Diploma thesis "Paasikivi and Kekkonen - a strong position of Finnish presidents under the influence of the USSR" examines the assumptions of the prestigious position of these presidents in Finnish politics. The underlying issue is the influence of the Soviet Union on the Paasikivi's and Kekkonen's policies. The theoretical premise of the thesis is the inclusion of Finnish among so-called semi-presidential systems. The Finnish Constitution of 1919 provided the President with considerable powers, for example making him a major figure for the foreign policy of the state. However, the arrival of Paasikivi and after him Kekkonen to the presidential office led to the strengthening of the presidential office. The personality of these politicians and their political vision, experience and practices had also a significant impact on this fact. Paasikivi and Kekkonen's policies were, however, very much connected with the friendship with the Soviets, so it is possible to monitor the Soviet influence on the position of Finnish presidents within the Finnish political system.

This thesis focuses on analyzing the themes that arise from the Finnish energy discourse between the years of 2009-2018. Finland is completely dependent on Russian gas, but as a member state of the European Union (EU), it should consider reducing this dependence and moving towards a common energy policy as a key objective. The EU has struggled to project itself as a unified whole to the global community owing to the fragmented nature of its decision-making regarding the use and procurement of energy. This results in EU member states having bilateral energy relations with Russia. Energy policies differ depending on the member state, also the geographical location of a state plays a significant role. As energy consumption rapidly rises and climate change becomes increasingly evident, non-fossil sources of energy must be taken into use. The development of technology along with the use of renewable forms of energy will further facilitate the battle against climate change. In order for the EU to succeed in one of its major objectives becoming independent in energy matters, it requires to further increase the internal cooperation between member states and to develop an even further consistent energy strategy. With the combination of the chosen theories together with examining the collected research data...

Both Sweden and Finland express a will for a deepened defence cooperation, but the problem is that such a cooperation haven’t been successful in the past. This paper aims to create an understanding about whether this defence cooperation have the requirements to succeed or if it faces a similar destiny as those which have failed in the past. This is conducted by examining how different strategic cultures, which covers the foreign-, security- and defense policy of an actor, can affect the cooperation and its possibility to succeed. The results show that Sweden is in a greater need of a deepened defence cooperation than Finland due to the increased strategic value of the Baltic Sea and its nearby regions, the increased threat this brings and the current state of the Armed forces which are developing towards territorial defence. This shows that Sweden are approaching Finland within these areas. While the biggest differences come through the historical experiences where cooperation have failed between the nations, at the cost of the suffering of Finland. This have led to a low Finnish trust towards cooperation and a mentality that they going to have to manage themselves.

Denna forskning i svensk och finsk strategisk kultur svarar på forskningsproblemet: hurdan strategisk kultur har Sverige och Finland påvisat efter slutet av kalla kriget och på vilket sätt skiljer dessa sig åt. Syftet med forskningen är att öka förståelsen av svensk och finsk strategisk kultur, belysa vilka skillnader det finns mellan dessa samt vad skillnaderna beror på. Forskningen genomfördes som en tolkande fallstudie med fokus på tre strategiska normer kopplade till militär våldsanvändning, samt tre förändringsmekanismer. Avseende svensk strategisk kultur observerades att Sverige påvisat en förändringsbenägenhet som framförallt är riktad mot förändringar i målsättningar för användning av militärt våld. Förändring har skett via samtliga förändringsmekanismer. Ett internationellt fokus med strävan till globalt ansvarstagande färgar svensk strategisk kultur. Aktivitetsnivån inom användning av militärt våld samt diversifieringen av internationellt försvarssamarbete påvisar ett uttryckt beroende av extern hjälp. Den finska strategiska kulturen karakteriseras av att hålla fast vid vikten av nationellt försvar. Målbilden för användning av militärt våld har endast fluktuerat lite med inslag av internationellt ansvarstagande, men försvaret av finskt territorium har förblivit centralt. Utöver en relativt stabil målbild har dock finska normer om hur militärt våld skall användas samt föredragen samarbetsform utvecklats i samma riktning som i Sverige. Även ett explicit uttryck för beroende av internationellt stöd har vuxit fram.  Skillnaderna mellan ländernas strategiska kultur verkar främst basera sig på en skillnad i tolkning av hotbild, men även på olik inverkan av internationella organisationer samt olika tolkningar av innebörden av lärdomar ifrån internationella kriser. Denna skillnad i kulturer tar sig även uttryck genom staternas nationella identiteter som är beroende av såväl en nationell som internationell kontext.

Frågeställning Hur översätter man och representerar ett lands kultur genom arkitektur?  Går det att skapa en mer lättillgänglig arkitektur genom vår metod och ingång? Ingång/Metod Genom en folklig ingång studera landets matkultur/traditioner kring mat samt tillhörande miljöer lära sig om landet. Tillämpning Finska institutet är en kulturinstitution avsedd att främja finsk kultur och sprida denna i Sverige. Den kultur som representeras idag kan kompletteras med en mer direkt och upplevelsebaserad approach. Genom att ta del av landets okända matkultur skapas en enkel ingång för gemene man att få en första upplevelse utav landet.  Resultatet En finsk restaurang, bar och utställningslokal i Finska institutets bottenvåning i centrala Stockholm samt en bok om finsk matkultur och dess arkitektur. Lokalerna i det ritade förslaget är gestaltade utifrån en upplevelsebaserad metod som handlar om att studera folkliga traditioner och karaktärsdrag, med avstamp i landets matkultur. I egenskap av arkitekter ger vi dessa teman och ledord dess materialitet, rumslighet och atmosfär. / Question formulation How do one interpret and represent a countrys’ culture through architecture? Is it possible to create a more easily accessible architecture through our method and starting point? Starting point/Method Through a vernacular starting point study the countrys  food culture and traditions and their environments learn more about the country. Application The Finnish Institute is a cultural institution working and promoting Finnish culture in Sweden. The culture exhibited at the institute today could be complemented with a more direct and experiential approach. By taking part of the countrys’ fairly unknown food culture an easy access is created for everyone to get a first experience of the country. Result A Finnish restaurant, bar and event space and gallery at the ground floor of the Finnish Institutes house in central Stockholm. The rooms are configured by using a experiential method to investigate vernacular traditions and characteristics, with starting point in the Finnish food culture. As architects we are giving these rooms themes which configures their materiality, spatiality and atmosphere.

The Gulf of Finland is the most eutrophied water body in the Baltic Sea, which is mainly caused by nutrient loads produced by human activities in its surrounding cities. In order to solve this environmental problem, a computational model based on the understanding the relations between eutrophication, water quality and sediments is needed to forecast the water quality variance in response to the natural and anthropogenic influences. A precise water quality model can be useful to assist the policy making in the Gulf of Finland, and even for the whole Baltic Sea. Kiirikki model, as one of these models describing the water quality of Baltic Sea in response of water quality variance, is a sediment and ecosystem based model, treating different sub-basins and layers as boxes. This study aims to assess the parameters’ sensitivity level on the scale of the Gulf of Finland. Firstly, the Morris sampling strategy is applied to generate economic OAT (One factor At a Time) samples before screening 50 out of 100 trajectories with distance as large as possible. In order to assess their sensitivity, index and indicator are needed. EE (elementary effect) is adopted to be the assessment index and four core eutrophication indicators from HELCOM 2009a are to be analyzed. By comparing the (σ,μ) and (σ,μ*) plots of each parameters’ EE values (σ is standard deviation, μ is mean value and μ* is the absolute mean value), some parameters are identified as potential sensitive parameter, such as the minimum biomass of cyanobacteria (Cmin), critical point of CO2 flux (CCr), the optimal temperature for detritus phosphorous mineralization (Toptgamma), maximum loss rate of algae (RAmax), optimal temperature for the growth of other algae (ToptmuA), Coefficient for temperature limiting factor for the growth of cyanobacteria (aTmuC), half-saturation coefficient of radiation for cyanobacteria (KIC) and so on. In contrast, the other parameters are ruled out as having very low values in terms of σ, μ and μ*. This is because the feature of Morris sampling strategy makes it easier to achieve high variance of the outputs, resulting into generally higher σ. Therefore, further investigation with different strategies is needed after the initial screening of the non-sensitive parameters in this study.

Denna studie har syftet att fördjupa förståelsen för läslust genom att jämföra de sätt som kursplanerna i de nationella läroplanerna i Finland och Sverige kommunicerar läslust på i grundskolans första årskurser. Studien är en kvalitativ textinnehållsanalys som har en abduktiv ansats. Datamaterialet bestod av kursplaner ur de finska och svenska läroplanerna för förskoleverksamheterna samt de första årskurserna i grundskolan inom modersmålet svenska. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten var utifrån hermeneutiken. Genom att kombinera en deduktiv och induktiv analysmetod trädde 15 faktorer fram som bidrar till att väcka läslusten. Resultatet visar att samtliga analyserade kursplaner kommunicerar läslust, men den finska kursplanen för modersmålet svenska utmärker sig med att kommunicera en variation av faktorer samtidigt som dessa förankras i en kontext av att undervisningen ska väcka läslust. Den svenska läroplanen i modersmålet svenska kommunicerar faktorer som bidrar till att väcka läslust med ett fokus på främst två faktorer: textsamtal och variation av böcker. Förskoleverksamheterna i både Sverige och Finland kommunicerar faktorer som väcker läslust men den finska förskoleverksamheten kommunicerar dessa mer nyanserat.

For decades the Baltic Sea has been subject to eutrophication due to heavy anthropogenic nutrient loads on the aquatic ecosystem. Quantitative projections of its effects require an understanding of its driving mechanisms, i.e., the hydrodynamics that are responsible for the physical transport and mixing and the biogeochemical nutrients pathways within the algal ecosystem and between the particulate and dissolved phases in the water and in the sediments. A simple basin-scale hydrodynamic framework is set for the Gulf of Finland to test different descriptions of the biogeochemical transformations and determine the most robust modelling strategy. A recently developed criterion to determine the occurrence of anoxic events, based on the amount of fresh carbon detritus in the sediments is implemented in comparison with the classical criterion based on the oxygen concentration in the bottom water. Time-averaging of the hydrodynamics over larger than daily intervals is proved to hinder the capture of rapid mixing events jeopardizing irremediably the water quality simulation. The new carbon based criterion for anoxia shows a better dynamic response and is less sensitive to the model’s internal parameters. An internal source in the sediments correlated to the amount of fresh detritus, to represent the release of iron-bound phosphorus is confirmed as a versatile modelling assumption.

This thesis aims to contribute to the existing literacy of how mental health is portrayed in news media. The topic has been of interest to many scholars, mostly focusing on depression, schizophrenia, and mental health in general. In the past couple of years, a new phenomenon has gained attention and space in media: burnout, that is, a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by chronic, usually work-related, stress. However, burnout has so far only been included in media studies as one aspect among many, thus arguing for its worth as a specific subject of a study. Using the method of critical narrative analysis, this thesis delves into news articles published in Swedish and Finnish mainstream media, investigating the personal stories of individuals who had experienced burnout and asking whose stories are getting told in media as well as how these influence the public image of burnout. Three common narratives and two core discourses were identified in the data: ‘the narrative of a lesson learned’, ‘the narrative as an exemplum’, ‘the conversion narrative’, ‘discourse of shame and stigma’, and ‘discourse of the individual in charge of their own destiny’. These portray burnout as a life-altering experience, where it is the individual who is expected to make the necessary changes in their life, rather than critiquing the working culture. Furthermore, the narratives exclusively portray the burnout experiencers as white and middle-class, thus raising a question of relatability. Since burnout has not been extensively studied as a topic of its own before, this thesis provides a starting point, but further research with different geographical focus and with different methods is needed to form a more complete picture of how burnout narratives are constructed in media.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test model depicting the relationships among perceived environmental uncertainty, domestic and foreign networking, and export performance. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from Finland, Sweden and Norway serve as the study setting. Data were collected via mail surveys from random samples of SME owners/managers. Usable responses were 75 from Finland, 111 from Sweden and 71 from Norway. Findings – Of the four dimensions of uncertainty, only uncertainty about supplier markets emerged as a significant driver of domestic networking activities of SMEs. While domestic networking did not have a significant influence, foreign networking showed a significant positive impact on SMEs' export performance. Firm size was found to have positive impacts on foreign networking and export performance. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to manufacturing SMEs in a particular region. Replications in other industries and regions are needed to validate the current findings. People from Finland, Norway and Sweden share similar cultural values and they are low on uncertainty-avoidance. Hence, they are not threatened by environmental uncertainties and, consequently, may not feel compelled to engage in networking to reduce uncertainty. Practical implications – The positive linkage between foreign networking and export performance suggests that public officials in these countries should encourage SMEs to strengthen their existing foreign networks and facilitate formation of new ones via trade missions in other countries. Originality/value – Understanding the role of networking, as a potential buffer between environmental uncertainty and export performance, should be of interest to both researchers and practitioners.