Film in the social sciences of Tromso,northern Norway

The following article is a presentation of how a milieu of filmmaking has become a growing part of one of the Norwegian universities. The presentation was made at the IVth International Conference on Visual Sociology in Bielefeld, estern Germany in June.     

Top United Nations Peacebuilders and Advocacy for Women, Peace, and Security

A strong correlation between the sex of United Nations (UN)peace operation managers and their advocacy for the role ofwomen in peacebuilding was found in an internet study carriedout in May 2008. Senior female UN managers involved in peaceprocesses are ten times more likely than male colleagues publiclyto address women's roles as peacebuilders, yet of the sixty-sixSpecial Representatives of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG),Deputy Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General (DSRSG),and Special Envoys addressing peacebuilding who were listedon the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) web sitein May 2008, only six were women. In view of the large numbersof women who become refugees or are internally displaced dueto armed conflict, it is paramount that peace processes includethem at all levels and in all aspects on an equal footing withmen. Appointing more women to senior level positions in theUN is one way to achieve this aim.     

Learning and Experiencing Chinese Qigong in Norway

This article discusses the reception of Chinese qigong in a Western context by focusing on the learning and experiencing of qigong in Norway. Drawing on ethnographic material from fieldwork among participants of a style of qigong referred to as Biyun medical qigong, I in particular explore the variety of body–mind states that Norwegian qigong students experience. I have differentiated five “stages” of Biyun practice. Using these stages as a framework, I demonstrate the gradual progression in the learning of qigong. “Body,” “concentration,” and qi (“life energy”) are all important constitutive dimensions in the practice, but as the learning progresses, qi becomes more and more prominent. Drawing on a definition of the body as “learning to be affected” and “learning to affect” (Despret, Body Soc 10:111–134, 2004; Latour, Body Soc 10:205–229, 2004), I suggest that qigong may be perceived as a practice that, at its core, involves learning to be affected by qi as well as to affect qi.

Children’s Perspectives on Everyday Experiences of Shared Residence: Time,Emotions and Agency Dilemmas

Shared residence is often presented as an arrangement that is in the best interests of the child following the divorce of its parents. Based on in‐depth interviews with Norwegian children who have experienced shared residence, this article seeks to explore some dilemmas concerning time, agency and the children’s emotions. Three characteristics of shared residence and time‐sharing are presented — flexibility, ambiguity and rigidity — which points to different challenges in understanding the circumstances in which shared residence become a valuable arrangement for children. The article argues that both time and emotional dilemmas regarding shared residence should be further investigated both empirically and theoretically, and that children’s agency should be acknowledged more fully.     

Poverty and disabled households in the People’s Republic of China: experiences with a new rural health insurance scheme

This article discusses what in international literature has commonly been termed the ‘vicious circle’ of poverty and disability. Our aim is to shed light on recent policies that attempt to break the vicious circle in rural areas in the People’s Republic of China. Drawing on data produced from fieldwork conducted in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China, our approach is to explore experiences that households with people with disabilities have had with a newly implemented rural health insurance reform. The introduction of this reform is significant as lack of insurance and high healthcare expenses are currently perceived as crucial to causing poverty in rural China. We show that people with disabilities have been able to access this new insurance. At the same time, as currently practised, the new insurance does not prevent poor households from sinking deeper into poverty when using healthcare services as healthcare expenses increase.     

‘Civilising’ Deaf people in Tibet and Inner Mongolia: governing linguistic,ethnic and bodily difference in China

The People’s Republic of China is home to over 20 million d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, many among them belonging to ethnic minorities. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two minority regions, the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, this article comparatively discusses findings on sign language use, education and state welfare policies. The situation in these domains is analysed through the framework of the ‘civilising project’, coined by Harrell, and its impacts on the d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing among ethnic minorities are shown. For instance, through the promotion of Chinese and Chinese Sign Language over and above the use of local sign and written languages as well as through education and the medicalisation of disabilities.     

Is Gender Mainstreaming Viable? Empirical Analysis of the Practicality of Policies for Agriculture-Based Gendered Development in Ethiopia

Gender mainstreaming is a global strategy to ensure gender-equality in agriculture and other economic sectors. However, the operationalization of gender mainstreaming is often contested in the global south. Using a concurrent mixed method design, this study investigates if the gender mainstreaming narratives embedded in agricultural extension and food security policies in Ethiopia are practical for improving agriculture-based gendered development among smallholder users of climate-smart agricultural technologies. Results demonstrate that women smallholders’ needs that are essential to the use of agricultural technologies are overlooked. Despite they are “users” of agricultural technologies; women’s access to agricultural inputs and extension services is restricted. There is a lack of synchronized activities and strategies to guide the implementation of gender mainstreaming, as well as separate gender budgets to address gendered agricultural problems. Increasing agricultural production is a national policy goal, although gender equality in production growth is not a key priority in the implementations of agricultural policies. Although improvement in the institutionalization and implementation of the GAD approach for addressing strategic gender needs is a priority in gender mainstreaming, an interchangeable and concurrent institutionalization and implementation of the Women in Development approach for addressing practical gender needs and the Women Culture and Development approach for addressing constraints that emanate from the multiple realities and identities of women are also required. Identifying and addressing the practical gender needs of women and problems that emanate from their multiple identities and realities are essential prerequisites for the practicality of gender mainstreaming for gender equality in agricultural development. Furthermore, there is a need to design and implement locally specific gender-mainstreaming strategies that address the distinct needs of women smallholders, as well as separate gender budgets to reach local contexts.     

Caring children: exploring care in post-divorce families

This article draws on information from in‐depth interviews in addition to a survey from a Norwegian ‘Families after divorce’ study, in which the perspective of children and younger people are emphasized. We describe the complex relations between care‐giving and care‐receiving among children and adults in post‐divorce families and challenge and nuance the traditional western picture that emphasizes children as the receivers of care and adults as care‐givers. Inspired by the notion of ‘caringscapes’, the article seeks to incorporate the spatial and the temporal into the analysis of care and caring, and three ‘caring routes’ are identified: i) the ‘money squeeze route’, ii) the ‘emotional considerations route’ and iii) the ‘time squeeze’ route. The three routes are verified by the interview data as having both direct and indirect effects on the phenomenon of caring. We argue that children's care‐giving should be further investigated both empirically and theoretically and that a caringscapes approach might provide insight and departure for further research.