Browsing by Subject "kehitys"

This study examines the learning of children aged 0-6 from the perspective of parents. The aim of the study was to explore parents' views on their child's learning and how they perceive their own role in supporting learning. In terms of learning, I focused on parents' views on the importance of different skills. Promoting the learning of preschool-age children typically falls under the responsibility of parents and early childhood education, so the study also surveyed parents' thoughts on the role of early childhood education in their child's learning. Parents' perspectives on learning have been limitedly studied in recent years. However, parents play a significant role as supporters of their child's learning, and early childhood is an important stage for learning. During early childhood, comprehensive development and learning occur rapidly, laying the foundation for future learning pathways. The study was conducted as quantitative research. The data for the study was collected through an online survey in February 2023 via the Norstat research company's consumer panel. The respondents were 410 parents of 0-6-year-old children. The data analysis is descriptive, and the methods used include percentage distributions as descriptive measures. The research is part of a broader customer understanding project by Sanoma Pro. A key finding is that parents consider their child's learning to be highly important and perceived their own role as strong supporters of learning. Supporting learning is seen as a clear part of parents' parenting responsibility. The results show that parents engaged with their children in learning various skills extensively. Socio-emotional skills are perceived as the most important skills regardless of the child's age. Although parents feel responsible for their child's learning, they also recognize the important role of early childhood education. However, the current resource challenges in early childhood education raise concerns among parents that may have impact on a child's learning and well-being, posing new challenges and pressures for parents.

The aim of this study is to examine the development of selective and divided attention in adolescence using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral measures. Although the prefrontal cortex, a key area for attention and cognitive control, is thought to mature well into adulthood, few studies have examined the development of attention in adolescents and young adults. No fMRI studies have been conducted on the development of divided attention. In this study, development was examined both cross-sectionally and longitudinally to also assess the possible differences in the results they produced, as nearly all previous studies have been cross-sectional. Brain activity was measured from 103 participants aged 13–22 who were divided into three age cohorts. The youngest two cohorts were measured again after 1.5 years for the longitudinal study. While in the scanner, participants performed a sentence congruence task where they were instructed either to attend to only the speech or text stimulus or divide their attention between both modalities simultaneously. The cross-sectional results showed improvement in task performance between the youngest cohort (13– 14y.) and the older cohorts in both selective and divided attention tasks. No difference was found between the older two cohorts (16–17y. and 20–22y.) However, the longitudinal results did not indicate clear performance improvement with age in either task type. According to the longitudinal fMRI results from age 13–14 to 15–16, in the selective attention task brain activity decreased mainly in the medial prefrontal area and activity increased slightly in parietal regions. In the divided attention task, the decreased prefrontal activity was more lateral. From age 16–17 to 18– 19, increased activity in motor regions and precuneus was found in both tasks. In general, the effects were very subtle, possibly due to a short measurement interval and relatively small cohort sizes. The cross-sectional results indicated quite a different pattern of change in brain activity, concentrated on temporal areas. This difference in results emphasizes the importance of conducting longitudinal developmental studies in the future. Although the effects were not large, the longitudinal fMRI results were in line with some previous findings that prefrontal areas are recruited less with age, so that activity in more posterior task-related areas increases. The current results suggest that some fine-tuning of the attention and cognitive control-related network still occurs from adolescence to early adulthood, as the prefrontal cortex and its connections mature.

Modern-day economics is increasingly biased towards believing that institutions matter for growth, an argument that has been further enforced by the recent economic crisis. There is also a wide consensus on what these growth-promoting institutions should look like, and countries are periodically ranked depending on how their institutional structure compares with the best-practice institutions, mostly in place in the developing world. In this paper, it is argued that 'non-desirable' or 'second-best' institutions can be beneficial for fostering investment and thus providing a starting point for sustained growth, and that what matters is the appropriateness of institutions to the economy’s distance to the frontier or current phase of development. Anecdotal evidence from Japan and South-Korea is used as a motivation for studying the subject and a model is presented to describe this phenomenon. In the model, the rigidity or non-rigidity of the institutions is described by entrepreneurial selection. It is assumed that entrepreneurs are the ones taking part in the imitation and innovation of technologies, and that decisions on whether or not their projects are refinanced comes from capitalists. The capitalists in turn have no entrepreneurial skills and act merely as financers of projects. The model has two periods, and two kinds of entrepreneurs: those with high skills and those with low skills. The society’s choice of whether an imitation or innovation – based strategy is chosen is modeled as the trade-off between refinancing a low-skill entrepreneur or investing in the selection of the entrepreneurs resulting in a larger fraction of high-skill entrepreneurs with the ability to innovate but less total investment. Finally, a real-world example from India is presented as an initial attempt to test the theory. The data from the example is not included in this paper. It is noted that the model may be lacking explanatory power due to difficulties in testing the predictions, but that this should not be seen as a reason to disregard the theory – the solution might lie in developing better tools, not better just better theories. The conclusion presented is that institutions do matter. There is no one-size-fits-all-solution when it comes to institutional arrangements in different countries, and developing countries should be given space to develop their own institutional structures that cater to their specific needs.

Boko Haram – nousu ja uho -tutkielma selvittää Pohjois-Nigeriassa toimivan terroristijärjestö Boko Haramin rekrytointimenetelmiä, Nigerian pohjoisten osavaltioiden rakenteellisia ongelmia ja sitä miten näitä ongelmia on mahdollista korjata. Tutkielma pyrkii vastaamaan kysymykseen millaiset premissit ajavat ihmisiä liittymään Boko Haramiin. Tutkielman tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty laadullista sisällönanalyysia, jonka luoman viitekehyksen kautta tutkija on tulkinnut tutkimusaineistoa. Tutkimuksen aineistolähteet koostuvat Nigeriaa ja Boko Haramia käsittelevästä kirjallisuudesta, tieteellisistä artikkeleista sekä aikalaislähteistä. Tutkielman analyysiluvuissa yksilöiden premissejä on tulkittu tutkimusaineistoista nousevien teemojen mukaan, minkä jälkeen tutkijan on ollut mahdollista tehdä laajempi sisältöanalyysi eri premisseiden kerrannaisvaikutuksista osana Boko Haramiin liittymiselle. Tutkielman osoittaa, että Boko Haramiin liittymisen taustalla on harvoin yhtä selittävää tekijää, kuten esimerkiksi työttömyys. Liittyminen on lähes poikkeuksetta useiden eri premissien summa, jossa korostuvat tulevaisuuden heikot näkymät, osattomuus yhteiskunnassa, epäluottamus Nigerian keskushallintoon sekä oman kansan identiteettiin ja kulttuurin puolustamiseen liittyvät teemat. Boko Haramiin liittyvää konfliktia ei voida näin ollen ratkaista puhtaasti sotilaallista voimaa käyttämällä, vaan Nigerian olisi kyettävä vahvistamaan Pohjois-Nigerian osavaltioiden yhteiskunnallisia rakenteita sekä luomaan luottamussuhde kansalaisten ja valtionhallinnon välillä.

Despite a stated commitment to the principle of policy coherence for development (PCD), which means taking development policy objectives into account in all policies likely to impact developing countries, the European Union (EU) has shown limited success in prioritising poverty reduction over other policy sectors’ objectives. Especially since the migration crisis in 2015-16, development cooperation appears to be increasingly used for migration management. This thesis examines how migration and development are linked in EU external policy, how the concept of PCD has been considered, and what coherence means, in the context of EU external policies on migration and development. The thesis analyses the concept of policy coherence and the interconnections between migration and development in the European Agenda on Migration (2015), the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy (2016), and the New European Consensus on Development (2017) and their implementation reports and further communications about migration policy issued by the European Commission between the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015 and the end of the Juncker administration in late 2019. The document data is triangulated with semi-structured expert interviews, and the data is analysed using qualitative content analysis. Based on the analysis, EU policy considers migration and development linked mainly through the root causes of migration being development problems, although there is also a recognition that migration can contribute to development. Adding to the literature on the securitisation of migration and development, the study finds that migration management is considered a priority for which development cooperation can be used as leverage. This conflicts with the principle of PCD, which the study finds to be largely absent from the policy documents, indicating it is not a priority for EU external policy. The conflict between the EU’s stated normative principles and the instrumentalisation of aid can be considered normative incoherence and organized hypocrisy, which can undermine the EU’s credibility as a global actor and supposedly normative power. Although PCD is not found to be prominent anymore, ‘coherence’ is used across the documents as something to be enhanced. Based on the analysis, ‘coherence’ ascribes effectiveness, unity and credibility to the EU’s holistic, integrated approach coordinating policies, instruments and actors in pursuit of the EU’s overall interests, although these are adapted to each country context. The study suggests coherence may be understood as emblematic of a holistic approach used to legitimise the instrumentalisation of development cooperation for the EU’s overall external policy objectives.

Early life stress (ELS) has been associated with the development of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression later in life. The central hypothesis is that these disorders are caused by a malfunctioning of the serotonin system and serotonin (5-HT) produced in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). The DRN is anatomically connected to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), especially to the infra- and prelimbic cortex, where 5-HT modulates behaviors such as impulsivity and cognitive flexibility. The DRN and mPFC mediate with low-frequency network oscillations, which are indicative of the state of the network and its funtional connectivity, as disturbances in these network oscillations have been connected to neuropsychiatric disorders. The aim of the thesis is to investigate whether and how ELS can influence the local field potential (LFP) activity of the mPFC and DRN and the functional connectivity of the DRN and mPFC. This is researched by characterizing and comparing the LFP activity recorded in the DRN, where 5-HTergic neurons are located, and in layer 5 of the infralimbic area of the mPFC. To accomplish these aims, a well-established animal model of early-life stress, the limited bedding and nesting model (LBN), was used. The model causes fragmented maternal care due to the stress of the dam, which in turn leads to the stress of the pups. Simultaneous multi-site recordings of LFP and multi-unit activity (MUA) within DRN and mPFC were performed in vivo during postnatal days (PND) 10-11 from control and LBN pups to characterize the network activity of these two brain areas and then investigate possible changes in their functional connectivity. The efficacy of the LBN model was determined by the observed decreased weight gain of LBN animals compared to controls. From the data, the LFP activity of the DRN and mPFC were characterized. The activity was characterized as power spectrum, wavelet spectrum, and MUA with DRN showing discontinuous activity with low signal-to-noise ratio and low frequency theta oscillations (4-12 Hz), while mPFC showed almost continuous activity with higher signal-to-noise ratio and developing gamma oscillations (20-50 Hz). The power of LFP signal of the areas was not found to be affected by ELS. To investigate if the coupling by synchrony between DRN and mPFC networks is altered by ELS, I analyzed wavelet coherence by computing coherence values between LFP signals in DRN and mPFC in a control and ELS for frequencies from 1 to 50Hz. The functional connectivity was affected by ELS. Statistically significant changes were observed in wavelet coherence in the lower frequencies of 1-2.8 Hz between the control and LBN treatment, suggesting impaired synchronization between DRN and mPFC at 1-2.8Hz frequency range immediately after ELS exposure at PND 10-11 mice. Caveats of the study were low signal-to-noise ratio of the recordings, the small group size of LBN animals (n=5) as well as the uneven sex distribution (male n=11, female n=3) which prevented the sex-based comparison of the effects of ELS. The thesis examines postnatal LFP brain activity in the DRN and mPFC and the functional connectivity between these brain areas. The results of the thesis show that ELS exposure is able to influence the functional connectivity of these two brain regions. The results support previous findings, which have found alterations in the functional connectivity of the neural networks underlying neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood. The findings of this thesis suggest that ELS could affect the functional connectivity of a developing network and thus increase the risk of the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. Further studies are needed with larger group size, even gender balance, and better signal-to-noise ratio of recordings.

European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is native to Europe also in Southern Finland. Commercial varieties of it are used in hazelnut production. There are many pests like squirrels which are also interested of hazelnuts, and they are usually collecting and hoarding the hazelnuts in the early stage of ripening before nuts are fully mature. In this study the aim was to find out when is the earliest moment to harvest the yield from the trees and ripe them successfully postharvest. The study was done in Helsinki, Finland where there were three different sampling sites. Sampling started when the hazelnuts were still fully green and raw. Sampling continued until there was none of hazelnuts left in the trees or they were fully mature. One sample contained about ten nuts and three samples were taken from each sampling site at each sampling date. After hazelnuts were collected, they were placed for post-harvest ripening to the growth chambre. The quality, stage of development and convenient harvest of time of hazelnuts were evaluated based on physical properties measurements of hazelnuts before and after post-harvest ripening. In addition, control samples were taken of the nuts that ripened natural way in the trees. There was done comparison of samples to the control sample for success of post-harvest ripening. The successful post-harvest ripening was founded earliest in the hazelnuts which would have started ripening process in the tree naturally in the moment of harvest. Earliest moment to harvest hazelnuts is when the kernels have reached their final size and the color of the nutshell begins to change from green to brown. But it is challenging to determine one harvest time for premature harvest because hazelnuts grow and ripe various times in the same tree in a long period. The further it is possible to postpone the harvest, the more certain it is to succeed in post-harvest ripening most of the nuts.

This Master’s thesis has two sections. The first section is a methodological introduction that presents the data collection and analysis methods. The second part is an article ’Household energy technologies in voluntary carbon markets: storylines of co-benefits’ that has been sent to the international, peer-reviewed journal Global Environmental Change. The thesis examines how the co-benefits of voluntary carbon market offset projects are conceptualized in household energy technology projects. Carbon markets have been presented as one of the solutions for climate change mitigation. In carbon offsetting, emissions produced in one place are compensated through reducing emissions elsewhere. Offset projects have been financed especially in the global South. In addition to reducing emissions, carbon offset projects are justified on the basis of creating local co-benefits. The focus of this thesis is on the voluntary carbon markets, where the price of emission reduction credits is influenced by perceptions of created co-benefits. Household energy technologies are technologies that produce emissions reductions either through increasing energy efficiency or using renewable energy. Three technologies that have been popular project types in the voluntary carbon markets are examined, namely improved cookstoves, ceramic water purifiers and biodigesters. The popularity of the technologies is based on win-win assumptions where the technologies are seen to tackle multiple goals, such as climate mitigation and development. The research material consists of interviews with 18 experts. The interviewees consisted of representatives of NGOs, carbon offset project developers, donors, carbon standards and entrepreneurs. The interviewees were selected based on their familiarity with household energy technologies and voluntary carbon markets. The interviews were conducted in Cambodia in March 2013. In addition, publicity material, speeches and documents from an international seminar on clean cooking was reviewed. The concept of storylines is used to examine how the co-benefits of household energy technologies are conceptualized. Storylines are middle-range concepts that enable a discourse-analytical approach to research. What is viewed as a relevant problem, how it has been created, how it should be solved and by whom are all important elements of a storyline. The research presents three different storylines through which the co-benefits of household energy technology projects are conceptualized in voluntary carbon offset projects. The first storyline focuses on the impacts of the technologies on the users’ health. The storyline emphasizes the efficiency of the technologies as key to producing health impacts. The second storyline criticizes current ownership practices in carbon offset projects. The storyline claims that the greatest co-benefits would be realized if users would receive monetary compensation for the emissions reductions they produce. The third storyline emphasizes the role of developing local markets for the technologies. In the storyline, co-benefits are realized when local employment is improved and local markets developed. The first and third storyline were the most dominant ones in the analyzed material. Both storylines stressed the importance of scientific expertise and markets. The storylines differed in their views towards supporting local markets for producing the technologies versus importing more efficient technologies. The critical stance of the second storyline towards current practices in carbon credit revenue distribution was less present in the research material. Discursive forms, such as storylines, can influence what type of projects succeed in creating positive images and receiving better prices for the emissions reductions produced. How the co-benefits of household energy technologies are conceptualized carries material implications through influencing what type of projects are successful in the voluntary carbon markets.

The purpose of this study was to describe and get a deep understanding of pedagogical change process. The phases of pedagogical change process and the nature and the role of teacher's pedagogical thinking in it were mapped. The change process as a whole was also modeled. The previous research of teaching change process has had been scarce on an individual teacher level, but on a school level it has been investigated abundantly. The theoretical background of this study consists of theories of teacher's pedagogical thinking and action and how their thinking and action change and develop. Teacher change has been researched from the point of view of both school change and professional development. The basic principle in the theoretical frame is that change in teacher's thinking leads to change in action. Three men teachers and a woman teacher who have put change into practice took part in this study. The data consisted of two parts: teachers' essays of their change process and interviews that were based on the essays. The data was analysed by content analysis. The categorizations of both parts of the data were made separately but they were interpreted together. In this way a deep understanding of pedagogical change process could be reached. The results of this study were descriptions of the phases of pedagogical change process and the nature and the role of teacher's pedagogical thinking in it. In addition a model of pedagogical change process was presented. Pedagogical change process started up because of disorder in teacher's pedagogical thinking and action. The disorder leads to an absolute necessity to change the activities. Change activities stabilize throughout intuitive experiments and reflection-on-action. The change in a teacher's thinking is a prerequisite for the start of the process but also, a teacher's thinking develops as a result of the process. Thus, the whole process results in a real, deep level change in instruction and in the teacher's thinking. That is why pedagogical change processes are visible, significant and they have wide and extensive effects. The study gives out information of controlling the change processes. Consequently, the results of this study encourage teachers to confront change and put their new ideas into practice.

Objectives. Reciprocal interaction between a parent and a child can face many challenges due to preterm birth. Not only is the preterm infant developmentally immature for social interaction, but also the parent may find it challenging to interact with the preterm child. Even though the preterm child would greatly benefit from parents’ support, it can be difficult for an anxious parent to support a child adequately, further harming the development of the preterm child. The aim of the current study was to examine how maternal anxiety after preterm birth affects later interaction between parents and the preterm child and the development of the preterm child at 2–3 years of age. Also, the associations between interaction and screen time and child’s development were examined. Methods. Participants of the study were 27 preterm children who were born at 30,20 (±2,27) weeks of gestation. Mothers assessed their anxiety after the preterm birth with a STAI -self valuation questionnaire at the time of the gestational age of 35 and 40 weeks. Later at the 2–3 year follow-up mothers, fathers or both parents estimated interaction with a questionnaire that examined the amounts of language and music actions at home and child’s screen time. Also, child’s development was assessed with Bayley-III. The associations were examined with Pearson correlation and Spearman order correlation coefficients. Results and conclusions. The results show that maternal anxiety after preterm birth is acutely very common and half of the mothers were moderately anxious. When anxiety seemed more chronic instead of short-lived, maternal anxiety after preterm birth was associated with less interaction at 2-3 years of age. In homes of less anxious mothers, parents and children’s siblings played more music and premature children spent more time watching television or otherwise spending time with smart devices than in the homes of more anxious mothers. In this study, the higher amount of child’s screen time was associated with poorer socio-emotional development. Screen time’s effect on socio-emotional development can be even more harmful with prematurely born children since they often suffer from developmental deficits and challenges in reciprocal interaction. Even though it seems that less anxious mothers mean well and want to offer more stimuli for their preterm children, they may not help the child by offering him or her more screen time. The results add to previous knowledge about screen time’s associations with poorer socio-emotional development for the first time with preterm children.