Estrogen receptor α regulates area-adjusted bone mineral content in late pubertal girls

Context: Whether the action of estrogen in skeletal development depends on estrogen receptor α as encoded by the ESR1 gene is unknown. Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish whether the gain in area-adjusted bone mineral content (ABMC) in girls occurs in late puberty and to examine whether the magnitude of this gain is related to ESR1 polymorphisms. Design: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis. Setting: The study involved the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a population-based prospective study. Participants: Participants included 3097 11-yr-olds with DNA samples, dual x-ray absorptiometry measurements, and pubertal stage information. Outcomes: Outcome measures included separate prespecified analyses in boys and girls of the relationship between ABMC derived from total body dual x-ray absorptiometry scans and Tanner stage and of the interaction between ABMC, Tanner stage, and ESR1 polymorphisms. Results: Total body less head and spinal ABMC were higher in girls in Tanner stages 4 and 5, compared with those in Tanner stages 1, 2, and 3. In contrast, height increased throughout puberty. No differences were observed in ABMC according to Tanner stage in boys. For rs2234693 (PvuII) and rs9340799 (XbaI) polymorphisms, differences in spinal ABMC in late puberty were 2-fold greater in girls who were homozygous for the C and G alleles, respectively (P = 0.001). For rs7757956, the difference in total body less head ABMC in late puberty was 50% less in individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the A allele (P = 0.006). Conclusions: Gains in ABMC in late pubertal girls are strongly associated with ESR1 polymorphisms, suggesting that estrogen contributes to this process via an estrogen receptor α-dependent pathway.

SecB binds only to a late native-like intermediate in the folding pathway of barstar and not to the unfolded state

SecB is a cytosolic, tetrameric chaperone of Escherichia coli which maintains precursor proteins in a translocation competent state. We have investigated the effect of SecB on the refolding kinetics of the small protein barstar in I M guanidine hydrochloride at pH 7.0 and 25 degrees C using fluorescence spectroscopy. We show that SecB does not bind either the native or the unfolded states of barstar but binds to a late near-native intermediate along the folding pathway. For barstar, polypeptide collapse and formation of a hydrophobic surface are required for binding to SecB. SecB does not change the apparent rate constant of barstar refolding. The kinetic data for SecB binding to barstar are not consistent with simple kinetic partitioning models.

The modern day bystander: Online and face-to-face bystander actions of adolescents in traditional bullying and cyberbullying

This study investigated whether bystanders of traditional bullying and cyberbullying used face-to-face methods, online methods or both methods when reporting, discouraging and providing support to the victims of traditional bullying and cyberbullying. A questionnaire was completed by 348 high school students (Years 7 – 12) from seven independent schools in Australia. Overall, students predominantly utilized face-to-face methods when reporting to others for both types of bullying. Older students were more likely to use online methods to discourage the traditional bully (i.e., asking the bully to stop). Males and older students were more likely to use online methods to support victims of traditional bullying. Females were more likely to use face-to-face methods to support victims of cyberbullying. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The potential role of a late gene expression factor, lef2, from Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus in very late gene transcription and DNA replication

Several late gene expression factors (Lefs) have been implicated in fostering high levels of transcription from the very late gene promoters of polyhedrin and p10 from baculoviruses. We cloned and characterized from Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus a late gene expression factor (Bmlef2) that encodes a 209-amino-acid protein harboring a Cys-rich C-terminal domain. The temporal transcription profiles of lef2 revealed a 1.2-kb transcript in both delayed early and late periods after virus infection. Transcription start site mapping identified the presence of an aphidicolin-sensitive late transcript arising from a TAAG motif located at -352 nucleotides and an aphidicolin-insensitive early transcript originating from a TTGT motif located 35 nucleotides downstream to a TATA box at -312 nucleotides, with respect to the +1 ATG of lef2. BmLef2 trans-activated very late gene expression from both polyhedrin and p10 promoters in transient expression assays. Internal deletion of the Cys-rich domain from the C-terminal region abolished the transcriptional activation. Inactivation of Lef2 synthesis by antisense lef2 transcripts drastically reduced the very late gene transcription but showed little effect on the expression from immediate early promoter. Decrease in viral DNA synthesis and a reduction in virus titer were observed only when antisense lef2 was expressed under the immediate early (ie-1) promoter. Furthermore, the antisense experiments suggested that lef2 plays a direct role in very late gene transcription.

Waste not want not: Applying an old adage to the modern issue of pharmaceutical waste

Our predecessors taught us, ‘waste not, want not’ – if we did not waste anything we would always have enough. Unfortunately, we did not heed their sage advice. Over the last three centuries, human kind’s wastefulness, or lack of respect for the finite resources of this planet, has contributed to climate change and negatively impacted on ‘ecosystem services’ with a significant, irreversible loss of biodiversity...

La modernización entre cafetales : San José, Costa Rica, 1880-1930

This work examines the urban modernization of San José, Costa Rica, between 1880 and 1930, using a cultural approach to trace the emergence of the bourgeois city in a small Central American capital, within the context of order and progress. As proposed by Henri Lefebvre, Manuel Castells and Edward Soja, space is given its rightful place as protagonist. The city, subject of this study, is explored as a seat of social power and as the embodiment of a cultural transformation that took shape in that space, a transformation spearheaded by the dominant social group, the Liberal elite. An analysis of the product built environment allows us to understand why the city grew in a determined manner: how the urban space became organized and how its infrastructure and services distributed. Although the emphasis is on the Liberal heyday from 1880-1930, this study also examines the history of the city since its origins in the late colonial period through its consolidation as a capital during the independent era, in order to characterize the nineteenth century colonial city that prevailed up to 1890 s. A diverse array of primary sources including official acts, memoirs, newspaper sources, maps and plans, photographs, and travelogues are used to study the initial phase of San Jose s urban growth. The investigation places the first period of modern urban growth at the turn of the nineteenth century within the prevailing ideological and political context of Positivism and Liberalism. The ideas of the city s elite regarding progress were translated into and reflected in the physical transformation of the city and in the social construction of space. Not only the transformations but also the limits and contradictions of the process of urban change are examined. At the same time, the reorganization of the city s physical space and the beginnings of the ensanche are studied. Hygiene as an engine of urban renovation is explored by studying the period s new public infrastructure (including pipelines, sewer systems, and the use of asphalt pavement) as part of the Saneamiento of San José. The modernization of public space is analyzed through a study of the first parks, boulevards and monuments and the emergence of a new urban culture prominently displayed in these green spaces. Parks and boulevards were new public and secular places of power within the modern city, used by the elite to display and educate the urban population into the new civic and secular traditions. The study goes on to explore the idealized image of the modern city through an analysis of European and North American travelogues and photography. The new esthetic of theatrical-spectacular representation of the modern city constructed a visual guide of how to understand and come to know the city. A partial and selective image of generalized urban change presented only the bourgeois facade and excluded everything that challenged the idea of progress. The enduring patterns of spatial and symbolic exclusion built into Costa Rica s capital city at the dawn of the twentieth century shed important light on the long-term political social and cultural processes that have created the troubled urban landscapes of contemporary Latin America.

Toward Figural Fantasy : The Representation of Consciousness in Modern American Fantasy Literature

Tajunnanesitys amerikkalaisessa heterodiegeettisessä fantasiakirjallisuudessa on muuttunut merkittävästi viimeisen kolmen vuosikymmenen aikana: kerrontaa orientoiva ja tarinamaailmaa havainnoiva tajunta on vähin erin vaihtunut kaikkitietävästä kertojasta tarinan sisäiseksi henkilöhahmoksi. Kertoja on samalla vetäytynyt yhä syvemmälle kerronnan kulissien taakse. Tämä tutkielma hahmottaa ja analysoi kyseistä muutosta siirtymänä kertojakeskeisestä kerronnasta kohti henkilökeskeistä kerrontaa. Tutkielmassa tajunnanesityksen teoreettisen kehyksen muodostavat F. K. Stanzelin kertojakeskeisen ja henkilökeskeisen kerrontatilanteen käsitteet. Kerrontatilanteita tarkennetaan fokalisaation, vapaan epäsuoran esityksen, sisäisen monologin ja psykonarraation teorioiden avulla. Tutkielma jakaantuu kahteen osaan. Ensimmäisessä osassa vertaillaan kahta prototyyppistä fantasiaromaania syväluotaavan narratologisen analyysin keinoin. Kertojakeskeistä kerrontaa edustaa Fritz Leiberin "The Swords of Lankhmar" (1968) ja henkilökeskeistä kerrontaa George R. R. Martinin "A Game of Thrones" (1996). Toisessa osassa tarkastellaan pääpiirteittäin kuuttatoista muuta aikaansa edustavaa fantasiaromaania ja hahmotetaan tajunnanesityksen muutoksen kronologista kulkua. Yhdessä osat ilmentävät, kuinka amerikkalainen heterodiegeettinen fantasiakirjallisuus on muuttunut kerrontateknisesti henkilökeskeisemmäksi. Tutkielma on ensimmäinen laatuaan, ja sen on tarkoitus luoda pohjaa uudenlaiselle modernin fantasiakirjallisuuden tutkimukselle ja kirjalliselle arvostukselle.

Rikollisia sattumalta? : Naisten keskinäistä haureutta koskevat oikeudenkäynnit 1950-luvun Itä-Suomessa

The main focus of the research is on the genealogy of women's same-sex fornication in Finnish criminal law from 1889/1894 to 1971. Why were women included in the concept of same-sex fornication in Finland and why, where, and when was the law put into effect? Which women were tried, how did the trial proceedings evolve, and what kind of effects did the trials have afterwards? Which concepts were used? These questions have been approached through the analysis of the Finnish Penal Code, the criminal law science and four trial proceedings in Eastern Finland during the 1950s. The research draws on the epistemology of the closet and the concept of heteronormativity adapted from queer theories. It is method critical in utilising ethnography, micro history and feminist ethical self-reflection. The research consists of six scientific refereed articles (see appendix) and of a theoretical introduction. The main results of the research are: 1) The genealogy of Finnish decency [Sittlichkeit] can not be researched without oral histories, due to the late modernisation of Finnish society and the legal system, which does not follow the pattern of English, French and German societies. 2) The inclusion of women's same-sex fornication in the Finnish Penal Code is not incomprehensible when compared to the early modern European legislations and court practices. Women have been punished for the sins of Sodom, though not directly under the 1734 Swedish law. 3) Fornication and decency were ambivalent concepts in the 1889/1894 law, and juridical authorities offered controversial interpretations of them during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 4) A peak in women's convictions occurred in the 1950s, and most of the trial proceedings took place in rural Eastern Finland. Neither the state nor the police were active in prosecuting; instead, the trial proceedings began "by accident". 5) From 1940 to 1960 police training lacked instructions concerning the interrogation of women suspected of same-sex fornication. 6) The figure of the penitent woman was produced in the chiasmic encounter of confession and police interrogation which moulded and was moulded by the epistemological matrix of shame, honour, and decency. Women's speech acts were judicialised as confessions which enabled the disciplinary tampering with the women's bodies. 7) Gender and personality, more than sexuality, or "criminality" defined the status of the convicted women in their village communities after the trials. 8) Relations between police training, sexuality, and decency have not been well researched in Finland. 9) Decriminalisation in 1971 did not mark the end of homophobic legal discourse, even though the 1999 reform of sexual crimes took the form of gender neutral conceptualisation

Modernismens förespråkare : Gösta Stenman och hans konstsalong

This dissertation, based on material from Stenman s vast private archive, examines the role played by Swedish-speaking Finnish art dealer Gösta Stenman (1888-1947) and his art gallery, Stenmans Konstsalong, in the Finnish and Swedish art worlds from 1911 to 1947. This archive is examined here for the first time. The analytical framework used for this empirical study derives from Pierre Bourdieu s sociological theories. An art-sociological approach allows for the inclusion of more mechanisms at work in the art world than are typically embraced in such inquiries. This approach provides a fuller understanding of how Stenman attained his standing and central role in the art world in Finland as well as Sweden; enabling us to appreciate how he came to occupy such a prominent position in current art historical writing. All of these issues constitute new areas of research. Taking his cues from the contemporary art world of Paris, Stenman became the year 1914 a modern art dealer like no other in the Nordic countries. This dissertation represents the first academic investigation into his operations, strategies, and objectives, offering insight into not only the art dealer himself but also the functioning of the art market one of the most vital aspects of the art world. A by-product of this work, is that the modern art market in Finland is portrayed, including essential issues related to its growth and development as well as how it altered the conditions under which art could be produced, exhibited and promoted and what this entailed for the art world at large, artists and patrons alike. This first systematic analysis of the operations of Stenman s Konstsalong offers greater understanding of the art worlds of Sweden and Finland in the early twentieth century. The work also looks at how an agent of the art market could move between the fields of art in Sweden and Finland. The manner in which Stenman promoted individual artists, including his relationships with Tyko Sallinen, Helene Schjerfbeck, Juho Mäkelä, Jalmari Ruokokoski, Siri Derkert, Esther Kjerner, Eva Bagge, and many others, also falls within this purview. Stenman s contract with Sallinen from 1913 stands out as a new phenomenon in Finnish art promotion, whereby an artistic career became established via a far-sighted, strategic promotional program. The case study of Stenman s promotion of Schjerfbeck in Sweden provides evidence of the increasingly advanced nature of Stenman s strategies. The title of the dissertation, The Promoter of Modernism, attempts to convey that Stenman was the consummate modernist, modern in his thoughts, his actions, and his approach to art. Keywords: Gösta Stenman, Stenmans konstsalong, Stenmans dotter, art market, modernism, collecting, Novembergruppen, Helene Schjerfbeck, Tyko Sallinen, Juho Mäkelä, Jalmari Ruokokoski, Wäinö Aaltonen, Siri Derkert, Åke Göransson, Esther Kjerner, Eva Bagge.

Kohti lyyristä abstraktismia : Anitra Lucanderin 1950-luvun modernismi

Towards Lyrical Abstraction Anitra Lucander s Modernism in the 1950s Anitra Lucander (1918-2000) was one of the early pioneers of abstract art in Finland. During the Second World War Finnish art and cultural life was isolated and stagnated and figurative art was still dominant after the war. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, new international abstract art movements started to come to Finland. Anitra Lucander was one of the artists of the younger generation after the war who took an interest in the abstract movements in the early 1950s. At the beginning of the 1950s, abstract art came to Finland primarily in the form of Concretism, but simultaneously, a more delicate abstract movement emerged, and Anitra Lucander was among those cultivating such conceptions in her art. In this thesis, I observe and analyze through Anitra Lucander s art this central movement in Finnish modern art that has not yet been extensively studied. I examine how Anitra Lucander s art connects with the style change in Finnish art. I scrutinize the factors that affected Lucander and turned her towards abstract expression, and the effect her art had on emergence of abstract art in Finland. I will also consider the development of her art, the reception and critique of her art and the effect the critique had on her position in the 1950s art world. Because of a lack of earlier studies, I will undertake basic research, relying on empirical primary source material, where the starting point is to place the phenomenon under examination in the historical and cultural context. The most significant study materials are the artist s paintings and graphics from 1948 to 1960, newspaper and magazine articles from the same era, archive sources and interviews with Lucander s relatives, fellow artists and friends. An interesting aspect of the topic is the fact that Anitra Lucander was the only woman among the important pioneers of early Finnish abstract art. Through Lucander s art, I also examine the position of female artists in the tradition of Modernism as well as in the Finnish art world of the 1950s. This theoretical background is provided by the studies of feminist art historians, such as Marsha Meskimmon, Gill Perry, Griselda Pollock and Anne Middleton Wagner. Lucander s position in the male-dominated Finnish art scene of the 1950s, and how she achieved her position, emerges as one of the central themes of the study. I will also observe whether gender is evident in Lucander s art and expression, as well as her reception and critique compared to the reception of her male colleagues art. From a woman s point of view, I reveal the masculine rhetoric and gendered attitudes in the critique of the era. As a theoretical and methodological frame of reference, I use discourse analysis. Anitra Lucander encountered modernistic, international art movements during her journeys to Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Her art evolved from the geometric Concretism of the early decade towards more delicate and painterly abstract expression. After the mid-1950s, she had developed her signature expression; through Cubism and a collage technique, she developed in her painting a delicate, coloristic imagery, which can be characterized as Lyrical Abstraction. Lucander did not consider abstract expression to be categorical, but saw the abstract and the nonfigurative as equals: the line between the abstract and the figurative is very often fleeting in her art. Already in her own time, Lucander achieved a position as one of the most talented young artists of her generation and her work was included in significant exhibitions. This success can definitely be attributed to the fact that she embraced Modernism in its extreme form, abstraction, already at the beginning of her career and networked with male painters who shared her outlook and modernistic expression. For her, this was either a conscious or an unconscious method of adapting to the male-dominated Finnish art field in the 1950s. In spite of acclaim and attention, Lucander had to encounter the gendered attitudes in the critique of the time, and her art was often perceived through stereotypical views as overly feminine and dependent. However, with her art, Lucander played an important role in the breakthrough for colorism and abstract art in Finland in the 1950s.

Kalleuksia isänmaalle : Eliel Aspelin-Haapkylä taiteen keräilijänä ja taidehistorioitsijana

Treasures of a Patriot Eliel Aspelin-Haapkylä as an art collector and art historian Treasures of a Patriot is a study of Eliel Aspelin-Haapkylä (1847 - 1917), professor of aesthetics and modern literature, as an art collector and art historian. The study combines the biographical perspective, art history as a discipline in the 19th-century Finland, and Aspelin-Haapkylä s art historical scholarship. My intention was to answer to questions such as what kind of an art collector an academic art historian was, why he collected art and cultural-historical objects and what the purpose of his collecting was. Aspelin-Haapkylä was an ideal choice for the main character because the ideologies of the era, culture, art and European ideas, especially German ideas about museums, are intertwined in his life. In addition, the ideas of the Fennomen can be found in his ideological background. Together with his wife, Ida Aspelin-Haapkylä, he bequeathed a rich donation to the National Museum of Finland, and a wideranging archive concerning the collection, his writings, and letters to the Finnish Literature Society. I have highlighted the materials from the archives related both to the collection and art history, especially the letters between Aspelin-Haapkylä and artists, fellow members of academia, his spouse and relatives. The content and the structure of the research are divided into seven main chapters. First, I discuss Susan M. Pearce s theory of collecting and the history of collecting. I also introduce some other art historians who were private collectors. The late 19th-century Fennomen and other nationalists who were active in cultural life and the arts, are introduced in the second chapter. In the third I deal with Aspelin-Haapkylä s collection of European art combined with his writings, his early published works, studies and many trips to Europe. The fourth and the fifth chapters are dedicated to those Finnish artists who he wrote biographies of, and the artists of his own era whom he supported. The sixth chapter discusses institutions and channels of influence and power through which the initiative to found the National Museum of Finland, his action in the Antell Delegation and co-operation with the art merchant Henryk Bukowski, rise up to the fore. Finally, I process the last will and the fate of the collection from 1917 until 1932. As an appendix, I have included a report and reconstruction of the art collection. The catalogue is based on the words in Aspelin-Haapkylä s the so-called blue notebooks, which I have completed with additions from other sources.

New Perspectives on the Roman Coinage on the Eastern Limes in the Late Republican and Roman Imperial Period

The Ph.D. thesis discusses the monetary development in Roman Syria and Judaea in the Late Republican and the Early Imperial Period, from a numismatic, archaeological and historical point of view. In effect, the work focuses on the 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.D., that is, the assumed time of introduction of Roman denarii to the region. The work benefits from the silver coin hoards of Khirbet Qumran recently published by the author. Though discovered as early as 1955 at Qumran, where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls had been found prior to that in 1947, most hoards remained unpublished until 2007. A second important source utilized is the so-called Tax Law from Palmyra in Syria. Its significance lies in the fact that Palmyra used to be one of the most important cities on the Silk Road, along which luxury goods were transported into the Roman Empire and Rome itself. During the research conducted, studies of the provincial coinage of Judaea (A.D. 6-66) shed new light on the authority of the Roman governors in economic and monetary matters in eastern Mediterranean regions. Furthermore, a new suggestion as to the length of the mandate period of Pontius Pilate is made. The extent of Emperor Augustus monetary reforms as well as the military history of Judaea are discussed in the light of new analytical studies, which show that the production of Roman base metal coins appears to have been a highly controlled process, contrary to popular opinion. Statistical calculations related to the coin alloy revealed striking similarities with Roman and other local metalwork found in Israel; a fact previously unknown. Results indicate that both Roman and local metalwork consisted of outstandingly systematized practises and may have exploited the same metal sources. Information: Kenneth Lönnqvist (*25.7.1962) has studied at the University of Helsinki since 1981. Furthermore, Lönnqvist has lived in the Mediterranean countries and the Near East, and made research there at various scientific institutions and universities for ca. 7 years. Contact and sales of thesis: kenneth.lonnqvist@helsinki.fi

Edistys ja yhteinen hyvä vapaudenajan ruotsalaisessa poliittisessa kielessä

This dissertation analyses the notions of progress and common good in Swedish political language during the Age of Liberty (1719 1772). The method used is conceptual analysis, but this study is also a contribution to the history of political ideas and political culture, aiming at a broader understanding of how the bounds of political community were conceptualised and represented in eighteenth-century Sweden. The research is based on the official documents of the regime, such as the fundamental laws and the solemn speeches made at the opening and closing of the Diet, on normative or alternative descriptions of society such as history works and economic literature, and on practical political writings by the Diet and its members. The rhetoric of common good and particular interest is thus examined both in its consensual and theoretical contexts and in practical politics. Central political issues addressed include the extent of economic liberties, the question of freedom to print, the meaning of privilege, the position of particular estates or social groups and the economic interests of particular areas or persons. This research shows that the modern Swedish word for progress (framsteg) was still only rarely used in the eighteenth century, while the notion of progress, growth and success existed in a variety of closely related terms and metaphorical expressions. The more traditional concept of common good (allmänna bästa) was used in several variants, some of which explicitly related to utility and interest. The combination of public utility and private interest in political discourse challenged traditional ideals of political morality, where virtue had been the fundament of common good. The progress of society was also presented as being linked to the progress of liberty, knowledge and wealth in a way that can be described as characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment but which also points at the appearance of early liberal thought.

Turun linna kerrottuna ja kertovana tilana

The Turku castle, founded c. 1300, has changed over the centuries from a medieval defensive structure into a Renaissance palace and from a derelict jailhouse in the late 19th century into a prime example of the Medieval built heritage in Finland. Today, it is first and foremost a monument to the Medieval and Renaissance heyday of the castle. This is apparent in the architectural forms that have been carefully restored and reconstructed. It also becomes clear in all kinds of narratives, both visual (like the set of miniatures about the different stages of the construction of the castle) and textual (as during the guided tours). For the first time in the architectural history of the Turku castle, the Medieval, the Renaissance, the Modern, and the Present as architecturally constructed or reconstructed spaces can all be visited within the same hour. As a result, the monumental Turku castle may even be deemed anachronistic or inauthentic. In this study I look at the ways in which the Turku castle is, indeed, anachronistic and inauthentic. My main objective, however, is to find ways in which the anachronisms and inauthenticities are overcome in a positive way. I base my analysis of the Turku castle on three theoretical standpoints. First, I am studying the castle as space, described by Michel de Certeau as a practiced place (de Certeau 2002). Second, I am approaching the numerous narrative aspects of the castle following Paul Ricoeur s analysis of narrative as a threefold mimetic process (Ricoeur 1990). From these two theoretical settings I have summoned the concept of narrative space. The life and work at the castle are based on expectations and understandings of the historical surroundings. My third theoretical choice is to study this applied knowledge of the place as the management of blocks of knowledge in communication (Robert de Beaugrande 1980). Combining the theoretical starting points of space and narrative , I am approaching the castle as if it were an evolving set of narratives, narrated in space but also through space. Seeing e.g. the restoration teams of the mid-20th century and the present day tour guides as creative narrators, I am looking beyond the dilemma of the anachronistic spaces. What transpires is an inter-connected web of texts and spaces, tangible and intangible narratives. My analytical key to these narrative relationships is the threefold mimetic process of pre-figuration, con-figuration, and re-figuration, inspired by the writings of Paul Ricoeur (1990). This way, the past can be seen as a pool of endless possibilities to emplot place, time, and action into a narrative space. The narratives convey images of the past that may be contested by other images, and the power to narrate in the first place can be challenged and re-distributed.

Luonto, tiede ja teknologia : Kansanvalistuksen Suomi-kuva 1870-1920

Nature, science and technology. The image of Finland through popular enlightenment texts 1870-1920 This doctoral thesis looks at how Finnish popular enlightenment texts published between 1870 and 1920 took part in the process of forming a genuine Finnish national identity. The same process was occurring in other Nordic countries at the time and the process in Finland was in many ways influenced by them, particularly Sweden. In Finland the political realities under Russian rule especially during the Russification years, and the fact that its history was considered to be short compared to other European countries, made this nation-building process unique. The undertaking was led by members of the national elite, influential in the cultural, academic as well as political arenas, who were keen to support the foundation of a modern Finnish identity. The political realities and national philosophy of history necessitated a search for elements of identity in nature and the Finnish landscape, which were considered to have special national importance: Finland was very much determined as a political entity on the basis of its geography and nature. Nature was also used as means of taking a cultural or political view in terms of, for example, geographical facts such as the nation s borders or the country s geographical connections to Western Europe. In the building of a proper national identity the concept of nature was not, however, static, but was more or less affected by political and economic progress in society. This meant that nature, or the image of the national landscape, was no longer seen only as a visual image of the national identity, but also as a source of science, technology and a prosperous future. The role of technology in this process was very much connected to the ability to harness natural resources to serve national interests. The major change in this respect had occurred by the early 20th century, when indisputable scientific progress altered the relationship between nature and technology. Concerning technology, the thesis is mainly interested in the large and at the time modern technological manifestations, such as railways, factories and industrial areas in Finland. Despite the fact that the symbiosis between national nature and international but successfully localized technology was in Finnish popular enlightenment literature depicted mostly as a national success story, concerns began to arise already in last years of the 19th century. It was argued that the emerging technology would eventually destroy Finland s natural environment, and therefore the basis of its national identity. The question was not how to preserve nature through natural science, but more how to conserve such natural resources and images that were considered to be the basis of national identity and thus of the national history. National parks, isolated from technology, and distant enough so as to have no economic value, were considered the solution to the problem. Methodologically the thesis belongs to the genre of science and technology studies, and offers new viewpoints with regard to both the study of Finnish popular enlightenment literature and the national development process as a whole.