Organizational Evolution and Dynamics

Pics from the Second Japanese-Finnish Workshop on Post War Economy and Society

2011-09-02T18:22:00.012+03:00

Thank you all for great time and great papers!

What is Expected of the Media?

2011-08-15T15:46:00.008+03:00

What is Expected of the Media in a Reputation Society project (WEM) has a new blog. WEM departs from a reputation society where the main asset of trade and survival is the reputation acquired in social networks, and social media play a dominant role. The research focuses on four important groups related to the future of the media: it studies the expectations and interaction between 1) editors & journalists, 2) readers and users and 3) advertisers and partners. In addition, the opinions and ideas of 4) media researchers are studied. The goal is to construct a new theory of expectations facing the media and journalists in the settings of reputation society. WEM is funded by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation and is led by doctor Vilma Luoma-aho. Read more from the WEM blog.

The Second OED Workshop on Japanese and Finnish Post War Economy and Society

2011-07-01T15:53:00.007+03:00

Organizational Evolution and Dynamics and the researchers from the Kyoto Sangyo University and other universities in Japan will held a a second joint workshop on post-war economic and social development in Japan and Finland from August 29th to 31st, 2011. The workshop will be held at the Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The workshop's aim is to further a joint book project comparing economic and social development in both countries. The workshop is made possible by the courtesy of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Finnish Academy.

Workshop Info & Program

Ubiquitous Computing in News Media

2011-02-03T10:26:00.003+02:00

Doctor Turo Uskali from the OED, Dr. Jari Kaivo-oja, University of Turku, and Professor Risto Kunelius, University of Tampere, lead a new research project on ubiquitous computing in news media. The project aims at enlarging our understanding of innovation journalism in Finland and internationally. The main research question is: how news media have covered and cover topics of ubiquitous computing? The research team includes doctors Maria Lassila-Merisalo, Maarit Mäkinen, Sam Inkinen, and MA Ville Kumpu.

The consortium carrying out the research consists of three leading research institutions of innovation journalism in Finland: Department of Communication at University of Jyväskylä, Journalism Research and Development Centre at University of Tampere, and Finland Futures Research Centre at University of Turku. The project cooperates with the world’s leading research groups at Stanford University and Oxford University.

More information
Contact Turo Uskali

OED Workshop: Postwar Economy and Society in Japan and Finland

2010-11-15T11:00:00.008+02:00

Organizational Evolution and Dynamics and the researchers from the Kyoto Sangyo University and other universities in Japan held a successful joint workshop on post-war economic and social development in Japan and Finland from October 29 to November 2. The workshop's aim was to further a joint book project comparing economic and social development in both countries. Next workshop will take place in Jyvaskyla, Finland, in 2011. The workshop was made possible by the courtesy of the Finnish Academy and the Kyoto Sangyo University.

(pic: professors Jari Ojala and Yasushi Tanaka at the workshop)

Power and Heat from Peat – Peat in Finnish Energy Policy

2010-09-30T15:24:00.007+03:00

Dr. Esa Ruuskanen’s new book commemorating Vapo’s 70th anniversary, Power and Heat from Peat – Peat in Finnish Energy Policy, describes how peat has become an important part of Finland’s energy supply. Vapo Oy, the Finnish peat company, is owned by the Finnish state (50.1 %) and the Finnish energy industry (49.9 %). It is the largest producer of local and renewable fuels and bioenergy around the Baltic Sea area. The book also describes the behind-the-scenes development of the energy policy, the dialogue between the various interest groups, the development of environmental protection methods, and the internationalization of the peat debate. It draws a picture of Finland’s energy policy and describes how the policy has been influenced by security, economic and environmental considerations in the various stages of history. The book is based on extensive archival research material and on interviews of energy policy decision makers. The book is in Finnish but includes thorough summaries in English.

Power and Heat from Peat – Peat in Finnish Energy Policy is available at GloStra Archives.

Publishing Your Research Abroad: Possibilities and Challenges

2010-09-01T17:46:00.006+03:00

OED and the Department of History and Ethnology at JYU hosted a three day PhD workshop from August 30 to September 1. Workshop's aim was to enhance collaboration between young Japanese and Finnish scholars and to offer doctoral training for PhD students from both countries.

Program included keynote lectures on scientific writing, methodological issues, presenting research results in conferences and on how to get research published in quality journals. The keynote lectures were given by Jari Ojala, Vilma Luoma-aho, Nicholas Dimakides and Mika Haapanen.

(Pic, upper row: Miikka Voutilainen, Yasuki Kuwajima, Tiina Hemminki, Merja Uotila, Timo Särkkä, Mizuta Tomonori, Hiroyasu Kimizuka, Henna Pennanen, Masahiro Hashimoto, Olli Turunen; first row: Juha Sahi, Jari Ojala, Miu Sugahara, Sayaka Matsumoto, Rolex Owino, Toshiaki Tamaki, Eriko Nakada, Yuta Kikuchi, Esko Sääskilahti)

Leadership Network of the University Alliance Finland

2010-02-11T14:17:00.002+02:00

Leadership Network (LeadNet) is one of the Research Clusters of Excellence of the University Alliance Finland bringing together leadership researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Tampere University of Technology, and the University of Tampere. LeadNet aims to promote the multidisciplinary leadership research and researcher collaboration in the University Alliance Finland. Research projects or groups joined by LeadNet include for example AVI Added Value of Intangibles for Organizational Innovation, Organizational Evolution and Dynamics and DECOM Development of Environmental and Ethical Competence in Leadership and Management.

OED Workshop: Regulation and Deregulation of Energy Sectors  in the 20th Century

2009-10-14T13:54:00.007+03:00

OED Group will organize an international workshop on regulation and deregulation of energy sectors in the Twentieth century. The workshop takes place at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in December 2-4, 2009.

The Workshop’s Keynote Lecture will be given by William J. Hausman, the Chancellor Professor of Economics at the William & Mary College. He is the author of Global Electrification: Multinational Enterprise and International Finance in the History of Light and Power, 1878-2007, founding editor of Enterprise and Society, and the editor of Business and Economic History On-Line.

Conference Program & Conference Info

Hobson's Imperialism: A Study in Late-Victorian Political Thought

2009-08-22T15:28:00.010+03:00

Licentiate Timo Särkkä defended his doctoral dissertation in General History titled Hobson´s Imperialism: A Study in Late-Victorian Political Thought on Saturday 22 August. Opponent was Professor Emeritus Peter Cain from the Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. Professor Seppo Zetterberg, University of Jyväskylä, acted as Custos.

Särkkä’s study explores J. A. Hobson’s (1858–1940) paradigm of Imperialism, its content, intentions and, finally, its limitations. The author argues that when the Victorian periodical press (weeklies, reviews and magazines) is analyzed in its original communicative context, it reveals a more appropriate environment in which to study Hobson’s political thought in terms of the history of ideas. Thus, quite conversely to the previous studies concerning Hobson, the principal sources used in the study are journal and periodical articles, reviews and commentaries that Hobson wrote by the time his seminal Imperialism: A Study was published in the autumn of 1902. By analyzing these journalistic sources, the study provides a reappraisal of Hobson’s Imperialism. The assessment made is discussed, side-by-side, with Hobson’s works and the previous assessments made of them. The study reveals that Hobson’s thesis of Imperialism can be seen as paradigmatic of the 1890s radical-liberal understanding of Imperialism.

The dissertation is available at GloStra Archives, Granum, Online Bookshop and Jyväskylä University Digital Archive.

Academy of Management’s Annual Carolyn Dexter Award 2009 to Lamberg, Järvinen, Murmann and Ojala

2009-08-17T15:28:00.006+03:00

The team including professor Juha-Antti Lamberg, Ph.D. student Joonas Järvinen and professor Johan-Peter Murmann from the GloStra Network and professor Jari Ojala from the OED Group won the Academy of Management’s Carolyn Dexter Award with their paper "Alternative Paths to Competitive Advantage: A Fuzzy-Set Analysis of the Origins of Large Firms." A refereed post-print is available at GloStra Archives.

The paper takes a closer look at the sources of competitiveness of the European paper industry during the twentieth century. The award committee stated that the winning paper was academically merited due to the extensive research material, innovative methodology, and groundbreaking results. Papers are considered for the Carolyn Dexter Award if they offer new insights, are rich in observation, and employ creative methodologies.

OED at the 2009 World Economic History Congress

2009-08-17T15:27:00.005+03:00

The International Economic History Association (IEHA) held its XVth World Economic History Congress in Utrecht, The Netherlands, from 3 to 7 August. The organizing institutions were Utrecht University and the International Institute of Social History. In the last session, the successful congress culminated to a debate between Joel Mokyr and Robert C. Allen. Allen’s recently published book The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective and Mokyr’s forthcoming The Enlightened Economy both focus on the causes and consequences of the British Industrial Revolution. Following the debate, the Honorary President of the IEHA Riitta Hjerppe gave a speech, thus assigning the presidency to Jan Luiten van Zanden.

Among the more than thousand participants were also quite a few members from the OED. Dr. Esa Ruuskanen participated in the session Regulation and deregulation in the public utilities from the 19th Century to today with his paper Substitute for Oil: Public Subsidies for the Use of Peat as a Fuel in Nordic Countries after the First Oil Crisis. Merja Uotila presented her paper Artisan Apprenticeship without Guilds in the Early-Nineteenth-Century Rural Environment in the session Apprenticeship, Human Capital and the Social Order in the Pre-Industrial World. Tiina Hemminki gave a presentation about Credit relationships in the early-nineteenth-century countryside in Sweden and Finland in the session The Social History of Credit: From Micro-History to Global Perspective. In the poster session Juuso Marttila presented his poster Entangled monopoly of skill, human capital and social capital as a perspective to interaction between a business and a community. Professor Jari Ojala co-organized the session Evolution of Global Paper Industry: 200 Years in Retrospective in which Timo Särkkä and Olli Turunen presented papers on the British and German paper industries. Furthermore, professor Ilkka Nummela from the Department of History and Ethnology at JYU presented Ilkka’s and Jari Eloranta’s paper Master and Slave? Equal partners? Economic Relations between Germany and Finland during the Second World War in the session Economics of Wars of the 20th Century.

Turo Uskali Invited as Program Advisor to the VINNOVA-Stanford Research Center of Innovation Journalism

2009-06-17T13:59:00.002+03:00

The VINNOVA-Stanford Research Center of Innovation Journalism has invited Turo Uskali from the OED Group to become a Program Advisor to the Center, advising the center on Finland. The appointment runs from now until 31 August 2010, the end of Stanford’s academic year. VINNOVA-Stanford Research Center’s Program Advisors are academics, professionals, entrepreneurs and intellectual leaders of special importance to the development of the Center, prominent in fields of expertise relevant to the Center.

Turo Uskali works as a senior research scholar at the Department of Communication (Journalism) at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He heads the OED Information Business Research group at the Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä, and Global Innovation Journalism research -project at the Department of Communication. He has previously worked as a visiting researcher, and an associate fellow at the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, UK (2007-/2008), and as a visiting scholar at the Innovation Journalism Program at Stanford University, California (2006-2007).

Monitoring the Complexities: Nuclear Power and Public Opinion

2009-05-08T18:06:00.004+03:00

Vilma Luoma-aho, a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Vinnova-Stanford Research Center of Innovation Journalism, has published a study with JYU Prof. Marita Vos in the new issue of the journal Public Relations Review entitled Monitoring the Complexities: Nuclear Power and Public Opinion. Luoma-aho & Vos took nuclear energy discussion in Finland and studied how all the interested parties were competing for mindshare on the social Web. One of the conclusions is that cultural differences mean that dealing with sensitive issues in the public realm differs in every country, even online. Read more about the article from the CisionBlog by Jay Krall. A refereed post-print is available at GloStra Archives.

Workshop "Commerce and Economy in Northern Europe 1550-1815"

2009-04-20T11:01:00.006+03:00

Friday 24th of April, 2009

Place: Historica, room H306 in the 3rd floor.

10.00 – 10.15
Opening words by Jari Ojala

10.15. – 11.00
Toshiaki Tamaki: Hamburg as Gateway: The Economic Connections between the Atlantic and the Baltic in the Long Eighteenth-Century with Special Reference to French colonial goods

11.00 – 11.45
Pierrick Pourchasse: Trade between Sweden-Finland and
France in the 18th century

11.45 – 12.30
Lunch

12.30 – 13.15
Leos Müller: Neutrality and Shipping in Sweden, 1700-1815

13.15 - 14.00
Jari Ojala: Wage inequality in Swedish shipping 1750 - 1950

14.00 – 14.30
Coffee

14.30 – 15.15
Maare Valtonen: Finnish shipowners and merchants as political actors: The case of committee on trade and customs 1810-1812

15.15 – 16.00
Tiina Hemminki: Credit relationships in the early 1800s countryside in Sweden and Finland

16.00
Closing

17.30 – 21.30
Reception in the Gardener’s house (Puutarhurintalo) near Historica –building in the University Campus

For more information, contact Maare Valtonen (Maare.Valtonen(at)campus.jyu.fi).

Astrid Kander and Leos Müller Visiting

2009-04-17T16:59:00.002+03:00

Astrid Kander from the Institute of Economic History at the University of Lund, Sweden, is visiting the OED and the Department of History and Ethnology this week. Kander's research interests include energy and growth; environmental consequences of growth; and R&D, innovation and productivity.

Leos Müller from the Department of History at the Uppsala University, Sweden, is also visiting the Department of History and Ethnology and the OED in April. Müller's major interests concern Swedish foreign trade and shipping 1600-1800, early modern entrepreneurial behaviour, merchant social networks, Swedish East India Company and trade in tea. In a recent project, he studied the Swedish consular service and shipping in southern Europe and Atlantic trade.

OED Papers at Glostra Archives

2009-04-07T13:37:00.002+03:00

The OED Group has joined forces with GloStra – Global Strategy by establishing a common institutional repository. In the future, OED papers and articles will be archived at Glostra Archives.

Post War Economy and Society in Japan and Finland

2009-03-31T18:16:00.010+03:00

Comparative Perspectives to Japanese and Finnish Post War Economy and Society

The University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and the Kyoto Sangyo University in Japan have established a research group to study and compare the post war economy and society in Japan and Finland. The goal is to produce a comparative article collection in English and in Japanese.

The economic growth both in Finland and in Japan has been among the fastest in the world throughout the past 130 years. Especially during the post war period one can find similarities in the growth figures: fast growth and rebuilding from the 1940s to the 1960s; fast growth during the 1970s and 1980s when compared to the other OECD countries; and an era of declining growth from the late 1980s onwards.

Instead of having single authors writing about their specific themes, the aim of the group is more courageous: thematic articles in the anthology are written together by Japanese and Finnish scholars. Each article will offer not only a comparative perspective but also a possibility for scholars to Japanese-Finnish collaboration.

The project is organized by professor Toshiaki Tamaki in Japan (tamaki(at)cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp) and by professor Jari Ojala in Finland (jari.ojala(at)campus.jyu.fi).

More information:

English site: http://research.jyu.fi/orgevolution/japan-finland/

Japanese site: http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/department/ec/kenkyu/kokusai.html

Evolution of Global Paper Industry Session at the XVth World Economic History Congress

2009-03-18T13:49:00.002+02:00

XVth World Economic History Congress, 3-7 August, Utrecht, Netherlands

The session is a joint effort of a global research group analyzing the paper industries in different parts of the world. Key questions are: Why paper making practises differ in time and space? What kind of technical, market related, institutional, or even cultural factors can explain the development in different countries? What kind of causal mechanisms there are to be found in changes between different phases of development?

The research group's first meeting, a pre-session for the congress, was held at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in September 4-5, 2008, bringing together scholars from different parts of the world.

More information from Forestcluster.fi and www.wehc2009.org.

Whose News? The Seminar

2009-03-18T13:13:00.002+02:00

YLE Central Finland and the University of Jyväskylä organize a seminar concentrating on new consolidation and distribution of media industry. Turo Uskali from the OED will give a presentation "Who Defines News? Case Twitter." The seminar takes place on Wednesday, 18th of March, at Martti Ahtisaari Hall, Mattilanniemi 2, Jyväskylä.

The seminar can be followed online on Moniviestin.

Sofia Kotilainen's "In the Name of the Family"

2009-03-05T20:38:00.005+02:00

OED member Sofia Kotilainen's dissertation Suvun nimissä (In the Name of the Family: Naming Practices in Central Finland from the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century to the Mid-twentieth Century) is now on sale at Finlit, Bookplus, and Granum.

Dr. Kotilainen's doctoral dissertation deals with naming practices in Finnish rural family communities, and the ways of thinking that they reveal, over a long period of time, from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. It approaches the significances of naming from a different perspective from that of previous Finnish historical research and addresses matters that are still insufficiently well understood, particularly those concerning families belonging to the lower estates and social groups. This is the first doctoral study in Finnish History to investigate the naming culture of the agricultural population using genealogical source material. Since the majority of Finns lived in small rural communities during the period under investigation, the study offers important new information about the cultural history of the naming practices of the Finnish people. Personal names were cultural symbols that were deeply rooted in communal structures, and the local and situational signifigances attached to them reflect the outlook of the people in this study. The names reveal communal norms, attitudes, values, intra-family feelings, and other mentalities.

Paperback. 423 p. ISBN 978-952-222-048-6 Library classification: 92
Bibliotheca Historica 120, Published: 2008.

(An extract from the dissertation summary, translated by Gerard McAlester)

An Anthropologist's Take on Pirate Bay

2009-03-05T19:55:00.002+02:00

Dr. Jukka Jouhki poses interesting questions in regard to the Pirate Bay law suit fought in Sweden. Check Jukka's posting Copy Right or Wrong - The Pirate Bay Case and Mind Games in his blog An Anthropologist Goes Techno.

Börje Harnesk Visiting

2009-03-05T16:29:00.003+02:00

Professor Börje Harnesk from the Mid Sweden University is visiting the OED Group on Monday, the 16th of March. Professor Harnesk will give a lecture on using rational choice theory in historical research. Harnesk is the author of Legofolk: drängar, pigor och bönder i 1700- och 1800-talens Sverige and has edited the Mellan makten och menigheten: ämbetsmän i det tidigmoderna Sverige. His current interests include power and authority in early modern local government. The meeting is organized with the Early Modern Practice and Thought Project.

David Nordfors' Visit Cancelled

2009-03-02T12:48:00.010+02:00

Edit: Nordfors' Innovation Journalism lectures cancelled due to travel problems

Dr. David Nordfors from the Stanford University visits us next Thursday (March 5, 2009) and will give two talks about innovation journalism:

The State of the Innovation Journalism Initiative
(Department of Communication, 12.15 - 13.30,
TOB 101, Matarankatu 6 B)

Innovation Journalism, Attention Work and the Innovation Economy
(Department of History and Ethnology, OED-group, 14.15 - 15.45, H 320)

For more information, visit www.innovationjournalism.org/blog/ or contact Turo Uskali (turo.i.uskali(at)jyu.fi).

Post-graduate Seminar at Summasaari

2009-02-19T17:47:00.006+02:00

Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä, held its annual post-graduate seminar for PhD students at Spa Hotel Summasaari, Central Finland (February 18 - 19, 2009). The purpose of the seminar is to help students with their current research problems, to familiarize the students and the faculty with the different strands of research done at the department, and to provide a creative environment for new research ideas. Many of the OED members were in attendance, either presenting or as commentators.

Grant from the Fortum Foundation

2009-01-28T10:11:00.003+02:00

The OED Subgroup Industry Evolution has received a grant from the Fortum Foundation for an international and interdisciplinary conference on energy regulation. Fortum Foundation awards grants for research and development work and training related to the energy industry.

OED Members on Energy

2009-01-27T14:21:00.004+02:00

A closed seminar on energy policy and market related to the use of peat as a fuel took place at Tieteiden talo, Helsinki, January 22, 2009. It was organized by the Department of History and Ethnology at the University of Jyväskylä, OED subgroup Industry Evolution, and Finnish company Vapo Oy. After the presentations given by Professor Jari Ojala, Dr. Esa Ruuskanen and students Jukka Kinnaslampi, Hanna-Riikka Mansikka and Marika Viinikka, such topics as the classification of peat fuel, the environmental protection with regard to the peat harvesting, and the regulation of biomass energy production and distribution were discussed by the audience, being representatives of the energy industry, industrial interest groups, and ministries. The seminar was part of the on-going research project named "Vapo and Peat in the Finnish Policies on Energy" and the recently finished student course "Organizational Memory", consisting of approximately 50 interviews with power players in the Finnish energy policy and market.

Vilma Luoma-aho featured member of Silicon Valley Innovation Institute for January 2009

2009-01-23T21:03:00.004+02:00

Vilma Luoma-aho (Currently at Stanford, CA) has been chosen to be one of the featured members of the Silicon Valley Innovation Institute for January 2009. View her profile and see more about the institute at http://www.svii.org/ and http://sviionline.ning.com/.

An Anthropologist Goes Techno

2009-01-18T18:17:00.002+02:00

Jukka Jouhki has started a new blog about his research in cultural anthropology, new media, and technology. The blog, An Anthropologist Goes Techno, concentrates on Jukka's ongoing, future, and past research and reports thoughts about interesting phenomena related to the broad field of culturally oriented study of technology. Jukka Jouhki is currently doing research on South Korean new media culture (2006-2009) and is interested in the human-technology interaction, cultural aspects of new media, and ubiquitous society visions.

Guests of the Spring 2009

2009-01-13T18:50:00.004+02:00

OED Group and the Department of History and Ethnology will host several interesting and distinguished guests during the spring 2009. Guests include Jari Eloranta from the Appalachian State University, USA; Astrid Kander from the Lund University, Sweden; Leos Müller from the University of Uppsala, Sweden; Pierrick Pourchasse from the Université de Bretagne Occidentale, France; and Toshiaki Tamaki from the Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan.

Trust, Social Capital, History

2009-01-13T17:09:00.003+02:00

Historical Society of Turku has published an interesting volume Luottamus, sosiaalinen pääoma, historia (Trust, Social Capital, History). Social capital has become one of the most popular scientific concepts. Behind its success is the need to understand more profoundly the dynamics of global economy and the nature of societal change. The book's articles illustrate the part that trust and social capital have had in the history of trade and business relations, in the practices of cartels, in the everyday life of women entrepreneurs and in developing technological innovations.

Book includes Jari Ojala's and Vilma Luoma-aho's article Sidosryhmäsuhteet liiketoiminnan sosiaalisena pääomana merkantilismista globaalitalouteen (Stakeholder relations as social capital of business and trade from mercantilism to global economy). The book is edited by Jarkko Keskinen and Kari Teräs.

Order from Granum Bookstore.

Juha-Antti Lamberg Visiting

2008-12-11T19:38:00.002+02:00

Juha-Antti Lamberg, Professor of Strategic Management at Helsinki University of Technology, visited the OED Group on Monday, December 8. Professor Lamberg is the founding force behind the GloStra - Global Strategy Network and has received the Sloan Foundation Best Industry Study Award 2008. Lamberg collaborates with the OED Group in the area of industry evolution and has long experience in paper industry research.

Juha Kansikas Appointed as Professor of Entrepreneurship

2008-12-11T18:50:00.004+02:00

Doctor of Economic Sciences, M.A., Juha Kansikas has been appointed as professor of entrepreneurship for a five-year-term until December 31, 2013. Kansikas’ research interests include next generation ownership in family business, family business corporate identity and family business ethics. Kansikas leads the Master's Degree Programme in Entrepreneurship in Family Business and is responsible for developing the family business research and teaching at University of Jyväskylä. Kansikas received his M.A. Degree from the Department of History and Ethnology and has a long history of cooperation with the OED Group.

Professor Toshiaki Tamaki From The Kyoto Sangyo University Visiting

2008-11-28T12:17:00.012+02:00

Professor of economic history Toshiaki Tamaki from the Kyoto Sangyo University visited the OED Group and the Department of History and Ethnology this week. Professor Tamaki is the author of Commerce and Economy in Northern Europe, 1550 - 1815 (in Japanese, Chisenshokan, Tokyo, 2008) and has published widely on trade and merchant history of the Northern Europe. Tamaki has helped to establish a student exchange program between the University of Jyväskylä and the Kyoto Sangyo University. This time professor Tamaki visited Jyväskylä in order to plan future joint research in economic history with the OED Group.

Grants From The Kone Foundation

2008-11-28T12:16:00.002+02:00

Dr. Timo J. Tuikka, MA Antti Malinen and MA Olli Turunen from the OED Group have received research grants from the KONE Foundation. Kone Foundation awards grants for research in the humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences.

Evolution of Global Paper Industry Session at the World Economic History Congress 2009

2008-11-18T18:11:00.008+02:00

The session proposal for the World Economic History Congress 2009 with the title "Evolution of Global Paper Industry: 200 years in retrospective" has been accepted by the Executive Committee of the IEHA in its last meeting. The presession organized by the OED-group will be held in Jyväskylä in September 2008.

Doctoral Fellowship for Olli Turunen

2008-11-18T18:04:00.003+02:00

Olli Turunen from the OED Group has received a two year doctoral fellowship to pursue his PhD in economic history. Olli will continue to work at the Department of History and Ethnology.

Forthcoming Meetings

2008-11-05T08:26:00.003+02:00

November 10, 2008, OED Research is introduced to students at the Department of History and Ethnology, lecture hall H306.

December 8, 2008, OED Group meeting at Fredrikson Map Collection (H-Building, 4th floor): "Industry Evolution" sub-group will tell about its research.

December 15, 2008, Group meeting at Fredrikson Map Collection (H-Building, 4th floor): "Leaders and Entrepreneurs" sub-group provides program.

January 12, 2008, Group meeting at Fredrikson Map Collection (H-Building, 4th floor): "Information Business" sub-group in charge.

January 26, 2008, Group meeting at Fredrikson Map Collection (H-Building, 4th floor): "Intangible Assets" sub-group introduces its research.

Docenture Awarded to Luoma-aho

2008-10-24T15:20:00.006+03:00

Dr. Vilma Luoma-aho has received a Docenture at the University of Vaasa, Finland, beginning from the first of October 2008. Luoma-aho, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, is currently visiting the Carolina Observatory on Corporate Reputation at UNC School of Mass Communication. Congratulations Vilma!

A New Website for GloStra

2008-10-22T12:04:00.007+03:00

GloStra, an interdisciplinary research group devoted to study strategy in global environment, has opened a new website. The research team is a combination of researchers and business executives from leading universities and Finnish companies. GloStra focuses on: (1) structural causalities determining the evolutionary paths of industries and firms, (2) corporate strategy and society, (3) competitive dynamics between firms and industries and (4) business model evolution.

The OED and GloStra are cooperating especially in pulp and paper industry research.

Cooperation between the OED Group and the the Carolina Observatory on Corporate Reputation

2008-10-02T00:39:00.010+03:00

Dr. Vilma Luoma-aho, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, is currently visiting the Carolina Observatory on Corporate Reputation at UNC School of Mass Communication, where she will be guest lecturing in classes, meeting with doctoral students and collaborating on projects dealing with innovation, entrepreneurship, and media reputation.

Craig Carroll, the Director of the Carolina OCR, visited the OED and the University of Jyväskylä in 2007.

OED Group Members in Forthcoming Conferences

2008-09-17T21:52:00.005+03:00

Merja Uotila at the LANDSBYGD PÅ MEDELTIDEN - KESKIAJAN MAASEUTU seminar, Espoo, Hanasaari, Finland, September 19-21, 2008.

Antti Malinen at the POWER: Forms, Dynamics and Consequences, International conference, Tampere, Finland, September 22-24, 2008.

Jari Ojala, Turo Uskali, Vilma Luoma-aho and Jukka Jouhki at the MindTrek 2008 Conference, Tampere, Finland, October 7-9, 2008.

Maare Valtonen at the Political Women, 1500-1900, International Conference, Umeå, Sweden, November 12-14, 2008.

Antti Malinen at Työelämän tutkimuspäivät, Tampere, Finland, November 13-14, 2008.

Esa Ruuskanen at the PEI 20th anniversary conference: Energy Challenges in Northern Europe, Turku, Finland, November 27-29, 2008.

Vilma Luoma-aho at Stanford University

2008-09-16T00:50:00.002+03:00

Dr. Vilma Luoma-aho from the OED Group is currently working as a visiting scholar at the Innovation Journalism Program at Human Sciences & Technology Advanced Research Institute (H-Star) at Stanford University.

Program Updated: EVOLUTION IN GLOBAL FORESTRY INDUSTRIES, Jyväskylä, September 4-5, 2008

2008-08-26T17:17:00.010+03:00

OED will organize a seminar discussing comparative views to paper industry evolution through out the world. The seminar is a part of a comparative research project including the Nordic Countries, France, United Kingdom, Germany, The United States, Brazil, Japan, South-Africa, Spain, Netherlands, Russia, Republic of Korea and China.

If you are interested in participating, please inform Jari Ojala in advance.

jari.ojala(AT)campus.jyu.fi

The program for the seminar is here (PDF).

EVOLUTION IN GLOBAL FORESTRY INDUSTRIES,
University of Jyväskylä, Finland, September 4 – 5, 2009

The seminar brings together scholars from all over the world to discuss the long term changes in paper and pulp industry. The preliminary program is below:

12.00 – Registration
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch for early arrivals
14:30 - 15:00 Registration and Coffee
15:00 - 16:00 Presentation of the project: Jari Ojala & Juha-Antti Lamberg
16:00 - 16:30 Notes from the publisher: N.N.
16:30 - 17:00 Coffee break
17:00 - 18:30 Abstracts: 3 papers (Introduction and conclusions by Ojala, Lamberg and Jalava; Scandinavia by Ojala, Melander & Lamberg)
19:00 - Get together and dinner

Friday September 5

8:30 – 1100 REGISTRATION
09:00 - 10:30 Abstracts: 3 papers (UK by Timo Särkkä; Spain, Italy, Portugal by Miquel Gutiérrez-Poch; Brazil by Maria Barbosa Lima Toivanen)
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 - 12:30 Abstracts: 3 papers (Netherlands by Bram Bowens; Japan by Tomoko Hashino & al.; USA by Hannes Toivanen)
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 15:30 Abstracts: 3 papers (Germany by Olli Turunen; Russia by Olga Mashkina; France by Marc de Ferrière le Vaye)
15:30 - 16:00 Coffee
16:00 - 17:30 Abstracts: 3 papers (China: Huamin Zhai; South-Africa (presenter probably unavailable); Korea: Youn Yeo-Chang (note: only paper, presenter unavailable to attend))
17:30 - 18:00 Concluding discussion
19:00 - Dinner and farewell ALBA

MindTrek 2008 Conference, 7.-9.10.2008, Tampere

2008-08-26T15:24:00.007+03:00

Jari Ojala, Turo Uskali, Vilma Luoma-aho and Jukka Jouhki from the OED Group will participate to the MindTrek 2008 Conference held in Tampere, Finland. MindTrek is is a meeting place where experts and thinkers present results from their latest work regarding the development of Internet, interactive media and information society.

OED members will host a workshop The Future of Media: Insights from Meta-Alert Project. The workshop will inform and discuss the methods and findings of innovative Tekes funded Meta-Alert-project. The project is a multidisciplinary joint-venture between engineers (Tampere University of Technology) and humanists (University of Jyväskylä) in order to understand world's news flows, and furthermore, create effective tools to detect 'weak signals'.

Jari Ojala to head the Department of History and Ethnology

2008-06-04T14:32:00.003+03:00

In its meeting of May 4th the department council of the Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä, chose professor Jari Ojala, leader of the OED group, as the new head of the department.

Substantial Grant for Innovation Journalism project

2008-06-04T13:48:00.003+03:00

Finnish funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) has given a substantial research funding for innovation journalism project led by Dr. Turo Uskali from the OED group. The sub-project led by Uskali got all together 262 000 euros. The funding for whole consortium (including Universities of Jyväskylä, Tampere and Turku) received over 800 000 euros.

The longest lecture marathon - the world’s longest Powerpoint presentation

2008-05-20T16:38:00.008+03:00

Rebekah Rousi will give a 27-hour lecture-performance at the KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS in Brussels (May 23-25). The performance, called The Longest Lecture Marathon, is a part of her larger project The Researcher.

"Rebekah Rousi likes moving about in a murky territory where the boundaries between artistic and academic worlds tend to be blurred. Trained in visual art and with a degree in cultural studies behind her, she has launched a huge project, The Researcher, which reveals the contradictions found in the world of scientific knowledge. The Longest Lecture Marathon is one of the elements in this protean work: a 27-hour lecture-performance during which she endlessly breaks down language, giving a sense of straying into an inexhaustible flow of explanations."

Rebekah's site

Niklas Jensen-Eriksen visiting

2008-05-07T13:22:00.004+03:00

Doctor Niklas Jensen-Eriksen from the University of Helsinki, Department of History, will present his research to the group on Wednesday, May 21, 10-11 a.m. in H320. Niklas' interests include business history, large-scale enterprises and forest industry.

Niklas' web page at the University of Helsinki

Grants to our group

2008-04-25T17:40:00.003+03:00

Members of Organizational Evolution and Dynamics have received substantial funding from different sources. Namely, Heli Valtonen received the Academy researcher funding from the Academy of Finland (351 730 euros), Anna Hjorth received 20 000 euros from Emil Aaltonen foundation. From the latter mentioned foundation also two other grants were received: 9 000 euros to Olli Turunen and 3 000 euros to Juuso Marttila.

Jari Ojala

Norwegian Capitalism

2008-04-10T16:04:00.008+03:00

Professor Lars Thue from the BI Norwegian School of Management, Oslo, speaking about Norwegian capitalism. The lecture was part of the course Creating Nordic Capitalism. Before the lecture, Thue presented his new research ideas to our group.

Lecture videos available

2008-04-04T16:33:00.005+03:00

Videos from our group meetings and guest lectures are now freely available on our web pages. You can find these videos plus additional materials here or by clicking "Lectures" on the home page.

Jari Ojala

Author's Studio Continues

2008-03-26T09:52:00.002+02:00

Post doctoral course Author's Studio restarts April 2, 2008 at 14-16 in Lecture Room H320. The theme of the meeting is citation indecies. The following meeting will be organised on thursday May 8, 14-16 in H320, the theme in this second meeting are conference abstracts.

Author's Studio is now open also for doctoral students. If you are interested, please contact Jari Ojala as soon as possible!

Jari Ojala

Grant for Luoma-aho

2008-03-26T09:48:00.004+02:00

Dr. Vilma Luoma-aho has received a considerable grant from Helsingin Sanomat foundation. Dr. Luoma-aho will be able with this grant and the financial aid from the Tekes to continue her research.

Jari Ojala

InnovationBeat at Silicon Valley

2008-03-12T16:45:00.001+02:00

The experimental newsroom of the Innovation Journalism Program at Stanford has just opened a news blog. The new news media at the heart of the Silicon Valley is called InnovationBeat. It is part of the international Innovation Journalism Fellowship course, which started last week at Stanford University. The InnovationBeat is active during March 2008, and situated SRI International Building, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Our researchers have been assisting the Innovation Journalism program since 2005.

Turo Uskali

Research project on Finnish energy strategies started

2008-03-06T09:34:00.004+02:00

Dr. Esa Ruuskanen from our team started at the beginning of March (2008) a research project on the role played by peat in the energy strategies of Finland from the 1960s to the 2000s. The main subject of the work is one of the leading bio energy companies in Europe, Finnish VAPO Group. Alongside a student project is carried out to interview the main actors in the field.

Jari Ojala

Cooperation with Kyoto Sangyo University

2008-03-06T09:24:00.003+02:00

Rector Aino Sallinen from the University of Jyvaskyla signed a student exchange agreement with Kyoto Sangyo University March 5, 2008. (http://post.kyoto-su.ac.jp/s/w013/campus_flash/index.php?ID=1282) This exchange program is based on the research co-operation with our group and professor Toshiaki Tamaki at Kyoto Sangyo University.

Jari Ojala

Best Teacher award to Luoma-aho

2008-03-05T08:54:00.002+02:00

Dr. Vilma Luoma-aho from our group received the Best Teacher in Intercultural Environment award at the University of Jyvaskyla March 4, 2008. Dr. Luoma-aho was selected by the foreign students at the University of Jyvaskyla as the best one giving lectures in english.

Jari Ojala

Grants from Finnish Cultural Foundation

2008-02-29T13:26:00.003+02:00

Our group was succesfull in the grants avarded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation (http://www.skr.fi/). Juuso Marttila got three years grant for his Ph.D. work. Furthermore, the research project to compile biographies on Finnish leaders got grant as well -- this project lead by the Finnish Economic History Association (http://groups.jyu.fi/taloushistoria/) and Finnish Litterature Society (http://www.kansallisbiografia.fi/?p=5) is in close colloboration with our sub-project "leaders and entrepreneurs".

Jari Ojala

Join our meetings through Connect Pro

2008-02-21T15:45:00.000+02:00

All our group meetings can be joined from outside through Connect Pro. Please sign up to our room in http://connect.jyu.fi/ojala . Join as visitor and state your name. Please do let us know already beforehand about your interest.

Jari Ojala

Coming events in the research group

2008-02-21T15:38:00.001+02:00

March 13, Professor Susanna Felman (University of Helsinki) will give a lecture on Finnish capitalism (12-16, H320) and she will present her research to our group (16-17, H306)

April 3, Professor Martin Iversen (Centre of Business History, Copenhagen Business School) will present his research on business systems to our group (10-11, Fredrikson Map Collection, H-Building, 4th floor) and will give a lecture on Danish capitalism (12-16, H320)

April 10, Prof. Lars Thue (BI Norwegian School of Management, Oslo) will present his research to our group (10-11, Fredrikson Map Collection, H-Building, 4th floor) and will give a lecture on Norwegian capitalism (12-16, H320)

April 17, Prof. Hans Sjögren (Stockholm School of Economics) will present his research to our group (10-11, Fredrikson Map Collection, H-Building, 4th floor) and will give a lecture on Norwegian capitalism (12-16, H320)

OED members at the European Social Science History Conference

2008-02-15T16:03:00.000+02:00

Seventh European Social Science History Conference is held in Lisbon, Portugal, February 26 to March 1, 2008. There will be a strong representation from the OED Group. Merja Uotila and Maare Valtonen will present their paper Entrepreneurial activities in a pre-industrial society: Artisans and industrialists in Finnish countryside. Heli Valtonen will present hers and Jari Ojala's paper What Economic Historians want to tell us? Trends in Nordic economic history during the past decade. Jari Eilola's contribution will be his article "I Was Seized by the Vicar's Wife Six Times Last Night": Child witnesses, the reality and the logic of narrative during the great witch-hunts. Furthermore, Markku Hokkanen presents his paper Reflections of microscopic gaze – tensions in colonial imaginations in Central Africa. You can find more information about the conference here.

Post-graduate seminar at Keurusselkä

2008-02-15T16:00:00.001+02:00

Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä, held its annual post-graduate seminar for PhD students at Keurusselkä, Central Finland (February 13 - 14, 2008). The purpose of the seminar is to help students with their current problems, to familiarize the students and the faculty with the different strands of research done at the department, and to provide a creative environment for new research ideas. Many of the OED members were in attendance, either presenting or as commentators. (In the picture: ice covered Lake Keurusselkä)

Some traveling

2008-02-11T16:19:00.000+02:00

Timo Särkkä is visiting London School of Economics, UK, February 11-26, 2008. In March, Turo Uskali is staying at Stanford, and the latter part of the month at Oxford, UK.

OED Guests from 2007

2008-01-15T13:15:00.000+02:00

During the year, we had several distinguished guests in our meetings. In June, professor Craig Carroll from the USC Annenberg School for Communication (CA, US) spoke about corporate reputation and the news media. In October, Christopher Lloyd from the UNE School of Economics (New South Wales, AU) instructed on how evolutionary theory can be incorporated into historical social science and how he has applied this viewpoint in his work on the history of social democratic welfare capitalism. In November, professor Toshiaki Tamaki from the Kyoto Sangyo University Faculty of Economics (JP) spoke about postwar reconstruction and economic growth in Japan. In December, senior researcher Janne Saarinen from the VTT Technical Research Center of Finland introduced his research on Finnish innovation during the last five decades. Dr. Kalle Pajunen from the University of Tampere, Faculty of Economics and Administration, spoke about combining organizational research and historical research from the viewpoint of economics. Also in December, professor Kari Pitkänen from the University of Helsinki (now at JYU) presented his research on historical demography.