Musiikkioppilaitokset harrastajaksi kasvamisen näyttämönä

The Finnish instrumental education system is said to be one of the bests in the world. Finnish musicians have become famous and they have gained success all over the world. To produce professional musicians has been the main goal of the whole Finnish instrumental education system for a long time. This has meant that playing an instrument as a hobby has been neglected. The focus of this qualitative study is the culture of instrumental education from the view of amateuring. One of the goals is to describe the Finnish context where music lovers grow up and where they construct their identities. The other aim is to give answers to the question “How can we develop the culture of instrumental education to serve also the needs of amateurs?” The data of this study is narrative. It consists of the stories of five amateurs, who were in their thirties. In the analysis I’ve used two different types of analysis: the analysis of narratives and the content analysis. In the analysis of narratives the stories were seen as narrative identities. Because the main focus of this study is the culture of instrumental education, I used the qualitative content analysis to find out some themes or phenomena which should be improved from the view of amateuring. This study has shown that there are many ways to become a music lover. An essential factor in the construction of an identity of a music lover seems to be a society which values the amateuring. In this study music schools weren’t that kind of societies. The present study reveals that to construct the identities of music lovers should be one of the most important aims of the music education. This means for example that, in practice, instrumental studies could be more activating, there should be more music making in groups, and the evaluation should concentrate on the whole learning process.

Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest : Studies on neurological and cardiological outcome and prediction of outcome in hypothermia-treated patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

The outcome of the successfully resuscitated patient is mainly determined by the extent of hypoxic-ischemic cerebral injury, and hypothermia has multiple mechanisms of action in mitigating such injury. The present study was undertaken from 1997 to 2001 in Helsinki as a part of the European multicenter study Hypothermia after cardiac arrest (HACA) to test the neuroprotective effect of therapeutic hypothermia in patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest (CA). The aim of this substudy was to examine the neurological and cardiological outcome of these patients, and especially to study and develop methods for prediction of outcome in the hypothermia-treated patients. A total of 275 patients were randomized to the HACA trial in Europe. In Helsinki, 70 patients were enrolled in the study according to the inclusion criteria. Those randomized to hypothermia were actively cooled externally to a core temperature 33 ± 1ºC for 24 hours with a cooling device. Serum markers of ischemic neuronal injury, NSE and S-100B, were sampled at 24, 36, and 48 hours after CA. Somatosensory and brain stem auditory evoked potentials (SEPs and BAEPs) were recorded 24 to 28 hours after CA; 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography recordings were performed three times during the first two weeks and arrhythmias and heart rate variability (HRV) were analyzed from the tapes. The clinical outcome was assessed 3 and 6 months after CA. Neuropsychological examinations were performed on the conscious survivors 3 months after the CA. Quantitative electroencephalography (Q-EEG) and auditory P300 event-related potentials were studied at the same time-point. Therapeutic hypothermia of 33ºC for 24 hours led to an increased chance of good neurological outcome and survival after out-of-hospital VF CA. In the HACA study, 55% of hypothermia-treated patients and 39% of normothermia-treated patients reached a good neurological outcome (p=0.009) at 6 months after CA. Use of therapeutic hypothermia was not associated with any increase in clinically significant arrhythmias. The levels of serum NSE, but not the levels of S-100B, were lower in hypothermia- than in normothermia-treated patients. A decrease in NSE values between 24 and 48 hours was associated with good outcome at 6 months after CA. Decreasing levels of serum NSE but not of S-100B over time may indicate selective attenuation of delayed neuronal death by therapeutic hypothermia, and the time-course of serum NSE between 24 and 48 hours after CA may help in clinical decision-making. In SEP recordings bilaterally absent N20 responses predicted permanent coma with a specificity of 100% in both treatment arms. Recording of BAEPs provided no additional benefit in outcome prediction. Preserved 24- to 48-hour HRV may be a predictor of favorable outcome in CA patients treated with hypothermia. At 3 months after CA, no differences appeared in any cognitive functions between the two groups: 67% of patients in the hypothermia and 44% patients in the normothermia group were cognitively intact or had only very mild impairment. No significant differences emerged in any of the Q-EEG parameters between the two groups. The amplitude of P300 potential was significantly higher in the hypothermia-treated group. These results give further support to the use of therapeutic hypothermia in patients with sudden out-of-hospital CA.

Uusien opiskelijoiden integroituminen yliopistoon : Sosiaalipsykologinen näkökulma

The first year at the university is critical in shaping the student s future academic development. Student integration has been shown to affect learning, motivation, persistence, and ultimately, graduation. Most importantly, however, integration affects how students academic expertise develops. In this study a social-psychological assumption was made: one cannot grow into academic expertise in isolation, without interaction with teachers and peers. Integration happens via engagement. In this research, social and academic integration among Finnish freshmen was studied. How much did freshmen interact with their teachers and peers; how interested did they think their teachers were in students; how committed did they feel; and how did they assess their own academic development? In addition to integration, students were asked about their identification with the university and the frequency of actual contacts with teachers and peers. Lastly, students personal epistemologies were studied to see if they were related to integration or frequency of contacts. The data was collected at the University of Helsinki in the autumn of 2001 and spring of 2002 at three faculties: the faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Science. In the autumn, 270 freshmen, and in the spring, 400 freshmen, completed the questionnaire. In addition to the cross-sectional data a longitudinal data was formed from 77 of the respondents. The results showed differences in how students were integrated. Freshmen at the faculty of Science were the least integrated whereas freshmen at the faculty of Humanities were the most integrated. Identification to the university was positively related to integration. The frequency of contacts with faculty and peers was positively related to integration and identification. A more developed personal epistemology was also positively related to integration and frequency of contacts. Differences were also found between the sexes in frequency of peer interaction and level of epistemology. This study has both theoretical and practical implications. Positive correlations between integration, identification, frequency of contacts and personal epistemology were found. The guiding assumption of the significance of social interaction was thus supported. The practical relevance of the study is for how teaching is carried out. In this data, over 50% of new university students at the end of their first year said they had never received feedback from an exam, never had a discussion with their teacher about a scientific topic, and had never discussed with a teacher how their studies were going.

Construing and Defining the Out of Control : Addiction in the Media 1968-2008.

The four scientific articles comprising this doctoral dissertation offer new information on the presentation and construction of addiction in the mass media during the period 1968 - 2008. Diachronic surveys as well as quantitative and qualitative content analyses were undertaken to discern trends during the period in question and to investigate underlying conceptions of the problems in contemporary media presentations. The research material for the first three articles consists of a sample of 200 texts from Finland s biggest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, from the period 1968 - 2006. The fourth study examines English-language tabloid material published on the Internet in 2005 - 2008. A number of principal trends are identified. In addition to a significant increase in addiction reporting over time, the study shows that an internalisation of addiction problems took place in the media presentations under study. The phenomenon is portrayed and tackled from within the problems themselves, often from the viewpoint of the individuals concerned. The tone becomes more personal, and technical and detailed accounts are more and more frequent. Secondly, the concept of addiction is broadened. This can be dated to the 1990s. The concept undergoes a conventionalisation: it is used more frequently in a manner that is not thought to require explanation. The word riippuvuus (the closest equivalent to addiction in Finnish) was adopted more commonly in the reporting at the same time, in the 1990s. Thirdly, the results highlight individual self-governance as a superordinate principle in contemporary descriptions of addiction. If the principal demarcation in earlier texts was between us and them , it is now focused primarily on the individual s competence and ability to govern the self, to restrain and master one's behaviour. Finally, in the fourth study investigating textual constructions of female celebrities (Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears and Kate Moss) in Internet tabloids, various relations and functions of addiction problems, intoxication, body and gender were observed to function as cultural symbols. Addiction becomes a sign, or a style, that represents different significations in relation to the main characters in the tabloid stories. Tabloids, as a genre, play an important role by introducing other images of the problems than those featured in mainstream media. The study is positioned within the framework of modernity theory and its views on the need for self-reflexivity and biographies as tools for the creation and definition of the self. Traditional institutions such as the church, occupation, family etc. no longer play an important role in self-definition. This circumstance creates a need for a culture conveying stories of success and failure in relation to which the individual can position their own behaviour and life content. I propose that addiction , as a theme in media reporting, resolves the conflict that emanates from the ambivalence between the accessibility and the individualisation of consumer society, on the one hand, and the problematic behavioural patterns (addictions) that they may induce, on the other.

Suomenlinnan Kustaanmiekan ketokasvillisuus ja siihen vaikuttavat tekijät

Suomenlinna on yksi Helsingin suosituimmista matkailu- ja kulttuurinähtävyyksistä. Kustaanmiekan, samoin kuin koko Suomenlinnan luonto on muodostunut perinteisestä suomalaisesta saaristoluonnosta ja vuosisatojen saatossa paikalle tulleista linnoituksien kasvistosta. Saaren vaihtelevien elinympäristöjen johdosta alueen kasvillisuus on hyvin rikasta. Linnoituksien monet kasvilajit ovat tulleet tulokaskasveina eri puolilta Eurooppaa sekä Venäjältä. Suurin osa Suomenlinnan alueesta on kallioketoa ja tämän lisäksi myös valliketoa, joista molemmat kuuluvat suojeltaviin alueisiin. Kustaanmiekan niityillä kasvaa keto- ja paahdelajeja, kuten harvinaista ketonoidanlukkoa (Botrychium lunaria L.) sekä ketoneilikkaa (Dianthus deltoides L.). Tämän tutkimuksen ensisijaisena tarkoituksena oli kartoittaa Kustaanmiekan alueen kesäkauden 2009 ketokasvilajisto ja eri putkilokasvilajien runsaus. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin myös maaperätekijöiden ja alueen hoitohistorian mahdollista vaikutusta ketokasvilajistoon. Tutkimuksessa kartoitettiin kymmenen eri kedon kasvillisuus Suomenlinnan Kustaanmiekan linnoitusalueella. Kedot sijaitsivat eri puolilla Kustaanmiekkaa, sellaisilla paikoilla, missä ketokasvillisuus oli runsainta. Maastotyöt suoritettiin kesä- ja heinäkuussa laskemalla jokaisen kedon ruutujen putkilokasvien peittävyydet sekä listaamalla ylös myös ruutujen ulkopuoliset kevät- ja loppukesän kukkijat touko- ja elokuussa. Maaperän ominaisuuksien määrittämiseksi otettiin kultakin kedolta pintamaanäytteet elokuussa. Muita tutkittuja muuttujia olivat maapinnan kaltevuus sekä sammalen, karikkeen, paljaan maan, kenttäkasvillisuuden pohjakerros ja kallion osuus tutkimusruuduilla. Ketojen kasvillisuuden keskimääräinen korkeus mitattiin kesä- ja heinäkuussa. Kasvistossa oli selviä eroavaisuuksia ketojen välillä. Kasvilajien määrä vaihteli ketojen kokonaislajimäärän ollessa 40-60 kasvilajia. Yhteensä kedoilta löytyi 120 eri putkilokasvilajia, joista useimmat kukkivat sekä kesä- että heinäkuussa. Ketojen kasvilajimäärä vaihteli yhdellä neliömetrillä 6,3-13,6 kasvilajiin, minkä lisäksi Shannon-Wienerin diversiteetti-indeksi vaihteli 1,4-2,3 arvon välillä. Yleisimpiä lajeja, joita kedoilla tavattiin, olivat muun muassa siankärsämö (Achillea millefolium L.), koiranheinä (Dactylis glomerata L.), juolavehnä (Elymus repens L.) ja hopeahanhikki (Potentilla argentea L.). Alueella kasvoi myös muutamia sotatulokaslajeja kuten harmiota (Berteroa incana L.), ukonpalkoa (Bunias orientalis L.) ja karvahorsmaa (Epilobium hirsutum L.). Maaperätekijöillä, kuten suurella fosforin pitoisuudella ei ollut vaikutusta kasvilajien määrään kedoilla. Vain maan pH ja johtoluku korreloivat positiivisesti ketojen kasvillisuuden korkeuden kanssa. Vaikka tulosten perusteella ketojen hoidolla ei ollut vaikutusta ketojen kasvillisuuden määrään, voidaan kuitenkin olettaa oikeanlaisen hoidon parantavan tyypillisten ketokasvien kilpailukykyä muita niittykasveja kohtaan.

Increasing Knowledge Focus - a Means for Entrepreneurs to Remain on a Growth Path: Essays on the Role and Nature of Knowledge Management in Finnish SMEs (summary section only)

This study explores the role and nature of knowledge management (KM) in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Even though the role of knowledge as a competitive advantage is commonly recognized in the SME sector, almost no attention has been paid to the managing and developing of knowledge in SMEs. This thesis consists of three different sub-studies that were reported in four individual essays. The results of the questionnaire study indicate that nearly all companies that responded to the questionnaire (N = 108) found intangible assets, i.e. knowledge resources to be their main source of competitive advantage. However, only less than a third of the companies actively deal with knowledge management. The results also indicate a significant correlation between activity in knowledge management and sustainable organic growth of the company. The interview study (N = 10) explored the context and motives of the SMEs for managing their intangible assets, and the concrete practices of knowledge management. It turned out that KM facilitated change management, clarification of the vision and new strategy formulation. All the interviewed companies were aiming at improved innovation process, new ways of doing business and attaining an increased “knowledge focus” in their business. Nearly all also aspired to grow significantly. Thus, KM provides a strategy for these SMEs to guarantee their survival and sustainability in the turbulent markets. The action research was a process to assess and develop intangible resources in three companies. The experienced benefits were the clarification of future focus and strategy, creation of a common language to discuss strategic issues within the company, as well as improved balance of different categories of intangible assets. After the process all the case companies had developed in the chosen key areas. Thus, by systematic knowledge management the implementation of new strategic orientation (knowledge focusing) was facilitated. The findings can be summarized in two main points. First, knowledge management seems to serve the purpose of change, renewal and new strategic orientation in the SMEs. It also seems to be closely related to organic growth and innovation. All of these factors can be considered dimensions of entrepreneurship. Second, the conscious development of intangible assets can increase the balance of different categories of intangible assets and the overall knowledge focusing of business. In the case companies, this in turn facilitated the path to the improved overall performance.

Relationship Drivers in Provider - Consumer Relationships. Empirical Studies of Customer Loyalty Programs (första upplagan slutsåld / first edition sold out, 'print on demand' 60 €)

The study addressed a phenomenon that has become common marketing practice, customer loyalty programs. Although a common type of consumer relationship, there is limited knowledge of its nature. The purpose of the study was to create structured understanding of the nature of customer relationships from both the provider’s and the consumer’s viewpoints by studying relationship drivers and proposing the concept of relational motivation as a provider of a common framework for the analysis of these views. The theoretical exploration focused on reasons for engaging in customer relationships for both the consumer and the provider. The themes of buying behaviour, industrial and network marketing and relationship marketing, as well as the concepts of a customer relationship, customer loyalty, relationship conditions, relational benefits, bonds and commitment were explored and combined in a new way. Concepts from the study of business-to-business relationships were brought over and their power in explaining the nature of consumer relationships examined. The study provided a comprehensive picture of loyalty programs, which is an important contribution to the academic as well as the managerial discussions. The consumer study provided deep insights into the nature of customer relationships. The study provides a new frame of reference to support the existing concepts of loyalty and commitment with the introduction of the relationship driver and relational motivation concepts. The result is a novel view of the nature of customer relationships that creates new understanding of the forces leading to loyal behaviour and commitment. The study concludes with managerial implications.

Understanding Customer Loyalty and Disloyalty The Effect of Loyalty-Supporting and -Repressing Factors (first edition sold out, 'print on demand' 60 €)

Customer loyalty has been a central topic of both marketing theory and practice for several decades. Customer disloyalty, or relationship ending, has received much less attention. Despite the close relation between customer loyalty and disloyalty, they have rarely been addressed in the same study. The thesis bridges this gap by focusing on both loyal and disloyal customers and the factors characterising them. Based on a qualitative study of loyal and disloyal bank customers in the Finnish retail banking market, both factors that are common to the groups and factors that differentiate between them are identified. A conceptual framework of factors that affect customer loyalty or disloyalty is developed and used to analyse the empirical data. According to the framework, customers’ loyalty status (behavioural and attitudinal loyalty) is influenced by positive, loyalty-supporting, and negative, loyalty-repressing factors. Loyalty-supporting factors either promote customer dedication, making the customer want to remain loyal, or act as constraints, hindering the customer from switching. Among the loyalty-repressing factors it is especially important to identify those that act as triggers of disloyal behaviour, making customers switch service providers. The framework further suggests that by identifying the sources of loyalty-supporting and -repressing factors (the environment, the provider, the customer, the provider-customer interaction, or the core service) one can determine which factors are within the control of the service provider. Attitudinal loyalty is approached through a customer’s “feeling of loyalty”, as described by customers both orally and graphically. By combining the graphs with behavioural loyalty, seven customer groups are identified: Stable Loyals, Rescued Loyals, Loyals at Risk, Positive Disloyals, Healing Disloyals, Fading Disloyals, and Abrupt Disloyals. The framework and models of the thesis can be used to analyse factors that affect customer loyalty and disloyalty in different service contexts. Since the empirical study was carried out in a retail bank setting, the thesis has managerial relevance especially for banks. Christina Nordman is associated with CERS, Center for Relationship Marketing and Service Management at the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration. The doctoral thesis is part of the Göran Collert Research Project in Customer Relationships and Retail Banking and has been funded by The Göran Collert Foundation.