CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland

Arctic Youth Research - Challenges and Visions

Organisers: Anne Tuhkunen and Veli-Matti Ulvinen

O´Hagan, Ciaran (South Bank University, United Kingdom) DIVISIONS IN YOUNG PEOPLE'S CONSUMPTION OF DANCE MUSIC AND DRUGS
This presentation aims to reveal new insight into the development of dance culture by exploring the relation young people have with particular genres of dance music. It will examine how young people's participation in particular dance scenes, such as UK Garage and Underground Trance and Techno interacts with their drug consumption practices. Such developments present a wide range of challenges to youth culture and drugs education professionals and this paper will address several of these key factors and attempt to provide some direction for future strategies within this complex area. Themes to be covered will include on overview of the concept of scene fragmentation within dance culture, an assessment of genre specific drug use and an examination of the processes of communication central to each scene.

Allaste, Airi-Alina (Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, STAKES, Finland) CANNABIS USERS' SUBCULTURE - "WE" ARE SOPHISTICATED AND "THEY" ARE STUPID
The paper explores the meaning of drug use, behavioral norms and attitudes of cannabis users related to club-culture. The empirical part of the paper relays on participant observation and in-depth interviews with young adults. Respondents share similar norms and attitudes and are related to each other with vague boundaries. They separate themselves not only from the people who use other drugs in other circumstances, but also from people who use cannabis with other purpose. Since they use cannabis to broaden their perception, they condemn people who use drugs, including cannabis, only in order to get stoned. According to their opinion, the most important feature in cannabis use is how they acknowledge the reason for the use. The paper explains different steps on the way of changing from user to dealer - consuming, possessing, sharing and selling cannabis. Some people never buy cannabis although they use it often - several times a week. Heavy users tend to buy cannabis in bigger quantities to get it cheaper. When person is known as always possessing drugs, (s)he is often asked for it and sometimes (s)he sells it. Some people start to make profit from selling cannabis. When someone is already known as a dealer, he is not considered as one of "us" any more. People who don't use drugs in accepted way or become dealers are considered deviant not only by the dominant culture, but by the youth subculture itself. Cannabis users use different control mechanisms to avoid marginalization. This paper explains how common values in above-mentioned subculture support and at the same time regulate drug-use.

Hilden-Paajanen, Tarja (University of Joensuu, Finland) SKINHEADS - A CULTURE DEFENDING LABOUR VALUES OR A GANG DEFENDING OWN TERRITORIAL BASE?
The aim of this presentation is to observe skinheads both as a sub-culture of young presenting and maintaining labour style and values, and as gang of young (males) maintaining and defending certain ideology. In the 1960's the British researchers have presented skinheads as young men defending and maintaining labour values. The style of skinheads with extreme short hair (or bald), jeans, bomber's jacket and boots has been interpreted as maintaining and declaring labour values. The action with violence directed to refugees, other foreigners and sexual minorities has been seen as protecting 'good old' (British) labour values. American gang researchers have observed skinheads as both global and local gang of young males. This means the skinheads are seen coexistently as worldwide spread gang with well-organized networks - and as local youth gang with own territorial base, leaders and hierarchical order. These conceptions of British and American researchers will be compared and examined in relation to concepts of 'sub-culture' and 'gang'.

Shvets, Larissa and Ilyina, Natalia (Karelian State Pedagogical University, Russia) KARELIAN YOUTH: NEW TENDENCIES IN LIVING CONDITIONS, VALUES AND FUTURE PLANS IN THE CHANGING SOCIETY
The presentation is based on some results of the project "Everyday Life and Future Expectations of the Youth, residing in the Republic of Karelia" that was started in February 2001 and is still carried out. For the comparison we have also used the data collected in 1995-1997 when the Russian-Finnish project "Youth in a Changing Karelia" had been realized. Different methods were used in the project. The study data has been collected by questionnaire and written stories. The authors wanted to represent what kinds of changes in the living conditions, values and future plans of Karelian youth have happened for the last five years. They also wanted to compare the living conditions, values and future plans of the urban and rural youth, to show gender differences in the values and future plans.

Zhizhko, Elena (Krasnoyarsk State University, Russia) THE VALUE OF LABOUR OF THE YOUTH AND MARKET REFORM IN MODERN RUSSIA
The Russian economy's road from a centralized, planned economy to a market economy displays a number of problems. One of the causes for this can be specific character of values of labour of the youth in contemporary Russia. The social institutes of modern Russia and Russia of near past: religion (orthodox church), ideology (soviet and post-soviet), culture (literature and folklore) do not demonstrate the positive images of hard work, self-control and intelligent use of time and money as the important ingredient of business and social success. Accumulated data of survey 1987-2001 (methods: in-home interview, in-depth interview - multistage sample about 900 for every survey, age parameter 16-22) shows the main values of modern youth are material welfare, emphasizing living standards, entertainment and relaxation. Young Russians want to live in civilization characterized by entertainment, not by work.