Ragnhild Sollund

Regarding Au Pairs in the Norwegian Welfare State

Norway has a highly developed welfare system with increasing provision of public childcare and a strong public normative emphasis on gender and social equality. Despite an 84 percent coverage in public childcare, au pair immigration has increased greatly in recent years, especially from the Philippines. This article addresses why Norwegian families choose to employ an au pair and their experiences with the arrangement. It especially focuses on the tension caused by employing domestic help in an egalitarian state. Focus is directed on the context and rationale for au pair employment in Norway and the ways in which families legitimize au pair employment in a society where employing domestic help is generally unacceptable. Families do this by claiming to ‘not outsource care’, professionalizing the relationship, calling it ‘micro aid’ and emphasizing the fictive family relationship. The article concludes that au pair immigration serves to lower the threshold Norwegian families would otherwise have for employing domestic help and challenges Norwegian norms of social and gender equality.

Animal Trafficking and Trade: Abuse and Species Injustice

The illegal wildlife1 trade is estimated to be the second-largest illegal trade worldwide (Warchol, 2007; Zimmerman, 2003; South and Wyatt, 2011), and it is steadily increasing (for example Smith, 2010; Stoett, 2002; Traffic, 2008), due to a globalised and expanded market in which the World Wide Web plays a significant role as an intermediary between offers and demands (IFAW, 2008). The illegal wildlife trade threatens one third of the world’s species (Rivalan et al., 2007); the best-known species are the rhinoceros (for its horn) and the elephant (for its tusks) (Wasser, Clark and Laurie, 2009). In this chapter, I will first give a brief overview of the phenomenon, with a special focus on the parrot and reptile trades. Then I will show how a Norwegian case study reflects international findings and how the trade in endangered species in this country may be related to the international market. As reptiles are forbidden in Norway, this provides an interesting case for discussing problems of legalisation and regulation of the trade through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES Convention) versus criminalisation. Finally, I will discuss the trade in nonhuman species from a harm and justice perspective.

Mechanistic Versus Organic Organizations' Impact on Immigrant Women's Work Satisfaction and Occupational Mobility

This paper has its theoretical point of departure in Burns and Stalkers theory on “mechanistic” versus “organic” organizations. It is shown that two hotels belonging to the same hotel chain, work in different ways organizationally, as one of them, “Charm” has more of the features pertaining to the “organic” type, while the other, “Style” more resembles the “mechanistic” type. It is discussed whether typical features of the two organizations such as the division of work, hierarchy, communication, and empowerment produce or fail to produce work satisfaction and organizational commitment, which in turn has consequences for immigrant womens work stability and mobility. It is suggested that the organic form of organization has assets the mechanistic type of organization lacks, which facilitates offers of promotion, and other work values which produce work satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, a homogenous social work environment consisting of one ethnic group may constitute an obstacle to actual mobility for immigrant women. The empirical basis for the paper is a case study of two Norwegian hotels where 36 employees, including management and trade union representatives, and 25 immigrant women were interviewed.

Oil Production, Climate Change and Species Decline: The Case of Norway

This chapter focuses on the inconsistency of Norwegian policies which produce severe damage to the environment and to the climate, and on the other hand on attempts to modify the damage through projects which are also critique worthy. Norway is one important contributor to climate change through its oil production, ranking Norway as number 17 of the most oil-producing countries in the world. To further add to its responsibility for carbon emissions and global warming, the Norwegian State pension which is financed by the oil production also has investments in corporations which are criticised and prosecuted for pollution and deforestation through oil production and for abuse against indigenous groups. To compensate for its carbon emissions, Norway has dedicated part of its State pension fund—three Billion NOK—to invest in rain forest in Brazil and Indonesia to prevent deforestation. On a local level, climate change is apparent in the Norwegian mountains where the polar fox species which feed on lemmings which again depend on snow for their survival has been brought near to extinction. To prevent the disappearance of the species, a programme to save the polar fox was initiated through which polar fox cubs are bred and released in the mountains. Except in 2011, which was a snowful year in Norway, the mortality rate has been huge and animals have suffered from starvation. This raises discussion about individual rights versus species rights and justice, and the moral right to individually abuse individuals to secure species survival. This discussion is further seen in perspective of the treatment of polar foxes which were “contaminated” with the wrong genes and consequently killed.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade from a Norwegian Outlook: Tendencies in Practices and Law Enforcement

The illegal trade in free-born1 animals and products made from their bodies is one of the fastest-growing illegal trades worldwide (e.g. European Commission, 2014). Usually the term ‘wildlife’2 is intended to include plants, but in this chapter my focus is on animals. The so-called ‘wildlife trade’ is repeatedly positioned among the drugs trade, illegal arms trade and human trafficking (e.g. Warchol, 2007; Zimmerman, 2003; South and Wyatt, 2011). The trade in endangered species is regulated under the CITES convention, which Norway signed in 1976. Some 5,000 animal species are now listed as threatened in the CITES appendices (I, II and III), many because of trade, or the combination of loss of habitat and trade (WWF, 2014a; Reid, 1992). The convention provides a framework that is to be respected by each party, which have to adopt their own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at national level.3 There are now 180 member parties. It is important to note that trade in free-born animals (or CITES-listed animals bred in captivity) is not criminalized per se; rather, the regulation through CITES implies that individuals of most species may legally be subject to abduction, trafficking and/or killing, while individuals of other species are protected depending on their degree of endangerment (Sollund, 2011).

Introduction: Critical Green Criminology — An Agenda for Change

This book is the outcome of the conference of the European Group (EG) for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, which was hosted by the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Oslo, Norway, in September 2013. The event marked the 40th anniversary of this important criminology group, which for over four decades has influenced European and international criminology, and not the least what is usually referred to as ‘critical criminology’ — a field of criminology which arose as a criticism of the ways in which (mainstream, positivist North American) criminology was a vehicle and support to the judicial system and punishment apparatus. This is also part of the history of the Institute for Criminology and Sociology of Law in Oslo, which was first established as the Institute of Criminology and Penal Law 60 years ago.

The Use and Abuse of Animals in Wildlife Trafficking in Colombia: Practices and Injustice

Millions of nonhuman animals (henceforth animals) are abducted from or killed in their nests, dens and habitats on a yearly basis. This transpires in large parts of the world, although for obvious reasons, it happens more in biologically dense and diverse areas, such as in the Amazonian or Indonesian rainforests, than in areas with less biodiversity or in those places where access by humans is limited. This chapter begins by providing an overview of the dynamics of the wildlife trade (WLT) and the means that are employed to prevent and control it on a global level.Next, I will focus on a study of illegal wildlife trade in Colombia and explore the different practices of wildlife exploitation in this country. In so doing, I will discuss the modus operandi of transgressors and consider whether wildlife trafficking offenders are participating in organized crime. After demonstrating that the basis for wildlife exploitation in Colombia is culturally and historically rooted, I will analyze wildlife trafficking from a species justice perspective. This chapter will conclude with a discussion of how to address the harms of the WLT.

Legal and Illegal Theriocide of Trafficked Animals

This chapter discusses routine killings of animals that are victims of illegal wildlife trade in Norway. It is based on a case study, including interview data and case files collected by the author, that document which animals are most frequently trafficked to Norway and the reasons why they are euthanized upon seizure. The first part of the chapter considers the law in this area and the nature and extent of harms that are caused to the animals. The second part of the chapter takes a philosophical point of view, discussing how the trafficking victims are not regarded as the other as understood by Levinas, Berger, and Derrida, through which they are genuinely seen and considered but rather are objectified and disposed of as insignificant specimens.

Wildlife Trafficking in a Globalized World: An Example of Motivations and Modus Operandi from a Norwegian Case Study

The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is one of the fastest expanding illegal trades worldwide and threatens a large number of species with extinction. Species in danger, for example, are pangolin, rhinoceros, elephant, tiger, lion, and several parrot and reptile species. The motivations for engaging in the trade vary: animals are prized as bush meat, for medicinal purposes, as pets, or as collector items. This chapter focuses on one offender’s engagement in the illegal wildlife trade as a collector of dead wildlife, whether stuffed or in the form of products, especially those made from ivory. His modus operandi is discussed as an example of what may be a general trend in these crimes; the importance of Internet auctions as a market place for illegal wildlife products. This is further discussed in relation to law enforcement and the prevention of IWT. The motivations for engaging in IWT as revealed through the case study—mainly to collect items and take part in Internet auctions—are discussed with the view to more effectively counteract, control, and prevent IWT.

Wildlife Trafficking: Harms and Victimization

The Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT), involving the illicit sale or exchange of wild animals and plants globally, is one of the fastest growing black markets in the world and is commonly positioned alongside the illegal drugs, arms, and human trafficking trades in regard to the economic values involved. The types of offences, offenders, and victims in the trade are varied and complex. Offences include the trafficking of live animals (e.g. birds, reptiles), animal parts (e.g. ivory), and derivatives (e.g. bear bile). Offenders range from native hunters (e.g. poachers) to ignorant tourist (e.g. souvenirs) or organized criminals (e.g. rhino horn). Research suggests the escalation in the collection and killing of wildife is largely influenced by market forces, offenders being motivated by the potential for substantial economic gain, while consumer markets are expanding. The market for IWT ‘goods’ is linked to cultural and social norms—such as religious practice, health benefits, or status symbols—which influence different types of offenders (e.g. trophy hunters, traditional medicine users). This chapter focuses on the trafficking of animals, that as direct victims, dead or alive, usually are given little concern in the field, thus accepting the logic of the CITES convention which regards nonhuman animals as exploitable resources until the limit is reached for the endangerment of the entire species. The victimization can also continue for many of the animals ‘rescued’ and confiscated from the illegal trade—through routine euthanasia and long-term confinement in unsuitable conditions; in only a few cases animals are returned to the wild. Based on a case study involving the UK, Norway, Colombia, and Brazil, this chapter sheds light on the questions, What are the characteristics of wildlife trafficking? (What consumer practices are driving forces, and why?) How are animals (and humans) victimized? What are the common features of the ways in which these crimes are enforced in case study locations? Specifically, the IWT is poorly prioritized and resourced; the enforcement response is often uninformed and uncoordinated, while legislation is complex and disjoined leading to uncertainty and leniency in punishment. The chapter concludes with recommendations in regard to what may be done to prevent this harm.