Media Institutions as a Research Field: Three Phases of Norwegian Broadcasting Research

The article discusses the background and origins of research on media institutions as a field, and especially assesses the development and status of Norwegian research on broadcasting institutions. It is demonstrated how the field has developed, both quantitatively and qualitatively, through three key phases: the era of broadcasting monopolies; the "newmedia situation" in the 1980s and 1990s; and the era of convergence; globalization andcommercialization from the late 1990s. A key purpose is to discuss the theoretical perspectives and implicit and explicit assumptions upon which the research is based. Further, the article points to shortcomings and gaps in our knowledge of how media institutions evolve and operate. In closing, it is suggested how the field may maintain its relevance in an era where the very concept of a “broadcasting institution” is becoming more blurred

Precarious hope and reframing risk behavior from the ground up: insight from ethnographic research with Rwandan urban refugees in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

BackgroundTheoretical and methodological research on risk-taking practices often frames risk as an individual choice. While risk does occur at individual level, it is determined by aspirations which are connected to others and society. For many displaced women globally, these aspirations are often linked to the well-being of their children and other household members. This article explores the links between aspirations for the future, gendered household dynamics, and health risk-taking behavior among the Rwandan urban refugee community.MethodsThis analysis drew from participant observation, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with 49 male and 42 female household members from 36 Rwandan refugee households in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The fieldwork was conducted over 12 months between May-August 2016, May-August 2017, and February-August 2018.ResultsWe observed that while there was considerable convergence among household members in aspirations, there was considerable difference in risk-taking practices engaged to achieve them with women often assuming the greatest risks. These gendered realities of risk were not only related to structural concerns including access to different forms of capital, but also to socio-cultural gendered expectations of women, how risks were defined and justified, and household dynamics that drove the gendered reality of observed risk-behavior.ConclusionsHumanitarian programs and policies are distinctly finite in nature; focused on the short-term needs of persons affected by conflict. However, many humanitarian situations in the world are protracted. In the midst of these challenges, themes of future-orientation, possibilities, and shared aspirations for a better future emerge. These aspirations and the practices, including risk-taking practices that stem from them are central to understand if we are to ensure a just peace and stability in displaced communities throughout the developing world. Our analysis highlights the need to examine sociocultural dimensions related to hopes for the future, gender, and household dynamics as a way to understand risk behavior. We propose this can be done through a framework of precarious hope which we put forward in this paper, in which hope, agency, sociocultural and political economic contexts situate risk as a gendered practice of hope amidst constraint

Forced migration and English capital: A critical sociolinguistic analysis of English among Congolese refugees in Norway

De siste årene har det vært en økning i tvungen migrasjon fra Det globale sør til Det globale nord. Norge er et av landene i Det globale nord som har tatt imot FN-flyktninger fra Det globale sør. Slike flyktninger har ofte komplekse språklige repertoarer. De fleste flyktningene i Norge fra Det globale sør har vokst opp i Syria, Den demokratiske republikken Kongo (DRK), Afghanistan, og Eritrea. I Norge, som i andre mottaksland, må nyankomne flyktninger lære nasjonalspråket, i dette tilfellet norsk. Flyktninger fra Syria, Afghanistan og Eritrea, som ikke nødvendigvis har språklige ressurser fra amerikanske og europeiske prestisjespråk i sine repertoarer, er avhengige av tolker, for eksempel når de kommuniserer med kommunalt ansatte der de er blitt bosatt. Flyktninger fra DRK derimot, har ofte franske og/eller engelske ressurser i sine repertoarer, avhengig av henholdsvis hvor gamle de var da de flyktet fra DRK og hvor lenge de har vært i transitt i Uganda. Det er blitt gjort noe forskning på franskpraksiser blant nyankomne kongolesiske flyktninger i Norge, men nesten ingen studier på engelskpraksiser. I denne artikkel-baserte avhandlingen adresserer jeg denne mangelen i tidligere forskning ved å utforske engelskpraksiser blant en gruppe nyankomne tvungne migranter fra DRK via Uganda til Norge. Teoretisk er dette en kritisk sosiolingvistisk studie informert av globaliseringssosiolingvistikk og nyere oppfordringer til å stille spørsmålstegn ved akademiske doxa som hovedsakelig er informert av nordlige perspektiver, og å forholde seg mer til sørlige perspektiver. Metodisk har engelskpraksiser blitt tilnærmet gjennom 1) en fonetisk studie av stavelsesstrukturer i engelsktale blant syv nyankomne kongolesiske flyktninger i Norge og 2) en kvalitativ studie av to nyankomne kongolesiske flyktningers emiske perspektiver på engelskpraksiser i deres egne livshistorier. Jeg presenterer funnene fra den fonetiske studien i den første avhandlingsartikkelen og funnene fra den kvalitative studien i den andre og tredje avhandlingsartikkelen. Jeg bruker forskjellige konseptuelle rammeverk i hvert avhandlingsartikkel for å tilnærme meg empirien fra forskjellige vinkler: i den første avhandlingsartikkelen tar jeg utgangspunkt i konseptet språklige økologier for å forstå deltakernes engelske uttalemønstre i situerte engelskpraksiser; i den andre avhandlingsartikkelen bruker jeg konseptet språklig kapital som analytisk linse for å utforske deltakernes emiske perspektiver på verdien av engelsk i deres eget liv; og i den tredje avhandlingsartikkelen bruker jeg konseptene sosiolingvistiske scales og indeksikalitetsordener som analytiske linser for å gjøre rede for deltakernes erfaringer med at deres engelske ressurser blir devaluerte i noe situerte interaksjoner. Hovedkonklusjonen fra hele avhandlingen er at engelsk er verdifullt som språklig kapital for de tvungne migrantene som har bidratt som deltakere i denne studien. Denne avhandlingen bidrar til forskningsfeltene språk og migrasjon og engelsk som verdensspråk. Empirisk bidrar den med dokumentasjon av engelskpraksiser blant en under-forsket taler-gruppe. Det teoretiske hoved-bidraget er å komme med forslag til utvikling av teorier som har blitt utviklet i Det globale nord basert på den empiriske forskningen jeg har gjort på engelskpraksiser blant tvungne migranter fra Det globale sør. Det ideologiske hoved-bidraget er å valorisere engelskpraksiser blant nyankomne flyktninger fra DRK, via Uganda til Norge.Abstract English: Recent years have seen an increase in forced migration from the Global South to the Global North. Norway is one such country in the Global North that hosts UN refugees from the Global South. Such refugees often have complex linguistic repertoires. Most refugees in Norway from the Global South have grown up in Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Afghanistan, and Eritrea. In Norway, as it often the case in other host countries as well, newly-arrived refugees are mandated to learn the national language, in this case Norwegian. Refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea, who do not necessarily have linguistic resources from American or European prestige languages in their repertoires, are dependent on translators, for example when communicating with case workers in the municipalities where they have been settled. Refugees from DRC, on the other hand, often have French and/or English resources in their repertories, depending on their age when they fled DRC and how long they stayed in transit in Uganda, respectively. There has been some research on French practices among newly-arrived Congolese refugees in Norway, but hardly any studies on English practices. In this article-based dissertation, I address this gap in previous research by exploring English practices among a group of newly-arrived forced migrants from DRC via Uganda to Norway. Theoretically, this is a critical sociolinguistic study informed by sociolinguistics of globalisation and recent calls for questioning academic doxa primarily informed by Northern perspectives and engaging more with Southern perspectives. Methodologically, English practices have been approached through 1) a phonetic study on syllable structure in English speech among seven newly-arrived Congolese refugees in Norway and 2) a qualitative study of two newly-arrived Congolese refugees’ emic perspectives on English practices in their life histories. I present the findings from the phonetic study in the first dissertation article and the findings from the qualitative study in the second and third dissertation articles. I use different conceptual frameworks in each dissertation article in order to approach the empirical data from different angles: in the first dissertation article, I draw on the notion of linguistic ecologies to understand the participants’ English pronunciation patterns in situated English practices; in the second dissertation article, I use the concept linguistic capital as an analytical lens to explore the participants’ emic perspectives on the value of English in their own lives; and in the third dissertation article I use the concepts sociolinguistic scales and orders of indexicality as analytical lenses to account for the participants’ experiences of their English resources being devalued in some situated encounters. The main conclusion from the entire dissertation is that English is valuable as linguistic capital to the forced migrants that have contributed as participants in this study. This dissertation contributes to the research fields language and migration and English as a global language. Empirically, it contributes documentation of English practices among an underresearched group of speakers. The main theoretical contribution is suggesting developments to theories developed in the Global North based on my empirical research on English practices among forced migrants from the Global South, and the main ideological contribution is revalorising English practices among newly-arrived refugees from DRC via Uganda to Norway.publishedVersio

Sociodemographic Risk Factors for Risky and Disordered Gambling – Investigations through Registry Data

Alder, kjønn, og sivilstatus er robuste prediktorer for problematisk pengespilling. Menn og yngre rapporterer generelt mer problematisk pengespilling, mens kvinner virker å utvikle problematisk pengespilling raskere (såkalt teleskop-effekt). Videre er skilte og ugifte overrepresentert blant de med problematisk pengespilling. Det er allikevel flere kunnskapshull i vår forståelse av disse sosiodemografiske variablene og deres betydning for problematisk pengespilling. For alder og kjønn så er det behov for studier som kombinerer større aldersspenn og lengre oppfølgningsperioder for å klargjøre trender i problematisk pengespilling for ulike alders- og kjønnsgrupper over tid. For kjønn så gjenstår det å replisere teleskop-effekten med prospektive data fra ikke-kliniske utvalg. For sivilstatus så er det behov for studier som undersøker retningen på forholdet mellom sivilstatus og problematisk pengespilling. Denne avhandlingen presenterer tre studier som har målsetting å imøtekomme tidligere begrensninger ved å benytte registerdata. Sporingsdata på pengespilling muliggjør automatisk og ikke-invaderende innsamling av objektiv spillatferd som gir opphav til store og detaljerte longitudinelle utvalg. Helseregisterdata gir tilgang til store utvalg av individer med diagnoser for psykiske lidelser slik som pengespillidelse (“gambling disorder”, GD), som er nasjonalt representative for den behandlingssøkende populasjonen og der dataen kan kobles med andre registre som har liknende høy kvalitet på helse og sosial informasjon. Den første studien i denne avhandlingen brukte sporingsdata for å undersøke hvordan årlige trender i teoretisk tap (et mål på tilbøyelighet til å ta risiko i pengespilling) varierte etter alders- og kjønnsgrupper for en populasjon av spillautomatspillere (“electronic gaming machines”, EGM) over seks år. Den andre studien brukte samme data for å undersøke en variant av teleskop-effekten: Kvinner ble antatt å være eldre enn menn når de begynte EGM-spilling og tiden det gikk fra de begynte EGM-spilling til de møtte sin første tapsgrense ble antatt å være kortere sammenlignet med menn. Den tredje studien brukte helse- og sosialregistre over en 11-års periode for å undersøke hvorvidt å skille seg var assosiert økt odds for fremtidig GD og hvorvidt å gifte seg var assosiert redusert odds for fremtidig GD. Resultater fra den første studien viste at høyere teoretisk tap på flere deler av fordelingen (25., 50. [medianen], og 90. persentil) var assosiert med høyere alder og å være kvinne. Aldersrelaterte forskjeller i teoretisk tap var også sterkere hos menn sammenlignet med kvinner. Til slutt, årlig teoretisk tap falt blant de mest intense pengespillerne (90. persentil) på tvers av de undersøkte årene for alle alders- og kjønnsgrupper utenom menn i alderen 18-29 år. Resultater fra den andre studien ga støtte for en teleskop-effekt ettersom kvinner var i gjennomsnitt 6 år yngre enn menn da de begynte sin EGM-spilling og kvinner møtte sin første månedlige tapsgrense i median 9 måneder før menn (av totalt 70 måneder i studien). Resultater fra den tredje studien viste at å skille seg var assosiert økt odds for fremtidig GD sammenlignet med kontroller som har psykisk eller somatisk sykdom (2,45 odds ratio) og kontroller fra generelle befolkningen (2,41 odds ratio). Resultatene viste også at å gifte seg var assosiert redusert odds for fremtidig GD sammenlignet med kontroller som har psykisk eller somatisk sykdom (0,62 odds ratio) og kontroller fra generelle befolkningen (0,57 odds ratio). Endringer i pengespillmarkedet og etablerte teorier for problematisk pengespilling kan være med å forklare de aktuelle funnene på landbasert EGM-spilling. EGM-spilling virker å være synkende generelt, men kvinner og eldre voksne viser en sterkere preferanse for EGM-spilling sammenlignet med menn og yngre voksne. Dette kan styrke forsterkning fra EGM og medføre opprettholdelse av kognitive skjevheter som fremmer problematisk pengespilling. Angående sivilstatus og risiko for GD: Skilte personer kan muligens utvikle GD ved at pengespillingen blir en mestringsstrategi i møte med slik belastende livshendelse. Gifte personer vil muligens dra fordel av sosial kontroll og støtte fra deres ektefeller som beskytter mot overinvolvering i pengespill. Fordeler og ulemper ved bruk av registerdata for å oppnå målsettingene i studiene blir diskutert samt implikasjoner for intervensjoner og fremtidig forskning.Age, gender, and marital status are robust predictors of disordered gambling. Men and younger individuals generally report more disordered gambling, while women appear to develop disordered gambling faster (the ‘telescoping effect’). Further, divorce and unmarried status appears overrepresented among those with disordered gambling. However, there are still gaps in our understanding of these sociodemographic variables in relation to disordered gambling. For age and gender, studies are needed combining wide age ranges and longer time periods to elucidate trends in disordered gambling for different age and gender groups over time. For gender, the ‘telescoping effect’ remains to be replicated with prospective data from non-clinical samples. For marital status, studies are needed to investigate the directionality between marital status and disordered gambling. The current thesis presents three studies that aimed to alleviate previous limitations by leveraging registry data. Behavioral tracking data allows for automatic and non-intrusive recording of objective gambling behavior, giving rise to large longitudinal datasets that are rich in detail. Health registry data allows for access to large samples of individuals with psychiatric diagnoses such as gambling disorder (GD), that are nationally representative of the treatment-seeking population, and whose data can be linked with other registries containing similar high-quality recordings of health and social information. The first study of this thesis used behavioral tracking data to investigate how annual trends in theoretical loss (a measure of risk propensity in gambling) varied according to age and gender groups for a population of electronic gaming machine (EGM) players over six years. The second study used the same data to the examine a variant of the ‘telescoping effect’: Women were hypothesized to be older than men when initiating EGM gambling, and their time between first playing EGM to reaching first loss limit would be shorter compared to men. The third study made use of health and social welfare registries across an 11-year period to examine if getting divorced was associated with increased odds for future GD, and if getting married was associated with reduced odds for future GD. Results from the first study showed that higher theoretical loss at various parts of the distribution (25th, 50th [median], and 90th percentile) was associated with older age and being a woman. Age-related differences in theoretical loss were also stronger among men compared to women. Finally, yearly theoretical loss decreased among the most intense gamblers (90th percentile) across the examined years for all age- and gender groups except men aged 18-29 years. Results from the second study indicated a ‘telescoping effect’ as women were on average 6 years older than men when first gambling on EGMs, and women reached their first monthly loss limit on average 9 months before men (out of 70 total study months). Results from the third study showed that getting divorced was associated with increased risk for future GD compared to illness controls (2.45 odds ratio) and general population controls (2.41 odds ratio). Results also showed that getting married was associated with reduced odds for future GD compared to illness controls (0.62 odds ratio) and general population controls (0.57 odds ratio). The changing gambling landscape and established theories of disordered gambling might explain the present findings on land-based EGM gambling. EGM gambling appears to be decreasing, although women and older adults show stronger preference for EGM gambling compared to men and younger adults. This could increase exposure to reinforcement factors and maintain cognitive biases that facilitate disordered gambling. Regarding marital status and risk for GD: Divorced individuals might develop GD as gambling becomes a coping strategy following such a stress-full life event. Married individuals might benefit from social control and support from spouses that buffer against overinvolvement in gambling. The benefits and limitations of using registry data for achieving the study aims are discussed, as are implications for intervention and future research.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Modeling and Control of Crane on Offshore Vessel

This master thesis is about modeling and control of crane placed on an offshore vessel. An active heave compensating crane, designed by MacGregor, has been used as a basis for developing the crane model. Cranes of this type are placed on a wide variety of vessels and operate all over the world. Besides MacGregor, several other well reputated crane suppliers design similar cranes. In addition, two inverse kinematics control algorithms and three input shapers have been described, implemented and tested in Simulink. The model of the MacGregor crane was developed mathematically using robot modeling theory. The resulting model was implemented in Simulink and verified both mathematically and against a SimMechanics model. In addition, a cable model and vessel crane interaction were added to the Simulink model. The total Simulink model responded according to expectations during simulations. Two inverse kinematics algorithms were implemented and tested. Both had vessel kinematics incorporated. As a result, these two algorithms enabled the crane to counteract the vessel motion. This control method is also of interest to operators. It enables the them to control the crane in the workspace, instead of in the joint space. Simulations show that the two inverse kinematics algorithms were able to keep the crane tip at a fixed point in an earth fixed reference frame. However, in sea state 6 the vessel motion was fluctuating to fast, making the crane unable to keep the crane tip at a fixed point. The input shaping control algorithm shapes the control input given from the operator in a manner that makes the crane stop at any point with reduced payload swing. The effect of increasing the robustness of the shaper was checked using three different shapers. Simulations showed that the input shapers were able to reduce the residual vibration. For a 5 meter long cable, the zero vibration shaper reduced the residual vibration from 1 meter to approximately 20 cm, whereas the zero vibration derivative shaper reduced the vibration to about 5 cm. The zero vibration derivative derivative shaper was able to reduce the vibration to about 2.5 cm. &nbsp

Numeration Systems on the Admiralty Islands and Implications for the Mental Number Line

Over the last decades there has been growing interest in the relationship between cognition and culture. One question that has yet to be answered on this topic is the role counting systems have for cognition. Counting systems vary between cultures and may influence the mental representation of numbers. On that note, some authors argue that numbers map onto a mental number line that is used when dealing with numbers. This thesis gives an overview of numerals for the Admiralty Islands, an Island group located outside of Papua New Guinea. It analyzed the counting systems and their implications for the mental number line. The aim of the study was to investigate the characteristics of number systems on the Admiralty Islands in order to investigate how these characteristics may affect the mental number line. The thesis took an explorative and theoretical method approach where numerical data on the languages of the Admiralty Languages were gathered from literature. The results from the data collection suggested that the counting systems on the Admiralty Islands facilitat a linear, two- dimensional mental number line ranging from 1 to 100. It was concluded that various cultural aspects could be influential in shaping the mental number line. The predictions made may be used as a basis for further empirical research on mental representations of numbers.Masteroppgave i psykologiMAPSYK330INTL-HFINTL-JUSINTL-MEDINTL-PSYKINTL-SVINTL-MNMAPS-PSYKINTL-KM

Dangerous Love

The relationships between female sex workers and their noncommercial male partners are often assumed to be coercive and anchored in risk, dismissed as “pimp-prostitute” arrangements by researchers and the general public alike. Yet, these stereotypes unjustly erase the complexity of lives we imagine to be consumed by social suffering. Dangerous Love centers a framework of love to rethink sex workers’ intimate relationships as commitments to collective solidarity and survival in contexts of oppression. Combining epidemiological research and ethnographic fieldwork in Tijuana, Mexico, Jennifer Leigh Syvertsen examines how individuals try to find love and meaning in lives marked by structural violence, social marginalization, drug addiction, and HIV/AIDS. Linking the political economy of inequalities along the border with emotional lived experience, this book explores how intimate relationships become dangerous safe havens that fundamentally shape both partners’ well-being. Through these stories, we are urged to reimagine the socially transformative power of love to carve new pathways to health equity. “Jennifer Leigh Syvertsen has done everything right in Dangerous Love. Too often, social and behavioral scientists studying drug use avoid describing the affective aspects of drug-using behavior. Syvertsen, rather than averting her eyes, seeks to understand these lives and help the reader to understand.” — J. BRYAN PAGE, Professor of Anthropology, University of Miami “Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews in Tijuana, Dangerous Love includes intimate partners, an element that is usually missing in the qualitative study of drug use—and rare in the study of sex work. By examining female-male partnerships and relational repertoires, Syvertsen makes novel and important contributions.” — LISA MAHER, author of Sexed Work: Gender, Race, and Resistance in a Brooklyn Drug Marke

Chaos Theory and Butterfly Effects in Times of Corruption and a Bank Crash in 1886: The Case of Arendal (Norway) Illustrated through a Regional-Globalized Model

The chapter focuses at corruption practices in the bank crash in the town of Arendal in Southern Norway in 1886 using insights from chaos theory and butterfly effects as theoretical frameworks. Using secondary sources from reports and documents, we illustrate that the bank crash can be explained by corrupt practices of the business and political elite involving manipulation of accounting figures, financial guarantees given in closed and secret circles, and banks giving credit without sufficient security. These activities led the town into a large bank crash in the fall of 1886 having negative effects on business performance, large unemployment, and falling living standards for decades illustrated through a regional-global model discussed in the chapter. The findings can be of interest when studying other bank crashes such as the global bank crisis setting in fall 2008 having negative consequences for leading OECD countries up to present times

Death poems for Cindy

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Alterations in post-movement beta event related synchronization in relation to migraine attacks : a controlled, longitudinal study

Background: The migraine brain is believed to have altered excitability compared to controls and between migraine cycle phases. Our aim was to evaluate excitability through post-movement beta event related synchronization (PMBS) in sensorimotor cortices with and without sensory discrimination. Subjects and methods: We recorded EEG of 41 migraine patients and 33 age and sex matched healthy controls on three different days with classification of days in relation to migraine pain attack phases (interictal, preictal < 36 h before attack, ictal and postictal <36 h after attack). During each recording, subjects performed one motor test with flexion and extension of the right wrist as well as a sensorimotor task (with a sensory assessment in addition to the motor task). Controls and migraine patients in the interictal phase were compared with repeated measures (R-) ANOVA and two sample Student’s t-test. Migraine phases were compared to the interictal phase with R-ANOVA and paired Student’s t-test. Results: R-ANOVA results suggested that migraine patients had reduced difference between PMBS at contralateral (C3) and ipsilateral (C4) sensorimotor cortex in the preictal phase compared to the interictal phase and increased difference between PMBS at contralateral (C3) and ipsilateral (C4) sensorimotor cortex in the ictal phase compared to the interictal phase. Paired t-test showed that changes specifically occurred for ipsilateral right cortex (C4) after the sensorimotor task with significantly decreased PMBS ictally compared to the interictal phase and a tendency towards increased PMBS preictally compared to the interictal phase. No differences between migraine patients and controls were seen in the interictal phase. Conclusion: The cyclic changes in PMBS for migraine patients may indicate that a dysfunction in sensorimotor cortex is involved in the migraine attack cascade. Current understanding of the PMBS phenomenon suggests that it is the level of cortical inhibition that is subject to cyclic modulation. This modulation, regulating the overall cortical excitability, may play a role in migraine attack initiation and continuation Elevated ipsilateral PMBS levels preictally and lowered ipsilateral PMBS ictally may consequently represent asymmetric cyclic changes, from somatosensory hypo- to hyperexcitability, as a result of alterations in basic cortical inhibitory mechanisms