Kotitaloustaidon ulottuvuuksia : Analyysi kotitaloustaidosta eksistentialistis-hermeneuttisen fenomenologian valossa

DOMESTIC SKILLS AS THE ART OF EVERYDAY LIFE. An inquiry about domestic skills as a way of being-in-the-world in the light of existentialist-hermeneutics phenomenology. This study focuses on analyzing domestic skills in a phenomenological manner. The description phenomenological emerges from the interpretation process, which originates from the ontological question of domestic skills. The ontological question of how domestic skills are directs one s phenomenological gaze to the experiencing of domestic skills, rather than merely viewing their action or technical aspects. Along with the ontological question, the axiological question of what the meaning of domestic skills is drives the analysis. This study is both theoretical and philosophical. Phenomenology is the guiding philosophy, theory and methodology of the inquiry. Existentialist-hermeneutics is the emphasis which most appropriately describes the phenomenological attitude adopted within the analysis. Martin Heidegger s philosophy of being and Maurice Merleau-Ponty s philosophy of the lived body essentially form the theoretical base for the inquiry. The analysis reveals domestic skills within a core of Care and the Other. Care and the Other are anchored both in Heidegger s analysis of Dasein and in Merleau-Ponty s analysis of the reversible being-in-the-world. The social nature of being and the action-oriented intentionality of the lived body are embodied in Care and the Other. This ontological base of domestic skills enables us to see the extensions that inhabit in it. These extensions are redoing, emotional experiencing, adapting and emancipating. The analysis connects ability and action, which is why domestic skills and household activity must be seen as a united whole. This united whole is not the matter of the two components of the phenomenon, but is rather the matter of domestic skills as a way of being-in-the-world. Domestic skills are a channel for the phenomenon Home Economics to manifest in our lives. This is the gaze that presents domestic skills as to be like the poetry of everyday life. The main result of the study is the elucidation of the ontology of domestic skills and the naming of its extensions. This growth of philosophical understanding makes it possible to strengthen the science of home economics.

Young, gifted and spiritual -The case of Finnish sixth-grade pupils

The aim of this study was to explore the spirituality of Finnish academically gifted 12 13-year old pre-adolescents (N = 101). Their spirituality was investigated through the following three questions: (1) What is their relationship to religion? (2) How do they perceive transcendence? and (3) How does their search for meaning integrate into their lives? A total of 60 girls and 41 boys participated in the study. They attend a special school, Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu, in Helsinki, Finland. The school includes classes from grade 3 to upper secondary school and has an entrance test. This study is part of a research project called Actualizing Finnish Giftedness which is funded by the Finnish Academy between 2000 2007 and is led by Professor Tirri. The research project is based on Gardner s Multiple Intelligences theory (Gardner 1993) and on Hay s (1998) work on spirituality. The data in this study was gathered in 2003 and 2004. It includes both qualitative and quantitative material. The emphasis is on data gathered with interviews. The mixed method approach was used as the methodological framework for connecting the qualitative content analysis, phenomenological approach and the quantitative tests of this study. The results of the sub-studies are reported in full in the four original articles. First, the articles show that the pupils connect religion mainly with Christian institutions and do not consider religion and spirituality to overlap. Second, the articles show that the pupils believe in God and the interference of God in their lives and they think that reality includes a spiritual dimension. Third, the pupils had four kinds of existentially significant interests: personal, transcendental, cosmic and ethical. Cosmic interests were especially highlighted in the article concerning boys as nature and science were reported to be integral sources for their existential thinking. In addition, perceptions on God seemed to be connected to the individual s perception on the meaning of life. In RE, spiritual development has been a constant topic of interest since the late eighties. Likewise, recently in gifted education there have been discussions concerning spiritual intelligence (Gardner 1999) and spirituality of the gifted (Kerr & Cohn 2001). Based on the empirical results of the study, this study concludes that education wishing to promote spiritual development should aim at being existentially relevant to the pupils and use their existential search as an integrative framework for their individual talents and skills.

Kiusaamisen kasvot kasvatusyhteisössä : Päivähoitoyksikön esimiesten kokemuksia ja näkemyksiä työpaikkakiusaamisesta

The subject of my research was analyzing how psychological violence appears in educational communities in both preschool and kindergarten environments. The superiors of every daycare unit (a total of 80 units) in Vantaa were asked to tell about their own views and experiences of psychological violence in educational communities. In addition I cleared out the superior’s views on what the role of workplace counseling is in clearing out cases of psychological violence. A workplace always consists of people connected through work and the workplace creates a context for psychological violence. Working is public in an educational environment, as also customers set expectations and make wishes on how the work should be done. Different thoughts on what the working community should be creates pressure for the workers. My aim was to find out about the superior’s views on different types of psychological violence in the workplace, how one’s personality effects on an experience on psychological violence, the superior’s abilities and possibilities on noticing psychological violence in an early stage and the necessity of intervention. I also wanted to map the superior’s views and experiences on the value of workplace counseling in straightening out cases of psychological violence. The research point of view used was triangulation with hermeneutical and phenomenological features. The research method used was a semistructured questionnaire with a few open questions used to seek answers for the problems that have come up in the research. I analyzed the collected data partly from quantitative and partly from qualitative point of views, and also my aim was to understand psychological violence in the workplace as a phenomena in the communities within the early phases of education and to give this worker-to-worker mobbing a face. As a result of my research, I found out that the psychological violence inside the educational communities is more passive and scheming than aggressive or straightforward. The most important outcome of my research was finding a risk factor, where the superior is in danger of being the target of workplace psychological violence. Out the superiors who answered the questionnaire, 12% told they had been the target of this psychological violence after being transferred in to an old unit to work as the new superior. I hope this result will be of use when changes similar to this are known to take place. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords Psychological violence, educational enviroment, moral and ethic at work, role of the superior, role of a workplace consultant

Luonnoksia käsityön ruumiillisuudesta. : Käsityö Maurice Merleau-Pontyn ruumiinfenomenologian valossa.

Purpose This study focused on craft from a standpoint of phenomenological philosophy and craft was interpreted through Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of the body. The main focus was the physical phase of the craft process, wherein a product is made from material. The aim was to interpret corporality in craft. There is no former research focusing on lived body in craft science. Physical, bodily making is inalienable in craft, but it is not articulated. Recent discussion has focused on craft as ”whole”, which emphasizes designing part in the process, and craft becomes conceptualized with the theories of art and design. The axiomatic yet silenced basis of craft, corporality, deserves to become examined as well. That is why this study answers the questions: how craft manifests in the light of phenomenology of the body and what is corporality in craft? Methods In this study I cultivated a phenomenological attitude and turned my exploring eye on craft ”in itself”. In addition I restrained myself from mere making and placed myself looking at the occurrence of craft to describe it verbally. I read up Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of the body on his principal work (2002) and former interpretations of it. Interpreting and understanding textual data were based on Gadamer’s hermeneutics, and the four-pronged composition of the study followed Koski’s (1995) version of the Gadamerian process of textual interpretation. Conclusions In the construction of bodily phenomenology craft was to be contemplated as a mutual relationship between the maker and the world materializing in bodily making. At the moment of making a human being becomes one with his craft, and the connection between the maker, material and the equipment appears as communication. Operational dimension was distinctive in the intentionality of craft, which operates in many ways, also in craft products. The synesthesia and synergy of craft were emphasized and craft as bodily practice came to life through them. The moment of making appeared as situation generating time and space, where throwing oneself into making may give the maker an experience of upraise beyond the dualism of mind and body. The conception of the implicit nature of craft knowledge was strengthened. In the light of interpretation it was possible to conceptualize craft as a performance and making ”in itself” as a work of art. In that case craft appeared as bodily expression, which as an experience approaches art without being it after all. The concept of aesthetic was settled into making as well. Bodily and phenomenological viewpoint on craft gave material to critically contemplate the concept of “whole craft” (kokonainen käsityö) and provided different kind of understanding of craft as making.

Mallimestari globalisoituneen sarjatuotannon situationaalisessa prosessissa : Kokemustutkimus

In this thesis, taking place within the clothing industry of Finland, the impact of the globalisation of the economy on the pattern maker s job was studied and the present day fields of know-how of the job were found out. The thesis answers the questions, what are the characteristics of the patternmaker s job nowadays, and what areas of the know-how in the patternmaker s job form the core know-how, which is repeated in every organisation. Earlier studies of the subject do not exist in Finland. Similar studies have been made in USA (Staples 1993) and in Estonia (2002). Patternmakers who took part in this study were located in the Finnish clothing companies manufacturing or having clothes manufactured in series production, like clothing industry or chain of stores. A methodical triangulation was used in the thesis. In a phenomenological research of experience seven patternmakers were interviewed and in a quantitative research 26 patternmakers filled in a structured questionnaire. The phenomenological analysis has 2 parts. In the first phase using the professional background of the patternmakers, the historical development of the clothing industry for the last 40 years was described. In the second phase of the phenomenological analysis the description of the patternmaker s job was created based on the organisational strategy of the companies nowadays. The analysis of quantitative research material was performed by one-dimensional study of variables, where the variations in the amounts of variables lead to proportional conclusions. As a result of the structured questionnaire, the core know-how of the patternmaker was pointed out. In the thesis, the concept of situationality was used to describe the continuous change in the clothing industry. This explains the continuous requirement of patternmakers commitment to the time and location. The researcher has a background of a patternmaker and she works as a specialist instructor. With the thesis the researcher updates her professional competence. The analysis of the patternmaker s job can be used to update the content of patternmakers education in the vocational schools.

Male eating disorders and related traits : Genetic epidemiological study in Finnish twins

The aim of this study was to deepen the understanding of eating disorders, body image dissatisfaction and related traits in males by examining the epidemiology and genetic epidemiology of these conditions in representative population-based twin samples. The sample of Study I included adolescent twins from FinnTwin12 cohorts born 1983 87 and assessed by a questionnaire at ages 14 y (N=2070 boys, N=2062 girls) and 17 y (N=1857 boys, N=1984 girls). Samples of Studies II-V consisted of young adult twins born 1974-79 from FinnTwin16 cohorts (Study II N=1245 men, Study III N=724 men, Study IV N=2122 men, Study V N=2426 women and N=1962 men), who were assessed by a questionnaire at the age 22-28 y. In addition, 49 men and 526 women were assessed by a diagnostic interview. The overall response rates for both twin cohorts in all studies were 80-90%. In boys, mainly genetic factors (82%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 72-92) explained the covariation of self-esteem between the ages 14 y and 17 y, whereas in girls, environmental factors (69%, 95% CI 43-93) were the largest contributors. Of young men, 30% experienced high muscle dissatisfaction, while 12% used or had used muscle building supplements and/or anabolic steroids on a regular basis. Muscle dissatisfaction exhibited a robust association with the indicators of mental distress and a genetic component (42%, 95% CI 23-59) for its liability in this population was found. The variation of muscle-building substance use was primarily explained by the environmental factors. The incidence rate of anorexia nervosa in males for the age of 10-24 y was 15.7 (95% CI 6.6-37.8) per 100 000 person-years, and its lifetime prevalence by the young adulthood was 0.24% (95% CI 0.03-0.44). All detected probands with anorexia nervosa had recovered from eating disorders, but suffered from substantial psychiatric comorbidity, which manifested also in their co-twins. Additionally, male co-twins of the probands displayed significant dissatisfaction with body musculature, a male-specific feature of body dysmorphic disorder. All probands were from twin pairs discordant for eating disorders. Of the five male probands with anorexia nervosa, only one was from an opposite-sex twin pair. Among women from the opposite-sex pairs, the prevalence of DSM-IV or broad anorexia nervosa was no significantly different compared to that of the women from monozygotic pairs or from dizygotic same-sex pairs. The prevalence of DSM-IV or broad bulimia nervosa did not differ in opposite- versus same-sex female twin individuals either. In both sexes, the overall profile of indicators on eating disorders was rather similar between individuals from opposite-sex and same-sex pairs. In adolescence, development of self-esteem was differently regulated in boys compared to girls: this finding may have far-reaching implications on the etiology of sex discrepancy of internalizing and externalizing disorders. In young men, muscle dissatisfaction and muscle building supplement/steroid use were relatively common. Muscle dissatisfaction was associated with marked psychological distress such as symptoms of depression and disordered eating. Both genetic and environmental factors explained muscle dissatisfaction in the population, but environmental factors appeared to best explain the use of muscle-building substances. In this study, anorexia nervosa in boys and young men from the general population was more common, transient and accompanied by more substantial co-morbidity than previously thought. Co-twins of the probands with anorexia nervosa displayed significant psychopathology such as male specific symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder, but none of them had had an eating disorder: taken together, these traits are suggestive for an endophenotype of anorexia nervosa in males. Little evidence was found on that the risk for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, disordered eating or body dissatisfaction were associated with twin zygosity. Thus, it is unlikely that in utero femininization, masculinization or postnatal socialization according to the sex of the co-twin have a major influence on the later development of eating disorders or related traits.

Hospital-related fears and coping strategies in 4-6-year-old children

There is only little information available on the 4-6-year-old child s hospital-related fears, and on the coping with such fears, as expressed by the children themselves. However, previous data collected from parents and hospital personnel indicate that hospitalization is an anxiety-producing experience for young children. The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of hospital-related fears and the experience of coping with hospital-related fears of 4-6-year-old children. The aim of this study was to form a descriptive model of the subjective experience of hospital-related fears and coping strategies of 4-6-year old children. The data were collected by interviewing 4-6-year-old children from a hospital and kindergarten settings in Finland from 2004 to 2006. Ninety children were interviewed in order to describe the hospital-related fear and the experience of fear, and 89 to describe their coping with the fear and the experience of coping. The children were chosen through purposive sampling. The data were gathered by semi-structured interview, supported by pictures. The data about hospital-related fears and on strategies for coping with hospital-related fears were reviewed by qualitative and quantitative methods. The experience of hospital-related fears and coping with these fears were analyzed using Colaizzi s Method of Phenomenological Analysis. The results revealed that more than 90 % of the children said they were afraid of at least one thing in hospital. Most of the fears could be categorized as nursing interventions, fears of being a patient, and fears caused by the developmental stage of the child. Children interviewed in the hospital expressed substantially more fears than children interviewed in kindergarten. Children s meanings of hospital-related fears were placed into four main clusters: 1) insecurity, 2) injury, 3) helplessness, 4) and rejection. The results also showed that children have plenty of coping strategies, to deal with their fears, especially such strategies in which the children themselves play an active role. Most often mentioned coping strategies were 1) the presence of parents and other family members, 2) the help of the personnel, 3) positive images and humour, 4) play, and 5) the child s own safety toy. The children interviewed in the hospital mentioned statistically significantly more often play, positive imagination and humour as their coping strategy than children interviewed in kindergarten. The meaning of coping with hospital fears consisted of six clusters: pleasure, security, care, understanding the meaning of the situation participating, and protecting oneself. Being admitted to a hospital is an event which may increase the fears of a 4-6-year-old child. Children who have personal experience of being admitted to a hospital describe more fears than healthy children in kindergarten. For young children, hospital-related fear can be such a distressing experience that it reflects on their feelings of security and their behaviour. Children can sometimes find it difficult to admit their fear. Children need the help of adults to express their hospital-related fears, the objects of the fears, and to cope with the fears. Personnel should be aware of children s fears and support them in the use of coping strategies. In addition to the experiences of security and care, pre-school-aged children need active coping strategies that they can use themselves, regardless of the presence of the parents or nurses. Most of all, children need the possibility to play and experience pleasure. Children can also be taught coping strategies which give them an active, positive role.

Electroencephalographic and Immunological Findings in Patients with Schizophrenia Treated with Clozapine

This work studies the effect of clozapine (CLO) on the electroencephalography (EEG) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by peripheral blood monocytes (MO) in patients with schizophrenia (SCH). The aim of the study was to investigate the mechanism of action of CLO, to clarify the effect of CLO on EEG absolute power spectrum and ROS production, and explore the relationship of these effects with clinical response. We also tried to clarify whether the EEG changes or ROS production would help to identify the patients who were most likely to respond to treatment with CLO. Our findings suggest that the amount of slow background activity, particularly the absolute power of the theta frequency band, in the EEG is markedly increased by CLO treatment and this finding correlates positively with clinical improvement in patients with SCH. CLO affected the production of ROS by blood MO with reduction or minimal increase of the ROS production being associated with clinical improvement, whereas marked increase of the ROS production did not. Also a positive correlation between theta absolute power increase in the EEG and suppression of the production of ROS by blood MO was found. The correlations between different symptom clusters of SCH and the EEG rhythms were investigated; the absolute power of beta activity in the EEG seemed to correlate positively to overall psychopathology in patients with SCH showing inadequate response. The results suggest that the EEG background activity and investigation of the production of ROS by MO seem to be an adjunctive method to objectively assess and possibly predict the therapeutic effect of CLO in patients with chronic SCH showing inadequate response to treatment with conventional antipsychotics.

Psychiatric disturbances in children with intellectual disability : Prevalence, risk factors and assessment

Children with intellectual disability are at increased risk for emotional and behavioural problems, but many of these disturbances fail to be diagnosed. Structured checklists have been used to supplement the psychiatric assessment of children without intellectual disability, but for children with intellectual disability, only a few checklists are available. The aim of the study was to investigate psychiatric disturbances among children with intellectual disability: the prevalence, types and risk factors of psychiatric disturbances as well as the applicability of the Finnish translations of the Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC-P) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in the assessment of psychopathology. The subjects comprised 155 children with intellectual disability, and data were obtained from case records and five questionnaires completed by the parents or other carers of the child. According to case records, a psychiatric disorder had previously been diagnosed in 11% of the children. Upon careful re-examination of case records, the total proportion of children with a psychiatric disorder increased to 33%. According to checklists, the frequency of probable psychiatric disorder was 34% by the DBC-P, and 43% by the CBCL. The most common diagnoses were pervasive developmental disorders and hyperkinetic disorders. The results support previous findings that compared with children without intellectual disability, the risk of psychiatric disturbances is 2-3-fold in children with intellectual disability. The risk of psychopathology was most significantly increased by moderate intellectual disability and low socio-economic status, and decreased by adaptive behaviour, language development, and socialisation as well as living with both biological parents. The results of the study suggest that both the DBC-P and the CBCL can be used to discriminate between children with intellectual disability with and without emotional or psychiatric disturbance. The DBC-P is suitable for children with any degree of intellectual disability, and the CBCL is suitable at least for children with mild intellectual disability. Because the problems of children with intellectual disability differ somewhat from those of children without intellectual disability, checklists designed specifically for children with intellectual disability are needed.

Suicidal ideation and attempts among psychiatric patients with major depressive disorder

This study is part of an ongoing collaborative research and development project, the Vantaa Depression Study (VDS), between the National Public Health Institute, Helsinki and the Department of Psychiatry of Helsinki University Hospital (HUCH), Peijas hospital, Vantaa. The VDS is a prospective, naturalistic cohort study of 269 secondary-level care psychiatric out- and inpatients with a new episode of DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD). 269 patients (Nmales=72, Nfemales=197) with a current DSM-IV MDD were interviewed with semistructured interviews to assess all other psychiatric diagnoses. At 6- and 18-month follow-up the interviews were repeated. Suicidal behaviour was investigated both at intake and follow-up by using a psychometric scale (Scale for Suicidal Ideation) and interviewer's questions as well as the patient's psychiatric records. Patients, who reported suicidal ideation while entering the study were followed up weekly, and their level of suicidal ideation, hopelessness, anxiety and depression was measured. In this study suicidal ideation was common among psychiatric patients with MDD. Almost 60% of the depressed patients reported suicidal ideation and 15% of patients attempted suicide at the baseline. Patients with suicidal ideation or attempts had a clearly higher level of overall psychopathology than non-suicidal patients. During the 18-month follow-up period 8% of patients attempted suicide. The risk of an attempt was markedly higher (RR=7.54) during an episode of major depression compared with a period of remission. Suicide attempt during the follow-up period was predicted by lack of partner, a history of previous suicide attempts and time spent in depression. Suicidal ideation resolved for most of the suicidal patients during the first 2 to 3 months. The duration of suicidal ideation was longer for patients with an initially higher level of psychopathology. Declines both in depression and hopelessness independently predicted the subsequent decline in suicidal ideation. They both could have a causal role in reversing the suicidal process. Thus effective treatment of depression is a credible measure in suicide prevention. Patients with suicidal behaviour often received more antidepressants and had more frequent appointments with mental health professionals than non-suicidal patients. Suicidal patients had also more favourable attitudes towards antidepressant treatment and comparable adherence to treatment than those not suicidal. This study does not support the conception that patient attitudes or adherence to treatments would be a factor differentiating suicidal patients from non-suicidal. Instead, problems with adherence or attitudes seem to be generic to all psychiatric care.

Formation of structure in dark energy cosmologies

Acceleration of the universe has been established but not explained. During the past few years precise cosmological experiments have confirmed the standard big bang scenario of a flat universe undergoing an inflationary expansion in its earliest stages, where the perturbations are generated that eventually form into galaxies and other structure in matter, most of which is non-baryonic dark matter. Curiously, the universe has presently entered into another period of acceleration. Such a result is inferred from observations of extra-galactic supernovae and is independently supported by the cosmic microwave background radiation and large scale structure data. It seems there is a positive cosmological constant speeding up the universal expansion of space. Then the vacuum energy density the constant describes should be about a dozen times the present energy density in visible matter, but particle physics scales are enormously larger than that. This is the cosmological constant problem, perhaps the greatest mystery of contemporary cosmology. In this thesis we will explore alternative agents of the acceleration. Generically, such are called dark energy. If some symmetry turns off vacuum energy, its value is not a problem but one needs some dark energy. Such could be a scalar field dynamically evolving in its potential, or some other exotic constituent exhibiting negative pressure. Another option is to assume that gravity at cosmological scales is not well described by general relativity. In a modified theory of gravity one might find the expansion rate increasing in a universe filled by just dark matter and baryons. Such possibilities are taken here under investigation. The main goal is to uncover observational consequences of different models of dark energy, the emphasis being on their implications for the formation of large-scale structure of the universe. Possible properties of dark energy are investigated using phenomenological paramaterizations, but several specific models are also considered in detail. Difficulties in unifying dark matter and dark energy into a single concept are pointed out. Considerable attention is on modifications of gravity resulting in second order field equations. It is shown that in a general class of such models the viable ones represent effectively the cosmological constant, while from another class one might find interesting modifications of the standard cosmological scenario yet allowed by observations. The thesis consists of seven research papers preceded by an introductory discussion.

Keho: Omaa sukupuolta koskevan tiedon ja ymmärryksen muotoutumisen perusta transsukupuolisilla

Body: The foundation for the formation of the knowledge and conception of gender identity among the transgendered The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the experiential formation of the knowledge and conception of one's gender and the foundation of that experience. This study is based on qualitative method and phenomenological approach. The research material consists: Herculine Barbin's Herculine Barbin, Christine Jorgensen's Christine Jorgensen. A Personal Autobiography Kate Bornstein's Gender Outlaw and Deirdre McCloskey's Crossing. A Memoir. The theoretical frame of reference for the study is Michel Henry's phenomenology of the body. The most important relations regarding the formation of the knowledge and conception of gender identity at which the sensing of the body is directed are human being's own subjective, organic and objective bodily form and other people and representatives of institutions. The concept of resistance reveals that gender division and the stereotypes and accountability related to it have dual character in culture. As a resistance they contain the potential for triggering the reflections about one's own gender. As an instrument they may function as means of exercising power and, as such, of monitoring gender normality. According to the research material the sources for the knowledge and conception of gender identity among the transgendered are literature, medical articles and books, internet, clerical and medical professionals, friends and relatives, and the peer group, that is, other transgendered. The transgendered are not only users of gender knowledge, but many of them are also active producers and contributors of gender knowledge and especially of knowledge about transgenderness. The problem is that this knowledge is unevenly distributed in society. The users of gender knowledge are mainly the transgendered, researchers of different disciplines specialized in gender issues, and medical and healthcare professionals specialized in gender adjustments. Therefore not everyone has the sufficient knowledge to support one's own or someone other's life as a gendered being in a society and ability to achieve gender autonomy. The quality of this knowledge is also rather narrow from the gender multiplicity point of view. The feeling of strangeness and the resulting experience of enstrangement have, like stereotypes, dual character in culture. They may be the reason for people's social disadvantage or exclusion, but the experiences may just as well be a resource for people's gender maturity and culture. As a cultural resource in gender issue this would mean innovativity in creating, upholding and changing cultural gender division, stereotypes and accounting customs. A transgendered may then become a liminal that aspires to change the limits related to resistances in society. Transgenderness is not only a medical issue but, first and foremost, an issue bearing upon human situation as a whole, or, in other words, related to the art of life. The subject of gender adjustment treatments is not only gender itself but the art of life as a gendered being. Transgenderness would then require multi-discipline co-operation.

Vanhustenhoitajan ammatillinen rooli – avain vanhusten hyvinvointiin ja hoitajien työssä jaksamiseen

Suomessa väestön rakenne on muuttumassa ja hoitoa tarvitsevien määrä nousee jatkuvasti. Vanhustenhoito on muuttunut henkisesti ja fyysisesti yhä kuormittavammaksi ja vanhustenhoidon imago huonoksi. Tavoitteita asetetaan, mutta resurssit näiden saavuttamiseen ovat tiukassa. Tutkimuksen keskiössä olivat vanhustenhoitajien kokemukset ammatillisesta roolista. Tutkimuksen teoreettisina tukipilareina toimivat rooliteoria sekä näkemykset tunnetyöstä ja totaalisista laitoksista. Menetelmänä toimi IPA:a, jonka avulla voidaan päästä käsiksi siihen, miten tutkittavat jäsentävät maailmaansa − tässä tapauksessa ammatillista rooliaan vanhustyöntekijöinä. Tutkimuksen aineistona toimivat 8 haastattelua, jotka on kerätty vuonna 2009. Aineistosta nousi päällimmäisenä esiin hoitajan ja asukkaan välinen vuorovaikutus ja se, kuinka hoitajan on oltava ammatillisessa roolissa. Tätä vuorovaikutussuhdetta kuvattiin kaikissa kahdeksassa haastattelussa ja sitä pidettiin ammattitaidon oleellisimpana osana. Ensimmäisellä tutkimuskysymyksellä selvitettiin millaisia rooliodotuksia vanhustenhoitajat asettavat toiminnalleen. Oleellisimmat odotukset rakentuivat sen ympärille, miten vanhuksen kanssa ollaan vuorovaikutuksessa. Tilanteissa hoitajan tulisi osata oikeanlaiset tiukat, mutta toisaalta lempeät otteet, jotta vanhukset eivät passivoituisi. Nämä otteet nähtiin vanhuksen edun mukaisina, sillä ilman jämäkkää hoito-otetta vanhukset saattoivat heittäytyä täysihoitoon ja lakata pitämästä yllä päivittäisiä toimintojaan, kuten hampaiden pesua. Toinen tutkimuskysymys paneutui siihen, kokevatko vanhustenhoitajat roolinmukaisuuden tärkeäksi työssään. Lisäksi perehdyttiin siihen, miksi roolinmukaisuus koetaan tärkeänä. Haastatellut vanhustenhoitajat toivat esiin, että työstä on suoriuduttava tietyllä tavalla. Omista murheista tai mieltymyksistä huolimatta työt piti saada tehtyä. Työhön oltiin tultu vanhuksen edun vuoksi ja se oli pidettävä mielessä koko ajan. Kun hoitajat onnistuivat toimimaan rooliodotusten mukaisesti, säilyi tunnelma osastolla rauhallisena ja lääkkeitä kului vähemmän. Kolmas tutkimuskysymys pureutui siihen, voiko vanhustenhoitaja vapautua ammatillisesta roolistaan työpäivän aikana. Hoitajat kokivat, että roolista vapautuminen oli mahdollista työpäivän aikana, mutta sille annettiin tiukat rajat. Vanhusten nähden hoitajan tuli pysytellä tiukasti roolinmukaisessa odotettavassa käytöksessä. Vanhustenhoitajilla oli selkeästi erilaiset käyttäytymissäännöt niihin tilanteisiin kun oltiin osastolla potilaiden näkyvillä kuin niihin tilanteisiin joissa oltiin yksin tai kollegoiden kanssa. Tässä voidaan nähdä selkeä yhteys Goffmanin rooliteoriaan, jossa hän tuo esiin, että esityksissä on näyttämö ja takatila. Vanhainkodin tapauksessa näyttämö on osasto, jossa vanhukset ja omaiset seuraavat hoitajien toimintaa. Takatiloina sen sijaan toimivat hoitajien omat työhuoneet, taukotilat ja henkilökunnan wc, jossa työnaamio voitiin riisua hetkellisesti pois. Tärkeimmät lähteet ovat: Goffman, E. (1971). Arkielämän roolit. Oikeille jäljille rooliviidakossa ja Smith, J., Flowers, P., Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Theory, method and research.

Service Experience in an Innovation Context

Service researchers and practitioners have repeatedly claimed that customer service experiences are essential to all businesses. Therefore comprehension of how service experience is characterised in research is an essential element for its further development through research. The importance of greater in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of service experience has been acknowledged by several researchers, such as Carú and Cova and Vargo and Lusch. Furthermore, Service-Dominant (S-D) logic has integrated service experience to value by emphasising in its foundational premises that value is phenomenologically (experientially) determined. The present study analyses how the concept of service experience has been characterised in previous research. As such, it puts forward three ways to characterise it in relation to that research: 1) phenomenological service experience relates to the value discussion in S-D logic and interpretative consumer research, 2) process-based service experience relates to understanding service as a process, and 3) outcome-based service experience relates to understanding service experience as one element in models linking a number of variables or attributes to various outcomes. Focusing on the phenomenological service experience, the theoretical purpose of the study is to characterise service experience based on the phenomenological approach. In order to do so, an additional methodological purpose was formulated: to find a suitable methodology for analysing service experience based on the phenomenological approach. The study relates phenomenology to a philosophical Husserlian and social constructionist tradition studying phenomena as they appear in our experience in a social context. The study introduces Event-Based Narrative Inquiry Technique (EBNIT), which combines critical events with narratives and metaphors. EBNIT enabled the analysis of lived and imaginary service experiences as expressed in individual narratives. The study presents findings of eight case studies within service innovation of Web 2.0, mobile service, location aware service and public service in the municipal sector. Customers’ and service managers’ stories about their lived private and working lifeworld were the foundation for their ideal service experiences. In general, the thesis finds that service experiences are (1) subjective, (2) context-specific, (3) cumulative, (4) partially socially constructed, (5) both lived and imaginary, (6) temporally multiple-dimensional, and (7) iteratively related to perceived value. In addition to customer service experience, the thesis brings empirical evidence of managerial service experience of front-line managers experiencing the service they manage and develop in their working lifeworld. The study contributes to S-D logic, service innovation and service marketing and management in general by characterising service experience based on the phenomenological approach and integrating it to the value discussion. Additionally, the study offers a methodological approach for further exploration of service experiences. The study discusses managerial implications in conjunction with the case studies and discusses them in relation to service innovation.

Customer Value in E-Service: Conceptual Foundation and Empirical Evidence

Customer value has been identified as “the reason” for customers to patronize a firm, and as one of the fundamental blocks that market exchanges build upon. Despite the importance of customer value, it is often poorly defined, or seems to refer to different phenomena. This dissertation contributes to current marketing literature by subjecting the value concept to a critical investigation, and by clarifying its conceptual foundation. Based on the literature review, it is proposed that customer value can be divided into two separate, but interrelated aspects: value creation processes, and value outcome determination. This means that on one hand, it is possible to examine those activities through which value is created, and on the other hand, investigate how customers determine the value outcomes they receive. The results further show that customers may determine value in four different ways: value as a benefit/sacrifice ratio, as experience outcomes, as means-end chains, and value as phenomenological. In value as benefit/sacrifice ratio, customers are expected to calculate the ratio between service benefits (e.g. ease of use) and sacrifices (e.g. price). In value as experience outcomes, customers are suggested to experience multiple value components, such as functional, emotional, or social value. Customer value as means-ends chains in turn models value in terms of the relationships between service characteristics, use value, and desirable ends (e.g. social acceptance). Finally, value as phenomenological proposes that value emerges from lived, holistic experiences. The empirical papers investigate customer value in e-services, including online health care and mobile services, and show how value in e-service stems from the process and content quality, use context, and the service combination that a customer uses. In conclusion, marketers should understand that different value definitions generate different types of understanding of customer value. In addition, it is clear that studying value from several perspectives is useful, as it enables a richer understanding of value for the different actors. Finally, the interconnectedness between value creation and determination is surprisingly little researched, and this dissertation proposes initial steps towards understanding the relationship between the two.