Suomalainen museossa. Museovierailu kokemuksena 1800- ja 1900-lukujen vaihteen suomalaisessa lehdistössä

Tutkin pro gradu -tutkielmassani museossa käymisen kokemusta 1800- ja 1900-lukujen vaihteessa. Selvitän, miten vuosien 1890 ja 1910 välillä erilaisissa sanoma- ja aikakauslehdissä julkaistuissa museovierailuja kuvailevissa artikkeleissa museokokemuksista kerrottiin ja minkälaisia asioita kertomuksissa nostettiin esiin. Ammattilaisten näkökulmaa käyttämissäni alkuperäislähteissä edustavat antikvaaristen alojen asiantuntijoiden kirjoitukset Suomen Museo ja Finskt Museum -lehdissä. Maallikoiden tai ”suuren yleisön” näkemyksiä olen tavoitellut laajalevikkisemmistä sanoma- ja aikakauslehdistä. Keskityn museoinstituution historian sijaan museokävijän kokemuksen tarkasteluun. Lähestyn aihetta tilallisuuden käsitteen kautta, mutta sen fyysisten ulottuvuuksien lisäksi pyrin tavoittamaan myös museotilan mentaalisia, sosiaalisia ja yhteiskunnallisia aspekteja. Keskeisen historiallisen taustan tutkimukselleni muodostavat suomalaisen museoalan vakiintumisvaihe 1800- ja 1900-lukujen vaihteessa sekä laajempi, yleisellä eurooppalaisella tasolla käynnissä ollut modernisaatioprosessi. Suomalainen museokenttä oli 1800- ja 1900-lukujen vaihteessa vielä vakiintumaton ja museoiden ylläpidon tasoissa oli suuria vaihteluita. Alan ammattilaisten museovierailua ohjasi erityisesti hyvän museon kriteereiden määritteleminen, kun taas maallikoiden kirjoituksissa elämyksellisyys korostui voimakkaammin. Museokokemuksen tilallinen luonne välittyi analysoiduista lehtikirjoituksista selkeästi: museossa toimiminen oli näyttelytilojen ja niiden välittämien menneisyyttä koskevien kertomusten haltuun ottamista. Tässä museokävijä saattoi hyödyntää erilaisia keinoja. Vierailu herätti myös monenlaisia tunteita ja ajatuksia aina hyvin henkilökohtaisista menneisyyden kokemisen tuntemuksista näyttelyn sisällön analyyttiseen pohdintaan. Museotoiminta liittyy kiinteästi 1800- ja 1900-lukujen laajempaan kulttuuriseen liikehdintään. Museokävijä osallistui museoiden asettamiin aatteellisiin tavoitteisiin henkilökohtaisella tasolla, jolloin sellaiset ilmiöt kuten kansallisaate tai edistysusko toteutuivat myös yksittäisen museokäynnin kontekstissa.

Finlands geologiska undersökning = Suomenmaan geologillinen tutkimus

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

Store experiences and their influence on store performance and brand strength: Case Samsung Experience Store

Experiential marketing is increasingly seen as a new magical key to consumers’ hearts. Brands are turning brick-and-mortar stores into state of the art retail spaces where memorable experiences and strong brand relationships are hoped to be born. Around the globe, several brands have opened up a special format of stores – the experience store. Although many speculations on the positive effects of experiences have been presented, few studies have provided empirical, quantified evidence for the link between store experiences and brand success. In consequence, research was needed to find out whether experience stores truly are so special. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether store experiences are capable of building brands and influencing store performance. For this purpose, empirical research was conducted in the Samsung Experience Store Helsinki. As main constructs of the study, store experience, brand equity, store performance, and product class involvement were measured, along with relevant background variables. Data was collected with an electronic survey from actual customers of the store, resulting in a sample of 131 respondents. Partial least squares structural equations modeling (PLS) was used for the analysis of the research model. Also, regression analysis was conducted to account for mediation and moderation effects. The results showed that store experiences do positively influence first, store performance, and second, separate dimensions of brand equity (that is, brand awareness, brand personality, and brand loyalty). Also, the effect of store experiences on store performance was found to be mediated by brand equity. Interestingly, customers’ product class involvement was detected to moderate the effect of store experience on store performance. That is, those who were highly involved with electronics had greater store experiences, and also displayed a stronger linkage between store experience and store performance. The results encourage marketers to continue with efforts to create great experiences for their customers. Experience stores can – and should be seen – as both powerful brand building tools and profitable sales channels. The creation of exceptional experiences can act as an important function of physical stores in the face of severe online competition.

Utilising student profiles in mathematics course arrangements

This thesis develops a method for identifying students struggling in their mathematical studies at an early stage. It helps in directing support to students needing and benefiting from it the most. Thus, frustration felt by weaker students may decrease and therefore, hopefully, also drop outs of potential engineering students. The research concentrates on a combination of personality and intelligence aspects. Personality aspects gave information on conation and motivation for learning. This part was studied from the perspective of motivation and self-regulation. Intelligence aspects gave information on declarative and procedural knowledge: what had been taught and what was actually mastered. Students answered surveys on motivation and self-regulation in 2010 and 2011. Based on their answers, background information, results in the proficiency test, and grades in the first mathematics course, profiles describing the students were formed. In the following years, the profiles were updated with new information obtained each year. The profiles used to identify struggling students combine personality (motivation, selfregulation, and self-efficacy) and intelligence (declarative and procedural knowledge) aspects at the beginning of their studies. Identifying students in need of extra support is a good start, but methods for providing support must be found. This thesis also studies how this support could be taken into account in course arrangements. The methods used include, for example, languaging and scaffolding, and continuous feedback. The analysis revealed that allocating resources based on the predicted progress does not increase costs or lower the results of better students. Instead, it will help weaker students obtain passing grades.

Co-operative acquisitions – the contextual factors and challenges for co-operatives when acquiring an investorowned firm

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been seen as an important strategy in helping organizations to grow, gain access to new markets and resources, increase efficiency, and enable competitiveness in order to fulfil the purpose of the organization. These aspects have made M&As of central interest to academic literature. In co-operative studies mergers especially have been widely studied. The common focus of these studies is that M&As have taken place between organizations of the same form. It is noteworthy that there is a scarcity of literature concerning acquisitions between different organizational types. Moreover, M&As have not been evaluated concerning the organization’s ownership and purpose, which may be significant integration factors. The overall objective of this study is to describe and understand why co-operative organizations use acquisition as a strategic alternative. In more detail – and in order to develop understanding of the background ideals affecting the acquisition decision and the differences of organization ideals in the integration process – this study is based on a qualitative case study approach. By combining interview data gathered from the OPPohjola Group and associating the observations from various streams of research on acquisitions and management with the purpose of co-operation, and examining these issues further, the thesis contributes to the elaboration of theory in the field of the strategic management of co-operatives. The dissertation consists of two parts. The first part introduces the research topic, methods and publications, as well as discussing the overall outcomes. The second part consists of four publications that address the research questions from different viewpoints. The analyses of this dissertation indicate that, from the strategic point of view, the acquisition of an investor-owned firm by a co-operative organization may create competitive advantage for the co-operative. On the other hand, there are differences in and following from the purpose of acquirer and the acquiree that may, in such case, pose several challenges to the integration process.

Choosing the service support model after a merger: Case Are Ltd.

The meaning of information technology (IT) and information systems have increased during the last few years. This is mainly because business is nowadays seen more and more as a service business and IT is one of the key elements to support those business services. Since the meaning of IT services has increased also the meaning of IT service support should be a factor paid more attention to. Especially after a merger and acquisition (M&A) it is more important than ever to consider service support. The purpose of this study is to discover the best practices for choosing a suitable service support model. The research question is How to choose a service support organization model for the ERP service desk function after a merger? A qualitative method is selected as a research method. This thesis includes two parts: a literature review and a case study. Theoretical part compiles an integrated model of previous research on the topic. It consists a collection of academic articles, publications and reports. The empirical part focuses on the issues in the case organization. That part tries to answer the question: what would be the most suitable service support model for the case organization? The empirical part is conducted by interviewing the employees of the case organization. This study finds that even though there are many ways of selecting a service support model it is difficult to define an unambiguous guidelines. However, there are few main objectives that should be taken into account regardless the case. Especially by using ITIL processes it is possible to implement a comprehensive service support and raise overall awareness of the existing service support models. The main functions that need to be taken into account are nature, industry and size of the organization. Also the business strategy, goals and resources need to be considered. These are the same factors that are noticed in the case study as well. The suggestions for the case organization are presented based on the interviews and the literature review.

Time frames. Negotiating Cultural History

Time Frames brings together a group of cultural historians studying several different periods and locations in the history of Western culture, to discuss the temporal structures which historical studies live by. How do we construct chronologies and temporal sequences? How should we approach the discontinuity and particularity of the past, and its periodization? Deploying ideas and frames from three contemporary conceptual debates - spatial organisation, constructions of experience, and the cultural embeddedness of individual agency - the writers of this book propose methods of historicizing and explore what cultural history is about today.

Pienistä puroista ne isotkin joet kasvaa. Valmentavan lisäopetuksen vaikutuksia oppijan oppimismotivaatioon.

Tällä tutkielmalla on pyritty selvittämään miten yksityisten palveluntarjoajien tarjoama valmentava lisäopetus vaikuttaa oppijoiden oppimismotivaatioon ja oppimiseen. Lisäksi tutkielmalla selvitettiin valmentavan lisäopetuksen ja kouluopetuksen eroja sekä niiden merkitsevyyttä oppijan kokemalle oppimisen mielekkyydelle ja aktiivisuudelle oppimistilanteissa. Tuloksia heijastettiin myös kouluissa oppimisen ja oppimismotivaation kontekstissa esiintyviin ongelmiin. Viitekehyksenä tutkielmassa toimivat valmentavan lisäopetuksen aihepiirissä tehdyt aikaisemmat kansainväliset tutkimukset, suomalaisen koulutuksen nykytilannetta valottavat tutkimukset sekä erilaiset oppimismotivaatiota käsittelevät teoriat. Näiden elementtien avulla on pyritty luomaan kattava kokonaiskuva lisäopetuksen toiminnasta ja mahdollisuuksista sekä oppimismotivaatiosta. Tutkimuksen kohdejoukko koostuu valmentavaa lisäopetuspalvelua tuottavan yrityksen aktiivista ja passiivisista oppija-asiakkaista sekä yhteistyöyrityksen tuottamista asiakastyytyväisyyskyselyiden aineistoista vuosilta 2011–2014. Lisäopetusoppijoita tutkielmaan osallistui 49 täyttämällä laadullisen kyselyn, joka analysoitiin teemoittelemalla. Asiakastyytyväisyyskyselyihin oli osallistunut yhteensä 304 vastaajaa, joiden vastauksen käsiteltiin myös teemoittelemalla. Tärkeimmät oppimiseen ja oppimismotivaatioon vaikuttavat tekijät valmentavan lisäopetuksen kontekstissa ovat osaava opettaja, opetuksen joustavat järjestämismahdollisuudet sekä opetuksen yksilöllisyys. Myös oppijan tunteilla, vaikutusmahdollisuuksilla, saadulla palautteella ja tavoitteilla oli vaikutusta motivaatioon. Tulosten perusteella valmentava lisäopetus takasi oppimisympäristön, joka antoi mahdollisuuden oppijan aktiivisuuteen ja mielekkyyden kokemiseen.