Browsing by Title
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(2016)In recent years the world has experienced an unprecedented rise of social movements in both democratic and authoritarian states, starting from Spanish Indignados and Occupy Wall Street in the United States to Arab Spring movement for democratization, rights defence movement Wei Tu An in China, or Russian protests for fair elections and democratization of political system in 2011-2012. Despite various goals pursued by these and other similar social movements, locations and means of achieving these goals, all of them shared common features, such as loose horizontal network structure of informal nature, grassroots civic engagement, and extensive use ICT technologies and new media. This new forms of civic engagement, whether successful or not in pursuing their goals, present an interesting case of how technological advancements and other factors affect the development of civil society and the way grassroots political participation is being formed. This work intends to explore theoretical implications for new ways of civic engagement by reviewing it in the perspective of civil society development and placing it in the framework of new social movement theory and organizational theory of network society. Another important aspect that is being explored is the question of how the development of ICT technologies affects the nature of civic engagement in both authoritarian and democratic states. The argument developed in this thesis stipulates that the ICT and the effects of network society contribute to development of new, untraditional forms of political participation. This new forms of civic engagement function on a network basis, feature predominantly grassroots nature and have loose informal structure of horizontal networks. The proposed hypothesis is supported by a descriptive case-study of online-based anticorruption project Rospil in Russia, which includes analysis of how network society features are intertwined in the civil society formations of modern Russia and how it creates prerequisites for an appearance of new forms of civic engagement, despite the growing authoritarian nature of its political regime.
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(2020)This study examines the climate responsibility, a sub-category of corporate social responsibility (CSR), of two oil companies, ExxonMobil and Shell. The study is a comparative case study of the climate responsibilities of two private oil companies, that makes use of academic literature and recent primary sources of the case companies, such as sustainability reports and statements. The study has a theoretical emphasis, and at first, it discusses the theoretical debates involving CSR. The separation of ownership and control in corporations that occurred in the early 20th century enriched the later discussion about the contradictions between capitalism and CSR, which was emerging slowly. From the 1970s, the practice of CSR became more familiar, and for instance, the orthodox liberal viewpoint became more positive about it: It was possible to combine profit-maximizing and CSR. Later, in the 21st century, governance studies gave a new perspective on interdisciplinary CSR studies. The study shows that climate responsibility might differ extensively between two same-sized oil companies. ExxonMobil’s climate responsibility has changed in the past twenty years: First, the company doubted whether climate change was true. Later, it admitted that it is a fact, and the company has committed to the Paris Climate Agreement. However, it commits to greenwashing regarding finding solutions. The company emphasizes its expertise and authority and is against government climate regulation. For ExxonMobil, the responsibility remains on the level of talk. It is not attempting to withdraw from oil. Shell’s climate responsibility, however, materializes in practice, too, even though the company has committed to greenwashing in the past. Shell has invested substantially in renewable energy sources and states that it aims to transform its business model to correspond with ambitious climate objectives. Further, contrary to ExxonMobil, Shell relies on a climate scenario, which follows an estimate that global warming from the pre-industrial era will not exceed 2°C. The study underlines that instrumental factors can explain the forms of corporate climate responsibility. However, the study does not exclude institutional, relational, nor philanthropic reasons for climate responsibility. This study discusses broad instrumentalism, which includes profit-maximizing and pursuit of corporate power. Profit-maximizing explains the form of climate responsibility that both companies practice. ExxonMobil’s climate responsibility speech is explained by maintaining a reputation and advertising matters, that is, short-term profits. However, its climate responsibility in practice remains modest, even irresponsible: The company is not withdrawing from oil nor investing in renewable energy sources. That is because, whereas the new oil resources are becoming harder and harder to exploit, ExxonMobil has relatively large oil resources compared with other oil companies. In turn, Shell’s climate responsibility is explained, especially by the long-term profits. Shell has relatively low oil reserves. Thus, it prepares for future regulation and positions as a progressive actor regarding energy transition to maximize profits in the 22nd century. Also, the case companies differ in the way they pursue corporate power. In the case of ExxonMobil, its climate responsibility speech is an attempt to pursuit corporate power against government regulation and to obtain autonomy. On the other hand, in climate issues, Shell highlights cooperation with the government and other stakeholders instead of self-regulation through its CSR. In the end, the thesis discusses the implications of the results to a broader question of global climate governance. When sustainability has become a growing business, and there are challenges in global climate governance, it is important to recognize the limits of climate responsibility, and more broadly, the limits of corporate social responsibility as a long-term solution. However, in the short term, the climate efforts of corporations are necessary to fill the regulatory gaps of global climate governance.
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(2020)The focus of this thesis is on the recent changes in ethnic and class relations that have taken place in Bolivia since the beginning of the 21st century with the expansion of the economic middle class and the rise of the indigenous movements, Evo Morales and his socialist party to political power. This is approached through the medium of coca leaf, a key symbol of the Central Andean indigenous peoples, and its chewing that has recently been appropriated by all social layers of Bolivia. The recent popularity of coca challenges the race-based class structure of Bolivia, where prejudices on indigenous peoples have been epitomised in coca. The realities of social change are investigated by looking into the contemporary perceptions that Bolivians have towards coca, and how its increasing use reflects the changing identities and relations between different social layers. The city of Tarija was chosen as the primary field site as coca is commonly chewed there publicly. As previous anthropological research on coca has mainly been conducted in rural surroundings, this thesis illuminates how the leaf is used by the urban population of Bolivia. The principle research questions are: How is the chewing of coca leaf perceived and practiced by the different layers, of the contemporary society of Tarija, and how does this contribute to the production of separate ethnic and class identities, but also national and departmental unity? This thesis is mostly based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Bolivia between 3 December 2018 and 23 February 2019, of which two months were spent in the city of Tarija and it surroundings, while one month of supplementary research was conducted in other parts of Bolivia. In addition to participant observation, the material collected included 14 recorded interviews as well as 63 informal interviews. Besides ethnographic data, this thesis also analyses the history of coca leaf at the epicentre of racial and social relations of Bolivian society, which also includes its place as one of the main ingredients of the global drug trade. As the perceptions surrounding coca are linked to its possible narcotic qualities and medical applicability, an analysis of the medicinal value of the coca leaf is included to provide a background for the claims made by the interviewees. To approach the multiple meanings of the coca leaf, this thesis employs a locally engaged theory. Anthropological concepts and theories of multiple origins are employed and applied throughout the ethnographical analysis to build a multi-sited and encompassing understanding of coca chewing. The identities are approached from an intersectional perspective to show the complexity of identity building, where gender, age, race and class are in interaction with each other. The reasons that members of different groups give for coca chewing and how these reasons work to create differences between the chewers are analysed to demonstrate how the traditional upper and middle classes of Tarija do not partake in the key symbolism that coca has for the Central Andean indigenous peoples. Instead, they perceive coca as an ancient medicine, a national emblem that works to create unity between all Bolivians by connecting them to their shared indigenous roots, while the chewing of the leaf for work-related reasons, as a stimulant, is perceived to be practiced mainly by the rural population and the working class. By further differentiating the zones of coca production to traditional producers and narcotraffickers, and as also demonstrated with an analysis on the public chewing of coca, this thesis argues that through coca chewing, the traditional upper and middle classes are able to overpass the racism previously employed in demonstrations against Evo Morales and his socialist party. Their new rhetoric highlights national unity regardless of class or ethnicity in the name of democracy. The ambiguous relation that the people of Tarija have towards coca reflects the ambiguous relations that exist between the different social layers of the city. The increasing popularity of coca reflects the social change that has diluted the colonial race-based boundaries between social classes, but also the limits of this change, as many of the prejudices and stereotypes previously attached to race and coca, instead of disappearing, have been reassigned to low income levels and political affiliation.
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(2012)This thesis is an ethnographic study of chadō, the Japanese way of Tea, with particular focus on the social and communal aspects present in a formal Tea event, a chaji. Perhaps as a result of the closed nature of the Japanese way of Tea (an invitation from the host is required in order to take part in a chaji) previous studies of the subject in English have confined themselves primarily to the aesthetic or artistic nature of chadō. In contrast, this study emphasizes the ritual and symbolic aspects of a chaji, examining Tea (the term used to describe chadō within the study), as a transition ritual, the ultimate goal of which is enlightenment or tranquillity. Through a comprehensive analysis of Tea and its practice, the findings of this study suggest that a special social-sphere is created during a chaji, a sphere which in turn fosters a sense of shared community between the participants. As a result of the ritual practice and the manifestation of symbolic communication within a chaji, shared values of respect and harmony are affirmed and renewed among the community. The initial fieldwork for this study was conducted over a period of three months in Kyōto Japan, based on participant observation at the Urasenke school of Tea as well as through conducting interviews with some of the school’s students. This first-hand observation and research was then filtered through the lens of transition rituals as defined by the classic study Rite de passage of Van Gennep and Victor Turner’s conceptualization of society and rituals. In linking the data to these theoretical frameworks, the findings show that in participating in a chaji, Tea practitioners are able to leave the mundane world behind them, moving through a phase of symbolic cleansing, and into the sacred or spiritual realm of Tea. This transition occurs in three distinct phases which Van Gennep defines as separation, transition, and incorporation. The study argues that it is possible to view a sense of shared community among chaji practitioners as taking place not within the realm of structured society, but rather in its margins. As such, the individual participant of a chaji is no longer defined by his or her status or role in society at large; when participating in a chaji, the Tea practitioner is sharing in a 'once in a lifetime' experience of shared communal harmony. The findings also suggest that through its focus on traditional Japanese art forms (ceramics, calligraphy, flower arrangement), Tea operates as a mechanism to create a communal experience with a shared value system. Although chadō is defined by its adherents as being quintessentially Japanese, this study makes comparisons to other consumption rituals in which a communal feeling is achieved among the participants.
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(2020)Despite a stated commitment to the principle of policy coherence for development (PCD), which means taking development policy objectives into account in all policies likely to impact developing countries, the European Union (EU) has shown limited success in prioritising poverty reduction over other policy sectors’ objectives. Especially since the migration crisis in 2015-16, development cooperation appears to be increasingly used for migration management. This thesis examines how migration and development are linked in EU external policy, how the concept of PCD has been considered, and what coherence means, in the context of EU external policies on migration and development. The thesis analyses the concept of policy coherence and the interconnections between migration and development in the European Agenda on Migration (2015), the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy (2016), and the New European Consensus on Development (2017) and their implementation reports and further communications about migration policy issued by the European Commission between the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015 and the end of the Juncker administration in late 2019. The document data is triangulated with semi-structured expert interviews, and the data is analysed using qualitative content analysis. Based on the analysis, EU policy considers migration and development linked mainly through the root causes of migration being development problems, although there is also a recognition that migration can contribute to development. Adding to the literature on the securitisation of migration and development, the study finds that migration management is considered a priority for which development cooperation can be used as leverage. This conflicts with the principle of PCD, which the study finds to be largely absent from the policy documents, indicating it is not a priority for EU external policy. The conflict between the EU’s stated normative principles and the instrumentalisation of aid can be considered normative incoherence and organized hypocrisy, which can undermine the EU’s credibility as a global actor and supposedly normative power. Although PCD is not found to be prominent anymore, ‘coherence’ is used across the documents as something to be enhanced. Based on the analysis, ‘coherence’ ascribes effectiveness, unity and credibility to the EU’s holistic, integrated approach coordinating policies, instruments and actors in pursuit of the EU’s overall interests, although these are adapted to each country context. The study suggests coherence may be understood as emblematic of a holistic approach used to legitimise the instrumentalisation of development cooperation for the EU’s overall external policy objectives.
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(2023)The social status of women has greatly improved in the past centuries due to massive worldwide collective efforts by women and their allies. In Finland, despite scoring high on gender equality indexes, women remain a target of gender inequality and patriarchal harm. Hence, this thesis aims to study factors that influence Finnish women’s participation in collective action for gender equality. Building on the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA), perceived injustice is hypothesized as a mediator for the relationship between gender identification and participating in collective action. Moreover, stigma consciousness is hypothesized to moderate the relationship between social identification and perceived injustice. Data was used from a previous cross-cultural project, during which university student participants (N= 250, all women) answered questionnaire items relevant to the hypotheses. The results showed no significant association between gender identification and collective action, nor any significant moderation power for stigma consciousness. Perceived injustice, however, was found to be a significant mediator for the relationship between gender identification and collective action. The rejection of two hypotheses could be explained by a series of limitations regarding the research methods, and the results call for an increase in public awareness of gender-based discrimination.
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(2020)Corporate communications and management have had for a long time the conviction that they could project a specific brand identity by communicating a strong vision. Today this view is being challenged, especially with the rise of social media, which has brought more visibility to customer communities and has enabled better tools for customers to communicate with each other instantly, anywhere in the world. People interacting with each other in their communities give an identity to the brands, a collective identity that can be different from the one that corporate communications try to project. It is, therefore, necessary for the brands to understand how customers collectively impact brand identity. The concepts of top-down brand identity models do not work very well in today’s interconnected world. With that in mind, this thesis looks at a bottom-up approach to the brand identity model. It aims to bring further attention to the impact that brand communities have on brand identity. Through a model for collective brand identity, the objective is to make it easier for brands to see their brand identity from a customers’ perspective and enable them to envision their future collective identities. This thesis is conducted as qualitative research including a model, case studies and interviews looking into the brand identity as a collective construction. It initially looks into existing research on collective identity in general as well as in brands. Then, it discusses existing models for brand identity and social movements. Based on the insight from the literature, this study attempts to formulate a model for collective brand identity. It uses the case studies as illustrations and proof of concept for the model. Lastly, four in-depth interviews are conducted to explore further how the model can be applied in real-life in order to study and categorise brands based on their collective identity. This research identifies four main types of collective identity in brands based on the community characteristics and personal sense of belonging, which is, how individual identities relate to that of the brand. These brand types are Influencer, Collaborative, Collective and Outlier. In general, the more collective the brand communities are, the more substantial impact they have on the band’s identity and the higher the sense of belonging to their communities, the more loyal customers they are.
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(2023)Sosiaalipsykologian tieteenalalla on pitkä sosiaalisen identiteetin tutkimusperinne eli keitä ovat me ja keitä ovat he, ja miten nämä sosiaaliset identiteetit vaikuttavat ryhmien välisiin suhteisiin. Kysymys siitä, mikä on meidän ja mikä on heidän, ja tämän kollektiivisen psykologisen omistajuuden vaikutus ryhmien välisiin suhteisiin on kuitenkin tieteenalalla vielä uusi tutkimusalue. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kollektiivista psykologista omistajuutta vapaaehtoistyön kontekstissa. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä tutkimuksessa käytetään sosiaalisen identiteetin lähestymistapaa, joka suhteutetaan aiempaan kollektiivista psykologista omistajuutta tarkastelevaan tutkimukseen. Lisäksi tutkielmassa tarjotaan tälle tutkimusalueelle uutta käsitettä: kollektiivista epistemologista omistajuutta, joka viittaa tiedon, narratiivien ja ideoiden omistamiseen. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan tilastollisesti kolmea hypoteesia: 1) Kollektiivinen psykologinen omistajuus ja kollektiivinen epistemologinen omistajuus ovat kaksi erillistä ilmiötä, 2) Sisällön tuottaminen ryhmässä on yhteydessä korkeampaan kollektiiviseen psykologiseen omistajuuteen ja voimakkaampaan epistemologiseen omistajuuteen, 3) Kollektiivinen psykologinen omistajuus on yhteydessä samaistumiseen omistuksen kohteeseen. Tutkimus on tehty Slush-tapahtuman vuoden 2022 vapaaehtoisilta kerätyn kyselyaineiston avulla. Kyselyssä vastaajat oli jaettu kolmeen eri koeryhmään: Ensimmäisessä ryhmässä vastaajat tuottivat sisältöä yhdessä ryhmässä, toisessa ryhmässä he tuottivat sisältöä yksin ja kolmannessa he vain lukivat sisältöä. Aineisto kerättiin joulu-tammikuussa 2021–2022 ja vastaajia oli 174, jolloin 11,8 % vapaaehtoispopulaatiosta vastasi kyselyyn. Puuttuvien vastausten vuoksi tarkastelussa pystytään kuitenkin käyttämään heistäkin vain 51 vastaajan vastauksia. Vastaajien pienen määrän vuoksi tutkimuksessa verrattiin ryhmässä sisältöä tuottaneita kahteen muuhun ryhmään. Tulosten perusteella kollektiivinen psykologinen omistajuus ja kollektiivinen epistemologinen omistajuus ovat empiirisesti erillisiä käsitteitä, tosin lisätutkimusta tarvitaan tuloksen vahvistamiseksi. Sisällön tuottaminen yhdessä vaikuttaa olevan yhteydessä voimakkaampaan kollektiiviseen psykologiseen omistajuuteen, mutta aineisto ei rajallisen kokonsa vuoksi antanut tilastollisesti merkitsevää tulosta, myöskään kollektiivisen epistemologisen omistajuuden osalta tutkimus ei antanut tilastollisesti merkitsevää tulosta. Kollektiivinen psykologinen omistajuus Slush-organisaatiota kohtaan osoittautui olevan yhteydessä voimakkaampaan samaistumiseen Slush-organisaation kanssa. Muiden kollektiivisen omistajuuden mittarien osalta (omistajuus vapaaehtoisten oppaasta ja kollektiivinen epistemologinen omistajuus) tilastollisesti merkitseviä tuloksia ei saatu. Tulokset ovat suuntaa antavia vastaajien pienen lukumäärän vuoksi. Yleisesti tutkielma kuitenkin osoitti, että kollektiivisen psykologisen omistajuuden teemat ovat relevantteja myös vapaaehtoistyön kontekstissa, ja että sosiaalipsykologista tutkimusta kollektiivisen omistajuuden teemoista tarvitaan enemmän.
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(2022)The subject of this master’s thesis is private collectors, their collections and the life of those collections, i.e. things. The main research question is why do we collect things? Through this question this study hopes to gain insight into our general relationship to things and the life of things, i.e., what is it to be human among things. The collectors in this study are ones who have established a private museum around their collections. Anthropological studies about collectors and private museums are relatively scarce, although the image of the collector and the question of the accumulation of possessions are both of great contemporary relevance. The museum as an institution fuses these two aspects into a formalized endeavor to collect, to save, to keep and accrue objects indefinitely and seemingly without limits. Museums are institutional collectors bound for limitless accumulation with taxonomy. All of this merits further anthropological scrutiny. The object of this study is to think with the collections, to learn from them, and attempt to discern from collectors and museum proprietors what purposes and needs things fulfill beyond their strictly utilitarian roles and the obvious meanings we give to them, and what sort of transformational potential is immanent in the museum, the collector and the collection, if any. The material for this study was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews and participant observation, where the “observing” and “participating” happened within and with the collections and museumscapes, often a very tactile dialectic through which the object and the subject are revealed as processes rather than strictly separate aspects, the lived world of things revealed as a state of becoming rather than being. These perspectives were opened up through a phenomenological approach to the study. The fieldwork was conducted during three months in the summer of 2019, as part of a larger project focused on so-called “micromuseums”. Sixty museums were visited around Finland from Lapland to the southern archipelago. Interviews were conducted with the proprietors of 37 museums. The locations and collections were also photographed extensively. The results of this study were that the reasons for collecting are an endeavor to grasp the past, to preserve things for others, to create a collection, an assemblage or coming-together of things that would outlast the collector. Collecting and the museum show themselves to be profoundly relational and collective. Being human among things is revealed as an ambivalent existence and our relationship to things challenging and contradictory.
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(2019)The design of college admissions has been a heatedly discussed topic in Finland, as recent government initiatives have led to a more centralized system. Some argue for letting colleges decide on their admissions procedures, while others believe that a centralized matchmaking procedure with priorities determined by the matriculation examination would be more cost-effective. This thesis aims to characterize various factors that the policy maker must take into account when designing a college admissions procedure, in light of existing theoretical research on both centralized and decentralized matching markets and empirical studies on social determinants of college choice and the capacity of entrance examinations to elicit information on student ability and motivation. The two-sided matching literature is discussed extensively because of its usefulness for designing centralized clearinghouses for matching markets. The student-proposing deferred acceptance algorithm emerges as the best choice for a policy maker who regards strategy-proofness and respecting of priorities as especially important, at least if manipulation by colleges is implausible. However, strategy-proofness is fragile in practical applications, applicants may try to manipulate also strategy-proof mechanisms and reporting the whole preference relation is still only weakly dominant. Consequently, satisfaction of reported preferences should not be taken as evidence of welfare properties of a matching without qualifications. The use of a common entrance examination may be more cost effective than a system based on college-specific entrance examinations, as colleges do not then need to spend resources on organizing the examinations. However, students have then stronger incentives to perform in the common entrance examination, and there is already evidence that more students retake the matriculation examination in Finland. The overall effect on the costs of organizing entrance examinations is an uncertain empirical matter. The importance of preparation courses is likely to decrease, which saves resources and contributes to socioeconomic equity. On the other hand, making students choose on their study paths earlier in life may erode socioeconomic equity. A larger role for the matriculation examination provides stronger incentives for showing effort in high school, which the policy maker may see as beneficial. While a system with a common entrance examination makes it possible for a student to get admitted to a second preference when she is rejected by her first preference, it remains an empirical question to what extent this reduces the propensity to apply again to competitive colleges. The excess demand for certain colleges is a result of student preferences and is not solvable by any mechanism that gives a strong priority to satisfying student preferences.
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(2017)The purpose of this study was to examine how media representations of masculinity, patriotism and militarism in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) relate to other corporate and political interests, and, in what ways (if any) does the UFC act to legitimize violence within the sport of mixed-martial-arts (MMA). This research was carried out within the theoretical framework of the “New American Militarism” (Bacevich, 2013) , as well as hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 1995). Through a critical content analysis of 13 “UFC Fight for the Troops” videos, it was argued that UFC has a symbiotic relationship with the U.S. military. The goal of this research was to contribute to a further understanding of the how political ideologies found in sports shape our daily lives. The paper examined ways U.S. military uses the UFC as a means to build morale for its troops before they are sent to war, and how the UFC benefits from the U.S. military through financial support and an increased fan base. Moreover, the UFC promotes nationalism and patriotism by making competition between individuals appear as competition between nations. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study was provided by showing how the UFC legitimizes violence within the sport of MMA. We can see obvious consequences of this for the athletes, but more research is needed to understand how this relationship has evolved over time, and how it shapes the worldview of millions of viewers.
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(2012)This thesis is a study of a non-governmental organization called Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative (MCDI). It operates in southeastern Tanzania and promotes participatory forest management and forest certification in four rural villages. The thesis analyses how the organization has become a non-governmental organization and adopted human development targets alongside with sustainable forest management. The implications of the project in the village and district level are also discussed. The theoretical framework consists of two discourses: the one about non-governmental organizations, and the other about interconnectedness of environmentalist and developmentalist agendas. The concepts of developmentalist complex and global environmental regime are used. The data has been collected in Tanzania during a field work period in 2010. Research methods include interviews, observations and written documents. The thesis argues that MCDI has been shaped in relation to various actors, such as donors and the district government. As a consequence, MCDI has been transformed from a small research project into a non-governmental organization and development targets have become merged with environmentalist agenda. The project has been able to generate income on the village level but the benefits still remain small. Also, the villages are heterogenic and the benefits are not evenly distributed. MCDI’s work has also changed the relation between the villages and the district. MCDI seems to perform better than the district and the villages trust MCDI. However, MCDI is not able to answer to all the development challenges that emerge in the village level. In conclusion, it is suggested that combining environmentalism and developmentalism in practice can be difficult. In the case of MCDI, creating benefits from sustainable forest management has required several years and engagement with new technical mechanisms.
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(2023)Failures in bargaining, such as strikes or stalled climate change negotiations, are costly for all parties. So why does bargaining fail when mutually beneficial agreements exist? In the thesis, the classical problem of bilateral bargaining is studied by the means of a new laboratory experiment and a literature review of related theoretical and experimental work. The main focus is on the role of commitment tactics as a source of conflict. In the literature, complete information bargaining is often deemed to be efficient whereas incomplete information is considered to be the main driver of delay. However, by simply allowing the negotiators to attempt strategic commitments that are costly to make and uncertain to succeed, unique predictions of inefficient equilibria are obtained even when bargaining under complete information. The main theoretical framework of the thesis is a dynamic bilateral bargaining model of tough negotiations and delayed agreement. In the unique stationary Markov perfect equilibrium of the model, the bargaining takes the form of a war of attrition. Negotiators initially commit themselves to incompatible demands but an agreement is reached once a commitment decays. The rates at which the commitments decay determine the expected duration of the conflict. Moreover, if the negotiators do not differ in patience the one with the stronger commitment receives in expectation a larger share of the contested surplus. The predictions of the model are tested in a new laboratory bargaining experiment. The analysis of the pilot round shows mixed results. We find some conflict and inefficiency in bargaining due to initial incompatible commitments. Furthermore, in line with the theory, more than half of the agreed offers have a different outcome than the prevalent equal sharing of much of the experimental bargaining literature. However, it cannot be concluded that the data would be completely in line with the hypotheses. The different rates at which the commitments decay do not always determine the bargaining outcome and length of the delay. Slight modifications to the experimental design, which may solve the issues detected, are discussed. The different delay patterns observed in various real-life bargaining contexts suggest that there is not a single approach which could explain all the inefficiencies. The approach emphasizing the role of strategic commitments provides an alternative to the incomplete information explanation. However, despite the rich theoretical literature, only a few experimental studies testing the commitment models exist. The pilot round of our experiment is an important contribution to this branch of bargaining literature. Certainly, further empirical research is required in order to better understand the exact role that strategic commitments have in different conflicts.
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(2011)The Master’s thesis examines historical memory of the Polish minority members in Lithuania with regard to how their interpretation of the common Polish-Lithuanian history reiterates or differs from the official Polish and Lithuanian narratives conveyed by the school textbooks. History teaching in high schools carries a crucial state-supported role of 'identity building policies' – it maintains a national narrative of memory, which might be exclusive to minorities and their peculiar understanding of history. Lithuanians Poles, in this regard, represent a national minority, which is exposed to two conflicting national narratives of the common past – Polish and Lithuanian. As members of the Polish nation, their understanding of the common Polish-Lithuanian history is conditioned by the Polish historical narrative, acquired as part of the collective memory of the family and/or different minority organizations. On the other hand, they encounter Lithuanian historical narrative of the Polish-Lithuanian past throughout the secondary school history education, where the curriculum, even if taught in Polish, largely represents the Lithuanian point of view. The concept of collective memory is utilized to refer to collective representations of national memory (i.e. publicly articulated narratives and images of collective past in history textbooks) as well as to socially framed individual memories (i.e. historical memory of minority members, where individual remembering is framed by the social context of their identity). The thesis compares the official national historical narratives in Lithuania and Poland, as conveyed by the Polish and Lithuanian history textbooks. The consequent analysis of qualitative interviews with the Polish minority members in Lithuania offers insights into historical memory of Lithuanian Poles and its relation to the official Polish and Lithuanian national narratives of the common past. Qualitative content analysis is applied in both parts of the analysis. The narratives which emerge from the interview data could be broadly grouped into two segments. First, a more pronounced view on the past combines the following elements: i) emphasis on the value of multicultural and diverse past of Lithuania, ii) contestation of 'Lithuanocentricity' of the Lithuanian narrative and iii) rejection of the term 'occupation', based on the cultural presuppositions – the dominant position of Polish culture and language in the Vilnius region, symbolic belonging and 'Lithuanianness' of the local Poles. While the opposition to the term of 'occupation' is in accord with the official Polish narrative conveyed by the textbooks, the former two elements do not neatly adhere to either Polish or Lithuanian textbook narratives. They should rather be considered as an expression of claims for inclusion of plural pasts into Lithuanian collective memory and hence as claims for symbolic enfranchisement into the Lithuanian 'imagined community'. The second strand of views, on the other hand, does not exclude assertions about the historically dominant position of Polish culture in Lithuania, but at the same time places more emphasis on the political and historical continuity of the Lithuanian state and highlights a long-standing symbolic connectedness of Vilnius and Lithuania, thus, striking a middle way between the Polish and Lithuanian interpretations of the past.
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(2015)This thesis studies the communicational practices used in promoting gourmet products in Finland. Its purpose is to find out what kind of communicational practices can be used in promoting products belonging to the gourmet category; to establish if product attributes such as country of origin and ethical production should be used as key marketing messages; and finally to generate insight on the special communicational aspects that have to be taken into account when marketing more unfamiliar meat products such as veal and canned gourmet ready-meals. The theoretical part starts with van der Veen’s definition on luxury foods (2003). Then, the phenomenon of building luxury value through marketing is addressed, with a theoretical framework constructed around Kotler’s (2005) marketing mix. Danziger’s (2005) and Twithcell’s (2001) insights hint that storytelling has a key role in building luxury value. Tamagnini’s & Tregear’s (1998) model indicates that niche marketing can be a good approach in the delicatessen meat sector. Finally, the studies conducted by Leclerc, Schmitt and Dubé (1994) as well as Luomala (2007) indicate that French origins might to be an asset on the Finnish market. A qualitative approach was chosen to gather data. Eight Finnish food professionals, representing four different profiles, were interviewed about their opinions on communication practices in promoting gourmet products and meat. Results show that storytelling is deemed the most efficient way to market gourmet products. After having compiled a coherent story, a food brand needs to expose the story to the desired consumer group(s). Tools to do this can include collaboration with journalists, celebrities, trendsetters and retailers, paid advertising, and using the brand’s own channels. However, the most important marketing channel for food is estimated to be recipes, and according to this study recipes should be an integral part of all marketing communication effort of any gourmet food brand. In addition price, packaging and placement are also essential communicational tools in building added value and differentiating the product from non-gourmet rivals. Both ethical production and French origins are seen as mostly positive product attributes that are worth communicating to the consumers. The degree in which these attributes should be highlighted depends on the segment(s) the product is primarily aimed at. Veal and canned gourmet ready-meals are seen as products that need to adopt a niche marketing strategy, aiming to commit food enthusiasts first. Veal is not seen as a product type that would demand particularly cautious communication measures. Canned gourmet ready meals, on the other hand, are seen as a very tricky product category because of the poor reputation similar products have in Finland. Strong marketing efforts should be placed to make the general attitude change. Because the approach is qualitative and the viewpoints presented by the experts are subjective, the results presented in this thesis cannot be generalized. The primary objective for this research is not to provide definitive knowledge on promoting gourmet products, but rather generate fresh viewpoints on how promoting gourmet products in contemporary Finland can be addressed. Understanding the process of adding value is important to marketers, food producers and regular consumers alike, but to gain comprehensive knowledge about the phenomenon further research is needed.
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(2014)Since colonial times, the media has been used as a tool in the quest for engendering social change in developing countries in general. In the East African state of Tanzania in particular, there has been a strong tradition of using the media to educate and inform the citizenry. The approaches have varied from the early top-down attempts to modernize the nation to the more recent trends of emphasizing participation and the role of the citizens. One of the social actors working in the field of development in Tanzania is Twaweza, a ten-year initiative that emphasizes the role of communication and the media in creating an active citizenry. This study was motivated by the desire to understand how the media can be deployed in the quest for development in a country still very much on the wrong side of the digital divide. Thus the aim of this study was to gain insight on how and why this single social actor is striving for sustainable change in Tanzania through the promotion of active citizenry. This study was conducted as a qualitative case study of Twaweza and four relevant media actors in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. As the aim of the study was to gain understanding, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were chosen as the main data collection method. Six Twaweza representatives and four media representatives were interviewed. In addition, prior to the interviews document form data was collected for background material. The data gathered was analyzed using thematic analysis. During the analysis five central, intertwined themes (social change, citizen agency, information, the mass media, the government and other social actors) rose from the data. From these discussions the key findings were that citizens are, indeed, believed to be at the root of sustainable change. All will not act to create change, but some can be activated through timely and well-targeted messages sent through the media. Yet, information alone will not activate people especially in a cultural and social context such as Tanzania. A key implication of this study for the organization is that it needs to clarify its ideology and focus its operations if it is to reach the ambitious goal of creating bottom-up change in East Africa.
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(2017)As in many countries, education in Chile has been a huge problem for authorities and researchers. Over time, there have been many attempts to improve quality, but with little to no success. It is difficult to find the main reason why Chilean education faces many problems. One reason could be the way teachers understand the policy instruments; the national curriculum, and how clear it is. However, it also could be related to the way of using skills related to communication in general, and teacher-student interaction in particular. My assumption is they have been ignored or under considered as part of the teaching process. Some experts have recognized the relevance of communication and teacher- student interaction, because of the significance of reciprocity. It has a very crucial role for effective teaching and learning to take place (Arthur, Gordon, & Butterfield, 2003). This is an in-depth research into both systems of education, a comparative and qualitative investigation that aim to analyse guidelines for teachers and principals. This research will collect data through the analysis of both national curriculums, to see how these terms are mentioned and described in them as part of the guidelines of every taught subject, and how many of these teaching methods include teacher-student interaction. For this reason, the purpose of my thesis is to analyse how the elements of communication and teacher-student interaction are presented in the official curriculums of Chile and Finland. Although the analysis of documents is the main source of data, this investigation considers also the observation to understand the dynamics in the classroom, despite being only an illustration.
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(2013)This Master’s thesis aims to study what crisis communication strategies an organisation can use to prevent or mitigate reputational crisis in social media. The study discusses current social media crisis strategies and proposes to find new ones. The intention is to create a communication model for reputational crisis in social media. With the model it is possible to assess the likelihood of a paracrisis turning into a crisis and consequently choose an appropriate strategy. The model is hence a tool when assessing signals from environmental scanning. The study is theoretic. The theoretic framework of the study consists of crisis communication, reputation and social media theory. The study discusses crisis communication and social media crisis theory. Reputation is brought into the discussion as reputational crisis is a subcategory of crisis. Reputation is also affected by crisis communication. In order to assess strategies for reputational crisis in social media, the features and logic of social media are discussed. Finally conventional crisis communication strategies are evaluated to see if they can be applied to reputational crisis in social media. Previous research shows that the refuse, refute and reform strategies can be used in social media crisis. Based on this study a fourth strategy may be added to the refuse, refute and reform –strategies, the positive strategy. In this strategy the organisation turns negative publicity into positive but a precondition is often a previously good reputation. The different strategies are illustrated in this study with case examples of social media crisis. The strategies which are found suitable for social media have been included in the model. Having gone through key crisis communication strategies, the conclusion is that the same crisis communication strategies which work in legacy media do not automatically work in social media. Crisis communication theory does however provide a good ground to start from when assessing crisis communication strategies for social media. The most important sources used in this study have been Coombs’ and Holladay’s studies on crisis communication and particularly paracrisis in social media, Åberg’s work on communication theory, Aula’s, Gonzalez-Herrero’s and Hoffman’s work on social media reputation and Korpiola’s studies on crisis communication in digital publicity.
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(2020)China has become an important global actor, especially as a partner for countries of the Global South, and it is possible that China will attempt to become a hegemonic world power. This thesis focuses on the possible hegemonic ambitions of the People’s Republic of China and examines the way China frames the international environment and itself as an international actor. Through framing analysis, this thesis seeks to find out what China’s international ambitions are and how they could affect the Global South. A neo-Gramscian framework is utilised to interpret the Chinese rhetoric as an attempt at gathering international support from developing countries for possible pursuit of international hegemony. This thesis features a framing analysis of official Chinese rhetoric. The analysis of a White paper on China’s position in the world and six speeches by high-level Chinese officials concentrates on how China frames international issues and what kind of solutions China proposes. Attention is paid to specific strategies that are used to mobilise support from the developing country audiences and to empower and legitimise China as an international leader. The results reveal two distinct frames presented in the Chinese rhetoric: a frame of global inequality and a frame of common human progress. Blame for current global issues is attributed to the Global North and China is consistently framed as a benevolent, moral actor. The Chinese proposal for a new, more just international order is framed as an expression of the common will of humanity and as a logical result of common human progress. The history of Third World solidarity is employed as a rhetorical tool to convince the Global South of China’s good intentions and trustworthiness. China seems to be trying to gain support from the Global South for its international political agenda. The agenda is presented as advancing the shared interest of the Global South: development. However, when analysing the Chinese rhetoric from a world system theory viewpoint, the promise of development seems empty. The Chinese political programme seems to uphold the existing international system and aims to achieve incremental improvements within it. This could result in some degree of development in some areas, but it does not provide a solution for global poverty and underdevelopment.
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(2015)Global news networks played an important role in carrying powerful images from the Arab spring, whether on television or electronic screens. Furthermore, they provided the space for various individuals to voice their opinions and challenge government’s state television propaganda. However, as news networks compete against each other, they may provide different interpretations of the same event or issue, which may indicate their support for a particular political stance. The on-going events of the Egyptian 25th January revolution that led to the ouster of President Mohamed Hosny Mubarak, and the aftermath of Mubarak’s ouster, were highly covered global news networks. Similarly, Morsy’s ouster, a year later, by the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces brought worldwide media attention. This thesis seeks to determine how political actors are framed during the period of Mubarak’s ouster, in comparison to during the period of Morsy’s ouster, by CNN International edition (CNNI) and Al Jazeera English (AJE) news sites. Political actors during the period of both ousters include: Mubarak and Morsy as presidents, their regimes, the pro-government supporters and anti-government protestors, the United States and the Egyptian army. To examine how these political actors are framed, I have conducted a comparative framing analysis by using a quantitative and qualitative mixed method on a sample of news stories from CNNI and AJE news sites. Additionally, a quantitative analysis is conducted on the use of sources by both news sites. Data in this thesis includes 78 news stories from both news sites in total. I have chosen to examine CNNI news site as branch of CNN’s news network, as it reflects a Western, and particularly an American stance, on foreign issues. Also, I have chosen AJE news site as a branch of Al Jazeera’s news network, as it is an alternative non-Western channel that is described as having contributed positively to the pan-Arab media landscape. Results of this study indicate that even though CNNI is expected to represent a Western or American standpoint and AJE is expected to represent a non-Western alternative perspective, both news sites used the same frames in portraying political actors. However, there are some differences in the way both news sites used the same frame, which reflected their different political ideologies and interests. Furthermore, data results suggest that sources contribute greatly to the way both news sites framed political actors. For example, the concentration of US officials in CNNI’s news stories during the period of Mubarak’s ouster, reflected the US’ dilemma as a political actor between its interests with Mubarak’s government and its ‘democratic ideals’. Similarly, during the period of Morsy’s ouster, the concentration of US officials in CNNI’s news stories reflected a neutral stance then a critical stance over the military’s intervention in ousting Morsy. In AJE’s news stories, Al Jazeera’s apparent role as a political actor itself is reflected in how AJE’s reporters, who conveyed the voices of anti-Mubarak protestors, are the highest news sources present during the period of Mubarak’s ouster, whereas members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood are the highest news sources present during the period of Morsy’s ouster.
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