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Finnish Theology Students' Perceptions of the Different Frameworks Encountered within Religious and Ideological Non-Alignment of University Education
No full textFinnish legislation requires academic theological education to be religiously and ideologically non-aligned. In this article, we explore the frameworks of religious and ideological non-alignment of theological education, according to students of theology. Open questionnaire responses (N=61) were analysed using thematic analysis. Students perceived non-alignment from the point of view of six frameworks: 1) theological education, 2) frameworks outside education, 3) principles and contents in teaching, 4) research as an enabler of non-alignment, 5) interaction and behaviour, and 6) church post. Practising religion was not perceived to belong to the framework of theological education, and disciplines, such as the study of religion, were interpreted as more strongly religiously and ideologically non-aligned. Non-alignment was also reflected in relation to factors outside formal education. Within these frameworks, many students interpreted non-alignment to mean research-based objectivity towards different views. Conversely, in the church post framework, spirituality and alignment with doctrines were characterised as important
Investigating learning gains of critical thinking and communication skills among Finnish and American higher education students
No full textPurpose
The study focuses on the differences in learning gains of higher-order skills such as critical thinking and communication of entering and exiting higher education students in Finland and the US, whether there are background variables that explain the possible difference in these skills between these two countries, and implication for transition from higher education into the workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
The data used in this study consist of 29,187 entering and 22,109 exiting American students, and 1,524 entering and 860 exiting Finnish students. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and two-level regression models.
Findings
The results show that exiting students significantly outperformed entering students, but the overall learning gains were greater for the American students. Entering Finnish students, however, had a higher average score than their American counterparts. Background variables do not explain the observed differences.
Research limitations/implications
One of the limitations of this study is that the model for assessing student learning gains at almost all participating higher education institutions (HEIs) is to compare entering and exiting students. Our data set do not contain any third-year students in the US as it does in Finland.
Practical implications
The result of this study can help HEIs implement curricular support or resources to improve with students' critical thinking and communication skills, both of which have been shown to be predictive of academic, post-graduation and workplace success.
Originality/value
The value of these findings is that they support and can be used to highlight the importance of critical thinking and communication skills for both academic and workplace success
Drug-Free Approach to Regulate Undruggable Proto-Oncogene MYC Using Biomimetic Porous Nanoparticles for Cancer Immunotherapy
No full textA proto-oncogene MYC plays a crucial role in controlling immune response, but as of today, it is undruggable. Some MYC inhibitors are under testing; nevertheless, they have low efficacy and severe toxicity. Up to now, the use of a drug-free approach to regulate MYC has been rarely investigated. The present study aims to identify the potential of drug-free photothermal therapy (PTT) in regulating MYC. Herein, biomimetic black porous silicon (BPSi) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared via a novel self-templated Na–K alloy reduction method and then coated with a cancer cell membrane and polyethylene glycol. These NPs have efficient photothermal conversion, good biocompatibility, and homotypic tumor targeting. The results indicated that BPSi-based PTT could efficiently regulate MYC by tuning temperatures. However, only PTT at 50 °C could successfully inhibit MYC, while PTT at 46 °C upregulated MYC. Mechanism studies revealed that MYC inhibition was achieved via the downregulation of ‘MYC Targets V1’, and MAPK and JAK-STAT signaling pathways were involved. Finally, tumor-targeted PTT activated robust cancer immunotherapy by MYC inhibition and efficiently prevented tumor growth without significant toxicity in vivo. The present study highlights the potential of a drug-free approach to regulate MYC for more potent cancer immunotherapy
Koneoppimiseen pohjautuva nivelruston poroelastisten materiaaliparametrien estimointi ruston biomekaanisesta vasteesta
No full textThe effectiveness of group-based parent-implemented intervention on prelinguistic communication and expressive vocabulary in children under 3 years of age
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Grinding to a halt? The spread of the progressive in recent spoken British English
No full textThis study investigates the progressive form in spoken British English in the 1990s and 2010s, focusing on the frequency of the construction and the lemmata co-occurring with it. The results indicate that the progressive is no longer increasing in frequency. A distinctive collexeme analysis indicates that the frequency of dynamic verbs (e.g. going) has decreased in the timespan investigated, while mental (e.g. thinking) and communication verbs (e.g. saying) show increasing frequencies. The increasing number of fixed patterns involving the progressive form, such as be just saying, may indicate that the progressive is acquiring more robust pragmatic, i.e. non-aspectual, uses in recent spoken British English, despite the overall decrease in progressive frequency
“I never smile when I’m walking” – Drifting study about the safety work conducted in public spaces by female students in Joensuu
No full textExporting environmental democracy to international forums: Understanding the role of the Aarhus Convention
No full textThis socio-legal paper examines how the duty under Article 3.7. of the Aarhus Convention to promote principles of environmental democracy in international environmental forums is being interpreted and operationalised in practice. A systematic content analysis of the parties’ 2021 and 2025 national implementation reports identifies uneven reporting and predominantly ad hoc approaches, focussing mainly on nationally based measures to facilitate the participation of states’ own publics, rather than collaborative initiatives to influence the design of participatory processes and outcomes of international institutions themselves. These findings point to a need for stronger institutional coordination, tailored forum-specific guidance, and more systematic monitoring and accountability mechanisms in order to strengthen Article 3.7’s operationalisation. More broadly, the paper also contributes to wider debates on the prospects of environmental democracy at scale, illustrating how the Aarhus Convention both exposes and tests the limits of efforts to democratise international and global environmental governance