Hallinnollinen sanktiointi

Tausta Suomessa lainsäätäjä reagoi helposti yhteiskunnalliseen häiriötekijään rikosoikeuden keinoin. Tästä on osoituksena se, että syksyllä 2010 varsinaisen rikoslain lisäksi rikoksesta oli säädetty 256 eri laissa. Suomalainen, lähtökohdiltaan maltillinen kontrolli- ja kriminaalipolitiikka on 1970-luvulla linjatun vastaisesti johtanut 2000-luvulle tultaessa rikosoikeudellisen kontrollin lisääntymiseen ja jopa kiristymiseen. Raja rikosten ja rikkomusten välillä on liudentunut ja paikoitellen kadonnut ja erityisesti turvallisuudesta on kehittynyt – käsitteeseen liittyvistä oikeudellisista jännitteistä huolimatta – keskeinen rikosoikeudellisen sääntelyn oikeutusperuste. Rikosoikeuden käyttäminen vähäisten rikosten kontrollointiin on aiheuttanut Suomeen viivästymisen ongelman. Yleisessä tiedossa on se, että Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuin on antanut 2000-luvulla Suomelle kymmeniä tuomioita siksi, että rikosjuttuja on käsitelty viranomaisissa ja tuomioistuimissa liian kauan. Vähemmän on sen sijaan keskusteltu siitä, että myös vähäiset rikokset viivästyvät rikosoikeuden alan laajetessa ja viranomaisten voimavarojen ehtyessä. Suomessa ongelmaa on pyritty hoitamaan rikosoikeudellista toimivaltaa hallintoviranomaisille delegoimalla tilanteen ollessa nyt se, että uuden sakkomenettelylain voimaan tullessa noin 90 % rikosoikeudellisesta kompetenssista on poliisilla ja muilla hallintoviranomaisilla. Se taasen on ongelmallista perustuslain 3 §:ssä säädetyn vallanjakoperiaatteen kannalta. Välttämätöntä on korostaa myös sitä, että pääosin rikosoikeudelliseen kontrolliin perustuva systeemi aiheuttaa rikosoikeuden inflaatiota: rikosoikeuden arvostuksen vähenemisestä aiheutuvia ei-mittavissa olevia kuluja. Rikosoikeuden laajenemista vastaan esitetään kuitenkin harvoin kritiikkiä. Rikosoikeustieteen piirissäkään sille ei ole esitetty vakavasti otettavaa vaihtoehtoa. Esimerkiksi hallinnollisia sanktioita ei ole Suomessa – ei tosin muissa Pohjoismaissakaan – koettu rikosoikeuden vaihtoehtona, vaan usein rikosoikeutta täydentävänä järjestelmänä. Hallinnollisten sanktioiden käyttäminen rikosoikeuden ohessa ei ole ollut yksiselitteistä ja jäsenneltyä, yleisiin oppeihin perustuvaa. Kontrollin erityisille alueille, esimerkiksi sotilaskontrolliin, on lisäksi kehittynyt rikos- ja hallinto-oikeuden sekajärjestelmiä. Tutkimuskysymykset Käsillä olevassa artikkelimuotoisessa väitöskirjatutkimuksessa pyritään hahmottelemaan rikos- ja hallinto-oikeudellisten rangaistusjärjestelmien välisiä eroavaisuuksia Suomessa. Tutkimuksen keskeisin tehtävä on sen pohtiminen, millä tavalla 2010-luvulle tultaessa olisi tutkimuksen empiiriset ja teoreettiset lähtökohdat huomioon ottaen järkevää ja tarkoituksenmukaista rangaista. Tällä perusteella kehitetään yksikertaista hallintosanktiointiteoreettista mallia, että sitä hyväksikäyttäen lainvalmisteluprosessin sanktiointitilanteessa, sanktiosta päätettäessä, olisi mahdollista asettaa oikeusturvan vähimmäistakeet täyttävällä tavalla oikeus- ja muilta vaikutuksiltaan rationaalinen seuraamus sekä säätää sen määräämiseksi yhteiskunnallisilta vaikutuksiltaan tehokas ja riittävän oikeusturvallinen menettely. Tutkimustehtävä on tiivistetysti 1) hallinnollisten sanktioiden ja rikosoikeudellisten rangaistusten ja niiden alan määrittäminen, 2) hallinnollisten sanktioiden sääntelymallien valintaperusteluiden selvittäminen, 3) hallintosanktioteoreettisen mallin kehittäminen lainvalmisteluprosessia varten sekä 4) de lege ferenda -suositusten tekeminen rangaistavuuden hyväksyttävyyden ja joutuisuuden parantamiseksi. Menetelmä ja aineistot Tutkimus kytkeytyy teoreettisen rikosoikeustieteen, hallinto-oikeustieteen ja prosessioikeustieteen alalle ja se on luonteeltaan ongelmakeskeinen. Tieteenalojen väliset painotukset ja niiden vaikutus vaihtelevat tutkimuksessa. Vaikka tutkimus on monella tavalla luonteeltaan teoreettinen, siinä rakennetaan nimenomaan lainsäädäntötyötä ja lainvalmistelua tukevaa tutkimusta ja teoriaa. Tältä osin näkökulma liittyy kriminalisointiteoreettisessa tutkimuksessa hahmotettuun lainsäätäjän oikeuslähdeoppia koskevaan uuteen näkökulmaan, jolla on yhteyksiä lainsäädäntötutkimukseen ja oikeusteoriassa hahmotettuun legisprudence-tutkimusuuntaukseen, näkökulman suuntautuessa lainsäädäntötasolle. Tutkimuksen lähteistä suurin osa on oikeustieteellistä kirjallisuutta, jonka pääosa muotoutuu suomalaisesta oikeustieteellisestä kirjallisuudesta. Myös pohjoismaalaista, saksalaista ja hieman myös anglosaksista kirjallisuutta on käytetty. Kansainvälisten kirjallisuuslähteiden merkitys ei ole ollut merkittävä, koska kattava eurooppalainen näkemys aihepiiristä on pyritty saamaan Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuimen ratkaisukäytäntöä hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksen lähteinä on käytetty laajasti myös kansallista lainvalmisteluaineistoa, erityisesti hallituksen esityksiä ja perustuslakivaliokunnan lausuntokäytäntöä. Johtopäätökset Kriminaali- ja/tai kontrollipolitiikassa on juuri nyt tärkeää pohtia, millä tavalla 2010-luvulle tultaessa on järkevää ja tarkoituksenmukaista rangaista. Tähän voisi olla mahdollista vastata tutkimuksessa kehitettävällä hallintosanktiointiteoreettisella mallilla. Mallin kehittäminen on edellyttänyt yhteiskunnallisten sanktiokäytäntöjen oikeusvaltioopillista tarkastelua, jolloin sanktioiden yhteiskunnalliseen merkitykseen pureutuminen kuvailee myös sitä, millainen modernin oikeusvaltion tila tällä hetkellä on. Perinteisten oikeusvaltioiden paradigmojen käyttäminen ei välttämättä edistä relevantin oikeusvaltiollisen sanktiointiteoreettisen mallin kehittämistä. Voi olla niinkin, että klassinen oikeusvaltio-oppi ja oletetunlaiset rikosoikeuden erityiset elementit eivät enää vastaa yhteiskuntatodellisuutta. Näin rankaisemisen yleiset opit voivat nousta kehittämisen kohteeksi oikeusvaltiollisuuden elementtien toteuttamiseksi valtavasta kasvaneessa hallintoyhteiskunnassa – hallinto-johtoisessa yhteiskunnallisessa todellisuudessa. Suomen rikoslaki sisältää laajassa merkityksessä sadoittain erilaatuisia kriminalisointeja, joiden merkitys on usein hallinnon toimintaa subventoiva, symbolinen tai jonkin toisen kriminalisoinnin vaikutusta tehostamaan pyrkivä. Tällainen rikoslaki on tehtävänsä, vaikuttavuutensa ja hyväksyttävyytensä kannalta ongelmallinen. Suomalainen hallinnollisten sanktioiden järjestelmä ei sekään ole järkevä ja tarkoituksenmukainen, yleisiin oppeihin perustuva systeemi. Myös yleiseurooppalainen kehitys näyttäisi viittaavan siihen, että Suomessa on tarve kehittää sekä rikosoikeutta että sille vaihtoehtoista hallintosanktioiden järjestelmää, sanktio-oikeutta. Tämä edellyttää lainsäädäntöuudistuksia.

Proactive and Preventive Student Welfare Activities in Finnish Preschool and Elementary School: Handling of Transition to Formal Schooling and a National Anti-Bullying Program as Examples

Prerequisites and effects of proactive and preventive psycho-social student welfare activities in Finnish preschool and elementary school were of interest in the present thesis. So far, Finnish student welfare work has mainly focused on interventions and individuals, and the voluminous possibilities to enhance well-being of all students as a part of everyday school work have not been fully exploited. Consequently, in this thesis three goals were set: (1) To present concrete examples of proactive and preventive psycho-social student welfare activities in Finnish basic education; (2) To investigate measurable positive effects of proactive and preventive activities; and (3) To investigate implementation of proactive and preventive activities in ecological contexts. Two prominent phenomena in preschool and elementary school years—transition to formal schooling and school bullying—were chosen as examples of critical situations that are appropriate targets for proactive and preventive psycho-social student welfare activities. Until lately, the procedures concerning both school transitions and school bullying have been rather problem-focused and reactive in nature. Theoretically, we lean on the bioecological model of development by Bronfenbrenner and Morris with concentric micro-, meso-, exo- and macrosystems. Data were drawn from two large-scale research projects, the longitudinal First Steps Study: Interactive Learning in the Child–Parent– Teacher Triangle, and the Evaluation Study of the National Antibullying Program KiVa. In Study I, we found that the academic skills of children from preschool–elementary school pairs that implemented several supportive activities during the preschool year developed more quickly from preschool to Grade 1 compared with the skills of children from pairs that used fewer practices. In Study II, we focused on possible effects of proactive and preventive actions on teachers and found that participation in the KiVa antibullying program influenced teachers‘ self-evaluated competence to tackle bullying. In Studies III and IV, we investigated factors that affect implementation rate of these proactive and preventive actions. In Study III, we found that principal‘s commitment and support for antibullying work has a clear-cut positive effect on implementation adherence of student lessons of the KiVa antibullying program. The more teachers experience support for and commitment to anti-bullying work from their principal, the more they report having covered KiVa student lessons and topics. In Study IV, we wanted to find out why some schools implement several useful and inexpensive transition practices, whereas other schools use only a few of them. We were interested in broadening the scope and looking at local-level (exosystem) qualities, and, in fact, the local-level activities and guidelines, along with teacherreported importance of the transition practices, were the only factors significantly associated with the implementation rate of transition practices between elementary schools and partner preschools. Teacher- and school-level factors available in this study turned out to be mostly not significant. To summarize, the results confirm that school-based promotion and prevention activities may have beneficial effects not only on students but also on teachers. Second, various top-down processes, such as engagement at the level of elementary school principals or local administration may enhance implementation of these beneficial activities. The main message is that when aiming to support the lives of children the primary focus should be on adults. In future, promotion of psychosocial well-being and the intrinsic value of inter- and intrapersonal skills need to be strengthened in the Finnish educational systems. Future research efforts in student welfare and school psychology, as well as focused training for psychologists in educational contexts, should be encouraged in the departments of psychology and education in Finnish universities. Moreover, a specific research centre for school health and well-being should be established.

Impact of Product-harm Crisis on Brand Equity: the Moderating Role of Corporate Social Performance

There is an increasing amount of product-harm crisis in the past few years; and the impact of a product-harm crisis becomes more and more influential due to the high increasing speed of globalization. And it is believed that the negative damages to a firm leading to a loss of the intangible assets is bigger than other costs such as the cost of the product recall. Brand equity is a very important and valuable intangible asset for a firm; and it is particularly vulnerable during the crisis. And CSP (CSP) is a hot concept associated with product-harm crisis and brand equity. The aim of this study is to understand how product-harm crisis influences by simultaneously involving CSP as a moderator in a consumer-based level. An experimental study was conducted through an online questionnaire among 198 students in Finland. The questionnaire mainly assessed the consumers’ attitudes towards CSP and brand before/after a fictional product-harm crisis. The results shows that the brand equity was negatively related to the product-harm crisis. And the extent level of crisis’s severity was positively related to the loss of the brand equity; whereas, acknowledged blame was more useful to compensate the loss of brand equity in the low-severity crisis. CSP acted as a moderator role which could compensate the loss of brand equity caused by the product-harm crisis. Managerial implications are also offered for crisis managers, brand managers, and CSR managers.

The effects of social networks on work-team effectiveness

This is a study of team social networks, their antecedents and outcomes. In focusing attention on the structural configuration of the team this research contributes to a new wave of thinking concerning group social capital. The research site was a random sample of Finnish work organisations. The data consisted of 499 employees in 76 teams representing 48 different organisations. A systematic literature review and quantitative methods were used in conducting the research: the former primarily to establish the current theoretical position on the relationships among the variables and the latter to test these relationships. Social network analysis was the primary method used in identifying the social-network relations among the work-team members. The first and key contribution of this study is that it relates the structuralnetwork properties of work teams to behavioural outcomes, attitudinal outcomes and, ultimately, team performance. Moreover, it shows that addressing attitudinal outcomes is also important in terms of team performance; attitudinal outcomes (team identity) mediated the relationship between the team’s performance and its social network. The second contribution is that it examines the possible antecedents of the social structure. It is thus one response to Salancik’s (1995) call for a network theory in that it explains why certain network characteristics exist. Itdemonstrates that irrespective of whether or not a team is heterogeneous in terms of age or gender, educational diversity may protect it from centralisation. However, heterogeneity in terms of gender turned out to have a negative impact on density. Thirdly, given the observation that the benefits of (team) networks are typically theorised and modelled without reference to the nature of the relationships comprising the structure, the study directly tested whether team knowledge mediated the effects of instrumental and expressive network relationships on team performance. Furthermore, with its focus on expressive networks that link the workplace to a more informal world, which have been rather neglected in previous research, it enhances knowledge of teams andnetworks. The results indicate that knowledge sharing fully mediates the influence of complementarities between dense and fragmented instrumental network relationships, thus providing empirical validation of the implicit understanding that networks transfer knowledge. Fourthly, the study findings suggest that an optimal configuration of the work-team social-network structure combines both bridging and bonding social relationships.

Social capital and health : variations, associations and challenges

Although social capital and health have been extensively studied during the last decade, there are still open issues in current empirical research. These concern for instance the measurement of the concept in different contexts, as well as the association between different types of social capital and different dimensions of health. The present thesis addressed these questions. The general aim was to promote the understanding of social capital and health by investigating the oldest old and the two major language groups in Finland, Swedish- and Finnish-speakers. Another aim was to contribute to the discussion on methodological issues in social capital and health research. The present thesis investigated two empirical data sets, Umeå 85+ and Health 2000. The Umeå 85+ study was a cross-sectional study of 163 individuals aged 85, 90, and 95 or older, living in the municipality of Umeå, Sweden, in the year of 2000. The Health 2000 survey was a national study of 8,028 persons aged 30 or above carried out in Finland in 2000-2001. Different indicators of structural (e.g. social contacts) and cognitive (e.g. trust) social capital, as well as health indicators were used as variables in the analyses. The Umeå 85+ data set was analyzed with factor analysis, as well as univariate and multivariate analysis of variance. The Health 2000 data was analyzed with logistic regression techniques. The results showed that the Swedish-speakers in the Finnish data set Health 2000 had consistently higher prevalence of social capital compared to the Finnish-speakers even after controlling for central sociodemographic variables. The results further showed that even if the language group differences in health were small, the Swedishspeakers experienced in general better self-reported health compared with the Finnish-speakers. Common sociodemographic variables could not explain these observed differences in health. The results imply that social capital is often, but not always, associated with health. This was clearly seen in the Umeå 85+ data set where only one health indicator (depressive symptoms) was associated with structural social capital among the oldest old. The results based on the analysis of the Health 2000 survey demonstrated that the cognitive component of social capital was associated with self-rated health and psychological health rather than with participation in social activities and social contacts. In addition, social capital statistically reduced the health advantage especially for Swedish-speaking men, indicating that high prevalence of social capital may promote health. Finally, the present thesis also discussed the issue of methodological challenges faced with when analyzing social capital and health. It was suggested that certain components of social capital such as bonding and bridging social capital may be more relevant than structural and cognitive components when investigating social capital among the two language groups in Finland. The results concerning the oldest old indicated that the structural aspects of social capital probably reflect current living conditions, whereas cognitive social capital reflects attitudes and traits often acquired decades earlier. This is interpreted as an indication of the fact that structural and cognitive social capital are closely related yet empirically two distinctive concepts. Taken together, some components of social capital may be more relevant to study than others depending on which population group and age group is under study. The results also implied that the choice of cut-off point of dichotomization of selfrated health has an impact on the estimated effects of the explanatory variables. When the whole age interval, 35-64 years, was analyzed with logistic regression techniques the choice of cut-off point did not matter for the estimated effects of marital status and educational level. The results changed, however, when the age interval was divided into three shorter intervals. If self-rated health is explored using wide age intervals that do not account for age-dependent covariates there is a risk of drawing misleading conclusions. In conclusion, the results presented in the thesis suggest that the uneven distribution of social capital observed between the two language groups in Finland are of importance when trying to further understand health inequalities that exist between Swedish- and Finnish-speakers in Finland. Although social capital seemed to be relevant to the understanding of health among the oldest old, the meaning of social capital is probably different compared to a less vulnerable age group. This should be noticed in future empirical research. In the present thesis, it was shown that the relationship between social capital and health is complex and multidimensional. Different aspects of social capital seem to be important for different aspects of health. This reduces the possibility to generalize the results and to recommend general policy implementations in this area. An increased methodological awareness regarding social capital as well as health are called for in order to further understand the cfomplex association between them. However, based on the present data and findings social capital is associated with health. To understand individual health one must also consider social aspects of the individuals’ environment such as social capital.

Social ventures : the development of the theory of sustainable contributive advantage and initial empirical tests

This thesis attempts to fill gaps in both a theoretical basis and an operational and strategic understanding in the areas of social ventures, social entrepreneurship and nonprofit business models. This study also attempts to bridge the gap in strategic and economic theory between social and commercial ventures. More specifically, this thesis explores sustainable competitive advantage from a resource-based theory perspective and explores how it may be applied to the nonmarket situation of nonprofit organizations and social ventures. It is proposed that a social value-orientation of sustainable competitive advantage, called sustainable contributive advantage, provides a more realistic depiction of what is necessary in order for a social venture to perform better than its competitors over time. In addition to providing this realistic depiction, this research provides a substantial theoretical contribution in the area of economics, social ventures, and strategy research, specifically in regards to resource-based theory. The proposed model for sustainable contributive advantage uses resource-based theory and competitive advantage in order to be applicable to social ventures. This model proposes an explanation of a social venture’s ability to demonstrate consistently superior performance. In order to determine whether sustainable competitive advantage is in fact, appropriate to apply to both social and economic environments, quantitative analyses are conducted on a large sample of nonprofit organizations in a single industry and then compared to similar quantitative analyses conducted on commercial ventures. In comparing the trends and strategies between the two types of entities from a quantitative perspective, propositions are developed regarding a social venture’s resource utilization strategies and their possible impact on performance. Evidence is found to support the necessity of adjusting existing models in resource-based theory in order to apply them to social ventures. Additionally supported is the proposed theory of sustainable contributive advantage. The thesis concludes with recommendations for practitioners, researchers and policy makers as well as suggestions for future research paths.

Social networks and networking facilitating internationalization: Experiences of two Finnish fashion companies

Background: Fashion is a dynamic and creative industry where larger retailers are enjoying international success. Small businesses however are struggling in the face of international expansion, as they lack the necessary resources and managerial know-how. The Finnish fashion industry has neither been able to develop the industry environment to support small and micro firms nor has Finland relevant finance or public domains, such as, seen in other Nordic countries. Networking has been recognized to facilitate organizational growth and international expansion in industries such as manufacturing and high technology. It has enabled smaller companies to gain resources, knowledge and experiences otherwise unattainable. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how networking has been utilized in the Finnish fashion industry. Particularly social relationships and networks are examined, as they emphasize the importance of individuals. Exploration on the past actions should also provide insight how networks and networking could be utilized and developed in the future. Main findings: It was discovered that the Finnish fashion industry (social) network is rather dense. This was mainly due to the small size of the Finnish market. In the early years of the establishment of the company, close contacts seemed to be utilized. As a company expands and extends its business, the relationships tended to move towards more utilitarian in nature. However, in some cases, the long term relationships had also affectionate features, such as trust and commitment. International networking was found to have positive impact on business opportunities. Participation to events, such as trade shows, was perceived as one of the best ways to meet new international contacts and to develop ones network. Active networking in the Finnish market, however, created both domestic and international opportunities. Furthermore, cooperation and open communication were discovered to facilitate innovation and projects. The public sector seemed to lack the interest in supporting the fashion industry according to the interviewees. The major issues for the fashion industry still concerned, among others, funding, administrative guidance and public support for developing the industry as a whole.

Limits of Meritocracy. How Fields of Study and Gender Segregation Affect Social Stratification in Finland

This dissertation critically reviews the idea of meritocracy from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. Based on a discussion of classical texts of social philosophy and sociology, it is argued that meritocracy as a concept for social stratification is best compatible with the sociological tradition of status attainment research: both frame social inequality in primarily individualistic terms, centring on the role of ascribed (e.g., gender, social background) and achieved (e.g., educational qualifications) characteristics for determining individuals’ socioeconomic rewards. This theoretical argument introduces the research problem at the core of this dissertation: to what extent can the individualistic conception of social stratification be maintained empirically? Fields of study and their interaction with educational attainment levels play a prominent role in the analysis of this question. Drawing on sociological versions of segmented labour market theory, it is assumed that fields of study may channel individuals into heterogeneous political-economic contexts on the labour market, which potentially modify the socioeconomic benefit individuals derive from their qualification levels. The focus on fields of study may also highlight economic differentials between men and women that derive from the persisting segregation of men’s and women’s occupational and educational specializations rather than direct gender discrimination on the labour market. The quantitative analyses in this dissertation consist of three research articles, which are based primarily on Finnish data, but occasionally extend the view to other European countries. The data sources include register-based macro- and microdata as well as survey data. Article I examines the extent and the patterns of gender segregation within the Finnish educational system between 1981 and 2005. The results show that differences between men’s and women’s field specializations have for the most part remained stable during this period, with particularly high levels of gender segregation observed at lower educational levels. The focus in Article II rests on the effects of gender-segregated fields of study on higher education graduates’ occupational status. It is shown that fields of study matter for accessing professional jobs and avoiding low-skilled positions in Finland: at the early career stage, particularly polytechnic graduates from female-dominated fields are less likely to work in professional positions. Finnish university graduates from male-dominated fields were more likely than their peers with different specializations to work as professionals, yet they also faced a greater risk of being sorted into lowskilled jobs if they failed to make use of this advantage. Article III proceeded to analyse the joint impact of educational qualification levels and fields of study on young adults’ median earnings in Finland between 1985 and 2005. The results show that qualification levels do not confer a consistent benefit in the process of earnings stratification. Advanced qualifications raise median earnings most clearly among individuals specializing in the same field of study. When comparing individuals with different field specializations, on the other hand, higher-level qualifications do not necessarily lead to higher median earnings. Overall, the findings of this dissertation reveal a heterogeneous effect of education for achieving social positions, which challenges individual-centred, meritocratic accounts of social stratification and underlines the problematic lack of structural and institutional dimensions in the dominant account of social status attainment.

Making the impact on research and society : a case study: crowdsourcing solutions developed for the linguistic research and citizen science

Can crowdsourcing solutions serve many masters? Can they be beneficial for both, for the layman or native speakers of minority languages on the one hand and serious linguistic research on the other? How did an infrastructure that was designed to support linguistics turn out to be a solution for raising awareness of native languages? Since 2012 the National Library of Finland has been developing the Digitisation Project for Kindred Languages, in which the key objective is to support a culture of openness and interaction in linguistic research, but also to promote crowdsourcing as a tool for participation of the language community in research. In the course of the project, over 1,200 monographs and nearly 111,000 pages of newspapers in Finno-Ugric languages will be digitised and made available in the Fenno-Ugrica digital collection. This material was published in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s, and users have had only sporadic access to the material. The publication of open-access and searchable materials from this period is a goldmine for researchers. Historians, social scientists and laymen with an interest in specific local publications can now find text materials pertinent to their studies. The linguistically-oriented population can also find writings to delight them: (1) lexical items specific to a given publication, and (2) orthographically-documented specifics of phonetics. In addition to the open access collection, we developed an open source code OCR editor that enables the editing of machine-encoded text for the benefit of linguistic research. This tool was necessary since these rare and peripheral prints often include already archaic characters, which are neglected by modern OCR software developers but belong to the historical context of kindred languages, and are thus an essential part of the linguistic heritage. When modelling the OCR editor, it was essential to consider both the needs of researchers and the capabilities of lay citizens, and to have them participate in the planning and execution of the project from the very beginning. By implementing the feedback iteratively from both groups, it was possible to transform the requested changes as tools for research that not only supported the work of linguistics but also encouraged the citizen scientists to face the challenge and work with the crowdsourcing tools for the benefit of research. This presentation will not only deal with the technical aspects, developments and achievements of the infrastructure but will highlight the way in which user groups, researchers and lay citizens were engaged in a process as an active and communicative group of users and how their contributions were made to mutual benefit.

Exploring the Impact of Mental Health Education on Adolescents’ Perceptions About Mental Health and Mental Illness. Improving community health

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of mental health and mental illness as well as the perceptions towards people with mental illness among adolescents, and further to examine the impact that a mental health educational intervention has on these perceptions. The review of the literature revealed a small number of publications on mental health educational interventions among adolescents which aimed at increasing knowledge and affecting attitudes towards mental illness with positive results. Fifty nine pupils (13-16 years old) from two randomly selected secondary schools around Athens, Greece, participated in this study. These schools were randomly selected as the experimental group (n=28) which participated in the mental health educational intervention, and the comparison group (n=31), which did not receive any intervention. Data were collected using individual interviews with open-ended questions, drawings and a questionnaire (Opinions about Mental Illness - O.M.I. scale). The participants described mental health and mental illness before and after the intervention, using the same expressions for both terms. Among the experimental group, changes were seen within the same expressions after the intervention, although some descriptions did not change. However, after the intervention, participants in the experimental group did not confuse mental health with mental illness and they also included specific diagnostic examples or stated that mental illness can happen to anyone and it can be managed. Moreover, they expressed positive attitudes towards mentally ill people, which they had not done before the intervention. The analysis of the drawings before the intervention showed that mentally ill persons were drawn similarly in both groups. After the intervention, the drawings of the participants in the experimental group changed, including fewer negative elements, while the drawings of the comparison group did not change. Regarding the results on the O.M.I. scale, it was found that the score on the Social Discrimination factor significantly decreased from pre-test to post-test in both study groups. The experimental group had higher levels on Social Discrimination at pre-test compared to the comparison group, but this difference was not significant at post-test. No significant changes were found for the Social Restriction factor for either study group. Scores of the Social Care and Social Integration factors increased significantly only in the intervention group. Overall, the results of this study indicate that the mental health educational intervention had a positive impact on the perceptions about mental health and mental illness among adolescents, and (mental) health professionals can use these results for implementing similar interventions and further research.

Social Solidarity and Fear of Crime - Community and Individual Approaches in Responses to Mass Violence after School Shootings

The aim of this study was to examine community and individual approaches in responses to mass violence after the school shooting incidents in Jokela (November 2007) and Kauhajoki (September 2008), Finland. In considering the community approach, responses to any shocking criminal event may have integrative, as well as disintegrative effects, within the neighborhood. The integration perspective argues that a heinous criminal event within one’s community is a matter of offence to collectively held feelings and beliefs, and increases perceived solidarity; whereas the disintegration perspective suggests that a criminal event weakens the social fabric of community life by increasing fear of crime and mistrust among locals. In considering the individual approach, socio-demographic factors, such as one’s gender, are typically significant indicators, which explain variation in fear of crime. Beyond this, people are not equally exposed to violent crime and therefore prior victimization and event related experiences may further explain why people differ in their sensitivity to risk from mass violence. Finally, factors related to subjective mental health, such as depressed mood, are also likely to moderate individual differences in responses to mass violence. This study is based on the correlational design of four independent cross-sectional postal surveys. The sampling frames (N=700) for the surveys were the Finnish speaking adult population aged 18–74-years. The first mail survey in Jokela (n=330) was conducted between May and June 2008, approximately six months from the shooting incident at the local high-school. The second Jokela survey (n=278) was conducted in May–June of 2009, 18 months removed from the incident. The first survey in Kauhajoki (n=319) was collected six months after the incident at the local University of Applied Sciences, March– April 2009, and the second (n=339) in March–April 2010, approximately 18 months after the event. Linear and ordinal regression and path analysis are used as methods of analyses. The school shootings in Jokela and Kauhajoki were extremely disturbing events, which deeply affected the communities involved. However, based on the results collected, community responses to mass violence between the two localities were different. An increase in social solidarity appears to apply in the case of the Jokela community, but not in the case of the Kauhajoki community. Thus a criminal event does not necessarily impact the wider community. Every empirical finding is most likely related to different contextual and event-specific factors. Beyond this, community responses to mass violence in Jokela also indicated that the incident was related to a more general sense of insecurity and was also associating with perceived community deterioration and further suggests that responses to mass violence may have both integrating and disintegrating effects. Moreover, community responses to mass violence should also be examined in relation to broader social anxieties and as a proxy for generalized insecurity. Community response is an emotive process and incident related feelings are perhaps projected onto other identifiable concerns. However, this may open the door for social errors and, despite integrative effects, this may also have negative consequences within the neighborhood. The individual approach suggests that women are more fearful than men when a threat refers to violent crime. Young women (aged 18–34) were the most worried age and gender group as concerns perception of threat from mass violence at schools compared to young men (aged 18–34), who were also the least worried age and gender group when compared to older men. It was also found that concerns about mass violence were stronger among respondents with the lowest level of monthly household income compared to financially better-off respondents. Perhaps more importantly, responses to mass violence were affected by the emotional proximity to the event; and worry about the recurrence of school shootings was stronger among respondents who either were a parent of a school-aged child, or knew a victim. Finally, results indicate that psychological wellbeing is an important individual level factor. Respondents who expressed depressed mood consistently expressed their concerns about mass violence and community deterioration. Systematic assessments of the impact of school shooting events on communities are therefore needed. This requires the consolidation of community and individual approaches. Comparative study designs would further benefit from international collaboration across disciplines. Extreme school violence has also become a national concern and deeper understanding of crime related anxieties in contemporary Finland also requires community-based surveys.

The Utilization of Chinese Social Media in Internationalization into China: Perspective of a Western Company

The purpose of this qualitative research is to analyze western-based companies’ social media usage in internationalization into China and to identify social media presence’ impact on the internationalization process. Additionally, the benefits and challenges a western company may face while using social media in China will be illustrated. Competitive advantages, knowledge, networks and relations, and costs and risks could be identified as the key antecedents for successful internationalization. A great social media presence could create a competitive advantage for a western company while competitive advantages may be communicated in social media marketing, knowledge and networks can be enhanced and utilized in internationalization via social media two-way communication. The biggest benefit for internationalization resulted from decreased marketing costs due to cost-effectiveness of social media. The results revealed that cost effective brand awareness was the main benefit from the social media usage in internationalization into China. However, companies struggled with the limited resources and despite of understanding the importance of Chinese social media, lacked sufficient resources for the social media operations. Companies should determine clear strategy and goals that they are willing to achieve via social media in internationalization process, and allocate required resources according to the social media strategy. Localization of the social media operations is important in China, and business-to-consumer companies tend to benefit more from the social media presence. Business-to-business companies may increase the brand’s credibility by successful Chinese social media operations.

Impact of Word-of-Mouth on consumer decision-making: An information processing perspective in the context of a high-involvement service

This doctoral study conducts an empirical analysis of the impact of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) on marketing-relevant outcomes such as attitudes and consumer choice, during a high-involvement and complex service decision. Due to its importance to decisionmaking, WOM has attracted interest from academia and practitioners for decades. Consumers are known to discuss products and services with one another. These discussions help consumers to form an evaluative opinion, as WOM reduces perceived risk, simplifies complexity, and increases the confidence of consumers in decisionmaking. These discussions are also highly impactful as WOM is a trustworthy source of information, since it is independent from the company or brand. In responding to the calls for more research on what happens after WOM information is received, and how it affects marketing-relevant outcomes, this dissertation extends prior WOM literature by investigating how consumers process information in a highinvolvement service domain, in particular higher-education. Further, the dissertation studies how the form of WOM influences consumer choice. The research contributes to WOM and services marketing literature by developing and empirically testing a framework for information processing and studying the long-term effects of WOM. The results of the dissertation are presented in five research publications. The publications are based on longitudinal data. The research leads to the development of a proposed theoretical framework for the processing of WOM, based on theories from social psychology. The framework is specifically focused on service decisions, as it takes into account evaluation difficulty through the complex nature of choice criteria associated with service purchase decisions. Further, other gaps in current WOM literature are taken into account by, for example, examining how the source of WOM and service values affects the processing mechanism. The research also provides implications for managers aiming to trigger favorable WOM through marketing efforts, such as advertising and testimonials. The results provide suggestions on how to design these marketing efforts by taking into account the mechanism through which information is processed, or the form of social influence.

Measurement of social value creation with non-financial measures

This research examines the concept of social entrepreneurship which is a fairly new business model. In the field of business it has become increasingly popular in recent years. The growing awareness of the environment and concrete examples of impact created by social entrepreneurship have encouraged entrepreneurs to address social problems. Society’s failures are tried to redress as a result of business activities. The purpose of doing business is necessarily no longer generating just profits but business is run in order to make a social change with the profit gained from the operations. Successful social entrepreneurship requires a specific nature, constant creativity and strong desire to make a social change. It requires constant balancing between two major objectives: both financial and non-financial issues need to be considered, but not at the expense of another. While aiming at the social purpose, the business needs to be run in highly competitive markets. Therefore, both factors need equally be integrated into an organization as they are complementary, not exclusionary. Business does not exist without society and society cannot go forward without business. Social entrepreneurship, its value creation, measurement tools and reporting practices are under discussion in this research. An extensive theoretical basis is covered and used to support the findings coming out of the researched case enterprises. The most attention is focused on the concept of Social Return on Investment. The case enterprises are analyzed through the SROI process. Social enterprises are mostly small or medium sized. Naturally this sets some limitations in implementing measurement tools. The question of resources requires the most attention and therefore sets the biggest constraints. However, the size of the company does not determine all – the nature of business and the type of social purpose need to be considered always. The mission may be so concrete and transparent that in all cases any kind of measurement would be useless. Implementing measurement tools may be of great benefit – or a huge financial burden. Thus, the very first thing to carefully consider is the possible need of measuring value creation.

EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region: its added value in environmental social and economic dimensions

The European Council has invited the European Commission to present the first macro-regional strategy – the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) on the 14th of December 2007, primarily to address collective challenges and opportunities of the Region and also to engender cohesion in support of an European integration policy. However, macro-regional strategies conceived to aid European integration and territorial cohesion were viewed by academics with skepticism, obscuring the strategies’ potential impact. This thesis intends to investigate and measure the added value of the EUSBSR in order to analyze its impact on regional development and its feasibility as a guide for future programs intending to strengthen European cohesion and integration. To determine the added value of the EUSBSR the thesis is organized into three sections, so as to address environmental, social, and economic concerns, respectively. The first case examines EU-Russia cooperation in an environmental context to investigate how environmental cooperation with an external neighbor could forge increased cohesion in a macro-regional setting. To figure the added cooperation that academic cooperation among universities would contribute to social dimension, the work has chosen several study results. Lastly, to measure out the added value for the economic strategy objective, the study employs the project for Improved Global Competitiveness in an example of ‘A Baltic Sea Region Program for Innovation, Cluster and SME-Networks’ as an economic plan.