Browsing by Title

HMC is a computational method build to efficiently sample from a high dimensional distribution. Sampling from a distribution is typically a statistical problem and hence a lot of works concerning Hamiltonian Monte Carlo are written in the mathematical language of probability theory, which perhaps is not ideally suited for HMC, since HMC is at its core differential geometry. The purpose of this text is to present the differential geometric tool's needed in HMC and then methodically build the algorithm itself. Since there is a great introductory book to smooth manifolds by Lee and not wanting to completely copy Lee's work from his book, some basic knowledge of differential geometry is left for the reader. Similarly, the author being more comfortable with notions of differential geometry, and to cut down the length of this text, most theorems connected to measure and probability theory are omitted from this work. The first chapter is an introductory chapter that goes through the bare minimum of measure theory needed to motivate Hamiltonian Monte Carlo. Bulk of this text is in the second and third chapter. The second chapter presents the concepts of differential geometry needed to understand the abstract build of Hamiltonian Monte Carlo. Those familiar with differential geometry can possibly skip the second chapter, even though it might be worth while to at least flip through it to fill in on the notations used in this text. The third chapter is the core of this text. There the algorithm is methodically built using the groundwork laid in previous chapters. The most important part and the theoretical heart of the algorithm is presented here in the sections discussing the lift of the target measure. The fourth chapter provides brief practical insight to implementing HMC and also discusses quickly how HMC is currently being improved.

Social fobi(SF) definieras som en uttalad eller bestående rädsla för en eller flera olika sociala situationer. SF präglas av en förvrängd uppmärksamhet av social stimuli. Vi undersökte skillnader i självreferens processering i SF genom att rekrytera 20 friska kontroller och 38 personer med SF. Försökspersonerna undergick fMRI mätning medan de kategoriserade ord som visades till dem som positiva, negativa eller neutrala i kontext till en situation att de hör en grupp med personer säga ordet ifråga.SF gruppen delades itu och undergick ett randomiserat dubbelblindat experiment med escitalopram eller placebo i 7 dygn. Därefter utfördes fMRI mätningen pånytt med en liknande kategoriserings uppgift. Under experimentet uppföljdes nivån av ångest med självrapportering via STAI-Y1 frågeformulär. Vi observerade en ökning av aktivation i vänstra inferiora frontala gyrus till negativt socialt stimuli i den friska gruppen i kontrast till SF gruppen. Efter interventionen observerades normalisation i samma region i vänstra inferior frontala gyruset i escitalopram gruppen men inte i placebo gruppen. Vi observerade inga signifikanta skillnader i kliniska symptom utgående från frågeformulären. Vår slutsats är att vänstra inferiora frontala gyrus aktivation är nedsatt i SF och normaliseras av en korttidsbehandling av escitalopram förrän den kliniska effekten etableras.

Tutkin Suomen ja Kolumbian kahdenvälisiä suhteita. Muodostan kronologisen selvityksen suhteiden kulusta vuosina 1950-2018 ja perustan analyysin sille oletukselle, että molemmat maat rakentavat ulkopolitiikkansa liberaalin koulukunnan ajatuksille. Tutkimuskysymykseni ovat: Miten hyvin Kolumbian ja Suomen kahdenväliset suhteet heijastavat maiden virallista ulkopoliittista narratiivia? Miksi kaupallisten suhteiden koko potentiaalia ei ole onnistuttu hyödyntämään? Miltä kahdenvälisten suhteiden tulevaisuus näyttää? Käytän tutkimuksessa menetelmänä narratiivista historiantutkimusta. Menetelmän tavoitteena on luoda erilaisista lähteistä kootulla aineistolla koherentti narratiivi, joka heijastaa kolumbialaista ja suomalaista historiaa ja politiikka kokonaisvaltaisemmin. Käytetyt aineistot tulevat pääsiassa Ulkoministeriön arkistoista, kirjallisuudesta ja temaattisista haastatteluista. Aineiston analyysissä hyödynnän kvalitatiivista lähestymistapaa. Kolumbia ja Suomen taloudelliset suhteet luotiin 1940-luvulla, diplomaattisuhteet 1954. Kauppa eteni ensin valuuttakompensaatiokaupan kautta. Kauppatase oli kroonisesti epäedullinen Suomelle ja tilanne pysyi melko samana 1980-luvulla asti, jolloin molemmat maat avasivat diplomaattiset edustustot. Äärimmäinen väkivalta Kolumbiassa ja paha talouslama Suomessa saivat Suomen sulkemaan edustustonsa 1993. Kolumbia teki samoin vuonna 2002. Seuraavien vuosien aikana suhteissa tapahtui muutos rauhanvälityksen ja konfliktinratkaisun noustessa Suomen ulkopolitiikan keskiöön myös Kolumbiassa. Suomi avasi Bogotan yhteystoimiston Limaan 2013 ja Kolumbia uudelleenavasi lähetystön 2014. Suomi seurasi esimerkkiä 2017. Maiden kahdenväliset suhteet heijastavat maiden virallista ulkopoliittista narratiivia melko hyvin. Laajalle levinnyt väkivalta ja huumekauppa sekä niiden vaikutukset Kolumbian taloudelliseen kapasiteettiin yhdessä Suomen ulkopolitiikan kanssa vaikeuttivat suhteiden taloudellisen potentiaalin hyödyntämistä. Nyt tulevaisuus näyttää positiiviselta. Yhteistyö ja jaetut kiinnostuksen kohteet ovat kasvussa. Suhteita hankaloittaneet tekijät ovat vähentyneet. Tapaustutkimus Kolumbian ja Suomen suhteista tarjoaa tavan tarkastella kummankin maan laajempia poliittisia suuntauksia. Lähdeaineisto antaa kuvan kunkin historiallisen aikakauden politiikasta ja taloudellisesta kehityksestä ja suurempi poliittinen konteksti heijastuu näistä yksityiskohdista. Tutkimukseni on ensimmäinen kronologinen kuvaus Suomen ja Kolumbian kahdenvälisten suhteiden historiasta.

This study explores how the municipal reputation of Kerava is formed and managed. Organizational reputation has emerged as a remarkable subject of study in recent years but most approaches emphasize economic profit as the ultimate gain of a good reputation. This case study on Kerava will provide a micro-level approach on reputation construction in municipal sector. What is often left for little attention in those reputational studies that do regard municipalities is the way in which a municipality itself constructs its reputation. This study explores how the municipality of Kerava communicates, manages and constructs its own reputation. The significance of reputation and image has increased in public organizations during recent decades. The preconditions for reputation construction have concurrently changed. Municipalities face new demands for expressing efficiency and legitimacy. The political nature of all public organizations makes reputational endeavours especially difficult. Municipalities have to match partly conflicting demands for transparency, consistency, legibility, credibility and reality-basis. Public organizations have their own preconditions regarding interest group expectations. Pleasing the customers is not always the central purpose of operation in municipalities and the encounters with stakeholders are loaded with expectations regarding recognized roles and policy-determined conduct. These special characteristics regarding stakeholder relationships inevitably influence municipalities’ reputational efforts. The method of data collection in this study is semi-structured interview. Kerava is represented by current and previous members of the executive board of the municipality and members of the city parliament. The interview data is interpreted using thematic content analysis. As a result of this analysis, I develop coherent themes that can be further explored in the conclusive chapter of this study. The results of this study illustrate that there is a foundation of determining preconditions to be found that sets limits for reputation construction in municipalities. The complexity of municipal organization appears as an all-encompassing theme in the exploration of Kerava’s reputation. The instability of cooperation and competition inside Kerava and with the state and other municipalities only deepens organizational complexity. The relation between daily operation and reputation becomes apparent as acts of promotional efforts are perceived as fragile. The perceived benefits of a good municipal reputation manage to highlight a central difference to the private sector. While tax-income and vitality as goals resemble the ideals of profit-making, happiness is also established as an important goal that is entwined with all other reputational goals.

Recent studies have suggested that iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) oxides may play a role in the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in brackish coastal sediments of the Baltic Sea. However, the distribution of these oxides in coastal sediments had not yet been established. In this study sedimentary Fe and Mn dynamics were studied along Pohjanpitäjänlahti which is a silled estuary and the adjacent archipelago in Uusimaa, Finland. The estuary is fed by Fiskarinjoki and Mustionjoki rivers and it discharges into the Gulf of Finland through a narrow, salinity stratified strait. Sediment and porewater samples for chemical profiling were obtained by GEMAX™ coring, sediment slicing and Rhizon™ porewater extraction. Water samples were obtained by Limnos™ water sampler and analyzed for dissolved Fe and Mn. Concentrations of Fe and Mn and speciation of sediments were determined by sequential extraction, including a separate extraction scheme for sulfur-bound phases. The results of this study show that the distributions of iron and manganese are heterogeneous in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Finland. Dissolved Fe concentration decreases rapidly from the river mouth due to salinity induced flocculation and sedimentary Fe concentration decreases steadily offshore. In contrast, dissolved and sedimentary Mn concentrations are highest in the deep inner basin of Pohjanpitäjänlahti. This implies internal shuttling of Mn related to redox conditions in the estuary. The Fe and Mn speciation of inshore sites is dominated by more reactive phases such as poorly-crystalline and crystalline oxides, while at offshore sites, less reactive phases such as sheet silicates are more dominant. Fe and Mn oxides are present in all study sites throughout the sediment cores which make them theoretically available for Fe-Mn- mediated AOM.

Entrance to academic studies does not automatically lead to commitment in one's studies. There may be differences in student commitment across different learning environments. In the present study, combinations of problems in studying medical students experience were investigated in a lecture-based learning environment (n = 246) and in a problem-based learning environment (n = 231). Also differences between the combinations in task avoidance and differences between the combinations in academic achievement were investigated in each learning environment. Medical students were classified in different learning environments by K-means cluster analysis by cases into groups based on the following variables: exhaustion, lack of self-regulation, lack of interest and distress. Three groups of commitment among medical students were identified in the lecture-based learning environment: committed, carefree and dysfunctional students. The profiles were related to task avoidance but not to study success. The committed students expressed less task avoidance than the carefree students and the dysfunctional students. The latter two groups of medical students did not differ from each other in this case. Also three groups of commitment among medical students were identified in the problem-based learning environment: committed, committed carefree and dysfunctional students. The profiles were related to task avoidance and study success. The dysfunctional students expressed more task avoidance than the committed carefree students and the committed students. The latter two groups of medical students did not differ from each other in this case. The committed students and the committed carefree students gained better grades than the dysfunctional students. However, the former two groups of medical students did not differ from each other in this case. The implications of the study for research are discussed.

The basis for an arbitral proceeding is usually an arbitration agreement. In most situations, the arbitration agreement is included as an arbitration clause in the main agreement. Even if the arbitration clause seems to be a part of the main agreement, it has in accordance with the doctrine of separability to be regarded as a separate agreement from the main agreement. Without the doctrine of separability, the arbitral tribunal would lose its competence by ruling the main agreement, of which the arbitration clause would be a part invalid, terminated or non-existent. Consequently, the alleged invalidity of the main agreement does not automatically affect the arbitration clause and a separate assessment of the validity of the arbitration clause has to be done. The doctrine of separability has been justified with both the intent of the parties to solve all disputes regarding the main agreement by arbitration and with efficiency arguments, as for instance protection of the competence of the arbitral tribunal. In most jurisdictions, the doctrine of separability is accepted, but the exact scope and applicability of the doctrine varies from one jurisdiction to another. This thesis aims to determine the scope of the doctrine of separability and in addition, to create general rules for assessing the scope of the doctrine. The thesis aspires to clarify the legal state regarding the scope and applicability of the doctrine of separability in Finland. However, there is not much case law and legal doctrine concerning the doctrine of separability in Finland. Therefore, in addition to the legal dogmatic method, also a comparative method is used. The comparison is done with both international arbitration practice and as a Nordic comparison, focusing mainly on Sweden. The doctrine has been more thoroughly studied in both Sweden and internationally than in Finland. By clarifying the scope of the doctrine of separability, many conflicts regarding the competence of the arbitral tribunal could be avoided. The thesis is structured to first assess specific situations of applicability of the doctrine of separability and then assess if any general rules for the scope and applicability of the doctrine can be made. Regarding the specific situations of applicability, the doctrine is in Finland applied for at least separating the arbitration clause from a main agreement that is allegedly invalid or terminated. When it comes to a main agreement alleged to be non-existent, there is no consensus regarding if the doctrine should be applied. In the thesis, I have argued that the doctrine of separability should be applied even if the main agreement is allegedly non-existent. Otherwise, for instance a concluded arbitration clause in a draft agreement would be regarded as non-existent, if the main agreement is not concluded. When it comes to the applicability of the doctrine of separability to choice of law clauses in the main agreement, Finnish doctrine seems to have taken the standpoint that a separate assessment of the law applicable to the arbitration clause has to be done. Consequently, a choice of law clause in the main agreement does not automatically reach to the arbitration clause. However according to Finnish case law and literature, the doctrine of separability cannot reach to the interpretation and adjustment of arbitration clauses. In accordance with general contract law principles, arbitration clauses have to be interpreted and adjusted in the light of the main agreement. The second part of the research regards if any general rules can be applied to determine the scope and applicability of the doctrine of separability. I suggest that the doctrine of separability should be applied to all situations where the main agreement and the arbitration clause interconnects. The arbitration clause is a procedural agreement that is auxiliary to the substantive main agreement and thus has certain tasks and features that have to be protected by evaluating the arbitration clause separately. The doctrine of separability is a tool for contractual construction, which enables the courts and tribunals to give proper effect to the arbitration clause and the will of the parties. It does in no other way prevent the interaction between the agreements. When separately assessing and interpreting the arbitration clause, the general contract law rules determine the outcome of the assessment.

This thesis explores the drivers and barrier to greening in the Finnish music festival scene. The term greening originates in literature on sustainable business and refers to the process of a company achieving greater sustainability through investments, managerial and organisational decisions and implementing policies and processes. The concept of greening is applied to music festivals, a type of event, that cause significant negative environmental impacts. Sustainable event management attempts to mitigate negative environmental impacts and to cause positive impacts for instance through environmental education and inspiring behaviour change. As a theoretical framework, this thesis uses drivers and barriers impacting the greening of music festivals identified in literature. The drivers (organisational and personal values, competitive advantage, consumer demand and the desire to educate) and barriers (lack of finance or support from stakeholders, lack of control over venues, lack of control over patron behaviour, lack of time, lack of sustainable supplies and suppliers), networking in the festival scene and the use of external environmental audits form the basis for a qualitative content analysis. The findings based on interview data from five Finnish music festival managers and a representative from an environmental auditing service suggests that the most significant drivers are value-based and the motivation for greening stems from personal pro-environmental values and the desire to inform and educate audiences. The barriers to overcome are external, related to stakeholders, infrastructure and the supply chain as well as unsustainable attendee behaviour. Additionally, there is among festival managers some uncertainty regarding best practices. A need for increased support from stakeholders and for accessible information highlights the importance of networking. External auditing services should offer flexible and contextual tools and a more inspirational tone. In conclusion, sustainability is seen by the Finnish music festival scene as a key issue and one of increasing priority in the future.

The subject of this thesis is the duty of loyalty in the Nordic law of contracts. This study is of comparative law, and it aims to compare the definitions and explanations given for the duty of loyalty in the Nordic countries. The comparisons are made between Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. This study could also be described as partly legal dogmatic, since the purpose of the comparisons is to find out what the legal meaning and effect of the duty of loyalty are. Since the duty of loyalty is a broad and general norm which applies to a number legal spheres, such as consumer and insurance contracts, the subject of this study needs to be delimited in order to keep the discussion coherent and focused. Because of this, the study will only inspect the duty of loyalty in the context of commercial contracts. In all of the Nordic countries, the duty of loyalty is an unwritten legal norm and/or a principle. The duty is generally defined as a duty of the contracting parties to reasonably consider each other’s interests and expectations without unreasonably risking their own. Many authors in jurisprudence have criticised this definition as vague and impalpable. Yet, at the same time, many authors see it as a norm that has gained more significance and influence in the law of contract, especially during the last decades. In Finland, there are many authors who have discussed the duty in articles and textbooks, but there is no doctoral thesis that focuses solely on the duty of loyalty. The situation is somewhat different in neighbouring countries, as several doctoral theses about the duty exist in Sweden and one in Norway. Aside from these theses, the academic discussion and debate has been vivid in all the Nordic countries. This study aims to gather and compile this discussion into a comparative analysis. Lastly, it presents a synthesis of these descriptions and discusses whether these descriptions could be merged into a notion of a Nordic duty of loyalty. The structure of this thesis consists of an introduction, followed by four chapters which concern the individual countries of this study. Each country is discussed in its own chapter. These chapters aim to describe the discussion and the debate in jurisprudence concerning the duty in the country in question. Each of these chapters consists of the following topics: 1.) the legal basis of the duty, 2.) the definitions given for the duty, 3.) how the duty has been defined in relation to other norms of contract law, 4.) the functions of the duty, 5.) its applications and lastly, 6.) the more specific elements attributed to the duty, such as its influence in different contracting phases and what specific obligations are thought to stem from it. The purpose of the first topic is to analyse the legal character of the duty. This will be done by inspecting the descriptions of the authors in jurisprudence and how the duty has been applied in court practice. The second topic describes the more specific definitions given for the duty in jurisprudence, and the third part seeks to find out how these definitions separate and define the duty in relation to the other norms of contract law, such as the bona fides, the principle of equity/reasonableness and the Contracts Act 36§. The fourth topic gives an account of the functions which authors have attributed to the duty, and the fifth one discusses the possible applications of the duty and what consequences disloyal conduct can give rise to. Examples of such consequences and legal remedies are the cancellation of contract, liability for damages and the voidableness of contract. The sixth part concerns the opinions of legal authors as to what type of concrete obligations the duty could generate and how it can actually supplement a contract. After the chapters discussing the individual countries, the sixth chapter will give a comparative analysis of the opinions and discussions mentioned in the aforementioned chapters. The sixth chapter consists of the same subtopics as chapters 2.-5. First and foremost, the author will analyse definitions and elements of the duty and discuss whether individual authors agree or disagree about them. Besides this, the author will also deliberate whether it is possible to find differences on national levels. The last chapter discusses the conclusions of the comparisons. The first part of this chapter will seek to give an illustration of what is, or could be, the broadest and the most comprehensive definition given for the duty in the Nordic countries. The author will also comment on the applicability of the duty in commercial contracts. As a counterweight to the first, the second part highlights the more critical and disinclined views towards the duty and seeks to summarize the debate.

This thesis studies possible factors associated with the earnings differences between Finnish and Swedish immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States. Economics literature has provided multiple explanations for the economic assimilation of immigrants. Fundamentally immigrant assimilation in economic theory is seen as a process of country-specific human capital accumulation. Many factors, however, can affect this process. In this thesis, I will test whether the earnings differences between Finnish and Swedish immigrants were associated with their location choices, size of the immigrant communities, English skills and linguistic distance between immigrant’s mother tongue and English. In addition, I test whether even within industries, the earnings differences persist and whether in addition to Swedes, Finns also differ from other Nordic immigrants. To do this, I will use a longitudinal dataset of 28 621 European male immigrants observed in 1900, 1910 and 1920 and use pooled OLS to estimate the earnings differences of Finnish and Swedish immigrants at different stages of their migration period. First, I find that at the time of arrival or at most 5 years after it, Finnish immigrants earn more than otherwise comparable Swedish immigrants. After more than 30 years in the United States, however, Finns earn substantially less than their Swedish counterparts. Also, not only did the Finns diverge from the earnings of the Swedes with the time spent in the United States, but also from their initial level of earnings. I then find that controlling for location choices and the size of the immigrant communities slightly reduce the earnings gap between long-term Finnish and Swedish immigrants. Differences in English skills, on the other hand, are not found to be associated with the earnings differences. Instead, I find that long-term Finnish and Swedish immigrants have almost equal probabilities of knowing English and that Finnish immigrants accumulate language skills at a substantial rate after arrival. The negative earnings gap among long-term Finnish and Swedish immigrants persists even within industries. However, although remaining negative, controlling for industry fixed effects reduces the earnings gap by over 50 %, suggesting that a large fraction of the negative earnings gap was associated with Finnish immigrants being active in low-paying industries. Finally, I find that the similar pattern applies not only to Swedish immigrants but also to other Nordic immigrants. At the time of arrival, Finns seem to earn more than otherwise comparable Nordic immigrants but after more than 30 years in the United States, Finns earn substantially less than their Nordic counterparts.