Very preterm infants in Finland - Use of health care services and economic consequences during the first five years of life

The aim of this thesis was to study the health, the hospitalisations, and the use of communal health care services in very preterm children during the first five years of life. In addition, the effect of very preterm birth and prematurity-related morbidities on the costs of hospitalisations, other health care services and the cost per quality adjusted life years (QALY) were studied. This population-based study included all very preterm children (gestational age (GA) <32 weeks or birth weight<1501g, N=2 064) and full-term controls (GA 37+0−41+6, N=200 609) born in Finland during 2000-2003. The data sources included national register data, costing data from the participating hospitals and parental questionnaires. This study showed that most very preterm infants born in Finland survived without prematurity-related morbidities diagnosed during the first years of life. They required relatively little hospital care after the initial discharge, which accounted for the vast majority of the total four-year hospitalisation costs. However, a minority of children born very preterm later developing morbidities had a long initial length of stay and more re-admissions and outpatient visits during the five-year follow-up period. In particular, the number and costs of non-emergency outpatient visits were considerable in individuals with prematurity-related morbidities. The need and costs of hospitalisations decreased clearly with each follow-up year, even in individuals with morbidities. The health-care related costs during the fifth year of life in children born very preterm without prematurity-related morbidities were close to the costs in infants born healthy at term. The cost per QALY of 19,245 € was at an acceptable level already by four years of age in the very preterm population as a whole. Prematurity-related later morbidities and decreasing GA increased the costs per QALY. As the initial hospital stay accounted for a great majority of the total four-year costs, and the costs of hospitalisation decreased with each follow-up year, the cost per QALY is likely to decrease with age. In conclusion, the majority of costs arising after the initial hospitalisation were associated with morbidities related to prematurity. Therefore offering high-quality neonatal care to prevent later morbidities in very preterm survivors has a long-term impact on the cost per QALY. In addition, this study indicates that when estimating the costs of prematurity after the first year of life, one should calculate not only the hospitalisation costs, but also other costs for social welfare services, primary care, and therapies, as these exceed the hospitalisation costs in very preterm infants during the fifth year of life.

Project and customer profitability analysis: an empirical case study

The objective of this case study is to provide a Finnish solution provider company an objective, in-depth analysis of their project based business and especially of project estimation accuracy. A project and customer profitability analysis is conducted as a complementary addition to describe profitability of the Case Company’s core division. The theoretical framework is constructed on project profitability and customer profitability analysis. Project profitability is approached starting from managing projects, continuing to project pricing process and concluding to project success. The empirical part of this study describes the Case Company’s project portfolio, and by means of quantitative analysis, the study describes how the characteristics of a project impact the project’s profitability. The findings indicate that it really makes a difference in project portfolio’s estimated and actual profitability when methods of installation and technical specifications are scrutinized. Implications on profitability are gathered into a risk assessment tool proposal.

Utilization of a Time Domain Simulator in the Technical and Economic Analysis of a Wind Turbine Electric Drive Train

The amount of installed wind power has been growing exponentially during the past ten years. As wind turbines have become a significant source of electrical energy, the interactions between the turbines and the electric power network need to be studied more thoroughly than before. Especially, the behavior of the turbines in fault situations is of prime importance; simply disconnecting all wind turbines from the network during a voltage drop is no longer acceptable, since this would contribute to a total network collapse. These requirements have been a contributor to the increased role of simulations in the study and design of the electric drive train of a wind turbine. When planning a wind power investment, the selection of the site and the turbine are crucial for the economic feasibility of the installation. Economic feasibility, on the other hand, is the factor that determines whether or not investment in wind power will continue, contributing to green electricity production and reduction of emissions. In the selection of the installation site and the turbine (siting and site matching), the properties of the electric drive train of the planned turbine have so far been generally not been taken into account. Additionally, although the loss minimization of some of the individual components of the drive train has been studied, the drive train as a whole has received less attention. Furthermore, as a wind turbine will typically operate at a power level lower than the nominal most of the time, efficiency analysis in the nominal operating point is not sufficient. This doctoral dissertation attempts to combine the two aforementioned areas of interest by studying the applicability of time domain simulations in the analysis of the economicfeasibility of a wind turbine. The utilization of a general-purpose time domain simulator, otherwise applied to the study of network interactions and control systems, in the economic analysis of the wind energy conversion system is studied. The main benefits of the simulation-based method over traditional methods based on analytic calculation of losses include the ability to reuse and recombine existing models, the ability to analyze interactions between the components and subsystems in the electric drive train (something which is impossible when considering different subsystems as independent blocks, as is commonly done in theanalytical calculation of efficiencies), the ability to analyze in a rather straightforward manner the effect of selections other than physical components, for example control algorithms, and the ability to verify assumptions of the effects of a particular design change on the efficiency of the whole system. Based on the work, it can be concluded that differences between two configurations can be seen in the economic performance with only minor modifications to the simulation models used in the network interaction and control method study. This eliminates the need ofdeveloping analytic expressions for losses and enables the study of the system as a whole instead of modeling it as series connection of independent blocks with no lossinterdependencies. Three example cases (site matching, component selection, control principle selection) are provided to illustrate the usage of the approach and analyze its performance.

Convergence and divergence in global economy and social development : global perspectives on the contents of economic and soical development policy and its effects on rich and poor countries

The study of convergence and divergence in global economy and social development utilises comparative indicators to investigate the contents of economic and social development policy and their effects on the global samples that represent the rich industrial, semi-industrial and the poor developing nations. The study searchesfor answers to questions such as "what are the objectives of economic growth policies in globalisation under the imperatives of convergence and divergence, and how do these affect human well-being in consideration to the objectives of social policy in various nations?" The empirical verification of data utilises the concepts of the `logic of industrialism´ for comparative analysis that focuses mainly on identifying the levels of well-being in world nations after the Second World War. The perspectives of convergence and divergence in global economy and social development critically examine the stages of early development processes in global economy, distinguish the differences between economy and social development, illustrate the contents of economic and social development policies, their effects on rich and poor countries, and the nature of convergence and divergence in propelling economic growth and unequal social development in world nations. The measurement of convergence and divergence in global economy and social development utilised both economic and social data that were combined into an index that measures the precise levels of the effects of economic and social development policies on human well-being in the rich and poor nations. The task of finding policy solutions to resolve the controversies are reviewed through empirical investigations and the analyses of trends indicated within economic and social indicators and data. These revealed how the adoption of social policy measures in translating the gains from economic growth, towards promoting education, public health, and equity, generate social progress and longer life expectancy, higher economic growth, and sustain more stable macro economy for the nations. Social policy is concerned with the translation of benefits from objectives of global economic growth policies, to objectives of social development policy in nation states. Social policy, therefore, represents an open door whereby benefits of economic growth policies are linked with the broader objectives of social development policy, thereby enhancing the possibility of extending benefits from economic growth to all human being in every nation.

Biopolttoaineiden saatavuus ja hankintalogistiikka Kaakkois-Suomessa

"Biopolttoaineiden saatavuus ja hankintalogistiikka Kaakkois-Suomessa" -hankkeen tavoitteena oli tuottaa ajantasaista ja paikkaan sidottua tietoa energiatuotantoon soveltuvan biomassan saatavuudesta ja biomassapotentiaalin tehokkaan käytön mahdollistavasta logistiikkajärjestelmästä Kaakkois-Suomen alueella. Tarkastelussa mukana olleet polttoaineet eli metsä- ja peltobiomassat sekä turve ovat ns. paikallisia polttoaineita, joiden hankinta tapahtuu maaseudulta, ensisijaisesti mahdollisimman läheltä kutakin käyttöpaikkaa. Hankkeessa tutkittiin mahdollisuuksia lisätä paikallista polttoaineenhankintaa, kuljetusmääriä ja -kalustoa järkevästi 2010-luvulla toteutettavan energiapolitiikan myötä kasvavan polttoainetarpeen puitteissa. Rautatie- ja vesitiekuljetusten hyödyntämistä logistiikassa tutkittiin kahden tapaustutkimuksen avulla. Tutkittavia asioita olivat myös tuotantoketjujen lisääntyvä työvoimatarve sekä maantieteellisesti laajenevan raaka-ainehankinnan kasvihuonekaasupäästöistä aiheutuvat ympäristövaikutukset. Tärkeimpinä tuloksina saatiin tietoa siitä, kuinka laajalle alueelle biopolttoaineiden hankinta eri asiantilojen vallitessa Kaakkois-Suomen alueella ulottuu, ja millaisia hankintalogistiikkaan liittyviä ratkaisuja voidaan ottaa käyttöön alueellisen polttoainepulan muodostuessa. Logistiikan kannalta Kaakkois-Suomen etuja ovat monipuoliset kuljetusverkostot, mutta toisaalta varsinkin hyvät yhteydet ulkomaille rajoittavat paikallisesti investointiaktiivisuutta bioenergian tuotanto- ja käsittelykaluston osalta. Lisäksi maaseudun yrittäjien keskuudessa epävarmuutta aiheuttavat heilahtelevat raakapuumarkkinat ja muuttuva energiatukipolitiikka.

Economics of combined power plant and pyrolysis bio-oil production

There are reasons of necessity in bio-fuel use and bio-energy fast development. It includes the material about bio-energy technologies, applications and methods. There are basic thermodynamics and economic theories. The economic calculation presents the comparison between two combinations. There are boiler plant below 20 MW in combination with ablative pyrolysis plant for bio-oil production and CHP plant below 100 MW in combination with the RTP pyrolysis bio-oil production technology. It provides a material about wood chips and bio-oil characteristics and explains it nature, presents the situation around the bio-fuel market or bio-fuel trade. There is a description of pyrolysis technologies such as ablative and RTP. The liquid product of the pyrolysis processes is bio-oil. The bio-oil could be different even of the same production process, because of the raw material nature and characteristics. The calculation shows advantages and weaknesses of combinations and obtained a proof of suppositions. The next thing, proven by this work is the fact that to get more efficiency from energy project it is good possibility to built plants in combinations.

Mobiilitehdaskonseptin soveltaminen puutalotuotantoon

Tullit ja kuljetuskustannukset haittaavat suomalaisten puutuotteiden hintakilpailua Venäjällä, mikä on luonut tarpeen uudenlaisten toimintamallien kehittämiselle. Tutkimuksen hypoteesina on, että soveltamalla teorioita mobiilista tuotantojärjestelmästä puutalotuotantoon pystytään vastaamaan aluerakennustoiminnan ongelmiin ja saavuttamaan kustannusetuja. Tämän työn tavoitteena on antaa yritysjohdolle kuvaus siirrettävän talotehtaan tuotantokonseptista ja arvioida toiminnan kannattavuutta. Työn tulosten avulla pyritään vastaamaan kysymyksiin: millainen on siirrettävä puutalotehdas ja onko mobiilitehdaskonsepti puutalotuotannossa taloudellisesti kannattava. Tutkimusta tarkastellaan Venäjän liiketoiminta- ja Venäjän puurakentamiskontekstissa. Tutkimus on laadullinen tapaustutkimus, jossa käytettiin useiden menetelmien yhdistelmää. Tutkimusmenetelmät sisälsivät sekä teknisen suunnittelun että kannattavuuden arvioinnin menetelmiä. Työn tekninen osa perustui tehdassuunnittelun ja konseptin kehittämisen menetelmiin. Taloudellisessa tarkastelussa käytettiin tuloslaskelmaa sekä tuottoasteen ja takaisinmaksuajan menetelmiä. Eri tekijöiden vaikutusta kannattavuuteen arvioitiin herkkyysanalyysilla. Työssä esitellään mobiilin talotehtaan tehdassuunnitelma ja tuotantokonsepti sekä sivutaan logistista konseptia. Mobiiliin talotehtaaseen sovellettiin mobiilitehdaskonseptia ja verstastuotantomallia. Mobiili talotehdas koostuu kokoonpanolinjasta, jota täydennetään esivalmistusverstailla. Investoinnille laskettiin kannattavuutta kuvaavat tunnusluvut, joiden perusteella mobiilitehdas todettiin kannattamattomaksi ja riskialttiiksi. Kannattavuuden epävarmuutta analysoitiin herkkyysanalyysillä. Kannattavuuteen vaikuttavat merkittävästi muuttuvien kustannusten ja myyntihinnan muutokset. Työssä annetaan toimenpide-ehdotuksia siirrettävän talotuotannon konseptin kehittämiseen. Keskeiset jatkotutkimuskohteet liittyvät mobiilitehtaan elinkierron toimintojen ja osakonseptien kehittämiseen.

Economic Geographical Analysis of The Finnish Paper Industry

The purpose of this academic economic geographical dissertation is to study and describe how competitiveness in the Finnish paper industry has developed during 2001–2008. During these years, the Finnish paper industry has faced economically challenging times. This dissertation attempts to fill the existing gap between theoretical and empirical discussions concerning economic geographical issues in the paper industry. The main research questions are: How have the supply chain costs and margins developed during 2001–2008? How do sales prices, transportation, and fixed and variable costs correlate with gross margins in a spatial context? The research object for this case study is a typical large Finnish paper mill that exports over 90 % of its production. The economic longitudinal research data were obtained from the case mill’s controlled economic system and, correlation (R2) analysis was used as the main research method. The time series data cover monthly economic and manufacturing observations from the mill from 2001 to 2008. The study reveals the development of prices, costs and transportation in the case mill, and it shows how economic variables correlate with the paper mills’ gross margins in various markets in Europe. The research methods of economic geography offer perspectives that pay attention to the spatial (market) heterogeneity. This type of research has been quite scarce in the research tradition of Finnish economic geography and supply chain management. This case study gives new insight into the research tradition of Finnish economic geography and supply chain management and its applications. As a concrete empirical result, this dissertation states that the competitive advantages of the Finnish paper industry were significantly weakened during 2001–2008 by low paper prices, costly manufacturing and expensive transportation. Statistical analysis expose that, in several important markets, transport costs lower gross margins as much as decreasing paper prices, which was a new finding. Paper companies should continuously pay attention to lowering manufacturing and transporting costs to achieve more profitable economic performance. The location of a mill being far from markets clearly has an economic impact on paper manufacturing, as paper demand is decreasing and oversupply is pressuring paper prices down. Therefore, market and economic forecasting in the paper industry is advantageous at the country and product levels while simultaneously taking into account the economic geographically specific dimensions.

Rediscovering profitability in entrepreneurship : evidence from Finnish high-technology start-ups

Denna avhandling utmanar sambandet mellan tillväxt och lönsamhet. Lönsamhet, som borde vara företagens största prioritet har nästan totalt försvunnit från entreprenörskapsfältet. Istället har den blivit ersatt av en fokus på tillväxt och framförallt hög tillväxt. Den nuvarande allmänna normen verkar vara att tillväxt blint prioriteras över lönsamhet. Detta beror på det förvrängda sambandet mellan tillväxt och lönsamhet; antagandet att hög tillväxt förr eller senare kommer att leda till hög lönsamhet. Således ses tillväxt som ett mått på ett företags framgång och som ett mål värt att eftersträva. Det har blivit fokuset i allmän media och entreprenörskapsforskning, något beslutfattarna försöker stöda och uppmuntra, entreprenörerna vill uppnå och finansiärerna vill skapa. Allt detta, oftast på bekostnad av lönsamhet. Denna avhandling strävar efter att få en ändring på detta genom att utmana denna nuvarande norm. Avhandlingens empiriska del fokuserar sig på nya finska högteknologiföretag inom bio- och IT-branschen. Tillväxtfenomenet studeras i tre olika kontexter: forskningen (en analys på 118 artiklar i ledande entreprenörskaps och managementjournaler), praktiken (en finansiell analys på 1039 nya företag) och bland intressenternas perspektiv (23 intervjuer med entreprenörer, beslutsfattare, offentliga finansiärer och riskfinansiärer). Resultaten bekräftar en stark förvrängning av tillväxt och lönsamhet inom de tre studerade kontexterna. Den finansiella analysen bekräftar resultaten av senare forskning och visar att lönsamhet, istället för tillväxt, är förutsättningen för fortsatt lönsam tillväxt. Resultaten stämmer oberoende av företagens ålder. Det visas även att en ändring i strategisk position är osannolik och mycket svår att genomföra. Detta lyfter fram nödvändigheten för startade företag att fokusera sig på rätt saker genast från start; skapandet av en lönsam affärsmodell.

Solution Business Model for Energy Efficiency

This study examined solution business models and how they could be applied into energy efficiency business. The target of this study was to find out, what a functional solution business model applied to energy efficiency improvement projects is like. The term “functionality” was used to refer not only to the economic viability but to environmental and legal aspects and also to the implement of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and the ability to overcome the most important market barriers and risks. This thesis is based on a comprehensive literature study on solution business, business models and energy efficiency business. This literature review was used as a foundation to an energy efficiency solution business model scheme. The created scheme was tested in a case study which studied two different energy efficiency improvement projects, illustrated the functionality of the created business model and evaluated their potential as customer targets. Solution approach was found to be suitable for energy efficiency business. The most important characteristics of a good solution business model were identified to be the relationship between the supplier and customer, a proper network, knowledge on the customer’s process and supreme technological expertise. Thus the energy efficiency solution business was recognized to be particularly suitable for example for energy suppliers or technological equipment suppliers. Because the case study was not executed from a certain company’s point of view, the most important factors such as relationships and the availability of funding could not be evaluated. Although the energy efficiency business is recognized to be economically viable, the most important factors influencing the profitability and the success of energy efficiency solution business model were identified to be the proper risk management, the ability to overcome market barriers and the realization of CSFs.

Economic viability of retrofiting emitters in center pivot irrigation systems

Although several studies have been conducted to evaluate the uniformity of water application under center pivot irrigation systems, there are few studies concerning the economic perspective of such coefficient. The aim of this study is to present a methodology to accomplish an economic analysis as support for the decision-making to retrofit emitters in center pivot irrigation systems, and to attribute an economic meaning to the uniformity coefficient of water application taking into account the response function productivity to the amount of water applied and the sale price of the crops. In the hypothetic calculation example considering the variation of revenue of potato crop under center pivot irrigation system, it was verified that the area with uniformity coefficient of water application of 90% brought an income increase of BR$ 1,992.00, considering an area about 1,0 ha. Thus, it can be concluded that the methodology presented has met the objectives proposed in the study and made it possible to attribute an economical meaning to the coefficient of water uniformity application.

Technical and economic analysis of replacing artificial lighting system to induction of photoperiod effect in begonia's seedlings in greenhouse

The type of artificial light used for inducing photoperiod effect in begonia's seedlings at greenhouse has fundamental importance in the growth and development of these plants and directly reflects in the electrical energy consumption used in this production process. The objective of this research was to analyze the technical and economic feasibility of replacing the current technology of artificial lighting used by the producers (incandescent lamps), by the technology of discharge lamps with the purpose of inducing photoperiod in a greenhouse. The analysis results indicate that the discharge lamp of 32 W Tubular Fluorescent discharge lamp was the one that presented the lower peak demand and lower average energy consumption of 85.01% compared to incandescent filament lamp of 100 W that is the technology of bigger consumption and currently used by the producer.