Professionalization as Status Adaptation: The Nobility, the Bureaucracy, and the Modernization of the Legal Profession in Finland

In contrast to Anglo-American lines of professional development, the central agent of professionalization in many Continental countries was the state bureaucracy. However, this article proposes that an understanding of the class structure of traditional society is also needed to explain the privileged position of lawyers. An historical study of lawyers in the 19th century, after Finland was annexed by Russia, demonstrates that the legal profession provided the nobility an important medium of adaptation to the new society. The importance of the legal profession initially to the state bureaucracy, and subsequently to the nobility, explains its social prominence and its future development. An analysis of the position and needs of the prominent classes in the society of Old Regimes may constitute a fruitful viewpoint in the study of early professionalization in the Continental context more generally.     

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for the analysis and detection of packaged pharmaceuticals and concealed drugs

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a powerful new technique for the non-invasive detection and identification of concealed substances and drugs. Here, we demonstrate the SORS technique in several scenarios that are relevant to customs screening, postal screening, drug detection and forensics applications. The examples include analysis of a multi-layered postal package to identify a concealed substance; identification of an antibiotic capsule inside its plastic blister pack; analysis of an envelope containing a powder; and identification of a drug dissolved in a clear solvent, contained in a non-transparent plastic bottle. As well as providing practical examples of SORS, the results highlight several considerations regarding the use of SORS in the field, including the advantages of different analysis geometries and the ability to tailor instrument parameters and optics to suit different types of packages and samples. We also discuss the features and benefits of SORS in relation to existing Raman techniques, including confocal microscopy, wide area illumination and the conventional backscattered Raman spectroscopy. The results will contribute to the recognition of SORS as a promising method for the rapid, chemically specific analysis and detection of drugs and pharmaceuticals.     

Real‐Time Detection of Concealed Chemical Hazards Under Ambient Light Conditions Using Raman Spectroscopy

Current concerns regarding terrorism and international crime highlight the need for new techniques for detecting unknown and hazardous substances. A novel Raman spectroscopy‐based technique, spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS), was recently devised for noninvasively probing the contents of diffusely scattering and opaque containers. Here, we demonstrate a modified portable SORS sensor for detecting concealed substances in‐field under different background lighting conditions. Samples including explosive precursors, drugs, and an organophosphate insecticide (chemical warfare agent surrogate) were concealed inside diffusely scattering packaging including plastic, paper, and cloth. Measurements were carried out under incandescent and fluorescent light as well as under daylight to assess the suitability of the probe for different real‐life conditions. In each case, it was possible to identify the substances against their reference Raman spectra in less than 1 min. The developed sensor has potential for rapid detection of concealed hazardous substances in airports, mail distribution centers, and customs checkpoints.     

Workplace drug testing in a military organization: Results and experiences from the testing program in the Finnish Defence Forces

In the military environment drug abuse is a particular risk for occupational safety. In the Finnish Defence Forces a drug testing program was conducted in 2002–2005; soldiers, professional civilians, and military students were tested when applying for a work or right to study; furthermore, annually 5% of the personnel were subjected to random testing. In total, over 2000 urine samples were analyzed in an accredited laboratory for cannabis, opiates, amphetamines, or cocaine. In this article, the drug testing program as a part of the anti-drug strategy of the Finnish Defence Forces is described, and the findings including practical experiences and financial expenses are reported. Only one person applying for a civilian post tested positive for amphetamine and cannabis. In seven other samples codeine and morphine were detected; these were, however, due to prescribed medication, not drug abuse. In the execution of the program, no particular difficulties were reported. In conclusion, it seems that the use of illicit drugs in the Finnish military is extremely rare, at least partly due to the successful anti-drug strategy. After an elaborate planning, even an extensive drug testing program can be executed without substantial setbacks. In the future, the effectiveness of drug testing programs as a means of improving occupational safety needs to be investigated in controlled studies using comparative design.     

Framing,valuing, and assessing the environment: August Wilhelm Hupel’s perceptions of Baltic nature and settings for human activities

This article addresses early modern Baltic environmental history and historical geography by interpreting the public writings of August Wilhelm Hupel within the theoretical framework of framing, valuing, and assessing nature and the environment. Hupel’s broad series of publications, issued during the heyday of Baltic Enlightenment, not only contributed to the emergence of Baltic geographical studies but also played a pioneering role in placing the knowledge on Estonian and Livonian topography and nature to order. Although Hupel concerned physical geographical aspects in his writings to some extent, his primary interest definitely focused on human relations with and across space and place. The cameralist thoroughness and calculativeness within that geographical field of enquiry brought about an endeavor to catalogue the parts of nature by using their utility or harmfulness as the measure. However, in Hupel’s opinion the then-prevailing civilisation also contained certain responsibilities for and to nature, particularly regarding forests and their sustainable use (‘nachhaltende Nutzung’), which Hupel wished to promote in the Baltic provinces of Russia.     

Experiencing violence in a cross-media environment: an interdisciplinary focus group study

Due to drastic changes in the contemporary media environment, criminology needs to examine how the experience of violence is shaped by the emerging cross-media context. We conducted a qualitative focus group study (N = 24) to explore conversations about mediated violence experiences and crime media literacy in Finland, which manifests as an advanced state of cross-media transformation. We found that the cross-media context affects how information on violence and crime is received, as people combine and contrast bits of information from traditional media, social media, alternative media, and direct personal and local knowledge. This constellation of information sources is a fertile ground for distrust, as people challenge the self-regulatory limits of ‘old media’ in reporting on crime and construe such limits as ‘downplaying’ violence. Consistent with the general ‘media-critical’ frame of mind, the interviewees saw crime news media as fear-inducing. Through a focus group of older participants (in addition to three groups of younger participants), we observed generational differences that reflect the dimension of change from the old monolithic media environment to the cross-media context. The new context blurs the distinction between media content and social network-based reception and is thus a game changer for media criminology.