"Wicca=..." : Sosiaalisen identiteetin vaikutus wiccan määrittelyyn Suomiwicca-keskustelulistalla

Kysymys wiccan määrittelystä nousi ajankohtaiseksi vuosituhannen vaihteessa, kun joukko wiccoja päätti hakea uskonnolleen virallisen yhdyskunnan asemaa. Yritys ei onnistunut, sillä opetusministeriö piti wiccaa liian hajanaisena, eikä katsonut sen täyttävän laissa määriteltyjä uskonnon tunnusmerkkejä. Tutkielman tarkoitus on paneutua nimenomaan virallistamis-prosessin puitteissa käytyyn määrittelykeskusteluun diskurssianalyysin tarjoamin keinoin. Aineistona käytän projektin avuksi perustettua Suomiwicca-keskustelulistaa. Keskeisiä kysymyksiä ovat mm. miksi määrittely loppujen lopuksi on niin vaikeaa, ja miten siihen liittyviä ongelmia on pyritty ratkaisemaan. Samalla kiinnitän huomiota yleiseen uskonnon määrittelyyn uskonnonvapauslain näkökulmasta sekä länsimaissa tapahtuvaan uskonnollisuuden individualistumiseen. Määrittelyvaikeuksien juuret nousevat wiccan historiasta ja avoimen lähteen uskonnolle tyypillisistä piirteistä. Aineistossani lisäväriä keskusteluun tuovat lainsäädännön vaatimukset sekä oman sosiaalisen identiteetin varjeleminen. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä toimiikin H. Tajfelin ja J. C. Turnerin sosiaalisen identiteetin teoria. Määrittelyyn kiinteässä yhteydessä olevan kategorisoinnin kognitiiviset periaatteet on niin ikään huomioitu. Analyysi paljastaa, että määrittely koetaan vaikeaksi, koska wicca on luonteeltaan epä-dogmaattinen, yksilön autonomiaa korostava mysteeriuskonto. Tällaista uskontoa ei kukaan voi eikä kenenkään pitäisi määritellä, vaan wiccalaisuus perustuu itsemäärittelyyn. Silti tunnustetaan, ettei kaikki wiccaksi nimetty ole wiccaa, ja käytännössä itsemäärittelyn rinnalle astuu muita tekijöitä. Eroa wiccan ja ei-wiccan välille yritetään tehdä mm. erottautumalla sosiaalista identiteettiä heikentävistä liikkeistä (esim. satanismi, new age), jotka ulkopuoliset usein yhdistävät wiccaan. Erotteluja tehdään myös wiccan sisällä. Kritiikin kohteeksi joutuvat sekä yksittäiset henkilöt että eklektinen wicca-suuntaus kokonaisuutena. Oikeudesta wicca-nimitykseen ja siihen liittyvään sosiaaliseen identiteettiin pidetään kuitenkin lujasti kiinni, ja vihjailuja epäaitoudesta pidetään loukkaavina. Käytännössä itsemäärittely osoittatuu siis toimimattomaksi ja liian löyhäksi strategiaksi, vaikka onkin sopusoinnussa wiccan ideologian kanssa. Itseidentifikaatio on toki oleellinen osa wiccana olemista, mutta sen lisäksi on oltava uskottava, ja tultava muiden wiccojen hyväksymäksi perheyhtäläisyyden perusteella. Perheyhtäläisyyspiirteiden sijasta listalla keskitytään kuitenkin wiccaa monoteettisesti määrittävän piirteen etsimiseen. Tällaiseksi ehdotetaan mm. redeä, jumalkäsitystä sekä luontosuhdetta, mutta tulkinnallisten erimieli-syyksien vuoksi yhtäkään niistä ei kelpuuteta. Sen sijaan selkeyttä wiccakenttään näyttää tuovan taksonomisten jaotteluiden tekeminen ja wicca-suuntausten erojen korostaminen. Näin kaikki wiccaksi nimittäytyvät tunnustetaan wiccoiksi, mutta kenenkään sosiaalinen identiteetti ei silti heikkene. Strategia vaikuttaa lupaavalta, mutta sen tasa-arvoinen toteutuminen vaatii vielä hiomista ja uudenlaisten jaottelujen vakiinnuttamista. Tämä kuitenkin todistaa, ettei tyydyttävän määritelmän löytyminen ole täysin mahdotonta, kunhan kaikki wicca-ryhmittymät huomioidaan eikä keneltäkään yritetä väkisin riistää sosiaalista identiteettiä.

”Ihanan överi ja juhlallinen jakku olisi kyllä kiva lisä vaatekaappiin” – tutkimus kuluttamisesta ja professionalisoitumisesta elämäntyyliblogeissa

Tarkastelen tutkimuksessani muotibloggaajien kulutuspuhetta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, millaista kuluttajuutta muotiblogeissa ilmaistaan ja millainen kehityskaari muotiblogeissa on tapahtunut vuodesta 2007 tämän tutkimuksen tekemiseen asti tutkimusaineiston sekä tekemieni havaintojen perusteella. Tutkimus on toteutettu laadullisia tutkimusmenetelmiä käyttämällä. Olen kerännyt aineistoni kymmenestä naisten kirjoittamasta muotiblogista kahtena eri ajanjaksona vuonna 2009. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa on sekä etnografisen että netnografisen havainnoinnin piirteitä. Aineiston analysoinnin apuna olen käyttänyt teemoittelua sekä tyypittelyä. Tutkimuksesta selvisi, että muotibloggaajien näkeminen identiteettiään etsivänä liittyy oman tyylin etsimiseen ja erottautumisen haluun. Perinteinen näkemys kuluttajasta valitsijana ja passiivisena markkinoilla toimijana on väistymässä, sillä muotibloggaajat näyttäytyvät tutkimuksessa aktiivisina toimijoina ja tuottajina. Muotibloggaajat hakevat myös jatkuvasti uusia kulutuselämyksiä ja kommunikoivat toistensa kanssa välittämällä merkityksiä kuluttamisensa kautta. Muotibloggaajien kulutuspuheet näyttäytyvät tutkimuksessa ekonomistisen kulutuseetoksen ja perinteisen suomalaisen kulutuspuheen mukaisesti järkevinä. Säästäväisyyttä pidetään hyveellisenä ja tuotteiden hinnat vaikuttavat ostopäätösten tekemiseen. Muotibloggaajat osaavat kuitenkin kontrolloidusti nauttia kuluttamisesta. Kulutuspuheet noudattavat myös ekologis-eettisen kulutuseetoksen perinnettä, mikä ilmenee fanaattisuuden välttämisenä sekä perinteisten että sosiaalisen median kirpputorien suosimisena. Lisäksi muotibloggaajien kulutuspuheet käyvät ilmi sosiaalisena pakkona, sillä muotiblogin pitäminen mielenkiintoisena vaatii jatkuvaa himoa uusia kulutustuotteita kohtaan. Tutkimuksen perusteella muotiblogeissa korostuu yhteisöllisyys ja kuluttaminen on hyvin naisellista. Tutkimusaineistosta sekä havainnoista tekemieni päätelmien mukaan muotiblogit ovat muuttumassa elämäntyyliblogeiksi, sillä niissä kerrotaan yhä enemmän myös muista kuin kuluttamiseen liittyvistä aiheista. Samalla muotibloggaajat ovat kehittymässä tavallisesta kuluttajasta kohti asiantuntijuutta eli professionalisoitumassa. Professionalisoitumisen myötä muotibloggaajat toimivat uuden ajan kuluttajavalistajina ja muotiblogeissa syntyy uusia sanoja ja merkityksiä. Lisäksi muotibloggaajille on kehittynyt sellaisia tietoja ja taitoja, joita voi myydä. Muotibloggaajista onkin tulossa muodin ammattilaisia, joille maksetaan tulevaisuudessa bloggaamisesta myös palkkaa.

Death, Destruction and Commemoration : Tracing ritual activities in Finnish Late Iron Age cemeteries (AD 550-1150)

The thesis is connected with death, memory and ancestor commemoration during the Merovingian Period, the Viking Age and the beginning of the Crusade Period (AD 550-1150) in Finland. During this time, cremation was the dominant burial rite. It was not until the end of the Viking Age that inhumation became more common but both cremations and inhumations are performed even at the same sites throughout the time. Three different burial types 1) cremation cemeteries below level ground, 2) inhumation burials and 3) water burials are discussed in five articles. I consider these burial forms from three different viewpoints; collectivity-individuality, visibility-invisibility and cremation-inhumation. The thesis also discusses the topics of memory, memorialisation and monument re-use, which have been neglected subjects in Finnish archaeology until now. Both cremation cemeteries below level ground and inhumation burials have been re-used during their time of usage, and on most occasions are situated in a landscape that is overlaid by other monuments as well. The main questions of the thesis are: What kinds of ritual behaviour can we detect in the burials during the period (AD 550-1150)? How did people perceive the moraine hills that functioned as burial places? What kind of re-use can be detected in the Iron Age cemeteries? Why have ancient sites and artefacts been re-used? This thesis shows that it is possible to claim that both artefact and site re-use is a much more widespread phenomenon than has previously been thought in Finnish archaeology. It is also a conscious and deliberate behaviour that can be related to an ancestor cult and commemoration of the dead. The funerary rituals during this time period show great variation and complex, both regionally and nationally. Not only have the dead been buried using elaborate rituals, they have also been mourned and commemorated in intricate ways that proves that death was not an end product, but the start of something new.

Isotopic records of terrestrial ice age environments in mammoth bioapatite

Palaeoenvironments of the latter half of the Weichselian ice age and the transition to the Holocene, from ca. 52 to 4 ka, were investigated using isotopic analysis of oxygen, carbon and strontium in mammal skeletal apatite. The study material consisted predominantly of subfossil bones and teeth of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius Blumenbach), collected from Europe and Wrangel Island, northeastern Siberia. All samples have been radiocarbon dated, and their ages range from >52 ka to 4 ka. Altogether, 100 specimens were sampled for the isotopic work. In Europe, the studies focused on the glacial palaeoclimate and habitat palaeoecology. To minimise the influence of possible diagenetic effects, the palaeoclimatological and ecological reconstructions were based on the enamel samples only. The results of the oxygen isotope analysis of mammoth enamel phosphate from Finland and adjacent nortwestern Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark and Sweden provide the first estimate of oxygen isotope values in glacial precipitation in northern Europe. The glacial precipitation oxygen isotope values range from ca. -9.2±1.5 in western Denmark to -15.3 in Kirillov, northwestern Russia. These values are 0.6-4.1 lower than those in present-day precipitation, with the largest changes recorded in the currently marine influenced southern Sweden and the Baltic region. The new enamel-derived oxygen isotope data from this study, combined with oxygen isotope records from earlier investigations on mammoth tooth enamel and palaeogroundwaters, facilitate a reconstruction of the spatial patterns of the oxygen isotope values of precipitation and palaeotemperatures over much of Europe. The reconstructed geographic pattern of oxygen isotope levels in precipitation during 52-24 ka reflects the progressive isotopic depletion of air masses moving northeast, consistent with a westerly source of moisture for the entire region, and a circulation pattern similar to that of the present-day. The application of regionally varied δ/T-slopes, estimated from palaeogroundwater data and modern spatial correlations, yield reasonable estimates of glacial surface temperatures in Europe and imply 2-9°C lower long-term mean annual surface temperatures during the glacial period. The isotopic composition of carbon in the enamel samples indicates a pure C3 diet for the European mammoths, in agreement with previous investigations of mammoth ecology. A faint geographical gradient in the carbon isotope values of enamel is discernible, with more negative values in the northeast. The spatial trend is consistent with the climatic implications of the enamel oxygen isotope data, but may also suggest regional differences in habitat openness. The palaeogeographical changes caused by the eustatic rise of global sea level at the end of the Weichselian ice age was investigated on Wrangel Island, using the strontium isotope (Sr-87/Sr-86) ratios in the skeletal apatite of the local mammoth fauna. The diagenetic evaluations suggest good preservation of the original Sr isotope ratios, even in the bone specimens included in the study material. To estimate present-day environmental Sr isotope values on Wrangel Island, bioapatite samples from modern reindeer and muskoxen, as well as surface waters from rivers and ice wedges were analysed. A significant shift towards more radiogenic bioapatite Sr isotope ratios, from 0.71218 ± 0.00103 to 0.71491 ± 0.00138, marks the beginning of the Holocene. This implies a change in the migration patterns of the mammals, ultimately reflecting the inundation of the mainland connection and isolation of the population. The bioapatite Sr isotope data supports published coastline reconstructions placing the time of separation from the mainland to ca. 10-10.5 ka ago. The shift towards more radiogenic Sr isotope values in mid-Holocene subfossil remains after 8 ka ago reflects the rapid rise of the sea level from 10 to 8 ka, resulting in a considerable reduction of the accessible range area on the early Wrangel Island.

Archaean crustal evolution in eastern Finland : New geochronological and geochemical constraints from the Kuhmo terrain and the Nurmes belt

This thesis summarises the results of four original papers concerning U-Pb geochronology and geochemical evolution of Archaean rocks from the Kuhmo terrain and the Nurmes belt, eastern Finland. The study area belongs to a typical Archaean granite-greenstone terrain, composed of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks in generally N-S trending greenstone belts as well as a granitoid-gneiss complex with intervening gneissic and migmatised supracrustal and plutonic rocks. U-Pb data on migmatite mesosomes indicate that the crust surrounding the Tipasjärvi-Kuhmo-Suomussalmi greenstone belt is of varying age. The oldest protolith detected for a migmatite mesosome from the granitoid-gneiss complex is 2.94 Ga, whereas the other dated migmatites protoliths have ages of 2.84 2.79 Ga. The latter protoliths are syngenetic with the majority of volcanic rocks in the adjacent Tipasjärvi-Kuhmo-Suomussalmi greenstone belt. This suggests that the genesis of some of the volcanic rocks within the greenstone belt and surrounding migmatite protoliths could be linked. Metamorphic zircon overgrowths with ages of 2.84 2.81 Ga were also obtained. The non-migmatised plutonic rocks in the Kuhmo terrain and in the Nurmes belt record secular geochemical evolution, typical of Archaean cratons. The studied tonalitic rocks have ages of 2.83 2.75 Ga and they have geochemical characteristics similar to low-Al and high-Al TTD (tonalite-trondhjemite-dacite). The granodiorites, diorites, and gabbros with high Mg/Fe and LILE-enriched characteristics were mostly emplaced between 2.74 2.70 Ga and they exhibit geochemical characteristics typical of Archaean sanukitoid suites. The latest identified plutonic episode took place at 2.70 2.68 Ga, when compositionally heterogeneous leucocratic granitoid rocks, with a variable crustal component, were emplaced. U-Pb data on migmatite leucosomes suggest that leucosome generation may have been coeval with this latest plutonic event. On the basis of available U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotopic data it appears that the plutonic rocks of the Kuhmo terrain and the Nurmes belt do not contain any significant input from Palaeoarchaean sources. A characteristic feature of the Nurmes belt is the presence of migmatised paragneisses, locally preserving primary edimentary structures, with sporadic amphibolite intercalations. U-Pb studies on zircons indicate that the precursors of the Nurmes paragneisses were graywackes that were deposited between 2.71 Ga and 2.69 Ga and that they had a prominent 2.75 2.70 Ga source. Nd isotopic and whole-rock geochemical data for the intercalated amphibolites imply MORB sources. U-Pb data on zircons from the plutonic rocks and paragneisses reveal that metamorphic zircon growth took place at 2.72 2.63 Ga. This was the last tectonothermal event related to cratonisation of the Archaean crust of eastern Finland.

Randomised Evaluation of New Technologies within the Population‐Based Cervical Cancer Screening Programme in Finland: Cross‐Sectional Performance and Validity

A randomised and population-based screening design with new technologies has been applied to the organised cervical cancer screening programme in Finland. In this experiment the women invited to routine five-yearly screening are individually randomised to be screened with automation-assisted cytology, human papillomavirus (HPV) test or conventional cytology. By using the randomised design, the ultimate aim is to assess and compare the long-term outcomes of the different screening regimens. The primary aim of the current study was to evaluate, based on the material collected during the implementation phase of the Finnish randomised screening experiment, the cross-sectional performance and validity of automation-assisted cytology (Papnet system) and primary HPV DNA testing (Hybrid Capture II assay for 13 oncogenic HPV types) within service screening, in comparison to conventional cytology. The parameters of interest were test positivity rate, histological detection rate, relative sensitivity, relative specificity and positive predictive value. Also, the effect of variation in performance by screening laboratory on age-adjusted cervical cancer incidence was assessed. Based on the cross-sectional results, almost no differences were observed in the performance of conventional and automation-assisted screening. Instead, primary HPV screening found 58% (95% confidence interval 19-109%) more cervical lesions than conventional screening. However, this was mainly due to overrepresentation of mild- and moderate-grade lesions and, thus, is likely to result in overtreatment since a great deal of these lesions would never progress to invasive cancer. Primary screening with an HPV DNA test alone caused substantial loss in specificity in comparison to cytological screening. With the use of cytology triage test, the specificity of HPV screening improved close to the level of conventional cytology. The specificity of primary HPV screening was also increased by increasing the test positivity cutoff from the level recommended for clinical use, but the increase was more modest than the one gained with the use of cytology triage. The performance of the cervical cancer screening programme varied widely between the screening laboratories, but the variation in overall programme effectiveness between respective populations was more marginal from the very beginning of the organised screening activity. Thus, conclusive interpretations on the quality or success of screening should not be based on performance parameters only. In the evaluation of cervical cancer screening the outcome should be selected as closely as possible to the true measure of programme effectiveness, which is the number of invasive cervical cancers and subsequent deaths prevented in the target population. The evaluation of benefits and adverse effects of each new suggested screening technology should be performed before the technology becomes an accepted routine in the existing screening programme. At best, the evaluation is performed randomised, within the population and screening programme in question, which makes the results directly applicable to routine use.

Molecular Genetics of Age-related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD; OMIM # 603075) is an eye disease of the elderly, signs of which appear after the age of 50. In the Western world it is a leading cause of permanent visual loss with a prevalence of 8.5% in persons under 54 years of age and of 37% in persons over 75 years of age. Early forms of AMD may be asymptomatic, but in the late forms usually a central scotoma in the visual field follows severely complicating daily tasks. Smoking, age, and genetic predisposition are known risk factors for AMD. Until recently no true susceptibility genes had been identified though the composition of drusen deposits, the hallmarks of AMD, has suggested that the complement system might play a role in the pathogenesis of AMD. When four groups reported in March 2005, that, on chromosome 1q32, a Y402H variant in the complement factor H (CFH) gene confers risk for AMD in independent Caucasian samples, a new period in the field of genetic research of AMD started. CFH is a key regulator of the complement system. Thus, it is logical to speculate, that it plays a role in the pathogenesis of AMD. We performed a case-control association study to analyse whether the CFH Y402H variant contain a risk for AMD in the Finnish population. Although the population of Finland represents a genetic isolate, the CFH Y402H polymorphism was associated with AMD also in our patient sample with similar risk allele frequencies as in the other Caucasian populations. We further evaluated the effects of this variant, but no association between lesion subtype (predominantly classic, minimally classic or occult lesion) or lesion size of neovascular AMD and the CFH Y402H variant was detected. Neither did the variant have an effect on the photodynamic therapy (PDT) outcome. The patients that respond to PDT carried the risk genotype as frequently as those who did not respond, and no difference was found in the number of PDT sessions needed in patients with or without the risk genotypes of CFH Y402H. Functional analyses, however, showed that the binding of C-reactive protein (CRP) to CFH was significantly reduced in patients with the risk genotype of Y402H. In the past two years, the LOC387715/ high-temperature requirement factor A1 (HTRA1) locus on 10q26 has also been repeatedly associated with AMD in several populations. The recent discovery of the LOC387715 protein on the mitochondrial outer membrane suggests that the LOC387715 gene, not HTRA1, is the true predisposing gene in this region, although its biological function is still unknown. In our Finnish patient material, patients with AMD carried the A69S risk genotype of LOC387715 more frequently than the controls. Also, for the first time, an interaction between the CFH Y402H and the LOC387715 A69S variants was found. The most recently detected susceptibilty gene of AMD, the complement component 3 (C3) gene, encodes the central component of the complement system, C3. In our Finnish sample, an additive gene effect for the C3 locus was detected, though weaker than the effects for the two main loci, CFH and LOC387715. Instead, the hemicentin-1 or the elongation of very long chain fatty acids-like 4 genes that have also been suggested as candidate genes for AMD did not carry a risk for AMD in the Finnish population. This was the first series of molecular genetic study of AMD in Finland. We showed that two common risk variants, CFH Y402H and LOC387715 A69S, represent a high risk of AMD also in the isolated Finnish population, and furthermore, that they had a statistical interaction. It was demonstrated that the CFH Y402H risk genotype affects the binding of CFH to CRP thus suggesting that complement indeed plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AMD.

The Impact of New Capital Requirements on the Portfolio Decisions of Finnish Pension Institutions

This paper examines the potential impact of new capital requirements on asset allocations of Finnish pension institutions. We describe the new requirements and consider portfolio construction to minimize regulatory capital, given the investor’s preferred level of expected return. Results identify portfolio transactions that enhance expected return without increasing capital needs. Regulation calls for portfolio diversification and prudence in management, but this paper shows that market participants can exploit inconsistencies in regulation. Possible future consequences include capital outflows from the pension system and an unintended decrease in pre-funding of old-age pensions.

Studies on Stone Age Housepits in Fennoscandia (4000 - 2000 cal BC) : Changes in ground plan, site location and degree of sedentism

Housepits have a remarkably short research history as compared to Fennoscandian archaeological research on the Stone Age in general. The current understanding of the numbers and the distribution of Stone Age housepits in the Nordic countries has, for the most part, been shaped by archaeological studies carried out over the last twenty to thirty years. The main subjects of this research are Neolithic housepits, which are archaeological remains of semi-subterranean pithouses. This dissertation consists of five peer-reviewed articles and a synthesis paper. The articles deal with the development of housepits as seen in the data gathered from Finland (the Lake Saimaa area and south-eastern Finland) and Russia (the Karelian Isthmus). This synthesis expands the discussion of the changes observed in the Papers to include Fennoscandian housepit research as a whole. Certain changes in the size, shape, environmental location, and clustering of housepits extended into various cultures and ecological zones in northern Fennoscandia. Previously, the evolution of housepits has been interpreted to have been caused by the adaptation of Neolithic societies to prevailing environmental circumstances or to re-organization following contacts with the agrarian Corded Ware/Battle Axe Cultures spreading to North. This dissertation argues for two waves of change in the pithouse building tradition. Both waves brought with them certain changes in the pithouses themselves and in the practices of locating the dwellings in the environment/landscape. The changes in housepits do not go hand in hand with other changes in material culture, nor are the changes restricted to certain ecological environments. Based on current information, it appears that the changes relate primarily to the spread of new concepts of housing and possibly to new technology, as opposed to representing merely a local response to environmental factors. This development commenced already before the birth of the Corded Ware/Battle Axe Cultures. Therefore, the changes are argued to have resulted from the spreading of new ideas through the same networks that actively distributed commodities, exotic goods, and raw materials over vast areas between the southern Baltic Sea, the north-west Russian forest zone, and Fennoscandia.

Modelling initial survival and growth of radiata pine in New Zealand.

A sensitive framework has been developed for modelling young radiata pine survival, its growth and its size class distribution, from time of planting to age 5 or 6 years. The data and analysis refer to the Central North Island region of New Zealand. The survival function is derived from a Weibull probability density function, to reflect diminishing mortality with the passage of time in young stands. An anamorphic family of trends was used, as very little between-tree competition can be expected in young stands. An exponential height function was found to fit best the lower portion of its sigmoid form. The most appropriate basal area/ha exponential function included an allometric adjustment which resulted in compatible mean height and basal area/ha models. Each of these equations successfully represented the effects of several establishment practices by making coefficients linear functions of site factors, management activities and their interactions. Height and diameter distribution modelling techniques that ensured compatibility with stand values were employed to represent the effects of management practices on crop variation. Model parameters for this research were estimated using data from site preparation experiments in the region and were tested with some independent data sets.