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Corruption in Finland - Finnish Chancellor of Justice to Investigate U of Helsinki Hirings
SPNW NewsWire Service and others... ^ | 2008-01-17 | SPNW NewsWire

Posted on 01/17/2008 8:34:27 AM PST by nrockefeller

The Finnish Chancellor of Justice is currently investigating for possible irregularities and discriminatory treatment after the Swedish School of Social Science released documents relating to their decision to reject an internationally renowned SPACEPOL expert's candidacy for a limited track researcher position. According to SPACEPOL CEO Gunnar K. A. Njalsson, the released documents expose a process of candidate evaluation riddled with inconsistencies and lack of academic integrity. FALSE AND EMBELLISHED EXPERT STATEMENTS

The focus of CEO Njalsson's particular concern is on so-called expert comments, requested by the Research Centre Board of the Swedish School of Social Science and submitted by nine University of Helsinki professors. The comments were to systematically evaluate the candidates for the researcher position using customary signs of merit, including the quality of research plans, number and quality of articles published, international reputation, multidisciplinary projects and so on. In an official complaint document, Njalsson points out serious shortcomings such as false or embellished statements and complete failure by four of the statements to mention a single research plan or any customary academic criteria used to evaluate candidates.

"I'd say that these deficiencies alone are cause for grave concern", commented Njalsson

But according to the founder of SPACEPOL who graduated from both the Swedish School of Social Science and the University of Helsinki in less than two and one half years, the fact that the statements were central to the decision making process makes a clear case for complete review and possible overhaul of the school's recruitment and hiring practises. He is also calling for disciplinary action and possible prosecution of those professors who are proven to have willingly or wrecklessly authored statements which they ought to have known were false. "I'm not saying that this is necessarily a phenomenon which is limited to the Swedish School of Social Sciences. But I am saying that wherever it occurs it is a serious breach against the most basic rules of Academe and must be dealt with accordingly", Njalsson added.

CHANCELLOR OF JUSTICE TO INVESTIGATE FOR IRREGULARITIES

The Chancellor will likely rule on the case by May 2008. SPACEPOL has previously filed bilateral trade and expert exchange reports with the Government of Canada with eye to possible Finnish discrimination of non-Finnish experts and enterprises. In June, Njalsson formally renounced his long-standing academic affiliation with the University of Helsinki, stating that he could see no sign of that university's willingness to adhere to global academic standards is cases such as this.

FINNISH MEDIA REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE - HAVE TIES TO UNIVERSITY UNDER INVESTIGATION

The case has been the object of recent media coverage and debate since it was lodged earlier this year. However, many larger Finnish newspapers such as Helsingin sanomat and the swedish-language dailies Hufvudstadsbladet and Vasabladet have steered clear of covering the incident despite international coverage and the involvement of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Chancellor or Justice in the investigation. The journalists working at these newpapers are all educated at the Swedish School of Social Science.

The possible impact of the incident on current negotiations relating to international academic mobility is as yet unclear.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: corruption; finland; nordic; tradebarriers
Thought this was interesting with eye to the fact countries like Finland, Sweden and Norway are actively sending students to US and Canadian universities with hopes of attaining researcher positions. Anti- (North)-Americanism is going very strong in Finland, Sweden and other Nordic countries!
1 posted on 01/17/2008 8:34:32 AM PST by nrockefeller
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To: nrockefeller

From what I know about university hiring practices in continental Europe, they might treat any non-Finnish person in the same way. It’s not anti-Americanism, they discriminate against all non-locals equally.


2 posted on 01/17/2008 10:04:29 AM PST by AdrianR
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To: nrockefeller

This does not make much sense. Basically, you are saying that these Nordic countries are especially anti-American and the Universities there are corrupt.

First, “Anti- (North)-Americanism” (whatever it means, anti-Canada?) in Nordic countries: If anything, it is much less strident than in other west European countries (say, compared to UK or Spain). So this is clearly a bogus statement.

Second, Nordic Universities are probably less corrupt than anywhere in the world. Look at Harvard PhDs in women’s studies, or Duke Phds in English literature (who can barely write in english). Duke Lacrosse hoax showed pretty well the quality of some local University profs. Besides, the quality in Nordic Universities is hardly a problem (compared to any other University in the world). Yes, MIT and Stanford (real) science programs are best in the world, but the students are mainly from Asia and Europe.

Why pick these countries?

I bet you are “anti-nordic”:)


3 posted on 01/17/2008 10:18:18 AM PST by tanaka
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To: nrockefeller
Finland is always rated as one of the least corrupt countries in the world according to the Corruption Perceptions Index.
4 posted on 01/17/2008 10:30:18 AM PST by wideminded
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To: nrockefeller

University of Helsinki? Any ideas on their football team mascot? The Vikings? The Gfelte-fish? The Ice-holes?


5 posted on 01/17/2008 10:31:47 AM PST by PGR88
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To: tanaka

No. I’m not anti-Nordic, just very familiar with these countries since I’ve lived in them and have active contacts and also speak the languages.

As a software engineer and natural scientist, I’ll be the last to take a stance on the “social science” results you refer to. Maybe they’re accurate in some way and maybe not. However, any serious researcher cannot simply refer to statistics provided by NGO’s without taking a stance on the methods used, including what was looked at and what was left out. I visited TI to which several of you have referred. While probably one of the most active organizations out there on this topic, I fail to see how measurement of PERCEPTIONS and some marginal factors makes a solid-state reference for levels of corruption. But like I say, I’m not a social scientist and am used to harder evidence for true/false statements.

I am also aware that countries such as Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland have since the 1950’s as part of their “nation-building” culture inculcated into students from a young age what you might call the idea of “Nordic Exceptionalism” (comp. American Exceptionalism), the “we’re not like others” or “those things don’t happen here” myth. Since there is no huge interest in the west for the Nordic countries and there appears not to be a line of researchers ready to scrutinize them, it is not surprising that citizens of Nordic countries have been pretty free (1940 - 1995) to provide most of the info about their own countries and in many cases perpetuate the myths of “no corruption, best universities, no crime, five small peace-loving countries here in the North”, etc.


6 posted on 01/18/2008 3:09:44 AM PST by nrockefeller
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To: wideminded

I answered this partially above in my reply to tanaka. However, I would add that it is extremely harmful when the “uninitiated” repeat myths that they have heard about these countries or simply refer to one statistical indicator. Again, I’m not a social scientist, but I assume that even they do not simply look at one indicator and make decisions. If anything stories like that of an entire US-Russian family of astrophysicists who fled Finland to Colorado in the US because of university corruption there and the one above ought to make us question whether the myths of Nordic Exceptionalism and the PERCEPTIONS of corruption index are telling the complete story. If not, then more harm is done by oversimplified conclusions, because no improvement is made (and non will probably be made until there is EXTERNAL scrutiny of these countries and their systems).


7 posted on 01/18/2008 3:09:45 AM PST by nrockefeller
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To: PGR88

I believe it would be the “University of Helsinki Cyborgs” with the mascot being a Borg drone from Star Trek ;.) A suitable choice for Nokialand, don’t you agree?


8 posted on 01/18/2008 3:09:47 AM PST by nrockefeller
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