Development of analytical techniques for studies on dispersion of actinides in the environment and characterization of environmental radioactive particles

Radioactive particles from three locations were investigated for elemental composition, oxidation states of matrix elements, and origin. Instrumental techniques applied to the task were scanning electron microscopy, X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometry, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and synchrotron radiation based microanalytical techniques comprising X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence tomography, and X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy. Uranium-containing low activity particles collected from Irish Sea sediments were characterized in terms of composition and distribution of matrix elements and the oxidation states of uranium. Indications of the origin were obtained from the intensity ratios and the presence of thorium, uranium, and plutonium. Uranium in the particles was found to exist mostly as U(IV). Studies on plutonium particles from Runit Island (Marshall Islands) soil indicated that the samples were weapon fuel fragments originating from two separate detonations: a safety test and a low-yield test. The plutonium in the particles was found to be of similar age. The distribution and oxidation states of uranium and plutonium in the matrix of weapon fuel particles from Thule (Greenland) sediments were investigated. The variations in intensity ratios observed with different techniques indicated more than one origin. Uranium in particle matrixes was mostly U(IV), but plutonium existed in some particles mainly as Pu(IV), and in others mainly as oxidized Pu(VI). The results demonstrated that the various techniques were effectively applied in the characterization of environmental radioactive particles. An on-line method was developed for separating americium from environmental samples. The procedure utilizes extraction chromatography to separate americium from light lanthanides, and cation exchange to concentrate americium before the final separation in an ion chromatography column. The separated radiochemically pure americium fraction is measured by alpha spectrometry. The method was tested with certified sediment and soil samples and found to be applicable for the analysis of environmental samples containing a wide range of Am-241 activity. Proceeding from the on-line method developed for americium, a method was also developed for separating plutonium and americium. Plutonium is reduced to Pu(III), and separated together with Am(III) throughout the procedure. Pu(III) and Am(III) are eluted from the ion chromatography column as anionic dipicolinate and oxalate complexes, respectively, and measured by alpha spectrometry.

Suomi ja Euroopan kirkollinen jälleenrakentaminen 1945-1948

The international aid that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland received between 1945 and 1948 is the topic of this historical study, in which the process of reconstruction of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is examined in a European context. The key questions are related not only to the achievements of the reconstruction programs but also to the purposes and objectives of the donating churches. The study pays particular attention to the changes in the ecclesiastical, political and economic fields after the Second World War and asks how the tense political atmosphere of a divided world affected the reconstruction programs of the churches. It is possible to distinguish three periods within the European church reconstruction process. To begin with, the year 1945 was, in general, the year of organization. Many churches had started planning reconstruction work already during the war, but only after the conflict in Europe had ceased did they have a chance to renew contacts, assess the damage and begin operations. The years 1946 and 1947 were the main years of the work. Large reconstruction organizations from American churches donated money, food, clothes and vitamins worth millions of dollars to the European churches. The work started to diminish as early as 1948, partly because Marshall Plan aid and the rising standard of living had reduced the need for material assistance in many countries and partly because other problems overshadowed the reconstruction work of the World Council of Churches: for example, most WCC resources at this time were directed to refugee programs and to Third World churhces. The most important donors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland's point of view were the American Section of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Churches of Denmark, Sweden and England. The amount of money and value of goods received by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland totaled approximately 2.5 million dollars, from which about 60 per cent came from the Lutheran churches of America. The importance of the Lutheran World Federation was even greater because of the productive financial arrangements that increased the American Lutheran funds. In addition the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland imported hundreds of tons of tax-free coffee and sold this to Finns. The money gained was used mostly to rebuild destroyed church buildings and to support the work of different ecclesiastical organizations. Smaller amounts were used for scholarship programs, youth work, and supporting sick and disabled church workers.

Kansalaisuus ja yhteiskunnallinen yhteisö : T. H. Marshallin ja Talcott Parsonsin perintö nykyaikaiselle kansalaisuustutkimukselle

This work examines the concept of citizenship of TH Marshall and the societal community concept of Talcott Parsons. I am especially interested in whether Marshall s concept of citizenship or Parsons s concept of societal community enable to develop such an analytical framework that creates a basis for relevant examination of how the mechanisms that include or exclude citizenship into the society constitute. The focus is in societal heterogeneity, which will easily introduce multicultural issues in the form of diversity-based conflicts in values, norms and identities. The focus of the review is in the religious orientation and in the examination of the backgrounds of ethnic groups. The research method is the thorough examination of the texts and commenting of the literature of TH Marshall and Talcott Parson, based on which I build my own argumentation and interpretation. As research findings I propose that especially the late works of Talcott Parsons offer analytical tools to study societal pluralism in a way that gives fruitful basis also to the thinking of the 21st century researchers. Parsons s analytical frames of reference form relevant starting points in relation with the social analyses that are made based on inclusion and exclusion. Parsons describes the societal community as differentiated and segmented network, in which different customs and operation models are accepted. Cultural understanding differentiates how and in which context these will be applied. In the conditions of open systems culture can, however, not operate as a connector of the variations of actors neither as a common code that fades away conflicts. Parsons s thinking opens a view into the multicultural world, which is a world society and which consists of ethnic groups that are not internally monolithic but instead in a status of constant cultural redefinition. Individuals and groups are differentiated based on sex, age, different capacities, place of residence, belonging into different collectivities, etc. The late works of Talcott Parsons provide a realistic and an effective, theoretical framework for research of citizenship problems in multicultural conditions. Keywords: citizenship, societal community, society, community, religion, ethnic background, inclusion, exclusion, values and norms.

Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics

A detailed study is presented of the expected performance of the ATLAS detector. The reconstruction of tracks, leptons, photons, missing energy and jets is investigated, together with the performance of b-tagging and the trigger. The physics potential for a variety of interesting physics processes, within the Standard Model and beyond, is examined. The study comprises a series of notes based on simulations of the detector and physics processes, with particular emphasis given to the data expected from the first years of operation of the LHC at CERN.