Thesis (M.A.)--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-148).

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Austria, Finland and Sweden - all small highly developed industrial and rich countries - entered the EU in 1995. Their macroeconomic performance since then was quite different. Real GDP in Finland und Sweden increased faster than in EU average, while those of Austria fell back. Austria lost its second rank in GDP per capita (at PPS) and is now the fourth richest EU country; Sweden fell back from the seventh to the eight rank, while Finland improved its position from rank 11 to nine. In a referendum in September 2003 Sweden refused to take over the Euro, whereas the other two countries are members of the Euro area. Ex post model simulations indicate that Finland appears to have profited most from EU membership (0.7 percentage point greater annual GDP growth since 1995), followed by Austria (+0.4 percent) and Sweden (+0.3 percent). / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Lic.-avh. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2009. / Härtill 2 uppsatser.

In science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, producing high level talent and increasing equity of access and engagement are prominent but sometimes conflicting policy directives. Yet, retention and persistence are important outcomes both for the production of elite talent and for promoting equity within STEM fields. This dissertation investigates the effects of policy on student persistence in Finland, Sweden and the United States. Drawing on interviews with upper-secondary school students and teachers (Finland: 26 students, 8 teachers; Sweden: 29 students and 10 teachers; United States: 19 students, 2 mentors) and surveys (Finland: 255 students, Sweden: 130 students, United States: 288 students), this study investigates the effects that different structures (including contrasting policies of stratification and differentiation, specialist magnet schools and enrichment programmes) have on students’ intentions to persist in STEM fields. This study supports the theory that educational policies mediate student persistence both through structural possibility, and through the development of students’ identities and non-cognitive skills. Here, non-cognitive skills (such as self-efficacy and self-concept) are considered part of an ‘adaptive habitus’ and a latent variable comprised of domain-specific non-cognitive skills is used in models of student persistence. The models illustrate the do- main specific interactions of educational structures, student background, adaptive habitus and student persistence. Analysis of the interviews further explores these relationships, suggesting the importance of programmes that include exposure to challenging real-world STEM learning and interaction with STEM professionals, and that such features are effective in part because they foster an adaptive habitus towards STEM fields. The policy implications for both efficiency and equity are considered. A framework of Mechanism, Transparency and Permeability is introduced for analysing the effects of policies on efficiency and equity. Drawing on the interviews, this framework is used to give a comparative characterisation of the educational systems Finland, Sweden and the United States. Permeability is highlighted as particularly important for retention and persistence, and a key consideration for educational policies that seek to produce elite talent, and promote equity in STEM fields.

This thesis aims to analyze the evolution of the security policies of Finland and Sweden within the European Union (EU) with a comparative perspective. The main argument of this thesis is that increasing European integration in the field of security and defense may lead to adaptations and modifications in the security policy formulations of two militarily non-allied EU member states, Finland and Sweden. However, the nature and extent of these adaptations will depend on each state&rsquo / s own security policy perspective and own perception of the ongoing European security integration. This thesis seeks answers to questions such as &ldquo / How does the policy of non-participation in military alliances affect these countries&rsquo / standpoints and their participation in general in the EU&rsquo / s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and in the Common European Security and Defence Policy (CESDP)?,&rdquo / &ldquo / How do Finland and Sweden interpret and apply this policy perspective within the CFSP, and in the CESDP?&rdquo / and &ldquo / What does membership of the EU imply for the policies of the militarily non-allied countries?.&rdquo / This thesis consists of nine chapters. The second chapter gives the conceptual framework of this thesis. The third chapter focuses on the evolution of their neutrality policies until the Second World War while the fourth one presents the evolution of their security policies from the Second World War until the end of the Cold War. The fifth chapter covers the transition period from their neutrality policy to their EU membership, while the sixth chapter focuses on the evolution of their security policies especially within the CESDP. The seventh chapter draws attention to their new security policy agenda and the eighth chapter presents the comparative analysis of their security policies in the EU. The ninth, and concluding chapter, offers an overall comparative perspective about the respective security policy profiles of the two countries within the EU. This thesis has reached the conclusion that owing to their different histories, geopolitical positions and security policy concerns during the Cold War, their ways of adapting to the changes within the EU were inclined to be different too. Even though their entry to the EU in 1995 may be accepted as the starting-point for the potential future convergence of their security policies, the similarities in their security policy considerations do not outweigh the differences for the time being.

Nowadays the Arctic becomes a new arena for political and economic interrelation of different states in their will to gain future benefits, which the region can bring. The aim of the thesis is to investigate the Arctic as an area of cooperation and (or) conflict between Russia and three EU states: Denmark, Finland and Sweden as well as the EU itself. This research paper looks on the problem from the perspective of rational- choice theory of international relations, which allows comparing the Arctic strategies of observed actors and their interests in the region. Despite existence of the Arctic Council as a platform for negotiations and multilateral agreements, as well as common will to solve the disputes there is still place for uncertainties in actor' view on the development of the Arctic. For this reason the question of the Arctic region is urgent for all above mentioned countries including the EU, which seeks to take its place in the debate.

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.