Stability and Change of the Quality of Working Life in Restructuring Municipalities

Social Indicators Research - Local government in Finland has undergone considerable restructuring since 2005 as a number of new larger municipalities (mergers) and partnership areas between social...     

Antisocial Propensity,Adolescent School Outcomes,and the Risk of Criminal Conviction

Data from the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study (n = 4,645) were used to examine the influence of mid‐adolescent (age 15) school outcomes on late‐adolescent (ages 17–19) risk of criminal conviction. Consistent with social‐developmental theories of offending, we found that poor academic performance and reduced school attachment increase the risk of criminal conviction independently of pre‐existing differences in antisocial propensity and other confounding factors identified in prior research. Moreover, in support of an integrated model, our research suggests that academic performance and school attachment mediate the effects of childhood antisociality and learning difficulties on late‐adolescent risk of criminal conviction. The implications of findings for policy and future research are discussed.     

Effects of exercise on health-related quality of life and fear of falling in home-dwelling older women

This randomized, controlled trial evaluated the effects of exercise on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and fear of falling (FoF) among 149 home-dwelling older women. The 12-mo exercise program was intended to reduce the risk of falls and fractures. HRQoL was assessed by the RAND-36 Survey, and FoF, with a visual analog scale, at baseline, 12 mo, and 24 mo. On all RAND-36 scales, the scores indicated better health and well-being. The exercise had hardly any effect on HRQoL; only the general health score improved slightly compared with controls at 12 mo (p = .019), but this gain was lost at 24 mo. FoF decreased in both groups during the intervention with no between-groups difference at 12 or 24 mo. In conclusion, despite beneficial physiological changes, the exercise intervention showed rather limited effects on HRQoL and FoF among relatively high-functioning older women. This modest result may be partly because of insufficient responsiveness of the assessment instruments used.     

Applying health determinants and dimensions in social work practice

Dimensions and determinants related to physical health, mental health and well-being can be used as tools in social work practice. These frameworks are useful for assessment, planning and intervention activities in complex client situations, alerting social workers to consider diverse features and processes that influence well-being in people's lives. They can be applied in social work with individuals, families, groups, and communities. In our view health and well-being need to be viewed holistically, broadly and in each unique situation, changing over time over the life course. Literature based on key word searches of concepts we use in our teaching and research and that has informed our conceptualisation of dimensions and determinants in physical health, mental health and well-being, is reviewed. A case illustration is presented to illustrate how the dimensions and determinants are used to inform practice and compare and apply alternative frameworks. Finally, the implications of these and other frameworks for social work, not only in health care settings, but also in other fields of social work practice, are discussed.     

A Transactional Model of Temperamental Development: Evidence of a Relationship between Child Temperament and Maternal Stress over Five Years

Although there is growing consensus that parental stress is a risk factor in child development, longitudinal studies of its effects are few. This study tested a sample of 231 mother–child dyads in terms of whether the relations between the global experience of stress in mothers (perceived stress scale) and child temperamental characteristics (infant behavior questionnaire and child behavior questionnaire) could be conceptualized through transactional models of development. The assumption was that higher negative emotionality and lower positive affectivity in the infants would contribute to an increase in maternal stress over a five‐year period, beginning in infancy, and that higher maternal stress would contribute to an increase in child negative affectivity and a decrease in positive affectivity and self‐regulation over the same period. Evidence was found for both hypotheses, but not within the same models: the effect of maternal stress on child temperamental development was greater. The results are discussed with reference to bidirectional models of temperamental development.     

Go for it – life is full of opportunities. Promising results of the YARi working model with young people

This article describes a framework of the YARi model, developed as part of the European Union's (EU) Leonardo da Vinci project, called Youth at Risk, international (2003–2006). In the article we present the results of the implementation of the YARi working model. The research was conducted as a comparative case study and applied a qualitative inductive analysis of the content. The YARi working model was implemented simultaneously in four EU countries – Finland (Espoo and Vihti), Italy (Palermo and Naples), Holland (Nijmegen) and the UK (Bradford) – between November 2004 and April 2005.     

Reflections on customers’ primary role in markets

Technology developments have transformed the business landscape by accelerating connectivity, transparency and unpredictability. We argue that the most dramatic consequence is not the possibilities created for companies but rather the challenges that emerge as a result of customer behaviour undergoing fundamental changes. Technology transformation has paved the way for empowered customers who are increasingly influencing businesses and markets, and the challenge for practitioners and researchers alike is to make sense of the role of these customers in such business environments. These developments have yielded a need to revise companies’ business models and to innovate new offerings. In scholarly research on marketing, this need has become evident and, beyond suggesting new concepts, completely new marketing management perspectives have been proposed, and each has its own core assumptions and focus. Broader views have emerged, and these stress the applicability of these perspectives not only to the top-level management of businesses but also to any non-commercial organisation.In this article, we reflect on the customer-dominant logic (CDL) of marketing, which stresses the customer's primary role in business. As such, CDL differs from approaches that focus on the provider's perspective. The CDL approach is an expression of the research ideals and goals that are based on the Nordic School of Service Management. We argue that CDL is well aligned with emerging challenges in most markets, both established and nascent, and that it is more managerially relevant than many other perspectives. This is also in line with the recent calls for a soul of relevance for European management research (Chia, 2014; Hernes, 2014).     

Effects of Remittance Behavior on the Lives of Recent Immigrants to Canada from the Philippines: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study

Remittances, money sent by immigrants to family members in their countries of origin, were studied. Research goals were to (1) describe remittance behavior over time and (2) understand effects of sending remittances on the lives of remitters living in Canada. Data were obtained from three waves of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (2000–2004) for a national sample of Canadian Filipino immigrants. Multivariate regression analyses were used to assess the effects of remittances on health, housing and living conditions of the study population. Results showed that over time respondents’ own health was not affected by remitting. In contrast housing and living conditions were affected: Remitters were less likely to own their homes and more likely to rent than non-remitters when the effects of age, sex, family income and immigration class were controlled. The researchers make suggestions for practice and future research dealing with housing and living conditions of recent immigrants to Canada.     

Gender Issues on Change Agenda – Practising Intersectionality in Action Research

This article investigates how intersectionalities are handled in the orientations and positions of organization members when conducting feminist action research in workplaces. The Finnish Defence Forces are used as an empirical example of a hierarchical and gendered organization. The article employs the work conference method based on democratic dialogue with the aim of bringing together the divergent experiences and perspectives of the organization's members. Our interpretation is that the intersectional application of the work conference method reveals issues that would not have otherwise arisen. The method helps to highlight the habits and routines that are taken for granted in organizations. We suggest the use of the method both for identifying patterns of inequalities and for seeking remedies for them. The experiences gained from the empirical study support a multi‐method approach to action research. A more theory‐based consciousness of social positions and their interconnections will serve the development process. As a result, action research efforts might also become better anchored in organizational structures and practices.     

Constructing autonomy: the significance of architecture in creating and manifesting autonomy in protest camps

ABSTRACT

This study examines how autonomy in protest camps is enabled by and manifested through architecture. Although the importance of space for the struggles for autonomy in protest camps has been recognized in recent research, their architecture has not been widely examined in this respect. This study uses empirical data collected from four different protest camps during 2015–2017 to examine the role of architecture for the struggles for autonomy. The study found that architecture is essential in creating protest camps’ autonomy from the status quo. Furthermore, the results suggest that protesters engage especially with Do-It-Yourself -architecture to organize their lifeworlds in a way that allows, enforces, and reflects their alternative societal structures and practices, thus also enforcing their autonomy as a prefigurative praxis. Overall, the findings of this research suggest that architecture plays a significant role in both creating and manifesting autonomy in protest camps, thus adding architecture as a significant element to be analyzed in protest camps and expanding the existing field of research.