The establishment of communication systems depends on the scale of competition

How communication systems emerge and remain stable is an important question in both cognitive science and evolutionary biology. For communication to arise, not only must individuals cooperate by signaling reliable information, but they must also coordinate and perpetuate signals. Most studies on the emergence of communication in humans typically consider scenarios where individuals implicitly share the same interests. Likewise, most studies on human cooperation consider scenarios where shared conventions of signals and meanings cannot be developed de novo. Here, we combined both approaches with an economic experiment where participants could develop a common language, but under different conditions fostering or hindering cooperation. Participants endeavored to acquire a resource through a learning task in a computer-based environment. After this task, participants had the option to transmit a signal (a color) to a fellow group member, who would subsequently play the same learning task. We varied the way participants competed with each other (either global scale or local scale) and the cost of transmitting a signal (either costly or noncostly) and tracked the way in which signals were used as communication among players. Under global competition, players signaled more often and more consistently, scored higher individual payoffs, and established shared associations of signals and meanings. In addition, costly signals were also more likely to be used under global competition; whereas under local competition, fewer signals were sent and no effective communication system was developed. Our results demonstrate that communication involves both a coordination and a cooperative dilemma and show the importance of studying language evolution under different conditions influencing human cooperation.

Analysing Professional Discourse in Interactive Learning: Integrating Historical and Situational Perspectives

Peer-reviewed

Uuden riskien arviointityökalun käyttöönotto metsäteollisuusyrityksessä

Vuonna 2003 uudistunut työturvallisuuslaki lisäsi yritysten vastuuta oman työympäristön riskien tunnistamisessa. Laki velvoittaa yritykset tunnistamaan, selvittämään ja arvioimaan työstä ja työolosuhteista johtuvat vaara- ja haittatekijät. Perinteisesti yritykset ovat suorittaneet riskien arviointia erilaisten tarkistuslistojen avulla, mutta nykyään tietotekniikan käytön lisääntyminen on tuonut tietotekniikan myös yhdeksi riskienhallinnan työvälineeksi. Tämän työn tavoitteena oli tutkia If Vahinkovakuutusyhtiön uuden riskien arviointiohjelman käyttöönottoa metsäteollisuuden yrityksessä, ja selvittää sen vaikutuksia turvallisuustoimenpiteiden hallintaan ja vastaavuutta sille ennakkoon asetettuihin käytettävyysvaatimuksiin. Riskien arviointiohjelmaa tutkittiin pilottikohteessa Stora Enson Anjalankoskentehtailla. Tietoa kerättiin mm. käyttäjäkoulutustilaisuuksien palautekyselyillä, haastattelemalla arvioijia ja osallistumalla riskien arviointikierroksille. Tutkimuksessa seurattiin mm. ohjelman avulla syntyneiden toimenpide-ehdotuksien määrää ja laatua, ja sitä kuinka hyvin ohjelmalle suunniteltu sisältö sopii käyttöön. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella havaittiin, että riskien arviointiin tarkoitettu tietokoneohjelma voidaan suunnitella helppokäyttöiseksi ja toimivaksi. Myös ohjelman sisältö, joka oli tarkoitettu kattamaan työturvallisuuden eri osa-alueet, havaittiin tarkoitukseen sopivaksi. Riskien arvioinnin ongelmallisin alue, eli turvallisuustoimenpiteiden suunnittelu ja seuranta, havaittiin haasteelliseksi toteutettavaksi ohjelman avulla. Yritysten erilaisiin riskien arviointikäytäntöihinsopivan raportointijärjestelmän ja toimenpideseurannan kehittäminen tulee olemaan tulevaisuudessakin tärkeä osa-alue riskien arviointiohjelmien kehittämisessä.

MANAGING STRATEGIC CHANGE:New Business Models Applying Wireless Technology as a Source of Competitive Edge

The diffusion of mobile telephony began in 1971 in Finland, when the first car phones, called ARP1 were taken to use. Technologies changed from ARP to NMT and later to GSM. The main application of the technology, however, was voice transfer. The birth of the Internet created an open public data network and easy access to other types of computer-based services over networks. Telephones had been used as modems, but the development of the cellular technologies enabled automatic access from mobile phones to Internet. Also other wireless technologies, for instance Wireless LANs, were also introduced. Telephony had developed from analog to digital in fixed networks and allowed easy integration of fixed and mobile networks. This development opened a completely new functionality to computers and mobile phones. It also initiated the merger of the information technology (IT) and telecommunication (TC) industries. Despite the arising opportunity for firms' new competition the applications based on the new functionality were rare. Furthermore, technology development combined with innovation can be disruptive to industries. This research focuses on the new technology's impact on competition in the ICT industry through understanding the strategic needs and alternative futures of the industry's customers. The change speed inthe ICT industry is high and therefore it was valuable to integrate the DynamicCapability view of the firm in this research. Dynamic capabilities are an application of the Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm. As is stated in the literature, strategic positioning complements RBV. This theoretical framework leads theresearch to focus on three areas: customer strategic innovation and business model development, external future analysis, and process development combining these two. The theoretical contribution of the research is in the development of methodology integrating theories of the RBV, dynamic capabilities and strategic positioning. The research approach has been constructive due to the actual managerial problems initiating the study. The requirement for iterative and innovative progress in the research supported the chosen research approach. The study applies known methods in product development, for instance, innovation process in theGroup Decision Support Systems (GDSS) laboratory and Quality Function Deployment (QFD), and combines them with known strategy analysis tools like industry analysis and scenario method. As the main result, the thesis presents the strategic innovation process, where new business concepts are used to describe the alternative resource configurations and scenarios as alternative competitive environments, which can be a new way for firms to achieve competitive advantage in high-velocity markets. In addition to the strategic innovation process as a result, thestudy has also resulted in approximately 250 new innovations for the participating firms, reduced technology uncertainty and helped strategic infrastructural decisions in the firms, and produced a knowledge-bank including data from 43 ICT and 19 paper industry firms between the years 1999 - 2004. The methods presentedin this research are also applicable to other industries.

SELLUTEHTAAN HÖYRYVERKON YLIJÄÄMÄENERGIAN HALLINNAN PARANTAMINEN

Tässä työssä on selvitetty sellutehtaan höyryverkosta tehtaan ulkopuolelle myytävän ylijäämähöyryn määrän ja paineen nopeaan vaihteluun vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Työssä on tarkasteltu höyryn kehityksen ja kulutuksen vaihtelun vaikutusta ylijäämähöyryyn. Lisäksi on tarkasteltu mahdollisuuksia edellä mainittujen häiriöiden tasaamiseksi. Työssä on selvitetty teoriaa, joka vaikuttaa sellutehtaan höyryn kehitykseen ja kulutukseen. Lisäksi on selvitetty energiataselaskennan ja höyryverkon hallintaa parantavien toimenpiteiden teoriaa. Omana kokonaisuutena on sellutehtaan höyryn kehityksen ja kulutuksen tarkastelu sekä selvitys tehtaan höyryverkon hallinnan nykytilasta. Höyryverkolle on muodostettu energiatase. Työn tuloksia varten on kerätty ja tallennettu mittapistetietoa tiedonkeräysjärjestelmän avulla eri höyryverkon mittapisteistä. Työn tuloksina on mainittu useita höyryverkon hallintaa parantavia toteutuskelpoisia asioita ja toimenpiteitä. Työllä on luotu pohjaa menetelmälle, joka ohjaa energian kehitystä vastaamaan sellun tuotannon tarvitsemaa energiamäärää. Samalla saataisiin paremmin hallittua ylijäämähöyryä ja sen määrän sekä paineen vaihtelu vähentyisi.

Voimalaitoksen tuotannon optimointijärjestelmän suunnittelu

Tässä diplomityössä on suunniteltu ja toteutettu tuotannon optimointijärjestelmä Kotkan Energia Oy:n tuotantolaitoksille sekä osto- ja myyntisopimuksille. Työssä on kerätty ja laskettu Kotkan Energian tuotantolaitosten teknisiä ja suunnittelutietoja, sekä esitelty eri laitteiden ja tuotantolaitosten toimintaa. Lisäksi on käyty läpi kaukolämmön ja prosessihöyryn kulutusta, kulutuksien ennustamista ja tuotantojärjestelmiä, sekä sähkökauppaa ja laitoksilla käytettävien polttoaineiden ominaisuuksia ja hintoja. Voimalaitoksen laitteille on laskettu hyötysuhteet ja tuotteiden hinnat erilaisilla kuormilla. Laskelmien avulla on tehty polynomisovitteet laitteiden hyötysuhteille. Polynomisovitteet ja muu laitosten toiminnasta kerätty ja laskettu tieto on siirretty Kotkan Energian tietohallintopäällikön kanssa yhteistyössä kehitettyyn tietokonepohjaiseen optimointiohjelmaan. Myös optimoinnin teoriaa ja menetelmiä on käyty lyhyesti läpi. Optimointiohjelman avulla pystytään nyt laskemaan erilaisten kaukolämmön, prosessihöyryn ja sähkön hintojen ja kulutusten mukaisia optimaalisia ajotapoja Hovinsaaren voimalaitoksen tuotannolle ja hankintasopimuksille. Optimointiohjelmalla pyritään maksimoimaan energiantuotannon kokonaistuottoa tai minimoimaan tuotantokustannuksia annettujen ja ennustettujen alkuarvojen mukaisesti. Ohjelman antamia tuloksia voidaan käyttää apuna esimerkiksi tuotannon suunnittelussa ja budjetoinnissa. Laskelmat ja ohjelman kehittäminen ovat onnistuneet hyvin ja ohjelman käyttämisestä ja testaamisesta saadut tulokset vaikuttavat oikeanlaisilta ja luotettavilta. Optimointiohjelma on nyt käytössä ja jatkokehittely jatkuu myös diplomityön valmistumisen jälkeen.

Retrospective study of sonographic findings in bone involvement associated with rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy: preliminary results of a case series

Abstract Objective: The present study was aimed at investigating bone involvement secondary to rotator cuff calcific tendonitis at ultrasonography. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study of a case series. The authors reviewed shoulder ultrasonography reports of 141 patients diagnosed with rotator cuff calcific tendonitis, collected from the computer-based data records of their institution over a four-year period. Imaging findings were retrospectively and consensually analyzed by two experienced musculoskeletal radiologists looking for bone involvement associated with calcific tendonitis. Only the cases confirmed by computed tomography were considered for descriptive analysis. Results: Sonographic findings of calcific tendinopathy with bone involvement were observed in 7/141 (~ 5%) patients (mean age, 50.9 years; age range, 42-58 years; 42% female). Cortical bone erosion adjacent to tendon calcification was the most common finding, observed in 7/7 cases. Signs of intraosseous migration were found in 3/7 cases, and subcortical cysts in 2/7 cases. The findings were confirmed by computed tomography. Calcifications associated with bone abnormalities showed no acoustic shadowing at ultrasonography, favoring the hypothesis of resorption phase of the disease. Conclusion: Preliminary results of the present study suggest that ultrasonography can identify bone abnormalities secondary to rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy, particularly the presence of cortical bone erosion.

Tuotannonohjauksen kehittäminen piensarjatuotannossa

Tämä diplomityö käsittelee teollisen yrityksen tuotannonohjauksen kehittämistä piensarjatuotannossa. Työn kohteena on ABB Oy:n Tuulivoimageneraattorit-tulosyksikkö, joka valmistaa vakiotuotteita asiakasohjautuvasti. Työssä esitellään aluksi tuotannon ja tuotannonohjauksen teoriaa. Lävitse käydään perusasioiden kuten määritelmien, tavoitteiden ja tehtävien lisäksi tuotannonohjausprosessia sekä tuotannonohjauksen tietotekniikkaa. Teorian jälkeisessä empiriaosuudessa esitellään työssä kehitettyjä keinoja tuotannonohjauksen parantamiseksi. Tutkimus on toteutettu teoreettisen ja empiirisen tutkimustyön avulla. Teoreettiseen tutkimustyöhön sisältyi suomalaisiin ja ulkomaalaisiin kirjallisuuslähteisiin perehtyminen. Empiirinen tutkimustyö suoritettiin itsenäisen ongelman ratkaisutyön avulla. Tämä sisälsi kehittämiskohteiden analysoinnin, tarkempien kehittämistarpeiden määrityksen sekä kokeilujen kautta tapahtuneen kehittämistyön. Tutkimuksen päätavoitteena oli selvittää, miten tuotannonohjauksen kehittämisellä voidaan parantaa kohteena olevan tulosyksikön tuottavuutta ja kannattavuutta. Päätavoitteen pohjalta muodostettiin kuusi osatavoitetta: toimitusvarmuuden parantaminen, kapasiteetin kuormitusasteen nostaminen, kapasiteetin suunnittelun kehittäminen, läpäisyaikojen lyhentäminen, uuden ERP-järjestelmän vaatimusmäärittely sekä tuotannonohjausprosessin määrittäminen. Työssä rakennettiin neljään ensiksi mainittuun osatavoitteeseen tietotekniset sovellukset, jotka mahdollistavat osatavoitteiden suunnittelun ja ohjaamisen. Sovelluksia varten kullekin tuotteelle määriteltiin esimerkiksi työnvaiheketjut läpäisyaikoineen, kuormitusryhmät, kuormitusryhmien kapasiteetit, tuotteiden kuormittavuudet sekä kriittiset työvälineet. Työ osoitti, että tietotekniikka auttaa suuresti tuotannonohjauksessa. Lisääntynyt läpinäkyvyys, parantunut tiedonkulku, simulointimahdollisuudet sekä graafinen esitystapa helpottavat erilaisten suunnitelmien teossa ja parantavat siten päätöksenteon laatua. Tietotekniikan hyväksikäytön pohjana toimii tuotannon perus- ja tapahtumatietojen kurinalainen päivitys. Tämän vuoksi tietojärjestelmistä kannattaa rakentaa mahdollisimman yksinkertaisia.

Elucidação estrutural de substâncias orgânicas com auxílio de computador: evoluções recentes

The development of new tools for chemoinformatics, allied to the use of different algorithms and computer programmes for structure elucidation of organic compounds, is growing fast worldwide. Massive efforts in research and development are currently being pursued both by academia and the so-called chemistry software development companies. The demystification of this environment provoked by the availability of software packages and a vast array of publications exert a positive impact on chemistry. In this work, an overview concerning the more classical approaches as well as new strategies on computer-based tools for structure elucidation of organic compounds is presented. Historical background is also taken into account since these techniques began to develop around four decades ago. Attention will be paid to companies which develop, distribute or commercialize software as well as web-based and open access tools which are currently available to chemists.

Development of Calculation Procedures for Wastewater Treatment Technologies for a Training System

Efficient designs and operations of water and wastewater treatment systems are largely based on mathematical calculations. This even applies to training in the treatment systems. Therefore, it is necessary that calculation procedures are developed and computerised a priori for such applications to ensure effectiveness. This work was aimed at developing calculation procedures for gas stripping, depth filtration, ion exchange, chemical precipitation, and ozonation wastewater treatment technologies to include them in ED-WAVE, a portable computer based tool used in design, operations and training in wastewater treatment. The work involved a comprehensive online and offline study of research work and literature, and application of practical case studies to generate ED-WAVE compatible representations of the treatment technologies which were then uploaded into the tool.

Parallella, dynamiska representationer i gymnasiefysiken : implementering av ett interaktivt datorverktyg i didaktiska situationer och uppfattning av effektivt lärande

The computer is a useful tool in the teaching of upper secondary school physics, and should not have a subordinate role in students' learning process. However, computers and computer-based tools are often not available when they could serve their purpose best in the ongoing teaching. Another problem is the fact that commercially available tools are not usable in the way the teacher wants. The aim of this thesis was to try out a novel teaching scenario in a complicated subject in physics, electrodynamics. The didactic engineering of the thesis consisted of developing a computer-based simulation and training material, implementing the tool in physics teaching and investigating its effectiveness in the learning process. The design-based research method, didactic engineering (Artigue, 1994), which is based on the theoryof didactical situations (Brousseau, 1997), was used as a frame of reference for the design of this type of teaching product. In designing the simulation tool a general spreadsheet program was used. The design was based on parallel, dynamic representations of the physics behind the function of an AC series circuit in both graphical and numerical form. The tool, which was furnished with possibilities to control the representations in an interactive way, was hypothesized to activate the students and promote the effectiveness of their learning. An effect variable was constructed in order to measure the students' and teachers' conceptions of learning effectiveness. The empirical study was twofold. Twelve physics students, who attended a course in electrodynamics in an upper secondary school, participated in a class experiment with the computer-based tool implemented in three modes of didactical situations: practice, concept introduction and assessment. The main goal of the didactical situations was to have students solve problems and study the function of AC series circuits, taking responsibility for theirown learning process. In the teacher study eighteen Swedish speaking physics teachers evaluated the didactic potential of the computer-based tool and the accompanying paper-based material without using them in their physics teaching. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using questionnaires, observations and interviews. The result of the studies showed that both the group of students and the teachers had generally positive conceptions of learning effectiveness. The students' conceptions were more positive in the practice situation than in the concept introduction situation, a setting that was more explorative. However, it turned out that the students' conceptions were also positive in the more complex assessment situation. This had not been hypothesized. A deeper analysis of data from observations and interviews showed that one of the students in each pair was more active than the other, taking more initiative and more responsibilityfor the student-student and student-computer interaction. These active studentshad strong, positive conceptions of learning effectiveness in each of the threedidactical situations. The group of less active students had a weak but positive conception in the first iv two situations, but a negative conception in the assessment situation, thus corroborating the hypothesis ad hoc. The teacher study revealed that computers were seldom used in physics teaching and that computer programs were in short supply. The use of a computer was considered time-consuming. As long as physics teaching with computer-based tools has to take place in special computer rooms, the use of such tools will remain limited. The affordance is enhanced when the physical dimensions as well as the performance of the computer are optimised. As a consequence, the computer then becomes a real learning tool for each pair of students, smoothly integrated into the ongoing teaching in the same space where teaching normally takes place. With more interactive support from the teacher, the computer-based parallel, dynamic representations will be efficient in promoting the learning process of the students with focus on qualitative reasoning - an often neglected part of the learning process of the students in upper secondary school physics.

Formal development and quantitative verification of dependable systems

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Augmented reality systems for weed economic thresholds applications

The augmented reality (AR) technology has applications in many fields as diverse as aeronautics, tourism, medicine, and education. In this review are summarized the current status of AR and it is proposed a new application of it in weed science. The basic algorithmic elements for AR implementation are already available to develop applications in the area of weed economic thresholds. These include algorithms for image recognition to identify and quantify weeds by species and software for herbicide selection based on weed density. Likewise, all hardware necessary for AR implementation in weed science are available at an affordable price for the user. Thus, the authors propose weed science can take a leading role integrating AR systems into weed economic thresholds software, thus, providing better opportunities for science and computer-based weed control decisions.

Rigorous development of safety-critical systems

Nowadays, computer-based systems tend to become more complex and control increasingly critical functions affecting different areas of human activities. Failures of such systems might result in loss of human lives as well as significant damage to the environment. Therefore, their safety needs to be ensured. However, the development of safety-critical systems is not a trivial exercise. Hence, to preclude design faults and guarantee the desired behaviour, different industrial standards prescribe the use of rigorous techniques for development and verification of such systems. The more critical the system is, the more rigorous approach should be undertaken. To ensure safety of a critical computer-based system, satisfaction of the safety requirements imposed on this system should be demonstrated. This task involves a number of activities. In particular, a set of the safety requirements is usually derived by conducting various safety analysis techniques. Strong assurance that the system satisfies the safety requirements can be provided by formal methods, i.e., mathematically-based techniques. At the same time, the evidence that the system under consideration meets the imposed safety requirements might be demonstrated by constructing safety cases. However, the overall safety assurance process of critical computerbased systems remains insufficiently defined due to the following reasons. Firstly, there are semantic differences between safety requirements and formal models. Informally represented safety requirements should be translated into the underlying formal language to enable further veri cation. Secondly, the development of formal models of complex systems can be labour-intensive and time consuming. Thirdly, there are only a few well-defined methods for integration of formal verification results into safety cases. This thesis proposes an integrated approach to the rigorous development and verification of safety-critical systems that (1) facilitates elicitation of safety requirements and their incorporation into formal models, (2) simplifies formal modelling and verification by proposing specification and refinement patterns, and (3) assists in the construction of safety cases from the artefacts generated by formal reasoning. Our chosen formal framework is Event-B. It allows us to tackle the complexity of safety-critical systems as well as to structure safety requirements by applying abstraction and stepwise refinement. The Rodin platform, a tool supporting Event-B, assists in automatic model transformations and proof-based verification of the desired system properties. The proposed approach has been validated by several case studies from different application domains.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus outbreak in a pediatric intensive care unit: report of successful interventions for control and prevention

The objective of this study is to retrospectively report the results of interventions for controlling a vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) outbreak in a tertiary-care pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a University Hospital. After identification of the outbreak, interventions were made at the following levels: patient care, microbiological surveillance, and medical and nursing staff training. Data were collected from computer-based databases and from the electronic prescription system. Vancomycin use progressively increased after March 2008, peaking in August 2009. Five cases of VRE infection were identified, with 3 deaths. After the interventions, we noted a significant reduction in vancomycin prescription and use (75% reduction), and the last case of VRE infection was identified 4 months later. The survivors remained colonized until hospital discharge. After interventions there was a transient increase in PICU length-of-stay and mortality. Since then, the use of vancomycin has remained relatively constant and strict, no other cases of VRE infection or colonization have been identified and length-of-stay and mortality returned to baseline. In conclusion, we showed that a bundle intervention aiming at a strict control of vancomycin use and full compliance with the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee guidelines, along with contact precautions and hand-hygiene promotion, can be effective in reducing vancomycin use and the emergence and spread of vancomycin-resistant bacteria in a tertiary-care PICU.