Institutional evolution and abrupt change: Reforming the administration of social assistance in Finland

Historical institutionalist studies have explained institutional change as resulting from critical junctures that interrupt long periods of stability or from endogenous, incremental evolution. Building on these theories, discursive institutionalists have focused on the roles of agency, ideas and discourse as explainers of change. Combining these approaches, this article analyses Finland’s decision in 2014 to transfer the administration of basic social assistance from municipalities to the central government. This study demonstrates that institutional change can be both abrupt and evolutionary. Due to sudden, exceptional political circumstances, the decision in question was made quickly and under pressure, circumventing possible veto players. However, it was possible only because of the incremental, endogenous change that had occurred in the way in which social assistance was administered at the municipal level. It enabled a change in political discourse, which eroded the credibility of the ideational frames that policy actors had previously utilised to reject the centralised model.     

Planning Strategically or by the Book?—Contentious Land Use Planning in South-eastern Finland

The debate on strategic spatial planning highlights the limitations of statutory land use planning in weighing up future options for spatial development, particularly in instances of rapid change. This paper draws on this debate in order to analyse planning institutions and practices in Finland. The case in point is the south-eastern border region where interdependencies with Russia, particularly shopping tourism, have created pressures on land use and led to contentious planning processes between regional and central levels of government. It is argued that, in the absence of cross-border spatial co-ordination, there is a need to establish links between regional land use planning and visions of spatial scenarios in the national context.     

Divorce and parity progression following the death of a child: A register-based study from Finland

Most studies that have examined whether a child’s death influences parental relationship stability have used small-scale data sets and their results are inconclusive. A likely reason is that child loss affects not only the risk of parental separation, but also the risk of having another child. Hence parity progression and separation must be treated as two competing events in relation to child loss. The analysis in this paper used Finnish register data from 1971 to 2003, covering over 100,000 married couples whose durations of both first marriage and parenthood could be observed. We ran parity-specific Cox regressions in which process time started from the birth of each additional child. All marriages included women of childbearing age, none of whom had experienced any child death on entering the analysis. We find that child loss only modestly influences the divorce risk, whereas its effect on the risk of parity progression is considerable.     

二战以来“芬兰化”现象的形成历程、特点和影响

芬兰作为北欧四国之一,拥有着重要的战略地位。自古以来,芬兰就与俄罗斯有着千丝万缕的联系。然而,自从独立以来特别是二战时期和二战后,芬兰的命运却不同于大多数波罗的海国家,是仅有的三个卷入了战争但没有被外国强权占领的国家之一。弱小的芬兰是如何造就奇迹的呢？二战后,芬兰通过分析两次战争的经验和教训,开创了一条独特的中立之路,不仅保持了民族独立还取得了经济的巨大发展,与北欧各国和西欧也开展了合作。芬兰向世人展现了积极的形象和高超的外交艺术,而“芬兰化”则成为那段历史的关键词。     

What influences the size of child maintenance payments? A register‐based study of maintenance payments in Finland

The aim of this study was to explore how particular economic and demographic factors contribute to the level of the child maintenance payment (CMP) paid by the non‐resident parent. For this study, we used 5‐year longitudinal panel data from years 2009 to 2013 consisting of over 80,000 non‐resident parents from the Finnish Tax Administration and The Finnish Population Register Centre. Results from regression models indicate that the single biggest factor affecting the size of CMPs is the number of dependent children. We found that the non‐resident parent's higher income is associated with higher CMPs and that non‐resident fathers pay on average larger CMPs than non‐resident mothers, even after accounting for differences in income. Unexpectedly, we found that the age of the dependent child did not predict changes in CMPs. This suggests that once formal CMP‐contracts are determined between the parents, they are seldom changed. Our results suggest that some degree of mandatory periodic review for maintenance contracts is worth considering.     

How young people perceive factors that support or prevent understanding between worldviews: perspectives of Finnish lower secondary school pupils

This paper investigated Finnish youth’s perceptions on what supports or prevents understanding between people holding different worldviews, especially religious and non-religious ones. A survey using projective, open-ended questions was conducted examining factors that enhance or damage inter-worldview dialogue among Finnish lower secondary school students (N = 563). The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. Abu-Nimer’s developmental model of interreligious sensitivity was used as a theoretical framework, but data-driven categories were also created. First, pupils thought of reasons why somebody would wish that religions did not exist. Four categories were created: atheism, confusion about religious expressions, problems related to one’s own worldview, or problems in social interaction. Second, pupils reflected on why somebody would be reluctant to share things about his/her faith. The most important feature addressed here was social deviance, either fear of it or its consequences or actual experiences. Third, pupils suggested ways to create a culture of peaceful dialogue. Most responses referred to changes in attitudes or different kinds of social interaction.     

W(h)ither the academy? An exploration of the role of university social work in shaping the future of social work in Europe

A controversial proposal to pilot the training of child protection social workers through an intensive work-based route in England is being supported and funded by the UK Government. Frontline, the brainchild of a former teacher, locates social work training within local authorities (‘the agency’) rather than university social work departments (‘the academy’) and has stimulated debate amongst social work academics about their role in shaping the direction of the profession. As a contribution to this debate, this paper explores the duality of social work education, which derives its knowledge from both the academic social sciences and the experience of practice within social work agencies. While social work education has traditionally been delivered by the academy, this paper also explores whether the delivery of training in the allied professions of probation and nursing by ‘the agency’ is equally effective. Finally, this paper explores the Helsinki model which achieves a synergy of ‘academy’ and ‘agency’. It suggests that there are alternative models of social work education, practice and research which avoid dichotomies between the ‘academy’ and the ‘agency’ and enable the profession to be shaped by both social work academics and practitioners.     

芬兰高等教育体系的发展与变革——学术集优及竞争力的提升

为了建立高质量的高等教育体系,芬兰政府出台了一系列政策,包括：倡导高校间的合作合并、追求大学临界质量的提升、革新高校管理体制、下放权力增强高校自主性、提倡高校的差异化、分层化等。虽然合并集优导向的芬兰高等教育战略实施。时间不长,但已取得了一定成就,如土尔库大学联合体、芬兰东部大学、“创新大学”的发展。芬兰高等教育体系发展的一些经验也可为我国高等教育的发展提供借鉴。     

Ecological modernisation and discourses on rural non-wood bioenergy production in Finland from 1980 to 2005

Rural bioenergy production is currently a much debated question worldwide. It is closely connected to questions of environmental protection and rural development in both developing and industrial world. In Finland, rural bioenergy production has traditionally meant the production of wood fuels for heating purposes. The utilisation of forest biomasses is undiminished even today, and other biomasses are scarcely used for energy production. The purpose of this article is to discuss the possibility of widening the bioenergy production palette to include biomasses other than forest-based woody ones. This matter is approached from an environmental aspect using the concept of ecological modernisation. Empirical data is collected from two Finnish rural periodicals. The central analytical tool used in the analysis is discourse analysis. Four different periods of discursive variety, based on the contents of the analysed articles, could be identified from the data. In the first periods bioenergy talk was expert-driven and questions on non-wood bioenergy were dealt with varyingly. During the last period, a broad interest in rural bioenergy production evolved and more recognition was given to farmers' role as real energy producers. This raises hopes for a better future for rural non-wood bioenergy production in Finland.     

Malta: Language,Literacy and Identity in a Mediterranean Island Society

Available documentation for the early modern period indicates that the Malta harbour towns achieved literacy earlier than the countryside. The Maltese townsmen lived on a trading route, and it was necessary for them to learn the lingua franca, as the language of trade in the Mediterranean. The educated élite were able to acquire fluent speaking knowledge, as well as the ability to write, Tuscan (a dialect then in the process of becoming standard Italian), while continuing to employ their local Maltese 'dialect' on numerous occasions. By and large, the erosion of the position of Maltese as the subordinate language was an inevitable by-product of this development. The Maltese language was able to attain the function of a literary language in the nineteenth century but it had no standard orthography until 1931 and was only adopted as Malta's official language in 1964.