Showing papers by "University of Lapland published in 2000"

Artificial Nest Predation and Abundance of Birds Along an Urban Gradient

Abstract: We studied nest predation pressure on birds along an urban gradient in urban parks in three Finnish towns. Artificial ground nests with Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonicus) eggs were depredated more in the urban area than in the adjacent forest area. Within each town, the nest predation rate was higher in the town center than in the less urbanized area of detached houses. Predation rates did not vary from year to year or between study towns. Abundances of generalist avian predators were higher in the town center than in the area of detached houses and in the surrounding forest area. Most of the nests in the town center were destroyed by avian predators. Predation rate of artificial nests in each of the town areas was higher in managed parks than in unmanaged parks, presumably due to the less dense vegetation in the managed than the unmanaged parks. A test involving covering nests revealed that artificial nests covered by adjacent vegetation survived better than nests with less cover. In o...

Research planning in the face of change: the human role in reindeer/caribou systems

Abstract: Reindeer/caribou (Rangifer tarandus) constitute a biological resource of vital importance to the physical and cultural survival of Arctic residents since time immemorial. Recent and possible future economic, social and ecological changes raise concern for sustainability of these resources and the well-being of those who depend on them. In February 1999 eighty scientists, reindeer/caribou users and resource managers gathered in Rovaniemi, Finland, for an interdisciplinary workshop to develop a circumpolar research plan that addressed the sustainability of humanreindeer/caribou systems. Small working groups addressed six themes: hunting systems, herding systems, rengeland/habitat protection, minimizing industrial impacts, maintaining the strength of indigenous cultures, and responding to global change. The resulting Research Plan cells for interdisciplinary comparative studies, advancement of tools for assessing cumulative effects, implementation of regional and a circumpolar monitoring and assessment programmes, and cultural studies on the transmission of knowledge. Cross-cutting directives for future research include:• improving humans’ability to anticipate and respond to change;• understanding better the dynamics of human-reindeer/caribou systems;• developing research methods that are both more instructive and less intrusive;• facilitating open communication among groups with interests in reindeer/caribou resources;• organizing researchers into a strong, coordinated network;• re-framing the conventional research paradigm to be more inclusive of differing cultural perspectives.Three follow-up initiatives are proposed: 1) development of a web-based resource on the human role in reindeer/caribou systems (www.rangifer.net); establishment of a Profile of Herds database to support comparative research; and 3) convening of working groups to address specific problems identified by workshop participants.

Genetic diversity in the Siberian jay Perisoreus infaustus in fragmented old‐growth forests of Fennoscandia

Abstract: The Siberian jay Perisoreus infaustus is a bird inhabiting old-growth coniferous taiga forests. It has recently declined in numbers in Finland mainly because of habitat fragmentation. Distant mtDNA lineages from Taimyrian Peninsula (subspecies P. i. monjerensis) and middle Yenisei valley (P. i. rogosovi) have diverged from Fennoseandian (P. i. infaustus) lineage ca 610000 yr ago. The estimated time to the most recent common ancestor for Fennoscandian population (78000 yr) coincides with the beginning of the Weichselian ice age. Within Fennoscandia, the observed distribution of pairwise genetic distances followed the expected distribution of an expanding population reflecting the postglacial history rather than the present day situation of the Siberian jay. Mitochondrial control region sequences showed that among 65 Fennoseandian individuals the most common baplotype (40%) was found in all but two populations. Genetic structuring (φST= 0.111) was clear within the Fennoseandian population. This may be attributable to low intrinsic natal dispersal. In an isolate of western Finland, nucleotide diversity was significantly lower than in P. i. infaustus populations of the continuous distribution area. We suggest that isolation by habitat fragmentation in modern landscapes may effectively reduce gene flow below the level occurring in natural conditions. Thus, Siberian jay isolates with limited number of individuals would be highly vulnerable to loss of genetic variation or even to extinction by demographic or environmental stochasticity.

The effects of a prolonged undernutrition on serum lipids and fatty acid composition of reindeer calves during winter and spring.

Abstract: We examined the effects of undernutrition on lipid metabolism in reindeer (<1 year) during mid-winter and spring, with particular focus on the proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in major serum lipids. The reindeer (n=8) were fed their winter feed, lichen, ad libitum for 5 weeks, followed by 40% restriction of energy for 8 weeks and refeeding to normal for 6 weeks. The concentrations of major serum lipids, cholesterol and phospholipids decreased significantly during the ad libitum period (by 50 and 44%, respectively). The proportion of major PUFA, linoleic acid in serum cholesteryl esters, decreased from 48.2 to 38.4% during the ad libitum period (P < 0.01), and to 29.2% during the restriction period (P < 0.001). The proportion of linoleic acid in phospholipids decreased from 27.9 to 15.6% during the ad libitum period (P < 0. 001), and to 13.0% during the restriction (P < 0.01). Also alpha-linolenic acid in the major lipids decreased significantly during the ad libitum and restriction periods. The decreases in the major lipids and linoleic acid were reversed during the refeeding. The control group (n=8) which was fed high-quality concentrates ad libitum gained weight most of the spring but showed similar although slower decreases in the major serum lipids and PUFAs than the lichen group. Our results indicate that feeding reindeer on lichen during winter leads to the retardation of growth and reductions in major serum lipids and their principal C18-PUFA proportions. The decreased proportions of the principal PUFAs most probably reflect their low dietary intake but may have been modified also by seasonal factors.

Temporal variation of bird assemblages in moderately fragmented and less-fragmented boreal forest landscapes: A multi-scale approach

Abstract: To test whether landscape structure affects the temporal variability of bird populations and species turnover, we estimated breeding bird abundances in a boreal forest area in northern Finland duri...

Justification as a Process of Discovery

Abstract: Legal decision-making interests theoreticians in our discipline largely in terms of how a legal decision is justified. In his book, Bruce Anderson (1996) has posited a distinction between how a decision is arrived at, on one hand, and how it is justified, on the other. Anderson seems to be suggesting that legal theory should set out to continue the work of the American realists, that is, to develop legal decision-making as a process of discovery towards a solution. In my presentation, I will be looking at legal decision-making as a process of finding or discovering knowledge. What I mean by “discovery,” however, is the discovery of new scientific knowledge. (The theory of science draws a distinction between proving and discovering knowledge.) I submit that for a justification to be valid the arguments comprising it ought to fulfill the logical conditions stipulated for the discovery of knowledge. In the present paper, I also hope to share with you the main ideas of a book I am currently writing on the subject.

Phronesis and Forensics

Abstract: This paper deals with the concept of practical wisdom and its applications in the field of jurisprudence. The starting point is the Aristotelian idea that a skill to understand and apply law is an embodiment of practical sense. racticality of law has many dimensions. One important dimension is contextuality. Contextuality appears as the situation dependence of interpretation. Hence, the ultimate content of law is context dependent, too. I try to elucidate the essence of practicality of law and its interpretation by examining a precedent of the Finnish Supreme Court (KKO 1997: 87). It is a case involving the distribution of an estate among heirs. The main idea of that decision is that the proper values of inheritance-shares depend on the utilization values of them and the whole economic situation among heirs. What is just depends on a situation. Taken seriously, the practicality and contextuality of law forces us to adopt an unconventional conception of jurisprudence. First, it is doubtful if one can point to any scientific method at all. Second, according to this conception, legal dogmatics is not a description of law. Rather, it is a skill of argumentation, the skill of taking considered steps from different kinds of arguments to conclusions. The purpose of legal dogmatics is to offer valid and useful arguments to be used in different situations.

Freire: epäilyn ja kritiikin etiikka

Abstract: Jos kysytaan, kuka on maailman tunnetuin urheilija, aika moni osaa vastata Muhammed Ali tai Pele tai Michael Jordan. Jos sitten kysytaan tunnetuinta kasvatusajattelijaa, luulen, etta vastaukset eivat ole yhta ilmeisia – ellei sitten pida Jeesusta kasvattajana Jumalan armosta. Yksi nimi Jeesuksen ohella saatetaan kuitenkin tuntea: Paulo Freire. Juha Suoranta esitti kirjoituksessa olevat nakemyksensa vastavaittajan alkupuheena Aino Hannulan vaistostilaisuudessa 9.6.2000 Helsingin yliopistossa.

Koulutus valtautumisen mahdollistajana

Abstract: Artikkeli perustuu kirjoittajan tekemaan tutkimukseen, missa han kokosi elamankertahaastatteluin koulutuskertomuksia seka lapsuuden- ja nuoruudenaikaisista koulunkaynnista etta aikuisopiskelusta. Tutkimukseen osallistui kymmenen maaseudun pienissa kylissa elavaa, 1950-luvulla ja 1960-luvun alussa syntynytta lappilaista naista. Tutkimuksessaan kirjoittaja jaljitti valtautumisen ideaa ja prosessia, missa han ymmartaa valtautumisella emansipoitumista seka yksilollisesti etta yhteisollisesti. Kirjoittaja jasentaa naisten aikuiskoulutuskokemukset kolmeen valtautumisen mahdollistamaan piirteeseen: 1. myonteiseen vuorovaikutukseen opiskelija-opettaja suhteessa, 2. kokemuksien jakamiseen ja opiskelijaryhman tukeen seka 3. uuden suhteen luomiseen omaan itseen ja oppimiseen.

The Impact of Interim Earnings Announcements on the Permanent Price Effects of Trades on the Helsinki Stock Exchange

Abstract: The primary goal of this paper is to study whether the permanent price impact of large trades are greater before or after an interim earnings announcement on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. If the permanent price effects of large trades are greater before the announcement this would suggest that investors believe that some traders are better informed before the interim earnings announcement than after. Theoretical support is available that information asymmetry is greater prior to earnings announcements than after. The anticipation of a forthcoming public announcement stimulates the acquisition of private information, causing an increase in information asymmetry. This increase is facilitated by the flow of earnings-related information to the market (e.g., via pre-announcement communications by firms, actual earnings announcements of competitors, etc.). Thus investors gather information, make assessments, and form trading positions accordingly. In addition, compared to individuals (small investors), institutions (large investors) are better informed because they tend to have lower marginal costs of information gathering. Thus large trades are expected be monitored more closely on the trading screen and the information content for pricing purposes is expected to be larger for these trades than for corresponding small trades. Using permanent price effects as a measure of price adjustment for private information, tests were performed to see whether price adjustments are greater in pre-announcement periods than in post-announcement periods. The results, based on interim earnings releases, suggest that large trades do indeed produce greater permanent price effects before an announcement than after it. This suggests that large trades associated with price changes (especially uptick trades) before an announcement send a stronger signal to other investors than similar trades after the announcement. For small trades the results were insignificant.