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Framing Multipolar Tourism:Imaginaries, Visualities and Futures
No full textThis article examines multipolar iconography and how imaginaries of remote, climate-vulnerable places have materialized through improved transport, enhanced accommodation facilities, and increased human labor facilitating tourism. These imaginaries are perpetuated through technologies of visual culture, most commonly, through images taken on smartphones and circulated over social media platforms. We argue that a closer investigation and comparison of three distinct places not only illuminates the relationship between imaginaries and visualities as expressed through visual tourism practices but also demonstrates how these practices and destinations are shaped by specific expectations conveyed through social media. The desire to preserve memories of imagined and then witnessed scenes, coupled with the rapidly increasing impacts of climate change, drives individuals to visually document the present—capturing images of snow-covered glaciers and landscapes, natural phenomena such as the northern lights, winter and mountain icescapes, and endangered species such as polar bears. By examining visual practices within the contexts that produced them, we uncover how place-based imaginaries have informed planning, development, and collaborations. These imaginaries, embedded in visions of a “past future” have materialized through the emergence of infrastructures and continue to play out in contemporary tourism practices. Ethnographic fieldwork that focuses on processes of technologization and infrastructural development can reveal the consequences of planning, and includes the potential for co-envisioning socially transformative possibilities by actively engaging the people we work with.</p
Social well-being in Multi-Locational Work in higher education:An Analysis of a Finnish University
No full textWork in higher education institutions is changing as the different modes of remote work have increased, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. When employees work multi-locationally, the nature of social interaction and sense of community is different compared to traditional on-site work. This has an impact on social well-being. In this article, we investigate how multi-locational work in higher education is perceived by staff with regard to their social well-being. The following research questions were set for this study: (1) How is university employees’ social well-being affected by multi-locational work? and (2) How do university employees describe the relationship between social well-being and multi-locational work? This was a mixed-methods study focused on one Finnish university. The survey data analyses included factor analysis and linear regression analysis, and the interview data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that employees’ social well-being is best supported by organizations that facilitate and create opportunities for multi-locational work. An individual needs resources and skills to participate, interact, and be part of a community, and multi-locational work functions as such a resource. The findings contribute new viewpoints to the international discussion on how to perceive social well-being at the individual and communal levels
Assessing the effectiveness of Finland’s sustainable development policy to facilitate a sustainability transition
No full textSustainable development policies have been implemented during several decades, but so far with too little impact apart from awareness raising. Environmental changes, such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and resource overuse, have evolved from local problems to global crises interconnected with social issues like inequality and polarization. The need for rapid and large-scale sustainability transition is evident. Finland is one of the countries with relatively advanced national sustainable development policy and top ranking in several international comparisons of sustainability performance. Focusing on the societal uses of knowledge, this article uses Finland as a case to assess the effectiveness of conventional sustainable development policy, including national strategies, institutions, and practices. Recommendations applicable also for other countries and avenues for more impactful implementation of sustainability solutions are identified, emphasizing the urgent need to adopt a strong sustainability mindset shifting from short-term economic priorities towards coherent long-term targets beyond 2030, with corresponding policy and legal changes
The Resilience and Willingness to Immigrate to Finland:A Mixed Methods Research Among International Higher Education Students in Lapland
No full textHigher education (henceforth HE) institutions offer the highest level of education simultaneously caring for the well-being of students. Resilience is one of the key elements of well-being. Consistent with this view, this study aims to explore how resilience appears in international HE students in Finnish Lapland.The theoretical background of this study focused on the internationalization of higher education and immigration among international students, specifically in the unique circumstances of Finnish Lapland. All research participants were studying in the universities of Lapland. In addition, the theoretical framework focused on the phenomenon of resilience. The concept of resilience is multidimensional, and it has been defined as a dynamic process, personality feature, contextual concept, and socio-ecological phenomenon. Research on resilience has long roots in various fields of science. This research leaned on the Social Ecological Resilience Theory (SERT).The explanatory, sequential mixed method approach was adopted in this study to collect quantitative and qualitative data. To obtain quantitative data, International Student Resilience Scale was designed. Next, semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. The participants of this study are international HE students studying at The University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences in the Lapland area, Finland. Sixty-five international HE students responded to the questionnaire, and sixteen were interviewed personally. The gathered quantitative data were analysed by using the SPSS program. Then, the mean scores belonging to each resilience subscale were calculated to see the resilience levels of the participants. In addition, cross-tabulations were applied in an attempt to understand the relationship between the resilience levels and demographic features of international HE students. The cross-tabulations were utilized to grasp the link between the willingness of international students’ immigrating to Finland and their resilience levels in addition to their demographic features. Finally, the qualitative data gathered from the interviews were subjected to thematic analysis to come to find out the common themes regarding the perceptions of the participants related to the impact of HE on their resilience and willingness to immigrate.The findings revealed that international HE students had high resilience levels, and they had positive perceptions regarding the effect of the university on their resilience. On the other hand, some criticisms were discovered in some issues regarding developing more social activities, better health care services, and an online portal informing the international HE students about legal and academic procedures. In addition, the demographic features of the participants were found to be connected to their resilience levels besides their willingness to immigrate to Finland after completing their studies, including their gender, age, degree, length of study in Finland, university, and country of origin. The findings also suggested that although the international HE students revealed high resilience levels, there was not a positive relationship between their resilience levels and their willingness to immigrate to Finland after completing their studies. Finally, social, cultural, and economic factors were found to be playing a role in the international HE students’ willingness to immigrate to Finland after completing their studies.This study has significance for the related literature since it is probably the first research carried out on resilience of international HE students studying at an HE institution from a social- ecological resilience framework. This research also may help to improve the policies about the internationalization of HE in Finland. In addition, it draws attention to the application of social- ecological theory to educational psychology as well as the importance of intervention programs targeting leveling up the resilience of international HE students. The findings shed light on immigration policies promoting international HE students’ willingness to immigrate to Lapland area and Finland by offering an immigration lens to investigating the impact of HE on resilience
Everyday resistance within the context of the Finnish welfare service system from the standpoint of older women with a history of harmful substance use
No full textThe purpose of this study is to explore how older women with a history of harmful substance use express everyday resistance within the context of welfare services. The data consists of seven semi- structured individual interviews with women who have received services related to substance use. Category analysis was employed to examine the self-categories that reflect resistance. The analysis identified four main forms of resistance: 1) resistance to being defined as heavy drinker; 2) resistance to the way services are provided; 3) resistance to disrespectful encounters with professionals; and 4) resistance to the intended effects of services. These forms of resistance were expressed through various self-categories, which reflected the women’s sense of autonomy and their critique of the services. Examining forms of resistance and their relation to access to services illuminates shortcomings in the service system, offering insights for more responsive practices
Näkymätön sateenkaarevuus:sosiaalityön opiskelijoiden seksuaalisuuden ja sukupuolen moninaisuutta koskevat asenteet ja tiedon tarpeet
No full textArtikkelissa kysytään, millaisia seksuaalisuuden, sukupuolen ja perheiden moninaisuutta koskevia asenteita ja tiedon tarpeita sosiaalityön maisteriopiskelijoilla on. Tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä sosiaalityön yliopistokoulutuksen kehittämisen tarpeista seksuaalisuuden ja sukupuolen moninaisuuden opettamiseen liittyen. Aineistona on opiskelijoille suunnattu kysely, jota on analysoitu kuvailevin tilastollisin menetelmin ja khiin neliö -testillä. Opiskelijoiden kyselyssä raportoimat asenteet olivat enimmäkseen positiivisia, mutta heidän ymmärryksensä sateenkaarisyrjinnän eri muodoista ja sateenkaari-ihmisten erityisistä sosiaalityön palvelutarpeista oli puutteellista. Opiskelijan omalla identiteetillä vaikutti olevan vaikutusta vastauksiin. Seksuaalisuuden, sukupuolen ja perheiden moninaisuuden näkökulmia on vahvistettava sosiaalityön tutkimuksessa ja opetuksessa, jotta varmistetaanse, että kaikilla sosiaalityöntekijöillä on valmiudet työskennellä sateenkaariasiakkaiden kanssa vahvistavasti ja syrjinnänvastaisesti
