New threats - old routines : bureaucratic adaptability in the security policy environment

Within the framework of state security policy, the focus of this dissertation are the relations between how new security threats are perceived and the policy planning and bureaucratic implementation that are designed to address them. In addition, this thesis explores and studies some of the inertias that might exist in the core of the state apparatus as it addresses new threats and how these could be better managed. The dissertation is built on five thematic and interrelated articles highlighting different aspects of when new significant national security threats are detected by different governments until the threats on the policy planning side translate into protective measures within the society. The timeline differs widely between different countries and some key aspects of this process are also studied. One focus concerns mechanisms for adaptability within the Intelligence Community, another on the policy planning process within the Cabinet Offices/National Security Councils and the third focus is on the planning process and how policy is implemented within the bureaucracy. The issue of policy transfer is also analysed, revealing that there is some imitation of innovation within governmental structures and policies, for example within the field of cyber defence. The main findings of the dissertation are that this context has built-in inertias and bureaucratic seams found in most government bureaucratic machineries. As much of the information and planning measures imply security classification of the transparency and internal debate on these issues, alternative assessments become limited. To remedy this situation, the thesis recommends ways to improve the decision-making system in order to streamline the processes involved in making these decisions. Another special focus of the thesis concerns the role of the public policy think tanks in the United States as an instrument of change in the country’s national security decision-making environment, which is viewed from the perspective as being a possible source of new ideas and innovation. The findings in this part are based on unique interviews data on how think tanks become successful and influence the policy debate in a country such as the United States. It appears clearly that in countries such as the United States think tanks smooth the decision making processes, and that this model with some adaptations also might be transferrable to other democratic countries.

Customer Knowledge Transfer in MNCs

The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to study customer knowledge transfer processes in multinational corporations (MNCs). The main objective was to examine how customer knowledge is transferred in MNCs and what kind of factors enhance or inhibit the knowledge transfer process, and to create a framework on the basis of the existing literature and the empirical findings. In this thesis the factors were organized according to whether they are properties of the unit involved in knowledge management, properties of relationships between the units or properties of the knowledge itself. There are various properties that influence knowledge transfer but in this thesis the focus was on examining the relevant findings from the customer knowledge viewpoint. Empirical results show that internal fragmentation in the MNC seems to be inherent in this type of organization, and may cause many problems in customer knowledge transfer and utilization. These knowledge transfer inhibitors rise from the organization’s properties: it’s absorptive capacity, motivation, organizational culture, and the two dimensions of knowledge. However, in spite of the inherent forces causing internal fragmentation and inhibiting knowledge transfer, moderate customer knowledge and expertise codification, cooperative working practices among the experts, and socialization mechanisms posed by the headquarters seem to help maintain customer knowledge transfer, and value creation in the long-term relationship. This value creation can be seen to be based on accessing and integrating a wide variety of knowledge resources in order to create a coherent product and service offering.

Tulevaisuuden lähtökohdista kansanvallan kolmiliittoon. Kansallinen Edistyspuolue ja kansallisen eheytymisen politiikka 1919–1939.

Kansallista Edistyspuoluetta ja sen toimijoita maailmansotien välisen Suomen sisäpolitiikassa tarkasteleva väitöstutkimus paneutuu puolueen kansallista eheytymistä ajaneen poliittisen linjan taustoihin, muodostumiseen ja toteutumiseen maailmansotien välisenä aikana vuosina 1919-1939. Vahvasti aineistopohjainen ja lähdekriittinen poliittisen historian tutkimus keskittyy parlamentaarisiin toimijoihin, poliittiseen kenttään ja näiden tuottamiin aineistoihin, kuten edistyspuolueen ja sen toimijoiden arkistoihin, lehdistöön ja valtiopäiväpöytäkirjoihin. Tutkimus selvittää, millainen oli edistyspuolueen kansallisen eheytymisen linja, mihin sillä pyrittiin, miten sitä toteutettiin ja miten se toteutui. Kansainvälisen vertailun kautta tutkimuksessa luodaan myös kuva suomalaisesta liberalismista ja liberalistista. Joulukuussa 1918 perustettu Kansallinen Edistyspuolue oli liberaali puolue, jonka politiikassa korostui erityisesti liberalismin sosiaalinen tulkinta. Puolueen sisäpoliittiseksi linjaksi vastaitsenäistyneessä ja sisällissodan runtelemassa valtiossa muodostui kansallisen eheytymisen edistäminen. Ajatuksen taustalla olivat K. J. Ståhlbergin tulevaisuuden lähtökohtia hahmotelleet artikkelit, jotka julkaistiin Helsingin Sanomissa huhtikuussa 1918 sisällissodan vielä riehuessa. Ståhlbergin mukaan kansalliseen eheytymiseen ei tullut pyrkiä sodan vuoksi vaan siitä huolimatta. Nuorsuomalaiselta puolueelta perityt liberaalit periaatteet täydentyivätkin edistyspuoluelaisessa ajattelussa sisällissodan ja tasavallan puolesta käydyn valtiomuototaistelun avainkokemuksilla. Itsenäisen Suomen ensimmäisiä vuosia hallinneissa keskustahallituksissa kansallista eheytymistä edistettiin sosiaalipoliittisin uudistuksin mm. oppivelvollisuus- ja asutuslakien muodossa. Myös sisällissodan vankien armahdukset olivat osa tätä ohjelmaa. Tutkimus osoittaa, että edistyspuolueen kansallisen eheytymisen politiikan keskeisenä tavoitteena oli poliittisen sovittelun kautta integroida vasemmisto osaksi parlamentaaris-demokraattista järjestelmää. Eheytyspolitiikan todellinen käyttöarvo ja edistyspuolueen poliittiset toimintamahdollisuudet alkoivat kuitenkin heiketä vuoden 1922 eduskuntavaalien jälkeen.Tutkimuksesta käy ilmi, että toteutettu eheytyspolitiikka ja sen osittainen epäonnistuminen näkyivät sekä kommunistien jatkuvana kannatuksena että sisäpoliittisen ilmapiirin oikeistolaistumisena. Tämä kehitys nosti myös edistyspuolueessa esille voimat, jotka suosivat porvariyhteistyötä ohi keskustavasemmistolaisen eheytyspoliittisen linjan. Alkuvuosien jälkeen valtiomuototaistelun koossapitävä voima heikkeni edistyspuolueen sisällä ja 1920-luvun puolivälissä käydyt linjakiistat osoittivat, että osalle puolueen jäsenistä vuoden 1918 puoluevalinnassa keskeisemmässä roolissa oli ollut tasavaltalaisuus kuin vasemmiston integrointi ja kansallinen eheytyminen. Edistyspuolueen johto ei kuitenkaan ollut valmis luopumaan eheytyspoliittisesta linjasta ja sen ympärille luodusta puolueidentiteetistä, joten porvariyhteistyötä kannattanut oikeisto-oppositio päätyi suurelta osin eroamaan puolueesta vuonna 1927. Tutkimus osoittaa, että parlamentarismin rapautuminen ja pienelle yleispuolueelle elintärkeiden yhteistyömahdollisuuksien heikkeneminen luokkapuolueiden puristuksessa johtivat edistyspuolueen kannatuksen alamäkeen sotien välisenä aikana. Se kutistui 26 kansanedustajan keskisuuresta puolueesta vain kuuden edustajan pienpuolueeksi. Puolueidentiteetin vahvuus ja keskeisten toimijoiden puolueen kokoa suurempi poliittinen painoarvo pitivät sen lakkauttamispohdinnoista huolimatta kuitenkin koossa ja kiinni politiikan ytimessä. Oikeistoradikalismin vuodet 1920–1930-lukujen taitteessa olivat edistyspuolueellesekä uhka että mahdollisuus. Tutkimuksessa käy ilmi, että vaikka kommunisminvastaisen kansanliikkeen vaatimukset olivat edistyspuoluelaisten mielestä oikeutettuja, oli kansanliikkeen niiden ajamiseksi omaksumia laittomia ja ulkoparlamentaarisia keinoja vaikea hyväksyä. Eheytyspolitiikan kannalta katsottuna melkotoivottamalta näyttänyt tilanne kääntyi kuitenkin lopulta voitoksi: äärivasemmisto eliminoitiin, äärioikeisto ajautui paitsioon ja tie maltillisen vasemmiston ja keskustan yhteistyölle aukesi jälleen. Tämä johti lopulta vuonna 1937 punamultahallitukseen ja kansanvallan kolmiliittoon Kansallisen Edistyspuolueen, SDP:n ja Maalaisliiton kesken. Kokemus siitä, että itsenäisyys oli alati uhattuna, toi suomalaiseen liberalismiin varsin nationalistisia piirteitä, joita eurooppalaisten veljespuolueiden ohjelmista ei löydy. Liberalismiin usein liitetty mielleyhtymä sen kosmopoliittisesta, kansallisvaltioita ylittävästä luonteesta jäi Suomessa sotien välisenä aikana nationalismin ja itäisen naapurin luoman uhan varjoon. Suomen sisäpoliittinen tilanne ja geopoliittinen asema loivat vaatimuksen vahvasta kansallisesta yhtenäisyydestä. Suomalainen liberalismi määrittyikin eurooppalaisia vastineitaan voimakkaammin nuorta valtiota hallinneen kansallisuusajattelun, itsesäilytysvaiston ja kansallisen eheyden vaatimusten kautta. Tutkimuksessa todetaan, että edistyspuolueen eheytyspoliittisen linjan muotoutumista ja toteutumista vuosien 1919‒1939 aikana voi pitää idealismin voittona realismista. Lukuun ottamatta reformipolitiikan vuosia edistyspuolueen pitäytyminen valitulla linjalla näyttäytyi poliittisten toimintamahdollisuuksien kannalta katsottuna ajoittain jopa epärealistiselta. Koko sotien välistä aikaa tarkastellessa voikin todeta, että se, minkä edistyspuolue poliittisten päämäärien saavuttamisen valossa voitti, sen se menetti kannatusluvuissa.

Still the century of government savings banks? The Caixa Econômica Federal

This article explores general concerns about government banking, social inclusion, and democracy through case study of the Brazilian federal government savings bank (Caixa Econômica Federal). Review of government savings banks in Brazilian history suggests that these institutions have been at the center of domestic political economy, expanding and contracting under a variety of political regimes and economic conditions. Since capitalization to meet central bank and Basel Accord guidelines in 2001, the Caixa has attempted to modernize, continue to serve as agent for government policies, and expand both popular credit and savings and investment banking activities.

O social no governo Lula: a construção de um novo populismo em tempos de aplicação de uma agenda neoliberal

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the main characteristics of new Lula's government support. The paper's hypothesis concentrates in the idea of starting a different political approach, "a new populism". The paper argues that Lula's government to keep in power, beyond of going on with the neoliberal project - unfinished in the last years of FHC government -, needs to build up a solid and trustful political support, which is being done by implementing income transfer programs directed to poor people and the ones with less organization experience. This paper also calls the attention to Lula's government nature, in order to clarify the difficulties which should be dealt and the tasks to be developed in building up a political party that defends workers emancipation and Brazilians exploited.

Alternative electron transfer routes involved in photoprotection of cyanobacteria

In oxygenic photosynthesis, the highly oxidizing reactions of water splitting produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other radicals that could damage the photosynthetic apparatus and affect cell viability. Under particular environmental conditions, more electrons are produced in water oxidation than can be harmlessly used by photochemical processes for the reduction of metabolic electron sinks. In these circumstances, the excess of electrons can be delivered, for instance, to O2, resulting in the production of ROS. To prevent detrimental reactions, a diversified assortment of photoprotection mechanisms has evolved in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. In this thesis, I focus on the role of alternative electron transfer routes in photoprotection of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Firstly, I discovered a novel subunit of the NDH-1 complex, NdhS, which is necessary for cyclic electron transfer around Photosystem I, and provides tolerance to high light intensities. Cyclic electron transfer is important in modulating the ATP/NADPH ratio under stressful environmental conditions. The NdhS subunit is conserved in many oxygenic phototrophs, such as cyanobacteria and higher plants. NdhS has been shown to link linear electron transfer to cyclic electron transfer by forming a bridge for electrons accumulating in the Ferredoxin pool to reach the NDH-1 complexes. Secondly, I thoroughly investigated the role of the entire flv4-2 operon in the photoprotection of Photosystem II under air level CO2 conditions and varying light intensities. The operon encodes three proteins: two flavodiiron proteins Flv2 and Flv4 and a small Sll0218 protein. Flv2 and Flv4 are involved in a novel electron transport pathway diverting electrons from the QB pocket of Photosystem II to electron acceptors, which still remain unknown. In my work, it is shown that the flv4-2 operon-encoded proteins safeguard Photosystem II activity by sequestering electrons and maintaining the oxidized state of the PQ pool. Further, Flv2/Flv4 was shown to boost Photosystem II activity by accelerating forward electron flow, triggered by an increased redox potential of QB. The Sll0218 protein was shown to be differentially regulated as compared to Flv2 and Flv4. Sll0218 appeared to be essential for Photosystem II accumulation and was assigned a stabilizing role for Photosystem II assembly/repair. It was also shown to be responsible for optimized light-harvesting. Thus, Sll0218 and Flv2/Flv4 cooperate to protect and enhance Photosystem II activity. Sll0218 ensures an increased number of active Photosystem II centers that efficiently capture light energy from antennae, whilst the Flv2/Flv4 heterodimer provides a higher electron sink availability, in turn, promoting a safer and enhanced activity of Photosystem II. This intertwined function was shown to result in lowered singlet oxygen production. The flv4-2 operon-encoded photoprotective mechanism disperses excess excitation pressure in a complimentary manner with the Orange Carotenoid Protein-mediated non-photochemical quenching. Bioinformatics analyses provided evidence for the loss of the flv4-2 operon in the genomes of cyanobacteria that have developed a stress inducible D1 form. However, the occurrence of various mechanisms, which dissipate excitation pressure at the acceptor side of Photosystem II was revealed in evolutionarily distant clades of organisms, i.e. cyanobacteria, algae and plants.

Heat-transfer improvements in an axial-flux permanent-magnet synchronous machine

Axial-flux machines tend to have cooling difficulties since it is difficult to arrange continuous heat path between the stator stack and the frame. One important reason for this is that no shrink fitting of the stator is possible in an axial-flux machine. Using of liquid-cooled end shields does not alone solve this issue. Cooling of the rotor and the end windings may also be difficult at least in case of two-stator-single-rotor construction where air circulation in the rotor and in the end-winding areas may be difficult to arrange. If the rotor has significant losses air circulation via the rotor and behind the stator yokes should be arranged which, again, weakens the stator cooling. In this paper we study a novel way of using copper bars as extra heat transfer paths between the stator teeth and liquid cooling pools in the end shields. After this the end windings still suffer of low thermal conductivity and means for improving this by high-heat-conductance material was also studied. The design principle of each cooling system is presented in details. Thermal models based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are used to analyse the temperature distribution in the machine. Measurement results are provided from different versions of the machine. The results show that significant improvements in the cooling can be gained by these steps.

Lean management implementation in Horizontal Technology Transfer projects

The importance of Technology Transfer activities of companies is underpinned by the changes in technological and economic environments. However, there is still a significant gap in defining possible ways for Technology Transfer projects effectiveness improvement. The Master’s Thesis overviews common problems faced by the companies in implementation of Technology Transfer projects and examines Lean management principles as possible way to improve its effectiveness. Based on the analysis of the relevant scientific literature and results of the survey, conducted among the firms of different types, the approach to Technology Transfer projects implementation with the use of Lean management principles is proposed. The approach serves to solve some of the important problems faced by the managers of Technology Transfer projects. It is envisaged that this approach can help to increase overall Technology Transfer projects’ effectiveness.

Key factors in U.S. Government support of business internationalization in Finland Case: U.S. Embassy in Helsinki

This study discusses the importance of government intervention for companies and the expansion of national innovation systems. The purpose of the study is to examine the impact which the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki can have on Finnish businesses through their business support programs and events. The embassy has shifted focus in recent years with the creation of an innovation center and increased business services. The study has sub-objectives to discover the critical factors for producing impact, host and home based factor interaction, and effects produced by these initiatives. The theoretical background of the study consists of literature relating to the concepts of national innovation systems and government intervention. The empirical research conduct for this study is based on interviews with experts from the environment surrounding the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, Finland and participation in embassy events. The data was collected between March 2014 and September 2015. Seven interviews were conducted; five with representatives of the U.S. Embassy and two with related organizations. Thematic analysis was used to categorize and interpret interview and observation data. The use of an impact radar was implemented as a basis for analysis. This study finds that the internationalization of national innovation systems provides interesting opportunities and challenges for national governments. The opportunity to provide services to foreign companies by an embassy in a stable environment opens the possibility to create positive notice and relations with the host country. The increased connections and inputs to the national innovation system of the home country have the potential to increase knowledge absorption and create positive growth. The most effective way for governments to encourage businesses is to create incentives and reduce barriers. The services are best aimed at small to medium sized companies in the early stages of development. The findings of this report suggest that the most critical factors for producing impact on companies are the ability to disseminate information effectively, the ability to create a positive image of the country, the ability to foster effective networks between the two countries, and the ability to facilitate the internationalization of companies. In the best cases, the embassy is able to create incentives to internationalize to the United States and reduce barriers which are encountered by companies. Future research is necessary to fully understand the impact of business services provided by an embassy can have on the political and economic relations of countries, and on particular industry sectors. The institutional setting provided by the embassy’s focus on business relations provides a rich environment for further study in a number of areas.

Bases políticas das transferências intergovernamentais no Brasil (1985-2004)

The politics of intergovernmental transfers in Brazil. This article examines the political economy of public resources distribution in Brazil's federal system in 1985-2004. We propose an empirical exercise to analyze how the country's federal governments deal with the tradeoff between the provision of material wellbeing to sub-national governments (the states in our study) and the pursuit of political support from the latter. To identify the determinants of the transfer of resources from the federal government to the states, a set of economic, political, and institutional variables is econometrically tested. Based upon instrumental variables estimation for panel-data models, our estimates indicate that in Brazil the pursuit of political goals prevails over social equity and economic efficiency criteria: higher levels of per capita transfers are associated with the political makeup of governing coalitions, while larger investments in infrastructure and development by the states are associated with a lower amount of per capita resources transferred to sub-national governments. Our findings also suggest a trend toward the freezing of interregional inequalities in Brazil, and show the relevance of fiscal discipline laws in discouraging the use of the administrative apparatus for electioneering.

Minsky on "Big Government"

This paper objective is to assess, in light of the main works of Minsky, his view and analysis of what he called the "Big Government" as that huge institution which, in parallels with the "Big Bank" was capable of ensuring stability in the capitalist system and regulate its inherently unstable financial system in mid-20th century. In this work, we analyze how Minsky proposes an active role for the government in a complex economic system flawed by financial instability.

In Search for the European solidarity: The rule of law within the European Union in the framework of constitutional pluralism

The dissertation examines the rule of law within the European Union in the theoretical framework of constitutional pluralism. The leading lines of constitutional pluralism are examined with relation to the traditional and prevailing, monistic and hierarchical conceptions on how to perceive legal orders in Europe. The theoretical part offers also historical perspective by highlighting some of the turning points for the Union constitutional legal order in the framework of European integration. The concept of rule of law is examined in legal terms and its meaning to the Union constitutional constellation as a constitutional principle and a common value is observed. The realization of the rule of law at supranational and national level is explored with a view to discover that recent developments in some of the Member States give rise to concern about the viability of the rule of law within the European Union. It is recognized that the inobservance of the rule of law at national level causes a threat to the supranational constitutional legal order. The relationship between the supranational and national legal orders is significant in this respect and therefore particularly the interaction between the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter the ECJ) and the Member States’ (constitutional/supreme) courts takes focus. It is observed that functioning dialogue between the supranational and national courts based on mutual respect and judicial deference is an important prerequisite for the realization of the rule of law within Europe. In order to afford a concrete example, a recent case C-62/14 Gauweiler v Deutscher Bundestag is introduced and analysed in relation to the notorious relationship between the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany and the ECJ. The implications of the ECJ’s decision in Gauweiler v Deutscher Bundestag is assessed with reference to some of the pressing issues of constitutionalism within Europe and some institutional aspects are also brought forward. Lastly, the feasibility of constitutional pluralism as a theoretical setting is measured against the legal reality of today’s Europe and its many constitutions. The hierarchical idea of one ultimate source of power, stemming from the traditional approaches to legal systems, is then assessed with relation to the requirement of the realization of the rule of law within the European Union from the supranational and national point of view.

Profits and votes: Entrepreneurs and the government in Brazilian housing policy

ABSTRACTAfter more than twenty years of low housing construction output, the housing policy recovered its momentum in the country with the ascent of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers' Party, PT) to the seat of the federal government. This article demonstrates - through the analysis of documents, interviews and research conducted with businessmen - that the impetus of such a state policy is a part of the PT electoral strategy, which is based on economic growth and the expansion of social programs. The research analyses the dovetailing of interests between the Lula (the Brazilian President from 2003 to 2010) administration and the civil construction business - the latter concerned with expanding its business, and the former with increasing the supply of jobs and the level of economic activity. This process culminated in the launching of the largest social housing program to be implemented in the country. Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life), is a project in whose planning building companies played a key role, performing feasibility studies and carrying out social housing projects.

A year after Crimea: continuity and change of Finnish-Russian relations reflected in the views of the government officials of Finland and Russia

This thesis discusses the dynamism of bilateral relations between Finland and Russia and their interconnection with wider EU-Russia relations in the sight of the recent conflict in Ukraine. In particular, incorporation of Crimea in the territory of Russia in March 2014 is believed to have triggered a series of disputes between the European Union and Russia and thus, have impacted the course of the bilateral Finnish-Russian relations. The study leans on a premise that there are some historical traditions and regularities in the Finnish foreign policy course towards Russia which make the bilateral Finnish-Russian relations special. These traditions are distinguished and described in the book “Russia Forever? Towards Pragmatism in Finnish/Russian relations” (2008) edited by H. Rytövuori-Apunen. Assuming that the featured traditions take place in modern relations between Finland and Russia, the aim of the thesis is to find out how these traditions reappear during the year shaped by the events in Ukraine. In order to do that, author follows the timeline of happenings around the Ukraine crisis starting with Crimea’s referendum on independence, and exams the way these events were commented on and evaluated by the key government officials and political institutions of Finland and Russia. The main focus is given to the Finnish official discourse on Russia during the study period. The data collection, consisting of mostly primary sources (ministerial press releases and comments, statements, speeches and blog posts of individual policy makers) is processed using the thematic analysis supported by the content analysis. The study reveals that the consequences of the Ukraine crisis have brought, among others, complications to the economic cooperation between Finland and Russia, and have stimulated the increased attention of the Finnish decision makers to the country’s security questions. As a result, the character and importance of some historical regularities of the Finnish foreign policies on Russia, like the Continental Dilemma, have taken new shape.