Environmental description

Environmental description is the description of general, physical, personal and social space and action, where visual, auditory and other sensory information is shared with the receiver in spoken, written or sign language, either vocally, i.e. producing sounds or in another form (pointing, touching, drawing). It can be divided into the expression of basic characteristics, basic description, precise and extended description, and it can be carried out physically on the spot (close description) or far away from the target (distant description). Description can be carried out spontaneously in real time, in joint action systematically i.e. pre-prepared description or it can be recorded beforehand as a text format, or as consecutive i.e. a postponed description after the event. The target group may be one person or a group. In addition to verbal description, environmental description can be produced with various sounds, such as vocalization without words or other sources of sounds e.g. musical instruments. Interaction in a situation between the describer and the receiver may be a one-way description or a dialogue. It can further be divided into functional dialogue, reciprocal description supporting sensory perceptions, telling and pointing in front of the target, reciprocal description by drawing or through movements and the exploration of objects. In detailed descriptions the main subjects are followed by details. Description can be classified according to the size of the space that is extensive, large, in a room or nearby

Palvelun laadun ja asiakastyytyväisyyden kehittäminen Tilitoimisto Valiotilit Oy:ssä

Toimeksianto opinnäytetyöhön tuli Mikkelissä sijaitsevalta Tilitoimisto Valiotilit Oy:ltä. Tavoitteenamme oli selvittää ja kehittää tilitoimiston asiakastyytyväisyyttä sekä kartoittaa tilitoimistopalvelujen laatua ja markkinointikeinoja. Opinnäytetyössämme haimme ratkaisua tutkimusongelmaamme, miten tilitoimistopalvelujen laatua tulisi kehittää ja millä tavoin asiakasmarkkinointia tulisi hoitaa. Teoriaosuudessa selvitimme tilitoimistopalvelujen laatua ja kehittämistä, palvelujen markkinointia, asiakkuuden hallintaa ja asiakastyytyväisyyttä. Tutkimuksessa käytimme kvantitatiivisen ja kvalitatiivisen tutkimusmenetelmän yhdistelmää. Toteutimme tutkimuksen kirjekyselynä. Lähetimme osan kyselylomakkeista postitse ja osan jaoimme asiakaskäyntien yhteydessä. Tutkimuskohteena oli 51 tilitoimiston asiakasta, joista kyselyyn vastasi 40 eli 79 %. Tutkimustulosten perusteella Tilitoimisto Valiotilit Oy:n vahvuuksia ovat palvelun ystävällisyys, luottamuksellisuus ja ammattitaito. Tilitoimiston valintaan vaikuttavat eniten tilitoimiston maine ja ammattitaito sekä tuttavan suositus. Tiedottaminen ja hinta jakavat mielipiteitä. Kokonaisuudessaan Tilitoimisto Valiotilit Oy:n asiakkaat ovat palveluun tyytyväisiä. Kehittämissuunnitelmien pääsisältö koostuu tiedottamisesta ja yrityksen tunnetuksi tekemisestä sekä imagon vahvistamisesta. Sisäisinä kehittämiskohteina ovat työkierto, viikkopalaverit ja dokumentointi. Mielestämme opinnäytetyötämme voi helposti hyödyntää Tilitoimisto Valiotilit Oy:n toiminnan kehittämisessä.The assignment for this thesis became from Accounting Office Valiotilit Ltd which is located in Mikkeli. Our aim was to clear up and improve the customer satisfaction of the accounting office, and also identify quality issues and marketing needs of the accounting office services. In our thesis we looked for a solution to the research problem which was how the quality of accounting office services should be improved and how customer marketing should be handled. In the theory part we cleared up the quality and improvement of accounting office services, and the marketing of them. We cleared up also customer relationship management and customer satisfaction. We used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods in this study and we carried out the survey as a questionnaire. Mostly questionnaires were sent by post and some were given during the client visits. The target group was 51 customers of the accounting office and 40 of them answered to the survey which means a response rate of 79 %. Based on the results of this study, Accounting Office Valiotilit Ltd’s strengths are service friendliness, confidentiality and professionalism. An accounting office is selected by the reputation and skills of the office and also by a friend’s recommendation. The pricing and communication divided opinions within the customers. In its entirety Accounting Office Valiotilit Ltd’s customers are satisfied with the services. The main content of improvement plan consists of better communication making the company better known and reinforcing their image. Internal improvement issues are the work rotation, and the weekly meetings and the documentation. We believe that our thesis can easily be used to improve actions in Ac-counting Office Valiotilit Ltd

Ympäristön kuvailua monin keinoin ja aistein

Environmental description is description of general, physical, personal and social space and action, where visual, auditory and other sensory information is shared with the receiver in spoken, written or sign language, vocally, by producing sounds or in another form (pointing, touch, drawing). It can be divided into expression of basic characteristics, basic description, precise and extended description and be performed physically on the spot (close description) or far away from the target (distant description). Description may be carried out spontaneously in real time or systematically in pre-prepared joint action. It may also be recorded beforehand or written and used as a consecutive (postponed) description after the event. The audience may be one person or a group. In addition to verbal description, nonverbal vocalization and other sound sources such as instruments may be used. The description event may involve one-way description or dialogue. It may also include functional dialogue, reciprocal description supporting sensory perceptions, telling and pointing in front of the target, reciprocal description by drawing or movements, or exploration of objects. In detailed descriptions, an initial overall description is followed by details. Description may also be classified according to the size of the space (extensive, large, room, nearby).Environmental description is description of general, physical, personal and social space and action, where visual, auditory and other sensory information is shared with the receiver in spoken, written or sign language, vocally, by producing sounds or in another form (pointing, touch, drawing). It can be divided into expression of basic characteristics, basic description, precise and extended description and be performed physically on the spot (close description) or far away from the target (distant description). Description may be carried out spontaneously in real time or systematically in pre-prepared joint action. It may also be recorded beforehand or written and used as a consecutive (postponed) description after the event. The audience may be one person or a group. In addition to verbal description, nonverbal vocalization and other sound sources such as instruments may be used. The description event may involve one-way description or dialogue. It may also include functional dialogue, reciprocal description supporting sensory perceptions, telling and pointing in front of the target, reciprocal description by drawing or movements, or exploration of objects. In detailed descriptions, an initial overall description is followed by details. Description may also be classified according to the size of the space (extensive, large, room, nearby)

Accessibility of TV media for the dual-sensory impaired in Finland and in the UK

Peer reviewe

Sound Descriptions of Haptic Experiences of Art Work by Deafblind Cochlear Implant Users

Deafblind persons’ perception and experiences are based on their residual auditive and visual senses, and touch. Their haptic exploration, through movements and orientation towards objects give blind persons direct, independent experience. Few studies explore the aesthetic experiences and appreciation of artefacts of deafblind people using cochlear implant (CI) technology, and how they interpret and express their perceived aesthetic experience through another sensory modality. While speech recognition is studied extensively in this area, the aspect of auditive descriptions made by CI users are a less-studied domain. This present research intervention describes and analyses five different deafblind people sharing their interpretation of five statues vocally, using sounds and written descriptions based on their haptic explorations. The participants found new and multimodal ways of expressing their experiences, as well as re-experiencing them through technological aids. We also found that the CI users modify technology to better suit their personal needs. We conclude that CI technology in combination with self-made sound descriptions enhance memorization of haptic art experiences that can be re-called by the recording of the sound descriptions. This research expands the idea of auditive descriptions, and encourages user-produced descriptions as artistic supports to traditional linguistic, audio descriptions. These can be used to create personal auditive–haptic memory collections similar to how sighted create photo albums.Peer reviewe

Nurse competence provides more individuality in the care of older hospitalized people

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess Registered Nurses' perceptions of general nurse competence, patient-centred care competence, and individuality in the care of older patients and to explore their associations. Design: A descriptive correlative survey. Methods: Data were collected using questionnaires at one Finnish university hospital during winter 2016-2017 amongst Registered Nurses (n = 223) and analyzedd statistically using descriptive and inferential statistics (ANOVA, Pearson's correlations coefficients) and path analysis. Results: Registered Nurses assessed their general competence, patient-centred care competenc,e and individuality in the care of older patients at a good level. The Path model confirmed general nurse competence was a predictor of patient-centred care competence, which in turn was a predictor of individuality in the nursing care of older patients. The novelty lies in empirical confirmation of the association between nurse competence and individuality in the care. Increasing competence may enhance individuality in the care of older people and enable interventions to support care outcomes.Peer reviewe

Accessibility of TV media for the dual-sensory impaired in Finland and in the UK

One of the most used media is television. Almost all of us have a television set at home. Television is commonly thought also to be accessible, and for most of us, it seems to be so. However, there are people who cannot enjoy televised programmes without special measures. These measures include subtitling, audio description and sign language interpretation. All these are mentioned in the in-force EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive.In this article we look at how these are broadcast in different countries, what equipment is needed for receiving them, and how accessible the programme information (EPG) and menus to choose these accessibility options are, as they most often are not automatic, but have to be turned on in the accessibility options menu or the TV set or digital terrestrial receiver box (digibox). This article focuses on accessibility with special interest on the dual-sensory impaired perspective over four days comparing two countries: the UK where all three accessibility features mentioned above are well-established and Finland, where accessibility features concentrate mainly on subtitling.</p

Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences

In this article we introduce a systematic, holistic way of experiencing music performances through touch. This method called social-haptic communication, which consists of various touch messages called haptices is frequently used in interpreting for sensory impaired people, but can also be applied to various other disability groups, especially in connection to therapeutic approaches. Haptices are mostly used in interpreting visual events, but here we expand the scope into acoustic events, more specifically into interpretation of music. In this article we use a concert as an example of the versatility of haptices in sharing a music experience. The various techniques used in training to use haptices with music are also explained in further detail.<br /

Feeling vibrations from a hearing and dual-sensory impaired perspective

Working with hearing and dual-sensory impaired clients presents challenges for music therapy professionals. Feeling and experiencing the vibrations produced by music help to understand what the concept of music is. Music and vibroacoustic therapies have overlapping effects. Music is for listening while vibroacoustic therapy is mainly similar to physiotherapy. Where vibroacoustic (VA) facilities are not available, some flexible methods could be adapted. One can use a music centre with two separate, moveable speakers positioned on a wooden floor to enhance music vibrations. In conjunction inflatable balloons can be manipulated by the clients. Balloons can be held towards the sound source and used to test the variations of the intensity and dynamics of the vibrations in the room. The choice of music styles plays an important role to amplify the vibrations and introduce music to the clients. Clients’ feedback was very positive indicating they were able to feel some musical tones from low, middle and high levels. These methods appeared to enhance musical vibrations and give some therapeutic experiences, i.e. relaxation and awareness of musical tones. This approach has been tested over 25 years and the individual feedback supports notions on how tones are felt through the body.</p

Valtion vuokrajärjestelmän ja Senaatti-konsernin toiminnan arviointi

Tämä raportti kuvaa valtion in house -asiakkaiden, näitä ohjaavien ministeriöiden sekä Senaatti-kiinteistöjen ja Puolustuskiinteistöjen edustajien näkemyksiä valtion vuokrajärjestelmän toimivuudesta ja kehittämistarpeista. Valtion nykyisen vuokrajärjestelmän arvioidaan melko toimivaksi. Asiakkaat pitävät kokonaisvuokramallia selkeänä ja läpinäkyvänä ja nykyisiä vuokratasoja pääosin kohtuullisina. Erityisesti asiakkaat arvostavat nykyisen vuokrajärjestelmän entistä joustavampia irtisanomisehtoja. Eniten keskustelua Senaatti-konsernin liikelaitosten ja in house -asiakkaiden välillä käydään peruskorjausten ja vuokravaikutteisten perusparannusten välisestä rajanvedosta sekä vuokrasopimuksen irtisanomistilanteessa mahdollisesti realisoituvasta vuokralaisen jäännösarvovastuusta. Vain pieni osa asiakkaista arvioi kohdanneensa erimielisyyksiä vuokrasopimuksiinsa liittyvissä asioissa, ja niihin on pääsääntöisesti löydetty ratkaisu neuvottelemalla. Nykyinen vuokrajärjestelmä näyttäytyy erilaisena toisaalta standardoiduissa toimistotiloissa toimiville virastoille ja laitoksille ja toisaalta käyttösidonnaisia erikoistiloja käyttäville asiakkaille. Asiakkaat, joiden tiloille ei ole löydettävissä vaihtoehtoisia ratkaisumalleja tai korvaavaa käyttöä, kokevat mallin osin joustamattomana, ja toivovat lisää läpinäkyvyyttä sekä asiakaskohtaisten tarpeiden huomioon ottamista. Keskitetty kiinteistöomistamisen malli, sisäinen vuokrajärjestelmä sekä yhtenäiset toimintatavat vastaavat hyvin valtion uuden kiinteistöstrategian ja toimitilastrategian tarpeisiin. Toimitilastrategiassa asetettujen tavoitteiden saavuttaminen edellyttää lisääntyvää ja entistä toimivampaa yhteistyötä Senaatti-konsernin liikelaitosten, ohjaavien ministeriöiden ja tilojen käyttäjien välillä