Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2010.

Thesis (doctoral)--Helsingfors universitet, 1990. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (p. [141]-145).

Thesis (doctoral)--Åbo akademi, 1991. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Summary in German. Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-314).

Thesis (doctoral)--Oulun yliopisto, 1999. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-197).

Thesis (doctoral)--Tampereen yliopisto. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 604-626).

Thesis (doctoral)--Joensuun yliopisto, 1990. / Summary in German. Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. [410]-426) and index.

Disputats: Stockholms universitet, 2008.

This thesis aims to investigate and compare Swedish and Finnish teachers´ perceived autonomy through a quantitative analysis of the empirical data from a survey conducted within the research project Teacher autonomy in Sweden, Finland, Ireland and Germany (Wermke & Salokangas, 2018). Within the project, the concept teacher autonomy is viewed as multidimensional and highly dependent upon national context, why an analytical device has been constructed in order to investigate teachers´ perceived autonomy comparatively. Based on conceptual research, the device comprises four domains of teachers´ work where autonomy can be exercised (educational, social, developmental and administrational), and three different levels of autonomy (classroom, school, profession). In this thesis, the analytical device is used to compare the perceived autonomy of the Swedish and Finnish teachers participating in the survey. The theoretical foundation of this thesis is Richard M Ingersoll´s research on power distribution in schools, and the construction of the survey is based upon his operationalization of teacher autonomy as teachers´ influence over important decisions that affect their work, and how teachers´ decisions are evaluated and controlled. The results indicates that both Swedish and Finnish teachers are autonomous when it comes to educational issues, but that Finnish teachers are more individually oriented and experience more control from parents, whereas Swedish teachers seem to make more decisions collegially and perceive themselves as more controlled by colleagues and the school management. Moreover, the answers from the respondents suggested that Finnish teachers have more influence over their continuous professional development, while Swedish teachers are responsible for administrative decisions to a higher extent. In order to interpret and discuss the results they are related to different characteristics of the respective national contexts.

The 2008/2009 world financial crisis, as well as the 2010 onwards European sovereign debt crisis, retriggered the debate on costs and benefits of a European Monetary Union membership. This thesis examines whether Sweden experienced net costs or benefits in opting out the EMU, especially in comparison to Finland due to the close link between both economies, as well as cultural and geographical similarities. While both countries were drawing a convergent economic path from the 1990’s, in 1999, with the Euro adoption in Finland, the two Scandinavian economies chose different tracks in terms of monetary policies. Sweden opted to remain outside the EMU and maintain the floating exchange rate and the control of domestic monetary issues, while Finland chose to relinquish monetary policy autonomy and started to follow the rules and constraints of the European Central Bank. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the economic development of UK in comparison with France, due to the approximate size of both economies (one EMU member and the other an outsider), and also Germany, the EMU leader, and the Euro area as a whole. The data base from Eurostat and the Synthetic Counterfactual Method have shown that there were net benefits for Sweden not to had joined the EMU. Moreover, the paper presents the Theory of Optimum Currency Area, first introduced by Mundell in 1961 as the starting point on the discussion of costs and benefits of an EMU membership.

Abstract Water level regulation for purposes of hydropower production has caused notable changes in the littoral zones of regulated lakes in northern Finland. Marked geomorphological changes have taken place in the lakes with a raised water level. Lowering of the ice cover during the winter has also caused rapid changes in the littoral. Changes in the environmental conditions and aquatic macrophyte communities were studied largely by comparing the regulated Lake Ontojärvi and the unregulated Lake Lentua in the Kainuu area. The general aims of the study were to analyse environmental effects, to produce information of ecological relationships for remedial measures on the littoral and to apply the restoration methods in the management of regulated lakes. The most obvious effect of regulation was the expanded area of extending ice, which caused an almost complete disappearance of large ice-sensitive isoetids (Isoetes lacustris L., Lobelia dortmanna L.). These species were largely replaced by small erosion resistant isoetids (Ranunculus reptans L., Eleocharis acicularis (L.) Roem. & Schult.). Another significant change was the decreased frequency of large helophytes due to increased erosion. A model based on environmental factors was able to predict roughly the main vegetation types. Permanent plot studies showed no significant differences in the stability of the vegetation between the research lakes, which means that the species pool had adapted to the harsh environment. Restoration techniques based on mechanical protection of shorelines and revegetation were applied to Lake Ontojärvi. The hostile environmental conditions caused a rapid decline of the planted species, but tall Salix phylicifolia L. seedlings and Carex rostrata Stokes were able to survive, although in low abundance. More significant remedial measures were provided by the Ecologically-based Regulation Practices (ERP), which have been applied to several lakes under hydropower production. This procedure, which was largely based on the results of the Kainuu studies, offers a simple way to illustrate the differences between various regulation practices. Two case studies showed that an exceptional year with extremely high or low water levels can largely abolish the positive succession achieved by ERP. The huge financial losses caused by ERP for hydropower production have also promoted the use of other conventional restoration measures.