Climate change induces multiple abiotic and biotic risks to forests and forestry. Risks in different spatial and temporal scales must be considered to ensure preconditions for sustainable multifunctional management of forests for different ecosystem services. For this purpose, the present review article summarizes the most recent findings on major abiotic and biotic risks to boreal forests in Finland under the current and changing climate, with the focus on windstorms, heavy snow loading, drought and forest fires and major insect pests and pathogens of trees. In general, the forest growth is projected to increase mainly in northern Finland. In the south, the growing conditions may become suboptimal, particularly for Norway spruce. Although the wind climate does not change remarkably, wind damage risk will increase especially in the south, because of the shortening of the soil frost period. The risk of snow damage is anticipated to increase in the north and decrease in the south. Increasing drought in summer will boost the risk of large‐scale forest fires. Also, the warmer climate increases the risk of bark beetle outbreaks and the wood decay by Heterobasidion root rot in coniferous forests. The probability of detrimental cascading events, such as those caused by a large‐scale wind damage followed by a widespread bark beetle outbreak, will increase remarkably in the future. Therefore, the simultaneous consideration of the biotic and abiotic risks is essential.
Forohar Mansori, Christophe Van Linden, Anna Kania Widiatami
We respond to a call for more research on diversity and governance of cultural organizations. Our research aims to measure the representation of women in governance positions at Norwegian museum foundations, and we hypothesize and test an association with financial reporting quality. Psychology literature documents that women report higher dutifulness than men and management literature demonstrates that male and female directors have differing core values. Moreover, prior accounting literature posits that individual attributes of governance actors affect financial reporting. We predict a positive association between a museum foundation’s financial reporting quality and: 1. A female museum director 2. The proportion of female board members 3. A female external auditor. Our sample consists of all Norwegian museum foundations that have at least one employee in 2021–2023 and are being audited. Governance data for our observations are manually collected. Our main findings are as follows: Museum foundations’ financial reporting quality is positively associated with 1. Female museum directors with at least 3 years tenure 2. The percentage of women on museum foundations’ boards 3. Female external auditors. Our findings contribute to ongoing discussions on diversity in the museum sector and the gender equality goal for sustainable development as stipulated by the United Nations.
Organizational behaviour, change and effectiveness. Corporate culture
A distinctive type of non-realist literature is emerging in Norway, one that necessitates the articulation of a new classificatory term. I propose the label undringslitteratur, situating this intervention within the broader debate in science fiction studies on the productivity and limitations of “fuzzy” labels as devices for designating hybrid forms of imaginative writing that traverse and unsettle the boundaries between realist and speculative modes. Contemporary Norwegian speculative fictions – here conceptualized together as undringslitteratur – may be delineated through the convergence of four interrelated elements. First, undringslitteratur is characterized by a poetics of scale, oscillating between the local and the global, and by an underlying “Anthropocene unconscious” as theorized by Mark Bould, as a structuring undercurrent of contemporary cultural production. Second, these fictions pursue the re-enchantment of the everyday by subverting conventional expectations regarding the relationship between the quotidian and the spectacular. Third, undringslitteratur is distinguished by a pronounced regional inflection, articulating “nordicity” both in imagery and in portrayals of “northernness” as a discursive system. Finally, these texts exhibit a vein of “stealthy” spiritual seeking. Crucially, however, what sets undringslitteratur apart is not the explicit representation of religious practices, spirituality, or belief, but rather the subtle, situated manner in which such themes are approached and articulated. I conclude by arguing that the synthesis of these elements is aptly encapsulated by the term undring. Connoting wonder, contemplation, and pausing before the inexplicable, undring designates not merely a thematic preoccupation but a structuring affect that animates contemporary Norwegian speculative fictions.
Background The role of rodents in Leptospira epidemiology and transmission is well known worldwide. Rats are known to carry different pathogenic serovars of Leptospira spp. capable of causing disease in humans and animals. Wild rats (Rattus spp.), especially the Norway/brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) and the black rat (R. rattus), are the most important sources of Leptospira infection, as they are abundant in urban and peridomestic environments. In this study, we compiled and summarized available data in the literature on global prevalence of Leptospira exposure and infection in rats, as well as compared the global distribution of Leptospira spp. in rats with respect to prevalence, geographic location, method of detection, diversity of serogroups/serovars, and species of rat. Methods We conducted a thorough literature search using PubMed without restrictions on publication date as well as Google Scholar to manually search for other relevant articles. Abstracts were included if they described data pertaining to Leptospira spp. in rats (Rattus spp.) from any geographic region around the world, including reviews. The data extracted from the articles selected included the author(s), year of publication, geographic location, method(s) of detection used, species of rat(s), sample size, prevalence of Leptospira spp. (overall and within each rat species), and information on species, serogroups, and/or serovars of Leptospira spp. detected. Findings A thorough search on PubMed retrieved 303 titles. After screening the articles for duplicates and inclusion/exclusion criteria, as well as manual inclusion of relevant articles, 145 articles were included in this review. Leptospira prevalence in rats varied considerably based on geographic location, with some reporting zero prevalence in countries such as Madagascar, Tanzania, and the Faroe Islands, and others reporting as high as >80% prevalence in studies done in Brazil, India, and the Philippines. The top five countries that were reported based on number of articles include India (n = 13), Malaysia (n = 9), Brazil (n = 8), Thailand (n = 7), and France (n = 6). Methods of detecting or isolating Leptospira spp. also varied among studies. Studies among different Rattus species reported a higher Leptospira prevalence in R. norvegicus. The serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae was the most prevalent serovar reported in Rattus spp. worldwide. Additionally, this literature review provided evidence for Leptospira infection in laboratory rodent colonies within controlled environments, implicating the zoonotic potential to laboratory animal caretakers. Conclusions Reports on global distribution of Leptospira infection in rats varies widely, with considerably high prevalence reported in many countries. This literature review emphasizes the need for enhanced surveillance programs using standardized methods for assessing Leptospira exposure or infection in rats. This review also demonstrated several weaknesses to the current methods of reporting the prevalence of Leptospira spp. in rats worldwide. As such, this necessitates a call for standardized protocols for the testing and reporting of such studies, especially pertaining to the diagnostic methods used. A deeper understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of Leptospira spp. in rats in urban environments is warranted. It is also pertinent for rat control programs to be proposed in conjunction with increased efforts for public awareness and education regarding leptospirosis transmission and prevention.
ABSTRACT Having opportunities to work with literary texts in language teaching is crucial to promoting students' language development, general education, and personal growth. Despite the recognized importance of reading literary texts in research and in policy, to date, little is known about the frequency and characteristics of literature instruction in the teaching of English as a second, foreign, or additional language. To illuminate classroom practices, this large‐scale, longitudinal, video‐observation study of naturally occurring English instruction in Norway examines to what extent students read literature in the classroom, what kinds of literary texts are read, and what opportunities teachers create for students to explore those texts across 200 lessons. The study involves lower secondary English teaching in 43 classrooms during the past decade (2015–2024) and integrates a quantitative mapping of the presence and forms of the literature read with a qualitative analysis of the literature lessons using an observation protocol for exploration in teaching. The results indicate that literary texts were often included in English teaching and that their presence was consistent over time. However, there may be a need to support teachers in implementing in‐depth explorations of literary texts that can foster students' engaged, reflective, and multilayered literary reading and response.
Purpose: In popular media, ‘revenge pornography’ refers to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images (NCSII) of another. Despite survivors of NCSII facing long-term consequences, they still face victim-blaming attitudes. Extant literature has typically sampled from countries where NCSII has long been illegal, such as the United Kingdom (UK); neglecting perspectives from countries lacking NCSII-specific legislation, such as Norway at the time of data collection. Methods: Participants (n = 477) from the UK and Norway responded to vignettes depicting NCSII, which differed by the survivor-perpetrator relationship depicted (i.e., casual vs. committed). Results: Controlling for participant sex and psychopathic personality traits (previously implicated in judgements of image-based sexual abuse), UK citizens perceived NCSII to have worse impacts on survivors than Norwegian citizens. Moreover, data trends suggested participants attributed increased victim-blame in vignettes featuring casual relationships, with higher self-reported psychopathic personality traits predicting judgements associated with viewing NCSII as less criminal in nature. Conclusion: These findings emphasise a need to better understand the role of legislation in public perceptions of NCSII (and image-based sexual abuse more broadly) and the need to be conscious about further exploring technology-facilitated crime internationally.
Comparing two contemporary Norwegian graphic novels depicting a son’s experience with a parent’s dementia, this article explores what a relational perspective on dementia entails and how processes of kinship are mediated in the comics form. The first part of the article outlines several “relational challenges” connected with dementia literature and other forms of life writing from a caregiver’s perspective. In the second part of the article, I analyse and compare Trond Bredesen’s Mora mi (My Mother, 2023) and Martin Erntsen’s Men hvem er du? (But Who Are You? 2023), focusing on how these graphic novels show and perform mnemonic practises that can be linked to a processual view on kinship. Building on this view on kinship and relationality as intersubjective processes in need of mediation, I return to the relational challenges of dementia literature to suggest a shift in focus: from the dialectic between the carer and the vulnerable person towards the relationship itself, and from questions about narrative and narratability towards questions about media and mediation. This perspective is summed up in the term remedium, which provides a conceptual framework for understanding the remediating, and potentially remedying, cultural processes connected with aesthetic and literary media considering their media specificity.
Public aspects of medicine, Social sciences (General)
Our scientific understanding of the mechanistic and practical connections between training session prescriptions, their execution by athletes, and adaptations over time in elite endurance sports remains limited. These connections are fundamental to the art and science of coaching. By using successful Norwegian endurance coaches as key informants, the aim of this study is to describe and compare best practice session models across different exercise intensities in Olympic endurance sports. Data collection was based on a four-step pragmatic qualitative study design, involving questionnaires, training logs from successful athletes, and in-depth and semi-structured interviews, followed by negotiation among researchers and coaches to assure our interpretations. Twelve successful and experienced male Norwegian coaches from biathlon, cross-country skiing, long-distance running, road cycling, rowing, speed skating, swimming, and triathlon were chosen as key informants. They had been responsible for the training of world-class endurance athletes who altogether have won > 370 medals in international championships. The duration of low-intensity training (LIT) sessions ranges from 30 min to 7 h across sports, mainly due to modality-specific constraints and load tolerance considerations. Cross-training accounts for a considerable part of LIT sessions in several sports. Moderate (MIT)- and high-intensity training (HIT) sessions are mainly conducted as intervals in specific modalities, but competitions also account for a large proportion of annual HIT in most sports. Interval sessions are characterized by a high accumulated volume, a progressive increase in intensity throughout the session, and a controlled, rather than exhaustive, execution approach. A clear trend towards shorter intervals and lower work: rest ratio with increasing intensity was observed. Overall, the analyzed sports implement considerably more MIT than HIT sessions across the annual cycle. This study provides novel insights on quantitative and qualitative aspects of training session models across intensities employed by successful athletes in Olympic endurance sports. The interval training sessions revealed in this study are generally more voluminous, more controlled, and less exhaustive than most previous recommendations outlined in research literature.
Artikkelen analyserer Tiril Broch Aakres selvbiografiske roman Mødre og døtre (2019) som pårørendefortelling og et skjønnlitterært dobbeltportrett. Romanen skildrer en suicidal mor og viser hvordan sorgen påvirker datterens oppfatning av seg selv og sin rolle som datter og mor. Gjennom sitater fra morens brev, bøker hun har lest, samt gjengivelse av morens notater fra et sykehusopphold, skapes det en flerstemmighet i romanen som gir et svar på det narrative og omsorgsetiske dilemmaet om hvordan det er mulig å fortelle om moren og selvmordet uten å svekke hennes verdighet. Samtidig fremmer verket et annerledes syn på suicidalitet og selvmord enn den rådende oppfatningen i dagens samfunn.
Morten Nikolaisen, Cathrine Arntzen, Marianne Eliassen
et al.
Introduction: Community integration (CI) is recognised as an overarching goal for the rehabilitation of individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI). However, adults with less severe ABI often experience a lack of support when they return home after discharge from hospital or inpatient rehabilitation, despite having persistent impairments and ongoing needs. Individuals living in rural areas are even less likely to receive adequate support during this period, which is often marked by challenges and uncertainty. This review aims to map and explore the research literature to identify existing models for rehabilitation service provision aimed at promoting the CI of home-dwelling adults with ABI living in rural areas.
Methods: A scoping review of the research literature was conducted. The study followed the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for scoping reviews and the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews. The databases searched were MEDLINE, Embase, AMED, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar. No limitations were set for the study design, time of publication, or country of origin, but only literature in English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish was considered for inclusion.
Results: Twenty-seven articles were included. All of them originated from four Western and predominantly English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. A thematic analysis identified six model categories that reflect different strategies for providing rehabilitation that promote CI in adults with ABI in rural areas. Sorting the model categories into micro (individual, interpersonal), meso (organisational, community), and macro (policy, society) levels highlighted that most of the included literature concentrates on microlevel issues at the individual or interpersonal level. Microlevel model categories encompass self-management and education, the use of navigators, and the incorporation of everyday life activities into rehabilitation. Far fewer articles addressed mesolevel issues such as service development in rural areas or the development of inclusive rural communities, and only a single article addressed policy development at the macro level.
Conclusion: The relatively low number of included articles and limited geographical distribution of studies indicate that more research is needed on rehabilitation models aimed at promoting CI in adults with ABI in rural areas. Although we identified several existing approaches to rehabilitation service provision in rural areas, there is still a need to develop models that fully consider the complexity and long-term nature of CI after ABI. The results also demonstrate that CI in rural areas not only is dependent on professional service delivery aimed at the individual with ABI but also can be promoted by supporting significant others, developing inclusive communities, and improving policies. More knowledge on such issues may facilitate a wider reorganisation of care systems to enhance the CI of adults with ABI in rural areas. However, this will require more research with a wider scope than microlevel service delivery.
Special situations and conditions, Public aspects of medicine
Harvested wood products (HWP) can play an important role in climate-smart bioeconomic transformation. They contribute to climate change mitigation through two main mechanisms: carbon storage and substitution. Norway has ambitions to strengthen the contribution of its forest sector in climate change mitigation. Ideally, the future production and use of HWPs would increasingly shift towards products with high carbon storage and substitution benefits. We collected data from the literature and, when necessary, supplemented it with our own calculations, on carbon storage and substitution factors of HWPs that seemed relevant in evaluating the climate change mitigation potential in the context of the Norwegian forest sector. There are many uncertainties in the parameters. We identified and examined in more detail some uses of wood for industrial products that offer clear substitution benefits and, in some cases, long-term carbon storage. Wood-based construction materials, textile fibres, and insulation materials are examples of such products that could have high potential in the bioeconomy transformation in Norway.
This article presents initial findings from the first systematic investigation of /2mm/, a disyllabic bilabial-nasal response particle pronounced with the specific high-low-high wave form of the East Norwegian ‘second tonal accent’. Estimated frequencies from three extensive corpora indicate /2mm/ as by far the most common bilabial-nasal particle in Norwegian, vastly outnumbering monosyllabic /m/ and disyllabic /mhm/ known from general (English based) literature. In spite of this, /2mm/ has remained largely underexamined, and is often not distinguished from /m/ or /mhm/ in neither transcription nor analysis of interactional work. I here consider alternatives for their distinct representation, and preliminarily analyze a collection of 420 cases in Norwegian, clustered around continuer work and agreement/acknowledgement, where they appear to do discrete social actions.
Abstract Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare but severe disorder that frequently has a genetic component and results from the overactivation of the alternative complement pathway. As research moves toward improved diagnosis and therapy of aHUS, it will be important to better understand its epidemiology. Our objective was to conduct a systematic literature review to assess the incidence and prevalence estimates of aHUS globally. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Embase and MEDLINE. Additionally, practice guidelines, databases of national/international organizations, and regulatory agencies were searched. From 2960 publications identified via MEDLINE and Embase, 105 publications were eligible for full-text screening, and a total of eight full-text articles met eligibility criteria for inclusion. Regional epidemiologic estimates were obtained for Europe and Oceania. Country-specific data were available for France, Norway, Australia, and Italy. Four of the identified studies reported on the prevalence of aHUS, prevalence in the age group of 20 years or younger was ranging from 2.2 to 9.4 per million population, while the only study that reported prevalence in all ages showed a prevalence of 4.9 per million population. Six studies reported on the incidence of aHUS, annual incidence in the age group of 20 years or younger was ranging from 0.26 to 0.75 per million population, and for all ages, annual incidence was ranging from 0.23 to 1.9 per million population. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review conducted to provide a comprehensive overview of global incidence and prevalence estimates of aHUS. In general, incidence estimates were similar across all the studies; however, prevalence data were found to be more variable. Study limitations were related to inconsistencies in the definitions of aHUS between studies and also a dearth of epidemiological studies assessing incidence and prevalence of aHUS outside of Europe.
This paper explores the conceptions of grammar of first-year teacher students (N = 235) in Norway. A conventional content analysis is used to analyse the answers from the first part of a survey exploring the teacher students’ views of grammar through the following questions: Q1. How would you define the term grammar? Q2. Do you think grammar is an important part of Norwegian as a school subject? Q3. Do you feel confident in grammar? The second part of the survey is a grammar knowledge test. The results show that most students define grammar as writing correctly. Many answers also refer to language structure. Among the less frequent definitions are: theoretical knowledge of language structure, precise communication, text, and constituent analysis. Nearly all students report that they consider grammar important. Moreover, most consider their own grammar competence to be relatively good. However, there is a discrepancy between this self-evaluation and the results from the knowledge test, which are quite poor. Our study contributes to the body of research on teacher students’ conception of grammar, which, in a Norwegian context, has been unexplored. We discuss our findings in the light of national and international literature, and we propose plausible contributing factors. We also reflect upon possible consequences for teacher education.
BackgroundMental health literacy (MHL), or the knowledge and abilities necessary to benefit mental health, is a significant determinant of mental health and has the potential to benefit both individual and public mental health. MHL and its measures have traditionally focused on knowledge and beliefs about mental -ill-health rather than on mental health. No measures of MHL addressing knowledge of good or positive mental health have been identified. Aim: This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument measuring adolescents’ knowledge of how to obtain and maintain good mental health and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument. More specifically, the factor structure, internal and construct validity, and test-retest reliability were assessed.MethodsThe participants were Norwegian upper secondary school students aged 15–21 years. The development and validation of the instrument entailed three phases: 1) item generation based on the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), focus group interviews, and a narrative literature review, 2) a pilot study (n = 479), and 3) test-retest (n = 149), known-groups validity (n = 44), and scale construction, item reduction through principal component analysis (PCA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for factor structure and psychometric properties assessment (n = 1888).ResultsThirty-two items were initially generated, and 15 were selected for the pilot study. PCA identified cross-loadings, and a one-factor solution was examined. After removing five problematic items, CFA yielded a satisfactory fit for a 10-item one-factor model, referred to as the mental health-promoting knowledge (MHPK-10) measure. The test-retest evaluation supported the stability of the measure. McDonald’s omega was 0.84, and known-groups validity test indicated good construct validity.ConclusionA valid and reliable one-dimensional instrument measuring knowledge of factors promoting good mental health among adolescents was developed. The instrument has the potential to complement current measures of MHL and may be useful when planning mental health promotion activities and evaluating public mental health education initiatives in adolescents.
AbstractIn a time when war has forced a vast number of children to flee their homes, flight from war is an important and timely topic explored in a variety of ways in contemporary picturebooks. The Norwegian picturebook Fargene som forsvant (2017)—or Vanishing Colors (2019)—addresses the topic through the story of an unnamed girl’s experience of having to leave her home. Vanishing Colors does not shield the reader from the terrible harm war does to individuals; it examines the experience of losing one’s home and former life. By analysing the picturebook in light of the concept of cultural memory, this article explores Vanishing Colors’ use of intertextual and intervisual references to past narratives of war and flight. I examine these references as part of our “collective knowledge” (Assmann 1995, p. 132), which allows the picturebook to recount both the story of an individual and a collective experience of war and flight.
During the early medieval period, a large part of Fennoscandia was inhabited by the Sámi (Zachrisson 2008, 32). With written sources such as Historia Norvegiæ, Ágrip af Noregs konungasǫgum, and Heimskringla referring to Sámi settlements in the Viking and medieval period reaching as far south into Norway as Hadeland (Einarsson 2007, 5-7), alongside archaeological excavations asserting a Sámi cultural presence south of the contemporary cultural borders of Sápmi (Bergstøl 2008), close contact between the groups is not surprising. Despite often being described as ‘desolate’ and ‘remote’ (especially in the terra nullis colonialism exercised by the Scandinavian nation states in early modern times), the northernmost parts of the Fennoscandian landscape complexes are described as already inhabited in several medieval Scandinavian sagas, including the Íslendingasögur. Primarily, these texts explicitly assert that the ambiguous and distant ‘north’ of Fennoscandia was a special, preternatural place, simultaneously internal and external to what medieval Icelanders perceived as ‘Nóregi’. Whether enforced by the ‘othering’ of characters depicted with northern descent through expressive features and abilities traditionally associated with the area or its indigenous inhabitants, by the descriptions of different landscapes and communities unequivocally ‘othered’ and distinct from that of the saga-writers’ reality, or by extraordinary phenomena connected to the two, ‘norðarliga í Nóregi’ is portrayed as somewhat distinct from that of the rest of the ‘national’ landscape. Encompassing an area extending further south than contemporary northern Norway, the notion of a supernatural north in the Íslendingasögur goes beyond an idea of a unified Nóregi. Moving into the land of powerful chieftains in Naumdælafylki and the ambivalent Hálogaland, venturing ‘á fjall upp’ to the Sámi borderlands of Finnmǫrkr, whilst also incorporating the mysterious landscapes and peoples of eastern Fennoscandia, the notoriously equivocal Kvenland and Bjarmarland, distinct descriptions of peoples, places, and phenomena appear and follow literary patterns and stereotypes that are sometimes archaic. By discussing the portrayal of north Norwegian landscapes and geographical understandings in these texts, in conjunction with an examination of the depiction of the Sámi, this essay aims to demonstrate how north Norwegian spatial awareness in the Íslendingasögur can help enlighten cross-cultural relationships and liminal identities, and present fewer rigid contrasts between people and cultures in Fennoscandia than previously accounted for.
Steinar Grynning, Klodian Gradeci, Jørn Emil Gaarder
et al.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the basic criteria, trends, applications, and developments related to climate adaptation in building maintenance and operation management (MOM) practices in Norway. Investigations conducted as part of the study include an analysis of current literature addressing climate adaptation in relation to MOM practices, supplemented by a review of existing research projects and initiatives in this field. Three case studies involving different Norwegian building owner organizations were examined in order to investigate the current status of the application and extent of climate adaptation practices in relation to MOM. The study has revealed a significant gap between theory and practice when it comes to integrating MOM in relation to climate adaptation. The concept of climate adaptation is only addressed as a high-level strategic issue. The case studies thus emphasize the need for a structured process that can enable the incorporation of climate adaptation in current MOM practices. This proposes a generic and structured climate-adaptive MOM framework that will enable the incorporation of climate adaptation in into corporate MOM practices at different scales and organizational levels. Implementation of this flexible and transferable framework is expected to provide a basis for accruing further knowledge on climate adaptation. Further work with the framework should include the introduction of more tangible and tailored tools and processes, including checklists or scoring systems accompanied by relevant climate adaptation factors and plans.