Horizontal Grid Size Selection and its Influence on Mesoscale Model Simulations

The use of two-dimensional spectral analysis applied to terrain heights in order to determine characteristic terrain spatial scales and its subsequent use for the objective definition of an adequate grid size required to resolve terrain forcing are presented in this paper. In order to illustrate the influence of grid size, atmospheric flow in a complex terrain area of the Spanish east coast is simulated by the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) mesoscale numerical model using different horizontal grid resolutions. In this area, a grid size of 2 km is required to account for 95% of terrain variance. Comparison among results of the different simulations shows that, although the main wind behavior does not change dramatically, some small-scale features appear when using a resolution of 2 km or finer. Horizontal flow pattern differences are significant both in the nighttime, when terrain forcing is more relevant, and in the daytime, when thermal forcing is dominant. Vertical structures also are investigated, and results show that vertical advection is influenced highly by the horizontal grid size during the daytime period. The turbulent kinetic energy and potential temperature vertical cross sections show substantial differences in the structure of the planetary boundary layer for each model configuration

The Art & Science of Learning Design

We live in an era defined by a wealth of open and readily available information, and the accelerated evolution of social, mobile and creative technologies. The provision of knowledge, once a primary role of educators, is now devolved to an immense web of free and readily accessible sources. Consequently, educators need to redefine their role not just ¿from sage on the stage to guide on the side¿ but, as more and more voices insist, as ¿designers for learning¿.The call for such a repositioning of educators is heard from leaders in the field of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and resonates well with the growing culture of design-based research in Education. However, it is still struggling to find a foothold in educational practice. We contend that the root causes of this discrepancy are the lack of articulation of design practices and methods, along with a shortage of tools and representations to support such practices, a lack of a culture of teacher-as-designer among practitioners, and insufficient theoretical development.The Art and Science of Learning Design (ASLD) explores the frameworks, methods, and tools available for teachers, technologists and researchers interested in designing for learning Learning Design theories arising from findings of research are explored, drawing upon research and practitioner experiences. It then surveys current trends in the practices, methods, and methodologies of Learning Design. Highlighting the translation of theory into practice, this book showcases some of the latest tools that support the learning design process itself.

A Survey and Classification of Software Testing Tools

Software testing is one of the essential parts in software engineering process. The objective of the study was to describe software testing tools and the corresponding use. The thesis contains examples of software testing tools usage. The study was conducted as a literature study, with focus on current software testing practices and quality assurance standards. In the paper a tool classifier was employed, and testing tools presented in study were classified according to it. We found that it is difficult to distinguish current available tools by certain testing activities as many of them contain functionality that exceeds scopes of a single testing type.

Knowledge Management in China and in Finland- A cross country comparison

Nowadays, knowledge management (KM) is important for the success of individuals, organizations, and countries. While comparative study approach of knowledge management is a good way to enlarge peoples‘ understandings of KM, how these processes and practices are different across countries is an interesting research topic. The goal of this study is to conduct a cross-country KM comparison between China and Finland. More specifically, the current status of Chinese and Finnish KM will be studied, and then comparisons will be made in three dimensions: knowledge processes, knowledge management practices, and performance and perceptions of KM. A cross-country KM survey was conducted through a well-designed questionnaire. At the end of the study, current Chinese and Finnish KM findings are presented respectively, and a comparison of KM between the two countries is done. From the comparison, it was found that China and Finland have statistically significant differences in several knowledge processes and KM practices. Some detailed information from the comparison is also illustrated. This research partly filled the theoretical gap in understanding contemporary Chinese KM. The KM comparison between China and Finland provides useful information to KM researchers and practitioners.

Delivery, Outcome, and Costs of Orthodontic Care in Finnish Health Centres

The goal of the study was to analyse orthodontic care in Finnish health centres with special reference to the delivery, outcome and costs of treatment. Public orthodontic care was studied by two questionnaires sent to the chief dental officers of all health centres (n = 276) and to all specialist orthodontists in Finland (n = 146). The large regional variation was mentioned by the orthodontists as the most important factor requiring improvement. Orthodontic practices and outcome were studied in eight Finnish municipal health centres representing early and late timing of treatment. A random sample of 16- and 18-year-olds (n = 1109) living in these municipalities was examined for acceptability of occlusion with the Occlusal Morphology and Function Index (OMFI). In acceptability of occlusion, only minor differences were found between the two timing groups. The percentage of subjects with acceptable morphology was higher among untreated than among treated adolescents. The costs of orthodontic care were estimated among the adolescents with a treatment history. The mean appliance costs were higher in the late, and the mean visit costs higher in the early timing group. The cost-effectiveness of orthodontic services differed among the health centres, but was almost equal in the two timing groups. National guidelines and delegation of orthodontic tasks were suggested as the tools for reducing the variation among the health centres. In the eight health centres, considerable variation was found in acceptability of occlusion and in cost-effectiveness of services. The cost-effectiveness was not directly connected with the timing of treatment.

Etiology and epidemiology of Pythium root rot in hydroponic crops: current knowledge and perspectives

The etiology and epidemiology of Pythium root rot in hydroponically-grown crops are reviewed with emphasis on knowledge and concepts considered important for managing the disease in commercial greenhouses. Pythium root rot continually threatens the productivity of numerous kinds of crops in hydroponic systems around the world including cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper, spinach, lettuce, nasturtium, arugula, rose, and chrysanthemum. Principal causal agents include Pythium aphanidermatum, Pythium dissotocum, members of Pythium group F, and Pythium ultimum var. ultimum. Perspectives are given of sources of initial inoculum of Pythium spp. in hydroponic systems, of infection and colonization of roots by the pathogens, symptom development and inoculum production in host roots, and inoculum dispersal in nutrient solutions. Recent findings that a specific elicitor produced by P. aphanidermatum may trigger necrosis (browning) of the roots and the transition from biotrophic to necrotrophic infection are considered. Effects on root rot epidemics of host factors (disease susceptibility, phenological growth stage, root exudates and phenolic substances), the root environment (rooting media, concentrations of dissolved oxygen and phenolic substances in the nutrient solution, microbial communities and temperature) and human interferences (cropping practices and control measures) are reviewed. Recent findings on predisposition of roots to Pythium attack by environmental stress factors are highlighted. The commonly minor impact on epidemics of measures to disinfest nutrient solution as it recirculates outside the crop is contrasted with the impact of treatments that suppress Pythium in the roots and root zone of the crop. New discoveries that infection of roots by P. aphanidermatum markedly slows the increase in leaf area and whole-plant carbon gain without significant effect on the efficiency of photosynthesis per unit area of leaf are noted. The platform of knowledge and understanding of the etiology and epidemiology of root rot, and its effects on the physiology of the whole plant, are discussed in relation to new research directions and development of better practices to manage the disease in hydroponic crops. Focus is on methods and technologies for tracking Pythium and root rot, and on developing, integrating, and optimizing treatments to suppress the pathogen in the root zone and progress of root rot.

Innovations of ageing and societal transition : Dynamics of change of the socio-technical regime of ageing

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the dynamics of the socio-technical system in the field of ageing. The study stems from the notion that the ageing of the population as a powerful megatrend has wide societal effects, and is not just a matter for the social and health sector. The central topic in the study is change: not only the age structures and structures of society are changing, but also at the same time there is constant development, for instance, in technologies, infrastructures and cultural perceptions. The changing concept of innovation has widened the understanding of innovations related to ageing from medical and assistive technological innovations to service and social innovations, as well as systemic innovations at different levels, which means the intertwined and co-evolutionary change in technologies, structures, services and thinking models. By the same token, the perceptions of older people and old age are becoming more multi-faceted: old age is no longer equated to illnesses and decline, but visions of active ageing and a third age have emerged, which are framed by choices, opportunities, resources and consumption in later life. The research task in this study is to open up the processes and mechanisms of change in the field of ageing, which are studied as a complex, multi-level and interrelated socio-technical system. The question is about co-effective elements consisting of macro-level landscape changes, the existing socio-technical regime (the rule system, practices and structures) and bottom-up niche-innovations. Societal transitions do not account for the things inside the regime alone, or for the long-term changes in the landscape, nor for the radical innovations, but for the interplay between all these levels. The research problem is studied through five research articles, which offer micro-level case studies to macro-level phenomenon. Each of the articles focus on different aspects related to ageing and change, and utilise various datasets. The framework of this study leans on the studies of socio-technical systems and multi-level perspective on transitions mainly developed by Frank Geels. Essential factors in transition from one socio-technological regime to another are the co-evolutionary processes between landscape changes, regime level and experimental niches. Landscape level changes, like the ageing of the population, destabilise the regime in the forms of coming pressures. This destabilization offers windows for opportunity to niche-innovations outside or at fringe of the regime, which, through their breakthrough, accelerate the transition process. However, the change is not easy because of various kinds of lock-ins and inertia, which tend to maintain the stability of the regime. In this dissertation, a constructionist approach of society is applied leaning mainly to the ideas of Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration, with the dual nature of structures. The change is taking place in the interplay between actors and structures: structures shape people’s practices, but at the same time these practices constitute and reproduce social systems. Technology and other material aspects, as part of socio-technical systems, and the use of them, also take part in the structuration process. The findings of the study point out that co-evolutionary and co-effective relationships between economic, cultural, technological and institutional fields, as well as relationships between landscape changes, changes in the local and regime-level practices and rule systems, are a very complex and multi-level dynamic socio-technical phenomenon. At the landscape level of ageing, which creates the pressures and triggers to the regime change, there are three remarkable megatrends: demographic change, changes in the global economy and the development of technologies. These exert pressures to the socio-technical regime, which as a rule system is experiencing changes in the form of new markets and consumer habits, new ways of perceiving ageing, new models of organising the health care and other services and as new ways of considering innovation and innovativeness. There are also inner dynamics in the relationships between these aspects within the regime. These are interrelated and coconstructed: the prevailing perceptions of ageing and innovation, for instance, reflect the ageing policies, innovation policies, societal structures, organising models, technology and scientific discussion, and vice versa. Technology is part of the inner dynamics of the sociotechnological regime. Physical properties of the artefacts set limitations and opportunities with regard to their functions and uses. The use of and discussion about technology, contributes producing and reproducing the perceptions of old age. For societal transition, micro-level changes are also needed, in form of niche-innovations, for instance new services, organisational models or new technologies, Regimes, as stabilitystriven systems, tend to generate incremental innovations, but radically new innovations are generated in experimental niches protected from ‘normal’ market selection. The windows of opportunity for radical novelties may be opened if the circumstances are favourable for instance by tensions in the socio-technical regime affected by landscape level changes. This dissertation indicates that a change is taking place, firstly, in the dynamic interactionbetween levels, as a result of purposive action and governance to some extent. Breaking the inertia and using the window of opportunity for change and innovation offered by dynamics between levels, presupposes the actors’ special capabilities and actions such as dynamic capabilities and distance management. Secondly, the change is taking place the socio-technological negotiations inside the regime: interaction between technological and social, which is embodied in the use of technology. The use of technology includes small-level contextual scripts that also participate in forming broader societal scripts (for instance defining old age at the society level), which in their turn affect the formation of policies for innovation and ageing. Thirdly, the change is taking place by the means of active formation of the multi-actor innovation networks, where the role of distance management is crucial to facilitate the communication between actors coming from different backgrounds as well as to help the niches born outside the regime to utilise the window of opportunity offered by regime destabilisation. This dissertation has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study participates in the discussion of action-oriented view on transition by opening up of the socio-technological, coevolutionary processes of the multi-faceted phenomenon of ageing, which has lacked systematic analyses. The focus of this study, however, is not on the large-scale coordination and governance, but rather on opening up the incremental elements and structuration processes, which contribute to the transition little by little, and which can be affected to. This increases the practical importance of this dissertation, by highlighting the importance of very tiny, everyday elements in the change processes in the long run.

Experiences in using a structured method in finding and defining new innovations: the strategic options approach

Investment decision-making on far-reaching innovation ideas is one of the key challenges practitioners and academics face in the field of innovation management. However, the management practices and theories strongly rely on evaluation systems that do not fit in well with this setting. These systems and practices normally cannot capture the value of future opportunities under high uncertainty because they ignore the firm’s potential for growth and flexibility. Real options theory and options-based methods have been offered as a solution to facilitate decision-making on highly uncertain investment objects. Much of the uncertainty inherent in these investment objects is attributable to unknown future events. In this setting, real options theory and methods have faced some challenges. First, the theory and its applications have largely been limited to market-priced real assets. Second, the options perspective has not proved as useful as anticipated because the tools it offers are perceived to be too complicated for managerial use. Third, there are challenges related to the type of uncertainty existing real options methods can handle: they are primarily limited to parametric uncertainty. Nevertheless, the theory is considered promising in the context of far-reaching and strategically important innovation ideas. The objective of this dissertation is to clarify the potential of options-based methodology in the identification of innovation opportunities. The constructive research approach gives new insights into the development potential of real options theory under non-parametric and closeto- radical uncertainty. The distinction between real options and strategic options is presented as an explanans for the discovered limitations of the theory. The findings offer managers a new means of assessing future innovation ideas based on the frameworks constructed during the course of the study.

Efficient installed base information management and utilization in global after sales service business

This Master´s thesis explores how the a global industrial corporation’s after sales service department should arrange its installed base management practices in order to maintain and utilize the installed base information effectively. Case company has product-related records, such as product’s lifecycle information, service history information and information about product’s performance. Information is collected and organized often case by case, therefore the systematic and effective use of installed base information is difficult also the overview of installed base is missing. The goal of the thesis study was to find out how the case company can improve the installed base maintenance and management practices and improve the installed base information availability and reliability. Installed base information management practices were first examined through the literature. The empirical research was conducted by the interviews and questionnaire survey, targeted to the case company’s service department. The research purpose was to find out the challenges related to case company´s service department’s information management practices. The study also identified the installed base information needs and improvement potential in the availability of information. Based on the empirical research findings, recommendations for improve installed base management practices and information availability were created. Grounding of the recommendations, the case company is suggested the following proposals for action: Service report development, improving the change management process, ensuring the quality of the product documentation in early stages of product life cycle and decision to improve installed base management practices.

Impersonal trust within the organization: what, how and why?

It has been shown in organizational settings that trust is a crucial factor in different kinds of outcomes, and consequently, building employee trust in the employer is a goal for all kinds of organizations. Although it is recognized that trust in organizations operates on multiple levels, at present there is no clear consensus on the concept of trust within the organization. One can have trust in particular people (i.e. interpersonal trust) or in organized systems (i.e. impersonal trust). Until recently organizational trust has been treated mainly as an interpersonal phenomenon. However, the interpersonal approach is limited. Scholars studying organizational trust have thus far focused only on specific dimensions of impersonal trust, and none have taken a comprehensive approach. The first objective in this study was to develop a construct and a scale encompassing the impersonal element of organizational trust. The second objective was to examine the effects of various HRM practices on the impersonal dimensions of organizational trust. Moreover, although the “black box” model of HRM is widely studied, there have been only a few attempts to unlock the box. Previous studies on the HRM-performance link refer to trust, and this work contributes to the literature in considering trust an impersonal issue in the relationship between HRM, trust, and performance. The third objective was thus to clarify the role of impersonal trust in the relationship between HRM and performance. The study is divided into two parts comprising the Introduction and four separate publications. Each publication addresses a distinct sub-question, whereas the Introduction discusses the overall results in the light of the individual sub-questions. The study makes two major contributions to the research on trust. Firstly, it offers a framework describing the construct of impersonal trust, which to date has not been clearly articulated in the research on organizational trust. Secondly, a comprehensive, psychometrically sound, operationally valid scale for measuring impersonal trust was developed. In addition, the study makes an empirical contribution to the research on strategic HRM. First, it shows that HRM practices affect impersonal trust and the contribution is to consider the HRM-trust link in terms of impersonal organizational trust. It is shown that each of the six HRM practices in focus is connected to impersonal trust. A further contribution lies in unlocking the black box. The study explores the impersonal element of organizational trust and its mediating role between HRM practices and performance. The result is the identification of the path by which HRM contributes to performance through the mediator of impersonal trust. It is shown that the effect on performance of HRM designed specifically to enhance employees’ impersonal trust in the organization is positive.

Design and development of the architecture of an agricultural mobile robot

Parameters such as tolerance, scale and agility utilized in data sampling for using in Precision Agriculture required an expressive number of researches and development of techniques and instruments for automation. It is highlighted the employment of methodologies in remote sensing used in coupled to a Geographic Information System (GIS), adapted or developed for agricultural use. Aiming this, the application of Agricultural Mobile Robots is a strong tendency, mainly in the European Union, the USA and Japan. In Brazil, researches are necessary for the development of robotics platforms, serving as a basis for semi-autonomous and autonomous navigation systems. The aim of this work is to describe the project of an experimental platform for data acquisition in field for the study of the spatial variability and development of agricultural robotics technologies to operate in agricultural environments. The proposal is based on a systematization of scientific work to choose the design parameters utilized for the construction of the model. The kinematic study of the mechanical structure was made by the virtual prototyping process, based on modeling and simulating of the tension applied in frame, using the.

Finnish buyers’ perceptions of Indian textile and clothing suppliers: Country of origin in focus

Choosing the right supplier is crucial for long-term business prospects and profitability. Thus organizational buyers are naturally very interested in how they can select the right supplier for their needs. Likewise, suppliers are interested in knowing how their customers make purchasing decisions in order to effectively sell and market to them. From the point of view of the textile and clothing (T&C) industry, regulatory changes and increasing low-cost and globalization pressures have led to the rise of low-cost production locations India and China as the world’s largest T&C producers. This thesis will examine T&C trade between Finland and India specifically in the context of non-industrial T&C products. Its main research problem asks: what perceptions do Finnish T&C industry buyers hold of India and Indian suppliers? B2B buyers use various supplier selection models and criteria in making their purchase decisions. A significant amount of research has been done into supplier selection practices, and in the context of international trade, country of origin (COO) perceptions specifically have garnered much attention. This thesis uses a mixed methods approach (online questionnaire and in-depth interviews) to evaluate Finnish T&C buyers’ supplier selection criteria, COO perceptions of India and experiences of Indian suppliers. It was found that the most important supplier selection criteria used by Finnish T&C buyers are quality, reliability and cost. COO perceptions were not found to be influential in purchasing process. Indian T&C suppliers’ strengths were found to be low cost, flexibility and a history of traditional T&C expertise. Their weaknesses include product quality and unreliable delivery times. Overall, the main challenges that need to be overcome by Indian T&C companies are logistical difficulties and the cost vs. quality trade-off. Despite positive perceptions of India for cost, the overall value offered by Indian T&C products was perceived to be low due to poor quality. Unreliable delivery time experiences also affected buyer’s reliability perceptions of Indian suppliers. The main limiting factors of this thesis relate to the small sample size used in the research. This limits the generalizability of results and the ability to evaluate the reliability and validity of some of the research instruments.

The third transformation of Japan: An institutional narrative on agglomeration economies in abenomics

Objective of the study The aim of this study is to understand the institutional implications in Abenomics in a spatial context, the contemporary economic reform taking place in Japan, which is to finally end over two decades of economic malaise. For theoretical perspective of choice, this study explores a synthesis of institutionalism as the main approach, complemented by economies of agglomeration in spatial economics, or New Economic Geography (NEG). The outcomes include a narrative with implications for future research, as well as possible future implications for the economy of Japan, itself. The narrative seeks to depict the dialogue between public discourse and governmental communication in order to create a picture of how this phenomenon is being socially constructed. This is done by studying the official communications by the Cabinet along with public media commentary on respective topics. The reform is studied with reference to historical socio-cultural, economic evolution of Japan, which in turn, is explored through a literature review. This is to assess the unique institutional characteristics of Japan pertinent to reform. Research method This is a social and exploratory qualitative study – an institutional narrative case study. The methodological approach was kept practical: in addition to literature review, a narrative, thematic content analysis with structural emphasis was used to construct the contemporary narrative based on the Cabinet communication. This was combined with practical analytic tools borrowed from critical discourse analysis, which were utilized to assess the implicit intertextual agenda within sources. Findings What appears to characterize the discourse is status quo bias that comes in multiple forms. The bias is also coded in the institutions surrounding the reform, wherein stakeholders have vested interests in protecting the current state of affairs. This correlates with uncertainty avoidance characteristic to Japan. Japan heeds the international criticism to deregulate on a rhetorical level, but consistent with history, the Cabinet solutions appear increasingly bureaucratic. Hence, the imposed western information-age paradigm of liberal cluster agglomeration seems ill-suited to Japan which lacks risk takers and a felicitous entrepreneur culture. The Japanese, however, possess vast innovative potential ascribed to some institutional practices and traits, but restrained by others. The derived conclusion is to study the successful intrapreneur cases in Japanese institutional setting as a potential benchmark for Japan specific cluster agglomeration, and a solution to its structural problems impeding growth.

Building Successful, Open Repository Software Ecosystems: Technology and Community

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

Strategic narratives and competitive advantage : do winners speak differently?

Concepts, models, or theories that end up shaping practices, whether those practices fall in the domains of science, technology, social movements, or business, always emerge through a change in language use. First, communities begin to talk differently, incorporating new vocabularies (Rorty, 1989), in their narratives. Whether the community’s new narratives respond to perceived anomalies or failures of the existing ones (Kuhn, 1962) or actually reveal inadequacies by addressing previously unrecognized practices (Fleck, 1979; Rorty, 1989) is less important here than the very phenomena that they introduce differences. Then, if the new language proves to be useful, for example, because it helps the community solve a problem or create a possibility that existing narratives do not, the new narrative will begin circulating more broadly throughout the community. If other communities learn of the usefulness of these new narratives, and find them sufficiently persuasive, they may be compelled to test, modify, and eventually adopt them. Of primary importance is the idea that a new concept or narrative perceived as useful is more likely to be adopted. We can expect that business concepts emerge through a similar pattern. Concepts such as “competitive advantage,” “disruption,” and the “resource based view,” now broadly known and accepted, were each at some point first introduced by a community. This community experimented with the concepts they introduced and found them useful. The concept “competitive advantage,” for example, helped researchers better explain why some firm’s outperformed others and helped practitioners more clearly understand what choices to make to improve the profit and growth prospects of their firms. The benefits of using these terms compelled other communities to consider, apply, and eventually adopt them as well. Were these terms not viewed as useful, they would not likely have been adopted. This thesis attempts to observe and anticipate new business concepts that may be emerging. It does so by seeking to observe a community of business practitioners that are using different language and appear to be more successful than a similar community of practitioners that are have not yet begun using this different language as extensively. It argues that if the community that is adopting new types of narratives is perceived as being more successful, their success will attract the attention of other communities who may then seek to adopt the same narratives. Specifically, this thesis compares the narratives used by a set of firms that are considered to be performing well (called Winners) with those of set of less-successful peers (called Losers). It does so with the aim of addressing two questions: - How do the strategic narratives that circulate within “winning” companies and their leaders differ from those circulating within “losing” companies and their leaders? - Given the answer to the first question: what new business strategy concepts are likely to emerge in the business community at large? I expected to observe “winning” companies shifting their language, abandoning an older set of narratives for newer ones. However the analysis indicates a more interesting dynamic: “winning” companies adopt the same core narratives as their “losing” peers with equal frequency yet they go beyond these. Both “winners” and “losers” seem to pursue economies of scale, customer captivity, best practices, and securing preferential access to resources with similar vigor. But “winners” seem to go further, applying three additional narratives in their pursuits of competitive advantage. They speak of coordinating what is uncoordinated, adopting what this thesis calls “exchanging the role of guest for that of host,” and “forcing a two-front battle” more frequently than their “loser” peers. Since these “winning” companies are likely perceived as being more successful, the unique narratives they use are more likely to be emulated and adopted. Understanding in what ways winners speak differently, therefore, gives us a glimpse into the possible future evolution of business concepts.