Browsing by Title
Now showing items 26793-26812 of 31189
-
(2023)Within the conventions of horror fiction, which allow for the production of ethically extreme and polarising narratives and characters, animals are often placed into a characteristic framework of being othered and perceived as adversarial monsters. This thesis articulates how such narratives can pose animals as adversaries to humans, and argues that such characterisations of animal characters are unfairly justified. The positioning of animal characters as malevolent beings often fails to acknowledge the anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism involved in such characterisations, both on the level of producing such characters and ethically evaluating such characters. This thesis formulates this argument as the anthropocentric fallacy, utilising close reading and theories on anthropocentrism, anthropomorphism, human-animal relations, monster theory and protagonist-antagonist relations as a theoretical approach, and provides two case studies of killer animals in which anthropocentrism plays a crucial role in the murderous behaviour of these animals. The two narratives under study, Jack London’s “The Devil-Dog” (1914) and Clive Barker’s “New Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1984), provide a variation on how human-influence plays a role in these killer animals’ behaviour. The narrative of “The Devil-Dog” attempts to dilute the immorality of the violence a dog, Bâtard, is subjected to by positing that Bâtard is equally as malevolent as his master, Black Leclère. “New Murders in the Rue Morgue” is more explicit in recognising the influence of humans in creating a murderous ape. However, the narrative poses the ape as the monster of the narrative, resulting in an othered and unfair portrayal of an animal as a monstrous figure in spite of the narrative’s anthropocentric self-awareness. These narratives thus elicit the anthropocentric fallacy in attempting to position animals within the trope of horror conventions as being adversarial and malevolent monsters.
-
(2020)Epistle of Barnabas, included in the collection of Apostolic Fathers, is an early christian text composed betweed \AD 70–135, today mostly known for its anti-Judaism. It enjoyed some popularity in the early church, being for example included in Codex Sinaiticus. The purpose of this work is to treat in depth a set of introductory questions, which rarely receive in-depth treatments: unity, form, dating and provenance. In the past interpolatory theories have been proposed to explain some incoherencies in the text. There's also an abrupt transition in \ibibleverse{Barnabas}(17:) from theological to ethical teaching, a section known as the Two Ways, and an ancient Latin verion omits the Two Ways section. Nevertheless the text shows highly unified style and the Two Ways themes are present throughout. The Latin version is clearly secondary. The text should be treated as unity. Despite clear epistolary features, it's often been suggested that the text isn't a true letter but a treatise. The epistolary features have been explained as fiction, pseudepigraphy or following literary conventions. As the epistle is anonymous but includes repeating personal references, no clear parallel exists. The explanations given for the epistolary features are unsatisfactory, and today the text is often recognized as a real letter. Various more precise datings have been suggested based on allusions in chapters \ibibleverse{Barnabas}(4:) (10 kings) and \ibibleverse{Barnabas}(16:) (temple). When evaluated, all the suggestions are revealed to be problematic, including the lately popular ones based on the Hadrianic temple of Jupiter, which might have never existed. Its best to settle with the range \AD 70–135. Various locations have been suggested as the origin of the epistle with many different lines of evidence. These are handled in detail, including the more exotic ones. The insight that a letter has both an origin and a destination makes it possible to settle one of these: The destination must have been in Egypt based on the early reception of the text there. The main contributions of this work are settling the destination of the epistle and bringing the problems of the dating based on the Hadrianic temple to light. Evaluating these questions is an important basis for reconstructing the purpose of the epistle. Also a couple of interesting subjects for future study were noticed along the way.
-
(2017)The role of public catering services in nutrition policy and health promotion is of great significance. Local procurement and meal choices that meet dietary recommendations can improve food security. The origin of food in public procurement or the relationship of dietary recommendations and the meals being served have not been examined on a national level. The purpose of this study was to find out how much local food (national produce) is being offered in public catering services. In addition, we wanted to examine how the food being served met dietary recommendations. Factors related to serving local food and to meeting dietary recommendations were examined as well. The cross-sectional study was carried out as an online survey (n=295). In all, 118 representatives of public catering services responded to the survey. The online form was comprised of three parts: Back ground factors, local food procurement rate and dietary recommendations. Numerical results were saved and basic parameters were determined with Excel 2016 and SPSS 23 programs. The dependence of variables was examined with cross tabs and Chi-square test. Open questions and their answers were themed. The amount of local procurement among milk and meat products and eggs was high (> 90 %) in most (75−89 %) of the public catering services. Grains excluding rice were mostly (82 % of respondents) procured locally. The origin of procurement of fresh fish, berries and vegetables varied. High quality, safety, availability, good logistics and procurement contracts enhanced local procurement. Price was not mentioned as the main limiting factor to local procurement. Regarding red meat, 31 % of respondents reported having decreased its use as meal ingredient. The supply of red meat had decreased most in towns (p≤0,05). The average amount of red meat of all procured meat was 46 % (SD 22 %). Supplying red meat was more frequent in countryside public catering units than in towns (p=0,004). In all 66 % of respondents reported having increased serving vegetables at meals. The use of plant-based protein was still rare. Sharing information, product availability and easy-to-use recipes were reported as factors enhancing the use of plant-based protein. Taste preferences, attitudes and low supply of easy-to-use food products were regarded as limiting factors to plant-based protein use. Public catering services value highly local procurement but due to low availability, low supply of easy-to-use products or inefficient procurement contracts achieving high local procurement rate is sometimes challenging. The use of plant-based protein as ingredient in meals can be promoted by effective communicative and instructive measures and improving both product availability and supply of easy-to-use food products.
-
(2020)In my Master’s thesis, I offer a novel interpretation of Gilles Deleuze’s (1925-1995) conception of transcendent thinking. As a first approximation, transcendent thinking is an unconscious disruption of quotidian thinking (i.e. empirical thinking). Deleuze’s conception is an important attempt at explaining the emergence of thought from material reality. Additionally, it offers insights into the conditions of creating something new in thinking. In Deleuze’s account, these two are closely connected. My interpretation is mainly based on Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition (1968), but I also draw from Deleuze’s other works and philosophers he discusses. Deleuze’s reading of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is important for my interpretation. I proceed by close readings of Deleuze and compare my interpretations to others from secondary literature. My thesis is divided into five chapters and I begin by introducing my reading of the relevant features of Deleuze’s overall project in Difference and Repetition. In chapter one, I introduce Deleuze’s novel philosophy of difference. According to Deleuze, all continuity we experience is constituted by the interplay of internal difference and hidden repetition. In chapter two, I introduce the relevant features of Deleuze’s ontological scheme in Difference and Repetition. According to it, actual objects are constituted through the process of different/ciation; two figures of internal difference, the differential relations of virtual Ideas and intensive differences, produce the actual objects we perceive in our experience. Situating Deleuze’s transcendent thinking into his overall project is necessary to interpret it correctly and to grasp its significance. Next, I interpret what Deleuze means by thinking. In chapter three, I read Immanuel Kant’s (1724–1804) determining judgment (e.g. “This is a dog”) as providing a case of Deleuze’s empirical thinking. This kind of thinking is what human subjects experience in the quotidian. However, transcendent thinking goes beyond empirical thinking. In chapter four, I show how transcendent thinking is comprised of a series of encounters where the different faculties (i.e. cognitive capabilities) of the thinker are elevated to their transcendent exercise. This series starts as sensibility encounters sensible intensity and it continues as subsequent faculties are traversed by a virtual Idea. In these encounters, the faculties confront their internal differences, which reveal their limits and what is most singular to them. However, intermediary encounters do not correspond to any conscious empirical experiences, nor does the whole of transcendent thinking either. In the final chapter of my Master’s thesis, I begin by arguing that my interpretation ameliorates on previous readings. First, it reveals that transcendent thinking is a case of different/ciation unravelling through the faculties of a psychic system. Second, my reading distinguishes between empirical thinking and transcendent thinking—both being kinds of thinking, for Deleuze. Third, it clarifies that learning is an instance of transcendent thinking (not vaguely thinking in general). Next, I discuss how transcendent thinking reveals the possibility of creation in thinking. Empirical thinking is incapable of change because in it, the faculties function according to the model of recognition: the thinker only recognizes what is already known using pregiven concepts. Transcendent thinking, as a case of different/ciation progressing through the faculties, changes the faculties and, in doing so, transforms the composition of the psychic system. This process is carried out on the level of being and results in something new emerging in thinking. However, transcendent thinking is involuntary and unconscious, leaving the conception of creative agency in Difference and Repetition restricted.
-
(2019)This study researches the effect of third party funding in international commercial arbitration. Third party funding is a new financing method in international arbitration which was originally used in litigations, especially in the US. Third party funding was initially used by financially distressed parties who otherwise were not able to arbitrate. Nowadays, the ways to utilize TPF are versatile. Alongside the traditional way, TPF can be used for risk management, balancing the books, and as a corporate finance method. The use of third party funding can influence parties’ rights in international arbitration. The best feature of third party funding is said to be its capability to improve access to justice. This study researches the correctness of this argument. Access to justice is one of the human rights, which the high costs of arbitration can limit. Third party funding can give an opportunity to arbitrate for those companies that would not be able to proceed to arbitration without external funding. However, the use of third party funding can create conflicts of interest. Funders and arbitrators can have connections between them that raise doubts on the independence and impartiality of the arbitrator. Independent and impartial arbitral tribunal is one of the requirements of due process and distrust against the arbitration tribunals can reduce the integrity of international arbitration. Also, doubt on the independence and impartiality of an arbitrator can have severe consequences as it can lead to an arbitrator or arbitral award being challenged. Arbitrators have a duty to disclose possible conflicts of interest. However, arbitrators might be unaware of the presence of a third party funder if the funded party does not disclose it. In most seats, parties do not have this kind of responsibility for disclosure. Early disclosure has been suggested to solve the conflict of interest situations. The arguments on behalf of and against disclosure requirements are researched as part of this study. Hong Kong is the first country that has added mandatory disclosure requirements to its legislation. The question remains whether this is the way that other countries should follow as well. The alternatives are to update the UNCITRAL Model Law which will slowly change some of the national laws, carry out the required changes in the rules of arbitration institutes or create a soft law instrument for third party funding related issues. Portfolio funding as third party funding method is also researched in this study. In portfolio funding, funder’s return does not depend on single arbitration but instead on how all the different cases are succeeding in the portfolio. It offers funders a way to balance the risk more effectively. It can offer significant benefits also to the funded party as usually the requirements set for funded cases are lower in a portfolio than when funding is offered individually. As traditional third party funding is usually offered mainly to claimants, portfolio funding makes funding possible also for respondents, and therefore, improves their access to justice. Lastly, this thesis is researching the arrival of third party funding to the Finnish markets. The situation of Northern countries and especially Finland is unusual compared to other European countries. Finnish legislation does not prevent third party funding, and therefore, the most probable reason for the absence of third party funding is that there has not been enough demand for it as Finnish companies are very unfamiliar with third party funding. However, Finland has potential, and funders should take notice of that.
-
(2023)Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan postmodernin ironian ilmenemistä George Saundersin novelleissa "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996) ja "Pastoralia" (2000). George Saunders on merkittävä yhdysvaltalainen kirjailija, jonka tuotanto koostuu pääosin novelleista. Ironiaa esiintyy useissa hänen novelleissaan, ja tutkimus osoittaa valittujen novellien edustavan juuri postmodernia ironiaa. Molemmat novelleista sijoittuvat historiallisiin teemapuistoihin. Tutkimus tarkastelee puistojen postmodernia luonnetta suhteessa esimerkiksi Umberto Econ ja Jean Baudrillardin käsityksiin hypertodellisuudesta ja simulacrumista. Puistot vaativat työntekijöiltään äärimmäisyyksiin menevää totuudenkaltaisuuden tavoittelua, mutta samanaikaisesti ne edustavat keinotekoista ja totuudesta lähes tunnistamattomaksi irtaantunutta mukaelmaa. Novellien puistot toimivat myös satiirisina kuvauksina yhdysvaltalaisesta työväenluokasta. Molempien novellien kertojat toimivat perheidensä elättäjinä. Puistojen johtajat kohdistavat heihin jatkuvasti uhkakuvia irtisanomisesta. Työnantajilla on suhteessa työntekijöihin korostetun suuri valta, jota vastaan kapinoiminen tuntuisi käytännössä mahdottomalta. Tutkimus osoittaa novellien postmodernin luonteen, kun työntekijät joutuvat luovuttamaan lähes koko ihmisarvonsa toimiakseen korvattavana pelinappulana taloudellisen hyödyn tavoittelussa. Tutkimuksen novellien molemmat kertojat menettävät lopulta itsensä, toinen henkensä, toinen ihmisyytensä kautta. Novellien postmoderni pyrkii yhdistämään toivottomuuden sekä amerikkalaiseen yhteiskuntaan ja rakenteisiin kohdistuvan kärkevän ironian.
-
(2022)Violence against women is a deep-rooted global injustice, yet it is less often scrutinized as a category of political economy. In this research relating to human rights advocacy in Pakistan, I seek to do so. I study the ways in which local women's rights organizations attempt to hold state to account for eliminating the malice and removing its structural causes. In particular, I examine how feminist constructions of VAW and advocacy practices towards curbing it take part in the politics of development. The research is based on fieldwork which I conducted in the mid-2010's in urban Pakistan. Interviews with 17 informants representing 12 women's rights groups, NGOs and government agencies constitute the primary data. I use ethnographic lens in mapping the organizational field, yet my main deconstructive method is critical discourse analysis. The research is underpinned by post-development theory, postcolonial feminist critique, anthropology of modernity and feminist violence research. The findings consist of three discourses and two developmental logics. Each discourse explains VAW as an issue of individual infringement of rights and a question of state structures with a distinct orientation – those of gender equity, legal protection and political reform. The discourses are rooted in 'human rights developmentalism' and neoliberalism, yet they are still locally contingent in varied ways. The developmental logics of 'saviorism in solidarity' and 'commonsense hope' render visible ways in which the organizations deploy civilisation narrative and an unquestioned hope in aid's capacity to deliver 'development' as political resources. I argue that the discourses construct VAW by reference to apolitical notions of 'backwardness' not only to justify organizational advocacy practices that center upon delivering "higher awareness and morals" to the "ignorant masses". Instead, such notions contribute to building a counter discourse to the misogynous state ideology as well as an alternative political space that enables women's rights organizations persevere in Pakistan. While the discourses fail the 'beneficiaries' of aid by upholding empty developmentalist promises, they nevertheless do not exacerbate VAW. The research suggests that development ideologies, albeit contributing to global inequalities, may serve as meaningful political tools for undoing local adversities.
-
(2020)American political culture has become increasingly polarized from the 1970s onwards. Among the many factors that have contributed to the rise of behavioral polarization between Democrats and Republicans is the emergence of partisan media. In this thesis, I compare the coverage of American liberal and conservative media of two political #MeToo scandals in the autumn of 2017: those of Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Al Franken. I conduct a quantitative and qualitative frame analysis of online media articles by CNN, Fox News, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal from the first three days of each scandal. I find that liberal and conservative media differ in their coverage of the two events. First, they show differences in how they frame sexual harassment scandals. Second, the partisan leanings of the politicians seem to affect framing decisions and the volume of reporting. My findings are in line with recent research on behavioral polarization, and how partisan strength and disdain towards the opposing party may rise within a nation. Since partisan media tend to skew news topics to be more favorable to their own political leaning, people who subscribe to liberal outlets may form a very different understanding of political issues compared to those who follow conservative media.
-
(2015)Animal activists have been criticized in the media ever since the animal rights movement was born in Finland in the 1990s. Justice for Animals filmed undercover footage of tens of Finnish pig farms in 2007-2011 and released the footage on A-studio, and on their website. The disturbing images caused a heated debate on factory-style farming and animal rights in Finland. The conduct of the animal activists was met with both praise and criticism. On one hand, they were seen as criminals, on the other hand, they were given the role of heroes, whose actions revealed shortcomings in the food production industry. The prevalence of narrative elements in television news has been debated, because they are not seen to have a clear plot or main characters. Traditional narrative methods often synthesize retrospective main narratives that hide counter-arguments and hierarchies. The deconstruction antenarrative method, instead, focused on the analysis of power struggles by examining substories. The research process aimed to examine the kinds of roles that Justice for Animals was given in the substories of Yle television news. The other research question asked what kinds of dramaturgical inequalities were found in the news stories. The data consisted of news stories from Yle Fem and Yle TV1 in December, 2009. The deconstruction method consisted of eight steps that broke the text down into dualisms and hierarchies, among others. The last step considered the grand narrative formed by the separate news stories. The analysis revealed that Justice for Animals was given contradicting roles even within the same news story. Some of the visual and verbal substories portrayed them as heroes, while others questioned their legitimacy. The drama analysis revealed three forms of dramaturgical inequality that were connected to capitalism, sexism and the drama between people living in cities and the countryside. The roles given to animal activists in television news were more positive than they were in the 1990s. Animal activists were not equated with criminals to the same extent, but instead they were even portrayed as heroes at times. This may be linked to the heterogenization of Finnish culture and changes in the media field. The most surprising result of the analysis was that there were such significant differences in the roles that Justice for Animals was given in the visual and verbal substories of Yle Fem and Yle TV1.
-
(2019)Vakiintuneen käsityksen mukaan merkittävä osuus englannin kielestä perustuu valmiiksi tuotettuihin fraaseihin, joiden avulla kielenkäyttäjät voivat edistää ilmaisunsa sujuvuutta sekä ymmärrettävyyttä. Aiemman tutkimustiedon perusteella kaavamaisesta kielestä (engl. formulaic language) hyötyvät paitsi englannin kieltä äidinkielenään puhuvat myös kielenoppijat. Aihetta käsittelevä kirjallisuus on kuitenkin antanut viitteitä siitä, että englannin kielelle ominaisen kaavamaisen ja idiomaattisen ilmaisutavan oppiminen on yksi haasteellisimmista osa-alueista kyseistä kieltä vieraana kielenä puhuville oppijoille. Pro gradu -tutkielmani aiheena on kaavamainen kielenkäyttö suomalaisten lukioikäisten englannin kielen oppijoiden tuottamassa puheessa. Keskityn tutkielmassani yhteen aiemmin määriteltyyn kaavamaisen kielenkäytön luokkaan: epätarkkoihin ilmauksiin (engl. vague expressions). Tutkielmani aineistona on kaksi oppijakorpusta, FUSE- sekä Hy-Talk -korpukset, jotka koostuvat suomalaisten lukiolaisten suullista englannin kielen taitoa testaavien kokeiden tallenteista. Tutkielmani sisältää sekä määrällisiä että laadullisia piirteitä. Selvitän ensinnäkin korpusohjelmiston avulla, missä määrin kokelaat käyttävät tarkastelun kohteena olevia ilmauksia vertaamalla tuloksia myös aiempaan tutkimukseen. Tutkielmani laadullisessa osuudessa selvitän epätarkkoja ilmauksia ja niiden tekstiympäristöjä tutkimalla, millaisia käyttötarkoituksia varten kokelaat hyödyntävät kyseisiä fraaseja sekä missä määrin havaitut tarkoitukset ovat linjassa aiemman tutkimustiedon kanssa. Lisäksi tutkin, ovatko kokelaiden Hy-Talk -kokeesta saamat kokonaisarvosanat yhteydessä epätarkkojen ilmauksien tiuhempaan ja monipuolisempaan käyttöön. Aineiston perusteella suomalaiset kielenoppijat hyödyntävät puheessaan epätarkkoja ilmauksia laajasti ja monipuolisesti jopa englantia äidinkielenään puhuviin verrattuna. Laadullisessa tarkastelussa ilmeni, että kokelaat käyttivät tarkasteltuja ilmauksia pitkälti samoja käyttötarkoituksia varten kuin natiivit, mikä osaltaan antaa viitteitä tällaisten fraasien näkyvästä roolista suomalaisten englannin kielen oppijoiden puheessa. Epätarkkojen ilmauksien määrän ei havaittu muodostavan tilastollisesti merkittävää vastaavuussuhdetta suullisen kielitaidon kokeessa saatuun korkeampaan kokonaisarvosanaan. Kokelaiden käyttämien epätarkkojen ilmauksien monipuolisen käytön puolestaan havaittiin olevan tilastollisesti yhteydessä korkeampaan kokonaisarvosanaan.
-
(2018)Since the Great Depression of 1930s technological unemployment debates have re-emerged every 20 years. This thesis examines the automation debates in Finland in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and again in the mid-1990s. The aim is to understand, why the debate re-emerges and what is the nature of the debate? The sources of the study consists of articles published in 1977–1999 in Helsingin Sanomat. Newspaper articles are complemented with other documents referred to by Helsingin Sanomat. Text analysis is used to study the documents and emerging narratives are incorporated with international context. A public debate on technological unemployment begins in situations where high unemployment combines with technological revolution. Automation anxiety was especially caused by the penetration of automation into new sectors of the economy. Technological unemployment has served as a tool for political mobilization calling for solutions to threats from new technology. In this work these solutions are referred as mediation mechanisms of technological change. Reducing working hours, education and redefining the concept of work are examples of these mediation mechanisms that emerged in the debate. The recurrence of the automation debate tells about the dynamics of techno-economic development, adaptation to change, and the production of new socio-institutional structures. From this point of view ‘the end of work’ or the threat of mass unemployment do not appear as false predictions but as arguments for required and necessary mediation mechanisms of technological change. Technological unemployment is a potential consequence of political choices and development of the society.
-
(2018)The thesis sheds light on European Union´s attempts to increase the voting turn out and decrease democratic deficit in the European Parliament elections by focusing on Spitzenkandidaten process, a reform implemented the first time in the 2014 elections. Still, in the spring 2018, the Spitzenkandidaten process is under discussion on the EU level whether it should be applied also in the future elections when the new parliament and the new President for Commision will be elected. The research has aimed to produce essential and topical information for the decision makers when making up one´s minds whether to support or not to support the reform. The research takes a closer look on the EU citizens´ views and public opinion on the process. The theories and criticism of earlier research are applied and tested by studying three research questions. The research questions are formulated as follows: 1) To what extent the attitudes towards the European Union explains whether the Spitzenkandidaten process is or is not considered to represent progress for democracy within the EU among the citizens´ of the Union? 2) To what extent the position on the scale of political left and political right explains the attitudes towards the Spitzenkandidaten process among the citizens´ of the Union? 3) To what extent the level of awareness about the processes of decision making in the European Union explains whether the Spitzenkandidaten process is or is not considered to represent progress for democracy within the EU among the citizens´ of the Union? The data studied in this thesis contains the data set of the Parlemeter of the European Parliament (EB/EP 82.4). The data was processed and analyzed with SPSS version 24 (SPSS Inc., Chicago IL). The results of the ordinal regression analysis show that more a person thinks his/her country's membership of the EU is a good thing, the more likely person is willing to think that the Spitzenkandidaten process represents progress for democracy. In addition, image on the EU has statistically significant relation with the attitude towards the Spitzenkandidaten process. The better image of the EU a person has, the more likely person is willing to think that the Spitzenkandidaten process represents progress for democracy. The ordinal regression analysis shows that the citizens` position on the scale of political "left" and "right" does not explain statistically significantly the attitudes towards the Spitzenkandidaten process among the citizens´ of the Union. According to the ordinal regression analysis, the better level of political awareness, both objectively and subjectively measured, the more likely person is willing to think Spitzenkandidaten process to represent progress for democracy. This research and its findings emphasize the role of political awareness as one of key elements to focus on when combating the democratic deficit in the European Union. The finding of this research support the findings in earlier research: Democratic deficit occurs until the EU-citizens understand how the Union effect on their lives (Wass 2014: 37). To be able to form opinions about the innovations like Spitzenkandidaten process in the future, citizens would need to be better informed about the reforms. More focus should be given to the active communication between the EU decision makers and the citizens.
-
(2022)This thesis examines the social interaction and media ideologies of Finnish TikTok users and how they are different from the discourses about TikTok in Finnish news media. My aim is to understand how TikTok is seen as a social media platform and what kind of social interaction and face-work users do when encountered with differing views of their media ideologies. I use Gershon’s framework of media ideologies to understand the implied and explicit opinions of Finnish TikTok users of the proper ways of using the medium and to compare those views to Finnish news media’s representations of the app and its use. By analysing discourses of the online news of Finnish Public Broadcasting Company (YLE) and the online news of Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS), I identify main categories of discourse about TikTok and its use. To understand the users’ perspective, I have conducted online ethnography in TikTok with two separate user accounts to collect data from videos, comments and video replies. From this data, I identify multiple media ideologies voiced out among the users of TikTok. Lastly, I compare these two data sets to see where they overlap and where they live separate lives. In order to understand the social phenomena related to the debates over different media ideologies, I utilise Erving Goffman’s concept of face and face-work. By exploring these questions with these methods and theoretical frameworks I wish to contribute to the discussion of how young users might adopt new ways of interacting and expressing themselves within a new medium, and how that might be different from the views of the people outside that medium. The goal of my thesis is to create an analytical overview on social interaction and media ideologies in TikTok, especially among Finnish TikTokers and how that differs from the discourses represented in Finnish news media
-
(2018)Tutkimus käsittelee arkkipiispa Thomas Becketin (k. 1170) kuolemanjälkeistä pyhimyskulttia vuosien 1170 ja c.1540 aikana Englannissa. Tutkimus tarkastelee kulttia pääsääntöisesti hallitsijoiden kautta kansallispyhimyksen käsitteiden näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tehtävänä on selvittää niitä syitä miksi suuresta suosiostaan huolimatta Thomas Becketistä ei tullut Englannin kansallispyhimystä. Tutkimuksen lähtöoletuksena on, että Becketin poliittinen elämä ja kuninkaan vastainen toiminta olivat suurimpina haitallisina vaikuttimina kansallispyhimyksen asemaan. Tutkimus pyrkii myös tarkentamaan Becketin pyhimyskultin kuninkaiden vastaista imagoa. Tutkimuskysymystä lähestytään kaksiosaisella metodilla, joka pyrkii ensin selvittämään Thomas Becketin suosiota kuninkaiden keskuudessa ja sen jälkeen kultin suosiota tarkastellaan yleisemmällä tasolla. Näin pyritään selvittämään millä perustein voitaisiin väittää Thomas Becketin olleen kansallispyhimyksen asemassa keskiajalla. Becketin kuninkaallista suosiota pyritään selvittämään kuninkaiden matkareittien, testamenttien, hagiografian, ihmekertomusten, liturgian ja aikakirjojen avulla. Tutkimusaineistosta paljastuu hyvin elinvoimainen kuninkaallinen kultti, joka jatkui käytännössä aina Henrik VIII ja reformaatioon saakka. Yleisemmällä tasolla kultin suosiota tarkastellaan pyhimyksen nimeen vihittyjen kirkkojen kautta. Vaikka tutkimuskirjallisuudessa Thomas Becketiä luonnehditaan yleisesti Englannin suosituimmaksi pyhimykseksi, niin silti vihittyjen kirkkojen määrissä hän ei vedä vertoja Raamatusta tutuille pyhimyksille. Lisäksi tutkimuksesta paljastuu, että Thomas Becket oli kirkkotilastojen valossa huomattavasti suositumpi naapurimaassa Skotlannissa. Kirkkojen lisäksi tarkastellaan tehtyjä oblaatioita Canterburyn katedraalissa sijaitsevalle Thomas Becketin haudalle. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että pyhimyskultti oli elinvoimaisimmillaan 1200-luvun alussa ja vaikka kultin suosio vaihteli voimakkaastikin vuosisatojen aikana, niin 1500-luvun puolella kultin suosio näyttää kääntyneen laskuun. Siitä huolimatta pyhimys säilyi voimakkaana symbolina kirkon ja ihmisten oikeuksien puolustajana aina loppuun sakka, kunnes Henry VIII määräsi Becketin pyhäinjäännökset tuhottavaksi 1538. Kultin suosiossa on ollut kyse sen paradoksaalisuudessa, koska pyhimystä pyydettiin samanaikaisesti sekä horjuttamaan että tukemaan hallitsijan valtaa. Aikaisempi tutkimus on keskittynyt hyvin paljon joko kultin alku- tai loppuvuosiin ja vaikka tämä temaattinen tutkimus pyrkii tekemään läpileikkauksen Becketin kultista, niin kultin tarkemmat vaiheet 1300– ja 1400–luvuilla ovat vielä melko pitkälti hämärän peitossa.
-
(2022)The aim of the research presented in this dissertation is to construct a model for personalised item recommendations in an online setting using a reinforcement learning approach, specifically Thompson sampling, which is part of the family of multi-armed bandit algorithms. Moreover the setting involves an online shopfront where arriving customers get viewed with the recommended item, and make purchasing decisions of them. The recommendations are conducted by the multi- armed bandit algorithm which "plays" different arms, represented by the items, while learning, exploring and exploiting the underlying distributions of the data that is obtained. Thompson sampling and the theory behind it is introduced thoroughly and comparison against other bandit algorithms as well as a multinomial logistic regression model is conducted both on real-life data collected over time from an online environment and a dummy data set. The experiments focus on the applicability of bandits in the setting, dealing with challenges that a bandit algorithm may face and the strengths they have over more traditional and well known models such as the logistic regression model in the setting at hand.
-
(2005)Itämerensuomalaisissa kielissä esiintyy suuri joukko sanoja, jotka muistuttavat balttilaisten kielten sanoja sekä muotonsa että merkityksensä puolesta. Yhtäläisyyksiä oli yritetty selittää eri tavoin 1700-luvulta lähtien, kunnes Vilhelm Thomsen vuonna 1869 osoitti tämän sanastokerrostuman olevan lainaa jostakin muinaisbalttilaisesta kielimuodosta nykyisten itämerensuomalaisten kielten yhteiseen kantakieleen. Vuonna 1890 Thomsen julkaisi aiheesta laajemman tutkimuksen, jossa hän esitti noin 200 muinaisbalttilaista lainaetymologiaa ja käsitteli lainojen äännevastaavuuksia sekä kielellisten kontaktien paikkaa, aikakautta ja kulttuurikontekstia. Nykykäsitys itämerensuomalaisten kielten vanhoista balttilaisista lainasanoista perustuu tähän Thomsenin esitykseen, ainoastaan kontaktien ajoituksia on arkeologian tulosten myötä siirretty taaksepäin. Thomsen sovelsi ensimmäisenä suomalais-ugrilaisten kielten tutkimukseen aikakautensa uusinta kielitieteellistä metodia, nuorgrammatiikkaa. Nuorgrammatiikka keskittyi kielihistoriaan ja antoi eksaktit välineet etymologialle. Suomeen nuorgrammatiikan toi E. N. Setälä, jonka johdolla metodi uudisti nopeasti koko fennougristiikan ja nosti Suomen tutkimuksen kärkeen. Suomalaistutkijat tarkensivat myös Thomsenin luomaa kuvaa vanhoista balttilaisista lainoista. Setälän ohella keskeisiä etymologeja olivat J. J. Mikkola ja Heikki Paasonen. Muualla tutkimus ei ollut yhtä intensiivistä: vain liettualainen Kazimieras Būga perehtyi mainittavasti aiheeseen, ja hänenkin tutkijan uransa jäi lyhyeksi. Vasta 1910-luvun puolessa välissä Thomsenin ja Setälän teesejä alettiin kritikoida. Torsten Karsten ja K. B. Wiklund esittivät vanhimmille balttilaiskontakteille paljon kauemmas menneisyyteen ulottuvia ajoituksia kuin Thomsen. Setälän auktoriteetti kuitenkin torjui uudet teoriat, jotka on vasta paljon myöhemmin yleisesti hyväksytty. Sotien välinen kausi oli erittäin vilkkaan etymologisen tutkimuksen aikaa, ja balttilaisiakin lainoja esitettiin kymmeniä lisää. Ajan uutterimmat tutkijat olivat Heikki Ojansuu, Yrjö Toivonen ja Jalo Kalima. Luonnollisesti myös monet Thomsenin balttilaiset etymologiat korvattiin paremmin sopivilla lainaetymologioilla tai rinnastuksilla sukukielistä. Mikkola arvosteli hyvin voimakkaasti Thomsenin lainaetymologioita. Mikkolan kritiikki osoittautui pääosin pätemättömäksi, mutta on päässyt epäsuorasti vaikuttamaan myöhempään tutkimukseen. Eino Nieminen taas esitti vuonna 1934 hypoteesin, jonka mukaan ainakin osa vanhoista balttilaislainoista voisi olla peräisin muinaiskuurin kielestä, jota baltologit olivat parin vuosikymmenen ajan pyrkineet rekonstruoimaan. Jalo Kalima julkaisi vuonna 1936 oppikirjan itämerensuomalaisten kielten vanhoista balttilaislainoista. Kalima pyrki antamaan kattavan kuvan aiheesta, mutta ei onnistunut kovin hyvin. Kaliman tiedot balttilaisista kielistä eivät olleet ajan tutkimuksen tasolla, ja hän jätti kirjassansa käsittelemättä suuren osan uudempaa tutkimusta, mm. Thomsenin ajoituksia kohtaan osoitetun kritiikin sekä kymmenittäin niin Thomsenin kuin myöhempienkin tutkijoitten esittämiä etymologioita. Kaliman kirja on kuitenkin selkeästi laadittu ja sisältää uusia, ansiokkaitakin etymologioita. Kaliman jälkeen kukaan ei ole kirjoittanut yleisesitystä aiheesta. Tämän tutkielman tavoite on antaa kattava kuva vanhimpien itämerensuomalais-balttilaisten kielikontaktien tutkimuksesta ennen Kaliman oppikirjaa. Näin se voisi tasoittaa tietä uudelle alan yleisesitykselle.
-
(2018)The aim of this research is to compare different depictions of Christian worldviews in three literary texts created by abolitionist authors. This is done by analyzing the religious discourses the authors used to push for the abolishment of slavery during a time when the United States was divided on the issue for both historical reasons and recent developments. The methodological approach used is discourse analysis, as it enables contrasting the works against their societal background and the nation-wide debate that was taking place in the country. The literary works used in this thesis were all written in the decades preceding the Civil War, between the years 1850-1862. These include Harriett Ann Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Hannah Crafts’ The Bondwoman’s Narrative and Harriett Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The idea to combine both autobiographical and fictive texts stems from a hypothesis that as the abolition movement did not just have one voice but a cacophony of them, contrasting different types of texts could offer new insights into the abolition movement. While conducting the research, three themes in particular stood out: how God and his attributes were represented in the texts and what kind of roles He was assigned; how the characters used religious argumentation to promote universal equality and how they based their identities on their understanding of Christianity; and how the authors approached the question about the justification of rebellion. These topics proved remarkably interesting as they were shared by all the three narratives, but the authors had their own clear emphases. Unlike some earlier studies, this thesis did not find ethnicity to be the most important factor when it came to explaining the different choices the authors made. What was more influential was the way the characters, in the hands of their authors, understood their own identity and autonomy, and how they defined their Christian beliefs and core values. Their personal experiences also played a significant role in the way they constructed their narratives. Contrasting different genres (autobiographical and fictive) with each other might be considered an unconventional method, but it revealed intriguing details about the diversity of the abolition movement literature and cautioned against setting up constrictive categories between “white” and “black” narratives. While the ethnicity of an author does matter, and it should not be overlooked, this research showed that it was just one factor among many others that influence the style and literary choices of authors. As the scope of this thesis was very limited, analyzing a wider collection of antebellum writings or taking on one of the other “black literature” periods might offer a good starting point for future research.
-
(2018)Tarkastelen tutkielmassani psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivista arvoa. Työssäni keskityn ensisijaisesti niihin tapoihin, joilla psykologisten rikoskertomusten lukeminen voi kehittää lukijan sosiaalista kognitiota. Lähestyn rikoskirjallisuutta rikos-teeman ympärille rakentuvien kertomusten lajityyppiristeytymänä eli genrehybridinä ja psykologista rikoskirjallisuutta yhtenä sen alalajeista. Psykologiseksi rikoskirjallisuudeksi luokittelen ne rikoskertomukset, jotka käsittelevät rikosten psykologisia syitä ja seuraamuksia, ts. rikoksen suhdetta ihmismieleen. Tutkielman tavoite on osoittaa psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivisen arvon perustuvan suurelta osin genrelle tyypilliseen mielenrakentamiseen (mind-building). Tutkielmani lähtökohtana on, että kaunokirjallisuus voi kerronnan keinoin tarjota lukijalle ns. taito-tietoa (knowledge-how) ja kokemuksellista tietoa (experiential knowledge), joiden piiriin sosiaalinen kognitio kuuluu. Tarkastelen psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivista arvoa paitsi lukijan olemassa olevaa tietoa vahvistavana myös uutta tietoa esittelevänä genrenä. Tarkastellakseni näitä funktioita rakennan teoreettisen viitekehyksen, joka perustuu Lisa Zunshinen ajatuksiin mielen teorian suhteesta kirjalliseen fiktioon, Brian McHalen malleihin ja ajatuskokeisiin perustuvaan lähestymistapaan sekä Alan Palmerin näkemyksiin fiktiivisten mielten tutkimuksesta. Tutkielmassani esitän, että psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kyky esitellä lukijalle uutta tietoa perustuu genrelle tyypillisiin, epätavallisiin fiktiivisiin mieliin (ab-normal fictional minds): siinä missä suuri osa kaunokirjallisuudesta rakentuu vain olemassa olevien kulttuuristen mallien mukaan toimivien, tuttujen fiktiivisten mielten (familiar fictional minds) varaan, esittelevät psykologiset rikoskertomukset tutkimukseni mukaan lukijan uusille ajattelun malleille. Esitänkin, että psykologiset rikoskertomukset suorittavat mielenrakentamisen ajatuskokeita, jotka lisäävät lukijan ymmärrystä ihmismielen toiminnasta. Tuttujen ja epätavallisten mielten rakentumista kerronnassa havainnollistan kolmen psykologisen rikosromaanin avulla. Kuten tutkielmassani osoitan, John Fowlesin Neitoperho, Ruth Rendellin Kova kuin kivi ja Karin Slaughterin Triptyykki tarjoavat kaikki lukijalle tapoja sekä vahvistaa olemassaolevia kognitiivisia taitojaan että oppia uusia mielen malleja (mind models). Tutkimukseni tuloksena totean, että malleihin ja ajatuskokeisiin perustuva lähestymistapa tuottaa tuloksia myös psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivisen arvon tutkimuksessa, kun sen yhdistää mielen teoriaan ja fiktiivisiin mieliin keskittyviin näkökulmiin. Kaiken kaikkiaan vaikuttaa siltä, että epätavallisten mielten konsepti laajentaa genrekirjallisuuden kognitiivisen arvon tutkimuksen keinoja laajemmaltikin.
-
(2015)Tutkin tässä työssä thrash metal -genren alkuajan tyylin kitarariffien erityispiirteitä. Työssä hyödynnetään kieli- ja musiikkitieteellistä metodologiaa sekä musiikkiohjelmointia. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu Metallican, Slayerin, Anthraxin ja Megadethin ensimmäisistä levytyksistä 1980-luvun alkupuolelta. Musiikkianalyysissä tutkin modaalisuutta, urkupisteen käyttöä, reduktiota, variaatiota ja blues-vaikutteita. Tutkimuskysymyksiä ovat: Minkälaiset musiikilliset rakenteet tekevät thrash metalista tunnistettavan? Mitä asteikkoja kitarariffeissä käytetään? Minkälaisia historiallisia jatkuvuuksia tai kytköksiä muihin musiikkigenreihin löytyy? Voidaanko thrash metalin alkuajan tyylin riffejä kuvata kieliopin käsitteellä? Tämän kaltaista poikkitieteellistä tutkimusta ei ole aiemmin tehty tästä aihepiiristä. Tutkimuksessa esitellään riffejä tuottava tietokoneohjelmisto Thrashgen, joka havainnollistaa ja testaa musiikkianalyysia. Kielioppi on rakennettu analysoimalla aineistossa yleisimmin esiintyviä musiikillisia rakenteita. Ohjelmisto käyttää generointiin vain lähtöaineiston riffejä eikä se tuota uutta sävelmateriaalia. Kielioppeja muodostetaan kaksi: autenttinen ja luova. Autenttinen kielioppi pyrkii tuottamaan lähtöaineiston kaltaisia riffejä. Luova kielioppi tuottaa riffeihin yllätyksellisimpiä rakenteita. Luvussa 2. luodaan katsaus thrash metal -genren historiaan ja estetiikkaan. Luvussa 3. esitellään generatiivisen kieliopin teoreettinen viitekehys, joka pohjautuu Noam Chomskyn määritelmään kontekstivapaasta kieliopista. David Copen kehittämää SPEAC-mallia hyödynnetään generoitavien riffien musiikillisen johdonmukaisuuden käsittelemiseen. Luvussa 4. selostetaan Thrashgen-ohjelmiston toimintaperiaatteet ja rakenne. Luvussa 5. analysoidaan tutkimusaineistoa ohjelman kehittämisen kannalta valikoidusti. Luvussa 6. esitetään kielioppia määrittelevä musiikin funktioanalyysi sekä tässä työssä kehitetyn autenttisen kieliopin toimintaperiaatteet. Riffejä analysoidaan Esa Liljan modaaliseen analyysimalliin perustuvalla metodilla. Tutkimusaineiston pedaaliriffit voidaan tulkita rakentuvan valtaosin ¼-nuotin mittaisista rytmialkioista. Thrash-moodiksi voidaan muotoilla asteikko, jossa on päällekkäin aiolinen-, fryyginen-, lokrinen- ja blues-moodi. Luonnollinen molli on yleisin aineistossa esiintyvä asteikko ja duurimoodeja esiintyy vähän. Myös mollipentatonisia ja b5-asteen sisältäviä asteikkoja on paljon, mikä viittaa genren rock-perintöön. Riffit on pääasiassa koostettu modulaarisista osista, mutta ne sisältävät myös länsimaisen musiikin rakennetottumuksien mukaista johdonmukaisuutta. Ne rakentuvat alukkeista, välikkeistä ja lopukkeista. Riffien perusteella vuosien 1983–1985 lite- ja thrash metal -genreissä on paljon yhtäläisyyksiä, mutta ulkomusiikillisten seikkojen perusteella eroja on paljon. Kontekstivapaan kieliopin soveltaminen thrash metal -riffien tutkimukseen toimii hyvin. Jatkotutkimuksessa ohjelmistoa voi laajentaa koskemaan kokonaisia kappalerakenteita tai kielioppiin voi sovittaa toisen metallimusiikkigenren materiaalia.
-
(2019)This paper examines the energy policy development of three European Union member states of Finland, Germany and Poland before and after the Ukraine crisis of November 21st, 2013. The theory of securitization/desecuritization/riskification is used to examine if the crisis caused any changes in the perception of Russian energy, and if this had an effect on the domestic energy policy choices of the three member states. This paper will also look if the Energy Union can be considered a Regional Security Complex, built around the perceived threat or risk of Russian energy, and if this will lead to greater integration or disintegration of the EU. This paper is structured as a comparative case study where all the three member states energy policy developments before and after the crisis are compared to each other and analyzed. This paper finds that all of the three member states had very similar reactions to the Ukraine crisis, but only Finland and Poland saw any true changes in their energy policy choice making. Finland riskified Russian energy (especially gas and oil) but maintained their bilateral energy relations with Russia through partly state-owned companies, with the most prominent project being the Fennovoima nuclear power plant project. Finland has begun to move towards reducing Russian fossil fuels from their energy base, and is transitioning towards domestic wood-based biofuels, nuclear energy, renewables and energy connections with the Baltic states. Germany successfully desecuritized Russian energy after the crisis and continued their bilateral energy projects with Russia. The most prominent German-Russian energy project was the Nord Stream 2 project which like the Fennovoima project, is operated under state owned companies and has soured Germanys relations with Eastern EU member states. Polish reaction to the Ukraine crisis were the complete securitization of linked energy. The Polish government had overseen energy policy decisions in the past, but the crisis pushed them to take direct governmental control of energy policy and they intend to end the use of Russian energy altogether in the future. Poland also turned strongly against German energy policy line in the EU and has emerged as a staunch opposition to EU climate regulations, Nord Stream 2 project and bilateral energy trade with Russia. The Energy Union was shown not be a sign of a Regional Security Complex forming around Russian energy in the EU and will more likely lead to further disintegration of the EU energy policy as the conflicting energy security needs, and interpretations, will divide the EU on the issue of Russian energy.
Now showing items 26793-26812 of 31189