Territorial Development of European Cross-Border Areas from the Perspective of Statistical Data and Analyses

Border regions are often considered peripheral regions that lag behind in regional development. However, surprisingly few studies have applied statistical data and analyses to examine the territorial development of European border areas. This paper discusses the development of European cross-border areas (CBAs) from the perspective of statistical data and analyses. It considers the territorial development of the CBAs, and the specificities and challenges of statistical data and methods when studying such territorial development. The study makes use of data and methods developed in the Ulysses research project, which was carried out during 2010–2012 as part of the ESPON 2013 program. This paper illustrates how statistical analyses reveal the diverse development of European CBAs, and points out the kind of challenges faced in the statistical analyses of the territorial development of CBAs. The concepts of border area and ‘border effect’ are used to illustrate these. Lastly, the paper addresses the policy relevance of the research findings, and how this may affect the research process

Cross-border knowledge transfer and innovation in the European neighbourhood: Tourism cooperation at the Finnish-Russian border

Knowledge transfer and innovation cooperation between the EU and its neighbours has remained weakly developed. To promote this cooperation, the EU has set up initiatives for the European neighbourhood. The issue has, however, received very limited scholarly attention in the field of tourism. This research gap is addressed here via interview data collected from participants in tourism related EU-funded projects in the Finnish-Russian cross-border region. These underline the importance of EU-funding in facilitating knowledge transfer and innovation between Finland and Russia. While language issues, and differences in business culture and administrative/legislative systems between the two countries, constitute barriers for practical cross-border cooperation, it is cross-border differences in culture and technological capabilities that drive cross-border knowledge transfer and innovation in the cross-border region. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for promoting future cross-border cooperation in innovation and tourism

Epämääräinen Venäjä-osaaminen

Venäjä-osaamisen käsite ilmaantui kielenkäyttöömme 1990-luvun puolivälissä. Neuvostoliiton hajottua ja Venäjän siirryttyä uuteen yhteiskuntajärjestelmään valtakunnan tasolla syntyi huoli Venäjä-osaamisen riittämättömyydestä ja Venäjäosaajien puutteesta. Käsite on ollut käytössä nyt reilun vuosikymmenen ajan ja sen merkitys on entisestään korostunut

Research design for studying development in border areas: case studies towards the big picture?

This paper is concerned with the research design of four recent border related research projects, all operating in European multi-case study frameworks. All these studied projects have the aim of producing, on the one hand, regionally specific research results and, on the other hand, results that bear relevance to general border theories. Furthermore, most of these researches have to provide messages for policy makers and not only on the local-regional but on a more general, European level. This paper discusses what research designs the projects have chosen to operate in to reach all of these objectives. The focus is on two major aspects that have an impact on the research designs and are connected to the need for abstraction from specific contextual cases: comparative framework and policy relevance on different levels.Cet article examine comment quatre projets récents consacrés à l’étude des frontières, tous opérant dans des cadres européens d’études multi-cas, ont conçu leur travail de recherche. Ces études visent à produire à la fois des résultats spécifiques au niveau régional et des résultats pertinents pour les théories générales relatives aux frontières. En outre, la plupart de ces recherches sont censées ouvrir des pistes aux responsables politiques, tant au niveau local-régional qu’à l’échelle de l’Europe. L’article examine dans quels modèles de recherche les quatre projets ont choisi d’opérer pour répondre à ces différents objectifs. L’accent est mis sur deux aspects majeurs impactant les modèles de recherche et liés aux impératifs d’abstraction à partir de cas contextuels spécifiques: cadre comparatif et pertinence au niveau politique à différentes échelles

Verkkopohjaista tiedekasvatusoppimateriaalia rakentamassa – synteesin luominen sisällön, pedagogiikan ja teknologian (TPACK) välille

Science education and e-learning materials are key concepts of the 2010s, when it comes to adapting education and teaching to the needs of the changing society. This article discusses what factors need to be taken into consideration when designing e-learning science education material, which supports the implementation of Finnish national science education objectives in schools. The study is based on “Border or no borders” project, which produced e-learning science education material for schools in the context of border studies. Research data include the authors’ notes from the first six months of the project implementation (May-October 2014) and feedback from the students and teachers, who tested the pilot material. The data was analyzed using theory based content analysis and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge -model, which is designed to support the integration of technology in teaching. Our study shows that in order to support the advancement of science education objectives in schools, special attention needs to be paid to the scientific perspective in the e-learning science education material.Tiedekasvatus ja sähköinen oppimateriaali kuuluvat 2010-luvun avainkäsitteisiin puhuttaessa koulutuksen ja opetuksen mukauttamisesta muuttuvan yhteiskunnan ja tulevaisuuden tarpeisiin. Tässä artikkelissa tarkastelemme, millaisia tekijöitä verkkopohjaista tiedekasvatusoppimateriaalia kehitettäessä tulee huomioida. Artikkelin tutkimusaineisto kerättiin RajatOn-hankkeessa, jossa tuotettiin vuosina 20142015 verkkopohjaista tiedekasvatusoppimateriaalia rajojen tutkimiseen

Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland

The Finnish–Russian borderland has transformed in the last three decades from two isolated national territories into a transition zone, where the ‘other’ culture and society is ever more present. This paper analyses what kinds of perceptions Finnish and Russian children have of the border and the borderland today. It also examines children’s territorial identifications in the borderland. The research is based on 263 mental maps collected from 9–15-year-old children in the cities of Lappeenranta (Finland) and Vyborg (Russia) and the village of Pervomayskoe (Russia) between 2013 and 2017. The analysis of the maps illustrates that the children participating in the study perceive the Finnish–Russian border mainly as a place for border crossings, although they continue to use the border as a tool for constructing socio-spatial distinctions. In this way, the children actively participate in processes of bordering and play an important part in the social life of the borderland. The participants’ perceptions of the borderland are connected to the national and local contexts that they live in but vary widely between individuals. The paper argues that the local border-related phenomena and children’s border-crossing experiences are increasingly relevant for their national and local identification processes. Besides providing novel information regarding Finnish and Russian children’s perceptions and identifications in the Finnish–Russian borderland, the paper adjusts the mental mapping method to a borderland context and enhances our understanding of the complexity of the bordering processes taking place in borderlands.   Popular article based on the paper, with commentaries, is published in Versus Research Debate

Navigating the ‘grey zone’: academic collaboration and research on/in Russia during geopolitical crisis

Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and attack on Ukraine in 2022 have led to widespread sanctions being placed on Russia by the European Union, including sanctions related to academic cooperation. National governments, supranational bodies, science academies and research institutions as well as publishers have likewise formed policies suspending and restricting collaboration regarding Russia-related research. These policies are, however, not straight forward and there are many practical and ethical questions that individual researchers must ask themselves. At Finnish Geography Days 2023 in Joensuu, a panel was dedicated to discussing some of these questions. This article summarizes main themes discussed during the panel and sheds light on the multiple ways researchers experience and navigate the ‘grey zone’ of academic collaboration and research on/in Russia in the current geopolitical context. The article emphasizes the necessity of further discussing the effectiveness and impact of the sanctions and restrictions: Are they reasonable? Who benefits from them, and who suffers