The governmental organization's role in railway freight market's liberalization -building knowledge through Swedish and Polish operators' experiences

Globalization has increased transport aggregates’ demand. Whilst transport volumes increase, ecological values’im portance has sharpened: carbon footprint has become a measure known world widely. European Union together with other communities emphasizes friendliness to the environment: same trend has extended to transports. As a potential substitute for road transport is noted railway transport, which decreases the congestions and lowers the emission levels. Railway freight market was liberalized in the European Union 2007, which enabled new operators to enter the markets. This research had two main objectives. Firstly, it examined the main market entry strategies utilized and the barriers to entry confronted by the operators who entered the markets after the liberalization. Secondly, the aim was to find ways the governmental organization could enhance its service towards potential railway freight operators. Research is a qualitative case study, utilizing descriptive analytical research method with a normative shade. Empirical data was gathered by interviewing Swedish and Polish railway freight operators by using a semi-structured theme-interview. This research provided novel information by using first-hand data; topic has been researched previously by utilizing second-hand data and literature analyses. Based on this research, rolling stock acquisition, needed investments and bureaucracy generate the main barriers to entry. The research results show that the mostly utilized market entry strategies are start-up and vertical integration. The governmental organization could enhance the market entry process by organizing courses, paying extra attention on flexibility, internal know-how and educating the staff.

Building wood debris piles benefits avian seed dispersers in burned and logged Mediterranean pine forests

Salvage logging is a common practice carried out in burned forests worldwide, and intended to mitigate the economic losses caused by wildfires. Logging implies an additional disturbance occurring shortly after fire, although its ecological effects can be somewhat mitigated by leaving wood debris on site. The composition of the bird community and its capacity to provide ecosystem services such as seed dispersal offleshy-fruited plants have been shown to be affected by postfire logging. We assessedthe effects of the habitat structure resulting from different postfire management practices on the bird community, in three burned pine forests in Catalonia (western Mediterranean). For this purpose, we focused on the group of species that is responsible for seed dispersal, a process which takes place primarily during the winter in theMediterranean basin. In addition, we assessed microhabitat selection by seed disperser birds in such environments in relation to management practices. Our results showed a significant, positive relationship between the density of wood debris piles and the abundance of seed disperser birds. Furthermore, such piles were the preferredmicrohabitat of these species. This reveals an important effect of forest management on seed disperser birds, which is likely to affect the dynamics of bird-dependent seed dispersal. Thus, building wood debris piles can be a useful practice for the conservation of both the species and their ecosystem services, while also being compatible with timber harvesting

Building complexity in O2-binding copper complexes : site-selective metalation and intermolecular O2-binding at dicopper and heterometallic complexes derived from an unsymmetric ligand

A novel unsymmetric dinucleating ligand (LN3N4) combining a tridentate and a tetradentate binding sites linked through a m-xylyl spacer was synthesized as ligand scaffold for preparing homo- and dimetallic complexes, where the two metal ions are bound in two different coordination environments. Site-selective binding of different metal ions is demonstrated. LN3N4 is able to discriminate between CuI and a complementary metal (M′ = CuI, ZnII, FeII, CuII, or GaIII) so that pure heterodimetallic complexes with a general formula [CuIM′(LN3N4)]n+ are synthesized. Reaction of the dicopper(I) complex [CuI 2(LN3N4)]2+ with O2 leads to the formation of two different copper-dioxygen (Cu2O2) intermolecular species (O and TP) between two copper atoms located in the same site from different complex molecules. Taking advantage of this feature, reaction of the heterodimetallic complexes [CuM′(LN3N4)]n+ with O2 at low temperature is used as a tool to determine the final position of the CuI center in the system because only one of the two Cu2O2 species is formed

Building the map of innovation for membrane materials (Ceramic membranes)

This work proposes a method of visualizing the trend of research in the field of ceramic membranes from 1999 to 2006. The presented approach involves identifying problems encountered during research in the field of ceramic membranes. Patents from US patent database and articles from Science Direct(& by ELSEVIER was analyzed for this work. The identification of problems was achieved with software Knowledgist which focuses on the semantic nature of a sentence to generate series of subject action object structures. The identified problems are classified into major research issues. This classification was used for the visualization of the intensity of research. The image produced gives the relation between the number of patents, with time and the major research issues. The identification of the most cited papers which strongly influence the research of the previously identified major issues in the given field was also carried out. The relations between these papers are presented using the metaphor of social network. The final result of this work are two figures, a diagram showing the change in the studied problems a specified period of time and a figure showing the relations between the major papers and groups of the problems

Measuring Brand Equity and Analyzing Its Relationship with Key Marketing Mix Elements

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of price and advertising on brand equity. The dimensionality of brand equity is thoroughly examined, and the effect price, price deals, perceived advertising spending and advertising appeal have on the dimensions of brand equity are analyzed using multiple regression analysis as well as other supporting analyses. Price and advertising are found to be of great importance to brand equity. Arguably the most influential finding is the strong positive effect low prices – an integral brand element – have on the case company brand equity, even though a negative effect was hypothesized based on prior research. The results also support separating advertising appeal from perceived advertising spending, as well as linking service quality as part of the overall perceived quality in the context of service-intensive firms.

The Contribution of Mobile Device Manufacturers’ Site Usage to Brand Satisfaction and Loyalty

Recently most of the mobile phone manufacturer companies started to pay extra attention to their websites. This research investigates the sources of value creation on the mobile phone manufacturers’ website and the affect visiting the manufacturers’ website has on brand loyalty and brand satisfaction. The results show a correlation between positive website usage experience, brand loyalty and brand satisfaction. Moreover there is a relation between Novelty, Efficiency, Lock-in and the perceived usefulness the manufacturers’ website has on the mobile phone device. And finally the main reason behind Finnish student’s mobile phone brand loyalty is its country of origin.

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.

Distributed ControlArchitecture of Power Electronics Building-Block-Based Frequency Converters

The increasing power demand and emerging applications drive the design of electrical power converters into modularization. Despite the wide use of modularized power stage structures, the control schemes that are used are often traditional, in other words, centralized. The flexibility and re-usability of these controllers are typically poor. With a dedicated distributed control scheme, the flexibility and re-usability of the system parts, building blocks, can be increased. Only a few distributed control schemes have been introduced for this purpose, but their breakthrough has not yet taken place. A demand for the further development offlexible control schemes for building-block-based applications clearly exists. The control topology, communication, synchronization, and functionality allocationaspects of building-block-based converters are studied in this doctoral thesis. A distributed control scheme that can be easily adapted to building-block-based power converter designs is developed. The example applications are a parallel and series connection of building blocks. The building block that is used in the implementations of both the applications is a commercial off-the-shelf two-level three-phase frequency converter with a custom-designed controller card. The major challenge with the parallel connection of power stages is the synchronization of the building blocks. The effect of synchronization accuracy on the system performance is studied. The functionality allocation and control scheme design are challenging in the seriesconnected multilevel converters, mainly because of the large number of modules. Various multilevel modulation schemes are analyzed with respect to the implementation, and this information is used to develop a flexible control scheme for modular multilevel inverters.

Consumers’ brand experiences of magazine brands

Tässä kvalitatiivisessa pro gradu -työssä tutkittiin kuluttajien brändikokemuksia aikakauslehtien brändeistä. Päätutkimusongelmana oli kuinka kuluttaja kokee aikakauslehden brändin. Alaongelmia olivat seuraavat: mitä ovat brändikokemukset, mitkä ovat brändikokemuksen ulottuvuudet, mitkä konseptit liittyvät brändikokemukseen, kuka on vastuussa brändikokemusten luomisesta ja miten brändikokemuksia luodaan. Tässä tutkimuksessa on analysoitu yhtä avointa kysymystä: kerro meille kokemuksiasi X lehden brändistä. Vastausten perusteella vastaajista muodostettiin kahdeksan ryhmää: Uloskasvaneet, Internet-sivujen käyttäjät, Toistoon kyllästyneet, Vertaistukijat, Nostalgiset, Uskolliset, Tyytyväiset ja Luottavaiset.

From pioneering mission to autonomous church : Lutheran mission cooperation and church building in Thailand 1976-1994

Det lutherska missionsarbetet i Thailand startade inte förrän år 1976 då norska lutherska missionärer anlände till landet. Ett par år senare inledde Finska Missionssällskapet samarbete med norrmännen och med tiden anslöt sig även tre asiatiska lutherska kyrkor till missionssamarbetet i Thailand. Från första början var målet för missionsarbetet att grunda en självständig luthersk kyrka i Thailand. Detta skedde år 1994, 18 år efter att arbetet i Thailand hade inletts. I avhandlingen granskas vilka arbetsmetoder och verksamhetsformer som användes och hur grundandet av en självständig nationell luthersk kyrka förbereddes och förverkligades. I avhandlingen synas även den lutherska missionen i Thailand i förhållande till samtida internationellt missionstänkande och strömningar inom den kristna världsmissionen. Slutligen sätts den lutherska missionen i Thailand in i en thailändsk kulturell och religiös kontext.

Knowledge Sharing between Generations in an Organisation - Retention of the Old or Building the New?

The study explores knowledge transfer between retiring employees and their successors in expert work. My aim is to ascertain whether there is knowledge development or building new knowledge related to this organisational knowledge transfer between generations; in other words, is the transfer of knowledge from experienced, retiring employees to their successors merely retention of the existing organisational knowledge by distributing it from one individual to another or does this transfer lead to building new and meaningful organisational knowledge. I call knowledge transfer between generations and the possibly related knowledge building in this study knowledge sharing between generations. The study examines the organisation and knowledge management from a knowledge-based and constructionist view. From this standpoint, I see knowledge transfer as an interactive process, and the exploration is based on how the people involved in this process understand and experience the phenomenon studied. The research method is organisational ethnography. I conducted the analysis of data using thematic analysis and the articulation method, which has not been used before in organisational knowledge studies. The primary empirical data consists of theme interviews with twelve employees involved in knowledge transfer in the organisation being studied and five follow-up theme interviews. Six of the interviewees are expert duty employees due to retire shortly, and six are their successors. All those participating in the follow-up interviews are successors of those soon to retire from their expert responsibilities. The organisation in the study is a medium-sized Finnish firm, which designs and manufactures electrical equipment and systems for the global market. The results of the study show that expert work-related knowledge transfer between generations can mean knowledge building which produces new, meaningful knowledge for the organisation. This knowledge is distributed in the organisation to all those that find it useful in increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of the whole organisation. The transfer and building of knowledge together create an act of knowledge sharing between generations where the building of knowledge presupposes transfer. Knowledge sharing proceeds between the expert and the novice through eight phases. During the phases of knowledge transfer the expert guides the novice to absorb the knowledge to be transferred. With the expert’s help the novice gradually comes to understand the knowledge and in the end he or she is capable of using it in his or her work. During the phases of knowledge building the expert helps the novice to further develop the knowledge being transferred so that it becomes new, useful knowledge for the organisation. After that the novice takes the built knowledge to use in his or her work. Based on the results of the study, knowledge sharing between generations takes place in interaction and ends when knowledge is taken to use. The results I obtained in the interviews by the articulation method show that knowledge sharing between generations is shaped by the novices’ conceptions of their own work goals, knowledge needs and duties. These are not only based on the official definition of the work, but also how the novices find their work or how they prioritise the given objectives and responsibilities. The study shows that the novices see their work primarily as maintenance or development. Those primarily involved in maintenance duties do not necessarily need knowledge defined as transferred between generations. Therefore, they do not necessarily transfer knowledge with their assigned experts, even though this can happen in favourable circumstances. They do not build knowledge because their view of their work goals and duties does not require the building of new knowledge. Those primarily involved in development duties, however, do need knowledge available from their assigned experts. Therefore, regardless of circumstances they transfer knowledge with their assigned experts and also build knowledge because their work goals and duties create a basis for building new knowledge. The literature on knowledge transfer between generations has focused on describing either the knowledge being transferred or the means by which it is transferred. Based on the results of this study, however, knowledge sharing between generations, that is, transfer and building is determined by how the novice considers his or her own knowledge needs and work practices. This is why studies on knowledge sharing between generations and its implementation should be based not only on the knowledge content and how it is shared, but also on the context of the work in which the novice interprets and shares knowledge. The existing literature has not considered the possibility that knowledge transfer between generations may mean building knowledge. The results of this study, however, show that this is possible. In knowledge building, the expert’s existing organisational knowledge is combined with the new knowledge that the novice brings to the organisation. In their interaction this combination of the expert’s “old” and the novice’s “new” knowledge becomes new, meaningful organisational knowledge. Previous studies show that knowledge development between the members of an organisation is the prerequisite for organisational renewal which in turn is essential for improved competitiveness. Against this background, knowledge building enables organisational renewal and thus enhances competitiveness. Hence, when knowledge transfer between generations is followed by knowledge building, the organisation kills two birds with one stone. In knowledge transfer the organisation retains the existing knowledge and thus maintains its competitiveness. In knowledge building the organisation developsnew knowledge and thus improves its competitiveness.

The True Brand Loyalty in the Finnish Tabloid Industry

Asiakas- ja brandiuskollisuutta on tutkittu 1920-luvulta alkaen ja sitä käsittelevän kirjallisuuden kirjo on hyvin laaja. Empiirisiä tutkimuksia löytyy kattava joukko aina pankkimaailmasta päivittäiskaupan tuotteisiin. Iltapäivälehtimarkkinaa tutkivaa empiiristä asiakas- tai brandiuskollisuustutkimusta ei kuitenkaan toistaiseksi ole tieteellisen tutkimuksen saralla tehty. Tässä tutkimuksessa perehdytään asiakas- ja brandiuskollisuuden maailmaan ja tutkitaan brandiuskollisuuden toteutumista suomalaisien iltapäivälehtien keskuudessa. Tutkimuksen keskeisin tavoite on selvittää, voidaanko todeta asiakas- ja brandiuskollisuutta olevan suomalaisien iltapäivälehtien keskuudessa ja mikäli sitä todetaan olevan, mitkä ovat ne tekijät, jotka tämän uskollisuuden muodostumiseen vaikuttavat. Tutkimus toteutettiin yhteistyössä toisen suuren suomalaisen iltapäivälehtitalon kanssa. Empiirinen tutkimus toteutettiin strukturoituna Internet-kyselynä, josta saatu aineisto analysoitiin kvantitatiivisin tutkimusmenetelmin. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että asiakas- ja brandiuskollisuutta löytyy suomalaisien iltapäivälehtien keskuudessa. Tärkeimmät havainnot osoittavat, että muun muassa uskollisuus iltapäivälehden verkkosivustoa kohtaan vaikuttaa positiivisesti uskollisuuteen ja toistuvaan ostokäyttäytymiseen samaa iltapäivälehteä kohtaan. Tämä on merkittävä löytö, sillä asian on monissa aiemmissa tutkimuksissa oletettu olevan päinvastoin. Myös luottamus brandiin, sitoutuneisuus brandiin, asiakkaan kokemat hyödyt ja asiakastyytyväisyys todettiin tutkimustuloksien pohjalta vaikuttavan positiivisesti sekä asenteellisen että behavioristisen uskollisuuden muodostumiseen iltapäivälehtiä kohtaan.