André Opsahl, Marie Viken, Charlotte Haugland Sundkvist
Offentlig regnskap og økonomistyring har lenge vært et neglisjert fagområde innenfor høyere utdanning. Konsekvensene er at offentlige virksomheter ikke får dekket sitt kompetansebehov gjennom ansattes høyere utdanning, og at fagområdet domineres av kurstilbud fra private aktører. Basert på dybdeintervjuer med elleve økonomi- og regnskapssjefer kartlegges kommunenes kompetansebehov og hvordan det dekkes. Forankret i studiens funn og relevant forskningslitteratur foreslår vi en fremtidig rollefordeling mellom høyere utdanningsinstitusjoner og kurstilbydere der formålet er at aktørene skal komplementere hverandre. Vårt forslag er at høyere utdanningsinstitusjoner bør fokusere på konseptuell og teoretisk-forankret kompetanse, mens kurstilbydere dekker mer teknisk spisset kompetanse og det løpende behovet for oppdateringskurs.
Abstract in English
Public Sector Accounting: Competency Requirements in Norwegian Municipalities and the Roles of Higher Education and Course Providers
Public sector accounting has historically been neglected in higher education. The consequences are that public sector institutions (at the national, regional, and local levels) are unable to cover their competence needs through employees' formal education and that this is covered by courses offered by private actors. Based on eleven in-depth interviews with finance and accounting managers, this study maps and investigates municipalities' competence needs, and how they are met by higher education and private course providers in Norway. Based on these findings and the relevant literature, we propose a future distribution of roles between these actors and argue how they may complement each other. Our proposal is that higher education institutions should focus on broad conceptual and theoretically rooted competence, while course providers may cover more technically advanced competence and the ongoing need for refresher and updated courses.
Marianne Hope Abel, Kaja Lund-Iversen, Hanne Fjerdingby Olsen
et al.
Background and objectives: Today, enough food is produced in the world, but much of the food produced and offered has poor nutritional quality, is unevenly distributed, or requires a lot of natural resources. To achieve a more sustainable food system, there is a need for simple tools to guide consumers, food producers, politicians, etc. towards more sustainable foods and diets. The main aim of the NewTools project is to develop two new scoring systems for foods; one that indicates nutritional quality, and one that indicates environmental and social sustainability, and to explore potential areas of application. Methods: In the research project NewTools (2021-25), 28 different actors in the Norwegian food system are partners and represent research institutions (7), food industry (13), governmental agencies (3), and non-governmental organizations (5). Building on existing knowledge and scoring systems, the project will first work to identify relevant indicators for being included in the scores. Indicators should be evidence based, measurable, and reasonably easily accessible. The indicators shall then be weighted according to their relative importance into the aggregated scores. NewTools also facilitates co-creation so that possible uses for the scores can be identified and tested. Research integrity is ensured by following a predefined framework for cooperation. Results: Until now, the evaluation of the newly revised Nutri-Score in a Norwegian setting has revealed several potential areas of improvement. We have defined a set of criteria for a nutrition quality score that will better align with food-based dietary guidelines, and a prioritized list of gaps compared to the Nutri-Score. For environmental and social sustainability, we are currently mapping relevant indicators with input from the literature and food system actors. Discussion: NewTools is a research project and a platform for broad collaboration that can contribute to the development of effective tools for shifting the food system towards a more sustainable direction, including more dimensions of sustainability compared to the European “product environmental footprint” (PEF). Partners representing governmental agencies, the food industry, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) contribute information, critical perspectives, data, and feedback, and their involvement is important to ensure that different perspectives are included.
Leikny Bakke Lie, Vilde Lysgaard, Are Kristoffer Sydnes
Climate change is increasingly being coupled to extreme weather and climate events, with an observed increase in intensity and occurrence of climate-related events. Norway is no exception. Though generally considered quite resilient to climate risk, with favorable conditions for adapting on a national level, studies point to regional and local differences. Applying a mixed methods approach we combine a literature review on climate adaptation in Norwegian municipalities showing patterns and trends, with a small-N case study allowing for an in-depth exploration of four Arctic municipalities, where warming occurs faster. We investigate how Norwegian municipalities observe, identify, and prepare for climate-related hazards, by applying the anticipation stage of resilience as an analytical approach. Findings demonstrate how municipal anticipatory capabilities largely rely on external expertise to gather information and/or reduce uncertainty. Experience and familiar hazards form the basis for preparing for future risk. This leaves municipalities running the risk of adapting to present risks while neglecting future developments in vulnerability and exposure to weather and climate events. Climate adaptation has been embedded in the existing processes for risk management, applying statutory risk- and vulnerability assessments as the primary tool for identifying climate risk. We find that this framing leaves a significant imprint on the municipal adaptation efforts. Based on our findings we recommend that municipalities look to strengthen in-house competency on climate adaptation and implement the use of distinct climate risk assessments to better capture long-term risk and identify local adaptation needs and measures.
Tsegabirhan Kifleyohannes, Ingrid Olstad, Alejandro Jiménez-Meléndez
et al.
Objectives Morphological and molecular approaches were used to identify arthropods associated with feline pruritus. The literature associated with the arthropod genus identified was reviewed. Methods On two occasions (summer 2020 and summer 2021), the owner of a cat with seasonal pruritus (commenced 2020) found the cat’s bed was substantially infested with arthropods suspected of being associated with exacerbated pruritus. The pruritus was largely itching and hair loss, particularly on the abdomen, and flaking skin patches. On the second occasion (2021), examples of the arthropods were sent to the parasitology laboratory at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences for identification. They were examined by stereomicroscopy and tentatively identified based on morphology. DNA was extracted, and identification confirmed by PCR and sequencing. The literature was reviewed to determine whether this arthropod genus has previously been considered to be associated with pruritus or the infestation of mammals. Results Based on morphological characteristics, the arthropods were tentatively identified as Nothrus species mites. This was confirmed by PCR. A literature review found no previous reports of pruritus or other clinical signs associated with Nothrus species mites, and mites were not found on the cat. However, this mite has previously been found on small mammals at densities exceeding that expected of incidental stragglers. Conclusions and relevance The large number of Nothrus species mites could have exacerbated the cat’s pruritus. By publishing this study, we hope to alert veterinarians to the possibility that Nothrus species mites may cause or exacerbate pruritus in cats.
Amber M. Hall, Jake E. Thistle, Cherrel K. Manley
et al.
Prenatal organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) are ubiquitous and have been linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, few studies have examined prenatal OPs in relation to diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with only two studies exploring this relationship in a population primarily exposed through diet. In this study, we used a nested case-control study to evaluate prenatal OP exposure and ADHD diagnosis in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). For births that occurred between 2003 and 2008, ADHD diagnoses were obtained from linkage of MoBa participants with the Norwegian Patient Registry (N = 297), and a reference population was randomly selected from the eligible population (N = 552). Maternal urine samples were collected at 17 weeks’ gestation and molar sums of diethyl phosphates (ΣDEP) and dimethyl phosphates metabolites (ΣDMP) were calculated. Multivariable adjusted logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between prenatal OP metabolite exposure and child ADHD diagnosis. Additionally, multiplicative effect measure modification (EMM) by child sex was assessed. In most cases, mothers in the second and third tertiles of ΣDMP and ΣDEP exposure had slightly lower odds of having a child with ADHD, although confidence intervals were wide and included the null. EMM by child sex was not observed for either ΣDMP or ΣDEP. In summary, we did not find evidence that OPs at 17 weeks’ gestation increased the odds of ADHD in this nested case-control study of ADHD in MoBa, a population primarily experiencing dietary exposure.
Hvilket handlingsrom har kvinner hatt i filosofien? I artikkelen benytter jeg Sofie Charlotte av Preussen som eksempel for å drøfte dette spørsmålet. Kvinner har tradisjonelt ikke hatt samme forutsetninger som menn til å skrive filosofi og publisere verk. Av denne grunn har de gjerne blitt neglisjerte eller helt ekskluderte fra tradisjonell filosofihistorie. Likevel har flere av dem spilt viktige roller som samtalepartnere og korrespondenter for kanoniserte mannlige filosofer, en rolle de i heller liten grad har blitt anerkjent for. Både gjennom samtaler og korrespondanse bidro Sofie Charlotte til utviklingen av Leibniz’ grunnantakelser, deriblant den optimistiske ideen om at vi lever i den beste av alle mulige verdener. I forordet til verket Teodicé krediterer Leibniz henne for denne viktige rollen, men senere historieskrivning har oversett passasjen og har heller fremstilt Leibniz som en filosof som har tenkt ut sine store tanker i ensomhet og isolasjon fra andre mennesker og omverden. Tesen er at denne «elfenbenstårnmodellen» må forlates til fordel for en «symfilosofimodell» hvor Leibniz’ ideer og argumentasjon må sees som resultat av samtaler med Sofie Charlotte.
The point of departure for this article has been personal experiences and feedback from Irish and Scottish researchers and traditional musicians that the Norwegian traditional singing, kveding, resembles sean-nós singing. I have met traditional musicians, singers and researchers in Ireland and Scotland who compare selected melodies from Setesdal, Norway to the “old style” of singing in these countries. The research questions have become: How do the informants respond to performances of a selection of setesdalstev, and how do they describe these experiences? What eventual similarities between kveding of stev from Setesdal and sean-nós singing are identified by the informants?
The research is based on empirical material consisting of videotaped interviews with Irish and Scottish researchers, traditional singers and musicians. Audio material from archives, commercial recordings, transcriptions and literature on the subject also form part of the material. The methodological approach has been a presentation of stev from Setesdal via live performance and sound recordings. Participant responses to stev melodies form the basis for a comparison and analysis of different stylistic traits. The respons refer to special traits of kveding of setesdalsstev which are also found in Irish and Scottish sean-nós song.
Målet med denne artikkelen er å vise hvordan tekstene til Knut Hamsun reiser over lande- og sjangergrenser, nærmere sagt: hvordan hans episke tekster fungerer på de polske scenene. Artikkelen begynner med en historisk oversikt over Hamsuns verk i polsk oversettelse fra 1890-årene til dagens dato. Deretter blir en liste over alle polske dramatiseringer av romanene hans presentert og omtalt. To av forestillingene, nemlig Tangen (2005, regissert av Łukasz Witt-Michałowski) og Knut Hamsuns sult (Głód Knuta Hamsuna, 2010, gjennomført av Łukasz Witt-Michałowski og Ryszard Kalinowski) blir nærmere analysert med hensyn til tekniske løsninger anvendt i framføringene og eventuelle teaterteorier eller -tilnærminger disse løsningene har sitt opphav i. Artikkelen omtaler også mottakelse av de to forestillingene av polske teaterkritikere og anmeldere.
This article contributes to postcolonial cultural criticism by analyzing how since the 1920s, Lapland and its residents have been portrayed as exotic Others in Finnish feature films that are set in Lapland. The roots of the othering of Lapland go back to the nationalist aspirations of the Finns. The geographical distance of the northern region has bred mental distance, because of which Lapland has remained a source of exoticism for filmmakers, who almost invariably come from the South. Lapland can be seen as Finland’s spatial and cultural Other, an “internal Other” (Jansson 2003). This article asks what kind of strategies of othering are used in Rauni Mollberg’s film The Earth Is a Sinful Song (1973), which is the extreme example of othering among films that are set in Lapland. The film is based on Timo K. Mukka’s novel of the same name and it caused a sensation to contemporary audiences because of its harsh and naturalistic way of depicting life in a poor northern village in the late 1940s. The article analyzes the cinematic techniques and style that are used to represent the characters as primitive, over-sexed and uncivilized. It also places The Earth Is a Sinful Song in a continuum of ‘Lapland films’, showing that othering has taken many forms both before and after it.
This study aims to examine what conceptions preschool teacher educators in Norway have about the subject fields of children’s language learning and early literacy. To investigate what the teacher educators in these two subject fields hold as important, we have interviewed twelve teacher educators having a master or PHD degree, six from the subject of Norwegian and six from the subject of Pedagogy. The research question is: What conceptions do teacher educators have about teaching in the subject fields of children’s language learning and early literacy in preschool teacher education? The results show that the teacher educators had quite different perspectives on what to teach future preschool teachers in the subject fields of children’s language learning and early literacy. The teacher educators in Norwegian talked of early literacy as a field of great importance, but gave equal status to children’s literature, and said that they used more time to teach literature than to teach children’ language learning and early literacy. The teacher educators in Pedagogy said they thought of children’s language learning as having less importance than play. They all claim that the teacher students do not have solid educational knowledge when they graduate from the Preschool Teacher Education.
This article aims at exploring the great influence of Ibsen and especially his play A Doll House on the young Chinese girls studying at Peking Women’s High Normal University established for the first time in China at the beginning of the 20th century to educate girls.
In its short history, the girls at the university were exposed widely to the progressive ideas and literature from the West. Ibsen, the most popular writer at that time, inspired the girls tremendously whose performance of A Doll House aroused a heated debate among the well-known scholars on such important issues as women’s rights, women’s liberation, new culture, art and literature.
Consequently there appeared at the university first group of modern Chinese women writers who picked up their pens and wrote about themselves and about women in China, describing themselves as “Chinese Noras”.
The article discusses the possible value of a ”critical empiricism” as the forgotten ”other” of the well-established critical theory. Following Swedish sociologist Johan Asplund, critical empiricism is described as ”seeing what others have not seen”. The ”theoretical turn” in architectural research is questioned with the help of architectural historians Anders Åman and Mari Hvattum. The 1940s discussion of Swedish architecture as “new empiricism” introduces a strong relation between the Nordic welfare societies and their architecture as a characteristic also of Swedish architectural history.
The article presents a recent historiographical project by a network of Swedish architectural historians from universities and schools of architecture. One of the networks’ papers is about Gregor Paulsson’s book Svensk stad [Swedish Town], an “environmental history” with a pronounced sociological perspective and an ambition to influence Swedish post-war planning. Another paper discusses architectural history as the study of building categories, a firmly established tradition in Swedish architectural history, in this case with a fundamentally “functional” perspective. A third paper is a critical study of the 1970s turn from architectural history as a history of monuments to a history of the built environment in its broadest sense.
In conclusion, critical empiricism in architectural history is presented as a vigorous and necessary reminder of how society could be different in a time when humanities as well as planning are questioned by politicians.
This article presents an unpublished Neo-Latin poem written by Sigismondo Chigi (1649–1678), a nephew of Fabio Chigi or Pope Alexander VII (1655–1667). It was written in Rome in the early 1660s and deals with the times of Agostino Chigi il Magnifico, one of the richest persons in the Roman world of the early sixteenth century. Sigismondo’s humorous poem is considered against the background of the Latin poetry of his uncle, the later Pope, who tutored Sigismondo’s Latin studies, handed over his own poetry and other Latin writings to his nephew, and tried to make him aware of the importance of the Chigi family in a Roman context. The poem is preserved in a Vatican manuscript.