The condition of the herring (Clupea harengus) in the Baltic Sea has decreased during the past 30-40 years. This decrease could be explained by different factors; (1) change in diet due to changes in zooplankton community, (2) changes in water temperature and salinity, (3) increasing nutrient inputs and (4) competition for food with other species such as sprat (Sprattus sprattus). In this study the change in condition was analysed using the Fulton’s condition index, and by looking at age and sex of the fish as well as the season and locationthe fish was caught, the differences between these factors were presented. Data from the national Swedish contaminant monitoring programme where used from four locations in the Baltic Sea and two locations at the Swedish West coast. The data was analysed using multiple regressions in R Commander. The result show that the condition, and the temporal trends in condition value, varies at different locations, with higher condition values and increasing temporal trends at the Swedish West coast, compared to the Baltic Sea with lower condition values and where three of four locations show decreasing temporal trends. The condition varied between spring and autumn caught herring as well, while age and sex showed less significant differences.

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<p>This thesis tries to determine some of the driving force behind Swedish foreign direct in-vestments into the Baltic counties. The analysis is performed in three steps, first we analyze global FDI into transitional economies, and afterwards we look at Swedish FDI and com-pare it with German FDI. The determinants examined are index of economic freedom, R&D intensity, trade balance, wage level and proximity. The analyzed period is form 1995 to 2005. The analysis use data on the following transition countries Latvia, Lithuania, Esto-nia, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. The results show that the determinants vary across the countries. The motives of Swedish and German investors differ. Thus, for Swedish investors R&D, economical free-dom and trade balance are the influencing factors, but for Germany only trade balance and wage level are important. The conclusion is that different determinants triggers foreign di-rect investment in transitional economies in different ways.</p>

This history of Dostoevsky’s reception in France draws from critical responses, translation analysis, and the comparative analysis of adaptations as well as intertextual dialogues between fictional, critical and philosophical texts. It begins from the earliest translations and critical accounts of the 1880s and 1890s, such as Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé’s seminal moralist reading. It then traces modernist responses and adaptations from the turn of the century to the twenties. Existential readings and re-translations dating from the arrival of émigré critics and religious philosophers in the wake of the Russian Revolution are examined, assessing the contribution of these émigré readings to emerging existential readings and movements in France. Finally, French existentialist fiction is analysed in terms of its intertextual dialogue with Dostoevsky’s work and with speculative and critical writings of French existentialist thinkers on and around the philosophical reflections expressed in Dostoevsky’s fiction. By following specifically the existential and existentialist branches of Dostoevsky’s French reception, an overlooked aspect of the history of French, Russian and European existentialisms comes to the fore, reframed within a pivotal period in the history of European intercultural exchange, and of transmodal literary and philosophical discourse.

The eutrophication in the Baltic Sea is a big issue which threatens marine ecosystems, increases the depletion of oxygen in the water and causes harm to aquatic animals. Human activities such as industries, agriculture, forestry and untreated sewage increase nutrient input (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) which causes increased levels of plankton and bacteria. Sweden has suggested to prohibit recreational craft owners to discharge their untreated wastewater to the ocean. The aim for this study is to examine and analyze the different types of water treatment systems that exist today and to see what levels of bacteria and nutrients the effluent water has from the systems. This research will help the EU-commission to decide what demands you can put on the discharged effluent water on recreational crafts. The study shows that none of the existing systems is able to decrease the levels of nutrients in the effluent treated wastewater. This makes it hard for the EU-commission to decide on demands for recreational crafts. This may lead to increased use of drainstations of wastewater in harbors for owners.

β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is one of the more recently discovered bioactive compounds produced by cyanobacteria. BMAA is a non-protein amino acid reported present in human brain tissues of patients deceased from a neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer´s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This observation in combination with its neurotoxic effects in eukaryotes (in vivo and in vitro) and its potential to incorporate into (human) proteins, causing protein aggregation, suggests BMAA as a possible causative environmental agent for neurodegenerative diseases. Due to the ubiquitous nature of cyanobacteria with a wide occurrence in both aquatic and terrestrial environments, BMAA could be globally spread. Hence, investigations of a possible coupling between BMAA and neurodegeneration are urgently needed as well as to identify sources of BMAA in Nature. The aim of this thesis was to examine the potential occurrence of BMAA in bloom forming cyanobacteria of the Baltic Sea and its possible transfer to other organisms of this ecosystem. Of importance was also to reveal any likely routes for human BMAA exposure in the Baltic Sea region and to further investigate BMAA as a triggering agent for neurodegenerative diseases. Acknowledged difficulties of analysing BMAA in biological samples also inferred method development as part of the experimental studies. Investigating the role of BMAA in its producers was another purpose of the thesis, which may be crucial for future management of BMAA-producing cyanobacteria. By screening natural populations of the major filamentous bloom forming cyanobacteria of the Baltic Sea, we discovered the presence of BMAA throughout the entire summer season of two consecutive years, using a highly specific analytical method (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; LC-MS/MS). BMAA was found to bioaccumulate in zooplankton and fish, as well as in mussels and oysters from the Swedish west coast. To improve the understanding of BMAA analyses in natural samples, the formation of carbamate adducts in the presence of bicarbonate was examined. Using two derivatization techniques in combination with LC-MS/MS, we could show that BMAA detection was not hindered by carbamate formation. Exogenously added BMAA inhibited nitrogen fixation in the model cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120, which was also hampered in growth and displayed signs of nitrogen starvation. Finally, BMAA was detected in cerebrospinal fluid in three of 25 Swedish test individuals, and represents the first confirmation of BMAA in the human central nervous system using LC-MS/MS as the primary analytical method. However, the association of BMAA to neurodegenerative diseases could not be verified as BMAA was present in both control individuals (two) and in one ALS-patient. Nevertheless, the finding of a known neurotoxic compound in the human central nervous system is alarming and potential consequences should be investigated. The discovery of the neurotoxic compound BMAA in Baltic Sea organisms, and in the central nervous system of humans potentially consuming fish from this ecosystem is concerning and warrants continued investigations of BMAA occurrence and human exposure. Further knowledge on the function and regulation of BMAA may help in developing strategies aiming to minimise human exposure. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>

Pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais vis labiau populiarėjant sąvokai ,,regionų Europa”, regionams tampant vis svarbesniais veikėjais nacionaliniame ir tarptautiniame lygmenyje, daugiau dėmesio skiriama ir regionalizmo studijoms bei regionalizacijos procesams. Šie procesai neaplenkia ir Šiaurės šalių, kurios skatina bendradarbiavimą Baltijos jūros regione į regioninius procesus įtraukdamos ir Baltijos valstybes. Baltijos jūros regiono, kuriam priklauso tiek Šiaurės, tiek Baltijos šalys, raidos procesuose svarbus vaidmuo teko ir JAV, kurioms šis regionas tapo patraukliu dėl jo augančios įtakos regione bei Europoje, tuo pačiu tai buvo puiki galimybė JAV išsaugoti įtaką Europoje pasibaigus Šaltajam karui. Pagrindinis darbo objektas – Šiaurės ir Baltijos šalių bei JAV bendradarbiavimas regioninių iniciatyvų raidos kontekste. Darbe siekiama išnagrinėti Šiaurės ir Baltijos šalių bendradarbiavimo su JAV dinamiką, įvertinant šios supergalybės poveikį ir įtaką dviejų Baltijos jūros regione esančių subregionų bendradarbiavimui. Vertinant Šiaurės ir Baltijos šalių bendradarbiavimo su JAV tendencijas daugiausiai dėmesio skiriama regioninės grupės NB8, bendradarbiaujančios su JAV, formatui bei šios valstybės inicijuotai Sustiprintos Partnerystės Šiaurės Europai programai (E-PINE). Darbo tikslui pasiekti, buvo įvykdyti tokie išsikelti uždaviniai: apžvelgta regionų raidos ir regionalizmo/subregionalizmo samprata bei pagrindinės sąvokos ir terminai, aptarta regioninio lygmens analizės vieta politikos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In recent decades when the concept ‘Regional Europe’ is becoming more popular and regions are becoming more significant players on national and international levels, bigger attention is paid to regionalism studies and regionalisation processes as well. These processes have not bypassed Nordic countries, which promote cooperation within the Baltic region by involving the Baltic States into the regional processes as well. USA has received an important role in the processes of development of the Baltic Sea region, to which belong both Northern and the Baltic States; this region has become attractive to USA because of its increasing influence in the region and Europe, and it was a good opportunity for USA to maintain its influence in Europe after the end of the Cold war. The main object of this work is cooperation between Nordic - Baltic countries and USA in the context of development of the regional initiatives. This paper work tries to investigate dynamics of cooperation between Nordic and the Baltic States and USA by assessing the superpower impact and influence on cooperation of two sub-regional states in the Baltic Sea region. When assessing tendencies of cooperation between Northern and the Baltic States and USA, most attention is paid to the format (NB8+1) of regional group NB8 collaborating with USA, JAV, and Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe (E-PINE) program initiated by this state. In order to achieve the goal, the following tasks have been fulfilled: review of... [to full text]

Nors populizmo terminas dažnai sutinkamas politikos moksluose, žiniasklaidoje, politikų ar paprastų piliečių retorikoje, populizmo tyrimai nėra paplitę ir tik pastaruoju metu labiau buvo susidomėta ir bandoma operacionalizuoti šią sąvoką. Lietuvoje populizmo tyrimų apskritai praktiškai nėra. Vis dėlto populizmo tematika yra itin aktuali: paprastai populizmas suvokiamas kaip žalingas stabiliam demokratijos veikimui ar, Rytų ir Vidurio Europos regiono atveju, tolimesniems demokratijos ir partinės sistemos konsolidacijos procesams. 2011-2012 m. parlamento rinkimai Baltijos valstybėse vyko po sunkios ekonominės krizės, kuri sukrėtė šį regioną itin stipriai, todėl populistinių politinių partijų sėkmės galimybės tapo dar didesnės. Pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas yra ištirti Lietuvos, Latvijos ir Estijos politinių partijų programas ir įvertinti jų populizmo apraiškas 2011-2012 m. rinkiminiu laikotarpiu. Norint pasiekti šį tikslą, pirmiausia verta atkreipti dėmesį į populizmo tyrimų raidą politikos moksluose. Egzistuojant daugeliui teorinių prieigų bei populizmo fenomeno sampratų, būtina apsibrėžti savąją populizmo tyrinėjimo prieigą ir aiškinimą. Šiame darbe remiamasi populizmo kaip demokratijos patologijos aiškinimu, kadangi jis labiausiai atliepia šiandieninio populizmo Europoje kontekstą. Tokiu būdu nagrinėjamas ir sudėtingas ryšys tarp populizmo ir modernios demokratijos. Populizmas šiame darbe visų pirma suprantamas kaip siaura ideologija, ši prieiga įgalina tinkamiausiai... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Populism is a widespreaded conception, often used in the discourse of political scientists, media or common citizens. However, only in the recent period scientists attempted to adapt this conception to empirical research or to use a comperative approach. Populism researches in Lithuania practically do not exist yet. Nevertheless, populism topic is relevant: usually it is associated with negative impact on stable function of democracy, or in the context of East and Central Europe region – a setback for further democracy and party system consolidation. Parliamentary elections in the period of 2011-2012 occurred after harsh economical crisis in Baltic region, therefore potential populism success is more presumable. The main goal of this research is to analyse the election programmes of political parties in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the 2011-2012 parliament election period. To reach this goal, the study of populism research evolution in political sciences is made. One may find various theoretical approaches of populism phenomena, so scholar must adjust one particular explanation and theoretical approach. Populism as a pathology of democracy explanation is used in this study, because it most properly corresponds with recently context of populism in Europe. Consequently, the complex bond between modern democracy and populism phenomena is accomplished. I maintain that populism is primarily a thin ideology and this approach enables to analyse party programmes. Specific... [to full text]

Darbe analizuojamos palyginamųjų daugiklių metodo taikymo galimybės Baltijos šalių listinguojamoms įmonėms. Darbo tikslas - įvertinti palyginamųjų daugiklių metodo taikymo galimybes nelikvidžiose rinkose Baltijos šalių listinguojamų įmonių pavyzdžiu. Darbą sudaro trys dalys, kurių pirmojoje pristatomi daugiklių metodo privalumai, trūkumai, praktinio pritaikymo etapai ir skirtingų metodų, naudojamų kiekviename praktinio pritaikymo etape, poveikio vertinimo rezultatams apžvalga. Antroje dalyje pateikiama ir pagrindžiama tyrimo metodologija, o trečioje - tyrimo rezultatai. Pagrindiniai tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad palyginamųjų daugiklių metodas nelikvidžiose rinkose listinguojamų įmonių atveju duoda didesnes paklaidas nei įmonių, listinguojamų likvidesnėse kapitalo rinkose, atveju. Visgi, EV/IC, EV/NOA, EV/TA, EV/EBITDA, EV/EBIT ir P/B daugikliai gali būti taikomi vertinant Baltijos šalių listinguojamas įmones. Be to, nustatyta, kad 1) įmonės vertės daugikliai duoda mažesnes paklaidas nei nuosavybės vertės daugikliai; 2) su balansinėmis vetėmis susieti daugikliai duoda mažesnes paklaidas, nei su pelnu, pardavimais ar pinigų srautais susieti daugikliai; 3)tinkamiausias įmonių atrankos kriterijus yra ROIC; 4) daugiklių kombinavimas nėra prasmingas, kadangi padidina vertinimo tikslumą tik nežymiai ir tik kai kurių daugiklių atveju; 5) skirtingiems pramonės sektoriams egzistuoja skirtingi tinkamiausi daugikliai. / This paper analyzes the application possibilities of multiples valuation method in the Baltic states equity market. The aim of this paper is to assess the application possibilities of multiples valuation method in illiquid markets, with the example of Baltic listed companies. The work consists of three parts. The first part presents the advantages and disadvantages of the multiples method, also it presents method‘s practical applications stages and and the review of results of the previous research on this topic. The second part describes the research methodology. The third part presents the results of empyrical study. The main findings of this study is: 1) valuation erros, when multiples valuation method is applied in illiquid markets are higher, then those in liquid markets; 2) however, the EV / IC, EV / NOA, EV / TA, EV / EBITDA, EV / EBIT and P / B multiples are appropriate for valuation of companies listed in Baltic stock exchange; 3) entity value multiples outperform equity value multiples 4) book value multiples outperform accrual flow and cash flow multiples 3) the most appropriate criteria for selecting comperable companies is ROIC; 4) The combination of multiples is not meaningful as it increases the accuracy of valuation only slightly, and only for some of the multiples 5) different industries are associated with different best multiples.

In this dissertation, the experience of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during the crisis in 2008-2010 is analysed. Its aim is to find out why the Baltic countries chose and were able to implement the strategy of “internal adjustment”, i.e. kept fixed exchange rates and achieved fiscal sustainability via fiscal consolidation. Furthermore, it asks why Estonia was able to handle the crisis most successfully. Based on the theories of currency crises and fiscal consolidation, a theoretical model is constructed. The empirical investigation relies on both qualitative and quantitative (statistical) methods. It is found in the dissertation that conventional theories cannot adequately explain the Baltic situation during the crisis. Therefore, non-conventional factors are investigated. The Baltic willingness to defend the fixed exchange rates can be attributed to certain economic factors (high flexibility and indebtedness in foreign currencies), continuity in economic policy, causal beliefs, and non-economic functions of fixed exchange rates. The implementation of a very large fiscal consolidation package was possible due to weak trade unions, a high degree of centralization, causal beliefs about appropriate economic policies, weak interest groups and lack of societal mobilization capacity. Estonia’s better performance was due to better informal institutions, namely a higher trust in government, which allowed Estonia to collect more taxes during the crisis than Latvia and Lithuania. / Disertacijoje nagrinėjama Estijos, Latvijos ir Lietuvos patirtis per ekonominę krizę 2008–2010 metais. Siekiama atsakyti, kodėl Baltijos šalys pasirinko ir sugebėjo įgyvendinti „vidinio prisitaikymo“ strategiją, t.y. išlaikė fiksuotą valiutos kursą bei taupymo būdu atkūrė fiskalinį tvarumą. Taip pat klausiama, kodėl Estija sugebėjo susitvarkyti su krize sėkmingiausiai. Remiantis valiutos krizių ir fiskalinės konsolidacijos teorijų įžvalgomis, disertacijoje konstruojamas vidinio prisitaikymo teorinis modelis. Empirinėje dalyje derinami kokybiniai ir kiekybiniai (statistiniai) metodai. Atskleidžiama, kad Baltijos valstybių situacijos adekvačiai negali paaiškinti vyraujančios politinės ekonomijos teorijos ir jų siūlomi veiksniai. Todėl atsižvelgiama į papildomus, nekonvencinius kintamuosius. Baltijos valstybių politikų norą išsaugoti fiksuotą valiutos kursą didino ekonominės struktūros ypatumai (lankstumas ir įsiskolinimas užsienio valiuta), ekonominės politikos tęstinumas, idėjiniai įsitikinimai, ne ekonominės fiksuoto valiutos kurso funkcijos. Itin didelę fiskalinės konsolidacijos programą pavyko įgyvendinti dėl silpnų profesinių sąjungų, didelės centralizacijos, vyraujančių idėjų apie tinkamą politiką, silpnų interesų grupių, menkos visuomenės mobilizacijos. Estijos didesnę sėkmę gali paaiškinti kokybiškesnės neformalios institucijos, ypač pasitikėjimas valdžia, dėl kurio šioje valstybėje per krizę mokestinės pajamos krito mažiau nei Latvijoje ir Lietuvoje.