Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae

Kohti konvergenssitutkimusta

Riitta Hari — 2023-12-18

Solving complex 'wicked' problems requires multidisciplinary approaches. Here I introduce convergence research, a concept still relatively unknown in Finland. Convergence research involves collaboration across various disciplines to achieve common goals by integrating knowledge, skills, and approaches. Convergence research requires attitude changes from researchers, universities, and funders, as well as efforts for creating a shared language, recognizing individual researchers' contributions, and reforming university recruitment and evaluation practices. The pillars of convergence research include a shared research problem, effective communication, researcher-driven formation of teams, respect for other fields, and appropriate interpersonal chemistry.

Ihmisen kehityksen tutkimus ja tuntemus

Lea Pulkkinen — 2023-12-18

Concepts regarding human development have taken shape slowly. Empirical research of it began in the 19th century, inspired by the natural sciences. Childhood, youth, adulthood, and aging became a developmental continuum in the 20th century within life-span development theories. Human development research is a multidisciplinary task, and its results are applicable in practical work with humans. The article considers the use of research information in terms of its appreciation, expertise, supplementation, application, and dissemination. Knowledge of human development would support well-being and promote cooperation and life on our planet of limited resources, taking care of each other.

Data-intensive sociolinguistics using social media

Mikko Laitinen — 2023-12-18

This article looks into using large-scale social media data in SSH research and in particular in studies of language variation and change. It presents a study that investigates the role of social networks in linguistic variability. Previous studies have convincingly shown that networks in which people are connected to each other in loose ties tend to contribute positively to language change. Conversely, networks in which people are closely connected to each other inhibit change. This conclusion is, however, based on small datasets from small networks, and this study tests if the difference is diluted when network size is closer to human average. The results from 3,935 networks suggest this to be the case. Towards the end, the article suggests numerous ways in which large-scale social media data and the use of data intensive methodologies could be increased and encouraged in SSH research.

Urbaani kulttuuriperintö ja fragmentaatioteoria: Esimerkkinä Turun kaupunkiarkeologia

Visa Immonen — 2023-12-18

Despite the shift from a monument- or object-centred to a landscape-centred approach in the protection and management of urban cultural heritage, the analysis of cultural heritage as individual objects is still relevant. Theories on material culture do not see objects in the way they were conceived in monument-centred conservation. A case in point is fragmentation theory. The article uses this theory to analyse the relationship between archaeology and the urban landscape in Turku. Although fragmentation theory has its roots in prehistoric archaeology, the article adapts it to the modern, urban setting. Archaeological fragments have a physical connection with the past, but they can also act as agents independent of their original objects. This creative potential of fragments should be further explored in urban heritage management.

Om att leva under lagen: några anmärkningar

Pamela Slotte — 2023-12-18

‘The rule of law’ has been described as an essentially contested concept which can be filled with different meanings, while still retaining a position as foundational for thinking about society, communal life, and the conditions for correct governance, including and importantly within legal thought. However, in this article the perspective taken on the topic of the rule of law is not strictly legal. Rather, the article’s aim is to reflect more broadly on what it means to live under the law and treat law as if it mattered, including from a religious perspective. By this, the article also provides insights into the disciplinary field of law and religion and current focuses and challenges in that area of research.

Väärin koettu, eli kaukaisten vuosisatojen varoituksia kokemuksen historiasta

Raisa Maria Toivo — 2023-12-18

Is the history of early modern experience useful to historical research or to modern society? If it is, how? The article uses the concepts of experience and the history of the early modern period to explore the construction of reality and the relationship of individuals and societies. It warns against self-righteousness and encourages slow thinking.

Katsomukset ja kulttuuriset työkalut modernin elämän palapelissä

Terhi Utriainen — 2023-12-18

Religion and other views of life are often studied by applying the notions of identity and worldview. My article offers to supplement these perspectives by that of cultural tools. Pluralistic societies afford multiple cultural tools with which individuals and groups can try to adjust their position and enhance their possibilities of action in the midst of the often precarious and rapidly changing situations of modern life. Both scientific and religious, or “spiritual”, tools are available, and they may be flexibly applied and, also, combined in different ways. I reflect on the question of cultural tools drawing from the recent research conducted by my colleagues as well as by myself on the following three subject areas: Esoteric beliefs and practices in the shadow of mainstream religion, transforming rituals of death, and the interest in learning from new kinds of religion and spirituality.

Constant Software Updates vs. Public Software Acquisition

Tommi Mikkonen — 2023-12-18

Software industry has widely adopted agile software development model, where it is accepted that change is constant. Indeed, as the environment in which the software is run changes – be it changes in jurisdiction, language, user expectations, reinterpretation or requirements, or something else – the software needs to be modified to satisfy end-user needs. At the same time, many organizations, especially those that operate in the public sector, rely on tendering and detailed requirements documentation when acquiring software, with an assumption that once deployed, the software would continue to serve the end users unaltered or with minor changes covered by a maintenance contract. In this article, we will consider this fundamental mismatch from the viewpoint of what we know about software evolution in general, and then propose ways forward to design and implement public sector software that can be adapted to new, emergent needs.

Päätoimittajilta

Anna Mauranen — 2023-12-18

Kuvaruudullasi tai käsissäsi on AASF:n vuoden 2023 toinen numero. Sen artikkelit ovat jälleen suomeksi, ruotsiksi tai englanniksi kirjoitettuja ja edustavat laajaa tieteenalojen valikoimaa.