Articles containing the keyword 'competence'

The premises of several models obtained from literature on bud dormancy release in trees from cool and temperate regions differs from each other with respect to responses to air temperature during the rest period of the buds. The predicted timing of bud burst in natural conditions varied among the models, as did the prediction of the models for the outcome of a chilling experiment.

Experimental results with two-year old seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) did not agree with any of the models. The experimental results also deviated from abundand earlier findings, which also disagreed with any of the models. This finding suggests that Finnish provenances of Scots pine and Norway spruce differ from more southern provenances with respect to temperature regulation of bud dormancy release.

A synthesis model for the effects of air temperature on bud dormancy release in trees was developed on the basis of the previous models and the experimental results of both the present and previous studies. The synthesis model contains part of the original models as special cases. The parameters of the synthesis model represent several aspects of the bud dormancy release of trees that should be addressed separately with each species and provenance in experimental studies. Further aspects of dormancy release were discussed, in order to facilitate further development of the models.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Hänninen, E-mail: hh@mm.unknown

In the past decade, research and several surveys have indicated that the competence of higher forestry education graduates does not meet the requirements of working life regarding supervisory and management skills. The aim of this study was to discover what kind of supervisory and management competence is required in the daily tasks of early-career forestry professionals, and to what extent the teaching of these skills would be advisable to include in higher forestry education. The study was implemented through a Webropol survey of the Master’s of Forestry graduates and forestry engineers graduated between 2018–2021, which mapped their supervisory and managerial duties and skills. The study population was 1046 people, of which 30.4% responded to the survey. The principal finding was of an apparent extensive need for the abovementioned skills, as supervisory duties are typical in the work of forestry professionals soon after their graduation. In this study, approximately one fifth of the employed respondents worked in a supervisory position, one third had supervisory or managerial duties, and half had an indirect network of subordinates. Supervisory skills were seen important for all forestry professionals regardless of their position. Moreover, self-management, team management, and well-being and occupational health management were regarded as important skills. However, there appeared to be notable gaps in all these skills. The study results contribute to improving working life orientation in higher forestry education. Based on these findings, we recommend that teaching of these subjects should be implemented by integrating the topics into field-specific courses.

• Manninen, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland; South-Eastern  Finland University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 68, FI-50101 Mikkeli, Finland https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4234-7649 E-mail: heikki.manninen@xamk.fi
• Lehtimäki, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9061-8984 E-mail: hanna.lehtimaki@uef.fi
• Kilpeläinen, TTS Työtehoseura, P.O. Box 5, FI-05201 Rajamäki, Finland E-mail: riitta.kilpelainen@tts.fi
• Lautanen, TTS Työtehoseura, P.O. Box 5, FI-05201 Rajamäki, Finland E-mail: eila.lautanen@tts.fi
• Kärhä, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8455-2974 E-mail: kalle.karha@uef.fi

Companies operate in a nested and complex system where global challenges shape their environments and put pressure on business activities. Systemic understanding of the past and ongoing changes within a national industry help to analyze the global influences and identify phenomena that reshape business collaborations. To address this issue in the case of a forest sector, this study constructs a systemic picture of the historical development of the Finnish pulp and paper industry’s business network and analyzes it qualitatively through the Actors-Resources-Activities framework. Books discussing the history of the Finnish forest industry were used as secondary data, which were analyzed with a theory-based content analysis method. The analysis revealed four development phases during which the network has evolved from rather simple one emphasizing cooperation organizations (1st) to a more complex one with stronger roles of the state and individual influencers (2nd), and then emphasizing export and advocacy associations (3rd), before returning to be rather simple, based around three large multinationals and the EU playing an important role (4th). The industry is concerned about securing its key resources, with varying foci. Research and technological innovation activities play an important role together with cooperative interactions. Overall, actors favor a business-as-usual strategy, which is overruled only by a radical change in the operating environment, leading to notable changes in the network. Thus, a suggestion for all actors within the forest sector is that actively detecting and interpreting change signals in the whole environment can help actors in pursuing sustainable activities.

• Laakkonen, School of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science and Forestry, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6384-7773 E-mail: anu.laakkonen@uef.fi
• Hujala, School of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science and Forestry, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7905-7602 E-mail: teppo.hujala@uef.fi
• Pykäläinen, School of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science and Forestry, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: jouni.pykalainen@uef.fi

This explorative study examined practices of competence modelling in the forest sector organisations and how organisations anticipate changes in competence needs in the future. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n=10) were conducted amongst forest sector experts in Finland and data was analysed by thematic analysis. The findings showed that the practices of modelling competences were diverse, most frequently used ones being superior-subordinate review discussions and quantitative competence surveys. In addition to these formal systems, informal modelling, especially on the team level and in smaller companies was also frequent. Organisations used competence modelling for several human resources functions, such as appraisal, motivation and promotion of employees. Surprisingly hiring and compensation functions were not mentioned. Perceptions related to competence modelling were generally speaking positive. The most important challenges were the lack of further actions and sometimes the extraordinary burden to the employees. When anticipating the future, the experts interviewed mentioned several commonly recognised trends, e.g., development of information technology, fragmentation of working life and structural changes in labour markets. All these require more generic competences related to information processing and personal self-management, especially respondents highlighted the importance of self-awareness skills. It is concluded that several useful practices for competence modelling already exist and that present study provides a basis for further quantitative further study.

• Rekola, Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: mika.rekola@helsinki.fi
• Nippala, Suomen Partiolaiset – Finlands Scouter ry, Töölönkatu 55, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: jaakko.nippala@partio.fi
• Tynjälä, Finnish Institute for Educational Research, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland E-mail: paivi.a.tynjala@jyu.fi
• Virtanen, Finnish Institute for Educational Research, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland E-mail: anne.virtanen@jyu.fi

• Palander, Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: teijo.palander@joensuu.fi
• Turunen, Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: kt@nn.fi
• Laukkanen, Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: sl@nn.fi