Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap forsker innenfor et enormt spekter av tema og problemstillinger. Våre forskere omhandler hele 4 fagområder i form av sosiologi, statsvitenskap, idrettsvitenskap og Medier, kommunikasjon og IT.

For ytterligere informasjon om våre forskere se ansattelisten til venstre i menyen.

Abstract

It was previously perceived as a citizen's responsibility to follow the news and to keep oneself informed about politics and current affairs. Recently, however, it appears as though a growing number of citizens ignore the information opportunities given to them. Changes in the media environment have given people cross-nationally more of a choice regarding the media diet they prefer. For the American case, Prior has demonstrated that in an era of cable TV and Internet, people more readily remove themselves from political knowledge and political action than previously. In this article, we study how the public's consumption of news versus entertainment has developed over the last decade in countries with significantly different media systems. Is there a general increase in preference for entertainment across Europe, and has the gap between news- and entertainment-seekers increased such as documented by Prior for the U.S. case? Who are the European citizens who remove themselves from news and current affairs in the environment of increased choice? Based on data from five waves of the European Social Survey covering more than thirty European countries from 2002 to 2010, we demonstrate how national context or the media environment moderates the influence of individual-level factors in news consumption.

doi: 10.1177/1940161213485990

Abstract
Obesity (or being overweight) is now considered a by-product of membership of developed societies. Moreover, it is considered a growing ‘global' health problem. This article reports on a small qualitative study of adults who fell into one or other of these categories in Norway in 2010, and who have been faced with decisions about lifestyle versus surgical remedies. This decision making is contextualized and the principal criteria examined. Embodiment, bodywork, self- and social identity, stigma, deviance and issues around the idea of personal responsibility and public health emerge as key themes. The concluding paragraphs commend incorporation of a macro- or social structural perspective to the conceptualization and investigation of obesity.

http://hea.sagepub.com/content/17/3/266.abstract

Abstract
The cash-for-care scheme was introduced in 1998 in Norway during the first period after its introduction, the percentage of users was high at 91 per cent. Since 2005, however, the use has decreased substantially year by year. Thus, the use of cash for care has changed over the 15 years it has existed. In this article we take these changes as our point of departure and analyze more closely what we might call ‘the rise and fall of the cash-for-care scheme' in Norway. Over the last 15 to 20 years, Norway has become a multicultural society and we need to include ethnicity when conducting research in the field of family policy. The focus is therefore on the intersection of gender class, and ethnicity in parents' use of cash for care over this period. Our analysis is based on different sources of data. We have used data from the evaluative program undertaken by the Norwegian Research Council, including two surveys conducted before and after the reform (Gulbrandsen & Hellevik, 1998; Hellevik, 2000), and a qualitative case study focusing on fathers and mothers working in three different workplaces (Bungum et al. 2001). We have also used three other statistical studies which were carried out at two different points in time (Pettersen, 2003; Hirch, 2010; Bakken & Myklebø, 2010). Our findings indicate that cash for care is a scheme that mainly encourages mothers who have low income and a low educational level and who are to a large degree from immigrant backgrounds to remain outside the labor market. By distinguishing between three phases, we have aimed to illustrate how the intersection of gender, class, and ethnicity enters in different ways into both the discourse and the practices connected to the cash-for-care scheme since it was introduced in 1998.

Read the article
 

Abstract
The global economic downturn has heightened concerns about intervention by global financial institutions and political stability. One prominently-published article purports to show that signing on to an IMF structural adjustment program (SAP) increases the risk of civil war, Hartzell et al. (International Organization 64:339–56, 2010). The authors claim that IMF SAPs push liberalization, which hurts people badly enough that they foment civil war. We advance the debate by critically examining their theoretical and empirical evidence, particularly questioning their crucial assumptions about the impact of IMF programs on the economic environment in terms of who actually wins and loses from liberalization and who might be in a position to rebel. Using their data, we find that signing on to an IMF program predicts the onset of a civil war negatively if one uses a lower threshold of 25 deaths when defining civil war. These results suggest that the operationalization of the IMF variable as well as the use of largescale civil war (1,000 deaths and above) simply capture the effect of ongoing conflict rather than the effects of liberalization. After extending the time period under study and making only minor changes to operationalization, we find that at no time does IMF
involvement successfully predict the onset of a civil war.

DOI 10.1007/s11558-013-9167-z

Abstract
Empirical studies on the causes of civil war robustly show that poor countries are more likely to suffer civil war than rich ones. However, the interpretations of this finding differ. The literature proposes three different causal mechanisms: (1) poverty leads to grievances; (2) income proxies the opportunity-cost of rebelling; and (3) income proxies state capacity. Using factor analysis, logistic modeling and multiple imputation, we test which of the three possible explanations can best explain the link between poverty and conflict. We find per capita income to belong to a wealth/poverty dimension, and to have little in common with "pure" measures of grievance and state capacity. Thus our findings support the opportunity-cost argument. The wealth dimension is also shown to be the most important underlying cause of civil war.

Read the article

Abstract
The organic boom in agriculture at the turn of the new millennium culminated in ambitious political goals for further growth in organic agricultural production and consumption. In Norway, the present goal is to reach a level of 15% organic production and consumption by 2020. So far, the requested shift toward organic farming has not occurred at the anticipated level. Organic farming began in Norway with a few pioneers who questioned the conditions in conventional agriculture. Since the late 1980s, there has been a rise in the number of organic farms from the core 20 or so original farms to approximately 2800 certified organic farms in 2010. While several studies have explored the diffusion of organic farming as an innovation, little research has been carried out to specifically understand the spatial diffusion of organic agriculture. This paper explores spatial diffusion of organic farming in Norway by asking if the level of organic farming in one municipality is influenced by organic farming in its neighbouring municipalities. Spatial analyses are carried out on population, agricultural production and producer data. The dependent variable is the proportion of organic production in Norwegian municipalities (N = 430). Analyses in the paper show a connection between the level of organic production, the population level in the municipalities, and access to consumers. This research also shows a connection between the farm processing of organic products and the level of organic farming. The patterns are of a geographical nature, showing neighbourhood effects in the development of organic farming that are especially strong in particular regions of Norway. The results are discussed in light of previous research on organic farming and Hägerstrands ([1953] 1967) theory of spatial diffusion of innovations.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2012.11.005

Abstract
Liberals argue that economic policy reforms will benefit most in terms of better access to goods, less inflation and better economic opportunities. Critics of market reforms, among them Marxists, critical theorists, skeptics of globalization as well as a large portion of the NGO community, see the majority as losers from such reform, expecting resistance that would lead to political repression. They suggest that free-market policy reforms are analogous to "swallowing the bitter pill." We make use of the change in the Index of Economic Freedom as a measure of market liberalizing reforms, employing data from a panel of 117 countries for the period from 1981–2006. Our results show a strong positive association between reforms towards more free markets with regard to governments' respect for human rights, controlling for a host of relevant factors, including the possibility of endogeneity. The results are robust in relation to sample size, alternative data and methods, and a sample of only developing countries; and they are substantively quite large. Our results support those who argue that freer markets generate better economic conditions and higher levels of social harmony and peace, and it seems as if getting there is less problematic than people generally think—in fact, halfhearted measures and backsliding that prolong crises could be more dangerous to human rights.

DOI: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11127-011-9847-2

Abstract
The zooplankton redfeed may need an international management regime in the future. An optimal resource regime from Norway's point of view has already been hypothesized Tiller (J Environ Dev 19 (2):191–214, 2010). We expand on this hypothesis and analyze the regime preferences of other interested states: Russia, Iceland and the EU. These states will all react and respond differently to the advent of a new resource in the Northeast Atlantic and have different policy interests to bring to the negotiation table than the initiator Norway. One cannot analyze international regimes without fully comprehending the perspectives of other actors involved. It is therefore critical to look at the issues and concerns that are likely to arise on the international arena during regime negotiations and develop scenarios that account for the possible events that could materialize at that stage. This could potentially produce a more predictable end scenario in the case of the future redfeed regime, especially for Norway. In explaining this, we sketch four possible future scenarios, and proceed with discussing them in light of the potential preferences of the key actors involved. Given the enticing nature of studying a regime that has not yet materialized, the case of redfeed in the Northeast Atlantic is explored and discussed from the vantage point of actors whose cooperation with Norway is critical for the successful future operationalization of the international management regime for redfeed, namely Russia, Iceland, and the EU. Using regime formation theory and scenario analysis, mapping out the future negotiation stage of the regime formation process is undertaken. The article argues that Norway's role as a driver for the development of this regime will steer the negotiation process and ensure the outcome that is most beneficial for Norway, with Russia acquiescent rather than aggressive.

Read the article

Summary
With the intension of understanding why poor countries provide aid to other developing countries, we analyze aid commitments by India's Ministry of External Affairs to 125 countries over the 2008–10 period. Our findings are partially in line with our expectations of the behavior of a "needy" donor. Commercial and political self-interests dominate India's aid allocation. We find the importance of political interests to be significantly larger for India than for all donors of the Development Assistance Committee. Moreover, countries that are geographically closer are favored, and countries at a similar developmental stage are more likely to enter India's aid program.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.12.012

Abstract
The following article discusses how to elicit quantitative stakeholder driven scenarios as an output for use in interdisciplinary policy models using Systems Thinking and Bayesian Belief Network conjointly in a workshop setting. The usefulness of this joint method was tested on a core group of stakeholders that would likely be impacted if offshore aquaculture were to be developed in Santa Barbara, California, namely the commercial fishermen. The workshop elicited several scenarios describing stakeholder perceived notions of how offshore aquaculture could impact their industry. This joint method is a new method of developing future scenarios. These can in turn be used to develop more encompassing and interdisciplinary foresight models, early warning systems, for managers in different management areas. Models can thereby include human perception and comprehensive and quantitative scenarios by delimiting the variable paths toward each stakeholder driven scenario as additional elements in a comprehensive policy foresight recommendation tool.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2012.12.011

Abstract
This article aims to analyse the overlap between work and home in farm tourism.When farmers diversify their production into tourism using their homes as a commercial arena for hosting visitors, new challenges regarding boundaries between private and public, home and work arise. The article shows how central aspects of hosting involve inherent dilemmas between the farm as a home and as a site of commercial activities. Moreover, it shows how the boundaries between work and home are managed in order to balance business and a sense of home. Such boundary work consists of attempts at adjusting the product, marking rules and creating separate spaces for home and work, something that produces a more conditional hospitality. The analysis is based on studies of twenty family farms from various districts in Norway. Some of the farms combine tourism and farming while others have altered their production to tourism only. The material includes formal interviews with sixteen women and nineteen men operating the businesses.

DOI: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Article,id=14303/

Abstract
The rise of China has led to a spate of scholarly and journalistic speculation about the future of a liberal world order. Apparently, the rise of a nondemocratic, Asian rival to US hegemony potentially undermines the growth of democracy throughout the system. Many see a resource-hungry China engaging itself globally out of purely self-interested motives, and Chinese business and aid offer a viable alternative to Western influence. Using the Stockholm Institute for Peace Research's (SIPRI) data on arms transfers since the end of the Cold War, we test the proposition empirically by assessing the nature and strength of Chinese politico-military support, measured as conventional arms transfers, globally and to African regimes. In short, we find that China relative to the United States transfers greater amounts of arms to democracies rather than autocracies, whereas the United States seems to prefer more autocratic regimes, despite rhetoric that claims an ethical foreign policy. The same result holds when we assess this relationship using human rights data. Moreover, Chinese arms transfers to countries suffering civil wars are much lower than the United States'. The findings are robust to the inclusion of several control variables and alternative estimation techniques. The findings show that popular perceptions about China's role in Africa do not match reality, particularly when assessed against the current hegemon's behavior.

DOI: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/isqu.12028/abstract

Abstract:
This mini special issue introduces readers to an important, but often
overlooked intellectual current in post-war Japan: realism. While most attention has focused on pacifism and anti-militarism, this issue reveals the important contributions made by Japanese realists, and how they creatively incorporated elements of pacifism, anti-militarism and even progressivism into forms of realism that arguably made a unique and creative contribution to global realist theory. This issue translates in full into English for the first time major essays by two of the best known post-war realists in Japan: K¯osaka Masataka and Nagai Y¯onosuke. This issue also highlights a major preoccupation for Japanese realists, one evident throughout the K¯osaka and Nagai essays, and for Japanese foreign policy in general: the country's relationship with China and the normalization of relations from the perspective of the second half of the 1960s. The third article in this mini-special issue, a translation of a recent work of diplomatic history, shows to what extent the realist considerations of K¯osaka and Nagai are translated by practitioners at the end of the 1960s into Japanese policy toward China on the eve of Sino-Japanese normalization. These translations provide perspective on the challenges Japan faces today when formulating policy toward a China that has become even more important for Japan than it was already in the 1960s. They highlight the recurrence of several tensions and debates, such as Japan's identity as a "western" versus as an East Asian nation, how to deal with a confrontational China, the role of military power versus diplomacy, and how to balance relations between China and the U.S.

DOI: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09555803.2012.729855

Sammendrag:
Siden EU/EØS-utvidelsen i 2004 har et stort antall østeuropeiske arbeidere fått jobb på det norske arbeidsmarkedet. De fleste har lønns- og arbeidsvilkår som er dårligere enn gjennomsnittet for norske arbeidstakere – ofte også dårligere enn det norske regelverket tillater. Likevel er mange av de østeuropeiske arbeidstakerne ganske tilfredse med sine arbeidsbetingelser. Denne artikkelen tar utgangspunkt i et kvalitativt datamateriale med østeuropeiske hotellarbeidere i en større norsk by som informanter, og diskuterer nevnte paradoks ut fra mikrososiologiske perspektiver på arbeidsinnvandrernes (a) referanserammer, (b) livs- og karriereperspektiver og (c) selvforståelse som outsidere på arbeidsmarkedet og i det norske velferdssamfunnet. Avslutningsvis uttrykker artikkelen en bekymring for at de østeuropeiske arbeiderne gjennom sin aksept av dårlige lønns- og arbeidsvilkår medvirker til konstruksjonen av segregerte og innvandringsdominerte delarbeidsmarkeder.

Les artikkelen her

Abstract:
The issue of immigration is highly salient to citizens of industrialised democracies. Globalisation and the emergence of an international human rights regime, among other reasons, led to high levels of immigration to industrialised countries in recent decades. Immigrant-receiving states have shown only limited ability to control the size and composition of their immigrant population. Immigration has therefore emerged as a prominent political issue in practically all economically developed countries, and there are raising concerns over anti-immigration sentiments and nationalist tendencies that seem to be taking hold among modern publics. We argue that anti-immigration attitudes are not merely a response to increased immigration, but rather that these attitudes mirror governments' nationalistic and anti-immigration stance. In addition, people who are interested in politics are expected to be more influenced by their governments' policies than those who show less interest. We use data from the European Social Survey and the Comparative Manifesto Project to test these claims. Results from our multilevel models show that people living in countries where the government is right wing are more opposed to immigration than people living in countries where the government exhibits less right-wing tendencies. The effect of government policy positions is also found to be conditioned by political interest at the individual level.

DOI: //dx.doi.org/10.1163/157181112X639041

Abstract:
In this article an examination is made of the association between unemployment and public demand for government intervention in the economy. The main hypothesis is drawn from the theory of issue ownership: public opinion is likely to shift to the left in times of high unemployment combined with a leftist government. Research on issue ownership has typically focused on case studies of particular countries. We extend the discussion to a much larger setting. Relying on data from the International Social Survey Programme from 23 OECD countries in the time period 1985–2007 we find a combined effect of issue ownership and agenda setting. An increase in unemployment leads the public to hold more leftist economic opinions when the government belongs to the left. However, ownership of an issue cannot be guaranteed to last if a party fails to deliver outcomes that are promised and expected from its historical legacy.

DOI:  //dx.doi.org/10.1177/0950017012438574 

Abstract:
This article analyses how armed conflict affects individual support for liberal values. It is commonly assumed that the consolidation of democracy depends on individual values such as tolerance as well as aspirations of civil and political liberty. For post-conflict societies, consolidating democracy is also a means of reducing the risk of recurring violent conflict. However, democracy has proven to be especially hard to achieve and consolidate in ethnically divided societies. While previous research has centred mainly on institutions and political elites, I expand the focus to also include ordinary citizens. Using survey data from post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Croatia, I examine the effect of exposure to violence on a scale of authoritarian values. While the effects are small, the results show that warrelated violence in some cases leads people to embrace authoritarian values.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2012.688032

Abstract:
Ameliorating fisheries management is of utmost importance given the vulnerability of fisheries worldwide. International management regimes are imperative as a means to this end. Redfeed is a marine species located on the second to last level on the food web, and is a cornerstone species therein. The role of effective management of this species is of utmost importance to avoid the potential catastrophe associated with its over harvesting. The resource is still not commercially harvested, however, and its management can still be framed before a potential catastrophe occurs. Using regime and scenario theories, the regime formation process at the initial Agenda Formation stage is explored from the perspective of a future commercial harvest of this plankton. The potential of vertical movement from this stage to the next level in the process, the Negotiation stage, is considered from the vantage point of four different scenarios related to the political responses to this potential redfeed fishery in the Northeast Atlantic: Business-as-usual, Quiet Suffocation by the Politically Prioritized Svalbard Fisheries Protection Zone, Institutions; or Death by Climate Change and Improbable-but-devastating. Providing policy makers with these scenarios gives the affected decision maker a wider view and more information about the processes that can change and enhance the given situation and in turn lead to wanted or unwanted situations. It enables them to make better decisions about the given path they are interested in pursuing and which future image they preferred or want. The future is unpredictable, however, and scenarios are only possible futures.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2012.04.010

Abstract:
In recent decades, theories of transnationalism have emerged as key perspectives for analysis of international migration. Drawing on Glorius and Friedrich's (2006) model of transnationalism, the paper analyses the case of migrant farm labour in rural Norway and demonstrates how the social context of migrants' work influences their building of various kinds of social-capital resources which are crucial for development of transnational space. The paper argues that circularity of migration is not sufficient to instigate fullfledged transculturation and hybrid identity-formation processes. In conclusion, the paper recommends that transnational theory should pay greater attention to the social contexts of migration and observe the limits of the theory's application.

Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2012.654996

Abstract:
The article takes Theberge's (2004) notion of "the Network Studio" and Latour's (2005) notion of "reassembling/disassembling" as a point of departure to investigate the development of home recording and home distribution practices among semi-professional musicians. The central research questions concerns whether these new practices are used to sidestep the traditional career patterns of the music industry. In other words, do they add up to "piracy cultures" (Cardoso & Castells, 2010) that challenge and threaten established social orders? The study reveals how the rise of the networked home studio has altered the initial phases of the processes of music making in important ways. However, the musicians did not perceive the new practices of the home studio as a substitute for professional studios and traditional ways of making a career, but rather as a preparation. The study suggests that the developing practices of the home studio should be understood as the formation of "pre-distribution networks"—not actually side stepping, but eventually leading into the professional network of the music industry. Thus, the suspected piracy is still looming at best.

Read the article

Abstract:
Previous research demonstrates that opposition to immigration increases when immigrant groups are seen as economically non-viable and burdened with distinctive and unassimilable cultural practices. However, no research to date has investigated the parallel relationship between attributes of individuals and willingness to admit these individuals as legal immigrants. This study examines Norwegians' evaluations of individual immigrants. Using an experimental design, specific attributes of immigrants are manipulated, making them appear more or less likely to make an economic contribution and more or less likely to assimilate into Norwegian culture. It is found that the decision to admit individuals is predominantly influenced by the immigrant's economic background. Norwegians are especially supportive of highly skilled immigrants. The immigrant's race is also relevant, but the effect of racial cues varies between men and women. Immigrants with an Afrocentric appearance are more likely to be rejected by men, but accepted by women. The article recommends that immigration researchers measure public support for immigration at both the policy and individual immigrant levels.

//dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2011.00280.x

Abstract:
ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management) is a decision-making process for sustainable use, development and protection of coastal marine areas and their resources, in continuous realization. Norway is currently dependent upon the commitment and motivations of the municipalities to fulfill its ICZM initiatives. These communities are lacking epistemic communities that can help prevent the simmering conflicts surrounding aquaculture expansion, as demonstrated by media data from 1984–2010. With the forthcoming harvest of the zooplankton redfeed in Norwegian and surrounding waters, the Aquaculture industry could be in a situation of expanded feed resources, which would ensure its expansion if localities are made available. This would also be in line with the Norwegian government's commitment to the expansion of this industry. A government-endorsed growth of the Aquaculture industry will add fuel to these simmering conflicts concerning the use of the eco-system of collective goods and services available along national coastline in Norway for Aquaculture purposes. The suggestions from the recently released report from the Select Committee appointed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs in Norway on Effective and Sustainable Area Use in the Aquaculture Industry cab be an aid to supporting the growth of epistemic communities and a subsequent successful national ICZM implementation, thereby paving the way for a conflict-less coastal area management.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2012.02.023

Sammendrag:
I de siste tiårene har mediene blitt hovedscenen for politisk informasjon og debatt. Det har funnet sted en markant økning i antall mediekanaler, nyhetssendinger og artikler om politikk. Men hvor forståelig er egentlig de politiske nyhetene for publikum og velgere? I denne artikkelen argumenterer vi for at journalister benytter en teknikk som favoriserer de mest kunnskapsrike når de dekker valgkamper og andre politiske forhold. Ved å bruke en kvantitativ innholdsanalyse av to nasjonale aviser og to nasjonale nyhetsprogrammer på TV undersøker vi nyhetsdekningen under valgkampen som ledet frem til stortingsvalget i 2009. Formålet med studien er å undersøke hvor mye forkunnskaper publikum og velgere trenger for å forstå den politiske nyhetsdekningen.

Vi finner at en betydelig andel av nyhetsdekningen blir presentert på en slik måte at den kan virke ekskluderende på de som har lite kunnskap om politikk fra før. Denne presentasjonen er delvis resultatet av en omfattende bruk av ekspertkilder, men skyldes også journalistenes egen oppfatning av hvilken forkunnskap publikum innehar.

Les artikkelen her

Abstract:
Norway is seen around the world as a champion of gender equality policy. This paper explores how Norwegian sport has framed, negotiated and understood gender as policy issue during the last decades. It focuses on dominant gender political discourses and strategies and how shifting gender policies has been influenced by internal institutional conditions as well as by public discourses and policies on gender. The empirical basis derives mainly from previous studies, as well as relevant policy documents. The theoretical framework is mainly rooted in an understanding of how gender as a dichotomy and a power relation operates and is constructed. The analyses of shifting gender policies trace a development from rights- and justice-oriented discourses and strategies towards more utility- and difference-oriented discourses, and show how the struggle for the equal inclusion of women has been and still is a contested terrain.

DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2012.653201

Abstract:
Many sociologists have argued that work no longer plays the central role in contemporary life experience because we have entered an age of insecurity in relation to employment, and knowledge workers are often pictured as egoistical portfolio workers who are only interested in their careers and no longer loyal to their employers. Cappelli (1999) on the other hand argues that more insecure employment relations is a result of employers' strategy to buy workers rather than offering them long-term relations.

Using case studies from seven different knowledge work contexts in Norway, this article argues that more temporary employment relations is not the result of career-seeking portfolio workers, but of changes in employment practices of their employers. These are not primarily changes in the formal employment contracts from permanent to temporary employment, but in the social contracts as they are practiced by the employers and experienced by the knowledge workers in the different contexts of knowledge work. The reason for more temporary relations was not because work does not matter for knowledge workers. On the contrary, we found that they accepted insecure conditions because work mattered and because they were eager to take on new tasks, learn the trade in new fields, and show that they were able to do the job. When they left their employer, it was because they were not able to do a good job in their positions or because they were increasingly directly exposed to an insecure market that signaled that they were not profitable (enough) for their employer. Although changes in employment practices by the employers toward more short-term relations are not caused by disloyal portfolio workers, these practices may produce the problem of disloyal workers who have to secure their employment in the labor market.

Les artikkelen

Sammendrag:
Denne studien undersøker hjemmesidene til naturbaserte gårdsturismevirksomheter, og hvordan gårdenes selvpresentasjon møter nye turismetrender. Dagens trender er preget av et «romantisk» fremfor et «masseturisme»-blikk, ifølge begrepene til Urry (2002). Gårdsturisme tilbyr produkter og opplevelser som oppfyller disse ønskene, og selger det autentiske, tradisjonelle og særegne. Tre paradokser kommer til uttrykk på hjemmesidene. Ved å analysere dem, diskuterer vi hvordan det er vanskelig å unngå å iscenesette det ekte i turismesammenheng, at det er vanskelig å markedsføre det tradisjonelle uten å koble det til moderne verdier og komfort, og at det unike gjennomgår standardiseringsprosesser.

Les artikkelen

Abstract:
A key concept in research on the media coverage of politics is the game or strategy frame. Contrasted with coverage of politics as issues, the framing of politics as a strategic game is marked by features such as winning and losing as the central concern and a focus on how candidates or parties are doing in opinion polls. The pervasiveness of such framing is, however, disputed since (1) the way in which the frames are conceptualized and operationalized differs significantly; and (2) while some use terms such as ‘game frame' and ‘strategy frame' as synonymous, others argue that there is a conceptual difference between them. Against this background, this article reviews research on the media's framing of politics as a strategic game, what concepts have been used, and how they have been operationalized; and suggests a synthesis and ways of improving conceptual clarity and comparability in research on the media's use of strategy and/or game frames.

DOI:

//dx.doi.org/10.1177/1464884911427799

Abstract:
This paper sets out to analyze Japanese renewable energy policy. A default expectation is that countries with unsolved energy problems will have more ambitious renewable energy policies (including energy efficiency). The Japanese case only partially conforms. The theoretical proposition made here is that it is essential to analyze a country's vested interest structure before we can make any inferences about its renewable energy policies. The vested interest perspective – derived from a combination of Joseph Schumpeter and Mancur Olson, and focusing on structural economic change – both complements and rivals the default expectation. Structural economic change, like the rise of renewables, typically leads to resistance from the existing vested interest structure, which feels that it stands to lose from the rise of new industries. The position of a new industry vis-a-vis the existing vested interest structure is thus crucial. In the Japanese case, the solar industry has been far more on the inside of this structure than wind. This has made it far harder for the wind industry to rise than for solar. Energy efficiency is however the ultimate insider approach to energy policy, not challenging any vested interest structures, and has been the favored approach for over three decades.

DOI:

//dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.09.070

The anthology analyses regime transformation, state unification and separation, changes in party systems, and the external and internal effects of German unification 20 years after the revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe

Read more

Kapittelet gir en utenrikspolitikk begrepsarkitektur, og en teoretisk informert og empirisk illustrert fremstilling av utenrikspolitiske målsettinger og virkemidler.

Les mer

Abstract:
Fifty percent of Norway's nursing workforce in elderly care work part time. this articel investigates how part-time employment has been normalized within the nursing profession in Norway, and it discusses whether nursing needs to be a part -time profession also in the future. We found that nurses seem to accept thst that the work has to be organized with part-time employees . The nurses argued that a gigh share of part-time positions is necessary to meet the demand for nursing personell on weekends. Further it is argued that employers need a flexible workforce, available on short notice to fill the gaps suddenly arising in the shift plan due to illness etc. In this way the profesional culture justifies a high rate of part-tme employees. several research projects point at differnet ways of organizing the workforce in such a way that more nurses work full-time. This article therefore suggests that employers and employees need to compromise to solve this problem.
Les mer

Abstract:
This study is an investigation of how members of the Norwegian and the Swedish parliaments relate to and perceive their relationships with the media. Based on surveys conducted among members of the Norwegian Storting and the Swedish Riksdag, we find that male MPs have more frequent and somewhat less formal relationships with media and journalists compared with female MPs. The results also suggest that male MPs have adapted to the media and their logic more than female MPs. Female MPs also appear to be more critical towards the requirements imposed on politicians who want to get media exposure, compared with male MPs. Analysis reveals that gender differences are smaller among Swedish than Norwegian MPs.

DOI: 10.1177/0192512110378902

Abstract:
Fast pace of technology changes makes conduction of high-quality web surveys increasingly easy, and performance of web surveys should be continuously monitored. In this article, a comparison is made of the results of telephone and web surveys of items measuring international news knowledge. The authors compare web surveys of general populations conducted in the United States and Norway in January 2009 with their telephone replications conducted in the same month. Results show rather small differences between web and telephone surveys, particularly in Norway. The authors discuss the results and make recommendations for use of web surveys and for future methodological research.

DOI: 10.1177/0894439310371340

Sammendrag:
Artikkelen drøfter hvilke forhold påvirker den kompetente strategiske ledelsen sin mulighet til å ivareta sine hovedoppgaver i en stats utenrikspolitikk: å identifisere, utvide og bruke det utenrikspolitisk handlingsrommet til landets beste.

Les artikkelen

Bokas innhold:
Boka tar utgangspunkt i stortingsvalget i 2009, men ambisjonen er samtidig å heve blikket utover dette valget. Bokas tittel, Det politiske landskap, henspiller på et kart over det politiske Norge. For å tegne et kart trenger man koordinater. Tidligere spilte sosiale bakgrunnsforhold rollen som politiske koordinater. I dag ligger hovedvekten på velgernes subjektive standpunkter og ideologiske grunnholdninger. I motsetning til kart over fjell og fjord er politiske kart plastiske – de er i stadig endring. Samtidig viser analysene i denne boka at velgernes grunnholdninger i betydelig grad er stabile over tid – samtidig som de fanger opp nye utviklingstrekk.

Bokas innhold:
Grundbog i idrætssociologi er en bredviftet introduktion til idræt i et større samfundsperspektiv, især i en skandinavisk kontekst. Den er opbygget i tre hoveddele med fokus på henholdsvis teori, metode og tematiske emner. Alle kapitler inddrager cases fra idrættens verden.

Bogen er tiltænkt studerende på de videregående uddannelser, som har et idrætsfagligt sigte, men den kan med fordel læses af alle med interesse for samspillet mellem idræt og samfund. Det gælder også studerende på professionshøjskoler og på de gymnasiale uddannelser.

Grundbog i idrætssociologi er skrevet af førende norske og danske idrætsforskere. Forfatterne beskriver blandt andet idrætten ud fra emner som integration, migration, doping, elitetræning, talentudvikling, kommercialisering, massemedier, globalisering, vold og hooliganisme, køn og seksualisering samt livsstil og fitness.

Abstract:
Purpose – The paper criticizes current directions in research on women and management. The purpose of this paper is to propose new directions for such research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual and is based on a review of recent literature on elites and the gendering of elite positions internationally and in the Nordic countries. This literature is discussed using studies of changing power dynamics and the development of welfare state services in a context of globalization. Findings – The paper argues that one needs to move away from the focus on individual traits and "female management" to study the processes and practices that (re)produce power differences between men and women in the organisations where they take place. Two contextual factors make new directions in research necessary. The first is the knowledge economy changing organisations from bureaucratic towards democratic forms at the level of production and the financialization of the economy centralizing power at corporate level. The second is the challenging of Nordic welfare states by globalization of the economy. The welfare state results in a "democratization of motherhood" that increases women's participation in the economy, but may limit their opportunity to obtain elite positions. Originality/value – To understand women's exclusion of elite positions, new research should combine multidimensional analyses of gender and power to explore the symbolic connections between masculinity and "big money".
DOI: 10.1108/17542411111164902

Bokas innhold:
Boka tar utgangspunkt i stortingsvalget i 2009, men ambisjonen er samtidig å heve blikket utover dette valget. Bokas tittel, Det politiske landskap, henspiller på et kart over det politiske Norge. For å tegne et kart trenger man koordinater. Tidligere spilte sosiale bakgrunnsforhold rollen som politiske koordinater. I dag ligger hovedvekten på velgernes subjektive standpunkter og ideologiske grunnholdninger. I motsetning til kart over fjell og fjord er politiske kart plastiske – de er i stadig endring. Samtidig viser analysene i denne boka at velgernes grunnholdninger i betydelig grad er stabile over tid – samtidig som de fanger opp nye utviklingstrekk.

Abstract:
Football spectators (N=760) at two local and two international matches were surveyed with the aim of investigating how identity is created and sustained in relation to top-level sport in general, and local and national football teams in particular. Two-way between-groups analyses of variance were applied, and effect sizes calculated. There was a statistically significant main effect for gender, showing that male spectators identify more strongly with their favourite team than female spectators. The findings also include an interaction effect between gender and level of matches, indicating different effects on male and female spectators. Male spectators identify more strongly with the national team than the local team, whereas female spectators identify more strongly with the local team. Strong identification with the national team goes together with more positive attitudes towards the nation. The results are analysed within the theoretical framework of social identity theory (SIT) and self-categorization theory (SCT). Team identification is context-dependent and partly explained with reference to the principle of meta-contrast implied in SCT. Positive attitudes towards the nation are interpreted as beneficial from a nation-building point of view, but have possible negative consequences concerning the evaluation of social groups not included in the in-group.
DOI: 10.1080/13504630.2011.606677

Abstract:
In spite of ostensibly similar starting points in 1991, Croatia and Serbia have followed somewhat different political trajectories since then. Three alternative hypotheses may be advanced to account for this. The first draws attention to differences in the degree of corruption and criminalization of politics. The second emphasizes structural and institutional differences, which widened in the years since 1991. The third stresses the impact of history textbooks, media and wartime propaganda on each nation's political culture. While all three hypotheses have something to offer, structural and institutional differences and differences in political culture have been more important than corruption or criminalization in accounting for the specific differences in the political paths of these two countries.

Read more

Abstract:
Several prominent economists have recently argued that ethnic and other forms of social diversity lead to economic failure. Apparently, serious social frictions caused by diverse preferences do not create conditions for the development of endogenous institutions that enhance good economic policies. Others, however, have shown that diversity reduces transaction costs within and between groups absent good public institutions, because of within-group social capital and ingroup policing in repeated dealings across groups. High diversity also reduces mass mobilization and forces consensus: ethnic diversity acts as a barrier against the concentration of absolute power. Using several measures of ethnic diversity, this study demonstrates that diversity and cultural difference reduce serious social frictions measured as the repression of political dissent. This study also finds that higher social diversity directly predicts higher levels of economic freedom, a proxy often used to gauge the marketfriendliness of a country, the endogenous conditions often associated with economic success. The same results are true when a measure of the control of corruption is used. The results show that diversity enhances, not retards, the prospects for development and reduces social frictions. It may very well be that discourses of conflict, particularly the discourses of blame and recrimination based on ethnic ties where economic failure is apparent, is mistaken as the cause rather than the byproduct of crises, mistakenly attributed to historical conditions that have generated artificial borders. Empirically, diversity seems to foster, not displace, the preconditions for development.

Les artikkelen her

Sammendrag
Halvparten av sykepleierne som arbeider i sykehjem, arbeider deltid noe som ofte forklares med belastningene i yrket. I denne artikkelen ser vi på hvordan hel- og deltidsansatte sykepleiere i sykehjem opplever arbeidsvilkårene. Resultatene viser at sykepleiere som arbeider heltid på flere områder opplever arbeidet mindre belastende enn sykepleiere som arbeider deltid. Dette kan fremstå som et paradoks, men kan forklares med at sykepleiere i hele stillinger opplever større kontinuitet og oversikt i arbeidssituasjonen. I tillegg har heltidsansatte lengre vakter, noe som innebærer at de får relativt færre oppmøtedager, og at de er på jobb også i roligere perioder av døgnet. Studien viser dessuten at en arbeidsstokk preget av mange ufaglærte ansatte i små stillinger, øker arbeidsbelastningen for sykepleierne.

Les mer på nett

Summary
The Bosnian Diaspora: Integration in Transnational Communities provides an extensive exploration of a major post-conflict European Diaspora, presenting the latest trans-national comparative studies drawn from the US, Australia and countries across Europe, to explore post-crisis interactions among Bosnians and the impact of postconflict related migration. Examining the common features of the Diaspora this volume addresses the influence of global anti-Muslim rhetoric on the Bosnian Diaspora's self-identification and refugees' relationships to their home country.

Read more

Abstract:
Discusses Serbia's struggle for democratic values after the fall of the Milosevic regime provoked by the NATO war, and after the trauma caused by the secession of Kosovo. Are the value systems of the post-Milosevic era true stumbling blocks of a delayed transition of this country? Seventeen contributors from Norway, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Poland and some other European countries covered a broad range of topics in order to provide answers to this question. The subjects of their investigations were national myths and symbols, history textbooks, media, film, religion, inter-ethnic dialogue, transitional justice, political party agendas and other related themes.

The authors of the essays represent different scholarly disciplines whose theoretical conceptions and frameworks are employed in order to analyze two alternative value systems in Serbia: liberal, cosmopolitan and civic on the one hand, and traditional, provincial, nationalist on the other.

Read more

Abstract:
This article deals with how diversification and transformation of farming into tourism may influence the social identity of farmers. Based on a study of 19 farms run by couples engaged with agritourism, it shows how the development of tourism on the farms can be understood in a perspective of repeasantization; and how the couples draw on their farm resources, culture and place to sustain the farm. As hosts offering local food, stories, and various activities, they mediate a strong farm identity. The article also explores how farm identities change through three processes by which the ‘new' work of tourism destabilizes identities. One is a shift in the meaning of farmer identity. Another is the gradual change towards a new master identity, and thirdly there is a multiplicity of identities that shift as they relate to various social memberships and settings.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2010.09.002

Sammendrag:
Modernisering av offentlig sektor inspirert av New Public Management (NPM) har ført til desentralisering av ansvar og innføring av målstyring i kommunale tjenester. På 2000-tallet innførte mange kommuner tonivåledelse, og lederne av tjenestene ble lovt økt frihet og makt til å lede sine resultatenheter gjennom en lederavtale med rådmannen. I denne avtalen forpliktet de seg til å sørge for god pleie og omsorg innen det gitte budsjett. Med dette ble NPMs managerialism1 med «frihet til å lede» innført (Clarke og Newman 1997). En studie av kvinnelige ledere i kommunale pleie- og omsorgstjenester i en kommune med tonivåorganisasjon viste imidlertid at makt og frihet til å lede var betinget av at lederne holdt budsjettet, som var det viktigste resultatet som kommunen målte dem etter. Bare når budsjettet ble holdt, fikk lederne makt og frihet til å lede fra rådmannen. Studien viser dermed et motsetningsfylt bilde av styring og ledelse i kommunen. På den ene siden desentraliseres ansvaret for resultatene til enhetene, og lederne får gjennom dette frihet til å lede tjenestene. På den andre siden blir enhetene i økende grad styrt av befolkningens rett til tjenester og budsjettkravene fra kommunen. Paradoksalt nok går utviklingen derfor både mot økt styring og økt vekt på ledelse. Kommuneledelsen styrer enhetene indirekte gjennom krav til budsjettdisiplin, men ansvaret for tjenesten delegeres til lederne, som må vise at de kan levere gode tjenester til brukerne innen det gitte budsjettet. Enhetslederne er på sin side avhengig av god ledelse av sine ansatte for å få dem til å gjøre sitt beste for å levere pleie- og omsorgstjenester til alle som har rett til det, på tross av knappe eller utilstrekkelige ressurser.

Les mer på nett

Abstract:
By comparing US and European efforts at market integration, this article questions the commonly held notion that Europe's market integration can continue without undermining its nation‐based models of social protection. Three recent ECJ decisions (Viking, Laval and Rüffert) seem to confirm Scharpf's (2002) assertion that the EU suffers from constitutional asymmetry. By contrasting these developments with the earlier integration of US markets – where a rough constitutional symmetry can be said to exist – the article concludes that constitutional symmetry, in itself, is probably insufficient to protect the sort of corporatist arrangements that undergird northern European social models.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5965.2010.02165.x

DOI: 10.1177/0738894210388079

Abstract:
This article tests the hypothesis that higher women's economic and social rights in foreign countries with which a country is connected via trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) spill-over into higher rights among the laggards—a phenomenon known as spatial dependence. Analyzing women's rights over the period 1981–2007 in a global sample and samples of countries at different stages of economic development, we find consistent evidence for spill-over effects via trade links, with the exception of a sample of low-income countries. We also find some evidence for similar effects via FDI, but only for economic rights and only in middle-income countries.

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.12.008

Abstract:
This study is an investigation of how members of the Norwegian and the Swedish parliaments relate to and perceive their relationships with the media. Based on surveys conducted among members of the Norwegian Storting and the Swedish Riksdag, we find that male MPs have more frequent and somewhat less formal relationships with media and journalists compared with female MPs. The results also suggest that male MPs have adapted to the media and their logic more than female MPs. Female MPs also appear to be more critical towards the requirements imposed on politicians who want to get media exposure, compared with male MPs. Analysis reveals that gender differences are smaller among Swedish than Norwegian MPs.

DOI: 10.1177/0192512110378902

Abstract:
The use of short message services (SMS) on mobile phones has gained huge popularity in most western and many developing countries — so much so that it has become established as the preferred medium for mobile communication especially among young people. This article explores SMS as used for discreet communication between people in the same physical space (‘shared physical space SMS' — or ‘SPS-SMS'). Drawing from semi-structured interviews with young people in Norway, 10 different scenarios of SPS-SMS use are explored and analysed within an interactionist framework. These sites of SPS-SMS are presented here as ‘communicative affordances'. It is concluded that the mobile phone, by the application of SPS-SMS, affords communicative layers of transparency, by which various SMS users maintain semi-synchronous communication, both for care and coordination. Although a qualitative study of this nature does not lend itself to generalizations about SPS-SMS communication, it does demonstrate how detailed studies of extraordinary uses of mediated communication may be used to widen analyses of social interaction.

Doi: 10.1177/1354856510394604

Summary:
The only textbook to provide a complete introduction to post-1989 Central and Southeast European politics, this dynamic volume provides a comprehensive account of the collapse of communism and the massive transformation that the region has witnessed. It brings together 23 leading specialists to trace the course of the dramatic changes accompanying democratization. The text provides country-by-country coverage, identifying common themes and enabling students to see which are shared throughout the area, giving them a sense of its unity and comparability whilst strengthening understanding around its many different trajectories. The dual thematic focus on democratization and Europeanization running through the text also helps to reinforce this learning process. Each chapter contains a factual overview to give the reader context concerning the region which will be useful for specialists and newcomers to the subject alike.
 

read more

Abstract:
With some Serbs subscribing to liberal values in line with those of the European Union and others adhering to nationalist values, reaching consensus on how to tackle the challenges that Serbs face has been difficult. Nationalists' calls to rehabilitate Axis collaborators distract Serbs from other issues on the political agenda. The dominant sectors of the
media as well as the educational and legal systems have been replicating the nationalist syndrome, a process that has impeded the development of a broader civic culture. However, the formation of a coalition government dominated by the Democratic Party in July 2008 marked a partial break with dysfunctional nationalism and has opened a new chapter in Serbian political development.
 

Read more

This 50 pages contribution to the anthology “Strategic Leadership in Crisis and War” (Ed. G.L. Dyndal, Fagbokforlaget, 2010) demonstrates how strategic leadership may be studied within the wider framework of a multi-level Foreign Policy model, as well as the fruitfulness of applying the metaphor of “foreign policy space of maneuvering” in a precise sense. Furthermore, the general foreign policy goals and means are interpreted in a strategic leadership context. Finally, fourteen theses on strategic leadership within the wider context of foreign policy-making are formulated.

Reviewing “Strategic Leadership in Crisis and War” in The Norwegian Military Journal, Vol. 181, No. 1-2, 2011, Flag-commander (ret.) Jacob Børresen describes the anthology as a “splendid first cut for what may become the standard reference text in Norwegian on the topic of strategic leadership in crisis and war”. As to Gunnar Fermann’s particular contribution to the anthology, the reviewer deems this to be “a small masterpiece of a chapter, some of the best [he] has read about the topic, and the best [he] ever has read in Norwegian”. Børresen concludes that “this chapter alone is reason enough to provide the book”.

Link to book: http://www.vigmostadbjorke.no/?isbn=978-82-450-0966-8

Abstract:
There is considerable evidence that many people generally misperceive the size of the immigrant population in their country, and that this may have essential political implications. In studies of political knowledge, the news media are typically said to be one important source of information that can help make people more knowledgeable. In the present article, we investigate whether there is a relationship between TV viewing, media system variations and knowledge about immigration. We base our analysis on highly comparable data from the 2002-2003 wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) and an American replication of the ESS. The results indicate that TV viewing in general is associated with lower levels of knowledge, while there is a positive but non-significant relationship between watching TV news and knowledge about immigration. Differences in the levels of knowledge between the countries are fairly large, with residents of Nordic countries being most knowledgeable and residents of the UK, US and France tending to be least knowledgeable. Aggregate explanations for variations in media influence (share of public service TV and "media systems") do not prove to be of much value in explaining differences in knowledge about the sizes of immigrant populations.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Sport organized through voluntary organizations is widespread in the Scandinavian countries, and voluntary organized sport in Denmark and Norway is the topic of this essay. The two cases are compared along a set of dimensions: voluntary sector in general and voluntary sport in particular (organizational structures, level of participation, type of activity and ideology, resources and relations to the public sector). Having described the two cases, we try to understand and explain similarities and differences between them. We end the essay with a discussion of some future challenges for voluntary organized sport in the Scandinavian countries.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Fishing down the food chain is a controversial issue that demands further exploration. Redfeed is a marine species located on the second to last level on the food web. It is also one of the potential saviors of the aquaculture industry. The role of effective management of this species is of utmost importance to avoid the potential catastrophe associated with its overharvesting. Using a calculation of behavioral effectiveness, a blueprint redfeed regime is compared with the Convention for the Conservation of the Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), an ecosystem-based management regime with the now famous krill as its key species. Though the regimes are similar in nature, their geopolitical differences suggest that a future redfeed regime will be effective even though CCAMLR has not been. Ensuring that the redfeed is not merely incorporated into existing regimes, but is treated separately in an ecosystem-based regime, will alleviate the interplay this future redfeed regime otherwise would encounter.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
The aim of this article is to attain a better understanding of which aspects influence students’ housing satisfaction in Trondheim, Norway. Due to rising student numbers in the last decade in Norway, there is a distinct need for new student housing. It has been stated previously that students prefer specific, often central locations in university cities and that they have become more demanding when it comes to the standard of accommodation. Questions related to how and where to accommodate students have become an issue in both public and professional discussions. This study adds to the knowledge on different aspects that influence student housing satisfaction and thus offers background information for further discussion on the student housing situation in medium-sized university cities. Data were collected through a quantitative survey, which emphasized the following five aspects: (1) Type of tenancy/ownership, (2) The impact of demographic variables, (3) Housing location, (4) Different housing characteristics, and (5) Individual facilities (kitchen/bathroom). The survey data indicate that the most important variables for student residential satisfaction were, first, the type of tenancy/ownership; second, the quality of different housing characteristics; and third, the location. In this study, individual facilities and demographic variables did not have a significant effect on housing satisfaction.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Numerous studies have concluded that people's socioeconomic position is related to mortality and morbidity, but that the strength of this association varies considerably both within and between European regions. This has spurred several researchers to more closely examine educational and occupational gradients in health in the Nordic countries to clarify the causes of cross-national differences. However, comparable studies using income as an indicator of socioeconomic position are still lacking. This study uses recent and highly comparable data to fill this gap. The aim of this study is threefold. First, we ask to what extent there is an income gradient in health in the Nordic countries, and to what extent the association differs between these countries. Second and third, we examine whether differences in the attenuation of the income gradient by education and occupational class, and age-specific differences between countries, may act as explanations for differences in the income gradient between the Nordic countries. The data source are three waves of the European Social Survey (ESS, 2002/2004/2006), which included 17,801 people aged 25 and over from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Two subjective health measures (physical/mental self reported health and limiting longstanding illness) were analysed by means of logistic regression. The results show that, in all countries, people reported significantly better health and were less likely to suffer from longstanding illness as they had a higher income. This association is strongest in Norway and Finland and weakest in Denmark. The income gradient in health, but not country differences in this gradient, is partly explained by education and occupational class. Additionally, the strength of the income gradient in health varies between age groups. The relatively high health inequalities between income groups in Norway and Finland are already visible in the youngest age groups. The results imply that the socioeconomic gradient in health will arguably not be strongly reduced in the near future as a result of cohort replacement, as has been suggested in previous studies. Health policy interventions may be particularly important five to ten years prior to retirement and in early adulthood.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Despite the fact that most developing countries now generally welcome multinational companies, political risk still represents a huge concern for international business. In fact, multinational companies today probably face a much broader array of risks than during the nationalization wave of the 1960s and 1970s. To substantiate this claim, a theoretical framework is presented herein which outlines the key causal relationships in the political risk landscape. It is explained why a discernible attitude change in the developing and emerging world does not necessarily equal a reduced overall level of political risk. To illustrate the framework and the complexity of the political risk phenomenon, a number of recent case examples are presented from the international bauxite and aluminium industry—an industry whose wide-ranging value chain, international focus, global significance, and natural exposure to risks make it very suitable for analysis. The conceptual discussion and the empirical examples presented in this article suggest that political risk is now surely a highly complex, multidimensional phenomenon. This trait poses major challenges for the global business community, particularly in terms of accurately assessing these risks.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Using European football as context, literature dividing spectators into authentic fans and inauthentic consumers is presented as an attempt at resisting the commercialization of sport, and the development towards football as pure entertainment. The main question is whether the resistance from fans and football writers is in danger of serving the opposite of its intention, thereby contributing towards football experienced as entertainment. Utilizing the theoretical framework of Abercrombie and Longhurst (Audiences: A Sociological Theory of Performance and Imagination, London: Sage, 1998), it is concluded that spectators and football writers are part of the diffused audience of football, and that focusing on marginal and extreme groups of spectators contributes to football becoming more similar to soap operas in expression.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
This article uses data from three waves of the European Social Survey (2002, 2004, 2006) to compare educational inequalities in self-reported health (good vs. bad) and limiting longstanding illness in six age groups based on decade of birth (1930s-1980s) in 17 countries, categorized into four welfare state regimes (Anglo-Saxon, Bismarckian, Scandinavian, Southern). The authors hypothesized that health inequalities in these age groups would vary because of their different welfare state experiences—welfare state regime life courses—both temporally, in terms of different phases of welfare state development (inequalities smaller among older people), and spatially, in terms of welfare state regime type (inequalities smaller among older Scandinavians). The findings are that inequalities in health tended to increase, not decrease, with age. Similarly, inequalities in health were not smallest in the Scandinavian regime or among the older Scandinavian cohorts. In keeping with the rest of the literature, the Bismarckian and Southern regimes had smaller educational inequalities in health. Longitudinal analysis that integrates wider public health factors or makes smaller comparisons may be a more productive way of analyzing cross-national variations in health inequalities and their relationship to welfare state life courses.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Several studies have focused on the effect of military trade and defence spending on human rights, particularly the effect of US military aid in Latin America. Little is known, however, about the human rights effects of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW). Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, are adamant that any future Arms Trade treaty ban small arms to risky environments. Using a unique dataset on small arms trade, we find that higher imports of small arms associates with lower respect for physical integrity rights and higher levels of state terror against citizens. This study establishes a direct empirical link between small arms imports and the violation of human rights, but this effect is substantively quite small. Since civil wars lead to very high levels of human rights violations and require large amounts of SALW, the overall impact of small arms on human rights is potentially quite large, vindicating demands of the NGO community for greater scrutiny of small arms trade. Moreover, we demonstrate that the effect of small arms among autocracies has a much higher risk of repression than among democracies, which is a salient entry point for global policy

Fulltekst

Abstract:
The article examines a phenomenon associated with the rural idyll – the dream of becoming the owner of a smallholding in the countryside. Much research and policy concern in Norway have focused upon rural–urban migration trends and the consequences of the urbanisation process on the sustainability of rural communities. Less attention has been given to the counter trend, that is, urban dwellers searching for a better quality of life in the countryside. The article is based on data from a Norwegian national survey and analyses a question measuring respondents' interest in buying a smallholding. The analysis involves an estimation of a regression model to determine which demographic, socioeconomic and attitudinal variables influence people's interest in buying a smallholding. Further, we were interested in their plans for the smallholding (farming, residence, second home) and the kind of influences these potential new smallholding owners might have on rural communities. Three categories of potential smallholders are identified: aspiring farmers, country-life lovers and recreation seekers. The results indicate that those who live in urban areas are more interested in buying a smallholding than those already living in rural areas.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Understanding the political behavior of ethnic minorities is important for their integration in contemporary European societies. We compare the political participation rates of ethnic and linguistic minorities to those of the majority population using data from the 2002—03 European Social Survey which covers 21 countries in Europe. Using a broad index of participation, we show that the differences between minority and majority groups are virtually zero. Only voting in national elections displays a gap between majorities and minorities. Based on a multivariate model we estimate that a person with a minority background both with reference to ethnicity and language has an 80 percent probability of voting in national elections compared to 89 percent for a person in the majority population. In making sense of these findings we have to remind ourselves that ethnic and linguistic minorities in Europe are groups that show great heterogeneity, and that not all characteristics of these groups should lead us to expect them to be less active than majority groups in every single act of political participation. This finding is in line with the emphasis of variation and heterogeneity in effects of ethnicity and language that Anderson and Paskeviciute (2006) have found in research based on aggregate indicators.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
To express attitudes and act according to their self-interest, citizens need relevant, up-to-date information about current affairs. But has the increased commercialization in the media market increased or decreased the flow of political information? Hallin and Mancini stress that the existing empirical evidence is fragmented and that this question therefore has been difficult to answer. In this article the authors present new data that allow them to systematically examine how the flow of political information on TV occurs across six Western countries during a thirty-year period. The authors find that the flow of political information through TV varies according to the degree of commercialization. The flow of news and current affairs is lowest in the most commercially oriented television system and among the commercial TV channels. There is however important cross-national variation even within similar media systems. The authors’ data do not suggest a convergence toward the liberal system when it comes to the political information environment on TV. Rather, what strikes them is how strongly resistant some European countries have been to subordinating the needs of democracy to profit making.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Since the 2004 EU enlargement established one European common labour market, a large number of Eastern Europeans have taken up seasonal employment as hired farm workers in Norwegian agriculture. Much attention in the public has been given to the potential for ‘social dumping’ of these migrating workers, as they are considered prone to exploitation by farmers looking for cheap and docile labour, and subject to low-wages and poor labour conditions. In response to these threats, Norway implemented labour regulations (‘transitional rules’) that established minimum standards for wage levels and labour conditions, combined with registration and supervision of the incoming labour force. Nevertheless, reports from the field indicate that many of the westward migrating labour force experience work conditions that are far poorer than prescribed by the labour regulations, as these are not implemented at the farm level. In this paper, we discuss the social processes that result in this mismatch between state regulations (e.g. transition rules) and the actual experiences of migrant workers building on dual labour market theory. Analysing qualitative in-depth interviews with 54 farm migrants, we argue that there are two sets of factors underlying the poorer working conditions observed on the farms: Firstly, the structural disempowerment of migrant workers, which gives them weak negotiating positions vis-à-vis their employers (farmers); and secondly, the migrant workers' frame of reference for wage levels, in which poor payment levels by Norwegian standards are found acceptable or even good when judged by Eastern European wage levels. While a number of works have described the exploitation of farm migrant labour, we demonstrate in this paper how national immigration and agricultural histories, structures and present policies configure the labour–capital relations at farm level in the Norwegian case.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Even though most people seem to be correct in assuming that modern sport is somehow about to professionalize, approaches to this process are often rather superficial and one-sided in their focus on professionalization as implying more athletes with higher wages. A proper understanding of how a process of professionalization might affect the Scandinavian way to organize sport in voluntary organizations requires answers to three questions: (1) What is in fact happening to Scandinavian sport when it comes to professionalization? (2) What characteristics of voluntary organizations matter when holding forth voluntary organizations as something defensible? (3) What does a sociological concept of professionalization actually imply within this context of sport and the voluntary sector? Bringing the answers to these three questions together helps understanding of how a process of professionalization might influence voluntary organizations, their way of functioning and thereby their ability to fulfil the visions associated with them.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
Recent studies and literature suggest that negative attitudes towards large carnivores may to a large extent be explained by ignorance and lack of certain aspects of cultural capital. Fear and resistance, it has been argued, can be overcome through spreading information and knowledge about carnivores and how to interact with them. This argument has, on the other hand, been interpreted as an example of inherent arrogance among urban elites, undermining the economic foundation and quality of life in rural areas. The article aims to analyse acceptance of bears in Norway among a representative sample of the population, to describe attitudes towards large carnivores, economic and cultural capital, the importance of physical and geographical closeness, and the extent to which and how these factors are interlinked. The analysis is based on two national quantitative surveys, carried out in 2005 and 2007. The findings show a clear, although small, increase in resistance to the existence of bears in Norway. The increase appears to be most marked among young people who have grown up in rural areas. The authors conclude that there is an increasing urban-rural divide on the issue of conservation policies and carnivore stock management.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
There is surprisingly little empirical scholarship on the spread of capitalistic economic policies under the rubric of ‘globalization’ and domestic peace. While the classical liberals saw free markets leading to social harmony because of self-interest of individuals, who cooperate for profit, Marxists and others viewed markets as anarchical, requiring state intervention for obtaining justice and peace. The authors argue from an opportunity-cost perspective that the payoffs to rebellion are structured by how an economy is governed. Closed economies are likelier than more open ones to accumulate ‘rebellion specific capital’ because of high payoffs to organization in the shadows. Using an index of economic freedom that measures how free people are to transact in an economy, the authors find that countries more favorable to free enterprise have a reduced risk of civil war onsets, a result that is robust to the inclusion of institutional quality, per capita wealth, and sundry controls. The results hold up despite a battery of specification changes, alternative data, and testing methods. The findings do not suggest that states under conditions of capitalism lose their autonomy to provide the public good of peace, as skeptics of globalization claim. Peacemakers will do well to build institutions that reward productive investment over rent-seeking, alongside democratic institutions that ultimately gain their legitimacy on the back of good economic performance and well-functioning markets.

Fulltekst
 

Abstract:
The article seeks to explicate a link between energy and long-term economic growth and development. While in many ways intuitive, attempts at sketching theoretical frameworks explicating this link have been few and simplistic, typically limited to technology and economics. This article emphasizes the importance of politics as well, fostering a symbiosis between the dominant industries of a historical epoch and the energy system that enabled them to flourish. The framework combines Joseph Schumpeter and Mancur Olson, emphasizing 1) the importance of structural economic change for long-term growth and development and 2) vested interests. The framework yields one theoretical proposition: In order to rise, states must prevent vested interests from blocking structural change. States that are unable to do this will get locked into yesterday's technologies, industries and energy systems, effectively consigning themselves to stagnation and decline. A brief empirical section provides historical data from 6 historical epochs (including present-day renewables) over a period of 250 years to demonstrate the usefulness of the approach. While no exhaustive test, the data suggests that countries that have prevented vested interests from blocking change have been far more successful in fostering a symbiosis between energy and industry than those countries that have not.

Fulltekst

Abstract:
This article relates to the fast growing research literature on innovation by adopting a phenomenological perspective of change and how change comes about. We visited nineteen farms in Norway in a project on farm-based tourism. Results show highly differentiated products but similar routes in transforming a farm no longer seen as economically viable, into a way of doing life and doing work that brings a complex of considerations together. The concept of imaginative horizons is used and seen as characteristic of the transformative process of turning the farm into a farm based tourist enterprise. The same transformation becomes a way of keeping the relationship and interdependence between the past and the present vivid and meaningful.

DOI: Fulltekst

Abstract:
Sports represent the largest category of voluntary organizations in many European countries. This article addresses questions concerning the position, centrality and influence of sports organizations as one specific part of civil society, and is based on an approach providing information on networks between categories of organizations. These networks consist of overlapping affiliations to organizations which are then interpreted as structures making communication, persuasion and influence possible. From these networks, position, centrality and potential influence of sports organizations in civil society are analysed. The article also looks more specifically at the links between sports and seven other types of voluntary organizations. The data is based on Norwegian surveys from 1982, 1990, and 2003, providing the possibility to follow sports organizations over a period of 20 years. The results show that sports organizations are influential due to size, but relatively weakly embedded and positioned in civil society. This position is, however, strengthened compared to most other organizations during the last 20 years. Regarding the relation of sports to other specific organizations some type of ‘normalization’ seems to have taken place, and sports are socially ‘closer’ to most organizations in 2003 than in 1982.

DOI: 10.1093/esr/jcm035

Abstract:
Background
It has been shown that implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) and withdrawal of the paper-based medical record is feasible, but represents a drastic change in the information environment of hospital physicians. Previous investigations have revealed considerable inter-hospital variations in EMR-system use and user satisfaction. The aim of this study was to further explore changes of clinicians work after the EMR-system implementation processes and how they experienced working in a paper-deprived information environment.

Methods
Qualitative study based on 18 semi-structured interviews with physicians in two Norwegian hospitals.

Results
Ten different but related characteristics of work within the EMR-based practice were identified; (1) closer clinical and administrative cooperation during the implementation processes; (2) greater benefits when everybody used the system; (3) that the systems supported freshmen better than experienced physicians; (4) that EMR was useful in regard to professional learning; (5) that EMR-system savvy physicians stood for the initial system training; (6) that younger users reported a different attitude than seniors, but this might be related to more than age and previous experience with computers; (7) that the EMR made it easier to produce text, but this also gives a potential for information overflow; (8) that there is little or no support for mobile work; (9) that instances of down time are still experienced, and that this influenced the attitude towards the system and (10) that clinicians preferred EMR-only compared to both paper and electronic systems.

Conclusions
Despite the removal of paper-based records from clinical workflow (a change that hospital clinicians perceived as highly useful), many of the old routines remained unchanged, limiting the potential of the EMR-system. Thus, there is a need to not only remove paper in the physical sense, but also to established routines to fully achieve the benefits of an EMR-system.

DOI: 10.1186/1472-6947-8-2

Sammendrag:
Hvilke strategier benytter fjernsynskanalene NRK og TV2 for å få det politiske stoffet til å bli underholdende TV? I dette kapitlet ser vi på hvordan iscenesettelse av politikk på fjernsyn ofte handler om å skape underholdende programmer med stor seerappell. De konsesjonsbelagte allmennkringkasterne lever i spenningen mellom å bidra til den politiske offentligheten og å oppnå publikumsoppslutning. Hvordan løser de dette dilemmaet i praksis? Gjennom analyse av ulike iscenesettelsesstrategier studerer vi hvordan og i hvilken grad NRK og TV2 har lyktes med å forene målet om å underholde med målet om å formidle politikk.

Hva skal til for at mor og far kan jobbe fulltid og dele omsorgen for barna? Gir det nye fleksible arbeidslivet gode vilkår for denne doble likestillingen?

Arbeidslivets klemmer fokuserer på hvordan arbeidslivet på den ene siden omfavner og setter pris på de ansatte, og på den andre siden lett blir grådig og skviser dem i forhold til familielivet. I boka flytter vi diskusjonen om foreldres tidsklemme og tidsbruk fra bare å handle om hvor mange timer mor og far bruker på jobb og omsorg, til å fokusere på hvilken mening tid har i forholdet mellom mennesker. Når bedriften forventer at arbeidstakerne alltid skal være tilgjengelige, blir tid på jobb symbol på den gode arbeidstaker. Når tid til barn er symbolet på den gode mor og den gode far, betyr tid kjærlighet og omsorg. Boka tar opp hvordan fedre og mødre utformer sitt arbeidsliv og foreldreskap i spenningsfeltet mellom disse forventningene.

Arbeidslivets klemmer er et resultat av et samarbeid mellom arbeidsforskere med forskningsprosjekter på programmet for arbeidslivsforskning i Norges forskningsråd. Bokens redaktører, Elin Kvande og Bente Rasmussen, er begge professorer i sosiologi ved NTNU. De øvrige bidragsyterne er Berit Brandth, Brita Bungum, Hege Eggen Børve, Sigtona Halrynjo, Øystein Gullvåg Holter, Tove Håpnes, Birgitte Johansen, Ragni Hege Kitterød, Randi Kjeldstad, Erik H. Nymoen, Silje Vatne Pettersen og Helene Aarseth.

Abstract:
Objective: To examine the relationship between social support and emotional functioning and stress reactions. Our hypothesis is that patients who reported a high degree of social support will experience better emotional functioning and less serious stress reactions than patients with a low degree of social support.

Method: The sample was comprised of 434 patients at the Palliative Medicine Unit (PMU), University Hospital of Trondheim in Norway. The patients completed a questionnaire monthly including questions about social support from the MacAdam's Scale, subjective stress measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES), and emotional functioning measured by the subscale in the EORTC QLQ-30.

Results: Although our hypothesis was not supported at the baseline assessment, it was supported at the second assessment, 2 months later. Patients with high social support reported better emotional functioning and less serious stress reactions, in terms of lower scores on the IES avoidance subscale, than patients with a low degree of social support.

Significance of the results: The mixed findings may indicate that social support has only small effects on emotional functioning and stress reactions. Our results on the second assessment indicate, however, that social support might work as a buffer against reactions toward external stressful events such as terminal cancer.

DOI: 10.1017/S1478951507070083

This book discusses how to understand and conceptualize gender in work organizations. It gives an overview of important contributions in the field. The discussions about whether women are the same as or different from men, have led to the construction of unitary categories which downplays variations between women and between men. The need is rather to focus on variation, complexity, change and stability in the field of gender and organization. The book develops a perspective, labelled Doing Gender in Organizations, in order to understand changes, as well as stability in the relationship between men and women in work organizations, and furthermore, to grasp the variations within the group women and within the group men.

The book can be used in work and organization-courses. In addition it can be used in gender and organization- or gen-der and management-courses.

Abstract:

This paper presents a policy analysis of fathers' use of paternity leave, parental leave and flexible work practices across several industrialised countries. From the late 1990s there has been a rapid expansion of leave and flexible working provision targeted at fathers, especially in the Nordic countries. New evidence on predictors and patterns of fathers' leave taking are reviewed. Findings suggest that paternal leave taking has the potential to boost fathers' practical and emotional investment in infant care.

DOI:10.1080/13668800701574971

Om rapportserien:

Employment Relations Research Series 2008-2009:
EMAR (Employment Market Analysis and Research) is a multi-disciplinary branch of economists, statisticians and researchers within the BERR's Employment Relations Directorate. EMAR publishes a Research Series to disseminate the results of its ongoing programme of evaluation and research. The series aims to inform and encourage public debate and dialogue between the social partners.

Les rapporten her

Abstract:
Dominant climate models suggest that large parts of Africa will experience greater climatic variability and increasing rates of drought in coming decades. This could have severe societal consequences, because the economies and food supplies of most African countries depend on rain-fed agriculture. According to leading environmental security scholars, policymakers, and nongovernmental organizations, an increase in scarcity-driven armed conflicts should also be expected. A conditional theory of environmental conflict predicts that drought increases the risk of civil war primarily when it strikes vulnerable and politically marginalized populations in agrarian societies. However, an empirical evaluation of this general proposition through a unique gridded dataset of postcolonial Africa, which combines high-resolution meteorological data with georeferenced data on civil war onset and the local ethnopolitical context, shows little evidence of a drought-conflict connection. Instead, the local risk of civil war can be explained by sociopolitical and geographic factors: a politically marginalized population, high infant mortality, proximity to international borders, and high local population density.

DOI: //dx.doi.org/10.1162/ISEC_a_00065