Linguistic structures, situation and politeness : requests in Finnish as a second language textbooks and in authentic service encounters

The study is concerned with the models of interaction represented in Finnish as a second language (L2) textbook dialogues. The analysis focuses on service encounter dialogues and more specifically on the requests of goods and services in the service phase of the encounter. The main questions of the study are the following: What kinds of linguistic structures are used to realize the speech function of request in different service encounter dialogues? How do these requests differ from the requests used in similar authentic service encounters? Compared to the authentic data, how representative are the models given in textbook dialogues? What kinds of factors might account for the different linguistic realizations in textbooks and authentic data? What kind of interpersonal communication is realized in dialogues and what kind of model of situationally appropriate language use do the textbooks present to the reader? From a broader perspective, how is politeness construed in the dialogues? ----- The corpus for the study consists of 9 widely used Finnish L2 textbooks directed at adult learners. The comparative data for the study includes data collected from similar authentic service encounters: transcriptions of videotaped interaction (collected mainly by a project on service encounters conducted by The Institute for the Languages of Finland) and data gathered through observation of recurrent simple service encounters. Methodologically, the study combines different but intertwining frameworks: the broader background for the study is L2 textbook research, the analysis of the data draws on conversation analysis and on lexico-grammatical concepts from Finnish traditional grammar and from Halliday's functional grammar, the description of interpersonality, situational appropriateness and (im)politeness employs and adapts current, discursive approaches to politeness. The study shows that requests in textbook dialogues are often realized in ways that do not reflect the situational variation of authentic data: full clauses as requests are often used even in routine requests, often including the verb saanko ('may I have') or the modal verb voinko ('can/could I') in the interrogative; NP requests (e.g. a coffee, thanks) are used less frequently. On the other hand, textbook dialogues tend to use more explicit formulations such as haluan ('I want'), which can make requests emphatic and demanding. While the progression of grammar in the textbooks is undoubtedly a factor motivating the realizations of requests, choosing situationally atypical forms of requesting in dialogues, nevertheless, also affects interpersonal meanings and the way in which textbooks represent social reality. The study also combines the results of the detailed grammatical analysis with current politeness research. The main contribution of the study to the current discussion on politeness is that politeness research cannot be isolated from the analysis of a large and varied authentic corpus: to be able to determine the socially appropriate forms of requesting in certain types of service encounters (or in this case, in textbook dialogues simulating certain types of service encounters) and the forms that could be considered situationally impolite or overpolite, the researcher needs to study the kinds of structures that are typical in similar situation types in authentic data. The results of the study are applicable to Finnish L2 teaching and especially to Finnish L2 textbook writing. The study also suggests ways in which textbooks could be constructed to make them represent more appropriately the situational variation and interpersonal meanings present in authentic communication.Pyynnöt ovat kielenoppijan kannalta haastava ja monimuotoinen ilmiö: ei ole olemassa yhtä ainoaa tilanteeseen kuin tilanteeseen soveltuvaa tapaa pyytää, vaan pyynnön kielellisessä ilmaisemisessa on välttämättä otettava huomioon sosiaalinen tilanne ja konteksti. Myös asiointitilanteiden vuorovaikutuskäytänteiden oppiminen on kakkoskielisille puhujille olennaista, sillä he joutuvat toimimaan erilaisissa asiointitilanteissa lähes päivittäin jo Suomessa asumisen alkuvaiheissa, usein hyvinkin vähäisen kielitaidon turvin. Tutkimuksessani vertailen aikuisille kielenoppijoille tarkoitettujen oppikirjojen asiointidialogeja niitä tilanteiltaan mahdollisimman vastaaviin todellisiin asiointitilanteisiin. Työni keskeisenä antina on sen kuvaaminen, millä täsmällisillä kielellisillä tavoilla oppikirjadialogien pyynnöt eroavat vastaavasta todellisesta vuorovaikutuksesta ja millaisia puhujien välisiin suhteisiin liittyviä merkityksiä tällaiset oppikirjojen tilanteisesti epätyypilliset pyynnöt voivat luoda. Minkälaista tietoa tilanteeseen soveltuvasta kielenkäytöstä ja kohteliaisuudesta dialogit välittävät lukijalleen? Todellisissa asiointikeskusteluissa on yleensä havaittavissa vakiintuneita tilannetyyppisiä tapoja ilmaista tuotteen tai palvelun pyyntöä. Oppikirjadialogien pyynnöt kuitenkin eroavat usein näistä tyypillisistä pyytämisen tavoista: vaikka dialogit voivat myös heijastaa kielellistä todellisuutta, dialogien vuorot ovat usein tilanteisesti epätyypillisiä pyytämisen tapoja ja toisinaan jopa tulkittavissa epäkohteliaiksi tai ylikohteliaiksi. Tällaiset tilanteisesti epätyypilliset pyytämisen tavat motivoituvat usein oppikirjan kieliopin etenemisestä. Toinen huomioitava asia on se, että mielikuvamme keskustelun kulusta eivät useinkaan vastaa todellista kielenkäyttöä. Ennen kuin oppikirjoissa voidaan esitellä tilannetyyppisesti luontevia asiointitilanteita, on oltava tietoa siitä, mitkä ovat todellisissa keskusteluissa tyypillisiä tapoja toimia erilaisissa tilannetyypeissä, millaista tilannetyyppistä variaatiota niissä esiintyy ja mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat erilaisten kielellisten valintojen taustalla. Kun nämä valinnan taustalla vaikuttavat vuorovaikutustekijät on kuvattu, saatua tietoa voidaan soveltaa käytännön opetukseen. Tutkimuksen tuloksia ja metodeja onkin mahdollista hyödyntää suomi toisena ja vieraana kielenä -opetuksessa ja oppimateriaalien suunnittelussa. Tutkimus osallistuu myös laajempaan keskusteluun kohteliaisuudesta, erityisesti ns. kohteliaisuudentutkimuksen uudempaan, vuorovaikutteisempaan suuntaukseen, jonka näkökulmasta suomen kieltä ei toistaiseksi ole tutkittu. Tutkimuksessa esitetään malli, jonka avulla oppikirjojen dialogien tilanteista soveltuvuutta ja kohteliaisuutta voi arvioida käytäntöyhteisön ja vuorovaikutuksen näkökulmasta: jotta tutkija ei jäisi pelkän intuition varaan, on tutkittava mahdollisimman suurta määrää autenttisia keskusteluja ja tarkasteltava, mikä on niissä tyypillistä. Vasta kun tämä tietomme autenttisten pyyntöjen käyttöyhteyksistä yhdistetään kielellisen muotoilun tarkasteluun, voidaan arvioida, mikä autenttista vuorovaikutusta simuloivissa oppikirjadialogeissa on tilanteeseen soveltuvaa, mikä mahdollisesti (epä)kohteliasta

Organizational Initiatives for Promoting Employee Work-Life Reconciliation Over the Life Course. A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies

This review aimed to explore the initiatives, interventions, and experiments implemented by employing organizations and designed to support the work-life reconciliation at workplaces, and the effects of these actions on employees’ well-being at work. A systematic literature review was conducted on the basis of a search in PsycInfo, ERIC, and the ISI Web of Science database of Social Sciences between January 2000 and May 2015. Those studies were included in which either organizational or individual-level initiatives, interventions, or experiments were implemented by employers at workplaces in order to promote the work-life reconciliation of their employees. Work-life reconciliation was considered to encompass all life domains and all career stages from early to the end of working career. The content analysis of 11 studies showed that effective employer actions focused on working time, care arrangements, and training for supervisors and employees. Flexibility, in terms of both working time and other arrangements provided for employees, and support from supervisors decreased work-family conflict, improved physical health and job satisfaction, and also reduced the number of absence days and turnover intentions. Overall, very few intervention studies exist investigating the effects of employer-induced work-life initiatives. One should particularly note the conditions under which interventions are most successful, since many contextual and individual-level factors influence the effects of organizational initiatives on employee and organizational outcomes

Organizational Initiatives for Promoting Employee Work-Life Reconciliation Over the Life Course. A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies

This review aimed to explore the initiatives, interventions, and experiments implemented by employing organizations and designed to support the work-life reconciliation at workplaces, and the effects of these actions on employees’ well-being at work. A systematic literature review was conducted on the basis of a search in PsycInfo, ERIC, and the ISI Web of Science database of Social Sciences between January 2000 and May 2015. Those studies were included in which either organizational or individual-level initiatives, interventions, or experiments were implemented by employers at workplaces in order to promote the work-life reconciliation of their employees. Work-life reconciliation was considered to encompass all life domains and all career stages from early to the end of working career. The content analysis of 11 studies showed that effective employer actions focused on working time, care arrangements, and training for supervisors and employees. Flexibility, in terms of both working time and other arrangements provided for employees, and support from supervisors decreased work-family conflict, improved physical health and job satisfaction, and also reduced the number of absence days and turnover intentions. Overall, very few intervention studies exist investigating the effects of employer-induced work-life initiatives. One should particularly note the conditions under which interventions are most successful, since many contextual and individual-level factors influence the effects of organizational initiatives on employee and organizational outcomes

Svenskspråkigas skriftpraktiker: en fallstudie av två företag i Helsingfors- och Vasaregionen

Peer reviewe

Session A, 2015 First Place: Whatever the Case May Be: Investigating Trichoptera Diversity in Three Adirondack Streams

Caddisfly larvae are used as an indicator species for stream health. Anthropogenic development and pollution threaten the quality of streams and the diversity of macroinvertebrates such as caddisflies. The larvae develop in the stream in cases built from sand and organic matter and adults remain near the stream. We hypothesize that the diversity of larvae will be the same as the diversity of adults in three streams at Cranberry Lake Biological Station. Larvae were collected at ten sites in three streams near the campus using d-nets and forceps. Adults were caught at one site at each stream at night using a UV light trap. The ANOVA/Tukey’s Test, Shannon-Weiner Index, paired t-test, and Sorenson’s Coefficient were all performed to determine the difference in diversity between all three streams and between larvae and adults at each stream. The results of the ANOVA/Tukey’s Test showed no significant difference in diversity between all three sites. We reject our null hypothesis, as the paired t-test done for each stream site between aquatic and terrestrial samples showed no significant difference. We therefore conclude that terrestrial caddisfly diversity can be indicative of stream health

Health-related quality of life in patients with chronic orofacial pain compared with other chronic pain patients

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of orofacial pain patients is lower than that of the general population and impaired in multiple dimensions. The aim of the present study was to investigate HRQoL of orofacial pain patients in comparison with patients suffering from other chronic pain disorders. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty-one tertiary care facial pain patients (mean age, 50 years; standard deviation [SD], 15; 119 females), were compared with 312 other non-cancer chronic pain patients (mean age, 46 years; SD, 13; 204 women), recruited from three multidisciplinary pain clinics in Finland. The groups were compared using the 15D, and pain-related measures such as pain interference, pain acceptance, anxiety, depression, and sleep. Statistical comparisons between groups were done using t test, chi(2) test, or analysis of covariance. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to study whether pain-related aspects influencing HRQoL are similar between the patient groups. Results: The 15D score was significantly higher in facial pain patients (0.823; SD, 0.114) indicating better HRQoL in comparison with other chronic pain patients (0.732; SD, 0.107) (p < .001). The 15D profiles of studied populations resembled each other but orofacial pain patients showed significantly higher scores for most individual 15D dimensions. Dimensions regarding discomfort and symptoms and sleep were most affected in both groups. Orofacial pain patients showed less psychosocial disability and better acceptance of their pain. Pain acceptance was a weaker explanatory factor of HRQoL in orofacial pain patients. Conclusion: Compared to other non-cancer chronic pain, chronic pain in the orofacial area causes less impairment in HRQoL Orofacial pain patients showed less psychosocial disability and better pain acceptance.Peer reviewe

The Heart of Living and Dying: Upstreaming Advance Care Planning into Community Conversations in the Public Domain in Northern Ireland.

This paper provides an evaluation of the Heart of Living and Dying (HLD) Initiative. This initiative is a group process that attempts to bring Advance Care Planning (ACP) into the public domain. It encourages participants to consider what matters to them in their living along with their hopes, preferences, and wishes for their final years and end-of-life care. An inductive, interpretive, and naturalistic approach allowed the researcher to study these phenomena in their natural setting i.e., the community. This qualitative study used 5 focus groups with 17 people and employed thematic data analysis to identify key themes. All participants in the HLD speak from a personal perspective irrespective of any professional background. It transpired that 16 respondents worked in health and social care, which subsequently became noteworthy in the findings. Three key themes were identified: (a) feeling emotionally safe enough to have such sensitive conversations is vital; (b) participating in the HLD process increases the confidence of those participants who worked in health and social care, to undertake ACP conversations and (c) planning ahead is a complex, staged process rather than a single record-making event. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis reinforced the need to upstream ACP initiatives such as the HLD, as the norm for everyone, since all of us will one day die. It is recommended that the HLD be incorporated within ACP training given that the experiential nature of it and the use of groups was reported to build confidence in facilitating ACP conversations. A virtual HLD process needs to be developed to adapt to restrictions on gatherings due to Covid 19

Vaikuttava työuupumusinterventio : Systemaattinen katsaus ja toimintaohjeita

Liiallinen työkuormitus voi johtaa työntekijän uupumiseen, joka lisää työkyvyttömyyden riskiä. Työuupumuksen käsittelemiseksi ei kuitenkaan ole luotu yhtenäistä käytäntöä työterveyshuoltoon ja työpaikoille. Kokosimme tiedon työuupumuksen lievittämiseksi toteutetuista interventiosta systemaattiseen katsaukseen ja arvioimme interventioiden vaikuttavuutta meta-analyysin avulla. Lisäksi kokosimme työuupumuksesta toipumista kartoittaneiden laadullisten tutkimusten antia. Tulosten perusteella työuupuneille suunnattuja arviointitutkimuksia oli tehty melko vähän. Arvioidut interventiot olivat suuntautuneet pääosin yksilön tukemiseen. Meta-analyysin perusteella yksilöön suuntautuva interventio ei kuitenkaan takaa oireiden lievittymistä. Laadimme laadullisten tutkimusten tulosten perusteella suosituksia siitä, miten työuupumuksesta toipumista voidaan edistää työterveyshuollon ja työpaikan toimin

Extractives of Tree Biomass of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) for Biorefining in Four Climatic Regions in Finland—Lipophilic Compounds, Stilbenes, and Lignans

The aim of the study was to quantify total extractive contents and lipophilic compounds, stilbenes, and lignans in Scots pine stem wood, stem bark, branch biomass, and sawmill residues in four climatic regions of Finland to evaluate the most optimal sources of extractives for bio-based chemical biorefining and bioenergy products. Data were derived from 78 chip samples from the before-mentioned raw materials, the samples being pooled by tree height position from the sample trees of 42 experimental forest stands, and sawdust lots from 10 log stands. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) was employed to determine total extractive contents, followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC–FID) to quantify extractive groups and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to analyse individual extractive compounds. Resin acids and triglycerides followed by fatty acids were the dominant extractive groups. Resin acids were most abundant in stem wood from final fellings and in sawdust, fatty acids in bark and branch biomass, and triglycerides also in stem wood from thinnings and the top parts of trees. Of the minor extractive groups, stilbenes were the most abundant in stem wood from final fellings and in sawdust, and steryl esters, sterols, and lignans in bark and branch biomass, the two last groups almost missing from other biomass components. Regional differences in the contents of extractive groups were generally small, 1.0−1.5 percentage points at the maximum, but factor analysis distinguished northern and southern regions into their own groups. Bark was the most potential source of fatty acids and sterols in southern Finland, and triglycerides and steryl esters in northern Finland. In stem wood, steryl esters, triglycerides, and lignans decreased and stilbenes increased from north to south. Certain fatty acids and resin acids were more frequent in the north. The results highlighted the importance of focused procurement and efficient sorting of raw materials, purity, unique properties, and feasible isolation techniques for competitive ability as well as large raw material volumes or well-defined value-added products

Extractives of Tree Biomass of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) for Biorefining in Four Climatic Regions in Finland—Lipophilic Compounds, Stilbenes, and Lignans

The aim of the study was to quantify total extractive contents and lipophilic compounds, stilbenes, and lignans in Scots pine stem wood, stem bark, branch biomass, and sawmill residues in four climatic regions of Finland to evaluate the most optimal sources of extractives for bio-based chemical biorefining and bioenergy products. Data were derived from 78 chip samples from the before-mentioned raw materials, the samples being pooled by tree height position from the sample trees of 42 experimental forest stands, and sawdust lots from 10 log stands. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) was employed to determine total extractive contents, followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC–FID) to quantify extractive groups and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to analyse individual extractive compounds. Resin acids and triglycerides followed by fatty acids were the dominant extractive groups. Resin acids were most abundant in stem wood from final fellings and in sawdust, fatty acids in bark and branch biomass, and triglycerides also in stem wood from thinnings and the top parts of trees. Of the minor extractive groups, stilbenes were the most abundant in stem wood from final fellings and in sawdust, and steryl esters, sterols, and lignans in bark and branch biomass, the two last groups almost missing from other biomass components. Regional differences in the contents of extractive groups were generally small, 1.0−1.5 percentage points at the maximum, but factor analysis distinguished northern and southern regions into their own groups. Bark was the most potential source of fatty acids and sterols in southern Finland, and triglycerides and steryl esters in northern Finland. In stem wood, steryl esters, triglycerides, and lignans decreased and stilbenes increased from north to south. Certain fatty acids and resin acids were more frequent in the north. The results highlighted the importance of focused procurement and efficient sorting of raw materials, purity, unique properties, and feasible isolation techniques for competitive ability as well as large raw material volumes or well-defined value-added products