Reply to Beata Stawarska

Reply to Stawarska's review in this issue. Peer review process: Editorial revie

The Method of Critical Phenomenology: Simone de Beauvoir as a Phenomenologist.

The paper aims to contribute to the ongoing conversation on critical phenomenology with reflections on its method. The key argument is that critical phenomenology should be understood as a form of historico-transcendental inquiry and therefore it cannot forgo the phenomenological reduction. Rather, this methodological step should be centered in critical phenomenology, and appropriated in problematized and rethought forms. The methodological assessment of critical phenomenology has implications also for how we read its canon. The paper shows that while Simone de Beauvoir did not adopt the phenomenological reduction in its full Husserlian meaning, her analyses of experience did not remain on the level of personal or experiential description either. The contention is that if we want to read her as a critical phenomenologist, we should focus on her seminal modification of the historico-transcendental method of phenomenology

Feminism and Neoliberal Governmentality

The article investigates the consequences for feminist politics of the neoliberal turn. Feminist scholars have analysed the political changes in the situation of women that have been brought about by neoliberalism, but their assessments of neoliberalism’s consequences for feminist theory and politics vary.  Feminist thinkers such as Hester Eisenstein and Sylvia Walby have argued that feminism must now return its focus to socialist politics and foreground economic questions of redistribution in order to combat the hegemony of neoliberalism.  Some have further identified post-structuralism and its dominance in feminist scholarship as being responsible for the debilitating move away from socialist or Marxist paradigms. I share their diagnosis to the extent that it is my contention that the rapid neoliberalization characterising the last thirty years has put women and feminist thought in a completely new political situation. However, in contrast to those feminist thinkers who put the blame for the current impasse on the rise of poststructuralist modes of thought, it is my contention that the poststructuralist turn in feminist theory in the 1980s and 1990s continues to represent an important theoretical advance.  I will discuss Foucault’s genealogy of neoliberalism in order to assess the ways it can contribute to feminist theory and politics today.  I contend that Foucault can provide a critical diagnostic framework for feminist theory as well as for prompting new feminist political responses to the spread and dominance of neoliberalism. I will also return to Nancy Fraser and Judith’s Butler’s seminal debate on feminist politics in the journal Social Text (1997) in order to demonstrate that a critical analysis of the economic/cultural distinction must be central when we consider feminist forms of resistance to neoliberalism

Violence and the Biopolitics of Modernity

The paper studies the relationship between political violence and biological life in the thought of Hannah Arendt, Giorgio Agamben and Michel Foucault. I follow Foucault in arguing that understanding political violence in modernity means rethinking the ontological boundary between biological and political life that has fundamentally ordered the Western tradition of political thought. I show that while Arendt, Agamben and Foucault all see the merging of the categories of life and politics as the key problem of Modernity, they understand this problem in crucially different terms and suggest different solutions to it. This results in different understandings of the relationship between violence and the political. It is my contention that the violence of modern biopolitical societies is not due to originary ties between sovereign power and biopower, as Agamben claims. Sovereign states use biopolitical methods of violence, but this violence is not an originary or necessary aspect of political power. In order to criticise the forms of violence specific to modern biopolitical societies we must expose the points of tension, as well as of overlap between two types of power – biopower and sovereign power. Understanding their distinctive rationalities is crucial for developing effective strategies against current forms of political violence

Työn ja perheen yhteensovittamiseen liittyvät siirräntäkokemukset nais- ja miesjohtajilla

Sukupuoliroolien monipuolistuessa naiset osallistuvat miesten rinnalla työelämään johtotehtävissä aiempaa useammin ja miehet puolestaan ottavat vastuuta perheestä ja lapsista enenevässä määrin. Tämä asettaa haasteita työn ja perheen yhteensovittamiselle. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli tarkastella työn ja perheen yhteensovittamista suomalaisten nais- ja miesjohtajien kokemana. Tarkastelun kohteena olivat työn ja perheen yhteensovittamiseen liittyvät myönteiset ja kielteiset siirräntäkokemukset. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin yksilöön, perheeseen ja työhön liittyvien tekijöiden yhteyttä siirräntäkokemuksiin sekä sitä, oliko sukupuolella itsenäistä (muut taustatekijät vakioituina) yhteyttä työ- ja perhe-elämän siirräntäkokemuksiin. Kyselytutkimukseen osallistui 1301 viiteen eri ammattiliittoon tai yhdistykseen (Ekonomiliitto, Insinööriliitto, Tekniikan Akateemiset, Kumula ry, Henry ry) kuuluvaa johtotehtävissä toimivaa henkilöä, joista naisia oli 30 % ja miehiä 70 %. Tutkimuskysymysten sisäisen konsistenssin arviointiin käytettiin Cronbachin alfa-kerrointa. Tilastollisessa analyysissä käytettiin khiin neliötestiä (epäjatkuvat muuttujat),t-testiä (jatkuvat muuttujat), korrelaatiokertoimia sekä hierarkkista logistista regressioanalyysiä. Tutkimus osoitti, että miesjohtajat olivat naisia vanhempia, heistä suurempi osa eli parisuhteessa, heillä oli useampia kotona asuvia lapsia ja miesjohtajien puoliso työskenteli useammin osa-aikaisena kuin naisjohtajien puolisot. Naisjohtajat olivat miesjohtajia korkeammin koulutettuja, mutta siitä huolimatta he työskentelivät alemmilla johtotasoilla kuin miehet. Lisäksi havaittiin, että miehet kokivat naisia enemmän työstä perheeseen suuntautuvaa aikaan perustuvaa ristiriitaa. Sen sijaan naisjohtajat kokivat miesjohtajia enemmän työstä perheeseen suuntautuvaa kuormitukseen perustuvaa ristiriitaa, mutta myös enemmän myönteistä siirräntää sekä työstä perheeseen että perheestä työhön. Kun muut taustatekijät vakioitiin, naissukupuolen todettiin olevan itsenäinen työstä perheeseen suuntautuvan kuormitukseen perustuvan ristiriidan riskitekijä.  Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä on, että naissukupuoli on merkittävä työn ja perheen yhteensovittamisen ongelmiin liittyvä riskitekijä. Tämä tulisi huomioida paremmin tulevaisuuden henkilöstöjohtamisessa naisjohtajien työhön ja perheeseen liittyvän hyvinvoinnin lisäämiseksi

Foucault, normativity and critique as a practice of the self

In this paper I distinguish between two main critical questions: ?how possible? questions, which look for enabling conditions (empirical or transcendental) and raise issues of epistemic normativity; and ?whether permissible? questions, which relate to conditions of legitimacy and ethical normativity. I examine the interplay of both types of questions in Foucault?s work and argue that this helps us to understand both the function of the historical a priori in the archeological period and the subsequent accusations of crypto-normativity levelled against Foucault by commentators such as Taylor and Habermas. I chart the complex conceptual space available for a defense. After examining several possible replies (in particular deflationary and constructivist), I conclude that the most effective option, and the one that fits Foucault?s approach best, is to refuse the demand for normative justification as self-defeating, and to opt for the cultivation of an appropriate ethical sensibility through an emphasis on critique as a performative practice of the self. I offer in conclusion some thoughts on what such practice may look like for Foucault

Bile-volatile organic compounds in the diagnostics of pancreatic cancer and biliary obstruction : A prospective proof-of-concept study

Objectives: Detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from bodily fluids with field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) and related methods has been studied in various settings. Preliminary results suggest that it is possible to detect prostate, colorectal, ovarian and pancreatic cancer from urine samples. In this study, our primary aim was to differentiate pancreatic cancer from pancreatitis and benign tumours of the pancreas by using bile samples obtained during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Secondarily, we aimed to differentiate all pancreatic region malignancies from all other kinds of benign causes of biliary obstruction. Methods: A bile sample was successfully aspirated from 94 patients during ERCP in Tampere University Hospital. Hospital and patient records were prospectively followed up for at least two years after ERCP. Bile samples were analysed using a Lonestar chemical analyser (Owlstone, UK) using an ATLAS sampling system and a split-flow box. Diagnoses and corresponding data from the analyses were matched and divided into two subcategories for comparison. Statistical analysis was performed using linear discriminant analysis, support vector machines, and 5-fold cross-validation. Results: Pancreatic cancers (n=8) were differentiated from benign pancreatic lesions (n=9) with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 77.8%, and correct rate of 88%. All pancreatic region cancers (n=19) were differentiated from all other kinds of benign causes of biliary obstruction (n=75) with corresponding values of 21.1%, 94.7%, and 80.7%. The sample size was too small to try to differentiate pancreatic cancers from adjacent cancers. Conclusion: Analysing bile VOCs using FAIMS shows promising capability in detecting pancreatic cancer and other cancers in the pancreatic area.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Expected impact of MRI-related interreader variability on ProScreen prostate cancer screening trial: a pre-trial validation study

Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the potential impact of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) -related interreader variability on a population-based randomized prostate cancer screening trial (ProScreen). Methods: From January 2014 to January 2018, 100 men aged 50-63 years with clinical suspicion of prostate cancer (PCa) in Helsinki University Hospital underwent MRI. Nine radiologists individually reviewed the pseudonymized MRI scans of all 100 men in two ProScreen trial centers. All 100 men were biopsied according to a histological composite variable comprising radical prostatectomy histology (N = 38) or biopsy result within 1 year from the imaging (N = 62). Fleiss' kappa (kappa) was used to estimate the combined agreement between all individual radiologists. Sample data were subsequently extrapolated to 1000-men subgroups of the ProScreen cohort. Results: Altogether 89% men of the 100-men sample were diagnosed with PCa within a median of 2.4 years of follow-up. Clinically significant PCa (csPCa) was identified in 76% men. For all PCa, mean sensitivity was 79% (SD +/- 10%, range 62-96%), and mean specificity 60% (SD +/- 22%, range 27-82%). For csPCa (Gleason Grade 2-5) MRI was equally sensitive (mean 82%, SD +/- 9%, range 67-97%) but less specific (mean 47%, SD +/- 20%, range 21-75%). Interreader agreement for any lesion was fair (kappa 0.40) and for PI-RADS 4-5 lesions it was moderate (kappa 0.60). Upon extrapolating these data, the average sensitivity and specificity to a screening positive subgroup of 1000 men from ProScreen with a 30% prevalence of csPCa, 639 would be biopsied. Of these, 244 men would be true positive, and 395 false positive. Moreover, 361 men would not be referred to biopsy and among these, 56 csPCas would be missed. The variation among the radiologists was broad as the least sensitive radiologist would have twice as many men biopsied and almost three times more men would undergo unnecessary biopsies. Although the most sensitive radiologist would miss only 2.6% of csPCa (false negatives), the least sensitive radiologist would miss every third. Conclusions: Interreader agreement was fair to moderate. The role of MRI in the ongoing ProScreen trial is crucial and has a substantial impact on the screening process.Peer reviewe

Expected impact of MRI-related interreader variability on ProScreen prostate cancer screening trial: a pre-trial validation study

Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the potential impact of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) -related interreader variability on a population-based randomized prostate cancer screening trial (ProScreen). Methods: From January 2014 to January 2018, 100 men aged 50-63 years with clinical suspicion of prostate cancer (PCa) in Helsinki University Hospital underwent MRI. Nine radiologists individually reviewed the pseudonymized MRI scans of all 100 men in two ProScreen trial centers. All 100 men were biopsied according to a histological composite variable comprising radical prostatectomy histology (N = 38) or biopsy result within 1 year from the imaging (N = 62). Fleiss' kappa (kappa) was used to estimate the combined agreement between all individual radiologists. Sample data were subsequently extrapolated to 1000-men subgroups of the ProScreen cohort. Results: Altogether 89% men of the 100-men sample were diagnosed with PCa within a median of 2.4 years of follow-up. Clinically significant PCa (csPCa) was identified in 76% men. For all PCa, mean sensitivity was 79% (SD +/- 10%, range 62-96%), and mean specificity 60% (SD +/- 22%, range 27-82%). For csPCa (Gleason Grade 2-5) MRI was equally sensitive (mean 82%, SD +/- 9%, range 67-97%) but less specific (mean 47%, SD +/- 20%, range 21-75%). Interreader agreement for any lesion was fair (kappa 0.40) and for PI-RADS 4-5 lesions it was moderate (kappa 0.60). Upon extrapolating these data, the average sensitivity and specificity to a screening positive subgroup of 1000 men from ProScreen with a 30% prevalence of csPCa, 639 would be biopsied. Of these, 244 men would be true positive, and 395 false positive. Moreover, 361 men would not be referred to biopsy and among these, 56 csPCas would be missed. The variation among the radiologists was broad as the least sensitive radiologist would have twice as many men biopsied and almost three times more men would undergo unnecessary biopsies. Although the most sensitive radiologist would miss only 2.6% of csPCa (false negatives), the least sensitive radiologist would miss every third. Conclusions: Interreader agreement was fair to moderate. The role of MRI in the ongoing ProScreen trial is crucial and has a substantial impact on the screening process.Peer reviewe