Browsing by Subject "qualitative content analysis"
Now showing items 1-6 of 6
-
(2023)In education, changing the core curriculum usually results in changing textbooks because they should be based on the curriculum at least up to some level. In 2019, the Finnish upper secondary school level National Core Curriculum (NCC) was updated, and it was taken in use in August 2021. Since this NCC change is still recent, the need for researching it is evident. The publisher Otava updated their upper secondary school level English language teaching textbook series Insights to New Insights in response to the NCC change, which created an interest in how the series was modified to fit the change. Therefore, this research is set to show how the English teaching related guidelines in the NCC have changed and how the New Insights series has succeeded in its update with those changes in mind. The main data for the research consisted of the New Insights series’ electronic textbooks, as well as the 2019 NCC for upper secondary school by the Finnish National Board of Education. When the thesis was written, the New Insights series consisted of five books (New Insights 1–2, 3, 4, 5 and 6), and the research focused on all these available books. The Insights series and the prior 2015 NCC were also used for comparison, but the research did not go into detail about these past versions. Qualitative content analysis was used to describe the contents of the 2019 NCC and the textbooks to show how the textbooks have taken into consideration the NCC change and the concepts of the new NCC. In addition to content analysis, task analysis was used to give task-based examples of how certain aspects of these 2019 NCC concepts are visible in the New Insights series. Three major English teaching related NCC changes were identified in the analysis. They were the use of transversal competences as the learning objectives of the subjects, the increased guidance of the student, and the change from “courses” to “modules” in hopes for easy creation of subject-crossing study units. Corresponding to the NCC changes, three aspects of the New Insights series were presented: the visibility of transversal competences, emphasising the language profile and self-assessment, as well as the multidisciplinarity of the DIY tasks in New Insights 5. These findings considered, the research managed to show the relation between the 2019 NCC and New Insights, and it can be concluded that the New Insights series was visibly modified to fit the NCC change.
-
(2021)This thesis explores what characteristics and expectations are associated with work and workers in contemporary North Korea and how those representations differ from other socialist countries and North Korea’s own past. The theoretical background demonstrates how different thinkers have conceptualized modern work as an ideological tool, specifically under socialism. Using workers as the nominal subjects in their legitimization narratives, state socialist regimes have utilized various practices to mix the reality and the ideal, praising workers as heroes while maintaining exploitation. The literary review covers previous research on the policy and propaganda about work across the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea, showing how the image of the ideal worker has developed according to material conditions and political goals of each place and period. As contemporary North Korean work has received less attention in studies, this thesis explores the depictions of work and workers in North Korea in 2012–2020. The analysis is conducted by using qualitative content analysis on North Korean English-language media. The data consists of magazines, newspaper articles and two films. Through analysing this sample of journalistic writings, photos and fictional films and texts, repeating patterns of representations about workers emerge as four major categories of characteristics: technological skill and innovativeness, unity and collectivism, correct morals and ideology, and self-reliance. Together these qualities make up the image of the contemporary ideal worker in North Korea. These findings suggest some shifts in North Korean ideology in the last decade compared to the past. The categories mostly follow familiar themes but from new perspectives and with different emphasis. The collectivist tendency and family metaphors are stronger, and the roles between different workers are minimized. The workers are increasingly shown as highly educated innovators and scientists. Despite the rising narratives on science, the revolutionary spirit is equally maintained as an important feature.
-
(2023)Women’s empowerment, originating from the worldwide feminist debates that took place in the 1980s, has over the years become a widely used, yet a highly contested political concept. For instance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), currently the leading political party in India, represents a powerful nationalist force that has emerged as a vocal supporter of women’s empowerment in the 21st century. In 2018, the BJP published a booklet titled Mahila Morcha Training Guidebook, in which the BJP intentionally seeks to elaborate its present-day party lines on women’s empowerment and women’s ideal role in society. The aim of this thesis is to answer the following research questions: In the Mahila Morcha Training Guidebook, 1) what does the representation of ideal womanhood look like? and 2) what meanings are assigned to women’s empowerment? Qualitative content analysis is employed as the research method, while the theoretical framework of the thesis consists most centrally of Jane Clare Jones’s radical materialist feminist approach to gender and patriarchy, Maria Mies’s analysis of capitalism as a manifestation of patriarchy, Uma Chakravarti’s conceptualisation of brahmanical patriarchy, and Cecília Sardenberg’s conceptual differentiation between liberal and liberating empowerment. The thesis builds on previous feminist studies on Hindu nationalist gender ideology and demonstrates that while the BJP’s vision of ideal womanhood includes both the very traditional idealisation of women as wives and mothers prioritising their duties in the domestic sphere as well as the more recent idealisation of Hindu women as socially active, heroic protectors of the nation that took hold in the 1990’s, it also includes a new element, which is the celebration of successful businesswomen and female professionals’ achievements and contributions to the development of society. As for the second research question, the thesis argues that in addition to certain nationalist elements, the BJP’s conception of women’s empowerment aligns with liberal ideals, economics and development goals when it comes to women’s participation in the public sphere of society, while conservative attitudes implicitly prevail when it comes to gender roles in the private sphere. Based on the research findings of the thesis, the BJP’s conception of women’s empowerment is compared to the early grassroots feminists’ one, in addition to being discussed critically from the author’s feminist point of view. The thesis concludes that the interrelatedness of the BJP’s turn in favour of neoliberal economics in general and its espousal of the liberal approach to women’s empowerment in particular is a consequential phenomenon that demands further feminist analysis
-
(2021)Intersectionality as a concept is gaining increasingly more foothold in the academia, politics, and activism globally, also in Finland. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic overview of the appearance, meaning and operationalization of intersectionality in the equality and non-discrimination plans of Finnish municipalities. Intersectionality has not been studied systematically in the context of policy in Finland, and thus, this study fills a notable gap in research. The closely related terms in the Finnish language, such as multiple discrimination, are included in the analysis. The study draws from the genealogical, theoretical, methodological, and paradigmatic discussions surrounding the concept of intersectionality. Qualitative content analysis was applied in the examination of the equality and non-discrimination plans of five large or middle-sized municipalities in Finland (Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Oulu and Rovaniemi). In addition, email conversations with the municipalities’ employees working with equality and non-discrimination promotion was used as data. The municipalities were chosen to the study with the criteria of involving relatively large cities from different geographical areas in Finland. In the analysis, the similarities and differences of the plans and their uses of relevant terminology are outlined. Intersectionality was applied in two of the municipalities in various manners. It was explicitly referred to as a tool for viewing overlapping identity characteristics with and without emphasis on gender as a central category of difference. In addition, intersectionality was vaguely connected to the deconstruction of discriminatory societal structures. Multiple discrimination, a concept which appeared in most of the municipalities, was not clearly distinguishable from the concept of intersectionality. An interest towards utilizing intersectionality and multiple discrimination more extensively appeared. However, both terms, especially intersectionality, were perceived as difficult to understand and connect to practice. Defining and explaining the terms better, training personnel, and unifying the equality and non-discrimination policies emerged as ways to improve the operationalization of the terms.
-
(2021)In this thesis I concentrate on diaspora peacebuilding and examine the potential of the Finnish Somali diaspora for peace in Somalia. My research question is, how members of the Finnish Somali diaspora perceive the greatest challenges and primary needs in Somalia for peace and their abilities to contribute to peace in the country. My research data consists of eight semi-structured interviews resembling themed interviews. These interviews were conducted with active members of the Finnish Somali diaspora, and I have analysed them by using qualitative content analysis. The aims of my research are to contribute to the current critical academic discussion on peacebuilding and to deepen the discussion on diaspora peacebuilding, as well as to bring out voices from the Finnish Somali diaspora regarding peacebuilding. In the theory chapter I review current academic discussion on the challenges of peacebuilding related to local ownership and negotiated hybridity and examine novel academic literature on the strengths of diaspora for peacebuilding. Drawing from both theoretical literatures, I suggest that diaspora could mitigate shortcomings on the peacebuilding field for example with the help of context-specific knowledge and a more nuanced understanding of actors and power structures at play in their place of origin, and by helping to bridge the gap between the local and the international. In the material analysis I examine the challenges and needs for peace in Somalia as perceived by my interviewees and their hopes and dreams for the future of the country. Moreover, I explore strengths of the Finnish Somali diaspora for peacebuilding in Somalia and challenges to diaspora peacebuilding as identified by my interviewees. The challenges for peace in my interview data mostly related to problematics of a long-collapsed state and economic or resource related power structures in a country suffering from an elongated conflict. My interviewees demonstrated an understanding of different actors and power structures at play in Somalia on both local, regional, and international levels. My interviewees understood peacebuilding in a broad way, and skills and knowledge transfer was a preferred mechanism of diaspora peacebuilding in most of my interviews. Capacity building and education transfer came up multiple times, and education and experience from Finland was considered highly valuable. Setting up businesses in Somalia was also considered positive as long as locals would be employed. These activities were presented as a response to the challenges in Somalia related to poverty and unemployment and hence radicalisation, especially among youth. Political involvement of the diaspora in Somalia was mostly seen as problematic. The greatest challenge for diaspora peacebuilding identified by my interviewees was the poor security situation in Somalia. From my research it is clear, that the diaspora is a heterogenous group just as the local or the international is, and there are generational differences within the Finnish Somali diaspora that need to be considered in relation to diaspora peacebuilding. Based on this study, I would encourage further research on peacebuilding and diaspora youth, and on diaspora-local relationships.
-
(2023)This thesis examines Japanese castle reconstructions in the Heisei (1989–2019) and Reiwa eras (2019–) and links them to the ideas of cultural heritage and authenticity in traditional architecture. Japanese castles are opportune for examining the development of the role of architecture in cultural heritage throughout history. The role of castles as symbols of authority and later as symbols of local culture and history has changed according to the fluctuations of time and the needs of the contemporary people and thoughts. After majority of the feudal castles were demolished during Japan’s modernization, there have been three distinctive “booms” during which castles have been reconstructed. In the post-war era, dozens of ahistorical concrete replicas of castles were rebuilt concrete as local town symbols, and to many they symbolized the rebuilding of post-war Japan. From the early 1990s, however, a new castle boom has taken place, with the reconstructions emphasizing on using wood and historical evidence. Most notable of these reconstruction projects is the Nagoya Castle reconstruction project, in which the post-war concrete castle tower is to be demolished and rebuilt from wood using original methods and historical plans. This thesis examines these reconstructions in contemporary Japan, aiming to understand how authenticity and cultural heritage are related to this ongoing boom. In this study, a country-wide visitor survey on 10 Japanese castle sites was conducted, supported by two expert interviews from supervisors of two Heisei era castle reconstructions in Ōzu and Kakegawa cities. The findings supported the hypothesis, which suggested that the current appeal of castles is linked not only to their symbolic value to the castle towns, but also their value as objects of cultural heritage. This is why “authentic”, wooden reconstructions are preferred, which was evident from the visitor surveys, as all the respondents favored wooden reconstructions over concrete ones. Furthermore, majority of the respondents wished for more authentic castle reconstructions to be built.
Now showing items 1-6 of 6