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.

Groupism and the politics of indigeneity: A case study on the Sámi debate in Finland:

Abstract: The article addresses the problems of defining an indigenous people by deconstructing the Sami debate in Finland, which has escalated with the government’s commitment to ratify ILO Convention No. 169. We argue that the ethnopolitical conflict engendered by this commitment is a consequence of groupism, by which, following Rogers Brubaker, we mean the tendency to take discrete groups as chief protagonists of social conflicts, the tendency to treat ethnic groups, nations and races as substantial entities and the tendency to reify such groups as if they were unitary collective actors. The aim of the article is to deconstruct groupist thinking related to indigenous rights by analytically separating the concepts of group and category. This allows us to deconstruct the ethnicised conflict and analyse what kinds of political, social and cultural aspects are involved in it. We conclude that indigeneity is not an ethnocultural, objectively existing fact, but rather a frame of political requirements.

Sustainability dimensions in space tourism: the case of Finland

Abstract: The current emergence of a new space economy is leading to the exploration of outer space towards unforeseen futures Space tourism is a new addition to the tourism industry, prompted in large part

Simulations as Mental Tools for Network-Based Group Learning

Abstract: The article presents pedagogical and technological applications developed and studied as part of the research project ‘Web-supported Mental Tools in Technology Education’ at the University of Lapland. The applications allow simulation tools, modern network-based solutions that support learning, and other mental tools, as well as traditional and modern digital learning materials, to be smoothly integrated into normal teaching-studying-learning activity. For example, efforts have been made make use of edutainment as part of the nature of tools and materials and game-like interactivity to enhance the learning process. The broader framework for the model of learning activity that is being developed and studied in the project centers on the question how and through which learning activity (learning process) study and learning in the field of electric technology and electronics (technical work and technology education) can be organized to take into account the challenges posed by the post-industrial information society.

Looking for the Right Kind of Person: Recruitment in Nature Tourism Guiding

Abstract: Discussions about the working life have focused on the increasing centrality of employees' personality as a job skill. The importance of recruiting the right kinds of persons has been noted also in the hospitality and tourism sector. We examine the nature of qualifications necessary in interactive service work by studying the recruitment of safari guides in the commercial nature tourism sector in Finnish Lapland. We argue that to understand the nature and significance of the soft and technical skills in this field it is necessary to analyse the continuum of the long recruitment process. The process does not stop at signing the work contract, but lasts for the entirety of the first winter season. Selection, training and control are also parts of recruitment as means with which employees are socialized as part of the company product. Even though companies prefer employees who are willing to work with their personality, they go to great lengths in trying to ensure that that employee's personality aligns with...

Environmental Protection in the Arctic and Antarctic: Can the Polar Regimes Learn from Each Other?

Abstract: There has been increasing dissatisfaction with the way Arctic-wide cooperation under the Arctic Council operates. Scholars and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have taken up the idea of finding a new direction for the work of the Council by drawing on the experience of the other pole, the Antarctic, and its well-established structures of governance. At first sight, this may seem like a misdirected idea, given that the two poles show more differences than similarities: the Arctic consists of ocean surrounded by continents, whereas the Antarctic is a continent surrounded by ocean; the Antarctic has no permanent human habitation, while the Arctic is inhabited by indigenous peoples and other local communities. Yet, the two polar areas also resemble each other in many respects. Both have extreme climatic conditions, receiving less radiation from the sun than other parts of the globe, and the ecosystems have had to adapt to very cold and dark environments with short and light-filled growing seasons. In such conditions, the ecosystems are simple, containing only a few key species, and are thus more vulnerable to human-induced pollution than those of more temperate areas. The purpose of this article is to examine the differences and similarities between the polar governance systems, especially from the perspective of environmental protection, and analyze whether the two regimes can benefit from each other. Of particular interest here is whether the Arctic Council could benefit from the better-developed regime of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). Considerations of space require that the discussion proceed on a relatively general level and focus on the basic elements of the two regimes and the differences between them.