Integrated environmental research and networking of economy and information in rural areas of Finland

Selostus: Kestävän kehityksen integroidun tutkimuksen ja verkostotalouden teorian tutkimusmenetelmälliset ongelmat

Rural Food System Change in Tanzania during the Post-Ujamaa Era. A Case Study from Western Bagamoyo District

Food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa have been rapidly transforming during the recent decades with diverse outcomes on human development and environment. This study explores the food system change in rural villages in eastern Tanzania where subsistence agriculture has traditionally been the main source of livelihood. The focus is on the salient changes in the spatial dimensions and structural composition of the food system in the context of economic liberalization that has taken place after the end of the socialist <i>ujamaa</i> era in the mid-1980s. In addition, the linkages of the changes are examined in relation to food security, socio-economic situation, livelihoods, and local environment. The approach of the study is geographical, but also involves various multi-disciplinary elements, particularly from development studies. The research methods included thematic and questionnaire interviews, participatory tools, and the analysis of land use/ cover data and official documents. Several earlier studies that were made in the area during the late 1970s and 1980s provided an important reference base. The study shows that subsistence farming has lost its dominant role in food provisioning due to the declining productivity of land, livestock losses, and the increasing shift of labour to non-farm sectors. Also rapid population growth has added to the pressure on land and other natural resources. Despite the increasing need for money for buying marketed foods and other necessities, the nutritional situation shows improvement and severe malnutrition has diminished. However, the long-term sustainability of this transformation raises concerns. Firstly, the food security situation continues to be fragile and prone to shocks such as adverse climatic conditions, crop failures and price hikes. Secondly, the commodification of the food system and livelihoods in general is linked to rapid environmental degradation in the area, particularly the loss of soil fertility and deforestation. The situation calls for efforts that take more determined and holistic approaches towards sustainable development of the rural food system with particular focus on the role and viability of small-scale farming.

Tourism, poverty alleviation and nature conservation : the state of contemporary research

Artikkeli perustuu kirjallisuuskatsaukseen, joka on tehty 17 lehden 112 vertaisarvioidusta artikkelista vuosilta 2003-2007.

Exploring Customer-Oriented Service Offerings in Public Health: Developing Integrated Health Care Services for Rural Areas

Väestön ikääntyminen pakottaa yhteiskunnan ja julkisen terveydenhuollon muutoksiin. Jotta ikääntyvien ihmisten kotona asuminen voidaan mahdollistaa, palvelujärjestelmän pitää mukautua muuttuvaan tilanteeseen. Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena on tunnistaa asiakaslähtöisiä lähellä asiakasta tarjottavia palvelukokonaisuuksia. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys muodostuu asiakasarvon luomisesta ja palvelutarjoamista. Tarkasteluryhmänä on Etelä-Karjalan alueen 60–90-vuotiaat ja käytetty aineisto on kerätty vastaajilta postitse lähetetyllä kyselyllä. Tutkimus on eksploratiivinen ja tulosten tulkinnassa on hyödynnetty määrällisen tutkimuksen ja verkostoanalyysin menetelmiä. Työn keskeisimmät tulokset ovat tunnistetut asiakassegmentit ja heidän tarpeidensa pohjalta muodostetut palvelupaketit. Tulokset indikoivat asiakkaiden tarpeita ja tuloksia on analysoitu myös tuottajan näkökulmasta. Empiiristen tulosten lisäksi teoriaviitekehystä on kehitetty eteenpäin, jotta palvelukeskeiset teoriat voidaan ymmärtää yritysten näkökulman lisäksi asiakkaan näkökulmasta.

Microbusiness: A new social business model to alleviate poverty in developing countries?

Poverty alleviation views have shifted from seeing the poor as victims or as potential consumers, to seeing them as gainers. Social businesses include microfinancing and microfranchising, which engage people at the bottom of the pyramid using business instead of charity. There are, however, social business firms that do not fit to the existing social business model theory. These firms provide markets to poor producers and mix traditional, local craftsmanship with western design. Social business models evolve faster than the academic literature can study them. This study contributes to filling this gap. The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to develop the concept of social business as poverty alleviation method in developing countries. It also aims; 1) to describe the means for poverty alleviation in developing countries; 2) to introduce microbusiness as a social business model; and 3) to examine the challenges of microbusinesses. Qualitative case study is used as a research strategy and theme interviews as a data collecting method. The empirical data is gathered from four interviews of Finnish or Finnish-owned firms that employ microbusiness – Mifuko, Tensira, Mangomaa and Tikau – and this is supported with secondary data including articles on case companies. The results show that microbusiness is a valid new social business model that aims at poverty alleviation by engaging the poor at the bottom of the pyramid. It is possible to map the value proposition, value constellation, and economic and social profit equations of the case firms. Two major types of firms emerge from the results; the first consists of design-oriented firms that emphasize the quality and design of the products, and the second consists of bazaar-like firms whose product portfolio is less sophisticated and who promote more the stories of the products – not the design. All microbusiness firms provide markets, promote traditional handicrafts, form close relationships to their producers, and aim at enhancing lives through their businesses. The attitudes towards social businesses are sometimes negative, but this is changing for the better. In conclusion, microbusiness answers to two different needs at the same time – consumers’ needs for ethical products and the social needs of the producers – but the social need is the ultimate reason why the entrepreneurs started business. Microbusiness continues as a poverty alleviation tool that sees the poor as gainers; by providing them steady employment, microbusiness increases the poor’s self-esteem and enables them for a better living. Academic literature has not been able to offer enough alternative business models to cover all social businesses; the current study contributes to this by concluding that microbusiness is another social business model.

Mobile clinics in public health care: Integrated service offerings for rural elderly

This research is an analysis of the value and content of local service offerings that enable longer periods of living at home for elderly people. Mobile health care and new distribution services have provided an interesting solution in this context. The research aim to shed light on the research question, ‘How do we bundle services based on different customer needs?’ A research process consisting of three main phases was applied for this purpose. During this process, elderly customers were segmented, the importance of services was rated and service offerings were defined. Value creation and service offering provides theoretical framework for the research. The target group is South Karelia’s 60 to 90-year old individuals and the data has been acquired via a postal questionnaire. Research has been conducted as exploratory research utilizing the methods of quantitative and social network analysis. The main results of the report are identified customer segments and service packages that fits to the segments’ needs. The results indicate the needs of customers and the results are additionally analysed from the producer’s point of view. In addition to the empirical results, the used theory framework has been developed further in order for the service-related theories to be seen from the customer’s point of view and not just from the producer’s point of view.