Partnering in the International Marketplace: The Role of Culture for Trust Development in Multicultural Partnerships

Tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli kasvattaa tietämystä kultuurin vaikutuksesta luottamuksen rakentamiseen monikulttuurisissa partnerisuhteissa. Kulttuurin oletettiin aiheuttavan hankaluuksia pitkäaikaisen suhteen luomisessa, etenkin luottamuksen ollessa kyseessä, sillä kulttuurit ja tavat olivat erilaisia toimittajan ja asiakkaan päässä. Tutkimus käsitteli johtajan nakökulmaa: mikä oli johtajien mielestä kriittistä luottamuksen ja yhteistyön onnistumiselle. Empiirinen osa suoritettiin UPM-Kymmenellä ja sen kolme partneria valittiin case-esimerkeiksi. Tutkimus keskittyi ostaja-myyjä –suhteeseen. Materiaali kerättiin case-asiakkaista vastuussa olevia myyntijohtajia haastattelemalla. Tulos oli, että johtajille tärkeintä yhteistyössä olivat samanlaiset organisaatiokulttuurit sekä normit. Kansallisella kulttuurilla oli merkittävä vaikutus suhteen alussa sekä liikeasioiden mennessä huonosti. Luottamuksen havaitseminen eri kultuurien välillä todettiin vaikeaksi. Eri arvot, viestintätyylit, jopa kieli joissain tapauksissa vaikeuttivat luottamuksen rakentamista. Luottamus oli erilaista maasta riippuen, sen tyyli ja määrä vaihteli.

Macroporous Scaffolds for Bone Engineering. Studies on Cell Culture and Ectopic Bone Formation

Bone engineering is a rapidly developing area of reconstructive medicine where bone inducing factors and/or cells are combined with a scaffold material to regenerate the structure and function of the original tissue. The aim of this study was to compare the suitability of different macroporous scaffold types for bone engineering applications. The two scaffold categories studied were a) the mechanically strong and stable titanium fiber meshes and b) the elastic and biodegradable porous polymers. Furthermore, bioactive modifications were applied to these basic scaffold types, and their effect on the osteogenic responses was evaluated in cell culture and ectopic bone formation studies. The osteogenic phenotype of cultured cell-scaffold constructs was heightened with a sol-gel derived titania coating, but not with a mixed titania-silica coating. The latter coating also resulted in delayed ectopic bone formation in bone marrow stromal cell seeded scaffolds. However, the better bone contact in early implantation times and more even bone tissue distribution at later times indicated enhanced osteoconductivity of both the coated scaffold types. Overall, the most promising bone engineering results were obtained with titania coated fiber meshes. Elastic and biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone/D,L-lactide) based scaffolds were also developed in this study. The degradation rates of the scaffolds in vitro were governed by the hydrophilicity of the polymer matrix, and the porous architecture was controlled by the amount and type of porogen used. A continuous phase macroporosity was obtained using a novel CaCl2 • 6H2O porogen. Dynamic culture conditions increased cell invasion, but decreased cell numbers and osteogenicity, within the scaffolds. Osteogenic differentiation in static cultures and ectopic bone formation in cell seeded scaffolds were enhanced in composites, with 30 wt-% of bioactive glass filler.

Understanding academics' popular science publishing : institution culture and management style effects

Most universities and higher education systems have formally taken up a third mission, which involves various public outreach and engagement activities. Little is known regarding how higher education institutions' organisations interact with academic's level of public outreach. This article examines to which extent the perceptions academics have of their institutions' culture and management style, as well as some of their own individual and statutory characteristics interact with their level of public outreach. Using the Academic Profession in Europe comparative and quantitative research database, this article focuses on two countries on the extremities of the spectrum - Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Co-opetition: Coexistence of cooperation and competition in public sector – A case study in one city’s public companies

Business actions do not take place in isolation. Complementary competencies and capabilities are the most important resources in the exponential knowledge growth. These resources are partially accessed via business partners. A company needs partners and the capability to cooperate, but also the awareness of the competitive tension, when operating in the market with multiple actors. The co-opetition research studies the occurrence and the forms of simultaneous cooperation and competition between companies or their units. Public sector’s governmental and municipal organs have been transformed into companies over the past years. Despite of their non-profit nature, public sector and public companies are adopting business doctrines from private sector towards efficient business operations. This case study aims to show, how co-opetition concept can be observed within public sector companies and in their operations with others, how public companies cooperate but also compete with others and why this happens. This thesis also explicates advantages and disadvantages of the co-opetition phenomenon.

The composition of airborne and grain-dust fungal communities is shaped at regional scale by plant genotypes and farming practices

Chronic exposure to airborne fungi has been associated with different respiratory symptoms and pathologies in occupational populations, such as grain workers. However, the homogeneity in the fungal species composition of these bioaerosols on a large geographical scale and the different drivers that shape these fungal communities remain unclear. In this study, the diversity of fungi in grain dust and in the aerosols released during harvesting was determined across 96 sites at a geographical scale of 560 km(2) along an elevation gradient of 500 m by tag-encoded 454-pyrosequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Associations between the structure of fungal communities in the grain dust and different abiotic (farming system, soil characteristics, geographic and climatic parameters) and biotic (wheat cultivar, previous crop culture) factors were explored. These analyses revealed a strong relationship between the airborne and grain dust fungal communities and showed the presence of allergenic and mycotoxigenic species in most samples, which highlights the potential contribution of these fungal species to work-related respiratory symptoms of grain workers. The farming system was the major driver of the alpha and beta phylogenetic diversity of fungal communities. In addition, elevation and soil CaCO3 concentrations shaped the alpha diversity whereas wheat cultivar, cropping history and the number of freezing days per year shaped the taxonomic beta diversity of these communities.

Suitability of human and mammalian cells of different origin for the assessment of genotoxicity of metal and polymeric engineered nanoparticles.

Nanogenotoxicity is a crucial endpoint in safety testing of nanomaterials as it addresses potential mutagenicity, which has implications for risks of both genetic disease and carcinogenesis. Within the NanoTEST project, we investigated the genotoxic potential of well-characterised nanoparticles (NPs): titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs of nominal size 20 nm, iron oxide (8 nm) both uncoated (U-Fe3O4) and oleic acid coated (OC-Fe3O4), rhodamine-labelled amorphous silica 25 (Fl-25 SiO2) and 50 nm (Fl-50 SiO) and polylactic glycolic acid polyethylene oxide polymeric NPs - as well as Endorem® as a negative control for detection of strand breaks and oxidised DNA lesions with the alkaline comet assay. Using primary cells and cell lines derived from blood (human lymphocytes and lymphoblastoid TK6 cells), vascular/central nervous system (human endothelial human cerebral endothelial cells), liver (rat hepatocytes and Kupffer cells), kidney (monkey Cos-1 and human HEK293 cells), lung (human bronchial 16HBE14o cells) and placenta (human BeWo b30), we were interested in which in vitro cell model is sufficient to detect positive (genotoxic) and negative (non-genotoxic) responses. All in vitro studies were harmonized, i.e. NPs from the same batch, and identical dispersion protocols (for TiO2 NPs, two dispersions were used), exposure time, concentration range, culture conditions and time-courses were used. The results from the statistical evaluation show that OC-Fe3O4 and TiO2 NPs are genotoxic in the experimental conditions used. When all NPs were included in the analysis, no differences were seen among cell lines - demonstrating the usefulness of the assay in all cells to identify genotoxic and non-genotoxic NPs. The TK6 cells, human lymphocytes, BeWo b30 and kidney cells seem to be the most reliable for detecting a dose-response.

Lamellarin D bioconjugates II: synthesis and cellular internalization of dendrimer and nuclear location signal derivatives

The design and synthesis of Lamellarin D conjugates with a nuclear localization signal peptide and a poly(ethylene glycol)-based dendrimer are described. Conjugates 1-4 were obtained in 8-84% overall yields from the corresponding protected Lamellarin D. Conjugates 1 and 4 are 1.4 to 3.3-fold more cytotoxic than the parent compound against three human tumor cell lines(MDA-MB-231 breast, A-549 lung, and HT-29 colon). Besides, conjugates 3, 4 showed a decrease in activity potency in BJ skin fibroblasts, a normal cell culture. Cellular internalization was analyzed and nuclear distribution pattern was observed for 4, which contains a nuclear localization signalling sequence.

Profiles of Second Language Learners in Bilingual Education: A Comparative Study of the Characteristics of Finnish and American Students

The purpose of this comparative study is to profile second language learners by exploring the factors which have an impact on their learning. The subjects come from two different countries: one group comes from Milwaukee, US, and the other from Turku, Finland. The subjects have attended bilingual classes from elementary school to senior high school in their respective countries. In the United States, the subjects (N = 57) started in one elementary school from where they moved on to two high schools in the district. The Finnish subjects (N = 39) attended the same school from elementary to high school. The longitudinal study was conducted during 1994-2004 and combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A Pilot Study carried out in 1990-1991 preceded the two subsequent studies that form the core material of this research. The theoretical part of the study focuses first on language policies in the United States and Finland: special emphasis is given to the history, development and current state of bilingual education, and the factors that have affected policy-making in the provision of language instruction. Current language learning theories and models form the theoretical foundation of the research, and underpin the empirical studies. Cognitively-labeled theories are at the forefront, but sociocultural theory and the ecological approach are also accounted for. The research methods consist of questionnaires, compositions and interviews. A combination of statistical methods as well as content analysis were used in the analysis. The attitude of the bilingual learners toward L1 and L2 was generally positive: the subjects enjoyed learning through two languages and were motivated to learn both. The knowledge of L1 and parental support, along with early literacy in L1, facilitated the learning of L2. This was particularly evident in the American subject group. The American subjects’ L2 learning was affected by the attitudes of the learners to the L1 culture and its speakers. Furthermore, the negative attitudes taken by L1 speakers toward L2 speakers and the lack of opportunities to engage in activities in the L1 culture affected the American subjects’ learning of L2, English. The research showed that many American L2 learners were isolated from the L1 culture and were even afraid to use English in everyday communication situations. In light of the research results, a politically neutral linguistic environment, which the Finnish subjects inhabited, was seen to be more favorable for learning. The Finnish subjects were learning L2, English, in a neutral zone where their own attitudes and motivation dictated their learning. The role of L2 as a means of international communication in Finland, as opposed to a means of exercising linguistic power, provided a neutral atmosphere for learning English. In both the American and Finnish groups, the learning of other languages was facilitated when the learner had a good foundation in their L1, and the learning of L1 and L2 were in balance. Learning was also fostered when the learners drew positive experiences from their surroundings and were provided with opportunities to engage in activities where L2 was used.

The state of research and development in Australia: implications for future development

The scale of research and development (R&D), and other technological activities, and the way in which the available resources are managed and organized at the enterprise and national level contribute to the rate of technological change in a country. A well organized national innovation system can be a powerful engine of progress, whereas a lack of interaction between institutions results in the slowing down of technological change, thereby diminishing its contribution to economic growth and welfare. The research object of this thesis is Australia’s national innovation system and the state of R&D in Australia. In order to establish an overall picture of the situation and to be able to make recommendations for future development, the general level of R&D activity and the main performers and funders of R&D within the system are analyzed. The framework policies supporting R&D and prevalent dynamics between different actors and sectors are of specific interest of the research. The findings reveal that the Australian culture is not a culture of research and innovation and that the main challenge is building a coherent system with strong domestic and international linkages.

Safety Culture and Maritime Personnel’s Safety Attitudes: Interview Report

”METKU –projektissa” (Merenkulun turvallisuuskulttuurin kehittäminen) tutkitaan kansainvälisen turvallisuusjohtamiskoodin (ISM-koodin) vaikutuksia merenkulun turvallisuuteen ja etsitään kehittämiskohteita merenkulun turvallisuusjohtamisen parantamiseksi. Tämä haastatteluraportti on laadittu METKU –projektin yhteistyössä työpakettien 1 ja 2 kesken. Tähän raporttiin haastateltiin yhteensä 94 merenkulun ammattilaista. Suurimman osan haastateltavista muodostivat aktiiviset merenkulkijat: miehistön jäsenet, päällystö ja alusten päälliköt. Haastattelukohteena oli seitsemän suomalaista varustamoa. Haastatteluissa kerättiin merenkulkijoiden kokemuksia ja mielipiteitä ISM-koodin vaikutuksesta heidän käytännön työhönsä. Suomalaiset merenkulkijat uskovat, että tänä päivänä varustamoiden johtajat ovat hyvin sitoutuneita turvallisuuteen. Myös miehistön asenteet turvallisuuteen ovat ISM-koodin käytön myötä parantuneet. Haasteltavien yhteinen huoli kohdistui jatkuvan parantamisen toimivuuteen. Kaikki haastatellut ryhmät olivat samaa mieltä siitä, että poikkeamien raportointi ei ISMkoodin vaatimuksesta huolimatta toimi kunnolla. ISM-koodin käyttöön otosta on ollut merenkululle selkeää hyötyä. Haastateltavat esittivät hyötyinä parantuneen yhteistyön ja tiedonkulun alusten ja varustamon välillä sekä sen, että merenkulun toiminnan laatu on parantunut. Monet haastateltavat korostivat, että ISM-koodin selkeät turvallisuusvastuut yhtiölle on ollut merkittävä hyöty. Itse ISM-koodiin merenkulkijoilla ei ollut juurikaan huomauttamista. Sen sijaan turvallisuusjohtamisen käytännön toteutuksessa nähtiin parantamisen varaa. ISMkoodin aiheuttamina ongelmina mainittiin mm. lisääntynyt byrokratia ja liian monimutkaiset ja yksityiskohtaiset turvallisuuskäsikirjat. Monet haastateltavat toivovat, että ISM-koodin käytännön soveltamiseen laadittaisiin ohjeita.

Characterizing Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 as a new probiotic combination: basic properties of JS and pilot in vivo assessment of the combination

Characterizing Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 as a new probiotic combination: basic properties of JS and pilot in vivo assessment of the combination Each candidate probiotic strain has to have the documentation for the proper identification with current molecular tools, for the biological properties, for the safety aspects and for the health benefits in human trials if the intention is to apply the strain as health promoting culture in the commercial applications. No generalization based on species properties of an existing probiotic are valid for any novel strain, as strain specific differences appear e.g. in the resistance to GI tract conditions and in health promoting benefits (Madsen, 2006). The strain evaluation based on individual strain specific probiotic characteristics is therefore the first key action for the selection of the new probiotic candidate. The ultimate goal in the selection of the probiotic strain is to provide adequate amounts of active, living cells for the application and to guarantee that the cells are physiologically strong enough to survive and be biologically active in the adverse environmental conditions in the product and in GI tract of the host. The in vivo intervention studies are expensive and time consuming; therefore it is not rational to test all the possible candidates in vivo. Thus, the proper in vitro studies are helping to eliminate strains which are unlikely to perform well in vivo. The aims of this study were to characterize the strains of Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705, both used for decades as cheese starter cultures, for their technological and possible probiotic functionality applied in a combined culture. The in vitro studies of Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS focused on the monitoring of the viability rates during the acid and bile treatments and on the safety aspects such as antibiotic susceptibility and adhesion. The studies with the combination of the strains JS and LC705 administered in fruit juices monitored the survival of the strains JS and LC705 during the GI transit and their effect on gut wellbeing properties measured as relief of constipation. In addition, safety parameters such as side effects and some peripheral immune parameters were assessed. Separately, the combination of P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 was evaluated from the technological point of view as a bioprotective culture in fermented foods and wheat bread applications. In this study, the role ofP. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS as a candidate probiotic culture alone and in a combination with L. rhamnosus LC705 was demonstrated. Both strains were transiently recovered in high numbers in fecal samples of healthy adults during the consumption period. The good survival through the GI transit was proven for both strains with a recovery rate from 70 to 80% for the JS strain and from 40 to 60% for the LC705 strain from the daily dose of 10 log10 CFU. The good survival was shown from the consumption of fruit juices which do not provide similar matrix protection for the cells as milk based products. The strain JS did not pose

The Methods of Possible Joint Treatment of Manure and Sewage Sludge in the Leningrad Region

The nutrient load to the Gulf of Finland has started to increase as a result of the strong economic recovery in agriculture and livestock farming in the Leningrad region. Also sludge produced from municipal wastewater treatment plant of the Leningrad region causes the great impact on the environment, but still the main options for its treatment is disposal on the sludge beds or Landfills. The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of possible joint treatment methods of manure form livestock and poultry enterprises and sewage sludge produced from municipal wastewater treatment plants in the Leningrad region. The study is based on published data. The most attention was put on the anaerobic digestion and incineration methods. The manure and sewage sludge generation for the whole Leningrad region and energy potential produced from their treatment were estimated. The calculations showed that total amount of sewage sludge generation is 1 348 000 t/a calculated on wet matter and manure generation is 3 445 000 t/a calculated on wet matter. The potential heat release from anaerobic digestion process and incineration process is 4 880 000 GJ/a and 5 950 000 GJ/a, respectively. Furthermore, the work gives the overview of the general Russian and Finnish legislation concerning manure and sewage sludge treatment. In the Gatchina district it was chosen the WWTP and livestock and poultry enterprises for evaluation of the centralized treatment plant implementation based on anaerobic digestion and incineration methods. The electricity and heat power of plant based on biogas combustion process is 4.3 MW and 7.8 MW, respectively. The electricity and heat power of plant based on manure and sewage sludge incineration process is 3.0 MW and 6.1 MW, respectively.

Finnair’s “New Silk Road” in the New Millennium: An Analysis of the Construction of Asia and of the Company

During the past century, an increasingly diverse world provided us with opportunities for intercultural communication; especially the growth of commerce at all levels from domestic to international has made the combination of the theories of intercultural communication and international business necessary. As one of the main beneficiaries in international business in recent years, companies in airline industries have developed their international market. For instance, Finnair has developed its Asian strategy which responds to the increasing market demand for flights from Europe to Asia in the new millennium. Therefore, the company manages marketing communication in a global environment and becomes a suitable case for studying the theories of intercultural communication in the context of international marketing. Finnair implemented a large number of international advertisements to promote its Asian routes, where Asia has been constructed as a number of exotic destinations. Meanwhile, the company itself as a provider of these destinations has also been constructed contrastively. Thus, this thesis aims at research how Finnair constructs Asia and the company itself in the new millennium, and how these constructions compare with the theories of intercultural communication. This research applied the theories of international marketing, intercultural communication and culture. In order to analyze the collected corpora as Finnair’s international advertisements and its annual reports in the new millennium, the methods of content analysis and discourse analysis have been used in this research. As a result, Finnair has purposefully applied the essentialist approach to intercultural communication and constructed Asia as an exotic “Other” due to the company’s market orientation. Meanwhile, Finnair has also constructed the company itself two identities based on the same approach: as an international airline provider between Europe and Asia, as well as a part of Finnish society. The combination of intercultural communication and international marketing theories, together with the combination of the methods of content analysis and discourse analysis ensure the originality of this paper.

The cultural dimension in focus : promoting awareness of diversity and respect for difference in a Finland-Swedish EFL classroom

This study addresses the role of EFL education, its potential and shortcomings, and the challenges the future of EFL education will bring. It is argued that new societal demands and the limited time we have at our disposal in the classroom make it necessary to rethink goals and content and move away from the transmissionof limited sets of facts and information to helping students develop awareness and competences that can be applied in many different situations, also in a perspective of lifelong learning. The overall aim of the current study is to problematize and increase understanding of the implementation of cultural aspects in the language classroom by addressing the interrelated what, why and how of the cultural dimension within EFL education. This has been conducted by means of theoretical explorations into the area, alongside an attempt at promoting intercultural competence (IC) in a more systematic and insightful manner within my own educational praxis. The focus of the intercultural work in the classroom was on the promotion of awareness of difference and diversity, as well as respect for such difference through the ability to decenter from cultural norms and behavior that previously have been taken for granted. These are two elements that have been suggested as fundamental for other work with IC in the classroom and for the realization of important aspects of the underlying values of basic education. In the context of this study, IC comprises several interconnected components supportingeach other in a variety of ways, with the further aim being interaction with and respect for difference in general, not only concerning e.g. representatives ofcertain English-speaking communities. The methodology was informed by action research, with myself in the role of the teacher-researcher or the reflective practitioner. For the purpose of the project I was authorized to take on the EFL education for the three years of upper comprehensive school of one random class of students originally assigned to one of the language teachers of the selected Finland-Swedish school. Thus, the class of 17 students was not specifically chosen for the project, and the aims and contents chosen for the development project were placed within the framework of the ordinary curriculum. By exploring the students¿ insights concerning different English-speaking cultural groups, mainly through a set of questionnaires, it was possible to outline the work with the cultural dimension in the classroom for the following three years. Work progress was evaluated at specific stages, and the final project evaluations were conducted through individual student interviews in grade 9. The interviews were focused on possible development of students¿ insights concerning different aspects of the cultural dimension. In particular this concerned awareness of difference and diversity, including modification of stereotypes, as well as the ability to decenterin order to be better able to respect such difference. I also explored students¿ awareness and views of the activities and approaches used in class, as well asaffordances both inside and outside the EFL classroom in relation to these intended insights. A further focus area was the perceived relevance to students of different aspects of the cultural dimension. The frameworks and approaches adopted for the work in the classroom all have in common that they are based on a constructivist framework, where knowledge is constructed and reconstructed through interaction with one¿s social and cultural environment, including interaction with others. Reflective processes precede or are simultaneous with the learning of basic factual knowledge. This entails a view of learning as a progression from simple to more complex models rather than as a progression from facts to understanding and analysis. Here, the development of intercultural competence is seen asa cyclical process, or along a spiral curriculum, from simple to more complex levels through a combination of cognitive, affective and behavioral elements within a framework of experiential learning. This project has shown one possible wayforward concerning the development of intercultural competence within EFL education through a more systematic and comprehensive approach regarding linguistic and cultural aspects. The evaluation of the educational process explored in the study suggests the possibilities for work with the promotion of awareness of difference and diversity concerning some specific context that, based on students¿ prior knowledge and preconceptions, would benefit from further work. In this case, the specific context primarily concerned different aspects of both cultural and linguistic conditions in the UK. It is also suggested that many students developed the ability to decenter, described in the study as integral to being able to respect otherness. What still remains to be explored are more individualized approaches considering students¿ different levels of departure. Further work alsoneeds to be put into how to apply insights gained in these specific situations to more general contexts. It is also necessary to explore the use of the suggested approaches in a wider range of different contexts.