A Historical Materialist Approach to the Eurozone Crisis: Fictitious Capital, States, and Capital Accumulation

This dissertation examines the ongoing European sovereign debt crises that began with Greece in 2009, in the wake of the US subprime mortgage crisis. Through the application of a historical materialist approach, I attempt to understand the on-going crisis in the European Monetary Union (EMU) by investigating root causes of sovereign debt crises, relations of power, and main beneficiaries of the policy responses. My theoretical framework hinges on three contradictions in capitalism: the tendency towards overaccumulation, the tension between fictitious capital and the productive base, and the contradiction inherent in capitalist states between their role as a national state and as a class state. In contrast to the dominant positions that locate the cause of the crisis within either: debtor states; creditor states; or the framework at the EMU, I argue that these sovereign debt crises are actually a broader crisis of crisis of capitalism within the EMU itself. In order to do so, I trace the evolution of the political economy of the Eurozone in the post-Bretton woods era, with a particularly focus on the credit system. More specifically, I argue that these crises are the result of an interaction between three meso-level contradictions that have developed within the EMU region: 1) Germany’s postwar accumulation regime, which has produced a deep crisis of overaccumulation; 2) the contradictory processes associated with the neoliberal logic of the EMU, by which I mean the rush to lower barriers to credit and finance at the expense of all else; and 3) credit-fueled, consumption-based EMU integration in the periphery; and. These three contradictions came together in the wake of the 2007-2008 US subprime crisis to form an overall crisis of capitalism in the Eurozone, expressed, as I suggest, as a crisis of fictitious capital. This dissertation aims to contribute to the ongoing project among critical political economists to de-naturalize and re-politicize money, while challenging the hegemony of monetarism within neoliberalism. Second, there has yet to be a comprehensive study that examines the EMU, Germany, and the crises in the periphery from a holistic, historical materialist analysis.

TAKING ORGANIZATIONS SERIOUSLY: RESPONSIBLE AGENCY, ORGANIZATIONS AND THE CRIMINAL LAW

In the post-Enlightenment period, Anglo-American criminal law has been applied with increased force, and an ever expanding scope, to collective actors like corporations and other organizations. Recent scholarship has focused on developing “truly organizational” bases of liability that break with the conventional approach of imputing individual conduct to an organization and instead analyze culpable conduct and intent in a way that reflects the distinct and independent capacity of organizations to pursue their interests or goals collaboratively. In 2004, Canada enacted amendments inspired by these ideas in the hope they would lead to more effective criminal enforcement against organizations. Twelve years later, however, the promise of Bill C-45 is largely unfulfilled. In this thesis, I explore how much of this failure of law reform to deliver transformational change is attributable to an individualist bias that permeates how we think about what it means to be responsible and how this then shapes the responsibility ascription process. Using an analytical framework that combines criminal law theory with selected aspects of rational-structural theory and organization culture, I suggest that a promising way forward may lie in reframing the essential qualities required to be a subject of the criminal law in a way that captures the unique attributes that make organizations different from individuals. The resulting organizational concept of responsible agency allows for an integration of organizational reality into how we assess organizational culpability while keeping the ambit of criminal liability within the limits of what is practicable and fair. This better aligns with the spirit of Bill C-45: to impose criminal liability in a way that takes organizations – and their crimes – seriously.

New Rigorous Decomposition Methods for Mixed-integer Linear and Nonlinear Programming

Process systems design, operation and synthesis problems under uncertainty can readily be formulated as two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear and nonlinear (nonconvex) programming (MILP and MINLP) problems. These problems, with a scenario based formulation, lead to large-scale MILPs/MINLPs that are well structured. The first part of the thesis proposes a new finitely convergent cross decomposition method (CD), where Benders decomposition (BD) and Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition (DWD) are combined in a unified framework to improve the solution of scenario based two-stage stochastic MILPs. This method alternates between DWD iterations and BD iterations, where DWD restricted master problems and BD primal problems yield a sequence of upper bounds, and BD relaxed master problems yield a sequence of lower bounds. A variant of CD, which includes multiple columns per iteration of DW restricted master problem and multiple cuts per iteration of BD relaxed master problem, called multicolumn-multicut CD is then developed to improve solution time. Finally, an extended cross decomposition method (ECD) for solving two-stage stochastic programs with risk constraints is proposed. In this approach, a CD approach at the first level and DWD at a second level is used to solve the original problem to optimality. ECD has a computational advantage over a bilevel decomposition strategy or solving the monolith problem using an MILP solver. The second part of the thesis develops a joint decomposition approach combining Lagrangian decomposition (LD) and generalized Benders decomposition (GBD), to efficiently solve stochastic mixed-integer nonlinear nonconvex programming problems to global optimality, without the need for explicit branch and bound search. In this approach, LD subproblems and GBD subproblems are systematically solved in a single framework. The relaxed master problem obtained from the reformulation of the original problem, is solved only when necessary. A convexification of the relaxed master problem and a domain reduction procedure are integrated into the decomposition framework to improve solution efficiency. Using case studies taken from renewable resource and fossil-fuel based application in process systems engineering, it can be seen that these novel decomposition approaches have significant benefit over classical decomposition methods and state-of-the-art MILP/MINLP global optimization solvers.

ROLE OF THE FRONTAL EYE FIELD, SUPERIOR COLLICULUS, AND BASAL GANGLIA IN FLEXIBLE SACCADE BEHAVIOR

A distributed network of cortical and subcortical brain regions mediates the control of voluntary behavior, but it is unclear how this complex system may flexibly shift between different behavioral events. This thesis describes the neurophysiological changes in several key nuclei across the brain during flexible behavior, using saccadic eye movements in rhesus macaque monkeys. We examined five nuclei critical for saccade initiation and modulation: the frontal eye field (FEF) in the cerebral cortex, the subthalamic nucleus (STN), caudate nucleus (CD), and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) in the basal ganglia (BG), and the superior colliculus (SC) in the midbrain. The first study tested whether a ‘threshold’ theory of how neuronal activity cues saccade initiation is consistent with the flexible control of behavior. The theory suggests there is a fixed level of FEF and SC neuronal activation at which saccades are initiated. Our results provide strong evidence against a fixed saccade threshold in either structure during flexible behavior, and indicate that threshold variability might depend on the level of inhibitory signals applied to the FEF or SC. The next two studies investigated the BG network as a likely candidate to modulate a saccade initiation mechanism, based on strong inhibitory output signals from the BG to the FEF and SC. We investigated the STN and CD (BG input), and the SNr (BG oculomotor output) to examine changes across the BG network. This revealed robust task-contingent shifts in BG signaling (Chapter 3), which uniquely impacted saccade initiation according to behavioral condition (Chapters 3 and 4). The thesis concludes with a published short review of the mechanistic effects of BG deep brain stimulation (Chapter 5), and a general discussion including proof of concept saccade behavioral changes in an MPTP-induced Parkinsonian model (Chapter 6). The studies presented here demonstrate that the conditions for saccade initiation by the FEF and SC vary according to behavioral condition, while simultaneously, large-scale task dependent shifts occur in BG signaling consistent with the observed modulation of FEF and SC activity. Taken together, these describe a mechanistic framework by which the cortico-BG loop may contribute to the flexible control of behavior.

Exploring the Experience of Teachers Working with Exceptional Learners

Regular classroom teachers, who often report that they lack adequate training and resources, increasingly find themselves supporting students with special education needs (Connelly & Graham, 2009). Teachers working in challenging environments can thrive in their role and continue to experience professional growth and passion about their work with students with exceptionalities (Perry, Brenner, Collie, & Hofer, 2015). Thriving is one framework of psychological wellness that can provide insight into the experiences of teachers working with exceptional learners (Spreitzer & Porath, 2014). Chronic stress from occupational demands such as heavy workload and insufficient resources can negatively affect the wellbeing of teachers and lead to poor mental health (Desrumaux et al., 2015). Burnout and compassion fatigue are two constructs of poor mental health that can inform our understanding of teachers’ social and emotional experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the social and emotional experiences of teachers working with exceptional learners in regular classrooms. The objective of this study was to describe the elements within teachers’ professional roles that they report contribute to their social and emotional experiences understood through the lenses of thriving, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Interviews were conducted with five teachers: one full-time in-service teacher and four teachers who are pursuing graduate studies in education. The theme of thriving emerged as a significant component of the interview with all five participants. All five participants described experiences of vitality and learning as essential to their workplace satisfaction and overall thriving. Although the data from this study did not suggest that participants were experiencing burnout or compassion fatigue, elements of the two constructs did emerge as relevant to the social-emotional experiences of the teachers.

Classifying And Predicting Software Security Vulnerabilities based on Reproducibility

Security defects are common in large software systems because of their size and complexity. Although efficient development processes, testing, and maintenance policies are applied to software systems, there are still a large number of vulnerabilities that can remain, despite these measures. Some vulnerabilities stay in a system from one release to the next one because they cannot be easily reproduced through testing. These vulnerabilities endanger the security of the systems. We propose vulnerability classification and prediction frameworks based on vulnerability reproducibility. The frameworks are effective to identify the types and locations of vulnerabilities in the earlier stage, and improve the security of software in the next versions (referred to as releases). We expand an existing concept of software bug classification to vulnerability classification (easily reproducible and hard to reproduce) to develop a classification framework for differentiating between these vulnerabilities based on code fixes and textual reports. We then investigate the potential correlations between the vulnerability categories and the classical software metrics and some other runtime environmental factors of reproducibility to develop a vulnerability prediction framework. The classification and prediction frameworks help developers adopt corresponding mitigation or elimination actions and develop appropriate test cases. Also, the vulnerability prediction framework is of great help for security experts focus their effort on the top-ranked vulnerability-prone files. As a result, the frameworks decrease the number of attacks that exploit security vulnerabilities in the next versions of the software. To build the classification and prediction frameworks, different machine learning techniques (C4.5 Decision Tree, Random Forest, Logistic Regression, and Naive Bayes) are employed. The effectiveness of the proposed frameworks is assessed based on collected software security defects of Mozilla Firefox.

Strategic Diplomacies: Indigenous Governance, International Politics, and Natural Resources in Canada

International Relations theory would predict that central governments, with their considerable material resources, would be unlikely to face a challenge from a substate government. However, substate governments, and particularly Indigenous governments, are pushing back against central government control in both domestic and international spheres. Indigenous governments are leveraging their local mining sectors to realize their interests and express local identities—interests and identities that may not be congruent with those of the central government. Applying the case study of the resource extraction sector in Canada, this thesis asks: under what conditions are substate governments able to challenge the authority of central governments in the international arena? Canada’s reliance on the global extractive resource sector is a major driver of its international policy preferences, but the increased engagement of Indigenous governments in the sector challenges the control of the federal government. Focusing on the resource extraction sectors in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, this thesis argues that there is a mutually reinforcing relationship between Indigenous governments’ international engagement and their domestic autonomy; both challenge the parameters of state authority. Both force the state to respond to claims of control from multiple sites and to clarify convoluted policy environments. A confluence of factors—including increased Indigenous connections to the globalized economy, new Canadian regulatory frameworks, and recent Supreme Court of Canada cases regarding Indigenous lands—have all altered the space in which Indigenous governments in Canada participate in the resource extraction sector and produce overlapping or multilevel governance structures. This thesis demonstrates that Indigenous international engagement entrenches the authority and political legitimacy manifest in Indigenous governments’ insistence on equitable and horizontal negotiations in Canada’s lucrative resource extraction sector. A cumulative process occurs in which domestic and international expressions of political autonomy reinforce each other, produce further opportunities to express authority in both environments, and trouble the state’s capacity to fully realize its international policy preferences.

Keeping Variables within Bounds: Using Information between Observations

This research develops an econometric framework to analyze time series processes with bounds. The framework is general enough that it can incorporate several different kinds of bounding information that constrain continuous-time stochastic processes between discretely-sampled observations. It applies to situations in which the process is known to remain within an interval between observations, by way of either a known constraint or through the observation of extreme realizations of the process. The main statistical technique employs the theory of maximum likelihood estimation. This approach leads to the development of the asymptotic distribution theory for the estimation of the parameters in bounded diffusion models. The results of this analysis present several implications for empirical research. The advantages are realized in the form of efficiency gains, bias reduction and in the flexibility of model specification. A bias arises in the presence of bounding information that is ignored, while it is mitigated within this framework. An efficiency gain arises, in the sense that the statistical methods make use of conditioning information, as revealed by the bounds. Further, the specification of an econometric model can be uncoupled from the restriction to the bounds, leaving the researcher free to model the process near the bound in a way that avoids bias from misspecification. One byproduct of the improvements in model specification is that the more precise model estimation exposes other sources of misspecification. Some processes reveal themselves to be unlikely candidates for a given diffusion model, once the observations are analyzed in combination with the bounding information. A closer inspection of the theoretical foundation behind diffusion models leads to a more general specification of the model. This approach is used to produce a set of algorithms to make the model computationally feasible and more widely applicable. Finally, the modeling framework is applied to a series of interest rates, which, for several years, have been constrained by the lower bound of zero. The estimates from a series of diffusion models suggest a substantial difference in estimation results between models that ignore bounds and the framework that takes bounding information into consideration.

Analysis of Non-Stationary Flows Using Eulerian and Lagrangian Frameworks

Recent developments have made researchers to reconsider Lagrangian measurement techniques as an alternative to their Eulerian counterpart when investigating non-stationary flows. This thesis advances the state-of-the-art of Lagrangian measurement techniques by pursuing three different objectives: (i) developing new Lagrangian measurement techniques for difficult-to-measure, in situ flow environments; (ii) developing new post-processing strategies designed for unstructured Lagrangian data, as well as providing guidelines towards their use; and (iii) presenting the advantages that the Lagrangian framework has over their Eulerian counterpart in various non-stationary flow problems. Towards the first objective, a large-scale particle tracking velocimetry apparatus is designed for atmospheric surface layer measurements. Towards the second objective, two techniques, one for identifying Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) and the other for characterizing entrainment directly from unstructured Lagrangian data, are developed. Finally, towards the third objective, the advantages of Lagrangian-based measurements are showcased in two unsteady flow problems: the atmospheric surface layer, and entrainment in a non-stationary turbulent flow. Through developing new experimental and post-processing strategies for Lagrangian data, and through showcasing the advantages of Lagrangian data in various non-stationary flows, the thesis works to help investigators to more easily adopt Lagrangian-based measurement techniques.

Addressing vulnerability and human rights in disaster response mechanisms in Oceania

The Oceania region is an area particularly prone to natural disasters such as cyclones, tsunamis, floods, droughts, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Many of the nations in the region are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), yet even within wealthy states such as Australia and New Zealand there are groups which are vulnerable to disaster. Vulnerability to natural disaster can be understood in human rights terms, as natural disasters threaten the enjoyment of a number of rights which are guaranteed under international law, including rights to health, housing, food, water and even the right to life itself. The impacts of climate change threaten to exacerbate these vulnerabilities, yet, despite the foreseeability of further natural disasters as a result of climate change, there currently exists no comprehensive international framework for disaster response offering practical and/or legally reliable mechanisms to assist at‐risk states and communities. This paper sets out to explore the human rights issues presented by natural disasters and examine the extent to which these issues can be addressed by disaster response frameworks at the international, regional and national levels.

Kulttuurisia kohtaamisia : Suomalaiset kuvataiteilijat ja Rooma 1800-luvulla

Dozens of Finnish artists, practically all the professional sculptors and painters, travelled to and stayed in Rome during the 19th century. The study at hand concentrates for the first time on the Finnish artists in Rome in corpore, and analyses their way of life based on a broad variety of previously unknown and unexplored sources from a number of archives in both Scandinavia and Rome. The extensive corpus of source material is scrutinized with microhistorical precision from the point of view of cultural history. The new information thus achieved adds to the previous knowledge of Rome s often overlooked importance as a source of inspiration in Scandinavian culture in general and significantly clarifies our understanding of the development of Finnish artistic life and cultural identity in the 19th century. The study proves that in Finland, like in all of Europe, the stay in Rome was considered to be a necessary part of becoming a true artist. Already the journey was an integral part of the encounter with Rome, corresponding with the civilized ideal of the period. The stay in Rome provided a northern artist with overwhelming opportunities that were incomparable to the unestablished and modest forms of artistic life Finland could offer. Without domestic artistic institutions or traditions, the professional status of Finnish painters and sculptors took shape abroad, firstly through the encounter with Rome and the different networks the Finnish artists belonged to during and after their stay in the eternal city. The Finnish artists were an integral part of the international artistic community in the cultural capital of Europe, which gave a totally new impetus to their work and contributed to their cosmopolitan identification. For these early masters of Finnish art, the Scandinavian communality and universal artistic identity seemed to be more significant than their nationality. In all, the scrutiny of Finnish artists in their wide social, ideological and international framework gives an interesting aspect to the cultural ambiance of the 19th century, in both Rome and Finland. The study highlights many long-forgotten artists who were influential in shaping Finnish art, culture and identity in their time.

Essays on the Bioeconomics of the Northern Baltic Fisheries

World marine fisheries suffer from economic and biological overfishing: too many vessels are harvesting too few fish stocks. Fisheries economics has explained the causes of overfishing and provided a theoretical background for management systems capable of solving the problem. Yet only a few examples of fisheries managed by the principles of the bioeconomic theory exist. With the aim of bridging the gap between the actual fish stock assessment models used to provide management advice and economic optimisation models, the thesis explores economically sound harvesting from national and international perspectives. Using data calibrated for the Baltic salmon and herring stocks, optimal harvesting policies are outlined using numerical methods. First, the thesis focuses on the socially optimal harvest of a single salmon stock by commercial and recreational fisheries. The results obtained using dynamic programming show that the optimal fishery configuration would be to close down three out of the five studied fisheries. The result is robust to stock size fluctuations. Compared to a base case situation, the optimal fleet structure would yield a slight decrease in the commercial catch, but a recreational catch that is nearly seven times higher. As a result, the expected economic net benefits from the fishery would increase nearly 60%, and the expected number of juvenile salmon (smolt) would increase by 30%. Second, the thesis explores the management of multiple salmon stocks in an international framework. Non-cooperative and cooperative game theory are used to demonstrate different "what if" scenarios. The results of the four player game suggest that, despite the commonly agreed fishing quota, the behaviour of the countries has been closer to non-cooperation than cooperation. Cooperation would more than double the net benefits from the fishery compared to a past fisheries policy. Side payments, however, are a prerequisite for a cooperative solution. Third, the thesis applies coalitional games in the partition function form to study whether the cooperative solution would be stable despite the potential presence of positive externalities. The results show that the cooperation of two out of four studied countries can be stable. Compared to a past fisheries policy, a stable coalition structure would provide substantial economic benefits. Nevertheless, the status of the salmon stocks would not improve significantly. Fourth, the thesis studies the prerequisites for and potential consequences of the implementation of an individual transferable quota (ITQ) system in the Finnish herring fishery. Simulation results suggest that ITQs would result in a decrease in the number of fishing vessels, but enables positive profits to overlap with a higher stock size. The empirical findings of the thesis affirm that the profitability of the studied fisheries could be improved. The evidence, however, indicates that incentives for free riding exist, and thus the most preferable outcome both in economic and biological terms is elusive.

Evidence in European Asylum Procedures

This thesis explores the particular framework of evidentiary assessment of three selected appellate national asylum procedures in Europe and discusses the relationship between these procedures, on the one hand, and between these procedures and other legal systems, including the EU legal order and international law, on the other. A theme running throughout the thesis is the EU strivings towards approximation of national asylum procedures and my study analyses the evidentiary assessment of national procedures with the aim of pinpointing similarities and differences, and the influences which affect these distinctions. The thesis first explores the frames construed for national evidentiary solutions by studying the object of decision-making and the impact of legal systems outside the national. Second, the study analyses the factual evidentiary assessment of three national procedures - German, Finnish and English. Thirdly, the study explores the interrelationship between these procedures and the legal systems influencing them and poses questions in relation to the strivings of EU and methods of convergence. The thesis begins by stating the framework and starting points for the research. It moves on to establish keys of comparison concerning four elements of evidentiary assessment that are of importance to any appellate asylum procedure, and that can be compared between national procedures, on the one hand, and between international, regional and national frameworks, on the other. Four keys of comparison are established: the burden of proof, demands for evidentiary robustness, the standard of proof and requirements for the methods of evidentiary assessment. These keys of comparison are then identified in three national appellate asylum procedures, and in order to come to conclusions on the evidentiary standards of the appellate asylum procedures, relevant elements of the asylum procedures in general are presented. Further, institutional, formal and procedural matters which have an impact on the evidentiary standards in the national appellate procedures are analysed. From there, the thesis moves on to establish the relationship between national evidentiary standards and the legal systems which affect them, and gives reasons for similarities and divergences. Further, the thesis studies the impact of the national frameworks on the regional and international level. Lastly, the dissertation makes a de lege ferenda survey of the relationship between EU developments, the goal of harmonization in relation to national asylum procedures and the particular feature of evidentiary standards in national appellate asylum procedures. Methodology The thesis follows legal dogmatic methods. The aim is to analyse legal norms and legal constructions and give them content and context. My study takes as its outset an understanding of the purposes for legal research also regarding evidence and asylum to determine the contents of valid law through analysis and systematization. However, as evidentiary issues traditionally are normatively vaguely defined, a strict traditional normative dogmatic approach is not applied. For the same reason a traditionalist and strict legal positivism is not applied. The dogmatics applied to the analysis of the study is supported by practical analysis. The aim is not only to reach conclusions concerning the contents of legal norms and the requirements of law, but also to study the use and practical functioning of these norms, giving them a practcial context. Further, the study relies on a comparative method. A functionalist comparative method is employed and keys of comparison are found in evidentiary standards of three selected national appellate asylum procedures. The functioning equivalences of German, Finnish and English evidentiary standards of appellate asylum procedures are compared, and they are positioned in an European and international legal setting. Research Results The thesis provides results regarding the use of evidence in national appellate asylum procedures. It is established that evidentiary solutions do indeed impact on the asylum procedure and that the results of the procedure are dependent on the evidentiary solutions made in the procedures. Variations in, amongst other things, the interpretation of the burden of proof, the applied standard of proof and the method for determining evidentiary value, are analysed. It is established that national impacts play an important role in the adaptation of national appellate procedures to external requirements. Further, it is established that the impact of national procedures on as well the international framework as on EU law varies between the studied countries, partly depending on the position of the Member State in legislative advances at the EU level. In this comparative study it is, further, established that the impact of EU requirements concerning evidentiary issues may be have positive as well as negative effects with regard to the desired harmonization. It is also concluded that harmonization using means of convergence that primaly target legal frameworks may not in all instances be optimal in relation to evidentiary standards, and that more varied and pragmatic means of convergence must be introduced in order to secure harmonization also in terms of evidence. To date, legal culture and traditions seem to prevail over direct efforts at procedural harmonization.

Analysis and evaluation of public health policy in Cuba : progress on millennium development goals

[EN] The main objective of this project is to analyze Cuban public health policy and the Millennium Development Goals, especially those linked to the issue of health, presenting their potential and strengths with a well-defined time horizon (2000-2015). The Millennium Development Goals are the international consensus on development and was signed as an international minimum agreement, with which began the century. The MDGs promote various goals and targets, with the corresponding monitoring indicators, which should be achieved by all countries for the present year. Health is an area that is at the center of the Millennium Development Goals, which reinforce each other to get a true human development itself. The research was done through theoretical frameworks of social production of health and disease, social justice and the power structure. A retrospective analysis of Cuban economic and social context is performed in order to study whether health-related MDGs are likely to be completed by the deadline on the island and likewise, the main parameters related to health compared with those of the neighboring countries in the Americas.

A U.S. Perspective on Access to Fisheries Resources

The passage of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (MFCMA) and the establishment of a 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 1983 have resulted in a radical change in the pattern of foreign fishing operations off the U. S. coasts. Likewise, the extensions of 200-mile EEZ's by other nations have impacted U.S. distant-water fisheries. The result has been that a new international framework for fisheries is emerging and is continuing to evolve.