Journal Staff

An important part of mathematics is the construction of good definitions. Some things, like planar graphs, are trivial to define, and other concepts, like compact sets, arise from putting a name on often used requirements (although the notion of compactness has changed over time to be more general). In other cases, such as in set theory, the natural definitions may yield undesired and even contradictory results, and it can be necessary to use a more complicated formalization.    The notion of a curve falls in the latter category. While it is intuitively clear what a curve is – line segments, empty geometric shapes, and squiggles like this: – it is not immediately clear how to make a general definition of curves. Their most obvious characteristic is that they have no width, so one idea may be to view curves as what can be drawn with a thin pen. This definition, however, has the weakness that even such a line has the ability to completely fill a square, making it a bad definition of curves. Today curves are generally defined by the condition of having no width, that is, being one-dimensional, together with the conditions of being compact and connected, to avoid strange cases.    In this thesis we investigate this definition and a few examples of curves

Some local--global phenomena in locally finite graphs

In this paper we present some results for a connected infinite graph $G$ with finite degrees where the properties of balls of small radii guarantee the existence of some Hamiltonian and connectivity properties of $G$. (For a vertex $w$ of a graph $G$ the ball of radius $r$ centered at $w$ is the subgraph of $G$ induced by the set $M_r(w)$ of vertices whose distance from $w$ does not exceed $r$). In particular, we prove that if every ball of radius 2 in $G$ is 2-connected and $G$ satisfies the condition $d_G(u)+d_G(v)\geq |M_2(w)|-1$ for each path $uwv$ in $G$, where $u$ and $v$ are non-adjacent vertices, then $G$ has a Hamiltonian curve, introduced by K\"undgen, Li and Thomassen (2017). Furthermore, we prove that if every ball of radius 1 in $G$ satisfies Ore's condition (1960) then all balls of any radius in $G$ are Hamiltonian.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures; journal accepted versio

Post-secular esotericism? Some reflections on the transformation of esotericism

In the last fifteen years the study of Western esotericism has become an academic discipline in its own right. The vast majority of research conducted within the field is focused on older, historical developments, with recent expressions of esotericism receiving far less attention. This has a bearing on the conceptual and methodological tools used in the field as well. The dominant definition of Western esotericism developed by Antoine Faivre might not be entirely suitable when looking at its contemporary expressions. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries Western societies have undergone major processes of transform­ation, resulting in what many sociologists variously term late modern­ity, liquid modernity, post-modernity, high modernity (and so forth). Naturally, these transformations affect esoteric spiritualities as well. In this article the author discusses late modern societal transformation and relates this to Western esotericism

Implementing ISO/FSSC 22000 - Food Safety Management System in a SME

The purpose of this thesis was to find out how to implement a food safety management system, ISO/FSSC 22000, in a small and medium sized enterprise. The thesis work was carried out in parallel with the starting of implementation in a case company. During the course of the thesis the secondary purpose was to find out the benefits and challenges for implementing a quality system such as this. The theoretical framework includes main concepts such as quality management, continuous improvement and document management. The theory part also presents the concept of ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 and main aspects to consider in case implementing other quality systems in retrospect. The main method in the empirical part is literature review, to understand the food safety management system standards and requirements. Benchmarking has also been performed to create a better picture of how other companies within this branch has experienced the implementation. The main result of the thesis was a guideline for how to implement and what to consider when acquiring the ISO or FSSC 22000 certificate.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

How can companies help to cut down the meat on our plates? Business models for meat substitutes in Finland

Meat substitutes show great potential for reducing the environmental impacts of the food system. However, consumer acceptance of the products is still a challenge and people need to be persuaded of the benefits of consuming meat substitutes. Businesses are one important actor group involved in changing eating habits through the commercialization of attractive meat substitutes however, research is limited on the businesses that have commercialized meat substitutes. Hence, this study aims to offer insights for companies interested in which actions and strategies are involved in the commercialization of meat substitutes by answering the research questions: What kind of business models are there for meat substitutes in Finland? How do the companies connect the components of a business model to commercialize a more sustainable alternative to meat? The methodology adopted in the thesis was a multiple case study of five business models around meat substitutes in Finland. The case businesses were Pulled Oats, Mifu, Härkis, Oumph! and Quorn and they show diversity in regard to maturity, size and product offerings. Data was collected through interviews of one company representative per case together with a thorough research of electronic publicly available materials. Additionally, two retailer representatives were interviewed for their thoughts on the meat substitutes category. Based on the data analysis, the existing business models around meat substitutes have multiple similarities. All the brands are targeted at the increasing number of average consumers who are reducing their meat consumption for various reasons hence, the flexitarians. Additionally, the brands position their products as alternatives to meat and not meat substitutes. Furthermore, the businesses are focused on commercializing products that are: 1.) tasty, 2.) have similar properties to meat in taste, texture, or usage in meals, 3.) are easy and quick to cook with and 4.) have similar nutritional properties to meat but are healthier. Moreover, the sustainability dimension of meat substitutes has played an important role in motivating the businesses to be established. However, although the environmental benefits of the products are communicated, it is not used as the main sales argument. Instead, the primary focus is on offering solutions to consumers’ every day taste preferences and cooking challenges and this strategy has enabled the brands to gain the interest of average meat-eating consumers and has contributed to increasing the trendiness of the more sustainable alternative to meat. Furthermore, innovative product development, strong marketing and branding efforts, and production and supply chain capabilities are key strategies for increasing consumer interest and acceptance of the products and hence, seem to be important for commercialization. Lastly, active interaction with end consumers, retailers, and the formation of a variety of partnerships seem to play a key role in the commercialization of meat substitutes

Ensihoitajien käsityksiä omista valmiuksistaan hoitaa matkasynnytyksiä ja mahdollisia synnytyskomplikaatioita

Synnytyssairaalat ovat vähentyneet Suomessa ja samaan aikaan suunnittelemattomat sairaalan ulkopuoliset synnytykset ovat lisääntyneet. Pienten synnytyssairaaloiden lakkauttamisuhka on lisäksi herättänyt keskustelua siitä, kuinka pitkien välimatkojen takaa tulevien synnyttäjien turvallisesti hoidetut synnytykset voidaan taata. Matkalla kohteesta synnytyssairaalaan ensihoitajilla tulisi olla riittävät valmiudet hoitaa niin synnytys kuin mahdolliset komplikaatiotkin. Opinnäytetyössä selvitettiin ensihoitajien käsityksiä omista valmiuksistaan hoitaa matkasynnytyksiä ja mahdollisia synnytyskomplikaatioita. Tutkimus toteutettiin Oulu-Koillismaan pelastuslaitoksen, Länsi-Pohjan sairaanhoitopiirin sekä Lapin sairaanhoitopiirin alueilla. Strukturoidun kyselylomakkeen avulla pyrittiin selvittämään myös ensihoitajien kokemia haasteita sairaalan ulkopuoli-sen synnytyksen hoidossa sekä heidän näkemyksiään lisäkoulutuksen tarpeesta. Aineiston keruuseen ja analysointiin käytettiin Webropol-ohjelmaa. Tutkimuksen tuloksena selvisi ensihoitajien kokevan valmiutensa keskimäärin kohtalaiseksi tai hyväksi. Tilannearvion tekeminen ja avautumisvaiheen hoito koettiin hallittavan parhaiten. Heikoimmat valmiudet olivat jälkeisvaiheen sekä synnytyksen erityistilanteiden hoidon osalta. Lähes puolet vastaajista oli avustanut matkasynnytyksessä. Lisäkoulutuksen tarve nousi vahvasti esille. Tutkimuksesta saatuja tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää ensihoitohenkilöstön lisäkoulutustarpeen määrittämisessä ja tarpeelliseksi havaitun koulutusmateriaalin luomisessa. Oulun ammattikorkeakoulu voi hyödyntää tutkimuksen pohjalta saatuja tuloksia ensihoidon opintojaksojen kehittämisessä ja suunnittelussa.Maternity hospitals have decreased in Finland and at the same time the number of the unplanned out-of-hospital birth has increased. Abandonment of the maternity hospitals has also aroused conversation about how the women in labour coming from long distances could be guaranteed by securedly treated deliveries. On the way from the residence to hospital should paramedics have sufficient readiness to handle the childbirth as well as the possible delivery complications. The thesis researched paramedics’ notions of their own preparedness to deliver out-of-hospital childbirths and possible complications in delivery. Study was implemented on Oulu-Koillismaa rescue services, Länsi-Pohja healthcare district and Lapland healthcare district. By using structured questionnaire it was aimed to research the challenges paramedics had experienced in delivering out-of-hospital births and their visions of the need of supplemental education. Webropol-programme was used to collect and analyze the research material. Findings of the research were that paramedics’ note their preparedness between reasonable and good on average. Review assessment and the beginning step of the birth were noted to be managed best. The weakest readinesses were handling afterbirth and special situations of delivery. Almost half of the respondents had helped to deliver out-of-hospital. The need of supplemental education came up strongly. Results of this research can be utilized for the personnels determinated need of supplemental education and necessarily noticed creating of training material. Oulu University of Applied Sciences can utilize these results made by the research in Emergency Care study programmes’ development and drafting

EFFECTS OF MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR ON EMPLOYEE EMOTIONS - A case study

This research looks at change management during change projects from the employee’s perspective in a Finnish subsidiary of a multinational company. The research context was challenging as employees were faced with statutory negotiations and significant changes to the company structure. Partly due to the economic situation in Finland and partly due to the change in the nature of business, drastic change processes are becoming more common and therefore quality change management is more important than ever. How can a company keep its employees motivated during change processes? Change resistance is almost inevitable. Could companies use that to their advantage? This research goes inside a Finnish company and finds out what are the challenges and emotions that employees have to deal with during change processes and what actions can management take in order to successfully lead the process. This research is an in-depth single case study. It focuses on analyzing the emotions of employees during change processes and whether management behavior could affect these emotions. This research utilizes a qualitative research method and the research data was mainly collected in semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Although it was clear to the employees that the company was facing declining profits and had to make changes, partly because their mixed experiences of previous change processes, they were unsure if the actions planned by the company were going lead to desired results. During the change process the employees were faced with challenges related to the change itself, uncertainty of their future, renewed company structure, training and communication.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format