The Unable Individual : The Actantial Analyses of Three Chinese Films and Discussion on Their Representations of the Individual’s Position in Contemporary Chinese Society

The thesis studies three contemporary Chinese films, Incense (Xianghuo 2003), Beijing Bicycle (Shiqi sui de danche, 2001), and South of the Clouds (Yun de nanfang, 2004). The aim of the thesis is to find out how these films represent the individual, his relationships with others, and his possibilities in society. The films all portray a male individual setting out to pursue a goal, facing one obstacle after the other in the process, and in the end failing to achieve his goal. The other characters in the films are also primarily either unable or unwilling to help the lead character. In the thesis these features of the films are analysed by applying A.J. Greimas’s structuralist semiotic theory about the actantial structure of discourses. The questions about the individual’s position are answered by defining which instances in the films actually represent the actantial positions of the sender, receiver, subject, object, helper and opponent. The results of the actantial analyses of the three films are further discussed in the light of theories regarding individualization. The focus is on the theories of Ulrich Beck, Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim and Zygmunt Bauman, who see a development towards individualization in societies following the disintegration of traditional social structures. For the most part, these theories do seem to be applicable to the films’ representations of the individual’s position, especially regarding the increased responsibility of the individual. For example, the position of the family is represented as either insignificant or negative in all of the films, which fits with the description of the individualized society, contradicting the idea of traditional Chinese society. On the other hand, the identities and goals of the characters in the films are not represented as fragmented in the way the theories would suggest.

Factors related to seat belt use : A Turkish case

Seat belts are effective safety devices used to protect car occupants from severe injuries and fatalities during road vehicle accidents. Despite the proven effectiveness of seat belts, seat belt use rates are quite low, especially in developing countries, such as Turkey. The general aim of the present study was to investigate a large variety of factors related to seat belt use among Turkish car occupants using different perspectives and methods and therefore, to contribute to the design of effective seat belt use interventions for increasing seat belt use rates in Turkey. Five sub-studies were conducted within the present study. In the first sub-study, environmental (e.g., road type) and psycho-social factors (e.g., belt use by other car occupants) related to the seat belt use of front-seat occupants were investigated using observation techniques. Being male, of a young age, and traveling on city roads were the main factors negatively related to seat belt use. Furthermore, seat belt use by the drivers and front-seat passengers was highly correlated and a significant predictors of each other. In the second sub-study, the motivations of the car occupants for seat belt use and non-use were investigated using interview techniques. Situational conditions, such as traveling on city roads and for short distances, and not believing in the effectiveness and relevance of seat belt use for safety, were the most frequently reported reasons for not using a seat belt. Safety, habit and avoiding punishment were among the most frequently reported reasons for using a seat belt. In the third sub-study, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Health Belief Model (HBM) were applied to seat belt use using Structural Equation Modeling techniques. The TPB model showed a good fit to the data, whereas the HBM showed a poor fit to the data. Within the TPB model, attitude and subjective norm were significant predictors of intentions to use a seat belt on both urban and rural roads. In the fourth sub-study, seat belt use frequency and motivations for seat belt use among taxi drivers were investigated and compared between free-time and work-time driving using a survey. The results showed that taxi drivers used seat belts more when driving a private car in their free-times compared to when driving a taxi during their work-times. The lack of a legal obligation to use a seat belt in city traffic and fear of being attacked or robbed by the passengers were found as two specific reasons for not using a seat belt when driving a taxi. Lastly, in the fifth sub-study, the relationship of seat belt use to driver and health behaviors was investigated using a survey. Although seat belt use was related both to health and driver behaviors, factor analysis results showed that it grouped with driver behaviors. Based on the results of the sub-studies, a tentative empirical model showing different predictors of seat belt use was proposed. According to the model, safety and normative motivations and perceived physical barriers related to seat belt use are the three important predictors of seat belt use. Keywords: Seat belt use; environmental factors; psycho-social factors; safety and normative motivations; the Theory of Planned Behavior; the Health Belief Model; health behaviors; driver behaviors; front-seat occupants; taxi drivers; Turkey.

The family Herbertaceae and its novel systematic position within liverworts

Taxonomic relationships of the liverwort genus Herbertus in Asia were examined. In addition, the phylogeny of the family Herbertaceae and its close relatives was investigated and analyses conducted of higher level relationships within the entire liverwort phylum. Species of Herbertus show great plasticity in various morphological characters, resulted in a large number of described species. This study was the first comprehensive revision of Asian Herbertus, with 12 species recognized for the continent. Eleven names were reduced to synonymy under earlier described species, and one species was excluded from the genus. Herbertus buchii Juslén was described as a new species. Phylogenetic analyses based on both molecular and morphological characters resolved the families Vetaformaceae, Lepicoleaceae, and Herbertaceae (including Mastigophoraceae) as a monophyletic entity. This clade is among the most derived groups within the leafy liverworts and comprises mostly isophyllous plants, all of which have bracteolar antheridia. The relationships of Mastigophoraceae have formerly been controversial. My results confirm the view that this family is closely related to Herbertaceae, Lepicoleaceae, and Vetaformaceae. In the proposed new classification Mastigophoraceae is included in Herbertaceae. Phylogenetic relationships within the liverworts were reconstructed using both chloroplast and nuclear sequences as well as morphological characters. These analyses were the most comprehensive to date at the time of publication. Previously it was believed that liverworts had a common ancestor with an erect, radial gametophyte and a tetrahedral apical cell. The leafy liverworts were arranged based on the assumption that similar structures had repeatedly developed in many different suborders, with evolution proceeding from erect and isophyllous to creeping and anisophyllous plants. The complex thalloid liverworts were assumed to be the most derived group. By contrast, our studies resolved a clade comprising Treubia and Haplomitrium as the earliest extant liverwort lineage. According to our results the complex thalloids are also an early diverging lineage, and the simple thalloids, traditionally classified together, are a paraphyletic group. Within leafy liverworts, the hypothesis of repeated evolution from isophyllous to anisophyllous plants based on the assumption of a basal unresolved polytomy was rejected. Fundamentally, the leafy liverworts can be divided into three groups. In conflict with the earlier hypotheses, the isophyllous liverworts, including Herbertaceae, were resolved as derived lineages within the liverworts.

Position-sensitive silicon strip detector characterization using particle beams

Silicon strip detectors are fast, cost-effective and have an excellent spatial resolution. They are widely used in many high-energy physics experiments. Modern high energy physics experiments impose harsh operation conditions on the detectors, e.g., of LHC experiments. The high radiation doses cause the detectors to eventually fail as a result of excessive radiation damage. This has led to a need to study radiation tolerance using various techniques. At the same time, a need to operate sensors approaching the end their lifetimes has arisen. The goal of this work is to demonstrate that novel detectors can survive the environment that is foreseen for future high-energy physics experiments. To reach this goal, measurement apparatuses are built. The devices are then used to measure the properties of irradiated detectors. The measurement data are analyzed, and conclusions are drawn. Three measurement apparatuses built as a part of this work are described: two telescopes measuring the tracks of the beam of a particle accelerator and one telescope measuring the tracks of cosmic particles. The telescopes comprise layers of reference detectors providing the reference track, slots for the devices under test, the supporting mechanics, electronics, software, and the trigger system. All three devices work. The differences between these devices are discussed. The reconstruction of the reference tracks and analysis of the device under test are presented. Traditionally, silicon detectors have produced a very clear response to the particles being measured. In the case of detectors nearing the end of their lifefimes, this is no longer true. A new method benefitting from the reference tracks to form clusters is presented. The method provides less biased results compared to the traditional analysis, especially when studying the response of heavily irradiated detectors. Means to avoid false results in demonstrating the particle-finding capabilities of a detector are also discussed. The devices and analysis methods are primarily used to study strip detectors made of Magnetic Czochralski silicon. The detectors studied were irradiated to various fluences prior to measurement. The results show that Magnetic Czochralski silicon has a good radiation tolerance and is suitable for future high-energy physics experiments.

An Examination of How Entrepreneurs Can Improve Their Position in Relation to Investors

Previous research has been inconclusive regarding the impact of those who invest in entrepreneurs. Consider for a moment how potentially important they are to entrepreneurs. They for example decide who deserves funding, how much time they contribute to their portfolio firms, how they grant entrepreneurs access to their networks, and help entrepreneurs acquire additional funding. In sum, investors potentially have a great impact on the success of entrepreneurs. It is therefore important that we better understand the environment, relationships and context in which parties operate. This thesis contains five articles that explore investors’ and entrepreneurs’ relationships from various viewpoints, in theoretical frameworks, and use a variety of data and research methods. The first article is a literature review that summarises what we know of venture capital, business angel and corporate venture capital funding. The second article studies the entrepreneurs’ investor selection process, its consequences, and identifies key factors that influence the process. Earlier, the common approach has been to concentrate research on the investors’ selection policy, not the entrepreneurs’. The data and conclusions are based on multiple case studies. The article analyses how entrepreneurs can ensure that they get the best possible investor, when it is possible for an entrepreneur to select an investor, and what are the consequences of investor selection. The third article employs power constructs (dependency, power balance/imbalance, power sources) and analyses their applicability in the investor-entrepreneur relationship. Power constructs are extensively studied and utilised in the management and organisation literature. In entrepreneur investor relationships, power aspects are rarely analysed. However, having the ability to “get others to do things they would not otherwise do” is a very common factor in the investor-entrepreneur relationship. Therefore, employing and analysing the applicability of power constructs in this setting is well founded. The article is based on a single case study but suggests that power constructs could be applicable and consequently provide additional insights into the investor-entrepreneur relationship. The fourth article studies the role of advisors in the venture capital investment process and analyses implications for research and practice, particularly from the entrepreneurs’ perspective. The common entrepreneurial finance literature describes the entrepreneur-investor relationship as linear and bilateral. However, it was discovered that advisors may influence the relationship. In this article, the role of advisors, operating procedures and advisors’ impact on different parties is analysed. The fifth article concentrates on investors’ certification effect. The article measures and demonstrates that venture capital investment is likely to increase the credibility (in terms of media attention) of early stage firms, those that most often need additional credibility. Understanding investor certification can affect how entrepreneurs evaluate investment offers and how investors can make their offers appear more lucrative.

Victims of the White War or Rebellions of the Green Revolution? Bolivian Indigenous Women Prisoners' Position in the "War on Drugs" Explored through a Criminological Gaze

Tässä tutkielmassa tarkastellaan Bolivialaisten naisvankien (alkuperäisväestön) ja globaalin huumesodan ("War on Drugs") välistä yhteyttä. Keskustelu sijoitetaan laajemmin kokan viljelyn politiikkaan ja alkuperäisväestön kulttuuriin. Kokaa viljeleviä köyhiä maalaisia, joista huomattava osa on naisia, on vangittu Boliviassa kiihtyvää tahtia viime vuosikymmeninä. Moni naisista on kokan tuotannossa ja kaupassa mukana, sillä se on monesti ainoa keino taloudelliseen selviämiseen. Yleisesti ottaen naisvangit ja naisrikolliset ovat marginaalinen ilmiö. Kansainvälisesti tarkasteltuna naisvankien suhteellinen osuus koko vankilaväestöstä on noin 5,2 % (keskiarvo). Boliviassa osuus on vaihdellut 6,1 %:n ja 17,1 %:n välillä vuosina 2000-2008. Naisvankien määrä yleisesti ottaen on ollut rajussa kasvussa, suurin syy naisten vangitsemiseen on huumausaineisiin liittyvät rikokset. Näyttää myös siltä että vähemmistöt ja etnisen taustan omaavat henkilöt ovat yliedustettuina vankilaväestössä. Bolivia seuraa tätä kansainvälistä trendiä. Tämä tutkielma on rajattu kysymyksiin Bolivian intiaaniperäisten naisten osuudesta maan huumerikollisuudessa, sekä heidän suhteellisen korkeaa vangitsemisastetta selittäviin yhteiskunnallisiin tekijöihin. Kysymykset sukupuolesta, etnisyydestä ja kokan viljelyn politiikasta ovat keskiössä. Yleisiä kriminologisia teorioita peilataan kriittisesti suhteessa aineistoon ja Bolivian kontekstiin. Huumesodan ja Bolivian ankaran huumelainsäädännön seurauksista keskustellaan kriittisesti, sekä pohditaan köyhän alkuperäisväestön massavangitsemisen tarpeellisuutta. Tutkimuskysymykseni ovat: mitkä tekijät selittävät kohtuullisen korkean intiaaniperäisten naisvankien määrän Boliviassa, ja mikä on heidän asemansa globaalissa huumesodassa? Tutkielmassa on analysoitu kvantitatiivista ja kvalitatiivista aineistoa. Päälähteenä on ollut Bolivian tilastokeskuksen tuottamat rikostilastot. Tutkielman tärkeimpänä löydöksenä voidaan pitää havaintoa, että vastoin tiettyjä olettamuksia, intiaaniperäiset naiset ovat hyvinkin aktiivisia perinteisesti miehisiksi käsitetyillä aloilla kuten rikollisuudessa ja politiikassa. Tutkielmassa osoitetaan myös, että pidätysten määrät ovat moninkertaistuneet muutamassa vuosikymmenessä. Koska kokan viljelyssä on kyse pääasiallisesti taloudellisesta toimeentulosta, tämä tutkielma kysyy, onko hengissä pysyminen rikos?