Rapid development of digital technologies affects the lives of all people and often leads to people being in unequal positions regarding digital skills training opportunities. Older adults' motivations for learning digital skills vary, but they are generally connected with expectations of upcoming benefits. This study investigates the self-perceived benefits of older adults, information and communications technology (ICT) teachers and peer tutors who have participated in digital training sessions in olderadult organisations or adult education centres. The data included 226 respondents (136 women, 90 men; older adults 53-90 years old, mean age 71 years, SD 6.74; ICT teachers 30-68 years old) from Finland. According to the results, participation in digital training events supported development of digital literacy and wellbeing of the participants. Most older adult peer tutors described an increase in their wellbeing. The findings of the study indicate that participation in digital training sessions in later life is beneficial, as it supports the growth of independence and positive interdependence in new types of learning communities that strengthen older adults' learning and wellbeing.
In this paper we discuss how art workshops can be used to examine dimensions of belonging. We draw on our findings of collaborative ethnographic fieldwork with unaccompanied refugee minors in Finland. The practical aim of the art project was to offer a platform for transcultural communication and interaction, and to support mutual understanding and solidarity among the refugee minors and Finnish pupils. The collaborative ethnographic approach gave us an opportunity to meet the young people through working together and be equally active members of the group sharing the same classroom. Theoretically we aim to enlarge the understanding of the sense of belonging and the role of the subjective agency of the unaccompanied minors, including everyday participation. We highlight the practices through which the minors can be supported in an embracing manner in their everyday lives in new host societies.
The 150 km long Vuoksi River is of major importance for water-rich Finland: it is the only way for the huge water masses of Lake Saimaa to discharge. Industry started to cluster along its riverbanks in the late ninteenth century, to benefit from its massive rapids, and the national importance of the river became immense in the early twentieth century, when a total of five hydropower plants were built. In 1939 war broke out between Finland and the Soviet Union and the peacemaking process in 1940 made the Vuoksi a transboundary river. Consequently agreements needed to be negotiated regarding water management and the Vuoksi industrial area. The aim of this article is to highlight the role of water in industrial, political and historical developments and to show how water became a critical element in the peacemaking process between Finland and the Soviet Union following the Winter War of 1939, and furthermore, to illustrate how this criticality influenced water management. Theoretically the article deals with the concepts of criticality, vulnerability, and trust. It shows how a national view of water resources becomes transnational when cooperation is the only choice of action.
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