Enseñanza de la bioética: una síntesis

La bioética se viene consolidando como una disciplina estructurada desde la década de los 1970, y desde un comienzo hubo una creciente preocupación por la mejor forma de enseñarla en los niveles de pregrado. Muchos docentes han debido adaptarse a las disponibilidades de profesores y recursos, en tanto otros han podido elaborar programas más extensos. Una revisión de la literatura muestra que los programas varían entre 5-10 sesiones y un máximo de 200 horas, desarrolladas en semestres básicos o clínicos, con preferencia por el nivel en que los estudiantes comienzan su práctica clínica. Los métodos de enseñanza son muy diversos, casi todos utilizando en alguna medida la clase magistral complementada con discusión en pequeño grupo. Hay una clara preferencia por la docencia interactiva, pero no siempre hay suficientes profesores para realizarla. Los textos de bioética son escasos y los artículos publicados suelen ser demasiado especializados, por lo que muchos docentes recomiendan preparar apuntes ad hoc que cubran sistemáticamente las materias esenciales. En cuanto a evaluación de los alumnos, la mayoría utiliza el ensayo breve y el análisis de viñetas: los casos esquemáticos

Maavoimien verkostokeskeisen tiedonsiirtojärjestelmän arkkitehtuuri ja sen toteuttaminen

Tämä tutkimus pyrkii määrittelemään itsenäisenä puolustushaarana toimivalle maavoimille sen tehtäviin soveltuvan verkostokeskeisyyttä ja joukkorakenteita tukevan tiedonsiirtojärjestelmän arkkitehtuurin. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan teoreettinen. Siinä analysoidaan yleistä sotilaallisten tiedonsiirtojärjestelmien kehitystä kylmästä sodasta lähtien, tiedonsiirtojärjestelmien kehitystä Yhdysvaltain ja Suomen maavoimissa sekä kaupallisten tiedonsiirtojärjestelmien kehitysnäkymiä. Analyysin pohjalta on laadittu arkkitehtuurikuvaus koostuen kahdeksasta PVTAKmäärittelyn mukaisesta näkymästä sekä esimerkki arkkitehtuurin soveltamisesta käytäntöön. Tämän työn tutkimusongelmana on, millainen maavoimien tiedonsiirtojärjestelmän arkkitehtuuri tukee tulevaisuudessa parhaiten verkostokeskeisyyttä ja yleistä teknistä kehitystä. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa selvitetään sotilaallisten tiedonsiirtojärjestelmien historian ja kehitysnäkymien vaikutusta arkkitehtuurin rakenteeseen. Tutkimusmenetelmänä työssä käytetään kirjallisuusanalyysia ja suunnittelua. Arkkitehtuurin laatiminen ja esimerkki arkkitehtuurin toteuttamisesta luokitellaan suunnitteluksi. Puolustusjärjestelmää valmistaudutaan käyttämään alue-, YETTS-, kriisinhallinta- ja informaatiosodassa. Keskeinen vaatimus on kyky toimia kaikissa näissä toimintaympäristöissä samalla kalustolla. Verkostokeskeisyyden toteuttamisen puolestaan todettiin vaativan suorituskykyistä, yhteensopivaa ja tietoturvallista tiedonsiirtojärjestelmää, joka takaa yhteydellisyyden taistelukentän toimijoiden kesken. Tällä tuetaan erityisesti verkostokeskeistä johtamista ja suunnittelua. Tiedonsiirtojärjestelmien kehityksen todettiin olevan kaikissa asevoimissa hidasta. Myös käytössä olevien ikääntyneiden järjestelmien kehityksen nopeuttaminen on osoittautunut haasteelliseksi hankintaprosessin luonteesta johtuen. Yhdysvaltain maavoimien tiedonsiirtojärjestelmissä hyödynnetään yhä runsaammin COTStekniikka, mutta taktiset johtamisyhteydet toteutetaan yhä useimmiten sotilasjärjestelmillä. Uusimmassa maavoimien järjestelmässä WIN-T:ssä korostuu kerroksellisuus (maa, ilma ja avaruus) ja tehtävän vaatimusten mukaan rakennettava järjestelmä. Sen merkittävä osa on myös JTRS-ohjelmistoradio kaikkine versioineen. Järjestelmän modulaarinen rakenne mahdollistaa jatkuvan osajärjestelmien kehittämisen teknisen kehityksen myötä. Suomen maavoimien tiedonsiirtojärjestelmät vaativat nykyisellään kehitystyötä, mutta ulkomaanoperaatioiden järjestelmiä voidaan pitää onnistuneina ja nykyaikaisina. Tärkeänä nähdäänkin kaikkien joukkotyyppien järjestelmäkehityksen yhdistäminen paremman suorituskyvyn ja yhteensopivuuden saavuttamiseksi. Kaupallisten tiedonsiirtojärjestelmien sotilaskäytön todettiin sisältävän monia haasteita sekä mahdollisuuksia. Kehityksen eteneminen kohti NGN-verkkoja kuitenkin tukee verkostokeskeisyyttä ja sotilassovelluksia. Tällä hetkellä mielenkiintoisimpia sovelluksia ovat ohjelmistoradio ja langattomat laajakaistaiset ad hoc -datansiirtojärjestelmät. Maavoimien tiedonsiirtojärjestelmän arkkitehtuuri on modulaarinen rakentuen siirtojärjestelmistä, käyttäjäympäristö- ja järjestelmäsolmuista sekä yhtenäisestä ohjaus- ja valvontajärjestelmästä. Siirtojärjestelmiä ovat PAN- (henkilökohtaiset), LAN- (lähi), LOS- (suoran yhteyden), BLOS- (epäsuoran yhteyden) ja runkoverkkojärjestelmät. Solmuja ovat esikunta- , komentopaikka- ja liikkuvan tilaajan sekä järjestelmäsolmu. Siirtoteitä ja solmuja kyetään ohjaamaan sekä valvomaan yhtenäisellä ohjaus- ja valvontajärjestelmällä. Keskeistä kokonaisuudessa on IP-protokollan laaja hyödyntäminen. Arkkitehtuuria voidaan soveltaa kaikille joukkotyypeille. Sen toteutuksen tekniikat ja järjestelmät voivat olla COTS:ia tai sotilaallista tekniikkaa. Toteutetut järjestelmät ovat joukkojen erilaisesta luonteesta ja toiminnan vaatimuksista johtuen mahdollisesti hyvinkin erilaisia.

Sotilaan paikkatiedon siirtäminen tietoverkoissa

Paikkatietojärjestelmän avulla voidaan seurata maastossa olevien sotilaiden sijaintia karttasovellukselta. Paikkatietojärjestelmien käyttäminen lisää tilannetietoisuutta ja palvelusturvallisuutta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kehittää sotilaan paikkatietojärjestelmän käytettävyyttä Puolustusvoimissa. Tutkimuksessa esitellään paikkatietojärjestelmä sotilastoiminnassa ja yleiset paikantamismenetelmät. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään paikkatietojärjestelmään soveltuvat tietoverkot ja tekniikat. Tutkimuksessa esitellään paikkatietojärjestelmään kehitteillä oleva sanomanvälitysjärjestelmä.

Immediate Decision-Making and Information Needs in Intensive Care Coordination

The aim of this study was to develop a theoretical model for information integration to support the deci¬sion making of intensive care charge nurses, and physicians in charge – that is, ICU shift leaders. The study focused on the ad hoc decision-making and immediate information needs of shift leaders during the management of an intensive care unit’s (ICU) daily activities. The term ‘ad hoc decision-making’ was defined as critical judgements that are needed for a specific purpose at a precise moment with the goal of ensuring instant and adequate patient care and a fluent flow of ICU activities. Data collection and research analysis methods were tested in the identification of ICU shift leaders’ ad hoc decision-making. Decision-making of ICU charge nurses (n = 12) and physicians in charge (n = 8) was observed using a think-aloud technique in two university-affiliated Finnish ICUs for adults. The ad hoc decisions of ICU shift leaders were identified using an application of protocol analysis. In the next phase, a structured online question¬naire was developed to evaluate the immediate information needs of ICU shift leaders. A national survey was conducted in all Finnish, university-affiliated hospital ICUs for adults (n = 17). The questionnaire was sent to all charge nurses (n = 515) and physicians in charge (n = 223). Altogether, 257 charge nurses (50%) and 96 physicians in charge (43%) responded to the survey. The survey was also tested internationally in 16 Greek ICUs. From Greece, 50 charge nurses out of 240 (21%) responded to the survey. A think-aloud technique and protocol analysis were found to be applicable for the identification of the ad hoc decision-making of ICU shift leaders. During one day shift leaders made over 200 ad hoc decisions. Ad hoc decisions were made horizontally, related to the whole intensive care process, and vertically, concerning single intensive care incidents. Most of the ICU shift leaders’ ad hoc decisions were related to human resources and know-how, patient information and vital signs, and special treatments. Commonly, this ad hoc decision-making involved several multiprofessional decisions that constituted a bundle of immediate decisions and various information needs. Some of these immediate information needs were shared between the charge nurses and the physicians in charge. The majority of which concerned patient admission, the organisation and management of work, and staff allocation. In general, the information needs of charge nurses were more varied than those of physicians. It was found that many ad hoc deci-sions made by the physicians in charge produced several information needs for ICU charge nurses. This meant that before the task at hand was completed, various kinds of information was sought by the charge nurses to support the decision-making process. Most of the immediate information needs of charge nurses were related to the organisation and management of work and human resources, whereas the information needs of the physicians in charge mainly concerned direct patient care. Thus, information needs differ between professionals even if the goal of decision-making is the same. The results of the international survey confirmed these study results for charge nurses. Both in Finland and in Greece the information needs of charge nurses focused on the organisation and management of work and human resources. Many of the most crucial information needs of Finnish and Greek ICU charge nurses were common. In conclusion, it was found that ICU shift leaders make hundreds of ad hoc decisions during the course of a day related to the allocation of resources and organisation of patient care. The ad hoc decision-making of ICU shift leaders is a complex multi-professional process, which requires a lot of immediate information. Real-time support for information related to patient admission, the organisation and man¬agement of work, and allocation of staff resources is especially needed. The preliminary information integration model can be applied when real-time enterprise resource planning systems are developed for intensive care daily management

The marketing communications industry in flux: Large B2C advertisers’ viewpoint

The recent digitization, fragmentation of the media landscape and consumers’ changing media behavior are all changes that have had drastic effects on creating marketing communications. In order to create effective marketing communications large advertisers are now co-operating with a variety of marketing communications companies. The purpose of the study is to understand how advertisers perceive these different companies and more importantly how do advertisers expect their roles to change in the future as the media landscape continues to evolve. Especially the changing roles of advertising agencies and media agencies are examined as they are at the moment the most relevant partners of the advertisers. However, the research is conducted from a network perspective rather than focusing on single actors of the marketing communications industry network. The research was conducted using a qualitative theme interview method. The empirical data was gathered by interviewing representatives from nine of the 50 largest Finnish advertisers measured by media spending. Thus, the research was conducted solely from large B2C advertisers’ perspective while the views of their other relevant actors of the network were left unexplored. The interviewees were chosen with a focus on variety of points of view. The analytical framework that was used to analyze the gathered data was built the IMP group’s industrial network model that consists of actors, their resources and activities. As technology driven media landscape fragmentation and consumers’ changing media behavior continue to increase the complexity of creating marketing communications, advertisers are going to need to rely on a growing number of partnerships as they see that the current actors of the network will not be able to widen their expertise to answer to these new needs. The advertisers expect to form new partnerships with actors that are more specialized and able to react and produce activities more quickly than at the moment. Thus, new smaller and more agile actors with looser structures are going to appear to fill these new needs. Therefore, the need of co-operation between the actors is going to become more important. These changes pose the biggest threat for traditional advertising agencies as they were seen as being most unable to cope with the ongoing change. Media agencies are in a more favorable position for remaining relevant for the advertisers as they will be able to justify their activities and provided value by leveraging their data handling abilities. In general the advertisers expect to be working with a limited number of close actors and in addition having a network of smaller actors, which are used on a more ad hoc basis.

Reframing the relationship between service design and operations: a service engineering approach

The significance of services as business and human activities has increased dramatically throughout the world in the last three decades. Becoming a more and more competitive and efficient service provider while still being able to provide unique value opportunities for customers requires new knowledge and ideas. Part of this knowledge is created and utilized in daily activities in every service organization, but not all of it, and therefore an emerging phenomenon in the service context is information awareness. Terms like big data and Internet of things are not only modern buzz-words but they are also describing urgent requirements for a new type of competences and solutions. When the amount of information increases and the systems processing information become more efficient and intelligent, it is the human understanding and objectives that may get separated from the automated processes and technological innovations. This is an important challenge and the core driver for this dissertation: What kind of information is created, possessed and utilized in the service context, and even more importantly, what information exists but is not acknowledged or used? In this dissertation the focus is on the relationship between service design and service operations. Reframing this relationship refers to viewing the service system from the architectural perspective. The selected perspective allows analysing the relationship between design activities and operational activities as an information system while maintaining the tight connection to existing service research contributions and approaches. This type of an innovative approach is supported by research methodology that relies on design science theory. The methodological process supports the construction of a new design artifact based on existing theoretical knowledge, creation of new innovations and testing the design artifact components in real service contexts. The relationship between design and operations is analysed in the health care and social care service systems. The existing contributions in service research tend to abstract services and service systems as value creation, working or interactive systems. This dissertation adds an important information processing system perspective to the research. The main contribution focuses on the following argument: Only part of the service information system is automated and computerized, whereas a significant part of information processing is embedded in human activities, communication and ad-hoc reactions. The results indicate that the relationship between service design and service operations is more complex and dynamic than the existing scientific and managerial models tend to view it. Both activities create, utilize, mix and share information, making service information management a necessary but relatively unknown managerial task. On the architectural level, service system -specific elements seem to disappear, but access to more general information elements and processes can be found. While this dissertation focuses on conceptual-level design artifact construction, the results provide also very practical implications for service providers. Personal, visual and hidden activities of service, and more importantly all changes that take place in any service system have also an information dimension. Making this information dimension visual and prioritizing the processed information based on service dimensions is likely to provide new opportunities to increase activities and provide a new type of service potential for customers.

Virtual communities : a virtual treasure trove for end-user developers

End-user development is a very common but often largely overlooked phenomenon in information systems research and practice. End-user development means that regular people, the end-users of software, and not professional developers are doing software development. A large number of people are directly or indirectly impacted by the results of these non-professional development activities. The numbers of users performing end-user development activities are difficult to ascertain precisely. But it is very large, and still growing. Computer adoption is growing towards 100% and many new types of computational devices are continually introduced. In addition, other devices not previously programmable are becoming so. This means that, at this very moment, hundreds of millions of people are likely struggling with development problems. Furthermore, software itself is continually being adapted for more flexibility, enabling users to change the behaviour of their software themselves. New software and services are helping to transform users from consumers to producers. Much of this is now found on-line. The problem for the end-user developer is that little of this development is supported by anyone. Often organisations do not notice end-user development and consequently neither provide support for it, nor are equipped to be able to do so. Many end-user developers do not belong to any organisation at all. Also, the end-user development process may be aggravating the problem. End-users are usually not really committed to the development process, which tends to be more iterative and ad hoc. This means support becomes a distant third behind getting the job done and figuring out the development issues to get the job done. Sometimes the software itself may exacerbate the issue by simplifying the development process, deemphasising the difficulty of the task being undertaken. On-line support could be the lifeline the end-user developer needs. Going online one can find all the knowledge one could ever need. However, that does still not help the end-user apply this information or knowledge in practice. A virtual community, through its ability to adopt the end-user’s specific context, could surmount this final obstacle. This thesis explores the concept of end-user development and how it could be supported through on-line sources, in particular virtual communities, which it is argued here, seem to fit the end-user developer’s needs very well. The experiences of real end-user developers and prior literature were used in this process. Emphasis has been on those end-user developers, e.g. small business owners, who may have literally nowhere to turn to for support. Adopting the viewpoint of the end-user developer, the thesis examines the question of how an end-user could use a virtual community effectively, improving the results of the support process. Assuming the common situation where the demand for support outstrips the supply.

Business intelligence – enabling self-service: A case study in a global manufacturing company

Business intelligence (BI) is an information process that includes the activities and applications used to transform business data into valuable business information. Today’s enterprises are collecting detailed data which has increased the available business data drastically. In order to meet changing customer needs and gain competitive advantage businesses try to leverage this information. However, IT departments are struggling to meet the increased amount of reporting needs. Therefore, recent shift in the BI market has been towards empowering business users with self-service BI capabilities. The purpose of this study was to understand how self-service BI could help businesses to meet increased reporting demands. The research problem was approached with an empirical single case study. Qualitative data was gathered with a semi-structured, theme-based interview. The study found out that case company’s BI system was mostly used for group performance reporting. Ad-hoc and business user-driven information needs were mostly fulfilled with self-made tools and manual work. It was felt that necessary business information was not easily available. The concept of self-service BI was perceived to be helpful to meet such reporting needs. However, it was found out that the available data is often too complex for an average user to fully understand. The respondents felt that in order to self-service BI to work, the data has to be simplified and described in a way that it can be understood by the average business user. The results of the study suggest that BI programs struggle in meeting all the information needs of today’s businesses. The concept of self-service BI tries to resolve this problem by allowing users easy self-service access to necessary business information. However, business data is often complex and hard to understand. Self-serviced BI has to overcome this challenge before it can reach its potential benefits.

Business intelligence – enabling self-service: A case study in a global manufacturing company

Business intelligence (BI) is an information process that includes the activities and applications used to transform business data into valuable business information. Today’s enterprises are collecting detailed data which has increased the available business data drastically. In order to meet changing customer needs and gain competitive advantage businesses try to leverage this information. However, IT departments are struggling to meet the increased amount of reporting needs. Therefore, recent shift in the BI market has been towards empowering business users with self-service BI capabilities. The purpose of this study was to understand how self-service BI could help businesses to meet increased reporting demands. The research problem was approached with an empirical single case study. Qualitative data was gathered with a semi-structured, theme-based interview. The study found out that case company’s BI system was mostly used for group performance reporting. Ad-hoc and business user-driven information needs were mostly fulfilled with self-made tools and manual work. It was felt that necessary business information was not easily available. The concept of self-service BI was perceived to be helpful to meet such reporting needs. However, it was found out that the available data is often too complex for an average user to fully understand. The respondents felt that in order to self-service BI to work, the data has to be simplified and described in a way that it can be understood by the average business user. The results of the study suggest that BI programs struggle in meeting all the information needs of today’s businesses. The concept of self-service BI tries to resolve this problem by allowing users easy self-service access to necessary business information. However, business data is often complex and hard to understand. Self-serviced BI has to overcome this challenge before it can reach its potential benefits.

Notas críticas sobre a macroeconomia novo-Keynesiana

This article shows that, in spite of its great steps towards reality, new-Keynesian macroeconomics seems to be a non-systematic construction with problems originated from "ad hoc" hypothesis required to explain the non neutrality of money and the existence of disequilibria in the short run. In particular, it seems that prices and wages rigidities stand in sandy bases and that the derivation of the IS and LM curves from neoclassical fundamentals is problematic. Even disregarding the apparent difficulties of the neoclassical theory of value and distribution, the new-Keynesian connections between interest rate, money, and output do not seem fully consistent.

Novas direções na filosofia da mente

As críticas a teorias naturalistas/fisicalistas na filosofia da mente têm focado problemas conceituais fundamentados em qualia e experimentos de pensamento. Cabe questionar a validade de tais críticas, se o alvo das mesmas satisfaz as exigências de uma explicação científica e se as objeções envolvem asserções aparentemente ad hoc. Os filósofos da mente Tyler Burge e Alva Noë, sem fazer uso de tais recursos teóricos, propõem novas maneiras de questionar a neurociência atual. Suas perspectivas chamam atenção pelo foco em problemas empíricos e ainda assim revelam lacunas surpreendentes, no que fisicalistas tendem a considerar a ciência mais avançada da mente.

Business Intelligence Competency Centerin perustaminen: Case LähiTapiola

Tässä diplomityössä selvitetään case-tutkimuksena parhaita käytäntöjä Business Intelligence Competency Centerin (BICC) eli liiketoimintatiedonhallinnan osaamiskeskuksen perustamiseen. Työ tehdään LähiTapiolalle, jossa on haasteita BI-alueen hallinnoinnissa kehittämisen hajaantuessa eri yksiköihin ja yhtiöihin. Myös järjestelmäympäristö on moninainen. BICC:llä tavoitellaan parempaa näkyvyyttä liiketoiminnan tarpeisiin ja toisaalta halutaan tehostaa tiedon hyödyntämistä johtamisessa sekä operatiivisen tason työskentelyssä. Tavoitteena on lisäksi saada kustannuksia pienemmäksi yhtenäistämällä järjestelmäympäristöjä ja BI-työkaluja kuten myös toimintamalleja. Työssä tehdään kirjallisuuskatsaus ja haastatellaan asiantuntijoita kolmessa yrityksessä. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että liiketoiminnan BI-tarpeita kannattaa mahdollistaa eri tasoilla perusraportoinnista Ad-hoc –raportointiin ja edistyneeseen analytiikkaan huomioimalla nämä toimintamalleissa ja järjestelmäarkkitehtuurissa. BICC:n perustamisessa liiketoimintatarpeisiin vastaaminen on etusijalla.

A stochastic dynamic programming approach for pricing options on stock-index futures

The aim of this thesis is to price options on equity index futures with an application to standard options on S&P 500 futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Our methodology is based on stochastic dynamic programming, which can accommodate European as well as American options. The model accommodates dividends from the underlying asset. It also captures the optimal exercise strategy and the fair value of the option. This approach is an alternative to available numerical pricing methods such as binomial trees, finite differences, and ad-hoc numerical approximation techniques. Our numerical and empirical investigations demonstrate convergence, robustness, and efficiency. We use this methodology to value exchange-listed options. The European option premiums thus obtained are compared to Black's closed-form formula. They are accurate to four digits. The American option premiums also have a similar level of accuracy compared to premiums obtained using finite differences and binomial trees with a large number of time steps. The proposed model accounts for deterministic, seasonally varying dividend yield. In pricing futures options, we discover that what matters is the sum of the dividend yields over the life of the futures contract and not their distribution.

Socially Constructed Environmental Issues and Sport: A Content Analysis of Ski Resort Environmental Communications

Due to the impact of sport on the natural environment (UN, 2010), it is important to examine the interplay between environmental issues and sport (Hums, 2010, Mallen & Chard, 2011; Nauright & Pope, 2009; Ziegler, 2007). This research content analyzed 82 ski resort environmental communications (SRECs). These communications were rated for their prominence, breadth, and depth using the delineation of environmental issues provided by the Sustainable Slopes Program (SSP) Charter. This data was compared to the resorts’ degree of environmentally responsible action as rated by the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition (SACC). An adaptation of Hudson and Miller's (2005) model was then used to classify the ski resorts as inactive, reactive, exploitive, or proactive in their environmental activities. Recommendations have been made for standardization and transparency in environmental disclosures and an environmental management system to aid ski resorts in moving from ad hoc processes to a systematic and comprehensive framework for improving environmental performance.

Empirical Assessment of an Intertemporal Option Pricing Model with Latent variables

This paper assesses the empirical performance of an intertemporal option pricing model with latent variables which generalizes the Hull-White stochastic volatility formula. Using this generalized formula in an ad-hoc fashion to extract two implicit parameters and forecast next day S&P 500 option prices, we obtain similar pricing errors than with implied volatility alone as in the Hull-White case. When we specialize this model to an equilibrium recursive utility model, we show through simulations that option prices are more informative than stock prices about the structural parameters of the model. We also show that a simple method of moments with a panel of option prices provides good estimates of the parameters of the model. This lays the ground for an empirical assessment of this equilibrium model with S&P 500 option prices in terms of pricing errors.