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HIV and AIDS epidemic remains an issue burdening most severely developing countries of the Global South and especially Sub-Saharan Africa. Globally 37 million people are living with AIDS and from these more than half in SSA. In Namibia, estimated HIV prevalence is 13.8% compared to the average 7.1% in East and Southern Africa and global average 0.8%. Until recently, representative data of HIV prevalence has not been available in developing countries. Currently HIV testing is included in Demographic and Health Surveys which are conducted in more than 90 developing countries around the world with the support of the DHS Program funded by USAID. These data also often include georeference, which enables also spatial analysis of the HIV epidemic. In this study, HIV epidemic in Namibia has been studied using traditional methods utilised in population studies, which have been complemented with methods of spatial approach. Sub-regional estimates for HIV prevalence inside administrative regions have been modelled using Kernel density estimation. Factors driving the epidemic have been assessed with a logistic regression model that estimates individual’s HIV risk. In Namibia, HIV prevalence is highest in North-Central Namibia and Caprivi strip. However, according to sub-regional estimates for HIV prevalence there exist variation also inside these areas. In North-Central Namibia, high rates of HIV prevalence depended more on proximity to urban centre than population density alone. Presence of urban centres did not increase HIV prevalence everywhere in Namibia. Also inside urban areas, for example Windhoek, sub-regional estimates for HIV prevalence differed considerably. In the logistic regression model, the following results were found: Women have 1.8 times higher odds for being HIV positive. 30-39-year olds had highest odds for being HIV positive. For men only, odds ratio was highest among 40-49-year olds. Higher educational attainment and higher wealth quintile decreased individual’s HIV risk. Formerly married had higher risk for HIV. Certain language groups had higher odds for being HIV positive, these included especially Lozi and Oshiwambo. Increasing number of lifetime number of sexual partners increased individual’s HIV risk. From regional factors, strong migration inflow and average HIV prevalence in the area increased individual’s HIV risk. The DHS data is available free of charge for academic purposes. Other data and all software used in this study are open source. These data and software were utilised partly in order to demonstrate that spatial approach on the HIV epidemic is possible even without vast resources. Especially in developing countries utilisation of open source opens up possibilities that would otherwise be limited. The results of this study confirm to a large extent findings from other developing countries of the Global South where DHS data have been used in HIV studies. However, characteristics unique for the epidemic in Namibia were also found. The dynamics of the HIV epidemic are difficult to grasp and it is important that even though the situation is improving these complexities are challenged and the phenomenon further investigated.

Tutkielmassa perehdyttiin hajautetun HLA-simulointiarkkitehtuurin suorituskykyyn reaaliaikaisen simulaattorin toteutuksen kannalta. Aluksi esitellään erilaisia simulaation tyyppejä ja niihin liittyviä simulaattorijärjestelmien toteutuksia. Sen jälkeen kuvataan tarkemmin tähän tutkielmaan valitun HLA-simulointiarkkitehtuurin toimintamallia sekä sen erityispiirteitä. Työssä kerrotaan minkälaisia vaatimuksia reaaliaikaisuus ja hajautettavuus simulointijärjestelmälle aiheuttavat ja miten HLA pystyy näihin kohtiin vastaamaan. Koska HLA ei tarjoa yksiselitteisiä vastauksia moniin kohtiin, tutkielma esittelee vaihtoehtoja ja syitä valita mitäkin niistä. Joihinkin kohtiin etsitään myös kiertoteitä tai perustellaan miksi ongelma voidaan jopa jättää ratkaisematta tietynlaisissa käyttötapauksissa. Tutkielmassa esitellään myös suorituskykymittauksia, joita voi hyödyntää valitessa toteutusmalleja ja etsiessä olemassa olevan simulaattorin pullonkauloja. Case-tapauksena esitellään merenkulkusimulaattori, jossa kehitystyössä hyödynnetään tutkielmassa selvitettyjä ongelmakohtia ja hyödynnetään joitain toteuttamismalleja. ACM Computing Classification System (CCS): C.2.4 [Distributed Systems], I.6.3 [Applications], I.6.7 [Simulation Support Systems], I.6.8 [Types of Simulation]

Monsuuni-ilmastoa luonnehtivat vuodenaikojen mukaan suuntaansa vaihtavat ilmamassojen liikkeet sekä niihin liittyvät sadekaudet. Aasian monsuunisysteemi on yksi maapallon merkittävimmistä ilmastosysteemeistä ja sen vaikutusalue ulottuu Arabian meren länsiosista Itä-Aasiaan sekä Australian pohjoisosiin. Se jaetaan kahteen ala-systeemiin: Intian monsuuniin ja Itä-Aasian monsuuniin. Monsuunialueella asuu yli puolet maapallon ihmisistä ja näiden yhteiskuntien hyvinvointi on täysin riippuvainen kesämonsuuni sateiden maantieteellisestä jakautumisesta sekä voimakkuudesta. On esitetty, että käynnissä oleva ilmastonmuutos on jo vaikuttanut monsuunisysteemeihin. Tässä tutkimuksessa perehdyin holoseenin aikaisiin monsuunivaihteluihin. Omia tuloksiani vertasin muualta monsuuni alueelta peräisin oleviin monsuuni-ilmastoa käsitteleviin tuloksiin sekä myös Pohjois-Atlantin alueen ilmastorekonstruktioihin. Tutkimuskohteeni on Kumphawapi järvi, joka sijaitsee Koillis-Thaimaassa. Thaimaa on ihanteellinen kohde monsuunitutkimuksille, koska se sijaitsee molempien monsuunin ala-systeemien vaikutusalueella. Järven syvimmästä kohdasta noudettiin 3.81 metriä pitkä sedimenttisarja, josta määritin orgaanisen aineksen määrän sekä analysoin kasvimakrofossiili koostumuksen. Sedimenttisarja ajoitettiin radiohiili menetelmällä suhteellisen tiheällä näytevälillä ja ajoitusten perusteella luotiin ikä-syvyys malli. Tätä aineistoa käytin menneiden vedenpintojen vaihteluiden eli holoseenin aikaisen monsuunin voimakkuuden rekonstruoimiseen. Laskin näytteistä myös makroskooppiset hiilipartikkelit. Näiden avulla arvioin ihmistoiminnan mahdollista vaikutusta ympäristöön. Omaa aineistoani tukemaan minulla oli käytettävissäni aiempaa paleoekologista aineistoa samasta järvestä. Tutkimustulokseni paljastivat, että järven hydrologiset olosuhteet olivat holoseenin aikana vaihdelleet huomattavasti. Holoseenin alussa järvi oli suhteellisen syvä, ja tämä viittaa kosteisiin olosuhteisiin eli voimakkaaseen kesämonsuuniin. Keski holoseenin aikana veden syvyys oli matala, joka taas viittaa heikkoon kesämonsuuniin. Myöhäisholoseenin aikana veden syvyys vaihteli. Tämä viittaa monsuuni-ilmastossa tapahtuneisiin lyhyempikestoisiin vaihteluihin. Omat tulokseni vertautuvat hyvin muihin ilmasto rekonstruktioihin Aasiasta. Kumphawapi-järven aineisto myös viittaa siihen, että alueellinen monsuuni-ilmasto on ollut yhteydessä pohjoisten leveysasteiden ilmastoon. Lisäksi Aasian monsuuni-ilmasto näyttäisi kytkeytyvän trooppiseen nk. ENSO systeemiin. Kumphawapi-järven sedimentaatiossa esiintyi usean tuhannen vuoden katkos, joka ajoittuu keski holoseeniin, Siksi tulkinta siitä oliko keski holoseenin veden pinnan lasku ilmaston vai ihmisen aiheuttama, jää tässä tutkimuksessa selvittämättä. Joka tapauksessa aineistoni viittaa siihen, että myöhäisholoseenin vaihtelut veden pinnoissa oli ilmaston eikä ihmistoiminnan aiheuttamaa. Kasvimakrofossiilimenetelmä yhdistettynä hyvään kronologiaan ja litologiseen analyysiin, muulla paleoekologisella aineistolla tuettuna, osoittautui hyväksi tavaksi tutkia holoseenin aikaisia kosteusolosuhteita. Eri tutkimusten tulkintojen välillä esiintyi kuitenkin epäyhtenäisyyttä ja siksi lisätutkimukset ovat tarpeellisia; ja näissä tutkimuksissa kannattaa hyödyntää myös kasvimakrofossiili menetelmää.

To date, Turkey has one of the highest refugee populations in the world. The Syrian conflict has played a major role in this as over 2,5 million Syrians have taken refuge in Turkey. Most of Syrian refugees are residing in the largest city of Turkey, Istanbul. Turkey is a signatory member of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, however has an exception for permanent residency granted only for European refugees. Thus, under Turkish refugee policy, Syrians are merely granted temporary protection that guarantees them a temporary residency permit. However, the policy does not cover; at the time of this research; the right to work. Syrian refugees, undocumented Syrians and Syrian Palestinians are especially vulnerable in Turkish society due to the lack of permanent residency and legal work. This research identifies how Syrian refugees create home as well as the factors that influence their home-making process in Istanbul. The factors are evaluated through the conditions under which Syrian refugees are residing in Istanbul including the right to work, housing and residency. The research also evaluates the refugees home-making in retrospective to their living conditions, feeling of home, legal position, access to a dwelling place as well as cultural identification. Although, this research focuses on the individual experience of home-making for Syrian refugees, it considers and examines Syrian refugees in a context of politicised bodies. As international refugees, Syrian refugees are highly politicized bodies, whose lives are affected by international politics as well as the domopolitics of the country in which they reside. Subsequently, their home and their home-making processes are also politicised. Beyond politics, refugeeness alters one's relationship to home and place, making home a complex concept attached with emotions and potential pain and loss. Literacy identifies that refugees displace their home through space and time. Hence, this research treats home as a socially and culturally produced metaphor that describes a person's belonging within socio-spatial narratives, but of which content is individually chosen to describe or to support a person's identity and psychological environment. The method of this research was a combination of two field trips to Istanbul, Turkey, fourteen in-depth interviews and qualitative analysis. The main reference of the research are the fourteen in-depth interviews that included ten men and four women; aged from 20 to 40 years old; Syrians residing in Istanbul. The interviewees were selected through social media online connections and face-to-face acquaintances during the field trips. The interviewees time of residence in Istanbul varied from two months to over four years. The eleven influencing factors identified in this research can be more commonly divided into two categories: the common factors and the personal factors. Common factors related to the responder's habitation environment; such as the city of Istanbul and the Turkish society. These common factors included: the city itself, the Turkish culture and society, the legislation, working life, housing, discrimination and relationships with their family and friends as well as with the Turkish people. The interviewees considered these factors as the ones that impacted everyday life and which they could not 'escape'. Personal factors that were identified are related to interviewees personality, world views and emotions. The interviewees could be divided into four main categories of personal factor denominators: their relationship to Syria, sense of belonging, definition of home and views of the future. This research concludes that displacement has an impact on how home is perceived and reflected by the interviewees. Its findings are in accordance to previous research literature on home-making among refugees, but it questions refugee policies that emphasis on repatriation as the most favourable long term solution for refugees as well as the position of housing as a most influential factor in refugees' home-making, by stating that other factors such as relationship to family and friends and earning a living, are higher in importance for those who have arrived into a new country less than two years ago.

Hopea on kiiltävä metalli, jota käytetään paljon koruissa, aterimissa ja erilaisissa elektroniikan laitteissa. Hopea reagoi helposti ilmassa olevien rikkiyhdisteiden kanssa, mistä johtuu hopeaesineiden tummuminen ajan kuluessa. Hopean pääkorroosiotuote on hopeasulfidi, mutta myös hopeakloridi on yleinen varsinkin meri-ilmastossa. Tummumisen estämiseksi hopeaa on seostettu muilla alkuaineilla. Korroosionkestävistä metalliseoksista tutkituimpia ovat hopean ja palladiumin seokset, joita on käytetty erityisesti hammaslääketieteessä. Hopea voidaan myös suojata erilaisilla pinnoitteilla, jotka estävät hopean reaktion eri yhdisteiden kanssa. Hopean suojaamiseksi on käytetty perinteisesti orgaanisia lakkoja, kuten selluloosanitraattia. Hopeaa on pinnoitettu myös muilla orgaanisilla pinnoitteilla, kuten polymeereillä ja tioleilla. Tiolit muodostavat itsejärjestyviä monokerroksia hopean pinnalle. Näiden kalvojen suoja perustuu vahvaan Ag-S-sidokseen ja pitkään hydrofobiseen hiilivetyketjuun. Hopeaa on pinnoitettu myös ohuilla metallioksidi- tai nitridikalvoilla. Metallipinnan esikäsittelyn on havaittu parantavan kalvojen passivoitumisominaisuuksia. Tutkielman kirjallisessa osuudessa käsitellään hopean tummumiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä sekä esitellään hopean passivoinnissa käytettyjä menetelmiä. Kokeellisessa osuudessa tutkitaan hopean passivointia näkymättömillä ALD-menetelmällä valmistetuilla pinnoitteilla. Höyrystetyille hopeapeileille kasvatettiin ALD-menetelmällä erilaisia pinnoitteita alumiinioksidista, tantaalioksidista ja titaanioksidista. Pinnoitetuille hopeapeileille tehtiin EN ISO 4538-standardin mukainen tioasetamidikorroosiokoe, jossa hopeat altistuivat rikkivedylle. Hopeapeilit valokuvattiin ja niiden heijastus mitattiin ennen altistusta ja säännöllisin aikavälein altistuskokeen aikana. Paras suoja saavutettiin alumiinioksidin ja tantaalioksidin nanolaminaattirakenteisella pinnoitteella, jonka paksuus oli noin 60 nm.

This study focuses on households energy consumption in the Taita Hills of South-East Kenya, especially on the use of fuelwood. The wood use habits are approached through the local women and families who represent the grass root level actors. The Taita Hills are known for their rich biodiversity. Areas of indigenous mountain rainforests play a crucial role as the water towers as well as being home for many indigenous plants and animals. However, the high population pressure, lack of cultivated land, poverty and different socio-political factors has led to a degradation and loss of biodiversity. The main energy source of households in the Taita Hills is still firewood, the use of which has effects on the environment as well as on people s health and time management. This vulnerability caused by biofuels is examined in two case study areas. Both of these areas are located near an indigenous forest boarder but are situated on different agro-ecological zones. The present methods and circumstances of collecting firewood are also compared to the situation 30 years ago, when the legislation allowed more extensive use of forest resources. This research is a qualitative study. The primary data was gathered during two field trips in the Taita Hills, in 2009 and 2010, by using interviews and various participatory methods. All together 50 households as well as different district authorities, non- governmental organizations workers and private persons, were interviewed. The study concludes that the availability of firewood in The Taita Hills has diminished. People have to collect firewood from further away and from smaller areas. This has also increased the time used for collecting wood for fuel. Use of firewood increases households vulnerability by raising the work-load of women in particular, and also by its affect on the environment and health. In addition, this energy supply requires larger economical contributions, while people have to more often resort to purchasing. This weakens the economic situation of families and lessens their opportunities to plan their future or make other investments. Many people are not aware of the effects of the use of wood for fuel. For them it is difficult to understand that traditions passed down through many generations can have harmful consequences. Also poverty, lack of political interest and the lack of co-operation between local actors prevents implementation of new energy practices. Alternative methods should be introduced in order to change current unsustainable energy modes. However this should be done with respect and by taking into account the special features of the Taita Hills area.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the skilled migrants' satisfaction with the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The examination is executed on three scales: housing, neighbourhoods and the city region. Specific focus is on the built environment and how it meets the needs of the migrants. The empirical data is formed of 25 semi-structured interviews with skilled migrants and additionally 5 expert interviews. Skilled and educated workforce is an increasingly important resource in the new economy, and cities are competing globally for talented workers. With aging population and a need to develop its innovational structure, the Helsinki Metropolitan Area needs migrant workforce. It has been stated that quality of place is a central factor for skilled migrants when choosing where to settle, and from this perspective their satisfaction with the region is significant. In housing, the skilled migrants found the price-quality ratio and the general sizes of apartments inadequate. The housing market is difficult for the migrants to approach, since they often do not speak Finnish and there are prejudices towards foreigners. The general quality of housing was rated well. On the neighbourhood level, the skilled migrants had settled in residential areas which are also preferred by the Finnish skilled workers. While the migrants showed suburban orientation in their settlement patterns, they were not concentrated in the suburban areas which host large shares of traditional immigrant groups. Migrants were usually satisfied with their neighbourhoods; however, part of the suburban dwellers were unsatisfied with the services and social life in their neighbourhoods. Considering the level of the city region, the most challenging feature for the skilled migrants was the social life. The migrants felt that the social environment is homogeneous and difficult to approach. The physical environment was generally rated well, the most appreciated features being public transportation, human scale of the Metropolitan Helsinki, cleanliness, and the urban nature. Urban culture and services were seen good for the city region's size, but lacking in international comparison.

Agile software development promotes self-organizing teams, close collaboration with client and team members, short iterative development cycles, response to changing requirements and continuous feedback. Originally agile methods were developed for small teams. As large organisations had a need for agile software development methods supporting several teams and collaboration between them, scaled agile development methods were developed. They promise increased productivity and quality, higher customer engagement and alignment between all levels of the enterprise. This thesis focuses on the software developers perceptions on team performance in Scaled Agile environment. More specifically this thesis studies how team performance is perceived to be impacted in organization that has adopted Scaled Agile Framework (SAFE). The study was designed to acquire descriptive knowledge through empirical studies. This thesis is based on an investigation of a single case company based in Finland. The data for analysis was collected from semi-structured interviews with 5 experienced developers. The findings show that several factors impact software developers team performance experience. By investigating the point of view of practitioners, we observed that team performance is a concept that evolves over time and is prone to be influenced by surrounding environment. This understanding can be used to adjust software development method related practices and organizational factors. This study provides pieces of advice on what kind of practices support or hamper team performance and how to improve them.

Urbanization, densification of the built environment, community degradation, and privatization and commercialization of space have shaped the urban development of Helsinki and also worldwide. These environmental, social, and economic problems have increased political pressure to find appropriate uses for existing spaces. The development of urban commons, i.e. shared, often non-commercialized spaces in urban environments, has entered the policy arena in recent years. This master's thesis examines how the ideas underlying urban commons are intertwined with contemporary neoliberal urban policy and planning. The ideas underlying urban commons include notions of social processes and socio-spatial relations that allow us to reimagine urban space and to figure out in what ways and by whom it is owned, managed, and utilized. The study aims to find out how the interrelationships between urban commons and neoliberalism are manifested in urban space and in the objectives behind the creation of urban commons. I approached the topic from the perspective of public administration and therefore examined in more detail two projects/actions managed by public sector organizations in Helsinki: Circular Green Blocks and Enhancement of the Sharing Economy in Zoning Plans. Data was collected through seven semi-structured interviews with planning and policy professionals and from several planning documents. Discourse analysis was used as a method of analysis and enabled the discovery of the meanings and representations of the world that underlie talk about urban commons. The results of this study show that the development of urban commons is intertwined in complex ways with neoliberalism in urban politics, which became evident through five discourses uncovered. The discourses of welfare and the right to the city revealed attempts to create a more spatially and socioeconomically equal as well as open urban space. Creating space that supports sustainable economic development was another key objective manifested in the discourse on the green economy. The support for the private sector in policymaking revealed an entrepreneurial discourse that indicated that urban space was sometimes treated as a commodity. A managerial discourse revealed a shift in urban governance and the role of the public sector, which showed that urban space was also sometimes treated as something non-political. The study concludes that the development of urban commons is influenced by neoliberal ideals, but also by ideas that can be considered as going beyond neoliberal ideology. For example, ideas of equality and welfare that reflect the tradition of welfare state policies in Finnish politics. The study encourages further research on the governance of urban commons, power relations in policymaking, and discourses among other actors in planning.

Geometric isomers are of extreme importance due to the different properties of E and Z compounds. The interconversion between these forms allow to explore a vast amount of applications since their use in perfume and food industry until the development of photoactive drugs and advanced polymers. Included in this scenario are the E/Z isomers of pepper alkaloids, whose broad range of desirable pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer effects, makes them a focus in multidisciplinary research. Black pepper contains several of these alkaloids, among which piperine is the most abundant. Its properties have been studied for many years, with highlight for its pungency and flavour, in addition to medicinal applications that date from the development of ancient Indian and Chinese medicine. Piperine and structure-related compounds undergo rapid double bond isomerization in the presence of light, equilibrating to a mixture of four geometrical isomers, due to the two conjugated double bonds present in their structures. The biological activity of these isomers differs from those of the natural abundant E/E molecules. Thus, emphasizing the importance of having reliable analytical assays for their separation, detection and quantification. The current project pursued the development of a robust HPLC assays for isomers separation for piperine and some analogues. The effort included the extraction of piperine from black pepper and its use for the synthesis of highly pure piperylin and piperlonguminine standards. Piperine extraction kinetics was also studied to optimize the extraction procedure. The standards of alkaloids were isomerized using sunlight and then HPLC separation methods on chiral stationary phases were successfully established to resolve their E/Z isomers. Isocratic runs were also developed for piperine, piperylin and piperlonguminine, with the goal of adapting these methods to LC/MS application in the future. These last separations could be accomplished within 25 minutes with critical resolutions values larger than 1.8.