Näköaloja lapsiperheiden köyhyyteen ja huono-osaisuuteen Suomessa

Johanna Kallio & Mia Hakovirta (toim.): Lapsiperheiden köyhyys ja huono-osaisuus. Tampere: Vastapaino, 2020, 330 s. I S B N 978-951-768-816-

Gender dysphoria in adolescent population : A 5-year replication study

The aim of this study was to explore whether there has been an increase in prevalence and changes in sex ratio in feelings of gender dysphoria (GD) in an adolescent population in Northern Europe, and to study the impact of invalid responding on this topic. We replicated an earlier survey among junior high school students in Tampere, Finland. All first and second year students, aged 16-18, in the participating schools were invited to respond to an anonymous classroom survey on gender experience during the 2012-2013 school year and in the spring and autumn terms of 2017. Gender identity/GD was measured using the GIDYQ-A. A total of 318 male and 401 female youth participated in 2012-2013, and 326 male and 701 female youth in 2017. In the earlier survey, the GIDYQ-A scores, both among males and females, were strongly skewed toward a cis-gender experience with very narrow interquartile ranges. Of males, 2.2%, and of females, 0.5% nevertheless reported possibly clinically significant GD. The 2017 GIDYQ-A distribution was similarly skewed. The proportion of those reporting potentially clinically significant GD was 3.6% among males and 2.3% among females. Validity screening proved to have a considerable impact on conclusions. GD seems to have increased in prevalence in the adolescent population.Peer reviewe

Lapsiperheiden kotitalouden strategiat taloudellisen epävarmuuden ja perhepoliittisten muutosten kentällä

  Vuosien 2007–2008 talouskriisin jälkeinen hidas talouskasvu, epävarmat työmarkkinat ja säästö-toimenpiteet, kuten lapsilisien leikkaus, ovat heikentäneet perheiden taloudellista turvaa ja ajaneet lapsiperheitä köyhyyden, terveyserojen ja erilaisen pahoinvoinnin riskialueille. Artikkelissa analy-soimme lapsiperheiden arjessaan kehittämiä selviytymistapoja kotitalouden strategioiden (household strategies) sekä Bourdieun pääoman käsitteiden avulla. Artikkelin aineisto koostuu pohjanmaalaisten suomen- ja ruotsinkielisten lapsiperheiden haastatteluista. Tulosten perusteella julkisille palveluille ja tuille vaihtoehtoisten kotitalouden strategioiden merkitys on ilmeinen perheiden arjessa selviämisen kannalta. Strategiat voidaan jakaa Bourdieun erottelemien pääomien mukaisesti sosiaaliseen verkos-toon, taistelutahtona ilmenevään kulttuuriseen pääomaan sekä taloudellisiin järjestelyihin

Financial Stress and Subjective Wellbeing among Children -Evidence from Finland

In this article we analyse how subjective wellbeing amongst Finnish children is associated with experiences of financial stress, that is, worries about money and one’s financial situation. We focus on both affective and cognitive components of subjective wellbeing in order to receive a broader understanding on children’s subjective wellbeing. We use Finnish data from the International survey of children’s lives conducted by the Children’s Worlds Project during the years 2013–2014. The results show that experienced financial stress is negatively and more strongly associated with cognitive subjective wellbeing than with affective subjective wellbeing, even when controlling for socioeconomic and other factors found to be influential for subjective wellbeing in previous research.</p

Multi-site surface complexation modelling of Se(IV) sorption on biotite

A surface complexation model of Se(IV) sorption on biotite with one type of strong sorption sites and two types of weak sorption sites were developed based on experimental data obtained from titration, sorption edge and sorption isotherm experiments. Titration data was collected using a batch-wise manner together with back-titration to calibrate the effect of mineral dissolution in 0.01 M KClO4 background electrolytes from pH 3 to 11 in an inert atmosphere glovebox. Further calibrations of the titration curve include proton exchange and cation exchange in which the calculations of cation occupancies on biotite surfaces were taken into account. The sorption edge measurements were determined by measuring the sorption of 10(-9) M total Se with a radioactive Se-75 tracer on converted biotite in 0.01 M KClO4 solution from pH 3 to 11. Se sorption was observed to be strongly dependent on pH. Surface complexation modelling was performed by deriving a set of optimized parameters that can fit titration, sorption edge and sorption isotherm (at pH similar to 7.7) experimental data. A CASTEP code implemented into Materials Studio was used to calculate the site densities and site types on the biotite surfaces. Weak sorption sites with site densities of 3.2 sites/nm(2) and 1.4 sites/nm(2) were derived from the codes and used in the sorption model. A computer code that coupled PHREEQC with Python was developed for the fitting and optimizing processes. The model was validated by sorption data at pH similar to 9.5. The results show that the model can provide quantitative predicts of Se(IV) sorption in groundwater conditions of a deep geological repository and help improve the performance assessments by giving more convincing estimates of the release of radionuclides towards aquifers and biosphere.Peer reviewe

Two years of gender identity service for minors : overrepresentation of natal girls with severe problems in adolescent development

Background: Increasing numbers of adolescents present in adolescent gender identity services, desiring sex reassignment (SR). The aim of this study is to describe the adolescent applicants for legal and medical sex reassignment during the first two years of adolescent gender identity team in Finland, in terms of sociodemographic, psychiatric and gender identity related factors and adolescent development. Methods: Structured quantitative retrospective chart review and qualitative analysis of case files of all adolescent SR applicants who entered the assessment by the end of 2013. Results: The number of referrals exceeded expectations in light of epidemiological knowledge. Natal girls were markedly overrepresented among applicants. Severe psychopathology preceding onset of gender dysphoria was common. Autism spectrum problems were very common. Conclusion: The findings do not fit the commonly accepted image of a gender dysphoric minor. Treatment guidelines need to consider gender dysphoria in minors in the context of severe psychopathology and developmental difficulties.Peer reviewe

Sorption of Se species on mineral surfaces, part I : Batch sorption and multi-site modelling

The sorption behavior of Se(IV) on Grimsel granodiorite and its main minerals, plagioclase, K-feldspar, quartz and biotite, were investigated in Grimsel groundwater simulant in a large Se concentration range (from 1.66 x 10(-10) M to 1 x 10(-3) M). Experimental results show that the distribution coefficients (K-d values) of Se (IV) on the rock and mineral samples increased with the decreasing of Se(IV) concentration. The sorption of Se (IV) on biotite has the largest K-d value in low concentration area (<10(-7) M) stabilizing between 0.0595 +/- 0.0097 m(3)/Kg and 0.0713 +/- 0.0164 m(3)/Kg. The Kd value of Se(IV) on K-feldspar was the second largest (0.0154 +/- 0.0019 m(3)/Kg in 10(-9) M) while the sorption on quartz was negligible. The sorption behavior of Se(IV) on Grimsel granodiorite followed the same trend as plagioclase, the most abundant mineral in Grimsel granodiorite, with K-d values of 0.0078 +/- 0.0010 m(3)/Kg for Grimsel granodiorite and 0.0085 +/- 0.0016 m(3)/Kg for plagioclase, when Se(IV) concentration was 10(-9) M. HPLC-ICP-MS results show that all the Se(IV) remained in + IV oxidation state after more than 1 month experimental time and speciation modelling proved that the main species in Grimsel groundwater simulant were HSeO3- and SeO32-. Multi-site surface complexation modelling was performed by PHREEQC with the help of molecular modelling techniques which was performed with the CASTEP code implemented into Materials Studio. The modelling results predict that there are three kinds of sorption sites on the surface of biotite mineral, with sorption site densities differing in three magnitudes.Peer reviewe

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The concern for families’ wellbeing has increased in Finland during the 2000s. Despite being a part of the Nordic welfare model known for universalism, an increasingly uncertain labor market and cuts in state transfers and services have increased the distress especially in low-income, single-parent, and large families in Finland. This article aims to examine the political construction of family wellbeing in Finland in light of government programs from the period 2007–2019. The analysis is based on theories concerning the importance of political struggles and the significance of influential ideas in politics. Government programs are examined discursively by using a semiotic actant model highlighting the construction of wellbeing, policy measures, target groups, and underlying motivations. The results show that during the beginning of the study period, family wellbeing was largely constructed in the light of the economic status of families, which was seen as weakening due to increasing labor market uncertainty and a lower purchasing power of family income transfers. During the 2010s, the construction of family wellbeing became more multidimensional at the same time as it became increasingly anchored in a more modern family concept. Furthermore, there was a change in policy recommendations for enhancing wellbeing from policies advocating income transfers to ‘social investment’ policies, safeguarding family wellbeing mainly through high-quality services and parental labor market participation.Huoli lapsiperheiden hyvinvoinnista on kasvanut Suomessa 2000-luvulla. Huolimatta Suomen kuulumisesta universalismin periaatteelle rakentuvaan pohjoismaiseen hyvinvointimalliin, epävarmemmat ja vaativammat työmarkkinat sekä valtion tuissa ja palveluissa tehdyt leikkaukset ovat viime vuosina lisänneet lapsiperheiden pahoinvointia, erityisesti pienituloisissa sekä yksinhuoltaja- ja monilapsiperheissä. Tämän artikkelin tarkoituksena on tutkia hallitusohjelmia analysoimalla, miten lapsiperheiden hyvinvointi on konstruoitu poliittisesti Suomessa vuosina 2007–2019. Analyysi nojaa teorioihin poliittisten kamppailuiden sekä erilaisten vaikutusvaltaisten ideoiden merkityksestä politiikassa. Hallitusohjelmia tarkastellaan diskursiivisesti, semioottista aktanttimallia soveltaen ja kiinnittäen huomiota siihen, miten ohjelmissa tuodaan esiin hyvinvoinnin osa-alueet, konkreettiset politiikkatoimet sekä niiden kohderyhmät ja tausta-ajatukset. Analyysin tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että tarkastellun ajanjakson alussa perheiden hyvinvoinnin poliittinen konstruointi kulminoitui pitkälti nimenomaan lapsiperheiden hyvinvointiin ja taloudelliseen asemaan, joiden katsottiin heikentyneen työmarkkinoiden epävarmuuden sekä perhepoliittisten tulonsiirtojen reaaliarvon heikkenemisestä johtuen. 2010–luvun edetessä lapsiperheiden hyvinvoinnin kuvaukset monipuolistuivat ja rakentuivat yhä enemmän modernimmalle perhekäsitykselle. Samalla tulonsiirtoihin nojaavasta perhepolitiikasta siirryttiin ”sosiaalisten investointien” politiikkaan, missä perheiden hyvinvoinnin edistäminen turvataan lähinnä korkealaatuisten palveluiden avulla sekä vanhempien osallistumisella työntekoon.

EX-POST EVALUATION OF THE DIRECT ACTIONS OF THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE UNDER THE SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMMES 2007-2013

The ex-post evaluation in this report provides the independent assessment requested in the Council Decisions concerning the specific programmes to be carried out by means of direct actions by the Joint Research Centre implementing the Seventh Framework Programmes (2007-2013) of the European Community and of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The evaluation has been conducted by a panel of independent external experts under the chairmanship of Professor Patrick Cunningham. In this report the Panel concludes positively on the effectiveness of the JRC as the Commission’s science service in support of Euratom and EU policies. It also concludes that the JRC has a respectable scientific performance in its areas of competence. In particular, the JRC standard is high as regards the scientific quality and impact of its publications. Besides a number of recommendations for incremental improvement of the JRC the Panel also flags two issues with a view to transformative change of the JRC. To begin with the JRC should establish a long-term strategy before the mid-term evaluation of the Horizon 2020 framework programme in 2017. As the JRC further develops its function as scientific service of the Commission, there is a need to address the JRC’s governance as well as its interaction with the scientific community in the Member States. In light of this the Commission should task a Group of eminent personalities to put forward options for JRC governance, adapted to its functions of the future. These include scientific support, research, scientific advice, and knowledge management in partnership with the Member StatesJRC.ADV02-Adviser for Evaluation and Scientific Integrit