Search

The current practices regarding the procurement chain of forest industry sidestreams, such as conifer bark, do not always lead to optimal conditions for preserving individual chemical compounds. This study investigates the standard way of storing bark in large piles in an open area. We mainly focus on the degradation of the most essential hydrophilic and hydrophobic extractives and carbohydrates. First, two large 450 m3 piles of bark from Norway spruce (Picea abies) were formed, one of which was covered with snow. The degradation of the bark extractives was monitored for 24 weeks. Samples were taken from the middle, side and top of the pile. Each sample was extracted at 120 °C with both n-hexane and water, and the extracts produced were then analysed chromatographically using gas chromatography with flame ionisation or mass selective detection and high-performance liquid chromatography. The carbohydrates were next analysed using acidic hydrolysis and acidic methanolysis, followed by chromatographic separation of the monosaccharides formed and their derivatives. The results showed that the most intensive degradation occurred during the first 4 weeks of storage. The levels of hydrophilic extractives were also found to decrease drastically (69% in normal pile and 73% in snow-covered pile) during storage, whereas the decrease in hydrophobic extractives was relatively stable (15% in normal pile and 8% in snow-covered pile). The top of the piles exhibited the most significant decrease in the total level of extractives (73% in normal and snow-covered pile), whereas the bark in the middle of the pile retained the highest amount of extractives (decreased by 51% in normal pile and 47% in snow-covered pile) after 24-week storage.

Objectives We aimed to study the information needs of the spouses of stroke survivors, and whether the functional ability, depressive mood, or demographic factors of the survivors or spouses associate with the information needs or satisfaction with care. We also investigated whether prescheduled follow-up improves information provision. Methods Ninety-six spouses of consecutive stroke survivors completed a questionnaire on their information needs and satisfaction with care 21 months post-stroke. The results of samples before (n = 59) and after (n = 37) the implementation of the prescheduled follow-up were compared. Results Before the follow-up, 75% of the spouses had received information on stroke and the well-being of the survivor, with 31% having received information on the survivors’ and 18% on the spouses’ own mood. The information provision improved after the follow-up: 86%, 44%, and 50%, respectively. The need for more information and satisfaction with care were associated with the spouse’s depression, but not with functional impairment. Conclusions Even if information on stroke is satisfactorily provided, the mood and well-being of spouses is often neglected. Information provision and support can be improved with systematic prescheduled follow-up. Practice implications Our results suggest the routine assessment of the depressive symptoms and needs of spouses of stroke survivors. Post-print / Final draft

Student evaluations of teaching (SET) are commonly used in universities for assessing teaching quality. However, previous literature shows that in software engineering students tend to rate certain topics higher than others: In particular students tend to value programming and software construction over software design, software engineering models and methods, or soft skills. We hypothesize that these biases also play a role in SET responses collected from students. The objective of this study is to investigate how the topic of a software engineering course affects the SET metrics. We accomplish this by performing multilevel regression analysis on SET data collected in a software engineering programme. We analyzed a total of 1295 student evaluations from 46 university courses in a Finnish university. The results of the analysis verifies that the student course evaluations exhibit similar biases as distinguished by previous software engineering education research. The type of the course can predict a higher SET rating. In our dataset, software construction and programming courses received higher SET ratings compared to courses on software engineering processes, models, and methods., Accepted into International Conference on Software Engineering 2021; JSEET track. https://conf.researchr.org/track/icse-2021/icse-2021-Software-Engineering-and-Education-Track#event-overview

Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) bark contains marked amounts of polyphenolic compounds. Condensed tannins (CTs) and stilbenes show commercial potential as antioxidants, antimicrobials, preservatives in food and cosmetic applications, technochemical products, and pharmaceuticals. Storing of bark before the conversion process leads to substantial losses of extractives compounds. In the present study, the potential of thermal drying for maintaining extractives content was assessed based on an experiment in which bark samples were dried in convection kilns at 40, 50, 60, and 70 °C temperatures. The development of CTs and stilbene contents and CT degradation were followed for 28–34 h. CTs were analysed from bark samples with thiolysis. Quantities of stilbene glycosides and stilbene aglycones in water-acetone extracts were analysed applying gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (GC-FID). Multilevel regression analysis was used to analyse the statistical differences in moisture content and extractives composition between the drying schemes. The initial CT content of 35–36 mg g−1 in dry bark material declined to 25–31 mg g-1 in 28–34 h. The average degree of polymerisation (DP) decreased slightly, and the relative proportion of prodelphinidins in CTs increased significantly in the 60 and 70 °C schemes. The proportion of A-type linkages slightly increased with the increase in drying temperature. The initial mean stilbene contents varied from 19 mg g−1 to 22 mg g−1 in dry bark mass. Isorhapontin was the major stilbene constituent, with a proportion of 45–49 % of the total stilbenes. Stilbene losses of up to 60 % were detected during the drying processes. In 10 h, for example, 36–43 % of total stilbenes were lost. Degradation activities by enzymes released from the bark and oxidative reactions after crushing at the debarking phase were concluded to be the primary mode of degradation. The results indicate that bark CT content can be preserved at a moderate temperature not exceeding 50 °C, but the degradation of CTs may affect their suitability for various applications. Sufficient stilbene content for industrial processes is unlikely to be maintainable through thermal drying. The permanence of the post-drying extractives content should be assessed based on a practical-scale storage experiment using bark dried to varying moisture contents. peerReviewed

Collecting student feedback is commonplace in universities. Feedback surveys usually have both open-ended questions and Likert-type questions, but the answers to open questions tend not to be analysed further than simply reading them. This paper presents a tool for analyzing written student feedback using topic modeling and emotion analysis. We demonstrate the utility of this tool using course survey responses from a software engineering (SE) programme.

In this paper, we perform a sentiment analysis on a large set of open-ended course feedback from university courses collected between 2016 and 2019. We used the R programming language and environment for statistical computing to categorize feedback texts by their sentiment values (positive, negative). Additionally, we calculate the NRC Emotion values, which categorize the feedback according to eight basic emotions. We present analysis on the trends of how the feedback evolved through the years. Finally we compare the findings from our data to existing literature.

Currently student feedback is mainly evaluated with quantitative methods since qualitative analysis has been highly effort intensive. In this article, we present a process for tapping into the resource of responses to open-ended feedback questions by using a topic-modelling approach that goes beyond listing modelling outcomes. The objective of this study is to present a streamlined, yet rigorous, process for analysing large amounts of written feedback that connects qualitative findings to existing literature, theories and quantitative feedback. The topic models are created using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) method, after which qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods are used to validate the topic outcomes. The proposed process can help educators analyse teaching quality on programme- or institution-wide level, or on single courses with a very large number of students. The process systematizes and combines existing processes, is repeatable, and can serve as a basis for richer analysis for educators. In student evaluation of teaching (SET) research, it advances the state of the art in applied topic modelling by demonstrating how to validate the topics via thematic analysis and by connecting them to theoretical frameworks and quantitative data. Previous topic modelling studies in this field follow mainly descriptive approaches. We demonstrate the process with feedback data collected from 6087 student evaluations of university courses and confirm that quantitative feedback variables can be used to validate qualitative feedback topic-modelling outcomes and thematic analysis provides a more in-depth explanation of the topics. We additionally find that the proposed topic modelling approach discovers new constructs of SET that cannot be distinguished from quantitative SET measures. The main limitation of the study is that the proposed process is novel and requires further evaluation to establish its full validity. Post-print / Final draft

This paper highlights the role of grassroots innovations in enhancing the use of renewable energy sources and proposes a conceptual interdisciplinary framework to analyze their emergence and diffusion in future empirical studies. Drawing on previous literature on grassroots innovations and preliminary empirical studies, our approach contributes to grassroots innovation and energy research and highlights the connections between culture, everyday life and community energy initiatives. We stress the need to study individual and community level behavior and everyday practices in multiple cultural contexts in order to gain deeper understanding on how grassroots innovations emerge. Our study also emphasizes the need to examine the paths how grassroots innovations diffuse.

Competence is a meaningful factor for coping in working life in continually changing work environments. Incompetence is not just a factor for poor performance, but also a potential threat for emplo...

The planning process for wind farm projects appears to be a complicated matter in many cases. Despite the positive attitude towards wind power in general, local wind farm projects often face strong opposition. The aim of this study is to shed more light on residents’ perceptions of participation in the planning process of wind farms. This study is based on interview data (N = 22) and survey data (N = 291) collected from residents living near two Finnish large-scale onshore wind farms built about 1.5 years before the data was collected. The results indicate that residents’ participation in the planning process was rather passive and the vast majority of the respondents perceived that they did not have an opportunity to participate. Quite interestingly, perceived participation in the planning process resulted in a decrease in acceptability in terms of perceived well-being. Furthermore, the results indicate that the need for participation does not expire after the planning process for a wind farm has concluded. Thus, project developers should be prepared to continue communication with residents after the planning phase. Post-print / Final draft

This study examines the strategic investment choices made in pulp and paper industry (PPI) within the last two decades. We first describe investments, initiated projects, and closures of pulp and paper mills and profitability of the 22 largest pulp and paper companies in North America, Western Europe and Japan. We then examine the development and impact of RD in some companies, changes in profits cause changes in the R&D investment level, whereas in others the opposite holds. It also seems that the sample companies have not actively sought new market opportunities through innovation activity, but rather by geographical re-location of production.

To investigate the extent to which the mood of stroke patients is assessed and what kind of assessment methods are used in routine clinical practice, and whether prescheduled follow-ups can improve the detection of depression, particularly when this practice is blended with better education for health care professionals in assessing and detecting depression.Before-after trial with an 18-month follow-up and a review of medical records.Acute care hospital, community.Consecutive acute stroke patients (N=398) were screened. Patients lived in a health care district with a population of 132,000. The screening took place in the first half of 2010 and then again, after the implementation of the follow-up system, in the first half of 2012. After exclusion of patients too severely ill to be interviewed, there were n=105 patients in the 2010 sample and n=112 patients in the 2012 sample.Implementation of a follow-up path for all stroke patients.The percentage and quality of mood assessments in the medical records; and the stroke patients' depressive symptoms and their satisfaction with their care.In the 2010 sample, 47% of the patients (n=48) had documentation of mood in their medical records. After the implementation of prescheduled follow-ups, 77% of the patients (n=86) had documented moods. The increase was highly significant (P.001). During the early outpatient phase, the use of interviews increased from 14% (n=15) to 45% (n=50) of the patients (P.001). The increase in the satisfaction with care did not reach statistical significance. Depressive symptoms recorded at any time were associated with depressive symptoms at 18 months (P.001).Prescheduled follow-ups for all stroke patients, including routine depression screening, can remarkably improve the compliance with depression screening and the detection of depression.

The sound of wind turbines occasionally causes annoyance among residents living nearby. A high sound pressure level fa an obvious reason for annoyance. However, there seems to be other explanations for annoyance, since annoyance and sound pressure level are not always fully correlated. In this study, the audibility of wind turbine noise and the factors affecting it are examined by using data collected from two residential areas near operating wind farms. The aims are to develop methods of analyzing the factors affecting the audibility of wind turbine noise and to analyze and compare the impacts of sound pressure levels, as well as wind characteristics and amplitude modulation on the audibility. The results reveal that combining self-reported annoyance levels with measurements of wind and sound characteristics makes it possible to gather versatile information about the audibility of wind turbine sound indoors and the annoyance caused by it. The results show that the sound pressure level is an important factor in the audibility of wind turbine noise, and wind characteristics seem to have some impact on it as well.

Wind power has been identified as one of the most promising sources of renewable energy. However, its diffusion has not been as rapid as anticipated. The objective here is to analyse attitudes towards wind power among Finnish local residents and owners of second homes. First, we assess their existing knowledge of and level of interest in energy issues and wind power. Second, we analyse potential differences in attitudes between the two stakeholder groups when it comes to wind power in general and the proposed wind farm in particular. The study draws on both quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data. One of the key findings concerns the different perceptions among locals and owners of second homes in a rural area. Both groups were interested in questions of energy production and accepted wind power in general. Nevertheless, the proposed project in Ruokolahti seemed to polarize attitudes. This paper offers new insights into attitudes to wind energy among Finnish locals and owners of second homes in the same area. Post-print / Final draft

Purpose – European paper industry has been struggling with margins and profitability for more than decade time period. At typical in markets of west, paper product demand is at long-term decline, mostly driven by continuously increasing internet use. However, in emerging markets demand still exists, and in Europe numerous small markets in east have even some growth available. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyse in this research work with longitudinal data (period of 2002-2009) from one large Finnish paper mill and data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, how distribution efficiency to selected eight East European markets has evolved. Findings – In general distribution efficiency has improved, but this has taken place in step-wise manner rather than being linear year-to-year development (year 2006 found to be the threshold). Reason is mostly in better management of transportation costs, and in particular lower monthly deviation of these costs. It is surprising that case paper mill has been able to manage transportation costs in rapidly increasing energy cost environment so efficiently. Maybe European Union enlargement of 2004 and 2007 has had its effects on distribution efficiency. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to the deliveries of one paper mill located in Finland. Also East European markets in the early periods of this study were emerging papers markets, and distribution practices were clearly evolving. Practical implications – Based on the study East European paper market distribution should give more attention on transportation cost control, and trying to find solutions to minimize it with low monthly fluctuation. Originality/value – Very few studies exist from East European distribution issues, and particularly that of paper industry. Also used quantitative method of DEA is relatively new in this context and gives valuable insights for the distribution efficiency development.

The international recovered paper trade serves two important functions: increasing raw material availability in the paper and board industry and providing economic incentives to recycle. The purpose of this paper is to shed further light on emerging patterns in this trade by empirically analysing the changes in the bilateral trade flows of recycled paper between 1992 and 2008. According to our estimations, two important changes occurred in the 1990s and 2000s. First, the growing importance of developing economies in global recycled paper trade plays a significant role in import demand as a determinant of trade flows. Second, the changes in global trade patterns necessitate investigating the transportation cost measures used in applied research.

The use of recovered paper as raw material in the paper and board industry has increased heavily during recent decades. At the same time, growing environmental awareness has raised the interest in recycling and a more sustainable way of living, at least in high-income countries. This paper combines these topics and explores how economic, demographic and environmental factors have affected the recovery and utilization of recycled paper between 1992 and 2010 in a sample of 70 countries. This study updates and extends the previous research on the topic using panel data and panel data estimation methods. The results confirm the roles of economic determinants but also indicate that concern for the environment impacts the recovery of recycled paper particularly in high-income countries. Moreover, the motives for recycling appear to depend on the income level of a country, which is something that future policies should consider.

The pulp and paper industry is currently facing broad structural changes due to global shifts in demand and supply. These changes have significant impacts on national economies worldwide. In this paper, we describe the recent trends in the pulp and recovered paper (RP) production, and estimate augmented gravity models of bilateral trade for chemical pulp and RP exports with panel data. According to our results, there is some variation in the effects of the traditional gravity-model variables between pulp grades and RP. The results imply also that, in comparison to export supply, import demand plays a larger role in determining the volume of exports. Finally, it is evident that Asia, particularly China, is the most important driver of chemical pulp and RP trade: China is hungry for fiber, and must import to satisfy its growing needs. Moreover, the speed of China’s growth in chemical pulp and RP imports has been driving the increased significance of planted forests in the exports of hardwood pulp (BHKP) as well.

PurposeTypically, the graphic paper demand is being forecasted with the development of GDP, population and the price of paper. Recently, diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) has been identified as one possible driver of its consumption. It could be assumed that in emerging markets paper demand is a combination of these classical and new factors.Design/methodology/approachThe research examines the situation in the emerging Russian market with panel data regression analysis, accompanied with system dynamics simulation using Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis. So, the paper integrates different quantitative approaches to sketch long‐term paper demand forecasts through different alternative scenarios.FindingsResults show that mobile telephones are complementary to both newsprint and magazine paper demand and the internet is a substitute, but these two factors are still relatively small compared to the effect of GDP per capita.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to Russian markets, and in order to have more generalization power, it should be repeated in other emerging economies like, for example, former East European countries and Asia. However, used data in our analysis is longitudinal and has numerous observation points; therefore giving more reliability over the results.Originality/valueThe research work is seminal from the methodological point of view: it incorporates numerous quantitative methods to produce demand forecast using Monte Carlo simulation. Also, research studies taking into account the impact of ICT on emerging markets concerning paper demand are rare.

Conventionally paper demand is modelled by using only gross domestic product and the price of paper as explanatory variables. However, one factor affecting the demand of printing and writing papers is presumably the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT). In this paper, the regression analysis model and large global scale panel data sets from 1990–2007 are used to analyse the effect of ICT on paper demand for three paper grades: newsprint, office paper, and magazine paper. Results show that the internet is a substitute for newsprint, and possibly for magazine paper, and mobile telephones are complementary, and a growing number of personal computers increases office paper consumption. Post-print / Final draft

In this study, we explore a renewal capability of an incumbent organisation meeting remarkable organisational change. The study focuses on analysing internal shared mindsets and dynamic capabilities and their influence on the organisational renewal. We utilise the dynamic capability view of the firm and the dominant logic research tradition as theoretical foundations for our study. In the empirical part, we explore also the impact of demographic characteristics, such as work experience, organisational level or attachment to subunits on attitudes towards change. Empirical data was collected by means of a quantitative survey, which was carried out for all the employees of the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Our findings demonstrate how different subgroups share different mindsets in relation to the new and old dominant logics. The findings also show differences between subunits in their dynamic capabilities.

The global business environment of the pulp and paper industry (PPI) has changed drastically during past decades. This paper focuses on analyzing the linkages between PPI and other industries in Brazil, Finland, and the United States. We identified the most important inter-industry linkages and analyzed possible differences between countries, and over time. We also predicted Finland’s input-output structure using fuzzy linear models. The results suggest that there are distinct differences across countries and also over time. It seems that the global changes in pulp and paper markets have changed the purchase “recipe” of PPI in all of the countries investigated. Fuzzy input-output analysis was found to be a useful forecast method, although further research is needed prior to any generalizations. Post-print / Final draft

In this paper, we analyse econometrically the Finnish inventory to value added ratios (i.e., inventory intensities) within manufacturing and two subcategories, the wood and paper industry and manufacture of electrical products. The focus is on the period 1980–2009. In addition to revealing the statistically significant break points in the inventory intensity, we estimate the numbers, timings and magnitudes of the structural breaks. After determining the break points, we connect them to transaction, buffering and speculative motives for holding inventories. The properties of the break points observed suggest that the motives continue to play a role in modern small open economies and, therefore, they can be utilised by managers when trying to forecast the behaviour of inventories.

Literature assessing the quantity and quality of voluntary social and environmental reporting has shown critical reflections regarding the quality and reliability, the (largely) qualitative nature of disclosure with lack of measurability, credibility or comparability, and information being biased and self-laudatory in nature with minimal disclosure of negative information. Among environmentally-sensitive sectors, forest-based industry has a crucial role in global sustainable development, not only because of its unique raw material basis, but also because of the ongoing industry globalization in the emerging and developing countries. The contribution of this study is important in at least two dimensions: first, providing empirical quantitative insight regarding the current patterns in responsibility disclosure of the forest-based sector at a global level; and second, by taking a quantitative approach in investigating determinants of the disclosure. Changing patterns in the economic, environmental and social performance of the forest-based industry were analyzed using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, which represents an international cooperative effort to establish sustainability reporting guidelines for voluntary use by organizations worldwide. We seek to shed more light on what are the key responsibility or sustainability issues the global forest companies address, and which of the firm and industry level determinants are significant on the quality of disclosure? Sustainability disclosure of 66 top forest industry companies is first content analyzed based on the GRI framework, after which significance of industry and firm characteristics, including geographic location, business line and financial performance, will be used as testing the determinants influencing the quality and level of disclosure. Based on the content analysis, more emphasis was found to be placed on the environmental and economic responsibility in contrast to areas concerning human rights, labour practices, social and product responsibility in the forestry sector. Main findings from the regression modeling include a significant positive effect from company size on the quality and extent of CR reporting practices in the forest industry; no effect from the financial performance; little regional variation; and illustration of difference in disclosure orientation between integrated forest industry companies and those with more narrowly focused business. From the managerial perspective, in the future, business leaders in the forest industry are expected to adopt a more proactive role not only in reducing the environmental footprint or promoting sustainable forest management, but also in furthering social goals.

This paper explores how national culture and environmental awareness affect the recovery and utilization of recovered paper on country level. We extent models of previous studies by including a wide array of “softer” country level factors, e.g. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and diffusion of ISO 14001 certificates. Our models are tested on panel data from 22 leading paperproducing countries in 1995-2008. Our empirical results further confirm the roles of geographical, demographic and essentially economic determinants but we are also able to empirically demonstrate that cultural characteristics and concern for the environment play a significant role.