Tracing Innovation Practices in Seaports: the Ports of Klaipeda and Stockholm as Case Studies

This study explores variegated means through which ports have become increasingly entangled in the planning logic of neoliberal innovation-driven economy. The research topic belongs to the academic disciplines of economics and human geography. The aim of the thesis is to analyse how the notion of innovation, adopted in a variety of supranational and national port policy documents, is deployed in operational port environment in two different ports of the Baltic Sea Region: the port of Stockholm, Sweden, and the port of Klaipeda, Lithuania. This novel innovation agenda is visible in several topics I examine in the study, that is, port governance, environmental issues, and seaport – port-city interface. The gathered primary source material on port policy documents, strategies, development planning documents and reports is analysed by utilizing the qualitative content analysis research method. Moreover, the empirical part of the case study, that is, tracing innovation practices in mundane port activities is based on collected qualitative semi-structured interviews with port authorities in Klaipeda and Stockholm, researchers and other port experts. I examine the interview material by employing the theoretical reading research method. In my analysis, I have reframed port-related policy development by tracing and identifying the port transformation from “functional terminals” to “engines for growth”. My results show that this novel innovation-oriented rhetoric imprinted in the narrative “engines for growth” is often contested in daily port practices. In other words, my analysis reveals that the port authorities’ and other port actors’ attitudes towards innovations do not necessarily correspond to the new narrative of innovation and do not always “fit” within a framework of neoliberal economic thinking that glorifies the “culture of innovations”. I argue that the ability to develop innovative initiatives in the ports of Klaipeda and Stockholm is strongly predetermined by local conditions, a port’s governance model, the way port actors perceive the importance of innovations per se, demand factors and new regulations.

The best practices in the formation phase of Sino-Finnish joint ventures in China: For Finnish software companies

This study discusses the formation phase of Chinese-Finnish joint ventures in China. The purpose of this thesis is to create best practices for Finnish software companies in forming a joint venture with a local Chinese company in China. Therefore, the main research question, in what are the best practices for forming Sino-Finnish joint ventures in China for Finnish software firms, is examined through four different themes within the joint venture formation phase; the motives, the partner se-lection, the choice of a joint venture type and joint venture negotiations. The theoretical background of the study consists of literature relating to the establishment process of Sino-Western joint ventures in China. The empirical research conducted for this study is based on the expert interviews. The empirical data was gathered via nine semi-structured interviews with both Chinese and Finnish experts in software and technology industry, who have experience or knowledge in establishing Sino-Finnish joint ventures in China. Thematic analysis was used to cat-egorize and interpret the interview data. In addition, a thematic network was built to act as a basis of the analysis. According to the main findings, the main motives for Finnish software companies to establish a joint venture in China are lack of skills or experience, little resources to enter on their own, and China’s large market. The main motives for Chinese companies are to gain new technology or man-agerial skills, and expand internationally. The intellectual property rights (IPR) have recently im-proved a lot in China, but the Finnish companies’ knowledge on IPR is inadequate. The Finnish software companies should conduct a market and industry research in order to understand their po-sition in the market and to find a suitable location and potential joint venture partners. It is essential to define partner selection criteria and partner attributes. In addition, it is important to build the joint venture around complementary motives and a win-win situation between the joint venture partners. The Finnish companies should be prepared that the joint venture negotiations will be challenging and they will take a long time. The challenges can be overcome by gaining understanding about the Chinese culture and business environment. The findings of this study enhance understanding of the joint venture formation phase in China. This study provides guidelines for Finnish software companies to establish a joint venture in China. In addition, this study brings new insights to the Sino-Western joint venture literature with its soft-ware industry context. Future research is, however, necessary in order to gain an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of a joint venture as an entry mode into China for Finnish soft-ware companies.

User Experience Patterns for/of Innovation by Design: A Survey on Design Practices in the Software Development and Innovation Lifecycle

The User Experience (UX) designers are undoubtedly aware of how many UX design methods currently exist and that sometimes it becomes a problem to choose an appropriate one. What are all of methods that designers have in their “arsenal”? When can they use them? This thesis presents the research on the design methods in the contemporary context of User Experience (UX) and Innovations by using a survey approach. The study is limited to cover the domain of consumer mobile services development and provider companies around the world. The study follows 2 clear objectives: (1) to understand what design methods are currently used in that context and to what extent they are used (2) to identify at what stage according to the UX design thinking process for creating innovations they are placed. The study contributes to the research in the field of UX design and Innovations and extends the knowledge in that field together with communities’ (UXPA, SIGCHI, SIGSOFT) members’ cooperation. The research is vital due to lack of information on design practices and their application in the chosen context.

Buddhism and the earth : environmental thought in early Buddhist philosophy

Introduction Fundamental to the philosophy of Buddhism, is the insight that there is "unsatisfactohness" (dukkha) in the world and that it can be eliminated through the practice of the Noble Eight Fold Path. Buddhism also maintains that the world as we experience and entities that exist are bereft of any substantiality. Instead existence is manifest through dependent origination. All things are conditional; nothing is permanent. However, inherent in this dependent existence is the interconnectedness of all beings and their subjection to the cosmic law of karma. Part of cultivating the Eight Fold path includes a deep compassion for all other living things, 'trapped' within this cycle of dependent origination. This compassion or empathy (karuna) is crucial to the Buddhist path to enlightenment. It is this emphasis on karuna that shows itself in Mahayana Buddhism with respect to the theory of the boddhisatva (or Buddha-to-be) since the boddhisatva willingly postpones his/her own enlightenment to help others on the same path. One of the ramifications of the theory of dependent origination is that there is no anthropocentric bias placed on humans over the natural world. Paradoxically the doctrine of non-self becomes an ontology within Buddhism, culminating in the Mayahana realization that a common boundary exists between samsara and nirvana. Essential to this ontology is the life of dharma or a moral life. Ethics is not separated from ontology. As my thesis will show, this basic outlook of Buddhism has implications toward our understanding of the Buddhist world-view with respect to the current human predicament concerning the environment. While humans are the only ones who can 4 attain "Buddhahood", it is because of our ability to understand what it means to follow the Eight fold path and act accordingly. Because of the interconnectedness of all entities {dharmas), there is an ontological necessity to eliminate suffering and 'save the earth' because if we allow the earth to suffer, we ALL suffer. This can be understood as an ethical outlook which can be applied to our interaction with and treatment of the natural environment or environment in the broadest sense, not just trees plants rocks etc. It is an approach to samsara and all within it. It has been argued that there is no ontology in Buddhism due to its doctrine of "non-self". However, it is a goal of this thesis to argue that there does exist an original ontology in Buddhism; that according to it, the nature of Being is essentially neither "Being nor non-being nor not non-being" as illustrated by Nagarjuna. Within this ontology is engrained an ethic or 'right path' (samma marga) that is fundamental to our being and this includes a compassionate relationship to our environment. In this dissertation I endeavour to trace the implications that the Buddhist worldview has for the environmental issues that assail us in our age of technology. I will explore questions such as: can the Buddhist way of thinking help us comprehend and possibly resolve the environmental problems of our day and age? Are there any current environmental theories which are comparable to or share common ground with the classical Buddhist doctrines? I will elucidate some fundamental doctrines of early Buddhism from an environmental perspective as well as identify some comparable modern environmental theories such as deep ecology and general systems theory, that seem to share in the wisdom of classical Buddhism and have much to gain from a deeper appreciation of Buddhism.

Toward a grounded theory of trigger events and leadership development in early adulthood

The purpose of this research study was to develop a conceptual model through the use of a grounded theory approach, which explains how trigger events are related to leadership development. Trigger events are experience that cause developmental growth and may result in an increased ability to lead (Luthans and Avolio (2003). In this study, there were two phases of data collection. First participants completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), where their respective leadership developmental stage was measured. Second, participants were involved in two in-depth interviews where an understanding was reached as to how various trigger events have impacted their leadership development. From these data, a conceptual model was developed to explain the relationship between trigger events and leadership development. Participants described trigger events as being important developmental periods, during which time they grew as people and became more capable leaders.

Conflicting ideologies in early childhood education : an exploration of Reggio-inspired practice

Within the field of early childhood education, the ideologies of child development and its parent discipline, developmental psychology, dominate both theory and practice. In recent years, educators have attempted to reconceptualise early childhood education by adopting more progressive approaches to teaching and learning. The aim of this present research study was to critically examine the experiences of early childhood educators who have adopted a Reggioinspired approach to educating young children. To explore their experiences, an institutional ethnography was employed involving seven educators from a large child care organization in Hamilton, Ontario. In line with the intent ofthis study, qualitative data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, participant-observations and textual analyses to explore the presence of developmental-psychological ideologies within early childhood education and Reggio-inspired practice. The present study also examined the challenges faced by educators who have adopted a Reggio-inspired approach. The results of this study indicate that ideologies associated with the developmental-psychological paradigm dominate the practice of early childhood educators and that the conflicting ideologies that surround Reggio educators may play a role in some of the challenges educators experience. The findings of this study thus demonstrate a need to adopt alternative approaches toward understanding both children and childhood, in both early childhood educational theory and practice.

A Psychosocial Approach to Understanding Causality Assessment in Early Phase Oncology Clinical Trials: A Phenomenological Study

Research Question: What are the psychosocial factors that affect causality assessment in early phase oncology clinical trials? Methods: Thirty-two qualitative interviews were explicated with the aid of “Naturalistic Decision Making”. Data explication consisted of phenomenological reduction, delineating and clustering meaning units, forming themes, and creating a composite summary. Participants were members of the National Cancer Institute of Canada’s Clinical Trial Group Investigative New Drug committee. Results: The process of assigning causality is extremely subjective and full of uncertainty. Physicians had no formal training, nor a tool to assist them with this process. Physicians were apprehensive about their decisions and felt pressure from their patients, as well as the pharmaceutical companies sponsoring the trial. Conclusions: There are many problem areas when attributing causality, all of which have serious consequences, but clinicians used a variety of methods to cope with these problem areas.

Hidden Motives: An Analysis of Online ESL Teacher Hiring Practices in Japan and Hong Kong

Hidden Motives: An Analysis of Online English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher Hiring Practices in Japan and Hong Kong is a qualitative research paper examines and compares two large-scale Asian English language teaching programs: Japan’s Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme (JET Programme, 2010) and Hong Kong’s Native-speaking English Teacher (NET) Scheme (NET Scheme, 2013). Both government sponsored programs recruit internationally and invite participants to work within each country’s public schools while living amongst local communities and both programs utilize their online presence to attract, inform, and recruit individuals. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether the JET and NET websites are transparent with their governmental motives aside from improving their students’ English language abilities. While JET and NET websites were interrogated, the research questions were regularly revisited to determine if the two sites made any underlying motives clear to the candidates. The research, supported by academic literature, exposed the JET Programme website to be a branch of the Japanese government’s soft power campaign, whereby JET teachers were hired firstly as potential advocates for Japan and Japanese culture rather than English teachers. Conversely, the NET Scheme appeared to be solely commissioned for English language improvement as reflected by their website. Findings from the research can provide insight to applicants to help them decide if they want to participant in these programs. Without clearly understanding the background that motivates these programs, participants may unknowingly be used to support the host government’s agendas.

Disquietude: A Sonata-Form Inquiry Into Multiliteracies Practices in an EAL Classroom

This narrative case study describes an English as an Additional Language teacher’s struggle to understand her young adult learners’ apparent resistance toward multiliteracies pedagogical practices in a college setting. Multiliteracies Pedagogy (New London Group, 1996) advocates the use of digital media, and home languages and culture, to engage diverse youth in designing personally meaningful multimodal texts that can significantly impact learner identity, voice, and agency. This arts-based study uses an innovative sonata-style format to document the making of a class documentary, accompanied by teacher reflections on the video project in the form of poetry, journal excerpts, and classroom dialogue. The sonata form provides a unique methodology for teacher inquiry, allowing the teacher-researcher to explore the ways in which curriculum, pedagogy, and sociocultural influences intersect in the classroom. The study does not end with a clear resolution of the problem; instead, the process of inquiry leads to deeper understandings of what it means to teach in the complex worlds of diverse learners.

Swimming upstream: navigating ethical practices in the creation of a participatory youth media workshop

Despite the growing popularity of participatory video as a tool for facilitating youth empowerment, the methodology and impacts of the practice are extremely understudied. This paper describes a study design created to examine youth media methodology and the ethical dilemmas that arose in its attempted implementation. Specifically, elements that added “rigor” to the study (i.e., randomization, pre- and post-measures, and an intensive interview) conflicted with the fundamental tenets of youth participation. The paper concludes with suggestions for studying participatory media methodologies that are more in line with an ethics of participation.

Geographies and displacements : theorizing feminism, migration, and transnational feminist practices in selected black caribbean canadian women's texts

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

A Teacher’s Formative Assessment Perceptions and Practices in Oral Intermediate English Courses at the Université de Montréal

Au cours des dernières années, les pratiques de l’évaluation comme aide à l’apprentissage (c’est-à-dire l’auto-évaluation, l’évaluation par les pairs, la rétroaction) dans la salle de classe ont été de plus en plus considérées comme des éléments essentiels (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Harlen & Winter, 2004; van de Watering & van der Rijt, 2006). Cependant, dans le domaine de l’apprentissage d’une langue seconde la recherche sur ce sujet est plutôt limitée. En nous fondant sur les études de Colby-Kelly et Turner (2007) et de Lyster et Ranta (1997), nous avons mené une recherche exploratoire visant à combler ce besoin. L’objectif général était de comprendre comment l’évaluation formative se réalise dans deux cours d’anglais intermédiaire à l’Université de Montréal, et de comparer comment ces pratiques sont perçues et vécues par la professeure et ses étudiants. Trois questions de recherche étaient posées: 1. Quelle est la nature de l’évaluation formative dans une salle de classe d’anglais langue seconde? 2. Est-ce que les pratiques de la professeure reflètent ce qu’elle pense de l’évaluation formative? 3. Quels sont les correspondances et différences entre les croyances de la professeure et les perceptions de ses étudiants quant aux bénéfices de l’évaluation formative pour l’apprentissage de l’anglais langue seconde? La collecte de données comprend des observations en classe, des entrevues auprès de la professeure et des questionnaires pour les étudiants. Pour répondre à notre première question de recherche, nous avons analysé la rétroaction donnée par la professeure pendant une production orale réalisée par ses étudiants à partir de la typologie de feedback et de uptake de l’étude de Lyster et Ranta (1997). En ce qui a trait à la deuxième question de recherche, nous avons fait des entrevues avec la professeure en vue d’expliciter ses perceptions relativement à l’évaluation formative. À la fin du trimestre, nous avons comparé ses réponses avec sa pratique à partir des enregistrements vidéo produits en classe. Finalement, pour répondre à notre dernière question de recherche nous avons comparé les réponses données par la professeure aux entrevues avec les réponses des étudiants à un questionnaire adapté à partir de celui de Colby-Kelly et Turner. Finalement, nous présentons et discutons les résultats les plus significatifs obtenus dans cette étude qualitative Nous concluons cette thèse en proposant de avenues pour des recherches futures.

Maternal depression symptoms in early childhood and children's cognitive performance at school entry : the role of maternal guidance

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Developmental trajectories of marijuana use and psychological distress : exploring the co-occurrence of these phenomena in early adolescence

Le début de l’adolescence est une période de changements rapides où la détresse psychologique et l’expérimentation de la marijuana sont choses fréquentes. Certaines études longitudinales ont démontré que ces deux phénomènes ont tendance à se manifester conjointement tandis que d’autres n’ont pu observer de tel lien. Ces résultats divergents suggèrent que plusieurs questions persistent concernant la nature de cette relation. Cette thèse a pour objectif d’explorer la consommation de marijuana et la détresse psychologique en début d’adolescence afin de mieux saisir les changements à travers le temps, ainsi que d’examiner si ces deux problématiques évoluent conjointement et s’influencent réciproquement. Un échantillon de 448 adolescents garçons et filles fréquentant deux écoles secondaires de Montréal, ont été suivi de secondaire I à secondaire III. De 1999 à 2001, les participants ont complété un questionnaire à chaque année de l’étude incluant des mesures portant sur la consommation de marijuana et la détresse psychologique (IDPESQ-14). Un modèle de mixture semi-paramétrique (Nagin, 2005) a été utilisé afin d’identifier les trajectoires développementales de la consommation de marijuana et de détresse psychologique. Des analyses ont également été effectuées afin d’établir les liens d’appartenance entre chacune des trajectoires de consommation identifiées et la détresse psychologique lors de la première année de l`étude, ainsi qu’entre chacune des trajectoires de détresse psychologique et la consommation de marijuana en première année du secondaire. Finalement, des analyses de trajectoires jointes ont été effectuées afin de déterminer l’interrelation entre la consommation de marijuana et la détresse psychologique. Les résultats de notre étude suggèrent qu’il existe une grande hétérogénéité au niveau de la consommation de marijuana et la détresse psychologique. Trois trajectoires développementales ont été identifiées pour la consommation de marijuana: consommation légère, consommation grandissante et consommation élevée et stable. Trois trajectoires ont également été observées pour la détresse psychologique : basse, moyenne et élevée. Nos résultats démontrent la présence d’un lien entre la détresse psychologique rapportée lors de la première année de l’étude et les trajectoires de consommation problématiques. Ce lien a également été observé entre la consommation de marijuana rapportée lors de première année de l’étude et les trajectoires problématiques de détresse psychologique. Les analyses de trajectoires jointes démontrent la présence d’une concordance entre la consommation de marijuana et la détresse psychologique. Cette interrelation est toutefois complexe puisque les trajectoires de détresse psychologique élevée sont associées à un niveau de consommation de marijuana plus problématique mais l’inverse de cette association est moins probable. Notre étude met en lumière la nature asymétrique de la concordance entre la consommation de marijuana et la détresse psychologique.