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Background: Gambling causes important harms in societies. According to the public health approach, the most effective policies to reduce harms target full populations. Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment are among the most effective measures. However, restrictions on the availability of some gambling products or channels may also be offset by increased consumption in other products. Substitution effects can have negative public health impacts due to differing harm potential across different gambling products. This paper uses longitudinal sales data (2019–2022) from the Finnish gambling monopoly Veikkaus. During the observation period, the availability of gambling was restricted in Finland due to subsequent waves of Covid-19-related restrictions. In addition, the gambling monopoly introduced mandatory precommitment to land-based EGMs. We focus on how these restrictive policy changes impacted the total consumption of gambling and possible substitution effects. Methods: The Finnish gambling monopoly provided weekly theoretical loss data per gambling product category and gambling channel (online, land-based) for the period of January 2019 – July 2022 based on a statutory obligation. We analysed the effects of availability restrictions and other public health measures on the consumption of different products using descriptive time series and regression analyses. We compared the sale of land-based products to online equivalents at product category level and included main policy change periods in the models. Results: Total consumption of gambling declined during 2019–2022 mainly due to reduced land-based electronic gambling machine (EGM) consumption. Declines in land-based EGM sales were not offset by online alternatives or other close substitutes in the long term. However, during the first wave of Covid-19, there was an observable substitution of land-based table games by online alternatives and land-based horse betting and possibly sports betting by online horse betting. Overall, the results also show that Covid-19 functioned as a boost to an already existing trend of increasing digitalisation of gambling. Conclusions: The study provides empirical support for the effectiveness of public health-oriented policies in reducing the total consumption of gambling. Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment are therefore likely to also reduce the burden of harms of gambling to individuals and societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relative importance of confidence in public institutions to explain cross‐country differences in the severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. We find that a 1 SD increase (e.g., the actual difference between the United States and Finland) in confidence is associated with 56.3% fewer predicted deaths per million inhabitants. Confidence in public institutions is one of the most important predictors of deaths attributed to COVID‐19, compared to country‐level measures of health risks, the health system, demographics, economic and political development, and social capital. We show for the first time that confidence in public institutions encompasses more than just the unobserved quality of health or public services in general. If confidence only included the perceived quality, it would be associated with other health and social outcomes such as breast cancer recovery rates or imprisonment as well, but this is not the case. Moreover, our results indicate that fighting a pandemic requires citizens to cooperate with their governments, and willingness to cooperate relies on confidence in public institutions. Key points: There is substantial heterogeneity in COVID‐19 prevalence and deaths across countries.We employ regression and machine learning methods to identify the most critical predictors of deaths attributed to the pandemic.We find that confidence in public institutions is one of the most important predictors of deaths attributed to COVID‐19.Our results suggest that effective policy implementation during pandemics relies on confidence in public institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we ask how the Finnish Roma community handled the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the information reached Roma communities. The previous studies indicate existing health inequalities between Finnish Roma and the general population. The point of departure for the article is crisis communication between Finnish Roma and national authorities. The themes of racialization, mistrust and Roma relying on peers as a source of information and support became apparent. From this setting, this article sheds light on the way of speaking, usage of language, (Finnish) as a social construction of ethnic identity and expression of (non)belonging. At the same time, the usage of languge and codeswitching reveals social stratifications among the Finnish Roma population. Findings indicate that subtle forms of exclusion of Roma prevail in Finland and are materialized as a "left alone mentality". Consequently, Roma persons working as civil servants or NGO workers would potentially constitute a crucial link between health authorities and the Roma population. This link, however, should be constantly maintained. The study is a qualitative study and based on thematic interviews among Roma actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal sport is central to Finnish children's leisure and physical activity time. This paper aims to build a better understanding of the travel time-based accessibility to informal sports facilities, specifically to ice skating fields, for children and adolescents (aged 7-19) in the city of Helsinki. We focused on the winter of 2020-2021 because COVID-19 restrictions on indoor activities resulted in ice skating fields being among the few public facilities that could remain open. Additionally, the weather was favourable for maintaining outdoor ice skating fields. We analysed if there would be a difference in children's independent travel times by public transport or walking to ice skating fields due to the COVID-19 pandemic related recommendations by Helsinki Region Transport to avoid public transport. Children in Finland usually travel to and from school independently. Hence we focused on the transition from public transport to walking and omitted car usage, which would require an adult. We also looked at the potential differences in travel time to ice skating fields by analysing different types of fields separately. This difference would be of significance if climate change resulted in warmer winters in Finland. Helsinki has two types of ice skating fields: naturally frozen and mechanically frozen, of which only the mechanically frozen fields would be used during a warmer winter that is above zero degrees Celsius. We took a geographic information systems (GIS) analysis approach using travel time and population catchments. The study's main findings show that during a milder winter and by walking, the accessibility for children is greatly reduced to 55.2%; that is, children face an increased travel time when naturally frozen ice skating fields are not in use. However, almost 100% of the child population can access both types of fields within a travel time of 30 minutes by public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid‐19 pandemic has caused a massive transformation in K‐12 settings towards online education. It is important to explore the factors that facilitate online teaching technology adoption of teachers during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare Learning Management System (LMS) acceptance of Finnish K‐12 teachers who have been using a specific LMS as part of their regular teaching before the Covid‐19 pandemic (experienced group) and teachers who started using it for emergency remote teaching during the pandemic (inexperienced group). Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology framework, a self‐report questionnaire was administered to 196 teachers (nexperienced = 127; ninexperienced = 69). Our findings showed no difference between the two groups of teachers in terms of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, LMS self‐efficacy and satisfaction. However, the experienced group had higher behavioural intention to use LMS in the future, reported receiving higher online teaching support and displayed higher online teaching self‐efficacy in terms of student engagement, classroom management, instructional strategies and ICT skills. For the experienced group, the most significant predictor of satisfaction with LMS was performance expectancy whereas for the inexperienced group, it was the effort expectancy. In terms of behavioural intention to use LMS in the future, the most significant predictor was the performance expectancy for both groups. Further, support was also a significant predictor of behavioural intention for the inexperienced group. Overall, our findings indicate that teachers should not be regarded as a unified profile when managing technology adoption in schools. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Covid‐19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented shift towards online education in K‐12 schools.Learning Management Systems (LMS) are common platforms for online teaching.Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology is a prominent framework for studying teachers' technology acceptance. What this paper adds: Acceptance of LMS during Covid‐19 pandemic differs among teachers with and without prior LMS experience.The impact of performance expectancy and effort expectancy on LMS satisfaction is different for the experienced and inexperienced teachers.Performance expectancy has the most influence on behavioural intention to use LMS regardless of prior experience.Support is a significant predictor of behavioural intention to use LMS only for the inexperienced teachers. Implications for practice and/or policy: LMSs can be designed with less complex features for the inexperienced teachers.Support can be faded as the teachers gain experience in using LMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first discusses some of the basic spatial features of the COVID-19 crisis in Finland. Second, it considers the role of the state and state power in response to the pandemic and explores some of the geopolitical aspects of COVID-19 in the Finnish context. Finally, it argues that the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the role of health care as a crucial constituent of state power. The COVID-19 crisis has not only made state power more clearly visible, but has also revealed some of the ways in which the "extra-economic" occupies a central position in maintaining both economic and societal order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives in many ways since the end of 2019. This paper investigates the everyday lives of Finnish older persons during the first three months of the pandemic when they were required to stay in "quarantine-like conditions." The study utilises the 'sociology of nothing' in exploring the meanings of nothingness in the everyday lives of older people; that is, the things, events and people that were absent from their lives because of the pandemic. The main interest of the article is to reverse the typical analytical focus from 'things that happened' to 'things that did not happen' and to shed light on the experiences and descriptions of older persons' unlived lives. The article presents empirical findings from written letters collected between April and June 2020 from persons aged 70 or over (n = 77). The letters were analysed with theory-driven content analysis. The paper suggests that the unlived life; that is, not having, not being and not doing, generated feelings of otherness from the social world, but also freedom from obligations. Furthermore, the present article gives a sense of how old age is depicted in Finnish society and by the older persons themselves. • 'Things that are not' are sometimes more meaningful than 'things that are'. • The social distance to other people revealed us how close we were before the pandemic. • The self-isolation period was a reminder of the writers' age and mortality. • The writers still rejected the label of being 'old'. • The lack of something also had positive outcomes such as freedom from obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to numerous changes in society. This paper aims to understand how the abrupt transfer to remote work is reflected in employees' perceptions of relational communication at their work. Our research question is as follows: What kinds of perceptions and profiles regarding relational communication can be found among full-time remote workers? A sample of 1, 091 Finnish public sector employees with virtually no previous experience in remote work completed an open-ended survey during the first wave of the pandemic. The findings present 17 aspects of relational communication that the respondents mentioned as having changed because of moving to remote work. These aspects divide the respondents into three groups: those who found remote work as a challenge for relational communication, those who found it as an opportunity for relational communication, and those whose perceptions were ambivalent. The respondents' individual characteristics are presented alongside their perceptions. The results reflect the diversity of relational communication in organizations, highlighting its importance to well-being and coping. The practical implications of the study reflect the typical time and place of relational communication in traditional organizing, offering insights into how to develop a culture that enables relational communication in remotely working organizations. • This study focused on the perceptions on relational communication in remote work. • Most employees found remote work as a challenge for relational communication. • Some employees found remote work as an opportunity for relational communication. • For some, the experience of relational communication in remote work was ambivalent. • Communication technology played a crucial role in experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]