“I haven’t had that much fun since labour.” Subtitling sarco-ironic remarks in Gilmore Girls

The purpose of this study is to explore how the potential cues of spoken sarcasm and irony are transferred into written Finnish subtitles in the American television series Gilmore Girls. The aim is to discover how the use of cuing differs between the English source text and the Finnish target text. The research is conducted through qualitative and quantitative analysis and comparison between the two languages. Three (3) episodes from Gilmore Girls are analysed using the Finnish DVD subtitles and the episodes’ English unofficial transcripts. The sarco-ironic remarks and their translations are identified, and their individual sarco-ironic cues are categorised. The number of cues, the number of cues in each category and the number of cue shifts are compared quantitatively in order to find whether the translator uses less or different cues than the writer of the original source text. The qualitative analysis focuses on the cue types used in both texts. The results confirmed the hypothesis of sarcasm and irony being relatively straightforward linguistic phenomena to translate, and the hypothesis of the category of words of reinforcement/trivialising being the most used in conveying sarcasm and irony. However, the study also showed that even though some cues were cut in the translation process, the sarco-ironic meaning was rarely omitted entirely from the translation. The findings also showed that the number of cue shifts was surprisingly low. From these results we can deduce that at least in the context of DVD subtitles, sarcasm and irony can be conveyed also in writing, and even though some cues were omitted or shifted, sarcasm and irony were still detectable in the Finnish subtitles. The language used in DVD translations uses less cues of sarcasm and irony and it could thus be considered less versatile than the original source language.

Russian transition in the early 21st century

Tässä tutkimuksessa käsitellään Venäjän talouden kehitystä uudella vuosituhannella. Kylmän sodan aikaan Neuvostoliitto oli suurvalta, jonka asema perustui sotilasmahtiin. Sotateollisuuden konversio palvelemaan nykytarpeita ei ole ollut helppo tehtävä. Vuoden 1998 talouskriisin jälkeen elintaso on toipunut verraten nopeasti, mikä on nähtävissä tarkastellessa kotitalouksien kulutusrakenteita, joita käsitellään tarkemmin luvussa 2. Siirtymätalouksissa vaihtotaseen vajeet ovat yleisiä, mutta luonnonrikkauksiensa ansiosta Venäjän vaihtotaseet ovat olleet huomattavan ylijäämäisiä, mitä pohditaan luvussa 3. Vaihtotaseen ylijäämien heijatusvaikutus on ollut Venäjän rooli pääomien nettoviejänä. Venäjän investointikertymä onedelleen erittäin vaatimaton suhteutettuna maan kehitysvaiheeseen. Jokaisessa menestyksekkäässä taloudessa investoinnit ovat pitkän aikavälintaloudellisen menestyksen avaintekijä. Venäjän erityispiirteitä tähän liittyen on kuvattu luvussa 4. Raportti päättyy talouden nykytilanteen analyysiin (luvut 5 ja 6).

On Effort Estimation in Software Projects

Software engineering is criticized as not being engineering or 'well-developed' science at all. Software engineers seem not to know exactly how long their projects will last, what they will cost, and will the software work properly after release. Measurements have to be taken in software projects to improve this situation. It is of limited use to only collect metrics afterwards. The values of the relevant metrics have to be predicted, too. The predictions (i.e. estimates) form the basis for proper project management. One of the most painful problems in software projects is effort estimation. It has a clear and central effect on other project attributes like cost and schedule, and to product attributes like size and quality. Effort estimation can be used for several purposes. In this thesis only the effort estimation in software projects for project management purposes is discussed. There is a short introduction to the measurement issues, and some metrics relevantin estimation context are presented. Effort estimation methods are covered quite broadly. The main new contribution in this thesis is the new estimation model that has been created. It takes use of the basic concepts of Function Point Analysis, but avoids the problems and pitfalls found in the method. It is relativelyeasy to use and learn. Effort estimation accuracy has significantly improved after taking this model into use. A major innovation related to the new estimationmodel is the identified need for hierarchical software size measurement. The author of this thesis has developed a three level solution for the estimation model. All currently used size metrics are static in nature, but this new proposed metric is dynamic. It takes use of the increased understanding of the nature of the work as specification and design work proceeds. It thus 'grows up' along with software projects. The effort estimation model development is not possible without gathering and analyzing history data. However, there are many problems with data in software engineering. A major roadblock is the amount and quality of data available. This thesis shows some useful techniques that have been successful in gathering and analyzing the data needed. An estimation process is needed to ensure that methods are used in a proper way, estimates are stored, reported and analyzed properly, and they are used for project management activities. A higher mechanism called measurement framework is also introduced shortly. The purpose of the framework is to define and maintain a measurement or estimationprocess. Without a proper framework, the estimation capability of an organization declines. It requires effort even to maintain an achieved level of estimationaccuracy. Estimation results in several successive releases are analyzed. It isclearly seen that the new estimation model works and the estimation improvementactions have been successful. The calibration of the hierarchical model is a critical activity. An example is shown to shed more light on the calibration and the model itself. There are also remarks about the sensitivity of the model. Finally, an example of usage is shown.

Methods of Design and Testing of Real Time Systems

Teollusuussovelluksissa vaaditaan nykyisin yhä useammin reaaliaikaista tiedon käsittelyä. Luotettavuus on yksi tärkeimmistä reaaliaikaiseen tiedonkäsittelyyn kykenevän järjestelmän ominaisuuksista. Sen saavuttamiseksi on sekä laitteisto, että ohjelmisto testattava. Tämän työn päätavoitteena on laitteiston testaaminen ja laitteiston testattavuus, koska luotettava laitteistoalusta on perusta tulevaisuuden reaaliaikajärjestelmille. Diplomityössä esitetään digitaaliseen signaalinkäsittelyyn soveltuvan prosessorikortin suunnittelu. Prosessorikortti on tarkoitettu sähkökoneiden ennakoivaa kunnonvalvontaa varten. Uusimmat DFT (Desing for Testability) menetelmät esitellään ja niitä sovelletaan prosessorikortin sunnittelussa yhdessä vanhempien menetelmien kanssa. Kokemukset ja huomiot menetelmien soveltuvuudesta raportoidaan työn lopussa. Työn tavoitteena on kehittää osakomponentti web -pohjaiseen valvontajärjestelmään, jota on kehitetty Sähkötekniikan osastolla Lappeenrannan teknillisellä korkeakoululla.

Tahko Pihkalan kokoelma

Prof. Lauri Pihkalan testamentin perusteella Jyväskylän yliopiston kirjastolle luovutettu kokoelma koti- ja ulkomaista urheilukirjallisuutta 1800-luvun loppupuolelta 1970-luvulle. Sisältää urheilua ja ruumiinkulttuuria käsittelevän kirjallisuuden lisäksi poliittista historiaa, sotalaitosta ja naisliikettä koskevaa kirjallisuutta sekä ainutlaatuisen Amerikka-kokoelman. Kirjoissa näkyy Pihkalan lukutavat ja merkinnät.

Threat Simulation- The Function of Dreaming?

Dreaming is a pure form of phenomenality, created by the brain untouched by external stimulation or behavioral activity, yet including a full range of phenomenal contents. Thus, it has been suggested that the dreaming brain could be used as a model system in a biological research program on consciousness (Revonsuo, 2006). In the present thesis, the philosophical view of biological realism is accepted, and thus, dreaming is considered as a natural biological phenomenon, explainable in naturalistic terms. The major theoretical contribution of the present thesis is that it explores dreaming from a multidisciplinary perspective, integrating information from various fields of science, such as dream research, consciousness research, evolutionary psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Further, it places dreaming into a multilevel framework, and investigates the constitutive, etiological, and contextual explanations for dreaming. Currently, the only theory offering a full multilevel explanation for dreaming, that is, a theory including constitutive, etiological, and contextual level explanations, is the Threat Simulation Theory (TST) (Revonsuo, 2000a; 2000b). The empirical significance of the present thesis lies in the tests conducted to test this specific theory put forth to explain the form, content, and biological function of dreaming. The first step in the empirical testing of the TST was to define exact criteria for what is a ‘threatening event’ in dreams, and then to develop a detailed and reliable content analysis scale with which it is possible to empirically explore and quantify threatening events in dreams. The second step was to seek answers to the following questions derived from the TST: How frequent threatening events are in dreams? What kind of qualities these events have? How threatening events in dreams relate to the most recently encoded or the most salient memory traces of threatening events experienced in waking life? What are the effects of exposure to severe waking life threat on dreams? The results reveal that threatening events are relatively frequent in dreams, and that the simulated threats are realistic. The most common threats include aggression, are targeted mainly against the dream self, and include simulations of relevant and appropriate defensive actions. Further, real threat experiences activate the threat simulation system in a unique manner, and dream content is modulated by the activation of long term episodic memory traces with highest negative saliency. To sum up, most of the predictions of the TST tested in this thesis received considerable support. The TST presents a strong argument that explains the specific design of dreams as threat simulations. The TST also offers a plausible explanation for why dreaming would have been selected for: because dreaming interacted with the environment in such a way that enhanced fitness of ancestral humans. By referring to a single threat simulation mechanism it furthermore manages to explain a wide variety of dream content data that already exists in the literature, and to predict the overall statistical patterns of threat content in different samples of dreams. The TST and the empirical tests conducted to test the theory are a prime example of what a multidisciplinary approach to mental phenomena can accomplish. Thus far, dreaming seems to have always resided in the periphery of science, never regarded worth to be studied by the mainstream. Nevertheless, when brought to the spotlight, the study of dreaming can greatly benefit from ideas in diverse branches of science. Vice versa, knowledge learned from the study of dreaming can be applied in various disciplines. The main contribution of the present thesis lies in putting dreaming back where it belongs, that is, into the spotlight in the cross-road of various disciplines.

CFD simulation of complex phenomena containing suspensions and flow throughporous media

There is an increasing reliance on computers to solve complex engineering problems. This is because computers, in addition to supporting the development and implementation of adequate and clear models, can especially minimize the financial support required. The ability of computers to perform complex calculations at high speed has enabled the creation of highly complex systems to model real-world phenomena. The complexity of the fluid dynamics problem makes it difficult or impossible to solve equations of an object in a flow exactly. Approximate solutions can be obtained by construction and measurement of prototypes placed in a flow, or by use of a numerical simulation. Since usage of prototypes can be prohibitively time-consuming and expensive, many have turned to simulations to provide insight during the engineering process. In this case the simulation setup and parameters can be altered much more easily than one could with a real-world experiment. The objective of this research work is to develop numerical models for different suspensions (fiber suspensions, blood flow through microvessels and branching geometries, and magnetic fluids), and also fluid flow through porous media. The models will have merit as a scientific tool and will also have practical application in industries. Most of the numerical simulations were done by the commercial software, Fluent, and user defined functions were added to apply a multiscale method and magnetic field. The results from simulation of fiber suspension can elucidate the physics behind the break up of a fiber floc, opening the possibility for developing a meaningful numerical model of the fiber flow. The simulation of blood movement from an arteriole through a venule via a capillary showed that the model based on VOF can successfully predict the deformation and flow of RBCs in an arteriole. Furthermore, the result corresponds to the experimental observation illustrates that the RBC is deformed during the movement. The concluding remarks presented, provide a correct methodology and a mathematical and numerical framework for the simulation of blood flows in branching. Analysis of ferrofluids simulations indicate that the magnetic Soret effect can be even higher than the conventional one and its strength depends on the strength of magnetic field, confirmed experimentally by Völker and Odenbach. It was also shown that when a magnetic field is perpendicular to the temperature gradient, there will be additional increase in the heat transfer compared to the cases where the magnetic field is parallel to the temperature gradient. In addition, the statistical evaluation (Taguchi technique) on magnetic fluids showed that the temperature and initial concentration of the magnetic phase exert the maximum and minimum contribution to the thermodiffusion, respectively. In the simulation of flow through porous media, dimensionless pressure drop was studied at different Reynolds numbers, based on pore permeability and interstitial fluid velocity. The obtained results agreed well with the correlation of Macdonald et al. (1979) for the range of actual flow Reynolds studied. Furthermore, calculated results for the dispersion coefficients in the cylinder geometry were found to be in agreement with those of Seymour and Callaghan.

Intercultural bridges in teenagers' theatrical events : performing self and constructing cultural identity through a creative drama process

The overriding aim of this drama educational case study is to deepen the understanding of meaning making in a creative intercultural youth theatre process and to examine it in the context of the 10th European Children's TheatreEncounter. The research task is to give a theoretical description of some key features of a creative drama process as the basis for theory about meaning makingin physical theatre. The first task is to illuminate the culture-historical connections of the multilayered practice of the EDERED-association. The second taskis to analyse and interpret theatrical meaning making. The ethnographical research site is regarded as a theatrical event. The analysis of the theatrical eventis divided into four segments: cultural contexts, contextual theatricality, theatrical playing and playing culture. These segments are connected with four research questions: What are the cultural contexts of a creative drama process? How can the organisation of the Encounter, genres, aesthetic codes and perception ofcodes be seen to influence the lived experiences of the participants? What are some of the key phases and characteristics in a creative practice? What kind of cultural learning can be interpreted from the performance texts? The interpretative question concerns identity and community (re)construction. How are the categories, `community´ and `child´ constructed in the Encounter culture? In this drama educational case study the research material (transcribed interviews, coded questionnaire answers, participant drawings, videotaped process text and performance texts) are examined in a multi-method analysis in the meta-theoretical framework of Dewey's naturalistic pragmatism. A three-dimensional research interest through a combination of lived experiences, social contexts and cultural-aesthetical practices compared with drama-educational practices required the methodological project of cultural studies. Furthermore, the critical interpretation of cultural texts is divided into three levels of analyses which are called description, structural analysis and theoretical interpretation. Dialogic validity (truthfulness, self-reflexivity and polyvocality) is combined with contextual validity (sensitivity to social context and awareness of historicity) and with deconstructive validity (awareness of the social discourses). My research suggests that itis possible, by means of physical theatre, to construct symbolic worlds where questions about intercultural identity and multilingual community are examined and where provisional answers are constructed in social interaction.

Mellom tradisjon og spel : didaktikk for tekstil folkekunst

Denne avhandlinga er resultatet av eit behov for å forske på og utvikle ein didaktikk for tekstilfaget ved Folkekunststudiet, Institutt for folkekultur, Høgskolen i Telemark, Noreg. Studiet med folkekunst som fagfelt er eit relativt ungt studium på høgskolen, som vart etablert i 1984. Problemstillinga i denne avhandlinga er korleis ein kan utvikle ein forskingsbasert didaktikk der dei grunnleggjande prinsippa som særmerkjer den tradisjonelle folkekunsten, vert tekne vare på. I arbeidet med avhandlinga har eg prøvd på å klårgjere problemstillinga ut frå ulike perspektiv. Forskingsarbeidet har fokus på kommunikasjon og arbeidsmåtar i ljos av ulike teoriar. Det er ei hermeneutisk tilnærming som er vald for den didaktiske forståinga. Det fyrste drøftingstemaet har søkjeljos på kommunikasjon og dialog ved vidareføring av tekstil folkekunst. Både estetiske, teoretiske, praktiske og sosiale aspekt er nedfelte i læreplanen for studiet og skal utgjere grunnlaget for kommunikasjon og arbeidsmåtar. I den skapande og kopierande prosessen er det utvikla språklege reiskapar for både den sosiale og den estetiske sida der den teoretiske og praktiske faktoren er integrert. Møte med døme på tekstile tradisjonar så vel som praktisk forming av tekstilar har ført til refleksjon og dialog som involverer kontemplasjon, korrespondens og imaginasjon. Det andre temaet som er drøfta, er vidareføring av tradisjonelt visuelt formspråk. Her er merksemda retta mot kva som har skjedd formalt med ei gruppe tradisjonelle formelement i tekstilar i den institusjonelle vidareføringa over eit lengre tidsperspektiv. Resultatet syner at mange tradisjonelle formelement er borte frå den institusjonelle produksjonen. Formelementa kan ha fått ei meir naturalistisk utforming, eller dei er overførte til andre tradisjonelle tekstilteknikkar enn dei som var utgangspunktet. Rombeforma i den institusjonelle produksjonen er utført i færre variasjonar og kombinasjonar enn i den tradisjonelle produksjonen. Konklusjonen på drøftingstemaet er at spelereglar og spatialitet i høve til den formale komponenten i utvalet med tradisjonelle tekstilar ikkje er vidareført i alle gruppene av institusjonelle produkt. Resultatet kan få innverknad og fylgjer for utforming av ein framtidig didaktikk for faget. Arbeidsmåte og erfaring frå vidareføring av tekstile tradisjonar er det tredje temaet som er drøfta i avhandlinga. Kopiering og skapande prosessar er arbeidsmåtar som er brukte ved studiet i dag, og dei utgjer grunnlag for drøftingar i relasjon til vidareføring og erfaring. Konklusjonen er at i den skapande prosessen korrigerer tradisjonen utforminga, medan i kopiprosessen er eigen stilvilje og improvisering resultat av prosessane. Personar som deltek i prosessane, har sett seg sjølve og si historiske forankring inn i spelet, der visuelt og verbalt språk er resultat av integrasjon av tradisjonar. Dei tre drøftingstemaa utgjer grunnlaget for at didaktikk for folkekunst og tekstil kan bli intersubjektiv forståing av kva ein didaktikk for vidareføring av folkekunst med vekt på tekstil kan vere i utdanninga i dag. Indre og ytre dialog i skapande og kopierande prosessar femner om estetiske, materielle og tekniske faktorar sett i høve til spelereglar, spelerom, spatialitet og samspel i møte med tekstile tradisjonar. Samla utgjer det ein forskingsbasert didaktikk for faget der den overordna intensjonen er samtykke mellom tradisjon og spel.

New and Emerging Challenges of the ICT-Mediated Health and Well-Being Services

This monograph dissertation looks into the field of ICT-mediated health and well-being services. Through six chapters that extend the work done in the reviewed and published articles, the dissertation focuses on new and emerging technologies, and to impact of their use on the beneficiary; the individual who eventually derives advantage from the services. As the field is currently going through major changes particularly in the OECD countries, the focus is on shortterm developments in the field and the analysis on the long term developments is cursory by nature. The dissertation includes theoretical and empirical elements. Most of the empirical elements are linked to product development and conceptualization performed in the national MyWellbeing project that ended in 2010. In the project, the emphasis was on conceptualization of a personal aid for the beneficiary that could be used for managing information and services in the field of health and well-being services. This work continued the theme of developing individual-centric solutions for the field; a work that started in the InnoElli Senior program in 2006. The nature of this thesis is foremost a conceptual elaboration based on a literature review, illustrated in empirical work performed in different projects. As a theoretical contribution, this dissertation elaborates the role of a mediator, i.e. an intermediary, and it is used as an overarching theme. The role acts as a ‘lens’ through which a number of technology-related phenomena are looked at, pinned down and addressed to a degree. This includes introduction of solutions, ranging from anthropomorphic artefacts to decision support systems that may change the way individuals experience clinical encounters in the near-future. Due to the complex and multiform nature of the field, it is impractical and effectively impossible to cover all aspects that are related to mediation in a single work. Issues such as legislation, financing and privacy are all of equal importance. Consideration of all these issues is beyond the scope of this dissertation and their investigation is left to other work. It follows from this that the investigation on the role is not intended as inclusive one. The role of the mediator is also used to highlight some of the ethical issues related to personal health information management, and to mediating health and well-being related issues on behalf of another individual, such as an elderly relative or a fellow member of a small unit in the armed forces. The dissertation concludes in a summary about the use and functions of the mediator, describing some potential avenues for implementing such support mechanisms to the changing field of ICT-mediated health and well-being services. The conclusions also describe some of the limitations of this dissertation, including remarks on methodology and content.

Decision making and decision support in service systems

This thesis is a literature study that develops a conceptual model of decision making and decision support in service systems. The study is related to the Ä-Logi, Intelligent Service Logic for Welfare Sector Services research project, and the objective of the study is to develop the necessary theoretical framework to enable further research based on the research project results and material. The study first examines the concepts of service and service systems, focusing on understanding the characteristics of service systems and their implications for decision making and decision support to provide the basis for the development of the conceptual model. Based on the identified service system characteristics, an integrated model of service systems is proposed that views service systems through a number of interrelated perspectives that each offer different, but complementary, implications on the nature of decision making and the requirements for decision support in service systems. Based on the model, it is proposed that different types of decision making contexts can be identified in service systems that may be dominated by different types of decision making processes and where different types of decision support may be required, depending on the characteristics of the decision making context and its decision making processes. The proposed conceptual model of decision making and decision support in service systems examines the characteristics of decision making contexts and processes in service systems, and their typical requirements for decision support. First, a characterization of different types of decision making contexts in service systems is proposed based on the Cynefin framework and the identified service system characteristics. Second, the nature of decision making processes in service systems is proposed to be dual, with both rational and naturalistic decision making processes existing in service systems, and having an important and complementary role in decision making in service systems. Finally, a characterization of typical requirements for decision support in service systems is proposed that examines the decision support requirements associated with different types of decision making processes in characteristically different types of decision making contexts. It is proposed that decision support for the decision making processes that are based on rational decision making can be based on organizational decision support models, while decision support for the decision making processes that are based on naturalistic decision making should be based on supporting the decision makers’ situation awareness and facilitating the development of their tacit knowledge of the system and its tasks. Based on the proposed conceptual model a further research process is proposed. The study additionally provides a number of new perspectives on the characteristics of service systems, and the nature of decision making and requirements for decision support in service systems that can potentially provide a basis for further discussion and research, and support the practice alike.

Lauseen aspektin ilmaiseminen suomen kielessä. Tutkimus olla-, tehdä- ja tulla-verbillisistä tekstilauseista käyttökonteksteissaan

Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan lauseen aspektin ilmaisemista suomen kielessä. Aspektia käsitellään merkityskategoriana, joka osoittaa lauseen kuvaaman asiaintilan ajallisen keston, ja perustavanlaatuisena aspektuaalisena erontekona pidetään rajattuuden ja rajaamattomuuden vastakohtaisuutta. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, millä perusteella lauseet saavat joko rajatun tai rajaamattoman aspektitulkinnan ja miten konteksti vaikuttaa tähän tulkintaan. Lauseen kontekstina käsitellään kielellistä kontekstia eli tekstiä. Työ on aineistopohjainen tutkimus kirjoitetusta nykysuomesta, ja tarkastelun kohteena on sanomalehtiteksteistä koottu lauseaineisto. Lauseiden pääverbit ovat olla, tehdä ja tulla. Aineistosta on mahdollista esittää sekä kvalitatiivisia että kvantitatiivisia huomioita. Tutkimuksen teoreettisen ja metodologisen taustan muodostavat eräiden kognitiivisen kielitieteen suuntausten kuvauskäsitteet ja -metodit sekä fennistinen aspektin kuvaamisen perinne. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kahta fennistiikassa esitettyä tapaa määritellä lauseen aspektimerkitys ja osoitetaan, että ne ovat toisiaan täydentäviä. Molemmat lähestymistavat huomioon ottamalla on siis mahdollista kuvata lauseen aspektimerkityksen määräytyminen täsmällisemmin kuin vain yhteen kuvaustapaan keskittymällä. Lisäksi osoitetaan, että keskeisinä aspektin ilmaisemisen keinoina pidetyt keston ja toistuvuuden adverbiaalit jäävät aineistossa marginaalisiksi. Ajankohdan adverbiaaleja puolestaan käsitellään aiemmasta tutkimuksesta poiketen rajattuina tarkastelunäkökulmina kuvattuun asiaintilaan, ja ne toimivat tässä tehtävässä liittyessään aspektiltaan rajaamattomiin lauseisiin. Lisäksi tutkimus osoittaa, että aspektin ilmaisemisen kerroksellisuutta voidaan aspektin ilmaisemiseen osallistuvien lauseenjäsenten kerrostumisen ohella tarkastella lausekokonaisuuden eri semanttisten tasojen kerrostumisena. Lausetta laajemman kontekstin vaikutusta aspektitulkintaan ei ole aiemmin tutkittu suomen kielessä. Tutkimus osoittaa, että aspektiltaan monitulkintaisten lauseiden konteksti voi selventää tulkinnan tai mahdollistaa samanaikaisesti vaihtoehtoiset tulkinnat. Lisäksi erilaisten lauseenulkoisten rajan ilmausten avulla on mahdollista osoittaa lauseen aspektin rajattuutta siinä tapauksessa, että lause muutoin ymmärrettäisiin aspektiltaan rajaamattomaksi.

How Lean Six Sigma and Agile principles optimize ITIL-based processes

Imagine the potential implications of an organization whose business and IT processes are well aligned and are capable of reactively and proactively responding to the external and internal changes. The Philips IT Infrastructure and Operations department (I&O) is undergoing a series of transformation activities to help Philips business keeping up with the changes. I&O would serve a critical function in any business sectors; given that the I&O’s strategy switched from “design, build and run” to “specify, acquire and performance manage”, that function is amplified. In 2013, I&O’s biggest transforming programme I&O Futures engaged multiple interdisciplinary departments and programs on decommissioning legacy processes and restructuring new processes with respect to the Information Technology Internet Library (ITIL), helping I&O to achieve a common infrastructure and operating platform (CI&OP). The author joined I&O Futures in the early 2014 and contributed to the CI&OP release 1, during which a designed model Bing Box and its evaluations were conducted through the lens of six sigma’s structured define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) improvement approach. This Bing Box model was intended to firstly combine business and IT principles, namely Lean IT, Agile, ITIL best practices, and Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) into a framework. Secondly, the author implemented the modularized optimization cycles according to the defined framework into Philips’ ITIL-based processes and, subsequently, to enhance business process performance as well as to increase efficiency of the optimization cycles. The unique of this thesis is that the Bing Box model not only provided comprehensive optimization approaches and principles for business process performance, but also integrated and standardized optimization modules for the optimization process itself. The research followed a design research guideline that seek to extend the boundaries of human and organizational capabilities by creating new and innovative artifacts. The Chapter 2 firstly reviewed the current research on Lean Six Sigma, Agile, AOP and ITIL, aiming at identifying the broad conceptual bases for this study. In Chapter 3, we included the process of constructing the Bing Box model. The Chapter 4 described the adoption of Bing Box model: two-implementation case validated by stakeholders through observations and interviews. Chapter 5 contained the concluding remarks, the limitation of this research work and the future research areas. Chapter 6 provided the references used in this thesis.