Ethnic sensitive substance abuse work : services for non-Finnish speaking clients in substance abuse treatment units in Finland today

The purpose of this study was to examine the current situation in substance abuse treatment units in Finland in taking non-Finnish speaking clients into consideration. The initiative for this research came from the Development of Alcohol and Drugs Intervention group at Stakes (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health). Their aim was to gather information about the functioning and relevance of the quality assessment forms based on the quality recommendations for substance abuse work, filled in by substance abuse treatment units. The ethnic issue was chosen as the main approach in the study. The aim of this research was to answer the following questions: what is the readiness and competence in substance abuse treatment units in Finland to receive and encounter non-Finnish speaking clients, how is the quality of these services assessed and/or developed in the units, and what has been the role and functioning of the quality recommendations and quality assessment forms in working with non-Finnish speaking clients. The research methods used in the study were both quantitative and qualitative. The information concerning language services provided in the units was gathered from the quality assessment forms and basic information forms found in the database maintained by Stakes. The total amount of units found in the database was 267. In addition to that, semi-structured theme-interviews were carried out in four substance abuse treatment units in order to get a more deep understanding of how the services function in practice. The few number of non-Finnish speaking clients in the units may explain to a certain degree the results of the research. The results however showed that there is still space for improving the services. In the light of quality recommendations, the degree of language options provided in substance abuse treatment units in Finland today is low. Also the quantity of interpreter services provided in the units is scarce. There could also be unified guidelines specially tailored for substance abuse treatment units on how to work with ethnic minorities, as the knowledge is currently adopted from several different instances. The quality recommendations as well as quality assessment forms were valued and applied in the units appropriately and were also perceived to have an effect on the functioning, and quality, in the units.

Developing an Improved System for Allocating Support Unit Costs to Business Units

The objective of this study is to develop an improved support unit cost allocation system for a medium-sized technology company, and to examine which options for overhead cost accounting exist. The study begins with presenting the terminology and methods associated with overhead cost accounting and responsibility accounting. Also the most common challenges and resulting benefits of overhead cost allocation system development are brought up. As one research method two case studies were conducted for benchmarking purposes. These external cases are compared with the principal company’s cost allocation system and reflected against the theoretical background. In the empirical section interviews were used as the primary source of information alongside self studying principal company’s old cost allocation method. Interviews revealed the main weaknesses of the old system and proposals for a new one, which were utilized in setting targets for developing the new system. As a result of the development process an improved support unit cost allocation system was realized for year 2009. The new system is able to handle support unit costs in more detail enhancing the transparency and fairness of resulting cost allocations. Parts of support unit costs are now seen as business units’ own costs rather than group-level overhead. Also recommendations for further development are made after analyzing how well the targets were reached.

Wet oxidation of recalcitrant lignin waters: Experimental and kinetic studies

The dissertation is based on four articles dealing with recalcitrant lignin water purification. Lignin, a complicated substance and recalcitrant to most treatment technologies, inhibits seriously pulp and paper industry waste management. Therefore, lignin is studied, using WO as a process method for its degradation. A special attention is paid to the improvement in biodegradability and the reduction of lignin content, since they have special importance for any following biological treatment. In most cases wet oxidation is not used as a complete ' mineralization method but as a pre treatment in order to eliminate toxic components and to reduce the high level of organics produced. The combination of wet oxidation with a biological treatment can be a good option due to its effectiveness and its relatively low technology cost. The literature part gives an overview of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). A hot oxidation process, wet oxidation (WO), is investigated in detail and is the AOP process used in the research. The background and main principles of wet oxidation, its industrial applications, the combination of wet oxidation with other water treatment technologies, principal reactions in WO, and key aspects of modelling and reaction kinetics are presented. There is also given a wood composition and lignin characterization (chemical composition, structure and origin), lignin containing waters, lignin degradation and reuse possibilities, and purification practices for lignin containing waters. The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of the operating conditions of WO, such as temperature, partial pressure of oxygen, pH and initial concentration of wastewater, on the efficiency, and to enhance the process and estimate optimal conditions for WO of recalcitrant lignin waters. Two different waters are studied (a lignin water model solution and debarking water from paper industry) to give as appropriate conditions as possible. Due to the great importance of re using and minimizing the residues of industries, further research is carried out using residual ash of an Estonian power plant as a catalyst in wet oxidation of lignin-containing water. Developing a kinetic model that includes in the prediction such parameters as TOC gives the opportunity to estimate the amount of emerging inorganic substances (degradation rate of waste) and not only the decrease of COD and BOD. The degradation target compound, lignin is included into the model through its COD value (CODligning). Such a kinetic model can be valuable in developing WO treatment processes for lignin containing waters, or other wastewaters containing one or more target compounds. In the first article, wet oxidation of "pure" lignin water was investigated as a model case with the aim of degrading lignin and enhancing water biodegradability. The experiments were performed at various temperatures (110 -190°C), partial oxygen pressures (0.5 -1.5 MPa) and pH (5, 9 and 12). The experiments showed that increasing the temperature notably improved the processes efficiency. 75% lignin reduction was detected at the lowest temperature tested and lignin removal improved to 100% at 190°C. The effect of temperature on the COD removal rate was lower, but clearly detectable. 53% of organics were oxidized at 190°C. The effect of pH occurred mostly on lignin removal. Increasing the pH enhanced the lignin removal efficiency from 60% to nearly 100%. A good biodegradability ratio (over 0.5) was generally achieved. The aim of the second article was to develop a mathematical model for "pure" lignin wet oxidation using lumped characteristics of water (COD, BOD, TOC) and lignin concentration. The model agreed well with the experimental data (R2 = 0.93 at pH 5 and 12) and concentration changes during wet oxidation followed adequately the experimental results. The model also showed correctly the trend of biodegradability (BOD/COD) changes. In the third article, the purpose of the research was to estimate optimal conditions for wet oxidation (WO) of debarking water from the paper industry. The WO experiments were' performed at various temperatures, partial oxygen pressures and pH. The experiments showed that lignin degradation and organics removal are affected remarkably by temperature and pH. 78-97% lignin reduction was detected at different WO conditions. Initial pH 12 caused faster removal of tannins/lignin content; but initial pH 5 was more effective for removal of total organics, represented by COD and TOC. Most of the decrease in organic substances concentrations occurred in the first 60 minutes. The aim of the fourth article was to compare the behaviour of two reaction kinetic models, based on experiments of wet oxidation of industrial debarking water under different conditions. The simpler model took into account only the changes in COD, BOD and TOC; the advanced model was similar to the model used in the second article. Comparing the results of the models, the second model was found to be more suitable for describing the kinetics of wet oxidation of debarking water. The significance of the reactions involved was compared on the basis of the model: for instance, lignin degraded first to other chemically oxidizable compounds rather than directly to biodegradable products. Catalytic wet oxidation of lignin containing waters is briefly presented at the end of the dissertation. Two completely different catalysts were used: a commercial Pt catalyst and waste power plant ash. CWO showed good performance using 1 g/L of residual ash gave lignin removal of 86% and COD removal of 39% at 150°C (a lower temperature and pressure than with WO). It was noted that the ash catalyst caused a remarkable removal rate for lignin degradation already during the pre heating for `zero' time, 58% of lignin was degraded. In general, wet oxidation is not recommended for use as a complete mineralization method, but as a pre treatment phase to eliminate toxic or difficultly biodegradable components and to reduce the high level of organics. Biological treatment is an appropriate post treatment method since easily biodegradable organic matter remains after the WO process. The combination of wet oxidation with subsequent biological treatment can be an effective option for the treatment of lignin containing waters.

Developing co-operation of business units – exploring synergies and a joint business model

The purpose of this study was to develop co-operation between business units of the company operating in graphic industry. The development was done by searching synergy opportunities between these business units. The final aim was to form a business model, which is based on co-operation of these business units.The literature review of this thesis examines synergies and especially the process concerning the search and implementation of synergies. Also the concept of business model and its components are examined. The research was done by using qualitative research method. The main data acquiring method to the empirical part was theme interviews. The data was analyzed using thematisation and content analysis.The results of the study include seven identified possible synergies and a business model, which is based on the co-operation of the business units. The synergy opportunities are evaluated and the implementation order of the synergies is suggested. The presented synergies create the base for the proposed business model.

Of pearls and pigs : a conceptual-semantic Tiernet approach to formal representation of structure and variation of phraseological units

"Helmiä sioille", pärlor för svin, säger man på finska om någonting bra och fint som tas emot av en mottagare som inte vill eller har ingen förmåga att förstå, uppskatta eller utnyttja hela den potential som finns hos det mottagna föremålet, är ointresserad av den eller gillar den inte. För sådana relativt stabila flerordiga uttryck, som är lagrade i språkbrukarnas minnen och som demonstrerar olika slags oregelbundna drag i sin struktur använder man inom lingvistiken bl.a. termerna "idiom" eller "fraseologiska enheter". Som en oregelbundenhet kan man t.ex. beskriva det faktum att betydelsen hos uttrycket inte är densamma som man skulle komma till ifall man betraktade det som en vanlig regelbunden fras. En annan oregelbundenhet, som idiomforskare har observerat, ligger i den begränsade förmågan att varieras i form och betydelse, som många idiom har jämfört med regelbundna fraser. Därför talas det ofta om "grundform" och "grundbetydelse" hos idiom och variationen avses som avvikelse från dessa. Men när man tittar på ett stort antal förekomstexempel av idiom i språkbruk, märker man att många av dem tillåter variation, t.o.m. i sådan utsträckning att gränserna mellan en variant och en "grundform" suddas ut, och istället för ett idiom råkar vi plötsligt på en "familj" av flera besläktade uttryck. Allt detta väcker frågan om hur dessa uttryck egentligen ska vara representerade i språket. I avhandlingen utförs en kritisk granskning av olika tidigare tillvägagångssätt att beskriva fraseologiska enheter i syfte att klargöra vilka svårigheter deras struktur och variation erbjuder för den lingvistiska teorin. Samtidigt presenteras ett alternativt sätt att beskriva dessa uttryck. En systematisk och formell modell som utvecklas i denna avhandling integrerar en beskrivning av idiom på många olika språkliga nivåer och skildrar deras variation i form av ett nätverk och som ett resultat av samspel mellan idiomets struktur och kontexter där det förekommer, samt av interaktion med andra fasta uttryck. Modellen bygger på en fördjupande, språkbrukbaserad analys av det finska idiomet "X HEITTÄÄ HELMIÄ SIOILLE" (X kastar pärlor för svin).

Purified lignin for demanding applications

Diplomityön tarkoituksena oli puhdistaa kraft ligniiniä. Raaka-aineena käytettiin pääasiassa Lignoboost -menetelmän kaltaisella menetelmällä havupuu- mustalipeästä saostettua ligniiniä. Diplomityön ensimmäisenä tavoitteena oli löytää menetelmä, jolla voidaan poistaa kraft ligniinistä tuhkaa. Työssä raaka-aineena käytetyn saostetun ligniinin tuhkapitoisuus oli noin 3 %. Tarkoituksena oli saada laskettua tuhkapitoisuutta uudelleenlieton, suodatuksen ja pesun avulla. Työn toisena tavoitteena oli hiilihydraattien poisto kraft ligniinistä. Hiilihydraatit, pääosin hemiselluloosaa, ovat kiinnittyneet ligniiniin vahvoin kovalenttisin sidoksin. Aiempien kokemusten perusteella hemiselluloosat eivät irtoa ligniinistä vesipesun yhteydessä, vaan niiden irrottaminen vaatii onnistuakseen happo-, entsyymi- tai mikrobikäsittelyn, mikäli halutaan säilyttää ligniinin rakenne muuttumattomana. Tässä työssä käytetyt kraft ligniinin puhdistusmenetelmät olivat lietto, happohydrolyysi ja entsymaattinen hydrolyysi, joista kumpikin sisälsi ligniinin uudelleenlieton, suodatuksen ja muodostuneen kakun pesun vedellä.

Regioselective modification of galactose-containing polysaccharides in aqueous media

Biorefining is defined as sustainable conversion of biomass into marketable products and energy. Forests cover almost one third of earth’s land area, and account for approximately 40% of the total annual biomass production. In forest biorefining, the wood components are, in addition to the traditional paper and board products, converted into chemicals and biofuels. The major components in wood are cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. The main hemicellulose in softwoods, which are of interest especially for the Nordic forest industry, is O-acetyl galactoglucomannan (GGM). GGM can be isolated in industrial scale from the waste waters of the mechanical pulping process, but is not yet today industrially utilized. In order to attain desired properties of GGM for specific end-uses, chemical and enzymatic modifications can be performed. Regioselective modifications of GGM, and other galactose-containing polysaccharides were done by oxidations, and by combining oxidations with subsequent derivatizations of the formed carbonyl or carboxyl groups. Two different pathways were investigated: activation of the C-6 positions in different sugar units by TEMPO-mediated oxidation, and activation of C-6 position in only galactose-units by oxidation catalyzed by the enzyme galactose oxidase. The activated sites were further selectively derivatized; TEMPO-oxidized GGM by a carbodiimide-mediated reaction forming amides, and GO-oxidized GGM by indium-mediated allylation introducing double or triple bonds to the molecule. In order to better understand the reaction, and to develop a MALDI-TOF-MS method for characterization of regioselectively allylated GGM, α-D-galactopyranoside and raffinose were used as model compounds. All reactions were done in aqueous media. To investigate the applicability of the modified polysaccharides for, e.g., cellulose surface functionalization, their sorption onto pulp fibres was studied. Carboxylation affects the sorption tendency significantly; a higher degree of oxidation leads to lower sorption. By controlling the degree of oxidation of the polysaccharides and the ionic strength of the sorption media, high degrees of sorption of carboxylated polysaccharides onto cellulose could, however, be obtained. Anionic polysaccharides were used as templates during laccase-catalyzed polymerization of aniline, offering a green, chemo-enzymatic route for synthesis of conducting polyaniline (PANI) composite materials. Different polysaccharide templates, such as, native GGM, TEMPO-oxidized GGM, naturally anionic κ-carrageenan, and nanofibrillated cellulose produced by TEMPO-oxidation, were assessed. The conductivity of the synthesized polysaccharide/PANI biocomposites varies depending on the polysaccharide template; κ-CGN, the anionic polysaccharide with the lowest pKa value, produces the polysaccharide/PANI biocomposites with the highest conductivity. The presented derivatization, sorption, and polymerization procedures open new application windows for polysaccharides, such as spruce GGM. The modified polysaccharides and the conducting biocomposites produced provide potential applications in biosensors, electronic devices, and tissue engineering.