International Courts: Challenges New and Old : A Deconstruction on the Work of International Courts

In this Master’s thesis, “International Courts: Challenges New and Old - A Deconstruction on the Work of International Courts”, the aim is to critically appraise some characteristics of international courts that seem to hinder their impact and be problematic to their legitimacy. It presupposes that these features are hidden by the conventional legend-building narratives on international courts. To deconstruct this framework in which they operate, the thesis focuses on three features it argues are connected: the type of justice international courts provide; the democratic legitimacy vacuum in which they operate and the effect of fragmentation and the proliferation of international courts. The inspirations for the thesis notably stem from the remarks that other institutions have raised in popularity in tackling issues of international justice, and from the observation that the issues faced by international courts have, to some extent, remained similar for over a century. The thesis also accepts as a starting point that legal theory on the international field lags behind reality and has struggled to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework under which international courts operate. In order to locate the questions to be asked and to provide an explanation of their need and perceived benefits, the thesis first lays out the historical context of the emergence of international courts on the international stage. This historical context is argued to be closely connected to the legend-building narratives on international courts. Next, in chapter three, inspired by the notion of micro and macro justice, the thesis then makes observations on the kind of justice international courts actually can and should aim for and the results they can achieve. It argues that international courts are limited in the type of justice they can provide, and thus unable to alone reach the goals they were created to fulfil. In chapter four, the thesis then notes that the democratic legitimacy of international courts has been considered questionable from their very appearance, an issue argued to be of relevance still today, not least to the glaring lack of a global demos. It is thus observed that due to the reality of the international field, international courts have had to take the role of a norm-creator. The thesis argues that none of the traditional counter-arguments to this problematic feature can be held satisfactory. Further, it is asserted that the absence of a legislative causes problems to international courts both as an interpreter and as a norm-creator. Finally, the thesis then moves on to a more recent development in chapter five, namely legal fragmentation and the proliferation of international courts. While these make the international legal field more complex, create overlapping systems and thus potential power struggles, it is argued that this phenomenon also further affects the issue of democratic legitimacy and the justice provided by international courts. This happens notably because they lessen the control of states on the newly established norms and institutions. Further, while fragmentation might aid international courts in focusing on micro justice, it complicates their norm-creating process. As a conclusion, the thesis summarises the problems it claims are caused by the framework in which international courts operate and how they differ from the legend-building narrative. Additionally, it restates a few possible modest paths of development to tackle each of the noted problems, although it is argued that to truly solve the encountered issues, the establishment of an international legislative would be required. Due to the research question and the multiplicity of issues treated, the methods used in the thesis are a combination of critical analysis with theoretical and historical approaches, with an end-goal to provide a critical legal study on the impact of international courts

Kamppailu-urheilua nuorta mieltä vahvistamaan : 8 viikon kamppailukurssi FC Jazzin junioreille

Toiminnallisen opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli nuoren mielen hyvinvointiin vaikuttaminen kamppailu-urheilun keinoin ja kehittämistyönä järjestettiin kamppailu-urheilukurssi nuorisoryhmälle. Työn tilaajana oli porilainen juniorijalkapallojoukkue. Teoreettisena pohjana toiminnalle käytettiin erityisesti nuoren mielen tutkimustietoa sekä kamppailu-urheilun tutkittuja vaikutuksia eri ikäisten psyykkiseen kehitykseen ja vointiin. Näistä luotiin kurssin kokonaisuus käyttäen vahvasti teoriaa myös nuorisotyön eri menetelmien monimuotoisuudesta. Kamppailukurssin suunniteltu pituus lyhentyi kahdeksasta viikosta kuuteen viikkoon koko maailmaa painostaneesta pandemiatilanteesta johtuen. Kurssi kokoontui sunnuntaisin paikallisella kamppailusalilla talvella 2020 ja sille osallistuivat kaikki joukkueen 14 pelaajaa vähintään neljä kertaa. Kurssin tapaamiskerrat koostuivat fyysisistä harjoitteista, joissa tuotiin ohjauksella myös psyykkisiä näkökulmia esiin. Jokaisella harjoituskerralla oli oma kantava teemansa, kuten esimerkiksi kunnioitus, arvostus, itsetunto ja kiusaaminen. Kurssin jälkeen osallistujilta kerättiin kyselyn muodossa palautetta sekä suljetuin että avoimin kysymyksin. Arvioitiin avointen vastausten mahdollisia yhteneväisyyksiä sekä prosentuaalista jakaumaa. Palautetta pyydettiin myös tilaajalta. Tulosten mukaan kamppailu-urheilu koettiin harjoittelumuotona mielekkäänä. Kaikille kamppailu-urheilu ei ollut entuudestaan tuttua. Kaikki osallistujat nostivat psyykkisestä puolesta kysyttäessä samoja asioita esiin. He kokivat harjoittelun henkisesti sopivan raskaaksi ja osasivat arvioida kamppailu-urheilijan ominaisuuksia fyysisellä ja henkisellä tasolla samaan suuntaan kuin aiemmat tutkimukset osoittavat. Ohjauksesta heille jäi mieleen asetettujen tavoitteiden mukaisia asioita, kuten kiusaamiseen puuttuminen ja taitojen oikea käyttöpaikka. Näiden perusteella voidaan arvioida, että jo kuuden viikon kokemus synnyttää oikeanlaisia ja terveitä mielleyhtymiä kamppailu-urheilusta, jolloin sitä voitaisiin käyttää työvälineenä erityisesti pidemmällä aikavälillä.The purpose of this functional thesis was affecting the well-being of the young mind using combat sports. A combat sports course was held for a youth group, which was a local junior football team based on the subscriber. Research information of the young mind and the effects of combat sports to the psychologival development and well-being of different age groups were used as a theoretical base. The course was planned using those mentioned above aswell as the theory of the versatility of youth work. The combat sports course went from eight weeks to six due to the covid-19 pandemic. The course gathered on Sundays at a local martial arts gym in the winter of 2020 and all 14 members of the team took part at least four times. The sessions consisted of physical exercises that had psychological aspects with the help the way they were instructed. Each session had a theme such as respect, appreciation, self-esteem and bullying. After the course feedback was gathered via survey. It had both open and closed questions. The similarities of answers from the open questions were assessed and also the percentage distribution if possible. Feedback was also asked from the subscriber. According to the results the participants felt that combat sports was a likable training method. Combat sports were not familiar to everyone. Every participant emphasized the same things when they talked about the mental side of combat sports. They felt that the sessions were at a suitable level of mental stress and they knew how to assess the qualities of a combat sports athlete to the same direction as the research shows. When asked about the instructing the participants emphasized things that were according to the goals such as interfering to bullying and the right place to use the skills that are acquired. From these results it can be concluded that even after only six weeks experience of combat sports training a person can have the right and healthy associations of the sport which means that it could be used as a tool especially in the long run

Acidic dissolution of magnetite : Experimental study on the effects of acid concentration and temperature

Magnetite (Fe O ) is a key economically valuable component in iron ore and is extracted by dissolution processes, but among the Fe (oxyhydr)oxides its solubility behavior is one of the least understood. The objective of this study was to improve understanding of magnetite dissolution mechanisms leading to thermodynamic equilibrium by comparing the dissolution of two solid samples, one synthetic and one industrial, using oxalic, sulfuric, and nitric acids at varying concentrations and temperatures. Of the three solid-liquid systems investigated, only the system consisting of magnetite and oxalic acid reached an equilibrium state within the duration of an individual experiment (6 h). In this system, increasing the acid concentration resulted in a significant increase in the equilibrium concentration of dissolved Fe. When dissolving synthetic and industrial magnetite, increasing the temperature not only increased the rate of reaction but also affected the concentration of dissolved Fe. Significant effects were observed when increasing the temperature from 15 to 35°C, but only slight differences were seen on further increases in temperature. Observations regarding the equilibrium state of the sulfuric and nitric acid systems could not be made because equilibrium was not reached. The most important individual observation regarding the equilibrium state of the nitric- and sulfuric-acid systems seems to be that in future studies a much longer reaction time is necessary, due to slow kinetics of the dissolution mechanism. A proton-based mechanism has been hypothesized as the one governing the dissolution of magnetite by these two acids, but only the dissolution of the industrial sample yielded results that were similar for these two acids and consistent with that hypothesis

Acidic Dissolution of Magnetite: Experimental Study on The Effects of Acid Concentration and Temperature

Magnetite (Fe O ) is a key economically valuable component in iron ore and is extracted by dissolution processes, but among the Fe (oxyhydr)oxides its solubility behavior is one of the least understood. The objective of this study was to improve understanding of magnetite dissolution mechanisms leading to thermodynamic equilibrium by comparing the dissolution of two solid samples, one synthetic and one industrial, using oxalic, sulfuric, and nitric acids at varying concentrations and temperatures. Of the three solid-liquid systems investigated, only the system consisting of magnetite and oxalic acid reached an equilibrium state within the duration of an individual experiment (6 h). In this system, increasing the acid concentration resulted in a significant increase in the equilibrium concentration of dissolved Fe. When dissolving synthetic and industrial magnetite, increasing the temperature not only increased the rate of reaction but also affected the concentration of dissolved Fe. Significant effects were observed when increasing the temperature from 15 to 35°C, but only slight differences were seen on further increases in temperature. Observations regarding the equilibrium state of the sulfuric and nitric acid systems could not be made because equilibrium was not reached. The most important individual observation regarding the equilibrium state of the nitric- and sulfuric-acid systems seems to be that in future studies a much longer reaction time is necessary, due to slow kinetics of the dissolution mechanism. A proton-based mechanism has been hypothesized as the one governing the dissolution of magnetite by these two acids, but only the dissolution of the industrial sample yielded results that were similar for these two acids and consistent with that hypothesis

Testosterone replacement therapy-perceptions of recipients and partners

Background. The androgenic hormones are important determinants of sexual behaviour in men. Testosterone replacement is important treatment for pituitary disease to maintain normal functioning. Although the physical effects of testosterone replacement have been well documented, little is known about the effects on relationships, particularly from the point of view of the sexual partners of men receiving testosterone replacement.Aims. This paper reports a study exploring the perceptions of testosterone replacement on well-being and sexual functioning.Methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five men receiving testosterone implants (recipients), their permanent partners, and five recipients without partners. Recipient serum testosterone concentration was measured at 0, 1 and 4 months after testosterone implantation.Results. The three groups reported similar effects of testosterone on well-being and sexual functioning. Recipient and partner ratings were also similar. Strength was less affected by decreasing testosterone concentration than energy in men with partners, but both strength and energy declined in men without partners. Decreased testosterone levels had a statistically significantly different effect on libido at time zero between men with and without partners (P &lt; 0&middot;015) and on ability to sustain an erection, but the ability to achieve an erection persisted over the 6 months in both male groups. Intercourse frequency increased from once per week at time 0 to &ge;3 per week between 1 and 4 months after implant in men with partners. There were important effects of testosterone deficiency on general and sexual relationships, and these differed between men with partners and those without.Conclusions. Testosterone has important physical and psychological benefits that may be related to the age at which testosterone replacement commences and the indications for its use. The small sample size may limit the ability to generalize the findings outside the study.<br /