Mobile terminal adaptation in portal for better usability

Elektroniset finanssipalvelut, erityisesti Internetin kautta käytettynä, on kasvava alue. Elektronisten finanssipalveluiden tarjoajan tulee pystyä tarjoamaan laaja käytettävyys kaikkien kanavien kautta. Laajan käytettävyyden avulla asiakas voi valita haluamansa kanavan haluamanaan aikana. Palveluntarjoajalla tulee olla joustava arkkitehtuuri pystyäkseen tukemaan asiakkaiden muuttuvia vaatimuksia. Joustavalla arkkitehtuurilla päätelaitteeseen mukautuminen on mahdollista ja näin palveluntarjoaja pystyy tarjoamaan tuen monille eri päätelaitteille ja teknologioille helposti ja nopeasti. Diplomityö keskittyy tutkimaan mahdollisuutta monen kanavan tukeen ja päätelaitteeseen mukautumista Nordean tulevassa finanssiportaaliratkaisussa. Tämä pitäisi olla mahdollista uuden arkkitehtuurin kanssa, jonka TietoEnator on toteuttanut yhteistyössä Nordean kanssa. Sivujen rakenteen uudelleenjärjestelyillä saatiin hyviä tuloksia. Nykyisestä arkkitehtuurissa löydettiin myös puutteita ja jäljelle jäi avoimia kysymyksiä, jotka kirjattiin ylös. On selvästi nähtävissä, että tehokas päätelaitteeseen mukautuminen ja tuki monelle kanavalle tuo hyötyjä sekä pankille että asiakkaalle.

Positioning Wireless Mobile Terminal Devices

Positioning techniques enable the positioning of mobile transportation vehicles. Location information can be used in transport planning as well as in vehicles. Information can also be transferred between vehicles and transport planning. For example, pickup and delivery information and route instructions can be exchanged wirelessly. In this thesis, techniques suitable for positioning vehicles are studied, as well as techniques enabling wireless connectivity of the vehicles to the transport planning system. A prototype based on one positioning and connectivity technique is implemented. As a result, a system capable of positioning vehicles is created. The vehicles can be located almost in real-time. The accuracy in positioning is sufficient to visualise the locations on a good quality 1:20000 city map.

Patient education to support self-management of patients with mental illness

This study explores areas which need to be improved to develop the quality of patient education to support self-management of patients with mental illness in psychiatric hospitals. The study was conducted in five phases during the period 2000 – 2007. First, patients‘ (n = 313) satisfaction with patient education were investigated. Second, patients' (n = 51) experiences of patient education were explored. Third, a national survey was conducted to investigate realisation of patient education from the staff (n = 55) viewpoint. Fourth, outcomes of patient education were investigated by evaluating the impacts of different patient education methods on patients‘ (n = 311) attitudes towards medication, knowledge level and importance of information. Fifth, patients‘ (n = 16) perceptions of different patient education methods were explored. Patients reported poor satisfaction with patient education (Phase I), and they have considerable need to receive information during their hospital stay (Phase II). Described by staff, the content of patient education covered almost all informational areas investigated. However, discrepancies related to the realisation of patient education were found. (Phase III.) Evaluation of different patient education methods indicate that patients derived benefits from structured patient education with supportive methods (Phase IV) and patients also perceived that these methods supported their information receiving (Phase V). In order to improve the quality of patient education to support self-management of patients with mental illness patient education should be systematically and individually provided to all patients by using different educational methods. Realisation of this should be ensured by providing written instructions, improving nurses‘ knowledge and skills as well ensuring operating conditions.

Exploring the Impact of Mental Health Education on Adolescents’ Perceptions About Mental Health and Mental Illness. Improving community health

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of mental health and mental illness as well as the perceptions towards people with mental illness among adolescents, and further to examine the impact that a mental health educational intervention has on these perceptions. The review of the literature revealed a small number of publications on mental health educational interventions among adolescents which aimed at increasing knowledge and affecting attitudes towards mental illness with positive results. Fifty nine pupils (13-16 years old) from two randomly selected secondary schools around Athens, Greece, participated in this study. These schools were randomly selected as the experimental group (n=28) which participated in the mental health educational intervention, and the comparison group (n=31), which did not receive any intervention. Data were collected using individual interviews with open-ended questions, drawings and a questionnaire (Opinions about Mental Illness - O.M.I. scale). The participants described mental health and mental illness before and after the intervention, using the same expressions for both terms. Among the experimental group, changes were seen within the same expressions after the intervention, although some descriptions did not change. However, after the intervention, participants in the experimental group did not confuse mental health with mental illness and they also included specific diagnostic examples or stated that mental illness can happen to anyone and it can be managed. Moreover, they expressed positive attitudes towards mentally ill people, which they had not done before the intervention. The analysis of the drawings before the intervention showed that mentally ill persons were drawn similarly in both groups. After the intervention, the drawings of the participants in the experimental group changed, including fewer negative elements, while the drawings of the comparison group did not change. Regarding the results on the O.M.I. scale, it was found that the score on the Social Discrimination factor significantly decreased from pre-test to post-test in both study groups. The experimental group had higher levels on Social Discrimination at pre-test compared to the comparison group, but this difference was not significant at post-test. No significant changes were found for the Social Restriction factor for either study group. Scores of the Social Care and Social Integration factors increased significantly only in the intervention group. Overall, the results of this study indicate that the mental health educational intervention had a positive impact on the perceptions about mental health and mental illness among adolescents, and (mental) health professionals can use these results for implementing similar interventions and further research.