Abstracts 2010
Sosiologia Volume 47, Number 2, 2010
Class identifi cation among Finns in the light of empirical analysis
Nina Kahma, Master of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki
In present-day debates the notion of societal classes
is often seen as a partly outdated notion which was
typical of the post-war era and has since lost much
of its prior importance. This probably explains the
scarcity of recent research on the criteria of class
belonging, whether we mirror the class division to
objectively measurable statistical division or class
identifi cation as a function of subjective class criteria.
This article deals with the perception of class
division, with class identifi cation, and with the
connection between class identifi cation and social
background focusing on the case of Finland. In
discussing the fi ndings, the writer draws on both
quantitative and qualitative data. The fi rst section
of the analysis deals with the distribution of types
of class identifi cation in the light of a nationally
representative data. In the second section, based
on interviews with respondents picked out from
the survey data, special focus is on the confrontations
evoked in the speech of the respondents.
The third section returns to the quantitative data,
explaining class identifi cation by means of variables
measuring socioeconomic status, e.g. profession,
level of education, and income. The results
from a multinomial logistical regression analysis
indicate that these variables have an influence on
the probability of identifi cation with certain social
classes, although they do not offer a comprehensive
explanation.
Keywords: inequality, subjective class position, societal class, middle class
Difficulties in worker representation
on the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear
power plant construction site
Nathan Lillie, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Groningen & Markku Sippola, Doctor of Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä
The article looks at the challenges experienced by
the Finnish trade unions in safeguarding the interests of foreign workers’ on a large international
construction site. The case explores industrial relations at the construction of Reactor #3 at Olkiluoto from 2005–2008. Sources include 27 interviews
with representatives of employers, trade unions, and the government, as well as news media. The Olkiluoto 3 nuclear plant is being built by a Franco-
German consortium which, via its transnational subcontractors, has mainly recruited workers from outside Finland. The article fi nds that transnational
subcontractors, in operating ‘between’ national industrial relations systems, can take advantage of institutional loopholes, to create a “space of exception” where normal industrial relations rules do not apply. The fi ndings in the article throw doubt on the assertion from the “varieties of capitalism” literature that the institutions of “coordinated market economies” cushion the effects of economic globalization. Finnish trade unions did not take action to assert the Finnish industrial relations model on the construction site, when the employers attempted to operate outside it. The problems in organizing and representing the foreign labour force were also partly due to the ethnocentric features of the Finnish system of worker representation.
construction site. The case explores industrial relations at the construction of Reactor #3 at Olkiluoto from 2005–2008. Sources include 27 interviews
with representatives of employers, trade unions, and the government, as well as news media. The Olkiluoto 3 nuclear plant is being built by a Franco-
German consortium which, via its transnational subcontractors, has mainly recruited workers from outside Finland. The article fi nds that transnational
subcontractors, in operating ‘between’ national industrial relations systems, can take advantage of institutional loopholes, to create a “space of exception” where normal industrial relations rules do not apply. The fi ndings in the article throw doubt on the assertion from the “varieties of capitalism” literature that the institutions of “coordinated market economies” cushion the effects of economic globalization. Finnish trade unions did not take action to assert the Finnish industrial relations model on the construction site, when the employers attempted to operate outside it. The problems in organizing and representing the foreign labour force were also partly due to the ethnocentric features of the Finnish system of worker representation.
Keywords: trade union movement, varieties of capitalism, posted workers, construction industry, Finnish industrial relations system, transnational companies
Domestic exclusion order and the right to rights
Kati Rantala, Doctor of Social Sciences, The National Research Institute of Legal Policy
The article deals with domestic exclusion orders. The
Act in question was introduced in Finland in 2005.
In cases where such an order is issued, the person
causing a threat to other family members is required
to move off and not return during the duration of
the order, a maximum of three months. The starting
point of this reform was the right of a victim of
domestic violence to live safely at home. The article
makes use of the results and materials (law-drafting
documents, register entries on issued restraining orders
and persons involved, as well as interview data)
of a prior study. Here, however, the specifi c focus is
on justice: on how target groups and problems are
framed, and what this signifi es for the implementation
of the Act and for the consideration of the basic
needs and rights of the parties involved. The analysis
points to the strong infl uence, behind the law reform,
of the feminist movement and other societal political
pressures towards bringing about new tools for decreasing
violence against women. The right to a certain
desired state of affairs, however, has supplanted
perspectives emphasizing the living conditions of the target groups, as well as their right to adequate services. In addition, limited expertise in designing the order has lead to the neglect of some obvious, partly recognized, risks. This has resulted both in the failure to achieve equality in the execution of the orders, and in severe security risks and damages for the parties involved. The order, therefore, can be seen as an instance of indirect discrimination of parties involved.
perspectives emphasizing the living conditions of the target groups, as well as their right to adequate services. In addition, limited expertise in designing the order has lead to the neglect of some obvious, partly recognized, risks. This has resulted both in the failure to achieve equality in the execution of the orders, and in severe security risks and damages for the parties involved. The order, therefore, can be seen as an instance of indirect discrimination of parties involved.
Keywords: domestic exclusion order, law, power, justice,
partner violence, gender
Sosiologia Volume 47, Number 1, 2010
The influence of gender, age, and societal reality on social representations of different addictions
Tanja Hirschovits-Gerz, Master of Social Sciences, University of Tampere & Anja Koski-Jännes, Doctor of Social Sciences, University of Tampere
The article describes notions concerning various
addictions and their interrelations among Finnish
people. A mailed survey was sent to a random sample
of 2000 people between the ages of 17 and 74
years picked from the Finnish population register
in the autumn of 2007. The questionnaires were
fi lled and returned by 740 respondents. The conceptual
frame of reference in the article is Serge
Moscovici’s theory of social representations. The
article examines notions concerning the risk of addiction
involved in various substances and activities,
the chances of recovery, and the relationship
between addiction problems and other societal
problems. The core results are summarized in a
figure in which the different addictions are related
to each other as well as to the dominant societal
alcohol and drug policies in Finland at the time
of the study. Addiction risk evaluations corresponded
to the chances of self-change, with the
exception of tobacco addiction. Alcohol and drugs
were seen as equally big societal problems. Women
regarded almost any problems as graver than men.
They also had less faith in the individual’s ability
to cope with his/her addictions without help.
The attitude to drugs among young adults differed
from that of the other age groups.
from that of the other age groups.
Keywords: addiction, drug dependence, behavioral dependence, social representation
Rights to knowledge in the interaction of television discussion. Expert territories in the political arena
Hanna Rautajoki, Master of Social Sciences, University of Tampere
The article analyses the organization of epistemic relations – that is, rights and responsibilities regarding
knowledge – in an institutionally regulated journalistic
discussion between experts from various fields.
The case at hand is the TV discussion on the September
11 terrorist attacks broadcasted a week after the
attacks. Information delivery, expert knowledge, and
expertise are core elements in the programme. The
article looks at the way knowing is produced in interaction
between the participants in the discussion,
and what kinds of cultural order their orientations
produce and maintain. The study reported in the
article links with the ethnomethodological research
tradition, according to which expertise, instead of
being a static quality, is produced in action. The
journalists moderating the discussion have the greatest
power to shape the roles and situational identities
of the participants, but these, too, work on the
processes of knowing in their own contributions to
the discussion. Knowing and knowledge is organized
during the discussion territorially as different privileges
based on expertise and as territories of governance, which however come to have tense relations
with each other on the fi eld of political discussion.
The epistemic relationships and subject positions actualized
in a TV discussion provide us with a view to
the workings of modern society.
Keywords: television discussion, ethnomethodology, epistemic relations, expert knowledge, social order
Human-animal relations, knowledge,
and expertise – the case of
horse keeping
Nora Schuurman, Master of Philosophy, University of Eastern Finland
As human-animal relations in society have evolved,
the significance of companion animals especially in
leisure has risen. Part of this process is the evolution
of the horse’s role from workhorse to the increasingly
popular companion in sports and leisure. This article
looks into the change of the societal status of animals
from the point of view of knowledge and expertise.
The writer approaches the topic by means of the case
of human-horse relations, in the context of leisure
horse keeping. She asks about the way in which man’s
relationship with an animal depends on knowledge
concerning the latter, and what kind of knowledge
and expertise the concrete human-animal relationship
itself produces. The article is based on nine
interviews with horse owners carried out in 2007.
The writer makes the point that the human-animal
relationship comes about in everyday interaction
with the animal and is based, in a layered fashion,
on explicit knowledge, acquired experiences, and humanizing
and naturalizing interpretations. The interactional
relationship of an experienced owner with
his/her horse and his/her ability to “read” the horse
provide the animal with a role as an active subject and
member of a community, which can have a say in the
formation of knowledge concerning herself, and in
the definition of expertise.
Keywords: human-animal relations, companion animals,anthropomorphism, horses, tacit knowledge, expertise