Post-industrial 2.0 – Social Web as the second coming of the post-industrial society

This study presents a review of theories of the so-called post-industrial society, and proposes that the concept of post-industrial society can be used to understand the recent developments of the World Wide Web, often described as Web 2.0 or social Web. The study combines theories ranging from post-war management science and cultural studies to software development, and tries to build a holistic view of the development of the post-industrial society, and especially the Internet. The discourse on the emergence of a post-industrial society after the World Wars has addressed the ways in which the growing importance of information, and innovations in digital communications technology, are changing our society. It is furthermore deeply connected with the discourse on the postmodern society, which emphasizes cultural fragmentation, intertextuality, and pluralism. The Internet age is characterized by increasing masses of information that are managed through various technologies. While 1990s Internet technologies often used the network as a traditional broadcasting channel with added interactivity, Web 2.0 technologies are specifically designed to utilize the network model by facilitating communication between various services and devices, and analyzing the relationships between users and objects in order to produce intelligent insight. The wide adoption of the Internet, and recently of Internet-enabled mobile devices, is furthermore continuously producing new ways of communicating, consuming, and producing. Applications of the social Web, such as social media or social networking services, are permanently changing our traditional social, cultural, and economic practices. The study first presents an overview of the post-industrial society, the Internet, and the concept of Web 2.0. Then the concept of social Web is described with an analysis of the term social media, the brief histories of the interactive Web and social networking services, and a description of the concept ―long tail‖, used to represent the masses of information available in the Web that do not receive mainstream attention. Finally, methods for retrieving and filtering information, modeling social and cultural relationships, and communicating with customers, are presented.

Searching for keys to successful post-merger integration : a longitudinal case-study following a public sector merger

Unsuccessful mergers are unfortunately the rule rather than the exception. Therefore it is necessary to gain an enhanced understanding of mergers and post-merger integrations (PMI) as well as learning more about how mergers and PMIs of information systems (IS) and people can be facilitated. Studies on PMI of IS are scarce and public sector mergers are even less studied. There is nothing however to indicate that public sector mergers are any more successful than those in the private sector. This thesis covers five studies carried out between 2008 and 2011 in two organizations in higher education that merged in January 2010. The most recent study was carried out two years after the new university was established. The longitudinal case-study focused on the administrators and their opinions of the IS, the work situation and the merger in general. These issues were investigated before, during and after the merger. Both surveys and interviews were used to collect data, to which were added documents that both describe and guide the merger process; in this way we aimed at a triangulation of findings. Administrators were chosen as the focus of the study since public organizations are highly dependent on this staff category, forming the backbone of the organization and whose performance is a key success factor for the organization. Reliable and effective IS are also critical for maintaining a functional and effective organization, and this makes administrators highly dependent on their organizations’ IS for the ability to carry out their duties as intended. The case-study has confirmed the administrators’ dependency on IS that work well. A merger is likely to lead to changes in the IS and the routines associated with the administrators’ work. Hence it was especially interesting to study how the administrators viewed the merger and its consequences for IS and the work situation. The overall research objective is to find key issues for successful mergers and PMIs. The first explorative study in 2008 showed that the administrators were confident of their skills and knowledge of IS and had no fear of having to learn new IS due to the merger. Most administrators had an academic background and were not anxious about whether IS training would be given or not. Before the merger the administrators were positive and enthusiastic towards the merger and also to the changes that they expected. The studies carried out before the merger showed that these administrators were very satisfied with the information provided about the merger. This information was disseminated through various channels and even negative information and postponed decisions were quickly distributed. The study conflicts with the theories that have found that resistance to change is inevitable in a merger. Shortly after the merger the (third) study showed disappointment with the fact that fewer changes than expected had been implemented even if the changes that actually were carried out sometimes led to a more problematic work situation. This was seen to be more prominent for routine changes than IS changes. Still the administrators showed a clear willingness to change and to share their knowledge with new colleagues. This knowledge sharing (also tacit) worked well in the merger and the PMI. The majority reported that the most common way to learn to use new ISs and to apply new routines was by asking help from colleagues. They also needed to take responsibility for their own training and development. Five months after the merger (the fourth study) the administrators had become worried about the changes in communication strategy that had been implemented in the new university. This was perceived as being more anonymous. Furthermore, it was harder to get to know what was happening and to contact the new decision makers. The administrators found that decisions, and the authority to make decisions, had been moved to a higher administrative level than they were accustomed to. A directive management style is recommended in mergers in order to achieve a quick transition without distracting from the core business. A merger process may be tiresome and require considerable effort from the participants. In addition, not everyone can make their voice heard during a merger and consensus is not possible in every question. It is important to find out what is best for the new organization instead of simply claiming that the tried and tested methods of doing things should be implemented. A major problem turned out to be the lack of management continuity during the merger process. Especially problematic was the situation in the IS-department with many substitute managers during the whole merger process (even after the merger was carried out). This meant that no one was in charge of IS-issues and the PMI of IS. Moreover, the top managers were appointed very late in the process; in some cases after the merger was carried out. This led to missed opportunities for building trust and management credibility was heavily affected. The administrators felt neglected and that their competences and knowledge no longer counted. This, together with a reduced and altered information flow, led to rumours and distrust. Before the merger the administrators were convinced that their achievements contributed value to their organizations and that they worked effectively. After the merger they were less sure of their value contribution and effectiveness even if these factors were not totally discounted. The fifth study in November 2011 found that the administrators were still satisfied with their IS as they had been throughout the whole study. Furthermore, they believed that the IS department had done a good job despite challenging circumstances. Both the former organizations lacked IS strategies, which badly affected the IS strategizing during the merger and the PMI. IS strategies deal with issues like system ownership; namely who should pay and who is responsible for maintenance and system development, for organizing system training for new IS, and for effectively run IS even during changing circumstances (e.g. more users). A proactive approach is recommended for IS strategizing to work. This is particularly true during a merger and PMI for handling issues about what ISs should be adopted and implemented in the new organization, issues of integration and reengineering of IS-related processes. In the new university an ITstrategy had still not been decided 26 months after the new university was established. The study shows the importance of the decisive management of IS in a merger requiring that IS issues are addressed in the merger process and that IS decisions are made early. Moreover, the new management needs to be appointed early in order to work actively with the IS-strategizing. It is also necessary to build trust and to plan and make decisions about integration of IS and people.

Tutkijat, julkaisut ja tunnisteet : Tutkijan tunnistaminen kansainvälisellä ja kansallisella tasolla

Esitys HAKA-seminaarissa 14.2.2013.

Model based analysis of the post-combustion calcium looping process for carbon dioxide capture

This thesis presents a one-dimensional, semi-empirical dynamic model for the simulation and analysis of a calcium looping process for post-combustion CO2 capture. Reduction of greenhouse emissions from fossil fuel power production requires rapid actions including the development of efficient carbon capture and sequestration technologies. The development of new carbon capture technologies can be expedited by using modelling tools. Techno-economical evaluation of new capture processes can be done quickly and cost-effectively with computational models before building expensive pilot plants. Post-combustion calcium looping is a developing carbon capture process which utilizes fluidized bed technology with lime as a sorbent. The main objective of this work was to analyse the technological feasibility of the calcium looping process at different scales with a computational model. A one-dimensional dynamic model was applied to the calcium looping process, simulating the behaviour of the interconnected circulating fluidized bed reactors. The model incorporates fundamental mass and energy balance solvers to semi-empirical models describing solid behaviour in a circulating fluidized bed and chemical reactions occurring in the calcium loop. In addition, fluidized bed combustion, heat transfer and core-wall layer effects were modelled. The calcium looping model framework was successfully applied to a 30 kWth laboratory scale and a pilot scale unit 1.7 MWth and used to design a conceptual 250 MWth industrial scale unit. Valuable information was gathered from the behaviour of a small scale laboratory device. In addition, the interconnected behaviour of pilot plant reactors and the effect of solid fluidization on the thermal and carbon dioxide balances of the system were analysed. The scale-up study provided practical information on the thermal design of an industrial sized unit, selection of particle size and operability in different load scenarios.

Understanding Online Game Players' Post-adoption Behavior: an Investigation of Social Network Games in China

Retaining players and re-attracting switching players has long been a central topic for SNG providers with regard to the post-adoption stage of playing an online game. However, there has not been much research which has explored players’ post-adoption behavior by incorporating the continuance intention and the switching intention. In addition, traditional IS continuance theories were mainly developed to investigate users’ continued use of utilitarian IS, and thus they may fall short when trying to explain the continued use of hedonic IS. Furthermore, compared to the richer literature on IS continuance, far too little attention has been paid to IS switching, leading to a dearth of knowledge on the subject, despite the increased incidence of the switching phenomenon in the IS field. By addressing the limitations of prior literature, this study seeks to examine the determinants of SNG players’ two different post-adoption behaviors, including the continuance intention and the switching intention. This study takes a positivist approach and uses survey research method to test five proposed research models based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2; Use and Gratification Theory; Push-Pull-Mooring model; Cognitive Dissonance Theory; and a self-developed model respectively with empirical data collected from the SNG players of one of the biggest SNG providers in China. A total of 3919 valid responses and 541 valid responses were used to examine the continuance intention and the switching intention, respectively. SEM is utilized as the data analysis method. The proposed research models are supported by the empirical data. The continuance intention is determined by enjoyment, fantasy, escapism, social interaction, social presence, social influence, achievement and habit. The switching intention is determined by enjoyment, satisfaction, subjective norms, descriptive norms, alternative attractiveness, the need for variety, change experience, and adaptation cost. This study contributes to IS theories in three important ways. Firstly, it shows IS switching should be included in IS post-adoption research together with IS continuance. Secondly, a modern IS is usually multi-functional and SNG players have multiple reasons for using a SNG, thus a player’s beliefs about the hedonic, social and utilitarian perceptions of their continued use of the SNG exert significant effects on the continuance intention. Thirdly, the determinants of the switch ing intention mainly exert push, pull, and mooring effects. Players’ beliefs about their current SNG and the available alternatives, as well as their individual characteristics are all significant determinants of the switching intention. SNG players combine these effects in order to formulate the switching intention. Finally, this study presents limitations and suggestions for future research.

Language of the Future, Language of the PRC –Representations of Putonghua in South China Morning Post

As the national language of the PRC, the world's growing economic power and the sovereign of Hong Kong, Putonghua is a language with multiple facets of relevance for the current Special Administrative Region. This paper seeks to explore and explain different representations of Putonghua in Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper South China Morning Post in articles published between January 2012 and February 2013. The representations are studied in the context of the different discourses in which they appear, some of which feature language(s) as a central theme and some more marginally. An overview is first presented of the scholarly research on the most important developments in Hong Kong's complex language scene from the beginnings of the colony until present day, with the aim of detecting developments and attitudes with potential relevance or parallels to the context of Putonghua today. The paper then reflects on the media and its role in producing and perpetuating discourses in the society, before turning to more practical considerations on Hong Kong's English and Chinese language media and the role of South China Morning Post in it. The methods used in analysing the discourses are those of discourse analysis, with textual analysis as its starting point, in which close attention is paid to linguistic forms as the concrete representations of meanings in a text. Particularly the immediate contexts of the appearances of the word “Putonghua” in the articles were studied carefully to detect vocabulary, grammar and semantical choices as signs of different discourses, potentially also revealing fundamental underlying assumptions and other “hidden meanings” in the text. Some of the most distinctive discourses in which different representations of Putonghua appeared were the Instrumental value for the individual (in which Putonghua was represented as a form of social capital); Othering of the mainlanders (in which Putonghua served as a concrete marker of distinction); Belonging to China (Putonghua as a symbol of unity); and Cultural distinctiveness of Hong Kong (Putonghua as a threat to Hong Kong's history and culture, as embodied in Cantonese). Some of these discourses were more prominent than others, and for example the discourse of Belonging to China was relatively rarely enacted in Hongkongers' voices. In general, the findings were not surprising in the light of the history, but showed a fair degree of consistency with what has been written earlier about the languages and attitudes towards them in Hong Kong. It has often been noted that Putonghua and its relation with Cantonese is a matter linked with the social identity of the colony and its citizens. While it appeared that there were no strict taboos in the representations of Putonghua in the societal context, the possibility of self-censorship cannot be ruled out as a factor toning down political discourses in the representations.

Post- och väg-karta öfver stor furstendömet Finland, med stöd af kartor utgifne af general landtmäteri contoiret, general staben, St Petersburgska postamtet, herrar Schubert, Ekelund, Brummer, von Knorring med flere och tillförlitligaste väga-uppgifter af alla storfurstendömets herrar gouverneurer samt enskilta bidrag utarbetad åren 1846 och 1848 af Berndt Ad. Lindeman postmästare

1 kartta :, vär. ;, 102 x 70 cm, [1:1231722], skalan är en million 231722 del af naturliga storleken

Neue sächsische Post-Charte mit denen Post-Wegen und Strassen wie viel Meilen die Stationes von ein ander liegen

Irtokartta

Post-processing and analysis of tracked hand trajectories

In this thesis, the suitability of different trackers for finger tracking in high-speed videos was studied. Tracked finger trajectories from the videos were post-processed and analysed using various filtering and smoothing methods. Position derivatives of the trajectories, speed and acceleration were extracted for the purposes of hand motion analysis. Overall, two methods, Kernelized Correlation Filters and Spatio-Temporal Context Learning tracking, performed better than the others in the tests. Both achieved high accuracy for the selected high-speed videos and also allowed real-time processing, being able to process over 500 frames per second. In addition, the results showed that different filtering methods can be applied to produce more appropriate velocity and acceleration curves calculated from the tracking data. Local Regression filtering and Unscented Kalman Smoother gave the best results in the tests. Furthermore, the results show that tracking and filtering methods are suitable for high-speed hand-tracking and trajectory-data post-processing.

Bariatric and Post-Bariatric Surgery: from Metabolic Surgery to Plastic Surgery Indications

Background: Controversy exists concerning indications and outcomes of major bariatric surgery procedures. Massive weight loss after bariatric surgery leads to excess skin with functional and aesthetic impairments. The aim of this study was to investigate the major bariatric surgery procedures and their outcomes in two specific subgroups of morbidly obese patients, ≥55-year-olds and the superobese. Further aims were to evaluate whether the preoperative weight loss correlates with laparoscopic gastric bypass complications. The prevalence and impact of excess skin and the desire for body contouring after bariatric surgery were also studied. Patients and Methods: Data from patients who underwent Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB) and Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (LRYGB) at Vaasa Central Hospital were collected and postoperative outcomes were evaluated according to the BMI, age and preoperative weight loss. Patients who had undergone bariatric surgery procedures were asked to complete a questionnaire to estimate any impairment due to redundant skin and to analyse each patient’s desire for body contouring by area. Results: No significant difference was found in operative time, hospital stay, or overall early postoperative morbidity between LAGB and LRYGB. Mean excess weight loss percents (EWL%) at 6 and 12 months after LRYGB were significantly higher. A significant difference was found in operative time favouring patients <55 years. Intraoperative complications were significantly more frequent in the group aged >55 years. No significant difference was detected in overall postoperative morbidity rates. A significant difference was found in operative time and hospital stay favouring all patients who lost weight preoperatively. Most patients reported problems with redundant skin, especially on the abdomen, upper arms and rear/buttocks, which impaired daily physical activity in half of them. Excess skin was significantly associated with female gender, weight loss and ΔBMI. Patients with a WL >20 kg, ΔBMI ≥10 kg/m2 and an EWL % > 50 showed a significantly surplus skin discomfort (p < 0.001). Most patients desired body contouring surgery, with high or very high desire for waist/abdomen (62.2%), upper arm (37.6%), chest/breast (28.3%), and rear/buttock (35.6%) contouring. Conclusions: LRYGB is effective and safe in superobese (BMI >50) and elderly (>55 years) patients. A preoperative weight loss >5% is recommended to improve the outcomes and reduce complications. A WL >20 kg, ΔBMI ≥10 kg/m2 and an EWL % > 50 are associated with a higher functional discomfort due to redundant skin and to a stronger desire for body contouring plastic surgery.