Browsing by Subject "image"

In response to the increasing need for an effective method to compare student performance on the international scale, the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) launched the Program for International Student Assessment, better known as the PISA, in 1997. As such, PISA not only establishes an internally agreed upon framework between countries, but it also binds the commitment of OECD member states to regularly assessing the impact of educational systems on student performance. According to the first published PISA results, PISA “aims at providing a new basis for policy dialogue and for collaboration in defining and operationalizing educational goals— in innovative ways that reflect judgment about the skills that are relevant to adult life.” In simple terms, PISA seeks to evaluate how well 15-year-olds are prepared for the challenges they will face in life. Finland has ranked among the top countries since the first administration of the triennial PISA in 2000. Despite measuring well against its OECD counterparts, Finland, which once topped the PISA ranks, has since experienced a relative decline in performance. The mediation of PISA results has undeniably affected Finland’s image of education. This media discourse analysis uses major American newspaper outlets to unearth how Finland’s image has been affected by PISA results. These newspapers’ presentations of Finnish PISA performance further reveal how the US understands its own academic system. Ultimately, PISA asserts that academic institutions can make a profound difference on the individual, country, and global levels. Since PISA results can influence the academic decisions and policies of a given country, then the assessment must also make a difference on the individual, country, and global levels. Since the OECD drives forward the PISA, then the OECD also has an influence on the beforementioned levels. Thus, the OECD not only shapes representations of countries, but it also hinges on media as a vehicle by which to deliver these representations internationally. Although commonly overlooked, the OECD is a relevant and power-wielding actor because its PISA index reinforces and challenges narratives of academic exceptionalism, as exemplified by the case of Finland in this study. Does the OECD’s positioning as an overlooked actor magnify its power?

In the linguistic research of the last decades one can observe a development towards image-centricity. However, there is no clarity about what is meant by the word image. The varying lexicalization of the complex phenomenon in different languages (Bild in German, image/picture in English) additionally contributes to the confusion. Building on the idea of linguistics as cultural studies, in this study the concept of the image is approached as a cultural phenomenon constituted on a linguistic basis. Following the objective of contrastive lexical semantics, the goal of the work is to investigate language-bound differences in image concepts and word fields, and to identify lexical/conceptual gaps in German- and English-language image theories. Due to the traditionally central role of the German language in philosophy and the long tradition of German-language image research (Bildwissenschaft), the German concept of Bild (image/picture) has a special relevance, which also stimulates international discussions about the German word Bild. As can be seen from the research literature, words are not only used as a vehicle of theorization, but the image sciences (Bildwissenschaften) deal intensively with various aspects of the word Bild, its etymology, word formation, semantics, and word history as well as its equivalents in English and other languages. In order to trace the lexical influences and semantic problems, the considerations of the image theorists are supplemented and commented on with linguistic sources. As a general summary of Chapter 2, it could be said that etymologies and word histories offer a (with time growing) selection of word (sub) meanings for various theoretical needs, which can be used as required to emphasize suitable readings and thus etymologically substantiate one's own argumentation, so to speak. Subsequently, the question of an intuitively used word field concept arises, which serves as an invitation to further discussion of the lexeme Bild from the point of view of lexicology and word field theory using on corpus-based resources of contemporary German. Chapter 3 introduces the central concepts of lexical semantics and presents the background as well as fundamental methodological considerations and newer, especially ideologically critical approaches to word field research. Building on these thoughts, in Chapter 4 a philosophically oriented (i.e. not a conventional) word field analysis is carried out based on the procedure of word field modelling proposed by Lutzeier (2007) and Staffeldt (2017). In other words: the word field analysis is adapted for the linguistic foundation of image sciences. The complexity of the German concept of the image is reflected in the analysis of the selected sub-areas of the word field around Bild in the reading 'artistic representation' ('künstlerische Darstellung'). The role of encyclopedic knowledge in word field modelling is discussed using as an example the new digital art form of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which challenge not only the conventional understanding of the image/picture (Bild), but also legislation and the art market. This raises questions of image migration as well as the agency and subject status of the image, which require further consideration. An important challenge for research is to look not only at the different modes and media, but also at what surrounds the media: the system in which the media are embedded. In contrast to the considerations of the image theorists that sculptures can also be referred to with the word Bild in German, in the analyzed work "Blinder Gallerist" (König 2019), the word Bild is largely used 1) to refer to two-dimensional artworks, and 2) to be synonymic with the word Gemälde (painting). Thus, the use is in line with the discussed translations of the research texts as well as the results of the word field analysis. In the contemporary German language the word Bild in the reading 'artistic representation' is mainly used in the meaning 'painting' and Skulptur (sculpture) is to be understood as a cohyponym to Bild. How to deal with expressions for which there are no equivalents in other languages is a central challenge for a global image science. As demonstrated here, a comparison of language-related research questions may prove useful, since concepts that are diffuse in one language can be made clearer using another language. In addition to the Western concepts, the image science (Bildwissenschaft) discourse not only increasingly discusses selected aspects of image concepts outside the Indo-European language area, but also strives for a dialogue and polylogue, which counters the challenges of an inter-/transcultural and dia-/polylogical image science. The research must include not only translinguistic aspects, but also the multi- or transmodality of communication instead of building on a hegemony of one mode, medium, language, or scientific discipline. Thus, the desiderata that can be formulated as a result of this study can be described as translinguistic multimodality research.

The purpose of this thesis was to study high school student counsellors’ perceptions of university-level forest science studies and perceptions of forest sector in general. Student counsellors act as an information source when choosing a career and further studies after high school. Furthermore, this study explored the communication and student marketing implemented by the department of Forest Sciences and the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Helsinki. The theoretical background of this study was based on the theories of organizational communication and image forming. The aim was to clarify how the image of forest studies and forest sector is formed. The data were collected with personal theme-interviews. In addition to counsellors, personnel from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry were also interviewed. The data were analyzed by using thematizing. The forest sector was seen as a field of business that has been important to Finnish economy and society in the past. However, counsellors understanding of forest science studies were quite defective. Still, the employment possibilities were seen extensive, although some images of traditional positions related to the paper industry and wood trading emerged. The Internet is the main source of information to the counsellors and to the prospective students. Because of this, web-pages that are clear and up-to-date are important in student marketing. The experiences about the communication and student marketing implemented by the Faculty were few and more actions were wished. The image is that the whole Faculty offers several study possibilities. However, both counsellors, and most likely, the prospective students have very unsound conceptions of the possibilities. Both counsellors and the personnel from the Faculty described the name of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry challenging. The name does not define clearly what fields of study are included. Forest sector aims to improve the conspicuousness and the attractiveness of the sector among the young people. Based on this thesis, it is possible to say that the challenges with the communication and student marketing are related to the structured components of the communication, such as actions and messages. The impressiveness is low and there is a lack of resources. Even though the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, the Department of Forest Sciences and other members of the forest sector are investing in the communication, student counsellors are unfamiliar with the possibilities that forest sector offers as an education and as a profession. The collaboration between the university and other members of the forest sector can give the possibility to improve the communication and to accelerate student marketing.

Piispojen viralliset muotokuvat ovat Suomen vanhinta muotokuva-aineistoa. Tutkin virallisista muotokuvista heijastuvia käsityksiä piispan virasta ja asemasta suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa. Keskeisenä aineistona ovat Suomen ev.-lut. kirkon hiippakunnissa olevat 109 virallista muotokuvaa, joiden lisäksi tarkastellaan Helsingin yliopiston, kenttäpiispojen, eduskunnan sekä Lähetyshiippakunnan kokoelmia. Koko aineisto käsittää 145 muotokuvaa, joiden lisäksi vertailuaineistona ovat Ruotsin piispojen julkaistut muotokuvat sekä museoissa olevat teokset. Merkittävin arkistolähde, jonka tutkimus nostaa esiin, on Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistyksen muotokuvakeräyksen aineisto 1800-luvun lopusta. Aineistoa tarkastellaan monitieteellisesti. Teosten inventoinnin myötä syntynyt aineisto on jäsennelty aikajaksoihin Hans Beltingin kuva-antropologisen teorian mukaisesti niin, että kuvissa ilmenevät selkeät muutokset ja murroskohdat tulkitaan viittaukseksi mahdollisiin muutoksiin piispan asemassa ja roolissa. Kuvan muutosta pyritään selittämään kuhunkin aikajaksoon liittyvillä sosio-kulttuurisilla muutoksilla sekä taidemaailman virtauksilla. Teosten taiteellinen tarkastelu esittelee keskeiset ikonografiset elementit sekä muotokuvien liittymisen aikajaksojen taide-maailmaan tyylin ja kuvakonventioiden osalta. Taiteilijaselvitys osoittaa, että lähes kaikki ovat tunnettuja ja arvostettuja. Yhteydet Ruotsiin korostuvat 1800-luvun loppuun saakka. Kirkkohistoriallinen tutkimus kytkeytyy kunkin aikajakson tarkasteluun. Virallisten muotokuvakokoelmien alkuperäiseksi ympäristöksi osoittautuu yliopisto. Turun Akatemia saa ensimmäiset muotokuvansa 1652; piispat kuvataan varakanslereina. 1750-70 -luvuilla tuhoutuneet kokoelmat täydennetään, mutta suurin osa teoksista tuhoutuu Turun palossa 1829. Helsingin yliopisto pyrkii rakentamaan kokoelman uudestaan 1830-1930 -luvuilla. Kirkollisten kokoelmien alku ei sijoitu Turkuun vaan on käsitykseni mukaan tapahtunut 1783 Porvoossa. Muualla hiippakuntien kokoelmat muodostuvat vasta 1875 Kuopion ja Turun hiippakunnissa. Eduskunnan kokoelman alku sijoittuu samoihin aikoihin vuoteen 1879. 1900-luvun alkuun liittyy runsas kopioiden teettäminen niin Turun kuin Porvoon hiippakunnissa; niiden attribuointi ja ajoitus vaatisi tarkempaa arkistotutkimusta. Muotokuvasarjojen muutos on hidasta ja perustuu jatkuvuudelle. Esimerkiksi käytäntöjen muuttuminen virkapukeutumisessa välittyy muotokuviin aikaviiveellä. Osoittautuu myös, että muotokuvat eivät onnistu välittämään kaikkia piispan aseman ulottuvuuksia. Erityistapauksina esitellään mielenkiintoisia ja merkittäviä yksittäisiä teoksia. Reformaatio muuttaa luterilaisen piispan esittämistapaa ratkaisevasti. Varhaisten kirkollisten muotokuvien vaatimattomuutta ja yksinkertaisuutta on kuitenkin korostettu liikaa, sillä niihin sisältyy papiston asemaa korostavia piirteitä. 1700-luvun piispojen muotokuvat ovat alun perin olleet pääosin yksityiskäyttöön tarkoitettuja. Niissä esiintyvä peruukki on ylellisyysesine, joka liittää piispat säätyläisiin; kuninkaan huomionosoitukset kertovat läheisestä ja suorasta suhteesta. 1800-luvun alun muotokuvissa korostuvat yhteneväisyydet korkea-arvoisten virkamiesten muotokuviin kunniamerkkeineen ja piispa näyttäytyy hallitsijan (keisarin) luottomiehenä. 1870-luvulla kuvissa tapahtuu muutos, jonka selittävänä tekijänä on osittain valokuvan suuri vaikutus muotokuvataiteilijoiden käytäntöihin. Yhteiskunnallinen murros ja teologiset käsitykset voivat myös selittää muutoksia. 1900-lukua leimaa kansainvälistyminen. Taiteilijat käyttävät selkeästi eurooppalaisen taiteen tunnettuja paavien muotokuvia esikuvinaan. Kirkon piirissä taas ekumeeninen ja liturginen liike korostavat piispan erityisasemaa. Vuosisadan alkupuolen teoksissa korostuu vallan esittäminen, joka liittyy lukuisien perustettavien hiippakuntien johtamiseen mutta myös koko yhteiskunnan vaikutta-jana olemiseen. Myös 2000-luvun piispan erityisasemaa korostetaan ja hänet kuvataan värikkäästi, persoonaa korostaen ja perinteisistä konventioista erottautumaan pyrkien. Liturginen asu sekä symbolinen esittäminen ovat uutta. Kenttäpiispan asema osana Puolustusvoimien organisaatiota korostuu heidän muotokuvissaan. Lähetyshiippakunnan vahvasti symboliset muotokuvat paljastavat kiistanalaisuuden, joka liittyy sekä organisaation että sen piispan asemaan.

Having to do with residential areas, geographical image research in Finland has concentrated mainly on those areas with a relatively negative image, such as eastern parts of Helsinki. However, Kumpula and Toukola are former working class residential areas whose image nowadays is mainly positive. This research aims at understanding the process through which their image has gradually come to be that way. Theoretical background of the research relies on human geography and it s viewpoints on places, spaces and areas. Areas, in this research, are understood to be founded on discursive processes that form meanings in societies. This approach is useful because it provides a way to research newspapers and to see how they affect the society. In addition I lean on Sirpa Tani’s research on place images to study image and it s formation process. Her point of view covers especially well the effect of media on images and their formation. Articles published in Helsingin Sanomat and Ilta-Sanomat between the years 1963 and 1999 form the data of the research. Methodologically I proceeded by using content analysis to see what kind of topics have been dominating the news feed from Kumpula and Toukola. Content analysis was followed by discourse analysis, which allowed me to focus on the ways of speaking about and representing Kumpula and Toukola. Discourse analysis also reveals whose viewpoint is being represented in media when it comes to publishing news from these parts of the city. It is clearly visible from the results of this research that the image of Kumpula and Toukola has gone through a significant change between 1963 and 1999. In the 1960s discussion in newspapers was dominated by the need for more effective city planning. This meant that Kumpula and Toukola were under a demolition threat in order for the city to built more effectively on those areas. At the same time there was discussion about wooden houses that were built in Kumpula and Toukola right after the second World War. Those houses were in a poor condition, it was even said in the newspapers that people were living in slum-like conditions in them. By the 1980s the image of Kumpula and Toukola gradually started to change. At this time gentrification process was affecting the areas and well-educated working force moved to Kumpula and Toukola. Already in the beginning of 1990s the image of the areas was highly positive. Throughout this decade newspapers published news on Kumpula and Toukola that commented favorably on the atmosphere and the feeling of togetherness among the residents. In addition Kumpula village carnivals, that were first held in 1991, brought a lot of positive publicity to the areas. This research has revelead that especially the active participationg of the residents to promote joint causes has positively affected the image of Kumpula and Toukola. Since the 1960s fighting for the preservation of the areas has provided a reason for a stronger feeling of communality and identifying in the community. This feeling of togetherness in a community has carried all the way to the 1990s, when the areas, having been affected by gentrification, could make good use of the positive image in order to promote joint causes.

The Benelux Union is an international intergovernmental organization consisting out of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. It is not a very well-known institution, but it has been existing for many decades. As the three member states are also founding members of the European Union, these two institutions have an interesting dynamic. For as long as it has existed, the Benelux Union has been functioning as laboratory for European integration. The Benelux can thus be seen as frontrunners, and therefore as some sort of leaders. The research goal was to find out if the Benelux Union is used as a vehicle by the Benelux countries to increase their influence in the European Union. This thesis draws upon the concept of multi-speed integration, where countries who decide to integrate further than the current European integration pressure other states to follow. Thus by being frontrunners, countries could increase integration within the European Union. These frontrunners also have more to say about the way and degree in which integration takes place. It can therefore be beneficial for EU member states to act as frontrunners. In order to find the answers to the research and sub-questions, the choice was made to use qualitative methods. To be more precise, a combination between document analysis and elite interviews have been employed to provide the answers. Evaluations by the Dutch government on the Benelux Union or Benelux cooperation in the EU were the most important documents. These evaluations, together with some other documents, were supplemented by nine interviews conducted with one academic expert and officials from the three countries and the Benelux Union itself. There are three main findings. Firstly, the Benelux puts a huge emphasis on its role as laboratory because it sends out a signal to the other European countries. A signal that expresses the Benelux’ support for European integration, which increases trust towards them. From the Benelux Union itself, it sends the signal they are still a relevant institution, even though the EU has taken most policy fields in which the Benelux is active. Secondly, in some occasions, Benelux integration may serve as a catalyst for further European integration. If the Benelux countries launch successful projects, many other European states may decide to join this initiative. Whenever enough countries have joined, the project might be scaled up to the European level. The last and main finding gives an answer to the research question. The Benelux Union increases Benelux influence in the EU indirectly by supporting coalition building among the Benelux states. Moreover, it gives its member states a very positive image on the international stage. If this is not enough, the Benelux states might decide they want to implement a new project in the Benelux Union to use these results as an argument to implement this at the European level. It has to be noted that there are not a significant amount of examples of this direct form.