Causes of Emotive Response to Artefacts

Emotions are one important aspect of how we experience artefacts. The question is what influences these emotions? As the first of a series of studies addressing this issue, a Focus Group session has been conducted. The participants were all adult consumers, men and women, in different ages. The topics investigated in the interviews concerned what emotions are associated with artefacts, and what product characteristics may have evoked these emotions, as well as more open-ended questions about other influencers of emotions. The results were descriptions of situations in which the participants had experienced emotions related to artefacts and the design of artefacts, as well as a list of factors expected to influence the emotive response to products. The results have been analysed in order to describe the source(s) of the emotion related to artefacts, i.e. whether the emotions may be attributed to the artefact or other factors. The participants’ comments tell us that the artefact in itself cannot always explain their experiences with products. The activity in which the products are used and contextual factors play an important role, as do the individual characteristics of the user

Maailmanlaajuisesti hajautettujen ohjelmistoprojektien valmistelu ja käynnistäminen

Organisaatioiden välinen kansainvälinen yhteistyö on tekemässä tämän päivän ohjelmistokehityksestä yhä enemmän hajautettua. Koska globalisaatio on kasvamassa IT-alalla, tulee maailmanlaajuisesti hajautettujen ohjelmistoprojektien valmistelu ja käynnistäminen hoitaa paremmin, jotta töiden hallinta onnistuisi hajautetussa ympäristössä. Maailmanlaajuisten ohjelmistokehitysprojektien valmistautumiseen ja käynnistämiseen liittyy useita eri haasteita ja ongelmia. Hajautetut ohjelmistokehitysprojektit aliarvioivat yleensä alun merkitystä projektin menestykselle, jonka takia projekteja yleensä käynnistetään ilman kunnon suunnittelua ja valmistelua. Näin ollen tässä työssä on pyritty käsittelemään kuinka kansainvälisten ohjelmistoprojektien alkua tulisi hallinnoida. Yhtenä työn tavoitteena on ollut löytää onnistuneita käytäntöjä hajautettujen projektien valmisteluun ja käynnistämiseen. Tämä tutkimus on luonteeltaan eksploratiivinen, jossa aineisto on kerätty yhdestä organisaatiosta haastattelemalla projektien jäseniä neljästä eri projektista. Aineiston keräystä varten käytettiin puolistrukturoituja haastatteluja. Tämän tutkimuksen tulokset koostuvat onnistuneista käytännöistä ja suosituksista, joita voidaan käyttää hajautettujen projektien valmisteluun ja käynnistämiseen. Projektin valmistelu koostuu muun muassa tiimi- ja organisaatiorakenteen päättämisestä sekä hajautuksen suunnittelusta. Onnistunut projektin käynnistäminen edellyttää aloituskokouksen pitämistä, joka tulisi pitää kasvokkain kaikkien projektin jäsenien kanssa, uusien tiimijäsenten kouluttamista sekä yhteyshenkilöiden nimittämistä.As globalization is driving organizations to become more and more distributed, multi-site development is becoming a norm. With the increasing globalization in this industry, it is necessary to better prepare software development projects to manage work in distributed environments. Several difficulties exist in preparing and initiating a globally distributed project. As most distributed projects underestimate the required time and resources needed for a successful project ramp-up, the projects tend to be initiated with a lack of proper planning and preparation. Thus, this work attempts to address how the early-life of globally distributed software development projects should be managed, with an aim of finding successful practices for preparing and initiating distributed projects. The research approach for this study is an exploratory multiple case study consisting of four case projects, with all case projects being within the boundaries of a single case organization. The data collection method used for these case projects was semi-structured interviews. The results of this study consist of a set of successful practices and recommendations for preparing and initiating global software development projects. Preparation is required regarding different approaches for structuring the teams and the organization, and establishing a plan on what to distribute. A successful project initiation requires a face-to-face kick-off meeting, training of new team members, knowledge transfer regarding the product and business domain, and designation of liaisons

The semiotic iron cage : Wondrous balancing act in the liminal land of escape artistry

This essay analyses escape artistry and its relation to body and mind. Drawing mainly from Finnish escape artist Uno Sunell’s life and advertisements for circus and vaudeville, escape artistry is analysed in relation to two themes: body – mind, and disenchantment – sense of wonder. The theoretical framework consists of modern performance theory influenced by Asian cultural traditions, combined with Deleuze’s and Guattari’s concept Body without Organs. The analysis is divided into two main parts. The first part shows how escape artistry incorporates spiritualistic and exotic elements in the performance, how it addresses contemporary ideals of masculinity, and how it makes use of pain to inspire a sense of wonder in the audience. The second part is a reflection on escape artistry in relation to its historical context, focusing on the biography of escape artist Uno Sunell. Here, the relationship between individual and stage persona is discussed in relation to mental and physical illness, authorities and disciplinary institutions, and the economic strains on the travelling entertainer

The semiotic iron cage : Wondrous balancing act in the liminal land of escape artistry

This essay analyses escape artistry and its relation to body and mind. Drawing mainly from Finnish escape artist Uno Sunell’s life and advertisements for circus and vaudeville, escape artistry is analysed in relation to two themes: body – mind, and disenchantment – sense of wonder. The theoretical framework consists of modern performance theory influenced by Asian cultural traditions, combined with Deleuze’s and Guattari’s concept Body without Organs. The analysis is divided into two main parts. The first part shows how escape artistry incorporates spiritualistic and exotic elements in the performance, how it addresses contemporary ideals of masculinity, and how it makes use of pain to inspire a sense of wonder in the audience. The second part is a reflection on escape artistry in relation to its historical context, focusing on the biography of escape artist Uno Sunell. Here, the relationship between individual and stage persona is discussed in relation to mental and physical illness, authorities and disciplinary institutions, and the economic strains on the travelling entertainer

Tax policy, economic efficiency and the principle of neutrality from a legal and economic perspective

Different tax systems are often, to a greater or lesser extent, de-signed according to the economist Adam Smith’s maxims regarding good taxes. One of these maxims could be described as economic efficiency. This paper discusses the criteria of economic efficiency and evaluates the possible interaction between economic efficiency and the fiscal principle of neutrality. The criteria of economic effi-ciency are assessed from a legal and economic perspective. Eco-nomic efficiency can be defined as creating possibilities for the par-ties to act towards the most efficient and mutually beneficial outcome. The neutrality principle ought to be defined as a principle derived from economic theory. Tax policy based on the neutrality principle is non-distortive and thus economically efficient. An indi-cation of non-neutrality is when the tax payers adjust their behav-iour regarding investments, financing, consumption, work or lei-sure, in response to the tax rules. Obviously the aim for non-distortive taxes is not applicable to Pigeouvian taxes since these taxes have as an objective to affect behaviour and balance an inef-ficient market outcome. Certain examples of differences in non-Pigeouvian tax treatment, presumably affecting behaviour, are further discussed

Tax policy, economic efficiency and the principle of neutrality from a legal and economic perspective

Different tax systems are often, to a greater or lesser extent, de-signed according to the economist Adam Smith’s maxims regarding good taxes. One of these maxims could be described as economic efficiency. This paper discusses the criteria of economic efficiency and evaluates the possible interaction between economic efficiency and the fiscal principle of neutrality. The criteria of economic effi-ciency are assessed from a legal and economic perspective. Eco-nomic efficiency can be defined as creating possibilities for the par-ties to act towards the most efficient and mutually beneficial outcome. The neutrality principle ought to be defined as a principle derived from economic theory. Tax policy based on the neutrality principle is non-distortive and thus economically efficient. An indi-cation of non-neutrality is when the tax payers adjust their behav-iour regarding investments, financing, consumption, work or lei-sure, in response to the tax rules. Obviously the aim for non-distortive taxes is not applicable to Pigeouvian taxes since these taxes have as an objective to affect behaviour and balance an inef-ficient market outcome. Certain examples of differences in non-Pigeouvian tax treatment, presumably affecting behaviour, are further discussed

A Little Goes a Long Way - Opportunities for Multidisciplinary Education

Ambitions about deep interdisciplinary education may face barriers. However, interaction between student groups does not have to be difficult. We report on a collaboration including more than 200 students from different subject areas, at different curricular stages in a multidisciplinary concept workshop. By engaging with an external event we avoided some of the challenges involved in aligning agendas, while remaining true to the ambitions of giving students Concrete Experience and opportunity to Reflect in and on actions, balancing the ambitions of raising awareness of the relation between subjects and engaging students in collaborating in problem solving based on skills and knowledge from their respective discipline. Our results show how collaborating with industry can help bridge some of the challenges with internal collaboration between students from different disciplines