Society & culture - ScienceNordic

Why is it so difficult to tell the difference between right and left?

Up and down is simple. The same goes for front and back. Why is right and left so much trickier?

High Skies and Far-Away Emperors: The Pitfalls of Digital Environmental Governance in China

OPINION: Throughout history, the Chinese central government has had only limited knowledge about local realities. Digital technologies now promise to make regulation and supervision more targeted and effective. But will the central government ever be on top of things?

Stable trends in unstable times: Right-wing terrorism and violence in Western Europe in 2020

Right-wing terrorism and violence in Western Europe in 2020 was not significantly influenced by COVID-19 nor by the activism of the Black Lives Matter movement. Instead, the RTV report recently published by C-REX shows that 2020 represents a continuation of previous trends.

How do you research 'global mobility' during a pandemic when travel is highly restricted?

Two researchers tell the story of how the pandemic completely altered their research topic and how they dealt with it.

Why has the Danish welfare model remained so strong against Covid-19?

A CBS researcher has developed a ‘butterfly model’ that she believes can answer precisely that question – and help prepare the rest of the world for similar crises.

On the ideological and cultural diversity of current antisemitism

In May this year, the latest round of hostilities in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict set in motion a wave of antisemitic attacks targeting Jews in Europe and the US. A closer look at these incidents demonstrates the ideological and cultural diversity of current Jew-hatred. In order to understand this diversity, a broader historical perspective is helpful.

What kind of climate measures work in villages and towns?

What works in the city doesn’t always work in a village. Or vice versa. But are some climate measures suitable for both environments?

The party that wins this battle, wins the Norwegian national election

Norwegian politics has become a battle over ownership of different issues. This has made this year’s national election campaign a competition to place each party’s cause at the top of the political agenda.

Why are young climate activists being harassed online?

How does this kind of abuse impact young people’s political engagement?

Eldercare workers feel invisible and underappreciated

More than 40 per cent of health professionals who work in the eldercare sector in the Nordic countries have seriously considered quitting their jobs. Lack of recognition is an important reason.

Young people who drop out first and foremost need an adult who sees them

Nearly one in ten young people in Norway is both unemployed and not pursuing an education. A recent review of the literature suggests that the solution to help this population reconnect to society may be simpler than we thought.

The Progress Party’s anti-Islam hinterland

The Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug’s use of the conspiratorial term ‘sneaky Islamization’ is a prime example of right-wing populist rhetoric.

How online lies destroy life and health

Misinformation on social media has consequences for life and health. The Covid pandemic has made it even worse.

Researchers: Western ideas of Africa are hypocritical fantasies

COMMENT: Africa is corrupt, absurd, dangerous and wild. Or is it? Danish social scientists severely criticise our Western delusions about the continent and its people.

Chance separates the strongest from the weakest

COMMENT: Studies show that an element of luck and contingency determines whether actions are considered intelligent – both in a computer's algorithms and in executive offices.

Lower corporate taxes pay off for both the state and the business community

A decrease in the corporate tax of just one percentage point increases investment in business and industry by 0.6 per cent.

More than twice as dangerous as Norwegian professional drivers

Western and southern Europeans are the most dangerous. Truckers from other countries have up to two-and-a-half times more accidents with injuries than their Norwegian peers.

Making the shift to short-haul and queue-free tourism

The coronavirus has sent tourists flocking into nature.

Research on Utøya survivors:"We were probably a little naive. We did not understand how difficult things would be for those who survived the attack.”

“There are two ways in which the Utøya attack differs from other traumatic events,” says Head of Research Grete Dyb.

Maybe now we know why girls perform better in school than boys

Gender is not what matters, say researchers.

More people leave their car at home if they have to pay for parking at work

But home offices and more frequent bus and rail departures can also reduce people's use of private cars for work.

Older employees are not given as advanced work tasks as their younger colleagues

Employees aged between 50 and 59 have lower potential than their younger colleagues, a new Norwegian study reveals. Age researcher Per Erik Solem disagrees. When you have experience, you can work more efficiently, he believes.

We need to acknowledge how tough it is for toddlers to start in kindergarten, say psychologists

What should you consider when leaving your one-year-old with other adults? Specialists in children's attachment offer some advice.

Why are researchers so worried about one-year-olds?

Toddlers in kindergartens have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, according to a new Norwegian study. But is this really something to worry about?

Harry Potter fans explore gender and sexuality online

The Harry Potter books are pervaded with queer and transsexual symbols, says Jennifer Duggan. She has written a PhD thesis about the internet culture surrounding to the book series.

It’s not just city dwellers who like large carnivores

Norway and Sweden have seen an increase in wolf, bear, wolverine and lynx populations in recent years. Meanwhile, people’s positive attitudes towards carnivores has remained high. There are more who like them than dislike them.

Cyberbullies feel they’re victims of unfair censorship

It’s mostly men who participate in the inflammatory online debates and call themselves provocative, says a new report.

Rural shops are welfare centres, but get no support from local authorities

Rural shops are providing an increasing number of services for the local community.

Foreign trade certificates are no help against social dumping

Getting a foreign trade certificate approved in Norway doesn’t do much to help foreign workers, when it comes to pay, working conditions and social dumping.

Game of Thrones tampers with traditional gender roles

The science fiction genre is able to move the boundaries for how we see the world, according to Ingvil Hellstrand.

Academia has plenty of trolls who trash talk each other

It’s not anonymous online trolls that frighten researchers the most from sharing their research. Researchers and other colleagues are commonly behind those ugly comments. Thorgeir Kolshus is not surprised.

Why did Muslims become the new enemy in Norway and Europe?

Anti-Muslim views have become more widespread in Europe over the past 30 years, but it is important to distinguish between criticisms of certain forms of Islamic practice and the belief that Muslims are taking over Europe.

Poverty increases the risk of children being infected by Covid-19

How and where they live affect the chances for young people of catching Covid-19.

The pandemic has given young people faith that something can be done about climate change

Seven out of ten young Norwegians aged 18-30 respond that their belief that something can be done about climate change has increased since the pandemic.

Checking your phone during meals may create unhealthy eating habits for your child

You wouldn’t be alone if you check your phone while feeding your toddler. But you should be aware that this may teach your children negative things about meals and eating, researchers say.

Microplastic comes from car tyres, but people would rather say no to plastic packaging

The strong opinions that consumers have about plastic packaging are misplaced, one researcher says.

England will win the European Championship, according to Norwegian calculations

England comes out on top when the Norwegian Computing Center calculates the outcome of the remaining games.

Who your parents are matters more and more, even in the social democracy of Norway

The differences in wealth between Norwegians is now far greater than in several other European countries.

The price of alcohol and tobacco in Norway is 120 per cent above the European average

No other country in Europe has more expensive alcohol and tobacco than Norway.

How do we get people to eat less meat? We need a voice for ignored consumers

OPINION: Without a clear blueprint to engage consumers, addressing the challenges associated with high meat consumption will continue to be a dream that is discussed between the experts with little to no impact.

Immigrant teens drop out of sports to focus more on school

More young people in Norway are prioritizing school and dropping out of sports – but that only applies to immigrant youth. For everyone else, the opposite is true.

This piece of wood will help archaeologists reconstruct the grand Gjellestad Viking ship

It will tell us exactly when the ship sailed the seas, as well as how it sailed.

‘Live by the Sword…’ The Death of Chad’s President and the Future of Security in the Sahel

OPINION: Despite his authoritarian rule, Idriss Déby Itno was seen as stabilising force in the Sahel region. His death might create a power vacuum, writes Marc Lanteigne.

Have we lost a generation of children during the Corona pandemic?

OPINION: I fear that we are neglecting the children most in need because of a Eurocentric focus on the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Biathlon is Norway's secret martial art.

Whenever danger of violent conflict erupted in Norway, biathlon shifted from being purely sport to becoming more of a military activity.

The amazing discovery of a lost Viking settlement

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: The lost Viking mountain pass that melted out of the Lendbreen ice patch was a fantastic and baffling discovery. The discovery made headlines around the world, but it also raised questions.

The Viking version of Assassin’s Creed is surprisingly violent, according to researcher

The game is part of an explosion of popular culture created around a contemporary idea of Vikings and Norse mythology, where violence often plays a large part.

Why do we love the Vikings so much?

Violent vikings might be the ones we see in movies and on TV, but Vikings are also popular today because they represent a return to our roots and nature, researchers claim.

Norwegian police let suspects investigate their own financial crimes

Money laundering, fraud, corruption and insider trading — it’s rare for people in Norway to be convicted of these kinds of white-collar crimes. The authorities are now trying to solve this challenge by letting suspects take over the investigation themselves.

New study shows Norwegians disagree about who was impacted by the terror attacks in 2011

Around 90 percent of the survey respondents believe that the terror attacks were a result of madness, and just over 80 percent believe that right-wing extremist ideology was behind the attack.

Young people make the least money on stocks

Old rich folks make the most money in the stock market. If you’re young and not particularly wealthy, then you’re more likely to lose money in the long run.

Vikings had a completely different relationship to animals than we have today

The Vikings and their ancestors looked at animals with awe and admiration, researchers at the Museum of Cultural History say.

Researchers conducted a gender equality experiment on 500 recruits

Do men become more open to gender equality by sharing dormitories and tasks with women in the military?

Survivors from the Utøya massacre still struggle with trauma

This summer marks ten years since the terror attacks on the political youth camp at the island Utøya. More than a third of the survivors still struggle with post traumatic stress symptoms, according to new research.

Saturday games attract a significantly higher attendance at football matches

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: After the end of Covid-19 restrictions football authorities should consider having a larger share of games on Saturdays.

Is economic inequality in Norway really as bad as in the UK and France?

The statistics gravely underestimate the actual differences in private wealth in Norway, according to a new book.

How are Polish and Lithuanian workers actually doing in Norway?

Researchers believe it’s time to talk about the lack of integration of working immigrants.

The abortion debate hasn't always been focused on the fetus' right to life

Throughout history, opponents and proponents have used many arguments for and against abortion.

Immigration to Scandinavia: Will Norwegian and Swedish Social Democrats follow the tough Danish line?

Grete Brochmann believes that the Danes’ latest experimental policy to return refugees to Syria is also an extreme line in the European context.

Norwegian is the easiest of the Nordic languages to understand

As many as 62 per cent of young people from other Nordic countries find it easy to understand Norwegian. Only 26 per cent say the same about Danish. But it’s also easy for young people to switch to English, one language professor says.

There were no murders in Norway, and then six people were killed within a few weeks. What happened?

"Probably not a corona effect," says researcher

Women's liberation and homoerotic desire in Knut Hamsuns works

New research demonstrates expressions of women’s liberation and homoerotic desire in Knut Hamsun’s works from the 1890s.

Can foreign tourists be trusted to clean Norwegian mountain cabins?

Norway is attracting many hikers from new groups and other countries. Will the values and cabin system of the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT), based on unwritten rules and trust, survive this transition?

A two-censor-system will be a disappointing setback for higher education in Norway

OPINION: From a scientific perspective, the proposed law revision should be rejected.

The growth of Airbnb can support tourism development in remote tourist destinations

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: New study sheds light on the effect of Airbnb in rural areas.

These groups of people drank more alcohol during the pandemic

The most common explanation for drinking more was that they deserved it.

Seven rare gold pendants were sacrificed 1500 years ago in Østfold county of Norway

It must have been a considerable ritual act, reserved for only the most privileged in society, according to researchers.

Kinder, Kirche and Küche - Gender and family rhetoric of the German far right

Far right actors often rely heavily on traditional narratives about gender and family, whilst simultaneously weaponizing women’s rights and gender equality in pursuit of an anti-immigration and anti-Islam political agenda. In a recently published article, Katrine Fangen and Lisanne Lichtenberg explore this tension within the rhetoric of various German far right organizations.

How do companies and people hide money in tax havens?