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An indubitable way to put learning at scale in practice is to implement Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. When a wide-enough portfolio of them is available, new applications arise. For instance, university admissions in Finland, where this study was conducted, have traditionally been based on students' grades in high school studies, an entrance examination, or a combination of both. A minority of students have been accepted through an open university admission path where students can get a study right if they complete enough university course credits with a high enough grade in a given time frame. In this work, we report results from a multi-university project in which the open university admission path has been expanded. All the universities in the Digital Education For All (DEFA) project remarkably expanded their portfolio of MOOCs that were offered both openly and for free, and the new admission path was simultaneously actively marketed and modified. In our analysis, we focus on examining whether the project increased computer science enrolments in the participating universities and how students accepted through the project perform in their studies compared to their peers accepted through other, traditional intake paths.
Energiasektori on siirtymässä fossiilisiin polttoaineisiin nojaavista energiajärjestelmistä uusiutuvan energian käyttöön. Tämä siirtymä vaatii kaukolämpöjärjestelmien muuttamista hiilivapaiksi. Fortum, yksi maailman suurimmista lämmöntuottajista, on asettanut hiilidioksidipäästöjen vähentämisen yhdeksi tärkeimmistä strategisista tavoitteistaan. Jotta hiilivapaita kaukolämpöjärjestelmiä voidaan kehittää kannattavasti ja alhaisella riskillä, tarvitaan kehittyneitä työkaluja päätöksentekoon ja riskien analysointiin. Tämä diplomityön tavoite on selvittää, miten kehittyneitä MILP malleja, jotka on luotu Fortumin MONA työkalulla, voidaan hyödyntää Monte Carlo simulaation perustuvassa investointianalyysissä. Jotta investointeihin liittyviä epävarmuuksia saadaan kuvattua mahdollisimman tarkasti, osana työtä kehitetään stokastiset mallit ulkolämpötilalle ja sähkön hinnalle. Investointianalyysiä varten kehitetään prosessi, jota testataan tapaustutkimuksella, jossa lämpöpumppuinvestoinnin kannattavuutta Fortumin Espoon kaukolämpöjärjestelmässä arvioidaan. Tulokset osoittavat, että kehitetty investointianalyysiprosessi onnistuu välittämään kokonaisvaltaisen ja tarkan kuvan investointiin liittyvästä riskistä ja kannattavuudesta, ja että MONA-malleja on mahdollista hyödyntää tämänkaltaisessa analyysissä. Useita haasteita täytyy kuitenkin ratkaista, jotta kehitetty prosessi voidaan ottaa laajasti käyttöön Fortumissa. Suurimmat haasteet liittyvät laskenta-aikoihin ja prosessointiin paikallisilla työasemilla. Näiden haasteiden ratkaisemiseksi suositellaan, että pilvipalveluita tulisi hyödyntää prosessin suorittamisessa tulevaisuudessa. Lisäksi on suositeltavaa, että nykyistä useampia muuttujia mallinnetaan stokastisesti, jotta kaikki olennaiset investointiin liittyvät epävarmuudet saadaan otettua huomioon.
Despite being a small country, Finland has been highly visible in international Computing Education Research (CER). This is demonstrated by the presence of several important research groups, dozens of graduated PhD students in CER during the last 20 years, and the success of the Koli Calling International Conference of CER, which has been running for 20 years now. In this chapter, we present the development of the CER field in Finland, the profiles of various research groups, and the roles of several national level networking activities which have supported the field. We discuss factors behind the strong presence and success of CER in Finnish universities.
Kaksivuotisen esiopetuksen kokeilu toteutetaan satunnaistettuna kenttäkokeiluna 148 kunnassa. Siihen osallistuu noin 35 000 vuosina 2016 ja 2017 syntynyttä lasta, jotka on arvottu kokeilu- ja verrokkiryhmiin. Kokeilun toteutus ja arviointi on edennyt suunnitellusti ja sen yhteydessä on rakennettu toimintamalleja, joita on mahdollista hyödyntää myös muiden yhteiskunnallisten kokeiluiden toteuttamisessa. Kaksivuotisen esiopetuksen kokeilun vaikutuksista saadaan tietoa vuonna 2025. Tätä väliraporttia kirjoitettaessa on kuitenkin jo mahdollista todeta, että tekemissämme kyselyissä havaittiin kuntien siirtävän päteviä varhaiskasvatuksen opettajia muista tehtävistä kaksivuotisen esiopetuksen ryhmiin. Kokeilu vaikutti myös lasten oppimisympäristöön siten, että kokeiluryhmät oli muodostettu verrokkiryhmiä useammin pelkästään 5-vuotiaista tai 5- ja 6-vuotiaista lapsista. Lisäksi tarkastelemme lasten taustaominaisuuksien ja alkuarvioinneissa arvioitujen sosioemotionaalisten taitojen ja akateemisten perustaitojen välistä yhteyttä.
Abstract An indubitable way to put learning at scale in practice is to implement Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. When a wide-enough portfolio of them is available, new applications arise. For instance, university admissions in Finland, where this study was conducted, have traditionally been based on students’ grades in high school studies, an entrance examination, or a combination of both. A minority of students have been accepted through an open university admission path where students can get a study right if they complete enough university course credits with a high enough grade in a given time frame. In this work, we report results from a multi-university project in which the open university admission path has been expanded. All the universities in the Digital Education For All (DEFA) project remarkably expanded their portfolio of MOOCs that were offered both openly and for free, and the new admission path was simultaneously actively marketed and modified. In our analysis, we focus on examining whether the project increased computer science enrolments in the participating universities and how students accepted through the project perform in their studies compared to their peers accepted through other, traditional intake paths.
Vuonna 2015 voimaan tulleen kestävän metsätalouden rahoituslain (KMRL 34/2015) voimassaoloa on ehdotettu jatkettavan vuodesta 2020 vuoden 2021 loppuun. Rahoituslain tavoitteena on ollut lisätä metsien kasvua ja ekologista kestävyyttä sekä hillitä vesistökuormitusta ja turvata monimuotoisuutta. Rahoituslain perusteella myönnettyjen julkisten tukien (noin 55 milj. euroa vuodessa) painopiste on suometsien osalta ollut selkeästi metsien kasvua lisäävissä toimenpiteissä. Tutkimus on tuottanut viime vuosina aikaisempaa tarkempaa tietoa suometsien aiheuttamasta vesistökuormituksesta ja niiden maaperän kasvihuonekaasupäästöistä. Tulosten mukaan ojitettujen suometsien merkitys vesistökuormitukselle on aiemmin luultua huomattavasti suurempi, ja suometsien maaperä on Suomen kasvihuonekaasuinventaariossa suuri päästölähde. Ojitetuilla suometsillä on luonnontilaisiin soihin verrattuna vähäinen merkitys monimuotoisuudelle. Nykyisellä rahoituslailla ja sen edeltäjillä on tuettu toimenpiteitä, joilla on uuden tutkimuksen mukaan haitallisia vaikutuksia ympäristöön. Suomi on sitoutunut päästövähennyksiin Pariisin ilmastosopimuksessa, ja tavoittelee viimeisessä hallitusohjelmassaan hiilensidonnan vahvistamista maankäyttösektorilla, vesistöpäästöjen pienentämistä ja luonnon monimuotoisuuden turvaamista. Tämän selvityksen tavoitteena on taustoittaa nykymuotoisen tukijärjestelmän ympäristövaikutuksia siten, että se tukee uuden rahoituslain sekä muun suometsien hoitoa ja käyttöä koskevan oikeudellisen sääntelyn valmistelua. Selvitys kuvaa suometsien hoidon tukijärjestelmää ja siihen osallistuvia toimijoita rooleineen, tarkastelee suometsille soveltuvien tukien ilmasto- (kasvihuonekaasut ja hiilen kierto), vesistö- ja monimuotoisuusvaikutuksia, ja ehdottaa ympäristön kannalta kestävämpiä suometsien hoito-, tuki- ja sääntelyvaihtoehtoja. Voimassa olevan rahoituslain mukaisista työlajeista suometsän hoidon tukeen liittyvä kunnostusojitus aiheuttaa lisääntyviä vesistö- ja kasvihuonekaasupäästöjä ja ylläpitää ojituksen aiheuttamaa monimuotoisuuden heikkenemistä. Metsänuudistamisen ja taimikonhoidon tuet kannustavat metsänomistajia tasaikäiseen metsänkasvatukseen. Tuettujen toimenpiteiden seurauksena suometsät päästävät ravinteita ja kiintoainesta vastaanottaviin vesistöihin, ja niiden maaperä on huomattava kasvihuonekaasujen päästölähde. Terveyslannoituksen tuen vaikutukset vesistö- ja kasvihuonekaasupäästöille ovat ainakin lyhyellä aikavälillä pieniä, mutta sen kriteerit on määritelty tasaikäisen metsänkasvatuksen perusteella. Nykyisen rahoitusjärjestelmän tuilla (metsäluonnon hoitohankkeiden tuki) voidaan myös ennallistaa soita, mikä on tehokas tapa palauttaa suon monimuotoisuutta, mutta tuen käyttö on jäänyt suhteellisen vähäiseksi. Tukia ja oikeudellista sääntelyä uudelleen suuntaamalla voidaan pienentää suometsien hoidon aiheuttamia ympäristövaikutuksia. Ympäristölle haitallisista tuista olisi luovuttava, ja niiden tilalle kehitettävä sellaisia tukia ja sääntelyä, joiden tavoitteena on vesistövaikutuksien ja monimuotoisuuden suojelun lisäksi myös suometsien hiilinielun vahvistaminen turpeen hävikkiä vähentämällä. Uuden tukijärjestelmän ja oikeudellisen sääntelyn ei tulisi kannustaa suometsien maaperän liialliseen kuivattamiseen, eikä niiden uudistamiseen tasaikäiseksi metsäksi. Havaitut ympäristövaikutukset puoltavat ennemminkin jatkuvapeitteisen, eri-ikäisrakenteisen metsänkasvatuksen käyttöä, mitä tukijärjestelmän ja muun sääntelyn tulisi edistää. Joidenkin suometsäkohteiden osalta tulisi harkita tukia ja sääntelyä, jotka mahdollistaisivat kevyemmän metsätalouden, ja jopa metsätaloudesta vähittäisen luopumisen. Suon aktiiviseen ennallistamiseen tulisi kannustaa monimuotoisuuden kannalta tärkeillä kohteilla. Tukijärjestelmää kehitettäessä on huomioitava suometsäalueiden vesitalouden näkökulma. Vesitalouteen vaikuttamisella on alueellisia heijastevaikutuksia kasvihuonekaasu- ja vesistöpäästöihin sekä monimuotoisuuteen. Alueellisella suunnittelulla voitaisiin saavuttaa suurempia kokonaishyötyjä vesitalouteen vaikuttavien tukien ja toimien sopivalla kohdentamisella. Myös tukien kohdistamiseen säädösten ja muiden tukiehtojen mukaisesti tulisi jatkossa kiinnittää aikaisempaa enemmän huomiota. Suomen metsäkeskuksen tarkastustulosten mukaan suometsän hoidon ja tuhkalannoituksen tukien osalta tässä on ollut ongelmia. Niiden seurauksena tukien myönteiset vaikutukset ovat usein jääneet tavoiteltua pienemmiksi ja vastaavasti haitalliset ympäristövaikutukset ovat voineet muodostua tarkoitettua suuremmiksi.
BACKGROUND: Patients with severe aortic stenosis and left ventricular systolic dysfunction have a poor prognosis, and this may result in inferior survival also after aortic valve replacement. The outcomes of transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement were investigated in this comparative analysis. METHODS: The retrospective nationwide FinnValve registry included data on patients who underwent transcatheter or surgical aortic valve replacement with a bioprosthesis for severe aortic stenosis. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust the outcomes for baseline covariates of patients with reduced (≤ 50%) left ventricular ejection fraction. RESULTS: Within the unselected, consecutive 6463 patients included in the registry, the prevalence of reduced ejection fraction was 20.8% (876 patients) in the surgical cohort and 27.7% (452 patients) in the transcatheter cohort. Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction was associated with decreased survival (adjusted hazards ratio 1.215, 95%CI 1.067-1.385) after a mean follow-up of 3.6 years. Among 255 propensity score matched pairs, 30-day mortality was 3.1% after transcatheter and 7.8% after surgical intervention (p = 0.038). One-year and 4-year survival were 87.5% and 65.9% after transcatheter intervention and 83.9% and 69.6% after surgical intervention (restricted mean survival time ratio, 1.002, 95%CI 0.929-1.080, p = 0.964), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction was associated with increased morbidity and mortality after surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Thirty-day mortality was higher after surgery, but intermediate-term survival was comparable to transcatheter intervention. Trial registration The FinnValve registry ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03385915.
Abstract Aim: We investigated the outcomes of transcatheter (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in Finland during the last decade. Methods: The nationwide FinnValve registry included data from 6463 patients who underwent TAVR or SAVR with a bioprosthesis for aortic stenosis from 2008 to 2017. Results: The annual number of treated patients increased three-fold during the study period. Thirty-day mortality declined from 4.8% to 1.2% for TAVR (p = 0.011) and from 4.1% to 1.8% for SAVR (p = 0.048). Two-year survival improved from 71.4% to 83.9% for TAVR (p < 0.001) and from 87.2% to 91.6% for SAVR (p = 0.006). During the study period, a significant reduction in moderate-to-severe paravalvular regurgitation was observed among TAVR patients and a reduction of the rate of acute kidney injury was observed among both SAVR and TAVR patients. Similarly, the rate of red blood cell transfusion and severe bleeding decreased significantly among SAVR and TAVR patients. Hospital stay declined from 10.4 ± 8.4 to 3.7 ± 3.4 days after TAVR (p < 0.001) and from 9.0 ± 5.9 to 7.8 ± 5.1 days after SAVR (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In Finland, the introduction of TAVR has led to an increase in the invasive treatment of severe aortic stenosis, which was accompanied by improved early outcomes after both SAVR and TAVR.
Abstract Background: Patients with severe aortic stenosis and left ventricular systolic dysfunction have a poor prognosis, and this may result in inferior survival also after aortic valve replacement. The outcomes of transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement were investigated in this comparative analysis. Methods: The retrospective nationwide FinnValve registry included data on patients who underwent transcatheter or surgical aortic valve replacement with a bioprosthesis for severe aortic stenosis. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust the outcomes for baseline covariates of patients with reduced (≤ 50%) left ventricular ejection fraction. Results: Within the unselected, consecutive 6463 patients included in the registry, the prevalence of reduced ejection fraction was 20.8% (876 patients) in the surgical cohort and 27.7% (452 patients) in the transcatheter cohort. Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction was associated with decreased survival (adjusted hazards ratio 1.215, 95%CI 1.067–1.385) after a mean follow-up of 3.6 years. Among 255 propensity score matched pairs, 30-day mortality was 3.1% after transcatheter and 7.8% after surgical intervention (p = 0.038). One-year and 4-year survival were 87.5% and 65.9% after transcatheter intervention and 83.9% and 69.6% after surgical intervention (restricted mean survival time ratio, 1.002, 95%CI 0.929–1.080, p = 0.964), respectively. Conclusions: Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction was associated with increased morbidity and mortality after surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Thirty-day mortality was higher after surgery, but intermediate-term survival was comparable to transcatheter intervention. Trial registration: The FinnValve registry ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03385915.
Abstract Importance: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been shown to be a valid alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients at high operative risk with severe aortic stenosis (AS). However, the evidence of the benefits and harms of TAVR in patients at low operative risk is still scarce. Objective: To compare the short-term and midterm outcomes after TAVR and SAVR in low-risk patients with AS. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective comparative effectiveness cohort study used data from the Nationwide Finnish Registry of Transcatheter and Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement for Aortic Valve Stenosis of patients at low operative risk who underwent TAVR or SAVR with a bioprosthesis for severe AS from January 1, 2008, to November 30, 2017. Low operative risk was defined as a Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality score less than 3% without other comorbidities of clinical relevance. One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to adjust for baseline covariates between the TAVR and SAVR cohorts. Exposures: Primary TAVR or SAVR with a bioprosthesis for AS with or without associated coronary revascularization. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcomes were 30-day and 3-year survival. Results: Overall, 2841 patients (mean [SD] age, 74.0 [6.2] years; 1560 [54.9%] men) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis; TAVR was performed in 325 patients and SAVR in 2516 patients. Propensity score matching produced 304 pairs with similar baseline characteristics. Third-generation devices were used in 263 patients (86.5%) who underwent TAVR. Among these matched pairs, 30-day mortality was 1.3% after TAVR and 3.6% after SAVR (P = .12). Three-year survival was similar in the study cohorts (TAVR, 85.7%; SAVR, 87.7%; P = .45). Interaction tests found no differences in terms of 3-year survival between the study cohorts in patients younger than vs older than 80 years or in patients who received recent aortic valve prostheses vs those who did not. Conclusions and Relevance: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement using mostly third-generation devices achieved similar short- and mid-term survival compared with SAVR in low-risk patients. Further studies are needed to assess the long-term durability of TAVR prostheses before extending their use to low-risk patients.
This book presents the 149 full papers presented at the International Conference on Engineering Education 2012 (ICEE 2012). ICEE 2012 took place in Turku, Finland, July 30 – August 3, 2012. The event was the 2012 edition of the popular ICEE conference series sponsored around the world by the International Network for Engineering Education and Research (iNEER) with 38 000 members in 98 countries. ICEE 2012 was hosted by Turku University of Applied Sciences together with University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The papers of this electronic publication are written by 356 authors representing 34 different countries. The extended abstracts of these papers have been previously made available in a separate ICEE 2012 Abstract Book in the form they were accepted during the first submission phase in February 2012. The Abstract Book has been published both as a traditional printed book and in electronic format.
This book presents the 149 full papers presented at the International Conference on Engineering Education 2012 (ICEE 2012). ICEE 2012 took place in Turku, Finland, July 30 – August 3, 2012. The event was the 2012 edition of the popular ICEE conference series sponsored around the world by the International Network for Engineering Education and Research (iNEER) with 38 000 members in 98 countries. ICEE 2012 was hosted by Turku University of Applied Sciences together with University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The papers of this electronic publication are written by 356 authors representing 34 different countries. The extended abstracts of these papers have been previously made available in a separate ICEE 2012 Abstract Book in the form they were accepted during the first submission phase in February 2012. The Abstract Book has been published both as a traditional printed book and in electronic format.
This abstract book presents the abstracts of the 149 accepted full papers presented at the International Conference on Engineering Education 2012 (ICEE 2012). ICEE 2012 took place in Turku, Finland, July 30 – August 3, 2012. The event was the 2012 edition of the popular ICEE conference series sponsored around the world by the International Network for Engineering Education and Research (iNEER) with 38 000 members in 98 countries. ICEE 2012 was hosted by Turku University of Applied Sciences together with University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The abstracts are written by 356 authors representing 34 different countries. The abstracts are published here in the form they were accepted in the first submission phase of ICEE 2012 in February 2012. This book serves as a general manual to the papers of ICEE 2012 both during and after the conference. The full papers are published separately in electronic format as “ICEE 2012 – Proceedings”.
This book presents the 149 full papers presented at the International Conference on Engineering Education 2012 (ICEE 2012). ICEE 2012 took place in Turku, Finland, July 30 – August 3, 2012. The event was the 2012 edition of the popular ICEE conference series sponsored around the world by the International Network for Engineering Education and Research (iNEER) with 38 000 members in 98 countries. ICEE 2012 was hosted by Turku University of Applied Sciences together with University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The papers of this electronic publication are written by 356 authors representing 34 different countries. The extended abstracts of these papers have been previously made available in a separate ICEE 2012 Abstract Book in the form they were accepted during the first submission phase in February 2012. The Abstract Book has been published both as a traditional printed book and in electronic format.
This book presents the 149 full papers presented at the International Conference on Engineering Education 2012 (ICEE 2012). ICEE 2012 took place in Turku, Finland, July 30 – August 3, 2012. The event was the 2012 edition of the popular ICEE conference series sponsored around the world by the International Network for Engineering Education and Research (iNEER) with 38 000 members in 98 countries. ICEE 2012 was hosted by Turku University of Applied Sciences together with University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. The papers of this electronic publication are written by 356 authors representing 34 different countries. The extended abstracts of these papers have been previously made available in a separate ICEE 2012 Abstract Book in the form they were accepted during the first submission phase in February 2012. The Abstract Book has been published both as a traditional printed book and in electronic format.
This research focuses on re-designing the architecture of a Learning Management System (LMS) to facilitate and increase its usage inside an information system and achieve a more profound and better integration. LMSs offer many valuable services in various educational contexts. However, most of these services are typically inefficiently used because they are primarily redundant within other functionalities of an LMS or with services provided by other information systems. Services such as file sharing, forums, blogs, polling, voting, videoconferencing are often available within LMSs, but modern organizations also have access to these services via other systems. This thesis shows that with a deep re-design of the software architecture, LMSs can have broader application opportunities than only the educational setting and can be competitive compared to similar services provided in other formats. This thesis has followed two main research lines formulated as questions: a) how to intervene in an LMS’s architecture and functionalities to create a more generalized, collaborative environment not only devoted to the educational setting; b) how to facilitate the integration of LMSs into corporate information systems, while avoiding duplication of services for end-users and improving their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). A central issue of this thesis has been identifying what these duplication and integration problems are based on. We observe that a central problem is found in the core architectural concepts of an LMS, the foundational metaphor underlying these platforms: LMS’s intimate structure is based on concepts such as “class”, “course”, “student”, and “teacher”. These concepts relate strictly to education, thus preventing LMSs from being used in a conceptually native way outside these contexts. Indeed, these concepts are unsuitable for collaborative settings, such as a meeting, a research group, a recreational community, a conference, a community of evaluators, a secretariat, a labor union association, etc. We cannot manage a research group the same way as a “class”, or assign the head of the research group to the role of a “teacher”. We should consider a research group as a community that uses digital services to support its activities, i.e., a virtual community. In this vein, this dissertation aims to demonstrate how a re-design of an LMS architecture around this thinking can potentially solve and improve the possibilities for an LMS to become central within modern information systems. Here the envisioned re-design places the concept of “virtual community” at the center of the architecture of the platform, replacing current concepts like "class" or "course". This novel approach represents a radical change to the internal architecture of an LMS, from the design of classes used in the code, to the persistence layer, to the services provided to the end-user. We could even talk about a new category of software platforms, i.e., a “Virtual Community Management System” or simply “Community Management Systems”, not to be confused with social media platforms. These systems provide their users with different services oriented toward education, communication, collaboration, multimedia management, videoconferencing, file sharing, project management, support to decision processes, time management, lifelong learning services etc. This thesis presents insights into the internal architectural changes of an LMS, the consequent new services developed, and how these changes can facilitate the integration of the new design for an LMS inside the information system stack of an organization. As a real-world test of the envisioned changes and as a partial validation for the applicability of the notions presented, artifacts created in the form of (primary) services within a software platform named “Online Communities” and the transformation of the platform to a virtual community are presented. The platform has been (re)designed according to the paradigmatic shift presented in this thesis. We also consider this re-design process successful because public and private organizations have adopted the platform. The platform has also enabled numerous fundraising activities, generating a spin-off company for the commercialization of the platform. The role of the author in this design process has initially been that of a designer, software architect, and partially software developer. During the process, due to the possible implications of the practical activities undertaken and the number of experiences collected, our role has become that of an external researcher looking at the phenomenon from the outside, and action researcher looking at the artifact creation from the inside.