Involving citizens: Highlights from more than 10 years of Ukrainian-Norwegian research collaboration on local community development and local democracy

Aadne Aasland, Senior researcher, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR), OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.The local level is an important arena for the practice of democracy. It is at the local level that people encounter concrete social problems, and it is above all there that they expect the delivery of effective policies and solutions. Therefore, the local level has been seen as the key location for the appearance and application of democratic initiatives that can eventually lead to transformation of the social and economic sectors in a state as a whole. In Ukraine, despite the existence of various instruments of citizens’ interaction with the authorities, a large segment of the population has for various reasons remained detached from the processes of development, adoption, and implementation of governmental decisions. Moreover, many local governmental institutions have failed to use the existing potential for involving the citizenry in solving local problems

Russia is facing a pension dilemma as the country goes to the polls

Russia is due to hold parliamentary elections on 18 September. To coincide with the elections, we will be running a number of articles on Russian politics and society. In this contribution, Aadne Aasland and Linda Cook outline one of the key challenges facing Russian policymakers: the management of the country’s pension system. While the Russian government is wary of inflaming public opinion over the issue, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Russia to fund pensions at their current rate and tough choices will have to be made in the coming years

Motivation, Migration and Non-standard Employment: A Survey Among Temporary Agency Workers

Research suggests that migrants have a greater tendency to end up in nonstandard employment arrangements than native citizens do, but less attention has been paid to motivational differences within and between migrant groups. On the basis of a survey of temporary agency workers in Norway, we investigate the effect of different country backgrounds on the perceived suitability of nonstandard employment (NSE) at present and in the future. For the perceived current suitability, we find less variation between country backgrounds, but Norwegian workers are much less likely to accept NSE as suitable in the future. An ordinal regression shows that motivation (positive and negative) rather than country background is the strongest predictor of finding NSE employment suitable. As such, the article contributes to understandings about voluntary or involuntary motivations to engage in NSE in a way that informs discussions about migrants in different power positions in a Nordic labor market context

Russians in Latvia: Ethnic Identity and Ethnopolitical Change

Over a very short period conditions tor the Russian population in Latvia have changed dramatically. From being representatives of the majority nationality enjoying a special status in the Soviet multinational empire, Russians have become a national minority in a Latvian nation-state. The thesis focuses on the implications of these changes for the ethnic identity of Russians living in Latvia; the changes are analysed through the perspective of ethnopolitical developments in the country'. An examination of relevant western and Latvian scholarly literature on ethnicity and nationality issues provides the theoretical framework within which to discuss the Russian question in Latvia. Conceptual issues are clarified and various explanations for the phenomenon of ethnicity are considered. The relationship between ethnicity and the political sphere is also examined. After this theoretical introduction, the thesis looks at Latvia's Russian question in a historical context. The history of the Russian population in Latvia is examined, with special attention being paid to the role of historians in the formation of public opinion on historical issues as well as to relevant topics from the period of Latvia independence in the interwar period. Soviet nationalities policies in general and in Latvia in particular are then discussed, and the role of the Russian nationality in the Soviet empire is analysed. The responsibility for nationalities policies in Latvia was gradually transferred from the centre in Moscow to Latvia itself. The thesis therefore analyses Latvian nationalities policies in the period from 1988 to 1993. The main part of the thesis, however, focuses more directly on the Russian population itself. A major survey "Russians in Latvia 1992" was conducted by the author in cooperation with Latvian sociologists, and it is used extensively for the analysis of Russians' perceptions of their own role in Latvia. Apart from data on the general socio-economic and demographical characteristics of the Russian population, the survey provides information about Russians' evaluation of a wide range of issues, including political attitudes, interethnic relations, links with the historical motherland, Russia, citizenship, language and many more. The thesis contains an analysis of Russians' organisational structures and political activities in Latvia, and the experiences and opinions concerning the formation of a Russian party in the country are also discussed. The main findings of the thesis are finally put into a theoretical framework. Both the intensity and content of Russian ethnic identity are here accounted for. Similarly, the question of the prospects for integration and/or assimilation of the Russian population is crucial m the final analysis. Also, in line with the ethnopolitical perspective, the thesis looks at various models of conflict resolution in ethnically divided societies and assesses their applicability to Latvia

Dung beetle (Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) communities in mountain rain forests (Tanzania): A biodiversity survey from Amani Nature Reserve and Udzungwa Mountain National Park

The African dung beetles (Scarabaeidae, Scarabeinae) is the most generic and species rich of the global faunas. Dung beetles are good indicators of biodiversity and habitat disturbances. This study aimed to investigate dung beetle communities in two different mountain rain forests in the eastern arc mountains, Tanzania. The study areas were located in Amani Nature Reserve and Udzungwa Mountains National Park. In Amani, the tropical forest habitat has been reduced due to historical logging activities. In this area, five habitats were chosen: undisturbed forest, secondary forest that was logged approximately 50 years ago, agroforestry habitat, riverine secondary forest that was moderately logged in the past and a secondary forest that was moderately logged in the past. Due to unforeseen problems regarding the research permit, the field work in Udzungwa was conducted outside the protected forest, different habitats were thus not used since all plots were essentially within the same habitat type. In total, 1376 dung beetles, representing 59 different morphospecies were collected, using pitfall traps with three types of bait; cow dung, pig dung and meat. In Amani, 352 specimens grouped in 18 different morphospecies were sampled, in Udzungwa, 1024 specimens grouped in 41 different morphospecies were sampled, and no common species were found between the two study areas. The body size distribution of the dung beetle assemblage were smaller in Udzungwa compared to Amani. This result was unexpected because of the larger diversity and size range of mammals in Udzungwa compared to Amani. The habitats in Udzungwa were different, however, from the Amani forest habitats, and the agricultural edges in Udzungwa may not represent the forest fauna. In Amani, the results from this study showed that the dung beetle composition were more evenly distributed in the undisturbed forest, this habitat also hosted the largest diversity of morphospecies. Results from Udzungwa showed significant differences in the dung beetle composition using different types of bait, where traps with pig dung constituted 74.7% of the total number of individuals in Udzungwa, with 16 morphospecies only occurring on this type of bait. In Amani, no significant differences in dung beetle composition were found between the type of bait used. Results from this study supported the use of dung beetles as bioindicator taxon for biodiversity and environmental changes and disturbances. Two assumed new species were found belonging to the genera Sceliages and Sarophorus

Development in Research : An Outline of the Science Systems in Russia and the Baltic States.

The science systems in Russia and, even more so, the Baltic States have undergone radical change in the years following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Although this report does not aim to provide a thorough description of the Soviet science system1, it is nevertheless useful to give a very brief outline of the structures which Baltic and Russian policy-makers were confronting at the outset of systemic reforms in the early 1990s

For Children in Our Neighbourhood : An evaluation of the Nordic Action Plan for Children and Young Adults at Risk in the Adjacent Areas

The Nordic Action Plan for Children and Young Adults in the Adjacent Areas was launched in 1999 in order to contribute to an improvement of the living conditions of young risk groups in the Baltic states and North-West Russia. More than 400 small and large projects have received funding from the programme since then. The present evaluation of the programme has been carried out by the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR). The evaluation team recommends a continuation of the programme founded on its achievements in focusing on risk groups, keeping a cross-sectoral approach, involving the policy level in the adjacent area countries, emphasising competence transfer and capacity building, and stimulating an interest in Nordic approaches and models in work with the risk groups. At the same time the evaluators suggest that in the future more emphasis should be put on a further institutionalisation of the programme, it should be used more actively to build partnerships in the region, more attention should be paid to the human resources in the projects, and dissemination activities should be given a more prominent place

Multiple Identitäten und Einstellungen gegenüber der ukrainischen Ethnopolitik: Ergebnisse einer Bevölkerungsumfrage

Eine kürzlich durchgeführte landesweite Erhebung gibt Aufschluss darüber, wie multiple Identitäten in der Ukraine gegenwärtig miteinander interagieren, und zeigt, dass Menschen unterschiedlicher Ethnien und Bewohner unterschiedlicher Regionen von starker Verbundenheit sowohl mit ihren lokalen Kommunen als auch mit dem ukrainischen Staat berichten. Die Beziehungen zwischen den Ethnien werden als gut wahrgenommen, auf lokaler Ebene noch besser als auf nationaler. Die Umfrage zeigt außerdem, dass die ukrainische Bevölkerung die Politik der Ukraine in Bezug auf ihre ethnischen Minderheiten sehr unterschiedlich bewertet. Spannungen zwischen sozioökonomischen Gruppen verursachen mehr lokale Uneinigkeit als Spannungen zwischen Menschen verschiedener Ethnien oder sprachlicher Hintergründe

Going Nordic – A NordForsk user survey : A survey among participants in NordForsk and NorFA networks and research training courses 1999-2005

This survey conducted among participants in Nordic research network and research training course activities in the 1999-2005 period shows that 90% of the project participants continue collaborating after Nordic funding has ended. One in five respondents have applied for EU funding as a direct result of the Nordic collaboration. More than half the activities included partners from the Baltic countries, 28% involved partners from Russia. Eight in ten would find it impossible to carry out their activity without the support fromNordForsk (or former NorFA). Most respondents find the application procedures clear and easily accessible. NordForsk is not perceived to be overly bureaucratic, and most people are satisfied with their communication with the responsible NordForsk staff