Implementation of Quantitative Reaction-based Model Refinement

Building a computational model for complex biological systems is an iterative process. It starts from an abstraction of the process and then incorporates more details regarding the specific biochemical reactions which results in the change of the model fit. Meanwhile, the model’s numerical properties such as its numerical fit and validation should be preserved. However, refitting the model after each refinement iteration is computationally expensive resource-wise. There is an alternative approach which ensures the model fit preservation without the need to refit the model after each refinement iteration. And this approach is known as quantitative model refinement. The aim of this thesis is to develop and implement a tool called ModelRef which does the quantitative model refinement automatically. It is both implemented as a stand-alone Java application and as one of Anduril framework components. ModelRef performs data refinement of a model and generates the results in two different well known formats (SBML and CPS formats). The development of this tool successfully reduces the time and resource needed and the errors generated as well by traditional reiteration of the whole model to perform the fitting procedure.

Power Electronic Converters in Low-Voltage Direct Current Distribution – Analysis and Implementation

Over the recent years, smart grids have received great public attention. Many proposed functionalities rely on power electronics, which play a key role in the smart grid, together with the communication network. However, “smartness” is not the driver that alone motivates the research towards distribution networks based on power electronics; the network vulnerability to natural hazards has resulted in tightening requirements for the supply security, set both by electricity end-users and authorities. Because of the favorable price development and advancements in the field, direct current (DC) distribution has become an attractive alternative for distribution networks. In this doctoral dissertation, power electronic converters for a low-voltage DC (LVDC) distribution system are investigated. These include the rectifier located at the beginning of the LVDC network and the customer-end inverter (CEI) on the customer premises. Rectifier topologies are introduced, and according to the LVDC system requirements, topologies are chosen for the analysis. Similarly, suitable CEI topologies are addressed and selected for study. Application of power electronics into electricity distribution poses some new challenges. Because the electricity end-user is supplied with the CEI, it is responsible for the end-user voltage quality, but it also has to be able to supply adequate current in all operating conditions, including a short-circuit, to ensure the electrical safety. Supplying short-circuit current with power electronics requires additional measures, and therefore, the short-circuit behavior is described and methods to overcome the high-current supply to the fault are proposed. Power electronic converters also produce common-mode (CM) and radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic interferences (EMI), which are not present in AC distribution. Hence, their magnitudes are investigated. To enable comprehensive research on the LVDC distribution field, a research site was built into a public low-voltage distribution network. The implementation was a joint task by the LVDC research team of Lappeenranta University of Technology and a power company Suur-Savon S¨ahk¨o Oy. Now, the measurements could be conducted in an actual environment. This is important especially for the EMI studies. The main results of the work concern the short-circuit operation of the CEI and the EMI issues. The applicability of the power electronic converters to electricity distribution is demonstrated, and suggestions for future research are proposed.

CRM system implementation supporting the management of customer relationships

The purpose of this thesis is to examine customer relationship management in a large, global organization. The aim is to deepen the understanding on how CRM-system implementation can support customer relationship management in strategic, operational and analytical levels.

Flipped classroom technology from teachers’ perspective: implementation experience, barriers and perspectives

Blended learning approaches rise their popularity, however not all professors apply them and find them useful and appropriate. This research focuses on study of flipped classroom arrangement and effectiveness of this concept implementation. The Master’s Thesis explores impact of flipped classroom implementation on resource savings for proffesors. The research is based on the literature review of different education arrangements and results of their implementation, on the survey conducted among proffesors from different Universities and on two experiments of flipped classroom implementation. The results reveal advantages and disadvantages of the concept, professors’ attitude to it and possibility to future research and practice in this field

Analysis and guidelines for implementation of EN 1090-2 Standard to assist execution class assignment of steel structures

Finnish design and consulting companies are delivering robust and cost-efficient steel structures solutions to a large number of manufacturing companies worldwide. Recently introduced EN 1090-2 standard obliges these companies to specify the execution class of steel structures for their customers. This however, requires clarifying, understanding and interpreting the sophisticated procedure of execution class assignment. The objective of this research is to provide a clear explanation and guidance through the process of execution class assignment for a given steel structure and to support the implementation of EN 1090-2 standard in Rejlers Oy, one of Finnish design and consulting companies. This objective is accomplished by creating a guideline for designers that elaborates on the four-step process of the execution class assignment for a steel structure or its part. Steps one to three define the consequence class (projected consequences of structure failure), the service category (hazards associated with the service use exploitation of steel structure) and the production category (manufacturing process peculiarities), based on the ductility class (capacity of structure to withstand deformations) and the behaviour factor (corresponds to structure seismic behaviour). The final step is the execution class assignment taking into account results of previous steps. Main research method is indepth literature review of European standards family for steel structures. Other research approach is a series of interviews of Rejlers Oy representatives and its clients, results of which have been used to evaluate the level of EN 1090-2 awareness. Rejlers Oy will use the developed novel coherent standard implementation guideline to improve its services and to obtain greater customer satisfaction.

A Study of Privacy Preserving Queries with Bloom Filters

This thesis focuses on the private membership test (PMT) problem and presents three single server protocols to resolve this problem. In the presented solutions, a client can perform an inclusion test for some record x in a server's database, without revealing his record. Moreover after executing the protocols, the contents of server's database remain secret. In each of these solutions, a different cryptographic protocol is utilized to construct a privacy preserving variant of Bloom filter. The three suggested solutions are slightly different from each other, from privacy perspective and also from complexity point of view. Therefore, their use cases are different and it is impossible to choose one that is clearly the best between all three. We present the software developments of the three protocols by utilizing various pseudocodes. The performance of our implementation is measured based on a real case scenario. This thesis is a spin-off from the Academy of Finland research project "Cloud Security Services".

Lean management implementation in Horizontal Technology Transfer projects

The importance of Technology Transfer activities of companies is underpinned by the changes in technological and economic environments. However, there is still a significant gap in defining possible ways for Technology Transfer projects effectiveness improvement. The Master’s Thesis overviews common problems faced by the companies in implementation of Technology Transfer projects and examines Lean management principles as possible way to improve its effectiveness. Based on the analysis of the relevant scientific literature and results of the survey, conducted among the firms of different types, the approach to Technology Transfer projects implementation with the use of Lean management principles is proposed. The approach serves to solve some of the important problems faced by the managers of Technology Transfer projects. It is envisaged that this approach can help to increase overall Technology Transfer projects’ effectiveness.

Implementation of educational change in Finland: The case of the undivided basic education reform

For the past decades, educational large-scale reforms have been elaborated and implemented in many countries and often resulted in partial or complete failure. These results brought researchers to study policy processes in order to address this particular challenge. Studies on implementation processes brought to light an existing causal relationship between the implementation process and the effectiveness of a reform. This study aims to describe the implementation process of educational change in Finland, who produced efficient educational reforms over the last 50 years. The case study used for the purpose of this study is the national reform of undivided basic education (yhtenäinen peruskoulu) implemented in the end of the 1990s. Therefore, this research aims to describe how the Finnish undivided basic education reform was implemented. This research was carried out using a pluralist and structuralist approach of policy process and was analyzed according to the hybrid model of implementation process. The data were collected using a triangulation of methods, i.e. documentary research, interviews and questionnaires. The data were qualitative and were analyzed using content analysis methods. This study concludes that the undivided basic education reform was applied in a very decentralized manner, which is a reflection of the decentralized system present in Finland. Central authorities provided a clear vision of the purpose of the reform, but did not control the implementation process. They rather provided extensive support in the form of transmission of information and development of collaborative networks. Local authorities had complete autonomy in terms of decision-making and implementation process. Discussions, debates and decisions regarding implementation processes took place at the local level and included the participation of all actors present on the field. Implementation methods differ from a region to another, with is the consequence of the variation of the level of commitment of local actors but also the diversity of local realities. The reform was implemented according to existing structures and values, which means that it was in cohesion with the context in which it was implemented. These results cannot be generalized to all implementation processes of educational change in Finland but give a great insight of what could be the model used in Finland. Future studies could intent to confirm the model described here by studying other reforms that took place in Finland.

Implementation of educational change in Finland: The case of the undivided basic education reform

For the past decades, educational large-scale reforms have been elaborated and implemented in many countries and often resulted in partial or complete failure. These results brought researchers to study policy processes in order to address this particular challenge. Studies on implementation processes brought to light an existing causal relationship between the implementation process and the effectiveness of a reform. This study aims to describe the implementation process of educational change in Finland, who produced efficient educational reforms over the last 50 years. The case study used for the purpose of this study is the national reform of undivided basic education (yhtenäinen peruskoulu) implemented in the end of the 1990s. Therefore, this research aims to describe how the Finnish undivided basic education reform was implemented. This research was carried out using a pluralist and structuralist approach of policy process and was analyzed according to the hybrid model of implementation process. The data were collected using a triangulation of methods, i.e. documentary research, interviews and questionnaires. The data were qualitative and were analyzed using content analysis methods. This study concludes that the undivided basic education reform was applied in a very decentralized manner, which is a reflection of the decentralized system present in Finland. Central authorities provided a clear vision of the purpose of the reform, but did not control the implementation process. They rather provided extensive support in the form of transmission of information and development of collaborative networks. Local authorities had complete autonomy in terms of decision-making and implementation process. Discussions, debates and decisions regarding implementation processes took place at the local level and included the participation of all actors present on the field. Implementation methods differ from a region to another, with is the consequence of the variation of the level of commitment of local actors but also the diversity of local realities. The reform was implemented according to existing structures and values, which means that it was in cohesion with the context in which it was implemented. These results cannot be generalized to all implementation processes of educational change in Finland but give a great insight of what could be the model used in Finland. Future studies could intent to confirm the model described here by studying other reforms that took place in Finland.

Design and implementation of machine vision system for the mobile assembly robot

The review of intelligent machines shows that the demand for new ways of helping people in perception of the real world is becoming higher and higher every year. This thesis provides information about design and implementation of machine vision for mobile assembly robot. The work has been done as a part of LUT project in Laboratory of Intelligent Machines. The aim of this work is to create a working vision system. The qualitative and quantitative research were done to complete this task. In the first part, the author presents the theoretical background of such things as digital camera work principles, wireless transmission basics, creation of live stream, methods used for pattern recognition. Formulas, dependencies and previous research related to the topic are shown. In the second part, the equipment used for the project is described. There is information about the brands, models, capabilities and also requirements needed for implementation. Although, the author gives a description of LabVIEW software, its add-ons and OpenCV which are used in the project. Furthermore, one can find results in further section of considered thesis. They mainly represented by screenshots from cameras, working station and photos of the system. The key result of this thesis is vision system created for the needs of mobile assembly robot. Therefore, it is possible to see graphically what was done on examples. Future research in this field includes optimization of the pattern recognition algorithm. This will give less response time for recognizing objects. Presented by author system can be used also for further activities which include artificial intelligence usage.

Drumming toward communitas : a case study of facilitated recreational music making and the Arthurian method

The phenomenon of communitas has been described as a moment 'in and out of time' in which a collective of individuals may be experienced by one as equal and individuated in an environment stripped of structural attributes (Turner, 1 969). In these moments, emotional bonds form and an experience of perceived 'oneness' and synergy may be described. As a result of the perceived value of these experiences, it has been suggested by Sharpe (2005) that more clearly understanding how this phenomenon may be purposefully facilitated would be beneficial for leisure service providers. Consequently, the purpose of this research endeavor was to examine the ways in which a particular leisure service provider systematically employs specific methods and sets specific parameters with the intention of guiding participants toward experiences associated with communitas or "shared spirit" as described by the organization. A qualitative case study taking a phenomenological approach was employed in order to capture the depth and complexity of both the phenomenon and the purposefiil negotiation of experiences in guiding participants toward this phenomenon. The means through which these experiences were intentionally facilitated was recreational music making in a group drumming context. As such, an organization which employs specific methods of rhythm circle facilitation as well as trains other facilitators all over the world was chosen purposely for their recognition as the most respectable and credible in this field. The specific facilitator was chosen based on high recommendation by the organization due to her level of experience and expertise. Two rhythm circles were held, and participants were chosen randomly by the facilitator. Data was collected through observation in the first circle and participant- observation in the second, as well as through focus groups with circle participants. Interviews with the facilitator were held both initially to gain broad understanding of concepts and phenomenon as well as after each circle to reflect on each circle specifically. Data was read repeatedly to drawn out patterns which emerged and were coded and organized accordingly. It was found that this specific process or system of implementation lead to experiences associated with communitas by participants. In order to more clearly understand this process and the ways in which experiences associated with communitas manifest as a result of deliberate facilitator actions, these objective facilitator actions were plotted along a continuum relating to subjective participant experiences. These findings were then linked to the literature with regards to specific characteristics of communitas. In so doing, the intentional manifestation of these experiences may be more clearly understood for ftiture facilitators in many contexts. Beyond this, findings summarized important considerations with regards to specific technical and communication competencies which were found to be essential to fostering these experiences for participants within each group. Findings surrounding the maintenance of a fluid negotiation of certain transition points within a group rhythm event overall were also highlighted, and this fluidity was found to be essential to the experience of absorption and engagement in the activity and experience. Emergent themes of structure, control, and consciousness have been presented as they manifested and were found to affect experiences within this study. Discussions surrounding the ethics and authenticity of these particular methods and their implementation has also been generated throughout. In conclusion, there was a breadth as well as depth of knowledge found in unpacking this complex process of guiding individuals toward experiences associated with communitas. The implications of these findings contribute in broadening the current theoretical as well as practical understanding as to how certain intentional parameters may be set and methods employed which may lead to experiences of communitas, and as well contribute a greater knowledge to conceptualizing the manifestation of these experiences when broken down.

The impact of scheduling on the implementation of the new Ontario curriculum: teachers' perceptions /

This qualitative study explored secondary teachers' perceptions of scheduling in relation to pedagogy, curriculum, and observation of student learning. Its objective was to determine the best way to organize the scheduling for the delivery of Ontario's new 4-year curriculum. Six participants were chosen. Two were teaching in a semestered timetable, 1 in a traditional timetable, and 3 had experience in both schedules. Participants related a pressure cooker "lived experience" with weaker students in the semester system experiencing a particularly harsh environment. The inadequate amount of time for review in content-heavy courses, gap scheduling problems, catch-up difficulties for students missing classes, and the fast pace of semestering are identified as factors negatively impacting on these students. Government testing adds to the pressure by shifting teachers' time and attention in the classroom from deeper learning to a superficial coverage of material, from curriculum as lived to curriculum as text to be covered. Scheduling choice should be available in public education to accommodate the needs of all students. Curriculum guidelines need to be revamped to reflect the content that teachers believe is necessary for a successful course delivery. Applied level courses need to be developed for students who are not academically inferior but learn differently.