Matkailututkimuksen avainkäsitteet

Brändi voi olla matkakohteella, -tuotteella, -yrityksellä, tapahtumalla, teemapuistolla, jopa persoonalla tai hahmolla – kuten Suomen kansainvälisesti yksi tunnetuimmista brändeistä, joulupukki, osoittaa. Tässä luvussa tarkastellaan erityisesti matkailukohteen brändiä. Sen alle voi sisältyä moniakin edellä mainittuja brändejä, jotka muodostavat erilaisia brändihierarkioita tai brändiarkkitehtuureja. Nykyisin brändillä tarkoitetaan useimmiten sekä matkakohteen sisäisen identiteetin että ulkoisen imagon muodostamaa kokonaisuutta. Aiemmin matkailututkimuksessa painottui imagon eli matkailijoiden mielikuvien tutkimus. Imago on nykykäsityksenkin mukaan erottamaton osa brändiä ja tutkimuksellisesti edelleen relevantti ja kiinnostava. Matkailubränditutkimuksen juuret ovat monitieteiset, mikä avaa erilaisia epistemologisia ja ontologisia lähtökohtia tutkimukselle ja tarjoaa uusia, myös liiketoiminnan kehittämistä ajatellen mielekkäitä tutkimuskohteita</p

Towards digitally mediated social work – the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on encountering clients in social work

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the globe. The viral outbreak was followed by rapid changes in people’s everyday and working lives. Because of the wide-scale societal restrictions that took place to prevent the pandemic, social work was forced to take a digital leap. In this article, we examine Finnish social workers’ experiences of extending the use of digitally mediated social work (DMSW) in working with clients during the first wave of the pandemic, the spring of 2020. The data consist of 33 social workers’ personal diaries, which are analysed using a qualitative theory-based content analysis. Henri Lefebvre’s theory of spatial triad will be utilised in theorising how social workers represent DMSW through three dimensions of space, that is, how they perceive, conceive and live digital spaces when encountering their clients and how physical, mental and social spaces are embodied in the representations. The results suggest that the three dimensions of space 1) basis of, 2) conceived and 3) lived DMSW intertwine closely together. The results reveal how the physical space, including IT infrastructure, its functionality and applicability, along with the organisational contexts, form a bedrock for the social workers’ DMSW practice and had a decisive impact on their experiences. Second, the conceived space consists of workers’ cognitive and emotional elements, such as competencies, preconceptions and attitudes towards ICT. Finally, the third dimension of spatiality concludes with the social and relational aspects of the user experiences and encounters between clients and social workers

Exostosin 1 is expressed in human odontoblasts

Objective: Dental pulp is soft connective tissue maintaining the vitality of the tooth, while odontoblasts form the dentin. Our earlier DNA microarray analysis revealed expression of putative tumour suppressor exostosin 1 (EXT-1) in odontoblasts. EXT-1 is essential for heparan sulphate synthesis, which may play a role in the dentin mineralization. Since the absence of the functional EXT-1 causes bone tumours, expression in odontoblasts is interesting. Our aim was to analyse further the EXT-1 expression in human tooth. Designs: DNA microarray and PCR techniques were used to study the EXT-1 expression in mature native human odontoblasts and pulp tissue as well as in newly-differentiated cultured odontoblast-like cells. Immunohistochemistry was performed to study EXT-1 protein in mature human teeth, teeth with incomplete root and developing teeth. Results: Markedly higher EXT-1 was observed in mature odontoblasts than in pulp at mRNA level with DNA microarray and PCR techniques. Immunohistochemistry of mature tooth revealed EXT-1 both in odontoblasts and the predentin but not in the dentin. EXT-1 was also observed in the odontoblasts of incomplete root, but the localization of the staining was different. In developing foetal tooth, staining was detected in ameloblasts and the basal lamina. Conclusions: The detection of EXT-1 in both mature and newly-differentiated cells indicates a role in the odontoblast function, and EXT-1 staining in the predentin indicates a function in the dentin formation. Detection of EXT-1 in developing teeth indicates a role in tooth development.Peer reviewe

Lapin joulucharter-tuotteen elinkaari

The life cycle of a Christmas in Lapland product The purpose of this study is to examine the life cycle of the Christmas in Lapland charter flight product, and what kind of effect did the Concorde flights have on it. The Christmas in Lapland product is understood as a package, which includes direct flights from country of departure to Lapland, accommodation, meals, different activities and meeting with Santa. Based on the product life cycle and tourism area life cycle, a tourist product life cycle model with a division into product development, introduction, growth, maturity, saturation and decline or new growth is presented. The data consists of statistics, interviews, newspaper articles and other documents. The time span is between 1984 and 2006. The main theoretical contribution of this study is the application of a combined life cycle model, a life cycle of a specific tourist product. The main difference to a destination life cycle is that the changes in content and price of the product are examined. The criteria used in examining the product life cycle may be applied in examining other destination specific tourist products, after identifying the special features of the product.The purpose of this study is to examine the life cycle of the Christmas in Lapland charter flight product, and what kind of effect did the Concorde flights have on it. The Christmas in Lapland product is understood as a package, which includes direct flights from country of departure to Lapland, accommodation, meals, different activities and meeting with Santa. Based on the product life cycle and tourism area life cycle, a tourist product life cycle model with a division into product development, introduction, growth, maturity, saturation and decline or new growth is presented. The data consists of statistics, interviews, newspaper articles and other documents. The time span is between 1984 and 2006. The main theoretical contribution of this study is the application of a combined life cycle model, a life cycle of a specific tourist product. The main difference to a destination life cycle is that the changes in content and price of the product are examined. The criteria used in examining the product life cycle may be applied in examining other destination specific tourist products, after identifying the special features of the product

Antecedents and consequences of destination brand love - A case study from Finnish Lapland

Brand love is a relatively new concept in academic discussion that demonstrates consumers’ deepening relationships with brands. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize the antecedents and consequences of destination brand love. This qualitative case study focuses on the destination brand of Ylläs, which is a large outdoor resort located north of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland. This study builds on the academic literature on brand love, destination brands, and emotional place bonds. The main contribution of the study is the presentation of a framework of antecedents and consequences of destination brand love. The framework provides new knowledge for academics and practitioners alike in conceptualizing tourist-dependent, brand-dependent, and brand-experience-related antecedents and the emotional and behavioral consequences of destination brand love. Our results demonstrate the importance of understanding the extreme emotions related to destinations and encourage further research this rarely studied area.</p

Employee engagement and internal branding: Two sides of the same coin?

This study examines the link between employee engagement and internal branding. It seeks to understand which antecedent factors healthcare professionals consider important for employee engagement and what kinds of implications this engagement-related information may have for internal branding. The study reviews the literature on employee engagement and internal branding and presents a conceptualisation of the linkage between the two concepts. The empirical portion content analyses more than 1200 answers to open questions to examine employee engagement in the case organisation, a large private healthcare organisation in Finland. The findings suggest the following eight antecedent factors to be particularly important for healthcare professionals’ employee engagement: organisational culture, reward, working environment, training, HR practices, reputation and values, communication, and physical environment. Based on the empirical and theoretical analyses, it can be said that the antecedent factors of employee engagement and elements of internal branding can be considered two sides of the same coin.</p

Yrittäjyyskasvatus – Tulevaisuuden siltojen rakentaja ja raja-aitojen murtaja? 11. Yrittäjyyskasvatuspäivät 2017 Oulussa, Artikkelikirja

The aim of this project was to create a preliminary theoretical framework of howto utilize humour strategically in organizations with the aim of creating newbusiness opportunities. The present multidisciplinary discussion paper will identifyresearch gaps and combine viewpoints of international business management,international business communication, marketing and education in a novel way. Itappears that in previous literature on humour in a business context, discussionshave taken place in different ‘silos’ and as a result, the connections betweendifferent research fields have been scarce. Consequently, a more comprehensiveunderstanding of the significance of humour in business innovations is necessary.Firstly, we are proposing a framework and a research agenda for exploring differentstrategic ways of using humour in companies. Secondly, in the Hurmos-project wehave already collected empirical evidence based on this framework, and somepreliminary results are also presented. Hence, the potential, as well as the limitsand risks of humour in business have been examined in terms of both internal andexternal corporate communication. We have focused on such research aspects ascorporate storytelling, corporate and employer branding, and work engagement.Peer group mentoring has been used as one tool for collecting relevant narrativesfrom companies. Additionally, we have explored innovation communication, inparticular how humour can be applied as a strategic tool in new businessdevelopment both in facilitating creative Research, Development and Innovation(R&D&I) work environments, and in incorporating humour into product andservice innovation in practice. Our empirical results will provide a much neededmore comprehensive view of the role of humour as a strategic tool in corporatecommunication and business innovation. The results also provide a point of departure for further research. Besides academia, results and generated know-how will be of interest to managers of large corporations as well as start-up companies.</p