This bibliography is an amalgamation of fifty-five separate bibliographies compiled by Dr. Robert Fortuine during his medical career in Alaska, which lasted from 1963 to 1977. This master bibliography contains around 3000 unannotated references on medicine and public health in Alaska and health aspects of arctic exploration. A large number of entries deal with tuberculosis. Other topics represented are "pre-contact" health, history of Alaska Native health care, history of the Alaska Department of Health, role of the U.S. Public Health Service, and traditional medicine. Dr. Fortuine reviewed every Governors' and the U.S. Surgeon General's reports in regard to Alaska content.
The prevalence of obesity in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. Although AIs are not a homogeneous group, all tribes throughout the U.S. have suffered adverse effects from the high prevalence of obesity (Story et al, 2000)). Overall, studies demonstrate that obesity begins early for AI/AN children and also is a significant problem for the adult population (IHS, 2001). Many chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and breathing problems are associated with the increasing prevalence of obesity in AIs (DHHS, 2001, Story et al, 1999).
The problem of obesity is not unique to AI/ANs. Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions both nationwide and globally (Ogden et al, 2006; Washington, Post, 2006). The existence of these epidemics indicate that in addition to personal responsibility, societal factors such as convenience technology and engineering; food production and marketing patterns; and powerful social and cultural forces that have shaped our communities, our lifestyles and ultimately our bodies play an important role in this problem (McGinnis, 2004).
The purpose of this study is to provide information that will help to understand the high rates of obesity among the AI/ANs, the nature of a variety of preventive interventions and their efficacy, and directions for future research that may involve research collaborations among government agencies and other organizations.
The report is organized into four major sections: 1) a literature review that synthesizes research findings pertaining to the prevalence of obesity and examines what is known about the major determinants and consequences of obesity as well as the nature and findings of various types of clinical and community-based interventions; 2) activities of selected federal agencies in the area of obesity and AI/ANs; 3) summary of a site visit to the Gila River Indian Community; and 4) directions for future research.
The Icelandic Conservation Association is an advocate for environmental and conservation considerations and is to promote the protection of nature in Iceland for water, land and air issues that are both Icelandic and international.
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Website includes access to annual meeting reports.
Climategreenland is the Government of Greenland’s website about climate change in Greenland. The site is intended to be a resource to help you find the people, the organisations or the information you are looking for. It also provides an overview of some of the ways in which Greenland is affected by a changing climate and how this is dealt with.
The site approaches climate change from a multidimensional perspective and hence includes knowledge and actors from a wide range of professional disciplines and backgrounds. In addition to presenting information about current climate research in Greenland, the site provides insight into Greenland’s past and present greenhouse gas emissions and its role in different international forums. Finally, you can find information about climate adaptation and some of the opportunities that arise with a changing climate.
The site is structured around four main themes (citizen, municipality, industry, education) each providing information and links to central actors in the field. The focal point is climate change in a Greenlandic context. As a result, the site does not provide general information about climate change or about Greenland, apart from what is indirectly or directly related to climate change and its effects.
OUR MISSION We are committed to the protection of Alaska’s natural wildlife for its intrinsic value, as well as for the benefit of present and future generations. We advocate for healthy ecosystems which are ethically and scientifically managed. We promote: Sustainable populations of all wildlife species in Alaska, including wolves, bears, moose and caribou. Balanced wildlife management, based on sound science and strong ethical/fair chase standards. Expansion of sustainable and diverse wildlife viewing opportunities. Protection and recovery of Alaska’s endangered species, such as Steller sea lions (western distinct population segment) and Cook Inlet beluga whales. Healthy coexistence between wildlife and humans in urban and rural communities. Preservation of important wildlife habitat throughout Alaska. Educational programs with a focus on preserving Alaska’s wildlife and wild places.
Since 1991, the NUNAMED conferences have been arranged approximately every third year in Nuuk with 200-250 participants, mainly from Greenland and Denmark. In 2003 NUNAMED was organized as part of the ICCH12 congress with participants from the whole Arctic area and from the Scandinavian countries. Since 2003 the number of participants coming from other countries than Greenland and Denmark has increased.
The aims of the NUNAMED conferences are: To present current research results related to health in Greenland. To debate current research questions related to health in Greenland across the health disciplines. To improve collaboration on health research in Greenland between the health disciplines and between health districts.
Arctic peoples are presently experiencing significant environmental, social, and economic impacts caused by changes in climate, resource use, and globalization. The Arctic is confronted by critical policy challenges related to issues of community health and wellbeing, energy resources, environmental protection, sustainable use of the Arctic Ocean, infrastructure, indigenous rights, and regional governance. To address some of the key challenges in relation to health and infrastructure and develop policy recommendations to promote community wellbeing in the Arctic, a full-day workshop on wellbeing in the Arctic communities was held in Nuuk, Greenland, on 3 October 2016.
A working group on health and infrastructure, associated with the Fulbright Arctic Initiative, initiated the workshop. The workshop was arranged in collaboration with NORDREGIO,1 Stockholm, Sweden, AAU Arctic,2 at Aalborg University, Denmark, and the Arctic Oil and Gas Research Centre,3 at Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland), with financial support from the Nordic-Arctic Collaboration Programme of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
In this report, we provide background and context for wellbeing in the Arctic, we then introduce the Fulbright Arctic Initiative (FAI) programme, and the health and infrastructure working group.
The workshop is the focus of the report and we describe the workshop organisation, share preliminary results, and conclusions. Finally we provide direction for future work.
Many international and Arctic forums have highlighted the need to further understand the impacts of the unique aspects of Arctic regions on health and wellness, and implement appropriate measures to respond.
Objective: To determine if Canadians are getting value for money in providing health services to our northern residents.
Method: Secondary analyses of data from Statistics Canada, the Canadian Institute of Health Information and territorial government agencies on health status, health expenditures and health system performance indicators.
Results: Per capita health expenditures in Canada's northern territories are double that of Canada as a whole and are among the highest in the world. The North lags behind the rest of the country in preventable mortality, hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions and other performance indicators.
Discussion: The higher health expenditure in the North is to be expected from its unique geography and demography. If the North is not performing as well as Canada, it is not due to lack of money, and policy makers should be concerned about whether healthcare can be as good as it could be.
In the late 18th century explorers and scientists started venturing into the Arctic in a heroic and sometimes deadly effort to understand and unveil the secrets of the unforgiving and mysterious polar region of the high north. Despite that the Arctic was already populated mattered less for the first wave of polar researchers and explorations who nevertheless, brought back valuable knowledge. Today the focus in Arctic science and discourse has changed to one which includes the peoples and societies, and their interaction with the world beyond.
The image of a static Arctic - heralded first by explorers - prevailed for a long time, but today the eyes of the World see the Arctic very differently. Few, if any, other places on Earth are currently experiencing the kind of dramatic change witnessed in the Arctic. According to model forecasts, these changes are likely to have profound implications on biophysical and human systems, and will accelerate in the decades to come.
“The New Arctic” highlights how, and in what parts, the natural and political system is being transformed. We’re talking about a region where demography, culture, and political and economic systems are increasingly diverse, although many common interests and aspects remain; and with the new Arctic now firmly placed in a global context. Settlements range from small, predominantly indigenous communities, to large industrial cities, and all have a link to the surrounding environment, be it glaciers or vegetation or the ocean itself.
“The New Arctic” contributes to our further understanding of the changing Arctic. It offers a range of perspectives, which reflect the deep insight of a variety of scientific scholars across many disciplines bringing a wide range of expertise. The book speaks to a broad audience, including policy-makers, students and scientific colleagues.
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Contents: 1 Paths to the New Arctic by Birgitta Evengård, Øyvind Paasche, and Joan Nymand Larsen 2 Indigenous Peoples in the New Arctic by Gail Fondahl, Viktoriya Filippova, and Liza Mack 3 Pioneering Nation: New Narratives About Greenland and Greenlanders Launched Through Arts and Branding by Kirsten Thisted 4 Perpetual Adaption? Challanges for the Sami and Reindeer Husbandry in Sweden by Peter Sköld 5 On Past, Present and Future Arctic Expeditions by Peder Roberts and Lize-Marié van der Watt 6 Arctopias: The Arctic as No Place and New Place in Fiction by Heidi Hansson 7 The Fleeting Glaciers of the Arctic by Øyvind Paasche and Jostein Bakke 8 Arctic Carbon Cycle: Patterns, Impacts and Possible Changes by Are Olsen, Leif G. Anderson, and Christoph Heinze 9 Arctic Vegetation Cover: Patterns, Processes and Expected Change by Bruce C. Forbes 10 Human Development in the New Arctic by Joan Nymand Larsen and Andrey Petrov 11 Issues in Arctic Tourism by Dieter K. Müller 12 The Arctic Economy in a Global Context by Joan Nymand Larsen and Lee Huskey 13 Globalization of the “Arctic” by E. Carina H. Keskitalo and Mark Nuttall 14 Race to Resources in the Arctic: Have We Progressed in Our Understanding of What Takes Place in the Arctic? By Timo Koivurova 15 Comparing the Health of Circumpolar Populations: Patterns, Determinants, and Systems by Kue Young and Susan Chatwood 16 Food Security or Food Sovereignty: What Is the Main Issue in the Arctic? By Lena Maria Nilsson and Birgitta Evengård 17 Water Information and Water Security in the Arctic by Arvid Bring, Jerker Jarsjö, and Georgia Destouni 18 Infectious Disease in the Arctic: A Panorama in Transition by Alan Parkinson, Anders Koch, and Birgitta Evengård 19 Environmental Health in the Changing Arctic by Arja Rautio 20 Scientific Cooperation Throughout the Arctic: The INTERACT Experience by Terry V. Callaghan, Margareta Johansson, Yana Pchelintseva, and Sergey N. Kirpotin 21 The Assessed Arctic: How Monitoring Can Be Silently Normative by Nina Wormbs 22 The Challenge of Governance in the Arctic: Now and in the Future by Douglas C. Nord 23 New Knowledge a Pathway to Responsible Development of the Arctic by Gunnel Gustafsson and Marianne Røgeberg 24 Cryo-History: Narratives of Ice and the Emerging Arctic Humanities by Sverker Sörlin
The Arctic Yearbook is the outcome of the Northern Research Forum and the University of the Arctic Thematic Network (TN) on Geopolitics and Security. The TN also organizes the annual Calotte Academy.
The Arctic Yearbook seeks to be the preeminent repository of critical analysis on the Arctic region, with a mandate to inform observers about the state of Arctic politics, governance and security. It is an international and interdisciplinary double-blind peer-reviewed publication, published online to ensure wide distribution and accessibility to a variety of stakeholders and observers. The Arctic Yearbook is open access. Readers may download, distribute, photocopy, cite or excerpt this Arctic Yearbook material provided it is properly and fully credited and not used for commercial purposes.
Zoonotic infections transmitted from terrestrial and marine mammals to humans in European Arctic are of unknown significance, despite considerable potential for transmission due to local hunt and a rapidly changing environment. As an example, infection with Brucella bacteria may have significant impact on human health due to consumption of raw meat or otherwise contact with tissues and fluids of infected game species such as muskoxen and polar bears. Here, we present serological results for Baffin Bay polar bears (Ursus maritimus) (n?=?96) and North East Greenland muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) (n?=?32) for antibodies against Brucella spp. The analysis was a two-step trial initially using the Rose Bengal Test (RBT), followed by confirmative competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of RBT-positive samples. No muskoxen had antibodies against Brucella spp., while antibodies were detected in six polar bears (6.25%) rendering a seroprevalence in line with previous findings in other Arctic regions. Seropositivity was not related to sex, age or biometrics i.e. size and body condition. Whether Brucella spp. antibodies found in polar bears were due to either prey spill over or true recurrent Brucella spp. infections is unknown. Our results therefore highlight the importance of further research into the zoonotic aspects of Brucella spp. infections, and the impact on wildlife and human health in the Arctic region.
The West Nordic region holds promising opportunities to improve utilisation, sustainability and value from its biological resources. The region’s major bioresources available for biorefining and biotechnological applications are the focus of this report. It identifies valuable ingredients in the different resources, processing technologies which are or may be applied, and possible end products obtained from further processing the raw material. An overview of the current operations and products which are being produced within the region is given. The report divides the available bioresources into biodegradable residues of aquatic or land origin and underutilised biomass. High-north specific opportunities and obstacles are highlighted.
