The Art of Adaptation : A study on the Europeanization of Finland's foreign and security policy

This study examines how Finnish foreign and security policy has been influenced by the European Union and its Common Foreign and Security Policy. It points to a growing interplay and misfit between the external expectations originating from the European level and the domestic expectations and traditional ways-of-doing-things. It is concluded that the deepening European integration in the sphere of foreign, security and defence policy has played a significant role in a number of transformations in the Finnish policies since 1995. New, more European, meanings have been attached to the key concepts of Finnish foreign and security policy. Neutrality and traditional peacekeeping have been replaced by a minimalist reading of military non-alignment and participation in crisis management operations and EU battle groups. Traditional small state identity has been recast more and more as small member stateness . At the same time Finland has entered an era of post-consensus in national foreign and security policy. A key theoretical argument in the background of the study is that collective understandings attached to European policies, when not resonating well with domestic understandings, cause adaptation pressures on domestic-level processes and may lead to changes in the way interests and identities are constructed. This means that Europeanization is principally seen as identity reconstruction. Consequently, the theoretical framework of the study builds on the Europeanization research literature and constructivist IR theory on state identity. Foreign and security policy is defined as the practice in which state identity is reproduced, and the key foreign and security policy concepts are seen as the vehicles of identity production. It is concluded that for Finland, participation in the EU s foreign, security and defence policies represents not only a tool for responding to the changes in the international security environment but also a new means of self-identification. Concerning the Finnish attempts of projecting national interests on the European security policy agenda, it is concluded that they mainly relate to the compatibility of the potential development of EU s defence dimension with the Finnish military non-alignment. Although neutrality was cast aside in the official security policy when Finland joined the EU, the analysis shows that its impact has continued in the domestic political debate and in the mind-set of the decision-makers. The primary research material includes official Finnish foreign and security policy documentation and the related parliamentary debates from 1994 to 2007. This study serves also as a comprehensive empirical overview on Finland s reactions and contributions to the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Narratives of Travel and the Travelling Concept of Narrative: Genre Blending and the Art of Transformation

In this article I shall argue that understandings of what constitutes narrative, how it functions, and the contexts in which it applies have broadened in line with cultural, social and intellectual trends which have seen a blurring, if not the dissolution, of boundaries between ‘fact’ and ‘fiction’; ‘literary’ and ‘non-literary’ narrative spaces; history and story; concepts of time and space, text and image, teller and tale, representation and reality.To illustrate some of the ways in which the concept of narrative has travelled across disciplinary and generic boundaries, I shall look at The Art of Travel (de Botton 2003), with a view to demonstrating how the blending of genres works to produce a narrative that is at once personal and philosophical; visual and verbal; didactic and poetic. I shall show that such a text constitutes a site of interrogation of concepts of narrative, even as it depends on the reader’s ability to narrativize experience.

Charred seeds in Mikkeli Orijärvi : A study of subsistence strategies of an Iron Age settlement in East Finland

In this study the over 350 macrofossil samples, containing over 2300 charred plant remains from an Iron Age settlement containing fossil fields in Mikkeli Orijärvi Kihlinpelto, were studied archaeobotanically. The aim was to get more information about subsistence strategies, especially agriculture and study differences in the plant combinations in the different structures and use the archaeobotanical theory to interpret these structures. The methodological question was to study the taphonomy of the charred plant material. The results gave a diverse impression of the agriculture and subsistence strategies of the settlement in Orijärvi, where barley was the most important cereal with rye, wheat and oat cultivated as minor crops. The arable weed assemblage indicates that the fields were situated in different kinds of soils and the crops were cultivated when different kind of weather conditions were prevailing. Ergot was found with the cereals, and it was growing on some of the arable crops and it also indicates wet climate. Hemp and flax were cultivated and wild plants were collected. The meadow and wetland plants found in the material derive most probably from animal fodder. Tubers of bulbous oat-grass were interesting, because they are usually found in graves. Comparison with other Iron Age settlements and graves indicates that the plant material found from the ancient field layers derives most probably from dwellings and graves, which were taken into cultivation.

Embedded Storytelling and Gender Negotiations in Githa Hariharan's First Three Novels

This thesis treats Githa Hariharan s first three novels The Thousand Faces of Night (1992), The Ghosts of Vasu Master (1994) and When Dreams Travel (1999) as a trilogy, in which Hariharan studies the effects of storytelling from different perspectives. The thesis examines the relationship between embedded storytelling and the primary narrative level, the impact of character-bound storytelling on personal development and interpersonal relationships. Thus, I assume that an analysis of the instabilities between characters, and tensions between sets of values introduced through storytelling displays the development of the central characters in the novels. My focus is on the tensions between different sets of values and knowledge systems and their impact on the gender negotiations. The tensions are articulated through a resistance and/or adherence to a cultural narrative, that is, a formula, which underlies specific narratives. Conveyed or disputed by embedded storytelling, the cultural narrative circumscribes what it means to be gendered in Hariharan s novels. The analysis centres on how the narratee in The Thousand Faces of Night and the storyteller in The Ghosts of Vasu Master relate to and are affected by the storytelling, and how they perceive their gendered positions. The analysis of the third novel When Dreams Travel focuses on storytelling, and its relationship to power and representation. I argue that Hariharan's use of embedded storytelling is a way to renegotiate and even reconceptualise gender. Hariharan s primary concern in all three novels is the tensions between tradition or repetition, and change, and how they affect gender. Although the novels feature ancient mythical heroes, mice and flies, or are set in a fantasy world of jinnis and ghouls, they are, I argue, deeply concerned with contemporary issues. Whereas the first novel questions the demands set by family and society on the individual, the second strives to articulate an ethical relationship between the self and the other. The third novel examines the relationship between representation and power. These issues could not be more contemporary, and they loom large over both the regional and global arenas.

Rate Control State-of-the-art Survey

The majority of Internet traffic use Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as the transport level protocol. It provides a reliable ordered byte stream for the applications. However, applications such as live video streaming place an emphasis on timeliness over reliability. Also a smooth sending rate can be desirable over sharp changes in the sending rate. For these applications TCP is not necessarily suitable. Rate control attempts to address the demands of these applications. An important design feature in all rate control mechanisms is TCP friendliness. We should not negatively impact TCP performance since it is still the dominant protocol. Rate Control mechanisms are classified into two different mechanisms: window-based mechanisms and rate-based mechanisms. Window-based mechanisms increase their sending rate after a successful transfer of a window of packets similar to TCP. They typically decrease their sending rate sharply after a packet loss. Rate-based solutions control their sending rate in some other way. A large subset of rate-based solutions are called equation-based solutions. Equation-based solutions have a control equation which provides an allowed sending rate. Typically these rate-based solutions react slower to both packet losses and increases in available bandwidth making their sending rate smoother than that of window-based solutions. This report contains a survey of rate control mechanisms and a discussion of their relative strengths and weaknesses. A section is dedicated to a discussion on the enhancements in wireless environments. Another topic in the report is bandwidth estimation. Bandwidth estimation is divided into capacity estimation and available bandwidth estimation. We describe techniques that enable the calculation of a fair sending rate that can be used to create novel rate control mechanisms.

Löydöstä muinaispuvuksi : arkeologisten tekstiilien ennallistaminen

From a find to an ancient costume - reconstruction of archaeological textiles Costume tells who we are. It warms and protects us, but also tells about our identity: gender, age, family, social group, work, religion and ethnicity. Textile fabrication, use and trade have been an important part of human civilization for more than 10 000 years. There are plenty of archaeological textile findings, but they are small, fragmentary and their interpretation requires special skills. Finnish textile findings from the younger Iron Age have already been studied for more than hundred years. They have also been used as a base for several reconstructions called muinaispuku , ancient costume. Thesis surveys the ancient costume reconstruction done in Finland and discusses the objectives of the reconstruction projects. The earlier reconstruction projects are seen as a part of the national project of constructing a glorious past for Finnish nationality, and the part women took in this project. Many earlier reconstructions are designed to be festive costumes for wealthy ladies. In the 1980s and 1990s many new ancient costume reconstructions were made, differing from their predecessors at the pattern of the skirt. They were also done following the principles of making a scientific reconstruction more closely. At the same time historical re-enactment and living history as a hobby have raised in popularity, and the use of ancient costumes is widening from festive occasions to re-enactment purposes. A hypothesis of the textile craft methods used in younger Iron Age Finland is introduced. Archaeological findings from Finland and neighboring countries, ethnological knowledge of textile crafts and experimental archaeology have been used as a basis for this proposition. The yarn was spinned with a spindle, the fabrics woven on a warp-weighted loom and dyed with natural colors. Bronze spiral applications and complicated tablet-woven bands have possibly been done by specialist craftswomen or -men. The knowledge of the techniques and results of experimenting and experimental archaeology gives a possibility to review the success of existing ancient costume reconstructions as scientific reconstructions. Only one costume reconstruction project, the Kaarina costume fabricated in Kurala Kylämäki museum, has been done using as authentic methods as possible. The use of ancient craft methods is time-consuming and expensive. This fact can be seen as one research result itself for it demonstrates how valuable the ancient textiles have been also in their time of use. In the costume reconstruction work, the skill of a craftswoman and her knowledge of ancient working methods is strongly underlined. Textile research is seen as a process, where examination of original textiles and reconstruction experiments discuss with each other. Reconstruction projects can give a lot both to the research of Finnish younger Iron Age and the popularization of archaeological knowledge. The reconstruction is never finished, and also the earlier reconstructions should be reviewed in the light of new findings.

Divergencies of Perception : The Possibilities of Merleau-Pontian Phenomenology in Analyses of Contemporary Art

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) has been known as the philosopher of painting. His interest in the theory of perception intertwined with the questions concerning the artist s perception, the experience of an artwork and the possible interpretations of the artwork. For him, aesthetics was not a sub-field of philosophy, and art was not simply a subject matter for the aesthetic experience, but a form of thinking. This study proposes an opening for a dialogue between Merleau-Pontian phenomenology and contemporary art. The thesis examines his phenomenology through certain works of contemporary art and presents readings of these artworks through his phenomenology. The thesis both shows the potentiality of a method, but also engages in the critical task of finding the possible limitations of his approach. The first part lays out the methodological and conceptual points of departure of Merleau-Ponty s phenomenological approach to perception as well as the features that determined his discussion on encountering art. Merleau-Ponty referred to the experience of perceiving art using the notion of seeing with (voir selon). He stressed a correlative reciprocity described in Eye and Mind (1961) as the switching of the roles of the visible and the painter. The choice of artworks is motivated by certain restrictions in the phenomenological readings of visual arts. The examined works include paintings by Tiina Mielonen, a photographic work by Christian Mayer, a film by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, and an installation by Monika Sosnowska. These works resonate with, and challenge, his phenomenological approach. The chapters with case studies take up different themes that are central to Merleau-Ponty s phenomenology: space, movement, time, and touch. All of the themes are interlinked with the examined artworks. There are also topics that reappear in the thesis, such as the notion of écart and the question of encountering the other. As Merleau-Ponty argued, the sphere of art has a particular capability to address our being in the world. The thesis presents an interpretation that emphasises the notion of écart, which refers to an experience of divergence or dispossession. The sudden dissociation, surprise or rupture that is needed in order for a meeting between the spectator and the artwork, or between two persons, to be possible. Further, the thesis suggests that through artworks it is possible to take into consideration the écart, the divergence, that defines our subjectivity.