Näkövammaisten tietokoneavusteinen tiedon hankinta

The study examines various uses of computer technology in acquisition of information for visually impaired people. For this study 29 visually impaired persons took part in a survey about their experiences concerning acquisition of infomation and use of computers, especially with a screen magnification program, a speech synthesizer and a braille display. According to the responses, the evolution of computer technology offers an important possibility for visually impaired people to cope with everyday activities and interacting with the environment. Nevertheless, the functionality of assistive technology needs further development to become more usable and versatile. Since the challenges of independent observation of environment were emphasized in the survey, the study led into developing a portable text vision system called Tekstinäkö. Contrary to typical stand-alone applications, Tekstinäkö system was constructed by combining devices and programs that are readily available on consumer market. As the system operates, pictures are taken by a digital camera and instantly transmitted to a text recognition program in a laptop computer that talks out loud the text using a speech synthesizer. Visually impaired test users described that even unsure interpretations of the texts in the environment given by Tekstinäkö system are at least a welcome addition to complete perception of the environment. It became clear that even with a modest development work it is possible to bring new, useful and valuable methods to everyday life of disabled people. Unconventional production process of the system appeared to be efficient as well. Achieved results and the proposed working model offer one suggestion for giving enough attention to easily overlooked needs of the people with special abilities. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): K.4.2 Social Issues: Assistive technologies for persons with disabilities I.4.9 Image processing and computer vision: Applications Keywords: Visually impaired, computer-assisted, information, acquisition, assistive technology, computer, screen magnification program, speech synthesizer, braille display, survey, testing, text recognition, camera, text, perception, picture, environment, trasportation, guidance, independence, vision, disabled, blind, speech, synthesizer, braille, software engineering, programming, program, system, freeware, shareware, open source, Tekstinäkö, text vision, TopOCR, Autohotkey, computer engineering, computer science

Locus Bonus : The Relationship of the Roman Villa to its Environment in the Vicinity of Rome

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship of the Roman villa to its environment. The villa was an important feature of the countryside intended both for agricultural production and for leisure. Manuals of Roman agriculture give instructions on how to select a location for an estate. The ideal location was a moderate slope facing east or south in a healthy area and good neighborhood, near good water resources and fertile soils. A road or a navigable river or the sea was needed for transportation of produce. A market for selling the produce, a town or a village, should have been nearby. The research area is the surroundings of the city of Rome, a key area for the development of the villa. The materials used consist of archaeological settlement sites, literary and epigraphical evidence as well as environmental data. The sites include all settlement sites from the 7th century BC to 5th century AD to examine changes in the tradition of site selection. Geographical Information Systems were used to analyze the data. Six aspects of location were examined: geology, soils, water resources, terrain, visibility/viewability and relationship to roads and habitation centers. Geology was important for finding building materials and the large villas from the 2nd century BC onwards are close to sources of building stones. Fertile soils were sought even in the period of the densest settlement. The area is rich in water, both rainfall and groundwater, and finding a water supply was fairly easy. A certain kind of terrain was sought over very long periods: a small spur or ridge shoulder facing preferably south with an open area in front of the site. The most popular villa resorts are located on the slopes visible from almost the entire Roman region. A visible villa served the social and political aspirations of the owner, whereas being in the villa created a sense of privacy. The area has a very dense road network ensuring good connectivity from almost anywhere in the region. The best visibility/viewability, dense settlement and most burials by roads coincide, creating a good neighborhood. The locations featuring the most qualities cover nearly a quarter of the area and more than half of the settlement sites are located in them. The ideal location was based on centuries of practical experience and rationalized by the literary tradition.

Jos heti lataa kaiken ja osoittaa sormella, ei ne nuoret tule mukaan. Järjestöjen mahdollisuudet vaikuttaa nuorten ruokatottumuksiin.

Aims: The older the youngsters are, the more important role hobbies and leisure time activities have in their life. That is why various activities organized by the non-profit organizations have an important role concerning the development of food habits of youngsters. This study has three main themes. The themes and their respective study questions are: 1. The youngsters' conceptions on healthy eating and food choice: What kind of food do youngsters consider as healthy? How do they see their own eating habits from this point of view? 2. The youngsters and the significance of everyday food-related information: How do the youngsters perceive the role of different actors and these actors' role regarding their own food habits and food choice? 3. The possibilities of the organizations that work with youngsters to improve their food habits: What kind of role do the non-profit organizations have on the youngsters' food habits and healthy food choice? Methods: This study comprises of two types of data. First, a quantitative internet-based survey (N=582) was used to collect data on the 9th graders conceptions and understandings. The data was analyzed with the SPSS-program. Means, cross-tabulations, Pearson´s correlations and t-test were calculated from the data. The qualitative data was collected using interviews. The respondents were 12 experts from non-profit organizations. The interviews were analyzed with the qualitative content analysis. Results and conclusions: The non-profit organizations studied have good possibilities to communicate with youngsters through their hobbies. As part of their activities these organizations are able to influence on health-promoting lifestyle and food habits of youngsters. In order to reach more youngsters, these organizations should actively act e.g. in virtual societies of youngsters. Youngsters will participate when activities are voluntary and exhilarating. From the point of food habits doing, learning and identifying are the most important factors to engage the young. Also the models of peers and adults are important. Non-profit organizations should offer youngsters activities but these organizations should also influence on society.

Technical efficiency of blood component preparation in blood centres of 10 European countries

Various reasons, such as ethical issues in maintaining blood resources, growing costs, and strict requirements for safe blood, have increased the pressure for efficient use of resources in blood banking. The competence of blood establishments can be characterized by their ability to predict the volume of blood collection to be able to provide cellular blood components in a timely manner as dictated by hospital demand. The stochastically varying clinical need for platelets (PLTs) sets a specific challenge for balancing supply with requests. Labour has been proven a primary cost-driver and should be managed efficiently. International comparisons of blood banking could recognize inefficiencies and allow reallocation of resources. Seventeen blood centres from 10 countries in continental Europe, Great Britain, and Scandinavia participated in this study. The centres were national institutes (5), parts of the local Red Cross organisation (5), or integrated into university hospitals (7). This study focused on the departments of blood component preparation of the centres. The data were obtained retrospectively by computerized questionnaires completed via Internet for the years 2000-2002. The data were used in four original articles (numbered I through IV) that form the basis of this thesis. Non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA, II-IV) was applied to evaluate and compare the relative efficiency of blood component preparation. Several models were created using different input and output combinations. The focus of comparisons was on the technical efficiency (II-III) and the labour efficiency (I, IV). An empirical cost model was tested to evaluate the cost efficiency (IV). Purchasing power parities (PPP, IV) were used to adjust the costs of the working hours and to make the costs comparable among countries. The total annual number of whole blood (WB) collections varied from 8,880 to 290,352 in the centres (I). Significant variation was also observed in the annual volume of produced red blood cells (RBCs) and PLTs. The annual number of PLTs produced by any method varied from 2,788 to 104,622 units. In 2002, 73% of all PLTs were produced by the buffy coat (BC) method, 23% by aphaeresis and 4% by the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) method. The annual discard rate of PLTs varied from 3.9% to 31%. The mean discard rate (13%) remained in the same range throughout the study period and demonstrated similar levels and variation in 2003-2004 according to a specific follow-up question (14%, range 3.8%-24%). The annual PLT discard rates were, to some extent, associated with production volumes. The mean RBC discard rate was 4.5% (range 0.2%-7.7%). Technical efficiency showed marked variation (median 60%, range 41%-100%) among the centres (II). Compared to the efficient departments, the inefficient departments used excess labour resources (and probably) production equipment to produce RBCs and PLTs. Technical efficiency tended to be higher when the (theoretical) proportion of lost WB collections (total RBC+PLT loss) from all collections was low (III). The labour efficiency varied remarkably, from 25% to 100% (median 47%) when working hours were the only input (IV). Using the estimated total costs as the input (cost efficiency) revealed an even greater variation (13%-100%) and overall lower efficiency level compared to labour only as the input. In cost efficiency only, the savings potential (observed inefficiency) was more than 50% in 10 departments, whereas labour and cost savings potentials were both more than 50% in six departments. The association between department size and efficiency (scale efficiency) could not be verified statistically in the small sample. In conclusion, international evaluation of the technical efficiency in component preparation departments revealed remarkable variation. A suboptimal combination of manpower and production output levels was the major cause of inefficiency, and the efficiency did not directly relate to production volume. Evaluation of the reasons for discarding components may offer a novel approach to study efficiency. DEA was proven applicable in analyses including various factors as inputs and outputs. This study suggests that analytical models can be developed to serve as indicators of technical efficiency and promote improvements in the management of limited resources. The work also demonstrates the importance of integrating efficiency analysis into international comparisons of blood banking.

Rauhan atomi, sodan koodi : Suomalaisen atomivoimaratkaisun teknopolitiikka 1955-1970

This dissertation investigates the atomic power solution in Finland between 1955 - 1970. During these years a national arrangement for atomic energy technology evolved. The foundations of the Finnish atomic energy policy; the creation of basic legislation and the first governmental bodies, were laid between 1955 - 1965. In the late 1960's, the necessary technological and political decisions were made in order to purchase the first commercial nuclear reactor. A historical narration of this process is seen in the international context of "atoms for peace" policies and Cold War history in general. The geopolitical position of Finland made it necessary to become involved in the balanced participation in international scientific-technical exchange and assistive nuclear programs. The Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 categorically denied Finland acquisition of nuclear weapons. Accordingly, from the "Geneva year" of 1955, the emphasis was placed on peaceful purposes for atomic energy as well as on the education of national professionals in Finland. An initiative for the governmental atomic energy commission came from academia but the ultimate motive behind it was an anticipated structural change in the supply of national energy. Economically exploitable hydro power resources were expected to be built within ten years and atomic power was seen as a promising and complementing new energy technology. While importing fuels like coal was out of the question, because of scarce foreign currency, domestic uranium mineral deposits were considered as a potential source of nuclear fuel. Nevertheless, even then nuclear energy was regarded as just one of the possible future energy options. In the mid-1960 s a bandwagon effect of light water reactor orders was witnessed in the United States and soon elsewhere in the world. In Finland, two separate invitations for bids for nuclear reactors were initiated. This study explores at length both their preceding grounds and later phases. An explanation is given that the parallel, independent and nearly identical tenders reflected a post-war ideological rivalry between the state-owned utility Imatran Voima and private energy utilities. A private sector nuclear power association Voimayhdistys Ydin represented energy intensive paper and pulp industries and wanted to have free choice instead of being associated themselves with "the state monopoly" in energy pricing. As a background to this, a decisive change had started to happen within Finnish energy policy: private and municipal big thermal power plants became incorporated into the national hydro power production system. A characteristic phenomenon in the later history is the Soviet Union s effort to bid for the tender of Imatran Voima. A nuclear superpower was willing to take part in competition but not on a turnkey basis as Imatran Voima had presumed. As a result of many political turns and four years of negotiations the first Finnish commercial light water reactor was ordered from the East. Soon after this the private nuclear power group ordered its reactors from Sweden. This work interprets this as a reasonable geopolitical balance in choosing politically sensitive technology. Conceptually, social and political dimensions of new technology are emphasised. Negotiations on the Finnish atomic energy program are viewed as a cooperation and a struggle, where state-oriented and private-oriented regimes pose their own macro level views and goals (technopolitical imaginaries) and defend and advance their plans and practical modes of action (schemata). Here, not only technologists but even political actors are seen to contribute to technopolitical realisations.

Yhteiskuntavastuun ulottuvuudet elintarviketeollisuudessa: sisällönanalyysi yhteiskuntavastuuraporteista

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää yhteiskuntavastuun sisältöä elintarviketeollisuusalalla Suomessa. Tavoitteena oli saada käsitys siitä, mitkä yhteiskuntavastuun ulottuvuudet ovat alan yrityksille tärkeitä ja mitkä vähemmän tärkeitä. Samalla selvitettiin, onko elintarviketeollisuuden eri toimialojen ja yritysten välillä eroa yhteiskuntavastuun painotuksissa ja millaisia toimiala- ja yrityskohtaisia erityiskysymyksiä alalta löytyy. Teoriaosassa käydään läpi yhteiskuntavastuuta ja sen historiaa, ulottuvuuksia ja raportointia sekä yhteiskuntavastuun taustalla olevaa sidosryhmäteoriaa. Kirjallisuuden pohjalta tehtiin synteesi elintarviketeollisuusalan yhteiskuntavastuun ulottuvuuksista, joka toimii tutkimuksen viitekehyksenä. Tässä on kahdeksan pääulottuvuutta – taloudellinen vastuu, ympäristövastuu, henkilöstövastuu, tuotevastuu, vastuullinen hankinta, paikallisyhteisöt ja yhteiskunta, ihmisoikeudet ja tasa-arvo sekä eläinten hyvinvointi – ja näillä yhteensä 42 alaulottuvuutta. Tätä teoreettista viitekehystä käytettiin mittaristona empiirisessä tutkimuksessa. Menetelmänä oli sisällönanalyysi, jonka aineistona käytettiin kymmenen Suomen suurimman elintarviketeollisuusalan yrityksen yhteiskuntavastuuraportteja vuodelta 2009. Toimialojen välistä ja sisäistä vertailua varten yritykset jaettiin ryhmiin seuraavasti: lihanjalostus (HKScan ja Atria), maidonjalostus (Valio ja Arla), vilja- ja öljykasviala (Fazer, Vaasan ja Raisio) sekä juoma-ala (Altia, Sinebrychoff ja Hartwall). Tutkimuksen mukaan yhteiskuntavastuu ei näyttäydy kaikille yrityksille samanlaisena, vaan yritykset painottavat raporteillaan yhteiskuntavastuun ulottuvuuksia hyvin eri tavoin. Summatasolla tärkein ulottuvuus oli ympäristövastuu, jota seurasivat tärkeysjärjestyksessä seuraavina henkilöstövastuu, tuotevastuu ja taloudellinen vastuu. Alaulottuvuuksista tärkein oli päästöt, jätevedet ja jätteet. Maidonjalostusala painotti muita aloja voimakkaammin vastuuta omistajille, maaseudulle ja kuluttajille sekä tuotteisiin liittyviä yhteiskuntavastuukysymyksiä. Vilja- ja öljykasviala puolestaan keskittyi voimakkaasti henkilöstö- ja ympäristökysymyksiin. Juoma-alalla energiankulutus, työterveys ja turvallisuus sekä vastuullinen markkinointi nousivat alakohtaisiksi erityiskysymyksiksi. Sisäisesti epäyhtenäisin tutkituista toimialoista oli liha-ala, jolla Atria painotti voimakkaasti henkilöstö- ja ympäristövastuun kysymyksiä ja HKScan tuotteisiin liittyviä vastuukysymyksiä. Muillakin toimialoilla yritykset poikkesivat huomattavasti toisistaan. Tuloksiin vaikuttivat mm. erot yritysten omistajuudessa, toimintaympäristöissä, hankintaketjujen pituudessa, tuotteiden luonteessa, alan työvoimavaltaisuudessa jne., mutta myös erot yritysten raportointikäytännöissä ja niissä periaatteissa, joiden perusteella yhteiskuntavastuuraportissa käsiteltävät teemat valitaan. Tutkimuksesta saatiin tukea ennakko-oletukselle, että eri elintarviketeollisuuden alat ja yritykset todella ovat erilaisia ja niiden yhteiskuntavastuuhaasteet poikkeavat toisistaan, vaikka yhtäläisyyksiäkin löytyy. Tämä tulisi huomioida tutkittaessa elintarvikealan yhteiskuntavastuuta ja pyrittäessä luomaan sille kattavia malleja ja ohjeistuksia.

Tiemerkintöjen kuntoluokitus

Tässä ohjejulkaisussa esitetään perusteet tiemerkintöjen kuntoluokan mittaamiseen viisiportaisen kuntoarvoasteikon avulla. Tiemerkintöjen kuntoarvo on yksi keskeisistä tiemerkintöjen ylläpidolle asetetuista laatuvaatimuksista. Tiemerkintöjen kuntoarvotietoa käytetään lisäksi ylläpidon ohjaamiseen sekä ohjelmointiin. Ohje on hyväksytty käyttöönotettavaksi.

Tiemerkintöjen laatuvaatimukset

Tässä ohjejulkaisussa esitetään tiemerkintöjen sekä muiden tien pintaan tehtyjen liikennettä ohjaavien toimenpiteiden Laatuvaatimukset. Tieliikennelain 50§ ja -tieliikenneasetuksen 55 § 2 momentin mukaan julkaisun velvoittavat osat koskevat kaikkia tieliikennelainsäädännön tarkoittamia teitä ja katuja. Ohjejulkaisu on hyväksytty käyttöönotettavaksi.

Strategy formation for indirect spend

The aim of this thesis was to examine the strategy formation in indirect procurement. Current literature in purchasing strategy has mainly focused on direct procurement whereas the strategy formation in indirect procurement has gained much less attention. Nevertheless, the weak economic times have been pushing companies to find savings from other places as well. The theoretical part of the thesis focused on three main subjects; indirect procurement, purchasing strategy and category management. This thesis was a case study, which initiative arose from the company’s need to develop their indirect procurement. The objectives of the empirical part were to identify current state of the indirect procurement and solve biggest issues. The analysis was based on multiple managerial interviews and a spend analysis from ten different countries. Based on these analyses and the theoretical findings a framework and recommendations for the case company was made.

Puupolttoaineen varastonhallinta- ja hankintamalli

Työssä luodaan energiapuun varastonhallintamalli ja hankintamalli energiantuotantolaitoksen näkökulmasta sekä kuvataan kustannustehokkaita ja toimitusvarmoja vaihtoehtoja puupolttoaineen varastoinnille ja haketukselle. Varastonhallintamallissa keskitytään varastotason hallintamenetelmiin toimintaympäristössään. Hankintamalli määrittää oman varaston ja suoran laitostoimituksen suhteen sekä auttaa pohtimaan strategisen hankinnan merkitystä hankinnan toteuttamiseen ja hankintakanavien valintaan. Työ antaa vastauksia koko hankintatoiminnan toteutukseen ja hallitsemiseen. Varastonhallintamallin skenaariotarkastelussa selvisi, että yrityksen oma varasto vaatii 18 – 37 % varmuusvaraston suhteessa käyttövarastoon. Hankintamallin mukaan oman varaston kannattavimman puupolttoainejakeen hankintaetäisyys voisi olla keskimäärin korkeintaan 96 km. Tarpeen, saatavuuden, jakeiden kustannustasojen ja toimintaympäristön mahdollisuuksien ollessa selvillä, on mahdollista tehdä päätöksiä hankintakanavista ja varmuusvarastoista kustannustehokkuuden perusteella. Yrityksen polttoainemäärien ohjauksen toteutukseen vaaditaan kehittämistoimia. Oman toimintaympäristön vakiointi ja toimintamallien dokumentointi on tärkeää tiedonjaon, toimitussopimusten mitoittamisen ja toiminnan kehittämisen kannalta. Toiminnan pullonkaulojen vähentäminen ja puupolttoaineen ohjaaminen kustannustehokkaimpien haketusketjujen kautta mahdollisimman tehokkaasti synnyttävät kustannussäästöjä toimitusketjussa.

Development of business processes and sales reporting - Case recovered paper

The purpose of this research is to discover development points for business processes and sales reporting in the recovered paper sourcing organization. The processes under development are both sales and sourcing processes that were determined by the commissioning company. All of these processes have in common that there are used sales orders to organize the money flows correctly. Although the main objective is to source only recovered paper, the sourcing also brings by-products that cannot be utilized and are thus sold. As the purpose of the sales function is to only support the sourcing strategy, it should be organized as efficiently as possible. Investigating the current status of the processes and finding development points help in building proposals for enhanced process descriptions. In order that sales function could be analyzed, should the sales reporting be accurate and present the needed key figures. The current status of the processes as well as the possible problems and development ideas were researched with the help of interviews. Best practices could also be brought from other business lines in the commissioning company. The theory part was build according to relevant literature and scientific articles. The research indicates, that processes have shaped differently in sourcing organization’s business units. Local infrastructure and legislation sets certain limitations to the sourcing of recovered paper, and these circumstances cannot be changed. Customer-supplier power relations also affect to the formulation of business processes. In order to steer the processes, there has to be more internal controls. Still, the enterprise resource planning system also sets boundaries how the processes can be made more efficient.