Simple proxy for continental concentration of accumulation mode particles using reanalysis data

Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) participate in controlling the climate, and a better understading of their number concentrations is needed to constrain the current uncertainties in Earth’s energy budget. However, estimating the global CCN concentrations is difficult using only localised in-situ measurements. To overcome this, different proxies and parametrisations for CCN have been developed. In this thesis, accumulation mode particles were used as a substitute for CCN, and continental proxy for number concentration of N100 was developed with CO and temperature as tracers for anthropogenic and biogenic emissions. The data utilised in the analysis contained N100 measurements from 22 sites from 5 different continents as well as CO and temperature from CAMS reanalysis dataset. The thesis aimed to construct a global continental proxy. In addition to this, individual proxies for each site (the site proxy) and proxies trained with other sites’ data (the site excluded proxy) were developed. The performance of these proxies was evaluated using a modified version of K-fold cross-validation, which allowed estimating the effect of dataset selection on the results. Additionally, time series, seasonal variation, and parameter distributions for developed proxies were analysed and findings compared against known characteristics of the sites. Global proxy was developed, but no single set of parameters, that would achieve the best performance at all sites, was found. Therefore, two versions of global proxy were selected and their results analysed. For most of the sites, the site proxy performed better than the global proxies. Additionally, based on the analysis from the site excluded proxy, extrapolating the global proxy to new locations produced results with varying accuracy. Best results came from sites with low concentrations and occasional anthropogenic transport episodes. Additionally, some European rural sites performed well, whereas in mountainous sites the proxy struggled. Comparing the proxy to literature, it performed generally less well or similarly as proxies from other studies. Longer datasets and additional measurement sites could improve the proxy performance

Open access week 2021 at the University of Eastern Finland Library

International Open Access Week is a global event that many institutions and organisations take part in annually. Often the libraries of academic institutions are eager to participate. The level of participation can vary from simply sharing knowledge about the week to, for example, organising events. In 2021, the University of Eastern Finland library decided to put more effort to the week than before, since it has a role as an active promoter of open science. Medical Subject Headings: Anniversaries and Special Events; Awards and Prizes; Blogging; Libraries; Open Access Publishin

Strategic choices of internationalizing service SMEs. : Target market selection and entry mode choice of Finnish soft service SMEs

The services sector has nowadays an essential role in the global economy. Services account for two thirds of world output, are an important source of employment, and lately, have also become a driver for international trade. Furthermore, the internationalizing services sector is only expected to continue to grow in significance during the next decades. This study discusses the internationalization of small and medium-sized (SME) soft service companies, which are characterized by their simultaneous service production and consumption. The objective of this study is to examine the strategic decisions in the internationalization process of soft service SMEs. More specifically, the study sets out to describe the internationalization process as well as to identify the internal and external factors influencing the strategic choices of target market selection and entry mode choice of soft service SMEs. The theoretical background of the study comprises of literature related to the concept and characteristics of service, and the strategic choices of the internationalization process. The empirical research was conducted as an extensive multiple case study. The data was collected through expert interviews from four Finnish soft service companies that had entered one or more foreign markets. Thematic analysis was applied to categorize and interpret the collected data in relation to the tentative theoretical framework and research objectives. This study finds that the internationalization process of soft service SMEs is influenced by a variety of factors related to the characteristics of the service, the firm, and the host market. The target market selection is conducted with a strategic touch and by weighing the market potential, country risk, availability of resources and location of network partners. The entry mode choice is required to provide a physical presence on the target market as well as sufficient control to secure the transfer of the service concept and the related capabilities and knowhow to the foreign venture. It is also influenced by the limited resources of the company and the availability of local partners, who may be helpful when entering culturally distant markets. The findings of the study confirm the suitability of the tentative framework to study the diverse and complex internationalization process of soft service SMEs. The framework along with its categorization of influential internal and external factors may also prove useful for managers of internationalizing service companies. Future research is required, however, to clarify the mutual relationships of the factors, to study the influence of additional factors as well as to expand the research to other types of service businesses.Palvelusektorilla on nykyään keskeinen merkitys maailmantaloudelle. Palvelut kattavat kaksi kolmasosaa maailman kokonaistuotannosta ja luovat valtaosan uusista työpaikoista, minkä lisäksi niistä on tullut kansainvälisen kaupan ajuri. Kansainvälistyvän palvelusektorin ennustetaan lisäksi yhä jatkavan kasvuaan tulevina vuosikymmeninä. Tämä tutkimus käsittelee pienten ja keskisuurten (PK), niin kutsuttujen pehmeiden palveluiden kansainvälistymistä, joiden ominaispiirre on samanaikainen palvelun tuotanto ja sen kulutus. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kuvata pehmeiden PK-palveluyritysten kansainvälistymisprosessiin liittyviä strategisia valintoja. Tavoite jaettiin kolmeen alatavoitteeseen: kuvailla pehmeän PKpalveluyrityksen kansainvälistysmisprosessin vaiheita sekä tunnistaa, mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat strategisiksi valinnoiksi määriteltyihin kohdemarkkinan ja operaatiomuodon valintaan. Tavoitteen saavuttamiseksi tutkittiin palveluita ja niiden kansainvälistymistä, erityisesti kohdemarkkinan ja operaatiomuodon valintaa, käsittelevää kirjallisuutta. Empiirinen tutkimus toteutettiin monitapaustutkimuksena, jonka aineisto kerättiin haastattelemalla neljää suomalaista kansainvälistynyttä pehmeää palveluyritystä. Kerätyn aineiston jäsentämisessä ja tulkitsemisessa hyödynnettiin temaattista analyysiä. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa, että pehmeiden PK-palveluyritysten kansainvälistymisprosessiin vaikuttavat lukuisat eri tekijät, jotka liittyvät palvelun luonteeseen, yritykseen ja kohdemarkkinaan. Kohdemarkkinan valinnan todetaan olevan yhteydessä yrityksen pitkän tähtäimen strategiaan, ja siihen vaikuttavat myös markkinapotentiaali ja -riski, saatavilla olevat resurssit sekä yrityksen verkoston eri toimijoiden sijainti. Operaatiomuodon tulee mahdollistaa fyysinen presenssi kohdemarkkinalla sekä riittävä kontrolli, jotta palvelukonsepti ja siihen liittyvä tietotaito saadaan siirrettyä ulkomaan yksikköön. Sen valintaan vaikuttavat lisäksi yrityksen rajalliset resurssit sekä paikallisten partnereiden saatavuus, sillä partnerit voivat olla hyödyksi kulttuurillisesti etäisille markkinoille laajentuessa. Tutkimuslöydökset vahvistavat tutkimuksen alustavan viitekehyksen soveltuvan pehmeiden PKpalveluyritysten kansainvälistymisprosessin tutkimiseen. Viitekehyksen sisältämää strategisiin valintoihin vaikuttavien tekijöiden jaottelua voidaan hyödyntää myös yritystason päätöksenteossa. Lisätutkimus on kuitenkin tarpeen eri tekijöiden keskinäisten suhteiden selventämiseksi ja se voi laajentua koskemaan myös muun tyyppisiä palveluyrityksiä

Carbon neutral University of Eastern Finland (UEF) by 2025

Reducing environmental harm aims to build a responsible and sustainable future. The University of Eastern Finland (UEF) promotes the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in all its operations. UEF's goal is to become carbon neutral by 2025. The Library has staff members in two of the university's six working groups that chart the carbon emissions of the university and a steering group member

The milliped family Tingupidae (Chordeumatida) on Kodiak Island, Alaska, USA, a geographically remote record of indigenous Diplopoda

With documentation of an unidentifiable adult female and juvenile Tingupidae (Chordeumatida), Kodiak Island, Alaska, becomes the westernmost indigenous diplopod locality in North America including continental islands. The northernmost and most proximate locality, Yakutat, lies ca. 935 mi (1,496 km) to the eastnortheast, while Haines, the type locality of Tingupa tlingitorum Shear and Shelley, some 1,196 mi (1,914 km) in this direction, is the most proximate familial site. Kodiak is also one of the most remote indigenous milliped localities in the Pacific, the most proximate ones to the west and south, Kamchatka, Russia, and the Hawaiian Islands, United States, being over 3,300 mi (5, 280 km) distant. Tingupidae is recorded for the first time from Canada excluding the Queen Charlotte Islands, and geographically remote, ostensibly indigenous records from the North Pacific Ocean and environs are tabulated

USABILITY AS A GOAL FOR THE DESIGN OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS

The goal of all software engineering is to construct computer systems that people find usable and will use. Usability is an overall goal that encompasses both system functionality and user interface issues. Assessing usability is vital for those acquiring software packages as well as for those designing and developing software. The concept is also worth scientific research. Still, defining or measuring usability is problematic both in the course of system development projects and in research settings. The measures promoted by some recent usability studies are inadequate and even give rise to false assumptions. The concept of usability is a difficult one since the factors affecting it are defined only in the use context. It is not possible to evaluate the usability of a computer system without tying it up with the actual activities the user wants to use the system for. This claim is supported by a series of case studies in decision support systems. These studies have clearly shown that no list of usability evaluation criteria suffices in the long run; instead, perceived usability depends heavily on (organizational) context. Still, it is an important goal in every context, not only in decision support systems

Stress-associated changes in the gut microbiome of Asian elephants

Background: The intestinal tract of practically all animals is inhabited by a diverse microorganism referred to as gut microbiome. The importance of gut microbiome to its host is well known and an increasing number of studies show that the microbes are associated with many body functions, such as the gut-brain axis function. Stress, in particular, can impact the gut-brain axis at all stages of life. Stress can reshape the gut bacterial composition through glucocorticoid secretion, inflammation, or autonomic alterations. This often leads to gut bacterial imbalance (dysbiosis), as well as low microbial diversity. Although studies on gut microbiome are increasing, the mechanisms of gut-brain axis and how microbes associate with stress still remain poorly understood. Also, the gut microbiome studies have focused mostly on humans or laboratory animals in controlled environments. It is important to widen the studies on mammals in their natural environment to better understand the complex development of gut microbiome. The aim of this thesis was to (1) determine the composition of gut microbiome of Asian elephants living in their natural environment and (2) test the hypothesis that increased stress alters the gut microbiome composition. Methods: The gut microbiome was determined from 94 semi-captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Myanmar, from which both fecal sample collection and blood sampling was possible. The gut microbiome was analyzed from the fecal samples using 16S rRNA metabarcoding approach. Stress levels were determined from the blood samples as: (I) serum cortisol (SC), (II) heterophil to lymphocyte ratio in blood samples (H:L) and (III) fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). Results: The overall gut microbe composition in Asian elephants was similar to previous studies, dominated by Firmicutes (55%) and Bacteroidetes (25%) followed by Spirochaetaes (8%). One specific genus Solibacillus was found to be significantly more abundant in this thesis compared to previous studies. There were also differences in the microbiome between elephants. The age and location of the elephant had significant effects on the gut microbe composition. The stress measure H:L ratio was also associated with gut microbiome by reducing the alpha diversity. All three stress measures were also associated with compositional changes in the gut microbiome. Conclusions: Gut microbe composition in Asian elephants is diverse and similar to other fermenters. Stress, particularly long-term stress, can shape the composition of the microbiome. This thesis provides in my knowledge the most comprehensive picture of gut microbiome in Asian elephants in their natural living environment. In addition, this thesis adds important knowledge of the microbiota-gut-brain axis and how stress levels are associated with it

Essays on international political economy

This dissertation is a collection of essays that focus on the effects of government intervention on economic outcomes. The work is empirical in nature and incorporates cross-country comparisons to highlight the effect governments potentially have in influencing the working of markets. The essays in this dissertation ask what governments actually do and why, what governments should avoid doing, and finally, what governments should undertake to foster economic progress. Chapter one is a short introduction to the role governments play in modern societies. Chapter two considers what governments do and why, focusing on fiscal illusion. Contrary to the fiscal illusion hypothesis, this study finds that an increase in the share of indirect taxes actually decreases the size of government as a share of GDP. It is hypothesized that this result could stem from politicians\u27 desire to design such tax structures that minimize the political resistance for tax increases. As with fiscal illusion, there is no guarantee that this outcome would be optimal in terms of excess burden of taxation. Chapter three analyzes the effectiveness of international development aid. The results of this chapter indicate that development aid does not seem to improve economic growth. It is hypothesized that this result may emanate, among other things, from the harmful incentive aid imposes upon work effort, and from tied aid that may lead to misallocation of recipient countries\u27 scarce resources. Chapter four concentrates on governments\u27 role in post-socialist economies in fostering entrepreneurial activity, looking at the policies and institutions that appear to be the most highly correlated with a country\u27s success (or failure) in promoting entrepreneurial activity. The results of this essay indicate that to be successful, the presence of enabling environment, i.e., economic freedom and good policies---such as low taxes, low regulations, and secure private property rights---is of crucial importance. Chapter five provides a summary of the results of the dissertation and discusses potential directions of future research investigating fiscal illusion, international development aid and entrepreneurship in transition economies

Student-Faculty Research in Organic Chemistry

Timo Ovaska remarks that the clothes we wear, the colors we see, the foods we eat, the fuels that power our cars, the medicines that make us heal and feel better, even the biochemical reactions that happen in our bodies are all manifestations of the importance of organic chemistry in daily life. He also praises his students who chose to do research, as there is no mandatory research component for the chemistry major at Connecticut College, who have gone on to successful careers. Students chose to get involved not because it was going to be easy, but because they were genuinely interested, had the to desire to learn more than they would simply by going to class, and were up to the challenge