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  • Rodriguez Vilalta, Marina (2024)
    Anthropogenic changes to the environment are affecting global biodiversity, which is why the monitoring of species has become essential to protect ecosystems and wildlife. With technological advances, passive acoustic monitoring became a powerful tool that allows the remote evaluation of ecosystems and populations by using sounds. Some groups, like small terrestrial mammals, are quite elusive and hard to study without traps. Audio recordings have become a popular technique to monitor species as they offer a non-invasive alternative. Additional benefits are the reduction of survey efforts and broader spatial and temporal coverage due to it being a less labor-intensive method compared to the traditional survey methods. The use of acoustics in small terrestrial mammal monitoring has not been assessed in Finland yet. The aim of this study was to test the recordings of vocalizations as a tool for species and population monitoring of small terrestrial mammals; as well as a non-invasive approach in ecological research and a method that could complement the conservation and survey efforts of wildlife in Finland. I used AudioMoth, an affordable and energy efficient open electronics device suited for large-scale and long-term research, to record the calls. First, I tested if recorded vocalizations are associated to the density of trapped small terrestrial mammals. Second, I determined if there are species in Finland that are more suitable for this method than others. Finally, I tested if vocalization activity could be linked to time, habitat, season, and temperature. The main findings were (1) that the method is not suitable for rodents that are not particularly vocal since it seems to be that most recorded individuals from this group were calling from the traps, and (2) that this method is better suited for species that are known to be more vocal, like Soricidae individuals, which comprised most of the recorded vocalizations. It was found (3) that habitat, time, and season were linked to the call activity of Sorex spp. The findings in this study can serve as a reference for future studies of small terrestrial mammal bioacoustics in Finland.
  • Eriksson, Julia (2023)
    Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic autoimmune disease, with recurring inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Although the actual cause of the disease is still unknown, many molecular and underlying pathways have been discovered. Infliximab (IFX) is an effective and safe antibody medication that specifically targets the cytokine protein TNF-α. This medication is given to IBD patients who do not respond to other conventional drugs and who face the final step of surgery. However, around 30 % of IBD patients do not respond to this medication at all and another 50 % either lose the effect over time, or need to discontinue the medication due to severe side effects. Therefore, it would be important to find a biomarker that could predict the outcome of the medication. In this study, 73 IBD patients have given blood samples both before and three months after the start of IFX medication. From these blood samples the RNA was extracted and sequenced to get the transcriptome profiles. The aim of this study is to find novel biomarkers, that could be used as a predictive tool for the outcome of the medication. Seven significantly differentially expressed genes were found before IFX treatment initiation between responders and non-responders of the medication. Additionally, a clear effect from the IFX medication was seen in the transcriptome profiles.
  • Stolt, Miira (2024)
    While using fireworks is a common seasonal tradition in Finland, it is accompanied with serious risks, such as injuries and fires. Thus, in 2018 a citizens’ initiative Rajat räiskeelle aimed to prohibit most firework-types from consumers. Despite being rejected by the Parliament, the initiative sparked an official investigation on how to decrease firework-related harm in Finland. This thesis continues to focus on the public’s stance on fireworks by studying the current controversy of fireworks in Finland through (I) the issues that are perceived as the most prominent by those, who oppose fireworks in consumers’ use and (II) inspects different measures with which to address the raised concerns, with the goal of mitigating them. My first research question’s data comes from 11 Finnish online news articles’ comment sections, that I sourced with the search term “rajat räiskeelle”. With inductive thematic analysis on the comments against private firework use, emerging themes indicate the main issues associated with the practice of using fireworks. The second research question is answered with previous literature, research, and existing regulations. Pierce and Turner’s insights on environmental pollution control (1990) as well as Lascoumes and Le Galés’ research on policy instruments implementations effects in societies (2007) provide the theoretical framework that guides this research. I identified (1) community disruption, (2) health and safety concerns, (3) regulatory issues, (4) environmental concerns, and (5) negative effects on animals to be the most prominent themes for objecting to fireworks in consumer-use, with human-related issues in the centre of interest for Finns. From the studied mitigation measures of standards, taxes, prohibition, subsidies, education, and labels and symbols, the combination of standards and education in different forms appear to hold most potential in addressing harm from fireworks. This indicates that regulative instruments are not sufficient alone to prevent fireworks’ harm, but that non-regulative measures, like educational campaigns, are needed as well. My findings also indicate country-specific variations in the motivations for opposing fireworks among the public, as well as among the background reasons that prompt authorities to restrict citizens’ access to and use of fireworks. This suggests that a mix of characteristics, unique to Finland, should be considered when planning for a successful mitigation of harm from consumer-fireworks.
  • Niskanen, Ville-Pekka (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.
  • Lakso, Mea (2022)
    Knowledge co-production has become increasingly popular and even ‘buzzed’ notion in sustainability sciences. It is being applied in various contexts and for myriad of purposes under different, even partially contradicting rationales, yet it is often expected to contribute better to the sustainable transformation of society than normal science. One of the uniting elements in different understandings and applications of ‘knowledge co-production’ is the involvement of the extra-scientific actors in the research process. This implies changes in the conventional roles and relationship between science and society, that raise new questions about the autonomy and accountability of science. This master’s thesis studies knowledge co-production in higher education context and, more specifically, in the case of the HELSUS Co-Creation lab 2019-2020, and critically explores the notion of co-production in sustainability sciences. The dynamics, relationship, and roles between the scientific and extra-scientific actors within the Co-Creation lab are the specific interest in this qualitative case study that is primarily based on 12 semi-structured interviews of the lab participants analyzed by qualitative content analysis. The study shows how the dynamics between the master’s level students and the partners from the private and public sectors had features that resembled to some extent commissioned research type of roles, task coordination and interdependencies, however, it also contained significant characteristics that distinguished it from pure commission type of dynamics, as the autonomy of the student was greater, the control of the partner over the knowledge production process was lesser and the accountability of the students to the partners was more indirect and softer. The similarities between the application of knowledge co-production in the HELSUS Co-Creation lab and the co-production by the logic of accountability are highlighted and critical questions concerning instrumental forms of co-production, logic of accountability, usefulness of knowledge and scientific autonomy are discussed. More critically reflective approaches towards co-production are called for.
  • Rinne, Oula Aleksi Johannes (2022)
    Climate change and biodiversity loss are among the two most serious environmental issues humanity is currently facing. One way of mitigating climate change is to build more wind energy. In Finland, upcoming wind farms are going to increase the national wind energy capacity by almost tenfold. As more wind farms are built, helping in climate change mitigation, the negative biodiversity impacts caused by wind turbines are also increasing. Negative biodiversity effects caused by wind energy include habitat loss, avian mortalities, habitat fragmentation and avoidance behaviour in wildlife. This conflict where two desirable environmental goals have negative counter-effect on each other can be called green-green dilemma. This thesis looks at the biodiversity impacts on habitats caused by wind farms in Finland, and what would be the scale of a habitat tax paid for displacing natural habitat, that would help solve the green-green dilemma. This thesis utilizes geographical information system data of upcoming and in production wind farms and habitats to figure out which habitats are displaced by wind farms in Finland. Also, a wind farm level cost-benefit analysis was done for wind farms in production determine a scale of taxes, which would make 10 % or 25 % of wind farms with lowest net present value compared to habitat impact non-profitable. Two kinds of taxes were considered. Tax based on the quantity of habitat displaced, and a tax based on the quality of habitat displaced. For the determination of the quality of habitat, European red list of habitats was utilized in creation of a prioritization system for different habitats based on their endangerment category. With the prioritization system, each wind farm was given habitat points based on the habitats it was displacing. According to the results of the thesis, wind farms in Finland are mostly displacing woodland habitats. The second most common habitat displaced was marine habitats and the third most common were mires, bogs and fens. According to the prioritization system created for this thesis, most habitats displaced by wind farms are not considered threatened. Still, there should be some consideration about the habitats displaced by wind farms, as minority of habitats were considered threatened according to the prioritization system. Also, we cannot draw too many conclusions about the status of the habitats displaced as the prioritization system has flaws. The two different taxes looked in this thesis both ended up making mostly the same wind farms non-profitable, meaning there were outlier wind farms with low benefits with relatively high habitat impacts. Quantity of habitats-based tax which made 10 % of the wind farms non-profitable was 1.6 million euros per hectare of displaced habitat, and the higher tax rate making 25 % of the wind farms non-profitable was 2.5 million euros per hectare. The habitat quality-based tax was 510,000 € per habitat point for lower rate, and 750,000 € per habitat point for the higher rate. On average, quality tax in Finnish wind farms would be 1.75 million euros with the lower rate per hectare of habitat displaced, and 2.3 million euros per hectare with the higher rate according to the calculations in this thesis. Habitat tax can be one solution for solving the green-green dilemma. Taxes presented in this thesis are considerable higher than habitat restoration costs estimated for Finland, which are approximately between 8000 € and 15000 € per hectare, depending on the habitat restored. Still, a habitat tax needs to be high enough to have an impact on the economic decision making of wind farm developers. If a tax habitat tax would be implemented, it would be best to think about the desired effect of the tax, which will affect the scale of the tax. Also, all kinds of activities displacing natural habitat should be included in the tax, not just displacement caused by wind farms for the tax to be more comprehensive.
  • Vuorensalmi, Mii Viktoria Velhontytär (2024)
    The present climate crisis demands an energy transition, where development in renewable energy is significant. The shift has brought about a surge is wind power schemes underpinned by considerable political conditions. More and more wind power takes place on Sámi homeland, Sápmi. The thesis studies the argumentative performance of the Sámi participating in an operational licensing process of a wind power scheme, Davvi vindkraftverk. The objective of the research has been to demonstrate what an empirical case discloses about argumentation of the Sámi regarding wind power resistance. Few research has addressed political opposition and resistance of wind power in Sápmi. Moreover, the thesis politicises and complexifies the ecological approach to wind power in applying a critical political ecology framework, serving for the exploration of the argumentative performance of the Sámi with an explicit consideration to power within the licensing process. Public hearing statements are a requisite measure of an operational licensing process as well as the most important avenue for discussing viewpoints of stakeholders. A data corpus of 35 hearing statements representative of the Sámi has been systematically treated with an inductive open coding following a robust and rigorous thematic analysis. The analysis has proposed a set of five thematic categories of basis of argumentation: statutory basis, complex harm, advice, asymmetries, and land conceptualisations. The findings suggest that argumentative performance of the Sámi is limited to acting in structures and procedures designed, constructed, and executed by the regnant society. A concept of “rules of the game” is introduced referring to the type of language, rhetoric, and comprehensively, argumentation that ought to be used in hearing statements by the Sámi. The thesis argues that Sámi seek to employ pragmatic adjustments to argumentation on a basis that is apt for discourses of rational, capitalist land-use and land allocation to better navigate participation in the wind power licensing process and to legitimise agency for decision-making. Yet, argumentation is performed strategically without giving away the positionality of being in resistance. The thesis contributes to critical political ecology research suggesting that climate change mitigation and energy transition measures are influenced by relations of power. Additionally, the findings could guide licensing processes into less destructive and dichotomous character, orienting future measures of climate change mitigation and energy transition towards more inclusive decision-making, giving ground for a more holistic understanding of land-use conflicts regarding wind power on Indigenous territory and adding to overcoming contrasting onto-epistemologies. To conclude, the findings of the thesis point to a pressing need for more detailed research on trajectories of green infrastructure on Indigenous territory. What is more, future research could re-disclose Davvi vindkraftverk, when a final verdict of the operational licensing process is known.
  • Korhonen, Sanna (2024)
    Tutkielmassani kartoitan Ahvenanmaan hoikkatytönkorentopopulaation (Ischnura elegans) Wolbachia infektioita. Lisäksi pyrin selvittämään, löytyykö samaa infektiota korentoja loisivilta vesipunkeilta (Hydrachnidia). Wolbachia on niveljalkaisilla yleisesti esiintyvä endosymbioottinen bakteeri. Bakteerin yleinen esiintyminen johtuu sen kyvystä manipuloida isäntänsä kelpoisuutta, jolloin infektoidut naaraat lisääntyvät tehokkaammin. Bakteeri leviää tyypillisesti maternaalisesti iturataa pitkin, mutta voi levitä myös lajilta toiselle horisontaalisesti. Aikaisempien tutkimusten perusteella Manner-Suomen ja Ruotsin hoikkatytönkorentopopulaatioilla esiintyy yleisesti Wolbachia infektioita, toisin kuin Ahvenanmaalla, josta bakteeria ei löydetty lainkaan. Otanta Ahvenanmaalta oli kuitenkin pieni, eikä se siten välttämättä edusta populaation varsinaista infektiostatusta. Lisäksi korentoja loisivien vesipunkkien mahdollisia Wolbachia infektioita tai niiden potentiaalista roolia bakteerin levittämisessä on tutkittu aikaisemmin hyvin vähän. Tutkielmassani analysoin hoikkatytönkorentoja ja niiden punkkeja, jotka on kerätty eri puolilta Ahvenanmaata kesäkuukausien aikana vuosina 2021, 2022 ja 2023. Näytteiden Wolbachia infektiostatuksen selvittämiseksi käytin PCR-tekniikkaa, monistaen yhden mitokondriaalisen lokuksen (COI) ja kolme Wolbachia lokusta (fbpA, wsp ja ftsz). Sekvenssien analysointiin käytin MEGA v.11 ohjelmaa. Laajemman otannan perusteella alle puolella Ahvenanmaan hoikkatytönkorennoista on Wolbachia infektio (41.51 %). Populaatiossa esiintyy ainakin kolmea eri Wolbachia kantaa, joista yksi vastaa Ruotsissa ja toinen Manner-Suomessa esiintyvää bakteerikantaa. Lisää tutkimusta tarvitaan selvittämään, miksi bakteeri ei ole yhtä yleinen Ahvenanmaalla kuin naapuripopulaatioissa, ja millaisia vaikutuksia bakteerilla on hoikkatytönkorennon ekologiaan ja evoluutioon. Noin puolen millimetrin pituisten vesipunkkien infektiostatus jäi epäselväksi lähinnä DNA:n eristämiseen ja monistamiseen liittyvien haasteiden vuoksi.
  • Tolvanen, Kristiina (2020)
    Ecophysiology and ecology in plants are strongly affected by the conditions surrounding them. Adaptation aids plants to survive and to succeed in the prevailing conditions. Winter is a challenge to plants, particularly in northern latitudes and higher altitudes, because it exposes plants to cold and drought, for example. Plants survive from winter on species level with the help of genetic adaptations and as individuals also with the help of acclimation. Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) has been observed to grow separate winter leaves. This allows it to continue photosynthesis in mild conditions during winter, thus improving its energy balance, and to start growing earlier than other species in the spring, which is beneficial in interspecific competition. Fragaria vesca is a species that has wide distribution in the northern hemisphere, and its genotypes are found from very different locations and conditions. However, adaptive traits such as producing a new set of leaves for winter can turn out to be a disadvantage if environmental conditions change rapidly. Climate change brings about changes that are difficult to predict, and these changes are advancing at a fast pace when compared to the developmental history of plants. The aim of this thesis was to study the effect of temperature on summer and winter leaf development, stolon formation and summer and winter leaf chlorophyll, flavonol and anthocyanin content in different Fragaria vesca genotypes. Leaf chlorophyll and secondary compound content give information about leaf development and stress reactions in plants. Plants are known to produce anthocyanins in order to protect the photosynthetic apparatus during chlorophyll recovery in leaf senescence. Anthocyanins are also produced as a response to low temperatures. Research increases knowledge of the ecophysiological and winter ecology-related processes in Fragaria vesca and in the commercially valuable Rosacea-family as well as provides information about the possible responses of these organisms to climate change. Material for the study consisted of twelve European Fragaria vesca genotypes, which had originally been collected from five countries: Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy and Spain. The genotypes had been collected from different latitudes, and they also expressed altitudinal differences. In this study, these genotypes were kept in two temperature treatments, warm (+16°C) and cold (+11°C/six weeks, after which +6°C/four weeks) at a greenhouse. Leaf development was studied by measuring summer and winter leaf middle leaflet width and length, and petiole length. Stolons from each plant individual were counted on a weekly basis and observations about stolon production in relation to the timing of summer leaf senescence and winter leaf development were made at the same time. Leaf chlorophyll and secondary compound content was measured with a Dualex-meter, which provided values for chlorophyll, flavonol and anthocyanin content. The underlying assumption was that cold temperature would induce winter leaf development and summer leaf senescence. The results show that there were differences in summer leaf size between genotypes. Winter leaves had differences between genotypes, but also within genotypes at different temperature treatments. Stolon count was lower and stolon production ceased slightly earlier in the cold treatment. Moreover, summer leaf chlorophyll content decreased in both treatments, but the summer leaves senesced earlier in the warm room. Summer leaf flavonol and anthocyanin values were generally higher in the cooler temperature treatment. Anthocyanins were also produced by winter leaves in the cooler temperature treatment. Based on the results, Fragaria vesca genotypes had differences related to their origin, but temperature also had an effect on winter leaf development, stolon production and the production of secondary compounds. The effect of cold temperature on the size of developing winter leaves was clear. In the cooler temperature treatment, the winter leaves were smaller than in the warmer treatment. The anthocyanin content of summer leaves was higher than in the winter leaves, and the summer leaf anthocyanin content was higher in the colder temperature treatment, where the stress related to the photosynthetic apparatus and low temperatures was combined. Nevertheless, lower temperature did not explain all the responses observed in the genotypes of the study, and thus it is likely that acclimation and winter leaf development in Fragaria vesca are affected by some other factor in addition to temperature, e.g. light regime. A possible continuation for this work would be to study the effect of light conditions or milder winters on winter leaf development in Fragaria vesca genotypes and on the physiology of the species.
  • Sillantie, Lauri (2012)
    Almost one third of the electrical power manufactured in Finland is made with nuclear power. Running nuclear power plant generates always some radioactive emissions that should be monitored in the vicinities of power plants. This Master's Thesis' aims were to compare Finnish nuclear power plants', Loviisa and Olkiluoto, radiation surveillance programmes with other European programmes and find suggests considering the collected species, frequencies and sample network. Species and sample frequencies in current sampling programmes were evaluated also by the surveillance programmes data collected and analysed between years 2005 and 2010. In this Thesis was also reported could current surveillance programmes species be used as sample species with the new nuclear power plant nuclear monitoring at Pyhäjoki. Also community and ecosystem radiation protection were considered. Swiss, Swedish, German and French radiation surveillance programmes were examined for this work. New sample species were searched from these programmes and also from other sources. The suitability of the suggested species were considered mainly by literature. Species composition at Pyhäjoki was examined from literature. Finnish surveillance programmes are extensive and diverse comparing to programmes in the other countries. Improvement proposals to the sample species and frequencies were nonetheless found. Adequate new species would be at least earthworms, flounder and groundwater. Improvements to the sample frequencies were also suggested and at least mushroom and sediment sampling should be more frequent. Species composition at Pyhäjoki diverse slightly from the species found at Loviisa and Olkiluoto. Based on the literature at least bladder wrack and possibly Common mussel and Baltic tellin are absent from Pyhäjoki. Southern Finland surveillance programmes can still be used as a base for the Pyhäjoki surveillance program and species that are absence just has to be replaced with some similar abundant species. Using the best available knowledge and data collected between years 2005 and 2010 the local population is not exposed to significant amount of nuclear power plant origin radiation. Suggested changes to sample species and sample frequencies would make radiation surveillance programmes even more adequate for monitoring discharges from nuclear power plants. This Master's Thesis will give basic knowledge of the new sample species that would suite to Finnish nuclear power plant radiation surveillance programmes. New species selected from literature should be analysed for radionuclide concentrations before species are added to the sampling programmes. Species composition and quantities at Pyhäjoki should be examined before the final sampling programme is made.
  • Deb, Aruna Rani (2024)
    Since mercury (Hg) may biomagnify in food webs and bioaccumulate in living things, it is considered a dangerous element globally. The two most toxic forms of mercury are methyl mercury (MgHg) and dimethyl mercury (DMgHg). The dietary Hg consumed by fish is mostly removed through the intestine, but some of the MeHg bioaccumulates and is delivered to various organs, such as the liver, kidney, muscle, or gonad. The perch (Perca fluviatilis), the national fish of Finland serves as both a popular food fish and a monitoring species for assessing the chemical health of lakes. Fish tissue exhibits seasonal variations in mercury levels, which are thought to be produced by growth dilution in the summer, which is related to rapid somatic growth during the growing season, and hunger in the winter, which condenses mercury in the muscle as well as during spawning since gonad development requires significant energy expenditure. There has been a considerable study on Hg concentration in fish but currently lack knowledge regarding potential seasonal variation in patterns of Hg content and bioaccumulation to understand the dynamics of Hg content and bioaccumulation. This study investigates (Q1): Does mercury content change in muscle, liver and gonad tissues of males and females of perch over the four seasons? (Q2): How does mercury bioaccumulation change seasonally in different organs between male and female perch? (Q3): How does the mercury content relationship among different organs (muscle, liver, and gonads) vary seasonally and between sexes? Materials were collected monthly from Lake Pääjärvi from April 2020 to March 2021, and categorized into four seasons: winter (January -March), spring (April-Jun), summer (July-September), and autumn (October-December). Each fish was taken of its length, weight, sex, and other tissues too. Total mercury (Hg) concentrations were determined in three organs (muscle, liver and gonad) in male and female perch separately. Using analysis of variance, the annual length-corrected THg content variation and simple linear regression analysis were used to examine the annual THg bioaccumulation variation and to test the relationships in Hg concentrations among three tissues separately in males and females. Seasonal THg levels in female perch significantly varied in muscle and gonads, not in the liver. Females had consistently higher THg in muscle and liver, while males had higher levels in gonads throughout the season. THg bioaccumulation peaked in spring and winter for both sexes in muscle, but lowest in autumn. Liver THg slope was highest in early summer for females and lowest in autumn. Gonads showed the highest slopes in summer for both sexes. The highest slopes between muscle and liver THg for females were in summer and for males in spring. Similar patterns were seen in both muscle-gonad and liver-gonad THg relationships. Female perch showed significant differences only in summer, while in males, the highest slopes were in autumn and lowest in summer. Long-term monitoring is crucial to understanding THg variation in fish.
  • Pankkonen, Pietu (2015)
    Heterotrophic bacteria are essential for carbon cycling in water ecosystems as they bind dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the biomass and return it to the classical food chain through microbial loop. The treated wastewater from Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant is discharged to the Gulf of Finland where it increases the quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the water and furthermore can be an extra energy source for heterotrophic bacteria. There are not yet further studies how the heterotrophic bacteria exploit DOM in the treated wastewater or a monitoring programme for DOC concentrations in the wastewater treatment plants. DOC is the limiting factor for heterotrophic bacteria growth in the Gulf of Finland in the summer. As the bacteria exploit DOC, they consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide. DOM compounds may also diminish light penetration in water which can inhibit the growth and photosynthesis of phytoplankton and macrophytes. The aim of this thesis was to find out 1) the DOC concentrations in the treated wastewater and DOC load in the treated wastewater discharged to the the Gulf of Finland from Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant, 2) the biodegradability of DOC and DOP in the treated wastewater and 3) how the disc filter about to be used in Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant affects the quantity and quality of DOC and DOP in the treated wastewater. The DOC load entering the Gulf of Finland with the treated wastewater was quantified by measuring the DOC concentrations in the treated wastewater during the spring and summer 2014. The DOC concentrations correlated positively with chemical oxygen demand (COD) which is regularly measured in wastewater treatment plants. By dividing the COD with 3,66, the DOC concentrations were successfully estimated for a longer period. In order to evaluate the biological degradability of DOC and DOP in the wastewater effluent, treated wastewater was incubated (+15 °C) for two months with surface water heterotrophic bacteria from the Gulf of Finland and changes in DOC concentrations, the biological oxygen demand and nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were measured. Furthermore the heterotrophic bacteria were incubated for one month in disc filtered wastewater effluent and also in regularly treated wastewater to find out the effect of the new filter on DOM quantity and quality. The yearly DOC load from Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant to the Gulf of Finland was estimated to be about 1460 tons which is approximately one fifth of the annual DOC load from River Vantaanjoki. The ratio between DOC and COD concentrations calculated here can only be used to quantify the amount of DOC load from Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant and similar ratio must be calculated individually for every point source. The biodegradability of DOC in the treated wastewater was equally low to the biodegradability of DOC in River Vantaanjoki. The quantity of DOC bound to the bacterial biomass was rather low and the amount of DOC lost via respiration was relatively high. Accordingly the DOC in Viikinmäki wastewater effluent does not become efficiently available to higher trophic levels. The disc filter has the potential to remove DOC and DOP from treated wastewater which would decrease the DOC and DOP load significantly in the Gulf of Finland. The disc filter decreased DOC concentrations 14 % in comparison to regularly treated wastewater. The disc filter didn't affect the quality of DOC, i.e. there was no difference in the biological degradability of DOC between the two wastewater treatment processes. However the disc filter was possibly able to remove the biologically available part of DOP from treated wastewater but the issue still needs further investigation.
  • Koskela, Lotta (2004)
    This research examines the environmental attitudes of the employees in the City of Tampere. This research is one of the goals in the city’s environmental strategy in 2003 and it is made for the environmental protection department of City of Tampere. The purpose of this study was to find out the environmental attitudes of the employees in the City of Tampere, the behaviour related to the attitudes and the relationship between the attitudes and the behaviour. The results will be utilized when planning the environmental work of the city. The theoretical frame structure in this study is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and it is applied to fit for the research. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is used a lot in the attitude-behaviour studies. There is a one-component model of the attitudes in the background of this theory. In this study the examination of the environmental attitudes is based on the one-component model. In the examination of the relationship between attitudes and behaviour the whole Theory of Planned Behaviour is used instead. A term ‘free rider behaviour’ is also included in the theoretical frame structure although it will not be studied with any special questions. Quantitative methods were used in this research. The research was conducted through a mail survey study to 1000 employees in the beginning of June 2003. 462 people out of 1000 returned the questionnaire. The results showed that the employees consider concern about the environment in Tampere well-founded. Trashing and littering in a public place or in the nature worries the employees by far the most. The second most worrying thing is the pollution of the air and water. They are also worried about the destruction of the constructed environment for example culturally valuable buildings and places. Concern is clearly higher among women than among men. The employees in the City of Tampere believe in their own possibilities to influence the state of the environment. Environmentally friendly behaviour is seen important although other people would not behave at the same way. Majority of the employees support the intervention of the society with limitations and by far more than half of the employees support different kinds of payments and taxes that advance the sale of environmentally friendly products. These results also show some kind of readiness to lower the standard of living. The employees think that conservation of the environment is important and its position in the society’s decision-making should be strengthened. Despite of the employees’ environmentally friendly opinions, even two out of three employees admit that they are able to behave more environmentally friendly than they do now if they just want to. The employees for example sort and recycle their waste well, but the behaviour in regard to consumption and commuting has a lot to improve.
  • Kouhia, Sanni (2024)
    Tämä maisterintutkielma tarkastelee käsitteellis-teoreettisesti ja systeemisillä työkaluilla yksilötason biodiversiteetin ja sen suojelun problematiikkaa ja merkityksiä tuntoisten eläinten osalta. Biodiversiteetti jaotellaan yleisimmin kolmelle tasolle: geneettinen, lajien ja ekosysteemien monimuotoisuus. Tässä työssä tuodaan siis tarkastelun kohteeksi neljäs taso eli yksilötaso, jota ei ole juuri sisällytetty biologista monimuotoisuutta koskevaan keskusteluun tai sen käytännön suojeluun. Työn kahtena päätavoitteena on osallistua biodiversiteetin teoreettisen ymmärryksen kehittämiseen sekä tuoda yksilötason ja sen monimuotoisuus käsitteelliseksi osaksi biodiversiteetistä ja sen suojelusta käytävää keskustelua. Työn pääasiallinen lähestymistapa on systeeminen, ja sen käsitteellis-teoreettinen tutkimusote hyödyntää filosofisen tutkimuksen periaatteita analysoiden ongelmallista, mutta usein ongelmattomana pidettyä biodiversiteettikäsitystä. Muita keskeisiä työprosessin kannalta olennaisia metodologisia välineitä ovat heuristiikka, abduktiivinen päättely sekä hermeneuttisen kehän malli. Lisäksi tutkimustehtävän 1 ratkaisussa käytetään kuvailevan kirjallisuuskatsauksen metodia. Työ on luonteeltaan tieteidenvälinen, ja siinä yhdistellään esimerkiksi metodologisen tai käsitteellis-teoreettisen pohjan suhteen toisistaan paljonkin poikkeavien tieteenalojen näkökulmia. Systeemi-, kaaos- ja kompleksisuusteoriaan liittyvän systeemisen lähestymistavan lisäksi työ kytkeytyy tutkimuskohteen osalta erityisesti biologian ja etiikan näkökulmiin. Työn tutkimustehtävinä on 1) selvittää, minkälaisia tietoja ja näkemyksiä kirjallisuudessa esitetään tuntoisten eläinyksilöiden perusolemuksesta ja ominaisuuksista, yksilöiden välisestä vaihtelusta sekä näihin liittyvistä, suojelun kannalta oleellisista merkityksistä, 2) rakentaa systeemiteorian pohjalta käsitteellinen kehys, joka soveltuu tehtävässä 1 esitetyn aihekokonaisuuden systeemiseen analysoimiseen sekä 3) soveltaa tehtävässä 2 rakennettua kehystä tehtävän 1 aihekokonaisuuden systeemiseen havainnollistamiseen ja analysoimiseen. Sen lisäksi, että työ rajautuu tuntoisiin eläimiin, tarkastellaan yksilötason suojelumerkitysten osalta lähinnä luonnonsuojelun ja eläinoikeuksien näkökulmia. Lisäksi tutkimustehtäviä ratkovassa työskentelyssä painottuvat voimakkaasti ontologiset ja epistemologiset näkökulmat biodiversiteetin ymmärtämiseen ja suojeluun. Tutkimustehtävien ratkaisu noudattaa rakenteeltaan tieteidenvälisiin opinnäytetöihin soveltuvaa object–tool–application-mallia. Tutkimustehtävien lisäksi työllä on kolme tärkeää lisätavoitetta, joita käsitellään lyhyesti työn lopussa: 1) pohtia, kuinka hyvin systeemistentyökalujen avulla onnistuttiin lisäämään ymmärrystä biodiversiteetin käsitteestä ja kokonaisproblematiikasta, erityisesti yksilötason monimuotoisuutta koskien, 2) esittää avauksia, jotka voisivat toimia rajoja ylittävinä siltoina eläinoikeuksista ja luonnonsuojelusta käytäville keskusteluille, joiden välillä esiintyy toisinaan vastakkainasettelua sekä 3) pohtia ontologisen ja erityisesti epistemologisen käsittelyn lisäksi arvoteoreettisten näkökohtien merkityksestä biodiversiteettiin ja sen suojeluun liittyvissä kysymyksissä. Työssä rakennettu systeeminen kehys koostuu yhteensä 11 käsitteestä (kursivoidut). Koottuun kirjallisuuteen perustuvan systeemisen analyysin tulosten perusteella biodiversiteettijaottelua voidaan tarkastella holarkiana, joka kuvastaa kompleksisena systeeminä tulkitun biologisen järjestelmän vertikaalisesti ja horisontaalisesti ilmenevää toiminnallista ja rakenteellista kompleksisuutta, eli monimuotoisuutta. Systeemisten työkalujen avulla pystytään havainnollistamaan, että yksilötaso erottuu perusolemuksensa ja ominaisuuksiensa puolesta biodiversiteettijaottelussa omana systeemitasonaan, jonka ylä- ja alapuolelle on perusteltua hahmottaa kompleksisuuskynnys, ja jolla ilmenee vuorovaikutusten, itseorganisoitumisen ja näistä johtuvan emergenssin vuoksi sille erityisiä ja suojelun kannalta merkittäviä ominaisuuksia ja toimintaa. Toisaalta sisäisen similaarisuuden käsitteen avulla pystytään osoittamaan, että yksilötasolla ilmenee myös sellaisia suojelumerkityksiä, joita käytetään lajien ja ekosysteemien suojelun perusteena. Yksilötason rooli sekä vertikaalisen että horisontaalisen biodiversiteetin osana näyttäytyy tärkeänä ja suojelemisen arvoisena. Työn tulosten pohjalta voidaan esittää, että on vähintäänkin perusteltua mainita yksilötaso omana biodiversiteetin lähteenään ja ottaa vakavasti mukaan biodiversiteetistä käytävään keskusteluun ja tutkimukseen. Huolimatta siitä, mistä näkökulmasta ja mitä biodiversiteetin ulottuvuutta pyrimme milloinkin suojelemaan, ovat yksilöt pohjimmiltaan kaiken tämän elonkirjon taustalla eläviä toimijoita, elämän perusyksiköitä. Jos siis haluamme suojella planeettamme elonkirjoa, kannattaa siitä käytävään keskusteluun sisällyttää myös se, jota luonnossa pidetään yleisesti merkityksellisenä, eli elämä ja sen vaihtelu.
  • Huovelin, Suvi (2019)
    Citizen science is a research method in which data collection, analysis or other stages of research is distributed to a large number of volunteers. Citizen science enables collection of large-scale data. In addition, in few cases Citizen science has been integrated into formal school education. It has been found to attract students' interest in the subject and research and to teach students about scientific research. However, the real benefits of citizen science for schools have been just scarcely studied. This study explored the experiences of middle school and high school students on the Helsinki Urban Rat Project (Kaupunkirottatutkimus). The research questions were: (1) How do the middle school and high school students who participated in the Urban Rat Project experience citizen science as part of biology teaching? (2.) How do the students who participated in the Urban Rat Project feel about urban rats and how does the Project affect students’ perception of rats? The data was collected by group theme interviews from middle school and high school students who participated in the City Rat Project. The data consisted of nine recorded interviews with a total of 29 interviewees. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by content analysis. The Urban Rat Project aroused situational interest towards urban rats and research project. Main factors for aroused interest were novelty and specialty of the project, the involvement created by hands-on activities and the meaningfulness created by contextualism of an authentic research. Learning experiences were categorized by Bloom’s revised taxonomy and the results revealed a number of knowledge types and cognitive process categories, suggesting that the project developed a diverse range of students' thinking. Students were able to develop deeper research skills, critically explore research and its outcomes, and learn about practical challenges and constraints of scientific research. Urban rats gave rise to both negative, positive and neutral feelings among students. The negative emotions were caused by a variety of causes, such as the appearance and behavior of rats, culture created attitudes and students own experiences. Positive feelings were caused by interest toward rats and good experiences with pets. The knowledge learned in the study about urban rats generally reduced negative feelings and in one case aroused them, but many interviewees also felt that the study had no effect on their attitude towards rats, because interaction with rats was not concrete enough during the project and the students were disappointed that they did not see rats or rat footprints. The authentic research context of citizen science such as Urban Rat Project can increase meaningfulness to studying biology, which is not necessarily achieved by other teaching methods and may teach the realities of scientific research better than traditional practical work. In addition, citizen science can provide knowledge and nature experiences that allow learners to reflect on their relationship with nature. In order to achieve nature-related learning goals of the school education, citizen science projects should pay particular attention to the concreteness of the interaction between learners and nature and to the students' experiences in nature during citizen science.
  • Viitala, Erika (2024)
    Globaalit ympäristöongelmat vaikuttavat haitallisesti ekosysteemien lisäksi ihmisen terveyteen ja hyvinvointiin. Terveydenhuollossa onkin tapahtumassa liikehdintää kohti kestävämpien toimintatapojen huomiointia. Globaalin kestävyyskriisin ratkaisujen löytämiseksi tarvitaan eri sektoreiden ja eri alojen ammattilaisten osallistamista keskusteluun ja kestävyyden edistämiseen. On kuitenkin syytä tutkia niitä luontoon ja kestävyyteen liittyviä ajattelumalleja, jotka vaikuttavat terveydenhuollon ammattilaisten työhön tässä ja nyt. Ihmisen etääntynyttä luontosuhdetta on ehdotettu yhdeksi syyksi kestävyyskriisille. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan yleislääkäreiden näkemyksiä heidän työnsä suhteesta luontoon, sekä heidän käsityksiään siitä, millainen lääkäreiden rooli tulisi olla ekologisen kestävyyden edistämisessä. Aineisto koostuu 20:n eri puolella Suomea työskentelevän yleislääkärin haastattelusta. Aineiston analyysimetodina käytettiin laadullista sisällönanalyysia. Lääkärit tunnistavat useita yhteyksiä työnsä ja luonnon välillä konkreettisten lääkärin toimien tasolla, filosofisella tasolla, sekä terveyden ja luonnon yhteyksissä. Luonto nähdään kuitenkin työn valossa ristiriitaisena, samalla sekä olennaisena että etäisenä. Lääkäreillä on tietämystä työn ympäristökuormituksesta sekä terveyden ja luonnon yhteyksistä, mutta he kaipaavat lisää tietoa ja tukea siihen, miten he voisivat konkreettisesti ottaa kestävyys- ja luontonäkökulmat työssään huomioon. Lääkärit ilmaisevat halukkuutta kestävyyden edistämiseen työssään, mutta kokevat roolin haasteelliseksi. Monet lääkärin ammatin toimivaltaan liittyvät piirteet, kuten eettiset ohjeet ja vaatimukset tutkimusnäyttöön perustuvan hoidon toteuttamisesta vaikuttavat jarruttavan yksilöiden toimintaa työssä kestävyysteemaan liittyen. Perustavanlaatuista muutosta, jossa ihminen tunnistettaisiin kokonaisvaltaisesti osana luonnon kokonaisuutta, tarvitaan terveydenhuollon sektorilla. Tutkielma on toteutettu osana Maj ja Tor Nesslingin rahoittamaa HUMUS – Terveydenhuolto rakentamassa kestävää tulevaisuutta -tutkimushanketta, joka tutkii terveydenhuollon sektorin ja sen toimijoiden mahdollisuuksia osallistua kestävyyskriisin ratkaisemiseen.
  • Kettunen, Paavo (2023)
    Education for sustainability has come to be seen as an important part of achieving the sustainability goals, also in universities. However, the challenge for sustainability education is that sustainability is an ever-changing and highly complex concept. One theoretical approach for studying the learning of such complex concepts and phenomena is the conceptual change research tradition. The theory of conceptual change stems from the constructivist approach to learning, according to which learning takes place by modifying and completing existing knowledge structures. Sometimes these prior knowledge structures of the learner conflict with scientific knowledge, and in order to reach a new understanding, the learner has to change and reorganize their existing conceptions. With a new conception comes a whole new way of understanding a phenomenon, as related concepts take on new meanings. The process described above is called conceptual change. This thesis studied what kind of conceptions university students had about sustainability before the University of Helsinki's Sustainability Course (SUST-001, 3 cr) in autumn 2021, and how these conceptions had changed after the course. In addition, we investigated whether there were differences between students in human and natural science-oriented disciplines in the above-mentioned aspects. Conceptions were investigated using a baseline and endline measurement design. The study sample was students enrolled in a sustainability course at the University of Helsinki (N = 109). The data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Based on the results, the students' perceptions were quite narrow at the beginning of the course, although the responses showed that most students came to the course with some prior knowledge of sustainability. In addition, three narrow conceptions similar to misconceptions of the conceptual change were identified from the initial survey: ecology-limited, anthropocentric and weak sustainability conceptions. In the final measurement, students' perceptions of sustainability improved and, in particular, students' understanding of the different dimensions of sustainability, the interlinkages between them and the complex nature of sustainability in general increased. About half of the narrow conceptions also changed, although the anthropocentric conception was slightly more persistent. In the cross-disciplinary analysis, attention was drawn to the tendency of students in natural science-oriented disciplines to change their narrow view in comparison to students in human science-oriented disciplines. Based on the results, the Sustainability course can be seen as successful in teaching many of the key contents of the concept of sustainability. There were also indications of conceptual change. However, there is a need to further develop the course and to integrate sustainability more broadly into the different educational programs. Furthermore, it is very important to continue to study the success of this integration and of sustainability education also in the future.
  • Haaspuro, Tiina (2018)
    Rakennuksilla ja asumisella on koko elinkaarensa ajan merkittäviä ympäristövaikutuksia, joista valtaosa syntyy rakennusten käyttövaiheessa. Asumisen kestävyyteen voidaan vaikuttaa monin tavoin ja vaikutusmahdollisuuksia on sekä asukkaalla, että kiinteistön omistajalla. Vuokrataloyhtiöt pyrkivät vähentämään hallinnoimiensa kiinteistöjen ympäristövaikutuksia erilaisin ympäristöhallinnan keinoin, mm. ympäristöjärjestelmillä. Ympäristöjärjestelmät ovat vapaaehtoisuuteen perustuvia ympäristöhallinnan ja -johtamisen työkaluja, joiden avulla pyritään hallitsemaan organisaation toimintojen ympäristövaikutuksia. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli arvioida miten toimivia ja hyödyllisiä ympäristöjärjestelmät vuokrataloyhtiöissä ovat ja millaisia tekijöitä liittyy niiden siirrettävyyteen. Tutkimuksessa pyrittiin tunnistamaan millaisia hyötyjä ja vaikuttavuutta ympäristöjärjestelmillä on vuokrataloyhtiöissä sekä miten ja millä edellytyksillä järjestelmien käytössä hyödynnettävien käytäntöjen siirrettävyys voitaisiin toteuttaa. Tämän tapaustutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin teemahaastatteluiden avulla. Tutkimuskohteiksi valittiin suomalaisia ja ruotsalaisia eri kokoluokan vuokrataloyhtiöitä, joilla on käytössään ympäristöjärjestelmä. Tutkimuksen perustaksi luotiin kirjallisuuden pohjalta analyyttinen viitekehys, johon koottiin ympäristöjärjestelmien toimivuutta ja vaikuttavuutta ilmaisevia tekijöitä (koettuja hyötyjä), sekä parhaiden menetelmien käytön onnistumiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Ympäristöjärjestelmien hyötyjen ja vaikuttavuuden toteutumista vuokrataloyhtiöissä arvioitiin tutkimalla ovatko aineistossa esiintyvät koetut hyödyt samoja kuin analyyttiseen viitekehykseen kootut (muissa organisaatioissa toteutuneet) hyödyt. Käytäntöjen siirrettävyyttä tutkittaessa arvioitiin viitekehyksen avulla mitä tekijöitä tulee ottaa huomioon hyödynnettäviä käytäntöjä siirrettäessä ja kopioitaessa ja otettiin ne huomioon tutkimusasetelmassa. Tältä pohjalta kerätyn aineiston perusteella luotiin siirtämistä varten suosituksia hyvistä käytännöistä, joiden avulla pyritään saamaan yrityksestä toiseen siirrettäessä käytännöistä myös samat koetut hyödyt. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella vuokrataloyhtiöissä näyttäisivät toteutuvan samat hyödyt ja vaikuttavuus kuin muissakin organisaatioissa. Vuokrataloyhtiöt hyötyvät ympäristöjärjestelmästä varsinkin suorituskyvyn paranemisen, taloudellisesti mitattavien hyötyjen ja imagon nousun osalta. Järjestelmä koettiin hyödylliseksi erityisesti ympäristöasioiden hallinnoinnin työkaluna ja vasta toissijaisesti keinona ympäristövaikutusten vähentämiseen. Se tuo kuitenkin lisää tehokkuutta ympäristötyöhön ja ylipäänsä lisää ympäristötietoisuutta organisaatioissa. Ympäristöjärjestelmän käytössä hyödynnettävien käytäntöjen siirrossa olennaiseksi nousi erilaisten taustatekijöiden huomioonottaminen. Hyviin tuloksiin johtaneiden käytäntöjen onnistunut siirto edellyttää olosuhteiden samankaltaisuutta organisaatioissa ja toimenpiteiden ja hyötyjen välistä yhteyttä, mikä huomioitiin kartoittamalla myös ympäristöjärjestelmän käyttöön vaikuttavia taustatekijöitä ja pohjaamalla suositukset useissa yhtiöissä hyviksi todettuihin käytäntöihin, joiden avulla hyviin tuloksiin on päästy. Taustatekijöiden kartoittaminen toimi hyvänä pohjana käytäntöjen siirtoa varten luotuihin suosituksiin hyvistä käytännöistä. Ympäristöjärjestelmien vaikuttavuuden arviointi asumisen ympäristövaikutusten vähentämisessä on vaikeaa, sillä mittaamiseen ei ole olemassa selkeitä vertailukelpoisia menetelmiä. Ympäristöhallinnan välineenä ympäristöjärjestelmä näyttäisi kuitenkin toimivan hyvin, vaikka konkreettinen vaikutus ympäristöön ei välttämättä olisikaan kovin suuri.
  • Mähönen, Elina (2012)
    Suurin osa kulutuksen ympäristövaikutuksista tulee kolmelta osa-alueelta: asumisesta, liikkumisesta ja ruokailusta. Ruokailun merkitys suomalaisen kuluttajan ympäristövaikutuksissa on keskeinen, sillä reilu kolmasosa suomalaisen kuluttajan kaikista ympäristövaikutuksista aiheutuu ruuasta. Mahdollisuuksia pienentää ruokailun ympäristövaikutuksia pohdittiin ympäristöministeriön järjestämissä Suomen Kestävän kulutuksen ja tuotannon ohjelman uudistamisprosessiin liittyvissä asiantuntijatyöpajoissa. Tämän tutkimuksen taustalla on työpajoissa syntynyt ehdotus siitä, että ruokailun ympäristövaikutukset huomioitaisiin Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunnan lautasmallissa. Raaka-ainevalinnat ovat ratkaisevassa roolissa ruokailun ympäristövaikutusten muodostumisessa, sillä raaka-aineet ovat aterioiden tärkeimmät kuormituslähteet. Ravitsemussuosituksista tutun lautasmallin mukaisen aterian eri osien sisällä voidaan tehdä ympäristömyötäisiä ruokavalintoja ilman, että aterian ravintoarvo tai tasapaino kärsii. Tässä tutkimuksessa ympäristömyötäisiä ruokavalintoja tarkastellaan kuluttajan näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, minkälaisia käsityksiä kuluttajilla on ympäristömyötäisistä ruokavalinnoista ja miten kuluttajat suhtautuvat ympäristölautasmalleihin, jotka ottavat huomioon ravinnon terveysvaikutusten ohella myös ruuan ympäristövaikutukset. Tutkimuskysymysten avulla pyritään muodostamaan käsitys myös siitä, voisivatko ympäristölautasmallit edistää ympäristömyötäisten ruokavalintojen toteutumista tavallisen kuluttajan arkielämässä. Tutkimuksen on tarkoitus tuottaa Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunnalle suuntaa antavaa tietoa siitä, minkälaisia ennakkokäsityksiä kuluttajilla on ympäristömyötäiseen ruokavalioon liittyen ja, minkälaisia näkemyksiä ruokavalintojen ympäristövaikutusten huomioiminen lautasmalleissa herättää kuluttajissa. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan laadullinen tutkimus. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin haastattelemalla kuluttajia kolmessa ryhmähaastattelussa. Aineiston analysoinnissa käytettiin apuna teemoittelua. Haastateltavat suhtautuivat ympäristömyötäisiin ruokavalintoihin ja ympäristölautasmalleihin varsin myönteisesti, mutta ympäristömyötäiset ruokavalinnat herättivät myös ristiriitaisuuden ja hämmennyksen tunteita. Vanhemmat ja nuoremmat kuluttajat myös hahmottivat ympäristömyötäiset ruokavalinnat jossain määrin eri tavoin. Haastateltavat kokivat kuluttajien ruokavalinnat merkityksellisiksi ruokailuun liittyvien ympäristövaikutusten pienentämisessä, mutta tunsivat erilaisten tekijöiden ohjaavan ja rajoittavan valintoja. Haastatteluaineiston perusteella voidaan muodostaa käsitys toimintaympäristöstä, jossa erilaiset rakenteet luovat puitteet kuluttajien käyttäytymiselle. Ympäristölautasmallit koettiin hyväksi keinoksi lisätä kuluttajien tietoisuutta ruokavalintojen merkityksestä ilmastonmuutoksen hillitsemisessä ja muiden haitallisten ympäristövaikutusten vähentämisessä. Ympäristömyötäisten ruokavalintojen yleistymistä ei kuitenkaan voida jättää yksinomaan kuluttajien valintojen varaan, vaan yhteiskunnan eri tahojen muodostama tukiverkosto ympäristölautasmalleille koettiin esisijaisen tärkeäksi. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää ympäristölautasmallien suunnitteluprosessissa sekä muissa yhteyksissä, joissa kehitetään keinoja viestiä ruokavalintojen ympäristövaikutuksista kuluttajille.