Should foreign producers oppose domestic state aid?

Can subsidies to domestic producers, de facto, be subsidies to foreign producers? If so, state aid may distort competition to the advantage of the foreign producers. At the same time, governments often oppose subsidies elsewhere, claiming that their industry is hurt. The possibility that governments fight subsidies on these grounds, although the effects are to the contrary, constitutes what is called ‘the state aid paradox’ that is discussed throughout the paper. The dispute over regionally differentiated payroll tax rates between Norway and the surveillance authority of the European Free Trade Association (ESA) is used as a motivating example. The dispute is analysed by means of a simple general equilibrium model. The approach is partly analytical and partly numerical. There are three regions represented in the model: the assisted periphery, the assisting core, and the world outside, interpreted here as the European Union (EU). It will be demonstrated that although the assisted periphery will be losing market shares if state aid is ended, so will possibly EU in all markets

Doublespeak? Sustainability in the Arctic—A Text Mining Analysis of Norwegian Parliamentary Speeches

This paper contributes to the recent literature on sustainability in the Arctic as a political concept. Parliamentary proceedings have increasingly been recognized as an important source of information for eliciting political issues. In this paper, we use unsupervised text mining techniques to analyze parliamentary speeches for Norway from the period from 2009 to 2016 to answer whether political coalitions talk differently about sustainability in the Arctic depending on being in opposition or government. We find that the difference between being in government and opposition, controlling for political label (left-right), is far more important than the difference between left and right, controlling for role (opposition-government). The results suggest that in the trade-off between political preferences and election success, the balance is tilted in favour of the latter. Our interpretation is that opportunistic behavior seems to dominate partisan behavior in the politics related to sustainability in the Arctic

Reproductive and family planning history, knowledge, and needs: A community survey of low-income women in Beijing, China

10.1186/1472-6874-9-23BMC Women's Health923-BWHM

Factors Associated with Prenatal Folic Acid and Iron Supplementation Among 21,889 Pregnant women in Northern Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Hospital-Based Study.

Folate and iron deficiency during pregnancy are risk factors for anaemia, preterm delivery, and low birth weight, and may contribute to poor neonatal health and increased maternal mortality. The World Health Organization recommends supplementation of folic acid (FA) and iron for all pregnant women at risk of malnutrition to prevent anaemia. We assessed the use of prenatal folic acid and iron supplementation among women in a geographical area with a high prevalence of anaemia, in relation to socio-demographic, morbidity and health services utilization factors. We analysed a cohort of 21,889 women who delivered at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), Moshi, Tanzania, between 1999 and 2008. Logistic regression models were used to describe patterns of reported intake of prenatal FA and iron supplements. Prenatal intake of FA and iron supplements was reported by 17.2% and 22.3% of pregnant women, respectively. Sixteen percent of women reported intake of both FA and iron. Factors positively associated with FA supplementation were advanced maternal age (OR = 1.17, 1.02-1.34), unknown HIV status (OR = 1.54, 1.42-1.67), a diagnosis of anaemia during pregnancy (OR = 12.03, 9.66-14.98) and indicators of lower socioeconomic status. Women were less likely to take these supplements if they reported having had a malaria episode before (OR = 0.57, 0.53-0.62) or during pregnancy (OR = 0.45, 0.41-0.51), reported having contracted other infectious diseases (OR = 0.45, 0.42-0.49), were multiparous (OR = 0.73, 0.66-0.80), had preeclampsia/eclampsia (OR = 0.48, 0.38-0.61), or other diseases (OR = 0.55, 0.44-0.69) during pregnancy. Similar patterns of association emerged when iron supplementation alone and supplementation with both iron and FA were evaluated. FA and iron supplementation are low among pregnant women in Northern Tanzania, in particular among women with co-morbidities before or during pregnancy. Attempts should be made to increase supplementation both in general and among women with pregnancy complications

Machine learning and the identification of Smart Specialisation thematic networks in Arctic Scandinavia

The European Union (EU) has recognized that universities and research institutes play a critical role in regional Smart Specialisation processes. Our research aims to identify thematic cross-border research domains across space and disciplines in Arctic Scandinavia. We identify potential domains using an unsupervised machine-learning technique (topic modelling). We uncover latent topics based on similarities in the vocabulary of research papers. The proposed methodology can be utilized to identify common research domains across regions and disciplines in almost real time, thereby acting as a decision support system to facilitate cooperation among knowledge producers

Siken (Coregonus lavaretus L., 1758 ) : et artskompleks med en spennende evolusjonær historie og forvaltningmessige utfordringer

Siken varierer mye i utseende innen og mellom vann. Her oppsummerer jeg egen, og til dels annen, relevant litteratur, for å reflektere rundt hvordan sikens utseende kan være påvirket av slektskap og tilpasninger til ulike forhold i innsjøen, og hvilke forvaltningsmessige konsekvenser dette kan ha. Tre genetiske hovedlinjer (basert på mitokondrie-DNA (mtDNA)), som sannsynligvis overlevde i ulike refugier gjennom siste istid, har kolonisert nordlige deler av Europa. Også innen innsjøer kan ulikt utseendemessige sikbestander være delvis genetisk adskilt. Slike bestander har en form for ufullstendig adferdsbarriere mot å parre seg med hverandre. Basert bare på utseendemessig variasjon kan nesten hver sikbestand beskrives innen binær nomenklatur til å være ulike taxonomiske arter, men dette er ikke hensiktsmessig av ulike årsaker. En viktig grunn her er at bestander som ikke er nært beslektet kan ha utviklet utseendemessige karaktertrekk gjennom parallell evolusjon. Det betyr at de uavhengig har utviklet seg mot samme form fordi de har levd under samme forhold, der karaktertrekk er strukturert av naturlig seleksjon. Like eller ulike karaktertrekk hos sik innen og mellom innsjøer kan oppstå via fenotypisk plastisitet (der den samme genotypen gir ulikt fenotypisk uttrykk i ulike miljøer) og naturlig seleksjon der morfene som er mest tilpasset et gitt miljø, får flest avkom. Mekanismene bak oppsplitting i genetikk og utseende innen- og mellom vann kan være bestemt av ulike faktorer. Den evolusjonære historien om hvor forfedrene kom fra med sine gener, er grunnleggende. Naturlig seleksjon plukker ut hvilke genkombinasjoner og karaktertrekk som går videre i neste generasjon gitt tilpasningsdyktighet utfra eksisterende variasjon. For mange arter og populasjoner kan oppvekstforholdene påvirke utseende og livshistorien ved at de er fenotypisk plastiske. Genetisk struktur og assosierte karaktertrekk kan også bli påvirket av tilfeldig genetisk drift og genflyt mellom populasjoner. Mekanismen bak sympatrisk oppdeling i ulike former av sik innen ett og samme vann kan være økologisk nisje-deling, det vil si at de forekommende formene av siken er tilpasset til å utnytte de ulike delene av innsjøen forskjellig. Gitt tid og geografisk separasjon kan slike økologiske former være på vei til å bli gode biologiske arter via økologisk artsdannelse, noe våre data støtter. Det ser også ut til at flere innvandringer av ulikt utseende sik kan forekomme i samme vann via sekundær kontakt av allopatrisk utviklede (geografisk isolerte) mtDNA-linjer. Slike forhold gir forvaltningen utfordringer med identifisering av bestander, definering av enheter for bevaring, og høsting av denne evolusjonært interessante og gode matfisken. En kombinasjon av genetikk-, utseende- og livshistorieanalyser bør ligge til grunn for å foreslå og iverksette gode forvaltningsenheter. I Norge har vi en stor sik-diversitet som vi må forvalte på en fornuftig og effektiv måte, slik at vi kan både høste av den og forske på den i framtiden

Fifteen Dimensions of Health among Community-Dwelling Older Singaporeans

This paper aims to present a broad perspective of health of older Singaporeans spanning 15 health dimensions and study the association between self-rated health (SRH) and other health dimensions. Using data from a survey of 5000 Singaporeans (≥60 years), SRH and health in 14 other dimensions were assessed. Generalized logit model was used to assess contribution of these 14 dimensions to positive and negative SRH, compared to average SRH. About 86% reported their health to be average or higher. Prevalence of positive SRH and “health” in most other dimensions was lower in older age groups. Positive and negative SRH were associated with mobility, hearing, vision, major physical illness, pain, personal mastery, depressive symptoms, and perceived financial adequacy. The findings show that a majority of older Singaporeans report themselves as healthy overall and in a wide range of health dimensions

Occurrence and habitat choice of waders in a high mountain sedimentation flat on Hardangervidda, South Norway

Studies of the occurrence and nesting habitat choice of waders were conducted at Finsefetene (1200 m a.s.l.), a high mountain sedimentation flat on the Hardangervidda plateau, South Norway during 1967-1984. Eight species occurred in the study area during the period, either regularly such as Calidris temminckii, Actitis hypoleucos, Charadrius hiaticula, Calidris alpina, or occasionally, such as Tringa totanus, Calidris maritima, Pluvialis apricaria and Phalaropus lobatus. The densities of the whole wader community on the sedimentation flat were related to the proportion of snow-free areas at Finse around 10 July, and on the date when Finsefetene becomes totally snow-free (DFSF). Of the eight species, only C. temminckii and P. lobatus were found to be positively correlated with the extent of snow-free area, while C. alpina and C. lobatus were positively correlated with DFSF. In low density years the nests were usually placed in the same locations, these obviously being optimal sites. The majority of C. temminckii nests were located in the two intermediate fen vegetation associations, and according to its availability the Caricion canescentis-nigrae was clearly selected for. Two other preferred plant associations on drier ground, Lactucion alpinae and Arctostaphyleto-Cetrarion nivalis, were also selected for. Nest location preferences for vegetation associations are also indicated for the other wader species, but the data on these are limited. Changes in river flow causing varying water levels in the surroundings are a pronounced ecological trait on Finsefetene. In years with a heavy spring flood many nests would be submerged. The location of the nests in relation to a so-called «Zero point», varied from 34 cm below to 210 cm above. In high density years the nests of the most common species, C. temminckii, were spread over most of the flat. In years with a late spring flood, after the nesting had started, some low situated nests were flooded. To visualize the wader community pattern, the distribution of the variable number and scattered nest locations were plotted on maps. Details in nest locations of C. temminckii are given for each year; for the other recorded species the map covers all years. The Finsefetene sedimentation flat proved to be a valuable high mountain habitat for wader populations on Hardangervidda

Antenatal depression in Sri Lanka: a qualitative study of public health midwives’ views and practices

Background Almost all pregnant people in Sri Lanka receive antenatal care by public health midwives. While there is strong infrastructure in Sri Lanka for postpartum mental health care, the current practices within antenatal mental health care have not been externally evaluated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the current clinical guidelines and experiences of how public health midwives diagnose and treat antenatal depression. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 12 public health midwives from four antenatal clinics in the Bope Poddala division in Galle, Sri Lanka and reviewed and extracted information on antenatal depression from clinical guidelines. Data was collected in Sinhala and translated into English. We used applied thematic analysis and worked closely with our local team to ensure data trustworthiness. Results Midwives (n = 12) reported varying degrees of knowledge on antenatal depression and did not have standardized diagnosis patterns. However, they were very consistent in their clinical practices, following guidelines for referral and follow-up of case management, building strong rapport. In their practice, midwives continue to face challenges of lack of human resources and high stigma around mental illness. They suggested that that care could be improved with use of a standardized diagnostic tool, and easier access to specialist care. We found the clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of antenatal depression is lacking key details on symptoms for appropriate diagnosis, but it clearly guides on how to navigate treatment. Conclusions Public health midwives are following the clinical guideline to refer pregnant women who need intervention for antenatal depression and follow-up for case management. However, there is a need for more specific and context-relevant guidelines, especially for diagnosis of antenatal depression. Formative research is needed to explore intervention strategies to improve antenatal depression management in Sri Lanka.publishedVersio