Kampen for livet i vemodets slør : å leve i spenningsfeltet mellom livets mulighet og dødens nødvendighet

The overallpurpose of this research is to develop knowledge about health and suffering in connection with serious cancer disease through the development of a contextual model describing how patients live their lives between the possibility of life and the necessity of death. The research takes its point of departure from a caring science perspective, and Gadamer's hermeneutical philosophy is chosen as the overall methodology. In addition to the caring science perspective, the existential philosophy of Kierkegaard constructs a framework of interpretation. The research consists of three empirical studies. In two of the studies 21 patients participated, whilst 8 nurses took part in the remaining study. The patients were seriously ill and the nurses had long experience of caring for seriously ill patients. Scientific conversations were used for data collection. The findings from the patient studies show that the relationship with one-self, others, God or the supernatural and nature, constitute the unit of meaning, in which the struggle between health and suffering takes place. This struggle takes the form of a dialectic movement between being delivered and being accommodated and confirmed. The patients strive, in their delivery, for health and integration, for being a self by being reconciled with one self. The patients are lonely in this struggle, as conversations related to existence and death seldom occurs with either the natural or the professional caregivers. Themes related to patients' death remain mainly unarticulated. The patients' life struggle appears on the existential level as a threefold struggle against time and annihilation, towards being accommodatedand confirmed and for restoration and reconciliation. Through the hermeneutic process the struggle at the ontological level appears as a struggle of the will between anxiety and love. The patients in this research experience their life's tragedy. A holistic interpretation of living under the pressure created between the possibility of life and the necessity of death appears to be a struggle for life in the veil of pensiveness. The nurses want to be involved in the patients' struggle, and they show a deep desire to support the dignity of the patients. The depth in the nurses' view of their responsibility for the patient as an entityof body, soul and spirit seems to be related to the nurses' understanding of life.

Exploring Adaptive Implementation of On-Chip Networks

As technology geometries have shrunk to the deep submicron regime, the communication delay and power consumption of global interconnections in high performance Multi- Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs) are becoming a major bottleneck. The Network-on- Chip (NoC) architecture paradigm, based on a modular packet-switched mechanism, can address many of the on-chip communication issues such as performance limitations of long interconnects and integration of large number of Processing Elements (PEs) on a chip. The choice of routing protocol and NoC structure can have a significant impact on performance and power consumption in on-chip networks. In addition, building a high performance, area and energy efficient on-chip network for multicore architectures requires a novel on-chip router allowing a larger network to be integrated on a single die with reduced power consumption. On top of that, network interfaces are employed to decouple computation resources from communication resources, to provide the synchronization between them, and to achieve backward compatibility with existing IP cores. Three adaptive routing algorithms are presented as a part of this thesis. The first presented routing protocol is a congestion-aware adaptive routing algorithm for 2D mesh NoCs which does not support multicast (one-to-many) traffic while the other two protocols are adaptive routing models supporting both unicast (one-to-one) and multicast traffic. A streamlined on-chip router architecture is also presented for avoiding congested areas in 2D mesh NoCs via employing efficient input and output selection. The output selection utilizes an adaptive routing algorithm based on the congestion condition of neighboring routers while the input selection allows packets to be serviced from each input port according to its congestion level. Moreover, in order to increase memory parallelism and bring compatibility with existing IP cores in network-based multiprocessor architectures, adaptive network interface architectures are presented to use multiple SDRAMs which can be accessed simultaneously. In addition, a smart memory controller is integrated in the adaptive network interface to improve the memory utilization and reduce both memory and network latencies. Three Dimensional Integrated Circuits (3D ICs) have been emerging as a viable candidate to achieve better performance and package density as compared to traditional 2D ICs. In addition, combining the benefits of 3D IC and NoC schemes provides a significant performance gain for 3D architectures. In recent years, inter-layer communication across multiple stacked layers (vertical channel) has attracted a lot of interest. In this thesis, a novel adaptive pipeline bus structure is proposed for inter-layer communication to improve the performance by reducing the delay and complexity of traditional bus arbitration. In addition, two mesh-based topologies for 3D architectures are also introduced to mitigate the inter-layer footprint and power dissipation on each layer with a small performance penalty.

Cargo Traffic on the Helsinki-Tallinn Route

The twin-city model has found to increase economical activity and well-being. The similar economical, social and cultural background of Finland and Estonia as well as the EU integration give good preconditions to create a twin-city of Helsinki and Tallinn. The relatively long distance between Helsinki and Tallinn is challenging. Therefore, good transport infrastructure and functioning connections are required to form a twin-city of Helsinki and Tallinn. The connections between these cities can be considered also in broader perspective than only from the viewpoint of the twin-city concept. New markets areas have been emerged in Europe due to collapse of planned economy and integration of Europe. Also the transport routes to the markets are changing. The Hel-sinki-Tallinn sea route can be considered as a fast route to the new markets in the Cen-tral and Eastern Europe. The Helsinki-Tallinn sea route is also a potential route to the Western European markets. This study provides an analysis of transport and cargo flows between Finland and Esto-nia for regional and local planners. The main purpose of the study is to clarify the pre-sent situation of the seaborne cargo flows on the Helsinki-Tallinn route and how the cargo flows will develop in the future. The study focuses on the following thematic enti-ties: the Finnish and Estonian seaborne transport system and cargo flows, the structure and volume of the cargo flows on the Helsinki-Tallinn route, the hinterland cargo flows on the Helsinki-Tallinn route and the transport methods used on the Helsinki-Tallinn route. The study was carried out as a desk research, a statistical analysis and an inter-view study during the spring–autumn 2011. The study reveals that during the period 2002–2010 the volume of the seaborne cargo traffic between Finland and Estonia has increased significantly while the trend of the trade volume between Finland and Estonia has remained nearly constant. This indicates that the route via Estonia is increasingly used in the Finnish foreign trade. Because the ports of Helsinki and Tallinn are the main ports in the cargo traffic between Finland and Estonia, the role of the Helsinki-Tallinn route as a sea leg in the hinterland connections of Finland has increased. The growth of the cargo volume on the Helsinki-Tallinn route was estimated to continue on the annual level of 10 % during the next couple of years. In the long run the growth of the cargo volumes depends on the economical and indus-trial development of the former Eastern European countries. If the IMO’s sulphur regu-lations will come in force, the Helsinki-Tallinn route will become one of the main routes also to the Western European markets, besides of the route via Sweden. The study also shows that the fast and reliable connections year round on the Helsinki-Tallinn route have made it possible for service and logistics companies to reconsider their logistics strategies in a new way in the both side of the Gulf of Finland. Anyway, the ropax concept is seen as the only economical profitable solution on the Helsinki-Tallinn route because cargo and passenger traffic are supporting each other. The trucks (vehicle combinations) will remain the main mode of transport on the Helsinki-Tallinn route because general cargo is the main commodity on the route. IMO’s sulphur regula-tions and the changes in the structure of the Finnish industry may create prerequisites for rail road transport in the hinterland connections of Finland. The twin-city model has found to increase economical activity and well-being. The similar economical, social and cultural background of Finland and Estonia as well as the EU integration give good preconditions to create a twin-city of Helsinki and Tallinn. The relatively long distance between Helsinki and Tallinn is challenging. Therefore, good transport infrastructure and functioning connections are required to form a twin-city of Helsinki and Tallinn. The connections between these cities can be considered also in broader perspective than only from the viewpoint of the twin-city concept. New markets areas have been emerged in Europe due to collapse of planned economy and integration of Europe. Also the transport routes to the markets are changing. The Hel-sinki-Tallinn sea route can be considered as a fast route to the new markets in the Cen-tral and Eastern Europe. The Helsinki-Tallinn sea route is also a potential route to the Western European markets. This study provides an analysis of transport and cargo flows between Finland and Esto-nia for regional and local planners. The main purpose of the study is to clarify the pre-sent situation of the seaborne cargo flows on the Helsinki-Tallinn route and how the cargo flows will develop in the future. The study focuses on the following thematic enti-ties: the Finnish and Estonian seaborne transport system and cargo flows, the structure and volume of the cargo flows on the Helsinki-Tallinn route, the hinterland cargo flows on the Helsinki-Tallinn route and the transport methods used on the Helsinki-Tallinn route. The study was carried out as a desk research, a statistical analysis and an inter-view study during the spring–autumn 2011. The study reveals that during the period 2002–2010 the volume of the seaborne cargo traffic between Finland and Estonia has increased significantly while the trend of the trade volume between Finland and Estonia has remained nearly constant. This indicates that the route via Estonia is increasingly used in the Finnish foreign trade. Because the ports of Helsinki and Tallinn are the main ports in the cargo traffic between Finland and Estonia, the role of the Helsinki-Tallinn route as a sea leg in the hinterland connections of Finland has increased. The growth of the cargo volume on the Helsinki-Tallinn route was estimated to continue on the annual level of 10 % during the next couple of years. In the long run the growth of the cargo volumes depends on the economical and indus-trial development of the former Eastern European countries. If the IMO’s sulphur regu-lations will come in force, the Helsinki-Tallinn route will become one of the main routes also to the Western European markets, besides of the route via Sweden. The study also shows that the fast and reliable connections year round on the Helsinki-Tallinn route have made it possible for service and logistics companies to reconsider their logistics strategies in a new way in the both side of the Gulf of Finland. Anyway, the ropax concept is seen as the only economical profitable solution on the Helsinki-Tallinn route because cargo and passenger traffic are supporting each other. The trucks (vehicle combinations) will remain the main mode of transport on the Helsinki-Tallinn route because general cargo is the main commodity on the route. IMO’s sulphur regula-tions and the changes in the structure of the Finnish industry may create prerequisites for rail road transport in the hinterland connections of Finland.

A decision support system for cost determination in grain storage facility operations

Many research works have being carried out on analyzing grain storage facility costs; however a few of them had taken into account the analysis of factors associated to all pre-processing and storage steps. The objective of this work was to develop a decision support system for determining the grain storage facility costs and utilization fees in grain storage facilities. The data of a CONAB storage facility located in Ponta Grossa - PR, Brazil, was used as input of the system developed to analyze its specific characteristics, such as amount of product received and stored throughout the year, hourly capacity of drying, cleaning, and receiving, and dispatch. By applying the decision support system, it was observed that the reception and expedition costs were exponentially reduced as the turnover rate of the storage increased. The cleaning and drying costs increased linearly with grain initial moisture. The storage cost increased exponentially as the occupancy rate of the storage facility decreased.

Solar drying of jack fruit almonds

Dryers heated by solar energy have been constructed and used in drying whole and half jack fruit almonds. The samples were dried during the day in direct sun and in the conventional solar dryer prepared for this purpose. Another piece of equipment was built for reception and accumulation of sun energy in a body of water, which was used as a heat source for night drying. The drying with the sun energy was compared with artificial drying. The jack fruit almonds were dried whole, half, with pellicle and without it. The storage of solar energy in water was technically viable for use in night drying. The drying by combining solar dryers in the day and night periods were completed in approximately 35 hours, and were equivalent to artificial drying between 40ºC and 70ºC. Almond cut in half and the pellicle removed reduced the drying time.

Viron sähkömarkkinoiden vapautumisen hyödyntäminen ISS-konsernin liiketoiminnassa

Euroopan Unionin tavoitteena on vapauttaa ja yhdentää sähkömarkkinoita. Sähkömarkkinoiden vapautumisella ja yhdentymisellä EU:ssa taataan toimivat sisämarkkinat siirtovarmuudeltaan ja vähennetään energiariippuvuutta kolmansista maista. Sähkömarkkinoiden vapautuminen on toteutunut vaiheittain ja Virossa sähkömarkkinat ovat edelleen osittain säännöstellyt. EU:n lainsäädännön mukaan sähkömarkkinat tuli vapauttaa vuoteen 2007 mennessä, mutta Viro sai siirtymäkauden vuoteen 2013 saakka mm. rakenteellisten ongelmien vuoksi. Imatran Seudun Sähköllä on omistuksessa Virossa toimiva sähköyhtiö, Imatra Elekter AS. Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää Viron sähkömarkkinoiden toimintaa, markkinoiden vapautumisen vaikutuksia ja vapautumisen hyödyntämismahdollisuuksia Imatran Seudun Sähkön liiketoiminnassa. Viron sähkömarkkinat ovat hyvin erikoiset ja kilpailutilanne markkinoiden vapautumisen jälkeen on haastava. Markkinat ovat hyvin keskittyneet yhden osapuolen suuren markkinaosuuden vuoksi ja sähkön tuotanto perustuu lähes yksinomaan yhdellä polttoaineella keskitetysti tuotettuun energiaan. Huolimatta näistä seikoista markkinoilla on paljon myös mahdollisuuksia, joita tässä työssä selvitettiin. Työn tuloksena saatiin muodostettua liiketoimintastrategia energia- ja verkkoliiketoiminnalle. Lisäksi työssä pohdittiin energian tuotantomahdollisuuksia Virossa ja selvitystyö tuotti tulokseksi varteenotettavia energian tuotantomahdollisuuksia.

Tooth-Coil Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine Design for Special Applications

This doctoral thesis presents a study on the design of tooth-coil permanent magnet synchronous machines. The electromagnetic properties of concentrated non-overlapping winding permanent magnet synchronous machines, or simply tooth-coil permanent magnet synchronous machines (TC-PMSMs), are studied in details. It is shown that current linkage harmonics play the deterministic role in the behavior of this type of machines. Important contributions are presented as regards of calculation of parameters of TC-PMSMs,particularly the estimation of inductances. The current linkage harmonics essentially define the air-gap harmonic leakage inductance, rotor losses and localized temporal inductance variation. It is proven by FEM analysis that inductance variation caused by the local temporal harmonic saturation results in considerable torque ripple, and can influence on sensorless control capabilities. Example case studies an integrated application of TC-IPMSMs in hybrid off-highway working vehicles. A methodology for increasing the efficiency of working vehicles is introduced. It comprises several approaches – hybridization, working operations optimization, component optimization and integration. As a result of component optimization and integration, a novel integrated electro-hydraulic energy converter (IEHEC) for off-highway working vehicles is designed. The IEHEC can considerably increase the operational efficiency of a hybrid working vehicle. The energy converter consists of an axial-piston hydraulic machine and an integrated TCIPMSM being built on the same shaft. The compact assembly of the electrical and hydraulic machines enhances the ability to find applications for such a device in the mobile environment of working vehicles.Usage of hydraulic fluid, typically used in working actuators, enables direct-immersion oil cooling of designed electrical machine, and further increases the torque- and power- densities of the whole device.

Mitigating uncertainty in logistics outsourcing with ERP systems

Outsourcing is a common strategy for companies looking for cost savings and improvements in performance. This has been especially prevalent in logistics, where warehousing and transporting are typical targets for outsourcing. However, while the benefits from logistics outsourcing are clear on paper, there are several cases companies fail to reach these benefits. The most commonly cited reasons for this are poor information flow between the company and the third party logistics partner, and a lack of integration between the two partners. Uncertainty stems from lack of information, and it can cripple the whole outsourcing operation. This is where enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems step in, as they can have a significant role in improving the flow of information, and integration, which consequently mitigates uncertainty. The purpose of the study is to examine if ERP systems have an effect on a company's decision to outsource logistics operations. Along the rapid advancements in technology during the past decades, ERP systems have also evolved. Therefore, empirical research on the subject needs constant revision as it can quickly become outdated due to ERP systems having more advanced capabilities every year. The research was conducted using a qualitative single-case study of a Finnish manufacturing firm that had outsourced warehousing and transportation operations in the Swedish market. The empirical data was gathered with use of semi-structured interviews with three employees from the case company that were closely related to the outsourcing operation. The theoretical framework that was used to analyze the empirical data was based on Transaction Cost Economics theory. The results of the study were align with the theoretical framework, in that the ERP system of the case company was seen as an enabler for their logistics outsourcing operation. However, the full theoretical benefits from ERP systems concerning extended enterprise functionality and flexibility were not attained due to the case company having an older version of their ERP system. This emphasizes the importance of having up-to-date technology if you want to overcome the shortcomings of ERP systems in outsourcing situations.

Working towards the invisible repository

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

Varhaiskeskiaikaisia käsityksiä unista ja näyistä

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Publish what? A reply to Scarano

Fabio Scarano (2008) shows an attractive picture of the motivations leading to the final goal of the scientific enterprise, i.e. why scientists must publish their findings. Moreover, he proposes that scientists must aim for creativity and originality through question-driven papers, rather than unenlightening descriptive ones. I agree, but I will show that this view, albeit necessary, is incomplete. The most important flaw is that he does not show how that, in order to be creative and original one needs a deep understanding of a domain of knowledge. I will argue that these qualities cannot be reached in a theoretical vacuum. It must be remembered that the scientific enterprise is a complex cognitive process. One can only advance, learn and understand from the springboard of what one already knows. The improvement of established theories or the proposition of new ones can only be possible through a deep analysis, synthesis and integration of accepted scientific knowledge. This is only possible through the scrutiny of the concepts, propositions and predictions of accepted theories. Going deeper into Scarano's ideas, I propose that to further our comprehension of nature and to give a basis for the generation of knowledge, Brazilian ecologists should look for a specific set of question-driven papers. These are what I will call the 'why-question' papers. Only why-question driven papers can provide accounts which advance scientific knowledge and foster explanations of the mechanisms behind ecological processes.

Ohjelmistotestauksen käytänteet Suomessa

Ohjelmistotestauksen merkitys on kasvanut sen mukaan mitä enemmän ohjelmisto-tuotteet vaikuttavat jokapäiväisesseen elämämme. Tämän vuoksi yritysten investointien ja laadunvarmentamisen yhteys on ilmeinen. Organisaatiot panostavat yhä enemmän ei–funktionaaliseen testaukseen, kuten turvallisuuden, suorituskyvyn ja käytettävyyden testaamiseen. Tämän työn tarkoituksena on tutkia ohjelmistotestauksen nykytilannetta Suomessa. Syy tähän on uudistaa ja parantaa ohjelmistotestauksen kurssitarjontaa Turun yliopistossa vastaamaan parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla yritysten tarvetta. Opinnäyte on toteutettu replikaatio-tutkimuksena. Pääosa kyselystä sisältää kysymyksiä ohjelmistotestauksen menetelmistä ja työkaluista testausprosessin toimintojen aikana. Lisäksi on yleisiä kysymyksiä yrityksistä ja niiden ohjelmistotestausympäristöistä. Kyselyssä otetaan myös kantaa yritysten käyttämiin monenlaisiin testaus-tasoihin, -tyyppeihin ja testauksessa kohdattuihin haasteisiin. Tämä opinnäyte perustuu testausprosessistandardeihin. Ohjelmistotestausstandardit ovat keskeisessä asemassa tässä työssä, vaikka ne ovat olleet viime aikoina vahvan kritiikin kohteena. Epäilys standardien välttämättömyyteen on syntynyt muutoksista ohjelmistokehityksessä. Tämä työ esittelee tulokset ohjelmistotestauksen käytännöistä. Tuloksia on verrattu aiheeseen liittyvän aiemman kyselyn (Lee, Kang, & Lee, 2011) tuloksiin. Ajanpuutteen havaitaan olevan suuri haaste ohjelmistotestauksessa. Ketterä ohjelmistokehitys on saavuttanut suosiota kaikissa vastaajien yrityksissä. Testauksen menetelmät ja työkalut testauksen arviointiin, suunnitteluun ja raportointiin ovat hyvin vähäisessä käytössä. Toisaalta testauksen menetelmien ja työkalujen käyttö automaattiseen testauksen toteuttamiseen ja virheiden hallintaan on lisääntynyt. Järjestelmä-, hyväksyntä-, yksikkö- ja integraatiotestaus ovat käytössä kaikkien vastaajien edustamissa yrityksissä. Kaikkien vastaajien mielestä regressio- sekä tutkiva- ja ei-funktionaalinen testaus ovat tärkeitä tekniikoita.

Location intelligence strategisen päätöksenteon tukena

Kilpailuetua tavoittelevan yrityksen pitää kyetä jalostamaan tietoa ja tunnistamaan sen avulla uusia tulevaisuuden mahdollisuuksia. Tulevaisuuden mielikuvien luomiseksi yrityksen on tunnettava toimintaympäristönsä ja olla herkkänä havaitsemaan muutostrendit ja muut toimintaympäristön signaalit. Ympäristön elintärkeät signaalit liittyvät kilpailijoihin, teknologian kehittymiseen, arvomaailman muutoksiin, globaaleihin väestötrendeihin tai jopa ympäristön muutoksiin. Spatiaaliset suhteet ovat peruspilareita käsitteellistää maailmaamme. Pitney (2015) on arvioinut, että 80 % kaikesta bisnesdatasta sisältää jollakin tavoin viittauksia paikkatietoon. Siitä huolimatta paikkatietoa on vielä huonosti hyödynnetty yritysten strategisten päätösten tukena. Teknologioiden kehittyminen, tiedon nopea siirto ja paikannustekniikoiden integroiminen eri laitteisiin ovat mahdollistaneet sen, että paikkatietoa hyödyntäviä palveluja ja ratkaisuja tullaan yhä enemmän näkemään yrityskentässä. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää voiko location intelligence toimia strategisen päätöksenteon tukena ja jos voi, niin miten. Työ toteutettiin konstruktiivista tutkimusmenetelmää käyttäen, jolla pyritään ratkaisemaan jokin relevantti ongelma. Konstruktiivinen tutkimus tehtiin tiiviissä yhteistyössä kolmen pk-yrityksen kanssa ja siihen haastateltiin kuutta eri strategiasta vastaavaa henkilöä. Tutkimuksen tuloksena löydettiin, että location intelligenceä voidaan hyödyntää strategisen päätöksenteon tukena usealla eri tasolla. Yksinkertaisimmassa karttaratkaisussa halutut tiedot tuodaan kartalle ja luodaan visuaalinen esitys, jonka avulla johtopäätöksien tekeminen helpottuu. Toisen tason karttaratkaisu pitää sisällään sekä sijainti- että ominaisuustietoa, jota on yhdistetty eri lähteistä. Tämä toisen tason karttaratkaisu on usein kuvailevaa analytiikkaa, joka mahdollistaa erilaisten ilmiöiden analysoinnin. Kolmannen eli ylimmän tason karttaratkaisu tarjoaa ennakoivaa analytiikkaa ja malleja tulevaisuudesta. Tällöin ohjelmaan koodataan älykkyyttä, jossa informaation keskinäisiä suhteita on määritelty joko tiedon louhintaa tai tilastollisia analyysejä hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että location intelligence pystyy tarjoamaan lisäarvoa strategisen päätöksenteon tueksi, mikäli yritykselle on hyödyllistä ymmärtää eri ilmiöiden, asiakastarpeiden, kilpailijoiden ja markkinamuutoksien maantieteellisiä eroavaisuuksia. Parhaimmillaan location intelligence -ratkaisu tarjoaa luotettavan analyysin, jossa tieto välittyy muuttumattomana päätöksentekijältä toiselle ja johtopäätökseen johtaneita syitä on mahdollista palata tarkastelemaan tarvittaessa uudelleen.

Hydrogen Sensor Application of Anodic Titanium Oxide Nanostructures

Hydrogen (H2) fuel cells have been considered a promising renewable energy source. The recent growth of H2 economy has required highly sensitive, micro-sized and cost-effective H2 sensor for monitoring concentrations and alerting to leakages due to the flammability and explosiveness of H2 Titanium dioxide (TiO2) made by electrochemical anodic oxidation has shown great potential as a H2 sensing material. The aim of this thesis is to develop highly sensitive H2 sensor using anodized TiO2. The sensor enables mass production and integration with microelectronics by preparing the oxide layer on suitable substrate. Morphology, elemental composition, crystal phase, electrical properties and H2 sensing properties of TiO2 nanostructures prepared on Ti foil, Si and SiO2/Si substrates were characterized. Initially, vertically oriented TiO2 nanotubes as the sensing material were obtained by anodizing Ti foil. The morphological properties of tubes could be tailored by varying the applied voltages of the anodization. The transparent oxide layer creates an interference color phenomena with white light illumination on the oxide surface. This coloration effect can be used to predict the morphological properties of the TiO2 nanostructures. The crystal phase transition from amorphous to anatase or rutile, or the mixture of anatase and rutile was observed with varying heat treatment temperatures. However, the H2 sensing properties of TiO2 nanotubes at room temperature were insufficient. H2 sensors using TiO2 nanostructures formed on Si and SiO2/Si substrates were demonstrated. In both cases, a Ti layer deposited on the substrates by a DC magnetron sputtering method was successfully anodized. A mesoporous TiO2 layer obtained on Si by anodization in an aqueous electrolyte at 5°C showed diode behavior, which was influenced by the work function difference of Pt metal electrodes and the oxide layer. The sensor enabled the detection of H2 (20-1000 ppm) at low operating temperatures (50–140°C) in ambient air. A Pd decorated tubular TiO2 layer was prepared on metal electrodes patterned SiO2/Si wafer by anodization in an organic electrolyte at 5°C. The sensor showed significantly enhanced H2 sensing properties, and detected hydrogen in the range of a few ppm with fast response/recovery time. The metal electrodes placed under the oxide layer also enhanced the mechanical tolerance of the sensor. The concept of TiO2 nanostructures on alternative substrates could be a prospect for microelectronic applications and mass production of gas sensors. The gas sensor properties can be further improved by modifying material morphologies and decorating it with catalytic materials.

Ympäristövastuullisuus pienissä ja keskisuurissa cleantech-yrityksissä

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on arvioida, kuinka pienet ja keskisuuret (pk) cleantech-ratkaisuja tarjoavat yritykset sisällyttävät ympäristövastuullisuuden omaan strategiaansa ja toimintaansa. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa pohdittiin miten cleantech-yritysten oman toiminnan ympäristövastuullisuutta olisi syytä kehittää. Tutkimus koostuu teoriaosuudesta, joka pohjautuu kirjallisuuskatsaukseen sekä empiirisestä osuudesta, joka koostuu yrityshaastatteluista. Tulokset kerättiin 16 suomalaisesta Cleantech Finland -verkostoon kuuluvasta pk-yrityksestä. Haastateltavat yritykset jaettiin kolmeen ryhmään: ICT ja palveluntarjoajat, asiantuntijayritykset sekä teknologiayritykset. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa käytettiin vertailuaineistona muutamaa suuryritys-haastattelua. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että cleantech-liiketoimintaa harjoittavissa yrityksissä ympäristövastuullisuus nähdään arvoihin perustuvana strategisena kilpailutekijänä, jonka keskeisinä ajureina ovat asiakkaat ja liiketoiminnalliset hyödyt. Yritysten käytännöt ja toimintatavat kuitenkin vaihtelevat suuresti ja vastuullisuuden konkreettinen integroiminen toimintaan ja strategiaan jää epäselväksi.