A choronological list of selected publications with short explantion
of each item:
Rejected Cultural Biases Shape our Political Views. A Migrant
Household Study and Two Large-Scale Surveys. 2012.
PhD-thesis, Dept. of Comparative Politics,
University of Bergen, Norway. (PDF)
Abstract: Building upon the work by Mary Douglas, cultural theory describes
four ways of organizing, also known as ways of life or cultures – namely
hierarchical, egali¬tarian, individualistic, and fata¬listic ways of
life. Many other approaches emphasize the differences between the
majority population and the migrants. In contrast to this usage, the
present thesis shows how migrants’ ways of organizing their households
are actually familiar to us, even when these migrants come from distant
countries. The author suggests that this familiarity provides a common
cultural basis for communication and interaction, even between peoples
who are commonly seen as being radically different. The bulk of the
argument given above is based on a qualitative study consisting of in-
depth interviews of seventeen migrant households presently living in
Norway. The households originate from Vietnam, Chile, and Sri Lanka, and
eight of them are presented in detail. They are first described
according to their internal organizations (based on their economic
decisions, their justifications for the division of housework, and their
behaviors during interviews) and their external social relations (how
they justify giving and receiving support from others). Households’
stated preferences are compared with theoretically-based predictions of
attitudes toward institutions, trust, social support, the distribution
of resources, blame, the view of democracy, and political decision
making. Contrary to the expectations of mainstream political science,
this study finds a strong relationship between a household’s way of
organizing and its views on society and politics. Rather than relying on
the country of origin as a basis for categorization, migrant households’
relations with the state and the majority society can be better
understood by knowing how they organize their households. Cultural
theory is primarily a theory about institutions, but sometimes it also
makes claims about people. In addition to the arguments made about
migrants, this thesis also argues that people are not just miniature
institutions and suggests two theoretical improvements to cultural
theory. First, people do not only support one cultural bias, they can
also reject or support the other cultural biases. Second, at the level
of the individual, the effects of cultural biases are not additive, nor
are they independent of each other; biases must be studied in
combinations. Biases are better understood as a package of meanings
rather than existing as separate items. In short, cultural biases are
patterns of meaning that are not easy to summarize and analyze
numerically, and the relevant number of biases is of course an empirical
question.
The argument presented here about cultural biases is
based on quantitative data extracted from the 1999 Nordic Cultures
Survey, which consists of representative samples from Norway, Denmark,
Sweden, Finland, and Iceland (n=4833). Data are also extracted from the
1995 Norwegian Environmental Protection Survey, which consists of
representative samples from 12 environmental organizations and from the
general population in Norway (n=3106).
Brian Nosek et al. 2009. National differences in gender science
stereotypes predict national sex differences in science and math achievement.
PNAS
2009 106:10593-10597. more
info Appendix
with tables and description of data and the results. (ask
for a copy).
Abstract: About 70% of more than half a million Implicit Association
Tests completed by citizens of 34 countries revealed expected implicit
stereotypes associating science with males more than with females. We
discovered that nation-level implicit stereotypes predicted nation-level
sex differences in 8th-grade science and mathematics achievement. Self-reported
stereotypes did not provide additional predictive validity of the achievement
gap. We suggest that implicit stereotypes and sex differences in science
participation and performance are mutually reinforcing, contributing
to the persistent gender gap in science engagement.
Saldo
2008. Likestillings- og diskrimineringsombudet. En årlig
statusrapport på likestillingssituasjonen i Norge.
Saldo
2007. Likestillings- og diskrimineringsombudet. En årlig
statusrapport på likestillingssituasjonen i Norge. Jeg har hatt
ansvaret for tallene og har skrevet bla. kapitlet om arbeidsliv.
Anne B. Skaare, Sadaf Haque Afzal, Eero Olli og Ivar Espelid (2008)
Holdninger og vaner hos innvandrerforeldre oppfølgingsstudier
etter SMÅTANN-undersøkelsen. Den Norske tannlegeforenings
tidende 2008; 118 NR 5. PDF
Praksis
2007. Likestillings- og diskrimineringsombudet. En juridisk
rapport som beskriver og drøfter sentrale diskrimineringssaker
som har vært behandlet på LDO. Her er mange fine eksempler
og en del tall.
Organisering og kultur i familier. 2007. Skolepsykologi
42 (3):21-32.
Dette er en presentasjon av fire måter å organisere en husholding
på basert på kulturteorien som håpentligvis kan hjelpe
praktikere som må forholde seg til innvandrerfamilier. PDF
6Mb.
Generalizing from Uncertainty in Social Encounters to Insecurity
about the Others. Paper presented at Otherness and Insecurity Conference
in Rouen, France, 17th -18th of May 2007. According to cultural theory
insecurity concerning the Others is almost inevitable when we try to
construct social cooperation with people we do not know. PDF
The Impact of Household Organization on Political Views: A Study
of Migrant Families in Norway
manuscript (ask for a copy).
There is a strong relationship between a household's way of organizing
and its views of society and politics. Migrant households' relations
to the state and majority society can be better understood by knowing
how they organize their households.
Seventeen households presently living in Norway, but originating from
Vietnam, Chile, or Sri Lanka, are interviewed in depth. Eight of these
households are presented in detail as cases. They are first described
according to their internal organization (making economic decisions,
justifying the division of housework, and behavior during interviews)
and external social relations (how they justify giving and receiving
support from others). Cultural theory describes four ways of organizing,
also known as ways of life or cultures (hierarchical, egalitarian, individualistic,
and fatalistic). These are present in various degrees, but in a manner
consistent with cultural theory, in every household. Households' stated
preferences are compared with theoretically based predictions of attitudes
toward institutions, trust, social support, distribution of resources,
blame, view of democracy and political decision-making. Every household's
views of politics and society match its dominant way of organizing.
Country of origin does not seem to be closely related to either the
household's way of organizing or its views of politics and society.
These four ways of organizing are presented as an alternative to classification
and explanations based on country of origin or ethnicity. Cultural theory
can be used to improve migrant households' integration into the majority
society without devaluating their traditions and beliefs, and for creating
social interaction across ethnic boundaries in situations where little
is known about the other participants. This new knowledge can be useful
for improving policies concerning majority-minority relations, integration
of minorities, processes of social exclusion and inclusion, participation
by the minorities in the majority society, and to improve how we deal
with conflicts sometimes labeled ethnic, religious or cultural.
Common Measures for Discrimination
Common Measures for Discrimination II - Recommendations for Improving
the Measurement of Discrimination (2006) - edited by Eero Olli and
Birgitte Kofod Olsen. PDF
Towards Common Measures for Discrimination - exploring possibilities
for combining existing data for measuring discrimination (2005)
- edited by Eero Olli and Birgitte Kofod Olsen.
PDF.
This was a two year project funded by European Commission with experts
from Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Portuga.
Underveis mot et bedre vern er et årlig rapport fra Senter mot
etnisk diskriminering, som nå er lagt ned. Jeg har skrevet statistikk
kapitlet i rapportene 2003
(english version) og 2004-2005.
Ta innvandrere i ed 17. mai! Kronikk
i Dagbladet 15.5.2003. Utfordringen ligger i å få nordmenn
til å godta innvandrerne som fullverdige samfunnsmedlemmer. Regjeringens
forslag for ny statsborgerskaps seremoni bidrar ikke til dette, men
en ed-seremoni på 17. mai vil sette fokus på nye statsborgere
i lokalsamfunnet.
Også de andre kan velge en levemåte, 2002, Internasjonal
migrasjon og etniske relasjoner 1997-2001 (s. 117-123). Oslo: NFR,
Området for kultur og samfunn. En sluttrapport til IMER programmets
oppsummerings konferanse. Skrevet noen år før prosjektslutt.
pdf.
Olli, Eero, Grendstad, Gunnar, & Wollebæk, Dag. Correlates
of Environmental Behaviors: Bringing Back Social Context. 2001
Environment and Behavior, 33(3), pp. 181-208.
Contrary to expectations surveys can be used to estimate the importance
of social participation. Social involvement with other environmentalists
has a a larger influence on the number of environmentally possitive
private behavior, than attitudes. PDF-file.
Language Use and Context as Sources for Meaning in Research Interviews
Conducted in Norwegian as Second Language. 2001. Unpublished Philosophy
of Science Essay, University of Bergen, Bergen.
It is possible with a pragmatic perspective of language and language
use, to establish reasons for why we are able to understand each others,
even if one of the participants is not speaking his or hers native language.
PDF-file.
Rejection of cultural biases and effects on party preference.
1999. In Michael Thompson & Gunnar Grendstad & Per Selle (Eds.),
Cultural theory as political science (pp. 59-74). London: Routledge.
One new theoretical finding: rejection of organizing principles is important
determinant of party preference. Methodological founding: because combinations
of attitudes thus become important, regression is less suited as analytical
technique. Empirical analysis shows that it is possible to understand
the conflicts between parties as a well structured structured ideological
space in cultural theoretical terms.
The Influence of Behavioral Strategy and Social Structure on a Migrants'
Relation to a Workplace. Paper presented at the 11th Nordic Migration
Research Conference 28-30 October 1999. Gothenburg.
Cultural theory can be used to describe conflictual situations at workplaces,
and thus also to find possible solutions to problems that seem to be
related to 'culture'. No data, just an idea for further research. PDF
Individ og kultur. 1996 I Gunnar Grendstad & Per Selle (ed.),
Kultur som Levemåte (pp. 200-220). Oslo: Samlaget.
This is a presentation of the theoretical arguments from my masters
thesis, with some empirical exemplification with new data.
Les bokmålsversjon
av kapittelen. I boka er kapitten oversatt til nynorsk.
Cultural Theory Specified - The Coherent, Sequential, and Synthetic
Individual Approaches. 1995 Unpublished Masters thesis, University
of Bergen, Bergen.
The main point: Cultural theory must define the relationship between
the collective (culture) and individual before surveys can be utilized.
Three different definitions are presented, each leading to a specific
analytical models. The same hypothesis is examined by performing three
different analysis, each based on a different specification of the relation
between individual and culture. PDF-files.
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