Holistic Spirituality in the Thinking of Ellen White

Spiritualiteetti viittaa syvälliseen, inhimilliseen ulottuvuuteen ja ominaisuuteen, jonka tarkka määritteleminen on haasteellista, ellei mahdotonta. Sitä vastaa yhtäältä uskonnollisuuden kautta toteutuva, elämän tarkoitukseen ja syvemmän olemuksen etsintään liittyvä hengellisyys, mutta toisaalta myös kaikkea muuta hengen viljelyä ja mielekkään olemisen tavoittelua tarkoittava henkisyys. John Swintonin mukaan hengen ulottuvuus on se inhimilliseen olemukseen kuuluva, dynaaminen elinvoima, joka virkistää ja elävöittää ihmistä ja motivoi häntä etsimään Jumalaa, arvoja, merkitystä, tarkoitusta ja toivoa. Tämä tutkimus nostaa tarkastelun kohteeksi kokonaisvaltaisen hengellisyyden, jolloin huomio kiinnitetään niihin sidoksiin, joiden kautta hengen ulottuvuus liittyy muihin inhimillisen elämän olennaisiin toimintoihin ja näkökulmiin. Tällaisia ovat 1) ajattelu 2) teot ja käytännön toiminta 3) suhteet ja vuorovaikutusverkostot 4) tunteet ja kanssakäymistä ohjaavat asenteet 5) olemassaolon ja olemisen ulottuvuudet. Kokemusten merkitys, arvo ja mielekkyys hahmottuvat juuri hengen alueella, toisin sanoen sisäisesti, hengellisenä ja henkisenä asiana. Tutkimusmateriaalina tässä tutkimuksessa on amerikkalaisen vuosina 1827 1915 eläneen Ellen Whiten kuusi myöhäiskauden teosta vuosilta 1892 1905 ja tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty systemaattista analyysiä. Olennaista Whiten tavassa käsitellä uskonnon harjoitukseen liittyviä aiheita on hänen käytännöllinen ja elämän arkeen kiinteästi niveltyvä otteensa. Tutkimus paljastaa, että Martti Lutherin käsitykset ovat merkittävästi vaikuttaneet Whiten ajatteluun. Lähteistä paljastuu samankaltaisuutta hänen näkemystensä ja uusimman suomalaisen Luther-tutkimuksen Martti Lutherin tuotannosta esiin nostaman ajattelutavan välillä. Vaikka teologisen oppineisuuden kannalta White ja Luther ovat eri tasoilla, kummankin käsitys ihmisen ja Jumalan välisen suhteen perusolemuksesta on samankaltainen: Lähtökohtana sille on Jumalan rakkaus ja hänen armostaan lähtenyt toiminta. Toiseksi, ihmisen ja Kristuksen välinen, olemuksellinen yhteys, unio , on perustana sille, että Jumala hyväksyy ihmisen ja huolehtii hänestä nyt ja ikuisesti. Kolmanneksi, tämä ihmisen ja Kristuksen liittoutuminen ja yhdistyminen ilmenee yhteistoimintana ja kumppanuutena yhteisten tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi maailmassa. White korostaa ihmisen ja Kristuksen välisen hengellisen suhteen vuorovaikutteista ja toiminnallista luonnetta, joka tulee ilmi epäitsekkyytenä, toisten ihmisten ja heidän tarpeittensa huomioimisena sekä myötätuntona ja kykynä asettua toisen asemaan. Terveellistä elämäntapaa ja kasvatusta koskevat ajatuksensa White liittää siihen laaja-alaiseen näkemykseen hengellisyydestä, jonka tavoitteena on ihmisen kokonaisvaltainen hyvinvointi. Hän ei näe spiritualiteettia elämän arjesta irrallisena tai erillisenä saarekkeena, vaan ihmistä kaikessa ohjaavana, voimaannuttavana ja mielekkyyttä tuottavana, ensisijaisena ulottuvuutena. Tutkimuksen kuluessa myös Whiten usein käyttämät Jumalalle antautumisen ja luonteen käsitteet nousevat tarkastelun kohteiksi. Hänen mukaansa ihminen ei tahdonponnistuksillaan yksin pysty tavoittamaan Jumalaa vaan hänen on lakattava Jumalan rakastavan kutsun edessä itse tahtomasta ja suostuttava liittymään Jumalan tahtoon ja tarkoitukseen. Tämä liittyy siihen sisäiseen muutokseen, jota White kuvaa luonteen käsitteen avulla. Jumalan armon vaikuttama tahdon uudelleen suuntaaminen muuttaa ihmisen olemusta, arvoja, asennoitumisen tapaa ja myötätuntoisen vuorovaikutuksen kykyä niin ettei ihminen ole enää aivan sama kuin ennen. Kysymys on toisaalta yhtäkkisestä ja kertakaikkisesta olemuksellisesta muuttumisesta, mutta samalla myös hiljaisesta, elämänmittaisesta kasvusta ja kypsymisestä. Juuri luonteen käsitteen avulla White kuvaa hengellisyyttä ja siihen kuuluvaa sisästä matkaa. Tässä tutkimuksessa spiritualiteettia lähestytään yleisinhimillisenä piirteenä ja ominaisuutena, jolloin huomio ei ole ensisijaisesti yksittäisissä opillisissa käsityksissä tai uskonnollisuuden harjoittamisen muodoissa. Tarkoituksena on luoda kokoava rakenne, jonka puitteissa holistinen spiritualiteetti voidaan selkeämmin hahmottaa ja yksilöidymmin ymmärtää.

Nuorten arvot ja tietoyhteiskunta-asenteet

The aim of this study was to explore the sociocultural value orientations of Finnish adolescents and their attitudes toward information society. In addition, this study explored the association between values and attitudes toward information society. I investigated whether values and attitudes follow social development and whether they can be divided into value categories such as traditional, modern and postmodern. This study falls into the category of youth research. The study uses a multimethodological approach and straddles the following disciplines: the science of education, religious education, sociology and social psychology. The theoretical context of the study is modernisation, understood as a two level process. The first level represents the transition from a religious-based traditional society to a modern industrial society. The second level of modernisation refers to the process of development established after the second world war, called postmodernisation, which is understood as the transition from an emphasis on economical imperatives to an emphasis on subjective well-being and the quality of life. Postmodernisation influences both social organisations and individuals´ values and worldviews. The target group of this survey-study comprised 408 16- to 19-year-old Finnish adolescent students from secondary school and vocational school. The data were gathered with a quantitative questionnaire during the second half of 2001. The results of the study can be generalised to the population of Finnish 16- to 19-year-olds. The data were analysed quantitatively using ANOVA and multivariate analyses such as cluster analysis, factor analysis and general linear modeling. Bayesian dependence modeling served to explore further how the values predict the attitudes toward information society. The results indicate that values are associated not only with attitudes toward information society, but with many other sociocultural indicator as well. Especially strong interpreting indicators included gender and identity or lifestyle questions. The results also indicate an association between values, attitudes and social development and a two-level modernisation process. Values formed traditional, modern and postmodern value systems. Keywords: values, attitudes, modernisation, information society, traditional, modern, postmodern

Polymorphic low penetrance genes and breast cancer : The role of genes involved in metabolism of xenobiotics, estrogens and reactive oxygen species

Various endogenous and exogenous factors have been reported to increase the risk of breast cancer. Many of those are related to prolonged lifetime exposure to estrogens. Furthermore, a positive family history of breast cancer and certain benign breast diseases are known to increase the risk of breast cancer. The role of lifestyle factors, such as use of alcohol and smoking has been an area of intensive study. Alcohol has been found to increase the risk of breast cancer, whereas the role of smoking has remained obscure. A multitude of enzymes are involved in the metabolism of estrogens and xenobiotics including the carcinogens found in tobacco smoke. Many of the metabolic enzymes exhibit genetic polymorphisms that can lead to inter-individual differences in their abilities to modify hazardous substrates. Therefore, in presence of a given chemical exposure, one subgroup of women may be more susceptible to breast carcinogenesis, since they carry unfavourable forms of the polymorphic genes involved in the metabolism of the chemical. In this work, polymorphic genes encoding for cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1 and 1B1, N-acetyl transferase 2 (NAT2), sulfotransferase 1A1 (SULT1A1), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) were investigated in relation to breast cancer susceptibility in a Finnish population. CYP1A1, CYP1B1 and SULT1A1 are involved in the metabolism of both estrogens and xenobiotics, whereas NAT2 is involved only in the latter. MnSOD is an antioxidant enzyme protecting cells from oxidative damage. VDR, in turn, mediates the effects of the active form of vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3, calcitriol) on maintenance of calcium homeostasis and it has anti-proliferative effects in many cancer cells. A 1.3-fold (95% CIs 1.01-1.73) increased risk of breast cancer was seen among women who carried the NAT2 slow acetylator genotype and a 1.5-fold (95% CI 1.1-2.0) risk was found in women with a MnSOD variant A allele containing genotypes compared to women with the NAT2 rapid acetylator genotype or to those with the MnSOD VV genotype, respectively. Instead, women with the VDR a allele containing genotypes were found to be at a decreased risk for breast cancer (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.54-0.98) compared to women with the AA genotype. No significant overall associations were found between SULT1A1 or CYP genotypes and breast cancer risk, whereas a combination of the CYP1B1 432Val allele containing genotypes with the NAT2 slow acetylator genotypes posed a 1.5-fold (95% CI 1.03-2.24) increased risk. Moreover, NAT2 slow acetylator genotype was found to be confined to women with an advanced stage of breast cancer (stages III and IV). Further evidence for the association of xenobiotic metabolising genes with breast cancer risk was found when active smoking was taken into account. Women who smoked less than 10 cigarettes/day and carried at least one CYP1B1 432Val variant allele, were at 3.1-fold (95% CI 1.32-7.12) risk of breast cancer compared to women who smoked the same amount but did not carry the variant allele. Furthermore, the risk was significantly increased with increasing number of the CYP1B1 432Val alleles (p for trend 0.005). In addition, women who smoked less than 5 pack-years and carried the NAT2 slow acetylator genotype were at a 2.6-fold (95% CI 1.01-6.48) increased risk of breast cancer compared to women who smoked the same amount but carried the NAT2 rapid acetylator genotype. Furthermore, the combination of the CYP1B1 432Val allele and the NAT2 slow acetylator genotype increased the risk of breast cancer by 2.5-fold (95% CI 1.11-5.45) among ever smokers. Instead, the MnSOD A allele was found to be a risk factor among postmenopausal long-term smokers (>15 years of smoking) (OR 5.1; 95% CI 1.4-18.4) or among postmenopausal women who had smoked more than 10 cigarettes/day (OR 5.5; 95% CI 1.3-23.4) compared to women who had similar smoking habits but carried the MnSOD V/V genotype. Similarly, within subgroups of postmenopausal women who were using oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy or alcohol, women carrying the MnSOD A allele genotypes seemed to be at increased risk of breast cancer compared to women with the MnSOD V/V genotype. A positive family history of breast cancer and high parity were shown to be inversely associated with breast cancer risk among women carrying the VDR ApaI a allele or among premenopausal women carrying the SULT1A1*2 allele, respectively.

Innate immune system and adiponectin in diabetic nephropathy in type 1 diabetes

Introduction: The pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy remains a matter of debate, although strong evidence suggests that it results from the interaction between susceptibility genes and the diabetic milieu. The true pathogenetic mechanism remains unknown, but a common denominator of micro- and macrovascular complications may exist. Some have suggested that low-grade inflammation and activation of the innate immune system might play a synergistic role in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. Aims of the study: The present studies were undertaken to investigate whether low-grade inflammation, mannan-binding lectin (MBL) and α-defensin play a role, together with adiponectin, in patients with type 1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy. Subjects and methods: This study is part of the ongoing Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study (FinnDiane). The first four cross-sectional substudies of this thesis comprised 194 patients with type 1 diabetes divided into three groups (normo-, micro-, and macroalbuminuria) according to their albumin excretion rate (AER). The fifth substudy aimed to determine whether baseline serum adiponectin plays a role in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. This follow-up study included 1330 patients with type 1 diabetes and a mean follow-up period of five years. The patients were divided into three groups depending on their AER at baseline. As a measure of low-grade inflammation, highly sensitive CRP (hsCRP) and α-defensin were measured with radio-immunoassay, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) with high- sensitivity enzyme immuno-assay. Mannan-binding lectin and adiponectin were determined with time-resolved immunofluorometric assays. The progression of albuminuria from one stage to the other served as a measure of the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Results: Low-grade inflammatory markers, MBL, adiponectin, and α-defensin were all associated with diabetic nephropathy, whereas MBL, adiponectin, and α-defensin per se were unassociated with low-grade inflammatory markers. AER was the only clinical variable independently associated with hsCRP. AER, HDL-cholesterol and the duration of diabetes were independently associated with IL-6. HbA1c was the only variable independently associated with MBL. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), AER, and waist-to-hip ratio were independently associated with adiponectin. Systolic blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, age, and eGFR were all independently associated with α-defensin. In patients with macroalbuminuria, progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was associated with higher baseline adiponectin concentrations. Discussion and conclusions: Low-grade inflammation, MBL, adiponectin, and defensin were all associated with diabetic nephropathy in these cross-sectional studies. In contrast however, MBL, adiponectin, and defensin were not associated with low-grade inflammatory markers per se. Nor was defensin associated with MBL, which may suggest that these different players function in a coordinated fashion during the deleterious process of diabetic nephropathy. The question of what causes low-grade inflammation in patients with type 1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy, however, remains unanswered. We could observe in our study that glycemic control, an atherosclerotic lipid profile, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were associated with low-grade inflammation in the univariate analysis, although in the multivariate analysis, only AER, HDL-cholesterol, and the duration of diabetes, as a measure of glycemic load, proved to be independently associated with inflammation. Notably, all these factors are modifiable with changes in lifestyle and/or with a targeted medication. In the follow-up study, elevated serum adiponectin levels at baseline predicted the progression from macroalbuminuria to ESRD independently of renal function at baseline. This observation does not preclude adiponectin as a favorable factor during the process of diabetic nephropathy, since the rise in serum adiponectin concentrations may remain a mechanism by which the body compensates for the demands created by the diabetic milieu.

Primary Fallopian tube carcinoma:occurrence, risk and prognostic factors

The aim of the study was to clarify the occurrence, and etiological and prognostic factors of primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC). We studied the sociodemographic determinants of the incidence of PFTC in Finland and the role of chlamydial infections and human papillomavirus infections as risk factors for PFTC. Serum tumor markers were studied as prognostic factors for PFTC. We also evaluated selected reproductive factors (parity, sterilization and hysterectomy) as risk or protective factors of PFTC. The risks of second primary cancers after PFTC were also studied. The age-adjusted incidence of PFTC in Finland increased to 5.4 / 1,000,000 in 1993 97. The incidence rate was higher in the cities, but the relative rise was higher in rural areas. Women in the two highest social classes showed a 1.8 fold incidence compared with those in the lowest. Women in agriculture and those not working outside the home showed only half the PFTC incidence of those in higher socioeconomic occupations. Pretreatment serum concentrations of hCGβ, CA125 and TATI were evaluated as prognostic markers for PFTC. Elevated hCGβ values (above the 75th percentile, 3.5 pmol/L; OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.22 5.09), stage and histology were strong independent prognostic factors for PFTC. The effects of parity, sterilization and hysterectomy on the risk of PFTC were studied in a case control-study with 573 PFTC cases from the Finnish Cancer Registry. In multivariate analysis parity was the only significant protective factor as regards PFTC, with increasing protection associated with increasing number of deliveries. In univariate analysis sterilization gave borderline protection against PFTC and the protective effect increased with time since the operation. In multivariate analysis the protection did not reach statistical significance. Chlamydial and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections were studied in two separate seroepidemiological case-control studies with 78 PFTC patients. The incidence of women with positive HPV or chlamydial serology was the same in PFTC patients and in the control group and was not found to be a risk factor for PFTC. Finally, the possible risk of a second primary cancer after diagnosis and treatment of PFTC in a cohort of 2084 cases from 13 cancer registries followed for second primary cancers within the period 1943 2000 was studied. In PFTC patients, second primary cancers were 36% more common than expected (SIR 1.36, 95% CI 1.13 1.63). In conclusion, the incidence of PFTC has increased in Finland, especially in higher social classes and among those in certain occupations. Elevated serum hCGβ reflect a worsened prognosis. Parity is a clear protective factor, as is previous sterilization. After PFTC there is a risk of second primary cancers, especially colorectal, breast, lung and bladder cancers and non-lymphoid leukemia. The excess of colorectal and breast cancers after PFTC may indicate common effects of earlier treatments, or they could reflect common effects of lifestyle or genetic, immunological or environmental background.

Matkalla marginaalista valtavirtaan? : Huumeiden käytön lopettaneiden elämäntapa ja toipuminen

On a journey from marginal to mainstream? The lifestyle and recovery of former drug users This thesis studies the lifestyle and recovery of former users of illicit drugs through their experiences. The study describes the life of people with drug problems both during the time they used drugs regularly and after they stopped the use entirely. The focus is on the development of the lifestyle of 32 persons who no longer use drugs. They may have stopped using drugs independently or with the help of a treatment. In this study, persons who have given up drug use with the help of a psychosocially oriented treatment are called non-medicinally treated former users (n=19) whereas opioid addicts who have stopped using drugs through substitution treatment are referred to as substitution treatment patients (n=13). The research material was gathered from theme interviews. The criteria for the focus group of the study included the following: a) the interviewees had had a serious drug problem in their past; b) they had not used drugs for at least one year prior to the interview; c) they were not in an institutional care at the time of the study. This thesis is basically a lifestyle study in which the aspects of lifestyle are used to describe the everyday life of former drug users. The study reviews the whole spectrum of everyday routines, especially the social interaction and subjective experiences of people. The second concept used in this study is recovery, which is described as a process that starts from the abstinence from substances and adoption of the recovery culture and continues as a comprehensive change of the lifestyle, identity and values of an individual. Disengaging from a drug-oriented lifestyle and connected social network as well as finding an individual frame of reference is a demanding process. Years of drug use have often caused complex health and social disadvantages as well as problems with work, education, livelihood, accommodation and human relationships. The effect of the past on the present arises at all levels. The interviews revealed a recovery culture maintaining the lifestyle as well as an adaptive and optimistic approach to the future among those participating in the study. The study shows that an adequate distance from acute substance use is a precondition for the beginning of the recovery process, yet abstinence in itself tells nothing about the actual recovery. The study describes how some recovering users find a meaning in life easily whereas others have to work actively for their recovery. Detaching oneself from the feeling of adopted abnormality connected with substance addiction forms an important basis for satisfying abstinence. Peer groups support the development of counter-cultures and abstinence or the support is received from the community formed in the substitution treatment clinic.

Drug cultures in Estonia : contexts, meanings and patterns of illicit drug use.

In Estonia, illicit drug use hardly existed before the social changes of the 1990s when, as a result of economic and cultural transformations, the country became part of a world order centred in the West. On the one hand, this development is due to the spread of international youth culture, which many young people have perceived as being associated with drugs; on the other hand, it results from the marginalisation of a part of the population. The empirical part of the study is based mostly on in-depth interviews with different drug users conducted during between 1998 and 2002. Complementary material includes the results of participant observations, interviews with key experts, and the results of previous quantitative studies and statistics. The young people who started experimenting with illicit drugs from the 1990s and onwards perceived them as a part of an attractive lifestyle - a Western lifestyle, a point which is worth stressing in the case of Estonia. Although the reasons for initiation into drug use were similar for the majority of young people, their drug use habits and the impact of the drug use on their lives began to differ. I argue that the potential pleasure and harm which might accompany drug use is offset by the meanings attached to drugs and the sanctions and rituals regulating drug use. In the study both recreational and problem use have been analysed from different aspects in seven articles. I have investigated different types of drug users: new bohemians, cannabis users, in whose case partying and restrictive drug use is positively connected to their lives and goals within established society; stimulant-using party people for whom drugs are a means of having fun but who do not have the same restrictive norms regulating their drug use as the former and who may get into trouble under certain conditions; and heroin users for whom the drug rapidly progressed from a means of having fun to an obligation due to addiction. The research results point at the importance not only of the drug itself and the socio-economic situation of the user, but also of the cultural and social context within which the drug is used. The latter may on occasions be a crucial factor in whether or not initial drug use eventually leads to addiction.

Retirement Transition and Well-being : A 16-year Longitudinal Study

The ageing of the labour force and falling employment rates have forced policy makers in industrialized countries to find means of increasing the well-being of older workers and of lengthening their work careers. The main objective of this thesis was to study longitudinally how health, functional capacity, subjective well-being, and lifestyle change as people grow older, and what effect retirement has on these factors and on their relationships. The present study is a follow-up questionnaire study of Finnish municipal workers, conducted in 1981 to 1997 at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. In 1981, a postal questionnaire was sent to 7344 municipal workers in different parts of Finland. The respondents were born between 1923 and 1937. A total of 6257 persons responded to the first questionnaire. In the end, a total of 3817 persons had responded to all four (1981, 1985, 1992, 1997) questionnaires. (The response rate was 69% of the living participants). Cross-tabulations, comparison of means, logistic regression analyses and general linear models with repeated measures were used to derive the results. The transition from work life to retirement, and the following years as a pensioner were associated with many changes. Involvement in various activities increased during the transition stage but later decreased to the previous level. Physical exercise was an exception: it became increasingly popular over the years. Perceived health improved markedly from the working stage to the retirement transition stage, even though morbidity increased steadily during the follow-up. On the other hand, functional capacity decreased over the follow-up, especially among those who were occupationally active until the retirement stage. Subjective well-being remained stable during the follow-up period. There were, however, great differences based on the type of work, favouring those whose work had been mental in nature. The impact of activity level on maintaining well-being became greater during the follow-up, whereas the effect of physical functioning diminished. Good physical functioning and an active life-style contributed to staying on at work until normal retirement age. Also work-related factors, i.e. possibilities for development and influence at work, responsibility for others, meaningful work, and satisfaction with working time arrangements were positively related to continuing working. The transition from work to retirement had a positive impact on a person s health and functional capacity. The study results support the view that it should be possible to ease one s work pace during the last years of a work career. This might lower the threshold between work and retirement and convince people that there will still be time to enjoy retirement also a few years later.

Physical activity and diabetic complications in patients with type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is associated with the risk for late diabetic complications which are divided into microvascular (retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy) and macrovascular (cardiovascular disease, CVD) diseases. The risk for diabetic complication can be reduced by effective treatment, most importantly the glycaemic control. Glycaemia in type 1 diabetes is influenced by the interplay between insulin injections and lifestyle factors such as physical activity and diet. The effect of physical activity in patients with type 1 diabetes is not well known, however. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the physical activity and the physical fitness of patients with type 1 diabetes with special emphasis on glycaemic control and the diabetic complications. The patients included in the study were all part of the nationwide, multicenter Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study which aims to characterise genetic, clinical, and environmental factors that predispose to diabetic complications in patients with type 1 diabetes. In addition, subjects from the IDentification of EArly mechanisms in the pathogenesis of diabetic Late complications (IDEAL) Study were studied. Physical activity was assessed in the FinnDiane Study in 1945 patients by a validated questionnaire. Physical fitness was measured in the IDEAL Study by spiroergometry (cycle test with measurement of respiratory gases) in 86 young adults with type 1 diabetes and in 27 healthy controls. All patients underwent thorough clinical characterisation of their diabetic complication status. Four substudies were cross-sectional using baseline data and one study additionally used follow-up data. Physical activity, especially the intensity of activities, was reduced in patients affected by diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and CVD. Low physical activity was associated with poor glycaemic control, a finding most clear in women and evident also in patients with no signs of diabetic complications. Furthermore, low physical activity was associated with a higher HbA1c variability, which in turn was associated with the progression of renal disease and CVD during follow-up. A higher level of physical activity was also associated with better insulin sensitivity. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in type 1 diabetes was also lower the higher the physical activity. The aerobic physical fitness level of young adults with type 1 diabetes was reduced compared with healthy peers and in men an association between higher fitness level and lower HbA1c was observed. In patients with type 1 diabetes, a higher physical activity was associated with better glycaemic control and may thus be beneficial with respect to the prevention of diabetic complications.

Muuttoliike ja vetovoimatekijät Helsingissä : - Kyselyaineiston analyysi

This thesis explores migration and the attractiveness of urban living in the Greater Helsinki region. The aim of the thesis is to explore the attractiveness of the city of Helsinki in terms of regional migration and to identify what characterizes migration to Helsinki. The study focuses in particular on housing, which is a key factor influencing migration decisions in the region. Other central themes in the study are housing policy and regional competition among municipalities. This study focuses solely on households moving within Finnish borders excluding international migration. Migration is examined by comparing in- and out-migration in Helsinki, as well as studying migration to the city s inner and outer areas. The primary research material in the study is a questionnaire data collected by the National Consumer Research Centre. In this thesis the data is used for studying migrants aged 25 45. The main research method is analyzing the data statistically using the SPSS software. Methods include frequency analysis, cross tabulation, factor analysis and descriptive analysis. Additionally, statistical data is used to complement the questionnaire data. The research results indicate that Helsinki s in- and out-migration differs both in terms of the type of households that migrate as well as in the reasons why they migrate. Furthermore, differences can also be detected between migration to the inner and outer parts of Helsinki. According to the research results, a household s current phase of life is crucial in determining where and why they move within the Greater Helsinki region. A household s set of values on the other hand, seems to have a lesser impact on migration within the region, even though households moving to Helsinki seem to value a somewhat more urban lifestyle than the ones moving out of the city. The research also shows a direct correlation between the values of migrants and their current phase of life. Decisions of migrating are heavily influenced by wider societal issues. In the Greater Helsinki region the labor and housing market appear to have a great influence on the direction of migration streams. According to the results, households move to and from Helsinki for different reasons. The primary reasons for moving to Helsinki are related to the city s diverse labor market and to the working careers of households. Issues related to urban living and an urban lifestyle seem to be relevant although not the main reason why people move to Helsinki. The research material indicates that Helsinki s urban environment is both a pull and a push factor affecting the decisions of migrants. The city attracts those seeking urban living, but on the contrary does not appeal to households seeking more space and wishing to live closer to nature. According to the research, Helsinki with its densely built urban environment mainly attracts singles and childless couples, whereas the city region s other municipalities are more attractive for families with children. Housing policy is one of the main reasons determining where people move within the Helsinki region. As for the city of Helsinki, improving the city s attractiveness seems to be closely linked to how well the city manages to execute its future housing policies and how well alternative living preferences can be taken into account in planning.

Growing up in Affiliation with a Religious Community : A Case Study of Seventh-day Adventist Youth in Finland

This study investigates how the religious community as a socialization context affects the development of young people's religious identity and values, using Finnish Seventh-day Adventism as a context for the case study. The research problem is investigated through the following questions: (1) What aspects support the intergenerational transmission of values and tradition in religious home education? (2) What is the role of social capital and the social networks of the religious community in the religious socialization process? (3) How does the religious composition of the peer group at school (e.g., a denominational school in comparison to a mainstream school) affect these young people s social relations and choices and their religious identity (as challenged versus as reinforced by values at school)? And (4) How do the young people studied negotiate their religious values and religious membership in the diverse social contexts of the society at large? The mixed method study includes both quantitative and qualitative data sets (3 surveys: n=106 young adults, n=100 teenagers, n=55 parents; 2 sets of interviews: n=10 young adults and n=10 teenagers; and fieldwork data from youth summer camps). The results indicate that, in religious home education, the relationship between parents and children, the parental example of a personally meaningful way of life, and encouraging critical thinking in order for young people to make personalized value choices were important factors in socialization. Overall, positive experiences of the religion and the religious community were crucial in providing direction for later choices of values and affiliations. Education that was experienced as either too severe or too permissive was not regarded as a positive influence for accepting similar values and lifestyle choices to those of the parents. Furthermore, the religious community had an important influence on these young people s religious socialization in terms of the commitment to denominational values and lifestyle and in providing them with religious identity and rooting them in the social network of the denomination. The network of the religious community generated important social resources, or social capital, for both the youth and their families, involving both tangible and intangible benefits, and bridging and bonding effects. However, the study also illustrates the sometimes difficult negotiations the youth face in navigating between differentiation and belonging when there is a tension between the values of a minority group and the larger society, and one wants to and does belong to both. It also demonstrates the variety within both the majority and the minority communities in society, as well as the many different ways one can find a personally meaningful way of being an Adventist. In the light of the previous literature about socialization-in-context in an increasingly pluralistic society, the findings were examined at four levels: individual, family, community and societal. These were seen as both a nested structure and as constructing a funnel in which each broader level directs the influences that reach the narrower ones. The societal setting directs the position and operation of religious communities, families and individuals, and the influences that reach the developing children and young people are in many ways directed by societal, communal and family characteristics. These levels are by nature constantly changing, as well as being constructed of different parts, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each of which alters in significance: for some negotiations on values and memberships the parental influence may be greater, whereas for others the peer group influences are. Although agency does remain somewhat connected to others, the growing youth are gradually able to take more responsibility for their own choices and their agency plays a crucial role in the process of choosing values and group memberships. Keywords: youth, community, Adventism, socialization, values, identity negotiations

Functional limitations and quality of life in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

There is substantial evidence of the decreased functional capacity, especially everyday functioning, of people with psychotic disorder in clinical settings, but little research about it in the general population. The aim of the present study was to provide information on the magnitude of functional capacity problems in persons with psychotic disorder compared with the general population. It estimated the prevalence and severity of limitations in vision, mobility, everyday functioning and quality of life of persons with psychotic disorder in the Finnish population and determined the factors affecting them. This study is based on the Health 2000 Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of 8028 Finns aged 30 and older. The psychotic diagnoses of the participants were assessed in the Psychoses of Finland survey, a substudy of Health 2000. The everyday functioning of people with schizophrenia is studied widely, but one important factor, mobility has been neglected. Persons with schizophrenia and other non-affective psychotic disorders, but not affective psychoses had a significantly increased risk of having both self-reported and test-based mobility limitations as well as weak handgrip strength. Schizophrenia was associated independently with mobility limitations even after controlling for lifestyle-related factors and chronic medical conditions. Another significant factor associated with problems in everyday functioning in participants with schizophrenia was reduced visual acuity. Their vision was examined significantly less often during the five years before the visual acuity measurement than the general population. In general, persons with schizophrenia and other non-affective psychotic disorder had significantly more limitations in everyday functioning, deficits in verbal fluency and in memory than the general population. More severe negative symptoms, depression, older age, verbal memory deficits, worse expressive speech and reduced distance vision were associated with limitations in everyday functioning. Of all the psychotic disorders, schizoaffective disorder was associated with the largest losses of quality of life, and bipolar I disorder with equal or smaller losses than schizophrenia. However, the subjective loss of qualify of life associated with psychotic disorders may be smaller than objective disability, which warrants attention. Depressive symptoms were the most important determinant of poor quality of life in all psychotic disorders. In conclusion, subjects with psychotic disorders need regular somatic health monitoring. Also, health care workers should evaluate the overall quality of life and depression of subjects with psychotic disorders in order to provide them with the basic necessities of life.

Bättre folk, bättre smak? : Suomenruotsalaisten maku ja kulttuuripääoma

The aim of my thesis, which consists of five original articles and a summarizing chapter, is to study the identity, lifestyle and cultural taste of the Finnish Swedes, i.e. the Swedish-speaking language minority in Finland, from a qualitative point of view. The Finnish Swedes are a somewhat special minority, first of all because of their wide-ranging language rights guaranteed by the constitution, and secondly because of the common image that Finnish Swedes represent a more legitimate or better lifestyle and taste than the Finnish-Speaking Finns. This conception is corroborated by the fact that, in comparison to the language majority, the Swedish-speakers have better health, employment, income and so on according to a number of quantitative studies. My research data is composed of twenty-six focus group interviews conducted among a geographically and socio-economically wide range of Swedish-speaking Finns. Group sizes ranged from 3 to 11 people. In the interviews, culture was approached through a framework of seven topics: music, cinema, television, arts, reading, eating and clothing. In each focus group interview, two subfields of culture were discussed along with a short section about cultural events and participation and definitions on good and bad taste. After discussing culture and taste, there was a final discussion on the Finnish Swede identity. The main theoretical framework of my thesis comes from Pierre Bourdieu (1979) and his followers: I am asking whether the status of being a Swedish-speaker can be used as a means of distinction. The main research questions are the following: (1) How does the Swedish-speaking minority look studied in the light of extensive qualitative data and in a framework of lifestyle and taste? (2) What kind of differences in lifestyle, taste and linguistic identity are there between different Finnish Swedes and how do those connect with socio-economical position, place of residence or age? I also ask how belonging to the language minority might work as a tool for cultural distinction and how different Swedish-speaking groups take use of it. My main research question is (3) whether mother tongue is a remarkable factor of lifestyle or cultural taste in contemporary Finland.

Tsoi Yuen Resistance and Post-80s Generation: A new wave of domestic social movement

Hong Kong was once a British colony and has been under the sovereignty of People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1997. However, some of the unjust practices and colonial legacies are infiltrated into the development ideology as well as the social structures. The construction of intercity express railway project announced in 2008 causing the demolishment of Tsoi Yuen Tsuen, a “non-indigenous” agricultural village in Hong Kong, was one of the current examples. Tsoi Yuen village was established under the former colonial sovereignty sixty years ago. Approximately 450 populations were affected that they had to relocate their homeland involuntarily. However, these villagers were very attached to their homelands and were unwilling to move, and meanwhile they found that they were absent in the government’s consultation and decision-making process. Soon they began their resistance and demanded for “No Move! No Demolish!”. Their movement was strongly supported by a group of “Post-80s generation” and turned into the most important social movement of the city in recent years. In fact, demolition of Tsoi Yuen Village for city development is not an isolated case in the city. Meanwhile the situation is getting worse in Mainland China. I chose the case study of Tsoi Yuen Resistance from 2008 to 2011 for revelation of the complicated colonial history and postcolonial era of Hong Kong. I focused on discussing the Tsoi Yuen Resistance and the Post-80s movement, and how they have exposed the tension between top-down urban planning and development and public movements fighting for a more democratic process in choosing their way of living. Through the study of a village movement which as well as the rationale behind the Post-80s’ support, I hoped to illustrate how this movement has awaken a different sense of living for the new generations in the midst of the high-sounding urban development. It is an opportunity to examine Hong Kong’s colonial epoch in a different perspective: through studying the Tsoi Yuen Village, let them (subalterns) speak for themselves. Furthermore, the significance of this resistance, taking place eleven years after the handover to the PRC, is an important fact that I shall not miss in later discussion. Last but not least, during the resistance, advanced technology and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, iPhone were used by Post 80s generation to spread the latest information in order to attract public’s concern and participation. Therefore, apart from studying Tsoi Yuen Resistance as a local social movement, I also regard it as a part of the global movement in perusing ecological lifestyle and civil society. How Post 80s’ generation manipulates the global idea in a local context will also be examined.

Yhteiskuntaluokka ja maku

Thee thesis, which consists of four original articles and a summarizing chapter, discusses homology between social class and cultural taste. Cultural taste is defined as the choices made in different areas of culture (television, cinema, reading, music, visual arts, sports, dining out, and leisure pursuits). Taste choices manifest themselves as likes and dislikes but also in what a person does. Social class is observed through occupational status, level of education, income and subjective views on class. The central research question concerns the relationship between social class and consumption of culture. The study aims to clarify what kind of class related differences can be found in cultural consumption, but also how these differences are connected to other factors stratifying the society such as gender, age and mother tongue. The data that is being analyzed consists of the data gathered by the project Cultural Capital and Social Differentiation in Contemporary Finland: An International Comparison. Class identification and the relation of cultural divisions to the socioeconomic ones are being analyzed using a nationally represent-ative survey data (N = 1388). Individual interviews (N = 25) and twenty focus group interviews (N = 20) on cultural consumption are also being analyzed. The theoretical framework is built around Pierre Buourdieu s theory of distinction and its critique but also recent research that expands on bourdieusian theory. In the theory of distinction lifestyle is thought to be defined through the quantity and quality of different capitals (economic, cultural and social). Cultural tastes are therefore linked to class status through different capitals. The study shows that the majority of Finns can place themselves in the class scene. Moreover, class-related differences can be found in cultural consumption in empirical analyses. The main differences between classes can be seen in how different classes relate to cultural products but also in the number of leisure pursuits. Being well-off economically is connected to being well-off culturally. High status manifests as omnivorous cultural consumption. The central differences are built upon occupational class so that the working class is more passive than other class groups. Same difference can be found in relation to education and income level. Other im-portant divisive variable is age. Age group defines what is being consumed: the younger respondents are inclined to choose popular culture whereas the older age groups choices represent more traditional taste choices.