Organizational Culture: Case of the Finnish Construction Industry

Academic literature has long recognized the correlation between a company’s organizational culture and its quality performance. The Finnish construction industry is still a highly human powered industry, and thus, organizational culture is seen to have a significant effect on an organization’s efficiency as well. The aim of this study is to examine and determine organizational cultural profiles of organizations in the Finnish construction industry as they are currently perceived and preferred by professionals themselves. In all, 121 professionals working in organizations in the Finnish construction industry were surveyed using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). The reliability of characteristics was tested by calculating Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients, and the found differences between the response characteristics were analysed in-depth with paired and independent t-test analyses. The findings show that, on average, construction industry organizations in Finland currently operate with a mixture of clan and hierarchy cultures. Thus, the current organizational culture stresses the point of view of internal focus and integration. However, the organizations desired to emphasize more flexibility and discretion toward individuals. The novelty value of this paper is presenting existing and preferred culture profiles in the Finnish construction industry. These found profiles have the potential to improve management of organizations, which results in better efficiency of the industry through better performance of organizations in the construction industry

3D angle-of-arrival positioning using von Mises-Fisher distribution

We propose modeling an angle-of-arrival (AOA) positioning measurement as a von Mises-Fisher (VMF) distributed unit vector instead of the conventional normally distributed azimuth and elevation measurements. Describing the 2-dimensional AOA measurement with three numbers removes discontinuities and reduces nonlinearity at the poles of the azimuth-elevation coordinate system. Our computer simulations show that the proposed VMF measurement noise model based filters outperform the normal distribution based algorithms in accuracy in a scenario where close-to-pole measurements occur frequently.Comment: 5 page

Kehittämistutkimus: vuorovaikutteisten Matlab-opetusohjelmien vaikutus minäpystyvyyteen ja oppimistuloksiin yliopistomatematiikassa

Tampereen teknillisessä yliopistossa luotiin keväällä 2017 kehittämistutkimuksena opetusmoduuli matriisilaskennan sekä MATLAB-ohjelmiston harjoitteluun. Moduulissa olevien vuorovaikutteisten opetusohjelmien yksi tavoite on vaikuttaa positiivisesti opiskelijoiden minäpystyvyyteen matematiikassa ja MATLABin käytössä. Tutkimuksen tässä vaiheessa selvitettiin eroja oppimistuloksissa sekä minäpystyvyyden muutoksissa opetusohjelmilla harjoittelevien ja itsenäisesti opiskelevien opiskelijoiden välillä. Tässä tutkimuksessa ei havaittu tilastollisesti merkitsevää eroa ryhmien välillä. Alkutilanteessa koeryhmän minäpystyvyystuntemukset eri mittareilla olivat matalampia, mutta erot tasoittuivat tutkimuksen aikana. Ryhmien epähomogeenisuus alussa heikentää tulosten yleistettävyyttä, mutta tulokset ovat lupaavia ja rohkaisevat tutkimaan asiaa enemmän

Opiskelijoiden oppimistyökalujen käyttö tietokoneavusteisessa Matematiikkajumppa -tukiopetuksessa

Tampereen teknillisessä yliopistossa aloittavat uudet opiskelijat ovat vuodesta 2002 lähtien suorittaneet opintojensa aluksi koulumatematiikan osaamista mittaavan matematiikan perustaitotestin. Opiskelijat, joiden matemaattiset perustaidot eivät testin perusteella ole olleet riittävät, on ohjattu matematiikkajumppaan: tukiopetusohjelmaan, joka suoritetaan verkkopohjaisesti opiskelijan omalla ajalla. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin miten ja mitä oppimistyökaluja opiskelijat käyttivät verkkopohjaisessa tukiopetuksessa. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että erilaiset oppijat toimivat eri tavalla suorittaessaan matematiikkajumppaa. Pintasuuntautuneet oppijat käyttävät paljon erilaisia työkaluja, kun taas osaajat käyttävät huomattavasti vähemmän työkaluja, ja he menestyvät tentissä pintasuuntautuneita opiskelijoita paremmin

Wi-Fi Node Location Estimation Based on GNSS and Motion Sensor Data

Indoor localization is a well researched scientific topic and demanded commercial and technological area. However, the problem of scalability remains for indoor localization systems. Though there is a plenty of radio-based approaches for indoor localization that achieve high level of accuracy, many of those rely on manual data collection which is laborious and not globally scalable. In this paper we approach the problem of scalable radio-mapping by improving estimation of horizontal locations of Wi-Fi radio nodes using GNSS and motion sensor data collected in crowd-sourcing manner, i.e. without manual human intervention. We use simple and yet robust sensor fusion algorithms based on Kalman Filter to estimate pedestrian tracks in indoor and outdoor environments, and then use resulting location estimates as a reference for radio measurements, which are further used to estimate horizontal locations of Wi-Fi radio nodes indoors. We then analyze different radio measurement selection criteria for Wi-Fi node location estimation methods. The experiments based on real data indicate that sensor fusion considerably improves localization of Wi-Fi radio nodes when compared to approaches relying on GNSS data only. Our study also shows that using only radio measurements with strong signal and accurate location reference results in more accurate localization of Wi-Fi radio nodes. The results also indicate that estimation of Wi-Fi radio node locations with accuracy below 15-20 meters on average is achievable without manual data collection, and hence in a globally scalable way. Proposed approaches may be further extended with sensor fusion methods utilizing, for example, misalignment estimation and magnetometer measurements, as well as applied to radio technologies other than Wi-Fi, such as 5G radio technologies.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Substanssiosaamisen integroinnin vaikutus asenteisiin ja motivaatioon yliopistomatematiikassa

Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin substanssiosaamisen integroinnin vaikutusta ensimmäisen vuoden Insinöörimatematiikka 2-opintojakson opiskelijoiden asenteisiin ja motivaatioon matematiikkaa kohtaan. Tutkimus toteutettiin jakamalla opiskelijat verrokki- ja interventioryhmään, joista toisessa opiskelijat tekivät perinteisiä harjoitustehtäviä koko kurssin kuuden harjoitusviikon ajan ja toisessa opiskelijat tekivät enemmän alasoveltavia tehtäviä harjoitusviikoilla 2-4. Tutkimusta varten muodostettiin kyselylomake, johon opiskelijat vastasivat kolme kertaa kurssin aikana Moodlessa. Tulosten perusteella substanssiosaamisen integroinnilla on vaikutuksia asenteisiin ja motivaation, mutta tulosten vahvistaminen vaatii lisää tutkimuksia. Integroinnilla ei ollut vaikutusta opiskelijoiden tentistä saatuihin pisteisiin

Sähköisen matematiikan tentin toteuttaminen ja opiskelijoiden kokemukset sähköisestä tentistä

Tässä tutkimuksessa tutkittiin matematiikan sähköisen tentin toteuttamista sekä opiskelijoiden kokemuksia matematiikan sähköisestä tentistä. Tutkimus toteutettiin Tampereen teknillisessä yliopistossa, jossa matematiikan sähköiset tentit tehtiin EXAM-tenttijärjestelmässä tenttiakvaariossa. Opiskelijoiden kokemukset sähköisestä tentistä matematiikassa olivat varsin positiivisia. Naisten havaittiin suhtautuvan sähköiseen tenttiin hieman miehiä negatiivisemmin

Changes in Students’ Approaches to Learning on Engineering Mathematics Courses with Two Different Instructional Models

This study investigates the relationship between first-year higher education students’ (N = 405) approaches to learning and academic performance on engineering mathematics courses. In addition, we study what combinations of approaches to learning students apply, how these combinations change over time, and whether they are linked to the pedagogical design. The students were divided into an intervention group taught with an instructional model based on flipped learning, and a control group taught with a modern lecture-based model. The students’ approaches to learning were measured five times during one academic year. Multiple linear regression, dominance analysis and cluster analysis were used in analyzing the data. We found that a high level of organized studying and a low level of surface approach to learning were positively linked to exam performance, but a deep approach to learning was not linked to performance. In the last three measurements, the students in the intervention group were overrepresented in the cluster with the most desirable profile in terms of approaches to learning. In the long term, flipped learning seemed to foster deep approach learning and organized studying better than the lecture-based model.Peer reviewe

Engineering students’ approaches to learning in two student-centred instructional models before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this study, we investigated how well two different student-centred instructional models fostered engineering students’ learning in a time of crisis. We analysed students’ (N = 375) approaches to learning during four engineering mathematics courses in a Finnish university before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students’ deep and surface approaches to learning, as well as organised studying, were measured five times during an eight-month period. For the control group the student-centred elements were added to the framework of traditional lecture-based teaching, whereas the intervention group’s instructional model disrupted the structures of traditional teaching more profoundly. Our results indicate that the pandemic and related restrictions were linked to a decrease in students’ deep approach to learning and organised studying, and an increase of surface approach to learning in both groups. However, the intervention group’s instructional model supported the deep approach to learning better than that of the control group.Peer reviewe