Place In Estonia Research Articles

Estonian piano music: ways of development (comprehension of foreign repertoire by a modern performer)

Statement of the problem. The article is devoted to the problem of studying the foreign repertoire by the performer. By studying the works of composers of any country, the performer gets the opportunity to comprehend the achievements of another culture, thereby deepening the imagery of their own interpretations and expanding their audience. This determines the relevance of the presented study, the purpose of which is to try to outline the ways of development of Estonian piano music and to reveal the originality of the musical language of prominent Estonian composers, based on iconic works of different periods. Literature review. It should be noted that today there are few scientific works in Estonia that help an international performers to understand the essence and originality of the piano works by Estonian composers. Some scientific studies were written still in the 60-90s of the last century. Most of the authors (Roizman, 1960; Normet and Vakhter, 1968; Leichter, 1970; Olt, 1972; Sviridov, 1983) cover the piano works of the Estonian composers in the context of the general development of Estonian musical culture. The lack of the special researches, concerned with piano art of Estonian composers stipulates the novelty of this study. For the first time not only in Ukrainian musicology, but also in the world, the piano heritage of the Estonian composers became the focus of attention. The research methodology. For revealing the abovementioned issues it was necessary to use a set of scientific approaches uniting the principles of music-theoretical, historical and performing analysis. The results and conclusions. The historical overview of the development of Estonian piano music presented in the article provides an opportunity for a modern international performer to get an idea of its most characteristic features. It was found that the formation of piano works took place in Estonia in three stages, in each of which the features of the national mentality were embodied with the help of historically determined stylistics of musical language and the use of appropriate compositional techniques. It is argued that Estonian mental traits such as restraint, contemplation, meditation, rationality, striving for simplicity and conciseness have also manifested themselves in piano works: over the centuries, this mental identity has been reflected in the work of composers of different generations. The practical significance. The obtained results allow to outline the genre system of piano works of Estonian composers and provide an opportunity to promote their works in the musical circles of Ukraine, expanding the modern performing repertoire.

An update to the distribution of invasive Ctenolepisma longicaudatum Escherich in northern Europe, with an overview of other records of Estonian synanthropic bristletails (Insecta: Zygentoma)

BackgroundPreviously, two species of Zygentoma have been reported as synanthropic in Estonia (Lepisma saccharinum Linnaeus, 1758 and Thermobia domestica (Packard, 1873)). Ctenolepisma longicaudatum Escherich, 1905 is an invasive species that is currently expanding its range in Europe, but had no published records from the northern Baltic Region.New informationCtenolepisma longicaudatum was first found in Estonia in 2018. It has currently several established populations in public buildings in Tartu and Tallinn, but has not been found in private households, nor in other places in Estonia. A brief overview of its invasion history in northern Europe is given.

Национализация партийной системы Эстонии в 2005—2019 годах

This article explores the Estonian ‘integration’ project, which was launched in the early 1990s to bridge the differences between ethnic Estonians and ethnic Russians by assimilating the latter with the former. Since the project will soon turn thirty, it is timely to ask whether it has been a success. This article employs Grigorii Golosov’s index of political party nationalization to understand whether the ‘integration’ project has helped to narrow the ideological divide between ethnic Estonians and ethnic Russians. In other words, the study asks whether ethnic Estonians and ethnic Russians vote for the same political parties in comparable proportions or there are ‘Estonian’ and ‘Russian’ parties in the country. The analysis of the outcomes of four local and four parliamentary elections that took place in Estonia in 2005—2019 shows that by the mid-2000s Estonia achieved a considerable level of political party system nationalization at both national and local levels. At the national level, political party system nationalization remained high in 2007—2019 despite significant changes in the country’s political party system. At the local level, however, political party system nationalization has been diminishing since 2013, leading one to conclude that the Estonian ‘integration’ project has failed to close the ideological divide between ethnic Estonians and ethnic Russians.

Sitka spruce in Estonia

An overview of introduction of Sitka spruce in Estonia. First reports of cultivation of Sitka spruce in Estonia come from 1879. In 1895, Peravalla forest area (now Järvselja) obtained a small amount of seed from Thüringen. Saplings from that seed were planted in the forest in 1904, but for 1928 all trees were perished. During the 20th century, seed of Sitka spruce from different provenance of the natural distribution area was repeatedly sown and seedlings grown in Järvselja and some other places in Estonia, but all the cultivation attempts failed sooner or later. There are no Sitka spruces remained from the pre-War period in the mainland part of Estonia. In 1984, a group of saplings from seed of 1978 was planted in Järvselja. These trees are 15 m mean height with 20.6 cm mean diameter now.
 In 1975, a small group of large Sitka spruces was found growing in a remote forest park of Suuremõisa Manor, island of Hiiumaa. These Sitka spruces were revisited by us in spring 2018, to measure the trees and determine their age by tree rings. Nine trees out of 13 bigger spruces were cored. Age of the trees exceeded nearly 120 years. The planting time coincides with work period of Karl Ahrens, the forest officer of Suuremõisa Manor at that time.
 In spring 2018, the mean diameter at breast height (DBH) of the tree group was 62 cm and mean height ca 36 m. The biggest tree had DBH 101 cm (with 37 m height) while the maximum height for the tree group was 38 m. The Suuremõisa group of Sitka spruces on 0.02 ha is remarkable by its dense stand. If to extrapolate to one hectare, the growing stock of the stand would exceed 3 thousand cubic meters.
 The vital group of Sitka spruces at Suuremõisa have proved that this foreign tree species can grow rather well in the western islands and coastal region of Estonia. Sitka spruce can grow faster than native Norway spruce in Estonia. Future decades will show the viability of Sitka spruce cultures in the mainland of Estonia.

Aims and challenges of handicraft and home economics education in Estonia

AbstractHandicraft and home economics (HHE) are two school subjects taught as one subject by one teacher in Estonian comprehensive schools. The current article describes the development of the subject through certain historic periods that have affected the nature and teaching of the subject. The aim of this article is to determine HHE teachers’ understandings of the subject's aims and challenges. Two focus group interviews with nine HHE teachers in two geographically located places in Estonia were conducted. Transcriptions were analysed qualitatively with the ATLAS.ti program. Inductive thematic analysis revealed three main themes: the aims of the subjects, the teaching process and the learning environment. The last two themes are the main challenges in teachers’ everyday practice. Outcomes characterizing the subjects’ aims reveal teachers’ concerns about students’ knowledge and skills needed in the future, for example, how to manage their everyday life. Emerged challenges are related to organizational, economic and social aspects, for example, the mandatory exchange of study groups, divergent conditions and students’ poor handicraft skills. The main idea to work on is the promoting of the importance of the subject and separation of the handicraft and home economics lessons.

Põhjamaade kudumissümpoosion 2018 „Balti eri“ Viljandis / Nordic Knitting Symposium 2018: Baltic Special in Viljandi

The department of Estonian Native Crafts of the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy hosted the 19th Nordic Knitting Symposium in Viljandi between the 24th of June and the 1st of July. This was the second time the symposium has taken place in Estonia. The gathering hosted a total of 104 participants from 12 different countries, as well as 19 knitting instructors and lecturers. The sub-title ‘Baltic Special’ means that the focus of the symposium was on the traditional knitting of the Baltics and neighbouring regions of Russia, and the instructors and lecturers all came from these countries. There was a tightly-packed programme of workshops, lectures, field trips, exhibitions, a crafts fair and other activities over the six days of the symposium, that had taken a year in planning.
 Knitting workshops were held on four of the days of the symposium. Two three-hour and two six-hour sessions were planned for each participant. These had to be chosen by participants during their pre-registration in January on the symposium’s website www.sisu.ut.ee/knitting2018. There was a range of workshops which chiefly featured topics directly or indirectly related to traditional Estonian knitting. There were also workshops on topics proposed by the two Latvian, one Lithuanian and two Russian knitting instructors.
 Four evenings also featured presentations on the history of traditional knitting, the knitted item collections of several museums, and the current revival of heritage knitting. Subjects related to Estonia were covered on two of the evenings. Anu Pink from Saara Publishing House presented a detailed account of archaeological Estonian knitted items from the perspective of a native crafts specialist. Siiri Reimann talked about the hundred-year history of the Haapsalu shawl and how the tradition of knitting Haapsalu shawls is still successfully kept alive. Riina Tomberg gave an overview of the historical knitted items of Estonian Swedes – Pakri, Noarootsi, Vormsi and Ruhnu Coastal Swedes – based on the collections of Estonian and some foreign museums. Kristi Jõeste analysed the factors that have breathed new life into traditional Estonian knitting.
 The Latvian lecture night on the 27th of June featured researcher Irita Žeiere from the Latvian National History Museum who talked about archaeological finds of knitted items from the 15th to 18th centuries. A total of 50 items have been found in Latvia, which is more than have been found in Estonia. Irita Heinola, curator of textile exhibitions at the same museum, provided participants with an in-depth photographic overview of ethnographic Latvian mittens, stockings and socks found in the museum’s collections.
 At the Russian lecture night on the 28th of June, Dr. Lyudmila Korolkova gave an overview of the Russian Ethnographical Museum’s collection of FinnoUgric knitting and Olga Konkova presented the ambitious project of the Villaväki Finno-Ugric society from the Leningrad Oblast seeking to revive the knitting of the traditional patterns of the region, drawing upon the collections of various museums. The photographer and knitting enthusiast Albina Lebedeva discussed the present situation of Western Russian knitting: the folk tradition is not in a good state at present, but it could be improved by well-planned promotional and pedagogical activities.
 On the one day with no workshops, the participants were taken to the Estonian National Museum, where they were able to visit four exhibitions: the permanent exhibition on Estonia, as well as ‘Echo of the Urals’, ‘Regarded as a Norm, Perennially Worn’, and ‘Landscapes of My Fatherland’. The latter exhibition featured the tapestries of Anu Raud. Several exhibitions of knitted items were also displayed in Viljandi in connection to the symposium.
 Friday’s programme gave the participants the opportunity to have some fun, as after the morning workshops, they were taken to the Heimtali Museum near Viljandi. Knitters from Tõstamaa and Kihnu demonstrated traditional knitted items and knitting, the participants paid a visit to Anu Raud at her farm and viewed unfinished tapestries in her workshop. Anu Raud also gave the participants an in-depth tour of the Heimtali Museum’s textiles collection. Later in the evening, the legendary open-air knitting competition ‘Walk and Knit’ took place for the seventh time. A total of 15 teams (each featuring 4 people) took part. First place went to the Finnish team, second to the joint Norwegian-Finnish team, and third to the joint team of Latvian and Lithuanian teachers.
 On the 30th of June, the last day of the symposium, tours of the Vilma lecture building of Viljandi Culture Academy and the small wool factory located inside the building took place. In the evening, the symposium concluded with a small exhibition and a gala dinner with thank-you announcements. The location of the next year’s symposium was also announced: the 20th anniversary of the event will be celebrated in Denmark, home of the Gavstrik federation, the founders of the symposium.

Cyberspace as the Environment Affected by Organized Crime Activity

IntroductionAs society develops, a broad range of types of crime is emerging, encompassing both individual and organized crime. Criminal methods, and the ways in which crime is organized, are directly related to the technological development of society. For this reason, crime is evolving and is increasingly shifting its activity to cyberspace, progressing hand-in-hand with the development of information and communication technologies (ICT), as used in the realm of cyberspace, which is a widely understood concept. This applies both to individual crimes and, increasingly, to organized crime as well. Cyberspace has become the perfect environment for committing crimes as well as for enabling new ways in which to run organized crime and manage new forms of competition for influence. This mainly occurs with regard to the impact of information, both on enemy criminal organizations (competing with each other) and on governments and international institutions combating organized crime. Interactions of this nature bear the hallmarks of a conflict or war for influence conducted in cyberspace, aimed at creating a positive image of a criminal organization, misleading the institutions combating crime and destroying potential competition - and all via the means of information interaction. The scale of this phenomenon will grow as the information society develops and interaction with it will take a variety of forms, both logical and kinetic.Therefore, it is critically important to identify the forms, methods and impact of organized crime in cyberspace, as well as ways to combat it. There will be conflicts in cyberspace, bearing the hallmarks of war, and characterized by asymmetrically weighted opponents, unlimited reach, unknown consequences, and unidentified objectives on the part of the rival.Conflicts in cyberspace will differ in character from the well-known conflicts of the past. This follows the commonly used saying that every age has its own war, consistent with the level of technological and social development. Indeed, this can be observed in the ways in which war is conducted and the measures which are taken during that war. Access to information stored, processed and transmitted via cyberspace has given society a new quality of life, making possible various social functions that were mere star-gazing and fantasy in the nottoo-distant past. It manifests itself not only in the rapid development of society, but also has a considerable economic dimension, as shown by the reduction in the cost of the functioning of society while accelerating the implementation of this functioning.On the one hand, these technologies enable the development of new social forms while, on the other, they raise legitimate concerns regarding their use. The best examples of the impact of modern technology on the functioning of society include the Internet blocks put in place in Estonia in 2007 and in Georgia in 2008. This new dimension, namely, cyberspace, will have a huge impact on the functioning of society, the course of future conflicts and the ways in which organized crime functions. The scope and impact of the competition are mere estimates, based on the above-mentioned examples.The primary aim of this article is to identify possible ways in which organized crime interacts and competes in cyberspace as well as ways in which it can be combated by governments and international institutions.In terms of the activities of organized crime and its impact on global society, it is important to identify the nature of contemporary conflicts and define the very essence of war because the cyberspace activities of organized criminal groups bear the specific hallmarks of a war for influence and profit maximization. The war itself, as a social phenomenon, in the present terms, is difficult to define. It consists of various factors related to, among other things, the incredible acceleration of global economic development, population growth, and political changes in the international arena. …

XIX A. pabaigos–XX A. PRADŽIOS ESTIJOS KNYGŲPREKYBININKAI, LEIDĖJAI IR SPAUDOS DARBUOTOJAI

The article handles general developments and changes in book trade and book publishing which took place in Estonia during the second half of the 19th and in the early 20th century. The aim is to show the formation of bookshops trading with Estonian books, to analyse the activities of Estonian booksellers as publishers and their role in publishing books in the Estonian language. The paper is based on the retrospective national bibliography of Estonian books that were published from 1850 to 1917, on research literature and on the data collected by the author for her doctoral thesis.

Frontiers in Comparative Metrics 2, in memoriam Lucyllae Pszczołowskae (April 19–20, 2014, Tallinn University, Estonia)

The second international conference on comparative prosody was organised by the Department of Cultural Theory of Tallinn University and the Department of Classical Philology of the University of Tartu and held in Tallinn in April 2014. The first such conference took place in Estonia in 2008, and was devoted to the memory of the prominent Russian scholar Mikhail Gasparov (1935– 2005); the proceedings were published three years later (Lotman & Lotman 2011). The present conference was devoted to the memory of another important representative of international verse studies, the Polish scholar Lucylla Pszczolowska (1924–2010). The main topics of the conference included verse theory and methods of verse analysis, frontiers in Indo-European and Fenno-Ugric prosody as well as non-European poetic systems, the poetics of written and oral texts, cognitive poetics, and the analysis of the verse structures of translated texts and their originals. The keynote speakers were Nigel Fabb (University of Strathclyde, U.K.), Tomas Riad (Stockholm University, Sweden), and Paul Kiparsky (Stanford University, USA). The conference was opened by Nigel Fabb’s talk, “Lines and other layers of the poetic text: their differentiated formal, aesthetic and psychological properties”. The speaker developed Roman Jakobson’s distinction between verse design (resp. verse instance) of the poet and delivery design (resp. delivery instance) of the reciter (Jakobson 1960: 366–367), and explored whether metrical verse in performance, when line boundaries are not cued auditorily, is experienced differently from prose in performance. According to Fabb, the surface forms are nevertheless heard relative to the distinct lines required for the formal processing of the metrical verse (a phenomenon sometimes described as “metrical tension”). Tomas Riad delivered a talk on the prosodic metrics of Tashlhiyt Berber songs, in which he silently opposed Jakobson’s bold statement “that versification cannot be deduced in its entirety from a given language” (Jakobson 1923: 118), and analysed the prosody of Berber songs in line with the assumptions of “phonological” metrics, where metre is derived directly from language Studia Metrica et Poetica 1.2, 2014, 144–157

Country as a Free Sample: The Ability of Tourism Events to Generate Repeat Visits. Case Study with Mobile Positioning Data in Estonia

This study explores the long-term effect of events in destination marketing: the ability of events to generate repeat visits to a particular area. From this point of view, events can be treated as the free sampling method in destination marketing. When a person visits an event, they also ‘get a taste’ of the area in which it is taking place. And if this experience is positive, the probability of them returning later specifically to explore the area should rise. The aim of this study is to quantify the long- term effect of events in destination marketing. We analysed the post-event behaviour of more than 56,000 visitors of almost 143 small and medium-sized sports and cultural events that took place in Estonia during the years 2006-2009. We applied passive mobile positioning data in this study:. This is data, which is automatically recorded in the memory files of mobile operators. Mobile positioning enabled us to study visitors’ behaviour in greater detail, both temporally and spatially. The main theoretical contributions of this study are: (1) that events are able to generate repeat visits and therefore have a long-term effect in the context of destination marketing; and (2) that this ability is dependent on the type and regularity of events. For destination managers and governments this study provides a number of suggestions on how to make more effective use of events in destination marketing.

OP0010-PARE “life with a secret” – successful campaign designed by young rheumatics

BackgroundAn international exchange for rheumatic young people took place in Estonia in the summer of 2011 and included 50 participants from 8 countries. During the exchange, we conducted a survey...

Inoperative provinces, immobile regions and the geography of heterogeneous associations: the case of absent territorial border change in estonia

.The geography of heterogeneous associations, an approach derived from the tradition of actor‐network theory, is a valuable analytical contribution to the study of sub‐state territorial entities. Shown here in an application to the Maaritsa border change controversy, which took place in Estonia 2001–2003, the approach has several merits compared to now dominant analytical perspectives in regional geography. The rejection of a regional imagination, as the natural way of conceptualizing provinces, is used to demonstrate that Estonian provinces and provinciality are performed, and can be analytically described, through multiple and complex spatialities. First, the inoperative character of provinces in the everyday life of many peripheral households is understood to be the result of incoherence in regional space between rigid administrative and fluid non‐administrative provinciality. Second, the problems with long distance control in the Estonian governmental system, related mainly to the ambiguous character of legislation and unstable politico‐administrative coalitions, are identified as the main cause of failure in the government's attempt to change provincial borders in regional space. Third, provincial research is seen as the practice that attempts to translate two other provincial modalities – provinces in everyday life and in governmental provincial politics – into a report designated to provide a synoptic and simplified view of complex peripheral provinciality for the central government. The article concludes with the argument that these three provincial modalities are intertwined in practice and their performances reciprocally determined.

Adaptation of traditional places in Estonia: The case of village wooden swing sites

Village swing places serve as examples of the possibilities for survival of traditional places in rural areas, and illustrate the socio-economic conditions for this. The concepts of form, function, process, and context are applied to reading ‘place’ and interpreting its meaning. The changes in these aspects of place are studied by analysing the development and typology of 76 swing sites located in different parts of Estonia. Comparison is made with earlier descriptions of swing sites in the Estonian Literary Museum. Processes that may have affected swing sites are related to the sequence of socio-economic events over the last two centuries. Theories explaining the appearance and vanishing of swinging places and their particularities are considered in the framework of these changes. The invisible part of the landscape – meanings, attitudes and values attached to swinging – is studied on the basis of 520 complete questionnaires. The answers show the present-day changes in the role of swing sites situated in rural areas. The swing sites as traditional places are preserved due to their ability to adapt. The most useful adaptation for a site to stay alive is adjustment of functions and slight adjustment of form in terms of additional elements in the swing sites.

Booksellers as Publishers in Estonia in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century and at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century

The article handles general developments and changes in book trade and publishing which took place in Estonia during the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The aim is to show the publishing activities of Estonian booksellers and to analyse the activities of Estonian booksellers and development of book production (printing) and publishing of Estonian language books. The survey is based on the research literature and on the master thesis by Signe Jantson, Book Trade in Estonia 1850–1917: Bookshops and their Owners. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century the book production and dissemination in Estonia was in the hands of Baltic German entrepreneurs and depended on the political and economic developments not only in Russia but also in Germany. The Estonian national awakening movement was preceded by the birth of Estonian national literature in the middle of the nineteenth century. In the period of the next fifty years the publication of Estonian language books increased tenfold. The second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century was still favourable for the book trade: 263 new shops were opened and 283 new persons tried to start book trade businesses, but trading with books did not guarantee sufficient income and the bookshop owners were often engaged in other spheres. Among the 283 bookshop owners, 83 headed companies comprising the publishing house, the printing office, and the bookshop.

DENDRODATES OF THREE MEDIEVAL LATRINES OF TARTU

Introduction According to December 2007 data on at least 35 latrines dating to 13th-16th centuries have been found in Tartu (Tvauri & Utt 2007, 143). In addition it has been possible to document several medieval latrines in cultural layer during archaeological supervisions, but at the moment they have not been researched more specifically. Latrines are one of the most interesting and rich in finds objects in Tartu from the Middle Ages, which posses an enormous scientific value. Although single medieval and newer wood and stone latrines have been researched in other places in Estonia, they have nowhere been found in such large quantity as in Tartu (Bernotas 2007, 54). Latrines of Tartu and material discovered from them have survived remarkably well. The reason is, that in the medieval position of the town on Emajogi flood plain the soil is wet all year round because of ground water coming from Quaternary deposits. Moisture is in turn a perfect preservative for organics, especially in lower levels of the cultural layer (Metsallik 1985, 47 ff.). In Estonia the dendrochronological dating of wood structures has been researched by Tartu University lecturer Alar Laanelaid (Laanelaid & Eckstein 2003; Laanelaid 2004; 2005; 2006; Laanelaid et al. 2005), who has also dated the wooden floats below St. John's Church walls (Laanelaid 2002). The objective of the current article is to publish dendrodates of three different Tartu latrines and compare their suitability with archaeological findings. It is the first research in northern Europe where medieval latrines have been examined with exact science method. For dating, the latrines from which the author could take wood proofs himself in 2007 were used. Besides three latrines dated here, more have been discovered on the plots of 14 and 15 Ulikooli Street, but they have not survived well enough they were made of either too thin or trimmed logs or it was not possible to dig them out to a full extent. Dated latrines 15 Ulikooli Street courtyard, latrine 1b The plot in 15 Ulikooli Street was situated right in the centre of Tartu surrounded by town wall, on the east side of Mary Church, which was the largest sanctuary in Tartu (Fig. 1). Latrine lb is one of six latrines examined in courtyard of 15 Ulikooli Street in 2005 and 2007. The content of only two of those latrines (Nos lb and 6) was completely excavated. Other latrines had been destroyed before the archaeological research (latrine No 3) or they were below the appointed digging depth and only their upper part could be examined (Tvauri 2007). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The side length of the quadratic corner jointed log box (Fig. 2) measured from inside was 1.8 m. The box has been at least 15 log-levels high (1.9 m). Logs had been connected with dog-neck type connection, whereas the hollow of the corner tenon was hewed on the upper side of a log. As on some parts the bark is visible, it can be concluded that they were pine logs. The logs were 10 cm in diameter on an average. The box was surrounded by medieval cultural layer composed of loafs, branches, leather and other organic waste. Below the box the layer of decomposed peat emerged, into which the lowest log layer had sunk. Box lb had been built inside a former and larger latrine (1 a) (Tvauri 2007, 12). Inside the box, 1-2 log layers from above, there was a thin wood line, which seemed to originate from north-south directed boards. Below that line the box was filled in with thick and soggy, green-brown or dark-red organic layer, which contained branches, chips, cherry stones, parts of wooden tableware, ceramics and other findings. In addition there were many large bricks in the latrine (size 30.5-31.5 x 14.5-15.5 x 8-10 cm) and their parts. Bricks were in most cases with grout traces. There was a pile of land stones on the bottom of the box (Tvauri 2007, 12). [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] The substance in the latrine was mainly dated from the period starting from the mid-14th century until the end of the 14th century (Tvauri & Utt 2007, 144 f. …

Changing Social Priorities and the Increased Salience of the Economy in Estonia

Since 1991, throughout the former Soviet Union marketization has increased, and much of the social safety net has disappeared. Compared with other former Soviet republics, Estonia has fared well. In this paper, we examine the salience and seriousness of various social issues for groups in Estonia in 1996, and we compare the 1996 results with those of a survey that took place in Estonia in 1991 shortly before the coup. We also reflect on the findings in light of opportunities and challenges for Estonia.

Impact of rapid socio‐economic changes on teenage pregnancies in Estonia during 1992–2001

Major socio-economic changes, including health care reforms and changes in the school curriculum, took place in Estonia after the country regained its independence in 1991. These changes affected people's reproductive behavior in many ways. In this article, the impact of the changes on the reproductive behavior of teenage girls, measured by adolescent fertility and abortion rates between 1992 and 2001, is analyzed. National data on abortions and births were obtained from official medical statistics, particularly from the Estonian Abortion Registry and the Estonian Medical Birth Registry. Female population denominators for the age group 15-19 were obtained from the Statistical Office of Estonia. In teenagers, the birth rate decreased more than two times, from 49.7 per 1000 in 1992 to 23.8 per 1000 in 2001. The abortion rate per 1000 decreased from 55.5 in 1992 to 30.4 in 2001. Compared with all women of fertile age (15-49 years), at the beginning of the decade, teenagers decided more often to have a baby, and, at the end of the decade, they decided more often to terminate the pregnancy. Two-thirds of all pregnancies in teenagers end in abortion--either legally induced abortion (legal abortion and therapeutic abortion) or spontaneous abortion. In 2001, the abortion ratio was 116.4 among ethnic Estonians and 147.9 among non-Estonians. The case in Estonia again proves that the availability of information, contraceptives, services and education, and the existence of other goals in life besides childbearing, have an impact on teenage birth and abortion rates. Successful health promotion activities should take into consideration the differences in the reproductive behavior of different ethnic groups.

Seasonality in Estonian Traditional Landscape: The Example of Large Village Swings

Like every nation, Estonians have their own indigenous customs and habits. Village swings and the place of these swings in the landscape are focused upon as an example of such Estonian customs, and changes in landscape as related to seasonality and liminality are discussed. The word ‘swing’ is used to denote a large construction (traditionally made of wood) that is able to carry and swing at least two people. Village swings (for public use) are usually located in the middle of a village and the site is commonly used by young people as a place to meet and have a good time. Swinging takes place mostly in the spring and summer, forming one of the many seasonal activities that make up the Estonian traditional calendar. The seasonal break in swinging activity contributes to the eagerness with which swinging is resumed when spring returns, so seasonality creates frames, with the most valued time being the spring. With swinging, the spring has been celebrated as a very valuable and long-awaited season. Although the religious background for swinging has been forgotten, the place is still special and is visited mostly on certain festive occasions. As there is no comparable alternative to swing sites as a socializing place in the village, they have persisted through the centuries. The importance of preserving such unique seasonal places in Estonia's social landscape is demonstrated.

Impact of rapid socio-economic changes on teenage pregnancies in Estonia during 1992-2001

Background. Major socio-economic changes, including health care reforms and changes in the school curriculum, took place in Estonia after the country regained its independence in 1991. These changes affected people's reproductive behavior in many ways. In this article, the impact of the changes on the reproductive behavior of teenage girls, measured by adolescent fertility and abortion rates between 1992 and 2001, is analyzed. Methods. National data on abortions and births were obtained from official medical statistics, particularly from the Estonian Abortion Registry and the Estonian Medical Birth Registry. Female population denominators for the age group 15–19 were obtained from the Statistical Office of Estonia. Results. In teenagers, the birth rate decreased more than two times, from 49.7 per 1000 in 1992 to 23.8 per 1000 in 2001. The abortion rate per 1000 decreased from 55.5 in 1992 to 30.4 in 2001. Compared with all women of fertile age (15–49 years), at the beginning of the decade, teenagers decided more often to have a baby, and, at the end of the decade, they decided more often to terminate the pregnancy. Two-thirds of all pregnancies in teenagers end in abortion – either legally induced abortion (legal abortion and therapeutic abortion) or spontaneous abortion. In 2001, the abortion ratio was 116.4 among ethnic Estonians and 147.9 among non-Estonians. Conclusions. The case in Estonia again proves that the availability of information, contraceptives, services and education, and the existence of other goals in life besides childbearing, have an impact on teenage birth and abortion rates. Successful health promotion activities should take into consideration the differences in the reproductive behavior of different ethnic groups.

Contextual Variability in Interactions Between Mothers and 2-year-olds

This study compares the interactions of Estonian mothers and their 2-year-old children across three interaction contexts. At meals, mothers and children were the least talkative, and mothers used the least conversation-eliciting utterances. During bookreading and puzzle-solving situations, mothers were significantly more concerned with eliciting talk from children and directing their attention. A comparison of the current data with data collected in 1992 (Tulviste & Raudsepp 1997) demonstrated that the pattern of Estonian mothers’ speech had not changed at meals, whereas maternal speech during puzzle solving was not as highly directive as it was in 1992. The results may reflect the considerable economic and societal changes that have taken place in Estonia during the last decade.