University of Lapland

About: University of Lapland is a education organization based out in Rovaniemi, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Arctic & Context (language use). The organization has 665 authors who have published 1870 publications receiving 39129 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Rovaniemi & Lapin yliopisto.

VitaBoot: footwear with dynamic graphical patterning

Abstract: VitaBoot is a footwear concept incorporating dynamic graphical patterns which indicate the wearer's activity level. Whilst shoes are an important element in fashion wear and a lot of research has focused on shoes as input devices, comparable few concepts have explored the potential for their use as an output space. We created a boot design that incorporates dynamic patterning through the use of electrochromic (EC) displays embedded in the surface material. The boot was designed and constructed from scratch, using a faux leather material, ensuring the overall aesthetic of the design, including the integration of the required control electronics and power source. The boot connects wirelessly to a chest-worn heart rate belt, and pattern changes indicate when the wearer's heart rate is above a predefined threshold. VitaBoot demonstrates the potential for dynamic shoe patterning for aesthetic or functional means, and the suitability of flexible, low-power EC display technology in this domain.

Evaluating institutional effectiveness: the case of the Arctic Council

Abstract: The 20th anniversary of the Arctic Council (AC) in 2016 provided an excellent opportunity for evaluating the council’s performance over its two decades in operation. Along the AC’s appraisals, vari...

From High Hopes to Disillusionment: Indigenous Peoples' Struggle to (Re)Gain Their Right to Self-Determination

Abstract: This article will examine three international processes wherein the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples has been taken up: the process whereby the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration), the intention to negotiate a Nordic Saami Convention (Draft Convention) and the practice of the Human Rights Committee (HRC) in monitoring the observance of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Covenant). All of these processes have enunciated indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, but any claim to such a right has met with resistance from the states, with the reasons for such resistance examined here. The aim is to study why it is so difficult to insert indigenous peoples into international law as category and, in particular, to have states accept their right to self- determination. In the conclusions, it is useful to ask whether the problems experienced in promoting the right to self- determination of indigenous peoples are mere setbacks or whether they contain elements that might inform the international movement of indigenous peoples more generally.

Creative and playful learning on technology-enriched playgrounds: an international investigation

Abstract: The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the degree that creative and playful learning (CPL) in a technology-enriched playground influences academic achievement of students and what factors are responsible for successes The participants were 276 students from 12 elementary classrooms in the Netherlands and Finland The research used a pretest–posttest, without control design The dependent variable was academic achievement on teacher-created tests; the independent variable was participation in the intervention; and the control variables were pretest scores, gender, academic subjects previously studied, age, satisfaction with schooling, country of the school, and classroom within the school The results showed that there were significant gains in academic achievement and that the pretest was the only significant predictor of posttest achievement Other variables, including gender, academic subjects studied, age, satisfaction with schooling, country of school, and classroom, were not s