Millennium Shift Research Articles

Diversification and division – ‘academic drift’ in Swedish teacher education in the aesthetic school subjects in a new higher education structure

ABSTRACT This study deals with the academisation or “academic drift” of teacher education in the aesthetic subjects in Sweden from the 1970s to the millennium shift. After long preparations that already began after the Second World War, TE, along with other vocational education, was integrated into the Swedish university system as part of the expansion of the higher education sector in 1977 (H77). The study’s aims were to describe and analyse how the conditions for teacher education in practical/aesthetic subjects changed in the new and diversified higher education sector. For the study, we drew on Official Reports of the Swedish Government (SOU), a type of authoritative policy text intended to influence an activity, but which govern less formally than “governing policy texts” like bills that are legislative in nature. Our study reveals that a division was made between the old, prestigious and discipline-based universities and the newcomers in terms of vocationally-based education. The entire teacher education ended up on the periphery of the new higher education sector. We establish that the absence of own academic structures and thereby power within the higher education structures has harmed the independent development of teacher education in the aesthetic subjects as part of the enlarged higher education sector in the process of them moving from school subjects to university-like disciplines.

The millennium shift: Investigating the relationship between environment and growth trends of Norway spruce and Scots pine in northern Europe

For boreal forests in colder climates, changes in environmental conditions are hypothesised to substantially affect ecosystem processes. In this study, trends of top height growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) were analysed using permanent sample plot data from more than 300 long-term experimental sites distributed from temperate zones to the boreal forest conditions in Sweden. By regression analyses, the effects of temperature-sum and precipitation-sum on top height growth were assessed in the period 1986–2018. A significant upward temporal trend in height growth was observed for both species, with the trend more pronounced after the millennium shift. The magnitude of the annual relative height growth after the millennium was about 16.92% and 9.54% higher than expected, respectively for Scots pine and Norway spruce. A potential climate response on height growth was found for both species with temperature-sum positively correlated with top height growth. No significant effect of precipitation-sum on height growth was observed for either species. Our results suggest improved growing conditions and forest sites became more productive in response to increasing temperature in the northern temperate and boreal regions. The increasing growth trends may offer shorter rotation periods and increased forest value for Norway spruce and Scots pine, coupled with contributions of boreal forests to the emerging bio-economy and the regulation of global atmospheric carbon.

Decreased COPD prevalence in Sweden after decades of decrease in smoking

BackgroundCOPD has increased in prevalence worldwide over several decades until the first decade after the millennium shift. Evidence from a few recent population studies indicate that the prevalence may be levelling or even decreasing in some areas in Europe. Since the 1970s, a substantial and ongoing decrease in smoking prevalence has been observed in several European countries including Sweden. The aim of the current study was to estimate the prevalence, characteristics and risk factors for COPD in the Swedish general population. A further aim was to estimate the prevalence trend of COPD in Northern Sweden from 1994 to 2009.MethodsTwo large random population samples were invited to spirometry with bronchodilator testing and structured interviews in 2009–2012, one in south-western and one in northern Sweden, n = 1839 participants in total. The results from northern Sweden were compared to a study performed 15 years earlier in the same area and age-span. The diagnosis of COPD required both chronic airway obstruction (CAO) and the presence of respiratory symptoms, in line with the GOLD documents since 2017. CAO was defined as post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < 0.70, with sensitivity analyses based on the FEV1/FVC < lower limit of normal (LLN) criterion.ResultsBased on the fixed ratio definition, the prevalence of COPD was 7.0% (men 8.3%; women 5.8%) in 2009–2012. The prevalence of moderate to severe (GOLD ≥ 2) COPD was 3.5%. The LLN based results were about 30% lower. Smoking, occupational exposures, and older age were risk factors for COPD, whereof smoking was the most dominating risk factor. In northern Sweden the prevalence of COPD, particularly moderate to severe COPD, decreased significantly from 1994 to 2009, and the decrease followed a decrease in smoking.ConclusionsThe prevalence of COPD has decreased in Sweden, and the prevalence of moderate to severe COPD was particularly low. The decrease follows a major decrease in smoking prevalence over several decades, but smoking remained the dominating risk factor for COPD.

Change and continuity in Finnish drinking in the 21st century.

Aim:Alcohol consumption and policy in Finland have undergone a variety of changes in the two last decades. In several cases, trends in both consumption and policy have shifted direction when moving from the first decade of the 21st century to the second one. The aim of the overview is to summarise the trends.Data:The overview draws on results primarily from the cross-sectional Finnish Drinking Habits Survey (FDHS) in 2000, 2008 and 2016, and also from the whole series including altogether seven separate data collections carried out every eight years from 1968 to 2016 and mainly covering Finns aged 15–69 years. Response rates show a falling trend (78% in 2000, 74% in 2008 and 60% in 2016). The overview also makes use of data collected within the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) and, for the elderly, the National FinSote study carried out by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).Results:After an all-time high of 12.7 litres of pure alcohol per capita 15 years and over in 2007, total consumption of alcohol had decreased by 21% by the year 2019. Underage drinking has decreased ever since the millennium shift. Older people’s drinking has continued increasing or levelled out. Along with reduced total consumption, heavy episodic drinking (HED) has also decreased, but the differences between manual and white-collar workers in HED have continued to grow. Drinking alcoholic beverages with meals has also declined since 2008. Liberal and restrictive alcohol policy measures have alternated.Conclusions:Finnish drinking culture seems to change at a slow pace; several typical drinking habits have remained unchanged.

Decline in adolescent drinking: Some possible explanations.

Adolescent drinking has decreased in numerous high-income countries in the 2000s, and how to explain this downward trend is far from clear. Focussing on the decline in drinking to intoxication among youth in Norway, we examined the following potential explanatory factors: family/home-based and peer-oriented leisure-time activities, perceived parental drinking, drug substitution, school conscientiousness and delinquency. Data stemmed from cross-sectional surveys of adolescents aged 13-17 years in the four largest cities in Norway in 2002 (n = 1204) and in 2013/2015 (n = 31 441). We examined the extent to which the decline in intoxication prevalence was attributable to the possible explanatory variables using logistic regression analysis. The proportion reporting any past-year intoxication episodes dropped markedly from 2002 (41%) to 2013/2015 (22%). Family/home-oriented leisure-time activities and school conscientiousness increased, whereas hanging out with friends in the evening and delinquent behaviours decreased. These factors together accounted for 43% of this decline. Decrease in going out with friends was the most important factor. We found no empirical support for assumptions that perceived parental drinking or drug substitution had contributed to the decrease in drinking to intoxication. Since the millennium shift, urban adolescents in Norway have become more home-, family- and school-oriented, and less involved in unsupervised socialising with peers and delinquency. These changes may have contributed to some of the reduction in the prevalence of intoxication in this population group.

Development and challenges to breastfeeding in sub-Saharan Africa

Since there is no doubt concerning the superiority of breastfeeding compared to other forms of infant feeding, the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months and continued breastfeeding up to two years and beyond are again embraced at the highest global nutrition agenda. The latest is the United Nations decade of action on nutrition 2016-2025, building on research results and the work by the World Health Organization (WHO) over the last two decades, and extensive societal, clinical, and academic discussions in the field of breastfeeding.While the discussion was about the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding around the millennium shift, the focus is on the most effective measures for the promotion and protection of breastfeeding. Contemporary breastfeeding rates are well behind the goals. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost all infants are breastfed, while exclusive breastfeeding is more seldom and not sufficient. Africa, being avast and diverse continent with amyriad of cultural practices, has had some shared attitudes ranging from the west to east regarding views on motherhood, body fluids, including milk, infant feeding, and responsible others.The region still faces high maternal HIV infection rates and high infant and child mortality rates. However, due to effective antiretroviral therapies, it is now possible and safe for women living with HIV to breastfeed their infants and to ensure them HIV-free survival. However, there is need for improvement regarding availability, compliance, and adherence to these drugs. Research gaps include the long-term effects of antiretroviral therapy on the growth, health, and development of the exposed children.

Adolescents drink less: How, who and why? A review of the recent research literature

Today's teenagers have been described as a sober generation and we asked: 'What is known about the recent decline in youth drinking?' A literature review (2005-2017). Research from wealthier parts of the world provides solid evidence of less alcohol use by youth since the millennium shift. Some studies show that this is reflected at all levels of consumption, but there are also indications that the heaviest drinkers have not reduced their drinking. The decrease is predominately seen in underage youth, and has been larger for boys than for girls in several countries. Teenagers across social strata drink less, but some disadvantaged subgroups have not followed the downward trend. Underage drinkers have apparently not become a more deviant group as the prevalence of drinking has dropped, indicating no hardening of the group. The major gap in the literature pertains to the issue of underlying driving forces. We found no evidence in support of the widespread assumption that the digital revolution has been of importance. A decline in parenting practices that are conductive to underage drinking has occurred in several countries, but studies examining whether these changes have contributed to less alcohol use by youth are almost non-existent. To inform alcohol policy and prevention, it is imperative to find out why teenage drinking has decreased in a fairly consistent way across numerous countries. Future research into the issue of falling prevalence rates of youth drinking should focus on possible explanatory factors at the population level rather than at the individual level.

KARAKTER DAN WARNA LOKAL CERPEN-CERPEN JAWA POS TAHUN 2000

This research is trying to describe short stories in Jawa Pos written by East Java writers during 2000s. The purpose of the study is to explain local wisdom and characteristic among East Java people. Using the characterization and stylistic analysis, it turns out that the fictional characters in those East Java short stories are not merely single entity. The fact is actually correspondences with the multiethnics East Javanese socio-cultural values since it strongly influenc the East Java writers. However, black humour is the dominant factor as the style besides sarcastic, satire, and irony. Those writers are not only focusing on subculturally local wisdom and kampong values, but also interested in urban problems with its magic realism, sufism themes, and religiosity. Localities as the socio-cultural background are namely Arekan, Pesisir, Mataraman, and Madura. Therefore, we can conclude that short stories in Jawa Pos during 2000s have discourse transition in terms of millennium shift context, containing local issues which side-by-side with global matters as its themes

Multiple trends in interspecific crop diversity: a longitudinal case study from the Ecuadorian Andes

This case study reports on recent developments in the extent of interspecific crop diversity in Cotacachi located in the Northern Ecuadorian Andes. Like in many other regions, trends of genetic erosion led to simplified fields with reduced levels of crop diversity in this area during the twentieth century. The present study examines whether, at the crop level, this reduction continued after the millennium shift. The problem is approached through a longitudinal comparison of crop richness on surveyed farms in 2003 and 2009. The results display multiple trends; while a few field crops remained stable in terms of their presence among farms, some increased and others decreased their role. Simultaneously, there was a marked increase in the planting of vegetables and fruits in home gardens. On a general level, these varied trends resulted in a significant rise in farms’ average crop richness amounting to five more crops, as well as an overall 42 % increase in the frequency with which any crop was planted among the farms. The observed trends are discussed in the light of local sociocultural, economic and agroclimatic changes.

Nanomaterials in Plant Protection and Fertilization: Current State, Foreseen Applications, and Research Priorities

Scientific publications and patents on nanomaterials (NM) used in plant protection or fertilizer products have exponentially increased since the millennium shift. While the United States and Germany have published the highest number of patents, Asian countries released most scientific articles. About 40% of all contributions deal with carbon-based NM, followed by titanium dioxide, silver, silica, and alumina. Nanomaterials come in many diverse forms (surprisingly often ≫100 nm), from solid doped particles to (often nonpersistent) polymer and oil-water based structures. Nanomaterials serve equally as additives (mostly for controlled release) and active constituents. Product efficiencies possibly increased by NM should be balanced against enhanced environmental NM input fluxes. The dynamic development in research and its considerable public perception are in contrast with the currently still very small number of NM-containing products on the market. Nanorisk assessment and legislation are largely in their infancies.

Value based trading of real assets in shipping under stochastic freight rates

The article uses a real options valuation model with stochastic freight rates to investigate market efficiency and the economics of switching between the dry bulk and the tanker markets in international shipping. A dry bulk carrier is replaced with a tanker when the expected net present value of such a switch is optimal from a real options based decision rule. Depending on the development of the markets a reversal may take place later. The cost and demand parameters upon which the decisions to switch are made, including the stochastic characteristics of freight rates, are estimated from an empirical analysis that is updated every week throughout a 12-year time period from 1993 to 2005. The second-hand market for bulk ships seems to have been efficient most of these years in the sense that market switching usually did not pay off, with one major exception: it seemed profitable in expectation to leave the dry bulk market and enter the tanker market over a significant period of time shortly after the millennium shift, and to return to the dry bulk market about three years later. These points in time corresponded with an unprecedented boom period in the tanker and dry bulk freight markets, respectively, and the result suggest that agents in the second-hand market were slow to adjust their expectations. In retrospect, such an investment policy also happened to be profitable compared to staying put in the tanker market, even after accounting for transaction costs.

Publish and Graduate?: Earning a PhD by Published Papers in Australia

In the field of film and television studies there are numerous ways one can obtain a PhD. An alternative to the traditional PhD consisting of an 80–100,000 word thesis is the PhD by Publications. From the unearned honorary doctorate in film and television purchased on the Internet, to honorary doctorates bestowed according to film and television celebrity, to PhDs by Publications given to candidates who package together a number of films produced before enrolment to PhDs by Publications in which the submitted papers must be generated during candidacy, the range in requirements for this type of degree is huge. This paper argues for recognition of their varying status.

The agile professional culture: A source of agile quality

Ever since agile software development was introduced in the millennium shift, it has become a controversial software engineering topic with practitioners and researchers arguing about the benefits ...

Summary and Conclusions 2000

Water security for a world under rapid change Since water represents a profound need of both organisms and society, a crucial question is how that need can be satisfied in a secure manner. There is something fundamentally wrong when we still, in what we call a modern and civilized society, are willing to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on building a space station, and exploring other planets in the search for water, while millions of people die each year due to preventable water-related diseases due to polluted water supply. At the millennium shift, the water management profession and society at large are facing a challenge, the magnitude and complexity of which no earlier generation has had to face. A key issue is to strive towards water security for everyone and to identify the innovative approaches needed to achieve this. Long-term challenges in water management are not so much linked to classical scientific and technical aspects as to institutional innovations. As the world is changing rapidly, so do water professionals, who have to keep up with such changes. Education and competence development is more important than ever.