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This paper examines how signers make lists. One way is to use the fingers on the signer's nondominant hand to enumerate items on a list. The signer points to these list-fingers with the dominant hand. Previous analyses considered lists to be nondominant, one-handed signs, and thus were called list buoys because the nondominant hand often remains in place during the production of the list. The pointing hand was largely ignored as a nonlinguistic gesture. We take a constructional approach based on Cognitive Grammar. In our approach, we analyze lists as a type of pointing construction consisting of two meaningful components: a pointing device (the pointing hand) used to direct attention; and a Place, also consisting of form and a meaning. Using data from Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) and Finland–Swedish Sign Language (FinSSL), we examine the semantic role of each component, showing how the nondominant list-fingers identify and track discourse referents, and how the pointing hand is used to create higher-order entities by grouping list-fingers. We also examine the integration of list constructions and their components with other conventional constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the development and the sociopolitical background of legislation pertaining to abortion in Finland from the nineteenth century to the current day. The first Abortion Act came to force in 1950. Before that, abortions were handled under criminal law. The 1950 law was restrictive and allowed abortions in very limited circumstances only. Its main aim was to reduce the number of abortions and especially illegal abortions. It was not very successful in reaching these goals, but, significantly, it moved abortions from the realm of the criminal law to the hands of medical professionals. The birth of the welfare state and the prenatal attitudes of 1930s and 1940s Europe played their part in shaping the law. By late 1960s, with the rise of the women's rights movement and other changes in society, there was pressure to change the outdated law. The new 1970 Abortion Act was broader and allowed abortions for limited social reasons too but left very limited, if any, room for a woman's right to choose. After a citizen's initiative in 2020, the year 2023 will see a significant amendment to the 1970 law; during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, an abortion can be performed on the woman's request alone. However, there is still a long way to go in terms of women's rights and abortion laws in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity of grocery purchase data as an indicator of food consumption is uncertain. This paper investigated (1) the associations between food consumption and grocery purchases using automatically accumulated purchase data and (2) whether the strength of the associations differed in certain sub-populations. The participants filled in a FFQ, and a major Finnish retailer issued us with their loyalty-card holders' grocery purchase data covering the 1- and 12-month periods preceding the FFQ. We used gamma statistics to study the association between thirds/quarters of FFQ and grocery purchase data (frequency/amount) separately for eighteen food groups among the 11 983 participants. Stratified analyses were conducted for subgroups based on sex, family structure, educational level, household income and self-estimated share of purchases from the retailer. We also examined the proportion of participants classified into the same, adjacent, subsequent and opposite categories using the FFQ and purchase data. The gammas ranged from 0·12 (cooked vegetables) to 0·75 (margarines). Single households had stronger gammas than two-adult families, and participants with > 60 % of purchases from the retailer had stronger gammas. For most food groups, the proportion of participants classified into the same or adjacent category was > 70 %. Most discrepancies were observed for fresh/cooked vegetables, berries and vegetable oils. Even though the two methods did not categorise all food groups similarly, we conclude that grocery purchase data are able to describe food consumption in an adult population, and future studies should consider purchase data as a resource-saving and moderately valid measure in large samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines young people's experiences of open access youth work in settings in the UK, Finland, Estonia, Italy and France. It analyses 844 individual narratives from young people, which communicate the impact of youthwork on their lives. These accounts are then analysed in the light of the European youth work policy goals. It concludes that it is encouraging that what young people identify as the positive impact of youth work are broadly consistent with many of these goals. There are however some disparities which require attention. These include the importance young people place on the social context of youth work, such as friendship, which is largely absent in EU youth work policy; as well as the importance placed on experiential learning. The paper also highlights a tension between 'top down' policy formulation and the 'youth centric' practices of youth work. It concludes with a reminder to policy makers that for youth work to remain successful the spaces and places for young people must remain meaningful to them 'on their terms'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate about the differing philosophies of human-nature relationship is ongoing. Several studies discuss the need to develop and adopt a new environmental paradigm to replace the neoclassical economic paradigm predominant in Western societies. This issue has been discussed mainly at a societal level. Society or societies are, however, entities that consist of smaller particles. If a phenomenon is supposed to exist in an entity, signs of the phenomenon should also be found in its particles, business enterprises among others. This paper examines a shift of a managerial paradigm in a business organization, since not only the actions of individuals and governments but also those of business enterprises account for the preservation of the natural environment. It studies empirically how a managerial paradigm can shift from "traditional managerial thinking" to "environment-related management." Two frameworks will be developed for this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culturally, institutional care has been seen to strip older people of their status as full adult members of society and turn them into 'have-nots' in terms of agency. The substantial emphasis in gerontology of measuring the activity and functional ability of the elderly has unintentionally fostered these stereotypes, as have traditional definitions of agency that emphasise individuals' choices and capacities. The aim of this paper is to discover what kind of opportunities to feel agentic exist for people who have reduced functional abilities and therefore reside in assisted living. In this paper, agency is approached empirically from the viewpoint of Finnish sheltered housing residents. The data were gathered using participant observation and thematic interviews. This study suggests that even people with substantial declines in their functional abilities may feel more or less agentic depending on their functional and material surroundings and the support they receive from the staff, relatives and other residents. The perception that residents' agency in assisted living cannot be reduced to measurable activity has methodological implications for gerontological research on agency. Care providers can utilise our findings in reasserting their residents' quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relation between shareholders’ portfolio concentration and firm performance. Using data on more than 1.3 million unique shareholders, we create an index that measures how concentrated shareholder portfolios are in each firm. We posit that portfolio concentration will affect incentives when shareholders are resource constrained. We find that average shareholder portfolio concentration is positively related to future operational performance and valuation. We also find that portfolio concentration is positively correlated with abnormal stock returns. Our findings suggest that shareholders with concentrated portfolios are more informed and play a governance role through the stock market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Retirement villages are an increasingly popular senior housing option that aims to comprehensively integrate accommodation, care services, social activities and interaction opportunities for ageing people. The research literature about retirement villages and communities is extensive, but less studied are the contextually varying spatial, legal and political processes of how such villages and other intermediate housing-with-care solutions for older people are initially constituted, especially in novel national and local contexts. In this paper, a spatio-legal approach is employed to study the many legal possibilities and barriers that have arisen while developing retirement villages in Finland. As a specific case, I examine the new Finnish Virkkulankylä retirement village concept and its implementation process. As the key result of my study, I identify three major spatio-legal barriers to developing retirement villages and other intermediate senior housing solutions, which are (a) the polarised division between the fields of elderly care and housing in both law and practice, (b) the prevalence of 'local law' in spatial planning and service provision for elderly people, and (c) the inflexible funding system regarding alternative housing-with-care solutions for seniors. I argue that although the 'in-betweenness' of retirement villages may facilitate a more comprehensive understanding about the housing and care of older adults, in practice their intermediary position translates into many ambiguities and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze gender and socioeconomic differences in the length of working lives and pension income in Finland. Based on internationally unique data covering 50 years of recorded information on individual employment histories and first-year old-age pension income of a cohort retiring in 2011, we trace life-time work histories and their relation to pension income with greater precision than previous studies. While gender and socioeconomic income differences in the lengths of working lives are modest, differences in pension income are more pronounced. The residence-based national pension targeted at those with no or only low earning-related pension accrual plays an important role in cushioning old-age income differences. The results suggest that unequal life-time earnings and occupational segregation remain main challenges for equalizing pension income in old age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many developed countries lone parent families face high rates of child poverty. Among those lone parents who do get child maintenance there is a hidden problem. States may retain all, or a proportion, of the maintenance that is paid in order to offset other fiscal costs. Thus, the potential of child maintenance to alleviate poverty among lone parent families may not be fully realized, especially if the families are also in receipt of social assistance benefits. This paper provides an original comparative analysis exploring the effectiveness of child maintenance to reduce child poverty among lone parent families in receipt of social assistance. It addresses the question of whether effectiveness is compromised once interaction effects (such as the operation of a child maintenance disregard) are taken into account in four countries Australia, Finland, Germany and the UK using the LIS dataset (2013). It raises important policy considerations and provides evidence to show that if policy makers are serious about reducing child poverty, they must understand how hidden mechanisms within interactions between child maintenance and social security systems can work as effective cost recovery tools for the state, but have no poverty reduction impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to provide adequate nutrition is considered a key factor in evaluating the sustainability of foods and diets. Nutrient indices are used as functional units (FU) in life cycle assessment of foods to include nutritional performance in the environmental assessment of a product. Several general and food-group-specific nutrient indices exist but many lack validation, particularly when used as FU. In addition, the nutrient selection strategies and reference units for nutrient intake can vary considerably among studies. To validate intake-based product-group-specific nutrient indices previously developed for protein (NR-FIprot) and carbohydrate (NR-FIcarb) foods and for fruits and vegetables (NR-FIveg), we applied principal component analysis to investigate correlations between nutrients in foods and dishes representing a typical Finnish diet. The reference amounts for meal components were based on a plate model that reflected Finnish dietary recommendations. The portion sizes for the different food groups were anchored at 100 g, 135 g and 350 g for proteins, carbohydrates and fruits/vegetables, respectively. Statistical modelling largely validated the NR-FI indices, highlighting protein foods as sources of niacin, vitamin B12 and Se, carbohydrate foods as sources of Mg, Fe and phosphorous, and fruits/vegetables as sources of potassium, vitamin K, vitamin C, fibre and thiamine. However, in contrast to the intake-based approach applied in NR-FIprot, the dietary recommendation-based validation process suggested that fruits and vegetables should be favoured as sources of riboflavin and vitamin B6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how Finnish research ethics deals with matters of justice on the levels of practical regulation, political morality, and theoretical studies. The bioethical sets of principles introduced by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress in the United States and Jacob Dahl Rendtorff and Peter Kemp in Europe provide the conceptual background, together with a recently introduced conceptual map of theories of justice and their dimensions. The most striking finding is that the internationally recognized requirement of informed consent for research on humans can be ideologically tricky in a Scandinavian welfare state setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between structural and cognitive aspects of social capital and self-rated health among adults aged 50 or more, living in three countries: Finland, Poland and Spain. The study, which was based on data from the European Social Survey (2008/09), was a part of the EU research project COURAGE in Europe. More specifically the paper assesses the association between social capital indicators – informal social network and general trust – and good self-rated health through single-level and joint effects analyses. The results showed that Finland was a country of high social capital, in terms of both social networks and general trust, while Spain showed low levels of general trust and Poland low levels of informal social networks. As to the association between social capital and self-rated health, high levels of general trust and high networks were found to be associated with good health among all countries' respondents. Older persons living in partnerships, with higher education, higher levels of engagement in informal networks and general trust, were found to be more likely to show good self-rated health. Our comparative analyses revealed different associations between social capital and health according to country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the results from the first study of financial literacy in Finland and explores the relationship between financial literacy and retirement planning in Finland. Finland is an interesting case because countervailing effects may exist: a high level of education might increase financial literacy, while the high provision of social security may decrease it and weaken its relationship with pension planning. The results indicate that the level of financial literacy in Finland is comparatively high, although it is unequally distributed among the population. With respect to pension planning, we find that there is little evidence of a relationship between the three core financial literacy questions and retirement planning; however, a statistically significant and positive relationship exists between retirement planning and an extended measure of financial literacy, consisting mostly of more demanding questions. When we split the sample by gender, we find evidence of a positive relationship between financial literacy and retirement planning among women but not among men. The results indicate that scaling down publicly guaranteed pension benefits may pose a challenge to the less financially literate segment of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Later timing of eating has been associated with higher adiposity among adults and children in several studies, but not all. Moreover, studies in younger children are scarce. Hence, this study investigated the associations of the timing of evening eating with BMI Z -score and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and whether these associations were moderated by chronotype among 627 preschoolers (3–6-year-olds) from the cross-sectional DAGIS survey in Finland. Food intake was measured with 3-d food records, and sleep was measured with hip-worn actigraphy. Three variables were formed to describe the timing of evening eating: (1) clock time of the last eating occasion (EO); (2) time between the last EO and sleep onset; and (3) percentage of total daily energy intake (%TDEI) consumed 2 h before sleep onset or later. Chronotype was assessed as a sleep debt-corrected midpoint of sleep on the weekend (actigraphy data). The data were analysed with adjusted linear mixed effects models. After adjusting for several confounders, the last EO occurring closer to sleep onset (estimate = −0·006, 95 % CI (−0·010, −0·001)) and higher %TDEI consumed before sleep onset (estimate = 0·0004, 95 % CI (0·00003, 0·0007)) were associated with higher WHtR. No associations with BMI Z -score were found after adjustments. Clock time of the last EO was not significantly associated with the outcomes, and no interactions with chronotype emerged. The results highlight the importance of studying the timing of eating relative to sleep timing instead of only as clock time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine whether there are systematic differences in the quality of life, depending on whether an individual is institutionalised or not, holding health status and income level constant. In doing this we use a nationally representative data set, the Health 2000 in Finland. When controlling for health and functional status, demographics and income level, we find that individuals who are living in old-age homes actually report significantly higher levels of subjective wellbeing than those who are living at home. We argue that this finding emerges from queuing for care homes. This implies that there are individuals living at home who are so frail that they should really be living in an old-age institution, but because of the queues for that particular mode of living, they are living at home with a decreased quality of life as a consequence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been increasing in Finland, in parallel with a gradual increase in overweight and obesity during the past decades. The expanding prevalence of type 2 diabetes brings along complications, most importantly CVD. Therefore, it is extremely important to implement activities to prevent type 2 diabetes. Objective: In the present paper, the clinical evidence for the prevention of type 2 diabetes is presented with the Finnish diabetes prevention study. In addition, the paper discusses the practical implementation of prevention of type 2 diabetes using three different types of prevention programmes as examples: FIN-D2D, including risk-screening and repeated consultation in primary health-care; FINNAIR, a workplace-targeted intervention project involving airline employees; and the good ageing in Lahti region (GOAL) programme, a community-based prevention programme. Conclusions: FIN-D2D, the FINNAIR project and the GOAL programme have shown that screening for type 2 diabetes risk and implementing large-scale lifestyle intervention in primary health-care are feasible. However, the crucial questions still are whether it is possible to replicate the results concerning effectiveness of lifestyle intervention in primary and occupational health-care systems. Furthermore, it remains to be shown whether it is possible to achieve the same results in different health-care settings, cultures, regions and age groups, especially in adolescents and young adults among whom the increase in the incidence has been the highest. In addition, the importance of co-operation among all sections of society, citizens' awareness of healthy lifestyles and the social inequalities in health must be emphasised because the diabetes epidemic cannot be solved only by concentrating on preventive actions carried out by health-care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alvar Aalto's Vuoksenniska Church (1958) has been widely discussed in architectural literature, often in general terms of plasticity or ambiguity. Yet previous studies have given relatively little consideration to the approximately 800 archived sketches and drawings for the project. When a limited number of Aalto's sketches for the church have appeared previously, an isolated sketch has often been used to illustrate a single aspect or element of the church, such as a notable lighting or acoustic detail. The church's complexity and spatial qualities make it well suited for more detailed study, using sketches and drawings to clarify the design process of the church and provide new insights. The most important sketches and drawings from the church's design process are presented and discussed in this paper. They illustrate how the design process began with simple sketches, in plan and section, for folding and moveable partitions, highlighting Aalto's priority for balancing religious and social activities in the church through divisible meeting spaces. Acoustical considerations were also combined in these earlier plans, while section sketches show how the church's skylight and unique clerestory windows were gradually developed through several iterations. The threefold repetition of elements in both plan and section was consistent throughout the design process. The structure of the church was designed with simple organic motifs like frogs and fish, but was also intentionally combined with other key elements. While previous studies have emphasised one aspect of the church or another, Aalto's sketches taken together offer a more holistic understanding. They show the interrelated nature of different elements in the church and the relative relationships between different sketches and ideas in the design process. As a work of architecture, the church's definitive qualities of architectural harmony and coherence are far more compelling than any one particular feature or notable detail. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The increasing presence of for-profit service providers in publicly-funded eldercare has transformed care in Nordic welfare states which have a strong tradition of public care provision. Macro-level research on care policies has mainly focused on public institutions, national policies, and marketization. The financialization of eldercare has not received much scholarly attention, and existing studies mostly focus on the UK. The financialization of eldercare refers to the ways in which care is both a site of profit extraction and financial engineering. The Nordic system is relatively universal, and, with rapidly ageing demographics, there is a secured demand for eldercare services. However, these services have been heavily marketized over the past two decades, opening up lucrative possibilities for financialized actors who have established a stronghold over the markets. We analyse these processes through selected empirical examples from Finland, and argue that the financialization of eldercare in the Nordic context demands attention as we are witnessing a new configuration between the constitutional order of the welfare state, public finances, and private profit which is neither transparent, nor democratic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first two books of De finibus (= Fin.), Cicero deals with the Epicurean view of the final goal of life. This philosophical discussion, which is preceded by a rhetorical proem that stands on itself, is framed as a dialogue between Torquatus, who defends the Epicurean position, Cicero, who attacks it, and Triarius, who confines himself to a few critical interventions. If philosophy starts in wonder, according to the celebrated passage from Plato's Theaetetus (155d), the company meets this criterion admirably well, for the actual discussion starts with Torquatus' surprise about Cicero's aversion to the Epicurean view (Fin. 1.13). He even suggests that this aversion has nothing to do with a fundamental disapproval of Epicurus' doctrines but that it should rather be sought in stylistic concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of legumes in healthy and sustainable diets is increasingly of interest. Few studies have investigated the association between legume consumption and the consumption of other food groups and the intake of nutrients. This study examined how legume consumption is associated with the consumption of other foods and the intake of nutrients among Finnish adults. Our study used cross-sectional data from the population-based FinHealth 2017 Study consisting of 2250 men and 2875 women aged ≥18 years. The associations between legume consumption (quartile classification), food groups and nutrients were analysed using multivariable linear regression. The models were initially adjusted for energy intake and additionally for age, educational level, smoking status, leisure-time physical activity and BMI. Legume consumption had a positive association with age, education level and leisure-time physical activity. The consumption of legumes was positively associated with the consumption of fruits and berries, vegetables, nuts and seeds and fish and fish products and inversely associated with the consumption of red and processed meat, cereals and butter and butter-based fat spreads. Furthermore, legume consumption was positively associated with the intake of protein, fibre, folate, thiamine and salt in both sexes and inversely associated with the intake of saturated fatty acids and sucrose (sucrose, women only). Thus, legume consumption appears to reflect overall healthier food choices. An increase in legume consumption could accelerate the transition to more sustainable diets. The confounding role of other foods and nutrients should be considered when studying associations between legume consumption and health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the place of Finland and the Swedish military volunteers of the 1918 civil war, and 1939–44 Finno-Soviet wars, in the Swedish fascist imaginary. The loss of Finland to Russia in 1809 was heavily romanticized in Swedish nationalist culture, and shaped Swedish responses to both conflicts, mediated through famous literary works which encouraged a sense of shame and betrayal. Through examination of the historical relationship between the two countries, the volunteer effort in 1918, and the subsequent emergence of fascism in the interwar period, it is shown that this imaginary of the Finnish–Swedish relationship strongly shaped Swedish fascism. The article traces key military volunteer veterans in various fascist organizations, and the symbolic appropriation of the veterans. Rather than a comparatively peaceful manifestation of fascism in neutral Sweden, Swedish fascism was possessed of a heavily militarized imaginary rooted in violent proxy conflicts in its former eastern borderlands – in this regard it also showed substantial overlap with Swedish conservative nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response by Sonja Soininen and colleagues in response to the letter to the editor about their article "Determinants of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in Finnish children: The Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) study," published in a previous issue is presented.

Numerous papers have investigated the distribution of birth weight. This interest arises from the association between birth weight and the future health condition of the child. Birth weight distribution commonly differs slightly from the Gaussian distribution. The distribution is typically split into two components: a predominant Gaussian distribution and an unspecified ‘residual’ distribution. In this study, we consider birth weight data from the Åland Islands (Finland) for the period 1885–1998. We compare birth weight between males and females and among singletons and twins. Our study confirms that, on average, birth weight was highest among singletons, medium among twins, and lowest among triplets. A marked difference in the mean birth weight between singleton males and females was found. For singletons, the distribution of birth weight differed significantly from the normal distribution, but for twins the normal distribution held. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2002 and 2006, review papers have described the Finnish Twin Cohort and studies conducted on these population-based, longitudinal data sets with extensive follow-up data. Three cohorts have been established: the older twin cohort in the 1970s, and the Finntwin12 and Finntwin16 studies initiated in the 1990s. The present review provides on update on the latest data collections conducted since the previous review. These cover the fourth waves of data collection in the older cohort (twins born before 1958) and Finntwin12 (twins born 1983–1987). The fifth wave of data collection in Finntwin16 (twins born 1975–1979) also included assessments of their spouses/partners. An analysis of mortality in the older cohort from 1975 to 2009 indicates that the mortality of adult twins (as individuals) does not differ from the population at large. Based on the cohorts, many sub-studies with more detailed phenotyping and collection of omics data have been conducted or are in progress. We also contribute to numerous national and international collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Genetics of Sexuality and Aggression (GSA) project was launched at the Abo Akademi University in Turku, Finland in 2005 and has so far undertaken two major population-based data collections involving twins and siblings of twins. To date, it consists of about 14,000 individuals (including 1,147 informative monozygotic twin pairs, 1,042 informative same-sex dizygotic twin pairs, 741 informative opposite-sex dizygotic twin pairs). Participants have been recruited through the Central Population Registry of Finland and were 18–49 years of age at the time of the data collections. Saliva samples for DNA genotyping (n = 4,278) and testosterone analyses (n = 1,168) were collected in 2006. The primary focus of the data collections has been on sexuality (both sexual functioning and sexual behavior) and aggressive behavior. This paper provides an overview of the data collections as well as an outline of the phenotypes and biological data assembled within the project. A detailed overview of publications can be found at the project's Web site: http://www.cebg.fi/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study is to describe, on the basis of recent Finnish population surveys, (i) the frequencies of school and worksite canteen use, (ii) the determinants of having a hot lunch during school or working hours and (iii) the associations of lunch eating patterns with food habits. Setting: The study summarises mainly basic reports and studies concerning catering services conducted in Finland based on nationally representative population surveys. Design and subjects: Cross-sectional study. The most important surveys cited in this paper are the School Health Promotion Study, the Work and the Working Conditions survey, the National FINDIET 2002 Study, and the Health Behavior and Health among Finnish Adult Population survey. Results: School lunch is eaten by on average 70-90% of children aged 9-18 years. Of all employees, 30% eat at a worksite canteen daily, whereas 30% of men and 45% of women eat packed lunches. Nationally representative cross-sectional population surveys show that the use of catering services is associated with more healthy food habits; schoolchildren eating school meals and employees eating lunch at a worksite canteen tend to make food choices closer to nutritional recommendations as compared to those not using catering services to the same degree. Conclusions: Some evidence exists that catering services in schools and worksites contribute to healthy eating habits in the population. In order to verify the positive role of catering services more scientific research with prospective and intervention design studies will be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional survey, FINDIET 2007, was carried out in Finland. Food intake data was collected by a 48 h recall interview. Additional food intake data was collected by a repeated 3 d food diary, a barcode-based product diary, a food frequency questionnaire and by a supplementary questionnaire on rarely eaten foods. The purpose of the present paper is to describe the methodology of the national dietary survey and to discuss the particular implications for the applications of food consumption data in risk assessment. The food consumption data of the FINDIET 2007 survey can be used in food risk assessment, due thanks to flexible data processing of individual food consumption, and a risk assessment point of view was taken into account. However, international standardisation projects are needed in order to estimate comparable food intakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a study of the discursive management of notions of change and continuity in interview talk. It presents selected short empirical examples from interviews with 22 Finnish baby-boomers, and discusses the methodological and theoretical issues that arise. Following a review of the major approaches to the study of age identity, the analytic intersection between qualitative gerontology and discursive psychology is explored. The analysis identifies how the frequent use of a 'provisional continuity device' enables speakers simultaneously both to acknowledge and to distance themselves from factual notions of physical or psychological lifespan change. The key methodological argument is that the discursive analysis of age-in-interaction cannot necessarily be achieved through the myopic micro-study of discursive strategies, but rather two suggestions are made. First, it is argued that analytically-anchored and rigorous discursive gerontology that both systematically draws on and contributes to the broad field of discursive research provides a means by which to test empirically post-modern conceptualisations of age identity. Second, it is suggested that analyses of age-talk in everyday and institutional settings provide an analytical and theoretical middle-ground between the macro versus micro or 'microfication ' debate in gerontology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic grievances, globalization, and voter discontent are among the usual explanations for the surge in right-wing populism (RWP) across Western democracies. However, subjective well-being has recently been introduced as an overlooked psychological factor explaining citizens' democratic support, immigration attitudes, and populist vote choice. Yet we know little about how general well-being, instead of specific negative sentiments, relates to populist and nativist attitudes. This study examines the well-being bases of populist and nativist attitudes in Finland where, similar to other European countries, populism and anti-immigration attitudes have increased since the early 2000's. Using the Finnish 2019 National Election Study, we demonstrate that life dissatisfaction, and not only economic concerns, relates to populist attitudes, setting an agenda for future populism research. We suggest that past research has not fully accounted for all psychological factors in explaining support for RWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine financial literacy in Finland and its connection with various financial outcomes using novel survey data collected in 2023. While the overall Finnish financial literacy level is about average among the OECD countries, there is significant heterogeneity within the population. Women have lower financial literacy than men. The young and the old have lower financial literacy than respondents in their prime working age, and entrepreneurs have higher financial literacy than other groups. Financial literacy is also correlated with higher educational levels. We further study the relationship between financial literacy and a number of economic outcome variables. We find financial literacy to be negatively related to coping with a major expense, facing an income shock, and with perceived over-indebtedness. However, we do not find a statistically significant relationship between financial literacy and retirement planning in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 can spread through aerosols produced by surgical procedures, but knowledge of the extent of aerosol production and the risk posed by many common procedures does not exist. This study analysed aerosol generation during tonsillectomy and how it differs between distinct surgical techniques and instruments. The results can be used in risk assessment during current and future pandemics and epidemics. Method: An optical particle sizer was used to measure particle concentrations generated during tonsillectomy from the perspectives of the surgeon and other staff. Coughing is commonly used as a reference for high-risk aerosol generation; therefore, coughing and the operating theatre's background concentration were chosen as reference values. Different instruments were also compared to find the safest way to perform the tonsillectomy from the perspective of airborne transmission. Results: Eighteen tonsillectomies were evaluated; all techniques mostly generated less than 1 μm particles. For the surgeon, bipolar electrocautery significantly exceeded the particle generation of coughing in both total and less than 1 μm particles and was found to produce significantly higher total and less than 1 μm aerosol concentrations than cold dissection and BiZact. No technique exposed other staff to a greater aerosol concentration than is generated by a cough. Conclusion: Bipolar electrocautery generated high aerosol concentrations during tonsillectomy; cold dissection generated significantly less. The results support cold dissection as the primary tonsillectomy technique, particularly during the epidemics of airborne diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article provides comparative analysis of policy capabilities in COVID-19 response in Russia and Finland by examining key challenges and impacts of the pandemic, and effects of anti-crisis socio-economic measures. It finds that the two countries adopted diverse policy responses that prioritised different segments of society with corresponding budget allocations. Such policy choice has been underpinned by pre-existing national priorities, while largely leveraging established policy legacy, institutions, and instruments within their welfare models. Russia has focused on supporting households through pro-natalist social assistance in line with its demographic concerns and persistent poverty, whereas Finland concentrated on protecting employment via social insurance and labour market interventions amid declining working-age population and labour supply. It is further suggested that improving policy capabilities via investments in comprehensive social security, welfare systems and gender-responsive policies can contribute to better development outcomes, while addressing gender power imbalances in the post-COVID-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article was to use an interpretivist approach to analyse the state–citizen nexus in general and the conflict between civil and social rights imposing restrictions on people's freedom of movement during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Nordic countries: Sweden (restrictions were voluntary and relied on nudging and individual implementation), Norway (restrictions of movement were for everyone and was enforced by authorities), and Finland (restrictions of movement were for the capital region and was enforced by authorities). Sweden focused more on upholding the civil rights vis-à-vis social rights whereas in Norway and Finland social rights have trumped civil rights in the face of the pandemic. Thus, the analysis suggests that the Nordic countries cannot be understood as monoliths in all respects. The article thereby contributes to a greater understanding of how the Nordic governments prioritise civil and social rights differently when they are forced to choose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. Although seasonality has been documented for mental disorders, it is unknown whether similar patterns can be observed in employee sickness absence from work due to a wide range of mental disorders with different severity level, and to what extent the rate of change in light exposure plays a role. To address these limitations, we used daily based sickness absence records to examine seasonal patterns in employee sickness absence due to mental disorders. Methods. We used nationwide diagnosis-specific psychiatric sickness absence claims data from 2006 to 2017 for adult individuals aged 16-67 (n = 636,543 sickness absence episodes) in Finland, a high-latitude country with a profound variation in daylength. The smoothed time-series of the ratio of observed and expected (O/E) daily counts of episodes were estimated, adjusted for variation in all-cause sickness absence rates during the year. Results. Unipolar depressive disorders peaked in October-November and dipped in July, with similar associations in all forms of depression. Also, anxiety and non-organic sleep disorders peaked in October-November. Anxiety disorders dipped in January-February and in July-August, while non-organic sleep disorders dipped in April-August. Manic episodes reached a peak from March to July and dipped in September-November and in January-February. Seasonality was not dependent on the severity of the depressive disorder. Conclusions. These results suggest a seasonal variation in sickness absence due to common mental disorders and bipolar disorder, with high peaks in depressive, anxiety and sleep disorders towards the end of the year and a peak in manic episodes starting in spring. Rapid changes in light exposure may contribute to sickness absence due to bipolar disorder. The findings can help clinicians and workplaces prepare for seasonal variations in healthcare needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban population ageing has significant implications for city centres catering for an increasing number of older consumers. To guide world cities on taking action in response to population ageing, the World Health Organization (WHO) has addressed the universal features of the age-friendly city. This study applies the WHO guideline to the context of shopping. With an emphasis on older consumers, the perceptions of the city centre as a physical and social shopping environment are studied. Using a qualitative content analysis, older consumers' perceptions (focus-group participants aged 64–94) are analysed based on the age-friendly city features. The perceptions are compared with those of younger consumers (qualitative-survey respondents aged 21–41). The study confirms the significance of older city shoppers, and suggests their needs and wants should be taken into account in urban development projects. The older consumers differ from younger consumers in their city-shopping behaviour and perceptions in many respects. The age groups highlighted the same themes, but mainly with dissimilar content. This indicates that measures to develop a city centre friendlier to older consumers also benefit their younger counterparts, but for different reasons. It is necessary to understand this disparity to create a city-centre shopping environment that is friendly for different ages. The study offers new perspectives on responding to the challenges that consumer ageing poses to Western cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Schools can be an effective arena for food education. The Tasty School is a tailored teacher-driven food education model that provides tools for implementing food education in primary schools. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the Tasty School model on pupils' eating patterns and experiences. We also aimed to assess the implementation strength of the Tasty School.Design: A quasi-experimental study was conducted during one school year 2019-2020 in fifteen intervention and ten control schools. The intervention schools implemented the Tasty School food education model. The pupils completed web-based baseline and follow-up questionnaires in class during a school day. The principals were interviewed after the intervention. The data were analysed using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures, accounting for the implementation strength and selected standardisation effects.Setting: A total of twenty-five general Finnish primary schools.Participants: 1480 pupils from grades 3-6 (age 8-12 years) from five municipalities in Finland.Results: Percentages of pupils eating a balanced school meal increased in schools where food education was actively implemented (P = 0·027). In addition, pupils' experience of social participation in school dining strengthened in schools where the Tasty School model was implemented (5-point scale mean from 2·41 to 2·61; P = 0·017).Conclusions: Healthy eating patterns can be promoted by the active implementation of food education in primary schools. The Tasty School model offers a promising tool for developing healthy eating patterns and increasing social participation among pupils not only in Finland, but also potentially in other countries as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research on the effectiveness of pharmacotherapies for schizophrenia and comorbid substance use disorder (SUD) is very sparse, and non-existent on the prevention of the development of SUDs in patients with schizophrenia.Aims: To compare the real-world effectiveness of antipsychotics in schizophrenia in decreasing risk of developing an initial SUD, and psychiatric hospital admission and SUD-related hospital admission among patients with an SUD.Method: Two independent national cohorts including all persons diagnosed with schizophrenia (N = 45 476) were followed up for 22 (Finland: 1996-2017) and 11 (Sweden: 2006-2016) years. Risk of developing an SUD was calculated with between-individual models, and risks of psychiatric and SUD-related hospital admission were calculated with within-individual models, using Cox regression and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for using versus not using certain antipsychotics.Results: For patients with schizophrenia without an SUD, clozapine use (Finland: aHR 0.20, 95% CI 0.16-0.24, P < 0.001; Sweden: aHR 0.35, 95% CI 0.24-0.50, P < 0.001) was associated with lowest risk of developing an initial SUD in both countries. Antipsychotic polytherapy was associated with second lowest risk (aHR 0.54, 95% CI 0.44-0.66) in Sweden, and third lowest risk (aHR 0.47, 95% CI 0.42-0.53) in Finland. Risk of relapse (psychiatric hospital admission and SUD-related hospital admission) were lowest for clozapine, antipsychotic polytherapy and long-acting injectables in both countries. Results were consistent across both countries.Conclusions: Clozapine and antipsychotic polytherapy are most strongly associated with reduced risk of developing SUDs among patients with schizophrenia, and with lower relapse rates among patients with both diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A signal of rapid changes in 14C production is logged in annual series of 14C derived from tree rings, which can be associated with diverse effects of cosmic-ray fluxes, including solar burst and supernova events. These 14C signatures may vary in time and space. The intensity and structure of the 14C signal is multifaced, which complicates understanding of the forcing and attribution of the underlying astrophysical events. It was suggested that Δ14C in 1052/53 CE and 1054/55 CE signatures at a 4‰–6‰ range over two years could be caused by the Crab Nebula supernova (SN1054) or/and solar perturbation. The temporal incoherence of the signals in published 14C series is investigated with dynamic time warping (DTW), novel approach for matching time-behavioral patterns in multiple 14C datasets. DTW analysis of four 14C signatures from tree rings of California, Finland and England suggests that 14C spikes between 1052 CE and 1055 CE can be caused by a single event. The flickering fingerprint may result from cross-dating inconformity. Cross-checking of tree-ring records from distant locations is impossible sometimes due to large difference in environmental conditions limiting tree growth. The methodology helps to align the signals and can be applied to other 14C datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Added sugar intake has been associated with several health issues, but few studies have examined its association with overall diet quality. We aimed at examining the association between added sugar intake and overall diet quality in Finnish adults. Associations between added sugar intake and sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors, and BMI were also explored. Our data comprised 5094 adults residing in Finland who participated in the National FinHealth 2017 Study. Dietary intake was assessed by a validated FFQ. Food consumption and nutrient intakes were calculated using the Finnish national food composition database. Added sugar intake was estimated based on food categorisation and identifying naturally occurring sugar sources. Overall diet quality was assessed by the modified Baltic Sea Diet Score. The average added sugar intake was 7·6 E % in women and 8·3 E % in men in this study population. Added sugar intake was inversely associated with education (P = 0·03 women; P = 0·001 men), physical activity (P < 0·0001), and BMI in men (P = 0·003), and directly with smoking (P = 0·002 women; P < 0·0001 men). Added sugar intake was inversely associated with overall diet quality in both sexes (P < 0·0001). No interactions were found except for men's physical activity subgroups, the inverse association being stronger among active men than moderately active or inactive men (Pfor interaction = 0·005). Our findings suggest that high added sugar intake is associated with several unhealthy dietary and lifestyle habits, including poor-quality diets, smoking and leisure-time inactivity in Finnish adults. Efforts to improve diet quality should consider added sugar intake equally in the whole population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify food purchase patterns and to assess their carbon footprint and expenditure.Design: Cross-sectional.Setting: Purchase patterns were identified by factor analysis from the annual purchases of 3435 product groups. The associations between purchase patterns and the total purchases' carbon footprints (based on life-cycle assessment) and expenditure were analysed using linear regression and adjusted for nutritional energy content of the purchases.Participants: Loyalty card holders (n 22 860) of the largest food retailer in Finland.Results: Eight patterns explained 55 % of the variation in food purchases. The Animal-based pattern made the greatest contribution to the annual carbon footprint, followed by the Easy-cooking, and Ready-to-eat patterns. High-energy, Traditional and Plant-based patterns made the smallest contribution to the carbon footprint of the purchases. Animal-based, Ready-to-eat, Plant-based and High-energy patterns made the greatest contribution, whereas the Traditional and Easy-cooking patterns made the smallest contribution to food expenditure. Carbon footprint per euros spent increased with stronger adherence to the Traditional, Animal-based and Easy-cooking patterns.Conclusions: The Animal-based, Ready-to-eat and High-energy patterns were associated with relatively high expenditure on food, suggesting no economic barrier to a potential shift towards a plant-based diet for consumers adherent to those patterns. Strong adherence to the Traditional pattern resulted in a low energy-adjusted carbon footprint but high carbon footprint per euro. This suggests a preference for cheap nutritional energy rather than environment-conscious purchase behaviour. Whether a shift towards a plant-based pattern would be affordable for those with more traditional and cheaper purchase patterns requires more research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In safety assessments for nuclear waste disposal, the biosphere is a completely open system, whereas the bedrock can be treated with comparably simple boundary conditions. The bedrock has a vital role in providing and maintaining favourable conditions for the waste, but the public interest tends to focus on the biosphere. More importantly, the bedrock groundwater does arrive from the biosphere. Also, the regulations usually set the safety criteria in terms of doses occurring in the biosphere. Thus, it is reasonable to address the biosphere as a part of the disposal system, performance of which should be described based on conceptual models that cover phenomena and processes controlling radionuclide release and transport. From these, the actual assessment models and data are expected to be derived based on high-level research and expertise obtained through empirical study. In this paper, the complexity expected of a biosphere assessment within a mature safety case is discussed through the example of the Finnish regulations and recent safety cases for nuclear waste disposal. Both elaborate and complex presentations and stylised approaches have their benefits, and a balance needs to be sought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored the longitudinal relationship of political trust and subjective political competence during the COVID-19 outbreak. We also examined how levels of political trust and political competence were associated with compliance with COVID-19 recommendations. We used three-wave panel data including 2,205 observations (N = 735) to study changes within and between individuals from 2017 to 2020. The last round of the survey was conducted at the peak of the first wave of COVID-19. The measures included political trust, subjective political competence, political interest, multiple background variables, and measures for compliance with the social distancing recommendations. We found that Finns' political trust increased significantly during the first wave of COVID-19. The between-individuals analysis suggested that political competence was negatively associated with trust. The results also indicated that citizens' compliance with COVID-19 recommendations was directly linked to political trust but depended also on the interaction between competence and trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sibling resemblance in crime may be due to genetic relatedness, shared environment, and/or the interpersonal influence of siblings on each other. This latter process can be understood as a type of 'peer effect' in that it is based on social learning between individuals occupying the same status in the social system (family). Building on prior research, we hypothesized that sibling pairs that resemble peer relationships the most, i.e., same-sex siblings close in age, exhibit the most sibling resemblance in crime. Methods: Drawing on administrative microdata covering Finnish children born in 1985–97, we examined 213 911 sibling pairs, observing the recorded criminality of each sibling between ages 11 and 20. We estimated multivariate regression models controlling for individual and family characteristics, and employed fixed-effects models to analyze the temporal co-occurrence of sibling delinquency. Results: Among younger siblings with a criminal older sibling, the adjusted prevalence estimates of criminal offending decreased from 32 to 25% as the age differences increased from less than 13 months to 25–28 months. The prevalence leveled off at 23% when age difference reached 37–40 months or more. These effects were statistically significant only among same-sex sibling pairs (p < 0.001), with clear evidence of contemporaneous offending among siblings with minimal age difference. Conclusions: Same-sex siblings very close in age stand out as having the highest sibling resemblance in crime. This finding suggests that a meaningful share of sibling similarity in criminal offending is due to a process akin to peer influence, typically flowing from the older to the younger sibling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronized demographic and behavioral patterns among distinct populations is a well-known, natural phenomenon. Intriguingly, similar patterns of synchrony occur among prehistoric human populations. However, the drivers of synchronous human ecodynamics are not well understood. Addressing this issue, we review the role of environmental variability in causing human demographic and adaptive responses. As a case study, we explore human ecodynamics of coastal hunter-gatherers in Holocene northern Europe, comparing population, economic, and environmental dynamics in two separate areas (northern Norway and western Finland). Population trends are reconstructed using temporal frequency distributions of radiocarbondated and shoreline-dated archaeological sites. These are correlated to regional environmental proxies and proxies for maritime resource use. The results demonstrate remarkably synchronous patterns across population trajectories, marine resource exploitation, settlement pattern, and technological responses. Crucially, the population dynamics strongly correspond to significant environmental changes. We evaluate competing hypotheses and suggest that the synchrony stems from similar responses to shared environmental variability. We take this to be a prehistoric human example of the "Moran effect," positing similar responses of geographically distinct populations to shared environmental drivers. The results imply that intensified economies and social interaction networks have limited impact on long-term hunter-gatherer population trajectories beyond what is already proscribed by environmental drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legitimacy of a pension system or any social security program depends on its credibility and perceived fairness. In order to gauge this legitimacy, we need to understand the relation between people's knowledge and attitudes. This experimental survey into the role of knowledge and perceptions divided respondents into two groups: the 'treatment' group received an information letter about a forthcoming pension reform before they were interviewed, while the control group was interviewed without receiving this 'treatment'. Comparisons of the responses from the two groups allow us to assess how the level of knowledge and the provision of information affect people's opinions on policy reform. We also consider the patterns of covariation between background factors, people's concerns, and attitudes toward pension reform. The results show that the information letter had a significant impact on subjective but not on the objective level of knowledge. Receiving the information letter improved acceptance and perceptions of the fairness of the reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines regional and stylistic variation in the merger of front vowels /eː/ and /ɛː/ in Finland-Swedish. The study investigates the merger by comparing formant data from 141 speakers from four Swedish-speaking regions in Finland. Additionally, intraspeaker variation is explored by incorporating samples from three contextual styles. The results indicate cross-regional differences between Finland-Swedish dialects, with a more distinct variant of /ɛː/ being used on the monolingually Swedish-speaking Åland Islands, compared to other regions. However, the findings show that speakers from mainland Finland also demonstrate significantly different formant values for the vowels, particularly in formal speech styles. These results challenge the assumption of a complete /eː-ɛː/ merger in Finland-Swedish, instead pointing to a near-merger, whereby two sounds sound the same to speakers, despite them being differentiated in production. The findings also shed new light on stylistic variation in the variety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, we have seen an increase in economic inequality over the past 20 to 25 years. The populations might therefore have changed their attitude about how and how much different countries should intervene to reduce the extent of economic inequality. A question is whether there is any connection between changes in redistribution preferences and trends in economic inequality in the prosperous Nordic welfare states. This article contributes by examining whether there are differences in redistribution attitude and changes herein based upon socio-economic criteria, which might include self-interest arguments. Nordic countries are interesting because there have been differences in development, and even strong growth in economic inequality, especially in Sweden and Denmark, although these countries in the literature have been seen as highly equal societies. The analysis shows that support for redistribution is relatively stable over time in each country, but also that there are major differences between countries, with support being much higher in Finland compared with Denmark. Females, discriminated groups and the unemployed generally support redistribution to a higher degree. Ageing generally increases redistributional support, while more education reduces support for government redistribution in Finland. In all four countries, the highest income groups are less supportive of redistribution of income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier studies show that experiencing life as meaningful in old age promotes holistic wellbeing and health among older people. As more and more people are living with reduced capacities in their own homes, there is an urgent need to find new ways of promoting holistic wellbeing of the ageing population. Analysing data gathered from existential discussion groups on Service TV (STV), we show how strongly relationality and meaning in life are intertwined for older people. Our findings indicate that respect and support for the autonomy of older people is very important: in order to continue living at home, and prepare for a future with reduced capacities, they need family members for support. Autonomy of ageing becomes relational as choices and wishes are negotiated with family members. Relationships also contribute to loss of meaning. When older people felt that they were not close enough to their family, longed for friends of the same age, were bereaved or widowed, the relational gap caused a violation of meaning. In contrast, participation and activities with peers brought deep joy and connectedness to the lives of the participants. STV provided a new channel for participants to find and form meaningful relationships. Therefore, it is concluded that relationality can be supported by technological means of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses how three Finnish regional newspapers represented older people's digital competences and internet use in their daily coverage. The study explored media representations from the perspective of social representations and sought to answer the following questions: In what kind of internet user roles do the articles portray older people? How and with what kind of images do the articles portray older people's digital competences in various internet user roles? How are older people positioned at a societal level in the articles? The analysis revealed that older people were portrayed as incompetent outcasts of a digitalised society. However, there was a clear difference according to whether older people were portrayed as recipients of public services or as consumers of private services. As targets of public services, older people were predominantly portrayed as happy targets, who welcomed the services provided for them. This result can be interpreted as part of the promotion of government digitalisation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]