Browsing by Subject "violence"

In my research I examined violence in secondary school from the point of view of the students. I asked, how the students themselves defined violence. I focused on who was considered to be someone who has information on the phenomenon or power to define it. In previous research it has been reported that mundane, everyday violence has been studied less than extreme acts of violence. In my research, I drew attention to the mundane aspects of the phenomenon and what it is at its limits. I tried to determine why some things were named violence, when others were not. In my research I regarded violence as gendered, since I wanted to study the phenomenon as a structure rather than as attached to specific individuals. In my understanding, violence and power are inseparably linked. Therefore I chose to approach the phenomenon from the perspective of a feminist theory. Key concepts in my research were violence, gender, school and agency. I used feminist ethnography as a method to both produce and analyze the data. In feminist ethnography it is essential to interact as respectfully as as possible with the people who are being studied as well as to maintain a critical attitude toward knowing and the hierarchies related to knowledge. The ethnographer tries to understand the world of the people she studies by participating in it. In feminist ethnography attention is drawn to power relations as well as in the intertwining differences. The data consist of field notes and interviews. For two weeks I observed the school days of the students of one seventh grade in one school located in the Helsinki metropolitan area. My observation covered classes, breaks and meal times, but I did not follow the students if they left the school grounds unless the classes were held there. I interviewed 17 of the 18 students in the class, in pairs or individually. Half of the interviews were done individually and the other half in pairs. There were 12 interviews in total. According to my research, the student's status in the social hierarchy, their position regarding the norms in the society and the discourses related to violence or bullying in society were some of the factors that influenced the way the students defined violence or were affected by it. Violence in school appeared to be so normal that often it was not even noticed or regarded as such. An atmosphere was maintained actively where the possibility of violence was always present. The teachers used the threat of violence as a resource to emphasize their message. Gendered structures were also entwined with the normalization of violence. Violence or the threat of it was linked in particular with the correct representations of masculinity. In addition to gender other differences affected how it was possible to be present in school and how violence could be defined or used as a resource. According to my research, racism, homophobia and gendered structures limit the students' agency. The students seemed to be struggling to understand situations from other person's points of view and to understand the consequences of their actions. On the other hand, the teachers did not seem to understand the students' perspective. I too shared the difficulties with identifying and naming violence. My conclusion is that even though no one is able to distinctly define violence, it is not to be accepted. Based on my research, violence should always be intervened, despite the difficulties of defining it.

Pro gradu -tutkielmani aiheena on ’toiseuden’ ilmenemismuodot (‘othering’) englantilaisen The Economist -viikkolehden nekrologeissa. Tarkastelen ’normiin’ ja ’toiseuteen’ liittyvää henkilökuvausta kriittisen diskurssianalyysin viitekehyksessä. Valitsin lehden tutkimus-kohteekseni, koska sillä on suuri vaikutusvalta maailmanlaajuiseen lukijakuntaan ja sen arvoihin ja asenteisiin. Vuosina 2010 – 2014 The Economist -lehdessä julkaistiin 255 nekrologia. Näiden joukosta valitsin henkilökuvauksen yleisvaikutelman perusteella 10 nekrologia tarkemman kielellisen analyysin kohteiksi. Viisi tekstiä vaikutti kunnioittavaan sävyyn kirjoitetuilta ja toiset viisi negatiivisesti värittyneiltä. Analyysimenetelmänä käytän Fowlerin luokittelua, joka pohjautuu Hallidayn systeemis-funktionaaliseen kielioppiin ja keskittyy transitiivisuuden tarkasteluun. Analysoin verbi-, adjektiivi- ja substantiivirakenteita, verbien konnotaatioita sekä semanttisia rooleja. Nämä rakennevalinnat liittyvät laajaan sosiokulttuuriseen kontekstiin, kielen interpersonaaliseen ja ideationaaliseen funktioon ja saavat merkityksensä niiden kautta. Tekemäni analyysi osoittaa, että ’normia’ edustavat henkilöt ovat aineistossa enemmistönä ja saavat osakseen positiivisia ja arvostavia verbejä, adjektiiveja ja substantiiveja, kun taas ’toiseksi’ luokiteltavia henkilöitä on merkittävästi vähemmän ja heitä kuvataan negatiivisin verbein, adjektiivein ja substantiivein. Lisäksi ’normin’ edustajat kuvataan ’toisia’ useammin toimijan (Agent) semanttisessa roolissa ja ’toiset’ saavat ’normin’ edustajia enemmän kokijan (Experiencer) ja kohteen (Affected) rooleja. Tutkimukseni tulos vastaa van Dijkin representaatiostrategiaa ‘ideological square’, jonka mukaan ’normi’ esitetään positiivisessa ja ’toiset’ negatiivisessa valossa. Tarkasteltavassa aineistossa ’normia’ (Us) edustavat valkoihoiset heteromiehet, ja ’toiseutta’ (Them) taas naiset ja värilliset.

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce and analyze Michel Foucault’s (1926–1984) conceptions of power (pouvoir) and violence (violence). Foucault wrote extensively about power, but seldomly analyzed violence analytically. Nevertheless he argues that power and violence are connected. This thesis is an attempt to gain an understanding of the relation between power and violence and to open the field for questions on resistance. The questions of this thesis are approached through conceptual analysis and historical investigation. The main literature consists of Foucault’s mid-70s works; from Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality: Volume One to his lecture series at Collège de France, especially 'Society Must Be Defended' and Security, Territory, Population. Works on Foucault that are cited include Jeffrey Nealon’s Foucault Beyond Foucault (2008), Kai Alhanen’s Practices of Thought in Michel Foucault’s Philosophy (2012) and Johanna Oksala’s Foucault, Politics, and Violence (2012). Power is mainly approached through the concepts of cost and intensity, stressing Foucault’s famous claim that 'power produces', or that it is productive in itself. In contrast to power, violence is, according to Foucault, unproductive or even destructive in its effects. In order to understand how the concept of cost and the process of intensifying are interconnected with historical changes and the corresponding use of violence, Foucault’s accounts on different historical modes of power are introduced and examined. This examination shows that historically the use of violence has developed from being excessive and brutal (the sovereign’s 'Right of Death') to normative and life-preserving (the bio-political 'Power over Life'). The analysis shows that power and violence have a certain, historically contingent connection, which is perceived through the hegemonic political rationalities. According to Foucault, in order to resist violence, it is essential to understand the rationalities in question and to refuse to co-operate with the dominating practices they foster.

Terveydenhuollossa tapahtuvan työpaikkaväkivallan on viime vuosina koettu olevan kasvussa. Tämän kirjallisuuskatsauksena toteutetun tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää suun terveydenhuollon henkilöstöön kohdistuvaa työpaikkaväkivaltaa, sen yleisyyttä, riskitekijöitä ja eri muotoja. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin myös väkivallan vaikutuksia suun terveydenhuollon työntekijöihin ja eri keinoja estää väkivaltaisten tilanteiden synty. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen aineisto haettiin Medline-tietokannasta PubMed- ja Ovidkäyttöliittymien kautta. Aineistoon otettiin mukaan suun terveydenhuollon työntekijöitä ja opiskelijoita koskevat, henkistä, fyysistä ja seksuaalista väkivaltaa, käsittelevät artikkelit. Tekijöitä, joiden koettiin altistavan työntekijää väkivallalle, olivat naissukupuoli, ammatillinen kokemattomuus ja nuori ikä. Työpaikkaväkivaltaa ilmeni potilailta työntekijöille ja myös työntekijöiden välillä. Eniten suun terveydenhuollossa kohdattiin henkistä ja seksuaalista väkivaltaa. Väkivaltaisiin tilanteisiin johtaneita tekijöitä olivat potilaan päihtyneisyys, pitkät odotusajat ja tyytymättömyys hoidon kulkuun. Etenkin suun terveydenhuollon ammatteihin opiskelevilla odotus- ja hoitoajat ovat pitempiä kuin alalle valmistuneilla työntekijöillä, mikä altistaa opiskelijat väkivallalle. Työpaikkaväkivallalla oli laajat seuraukset suun terveydenhuollon työntekijöiden ja opiskelijoiden hyvinvointiin. Väkivallan kohtaaminen johti stressiin, masentuneisuuteen ja työmotivaation laskuun. Väkivaltaisista tilanteista jätettiin usein raportoimatta, koska koettiin, että potilaiden kohdistama aggressio kuului osaksi työtä. Suun terveydenhuollon työntekijöille ja opiskelijoille tarjottua koulutusta ja keinoja väkivaltaisten tilanteiden kohtaamiseen oli vähän.

Aims: Healthcare workers commonly suffer from workplace aggression, so it is important to understand factors that may increase its risk. Previous studies have shown that job demands increase the risk of inappropriate treatment at workplace. Furthermore, poorly functioning, and constantly changing information systems form a major work stressor for doctors. Therefore, the current study examines if physicians that re-port higher levels of stress related to information systems are also more likely to re-port experiencing workplace aggression. Methods: The sample for the study (n=3327) was collected in the cross-sectional Finnish Physicians’ Working Conditions and Health 2019 -study. Both physical and non-physical aggression were measured, and a combined variable for general aggression was also formed from them. For non-physical aggression, also the perpetrator of aggression was examined: patients or their relatives, and co-workers or superiors. For each type of aggression, logistic regression analysis was used with stress related to in-formation systems as the predictive variable. Results and conclusions: Higher levels of stress related to information systems were associated with higher likelihood of aggression in all types of aggression. The association was strongest with non-physical aggression. These results emphasize the importance of designing functional information systems to improve both the wellbeing of physicians and the quality of patient care in the future. However, the current findings warrant more research, especially regarding the possible mediating factors between stress related to information systems and workplace aggression.

This thesis examines how Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange" uses depictions of violence to tell the story and how these depictions simultaneously challenge the reader to examine their own relationship to violence as well as society’s overall attitude towards it. By using both theory on what possible positive effects depictions of violence can have on the reader and Phelan’s theory on narrative ethics, this thesis will show that the depictions of violence are necessary for the societal criticism Burgess presents in his story as well as for the reader to challenge their own expectations of the nature of violence and the people who commit violent acts. The aim of this thesis is to show why even unpleasant topics should be depicted in literature. Since the reader of fiction is able to identify with the events and the characters of the story, they are able to experience situations and emotions that would be unpleasant for them if faced with in real life, such as fear, anger and sorrow. However, because the reader knows they are not actually in any real danger, the experience of these emotions can become pleasurable. The notion that experiencing negative emotions can become enjoyable goes all the way back to Aristotle, who claimed that by feeling emotions of fear and pity in fiction (drama), the audience is able to experience catharsis and what Aristotle called “proper pleasure”. There exists a wide debate among literary critics whether matters dealing with ethics and morals are even relevant when examining a text. This thesis presents both sides of the argument: I claim that a text should be evaluated purely on its aesthetical values, but also that bad ethics in the story do not make the text worse, any more than good ethics would make a mediocre text better. A Clockwork Orange supports both of these arguments. The inventive language and references to previous literary staples such as Dante’s Divine Comedy make it an interesting piece of writing even with the questionable ethics. However, examining the story on an ethical level reveals that, especially when considering Burgess’ original, unabbreviated ending, the novel actually denounces violence instead of glorifying it. The thesis examines the novel on four different levels based on Phelan’s (2013) four aspects of narrative ethics: ethics of the told; ethics of telling; ethics of writing; and ethics of reading. The conclusion of this study is that since Burgess is in control of what is told and how, he has a responsibility of the way the violence is depicted in the story. Burgess uses language and ambiguity that distances the reader from the events, and he ends the story in a way that condemns the violence that occurs in the beginning of the story.

Studies concerning bullying have typically focused on peer bullying, whilst cross-peer abuse has not received as much attention. This literature review concentrates on investigating cross-peer abuse in a school context. This study examines what sort of violence or bullying teachers face from students and parents and ponders which factors effect bullying and how it could be prevented. Both systematic and coincidental bullying are included in this study. Previous studies of this subject are scarce and mostly all but one is over ten years old. The target of this study is to increase knowledge of cross-peer abuse in school context, to bring forth the importance of the subject and to provide new subjects for studying. This study investigated bullying and violence that teachers face from pupils and parents. The literature review was based on central, high-quality and original papers of the area of research. The review concluded and summarized central results of national studies and compared them with international studies. Teachers faced some bullying and violence from both students and parents. Students dis-ruptive behavior was more typical than parents. Most of the time harassing was verbal but some of the teachers have also faced sexual harassment and physical violence. Physi-cal violence in primary schools seemed to be qualitatively different than physical violence in secondary schools. Coincidental bullying appeared more than systematic bullying. In a wider context, a teachers gender didn’t matter in victimization but there were differences in single forms of violence. Usually students who bullied teachers were boys. Teachers sug-gested that as a solution for bullying problem solving skills and negotiation skills should be improved among students and parents should have support for parenting. Also, school management seemed to have a significant role in preventing bulling.