Klaipėdos universitetas

Parenthood is quite rare among physically disabled adults in Finland, and becoming a parent can be labelled as a taboo act. In this paper, we shed a light on this salient topic by scrutinising the experiences of Finnish mothers and fathers with physical disabilities. The research questions are: (1) How do mothers and fathers describe their agency as parents? and (2) How is their agency constructed within social structures and relations? The analysis is based on qualitative teller-focused interviews with 17 mothers and fathers. The results reveal their agencies as multidimensional, and demonstrate how parenthood is constructed through interaction within institutional spaces. Personal support, peers and NGOs also play an important role in the construction of agency. Interaction can either limit, question or support the agency of disabled people as parents. The results show that the parents have strong agency in using their knowledge, and flexible resources when meeting the demands.

This article examines the attitudeof young people of age 18 to 30 from Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and Norway towards the national costume. The aim of this article is to analyze and determine how national costume is appreciated by the youth of countries mentioned before. The article briefly presents the preconditions for the emergence and creation of a nationalcostume; it analyzes what kind of information is lacking about national costume. The research was made in 2017-2018. Information was provided by 156 respondents. In conclusion, the worst situation is between Finnish youth and the deepest traditions of costumeʼs wearing has Norway. The results of Lithuanians reveal that national costume is not very important tradition, Latvians show the growing interest in the costume.