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The association between victimization and aggressive behavior has been extensively studied but its relation to other risk factors is less known. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the link between victimization and aggressive behavior by including other risk factors associated with aggressive behavior to the model. Along with victimization we studied the effect of Big Five personality dimensions, impulsivity and parental control on aggression and their potential mediating or moderating effects on the victimization-aggression link. Based on the previous studies we expected the link between victimization and aggression to be strong but possibly mediated or moderated by agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, impulsivity and parental control. We used the data from the Finnish Self-Report Delinquency study 2012 which consists of 8,914 survey answers from 6th or 9th grade students (11–16 years) in a nationally representative sample of 106 schools. Aggressive behavior and victimization variables were sorted into three classes: 1) no reported incidences 2) 1 or 2 incidences or 3) 3 or more incidences in the previous year. We analyzed the data by using multinomial regression analysis. Gender and age (6th vs. 9th grade) were controlled. Results showed that victimization was associated with aggressive behavior and the probability was highest among those who had experienced victimization more than three times during the previous year. Higher parental control, agreeableness and conscientiousness predicted less aggressive behavior, whereas higher impulsivity and extroversion predicted higher aggressive behavior. Neuroticism was not directly associated with aggressive behavior. Only the link between conscientiousness and aggressive behavior was mediated by the other factors while victimization, agreeableness, extroversion, impulsivity and parental control remained as independent factors predicting aggressive behavior.

Previous studies have shown that outdoor activities are important for the child and outdoor environment is in many ways an ideal early childhood education environment. However the appreciation of outdoor playing has gone through inflation in small children's education. The emphasis on safety risks has made playgrounds plain and educators cautious. Children spend the free time more and more inside at the expense of the outdoor activities. It has been speculated that the children's healthy growth and development are at risk as a result of these social changes. Against this background, it is important to consider outdoor activities carried out in institutional early childhood education from the point of view of pedagogy. Day care staff is responsible for the well-being of children, the promotion of development and learning. Studies have given an indication that pedagogical knowledge is not used outside as it could be. The purpose of this study is to analyze the meanings of children's outdoor life and outdoor environment given by the kindergarten teachers, as well as the role of an adult during outdoor supervision. The goal is to survey good practices in promoting outdoor pedagogy. The research method used was theme interview with video tapings. The research environment was municipal day-care center. Outdoor activities was taped on video in the yard of the day-care center. Four kindergarten teachers was interviewed using semi-structured interview frame and video clips. Interview data was analyzed according to the principles of content analysis. Outdoor activities were seen as a vital part of the day and outdoor environment was seen as a good pedagogical environment. However it was felt that in reality the pedagogical skills is not often used outdoors. Safety and control was seen as specific tasks for adults related to outdoor activities. However, this important role was seen also as a limitation for the pedagogical usage of outdoor environment and children's freedom. Outdoor Environment provides a good ground for play, sports, exploration and interaction between children as well as between adult and child. Children's learning is holistic and adults should have similar roles outdoors than inside. Teaching and educational staff commitment to their work and a shared vision of the work community can promote outdoor pedagogy and change courtyard control culture.

As the number of Finns moving abroad rises, more knowledge is needed about the needs of expatriate Finns. Finnish language schools are an important network of Finnish communities all around the globe, as well as a well established support system to help families with the multilingual upbringing of their children. However, there is very little recent research on Finnish language schools, especially the experiences of students. There is also very little research on the language identity of Finnish expatriate children, although Finnish language schools are supposed to support their students’ multilingual identities. Therefore in order to further develop and improve Finnish language schools, we need more information on children’s experiences regarding Finnish language schools and their language identities. This study aims to find out things that Finnish expatriate children bring up in regards to their experiences of Finnish language schools and their language identities: what experiences do expatriate Finnish children have of Finnish language schools, and what is their experience of their language identity. Seven young expatriate Finns (ages 6 to 11) were interviewed for this study. All children had lived most or all of their life outside Finland, and all had attended Finnish language schools. The study was conducted from a phenomenological approach. The analysis was done as qualitative analysis of content. All in all the interviewees has positive experiences regarding Finnish language schools. They mostly enjoyed attending classes and felt that they learned or benefited from them. According to the interviewees’ experiences, the activities done in Finnish language schools are quite diverse, and the children enjoyed doing active and varied things. The importance of Finnish language schools as communities arose as well. The interviewees expressed strong multilingual identities, and different languages had clear roles in their lives. From these results we can interpret that Finnish language schools offer a positive Finnish-speaking environment, which can help strengthen Finnish expatriate children’s self image as speakers of the Finnish language, and therefore support the role of the Finnish language in their language identity.

This research is about the forms of power within the three herra Hakkarainen picture books created by Mauri Kunnas and the affects and emotions they convey. In particular, attention was drawn to the use of power of the main character. The widespread popularity of herra Hakkarainen picture books, both in Finland and internationally, emphasizes their research significance, as illustrated books mirror the social and cultural values of our society. The importance of images of the picture books as a social commentator has been emphasized as they bring out cultural information. Picture books were studied on the basis of hermeneutic philosophy, and the research method was discourse analysis. This approach enabled focus on the use of the language and its importance in the formation of social relationships. The links between language and cultural contexts were at the core of the research. The results of the study revealed that herra Hakkarainen picture books reflect the complex relationships of power and the impact of emotions and affects in social context. In particular, herra Hakkarainen picture books humorous approach to questioning social norms was highlighted. This research opens a new perspective on how illustrated literature can influence perspectives of the world and understanding of emotions of the children. In conclusion, this research shows a significant role in of illustrated literature as a social communicator and emotional educator. It also emphasizes the need for criticism in emotional education and in understanding power relations in societal texts.

The aim of this study was to look into university students' expectancies and achievement strategies regarding their domain studies and how they develop through the first three years of academic studies. The study also examines the differences of the development of these components between five academic domains. According to previously formulated theories (Carver, Scheier & Segerstrom, 2010; Eccles & Wigfield, 1983; Nurmi & Salmela-Aro, 1998), these aspects play an important role in motivation and learning in academic related context. In this study the three year trajectories were especially of interest, as they might offer some new insight and also present ideas for further research regarding motivation and success in academic education. This study started as a part of RYM Indoor Environment Program (TEKES, 2011-2015) and continued as a part of Mind the Gap Between Digital Natives and Educational Practices -project (Academy of Finland's Human Mind program, 2013-2016). The participants in the first year were 498 students from two different universities. In the three-year follow-up, 215 of these students continued to participate. Five disciplines were presented in the study; teacher education, chemistry, law, theology and engineering. The study was conducted as a quantitative research and the data was collected by a self-report questionnaire over three years' period and by accumulation of credits retrieved from universities' records. The five studied disciplines seem to start their studies in equivalent position – the first academic year appears to be perceived as positive and valuable, with low levels of task-avoidance, although some differences were found in domain value. When proceeding to second academic year, some differing trajectories between disciplines were recognized. While some domains' students seem to value their studies, other domains' students showed to decrease in the level of perceived domain value. Positively, optimism proved to increase in all disciplines between first and second year as well as between second and third year. However, task-avoidance, which has been found to predict poor academic performance and low satisfaction (Nurmi et al. 2003), showed to remain stable throughout the three years. Educational implications of these trajectories are also discussed in this study.

Aims. The aim of the study is to examine how third sector leaders perceive that their work motivation over time has been affected by teleworking during the corona pandemic. Previous research has shown contradictory results. Some research show that teleworking has more positive effects on work motivation and well-being, while other research show teleworking having more negative effects on work motivation and well-being. Self-determination theory is used as the theoretical background for the study. Methods. Seven third sector leaders participated in the study. Qualitative methods were used as research methods for the study and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The material was analyzed using abductive content analysis, where the analysis was guided by the collected data and self-determination theory. Results. The results show that the leaders did not experience any significant difference in work motivation, teleworking during the corona pandemic. However, it became clear that there were factors that could influence work motivation either positively or negatively. Before the corona pandemic, colleagues and partners, freedom and the non-profit purpose were perceived as the main work motivation factors. During the corona pandemic, coming up with new solutions to various challenges, feeling that the work mission had a greater importance and contact with personnel had a positive impact on work motivation. Negative effects on work motivation during the corona pandemic was the loss of spontaneous social encounters, worry, uncertainty and fatigue, having to rethink work activities, and difficulty in separating work and leisure time. After returning to the office, the most important motivational factors were the colleagues and the immediate contact with them and support from them. In addition to these factors, working undisturbed and the more flexible working arrangements emerged as positive experiences of teleworking. The fact that remote leadership was more challenging was perceived as a negative effect of teleworking.

Goals. This Master's thesis examined career development opportunities in commercial sector managers' psychological contracts. It used psychological contract theory and working life related literature. Earlier studies has suggested that contract transformation is linked with transformation in working life. Research questions were: What kind of career development related commitments there is in commercial sector managers' psychological contracts? What kind of relationship have psychological contracts with working life? Methods. The data were collected with ten interviews of commercial sector managers and addressed with qualitative content analysis. Results and conclusions. Psychological contracts are in a process of transformation. Contracts include both traditional and new commitments. Commitments are related with working life changes. Traditional side of contracts include mutual loyalty and trust. New side of contracts is based on personal gain and there is not strong loyalty or trust anymore. Career development opportunities in psychological contracts are based on a reaction to changes in working life including uncertainty, individualization and changes in careers.

Objectives. Self-talk is an essential part of an athlete's mental training. It has an influence on sport performance, which makes self-talk an interesting subject to study. With Automatic Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports (ASTQS) it is possible to evaluate the content of athletes' self-talk during performance. In this study the ASTQS questionnaire was translated into Finnish and the aim was to study construct validity of the instrument and also to evaluate Finns' self-talk use. In addition, the aim of this study was to examine associations between self-talk and the Big Five personality traits because clarifying the role of personality can help identify individual differences in self-talk. Differences between individual sport athletes and team sport athletes in self-talk and personality traits were also examined. Methods. The data in this study was a sample of over 15-year-old athletes who compete at relatively high level in their own sport in Finland (N = 383). Included sports were football, ice-hockey, floorball, orienteering, and athletics. The mean age of the participants was 19 years. The participants filled a web-based form, which consisted of ASTQS measuring self-talk and Big Five Inventory measuring personality. The construct validity of ASTQS was examined with factor analysis and associations between self-talk and performance with canonical correlation analysis. Results and conclusions. The structure of the Finnish ASTQS corresponded to the original eight-factor solution quite well. All of the eight self-talk dimensions were found, but a few connections outside the original model were also allowed. On average, the athletes reported using self-talk a little less frequently than sometimes. They also reported using more positive than negative self-talk. Individual sport athletes used more instruction, psych up, and anxiety control related self-talk than team sport athletes. Team sport athletes had were more agreeable than individual sport athletes. Associations between self-talk and personality were ambiguous, but there seemed to be a positive relationship between neuroticism and worry and between the other traits and positive self-talk. This study produced the first Finnish version of ASTQS that can be used to evaluate Finnish athletes' content of self-talk during performance. Using a systematic self-talk measure can help identify and modify athletes' self-talk. Knowing the role of personality can in turn direct self-talk interventions to athletes who could benefit from them the most.

Football club activities play an important role in the physical education of Finnish children. The educational impacts of the activities depend largely on the club’s guidelines and the coaches’ educational skills. The role of the coach as an educator is unavoidable, as sports creates educational situations where it is possible to influence children’s actions and thinking directly or through their parents. The research assignment of this study is to describe the views of football coaches involved in childhood sports on their role in children’s physical education. The objective is to research how children’s coaches view their role as an educator, and the factors influencing their role in the football club. The study was carried out as a qualitative case study, in which the research material consisted of semi-structured thematic interviews with five children’s football coaches. Two full-time and two part-time coaches, and one volunteer coach from different football clubs in the Helsinki metropolitan area were selected for interview by quota sampling. The analysis of the material was carried out using theory-guided content analysis, where the coaches' views on the research topic were described. The coaches described that their role is significant as part of children’s physical education. With their actions, the coaches offered a role model to children, for instance in behavior and attitude to competition. Enjoying football was raised as the most important educational goal. Collaboration with children’s parents and members of the coaching staff influenced the role of the coach as an educator. The clubs guided the coaches in different ways and team sizes defined by the clubs impacted the role of the coaches. Based on the literature and my research, a competent coach enables high-quality physical education in football clubs. The skills of coaches should be developed and means to do so should be further studied. Based on the research, it can be recommended that clubs use team sizes small enough to allow the coach to consider children’s individual needs.

Goals. The goal of this thesis is to find out the motives for following three different food blogs. The research focuses on readers of the blogs 52 weeks of deliciousness, Lunni leipoo and Perinneruokaa prkl, all of which are located at the website maku.fi. The selection of the research subject was influenced partly by the fact that blog readers and their following motives have yet been researched only little. Blogs are associated with communality and therefore it's interesting to know whether readers participate in commenting the blog posts and how do they do it. Methods. The data was acquired with an online questionnaire that contained open and multiple-choice questions. The online questionnaire was an appropriate method for reaching the target group. The theoretic focus was on qualitative methods, but quantitative methods were utilized as well. The results of the questionnaire were processed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Multiple-choice questions were presented graphically, open questions in turn were analysed by defining types and themes. At first every blog was examined individually, after which the whole material was subjected to analysis in order to define different reader types. Results and conclusions. The questionnaire gathered answers from 132 readers. Blog 52 weeks of deliciousness was interesting due to recipes, food ideas and the atmosphere created by the blogger. The blog was also a source for daily inspiration and restaurant tips. Blog Lunni leipoo was followed particularly for its visuality, but the entirety, recipes and stories were also felt important. The readers of blog Perinneruokaa prkl were interested in the blog's theme of traditional food. Although the blog was mainly a source for recipes, the funny and narrative writing style was part of the blog's charm. The reader types defined from the material were information seekers, inspiration hunters and self-entertainers. These types were divided into two types by purposes of use: blogs are either idea banks or entertainment platforms. As an idea bank the blog functions as a source for ideas and information. The information seeker values accessibility and searches the blog for recipes or cooking-related information. The inspiration hunter seeks inspiration, which is basically related to all aspects of the blog, such as the recipes, pictures and the blogger's persona. Both inspiration hunter and self-entertainer use the food blog as an entertainment platform. The self-entertainer is after the blog's atmosphere, looking for fun or just passing time. The blog's visuality, stories and attitude gratify the reader. Commenting in the blogs was scarce. The readers didn't comment, because they didn't find their own thoughts important enough, they didn't feel commenting was appropriate for their behaviour, they felt comments had to have value to other readers and the blogger or they wanted to preserve their anonymity. The readers felt that reasons good enough for commenting were asking a question, sharing an own experience, praising, a particularly interesting or emotive post, testing the recipe at hand and asking for advice.