Publication Type: Research Report
Abstract: The book “How Finns Learn Mathematics and Science?” tries to explain the Finnish teacher education and school system and Finnish children’s learning environment at the level of the comprehensive school, and thus give explanations for our PISA success. The main result is that there exists no clear explanation, but the true explanation might be a combination of several factors.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Since the end of the Cold War and disintegration of the USSR, we have seen total transformation of Finnish foreign policy. It includes membership in the European Union, diversification of economic and political ties with neighboring countries, involvement into creation of security architecture in Europe. The aim of the paper is to analyze main trends in Finnish foreign policy, defining priorities of Helsinki?s policy towards Central Europe and Baltic States as well as prospects for Finnish-Russian relations after EU and NATO enlargement in May 2004.The author is going to answer following questions: 1)What are political and economic interests of Finland in Central Europe?2)Is there separate Finnish policy towards Central Europe, which differs from Finnish position towards European Union in general?3)What kind of impact new Finnish policy towards Central European and Baltic countries may have for Finnish-Russian relations.

Publication Type: Individual Poster
Abstract: To what extent is acquisition of communication culturally influenced? Most studies on early interaction have been carried out with mother-infant dyads from Anglo-American samples. Children’s social experiences, however, differ from one cultural community to another, including the variety of childrearing practices and languages spoken in the world. In Finland, all children (98-99%) are cared for at home during their first year of life, while day care outside the home becomes common beyond infancy since there are two bread-winners in most families. Equality between genders and mutual responsibility for child care are highly valued in modern Finnish families.

With the present longitudinal study we examine the following issue: Are there differences between Finnish families (n=24) with respect to how parents communicate with their child during the second half of the first year? We observed the parents’ play interactions with the infant at 7 and 11 months. Three patterns of communication characterized both mother-infant and father-infant dyads. It was common that both partners shared the same focus of attention (either on the self, the partner, or a toy) during play interactions. Such shared moments appeared as Symmetrical if the partners influenced the actions of the other in a active and continuous manner or as Asymmetrical if the infant passively followed the parent’s actions. Unilateral communication was also typical at both ages: the child attended to toys and explored them, while the parent followed and/or tried to initiate joint play with the child. Few differences emerged between the parents: the mother-infant dyads displayed less unengaged moments at 7 months and more mutual engagements at 11 months compared to the father-infant dyads.

On the basis of the infants’ communication with both parents, we found three types of families. In the Exploration group (n=12), the infant’s active engagements with the mother at 7 months were related with high levels of exploration during play with both parents at both ages. In the Observation group (n=7), the infant’s passive engagements with both parents was associated with low levels of exploration during play especially with the father but active engagement with the father four months later. Finally, in the Social Exploration group (n=5), the infant displayed high levels of active engagements and low levels of exploration with the mother at both ages but high levels of exploration with the father. The profiles of the families will be presented and discussed from a cultural point of view.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: There have been – by Finnish standards – dramatic changes in Finland’s foreign policy during the last few years, including a change in the Finnish-US relations. Finnish strategic culture has been characterised by a strong element of continuity regarding issues relating to European integration. However, Finland´s relationship to NATO, the United States and American hegemony in general, has remained a contested issue in Finnish politics for decades. One school of thought sees the European Union, with its rule-based approach to both domestic issues and international politics, as an alternative to American hegemony, which is seen as being based on illiberal values and an outdated view of sovereignty. The second school of thought sees North America and Europe as part of the same political realm, and tends to agree with many American perceptions about the structural problems facing European societies. The paper discusses how the struggle between the two schools of thought has influenced Finnish behaviour in response to cases like the Iraq war, the NATO Response Force, the crisis in Lebanon, the Bronze soldier dispute, and Nordic defence cooperation in general. By studying the Finnish case, the paper also generates useful knowledge for comparative studies of other cases where US hegemony has been or is an issue, for instance Norway.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Public organizations and universal welfare systems are said to provide a basis for generalized trust and high social capital in society. Finland has traditionally had a large welfare system, though presently public organizations are under pressure to legitimize their functions, become more efficient and profitable. In order for an organization to survive and legitimize its functions, cooperation with the environment is required. This legitimization is achieved through a dialogue between the organization and its stakeholders. To prove their importance, public organizations are to measure their performance yet suitable measurement instruments are scarce, as the nature of public services is hard to measure. However, stakeholder assessments are measurable, and this paper examines the stakeholder assessments of Finnish public organizations through a survey of frequent stakeholders. The paper reports the building of a stakeholder questionnaire for public organizations and the reputational factors of public organizations presented through Head-model.