Shooting from the Wild Zone : A Study of the Chicana Art Photographers Laura Aguilar, Celia Álvarez Muñoz, Delilah Montoya, and Kathy Vargas

The dissertation analyzes and elaborates upon the changing map of U.S. ethno-racial formation from the vantage point of North American Studies, multi-disciplinary cultural studies, and the criticism of visual culture. The focus is on four contemporary Mexican American (Chicana) women photographers, whose art production is discussed, on the one hand, in the context of the Euro-American history of photographic genres and, on the other hand, in the context of so-called decolonizing cultural and academic discourses produced by Mexican Americans themselves. The manuscript consists of two parts. Part I outlines the theoretical and methodological domain of the study, positioning it in the interstices of American studies, European postmodern criticism, postcolonial feminist theory, and the theories of visual culture, particularly of art photography. In addition, the main issues and paradigms of Chicano Studies (Mexican American ethnic studies) are introduced. Part II consists of seven essays, each of which discusses rather independently a particular photographic work or a series of photographs, formulating and defending arguments about their meaning, position in the history of photographic genres, and their cultural and socio-political significance. The study closes with a discussion about ethno-racial identity formation and the role of Chicana photography therein - in embodying and reproducing new subjectivities, alternative categories of knowledge, and open ended historical narratives. It is argued that, symbolically, the "Wild Zone" of gendered and race-specific knowledge becomes associated with the body of the mother, a recurrent image in Chicana art works under discussion. Embedded in this image, the construction of an alternative notion of a family thus articulates the parameters of a matrifocal ethno-racial community unified by the proliferation of differences rather than by conformities typical of nationalistic ideologies. While focusing on art photography, the study as a whole simultaneously constructs, from a European vantage point, a "thick" description of Mexican American history, identities, communities, cultural practices, and self-representations about which very little is known in Finland.

Democracy, Participation, and Deliberation in China : The discussion about democratic centralism in the official Chinese press, 1978-1981

This study examines the Chinese press discussion about democratic centralism in 1978-1981 in newspapers, political journals and academic journals distributed nationwide. It is thus a study of intellectual trends during the Hua Guofeng period and of methods, strategies, and techniques of public political discussion of the time. In addition, this study presents democratic centralism as a comprehensive theory of democracy and evaluates this theory. It compares the Chinese theory of democratic centralism with Western traditions of democracy, not only with the standard liberal theory but also with traditions of participatory and deliberative democracy, in order to evaluate whether the Chinese theory of democratic centralism forms a legitimate theory of democracy. It shows that the Chinese theory comes close to participatory types of democracy and shares a conception of democracy as communication with the theory of deliberative democracy. Therefore, the Chinese experience provides some empirical evidence of the practicability of these traditions of democracy. Simultaneously, this study uses experiences of participatory democracies outside of China to explain some earlier findings about the Chinese practices. This dissertation also compares Chinese theory with some common Western theories and models of Chinese society as well as with Western understandings of Chinese political processes. It thus aims at opening more dialogue between Chinese and Western political theories and understandings about Chinese polity. This study belongs to scholarly traditions of the history of ideas, political philosophy, comparative politics, and China studies. The main finding of this study is that the Chinese theory of democratic centralism is essentially a theory about democracy, but whether its scrupulous practicing alone would be sufficient for making a country a democracy depends on which established definition of democracy one applies and on what kind of democratic deficits are seen as being acceptable within a truly democratic system. Nevertheless, since the Chinese theory of democratic centralism fits well with some established definitions of democracy and since democratic deficits are a reality in all actual democracies, the Chinese themselves are talking about democracy in terms acceptable to Western political philosophy as well.

On Toponymic Constructions as an Alternative to Naming Patterns in Describing Finnish Lake Names

This thesis combines a computational analysis of a comprehensive corpus of Finnish lake names with a theoretical background in cognitive linguistics. The combination results on the one hand in a description of the toponymic system and the processes involved in analogy-based naming and on the other hand some adjustments to Construction Grammar. Finnish lake names are suitable for this kind of study, as they are to a large extent semantically transparent even when relatively old. There is also a large number of them, and they are comprehensively collected in a computer database. The current work starts with an exploratory computational analysis of co-location patterns between different lake names. Such an analysis makes it possible to assess the importance of analogy and patterns in naming. Prior research has suggested that analogy plays an important role, often also in cases where there are other motivations for the name, and the current study confirms this. However, it also appears that naming patterns are very fuzzy and that their nature is somewhat hard to define in an essentially structuralist tradition. In describing toponymic structure and the processes involved in naming, cognitive linguistics presents itself as a promising theoretical basis. The descriptive formalism of Construction Grammar seems especially well suited for the task. However, now productivity becomes a problem: it is not nearly as clear-cut as the latter theory often assumes, and this is even more apparent in names than in more traditional linguistic material. The varying degree of productivity is most naturally described by a prototype-based theory. Such an approach, however, requires some adjustments to onstruction Grammar. Based on all this, the thesis proposes a descriptive model where a new name -- or more generally, a new linguistic expression -- can be formed by conceptual integration from either a single prior example or a construction generalised from a number of different prior ones. The new model accounts nicely for various aspects of naming that are problematic for the traditional description based on analogy and patterns.

Functional dissection of alternative secretory pathways in the yeast S. cerevisiae

Eukaryotic cells are characterized by having a subset of internal membrane compartments, each one with a specifi c identity, structure and function. Proteins destined to be targeted to the exterior of the cell need to enter and progress through the secretory pathway. Transport of secretory proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi takes place by the selective packaging of proteins into COPII-coated vesicles at the ER membrane. Taking advantage of the extensive genetic tools available for S. cerevisiae we found that Hsp150, a yeast secretory glycoprotein, selectively exited the ER in the absence of any of the three Sec24p family members. Sec24p has been thought to be an essential component of the COPII coat and thus indispensable for exocytic membrane traffic. Next we analyzed the ability of Hsp150 to be secreted in mutants, where post-Golgi transport is temperature sensitive. We found that Hsp150 could be selectively secreted under conditions where the exocyst component Sec15p is defective. Analysis of the secretory vesicles revealed that Hsp150 was packaged into a subset of known secretory vesicles as well as in a novel pool of secretory vesicles at the level of the Golgi. Secretion of Hsp150 in the absence of Sec15p function was dependent of Mso1p, a protein capable of interacting with vesicles intended to fuse with the plasma membrane, with the SNARE machinery and with Sec1p. This work demonstrated that Hsp150 is capable of using alternative secretory pathways in ER-to-Golgi and Golgi-to-plasma membrane traffi c. The sorting signals, used at both stages of the secretory pathway, for secretion of Hsp150 were different, revealing the highly dynamic nature and spatial organization of the secretory pathway. Foreign proteins usually misfold in the yeast ER. We used Hsp150 as a carrier to assist folding and transport of heterologous proteins though the secretory pathway to the culture medium in both S. cerevisiae and P. pastoris. Using this technique we expressed Hsp150Δ-HRP and developed a staining procedure, which allowed the visualization of the organelles of the secretory pathway of S. cerevisiae.

The effects of eutrophication on alternative reproductive tactics in threespine sticklebacks

When organisms compete for mates and fertilisations, the process of sexual selection drives the evolution of traits that increase reproductive success. The traits targeted by selection, and the extent to which they change, are constrained by the local environment. Sexual selection due to female mate choice can be undermined by alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs), which refers to discontinuous variation in traits or behaviours used in reproduction. As human activities are rapidly changing our planet, this raises the question how ARTs will be affected. Fish show a bewildering diversity of ARTs, which make them good model organisms to answer these questions. One example of human-induced environmental change, which is affecting aquatic ecosystems around the world, is eutrophication, the over-enrichment of water bodies with nutrients. One of its effects is decreased underwater visibility due to increases in both turbidity and vegetation density. The aims of this thesis were to investigate the effects increased turbidity and vegetation density have on an ART in sticklebacks, a fish common to marine and fresh water bodies of the Northern hemisphere. I furthermore investigated how this affected sexual selection for male size, a trait commonly under selection. I used a combination of behavioural observations in microcosms, where I manipulated underwater visibility, with collection of genetic material to reconstruct parentage of broods, and thus identify sneak fertilisations. The results show that turbidity might have weak negative effects on the frequency of sneaking behaviour, although this behaviour was rather infrequent in these experiments, which complicates firm conclusions. In dense vegetation the number of sneak fertilisations decreased slightly, as fewer nesting males sneaked, while the number of non-nesting males sneaking remained constant. The paternity analyses revealed that a significantly smaller fraction of eggs was sneak fertilised under dense vegetation. Furthermore, amongst the nesting males that sneaked, the amount of eggs sneak fertilised correlated positively with courtship success. A reduction in sneaking by these males under dense vegetation equalised the distribution of fertilisation success, in turn contributing to a decrease in the opportunity for selection. Under dense vegetation significantly more males built nests, which has also been observed in previous field studies. In a separate experiment we addressed if such changes in the proportion of nesters and non-nesters, without changes in visibility, affected the incidence of sneak fertilisation. My results show this was not the case, likely because sneaking is an opportunistic tactic shown by both nesters and non-nesters. Non-nesters did sneak proportionately more when there were many of them, which could be due to changes in the cost-benefit ratio of sneaking. As nesters can only attack one intruder at a time, the costs and risks per sneaker will decrease as the number of sneakers increases. The defensive behaviours shown by the nesters before spawning shifted to a more aggressive form of nest defence. This could be because less aggressive behaviours lose their effectiveness when the number of intruders increases. It could also indicate that the risks associated with aggressive behaviours decrease when there are fewer fellow nesters, as other studies indicate nesters are competitive and aggressive individuals. Under turbid conditions I did not detect changes in the opportunity for selection, based on fertilisation success, nor was male size under significant selection under clear or turbid conditions. More thorough analyses under densely vegetated conditions across the nesting, courtship and fertilisation stages revealed a decrease in the opportunity for selection across all stages. A reduction in sneaking by nesters contributed to this. During the nesting stage, but not during later stages, body size was under significant directional selection under sparse, but not dense vegetation. This illustrates the importance of considering all selection stages to get a complete picture of how environmental changes affect sexual selection. Leaving out certain stages or subgroups can result in incomplete or misleading results.

Cooperation and conflict in conspecific brood parasitism : an alternative reproductive tactic

Interactions among individuals give rise to both cooperation and conflict. Individuals will behave selfishly or altruistically depending on which gives the higher payoff. The reproductive strategies of many animals are flexible and several alternative tactics may be present from which the most suitable one is applied. Generally, alternative reproductive tactics may be defined as a response to competition from individuals of the same sex. These alternative reproductive tactics are means by which individuals may fine-tune their fitness to the reigning circumstances and which are shaped by the environment individuals are occupying as well as by the behaviour of other individuals sharing the environment. By employing such alternative ways of achieving reproductive output, individuals may alleviate competition from others. Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is an alternative reproductive strategy found in several egg laying animal groups, and it is especially common among waterfowl. Within this alternative reproductive strategy, four reproductive options can be identified. These four options represent a continuum from low reproductive effort coupled with low fitness returns, to high reproductive effort and consequently high benefits. It may not be evident how individuals should allocate reproductive effort between eggs laid in their own nest vs. in nests of others, however. Limited fecundity will constrain the number of eggs donated by a parasite, but also the tendency for hosts to accept parasitic eggs may affect the allocation decision. Furthermore, kinship, individual quality and the costs of breeding may play a role in complicating the allocation decision. In this thesis, I view the seemingly paradoxical effects of kinship on conflict resolution in the context of alternative reproductive tactics, examining the resulting features of cooperation and conflict. Conspecific brood parasitism sets the stage for investigating these questions. By using both empirical and theoretical approaches, I examine the nature of CBP in a brood parasitic duck, the Barrow's goldeneye (Bucephala islandica). The theoretical chapter of this thesis gives rise to four main conclusions. Firstly, variation in individual quality plays a central role in shaping breeding strategies. Secondly, kinship plays a central role in the evolution of CBP. Thirdly, egg recognition ability may affect the prevalence of parasitism. If egg recognition is perfect, higher relatedness between host and parasite facilitates CBP. Finally, I show that the relative costs of egg laying and post-laying care play a so far underestimated role in determining the prevalence of parasitism. The costs of breeding may outweigh possible inclusive fitness benefits accrued from receiving eggs from relatives. Several of the patterns brought out by the theoretical work are then confirmed empirically in the following chapters. Findings include confirmation of the central role of relatedness in determining the extent of parasitism as well as inducing a counterintuitive host clutch reduction. Furthermore, I demonstrate a cost of CBP inflicted on hosts, as well as results suggesting that host age reflects individual quality, affecting the ability to overcome costs inflicted by CBP. In summary, I demonstrate both theoretically and empirically the presence of cooperation and conflict in the interactions between conspecific parasites and their hosts. The field of CBP research has traditionally been divided, but the first steps have now been taken toward the acceptance of the opposite side of the divide. Especially the theoretical findings of chapter 1 offer the possibility to view seemingly contrasting results of various studies within the same framework, and may direct future research toward more general features underlying differences in the patterns of CBP between populations or species.

Written Cancer Narratives : An Ethnomedical Study of Cancer Patients' Thoughts, Emotions and Experiences

Since the second half of the 20th century, cancer has become a dominant disease in Western countries, endangering people regardless of age, gender, race or social status. Every year almost eight million people die of cancer worldwide. In Finland every fourth person is expected to fall ill with cancer at some stage of his or her life. During the 20th century, along with rapid changes in the medical system, people s awareness of cancer has increased a great deal. This has also influenced the image of cancer in popular discourse over the past decades. However, from the scientific point of view there is still much that is unclear about the disease. This thesis shows that this is a big problem for ordinary people, as, according to culture-bound illness ideology, people need an explanation about the origin of their illness in order to help them cope. The main aim of this thesis is to examine the process of being ill with cancer from the patient s point of view, in order to analyse attitudes and behaviour towards cancer and its significance and culture-bound images. This narrative-based study concentrates on patients voicings , which are important in understanding the cancer experience and when attempting to make it more open within current cultural and societal settings. The Kun sairastuin syöpään ( when I fell ill with cancer ) writing competition organised by Suomen Syöpäpotilaat ry (the Finnish Cancer Patients Association), Suomen Syöpäyhdistys ry (the Finnish Cancer Union), and Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran kansanrunousarkisto (the Finnish Literary Society Folklore Archive) was announced on the 1st of May 1994 and lasted until the 30th of September 1994. As a result, a total of 672 cancer narratives, totalling 6384 pages, were received, filled with experiences relating to cancer. Written cancer narratives form a body of empirical data that is suitable for content or textual analysis. In this thesis, content analysis is adopted in order to become familiar with the texts and to preselect the themes and analytical units for further examination. I use multiple perspectives in order to interpret cancer patients ideas and reasoning. The ethnomedical approach unites popular health beliefs that originated in Finnish folk medicine, as well as connecting alternative medicine, which patients make use of, with biomedicine, the dominant form of medicine today. In addition to this, patients narratives, which are composed of various structural segments, are approached from the folklorist s perspective. In this way they can be seen as short pathographies, reconstructions of self-negotiation and individual decision making during the illness process. Above all, cancer patients writing describe their feelings, thoughts and experiences. Factors that appear insignificant to modern medicine, overwhelmed as it is by medical technologies that concentrate on dysfunctional tissue within diseased bodies. Ethnomedical study of cancer patients writings gives access to the human side of cancer discourse, and combines both medical, and popular, knowledge of cancer. In my view, the natural world and glimpses of tradition are bound together with one general aim within cancer narratives: to tackle the illness and mediate its meanings. Furthermore, the narrative approach reveals that participants write with the hope of offering a different interpretation of the cancer experience, and thus of confronting culturally pre-defined images and ideologies.

E-learning in a rural context: Alternative media and contemporary applications

This report has been written as part of the E-ruralnet –project that addresses e-learning as a means for enhancing lifelong learning opportunities in rural areas, with emphasis on SMEs, micro-enterprises, self-employed and persons seeking employment. E-ruralnet is a European network project part-funded by the European Commission in the context of the Lifelong Learning Programme, Transversal projects-ICT. This report aims to address two issues identified as requiring attention in the previous Observatory study: firstly, access to e-learning for rural areas that have not adequate ICT infrastructure; and secondly new learning approaches introduced through new interactive ICT tools such as web 2.0., wikis, podcasts etc. The possibility of using alternative technology in addition to computers is examined (mobile telephones, DVDs) as well as new approaches to learning (simulation, serious games). The first part of the report examines existing literature on e-learning and what e-learning is all about. Institutional users, learners and instructors/teachers are all looked at separately. We then turn to the implementation of e-learning from the organizational point of view and focus on quality issues related to e-learning. The report includes a separate chapter or e-learning from the rural perspective since most of Europe is geographically speaking rural and the population in those areas is that which could most benefit from the possibilities introduced by the e-learning development. The section titled “Alternative media”, in accordance with the project terminology, looks at standalone technology that is of particular use to rural areas without proper internet connection. It also evaluates the use of new tools and media in e-learning and takes a look at m-learning. Finally, the use of games, serious games and simulations in learning is considered. Practical examples and cases are displayed in a box to facilitate pleasant reading.

Alternative News Sources as 'Collaboratory' Journalism. A case study of Helsingin Sanomat and its relation with the Youth Voice Editorial Board

The new paradigm of connectedness and empowerment brought by the interactivity feature of the Web 2.0 has been challenging the traditional centralized performance of mainstream media. The corporation has been able to survive the strong winds by transforming itself into a global multimedia business network embedded in the network society. By establishing networks, e.g. networks of production and distribution, the global multimedia business network has been able to sight potential solutions by opening the doors to innovation in a decentralized and flexible manner. Under this emerging context of re-organization, traditional practices like sourcing need to be re- explained and that is precisely what this thesis attempts to tackle. Based on ICT and on the network society, the study seeks to explain within the Finnish context the particular case of Helsingin Sanomat (HS) and its relations with the youth news agency, Youth Voice Editorial Board (NÄT). In that sense, the study can be regarded as an explanatory embedded single case study, where HS is the principal unit of analysis and NÄT its embedded unit of analysis. The thesis was able to reach explanations through interrelated steps. First, it determined the role of ICT in HS’s sourcing practices. Then it mapped an overview of the HS’s sourcing relations and provided a context in which NÄT was located. And finally, it established conceptualized institutional relational data between HS and NÄT for their posterior measurement through social network analysis. The data set was collected via qualitative interviews addressed to online and offline editors of HS as well as interviews addressed to NÄT’s personnel. The study concluded that ICT’s interactivity and User Generated Content (UGC) are not sourcing tools as such but mechanism used by HS for getting ideas that could turn into potential news stories. However, when it comes to visual communication, some exemptions were found. The lack of official sources amidst the immediacy leads HS to rely on ICT’s interaction and UGC. More than meets the eye, ICT’s input into the sourcing practice may be more noticeable if the interaction and UGC is well organized and coordinated into proper and innovative networks of alternative content collaboration. Currently, HS performs this sourcing practice via two projects that differ, precisely, by the mode they are coordinated. The first project found, Omakaupunki, is coordinated internally by Sanoma Group’s owned media houses HS, Vartti and Metro. The second project found is coordinated externally. The external alternative sourcing network, as it was labeled, consists of three actors, namely HS, NÄT (professionals in charge) and the youth. This network is a balanced and complete triad in which the actors connect themselves in relations of feedback, recognition, creativity and filtering. However, as innovation is approached very reluctantly, this content collaboration is a laboratory of experiments; a ‘COLLABORATORY’.