Dissertation: the Topic

Natalie wanted me to write a little bit more about my dissertation, so I have decided to dedicate a few posts to it.

I will start by introducing my topic.

Law and Society in Post-Communist Central Eastern Europe: Poland, Slovakia and Russia .

As you know, I’m studying sociology of law at the University of Lund in Sweden. Sociology of law deals with the relationship between law and other institutions and actors in society. I’m personally mostly interested in the interaction between people, law and politics.

When reading an article* written by one of my professors, I stumbled upon the following paragraph;

”The transition from a communist to a capitalist oriented industrial society in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Republic represents the same kind of tensions between the old rules of the game and a new play with a new script. These countries might face a situation where the society, the horizontal dimension, has shifted while the legal logic in the vertical dimension has not undergone the same changes.” (p. 20).

And the little nerd in my head rejoiced. Eastern Europe – yay. Former Soviet Republic – yay. This was a way for me to combine the study of the societies I like the most with a nice mix of sociology, some law and some politics. Why keep it simple?

This is a complex topic because on the one hand I need to find out what the people think and on the one hand, I need to know what the law says. And none of these two is simple. But it is very, very fascinating.  Basically – what I want to find out is whether the law fulfills the expectations that society places upon it. The reason I picked these specific countries is that they all share a piece of common history even though they are very different.

Stay tuned for more

 

* Contributions in Sociology of Law: remarks from a Swedish Horizon. Lund Studies in Sociology of Law; 29. Lund: Sociology of Law, Lund University. 2008 – available here https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/publication/1177637

Final Module

You might notice that I have been absent the past few months. The reasons are many and I don’t feel that I need to explain myself further. However, I will tell you about something great that has been occupying me this year. My studies.

Now that there is only one module left, I can safely say that Sociology of law feels like the right thing for me. We have been studying a mix of European law, theories of social sciences, methodology and evaluation research. It’s all been a lot of fun even though it’s been tough at times.

A question people often ask me is: but what is sociology of law? I tried answering this question in the autumn, now I know more. Laws have implications and they are related to the society within which they are created, formed and implemented. It is this relationship that is interesting in the sociology of law. Today law is very multifaceted, the nation state (especially in Europe) has lost a lot of its traditional powers, it’s a very complex world we live in. And it’s an awfully interesting object to study.

I have one more year left. In the 2nd year we are free to choose our modules. I have applied for two modules; Social Sciences: Social Welfare in a Global Context and Sociology: Classic and Modern Theory. My backup plan is to do some Russian

23.58: Phew.

On  Saturday we walked so much in Budapest that we were a gang of really energetic people who arrived on the train to Bratislava tonight at 18.10 pm. Somehow I also managed to write a minor essay on philosophical research design AND discuss some potential work possibilities AND plan for my friend’s visit to Bratislava in the weekend AND talk to my mother on the phone.

Actually. Monday will probably feel like holiday.

Language Assessment

How do you know that your language skills are sufficient? Assessing one’s language level is a subjective process. People tend to either under- or overestimate their skills.  One of the reasons I’m no big fan of people who claim to be fluent as soon as they manage to have a conversation about the weather is that these subjective assessments often appear on CVs and job applications. In such cases, the perceived level of knowledge can give an unfair advantage to the weather conversationalists.

There are exams one can take. Exams that are expensive and may even require travelling. I tell you, the nearest language centre offering the possibility to take an official exam in Polish isn’t exactly next door. These exams require dedication. They are often a last option, at least for me, for getting some kind of formal proof of knowing a language.  

The reason I’m writing about this is that I need to get some certificates. I have a plan, you see. And for that I need formal proof of my language skills. 

Of the languages I know I have sufficient proof (according to Finnish requirements) that I know three.

Swedish: I took my A-levels in Swedish, and my grade in Swedish was good enough to ensure that I officially know Swedish.

English: a degree from a British university is enough to prove a sufficient level of English.

Having a university degree in a language is also sufficient. 

Therefore I have proven knowledge of Russian and Hungarian.

I need to take a language exam in Spanish, Polish and Finnish. Finnish is my official mother tongue, but since I took my A-levels in Swedish (I had no chance, as far as I know, to choose Finnish) I have no proof of this. This is the ironic part of the story. Believe it or not, I think that a Finnish exam would be the most difficult one of these.  The level is different, even though I plan on taking both Spanish and Polish at C1/C2*.

Time to study :) 

*C1: Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices. 

C2: Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations. (source: Wikipedia)

Why Would Anyone Need A Decision Analyst

"It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be."

- Isaac Asimov -

When TT and I were talking about my career prospects, I mentioned that I would like to work as a decision and risk analyst (after all, that’s what I’m studying!). He was surprised: “why would anyone need a specialist to analyze his/her decisions? Doesn’t each person know what is the best decision for him/her?”.

This, my friends, is a valid question. Now, why would anyone pay lots of money, just so that some stranger would analyze their decisions?

First, keep in mind that we are not talking about the straightforward decision problems that people encounter in their daily lives. We are talking about decisions with consequences so costly or undesirable that it really is worth paying someone for their help. Some decision makers need to make such decisions, that can affect the whole society (or parts of it) negatively. Remember, all human activity springs from a decision – the decision to act or not to act.

So, why do we need help?

* In politics, many decision makers are elected by the people. There is no official requirement that they know how to make good decisions. If there were, many strange laws would have not come into existence. Many wars would not have been fought and our society would look very different now. Most decision makers are normal people, like you and me. And how do you and I make decisions? Sometimes we use our gut feeling. Other times we look at what’s best for us personally, not the society as a whole. Cognitive biases tend to affect us now and then, too. Often we don’t have the time, nor the energy, to carefully analyze all the aspects of a given decision problem. And what’s the result? Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. It’s rarely optimal.

* Decision making requires the ability to analyze alternatives and consequences, to assess uncertainties, to weigh costs, to work with different types of probabilities. It’s about identifying the problem, defining objectives and running risk analyses. How many of us do all those things when faced with a tough decision? How many of us KNOW how to do them?

* A good decision maker is also familiar with “psychological traps” – in many cases people use heuristics to make decisions. These normally function very well, but sometimes they can lead to unwanted cognitive biases that affect the solution negatively.

* Decision analysis is also about knowing how to use the correct tools.

 

  As with most things in life, a tool is only useful as long as one knows how to use it.

 

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives, the cumulative experience of many masters of craftsmanship. Quality also marks the search for an ideal after necessity has been satisfied and mere usefulness achieved."

-John Ruskin-

Undercover Under The Covers

Saturday. Darkness and rain. Warming blankets. Fizzy diet coke. Books about decision, risks, values, ethics. Articles about immigration. A word-document that needs to be filled with words, ideas, suggestions.

Ready, Steady, Go….!

In about 30 minutes it’s time to start writing a statistics exam. The good thing about distance studies is that a lot of the studying (and test writing) can be done at home in a pajamas.

I also tried to make my study corner (the kitchen!) a bit cozier with candles and fun coffee mugs– just to make statistics a bit more fun!

Disaster Psychology

This weekend I was occupied with a course in disaster psychology, this specific module was focusing on catastrophes. We talked about a lot things that were interesting, horrifying and touching at the same time. Seeing all the terrible things that people go through, and survive, gives a certain feeling of amazement and hope: we are so much more stronger when we get the right kind of help. Disaster psychology is a field of psychology that concentrates on the survivors and how to help them. It was refreshing to get a more practical approach to psychology instead of all the theory that forms such a great part of psychology studies: the theory is interesting, but my wild guess is that most people study this specific subject in order to understand people, to help them. I definitely think I will study this field more.

The lecturer, a woman who is specialized in this kind of work, also gave us the “quote of the day” – a quote that does not only relate to disasters, but which can also be applied to most aspects in life:

If you want to see the world, and experience all it has to offer, you will need two things: humility and respect. If you lack these qualities, you’d better stay in your little village and gossip about your neighbours.

A (LOOOOOONG) Day In Stockholm

00.20 a.m. Time to go to the ferry. For the first time in history I see my mum driving over 100 km/h, she’s usually the one causing the traffic jams.

01.10 a.m. Ferry leaves, I find my cabin and jump into bed.

05.45 a.m. Time to get up, get dressed in the darkness, grab some breakfast and head to the duty free shop for some battery (which keeps you going).

06.30 a.m. Ferry arrives in Stockholm, I decide to walk to the city centre (takes about 30-40 minutes) even though it starts to rain.



7.10 a.m I order a big cup of green tea at a coffee shop in the train station and start preparing the presentation I’m going to give in the afternoon. The task is to present a classmate’s essay: the topic is actually quite interesting – the girl has analyzed Google’s decision to withdraw from China by using something called value focused thinking.

8.00 a.m. Stockholm is still rainy and grey but that doesn’t stop me from doing some window shopping. I also go to a super market to look for something that a lot of Swedish fitness bloggers have written about. I don’t find it, but instead I’m offered a date by some random guy on the street. I kindly decline and hop on the metro.



9.00 a.m. The university is almost empty at this early hour, so after spending three moments (or five) feeling very melancholic nf front of the boards at the Institution of Slavic Languages (they are offering a course on Czeslaw Milosz… AND lots of language courses), I eat my morning snack (not only battery – there was some cottage cheese with nuts as well) while reading the newspaper. Apparently they’ve caught Radko Mladic. A classmate lives in Belgrade so surely she will give me a more detailed account of the events in Serbia. And surely she does - and apparently Serbia needs money -> has to make the EU happy -> finds Mladic. (surely nobody had a clue where he had been hiding for the past x-years in a country like Serbia - just saying that it's not very big)



This is also when I realise that I look like a scary ghost – it’s time to beautify myself!




This is our last meeting (this spring), so the whole day will be dedicated to presentations. Mine is in the afternoon so I lean back and listen to some really fascinating discussions on how to apply decision analysis on various kinds of problems.

Noon: it’s time for lunch –  each time we meet, one of the professors book us a table at one of the fancier restaurants at campus. The food is always delicious, and there is an ample supply of veggies and dessert too. On the way to lunch I get lost (even though I’ve walked the path to the restaurant many, many times). During this little adventure I find my dream house and smell some flowers, too.




At lunch we discuss babies because one of the girls in my class is pregnant…
 
After lunch a guy called Andreas presenta my essay, and the feedback is good. (I’m especially flattered that he thought my essay was good – nevermind the teachers – because he is working as some kind of security specialist for the Swedish army- yes, Sweden has an army – so he knows quite a bit about international conflicts). I get a good grade, try to hide a wide smile and then it’s already time for me to give my presentation.

15.45 p.m. I leave a bit early because I will be returning to the island with my dad and his friends (they’ve been to Italy), and we have a ferry to catch.



16.30 p.m.  I run up a hill in Lidingö to make it on time. There have been a lot of problems with the metro and buses, but fortunately everyone is waiting for me. I get into the car, and everything is black until…

19.30 p.m. ...I wake up from my nap. Sleeping in a car is soo uncomfortable, but who cares when it's an emergency. We get onboard, eat dinner and go shopping in the duty free.

23.40 p.m. after dropping everyone off, we are finally home! And now the bed is calling!

2/3–1/2

Wohoo, I did it. 1/2 class + 1 tiny assignment and then second year of Hungarian will be OVER. I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about being so disorganised with Hungarian this semester: my schedule has been quite tight and since Hungarian is the least “useful” of my classes, I haven’t given it as much attention as it deserves. I was really surprised by the feedback I got from my teachers and in the end my grades were good, so I can only be satisfied.

But – taking a holiday from language learning is not really a good idea (at least not if the goal is to actually learn it), so I need to find a way to keep my brain in good shape, in one way or another. My idea of summer fun is translating a book, or at least a part of it. We’ll see how that goes.

Smoothie Season Starts NOW

This has been quite an interesting day with a lot of discoveries and nice conversations. Now it’s 1.30 am and I should be up and excited six hours from now… yeah baby.

As the post title implies, today was a smoothie day: mango, kiwi, banana and pineapple juice make a very tasty combo.

Now I’m off to bed, because I know I have something absolutely exciting* to look forward to:

It looks harmless enough but believe me, for someone who’s been stuffing her brain full of languages for the past 25 years or so, any kind of equation is deadly poison.

*not as exciting as when I was so into international relations that I woke up to have conversations with good old Volodya about world politics. Unfortunately Volodya has been dead for a long, long time, which might make me seem a bit crazy.

Onko kivaa?

Today I had every intention to have fun at bodypump. Unfortunately, I was the only one who arrived on time, so the class had to be cancelled. I decided to attack the treadmill instead, and it was fun while it lasted. Intervals are good fun.  Unfortunately my lower back (the area around my kidneys) is now so sore that I can barely walk. Wonderful! It might be time for a little break from running. Sniff.

At least I managed to finish my exam: one down, about four more to go. Bring it on! 

Then and Now

An old classmate found me on facebook the other day, and she mentioned right away that I had changed a lot and that I looked happy (now, who would not change in ten years?).

But it made me think. And yes, I’m a very happy person, and that’s something I should never forget. I’m surrounded by great people, I’m doing something I enjoy a lot AND I have found some kind of inner peace. My mistakes and experiences have taught me well, so there is very little in this world that scares, meaning that I can spend all my energy on focusing on happiness and the future.

Right now I’m sooo excited because I just found the timetable for my Hungarian classes. The first semester we will be doing grammar and conversation, whereas in the second semester it’s time to focus on Text Analysis (wonderful, I can’t wait for that one to start) and Hungarian literature.

Now I still need to fix the registration for psychology, after which the paperwork should be done. More or less (still need to get books, usernames, etc.)

After work I’m also supposed to go for a little run, fingers crossed than I won’t boil to death out there.

Courses this semester

Just because I’m so excited (or, more precisely, scared!)

Decision and Risk in Theory and Practice. Measurement Theory and Philosophy of Value. Introduction to Psychology. Cognitive Psychology. Hungarian Grammar II. Spoken Hungarian II.

Next step: find the course books, which will be really easy as always (or not). Sigh. I need to do some exercise now to clear my head.

Середа 18/8/2010.

Sleepy. Headache. Stomach gone mad. Odd feelings. I feel like going back to bed (or drop half dead on the sofa), but there’s no time for that! What’s fun about days off is that there is so much to do. Today’s plan is to sort out some uni things, as well as write a few e-mails in Hungarian. Yesterday I received all my Hungarian books, so now it’s time to start repeating the grammar before the classes start. (and no, in true Zsuzsi fashion I have no idea when they are starting).

Yesterday I went running again, at the end I managed to do 25 min running and about 10 minutes walking. Meaning that I really need to get back on track again. The run itself felt great, although it was still slightly too warm outside. My plan is to run again tomorrow, and twice in the weekend.

Something that I find a bit odd is that although there were lots of people running, more than 95% of all the runners must have been men. Where have all the women gone?

Last night sleep refused to show up, so inspired by yesterday’s discussion about my thighs, I spent an hour or two contemplating in bed. What is beauty? More specifically, what does beauty mean to me? In my opinion, a beautiful woman is she who lives in harmony with herself and the rest of the world. It’s a person who has seen life, laughed a lot, and who has loved and been loved. She probably isn’t perfect, but she’s happy with herself, having accepted all her imperfections.

Today’s happy song- some Russian pop from the 80s. Enjoy.

Same song but in Polish. In case anyone feels like comparing these two languages :)

 

Rush

And the good day continues: the wardrobe is now all nice and tidy, and I also got some moral support while organising it. She gave me some strange looks while I was attacking the wardrobe, but gave up quite quickly and went back to sleep.

And some random thoughts:

• Swedish people are impressively effective and friendly. I sent an e-mail about uni registration today, asking for some advice. Twenty minutes later the person replied, saying that they had solved the problem for me.
• Ukrainian must be one of the coolest languages on earth (after Hungarian, of course). It’s sounds like a mix of Polish and Russian, and that’s just HOT. I think I’m in love. Again.  
• Yesterday I did one of the most awesome things in a long time: running on the beach. I’d definitely recommend that to anyone who has the sea or a lake nearby. Running in the sand is a real workout, whereas running in the water is probably the best kind of relaxation ever. 
• Ekho Moskvy (The Echo of Moscow) is a great radio station for everyone who is either learning Russian or interested in Russian politics and society. It’s one of the few "free" media in a country where the government has a tendency to seek full control of everything and everyone. Transcripts for all their shows are available on the website, which is perfect for language learners. 
• Oh, please do send your guesses about the battery map in the previous post before Sunday :)

Egy álmos és éhes lány tanulja...

...a magyar szavakat. I’m proud of myself: have been studying for two hours this morning although I’m officially on summer holidays.

  

Next up: an art exhibition maybe? Drawing that badly requires a lot of talent.

Finnish and Hungarian are supposedly related: well, it doesn’t help much when you are trying to learn vocab. Or can you see any similarities between the Hungarian (blue) and the Finnish (red) words?

Today we are reading

Yes. Exam is coming up on Wednesday (or rather, we are supposed to write almost an entire novel about Hungarian history before Wed.), so this book will be my only company today (with a huuuge bottle of coca cola light).

Yey, what fun. Well, the fun bit is that there are some real good stuff to look forward to at the end of the week: trip to Stockholm and May Day.

Oh, and job interview tomorrow. Wish me luck! Now back to our Hungarian heroes.

Photo from Amazon.co.uk

Zsuzsi Abroad pt. IV

I could tell you all about life in Manchester. About the city that is covered in red brick, that breathes of football and where students are having the time of their lives. A word or two could be said Chinatown, the Gay Village or the Curry Mile (the home of many, many great Indian restaurants). Some might like to know that the shopping in Manchester is great, and there is no reason to complain about the sightseeing either. People are friendly, although it might be a bit difficult to understand what they are saying. Like to party? Well, that’s possible too. Fancy taking a walk? There are lots of lovely parks. The best thing about Manchester is that it’s a big city where you can walk basically everywhere.

 

 

Zsuzsi Abroad pt. III

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." (Henry Ford)
Who: Zsuzsi
What: Ba (Hons) in European Studies and Russian. That is. Rather vague. Basically: international relations, comparative politics, European regional politics, the EU, Russian (language, translation, culture, history), Polish. The absolutely most interesting module was the one about Ethics in International Relations. If analysing all the evil in the world is something you might like, then I’d definitely recommend this one for you.
What kind: fun stuff, the kind of stuff you’ll never forget. Interesting lectures, wild nights drinking rum, shopping at Primark, drinking tea with friends, cooking fajitas.
When: a few years ago.
Where: Manchester, UK.
How: studying in the UK was easy and complicated at the same time. It was very independent (nobody held your hand, telling what to do, passing the exams was your own responsibility) and interesting (you had a lot of options although you had to stick to a couple of subjects). The professors were wonderful. Manchester is a city full of students so life after classes was entertaining to say the least.
Which: The University of Manchester (there are quite a few universities in Greater Manchester).
Why: Studying abroad was an easy decision for me, it was a decision that I never even re-considered. Not only did I think that it would do some good for my language skills. It was also a challenge that I needed to confront in order to develop as a person: when one moves abroad to study (and sorry, exchange students don’t go through the same process) there is so much experience to gain. Firstly, you really learn to stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for your own life and actions. You  will learn to cook, clean and keep yourself alive quite quickly. You also need to take off the mask you’re hiding behind, make an effort to make friends, and survive culture shocks. Furthermore, you are the outsider. You are not in your own country, so you start perceiving life and reality from new angles. 

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