University of Lapland

About: University of Lapland is a education organization based out in Rovaniemi, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Arctic & Context (language use). The organization has 665 authors who have published 1870 publications receiving 39129 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Rovaniemi & Lapin yliopisto.

Indigenous Rights as Tactics of Neoliberal Governance: Practices of Expertise in the United Nations

Abstract: Indigenous rights are being increasingly recognised globally. This article argues that this recognition does not reflect radically changed positions on the part of states and other actors but rather a development indicating the cost-effective operation of neoliberal governance. The biopolitical aspect of that governance regulates the life of indigenous populations as collectivities, with rights used tactically in this process. The material for this article consists of reports of the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. The approach of governmentality is used to study how the rapporteur’s expert interpretations make indigenous peoples governable in particular ways, that is, through specific practices of power. The research identifies three such practices bearing on indigenous rights: indigenous peoples as exceptional – the necessity to intervene; indigenous rights – uncertain and calculated and indigenous peoples as claimants – the right to remedies. Expertise and legality...

Frost flower chemical signature in winter snow on Vestfonna ice cap (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard)

Abstract: . The chemistry of snow and ice cores from Svalbard is influenced by variations in local sea ice margin and distance to open water. Snow pits sampled at two summits of Vestfonna ice cap (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard), exhibit spatially heterogeneous soluble ions concentrations despite similar accumulation rates, reflecting the importance of small-scale weather patterns on this island ice cap. The snow pack on the western summit shows higher average values of marine ions and a winter snow layer that is relatively depleted in sulphate. One part of the winter snow pack exhibits a [SO42-/Na+] ratio reduced by two thirds compared with its ratio in sea water. This low sulphate content in winter snow is interpreted as the signature of frost flowers, which are formed on young sea ice when offshore winds predominate. Frost flowers have been described as the dominant source of sea salt to aerosol and precipitation in ice cores in coastal Antarctica but this is the first time their chemical signal has been described in the Arctic. The eastern summit does not show any frost flower signature and we interpret the unusually dynamic ice transport and rapid formation of thin ice on the Hinlopen Strait as the source of the frost flowers.

Challenges that mining companies face in gaining and maintaining a social license to operate in Finnish Lapland

Abstract: The Social License to Operate (SLO) concept is significant precisely because it is bringing social issues and local communities to the forefront of the mining discourse. Although the concept of SLO has taken root in Lapland, and there are success stories of its implementation, challenges to gaining and maintaining it still remain. For example, to gain SLO, when speaking about community acceptance, the “community” must be clearly defined, as there may be heterogeneous groups claiming to be “locals,” such as out-migrated descendants or summer-cottage owners. Historical experience poses another challenge as residents remember their inability to affect the outcome of large-scale public works projects that exploited natural resources after the Second World War. That history carries over into present situations when new mining projects are proposed. But, challenges also provide opportunities for learning and for new solutions, and the good practices espoused by the mining companies reveal an adaptive attitude and a responsiveness to local community concerns.

Designing culturally inclusive affordance networks into the curriculum

Abstract: This study addresses the challenges concerning the internationalisation of higher education, with a particular focus on designing new international programmes It presents a case study of a novel international study programme: the MA in Media Education at the Faculty of Education at the University of Lapland, Finland The study looks into its curriculum as an affordance network and asks: How do the planned and experienced curricula respond to and support cultural inclusion? The results shed light on the risks of transforming existing domestic degree programmes into ‘international’ programmes The core curriculum design challenges found in this study stem from the fact that the meaning of internationalisation has been defined ‘from within’; from the existing structures and expectations of the programme and from the host institution We suggest that more attention should be paid to students' life-worlds and the entire multicultural ecosystem that builds on the affordances inscribed in the curriculum

Stomping in silence : Conceptualizing trampling effects on soils in polar tundra

Abstract: Ungulate trampling modifies soils and interlinked ecosystem functions across biomes. Until today, most research has focused on temperate ecosystems and mineral soils while trampling effects on cold and organic matter-rich tundra soils remain largely unknown. We aimed to develop a general model of trampling effects on soil structure, biota, microclimate and biogeochemical processes, with a particular focus on polar tundra soils. To reach this goal, we reviewed literature about the effects of trampling and physical disturbances on soils across biomes and used this to discuss the knowns and unknowns of trampling effects on tundra soils. We identified the following four pathways through which trampling affects soils: (a) soil compaction; (b) reductions in soil fauna and fungi; (c) rapid losses in vegetation biomass and cover; and (d) longer term shifts in vegetation community composition. We found that, in polar tundra, soil responses to trampling pathways 1 and 3 could be characterized by nonlinear dynamics and tundra-specific context dependencies that we formulated into testable hypotheses. In conclusion, trampling may affect tundra soil significantly but many direct, interacting and cascading responses remain unknown. We call for research to advance the understanding of trampling effects on soils to support informed efforts to manage and predict the functioning of tundra systems under global changes. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. (Less)