‘When somebody tells you who you are’: Religious education and fraudulent appropriation in Finnish Schools

This article investigates the notion of spiritual appropriation in Finnish schools, with a particular focus on the experiences of religious minorities. It draws on narratives from these communities, shedding light on their daily experiences in the educational setting. Employing counter-storytelling from critical race theory (CRT), the research examines the power dynamics and the impact of epistemological privileges within Finnish schools. The study unveils a unique form of spiritual appropriation in the school setting, termed ‘fraudulent appropriation’. Here, adults from the majority group assume the authority to teach and interpret minority religious traditions, often providing distorted or false information to minority children, and even utilizing their religion as a tool for control. Furthermore, the narratives underscore the significance of agency and self-representation for minority groups. When minorities are able to vocalize their presence in schools through creative events, the act of appropriation can be mitigated, paving the way for appreciation. This serves as a means to counter dominant narratives while fostering a sense of belonging and respect. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the importance of amplifying the voices of minorities and promoting appreciation over appropriation. It advocates the visibility, audibility and self-determination of minority groups. The article also posits that the term ‘fraudulent appropriation’ is valuable for the investigation of structures that perpetuate the exclusion and oppression of religious-minority children in schools

Dementia: What comes to mind? An exploration into how the general public understands and responds to dementia.

Abstract This thesis explores how the general public understands and responds to dementia. In the context of this study the word ‘understanding' is used to convey the complex co-construction of knowledge and establishing of beliefs that constitutes public understandings of dementia. The study also examines the responses of members of the public to dementia, in the context of their understanding. Data were collected over a 12 month period and included a module in the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey, five focus groups and nine interviews with participants from the focus groups. The survey module included thirty measures examining levels of knowledge and attitudes towards dementia. 1200 participants were targeted and the survey was administered by the Northern Ireland Research & Statistics Agency with a response rate of 58%. The focus groups and interviews provided the mechanism to gather a more nuanced picture, exploring the beliefs behind the attitudes and the self-reported responses of participants to people with dementia. Findings indicate that the general public has a reasonable knowledge of the symptoms and pathway of dementia in line with a bio medical model. However the findings also indicate that the general public holds a mix of theoretical and empirical knowledge and that this is often contradictory. A complex mix of scientific or medical information, experience, anecdote and assumptions contribute to the discourse. This information is stored and conveyed in the form of stories and a consequence of this interplay is that individual experiences told in the form of stories are generalised to become building blocks in the construction of what the general public understands dementia to be. The current construction of dementia among the general public is found to be both nihilistic and ageist with clear evidence that dementia is stigmatised. I will argue that that the relationship between dementia and ageing in the minds of the general public is a symbiotic one. Dementia has become a cultural metaphor for unsuccessful ageing marking entry to the fourth age. The stigmatising response of the general public is the result of a complex interplay of multiple factors. I have expanded on previous ideas of multiple jeopardy and intersectionality, suggesting that the stigma associated with dementia is unique and driven as much by emotional responses as by the social location of the person with dementia. I have borrowed Brooker’s (2003) term “Dementia-ism’ to describe this stigma. This thesis argues for a more complex and sophisticated approach to changing public attitudes and reducing stigma. Dementia-ism must be addressed with the same strength of purpose currently applied to sexism, racism and ageism

The Distinction Between Sense and Nonsense in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus

I the present work, I discuss the distinction between sense and nonsense in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, starting out from von Wright’s och Emiliani’s modala inter-pretation of the concept of sense that Wittgenstein presents in his book. How is the distinction between sense and nonsense drawn, in the Tractatus, and which are the consequences follow-ing from it? The initial question is also discussed against the background of Frege’s conception of mean-ing, and in relation to Geach’s och Dummett’s views on the doctrine of Saying and Showing in Frege and in Wittgenstein. In addition, I discuss Hacker’s explanation concerning metaphysical and logical necessity, and the logical syntax of language, in the Tractatus This is followed up by a more detailed presentation of the concepts of bipolarity, the meaning-ful proposition and logical necessity in the Tractatus, according to von Wright and Emiliani. Finally, I discuss Diamond’s view of Anscombe’s interpretation of the Tractatus, and the status of the propositions of the Tractatus, in relation to more recent developments of the on-going debate concerning what nonsense is taken to be. In the present work, I thus consider different aspects of the fundamental question in the Trac-tatus concerning the connection between language and reality, and what is meant by the distinc-tion between sense and nonsense, in that book. My investigation stresses the central role of the modal concepts in the Tractatus, and discusses some difficulties, resulting from Wittgen-stein’s narrow concept of sense.I föreliggande arbete diskuteras skillnaden mellan mening och nonsens i Wittgensteins Tracta-tus Logico-Philosophivus, med utgångspunkt i von Wrights och Emilianis modala tolkningar av det meningsbegrepp som presenteras i boken. Frågan diskuteras också med bakgrund i Freges meningsbegrepp, och i anslutning till Ge-achs och Dummetts syn på vad som kan sägas och vad som endast visar sig, hos Frege respek-tive Wittgenstein. Vidare diskuteras Hackers förklaring gällande metafysisk och logisk nöd-vändighet och av språkets inneboende logiska syntax i Tractatus Slutligen ingår en mer ingående presentation av begreppen bipolaritet, den meningsfulla sat-sen och av mening som logisk möjlighet i Tractatus enligt von Wright och Emiliani. Avslutningsvis tar jag upp Diamonds syn på Anscombes tolkning av Tractatus och syn på vilken roll Tractatus egna satser har, med tonvikt på Wittgensteins paradoxala konklusion, en-ligt vilken hans egna satser är nonsens, för den som förstått honom rätt. Samtidigt hävdar han, inledningsvis, att alla satser i boken är sanna. Mitt arbete tar således upp olika aspekter på den centrala frågeställningen i Tractatus gällande hur språket förbinds med verkligheten, och vad som avses med språkets logiska form. Under-sökningen av skillnaden mellan mening och nonsens resulterar i de modala begreppens centrala roll i Tractatus, och tar upp vissa svårigheter som Wittgensteins snäva meningsbegrepp leder till

The Meanings of Modesty : Education of Daughters in the Culture of the Nobility in Northern Europe in the late 18th Century

By the end of the 18th century the daughters of the nobility in the northern parts of Europe received a quite different kind of education from their brothers. Although the cultural aims of the upbringing of girls were similar to that of boys, the practice of the raising of girls was less influenced by tradition. The education of boys was one of classical humanistic and military training, but the girls were more freely educated. The unity and exclusiveness of the culture of nobility were of great importance to the continued influence of this elite. The importance of education became even greater, partly because of the unstable political situation, and partly because of the changes the Enlightenment had caused in the perception of the human essence. The delicate and ambitious hônnete homme was expected to constantly strive to a greater perfection as a Christian. On the other hand, the great weight given to aesthetics - etiquette and taste - made individual variation of the contents of education possible. Education consisted mainly in aesthetic studies; girls studied music, dancing, fine arts, epistolary skills and also the art of polite conversation. On the other hand, there was a demand for enlightenment, and one often finds personal political and social ambitions, which made competition in all skills necessary for the daughters as well. Literary sources for the education of girls are Madame LePrince de Beaumont, Madame d'Epinay, Madame de Genlis and Charles Rollin. Other, perhaps even more important sources are the letters between parents and children and papers originating from studies. Diaries and memoirs also tell us about the practice of education in day to day life. The approach of this study is semiotic. It can be stated that the code of the culture was well hidden from the outsider. This was achieved, for instance, by the adaptation of the foreign French language and culture. The core of the culture consisted of texts which only thorough examples stated the norms which were expressed as good taste. Another important feature of the culture was its tendency towards theatricalisation. The way of life was dictated by taste, and moral values were included in the aesthetic norms through the constant striving for modesty. Pleasant manners were also correct in an ethical perspective. Morality could thus also be taught through etiquette

The challenges of implementing and evaluating a pilot music and movement intervention for people with dementia (innovative practice).

This paper reports on the challenges associated with implementing and evaluating an innovative pilot music and movement project. The evaluation documents that participants enjoyed the sessions and that they created the opportunity for social engagement although there is little to suggest this is unique to this particular type of intervention. Difficulties included matching the programme to the needs of participants, communicating effectively, and over burdensome paperwork. The paper also comments on the challenges associated with last minute, limited funding opportunities for both the organisation commissioning a project and the team evaluating it. In this case, the evaluation team found that many of the more difficult issues associated with the pilot could have been resolved with more time for planning and preparation