Fattigdom och mikrokredit : en mångdimensionell påverkansstudie av kvinnor ur ursprungsbefolkningen på landsbygden i Guatemala

The high level of economic inequality in the world today is an unacceptable. The poor people of the world lack several essential services, one of them being financial services. In order to achieve economic growth and higher incomes, capital investments are a key determinant. For capital investments to take place, the availability of credit is of outmost importance – but this is usually what poor people lack. In the fight against poverty, micro finance has become an increasingly popular option amongst western donor agencies. There are scientific studies analysing the impact of micro credit, studies which several cases show a positive correlation between the work of micro credit institutions and positive effects on multidimensional aspects of poverty. Guatemala is a country that ranks below average on most social indicators within Central America. The economic inequalities are enormous, leaving the indigenous Maya population far behind. With this point of departure, this master's thesis and Minor Field Study aim to measure the impact of micro credit on indigenous women in a village in the poorest region of Guatemala. Its purpose is to capture how the economic capacity has changed over time due to micro credits from a micro finance institution. In order to obtain a multidimensional picture of their situation, four additional related aspects are examined – political capacity, social capital, human capital and gender equality. In addition, a correlation analysis of the inter-relation between these aspects and economic capacity is carried out. The results are two-sided demonstrating no general correlation between time and economic capacity, nor the four other aspects. The variables that increase with time are: construction of their houses of today, the quality of the clothes and political capacity. The reliability of the data is, however, somewhat questionable. In analysing this, a contribution is made to the ongoing discussion on how to perform impact studies on micro finance institutions as well as on how different aspects influence each other.Den ekonomiska ojämlikhet som präglar världen idag är oacceptabel. Fattiga människor saknar flertalet grundläggande tjänster, däribland de finansiella. I strävan efter ekonomisk tillväxt och ökade inkomster, spelar kapitalinvesteringar en avgörande roll, och för att dessa skall komma till stånd är tillgång till kapital ytterst viktig. Detta är dock just vad de flesta fattiga saknar. I kampen mot fattigdomen har mikrofinans blivit ett verktyg som uppmärksammats alltmer bland västerländska biståndsgivare. Det finns många studier av effekten av mikrokrediter, och i flera fall visar dess resultat en positiv korrelation mellan mikrokreditinstitutioners arbete och multidimensionella aspekter av fattigdom. Guatemala är ett land i Centralamerika som rankas under medel på de flesta sociala indikatorer. De ekonomiska ojämlikheterna är enorma och ursprungsbefolkningen, Mayaindianerna, ligger alltjämt längst ned på skalan. Med denna utgångspunkt, ämnar denna mastersuppsats och mindre fältstudie att mäta vilken påverkan mikrokrediter har på Mayakvinnor i en by i den regionen i Guatemala. Syftet är att fånga hur den ekonomiska kapaciteten förändrats med tiden som lån tagits. För att få en mer multidimensionell bild av hur deras situation har förändrats, undersöks fyra ytterligare aspekter – politisk kapacitet, socialt kapital, humankapital och jämställdhet mellan könen. Utöver detta utförs en korrelationsanalys av relationen mellan dessa aspekter och ekonomisk kapacitet. Resultaten är dubbelsidiga på så vis att de inte visar någon generell korrelation mellan tid och ekonomisk kapacitet, eller de andra fyra aspekterna. De variabler som dock ökar med tiden är: konstruktion av deras hus idag, kvaliteten på deras kläder och politisk kapacitet. Det går dock att ifrågasätta resultatens trovärdighet. När detta analyseras görs ett bidrag till den pågående diskussionen om hur effekter av mikrofinansinstitutioner mäts, liksom hur olika variabler påverkar varandra

Parhaan asiakaskokemuksen kehittäminen kulunhallintajärjestelmien asiakkuuksissa

Toimeksiantaja on kuullut puhuttavan paljon asiakaskokemuksesta ja sen tärkeydestä. Se asetti visioksi vuodelle 2016 tarjota markkinoiden parhaan asiakaskokemuksen elektromekaanisen kulunhallintajärjestelmän asiakkuuksissa. Asiakaskokemus on sitä millaisia tunteita ja mielikuvia syntyy, kun asiakas ja yritys kohtaavat eri toimintojen kautta. Jokainen asiakaskokemus on yksilöllinen ja asiakaskokemus tarkoittaa jokaisen ihmisen kohdalla eri asioita. Asiakas-kokemus koostuu mielikuva-, osto-, ja käyttökokemuksista. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten toimeksiantaja kehittää parhaan asiakaskokemuksen elektromekaanisten kulunhallintajärjestelmien asiakkuuksissa. Tutkimuksessa etsittiin vastauksia kvalitatiivisella tutkimusotteella haastattelemalla asiakkaita sekä toimeksiantajan henkilökuntaa. Lisäksi tutkimusaineistona käytettiin toimeksiantajan strategian ja toimintatapojen kuvauksia, joita analysointiin teorialähtöisellä sisällönanalyysillä. Tutkimustulokset olivat melko positiiviset, mutta tarjottu asiakaskokemus ei ollut parasta mahdollista asiakkaiden tai henkilöstön mielestä. Tutkimustulosten perusteella toimeksiantaja on pystynyt tarjoamaan asiakkailleen positiivisen ja lähestyttävän mielikuvan ja ensivaikutelman itsestään. Toimeksiantajan henkilöstöllä oli hyvä käsitys asiakaskokemuksesta. Heidän mielestään hyvä asiakaskokemus on asiakkaan palvelemista hyvin, ammattitaitoisesti ja kohteliaasti; asiakas tuntee olevansa tärkeä, hän saa haluamansa ja asiakkaalle jää hyvä mieli. Toimeksiantaja on sisällyttänyt asiakaslähtöisyyden strategiaansa ja se viestii asiakaslähtöisesti, mutta se ei ole saanut asiakaslähtöisyyttä ajattelutavaksi sen kaikilla tasoilla, koska kaikki työntekijät eivät ymmärrä omaa rooliaan yhteisesti sovitussa asiakaslähtöisessä toimintamallissa. Yhteneväinen toiminta ja tasainen laatu jäävät siltä saavuttamatta. Toimeksiantaja on jo lähtenyt asiakkaan matkaan, se on tehnyt paljon asioita oikein ja hyvin. Toisaalta toimeksiantaja on vasta matkansa alkumetreillä ja sillä on paljon kehitettävää. Asiakaskokemuksen merkityksen sisäistämiseen sekä asiakaslähtöisen ajattelun juurruttamiseen tarvitaan monien vuosien ponnisteluja. Vastuu ja edellytykset onnistumiseen on yrityksen johdolla. Asiakasta ei voi muuttaa, joten yrityksen on itse muutettava omaa toimintaansa asiakaskäyttäytymisen edellyttämällä tavalla. Toimeksiantajan tarjoaman asiakaskokemuksen tulee olla tarkkaan harkittu pohjautuen sen omiin vahvuuksiin ja valintoihin. Hyvä asiakaskokemus tekee asiakkaan ilahtuneeksi ja positiivisesti yllättyneeksi ja saa suosittelemaan yritystä tai sen tuotteita tai palveluita muille.The client organisation has heard a lot of public discussion about customer experience and its importance. It set a vision for the year 2016 aiming to provide the best customer experience of the market in the access control systems in the customer relationships. Customer experience encompasses what kind of feelings and images are created when the customer and the company interact in different activities. Every customer experience is unique and the customer experience perceived means different conceptualization for every human being. Furthermore, customer experience consists of image, purchasing and operational experience. The aim of the thesis was to find out how the client organisation will develop the best customer experience in the electromechanical access control systems in the customer relationships. The study attempts to seek answers utilizing a qualitative research approach by interviewing clients as well as the principal staff. In addition, the client's strategy and policies descriptions, which are examined through theory- based content analysis, were used as research material. The research results were quite positive but customers and staff thought that the offered customer experience wasn’t the best possible one. According to the research results the client organisation has been able to provide customers both a positive and approachable image and a correspondent first impression of themselves. The staff of the client organisation had a good understanding of the customer experience created. In their opinion, a good customer experi-ence’s goal is to serve the customer well, professionally and courteously; the customer feels important, the customer gets what he/she wants and stays in a good mood. The client organisation has included the customer-oriented idea into their strategy and it communicates in a customer-oriented way. The organisation doesn’t have the customer focus in its way of thinking at all levels because all of the employees do not understand their own role in a mutually agreed customer-oriented approach. A consistent balance of operation and quality fails to be achieved in the client organization. The client organization has already embarked on the customer journey; it has accomplished a lot of with a good standard. On the other hand the client organisation has made only the first steps in its journey and there is room for improvement as well. The importance of internalizing and implementing customer experience and customer-oriented thinking requires many years of effort. The company management bears the preconditions and responsibility for the success. The customer cannot be changed so the company must change their own activities as required by the customer behavior. The customer experience offered by the client organisation must be carefully considered based on its own strengths and choices. A good customer experience makes customers delighted and surprised positively and thus may lead to recommending the company or its products or services to others

Liederbuch der Freunde des Gesanges in Reval. Zweyte sehr vermehrte Auflage. Reval 1834. Gedruckt bey Lindfors Erben

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1714951~S1*es

Liederbuch der Freunde des Gesanges in Reval. Reval, gedruckt und zu haben bei Carl Dullo

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1714952~S1*es

Proceedings of the Sixth Danish Human-Computer Interaction Research Symposium.

Proceedings of theSixth Danish Human-Computer Interaction Research Symposium.Aarhus, Denmark, November 15, 200

What contributes to individual differences in brain structure?

Individual differences in adult human brain structure have been found to reveal a great deal of information about variability in behaviors, cognitive abilities and mental and physical health. Driven by such evidence, what contributes to individual variation in brain structure has gained accelerated attention as a research question. Findings thus far appear to support the notion that an individual’s brain architecture is determined largely by genetic and environmental influences. This review aims to evaluate the empirical literature on whether and how genes and the environment contribute to individual differences in brain structure. It first considers how genetic and environmental effects may separately contribute to brain morphology, by examining evidence from twin, genome-wide association, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Next, evidence for the influence of the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors, characterized as gene-environment interactions and correlations, is reviewed. In evaluating the extant literature, this review will conclude that both genetic and environmental factors play critical roles in contributing to individual variability in brain structure

Sustainable intensification of agriculture for human prosperity and global sustainability

There is an ongoing debate on what constitutes sustainable intensification of agriculture (SIA). In this paper, we propose that a paradigm for sustainable intensification can be defined and translated into an operational framework for agricultural development. We argue that this paradigm must now be defined—at all scales—in the context of rapidly rising global environmental changes in the Anthropocene, while focusing on eradicating poverty and hunger and contributing to human wellbeing. The criteria and approach we propose, for a paradigm shift towards sustainable intensification of agriculture, integrates the dual and interdependent goals of using sustainable practices to meet rising human needs while contributing to resilience and sustainability of landscapes, the biosphere, and the Earth system. Both of these, in turn, are required to sustain the future viability of agriculture. This paradigm shift aims at repositioning world agriculture from its current role as the world’s single largest driver of global environmental change, to becoming a key contributor of a global transition to a sustainable world within a safe operating space on Earth

Towards greater transparency and coherence in funding for sustainable marine fisheries and healthy oceans

This final manuscript in the special issue on “Funding for ocean conservation and sustainable fisheries” is the result of a dialogue aimed at connecting lead authors of the special issue manuscripts with relevant policymakers and practitioners. The dialogue took place over the course of a two-day workshop in December 2018, and this “coda” manuscript seeks to distil thinking around a series of key recurring topics raised throughout the workshop. These topics are collected into three broad categories, or “needs”: 1) a need for transparency, 2) a need for coherence, and 3) a need for improved monitoring of project impacts. While the special issue sought to collect new research into the latest trends and developments in the rapidly evolving world of funding for ocean conservation and sustainable fisheries, the insights collected during the workshop have helped to highlight remaining knowledge gaps. Therefore, each of the three “needs” identified within this manuscript is followed by a series of questions that the workshop participants identified as warranting further attention as part of a future research agenda. The crosscutting nature of many of the issues raised as well as the rapid pace of change that characterizes this funding landscape both pointed to a broader need for continued dialogue and study that reaches across the communities of research, policy and practice.S