Thursday, September 29, 2016
Can you help? Non-Finns need not apply!
Yesterday, I had a 'Eureka!' moment. I realized I can do more to help around my community and it would also be a lot of fun for me and my kids (ok, I admit I didn't consult dd on this). In Espoo, it is possible to sign up to become a volunteer 'support person' for families with children. A support person caters to the needs of a family in need of support. Tasks can range from looking after the kids of a single mom for a few hours so she gets a bit of breathing space to helping kids with their homework to making sure the parents get bills payed on time. My own kids are very social, and always want new play mates, so I figured, what the heck, the more the merrier - if there's a family that needs some time off from their kids around here (especially immigrants who don't have family in Finland who could help out sometimes) it's no biggy for us to entertain a few kids for a few hours. We practically have a swinging door at our apartment, anyhow!
Espoo outsources their support person services to an NGO. I got in touch with them, and this was the answer:
"Unfortunately our volunteer work as a support person requires that you speak Finnish because most of the families seeking help are Finnish. Especially children in the families speak Finnish. In order to communicate with them you should be able to speak Finnish. ... If you are able to speak Finnish you are most warmly welcome to participate."
I remember, when I worked as an interpreter, these services were sometimes offered to Thai women. Their first question was usually, 'Does the person speak Thai?', to which the social worker would answer, 'Unfortunately not - they speak Finnish.' I had the same experience in Saimit. Many Thai women asked if we had Thai mentors for them. The experience is repeating itself in Amigo right now. Some immigrant youths are asking whether we have someone they can talk to in their own language, or at least not Finnish all the time.
So, where is the gap? There is a need for services in one's own language, and there is a will to help in languages other than Finnish. But there is also some kind of idea that not speaking Finnish is automatically a problem.
The formula for eligibility for both social workers and for this particular NGO appears to be something like this:
X + Y = 'Action'
where
X = Desire to contribute
AND
Y = Need for support
If foreign language is thrown into the mix, it is a 'zero multiplier'
No Finnish * (X+Y) = 0 * Action
As far as I can tell, this creates a situations where A) human resources are wasted, and more importantly B) People who are genuinely in need of support would rather do without it, as it can be cumbersome to discuss sensitive personal matters while struggling to express them in a weak second language.
Of course, I do understand that it is important to learn a second language when integrating into a new country. But let's not mix up two separate needs here: One is the need to solve social or psychological problems (lack of access to services, lack of time, unresolved traumas), and the other is the need to learn a language in order to integrate into a new country. Learning the language will help you access services, but it won't help you resolve the other problems. And the question remains - should you only be allowed to access social services after you've learned the language, and not before?
As early as the 70s, psycholinguistic research (Marcos, 1976) found that while it may be easier to talk about your problems in a foreign language (without having a meltdown) it is much more difficult to address the roots of the problem in one's own language. Nothing has changed.
One NGO in particular, Nicehearts, with their 'Naapuriäiti' model, does an excellent job using research in the field of integration in their decision making process. The question is, why doesn't the state?
Another factor to consider is the group of foreigners who come to Finland on a work visa. In general, businesses take very good care of them. And they do not need to learn Finnish. So the consensus is that foreigners with a paycheck will be served in a manner and language convenient for them. Foreigners without a guaranteed paycheck upon arrival shall be given whatever treatment is convenient for the service providers. This kind of discrimination would be fine in a country that doesn't promise equal access to services for all people. But this is Finland - a social democracy that explicitly promises equality of access. I live in Espoo, so I took a peek at the Espoo City website.
The city of Espoo has a Equality Committee, and their page explicitly states:
"The Act on Equality between Women and Men and the Non-Discrimination Act oblige all officials of Espoo to promote equality and non-discrimination in all of their activities."
Nowhere does it say: "But only in Finnish".
But that seems to be the general attitude. I find it deeply disparaging that the current social model only seeks to include foreigners if a) they have a paycheck or b) if they want to speak Finnish, both on the volunteer and the support side.
At my work place (Helsingin Diakonissalaitos), we run a volunteer programme where the philosophy is that anyone with the will to participate in civic activities should be included and empowered. The need to help is as real and urgent as the need for help, and perhaps I am speaking for myself, but we tend to think that both factors are equally important should be in balance. Maybe that's why we are officially called the Community Programmes, as opposed to Volunteer Programmes.
Our formula looks something like this: X + Y = Z or 'Urgency of action.'
Where:
X = Strength of desire to contribute
Y = Urgency of need for support
where X and Y are roughly equal
The action taken is a sum of the urgency of action + the result of variables A, B, C. So the result should be something like this:
Z + (A*B*C) = Action taken.
'Language of operation' is one of those variables, and not the 'zero multiplier' that makes the equation an impossibility.
Having those 'zero multipliers' that create hurdles in access to services is a big problem in a service model that promises equitable access. Having those 'zero multipliers' means that services are inaccessible to certain groups. It does not mean that those groups do not exist. City of Espoo: Your failure to reach out to these groups is in direct violation of the Non-Discrimination Act.
My vote is going to the party that addresses these issues!
Just sayin'.
Join the discussion on Facebook!
Labels: city council, discrimination, equal access, espoon kaupunki, language, vaalit, volunteering
fon @ 3:07 PM link to post * *
Thursday, September 08, 2016
The Flash alternative reality. Paradox or not?
Recently, we've been binge watching The Flash. We're at the beginning of season 2, and are now dealing with parallel universes. Last season we dealt with the concept of time travel. Time travel is more familiar to me, and I felt the temporal loops were consistent. I am now wondering about the new 'door' between Earth 1 & Earth 2. A door opens between parallel universes, ans all sorts of baddies come through to destroy The Flash on Earth 1, because the ultimate villain, Zoom, on E2 is obsessed with destroying all possible versions of his nemesis across time, space, and even dimensions. Is interaction between the two worlds consistent with them being alternate realities? If they interact, are they rather not the same reality?
I am not entirely sure. It doesn't seem entirely inconsistent, but then again, the idea of the world's being both alterative & interactive does seem paradoxical.
Does anyone else watch the flash? Discuss!
Labels: Comics, DC, superhero, The CW, The Flash, TV
fon @ 12:36 PM link to post * *
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
Game Jamming at PGConnects 2016
My posts have recently been on the heavy side, and so today, in honor of my blog's 10th birthday, I'd like to return to my age-old tradition of just telling you what's going on in my life, and then I will post what is perhaps the most stupid story I've ever written in my life.
Let's start with the updates. I just spent the last two days at a gaming conference. Conferences are often the most grueling things for professionals to put themselves through. It's important to make an appearance, and they are great for networking & new opportunities. Content-wise, though, they are usually light and sometimes a bit dull. Too program-heavy and you end up with no chance to network, and too light and you feel you haven't gotten your money's worth in terms of new information.
I was SUPER impressed by Pocket Gamer Connect Helsinki. It managed to be both program-heavy AND networking oriented at the same time. I spent almost the entire time making a game, and yet, I didn't at all feel like I missed out on opportunities to network and get to know people. I'd definitely want to attend again, but I don't know if I could roll it into my workday next time, since the relevant connections, to companies like Rovio and Neogames, have been made.
I got to try really awesome new games, that are yet to make it to the market, like the virtual reality one where I got to be the boss, fighting a pesky hero in a game, or one where I was a virtual pro-football player!
The highlight of the conference, was, naturally making our own working demo of a game,designed to offend everyone and everything. Part of the work I did there was building a dictionary of keywords that would trigger a images of, among other things, a dildo, an alien, and Donald Trump. Although we didn't win, the judge did say the phrase 'dirty alchemist' would stay with him forever. (p.s. the background music in the prezi was composed and performed by yours truly)
So, as promised, the most stupid story I've ever written. It was my small contribution to the project:
Quest 1, tutorial: You are Dr. Juicy Oak, a world renowned juicer. Instead of fruits, you collect words from your surroundings & blend them to create magical juices with special properties. Hint: Once upon a time, a nun tried to catch a chicken, but found she had left her handcuffs in bed. Try it out! Start scanning!
Good job! You have collected your first few items! Mix them up to see what juice you’ll get!
Fail! These items cannot be mixed.
Great work! You’ve mixed a handcuffs & a chicken and made Pervert Conspiracy juice! By arresting the chicken, you’ve set in motion a chain of events that you will need to resolve.
Quest 2, tutorial: Little did the nun know, she was on Reality T.V. Big brother would have expected her to wear a cross and pray, for the events that follow were far beyond the capabilities of one misguided nun.
Congratulations! You’ve mixed some reality T.V. & a cross to make some Addict Philanthropist juice.
There are four categories items can belong to. Find them, and they will automatically be mixed.
Quest 3:
You find Mr. Torvalds, the president of The Secret Hacker’s Society, passed out at his desk, surrounded by feathers, take-out boxes & cold pizza. His screen shows that he was googling Donald Trump. Mix him some Conspiring Addict juice to help him down off his latest junk-food binge. You need his help tracking down the feathered conspirators, after all!
Congratulations! You’ve mixed some Trump & Pizza and made Conspiring Addict juice. Mr. Torvalds has granted you unlimited free access to the society's hacking services.
Quest 4: Ms. Gianna, Chairperson of the Philanthropist Friends of Dolphins Foundation, is rumored to be using the new tank she’s building to harbor wayward chickens. You find her having salad at her office canteen and plan to question her when an electric blue dildo slips out of her pocket. Help her cover it up by making some Sainted Pervert juice.
Congratulations! You’ve mixed some vegetables and a blue dildo to get Sainted Pervert juice & saved Ms. Gianna’s reputation. It turns out she was keeping wild pheasants & no foul play was involved. She can focus on saving Flipper now! She tells you her son may know something.
Quest 5: You find DJ Candy Cruncher alone in a motel room, looking forlornly at a tower of records. When you approach him and ask about the chickens, he says he’s had enough of the drugs & rave scene, and has nothing to do with chickens. “I want to make like Johnny Cash in Folsom Prison, and free my inner do-gooder” he says. Mix him some Addicted Philanthropist juice and help him walk the line.
Awesome! You mixed some drugs & charity to make some Addicted Philanthropist juice! DJ Candy Cruncher has started a halfway house for reforming ravers. He has you to thank for it & gives you all his leftover ecstasy tablets. These will surely come in handy! Inside the ziplock bag is a business card for Studio Tentacle, a famous animation house.
Quest 6: Studio Tentacle was working on its new anime, Alien Moon, when the cloud servers were compromised by The Secret Hackers Society. Their entire archive of fan service is now offline, and their community manager is swamped with tweets from angry fans. Only a dash of Pervert Conspiracy juice can save the day.
Great work! You’ve mixed an alien & a tentacle to make a Pervert Conspiracy juice. You’ve been granted lifetime access to Studio Tentacle’s high quality Internet streaming service.
Quest 7: You’ve stayed up late, binge watching pikachu spoofs, and are out walking your dog at four a.m. You see a woman in dark black robes (the nun?!) pour some mysterious pink liquid with a picture of a pyramid and an eye on the label into the city’s water supply. “This will stop them,” you overhear her muttering. Quick! Counteract the effects by pouring in some Conspiring Addict juice!
Congratulations! You’ve mixed pikachu & a pyramid and you’ve saved the city! You are hot on the trail of the nun, who is rushing through the night to escape you.
You follow the nun’s trail to the office of The Secret Hacker’s Society and overhear Mr. Torvalds convincing Candy Cruncher to help him distract the team at Studio Tentacle by arranging an exclusive underground rave in a pyramid. “I MUST upload that fan service onto Trump’s twitter and ruin his campaign.” “But, my charity--” starts the former drug addict, when you see a woman in a nun’s habit rush in, surrounded by a flurry of feathers “You fools! Alien Moon is a beacon for the chickens. It must be completed! Who cares about your stupid election or your charity?” Mix the ultimate juice, which is a mix of four very different things to thwart a presidential candidate & prevent the disastrous alien chicken invasion.
You did it! You made the ultimate magic juice! “Pop of the Milky”. The fumes alone cause the nun to pass out and the cloud of feathers to settle, revealing - gasp! - Ms. Gianni underneath the habit. You return what remains of the ecstasy you got earlier so that Torvald’s & Candy Cruncher can accomplish their mission, but unfortunately, Trump finds fan service vids only add to his swag. This is clearly a job for Dr. Juicy Oak!
Labels: game industry, game jam, gamer, gaming, Pocket Gamer, Pocket Gamer Connects, pocket jam, pocketjam1, script writing
fon @ 3:57 PM link to post * *