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Research has consistently shown that difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) are associated with peer problems and internalizing symptoms during middle childhood. However, no longitudinal research has investigated the direction of effects, that is, how these constructs influence each other across time. In this preregistered three-wave panel study, we tested the directional effects between FER, peer problems, and internalizing symptoms among Finnish school-aged children (n = 3,607; M[subscript age] = 8.20, SD[subscript age] = 0.86; 51% female). The results of random-intercept cross-lagged panel models showed that a low FER accuracy and high biases toward happiness and sadness correlated with higher levels of peer problems and internalizing symptoms at the between-person level. However, we found no evidence of directional effects at the within-person level. Overall, our findings suggest that these constructs might be associated because of shared underlying causes, rather than mutually influencing one another in middle childhood.

To better understand the role of neuroendocrinological regulation in adolescent mental health, stress reactivity needs to be analyzed through both the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Accordingly, this study examined how adolescents' internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms are associated with their salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol levels, responses, and coordination (symmetry versus asymmetry). We utilized a developmentally salient stress task of mother-adolescent conflict discussion. Eighty 18-20-year-old late adolescents (55% girls) participated in a home laboratory assessment involving a 10-min conflict discussion with their mothers. Five adolescent saliva samples were collected to measure alpha-amylase and cortisol levels before, immediately after, and in 10-min intervals following the conflict discussion, to indicate stress reactivity. Adolescents had reported their internalizing (depression, anxiety, somatization) and externalizing (inattention, hyperactivity, anger control problems) symptoms 1 year earlier as part of a prospective family study. Internalizing symptoms were associated with adolescents' high baseline cortisol levels, but not with cortisol responses or alpha-amylase levels or responses. In contrast, externalizing symptoms were associated with blunted alpha-amylase responses. Neither internalizing nor externalizing symptoms were associated with asymmetry between alpha-amylase and cortisol reactivity. The mother-adolescent conflict discussion was relevant as a stress stimulus to induce neuroendocrinological stress responses in adolescents. The nature of mental health problems was important for stress reactivity, yet, we found no evidence about mental health problems being related to endocrinological asymmetry in adolescents.

The study aims to clarify how Finnish teacher educators integrate research and teaching to support their approaches to teaching. Research questions cover teacher educators' forms of research-teaching integration, approaches to teaching, and the relationship between them. With a survey methodology, the study obtained 101 responses with a questionnaire. Six forms of research-teaching integration were identified with a qualitative content analysis. Integrating research with teaching content was mentioned most often, whereas integrating research with teaching methods and applying inquiry-oriented methods in teaching were reported less. Three kinds of approaches to teaching were found by cluster analysis. The participants with different approaches differed in their ways of research-teaching integration. However, the differences were not statistically significant in Chi-square tests. The study contributes to the international research on teacher educators and the variety in research-teaching integration in teacher education. Future research could further explore the individual and contextual factors influencing their research-teaching integration.

Adapting the propositions and concepts of ethnolinguistic identity theory, the present paper examined the interactive effects of identification with English, interlanguage boundary, and the perceived ethnolinguistic vitality of English on mobilising efforts towards English, and competitive efforts against English as a third language among young Swedish-speaking Finns (N = 299). The question is how individuals who already have access to two languages position themselves towards English, and how their disposition towards English relates to identification with the local languages. The data was collected in two Swedish-language secondary schools and analyzed with moderated moderation analysis. The results indicated that the combined effect of identification, interlanguage boundary and English vitality predicted mobilising efforts towards English but not competitive efforts against English. In addition, identification with the majority language Finnish had an impact on both mobilising and competitive efforts, in a way that higher identification with Finnish decreased mobilising efforts and increased competitive efforts against English, while identification with the minority language Swedish did not have an impact on either strategy.language minorities

Students are expected to develop academic competences during their studies. However, research regarding the relation between academic competences and student learning is scarce. The present mixed-methods study aims to investigate the complex interrelations between academic competences and approaches to learning using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data included 1023 graduates' survey answers and 83 interviews. The results showed that academic competences correlated positively with a deep approach to learning as well as with organised studying, and negatively with a surface approach. The qualitative analysis, however, revealed that descriptions of a deep approach were also found among graduates who evaluated academic competences less highly. Further, the results showed that putting effort into studying and seeing various competences as transferable were also positively related to academic competences and greater satisfaction with the degree obtained. The present study also showed that approaches to learning are closely intertwined with academic competences. The study suggests that the development of academic competences and an ability to identify them can be supported by emphasising deep-level learning and organised studying.

The study explored university undergraduates' dilatory behaviour, more precisely, procrastination and strategic delaying. Using qualitative interview data, we applied a theory-driven and person-oriented approach to test the theoretical model of Klingsieck (2013). The sample consisted of 28 Bachelor students whose study pace had been slow during their first university year. Three student profiles emerged. The first concerned strategic delay and was represented by motivated students with strong self-efficacy beliefs who had intentionally postponed their studying. The second consisted of students whose delaying was unnecessary in nature; these students had minor self-regulation problems but were still motivated to study. The third profile consisted of procrastinating students who lacked self-regulation skills and had weaker self-efficacy beliefs. The results indicate that dilatory behaviour can vary from strategic delay to dysfunctional procrastination, and that different factors are related to these various types of dilatory behaviour. This study adds to our theoretical understanding of academic procrastination by empirically testing a new theoretical model of procrastination. In addition, the study shows the value of using a qualitative approach in understanding the phenomenon of dilatory behaviour.

The aim of the present study is to explore changes both in approaches to learning as well as in students' experiences of the teaching-learning environment and how these changes are related to each other during their Bachelor studies by using a longitudinal data set. The aim is further to explore how students' approaches to learning and their perceptions of the teaching-learning environment relate to study success. Participants comprised of 103 students at the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences who participated in the present study from the first to third year of their Bachelor degree studies. We used a modified version of the ETLQ questionnaire and conducted Confirmatory factor analyses on scales representing approaches to learning and the teaching-learning environment at both measurements. We investigated changes at the group level using a paired sample t-test and conducted the final analysis with regression analyses. We then used Structural Equation Modelling to analyse the relationship between approaches to learning, perceptions of the teaching-learning environment, and study success. The results showed an increase in the deep approach to learning and a decrease in students' perceptions of teaching for understanding. Organised studying and interest in studies were related to study success. The results reveal the existence of complex relations between changes in approaches to learning and perceptions of the teaching-learning environment.

The study utilized a multi-method approach to explore the connection between critical thinking and epistemological beliefs in a specific problem-solving situation. Data drawn from a sample of ten third-year bioscience students were collected using a combination of a cognitive lab and a performance task from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). The cognitive-lab data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that students' epistemological beliefs were interwoven into their critical thinking: students used critical thinking as a tool (1) for enhancing understanding and (2) for determining truth or falsehood. Based on this classification, students could be placed in one of two qualitative profiles, either (1) thorough processing or (2) superficial processing. The results indicated that students who showed superficial processing palmed off justification for knowing on authoritative figures. In contrast to previous studies these students did not consider knowledge to be absolutely certain or unquestionable. The findings also show that students with thorough processing believed knowledge to be tentative and fallible, but did not share the relativist view of knowledge where any claim counts because all knowledge is relative. All ten students shared a fallibilist view of knowledge.

Since the late 1970s numerous studies have explored students' approaches to learning (referred to as the "SAL" tradition). These studies have provided valuable evidence of students' study strategies and intentions at the university. Since extensive research already exists on students' approaches to learning, there is a need to move forward and analyse student learning from new perspectives. In the present in-depth qualitative study, we analyse interviews of 34 students who scored extremely highly on the deep approach scale in a pre-test in our previous quantitative study (Lindblom-Ylänne, Parpala & Postareff, 2013) and thus are likely to have a strong commitment to understand, and a "disposition to understand for oneself" which is a recently introduced, yet unexplored phenomenon (see Entwistle & McCune, 2009; McCune & Entwistle, 2011). We identified several individual and contextual elements which provided explanations for the students' high scores on the deep approach, as well as for the increase, decrease or stability in their deep approach during one course. The results showed that most students showed a strong commitment to understand, but those whose deep approach sharply decreased during the course showed less commitment and their descriptions revealed problems with, for example, study skills, time management and regulation of learning. However, contextual elements such as the students' experiences of the course teaching and their interest in the course content did not clearly provide explanations for the changes in the deep approach. Elements of a "disposition to understand for oneself" clearly emerged among students whose deep approach did not decrease, or decreased only slightly.

A successful transition from university to working life requires that graduates are able to employ their education and academic competences in real working-life contexts. Our previous research showed that graduates varied in how they were able to reflect on their competences at the time of graduation. The present longitudinal mixed-method study follows the same graduates and explores their evaluations of the usefulness of university education and career success, three years after graduation. The follow-up data consisted of 57 graduates' survey answers analysed by quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that graduates who were able to describe and evaluate more competences at the time of graduation perceived their current jobs to correspond more to their education. Graduates with more limited evaluations of their competences, on the other hand, had experienced more challenges related to employment and were more uncertain of their goals. The results also showed that having diverse competences and an ability to recognise them at the time of graduation is important for later career success and may also be related to what kind of challenges graduates face in working life.

A father's mental health is important for family well-being, but research is scarce on paternal symptoms during the transition to fatherhood. This study identified fathers' latent mental health trajectory classes from the pre- to postnatal period and examined their associations with early fathering experiences. It further analysed, whether a family's infertility history was associated with mental health trajectory classes and moderated their effects on fathering experiences. Finnish fathers (N = 773) reported psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire; GHQ-36) and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory; BDI-13) in pregnancy (T1), and at 2 months (T2) and 12 months (T3) postpartum. They further reported their fathering experience (Parenting Stress Index; PSI-36) at T2 and T3. Results revealed five paternal mental health trajectory classes, differing in timing and course of symptoms across the pre- and postpartum: stable low (79%) and moderate increasing (9%) levels of symptoms, and prenatal (5%), early fatherhood (3%) and heterogeneous high levels of (4%) problems. The trajectory classes were associated with fathering experiences within parental, interactive and child domains, across the child's first year. The stable low levels of symptoms-class showed the most positive experiences and the heterogeneous high levels of problems-class the most negative ones; mental health problems in the early fatherhood-class reported negative fathering experience, but only when the child was 2 months old. A family's infertility history neither showed any significant association with trajectory classes nor moderated their impact on early fathering, supporting the growing evidence that infertility treatments do not place an additional burden on early fatherhood.

The family environment shapes children's social information processing and emotion regulation. Yet, the long-term effects of early family systems have rarely been studied. This study investigated how family system types predict children's attentional biases toward facial expressions at the age of 10 years. The participants were 79 children from Cohesive, Disengaged, Enmeshed, and Authoritarian family types based on marital and parental relationship trajectories from pregnancy to the age of 12 months. A dot-probe task was used to assess children's emotional attention biases toward threatening (angry) and affiliative (happy) faces at the early (500 ms) and late (1250 ms) stages of processing. Situational priming was applied to activate children's sense of danger or safety. Results showed that children from Cohesive families had an early-stage attentional bias toward threat, whereas children from Enmeshed families had a late-stage bias toward threat. Children from Disengaged families had an early-stage attentional bias toward threat, but showed in addition a late-stage bias away from emotional faces (i.e., both angry and happy). Children from Authoritarian families, in turn, showed a late-stage attentional bias toward emotional faces. Situational priming did not moderate the effects of family system types on children's attentional biases. The findings confirm the influence of early family systems on the attentional biases, suggesting differences in the emotion regulation strategies children have developed to adapt to their family environments.

The present study aimed to identify difficulties in writing at the beginning of educational science programmes in the Finnish Open University by analysing the students' written argumentation and use of sources at the textual level. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results showed that many students began their educational studies with weak writing competencies. While many of the problems were directly related to students' failure to explain the ideas in their sources in their own words, some problems pertained to other aspects, such as the inability to construct convincing arguments. Understanding the nature of the problems in writing encountered by beginning students in educational sciences can help teachers foster students' participation in academic discourse.

The University of Helsinki established a Teachers' Academy to reward excellence in teaching. This study focuses on teachers' significant networks and their meaningful conversations about teaching and learning before the establishment of the Teachers' Academy. The research data consisted of answers to open-ended questions, and were examined using social network analysis. The teachers' network consisted of significant relations with (1) colleagues and other teachers, (2) peers in pedagogical courses and pedagogical experts, (3) students, and (4) family members and friends. The conversations with different parties varied in nature, content and the level of confidentiality.

This article is based on a study which investigated whether Chinese international students at a university in Finland are more likely to rely on a Surface approach to learning and dismiss a Deep approach than are other international students in the same university educational context. In responding to a survey, students' scores with respect to the Deep approach and Organized Studying did not significantly differ between the groups. However, the Chinese students appeared slightly to exhibit the Surface approach to a greater extent, although this result was tentative when the students' extreme response styles were taken into account.

The study examined the use of the modified Experiences of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ) in the Finnish context by focusing on its factor structures and comparing them with those for British data. A total of 2,509 Finnish and 2,710 British students completed the questionnaire. The comparison of the factor structures were conducted using exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) and a transformation analysis. Although the differences between the factor structures prevented a combined analysis, the structures were highly similar in the two contexts. The ETLQ appears to be a sufficiently robust and reliable instrument for use across countries and, in addition, at either the level of the degree subject or the single course module.

Within higher education, reflection has been seen as a prerequisite to quality teaching and developing as a teacher. However, little empirical research exists concerning the link between teacher reflection and action, which defines the extent to which the teacher's reflection-based views are channelled to the benefit of the students. This article focuses on this link, as manifested through interviews with 76 university teachers. The findings shed light on practical challenges and obstacles along higher education teachers' path from reflection to practice, and indicate that, despite the strong emphasis on reflection, it is far from being a self-evident tool for developing a teacher's practice. Besides the pedagogical perspective, this link also appears essential from the viewpoint of the teacher experiencing teaching as rewarding. Issues that arise when theories of learning and reflection are applied to the context of the development of university teacher are considered.

Pregnancy and early motherhood involve uncertainty and change, which can evoke mental health problems. We identified maternal mental health trajectories in pre- and postnatal period, and examined their association with later child mental health and development. Finnish mothers reported psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ-36]) and depressive (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-13]) symptoms in pregnancy (T1; N = 788) and two months (T2; N = 657) and 12 months (T3; N = 545) postpartum. Both parents accounted their child's mental health (Behavior Assessment System for Children [BASC]) and social (Social Skills Rating System [SSRS], Child Behavior Scale [CBS]) and cognitive development (Five to Fifteen [FTF]) when the child was 7-8 years old (T4; N = 485). We identified five trajectories depicting unique timing and course of maternal mental health from pregnancy into 1 year of mothering: Stable low levels of mental health symptoms (75%) and prenatal (6%), early postpartum (9%) and late postpartum (6%) mental health problems. The fifth trajectory, heterogeneous high levels of mental health problems (4%) was an unclassified post hoc class, combining mothers with chronic high or highly variable mental health profiles. Results show some trajectory-related timing effects on children's mental health and cognitive development. The trajectories of early postpartum and heterogeneous high levels of mental health problems predicted higher level of internalizing symptoms as compared to stable low-levels trajectory. The heterogeneous high-levels trajectory predicted higher levels of problems in executive functions than the stable low and late postpartum trajectories, and in memory tasks than children in other trajectories. We discuss the timing and course of maternal mental health from the viewpoint of infant and child development. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.)

The present study explored differences in students' perceptions of their teaching-learning environments in three professional academic disciplines at the University of Helsinki, using a modified version of the Experiences of Teaching & Learning Questionnaire. A total of 426 first-year students from the Faculties of Law, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine participated in the study. When six scales measuring students' perceptions of their teaching-learning environments were devised, veterinary and pharmacy students experienced their teaching-learning environment more positively than law students. Significant differences in students' perceptions were found between disciplines on the four scales of Alignment, Staff Enthusiasm and Support, Constructive Feedback and Support from Other Students. Comparisons between the disciplines helped in recognising special features of each discipline from novice students' points of view. The questionnaire was found to provide valuable information about the quality of teaching and learning.

This article explores how new university students in three different fields of study--arts, law and veterinary medicine--explain their own disciplinary choices (n = 536). Despite the differences between the study fields, the new students' answers often included the word "interest". Because interest is linked to high-quality learning, the students seem to have a good starting point for their studies. On the other hand, the students use the concept of interest in several contexts, which may reflect diverse usage of the construct as well as different levels of interest development. On the basis of student expressions, five subcategories specifying the level of interest were identified. The study shows that it is possible to identify aspects of individual interest from the rather short written explanations of disciplinary choices. (Contains 2 tables.)

The aim of the study is to deepen our understanding of factors which students experience as important in learning, in order to improve the quality of teaching and curriculum planning. A total of 132 veterinary students participated in the study by answering a questionnaire containing open-ended questions. Most of the comments on factors enhancing learning were associated with teaching practices. Factors related to the planning of teaching, including curriculum and course overload, were commonly mentioned as impeding learning. The students rarely commented on their own actions. The results have been widely implemented in quality enhancement procedures at the faculty, such as curriculum planning and reform, planning of individual courses, improving teaching and assessment practices and arranging support for students' reflection. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study examines interdisciplinary differences in final-year psychology, pharmacy and theology students' academic thinking and personal epistemology. The semi-structured interviews (n = 52) were analysed using content analysis to assess students' individual perspectives of the cognitive process of thinking, knowing and reasoning. The three disciplines were chosen to represent professionally oriented programmes in the research-intensive University of Helsinki. The comparative analysis revealed that students' epistemological beliefs interacted with the students' disciplinary environment, i.e. with the characteristics of the curriculum and the nature of the discipline. Additionally, the results indicated that the academic practices applied by teachers contributed to the development of students' personal epistemology. Explanations and practical implications of these results are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article explores teachers in the units of high quality education in Finland. It focuses on three questions. First, What are conceptions of good teaching of teachers teaching in the quality units? Second, What do they consider important in their teaching? And third, What is the relation between teachers' conceptions and the criteria used in the quality unit selection? Findings reveal that teachers' conceptions of good teaching are in line with the theories of good teaching and with the main selection criteria of the quality units in Finland. Still, the role of appropriate assessment is not emphasised by the teachers.

This study investigates how different types of prior knowledge influence student achievement and how different assessment measures influence the observed effect of prior knowledge. We introduce a model of prior knowledge that distinguishes between different types of prior knowledge and uses different assessment measures to assess different types of knowledge. The sample consists of 202 mathematics students who completed the prior knowledge test during the first lesson. The student achievement was measured by the final grade on the course. The results indicate that the type of prior knowledge makes a difference: The measures assessing procedural knowledge predicted the final grades best whereas measures assessing declarative knowledge did not predict final grades. Additionally, previous study success was the best predictor of student achievement. These results are discussed in relation to assessment measures and their implications for practice.

Today's experts must continuously reconstruct their expertise and be able to apply their theoretical knowledge in actual work. The development of expertise is a long process, during which theoretical, practical and metacognitive elements of expert knowledge are integrated into a coherent whole. It is important to foster student's learning and integration of theoretical knowledge in practice during tertiary education. One tool for this is to pay more attention to practical knowledge in the theoretical part of the curriculum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of early practical training as a part of the pharmacy curriculum and to find out to what extent the students felt their practical training fostered their learning. A total of 47 pharmacy students were interviewed during the three-month practice period. Content analyses of the interviews showed that the practical training increased students' understanding of theoretical knowledge and their motivation to study. The students acquired practical skills and knowledge in a working community of professionals. The results also showed that the students should be able to rehearse their reflective skills during the theoretical studies as well, because the practice period was too short to permit adequate development of reflective skills.

Practical knowledge and skills are necessary components of expertise. Practical training in higher education has been shown to foster students' learning and understanding of theoretical backgrounds. The attitude and skill of mentors play a central role in enhancing the quality of students' practical learning. The aims of this study were to explore mentors' experiences of the practice period and mentoring process, and to develop practical performances to improve the practice period that s included in theoretical pharmaceutical studies in Finland. A total of 48 pharmacy mentors were interviewed during the practice period of the pharmacy curriculum. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results showed that the mentors considered the practice period an essential part of pharmacy studies, which fostered student learning and benefited the community pharmacy. Mentoring activities, mentoring processes and assessment of students varied in the pharmacies. The results showed that it is necessary to pay more attention to the aims and the content of the practice period. More cooperation is needed between the University and pharmacies. There is also a clear need to pay attention to reflective action in order to foster the quality of practical learning.

In Finland, as in other European countries, the Bologna Declaration is having a profound impact on the structure of degrees, and consequently on teaching and learning. Until now, most graduates in Finland completed a Master's without having to take a Bachelor's degree first. The Ministry of Education has set a high objective for the reform of degrees based on the Bologna Declaration: the Bachelor's degree will be developed as an intermediate stage on the way to the Master's degree, which will remain the main university degree in Finland. Prior to the Bologna Declaration, the University of Helsinki already had a history of enhancing the quality of instruction by providing support directly to the faculties. The university had also emphasised the importance of research into learning and instruction in higher education as the basis for developing teaching at the university. This research provides important information and tools for the university for developing high-quality teaching and enhancing high-quality learning in the Finnish university context. Hence, the degree reform process for the Bologna Declaration has not been conceived as a separate process. Instead, with government support, it has been embedded into the ongoing development of learning and instruction at the university. Of particular importance for academic development has been the requirement that all programs must undertake a core analysis.

In research literature, two study orientations have been identified: meaning orientation and reproducing orientation. Few studies have examined how study orientations and conceptions of knowledge (epistemologies) interrelate. Further, longitudinal studies of the development of orientations and of conceptions of knowledge in relation to academic achievement are scarce. The study set out:(i) to examine the relationship between study orientations and conceptions of knowledge; (ii) to investigate how these kinds of beliefs change during short, career aimed studies of natural science; (iii) to explore how study orientations and changes in them are related to study success. The sample consisted of 66 undergraduate students of pharmacy studying at a Finnish university. Participants filled in a questionnaire regarding study orientations and conceptions of knowledge at the beginning of their studies and after 3 years of study. Results showed a relationship between reproducing orientation and dualist conceptions of knowledge. Reproducing orientation and dualism diminished during undergraduate natural science studies. Further, students' reproducing orientation after the last study year was negatively related to their study success. In addition, a favourable development was detected in the group of above-average achievers, who maintained their initial level of meaning orientation while diminishing their level of reproducing orientation. Implications for instruction are discussed.

Studied the predictive value for success in medical school of three science tests, the secondary school matriculation examination, and learning-from-text (LFT) tasks taken by 109 Finnish medical students. Results show that the three science tests predicted medical course grades, and that the LFT tasks had predictive value for the pace of studying and grades in advanced courses. (SLD)

There is a fervent belief that culture is, among other desirable ideals, "good for you." This has been the baseline of the cultural policies in many countries. Through cultural policies, some forms of cultural participation over others are subvented through public funding, which makes it yet more important to ask which groups intentionally withdraw—or are left out—from which forms of it. We address the debate on cultural non-participation by scrutinizing nationally representative and longitudinal survey data from Finland, a Nordic welfare country with allegedly low social and cultural hierarchies, for years 2007 and 2018. We explore the changes in cultural non-participation by asking whether the main frequencies of cultural non-participation have changed between 2007 and 2018, what forms of different cultural non-participation patterns can be distinguished, and which socioeconomic factors best predict which form of cultural non-participation most in both years. Finally, we ask whether certain everyday forms of participation would compensate or complement non-existing cultural participation. We find three main cultural non-participation patterns: highbrow avoidance, mainstream avoidance, and nightlife avoidance. While the changes in non-participation look small from the macro level, their internal dynamics face a steep change between 2007 and 2018. Especially higher education becomes a continuously more significant factor for any kind of cultural activity. We also show that cultural participation is not compensated by everyday activities as often claimed in the literature, but that cultural and everyday non-participation overlap. Our results indicate that the alleged egalitarianism in Finland does not reach cultural participation: avoiding most forms of participation is more and more related to socio-economic differences reflecting social and cultural hierarchies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injuries often result in impaired social functioning that may cause uncertainty, isolation, and precipitation of significant stress in social situations. Involvement in directed group treatment helps participants to develop new capabilities for feeling relationally connected, improving verbal and nonverbal communication skills, as well as building the capacity for empathic intersubjectivity. We suggest that group intervention to improve communication and social skills may provide an efficient and effective way for a patient to return to successful social participation. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the principles of a clinical group intervention for increasing the social participation of persons with traumatic brain injury. METHODS: Since 2000, several intervention periods, each with 10–20 group meetings, including some individual sessions for guidance, have been carried out under our direction in Finland. The intervention periods include education, reflection, and practical experiential exercises and can be multidisciplinary with both speech-language pathologists and neuropsychologists providing oversight and direction. The main goal of the described group interventions is to support community participation and social reintegration. In this article, we describe guiding principles and provide examples of the clinical group interventions drawn from our experience. CONCLUSION: As determined by clinical observations and patient reports, the group intervention for social participation has proven to be beneficial. The participants report gaining more understanding of and insight into social situations, nonverbal and verbal communication, as well as affective interactive experience. Practicing social skills in a group situation is inherently self-motivating and encourages a constructive, positive impetus toward greater social participation. Based on our experience with this approach, it appears that this experiential form of group intervention is an effective bridge between structured cognitive-communication rehabilitation and successful real-life social participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To identify interplay of early maternal and paternal mental health symptoms for predicting child mental health and development. Background Research on family mental health has largely excluded fathers, although the well-being of both parents is likely to be important for child development. In this study, we analyzed (a) intrafamilial dynamics between mothers' and fathers' early mental health symptoms and (b) the importance of separate (mother and father) and joint (additive, hierarchical, and buffering) theoretical models of parental mental health for predicting child mental health and development. Method Finnish mothers and fathers ( N = 763), half of whom conceived through assisted reproductive treatments (ART), reported their symptoms of psychological distress and depression from the pregnancy to 2 months and 12 months postpartum. Later, when the child was 7-8 years of age, parents ( N = 485) reported the child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms and social and cognitive developmental problems. Results We identified both co-occurrence and compensation in intrafamilial early parental mental health. Further, mothers' symptoms alone (separate mother model) predicted child internalizing symptoms, whereas joint parental symptoms (additive model) predicted problems in executive function. Conclusion The pre- and postnatal mental health of mothers and fathers is important for later child development. Implications To support healthy child development, both parents need to be screened for early mental health problems, and psychological help should be offered to families across the pre- and postpartum period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the digital divide in terms of access and the cultural use purposes of the Internet in Finland, the United Kingdom, and Greece. The analysis is based on data from Finnish, British, and Greek sections of Eurobarometer collected in 2013 (N= 3,009). Separate measures for class and status are applied in the analysis. The findings indicate that both access to and use of the Internet for cultural purposes are affected by a number of interdependent factors, whose effects and strengths vary significantly among the countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal mental health problems can negatively impact children's physiological stress regulation. Yet, little is known of their long-term effects, especially related to the timing of maternal symptoms. We examined how maternal mental health problems during pregnancy versus in the early postpartum period predict children's cortisol levels and diurnal patterns at 10-12 years. Participants were a selection ( N = 102) of an original sample of 805 Finnish families, who were followed from the second trimester of pregnancy (T1) to child's age of 2 months (T2) and 12 months (T3), and again at child's age of 10-12 years (T4). Based on the timing of psychological distress and depressive symptoms (T1-T3), the mothers could be assigned to three distinct mental health trajectory groups: mothers with prenatal mental health problems ( n = 15), mothers with early postpartum mental health problems ( n = 15) and mothers without mental health problems ( n = 72). Children's cortisol (T4) was measured by saliva samples through five within-1-day assessments. The results show that maternal prenatal mental health problems predicted a relatively steep increase of child cortisol from awakening to 1 h later, indicating an intensified cortisol awakening response (CAR). Mothers' early postpartum mental health problems instead predicted a reduced CAR. Both maternal prenatal and postnatal mental health problems thus predicted children's later stress regulation, but in unique ways. We discuss the specific roles of direct biochemical effects during pregnancy and postpartum mother-infant interaction quality as modifiers of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the tenets of ethnolinguistic identity theory, this paper provides an insight into the complexity of ethnolinguistic identity and its relationship to ethnolinguistic vitality among young Finns with a Swedish-Finnish, mixed language family background. Questionnaire data was collected in Swedish language secondary schools in 2014 (N = 115). The data was analyzed with structural equation modelling. The results showed that ethnolinguistic identity may comprise affiliation with both Swedish and Finnish speakers as well as bilinguals. Further, higher subjective vitality of Finnish was significantly related to higher identification with Swedish speakers but it was not significantly connected to Finnish-speaking and bilingual identities. In parallel, higher subjective vitality of Swedish was significantly related to higher identification with Finnish speakers but it was not significantly related to Swedish-speaking and bilingual identities. Findings and their implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose In today’s retail environment, retailers’ leadership skills can make the difference between the success and failure of their retail stores. Despite the acknowledgment that retailers’ leadership skills and behaviour are important, treatment of the topic within the retail marketing and management literatures is still very limited. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to focus on the relationship between the retailers’ charismatic leadership and frontline employee outcomes.Design/methodology/approach For the purpose of this study, the authors develop hypotheses about the influence of the retailers’ charismatic leadership on frontline employee job satisfaction, self-efficacy, organizational identification and turnover intentions. Using structural equation modelling, hypotheses are tested using a sample of 208 frontline employees from the Finnish retail industry.Findings As a first main contribution, the findings of this study indicate that charismatic leadership has a very strong positive impact on job satisfaction. As a second contribution, this study shows that there is strong positive link between charismatic leadership and the self-efficacy of frontline employees. As a third contribution, this study indicates that charismatic leadership is positively related to organizational identification. And finally, this study indicates that charismatic leadership has a very strong negative impact on employee turnover intentions.Originality/value This study contributes to retail management and services marketing literature by broadening the current understanding of the leadership behaviour of retailers and its effectiveness and demonstrating how frontline employees respond to charismatic leadership in the retail setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Do children born after assisted reproductive techniques (ART; IVF/ICSI) display more mental health issues or social and cognitive developmental problems at 7-8 years than naturally conceived (NC) controls, and does child gender play a role?Summary Answer: ART children do not differ with regard to mental health or social and cognitive developmental problems when compared with controls, but some gender-specific differences do exist.What Is Known Already: Systematic reviews have not found any evidence of delays in neurocognitive or sensorimotor development in ART children. However findings on the effect of the type of ART treatment (IVF versus ICSI) on the offspring's physical and mental development have not been uniform. Knowledge of the role of child gender in ART research is scarce.Study Design, Size, Duration: This prospective follow-up study compares mental health and social and cognitive developmental problems between 7-8-year-old ART and NC children, controlling for the father's age, length of the parents' partnership, mother's parity, child's gestational age, and the need of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Further, within the ART group, we analysed whether the treatment type (IVF versus ICSI) and the child's gender are associated with the mental health and developmental outcomes.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: In this study, 255 singleton ART children (IVF and ICSI) were compared with 278 NC children on parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and social (social skills and peer relations) and cognitive development (executive functioning, perception, memory, and language). Within the ART group, 164 IVF and 76 ICSI children were compared on the same outcomes. Statistics included analyses of covariates (ANCOVA) with group main effects, group and gender interaction effects, and Bonferroni post hoc tests.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: ART and NC children did not differ generally in terms of their internalizing and externalizing symptoms or in the number of social and cognitive developmental problems (Group main effects, P > 0.05), but gender-specific group differences existed. The ART boys showed lower levels of cognitive problems than the NC boys, whereas ART girls showed higher levels of cognitive problems than the NC girls (Group × Gender-interaction effects with Bonferroni post hoc tests on mother-reports, P < 0.01). Further, unlike in the NC group, where boys showed more externalizing symptoms and social and cognitive developmental problems than girls (Group × Gender-interaction effects with Bonferroni post hoc tests for both parents' reports, P < 0.05), gender differences were not found in the ART group. Within the ART group, IVF and ICSI children did not differ in terms of mental health or developmental outcomes, and no significant gender differences emerged.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: The information on children's mental health and development was based on parental reports only. The dropout rate between the child's first year and the school age assessments was very high for fathers (57.4%) and substantial for mothers (30.1%), and the participating group was biased for older age of both parents and for better education of the fathers.Wider Implications Of the Findings: The findings indicate the importance of considering child gender in learning about multiple developmental outcomes among children born after ART.Study Funding/competing Interests: This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (#11232276), the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, The Family Federation of Finland, Helsinki University Central Hospital Research Funds, and the National Graduate School of Psychology. None of authors has any competing interests to declare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The findings suggest the increasing cultural inclusiveness is stained with an increase in ambivalence: The mean for musical dislikes was smaller in 2018 than in 2007 and the share of univores decreased over time. In tow, categorical tolerance and omnivorousness increased. • The percentages of the least liked genres are in most cases much higher for the omnivores and the categorical tolerants than the percentages of the most liked for the univores (and vice versa in the case of dislikes). • The omnivores' social attitudes are very liberal, postmaterialist and more tolerant than the average. The omnivores and the univores are situated on the opposite ends of the liberal-conservative axis in many ways, yet the polarization in this sense has diminished in a decade. • Taste manifestation 'categorical tolerance' is more of an effect of indecisiveness than a real tolerant attitude. • The group size of CTs was considerably larger than those of omnivores and univores in both years studied. These findings could indicate that for a growing number of people, the symbolic boundaries became harder to distinguish and the capacity for distinction through rigid taste was in decline. The paper aims to determine how cultural taste and social tolerance coincide and which symbolic boundaries they relate to. The empirical analyses scrutinise three taste orientations – omnivorousness, univorousness and 'categorical tolerance' (Lizardo & Skiles 2016) – to answer the following questions using two nationally representative surveys on cultural taste in Finland: (1) How did the cultural taste orientations change between 2007 and 2018 when considering musical like, dislike and ambivalence? (2) How do socio-political attitudes associate with cultural taste orientations and socio-economic factors, and can we observe change in these dynamics between 2007 and 2018? A longitudinal research design is used to explore whether there are changes in taste that tap to symbolic exclusion, inclusion or ambivalence. The results show that the omnivores and the univores are on many accounts situated on the opposite ends of the liberal-conservative axis. Their views deviate from each other, although the polarization in this sense has diminished in a decade. In addition to their wide-ranging taste and advantageous social position, we found the omnivores' social attitudes to be very liberal, postmaterialist and more tolerant than the average. The absence of ambivalence among the univores suggests very rigid symbolic boundary-drawing by them. The social indistinctiveness of the categorical tolerants was quite visible, and it indeed increased over time. However, the categorical tolerants' responses, particularly in 2018, were in most part inflated by their inability to neither agree nor disagree with the socio-political statements. Through a systematic analysis of various taste orientations over time, the study contributes to the understanding of cultural taste and symbolic boundaries by way of providing a gauge of the social, political and moral ambience in the society. The findings suggest growing tolerance in general, and decreasing polarization between the extreme taste orientations, omnivorism and univorism. However, the increased symbolic inclusion and ambivalence (of the categorical tolerants especially) are perhaps engendered by the features of modern social (media) reality, whose ubiquitous presence potentially affects how willingly people make judgements, whether social or cultural, and how much of personal values and tastes are communicated publicly in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on welfare regimes and migration regimes has shown that Sweden and Finland have similar elderly care regimes but different migration regimes. It is against this backdrop that we set out to study what Swedish and Finnish daily press focusing on elderly care has written about ethnic minorities, migrants and migration. The study uses quantitative content analysis to analyze 241 daily newspaper articles published between 1995 and 2008. This article presents the themes that have been discussed, the elderly care actors that have been in focus (i.e. whether the focus has been on elderly care recipients, elderly care providers or informal caregivers), the ethnic backgrounds that these actors have had (i.e. whether the focus has been on the ethnic majority or on ethnic minorities) and the type of explanatory frameworks that the newspaper articles in focus have used. On the basis of this, we problematize the representations of ethnic minorities, migrants and migration that the newspaper articles in question put forth and the fact that the Swedish and Finnish daily press treats the issues at hand as if migration is mostly an issue that can be relegated to the periphery of the elderly care sectors' agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the use and the effectiveness of formal and informal surveillance in reducing the incidence of shoplifting in the store environment. The study used elements of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) in its theoretical approach. The data collection was carried out through an Internet survey in Sweden, Norway and Finland in February 2010. The population for the study consisted of 358 store managers of a multinational fashion store chain. A total of 169 store managers filled in the questionnaire, yielding a total response rate of 47%. The results revealed that shoplifting is considered a significant problem in all the three countries. The study also reveals that store personnel play a crucial role in preventing shoplifting. In all the three countries, having enough well-trained employees seems to be the most effective method of preventing shoplifting. Among different forms of formal surveillance, electronic alarm tags are viewed as most efficient in the prevention of shoplifting. The results of this study clearly indicate that the human factor remains very important in crime prevention at the store level. These findings should be taken into consideration when the CPTED approach is tested and developed. In addition, future studies should create a more comprehensive framework that takes into account contextual factors and the structural characteristics of the store environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to focus on how grocery store retail entrepreneurs invest in formal and informal surveillance, and how these investments affect consumers' and employees' sense of security. In particular, it tries to understand what kind of surveillance investments can be found from the stores with high consumer and employees' sense of security. Design/methodology/approach – The present study utilizes elements of CPTED in its theoretical approach. The population for the study consisted of 946 grocery store K-retailers. The data collection was carried out through an internet survey in February and March of 2009. A total of 161 grocery store retailers filled in the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 17 percent. Findings – The research reveals that investments in informal surveillance are more likely to create a high sense of security among consumers and employees than are investments in formal surveillance. In other words, the analysis shows that the stores where consumers and employees have a high sense of security have made more investments in comfortable, clean and well-lit premises than stores where consumers and employees have a low sense of security. Research limitations/implications – The present study was limited to surveillance and to consumers' and employees' sense of security as understood by the retailers. Unquestionably, there is a need to study surveillance from the consumers' and employees' viewpoints. In addition, qualitative studies would enable more thorough operationalization of the concepts that linked the surveillance and sense of security in the store context. Practical implications – Retailers wishing to create a safe retail space for employees and customers should invest in informal surveillance. Investments in comfortable, well-cleaned and well-lighted premises make both consumers and employees feel safe in the store environment. In this way, retailers can enhance the competitiveness of their store. Originality/value – Very little empirical research has evaluated the effectiveness of surveillance in the store environment, although many articles and reports have commented on the importance of surveillance. The present study fills this research gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present follow-up study examines the effect of university teachers’ pedagogical training on approaches to teaching and self-efficacy beliefs measured by Approaches to Teaching Inventory and an additional part measuring motivational strategies. The effect of pedagogical training on teaching is analysed among 35 teachers who had not participated in pedagogical courses after the first measurement in 2004 as well as among 45 teachers who had acquired more pedagogical training after the first measurement. The results showed that there were more positive changes in the measured scales among teachers who had acquired more credits of pedagogical courses since the year 2004 than among teachers who had not acquired more credits. The results of the first and second measurements are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of group size, group status and trait valence (positive or negative stereotypes of in- and outgroup) on intergroup bias was studied in nation-wide probability samples of majority and minority groups in Finland and Sweden, (N = 2479). Ethnolinguistic vitality was used as a proxy for status. It is argued that the specific history of real-life intergroup relations has to be duly acknowledged when predicting main and interactive effects on intergroup bias in natural contexts. Supporting the predictions made, numerical group size showed a stable main effect; members of numerical minorities showed more bias than members of numerical majorities, regardless of trait valence. While status had no main effect, there was a significant interaction between status and size as well as between status and trait valence: intergroup bias was highest in the high status minority, and low status groups showed less bias than high status groups on negatively valenced traits. In fact, minority members showed the reverse of PNAE. In addition, majority members favoured the outgroup on negatively valenced traits, but favoured their ingroup on positively valenced traits. Different explanations for these results are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the cognitive styles of contractually integrated retail entrepreneurs with respect to marketing decision making. The study addresses two research questions: How can the cognitive styles of these retail entrepreneurs be classified? if there are differences in the cognitive styles of retail entrepreneurs, how are these differences reflected in their business performance? Design/methodology/approach - Following a literature review and conceptual analysis, a questionnaire on cognitive styles is developed on the basis of Jung's "typology theory" and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A quantitative internet survey study is then conducted among 226 retailers contracted to the K-alliance of Finland. The results are then subjected to statistical analysis. Findings - The study reveals that the cognitive style of most of the studied K-retailers is in accordance with the style of salaried managers, rather than that of "entrepreneurs". The study also finds no clear relationship between the cognitive styles of the respondents and their business performance. Research limitations/implications - The possible existence of explanatory factors other than cognitive styles was not considered in the study. Further research is required on other variables that might have a direct or indirect effect on the business performance of retailers. Practical implications - The study has implications for the governance and management systems of contractually integrated retailing organisations; in particular the study suggests that such management systems might inhibit entrepreneurial cognitive styles. Originality/value - The paper offers new perspectives on entrepreneurship in the context of contractually integrated retailing organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the relative importance of objective local ethnolinguistic vitality (EV), the individual's network of linguistic contacts (INLC), and the individual's perceived language competences (in Swedish, i.e., L1 and in Finnish, i.e., L2) for ethnolinguistic identity among Swedish-speaking youth in three cities in southern Finland ( N = 291). All adolescents were ninth-grade pupils at one of three schools in Ekenäs ( N = 118), Borgå ( N = 97), or Esbo ( N = 76). We found that the identities studied — identification with Swedish-speaking Finns, with bilinguals, and with Finnish-speaking Finns — were predicted differently by local EV, INLC, and perceived L1 and L2 competence. Local EV had only a weak impact on ethnolinguistic identity. Regardless of the EV, perceived L2 competence did not subtract from identification with the Swedish-speaking Finns, while perceived L2 competence and a predominantly Finnish INLC increased identification with Finnish speakers and bilinguals, contributing to multiple ethnolioguistic identities. The different dimensions of ethnolinguistic identity studied, including national identity, were complexly interrelated in a pattern characterized by additive rather than by subtractive ethnolinguistic identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the continuity of intergroup bias across two generations among the Swedish-speaking Finns. Many moderators influence the intensity of intergroup bias, fur example, group size, group status, valence condition (i.e., attribution of positive or negative stereotypes to in- and outgroup) and ingroup identification. In multilingual contexts, the ethnolinguistic vitality of a language group can be conceived as a proxy for its status. The so- called 'aggravating hypothesis' holds that inferior group size or group status constitute aggravating conditions which eliminate the so called PNAE ('positive-negative asymmetry effect'). We found, in accordance with this hypothesis, that neither generation of this minority group showed PNAE, i.e., both generations showed ingroup favouritism in the negative (attribution of negative stereotypes) as well as in the positive (attribution of positive stereotypes) stimulus conditions. In addition, intergroup bias was stronger among those with a strong ingroup identity, and weaker among those with a strong national identity, regardless of age, although the adolescents showed less intergroup bias than the adults in the negative stimulus condition. This difference occurred only after controlling for ingroup identity, as the adults identified with their ingroup significantly more than the adolescents. However, the adolescents favoured their ingroup more than the adults in the positive stimulus condition. Low local objective ethnolinguistic vitality (i.e. small proportion of Swedish-speakers in the community) seemed to imply an additional aggravating condition, as it predicted more intergroup bias in both generations and in both valence conditions. In accordance with expectations, however, a strong interpersonal network of language contacts, i.e., only Swedish spoken at home, was related to stronger intergroup bias in both generations and both valence conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two related studies are reported in this article. The first aimed to analyse how academic discipline is related to university teachers’ approaches to teaching. The second explored the effects of teaching context on approaches to teaching. The participants of the first study were 204 teachers from the University of Helsinki and the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and 136 teachers from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University who returned university teaching inventories . Thus, altogether there were 340 teachers from a variety of disciplines in Finland and the UK. The second study involved only the Finnish sample. The results showed that there was systematic variation in both student‐ and teacher‐focused dimensions of approaches to teaching across disciplines and across teaching contexts. These results confirm the relational nature of teachers’ approaches to teaching and illustrate the need, in using inventories such as the Approaches to Teaching Inventory, to be explicit about the context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]