Aboriginal Food Security in Northern Canada: An Assessment of the State of Knowledge

As the world’s population increases, as global markets become more interconnected, and as the effects of climate change become clearer, the issue of food insecurity is gaining traction at local, national, and international levels. The recent global economic crisis and increased food prices have drawn attention to the urgent situation of the world’s 870 million chronically undernourished people who face the number one worldwide risk to health: hunger and malnutrition. Although about 75% of the world’s undernourished people live in low-income, rural regions of developing countries, hunger is also an issue in Canada. In 2011, 1.6 million Canadian households, or slightly more than 12%, experienced some level of food insecurity. About one in eight households are affected, including 3.9 million individuals. Of these, 1.1 million are children. Food insecurity presents a particularly serious and growing challenge in Canada’s northern and remote Aboriginal communities (see Figure 1). Evidence from a variety of sources concludes that food insecurity among northern Aboriginal peoples is a problem that requires urgent attention to address and mitigate the serious impacts it has on health and well-being. Results from the 2007–2008 International Polar Year Inuit Health Survey indicate that Nunavut has the highest documented rate of food insecurity for any Indigenous population living in a developed country. According to estimates from the 2011 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), off-reserve Aboriginal households across Canada experience food insecurity at a rate that is more than double that of all Canadian households (27%). Recent data indicate that Canadian households with children have a higher prevalence of food insecurity than households without children, and preliminary evidence indicates that more women than men are affected

Neil3-dependent base excision repair regulates lipid metabolism and prevents atherosclerosis in Apoe-deficient mice

Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative DNA damage accumulates in atherosclerosis. Recently, we showed that a genetic variant in the human DNA repair enzyme NEIL3 was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction. Here, we explored the role of Neil3/NEIL3 in atherogenesis by both clinical and experimental approaches. Human carotid plaques revealed increased NEIL3 mRNA expression which significantly correlated with mRNA levels of the macrophage marker CD68. Apoe−/−Neil3−/− mice on high-fat diet showed accelerated plaque formation as compared to Apoe−/− mice, reflecting an atherogenic lipid profile, increased hepatic triglyceride levels and attenuated macrophage cholesterol efflux capacity. Apoe−/−Neil3−/− mice showed marked alterations in several pathways affecting hepatic lipid metabolism, but no genotypic alterations in genome integrity or genome-wide accumulation of oxidative DNA damage. These results suggest a novel role for the DNA glycosylase Neil3 in atherogenesis in balancing lipid metabolism and macrophage function, potentially independently of genome-wide canonical base excision repair of oxidative DNA damage

The human right to benefit from advances in science and promotion of openly accessible publications

The article adopts a human rights perspective on the advent and proliferation of open access publishing models and policy goals, focusing primarily on the human right of everyone to benefit from progress in science and technology. While there is still room for developing more tenable and clear norms and delineating rights and obligations of individuals and states respectively in this regard, it is shown that states have an obligation to ensure the realisation of this right, and that there is a developing understanding of this obligation to include the promotion of open access to scientific knowledge. In an effort to further the discussion on open access publication, concrete examples of implementation of the principles of open access are presented and discussed. Nordic Journal of Human Rights. 2013, 31(3), 427-454 http://www.idunn.no/ts/ntmr/2013/0

Et verktøy for å editere datamodeller i flere views

Masteroppgaven dreier seg om utforming og implementasjon av et UML utviklingsverktøy som utnytter et Model/View konsept hvor viewet kan se helt annerledes ut enn modellen. Som eksempel skal det utvikles et verktøy som har funksjonalitet til å gruppere UML klassediagrammer både delvis og helt. I tillegg har er det noen delproblemstillinger om valg av grupperingsalgoritme for grupperingsfunksjonalitet i verktøyet, hvordan behandle assosiasjonsklasser og bruk av filformater for å sikre kompatibilitet mot andre verktøy

A commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 27 : the right to an adequate standard of living

This volume constitutes a commentary on Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is part of the series, A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides an article by article analysis of all substantive, organizational and procedural provisions of the CRC and its two Optional Protocols. For every article, a comparison with related human rights provisions is made, followed by an in-depth exploration of the nature and scope of State obligations deriving from that article. The series constitutes an essential tool for actors in the field of children’s rights, including academics, students, judges, grassroots workers, governmental, non- governmental and international officers. The series is sponsored by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office

A commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24 : the right to health

This volume constitutes a commentary on Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is part of the series, A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides an article by article analysis of all substantive, organizational and procedural provisions of the CRC and its two Optional Protocols. For every article, a comparison with related human rights provisions is made, followed by an in-depth exploration of the nature and scope of State obligations deriving from that article. The series constitutes an essential tool for actors in the field of children’s rights, including academics, students, judges, grassroots workers, governmental, non- governmental and international officers. The series is sponsored by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office

Strategisk regnskapsanalyse og verdsettelse av itslearning

I denne utredningen har vi gjennomført en strategisk regnskapsanalyse og verdsettelse av Itslearning AS. Formålet med oppgaven er å gi en verdivurdering av selskapets egenkapital, og deretter vurdere estimatet mot oppgitt verdi av dagens egenkapital. Vi har foretatt en strategisk analyse av Itslearning og LMS-bransjen ved å benytte VRIO-rammeverket, Porters fem krefter og en PESTEL-analyse. Deretter foretok vi en omgruppering og justering av de historiske regnskapstallene for å optimalisere dem for analyseformål. Vi beregnet kapitalkrav til Itslearning og analyserte lønnsomheten deres ved å sammenligne rentabiliteter med det aktuelle kapitalkravet. I tillegg foretok vi en syntetisk rating av Itslearning ved å analysere deres likviditet og soliditet. Videre gjennomførte vi en framskriving av regnskapet og kapitalkrav basert på funn i den strategiske analysen samt regnskapsanalysen. Av dette regnskapet og de aktuelle kapitalkravene beregnet vi et prisestimat på egenkapitalen basert på både fri kontantstrøm til egenkapital og totalkapital, og superprofitt til egenkapital og totalkapital. Dette prisestimatet brukte vi deretter til å vekte kapitalkravet i en iterativ prosess som gjør at prisestimatet fra EK-metoden og TK-metoden konvergerer mot én verdi. I tillegg benyttet vi en supplerende metode for verdivurdering, der vi vurderte prisestimatet mot verdier vi beregner ved hjelp av multipler fra komparative selskap i LMS-bransjen. Av den strategiske analysen fant vi at Itslearning er i besittelse av en strategisk fordel i form av en ressursfordel. Ressursfordelen stammer fra at Itslearning har et sterkt merkevarenavn i Norge, produktet deres er bedre enn konkurrentenes og deres humankapital som bidrar til bedre produkt, høyere salg og mindre tidssvinn. Disse konklusjonene ble bekreftet av funn i regnskapsanalysen. I fremtiden forventer vi at ressursfordelen de har i produktet sitt vil forsvinne ettersom konkurrentene vil kunne imitere dette. Ressursfordelen i deres humankapital vil derimot fortsette å eksistere i fremtiden. Effekten av fordelen i merkevarenavnet vil bli mindre etter hvert som mer av deres omsetning kommer fra utlandet ettersom denne fordelen antas å kun eksistere i Norge. Vi får et verdiestimat etter konvergering på NOK 374 420 212. For å evaluere usikkerheten rundt estimatet foretok vi en sensitivitetsanalysen som tok for seg de fire kritiske faktorene driftsinntektsvekst, omløpet til netto driftseiendeler, netto driftsmargin og risikofri rente. Denne analysen viste at verdiestimatet er sensitivt for små endringer i disse. Prisestimatet fra multippelanalysen ga i verdier som lå i gjennomsnitt rundt det vi fant i fundamentalanalysen. Vi vurderer derfor ikke å justere vårt estimat etter å ha sammenlignet med komparative bedrifter i bransjen. Vi mener at en fornuftig pris på egenkapitalen til Itslearning er NOK 374 420 212. Med et antall utestående aksjer på 158 390 tilsvarer det en aksjepris på NOK 2 364

Evidence from Social Service Enhancement Projects: Selected Cases from Norway's HUSK Project

Through this article the authors describe the social service context of the HUSK (The University Research Program to Support Selected Municipal Social Service Offices) projects and briefly describe 10 of the 50 projects funded throughout the country. The welfare state context for the cases and the criteria for case selection are also provided. The 10 cases are organized into three categories that feature the role of dialogue, educational innovation, and service innovation. These cases provide the foundation for the analysis and implications located in the subsequent articles of the special issue