"Governing Europe: The Status and Networking Strategies of Finnish, Estonian and German Regions in Brussels"

[From the introduction]. The paper is structured in three parts. Part I is meant to shortly synthesize how integration theory deals with sub-national actors. In part II we will discuss history and institutionalisation of regional and local level representations in Brussels and reflect on such issues as relations to national level actors, core functions, resources and staffs and their career paths. In part III, we will highlight qualitative differences in strategic foci and networking strategies of regional and local EU offices by discussing such issues as cooperation and lobbying in EU institutions, differences between big and small/old and new member states, networking with other offices, current topics and most pressing problems. The research data stems from 12 structured interviews3, with the topics sent in forehand to the interviewees. All four German interviews were conducted by telephone and took between 45 and 60 minutes each. The Finnish interviews consist of four telephone interviews; each interview took about 40 minutes and one personal interview. The Estonian data stems from one personal interview and one telephone interview, both lasting 45-60 minutes. Instead of conducting a comparative analysis we are interested in the status of different actors and their strategies to position their ideas in the policy-making and law-making procedures by focussing on positions of the actors that are involved in those processes every day

On Absence and Existence of the Anomalous Localized Resonance without the Quasi-static Approximation

The paper considers the transmission problems for Helmholtz equation with bodies that have negative material parameters. Such material parameters are used to model metals on optical frequencies and so-called metamaterials. As the absorption of the materials in the model tends to zero the fields may blow up. When the speed of the blow up is suitable, this is called the Anomalous Localized Reconance (ALR). In this paper we study this phenomenon and formulate a new condition, the weak Anomalous Localized Reconance (w-ALR), where the speed of the blow up of fields may be slower. Using this concept, we can study the blow up of fields in the presence of negative material parameters without the commonly used quasi-static approximation. We give simple geometric conditions under which w-ALR or ALR may, or may not appear. In particular, we show that in a case of a curved layer of negative material with a strictly convex boundary neither ALR nor w-ALR appears with non-zero frequencies (i.e. in the dynamic range) in dimensions $d\ge 3$. In the case when the boundary of the negative material contains a flat subset we show that the w-ALR always happens with some point sources in dimensions $d\ge 2$. These results, together with the earlier results of Milton et al. ( [22, 23]) and Ammari et al. ([2]) show that for strictly convex bodies ALR may appear only for bodies so small that the quasi-static approximation is realistic. This gives limits for size of the objects for which invisibility cloaking methods based on ALR may be used.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure

Possible correlation between work-hardening and fatigue-failure

Conceptual theory proposes that cyclic hardening due to non-uniform strain and stress amplitudes during testing, especially during the initial application of stress to a specimen, may correlate positively with the ultimate strength of the specimen under test

Structure-preserving mesh coupling based on the Buffa-Christiansen complex

The state of the art for mesh coupling at nonconforming interfaces is presented and reviewed. Mesh coupling is frequently applied to the modeling and simulation of motion in electromagnetic actuators and machines. The paper exploits Whitney elements to present the main ideas. Both interpolation- and projection-based methods are considered. In addition to accuracy and efficiency, we emphasize the question whether the schemes preserve the structure of the de Rham complex, which underlies Maxwell's equations. As a new contribution, a structure-preserving projection method is presented, in which Lagrange multiplier spaces are chosen from the Buffa-Christiansen complex. Its performance is compared with a straightforward interpolation based on Whitney and de Rham maps, and with Galerkin projection.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures. Some figures are omitted due to a restricted copyright. Full paper to appear in Mathematics of Computatio

An analysis of the potential CAP changes: A Finnish case study

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Agricultural policy analysis in Finland with the AGMEMOD model: Lessons to be learnt?

The objective of this paper is to assess empirically the impacts of further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on the agri-food sector in Finland. To meet the objective, an econometric model for Finnish agriculture - built as a part of the AGMEMOD project - was utilised. The projection and policy simulations presented in the paper demonstrate that the model provides the basis for relatively straightforward baseline projection, and an initial framework for agricultural policy analysis. Yet, there remains substantial scope for further work on the model. In particular, the effects of big policy shocks are clearly not adequately captured by the model. The linear equations of supply together with low elasticities estimated from historical data generate simulation results, which do not in our opinion fully capture farmers’ reactions to these changes.policy analysis, econometric models, Finland, commodity markets, Agricultural and Food Policy, C54, E17, Q18.,