Identification of acetates in elasmopalpulus lignosellus pheromone glands using a newly created mass spectral database and kóvats retention indices

Based on a specially created mass spectral database utilizing 23 tetradecenyl and 22 hexadecenyl acetate standards along with Kóvats retention indices obtained on a very polar stationary phase [poly (biscyanopropyl siloxane)] (SP 2340), (Z)-9-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate and (E)-8-hexadecenyl acetate were identified in active pheromone extracts of Elasmopalpus lignosellus. This identification was more efficient than our previous study using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with a dimethyl disulfide derivative where we could only identify the first two acetates. The acetate composition of the pheromone gland differed from region to region in Brazil and from that from the Tifton (GA, USA) population, suggesting polymorphism or a different sub-species.

Plasma polymerized acetaldehyde thin films for retention of volatile organic compounds

The aim of this work is the production and characterization of plasma polymerized acetaldehyde thin films. These films show highly polar species, are hydrophilic, organophilic and easily adsorb organic reactants with CO radicals but only allow permeation of reactants with OH radicals. The good step coverage of films deposited on aluminum trenches is useful for sensor development. Films deposited on hydrophobic substrates may result in a discontinued layer, which allows the use of preconcentration in sample pretreatment. Deposition on microchannels showed the possibility of chromatographic columns and/or retention system production to selectively detect or remove organic compounds from gas flows.

Quantitative structure-retention relationships analysis of retention index of essential oils

Genetic algorithm and multiple linear regression (GA-MLR), partial least square (GA-PLS), kernel PLS (GA-KPLS) and Levenberg-Marquardt artificial neural network (L-M ANN) techniques were used to investigate the correlation between retention index (RI) and descriptors for 116 diverse compounds in essential oils of six Stachys species. The correlation coefficient LGO-CV (Q²) between experimental and predicted RI for test set by GA-MLR, GA-PLS, GA-KPLS and L-M ANN was 0.886, 0.912, 0.937 and 0.964, respectively. This is the first research on the QSRR of the essential oil compounds against the RI using the GA-KPLS and L-M ANN.

Application of GA-PLS and GA-KPLS calculations for the prediction of the retention indices of essential oils

Genetic algorithm and partial least square (GA-PLS) and kernel PLS (GA-KPLS) techniques were used to investigate the correlation between retention indices (RI) and descriptors for 117 diverse compounds in essential oils from 5 Pimpinella species gathered from central Turkey which were obtained by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The square correlation coefficient leave-group-out cross validation (LGO-CV) (Q²) between experimental and predicted RI for training set by GA-PLS and GA-KPLS was 0.940 and 0.963, respectively. This indicates that GA-KPLS can be used as an alternative modeling tool for quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) studies.

THE APPLICATION OF AUTOMATED CORRELATION OPTIMIZED WARPING TO THE QUALITY EVALUATION OF Radix Puerariae thomsonii: CORRECTING RETENTION TIME SHIFT IN THE CHROMATOGRAPHIC FINGERPRINTS

The application of automated correlation optimized warping (ACOW) to the correction of retention time shift in the chromatographic fingerprints of Radix Puerariae thomsonii (RPT) was investigated. Twenty-seven samples were extracted from 9 batches of RPT products. The fingerprints of the 27 samples were established by the HPLC method. Because there is a retention time shift in the established fingerprints, the quality of these samples cannot be correctly evaluated by using similarity estimation and principal component analysis (PCA). Thus, the ACOW method was used to align these fingerprints. In the ACOW procedure, the warping parameters, which have a significant influence on the alignment result, were optimized by an automated algorithm. After correcting the retention time shift, the quality of these RPT samples was correctly evaluated by similarity estimation and PCA. It is demonstrated that ACOW is a practical method for aligning the chromatographic fingerprints of RPT. The combination of ACOW, similarity estimation, and PCA is shown to be a promising method for evaluating the quality of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Utilization of retention chemicals in non-wood containing furnishes

The usage of the non-wood pulps in furnishes for various paper grades is the real alternative for substitution of wood fibres in the papermaking. This is especially important now, when the prices for wood are increasing and forest resources are depleting in many regions of our planet. However, there are several problems associated with utilization of such pulps. In terms of the papermaking process one of the main problems is the poor dewatering of the non-wood pulps. This problem can be partially solved by means of retention aids. In the literature part were described technological features of the non-wood pulps as the raw materials for paper production. Moreover, overviews of the retention chemicals and methods for retention measurement were done; special attention was paid to the mechanisms of retention and drainage. Finally, factors affecting on the drainage and retention of non-wood pulps were considered holistically. Particular emphasis was put on the possibility of enzyme treatment for drainage improvement. It was stated that retention aids can significantly improve dewatering of non-wood pulps. In the experimental part the goal was to investigate influence of various microparticle retention aids on the drainage, retention and formation of furnish containing wheat straw pulp, obtained by novel pulping process (Formico™Fib). The parallel test were performed with reference furnish containing only wood pulps. It was found that Bentonite-CPAM retention aid can significantly improve drainage and retention; however formation seems be suffer from such additives. It was stated that performance of the Silica-Starch retention aid significantly depends on the starch dosing sequence and wet-end conditions; this system have shown better formation than other tested retention aids. Silica-CPAM retention aid have provided comparable results in retention and drainage with Bentonite-CPAM, while Silica-starch did not improve dewatering and yielded in lowest filler retention among other aids. Ultimately, optimal dosages for the tested retention chemicals have been suggested.

Segmentation of Industrial Customers – Case: Finnish Mechanical Engineering Companies

Segmentointi on perinteisesti ollut erityisesti kuluttajamarkkinoinnin työkalu, mutta siirtymä tuotteista palveluihin on lisännyt segmentointitarvetta myös teollisilla markkinoilla. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoite on löytää selkeästi toisistaan erottuvia asiakasryhmiä suomalaisen liikkeenjohdon konsultointiyritys Synocus Groupin tarjoaman case-materiaalin pohjalta. K-means-klusteroinnin avulla löydetään kolme potentiaalista markkinasegmenttiä perustuen siihen, mitkä tarjoamaelementit 105 valikoitua suomalaisen kone- ja metallituoteteollisuuden asiakasta ovat maininneet tärkeimmiksi. Ensimmäinen klusteri on hintatietoiset asiakkaat, jotka laskevat yksikkökohtaisia hintoja. Toinen klusteri koostuu huolto-orientoituneista asiakkaista, jotka laskevat tuntikustannuksia ja maksimoivat konekannan käyttötunteja. Tälle kohderyhmälle kannattaisi ehkä markkinoida teknisiä palveluja ja huoltosopimuksia. Kolmas klusteri on tuottavuussuuntautuneet asiakkaat, jotka ovat kiinnostuneita suorituskyvyn kehittämisestä ja laskevat tonnikohtaisia kustannuksia. He tavoittelevat alempia kokonaiskustannuksia lisääntyneen suorituskyvyn, pidemmän käyttöiän ja alempien huoltokustannusten kautta.

Knowledge Sharing between Generations in an Organisation - Retention of the Old or Building the New?

The study explores knowledge transfer between retiring employees and their successors in expert work. My aim is to ascertain whether there is knowledge development or building new knowledge related to this organisational knowledge transfer between generations; in other words, is the transfer of knowledge from experienced, retiring employees to their successors merely retention of the existing organisational knowledge by distributing it from one individual to another or does this transfer lead to building new and meaningful organisational knowledge. I call knowledge transfer between generations and the possibly related knowledge building in this study knowledge sharing between generations. The study examines the organisation and knowledge management from a knowledge-based and constructionist view. From this standpoint, I see knowledge transfer as an interactive process, and the exploration is based on how the people involved in this process understand and experience the phenomenon studied. The research method is organisational ethnography. I conducted the analysis of data using thematic analysis and the articulation method, which has not been used before in organisational knowledge studies. The primary empirical data consists of theme interviews with twelve employees involved in knowledge transfer in the organisation being studied and five follow-up theme interviews. Six of the interviewees are expert duty employees due to retire shortly, and six are their successors. All those participating in the follow-up interviews are successors of those soon to retire from their expert responsibilities. The organisation in the study is a medium-sized Finnish firm, which designs and manufactures electrical equipment and systems for the global market. The results of the study show that expert work-related knowledge transfer between generations can mean knowledge building which produces new, meaningful knowledge for the organisation. This knowledge is distributed in the organisation to all those that find it useful in increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of the whole organisation. The transfer and building of knowledge together create an act of knowledge sharing between generations where the building of knowledge presupposes transfer. Knowledge sharing proceeds between the expert and the novice through eight phases. During the phases of knowledge transfer the expert guides the novice to absorb the knowledge to be transferred. With the expert’s help the novice gradually comes to understand the knowledge and in the end he or she is capable of using it in his or her work. During the phases of knowledge building the expert helps the novice to further develop the knowledge being transferred so that it becomes new, useful knowledge for the organisation. After that the novice takes the built knowledge to use in his or her work. Based on the results of the study, knowledge sharing between generations takes place in interaction and ends when knowledge is taken to use. The results I obtained in the interviews by the articulation method show that knowledge sharing between generations is shaped by the novices’ conceptions of their own work goals, knowledge needs and duties. These are not only based on the official definition of the work, but also how the novices find their work or how they prioritise the given objectives and responsibilities. The study shows that the novices see their work primarily as maintenance or development. Those primarily involved in maintenance duties do not necessarily need knowledge defined as transferred between generations. Therefore, they do not necessarily transfer knowledge with their assigned experts, even though this can happen in favourable circumstances. They do not build knowledge because their view of their work goals and duties does not require the building of new knowledge. Those primarily involved in development duties, however, do need knowledge available from their assigned experts. Therefore, regardless of circumstances they transfer knowledge with their assigned experts and also build knowledge because their work goals and duties create a basis for building new knowledge. The literature on knowledge transfer between generations has focused on describing either the knowledge being transferred or the means by which it is transferred. Based on the results of this study, however, knowledge sharing between generations, that is, transfer and building is determined by how the novice considers his or her own knowledge needs and work practices. This is why studies on knowledge sharing between generations and its implementation should be based not only on the knowledge content and how it is shared, but also on the context of the work in which the novice interprets and shares knowledge. The existing literature has not considered the possibility that knowledge transfer between generations may mean building knowledge. The results of this study, however, show that this is possible. In knowledge building, the expert’s existing organisational knowledge is combined with the new knowledge that the novice brings to the organisation. In their interaction this combination of the expert’s “old” and the novice’s “new” knowledge becomes new, meaningful organisational knowledge. Previous studies show that knowledge development between the members of an organisation is the prerequisite for organisational renewal which in turn is essential for improved competitiveness. Against this background, knowledge building enables organisational renewal and thus enhances competitiveness. Hence, when knowledge transfer between generations is followed by knowledge building, the organisation kills two birds with one stone. In knowledge transfer the organisation retains the existing knowledge and thus maintains its competitiveness. In knowledge building the organisation developsnew knowledge and thus improves its competitiveness.

Customer loyalty in DIY retailing in Russia: Innovative approaches for improving customer retention through technology

Customer satisfaction has been widely studied concept due to its importance on business performance. Customer satisfaction should ideally lead to customer loyalty and have a positive effect on business profitability and growth. This study investigates customer satisfaction and loyalty in the Do-It-Yourself retailing in Russian  market.  “K-rauta”  retail  chain  was  chosen  as  a  focus company for this study. Goal of the study was to investigate what creates customer satisfaction in this given market and what is the role of quality, trust and satisfaction for creating customer loyalty. The role of internet in consumer purchasing process was also investigated. Furthermore, consumer preferences towards new marketing solutions such as smart phone applications were briefly examined.

Integration in project business : mechanisms for integrating customers and the project network during the life-cycle of industrial projects

This thesis focuses on integration in project business, i.e. how projectbased companies organize their product and process structures when they deliver industrial solutions to their customers. The customers that invest in these solutions run their businesses in different geographical, political and economical environments, which should be acknowledged by the supplier when providing solutions comprising of larger and more complex scopes than previously supplied to these customers. This means that the suppliers are increasing their supply range by taking over some of the activities in the value chain that have traditionally been handled by the customer. In order to be able to provide the functioning solutions, including more engineering hours, technical equipment and a wider project network, a change is needed in the mindset in order to be able to carry out and take the required responsibility that these new approaches bring. For the supplier it is important to be able to integrate technical products, systems and services, but the supplier also needs to have the capabilities to integrate the cross-functional organizations and departments in the project network, the knowledge and information between and within these organizations and departments, along with inputs from the customer into the product and process structures during the lifecycle of the project under development. Hence, the main objective of this thesis is to explore the challenges of integration that industrial projects meet, and based on that, to suggest a concept of how to manage integration in project business by making use of integration mechanisms. Integration is considered the essential process for accomplishing an industrial project, whereas the accomplishment of the industrial project is considered to be the result of the integration. The thesis consists of an extended summary and four papers, that are based on three studies in which integration mechanisms for value creation in industrial project networks and the management of integration in project business have been explored. The research is based on an inductive approach where in particular the design, commissioning and operations functions of industrial projects have been studied, addressing entire project life-cycles. The studies have been conducted in the shipbuilding and power generation industries where the scopes of supply consist of stand-alone equipment, equipment and engineering, and turnkey solutions. These industrial solutions include demanding efforts in engineering and organization. Addressing the calls for more studies on the evolving value chains of integrated solutions, mechanisms for inter- and intra-organizational integration and subsequent value creation in project networks have been explored. The research results in thirteen integration mechanisms and a typology for integration is proposed. Managing integration consists of integrating the project network (the supplier and the sub-suppliers) and the customer (the customer’s business purpose, operations environment and the end-user) into the project by making use of integration mechanisms. The findings bring new insight into research on industrial project business by proposing integration of technology and engineering related elements with elements related to customer oriented business performance in contemporary project environments. Thirteen mechanisms for combining products and the processes needed to deliver projects are described and categorized according to the impact that they have on the management of knowledge and information. These mechanisms directly relate to the performance of the supplier, and consequently to the functioning of the solution that the project provides. This thesis offers ways to promote integration of knowledge and information during the lifecycle of industrial projects, enhancing the development towards innovative solutions in project business.

Email marketing in business-to-business relationship

The objective of this study is to find out how email marketing is conducted towards existing customers in Company X. The first chapter of the study focuses on theoretical literature on direct marketing, especially on solicited and unsolicited email marketing, and on relationship marketing. The following relationship marketing areas: database marketing, customer retention, trust and commitment, loyalty, engagement and satisfaction are described and the possibilities to use email marketing within these entities of relationship marketing. The empirical second part of the study revealed that email marketing tactics to be used on relationship marketing in Company X are little used and there is potential for significant improvements in relationship marketing especially with marketing automation tools.