Suchergebnisse

AbstractSettlement of refugees in rural areas in Norway is part of a national strategy to counter depopulation and thus links to ideas of revitalization and more promising futures for these areas. It also links up to an idea of smaller communities as 'better at integrating', as smaller communities both enable and necessitate more contact between the original population and newcomers. However, although some municipalities reap advantages of the dispersed settlement policy and succeed in retaining settled refugees, other municipalities 'fail'. This article explores how the integration of refugees in rural communities is interpreted by public integration workers in two rural–coastal municipalities where the outcomes differ significantly. Drawing on 15 qualitative interviews, we discuss how integration workers make sense of local integration efforts, and how notions of the rural are (re)produced through their integration narratives. The analysis finds that the integration narratives draw on and reproduce both distinct and overlapping imaginaries of rural areas. We identify two main imaginaries: the rural as future‐oriented and dynamic, and the rural as close‐knit and peaceful.

This article addresses methodological questions concerning recruitment processes in research using qualitative interviews. The authors suggest that, as an active part of the research process, recruitment influences research results in sometimes unforeseen manners. They argue that recruitment processes should be better attended to – not least in research positioned within the epistemological landscapes of knowledge production and transparent reflexivity. The article draws on six studies in which qualitative interviews of 'lay people' were used as the sole or main source of data. Drawing on their own experiences, the authors discuss the ways in which research topics, pre-defined sample, mediators, and the researchers' positionality and situatedness affect the recruitment of different interviewees, and, hence, also the knowledge researchers are able to produce.

This book analyses the changing face of work, gender equality and citizenship in Europe. Drawing on in-depth research conducted in nine different countries, it focuses on the discourses, social relations and political processes that surround paid domestic labour. In doing so, it rethinks the vital relationship between this kind of employment, the formal and informal citizenship of migrant workers and their employers, and the cultural and political value of gender equality. Approaching these as fluid, complex and interrelated phenomena that change according to local context, it will appeal to sociologists, political scientists, geographers, anthropologists and gender studies scholars.

This book compares perspectives on gender equality in Norway and Japan, focusing on family, education, media, and sexuality and reproduction as seen through a gendered lens. What can we learn from a comparison between two countries who stand in significant contrast to each other with respect to gender equality? Norway and Japan differ in terms of historical, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Most importantly, Japan lags far behind Norway when it comes to the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report. Rather than taking a narrow approach that takes as its starting point the assumption that Norway has so much 'more' to offer in terms of gender equality, the authors attempt to show that a comparative perspective of two countries in the West and East can be of mutually benefit to both contexts in the advancement of gender equality. The interdisciplinary team of researchers contributing to this book cover a range of contemporary topics in gender equality, including fatherhood and masculinity, teaching and learning in gender studies education, cultural depictions of gender, trans experiences and feminism. This unique collection is suitable for researchers and students of gender studies, sociology, anthropology, Japan studies and European studies

This article sets out from two dominant and contradictive narratives about immigrant integration in rural areas in Norway. The first holds that rural areas are "better at integration" as relations in these communities are more tight‐knit and personal. The other holds that integration in rural areas is more difficult due to the homogeneity and closed‐mindedness of rural communities. Based on ethnographic in‐depth interviews with individuals with different immigration backgrounds living in a rural coastal community, the article explores their perceptions of rural integration and their experiences of inclusion and exclusion in the local community. By using the notion of "being seen" as an analytical lens, the article shows that both narratives of rural integration are engaged and that experiences of inclusion and exclusion are interwoven and complex. On the one hand, "being seen" points to more personalised relations and support; on the other, it points to concerns by immigrants that they are seen by locals as "others." The lens of visibility and "being seen" allows for a more nuanced understanding of immigrants' experiences with settling in and finding their place in rural areas, and strengthens the argument for studying rural areas as a particular context for inclusion.

The Nordic countries are regarded as frontrunners in promoting equality, yet women's experiences on the ground are in many ways at odds with this rhetoric. Putting the spotlight on the lived experiences of women working in tech-driven research and innovation areas in the Nordic countries, this volume explores why, despite numerous programmes, women continue to constitute a minority in these sectors. Contributors flesh out the differences and similarities across different Nordic countries and explore how the shifts in labour market conditions have impacted on women in research and innovation. This is an invaluable contribution to global debates around the mechanisms that maintain gendered structures in research and innovation, from academia to biotechnology and IT. ePDF and ePUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.