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.

Who is indigenous? : definitions of indigeneity

Abstract: This article is based on indigenous research focusing on indigeneity and membership in indigenous group at the individual level. The position and rights of indigenous peoples gained a foothold at the political arenas of the world and in international agreements since the turn of the 1990s when indigenous peoples and minorities were started to be distinguished from each other. Indigenous peoples were considered to have collective rights regarding control over certain areas colonized by the mainstream population at a certain point of history. The aim is first to review the different membership criteria within different Indigenous groups in the world, and then to emphasize the definition of Sami in Finland and its individual-level challenges. As a result of this paper, it seems that the individual-level indigenous identity does not necessarily correspond with the membership in indigenous group. When indigenous identity is not being accepted for one reason or another it violates the international declarations for indigenous peoples and may cause challenges both at individual and societal levels within indigenous communities.

Age Differences in the Response of Willow Tits (Parus montanus) to Conspecific Alarm Calls

Abstract: Predation is an important mortality factor in wintering birds. To counter this, birds produce alarm calls in the presence of predators which serve to warn conspecifics. In social hierarchical bird flocks, adults survive the winter better than juveniles and therefore survival strategies probably vary with social status. This study examined the differential responses to alarm calls by free-living willow tits, Parus montanus, in dominance-structured winter flocks in Finland. To explore the age-dependent differences in response to conspecific alarm calls, a series with three alarm calls was played to focal adults and juveniles while they sat in the middle section of a spruce branch. Immediately after the playback, juvenile willow tits moved more often, flew longer distances and changed branches more often than did adults. Previous mammal studies have shown that juveniles are more likely to flee than adults after hearing conspecific alarm calls. The current study demonstrates that similar age-dependent responses to conspecific alarm calls occur in birds also. These findings reflect an increased vulnerability to predators or lack of experience of young birds.

Charting Design Preferences on Wellness Wearables

Abstract: This paper presents a study on people's preferences with wearable wellness devices. The results are based on an online survey (n=84), where people assessed different features in wearable wellness devices. Our salient findings show that the highest rated features were the comfort of wearing the device and long battery lifetime. Altogether, factors related to the form factor and industrial design were emphasized, whereas social sharing features attracted surprisingly little attention.

Students' expectations of the learning process in virtual reality and simulation-based learning environments

Abstract: Expectations for simulations in healthcare education are high; however, little is known about healthcare students' expectations of the learning process in virtual reality (VR) and simulation-based learning environments (SBLEs). This research aims to describe first-year healthcare students' (N=97) expectations regarding teaching, studying, and learning in such environments. In addition, it measures students' expectations of instructors, their academic self-perception, and atmosphere, as well as whether there are differences between the expectations of adult and young students. Data was collected through a questionnaire from two different universities of applied sciences in Finland in spring 2009, and analysed using statistical and qualitative methods. Overall, students have quite high expectations of the activities that take place in VR and SBLEs. Adult learners in particular seem to have high expectations compared to younger students.