Supply chain resilience in Finnish SME family firms

Paper delivered at the 21st Logistics Research Network annual conference 2016, 7th-9th September 2016, Hull. Abstract Purpose: The challenging economic landscape in Finland has brought about a stronger need among firms to manage risk and uncertainty in order to maintain operational performance and supply chain continuity. Given this turbulent environment, the contribution and commercial activities that small and medium sized family firms provide for the Finnish economy require them to have knowledge of drivers of risk and the tools to mitigate it. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how resilient small- and medium-sized (SME) family firm supply chains are operating during the current economic turbulence in Finland. Research Approach: The empirical study for this paper took an inductive research approach by devising a framework from the literature on family firm capabilities and supply chain risk and resilience, and then investigating the strength of the framework through qualitative data collection. Multiple-case studies were conducted including pilot and semi-structured interviews with respondents representing six SME family firms active in Finland. Findings and Originality: Risk drivers and key capabilities connected to SME family firms have been identified. The subject of supply chain resilience was perceived as an abstract subject by several firms, but gained increased interest throughout the research. Several resilience-promoting activities are already being conducted by some firms, nevertheless areas of improvement have also been identified. Despite the growing interest of SMEs in risk and resilience not many studies have been conducted on how SME family firms manage their supply chain resilience; thus this study bridges a gap by combining these two elements. Research Impact: There are many different studies on SME family firms but research on how capabilities of the family firm influences supply chain resilience has not received a great degree of academic interest. Further, prior empirical research on how SME family firms manage supply chain risk and resilience in practice is scarce. This study thus informs the literature on these aspects. Practical Impact: The findings of this study contribute valuable insights to managers active in SME family firms when evaluating their level of business risk and uncertainty, particularly relating to their supply chain activities. Further, the findings offer practical guidelines to help improve supply chain continuity and resilience

Nonlinear optics using resonant metamaterial structures

Metamaterials are artificial structures consisting of nanoscale building blocks that exhibit properties not found in nature. They have recently shown potential for utilizing nonlinear processes such as second-harmonic generation (SHG) and spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in nanoscale applications. Despite the constant progress, metamaterials still lack in terms of conversion efficiency when compared with conventional nonlinear materials that benefit of long propagation lengths and gradual increase of signals via phase matching. In previous studies of plasmonic metamaterials, the nonlinear properties of metal nanoparticles are enhanced with localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs). These resonances have rather short lifetimes leading to high losses typical to metal nanoparticles. Therefore, alternative approaches to realize efficient metamaterials are required. In this thesis, we present two enhancement methods that are rather well known and studied but not yet fully utilized in nonlinear nanophotonics. The first methods is to utilize collective responses of periodic nanoscale structures known as surface lattice resonances (SLRs) and guided-mode resonances (GMRs). They are associated with narrow spectral features implying the presence of strong local fields and thus enhanced nonlinear responses. Another method to enhance local fields is to couple relevant fields to an external cavity. This method is used in various nonlinear applications such as in optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) and it has been studied also in nanoscale processes. Here, we investigate how SLRs and microcavities could be used to improve nonlinear metamaterials. First, we perform proof-of-principle studies showing that utilization of GMRs can dramatically enhance SHG occurring in sub-wavelength dielectric gratings. We measure linear and SH response of two silicon nitride gratings and compare the results with simulations based on the nonlinear scattering theory (NLST). As our experiments agree with simulations, we then propose two novel plasmonic metamaterial structures designed for SPDC. The first structure is a metasurface consisting of L-shaped aluminum nanoparticles arranged in a rectangular lattice. The metasurface exhibits SLRs at pump and signal wavelengths resulting in a strong enhancement for the SPDC process where the pump and signal have orthogonal polarizations. Thus, the metasurface mimics a type-I SPDC-crystal which are widely used in quantum optics as photon-pair sources. Our second design consists of a singly-resonant plasmonic metasurface that is placed inside a microcavity formed with two distributed Bragg reflectors. The cavity is designed to resonate with the pump while the SLR of the metasurface is designed to enhance the local field at the signal wavelength. Our simulations demonstrate a polarization-independent operation where the SPDC is dramatically enhanced at the operation wavelength. This design then can act as either type-0, type-I or type-II nonlinear material, which are all used in quantum optics. The simulations presented here demonstrate a clear path towards efficient photon-pair generation with nanoscale structures via SPDC. In addition to SHG and SPDC, our structure designs and methods could be utilized also for other nonlinear processes such as cascaded third-harmonic generation or difference-frequency generation. These approaches could pave the path towards development of nanoscale light sources operating in ultraviolet and terahertz regions.Metamateriaalit ovat keinotekoisia rakenteita, joilla on luonnosta löytymättömiä ominaisuuksia. Metamateriaalit koostuvat yleensä nanoskaalan rakenteista kuten metallinanohiukkasista. Viimeaikainen kehitys nanorakenteiden valmistuksessa on mahdollistanut epälineaaristen ilmiöiden, kuten taajuudenkahdennuksen tai parametrisen fluoresenssin (eng. spontaneous parametric down-conversion, SPDC) tutkimisen metamateriaaleissa. Jatkuvasta kehityksestä huolimatta metamateriaalien epälineaariset vasteet ovat huomattavasti heikompia kuin perinteisten epälineaaristen materiaalien, jotka hyödyntävät vaihesovitusmenetelmiä. Tässä työssä esitellään kaksi menetelmää, joita on tutkittu ja sovellettu laajasti, mutta joiden mahdollisia nanoskaalan sovelluksia on vasta hiljattain alettu tutkimaan. Ensimmäinen menetelmä hyödyntää hilaresonansseja, jotka ovat jaksollisten rakenteiden vasteita. Hilaresonanssien viritystilat ovat tyypillisiä materiaalivasteita huomattavasti pitkäikäisempiä. Tämän seurauksena epälineaariset vasteet voimistuvat niitä käyttämällä paljon enemmän ja paljon kapeammalla kaistanleveydellä, kuin aikaisemissa tutkimuksissa. Toisena menetelmänä käsitellään oleellisten kenttien kytkemistä optisiin resonaattoreihin, joita on jo pitkään hyödynnetty useissa epälineaarisen optiikan sovelluksissa, kuten optisissa parameterisissa oskillaattoreissa. Tässä työssä tutkitaan kuinka hilaresonanssien ja optisien resonaattoreiden avulla voidaan vahvistaa metamateriaalien epälineaarisia vasteita. Työn ensimmäisessä osassa osoitettiin hilaresonanssien vaikutus mittaamaalla taajuudenkahdennusta resonanteista piinitridihiloista. Mittaustuloksia vertailtiin simulaatiotuloksiin, jotka perustuivat epälineaariseen sirontateoriaan. Mittaukset ja simulaatiot yhtenäisesti osoittivat hilaresonanssien toimivuuden, mikä kannustaa suunnitelemaan uusia metamateriaalirakenteita mainittujen menetelmien avulla. Työn toisessa osassa esitellään kaksi resonanttia metamateriaalirakennetta, jotka on suunniteltu mahdollisimman tehokkaaseen fotoniparien muodostukseen SPDC:n avulla. Ensimmäisenä materiaalina tutkittiin alumiininanopartikkeleista muodostettua metamateriaalia. Partikkelit asetettiin suorakulmaiseen hilaan siten, että näytteellä oli hilaresonanssit sekä pumppu- että signaaliaallonpituuksilla. Tällöin huomattiin huomattava vahvistus SPDC-vasteessa, kun pumppu ja signaali ovat kohtisuorasti polarisoituneita. Täten metamateriaali voisi toimia fotoniparilähteenä kvanttioptiikan sovelluksissa. Toinen ehdotettu rakenne koostuu metamateriaalista, joka on asetettu mikroskaalan resonaattoriin. Suurin SPDC:n vahvistus saadtiin kytkemällä pumppu Bragg-hiloista muodostettuun resonaattoriin samalla, kun hilaresonanssit vahvistavat paikalliskenttiä signaaliaallonpituudella. Signaalien arvioitiin olevan yhtä voimakattaita kaikille sallituille polarisaatioyhdistelmille, mikä kuvastaa kyseisen metamateriaalin toiminnan joustavuutta ja soveltuvuutta moniin eri käytttötarkoituksiin. Työssä esitetyt simulaatiot kannustavat resonanttien metamateriaalien kehittämiseen nanoskaalan fotoniparimuodostusta varten. SPDC:n ja taajuudenkahdennuksen lisäksi työssä esiteltyjä rakenteita voidaan käyttää myös muiden epälineaaristen ilmiöiden kuten taajuudenkolmennuksen tai erotustaajuden muodostuksen vahvistamiseen metamateriaaleissa. Tämän työn tulokset voisivat siten olla lähtökohta tutkimukselle, jonka tavoitteena olisi ultravioletti-ja terahertsialueilla toimivien nanoskaalan valonlähteiden kehittäminen

Korjausrakentamisen tietomallintaminen ja Tekla Structures -komponentit

Rakennusalan tietomallipohjaista tiedonhallintaa on kehitetty aktiivisesti 2000-luvulla. Suomessakin on tehty useita tietomallintamista edistäviä kehityshankkeita, joiden pohjalta on julkaistu Yleiset tietomallivaatimukset 2012 -julkaisusarja, jossa selostetaan ja ohjeistetaan rakennushankkeen eri vaiheiden ja osapuolten tehtävät. Tässä insinöörityössä tutkittiin uudis- ja korjausrakentamishankkeiden tietomallintamisprosessien eroavaisuuksia, sekä minkälaisia erityispiirteitä korjausrakentamishankkeiden suunnittelussa ja toteutuksessa on. Tavoitteena oli selvittää minkälaisia hyötyjä ja haittoja tietomallin käyttö tuo mukanaan hankkeiden suunnitteluun ja toteutukseen. Lisäksi työn tavoitteena oli tutkia korjausrakentamisessa yleisesti käytössä olevia rakenne- ja liitostyyppejä ja luoda tutkimusten pohjalta tietomallintamista helpottavia komponentteja Tekla Structures -ohjelmistoon. Tietomallintamisprosesseja ja tietomallintamisen hyötyjä ja haittoja tutkittiin kirjallisuus- sekä internetlähteiden avulla. Rakenne- ja liitostyyppejä tutkittiin myös edellä mainittujen lähteiden avulla, mutta mallinnettavien rakenteiden valintaan vaikutti myös tilaajayrityksen ehdo-tukset mallinnettavista rakenteista. Tutkimuksissa havaittiin, että tietomallintaminen tarjoaa monia eri hyötyjä ja mahdollisuuksia, joiden avulla voidaan parantaa suunnittelun ja toteutuksen laatua, sekä vähentää näissä tulevien virheiden määrää. Kuitenkin hankkeen luonne ja sisältö määrittelevät sen, onko tietomallintamisen käyttäminen kokonaisuuden kannalta hyödyllistä. Työn tuloksena luotiin parametrisoidut komponentit pilarin teräsbetonimanttelista ja siihen tarvittavasta vaarnatappiliitoksesta sekä seinärakenteiden aukkojen vahvistuksista. Kom-ponentit luotiin näistä rakenteista, koska niistä ei ollut olemassa valmiita komponentteja Tekla Structures -ohjelmiston komponenttikirjastossa. Lisäksi kyseiset rakenteet ovat yleisiä korjausrakentamisessa ja niihin törmätään usein, kun vanhaa rakennusta ryhdytään korjaamaan.Building Information Modeling (BIM) based management of construction has been actively developed in the 21st century. There have been several BIM development projects also in Finland. Based on these projects in 2012, Common Building Information Modeling require-ments 2012 -publication series were published. These publications describes the basic requirements and the concept of the use of BIM in construction projects. The objective of this thesis was to examine the differences between BIM processes in new construction and renovations projects. Furthermore, the aim was to research the special features of the design and implementation of the building renovation projects. As a result of this research the advantages and disadvantages of BIM usage were explored. In addition, the objective was to examine the commonly used structure and connection types in renovation. On the basis of these studies, selected structures were modeled for Tekla Structures BIM software. BIM processes together with advantages and disadvantages of BIM were studied with the help of professional literature and internet sources. Structure and connection types were also examined with the above mentioned sources but also the proposals of the subscriber company were taken into account when making the selection for the structures to be modeled. The study showed that BIM offers several advantages and opportunities which helps to increase the quality of design and implementation and it also reduces the number of defects. However, the nature and contents of the project defines whether it is overall beneficial to use BIM or not. As a result of the thesis parameterized components were created from column mantle structure and the related anchoring connection and additionally wall structure reinforcements in basic cases. Components were created to facilitate the modeling process and also because there were not yet components from these structures in the component catalog of Tekla Structures. In addition, these particular structures are very common in renovations

Public school catering's role in the transition towards a sustainable food system

Public catering can have a considerable environmental and educational impact. A scenario of more legume and less meat consumption in Sweden was in the present study used as a tool to explore the possibilities of Swedish public school meals to become more sustainable. Strong structuration theory provided a focus on organisational structure and stakeholder influence, enabling a holistic view of the issue at hand. A literature review, on the topics of successful implementation of sustainability projects within public catering and individual agency within school meals, provided a knowledge base from which an online survey and a guide for complementary interviews were built. The survey was aimed at municipal dietary managers and assessed their experiences of working with sustainable school meals and their attitudes towards the dietary scenario. Furthermore, the survey tried out a way of measuring how much legumes and meat are served in school canteens. The complementary interviews focused on individual actors' perceived agency to act for sustainable change. The results suggest that the study participants in general have both the knowledge and interest to make school meals more sustainable. They also saw the more legumes dietary scenario as desirable. Complicating factors are that the priorities of catering organisations and schools are often not well aligned, and resources are lacking to work on collaborations to improve this. It is also often unclear who has the responsibility to make sure teaching on sustainability is carried over from the classroom to the canteen. Individual agents with a high motivation to make positive change can be important drivers of sustainability projects, but for a change such as significantly greener school meals to take place, a whole food culture needs to change. Educational efforts and finding ways of engaging multiple stakeholders in the decisions are needed to this end. Unambiguous political goals, with adequate action plans, would give structure to the work on more sustainable school meals. Finding ways of quantifying and comparing sustainability efforts between municipalities would draw attention to the importance of the matter. The approach that was tried out in the present study however proved to be too impractical to use

Foot Health In Older People - Development of a preventive, evaluative instrument for nurses

Foot health is a part of overall health in every age group and its importance increases during ageing. Health care professionals are in a vital position for preventing foot health problems, and identifying and caring them in older people. Despite the rather high number of studies conducted in the field of foot health in older people, reliable and valid nurse-administered foot health assessment instruments seem to be lacking. By identifying foot health in older people, it is possible to develop nursing interventions to enhance safe, independent living at home. The purpose of this three-phase study was to develop an instrument to assess the level of foot health in older people and evaluate foot care practices from the perspective of older people themselves and nurses in home care. The ultimate goal is to prevent foot health problems by increasing the attention paid to older people’s feet and recognizing those foot health problems which need further care; thus not focus on different foot health problems. The study was conducted in different phases and contexts. In phase 1, a descriptive design with a literature review from the Medline (R) and CINAHL databases to explore foot health in older people and nurses’ role in foot health care and pre-post design intervention study in nursing home with nursing staff (n=16) and older residents (n=43) were conducted. In phase 2, a descriptive and explorative study design was employed to develop an instrument for assessing foot health in older people (N=651, n=309, response rate 47%) and explore the psychometrics of the instrument. The data were collected from sheltered housing and home care settings. Finally, in phase 3, descriptive and explorative as well as cross-sectional correlational survey designs were used to assess foot health and evaluate the foot self-care activities of older people (N=651, n=309, response rate 47%) and to describe foot care knowledge and caring activities of nurses (N=651, n=322, response rate 50%) in home care in Finland. To achieve this, the Foot Health Assessment Instrument (FHAI) developed in phase 2 was used; at the same time, this large sample also was used for the psychometric evaluation of the FHAI. The data analysis methods used in this study were content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics including factor and multivariate analysis. Many long-term diseases can manifest in feet. Therefore, the FHAI, developed in this study consisted of items relating to skin and nail health, foot structure and foot pain. The FHAI demonstrated acceptable preliminary psychometric properties. A great deal of different foot health problems in older people were found of which edema, dry skin, thickened and discoloured toenails and hallux valgus were the most prevalent foot health problems. Moreover, many older people had difficulties in performing foot self-care. Nurses’ knowledge of foot care was insufficient and revealed a need for more information and continuing education in matters relating to foot care in older people. Instead, nurses’ foot care activities were mainly adequate, though the findings indicate the need for updating foot care activities to correspond with the evidence found in the field of foot care. Practical implications are presented for nursing practice, education and administration. In future, research should focus on developing interventions for older people and nurses to promote foot health in older people and to prevent foot health problems, as well as for further development of the FHAI.Siirretty Doriast

Accumulation by Microfinance? Explaining the Microfinance Crises in Andhra Pradesh

The world of microfinance is changing. More and more people are turning to microfinance as neoliberal reforms shape the world, diminishing welfare across the globe. Microfinance has in turn been debased by the same process driving people to seek microfinance. Through privatization, state redistribution, and financialization, (three of the processes of accumulation by dispossession) microfinance, is becoming increasingly profitable. As the poor populations of the world are coming to rely on microfinance, they are opening themselves up to exploitation by global investors and microfinance institutions alike. Twice, microfinance crises have ravaged Andhra Pradesh, bringing with them coercive loan collection, rural distress and a diminished capacity for fulfilling consumption needs. These stem from neoliberal reforms undertaken by India in the 1980s and the increased accumulation by dispossession (David Harvey’s take on Marx’s primitive accumulation) that followed. Regulation of microfinance will do little to stop another crisis if the root causes of the crisis are not addressed. This paper presents the Andhra Pradesh crises as a method where by capitalist are exploiting the people of Andhra Pradesh for profitability at the expense of the poor through accumulation by dispossession

Experimental Evaluation of a NACA 0021 Airfoil Employing Shape-Memory Alloy for Active Flow Control

Current aircraft use actuators to alter the wing geometry and generate the ideal flight characteristics which is known to be a method of active flow control. By replacing the heavy electric and hydraulic actuators currently used in aircraft wings with lighter and smaller shape memory alloys (SMAs), the mass of an aircraft can be reduced. Therefore, research was conducted to design and build an airfoil using SMAs as the actuator for improving the airfoil?s aerodynamic performance. The SMA actuated airfoil was evaluated using advanced flow diagnostic methods and was found to operate with a higher lift coefficient than the non-actuated airfoil for certain angles of attack (AoAs). Testing the SMA airfoil at various frequencies also revealed its effect on the flow recovery after actuation. Lastly, comparison of the SMA to comparable actuators revealed that the SMA wires had a force to mass ratio that was over 100 times larger

An Analysis of the Individual Reading Conference in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grades

Problem: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of in-service training in individual reading conferences and interaction analysis on the individual reading conferences conducted by elementary school teachers in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Procedure: The research population consisted of fourteen public school teachers. The subjects were divided into a control group and an experimental group and matched according to grade level taught, sex, and years of teaching experience. The experimental group was treated to an in-service program which included training in interaction analysis and the individual reading conference. Pre and post audio tape recordings were obtained from each group for purposes of comparison. In addition, a follow-up tape was obtained from the experimental group three months after the posttape to determine if changes resulting from the treatment persisted. The data were collected during the 1969-70 school year. Observers trained in interaction analysis analyzed the tapes. The data were studied by recording the observations in ten-row by ten- column matrices. The statistical technique employed in this study was chi-square. Summary of Findings: 1. Training teachers in the use of interaction analysis and the individual reading conference resulted in significantly less teacher- directed student talk and significantly more student-initiated talk. 2. No significant difference was found in the amount of teacher talk as a result of training in interaction analysis and the individual reading conference. 3. Teachers trained in the use of interaction analysis and the individual reading conference used significantly more indirect influence and significantly less direct influence. 4. Teachers trained in the use of interaction analysis and the individual reading conference became significantly more accepting of the student\u27s feelings and ideas. 5. No significant difference was found in the teacher’s use of praise and encouragement as a result of training in interaction analysis and the individual reading conference. 6. Training teachers in the use of interaction analysis and the individual reading conference resulted in significantly less emphasis being placed upon the content of the material read. 7. Training teachers in the use of interaction analysis and the individual reading conference resulted in significantly more use of the individual reading conference as an intimate sharing period which may serve guidance and counseling purposes. 8. The amount of attention given during the individual reading conference to planning for follow-up activities was significantly increased as a result of training in interaction analysis and the individual reading conference. 9. No significant difference was found in the amount of student oral language expression as a result of training in interaction analysis and the individual reading conference

Sampled Policy Gradient for Learning to Play the Game Agar.io

In this paper, a new offline actor-critic learning algorithm is introduced: Sampled Policy Gradient (SPG). SPG samples in the action space to calculate an approximated policy gradient by using the critic to evaluate the samples. This sampling allows SPG to search the action-Q-value space more globally than deterministic policy gradient (DPG), enabling it to theoretically avoid more local optima. SPG is compared to Q-learning and the actor-critic algorithms CACLA and DPG in a pellet collection task and a self play environment in the game Agar.io. The online game Agar.io has become massively popular on the internet due to intuitive game design and the ability to instantly compete against players around the world. From the point of view of artificial intelligence this game is also very intriguing: The game has a continuous input and action space and allows to have diverse agents with complex strategies compete against each other. The experimental results show that Q-Learning and CACLA outperform a pre-programmed greedy bot in the pellet collection task, but all algorithms fail to outperform this bot in a fighting scenario. The SPG algorithm is analyzed to have great extendability through offline exploration and it matches DPG in performance even in its basic form without extensive sampling