Browsing by Subject "transformation"
Now showing items 1-11 of 11
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(2019)In this thesis I focus on a novel disaster response and preparedness mechanism called forecast-based financing. The mechanism is linked to the changing paradigm of humanitarian response that calls for more localized and more resilience building solutions to addressing and preventing humanitarian crisis. It is also in the core of the anticipation agenda which argues that waiting for disasters to happen is not a sustainable option and that forecast data and pre-agreed triggers and actions should be used in order to prevent both loss of lives and mitigate the cost and impact of disasters. Main hypothesis is that climate related hazards to livelihoods and food security seems to be the sector where forecast-based financing could have most potential for increasing resilience and sustainability. Slow onset crises with long lead-time allow for better targeting and more variety of actions. As the lifetime of the action is longer, there is less chance of action which is in vain. Furthermore, the actions which are more localized, for example direct support to farmers, can decrease their vulnerabilities. I aim at taking a critical approach to assessing this potentiality associated with the forecast-based financing mechanism through case study. The three cases (Mongolia, Kenya, Zimbabwe) were selected from pilots implemented by the main actors: the Red Cross, World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Start Network. This thesis uses a combination of evaluative and heuristic approach to qualitative case study analysis. To answer the first research question, 1) is the forecast-based financing mechanism successful in prioritization of actions in a way that best address the needs and resources of vulnerable populations, I aim at finding out if mechanism is effective (or potentially effective) in delivering impact. For the second research question, 2) are the actions sustainable and do they bring socio-economic benefits that go beyond meeting acute humanitarian needs, I will see if new pathways are found for confirming the defined hypothesis. I am using heuristic approach in terms of finding new links e.g. between actions and needs of either donors, actors or beneficiaries. I asses and analyse available reports and evaluations (secondary data) of the selected operations. I conducted eleven (11) semi-structured key informant interviews (primary data) using practitioner’s perspective for retrieving qualitative data, for further understanding and for triangulation. All key informants were affiliated to the cases. My analysis show that the potentiality for development impacts and long-term transformation of the forecast-based financing is there but it is not utilized in the cases reviewed nor is it perceived in a same way across practitioners of different backgrounds. Currently the mechanism is used more for effective response, not for addressing the root causes of vulnerability. In general, the entitlement or empowering of a person who is affected by disaster currently does not go beyond securing bridge over lean season, avoiding negative coping mechanisms or e.g. better yield or survival of livestock. Sustainability potential of the forecast-based financing seems to be currently underutilized and international funding envelopes do not offer an alternative to the humanitarian funding launched case-by-case. Most of the practitioners interviewed were clearly in favour of linking and using forecast-based financing in some way to long-term programming, thinking outside of the framework of humanitarian response, extending lead time significantly and adding positive reinforcement inputs. I argue that with a lead time that goes long in advance, towards development actions, the mechanism needs to be reframed for the donors and the sources of funding might need to be reconsidered. To implement meaningful resilience actions in slow onset cases, triggers need to be early enough and actions in two phases: 1) anticipatory and benefiting from forecast and 2) early response. At beneficiary level the actions should be geared up to better address underlying socio-economic vulnerabilities and take advantage of the long lead time.
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(2019)In this thesis I focus on a novel disaster response and preparedness mechanism called forecast-based financing. The mechanism is linked to the changing paradigm of humanitarian response that calls for more localized and more resilience building solutions to addressing and preventing humanitarian crisis. It is also in the core of the anticipation agenda which argues that waiting for disasters to happen is not a sustainable option and that forecast data and pre-agreed triggers and actions should be used in order to prevent both loss of lives and mitigate the cost and impact of disasters. Main hypothesis is that climate related hazards to livelihoods and food security seems to be the sector where forecast-based financing could have most potential for increasing resilience and sustainability. Slow onset crises with long lead-time allow for better targeting and more variety of actions. As the lifetime of the action is longer, there is less chance of action which is in vain. Furthermore, the actions which are more localized, for example direct support to farmers, can decrease their vulnerabilities. I aim at taking a critical approach to assessing this potentiality associated with the forecast-based financing mechanism through case study. The three cases (Mongolia, Kenya, Zimbabwe) were selected from pilots implemented by the main actors: the Red Cross, World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Start Network. This thesis uses a combination of evaluative and heuristic approach to qualitative case study analysis. To answer the first research question, 1) is the forecast-based financing mechanism successful in prioritization of actions in a way that best address the needs and resources of vulnerable populations, I aim at finding out if mechanism is effective (or potentially effective) in delivering impact. For the second research question, 2) are the actions sustainable and do they bring socio-economic benefits that go beyond meeting acute humanitarian needs, I will see if new pathways are found for confirming the defined hypothesis. I am using heuristic approach in terms of finding new links e.g. between actions and needs of either donors, actors or beneficiaries. I asses and analyse available reports and evaluations (secondary data) of the selected operations. I conducted eleven (11) semi-structured key informant interviews (primary data) using practitioner’s perspective for retrieving qualitative data, for further understanding and for triangulation. All key informants were affiliated to the cases. My analysis show that the potentiality for development impacts and long-term transformation of the forecast-based financing is there but it is not utilized in the cases reviewed nor is it perceived in a same way across practitioners of different backgrounds. Currently the mechanism is used more for effective response, not for addressing the root causes of vulnerability. In general, the entitlement or empowering of a person who is affected by disaster currently does not go beyond securing bridge over lean season, avoiding negative coping mechanisms or e.g. better yield or survival of livestock. Sustainability potential of the forecast-based financing seems to be currently underutilized and international funding envelopes do not offer an alternative to the humanitarian funding launched case-by-case. Most of the practitioners interviewed were clearly in favour of linking and using forecast-based financing in some way to long-term programming, thinking outside of the framework of humanitarian response, extending lead time significantly and adding positive reinforcement inputs. I argue that with a lead time that goes long in advance, towards development actions, the mechanism needs to be reframed for the donors and the sources of funding might need to be reconsidered. To implement meaningful resilience actions in slow onset cases, triggers need to be early enough and actions in two phases: 1) anticipatory and benefiting from forecast and 2) early response. At beneficiary level the actions should be geared up to better address underlying socio-economic vulnerabilities and take advantage of the long lead time.
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(2021)The topic of this study is to explore how the senior business leaders construct their attitudes and describe the role of trust in the context of business transformations related to the company's business and organization, for example during mergers or acquisitions (M&A) and hyper-growth. The focus of the study is on attitudes constructed by these leaders and observed through their argumentation when talking about trust. These attitudes and argumentation are examined from the theoretic-methodological approach of qualitative attitude approach, offering a unique angle to trust research, widely dominated by quantitative research. The qualitative attitude approach relies on rhetorical social psychology and constructivist viewpoint, which draws attention to the socially constructed nature of argumentation when examining attitudes. In the qualitative attitude approach, attitude is seen as relationist, where attitude is viewed to be built in argumentation. Examining the argumentation of speech provides new insights into the role of trust in an organization. The research data consisted of five individual interviews of experienced corporate executives in top management positions (members of the company’s executive leadership team or the board of directors). The interviews were conducted in the spring and summer of 2019. These semi-structured interviews consisted of seven attitude prompts to which comments were requested. Five prompts addressed trust within the organization and two addressed leadership. In their speech, the interviewees formed statements and justifications to the questions and topics at hand, substantiating and negotiating their views. The study identified 20 different attitude constructs related to trust and two attitude constructs related to leadership overall. These attitudes were constructed from the classification of statements and justifications that emerged from the interview material. According to the qualitative attitude approach, analysis was conducted on two levels: through classifying and interpretative analysis. Attitudes were interpreted based on six evaluative argumentation patterns when talking about trust, forming six rhetoric versions of trust: Trust as a relational and interactional phenomenon across different organizational levels, Trust as an organizational catalyst, Trust as an outcome of multidimensional elements, Trust as an intentional act, Trust as a collective construct, and Trust-building as a leadership skill. The senior leaders formed these versions of trust from four subject positions - Trustor, Trustee, Observer and Evaluator of Trust, and Active Trust Builder. Positive, conditional, and negative justifications, subject positions, self-reflection, framing, and social influence were used as rhetoric and social resources to form attitudes related to trust. In the trust speech of senior business leaders, trust is described as an atmosphere of common trust, building material, and a bedrock of the company, that must be consciously and collectively built within organizations. Modern leadership was described as a school of fish with collective intelligence, a team jointly creating success. Trust-building needs to be contributed by the whole organization but it’s also seen as a leadership skill just like budgeting. The benefits of trust for organizations are empirically indisputable. Trust helps an organization to bear and share risks, creates psychological safety at all levels of the organization as well as supports risk-taking and decision-making in transformational situations.
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(2021)The topic of this study is to explore how the senior business leaders construct their attitudes and describe the role of trust in the context of business transformations related to the company's business and organization, for example during mergers or acquisitions (M&A) and hyper-growth. The focus of the study is on attitudes constructed by these leaders and observed through their argumentation when talking about trust. These attitudes and argumentation are examined from the theoretic-methodological approach of qualitative attitude approach, offering a unique angle to trust research, widely dominated by quantitative research. The qualitative attitude approach relies on rhetorical social psychology and constructivist viewpoint, which draws attention to the socially constructed nature of argumentation when examining attitudes. In the qualitative attitude approach, attitude is seen as relationist, where attitude is viewed to be built in argumentation. Examining the argumentation of speech provides new insights into the role of trust in an organization. The research data consisted of five individual interviews of experienced corporate executives in top management positions (members of the company’s executive leadership team or the board of directors). The interviews were conducted in the spring and summer of 2019. These semi-structured interviews consisted of seven attitude prompts to which comments were requested. Five prompts addressed trust within the organization and two addressed leadership. In their speech, the interviewees formed statements and justifications to the questions and topics at hand, substantiating and negotiating their views. The study identified 20 different attitude constructs related to trust and two attitude constructs related to leadership overall. These attitudes were constructed from the classification of statements and justifications that emerged from the interview material. According to the qualitative attitude approach, analysis was conducted on two levels: through classifying and interpretative analysis. Attitudes were interpreted based on six evaluative argumentation patterns when talking about trust, forming six rhetoric versions of trust: Trust as a relational and interactional phenomenon across different organizational levels, Trust as an organizational catalyst, Trust as an outcome of multidimensional elements, Trust as an intentional act, Trust as a collective construct, and Trust-building as a leadership skill. The senior leaders formed these versions of trust from four subject positions - Trustor, Trustee, Observer and Evaluator of Trust, and Active Trust Builder. Positive, conditional, and negative justifications, subject positions, self-reflection, framing, and social influence were used as rhetoric and social resources to form attitudes related to trust. In the trust speech of senior business leaders, trust is described as an atmosphere of common trust, building material, and a bedrock of the company, that must be consciously and collectively built within organizations. Modern leadership was described as a school of fish with collective intelligence, a team jointly creating success. Trust-building needs to be contributed by the whole organization but it’s also seen as a leadership skill just like budgeting. The benefits of trust for organizations are empirically indisputable. Trust helps an organization to bear and share risks, creates psychological safety at all levels of the organization as well as supports risk-taking and decision-making in transformational situations.
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(2021)This project focuses on development of novel split intein systems for selection of biological activities utilizing protein splicing. Protein splicing is phenomenon that occurs naturally inside the cell and the reaction is catalyzed by inteins, which connect C-terminal and N-terminal exteins with a peptide bond. The activity of the interrupted protein, consisting the exteins, can be restored after the intein is excised and the peptide bond links the exteins together. This occurrence can be used for selection of cells based on different activities including antibiotic resistance. The project aims to insert an intein in antibiotic resistance gene which could allow controlling the protein activity of the antibiotic resistance gene by protein splitting. This method is based on inserting an intein to the antibiotic resistance conferring enzyme which makes the protein inactive. Creating two separate plasmids that include the intein sequence can be transformed into bacterial cells. Other plasmid includes a deletion in the intein sequence and the cells that include this plasmid only, are not able to survive in the presence of an antibiotic. This is due to inactivity of the intein and thus the inactivity of the enzyme that confers the resistance. Incorporating a second plasmid that includes the corresponding sequence to the deletion, the intein activity can be recovered and thus the protein activity. By this method with cotransformation, both plasmids are transformed simultaneously which recovers the intein activity and further the antibiotic resistance. This could be used for the cell selection since only the cells that harbor both of the two complementary plasmids could restore the antibiotic resistance.
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(2021)This project focuses on development of novel split intein systems for selection of biological activities utilizing protein splicing. Protein splicing is phenomenon that occurs naturally inside the cell and the reaction is catalyzed by inteins, which connect C-terminal and N-terminal exteins with a peptide bond. The activity of the interrupted protein, consisting the exteins, can be restored after the intein is excised and the peptide bond links the exteins together. This occurrence can be used for selection of cells based on different activities including antibiotic resistance. The project aims to insert an intein in antibiotic resistance gene which could allow controlling the protein activity of the antibiotic resistance gene by protein splitting. This method is based on inserting an intein to the antibiotic resistance conferring enzyme which makes the protein inactive. Creating two separate plasmids that include the intein sequence can be transformed into bacterial cells. Other plasmid includes a deletion in the intein sequence and the cells that include this plasmid only, are not able to survive in the presence of an antibiotic. This is due to inactivity of the intein and thus the inactivity of the enzyme that confers the resistance. Incorporating a second plasmid that includes the corresponding sequence to the deletion, the intein activity can be recovered and thus the protein activity. By this method with cotransformation, both plasmids are transformed simultaneously which recovers the intein activity and further the antibiotic resistance. This could be used for the cell selection since only the cells that harbor both of the two complementary plasmids could restore the antibiotic resistance.
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(2016)Cobalamin (vitamin B12) occurs naturally in some animal-derived foods and is produced exclusively by microorganisms. An optimised protocol was used for extraction of cobalamin from cheese matrixes. No pseudocobalamin was detected in any of the examined samples. Cobalamin levels (mg/100g FW) detected in commercial emmental cheeses of three ripening stages did not alter significantly (P>0.05). Similar results were observed during the ripening of experimental semi-hard cheeses with or without propionibacteria. Existence of propionibacteria as adjunct culture in experimental cheeses did not alter significantly contribution on cobalamin levels of the cheese (P>0.05). The findings indicate that in the studied cheese matrixes the presence of propionibacteria did not affect the amount of cobalamin. The conditions to which propionibacteria are subjected during cheese manufacture and ripening and the presence of adenosyl-cobalamin in milk may be factors that repress cobalamin synthesis in Swiss- type cheeses. To date, the only known food grade microorganism that can produce cobalamin is Propionibacterium freudenreichii. This microorganism can also produce small amounts of pseudocobalamin, a compound structurally similar to cobalamin. BluB/CobT2 fusion gene is the factor that differentiates the two compounds upon their biosynthesis, by synthesizing and binding 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (DMBI) to the final molecule of cobalamin. In the present study, attempts to inactivate this gene were performed in order to investigate the existence of an alternative enzyme, capable of activating adenine for attachment as a lower ligand in pseudocobalamin, instead of DMBI. An electroporation protocol was implemented in order to transform plasmids containing bluB or cobT2 fragments and gene encoding erythromycin resistance in propionibacteria. Following transformation plasmid carrying bacteria were selected by cultivation in medium containing erythromycin. Homologous recombination of the bacterial genome and the non-replicative plasmid was expected to occur, leading to insertional mutagenesis. Colonies appeared after 7 and 11 days and were identified as propionibacteria but the disruption of bluB/cobT2 gene could not be verified. Inefficient transformation protocol, satellite colonies, low transformation efficiency, or choice essentiality of the bluB/cobT2 are among the possible explanations for the outcome of the experiment. Electroporation conditions should be optimized towards a more efficient P. freudenreichii transformation.
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(2023)Filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina) is a crucial production organism for enzymes used in industrial applications, such as in feed, food, textile, and biofuel production, due to its ability to secrete high amounts of homologous and heterologous enzymes. Therefore, development of genetic tools to improve the properties of industrial T. reesei strains for even better production yields is essential. In this study, a polyethylene glycol mediated CRISPR-Cas9 transformation method for industrial T. reesei production strains was aimed to be optimised by testing an alternative Cas9 enzyme and varying the stoichiometry and total amount of Cas9 enzyme and single guide RNA in the ribonucleoprotein complex. Correct integration of the gene constructions in the obtained transformants was determined by colony PCR and Southern blot analysis. In addition, two selected background activity encoding genes, endoglucanase 6 and α-glucuronidase 1, were individually deleted from T. reesei xylanase production strain utilising the improved CRISPR-Cas9 transformation protocol. The effect of background activity deletions on the strain growth and protein production were analysed from culture supernatants by pH measurement, Bradford protein assay, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and enzyme activity assays. An improved CRISPR-Cas9 transformation protocol for T. reesei was successfully established basing on high number of transformants and improved DNA integration fidelity. No negative effects were observed in the growth or protein production properties of the background activity deletion strains compared to the xylanase production strain. Thus, further cleansing of T. reesei secretome can be continued to refine the industrial production strains.
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(2023)Filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina) is a crucial production organism for enzymes used in industrial applications, such as in feed, food, textile, and biofuel production, due to its ability to secrete high amounts of homologous and heterologous enzymes. Therefore, development of genetic tools to improve the properties of industrial T. reesei strains for even better production yields is essential. In this study, a polyethylene glycol mediated CRISPR-Cas9 transformation method for industrial T. reesei production strains was aimed to be optimised by testing an alternative Cas9 enzyme and varying the stoichiometry and total amount of Cas9 enzyme and single guide RNA in the ribonucleoprotein complex. Correct integration of the gene constructions in the obtained transformants was determined by colony PCR and Southern blot analysis. In addition, two selected background activity encoding genes, endoglucanase 6 and α-glucuronidase 1, were individually deleted from T. reesei xylanase production strain utilising the improved CRISPR-Cas9 transformation protocol. The effect of background activity deletions on the strain growth and protein production were analysed from culture supernatants by pH measurement, Bradford protein assay, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and enzyme activity assays. An improved CRISPR-Cas9 transformation protocol for T. reesei was successfully established basing on high number of transformants and improved DNA integration fidelity. No negative effects were observed in the growth or protein production properties of the background activity deletion strains compared to the xylanase production strain. Thus, further cleansing of T. reesei secretome can be continued to refine the industrial production strains.
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(2016)This Master’s thesis is an ethnographic study that focuses on Romanian transnational migrant families. It explores, from an anthropological perspective the transformations that have happened in the lives of the Romanian migrants in Spain, on how the context of migration influences people’s lives and on how the changes are perceived by the migrants. The fieldwork was conducted in 2014 in a Romanian Community situated in a small village near Roquetas del Mar, Almeria, in the Southern part of Spain. The collected material consists of 15 interviews, participant observation diary and a collection of photos and videos. The data was analyzed using micro-interpretive social constructionism. Through thematic analysis, three important changes were identified. The first theme concentrates on the changes that have happened in the perception of family and family life. Hence, the research examines how the concept of family has changed and how the family has been constructed in the migration context. The second theme explores the experiences of the migrants from a human security perspective. The manner in which migrants perceive their human security is reflected in their daily discourse and it has a significant influence on their behaviour. The third theme of this study focuses on the religious transformation. The aim of this section is to investigate how the everyday religion has been changing in the migration context and how people have been making sense of their religious experiences. This study is unable to encompass the entire complexity of the changes that have happened in the lives of the Romanian migrants. However, it sheds a new light on specific changes that are important for the migrants. Since this is a qualitative based research that draws on a limited number of participants, it is impossible to generalize the results. Nevertheless, this research provides new insights into subjects that previous studies have not dealt with in much detail.
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(2023)In the industry categorization, construction industry is one of the largest sources of waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Construction industry, with norms, practices, business models, and legislation connected to it, is built on linear foundations. In a linear economy, energy and material flows are based on value addition and a take-make-use-dispose logic. The circular economy is pursued as a replacement to the linear economic model and is based on the idea of value preservation. Among several other sustainability-driven concepts, the use of the concept of circular economy is growing in local, national and international level environmental governance. This thesis is located in the complex and ambiguous conceptual framework of circular economy as a sustainability transformation in municipal politics. The subjects under observation are four Finnish cities: Helsinki, Joensuu, Turku, and Vantaa. I aim to gain an understanding of why circular economy policy implementation in the construction and demolition of buildings seems inadequate in comparison to the municipalities’ circular economy and sustainability ambitions and whether it really is so. The current city strategies, the policy documents with the most significant guiding impact to circular construction, and interviews with experts from the municipalities and construction sector are analyzed with thematic analysis. This thesis is a part of a six-year transdisciplinary research project, DeCarbon-Home, which studies and co-develops solutions to the just sustainability transitions of living and construction. The results of this thesis show that the understanding and awareness of the concept of circular economy and ambitions attached to it vary significantly not only between cities but also within. The cities are in different phases of circular economy transition, and the results demonstrate various pathways of policy implementation. Some shared challenges that are so far hindering the cities from implementing circularity in construction have to do with the lock-in with the current linear system, division of ownership and responsibility, communication, timing, and paradigm shift.
Now showing items 1-11 of 11