The 'Hindu Joint Family': Past and present

No abstrac

How do Locals in Finland Identify Resident Foreigners

This study examines the identi? cation by Finns of foreign residents in Finland by analyzing data from a representative sample survey carried out in 2002. When people were asked to name a group of foreigners residing in Finland, the majority ?rst mentioned Somalis, despite the fact that only 4 percent of foreign residents are Somali and 6 percent of foreign-language speakers speak Somali. The general tendency when identifying resident foreigners is to refer primarily to ethnic or national groups; references to status (e.g. refugee, return migrant, guest worker) or religion (e.g. Muslim) are rare in the survey. In terms of ethnicity, identifying foreign residents in Finland is inconsistent, particularly as Russians and Estonians, the two largest groups, are not readily seen as foreign residents. The prevalence of answering Somalis could be considered an outcome of the maximally visible difference between Finns and Somalis. A logistic regression analysis is used to examine whether identifying resident foreigners differs according to socio-economic and educational characteristics, age, gender, region, and attitude towards the number of resident foreigners in Finland. The variables that signi? cantly in? uence the probability of answering Somalis and Russians are the respondents region, age, attitude towards the number of foreign residents in Finland, and to some extent, gender and higher education. Respondents occupational status, vocational education or income does not have a signi? cant impact on the answers. Regional differences appear to be a major factor affecting how foreigners are identi? ed, which shows that although the need to consider resident foreigners as visibly, culturally and linguistically maximally different may be a nearly universal base line for creating difference and identity, identifying foreign residents in Finland is not entirely independent of demographic realities

The Burden of Difference? School Welfare Personnels and Parents Views on Wellbeing of Migrant Children in Finland

The school welfare system faces a challenge in the linguistically and culturally diversifying school. This article examines how school welfare personnel, native language teachers, and migrant parents conceptualize the wellbeing of migrant children in Finland. The data analyzed by thematic content analysis consists of group and individual interviews of a total of 47 persons: nurses, psychologists, social workers, a headmaster, special education teachers, native language teachers, and migrant parents in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The school welfare professionals and migrant parents views stressed different factors as risks and resources of migrant childrens wellbeing. In school welfare personnels view, school wellbeing is secured by downplaying difference between children of diverse cultural backgrounds; moreover, they do not see negative attitudes, discrimination, or bullying of migrant children as a particular problem. Migrant parents and native language teachers in turn consider or at least fear their childrens wellbeing to be jeopardized by social exclusion, prejudice or discrimination. The school personnel find it difficult to recognize the power imbalance between minorities and the national majority that lies behind these different conceptualizations. This reduces trust and impedes the cooperation of migrant homes and school, particularly in situations when an intervention is imperative for securing child wellbeing

Below Replacement-Level Fertility in Conditions of slow Social and Economic Development: A Review of the Evidence from South-India

Demographic interest in the explanations of the first fertility transition has receded considerably during the last decade. Despite the empirical evidence of global convergence in fertility, there is still no consensus on the factors which explain the swiftness of the change in some contexts and its deceleration in some others. From the policy perspective, it remains pivotal to locate the factors that affect the momentum of fertility transition. In this essay the fast decline to below replacement-level period Total Fertility Rate in South India will be examined as an example of fertility transition despite slow social and/or economic development. The analysis is based on a literature review of empirical studies on the determinants of regional fertility differentials in India. Some southern states, most particularly Andhra Pradesh, manifest below replacement-level fertility (TFR 1.79) despite low average age at marriage even in Indian terms, the resilience of womens universal marriage, and heavy reliance on a terminal family planning method, female sterilization. The case of Andhra Pradesh shows that below-replacement level fertility can occur despite slow social development, widespread poverty and gender asymmetries. Geographical and social diffusion effects are partly responsible of the speed of the decline, although they are difficult to measure or test in the level of fertility decision-making

Workaholic or easygoing? Interpretations of National Culture in Industries with Immigrant Workforce in Finland

Growing immigration creates linguistically and culturally diverse working environments. National cultural characteristics are common concepts in everyday discourse in culturally heterogeneous workplaces as well as in academic research on work environments and management. By analysing empirical interview data from two arenas of productive activity in Finland, we show how national cultural characteristics are understood differently depending on the structural positioning of the arena in the local–national–transnational–global continuum. The data consists of a total of 53 in-depth interviews of foreign-born and Finnish-born experts working in high tech industries and research organizations, and white-collar and blue-collar workers in metal industries. Results illuminate how national interactive specificity is interpreted differently in global and local–national productive arenas. For instance, depending on the type of work, Finns could be describe as workaholics or as easy-going employees. The most central national cultural stereotypes have different interpretations among employees in the high tech business (global arena) and metal industries (mainly local and national arena)

Eurooppalainen kansalaiskeskustelu sosiaalisessa mediassa : Komission viestintästrategian julkisuusteoreettisten ideaalien toteutuminen Instagramissa

Euroopan unionia syytetään usein demokratiavajeesta eli demokraattisen vastuun puutteesta kansalaisia kohtaan. Demokratiavaje merkitsee kansalaisista etääntymistä, yhteisen ja koherentin politiikan puuttumista ja usein myös julkisuusvajetta eli päätöksenteon ja kansalaiskeskustelun läpinäkymättömyyttä. Ylikansallisen eurooppalaisen julkisuuden esteinä voidaan nähdä eurooppalaisten suuri diversiteetti, kuten erilaiset identiteetit ja lukuisat eri kielet. Tutkielma pyrkii vastaamaan siihen, miten Euroopan komission viestintästrategiassa esiintyvät eurooppalaisen julkisuuden ideaalit toteutuvat Instagramissa. Komission viestintästrategia ihannoi habermasilaisia keskustelun ideaaleja korostaen demokraattisen kansalaiskeskustelun tärkeyttä. Se esittelee kunnianhimoisia tavoitteita siitä, kuinka nousevassa eurooppalaisessa julkisuudessa kansalaisten ääni pääsee kuuluviin ja komissaarit voivat olla suorassa vuorovaikutuksessa kansalaisten kanssa. Instagram on valikoitunut tutkimuksen kohteeksi siksi, että se on yksi maailman suosituimmista sosiaalisista medioista ja erityisesti nuorten käyttäjien suosiossa. Instagramia on tutkittu vain vähän organisaatioviestinnän ja poliittisen viestinnän alustana, ja valtaosa tutkimuksesta on painottunut yksittäisiin käyttäjiin. Tutkielmassa havaitaan, että Instagramissa ei juuri synny aitoa kansalaiskeskustelua: suurin osa kommenteista ei tuo keskusteluun lisäarvoa eikä komissio itse ole aktiivisesti keskustelussa mukana. Aineisto osoittaa, että komission strategiassa esiintyviä habermasilaisia ideaaleja on vaikea toteuttaa käytännössä, eivätkä ne välttämättä sovi sosiaalisten medioiden toimintaympäristöön. Kansalaisten tavoittaminen sekä rationaalisen keskustelun puute ovat edelleen Euroopan julkisuusongelman ytimessä. Tutkielma ehdottaa, että julkisuutta tulisi kenties ymmärtää uusilla tavoilla Habermasin kritiikin kautta esimerkiksi Mckeen postmodernin julkisuusteorian tai Mouffen kiistelevä moniarvoisuuden kautta

Estimation of marriage incidence rates by combining two cross-sectional retrospective designs : Event history analysis of two dependent processes

Peer reviewe

Immigrant home-school information flows in Finnish comprehensive schools

Peer reviewe

Mental Wellbeing and Self-reported Symptoms of Reproductive Tract Infections among Girls: Findings from a Cross-sectional Study in an Indian Slum

This study examined the self-reported mental wellbeing among slum-dwelling adolescents in Western India and asked whether adolescent postmenarcheal girls’ mental wellbeing and self-reported symptoms suggestive of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) were associated. A sub-section of a cross-sectional personal interview survey among unmarried 10–18-year-old adolescents (n= 85) in a slum in the city of Nashik was analyzed. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between sociodemographic variables, physical health indicators, and adolescent postmenarcheal girls’ mental wellbeing. Nearly every other postmenarcheal girl reported having experienced symptoms suggestive of RTIs during the last twelve months. Adolescent postmenarcheal girls’ mental health and some aspects of somatic health appear to be closely interrelated. Understanding the relationship between adolescent mental wellbeing and reproductive health in low-income countries requires further investigation. Health service development in growing informal urban agglomerations in India and beyond should provide combined mental and reproductive health services for adolescents. &nbsp