Showing papers by "University of Lapland published in 2006"

Nonlinear trends and multiyear cycles in sea level records

Abstract: We analyze the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) database of sea level time series using a method based on Monte Carlo Singular Spectrum Analysis (MC-SSA). We remove 2 - 30 year quasi-periodic oscillations and determine the nonlinear long-term trends for 12 large ocean regions. Our global sea level trend estimate of 2.4 +/- 1.0 mm/yr for the period from 1993 to 2000 is comparable with the 2.6 +/- 0.7 mm/yr sea level rise calculated from TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter measurements. However, we show that over the last 100 years the rate of 2.5 +/- 1.0 mm/yr occurred between 1920 and 1945, is likely to be as large as the 1990s, and resulted in a mean sea level rise of 48 mm. We evaluate errors in sea level using two independent approaches, the robust bi-weight mean and variance, and a novel "virtual station'' approach that utilizes geographic locations of stations. Results suggest that a region cannot be adequately represented by a simple mean curve with standard error, assuming all stations are independent, as multiyear cycles within regions are very significant. Additionally, much of the between-region mismatch errors are due to multiyear cycles in the global sea level that limit the ability of simple means to capture sea level accurately. We demonstrate that variability in sea level records over periods 2 - 30 years has increased during the past 50 years in most ocean basins.

Requesting Pervasive Services by Touching RFID Tags

Abstract: As the vision of pervasive computing gradually becomes a reality, we are seeing an increasing number of services in our everyday environments. We don't just access them at desktop computers but everywhere our activities lead us-using mobile terminals and built-in technology. Although a positive phenomenon, this transition also introduces considerable challenges to discovering and selecting services. The authors propose a general framework for requesting pervasive services by touching RFID tags. Visual symbols communicate to users the objects that they can touch and that activate services. When a user touches such a symbol with a mobile phone, the data stored in the tag and other contextual information related to the situation trigger the requested service. The authors designed a set of visual symbols and implemented the required functionality as component-based middleware. They studied this novel system's usability and user experience. This article is part of a special issue on RFID Technology.

Sea ice in the Baltic Sea - A review

Abstract: Although the seasonal ice cover of the Baltic Sea has many similarities to its oceanic counterpart in Polar Seas and Oceans, there are many unique characteristics that mainly result from the brackish waters from which the ice is formed, resulting in low bulk salinities and porosities. In addition, due to the milder climate than Polar regions, the annual maximum ice extent is highly variable, and rain and freeze-melt cycles can occur throughout winter. Up to 35% of the sea ice mass can be composed from metamorphic snow, rather than frozen seawater, and in places snow and superimposed ice can make up to 50% of the total ice thickness. There is pronounced atmospheric deposition of inorganic nutrients and heavy metals onto the ice, and in the Bothnian Bay it is estimated that 5% of the total annual flux of nitrogen and phosphorus and 20–40% of lead and cadmium may be deposited onto the ice fields from the atmosphere. It is yet unclear whether or not the ice is simply a passive store for atmospherically deposited compounds, or if they are transformed through photochemical processes or biological accumulation before released at ice and snow melt. As in Polar sea ice, the Baltic ice can harbour rich biological assemblages, both within the ice itself, and on the peripheries of the ice at the ice/water interface. Much progress has been made in recent years to study the composition of these assemblages as well as measuring biogeochemical processes within the ice related to those in underlying waters. The high dissolved organic matter loading of Baltic waters and ice result in the ice having quite different chemical characteristics than those known from Polar Oceans. The high dissolved organic material load is also responsible in large degree to shape the optical properties of Baltic Sea ice, with high absorption of solar radiation at shorter wavelengths, a prerequisite for active photochemistry of dissolved organic matter. Land-fast ice in the Baltic also greatly alters the mixing characteristics of river waters flowing into coastal waters. River plumes extend under the ice to a much greater distance, and with greater stability than in ice-free conditions. Under-ice plumes not only alter the mixing properties of the waters, but also result in changed ice growth dynamics, and ice biological assemblages, with the underside of the ice being encased, in the extreme case, with a frozen freshwater layer. There is a pronounced gradient in ice types from more saline ice in the south to freshwater ice in the north. The former is characteristically more porous and supports more ice-associated biology than the latter. Ice conditions also vary considerably in different parts of the Baltic Sea, with ice persisting for over half a year in the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea, the Bothnian Bay. In the southern Baltic Sea, ice appears only during severe winters.

On-call stress among Finnish anaesthetists

Abstract: We investigated on-call stress and its consequences among anaesthetists. A questionnaire was sent to all working Finnish anaesthetists (n = 550), with a response rate of 60%. Four categories of on-call workload and a sum variable of stress symptoms were formed. The anaesthetists had the greatest on-call workload among Finnish physicians. In our sample, 68% felt stressed during the study. The most important causes of stress were work and combining work with family. The study showed a positive correlation between stress symptoms and on-call workload (p = 0.009). Moderate burnout was present in 18%vs 45% (p = 0.008) and exhaustion in 32% and 68% (p = 0.015), in the lowest vs highest workload category, respectively. The symptoms were significantly associated with stress, gender, perceived sleep deprivation, suicidal tendencies and sick leave. Being frequently on call correlates with severe stress symptoms and these symptoms are associated with sick leave.

Using hierarchical levels for urban ecology.

Abstract: In a recent issue of TREE, Shochat et al. [1] provided an overview of the questions that urbanisation poses for biodiversity and population adaptation. Many of these were identified by McDonnell and Picket [2] as early as 1990 and have been studied by urban ecologists in Europe (e.g. in Finland, France, the Netherlands, UK, Poland and Germany) for several years.

The participation of indigenous peoples in international norm-making in the Arctic

Abstract: Indigenous peoples regularly regard international law as a very important tool for the advancement of their political goals. This is most likely because in many nation-states their opportunities for influencing political development are rather limited. Even though international law seems to be an important means for indigenous peoples to advance their goals, these peoples should be aware of its inherent limitations. One such shortcoming is that international law seriously restricts indigenous peoples' opportunities to participate in the international law-making processes; that is treaty and customary law. The contention in this article is that the recent norm-making method of soft law provides indigenous peoples with a better opportunity for influential participation than is afforded them by traditional methods. If these peoples are to benefit from this opportunity, however, we must appreciate the revolutionary potential of the concept: a potential that is suffocated if the concept is understood only from the perspective of international law. A good example of indigenous peoples gaining a better standing in inter-governmental co-operation is the Arctic Council, which based its work on the soft-law approach from the outset. There would seem to be good prospects for adopting the Arctic Council's approach in other regions of the world in order to improve indigenous peoples' international representational status.

Biomass, composition and activity of organism assemblages along a salinity gradient in sea ice subjected to river discharge in the Baltic Sea

Abstract: A study was undertaken to examine the activity and composition of the seasonal Baltic Sea land-fast sea-ice biota along a salinity gradient in March 2003 in a coastal location in the SW coast of Finland. Using a multi-variable data set, the less well-known algal and protozoan communities, and algal and bacterial production in relation to the physical and chemical environment were investigated. Also, the first coincident measurements of bacterial production and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a sea-ice system are reported. Communities in sea ice were clearly autotrophy-dominated with algal biomass representing 79% of the total biomass. Protozoa and rotifers made up 18% of biomass in the ice and bacteria only 3%. Highest biomasses were found in mid-transect bottom ice. Water column assemblages were clearly more heterotrophic: 39% algae, 12% bacteria and 49% for rotifers and protozoa. Few significant correlations existed between DOM and bacterial variables, reflecting the complex origin of ice DOM. Dynamics of dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (DOC, DON and DOP) were also uncoupled. A functional microbial loop is likely to be present in the studied ice. Existence of an under-ice freshwater plume affects the ecosystem functioning: Under-ice water communities are influenced directly by river-water mixing, whereas the ice system seems to be more independent—the interaction mainly taking place through the formation of active bottom communities.

Holocene development of the Vaisjeäggi palsa mire, Finnish Lapland

Abstract: A palsa mire in Finnish Lapland is studied by means of plant macrofossil analysis, physico-chemical analysis and AMS radiocarbon dating of peat deposits in order to reconstruct its development. Emphasis was on permafrost dynamics during the Holocene. Mire initiation recorded at four studied sites took place between 8240 and 5210 yr BP, first through terrestrialization of a pond and, beginning from 6780 yr BP, through paludification of birch-dominated uplands. Slow lateral expansion of the mire suggests relatively dry conditions in the region. Rich wet fens prevailed until the late Holocene, when changes connected with permafrost development occurred. First permafrost aggradation is recorded in a high palsa site at c. 2460 yr BP. The pathway of permafrost formation possibly points to a climate cooler than today. Permafrost aggradation in a ridge palsa site is dated to c. 645 yr BP, indicating an early Little Ice Age date. The long-time average carbon accumulation rate in the four peat profiles is 16 gC/m2yr. In the older, high palsa, carbon accumulation during the palsa stage has been low (9 gC/m2yr), while in the younger, ridge palsa site it has been very high (73 gC/m2yr)

Superimposed ice formation and surface energy fluxes on sea ice during the spring melt-freeze period in the Baltic Sea

Abstract: The development of land-fast sea ice and overlying snow was monitored during a 4 week period, until the snow cover had completely disappeared, at a site in the Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea (63.57° N, 19.85°E). The meteorological and radiative boundary conditions were continuously recorded. During the observation period, a 15 cm thick snow layer on the ice was transformed into a 7 cm thick granular ice layer (superimposed ice) on the ice surface, contributing significantly (about 11 %) to the total ice thickness. Approximately 1 cm w.e. of the snow was sublimated. Neither snow-ice formation nor basal ice growth was significant during the same period. The salinity and isotopic (δ 18 O) composition of the ice indicated that prior to the experiment a 7 cm layer of superimposed ice had already formed. Hence, superimposed ice layers contributed 22% of the total ice thickness by the time all snow had disappeared. The advancing spring, decrease in surface albedo, diurnal cycle in the incoming solar radiation, and synoptic-scale changes in the cloud cover and the air-ice turbulent heat fluxes caused variations in the heat budget of the snowpack. Superimposed ice formation due to refreezing of meltwater occurred during most nights of the study period, and the most important refreezing periods were under such synoptic conditions that the air and snow surface temperatures also remained below zero during daytime. In contrast to typical summer conditions in polar oceans, low snow surface temperatures acted as the primary heat sink for the refreezing of meltwater.

Cost‐Efficiency of Decaying Wood as a Surrogate for Overall Species Richness in Boreal Forests

Abstract: Decaying wood is one of the most important elements for species richness in boreal forests. We tested how well reserve selection based on the amount and quality of decaying wood results in a representation of four ecologically different taxa (beetles, birds, wood-inhabiting fungi, and vascular plants). We also compared the cost-efficiency of the use of dead-wood indicators with comprehensive species inventory. Our database included 32 seminatural old-forest stands located in northern Finland. Decaying wood was a relatively good indicator of saproxylic species but not overall species richness. Even though dead wood did not reflect accurately overall species richness, our results indicated that the use of decaying wood as an indicator in site selection was more cost-efficient than using information from large-scale species inventories. Thus, decaying wood is a valuable surrogate for species richness, but other cost-efficient indicators that reflect the requirements of those species which are not dependent on decaying wood should be identified.

Is there evidence for sunspot forcing of climate at multi-year and decadal periods?

Abstract: [1] It has been proposed that solar cycle irradiance variations may affect the whole planet’s climate via the stratosphere, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO). We test this hypothesis by examining causal links between time series of sunspot number and indices of QBO, AO and ENSO activity. We use various methods: wavelet coherence, average mutual information, and mean phase coherence to study the phase dynamics of weakly interacting oscillating systems. All methods clearly show a cause and effect link between Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and AO, but no link between AO and QBO or solar cycle over all scales from biannual to decadal. We conclude that the 11-year cycle sometimes seen in climate proxy records is unlikely to be driven by solar forcing, and most likely reflects other natural cycles of the climate system such as the 14-year cycle, or a harmonic combination of multi-year cycles. Citation: Moore, J., A. Grinsted, and S. Jevrejeva (2006), Is there evidence for sunspot forcing of climate at multi-year and decadal periods?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L17705, doi:10.1029/ 2006GL026501.

Svalbard summer melting, continentality, and sea ice extent from the Lomonosovfonna ice core

Abstract: We develop a continentality proxy (1600–1930) based on amplitudes of the annual signal in oxygen isotopes in an ice core. We show via modeling that by using 5 and 15 year average amplitudes the effects of diffusion and varying layer thickness can be minimized, such that amplitudes then reflect real seasonal changes in δ18O under the influence of melt. A model of chemical fractionation in ice based on differing elution rates for pairs of ions is developed as a proxy for summer melt (1130–1990). The best pairs are sodium with magnesium and potassium with chloride. The continentality and melt proxies are validated against twentieth-century instrumental records and longer historical climate proxies. In addition to summer temperature, the melt proxy also appears to reflect sea ice extent, likely as a result of sodium chloride fractionation in the oceanic sea ice margin source area that is dependent on winter temperatures. We show that the climate history they depict is consistent with what we see from isotopic paleothermometry. Continentality was greatest during the Little Ice Age but decreased around 1870, 20–30 years before the rise in temperatures indicated by the δ18O profile. The degree of summer melt was significantly larger during the period 1130–1300 than in the 1990s.

Family members' perceptions of the quality of long-term care.

Abstract: The aim of the study is to assess family members' perceptions of the quality of nursing care of older people and its relationships between demographic factors and family involvement. Data were gathered from family members of four residential homes (N= 474) using structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and predictive analyses. The results imply that family members' perceptions of quality were fairly positive. Age, educational background, and the frequency of visits on the ward were related with the quality perception. The association between quality perceptions and family involvement in care proved to be strong. The information and support from the staff and possibilities to participate in decision making were associated with high-quality ratings. The results demonstrate the need for formulating ward policies and training the nursing staff to allow increased family involvement and to support it in an appropriate way.

Sulfate source inventories from a Svalbard ice core record spanning the Industrial Revolution

Abstract: [1] The 800-year sulfate record from Lomonosovfonna was analyzed by a novel multiple linear regression algorithm that attempts to explain sulfate variability in terms of other chemical species measured in the core and sulfur emission inventories. We use three statistical approaches to determine sulfate sources. We examine trends using singular spectrum analysis with confidence intervals, finding clear evidence that anthropogenic sources are important but not dominant; we use cross-wavelet coherence to examine significant multidecadal covariance in terrestrial sulfate; but our main tool is multiple regression analysis of the sulfate dependency on other ions and anthropogenic emission inventories. Models are fitted in a moving time window of typically 50 years length, explaining 80% of the sulfate variance. A suite of model predictors are examined, and the variation in relative magnitudes of the model coefficients along the core can be used to infer variations in the strength of various sulfate sources. We observe large changes in sulfate sources at the end of the Little Ice Age associated with changes in Barents Sea marine productivity, changes in North Atlantic sulfate input and a long-lasting period of disturbance caused by the large Laki volcanic eruption. Modeling sulfur emission inventories shows that western Europe contributes about 15% of the sulfate budget, with essentially no input from other regions, in contrast with predictions from global circulation models incorporating sulfur chemistry. Multidecadal cycles are mainly confined to the Little Ice Age and most likely associated with increased storminess and enhanced deposition of both marine aerosol and biogenic sulfate from the Atlantic Ocean. The model residuals do not show a normal distribution but display very large spikes. Unexpectedly, those significant at the 99% level can be closely matched to major volcanic eruptions using independent dating methods. The 20th century sulfate in the core is inventoried as sea salt (15%), terrestrial (10%), volcanic (5–10%), western European anthropogenic (10–25%), Barents Sea biogenic (20–40%), and Atlantic biogenic (10–15%).

The Challenges of Modernity for Reindeer Management in Northernmost Europe

Abstract: This book presents the combined results of a research and development project funded by the European Union’s 5th Framework Programme of 2001–2004. The full title of the project was “The challenges of modernity for REiNdeer MANagement: integration and sustainable development in Europe’s subarctic and boreal regions (RENMAN)”1. Within this Framework Programme, RENMAN was funded under the Key Action “Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources” (Contract QLK5-CT-2000-0745). This portion of the program mandated that funded research aim toward (1) “the design and negotiation of policies that will have a direct impact on the local conditions and prospects for securing an acceptable level of quality of living”, and (2) “the continuation of appropriate management regimes for the utilization of living resources locally and regionally within the European context”. As such, it called for a direct role for local stakeholders – in this case reindeer herders – in the process of policy-relevant research and for the use of historical trends to facilitate adaptation to future changes. In these aims, RENMAN is quite similar to other EU-funded research projects that focus on particular species in northernmost or Arctic Europe to provide stakeholders and policy makers with a predictive framework of outcome for land use in fragile ecosystems, such as the projects “HIBECO” (Wielgolaski 2005) and “FRAGILE”. The purpose of RENMAN was therefore to develop new tools and models of participatory research and planning in reindeer management that would foster integrated and sustainable use of reindeer (Rangifer t. tarandus L.) and related living resources in northernmost Europe (for the natural history of the reindeer see Preface to Part I). Reindeer management is among the most

Interpreting ancient ice in a shallow ice core from the South Yamato (Antarctica) blue ice area using flow modeling and compositional matching to deep ice cores

Abstract: [1] We explore methods of dating a 101 m ice core from a bare ice ablation area in the Yamato Mountains, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. There are two unknowns, the age of the ice at the surface and the age spanned by the core. The ice crystal growth rate was used to estimate the age span of the core at about 5 kyr. CO2, CH4 and N2O data on the core were compared with well-dated records from deep cores, leading to two plausible matches, both within isotope stage C. Detailed comparison of high-resolution DEP records from this core and the Dome Fuji core support the 55–61 kyr BP fit best. Oxygen isotope values in the core were then used to constrain the source elevation of the snow in the core, and hence the velocities in a simple flow line model. We inverted the ice core surface age, age span and origin site and their confidence intervals in a sensitivity study of flow model parameter space. The flow line model predicts good matches to the core by reducing glacial flow rates to 70% of present-day, accumulation rates by 45% with 10% confidence intervals. The modeled surface age for the whole meteorite field yields maximum surface ages of about 90 kyr, which is consistent with known, but poorly constrained, tephra dating, meteorite terrestrial ages and the frequency of meteorite discoveries. This approach can be used quite generally to link deep ice cores to surface outcrops on blue ice fields.

Responses of parasitized and unparasitized common redstart (phoenicurus phoenicurus) populations against artificial cuckoo parasitism

Abstract: Brood parasitism selects for defensive mechanisms that enhance host fitness. Therefore, host populations under different parasitism pressures may express different levels of defense against brood parasites. We tested the rejection responses of currently parasitized and unparasitized Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) populations in Finland to artificial Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) eggs. We predicted a higher level of defense in the parasitized population, but in fact the rejection rate was higher in the nonparasitized population. Nonmimetic artificial eggs were rejected more often than mimetic ones. Desertion probability was higher in the nonparasitized population and was independent of artificial egg type. Common Redstarts in the parasitized population rejected the artificial eggs mostly through ejection, whereas desertion was a more frequent rejection method in the nonparasitized population. Our results suggest that current selection pressures from brood parasites do not always expla...

Development of Participatory Institutions for Reindeer Management in Finland: A Diagnosis of Deliberation, Knowledge Integration and Sustainability

Abstract: The objective of this chapter is to diagnose the mechanisms by which a focused effort to integrate knowledge based on various professional and disciplinary backgrounds can result in emergent participatory institutions for resource management – in this case reindeer herding management in northern Finland. Considering knowledge integration as a process of institutionbuilding makes sense, since in environmental governance literature institutions are widely understood as working rules that are common knowledge to resource users (Ostrom 1990). In this context, the crucial point is the process of knowledge transfer through networking and communication. Three stages of knowledge integration characterize the entire research effort, which the authors conducted as Workpackage 1 (WP1) under the RENMAN project: (1) pioneer networking, (2) translational networking, and (3) modular networking (Bruun et al. 2002; Hukkinen et al. 2003b; Forbes et al. 2004). Our typology of knowledge integration draws from recent literature on organizational learning in innovation (Bruun et al. 2002; Langlais et al. 2004). The project became a prime example of a focused effort of knowledge integration, because every stage of it was based on participatory processes. We go on to show that the processes of knowledge integration hold the characteristics of emerging institutions for resource management: formal and informal rules were developed for the participatory process of the RENMAN project and proposed for future reindeer management; the rules were geographically specified; legitimate participants in the process were clearly defined; and conflict resolution and sanctioning mechanisms were proposed during the project (Hukkinen et al. 2002, 2003a; Heikkinen et al. 2003a).

Occupational Functioning Scale (OFS)--an instrument for assessment of work ability in psychiatric disorders.

Abstract: The aim was to present the content of the newly developed observer rating scale of work ability--The Occupational Functioning Scale (OFS)--and its basic psychometric properties. Psychiatric disorders cause functional impairment in several domains, including occupational functioning. The assessment of work-related functioning is often neglected in psychiatric research, partly due to a lack of reliable and valid instruments. The validity of OFS was evaluated by comparing it with other work ability measures (SAS-work, Work Ability Index, sickness absence) and to non-work-ability related measures [Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), Symptom Check List - General Symptomatic Index (SCL-90-GSI)] in 150 patients with depressive or anxiety disorders. Reliability was determined by 39 videotaped interviews rated by four judges. OFS showed excellent inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation = 0.91) and good criterion validity by being more strongly related to other scales of occupational functioning (mid R:rmid R: = 0.39-0.47) than to measures of general distress (SCL-90-GSI) and interpersonal problems (IIP)(mid R:rmid R: = 0.26 and 0.12). OFS is a simple, reliable and clinically meaningful instrument for assessment of work ability in depressive and anxiety disorders.

Singular spectrum analysis and envelope detection : methods of enhancing the utility of ground-penetrating radar data

Abstract: We present a novel method of improving signal-to-noise ratio in radargrams. The method uses singular spectrum analysis (SSA) to separate each individual radar trace into orthogonal components. The components that explain most of the original trace variance contain mainly physically meaningful signal, while the components with little variance tend to be noise. Adding the largest-magnitude components together until the sum of components accounts for the variance above the noise level (typically 60-80%) of the original trace variance results in a much cleaner radargram with more easily seen internal features than in traditionally filtered data. The radargrams can be further enhanced by envelope-detecting the SSA-filtered data, as this measure of instantaneous energy minimizes the deleterious effects of innumerable phase changes at dielectric boundaries. Subsequent incoherent stacking results in far more structured radargrams than are achieved with traditionally processed radar data and amplitude stacking.

The web-orientation agent (WOA) for simulated learning in technology education

Abstract: This paper discusses the theoretical underpinning and central aspects of the development and application of the web orientation agent (WOA) and presents results concerning its use in university studies. The (WOA) is a software tool producing an interactive learning environment offering support in teaching and learning that uses local applications.

Indigenous-state relations in the UN: establishing the indigenous forum

Abstract: The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) was established on 31 July 2000 and held its first session at UN Headquarters in New York in May 2002. The result of decades of development, the forum signified an official opening of the UN to indigenous peoples' participation alongside that of states. This article analyses the discussions on the establishment of the PFII and the role of indigenous peoples as political actors in those discussions. A focus of particular interest is the contradiction between state sovereignty and indigenous self-determination. In examining the establishment process, the analysis draws on scholarship dealing with norms, institutions, organisation and legitimacy. The themes and frames used by indigenous peoples that are significant in state-indigenous relations and that have had an effect on the forum are indigenousness, self-determination, rights and recognition. These show how the relationship between state sovereignty and indigenous self-determination underlay the establishment discussions and their outcome. The materials for the article comprise the transcripts of the establishment negotiations, interventions of state and indigenous representatives, as well as literature on the political participation of indigenous peoples, international law and the UN system and indigenous peoples. The discussions are analysed textually. The article claims that, although the UN is a state-dominated organisation, indigenous peoples are nevertheless able to affect international cooperation. This is an INDIPO project paper (Tennberg 2006).

The Draft for a Nordic Saami Convention

Abstract: This article aims to provide a general commentary on the draft for a Nordic Saami Convention submitted by the Expert Committee (which was composed of an equal number of representatives from the three Nordic states and the three Saami parliaments) to the governments of the three Nordic states and to their Saami parliaments. The core task of this article is to interpret and analyze the provisions of the Draft Convention with the help of the Commentary. This is done by examining all of the 51 articles through the chapters they are placed into. In order to interpret the individual provisions of the Draft Convention in light of the Draft Convention’s object and purpose, as prescribed in the Vienna Convention, it is important to examine the more general normative vision fleshed out in the Draft Convention’s preface and Chapter I. Since the Draft Convention provides the basis for actual treaty negotiations, it is useful to examine the likely obstacles the Draft Convention will encounter. This will be done by studying the comments made by authorities, bodies and associations in Finland to the Draft Convention, which will provide a good picture of the challenges ahead, as Finland has had most problems with the Draft Convention already during the Expert Committee stage. It will also be important, in the concluding remarks, to reflect on the general importance of the Draft Convention, in both the Nordic and international context.

The Chemical Response of Reindeer Summer Pasture Plants in a Subarctic Peatland to Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation

Abstract: Reindeer management is an important livelihood in northern Fennoscandia. There are about 0.7 million reindeer in Finland, Sweden and Norway and approximately 300,000 calves are born every year. The survival of reindeer is highly dependent on renewable natural resources, or ecological preconditions provided by natural pastures (Helle et al. 1990; Reimers 1997; Kumpula et al. 1998). Summer pastures play a central role in the growth of reindeer. Reindeer calves are born in spring and their growth is most rapid during the first few months of life when they graze on summer pastures. Reindeer are mainly slaughtered during autumn. Most of the slaughtered animals are calves (>70 %), and the productivity of reindeer management and income of reindeer herders is highly dependent on the growth success of the calves during the summer. Body mass and fat stores that reindeer are able to accumulate on the summer pastures significantly affect the condition of reindeer and their survival over winter (Helle et al. 1987; Soppela 2000; Soppela and Nieminen 2002). The diet of reindeer is markedly different between summer and winter. During summer, reindeer feed on green vegetation such as grasses, sedges, shrubs, herbs, and leaves of deciduous trees (Warenberg et al. 1997). This diet has a high content of energy, protein, and minerals (Nieminen and Heiskari 1989; Staaland and Saebo 1993) and it enables rapid growth of reindeer and accumulation of muscle and fat. During autumn and early winter, reindeer gradually change to a diet consisting mainly of lichens and wintergreen parts of shrubs, sedges, and grasses (Warenberg et al. 1997). The main winter feeds in many areas are ground lichens (Cladina spp.; Kumpula 2001). Winter diet has a low content of nitrogen and minerals (Nieminen and Heiskari 1989; Staaland and Saebo 1993; Danell et al. 1994; Storeheier et al. 2002). Lichens

The construction of male menopause in Finnish popular magazines

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the construction of male menopause by examining articles published on the topic between 1982 and 2002 in Finnish popular magazines. The main research question was how men's midlife stage was medicalized in the articles analysed. The number of articles published grew during the study period. In the articles, male menopause was initially presented as a social problem related to men's working careers but during the study period this changed as writers increasingly presented it as an illness managed by medical experts and treated with hormones. Through the whole period there were diverse opinions on whether male menopause even exists. In some articles the authors asserted that symptoms that appear with age are ‘normal’, in others testosterone medication was said to restore normal values, and sometimes the decline in testosterone was said to be normal. Symptoms associated with male menopause were mostly similar to those associated with ageing and they were presented as ...

Contracting over the quality aspect of security in software product markets

Abstract: Secure software development has gained momentum during the past couple of years and improvements have been made. Buyers have started to demand secure software and contractual practices for taking security into consideration in the software purchasing context have been developed. Software houses naturally are very keen to providing what their potential customers' desire with respect to security and quality of their products. This study analyses the capacity of private bargaining to incite secure software development and suggests methods for improvement.I argue that without appropriate regulatory intervention the level of security will not improve to meet the needs of the network society as a whole. There are not appropriate incentives for secure development in the market for software products. The software houses do not have to bear the costs resulting from vulnerabilities in their software and the buyers' capability to separate a secure product from an insecure one is limited.

Indigenous self-determination in Finland: a case study in normative change

Abstract: Indigenous rights have gained considerable prominence in international forums over the last few decades, and are now being institutionalised through emerging norms within the international system. This paper examines the factors affecting the adoption of the norm of self-determination for indigenous peoples in the Finnish case using current constructivist models of normative change. Explanations for Finland's difficulty in adopting this norm, as symbolised by the ratification process of International Labour Organization Convention No. 169, are found in both the international normative context in which it emerged and in domestic factors within Finland itself. The concept of a ‘corrupt’ norm is introduced as a theoretical device in cases where norms have strong moral- or value-based appeal, but are weak in terms of the clarity of how they will work. This is an INDIPO project paper (Tennberg 2006)