Pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais vis labiau populiarėjant sąvokai ,,regionų Europa”, regionams tampant vis svarbesniais veikėjais nacionaliniame ir tarptautiniame lygmenyje, daugiau dėmesio skiriama ir regionalizmo studijoms bei regionalizacijos procesams. Šie procesai neaplenkia ir Šiaurės šalių, kurios skatina bendradarbiavimą Baltijos jūros regione į regioninius procesus įtraukdamos ir Baltijos valstybes. Baltijos jūros regiono, kuriam priklauso tiek Šiaurės, tiek Baltijos šalys, raidos procesuose svarbus vaidmuo teko ir JAV, kurioms šis regionas tapo patraukliu dėl jo augančios įtakos regione bei Europoje, tuo pačiu tai buvo puiki galimybė JAV išsaugoti įtaką Europoje pasibaigus Šaltajam karui. Pagrindinis darbo objektas – Šiaurės ir Baltijos šalių bei JAV bendradarbiavimas regioninių iniciatyvų raidos kontekste. Darbe siekiama išnagrinėti Šiaurės ir Baltijos šalių bendradarbiavimo su JAV dinamiką, įvertinant šios supergalybės poveikį ir įtaką dviejų Baltijos jūros regione esančių subregionų bendradarbiavimui. Vertinant Šiaurės ir Baltijos šalių bendradarbiavimo su JAV tendencijas daugiausiai dėmesio skiriama regioninės grupės NB8, bendradarbiaujančios su JAV, formatui bei šios valstybės inicijuotai Sustiprintos Partnerystės Šiaurės Europai programai (E-PINE). Darbo tikslui pasiekti, buvo įvykdyti tokie išsikelti uždaviniai: apžvelgta regionų raidos ir regionalizmo/subregionalizmo samprata bei pagrindinės sąvokos ir terminai, aptarta regioninio lygmens analizės vieta politikos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In recent decades when the concept ‘Regional Europe’ is becoming more popular and regions are becoming more significant players on national and international levels, bigger attention is paid to regionalism studies and regionalisation processes as well. These processes have not bypassed Nordic countries, which promote cooperation within the Baltic region by involving the Baltic States into the regional processes as well. USA has received an important role in the processes of development of the Baltic Sea region, to which belong both Northern and the Baltic States; this region has become attractive to USA because of its increasing influence in the region and Europe, and it was a good opportunity for USA to maintain its influence in Europe after the end of the Cold war. The main object of this work is cooperation between Nordic - Baltic countries and USA in the context of development of the regional initiatives. This paper work tries to investigate dynamics of cooperation between Nordic and the Baltic States and USA by assessing the superpower impact and influence on cooperation of two sub-regional states in the Baltic Sea region. When assessing tendencies of cooperation between Northern and the Baltic States and USA, most attention is paid to the format (NB8+1) of regional group NB8 collaborating with USA, JAV, and Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe (E-PINE) program initiated by this state. In order to achieve the goal, the following tasks have been fulfilled: review of... [to full text]

Early childhood is a period of rapid and significant development. At the same time, parents and other caregivers play a consequential role in how development during this period unfolds. Moreover, not only parents but also teachers and early childhood caregivers share the responsibility to make a positive contribution and difference in children’s development. It is therefore important to understand adult conceptions of children in early childhood. The present study examines this question in term of parenting approaches to child rearing and parenting attitudes in the Swedish context. The current systematic literature review examines published empirical studies to survey concepts of children and childhood in Swedish families. It is guided by the following research questions: In the existing research literature, what parental attitudes and behaviors are attributed to Swedish families? What conceptions of children and childhood can be discerned from this literature? Five articles were identified and reviewed in order to address these research questions. The results showed that parenting approaches are shaped by a child-centered view, both in families and early childhood provision and organizations, also focused on the natural development of children. Furthermore, there is an emphasis on children’s abilities to create their own path in life and respect for children’s rights and freedom. In terms of different forms of punishment including the physical punishment, discipline is not a core orientation for Swedish parents, and it is seen as an unfavorable action.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), or perhaps the lack of it, is widely debated today. Regulations and international discussions surrounding the topic is taking up a larger room in the public domain with the Paris Climate Accords being a pinnacle where a number of countries decided to agree to quite ambitious climate goals. For companies, there could be incentives to early adapt to these accords to be better suited for the future. But even during present time, it could be beneficial to as early as possible readjust into a more sustainable direction. The Nordic countries are ranked among the top in the world when it comes to sustainability. Can this however, lead to a reduction in costs for Nordic companies that invest into CSR?   The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a link between socially responsible companies and the cost of interest bearing debt. This was done by conducting a number of regression models, both linear and non-linear. The data used have a time frame of 10 years and span between 2009 to 2018 with a total number of 106 firm’s and 796 firm-year observations. CSR scores were collected using Thomson Reuters and the results show that there is a statistically significant negative relationship between CSR and the cost of interest bearing debt. The effects CSR have on the cost of interest bearing debt are somewhat inconsequential and the conclusion is made that CSR can be a major determinant for interest bearing debt, but it is related to the size of the debt portfolio. Further, the results of this research could be viewed as a component in a more comprehensive model.

Idag är det dyrt och svårt att ta sig in på bostadsmarknaden i Norden då det både är höga marknadspriser och långa köer till vissa marknadssegment, detta blir speciellt ett problem för de mer resurssvaga hushållen. Åtkomliga bostäder handlar om hur man genom olika modeller kan tillhandahålla bostäder till överkomligt pris för låg- och medelinkomsttagare. Dessa bostäder är inte speciellt inriktat på missgynnade grupper, till exempel drogmissbrukare eller de med svåra psykiska problem, utan de grupper där problemet endast är en låg inkomst. Det kan alltså handla om unga vuxna, immigranter, studerande eller hushåll med lägre inkomster. Begreppet åtkomlig bostad är dock relativt då två hushåll med samma inkomst kan ha olika utgifter beroende av bland annat hushållets och bostadens storlek och vart bostaden är belägen. Det samma gäller synen på vad som är en åtkomlig bostad då den kan variera både mellan städer och länder.  Denna litteraturstudie utfördes för att undersöka hur de nordiska ländernas jobb med att gynna åtkomliga bostäder återspeglas i den vetenskapliga litteraturen. Resultatet i studien visar bland annat att allmännyttiga bostadsbolag och organisationer är betydande i de nordiska länderna för att tillgodose allmänheten med bostäder. Oftast är delar av detta bestånd också sociala bostäder. Hur stor del de tar upp av det totala beståndet och vilken roll de har varierar mellan länderna. En annat relativt nytt sätt att främja åtkomliga bostäder är genom inkluderande bostadsbyggande. Kommunen använder sig av olika verktyg inom planeringssystemet för att se till att det vid nya projekt byggs en viss del billigare bostäder eller bostäder som ska riktas till en viss grupp. Detta sker med varierande metoder i de olika länderna då mycket beror på hur landets regelsystem ser ut. Olika typer av ekonomiskt stöd riktade både mot invånare och till projektutvecklare finns i länderna. Bostadsbidrag för att stötta hushållen beskrivs som ett stöd som är enklare att koncentrera till just de som behöver. Detta då de subventioner som går till projektutvecklare gör träffsäkerheten svår. Andra mindre alternativ för att lösa tillgången till åtkomliga bostäder finns också men här diskuteras det om de ens har en speciellt stor inverkan då de endast görs i mindre projekt. De mer lyckade alternativen lyfts fram i diskussionen som möjliga förslag att införa i andra länder. Bland annat så är ett subventionerat bosparande för unga som finns i Norge en möjlig lösning för andra länder att använda sig av. / It is expensive and difficult to enter the housing market in the Nordic countries today as there are both high market prices and the housing queues for certain market segments are long, and this will be a particular problem for the more resource-poor households. Affordable housing is about how to provide housing that is affordable to the low- and middle-income earners through different models. These homes are not specifically targeted at disadvantaged groups, such as drug addicts or those with severe mental health problems, but the groups with the problem of a low income. It can thus be about young adults, immigrants, students or households with lower incomes. However, the concept of affordable housing is relative as two households with the same income may have different expenses depending on the size of the household and the dwelling, among other things. The same applies to the view of what is an accessible home as it can vary between cities and countries. This literature study was conducted to examine how the Nordic countries work to promote affordable housing are reflected in the scientific literature. The results of the study show, among other things, that public housing companies and organizations are significant in providing the public with housing in the Nordic countries. Most often, parts of this stock are also social housing. How much they take up of the total stock and what role they play varies between countries. Another relatively new way of promoting accessible housing is through inclusionary housing. The municipality uses various tools within the planning system to ensure that new building projects include a certain amount of cheaper housing or housing that is to be targeted at a certain group. This is done with varying methods in the different countries as it depends on what the country's system of regulations looks like. Different types of financial support aimed at both residents and developers exist in the countries. Housing allowance to support households is described as a support that is easier to concentrate on those who need it. This is because the subsidies that go to the developers makes it difficult with accuracy. There are also other smaller alternatives for solving the availability of affordable housing, but the discussion is whether they even have an impact as they are only done in smaller projects. The more successful alternatives are highlighted in the discussion as possible ideas to introduce in other countries. For example, a subsidized housing saving for young people in Norway is a possible solution for other countries to use.

Nordic Nature is unique with long coastline, deep forest, mountains, rivers, and valleys, fromthe Arctic tundra of North to warm parts in south. Climate change is one of the major problemsthe Nordic countries are facing. The threat climate change is creating on the environment hascreated a consequence in Health, lifestyles, diverse society, and a whole ecosystem. Theseenvironmental toxins are creating significant risk on human health as well as wellbeing causingvarious acute, Chronic as well as autoimmune diseases. In this recent time Nordic Countrieshave been experiencing forest fires, floods, droughts, precipitation, hotter, colder, and windydays. The climate in recent years has been showing some noticeable variations. The Nordiccountries are considered as the leader in climate change moderations, but the above issues arecreating changes and slowly hampering health and lifestyles of people living there. Thesehuman induced climate changes are already creating many health problems such as allergies,asthma, many other respiratory problems, giardiasis, encephalitis, cardiovascular diseases,endocrine diseases, fertility issues and autoimmune diseases. WHO (World HealthOrganization) is also concern about the rise in the temperature in Artic region as result ofclimate change and sharing measures to prevent from these hot flushes. This thesis topic usuallyshows the connection between climate change and environmental toxins. Moreover, itunderlines how these toxins create impacts on human health and measures taken by Nordiccountries to overcome it. Thus, in this thesis we are using integrative literature review to studyhow climate change and environmental toxins are creating human health and lifestyle in Nordicregion. We took a few cases of scientific journals and articles which show how climate changeand environmental creating hazardous diseases, creating environmental pollution, and howNordic countries are taking initiatives to control them. During the research ethicalconsideration was also followed strictly. We wanted to highlight this topic to make peopleaware as climate change and environmental toxins do not look like serious issues for now, butit is like “Slow Poisons.”

Syfte: Var att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar kariesförekomst hos barn och ungdomar med utländsk bakgrund i Norden. Metod: En allmänlitteraturstudie som är uppbyggd på 10 vetenskapliga artiklar som har genomgått en kvalitetsgranskning och som inkluderades mot att vara relevanta för studiens syfte. Litteraturinsalingen har samlats in genom 3 databaser, CINAHL, DOSS och MEDLINE som är grundade inom området omvårdnad, odontologi samt medicin för att ansamla relevanta artiklar. Resultat: Barn och ungdomar med utländsk bakgrund i Norden löper en ökad risk för karies på grund av både externa och interna faktorer. Externa faktorer, såsom socioekonomiska förhållanden, föräldrarnas ursprung, föräldrarnas ålder vid migration, kulturella influenser, föräldrars kunskaper och attityder om oral hälsa. Interna faktorer inkluderar ohälsosamma kostvanor och bristande munhygien, vilket också var avgörande för utländska barn och ungdomars kariesutveckling. Slutsats: Barn och ungdomar med utländsk bakgrund som bor i Norden är mer utsatta för karies än de utan utländsk bakgrund.  Kariesförekomsten i denna målgrupp påverkas av både externa och interna faktorerna. Särskilda riskfaktorer som var betydande för målgruppen inkluderade socioekonomiska förhållanden, kostvanor och munhygienvanor. / Aim: To investigate factors that influence the prevalence of caries in children and adolescents in the Nordic countries with a foreign background. Method: A literature study based on 10 scientific articles that have undergone a quality review and were included to be relevant to the purpose of the study. The literature was collected through 3 databases, CINAHL, DOSS and MEDLINE, which are based in the field of nursing, dentistry and medicine to accumulate relevant articles. Results: Children and adolescents with foreign background living in the Nordic countries are at increased risk of caries due to both external and internal factors. External factors, such as socioeconomic conditions, parental origin, parental age at migration, cultural influences, parental knowledge. Internal factors include unhealthy dietary habits and poor oral hygiene, which were determinants of foreign children and adolescents' caries development. Conclusion: Children and adolescents with foreign backgrounds living in the Nordic countries are more prone to caries than those with non-national backgrounds. Caries prevalence in this target group is influenced by both external and internal factors. Specific risk factors that were significant for the target group included socioeconomic conditions, dietary habits and oral hygiene habits.

The Nordic countries are geographically, culturally and politically close, and have all witnessed an upsurge in support for radical right-wing parties over the past decades. Although the five parties: the Danish People’s Party, the Finns Party, the Icelandic Progressive Party, the Norwegian Progress Party, and the Sweden Democrats, are different when it comes to party history and how accepted they have been by other parties, they are today similar in their anti-immigration rhetoric, their critique of the established elites and to some extent their welfare chauvinism. According to theories on radical right-wing parties and environmental attitudes, caring for nature and the environment would make a person less probable to vote for a radical right-wing party. Using data from the European Social Survey, the relationship between environmental attitudes and radical right-wing support is examined. The initial results support this thesis, but when adding control variables the relationship is no longer significant. However, when looking at the countries separately, it shows that the relationship between environmental values and radical right-wing voting varies across the Nordic countries. Here, Norway stands out as the country with the strongest negative relationship between environmental values and support for radical right-wing parties.

The study examines the European coverage in four leading Nordic newspapers during two periods in 1993 and in 1996. During the first period, three countries were negotiating for membership in the European Union. During the second period, work on a new European Constitution was ongoing, to be negotiated by the Intergovernmental Conference at the end of the period. Two of the applicant countries, Finland and Sweden, were then members of the union since Jan 1, 1995. Voters in the third country, Norway, opted to stay outside the union. Norway is, however closely linked to the union by the previous EEA agreement. Finally, the fourth country, Denmark, had limited its longstanding membership in four important areas. Results of the main study in 1993 indicate a great difference in the degree of Europeanness of the coverage of European affairs, as indicated by the share of European issues, sources, players, institutions etc. The Danish paper, the Politiken, was on all counts genuinely European in its coverage. This could, to begin with, be understood in terms of a relational context - Denmark was a member of the European Community, the other countries were not. In 1996, as could be expected, the Norwegian paper, the Aftenposten, reduced its coverage of European affairs to about half the previous volume, the Finnish and Swedish papers, the Hufvudstadsbladet and the Dagens Nyheter, increased their volumes to new highs. The Danish paper maintained its previously comparatively high volume of European coverage, and was still distinctly more European in its outlook on transnational politics. This could be understood in terms of a new Maturity proposition - it may take a long time for the national media to come to terms with a new political environment. The study also puts forward the proposition that Danish political culture requires a different coverage of European affairs, and also requires an opportunity to discuss and evaluate European politics. On a theoretical level, the study supports the idea that national experience, historical and relational contexts influence media content. National agendas powerfully determine the orientation of transnational political communication . Three in-depth studies by and large confirm results from the content analysis. A separate exercise inspired by Grounded Theory gives rise to three theoretical concepts that seem to be fundamental dimensions of European political communication: Legitimacy (media coverage contributes to status conferral and encourages deliberation of cooperation as an idea), Participation (media coverage as expressions of intrinsical and instrumental motives for joining and taking responsibility towards European cooperation), and Mondialization/Universalism (media coverage of Europe's efforts in the global arena) / digitalisering@umu

Neighbourhood councils are sub-municipal committees which operate within a geographically delimited area of a municipality or a municipal department. Their activities cover a single established policy area such as social services (single functioned committee) or several areas such as education, leisure, and social issues (multi-functioned committee). The thesis includes a comparative analysis of the origin, occurance, and performance of multi-functioned neighbourhood councils in Finland, Norway, and Sweden during the period 1968-1986. In the case of Denmark, the debate is analyzed and the question posed as to why neighbourhood councils were not introduced during this period.It is the interplay between a number of factors which determines how and why neighbourhood councils occur and in some cases endure and are developed further. The countries' traditions and characteristics - such as the size of the public sector and local government's share of it, size of municipalities, and political culture - are important in this context. Increased democracy and greater effectivity were the main aims of the reform and these have been achieved to some extent. The occurance of neighbourhood councils also means that participation, recruitment, articulation of demands, and communication between elector and elected are changed and somewhat improved. Where neighbourhood councils exist, greater consideration is given to geographical (rather than departmental) principles in the distribution and redistribution of services and welfare. Neighbourhood councils are clearly a source of further variation between and within the Nordic countries. It is, however, too early to judge whether the variation within countries will develop into inappropriate deviations from the principal of equal services for all or if they, on the contrary, are indications of greater future responsiveness. / digitalisering@umu

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the incentives regarding the education decisions, resulting from a minimum wage over the period 2005-2014. The question is investigated by comparing the changes in the wage dispersion and upper secondary graduation rate in 17 OECD countries. And then, by comparing the changes in the bites of the minimum wage and educational attainment for upper secondary students in 11 OECD countries, where minimum wages are regulated by law. The majority of previous research seem to point out a negative educational effect of minimum wages. However, this paper finds no evidence that increasing the minimum wage can decrease the high school graduation rate. A possible explanation is that the correlation between the higher employment prospect and educational attainment can create incentives for young individuals to undergo education. This study seems to be the first to investigate the educational effects of minimum wages using internationally comparative data.