Riistaa suosivan metsänkasvatuksen vaikutus metsän tuottoon

Riistan suosimisesta metsänkasvatuksen eri vaiheissa löytyy ohjeita metsänomistajille internetistä ja painetuista lähteistä. Aihe on viime vuosina noussut enemmän pinnalle alan julkaisuissa. Ohjeiden mukaan riistaa suosiva metsänhoito on helppoa, eikä aiheuta suuria taloudellisia menetyksiä. Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten riistaa suosiva metsänkasvatus vaikuttaa metsästä saataviin puumääriin, tukkipuuosuuksiin ja sitä kautta taloudelliseen tuottoon. Vaikutus selvitettiin mittaamalla kahdentoista metsikkökuvion puumäärät ja simuloimalla kuvioiden kasvua Motti 3.0 -ohjelmalla. Ohjelman hyvän metsänhoidon suositusten mukaista kasvatusta verrattiin riistametsänhoidon ohjeiden mukaiseen kasvatukseen sekä kolmanteen kuviolle sopivaan kasvatustapaan, joka päättyi avohakkuun sijaan luontaiseen uudistamiseen. Näin saadut tulokset olivat vertailukelpoisia keskenään ja niistä huomattiin riistaa suosivan metsänkasvatuksen jopa parantavan metsän tuottoa suotuisalla kohteella. Kuitenkin yleinen trendi oli, että riistaa suosiva metsänkasvatus pienentää metsästä saatavaa tuottoa, mutta todella vähän hyvän metsänhoidon suosituksiin verrattuna. Tutkimuksessa huomattiin myös, että mitä tuoreemmalla kasvupaikalla riistaa suosivaa metsänkasvatusta käytettiin, sitä pienempi tulosero oli hyvän metsänhoidon suosituksiin nähden. Kuivahkolla kankaalla tai vastaavalla suolla, jossa mänty on parhaiten menestyvä puulaji, tulosero kasvatusten välillä kasvoi.Instructions on how to favor wild game at different stages of forestry can be found on the internet as well as printed sources. This topic have had quite a lot of space in industry publications. Instructions say that wild game favoring in forestry is easy and it doesn't cause any major financial loses. The purpose of this study was to find out the influence of wild game favoring in forestry. How much it effects the amount of wood we get from the forest, the percentage of log and final financial result. The influence was examined by measuring the tree stands of twelve forest compartments and then simulating the growth with Motti 3.0 software. This software has a pattern for good forestry guideline growth and that was compared to the forestry growth with wild game favoring. There was also a third option for each forest compartment that was based on natural regeneration. Simulated results were comparable and they showed that wild game favoring forestry can even improve the income from the forest compartment when the soil and tree stand are favorable. However, a common trend was that wild game favoring forestry reduces income compared to good forestry guidelines, but the difference is really minor. The study also showed that spruce-dominated mesic heath forests had almost no difference between these two growth, but in pine-dominated subxeric heath forests the difference were greater

Experimental and computational studies on lipoprotein lipolysis at acidic pH

Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries; its characteristic features include chronic inflammation, extra- and intracellular lipid accumulation, extracellular matrix remodeling, and an increase in extracellular matrix volume. The underlying mechanisms in the pathogenesis of advanced atherosclerotic plaques, that involve local acidity of the extracellular fluid, are still incompletely understood. In this thesis project, my co-workers and I studied the different mechanisms by which local extracellular acidity could promote accumulation of the atherogenic apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB-100)-containing plasma lipoprotein particles in the inner layer of the arterial wall, the intima. We found that lipolysis of atherogenic apoB-100-containing plasma lipoprotein particles (LDL, IDL, and sVLDL) by the secretory phospholipase A2 group V (sPLA2-V) enzyme, was increased at acidic pH. Also, the binding of apoB-100-containing plasma lipoprotein particles to human aortic proteoglycans was dramatically enhanced at acidic pH. Additionally, lipolysis by sPLA2-V enzyme further increased this binding. Using proteoglycan-affinity chromatography, we found that sVLDL lipoprotein particles consist of populations, differing in their affinities toward proteoglycans. These populations also contained different amounts of apolipoprotein E (apoE) and apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III); the amounts of apoC-III and apoE per particle were highest in the population with the lowest affinity toward proteoglycans. Since PLA2-modification of LDL particles has been shown to change their aggregation behavior, we also studied the effect of acidic pH on the monolayer structure covering lipoprotein particles after PLA2-induced hydrolysis. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we found that, in acidity, the monolayer is more tightly packed laterally; moreover, its spontaneous curvature is negative, suggesting that acidity may promote lipoprotein particles fusion. In addition to extracellular lipid accumulation, the apoB-100-containing plasma lipoprotein particles can be taken up by inflammatory cells, namely macrophages. Using radiolabeled lipoprotein particles and cell cultures, we showed that sPLA2-V-modification of LDL, IDL, and sVLDL lipoproteins particles, at neutral or acidic pH, increased their uptake by human monocyte-derived macrophages.Ateroskleroosin komplikaatiot ovat länsimaissa suurin kuolinsyyn aiheuttaja ja tauti yleistyy maailmanlaajuisesti erityisesti vanhusväestön keskuudessa. Ateroskleroottinen plakki kehittyy hitaasti vuosikymmenten aikana. Lopulta pitkälle edennyt plakki voi revetä ja johtaa verihyytymään ja siitä seuraavaan sydän- tai aivoinfarktiin. Tiedetään että ateroskleroosin synty on seurausta aktiivisesta tulehdusprosessista, jossa valtimon seinämän sisäkerrokseen eli intimaan kertyy solunulkoisia ja solunsisäisiä rasvapisaroita, jotka ovat peräisin veriplasman apolipoproteiini B-100:aa sisältävistä lipoproteiineista, erityisesti LDL-hiukkasista. Pitkälle edenneen plakin syntyyn liittyy myös paikallinen hapen puute ja siitä seuraava kudoksen happamuus, jonka vaikutusmekanismit ateroskleroosiin ovat kuitenkin vielä suurelta osin tuntemattomat. Tutkimustyömme keskeisenä tavoitteena on ollut selvittää intimassa mahdollisesti vallitsevan solunulkoisen happamuuden vaikutusta useaan ateroskleroosia edistävään mekanismiin käyttäen sekä kokeellisia että laskennallisia biokemiallisia menetelmiä. Tutkimme kuinka lipoproteiinien entsymaattinen käsittely sekretorisella fosfolipaasi A2 tyyppi V (sPLA2-V)-entsyymillä vaikuttaa lipoproteiinien sitoutumiseen intiman soluväliaineeseen ja sisäänottoon syöjäsoluihin. Intiman soluväliaine koostuu pääasiallisesti proteoglykaaneista, joihin apoB-100:aa sisältävät lipoproteiinit voivat sitoutua. Ateroskleroottisessa valtimon seinämässä on myös sPLA2-V-entsyymiä, jonka eritys lisääntyy runsasrasvaisen ruokavalion seurauksena, ja lisäksi sPLA2-V-entsyymin on todettu kasvattavan ateroskleroottisten plakkien kokoa hiirimallissa. Tutkimuksemme keskeinen ensihavainto oli, että happamassa pH:ssa lipoproteiinien pintakalvon fosfolipidien lipolyysi sPLA2-V-entsyymillä lisääntyy, mikä johtaa lisääntyneeseen lysoPC- ja rasvahappomolekyylien vapautumiseen ja kerääntymiseen lipoproteiinien pintakalvoon. Tutkimuksemme seuraava tärkeä löydös oli, että happamassa pH:ssa sPLA2-V-entsyymillä käsitellyt lipoproteiinit sitoutuivat voimakkaasti intiman proteoglykaaneihin. Havaitsimme myös, että pienet apolipoproteiinit (apoE ja apoC-III) estävät sVLDL-hiukkasten sitoutumista proteoglykaaneihin. Tarkastelimme myös lipoproteiinien pintakalvon rakennetta molekyylitasolla ja havaitsimme, että happamassa pH:ssa lipolysoitu fosfolipidikalvo on järjestäytyneempi ja kalvon spontaani kaarevuus on negatiivinen. Nämä kalvomuutokset saattavat edesauttaa muuntuneiden lipoproteiinien aggregoitumista, fuusioitumista ja kertymistä solunulkoiseen tilaan suurina rasvapisaroina. Ateroskleroosin edetessä intimaan kertyy monia immuunipuolustuksen soluja, erityisesti syöjäsoluja, jotka tunnistavat muuntuneet lipoproteiinit ja pyrkivät poistamaan ne soluvälitilasta endosytoosivälitteisesti. Totesimme myös, että lipolyysi sPLA2-V-entsyymillä lisäsi lipoproteiinien sisäänottoa näihin soluihin sekä normaalissa että happamassa pH-ympäristössä. Yhteenvetona totean, että väitöskirjatyössäni olemme selvittäneet molekyyli- ja solutasolla happaman pH:n vaikutusta tekijöihin, jotka vaikuttavat ateroskleroosin kehittymiseen. Ateroskleroosin mekanismien tunteminen luo uusia mahdollisuuksia ehkäisevän lääkehoidon kehittämiselle. Fosfolipaasi A2-entsyymien toiminnan estäminen vaikuttaisi lipoproteiinien lipolyysiin ja siten rasvajuosteen, vaahtosolujen ja tulehduksen syntyyn, sekä muihin ateroskleroosin keskeisiin patofysiologisiin tapahtumiin, ja saattaisi siten tarjota uuden ateroskleroosin hoitomuodon, jolla saatetaan tulevaisuudessa ehkäistä tämän taudin kehittymistä

Studies on corporate social responsibility in the Finnish small business context

This dissertation focuses on the role of business in society, more specifically corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the small business context. The discussion on social responsibility in business is currently very wide-ranging and intensive. Still, the contemporary academic discussion on CSR has been marginalising small businesses, although there is a need to focus on this group of businesses in their own right. As a result, this dissertation contributes to the knowledge of corporate social responsibility by examining what CSR means for small business owner-managers and how these meaning(s) are constructed in their stakeholder interaction descriptions. The study consists of two parts: an introductory essay and four research articles. The empirical data of the study is based on the interviews with 29 small business owner-managers and it is analysed by using qualitative research methods. The theoretical framework against which corporate social responsibility is discussed in this study is the stakeholder theory. It illustrates the way the relationship between business and society is understood by stressing the mutual dependence between a business and its stakeholders, and the interwovenness of their relationships. Stakeholder theory provides an appropriate framework for studying the construction of the meaning(s) of CSR, as it embeds the business within the larger web of social and community relations. Furthermore, this study adopts a constructionist approach. Accordingly, corporate social responsibility is understood as a result of an ongoing process of communication and social interaction through which managers, together with stakeholders, discuss and define the role of their businesses in society. The main argument of the study is that in the small business context, corporate social responsibility is produced as a contradictory phenomenon representing simultaneously a resource and a limitation for business. The results of this study emphasise that for small business owner-managers, constructing meaning(s) for corporate social responsibility is seldom a straightforward question of business case. Still, balancing economic and ethical aspects of business is not an easy task for an owner-manager, but it can require challenging compromises between personal and business values. Consequently, the economic and ethical aspects of business are often presented as being mutually exclusive when constructing the meaning(s) for CSR, and the owner-managers consider themselves as being forced to make a choice between being either economic or ethical in their business operations. This study further demonstrates that in the small business context, CSR is also often produced as a contradiction between entrepreneurial autonomy and stakeholders’ social control. This is an important finding as it points to the restrictive elements of corporate social responsibility, which have seldom been explicitly examined in the previous studies. It also shows that the process of construction of the meaning(s) for corporate social responsibility is not a value-free process, but more likely a discursive struggle where businesses and their stakeholders all have their own agendas to promote

Good workers, good firms? : Rural SMEs legitimising immigrant workforce

The workforce potential offered by immigrants is perceived as one solution for the sustainable operation of many rural companies. Still, diversifying the workforce and recruiting immigrant employees represents not only a significant organizational change for rural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) but can also reflect on their legitimacy in the eyes of the local community. In this study, we examine the legitimation strategies rural SMEs use in order to justify the decision to employ immigrant workers as socially accepted. The theoretical framework builds on the discussion concerning legitimacy and legitimation. By analysing the interviews with the representatives of 35 rural SMEs, we identified three legitimation strategies used to justify the decision to recruit immigrants, based on owner-managerial values, immigrants as good workers and the economic, demographic and social context consequent upon rural location. The aim of the legitimacy strategies is to convince rural community members in perceiving the recruitment of immigrant employees as favourable and preferable. Our study demonstrates that for rural SMEs, recruiting immigrant workers is not just an economic or bureaucratic procedure but entails social aspects as well. These social aspects need to be taken into consideration in order to maintain the business legitimacy.Peer reviewe

Nature-based entrepreneurship in private forests : the preconditions for the sustainable co-operation between private forest owners and entrepreneurs

Nature-based tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors at the moment. It is also the form of tourism that often benefits the economy of rural areas. In addition to state owned forests, nature-based tourism is in many countries situated in private forests, which are not owned by entrepreneurs themselves. Therefore, the ownership issues and property rights form central challenges for the business activities. The maintenance of good relationships between private forest owners and entrepreneurs, as well as combining their interests, becomes vital. These relationships are typically exceptionally asymmetrical, granting the forest owner unilateral rights regulating the business activities in their forests. Despite this, the co-operation is typically very informal and the existing economic compensation models do not necessarily cover all the forest owners’ costs. The ownership issues bring their own characteristics to the relationship. Therefore, we argue that different aspects of ownership, especially psychological ones, have to be more critically examined and taken into consideration in order to build truly successful relations between these parties. This is crucial for sustaining the business activities. The core of psychological ownership is the sense of possession. Psychological ownership can be defined as a state, in which individuals perceive the target of ownership, the object or idea, as “theirs”. The concept of psychological ownership has so far been mainly used in the context of professional organizations. In this research, it has been used to explain the relationships between private forest owners and nature-based entrepreneurs. The aim of this study is to provide new information concerning the effect of psychological ownership on the collaboration and to highlight the good practices. To address the complexity of the phenomenon, qualitative case study methods were adopted to understand the role of ownership at the level of subjective experience. The empirical data was based on 27 in-depth interviews with private forest owners and nature-based tourism entrepreneurs. The data was analysed by using the methods of qualitative analysis to construct different typologies to describe the essence of successful collaboration. As a result of the study, the special characteristics and the practical level expressions of the psychological ownership in the privately owned forest context were analysed. Four different strategies to perceive these ownership characteristics in co-operation relationships were found. By taking the psychological ownership into consideration via these strategies, the nature-based entrepreneurs aim to balance the co-operation relationship and minimise the risks in long term activities based on privately owned forests

How can organic farmers be good farmers? A study of categorisation in organic farmers' talk

Conversion from conventional to organic farming is considered to indicate changes in farmers' professional identities-more specifically, in their perceptions of the idea of a 'good farmer'. In this study, we focus on this theme by analysing how 'good farmer' ideals appear when farmers who have converted to organic agriculture make sense of the differences between conventional and organic farming. Through the discursive analysis of interviews with organic farmers, we show how they categorise farmers, producing and using an evaluative division in which both organic and conventional farmers fall into two subcategories, namely, 'practical organic farmer', 'idealistic organic farmer', 'conservative conventional farmer' and 'rational conventional farmer'. We argue that this categorisation, as a way to define a 'good farmer', enables organic farmers to create a coherent identity as 'good farmers' in regard to both their former conventional self and current organic self. Our study further contributes to the theoretical discussion on 'good farmer' by highlighting that, in addition to productivist symbols and economic viability, organic farmers also view a practical and open-minded attitude to managing the farm as a criterion of a 'good farmer', thus critically distancing themselves from conservative and ideological ideals.Peer reviewe

Female forest owners as a market segment? Results from a marketing experiment in the context of a small forest service enterprise

Peer reviewe

Relationships in food chains : an empirical examination of trust, commitment and communication

This report derives from the EU funded research project “Key Factors Influencing Economic Relationships and Communication in European Food Chains” (FOODCOMM). The research consortium consisted of the following organisations: University of Bonn (UNI BONN), Department of Agricultural and Food Marketing Research (overall project co-ordination); Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO), Department for Agricultural Markets, Marketing and World Agricultural Trade, Halle (Saale), Germany; University of Helsinki, Ruralia Institute Seinäjoki Unit, Finland; Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), Food Marketing Research Team - Land Economy Research Group, Edinburgh and Aberdeen; Ashtown Food Research Centre (AFRC), Teagasc, Food Marketing Unit, Dublin; Institute of Agricultural & Food Economics (IAFE), Department of Market Analysis and Food Processing, Warsaw and Government of Aragon, Center for Agro-Food Research and Technology (CITA), Zaragoza, Spain. The aim of the FOODCOMM project was to examine the role (prevalence, necessity and significance) of economic relationships in selected European food chains and to identify the economic, social and cultural factors which influence co-ordination within these chains. The research project considered meat and cereal commodities in six different European countries (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain, UK/Scotland) and was commissioned against a background of changing European food markets. The research project as a whole consisted of seven different work packages. This report presents the results of qualitative research conducted for work package 5 (WP5) in the pig meat and rye bread chains in Finland. Ruralia Institute would like to give special thanks for all the individuals and companies that kindly gave up their time to take part in the study. Their input has been invaluable to the project. The contribution of research assistant Sanna-Helena Rantala was significant in the data gathering. FOODCOMM project was coordinated by the University of Bonn, Department of Agricultural and Food Market Research. Special thanks especially to Professor Monika Hartmann for acting as the project leader of FOODCOMM