Changing Family Policy in Sweden and Finland during the 1990s

The aim of the article is to analyse changes in family policy programmes in Sweden and Finland during the turbulent years of the 1990s. The results suggest that in spite of cutbacks some features of the ideal‐typical model of Nordic family policy became more prominent towards the end of the 1990s. For example, the importance of universalism was strengthened by such measures as the discontinuation of several forms of tax benefits for families with children in Sweden, and especially in Finland. The subjective right to day care was extended in both countries to cover all children of preschool age. Because of cutbacks, however, policies aimed at promoting horizontal and vertical distribution suffered. There was hardly any change in pronatalism. Compared with the 1970s and 1980s, the 1990s were indeed a period of retrenchment. However, this did not mean profound structural change. In the case of family policy, the early fears concerning the demise of the Nordic model proved false.     

Conditionally gaussian distributions and an application to kalman filtering with stochastic regressors

The work reviews theory of conditionally Gaussian distributions, especially so called theorems on normal correlation. Three theorems are given: the basic, the recursive, and the conditional theorem on normal correlation. They assume that (a,y), (a,x,y), or (a,y,z) has a Gaussian distribution, ussert that (a,y), (a,x,y), and (a,y,z), respectively, are Gaussian, and give formulas for the corresponding conditional mean vectors and variance covariance matrices. A proof is presented for the recursive and the conditional theorem.     

Repurposing the university in the 21st century: toward a progressive global vision

The purpose of the contemporary university has been redefined across the world in terms of success in global competition, usefulness for money-making, and efficiency, meaning application of New Public Management ideas. My aim is to sketch an alternative and future-oriented ethico-political conception of the university to serve counterhegemonic purposes. First I discuss briefly the Humboldtian myth and legacy. Second, I summarize Jürgen Habermas’s analysis of the historical and practical limits of the idea of the university. Third, in response to Habermas’s criticism, I outline a non-speculative, scientific realist way of understanding the unity of all sciences and humanities. Fourth, I locate the idea of the university in the twenty-first century global context, understood in part as world risk society. And finally, I argue that the autonomy of the university should be anchored in the rules, principles and institutional arrangements of multi-spatial metagovernance, rather than just those of territorial states. The future of the university calls for new cosmopolitan institutional solutions and world citizenship.     

The matrix affects carabid beetle assemblages in linear urban ruderal habitats

Matrix contrasts affect communities in patchy landscapes by influencing resources, abiotic conditions and spill-over effects. However, current knowledge is significantly biased towards forest and rural communities. We examined the effects of three different matrix types, i.e., low, intermediate and high contrasts, on carabid beetle assemblages at urban railway verges in two climatic regions. Study sites were located in Finland and in Slovenia. Using pitfall trapping, non-metric multidimensional scaling and generalised linear mixed models, we investigated carabid assemblages at railway verges and in differently contrasting adjacent matrices, i.e. built-up, grassland and forest. The matrix influenced carabid assemblages at railway verges. Assemblages grouped with adjacent matrix types, although some Finnish railway assemblages included a characteristic set of open dry habitat species. Abundances of generalist species at railway verges were higher when next to grassland or forest than urban matrices. Habitat specialists responded negatively to high contrast matrices, resulting in lower abundances of open habitat specialists in railway verges when next to forests and nearly no spill-over of forest specialists into railway verges. These patterns were consistent in both countries, i.e. irrespective of climatic region. Our study emphasises effects of the adjacent matrix and matrix contrasts on communities in linear open habitat patches in cities. Knowledge on matrix effects in patchy landscapes, such as urban environments, is essential in understanding the distribution and composition of communities in discrete patches. This knowledge can be used in conservation planning. If habitat specialists are negatively affected by high matrix contrasts, high contrasts should be avoided.     

The NEET concept in comparative youth research: the Nordic countries and South Africa

The NEET concept has become widely used internationally since its emergence in the UK almost two decades ago. This article reviews the adoption of the concept in two extreme contexts in terms of NEET rates, youth opportunities and youth welfare: the Nordic countries and South Africa. The article discusses the situations of NEET young people in the two contexts, and how the concept is used in the wealthy and relatively homogenous Nordic welfare states and in relatively poorer and racially divided South Africa. While the concept has been problematised in different ways in Nordic youth research, it has been more readily accepted by South African researchers. We argue that, in both contexts, the NEET concept can be taken as an invitation to look beyond individual life situations and biographies, and to focus on how structural forces such as the political economy shape young people’s lives. The NEET concept provides a way of discussing changing opportunity structures and how global social forces such as globalisation and neoliberalisation shape young people’s lives in different contexts. The NEET concept is useful in comparative youth research.     

On the historicity of social ontology

The question I raise is whether the basic features of mind, social categories, and society are unchanging or changing. Some understandings of ontology would seem to suggest that social ontology is a branch of metaphysics. However, as the history of concepts such as metaphysical and ontology indicate, our concepts and knowledge are historical. It is widely held that society is concept- and activity-dependent. I examine critically two strands of social ontology in terms of their answers to this problematic: (1) John Searle’s theory of the construction of social reality and (2) critical realist theory of mind and society as interlaced emergent layers of reality. Apart from emergence in natural systems, there is also emergence beyond nature as consciousness, agency and society cannot be completely explained in terms of biological realities; but how and when did this emergence occur? We need an account of the emergent order of language, reflectively conscious mind, and institutions not only for its own sake, but also because the process whereby new objects and properties emerge may be on-going, path-dependent, diverse, and open-ended. The main argument is that the object of study of social theorists is geo-historically specific, liable to diversity within any given world-historical epoch, and open to further changes and new forms of emergence in the future.     

Exact predictors for a generalized ar(1) process with an ar(1) parameter

The generalized AR(1) process y _t = a _t y _t-1+ v _t is considered, where the parameter a _t follows the AR(1) process a _t = Ga _t-1+ w _t.Assuming that V _t and w _t are Gaussian and independent, the first six exact predictors for future values of y _t are derived. These exact predictors are compared with Box-Jenkins -type approximations. MACSYMA, a computer algebra program, is utilized in the derivation of the predictors.     

Will the EU Disintegrate? What Does the Likely Possibility of Disintegration Tell About the Future of the World?

Is it true that either the EU will be democratised or it will disintegrate? I concur that the current policies, principles, and institutions of the EU both generate counterproductive politico-economic effects and suffer from problems of legitimation. These effects and problems, which are not confined to Europe, give rise to tendencies towards disintegration. My second point concerns the timing of the required learning and reforms. Modest policy proposals and tentative steps within the existing EU Treaty framework may be too little too late. The question is whether there is enough time for deeper transformations in Europe—and also globally.     

Decomposition of labile and recalcitrant litter types under different plant communities in urban soils

Although little is known about the relationship between aboveground and belowground biota and ecosystem services in urban soils, the scarce data suggests that plant coverage has a key role in influencing the urban C and N cycles. Plant litter quality and quantity have been addressed as one the major factors determining the rate of nutrient and organic carbon cycling in urban soils. However, the land-use history of urban soils, frequency of disturbances and abiotic-biotic conditions may largely contribute to the effects of aboveground biota on decomposition process. Here we studied the decomposition process of different litter types (labile and recalcitrant litter) in two structurally and chemically divergent urban soils (landfill sandy soil and richer park soil). At both of these urban sites, a reciprocal litter placement experiment was performed to distinguish the effects between plant coverage (plant treatment) and litter type on litter decomposition processes. As hypothesized, labile litter decomposed faster than recalcitrant litter at both urban soil types. Urban soil type however, had a clear impact on degradation rate of the litter: all litter types decomposed at higher rates in park soil with higher organic matter and soil moisture content. Unexpectedly, the plant treatment did not affect the degradation rate of the litter although it did have a significant influence on the abundance of litter-inhabiting Collembola in landfill soil. Our study suggests potentially higher carbon retention in urban soils under recalcitrant litter producing plants in comparison to plant-soil systems with labile-litter producing plants.     

DRAM: Efficient adaptive MCMC

We propose to combine two quite powerful ideas that have recently appeared in the Markov chain Monte Carlo literature: adaptive Metropolis samplers and delayed rejection. The ergodicity of the resulting non-Markovian sampler is proved, and the efficiency of the combination is demonstrated with various examples. We present situations where the combination outperforms the original methods: adaptation clearly enhances efficiency of the delayed rejection algorithm in cases where good proposal distributions are not available. Similarly, delayed rejection provides a systematic remedy when the adaptation process has a slow start.