Imagination and diversity in the philosophy of Hobbes

This dissertation is a study of some aspects of theoretical philosophy of the early modern thinker Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). The focal point of the work is Hobbes s conception of imagination, which is discussed from both a systematic and a historical point of view, as well as in the light of contemporary scholarship. I argue that though there are significant similarities between the view of Hobbes and that of his predecessors, he gives a novel theory of imagination, which clarifies not only early modern discussions on human nature, knowledge, science, and literary criticism, but above all his own versatile philosophy. The prologue of the dissertation introduces methodological principles and gives critical remarks on the standard view of Hobbes. In Chapter II, I discuss the prominent theories of imagination before Hobbes and link them to his account. I argue that though Hobbes adopted the Aristotelian framework, his view is not reduced to it, as he borrows from various sources, for instance, from the Stoics and from Renaissance thought. Chapters III and IV form the psychological part of the work. In the Chapter III I argue that imagination, not sense, is central in the basic cognitive operations of the mind and that imagination has a decisive role in Hobbes s theory of motivation. The Chapter IV concentrates on various questions of Hobbes s philosophy of language. The chapter ends with a defence of a less naturalistic reading of Hobbes s theory of human nature. Chapters V and VI form the epistemological part of the work. I suggest, contrary to what has been recently claimed, that though Hobbes s ideas of good literary style do have a point of contact with his philosophy (e.g. the psychology of creative process), his ideas in the field are independent of his project of demonstrative political science. Instead I argue that the novelty of his major political work, Leviathan (1651), is based on a new theory of knowledge which he continued to develop in the post-Leviathan works. Chapter VII seeks to connect the more theoretical conclusions of Chapters V and VI to Hobbes's idea(l) of science as well as to his philosophical practice. On the basis of Hobbes s own writings as well as some historical examinations, I argue that method is not an apt way to conceptualise Hobbes s philosophical practice. Contemporary readings of Hobbes s theory of science are critically discussed and the chapter ends with an analysis of Hobbes s actual argumentation. In addition to the concluding remarks, the epilogue suggest three things: first, imagination is central when trying to understand Hobbes s versatile philosophy; second, that it is misleading to depict Hobbes as a simple materialist, mechanist, and empiricist; and, third, that in terms of imagination his influence on early modern thought has not been fully appreciated.

Microbial diversity in the municipal composting process and development of detection methods

Composting refers to aerobic degradation of organic material and is one of the main waste treatment methods used in Finland for treating separated organic waste. The composting process allows converting organic waste to a humus-like end product which can be used to increase the organic matter in agricultural soils, in gardening, or in landscaping. Microbes play a key role as degraders during the composting-process, and the microbiology of composting has been studied for decades, but there are still open questions regarding the microbiota in industrial composting processes. It is known that with the traditional, culturing-based methods only a small fraction, below 1%, of the species in a sample is normally detected. In recent years an immense diversity of bacteria, fungi and archaea has been found to occupy many different environments. Therefore the methods of characterising microbes constantly need to be developed further. In this thesis the presence of fungi and bacteria in full-scale and pilot-scale composting processes was characterised with cloning and sequencing. Several clone libraries were constructed and altogether nearly 6000 clones were sequenced. The microbial communities detected in this study were found to differ from the compost microbes observed in previous research with cultivation based methods or with molecular methods from processes of smaller scale, although there were similarities as well. The bacterial diversity was high. Based on the non-parametric coverage estimations, the number of bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTU) in certain stages of composting was over 500. Sequences similar to Lactobacillus and Acetobacteria were frequently detected in the early stages of drum composting. In tunnel stages of composting the bacterial community comprised of Bacillus, Thermoactinomyces, Actinobacteria and Lactobacillus. The fungal diversity was found to be high and phylotypes similar to yeasts were abundantly found in the full-scale drum and tunnel processes. In addition to phylotypes similar to Candida, Pichia and Geotrichum moulds from genus Thermomyces and Penicillium were observed in tunnel stages of composting. Zygomycetes were detected in the pilot-scale composting processes and in the compost piles. In some of the samples there were a few abundant phylotypes present in the clone libraries that masked the rare ones. The rare phylotypes were of interest and a method for collecting them from clone libraries for sequencing was developed. With negative selection of the abundant phylotyps the rare ones were picked from the clone libraries. Thus 41% of the clones in the studied clone libraries were sequenced. Since microbes play a central role in composting and in many other biotechnological processes, rapid methods for characterization of microbial diversity would be of value, both scientifically and commercially. Current methods, however, lack sensitivity and specificity and are therefore under development. Microarrays have been used in microbial ecology for a decade to study the presence or absence of certain microbes of interest in a multiplex manner. The sequence database collected in this thesis was used as basis for probe design and microarray development. The enzyme assisted detection method, ligation-detection-reaction (LDR) based microarray, was adapted for species-level detection of microbes characteristic of each stage of the composting process. With the use of a specially designed control probe it was established that a species specific probe can detect target DNA representing as little as 0.04% of total DNA in a sample. The developed microarray can be used to monitor composting processes or the hygienisation of the compost end product. A large compost microbe sequence dataset was collected and analysed in this thesis. The results provide valuable information on microbial community composition during industrial scale composting processes. The microarray method was developed based on the sequence database collected in this study. The method can be utilised in following the fate of interesting microbes during composting process in an extremely sensitive and specific manner. The platform for the microarray is universal and the method can easily be adapted for studying microbes from environments other than compost.

Regulation of GABAergic neuron identity and diversity in the developing midbrain

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate brain. In the midbrain, GABAergic neurons contribute to the regulation of locomotion, nociception, defensive behaviours, fear and anxiety, as well as sensing reward and addiction. Despite the clinical relevance of this group of neurons, the mechanisms regulating their development are largely unknown. In addition, their migration and connectivity patterns are poorly characterized. This study focuses on the molecular mechanisms specifying the GABAergic fate, and the developmental origins of midbrain GABAergic neurons. First, we have characterized the function of a zink-finger transcription factor Gata2. Using a tissue-specific mutagenesis in mouse midbrain and anteror hindbrain, we showed that Gata2 is a crucial determinant of the GABAergic fate in midbrain. In the absence of Gata2, no GABAergic neurons are produced from the otherwise competent midbrain neuroepithelium. Instead, the Gata2-mutant cells acquire a glutamatergic neuron phenotype. Ectopic expression of Gata2 was also sufficient to induce GABAergic in chicken midbrain. Second, we have analyzed the midbrain phenotype of mice mutant for a proneural gene Ascl1, and described the variable and region-dependent requirements for Ascl1 in the midbrain GABAergic neurogenesis. These studies also have implications on the origin of distinct anatomical and functional GABAergic subpopulations in midbrain. Third, we have identified unique developmental properties of GABAergic neurons that are associated with the midbrain dopaminergic nuclei, the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Namely, the genetic regulation of GABAergic fate in these cells is distinct from the rest of midbrain. In accordance to this phenomenon, our detailed fate-mapping analyses indicated that the SNpr-VTA GABAergic neurons are generated outside midbrain, in the neuroepithelium of anterior hindbrain.

Basic Human Values in the Workplace

Työntekijöiden henkilökohtaisia arvoja ja niiden yhteyksiä asenteisiin ei ole juuri tutkittu. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, onko suomalaisessa metalliteollisuuden yrityksen henkilöstön (N=1314) arvojen rakenne S. H. Schwartzin arvoteorian mukainen. Lisäksi tutkittiin arvojen yhteyksiä organisaatiomuutosta koskeviin asenteisiin ja tiedon jakamiseen työyhteisössä. Arvomittarina käytettiin uutta 40-osioista Portrait Value Questionnairea (PVQ). Mittarin validiteetti osoitettiin ver-taamalla nyt kerätyn aineiston arvorakennetta aikaisemmalla mittarilla kerättyihin arvoteorian mukaisiin yliopisto-opiskelijoiden vastauksiin. Organisaatiomuutosta koskevien asenteiden ja tiedonjakamisen mittarit luotiin laadullisissa esitutkimuksissa. Tilastolliset analyysit osoittivat, että toimihenkilöiden ja työntekijöiden arvojen rakenteet noudattivat pääosin Schwartzin teoriaa, mutta turvallisuusarvot sijaitsivat molemmissa ryhmissä universalismin ja hyväntahtoisuuden joukossa. Universalismi ja hyväntahtoisuus ennustivat myönteistä asennetta organisaatiomuutoksia kohtaan, mutta perinteiden ja mielihyvän arvostaminen liittyivät kielteisiin muutosasenteisiin. Sosiaalisia normeja kunnioittavien eli yhdenmukaisuutta arvostavien henkilöiden muut arvot vaikuttivat muutosasenteisiin vähemmän kuin niillä, joille yhdenmukaisuus ei ollut tärkeää. Lisäksi suoriutumisarvon yhteys muutosasenteisiin oli yhdenmukaisuutta arvostavilla henkilöillä positiivinen, mutta niillä, jotka eivät arvostaneet yhdenmukaisuutta, yhteys oli negatiivinen. Itseohjautuvuutta arvostavat henkilöt pitivät työyhteisönsä tiedon jakamista heikompana, kun taas hyväntahtoisuutta ja yhdenmukaisuutta arvostavat pitivät sitä muihin nähden parempana. Suoriutumisarvo oli yhteydessä tiedonjakamiseen vain silloin, kun yhdenmukaisuus oli tärkeää. Työpaikkojen (N=19) keskiarvoja vertailtaessa havaittiin, että ne työpaikat, joissa arvostettiin paljon universalismia, hyväntahtoisuutta ja yhdenmukaisuutta sekä vähän valtaa ja suoriutumista saivat henkilöstöltään parhaat arvioinnit tiedon jakamisesta. Tutkimukseen osallistuneet henkilöt jaettiin työtehtäviensä perusteella kolmeen ammatilliseen ympäristöön: konven-tionaaliseen (mm. taloushallinto), realistiseen (mm. tuotanto) ja yrittäjämäiseen (mm. myynti). Yrittäjämäisessä ammatillisessa ympäristössä toimivat arvostivat enemmän kuin konventionaalisessa ympäristössä toimivat valtaa, itseohjautuvuutta ja suoriutumista. Realistisessa ympäristössä arvostettiin enemmän perinteitä ja mielihyvää kuin yrittäjämäisessä ympäristössä. Ryhmien väliset erot arvoissa johtuivat koulutuksesta, iästä ja sukupuolijakaumasta.

Regeneration ecology and woody species diversity in the remnant natural forest at Wondo Genet, Ethiopia – Potential for landscape restoration

Regeneration ecology, diversity of native woody species and its potential for landscape restoration was studied in the remnant natural forest at the College of Forestry and Natural Resources at Wondo Genet, Ethiopia. The type of forest is Afromontane rainforest , with many valuable tree species like Aningeria adolfi-friederici, and it is an important provider of ecological, social and economical services for the population that lives in this area. The study contains two parts, natural regeneration studies (at the natural forest) and interviews with farmers in the nearby village of the remnant patch. The objective of the first part was to investigate the floristic composition, densitiy and regeneration profiles of native woody species in the forest, paying special attention to woody species that are considered the most relevant (socio-economic). The second part provided information on woody species preferred by the farmers and on multiple uses of the adjacent natural forest, it also provided information and analysed perceptions on forest degradation. Systematic plot sampling was used in the forest inventory. Twenty square plots of 20 x 20 m were assessed, with 38 identified woody species (the total number of species was 45), representing 26 families. Of these species 61% were trees, 13% shrubs, 11% lianas and 16% species that could have both life forms. An analysis of natural regeneration of five important tree species in the natural forest showed that Aningeria adolfi-friederici had the best regeneration results. An analysis of population structure (as determined by height classes) of two commercially important woody species in the forest, Aningeria adolfi-friederici and Podocarpus falcatus, showed a marked difference: Aningeria had a typical “reversed J” frequency distribution, while Podocarpus showed very low values in all height classes. Multi dimensional scaling (MDS) was used to map the sample plots according to their similarity in species composition, using the Sørensen quantitative index, coupled with indicator species analysis .Three groups were identified with respective indicator species: Group 1 – Adhatoda schimperiana, Group 2 – Olea hochstetteri , Group 3 – Acacia senegal and Aningeria adolfi-friederici. Thirty questionnaire interviews were conducted with farmers in the village of Gotu Onoma that use the nearby remant forest patch. Their tree preferences were exotic species such as Eucalyptus globulus for construction and fuelwood and Grevillea robusta for shade and fertility. Considering forest land degradation farmers were aware of the problem and suggested that the governmental institutions address the problem by planting more Eucalyptus globulus. The natural forest seemed to have moderate levels of disturbance and it was still floristically diverse. However, the low rate of natural regeneration of Podocarpus falcatus suggested that this species is threatened and must be a priority in conservation actions. Plantations and agroforestry seem to be possible solutions for rehabilitation of the surrounding degraded lands, thereby decreasing the existent pressure in the remnant natural forest.

The Liminality of Cosmopolitanism from the Global South – Transnational Activists in Costa Rica between Colonial Legacies and Decolonial Attitudes

The Master’s thesis examines whether and how decolonial cosmopolitanism is empirically traceable in the attitudes and practices of Costa Rican activists working in transnational advocacy organizations. Decolonial cosmopolitanism is defined as a form of cosmopolitanism from below that aims to propose ways of imagining – and putting into practice – a truly globe-encompassing civic community not based on relations of domination but on horizontal dialogue. This concept has been developed by and shares its basic presumptions with the theory on coloniality that the modernity/coloniality/decoloniality research group is putting forward. It is analyzed whether and how the workings of coloniality as underlying ontological assumption of decolonial cosmopolitanism and broadly subsumable under the three logics of race, capitalism, and knowledge, are traceable in intermediate postcolonial transnational advocacy in Costa Rica. The method of analysis chosen to approach these questions is content analysis, which is used for the analysis of qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews with Costa Rican activists working in advocacy organizations with transnational ties. Costa Rica was chosen as it – while unquestionably a Latin American postcolonial country and thus within the geo-political context in which the concept was developed – introduces a complex setting of socio-cultural and political factors that put the explanatory potential of the concept to the test. The research group applies the term ‘coloniality’ to describe how the social, political, economic, and epistemic relations developed during the colonization of the Americas order global relations and sustain Western domination still today through what is called the logic of coloniality. It also takes these processes as point of departure for imagining how counter-hegemonic contestations can be achieved through the linking of local struggles to a global community that is based on pluriversality. The issues that have been chosen as most relevant expressions of the logic of coloniality in the context of Costa Rican transnational advocacy and that are thus empirically scrutinized are national identity as ‘white’ exceptional nation with gender equality (racism), the neoliberalization of advocacy in the Global South (capitalism), and finally Eurocentrism, but also transnational civil society networks as first step in decolonizing civic activism (epistemic domination). The findings of this thesis show that the various ways in which activists adopt practices and outlooks stemming from the center in order to empower themselves and their constituencies, but also how their particular geo-political position affects their work, cannot be reduced to one single logic of coloniality. Nonetheless, the aspects of race, gender, capitalism and epistemic hegemony do undeniably affect activist cosmopolitan attitudes and transnational practices. While the premisses on which the concept of decolonial cosmopolitanism is based suffer from some analytical drawbacks, its importance is seen in its ability to take as point of departure the concrete spaces in which situated social relations develop. It thus allows for perceiving the increasing interconnectedness between different levels of social and political organizing as contributing to cosmopolitan visions combining local situatedness with global community as normative horizon that have not only influenced academic debate, but also political projects.

Agroforestry systems for sustainable livelihoods and improved land management in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

Forest destruction for agriculture continues to be a major threat to the rich biological diversity in the East Usambara Mountains in the north-eastern corner of Tanzania. The highest ratio of endemic plant and animal species found on 100 km2 anywhere in the world is depending on the remaining natural forests. Forests are vitally important for the local population in many different ways, and nationally they are an important source of water and hydroelectricity. The soils, of low fertility and mostly acidic Ferrasols, mainly have the nutrients in the topsoil. After clear-cutting, the soils soon become poor when the topsoil is eroded. High-value cardamom is nowadays unsustainably cultivated in the natural forests of the East Usambaras. The general aim was to study the possibilities to develop new profitable and sustainable agroforestry systems for the benefit of the local people that could contribute to relieving the pressure on the remaining natural forests in the East Usambara Mountains. Results from a spice crop agroforestry trial, established in cooperation with a local farmer, showed a clear advantage of intercropping cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and black pepper (Piper nigrum) with trees, especially with Grevillea robusta. The nitrogen fixing tree species Gliricidia sepium also improved the nitrogen and organic matter content of the soil over levels found in the natural forest. With improved agroforestry methods for spice production the households generated as much as13 times the net income obtained with traditional forest cultivation practices. There are thus sustainable and profitable ways to cultivate spices as cash crops in well-managed homegardens. However, the farmers need stable markets, access to credit and comprehensive extension services. The soil fertility depletion should be reversed with organic manure application and an enabling policy environment for the smallholder-farming sector. Strong farmers organisations and equal rights to resources and decision-making are needed. Organic spices have an increasing demand, and their export would be profitable for these farmers. What is, however, most needed for a change is a political will of a government that understands the importance of agricultural and forestry development for poverty reduction.

Monimuotoisuus ja esteettömyys : Näkövammaisten asiantuntijoiden työelämäkokemuksia

The purpose of this study is to analyse education, employment, and work-life experiences of visually impaired persons in expert jobs. The empirical data consists of 30 thematic interviews (24 visually impaired persons, 1 family-member of a visually impaired person, 5 persons working with diversity issues), of supplementary articles, and of statistics on the socio-economic status of the visually impaired. The interviewees experiences of education and employment have been analysed by a qualitative method. The analysis has been deepened by reflecting it against the recent discussion on the concept of diversity. The author s methodological choice as a disability researcher has been to treat the interviewees as co-researchers rather than objects of research. Accessibility in its different forms is a prerequisite of diversity in the workplace, and this study examines what kind of accessibility is required by visually impaired professionals. Access to working life depends on the attitudes prejudices and expectations that society has towards a minority group. Social accessibility is connected with internal relationships in the workplace, and achieving social accessibility is a bilateral process. Information technology has revolutionised the visually impaired people s possibilities of accessing information and performing expert tasks. Accessible environment, good mobility skills, and transportation services enable visually impaired employees to get to their workplaces and to navigate there with ease. Integration has raised the level of education and widened the selection of career options for the visually impaired. However, even visually impaired people with academic degrees often need employment support services. Visually impaired professionals are mainly employed in the public and third sector. Achieving diversity in the labour market is a multiactor process. Social support services are needed, as well as courage and readiness from employers to hire people with disabilities. The organisations of the visually impaired play an important role in affecting the attitudes and providing peer support. Visually impaired employees need good professional skills, blindness skills, and social courage, and they need to be comfortable with their disability. In the workplace, diversity may actualise as diverse ways of working: the work is done by using technical aids or other means of compensating for the lack of eyesight. When an employee must find compensatory solutions for disability-related limitations at work, this will also develop his/her problem-solving abilities. Key words: visually impaired, diversity, accessibility, working life