Adapting to Climate Change in Reindeer Herding: The Nation-State as Problem and Solution.

This paper discusses the role of nation-states and their systems of gover- nance as sources of barriers and solutions to adaptation to climate change from the point of view of Saami reindeer herders. The Saami, inhabiting the northernmost areas of Fennoscandia, is one of more than twenty ethnic groups in the circumpolar Arctic that base their traditional living on reindeer herding. Climate change is likely to affect the Saami regions severely, with winter temperatures predicted to increase by up to 7 centigrade. We argue that the pastoral practices of the Saami herders are inherently better suited to handle huge natural variation in climatic con- ditions than most other cultures. Indeed, the core of their pastoral practices and herding knowledge is skillful adaptation to unusually frequent and rapid change and variability. This paper argues that the key to handle permanent changes successfully is that herders themselves have sufficient degrees of freedom to act. Considering the similarities in herding practices in the fours nation-states between which Saami culture is now divided . Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia . the systems of governance are surprisingly different. Indeed, the very definition of what is required to be defined as an ethnic Saami is very different in the three Nordic countries. We argue that timely adjust- ments modifying the structures of governance will be key to the survival of the Saami reindeer herding culture. Since the differences in governance regimes . and the need to change national governance structures . are so central to our argument, we spend some time tracing the origins of these systems.

SDN as Active Measurement Infrastructure

Active measurements are integral to the operation and management of networks, and invaluable to supporting empirical network research. Unfortunately, it is often cost-prohibitive and logistically difficult to widely deploy measurement nodes, especially in the core. In this work, we consider the feasibility of tightly integrating measurement within the infrastructure by using Software Defined Networks (SDNs). We introduce "SDN as Active Measurement Infrastructure" (SAAMI) to enable measurements to originate from any location where SDN is deployed, removing the need for dedicated measurement nodes and increasing vantage point diversity. We implement ping and traceroute using SAAMI, as well as a proof-of-concept custom measurement protocol to demonstrate the power and ease of SAAMI's open framework. Via a large-scale measurement campaign using SDN switches as vantage points, we show that SAAMI is accurate, scalable, and extensible

Mapping genes through the use of linkage disequilibrium generated by genetic drift: 'Drift mapping' in small populations with no demographic expansion

Linkage disequilibrium has been a powerful tool in identifying rare disease alleles in human populations. To date, most research has been directed to isolated populations which have undergone a bottleneck followed by rapid exponential expansion. While this strategy works well for rare diseases in which all disease alleles in the population today are clonal copies of some common ancestral allele, for common disease genes with substantial allelic heterogeneity, this approach is not predicted to work. In this paper, we describe the dynamics of linkage disequilibrium in populations which have not undergone a demographic expansion. In these populations, it is shown that genetic drift creates disequilibrium over time, while in expanded populations, the disequilibrium decays with time. We propose that common disease alleles might be more efficiently identified by drift mapping - linkage disequilibrium mapping in small, old populations of constant size where the disequilibrium is the result of genetic drift, not founder effect. Theoretical models, empirical data, and simulated population models are presented as evidence for the utility of this approach

Indo-Uralic consonant gradation

Koivulehto and Vennemann have recently (1996) revived Posti’s theory (1953) which attributed Finnic consonant gradation to Germanic influence, in particular to the influence of Verner’s law. This theory disregards the major differences between Finnic and Saami gradation (cf. Sammallahti 1998: 3) and ignores the similar gradation in Nganasan and Selkup (cf. Kallio 2000: 92)

Pastoralist Economic Behavior: Empirical Results from Reindeer Herders in Northern Sweden

This paper presents a model of pastoralists, as illustrated by reindeer herders, together with an analysis based on a cross-sectional data set on Swedish reindeer-herding Saami. The intrinsic utility of being an active reindeer herder plays an important role in determining supply. Results show this can lead to unconventional supply responses among pastoralists, and suggest that the probability of a backward-bending supply response increases with stock size. Further analyses confirm that reindeer herders with backward-bending supply curves have significantly larger herds than herders with conventional supply responses. Relaxed externalities from forestry would cause most herders to increase their slaughter.backward-bending supply, externalities, pastoralist, reindeer husbandry, Livestock Production/Industries,

Livestock as insurance and social status. Evidence from reindeer herding in Norway

The theory of livestock as a buffer stock predicts that agropastoralists facing substantial risks typically will use liquid assets, such as livestock, for self-insurance to smooth consumption. This paper examines this hypothesis for reindeer herders in Norway where the herders, in contrast to pastoralists in, say, Sub-Saharan Africa, face well functioning credit markets. Using survey data including slaughtering responses to a hypothetical meat price increase, we test whether keeping reindeer as insurance against risks affects the slaughter response. Furthermore, we study whether status motives for keeping large herds affect the harvest response to a changing slaughter price. As a background for the empirical analysis, a stochastic bioeconomic model describing Saami reindeer herding is formulated

Valuing All Languages in Europe

The VALEUR project (2004-2007) took as its focus the 'additional' languages of Europe. These are defined as all languages in use in contexts where they are not 'national', 'official', or 'dominant' languages. They include 'migrant' languages, 'regional/minority' languages, sign languages and 'non-territorial' languages of diasporas such as Yiddish and Romani. The project team brought together a range of expertise in sociolinguistics and language pedagogy, planning and research from Finland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. We took as our starting point Council of Europe policies on plurilingualism and the desirability of promoting linguistic diversity both for individual citizenship and for social cohesion in Europe. Our aim was to map provision for additional languages in Europe, in a more systematic and inclusive way than ever before. We looked at provision at school level for different languages in different contexts in order to identify good practices to be shared. In order to achieve our objectives we drew on the good will and enthusiasm of workshop participants, who provided a wealth of information and insights from 21 of the Council of Europe member states. Our work is not definitive: its purpose is awareness-raising and to stimulate further activity to support the learning of all Europe's languages

La autonomomía en Finlandia: La autonomia territorial de las Islas Åland y la autonomia cultural del pueblo indígena Saami

Finland offers two interesting cases of special autonomy, territorial and cultural, regarding Åland Islands and the indigenous Saami people. Åland is located in the Baltic Sea, between Finland and Sweden. Circa 94% of its population are Swedish speaking. This article examines its autonomy system, that is about 90 years old and is functioning quite well. Main reasons of the apparent success of the autonomy system are its well protected status in the constitutional system of Finland and its fairly clear scope. Autonomy disputes between Åland and the State are solved according to legal criteria. The State has had a bona fide attitude at the Åland autonomy; even the Autonomy Act provides that the language of communication between the authorities of the State and Åland is Swedish, and not the leading national language, Finnish. The vast Saami Home Territory forms the northernmost part of Finland (Lapland), but only about a third of its population are Saami. Altogether the Saami make circa 8,500, but only about a half of them live in the Territory. The scope of its cultural autonomy is quite limited. The system provides the existence of a democratic Saami Parliament as the representative of the entire Saami people and its powers with regard to the Saami language. However, the indigenous Saami have virtually no special rights with regard to their traditional lands and waters and their natural resources.Finlandia ofrece dos interesantes casos de autonomía, territorial y cultural, en relación a las islas Åland y al pueblo indígena saami (lapón). Las islas Åland se encuentran en el mar Báltico, entre Finlandia y Suecia. Un 94% de su población es sueco-parlante. Este artículo examina su sistema autonómico, que lleva unos 90 años funcionando de modo bastante satisfactorio. Este aparente éxito se debe fundamentalmente a su bien protegido estatus en el sistema constitucional de Finlandia y a su claro alcance. Las disputas sobre la autonomía entre Åland y el Estado se resuelven mediante procedimientos legales. El Estado ha mostrado su buena fe respecto a la autonomía de Åland. Incluso la Ley de autonomía establece que la comunicación entre las autoridades del Estado y las de Åland se hará en sueco, y no en finlandés, que es la lengua nacional mayoritaria. El vasto Territorio saami forma la parte más septentrional de Finlandia (Laponia), pero solo un tercio de su población es saami. En conjunto los saami apenas suman unos 8.500 individuos, de los que solo la mitad habitan en el Territorio. El alcance de su autonomía es muy limitado. El sistema establece la existencia de un parlamento democrático saami como representante del conjunto del pueblo saami y sus competencias en relación a la lengua saami. Sin embargo, los indígenas saami no tienen derechos respecto a sus tierras y aguas tradicionales y sus recursos naturales

Sacredness in the Laponian Area Mixed World Heritage Site

In the Laponian Area a Mixed World Heritage (WH) Site in Northern Europe sacred sites are notable as outstanding components of the landscape. These places are important in the traditional Saami culture and are called sieidi in the Saami language. They relate to rock formations and reliefs that the Saami indigenous people -who traditionally live on reindeer herding and from the land- encounter when they move or migrate within their lands for reindeer transhumance. Sacred values associated with these sites are inherited from the time when the traditional shamanist religion was practiced by the Saami. Sieidi are still of great importance in understanding the Saami’s cultural perception of landscapes. Some of these spectacular places are also valued for their aesthetic and ecological values since the beginning of the 20th century when the area started to become a tourist destination and were included in the first national parks created in Europe (1909). Today they are part of the mosaic of protected areas listed as the Laponian Area WH Site in 1996 and crystallise part of the cultural and natural values of Laponia's landscapes.departmental bulletin pape