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Arctic Yearbook 2014
sovereignty and nationalistic ways of thinking, as do the existing and emerging challenges and
threats.
The Arctic Yearbook 2014
The authors of this volume of the Arctic Yearbook address these and many more issues, with a
critical pre-condition for inclusion in the volume being that articles are timely and relevant.
Human Capacity-Building
Post-secondary education is often seen as a key to building human capital, but achieving both
accessibility and context-relevance is challenging in the North. Simpkins and Bonnycastle look at
factors that improve success for female students in northern Manitoba, while Lipatov evaluates
distance education in Alaska and Russia and Daitch explores how critical thinking is being fostered
amongst students in Canada’s Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Christensen and Hendriksen
further discuss the challenges of offering a traditional, western-style of education that northern
economies demand in an environment that it is often culturally unsuited for, using the case of
engineering education in Greenland.
A number of articles look at kinds of human capacity. Heleniak evaluates how migration flows, both
internal and international, impact human capital in the Arctic both positively and negatively. Petrov
looks at creative capital in the Arctic, based on the findings of the Creative Arctic Project and
assesses its ability to foster economic development in the Arctic as an alternative or complement to
resource-based development. Lahey, Svensson and Gunnarsson bring a critical gender perspective to
human capital discourses, noting that in Arctic/northern contexts, the dominant industry sectors
mainly occupy men, while often intensifying the social, economic, and political marginalization of
women and Indigenous peoples. Following on that, Kotyrlo looks at labour outcomes of migrant
women in two counties in northern Sweden, Västerbotten and Norrbotten. Grenoble and Olsen
outline the Arctic Indigenous Language Initiative which is working to reverse language shift through
active engagement and collaboration throughout the circumpolar region.
Regional Economy & Prosperity
The Canadian Arctic Council Chairmanship has highlighted local and regional economic
development efforts, and the Arctic Yearbook provides several articles contextualizing these. The
question of natural resource development looms large. Daitch et al assess the need and parameters
of a heritage fund for the Northwest Territories, drawing on a recent Canadian habit to try to
emulate Norway’s success in that regard. Hendriksen, Hoffmann and Jørgensen look at how
Greenland is engaging local workforce and planning flexible settlements in the context of its
changing mineral industry, while Dingman focuses on the