Finnish Case Study Research Articles

Otologic consequences of blast exposure: a finnish case study of a shopping mall bomb explosion

Objective—On 11 October, 2002, in the Myyrmanni shopping mall, Vantaa city, Finland, an explosion by a suicide bomber killed 7 people and injured at least 160, 44 of whom had ear trauma. We investigated the acute and subacute otologic consequences of the explosion.Material and Methods—Otologic examination of the 29 patients treated for ear trauma at the ENT clinic of the University Hospital of Helsinki was performed during the first month after the explosion, and a questionnaire was completed regarding subjective aural symptoms. Symptoms occurring directly after the explosion and for up to 1 month afterwards were assessed.Results—Of the 29 patients, 66% had tinnitus as the initial symptom, 55% hearing loss, 41% pain in the ears and 28% sound distortion. Tinnitus and hearing loss in combination were experienced by 12 patients (41%). Eight patients who had been situated<10 m from the center of the explosion had a rupture of the tympanic membrane. This supported the initial evaluation by the authorities that the bomb had consisted of ≈3 kg ammonium nitrate, equivalent to ≈0.5 kg of trinitrotoluene. It was estimated that some kind of ear injury was likely for individuals situated<70 m from the center of the explosion.Conclusions—People often think that tinnitus and hearing impairment are naturally occurring phenomena after blast exposure, and if their symptoms resolve they do not seek medical advice. However, some of them may have substantial hearing impairment, particularly at high frequencies. Otologic consultation, or at least an audiometric screening test to exclude hearing impairment, should be performed regardless of symptoms, on the basis of exposure data only. Some symptoms, such as tinnitus and hearing loss, may be permanent consequences of a blast injury and their effect on quality of life may be substantial.

Boreal carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in managed spruce forests – a summary of Finnish case studies

Over 90% of the forests in Sweden and Finland are managed (Angelstam 1997, Sevola 1999) and form a mosaic of different successional stages (Hansson 1992). This is a consequence of forestry practices over several centuries, but the most drastic effects of forestry on forest biota have taken place during the past 50 years (Niemela 1999). Over this period of time, the structures of the plant and animal assemblages of boreal forests have been strongly altered (Heliovaara and Vaisanen 1984, Esseen et al. 1992, Niemela 1997). Forestry is responsible for approximately 30% of the Finnish red-listed species being threatened (Rassi et al. 2000). Perhaps the most important reason for this is the fragmentation of old-growth forests. Habitat fragmentation is one of the most important causes of species declines and extinctions across the world (Saunders et al. 1991, Haila et al. 1994, Didham et al. 1996, Didham 1997a, Davies et al. 2000). In southern Finland, roughly 1% of forest cover is protected and only 5% of these are old-growth forests (Virkkala et al. 2000). Protecting all the remaining old-growth forests in these regions is an inadequate measure for the protection of old-growth forest specialists (e.g. Heikkinen et al. 2000). Thus, in addition to protection, the restoration of mature, managed forests and the improvement of the quality of the surrounding managed landscape matrix through the development of appropriate management methods are needed (Niemela 1997, 1999, Nilsson 1997, Monkkonen 1999). Managed forests host fewer threatened forestspecialist species than do old-growth forests, and also many common species occur at low abundance in managed forests. Examples of this difference are e.g. bryophytes and epiphytic lichens (Soderstrom 1988, Andersson and Hytteborn 1991, Kuusinen 1994, 1996, Dettki and Esseen 1998), beetles living in dead wood (Vaisanen et al. 1993, Siitonen and Martikainen 1994, Jonsell et al. 1998) and Mycetophilidae insects (Okland 1994). However, the long-term persistence of many forest species is dependent on populations living in managed forests (Lindenmeyer and Franklin 1997). The maintenance of these populations can possibly be achieved by ecological planning of forestry. Moreover, the importance of ecological forestry planning is not just to maintain old-growth forests but also to prevent the decrease of overall forest biodiversity at the within-stand, regional and national scales.

Creating a virtual school based learning environment for the Finnish school

The purpose of this study was to first briefly analyse the concept of a virtual school. The aim of the empirical part was to exemplify how a virtual school based learning environment can be created and established in a Finnish educational context. For this purpose, a Finnish case study conducted in 1996-1997 as part of the activities of the European Observatory was analysed. The virtual school was seen by the participating teachers as a way to keep up with the latest trends in education and in information and communication technologies. It was also noticed that developing a new type of school and creating learning materials for it requires huge investments.

Towards a new workplace culture: development strategies for employer‐employee relations

Deals with one of the key human resource (HR) issues in current working life, namely employer‐employee relations. Looks at the process of the development of employer‐employee relations in an organization‐wide change process, more specifically in quality improvement initiative. Presents empirical findings and implications from a qualitative, longitudinal Finnish case study on the implementation of quality management thinking and practices. Suggests leadership‐oriented development strategies for employer‐employee relations and better utilization of HR. Proposes that the progress in the development of labor‐management relations is based on an incremental ideological change which is a leader‐driven learning process. Incremental change in the workplace mentality leads to increasing trust and cooperation. Implies that in the development of labor‐management relations visible leadership and good leadership skills are needed; managers need sensitivity for seeing the right time and knowing the right ways for building mutual trust. Leadership actions, in turn, give support to traditionally more passive human resource management actions.

Utilizing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in SWOT analysis — a hybrid method and its application to a forest-certification case

The present study examines a new hybrid method for improving the usability of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. A commonly used decision analysis method, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and its eigenvalue calculation framework are integrated with SWOT analysis. AHP’s connection to SWOT yields analytically determined priorities for the factors included in SWOT analysis and makes them commensurable. The aim in applying the hybrid method is to improve the quantitative information basis of strategic planning processes. The hybrid method was tested in connection with a Finnish case study on forest certification. In the case study, the results were presented in an illustrative way by utilizing the quantitative information achieved by the hybrid method. The results indicated that certification could be a potential strategic alternative in our case study farm. In addition, the needed pairwise comparisons were found useful, because they force the decision maker to think over the weights of the factors and to analyze the situation more precisely and in more depth.

Leadership strategies for gaining business excellence through total quality management: A Finnish case study

This paper suggests two successful leadership strategies for gaining business excellence through total quality management (TQM). The Finnish case examples imply that inimitable competitive advantages can be gained through a deeply embedded quality ideology. It is important for managers to understand the leadership strategies for TQM implementation in order to capitalize on the strength that these strategies generate in the company's pursuit of business excellence.

Investigating the Genre of a Business Fax: A Finnish Case Study

The faxes sent and received during one week by a small Finnish companyinvolved in international operations were analyzed to determine whether or notthe business fax contains distinct features that warrant classifying it as a genre.Using a framework of critical discourse analysis, the study looked at a total of69 faxes. The results suggest that the business fax is a distinct, dynamic genrethat is constituted by and constitutive of the social practices within which it issituated. Five specific subgenres of the business fax — identified as specificinformation, specific requests, "for your information," first contact, and order —were also found. Some implications of English being used as the commonlanguage for faxes are also considered.

Why do individuals use computer technology? A Finnish case study

Here we discuss the motivators for computer usage in Finland. IS and non-IS researchers have reported that perceived usefulness is a major determinant in a United States workplace. This study focuses on two aspects of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Perceived usefulness is an example of extrinsic motivation, whereas perceived enjoyment is intrinsic. We found that extrinsic motivation plays a greater role in individuals' behavior and that perceived ease of use affects both perceived enjoyment and usefulness, as well as usage. Moreover, they were found to mediate fully the relationship between perceived ease of use and computer usage.

Aging and Fatal Accidents in Male and Female Drivers

The effect of aging on fatal accident characteristics of male and female drivers was investigated using Finnish fatal-accident case study material from the period 1984-1990. Age-bound changes in accident characteristics (e.g., increase of at-fault accidents and of collisions in intersections) appeared in both sexes but seemed to affect female drivers at an earlier age and to a higher degree. When the sexes differed in accident characteristics, those of female drivers were more like the ones typically found in older drivers. The female drivers were also both quantitatively and qualitatively less experienced as drivers than their male counterparts. Thus, the lower resistance of women to the effects of aging on driving may be explained by their lower skill level. In future cohorts of old drivers, decrease of sex differences in experience will presumably attenuate the sex differences in accident characteristics.

Anneli Lieko, The development of complex sentences. A case study of Finnish, Helsinki 1992 (Studia Fennica. Linguistica 3). 339 S.

Anneli Lieko, The development of complex sentences. A case study of Finnish, Helsinki 1992 (Studia Fennica. Linguistica 3). 339 S.

Modeling newsprint consumption: a Finnish case study for the period 1960-1986

Modeling newsprint consumption: a Finnish case study for the period 1960-1986

Analyzing environmental time series: A review and Finnish case study

Knowledge on environmental changes is of great value to environmental managers and scien­ tists. Because of the special characteristics of environmental phenomena, the information needed to make an assessment of environmental changes over time cannot be derived from the usual sampling techniques: time series analysis is needed. A quick survey reviewing what time series methods in the literature fit well the needs of environmental data analysis is timely. Secondly, the gap between mathematically complicated materials in the literature and oversimplifications that exist in textbooks which are insufficient for practicing environmental scientists can perhaps be bridged. An outline of ideas, assumptions, and limitations of some time series methods, supplemented by a Finnish case study on patterns and cyclicity in a microtine rodent population can be a useful quide for practical data analysis.

Acquisition of Inflectional Marking: A Case Study of Finnish

Longitudinal acquisition studies of inflectional paradigms of Finish have shown, for example, that certain type of stem confusions predominate in the errors during the first few years of language acquisition. The present study focused upon the development of the (possible) base forms in verbs and nominals (i.e. nouns, adjectives, numerals and pronouns) of Finnish in the speech of the authors' son between ages 1.5 and 5.6. Various factors are discussed that appear to account for most of the errors in a satisfactory manner, e.g., frequency of a related form in caretaker speech, the degree of isomorphy (or transparency) found in the inflection as well as the role of the self-directed speech of the child.