Breaking the Silence : Current discussion on sexual violence in Japan and in the West in connection with intersectional feminism

Japanese Feminism has been much influenced by the Western movements. Intersectional feminism, in Japan Critical International Feminism, started to gain ground simultaneously with the economic depression at the beginning of the 1990s, and now dominates the feminist narrative. However, intersectionality represents a specific ideology that causes more damage than solve problems, as it already has caused damage to women´s and children´s rights in the West. At the same time in Japan, more attention has been given to problems of sexual harassment and violence against women. Many victims stay silent, but some have broken it. Ito Shiori, a journalist, brought her rape case into open discussion. Ito also brought #MeToo-movement into Japan, and her case together with a sexual harassment case against Fukuda Junichi, then top bureaucrat in Finance Ministry, was topic in Japanese newspapers. In my thesis I analyzed the narratives of two Japanese newspapers, Asahi Shimbun, a left-leaning newspaper, and Yomiuri Shimbun, a right-leaning newspaper, by using methodology designed to analyze language, content analysis. I focused on how the topic of sexual harassment and the #MeToo-movement were discussed within the analyzed articles. I discovered that both Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun seem to be against harassment and violence against women and do not hesitate to critizice different parties-while still remaining mostly professional. Furthermore, both newspapers discuss the #MeToo-movement in a very positive way, and especially Asahi Shimbun with its special column combines the black´s civil rights movement of the 1960s and present day #WeToo-movement of Japan. These two newspapers lack the critical view of the current civil rights movement of the West, which differs considerably from its predecessor of the 1960s. In addition to analyzing the articles and discussing violence against women in Japan, I also discussed the topic of intersectionality and its take on the issue of violence against women. Furthermore, I reflected its means of handling these issues and what kind of consequences it would lead to in connection with Japanese society. I concluded that if Intersectionality spreads within the society, it is highly probable that it will start to erode women´s rights. My analysis, however, was limited and included only two cases. In the future it is important to continue this line of research. Since the intersectionality now dominates the academic feminism and it is hostile towards criticism, this topic is left almost untouched. Keywords Sexual harassment, sexual violence, Japan, journalism, intersectional feminism, women´s rights

Spin blockade in Cooper pair splitters

Entanglement is a valuable resource for quantum computing and information technologies. A promising way to obtain spin-entangled electrons is the splitting of Cooper pairs residing in superconductors. This is realized by a nanodevice called Cooper pair splitter. A Cooper pair splitter is realized by tunnel-coupling a superconductor to two quantum dots, which are each further tunnelcoupled to separate terminal leads. This setup enables the extraction and splitting of Cooper pairs from the superconductor into the terminals via the quantum dots. The quantum dots are commonly fabricated from semiconducting materials like InAs and InSb, that can manifest spin-orbit interaction. This thesis studies the effect of spin-orbit interaction on the spin state of the electron pair in the Cooper pair splitter. Activating the spin-orbit effects in a Cooper pair splitter requires a static magnetic field to be applied to the quantum dots. Together with the gate electrodes controlling the electrostatic energy of the quantum dots, the external magnetic field provides a handle for addressing different two-particle spin states. The spin-orbit interaction can be activated by various combinations of the gate voltage and Zeeman magnetic field, that create resonances between different states of the system. The most interesting coherent evolution, that can be invoked in this way, involves the simultaneous activation of the two spin-polarized triplet states. This gives a rise to an entangled Bell state, (|↑↑>+|↓↓>) / √2, that moreover exhibits spin blockade and thus stabilizes entanglement in the Cooper pair splitter. Secondly, the spin-orbit interaction can be used to bypass suppressed Cooper pair tunneling at a high superconductor-quantum dots detuning. Introducing a large Zeeman magnetic field allows Cooper pairs to tunnel in to the dots given that their spin state flips to the triplet |↓↓>. Although this regime lacks spin-entanglement, it is of interest for creating triplet Cooper pairs and spin-polarized superconducting currents

Social pedagogy in Bulgaria

Social pedagogy in Bulgaria has a long and interesting tradition that has remained hidden from the international world of the subject. In Bulgaria, social pedagogy is a unique mixture of the German social pedagogical tradition, the Bulgarian pedagogical system and Russian pedagogical influence. Social pedagogy affirmed its position within the Bulgarian pedagogical space around the same time as Karl Mager used the term for the first time. In spite of the tight grip social pedagogy had on the Bulgarian education system, during the time of communism it was branded as ‘bourgeois science’ and was forbidden, but not forgotten. The second phase of the development of Bulgarian social pedagogy started at the beginning of the 1990s, as a result of the democratisation and liberalisation changes that took place following the fall of communism. Since that time, social pedagogy in the Bulgarian context has evolved into the remarkable science and practical field it is today. This article attempts to spread the knowledge of Bulgarian social pedagogy’s origins, traditions, concepts, theories and practices, and to open the door for further cooperation between Bulgaria and the international social pedagogical community

Actions on urban health enhancement in the Arctic: Salutogenic Planning concept

The prevailing paradigm of environmental health research has emphazised pathogenesis and disease prevention, instead of salutogenic mechanisms of health promotion. Looking at the historical background of the interconnections between public health and urban planning since the 19th century, it can be concluded that the practical measures of environmental health concerns have been underpinned by preventive medicine and probabilities of exposure, focusing on screening health risks and fighting epidemics in urban areas. The only major difference today is that the newly emerged healthy urban planning initiatives are triggered by the global epidemics of non-commutable diseases caused by lifestyle and dietary factors. While many of the recent healthy urban planning initiatives and academic studies have originated from the USA or in the institutional sphere of the World Health Organization, the aim of this article is to add a new dimension to this discussion. The article explicates in detail the environmental mechanisms affecting healthiness and elaborates theoretical perspectives and principles of salutogenic planning. The salutogenic model for health promotion is founded on the theoretical basis developed by sociologist Aaron Antonovsky (1996). He has suggested, that the mechanisms generating health and wellbeing are firmly linked to the general resistance recourses and sense of coherense of individuals and societies. The article suggest that understanding better the salutogenesis of healthy communities, possibilities could open to study their adaptation capacity within the transformation processes of the changing North. Shortcomings in the scientific evidence on how to build healthier environments are demonstrated – and noted that clear examples on healthy planning practices in cold climate are missing.1 Holistic approaches are required, which pay attention to the large number of environmental aspects related to individual and population health and wellbeing in the Arctic areas while seeking sustainable planning solutions in fragile natural environments. The article reveals an undoubted need for further research on building and planning practises which enhance health, social inclusion, resilience and sustainability of northern communities.  1 Reacting to this lack of knowledge, a research initiative called "Health on Thin Ice – urban planning for good health in cold climate" has been launched in 2013 as a Nordic cooperative between University of Oulu, Finland, Luleå university of Technology, Sweden, and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim

Northern Ireland sectarianism and the Garvaghy Road parade disputes

Abstract. The purpose of this study is to examine the wider issue of Northern Ireland sectarianism by discussing the disputed Orange Order parades in Drumcree, Portadown, especially the conflict centred around the Order’s marching route in celebrating the ‘Twelfth’ of July, commemorating King William III’s victory in the Battle of the Boyne. In particular, this study focuses on the dispute concerning the Orange parade’s proposed return route from Drumcree Parish Church, through the predominantly Catholic neighbourhood of Garvaghy Road, especially at the height of the resultant ‘Drumcree crises’ in the mid-1990s. The conflict will be related to trends in the wider sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, with the concurrent Troubles playing an important role in the shaping of the Drumcree crises. In turn, it will be discussed how the crises themselves became one of the most prominent flashpoints of sectarian tension and violence near the end of the Troubles. This master’s thesis will attempt to provide a balanced view of the subject by utilising a wide variety of written sources, but special attention has been paid to the roles and ideology of Northern Ireland unionism and its various internal divisions, especially loyalism, via authors like Norman Porter (1996) and the various contributions of Dominic Bryan (1995, 1996, 2000), among others. Writers like Michel Savaric (1998) provide opportunities to compare and contrast key aspects of this theoretical base with nationalism and republicanism, while accounts by the Garvaghy Road residents (1999) found in Garvaghy: A Community Under Siege will serve to outline some part of the arguments and sentiment opposing the Twelfth parade’s proposed route. The focus on unionism, the Orange Order, and loyalism, however, will necessarily serve as a criticism of the same, while also identifying many points of said criticism as inherent to Northern Ireland sectarianism itself. Another essential task will be to more definitively separate the strands of unionism from another, in order to avoid the pitfall of treating either side of the sectarian conflict as a monolithic, all-encompassing entity, rather than as a collection of communities with their own separate interests and values. In other words, the sources utilised in this study lead one to treat the ‘two traditions’ of the sectarian divide as inherently connected or convergent and, to a degree, co-dependent, while still respecting the essential fact of their separate identities, as well as the complexity of their internal ideological and political structures. As a result, the importance and difficulty of dialogue emerges as an integral question in determining the trajectory of the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, or proposing a meaningful ‘solution’ to the problem of sectarianism.Pohjois-Irlannin sektarianismi ja Garvaghy Roadin paraatikiistat . Tiivistelmä. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena on käsitellä Pohjois-Irlannin sektarianismia tutkimalla erityisesti Oranialaisveljeskunnan paraateja ympäröiviä konflikteja Portadownin kaupungissa, tarkemmin Drumcreen alueella. Tutkielma keskittyy varsinkin heinäkuun kahdennentoista, eli Boynen taistelun muistopäivän paraatien aiheuttamiin kiistoihin, joissa Oranialaisveljeskunta on pyrkinyt marssimaan takaisin Drumcreen kirkolta katolilaisvaltaisen Garvaghy Roadin läpi, asukkaiden vastustuksesta huolimatta. Huomion arvoisia ovat erityisesti 1990-luvun keskivaiheiden kiistat ja kriisit näihin paraateihin liittyen, sillä ne ajoittuvat Pohjois-Irlannin levottomuuksien viimeisiin ratkaisuhetkiin, puhumattakaan niiden suorista vaikutuksista kyseiseen laajempaan konfliktiin. Tämä tutkielma hyödyntää suhteelliseen laajaa valikoimaa erilaisia kirjallisia lähteitä, akateemisista julkaisuista internet-uutisiin, tarkoituksena ollen muodostaa ensin tasapainoinen kuva joukosta sekä paraateihin että laajempaan konfliktiin liittyviä tärkeimpiä tekijöitä. Tämä teoreettinen pohja painottuu Pohjois-Irlannin unionismin, Oranialaisveljeskunnan, ja lojalismin näkökohtiin ja ongelmiin, ja yksi keskustelun tärkeistä päämääristä on erotella unionismin eri suuntauksia toisistaan, jolloin muodostuu myös hyödyllisempi kuva sektraniamismin konfliktien perustavanlaatuisista tekijöistä. Yksi tällainen tekijä on niin Pohjois-Irlannin tilanteelle ominaisen, niin kutsutun ’kahden tradition’ järjestelmän ja sen osapuolien ideologinen ja kulttuurinen vuorovaikutteisuus ja riippuvuussuhde. Toinen lähteiden analyysin peräänkuuluttama tekijä on Pohjois-Irlannin unionismin ja Irlantilaisen nationalismin sisäisten rakenteiden monisäikeisyys, niin kulttuurisesti kuin poliittisesti. Lyhykäisyydessään tästä monimutkaisesta asetelmasta seuraa tilanne, jossa huolellinen ja hyödyllinen analyysi edellyttää sekä yksittäisten ideologisten säikeiden kuin myös laajempien sektarianismin kokonaisuuksien suhteuttamista toisiinsa tavalla, jossa niiden välillä vallitsevaa konfliktin ongelmaa ja näihin konflikteihin perustavanlaatuisesti pohjautuvaa ’identiteettirakennelmaa’ kyetään lähestymään rakentavasti

Estimating the Impact of a Monetary Shock on Small Open Economy : Thailand During the Asian Crisis 1997

Tässä tutkielmassa analysoin vuoden 1997 Aasian talouskriisin syitä ja seurauksia, sekä simuloin kriisin Dynaren avulla. Malli sisältää niin sanotun rahoitusakseleraattorin, joka osaltaan selittää kriisin dynamiikkaa ja voimakkuutta taseissa tapahtuvien muutosten kautta. Aasian kriisin keskeiset taustatekijät eivät olleet epätavallisia, vaan muissakin kehittyvien talouksien kriiseissä on havaittu samoja riskitekijöitä. Näitä ovat muun muassa korkea toisessa valuutassa otettu velan määrä, huonosti järjestetty rahoitusmarkkinoiden sääntely sekä kiinteät valuuttakurssit epäluonnollisella hinnoittelulla. Vaikka tämän tutkielman simulaatio ei erikseen sisällä eri valuuttakurssijärjestelmien vertailua, on aiempien tutkimusten johtopäätös selkeä: Kelluva valuuttakurssi lieventää yllättävän shokin vaikutuksia talouteen. Thaimaa, kuten useat muut ASEAN-maat, kokivat merkittävän taantuman kriisin puhjetessa. Kriisillä oli myös vaikutuksia alueen politiikkaan. Thaimaan BKT supistui yli 10 prosenttia, maa menetti lähes miljoona työpaikkaa ja pörssin yleisindeksi putosi 75 prosenttia. Näiden lisäksi maassa puhkesi laajat mellakat ja muutoksia poliittisessa johdossa. Thaimaa koki merkittäviä institutionaalisia muutoksia, jotka edistivät hiljalleen autoritäärisen alueen kehittymistä kohti läpinäkyvämpää ja laajempaa demokratiaa. Kriisin syvetessä IMF järjesti merkittävän apupaketin, jonka avulla ASEAN-maat pystyivät nousemaan nopeammin lamasta. Paketin ehtoina oli useita tiukennuksia talous- ja veropolitiikan harjoittamiseen. Tutkielman simulaatio on suhteellisen tarkka, kun mallin parametrin on kalibroitu vastaamaan Thaimaan kokemusta kriisistä: Shokin vaikutukset eri muuttujiin ovat muodoltaan ja voimakkuudeltaan realistiset. Mallin keskiössä oleva rahoitusakseleraattori-mekanismi selittää suuren osan shokin vaikutuksesta investointeihin ja yritysten nettoarvoon, mutta ei ole merkittävä selittävä tekijä BKT:n laskulle.In this thesis, I analyze the causes and consequences of the Asian Crisis 1997 and simulate it with Dynare. The model includes financial accelerator mechanism, which in part explains the dynamics and the magnitude of the crisis via balance sheet effects. I find that the major components of the crisis were highly similar to other crisis that had happened in other emerging economies: High levels of foreign-currency denominated debt, unsound financial regulation, and fixed exchange rates with skewed valuation. Even though this simulation do not specifically incorporated different exchange rate regimes into the simulation, the previous literature draw a clear conclusion that flexible exchange rates lessen the shock’s effects on the economy. Thailand, as well as other ASEAN-countries during the crisis, faced severe economic contraction as well as changes in political landscape: Due to the crisis, Thailand’s GDP contracted over 10 percent, the country lost almost a million jobs, and the stock exchange index fell 75 percent. In addition, the country underwent riots, resignation of ministers, and several political changes towards more democratic institutions, even though faced some backlash and re-entry of authoritarian figures later. As the crisis worsened, IMF collected a large rescue package that was given to ASEAN-countries with preconditioned austerity policies. The simulation with recalibrated parameter-values seems to be relatively accurate. The dynamics and the impact of the crisis is captured realistically with correct magnitudes. The financial accelerator mechanism accounts a large part of the shock’s impact on investment and companies net worth, but do not account much on overall decline in output

CONSTRUCT VALIDITY IN PARTIAL LEAST SQUARES PATH MODELING

Partial least squares path modeling (PLS) has seen increased use in the information systems research community. One of the stated key advantages of PLS is that it weights the indicator variables based on the strength of the relationship between the indicators and the underlying constructs, which presumably decreases the effect of measurement error in the analysis results. In this paper we argue that this assumption is not valid. While PLS indeed does weight the indicators to maximize the explained variance, it does this by including error variance in the model thus reducing construct validity. We use a simulation study of a simple PLS model to show that when compared to traditional sum scale approach, PLS estimates are actually often less valid. Although our study has its limitations, it hints that the use of PLS as a theory testing tool should be reevaluated and that more research testing the effectiveness of the PLS approach is in order

Värikkäät minivihannekset tulevat - maistuisiko violetti kukkakaali?

Parsakaalista on tullut erittäin yleinen lisuke ravintoloiden liharuoka-annoksiin ja myös erilaisiin salaatteihin ja gratiineihin. Kukkakaalin värillisistä muodoista toivotaan puolestaan piristysruisketta kukkakaalin kulutukseen. Myös kaalien pakkaustekniikkaa kehittämällä pystytään tarjoamaan kuluttajalle enemmän ja värikkäämpiä vaihtoehtoja.vo

International Student’s Survival Guide to Clinical Practice

Clinical patient work is an essential part of learning for all dentistry students. However, the beginning of clinical work can be stressful. In addition to learning new skills, students must also learn how the teaching clinic works and what are its customs and practices. To make the transition from pre-clinical studies to clinical studies easier, Piia Uusitalo and Katariina Havukainen wrote a second cycle degree thesis called Kandin selviytymisopas klinikkaan in 2015. It was written only in Finnish with Finnish speaking undergraduates in mind, but there was also demand for a similar guide for exchange students as part of an exchange study reform for dentistry students. The first part of translation work included interviews with exchange students either when they arrived to Turku or at the end of their exchange period. Interview questions handled everything from their wishes and hopes to experiences and criticism depending on which stage of their exchange period interviews were conducted. The second part included translation work and modifications that were done according to the wishes, problems and proposals that interviewees had mentioned during interviews. Lastly, the English guide was updated with instructions for new materials and procedures and Finnish Current Care Guidelines (Käypä hoito) for periodontology. There is also a new step-by-step guide on aseptics in both the teaching clinic and the Oral and Maxillofacial Unit of Turku University Hospital. This guide will hopefully help exchange students to get accustomed to teaching clinic’s activities faster than before and make their stay at the Institute of Dentistry fruitful and enjoyable

Rejoinder to Comments on Recent Developments in PLS

When we were first invited to write an essay on the use of PLS for CAIS, we wanted to focus on recent developments to help applied IS researchers, and the CAIS community of authors, reviewers, and editors make use of the latest research on and methodological advances in PLS. Recognizing that Information Systems is arguably the discipline in which the use of PLS as an alternative to CB-SEM originated and is most widely used, we realized that, pragmatically, our essay must focus on how to use PLS, not whether to use PLS. We received six interesting responses from researchers active in the PLS community. Their thoughts on our presentation of recent developments in PLS show very different perspectives with many points of difference amongst points of agreement in all the responses. In this rejoinder, we briefly respond to the received comments, clarify our position and ideas, and identify points of agreement (and disagreement). We emphasize that none of the responses give us cause to revise or eliminate our recommendations in recent developments. Overall, we believe this discussion on PLS to be valuable in advancing the use of PLS in Information Systems, which is, as we show in this rejoinder, an urgent issue