Non-finite constructions in Old English : with special reference to syntactic borrowing from Latin

My dissertation is a corpus-based study of non-finite constructions in Old English (OE). It revisits the question of Latin influence on the OE syntax, offering a new evaluation of syntactic interference between Latin and OE, and, more generally, of the contact situation in the OE period, drawing on methods used in studying grammaticalization and language contact. I address three non-finite constructions: absolute participial construction, accusative-and-infinitive construction, and nominative-and-infinitive construction, exemplified respectively in present-day English as - She looked like a pixie sometimes, her eyes darting here and there, forever watchful (BNC CCM 98); - My first acquaintance with her was when I heard her sing (BNC CFY 2215); - Charles the Bald was said to resemble his grandfather physically (BNC HPT 175). This study compares data from translated texts against the background of original OE writings, establishing dependencies and differences between the two. Although the contrastive analysis of source and target texts is one of the major methods employed in the study, translation and translation strategies as such are only my secondary foci. The emphasis is rather on what source/target comparison can tell us about the OE non-finite syntax and the typological differences between Latin and OE in this domain, and on whether contact-induced change can originate in translation. In terms of theoretical framework, I have adopted functional-typological approach, which rests on the principles of iconicity and event integration, and to the best of my knowledge, has not been applied systematically to OE non-finite constructions. Therefore one more aim of the dissertation is to test this framework and to see how OE fits into the cross-linguistic picture of non-finites. My research corpus consists of two samples: 1) written OE closely dependent on the Latin originals, based on editions of two gloss texts, five translations, and Latin originals of these texts, representing four text types: hymns, religious regulations, homily/life narrative, and biblical narrative (180,622 words); and 2) written OE as far independent from Latin as possible, based on a selection from the York-Toronto-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Prose (YCOE) and representing five text types: laws, charters, correspondence, chronicle narrative, and homily/life narrative (274,757 words).

Transposable elements in a marginal plant population

Background
How new forms arise in nature has engaged evolutionary biologists since Darwin's seminal treatise on the origin of species. Transposable elements (TEs) may be among the most important internal sources for intraspecific variability. Thus, we aimed to explore the temporal dynamics of several TEs in individual genotypes from a small, marginal population of Aegilops speltoides. A diploid cross-pollinated grass species, it is a wild relative of the various wheat species known for their large genome sizes contributed by an extraordinary number of TEs, particularly long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons. The population is characterized by high heteromorphy and possesses a wide spectrum of chromosomal abnormalities including supernumerary chromosomes, heterozygosity for translocations, and variability in the chromosomal position or number of 45S and 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sites. We propose that variability on the morphological and chromosomal levels may be linked to variability at the molecular level and particularly in TE proliferation.

Results
Significant temporal fluctuation in the copy number of TEs was detected when processes that take place in small, marginal populations were simulated. It is known that under critical external conditions, outcrossing plants very often transit to self-pollination. Thus, three morphologically different genotypes with chromosomal aberrations were taken from a wild population of Ae. speltoides, and the dynamics of the TE complex traced through three rounds of selfing. It was discovered that: (i) various families of TEs vary tremendously in copy number between individuals from the same population and the selfed progenies; (ii) the fluctuations in copy number are TE-family specific; (iii) there is a great difference in TE copy number expansion or contraction between gametophytes and sporophytes; and (iv) a small percentage of TEs that increase in copy number can actually insert at novel locations and could serve as a bona fide mutagen.

Conclusions
We hypothesize that TE dynamics could promote or intensify morphological and karyotypical changes, some of which may be potentially important for the process of microevolution, and allow species with plastic genomes to survive as new forms or even species in times of rapid climatic change.

Modelling and Forecasting Property Rents and Returns (summary section only)

Recently, focus of real estate investment has expanded from the building-specific level to the aggregate portfolio level. The portfolio perspective requires investment analysis for real estate which is comparable with that of other asset classes, such as stocks and bonds. Thus, despite its distinctive features, such as heterogeneity, high unit value, illiquidity and the use of valuations to measure performance, real estate should not be considered in isolation. This means that techniques which are widely used for other assets classes can also be applied to real estate. An important part of investment strategies which support decisions on multi-asset portfolios is identifying the fundamentals of movements in property rents and returns, and predicting them on the basis of these fundamentals. The main objective of this thesis is to find the key drivers and the best methods for modelling and forecasting property rents and returns in markets which have experienced structural changes. The Finnish property market, which is a small European market with structural changes and limited property data, is used as a case study. The findings in the thesis show that is it possible to use modern econometric tools for modelling and forecasting property markets. The thesis consists of an introduction part and four essays. Essays 1 and 3 model Helsinki office rents and returns, and assess the suitability of alternative techniques for forecasting these series. Simple time series techniques are able to account for structural changes in the way markets operate, and thus provide the best forecasting tool. Theory-based econometric models, in particular error correction models, which are constrained by long-run information, are better for explaining past movements in rents and returns than for predicting their future movements. Essay 2 proceeds by examining the key drivers of rent movements for several property types in a number of Finnish property markets. The essay shows that commercial rents in local markets can be modelled using national macroeconomic variables and a panel approach. Finally, Essay 4 investigates whether forecasting models can be improved by accounting for asymmetric responses of office returns to the business cycle. The essay finds that the forecast performance of time series models can be improved by introducing asymmetries, and the improvement is sufficient to justify the extra computational time and effort associated with the application of these techniques.

EU Accession and FDI inflows : The cases of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Central and East European countries have faced a difficult process of transition since the dissolution of the Soviet bloc. Ten transition countries (Hungary, Poland, teh Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania have chosen to join the EU and have moulded their transition reforms to ensure the compliance of their legal and institutional framework with EU requirements. The high levels of FDI attracted by the candidate countries for EU membership had been attributed to rapid transition of the countries aiming to join the European Union and the fact that favourable evaluations by EU authorities of the progress made by the candidates had a large impact on improving investor confidence. The aim of this paper is to investigate the reform strategies of the Czech Republic and Slovakia undertaken when the countries were preparing for EU membership and the dynamics of FDI inflows into these economies. Subsequently a comparative analysis of FDI stocks in these countries is conducted. We find that both countries faced similar economic challenges in implementing structural and institutional reforms. In accordance with EU requirements the Czech Republic and Slovakia have perfected their legal and institutional framework, increased the authority of regulatory and supervisory bodies and focused on implementation of new or amended legislation. During the period of the analysis (1998 - 2007) the Czech Republic and Slovakia have attracted increasing amounts of FDI. Comparative analysis in terms of important determinants of FDI reveals further similar features: macroeconomic stability; an open and liberalised market; low labour costs compared to EU-15 and a similar breakdown of FDI inflows by investor country. Consequently, the fact that the Czech Republic received much larger volumes of net FDI inflows could be attributed to the difference in market size between the two states. This conclusion is consistent with previous empirical studies that list market size among the main determinants of FDI. However, when we look at FDI as a percentage of GDP the evidence is more mixed. In 2004 - 2007, Slovakia has surpassed the Czech Republic twice. Whether this tendency will persist remains to be seen. The analysis in this paper based on empirical data. However, the choice of the method, namely case studies and comparative analysis, means that the conclusions of this study are theoretical and remain to be further tested in quantitative models.

The determinants of sexually transmitted infections among reproductive age women in St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland

OBJECTIVES: Sexually transmitted infections' (STIs) rate vary in St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland; the aim was to compare the determinants of self-reported sexually transmitted infections in these areas. METHODS: Data from four population-based questionnaire surveys were used (Finland in 1992 and 1999; St. Petersburg in 2003; Estonia in 2004). With the exception of the 1992 Finnish survey (interview) all were postal surveys, with 1,070 respondents in Finland (78 and 52% response rates), 1,147 (68%) in St. Petersburg, and 5,190 (54%) in Estonia. RESULTS: Risky sexual behaviours were equally common in the three areas and the determinants were the same. Women with an STIs history more often had had their first sexual intercourse when aged under 18, had not used condom during first intercourse, had a high number of lifetime or previous year sexual partners. However, marital status and education were not similar determinants. Cohabiting and well-educated women in Finland were more likely to have STIs while in other areas the associations found were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Risky behaviour predicts STIs, but does not explain the varying rates of STIs between areas.

Kaupunkimaineen rakentuminen. Lahden muotoilumaine epälineaarisena prosessina.

Tämän pro gradu -tutkimuksen aiheena on kaupunkimaineen tarkastelu epälineaarisena ja dynaamisena prosessina. Opinnäytteessä kaupunkimainetta tutkitaan dynaamisen onganisaatioviestinnän teorian näkökulmasta ja sen tarkoitus on hahmotella epälineaarisempaa näkemystä kaupunkimaineen rakentumisesta. Lisäksi työ siirtää kaupunkimainetutkimuksen fokusta maineen mittaamisesta sen leviämisen tutkimiseen. Tarkoituksena on siis hahmottaa sitä, miten kaupungin sisällä syntyvä maine yleisöissään leviää. Tutkimuksen tärkeimmiksi lähteiksi on valikoitu Pekka Aulan dynaamisen organisaatioviestinnän teoria sekä Aulan, Jouni Heinosen, Saku Mantereen sekä Erkki Karvosen mainenäkemykset. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa on hyödynnetty useiden kansainvälisten kaupunkitutkijoiden ajatuksia, joista tärkeimpinä lähteinä tutkimuksen kehittymisen kannalta ovat olleet Elaine Romanellin, Olga M. Khessinan sekä Patsy Healyn työt. Kaupunkia ja sen mainetta käsittelevissä osioissa tärkeään rooliin nousi myös Teppo Sintosen käsitys postmodernista organisaatiosta, jollaisena kaupunki tässä tutkimuksessa nähdään, itse tutkimuksen todellisuuskäsitys on konstruktivistinen - siinä todellisuus eli näin ollen myös kaupunki on yhteisesti rakennettua ja uusiutuu kirjoituksissa sekä puheissa. Lähteiden pohjalta on tutkimuksessa hahmoteltu ajatuksia dynaamisesta kaupunkimaineesta, joka vastaa niin maineteorioiden ajatuksiin, dynaamisen organisaatioviestinnän teorian prepositioihin kuin kriittiseen kaupunkimarkkinoinnin tutkimukseen. Työ onkin vahvasti poikkitieteellinen tutkimus, jonka takia sen teoreettinen osuus onkin erittäin laaja. Teoreettisen osuuden laajuus selittyy myös sillä, että tutkimuksessa lähestyttiin kaupunkimainetta uudesta, epälineaarisemmasta näkökulmasta. Työ on laadullinen tapaustutkimus, jossa maineen epälineaarista rakentumista on tutkittu tapauskaupunki Lahden ja tämän muotoilumaineen näkökulmasta. Tutkimus toteutettiin haastattelututkimuksena ja aineisto analysoitiin narratiiviparadigman teorian alle sijoittuvalla juonellistamisen menetelmällä. Asiantuntijahaastatteluista eritellystä aineistosta johdetut johtopäätökset osoittavat maineen rakentumiseen liittyviä epälineaarisia elementtejä sekä antavat tukea ajatukselle, jonka mukaan kaupunkimaineen tutkimuksessa saattaa olla vaatimuksia epälineaarisemmalle kaupunkimainekäsitykselle. Tutkimuksen johtopäätösten mukaan mainetta voidaan siis tarkastella epälineaarisena prosessina, joka muotoutuu vuorovaikutuksessa ympäristön ja kaupungin välillä, ja joka kehittyy ennustamattomien, luovien ja itseohjautuvien prosessien kautta.

Hapettunut LDL-kolesteroli akuutissa koronaarisyndroomassa

Tutkimuksessa selvitetään oksidatiivisen stressin yhteyttä akuuttiin sepelvaltimotautioireyhtymään. Tämä tehdään vertaamalla veren hapettuneen LDL-kolesterolin pitoisuuksia kolmessa potilasryhmässä. Siinä pohditaan myös LDL-kolesterolin käyttöä biologisena merkkisuureena diagnostiikassa. Tällä hetkellä ei ole biomarkkeria, joka osoittaisi akuutin sydrooman vaarassa olevat potilaat. Hapettuneen LDL-kolesterolin pitoisuus määritettiin potilaiden plasmasta ELISA-menetelmää käyttäen. Tulokset tukevat työhypoteesia ja tutkimus antaa arvokasta tietoa suomalaisten statiinilääkitystä käyttävien sepelvaltimotautipotilaiden oksidatiivisestä stressistä.