Development of research networks : the case of social capital

The aim of this study is to explore how a new concept appears inscientific discussion and research, how it diffuses to other fields and out of the scientific communities, and how the networks are formed around the concept. Text and terminology take the interest of a reader in the digital environment. Texts create networks where the terminology used is dependent on the ideas, viewsand paradigms of the field. This study is based mainly on bibliographic data. Materials for bibliometric studies have been collected from different databases. The databases are also evaluated and their quality and coverage are discussed. The thesauri of those databases that have been selected for a more in depth study have also been evaluated. The material selected has been used to study how long and in which ways an innovative publication, which can be seen as a milestone in a specific field, influences the research. The concept that has been chosen as a topic for this research is Social Capital, because it has been a popular concept in different scientific fields as well as in everyday speech and the media. It seemed to be a `fashion concept´ that appeared in different situations at the Millennium. The growth and diffusion of social capital publications has been studied. The terms connected with social capital in different fields and different stages of the development have also been analyzed. The methods that have been used in this study are growth and diffusion analysis, content analysis, citation analysis, coword analysis and cocitation analysis. One method that can be used tounderstand and to interpret results of these bibliometric studies is to interview some key persons, who are known to have a gatekeeper position in the diffusion of the concept. Thematic interviews with some Finnish researchers and specialists that have influenced the diffusion of social capital into Finnish scientificand social discussions provide background information. iv The Milestone Publications on social capital have been chosen and studied. They give answers to the question "What is Social Capital?" By comparing citations to Milestone Publications with the growth of all social capital publications in a database, we can drawconclusions about the point at which social capital became generally approved `tacit knowledge´. The contribution of the present study lies foremost in understanding the development of network structures around a new concept that has diffused in scientific communities and also outside them. The network means both networks of researchers, networks of publications and networks of concepts that describe the research field. The emphasis has been on the digital environment and onthe socalled information society that we are now living in, but in this transitional stage, the printed publications are still important and widely used in social sciences and humanities. The network formation is affected by social relations and informal contacts that push new ideas. This study also gives new information about using different research methods, like bibliometric methods supported by interviews and content analyses. It is evident that interpretation of bibliometric maps presupposes qualitative information and understanding of the phenomena under study.

”Du sköna sång, vårt bästa arv” - kanonisering av en sångskatt ur ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv

Songs have the power to get through to people. When lyrics are combined with a tune, the result is an entity where the first few notes of a melody can evoke emotions of recognition and belonging. A song treasury consists of such songs that are part of a canonized song tradition. The process where certain songs become part of an established song treasury is long, and many other aspects than the tune itself influence the forming of a song treasury. By examining the characteristics of a song tradition, the history of an ethnic group can be illuminated. In this study, music, pedagogy, and the sociocultural context are merged into a whole where a common song tradition, the song treasury, is in focus. The main aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of a song treasury, its development and contents. This understanding is accomplished by analyzing the musical and lyrical characteristics of 60 songs, which have been sung in schools, homes, and communities, thereby becoming popular among the Swedish-speaking Finns during the 20th century. The songs have been chosen by combining three song lists, of which two lists are closely related to school curricula. The third song list is a result of a survey on favourite songs, according to the situation around year 2000. The songs are examined in their notated versions, a number of song books and text books (n = 29) forming the empirical material. In this study, a hermeneutical approach is applied, content analysis being the method. The analysis is based on three perspectives: the sociocultural perspective, the music-pedagogical perspective, and the musico-analytical perspective. Within each perspective, two aspects are studied. This results in a hexagonal model which forms the structure of the study as a whole. The first two perspectives form the background; a historical context where nation, education, home country, and homestead are regarded as highly important. A common song repertoire is considered to be an effective means of building collective identity within ethnic groups, the common language and the cultural heritage being used as rhetorical arguments. During the early 1900s, choir festivals become an educational platform where conceptions of a common belonging are developed and strengthened through religious, patriotic, and poetical expressions. National school curricula in singing and music have similar characteristics, cultural heritage and values education being in focus. The song lyrics often describe nature and emotions, and they also appear to be personal and situated in a given time and place. Patriotic expressions and songs about music are also fairly common. The songs generally express positive attitudes, which are intensified by major tonality, rich and varied melodies with stable rhythms, and a strong tonal base. The analyzed details of the studied aspects are merged into a thick description, which results in an interpretation pattern with three dimensions: a song treasury can be considered an expression of collective identity, cultural heritage, and values education.

Sähköisen taloushallinnon kehitys ja ilmiön näkyvyys alan ammattilehtikirjoittelussa

Pro gradu –tutkielman ensisijaisena tavoitteena on tutkia sähköisen ta-loushallinnon kehitystä ja miten se on näkynyt alan suomalaisessa ja kansainvälisessä ammattilehtikirjoittelussa vuosina 1997 – 2013. Tarkoi-tuksena on löytää kirjoittelun perusteella sähköisen taloushallinnon kehi-tyksen edistäviä ja hidastavia tekijöitä sekä minkälaisia tulevaisuuden näkymiä artikkelit luovat sähköiselle taloushallinnolle. Lisäksi tavoitteena on löytää yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroja kansallisen ja kansainvälisen kirjoittelun välillä. Tutkielma on laadullinen tutkimus ja tutkimusmenetelminä käytetään si-sällönanalyysia, sisällönerittelyä, teemoittelua ja vertailevaa tutkimusta. Tutkielman empiirinen aineisto koostuu Tilisanomien, Balanssi–lehden ja Accountancy–lehden sähköistä taloushallintoa koskevista artikkeleista aikavälillä 1997 – 2013. Tutkimustulosten perusteella sähköisen taloushallinnon kehityskulku näkyy myös ammattilehtikirjoittelussa. Tietojärjestelmät ja niiden käytön mahdollistava lainsäädäntö ovat sähköisen taloushallinnon perusedelly-tykset. Suurimpia kehityksen edistäjiä ovat julkinen valta, verkkolaskut ja standardointi. Kehityksen hidastajina nähdään yhtenäisten standardien puute ja asenteet. Sähköisen taloushallinnon tulevaisuuden näkymiä ovat standardoidut prosessit ja käsitteet koko taloushallinnon alueella sekä viranomaisraportointi XBRL-kielen avulla. Suurimmat erot kansalli-sessa ja kansainvälisessä kehityksessä on havaittavissa verkkolaskuissa ja XBRL-raportoinnissa. Johtopäätöksenä todetaan että kirjoittelun perusteella voidaan löytää sähköisen taloushallinnon kehitystä hidastavia ja edistäviä tekijöitä ja se luo viitteitä tulevaisuuden kehitykselle. Sähköinen taloushallinto kehittyy kunkin maan valtiovallan tahtotilan ja lainsäädännön mukaan. Jatkotut-kimuskohteena tutkielmaa voisi laajentaa kansainvälisemmäksi ottamalla mukaan tarkasteluun useampia kansainvälisiä lehtiä ja kansainvälistä lainsäädäntöä.

Customer References as Marketing Practice in Company Web sites - Content and Discourse Analysis

Työn tarkoituksena oli tutkia sisältö- ja diskurssianalyysin avulla kuinka yritykset viestivät asiakasreferenssejä verkkosivuillaan. Työssä keskityttiin tutkimaan yritysten referenssikuvausten teemoja ja diskursseja, sekä sitä kuinka referenssisuhde rakentuu diskursiivisesti referenssikuvauksissa. Tutkimukseen valittiin kolme suomalaista ICT-alan yritystä: Nokia, TietoEnator ja F-Secure. Aineisto koostuu 140:stä yritysten WWW-sivuilta kerätystä referenssikuvauksesta. Sisältöanalyysin tuloksena havaittiin, että referenssikuvaukset keskittyvät kuvaamaan yksittäisiä tuote- tai projektitoimituksia referenssiasiakkaille kyseisten asiakassuhteiden valossa. Analyysin tuloksena tunnistettiin kolme diskurssia: hyötydiskurssi, sitoutumisen diskurssi sekä teknologisen eksperttiyden diskurssi. Diskurssit paljastavat referenssikuvausten retoriset keinot ja konstruoivat referenssisuhteen ja toimittajan subjektiposition eri näkökulmista. Pääpaino referenssikuvauksissa on toimittajan ratkaisun tuomissa hyödyissä. Diskurssit tuottavat referenssisuhteesta kuvan hyötyjä tuovana ja läheisenä asiakassuhteena, joka tarjoaa väylän ulkopuolisiin kyvykkyyksiin ja teknologioihin. Toimittaja esitetään referenssikuvauksissa diskurssista riippuen hyötyjen tuojana, luotettavana partnerina sekä kokeneena eksperttinä. Referenssiasiakas sen sijaan esitetään vain yhdestä näkökulmasta stereotyyppisesti tärkeänä ja tyytyväisenä asiakkaana.

Optimisation of data analysis method for a fluidized bed combustion test rig

Nowadays the used fuel variety in power boilers is widening and new boiler constructions and running models have to be developed. This research and development is done in small pilot plants where more faster analyse about the boiler mass and heat balance is needed to be able to find and do the right decisions already during the test run. The barrier on determining boiler balance during test runs is the long process of chemical analyses of collected input and outputmatter samples. The present work is concentrating on finding a way to determinethe boiler balance without chemical analyses and optimise the test rig to get the best possible accuracy for heat and mass balance of the boiler. The purpose of this work was to create an automatic boiler balance calculation method for 4 MW CFB/BFB pilot boiler of Kvaerner Pulping Oy located in Messukylä in Tampere. The calculation was created in the data management computer of pilot plants automation system. The calculation is made in Microsoft Excel environment, which gives a good base and functions for handling large databases and calculations without any delicate programming. The automation system in pilot plant was reconstructed und updated by Metso Automation Oy during year 2001 and the new system MetsoDNA has good data management properties, which is necessary for big calculations as boiler balance calculation. Two possible methods for calculating boiler balance during test run were found. Either the fuel flow is determined, which is usedto calculate the boiler's mass balance, or the unburned carbon loss is estimated and the mass balance of the boiler is calculated on the basis of boiler's heat balance. Both of the methods have their own weaknesses, so they were constructed parallel in the calculation and the decision of the used method was left to user. User also needs to define the used fuels and some solid mass flowsthat aren't measured automatically by the automation system. With sensitivity analysis was found that the most essential values for accurate boiler balance determination are flue gas oxygen content, the boiler's measured heat output and lower heating value of the fuel. The theoretical part of this work concentrates in the error management of these measurements and analyses and on measurement accuracy and boiler balance calculation in theory. The empirical part of this work concentrates on the creation of the balance calculation for the boiler in issue and on describing the work environment.

Scenario analysis in evaluation of emerging technology - Case Bluetooth

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää millaisia ympäristöskenaarioita tietoliikenteelle toimialana voidaan rakentaa ja mitkä näistä skenaarioista suosivat Bluetoothin diffuusiota ja kehittymistä nykyisten tuote- ja palvelunäkemysten valossa. Lisäksi pyrittiin arvioimaan, mitkä ympäristötekijät ja suuntaukset saattavat vaikuttaa Bluetoothin diffuusioon. Tutkimus rajoittui eurooppalaisen tietoliikenneympäristön tarkasteluun viiden vuoden aikana. Tietoliikennetoimialan nykytilaa ja tulevaisuutta koskevan kirjallisuuden pohjalta luotiin kolme alustavaa skenaariorunkoa. Näitä runkoja arvioitiin asiantuntijahaastattelujen avulla, jotta skenaarioista saataisiin monipuolisempia ja niiden johdonmukaisuutta voitaisiin parantaa. Lopullisia skenaarioita verrattiin Bluetoothin käyttökohteista esitettyihin näkemyksiin. Skenaarioiden teemat olivat “Fokusoidut bisnessovellukset”, “Viihdettä massoille” sekä “Tietoa kaikille”. Havaittiin, että Bluetoothin omaksumiseen vaikuttavat eniten seuraavat tekijät: teknologian sosiaalinen hyväksyntä, toimialan halukkuus teknologian edistämiseen sekä Bluetoothin ja sen kilpailijoiden kehittyminen jatkossa.

Business Benefits of Content Management

Hyvällä sisällönhallinnalla on mahdollista vaikuttaa myönteisesti liiketoiminnalliseen tulokseen, jos sisällönhallinnan eri vaikutusmahdollisuudet tunnistetaan. Kun organisaatiossa syntyvä tieto on vapaasti saatavilla, ja sitä voidaan tulkita ja hyödyntää erilaisiin tarpeisiin, tietojärjestelmän avulla voidaan vauhdittaa kehitystä ja uuden tiedon löytämistä. Tiedon keskeisin tehtävä on kehittää ja parantaa organisaation osaamista, jolloin pitää olla tietoa siitä, mitä, miksi ja kuinka tietoa on käytetty organisaatiossa. Kaiken liiketoimintaprosesseissa tuotetun tiedon kohdalla pitäisi miettiä kolmea tiedonhallinnan osa-aluetta: tiedon luontia, hallintaa ja hyödyntämistä. Tavoitteena on saavuttaa yrityksen määrämuotoisen tietopääoman paras mahdollinen hallinta.Työssä kuvataan sitä, mitä sisällönhallinta on, sen eri tasoja, sen käsitteellistä sijoittumista tietämyksenhallintaan, sisällönhallinnan järjestelmiä ja niiden merkitystä liiketoimintaprosesseissa. Lisäksi tarkastellaan niitä syitä, joiden vuoksi yritykset kiinnostuvat organisaatiossa olevan määrämuotoisen tiedon sisällönhallinnasta. Lopuksi analysoidaan, millaisia voivat olla liiketoiminnalliset, kilpailulliset tai rahalliset tavoitteet, joita asetetaan sisällönhallinnan tietojärjestelmäprojektille. Työn tueksi on haastateltu neljän suomalaisen suuryrityksen sisällönhallinnan tietojärjestelmäprojektin asiantuntijoita. Heidän kommenttejaan on analysoitu ja niiden perusteella on tehty johtopäätöksiä niistä syistä, joiden vuoksi yritykset yleensä sijoittavat resurssejaan sisällönhallintaan.

More than Words? An Analysis on the Language and Structure of General Election Manifestos of the British Labour Party 1983-2005

The topic of this study is the language of the educational policies of the British Labour party in the General Election manifestos between the years 1983-2005. The twenty-year period studied has been a period of significant changes in world politics, and in British politics, especially for the Labour party. The emergence educational policy as a vote-winner of the manifestos of the nineties has been noteworthy. The aim of the thesis is two-fold: to look at the structure of the political manifesto as an example of genre writing and to analyze the content utilizing the approach of critical discourse analysis. Furthermore, the aim of this study is not to pinpoint policy positions but to look at what is the image that the Labour Party creates of itself through these manifestos. The analysis of the content is done by a method of close-reading. Based on the findings, the methodology for the analysis of the content was created. This study utilized methodological triangulation which means that the material is analyzed from several methodological aspects. The aspects used in this study are ones of lexical features (collocation, coordination, euphemisms, metaphors and naming), grammatical features (thematic roles, tense, aspect, voice and modal auxiliaries) and rhetoric (Burke, Toulmin and Perelman). From the analysis of the content a generic description is built. By looking at the lexical, grammatical and rhetorical features a clear change in language of the Labour Party can be detected. This change is foreshadowed already in the 1992 manifesto but culminates in the 1997 manifesto which would lead Labour to a landslide victory in the General Election. During this twenty-year period Labour has moved away from the old commitments and into the new sphere of “something for everybody”. The pervasiveness of promotional language and market inspired vocabulary into the sphere of manifesto writing is clear. The use of the metaphors seemed to be the tool for the creation of the image of the party represented through the manifestos. A limited generic description can be constructed from the findings based on the content and structure of the manifestos: especially more generic findings such as the use of the exclusive we, the lack of certain anatomical parts of argument structure, the use of the future tense and the present progressive aspect can shed light to the description of the genre of manifesto writing. While this study is only the beginning, it proves that the combination of looking at the lexical, grammatical and rhetorical features in the study of manifestos is a promising one.

Quantitative elemental analysis of dry-ashed bark and wood samples of birch, spruce and pine from south-western Finland using PIXE

A total of over 200 different samples of bark and wood of Silver birch, Norway spruce and Scots pine were analysed. Samples were taken from several areas in western Finland, some with known sources of atmospheric heavy metal emission (Harjavalta, Ykspihlaja). Also analytical data for pine needles from some sites are reported. The chemical analyses were performed by thick-target particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) spectrometry after preconcentration by dry ashing of samples at 550oC. The following elements were quantified in most of the samples: P, S, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Cd, Ba and Pb. The ash percentage and the chemical composition of ashes of different wood materials were also obtained, as dry ashing was used in the analytical procedure. The variations in elemental concentrations in wood and bark of an individual tree, expressed as RSDs, were mostly in the range 10 – 20 %. For several trees of the same species sampled from small areas (< 1 ha), the variations in elemental concentrations were surprisingly high (RSDs 20 – 50 %). In the vicinity of metal plants, effects of strong atmospheric heavy metal pollution (pollution factor above 100) were observed in pine bark. The increase of heavy metal content in wood samples from the same sites was quite small. Elemental concentrations in ashes of bark and wood, from areas with no local source of atmospheric pollution, were relatively uniform. Based on this observation an alternative way of demonstrating atmospheric pollution of tree bark is discussed.

On Option Price Information Content and Extraction of Implied Probability Distributions

In this study we used market settlement prices of European call options on stock index futures to extract implied probability distribution function (PDF). The method used produces a PDF of returns of an underlying asset at expiration date from implied volatility smile. With this method, the assumption of lognormal distribution (Black-Scholes model) is tested. The market view of the asset price dynamics can then be used for various purposes (hedging, speculation). We used the so called smoothing approach for implied PDF extraction presented by Shimko (1993). In our analysis we obtained implied volatility smiles from index futures markets (S&P 500 and DAX indices) and standardized them. The method introduced by Breeden and Litzenberger (1978) was then used on PDF extraction. The results show significant deviations from the assumption of lognormal returns for S&P500 options while DAX options mostly fit the lognormal distribution. A deviant subjective view of PDF can be used to form a strategy as discussed in the last section.

Characterisation of pigment particles by scanning electron microscope and image analysis programs

Coating and filler pigments have strong influence to the properties of the paper. Filler content can be even over 30 % and pigment content in coating is about 85-95 weight percent. The physical and chemical properties of the pigments are different and the knowledge of these properties is important for optimising of optical and printing properties of the paper. The size and shape of pigment particles can be measured by different analysers which can be based on sedimentation, laser diffraction, changes in electric field etc. In this master's thesis was researched particle properties especially by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and image analysis programs. Research included nine pigments with different particle size and shape. Pigments were analysed by two image analysis programs (INCA Feature and Poikki), Coulter LS230 (laser diffraction) and SediGraph 5100 (sedimentation). The results were compared to perceive the effect of particle shape to the performance of the analysers. Only image analysis programs gave parameters of the particle shape. One part of research was also the sample preparation for SEM. Individual particles should be separated and distinct in ideal sample. Analysing methods gave different results but results from image analysis programs corresponded even to sedimentation or to laser diffraction depending on the particle shape. Detailed analysis of the particle shape required high magnification in SEM, but measured parameters described very well the shape of the particles. Large particles (ecd~1 µm) could be used also in 3D-modelling which enabled the measurement of the thickness of the particles. Scanning electron microscope and image analysis programs were effective and multifunctional tools for particle analyses. Development and experience will devise the usability of analysing method in routine use.

Computational Techniques for Spectral Image Analysis

Multispectral images are becoming more common in the field of remote sensing, computer vision, and industrial applications. Due to the high accuracy of the multispectral information, it can be used as an important quality factor in the inspection of industrial products. Recently, the development on multispectral imaging systems and the computational analysis on the multispectral images have been the focus of a growing interest. In this thesis, three areas of multispectral image analysis are considered. First, a method for analyzing multispectral textured images was developed. The method is based on a spectral cooccurrence matrix, which contains information of the joint distribution of spectral classes in a spectral domain. Next, a procedure for estimating the illumination spectrum of the color images was developed. Proposed method can be used, for example, in color constancy, color correction, and in the content based search from color image databases. Finally, color filters for the optical pattern recognition were designed, and a prototype of a spectral vision system was constructed. The spectral vision system can be used to acquire a low dimensional component image set for the two dimensional spectral image reconstruction. The data obtained by the spectral vision system is small and therefore convenient for storing and transmitting a spectral image.