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.

A Laboratory Concept for Service Prototyping - Service Innovation Corner (SINCO)

Abstract: This paper outlines a new holistic approach to service prototyping, which supports different phases of the service design process. SINCO is a laboratory concept consisting of the environment and set of tools suitable for service prototyping. It can be conceptualized under the following five terms: Servicescape Simulation; Service Stage; Digital Touchpoint Toolkit; Rough Mock-up Crafting; and Teamwork & Documentation Tools. In SINCO, it is possible to study and analyze existing service journeys, visualize ideas and develop them quickly and evaluate concepts collaboratively. The technologies used in SINCO help studying service situations with quick simulations, reveal technological development opportunities through experimentation and enable setting-up of the desired service paths as substantial experience prototypes for testing and communicating.

On the Importance of Collaborative Peer Learning as a Collective Learning Experience in Finnish Higher Education Classrooms

Abstract: This article discusses the need for collaborative learning in higher education as a means to advance a moral democracy in the classroom and in the community as well as the role of the neoliberal state in the commodification of knowledge and how this commodification has related to Finnish higher education. The transformation in Finnish education from the traditional Nordic model to the neoliberal model has stifled debate, deliberation and collaboration in the classroom. University students’ (N=150) evaluations that were given to the teacher after teaching thirteen courses in English reading comprehension and English oral skills in 2012-2013 formed the data of this study. The feedback was analyzed through qualitative content analysis by categorizing the answers according to the themes of meaningful learning experiences, abilities of critical thinking, and opinions on collaborative learning. As a conclusion, a direct-action pedagogy to counter the banking concept of education is stressed.

Greening of Daycare Yards with Biodiverse Materials Affords Well-Being, Play and Environmental Relationships

Abstract: Nature contacts are recognized as positively contributing to humans’ health and well-being. Although there have been projects to green daycare or schoolyards, yard greening and microbial biodiversity have never been studied simultaneously. We asked whether simultaneously increasing biodiversity exposure and greening urban daycare yards affects 3–5 years-old children’s physical activity and play, their environmental relationships, and their perceived well-being. For transforming six daycare yards in Finland, we used a forest floor with high biodiversity, sod, peat blocks, and planters for vegetable and flower growing. We used qualitative interview and survey-based data collected from the daycare personnel and parents to analyze how green yards encourage children’s engagement with their everyday life-worlds. We identified the functional possibilities provided by the yards and the dynamic aspects related to the greening. Green, biodiverse yards were considered safe, and inspired children’s play, diversified their activities, and increased physical activity. The greenery offered embodied experiences of nature and provided the children with multi-sensory exploration and diverse learning situations. The dynamic and emotional ways of engaging with the natural environment increased their well-being. The activities related to caring for the yards and exploring them promoted the development of environmental relationships. The results can be used for designing health-enhancing yards

Visitor discourses on experiences: reasons for festival success and failure

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to unfold factors anchored in visitors’ experiences possibly determinant of the success or failure of cultural festivals. Design/methodology/approach – The studied data included 931 experience descriptions, 23 interviews and 51 empathy-based stories collected from 17 cultural festivals around Finland during the summers of 2012 and 2013. The nature of the study was exploratory, the theoretical framework was social constructionism, and the analysis was done using Foucauldian discourse analysis. The Method of Empathy Based Stories, a non-active role-playing technique, was used in the data collection. Findings – The identified success factors were the programme, good quality food, sense of community, chill-out opportunities and building blocks of one’s identity. The factors that might cause failures were commercialised and low-quality programme, the low quality of services, commercialism demonstrated by elevated ticket and service pricing, VIP services confronting egalit...

Rethinking poster presentations at large-scale scientific meetings – is it time for the format to evolve?

Abstract: Conferences have been recorded since the mid-1600s [1], and form a key professional practice in scientific and other academic/professional domains. Conference events range in scale from small local affairs to vast international gatherings, but their underlying objectives are the same: to allow like-minded people to gather and exchange knowledge and views, and to promote networking within the field. The motivations for attending conferences are both intrinsic and extrinsic. As individuals, we like to learn more about our fields of study, meet our peers, and also revitalize ourselves away from our daily routines. Additionally, as a presenter, you may formally contribute your knowledge to the community, which has both altruistic and personal motivations. As individuals, the benefits of conference attendance are clear (although seldom measurable), but how effective are these meetings and presentations in disseminating information and facilitating professional interaction? Multiple presentation streams at conferences give delegates choice over what conference content they engage with, as well as offering more opportunities to present information to a gathered audience. As podium space is limited, poster sessions evolved to create interactive opportunities whereby delegates could share their work [2]. In large group settings, lecturetype presentations create a greater sense of educational value among delegates than more interactive approaches; however, no significant difference has been noted in the actual degree of knowledge retention and transfer that these two approaches facilitate [3]. Nowadays, posters are numerically by far the most prevalent means of disseminating information at conferences, and it is not uncommon to see hundreds, if not thousands, of posters displayed in a single session. This is clearly evident in the number of abstracts published in academic/scientific journals (e.g. FEBS Journal volume 279, supplement S1, provides abstracts for 1663 posters presented at the 22nd IUBMB & 37th FEBS Congress in 2012 [4]), and has also been noted in other fields [5]. As an example of the growth of poster presentation and its accommodation, the 1969 FEBS meeting [6] was the first recorded example of an international scientific poster-type display session. It hosted 105 posters over 4 days, with 12 h dedicated to the sessions (averaging 1.5 h per display period and 13 posters on display per session). In contrast, the 2014 FEBS/ EMBO conference [7] hosted 2098 posters over 4 days, but only 6 h were dedicated to the sessions. Whilst the latter meeting also allocated 1.5 h per scheduled display period, an average of 525 posters were on display at each session – more than 40 times the number presented in 1969 (Fig. 1). On the surface, this appears to be a positive indication that members of the scientific community are actively engaging in the conference process and are keen to share their work with fellow delegates. However, on a practical level, this mass of information has the potential to hinder delegate interaction, in that not only is it impossible to devote meaningful attention to so many ‘exhibits’ in the time available, but it is also difficult to select particular items of interest from the many on offer in conference proceedings. An editorial in Nature Chemistry [8] observed: ‘your potential audience has only a limited time resource to spend on a wide choice’, and, as a poster presenter, it is not uncommon to feel that you have failed to attract the attention of a significant number of conference delegates (Fig. 2). If 15 posters are displayed in a room for 1.5 h, it is very easy for delegates to circulate, see what each one was about, determine whether they want to know more, approach the poster and look it at their leisure, and perhaps spend some time talking to the presenter. Increasing this number to 500 posters renders this an impossible and uninviting task (you would have only 10.8 s to view each poster), but this is a common occurrence at large-scale conferences in many fields. Delegates are thought to pre-select items of interest from the published conference programme, but even previewing the abstract titles for these 500 posters