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(2022)The immune system recognizes foreign entities in the body and induces protective responses. Sometimes, the immune system does not work optimally, which can lead to different clinical manifestations, one of which is cancer. T cells are a part of the immune system and has the ability to recognize and eliminate the body’s own cells that have transformed into cancer cells. In the field of immuno-oncology, a vast body of research is focusing on understanding the relationship between cancer and the immune system, as well as developing strategies to eliminate cancer by utilizing the immune system. The rise of computational approaches, that can analyze large amounts of data from single-cell sequencing techniques, have enabled the field to conduct research on a new level of complexity. However, this powerful tool has not yet reached its full potential, one major challenge is the lack of functional data of T-cell receptor recognition. In this thesis, we are focusing on the T-cell receptor mediated therapies against cancer, and work toward setting up a screen that assesses T-cell receptor specificity and functionality, which is a powerful tool to acquire knowledge of T-cell biology and improve immunotherapies. One can postulate that the functional data produced by functional screens could be used to train prediction algorithms to a degree, where we could predict the specificity of a TCR based on raw sequencing data.
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(2023)Chondrodysplasia is a disease caused by defects in endochondral ossification. Chondrodysplasia affects the growth of long bones and causes disproportionate dwarfism. In addition to humans, chondrodysplasia has been discovered from multiple dog breeds. Chondrodysplasia in Alaskan Malamutes has been discovered already in the 1970s, but the genetic background of the disease is still unknown. This master’s thesis was conducted in Professor Hannes Lohi’s research group. The aim of this thesis was to identify a locus associated with chondrodysplasia in Alaskan Malamutes, and to find and validate candidate variants. All samples used in this study were collected from private owners with their consent. The study cohort consisted of four families of Alaskan Malamutes with affected individuals. Data used in the study included genotype data, and data from whole exome and whole genome sequencing. A significant locus on chromosome 8 was discovered, using genome-wide association study. However, some of the families with affected Alaskan Malamutes did not share this locus. A candidate variant in GALNT16 was identified by filtering NGS data from the families sharing the risk locus. Validation of the candidate variant showed that the variant was not causative for chondrodysplasia in Alaskan Malamutes. Based on the results, it can be possible that the causative variant for chondrodysplasia in all affected Alaskan Malamutes is not the same, and chondrodysplasia in Alaskan Malamutes may be more heterogonous than previously thought.
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(2022)Ancient DNA research has become a widely applied method to examine past communities. The acidic soil in Finland has previously complicated archaeogenetic research but advances in the field have opened up new opportunities in recent years. This thesis integrates genetic data and archival research to examine the genetic ancestry and social organisation of Early Medieval communities in Southwest Finland. In this era, the coastal region of Southwest Finland experienced diverse societal changes induced by trade networks, urbanisation and conversion to Christianity. These shifts can be observed in large inhumation burial grounds from the Crusade Period (1025/1050–1150/1200 CE). While the burial grounds contain well-preserved skeletal material, no prior ancient DNA investigations have been undertaken in the area. A total of 30 individuals from three burial grounds, Tuomala, Kansakoulunmäki and Humikkala, were studied. The sites are located in the historical Raisio and Masku parishes close to Raisio river valley. The burial context was reconstructed with archival research, and the genetic data was extracted from skeletal samples. The resulting genome-wide data for 8 individuals from the Kansakoulunmäki burial ground was studied with exploratory population genetic and kinship analyses. The archival research produced a detailed burial context for 14 individuals from Kansakoulunmäki in Raisio and 15 individuals from Humikkala in Masku. The genetic results concluded good molecular preservation at Kansakoulunmäki and poor at Tuomala and Humikkala. The Kansakoulunmäki and Humikkala individuals bore traces of diverse connections to the Baltic Sea region. The integrated results revealed possible evidence of patrilocality and potential female genetic connections to Sigtuna in Central Sweden. These findings may point towards female mobility or exogamous marriage patterns between the two regions. Kinship relations were also detected. The possible sibling relationship could indicate an Early Medieval burial practice where close kin was buried together. The Kansakoulunmäki individuals appeared local and displayed genetic continuity with present-day Finns. This thesis adds to an emerging body of research on the ancient genetic compositions and social practices in coastal Southwest Finland in a period of transformation. The results underline the potential of interdisciplinary strategies combining genetic and archival research, as well as possibilities in the investigation of larger inhumation burial grounds. The study contributes to diverse lines of research with new data and interpretations about the Early Medieval communities, suggesting potential for further analyses both in Finland and across the Baltic Sea region.
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(2019)Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a complex developmental orthopedic disorder particularly common in large size breeds. CHD is characterized by the development of a loose and incongruent hip joint. Affected dogs often suffer from secondary osteoarthritis. Radiographic examination reveals flattening of the femoral head and joint widening. An analogous disorder exists in humans. CHD is inherited quantitatively with suggested involvement of the genes of major effect. Genetic studies utilizing dense SNP arrays have revealed few candidate loci and genes for CHD, including the intronic deletion variant of fibrillin 2 (FBN2) gene in Labrador Retriever breed. FBN2 is a promising candidate gene having a functional role in bone and joint development. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the role of FBN2 in the development of CHD in the Finnish dog population and in additional breeds. The specific aims included establishment of well-phenotyped cohorts of samples from four high-risk breeds, namely Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd dog and Bernese Mountain Dog and the assessment of the presence and prevalence of the FBN2 deletion in the Finnish dog population affected by CHD. The study cohorts established here will be later utilized also in genome-wide association studies to identify additional CHD loci. Altogether 220 dogs, out of which 53 were Labrador Retrievers, 41 Golden Retrievers, 79 German Shepherd dogs and 47 Bernese Mountain Dogs, were included in the case-control study. For the German Shepherd dogs, the hip status of each dog was further confirmed of by screening the radiographs available from the Finnish Kennel Club archive. All dogs were genotyped by fragment analysis for the FBN2 deletion. The results revealed the presence of the deletion in all four breeds with highest prevalence in the Retriever breeds, in which the deletion haplotype was more common than the wild type. In our study, all CHD-affected dogs in the Labrador Retriever breed had at least one copy of the deletion allele. However, since the deletion allele was common also in the unaffected Labrador Retrievers, no statistically significant allelic association with the deletion and CHD was detected in statistical analysis. In the three other breeds, no association in statistical analysis was found either. Thus, the previously reported positive allelic association between the intronic deletion in the FBN2 gene and CHD was not replicated. Larger genome-wide studies are warranted to identify the major effect CHD loci.
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(2015)This thesis investigates the development of the visibility of slavery in the brochures of four Virginia plantations over a time period of 90 years. The four plantations are Monticello, Mount Vernon, Belle Grove, and Long Branch, all of different sizes but with similar pasts as sites of enslavement prior to the abolishment of slavery in 1865. The goal is to discover how and why the narrative of slavery has changed over the years, and if any larger societal changes may have contributed to this development. As tour brochures have the ability to affect a visitor’s interpretation of a site, it is important to understand what type of discourses and images are directing the visitor’s gaze in the brochures. It is equally vital to attempt to understand the reasoning behind those choices of language and imagery. In this thesis, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is used to discover what is being said, what is left unsaid, and why those decisions were made. The primary sources for this thesis are the print brochures collected at each plantation and the plantation websites. The material is primarily analyzed using textual analysis although some image analysis is also included to give a more comprehensive understanding of the content of the brochures. In addition, secondary sources are used to support the historical and conceptual framework of the thesis. The main result of this thesis is that the visibility of slavery in plantation brochures has developed from non-existent or minimal to attempted integration. Until the late 1970s the institution of slavery and the experiences of the enslaved, if mentioned, are trivialized, marginalized, and/or segregated. Slow but steady progress in increasing the presence of slavery in the brochures can be witnessed throughout the years as the general opinion in the United States became more accepting, even demanding, of racial equality. No individual event or phenomenon has had a direct impact on the content of the brochures but a clear development into including slavery can be seen. Based on the results, it is the conclusion of this thesis that the main themes of the brochures have not changed very much since the 1920s. Owner families, prestigious guests, architecture, gardens, and the achievements of the wealthy owners have remained the main focus of attention although some new themes can be found in the more recent brochures. It is also evident that these themes persist at the expense of others, such as slavery, bringing about an interesting discussion of remembering and forgetting. In addition, these conclusions raise an important question about the roles of plantation museums as educators, entertainers, and research facilities.
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(2019)The purpose of this thesis is to research, whether the Geo-blocking regulation and Portability regulation have brought further legal certainty to jurisdiction issues in the Digital Single Market. This thesis will use the legal dogmatic method to answer the main research question “Has the Geo-blocking Regulation and Portability Regulation brought any greater legal certainty to jurisdiction in the Digital Single Market?”. This main question includes two sub-questions. The first sub-question is: “Do the Brussels I regulations jurisdiction provisions satisfy the requirements of legal certainty as to jurisdiction?”. The second sub-question is: ”Do the Geo-blocking Regulation and Portability Regulation satisfy the requirements of legal certainty as to jurisdiction?”. The way that the research questions can be answered with the greatest degree of clarity, is to analyse the Brussels I Regulation, Geo-blocking Regulations and Portability Regulations jurisdiction issues in light of the theoretical constructions of legal certainty, that are; clarity and precision, predictability and flexibility. The structure of the thesis is based on these aforementioned theoretic conceptualisations of legal certainty. The reason why these elements of legal certainty, or more rightly theoretical constructs as to what legal certainty is, are being covered and the jurisdiction issues under the Brussels I Regulation, Geo-blocking Regulation and Portability Regulation are being considered in light of them, is as they have the closest connection to jurisdiction issues. This method of analysing the jurisdiction issues allows for the separate elements to be handled separately, which helps the thesis proceed in a rational and logical way. This allows for the issue of legal certainty as to jurisdiction to be handled from various different angles, which improves the comprehensiveness of the analysis. Analysing the jurisdiction issues in this way separately from three different viewpoints allows for a good general view to be made of the big picture of the Brussels I Regulations, Geo-blocking regulations and Portability Regulations jurisdiction provisions and is in this way optimal to answering the research question/s, whilst at the same time being attentive to more specific individual elements of legal certainty. The sources of the thesis are mostly European Union regulations, European Court of Justice case law and material related to legal drafting of the regulations. Finnish and Anglo-American sources are used as well as continental European sources, so that the array of sources is as comprehensive as possible. The main findings of the thesis can be summed up thus. The Brussels I Regulation does not perfectly satisfy the requirements of legal certainty on the issue of court jurisdiction, though it satisfies them to a larger extent than the Geo-blocking Regulation and Portability Regulation. The Brussels I Regulation on jurisdiction issues is not particularly clear and precise, thereby not satisfying the requirement of predictability that is clarity in relation to many jurisdiction issues, but the Brussels I Regulation on jurisdiction issues arguably satisfies other requirements of predictability, such as stability, to a larger extent. Furthermore, whilst the Brussels I Regulation is not particularly flexible, it is not too inflexible on jurisdiction issues. The Geo-blocking regulation and Portability Regulation have not brought further legal certainty to jurisdiction issues in the Digital Single Market and they do not bring any change to jurisdiction issues in the Digital Single Market. The Geo-blocking Regulation and Portability Regulation on jurisdiction issues are not particularly clear and precise, thereby not satisfying the requirement of predictability that is clarity in relation to many jurisdiction issues, but the Geo-blocking Regulation and Portability Regulation on jurisdiction issues arguably satisfy other requirements of predictability, such as stability, to a larger extent. Finally, the Geo-blocking Regulation and Portability Regulation are not particularly flexible in jurisdiction issues, but they are not problematically inflexible.
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(2023)Macquarie Island is a subaerial fraction of oceanic crust where lithology from mantle peridotites to crustal gabbro, dolerite, and extrusive rocks are present, thus providing a unique opportunity to study geochemistry and petrology of the oceanic crust. Macquarie Island represents a mid-ocean crust ophiolite in which the potential geochemical modification of continental crust and effects of subduction initiation are absent. A genetic link between plutonic and extrusive rocks and processes leading to formation of the ophiolite sequence were studied in this thesis. A set of samples representing different rock types of the oceanic crust were studied petrographically as well as for whole-rock major and trace element geochemistry. Selected samples were studied for chromian spinel, silicates, and apatite major and minor component geochemistry. Harzburgites of Macquarie Island are depleted in trace element composition and are not a straightforward residue for the source of the crustal section of the island. Melt infiltration of basaltic melt into potentially former lherzolitic mantle source has been dominating process leading to formation of Macquarie Island oceanic crust. As a consequence to melt infiltration plagioclase-bearing wehrlites recrystallized and these rocks probably acted as a more enriched source for crustal rocks.Major and trace element data show that fractional crystallization has not been significant process forming the island. Extrusive basalts are more primitive in MgO and SiO2 contents and more enriched in REE contents compared to gabbroic rocks of the island. This could be explained by porous fluids migrating through oceanic crust modifying both major and trace element compositions of the samples or extrusive and gabbroic rocks forming from different mantle sources. This study shows that formation of oceanic crust is much more complex than often assumed simple model of fractional crystallization from mantle melt leading to formation of the oceanic crust, or a hypothesized gabbro-dolerite-basalt plumbing system forming the genetically linked crustal rocks.
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(2011)Energy issues occupy a central role in the international political arena. The dynamics of increasing fossil fuel demand and the geographical concentration of fossil fuels industry are changing the structure of oil and gas markets. At the same time, national oil companies (NOCs) have occupied a dominant role in charge of majority of the world's fossil fuel production and trade. These structural changes create incentives and possibilities for statist interventions in the fossil fuel markets. The study analyses whether in India's case there has been a development towards greater strategic management of fossil fuel imports during the last two decades. India presents an important and illuminating subject of energy import dependence analysis, since the country imports approximately two thirds of the oil it consumes, and the import volumes are projected to further increase along with the rapid economic growth. The study argues that energy politics cannot be comprehensively understood solely from economic or geopolitical viewpoint, but the analyst must be able to bridge different viewpoints. The study draws on the regional security complex theory originally presented by Buzan and Copenhagen School, and employs the concept of the energy security complex. The analysis is carried out by studying the overseas activities of NOCs and natural gas imports. NOCs are special actors whose behaviour includes both economic and political rationales and remains tied to their organizational setting and institutional history. It is found that several distinct dynamics are influencing the state capabilities to control the energy trade. On one hand, general liberalization trends and reforms have made the major Indian NOCs much more autonomous and their behavior such as acquiring stakes in overseas fossil fuel upstream production are best understood as results of market logics of enlargement of production and vertical integration. On the other hand, the state is actively tying energy issues into its foreign political agendas and practising energy diplomacy, seeking to create favourable prospects for the overseas activities of Indian NOCs. Energy plays a pivotal role in bilateral relations between India and its important energy supplier states, such as Nigeria and Iran. There are signs that point to the possible emergence of strategic energy alliances. However, currently the oil markets are primarily based on profit maximization logics. Therefore, the statist interference is to be understood as a latent possibility; the Indian state possesses a number of mechanisms to interfere more strongly in the behavior of NOCs, should it perceive need for such measures. Natural gas trade conducted via pipelines is by nature bilateral and more open to political considerations. In India, a number of pipeline option have been discussed, most importantly the IPI pipeline that would transfer gas from Iran via Pakistan to India. Pipelines create strong interdependencies between the adjacent parties, and IPI pipeline would transform the geopolitical structure of the region, raising the costs associated with conflicts. This interdependence is also the reason why such projects are difficult to realize. Despite the rising rates of fossil fuel demand, India is one of the most promising countries with regard to the transition towards renewable energy generation. Large parts of the country remain un-electrified, and India can build the needed electricity infrastructure on a clean table. There are good prospects for substantial amount of wind and solar power generation and India has launched some large-scaled governmental projects to support the development of its renewable sector. Still, there are a number of barriers that hinder the rapid development of the renewable energy sectors. These include complicated bureaucracy and inadequate public support for nascent ventures.
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(2011)The dissertation examines aspects of asymmetrical warfare in the war-making of the German military entrepreneur Ernst von Mansfeld during his involvement in the Thirty Years War. Due to the nature of the inquiry, which combines history with military-political theory, the methodological approach of the dissertation is interdisciplinary. The theoretical framework used is that of asymmetrical warfare. The primary sources used in the dissertation are mostly political pamphlets and newsletters. Other sources include letters, documents, and contemporaneous chronicles. The secondary sources are divided into two categories, literature on the history of the Thirty Years War and textbooks covering the theory of asymmetrical warfare. The first category includes biographical works on Ernst von Mansfeld, as well as general histories of the Thirty Years War and seventeenth-century warfare. The second category combines military theory and political science. The structure of the dissertation consists of eight lead chapters, including an introduction and conclusion. The introduction covers the theoretical approach and aims of the dissertation, and provides a brief overlook of the sources and previous research on Ernst von Mansfeld and asymmetrical warfare in the Thirty Years War. The second chapter covers aspects of Mansfeld s asymmetrical warfare from the perspective of operational art. The third chapter investigates the illegal and immoral aspects of Mansfeld s war-making. The fourth chapter compares the differing methods by which Mansfeld and his enemies raised and financed their armies. The fifth chapter investigates Mansfeld s involvement in indirect warfare. The sixth chapter presents Mansfeld as an object and an agent of image and information war. The seventh chapter looks into the counter-reactions, which Mansfeld s asymmetrical warfare provoked from his enemies. The eighth chapter offers a conclusion of the findings. The dissertation argues that asymmetrical warfare presented itself in all the aforementioned areas of Mansfeld s conduct during the Thirty Years War. The operational asymmetry arose from the freedom of movement that Mansfeld enjoyed, while his enemies were constrained by the limits of positional warfare. As a non-state operator Mansfeld was also free to flout the rules of seventeenth-century warfare, which his enemies could not do with equal ease. The raising and financing of military forces was another source of asymmetry, because the nature of early seventeenth-century warfare favoured private military entrepreneurs rather than embryonic fiscal-military states. The dissertation also argues that other powers fought their own asymmetrical and indirect wars against the Habsburgs through Mansfeld s agency. Image and information were asymmetrical weapons, which were both aimed against Mansfeld and utilized by him. Finally, Mansfeld s asymmetrical threat forced the Habsburgs to adapt to his methods, which ultimately lead to the formation of a subcontracted Imperial Army under the management and leadership of Albrecht von Wallenstein. Therefore Mansfeld s asymmetrical warfare ultimately paved way for the kind of state-monopolized, organised, and symmetrical warfare that has prevailed from 1648 onwards. The conclusion is that Mansfeld s conduct in the Thirty Years War matched the criteria for asymmetrical warfare. While traditional historiography treated Mansfeld as an anomaly in the age of European state formation, his asymmetrical warfare has begun to bear resemblance to the contemporary conflicts, where nation states no longer hold the monopoly of violence.
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(2022)The purpose of this study is to obtain information from a case to shed light on the potential contribution of theatre and Outdoor Education to Sustainability education. Making the transition towards a sustainable world has been labelled as urgent for many decades now. The role of education in this process has been written out multiple times, in various ways. Despite these intentions of transitioning to a more sustainable way of living, literature shows that a satisfactory result has not been obtained yet. The sustainability crisis is a complex problem, and no easy solutions are at hand. Theatre and outdoor education have both different ways of contributing to learning. In this study, experts from both fields, with teachers as education experts, share their ideas and views on what sustainability education is, and how theatre and outdoor education can help to reach the goals it aims at. Experts from theatre, outdoor education, and primary education, are brought together in this study. They all share the experience of an outdoor theatre project aimed at children called ‘Spöket på Lillklobb / Lillklobbin kummitus’. The experts participating in this research were either part of creating this project or participating in it with a group of children under their responsibility. By organising a focus group discussion, the views and ideas of the experts related to the research questions are gathered. This data has then been subject to a thematic analysis. This thematic analysis resulted in the developing of a model for sustainability education: The Laptop model. This model represents the three main themes of sustainability education: the cognitive aspect, the social- and emotional aspect, and the aspect of actions. There are several ways in which theatre and outdoor education can contribute to sustainability education, as presented by the Laptop model. Most importantly, both theatre and outdoor education should be seen as an experience. It is the fact that the children have ‘an experience’ that makes it most valuable. Outdoor theatre is found to contribute holistically to the Laptop model, and make the different parts of the model to interrelate.
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(2014)In my thesis I examined a pseudepigraphal gospel called the Gospel of Barnabas (GOB). This so called gospel has been an important part of the Muslim polemics against Christianity since the beginning of the 20th century. Many Muslim scholars claim that it is the only true Gospel written by Jesus’ close disciple and apostle Barnabas. However, the majority of the Western scholars claim that it is really a medieval Islamic writing. My approach to the study of the GOB was quite theoretical; I used two different theories through which I tried to get new information on the GOB. The first theory is the counter-history theory developed by Amos Funkenstein and David Biale. Through this theory I examined the GOB itself and tried to analyse if it can be seen as a counter-history. With this theory I answered to the research question “what kind of text is the GOB?” The other theory is the power relations theory by James C. Scott. Through this theory I examined the historical situation of Moriscos in Spain and tried to see if it is reasonable to locate the origins of the GOB there. With power relations theory my aim was to answer to the research question “where and why was the GOB written?” Through the counter-history theory I found out that the author of the GOB has used mainly Christian sources to produce a different depiction of Jesus’ life. With the thematic analysis I discovered that the GOB redacts many important Christian dogmas with Islamic ideas and so produces an Islamic counter-history of the narratives of the canonical gospels. Hence, as an answer to the research question of what kind of text the GOB is, I would say that the GOB is an (polemical?) Islamic counter-history of the Christian idea of Jesus. Through the power relations theory I found out that the power relations between dominant Christians and subordinate Moriscos was a very fruitful context for a writing such as the GOB to emerge. The GOB can be seen as a disguised intellectual resistance, where the message and the messenger are hidden. It was probably written to influence the Christian majority. To the research question of where and why the GOB was written, I answer that it was probably written in Morisco Spain as an intellectual resistance.
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(2021)Tutkielma tarkastelee sukupuolen ja sukupuolen tasa-arvon määrittelyä osana EU:n yhteistä turvallisuus ja puolustuspolitiikkaa. Metodeina tutkielma käyttää Foucault’laista diskurssianalyysia ja genealogiaa. Tutkielma tuo yhteen feministisen kehitystutkimuksen ja turvallisuuden tutkimuksen kirjallisuutta ja teoriaa. Tutkielma väittää, että sukupuoli toimii hallinnallistamisen välineenä, jossa biopoliittinen logiikka mahdollistaa sukupuolten tasa-arvon käsitteen valjastamisen osaksi missioiden ja operaatoiden toimintaa niitä legitimoivana. Tutkielman teoreettinen viitekehys koostuu jälkistrukturaalisesta feministisestä teoriasta, jälkikoloniaalista feministisestä teoriasta, ja Foucault’laisesta hallinnallistamisen ja biopolitiikan käsitteistä. Tutkielman aineistona toimii yhteisen turvallisuus- ja puolustuspolitiikan sukupuolten tasa-arvoa käsittelevät aineistot.
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(2016)The sampling was done in 2013 during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 347 on two sites in the river Ångermanälven estuary in Sweden. The area has had the highest rate of uplift in Fennoscandia since the last glaciation. The area was freed from ice 10 500 years before present, after which the shore displacement has been notable. The sedimentation environment has changed considerably from an ice proximal setting, through open sea to a less exposed estuary. The varve deposition is an ongoing process in the estuary since several thousands of years, and it has been correlated to annual discharge, which makes the estuary interesting for palaeoenvironmental studies. The aim of the study was to analyze the changes in the grainsize distribution and to link these changes to the environmental changes. The initial subsampling was made in Bremen in 2014 and the analysis in the laboratory of the Department of Geosciences and Geography of the University of Helsinki in 2015. A method, in compliance to the ISO 13320:2009 standard, was used in the laser diffraction particle size analysis. Also the water content and loss-on-ignition (LOI) was determined from selected samples. The results were processed with the statistics program GRADISTAT 8.0. The resulting figures were compared between the sites and displayed as a function of depth. The sediment consists of varying silt and sand deposits, in which both regular and irregular changes were seen. Interpretations of the sedimentation environments were made and compared with the results of earlier studies. At least three sedimentary units were recognized. Within the upper organic rich silt unit, the point of maximum salinity of the Baltic Sea was recognized. Also the effects of the shoreline displacement, as a coarsening of the sediment, with the decreasing distance to the source of the material, were noted. The unit was interpreted to the brackish Litorina Sea stage. The middle unit was more varied and the relationship between the two sites was more complex. A finer sample resolution would have been needed for an accurate interpretation of this unit. However the interpretation was the fresh water stage of the Ancylus Lake. The lower sandy unit showed indications of a glaciofluvial environment and also the change of distance to the source of the material. The interpretation was a fresh water lake and an ice proximal setting. This study utilized material from the CISU-project funded by the Academy of Finland (resolution 281143).
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(2021)This thesis asks whether the Greens' increased political power in local councils following the results of the municipal election in 2017 has caused an increase in investments in environmental protection in Finnish municipalities in 2018 and 2019. To answer this question and to gauge causal relationship, a difference-in-differences model is employed for which 294 municipalities located in mainland Finland are divided in treatment and control groups, depending on whether the Greens had become one of the three biggest parties measured in vote share in municipal election in 2017 or not, respectively. The data used in the analysis extend from 2008 to 2019 and are freely available in the Official Statistics of Finland database. While climate change is a global problem, local actions are also needed. Actions to tackle the climate change are often political and they are taken by politicians. In Finland's case, some actions are directed by the European Union, some of the legislation comes from the Finnish government and some decisions are made in municipalities by local politicians. A vast field of economics is devoted to studying the causes and consequences of policies and political decisions, that is political economy. This thesis contributes to the vast field of political economics literature by explaining the relationship of local government decision-making and politics in general and in detail, as it focuses to the relationship of an individual party and municipality's investment decisions. The size of the Finnish local government is remarkable which is why it is fair to claim that municipalities play a significant role in implementing national regulation but also in making their own decisions. The Greens is profiled as a pro-environmental alternative in Finnish politics. In the platform for the 2017 election the party emphasized the impact of municipalities in the battle against the climate change. In the 2017 municipal election the Greens was the fourth largest party winning 534 seats while gaining 212 seats from 2012 election. Nationwide, the vote share of the Greens increased by 4 percentage points from the previous municipal election. The statistically significant estimates show a negative causal relationship between the investments in environmental protection and the Greens’ increased political power. In those 18 municipalities, in which the Greens reached a top 3 position in the 2017 municipal election, the municipalities spend on average 1.09 euros per capita less in investments in environmental protection compared to their counterfactuals in the post-treatment period. When controlling for the Greens' vote share, the difference extends to 1.42 euros per capita. As robustness checks, other linear models estimating the relationship between the investments in environmental protection and the Greens’ increased political power in all mainland Finland municipalities are employed. The results of the robustness checks show that the decrease in environmental investments in treated municipalities does not apply for those municipalities, in which the Greens has had more power for longer period.
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(2021)This master’s thesis examines comments for and against virtual reality (VR) as a gaming technology in the context of the VR-only game Half-Life: Alyx. Comments were collected from its online community in the Steam discussion forum, and understood as speech acts. The game is the first in its series to not be playable with a keyboard and mouse. The purpose is to examine the virtual community’s speech acts in connection to social movement mechanisms for taking collective action: social networks, collective identities, conflict action against identified others. This mixed-methods case study’s primary method is qualitative grounded theory. For comparison, additional data was also collected on whether the commenters purchased the game or not. The research material consists of comments before and after it was released. Commenters are grouped based on their comment sentiment toward VR as positive, negative, neutral (mixed), or unclear. These sentiment groups are visualized as social networks. In results, Half-Life is modernistically constructed as a technology-advancing gaming series. The advancement in its latest release Half-Life: Alyx is contributed to its use of VR technology. The game being playable VR-only divides the virtual community’s reception of the game, and the technology. Disagreements concern the technology’s economic expenses, gaming experiences, and distinctiveness as a gaming medium. The shared collective identity of “the Half-Life community” is a PC gaming community, which consists of “Half-Life fans” who consider themselves to be keyboard-mouse gamers, and gamers who are part of a “VR community.” They use different conflict strategies against the identified other. In time, the commenters became less polarized. Furthermore, they entertained which of the mediums or what future technology will be used in Half-Life 3. In essence, the main phenomenon of the gamer divisions around Half-Life games’ hardware requirements but later uniting as a community is named “The Half-Life cycle,” although not all commenters agree that VR belongs in the same technology-advancing narrative as the previous technologies. The hardware and software developer Valve is discussed in regards to the company benefiting from the divided Half-Life community, whether or not a “divide and conquer” strategy was intended. Furthermore, the main phenomenon Half-Life cycle is discussed from multiple perspectives. Further research suggestions relate to the distinctions between virtual communities and social movements, what a technological movement would look like, and the understanding that different communities can be divided similarly to social movements.
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(2016)Previous studies have examined quality of life among people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using quantitative measures and/or structured questionnaires. Recently some studies have focused on the patient's own perception of TBI and used the International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities and Health (ICF) framework to examine quality of life from a wider perspective of functioning. The aim of this study was to examine: What kind of occasions do the participants report as the happiest or unhappiest after TBI, and how are these related to the life areas within the ICF framework. An additional aim was to examine how are these life areas, as well as demographics variables, injury severity, and emotional state associated with the individuals' quality of life. A total of 233 Finnish persons with TBI participated in the Wave 1 of the international QOLIBRI (Quality of Life after Brain Injury) validation study in 2004—2006. The individuals' own descriptions about the happiest/unhappiest occasions were linked to the most precise ICF categories. Correlation and regression analysis were used to examine the association with demographic variables, injury related variable, emotional state, most frequently reported life areas and perceived quality of life. The most frequently reported life areas for both happy and unhappy occasions were Interpersonal interactions and relationships, followed by Community, social and civic life in happy occasions, and Mental functions and Services, systems and policies in both happy and unhappy occasions. Regression analysis showed that younger age, longer post-traumatic amnesia, fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, happy occasion related Mental functions and Community, civic and social life, and not reporting an unhappy occasion related to Mental functions, yet reporting unhappy occasions related to Interpersonal interactions and relationships, were associated with higher perceived quality of life. The results of this study are in line with previous studies that have shown emotional state, age, and injury severity as factors relevant to quality of life after TBI. Additionally, this study informs clinicians about the life areas that individuals with TBI themselves experience as most relevant to their quality of life. From the individuals' perspective, rehabilitation should focus on supporting social relationships, participation in community activities, using services and helping the persons to cope with the demands of the environment. Furthermore, individuals need emotional support to adapt to their new life situation.
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(2022)Tässä tutkielmassa tarkastelen kiinalaisen main melody (zhuxuanlü) elokuvatyypin päähenkilöiden maskuliinisten piirteiden ja käytöksen representaatioita. Main melody tai leitmotif elokuvat on tarkoitettu palvelemaan Kiinan valtion ideologista koneistoa ja ylläpitämään johtavan puolueen legitiimiä. 2000-luvun aikana main melody elokuvat ovat kaupallistuneet, keräten suurempia lipputuloja kuin varhaisemmat kyseisen elokuvatyypin tuotannot. Kiinassa nuoret miespuoliset viihdealan tähdet ovat saaneet osakseen paheksuntaa olemalla liian ”naisellisia.” Heidät vierailunsa on haluttu kieltää televisio-ohjelmissa ja Kiinan opetusministeriö suositteli lisää liikuntatunteja koululaisille, jotta pojat kasvaisivat ”miehekkäämmiksi.” Main melody elokuvat on pitkälti nähty vain propagandana, eivätkä ne ole herättäneet suurta akateemista kiinnostusta. Siksi tutkielmassa on valittu tarkastella maskuliinisuuden representaatioita juuri näissä elokuvissa. Näin on haluttu pyrkiä tasapainottamaan kiinalaisen elokuvan tutkimusta. Tutkielma pyrkii myös tuomaan esiin, millaisia ihanteita Kiinan kommunistinen puolue haluaa nostaa kansalaistensa katsottavaksi. Tutkielma hyödyntää Judith Butlerin teoriaa sukupuolen (gender) performatiivisuudesta, Louie Kamin viitekehystä kiinalaisen maskuliinisuuden wen-wu (kulttuuriset saavutukset – sotilaallinen urhoollisuus) jaottelusta, sekä Mary Vetterling-Bragginin jakoa sukupuolten psykologisista piirteistä. Teksti analyysiä hyödyntämällä on analysoitu neljä main melody elokuvaa: The Wandering Earth (2019), All For One (2019), joka on yksi osa episodielokuvasta My People, My Country, Wolf Warrior 2 (2017) ja Aftershock (2010). Koska maskuliinisia piirteitä voi olla sekä miehillä, että naisilla, tarkastellaan tutkielmassa kahta miespäähenkilöä ja kahta naispäähenkilöä. Tutkielman tuloksissa näkyy, että kiinalaisessa main melody elokuvassa luotetaan pitkälti perinteiseen maskuliinisuus kuvastoon. Hahmot asettuivat sekä wen- että wu -kategorioihin. Päähenkilöt, joilla maskuliinisia piirteitä esiintyy, ottavat johtavan roolin, ovat uhkarohkeita, kykenevät abstraktiin, loogiseen ja analyyttiseen ajatteluun, sekä hallitsevat tunteitaan tai oppivat hallitsemaan niitä. Maskuliinisia piirteitä voidaan löytää myös aikuisista naisista, kunhan esimerkiksi heidän ammattinsa on sovelias siihen. Koska elokuvat heijastelevat puolueen ihanteita, elokuvien päähenkilöistä ei odotetusti löydetty ”naisellisia miehiä.”
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(2015)The Late Miocene (11.6–5.3 million years ago) was a period of global climatic cooling and aridification. These events also had an effect on land mammals, which began to adapt to the increasingly open and grass-dominated biomes. The Eurasian Pikermian fauna is a well-known example of this evolutionary trend, including many species adapted to the new environment known as the Pikermian Biome in the Eurasian midlatitudes. The aim of this study was to deduce the paleodiets of individual Pikermian herbivore taxa, to compare results across three localities as well as with with previous results, and to assess the biome they lived in. Fossil teeth of large terrestrial mammalian herbivores from three classical Late Miocene localities of the Pikermian Biome-Pikermi, Samos (Greece), and Maragheh (Iran)-were analyzed with the mesowear method. Mesowear is the wear of mammalian herbivore molar crowns, cusps, and facets that can be seen with the naked eye, and is determined by the animal's diet (browsing and/or grazing). The mesowear scores were used in a cluster analysis where the fossil taxa were clustered with modern taxa belongin to well-known dietary categories. The results indicated the dietary categories of the fossil taxa. Among individual taxa, the Maraghean rhinoceros _Chilotherium persiae_ gave a surprising browsing signal despite its hypsodonty. _Gazella_ from Pikermi and Samos clustered with browsers to browse-dominated mixed feeders, while the sample from Maragheh indicated a more grass-dominated mixed diet. The antelope _Tragoportax_ from Pikermi and Samos yielded results that indicate the Pikermian genus used more grass in its diet than the Samian one, even though Pikermi is regarded to have been more closed of the two localities. The abundant hipparionine horses, typical for the Pikermian Fauna and previously seen as an indicator of open savanna-like biomes, showed a wide range of diets, but none of the three hipparion populations included zebra-like grazers. The wide dietary range of the Maraghean mammals in the results suggests that Maragheh had a variable paleoenvironment that included both grassy openings and closed forest. The results confirm those of previous studies, depicting a fauna consisting of browsers and mixed feeders with a notable lack of specialized grazers. This suggests that the Pikermian Biome wasn't as open as the modern East African savannas, which it has been classically compared to, but instead a varied woodland with grassy openings.
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(2023)Tapahtumasegmentaatio jäsentää sekä arkista kokemustamme että muistiamme. Parhaillaan meneillään olevan tapahtuman hahmotus ja prosessointi tapahtuu todennäköisesti aivokuorella, mutta ilman toimivaa hippokampusta tilanteesta ei voi syntyä pysyvää muistoa. On olennainen kysymys, missä kohtaa ja miten hippokampus osallistuu tapahtumien prosessointiin ja mieleen painamiseen. Aiemmin on magneettikuvaustutkimuksin osoitettu, että hippokampus reagoi tapahtumien välisiin rajoihin aktivaatiopiikein. On ehdotettu, että ne ilmentäisivät aistimodaliteetista riippumattoman tason prosessia, jossa hippokampus kokoaa yhteen ja vahvistaa koetun tilanteen kokonaisrepresentaation, jotta se voidaan painaa muistiin. Aiemmat tutkimukset on kuitenkin toteutettu yksinomaan audiovisuaalisilla ärsykkeillä, ja koska hippokampuksen tiedetään osallistuvan myös visuaaliseen prosessointiin, ei ole täysin selvää, etteivätkö havaitut aktivaatiot voisi selittyä alemman, aistitietoa käsittelevän tason prosesseilla. Tämän kysymyksen ratkaisemiseksi tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin reagoiko hippokampus tapahtumarajoihin puhtaasti auditiivisessa ärsykkeessä. Ärsykkeenä oli 71-minuuttinen tarinallinen äänikirja, jonka osallistujat kuuntelivat passiivisesti fMRI-rekisteröinnin aikana, ja jonka tapahtumarajat määriteltiin kokeellisesti erillisen koehenkilöryhmän avulla. Aivokuvausaineisto analysoitiin aivoalueittain sekä hippokampuksesta että eksploratiivisesti myös kaikilta aivokuoren alueilta. Hippokampuksen havaittiin reagoivan tapahtumarajoihin aktivaatiopiikein. Aivokuorella voimakkaasti reagoivia alueita olivat mm. posteriorinen mediaalinen aivokuori, ventromediaalinen prefrontaalialue, parahippokampaalinen poimu sekä etummainen pihtipoimu. Monien näistä alueista uskotaan osallistuvan meneillään olevan tapahtuman mallintamiseen ja hahmottamiseen, ja osa mahdollisesti osallistuu huomion siirtämiseen sisäisen ja ulkoisen välillä. Etummaisen pihtipoimun tiedetään osallistuvan odotusten ja havaintojen välisten konfliktien monitorointiin, mikä saattaisi tukea teoriaa, jonka mukaan segmentaatio olisi riippuvaista havaituista ennustevirheistä. Tätä ei kuitenkaan tämän tutkimuksen perusteella voida varmasti päätellä, vaan asiaa tulisi tutkia tarkemmin. Tämän tutkimuksen tulokset tukevat näkemystä, jonka mukaan hippokampuksen lisääntynyt toiminta tapahtumarajoilla liittyy korkean tason abstraktiin segmentaatioon ja mahdollisesti episodisen muiston luomiseen. Tämä prosessi mahdollisesti tapahtuu yhteistyössä aivokuoren aktiivisten alueiden kanssa, mutta kausaaliset suhteet ja informaation kulku näiden alueiden välillä on selvitettävä myöhemmissä tutkimuksissa.
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(2018)This thesis aimed to research the history of the Xibe language and to discuss about its future. By 2017 this language had less than 20,000 speakers and the number was still decreasing. Five chapters comprised this thesis. Chapter 1 introduced the Xibe people and their residence in Qapqal, as well as the former linguistic researches. Chapter 2 analyzed the history of the Xibe people based on historical study methods, revealed how their languages changes from a Proto-Mongolic to Tungusic. Chapter 3 analyzed the relationships between the Xibe and Manchu ethnic groups and their attitudes towards the languages of the each other. Chapters 4-5 used the methods of case study, in which Chapter 4 provided a portrait of Qapqal and a culture center in this county; Chapter 5 measured the present states of the Qapqal-Xibe language, discussed the future of the Qapqal-Xibe. The written materials were collected from the Chinese official history books and the previous researches in this field, while my interviews made in Qapqal SAS Culture Center also contributed this thesis. This thesis concluded that predictably at the beginning of the 22nd century only few of native speaker would be alive, matching the status of Qapqal-Xibe as ‘nearly extinct’. Linguists could help with digitalizing this language, but he future of the Qapqal-Xibe language was on their own hands of the members of the Xibe ethnic group.
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