Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic (March 25 - 27, 2018 -- The University of New Hampshire) paired two of NSF\u27s 10 Big Ideas: Navigating the New Arctic and Growing Convergence Research at NSF. During this event, participants assessed economic, environmental, and social impacts of Arctic change on New England and established convergence research initiatives to prepare for, adapt to, and respond to these effects. Shipping routes through an ice-free Northwest Passage in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt will affect trade, fisheries, tourism, coastal ecology, air and water quality, animal migration, and demographics not only in the Arctic but also in lower latitude coastal regions such as New England. With profound changes on the horizon, this is a critical opportunity for New England to prepare for uncertain yet inevitable economic and environmental impacts of Arctic change

European Arctic Initiatives Compendium

Julkaistu versi

Public survey instruments for business administration using social network analysis and big data

Purpose: The subject matter of this research is closely intertwined with the scientific discussion about the necessity of developing and implementing practice-oriented means of measuring social well-being taking into account the intensity of contacts between individuals. The aim of the research is to test the toolkit for analyzing social networks and to develop a research algorithm to identify sources of consolidation of public opinion and key agents of influence. The research methodology is based on postulates of sociology, graph theory, social network analysis and cluster analysis. Design/Methodology/Approach: The basis for the empirical research was provided by the data representing the reflection of social media users on the existing image of Russia and its activities in the Arctic, chosen as a model case. Findings: The algorithm allows to estimate the density and intensity of connections between actors, to trace the main channels of formation of public opinion and key agents of influence, to identify implicit patterns and trends, to relate information flows and events with current information causes and news stories for the subsequent formation of a "cleansed" image of the object under study and the key actors with whom this object is associated. Practical Implications: The work contributes to filling the existing gap in the scientific literature, caused by insufficient elaboration of the issues of applying the social network analysis to solve sociological problems. Originality/Value: The work contributes to filling the existing gap in the scientific literature formed as a result of insufficient development of practical issues of using analysis of social networks to solve sociological problems.peer-reviewe

High North dialogue : innovations in the Arctic : April 5-6 2017

Since 2007, the High North Dialogue Conference series har brought together major interested parties - present and future leaders - concerned with Arctic development, including politicians and heads of administration from central governments in all Arctic States, major extractive leaders, and representatives from fishing communities, academia, local communities, indigenous people, local politicians, other important stakeholders and Master an PhD students. As suggested by its name, the High North Dialogue focuses on the aspect of dialogue. This dialogue takes place between young people, students, and representatives from the Arctic region's industry - ranging from maritime to land-based industry - authorities, and academics, in order to share information and discuss the best practices, with the aim of tackling challenges in the region

CIM Case Study – June 2007. Strategic Marketing in Practice. The Furze: Analysis

Marketing case study aimed at senior managers aspiring to achieve Chartered Marketer statu

Unmanned Remotely Operated Search and Rescue Ships in the Canadian Arctic: Exploring the Opportunities, Risk Dimensions and Governance Implications

This chapter is a proactive risk exploration of hypothetical remotely operated search and rescue (SAR) ships in the Canadian Arctic. The harsh and remote environment in the region, combined with complicated coastlines and many uncharted or poorly charted traffic routes, makes it one of the most challenging SAR areas. Canada has committed itself to safety, environmental protection and sovereign presence in the area by maintaining joint SAR centres of federal government departments and mobilizing private volunteers. The characteristics of Canadian SAR response in the Arctic rest with its high dependency on heavy equipment such as aircraft, helicopters and icebreakers, entailing prolonged hours of response time. As recent climate change impacts and maritime traffic increase in the northern waters disclose safety gaps, innovation in SAR assets is anticipated. The safety gaps may be filled by state-of-the-art remote control technology. This chapter discusses remotely operated unmanned ships for SAR response, exploring their opportunities, risk dimensions and governance implications

How much does a man cost? A dirty, dull, and dangerous application

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017This study illuminates the many abilities of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). One area of importance includes the UAV's capability to assist in the development, implementation, and execution of crisis management. This research focuses on UAV uses in pre and post crisis planning and accomplishments. The accompaniment of unmanned vehicles with base teams can make crisis management plans more reliable for the general public and teams faced with tasks such as search and rescue and firefighting. In the fight for mass acceptance of UAV integration, knowledge and attitude inventories were collected and analyzed. Methodology includes mixed method research collected by interviews and questionnaires available to experts and ground teams in the UAV fields, mining industry, firefighting and police force career field, and general city planning crisis management members. This information was compiled to assist professionals in creation of general guidelines and recommendations for how to utilize UAVs in crisis management planning and implementation as well as integration of UAVs into the educational system. The results from this study show the benefits and disadvantages of strategically giving UAVs a role in the construction and implementation of crisis management plans and other areas of interest. The results also show that the general public is lacking information and education on the abilities of UAVs. This education gap shows a correlation with negative attitudes towards UAVs. Educational programs to teach the public benefits of UAV integration should be implemented

Addressing climate vulnerability : promoting the participatory rights of indigenous peoples and women through Finnish foreign policy

Julkaistu versi

The new North: Patents and knowledge economy analysis in Alaska

In the last few years, Alaska\u27s economy suffered as world oil prices plunged to very low levels, and the analysts predicting that Alaska output will continue to dwindle in the years to come. As a result of Alaska\u27s dependence on oil economy, the state now faces a budget deficit. Modern economic development theories suggest searching for ways to manage northern frontiers. Investment in a knowledge –based economy seems to be new one of the appealing alternatives, and investing the human capacities is necessary. There is enough evidence from both central and peripheral regions that geographic proximity between the people and the organizations that creates knowledge is still at the core of region’s ability to nurture a successful regional innovation system. As the Alaska economy recovers from the recent economic crisis, the focus is now shifting towards how the new sources of economic growth can be fostered in order to provide the jobs and prosperity for the coming decades. In the state of Alaska, there have been very few studies of the knowledge and creative economies. The key features of a knowledge economy include a greater reliance on intellectual capabilities than on physical inputs or natural resources, combined with efforts to integrate improvements in every stage of the production process. Patents are usually considered as a representation of the knowledge economy. We provide evidence drawn from patent data to document dynamics in knowledge production. Over thirty-five years (1976-2010) investigation of the spatial distribution of patents and typological characteristics of innovation activities in Alaska had done. The primary results show that Alaska has considerable patent activity, especially in wells industry sector, that there is strong clustering of innovation in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Matanuska Boroughs and that there is a relationship between innovation and employment in the top 25 industry sectors in Alaska. Overall, between 1976 and 2010 AKRIS evolved from a small isolated system dominated by individual (lone-eagle) inventors focused on the innovation in old, low-technology sectors to a relatively diversified (although still over-reliant on the oil sector) intra- and internationally connected system with a considerable presence of company-driven innovation, but yet a strong position of individual inventors, including those from smaller communities. Correlation analysis show that the most significant relationship was observed with population, overall inventor count, and employment in 25 top patent –producing sectors. Further studies need to apply more qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, such as network analysis, to create a full clear image of innovation production over a long-time frame. Including more socio-economic factors that impact innovation activities in Alaska and connecting the dynamics of innovation with other processes in Alaska and global economy would also be important