Service-Oriented Process Models in Telecommunication Business

The thesis concentrates on to evaluate challenges in the business process management and the need for Service-oriented process models in telecommunication business to alleviate the integration work efforts and to reduce total costs of ownership. The business aspect concentrates on operations and business support systems which are tailored for communication service providers. Business processes should be designed in conformance with TeleManagement Forum's integrated business architecture framework. The thesis rationalizes the need to transform organizations and their way of working from vertical silos to horizontal layers and to understand transformational efforts which are needed to adopt a new strategy. Furthermore, the thesis introduces service characterizations and goes deeper into technical requirements that a service compliant middleware system needs to support. At the end of the thesis Nokia Siemens Networks proprietary approach – Process Automation Enabling Suite is introduced, and finally the thesis performs two case studies. The first one is Nokia Siemens Networks proprietary survey which highlights the importance of customer experience management and the second one is an overall research study whose results have been derived from other public surveys covering application integration efforts

'They got a project mentality’: Theorizing neighborhood dis-identification and the paradox of belonging through the lens of ‘the Ghetto’.

In a housing project in a small college town on the American East coast, a project that residents call ‘the Ghetto’, city administrators, social workers and politicians alike have often argued that housing projects offer living conditions that are not beneficial to the residents because, in a causal argument, they do not care about their community. Caring about the community is associated in public discourse and urban studies alike with positive identifications, and positive identifications with a sense of belonging, and sense of belonging with community. Based on long-term ethnographic research, this paper aims to critically discuss the question of how, on a meta-theoretical level, sense of belonging, community and positive identifications with a place are connected, showing that such connections are less obvious than sometimes suggested. Drawing on fieldwork on discourses of dis-identification and distancing in daily routines that constitute de-facto community as urban practice, this paper argues that first, sense of belonging and identification develops in an individual agents’ perspective, whereas community is relational and collective. This contrast explains the paradox of belonging: people say that others have ‘a project mentality’ and that they themselves do not ‘belong’ in the projects. Yet at the same time much of their networks and daily interactions consist of doing community locally. Second, this paper argues that usual explanations of simple stigma coping strategies - discursive constructions of dis-identification as a way of stigma - may play some role but do not suffice as a full explanation

Video game achievements

This thesis focuses on video game achievements in gaming platforms. The aim of this thesis is to research and analyse achievements and then conduct a study about them. The research area covers firstly video games, and how people are motivated to play them and what kind of playstyles there are. After that, video game achievements are examined by their type and design. Lastly, we will examine what effects video game achievements have on video game players, video games, and the development of video games. The achievement environments and user interfaces of the gaming platform Steam will be showcased as well to better understand how achievements can be viewed in the gaming platform. The study about video game achievements is conducted with a survey to gather data about video game players’ opinions on achievements and also how would they like to view and sort their achievements in gaming platforms. The results of the study are then used in the purpose of designing and implementing a functional front-end achievement environment application which can be used to sort and view achievements. According to the results of the survey, some players like video game achievements, while some do not. The achievement environment application was designed and built to sort achievements among other things by game, unlocked / locked, and how many players have unlocked the achievement, which is also known as global unlock percentage. As a suggestion by the survey participants, the application has sorting by unlock time and alphabetically by the name of achievements and games as well.Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma keskittyy eri pelialustojen videopelisaavutuksiin. Tutkielman tavoitteena on tutkia ja analysoida videopelisaavutuksia, ja sitten suorittaa tutkimus niihin liittyen. Tutkielmassa käsitellään ensin videopelejä ja sitä, miten ne motivoivat ihmisiä pelaamaan niitä ja millaisia pelityylejä pelaajilla on. Tämän jälkeen tarkastelemme erityyppisiä videopelisaavutuksia sekä miten saavutukset on suunniteltu. Viimeiseksi tutkimme videopelisaavutusten vaikutusta pelaajiin, videopeleihin ja videopelien kehitykseen. Käymme myös läpi Steam-pelialustan saavutusympäristöjä ja käyttöliittymiä, jotta ymmärrämme miten saavutukset näkyvät kyseisellä pelialustalla. Tutkimus videopelisaavutuksista suoritetaan kyselyllä, jolla saadaan kerättyä tietoa videopelipelaajien mielipiteistä videopelisaavutuksista sekä siitä, miten he haluaisivat seurata ja lajitella videopelisaavutuksia pelialustojen saavutusympäristöissä. Tutkimuksen tuloksia käytetään toimivan saavutusympäristön suunnitteluun ja toteutukseen, missä voi seurata ja lajitella omia videopelisaavutuksia. Osa kyselyyn osallistuneista pitää videopelisaavutuksista, kun taas osa ei. Kyselyn tulosten pohjalta toteutettu saavutusympäristö lajittelee saavutuksia muun muassa pelien ja saavutettu / ei saavutettu mukaan, sekä kuinka monta pelaajaa on saanut saavutuksen (global unlock percentage). Lisäehdotuksena toteutettiin myös saavutusajan mukaan lajittelu sekä saavutusten ja pelien lajittelu niiden nimien mukaan aakkosjärjestyksessä

Ikääntyvien voimaharjoittelun vaikutukset polven koukistaja- ja ojentajalihasten voimaan

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää ikääntyvien voimaharjoittelun vaikutuksia polven koukistaja- ja ojentajalihasten voimaan.Voimaharjoittelulla on todettu olevan suuri merkitys ikääntyvän toimintakyvyn muutoksiin. Lihasvoimaharjoittelua iäkkäiden tulisi toteuttaa vähintään kaksi kertaa viikossa, jolloin voidaan hidastaa lihasten surkastumista ja toimintakyvyn heikkenemistä. Tutkimus toteutettiin yhteistyössä Jyväskylän kaupungin liikuntapalveluiden kanssa.Heidän järjestämistä seniorikuntosaliryhmistä valittiin kaksi ryhmää, jotka ohjatusti harjoittelevat kerran viikossa HUR paineilmalaitteilla.Tutkimukseen osallistui yhteensä 14 naista ja kolme miestä.Tutkimuksen aikana viisi henkilöä karsiutui pois erilaisista syistä johtuen.Tutkimus koostui alku- ja loppumittauksista,sekä niiden välillä olevasta ohjatusta kolmen kuukauden harjoittelujaksosta. Varsinaiset mittaukset toteutettiin HUR SmartCard paineilmasäätöisellä polven koukistus- ja ojennuslaitteella.Kyseiseen laitteeseen asennettiin testauksien ajaksi HUR:n kehittämä yleiskäyttöinen Performance Recorder mittauslaite.Mittaukset suoritettiin isometrisinä lihasvoimamittauksina. Tutkimus osoitti voimaharjoittelulla olevan lähinnä muutamien yksilöiden kohdalla positiivisia tuloksia. Tutkimustulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että kyseinen harjoittelu ei ollut riittävää, jotta olisi saavutettu positiivisia mittaustuloksia.The aim of the thesis was to examine the effects of resistance strength training on the knee flexor and extensor muscles` strength with aging people. Resistance strength training has been shown to be of great importance in the changes of the functional capacity of aging people. The elderly should do muscular strength training at least twice a week so as to slow down the loss of muscle mass and functional deterioration. The study was conducted in cooperation with the Physical Exercise Services of the City of Jyväskylä. Two groups of the services’ senior fitness groups were selected for supervised training with the HUR- compressed air devices once a week. The study involved a total of 14 women and three men. During the study, five persons were excluded from the study for various reasons. The study consisted of start and end measurements and a supervised three-month training period between them. The actual measurements were carried out by using the HUR Smart Card pneumatic-regulated generation flexor and extensor device. A universal Performance Recorder, a measuring device developed by HUR, was installed on the HUR device for the testing period. The measurements were executed as isometric muscle strength measurements. The study showed that resistance strength training had positive results mainly on a few individuals. Based on the results it can be concluded that such training was not sufficient in order to achieve positive measurement results

Bending Strength of Beams with Non-linear Analysis

Bending strengths of open cross-section beams cold-formed from high-strength steel (HSS) are determined with non-linear analysis. Two kinds of beams are studied. The short beams are for examining the bending resistance of cross-sections and the long beams for studing the lateral buckling of open sections. The beams are modelled with shell elements and non-linear FEM analyses are carried out to predict the strengths of the models. Both material and geometrical non-linearities are included in the analyses. The results are compared with experimental results

Elvytetyn aikuispotilaan hypotermiahoito : Hoito-ohje ja koulutus Med Group Oy:n Kuusamon toimipisteeseen

Kammiovärinästä elvytettyjen aikuispotilaiden hypotermiahoidosta saadut tulokset viittaavat potilaiden mielekkäämpään neurologiseen toipumiseen sekä kuolleisuuden vähenemiseen. Hypotermiahoito tulisi aloittaa jo ensihoitovaiheessa. Osassa Suomea on hoito-ohjeet hypotermiahoidon aloituksesta sairaalan ulkopuolella, mutta Kuusamon alueella hoito-ohjetta ei vielä ollut. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on laatia hoito-ohje ja pitää koulutus elvytetyn aikuispotilaan hypotermiahoidosta. Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantajana on Med Group Oy Kuusamo. Hoito-ohjeen ja koulutuksen tavoitteena on vastata heidän alueen erityisvaatimuksiin. Opinnäytetyö on toiminnallinen opinnäytetyö. Kirjallisuuskatsauksella on koottu tietoa hypotermiahoidosta, jonka pohjalta hoito-ohje on tiivistetty sisällönanalyysillä. Tiedonhaussa on käytetty Duodecim Terveysporttia sekä Duodecimin kustantamia ensi- ja tehohoito-oppaita. Ennen hypotermiahoito-ohjeen luovuttamista työelämään sen sisällöstä pidettiin koulutus Kuusamon toimipisteen työntekijöille. Lopputuotoksena syntyi hoito-ohje ja koulutus elvytetyn aikuispotilaan hypotermiahoidon aloittamisesta ja toteuttamisesta ensihoitovaiheessa Med Group Oy:lle Kuusamon toimipisteeseen. Työelämään käytettäväksi tarkoitettu hoito-ohje on taskukokoinen muistilista. Hoito-ohjeen sisältö on kuvattu tarkemmin erillisessä kappaleessa tässä opinnäytetyössä.The results gained from induction of therapeutic hypothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with initial rhythm of ventricular fibrillation indicate to a more functional neurological recovery and a decrease in mortality rate. Given that the precise time window is unknown, therapeutic hypothermia should be applied in an early phase. There are already guides for induction of therapeutic hypothermia treatment but not in Kuusamo. The aim of this Bachelor´s thesis was to create a guide to induct therapeutic hypothermia after a cardiac arrest in Kuusamo area. The commissioner of the thesis is Med Group Ltd Kuusamo. This thesis is a functional one. The guide has been summarized on the basis of the data that has been gathered through literature review. Terveysportti by Duodecim and guides for emergency care and intensive care published by Duodecim have been used in gathering of the data. Before handing out the guide of therapeutic hypothermia to the work community, training was arranged for the employees of the Med Group’s office in Kuusamo. The final output of the thesis is a guide of induction of therapeutic hypothermia on out-of-hospital resuscitated adult patients with initial rhythm of ventricular fibrillation. The guide designed for working environment is a pocket sized checklist. The contents of the guide were educated to the employees in Med Group Ltd Kuusamo

Roots and routes in neighbourhoods. Length of residence, belonging and public familiarity in Berlin, Germany

Urban scholars commonly expect that residents show more neighbourhood belonging, the longer they live in an area. An imagery of fixed settlements thus remains dominant in a rapidly changing world. Recent research challenged classic assumptions but the alternative of elective belonging hardly differentiated between symbolic and practical neighbourhood use. As belonging is performatively maintained, this differentiation may be needed. What defines residents’ belonging in a neighbourhood in digital mobile times? Does length of residence alone result in place-based practices, familiarity with other people and ultimately in more belonging? Our analyses of survey-data from four Berlin neighbourhoods show that length of residence correlates with belonging, but not in a simple linear way. The use of infrastructure and especially public familiarity, which depends on the settlement as specific historical configuration, affect this relationship.城市学者普遍认为，居民在一个地区居住的时间越长，就越有邻里归属感。因此，固定定居点的意象在瞬息万变的世界中仍然占主导地位。最近的研究对经典假设提出了质疑，但选择性归属的替代方案 几乎没有区分象征性和实际的邻里功能。由于归属感是通过行动来维持的，因此可能需要对它们进行区分。在数字化、移动化时代，如何定义居民对社区的归属感？仅仅长时间的居住就会带来基于地方的实践、与他人的熟悉并最终带来更多的归属感？我们对柏林四个街区的调查数据进行了分析，发现居住时间长短与归属感相关，但并非以简单的线性方式相关。基础设施的使用，尤其是公众熟悉度，会影响这种关系。而公众熟悉度取决于作为特定历史配置的定居点。Peer Reviewe

No such thing as society? On the individuality of information behavior

This opinion piece considers the relative importance of individual and social factors in determining information behavior. It concludes that individual factors are more central and fundamental, although they may certainly be qualified by social and cultural factors and even though there are good reasons for studying and analyzing information behavior in terms of social groups. More studies of interesting emergent factors and behaviors in social settings would be valuable

Language strategies in Finnish small and medium-sized enterprises

Objectives of the Study Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have scarcely been researched from the point of view of language strategy. The objective of the study is to identify language strategies of Finnish SMEs doing business abroad and to analyze these strategies. The objectives were met through a survey directed at Finnish SMEs and face-to-face interviews with five case companies. Summary Languages are increasing important in the globalizing world, yet few companies have language strategies. The EU-wide PIMLICO Promotional Project investigated in summer 2010 top- performing international SMEs, which have adopted language strategies and use them for business purposes. The thesis writers collected data for the project in Finland. This thesis was undertaken with the consent of PIMLICO to further investigate this interesting topic. This thesis is based on continuous iteration between data, prior literature and the emerging theory. The empirical findings and academic literature suggest that language strategies in SMEs can include one or more of the following components: 1) common company language; 2) language audits; 3) language training; 4) recruitment; 5) translators and interpreters; 6) agents; and 7) company websites. Findings and Conclusion The researched SMEs do not have written language strategies, but they do have bottom-up language strategies. These language strategies emerge through recurrent language-related practices, such as using partners for translation, having an informal common company language and the use of native speakers as valuable resource