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Shifting production cycle from sea to RAS : what does the fish say?
No full textIn combined RAS (recirculating aquaculture system) and sea cage farming, fish are first reared in RAS for about 8 months and then transferred to sea cages for the one growing season. This method allows a shorter production cycle, more efficient nutrient uptake, and avoiding risks associated with open environment rearing. However, combining two different production methods and environments challenge ability of fish to adapt to the new farming environment. In this study, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were raised in RAS and partial RAS (PRAS) and then transferred to freshwater flow-through system and brackish water cages in June and September according to common practices. We investigated: 1) Does water quality during initial farming influences success of transfers?, 2) Does growth of rainbow trout differ in different rearing environments after transfers?, and 3) Does size of rainbow trout and/or timing of transfers affect growth and stress regulation of rainbow trout? Our results support that neither the water quality nor system (RAS or PRAS) affected the growth or welfare of fish, whereas the larger fish transferred in September had challenges (e.g. lower growth) after transfer to brackish water cages. However, there are many uncertainties associated with the transfer performed in September. Understanding the reasons behind these current problems would allow a wider use of this production method in salmonid aquaculture. It would also allow development of new, more efficient and sustainable production cycles and strategies, adapted to different needs.peerReviewe
Introduction
No full textIn recent years, the field of rural youth studies has gained significant attention, reflecting a growing recognition of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by young people in rural areas. Growing up Rural: Qualitative longitudinal explorations of young people living in the Nordic countries makes several key contributions to this burgeoning field. First, it provides a comprehensive and nuanced exploration of the lives of rural youth. Secondly, the book suggests theoretical/methodological advancement of rural studies with the use of a processual—qualitative longitudinal—methodology. Third, the book offers a fresh, international perspective of similarities and differences of rural youths, focusing particularly on the Nordic countries. These Nordic welfare states are often seen as models of egalitarianism and wealth but are at the same time under increasing pressure. Many of the challenges the rural areas in these nations face are near universal: deindustrialisation, economic challenges and centralisation of education, making the situation for youth in rural Nordic areas both particular and universal at the same time. The edited volume seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussions in youth studies by providing nuanced insights into the lives of young people in rural areas, their belonging to their homeplaces and how they imagine and construct their lives and futures. The introduction introduces the emerging field of rural youth studies, its key questions, and places the edited volume Growing up Rural within this field. The Introduction concludes with presenting the chapters of the book.peerReviewe
Pre-primary teachers’ understanding and implementation of inclusive pedagogy for literacy acquisition in Tanzania
No full textTeachers as key actors play key role in implementing inclusive education in early childhood education. This study examines pre-primary teachers’ understanding of inclusive education and pedagogy and its implementation for literacy acquisition in diverse classrooms. Thirty teachers from 16 pre-primary schools in Tanzania were interviewed, and the data were analysed using content analysis and inductive reasoning. The study revealed that teachers had varied understandings of inclusive education and pedagogy for literacy acquisition. Some viewed inclusive education as education for all without segregation, and inclusive pedagogy (IP) as a set of strategies to support inclusion by addressing students’ diverse learning needs. Others were unfamiliar with these concepts and lacked standardized strategies for identifying learners’ needs. In implementing inclusive pedagogy, teachers emphasized the use of teaching materials and environments, differentiation and individual support, lesson assessment and feedback, collaborative and participatory learning, and emotional pedagogical love as inclusive strategies for teaching literacy to diverse learners. This work calls for professional development programmes on inclusive pedagogy for pre-primary teachers and the provision of proper teaching and assistive resources for learners with diverse literacy needs. Furthermore, structured inclusive pedagogy frameworks and practical guidelines should be integrated into teachers’ education curricula and pre-primary education policies to create a more inclusive early childhood education for literacy acquisition.peerReviewe
Rural Leisure Time in the Making : Self-Created Youth Activities and Leisure Time in Sparsely Populated Rural Finland
No full textThis chapter discusses leisure activities as individually and socially constructed everyday life spaces for rural youth in Finland. The chapter portrays local ‘do-it-yourself’ (DIY) or ‘do-it-together’ (DIT) youth cultures in the sparsely populated Finnish countryside. Discussion about free time activities in the countryside often focuses on the lack of arranged, adult-led activities and long distances that prevent participation in hobbies. This may overlook the meaning-making of young people themselves, who may be—or may have to be—very innovative in arranging activities on their own. The chapter shows that in sparsely populated regions, characterised by long distances and a small number of peers, self-created youth spaces become significant rationalities of leisure. Young people turned, for example, public or semi-public village spaces into their own, youth culturally important spaces where they could get together. In addition, homes, nature and online communities offered spaces for self-created activities. However, some of these spaces could also become stigmatised and subject to moral conflicts in the communities. Even in small communities, these spaces are rarely open for all young people: local youth cultures often involve non-articulated practices of inclusion and exclusion. The focus of this chapter is on the most sparsely populated areas of Finland. The chapter is based on qualitative longitudinal data from three different regions: from a withering industrial region in eastern Finland, a region characterised by agriculture and forestry in central Finland, and the northernmost Sámi homeland.peerReviewe
Lost or Found in Transitions? : Mobile Media Identities and Life Transitions in Later Life
No full textThis chapter explores the intersection of mobile media use and identity formation during later life. While early research focused on youth, this work addresses the gap in understanding older adults’ mobile media identities. With the rise of smartphone use among older adults, we argue for a systematic examination of how major life changes—both predictable and unpredictable—influence mobile media appropriation and identity. We propose that life transitions provide a context for nonlinear changes in media use.peerReviewe
Collaborative water resources management : A multilayer social network analysis
No full textOne of the challenges of water governance lies in the management of trade-offs and synergies between policy issues. To address these interdependencies, both formal institutionalized and voluntary collaborative processes have emerged, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders with various interests to deliberate and seek consensus on management decisions. These stakeholders form networks characterized by complex relationships involving both collaboration and conflict, which can influence power dynamics and, consequently, the outcomes and legitimacy of the processes.
In this study, we analyse how stakeholder relationships change when the synergies and trade-offs between policy issues are considered, and identify which stakeholders are influential across multiple parallel processes and the interests they represent. The case study focuses on two Finnish river basins facing pressures from human activities such as hydropower development, agriculture, forestry, and mining, and host multiple collaborative processes to manage these challenges. These processes are conceptualized as a multilayer social network.
We introduce a novel method to infer positive and negative relationships between participants based on their interest in issues with synergies or trade-offs. The analysis yielded the following key findings: (i) most stakeholder interactions concern issues with synergies; (ii) the networks reveal complex relationships where synergies and trade-offs can significantly affect power dynamics; and (iii) individuals exert varying degrees of influence regarding synergies and trade-offs. The method developed and tested shows promise for analysing past processes and predicting the power relations, and informing more effective collaborative water resources management and governance.peerReviewe
Free-living physical activity levels in children with cerebral palsy
No full textBackground
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a common motor disorder in children, leading to reduced physical activity (PA) and increased health risks. To complement traditional PA methods (e.g. accelerometers, self-reports), electromyography (EMG) provides physiologically relevant information on muscle activity during free-living. This study used EMG for assessing daily muscle activity in individuals with CP and their typically developing (TD) peers.
Methods
Shorts with embedded EMG electrodes and hip-worn tri-axial accelerometer recorded daily PA in 8 children with spastic CP (mean age 14y 7mo, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) I (n = 5), III (n = 3)) and 6 TD children (mean age 15y 4mo) during free-living. Daily EMG activity levels are reported as a percentage of mean EMG amplitude during the 6MWT. Inactivity time and light, moderate and vigorous PA are reported relative to recording time using established cut-off values for accelerometry, and EMG amplitude categorized based on a two-minute average from the middle of 6MWT.
Findings
Free-living EMG inactivity (CP: 58.4 %, TD: 50.4 %) and activity levels did not differ statistically between CP and TD groups. Accelerometry showed a greater inactivity time than EMG in CP (p = 0.021) and TD (p = 0.010) groups. In CP, few statistically significant differences were observed between legs, muscles, and GMFCS levels.
Interpretation
Free-living EMG monitoring did not reveal excessive muscle activity in individuals with CP during daily activities compared to TD peers. EMG detects light PA that accelerometry may underestimate, offering a more detailed view of daily muscle use.peerReviewe
Invariant Coordinate Selection and Fisher discriminant subspace beyond the case of two groups
No full textInvariant Coordinate Selection (ICS) is a multivariate technique that relies on the simultaneous diagonalization of two scatter matrices. It serves various purposes, including its use as a dimension reduction tool prior to clustering or outlier detection. ICS’s theoretical foundation establishes why and when the identified subspace should contain relevant information by demonstrating its connection with the Fisher discriminant subspace (FDS). These general results have been examined in detail primarily for specific scatter combinations within a two-cluster framework. In this study, we expand these investigations to include more clusters and scatter combinations. Our analysis reveals the importance of distinguishing whether the group centers matrix has full rank. In the full-rank case, we establish deeper connections between ICS and FDS. We provide a detailed study of these relationships for three clusters when the group centers matrix has full rank and when it does not. Based on these expanded theoretical insights and supported by numerical studies, we conclude that ICS is indeed suitable for recovering the FDS under very general settings and cases of failure seem rare.peerReviewe
Rigidity and regularity for almost homogeneous spaces with Ricci curvature bounds
No full textWe say that a metric space X is (ϵ, G)-homogeneous if G ≤Iso(X) is a discrete group of isometries with diam(X/G) ≤ ϵ. A sequence of (ϵi, Gi)-homogeneous spaces Xi with ϵi → 0 is called a sequence of almost homogeneous spaces. In this paper we show that the Gromov-Hausdorff limit of a sequence of almost homogeneous RCD(K, N) spaces must be a nilpotent Lie group with Ric ≥ K. We also obtain a topological rigidity theorem for (ϵ, G)-homogeneous RCD(K, N) spaces, which generalizes a recent result by Wang. Indeed, if X is an (ϵ, G)-homogeneous RCD(K, N) space and G is an almost-crystallographic group, then X/G is bi-Hölder to an infranil orbifold. Moreover, we study (ϵ, G)homogeneous spaces in the smooth setting and prove rigidity and ϵ-regularity theorems for Riemannian orbifolds with Einstein metrics and bounded Ricci curvatures respectively.peerReviewe