Employability of Foreign Graduate Students in Sweden and Finland: Attraction, Integration and Employment of International Graduates in National Labour Market

The thesis focuses on the phenomenon of employability among foreign graduate students in Finland and Sweden and how it is supported by the national higher education and migration policies. To do that, the thesis aims to analyse how both countries attract foreign students to higher education institutions, what conditions they create for their successful integration to the local society and labour market and, finally, how well the foreign degree students get employed after graduation. In the theoretical part, the paper investigates the countries’ policies and how they support or challenge the foreign students’ employability. The empirical part represents the data collected through questionnaire. As the result of the performed analysis, it is clear that both countries undergo similar processes in terms of internationalisation of higher education and, therefore, encounter comparable difficulties on the way of integration of the foreign students to the national market. However, student immigration regulations and higher education policies tend to be slightly more inclusive in Finland than in Sweden. The thesis also revealed that nearly all respondents considered an opportunity to sustain employment in the country, and despite a number of mentioned difficulties, the majority of the respondents managed to find employment within a short period of time. The reported satisfaction with employment is also quite high in both countries. Overall, this thesis demonstrated a high capacity of both countries towards accepting and integrating international students what serves a good example of an inclusive labour environment - an integral part of the modern welfare states

The Influence of Climate Change Considerations on Energy Policy: The Case of Russia

To those working on climate change it is obvious that energy policy should be influenced by climate change considerations. The question that this paper seeks to answer is, to what extent do they influence policy and what contribution can a careful analysis of the costs and benefits of climate change options have on the formulation of that policy. We seek to understand this by looking in some detail at energy policy formulation in Russia. To do so it is necessary to look at the whole set of issues that determine energy policy. These include energy security, macroeconomic and uncertainty factors, local environmental issues and social issues. The analysis has been carried out for a specific case – that of the RF, where energy policy is currently under formulation to 2010. Two options have been looked at: a “High Coal” option, where there would be a substantial change in fuel mix away from gas to coal; and a “High Gas” option where the current fuel mix is retained and the increase in demand is met from all sources in proportion to current use. The analysis shows that, at international prices for fuels, the “High Coal” option is attractive. However, when we include the potential decline of price for natural gas in the European market, the relative preference for this option drops dramatically but it still remains the preferred option. When, account is also taken of the carbon benefits of the High Gas option, using plausible values for carbon, the attraction of the High Coal option is further reduced but not altered. When finally account is taken of the health associated with the lower use of coal in the High Gas option, the preference can be reversed but it requires a critical value for the health benefits. This critical value – at around $3,000 for a life year lost -- is plausible for the RF, if anything the actual value is probably higher. What the analysis shows is the need for a careful evaluation of the different factors determining energy policy. Among these is climate change. It is not the critical factor but it can be an important one. Perhaps more important are the environmental benefits that go with the lower carbon High Gas options.Climate policy, Russia, Ancillary benefits

Air Pollution Costs in Ukraine

The paper presents estimation of the health losses from urban air pollution in Ukraine. The methodology developed by US EPA and adjusted in Russia for Eastern European transition countries was applied for health risk assessment. PM2.5 was identified as the major source of human health risk, based on experience from the Russian studies. In the absence of reliable computed concentrations of PM2.5, the study was based on monitoring data of total suspended particle (TSP) emissions in Ukraine. Additional cases of mortality and morbidity were calculated based on reporting data on TSP concentration that was recalculated into PM2.5. Then the concentration–response function was applied to estimate individual risk. Next, individual risk was applied to the population exposed to the concentration reported for each city included in the analysis (we selected most polluted cities). For each city we considered individual data on baseline mortality and morbidity and population structure. In total, air pollution related mortality represents about 6 percent of total mortality in Ukraine. In Russia the corresponding indicator totals about 4 percent. The relative mortality risk attributed to air pollution calculated per 100 000 population in both countries is about 55-59 cases. Since applied method is sensitive to the primary data uncertainties we conducted sensitivity analysis applying Monte-Carlo method. Economic damage related to mortality risk was estimated at about 4 percent of GDP. There was no relevant WTP study in Ukraine therefore we applied the benefit-transfer method in order to estimate VSL, since mortality attributed to air pollution is major component of health losses (about 94 percent). In order to compare and aggregate mortality and morbidity risks we recalculated them in DALY. Then morbidity represents about 30 percent of total air pollution health load. Data on baseline morbidity is less reliable than data on baseline mortality; therefore the morbidity risk estimates are more uncertain than mortality estimates. It is likely that morbidity risk is underestimated. Regardless of uncertainties mentioned above and some problems with reported data we can conclude that the mortality risk attributed to air pollution is significant. Therefore, costs of air pollution in Ukraine are sizable and in the nearest future may offset the economic growth. Recovery of the Ukrainian economy based on restoration of polluting industries may lead to stagnation since mortality and morbidity risks not only puts burden on the economy, but also reduce labor force.Air Pollution, Ukraine, Environmental Damages

Introduction of ISO management systems in municipal enterprises providing water supply, water preparation and wastewater treatment in the major cities of the Russian Federation

This article gives information about current situation in the introduction of management systems that comply with ISO standards at water utilities in major Russian cities. Analysis of collected data has shown that the number of plants with international certificates is not large. It might be due to the fact that water and wastewater treatment plants in Russia used to be monopolies on the water services market and worked without any competitors until recently. Constant underfinancing of municipal institutes of water industry also interferes with international certification and other direction of forced development. The article analyses basic reasons for management systems' implementation on municipal water utilities. It compares experience and the results of implementation of Environmental Management Systems complying with ISO 14001 standard on water utilities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. It analyses prospects of international certification of water industry facilities at the current stage of Russian society development. © 2017 WIT Press

Plio-Pliocene vole fauna from Zverinogolovskoye locality (Southern Trans-Urals region)

The Plio-Pleistocene arvicoline fauna of Zverinogolovskoye is revised. The molar morphology of Pliomys sp., Borsodia praehungarica, Pitymimomys ex gr. inceptor, Pitymimomys baschkiricus, Mimomys ex gr. hajnackensis, Mimomys polonicus, Mimomys hintoni, and M. cf. reidi is described. Biozones of most forms indicate the Late Pliocene-earliest Pleistocene interval (Villanyian European Land Mammal Age, zones MN16 to MN17). The vole fauna includes common species occurring in Western Europe, the Russian Plain, and West Siberia. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA

Folklore and literary tradition in the riddles of Basil Levshin

В статье рассматриваются прозаические загадки писателя второй половины XVIII века Василия Левшина в контексте русской фольклорной и литературной традиций. Загадки классифицируются по их тематической направленности, способам создания интерпретационного поля, субъектно-объектной организации. В процессе сопоставительного анализа автор приходит к заключению, что большинству загадок писателя свойственна познавательно-эвристическая направленность. В них нашла отражение как когнитивная картина мира в представлении современного писателю общества, так и специфические особенности национальной концептосферы, а также — представления самого автора о мифологической модели мира.At the article the prosaic riddles of Basil Levshin, the writer of the second half of the XVIII century, are considered in the context of Russian folklore and literary traditions. Riddles are classified according to their thematic focus, a way to create interpretive field, the subject-object organization. In the process of comparative analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that most of the riddles of the writer characterized by cognitive and heuristic orientation. They reflected both cognitive picture of the world in the representation of contemporary society, and the specifics of the national concept sphere, as well as the submission of the author of the mythological model of the world