Boulevard to broken dreams, Part 1: the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon, and the World Bank's environmental and indigenous peoples' norms

ABSTRACT Before the mid 1980s the World Bank conceived "nature" as something to be "conquered" and "environment" as a source of resources for "development". By the late 1980s the Bank incorporated norms of environmental sustainability and indigenous peoples' protection into its mandate, and other development-oriented IOs followed. This two-part paper describes how a fight over the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon - inside the Bank, between the Bank and NGOs supported by the US Congress, and between the Bank and the government of Brazil -helped to generate the far-reaching change of policy norms. The first part describes how the project was designed as an innovation in sustainable development in rainforests; and how it provoked a firestorm inside the Bank as it moved towards project approval.

How Cloud Services may Enable SMEs to Overcome International Growth Challenges: Finnish SMEs in the IT Industry

Digitalization and technology megatrends such as Cloud services have provided SMEs with a suitable atmosphere and conditions to internationalize and seek for further business growth. There is a limited amount of research on Cloud services from the business perspective and the limitations and challenges SMEs encounter when pursuing international business growth. Thus, the main research question of this study was how Cloud services may enable Finnish SMEs to overcome international growth challenges. The research question was further divided into three sub-questions dealing with matters related to features and characteristics of Cloud services, limitations and challenges Finnish SMEs experience when pursuing international growth of business, and benefits and advantages of utilizing Cloud services to mitigate and suppress international growth challenges. First, the theoretical framework of this study was constructed based on the existing literature on Cloud services, SMEs, and international growth challenges. After this, qualitative research approach and methodology were applied for this study. The data was collected through six semi-structured expert interviews in person with representatives of IBM, Exidio, Big Data Solutions, and Comptel. After analyzing the collected data by applying thematic analysis method, the results were compared with the existing theory and the original framework was modified and complemented accordingly. Resource scarcity, customer base expansion and retention, and lack of courage to try new things and take risks turned out to be major international growth challenges of Finnish SMEs. Due to a number of benefits and advantages of utilizing Cloud services including service automation, consumption-based pricing model, lack of capital expenditures (capex) and huge upfront investments, lightened organization structure, cost savings, speed, accessibility, scalability, agility, geographical expansion potential, global reaching and covering, credibility, partners, enhanced CRM, freedom, and flexibility, it can be concluded that Cloud services can help directly and indirectly Finnish SMEs to mitigate and overcome international growth challenges and enable further business growth.

Standardized electrical tests for electrical equipment in road vehicles Case: Visedo Oy PowerMASTER M-frame

Electrical road vehicles were common at the begin of the 20th century but internal combustion engines took a victory from electrical motors in road vehicles. The acknowledgement of the environment, and the price and the availability of the crude oil are reasons for the comeback of the electrical vehicles. Advancement in industrial technology and political atmosphere in EU as the directive 20--20--20, which consists of reducing fossil emission, increasing renewable energy and increasing the energy efficiency, have made the electrification popular again. In this thesis tests based on standard ISO 16750--2 electrical loads for electrical equipment in road vehicles are made for Visedo Oy's PowerMASTER M-frame power electronics device. This device is designed for mainly drive trains in mobile work machines and marine vessels but can be used in other application in its power range which also includes road vehicles. The functionality of the device is tested with preliminary tests which act as a framework for the tests based on standards.

Saint-Cloud, 14/3/20, criterium des Vieux : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58504

Saint-Cloud, 14/3/20, départ du criterium des Vieux [cross] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58504 bis

Saint-Cloud, 14/3/20, critérium des Vieux, arrivée [cross] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58508

Saint-Cloud, 14/3/20, Audirac, gagnant du critérium des Vieux [cross] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58509

[Avenue du Palais à] St Cloud, concours de patinettes à moteur, 18/4/20 : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58921

[Avenue du Palais à] St Cloud, 18/4/20, concours de patinettes à moteur : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58922

Saint-Cloud, 23/5/20, Mlle Amblard-Decugis contre Mlle Speranza-Shimitzu [i. e. Shimizu, 2ème journée du championnat du monde] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 59408