Finnish Translation Research Articles

Higher education and the public good in Finland

AbstractThis paper discusses understandings of higher education and the public good in the context of Finland. A lexical-based comparison of public goods terminology reveals that the Finnish translation of public good—julkishyödyke—is used in comparatively recent (post-1970s) scholarship, mainly limited to the fields of economics, forestry and agriculture. It is notably absent in discussions of higher education. Instead, universities’ contribution to the public good is expressed as sivistys, service, social impact and national development. The second half of the paper discusses findings from a qualitative study of university staff and policymaker understandings of public good(s) (n = 21). Participants framed the contribution of universities to the public good as sivistys, service and social impact and also highlighted the dimension of social equality. These goods were viewed as applicable to local, national and global levels, flowing both out of and into Finland, thus benefiting everyone. As such, responses were closely aligned with the UNESCO (2015) definition of higher education as a global common good. Recent higher education policies that are based on the logic of higher education as a private good (education export, tuition fees for international students) threaten this model, revealing a conflict in the role of the state as protector of the public good at the national level and promoter of higher education as a private good at the global level.

Finnish translation, validation, and reproducibility of BREAST-Q modules relevant to breast cancer treatment

Background and objective: Breast cancer and its treatments can have a marked impact on the patient health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to produce and validate Finnish versions of the breast-conserving treatment, mastectomy and breast reconstruction modules of the BREAST-Q, a patient-reported outcome tool designed specifically for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Methods: The relevant BREAST-Q modules were translated to Finnish according to established guidelines. Altogether 777 preoperative women were recruited at the Breast Surgery Unit and the Plastic Surgery Unit of Helsinki University Hospital between December 2019 and March 2021. This included 541 patients scheduled for breast-conserving surgery, 86 for mastectomy, and 150 for breast reconstruction. Postoperative patients were recruited through a postal survey, approaching 500 women operated for breast cancer in 2017, including 250 women who had undergone breast-conserving surgery and 250 women who had undergone mastectomy, as well as 339 women who had undergone breast reconstruction between August 2017 and July 2019. The patients were invited to fill the BREAST-Q modules relevant to their treatment and the general health-related quality-of-life instrument SF-36. A repeat administration of the BREAST-Q was done 2 weeks later. Results: A total of 665 (41%) women participated in the study, 339 (44%) preoperatively and 326 (39%) postoperatively. The BREAST-Q subscales showed high internal consistency with most Cronbach’s alphas > 0.8. The repeatability of the subscales was excellent with most intra-class correlation coefficients > 0.75. Low or negligible correlation was observed between BREAST-Q subscales and SF-36 domains. Conclusions: The Finnish version of the BREAST-Q modules breast-conserving treatment, mastectomy, and breast reconstruction performs well in assessing the health-related quality of life of women undergoing surgery for breast cancer or breast reconstruction.

The reception of post-Soviet Russian fiction through the peritexts of Finnish translations

ABSTRACT This article is based on research addressing the reception of post-Soviet Russian fiction in the twenty-first century (2000–2023) through Finnish translations and the notions of Russia and Russian literature mediated through them. The investigation of translated fiction draws on imagology, i.e. the study of images and cross-national perceptions in literary representations. Focusing on the peritexts, a subcategory of paratexts coined by Genette (1987/1997), the article investigates book cover texts and publishers’ descriptions of the translated works to find out how the translations are received and introduced to readers of the target culture. The translations comprise 101 books, first translated during 2000–2023. The peritexts were retrieved directly from the printed books or using the search service Finna.fi and publisher websites. The analysis was conducted with help of a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis tool, designed to support inductive, data-driven qualitative analysis. As a result of the analysis, three thematic groups emerging from the peritexts were identified: 1) the portrayal of the (Soviet) Russian past and post-Soviet society as grim, insane and tragic, 2) the emphasis on realism and truthfulness of the image of Russia conveyed by the translations, and 3) praise of the authors’ literary skills.

Reception of Finnish translations of contemporary Russian fiction: unveiling cultural perceptions through book reviews

ABSTRACT This article investigates the image of Russia and Russian literature conveyed through book reviews of Finnish translations of contemporary Russian fiction. It also explores the reception of Russian literature and the motivation of Finnish audiences to read it. The research material comprises book reviews of contemporary Russian fiction translated into Finnish in the twenty-first century. The reviews, gathered from Finnish newspapers, magazines, and book blogs, provide a comprehensive overview of the perspectives and expectations of Finnish readers regarding Russian literature. A data-driven analysis shows that translated literature is expected to provide insights into Russia, either reinforcing stereotypes or offering new understandings. The image of Russian literature is shaped by previous experience of Russian classics but is still considered an important source of knowledge. The analysis reveals that Finnish readers are motivated to read Russian literature primarily for its potential to provide insights into Russian society, as the literature is often relied upon as a trusted source of knowledge. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the reception of Russian literature and the role of translated Russian literature in shaping Finnish image of Russia and Russian literature.

Mental health after the COVID-19 pandemic among Finnish youth: a repeated, cross-sectional, population-based study

High levels of mental health problems among young people were reported during the COVID-19 pandemic, but studies of the post-pandemic period are scarce. We assessed mental health problems among Finnish youth before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using nationwide population-based samples. Our aim was to examine in which direction the heightened levels of adolescent mental health problems have developed after the pandemic. In this national, repeated cross-sectional, population-based study in Finland, we recruited students at lower and upper secondary level (aged 13-20 years) who were taking part in the Finnish School Health Promotion (SHP) survey in 2015-23 (119 681-158 897 participants per round). The SHP is based on total sampling and conducted biennially between March and May. Self-reports covered the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale; the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire for depression; the Mini Social Phobia Inventory for social anxiety; the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale for mental wellbeing; loneliness; the Sick, Control, One Stone, Fat, Food measure for disordered eating; and suicidality (suicidal ideation, deliberate self-harm, and suicide attempts). Scales were dichotomised using validated cutoffs. Presence of any and comorbid mental health problems was assessed. Logistic (for dichotomised outcomes) and linear (for Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) mixed effects models were used to analyse the effect of survey year on mental health, controlling for sociodemographic background factors and stratified by gender and school level. Cisgender and transgender youth were compared. Between 2015 and 2023, the SHP study recruited 722 488 students (371 634 [51·6%] girls and 348 857 [48·4%] boys) with a mean age of 15·8 years (SD 1·3) who were either in the eighth and ninth grades of comprehensive school or the first and second years of general and vocational upper secondary schools in Finland. The proportion of participants with generalised anxiety, depression, and social anxiety symptoms above the cutoff increased from pre-COVID-19 levels to 2021 and remained at these higher levels in 2023 among all study groups. Among girls in lower secondary education, prevalence of generalised anxiety, depression, and social anxiety symptoms increased from 2021 to 2023, as did social anxiety among girls in upper secondary education. Among boys, the proportion with social anxiety symptoms decreased between 2021 and 2023. Mental wellbeing scores decreased in all groups between 2021 and 2023, and disordered eating increased in girls, and in boys in lower secondary education. Suicidality increased in girls but not in boys. Loneliness was the only measure to show improvement in all groups from 2021 to 2023. In 2023, 55 895 (72·6%) of 76 994 girls and 22 718 (32·8%) of 69 205 boys reported at least one mental health problem, and 37 250 (48·4%) girls and 9442 (13·6%) boys reported comorbid mental health problems. Among both transfeminine and transmasculine youth, the prevalence of generalised anxiety and depression symptoms decreased from 2021 to 2023, but compared with cisgender youth, the proportions were significantly higher throughout. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health could be long lasting. In this study, the substantial change for the better among transgender youth was a positive exception. Providing adequate support and treatment for young people with poor mental health is essential, but solutions to the mental health crisis need to address a wider societal perspective and should be developed in partnership with young people. NordForsk, Research Council of Finland. For the Finnish and Swedish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Finnish literary translators' use of translation technology and tools: processes, profiles, and purposes

Finnish literary translators' use of translation technology and tools: processes, profiles, and purposes

The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life (SoMe) questionnaire in Finnish: Sociodemographic findings of meaningfulness and crisis of meaning in the Finnish context.

Psychological research about meaningfulness is concerned with a subjective sense of meaning of one's own life, that is, meaning in life. Empirical research in this field is attracting interest, as meaning in life has wide-ranging positive implications for mental health and well-being. The aim of this article is to test the validity of the Finnish translation of the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life (SoMe) questionnaire. In the article, meaningfulness and crisis of meaning are correlated with sources of meaning, and results are compared with other validation studies in Norway, Denmark, and Brazil as well as with the original German questionnaire. To meet our aim, 551 participants were recruited to answer the Finnish questionnaire. The internal and construct validity of the Finnish questionnaire were tested with reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and analysis of intercorrelations of items in the questionnaire. The analysis demonstrated similar reliability to other validation studies of the questionnaire and results highly comparable to the Norwegian study regarding the internal structure of the questionnaire. Results of intercorrelations of items within the questionnaire were also comparable to the other validation studies.

Reliability and validity of the adapted Finnish version of the early onset scoliosis questionnaire (EOSQ-24)

BackgroundEOSQ-24 is a disease specific patient-reported outcome score used to assess the quality of life in patients with early-onset scoliosis. The aim of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the English version of the EOSQ-24 to Finnish language and to assess the reliability and validity of the translation.MethodsCross-cultural adaptation and cross-cultural validation were performed to the Finnish translation of the EOSQ-24. Patients and/or their caretakers were then recruited to assess the psychometric properties of the translation. We assessed the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, floor and ceiling effects, and discriminative abilities. One-hundred-and-three patients filled the questionnaire.ResultsEOSQ-24 was successfully translated into Finnish. The translation showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach alpha 0.94), satisfactory item-total correlations ranging from 0.6 to 0.9, and moderate to strong inter item correlations. Test–retest reliability ranged from 0.7 to 0.96 indicating good to excellent agreement. Patients with neuromuscular and syndromic scoliosis reported lower EOSQ-24 scores when compared to patients’ idiopathic and congenital scoliosis. There was a significant negative correlation between major curve and EOSQ-24 scores in patients with idiopathic early onset scoliosis.ConclusionThe internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the measure were found to be satisfactory. A marked ceiling effect was observed, indicating a potential source of error.

Concordance of Fathers and Mothers in the Assessment of Their 5-Year-Old Child's Dental Fear.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance of parents' assessments of their child's dental fear. Cross-sectional secondary analysis used data from the multidisciplinary FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Child dental fear was assessed at age 5 with the Finnish translation of the modified Children's Fear Survey Schedule Dental Subscale (CFSS-M) by both fathers (n = 588) and mothers (n = 1100). Reply alternatives were from 1 = not afraid to 5 = very afraid and 6 = no experience coded as missing and 1. In total, 514 mother-father pairs were eligible for the analyses. Descriptive statistics, percentage agreement and Cohen's Kappa coefficients were used in the analyses. The concordance of parents' assessments was poor (Kappa range 0.072-0.258). The majority of parents replied "No Experience" to items related to invasive treatment or being unable to breathe. Thus, coding of this reply alternative had a significant impact on the mean values of the child's fear. When assessing the fear of a five-year-old child, it might not be safe to rely only on one parent's assessment, and whether or not the child has experience with the question asked should also be considered.

Early growth, stress, and socioeconomic factors as predictors of the rate of multimorbidity accumulation across the life course: a longitudinal birth cohort study

Early growth, stress, and socioeconomic factors are associated with future risk of individual chronic diseases. It is uncertain whether they also affect the rate of multimorbidity accumulation later in life. This study aimed to explore whether early life factors are associated with the rate at which chronic diseases are accumulated across older age. In this national birth cohort study, we studied people born at Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland between Jan 1, 1934, and Dec 31, 1944, who attended child welfare clinics in the city, and were living in Finland in 1971. Individuals who had died or emigrated from Finland before 1987 were excluded, alongside participants without any registry data and who died before the end of the registry follow-up on Dec 31, 2017. Early anthropometry, growth, wartime parental separation, and socioeconomic factors were recorded from birth, child welfare clinic, or school health-care records, and Finnish National Archives. International Classification of Diseases codes of diagnoses for chronic diseases were obtained from the Care Register for Health Care starting from 1987 (when participants were aged 42-53 years) until 2017. Linear mixed models were used to study the association between early-life factors and the rate of change in the number of chronic diseases over 10-year periods. From Jan 1, 1934, to Dec 31, 2017, 11 689 people (6064 [51·9%] men and 5625 [48·1%] women) were included in the study. Individuals born to mothers younger than 25 years (β 0·09; 95% CI 0·06-0·12), mothers with a BMI of 25-30 kg/m2 (0·08; 0·05-0·10), and mothers with a BMI more than 30 kg/m2 (0·26; 0·21-0·31) in late pregnancy accumulated chronic diseases faster than those born to older mothers (25-30 years) and those with a BMI of less than 25 kg/m2. Individuals with a birthweight less than 2·5 kg (0·17; 0·10-0·25) and those with a rapid growth in height and weight from birth until age 11 years accumulated chronic diseases faster during their life course. Additionally, paternal occupational class (manual workers vs upper-middle class 0·27; 0·23-0·30) and wartime parental separation (0·24; 0·19-0·29 for boys; 0·31; 0·25-0·36 for girls) were associated with a faster rate of chronic disease accumulation. Our findings suggest that the foundation for accumulating chronic diseases is established early in life. Early interventions might be needed for vulnerable populations, including war evacuee children and children with lower socioeconomic status. Finska Läkaresällskapet, Liv och Hälsa rf, the Finnish Pediatric Research Foundation, and Folkhälsan Research Center. For the Finnish and Swedish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Simplicity is Complicated: On the Effort of Creating and Maintaining Equality

A key point David Graeber and David Wengrow make in their mammoth work, The Dawn of Everything (2021), is that we humans are not by default redisposed to hierarchy or equality, but are first and foremost a socially creative species. In this essay, I take up Wengrow and Graeber’s notion that humans are ‘by default’ neither authoritarian nor egalitarian, but creative, noting that egalitarian forms of social organisation are complex, complicated, and require much work and effort. They are, in short, social and political achievements in their own right and manifestations of human social creativity. The work and effort that goes into an egalitarian social organisation is easily dismissed, and small-scale egalitarian societies, for example, are often referred to as ‘simple societies’ within popular discourse. In fact, during the launch of the Finnish translation of The Dawn of Everything in Helsinki on 23 March 2023, one of the panelists, a professor of global politics, insisted that societies have grown ‘more complex’ over time. This view has its parallel in the sphere of economics, such that commodity relations are viewed as the most sophisticated, elaborate, and complex forms of exchange, whilst modes such as sharing are viewed as the archaic baseline of exchange and, at worst, ‘simple’.

Perceptions of inclusion among lower secondary level students in Finland

ABSTRACT This study aims at investigating Finnish lower secondary grade students’ (N = 469) emotional school well-being, social inclusion, and academic self-concept with regard to grade level, linguistic background, and needs for support. For collecting the data, a Finnish translation of the Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire for students was used. The results suggest that, considering the students’ own perceptions, Finnish schools are quite inclusive with regard to students’ linguistic backgrounds. Although the results showed a decrease in emotional well-being, social inclusion, and academic self-concept during the lower secondary level, this decrease was not related to any specific background factors. The results indicate that students receiving support showed lower levels of social inclusion and academic self-concept, suggesting that not all students feel equally included. These findings underline the importance of assessing students’ own perceptions of inclusion. Additionally, educational implications are discussed.

Alaviitteet Cthulhun kunniaksi!

Translators are often most visible when they deviate from the norms and expectations of the receiving culture. In this article, I examine how the most recent Finnish translations of H. P. Lovecraft make the translator visible both on a textual and paratextual level, especially via translator’s notes and prefaces, by challenging the expectations and norms of contemporary Finnish literary translations. This article uses the most recent Finnish Lovecraft translations from 2021 and 2022 as a case study of the translator’s visibility. The translation deviates from common expectations of Finnish literary translations and may be seen as more in line with practices and norms of fan translation.

Spiritual well-being correlates with quality of life of both cancer and non-cancer patients in palliative care - further validation of EORTC QLQ-SWB32 in Finnish

BackgroundThe European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) has developed the Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-SWB32), a measure of spiritual well-being validated with people receiving palliative care for cancer, although its usefulness is not restricted to that population. We aimed to translate and validate this tool in Finnish and to study the relationship between spiritual well-being (SWB) and quality of life (QOL).MethodsA Finnish translation was produced according to the guidelines of EORTC and included forward- and back-translations. Face, content, construct and convergence/divergence validity and reliability were studied in a prospective manner. QOL was assessed with EORTC QLQ-C30 and 15D questionnaires. Sixteen individuals participated in the pilot testing. 101 cancer patients drawn from oncology units, and 89 patients with other chronic diseases drawn from religious communities in different parts of the country participated in the validation stage. Retest was obtained from 16 individuals (8 cancer and 8 non-cancer patients). Inclusion criteria included patients with either a well-defined palliative care plan, or who would benefit from palliative care, as well as the capacity to understand and communicate in Finnish.ResultsThe translation appeared understandable and acceptable. Factorial analysis identified four scoring scales with high Cronbach alfa values: Relationship with Self (0.73), Relationship with Others (0.84), Relationship with Something Greater (0.82), Existential (0.81), and, additionally, a scale on Relationship with God (0.85). There was a significant correlation between SWB and QOL in all participants.ConclusionsThe Finnish translation of EORTC QLQ-SWB32 is a valid and reliable measure both for research and clinical practice. SWB is correlated with QOL in cancer and non-cancer patients undergoing palliative care or who are eligible for it.

Impact of traditional physics lab instruction on students’ critical thinking skills in a Finnish context

Recent studies have given incentives to physics departments around the world to revise the learning goals of their lab courses to emphasize experimentation skills over reinforcing lecture content. Evaluation instruments have been developed to measure the achievement of learning goals, and one such instrument is the Physics Lab Inventory of Critical thinking (PLIC). The PLIC measures respondents’ ability to evaluate models, evaluate methods, and to suggest the next steps for an investigation. In the present work, we give consideration to the validity of our Finnish translation of the PLIC and we show results from our baseline study of first-year introductory lab courses with labs mixing content- and skills-related learning goals. We observed no statistically significant change in students’ critical thinking skills over the period of our study.

SARS-CoV-2 and type 1 diabetes in children in Finland: an observational study

Some epidemiological studies have suggested an increase in incidence of type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, however the mechanism(s) behind such an increase have yet to be identified. In this study we aimed to evaluate the possible role of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the reported increase in the rate of type 1 diabetes. In this observational cohort study using data from the Finnish Pediatric Diabetes Register (FPDR), we assessed the incidence of type 1 diabetes (number of children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes per 100 000 person-years during the pandemic and the reference period) during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in children in Finland younger than 15 years old compared with a reference period which included three corresponding pre-pandemic periods also obtained from the FPDR. Children with confirmed monogenic diabetes were excluded. We also compared the phenotype and HLA genotype of the disease between these two cohorts, and analysed the proportion of newly diagnosed people with type 1 diabetes testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. 785 children and adolescents in Finland were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes from March 1, 2020, to Aug 31, 2021. In the reference period, which comprised three similar 18-month terms (from March 1, 2014, to Aug 31, 2015; March 1, 2016, to Aug 31, 2017; and March 1, 2018, to Aug 31, 2019) 2096 children and adolescents were diagnosed. The incidence of type 1 diabetes was 61·0 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 56·8-65·4) among children younger than 15 years old during the pandemic, which was significantly higher than during the reference period (52·3 per 100 000 person-years; 50·1-54·6). The incidence rate ratio adjusted for age and sex for the COVID-19 pandemic was 1·16 (1·06-1·25; p=0·0006) when compared with the reference period. The children diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic had more often diabetic ketoacidosis (p<0·001), had a higher HbA1c (p<0·001), and tested more frequently positive for glutamic acid debarboxylase antibodies at diagnosis (p<0·001) than those diagnosed before the pandemic. There were no significant differences in the distribution of HLA genotypes between the two periods. Only five of those diagnosed during the pandemic (0·9%) of 583 tested positive for infection-induced SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Children and adolescents diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during the pandemic had a more severe disease at diagnosis. The observed increase in type 1 diabetes incidence during the first 18 months could be a consequence of lockdown and physical distancing rather than a direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Helsinki University Hospital Research Funds, EU Horizon 2020 (Versatile emerging infectious disease observatory project), Academy of Finland, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Jane & Aatos Erkko Foundation, and Medicinska understödsföreningen Liv och Hälsa. For the Finnish and Swedish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Norms on the Gender Perception of Role Nouns: Gender Ratio Data for Chinese, Finnish, and Russian

The perceived gender ratio of 422 role nouns was evaluated by Chinese- (<em>N</em> = 80), Finnish- (<em>N</em> = 77), and Russian-speaking (<em>N</em> = 134) students using an 11-point rating scale with counterbalanced scale anchors. Data were collected online between 2015 and 2019, via a self-administered questionnaire. The dataset contains all role nouns in English together with their Chinese, Finnish, and Russian translations, as well as by-item analyses. The data set expands previous data sets and provides social scientists with gender ratio information when selecting social or occupational roles as stimulus materials for experimentation, especially for cross-linguistic or cross-cultural studies.

Errors in Finnish surname machine translations

Errors in Finnish surname machine translations

Konrad Zilliacus and Revolutionary Russia

Abstract The Russian revolutionary movement was not well known in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Connections between Finnish political activists and Russian revolutionaries started only in the first years of the twentieth century. This article investigates Swedish-speaking author and activist Konrad Zilliacus's relation with the Russian revolutionaries. It analyzes how Zilliacus's understanding of revolutionary Russia was constructed. Based on the close reading of his book Det Revolutionära Ryssland and the Finnish and English translations of this book, this study analyzes Zilliacus's perceptions of Russia, sources of his information, and the reception of the book and its impact on general knowledge of revolutionary Russia in Finland. The article illuminates Zilliacus's connections abroad and with the Russian socialist revolutionaries. It provides an insight into the topics of the book and discusses how this information was obtained and how the experts of the book were related in the network of the revolutionaries. The article discusses the impact of the book and draws a synthesis of the Russian expertise in Finland and abroad of that time. The article demonstrates how the socialist revolutionaries, who had also sought support from abroad, influenced Zilliacus's thinking on Russian opposition and the future of Finland.

Psychometric analysis of the flow short scale translated to Finnish

Flow is a well-known construct describing the experience of deep absorption in a task, typically demanding but intrinsically motivating, and conducted with high skill. Flow is operationalized by self-report, and various instruments have been developed for this, but none have been made available in the Finnish language in thoroughly validated form. We present a psychometric scale-validation study for the Finnish translation of the Flow Short Scale (FSS). We collected data from 201 Finnish speaking participants using the Prolific Academic platform. We assessed the scale’s factorial structure using Mokken scale analysis, Parallel Analysis, Very Simple Structures analysis and a standard Confirmatory Factor Analysis. We then evaluated how correlated was the FSS with the Flow State Scale and Flow Core Scale. Finally, we evaluated how well the FSS distinguished Flow-inducing experiences from boring (non-Flow-inducing) experiences. Taken together, our results show that an 8-item, two-factor version of the scale was a justified instrument with good psychometric properties.