Search results for "Finnish"
showing 10 items of 283 documents
Modeling the relationship between rapid automatized naming and literacy skills across languages varying in orthographic consistency
2015
The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to contrast the prominent theoretical explanations of the rapid automatized naming (RAN)-reading relationship across languages varying in orthographic consistency (Chinese, English, and Finnish) and (b) to examine whether the same accounts can explain the RAN-spelling relationship. In total, 304 Grade 4 children (102 Chinese-speaking Taiwanese children, 117 English-speaking Canadian children, and 85 Finnish-speaking children) were assessed on measures of RAN, speed of processing, phonological processing, orthographic processing, reading fluency, and spelling. The results of path analysis indicated that RAN had a strong direct effect on reading flue…
‘Africans’ and the ‘Chinese’ Exhibited in Finland in the years 1926–1928
2019
This article analyses two peculiar cases of ‘otherness’ (alterity), as witnessed on stage at an exhibition of Chinese and African cultures presented by the Finnish Missionary Society from 1926-1928. This exhibition consisted of a man-made figure (re)presenting the Ovambo (African) culture of South-West Africa, in concert with Chinese figures who were made to represent the contemporary culture of China. Of note is the fact that the Chinese part of the exhibition was not as contemporary as proposed. In fact, it had imperial qualities. Both sections of the exhibition were ‘made-in-Finland’ type artificial representations which bordered on total inauthenticity as the organizers did not have any…
The more you move, the more action you construct : a motion capture study on head and upper-torso movements in constructed action in Finnish Sign Lan…
2020
Abstract This paper investigates, with the help of motion capture data processed on corpus principles, the characteristics of head and upper-torso movements in constructed action and regular narration (i.e., signing without constructed action) in FinSL. Specifically, the paper evaluates the validity of two arguments concerning constructed action: that constructed action forms a continuum with regular narration, and that constructed action divides into three subtypes (i.e., overt, reduced, and subtle). The results presented in the paper support the first argument but not directly the second one. Because of the ambiguous position of reduced constructed action in between subtle and overt const…
Post memory and cinematic affect in The Midwife
2017
The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Finnish fiction film The Midwife (Kätilö, Antti J. Jokinen, 2015) is aimed at an international audience with a story that takes place in the context of the Lapland War in Finland in 1944. The film tells of a romantic relationship between a local woman and a member of the German army, in a highly affective manner. This article argues that the film downplays elements that might have interested the national, or local, audience, and that it privileges affect over knowledge. To bring out the film’s transnational character, the article begins by analysing it in the context of national, or local, and glob…
Paradoxes of Mentoring: An Ethnographic Study of a Mentoring Programme for Highly-educated Women with Migrant Backgrounds
2019
This article explores paradoxes that emerge in the mentoring of highly-educated, female, foreign-born job-seekers in Finland. Theoretically, the study is linked to the growing body of research scrutinising the integration or discrimination of migrants in working life. It analyses cultural practices and ideas that are visible and affect the mentoring interaction. On a more practical level, the paper determines how the mentors and mentees experience the mentoring, and how intercultural mentoring could be improved in order to promote mentees’ employment. The article is based on ethnography and 11 semi-structured interviews. Two major paradoxes and their links to cultural meanings were identifi…
Teacher development through language-related innovation in a decentralised educational system
2021
This study explores how early childhood education and basic education teachers develop and develop innovations within the decentralised educational system of Finland. The comprehensive dataset of 20 field interviews provides a range of insights into teachers’ goals, principles, inspirations and experiences when working with a variety of language-based innovations across Finland. The ecological perspective employed in the study highlights the complex relationships between the different ecosystems of education. With the particular focus on the educator-exosystem relationship, the findings indicate how Finnish teachers respond to the expectation to continuously develop and innovate as key chan…
Tardigrades of Finland: new records and an annotated checklist
2020
Species checklists are powerful and important tools of communication between taxonomists and applied environmental biologists, which in turn lead to well-planned and successful conservation strategies and ecological studies. Despite this, only recently the interest on compiling systematic checklists is growing among taxonomists who study tardigrades—micrometazoans that inhabit almost every habitat worldwide. As the Finnish records of tardigrades (a.k.a. water bears) species are incomplete, outdated and no checklist has ever been compiled for this country, an easy-to-consult checklist is here reported. This checklist covers all Finnish tardigrade taxa identified in the past and in the 13 sam…
Finnish forest-based companies in transition to the circular bioeconomy : drivers, organizational resources and innovations
2020
Abstract Forest-based businesses are the center of the transition to the sustainable and competitive circular bioeconomy in Finland. This study explores the transition of Finnish FBS firms to new business models, with a focus on the organizational resources and capabilities needed for transition. It also identifies the important elements in the business environment and the role of innovations in this process. The study uses thematic interviews with managers from various FBS firms and companies from interfacing sectors, all of which have operations in Finland. Despite the differences between firms, the study finds many common drivers and resources that FBS companies highlight as significant …
Many languages, many modalities : Finnish Sign Language signers as learners of English
2015
For a multilingual person, language learning is a process which requires and makes use of many varied characteristics that have developed in multilingual environments. This study deals with the learner beliefs of Finnish Sign Language (FinSL) signers who study at the university. The data for this study consist of student interviews and essays collected in connection with an English course at the Language Centre. In this article, we focus on discussing how the linguistic background and learner beliefs of FinSL signers form a basis for exploring features that affect their learning of English. Based on the socio-cultural framework, the learner beliefs these students have formed have been exami…
Bet big or pet pig?: the influence of the Finnish phonetics on Finnish speakers’ pronunciation of English
2013
Tämän kvalitatiivisen tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää ja kuvata erilaisia tapoja, joilla suomen kielen fonologinen ja foneettinen järjestelmä voivat vaikuttaa suomalaisten oppijoiden englannin klusiilikonsonanttien ääntämiseen. Tutkimuksessa analysoitiin kieltenvälistä siirtovaikutusta eli transferia, tutkittiin suomen ja englannin kielten fonologisia ja foneettisia järjestelmiä ja niiden eroja, sekä etsittiin konkreettisia esimerkkejä suomen siirtovaikutuksesta englannin ääntämiseen. Siirtovaikutusta on tutkittu paljon, mutta suomen ja englannin suhde, etenkin ääntämisen kannalta, vaatii lisätutkimusta. Tässä tutkielmassa analysoidut äänteet jaettiin neljään ryhmään niiden oikeaoppi…