Regioselective modification of galactose-containing polysaccharides in aqueous media

Biorefining is defined as sustainable conversion of biomass into marketable products and energy. Forests cover almost one third of earth’s land area, and account for approximately 40% of the total annual biomass production. In forest biorefining, the wood components are, in addition to the traditional paper and board products, converted into chemicals and biofuels. The major components in wood are cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. The main hemicellulose in softwoods, which are of interest especially for the Nordic forest industry, is O-acetyl galactoglucomannan (GGM). GGM can be isolated in industrial scale from the waste waters of the mechanical pulping process, but is not yet today industrially utilized. In order to attain desired properties of GGM for specific end-uses, chemical and enzymatic modifications can be performed. Regioselective modifications of GGM, and other galactose-containing polysaccharides were done by oxidations, and by combining oxidations with subsequent derivatizations of the formed carbonyl or carboxyl groups. Two different pathways were investigated: activation of the C-6 positions in different sugar units by TEMPO-mediated oxidation, and activation of C-6 position in only galactose-units by oxidation catalyzed by the enzyme galactose oxidase. The activated sites were further selectively derivatized; TEMPO-oxidized GGM by a carbodiimide-mediated reaction forming amides, and GO-oxidized GGM by indium-mediated allylation introducing double or triple bonds to the molecule. In order to better understand the reaction, and to develop a MALDI-TOF-MS method for characterization of regioselectively allylated GGM, α-D-galactopyranoside and raffinose were used as model compounds. All reactions were done in aqueous media. To investigate the applicability of the modified polysaccharides for, e.g., cellulose surface functionalization, their sorption onto pulp fibres was studied. Carboxylation affects the sorption tendency significantly; a higher degree of oxidation leads to lower sorption. By controlling the degree of oxidation of the polysaccharides and the ionic strength of the sorption media, high degrees of sorption of carboxylated polysaccharides onto cellulose could, however, be obtained. Anionic polysaccharides were used as templates during laccase-catalyzed polymerization of aniline, offering a green, chemo-enzymatic route for synthesis of conducting polyaniline (PANI) composite materials. Different polysaccharide templates, such as, native GGM, TEMPO-oxidized GGM, naturally anionic κ-carrageenan, and nanofibrillated cellulose produced by TEMPO-oxidation, were assessed. The conductivity of the synthesized polysaccharide/PANI biocomposites varies depending on the polysaccharide template; κ-CGN, the anionic polysaccharide with the lowest pKa value, produces the polysaccharide/PANI biocomposites with the highest conductivity. The presented derivatization, sorption, and polymerization procedures open new application windows for polysaccharides, such as spruce GGM. The modified polysaccharides and the conducting biocomposites produced provide potential applications in biosensors, electronic devices, and tissue engineering.

Mikä uusi media?

Teksti perustuu Turun yliopistossa 2.11.2011 pidettyyn professoriluentoon.

Flows of Bingham Materials Through Ideal Porous Media: an Experimental and Theoretical Study

The flow of Bingham liquids through porous media has been studied. Experiments have been performed to determine the flow rate / pressure drop relationship for the flow of a grease of Binghamian rheological behavior through an array of rods of circular cross section. The yield stress and plastic viscosity of the grease have been determined with the aid of a controlled stress rotational rheometer. To investigate a wider range of the flow parameters, the mass and momentum conservation equations have been solved numerically, in conjunction with the generalized Newtonian constitutive law and the bi-viscosity model. The finite volume method has been employed to obtain the numerical solution. These numerical results also yielded a flow rate / pressure drop relationship, which is in very good agreement with the experimental results. A capillaric theory has been developed to determine an analytical relationship between the flow rate and pressure drop for flows of Bingham liquids through porous media. It is shown that the predictions of this theory are in good agreement with the experimental and numerical results.

Substitution-Newton-Raphson method applied to the modeling of a vapour compression refrigeration system using different representations of the thermodynamic properties of R-134a

This paper gives a detailed presentation of the Substitution-Newton-Raphson method, suitable for large sparse non-linear systems. It combines the Successive Substitution method and the Newton-Raphson method in such way as to take the best advantages of both, keeping the convergence features of the Newton-Raphson with the low requirements of memory and time of the Successive Substitution schemes. The large system is solved employing few effective variables, using the greatest possible part of the model equations in substitution fashion to fix the remaining variables, but maintaining the convergence characteristics of the Newton-Raphson. The methodology is exemplified through a simple algebraic system, and applied to a simple thermodynamic, mechanical and heat transfer modeling of a single-stage vapor compression refrigeration system. Three distinct approaches for reproducing the thermodynamic properties of the refrigerant R-134a are compared: the linear interpolation from tabulated data, the use of polynomial fitted curves and the use of functions derived from the Helmholtz free energy.

Vauhtikausi. Autoilun sukupuoli 1920-luvun Suomessa

The Age of Speed:Automobility’s Gender in the 1920s Finland The aim of this study is to analyze the connections between automobility and gender in Finland in the 1920s. In this study it is argued that the 1920s was the significant era in the Finnish history of automobility when many of the long-lasting gendered notions and cultural understandings were constructed. This study combines cultural history of technology with gender analysis. As the previous research on gender and technology has recognized, technology is a significant site of gender negotiations. Both from the cultural historical perspective and a gender perspective it is important to understand both technology and gender as cultural constructions. They were linked together and constructed each other. In other words: technology shapes gender and gender shapes technology. Historians of technology like Nina Lerman, Ruth Oldenziel and Arwen Mohun have argued that both gender and technology are about power: social, cultural, economic and political. In this study automobility means technology that can be analyzed in layers of identity, structures, institutions and representations. The source material consists of various types of historical sources, magazines and journals, advertisements, archival material together with films and literature. In the previous studies of the history of automobility gender has often been neglected. The term “gender” has also quite often been misunderstood. Some studies in the field have only focused on the early female drivers. However, far too little attention has been paid to the question, why automobility was considered as masculine sphere only. This study aims to give new insights to the previous interpretations of the history of automobility. As in various other countries also in Finland, the decade of the 1920s is characterized as a period of “modern times.” It was also the era of the automobiles. Although the number of cars in Finland was still low compared to the other European countries and the USA, in press, films and literature, images of automobiles and new women – and men – on the wheel became as an emblem of a new era. The thesis consists of three main chapters. The first main chapter focuses on the conflicts between drivers and non-drivers. The study shows how in the debate of the automobility “a driver” was constantly referred as a man and “a pedestrian” accordingly a woman, even though in the reality there were as much men and women walking on the streets and the roads. Thus, the public debate constructed and reconstructed the gendered traffic system where men were playing the key role. The second main chapter of the study analyses the automobile clubs and the cultural representations. The chapter answers the question how the concept of a driver was gendered. The Automobile clubs and the organizations of professional drivers were in a significant role in developing the early history of traffic in Finland. The Finnish Automobile Club (Suomen Automobiili Klubi, founded in 1919) was the oldest and the most powerful of all automobile organizations. The Finnish Automobile Club accepted women as members from the very beginning. The membership was strictly limited to the upper class and the very first female members were wives and daughters of the male members. However, Doctor of medicine and surgery 316 Karolina Eskelin (1867-1936) the founding member of the Club was an exception to that convention. The male members of the Finnish Automobile Club attended official international meetings and consulted Finnish authorities in traffic and road questions, whereas, female members joined car trips, picnics and social gatherings arranged by the club. Few young female members of the club drove in races and gross-country-tours. The cultural representations of drivers in the Finnish media in the 1920s both deconstructed and reconstructed the concept of gender. In Finnish press in general, motoring was seen as male dominated area. Men were represented as the experts of the automobility. The drivers’ uniforms and the automobile clubs underlined professionalism and expertise which, thus, got masculine meaning. Women were beautiful accessories in the car ads, but they were also becoming a new consumer group in the market. The representations of the female and the male drivers influenced and shaped actively the understandings of femininity and masculinity. In the third main chapter the analysis focuses on the automobile as an artifact.The automobile was considered as an artifact that primarily belonged to the masculine domain. However, the representations of the automobiles were ambivalent. The automobile was both masculine and feminine depending on the context. The representations of the automobile were also used to construct the discourse of heteronormativity.

Enseigner l'interculturel dans le supérieur: quels discours et approches d'un concept ambigu à l'heure de l'internationalisation? Le cas de la Finlande

L‘interculturel est un concept souvent partagé mais rarement défini dans la recherche alors que ses compréhensions, interprétations et applications sont variées, ce qui mène à des malentendus et des positionnements épistémologiques et méthodologiques ambigus. En parallèle, de nombreuses critiques et propositions de réorientations de la notion voient le jour. Nous entendons faire le point sur la notion et son intégration potentielle dans l‘enseignement de la communication interculturelle (ECI). Notre étude se base sur l‘analyse de six groupes focalisés d‘enseignants (-chercheurs) impliqués dans l‘enseignement de l‘interculturel du niveau supérieur en Finlande, pays du nord de l‘Europe. Nous avons recours aux paradigmes postmodernes et aux sciences du langage (analyse du discours inspirée d‘auteurs français, et plus particulièrement de l‘école française de la deuxième génération (les théories de l‘énonciation (Kerbrat-Orecchioni, 2002 ; Marnette, 2005) et une approche du dialogisme inspirée par Bakhtine (1977))). Ces méthodes permettent de mettre en avant la complexité identitaire en posant l‘hétérogénéité du discours comme principe, c‘est-à-dire qu‘elles considèrent que tout discours inclut la « voix » de l‘autre. Repérer la présence de ces voix dans les discours des enseignants/chercheurs nous a permis de démontrer comment celles-ci participaient à la construction de leur identité pendant l‘interaction. Nous avons pu observer comment les relations entre ces interactions verbales donnaient lieu à des instabilités (contradictions, omissions), dont l‘étude nous a aidée à déduire leur(s) façon(s) de concevoir l‘interculturel. Les discours analysés révèlent a) que la définition de l‘interculturel est partagée sans être perçue de la même manière et b) que les différentes représentations du concept peuvent varier dans le discours d‘un même enseignant, mettant en évidences des contradictions qui posent problème s‘il s‘agit de communiquer un savoir-être aux apprenants. Nous nous sommes efforcée de trouver la place d‘un interculturel renouvelé parmi ces discours et de dissocier l‘image de l‘éducation interculturelle qui est promue en Finlande de ce qui est proposé en réalité : les changements actuels semblent avoir un minimum d‘impact sur la façon dont les enseignants traitent l‘interculturel. Nous nous demandons alors comment l‘Etat finlandais peut promouvoir un enseignement interculturel cohérent sans proposer aux enseignants/chercheurs une formation qui leur permettrait de reconnaitre les diverses diversités impliquées par l‘interculturel. Mots clés : Communication interculturelle, diversité, culture, enseignement supérieur finlandais.

Next Media / eReading / Kirjastolisenssipilotti

Arja Tuuliniemen esitys Asiantuntijaseminaarissa Helsingissä 13.2.2014.

Social media and public libraries : exploring information activities of library professionals and users

Social media has become a part of many people’s everyday lives. In the library field the adoption of social media has been widespread and discussions of the development of “Library 2.0” began at an early stage. The aim with this thesis is to study the interface between public libraries, social media, and users, focusing on information activities. The main research question is: How is the interface between public libraries and social media perceived and acted upon by its main stakeholders (library professionals and users)? The background of Library 2.0 is strongly associated with the development of the Web and social media, as well as with the public libraries and their user-centered and information technological development. The theoretical framework builds on the research within the area of Library and Information Science concerning information behavior, information practice, and information activities. Earlier research on social media and public libraries is also highlighted in this thesis. The methods survey and content analysis were applied to map the interface between social media and public libraries. A questionnaire was handed out to the users and another questionnaire was sent out to the library professionals. The results were statistically analyzed. In the content analysis public library Facebook pages were studied. All the empirical investigations were conducted in the area of Finland Proper. An integrated analysis of the results deepens the understanding of the key elements of the social media and public library context. These elements are interactivity, information activities, perceptions, and stakeholders. In this context seven information activities were distinguished: reading, seeking, creating, communicating, informing, mediating, and contributing. This thesis contributes to develop the research concerning information activities and draws a realistic picture of the challenges and opportunities in the social media and public library context. It also contributes with knowledge on library professionals and library users, and the existing differences in their perceptions of the interface between libraries and social media.

Backpacker 2.0 - Contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform

Long-term independent budget travel to countries far away has become increasingly common over the last few decades, and backpacking has now entered the tourism mainstream. Nowadays, backpackers are a very important segment of the global travel market. Backpacking is a type of tourism that involves a lot of information search activities. The Internet has become a major source of information as well as a platform for tourism business transactions. It allows travelers to gain information very effortlessly and to learn about tourist destinations and products directly from other travelers in the form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Social media has penetrated and changed the backpacker market, as now modern travelers can stay connected to people at home, read online recommendations, and organize and book their trips very independently. In order to create a wider understanding on modern-day backpackers and their information search and share behavior in the Web 2.0 era, this thesis examined contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform. In order to achieve this goal, three sub-objectives were identified: 1. to describe contemporary backpacker tourism 2. to examine contemporary backpackers’ travel information search and share behavior 3. to explore the impacts of new information and communications technologies and Web 2.0 on backpacker tourism The empirical data was gathered with an online survey, thus the method of analysis was mainly quantitative, and a qualitative method was used for a brief analysis of open questions. The research included both descriptive and analytical approaches, as the goal was to describe modern-day backpackers, and to examine possible interdependencies between information search and share behavior and background variables. The interdependencies were tested for statistical significance with the help of five research hypotheses. The results suggested that backpackers no longer fall under the original backpacker definitions described some decades ago. Now, they are mainly short-term travelers, whose trips resemble more those of mainstream tourists. They use communication technologies very actively, and particularly social media. Traditional information sources, mainly guide books and recommendations from friends, are of great importance to them but also eWOM sources are widely used in travel decision making. The use of each source varies according to the stage of the trip. All in all, Web 2.0 and new ICTs have transformed the backpacker tourism industry in many ways. Although the experience has become less authentic in some travelers’ eyes, the backpacker culture is still recognizable.

Jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välinen yhteys: tutkimus media-alan henkilöstön kokemuksista.

Työhyvinvointi työpaikoilla on Työterveyslaitoksen vuonna 2008 tekemän tutkimuksen mukaan heikentynyt ja tästä kertyvät kustannukset yhteiskunnalle ovat 24 miljardin euron vuodessa. Yritykset ovat pyrkineet vastaamaan tähän haasteeseen muun muassa jaetun johtajuuden keinoin ja panostamalla työntekijöiden työhyvinvointiin. Koska tästä työhyvinvoinnin laskusta koituvat kustannukset heikentävät yritysten kannattavuutta, on tätä asiaa syytä tutkia tarkemmin. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välistä yhteyttä pelialan ja TV-tuotantoyrityksissä. Lisäksi pyritään löytämään uusia työhyvinvointia ja jaettua johtajuutta linkittäviä tekijöitä. Tutkimus tehtiin laadullisena tutkimuksena haastattelemalla pelialalla ja TV-tuotantoyrityksissä työskenteleviä ihmisiä, heidän kokemuksiaan työhyvinvoinnista ja jaetusta johtajuudesta. Aiemmista työhyvinvoinnin tutkimuksista nostettiin esille neljä tutkijaa, joiden johtopäätökset olivat ydinviestiltään hyvin yhteneväisiä. Jaetun johtajuuden merkitys aiemman tutkimuksen valossa tiivistyi yksilön huomioonottamiseen ja hänen vahvuuksiensa hyödyntämiseen. Verrattaessa työhyvinvoinnin ja jaetun johtajuuden tutkimusten tuloksia, havaittiin niillä olevan useita yhteisiä tekijöitä. Haastatteluaineistoa lähestyttiin analyysissä induktiivisesti grounded teorian pohjalta koodaamalla ja luokittelemalla haastatteluaineistoa yläkategorioiksi, tiettyä asiakokonaisuutta koskeviksi kuvauksiksi. Näiden yläkategorioiden välisistä sidoksista muodostetusta käsitekartasta etsittiin selittäviä sidoksia jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välisille yhteyksille. Merkittävimpinä yläkategorioina käsitekartasta olivat liiketoiminta, motivaatio ja ihmissuhteet. Näissä kiteytyvät jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välisen yhteyden ydinsanoma; menestyvä liiketoiminta tarvitsee motivoituneen henkilöstön, jonka ihmissuhteet ovat hyvässä kunnossa. Uutena tekijänä tutkimuksessa löydettiin organisaation sisäisen ja ulkoisen vapauden positiivinen vaikutus jaetulle johtajuudelle ja työhyvinvoinnille. Johtopäätöksenä tutkimuksesta saatiin johtamisen ja työhyvinvoinnin positiivinen sykli, jossa sosiaalisessa prosessissa yrityksen työntekijöiden luomat arvot ohjaavat niitä tavoitteita, joihin yritys pyrkii. Tämä motivoi työntekijöitä toteuttamaan näitä tavoitteita sekä kehittämään itseään ja ihmissuhteitaan. Työntekijöiden osallistuminen sosiaaliseen prosessiin sitoutuneisuutta heitä yrityksen liiketoimintaprosessiin. Liiketoimintaprosessista saatava palaute muokkaa edelleen yrityksen arvoja ja näin sykli käynnistyy uudelleen. Vapaus oli haastatelluissa yrityksissä tyypillinen uusi välittävä tekijä jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välillä.

Re-shaping the Resourcing: Recruitment in Social Media

Social media is very current topic in today’s society and organisations. In the times of economic challenges, companies are looking for efficient ways to resource workforce. In addition, there is competition of competent workforce in employment markets. Employer image plays important role in recruitment as people seek to organisations they find interesting and have a reputation as a good employer. This study concerns the discussion on utilising social media in recruitment and employer image in a corporate enterprise. I will find solutions how to utilize social media in recruitment, in which channels and methods that can be done and what these actions require from a company doing social recruitment. I bring up the discussion and challenges that relate to starting to take social media into use in an organization overall and in recruitment. The qualitative material has been gathered with interviews of eighteen persons and the material available about the topic in the enterprise intranet. According to the study, social media is seen both as an opportunity to reach large amount of people quickly and cost-efficiently, but then again it brings news aspects for controlling the employer image and communication towards the audience. Taking social media into use as part of recruiters and managers daily work requires both finding the right channels and attention to the internal communication culture and resourcing. Social recruitment requires a strategy and a proper plan to be able to work in a company. There are several social media channels that enable to reach people, but they don’t do the social recruitment alone.