Improving Quality of Life of Patients With Schizophrenia In Acute Psychiatric Wards

The overall goal of this study was to identify means by which the quality of life (QoL) of patients with schizophrenia could be improved in acute psychiatric wards. First, subjective QoL of patients (n=35) was explored. Second, two different QoL instruments (EuroQoL-5D, EQ-5D; Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form, Q-LES-Q SF) were examined. Third, patients’ (n=35) and nurses’ (n=29) perceptions of nursing interventions to support patients’ QoL were examined. Fourth, the effect of three different patient education methods on patients’ QoL (n=311) was compared. The data were collected during the period 2005-2007. Patients named health, family, leisure activities, work or study, and social relationships most frequently as their important QoL areas. It emerged that patients’ QoL was impaired. Examination of two QoL instruments showed that the EQ-5D has moderate and the Q-LES-Q SF good internal consistency. Moreover, both instruments proved to be reasonably valid and feasible for use with patients with schizophrenia. Altogether six nursing interventions which nurses use to support patients’ QoL, and which should be further developed were identified from nurses’ descriptions: interventions related to care planning, empowering interventions, social interventions, activating interventions, security interventions, and interventions to support physical health. Evaluation of different patient education methods showed that patients’ QoL improved significantly during follow-up. No significant differences between groups were found. In light of the findings it is recommended to assess QoL of patients with schizophrenia as a basis for care planning and care evaluation in clinical settings. Valid and feasible instruments should be used in this assessment. Moreover, it is recommend that nursing interventions should be further developed to better improve patients’ QoL.

Keille yliopiston portit avautuvat? Tutkimus suomalaisiin yliopistoihin ja eri tieteenaloille valikoitumisesta 2000-luvun alussa

Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan suomalaisiin yliopistoihin valikoitumista 2000-luvun alussa. Tarkastelu pohjautuu yliopistoon hakeneiden, opiskelemaan hyväksyttyjen ja opiskelupaikkaa ilman jääneiden taustojen vertailuun. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, miten koulutuksellinen tasa-arvo toteutuu opiskelemaan pääsyssä. Erityistä huomiota kiinnitetään sukupuolten, eri-ikäisten, sosiaalisten ryhmien sekä eri alueella asuvien opiskelijavalinnoissa pärjäämiseen. Lisäksi pohditaan, millaiset taustatekijät ovat yhteydessä opiskelemaan pääsyyn ja miten suomalainen yliopistokenttä on lohkoutunut yliopistoittain ja aloittain hakijoiden ja sisään päässeiden taustojen perusteella. Tutkimuksen pääaineistona on henkilöpohjainen rekisteriaineisto, joka on laadittu valtakunnallisen hakijarekisterin (HAREK) ja Tilastokeskuksen yhteistyönä. Aineisto käsittää 40 %:n satunnaisotoksen vuonna 2003 suomalaisiin yliopistoihin hakeneista (N = 55 790). Aineiston muuttujat kuvaavat hakijoiden taustoja, elämäntilannetta, aiempaa koulutusta ja lapsuudenperheen asemaa. Tutkimuksessa hyödynnetään lisäksi kokonaisjoukosta muodostettua taulukkoaineistoa (N = 139 668). Yliopistoihin hakevat eivät ole yhtenäinen ryhmä. Vaikka suurin osa hakijoista oli nuoria, oli joukossa myös varttuneempia hakijoita, jotka olivat ehtineet hankkia koulutusta ja muuta elämänkokemusta. Päävalinnat toimivat siten myös aikuishakijoiden hakuväylänä; erillisvalintoja eivät hyödynnä läheskään kaikki, joilla siihen olisi mahdollisuus. Klusterianalyysin avulla hakijoista voitiin erottaa neljä ryhmää: 1) nuoret ylioppilaat, 2) toisen tutkinnon suorittajat, 3) koulutuspääoman kartuttajat sekä 4) aikuiset lisäkouluttautujat. Opiskelemaan pääsyyn vaikuttavia tekijöitä analysoitiin logistisen regressioanalyysin avulla. Analyysin mukaan hakijan iällä oli muista taustatekijöistä riippumaton vaikutus opiskelemaan pääsyyn niin, että todennäköisyys päästä yliopistoon vähenee hakijan iän kohotessa. Parhaiten opiskelemaan pääsivät kaikkein nuorimmat, alle 20-vuotiaat hakijat, jotka siis useimmiten ovat saman kevään ylioppilaita. Vanhemmille hakijoille oli usein kertynyt jo koulutusta, mutta aiemmat tutkinnot paransivat sisäänpääsyn mahdollisuuksia vain, mikäli ne olivat korkea-asteelta. Alemmilla ammatillisilla tutkinnoilla oli pikemminkin opiskelemaan pääsyä heikentävä vaikutus. Myös se, mitä hakija oli tehnyt ennen valintakokeita, vaikutti sisäänpääsyn mahdollisuuksiin. Parhaiten valinnoissa pärjäsivät päätoimiset opiskelijat, heikoiten työttömät hakijat. Vaikka miesten hyväksymisprosentit olivat keskimäärin korkeammat kuin naisten, sukupuoli ei osoittautunut itsenäiseksi opiskelemaan pääsyä selittäväksi tekijäksi. Naisten huonompi pärjääminen valinnoissa selittyykin pitkälti sukupuolten eriytyneillä alavalinnoilla. Naisten suosimat alat kun ovat pääsääntöisesti vaikeapääsyisempiä kuin miesten. Tutkimuksessa selvisi myös, että kaupunkilaisuus lisäsi todennäköisyyttä tulla hyväksytyksi. Toisaalta opiskelemaan pääsy erosi myös asuinmaakunnittain, mikä kertoo lähinnä siitä, että eri yliopistojen sisäänpääsyasteissa on varsin suuria eroja. Yliopistojen lohkoutuminen hakijoiden sosiaalisen taustan mukaan oli paljon selvempää kuin alojen. Kaikki pääkaupunkiseudun yliopistot – lukuun ottamatta Teatterikorkeakoulua – luokittuivat isän asemalla mitaten elitistisiksi. Matalimmista taustoista haettiin Lapin, Joensuun ja Vaasan yliopistoihin. Alojen paikka elitistisyyskansanomaisuus -ulottuvuudella vaihteli suuresti yliopistoittain. Teknillistieteellinen, matemaattis-luonnontieteellinen ja kauppatieteellinen ala sijoittuivat kuitenkin keskimääräistä ylemmäs, kun taas kasvatustiede ja farmasia olivat kansanomaisimpia hakukohteita. Opiskelijaksi valikoitumisen peruselementit toistuivat myös tässä tutkimuksessa: koulutetuimpien ja hyvässä asemassa olevien vanhempien jälkeläiset saivat opiskelupaikan useammin kuin muut. Yliopistolaitoksessa vuosikymmenten saatossa toteutetut rakenteelliset muutokset eivät siis ole muuttaneet valikoitumisen peruslinjaa, joskin uutena huomiona nousi maanviljelijöiden jälkeläisten hyvä valinnoissa pärjääminen. Maanviljelijäperheestä tulevien opiskelemaan pääsyn todennäköisyys oli kaikkein suurin.

Integrating environmental aspects into product development process

Various regulations and customer requirements have made it necessary for Vacon Oyj to pay more attention to the environmental aspects in its processes. The main purpose of this master’s thesis project is to define how environmental aspects could be integrated into Vacon’s product development process. The aim is to find out the most important environmental aspects for the company to address, to examine how these could be taken into account during the development process and to map the critical factors that need consideration in order to ensure the successful integration of environmental aspects into the design process. Based on the customer requirements and evolving regulations the most important aspects for Vacon include minimizing the amount of harmful substances, improving the recyclability and energy efficiency of the product and moreover providing meaningful information related to these aspects. To tackle these issues, a new DfE process was developed, tasks in each phase were described and responsibilities were indicated. To ensure the success of the DfE process, management commitment, support of other processes and significant improvements in ways the information is managed are required. The developers should be provided with training and support. Environmental expertise and knowledge in-house should be developed and establishing meaningful environmental indicators is suggested.

Algorithmic Solutions for Combinatorial Problems in Resource Management of Manufacturing Environments

This thesis studies the use of heuristic algorithms in a number of combinatorial problems that occur in various resource constrained environments. Such problems occur, for example, in manufacturing, where a restricted number of resources (tools, machines, feeder slots) are needed to perform some operations. Many of these problems turn out to be computationally intractable, and heuristic algorithms are used to provide efficient, yet sub-optimal solutions. The main goal of the present study is to build upon existing methods to create new heuristics that provide improved solutions for some of these problems. All of these problems occur in practice, and one of the motivations of our study was the request for improvements from industrial sources. We approach three different resource constrained problems. The first is the tool switching and loading problem, and occurs especially in the assembly of printed circuit boards. This problem has to be solved when an efficient, yet small primary storage is used to access resources (tools) from a less efficient (but unlimited) secondary storage area. We study various forms of the problem and provide improved heuristics for its solution. Second, the nozzle assignment problem is concerned with selecting a suitable set of vacuum nozzles for the arms of a robotic assembly machine. It turns out that this is a specialized formulation of the MINMAX resource allocation formulation of the apportionment problem and it can be solved efficiently and optimally. We construct an exact algorithm specialized for the nozzle selection and provide a proof of its optimality. Third, the problem of feeder assignment and component tape construction occurs when electronic components are inserted and certain component types cause tape movement delays that can significantly impact the efficiency of printed circuit board assembly. Here, careful selection of component slots in the feeder improves the tape movement speed. We provide a formal proof that this problem is of the same complexity as the turnpike problem (a well studied geometric optimization problem), and provide a heuristic algorithm for this problem.

Network effects: Scale development and implications for new product performance

More and more innovations currently being commercialized exhibit network effects, in other words, the value of using the product increases as more and more people use the same or compatible products. Although this phenomenon has been the subject of much theoretical debate in economics, marketing researchers have been slow to respond to the growing importance of network effects in new product success. Despite an increase in interest in recent years, there is no comprehensive view on the phenomenon and, therefore, there is currently incomplete understanding of the dimensions it incorporates. Furthermore, there is wide dispersion in operationalization, in other words, the measurement of network effects, and currently available approaches have various shortcomings that limit their applicability, especially in marketing research. Consequently, little is known today about how these products fare on the marketplace and how they should be introduced in order to maximize their chances of success. Hence, the motivation for this study was driven by the need to increase our knowledge and understanding of the nature of network effects as a phenomenon, and of their role in the commercial success of new products. This thesis consists of two parts. The first part comprises a theoretical overview of the relevant literature, and presents the conclusions of the entire study. The second part comprises five complementary, empirical research publications. Quantitative research methods and two sets of quantitative data are utilized. The results of the study suggest that there is a need to update both the conceptualization and the operationalization of the phenomenon of network effects. Furthermore, there is a need for an augmented view on customers’ perceived value in the context of network effects, given that the nature of value composition has major implications for the viability of such products in the marketplace. The role of network effects in new product performance is not as straightforward as suggested in the existing theoretical literature. The overwhelming result of this study is that network effects do not directly influence product success, but rather enhance or suppress the influence of product introduction strategies. The major contribution of this study is in conceptualizing the phenomenon of network effects more comprehensively than has been attempted thus far. The study gives an augmented view of the nature of customer value in network markets, which helps in explaining why some products thrive on these markets whereas others never catch on. Second, the study discusses shortcomings in prior literature in the way it has operationalized network effects, suggesting that these limitations can be overcome in the research design. Third, the study provides some much-needed empirical evidence on how network effects, product introduction strategies, and new product performance are associated. In general terms, this thesis adds to our knowledge of how firms can successfully leverage network effects in product commercialization in order to improve market performance.

Experimental evaluation of the performance of a wireless sensor network in agricultural environments

The aim of this study was to perform an experimental study to evaluate the proper operation distance between the nodes of a wireless sensor network available on the market for different agricultural crops (maize, physic nut, eucalyptus). The experimental data of the network performance offers to farmers and researchers information that might be useful to the sizing and project of the wireless sensor networks in similar situations to those studied. The evaluation showed that the separation of the nodes depends on the type of culture and it is a critical factor to ensure the feasibility of using WSN. In the configuration used, sending packets every 2 seconds, the battery life was about four days. Therefore, the autonomy may be increased with a longer interval of time between sending packets.

Streamlining Launch Support Operations in a Product Platform

The new product development process is a massive investment to a company that aims to reduce their products’ time-to-market. Capability to shorter time-to market allows longer life-cycle to products which are introduced to market earlier but also give advantage to start product launch later while simultaneously learning from customer behavior and competitors. The product launch support operations are the last ramp-up activities before the product launching. This study defines what these operations mean in a product platform and how they can be streamlined to be more efficient. The methodology includes interviews, innovative group brainstorming and regular working group meetings. The challenges concerning the current situation of product launch support operations are allocated into four categories: General, Process, Project Resources and Project Management including altogether ten sub challenges. The challenges include issues related to technology and marketing management, branding strategy, organizing the global platform structure, harmonizing processes and clarifying handovers between shareholders in the process. The study makes a suggestion of a new Product Launch Support organization and clarification of its roles, responsibilities and tasks. In addition a new project management tool and Lessons Learned are suggested to improve the project management. The study can be seen as a pre-study when having an aim at combining technological and marketing know-how in the product ramp-up process before actual production. The future proceedings are suggested to include more detailed specifications and implementation in order to reach the long range target, reduced the time-to-market.

A Case Study of Agile Software Engineering Methods and Practices in the MeeGo Harmattan Open Source and Product Context

The aim of this master’s thesis is to study how Agile method (Scrum) and open source software are utilized to produce software for a flagship product in a complex production environment. The empirical case and the used artefacts are taken from the Nokia MeeGo N9 product program, and from the related software program, called as the Harmattan. The single research case is analysed by using a qualitative method. The Grounded Theory principles are utilized, first, to find out all the related concepts from artefacts. Second, these concepts are analysed, and finally categorized to a core category and six supported categories. The result is formulated as the operation of software practices conceivable in circumstances, where the accountable software development teams and related context accepts a open source software nature as a part of business vision and the whole organization supports the Agile methods.

Generic Life Cycle Cost Model and Cost-effective Solutions

Life cycle costing (LCC) practices are spreading from military and construction sectors to wider area of industries. Suppliers as well as customers are demanding comprehensive cost knowledge that includes all relevant cost elements through the life cycle of products. The problem of total cost visibility is being acknowledged and the performance of suppliers is evaluated not just by low acquisition costs of their products, but by total value provided through the life time of their offerings. The main purpose of this thesis is to provide better understanding of product cost structure to the case company. Moreover, comprehensive theoretical body serves as a guideline or methodology for further LCC process. Research includes the constructive analysis of LCC related concepts and features as well as overview of life cycle support services in manufacturing industry. The case study aims to review the existing LCC practices within the case company and provide suggestions for improvements. It includes identification of most relevant life cycle cost elements, development of cost breakdown structure and generic cost model for data collection. Moreover, certain cost-effective suggestions are provided as well. This research should support decision making processes, assessment of economic viability of products, financial planning, sales and other processes within the case company.

Palveluliiketoimintamallin kehittäminen teolliselle laitetoimittajalle

Tässä tutkimuksessa käsitellään teollisuuden palveluliiketoimintaa. Yritykset ovat perinteisesti saavuttaneet kilpailuetua markkinoilla tuottamalla teknisesti innovatiivisia koneita ja laitteita, mutta viime vuosien aikana yritykset ovat havainneet tarpeen myös palveluliiketoiminnan kehitykselle. Kohdeyrityksenä on teollisuudelle korkealuokkaisia mittalaitteita kehittävä ja valmistava yritys. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kehittää uusi innovatiivinen vuokraukseen perustuva palveluliiketoimintamalli perinteisen hankinnan sijaan. Olennaisena osana uuteen palveluliiketoimintamalliin liittyi myös tuotteen elinkaarikustannusten selvittäminen ja laskeminen. Toisena tutkimuksen kohteena oli selvittää semi-kvalitatiivisen kyselytutkimuksen avulla, miten yrityksen asiakkaat ja henkilökunta näkevät palveluiden tuottamisen nykytilan ja mitä haasteita palveluliiketoimintaan siirtyminen aiheuttaa organisaatiolle. Työn teoriaosuudessa käsiteltiin palveluliiketoimintaa eri näkökulmista, palvelun laadun muodostumista sekä uuden liiketoimintamallin kehittämistä Osterwalderin Canvas mallin avulla. Lisäksi käsiteltiin elin-kaarilaskennan soveltamista palveluliiketoiminnassa sekä eri investointimalleja teollisiin palveluihin. Kyselytutkimuksen tulosten perusteella asiakkaiden ja yrityksen henkilökunnan näkemykset erosivat palvelun laadun ja prosessien nykytilasta. Asiakkaat arvostivat palvelut paremmalle tasolle kuin henkilökunta. Tulosten perusteella yrityksen olisi kohdennettava resursseja sisäisten prosessien parantamiseen ja kehitettävä organisaatiota enemmän palveluorientoituneeksi. Tuotteen elinkaarikustannukset onnistuttiin selvittämään hyvin ja niiden avulla pystyttiin luomaan sekä yritykselle kannattava että asiakkaille houkutteleva palveluliiketoimintamalli, jonka avulla yrityksen on mahdollista palvella asiakkaitaan entistä paremmin.

Application of the scrum framework in non-software project management

Scrum is an agile project management approach that has been widely practiced in the software development projects. It has proven to increase quality, productivity, customer satisfaction, transparency and team morale among other benefits from its implementation. The concept of scrum is based on the concepts of incremental innovation strategies, lean manufacturing, kaizen, iterative development and so on and is usually contrasted with the linear development models such as the waterfall method in the software industry. The traditional approaches to project management such as the waterfall method imply intensive upfront planning and approval of the entire project. These sort of approaches work well in the well-defined stable environments where all the specifications of the project are known in the beginning. However, in the uncertain environments when a project requires continuous development and incorporation of new requirements, they do not tend to work well. The scrum framework was inspiraed by Nonaka’s article about new product developement and was later adopted by software development practitioners. This research explores conditions for and benefits of the application of scrum framework beyond software development projects. There are currently a few case studies on the scrum implementation in non-software projects, but there is a noticeable trend of it in the scrum practitioners’ community. The research is based on the real-life context multiple case study analysis of three different non-software projects. The results of the research showed that in order to succeed within scrum projects need to satisfy certain conditions – necessary and sufficient. Among them the key factors are uncertainty of the project environment, not well defined outcomes, commitment of the scrum teams and management support. The top advantages of scrum implementation identified in the present research include improved transparency, accountability, team morale, communications, cooperation and collaboration. Further researches are advised to be carried out in order to validate these findings on a larger sample and to focus on more specific areas of scrum project management implementation.

Production of Mg(OH)2 from Mg-silicate rock for CO2 mineral sequestration

Sequestration of carbon dioxide in mineral rocks, also known as CO2 Capture and Mineralization (CCM), is considered to have a huge potential in stabilizing anthropogenic CO2 emissions. One of the CCM routes is the ex situ indirect gas/sold carbonation of reactive materials, such as Mg(OH)2, produced from abundantly available Mg-silicate rocks. The gas/solid carbonation method is intensively researched at Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU ), Finland because it is energetically attractive and utilizes the exothermic chemistry of Mg(OH)2 carbonation. In this thesis, a method for producing Mg(OH)2 from Mg-silicate rocks for CCM was investigated, and the process efficiency, energy and environmental impact assessed. The Mg(OH)2 process studied here was first proposed in 2008 in a Master’s Thesis by the author. At that time the process was applied to only one Mg-silicate rock (Finnish serpentinite from the Hitura nickel mine site of Finn Nickel) and the optimum process conversions, energy and environmental performance were not known. Producing Mg(OH)2 from Mg-silicate rocks involves a two-staged process of Mg extraction and Mg(OH)2 precipitation. The first stage extracts Mg and other cations by reacting pulverized serpentinite or olivine rocks with ammonium sulfate (AS) salt at 400 - 550 oC (preferably < 450 oC). In the second stage, ammonia solution reacts with the cations (extracted from the first stage after they are leached in water) to form mainly FeOOH, high purity Mg(OH)2 and aqueous (dissolved) AS. The Mg(OH)2 process described here is closed loop in nature; gaseous ammonia and water vapour are produced from the extraction stage, recovered and used as reagent for the precipitation stage. The AS reagent is thereafter recovered after the precipitation stage. The Mg extraction stage, being the conversion-determining and the most energy-intensive step of the entire CCM process chain, received a prominent attention in this study. The extraction behavior and reactivity of different rocks types (serpentinite and olivine rocks) from different locations worldwide (Australia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway and Portugal) was tested. Also, parametric evaluation was carried out to determine the optimal reaction temperature, time and chemical reagent (AS). Effects of reactor types and configuration, mixing and scale-up possibilities were also studied. The Mg(OH)2 produced can be used to convert CO2 to thermodynamically stable and environmentally benign magnesium carbonate. Therefore, the process energy and life cycle environmental performance of the ÅAU CCM technique that first produces Mg(OH)2 and the carbonates in a pressurized fluidized bed (FB) were assessed. The life cycle energy and environmental assessment approach applied in this thesis is motivated by the fact that the CCM technology should in itself offer a solution to what is both an energy and environmental problem. Results obtained in this study show that different Mg-silicate rocks react differently; olivine rocks being far less reactive than serpentinite rocks. In summary, the reactivity of Mg-silicate rocks is a function of both the chemical and physical properties of rocks. Reaction temperature and time remain important parameters to consider in process design and operation. Heat transfer properties of the reactor determine the temperature at which maximum Mg extraction is obtained. Also, an increase in reaction temperature leads to an increase in the extent of extraction, reaching a maximum yield at different temperatures depending on the reaction time. Process energy requirement for producing Mg(OH)2 from a hypothetical case of an iron-free serpentine rock is 3.62 GJ/t-CO2. This value can increase by 16 - 68% depending on the type of iron compound (FeO, Fe2O3 or Fe3O4) in the mineral. This suggests that the benefit from the potential use of FeOOH as an iron ore feedstock in iron and steelmaking should be determined by considering the energy, cost and emissions associated with the FeOOH by-product. AS recovery through crystallization is the second most energy intensive unit operation after the extraction reaction. However, the choice of mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) over the “simple evaporation” crystallization method has a potential energy savings of 15.2 GJ/t-CO2 (84 % savings). Integrating the Mg(OH)2 production method and the gas/solid carbonation process could provide up to an 25% energy offset to the CCM process energy requirements. Life cycle inventory assessment (LCIA) results show that for every ton of CO2 mineralized, the ÅAU CCM process avoids 430 - 480 kg CO2. The Mg(OH)2 process studied in this thesis has many promising features. Even at the current high energy and environmental burden, producing Mg(OH)2 from Mg-silicates can play a significant role in advancing CCM processes. However, dedicated future research and development (R&D) have potential to significantly improve the Mg(OH)2 process performance.

The Finnish it industries in transition. Defining and Measuring the Finnish Software Product and IT Services Industries by Applying Theoretical Frameworks

The starting point of this study is that the prevailing way to consider the Finnish IT industries and industry information often results in a limited and even skewed picture of the sector. The purpose of the study is to contribute and increase knowledge and understanding of the status, structure and evolution of the Finnish IT industries as well as the Finnish IT vendor field and competition. The focus is on software product and IT services industries which form a crucial part of all ICT industries. This study examines the Finnish IT sector from production (supply) as well as market (demand) perspective. The study is based on empirical information from multiple sources. Three research questions were formulated for the study. The first concerns the status of the Finnish IT industries considered by applying theoretical frameworks. The second research question targets at the basis for the future evolution of the Finnish IT industries and, finally, the third at the ability of the available definitions and indicators to describe the Finnish IT industries and IT markets. Major structural changes like technological changes and related innovations, globalization and new business models are drivers of the evolution of the IT industries. The findings of this study emphasize the significant role of IT services in the Finnish IT sector and in connection to that the ability to combine IT service skills, competences and practices with high level software skills also in the future. According to the study the Finnish IT enterprises and their customers have become increasingly dependent on global ecosystems and platforms, applications and IT services provided by global vendors. As a result, more IT decisions are made outside Finland. In addition, IT companies are facing new competition from other than IT industries bringing into market new substitutes. To respond to the new competition, IT firms seek growth by expanding beyond their traditional markets.. The changing global division of labor accentuates the need for accurate information of the IT sector but, at the same time, also makes it increasingly challenging to acquire the information needed. One of the main contributions of this study is to provide frameworks for describing the Finnish IT sector and its evolution. These frameworks help combine empirical information from various sources and make it easier to concretize the structures, volumes, relationships and interaction of both, the production and market side of the Finnish IT industry. Some frameworks provide tools to analyze the vendor field, competition and the basis for the future evolution of the IT industries. The observations of the study support the argument that static industry definitions and related classifications do not serve the information needs in dynamic industries, such as the IT industries. One of the main messages of this study is to emphasize the importance of understanding the definitions and starting points of different information sources. Simultaneously, in the structure and evolution of Finnish IT industries the number of employees has become a more valid and reliable measure than the revenue based indicators.

IgA production, coliforms analysis and intestinal mucosa morphology of piglets that received probiotics with viable or inactivated cells

Two types of probiotics were used in piglets. One product is a mixed culture of viable Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium e Bifidobacterium bifidum. The second product is composed of inactivated Lactobacillus acidophilus cells. The piglets received two weekly oral doses for 30 days while a control group did not receive probiotics. All piglets were euthanized at the 30th day of life and the mesenteric lymph nodes, the small intestine, and blood samples were collected. The tissue samples were studied by light microscopy and the blood serum was analyzed by ELISA method. The treatment with the probiotic with viable cells produced higher serum levels of IgA (P<0.05) and more IgA expressing cells were found in the mesenteric lymph nodes than observed in the inactivated cells treatment or control groups (P<0.05). Also, intestinal villi were longer, crypts were deeper (P<0.05) and fecal coliform count was lower than found in the inactivated product (P<0.05). These results suggest that viable probiotics are more efficient than inactivated probiotics to induce immunostimulation and intestinal modifications in piglets, thus improving their health and development.

Imagining a New Society: Public Painting as Politics in Postwar Finland

The thesis is the first comprehensive study on Finnish public painting, public artworks generally referred to as murals or monumental paintings. It focuses on the processes of production of public paintings during the post-WWII decades in Finland and the complex relationships between the political sphere and the production of art. The research studies the networks of agents involved in the production of public paintings. Besides the human agents—artists, assistants, commissioners and viewers—also public paintings were and are agents in the processes of production and in their environments. The research questions can be grouped into three overlapping series of questions: First, the research investigates the production public paintings: What kinds of public paintings were realised in postwar Finland—how, where, by whom and for what purposes? Second, it discusses the publicness of these paintings: How were public paintings defined, and what aspects characterised them as “public”? What was their relation to public space, public authorities, and audience? And third, it explores the politics of public paintings: the relationship between Finnish public painting, nationalism, and the memory of war. To answer these questions, extensive archival work has been performed, and over 200 public paintings have been documented around Finland. The research material has been studied in a sociological framework and in the context of the political and economic history of Finland, employing critical theories on public space and public art as well as theories on the building of nationalism, commemoration, memory, and forgetting. An important aim of this research was to open up a new field of study and position public painting within Finnish art history, from which it has been conspicuous by its absence. The research indicates that public painting was a significant genre of art in postwar Finland. The process of creating a national genre of public painting participated in the defining of municipal and state art politics in the country, and paintings functioned as vehicles of carrying out the agenda of the commissioning bodies. In the formation of municipal art policies in Finland in the 1950s, public painting connected to the same tendency of democratising art as the founding of public art museums. Public painting commissions also functioned as an arena of competition and a means of support for the artists. Public paintings were judged and commissioned within the realm of political decision-making, and they suggested the values of the decision-making groups, generally conveyed as the values of the society. The participation of official agents in the production allocated a position of official art to the genre. Through the material of this research, postwar public painting is seen as an agent in a society searching for a new identity. The postwar public painting production participated in the creation of the Finnish welfare society as indications of a humane society. It continued a tradition of public art production that had been built on nationalist and art educational ideologies in the late 19th and early 20th century. Postwar public paintings promoted the new national narrative of unification by creating an image of a homogeneous society with a harmonious communal life. The paintings laid out an image of Finnishness that was modern but rooted in the agrarian past, of a society that was based on hard work and provided for its members a good life. Postwar public painting was art with a mission, and it created an image of a society with a mission.