Kampaamobrändin yritysmielikuvan kehittäminen - Matrix imagotutkimus

Opinnäytetyössä tutkittiin, millainen kampaamobrändi Matrixin imago on sen asiakaskunnan keskuudessa. Tavoitteena oli löytää Matrixin ylivoimaiset kilpailutekijät sekä heikot tekijät, jotka tulisi nostaa samalle tasolle kilpailijoiden kanssa. Tutkimus oli L'Oréal Finland Oy:n Matrix brändipäällikön toimeksianto, ja tutkimuksen taustalla olivat Matrixin teettämät kampaamoalan yrityskuvatutkimukset. Teoriaosuudessa selvitettiin imagon ja brändin merkityksiä, bränditutkimuksia kauneusalalla sekä brändin kehittämistä mielikuvamarkkinoinnin keinoin. Teoriaosuudessa todettiin tärkeäksi sekä sisäinen että ulkoinen yrityksen imagon tutkimus. Opinnäytetyössä keskitytään ulkoiseen tutkimukseen. Haastattelututkimus toteutettiin pääkaupunkiseudulla kuudessa kampaamossa. Haastateltavana oli kuusi kampaajaa, jotka tunsivat Matrixin. Tutkimuksen tuloksia verrattiin Matrixin teettämiin kampaamoalan yrityskuvatutkimuksiin. Haastattelututkimuksen tuloksena vahvistettiin Matrixin kolme selvää kilpailutekijää, jotka olivat tuotteiden laadukkuus, helppokäyttöisyys sekä hyvä hinta-laatusuhde. Tärkeiksi tekijöiksi ilmenivät myös sarjojen sopiva koko, värien hellyys hiuspohjalle sekä tuotteiden hajuttomuus. Heikoiksi tekijöiksi todettiin Matrixin vähäinen tunnettuus sekä somistus ja esillepano kampaamoissa. Lisäksi esitettiin ehdotuksia, jotka liittyivät tukkutoiminnan perustamiseen, tuotetoimituksiin ja tuotekehityksiin. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan kehittää Matrixin toimintaa heikkojen tekijöiden suhteen tai lisätä myyntiä kilpailuetujen tunnistamisen avulla ja niitä hyödyntämällä.Developing the company image of a range of salon hair products - Study of the brand image of Matrix The objective of this thesis was to investigate the brand image of a range of salon hair products of Matrix among its customers. The purpose was to find out the ultimate competitive advantages and the competitive disadvantages that should be reduced. The study was assigned by the Brand Manager of Matrix of L'Oréal Finland Oy. The framework of the thesis consists of two corporate image studies in the hairdressing industry assigned by Matrix. The theoretical part discusses the significance of image and brand, studies of the brands in the beauty and cosmetics industry as well as development of a brand by the means of image marketing. The theory supports the importance of both internal and external research of the corporate image. This thesis focuses on external research. The interviews were conducted in six hair salons in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The interviewees were six hair stylists who have used Matrix products. The results of the study were compared with the earlier corporate image studies in the hairdressing industry. The results show the three ultimate competitive advantages of Matrix e.g. the quality of the products, ease of use of the products as well as good price-quality ratio. The appropriate size of the product lines, the gentleness of the dyes on the scalp and the odourlessness of the products were important advantages as well. The results show that the competitive advantages were the low awareness of Matrix as well as the display and presentation of Matrix products in hair salons. The thesis discusses some development ideas, such as establishing a wholesale for Matrix as well as developing deliveries and products. Based on the thesis the competitive disadvantages of Matrix can be reduced, and through identifying the competitive advantages Matrix can increase its sales

Alkyyliamiinit pohjoisissa metsä- ja kaupunkiympäristöissä

Low-molecular-weight alkyl amines are reactive organic nitrogen compounds that are im- portant precursors in secondary aerosol formation. Atmospheric aerosols have direct and indirect effects on Earth's climate system. Alkyl amines are emitted from marine and terrestrial ecosystems, agricultural activities and other anthropogenic sources. In terrestrial ecosystems, the quantities in the different parts of an ecosystem and formation processes are not well understood. Alkyl amine soil concentration and biosphere atmosphere exchange measurements are scarce. The main focus of this thesis is to determine concentrations of alkyl amines in ambient air in boreal forest and urban area, and further identify possible sources and reservoirs of alkyl amines in boreal forest. The main results presented in the thesis consist of a timeseries of gas- phase concentrations of alkyl amines measured over several months, concentrations of alkyl amines in the soil and fungal biomass, and an emission estimation based on the measured concentrations. Alkyl amines were studied in two northern latitude environments: in a boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest at the SMEAR II station in Hyytiälä and in an urban background area at the SMEAR III station in Helsinki. To quantify ambient air concentrations of alkyl amines in these environments, sample collection and analytical methods were developed. Ambient air concentrations of alkyl amines were measured from May to October 2011 in the forest site and from May to August 2011 in the urban site. The effect of the measured ambient air concentrations of alkyl amines on the local air chemistry was also assessed together with aromatic hydrocarbons and terpenoids. To assess boreal forest soil as a source of alkyl amines, a pot-scale experiment was set up. In the experiment Scots pine seedlings were grown on humus soil collected from the forest site, and the effects of Scots pine and soil organic matter (SOM) degrading enzymes on alkyl amine soil concentrations were studied. In addition, fungal strains common in boreal forest soils were cultured, and the alkyl amine concentrations in the grown fungal biomass were quanti- fied. The role of boreal forest soil as a source or as a sink of atmospheric alkyl amines was studied using a gradient-diffusion approach. In the approach, the soil atmosphere exchange of selected alkyl amines was estimated. This was done by describing dissolution/volatilisation on water and transport processes, and utilizing the quantified soil and ambient air gas-phase concentrations of the selected alkyl amines found in the studied boreal forest. The gas-phase concentrations of alkyl amines in ambient air were found to be higher in the forest site than in the urban site. In the forest site, the atmospheric concentrations appeared to be linked to soil and vegetation activity based on the seasonal course of the measured alkyl amines. Litterfall, a phenological event, coincides with the concentration maxima of some of the measured alkyl amines. In the pot-scale experiment, the SOM degrading enzymes were found to have no effect on the soil concentrations of alkyl amine while the presence of Scots pine was found to have an effect on the concentrations of some of the measured alkyl amines. The soil concentrations of alkyl amines were found to be lower than those measured from the fungal biomass. The most abundant fungal groups (ectomycorrhizal and saprotrhopic fungi) in the forest soil contained the highest quantities of alkyl amines revealing that fungal biomass may be an important reservoir of alkyl amines in boreal forest soil. Based on the flux estimate, the boreal forest soil was found to act as both a source and a sink of alkyl amines. The direction of the flux was dependent on the studied alkyl amines and environmental conditions in the forest site. Soil pH was found to be one of the most critical factors determining the direction of the flux between the soil and the atmosphere.Alkyyliamiinit ovat typpipitoisia orgaanisia yhdisteitä. Ilmakehässä nämä yhdisteet osallistuvat moniin kemiallisiin reaktioihin sekä pienhiukkasten muodostumis- ja kasvuprosesseihin. Riittävän suuret pienhiukkasten voivat toimia pilvipisaroiden tiivistymisytiminä. Pienhiukkaset vaikuttavat pilvien heijastukseen, elinikään sekä sateisuuteen. Alkyyliamiineilla on todettu olevan monia lähteitä ilmakehään. Lähteet voivat olla luonnollista alkuperää tai ihmistoiminnasta aiheutuvia. Alkyyliamiinien ilmakehälähteitä ei ole tarkasti määritetty, ja erityisesti maaekosysteemeissä alkyyliaminiien pitoisuuksia, muodostumisprosesseja ja kulkeutumista ei juurikaan tunneta. Koska alkyyliamiinien pitoisuuksia maaekosysteemeissä tai kaasunvaihtoa ekosysteemien ja ilmakehän välillä ei juurikaan tunneta, alkyyliamiinien ilmapitoisuuksia mitattiin kahdesta erilaisesta ympäristöstä, mäntymetsässä ja kaupunkialueella. Mäntymetsän maaperän kykyä toimia alkyyliamiinien lähteenä tutkittiin kokeellisesti sekä laskennallisin menetelmin. Alkyyliamiinien vaikutusta metsä- ja kaupunkiympäristön ilmakemiaan arvioitiin suhteessa muihin reaktiivisiin ilmakehän orgaanisiin hivenkaasuihin. Väitöskirjan päätulokset koostuvat kuukausien mittaisista ilmapitoisuusaikasarjoista, alkyyliamiinien metsämaan ja sienirihmastojen pitoisuuksista. Näiden avulla tehtiin kaasunvaihtoarvioita maaperän ja ilmakehän välillä metsäympäristössä erilaisissa ympäristöolosuhteissa. Kaasunvaihtoarvion perusteella maaperän toimintaa mahdollisena lähteenä pystyttiin arvioimaan. Ilmakehäpitoisuudet metsäympäristössä olivat korkeammat kuin kaupunkiympäristössä. Metsäympäristön korkeimmat pitoisuudet ajoittuivat syksyyn ja ovat mahdollisesti yhteydessä esimerkiksi maaperän mikrobiologiseen toimintaan ja metsäkasvillisuuteen. Alkyyliamiinien suhteellinen vaikutus ilmakehän hapetusreaktioihin oli samaa suuruusluokkaa tai hieman vähemmän kuin haihtuvilla hiilivedyillä. Alkyyliamiineja todettiin olevan eloperäisessä pintamaassa sekä metsämaassa yleisesti esiintyvissä sienirihmastoissa. Alkyyliamiinien pitoisuus oli tutkitussa maassa suuri ja mitattujen alkyyliamiinien yhteispitoisuus oli samaa suuruusluokkaa kuin nitraatilla. Metsämaassa yleisesti esiintyvät sienet sisälsivät alkyyliamiineja pintamaata enemmän. Laskennallisesti pystyttiin osoittamaan, että metsämaa voi toimia lähteenä ilmakehän alkyyliamiineille. Maaperän happamuudella huomattiin olevan merkittävä rooli. Väitöskirjan tärkein tulos on kuitenkin luoda tiekartta jatkotutkimuksille, joissa selvitetään tarkemmin alkyyliamiinien lähteitä ja nieluja pohjoisessa metsäympäristössä

Temperature sensitivity patterns of carbon and nitrogen processes in decomposition of boreal organic soils – Quantification in different compounds and molecule sizes based on a multifactorial experiment

Climate warming and organic matter decomposition are connected in a recursive manner; this recursion can be described by temperature sensitivity. We conducted a multifactorial laboratory experiment to quantify the temperature sensitivity of organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) decomposition processes of common boreal organic soils. We incubated 36 mor and 36 slightly decomposed Carex-Sphagnum peat samples in a constant moisture and ambient temperature for 6 months. The experiment included three temperature and two moisture levels and two food web manipulations (samples with and without fungivore enchytraeid worms). We determined the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in seven molecular size classes together with ammonium N and dissolved organic N in low molecular weight and high molecular weight fractions. The temperature sensitivity function Q10 was fit to the data. The C and N release rate was almost an order of magnitude higher in mor than in peat. Soil fauna increased the temperature sensitivity of C release. Soil fauna played a key role in N release; when fauna was absent in peat, the N release was ceased. The wide range of the studied C and N compounds and treatments (68 Q10 datasets) allowed us to recognize five different temperature sensitivity patterns. The most common pattern (37 out of 68) was a positive upwards temperature response, which was observed for CO2 and DOC release. A negative downward pattern was observed for extractable organic nitrogen and microbial C. Sixteen temperature sensitivity patterns represented a mixed type, where the Q10function was not applicable, as this does not allow changing the sign storage change rate with increasing or decreasing temperature. The mixed pattern was typically connected to intermediate decomposition products, where input and output fluxes with different temperature sensitivities may simultaneously change the storage. Mixed type was typical for N processes. Our results provide useful parameterization for ecosystem models that describe the feedback loop between climate warming, organic matter decomposition, and productivity of N-limited vegetation.Peer reviewe

Forest mosses sensitively indicate nitrogen deposition in boreal background areas

Mosses take up nitrogen (N) mainly from precipitation through their surfaces, which makes them competent bioindicators of N deposition. We found positive relationships between the total N concentration (mossN%) of common terrestrial moss species (feather mosses Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens, and a group of Dicranum species) and different forms of N deposition in 11-16 coniferous forests with low N deposition load in Finland. The mosses were collected either inside (Dicranum group) or both inside and outside (feather mosses) the forests. Deposition was monitored in situ as bulk deposition (BD) and stand throughfall (TF) and detected for ammonium (NH4+-N), nitrate (NO3--N), dissolved organic N (DON), and total N (N-tot, kg ha(-1)yr(-1)). N-tot deposition was lower in TF than BD indicating that tree canopies absorbed N from deposition in N limited boreal stands. However, mossN % was higher inside than outside the forests. In regression equations, inorganic N in BD predicted best the mossN% in openings, while DON in TF explained most variation of mossN% in forests. An asymptotic form of mossN% vs. TF N-tot curves in forests and free NH4+-N accumulation in tissues in the southern plots suggested mosses were near the N saturation state already at the N-tot deposition level of 3-5 kg ha(-1) yr(-1). N leachate from ground litterfall apparently also contributed the N supply of mosses. Our study yielded new information on the sensitivity of boreal mosses to low N deposition and their response to different N forms in canopy TF entering moss layer. The equations predicting the N-tot deposition with mossN% showed a good fit both in forest sites and openings, especially in case of P. schreberi. However, the open site mossN% is a preferable predictor of N deposition in monitoring studies to minimize the effect of tree canopies and N leachate from litterfall on the estimates. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Does nitrate fertilization induce nox emission from scots pine (p. sylvestris) shoots?

Peer reviewe

Modelling spatio-temporal soil moisture dynamics in mountain tundra

Abstract Soil moisture has a fundamental influence on the processes and functions of tundra ecosystems. Yet, the local dynamics of soil moisture are often ignored, due to the lack of fine resolution, spatially extensive data. In this study, we modelled soil moisture with two mechanistic models, SpaFHy (a catchment-scale hydrological model) and JSBACH (a global land surface model), and examined the results in comparison with extensive growing-season field measurements over a mountain tundra area in northwestern Finland. Our results show that soil moisture varies considerably in the study area and this variation creates a mosaic of moisture conditions, ranging from dry ridges (growing season average 12 VWC%, Volumetric Water Content) to water-logged mires (65 VWC%). The models, particularly SpaFHy, simulated temporal soil moisture dynamics reasonably well in parts of the landscape, but both underestimated the range of variation spatially and temporally. Soil properties and topography were important drivers of spatial variation in soil moisture dynamics. By testing the applicability of two mechanistic models to predict fine-scale spatial and temporal variability in soil moisture, this study paves the way towards understanding the functioning of tundra ecosystems under climate change. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Soil concentrations and soil-atmosphere exchange of alkylamines in a boreal Scots pine forest

Alkylamines are important precursors in secondary aerosol formation in the boreal forest atmosphere. To better understand the behavior and sources of two alkylamines, dimethylamine (DMA) and diethylamine (DEA), we estimated the magnitudes of soil-atmosphere fluxes of DMA and DEA using a gradient-diffusion approximation based on measured concentrations in soil solution and in the canopy air space. The ambient air concentration of DMA used in this study was a sum of DMA and ethylamine. To compute the amine fluxes, we first estimated the soil air space concentration from the measured soil solution amine concentration using soil physical (temperature, soil water content) and chemical (pH) state variables. Then, we used the resistance analogy to account for gas transport mechanisms in the soil, soil boundary layer, and canopy air space. The resulting flux estimates revealed that the boreal forest soil with a typical long-term mean pH 5.3 is a possible source of DMA (170 +/- 51 nmolm(-2) day(-1)) and a sink of DEA (-1.2 +/- 1.2 nmolm(-2) day(-1)). We also investigated the potential role of fungi as a reservoir for alkylamines in boreal forest soil. We found high DMA and DEA concentrations both in fungal hyphae collected from field humus samples and in fungal pure cultures. The highest DMA and DEA concentrations were found in fungal strains belonging to decay and ectomycorrhizal fungal groups, indicating that boreal forest soil and, in particular, fungal biomass may be important reservoirs for these alkylamines.Peer reviewe

Partitioning of forest floor CO2 emissions reveals the belowground interactions between different plant groups in a Scots pine stand in southern Finland

Changes in the climate may have unpredictable effects on belowground carbon processes and thus, the carbon balance of boreal forests. To understand the interactions of these processes in soil and to quantify the potential changes in the carbon cycle, partitioning of forest floor respiration is crucial. For this purpose, we used nine different treatments to separate the sources of forest floor carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in a mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in southern Finland. To partition the belowground CO2 emissions, we used two different trenching methods: 1) to exclude roots and mycorrhizal fungal mycelia (mesh with 1-mu m pores) and 2) to exclude roots, but not mycorrhizal hyphae (mesh with 50-mu m pores). Additionally, we used 3) a control treatment that included roots and fungal hyphae. To partition the CO2 emissions from the forest floor vegetation, we 1) removed it, 2) left only the dwarf shrubs, or 3) left the vegetation intact. The forest floor CO2 emissions were regularly measured with a flux chamber throughout the growing seasons in 2013-2015. The total forest floor respiration was partitioned into respiration of tree roots (contributing 48%), heterotrophic soil respiration (30%) and respiration of ground vegetation other than shrubs (10%), dwarf shrubs (8%), and hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi (4%). Heterotrophic respiration increased in the trenched treatments without ground vegetation over time, due to the so-called 'Gadgil effect'. In the absence of tree mots, but when hyphal access was allowed, respiration in the dwarf shrub treatment increased throughout the experiment. This indicated that dwarf shrubs had fungal connections to outside the experimental plots via their ericoid mycorrhiza. At the same time, other ground vegetation, such as mosses, suppressed the dwarf shrub respiration in trenched treatments. Our results show that competition on the forest floor is intense between plant roots and soil microbes.Peer reviewe