Human rights education—a republican perspective

The concept of freedomis at the moral core of human rights and human rights education. In the liberal tradition, the prevalent understanding of freedom is non-interference. In the republican tradition, however, freedom is primarily conceived of as non-dominationrather than non-interference. This article discusses whether the republican ideal of freedom is conducive to the ambition of human rights education to strengthen and develop respect for human rights, and to build and promote a culture of human rights. The article arguesthat a republican perspective, although challenging, is important, because it identifies central aspects of freedom that are vital to the fundamental standing of persons and to living a life in dignity, and because it emphasises active citizenship and civic virtue as important for realising freedom. It further argues that a republican perspective requires a multidisciplinary approach to human rights education.publishedVersio

Alcohol Consumption Among Hospitality Students and Hospitality Employees: A Replication and Pilot Study

This is a descriptive study that investigates alcohol consumption among hospitality students and hospitality employees. A comparison is made to other majors and to those employed elsewhere as well as to prior research in Scandinavia and the US. In a general sense the claim that hospitality students and hospitality employees consume alcohol at higher rates than students and employees with different affiliations is confirmed. Explanations for the disparate alcohol consumption are proposed

Mediatised human rights education: the (challenging) role of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation

The purpose of this article is to analyse and discuss Selma and the Quest for the Perfect Faith, a TV series made by The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and promoted for use in schools, and the accompanying teaching material about freedom of religion made by Save the Children. We discuss the series and material critically from a human rights and a human rights education perspective, and evaluate their suitability for use in religious education. The article is informed by mediatisation theory and argues that freedom of religion is primarily operationalised in accordance with journalistic criteria for presenting religion, and that it does not sufficiently balance the rights of children and the liberty of parents. This is inconsistent with sound human rights education and highlights the need for critical awareness when operationalising educational material produced and distributed by media actors for use in the classroom.publishedVersio

Emplotting a privileged position. The construction of the history of secular humanism in Norwegian religious education textbooks

There has recently been an increasing focus on the inclusion of non-religious world-views in religious education (RE). An important concern for the legitimacy of an RE subject in public education in liberal democracies is that all traditions, whether religious or secular, are treated in an equal and inclusive manner. This article examines the Norwegian case, where secular worldviews have been integrated as a central part of the compulsory national curriculum in RE for over 20 years. It does so by considering how the history of secular humanism is constructed in Norwegian RE textbooks. Theoretically, the article draws on the postmodern historiographic critique presented by Hayden White. A central concept is emplotment and the idea that emplotments convey moral arguments. Three narratives – ‘rationality’, ‘humanity’ and ‘rights and democracy’ – are identified as the core of the history of secular humanism being told in the material. The article suggests that the way these narratives are emplotted grants secular humanism a privileged position and that the fair and balanced representation of worldviews in RE education calls for alternative emplotments of this history.publishedVersio

The role of insomnia in the treatment of chronic fatigue

AbstractBackgroundThe definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) overlaps with definitions of insomnia, but there is limited knowledge about the role of insomnia in the treatment of chronic fatigue.AimsTo test if improvement of insomnia during treatment of chronic fatigue was associated with improved outcomes on 1) fatigue and 2) cortisol recovery span during a standardized stress exposure.MethodsPatients (n=122) with chronic fatigue received a 3.5-week inpatient return-to-work rehabilitation program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and had been on paid sick leave>8weeks due their condition. A physician and a psychologist examined the patients, assessed medication use, and SCID-I diagnoses. Patients completed self-report questionnaires measuring fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety, and insomnia before and after treatment. A subgroup (n=25) also completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) before and after treatment. Seven cortisol samples were collected during each test and cortisol spans for the TSST-G were calculated.ResultsA hierarchical regression analysis in nine steps showed that insomnia improvement predicted improvement in fatigue, independently of age, gender, improvement in pain intensity, depression and anxiety. A second hierarchical regression analysis showed that improvement in insomnia significantly predicted the cortisol recovery span after the TSST-G independently of improvement in fatigue.ConclusionImprovement in insomnia severity had a significant impact on both improvement in fatigue and the ability to recover from a stressful situation. Insomnia severity may be a maintaining factor in chronic fatigue and specifically targeting this in treatment could increase treatment response

The Relationship Between Improvement in Insomnia Severity and Long-Term Outcomes in the Treatment of Chronic Fatigue

Background: The current treatments of choice for patients with chronic fatigue are moderately effective. One way to advance treatments is identifying process variables associated with good treatment outcomes. There is little knowledge regarding a possible association between insomnia and long-term outcomes in the treatment of chronic fatigue.Aims: Testing whether (1) improvement in insomnia is associated with improvement in levels of fatigue at 1-year follow-up, and (2) if such a relationship remains when controlling for improvement in levels of anxiety and depression, and pain in patients with chronic fatigue.Methods: Patients having been on sick leave 8 weeks or more due to chronic fatigue were referred to a return-to-work program. They received an intensive 3.5-week inpatient treatment program based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Before treatment and at 1-year follow-up the patients completed questionnaires assessing levels of insomnia severity, pain, anxiety and depression, and fatigue.Results: A regression analysis found that changes in insomnia-severity were associated with changes in fatigue-levels at 1-year follow-up. When changes in levels of anxiety and depression were entered in the regression analysis, anxiety and depression was significantly associated with levels of fatigue but insomnia was not. The association between anxiety and depression and fatigue was at a trend level when pain was entered into the model.Conclusion: Long-term improvement in insomnia severity was significantly associated with long-term improvement in chronic fatigue, but not independently of long-term improvement in anxiety and depression, and pain.Trial Registration:https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT01568970

The Basel I Floor – Transitional Arrangement and Backstop to the Capital Adequacy Framework

Capital requirements are intended to ensure that banks have a certain amount of capital to absorb unexpected losses. These requirements take into account the riskiness of banks’ various loan exposures. Such risk weighting implies higher capital requirements for riskier exposures, e.g. small business loans, than for safer loans such as residential mortgages with a low loan-to-value ratio. Under the current framework for banking regulation, Basel II, banks have the option of internally calculating risk weights for their loan exposures. The risk weights are calculated using risk models that must be approved by the supervisory authorities before the banks can apply them. The former framework, Basel I, had a fixed set of risk weights that banks had to use. Basel II also defines a set of standardised risk weights that banks use when they do not calculate risk weights internally. When banks calculate their own risk weights, the capital requirements can become more risk-sensitive and more consistent with banks’ risk management practices and risk pricing. Banks can attain lower capital requirements measured in NOK by calculating risk weights internally. Basel II was introduced in the European Economic Area (EEA) in 2007. To prevent banks' internal risk weights from reducing risk-weighted assets and thus banks' capital needs too much and too quickly, temporary, lower limits were set for how much capital could be reduced. These limits were set relative to the previous framework, Basel I, which had a fixed set of risk weights. These limits are referred to as the "Basel I floors", or Basel II transitional arrangements, and in this Commentary are hereinafter referred as "the floor". In 2007, the floor was 95 percent of the Basel I requirement. In 2008, the floor was 90 percent and 80 percent in 2009. Although the floor was originally intended to expire at the end of 2009, a floor of 80 percent was retained and continues to apply in Norway and most EU countries. In a press release dated 13 July 2009, the Basel Committee announced that it had agreed to keep the floor in place beyond the end of 2009 without mentioning when it should expire. Applying the floor has become more complicated than necessary because it was not uniformly implemented in the EEA. In the Basel Committee's original proposal, the floor is, in reality, a floor for calculating risk-weighted assets. The EU legislation that implemented Basel II in the EEA defined the floor as a minimum level of capital. The two versions do not always produce the same result. This Commentary first looks at how differing interpretations of the floor result in country-to-country differences in capital requirements for banks. This is followed by a discussion of alternative backstop mechanisms that have been proposed in connection with the new Basel III framework which is being phased in from 2013 to 2019.publishedVersio

Alcohol Consumption Among Hospitality and Nonhospitality Majors: Is it an Issue of Personality

Young adults, including university students, are more likely than other groups to engage in risky alcohol consumption. Employees at hospitality establishments and students at hospitality programs have been found to engage in heavy drinking. Excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to serious illness, cognitive difficulties, risky behaviors and sexual dysfunction. High levels of alcohol consumption, high rates of liver cirrhosis, elevated risk of alcohol-associated cancer and high prevalence of alcoholism have been found among restaurant employees. Research has started to explore some of the antecedent conditions and influences that may lead to high levels of alcohol consumption. Initial findings suggest that social modeling, subjective and group norms, personality variables, structural elements of the work place, and living conditions may be associated with alcohol consumption, while work-place stress appears not related to alcohol consumption (Borchgrevink, Borchgrevink, & Sciarini, in review; Borchgrevink, Sciarini, & Borchgrevink, 2010; Kjærheim et al., 1995; Kjærheim, Mykletun, & Haldorsen, 1996; Larsen, 1994; Larsen & Jørgensen, 2003.) Research also suggests that personality variables, such as extroversion and neuroticism, which are found to be predictive of alcohol consumption (Cook, Young, Taylor & Bedford, 1998), are also associated with hospitality as occupational choice (Teng, 2008)

Management of Financial Crises in Cross-Border Banks

Financial integration in Europe is increasing. The emergence of large, cross-border banks poses new challenges to the authorities. The management of financial crises in such banks will involve a number of authorities in many countries. Conflicts of interest between the authorities in different countries may hinder effective crisis solutions. Crisis management agreements between supervisory authorities and central banks aim to clarify the division of responsibilities and facilitate the exchange of relevant information. The Nordic central bank governors signed an agreement in 2003. This article provides an overview of developments and discusses the challenges facing the authorities

Analyses of Effects of the Residential Mortgage Loan Regulation

This article analyses the effects of the regulation on residential mortgage loans issued in 2017. The analyses are preliminary as tax data for 2017 are not yet available. Residential mortgage loan requirements were laid down in the form of a regulation in 2015 and tightened on 1 January 2017. The current regulation applies until summer 2018.publishedVersio