Fertility trends and differentials in the Nordic countries - Footprints of welfare policies and challenges on the road ahead

This paper summarises the core findings of a recently finished network project on fertility dynamics and family policies in the Nordic countries. The network explored the findings of previous and ongoing separate research activities from a comparative perspective and carried out specially designed, comparative analyses for this project. Based on the network results and other existing research we review the collected evidence of the potential impacts of Nordic welfare policies on fertility. With cohort fertility levels around replacement level, the Nordic countries apparently have less to worry about concerning their future population development than most other European countries. Yet, some elements in the present trends suggest that there are still challenges ahead. In particular, we argue that the current fertility pattern may not be compatible with gender equality, a main goal for our societies.

Explaining External Support for Insurgent Groups

AbstractMany rebel organizations receive significant assistance from external governments, yet the reasons why some rebels attract foreign support while others do not is poorly understood. We analyze factors determining external support for insurgent groups from a principal-agent perspective. We focus on both the supply side, that is, when states are willing to support insurgent groups in other states, and the demand side, that is, when groups are willing to accept such support, with the conditions that this may entail. We test our hypotheses using new disaggregated data on insurgent groups and foreign support. Our results indicate that external rebel support is influenced by characteristics of the rebel group as well as linkages between rebel groups and actors in other countries. More specifically, we find that external support is more likely for moderately strong groups where support is more likely to be offered and accepted, in the presence of transnational constituencies, international rivalries, and when the government receives foreign support.</jats:p

Ethnonationalist Triads: Assessing the Influence of Kin Groups on Civil Wars

Although the case-based literature suggests that kin groups are prominent in ethnonationalist conflicts, quantitative studies of civil war onset have both overaggregated and underaggregated the role of ethnicity, by looking at civil war at the country level instead of among specific groups and by treating individual countries as closed units, ignoring groups' transnational links. In this article the authors integrate transnational links into a dyadic perspective on conflict between marginalized ethnic groups and governments. They argue that transnational links can increase the risk of conflict as transnational kin support can facilitate insurgencies and are difficult for governments to target or deter. The empirical analysis, using new geocoded data on ethnic groups on a transnational basis, indicates that the risk of conflict is high when large, excluded ethnic groups have transnational kin in neighboring countries, and it provides strong support for the authors' propositions on the importance of transnational ties in ethnonationalist conflict.</jats:p

Nasjonalgalleriets basisutstilling Kunst 1 - om museale tumulter

Basisutstillingen Kunst 1 ved Nasjonalgalleriet i 2005 var i stor grad en tematisk ordnet utstilling og ikke kronologisk ordnet, som tidligere. Dette utløste mye debatt i media. Artikkelen presenterer noen resonnement som kan bidra til å forstå bakgrunnen for konflikten. Debattantenes måte å argumentere på og hva argumentene impliserer av ulike historiesyn blir belyst. Det blir brukt et analytisk skille mellom sentrifugal og sentripetal lesning av kunst. Dette leder til at det avslutningsvis identifiseres en viss interdiskursivitet mellom den klassiske og moderne kunst – forstått som at den eldre kunsten behandles som samtidig

Digital tasks in English Vg1, Norway.-Do digital tasks used for learning English Vg1 promote Students’ communicative competence?

In recent decades the focus on technology has made its way into the teaching profession. With the introduction of computers and the Internet in upper secondary schools in Norway, there has been an increased attention to how these digital tools contribute in the learning and teaching of a language. Both the Common European Framework for Languages and the KP06/10/13 state that digital competence and CLT is important. It is therefore of utmost interest to see if websites directed at learning English entail elements of digital competence as well as communicative competence. This thesis aims to find out more about digital communicative tasks in English Vg1 in Norway by making use of former research on communicative tasks.Master i EngelskMAHF-ENGENG35

Agglomeration and performance in Norwegian tourism

PhD thesis in Hotel and tourism managementNatural-based attractions are central for Norwegian tourism. Northern lights, rugged arctic landscapes, fjords and mountains, rural areas with culture landscapes are all part of the Norwegian experience. However, Norwegian tourism businesses, particularly in rural areas, struggle to gain profitability. High-cost level and seasonality impose challenges to tourism firms. As the attractions are mainly nature-based and located along the coast, the country is also a thriving destination to cruise tourism. The growth in cruise tourism is mostly due to increased competitiveness of cruises relative to other modes of travel, food, and accommodation services. For the fjord and coastal destinations, cruises bring in large volumes of tourists to the benefit of many tourist suppliers, but they also compete with onshore services. Moreover, the tourism experience relies on construction of a seamless product – as opposed to many other industry sectors, competitiveness goes beyond intra-market concerns, as each firm in the tourism agglomeration rely on its collective competitiveness. Since production and consumption is geographically localized, the limited product range is a disadvantage to many rural destinations. Rural destinations may also be more prone to seasonal variations, since unlike urban destinations they do not benefit from wider market segments and activities in the off season. This thesis sheds light on these issues by recognizing the external effects that arise from geographically localized production. Market characteristics on the supply and demand sides spill over to other firms in the same area and to adjacent areas. The availability of register data on tourism firms, accompanied by refined regression techniques enables spatial analysis of tourism development. In the context of cruise tourism, a spatial econometric model is applied to investigate the effect of cruise tourism on onshore HORECA (hotels, restaurants, cafés, and similar) firms. The results indicate modest, but significant and positive effects of cruise tourism on demand of onshore firms. Urbanization is of particular relevance to tourism because of the localized nature of production, as well as of the implications of product range on competitiveness. Our results are in line with the presumption that population growth is strongly associated with decreased seasonality. Moreover, seasonal variations, approximated by sold guest nights, is detrimental to revenue of accommodation firms. Attractions in the off season appear more promising than prolonging the peak season, which is supported by the finding that areas that have seized the opportunity of developing skiing tourism have found a successful remedy to revenue deterioration. The external effects of revenue management decisions should not be neglected; first, we see empirically that hoteliers respond to falling demand in the off season not by dropping prices, but rather by allowing the occupancy rate to fall. Secondly, as we find that diversity of tourism firms associates strongly and positively with firm survival, more refined pricing decisions, that also encompass a broader destination-specific perspective is called upon

Civil war: is it all about disease and xenophobia? A comment on Letendre, Fincher & Thornhill

Letendre, Fincher & Thornhill (2010) argue that pathogen intensity provides the ultimate explanation for why some countries are more prone to civil war than others. They argue that the economic and political factors highlighted in previous research on civil war are largely caused by underlying differences in pathogen intensity, and contend that disease proneness increases the risk of civil war through its effects on resource competition and xenophobia. They present empirical evidence that they interpret as consistent with their argument: a statistically significant correlation between pathogen intensity and civil war onset. In this comment, we raise concerns over their interpretation of the empirical evidence and their proposed causal mechanisms. We find that the data provide stronger evidence for the reverse causal relationship, namely that civil war causes disease to become more prevalent. This finding is consistent with the literatures on the public health effects of civil war as well as research on state capacity and public health

Houston, We Have a Problem: Enhancing Academic Freedom and Transparency in Publishing Through Post-Publication Debate

Debates over controversial articles often highlight important issues regarding academic freedom, transparency, and how to handle disagreements in publishing. I argue that a response outlining criticism is generally a more productive course of action than calling for retraction. However, there are a number of constraints that impede meaningful debates, and a problematic divergence between our common ideals of open research and free debate and the actual practices that we see in academic publishing, where our current practices often undermine transparency, replication, and scientific debate. I argue that research can benefit from more explicit recognition of politics and preferences in how we evaluate research as well greater opportunities for post-publication debate. The successful initiatives to promote data replicability over the past decade provide useful lessons for what improved post-publication transparency may look like

Barriers and drivers to a circular economy for vegetables in the Norwegian food sector

Food systems are pressing the environment in multiple ways. Moreover, some of these pressures are due to inefficient resource use. It is estimated that as much as one third of all food being produced globally is lost or wasted. One of the most wasted food categories globally is fresh fruit and vegetables. In order to avoid the crossing of planetary boundaries, scientific and political communities have signaled the urgent need to change current practices in the global food system. As a response to this, the concept of circular economy is increasingly being recognized as a possible approach to create more sustainable food systems. However, there is a need for more knowledge on barriers and drivers to a circular economy transition, in order to move from theory to practice. With the aim of contributing to such knowledge, this study investigates the barriers and drivers to a transition to a circular economy for vegetables in the Norwegian food system. Through a qualitative case study, perspectives from leaders in businesses working in the various components of the value chain for vegetables have been collected and analyzed. The study takes on a systems perspective and holds the ambition of gaining a greater understanding of how the barriers and drivers are relevant and manifested across the value chain, as well as how these factors are connected to other actors, institutions, and spheres in the greater system. The findings of this study indicate that central barriers are: hindering regulations; lack of political incentives and economic risk; the size and standardization of economic processes; consumer preferences; the conflict between vegetables and supporting resources; knowledge gaps and lack of awareness; lack of holistic thinking and collaboration; lack of willingness to change; and power structures in the value chain. Furthermore, the identified drivers are: increased knowledge and awareness; circular approaches are becoming profitable; political responsibility, incentives, and guidelines; collaboration and holistic thinking; new technologies; and strategic division of power. Thus, the drivers are both direct responses to the perceived barriers, or separate factors seen to enable circular initiatives. Moreover, this study finds that many of the identified factors affecting a transition to a circular economy for vegetables are interlinked, overlapping and dependent on each other. This should be taken into consideration when creating measures aimed at facilitating a transition to a circular economy for vegetables in the Norwegian food system.M-IE