Le relazioni Italo - Finlandesi nella documentazione del Ministero degli Affari Esteri italiano e nel "Memoriale" di Attilio Tamaro (1929-1935)

My doctoral thesis may be placed within the branch of studies on the history of international relations and it examines the development of Italian-Finnish bilateral relations during the mandate of Attilio Tamaro, the plenipotentiary Minister (1929-1935). The research is based exclusively on Italian sources, on the private documentation of the diplomat and on his “Memoriale”, which have been critically analysed, using theories, such as those on the policies of power, on the soft power and on foreign trade. This research aims to draw attention to the bilateral dynamics, and to bridge the gaps of the specific historiography, paying attention to the relations between the Lapua movement and Italian fascism, and to the role that the Minister Tamaro played. The 1929-1935 period is the most intense one in the bilateral relations, and it expands those already begun in the Twenties, thereby replacing the idea of a poor and backward Italy with that of a modern, strong and orderly country that fascism had been capable of building. The need for Finland to solve its internal problems led to the development of the lappist movement in the first few months of 1930 which, with its anticommunism and anti-parliamentarism, led conservative Finland to look towards the Italian political model with particular fondness. The Italian diplomacy, at least during the Grandi ministry, distinguished itself for its moderate involvement in its connections with lappism. After 1932, with the spread of universal fascism, opposing national-socialism, the relationships between fascism and the lappist movement intensified and led the IKL (Patriotic People’s Movement) into the Italian sphere. Actually, especially after 1933, what was the most effective instrument of Tamaro’s political action was culture: the Italian Readership, the cultural associations, and the use of the cinematic arts and art were the channels for the expansion of a cultural imperialism which abounded in political propaganda. With the War of Ethiopia in 1935, the good Italian-Finnish relationships partly cooled down because Italy appeared to be a dangerous nation for the stability of the security system of Finland. The research results are stimulating: they bring to light the ambitions of great power of monarchist-fascist Italy; they show the importance of the Italian example in inspiring the conservative Finnish right-wing; they allow one to hypothesize that there was at least an indirect influence of the Italian model on the development of Finnish events. The aspiration of our research is to stimulate further studies on diplomatic, military and trade relations between Italy and the Scandinavian countries from 1919 to today.

Vuokrataloyhtiö muuttuvassa toimintaympäristössä

Suurin osa Suomen vuokrataloyhtiöistä perustettiin 60- ja 70-luvuilla. Tuolloin oli selkeä kuva asuntojen tarpeesta, sijainneista, koosta ja varustetasosta. Asuntotuotantoon kohdistetut rahoitusmuodot koettiin onnistuneiksi ja toimiviksi. Toimintaympäristön muutokset ovat tänään huomattavasti nopeampia kuin tutkimuksen kohteena olevan yhtiön perustamisen aikaan, yli neljäkymmentä vuotta sitten. Vuokrataloyhtiön on pystyttävä varautumaan yllättäviin muutoksiin ja pyrkiä tunnistamaan muuttuvat elementit. Tämä diplomityö pyrkii selvittämään, mitä vaihtoehtoisia tulevaisuudenkuvia on olemassa. Työ perustuu samalla tulevaisuudentutkimuksen kirjallisuusteoriaan ja sen peruslähtökohtiin. Empiirinen osuus perustuu tutkittavan vuokrataloyhtiön historiaan, nykyisyyteen ja tulevaisuuteen tehtyjen ratkaisujen dokumentteihin. Vuokrataloyhtiön ympäristö on täynnä tunnistettavia ominaisuuksia, verkostoja ja rakenteellisia aukkoja. Ympäristöstä tulee osata poimia ne asiat, joiden perusteella eri skenaario- ja ennakointimenetelmät laaditaan. Ennakointi ei ole ennustamista. Skenaario - ja ennakointimenetelmien hyödyntäminen on avoin prosessi, joka sisältää tutkimuskysymyksiä, lähtökohtia, joita tarkennetaan prosessin edetessä. Vuokrataloyhtiön on osattava hyödyntää nämä menetelmät osana strategian suunnitteluaan, jotta se pärjää myös tulevaisuudessa muuttuvassa toimintaympäristössään.

Intellectual capital, knowledge management practices and firm performance

Researchers have widely recognised and accepted that firm performance is increasingly related to knowledge-based issues. Two separately developed literature streams, intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM), have been established as the key discussions related to knowledge-based competitive advantage of the firm. Intellectual capital has provided evidence on the strategic key intangible resources of the firm, which could be deployed to create competitive advantage. Knowledge management, in turn, has focused on the managerial processes and practices which can be used to leverage IC to create competitive advantage. Despite extensive literature on both issues, some notable research gaps remain to be closed. In effect, one major gap within the knowledge management research is the lack of understanding related to its influence on firm performance, while IC researchers have articulated a need to utilise more finegrained conceptual models to better understand the key strategic value-creating resources of the firm. In this dissertation, IC is regarded as the entire intellectual capacity, knowledge and competences of the firm that can be leveraged to achieve sustained competitive advantage. KM practices are defined as organisational and managerial activities that enable the firm to leverage its IC to create value. The objective of this dissertation is to answer the research question: “What is the relationship between intellectual capital, knowledge management practices and firm performance?” Five publications have addressed the research question using different approaches. The first two publications were systematic literature reviews of the extant empirical IC and KM research, which established the current state of understanding regarding the relationship between IC, KM practices and firm performance. Publications III and IV were empirical research articles that assessed the developed conceptual model related to IC, KM practices and firm performance. Finally, Publication V was among the first research papers to merge IC and KM disciplines in order to find out which configurations could yield organisational benefits in terms of innovation and market performance outcomes.

Interactions of decision mechanisms in an entrepreneurial firm’s journey to become a major player in its industry

This study discusses the interactions of different decision-making mechanisms in the process of change of a successful entrepreneurial dairy firm in Vietnam. The purpose of the study is to construct a theoretical framework, which explains the interactions between effectual and causal decision-making processes in different phases of business, and to provide a real life example with practical recommendations for entrepreneurs and managers. In order to achieve this purpose, a preliminary theoretical framework was built, using process theories applied to different decision making modes, referred to as causation and effectuation. The case was studied through ethnographic research method, with three semi-structured interviews, one unstructured interview, secondary data and observations within four months in 2013-2014. After the data was analyzed, a modified framework was drawn from the result. The finding of this study shows that there was an interaction between effectual and causal decision-making processes in different stages of the company’s development. The entrepreneur applied effectual decision-making process to develop a unique business model and a new dairy market segment. However, when a new market demand arose, the company’s resources became insufficient, they thus had to shift to causation process to adapt to market change. Simultaneously, with better-accumulated resources, the entrepreneur continued the effectuation process to create another brand new dairy market segment. This study, thus, contributes to effectuation theory, emphasizing the necessity of combining effectual and causal decision-making processes in different phases of business. It is suggested that business would develop with an effectual process until a business model is viable for growth. It continues to use this process up to a certain degree. When the market changes, the company needs to collect more means to adapt to the changes. They need to set new goals and this is a shift to the use of causal process, which builds on prediction. It uses goals and teleology as driving mechanisms and tries to exploit and fill potential resource gaps to achieve these goals. At the same time, there are new iterations that look to establish new lines or types of business with the given means, which are now well established. This again employs effectual mechanisms, which are based on evolutionary process, until they reach the stage of viable tested business model. Moreover, this study hopes to provide know-how to entrepreneurs and managers of small companies in similar situations, suggesting how to combine effectual and causal decision-making processes to deal with various circumstances in different times.

Maakaasun hinnan kehitys Euroopassa ja eurooppalaiset maakaasumarkkinat

Maakaasun hinnan kehityksen suurin tekijä on maakaasumarkkinoiden tila. Toisaalta maakaasun hinta toimii markkinoiden tilan indikaattorina. Tässä kandidaatintyössä käsitellään erillisinä osinaan Euroopan kehittyneimpien maakaasumarkkinoiden kehityksen vaiheita ja maakaasun hinnan kehitystä eri tapahtumien vaikutuksesta. Eurooppalaiset maakaasumarkkinat ovat kehittyneet vaiheittain, ja nykymuodossaan alkavat kehittyneimmällä Luoteis-Euroopan alueella olla varsin integroituneet. Maakaasun hinnassa integroituneisuus näkyy pienentyneinä hintaeroina. Eurooppalaisten maakaasumarkkinoiden yhdenmukaisuus edellyttää kattavaa maakaasuverkostoa. Kilpailukykyiset hinnat edellyttävät useita maakohtaisia maakaasulähteitä, joita käytännössä ovat putkiyhteydet maakaasun tuottajiin sekä nesteytetyn maakaasun käyttömahdollisuus.

Collaborative learning in a Japanese as a foreign language classroom /

This study examined the influence of training on Asian learners' beliefs, interaction, and attitudes during collaborative learning (CL) and explored the processes of their CL in pairs. The literature contains few studies on the effect of collaborative training in language learning. In addition, it shows gaps between SLA theory and practice resulting from learners' cultural differences. Although second/subsequent language acquisition (SLA) theory assumes that CL contributes to language learning, implementing CL in a multicultural classroom is often considered to be unsuccessful by teachers. The research questions designed to address this gap explore: (a) the extent to which tra~ng affects Asian learners' attitudes towards and interaction during CL; (b) how Asian learners accomplish collaborative tasks in pairs. In the quasi-experimental research design, the learners in the treatment group received special training in CL for 5 weeks while the learners in the comparison group did not receive similar training. Data were collected from 45 McMaster University students through pre- and posttests, pre- and postintervention questionnaires, student information, and informal classroom observations. To detennine the influence of training, the frequency of communication units (c-units), Language Related Episodes (LREs), Collaborative Dialogue (CD) from audio-taped data, and the fmal draft scores were compared between pre- and posttests. The learners' pre- and postintervention questionnaires were also compared. Transcripts from audio-taped data, students' information, their responses and comments from questionnaires, and informal observations served to investigate the processes of Asian learners' CL. Overall, this study found that training had significant influence on the frequency of c-units and CD, and considerable impact on the draft scores, although little influence on the frequency of LREs was observed. The results from the questionnaires in the treatment group showed positive changes in the learners' beliefs on pair work after training. On the other hand, analyses of the transcription data showed that the learners did not conduct enough discussion for a resolution of problems with peers. In conclusion, results suggested the need for teacher intervention, a longer period of collaborative training, and an implementation of self-evaluation into the course grade to encourage the learners to succeed in collaborative learning.

Aging policy: a case study of co-ordination in Canadian governments

ABSTRACT Canada is an aging society. The number of people aged sixty-five and over is rising, while the number of people under twenty is declining. These two concurrent changes in the age structure have produced a sh~ft in the demographic composition of Canada which is commonly referred to as the aging phenomenon. Regardless of whether or not the number of people under twenty continues to decline, the number of elderly in Canada will almost double over the next twenty years. This rapidly growing elderly clientele will doubtless have an impact on Canadian governments. Federal, provincial and municipal governments are presently providing a variety of programs that have a special bearing on the aged and most senior citizens are beneficiaries of one or more of these programs. The ramifications of a rapidly growing elderly clientele are obvious. In order to cope with the impact of a significant increase in the number of elderly persons, the development and implementation of aging policy must be co-ordinated at each level of government and between and among levels of government. If aging policy is not co-ordinated, the results are likely to be: inappropriate policy decisions; duplication and overlap; and, ineffective and irresponsive services. No one benefits from these results. The need for co-ordination is apparent. The purpose of this thesis is to examine existing governmental efforts to co-ordinate policy in the field of aging. These efforts are examined by focusing on interactions directed at co-ordination between and among major actors in aging policy. A framework is used to structure the description and analysis of these interactions. The variables of formalisation and intensity and the concept of power are instrumental in analysing interactions for co-ordination. The underlying intent of this thesis is to discover some of the main gaps in existing governmental efforts to co~ordinate aging policy. Gaps are, in fact, discovered. Several explanations for the existence of gaps in interactions for co-ordination are discussed. A major hypothesis involving a relationship between a bureaucratic form of organisation and interactions for coordination is suggested. Finally, three recommendations for improving co-ordination in aging policy are offered.

Sediment genotoxicity and its relationship to the frequency of chironomid labial plate deformities

Sediment samples were taken from seven locations in the WeIland River in December 1986 and April 1987. The DMSO extracts of these sediment samples showed a significant (pbounded by an industrialized area were slightly toxic according to -the alkaline phosphatase inhib_ii~ion component of the 50S chromotest analyses. The toxicity of these samples was only evident once they had been activated by the 59 (liver extract) mixture.