Introduktion: Varje år omkommer cirka 800 000 personer i suicid vilket gör det till en av de ledande dödsorsakerna världen över. Den suicidala problematiken och dödsfallen i suicid skiljer sig mellan män och kvinnor. Män tenderar att vara överrepresenterade världen över när det gäller mortalitet till följd av suicid. Däremot är kvinnor överrepresenterade när det gäller morbiditet. Tidigare studier har visat att hälsan hos både män och kvinnor påverkas av faktorer avseende jämställdhet. Karolinska Institutet (2021) och Svenska Yle (2021) rapporterar att kvinnors suicid ökar i Sverige och Finland. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka trenderna i suicidincidens under perioden 1990 – 2019 hos män och kvinnor i länderna Norge, Danmark, Finland och Sverige. Vidare är syftet att undersöka förhållandet i suicidincidens mellan män och kvinnor samt vilka associationer det finns mellan suicidincidensen i dessa länder och variablerna arbetslöshet, arbete och utbildning. Detta för att få kunskap om vilka faktorer som påverkar suicidincidensen.  Metod: Studien genomförs som en kvantitativ nordisk komparativ epidemiologisk studie med ett postpositivistiskt förhållningssätt och en abduktiv forskningsansats. Vidare har tidsserieanalyser med simpelt glidande medelvärde tillämpats som metod för att undersöka trenderna i suicidincidens inom respektive kön och land samt förhållandet i suicidincidens mellan könen. Pearson’s r korrelationstest har använts för att undersöka korrelationerna mellan de oberoende variablerna arbetslöshet, arbete och utbildning och den beroende variabeln suicidincidens. Simpel och multipel linjär regressionsanalys har använts för att undersöka associationerna mellan dessa variabler. De oberoende variablerna för respektive land och kön har testats mot suicidincidensen för samma land och mot samma kön.  Resultat: Resultatet ger ingen tydlig bild av hur variablerna arbetslöshet, arbete och utbildning påverkar suicidincidensen i de olika länderna och det är inte heller möjligt att göra några generaliseringar. Pearson’s r korrelationstest tyder på att det förekommer korrelationer mellan de oberoende variablerna arbetslöshet, arbete och den beroende variabeln suicidincidens. Resultatet varierar dock kopplat till olika grupper och olika perioder.  De statistiskt signifikanta simpla regressionsanalyserna tyder på att uppåtgående trender i arbetslöshet och utbildning förutspår uppåtgående trender i suicidincidensen. De simpla regressionsanalyserna tyder också på att uppåtgående trender i arbete förutspår nedåtgående trender i suicidincidensen, förutom i grupper kvinnor i Norge under perioden 1990 – 2019 och 1990 – 2001 där uppåtgående trender i arbete förutspår uppåtgående trender i suicidincidensen. De statistiskt signifikanta multipla regressionsanalyserna tyder på att uppåtgående trender i arbetslöshet och arbete förutspår uppåtgående trender i suicidincidensen. De multipla regressionsanalyserna avseende utbildning tyder på att uppåtgående trender förutspår nedåtgående trender i suicidincidensen, förutom i gruppen kvinnor i Sverige där uppåtgående trender i utbildning förutspår uppåtgående trender i suicidincidensen. I både de simpla och multipla regressionsanalyserna varierar resultatet i olika grupper och under olika perioder. Resultatet visar också att suicidincidensen har minskat under perioden 1990 – 2001 i samtliga länder men att det under perioden 2002 – 2019 ökat i länderna Norge och Sverige och att förhållandet i suicidincidens mellan män och kvinnor varierar i olika länder under olika perioder.  Konklusion: Studiens huvudfynd är att suicidincidensen visar nedåtgående trender inom båda könen i Norge, Danmark, Finland och Sverige under perioden 1990 – 2001. Under perioden 2002 – 2019 visar suicidincidensen däremot uppåtgående trender i länderna Norge och Sverige och det är framförallt den kvinnliga suicidincidensen som ökar under denna period. Studien visar att förhållandet i suicidincidens mellan män och kvinnor minskar i Finland och Norge under perioden 1990 – 2001 och i Norge, Sverige och Danmark under perioden 2002 – 2019. Det finns en association mellan arbetslöshet, arbete och utbildning samt suicidincidens, men denna association varierar inom olika länder, mellan olika kön och under olika perioder.  Studien visar att suicid är ett komplext fenomen som inte kan förstås genom att enbart undersöka enskilda faktorer eller variabler. För att det ska vara möjligt att nå en förståelse för det suicidala perspektivet behöver ett helhetsperspektiv antas. Endast då kan ett lyckat preventivt arbete nås. Vidare finns det flera olika teorier som kan användas för att förstå suicidproblematiken. / Introduction: Every year, about 800,000 people perishes due to suicide, making it one of the leading causes of death in the world. The suicidal behavior and deaths due to suicide differs between men and women. Men tend to be overrepresented worldwide in terms of mortality as a result of suicide. However, women are overrepresented in terms of morbidity. Previous studies have shown that the health of both men and women is affected by factors regarding gender equality. Karolinska Institutet (2021) and Svenska Yle (2021) report that women who perishes due to suicide are increasing in Sweden and Finland. The purpose of this study is to investigate the trends in suicide incidence during the period 1990 – 2019 in men and women in the countries Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Furthermore, the purpose is to investigate the relationship in suicide incidence between men and women, as well as which associations there are between suicide incidence in these countries and the variables unemployment, labour force and education. This is done to gain knowledge about which factors that affect the suicide incidence.  Methods: The study is conducted as a quantitative Nordic comparative epidemiological study with a post-positivist approach and an abductive research approach. Furthermore, time series analysis with a simple moving average have been applied as a method for examining the trends in suicide incidence within each gender and country, as well as the gender ratio in suicide incidence between the sexes. Pearson's r correlation test has been used to examine the correlations between the independent variables unemployment, labour force and education and the dependent variable suicide incidence. Simple and multiple linear regression analysis have been used to investigate the associations between these variables. The independent variables for each country and gender have been tested against the suicide incidence for the same country and against the same sex.  Results: The results do not provide a clear picture of how the variables unemployment, labour force, and education affect the suicide incidence in the different countries, nor is it possible to make any generalizations. Pearson's r correlation test indicates that there are correlations between the independent variables unemployment, labour force and the dependent variable suicide incidence. However, the result differs in relation to different groups and during different periods.  The statistically significant simple regression analysis indicates that upward trends in unemployment and education predict upward trends in suicide rate. The simple regression analysis also indicates that upward trends in labour force predict downward trends in suicide incidence, except in the group women in Norway during the period 1990 – 2019 and 1990 – 2001 where upward trends in labour force predict upward trends in suicide incidence. The statistically significant multiple regression analysis indicates that upward trends in unemployment and labour force predict upward trends in suicide incidence. The multiple regression analysis regarding education indicate that upward trends predict downward trends in suicide incidence, except in the group of women in Sweden where upward trends in education predict upward trends in suicide incidence. In both the simple and multiple regression analysis, the results vary in different groups and during different periods. The results also show that the suicide incidence has decreased during the period 1990 - 2001 in all countries, that it has increased in Norway and Sweden during the period 2002 - 2019 and that the differences in suicide incidence between men and women varies in different countries during different periods.  Conclusions: The main finding of the study is that the suicide incidence shows downward trends in both sexes in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden during the period 1990 – 2001. During the period 2002 – 2019, the suicide incidence shows upward trends in the countries Norway and Sweden and it is mainly the female suicide incidence that increases during this period. The study shows that the ratio of suicide incidence between men and women decreases in Finland and Norway during the period 1990 – 2001 and in Norway, Sweden and Denmark during the period 2002 – 2019. There is an association between unemployment, labour force and education and suicide incidence, but this association varies within different countries, between different genders and during different periods.  The study shows that suicide is a complex phenomenon that can not be understood by merely examining individual factors or variables. In order for it to be possible to reach an understanding of the suicidal behavior, a holistic perspective needs to be adopted. Only then can successful preventive work be achieved. Furthermore, there are several different theories that can be used to understand the suicide problem.

Notre nouveau défi est de protéger l’environnement. Pour réussir cette tâche, beaucoup considèrent qu'il faut réduire notre consommation énergétique. Le développement des énergies renouvelables permettra la réduction des gaz à effet de serre ainsi que notre consommation énergétique. Les pays nordiques ont mis en place des politiques énergétiques différentes selon leurs ressources et leurs expériences. Mais il n'est pas facile de réduire la consommation d’énergie quand les besoins augmentent et qu'il est nécessaire de conserver un haut niveau de vie. Les choix politiques sont très importants surtout pendant ces temps de crise. Il est cependant possible d'utiliser cette nouvelle révolution verte pour relancer l’économie, créer des emplois et bâtir un développement durable respectueux de l’environnement. C'est le défi auquel sont notamment confrontées les économies de l'Europe du nord. Les pays scandinaves partagent la même culture et la même histoire, mais leurs politiques énergétiques sont différentes. Ainsi, la Norvège exploite les hydrocarbures, le Danemark a opté pour l’énergie éolienne, la Suède et la Finlande recourent à l’énergie nucléaire et l’Islande développe son potentiel géothermique. Les choix énergétiques y ont souvent été argumentés par la réduction des gaz à effet de serre, même si la réalité est parfois divergente, les pays nordiques sont sur le bon chemin pour constituer un modèle dans le monde pour le développement durable et pour montrer une nouvelle façon de vivre et une nouvelle façon de penser aux générations futures. / Our new challenge is to succeed in protecting the environment; we have to reduce our energy consumption. The development of renewable energies will decrease greenhouse gases and our energy consumption. The Nordic countries have set up a different energy policy, depending on their own natural resources and know-how. It’s not easy to reduce energy consumption when needs are increasing. Political choices are very important, especially during this crisis period. We must use this new green revolution to revitalize the economy, create employment and build a good sustainable development, which respects the environment and society. The Nordic countries share the same culture, history and language, but their energy policies are different. Norway has chosen hydrocarbons, Denmark wind power, Sweden and Finland nuclear power and Iceland geothermal energy. These choices have always been an argument for the reduction of greenhouse gases, even if the reality is sometimes different. The Nordic countries are setting a good example to the world in sustainable development and showing a new way of life and thinking for the next generations.

Diploma thesis "Nordic countries and their support of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on their way to European structures" deals with foreign policies of Denmark, Sweden and Finland towards three Baltic countries in the 1990s. The paper is focused on Danish, Swedish and Finnish bilateral support of three Baltic countries on their way to European structures, particularly to the EU. The thesis strives to explain a rationale and motives which were behind decisions of Nordic countries to help Baltic countries in the 1990s. Although the thesis is primarily focused on a development in the 1990s, a short part is also devoted to a historical development of the relations between Nordic and Baltic countries. This historical excursion helps to identify changes of Nordic foreign policies (Baltic policies) which occurred in the 1990s. The main proposition of this thesis is a statement that though there were several motives behind decisions of Nordic states to help Baltic countries, the main factor which caused high involvement of Denmark, Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea area were security related factors. The thesis also offers a summary of some motives which were behind high involvement of Nordic countries in the region and provides some similarities and differences in Baltic policies of Denmark, Sweden and...

Diploma thesis "Nordic Cooperation. Its Transformation in the Second Half of the 20th Century and Its Current Shape" deals with the Nordic cooperation among Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden from the second half of the 20th century with the focus on the period from the 1990s till 2008. At the beginning, there is an introduction to the history of cooperation in Scandinavia till the 1990s and a description of two main institutions of the Nordic cooperation: the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The main chapter analyses the Nordic cooperation from the 1990s, it focuses on areas and intensity of the cooperation and describes concrete programmes, projects, institutions, targets and results of the cooperation. The thesis also deals with the question of the impact of the three Baltic States involvement in the Nordic cooperation in the 1990s. The answer is that the internal Nordic cooperation has been developing very intensively - it was demonstrated by the analysis of the Nordic cooperation in the 1990s in the main chapter - without any affecting of the Baltic States involvement in the main. On the contrary, the Baltic States involvement has brouhgt the external opportunity for the Nordic countries to integrate into the cooperation in the Baltic Sea region.

Diploma thesis deals with local polity, politics and policies in the Nordic countries. The main aim of this thesis is to study local polity, politics and policies in the Nordic countries and then identify what are the most important common features of these countries and the most significant differences between them. The first chapter deals with known theoretical approaches to distinctions between local government systems. This chapter presents some typologies of local government systems. Another four chapters are dedicated to local politics in the Nordic countries. The second chapter is focused on Sweden. The third chapter deals with Denmark. The fourth chapter is focused on Norway, while the fifth chapter on Iceland. The each of these four chapters is split into several subchapters, which are focused especially on competencies, tasks and duties of municipalities, structure and functioning of municipal institutions, forms of intermunicipal cooperation, number and size of municipalities, structure of municipal earnings and expenditures and other financing matters, electoral and party systems at local level, neighborhood councils, user democracy and free commune experiments. The last chapter summarizes and compares findings. Conclusion presents the most evident common features of local polity, politics and...

The aim of this study is to compare the subject syllabuses for history education in uppersecondary school of Finland, Norway and Sweden. Three syllabuses from Norway, two from Finland and one from Sweden for courses that are compulsory for higher education preparatory programmes in the three countries have been analysed and compared. Qualitative content analysis has been used to find similarities and differences for what the countries find important with and in the history subject. A deductive analysis has been used for the part of the syllabus where the aim and the goals are written. An inductive analysis has been used for the part of the course content. By using a deductive content analysis with a coding scheme based on common historical didactic terms, the result of this study shows that every country finds that historical consciousness, narration, historical empathy, historical method and the uses of history are important parts of the history subject and education. However, the countries differ when it comes to if they see these parts as the aim or as a goal with the subject or the education. The inductive content analysis shows that all countries find sources and work with sources, uses of history, time periods, global historical events and processes and development of state and societies as important parts of the education. A difference between the countries is that Finland and Norway have more specific national history content in the syllabuses than Sweden has. Therewith does this result show that both Norway and Sweden find it important to problematize the time periods and to have different historical questions, aspects and explanations in the content of history education.

The party system of Iceland was always well-known for its strong stability and moderate nature typical for its whole modern development. But since the 1999 parliamentary election the Icelandic party system has been going through several changes and it is not appropriate to consider it nowadays as a traditionally stable party system with, in the long term, the dominant Independence Party. The party system is splitting off and the new parties are found out. Although after the 2013 election the system returned to the pre-2009 model, there is still an important question whether it reflects repeated stabilization of the Iceland political and party system, or it is only a reaction to the left-wing government in the years of 2009 to 2013. The aim of this thesis is to answer the following questions: is the Icelandic party system going through some changes of its structure or inter-party competition, and if so, is this transformation caused by the financial and bank crisis in 2008, or does it concern long- term transformations? Did the electoral shock in 2009 result from the reaction of the Icelandic voters to the financial crisis, or the election results were only another validation of the long- term Icelandic party system trend, namely by erosion of its traditional adjustment? In the analysis of the...

The Nordic welfare state is usually referred to as the most successful model of its kind; this social system based on the principle of universalism is a common ideal for other European states. The goal of the diploma thesis The Nordic Welfare State Model is to introduce this social model, both from a theoretical and practical point of view. The description of theoretic models as well as the history of European welfare states are vital in order to understand the functioning of social systems; however the main purpose of this paper is to characterize the Nordic welfare state model through the examples of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and to capture the main commonalities and disparities in comparison with the rest of Europe. Based on up-to-date analyses of mainly Scandinavian researchers as well as reports of international organizations this paper offers an extensive analysis of the Nordic Welfare State Model.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att göra en jämförande studie mellan faktorerna som enligt en teoretisk ram påverkar en miljöinvestering och faktorerna som ingår i ett företags bedömnings-modell. Respondentbolaget begärde i ett tidigt skede att få vara anonymt och benämns därför som Företaget. Det är en multinationell koncern med verksamhet i många skilda branscher, men med fokus på norden och produkter som kan kopplas till lantbruk. Den teoretiska referensramen har sin utgångspunkt i begreppen värde och investering samt hur deras koppling till miljö och miljöinvesteringar för att identifiera de faktorer som påverkar en miljöinvestering. Faktorerna som ingår i den teoretiska referensramen och som jämförs mot respondentbolagets faktorer är:  Investeringens värdetillförsel  Investeringens miljöpåverkan  Hur investeringen påverkar produktionsförutsättningarna  Krav från samhället  Kundkrav Kopplingen däremellan bedöms enligt en femgradig skala. Informationen från Företaget inhäm-tades genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer med representanter från Företaget. Slutsatsen för detta arbete är att Företaget har identifierat samma faktorer som den teoretiska referensramen. De använder dock mätetal som inte fullt ut reflekterar faktorerna. Den största avvikelsen är bedömningen av en investerings värdetillförsel, då Företaget fullt ut införlivar det producerade värdet samt det faktum att en miljöinvestering skall ses som irreversibel. Enkelhet premieras hos Företaget och det är för att prioritera modellens användbarhet, som Företaget väl-jer att acceptera brister i bedömningsmodellen. För att förbättra bedömningsmodellen bör Företaget därför införliva nya mätetal som till större del reflekterar faktorerna som påverkar en miljöinvestering / The purpose of this master thesis is to present a comparison between the factors that affects an environmental investment. This is done through applying a theoretical framework on the factors affecting a company’s existing appraisal model for environmental investments. The company that was a part of this thesis asked at an initial stage for confidentiality, therefore it is called the Company in this thesis. The Company that contributes with the appraisal model is a multination-al group with operations in many different industries, but with a focus on the Nordic countries and products that may be linked to the agricultural sector. The theoretical framework has its base in the concepts of value and investments and their connection to the environment and the envi-ronmental investment. The identified factors in the theoretical framework are:  The investment’s addition to the value creation to the company  The investment’s environmental impact  How the investment affects the production  Demands from society  Customer demands From these, the factors affecting a company’s existing appraisal model were compared and their connection to theoretical framework was judged according to a 5-grade scale. Information from the Company was acquired through semi-structured interviews with representatives from the Company. The largest deviation is how the company considers an investment’s contribution to the produced value. Because of this imperfection does the company's model not fully incorporate the produced value and that an environmental investment is irreversible. The overall conclusion is that the Company has identified the same factors as the theoretical framework. The Company has though chosen to use their existing methods and performance indicators that don’t fully incorporate the factors in the theoretical framework. The largest devia-tions are how the company considers an investment’s contribution to the produced value and that it should be considered as irreversible. The Company must therefore in order to enhance their appraisal model develop new performance measures for the factors.