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.

ANALYSE DISCURSIVE DE L’IDENTITE ET DU VOILE ISLAMIQUE. Étude de cas des étudiantes musulmanes de Montréal

Tässä pro gradu -tutkielmassa keskitytään Montrealissa asuvien muslimiopiskelijoiden identiteetin tutkimiseen islamilaisen hunnun kautta. Montrealin suurkaupunkia on vuosien varrella rikastuttanut ja muokannut suuret maahanmuuttajien virrat. Kulttuurien kohdatessa länsimaalaisten nuorten keskuudessa ilmenee usein uusia uskonnollisuuden muotoja. Siksi on olennaista perehtyä nuorten asenteisiin itseä sekä toiseutta kohtaan monikulttuurisessa ympäristössä. Työssä tutkitaankin muslimiopiskelijoiden omakuvan sekä identiteetin rakentumista kielen kautta suhteessa toiseuteen ja jumalaan. Työn teoreettisena lähtökohtana toimii näkökulma identiteetin syntymisestä kielessä sekä vastavuoroisuuden kontekstissa. Tämän diskursiivisen näkökulman mukaan identiteetti ei ole olemassa ihmisessä itsessään, vaan se on kontekstisidonnainen ilmiö, joka muodostuu diskurssissa sekä suhteessa toiseuteen. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa käytetään psykokognitiivista teoriaa representaatioista, sillä se korostaa uskonnollisten representaatioiden erityispiirteitä muihin representaaitoihin nähden. Tutkimus on laadullinen ja sen aineisto koostuu viidestä hunnuttautuvan naispuolisen muslimiopiskelijan haastattelusta. Analyysimetodina työssä käytetään diskurssianalyysia, jonka puitteessa identiteetin muodostumista analysoidaan kielen subjektiivisten elementtien sekä muslimiopiskelijoiden diskurssiin tuomien toiseuden ja jumalan äänen kautta. Tutkielman tulokset osoittavat kuinka länsimaalaiset individualistiset arvot, islamin usko sekä jumalan auktoriteettinen asema esiintyvät toisiaan täydentävinä, ei ristiriitaisina ilmiöinä muslimiopiskelijoiden diskurssissa. Auktoriteettinen jumala antaa jokaiselle yksilölle vapaan tahdon päättää ja toimia haluamallaan tavalla. Siksi huivin käytön taustalta löytyy usein henkilökohtaisia motiiveja, joita vahvistamaan haastateltavat lainaavat niin muiden ihmisten kuin jumalan puhetta. Huivin käyttöönottoa on edeltänyt pitkä itsetutkiskeluprosessi – uskon intellektualisointi. Täten korkeakoulussa opiskelevien musliminaisten usko eroaa pitkälti ”automaattisesta” uskosta, sillä se sisältää kyseenalaistamista, harkintaa sekä voimakkaita tunteellisia kokemuksia. Työn tulokset edesauttavat ymmärtämään kulttuurien välistä kommunikaatiota ja toiseutta. Mielekästä olisikin tutkia tarkemmin huivin käytön taustalta löytyviä motivaatioita sekä eihunnuttautuvien musliminaisten asenteita islamilaista huivia kohtaan tietyssä ympäristössä, kuten työpaikoilla tai yliopistolla.

Use of neural networks in robot positioning of large flexible redundant manipulators

Deflection compensation of flexible boom structures in robot positioning is usually done using tables containing the magnitude of the deflection with inverse kinematics solutions of a rigid structure. The number of table values increases greatly if the working area of the boom is large and the required positioning accuracy is high. The inverse kinematics problems are very nonlinear, and if the structure is redundant, in some cases it cannot be solved in a closed form. If the structural flexibility of the manipulator arms is taken into account, the problem is almost impossible to solve using analytical methods. Neural networks offer a possibility to approximate any linear or nonlinear function. This study presents four different methods of using neural networks in the static deflection compensation and inverse kinematics solution of a flexible hydraulically driven manipulator. The training information required for training neural networks is obtained by employing a simulation model that includes elasticity characteristics. The functionality of the presented methods is tested based on the simulated and measured results of positioning accuracy. The simulated positioning accuracy is tested in 25 separate coordinate points. For each point, the positioning is tested with five different mass loads. The mean positioning error of a manipulator decreased from 31.9 mm to 4.1 mm in the test points. This accuracy enables the use of flexible manipulators in the positioning of larger objects. The measured positioning accuracy is tested in 9 separate points using three different mass loads. The mean positioning error decreased from 10.6 mm to 4.7 mm and the maximum error from 27.5 mm to 11.0 mm.

Brand positioning for sport goods

The objective of this study was to find out how Exel position itself against its most important competitors, and how it could strengthen its own position in the future. Both end and intermediate customers was researched about their preferences and how the decision process could be influenced. The research was done by telephone interviews and the data was analyzed by statistical methods. The results showed that the decision making when buying floorball sticks is mainly influenced by the image of the brand and the popularity of the brand, rather than the actual technical abilities of the stick.

Developing a Brand Positioning Model for International Strategic Marketing

The target of this thesis is to develop a brand positioning process model for the case company’s international operations. The model will make the process more effective and decrease the risk of relevant aspects being forgotten. The focus is on the international operations although generally the brand positioning can be seen as a standardized subject and, thus, there is no need to distinguish market areas. Constructive research approach is chosen as a research method. Internal interviews are done in order to give the much needed insight about the case company’s current processes and circumstances. Based on theory, interviews as well as internal and external material the model is built. The most difficult part in building the model is to determine the order of each phase. Also, deciding the number of each phase can be problematic. The model should be brief and assertive in order to reduce the risk of misunderstanding between employees from different units. Based on the analysis of the interviews and the theory the brand positioning process model is presented with indication of the order of each phase. The model is divided to three main groups: Analyzing the Environment, Determining the Brand Position, and Documenting the BPS. The benefits of the model are that overlapping work can be reduced, too similar brands can be noticed and it is easier to train new employees.

Transition management and the sustainable nutrients economy in the Netherlands; positioning paper

In this positioning paper transition management (TM) and the sustainable nutrient economy are addressed. We discuss TM from its scholarly origins in the 1990’s to its implementation as a comprehensive sector-wide policy program on sustainability in The Netherlands during the first decade of the 2000´s. Although the program was innovative and provoked a new approach to environmental policy and governance, the program at large failed to set the right conditions under which sustainable transition take place. Lessons from the Netherlands, both successful and less successful, are addressed in this positioning paper to inform Finnish governmental and knowledge institutes on how (not) to implement TM on environmental issues. When looking at sustainable nutrient economy the paper takes a historical view at how problems with nutrients (especially phosphates) were dealt with in the Netherlands during the post World War II era. This transition did not occur easily. In the agricultural sector environmental policies to prevent nutrient problems were not easily accepted, as large agricultural economic interests were at stake and the sector’s main actors were generally opposed to (radical) environmental transition. Currently, sustainable nutrient economy initiatives are starting to receive attention on the political agenda once again. In 2011 a sector- and chain-wide covenant was signed, showing that sustainable nutrient transition goals get commitment from stakeholders throughout the nutrient chain. We judge that TM provides useful elements that are applicable to Finnish governance modes to support sustainable nutrient economy transition. However, the Finnish government should be careful when implementing TM to prevent making the same mistakes the Dutch government made in previous years.

USING ATHLETE ENDORSEMENT IN BRAND POSITIONING – An insight from multinational sports goods companies

It has become a popular method in marketing campaigns to use well-known and admired personalities to promote products. A famous person can draw attention to the brand and change consumers’ perceptions of the brand. The research problem of this study was to offer guidelines on how to use athlete endorsement effectively in brand positioning. This research tried to illustrate how athlete endorsement is a vital brand building factor. Athletes have been found to have special credibility, so this research concentrated on the sports goods industry. Furthermore, athlete endorsement has become a natural part of communicating a sports brand. Athletes highlight the performance of the brand to the consumers. The study was conducted as a qualitative research applying case study method. The two case companies selected for this study were Adidas and Puma. The main findings of the empirical research corresponded to the theoretical framework of the study. Brand positioning strategies in the sports goods industry often include athlete endorsement to some extent. Large multinational companies try to attract the best athletes to promote their brand. The key to successful brand positioning is to have a good product with the right personalities to promote it. However, large multinational companies may face difficulties in localizing their marketing efforts. As a result, global campaigns may not be lucrative everywhere. The role of an expert in an athlete’s sport has resulted in increasing credibility in promoting brands. Creating a superior product in consumers’ minds creates competitive advantage. A top athlete may be linked with superior equipment. After considering the goals of the positioning strategy, companies need to plan their brand awareness process, brand image and brand values. Then, athletes need to be selected based on their characteristics to meet the criteria. Sport sponsorship is a way to support the message delivered through athlete endorsement. Athlete endorsement and sport sponsorship complement the marketing communications mix of a brand. Additionally, companies raise brand awareness and communicate brand image through the athlete. Thus, athletes may earn more money through the sponsorship deals and even feature the advertisements after their professional career. Key words

Between Dugin’s Eurasianism and Mahan’s Sea Power Concept: Russia’s Geopolitical Discourse within Foucault’s ‘Discursive Tree’ before and After the Incorporation of the Crimea

The fall of 2013 could be characterized as a crossroad in the geopolitics of Eastern Europe, namely Ukraine. Two rivalry geopolitical projects have been developing throughout the post-Cold War years, and it seems that they reached a collision point in Ukraine; a country whose authorities have been for long switching sides between the European Union and the Russian Federation in their foreign policy commitments. The refusal/postponing to sign the Association Agreement with Brussels, an expected event by a large category of the Ukrainian society, by Yanukovich’s government led to the outset of the latter; and brought a pro-Western, anti-Russian government in Kyiv. It seems that Ukraine, after those events, has embarked definitively on the path of integration into the West (European Union and possibly NATO). The Russian Federation, who has been throughout Putin’s years engaged into the re-integration of post-Soviet space, reacted to these developments in an assertive manner by violating borders, agreements and the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Thus, the incorporation of the Crimea into the Russian Federation is the first in its kind in the post-Soviet space, despite the existence of various other conflicts that broke out in the region after the Soviet Union broke up. I will investigate in this thesis the nature of what will be labelled, in this work, the Crimean issue. I argue that the incorporation of the Crimean peninsula into the Russian Federation marks a new era in Russian geopolitical thinking that shapes, to a far extent, Russian foreign policy. Discourse analysis will be the methodological basis for this study, with a special focus on Michel Foucault’s Archaeology of Knowledge. The innovation that this research brings is the fact that it discusses Russian geopolitical discourse within the scope of Foucault’s ‘discursive tree’, with a reference to the Crimean issue. A wide range of primary sources will be consulted in this study such as presidential addresses to the Federal Assembly (2000-2014), Foreign Policy Concepts of the Russian Federation (2000, 2008), Russian maritime doctrines, as wells as Dugin’s Osnovy Geopolitiki (Foundations of Geopolitics), Mahan’s (The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783) and other Eurasianism related literature.