The subject of this dissertation is the Finland-Swedish author Gunnar Björling (1887-1960) and his journey towards Modernism. The principle thesis of this dissertation, the idea that Björling’s distinctive language cannot be understood without an underlying modernistic current, is outlined in Chapter I. It also discusses the idea that Modernism cannot be reduced to a matter of style, but encompasses particular values, ideological stances and practical matters, such as the forming of alliances, writing manifestos and publishing journals. Chapter II examines how and why Björling came to be regarded as a modernist. A strongly contributing factor was Björling’s language, which from the very first violated prevailing ideas on acceptable forms of expression. The fact that he published his first book through the modernist publishing firm Daimon, and contributed to its journal Ultra, further confirmed his modernistic placing. Chapter III focuses on Björling’s unpublished juvenilia from the 1910’s. The young Björling wrote traditional rhyming verse but was also influenced by writings of a more symbolistic and modern character. The chapter concludes with a study of bizarrerierna, Björling’s dream notes, originally written during the 1910’s but first published in 1928. With their bold enjambments and highly compressed form, these notes came to influence the continued development of his lyrical imagery. Chapter IV deals with his debut Vilande dag (Resting day) (1922) and its symbolistically coloured language problematic. Björling struggled to find a language that would convey his experience of the limitlessness of being, a language striving to transcend words, leaving space for silence. This struggle for the right words continues in the later Korset och löftet (The cross and the promise) (1925) and Chapter V demonstrates how this is connected with the quest for God. In the wake of German Expressionism and Dadaism, Björling adopts a more disjointed syntax and a bolder and more dissonant lyrical imagery. There also occurs a thematic expansion, giving greater prominence to the daily life of the metropolis, a life transformed by media. In accordance with modernistic patterns, Björling chose to end his book with a theoretical epilogue, which is a distinctive collation of life philosophy, anti-clericalism, passionate religiousness, moral-philosophical discussions and aesthetic expositions.

Diskussionen om den kommunala förvaltningen och verksamheten är en högaktuell fråga i finsk politik. Både på statlig och kommunal nivå diskuteras huruvida det föreligger ett behov av förändring. Kommunsammanslagningar ses som en lösning på problemet. Den pågående Kommun- och servicestrukturreformen omfattar hela landet och kommunerna utreder möjligheterna för samarbete eller sammanslagningar. Uppsatsen undersöker argument och uttalade motiv för kommunsammanslagningar och omfattar tre perspektiv: det nationella, det juridiska och det lokala. Fokus ligger i förekomsten av demokrati och effektivitet i debatten. I vilka termer förespråkar staten kommunsammanslagningar? Hur förhåller sig den nationella lagstiftningen till demokratin och effektiviteten och vilka aspekter gynnas respektive missgynnas av kommunsammanslagningen i praktiken? Den nationella politiken påverkar den lokala förvaltningsnivåns, kommunernas, verksamhet. Delar av den nationella politiken och lagstiftningen sätter fallstudien i en större kontext och kännedom om förordningar underlättar användandet av fallstudiens resultat i andra fall. Tanken med att ha de olika delarna är dels att ge kunskap till dem som är intresserade av att veta mer om det här aktuella ämnet som berör alla kommuner. Ytterligare en tanke med att behandla både den nationella och lokala nivån är att undersöka om staten och kommunerna agerar enligt samma linjer. Lagstiftningen gällande ändringen i kommunindelningen styr själva kommunindelningsutredningsprocessen och planeringen av organisationen av verksamheten i den nya kommunen. Därmed är det viktigt att känna till varifrån kommunindelningsutredningar och verksamhetsplaner utgår. Fallstudien undersöker kommunsammanslagningen av Joensuu, Kiihtelysvaara och Tuupovaara som skedde innan reformen började men representerar den typen av kommunsammanslagning som reformen förespråkar. Kommun- och servicestrukturreformen påverkar kommunerna i Norra Karelen och det kan eventuellt ske flera sammanslagningar i området. Uppsatsen ger kunskap om kommunsammanslagningar till dem som är intresserade av att veta mer om vad kommunsammanslagningen medför i praktiken och vad det finns för argument och motiv för att genomföra kommunsammanslagningar. Studien kommer fram till att argument och motiv utifrån en syn med effektiviteten i fokus får starkare betoning i fråga om kommunsammanslagningar. Det förekommer fler argument som påstås gynna effektiv användning av resurser än det förekommer argument för att förbättra den kommunala demokratin.

This thesis is conducted for Monitor Industriutveckling AB. The company grows fast and is ready to consider the expansion of its business abroad. The details how to pro-ceed with the expansion are yet to be set. The purpose of this work is to examine dif-ferent options to aid the company management select the most meaningful way to proceed. The analytical framework used consists of three well-known business theories. There are the New Capabilities analysis, the PEST analysis and finally the five forces model. Robert Grant’s New Capabilities analysis shows that especially the strategic alliances capability could be an interesting new capability and a way to grow for Monitor. The PEST-analysis proves that Finland can offer good opportunities for Monitor’s type of company because the country itself is very IT-oriented and political and economical as well as social forces can support Monitor’s business. Finland can also be a gateway to eastern-European countries. Finally we have Michael Porter’s five forces model. Monitor has lots of potential customers in Finland. There is a substantial amount of small and medium-sized companies in the manufacturing industry. Taxes and legisla-tion will not be a problem when entering Finland, as they are similar compared to Sweden. There are no big cultural differences between Finland and Sweden. These countries even share the same language, Swedish, which is a quite unique advantage. I have collected the empirical data of this thesis mostly by personal interviews. Here I show that Monitor’s current customers in Finland would prefer to see their supplier present in the same country. They would also appreciate Finnish-speaking personnel and support. I have also interviewed business specialists. According to them, Monitor would easily adapt to the Finnish business culture and make its product successful. The right attitude in Finnish business environment would just boost Monitor’s suc-cess. The strength of the Monitor product is its user-friendliness. The weakness and at the same time its opportunity is that the company grows very fast. When a company grows it must be ready to make big decisions and choose where to go and at the same time be there to support each and every present customer. The conclusion is that Monitor has good possibilities to become a successful company in Finland. From a marketing point of view, Monitor should invest in marketing ac-tions and make itself known and seen among its target group. The recommended way to enter Finland would be to find a good distributor for Monitor’s product. This entry method would be the one with the smallest risk and it is also probably the quickest way to proceed. I recommend Monitor to choose a distributor that can complete its product-palette with Monitor.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to direct attention to recent research on women's entrepreneurship, focusing on Nordic countries. Design/methodology/approach – The paper encourages research that investigates how context, at the micro, meso and macro level, is related to women's entrepreneurship, and acknowledges that gender is socially constructed. Findings – This paper finds evidence that recent calls for new directions in women's entrepreneurship research are being followed, specifically with regard to how gender is done and how context is related to women's entrepreneurial activities. Originality/value – This paper assesses trends in research on women's entrepreneurship, mainly from the Nordic countries.

No description available.

Finland och Sverige har mycket gemensamt – historiskt, kulturellt och geografiskt till exempel. Ändå finns påtagliga skillnader mellan hur problematiseringen av säkerhetspolitiken yttrar sig i de båda länderna. I denna uppsats analyseras den säkerhetspolitiska retoriken med Carol Lee Bacchis socialkonstruktivistiska metod för politisk analys. Analysen sker utifrån två teoretiska perspektiv, liberalism och realism, och hur dessa ser på staten, internationellt samarbete och säkerhetsbegreppet. Genom att analysera hur de båda ländernas nuvarande politiska ledning skriver om säkerhetspolitik identifieras vilket huvudsakligt perspektiv på internationella relationer som ligger till grund för doktrin och säkerhetspolitiska överväganden. Därmed skapas förutsättningar att förstå och kanske även förutse de båda ländernas agerande i det internationella systemet. Analysen visar att båda länderna är på väg bort från den småstatsrealism som präglade dem under kalla kriget men att särskilt Finland fortfarande har tydliga kopplingar till realismen när det kommer till problematisering av säkerhetsbegreppet och synen på staten. De största skillnaderna när det gäller nationell försvarsförmåga går att spåra till olika tolkningar av rysk vilja och förmåga att påverka länderna med hårda maktmedel. Sverige ser att nationella intressen bäst tillvaratas tillsammans med andra genom EU. Globalisering och gemensam säkerhet går före den nationella försvarsförmågan. Även Finlands retorik är övervägande pro-europeisk men det finns fortfarande en tydlig fokus på nationella finska intressen.

Kriget är ett återkommande ämne och ständigt produceras ny litteratur och andra dokumentationer i ämnet. På många platser runt om i världen finns det även fortfarande spår från krigsåren, detta inte minst i Finland. Under denna tidsperiod deltog Finland i två krig: vinterkriget 1938 och fortsättningskriget 1941-44. Om dessa krigsrelaterade händelser har det skrivits i mängder, både skönlitterärt och historiskt, även på individnivå där hågkomstmaterial samlats in. Det här är ingen uppsats om kriget i sig, utan om hur man berättar om det samt vad dessa berättelser säger om just individ och kollektiv. Oral history, den lilla människans egen berättelse, skiljer sig från de historiska berättelserna på så sätt att de täcker in personliga reflektioner och en individuell skildring. Det folkliga berättandet om fortsättningskriget är just vad denna uppsats avser att titta närmare på.

The flow of goods to Russia has grown faster than the bottleneck can handle and the infrastructure on Finnish eastern borders has been stretched to the limit. The authors choose this topic according to their educational background and the direct and indirect future opportunities that can rise up for everybody by a possible solution. Purpose The main purpose of this thesis was to identify the main reasons for the inefficient border crossing process at the border station in Vaalimaa. The authors will analyse the current situation at the border crossing station in Vaalimaa from two different perspectives: Finnish Customs and Logistics Companies. The authors will propose a possible solution by improving the border crossing process Methodology Qualitative research method is used in order to get the most dependable information for the reasons of the problems. The aim was to get information about the current situation at the border crossing point in Vaalimaa rather than quantitative information. The qualitative research method will allow authors to go deeper inside the topic by interviewing the logistics companies, who are using the route via Finland to Russia and, as well as, Finnish customs and border guards, who are working in Vaalimaa. After the data collection, the authors will propose their own solution for the crossing border problems and they will conclude the research by measuring its validity and reliability. Conclusion The authors will present the main reasons for the inefficient border crossing process, which are bureaucracy, legislation issues, criminality level and poor IT-systems. In order to solve the problem and manage all the possible changes, Russia and EU should have a closely cooperation in any level. The authors after analysing the current situation in Vaalimaa, created the “One-stop” model as an improvement of the whole border crossing process.

In this study, I study the relationship between the use of the child home care allowance and second and third births among women aged 19-44 in Finland. I use register data from the Finnish Census Panel (FCP) on 254 465 women who had a second or third child during 1993 to 2007. I apply discrete-time event-history analysis to examine whether women using the child home care allowance while their previous child was under the age of three have a higher risk to proceed to subsequent childbearing – second and third births – than those not using the allowance while their previous child was under the age of three. The analysis is conducted separately for second and third births. The results show that the use of the child home care allowance has an effect on the risk of subsequent child, and that women using the child home care allowance have a higher risk of having a second and a third child than women not using the allowance. Also, the risk of having a second child is found to be higher than having a third child. According to the findings, timing matters. There are differences in how soon women get their subsequent child, and not only whether they get a second and third child or not. These differences are not explained by the control variables. However, the analysis does not demonstrate any causality between the use of the allowance and subsequent childbearing. The impact of the use of the allowance on childbearing may be due to selection effects.

No description available.