{"title":"Expressions of commitment and independence: Exploring men's emotional responsibility in heterosexual couple relationships","authors":"Tove Thagaard, K. Stefansen","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.293","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.293","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines men’s contributions to the division of emotional labour in heterosexual couple relationships by exploring the dimensions of commitment and independence, and how couples deal with challenges. The study is based on individual interviews with each of the partners in ten urban middle-class couples in Norway. The results indicate diversity in middle-class men’s approaches to emotional responsibility, which is expressed through three models. The model of shared responsibility implies that the man’s contributions in the relationship represent expressions of responsive commitment. The man finds a balance between giving priority to his personal interests and considering shared interests; a pattern we refer to as collaborative independence, and he shares the responsibility for coping with challenges with his partner. The model of gendered responsibility implies that the man’s contributions in the relationship are characterized by non-responsive commitment. The man gives priority to his personal interests in a way we refer to as conflicting independence, and refrains from sharing the responsibility for coping with challenges with his partner. Finally, a third model, termed partial responsibility, is also evident in the data. This model is a combination of collaborative independence and non-responsive commitment, and may represent a phase of transition towards collaboration on an equal basis. A discussion of interpretations of the diversity in men’s approaches to commitment and independence concludes the paper.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124798064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The story of a knowledge-based and learning organization","authors":"Jan Hjelte, Kristina Westerberg","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.256","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.256","url":null,"abstract":"Knowledge is generally viewed as one of the most important organizational resources, and this view is also held in relation to municipal elderly-care organizations. However, the concept of a knowledge-based organization has seldom been addressed in elderly-care research. The aim of the present study was to analyse how political and professional groups involved in elderly care conceive of the idea of a knowledge-based organization, and how these conceptions relate to their expectations in relation to the future of elderly care. This issue is important because these conceptions are intertwined with actions conducted by organizational members. Participants were selected for the study on the basis of organizational level and engagement in the development of different kinds of care in an elderly-care organization in a large municipality. A narrative approach was used for data analysis. The study indicates that the interpretations of a knowledge-based organization bring stability and meaning to participants by linking elderly care, as it is in the present, to an image of its future. Furthermore, the narratives are adjusted depending on what kind of problems that organization is expected to solve. However, the participants do not view the economic resources of the organization as something they can","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124452884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stereotypes and Welfare Attitudes: A Panel Survey of How “Poor Carina” and “Lazy Robert” Affected Attitudes towards Social Assistance in Denmark","authors":"T. Hedegaard","doi":"10.7577/NJSR.2078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7577/NJSR.2078","url":null,"abstract":"What is the impact of a predominantly negative debate about social assistance on public and individual support for the social benefit? Over the course of a year the public debate about social assistance flared up twice in Denmark. The debates drew on classic stereotypes of the social assistance recipients lacking both the financial incentives and the will to work. According to theories of the impact of media on welfare attitudes, this had the potential to undermine public support. A two-wave panel survey, however, showed only a small drop in public support for spending on social assistance, in a comparison of attitudes before and after the debates. The small overall impact on public opinion, however, hid a polarization of attitudes on the individual level. This shows that there was not a uniform reaction to welfare debates, but that people tend to seek out a version of reality that is consistent with their values and self-interest. The article thus shows that people when faced with public debates on welfare policies will seek to confirm their personal biases and this limits the possibility for overall changes in public support.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"110 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115876583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Browning, J. Brentlinger, Jan-Oddvar Soernes, K. Stephens
{"title":"The rhetoric of organizational stability and creativity: an analysis of the term ‘platform’","authors":"L. Browning, J. Brentlinger, Jan-Oddvar Soernes, K. Stephens","doi":"10.7577/NJSR.2069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7577/NJSR.2069","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses the term platform as it surfaced in interview data from Norway and the United States that was collected in a field research project on organizational technology use. Through an inductive analysis of the term’s use in six interviews, a conceptualization of the term reveals it to be rhetorical in nature, expressing the interplay between stability and creativity. In order to explain the rhetorical aspects we describe, the authors turn to the rhetorical critic Kenneth Burke’s work to aid in conceptualizing the term, specifically his understanding of scene and agency. The authors present the conceptualization to help researchers on two levels. On the micro-level, we offer an analysis of the term platform. On the macro-level, we illustrate how grounded theory can help locate other terms that have unacknowledged salience to researchers, consultants, and interviewees.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122571728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fredrik Snellman, Mikael Nygård, Susanne Jungerstam
{"title":"Conceptions and tendencies of age discrimination and attitudes","authors":"Fredrik Snellman, Mikael Nygård, Susanne Jungerstam","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.224","url":null,"abstract":"This study aims to access and explore tendencies in the conceptualization of age discrimination and the perceived attitudes towards older people in regions of Finland and Sweden. The analysis draws on GERDA survey data (GErontological Regional DAtabase), a repeated cross-sectional study in which data was collected in 2005 and 2010. The results indicate that the conceptions of age discrimination are changing in a positive direction, which is contrary to results shown in the Eurobarometer. On the basis of balance coefficients we show that conceived attitudes towards older people are changing as well, except for individuals in some sub-groups. We discuss the role of political rhetoric in relation to ageing awareness, the (non)individualization of society and the negotiation of age relations as tentative interpretations that strongly challenge the observed empirical tendencies.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"90 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124294904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Risk factors of long-term sickness absence in Norway and Sweden","authors":"Vegard Johansen","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.442","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.442","url":null,"abstract":"Aims: This paper examines the level of long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in Norway and Sweden. It also investigates whether risk factors of LTSA are the same in Norway and Sweden. Methods: More than 2500 Norwegian and Swedish workers between 20 and 60 years of age answered a postal questionnaire. The Norwegian and Swedish samples are weighted and representative with regard to regional background variables and demographic background variables, but the response rate was low. LTSA is defined as 15 days or more sickness absence in the previous year. Binary logistic regression is used to detect which factors influence LTSA. The analyses of LTSA include demographic factors, socio-economic position, and occupational characteristics. Results: Nineteen per cent of respondents in Norway and 11 per cent of respondents in Sweden experienced LTSA in the previous year. Many respondents from Sweden report mental problems and many Norwegian respondents report pain in back, neck, knuckles, and muscles. Income level is the most important predictor of LTSA in both countries. The direct impacts of gender, age, and physical work conditions are stronger in Norway than Sweden. Discussion: In accordance with official statistics and previous studies, the proportion of Norwegian respondents with LTSA is much higher than the proportion of Swedish respondents. The different levels of LTSA could be linked to differences in social policy. In line with previous studies, respondents with low income are overrepresented with LTSA, and gender, age, and physical work also matter. In contrast to previous studies, there is not any evidence of higher levels of LTSA among non-western immigrants, people with less education, and non-managers. These results reflect the control for ‘income level’, but they could also be related to limits with the survey (non-response, response bias, etc.).","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"499 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129212167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Placed in homecare: Living an everyday life restricted by dependence and monitoring","authors":"S. Glasdam, Jeanette Præstegaard, N. Henriksen","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.264","url":null,"abstract":"Through a sociological case study this article analyses how, seen from a relational perspective, everyday life for elderly people receiving care in their own homes is lived with dependence on health-care professionals. The health-care professionals’ time and tasks are assigned and allocated in advance so that the elderly people are neither allowed nor able to vary their response in relation to the situation they encounter. The life of the client is also treated as though it were a solid, structured everyday life with minimal private time. Work in the home, for example, household chores and personal care, resembles a disciplining strategy. The client lives under conditions of monitoring and control comparable to conditions of imprisonment. The client is subject to the will of and social intercourse with other people in his own home; he both knows it is necessary and offers resistance to the conditions. In short, the authors argue that the homecare service acts as a disciplining practice in modern society.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122051261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An explorative interview study of men and women on sick leave with a musculoskeletal diagnosis seeking an acceptable life role","authors":"Ulla‐Britt Eriksson, S. Janson","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.284","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.284","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: A dramatic increase in sicknesses absence in Sweden has led to a shift in the public debate. Departing from the view of sickness absence as a result of a poor work environment and stress, the debate in the early 2000s became more concerned with the breakdown of norms and the abuse of sickness insurance. Sickness absence became the responsibility of the individual rather than of society. Aim: This study has sought to explore the consequences of being on sick leave with a musculoskeletal diagnosis, the experiences of encounters with rehabilitation professionals, and the attitudes towards sick-listing from the perspective of the sick-listed persons. Methods: Individual in-depth interviews were conducted in 2010 with eight women and nine men aged 33-60 who were on long-term sick leave (at least 60 days) with a musculoskeletal diagnosis. We analysed the data using a grounded-theory approach. Results: There was an obvious tension between work strategy as a societal norm and finding an acceptable life role when sick-listed. Four groups with partially differing experiences and perceptions crystallized out of the total population. These experiences and perceptions formed their choice of different acceptable life roles and strategies for gaining self-respect and the respect of others. Discussion: The fact that the four groups that emerged from our study experienced their sickness absence in different ways and their pathways back to work were different demonstrates the value of not considering those on sick leave with a musculoskeletal diagnosis as a homogeneous group. The results imply that rehabilitators should adopt a sensitive approach based on the sickness absentees’ wishes and views since the latter spend much of their time and thought during their period of sickness on counteracting distrust in search of an acceptable life role to regain respect.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122763914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The rise and fall of cash for care in Norway: changes in the use of child-care policies","authors":"B. Bungum, Elin Kvande","doi":"10.7577/NJSR.2065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7577/NJSR.2065","url":null,"abstract":"Normal 0 21 false false false NO-BOK X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ \u0000 table.MsoNormalTable \u0000 {mso-style-name:\"Table Normal\"; \u0000 mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; \u0000 mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; \u0000 mso-style-noshow:yes; \u0000 mso-style-priority:99; \u0000 mso-style-parent:\"\"; \u0000 mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; \u0000 mso-para-margin-top:0cm; \u0000 mso-para-margin-right:0cm; \u0000 mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; \u0000 mso-para-margin-left:0cm; \u0000 line-height:115%; \u0000 mso-pagination:widow-orphan; \u0000 font-size:11.0pt; \u0000 font-family:\"Calibri\",\"sans-serif\"; \u0000 mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; \u0000 mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; \u0000 mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; \u0000 mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; \u0000 mso-bidi-font-family:\"Times New Roman\"; \u0000 mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; \u0000 mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} \u0000 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 analyse 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 programme 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 & Myklebo, 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 labour 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.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125528385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Informal eldercare and care for disabled children in the Nordic countries: prevalence and relation to employment","authors":"N. Jakobsson, Andreas Kotsadam, M. Szebehely","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.225","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.225","url":null,"abstract":"In an international comparison, the Nordic countries are generous care spenders and a relatively large proportion of the populations receive formal care services. However, in respect of service provision, the Nordic countries are less similar today than they were some decades ago. Using survey data from three Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, we first document the differences in informal care between the countries, and then we assess its impact on the relationship between informal caregiving and formal employment. We find that informal care is most common in Denmark and least common in Sweden. However, those who provide care in Sweden provide care more often than people in both Norway and Denmark. There is a negative correlation between being a caregiver and the probability of being employed in Norway and Denmark, but not in Sweden. With specific regard to parental care, there is no general relation between the provision of parental care and employment, but those providing substantial care are clearly less likely to work than others. Caring for a disabled child is less common than caring for a parent, but the negative effects on employment are even stronger.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130550939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}