The Influence of Constantinople on Middle Byzantine Architecture (843-1204) : A typological and morphological approach at the provincial level.

The influence of the architecture of the Byzantine capital spread to the Mediterranean provinces with travelling masters and architects. In this study the architecture of the Constantinopolitan School has been detected on the basis of the typology of churches, completed by certain morphological aspects when necessary. The impact of the Constantinopolitan workshops appears to have been more important than previously realized. This research revealed that the Constantinopolitan composite domed inscribed-cross type or cross-in-square spread everywhere to the Balkans and it was assumed soon by the local schools of architecture. In addition, two novel variants were invented on the basis of this model: the semi-composite type and the so-called Athonite type. In the latter variant lateral conches, choroi, were added for liturgical reasons. Instead, the origin of the domed ambulatory church was partly provincial. One result of this study is that the origin of the Middle Byzantine domed octagonal types was traced to Constantinople. This is attested on the basis of the archaeological evidence. Also some other architectural elements that have not been preserved in the destroyed capital have survived at the provincial level: the domed hexagonal type, the multi-domed superstructure, the pseudo-octagon and the narthex known as the lite. The Constantinopolitan architecture during the period in question was based on the Early Christian and Late Antique forms, practices and innovations and this also emerges at the provincial level.

The Soviet Union, Finland and the Cold War : The Finnish Card in Soviet Foreign Policy, 1956-1959

From the Soviet point of view the actual substance of Soviet-Finnish relations in the second half of 1950s clearly differed from the contemporary and later public image, based on friendship and confidence rhetoric. As the polarization between the right and the left became more underlined in Finland in the latter half of the 1950s, the criticism towards the Soviet Union became stronger, and the USSR feared that this development would have influence on Finnish foreign policy. From the Soviet point of view, the security commitments of FCMA-treaty needed additional guarantees through control of Finnish domestic politics and economic relations, especially during international crises. In relation to Scandinavia, Finland was, from the Soviet point of view, the model country of friendship or neutrality policy. The influence of the Second Berlin Crisis or the Soviet-Finnish Night Frost Crisis in 1958-1959 to Soviet policy towards Scandinavia needs to be observed from this point of view. The Soviet Union used Finland as a tool, in agreement with Finnish highest political leadership, for weakening of the NATO membership of Norway and Denmark, and for maintaining Swedish non-alliance. The Finnish interest to EFTA membership in the summer of 1959, at the same time with the Scandinavian countries, seems to have caused a panic reaction in the USSR, as the Soviets feared that these economic arrangements would reverse the political advantages the country had received in Finland after the Night Frost Crisis. Together with history of events, this study observes the interaction of practical interests and ideologies, both in individuals and in decision-making organizations. The necessary social and ideological reforms in the Soviet Union after 1956 had influence both on the legitimacy of the regime, and led to contradictions in the argumentation of Soviet foreign policy. This was observed both in the own camp as well as in the West. Also, in Finland a breakthrough took place in the late 1950's: as the so-called counter reaction lost to the K-line, "a special relationship" developed with the Soviet Union. As a consequence of the Night Frost Crisis the Soviet relationship became a factor decisively defining the limits of domestic politics in Finland, a part of Finnish domestic political argumentation. Understood from this basis, finlandization is not, even from the viewpoint of international relations, a special case, but a domestic political culture formed by the relationship between a dominant state, a superpower, and a subordinate state, Finland.

Socialist Realism instead of Formalism : the Formation and Development of the Soviet Music Control System 1932-1950

Whereas it has been widely assumed in the public that the Soviet music policy system had a “top-down” structure of control and command that directly affected musical creativity, in fact my research shows that the relations between the different levels of the music policy system were vague, and the viewpoints of its representatives differed from each other. Because the representatives of the party and government organs controlling operas could not define which kind of music represented Socialist Realism, the system as it developed during the 1930s and 1940s did not function effectively enough in order to create such a centralised control of Soviet music, still less could Soviet operas fulfil the highly ambiguous aesthetics of Socialist Realism. I show that musical discussions developed as bureaucratic ritualistic arenas, where it became more important to reveal the heretical composers, making scapegoats of them, and requiring them to perform self-criticism, than to give directions on how to reach the artistic goals of Socialist Realism. When one opera was found to be unacceptable, this lead to a strengthening of control by the party leadership, which lead to more operas, one after the other, to be revealed as failures. I have studied the control of the composition, staging and reception of the opera case-studies, which remain obscure in the West despite a growing scholarly interest in them, and have created a detailed picture of the foundation and development of the Soviet music control system in 1932-1950. My detailed discussion of such case-studies as Ivan Dzerzhinskii’s The Quiet Don, Dmitrii Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, Vano Muradeli’s The Great Friendship, Sergei Prokofiev’s Story of a Real Man, Tikhon Khrennikov’s Frol Skobeev and Evgenii Zhukovskii’s From All One’s Heart backs with documentary precision the historically revisionist model of the development of Soviet music. In February 1948, composers belonging to the elite of the Union of Soviet Composers, e.g. Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev, were accused in a Central Committee Resolution of formalism, as been under the influence of western modernism. Accusations of formalism were connected to the criticism of the conciderable financial, material and social privileges these composers enjoyed in the leadership of the Union. With my new archival findings I give a more detailed picture of the financial background for the 1948 campaign. The independent position of the music funding organization of the Union of Soviet Composers (Muzfond) to decide on its finances was an exceptional phenomenon in the Soviet Union and contradicted the strivings to strengthen the control of Soviet music. The financial audits of the Union of Soviet Composers did not, however, change the elite status of some of its composers, except for maybe a short duration in some cases. At the same time the independence of the significal financial authorities of Soviet theatres was restricted. The cuts in the governmental funding allocated to Soviet theatres contradicted the intensified ideological demands for Soviet operas.

Wipert von Blücher und Finnland : Alternativpolitik und Diplomatie im 'Dritten Reich'

This dissertation explores the role of the German minister to Helsinki, Wipert von Blücher (1883-1963), within the German-Finnish relations of the late 1930s and the Second World War. Blücher was a key figure – and certainly one of the constants – within German Finland policy and the complex international diplomacy surrounding Finland. Despite representing Hitler’s Germany, he was not a National Socialist in the narrower sense of the term, but a conservative civil servant in the Wilhelmine tradition of the German foreign service. Along with a significant number of career diplomats, Blücher attempted to restrict National Socialist influence on the exercise of German foreign policy, whilst successfully negotiating a modus vivendi with the new regime. The study of his political biography in the Third Reich hence provides a highly representative example of how the traditional élites of Germany were caught in an cycle of conformity and, albeit tacit, opposition. Above all, however, the biographical study of Blücher and his behaviour offers an hitherto unexplored approach to the history of the German-Finnish relations. His unusually long tenure in Helsinki covered the period leading up to the so-called Winter War, which left Blücher severely distraught by Berlin’s effectively pro-Soviet neutrality and brought him close to resigning his post. It further extended to the German-Finnish rapprochement of 1940/41 and the military cooperation of both countries from mid-1941 to 1944. Throughout, Blücher developed a diverse and ambitious set of policy schemes, largely rooted in the tradition of Wilhelmine foreign policy. In their moderation and commonsensical realism, his designs – indeed his entire conception of foreign policy – clashed with the foreign political and ideological premises of the National Socialist regime. In its theoretical grounding, the analysis of Blücher’s political schemes is built on the concept of alternative policy and indebted to A.J.P. Taylor’s definition of dissent in foreign policy. It furthermore rests upon the assumption, introduced by Wolfgang Michalka, that National Socialist foreign policy was dominated by a plurality of rival conceptions, players, and institutions competing for Hitler’s favour (‘Konzeptionen-Pluralismus’). Although primarily a study in the history of international relations, my research has substantially benefited from more recent developments within cultural history, particularly research on nobility and élites, and the renewed focus on autobiography and conceptions of the self. On an abstract level, the thesis touches upon some of the basic components of German politics, political culture, and foreign policy in the first half of the 20th century: national belonging and conflicting loyalties, self-perception and representation, élites and their management of power, the modern history of German conservatism, the nature and practice of diplomacy, and, finally, the intricate relationship between the ethics of the professional civil service and absolute moral principles. Against this backdrop, the examination of Blücher’s role both within Finnish politics and the foreign policy of the Third Reich highlights the biographical dimension of the German-Finnish relationships, while fathoming the determinants of individual human agency in the process.

The Development of the Concept of Music Education in Estonian Kindergartens, 1905-2008 : a Historical–Critical Overview

The dissertation focuses on the development of music education in Estonian kindergartens and the factors influencing it, analysed in the historical perspective relying on post-positivist paradigm. The study is based on the factors and subjects’ views on kindergarten music education from 1905 to 2008, recorded in written sources or ascertained by means of questionnaire and interview. The dissertation deals with music’s functions, music education in retrospective, factors influencing child’s musical aptitude and development and teacher’s role in it through the prism of history. The formation of Estonian kindergarten music education and the phenomenon of its development have been researched by stages: the first manifestations of music in kindergarten in 1905 - 1940; the formation of the concept of music education in 1941 - 1967 and the application of a unified system in 1968 - 1990. The work also outlines innovative trends in music education at the end of the last millennium and the beginning of this century, in 1991 - 2008. The study relies on a combined design and an analysis of historical archival material and empirical data. The empirical part of the study is based on the questionnaire (n=183) and interviews (n=18) carried out with kindergarten music teachers. The data has been analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The subject of the research is the content and activity types of kindergarten music education and the role of music teacher in their implementation. The study confirmed that fundamental changes took place in Estonian kindergarten music education due to the change in political power in the 1940s. Following the example of the Soviet system of education, music in kindergarten became an independent music educational orientation and the position of a professionally trained music teacher was established (1947). It was also confirmed that in the newly independent Estonian Republic under the influence of innovative trends a new paradigm of music education arose from the traditional singing-centred education towards the more balanced use of music activity types (attaching importance to the child-centred approach, an increase in the number and variety of activity types). The most important conclusions made in the dissertation are that there has been improvement and development deriving from contemporary trends in the clear concept that has evolved in Estonian kindergarten music education over a century; professionally trained music teachers have had a crucial role in shaping it; and kindergarten music education is firmly positioned as a part of preschool education in Estonian system of education. Key words: early childhood music education, history of music education, kindergarten music education, early childhood music teachers

The influence of HIV infection to the periodontium; a clinical, microbiological, and enzymological study

The main targets of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are CD4 receptors of CD4+ lymphocytes and many other cells such as monocytes/macrophages, megakaryocytes, peripheral blood dendritic cells, follicular dendritic cells (DC), epidermal Langerhans cells, and astrocytes. Infection and killing of CD4+ lymphocytes or false reaction of the body to HIV infection and the spontaneous apoptosis of CD4+ lymphocytes decrease CD4+ lymphocyte counts leading to immunosuppression, further disease progression, and appearance of opportunistic infections and malignancies. Oral manifestations are considered to be among the first signs of HIV infection. Enhanced degradation of extracellular matrix and basement membrane components in oral diseases including periodontitis is caused by Zn-dependent enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The levels and degrees of activation of MMP-1, -2, -3, -7, -8, -9, -25, -26, tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP)-1 and -2, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) and collagenolytic/gelatinolytic activities, and also Ig A, -G, and -M, total protein, and albumin levels in a two-year follow-up were studied from salivary samples. The expression of MMP-7, -8, -9, -25, and -26 immunoreactivities in gingival tissue specimens were studied. Healthy HIV-negative subjects served as controls. All studied clinical periodontal parameters and microbiological evaluation of the periodontopathogens showed that periodontal health of the HIV-positive patients was moderately decreased in comparison to the healthy controls. The levels of Candida in the periodontal pockets and salivary MPO increased with the severity of HIV infection. Immunoreactivities and levels of MMPs and TIMPs, and MMP activities (collagenase, gelatinase) were enhanced in the HIV-positive patient salivary samples relative to the healthy controls regardless of the phase of HIV infection. However, these parameters did not reflect periodontal status in a similar way as in the generally healthy periodontitis patients. Salivary total protein, albumin, IgA, -G, and -M levels were significantly higher in all phases of HIV infection compared to the controls, and salivary total protein, IgG and IgM levels remained higher after two years follow-up, partly correlating with the disease progression and which may reflect the leakage of serum components into the mouth and thus a decreased mucosal barrier. Salivary analyses of MMPs and TIMPs with immunohistochemical analyses showed that HIV infection could predispose to periodontal destruction when compared with healthy controls or the body s defence reactions associated with HIV infection may have been reflected or mediated by MMPs.

Influence of harvesting strategy on nutrient supply and production of dairy cows consuming diets based on grass and red clover silage

The main objective of this thesis was to elucidate the effects of regrowth grass silage and red clover silage on nutrient supply and milk production of dairy cows as compared with primary growth grass silages. In the first experiment (publication I), two primary growth and four regrowth grass silages were harvested at two stages of growth. These six silages were fed to 24 lactating dairy cows with two levels of concentrate allowance. Silage intake and energy corrected milk yield (ECM) responses, and the range in these response variables between the diets, were smaller when regrowth silages rather than primary growth silages were fed. Milk production of dairy cows reflected the intake of metabolizable energy (ME), and no differences in the ME utilization were found between the diets based on silages harvested from primary growth and regrowth. The ECM response to increased concentrate allowance was, on average, greater when regrowth rather than primary growth silages were fed. In the second experiment (publication II), two silages from primary growth and two from regrowth used in I were fed to rumen cannulated lactating dairy cows. Cows consumed less feed dry matter (DM), energy and protein, and produced less milk, when fed diets based on regrowth silages rather than primary growth silages. Lower milk production responses of regrowth grass silage diets were mainly due to the lower silage DM intake, and could not be accounted for by differences in energy or protein utilization. Regrowth grass silage intake was not limited due to neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestion or rumen fill or passage kinetics. However, lower intake may be at least partly attributable to plant diseases such as leaf spot infections, dead deteriorating material or abundance of weeds, which are all higher in regrowth compared with primary growth, and increase with advancing regrowth. In the third experiment (publications III and IV), red clover silages and grass silages harvested at two stages of growth, and a mixed diet of red clover and grass silages, were fed to five rumen cannulated lactating dairy cows. In spite of the lower average ME intake for red clover diets, the ECM production remained unchanged suggesting more efficient utilisation of ME for red clover diets compared with grass diets. Intake of N, and omasal canal flows of total non-ammonia N (NAN), microbial and non-microbial NAN were higher for red clover than for grass silage diets, but were not affected by forage maturity. Delaying the harvest tended to decrease DM intake of grass silage and increase that of red clover silage. The digestion rate of potentially digestible NDF was faster for red clover diets than for grass silage diets. Delaying the harvest decreased the digestion rate for grass but increased it for red clover silage diets. The low intake of early-cut red clover silage could not be explained by silage digestibility, fermentation quality, or rumen fill but was most likely related to the nutritionally suboptimal diet composition because inclusion of moderate quality grass silage in mixed diet increased silage DM intake. Despite the higher total amino acid supply of cows fed red clover versus grass silage diets, further milk production responses on red clover diets were possibly compromised by an inadequate supply of methionine as evidenced by lower methionine concentration in the amino acid profile of omasal digesta and plasma. Increasing the maturity of ensiled red clover does not seem to affect silage DM intake as consistently as that of grasses. The efficiency of N utilization for milk protein synthesis was lower for red clover diets than for grass diets. It was negatively related to diet crude protein concentration similarly to grass silage diets.

Architectural Solutions for Mobile RFID Services on Internet of Things

Mobile RFID services for the Internet of Things can be created by using RFID as an enabling technology in mobile devices. Humans, devices, and things are the content providers and users of these services. Mobile RFID services can be either provided on mobile devices as stand-alone services or combined with end-to-end systems. When different service solution scenarios are considered, there are more than one possible architectural solution in the network, mobile, and back-end server areas. Combining the solutions wisely by applying the software architecture and engineering principles, a combined solution can be formulated for certain application specific use cases. This thesis illustrates these ideas. It also shows how generally the solutions can be used in real world use case scenarios. A case study is used to add further evidence.

"Towards 'a real reunion'?" : Archbishop Aleksi Lehtonen's efforts for closer relations with the Church of England 1945–1951

Mika KT Pajusen väitös "Towards 'a real reunion'?" – Archbishop Aleksi Lehtonen's efforts for closer relations with the Church of England 1945–1951 on yleiseen kirkkohistoriaan lukeutuva tutkimus Englannin kirkon ja Suomen evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon välisistä suhteista Aleksi Lehtosen arkkipiispakaudella 1945–1951. Suhteita on tutkittu kolmesta näkökulmasta: ekumeenisesta, poliittisesta ja kirkkopoliittisesta. Tutkimuskausi alkaa pastori H.M. Waddamsin joulukuussa 1944 Suomeen tekemän vierailun jälkimainingeista ja päättyy arkkipiispa Lehtosen kuolemaan pääsiäisenä 1951. Kirkollisten suhteiden kehitystä rytmittivät lukuisat vierailut, jotka osoittivat Englannin kirkon asenteen muuttumisen sodan aikaisesta neuvostomyönteisyydestä kylmän sodan aikaiseen täysin vastakkaiseen kantaan. Englantilaiset vieraat kohtasivat Suomessa sekä kirkon että yhteiskunnan ylimmän johdon. Molemmat maat olivat valmiita tukemaan hyviä kirkollisia suhteita tilanteen niin salliessa, joskaan eivät kovin suunnitelmallisesti. Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko käytti hyviä suhteita Englannin kirkkoon saadakseen tukea ja ymmärrystä omalle kirkolleen ja yhteiskunnalleen kokemaansa Neuvostoliiton uhkaa vastaan erityisesti vaaran vuosina 1944–1948. Englannin kirkko halusi tukea suomalaista sisarkirkkoaan, mutta varoi, ettei tuottaisi tuellaan enemmän haittaa kuin hyötyä suhteessa Neuvostoliittoon. Sodan jälkeinen ekumeeninen jälleenrakentaminen lähensi kirkkoja toisiinsa. Lehtonen pyrki jatkamaan 1930-luvun kirkkojen välisiä, ehtoollisvieraanvaraisuuden saavuttaneita neuvotteluita kohti täyttä kirkollista yhteyttä. Häntä motivoi sekä evankelis-katolinen teologia että pyrkimys tukea oman maan ja kirkon läntisiä yhteyksiä. Tämä haastoi Englannin kirkon ekumeenisen linjan, joka Suomen kirkon sijasta pyrki jatkamaan neuvotteluja Tanskan, Norjan ja Islannin luterilaisten kirkkojen kanssa, joilla ei vielä ollut virallista ekumeenista sopimusta Englannin kirkon kanssa. Lehtosen pyrkimyksistä huolimatta Englannin kirkko päätyi jättämään Suomen tilanteen hautumaan. Sillä se tarkoitti suhteiden koetinkivenä olleen historiallisen piispuuden leviämistä läpi Suomen kirkon ennen kuin katsoi olevansa valmis jatkamaan kohti täyttä kirkollista yhteyttä. Molemmissa kirkoissa vaikutti pieni, innokkaiden, lähempiä suhteita toivoneiden kirkollisten vaikuttajien ydinjoukko. Englantilaisia Suomen-ystäviä motivoi tarve auttaa Suomea hankalassa poliittisessa tilanteessa. Suomessa arkkipiispa Lehtonen tuki korkeakirkollista liturgista liikettä, jolla oli läheinen yhteys anglikaanisuuteen, mutta joka sai vastaansa vanhoilliset pietistit. Suomen kirkon yleinen mielipide asettui etupäässä pietistiselle kannalle, jolle anglikaanisuus näyttäytyi teologisesti sekä liian katolisena että liian reformoituna. Kirkolliset suhteet tasaantuivat vuoden 1948 Lambeth-konferenssin jälkeen, joka rohkaisi anglikaanisia kirkkoja hyväksymään 1930-luvun neuvottelujen lähempiin kirkollisiin suhteisiin tähtäävät suositukset. Lehtonen näytti tyytyvän tähän. Samaan aikaan lähempää kirkollista kanssakäymistä tukenut ekumeeninen jälleenrakennus tuli tiensä päähän. Lehtonen jatkoi läheisempien suhteiden edistämistä, mutta hänen intonsa hiipui yhdessä heikkenevän terveydentilan kanssa. Osoituksena Lehtosen linjan kapeudesta Suomen evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon piispoista ei löytynyt hänen kuoltuaan ketään, joka olisi jatkanut hänen aktiivista anglikaanimyönteistä linjaansa.