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The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the development of Finnish economy in past few years especially in context of global financial and economic crisis. This work also examines the causes of remarkable uptorn in Finland's economic performance since 1990 and the longevity of such state. Attention is also paid to current main characteristics of Finnish economy in world context such as nordic social model, education system and research, development and innovations.

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The study on luxury consumers is always connected to their drives behind consumption. Why people buy luxury products is an interesting question. This thesis investigates influencing forces behind luxury consumer behavior, in a comparative case study on Chinese and Finnish consumers. Luxury consumption is not a new phenomenon, but in some countries, like China and Finland, the luxury market is still growing since many brands are newly entering these markets. At the same time, new generations have become luxury consumers so these markets are quickly changing.Researches have been made on luxury consumer behaviour in China and Finland. However, there is a lack of updated information available about this subject, especially about Finnish luxury consumers. Furthermore, the driving forces behind the luxury consumption are not the same in different countries. In a competitive industry like luxury fashion, the marketing tactics have to be adapted to specific market conditions in order to succeed. The purpose of this thesis is to gain updated information about Chinese and Finnish luxury consumers and investigate forces behind their luxury consumption. The study focuses on three important influencing forces including culture, motivation and brand equity of Chinese and Finnish luxury consumers.The investigation shows that Chinese luxury consumers, in terms of culture, are more collective and have higher power distance than Finnish consumers; other's influence and emotion have greater impact on Chinese luxury consumers than that on Finnish consumers; in comparison with Chinese consumers, Finnish consumers are more easily motivated to buy luxuries for special time such as holidays or for giving gifts; Chinese luxury consumers are shown to have lower brand loyalty, awareness and association than Finnish consumers. / Program: Master in Fashion Management with specialisation in Fashion Marketing and Retailing

This dissertation considers experiences of embodied memory and indigenous connection to land by which people reconstitute social life in Skolt Sámi resettlement areas of Arctic Finland. After their Petsamo homeland was ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second World War, Skolt relocation to new areas of northern Finland radically transformed social, political, and subsistence lifeways, including through education in Finnish boarding schools. Continuing out-migration to Finnish cities has contributed to the suppression of identity and threats to community wellbeing, felt in ruptures of practice associated with material culture, language, and relationships with local ecologies. Though most studies in the region still focus on the reindeer herding and fishing commonly associated with Sámi populations, there is actually resurgence of Skolt craft (boats, tools, dress), as well as collection and processing of wild foods, which form the core of a vibrant cultural revival. Through participant observation and life history methods, I follow the making of things using local materials as a means by which people remake relationships with the land and with each other. The thesis focuses on the first 14 months of fieldwork in Čeʹvetjäuʹrr (F. Sevettijärvi) 2014-2015, out of a total of 26 months of multi-sited research in the Sámi regions. Scholarship on memory, practice, and displacement examines how memory becomes embodied, reworked, and reconciled across generations, and how material objects and the creation of home in new places create connections to original homelands. Meanwhile, studies among indigenous communities highlight how people use craft and art to establish connections to land despite, and through, displacement and movement. However, to understand the tangible mechanisms of these attachments and interventions, I inquire into the material practices by which people form relationships to resettlement environments. The thesis follows the concept of practical knowledge as transformed and mobilised through revival of local forms of production, to show how practices and memories are selectively rewoven to shape social futures. I argue that embodied processes of making, enmeshed in the materiality of resettlement environments, make Skolt community visible and felt in new ways by establishing connections between resettlement area and indigenous homeland. Grounding each chapter in stages of reconstruction of a Petsamo-style boat, made with roots, pine, and without metal nails, I weave points of analysis and diverse case studies to explore how processes of production, from collection of materials to building and ceremony, serve as loci of memory and practice by which people establish relationships with land to remake social worlds. In the first chapter, I explore spatial and temporal reconnections among Skolt return migrants and Finnish settlers to the Skolt regions of Finland. The second chapter deals with political and gendered dimensions of cultural revival work, showing how different ways of relating to the environment are negotiated through humour and production. The third chapter examines institutional avenues of reviving techniques of production. In the fourth chapter, I consider politics surrounding the role of non-Skolt actors in Skolt cultural revival. The final chapter examines how these politics are reconciled through ceremony and the making of collective memory, establishing Skolt presence in resettlement areas, as well as spatial and temporal continuity with Petsamo, through the public launching of the root boat. I conclude the thesis by bringing together the stages of boat production and related case studies to show how engagements with the environment through making create ways to reimagine relationships to people and place. I further suggest the broader contributions of this study for understanding indigenous movements, displacement, memory, and future-making.

The Finnish school system has figured prominently in the PISA international assessments for over 10 years. Many reasons are given for Finnish success yet few of them focus on what is happening in the mathematics classroom. This study addresses the question of “What does mathematics instruction in the Finnish mathematics classroom look like?” Eight Finnish mathematics classes, from 6th – 9th grade were recorded, translated, and analyzed using the Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) 2013 video coding protocol. Other aspects and observations of these classes also are discussed. Although the study is small, this study gives a view into the nature of some Finnish mathematics classrooms.

<p>This thesis is conducted for Monitor Industriutveckling AB. The company grows fast and is ready to consider the expansion of its business abroad. The details how to pro-ceed with the expansion are yet to be set. The purpose of this work is to examine dif-ferent options to aid the company management select the most meaningful way to proceed.</p><p>The analytical framework used consists of three well-known business theories. There are the New Capabilities analysis, the PEST analysis and finally the five forces model. Robert Grant’s New Capabilities analysis shows that especially the strategic alliances capability could be an interesting new capability and a way to grow for Monitor. The PEST-analysis proves that Finland can offer good opportunities for Monitor’s type of company because the country itself is very IT-oriented and political and economical as well as social forces can support Monitor’s business. Finland can also be a gateway to eastern-European countries. Finally we have Michael Porter’s five forces model. Monitor has lots of potential customers in Finland. There is a substantial amount of small and medium-sized companies in the manufacturing industry. Taxes and legisla-tion will not be a problem when entering Finland, as they are similar compared to Sweden. There are no big cultural differences between Finland and Sweden. These countries even share the same language, Swedish, which is a quite unique advantage.</p><p>I have collected the empirical data of this thesis mostly by personal interviews. Here I show that Monitor’s current customers in Finland would prefer to see their supplier present in the same country. They would also appreciate Finnish-speaking personnel and support. I have also interviewed business specialists. According to them, Monitor would easily adapt to the Finnish business culture and make its product successful. The right attitude in Finnish business environment would just boost Monitor’s suc-cess. The strength of the Monitor product is its user-friendliness. The weakness and at the same time its opportunity is that the company grows very fast. When a company grows it must be ready to make big decisions and choose where to go and at the same time be there to support each and every present customer.</p><p>The conclusion is that Monitor has good possibilities to become a successful company in Finland. From a marketing point of view, Monitor should invest in marketing ac-tions and make itself known and seen among its target group. The recommended way to enter Finland would be to find a good distributor for Monitor’s product. This entry method would be the one with the smallest risk and it is also probably the quickest way to proceed. I recommend Monitor to choose a distributor that can complete its product-palette with Monitor.</p>

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<p>Diskussionen om den kommunala förvaltningen och verksamheten är en högaktuell fråga i finsk politik. Både på statlig och kommunal nivå diskuteras huruvida det föreligger ett behov av förändring. Kommunsammanslagningar ses som en lösning på problemet. Den pågående Kommun- och servicestrukturreformen omfattar hela landet och kommunerna utreder möjligheterna för samarbete eller sammanslagningar. Uppsatsen undersöker argument och uttalade motiv för kommunsammanslagningar och omfattar tre perspektiv: det nationella, det juridiska och det lokala. Fokus ligger i förekomsten av demokrati och effektivitet i debatten. I vilka termer förespråkar staten kommunsammanslagningar? Hur förhåller sig den nationella lagstiftningen till demokratin och effektiviteten och vilka aspekter gynnas respektive missgynnas av kommunsammanslagningen i praktiken?</p><p>Den nationella politiken påverkar den lokala förvaltningsnivåns, kommunernas, verksamhet. Delar av den nationella politiken och lagstiftningen sätter fallstudien i en större kontext och kännedom om förordningar underlättar användandet av fallstudiens resultat i andra fall. Tanken med att ha de olika delarna är dels att ge kunskap till dem som är intresserade av att veta mer om det här aktuella ämnet som berör alla kommuner. Ytterligare en tanke med att behandla både den nationella och lokala nivån är att undersöka om staten och kommunerna agerar enligt samma linjer. Lagstiftningen gällande ändringen i kommunindelningen styr själva kommunindelningsutredningsprocessen och planeringen av organisationen av verksamheten i den nya kommunen. Därmed är det viktigt att känna till varifrån kommunindelningsutredningar och verksamhetsplaner utgår.</p><p>Fallstudien undersöker kommunsammanslagningen av Joensuu, Kiihtelysvaara och Tuupovaara som skedde innan reformen började men representerar den typen av kommunsammanslagning som reformen förespråkar. Kommun- och servicestrukturreformen påverkar kommunerna i Norra Karelen och det kan eventuellt ske flera sammanslagningar i området. Uppsatsen ger kunskap om kommunsammanslagningar till dem som är intresserade av att veta mer om vad kommunsammanslagningen medför i praktiken och vad det finns för argument och motiv för att genomföra kommunsammanslagningar.</p><p>Studien kommer fram till att argument och motiv utifrån en syn med effektiviteten i fokus får starkare betoning i fråga om kommunsammanslagningar. Det förekommer fler argument som påstås gynna effektiv användning av resurser än det förekommer argument för att förbättra den kommunala demokratin.</p>