Work for your happiness - Theoretical and empirical study defining and measuring happiness at work

There are vast changes in the work environment, and the traditional rules and management methods might not be suitable for today’s employees anymore. The meaning of work is also changing due to the younger and higher educated generations entering the markets. Old customs need to be re-validated and new approaches should be taken into use. This paper strongly emphasizes the importance of happiness research and happiness at work. The values towards the meaning of work are changing; people demand happiness and quality from all aspects of their lives. The aim of this study is to define happiness - especially at work - and to explain how it can be measured and what kind of results achieved. I also want to find out how the contents of work and the working environment might enhance happiness. The correlation between education and happiness is discussed and examined. I am aware that the findings and theories are concentrating mainly on Western Countries and highlighting the values and work-environments of those societies. The main aim of the empirical study is to find out if there are connections between happiness and work in data collected by World Value Survey in 2005, and if the profession has effects on happiness. Other factors such as the correlation of age, sex, education and income are examined too. I also want to find out what kind of values people have towards work and how these affect the happiness levels. The focus is on two nations: Finland (N=1014) and Italy (N=1012). I have also taken the global comparison within, that is all 54 countries (N=66,566) included in the 5th wave (during the years 2005 -2008) of the World Value Survey. The results suggest that people are generally happy around the world; happiness decreasing with the age, the educated being happier than the uneducated and the employed happier than the unemployed. People working in neat “white collar” jobs are more likely happier than those working in factories or outdoors. Money makes us happier, until certain level is reached. Work is important to people and the importance of work adds happiness. Work is also highly appreciated, but there are more happy people among those who do not appreciate work that highly. Safety matters the most when looking for a job, and there are more happy people among those who have selected the importance of work as the first choice when looking for a job, than among those to whom an income is the most important aspect. People are more likely happy when the quality of work is high, that is when their job consists of creative and cognitive tasks and when they have a feeling of independence.

The Finnish it industries in transition. Defining and Measuring the Finnish Software Product and IT Services Industries by Applying Theoretical Frameworks

The starting point of this study is that the prevailing way to consider the Finnish IT industries and industry information often results in a limited and even skewed picture of the sector. The purpose of the study is to contribute and increase knowledge and understanding of the status, structure and evolution of the Finnish IT industries as well as the Finnish IT vendor field and competition. The focus is on software product and IT services industries which form a crucial part of all ICT industries. This study examines the Finnish IT sector from production (supply) as well as market (demand) perspective. The study is based on empirical information from multiple sources. Three research questions were formulated for the study. The first concerns the status of the Finnish IT industries considered by applying theoretical frameworks. The second research question targets at the basis for the future evolution of the Finnish IT industries and, finally, the third at the ability of the available definitions and indicators to describe the Finnish IT industries and IT markets. Major structural changes like technological changes and related innovations, globalization and new business models are drivers of the evolution of the IT industries. The findings of this study emphasize the significant role of IT services in the Finnish IT sector and in connection to that the ability to combine IT service skills, competences and practices with high level software skills also in the future. According to the study the Finnish IT enterprises and their customers have become increasingly dependent on global ecosystems and platforms, applications and IT services provided by global vendors. As a result, more IT decisions are made outside Finland. In addition, IT companies are facing new competition from other than IT industries bringing into market new substitutes. To respond to the new competition, IT firms seek growth by expanding beyond their traditional markets.. The changing global division of labor accentuates the need for accurate information of the IT sector but, at the same time, also makes it increasingly challenging to acquire the information needed. One of the main contributions of this study is to provide frameworks for describing the Finnish IT sector and its evolution. These frameworks help combine empirical information from various sources and make it easier to concretize the structures, volumes, relationships and interaction of both, the production and market side of the Finnish IT industry. Some frameworks provide tools to analyze the vendor field, competition and the basis for the future evolution of the IT industries. The observations of the study support the argument that static industry definitions and related classifications do not serve the information needs in dynamic industries, such as the IT industries. One of the main messages of this study is to emphasize the importance of understanding the definitions and starting points of different information sources. Simultaneously, in the structure and evolution of Finnish IT industries the number of employees has become a more valid and reliable measure than the revenue based indicators.

Toimintaa ohjaavan mittariston kehittäminen rakennustuoteliiketoiminnassa

Mittaustietoa tuotetaan paljon, jolloin haasteena on poimia liiketoiminnan johtamisen tarpeiden kannalta oleellinen informaatio. Samalla muuttuva toimintaympäristö asettaa yrityksen suorituskykymittaristolle uudenlaisia haasteita. Mittariston tulee mukautua johtamisen informaatiotarpeisiin ja kehittyä yrityksen strategian mukana. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, mitkä mittarit ovat oleellisia rakennustuoteteollisuudessa toimivan yrityksen liiketoiminnan johtamisessa ja kehittää toimintaa ohjaava mittaristo. Tutkimuksen tavoitteisiin liittyen tutkimuksessa pyrittiin selvittämään mittaamiseen liittyviä haasteita sekä ymmärtämään johtamisen informaatiotarpeita. Tutkimus on menetelmältään laadullinen. Tutkimuksen empiirisen osan aineiston keräämisessä käytettiin menetelmänä haastattelua, joka oli tyypiltään teemahaastattelu. Haastattelun kohteena oli rakennustuoteteollisuudessa toimivan yrityksen liiketoimintayksikön johto. Tutkimuksen teoriakatsauksen perusteella tunnistettiin mittariston kehittämisessä huomioitavia seikkoja, joita ovat yleiskäsityksen luominen toimintaympäristöstä, mittaamiselle asetettujen päämäärien tunnistaminen, strategian määrittäminen ja menestystekijöiden hahmottaminen. Näiden perusteella määritetään tavoitteet ja niille mittarit. Tutkimuksen empiirisen osan tutkimusaineiston analyysin avulla pyrittiin hahmottamaan liiketoimintaympäristön mittaamisen nykytilaa ja siihen liittyviä haasteita sekä tunnistamaan toimintaa ohjaavat mittarit. Tutkimuksen tuloksena kehitettiin toimintaa ohjaava mittaristo. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin johdon päätöksenteon ja johtamisen informaatiotarpeille kolme näkökulmaa, jotka ovat talous, tuotanto ja myynti. Tulosten perusteella tunnistettiin jatkotutkimustarve koskien toimintaa ohjaavan mittariston kehittämistä konserniympäristöissä.

But in this twilight our choices seal our fate : the interplay autonomy and dignity in defining the international legal response to the beginning of life

Tutkielman aiheena on kansainvälisen oikeuden kysymys elämän alkamisesta ja elämän alkamisen ajankohdasta. Tutkielma lähestyy aihetta Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien lasten oikeuksien sopimuksen kolmannen lisäpöytäkirjan valossa. Astuessaan voimaan lisäpöytäkirja tulee mahdollistamaan yksilövalitusten käsittelyn erillisessä ihmisoikeuskomiteassa. Koska lasten oikeuksien sopimus jättää määrittelemättä elämän alkamisen ajankohdan, tutkielman perushypoteesina on, miten tuleva komitea ratkaisisi lasten oikeuksien sopimukseen jääneen jännitteen. Tämän hypoteesin ohella tutkielmaa suuntaa olettamus elämän alun määrittymisestä pitkälti oikeusperiaatteisiin rinnastuvien autonomian ja ihmisarvon käsitteiden kautta. Tutkielma lähestyy aihettaan sekä oikeuskäytännön että -kirjallisuuden valossa, sitoutumatta sen tarkemmin mihinkään yksittäiseen oikeustieteelliseen tutkimusmetodiin. Oikeuskäytännön kohdalla tarkastelu perustuu pääosin länsimaisten ylimpien oikeuksien antamille tuomioille kysymyksissä, jotka liittyvät elämän alkamisen tematiikkaan. Tämän ohella, rajatummin, käsitellään pohjoismaista elämän alun sääntelyä. Oikeuskäytännön sekä säädösten tarkastelun keskiössä on ennen kaikkea oikeudellinen argumentaatio sekä esiintuodun argumentaation jännitteisyys. Oikeuskäytännön pohjalta muotoutuu moniääninen ja usein kontekstisidonnainen kuva elämän alusta. Tämän oikeudellisen moniäänisyyden analyysi muodostaa tutkielman keskeisen sisällön. Autonomian ja ihmisarvon käsitteiden merkitystä oikeuskäytännön ja säädösten arvioinnille perustellaan tutkimuksessa yhtäältä niiden merkityksellä tuomioistuinten argumentaatiossa toisaalta periaatteiden saamalla tuella oikeustieteellisessä kirjallisuudessa. Tutkielma suhtautuu kriittisesti autonomian ja ihmisarvon käsitteisiin. Kriittisen luennan tarkoituksena on paljastaa oikeudellisen argumentaation sumeus ja sumeuden oikeudelliselle tulkinnalle aiheuttama epävarmuus. Tulkinnan epävarmuuden seurauksena myös vastaus elämän alulle näyttäytyy tutkielmassa ristiriitaisena ja osin perustelemattomana. Tutkielman keskeinen tulos on ennen kaikkea oikeuden jännitteiden tunnistamisessa sen lähestyessä elämän alun määrittelyä. Tutkielman tulosten pohjalta on mahdollista pyrkiä löytämään muotoutumassa olevan kansainvälisen oikeuden vastaus elämän alulle. Tuon vastauksen vakaus, perusteltavuus ja pysyvyys riippuvat siitä, miten onnistuneesti oikeudellinen argumentaatio kykenee yhdistämään yksilön autonomisen oikeuden päättää elämästään kollektiivin intressiin ylläpitää elämää.

Defining of the material models for stainless steels to be used in FE modeling

The aim of this work is to study the results of tensile tests for austenitic stainless steel type 304 and make accurate FE-models according to the results of the tests. Tensile tests were made at Central Research Institute of Structural Material, Prometey at Saint Petersburg and Mariyenburg in Russia. The test specimens for the tensile tests were produced at Lappeenranta University of Technology in a Laboratory of Steel Structures. In total 4 different tests were made, two with base material specimens and two with transverse butt weld specimens. Each kind of a specimen was tested at room temperature and at low temperature. By comparing the results of room and low temperature tests of similar test specimen we get to study the results of work hardening that affect the austenitic steels at below room temperature. The produced specimens are to be modeled accurately and then imported for nonlinear FEM- analyzing. Using the data gained from the tensile tests the aim is to get the models work like the specimens did during the tests. By using the analyzed results of the FE-models the aim is to calculate and get the stress-strain curves that correspond to the results acquired from the tensile tests.

Defining the art of grammar: Ancient perceptions of γραμματική and grammatical

The subject of this dissertation, which belongs to the field of Classical Philology, are the definitions of the art of grammar found in Greek and Latin sources from the Classical era to the second century CE. Definitions survive from grammarians, philosophers, and general scholars. I have examined these definitions from two main points of view: how they are formed, and how they reflect the development of the art itself. Defining formed part of dialectic, in practice also of rhetoric, and was perceived as important from the Classical era onwards. Definitions of grammar seem to have become established as part of preliminary discussions, located at the beginning of grammatical manuals (tékhnai, artes). These discussions included certain principal notions of the art; in addition to the definition, a list of the parts of the art was also typically included. These lists were formed by two different methods: division (diaíresis, divisio) and partition (merismós, partitio). Many of the grammarians may actually have been unfamiliar with these methods, unlike the two most important scholars of the Late Republic, Varro and Cicero. Significant attention was devoted to the question whether the art of grammar is based on lógos or empeiría. This epistemological question had its roots in medical theories, which were prominent in Alexandria. In the history of the concept of grammatiké or grammatica, three stages become evident. In the Classical era, the Greek term is used to refer to a very concrete art of letters (grámmata); from the Hellenistic era onwards it refers to the art developed by the Alexandrian scholars, a matter of textual and literary criticism. Towards the end of the Hellenistic era, the grammarian also becomes involved with the question of correct language, which gradually begins to appear in the definitions as well.

A rose is a rose is a rose? Defining significant properties of social science research data

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Defining the keyhole modes – the effects on the weld geometry and the molten pool behaviour in high power laser welding of stainless steels

Keyhole welding, meaning that the laser beam forms a vapour cavity inside the steel, is one of the two types of laser welding processes and currently it is used in few industrial applications. Modern high power solid state lasers are becoming more used generally, but not all process fundamentals and phenomena of the process are well known and understanding of these helps to improve quality of final products. This study concentrates on the process fundamentals and the behaviour of the keyhole welding process by the means of real time high speed x-ray videography. One of the problem areas in laser welding has been mixing of the filler wire into the weld; the phenomena are explained and also one possible solution for this problem is presented in this study. The argument of this thesis is that the keyhole laser welding process has three keyhole modes that behave differently. These modes are trap, cylinder and kaleidoscope. Two of these have sub-modes, in which the keyhole behaves similarly but the molten pool changes behaviour and geometry of the resulting weld is different. X-ray videography was used to visualize the actual keyhole side view profile during the welding process. Several methods were applied to analyse and compile high speed x-ray video data to achieve a clearer image of the keyhole side view. Averaging was used to measure the keyhole side view outline, which was used to reconstruct a 3D-model of the actual keyhole. This 3D-model was taken as basis for calculation of the vapour volume inside of the keyhole for each laser parameter combination and joint geometry. Four different joint geometries were tested, partial penetration bead on plate and I-butt joint and full penetration bead on plate and I-butt joint. The comparison was performed with selected pairs and also compared all combinations together.

Clinical signs of pneumonia in children: association with and prediction of diagnosis by fuzzy sets theory

The present study compares the performance of stochastic and fuzzy models for the analysis of the relationship between clinical signs and diagnosis. Data obtained for 153 children concerning diagnosis (pneumonia, other non-pneumonia diseases, absence of disease) and seven clinical signs were divided into two samples, one for analysis and other for validation. The former was used to derive relations by multi-discriminant analysis (MDA) and by fuzzy max-min compositions (fuzzy), and the latter was used to assess the predictions drawn from each type of relation. MDA and fuzzy were closely similar in terms of prediction, with correct allocation of 75.7 to 78.3% of patients in the validation sample, and displaying only a single instance of disagreement: a patient with low level of toxemia was mistaken as not diseased by MDA and correctly taken as somehow ill by fuzzy. Concerning relations, each method provided different information, each revealing different aspects of the relations between clinical signs and diagnoses. Both methods agreed on pointing X-ray, dyspnea, and auscultation as better related with pneumonia, but only fuzzy was able to detect relations of heart rate, body temperature, toxemia and respiratory rate with pneumonia. Moreover, only fuzzy was able to detect a relationship between heart rate and absence of disease, which allowed the detection of six malnourished children whose diagnoses as healthy are, indeed, disputable. The conclusion is that even though fuzzy sets theory might not improve prediction, it certainly does enhance clinical knowledge since it detects relationships not visible to stochastic models.

Selection of patients for myocardial perfusion scintigraphy based on fuzzy sets theory applied to clinical-epidemiological data and treadmill test results

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a worldwide leading cause of death. The standard method for evaluating critical partial occlusions is coronary arteriography, a catheterization technique which is invasive, time consuming, and costly. There are noninvasive approaches for the early detection of CAD. The basis for the noninvasive diagnosis of CAD has been laid in a sequential analysis of the risk factors, and the results of the treadmill test and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS). Many investigators have demonstrated that the diagnostic applications of MPS are appropriate for patients who have an intermediate likelihood of disease. Although this information is useful, it is only partially utilized in clinical practice due to the difficulty to properly classify the patients. Since the seminal work of Lotfi Zadeh, fuzzy logic has been applied in numerous areas. In the present study, we proposed and tested a model to select patients for MPS based on fuzzy sets theory. A group of 1053 patients was used to develop the model and another group of 1045 patients was used to test it. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to compare the performance of the fuzzy model against expert physician opinions, and showed that the performance of the fuzzy model was equal or superior to that of the physicians. Therefore, we conclude that the fuzzy model could be a useful tool to assist the general practitioner in the selection of patients for MPS.

Defining Sales and Operations Planning Process in an Environmental Management Company

Sales and operations research publications have increased significantly in the last decades. The concept of sales and operations planning (S&OP) has gained increased recognition and has been put forward as the area within Supply Chain Management (SCM). Development of S&OP is based on the need for determining future actions, both for sales and operations, since off-shoring, outsourcing, complex supply chains and extended lead times make challenges for responding to changes in the marketplace when they occur. Order intake of the case company has grown rapidly during the last years. Along with the growth, new challenges considering data management and information flow have arisen due to increasing customer orders. To manage these challenges, case company has implemented S&OP process, though initial process is in early stage and due to this, the process is not managing the increased customer orders adequately. Thesis objective is to explore extensively the S&OP process content of the case company and give further recommendations. Objectives are categorized into six different groups, to clarify the purpose of this thesis. Qualitative research methods used are active participant observation, qualitative interviews, enquiry, education, and a workshop. It is notable that demand planning was felt as cumbersome, so it is typically the biggest challenge in S&OP process. More proactive the sales forecasting can be, more expanded the time horizon of operational planning will turn out. S&OP process is 60 percent change management, 30 percent process development and 10 percent technology. The change management and continuous improvement can sometimes be arduous and set as secondary. It is important that different people are required to improve the process and the process is constantly evaluated. As well as, process governance is substantially in a central role and it has to be managed consciously. Generally, S&OP process was seen important and all the stakeholders were committed to the process. Particular sections were experienced more important than others, depending on the stakeholders’ point of views. Recommendations to objective groups are evaluated by the achievable benefit and resource requirement. The urgent and easily implemented improvement recommendations should be executed firstly. Next steps are to develop more coherent process structure and refine cost awareness. Afterwards demand planning, supply planning, and reporting should be developed more profoundly. For last, information technology system should be implemented to support the process phases.

Integration of marketing research data in new product development. Case study: Food industry company

The aim of this master’s thesis is to provide a real life example of how marketing research data is used by different functions in the NPD process. In order to achieve this goal, a case study in a company was implemented where gathering, analysis, distribution and synthesis of marketing research data in NPD were studied. The main research question was formulated as follows: How is marketing research data integrated and used by different company functions in the NPD process? The theory part of the master’s thesis was focused on the discussion of the marketing function role in NPD, use of marketing research particularly in the food industry, as well as issues related to the marketing/R&D interface during the NPD process. The empirical part of the master’s thesis was based on qualitative explanatory case study research. Individual in-depth interviews with company representatives, company documents and online research were used for data collection and analyzed through triangulation method. The empirical findings advocate that the most important marketing data sources at the concept generation stage of NPD are: global trends monitoring, retailing audit and consumers insights. These data sets are crucial for establishing the potential of the product on the market and defining the desired features for the new product to be developed. The findings also suggest the example of successful crossfunctional communication during the NPD process with formal and informal communication patterns. General managerial recommendations are given on the integration in NPD of a strategy, process, continuous improvement, and motivated cross-functional product development teams.