Teaching tactics as armies integrate. A comparative case study of United States Marine Corps schools and the Norwegian Military Academy

Master of Arts in War StudiesThe tactical level is academically not well developed and there is a paucity of literature on the former. Yet it has become more important in the recent years mainly due to shrinking defence budgets and the increasing number of multinational joint operations. This incites nations to integrate more closely and armies find themselves cooperating at ever lower unit levels. Such integration necessitates a similar understanding of tactics to remain effective. Officers first formally encounter tactics during their training at military academies. This thesis examines how junior officers are educated in tactics at the Norwegian Military Academy and two comparable United States Marine Corps schools. Based on established military theory, indicators for effective tactical education are formulated and applied to the teaching in these schools. The thesis uncovers that the schools’ theoretical approach to tactical education is essentially identical, but its practical implementation differs

Politics and Economics in International Relations : The Quest for an Analytical Framework

This article discusses the theoretical basis of political economy as a preliminiary inventory of some of the current literature in political sciene. It is intended to prepare the ground for subsequent debate of these theoretical issues.publishedVersio

Export Controls and East-West Energy Trade in the 199Os

This article examines the changing political climate in Eastern Europe as the basis for changes in the conditions of East-West trade. The authors argue that gas trade is set to rise in general, because the security of supply issue recedes into the background while gas from the USSR becomes a very goodchoice in counter-trade or joint ventures. The environmental factor will play an increasing role in favour of gas use, and the energy policy of the European Community will become more important in both Eastern and Western Europe.publishedVersio

What determines microenterprise growth? : evidence from Tanzania

This study provides empirical evidence on the growth determinants of microenterprises funded by microfinance loans through the analysis of survey data of Tanzanian microentrepreneurs. We find strongly positive correlations between business loans and sales growth; however several factors prevent entrepreneurs from growing their businesses. Evidence of a gender divide and a business formality divide is found, with female entrepreneurs experiencing lower sales growth than their male counterparts, and licenced businesses experiencing higher growth than informal ones. The latter divide is most likely due to improved access to credit and to larger markets through government contracts. The gender divide confirms findings in recent research which point to an unexplained inferior performance by female entrepreneurs, but unfortunately our data do not shed light on what the causes might be. Finally, the insights gained on the importance of business formality for firm growth could suggest that the microfinance movement needs to rethink its role in helping poor entrepreneurs by either serving as a stepping stone on the way to formality or by adapting to the needs of formal entrepreneurs

Physical activity in Norwegian teenagers and young adults with haemophilia A compared to general population peers

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Introduction: Limited evidence exists on objectively measured habitual physical activity (PA) of young people with haemophilia (PWH). Aims: To compare different outcomes of objective PA between young PWH A and controls using a commercial activity tracker. Methods: We enrolled males aged 13–30 years with moderate and severe haemophilia A, without inhibitors on regular prophylaxis. PA was measured with the activity tracker Fitbit Charge 3 for 12 weeks. Control group data was obtained from ≈60,000 Fitbit users, matched on age, sex and measurement period. PA variables [steps, intensities, volume, activity types, exercise frequencies and proportion meeting the World Health Organization's moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) recommendations] were compared between groups descriptively and using Welch's two-sample t-test and two-sample test of proportions. Results: Forty PWH A were enrolled (mean age 19.5 years, 50% teenagers, 50% adults, three (7.5%) with moderate and 37 (92.5%) with severe haemophilia). Mean daily steps and minutes MVPA were similar between PWH and controls. PWH spent more time in light PA (mean 227 vs. 192 min/day, P = .033) and exercised more frequently (mean 5.6 vs. 3.9 exercise sessions/week, P < .001). Among teenagers, 40% PWH and 8% controls reached MVPA recommendations, compared to 95% and 100% among adults. The most common type of PA was walking. Conclusion: This cohort of young PWH A on prophylactic treatment had PA levels comparable to controls. Still, a considerable proportion of teenagers did not meet the recommended weekly volume of MVPA, and we encourage clinicians to have a particular focus on promoting PA for this group.publishedVersionInstitutt for fysisk prestasjonsevne / Department of Physical Performanc

Factors associated with physical activity in young people with haemophilia A on prophylaxis

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is influenced by numerous factors, and the literature describing why people with haemophilia (PWH) are physically active or not is inconclusive. Aims: To investigate factors associated with PA (mean min/day in light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and total PA, and proportion meeting World Health Organization (WHO) weekly moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) recommendations) among young PWH A. Methods: Forty PWH A on prophylaxis from the HemFitbit study were included. PA was measured using Fitbit devices and participant characteristics were collected. Potential factors associated with PA were investigated by univariable linear regression models for continuous PA outcomes, and descriptively for teenagers meeting/not meeting WHO MVPA recommendations only, because all except one adult met PA recommendations. Results: Mean age (n = 40) was 19.5 years (SD 5.7). Annual bleeding rate was nearly zero and joint scores were low. We found an increase of four min/day in LPA (95% confidence interval (CI) 1–7) per year increase in age. Participants with ‘Haemophilia Early Arthropathy Detection with Ultrasound’ (HEAD-US) score ≥1 engaged in mean 14 min/day less MPA (95% CI −23.2 to −3.8), and 8 min less VPA (95% CI −15.0 to −0.4) compared to participants with HEAD-US score 0. Teenagers who met PA recommendations had slightly better joint status compared to those who did not meet recommendations. Conclusion: These findings indicate that presence of mild arthropathy does not affect LPA but may have a negative impact on PA of higher intensities. Early start of prophylaxis may be an important determinant of PA. Conclusion: These findings indicate that presence of mild arthropathy does not affect LPA but may have a negative impact on PA of higher intensities. Early start of prophylaxis may be an important determinant of PA.publishedVersionInstitutt for fysisk prestasjonsevne / Department of Physical Performanc

Comprehensive care on paper only? The challenge for physiotherapy provision in day to day haemophilia practice

Comprehensive care on paper only? The challenge for physiotherapy provision in day to day haemophilia practic

A clinical practice guideline for primary care physiotherapy in patients with haemophilia

Introduction: As a result of centralisation of haemophilia care to a limited number of intramural settings, many persons with haemophilia have to travel long distances to attend their haemophilia specialised treatment centre. However, regular physiotherapy treatment can be provided by primary care physiotherapists in the person's own region. Due to the rarity of the disease most primary care physiotherapists have limited experience with this population. This study aims to provide a clinical practice guideline for primary care physiotherapists working with persons with bleeding disorders. Method: A list of the most urgent key-questions was derived from a previous study. Literature was summarised using the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) evidence-to-decision framework. Recommendations were drafted based on four 90 min consensus meetings with expert physiotherapists. Recommendations were finalised after feedback and >80% consensus of all stakeholders (including PWH, physiotherapists, haematologists and the corresponding societies). Results: A list of 82 recommendations was formulated to support primary care physiotherapists when treating a person with a bleeding disorder. These recommendations could be divided into 13 categories: two including recommendations on organisation of care, six on therapy for adult patients with bleeding disorders and five on therapy adaptations for paediatric care. Therapy recommendations included treatment after a joint- or muscle bleed, haemophilic arthropathy, chronic synovitis, non-haemophilia related conditions and orthopaedic surgery. Conclusion: An evidence-based practice guideline, based on current evidence from literature and clinical expertise, has been developed for primary care physiotherapists treating a person with haemophilia. To improve care, the recommendations should be implemented in daily practice

A clinical practice guideline for primary care physiotherapy in patients with haemophilia

Introduction: As a result of centralisation of haemophilia care to a limited number of intramural settings, many persons with haemophilia have to travel long distances to attend their haemophilia specialised treatment centre. However, regular physiotherapy treatment can be provided by primary care physiotherapists in the personʼs own region. Due to the rarity of the disease most primary care physiotherapists have limited experience with this population. This study aims to provide a clinical practice guideline for primary care physiotherapists working with persons with bleeding disorders. Method: A list of the most urgent key-questions was derived from a previous study. Literature was summarised using the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) evidence-to-decision framework. Recommendations were drafted based on four 90 min consensus meetings with expert physiotherapists. Recommendations were finalised after feedback and &gt;80% consensus of all stakeholders (including PWH, physiotherapists, haematologists and the corresponding societies). Results: A list of 82 recommendations was formulated to support primary care physiotherapists when treating a person with a bleeding disorder. These recommendations could be divided into 13 categories: two including recommendations on organisation of care, six on therapy for adult patients with bleeding disorders and five on therapy adaptations for paediatric care. Therapy recommendations included treatment after a joint- or muscle bleed, haemophilic arthropathy, chronic synovitis, non-haemophilia related conditions and orthopaedic surgery. Conclusion: An evidence-based practice guideline, based on current evidence from literature and clinical expertise, has been developed for primary care physiotherapists treating a person with haemophilia. To improve care, the recommendations should be implemented in daily practice.</p

Introduction:strategy in EU foreign policy

The point of departure for the special collection is provided by the observation that the growing complexity of the crises in the neighbourhood and the internal ones faced by the Union provides a sense of urgency to any type of strategic thinking that the EU might embrace. Against this backdrop, the recent shift towards geopolitics and strategic thinking is contextualized and the understanding of key aspects of ways in which the shift is translated into strategies by EU actors is put forward. The analysis recognizes the recent developments within the institutional dimension of EU’s foreign and security policy, yet it confirms the fundamental meaning of the member states’ willingness to invest resources and harmonize their foreign policy strategies at the EU level