Browsing by Subject "mielikuva"

The aim of this study was to explore visual representations of the countryside made by children aged 9–10 years and living in urban and rural environments. The study investigates the children's images of the countryside: its natural and built environment, the people living there, its location in the children's opinion and the potential things to do there. In this study I also try to explain from where these images of the countryside have originated. In addition to this, the study explores the influence of the children's living area to their image of rural environments. Previous studies show that among adults the image of rural environments is usually positive. The image consists of a clean environment, peace and nature. Rural landscape is often thought to be either an agricultural or a cottage landscape. There are also idyllic images of the countryside where children are playing outside in the nature. There are no previous studies to be found on representations of rural environments concerning children from 9 to 10 years. The results of this study were based on 61 drawings and questionnaires collected from 3rd to 4th grade pupils during one lesson at their school in the spring of 2015. Out of these 61, there were 27 pupils living in rural area and 34 pupils living in urban area. This research is qualitative and executed with visual methods. The pupils were asked to draw a picture of the countryside and answer a semi-structured questionnaire. The drawings were then analysed by the visual content analysis and the questionnaires with the content analysis. Based on the results of this research, it was found that most of the representations of rural environments, regardless of the place of living of the drawer, described a summer day at the farm. Mostly there was a house, some animals, a field, the sun and a tree in the picture. The atmosphere of the countryside seemed to be considered positive because of the smiling people, the sun in the sky and the calm events drawn in the picture. The built environment of the countryside consisted of houses and animal shelters whereas the natural environment consisted of animals, trees and fields. Animals and people were understood to be the residents of the rural environments. The activities in the countryside were considered to take place outside and were related to animals or agriculture. Most of the pupils living in the city did not know or could not tell where the countryside is situated. Some of the pupils living in the rural environment did not perceive themselves living in the countryside. The images of the rural environments were mostly based on the personal experiences which 80 per cent of the pupils had and on the knowledge they have learned from the relatives. The personal experience of the countryside as a living environment was shown in detailed drawings portraying everyday actions in the pictures.

Aims. The purpose of research is to clarify vocational school students' images about home- and industrially made food. Where do the students think the line between home-made and industrially-made goes? Another aim is to clarify the functions behind the choices and students views about the future of homemade food and new food trends. Students thoughts and images are clarified by the following questions: 1. What are the images of vocational school's pupils about homemade food and industrially-made food? 2. Which things affected to their choice? 3. What do they think how will the relation between homemade food and industrially-made food change? Methods. The qualitative data were collected by focus-group interviews from the students of 15–24 years old (N=20) in spring 2014. The data were analyzed with a qualitative method called qualitative content analysis. Conclusions. According to the students home-made food was self-made, healthy food made of quality ingredients. Minced meat soup was also kept as a home-made food even if it included industrially produced vegetables which were pre-handled. The students also thought that industrially made food was unhealthy and tasteless. In the future will the share of home-made foods decrease even more, as the share of industrially made food grows. Factors affecting students' food choices were: taste, weekdays, health aspects and own eating habits. Also, whether one lives in childhood home or on his/her own, affects to their choices. The role of family is remarkable in building the eating habits of a young person. Childhood's taste preferences affect through one's lifetime.