Anne Britt Flemmen

Transnational Marriages–Empirical Complexities and Theoretical Challenges. An Exploration of Intersectionality

In this article, the author shows how Russian‐Norwegian marriages in Norway are viewed as suspect by Norwegian society, which sees them as running counter to the values that Norwegian marriages are expected to hold. It analyzes the ways in which Russian‐Norwegian couples respond to explicit and implicit criticisms. The article argues that the only way to give meaning to the Norwegian majoritys suspicions is to look at how particular differences intersect in Russian‐Norwegian couples. Production of difference is seen as intersectional and it is, therefore, unhelpful to take one‐dimensional models that either prioritize gender, class, race/ethnicity, nationality, sexuality or any other aspect over other power structures, as a point of departure. The suggested approach is sensitive to the complexities within the transnational marriages as well as to their position as a contested field in the broader society.

Beyond the Idyll: Contested Spaces of Rural Tourism

being an integrated part of a research thesis. The research carried out and the connection between the theoretical and empirical parts of the study is not convincingly clarified. In this type of qualitative research, transparency concerning how the interview data provide support for the conclusions drawn is very important. A development project, run by Bodø Regional University (now the University of Nordland), on entrepreneurial learning in coastal fishing communities in the three northernmost counties of Norway during the period 2001–2004 makes up the empirical basis for the study. Eide, who was connected to this development work during these years, partly as project leader, selected the cases for his doctoral research from the county of Finnmark. The municipality of Nordkapp provides a key case. Schools and local industries in two other municipalities function as additional cases to broaden the empirical basis. The principles on which the author selected his cases for his study, among all the potential cases at hand within the development project, are not made explicit. The empirical part of the study, making up almost half of the text, includes interesting findings and reflections related to the theoretical part. However, the theory and empirical findings are not well integrated and the degree to which the study actually provides answers or throws light on the problem areas and research question posed is only to a limited extent made explicit. Unfortunately, the thesis is also marred by numerous unnecessary mistakes of punctuation and phrasing. Despite these weaknesses, the case studies provide an interesting body of evidence related to entrepreneurial learning generally, to the relationship between local economies, often rapid changing ones, and to the education system in coastal Norway. Some of the findings are:

Sensitizing Concepts in Action: Expanding the Framework

Concepts in Action focuses on what to do with theoretical concepts, rather than providing conveyed definitions. The book covers a variety of examples what to do, how to think, in order to develop and use concepts in the social sciences.

Religious 'mahbär' in Ethiopia: ritual elements, dynamics, and challenges

This article explores the religious association mahbar , also called tsiwwa , in Ethiopia. Data from lay practitioners as well as priests show that religious mahbar has many religious as well as social functions. It is a ritual with long traditions in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church. The authors show that what characterizes mahbar as a ritual is its unusual richness, complexity, multifunctionality and flexibility. By placing it within the Ethiopian religious context and the present development, the authors discuss why religious mahbar is in decline despite its multiple functions, flexibility, and support from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahido Church. In difficult economic times one would expect traditional rituals such as mahbar to become more important to people, and hence to be strengthened, but this does not seem to be the case here. In the authors’ view, three factors are pushing this decline: economic challenges, time constraints, and member recruitment.