Finnish University Research Articles

Research on the Evaluation of Ideational and Political Education of Majors in Finance and Accounting of Universities and Colleges

Research on the Evaluation of Ideational and Political Education of Majors in Finance and Accounting of Universities and Colleges

Diversified Financing of Chinese Universities: Opportunities and Challenges

Diversified Financing of Chinese Universities: Opportunities and Challenges

Impact of Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU)-Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Disputes on the Output of Public Universities in North-East Nigeria

The study investigated the impact of Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU)-Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) disputes on the output of public universities in North-East Nigeria. Four objectives, four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. Ex-post facto-survey research design was used for this study. The population of the study is 5,434 academic staff in seven Federal Universities in North Eastern Nigeria. The sample size for the study comprised 372 Academic staff as respondents. This size was determined using Taro Yamane formula for sample size determination. The instruments used for data collection were two self-structured questionnaire namely “Impact of Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU)-Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Disputes Questionnaire (IASUUFGNDQ)” with 15-items and “Output of Public Universities Questionnaire (OPUQ) with 15-items developed by the researcher. The validity and reliability of the instruments were established. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. Inferential statistics of linear and multiple regression analysis were used in testing the null hypotheses. Based on the analysis of data, the study revealed that Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)-Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) dispute on University autonomy, funding and proliferation have positive significant impact on the output of Federal universities in North Eastern Nigeria, F(3, 371) = 68.528, p < 0.05. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that; the Federal Government should engage in dialogue with ASUU to develop a comprehensive policy that respects university autonomy while ensuring accountability. This policy should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of universities, allowing them the freedom to manage their internal affairs without undue interference, while establishing mechanisms for oversight and support. The Federal Government should increase and stabilize funding for universities through a well-structured and predictable financial support system. This could include revising the funding formula to ensure that universities receive adequate resources for infrastructure, research, and teaching, and implementing a transparent and accountable financial management system.

Empirical Analysis on the Integration of Data Science Major into Ideological and Political Education under the OBE Concept—A Case Study of Anhui University of Finance and Economics

Empirical Analysis on the Integration of Data Science Major into Ideological and Political Education under the OBE Concept—A Case Study of Anhui University of Finance and Economics

Research on the Practical Effectiveness of Ideological and Political Education in University Archives Museums in the New Era — A Case Study of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics

In the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed new requirements to “strengthen the country through science and education” and “enhance talent support for modernization.” “Ideological and political education in the curriculum” is a novel method for universities to undertake the national task of “cultivating virtue to educate people” in the new era. Universities provide ideological and political education throughout the entire process, in order to enhance talent cultivation quality. Focusing on the connotation and requirements of “ideological and political education in the curriculum” and combining the logic of archival participation in ideological and political education in curriculum, this research adopted questionnaire surveys to explore the practical effectiveness of ideological and political education in university archives museums in China. The aim of this research was to improve the construction model of ideological and political education in university curricula and enhance the in-depth implementation of “comprehensive education.”

Exploring Social Representations of Career Planning: Insights From Finnish University Students

Exploring Social Representations of Career Planning: Insights From Finnish University Students

Understanding the Termination of Urologic Cancer Clinical Trials: Insights and Challenges.

Clinical trials are valuable evidence for managing urologic malignancies. Early termination of clinical trials is associated with a waste of resources and may substantially affect patient care. We sought to study the termination rate of urologic cancer clinical trials and identify factors associated with trial termination. A cross-sectional search of ClinicalTrials.gov identified completed and terminated kidney, prostate, and bladder cancer clinical trials started. Trials were assessed for reasons for termination. Multivariable analyses were conducted to determine the significant factors associated with the termination. Between 2000 and 2020, 9,145 oncology clinical trials were conducted, of which 11.30% (n = 1,033) were urologic cancer clinical trials. Of the urologic cancer clinical trials, 25.38% (n = 265) were terminated, with low patient accrual being the most common reason for termination, 52.9% (n = 127). Multivariable analysis showed that only the university funding source odds ratio (OR) of 2.20 (95% CI, 1.45 to 3.32), single-center studies OR of 2.11 (95% CI, 1.59 to 2.81), and sample size of <50 were significant predictors of clinical trial termination OR of 5.26 (95% CI, 3.85 to 7.69); all P values are <.001. The termination rate of urologic cancer clinical trials was 25%, with low accrual being the most frequently reported reason. Trials funded by a university, single-center trials, and small trials (sample size <50) were associated with early termination. A better understanding of these factors might help researchers, funding agencies, and other stakeholders prioritize resource allocations for multicenter trials that aim to recruit a sufficient number of patients.

함수모형 기반의 고등교육재정 적정 규모 추정

The purpose of this study is to estimate the adequacy of higher education financing using publicly available data from universities from 2008 to 2021. For this purpose, we devised a method to estimate the appropriate cost of education by utilizing the public data of universities and estimated the appropriate cost of education through simulation.&#x0D; We proposed four steps to calculate the appropriate cost of education. The steps are as follows Establishing a reference group, selecting measurement indicators, calculating unit costs, and calculating the scale of affordable education costs. The top 40 universities in the JoongAng Ilbo university evaluation results were set as the reference group. Then, through regression analysis, we calculated the scale of affordable education costs for the 117 universities analyzed.&#x0D; The results of the analysis are as follows The optimal amount of funding for universities ranges from a minimum of KRW 19.8627 trillion to a maximum of KRW 33.7869 trillion. A maximum of KRW 14.6722 trillion is needed over the current KRW 19.1146 trillion for universities.&#x0D; Based on the results of the analysis, we propose implications that should be considered in the process of estimating the affordable cost of university education. These include the use of education cost data appropriate to the concept of affordable education, the need for discussion and social consensus on the affordability of university education, and the need for measures to correct the difference between actual and affordable education costs.

Стенограмма семинара «Активизация применения конкурентного законодательства для преодоления отрицательных эффектов существенной рыночной власти в экосистемах цифровых платформ: альтернативные варианты, аргументы противоположных сторон»

The seminar is devoted to alternative legal ways in enhance competition policy enforcement towards large digital platforms and their ecosystems. Effects-based, or rule of reason competition enforcement that requires case-specific economic analysis shows limited effectiveness due to excessively lengthy decision-making process, which is not always compensated by the decrease of legal errors. The presentation of Professor Y. Katsoulacos (Emeritus Professor, Athens University of Economics and Business, Affiliated Chair Professor, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics (JUFE), former Commissioner of the Hellenic Competition Commission, Chair of Scientific Committee and Coordinator of Competition and Regulation European Summer School and Conference CRESSE www.cresse.info), classifies the main approaches to reform in terms of changing the substantive standard of competition law, the legal standard, reallocation the burden of proof in competition cases, as well as in terms of the choice between ex ante regulation and ex post law enforcement.

“I start to doubt myself when I am watching this”: Moments of (self)-reflexivity in a virtual exchange project between China and Finland

Although virtual exchange has been widely discussed during the (post-)pandemic era, how students do (self-)reflexivity in this context has yet to be fully explored. This study examines interviews with Chinese and Finnish university students about how they reflect on their virtual exchanges by presenting them with videoclips of their encounters. Grounded in Foucault’s (1988) technologies of the self and Clark &amp; Author 2’s (20xx) multidimensions of (self-)reflexivity, the study examines how (self-)reflexivity is co-constructed by individuals, the media and researchers (e.g., ways of doing (self-)reflexivity adopted by students). Further, we investigate how they conceptualize interculturality based on their own (self-)reflexivity. Recommendations for (online) intercultural education are given based on the findings, inviting scholars and researchers to rethink and unthink the notion of (self-)reflexivity in intercultural education.

외국인 유학생 유치 정책 ‘Study Korea 300K Project’에 대한 소고

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the contents of the Study Korea 300K Project, jointly announced by the Ministry of Education and related ministries on August 16, 2023, is pursuing the same direction in attracting top talent that our government is currently aiming for. To do so, government policy reports, academic papers, and related reports were closely examined using the literature analysis method and the gap between the policy and field were organized. As a result, it was found that Korea’s international student attraction policy was intended to solve various purposes such as the problem of population decline, revitalization of local universities, replenishment of university finances, and solution to manpower shortage. Therefore, it is necessary to secure the identity of international students first, in a long-term perspective, and create realistic job and settlement incentives that are tailored to their majors and levels.

Perceived Effect of Monetary Policy Measures on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and Funding of Universities in Nigeria

The study looked into the perceived effect of monetary policy measures on internally generated revenue (IGR) and funding of universities in Nigeria. Ex post facto design was adopted for the study. Two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level. The sample size of 60 was drawn the through multistage procedure. A researcher’s developed instrument, 'Effect of Monetary Policy Measures on IGR and Funding of Universities Questionnaire (MPMIGRFUQ)' was used to collect data. The Cronbach Alpha method, with the coefficient of 0.92 was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument. T-test was adopted for analysis and testing of the hypotheses. It was found that the mean ratings of male and female lecturers of banking and finance lecturers with regard to the effect of monetary policy measures on IGR and funding of universities did not differ significantly. The study recommended among others opinions that more researches through primary data should be carried out beyond the scope of opinions of banking and finance lecturers, by involving respondents from different walks of life, for more inclusive and reliable outcomes.

Proximity and Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from the Introduction of New Airline Routes

This paper examines the causal relationship between proximity and knowledge diffusion by estimating the elasticity of core-based statistical area (CBSA) pair-level citations to variations in travel time induced by the introduction of new flight routes. The findings reveal that decreasing travel time between U.S. cities by 20% increases knowledge flow by 0.5%, which corresponds to an increase of over 15,000 citations at the aggregate level. Rather than boosting within-firm knowledge transfer, travel time reduction leads to a rise in knowledge spillovers primarily across firm boundaries, particularly among those that form joint ventures, have block holdings in each other, or form supply chain relationships. These effects are stronger among city pairs located farther away from each other, with higher absorptive capacity, in complex technology classes, and for newly developed technologies. Additional mechanism tests suggest that the most likely channel through which travel time reduction impacts knowledge spillover is by influencing the transfer of tacit knowledge via facilitating cross-CBSA inventor flow and information acquisition. This paper was accepted by Tomasz Piskorski, finance. Funding: S. Zhou receives support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 71804155] and China Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant 20720181047]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.01717 .

The “CELL” initiative as an instrument for integrated care in Limburg (Flanders): a provincial living lab approach

Introduction: The primary care system in Flanders (Belgium) was substantially reoriented and restructured. At local level Primary Care Zones (PCZs) were installed to support better coordination and connect care and welfare organizations with local authorities. The province of Limburg counts 8 active PCZs and is one of the five provinces of Flanders. The province boasts an interesting mining history, forests and historic towns. Collaboration and exchange between primary care actors and knowledge institutions (universities of applied sciences and universities) offers opportunities to translate and implement evidence-based concepts and innovations in the sector. Vice versa, the sector's practical knowledge feeds scientific research and education in the knowledge institutions.&#x0D; Description: Limburg has a well-established tradition of collaboration between the healthcare and welfare sector and the knowledge institutions (Hasselt University and University Colleges PXL and UCLL). The PCZs and knowledge institutions aim to further strengthen this existing collaboration and embed it in the Health Campus Limburg (as a tangible meeting ground for primary care in Limburg). This creates a unique partnership between practice (healthcare &amp; welfare), knowledge (research and education) and campus development (innovation ecosystem). The initiative - called 'CELL' was launched on October 5th of 2022 in Hasselt. A charter was signed by 17 Limburg organizations. In addition to 6 PCZs, the 3 knowledge institutions and Health Campus Limburg, the 2 Limburg hospital networks (South-West and North-East Limburg), the 3 mental healthcare networks (Reling, Noolim, Ligant), the palliative care network (Pallion) and the Logo Limburg (prevention network) also joined. The 3 knowledge institutes will collaborate intensively within the CELL initiative in the coming years to strengthen primary care in Limburg. CELL aims to facilitate integrated care at a regional level through innovation processes and projects. Limburg can act as a testing ground (Living Lab) for Flanders to test, monitor and implement innovations in the fields of population management, digitization, community-oriented care, etc.&#x0D; Discussion: The CELL initiative is embedded in the Hasselt University Fund and together with the partner organizations the first 2 years of funding is insured. At this point the governance structure is realized and the PCZs performed a needs assessment to establish their annual action plan. CELL will identify the main common denominators in order to accomplish joint initiatives. CELL will not operate parallel to the PZCs, but act as a supportive and academic umbrella. CELL is open to work with all organizations in- and outside the region, that share the same goals. It strives towards a good cooperation and exchange with the Flemish government and its organizations (including the Flemish Institute for Primary Care, VIVEL).&#x0D; Conclusion: The interaction between the PCZs themselves and the collaboration with knowledge institutions thus contribute to the further development of high-quality integrated care and welfare and offers opportunities to translate and implement new concepts and (digital) innovations in the sector. This directly benefits citizens and patients in the province of Limburg.&#x0D;

Zero-One Composite Optimization: Lyapunov Exact Penalty and a Globally Convergent Inexact Augmented Lagrangian Method

We consider the problem of minimizing the sum of a smooth function and a composition of a zero-one loss function with a linear operator, namely the zero-one composite optimization problem (0/1-COP). It has a vast body of applications, including the support vector machine (SVM), calcium dynamics fitting (CDF), one-bit compressive sensing (1-bCS), and so on. However, it remains challenging to design a globally convergent algorithm for the original model of 0/1-COP because of the nonconvex and discontinuous zero-one loss function. This paper aims to develop an inexact augmented Lagrangian method (IALM), in which the generated whole sequence converges to a local minimizer of 0/1-COP under reasonable assumptions. In the iteration process, IALM performs minimization on a Lyapunov function with an adaptively adjusted multiplier. The involved Lyapunov penalty subproblem is shown to admit the exact penalty theorem for 0/1-COP, provided that the multiplier is optimal in the sense of the proximal-type stationarity. An efficient zero-one Bregman alternating linearized minimization algorithm is also designed to achieve an approximate solution of the underlying subproblem in finite steps. Numerical experiments for handling SVM, CDF, and 1-bCS demonstrate the satisfactory performance of the proposed method in terms of solution accuracy and time efficiency. Funding: This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant 2022YJS099] and the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 12131004 and 12271022].

Multi-Scale Class Attention Network for Diabetes Retinopathy Grading

Article Multi-Scale Class Attention Network for Diabetes Retinopathy Grading Hongyu Chen 1, Ronghua Wu 1, Chen Tao 1, Wenjing Xu 1, Hongzhe Liu 3, Cheng Xu 3, and Muwei Jian 1,2,* 1 School of Information Science and Technology, Linyi University, 276000, China 2 School of Computer Science and Technology, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, 250014, China 3 Beijing Key Laboratory of Information Service Engineering, 100101, Beijing, China * Correspondence: jianmuweihk@163.com Received: 1 June 2023 Accepted: 21 July 2023 Abstract: Diabetes retinopathy (DR) is a universal eye disease, which brings irreversible blindness risks to patients in severe cases. Due to the scarcity of professional ophthalmologists, it has become increasingly important to develop computer-aided diagnostic systems for DR grading diagnosis. However, the current mainstream deep learning methods face challenges in accurately classifying the severity of DR, making it difficult for them to provide a reliable reference for clinicians. To tackle this problem, we propose two novel modules to improve the accuracy of DR classification. Specifically, we design a multi-scale feature extraction module to capture tiny lesions in fundus images and differentiate similar lesions simultaneously. In addition, we develop a class attention module to alleviate the adverse impact of intra-class similarity on DR grading. Experimental results show that our proposed modules attain significant performance improvement on the APTOS2019 blind detection dataset, with accuracy and quadratic weighted Kappa metrics achieving 95.98% and 97.12%, respectively.

The lean journey of the finnish real estate.

Nothing teaches us more than our experiences. That was the main reason why the Finnish construction industry has not only studied Lean and IPD but also launched several pilot projects by public owners to learn, adapt Lean principles in practice, and develop an IPD model suitable for the Finnish construction industry. &#x0D; The IPD model demands teamwork and adapting Lean and IPD industrywide is also teamwork. In Finland, several owners and service providers have been working together since 2010 sharing their learnings in workshops, seminars, and conferences. &#x0D; Over 100 IPD projects have also been a platform for several academic papers. The Finnish Universities have published tens of master’s and doctoral theses during the past 10 years on Lean construction, IPD, and alliance models. &#x0D; The Finnish construction industry has gained major benefits and made important progress on its Lean journey. Lean philosophy and tools have delivered tangible cost savings in projects and services and improved cost estimates, schedule adherence, quality, integration, and collaboration in construction projects. &#x0D; Finland has succeeded in creating smooth and practical discussion and development forums that have shaped the whole industry. The key drivers contributing to this progress are collaboration and integration, confidence-building between the partners as well a deeper understanding and application of the Lean principles in construction. As a result, Lean and integrated project execution are already reflected in the strategies adopted by many companies and client organizations.

CHALLENGES TO UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Abstract The University of South Florida has more than 50,000 students. The School of Aging Studies first offered an MA in Gerontology in 1967. We currently offer many undergraduate General Education courses, two undergraduate majors, online graduate certificate and master’s programs, and a PhD in Aging Studies. Accountability and addressing university metrics and priorities have become an increasing requirement at USF and elsewhere. We have had great success in our General Education courses, consistently reaching over 5,000 students per year and producing high Student Credit Hour (SCH) numbers, an important metric. Recently, our programs experienced challenges with increased class sizes resulting from higher demand for our general education courses. In several cases, the number of course sections offered and the number of seats in each had doubled. Meeting these demands placed a strain on faculty, instructors, and graduate student assistants. We also face challenges as our university funding formula increasingly focuses on undergraduate major enrollment, and therefore we are focusing on innovative methods to recruit more students at the undergraduate, master’s, and PhD level. In this presentation, we will describe some of the strategies that have maximized our successes, and efforts to address challenges in sustaining larger numbers of degree seeking students in our programs. We will include data on SCH, grant funding, publications, citations, and program graduates per year which help us monitor our successes and areas needing improvement.

Integrating immersive experience into hybrid education: a case study in fintech experimental education

The fintech (financial technology) employment market presents significant barriers to entry, including rigorous selection criteria based on factors such as profitability, risk, security, and confidentiality, which limit students’ opportunities to enter the industry. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the challenges faced by the fintech employment market in China. Consequently, it is crucial to assist fintech students in enhancing their professional abilities to navigate the job market successfully. Virtual reality is gaining increasing importance in educational fields due to its immersive virtual simulation capabilities. In this study, a hybrid fintech course was designed based on the principles of outcome-based education theory and the flipped classroom model. The project objective was to provide students with virtual training and project-based assessments that facilitate a seamless transition from theoretical knowledge to practical application in the industry. To evaluate the effectiveness of hybrid education, a comparative user experiment was conducted involving 60 participants (students) from Guangdong University of Finance. The study used median data, average data, and the entropy weight method for analysis. The results indicated that hybrid education has a positive impact on individual-level critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills. We believe that our study can provide critical data references for global online/hybrid education researchers and contribute to the education field.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Challenged Nurse Managers’ Daily Leadership Work: A Qualitative Study

Aim. To explore and describe nurse managers’ experiences of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their leadership work. Background. As frontline leaders in healthcare, the work of nurse managers was dominated by the global COVID-19 pandemic in recent years. Method. Semistructured interviews were carried out during autumn 2021 at a Finnish university hospital. Twelve nurse managers participated in video call interviews, and the data were analysed by inductive content analysis. Results. Four main categories of COVID-19 effect on the nurse managers’ leadership work were identified: increased work requirements; changes in work content; crisis communication; and human resources. The main categories included a total of 14 subcategories. Conclusion. The complexity and range of nurse managers’ leadership work during the pandemic were emphasized. Nurse managers performed several important tasks that ensured ongoing delivery of healthcare services. Flexibility, ability to solve problems, capacity to tolerate uncertainty, pressure and rapidly evolving situations, excellent crisis communicational skills, and an ability to address the diverse needs of their staff were key competencies that nurse managers relied on during this period. Implications for Nursing Management. Nurse managers’ experiences of COVID-19 can inform practice, policies, nursing, and nursing leadership education in relation to future crises.