A Model for Creating Strategic Alliances. A Study of Inter-firm Cooperation in the North European ICT Sector

In this study, it is argued that the view on alliance creation presented in the current academic literature is limited, and that using a learning approach helps to explain the dynamic nature of alliance creation. The cases in this study suggest that a wealth of inefficiency elements can be found in alliance creation. These elements can further be divided into categories, which help explain the dynamics of alliance creation. The categories –combined with two models brought forward by the study– suggest that inefficiency can be avoided through learning during the creation process. Some elements are especially central to this argumentation. First, the elements related to the clarity and acceptance of the strategy of the company, the potential lack of an alliance strategy and the elements related to changes in the strategic context. Second, the elements related to the length of the alliance creation processes and the problems a long process entails. It is further suggested that the different inefficiency elements may create a situation, where the alliance creation process is –sequentially and successfully– followed to the end, but where the different inefficiencies create a situation where the results are not aligned with the strategic intent. The proposed solution is to monitor and assess the risk for inefficiency elements during the alliance creation process. The learning, which occurs during the alliance creation process as a result of the monitoring, can then lead to realignments in the process. This study proposes a model to mitigate the risk related to the inefficiencies. The model emphasizes creating an understanding of the other alliance partner’s business, creating a shared vision, using pilot cooperation and building trust within the process. An analytical approach to assessing the benefits of trust is also central in this view. The alliance creation approach suggested by this study, which emphasizes trust and pilot cooperation, is further critically reviewed against contracting as a way to create alliances.

Towards real-time understanding of processes in pharmaceutical powder technology

There is a need for better understanding of the processes and new ideas to develop traditional pharmaceutical powder manufacturing procedures. Process analytical technology (PAT) has been developed to improve understanding of the processes and establish methods to monitor and control processes. The interest is in maintaining and even improving the whole manufacturing process and the final products at real-time. Process understanding can be a foundation for innovation and continuous improvement in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. New methods are craved for to increase the quality and safety of the final products faster and more efficiently than ever before. The real-time process monitoring demands tools, which enable fast and noninvasive measurements with sufficient accuracy. Traditional quality control methods have been laborious and time consuming and they are performed off line i.e. the analysis has been removed from process area. Vibrational spectroscopic methods are responding this challenge and their utilisation have increased a lot during the past few years. In addition, other methods such as colour analysis can be utilised in noninvasive real-time process monitoring. In this study three pharmaceutical processes were investigated: drying, mixing and tabletting. In addition tablet properties were evaluated. Real-time monitoring was performed with NIR and Raman spectroscopies, colour analysis, particle size analysis and compression data during tabletting was evaluated using mathematical modelling. These methods were suitable for real-time monitoring of pharmaceutical unit operations and increase the knowledge of the critical parameters in the processes and the phenomena occurring during operations. They can improve our process understanding and therefore, finally, enhance the quality of final products.

Post-industrial Intervention : An Activity-Theoretical Expedition Tracing the Proximal Development of Forms of Conducting Interventions

Ei saatavilla

Plant secondary compounds and soil microbial processes in carbon and nitrogen cycling in relation to tree species

The aim of this study was to explore soil microbial activities related to C and N cycling and the occurrence and concentrations of two important groups of plant secondary compounds, terpenes and phenolic compounds, under silver birch (Betula pendula Roth), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) as well as to study the effects of volatile monoterpenes and tannins on soil microbial activities. The study site, located in Kivalo, northern Finland, included ca. 70-year-old adjacent stands dominated by silver birch, Norway spruce and Scots pine. Originally the soil was very probably similar in all three stands. All forest floor layers (litter (L), fermentation layer (F) and humified layer (H)) under birch and spruce showed higher rates of CO2 production, greater net mineralisation of nitrogen and higher amounts of carbon and nitrogen in microbial biomass than did the forest floor layers under pine. Concentrations of mono-, sesqui-, di- and triterpenes were higher under both conifers than under birch, while the concentration of total water-soluble phenolic compounds as well as the concentration of condensed tannins tended to be higher or at least as high under spruce as under birch or pine. In general, differences between tree species in soil microbial activities and in concentrations of secondary compounds were smaller in the H layer than in the upper layers. The rate of CO2 production and the amount of carbon in the microbial biomass correlated highly positively with the concentration of total water-soluble phenolic compounds and positively with the concentration of condensed tannins. Exposure of soil to volatile monoterpenes and tannins extracted and fractionated from spruce and pine needles affected carbon and nitrogen transformations in soil, but the effects were dependent on the compound and its molecular structure. Monoterpenes decreased net mineralisation of nitrogen and probably had a toxic effect on part of the microbial population in soil, while another part of the microbes seemed to be able to use monoterpenes as a carbon source. With tannins, low-molecular-weight compounds (also compounds other than tannins) increased soil CO2 production and nitrogen immobilisation by soil microbes while the higher-molecular-weight condensed tannins had inhibitory effects. In conclusion, plant secondary compounds may have a great potential in regulation of C and N transformations in forest soils, but the real magnitude of their significance in soil processes is impossible to estimate.

Ecological processes and large-scale climate relationships in northern coniferous forests

Ilmasto vaikuttaa ekologisiin prosesseihin eri tasoilla. Suuren mittakaavan ilmastoprosessit, yhdessä ilmakehän ja valtamerien kanssa, säätelevät paikallisia sääilmiöitä suurilla alueilla (mantereista pallopuoliskoihin). Tämä väistöskirja pyrkii selittämään kuinka suuren mittakaavan ilmasto on vaikuttanut tiettyihin ekologisiin prosesseihin pohjoisella havumetsäalueella. Valitut prosessit olivat puiden vuosilustojen kasvu, metsäpalojen esiintyminen ja vuoristomäntykovakuoriaisen aiheuttamat puukuolemat. Suuren mittakaavan ilmaston löydettiin vaikuttaneen näiden prosessien esiintymistiheyteen, kestoon ja levinneisyyteen keskeisten sään muuttujien välityksellä hyvin laajoilla alueilla. Tutkituilla prosesseilla oli vahva yhteys laajan mittakaavan ilmastoon. Yhteys on kuitenkin ollut hyvin dynaaminen ja muuttunut 1900-luvulla ilmastonmuutoksen aiheuttaessa muutoksia suuren mittakaavan ja alueellisten ilmastoprosessien välisiin sisäisiin suhteisiin.

Integral Transformations of Volterra Gaussian Processes

We study integral representations of Gaussian processes with a pre-specified law in terms of other Gaussian processes. The dissertation consists of an introduction and of four research articles. In the introduction, we provide an overview about Volterra Gaussian processes in general, and fractional Brownian motion in particular. In the first article, we derive a finite interval integral transformation, which changes fractional Brownian motion with a given Hurst index into fractional Brownian motion with an other Hurst index. Based on this transformation, we construct a prelimit which formally converges to an analogous, infinite interval integral transformation. In the second article, we prove this convergence rigorously and show that the infinite interval transformation is a direct consequence of the finite interval transformation. In the third article, we consider general Volterra Gaussian processes. We derive measure-preserving transformations of these processes and their inherently related bridges. Also, as a related result, we obtain a Fourier-Laguerre series expansion for the first Wiener chaos of a Gaussian martingale. In the fourth article, we derive a class of ergodic transformations of self-similar Volterra Gaussian processes.

Modeling ecological and evolutionary processes in spatially structured populations

Many species inhabit fragmented landscapes, resulting either from anthropogenic or from natural processes. The ecological and evolutionary dynamics of spatially structured populations are affected by a complex interplay between endogenous and exogenous factors. The metapopulation approach, simplifying the landscape to a discrete set of patches of breeding habitat surrounded by unsuitable matrix, has become a widely applied paradigm for the study of species inhabiting highly fragmented landscapes. In this thesis, I focus on the construction of biologically realistic models and their parameterization with empirical data, with the general objective of understanding how the interactions between individuals and their spatially structured environment affect ecological and evolutionary processes in fragmented landscapes. I study two hierarchically structured model systems, which are the Glanville fritillary butterfly in the Åland Islands, and a system of two interacting aphid species in the Tvärminne archipelago, both being located in South-Western Finland. The interesting and challenging feature of both study systems is that the population dynamics occur over multiple spatial scales that are linked by various processes. My main emphasis is in the development of mathematical and statistical methodologies. For the Glanville fritillary case study, I first build a Bayesian framework for the estimation of death rates and capture probabilities from mark-recapture data, with the novelty of accounting for variation among individuals in capture probabilities and survival. I then characterize the dispersal phase of the butterflies by deriving a mathematical approximation of a diffusion-based movement model applied to a network of patches. I use the movement model as a building block to construct an individual-based evolutionary model for the Glanville fritillary butterfly metapopulation. I parameterize the evolutionary model using a pattern-oriented approach, and use it to study how the landscape structure affects the evolution of dispersal. For the aphid case study, I develop a Bayesian model of hierarchical multi-scale metapopulation dynamics, where the observed extinction and colonization rates are decomposed into intrinsic rates operating specifically at each spatial scale. In summary, I show how analytical approaches, hierarchical Bayesian methods and individual-based simulations can be used individually or in combination to tackle complex problems from many different viewpoints. In particular, hierarchical Bayesian methods provide a useful tool for decomposing ecological complexity into more tractable components.

Below-ground processes in meadow soil under elevated ozone and carbon dioxide : - Greenhouse gas fluxes, N cycling and microbial communities

This thesis focuses on how elevated CO2 and/or O3 affect the below-ground processes in semi-natural vegetation, with an emphasis on greenhouse gases, N cycling and microbial communities. Meadow mesocosms mimicking lowland hay meadows in Jokioinen, SW Finland, were enclosed in open-top chambers and exposed to ambient and elevated levels of O3 (40-50 ppb) and/or CO2 (+100 ppm) for three consecutive growing season, while chamberless plots were used as chamber controls. Chemical and microbiological analyses as well as laboratory incubations of the mesocosm soils under different treatments were used to study the effects of O3 and/or CO2. Artificially constructed mesocosms were also compared with natural meadows with regards to GHG fluxes and soil characteristics. In addition to research conducted at the ecosystem level (i.e. the mesocosm study), soil microbial communities were also examined in a pot experiment with monocultures of individual species. By comparing mesocosms with similar natural plant assemblage, it was possible to demonstrate that artificial mesocosms simulated natural habitats, even though some differences were found in the CH4 oxidation rate, soil mineral N, and total C and N concentrations in the soil. After three growing seasons of fumigations, the fluxes of N2O, CH4, and CO2 were decreased in the NF+O3 treatment, and the soil NH4+-N and mineral N concentrations were lower in the NF+O3 treatment than in the NF control treatment. The mesocosm soil microbial communities were affected negatively by the NF+O3 treatment, as the total, bacterial, actinobacterial, and fungal PLFA biomasses as well as the fungal:bacterial biomass ratio decreased under elevated O3. In the pot survey, O3 decreased the total, bacterial, actinobacterial, and mycorrhizal PLFA biomasses in the bulk soil and affected the microbial community structure in the rhizosphere of L. pratensis, whereas the bulk soil and rhizosphere of the other monoculture, A. capillaris, remained unaffected by O3. Elevated CO2 caused only minor and insignificant changes in the GHG fluxes, N cycling, and the microbial community structure. In the present study, the below-ground processes were modified after three years of moderate O3 enhancement. A tentative conclusion is that a decrease in N availability may have feedback effects on plant growth and competition and affect the N cycling of the whole meadow ecosystem. Ecosystem level changes occur slowly, and multiplication of the responses might be expected in the long run.

Behavioural, population, and genetic processes affecting metapopulation dynamics of the Glanville fritillary butterfly

In my thesis I have been studying the effects of population fragmentation and extinction-recolonization dynamics on genetic and evolutionary processes in the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia). By conducting crosses within and among newly-colonized populations and using several fitness measures, I found a strong decrease in fitness following colonization by a few related individuals, and a strong negative relationship between parental relatedness and offspring fitness. Thereafter, I was interested in determining the number and relatedness of individuals colonizing new populations, which I did using a set of microsatellites I had previously developed for this species. Additionally, I am interested in the evolution of key life-history traits. By following the lifetime reproductive success of males emerging at different times in a semi-natural setup, I demonstrated that protandry is adaptive in males, and I was able to rule out, for M. cinxia, alternative incidental hypotheses evoked to explain the evolution of protandry in insects. Finally, in work I did together with Prof. Hanna Kokko, I am proposing bet-hedging as a new mechanism that could explain the evolution of polyandry in M. cinxia.

Aerosol Particle Formation: Meteorological and Synoptic Processes behind the Event

Aerosol particles in the atmosphere are known to significantly influence ecosystems, to change air quality and to exert negative health effects. Atmospheric aerosols influence climate through cooling of the atmosphere and the underlying surface by scattering of sunlight, through warming of the atmosphere by absorbing sun light and thermal radiation emitted by the Earth surface and through their acting as cloud condensation nuclei. Aerosols are emitted from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Depending on their size, they can be transported over significant distances, while undergoing considerable changes in their composition and physical properties. Their lifetime in the atmosphere varies from a few hours to a week. New particle formation is a result of gas-to-particle conversion. Once formed, atmospheric aerosol particles may grow due to condensation or coagulation, or be removed by deposition processes. In this thesis we describe analyses of air masses, meteorological parameters and synoptic situations to reveal conditions favourable for new particle formation in the atmosphere. We studied the concentration of ultrafine particles in different types of air masses, and the role of atmospheric fronts and cloudiness in the formation of atmospheric aerosol particles. The dominant role of Arctic and Polar air masses causing new particle formation was clearly observed at Hyytiälä, Southern Finland, during all seasons, as well as at other measurement stations in Scandinavia. In all seasons and on multi-year average, Arctic and North Atlantic areas were the sources of nucleation mode particles. In contrast, concentrations of accumulation mode particles and condensation sink values in Hyytiälä were highest in continental air masses, arriving at Hyytiälä from Eastern Europe and Central Russia. The most favourable situation for new particle formation during all seasons was cold air advection after cold-front passages. Such a period could last a few days until the next front reached Hyytiälä. The frequency of aerosol particle formation relates to the frequency of low-cloud-amount days in Hyytiälä. Cloudiness of less than 5 octas is one of the factors favouring new particle formation. Cloudiness above 4 octas appears to be an important factor that prevents particle growth, due to the decrease of solar radiation, which is one of the important meteorological parameters in atmospheric particle formation and growth. Keywords: Atmospheric aerosols, particle formation, air mass, atmospheric front, cloudiness