Telemark Research Institute

Looking at how cultural policy has analysed, responded to or aimed to influence an upcoming future, this article describes a notable difference between what is called past and current futures. The article discusses how technological development, digitalization, and more recently, AI, is integrated in different policy visions of the future. This analysis is based on a selection of documents from (primarily) the 1970s and the 1980s on the one hand, and policy documents from the last five years on the other hand. While the prospects of the future in the Norwegian cultural policy documents of the 1970s and 1980s were characterized by a will to envision a future development and the role of policies as part of this development, there are much more resigned, directionless and less confident policy narratives in the cultural policy of the last five years.

Tourism in rural areas is widely believed to be the white horse carrying the proverbial knight on a rescue mission. That is the new industry that can bring prosperity to communities where traditional resource extraction and/and or manufacturing industries have declined. Such perceived positive economic impacts are identified in the tourism literature as important for residents' positive attitudes toward tourism development (Sharpley, 2014). However attitudes toward tourism are complex and contingent upon various factors in resident's quality of life (Kim, Uysal & Sirgy, 2013; Andereck & Nyaupane, 2011), social and cultural sustainability (Birkeland & Brunt & Courtney, 1999I. It is also important to define more precisely what is taken as sustainable in tourism (Buckley, 2012; Saarinen, 2006). While research on tourism impacts commonly focusses on negative impacts and carrying capacity in popular destinations, it is important to take into the knowledge account destinations at various stages in their development (Canavan, 2014; Kim, Uysal & Sirgy, 2013) and to acknowledge that research into social and cultural sustainabity needs more attention. Drawing upon data from a study of rural tourism in Iceland and Norway, we argue that the concept of destination clouds the discourse on tourism impacts in rural areas. Tourism may have underestimated impacts as the dark rental horse trotting through town.

ABSTRACT Purpose Many older people want to live at home for as long as possible, and the aging population is highlighting the importance of understanding what they require for their lives to be good. This study explored how older recipients of home care experience the meaning of home from a health-promoting perspective. Methods Narrative interviews were conducted with 10 people aged 78–103 years living at home and receiving home care nursing. We conducted a thematic narrative analysis, and based on the results chose a salutogenic perspective to shed light on the health-promoting perspective. Results The primary theme identified was “My home is where my health is.” It reflects a compellation of the four subthemes emerging from the data: (1) my home promotes independence and autonomy, (2) my home promotes identity and self, (3) my home promotes being active, and (4) the support I receive is pivotal to promoting health and life at home. These themes are pivotal to health promotion and well-being in old age. Conclusions Living at home contributes to meaningfulness, manageability, comprehensibility, and a sense of coherence. This promotes health and well-being for older people living at home if they receive both formal and informal support.

Iron processing on the territory of Romania has been known since the first half of the second millennium B.C. Iron represented the raw material for tool making. While practicing their handcraft as blacksmiths, these craftsmen’s vocabulary was enriched with words which designated the objects made, the tools used, details of the forms and ornamental motifs. Some words, part of the terminology of iron processing, have become nicknames associated to various persons. Those nicknames have become in time unofficial surnames, many of them later firmly acknowledge as surnames, as a result of the 1895 Name Law

This article explores the current situation of outdoor play for children in Sámi Early Childhood Education and Care institutions (ECECs) in Norway. The main objective is to discover how Sámi ECEC practices contribute to outdoor play and learning in early childhood education and community contexts by addressing the following research questions: How do Sámi ECEC staff emphasize outdoor activities and play in their daily practice, and how can these activities be regarded as a way of promoting mental and physical health and well-being? The sample comprises practitioners from seven Sámi ECEC institutions (ECECs) participating in focus-group and individual interviews. The main focus of the interviews was on Sámi ECECs as health-promoting arenas, and outdoor activities appeared to be important in this context. Stepwise-Deductive Induction was used as a qualitative research strategy in the analysis. The staff underline the importance of letting children attempt to be autonomous when it comes to physical and practical activities. They point to the importance of knowing the children and encouraging autonomous achievements. Traditionally, Sámi upbringing places emphasis on doing handicraft and daily work together with the children. The staff describe doing such daily outdoor activities as harvesting, handicraft, and food preparation together with the children as a way of maintaining Sámi culture. The main conclusion is that outdoor activities are important for promoting, experiencing, and contributing to Sámi pedagogy and children’s well-being in the Sámi ECECs.

ABSTRACT Desiccation with diquat about one week before seed harvest has been common practise in Norwegian clover seed production. However, after withdrawal of diquat in 2020, clover seed growers no longer have desiccators available. In 2019 and 2020, six field trials in red clover and two field trials in white clover were carried out to evaluate alternative chemical products at different rates and at two different spraying dates, either early at 50% mature seed heads and / or late at 65% mature seed heads. Products included, either for one or two years, was Spotlight Plus (carfentrazonethyl), Beloukha (pelargonic acid), Glypper (glyphosate), Gozai (Pyraflufen-ethyl), Harmonix LeafActive (acetic acid), Harmonix FoliaPlus (pelargonic acid), Flurostar (fluroxypyr) and Saltex (sodium chloride) and liquid urea-based fertilizers. In addition, swathing was examined as an alternative in two red clover trials in 2020. While none of the tested chemicals were superior to diquat, the most promising alternatives were Harmonix FoliaPlus and Harmonix LeafActive in red clover or Harmonix FoliaPlus in white clover. Although usually less effective than these products, Beloukha also had an acceptable desiccation effect, especially when sprayed early and late. Swathing before harvest, using finger bar cutters, was an effective drying method under favourable weather conditions.

Denne artikkelen er et bidrag til en diskusjon om hvordan undersøkelser av kultur- og mediebruk blant barn og unge kan være så treffsikre som mulig, i en tid da store deler av kulturbruket skjer via digitale medier. Digital kulturbruk gir utfordringer både for kulturstatistikken, kulturforskningen og kulturpolitikken: Kulturpolitiske verktøy og kulturstatistiske kategorier må utvikles for å gjenspeile faktisk digital kulturbruk og kulturproduksjon. Kulturstatistikk har verdi som empirisk materiale for kulturforskning, samtidig som det er både et verktøy og et kunnskapsgrunnlag for kulturpolitikken. For at kulturstatistikken skal kunne gi et detaljert og dekkende bilde av befolkningens kulturbruk, må statistikken også være i utvikling. Hvordan kan slike undersøkelser best mulig kartlegge de kulturuttrykk som ungdom forholder seg til, og hvilke særlige utfordringer er knyttet til det å kartlegge og dokumentere digital kulturbruk? På bakgrunn av erfaringer vi har gjort med å utvikle og gjennomføre en undersøkelse blant ungdomsskoleelever om deres kultur- og mediebruk, diskuterer vi hvordan slike undersøkelser kan bli mer presise verktøy for både forskning og politikk. Vi argumenterer for en type induktiv og flerdimensjonal kulturbruksundersøkelse der man utvikler spørsmål og kategorier med bakgrunn i bred kunnskap om den relevante målgruppens kulturkonsum, og om de kulturuttrykkene som er viktige for målgruppen. Vi viser at det er et visst misforhold mellom offentlig statistikk og faktisk bruk av medier og kultur, og diskuterer hvordan statistikken og de kategoriene den hviler på kan utvikles.

Due to the increasing injection of intermittent power sources (solar+wind) into a common grid, dispatchable sources such as hydro power should be able to help reduce the variability in load and the variability in generation caused by the intermittent sources. A hydro generator should be able to operate short-term beyond its thermal capability limit. This requires the monitoring of internal temperatures in the hydro generator. In this paper, a thermal model of an air-cooled synchronous generator is presented, emphasizing the various aspects of parameter estimation and identifiability using Bayesian inference. Inferences are drawn from the posterior distributions of the parameters and initial conditions, dispersion (spreading) of particles and sampling efficiency, practical parameter identifiability, and model mismatch with experiments. Results show extremely narrow parameter distributions. It is early to generalize about the posterior distribution of air-related and metal-related parameters of the air-cooled synchronous generator based on the single experimental data presented here.

In 2007, the Norwegian Ministry of Environment initiated an unprecedented project of environmental conservation through land use planning, introducing buffer zones as measures to integrate local development with conservation of wild reindeer. Through studies of national policy developments and a case study of a planning processes and spatial zoning, using institutional theory, the paper investigates how competing policies and understandings of appropriate activities in the edge areas are reflected in zoning regulations and planning practice, and whether the buffer zone contributes to resolving conflicts in the edge areas. Competing national policies for the edge areas, a legal development favoring ecological buffering and a history of top-down management and local socio-economic marginalization results in removal of large parts of an existing ecological buffer zone and the creation of a new development zone. The integrated conservation and development approach has no advocates and while bearing much promise amounts to little.

ABSTRACT During recent decades, most Western European countries and the US have seen massive investments in culture houses designed to host cultural activities like theatre performances, concerts and exhibitions. They are often large with spectacular architectural design, and the main political purpose is often to attract the attention of potential tourists, investors and future residents who could contribute to the economic and demographic development of places. The existing literature contains mainly single case studies of successful places. There is a lack of comprehensive and systematic evidence of the causal effects of new culture houses on attraction and migration. This paper sets out to fill this gap by investigating the effect on migration of the opening of 52 culture houses in Norway in the period 2001–2014; the study uses a panel data structure and a difference-in-difference approach, and the impact of an architectural ‘wow factor’ is tested. The results show that no causal effect on migration of opening a culture house can be identified. The results contradict political rhetoric in many Western countries, and the results have relevance for local politicians who are responsible for planning of local culture and economic development.