Splat-based surface reconstruction from defect-laden point sets

We introduce a method for surface reconstruction from point sets that is able to cope with noise and outliers. First, a splat-based representation is computed from the point set. A robust local 3D RANSAC-based procedure is used to filter the point set for outliers, then a local jet surface - a low-degree surface approximation - is fitted to the inliers. Second, we extract the reconstructed surface in the form of a surface triangle mesh through Delaunay refinement. The Delaunay refinement meshing approach requires computing intersections between line segment queries and the surface to be meshed. In the present case, intersection queries are solved from the set of splats through a 1D RANSAC procedure

Estudio sobre la construcción autorregulada del portafolio en el grado de Enfermería

Introduction. This study presents the results of the implementation process of portfolio in the course of four consecutive years. The plan includes three phases (initiation, development and consolidation). The sample is 480 students studying the first year of nursing at the University of Girona. The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of the instrument and achieve its construction in a self-regulated process. Subjects and methods. The proposed methodology is based on the sequential triangulation between methods. The study of the same empirical unit it’s used two investigation strategies, quantitative and qualitative. Study 1: quantitative, descriptive, longitudinal and prospective. The statistical analysis of paired data for continuous variables that follow a normaldistribution is made with t Student-Fisher test. The correlation between two numerical variables is used the Pearson correlation index. Study 2: qualitative, uses the discussion groups and topics. For textual data analysis is used Atlas.ti. Results. The final score for students who prepare the portfolio is higher (7.78) than the score who do not prepare (7) (p ≤ 0.001). A significant correlation exists between the portfolio score and final score (p ≤ 0.001). The trend study showsa greater sensitivity of the instrument assessment. Conclusion. The final design of the portfolio is characterized by mixed, flexible and encourages the student reflection and empowers the reflection on the continuum of learning

Aprendizaje y servicio: estudio del grado de satisfacción de estudiantes universitarios

El aprendizaje y servicio es una metodología pedagógica que fomenta el aprendizaje de los estudiantes mediante su participación activa en experiencias asociadas al servicio comunitario. Esta metodología permite al estudiante involucrarse directamente con aquellos a quienes ofrece un servicio, adaptándose a sus necesidades y a una realidad que a menudo es muy diferente de la que vive en el aula. En esto radica uno de sus mayores impactos. Además, este tipo de prácticas contribuye a despertar en los alumnos su interés por la acción colectiva, su formación ciudadana, etc. La investigación que se presenta ha consistido en un estudio diagnóstico- comprensivo con 39 estudiantes, donde a partir del modelo de satisfacción con el que se ha trabajado se han analizado cuatro dimensiones clave (conocimiento e intención atribuida, valoración de la utilidad atribuida, valoración del proceso y proyección social). Estas dimensiones nos han conducido a reflexionar sobre elementos claves del aprendizaje y servicio (aprendizajes ciudadanos, aprendizajes personales, aprendizajes curriculares, procesos de reflexión, etc.). La muestra del estudio ha estado formada por 39 estudiantes y la principal técnica de análisis de la información recogida ha sido el análisis de contenido, mediante la triangulación de técnicas (cuestionario, entrevista y grupos de discusión) e informantes (estudiantes, profesores, coordinadores y miembros de entidades). El análisis de la información muestra un alto grado de satisfacción de los alumnos participantes. La dimensión que ha influido más en este resultado ha sido la valoración de la utilidad atribuida; en concreto, la percepción que tienen los alumnos sobre la adquisición de unos aprendizajes conceptuales, personales y ciudadanos. Atendiendo a lo anterior, cabe señalar que la relación generada entre profesores, entidades y estudiantes, así como la posibilidad de vincular la teoría con la práctica han condicionado los resultados. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Service learning projects promote student learning through active participation in community service. Thus, the service learning method enables students to engage directly with the people to whom they offer their services and requires them to adapt to other peoples' needs and to a reality that is often very different from the classroom. This is one of the major ways in which service learning has an impact. In addition, service learning helps to awaken students' interest in collective action, citizenship, etc. A comprehensive diagnostic study of 39 students was conducted to analyse four key dimensions (attributed knowledge and intentionality, evaluation of usefulness, evaluation of the process and social impact) on the basis of the chosen satisfaction model. The four dimensions led to reflection on key elements of learning and community service (learning about citizenship, learning about oneself, learning of a curriculum, processes of reflection, etc.). The main data analysis technique was content analysis, involving the triangulation of various techniques (questionnaires, interviews and discussion groups) and informants (students, teachers, coordinators and members of other organisations). Data analysis showed a high degree of satisfaction among the participating students. The dimension that most influenced the results was assessment of the attributed value, more specifically the students' perception of their acquisition of conceptual, personal and citizenship knowledge. It should be cautioned that the results were swayed by the relationship generated among teachers, students and institutions and the possibility of linking theory with practice.

Luottamuksen rooli hiljaisen tietämyksen jakamisessa

Pro gradu – tutkielman tavoitteena oli tutkia luottamuksen roolia hiljaisen tietämyksen jakamisessa. Työn teoreettisena tavoitteena oli selvittää luottamuksen tukemisen ja rakentamisen keinoja hiljaisen tietämyksen jakamisen tueksi yhdistämällä hiljaista tietämystä ja luottamusta koskeva kirjallisuus. Empiirisen tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tuoda teoria käytännön tasolle ja selvittää miten hiljaisen tietämyksen jakamista voidaan edistää luottamuksen avulla. Tässä tutkimuksessa on käytetty menetelmätriangulaatiota empiirisen aineiston tutkimusmenetelmänä yhdistämällä kvalitatiivinen ja kvantitatiivinen tutkimusote. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin haastattelujen ja kyselyn avulla. Empiirisen tutkimuksen kohteena oli hiljaisen tietämyksen jakaminen tiimikontekstissa ja luottamuksen rooli siinä. Tutkimuksen perusteella saatiin selkeä kuva siitä, mihin hiljaisen tietämyksen jakamisen tekijöihin luottamus vaikuttaa ja millaisia seuraamuksia luottamuksella on hiljaisen tietämyksen jakamiseen. Tutkimuksen tulokset tukivat aiempia empiirisiä tutkimustuloksia tunnepohjaisen ja järkiperäisen luottamuksen osalta. Tässä tutkimuksessa tulokset myös osoittivat, että luottamuksen merkitys tiimin toimintaan, hiljaisen tietämyksen jakamiseen, yhteistyöhön, sitoutumiseen sekä motivaatioon on merkittävä. Tämä on hyvä tiedostaa ja siihen tulee kiinnittää tietoisesti huomiota koko organisaation kehittämisen työkaluna.

Aloittavan yrityksen kilpailustrategia. Case: Yritys Oy

Tutkielman tavoitteena oli tutkia matkailupalveluliiketoiminnassa aloittavan Yritys Oy:n ydinkyvykkyyksiä, strategisia vaihtoehtoja, pääkilpailijoita sekä potentiaalisia asiakkaita ja suhteuttaa ne yrityksen käytettävissä oleviin resursseihin sekä toimintaympäristöön kilpailustrategian määrittämiseksi. Tutkielma on toteutettu kvalitatiivisena case- eli tapaustutkimuksena aineistotriangulaatiota soveltaen. Tutkielman teoriaosissa selvitettiin palveluliiketoiminnan, kilpailun, kilpailija-analyysin, verkostoitumisen sekä henkilökohtaisen myyntityön teoreettiset lähtökohdat, joita edelleen sovellettiin tutkielman empiirisessä kyselytutkimuksessa sekä avoimissa haastatteluissa. Tutkimustulosten perusteella todettiin, että Yritys Oy:llä on käytössään resursseja, jotka mahdollistavat hyvät lähtökohdat valitun kilpailustrategian menestykselliseen implementointiin.

Management of interdependency in project portfolio

Project management has evolved in recent decades. Project portfolio management, together with multi project management, is an emerging area in the project management field in practice, and correspondingly in academic research and forums. In multi project management, projects cannot be handled isolated from each other, as they often have interdependencies that have to be taken into account. If the interdependencies between projects are evaluated during the selection process, the success rate of the project portfolio is increased. Interdependencies can be human resources, technological, and/or market based. Despite of the fact that interdependency as a phenomenon has roots in the 1960s and is related to famous management theories, it has not been much studied, although in practice most companies use it to great extent. There exists some research on interdependency, but prior publications have not emphasized the phenomenon per se, because a practical orientation practitioner techniques prevails in the literature. This research applies the method triangulation, electronic surveys and multiple case study. The research concentrates on small to large companies in Estonia and Finland, mainly in construction, engineering, ICT, and machinery industries. The literature review reveals that interdependencies are deeply involved in R&D and innovation. Survey analysis shows that companies are aware of interdependency issues in general, but they i have lack of detailed knowledge to use it thoroughly. Empirical evidence also indicates that interdependency techniques influence the success rate and other efficiency aspects to different extents. There are a lot of similarities in interdependency related managerial issues in companies of varying sizes and countries in Northern Europe. Differences found in the study are for instance the fact that smaller companies face more difficulties in implementing and evaluating interdependency procedures. Country differences between Estonia and Finland stem from working solutions to manage interdependencies on a daily basis.historical and cultural reasons, such as the special features of a transition country compared to a mature country. An overview of the dominant problems, best practices, and commonly used techniques associated with interdependency is provided in the study. Empirical findings show that many interdependency techniques are not used in practice. A multiple case study was performed in the study to find out how interdependencies are managed in real life on a daily basis. The results show that interdependencies are mostly managed in an informal manner. A description of managing the interdependencies and implementation procedures is given. Interdependency procedures are hard to implement, especially in smaller companies. Companies have difficulties in implementing interdependency procedures and evaluating them. The study contains detailed results on how companies have implemented working solutions to manage interdependencies on a daily basis

On the development of object functions and restrictions for shapes made with a turret punch press

This study presents the information required to describe the machine and device resources in the turret punch press environment which are needed for the development of the analysing method for automated production. The description of product and device resources and their interconnectedness is the starting point for method comparison the development of expenses, production planning and the performance of optimisation. The manufacturing method cannot be optimized unless the variables and their interdependence are known. Sheet metal parts in particular may then become remarkably complex, and their automatic manufacture may be difficult or, with some automatic equipment, even impossible if not know manufacturing properties. This thesis consists of three main elements, which constitute the triangulation. In the first phase of triangulation, the manufacture occuring on a turret punch press is examined in order to find the factors that affect the efficiency of production. In the second phase of triangulation, the manufacturability of products on turret punch presses is examined through a set of laboratory tests. The third phase oftriangulation involves an examination of five industry parts. The main key findings of this study are: all possible efficiency in high automation level machining cannot be achieved unless the raw materials used in production and the dependencies of the machine and tools are well known. Machine-specific manufacturability factors for turret punch presses were not taken into account in the industrial case samples. On the grounds of the performed tests and industrial case samples, the designer of a sheet metal product can directly influence the machining time, material loss, energy consumption and the number of tools required on a turret punch press by making decisions in the way presented in the hypothesis of thisstudy. The sheet metal parts to be produced can be optimised to bemanufactured on a turret punch press when the material to be used and the kinds of machine and tool options available are known. This provides in-depth knowledge of the machine and tool properties machine and tool-specifically. None of the optimisation starting points described here is a separate entity; instead, they are all connected to each other.

Kielikylpydidaktiikkaa kehittämässä : 3-6-vuotiaiden kielikylpylasten kielellinen kehitys ja kielikylpydidaktiikan kehittäminen päiväkodissa

The goal of this study is to determine the naming ability in Finnish and Swedish of nursery school-aged children participating in a language immersion programme, as well as their command of both languages. The study also aims to describe factors reflecting language immersion teaching in nursery schools based on action research and a literature survey. The longitudinal study, conducted in 2003–2005, comprised 133 native Finnish three- to six-year-old children in language immersion programmes. A total of four measurements were carried out over two and a half years. In each measurement, four separate tests were given to each child (totally 1134 measurements). Research material was collected using survey tools that measured the children’s naming ability and command of language. The tools had been translated into both Finnish and Swedish. The material also includes taped responses related to the tool for naming ability. Didactic approaches were developed on the basis of material from action research and the literature survey. The material was examined using methodological triangulation, and a quantitative analysis was made of each survey tool. Furthermore, a content analysis of the children’s taped responses gave further depth to the description of language development. The theoretical framework of the study is mainly based on modern sociocultural theories of second language development and acquisition. Thus, the approach is both linguistic and pedagogic, with emphasis lying on the latter. The socioculturally-oriented framework of this study is mainly influenced by the theorists Vygotski, Spolsky, van Lier and Cummins. According to the results, the language skills of children in language immersion programmes develop as expected from age three to six in the fields studied. In the field of language command, the children acquired excellent skills in listening comprehension. Their naming ability was not as good. In each test, the children showed weaker skills in Swedish than in Finnish. However, based on the assumption that the two languages have a shared cognitive field, the skills in Swedish catch up with the skills in Finnish at an annual rate of 6–7 per cent. The study indicates that children meet a language development threshold one year earlier in their native language than they do in the immersion language. As for the naming ability in Swedish, problems arose from the fact that the deviation in results increases with age. Children showed creativity in their use of naming strategies. Judging by the research results, children begin to use the immersion language as a tool for thought at a very early phase. The research results, action research and literature survey were also used to create a general educational model for language immersion.

Den talande bokens poetik : en studie med fokus på olika unga vuxnas reception av tre fiktiva texter inlästa på band

The purpose of the research project The poetics of the talking book is to contribute to the knowledge about patterns of understanding in young adults’ reception of fiction, which they listened to through audio books. The problem explored was: How do different groups of listeners receive fictive text presented as a talking book with variations regarding use of voice, engagement and sound effects? The problem formulation rendered four specific research questions: 1. What patterns can be identified in the listeners’ answers regarding story structure and cognitive content in a comparative perspective comprising different reading styles in the taped versions of the text? 2. What patterns of understanding in interpretative reading can be identified in different listeners? 3. Which thoughts do the listeners have about what the talking book should sound like? 4. What affordances for young adults with the functional disability of mild mental retardation can be made visible through guided literature conversations? The theoretical frame of reference was formed by text–reader-oriented literary theory, psychological schema theory, and research regarding voice quality and communication. The project was carried out in two steps. The first phase was to produce the audio books with two variations of reading practice of three short stories with an existential theme in each text. The second step comprised interviewing of 32 young adults (a special group with a reading handicap in form of mild mental retardation, and a reference group with no handicap). The interviews formed as literary conversation were carried out three times during one year. The phenomenological-hermeneutic approach focused on the life worlds of the participants as meaning seeking beings. The analysis was carried out using method triangulation, mainly using phenomenological meaning concentration. The double hermeneutics in use when interpreting the interpretations of the participants revealed a capacity for aesthetic reading of fiction in the special group as well as in the reference group. The aesthetic qualities were found sufficient in all variations of reading by the professional readers of the audio book they listened to. The young adults also could describe how they wanted the audio book to sound: just as if you were reading yourself. A model describing the analytical steps and concepts in use was a result that can serve as an outline of a poetics for the talking book. Unexpected research results were how important the guided literary conversation turned out to be in order to realise the affordances given by the texts regarding exploration of existential themes in the young adults’ life worlds. Thus the result of the research project can be positioned as a piece of emancipatory research stressing the importance of including this group of young adults in the society’s conversation about culture and meaning.

Equivalence and translation strategies in multilingual thesaurus construction

In the present dissertation, multilingual thesauri were approached as cultural products and the focus was twofold: On the empirical level the focus was placed on the translatability of certain British-English social science indexing terms into the Finnish language and culture at a concept, a term and an indexing term level. On the theoretical level the focus was placed on the aim of translation and on the concept of equivalence. In accordance with modern communicative and dynamic translation theories the interest was on the human dimension. The study is qualitative. In this study, equivalence was understood in a similar way to how dynamic, functional equivalence is commonly understood in translation studies. Translating was seen as a decision-making process, where a translator often has different kinds of possibilities to choose in order to fulfil the function of the translation. Accordingly, and as a starting point for the construction of the empirical part, the function of the source text was considered to be the same or similar to the function of the target text, that is, a functional thesaurus both in source and target context. Further, the study approached the challenges of multilingual thesaurus construction from the perspectives of semantics and pragmatics. In semantic analysis the focus was on what the words conventionally mean and in pragmatics on the ‘invisible’ meaning - or how we recognise what is meant even when it is not actually said (or written). Languages and ideas expressed by languages are created mainly in accordance with expressional needs of the surrounding culture and thesauri were considered to reflect several subcultures and consequently the discourses which represent them. The research material consisted of different kinds of potential discourses: dictionaries, database records, and thesauri, Finnish versus British social science researches, Finnish versus British indexers, simulated indexing tasks with five articles and Finnish versus British thesaurus constructors. In practice, the professional background of the two last mentioned groups was rather similar. It became even more clear that all the material types had their own characteristics, although naturally not entirely separate from each other. It is further noteworthy that the different types and origins of research material were not used to represent true comparison pairs, and that the aim of triangulation of methods and material was to gain a holistic view. The general research questions were: 1. Can differences be found between Finnish and British discourses regarding family roles as thesaurus terms, and if so, what kinds of differences and which are the implications for multilingual thesaurus construction? 2. What is the pragmatic indexing term equivalence? The first question studied how the same topic (family roles) was represented in different contexts and by different users, and further focused on how the possible differences were handled in multilingual thesaurus construction. The second question was based on findings of the previous one, and answered to the final question as to what kinds of factors should be considered when defining translation equivalence in multilingual thesaurus construction. The study used multiple cases and several data collection and analysis methods aiming at theoretical replication and complementarity. The empirical material and analysis consisted of focused interviews (with Finnish and British social scientists, thesaurus constructors and indexers), simulated indexing tasks with Finnish and British indexers, semantic component analysis of dictionary definitions and translations, coword analysis and datasets retrieved in databases, and discourse analysis of thesauri. As a terminological starting point a topic and case family roles was selected. The results were clear: 1) It was possible to identify different discourses. There also existed subdiscourses. For example within the group of social scientists the orientation to qualitative versus quantitative research had an impact on the way they reacted to the studied words and discourses, and indexers placed more emphasis on the information seekers whereas thesaurus constructors approached the construction problems from a more material based solution. The differences between the different specialist groups i.e. the social scientists, the indexers and the thesaurus constructors were often greater than between the different geo-cultural groups i.e. Finnish versus British. The differences occurred as a result of different translation aims, diverging expectations for multilingual thesauri and variety of practices. For multilingual thesaurus construction this means severe challenges. The clearly ambiguous concept of multilingual thesaurus as well as different construction and translation strategies should be considered more precisely in order to shed light on focus and equivalence types, which are clearly not self-evident. The research also revealed the close connection between the aims of multilingual thesauri and the pragmatic indexing term equivalence. 2) The pragmatic indexing term equivalence is very much context-depended. Although thesaurus term equivalence is defined and standardised in the field of library and information science (LIS), it is not understood in one established way and the current LIS tools are inadequate to provide enough analytical tools for both constructing and studying different kinds of multilingual thesauri as well as their indexing term equivalence. The tools provided in translation science were more practical and theoretical, and especially the division of different meanings of a word provided a useful tool in analysing the pragmatic equivalence, which often differs from the ideal model represented in thesaurus construction literature. The study thus showed that the variety of different discourses should be acknowledged, there is a need for operationalisation of new types of multilingual thesauri, and the factors influencing pragmatic indexing term equivalence should be discussed more precisely than is traditionally done.

Det gyldne snitt : den estetiske dimensjon, en kilde til helse oget etisk anliggende

Within caring science, investigations and explorations have been carried out on the ontology of caring, and many aspects of the field have been the subject of scientific research. The main subject for this study is grounded on the human need for aesthetics. The purpose is to find how the aesthetic dimension is taken into consideration and how the aesthetic surroundings are evaluated and attended to, in the general hospitals in Norway. The theoretical perspective is founded basicly on the study of litterature from caring science and philosophy. The aim is to develop a disposition for a framework on the aesthetic surroundings in the hospitals, and to develop phenomenological and ontological knowledge and understanding of the aesthetic dimension. The study aspires to attain a deeper understanding of the aesthetic acknowledgment and of the aesthetic needs. The focus is how the aesthetic dimension can promote health and wellbeing, both for patients and for the caring staff, in the general hospitals and why the aesthetic dimension should be obligatory in `evident care¿. The study concentrates on 11 selected categories in the hospital environment, where aesthetics is of importance. The research is implemented on 5 part studies: 1. part is a study of caring science and philosophical theories about aesthetics, as a framework for the investigation. 2. part is a survey of the physical environment, in Norwegian somatic hospitals, with focus on aesthetics. This by analyzing the strategy plans for the hospitals. 3. and 4. part is questionnaires to patients and nurses to get their opinion and evaluation of the aesthetic environment in the hospitals they are connected to, and their opinion on how this influences the health and wellness for both patients and caring staff. 5. part is qualitative interviews with 16 experts, to get their opinion and evaluation of the aesthetic environment in hospitals they are or have been connected to. How would the experts like the aesthetic surroundings to be, and also their opinion on what influence they think aesthetics has on health and wellness. The main literature of caring science is rooted in K. Erikssons caring theory as well as philosophic literature; mainly I. Kant, Platon and Y. Hirn's theories on aesthetics. Various scientificresearchers of aesthetics have also been referred to. The methodological approach is a triangulation with a hermeneutic exploration, where H.G. Gadamer and Ricoeur provides the inspirational foundation. The findings and conclusions result in the development of new hypothesis for the caring science foundation and suggestions, a disposition for a framework related to future planning of the aesthetic environments in general hospitals. It might be said that a common thread arises/appears in the invariance's (invariables) that are discerned from the analysis and interpretation of the interviews and also important angles shows in the variances that crystallized. Based on the conclusions the study confirms that there is a clearconnection between health, wellness and aesthetics in the environment and that it is an ethical obligationfor those in the caring professions to be aware of and attend to the aesthetic dimension.

Environmental inFluences on the Adoption of Open Innovation: Analysis of Structural, Institutional and Cultural Impacts

The concept of open innovation has recently gained widespread attention, and is particularly relevant now as many firms endeavouring to implement open innovation, face different sets of challenges associated with managing it. Prior research on open innovation has focused on the internal processes dealing with open innovation implementation and the organizational changes, already taking place or yet required in companies order to succeed in the global open innovation market. Despite the intensive research on open innovation, the question of what influences its adoption by companies in different contexts has not received much attention in studies. To fill this gap, this thesis contribute to the discussion on open innovation influencing factors by bringing in the perspective of environmental impacts, i.e. gathering data on possible sources of external influences, classifying them and testing their systemic impact through conceptual system dynamics simulation model. The insights from data collection and conceptualization in modelling are used to answer the question of how the external environment affects the adoption of open innovation. The thesis research is presented through five research papers reflecting the method triangulation based study (conducted at initial stage as case study, later as quantitative analysis and finally as system dynamics simulation). This multitude of methods was used to collect the possible external influence factors and to assess their impact (on positive/negative scale rather than numerical). The results obtained throughout the thesis research bring valuable insights into understanding of open innovation influencing factors inside a firm’s operating environment, point out the balance required in the system for successful open innovation performance and discover the existence of tipping point of open innovation success when driven by market dynamics and structures. The practical implications on how firms and policy-makers can leverage environment for their potential benefits are offered in the conclusions.

Palvelun laatu tapahtumatuotantoyksikössä

Palvelun laatu on monimuotoinen asetelma, johon vaikuttavat palveluntarjoajan ja asiakkaan yhteistoiminta, kuten myös vuorovaikutustekijät. Kuitenkaan asiakasnäkökulmasta katsottuna palvelun laadun arviointi ei liity ainoastaan yhteen tekijään, vaan koko tuotantoprosessin aikana tapahtuviin asioihin, jota palveluntarjoaja ja asiakas yhdessä toteuttavat. Tämän tutkimuksen aihealue keskittyy siihen millainen on tapahtumatuotantoyksikön palvelun laatu, mitkä tekijät tähän vaikuttavat ja mitkä tekijät nousevat esille erityisen voimakkaina. Keskeisemmät teoriataustat liittyvät palvelun ja tavaratuotannon eroavaisuuksiin, palvelun prosessimaiseen luonteeseen, asiakasarvoon, sekä palvelun laadun eri näkökulmiin. Palvelun laatua tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan mallinnetun tapahtumatuotantoyksikön palveluprosessin myötä, jonka kuvaamiseen hyödynnetään Service Blueprinting tekniikkaa. Teoriaosuudessa keskitytään tarkastelemaan palvelun laadun erilaisia malleja, joiden myötä myös tämän tutkimuksen mittaamiselle saatiin luotua oma pohja. Tutkimuksen tiedonkeruumenetelmänä käytetään aineistotriangulaatiota. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisessä vaiheessa käytetään kvantitatiivista tutkimusmenetelmää, kyselylomakkeen muodossa ja toisessa vaiheessa kvalitatiivista tutkimusmenetelmää, teema- ja puolistrukturoidun haastattelun muodossa. Tutkimuksen tulokset kertovat tapahtumatuotantoprosessin palvelu laadun tilan, sekä siihen sisältyvät vahvuudet ja heikkoudet. Myös tapahtumatuotantotyöhön vaikuttavat palvelun laadun tekijät, tuotiin esille tutkimuksen kautta.

Perfect Parents: Portrayals of Parenthood in Advertising

Mainonnalla ei myydä kuluttajille ainoastaan tuotteita ja palveluita vaan myös kuvaa täydellisestä elämästä. Lapsen saaminen on suuri muutos elämässä ja tällaisessa muutosvaiheessa ihminen voi olla altis sille, kuinka vanhemmuus esitetään mainoksissa. Mainonta rakentaa osaltaan versiota todellisuudesta uusille vanhemmille. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus on selvittää, kuinka vanhemmuutta kuvataan mainonnassa. Mainokset 24:stä kahden eri pienten lasten vanhemmille suunnatun aikakauslehden numerosta tutkittiin. Näistä 71 mainoksen lopullista otantaa tarkasteltiin tarkemmin. Vanhemmuuden kuvaa tutkittiin sisältöanalyysin ja diskurssianalyysin avulla. Mainonnan elementtejä ja sukupuolien esittämisen eroja tarkasteltiin. Tutkimuksen vahvistamiseksi seitsemää mainonnan kohderyhmään kuuluvaa pienten lasten vanhempaa haastateltiin ja haastateltavien mielikuvaa vanhemmuuden esittämisestä verrattiin mainontaan. Mainoksista löydettiin kuusi eri vanhemmuuden diskurssia. Täydellisen vanhemman kuva rakentui melko kapeaksi, sillä suurin osa vanhemmista mainoksissa kuului samaan ikäluokkaan, oli ulkonäöltään samankaltaisia ja teki samoja asioita. Äidit dominoivat mainontaa selvästi ja sukupuoliroolien erot olivat selviä. Vanhemmille suunnattu mainonta luottaa vahvasti kuviin lapsista ja vaarana onkin, ettei mainonta erotu journalistisesta sisällöstä vanhemmuutta käsittelevissä aikakauslehdissä.

Leda förändring genom relationer, processer och kultur

Forskningens syfte var att bidra med en ny kunskapssyntes om vad det innebär att leda förändring ur ett vårdvetenskapligt perspektiv. Vårdledaren har, speciellt vid större förändringar inom organisationen, en stor betydelse för hur vårdandet förvaltas genom att hålla den vårdande traditionen levande och genom formningen av den vårdande kulturen och vårdgemenskapen. Den övergripande hermeneutiska forskningsansatsen med tillämpning av metodologisk triangulering har influerats av Gadamers, Ricoeurs och Ödmans syn på hermeneutik med förståelse och förklaring som kompletterar varandra. Forskningens övergripande frågeställning ”Vad innebär det att leda förändring ur ett vårdvetenskapligt perspektiv?” förankrades i de fyra underliggande frågeställningarna. Den första frågeställningen berörde meningsinnehållet i begreppet förändring samt dess gestaltning. Metoden var en hermeneutisk begreppsbestämning på en ontologisk och kontextuell nivå enligt Koorts metod för begreppsbestämning. Genom en personalenkät undersöktes personalens åsikter (totalt 597 personer) om den kommande fusionen och förändringen samt deras förväntningar på ledarna under förändringsprocessen för att få svar på vad förutsättningarna var för en förändring eller förändringsprocess med avsedda mål och effekter. Svaret på hur vårdledaren och dennes uppgifter gestaltades vid en förändring samt hur vårdledarna uppfattade förändring och den kommande förändringsprocessen erhölls genom djupintervjuer med vårdledare (17). Av resultatet framgår att vårdledaren leder förändring genom att leda relationer, processer och kultur och genom ett stödjande, reflekterande och kulturbärande ledarskap med syftet att åstadkomma en verklig och hållbar förändring. För att åstadkomma en verklig och hållbar förändring, dvs. en inre omgestaltning och omdaning som vardande, förutsätts dock att både tankemönster och handlanden förändras. Riktningen och insatserna för förändringen skall ha sin grund i en tydlig och meningsfull målsättning och vision utgående från en gemensam värdegrund. En arena för dialog borde utvecklas så att förändringens liksom även vårdandets vision och mission förankras och utvecklas till handling och förändring. Vårdledarens primära uppgift eller mission var att tillhandahålla varje individuell patient en god vård. Den primära missionen var med andra ord att med ansvarsfullhet tjäna vårdandet sak utgående från ett etiskt förhållningssätt. I tjänande av vårdandets sak fanns dock en tillit till att förändringen gagnar patienten och hans eller hennes vård, men vårdledarnas anpassning till förändringen var utan djupare engagemang. Vårdledarna kände även en oro för sitt uppdrag som vårdledare, vårdarbetets ställning och mandatet som patientens advokat. Vårdledaren är också en kulturbärare, vilket innebär att även kulturen har betydelse under en förändringsprocess. Genom att leda kulturen skapar vårdledaren en öppen, bekräftande och evidensbaserad atmosfär med centrala värderingar som ger uttryck för den rådande andan och kulturen.