Competence development through the lens of structuration - Does age matter in Finnish IT workplaces?

This thesis is about existing employees’ competence development, with a particular focus on middle-aged and late-career employees in the Finnish information technology field. Research on adult education, workforce development and workplace learning has traditionally relied on economic, psychosocial and learning theories. The lower participation rate of older workers in skills training is explained in terms of lowered abilities and willingness to learn, or through employers’ cost- driven strategies, which prioritise younger employees. While earlier studies tend to focus on either the employee or the learning environment, this thesis emphasises the relationships between an employee’s agency and the enablers and constraints apparent in the work environment. The aim is to understand differences in employees’ participation in competence development activities within the workplace and the significance of various factors involved. A pragmatic ontology is applied and a methodology of mixed methods, integrating data collection and analysis of a structured survey across industries (N=1,119) and face-to-face interviews (N=27). Theoretically, a novel approach is developed by building on key concepts of structuration theory (Giddens, 1979, 1984). The core argument in this thesis is that the frequency of competence development activities is an outcome of the pre-existing interaction between the employee and the learning environment. The thesis contributes to theory by providing an empirically grounded and theoretically informed conceptualisation of employees’ competence development, firstly, in the form of an analytical framework, and secondly, in the novel categorisation of agentic orientations. The thesis proposes that employees engage in competence development activities at different levels as a result of their agentic orientation, which may be proactive, reactive or restricted. Following these orientations, employees perceive factors in the learning environment as either enabling, supportive or constraining, leading to the agentic actions to initiate, accept or reject opportunities for competence development. Empirically, the study demonstrates that late-career employees are as active in their competence development activities as middle-aged employees are but face specific challenges of indirect age discrimination related to on-the-job learning. The holistic framework and the categorisation of proactive, reactive and restricted employees supports policymakers and practitioners to adjust their adult education and training offerings by observing individual agentic orientation rather than chronological age. In addition, these serve to avoid age and gender biases related to on-the-job learning

Centrality and peripherality upside down? Gender equality and the family in Western Europe

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Geschlechter(un)gleichheit und Prozesse der Familienbildung im Kontext der Cleavage-Theorie von Stein Rokkan hinsichtlich der entscheidenden Dichotomie Zentrum/Peripherie. Das Schema ist einfach: hoch modernisierte Gesellschaften gehören zum Zentrum, weniger moderne zur Peripherie. Die Gleichheit der Geschlechter und die Entstehung einer Vielzahl neuer Ehe- und Familienformen sind dabei Indikatoren der Modernisierung. Daraus kann der Schluß abgeleitet werden, je höher die Gleichheit der Geschlechter in einem Land ist und je mehr nicht-traditionelle Familienformen vorliegenden, desto zentraler ist die Position eines Landes. Rokkans Ansatz und diese Hypothese wird anhand empirischer Daten für einige westeuropäische Länder (Zentrum: Deutschland, Frankreich, Großbritannien, Schweiz, Österreich, Niederlande, Belgien, Luxemburg, Italien und Dänemark; Peripherie: Irland, Spanien, Portugal, Griechenland, Norwegen, Schweden und Finnland) geprüft. (pmb)'The study tries to apply Rokkan's centre/periphery dichotomy to the analysis of gender equality and the family, which, according to Rokkan, belong to the domain of culture. The final criterion for centrality and peripherality is provided by the level of modernization, gender equality being as such a sign of modernization, while the frequency of new family forms being the criterion for the degree of modernization in the case of the family. According to the indicators used in the study, we can conclude that politico-economic centrality and peripherality do not coincide with centrality and peripherality in the domains of gender equality and the family, the differences in this respect stemming rather from each country's cultural heritage. Amont the politico-economically peripheral countries, the four Nordic countries form the most modernized territory as to gender equality and the family, whereas the southern seaward periphery form the least modernized territory in this respect. Centrality in the domain of economics provides a more or less intermediate position as to the modernization of gender equality and the family.' (author's abstract

Taking a stand through food choices? : Characteristics of political food consumption and consumers in Finland

This study looks at food as a realm of political consumption by examining buycotting and boycotting of foods for ethical, political or environmental reasons in Finland. The results of an Internet-based survey (N = 1021) showed that around half of the respondents often or occasionally both buycotted and boycotted foods. Multinomial regression models indicated that women, the highly educated, the political left, those who donated for charity, those whose food choices were motivated by domestic origin and ethical food production, and those who trusted that consumption choices, institutional actors and the media can advance ethical food production and consumption, were most likely to be active in buycotting and boycotting. Buycotters/boycotters were very active in buying local food but less eager, for instance, to buy organic or Fair Trade products or to reduce the use of meat or milk. The article concludes by critically assessing the complex relationship between buycotting/boycotting and sustainable practices and suggesting that consumers may be more willing to transform their eating patterns if other societal actors, too, make an effort to influence ethical food consumption.Peer reviewe

The emergence of the Finnish edible insect arena : The dynamics of an ‘Active Obstacle’

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0016718519303148?token=80EA642832BB09888559F75CAF0575341032ACE19ABD370D1F5ADB51E57A51F3235D6640AFF497520E856DD4A16D936FIn the current debates on sustainability of food edible insects have been suggested as one alternative source of protein that could respond to the urgent need to decrease global meat consumption. However, in many countries rearing of insects for human food has been restrained by regulatory measures, such as the EU Novel Foods Regulation. This paper analyses the emergence of the edible insect arena in Finland. In spite of the official compliance to the existing EU regulations, a lively startup scene has grown around edible insect production since 2014. The analysis is based on interviews of the central actors of the insect scene and media data. The performances of actors, such as producers, retailers, authorities, researchers, newspaper articles, insects, regulations, and technologies, constituted a network connecting different geographical locations on a common arena of development. The emergence of an innovative arena is shown to be a result of conflicts and negotiations, resumed in three strategies used by the network-builders in order to normalize a forbidden product: media promotion, trials, and consumption. These strategies gathered actors and networks around an ‘active obstacle’, formed by the authorities’ interpretation of the EU law, which, as we argue, has influenced the dynamics of the arena in its formative stage. Implications for the debates concerning technological transitions are discussed.Peer reviewe

Kiistat maitorasvoista ja kasviöljyistä Helsingin sanomissa, 1978 - 2013 : Analyysi riskejä, asiantuntijuutta, todisteita ja nautintoa koskevista konfliketista

The study analysed public debates on the association of milk fats, vegetable oils and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) between 1978 and 2013 in Finland, a country with a decades-long history of public health initiatives targeting fat consumption. The main agendas, conflicts and participants were analysed. The data were collected from the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and consisted of 52 threads and 250 texts. We identified four themes around which there were repeated, often overlapping conflicts: the health risks of saturated fats, expertise of the risks of fat consumption, the adequate evidence of the risks of fat consumption, and framing the fat question. During the research period, the main arguments of the effects of consumption of fats have remained the same. References to epidemiological and intervention studies and framing of the fat question as a public health issue, have been ongoing, as has the definition of what constitutes genuine expertise. Yet, we also found discontinuities. In the early 2000s new emphases began to emerge: personal experiences were increasingly presented as evidence of the effects of dietary choices on human health, and the question of fat consumption was framed either as one of enjoyment or of a consumers’ right to choose rather than only being a public health question. Moreover, new professional groups such as chefs and creative professionals now joined the discussion.The study analysed public debates on the association of milk fats, vegetable oils and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) between 1978 and 2013 in Finland, a country with a decades-long history of public health initiatives targeting fat consumption. The main agendas, conflicts and participants were analysed. The data were collected from the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and consisted of 52 threads and 250 texts. We identified four themes around which there were repeated, often overlapping conflicts: the health risks of saturated fats, expertise of the risks of fat consumption, the adequate evidence of the risks of fat consumption, and framing the fat question. During the research period, the main arguments of the effects of consumption of fats have remained the same. References to epidemiological and intervention studies and framing of the fat question as a public health issue, have been ongoing, as has the definition of what constitutes genuine expertise. Yet, we also found discontinuities. In the early 2000s new emphases began to emerge: personal experiences were increasingly presented as evidence of the effects of dietary choices on human health, and the question of fat consumption was framed either as one of enjoyment or of a consumers’ right to choose rather than only being a public health question. Moreover, new professional groups such as chefs and creative professionals now joined the discussion.Peer reviewe

Naistutkimuksen vastavirrassa

Kirja-arvostelu: Retki naishistoriaan. Irma Sulkunen. Helsinki, 199

Perceptions and Experiences of Sustainability among Producers in the REKO Alternative Food Network in Finland

The modern industrialized food system has faced criticism for several decades. Since the 1990s, vari- ous alternative food networks (AFNs) have attempted to increase the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the food system. A recent innovation in Finland, REKO food rings, was motivated by the desire to enhance the livelihood of farmers and to facilitate a broader change in agricultural practices. It applies contemporary social media tools to organize communication and trade between producers and consumers. The present paper analyses perceptions and experiences of sustainability among REKO producers using thematic interviews and questionnaire data. The results show that the expectations for increased sustainability are high, but the producers nevertheless face multiple challenges to ensure sustainability in their daily practices. Many producers reported having modified their production methods to be more environmentally sustainable already before joining REKO. With regards to economic sustainability, after an enthusiastic start, the positive impacts of REKO have started to diminish. Our findings point to the variations and dynamics of the experiences and perceptions that exist across locations and product segments