (coefficient 0.81, p < 0.04), but not with cognitive scores, neurodevelopmental impairment or the need of therapy. Gestational age, socio-economic status, and major brain lesions were associated with cognitive outcome in the univariate and multivariate model, whereas asphyxia, sepsis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia were associated in the univariate model only. Severe impairment was associated with fetal tobacco exposition, asphyxia, gestational age and major brain lesions. Different neonatal factors were associated with the use of single or multiple therapies: children with one therapy were more likely to have suffered birth asphyxia or necrotizing enterocolitis, whereas the need for several therapies was predicted by major brain lesions. DISCUSSION: In this large cohort of premature infants, assessed at 5 years old with a complete panel of tests, SGA was associated with hyperactive behavior, but not with cognition, neurodevelopmental impairment or use of therapy. Birthweight <10th percentile alone does not appear to be an independent risk factor of neurodevelopmental adverse outcome in preterm children.

Kulutus- korroosionkestävien materiaalien laserpinnoitus

Diplomityössä tutkitaan kulutus- ja korrosionkestävien materiaalien laserpinnoitusta. Laserpinnoituksessa sulatetaan uutta materiaalia työkappaleen pintaan lasersäteen avulla. Tarkoituksena on yleensä parantaa pinnan korroosion, kulumisen tai pintapaineen kestävyyttä. Laserpinnoitukseen liittyy useita etuja verrattuna konventionaalisiin päällehitsausprosesseihin. Työssä tutkittavat pinnoitemateriaalit ovat kobolttipohjaiset Stellite 1 ja Stellite 6, työkaluteräkset WR 4 ja WR 6 sekä metallimatriisikomposiitti Anval50/50+30 % Cr3C2. Pinnoitettavat perusaineet ovat hiiliteräs Fe 52, ruostumaton teräs AISI 316 ja valurauta GRP 500. Työn tavoitteena on löytää kunkin pinnoite/perusaine-yhdistelmän pinnoitusparametrit. Pinnoituskokeissa käytettiin LTKK:n 6 kW:n CO2-laseria. Pinnoitetuille koekappeleille tehtiin kovuusmittaukset ja kulutuskokeet. Pinnoitteiden mikrorakenteet analysoitiin ja sekoittumisasteet laskettiin. Virheitä tutkittiin silmämääräisesti sekä radiografisella kuvauksella. Optimiparametreja pinnoitemateriaaleille ei löydetty. Pinnoitteiden sekoittumisasteet muodostuivat suuriksi liiallisen lasertehon ja/tai huonon lisäaineen kohdistuksen vuoksi. Suuri sekoittuminen alensi pinnoitteiden kovuutta ja kulumiskestävyyttä. Pinnoitusparametreja arvioidaan koetulosten perusteella ja niille annetaan korjausehdotuksia. Lopuksi esitetään suosituksia tutkimusprojektin jatkotoimille.

Suorituskyvyn analysointi ja mittaaminen julkisella sektorilla

Suorituskyvyn mittaamiselle ja seurannalle on nykyisin laajaa tarvetta myös julkisella sektorilla. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kehittää soveltuvia suorituskykyä kuvaavia mittareita ja rakentaa niistä käyttökelpoinen suorituskyvyn analysointijärjestelmä julkisen sektorin käyttöön. Ensisijaisena lähtökohtana olivat fyysiset mittarit, koska ne soveltuvat paremmin julkisen sektorin toimintaympäristöön.Tutkimuksen teoriaosassa esitetään joitakin suorituskyvyn analysointijärjestelmiä. Julkiselle sektorille soveliaina viitekehyksinä esitellään yleisellä tasolla balanced scorecard, suorituskykypyramidi, benchmarking, dynaaminen suorituskyvyn mittausjärjestelmä, laatupalkintokriteeristö, SAKE-sovellus ja suorituskykymatriisi.Työssä paneudutaan melko laajalti tekijöihin, joilla on voimakas vaikutus suorituskykyyn. Tällaisia tekijöitä ovat laatuasiat, tuottavuus ja organisaation kilpailukyvykkyys.Tutkimuksen käytännön osassa rakennettiin suorituskyvyn analysointi- ja mittausjärjestelmä. Ensin määriteltiin mittausjärjestelmään soveliaat suorituskyvyn osa-alueet ja seuraavaksi mittarit. Taloudellisia mittareita kehitettiin vain muutama, sillä pääpaino mittarien kehittelyssä olivat ei-taloudelliset mittarit. Mittaristo auttaa organisaatiota mittaamaan sen tilannetta matkalla jatkuvan parantamisen tiellä.

Observer reactions to workplace mistreatment

This study explored observer reactions to workplace interpersonal mistreatment using an inductive analysis approach. I conducted 32 interviews with a wide sample of working professionals from various backgrounds and industries to examine how observers react to the unfolding process of workplace interpersonal mistreatment incidents. Specifically, the goal of this study was to gain a deeper and closer understanding of observer reaction processes by examining first-hand accounts of employees who have witnessed co-workers being mistreated by others. I generated typologies of reported observer affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions that emerged from their stories, and I identified what employees believe are important factors that inhibit or enable intervention. Results reveal that a majority of employees are not inclined to intervene during an ongoing mistreatment incident, and that observers who intervened during the incident reported different appraisal processes than observers who only intervened afterwards, or who did not intervene at all. From these personal accounts of observing workplace mistreatment, I interpreted that observers generally react to interpersonal mistreatment incidents in two phases, and that how targets reacted after an incident was an important trigger that propelled observers to become involved afterwards, even if they did not have the desire or the intention to do so. These findings have implications for current theories on observer intervention to mistreatment in the workplace.

Palveluyrityksen strateginen ohjaus ja tavoiteasetanta tiimiorganisaatiossa. Case: Etelä-Karjalan Osuuspankki

Tutkielman tavoitteena oli selvittää talouden ohjauksen tila case -yrityksessä, pyrkiä tunnistamaan kehityskohteita ohjauksessa ja ehdottaa mallia, joka huomioi tunnistetut kehittämiskohteet. Teoriaosassa analysoidaan yrityksen ohjausta aiemman teoreettisen kirjoittelun perusteella ja esitetään käsitteet sekä viitekehys. Empiirisessä osassa analysoidaan case -yrityksen ohjauksen nykytilaa ja tunnistetaan kehityskohteita ohjauksessa. Tutkielmassa on käytetty sekä hermeneuttista että normatiivista tutkimusotetta Tutkimuksessa havaittiin strategian jalkautumisen jäävän puutteelliseksi ja tämän vaikeuttavan tavoitteiden takana olevan ajattelun ymmärtämistä. Tavoitteisiin sitoutumista vaikeutti myös näkemys, jonka mukaan tavoitteet tulivat liikaa annettuina tekijöinä. Tutkielman lopuksi kehitettiin case-yritykselle tavoiteasetantamalli, jonka nähtiin auttavan strategian jalkauttamista ja sitouttamista yrityksen myyntitavoitteisiin.

The political ecology of weeds : a scalar approach to landscape transformations

How do plants that move and spread across landscapes become branded as weeds and thereby objects of contention and control? We outline a political ecology approach that builds on a Lefebvrian understanding of the production of space, identifying three scalar moments that make plants into 'weeds' in different spatial contexts and landscapes. The three moments are: the operational scale, which relates to empirical phenomena in nature and society; the observational scale, which defines formal concepts of these phenomena and their implicit or explicit 'biopower' across institutional and spatial categories; and the interpretive scale, which is communicated through stories and actions expressing human feelings or concerns regarding the phenomena and processes of socio-spatial change. Together, these three scalar moments interact to produce a political ecology of landscape transformation, where biophysical and socio-cultural processes of daily life encounter formal categories and modes of control as well as emotive and normative expectations in shaping landscapes. Using three exemplar 'weeds' - acacia, lantana and ambrosia - our political ecology approach to landscape transformations shows that weeds do not act alone and that invasives are not inherently bad organisms. Humans and weeds go together; plants take advantage of spaces and opportunities that we create. Human desires for preserving certain social values in landscapes in contradiction to actual transformations is often at the heart of definitions of and conflicts over weeds or invasives.

Asiantuntijatiedon hyödyntämisen edellytykset Tiehallinnossa

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin tietojohtamista sekä tiedon hyödyntämisen edellytyksiä asiantuntijaorganisaatiossa tietämysperusteisen organisaationäkemyksen näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää tietojohtamisen käyttömahdollisuuksia sekä asiantuntijoiden tietämyksen johtamista asiantuntijatiedon hyödyntämisen edellytysten parantamisessa Tiehallinnossa. Tietojohtamiseen ja tiedon hyödyntämisen edellytyksiin pohjautuvaa teoriaa täydennettiin yksilöhaastatteluna toteutetuilla kvalitatiivisilla teemahaastatteluilla. Tutkimuksen perusteella Tiehallinnossa on tiedostettu ja hyödynnetty strategisia, teknologisia ja toiminnallisia asiantuntijatietoon liittyviä tietojohtamisen mahdollisuuksia. Työn tutkimus- ja tulosmatriisirakennetta voidaan käyttää asiantuntijatiedon hyödyntämisen edistämisessä eri organisaatioissa.

Territorialisation des politiques énergétiques dans l'agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise : la planification énergétique comme opportunité de réaménagement des zones frontières ?

La présente recherche traite des défis posés à l'action publique territoriale par la transition énergétique, transition désormais érigée au rang de priorité par les autorités françaises et suisses, comme plus globalement européennes. Elle prend pour cela appui sur une analyse des démarches de planification énergétique territoriale menées entre 2007 et 2014 sur le territoire franco-valdo-genevois (agglomération du « Grand-Genève »). Considérées comme des laboratoires d'expérimentation de la territorialisation des politiques énergétiques, ces démarches sont ici examinées selon une perspective institutionnaliste et pragmatiste visant à mettre lumière les éléments qui interviennent dans la délimitation du champ des possibles en matière d'action publique énergétique et territoriale. Ce positionnement découle des évolutions observées sur le territoire franco-valdo-genevois durant la période d'étude (chapitre 1). Il découle plus précisément du constat de récurrence de certains points de blocage rencontrés aussi bien dans les démarches de planification énergétique elles-mêmes que dans les travaux méthodologiques qui ont pu être réalisés parallèlement à ces démarches, dans le but d'en affiner les outils techniques et organisationnels de mise en oeuvre. Ainsi, le point de départ de la présente recherche est le constat selon lequel on peine tout autant à construire des solutions énergétiques appropriables et réalisables par les acteurs des territoires concernés qu'à reconfigurer les outils de production de ces solutions. De ce constat découle l'intérêt porté aux cadres institutionnels qui régissent ces planifications énergétiques territoriales. Définis comme l'ensemble des repères - formels et informels - qui rendent possibles en même temps qu'ils contraignent les interactions territorialisées entre les acteurs, ces cadres institutionnels sont placés au coeur de la grille de (re)lecture des expériences de planification énergétique territoriale établie au chapitre 2 de la thèse. En référence aux concepts institutionnalistes et pragmatistes sur lesquels elle prend appui, cette grille conduit à appréhender ces expériences comme autant d'enquêtes contribuant, à travers le travail de mobilisation et construction de représentations territoriales auquel elles donnent lieu, à l'équipement sociocognitif d'un champ d'intervention territorial spécifique. Partant de l'hypothèse selon laquelle les potentialités comme les limites associées à l'équipement sociocognitif de ce champ orientent les possibilités d'action collective, la réflexion consiste en une application de cette grille à une trentaine d'expériences de planification énergétique territoriale. Cette application s'effectue en deux temps, correspondant à deux niveaux de lecture de ces démarches. Le premier porte sur les dispositifs organisationnels et les modalités d'interactions entre les cultures d'action qu'elles réunissent (chapitre 3). Le second se concentre davantage sur les supports cognitifs (représentations territoriales) autour desquels se structurent ces interactions (chapitre 4). Présentés dans le dernier chapitre de la thèse (chapitre 5), les enseignements tirés de ce travail de réexamen des démarches franco-valdo-genevoises de planification énergétique territoriale sont de deux ordres. Ils portent d'abord sur les caractéristiques des cadres institutionnels existants, la manière dont ils orientent ces démarches et délimitent les évolutions possibles dans les modes d'action collective et plus particulièrement d'action publique qui y sont associés. Mais ils portent aussi sur les potentiels de changement associés à ces démarches, et sur les pistes envisageables pour mieux valoriser es potentiels, dont l'activation passe par des évolutions profondes des systèmes institutionnels en place. -- In France as in Switzerland, local authorities stand out as leading players of energy transition, a transition that requires an important renewal of public intervention instruments. It is the stakes and the conditions of such a renewal that the present work aims to examine, based on the experiments of territorial energy planning led on the franco-valdo-genevan cross-border territory. Conceived as initiatives of relocation of the energy supply system, these energy planning initiatives are examined through an institutionalist and pragmatic « reading template ». This « reading template » consists of seeing these energy planning initiatives as pragmatist inquiries aiming, through a collective work of cognitive equipment of the territorial franco-valdo-genevan field of intervention, at the reconstruction of the means of coordination between people about their material, organizational and political territory. It opens towards a double reading of the energy planning initiatives. The first one concentrates on the organizational dimension of these inquiries - i.e. on the cultures of action which they gather and the modalities of interaction between them - whereas the second focuses on the cognitive substance which represents the medium of the interactions. This double reading provides insights at various levels. The first one concerns the (cognitive) territorial field of intervention that these energy-planning experiments contribute to draw. A field which, although better and better characterized in its technical dimensions, remains at the same time limited and " deformed " so that it values more the fossil energy systems, from which we want to release ourselves, than the renewable ones, which we would like to replace them with. The second level of teaching concerns the processes of production of territorial knowledge (PPTK) which presides over the demarcation and « equipment » of the territorial field of intervention. Examined through the institutional norms and the culture of action at stake in them, this PPTK turns out to create a sociocognitive "cross-border" area, the kind of area that could shelter the desired reconfigurations...on the condition that they are beforehand correctly "equipped", in cognitive and also in organizational terms. The determining factor for the quality of this equipment is concentrated in the third category of teaching. Starting with the opportunities created by these energy planning experiments concerning the renewal of public intervention instruments, these elements also allow us to take a new look at the urban area project under construction in this cross-border territory, a project th t shows itself closely linked to the energy experiments through a common challenge of territorialisation.

Disclosure of tax information -from tax reporting system to the financial statements, Case: Fortum Oyj

The main target of the study was to examine how Fortum’s tax reporting system could be developed in a way that it collects required information which is also easily transferable to the financial statements. This included examining disclosure requirements for income taxes under IFRS and US GAAP. By benchmarking some Finnish, European and US companies the purpose was to get perspective in what extend they present their tax information in their financial statements. Also material weakness, its existence, was under examination. The research method was qualitative, descriptive and normative. The research material included articles and literature of the tax reporting and standards relating to it. The interviews made had a notable significance. The study pointed out that Fortum’s tax reporting is in good shape and it does not require big changes. The biggest renewal of the tax reporting system is that there is only one model for all Fortum’s companies. It is also more automated, quicker, and more efficient and it reminds more the notes in its shape. In addition it has more internal controls to improve quality and efficiency of the reporting process.

Barrier-protective effects of activated protein C in human alveolar epithelial cells

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a clinical manifestation of respiratory failure, caused by lung inflammation and the disruption of the alveolar-capillary barrier. Preservation of the physical integrity of the alveolar epithelial monolayer is of critical importance to prevent alveolar edema. Barrier integrity depends largely on the balance between physical forces on cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts, and this balance might be affected by alterations in the coagulation cascade in patients with ALI. We aimed to study the effects of activated protein C (APC) on mechanical tension and barrier integrity in human alveolar epithelial cells (A549) exposed to thrombin. Cells were pretreated for 3 h with APC (50 mg/ml) or vehicle (control). Subsequently, thrombin (50 nM) or medium was added to the cell culture. APC significantly reduced thrombin-induced cell monolayer permeability, cell stiffening, and cell contraction, measured by electrical impedance, optical magnetic twisting cytometry, and traction microscopy, respectively, suggesting a barrier-protective response. The dynamics of the barrier integrity was also assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis of the tight junction ZO-1. Thrombin resulted in more elongated ZO-1 aggregates at cell-cell interface areas and induced an increase in ZO-1 membrane protein content. APC attenuated the length of these ZO-1 aggregates and reduced the ZO-1 membrane protein levels induced by thrombin. In conclusion, pretreatment with APC reduced the disruption of barrier integrity induced by thrombin, thus contributing to alveolar epithelial barrier protection.