| ISSUE: 2 / 2000 ESSAY |
| Mikko Lagerspetz |
| Estonian Institute of Humanities, Estonia |
| Free-floating Thoughts about Estonian Sociology |
| ABSTRACT: |
| When I was asked to write about my views on Estonian sociology, I was told that one of the reasons why I should write is, that to a certain degree, I am an outsider in the Estonian sociological community. That refers to the fact, that I was born and educated in Turku, Finland. During my nine years’ stay in Estonia I have, of course, become quite familiar with Estonian society. Moreover, most of my research work has been directly dealing with it. |
| full text: HTML format / MS Word document in ZIP format |
| ISSUE: 2 / 2000 ARTICLES |
| Daniel Platero Gomez |
| University
of Malaga, Spain
Oslo University, Norway |
| The Characterization Of The Youthfulness: Anglo-American Influence Through The Tv Screen. |
| ABSTRACT: |
| TV
broadcasting is undoubtedly a very important medium in everybody's life.
It has the amazing feature, among other things, of concentrating millions
of individuals at the same time receiving the same kind of messages, right
there: in front of the TV set. Therefore, the TV medium has great possibilities
of being the most important value-sender in the world of mass communication.
To this respect, we can ask ourselves a question: would it be possible to claim that people's perceptions and points of view are, to some extent, influenced by the TV contents and values? Certainly we can argue that, at least, there is a sector in the TV audience that is very sensitive towards the TV stimuli due to its uneasy and impressionable nature: the young audience. They are, moreover, the social group that can be more straightforwardly influenced by foreign patterns since they easily assume them as natural ones, mainly the Anglo-American broadcasting patterns and values. It is obvious that, due to the transnationalization of TV broadcasting channels, foreign patterns come up on the screen (via terrestrial, satellite or cable) and impact directly on their young targets. What kind of effects can these patterns cause on the young population? Are these values jeopardizing the local culture? |
| full text: HTML format / MS Word document inZIP format |
| ISSUE: 2 / 2000 ARTICLES |
| Judit Strömpl |
| University of Tartu, Estonia |
| Changing
Rhetoric - Changing Institution:
The process of democratisation in an Estonian total institution |
| ABSTRACT: |
| This
article is an attempt to describe the process of changes in a closed institution
for troubled young females that took place in transition-time Estonia.
The data for analysis was produced in K. Special School in 1997 during
an ethnographic fieldwork. The institution under study was founded during
the Soviet era and was reorganised in 1990.
The process of democratization is observed through rhetoric of change used by the staff. Through rhetoric the social actors express not only their persuasions, but also demonstrate their choice of paradigm and commonality they wish to belong. Changes start with adopting a new rhetoric. However, the terminology and argumentation is influenced by local meaning, i.e. the words have different nuances in meanings of used terms. The present data analysis shows that in case of the K.school the entity of new rhetoric is characterised as an opposition to the Soviet reality, i.e. the "new" school is constructed as opposed to the "old" Soviet one. However, the meaning of terms that expressed new democratic values have changed because of practical operation. It is not possible to achieve real democratisation in context of a total institution. The rhetoric of change started to include the change of rhetoric. The manager staff have spent a lot of time explaining the 'real' meaning of terms that they are using to adjust the ideological concepts to practical operation and give interpretation to their activity. |
| full text: HTML format / MS Word document inZIP format |
| ISSUE: 2 / 2000 ARTICLES |
| Mait Talts, Tarmo Tuisk |
| The Institute for European Studies, Tallinn, Estonia |
| The current state of the EU related education in Estonia: the institutions and the experts |
| ABSTRACT: |
| European integration has been declared one of Estonia's main foreign political priorities. The process of adoption of the EU's acquis communautaire demands highly educated civil servants that have the proper knowledge of the current EU affairs. Such personnel is not only required for the senior, but also for the junior and the mid-level civil servants posts. At the same time there is a process of change of generation underway among the civil servants, which has obliged the universities to change their curricula, including also the subjects related to the recognition and implementation of the acquis communautaire. |
| full text: HTML format / MS Word document inZIP format |
| ISSUE: 2 / 2000 ARTICLES |
| Marti Taru |
| University of Tartu, Estonia |
| The
First Local Elections in Re-Independent Estonia:
Determinants of Voting Activity |
| ABSTRACT: |
| On
October 13-17, 1993, elections were held to local governing bodies in Estonia.
These elections were characterised by public apathy -- the national level
turnout was 52.6%.
In national elections in September 1992 voted 68% of those eligible to vote; in Lithuania in November 1992 voted 75% and in Latvia in June 1993 voted 89% (Alatalu 1993).The local elections turnout percentage is not 'alarming', but on the other hand these were the first local elections in re-independent Estonia. |
| full text: HTML format / MS Word document inZIP format |