A missing link in modeling : The future of time-use as an illustration

A Theory of Action is formulated based on the intentionality of actions. The transformation rules from the new theory to system dynamics were developed and the methodology was then applied to certain problems of future time-use. The modeling approach used is holistic and it requires a meta-system to system dynamics in order to produce quantitative results.     

The poverty of solidarity: the size and structure of informal income smoothing among worker households in Helsinki, 1928

Abstract

Informal income smoothing by households before the post-Second World War expansion in public welfare has gained attention in the history of poverty and social insurance. Little direct empirical evidence has been available. Finnish household budgets from 1928 with intra-year panel data on informal transactions enable analysis of the use of savings, loans and informal assistance to counter income variation by worker families in Helsinki. Income shares of transfers were small compared with labour-based methods of supplementing the earnings of the surveyed male breadwinner families. Within the year, however, the combined use of assistance, credit, and savings accounts compensated on average 36% of income fluctuations, while means such as added workers or taking in lodgers appeared ineffective on the short run. Informal assistance mattered for the poorest households, but provided inferior coverage compared with that attained through credit and savings by more affluent workers. Income inequality was therefore replicated as risk-management inequality.     

Don't Plan! The Use of the Notion of ‘Culture’ in Transforming Obsolete Industrial Space

How is the notion of ‘culture’ understood and used in planning the transformation of obsolete industrial space? This article analyses the evidence from a current planning project in Suvilahti, Helsinki. It shows that ‘culture’ is imagined and employed as an instrument capable of producing difference in urban space. The transformation of the Cable Factory in Helsinki and the subsequent consensus on the importance of ‘culture’ are shown to have influenced the planning of Suvilahti. On the one hand, planning is being carried out with a deliberate minimization of planning interventions and the promotion of the spontaneous, non‐planned practices of cultural producers: the future Suvilahti is imagined as a ‘cultural enclave’ and its community is characterized as a ‘living organism’. On the other, ‘culture’ is planned in terms of its supposedly positive effects on urban space. Planners do not want to interfere with the non‐planned character of ‘cultural production’, yet at the same time they express certainty about cultural production's positive spatial and socioeconomic effects. The transformation of Suvilahti is playing an important part in the large‐scale planning project to redevelop the old industrial harbour in Kalasatama, Helsinki. The changes in the nature of planning are analysed under the concept of cultural governmentality.     

Comparison of promotional management in exporting to the Soviet Union and OECD countries

This study compares the promotional management problems Finnish firms have experienced in exporting to the Soviet Union and OECD countries. Within the context of a representative sample of 76 industrial companies, the study focuses on the perceived importance and use of promotional activities as well as on the major planning and implementation problems related to these activities. The results indicate that companies exporting to the OECD area should modify considerably their strategies when trying to enter the Soviet market. Promotional planning should be based on comprehensive knowledge of the characteristics of Soviet government bodies and communication patterns.     

Small business purchasing of capital equipment

This article concerns the results of a study employing consumer brand-choice methodology to explain the evaluation and buying decisions for light excavators by individual entrepreneurs. First, the purchasing of industrial products by small businesses is briefly discussed conceptually. Second, the buying decisions of Finnish contractors for light excavators were investigated with a multiattribute choice model. The results indicate that buying decisions are based on product attributes that differ from one excavator model to another. The usefulness of the selection model is evaluated, and a framework model describing factors affecting an individual entrepreneur's excavator buying process is suggested together with certain implications for marketers.