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Browsing by master's degree program "Nyky-yhteiskunnan tutkimuksen maisteriohjelma"

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  • Tchabashvili, Lazare (2020)
    Research paper delves into the intricate dynamics of problematic pornography use, placing a particular emphasis on the attitudes and perspectives of users within the NoFap Reddit forum. Amidst an ongoing debate on the addictive nature of pornography, a growing body of evidence posits that problematic pornography use signifies a behavioral disorder. Despite extensive research on the NoFap forum, which has predominantly focused on its meritocratic, hypermasculine culture, and the psychological profiles of its users, a discernible gap exists concerning the examination of user attitudes towards the pornography industry. The study employed discourse analysis and thematic analysis to explore NoFap forum users' attitudes towards pornography addiction, revealing opinions and viewpoints. This research aims to bridge the identified gap by undertaking a comprehensive exploration of users' opinions on the pornography industry and its broader societal implications. Findings indicate that users on the forum predominantly express negative attitudes towards the pornography industry, linking it to themes of hypersexualization and objectification of women. The study further uncovers a spectrum of adverse effects and life difficulties experienced by forum users due to excessive pornography consumption, spanning from depression and loneliness to a notable decline in motivation and social skills. Notably, the research highlights a discernible shift towards the consumption of more extreme content. This research contributes significantly to the comprehension of the NoFap forum as a crucial platform where individuals grapple with problematic pornography use. Through the examination of user attitudes towards the industry and the associated harm, the study provides valuable insights for future research endeavors. The use of thematic analysis offers a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted nature of opinions within the forum.
  • Rantakokko, Anni (2024)
    Following the wide attention towards the Finnish educational system after its high scores in the PISA assessments in the early 2000s, Finland has been particularly keen to strengthen its global role in the education sector. This has included strengthening education sector development cooperation, policy influencing and education export systematically. As one part of supporting education sector development cooperation, The Finnish Centre for Expertise in Education and Development (FinCEED) was established within the National Agency for Education in 2021. Among other modalities, FinCEED has organised expert deployments to ministries, multilateral organisations and other institutions. Through focusing on the case of FinCEED expert deployments, this thesis discusses what kind of expertise has been seen essential for international expert assignments in education sector development cooperation and what kinds of key factors have affected the assignments. Furthermore, acknowledging the variety of motivations and objectives behind development cooperation, this thesis also discusses how FinCEED expert deployments are situated within a complex web of power dynamics. This qualitative case study is based on social constructivism, as it focuses on how partners and experts deployed by FinCEED have experienced the expert deployments, including their outcomes and the nature of expertise required in them. The data consists of questionnaire responses by partners and reports written by experts during or after their FinCEED expert deployments. The data analysis was conducted through an inductive process where the data was coded and themes emerged from the data, connecting both the questionnaire responses and the reports. The results are discussed in the main categories of outcomes, the nature of expertise required, and the key factors that affected the FinCEED expert deployments. Both partners and experts deployed by FinCEED discussed context knowledge, local ownership, interest towards Finnish educational expertise, networks and communication, work culture, and cooperation with FinCEED in relation to the deployments. These key factors had connections to the overall success of the expert deployments and depending on the case, most of the key factors had the potential of becoming best practices or major challenges. For example, the importance of knowing the local context was highlighted in the data: if the context knowledge of the expert was seen sufficient, it was approached as a key strength, but if the expert had limited familiarity with the local context, it had significant effects on how the overall success of the deployment was perceived. Most partners were interested in similar expert deployments in the future, while they also identified challenges that need to be addressed.
  • Ranta, Hertta (2020)
    Mental health problems are a major public health concern globally. Many developed countries are facing the challenge of ageing populations and simultaneously an increase in labour market inactivity due to mental health problems among the working-age population. To be able to prolong working careers, it is important to pay attention to the work ability of young adults. As working life has become more psychosocially demanding while the burden of adverse physical working conditions has diminished, it is important to gain a better understanding of the association between working conditions and mental health functioning among younger workers in order to find ways to enhance work ability and alleviate the social and economic burden of mental health problems. The aim of this study was to examine the association between adverse working conditions and poor mental health functioning among under 40-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki. The data (n=4 315) was collected in 2017 through survey questionnaires for the Helsinki Health Study. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyse the association of psychosocial working conditions (job control and job demands) and physical working conditions (physical workload) with mental health functioning. Mental health functioning was measured with the SF-36 measurement and was dichotomised from the lowest quartile. Sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours were used as covariates in the analysis. The results showed that after full adjustments, respondents with high job demands were nearly twice as likely (OR=1.9; 95% CI=1.6-2.3) and those with low job control 1.5 times as likely (OR=1.5; 95% CI=1.2-1.7) to have poor mental health functioning than others. Adjusting for covariates did not affect the OR for job control, but adjusting for adverse health behaviours decreased the OR for high job demands slightly. High physical workload had a weak association with poor mental health functioning, which slightly decreased after adjusting for adverse health behaviours and was not statistically significant in the full model (OR=0.9; 95% CI=0.8-1.1). The results of this study highlight the significance of adverse psychosocial working conditions for poor employee mental health functioning. Thus, in order to increase individual wellbeing and work productivity, work organizations could consider ways to decrease employees’ job demands and enhance employee job control. As the present study was cross-sectional, further research is needed to investigate the long-term effects of adverse working conditions on mental health functioning among younger employees.
  • Heinonen, Sanna (2020)
    Refugees and asylum seekers and their employment is critical, contemporary topic and challenge in majority of European countries. The employment rates of refugees and asylum seekers are relatively low, yet refugees simultaneously face considerable structural challenges in attaining employment. Their large-scale unemployment is problematic both in political and economic terms, and crucially needs alleviation. Various factors significantly influencing refugees’ employment have been identified in previous academic research, but the role of social networks in relation to likelihood of employment is not clear despite research. Therefore, this study aims to provide statistical viewpoint on how social networks, particularly networks to Finnish-born people, are connected to the employment probability of refugees, and how strong and statistically significant the association is. This study uses data from Migrants’ health and wellbeing (Maahanmuuttajien terveys- ja hyvinvointitutkimus, Maamu) by Finnish Institute of health and welfare (Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, THL), surveyed in 2010-2012. Maamu study was conducted to examine the living conditions, health, wellbeing and use of services of three immigrant groups of Somalis, Kurds and Russians, and covered 1846 respondents. Refugee group in this study consists mainly of Kurds and Somalis (99,5%), and non-refugee control group mainly of Russians (95%). Association between social networks and employment was analyzed with logistic regression analysis. Sociodemographic factors and measures of physical and mental health, length of residence, language skills, previous education, and ethnicity were used as covariates. Main results of the study indicate that bridging networks are positively and statistically significantly correlated to employment (OR 1.50, CI 95% 1.12-2.01, p 0.006) when refugee status, demographic factors and refugee-specific variables are controlled for. Networks to co-ethnic or other immigrants are not statistically significantly associated to employment. Interaction analysis (p 0.015) revealed that bridging networks are positively associated to employment among both non-refugees (OR 1.07) and refugees (OR 0.80), as without bridging network the likelihood of employment is considerably lower (OR 0.38). Therefore, bridging networks do seem particularly relevant in employment of refugees. Regression analysis examining associations with bridging networks showed especially strong connections to local language skills, and surprisingly, networks to other immigrants. These findings suggest that in Finnish context, immigrants’ bridging networks to Finnish-born people are positively and statistically significantly associated to employment, and the association is especially strong among refugees. Therefore, better enabling refugees to create ties to Finnish-born people could in turn improve their likelihood of employment. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, further studies are needed to examine the causality of bridging networks and employment among refugees and other immigrants.
  • Paz, Maria (2023)
    This thesis examines water grabbing for the avocado agribusiness in the Petorca River located in Central Chile. I argue that avocado agribusiness has turned into what I will call avocado extractivism. Avocado agribusiness functions within an extractive export-development model that perpetuates coloniality under the current economic and political world system. Avocado extractivism alters the bodies, minds, and eco-social spaces of humans and other-than-humans. Furthermore, avocado extractivism prolongs gender, race, and indigeneity inequalities ingrained in Chilean society since colonial times. The research questions that allowed me to unravel the eco-social vulnerabilities and barrenness created by avocado production are the following: • What has the avocado agribusiness done in Petorca? • Why has the expansion of avocado plantations been promoted as development? • How has avocado extractivism impacted communities in the Petorca Province? Through ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews, I carried out a thematic analysis that led to the following global themes: Mentality of inquilinaje; imaginary of development; accumulation by dispossession; encounters and contentions between water ontologies; barrenness; resistances; alternatives to avocado extractivism, and the political agency of water. These themes explain how avocado extractivism exists thanks to a water governance system that privatizes water and separates water and land rights stated in Pinochet’s 1980 constitution. Under this legal structure, avocado producers maneuver the current water code to accumulate water and land to grow avocado plantations. Unfortunately, this process has exacerbated vulnerabilities among humans and other- than-humans in the area. I conclude that avocado extractivism is, in essence, maldevelopment supported by the Chilean state and immersed in the global development apparatus that serves the global capitalist system. Avocado extractivism works within a neoliberal framework reinforced by the coloniality of power and unequal power relations between the Global South and the Global North. Furthermore, this thesis examined resistance and alternatives to avocado extractivism articulated by grassroots and eco-feminist movements. These alternatives contest the dominant ontology of water as a natural resource by proving that a more harmonious future is possible if a multiverse of onto- epistemic perspectives participates in the design of water governance. Ultimately, the resistances and alternatives to avocado extractivism aim at introducing relationality in the existences of humans and other-than-humans in Petorca.
  • Pousi, Matti August Oskari (2021)
    The ecological crisis is ravaging the planet. Governments and businesses have set carbon neutrality targets as part of a necessary green transformation. One promising negative emission technology is based on biochar, which has created excitement in the voluntary carbon markets. However, the voluntary carbon markets and carbon sequestration with biochar both stand at a crossroads. There is currently no regulation that would govern the markets. Only voluntary standardizations and the sellers and buyers’ conscience provide directions for the quality of offsets and real carbon cuts achieved. In addition, the production of high-quality biochar remains at a low level. This thesis contributes to the research on green transformations by examining critically the expectations and promises related to biochar and voluntary carbon markets. The focus of this study is on the framings and discourses related to the role of biochar and the voluntary carbon markets in low-carbon pathways. The main research question is: What are the different narratives and perspectives on the role of biochar and voluntary carbon markets in sustainable low-carbon pathways? To answer this, I have identified and interviewed the main actors and stakeholders in the supply chain of biochar-based offsets as well as analyzed key policy and research documents that take part in the biochar offset related discourses. The research approach draws from two theoretical frameworks: the sustainable pathways approach developed by Melissa Leach, Ian Scoones, and Andy Stirling and Maarten Hajer’s critical discourse analysis on environmental policy. These frameworks are used to analyze the informant interviews and policy and research documents. It is found out that there are five discursive patterns shaping the discourses related to biochar and the voluntary carbon markets: biochar as a magic bullet, market-led low-carbon pathway, techno-managerialism, traces of more transformative greening, and climate-centrism. Techno-managerialism is the most distinctive feature of the biochar and voluntary carbon market discourse. Together, the five patterns shape the way in which biochar and the voluntary carbon markets are perceived, how policy problems related to them are defined and framed, and finally, what type of policy solutions are formulated.
  • Kitaba, Yuri (2020)
    Female migration has been widely studied in Europe. Previous studies had found that migration is gendered, thus, the experience of migrants differs depending on issues such as gender, class and ethnicity along with career and familial relations. The position of the migrants in the post-migration time period is influenced by the recognition of their skills and the assessment of human capital they possess in the host society, which has a considerable effect on the position of immigrant women. Thus, I employ a feminist extension of Bourdieu’s forms of capital in migration studies as a theoretical framework to examine the position of immigrant women and to better understand their experience in a host society. In addition, I utilize the ideas of emotional capital to discuss the importance of studying caring practice, including everyday activities and the caring work done for other family members, and its interactions with the outside of the household, the local community and, possibly, with integration. My focus is on the position of immigrant woman in Finland, a country where the Nordic welfare regime, which is built on egalitarian practices, creates a paradox for immigrant integration, as national belonging is built on labour market participation and the idea of gender equality. I pay specific attention to the Cash for Care scheme in relation to high female labour participation and the choices of childcare provision. Thus, my intention is to explore immigrant women’s decision making on childcare, what kind of activities the women engage in while taking care of their child, and their progress in integration. My research questions are: 1) do immigrant women utilize caring practice in capital accumulation; and if so, how? and 2) how do they generate various forms of capital and transform them into other types of capital and, ultimately, into economic capital? The sub-questions include: how does the notion of national belonging related to labour market participation and gender equality in Finnish society intertwine with individuals’ decision making with regards to the process of capital accumulation and transformation? I employed a feminist standpoint to conduct 6 in-depth interviews using a narrative approach. The interviewees are all from outside of the European Union, are highly skilled, have at least one child whose age is under three years old, have experienced staying at home with a child and currently live in the Helsinki metropolitan area. I utilized thematic analysis to explore the experiences of the immigrant women. The results show the potential for immigrant women to be subjects of capital accumulation, as well as objects where their capital is utilized in supporting and enhancing the lives of other family members. First, the results establish the importance of a local and neighbouring context in capital accumulation in relation to how caring for a child goes beyond the household, and is linked to the generation of social and cultural capital. The choice on the length of stay with one’s child at home intertwines with the social and economic statuses of the interviewees, but remains primarily a matter of individual preference. Second, two of the cases demonstrate the transformation of accumulated capital into economic capital through caring for other members of the family, which works as a resource of emotional capital. At the same time, the position of these women is constrained by social and cultural barriers, as they lack appreciated capital, the most important of them being a sufficient knowledge of Finnish language and culture along with relevant social networks. The position of immigrant mothers can also be observed from an objective viewpoint: there are limitations on the women’s ability to accumulate capital for themselves due to them taking care of the child. However, at the same time, the women can engage in transmission of capital and enhancing their children’s capital development. This thesis shows that the caring work of mothers goes beyond the household, contributing to the generation of capital in their integration process as well as for their children. Caring practice in research demands further investigation to better understand the paths of immigrant women and, possibly, the involvement of their spouses in this practice, in order to improve the women’s social and economic positioning in Finnish society.
  • Maalouf, Mariannette (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.
  • Ren, Yu (2024)
    Abstract: Background: The study validates separately the three-factor models of study burnout and engagement, and examines study burnout and engagement across two types of Finnish higher education institutions (universities and universities of applied science), additionally the effects of alcohol consumption and financial strain on study burnout and engagement with undergraduate students. Methods: The study uses data from University Student Health Survey 2016, a total of 2140 students (1354 university students, 784 university of applied science students) on study burnout and engagement, alcohol consumption and financial strain. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported separately of the three-factor models of study burnout (CFI = 0.969; TLI = 0.954; RMSEA = 0.068; SRMR = 0.039) with exhaustion (EX), cynicism (CY), and inadequacy (IN), and study engagement (CFI = 0.971; TLI = 0.957; RMSEA = 0.076; SRMR = 0.026) with energy (EE), dedication (DE) and absorption (AB). The findings from the multilevel structural equation model revealed that no significant difference in study burnout between undergraduate students from universities or universities of applied science, however, significant differences were observed in the dedication and absorption of engagement. Alcohol consumption had a significant negative on burnout and a positive effect on engagement. In addition, financial strain had a positive correlation with burnout, particularly of high financial strain; however, evidence for its impact on study engagement was insufficient. Finally, path analysis confirms that study engagement as the mediation between alcohol consumption, financial strain, type of university and study burnout. Conclusions: This study emphasized the significant impacts of alcohol consumption and financial strain on study burnout and engagement in Finnish higher education, which aims to reduce burnout and enhance engagement at higher education institutions, study engagement is the effective mediator between alcohol consumption, financial strain, type of university and study burnout.
  • Matyushkina, Anna (2023)
    This thesis examines how Russian migrant women construct their national identities through the mothering practices they perform in Finland. This research is based on an intersectional approach as it studies how migration and motherhood relate to the complex negotiations of the national identities of Russian women in Finland. Theoretically, this study aims to contribute to the feminist perspective by exploring the complexity and intersectionality of Russian women’s national, gender, and parental identities in migration. Methodologically, this study relies on a biographical approach in the analysis of migration experiences. The primary material of this research consists of in-depth focused interviews based on biographical narratives. A total of 17 interviews were conducted with Russian migrant mothers both through face-to-face and online interviewing during August and September 2022. This research revealed various ways in which Russian migrant mothers construct their national identities through their mothering practices in Finland. The key findings focus on the experiences and strategies of Russian migrant mothers in maintaining translocal family connections, constructing national identities, and navigating motherhood in Finland. Thus, the research situated Russian women’s everyday mothering practices into a complex translocal context where they navigate their multiple identities while living in Finland. Moreover, the study provided data on the challenges and emotional responses of Russian migrant mothers to the war in Ukraine, including the ways in which mothers seek to hide their Russianness and highlight their children’s dominant non-Russian identity.
  • Rauha, Jenni (2024)
    In Finland, time is understood through clock-time, instead of process time or relational time that is dominant in care. During parental leave, experiences of time are plural, as different gendered, cultural, and societal structures affect temporalities. The aim of this research is to examine temporalities as they are experienced by Finnish middle-classed mothers. The thesis provides an ethnographic account of how mothers in Finland create and manage daily routines during parental leave, as well as how becoming a mother unveils clashing values regarding time. The data for the thesis was collected in a suburban neighbourhood in Helsinki by participating in a weekly baby group organised by a local church and interviewing nine of the participating mothers. Narratives from the interviews are complimented by fieldnotes gathered by participant observation, informal ethnographic conversations, and the author’s own experiences regarding the topic. Thematic analysis reveals connections between temporality, everyday practices, subjectivity, and gender. For the mothers, everyday life consists of routines, which require both attuning to the baby’s biological rhythms, as well as active management. Routines form a temporal space, where days become repetitious and slow. Simultaneously time feels particularly fast-flowing, as the past becomes difficult to remember, the future hard to imagine. However, the growth of the baby makes the passage of time visible. Through caring, time becomes increasingly relational, as women take on the role of a primary caregiver, which marks parental leave as particularly gendered temporality. Research contributes to the theoretical discussions of subjectivity and relationality through exploring connections between subjectivity and temporality. The thesis argues that the pull between the need for ‘own time’ and sense of meaning that is gained through time with the baby shows the conflict between women’s neoliberal individualised subjectivities and relational self.
  • Hellman, Amelia (2023)
    Research on education outcomes in Finland reflects how migrant pupils generally have poorer performance and lower levels of well-being than non-migrant pupils. However, research on the causes of this has been concentrated on migrants themselves, rather than critiquing education structures. This thesis explores discourses found in the Finnish National Core Curriculum and analyses the ways in which these discourses represent migrants, and what potential impacts these discourses can have. This thesis focuses on both migrants and persons of colour, because previous research showcases how these two groups often become conflated with one another. The material used is the Finnish National Core Curriculum 2014, which is the most recently implemented version of the national curriculum. I conducted a critical discourse analysis, drawing from Van Dijk, Bacchi, and Critical Race Theory for my methodology. These allow for analysis on meanings and constructions, and on how they tie into social power hierarchies and inequalities. The analysis also draws from literature regarding how Finland has used discourse in the past to construct national identity, history, and social hierarchies. The research identified three main categories of discourse: Finnish values and normativity, “us vs. them” framing and representations of difference, and selective inclusion of topics, meanings, and terminology. They reflect different discourses and/or discursive strategies used to create a homogenous national identity that is heavily associated with whiteness and speaking Finnish, whilst any divergence is framed as not belonging. Representations of difference also reflected how “migrants” are categorised somewhat homogenously, evading an intersectional perspective. Choices of terminology and what is left unsaid reflect underlying values of Finnish exceptionalism and unwillingness to discuss race and racism. In the discussion of findings, I identify how these discourses represent migrants and persons of colour as not belonging to the national identity, and how the contribute to broader societal discourse of faulting individuals over structures. I also identify the potential impacts on the well-being and school performance of pupils, and how discourse disseminated through education can ultimately be internalised by pupils and teachers alike in ways that continue to reproduce dominance and inequality in society.
  • Peci, Qendresa (2024)
    This study explores health attributions and how they relate to demographic variables, health behaviour and perceived health. Previous research has shown that possessing internal and control attributions of health predicts positive health outcomes. This master thesis uses Bernand Weines Attribution theory as a theoretical framework. The theory’s causal dimensions which are locus (internal or external), stability (stable or unstable) and controllability (controllable or uncontrollable) are used in analysing the discussion section. The research investigated attributing health problems to either own lifestyle, environment, genes, and poverty through crosstabulations, chi-square test and logistic regression. This study used the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) quantitative data where the total sample size was 1003 respondents among the Finnish population. The results showed that gender predicted the attribution of health problems whereas males were more likely to attribute health issues to personal lifestyle. Age influenced attributions related to poverty, with older individuals more likely to attribute health problems to poverty. Exercise and smoking were predictors of attributing health problems to personal lifestyle. Individuals who engaged in exercise were more likely to attribute health issues to lifestyle, whereas smokers had a lower likelihood of reporting health problems due to personal lifestyle choices. Smokers were more likely to attribute health issues to poverty. Physical health and psychological distress influenced similar attribution styles. Those with poor health, a disability, or a chronic disease and experiencing distress were more likely to attribute health problems to environmental factors or poverty. Additionally, having a disability decreased the likelihood of attributing health issues to personal lifestyle. These findings suggest how understanding health and health problems is complex as different attribution styles can be influenced by demographic factors, health behaviours, and how a person perceives their health. This highlights the need for targeted public health interventions that address specific attribution tendencies within different demographic groups.
  • Valero, Ignacio (2023)
    This research investigates the influence of economic and sociocultural factors on voting behaviour for the True Finns (PS), a populist radical right-wing party in Finland. Regression models analyse data from the European Social Survey’s Round 10, to explore associations between economic and sociocultural variables and support for the True Finns. Findings indicate subjective economic insecurity has no direct impact on voting when combined with sociocultural factors. Lower economic satisfaction and being welfare dependence are associated with reduced support for the party. Moreover, negative perceptions of economic immigration impact positively relate to voting for the True Finns. Cultural immigration impact shows a weaker, although similar association. Lastly, no significant moderation was found regarding Economic Insecurity and Anti-Immigration Attitudes predicting voting behaviour. The study contributes to explore these relationships through the lenses of Social Identity Theory and the Integrated Threat Theory, emphasizing the complexity of the relationship between economic insecurity, sociocultural grievances, and populism.
  • Watt, Lois (2023)
    From marathon swims to early morning ‘cal dooks’ (Doric Scots: cold dips), open water swimming (OWS) has surged in popularity across the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic years. However, how does the act of wading into known and unknown bodies of water affect the way in which swimmers perceive their own bodies? Based on three and a half months of ethnographic research in a small, coastal village in the North-East of Scotland, this thesis explores how the more-than-human entanglements implicit to OWS broaden the perceived limitations of the body. In highlighting this, the discussion considers how such limitations are embedded within socio-cultural understandings of gender, as open water swimmers are shown to be split between those who dook (or dip) and those who swim ‘properly’. In taking the body as a focal point for the discussion, this thesis will approach the reinvented trend of OWS through a phenomenological and hydrofeminist lens. Furthermore, the argument reveals how stigmatised conceptions of the ageing body (i.e. during menopause and through the experience of disability) are encountered, ratified and disregarded within OWS communities. This thesis suggests that the aforementioned ‘proper’ swimmers are often imagined as triathletes, marathon swimmers and those dedicated to training regimes. This imaginary has typically been perceived as a masculine pursuit, whilst dookers are stereotyped as informal collectives of less experienced, middle-aged, women. Despite the stereotype, many dookers hold high degrees of experience in open water navigation and risk-management. The thesis concludes with a call for more anthropological research to be done that explores the ways in which risk is mediated and linked to perceptions of gender in the world of recreational swimming.
  • Kivilahti, Riina (2022)
    Participatory budgeting is a democracy innovation that has become popular around the world during the past decades. The capital of Finland is one of the many actors running participatory budgeting. The Helsinki participatory budgeting initiative – called MyCity – defines equal opportunities for participation as one of the main principles and improving parity as one of the key goals for the initiative. This MA Thesis focuses on themes of parity in Helsinki participatory budgeting. The attention is on different parity goals set for the initiative as well as the realization of these principles. According to the literature, inclusion is vital for all democracy innovations, and can be approached in two ways: from equality and equity perspectives. The first emphasizes everyone’s right to be treated similarly in society. The latter one acknowledges that fairness in access and contributions can be achieved only when tuning into each individual’s background differences. The data for the study is twofold, it consists of public documents and interviews. Through document analysis of key policy documents, different equality and equity goals and actions are identified. Further analysis on how these goals complement and contradict is taken. In addition, five qualitative interviews of MyCity cooperation organization representatives were conducted. The methods used are qualitative. Both the policy documents and interviews are analyzed with content analysis. The analysis of the study demonstrates a harmony of equality and equity actions in the recruitment, ideation and co-creation phases of MyCity. In the latter two phases of the process, voting and implementation, equality and equity actions are contradictory. Equality holds the main emphasis in the cost of equity. The study discusses two scenarios for the result: firstly, dismissal of equity goals and the downsides of it: risking tokenism and increasing inequalities. And secondly, an alternative explanation is discussed: unintended lack of clarity in parity priorities. The cooperation organization interviews present the reality of participation for the least privileged citizens: participatory budgeting is largely inaccessible. Main themes identified from the interviews are: employee supported participation was possible for the least privileged, fears on majority citizen’s preferences surpassing the less privileged voices and superficial equality projects as hindrance. In the end, three recommendations to improve equity in MyCity are made: renewal of equity guidelines for the initiative; forming stronger cooperation alliances with the minority organizations; and adjusting the rules and scope of MyCity.
  • Vanhanen, Katja (2019)
    For long energy trade has been viewed as an important element of EU– (Soviet) Russia relations. The West European energy engagement with what was then Soviet Union that emerged in late 1960s over the next decades evolved into an important strategic partnership in between the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation (Russia), with considerable degree of interdependence surrounding their energy ties. Although the EU-Russia energy relations are, in general, concerned with both oil and natural gas, in the present research the author narrowed down the notion of energy to natural gas assigning this commodity a unique importance in the analysis of energy politics between the two. This is given the difference in the structural and economic terms of its trade when compared to other types of fossil fuels, which leads to path-dependent nature of energy relations between the actors involved. The disruptions of Russian natural gas supplies to Europe in 2006 and 2009 as a result of Ukraine-Russia gas disputes already contributed to concerns in regards to security of Russian energy supplies and corresponding natural gas demand from the side of the EU in the light of long-standing interdependence of the energy trade between the two. That being said, the subsequent 2014 Ukrainian crisis involving Russia’s annexation of Crimea and yet another Ukraine-Russia gas dispute can be seen as a turning point in the EU-Russia relations in the context of energy trade. The present study drew from previous research on the topic and, using a securitization theory coined by Copenhagen School of Security Studies as an analytical framework, deploys discourse analysis as a methodological tool in order to examine series of political rhetoric over the years 2014-2017 pertaining to the issue of EU-Russia relations when it comes to security of energy supplies. The analysis of the content of both EU’s and Russia’s energy securitization discourses revealed a presence of some cross related key themes that demonstrate certain similarities as well as differences in actors’ interpretations of their mutual energy trade and the implications of such for each of the party’s respective energy securities. It may be argued that over the years 2014-2017 Russia has been going through the process of de-securitization of its energy relations with the European Union. That being said over the same period the EU has been going through the processes of securitization of its relations with Russian Federation.
  • Kehn, Carolyn (2020)
    Gender in the military is a critical yet controversial topic both socially and scholastically. However, in review of the literature regarding servicemembers’ transitions out of the military organization, the experience of women is often excluded or generalized from the experience of their male peers. This thesis applies a gender constructivist lens to military sociology and explores the narratives of women officers who have served in the Finnish Defence Forces. It adapted the Critical Incident Technique, as well as graphic elicitation, to conduct qualitative interviews with five respondents. Subsequent analysis revealed four types of critical events that illustrate entry into and exit from the Finnish Defence Forces during a career: prompting, retaining, bridging, and affirming events. These events, as well as participants’ descriptions of identity work, cannot be understood merely through factors relating to the Institutional/Occupational Thesis, but necessitate an understanding of the negotiation of gender throughout a career in the Finnish Defence Forces. The conclusions of this work refute the simplified perspective of gender equality in Finland and demand a gender-nuanced approach to future theoretical conceptualizations of military organizations, as well as the identities of individual servicemembers.
  • Luostarinen, Marika (2022)
    This master’s thesis focuses on exploring the impact of basic income experiments and pilots in the Global North on the social dimension of well-being and their implications for families. The background to this research is that basic income has a definition but often basic income experiments do not fully fulfil this definition. Studies indicate that a good economic situation has a positive effect on well-being. Studies also suggest that social relationships, social activities, a sense of belonging, and good interpersonal relationships can increase well-being. By supporting families, society supports individuals and the people close to them. Supporting parents in particular often has a direct impact on the well-being of their children. However, previous studies have focused more on the effects of basic income on employment. The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of basic income experiments on the social dimension of well-being and the impact on families. Previous research on the effects of poverty on the well-being of families and individuals through social relationships and a sense of belonging serve as a frame of reference for this thesis. The research questions were: What are the results of basic income experiments in the Global North regarding the social dimension of well-being? Based on these results, what kind of problems could basic income address? News articles from the Basic Income Earth Network website (BIEN, https://basicincome.org/news/) from January 9, 2014 to May 31, 2022 (n=2250) are used as the data for this thesis. The methods of the thesis were web scraping and a scoping review. The material of the thesis consisted of the analysis of the results of ten different experiments. Therefore, the final results from the experiments were collected through a scoping review of ten reports for more in-depth analysis (n=10). The results of the thesis indicated that basic income helped those who participated in basic income experiments to deepen their social relationships, improved their sense of belonging, relieved stress, and had a positive effect on family relationships. However, the results also suggested that well-being may be a subjective experience and many factors may have influenced these outcomes. In addition, the results showed that the effects on individuals as well as families were positive and similar, but there were also differences. Future research could focus on a more in-depth study of the effects of the basic income experiment on social well-being and sense of belonging. In addition, the long-term effects should be examined, in particular the impact of basic income on the increased risks of poverty over the course of life and at different stages of life.
  • Glushkova, Tatiana (2021)
    The number of older migrants has been increasing in the world. Immigration to Finland has also been growing with Russia as one of the biggest nationalities. Older migrants are one of the most vulnerable groups since they might receive less attention than younger migrants, feel more insecure in a new environment, and deal with age-related processes, such as retirement, loss of a spouse, and declining health. Additionally, migration leads to relocation to a new society and adjustment to it, a language barrier, separation from family and friends, and other difficulties. A sense of belonging is crucial for migrants since it provides a feeling of comfort and affects their well-being, and negotiating cultural identity and belonging remains relevant even for those who lived in the country of settlement for decades. Creating a sense of belonging in the receiving society may be challenging for older people due to difficulties in learning a language, declining health, and socialization into origin ethnic culture long before migrating. That is why older migrants’ sense of belonging is a primary interest of this study. This thesis focuses on belonging through identity, which is defined as identification with a certain community, and on individual-level factors of belonging. In addition, the association between cultural orientations and types of belonging is examined. The thesis uses a quantitative approach and data from CHARM research. CATPCA is used to identify types of belonging and cultural orientations, and regression analysis is employed to examine the association between factors and types of belonging. Three types of belonging were found among older Russian-speaking migrants (50 years and above) in Finland : national belonging to Russians and Russian-speaking people in Finland, emotional belonging to communities of colleges, friends, neighbours in Finland, and belonging to Ingrian Finns. Worth noting that a core element of belonging to Ingrian Finns is a religion since it is one of the indicators of Ingrian Finns' identity. Similar to previous studies, local language may be one of the barriers to emotional belonging. However, “poor” Finnish or Swedish skills contribute to national belonging to Russians. Other significant predictors for all types of belonging health, religion, and economic situation. Additionally, orientations to Russian and Finnish culture are moderately and positively correlated, which indicates that migrants may orientate to both Finnish and Russian cultures simultaneously, and their cultural identities may be compatible. Orientation to Russian culture contributes to national belonging and belonging to Ingrian Finns. On the other hand, orientation to Finnish culture and belonging to Ingrian Finns are negatively associated. This thesis shows that older Russian-speaking migrants in Finland may have multiple types of belonging, and some of the most significant factors of national and emotional belonging as well as belonging to Ingrian Finns include language, health, and religion. Furthermore, the concept of cultural orientations is significant for migrants' sense of belonging, and the association between cultural orientations and a sense of belonging should be investigated in more detail