The Knitted Fabric of Finland : Contemporary Handcrafted Wooly Socks Depicting the Nation State

Textiles have played a key role in local and national cultures not only because of their utility and functionality, but also in terms of the symbolic value that they have for a particular social group, populace, or nation. Given the erratic and myriad nature of these communities, the focus of this article is on mapping out differentiation in the designs of contemporary wooly socks that find their source of inspiration in an imaginary of Finland celebrating its national centenary in 2017. In this endeavor, the article refines how an idea of a nation is reflected on through knitted craftwork, and how the divergence and layeredness of these designs not only reaffirms and evokes traditions but also develops the culture of knitting in contemporary times. In conclusion, the article contributes to the decoding of a textile design process in reflection of the recollection of the experiences of rootedness, the reproduction of the expression and the use of communicative images, and the negotiation of hybrid social realities voiced through the materiality of making.Textiles have played a key role in local and national cultures not only because of their utility and functionality, but also in terms of the symbolic value that they have for a particular social group, populace, or nation. Given the erratic and myriad nature of these communities, the focus of this article is on mapping out differentiation in the designs of contemporary wooly socks that find their source of inspiration in an imaginary of Finland celebrating its national centenary in 2017. In this endeavor, the article refines how an idea of a nation is reflected on through knitted craftwork, and how the divergence and layeredness of these designs not only reaffirms and evokes traditions but also develops the culture of knitting in contemporary times. In conclusion, the article contributes to the decoding of a textile design process in reflection of the recollection of the experiences of rootedness, the reproduction of the expression and the use of communicative images, and the negotiation of hybrid social realities voiced through the materiality of making.Peer reviewe

Online matters : Future visions of digital making and materiality in hobby crafting

Over the past twenty years, hobby crafting has experienced a revival of interest, as people have started to seek new ways to engage with crafts as creative leisure in an increasingly digital world. Along the way, emerging, digital technologies have provided new tools and ways to engage in hobby crafting. Indeed, today's hobby crafts are frequently concerned with material mediated via the internet and accomplished with the aid of software, which also affects our understanding of maker identities in online communities. This article argues that digitalization has not only revolutionized hobbyist craft making with new tools and technologies, but has also paved new ways for practising creative skills, which has had a significant impact on makers' engagements with craft materials, objects and communities of practices. This is demonstrated through netnographic explorations on Facebook's leisure craft community where digital material practices are increasingly prevalent in hobbyists' everyday life. As a conclusion, the article speculates on visions of the future of hobby crafts and its relevance as a leisure pursuit.Peer reviewe

YHTEISET ARVOT - MONIKULTTUURISEN TYÖYHTEISÖN PERUSTA

Anttonen, Merja & Kouhia, Susanna. Yhteiset arvot – Monikulttuurisen työyhteisön perusta. Helsinki, kevät 2018. 53 sivua, 4 liitettä. Diakonia-ammattikorkeakoulu. Hoitotyön koulutusohjelma, sairaanhoitaja (AMK)/Hoitotyön koulutusohjelma, terveydenhoitaja (AMK). Opinnäytetyö on kehittämispainotteinen. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää yhteisten arvojen merkitystä monikulttuurisessa työyhteisössä terveydenhoitoalalla. Opinnäytetyö pohjautuu Diakonia-ammattikorkeakoulun yhteistyökumppanin maahanmuuttajataustaisille työntekijöille tekemiin haastatteluihin, joiden pohjalta toteutettiin keväällä 2016 ”Arvot ja asenteet” -työpaja. Työpajan tarkoituksena oli löytää yhteisiä työvälineitä työyhteisön arvomaailman löytämiseksi ja herättää keskustelua työyhteisölle tärkeistä arvoista. Tarkoituksena opinnäytetyössä oli tarkastella haastatteluissa sekä työpajassa esiin tulleita haasteita, joita monikulttuurisessa työyhteisössä usein on. Kulttuurien välinen ymmärrys, avoimuus sekä työyhteisön jäsenten välinen kunnioitus ja luottamus lisäävät monikulttuurisen työyhteisön yhteisöllisyyttä ja sen jäsenten yhdenvertaisuutta. Opinnäytetyössä tarkastellaan ja kuvataan erilaisia kulttuurillisia arvoja, terveydenhuoltoalan arvoja sekä monikulttuurisen työyhteisön haasteita. Opinnäytetyössä etsitään ratkaisumalleja yhdenvertaisen ja tasa-arvoisen työilmapiirin luomiseksi. Opinnäytetyössä korostetaan eri kulttuurillisten arvojen ymmärtämistä ja avoimuutta sekä ulkomaalaistaustaisen työntekijän perehdytystä ja sopeutumista uuteen työyhteisöön ja suomalaiseen työkulttuuriin. Asiasanat: monikulttuurisuus, työyhteisö, arvot, perehdytys, yhdenvertaisuusAnttonen, Merja & Kouhia, Susanna. Common values - The basis of multicultural work community. 53 pages, 4 appendices. Language: Finnish. Helsinki, Spring 2018. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. Degree Programme in Nursing, Option in Nursing. Degree: Nurse/Option in Health Care. Degree: Public Health Nurse. The thesis is development-oriented, aiming to discuss the importance of common values in a multicultural work community in the healthcare sector. The purpose was to collaboratively define and develop a set of shared values for the work community and to awake discussions around the values and principles that were important for them. The development process began by interviewing employees with an immigrant background from DIAK (UAS) partnership organization and continued by conducting a workshop "Arvot ja Asenteet” in the spring 2016. The challenges that came up in interviews and workshops are often found in a multicultural work community. The thesis examined and described different cultural values, the values of the health care industry and the challenges of a multicultural work community. Solutions were sought to create an equal work environment. The understanding about different cultural values as well as a new employee's work orientation, adaptation to a work community and to Finnish work culture were emphasized in the thesis. Especially, was stated that understanding, mutual respect and trust between the members of the work community increase the communality of the multicultural work community and the equality of its members. Keywords: multiculturalism, work community, values, orientation, equalit

At the Intersection of the Digital and the Material : Teaching and Learning Crafts during the Pandemic

Although the value of crafted artefacts and craft activities is recognized in contemporary research and discussion, crafts as a standard school subject is still struggling with stereotypic labels; some consider the subject a relic from the past. This commentary demonstrates that crafts is an innovative school subject that engages students in creative thinking and up-to-date digital-material practices. The commentary relies on Finnish craft teachers’ experiences of learning and teaching crafts during the Covid-19 pandemic. Material was collected in two webinars in autumn 2020.Peer reviewe

Knitting Noodles : Creating a Playworld for Craft through Unconventional Material Experimentation

The article explores play that draws inspiration from an arena previously widely understudied: playful craft making using food as a medium for human-material interaction. Through using the theoretical and analytical framework of Johan Huizinga (1949) as a starting point, we analyse the emergence of the elements of play in a process of noodle knitting. In detail, we consider how food operates as a new material for the craft makers to work with, resulting in fluctuating intensity of play when knitting the pasta yarns. The methodology of the article leans on an autoethnographic approach complemented by cooperative analysis of the memories and experiences connected with the noodle knitting experiment. Results emphasised how the noodle knitting project created a world of its own as a result of imagination, and demanded its own order as the playful process unfolded. Essentially, the activity was considered as play by the practitioners, because of the feeling of fun connected with the unconventional craft material and the playworld of noodle knitting. As a conclusion, we propose that unexpected materials bring forward new forms of creativity, promoting a broader understanding of artistry and skilled making.The article explores play that draws inspiration from an arena previously widely understudied: playful craft making using food as a medium for human-material interaction. Through using the theoretical and analytical framework of Johan Huizinga (1949) as a starting point, we analyse the emergence of the elements of play in a process of noodle knitting. In detail, we consider how food operates as a new material for the craft makers to work with, resulting in fluctuating intensity of play when knitting the pasta yarns. The methodology of the article leans on an autoethnographic approach complemented by cooperative analysis of the memories and experiences connected with the noodle knitting experiment. Results emphasised how the noodle knitting project created a world of its own as a result of imagination, and demanded its own order as the playful process unfolded. Essentially, the activity was considered as play by the practitioners, because of the feeling of fun connected with the unconventional craft material and the playworld of noodle knitting. As a conclusion, we propose that unexpected materials bring forward new forms of creativity, promoting a broader understanding of artistry and skilled making.Peer reviewe

Crafting the City : Promoting Heritage Awareness Through Craft Making in a Historical Town

This paper reports on a project designed to promote the understanding of the World Heritage site of Old Rauma, Finland, with the help of craft activities. Through fieldwork and an analysis of the data collected from two craft interventions, the paper examines how craft making can serve as a medium to celebrate a sense of place and inspire people to deliberate the role that heritage occupies in their everyday lives. Based on the study, it can be concluded that attention needs to be placed on the teaching and learning of creative practices in order to contribute to the makers’ perceptions of placeness and to sustain local development as well as to promote heritage in a historical town.This paper reports on a project designed to promote the understanding of the World Heritage site of Old Rauma, Finland, with the help of craft activities. Through fieldwork and an analysis of the data collected from two craft interventions, the paper examines how craft making can serve as a medium to celebrate a sense of place and inspire people to deliberate the role that heritage occupies in their everyday lives. Based on the study, it can be concluded that attention needs to be placed on the teaching and learning of creative practices in order to contribute to the makers’ perceptions of placeness and to sustain local development as well as to promote heritage in a historical town.Peer reviewe

The different levels of magneto-mechanical coupling in energy conversion machines and devices

This paper reviews the methods for coupling the magnetic and mechanical problems in magnetic materials and their application to electrical machines. The reviewed methods include both the material models and the computing methods as well as the methods for computing the magnetic forces. The paper shows that there are different levels of coupling the magnetic system with the mechanical one and that the use of a method or another depends on the application and the level of accuracy aimed at. The paper also clarifies some terms and concepts related to the coupling terminology such as strong, weak, local, global, direct and indirect coupling and put these terms in a coherent context. Most of the examples are related to the two dimensional analysis but some three dimensional ones are also shown

Suomen käsityönopetus myllerryksessä

In this article, we investigated how craft curriculum enacted in 2016 is reflected in the current discussions of the craft stakeholders, that is, the teachers, the government employees, the researchers, and the student teachers. In the curriculum, textile craft and technical craft, previously perceived mainly as separate entities, were conjoined as an approach in which “multiple materials are used, and activities are based on craft expression, design, and technology” (FNBE, 2014). This caused confusion in the field about the goals of craft education. The discussions concerning the undertaking of the new craft curriculum were analysed by document analysis. The data consisted of craft teachers’ professional magazines, curriculum blog, and written statements. Three emerging themes were found to be central: lesson hour distribution, multi-materiality, and technology education. The analysis revealed that there was a shared understanding about the lesson hour distribution not being enough to enable the proper fulfilment of the craft curriculum. Conflicting views were expressed about the implementation of multi-materiality and technology education. In general, the textile craft stakeholders were open to adapt a more multi-material approach to their teaching, seeing it as bringing also new opportunities. Many technical craft teachers believed that multi-materiality is an artificially-constructed concept, and they saw technology education as already being an essential part of technical craft teaching. Obviously, the curriculum reform has caused turbulence that is dividing craft stakeholders and especially the craft teachers.In this article, we investigated how craft curriculum enacted in 2016 was reflected in the current discussions of the stakeholders, that is, the craft teachers, the craft student teachers, the craft teacher educators, and the government employees. In the curriculum, textile craft and technical craft, previously perceived mainly as separate entities, were conjoined as an approach in which “multiple materials are used, and activities are based on craft expression, design, and technology” (FNBE, 2014). This caused confusion in the field about the goals and arrangements of craft education. The data consisted of craft teachers’ professional magazines, curriculum blog, and written statements. The discussions concerning the undertaking of the new craft curriculum were analysed by document analysis. Three emerging themes were found to be central in the debates: lesson hour distribution, multi-materiality, and technology education. The analysis revealed that there was a shared understanding about the lesson hour distribution not being enough to enable the proper fulfilment of the craft curriculum. Conflicting views were expressed about the implementation of multi-materiality and technology education. In general, many textile craft stakeholders were open to adapt a more multi-material approach, seeing it as bringing new opportunities to craft education. Many technical craft stakeholders believed that multi-materiality is an artificially-constructed concept, and they saw technology education as already being an essential part of technical craft teaching. Consequently, the curriculum reform has caused turbulence that is dividing the craft stakeholders and especially the craft teachers.Peer reviewe

Koronakäsityöt Instagramin kuvavirrassa

Monet totutut arjen käytännöt ja harrastukset joutuivat pakotetulle tauolle maaliskuussa 2020 maailmanlaajuisten pandemiarajoitusten myötä. Poikkeusolosuhteet pysäyttivät, mutta antoivat toisaalta tilaa monille perheen ja kodin piirissä toteutetuille harrastuksille ja aktiviteeteille, kuten käsitöille. Artikkelissa tarkastellaan käsitöiden näyttäytymistä Instagramissa pandemian aikana. Tutkimuksen aineistona ovat Instagramissa julkaistut koronakäsityöaiheiset julkaisut keväästä 2020 vuoden 2021 loppuun sekä yhdeksän kuvia julkaisseen harrastajan haastattelut. Analyysin tuloksena todetaan käsityön näyttäytyneen reaktiivisena, ilmaisullisena ja kokemuksellisena ajanvietteenä, jonka kautta merkityksellistettiin koettua korona-arkea. Käsityötä tehtiin koronan aikana kotien materiaalien innoittamana ja rajoittamana, kuten viimeistelemällä kesken jääneitä käsitöitä ja käyttämällä loppuun kotoa löytyneitä materiaalivarastoja. Myös ”neuloosi” korostui korona-ajan käsityöjulkaisuissa. Koronakäsityöjulkaisujen digitaalinen materiaalisuus korosti käsitöiden tuotteisuutta ja mahdollisti myös käsitöiden etenevän, päiväkirjamaisen dokumentoinnin sekä prosessin jakamisen.Peer reviewe