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The aim of this product-based thesis is to create an implementation plan for a commissioning company, Lasi & idea Oy. The company is a micro enterprise in balcony and terrace glazing industry. The purpose of the study is to give Lasi & idea Oy guidelines to increase its revenue and profitability and reformulate its strategy. Even though the thesis is designed especially for Lasi & idea Oy, it provides benefits to any companies in the same industry with the market analysis and various strategic management tools. This thesis is built under zipper structure where the theory and data analysis are written together. In the beginning, the knowledge base is established as a framework for the study. The tools are then examined in separated sections. The final product is the implementation plan graph. In the end, discussion and evaluation of the thesis process is addressed. The key tools to create the final implementation plan include financial statement analysis, Porter's five forces, SWOT analysis, Balanced Scorecard and Root Cause analysis. Data collection methodology is qualitative methods e.g. interviews, companies' internal documents and public information. In order to make the study more comprehensive and relevant, comparison between Lasi & idea Oy, its competitors and the concerning industry is also investigated. Market mapping, market positioning and trend analysis has been utilized. Moreover, a wide range of literature sources are studied, which give a strong academic foundation to the thesis. After detailed cause and effect analysis followed by root-cause analysis from the lean thinking, all the remedies and recommendations are combined to create the final product which is the implementation plan for the firm. Overall, the outcome meets the expectations of the commissioning company. The thesis was conducted by two authors. Therefore, the whole process gave an opportunity to enhance their team-working and communication skills.
Root cause analysis (RCA) is a recommended practice in retrospectives and cause–effect diagram (CED) is a commonly recommended technique for RCA. Our objective is to evaluate whether CED improves the outcome and perceived utility of RCA. We conducted a controlled experiment with 11 student software project teams by using a single factor paired design resulting in a total of 22 experimental units. Two visualization techniques of underlying causes were compared: CED and a structural list of causes. We used the output of RCA, questionnaires, and group interviews to compare the two techniques. In our results, CED increased the total number of detected causes. CED also increased the links between causes, thus, suggesting more structured analysis of problems. Furthermore, the participants perceived that CED improved organizing and outlining the detected causes. The implication of our results is that using CED in the RCA of retrospectives is recommended, yet, not mandatory as the groups also performed well with the structural list. In addition to increased number of detected causes, CED is visually more attractive and preferred by retrospective participants, even though it is somewhat harder to read and requires specific software tools.
High inflation is associated with numerous disturbances in economies including higher probability of e.g., fiscal crises and slowdown of growth. Low-income countries experience more problems with inflation than advanced economies. These economies are largely focused on primary commodity production, which is an important source of inflationary development. Primary commodities are subject to frequent shocks in e.g., prices and cause turbulence in these economies. This thesis studies two research questions: <how can low income countries manage inflation and avoid inflation crises?= and <do commodity prices cause inflation crises in low-income countries?=. The first question is answered mainly through a literature review and the second question through an empirical study following the methods of Eberhart & Presbitero (2021), in which they study how commodity prices cause banking crises in low income countries. First, I study characteristics financial, fiscal and inflation crises in poorer countries. All crises are found to be interrelated and amplify each other. I then study important factors affecting economies and economic development of low-income countries such as choice of exchange regime and characteristics of primary commodity prices. Important characteristics of primary commodities found include long-term decline of prices as per Prebisch-Singer hypothesis and high volatility of prices. Also, the need to control positive shocks such as discovery of natural resources, as they may cause problems for economies. Price shocks in general are found to be an important source of disturbances and elevated inflation in these economies. The choice of an exchange rate in lowincome countries is found to be an important yet difficult decision. Fixed exchange rates are found to be more effective towards controlling inflation, however, price shocks have a greater effect on the real economy as opposed to floating regimes. Soft currency pegs are found to be a viable option of exchange rate regime to these economies. Inflation targeting requires fiscal, monetary, and financial stability in economies and thus in addition to policies aimed directly towards reducing inflation, policies for growth and stability are also endorsed. Economies can reduce financial fragility to price shocks through e.g., diversification, stabilization funds and foreign exchange reserves. Financial buffers are found to be a viable option to increase economic resilience, as lowincome economies are usually limited in their ability to conduct countercyclical fiscal policy through lending, due to lack of creditworthiness. Volatility in primary commodity prices is found to have detrimental effects on economies due to their effect on e.g., physical capital accumulation. The independence of central banks and developing institutions is especially significant for efficient control of inflation and economic development and stability. As for the second research question I find that in periods of frequent crises, price volatility has the strongest effect on the propensity of inflation crisis. Countries with a larger portion of exports accounted for by primary commodities and a flexible exchange rate also show a larger effect on inflation crises propensity from commodity price volatility, but commodity price growth effect is not visible. In Eberhart & Presbitero (2021) when countries have fixed exchange rates and hard pegs, price volatility is found to cause banking crises. Thus, I deduce that as countries with flexible exchange rates can conduct monetary policy, they end up experiencing inflation crises but are able to avoid banking crises.
Many scientific studies have been shown the positive effect of physical activity (PA) on reducing morbidity and mortality, whereas physical inactivity is globally one of the leading factors in mortality. Therefore, the purpose was to investigate the relationship between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and all-cause mortality among adult population. The data search was performed of 3 electronic databases for the years 2000-2021 February as follows: Google Scholar, PubMed, and ResearchGate. This search was made by using the following terms and operators AND/OR, individually/combination: "physical activity", "physical fitness", "leisure-time physical activity", "all-cause mortality", "risk of death", "mortality". 1220 studies were initially identified, 22 studies were met the inclusion criteria (5 male studies, 2 female studies, 15 both sexes). The results of this systematic review, with total 2568097 participants (aged 20-98 years), showed that any level of PA had health benefits compared to inactivity and sedentary lifestyle. The highest levels of PA had the lowest risk of all-cause mortality. In conclusion, there is an inverse relationship between LTPA and the risk of all-cause mortality, and the harmful effects of physical inactivity may be largely eliminated among those who are most active. So, promoting regular LTPA is strongly associated with well-being, quality of life and reduced the risk of all-cause mortality both in general adult population and elderly population with chronic diseases.
Structural steels contain various material irregularities and natural defects which cause local stress concentrations from which fatigue cracks tend to initiate. Two defects in close proximity to each other may affect local stress distributions, and thus, begin to interact. In this paper, the effect of interacting small cracks on the fatigue limit is systematically investigated in a medium carbon steel. The growth of interacting cracks, as well as the characteristics of non-propagating cracks and microstructural aspects, was closely examined via the plastic replica method. It was found that although the fatigue limit is essentially controlled by the mechanics of interacting cracks, based on their configuration, the local microstructure comprised ferrite and pearlite has a statistical scatter effect on the behaviour of interacting cracks and non-propagating thresholds. With respect to the fatigue limit, when two defects were in close proximity, they behaved as a larger single defect. However, with greater spacing between defects, rather than mechanical factors, it is the local microstructure which determines the location and characteristics of non-propagating cracks.
Objective: We estimated the difference in mortality between mature male and female Vendace Coregonus albula based on a large data set of catch samples from 25 locations in Finland. We then used this estimate and age distribution data from Lake Etelä-Konnevesi to illustrate how the sex ratio (females per one male) might decrease as the average age of spawners increases during a several- year- long period of recruitment failure. Methods: We estimated mortalities first from sex- specific age– ln(catch) curves and second from the average age- specific proportions of different sexes. Result: The estimate of the additional mortality of males was around 0.2– 0.4, de-pending on the method of estimation, and assumed true proportions in the population at age 1 (two growing seasons), when Vendace reaches sexual maturity. When using the additional mortality estimate and age distribution data from Lake Etelä-Konnevesi, the hypothetical sex ratio in the most extreme year was even as skewed as four females per one male. Conclusion: If the lack of males per female spawner during a population decline reduces the per capita recruitment success of females, this is a depensatory density- dependent effect, the Allee effect. This phenomenon may partly explain the rapid population collapses and contribute to 2- year cyclicity typical of the dynamics of Vendace populations.
This study is a re-examination of the price-to-earnings effect using a variation of the metric. It is analyzed whether the use of long-term or permanent earnings in the estimation of the ratio is able to increase its performance as investment strategy. Diverse variations of the metric are measured in the long and short run and combined with other anomalies in order to increase its performance. This study focuses on the US market, employing data from 500 firms trading in the S&P500 index during the period 1998-2013. Decile portfolios are formed based on the traditional PE metric and other variations. The results indicate that the addition of remote earnings in the estimation of the multiple do not increase its performance. The evidence obtained shows that only the use of earnings from the previous two years (EP2) outperforms the traditional ratio. The examination of the PE effect is conducted adopting the 4-factor model approach. Due to the characteristics of the sample, the regression reveals that the effect generated by EP2 is controlled only by value and momentum factors but not by the size one. Moreover, the reward-risk analysis exposes that the regular PE outperform the EP2 in Sharpe ratio basis. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the January effect does not cause the PE effect. Extensive experiments show that the performance of the multiple can be increased by reducing the holding period, and by combining it with anomalies such as size and momentum. The combination of the size and PE effects provides the best performing ratio in this study and it indicates a clear relation between size anomaly and the PE effect.
OBJECTIVE - Physical activity (PA) is associated with a decreased incidence of dementia, but much of the evidence comes from short follow-ups prone to reverse causation. This meta-analysis investigates the effect of study length on the association. -- DESIGN - A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pooled effect sizes, dose–response analysis and funnel plots were used to synthesise the results. -- DATA SOURCES - CINAHL (last search 19 October 2021), PsycInfo, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science (21 October 2021) and SPORTDiscus (26 October 2021). -- ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA - Studies of adults with a prospective follow-up of at least 1 year, a valid cognitive measure or cohort in mid-life at baseline and an estimate of the association between baseline PA and follow-up all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia were included (n=58). -- RESULTS - PA was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause dementia (pooled relative risk 0.80, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.84, n=257 983), Alzheimer’s disease (0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.93, n=128 261) and vascular dementia (0.79, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.95, n=33 870), even in longer follow-ups (≥20 years) for all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Neither baseline age, follow-up length nor study quality significantly moderated the associations. Dose–response meta-analyses revealed significant linear, spline and quadratic trends within estimates for all-cause dementia incidence, but only a significant spline trend for Alzheimer’s disease. Funnel plots showed possible publication bias for all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. -- CONCLUSION - PA was associated with lower incidence of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, even in longer follow-ups, supporting PA as a modifiable protective lifestyle factor, even after reducing the effects of reverse causation.
Voltage fluctuations generated in a hot resistor can cause extraction of heat from a colder normal metal electrode of a hybrid tunnel junction between a normal metal and a superconductor. We extend the analysis presented in Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 210604 (2007) of this heat rectifying system, bearing resemblance to a Maxwell’s demon. Explicit analytic calculations show that the entropy of the total system is always increasing. We then consider a single-electron transistor configuration with two hybrid junctions in series, and show how the cooling is influenced by charging effects. We analyze also the cooling effect from nonequilibrium fluctuations instead of thermal noise, focusing on the shot noise generated in another tunnel junction. We conclude by discussing limitations for an experimental observation of the effect.
This paper investigates the dependence of the detachment onset density on the hydrogen isotope species. In JET ohmic plasmas in the ITER-like wall (JET-ILW) materials configuration, the isotope effect is approximately 10%, and it was observed at the outer target only. The heavier isotopes exhibit lower detachment onset densities and density limits. In addition, higher subdivertor molecular pressures and divertor electron densities were observed in the deuterium.(D) discharges compared to the hydrogen.(H) discharges. EDGE2D-EIRENE and standalone EIRENE simulations show that lower conductance of the pumping plenum, scaling with root m(D)/m(H) in the molecular flow regime present in the experiments, is the primary cause for the experimental observation.
We investigate the impact of copper on the light induced minority-carrier lifetime degradation in various crystalline silicon materials. We demonstrate here that the presence of neither boron nor oxygen is necessary for the degradation effect. In addition, our experiments reveal that copper contamination alone can cause the light induced minority-carrier lifetime degradation.
Loss in strength and ductility is a major drawback for the heat-treatment of solid wood. Previous studies focused mainly on the de-polymerization of cell wall constituents as a cause and the importance of the preferential removal of hemicelluloses. This study tested the hypothesis that the mechanical behavior of wood is additionally affected by re-polymerization reactions within the cell wall matrix during heat-treatment. This was achieved by comparing changes in chemical composition, FT-IR spectra, and mechanical properties of Scots pine sapwood that was heat-treated in either dry state in superheated steam or in wet state using pressurized hot water. Although preferential de-polymerization of hemicelluloses was evident for both heat-treatment techniques, the analysis of the chemical composition and FT-IR spectroscopy indicated additional re-polymerization reactions within the cell wall matrix of dry heat-treated wood. The consequent formation of covalent bonds and cross-links increased the resistance against compression loads and hindered inelastic deformation during bending. This resulted in an additional reduction in bending strength and strain energy density of dry compared to wet heat-treated wood. Re-polymerization reactions during heat-treatments of wood in dry state were suggested as the main cause for the brittle failure under bending loads, while the effect of hemicellulose-removal on brittleness was much smaller than stated previously.