Browsing by master's degree program "Ympäristömuutoksen ja globaalin kestävyyden maisteriohjelma"
Now showing items 81-84 of 84
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(2021)Tutkielman tarkoitus oli selvittää kolmen eri valointensiteetin vaikutuksia mikrolevälajien, E.gracilis ja Selenastrum sp., kasvuun ja karotenoidituotantoon. Käytetyt valointensiteetit olivat 0 (pimeä), 200 ja 400 µmol m-2s-1. Levät kasvatettiin kiertovesikalankasvattamon jätevedessä, minkä vuoksi työssä tarkasteltiin myös ravinnepoistumaa. Kasvatukset havaittiin typpirajoitteisiksi, mikä osaltaan heikensi levien kasvua ja siten karotenoidituotantoa. Jätevesi kasvualustana aiheutti E.gracilis -levän kasvatuksiin kontaminaation vieraslevällä. Karotenoidit eristettiin kasvatuskokeen päätyttyä uuttamalla paineistetulla nesteuutolla (Accelerated Solvent Extraction, ASE) etanolin ja 2-metyylitetrahydrofuraanin liuotinyhdistelmällä. Karotenoidien jatkoanalyysiin käytettiin erittäin korkean erotuskyvyn nestekromatografiaa (UHPLC, Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography) yhdistettynä sähkösumutusionisaatioon ja massaspektrometriin. Tunnistettujen karotenoidien määriä analysoitiin niiden signaalivahvuuksiin ja käytettävissä olleisiin malliaineisiin perustuen. Valointensiteeteillä havaittiin olevan vaikutus levien kasvuun, kokonaiskarotenoidi- ja klorofyllipitoisuuksiin sekä astaksantiiniin, luteiiniin ja neoksantiiniin. Kyseiset erikseen tunnistetut pigmentit olivat kaikki ksantofyllejä, joilla on liialta valointensiteetiltä suojaava tehtävä leväsoluissa. Valointensiteetin sietokyky poikkesi kuitenkin levälajeilla eivätkä sen vaikutukset olleet yksiselitteisiä. Pimeässä levien kasvu ja ravinnepoistuma olivat heikkoja. Pigmenttien säilymisen puolesta pimeä osoittautui jopa voimakkainta valointensiteettiä paremmaksi vaihtoehdoksi. Molempien levien ravinteiden kulutus oli tehokasta. Valointensiteetin lisäksi kasvuun ja karotenoidituotantoon vaikutti muutkin tekijät, kuten kokeen aikana saavutettu kasvuvaihe, jatkuva valotus, kontaminoituminen, ravinnerajoitteisuus sekä käytettyjen malliaineiden laatu. Jatkotutkimuksissa tulisi pyrkiä minimoimaan tai poissulkemaan näiden tekijöiden vaikutukset.
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(2020)Meat consumption in the world is increasing, which has significant negative effects on the ongoing climate change. There is a need to make people change their diets towards more plant-based. One of the problems is that there is a negative atmosphere around veganism and vegans that prevents the change. In order to get people more plant-based, that negative atmosphere around veganism and vegans should be reduced. The aim of this study is to find out what kind of arguments are used against veganism and vegans, and what rhetorical strategies are used in these arguments. Previous studies have shown that there is still a strong belief that meat is a necessary part of the diet to keep one healthy. Studies also show, that the reason people do not change their diets can be attitudinal, for example that people think they are meant to eat meat, or practical, for example that there is not enough information available. The material for this study is from the Finnish online discussion forum Suomi24 and consists of messages that are against veganism and vegans. The Suomi24 data was retrieved from the KORP interface, where it was possible to search messages related to veganism. There is no information about the people behind the messages, because they are anonymous on the forum. The material was analysed with content analysis and strengthened with rhetorical analysis. Categorization was part of the analysis and categories were coded to the material in the Atlas.ti program. As a result, there were seven main categories and 28 sub-categories under two parent categories. The most common arguments against veganism and vegans were related to health, vegans as individuals and how vegans act. The most commonly used rhetorical strategies were factual argumentation, categorization, extreme expression and taking distance from one’s own interests. As a conclusion, to be able to increase plant-based food in people’s diets, more available information is needed, and positive encouragement without incrimination to build up an attractive atmosphere around veganism and vegans.
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(2021)In recent years, the role of economic models in guiding government policy has provoked discussion as human wellbeing and the state of the environment are threatened by multiple sustainability challenges, most notably by the ecological sustainability crisis. The mainstream economic approach has received criticism since it has not been able to solve these challenges and thus, several alternative approaches in pursuit for a just and sustainable future have gained popularity both nationally and internationally. In this thesis I focus on the wellbeing economy concept in the Finnish welfare state in the early 2020s. Wellbeing economy was introduced in Finland by the Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Wealth (SOSTE) in 2012 to highlight the interdependency of human wellbeing and economy. The concept has since been developed and realized by different actors of the society, but it is not yet that well-known among the public. To find out the potential role of this new economic approach in the transition towards sustainable welfare society, it is important to get a clear picture of how the concept is interpreted by its advocates. Therefore, in my case study, I examined the expert narratives of wellbeing economy. My main research question is: What does the concept of wellbeing economy mean in Finland in the early 2020s? This question is complemented by two sub-questions: 1) What are the shared contents and practices associated with wellbeing economy? and 2) What are the key differences between different conceptions of wellbeing economy? The underlying disagreements in theory and in practice of wellbeing economy might impact the integrity of the concept even if the concept formulation of wellbeing economy seems consistent. I conducted seven (7) semi-structured expert interviews from five (5) different organizations during the spring 2021. The interviews were thematically analysed with a focus on the memes of neoliberal narratives and the memes of alternative narratives as well as the conflicting memes in alternative narratives. In this study, a meme is defined as the structural component of a narrative. Finally, I identified similarities and differences in these building blocks of wellbeing economy narratives between different experts. I found that there were more shared memes than differences in the experts’ conceptions of wellbeing economy. Most of the interviewees mentioned memes of neoliberal narrative. All the interviewees mentioned the alternative narrative memes connected networks, sustainability, cooperation with others, and human dignity, prosperity, and wellbeing. Most of them also considered the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity in crisis. However, the meme a new economic system created the greatest division in the interpretations of wellbeing economy. In conclusion, some interviewees supported the neoliberalism more clearly while others opposed this narrative, and the rest were not clearly for or against the growth-agenda. The ambiguity of the concept especially in terms of economic growth should be further discussed in addition to specifying, for instance, what is meant by sustainability and wellbeing in wellbeing economy. Further research is also needed to find out how the discussion about wellbeing economy concept will develop in Finland and internationally.
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(2021)This Master’s thesis is two-part. The first part is the Methodological Introduction, which introduces the background of this research, the research process, methods and ethical considerations. The second part is a manuscript of a scientific article, sent for review in the scientific journal Sage Open, with the title Wicked problems in Africa – A systematic literature review. The article is a systematic literature review of the usage of Horst W. J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber’s wicked problems concept in peer-reviewed scientific literature focusing on Africa. The reviewed 45 scientific articles were chosen using a systematic methdolology, basing on a set of inclusion criteria. Based on the reviewed literature, three research questions were answered by utilizing the tabulation of key information from the articles, and with content analysis. The research questions are: 1) What are the main themes and concrete manifestations of issues descri-bed as wicked in the African context? 2) What are the geographic foci of articles that use the concept of wicked problems in the African context? 3) Is the concept of wicked problems utilized and therefore seen as applicable by authors affiliated with African cultures? Based on the reviewed articles, a typology is formed. According to this typology, wicked problems in the African context can be interlinked, exacerbated, or contextual. Especially important is the contextuality, which the concept of dual wickedness reminds us of. In addition, the research states that the lack of usage of the wicked problems concept in scientific literature on Africa may be because of the English-language or Western background of the concept. Based on the results, we suggest, that future characterizations of the wicked problems concept should include context-sensitivity.
Now showing items 81-84 of 84