Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Arctic: comparing the ways of organizing voluntary work in Northwest Russia and Northern Norway.

This Research Communication presents preliminary results of an ongoing Russian-Norwegian research project about volunteer work in two border regions in the Arctic –– Troms and Finnmark county in Norway and Murmansk oblast in Russia. Here, we aim to provide a deeper understanding of the ways in which volunteer work with vulnerable groups was organized during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in two national and regional settings, the role and scope of volunteer work during the pandemic in the two regions, and how this activity is framed by structural and political differences between Norway and Russia. The study adds knowledge to the field of implementation of national COVID-19 strategies in diverse regional settings and understanding the role of volunteerism in crisis response in providing for the health and well-being of vulnerable groups in the Arctic. Our study reveals that both in Norway and Russia responses to the pandemic include mobilization of volunteers and the rise in the volunteer movement, but volunteerism has different traditions and scopes in Norway and Russia. Well-established NGOs in Troms and Finnmark county were mobilized to act when the pandemic hit, and they took on new responsibilities for vulnerable groups. Such organizations were less developed in Murmansk oblast, and in order to effectively respond to the pandemic, new voluntary structures were quickly established in the form of united regional and municipal volunteer centres in addition to existing organizations. Our research shows that volunteerism is one of the most efficient tools for crisis response and that it adds an indispensable value to reducing the workload of public health and social care institutions in promoting health and well-being for vulnerable groups. Voluntary structures on the Norwegian side appear to be resilient and flexible to meet the needs of the target groups, while volunteerism in Murmansk oblast shows exceptional strength to grow, formalize, and mobilize during a very short period within crisis response.publishedVersio

Options available for profiling small samples: a review of sample amplification technology when combined with microarray profiling

The possibility of performing microarray analysis on limited material has been demonstrated in a number of publications. In this review we approach the technical aspects of mRNA amplification and several important implicit consequences, for both linear and exponential procedures. Amplification efficiencies clearly allow profiling of extremely small samples. The conservation of transcript abundance is the most important issue regarding the use of sample amplification in combination with microarray analysis, and this aspect has generally been found to be acceptable, although demonstrated to decrease in highly diluted samples. The fact that variability and discrepancies in microarray profiles increase with minute sample sizes has been clearly documented, but for many studies this does appear to have affected the biological conclusions. We suggest that this is due to the data analysis approach applied, and the consequence is the chance of presenting misleading results. We discuss the issue of amplification sensitivity limits in the light of reports on fidelity, published data from reviewed articles and data analysis approaches. These are important considerations to be reflected in the design of future studies and when evaluating biological conclusions from published microarray studies based on extremely low input RNA quantities

Voluntary work in the shadow of COVID-19: Experiences from a Norwegian-Russian border region in the Arctic

This commentary presents the results of a study on volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic in two neighbouring regions in the Arctic –– Troms og Finnmark county in Norway and Murmansk oblast in Russia. Our research shows that volunteering is one of the most efficient crisis response tools and that it adds indispensable value to reducing the workload of public health and social care institutions in promoting health and well-being for vulnerable groups. In both Norway and Russia, responses to the pandemic included the rise of the volunteer movement, but volunteering has different traditions and scopes in the two countries. Established NGOs in Troms og Finnmark ounty took on new responsibilities for vulnerable groups. Such organizations were less developed in Murmansk oblast, and new volunteer structures in the form of united regional and municipal volunteer centres were quickly established in addition to existing organizations

The covid-19 pandemic and civil society in a border region Mobilizing voluntary forces in Murmansk region, Russia, and Troms and Finnmark region, Norway

This report is based on the analysis of official and media texts describing the national and regional developments of the COVID crisis and the role of volunteer work. We also refer to official statistics, surveys, and research literature available on the topic. Additionally, we have conducted interviews with NGO leaders and volunteer personnel by phone and face-to-face. The data cover the period from March 2020 to June 2021.publishedVersio

Leverandørutvikling Forsvaret

Høsten 2019 besluttet Finnmark fylkeskommune å etablere prosjektet «Leverandørutvikling Forsvaret». Prosjektet ble etablert på initiativ fra Porsanger kommune, og med bakgrunn i re-etableringen av Finnmark Landforsvar på Porsangmoen for å bidra til å styrke lokal verdiskapning tilknyttet re-etableringen av Finnmark landforsvar og Forsvarets tilstedeværelse i Finnmark. Prosjektet startet opp 15. juni 2020 med to års finansiering, men har siden blitt utvidet ved to anledninger til å vare ut 2023. Troms og Finnmark fylkeskommune og Sapmi Næringshage har stått for organiseringen, i samarbeid med bl.a. NHO, NHO Arktis og Forsvarsbygg. Hovedmålet i prosjektet har vært å få flere lokale små og mellomstore bedrifter i Finnmark inn i forsvarssektorens leverandørportefølje, samt gjøre leverandørene i regionen mer bevisst og bedre rustet til å gripe mulighetene i forsvarsmarkedet. Prosjektet har søkt å oppnå dette gjennom: 1) Mobilisering og kompetanseheving innen faget offentlige anskaffelser blant regionens små og mellomstore bedrifter. 2) Nasjonal politisk påvirkning for å få forsvarssektoren til å rigge anbudskonkurranser slik at også lokale små og mellomstore bedrifter har mulighet til å delta.Leverandørutvikling ForsvaretpublishedVersio

Limitations of mRNA amplification from small-size cell samples

BACKGROUND: Global mRNA amplification has become a widely used approach to obtain gene expression profiles from limited material. An important concern is the reliable reflection of the starting material in the results obtained. This is especially important with extremely low quantities of input RNA where stochastic effects due to template dilution may be present. This aspect remains under-documented in the literature, as quantitative measures of data reliability are most often lacking. To address this issue, we examined the sensitivity levels of each transcript in 3 different cell sample sizes. ANOVA analysis was used to estimate the overall effects of reduced input RNA in our experimental design. In order to estimate the validity of decreasing sample sizes, we examined the sensitivity levels of each transcript by applying a novel model-based method, TransCount. RESULTS: From expression data, TransCount provided estimates of absolute transcript concentrations in each examined sample. The results from TransCount were used to calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient between transcript concentrations for different sample sizes. The correlations were clearly transcript copy number dependent. A critical level was observed where stochastic fluctuations became significant. The analysis allowed us to pinpoint the gene specific number of transcript templates that defined the limit of reliability with respect to number of cells from that particular source. In the sample amplifying from 1000 cells, transcripts expressed with at least 121 transcripts/cell were statistically reliable and for 250 cells, the limit was 1806 transcripts/cell. Above these thresholds, correlation between our data sets was at acceptable values for reliable interpretation. CONCLUSION: These results imply that the reliability of any amplification experiment must be validated empirically to justify that any gene exists in sufficient quantity in the input material. This finding has important implications for any experiment where only extremely small samples such as single cell analyses or laser captured microdissected cells are available

Næringsutvikling i samiske samfunn. En studie av sysselsetting og verdiskaping i nord

Source at https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/naringsutvikling-i-samiske-samfunn/id2676576/Denne rapporten inngår som en del av regjeringens Kunnskapsinnhenting ‐ verdiskaping i nord. En rekke sektorrapporter og rapporter med tverrgående tema er utarbeidet, men den samiske dimensjonen i fremtidig næringsutvikling ble i liten grad belyst gjennom disse studiene. Denne rapporten forsøker å gi et bilde av næringslivet i samiske områder og hvilke utviklingsmuligheter mht. verdiskaping som finnes innenfor noen utvalgte samiske næringer (reindrift, landbruk, fiskeri, reiseliv og medie‐/kulturnæringer). Framtidsutsiktene for disse næringene blir sett opp mot utviklingstrekk i befolknings‐ og sysselsettingsutviklingen i de samiske områdene, og mot utviklingen av «nye» næringer som havbruk, mineralutvikling, fornybar energi

Kunnskapsgrunnlaget for forvaltning av verneområder: Samiske perspektiver

Sametingsrådet har slått fast at det er behov for revidering av eldre verneområde forskrifter slik at samisk kultur- og næringsutøvelse får bedre vilkår i verneområder. Sametingsrådet har konstatert at det er behov for et styrket grunnkapsgrunnlag som synligjør hvordan dagens verneforskrifter fungerer og hvordan utfordringer samisk kulturutøvelse, samiske næringer og lokalsamfunn opplever i møte med vernede områder. Foreliggende rapport er et oppdragsarbeid for Sametinget som systematiserer dagens eksisterende kunnskap, supplert med nye data hentet fra direkte berørte. Rapporten oppsummerer åtte ulike funn og foreslår tiltak på fire ulike felter inkludert videre forskningsbehov om ovennevnte tema.Kunnskapsgrunnlaget for forvaltning av verneområder: Samiske perspektiverpublishedVersio

Hvor går veien? Kartlegging av samisk språk og kultur i språkforvaltningskommunene

Samisk og norsk er likeverdige språk i de 13 kommunene som inngår i forvaltningsområdet for samisk språklov. Rapporten kartlegger kompetansen i samisk språk og kultur, innenfor sektorene barnehage, grunnskole, videregående skole, helse og omsorg, barnevern, domstol og politi. Gjennomgående mangler det folk med fagutdanning som samtidig har kompetanse i samisk språk og kultur, innenfor alle de studerte sektorene. Denne «trippelkompetansen» er det særlig knapphet på i lule- og sørsamiske områder, men også i de fleste nordsamiske kommuner. Permisjoner med lønn, stipend, økt lønn, færre undervisningstimer og språkarbeidere uten fagutdanning er eksempler på virkemidler for å styrke samiskkompetansen. Rett til undervisning i/på samisk i grunnskolen er sterkest lovregulert og støttes med statlig finansiering, barnehagetilbud er også lovpålagt og styrkes med finansiering, fra Sametinget. Disse sektorene prioriteres høyest.Hvor går veien? Kartlegging av samisk språk og kultur i språkforvaltningskommunenepublishedVersio

Geopolitical tensions framing different industries in the European Arctic: aquaculture, forestry, mining, and tourism in question

Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine in early 2022 has brought geopolitics, particularly classical geopolitics, back into the political and economic discussions and decision-making. Discursive, as well as real-world change, has been rapid, as the turn of the 21st century was the time of globalisation and neoliberal ideology – the free movement of people, products, and services. However, in this paper, we argue that classical geopolitics has defined the development of Northern industries even before the war began in 2022. Our interview data (n = 60) collected in the advent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine reveal that the themes of state power; ‘hard’ security meaning military armament; the economy as a field of national interests; and spill-over effects of geopolitical tensions between superpowers have framed economic fortunes in the European Arctic. It is concluded that the state actors’ interests in the European Arctic’s physical space and natural assets will be increasingly expanding.publishedVersio