Bli kjent med programområdene og forskergruppene ved SV-fakultetet

Workplace Inclusiveness in Tourism and Hospitality (WITH)

Hvem består forskergruppen av?

Forskergruppen WITH (Workplace Inclusiveness in Tourism and Hospitality) er et samarbeid mellom forskere fra NHS – Institutt for ledelse og tjenesteutvikling og internasjonale forskere i Sverige, Skottland og Australia. Gruppens medlemmer fra NHS – Institutt for ledelse og tjenesteutvikling er førsteamanuensis Tone Therese Linge (leder for forskergruppen), førsteamanuensis Kai Victor Hansen, professor Trude Furunes, førsteamanuensis Åse Helene Bakkevig Dagsland, førsteamanuensis Olga Gjerald og professor Huseyin Arasli. De internasjonale gruppemedlemmene er professor Tom Baum (University of Strathclyde, Skottland), Dr. Tara Duncan (Högskolan Dalarna, Sverige) og førsteamanuensis Richard Robinson (University of Queensland, Australia).

Kan du fortelle litt om hva dere forsker på?

Medlemmene av WITH forsker på mange ulike temaer knyttet til inkludering og integrering på hotell- og reiselivsarbeidsplasser. Aktuelle problemstillinger er utfordringer knyttet til kulturelt mangfold i arbeidslivet, fragmenterte arbeidsmiljøer, kompetansebehov, ledelse, sosialisering inn i arbeidslivet og hvordan COVID 19 har påvirket ansatte i hotell- og reiselivsbransjen. I tillegg til arbeidsrelaterte studier, forsker enkelte av gruppemedlemmene på inkludering og velferd innenfor andre områder i samfunnet slik som betydningen av måltider for å minske ensomhet blant eldre, og hvordan man kan minimere matsvinn på sykehjem. For tiden holder WITH på å sette i gang en spørreundersøkelse om ansattes erfaringer fra arbeid i hotell- og restaurantbransjen i 2020/2021. Målet er å sammenligne ansattes erfaringer fra Norge, Sverige, Skottland og Australia under koronapandemien.

Hvorfor er dette et viktig tema å forske på?

Hotell- og reiselivsindustrien er en av de raskest voksende næringene i verden, og kjennetegnes av et stort kulturelt mangfold. Kombinasjonen av vekst og mangfold gir mange positive muligheter, men også komplekse utfordringer knyttet inkludering og integrering i arbeidslivet. Et stort behov for arbeidskraft, hyppig bruk av sesongbaserte stillinger, deltidsstillinger, midlertidige arbeidskontrakter og jobber som krever liten formell utdanning eller språkkompetanse bidrar til at mange ansatte blir utsatte og sårbare for svingninger i markedet. Dette ble særlig synlig under koronapandemien, hvor hotell- og reiselivsindustrien ble hardt rammet og hvor mange medarbeidere ble permittert eller mistet jobbene sine. Derfor er det svært viktig å øke kunnskapen om hvordan aktører på ulike nivå innenfor hotell- og reiselivsindustrien opplever og håndterer utfordringer knyttet til et usikkert og fragmentert arbeidsliv, ikke minst med tanke på å bidra til å utvikle gode løsninger for et fremtidig inkluderende og mangfoldig arbeidsliv. 

Hvilke resultater har forskergruppen kommet fram til så langt?

WITH har samarbeidet om flere artikler og bokkapitler som setter lys på arbeidsforhold i hotell- og reiselivsbransjen. Flere av medlemmene bidro med til sammen fire kapitler i boken Tourism employment in Nordic countries. Trends, practices and opportunities (red. Walmsley, A., Åberg, K., Blinnikka, P., Jóhannesson, G.T.)  som kom ut i 2020. Boken setter søkelys på ansettelsesforhold i reiselivsnæringen i de ulike nordiske land. Kapitlene omhandler temaer som betydningen av anstendig arbeid, arbeidsinnvandreres rolle og bidrag innenfor hotell- og reiselivsindustrien, ansettelse av yngre arbeidstakere i reiselivsnæringen og psykososiale arbeidsforhold. https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030478124

Hva håper dere resultatene av forskningen deres kan føre til?

Gjennom det internasjonale samarbeidet har WITH en unik mulighet til å sammenligne inkluderende arbeidslivsprosesser innenfor hotell- og reiselivsindustrien på tvers av ulike nasjonale kontekster. Målet med forskningen er å øke kunnskapen om fremtidige muligheter og utfordringer knyttet til hotell- og reiselivsindustrien i et internasjonalt perspektiv.

Sustainability transformation

Who does the research group consist of?

The Sustainability Transformation research group comprises several colleagues within the Department of Media and Social Sciences with shared thematic interests, as well as colleagues at The Greenhouse with an overlapping interest in aspects of environmental governance. We have some key external partners based on strong ongoing collaborations, notably Benjamin Sovacool who directs the Sussex Energy Group and Håvard Haarstad who directs the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation. The group is growing steadily, with several PhDs and a postdoc due to join in autumn 2021, and two Associate Professor II's, Abigail Martin based at University of Sussex and Steven Wolf from Cornell University. Siddharth Sareen, Associate Professor in Energy and Environment, coordinates research group activities, and welcomes requests for membership from interested researchers.

Could you please explain a bit about the research the group does?

Group members feature a broad focus on the governance of sustainability transitions. We examine and engage with the forces currently transforming society and ecology. These changes and contestations are playing out in multiple sectors, from energy to the built environment, and from transport to land use. Consequently, the research group invests time in enabling and cultivating a better sense of each other's work across sectors and knowledge domains, combining a broad range of backgrounds with an interdisciplinary orientation. Our main forum for developing these building blocks of collaboration is a monthly meeting with a 'gagged seminar'. One of the group members circulates a text well in advance of the meeting, and participants read it and share their feedback - the author is 'gagged' and only gets to speak after we have completed a round of oral comments. This ensures that everyone engages with the writing, and provides valuable insights not into what one thinks one has written, but into how others interpret it. A main group activity scheduled for October 2021 is to attend the biannual Beyond Oil conference in Bergen - the participating research group members will travel across together by surface transport.

Why is this an important topic to do research on?

The focus of the research group is very closely linked to a central concern in society and at the University of Stavanger, as evident in our core organisational focus on 'green transition'. Countries, companies, regions, cities, non-profits and individuals are increasingly aware of the urgent need to move to low-carbon societies. This entails massive changes in the way that systems work, and how they are governed. Changes entail winners and losers, with justice effects that are a key concern of actors in governance. Researchers have an important role to play in advancing societal understanding of these changes, bringing relevant actors into closer contact, and being an engaged voice that enables transformation to sustainability. The social sciences are uniquely positioned to co-produce and advance actionable knowledge in ways that enable low-carbon transitions. This is an exciting, evolving field of research that cuts across disciplines and is reflected in many burgeoning research fields (such as energy geographies, innovation studies). A research group like ours can strengthen truly collaborative and engaged work rather than fragmented efforts, to bring the full weight of the social sciences to bear on ongoing sustainability transformation efforts.

Which plans do you have for the research group?

We are collaborating with artists, public sector institutions and collaborators within Norway and abroad to advance research on sustainability transformation. An example is an upcoming installation co-produced with the Rjukan Solarpunk Academy at the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, as part of the Just Mobility Transitions Network (JUSTMOBNET) which is anchored by our group. This will open in August 2021, along with a workshop we are hosting for the Energy Anthropology Network. The research group holds two major research projects, Responsive Organising for Low Emission Societies (ROLES) and Accountable Solar Energy TransitionS (ASSET), funded by the Joint Programming Initiative Climate and the Research Council of Norway, as well as leading parts of projects funded by the European Commission and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. This rapid grant acquisition has put us on a firm footing to make significant contributions at the research frontier during upcoming years, further enhancing the University of Stavanger's research profile.

What do you hope the findings of your research can contribute to?

The group has short-, medium- and long-term goals. In the short-term, we aim to be an engaged voice contributing research-based insights to timely public debates, for instance ahead of Norway's 2021 national elections. Given the clear scientific evidence that the world must rapidly exit fossil fuel reliance, it is important for social scientists to inform public discussion on what this implies for our own society, in order to play a responsible and leading role in the global governance of low-carbon transitions. Given our expertise on multiple issues and contexts related to sustainability transformation, we seek to contribute actionable knowledge in strategic ways with real-world relevance to urgent societal challenges. Our medium-term goal is to expand and consolidate the research group into one of the leading academic environments for sustainability transformation research and also research-based teaching. The group is closely linked to our Master programme in Energy, Environment and Society, and members play a valuable role in building the next generation of workers to achieve the urgent transformation to sustainability that our society needs. We are involved in the leadership of larger European networks such as the European Energy Poverty network ENGAGER and the Positive Energy Districts European Network PED-EU-NET, which offer key opportunities to translate our research into timely policy impact and practice during the early 2020s. As a long-term vision, the research group aims to be a central actor in the University of Stavanger's overarching 'green transition' objective until 2030 and beyond, anchoring our organisational contribution in the social sciences so as to enable research insights to inform and enable sustainability transformation by addressing crucial challenges of governance.

Are you going to publish a monography or article(s)? If so, do you have any thoughts on where?

We are an actively publishing, ambitious research group. During 2021, research group members have thus far published in several globally leading journals in a variety of relevant fields. These include Research Policy, Global Environmental Change, Energy Research & Social Science, Ecological Economics, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, Local Environment and more. We have several more in development and review, and also pursue a range of other societal and academic dissemination methods. For instance, we have run several popular webinars and recently a European training school on mainstreaming innovative energy poverty metrics. These resources are freely available online.

Social and spacial justice in times of transition

Hvem består forskergruppen av?

Vi er en liten forskergruppe bestående av Ragnhild J. Sjurseike, Silje H. Normand, Jens K. Fisker, Anders Riel-Müller, Siddharth Sareen og meg.

Kan du fortelle litt om hva dere forsker på?

Vi har til dels ulik faglig bakgrunn, men med felles forskningsinteresser innen sosial rettferdighet, spesielt knyttet til stedsutvikling og transformasjon. Litt forenklet kan vi si at all samfunnsutvikling vil som regel innebære endringer som har betydning for de berørte parter. I hvilken grad blir innbyggeres interesser ivaretatt, og hvordan blir særinteresser ivaretatt opp mot majoritetsinteressene? Hvem blir involvert i beslutningsprosessene og hvordan kommer ulike syn frem? Hvordan veies ulike interesser mot hverandre? Dette kan handle om alt fra jordvern, kulturarv, næringsgrunnlag og arbeidsplasser til hvordan vi skaper samfunn som tar kjønnsperspektiver marginaliserte gruppers behov med i betraktningen når løsningene utformes.

Hvorfor er dette et viktig tema å forske på?

Det er viktig å forske på fordi vi nå står overfor det grønne skiftet som må realiseres, og der vi vet at ulike lokale og globale interesser kan stå opp mot hverandre. De lokale belastningene med for eksempel utfasing av olje og gassnæringen kan også oppleves som store, mens fordelene ved mindre utslipp oppleves globalt. Men det at ulike interesser står opp mot hverandre i samfunnsutviklingsspørsmål er ikke noe nytt og trenger ikke å være på globalt og nasjonalt nivå. Tenk bare på lokale saker som bygging i strandsonen der grunneieres interesser kan stå i mot allmenhetens behov for tilgang til sjøen.

Hvilke planer har dere for forskningsprosjektet?

I september skal vi arrangere en sesjon i forbindelse med Nordic Edge Expo. Vi jobber også med flere forskningssøknader sammen med partnere fra andre universiteter i inn- og utland. Så er det jo et mål at vi skal få skrevet noe sammen, i tillegg til mer individuelle papers vi jobber med.

Hva håper dere resultatene av forskningen deres kan føre til?

Vår forskning kan bidra til å forstå hvordan ulike konflikter om samfunnsutvikling faktisk håndteres og bidra til å belyse hvordan det eventuelt kan forbedres slik at det oppleves som mer rettferdig av de berørte parter.

Skal dere publisere en monografi eller artikkel/artikler? Har dere i så fall noen tanker om hvor?

Vi har planlagt artikler, men har ikke avklart hvilke tidsskrifter som er aktuelle for de ulike bidragene ennå.

The Interactionist Cultural Sociology Group

Hvem består forskergruppen av?

Anders Vassenden, Turid Rødne, Ugo Corte og Merete Jonvik

Kan du fortelle litt om hva dere forsker på?

Vi forsker på forskjellige temaer som kan forstås som «kulturelle», enten dette er i betydningen livsstil, smak, interesser og kultursektor, eller tenkemåter og forståelser. Dette gjør vi ved å vektlegge mikrointeraksjoner, dvs. ansikt-til-ansikt-møter, og gruppedannelser. Eksempler er bølgesurfere, symfoniorkestre, betydningen av smak for klasserelasjoner og kunstnerkarrierer. Det som forener oss er en særlig interesse for mikrointeraksjon, og kvalitative metoder.

Hvorfor er dette et viktig tema å forske på?

Viktigheten ligger først og fremst i det faglige. Hvis vi skal forstå betydningen av smak og tenkemåter sosialt, f.eks. hvordan de gjør oss forskjellige fra hverandre, så må vi også forstå hvordan disse mobiliseres i spesifikke kontekster, og hvordan ulike kontekster får betydning for hvilke forståelser og interesser som trekkes på. Men utover det faglige, har dette også betydning for hvordan vi forstår sosial ulikhet, og hvordan denne oppleves og tenkes om i hverdagslivet. Videre er det viktig å forstå hvordan kulturelle interesser skaper sosiale fellesskaper, og hvordan disse opprettholdes gjennom sosial samhandling, og hvordan det oppstår grensedragninger mellom sosiale grupper.

Hvilke resultater har forskergruppen kommet fram til så langt?

Ett eksempel på resultater fra forskergruppen, er at den nedtoningen av «kulturell kapital» som nordmenn med lang utdannelse og prestisjefulle jobber ofte bedriver, må forstås ut fra ansikt-til-ansikt-møter på tvers av sosiale klasser, som noe som skjer for å bevare balanse i samhandling. Norsk likhetstenkning (egalitarisme) kan slik sett også forstås som et fenomen som skapes og eksisterer i sosial samhandling, f.eks. når en leverer barn i barnehagen, like mye som et kulturelt bakteppe.

Hva håper dere resultatene av forskningen deres kan føre til?

Vi håper å kunne bygge et slagkraftig forskningsmiljø i Stavanger rundt denne formen for kultursosiologi, og å posisjonere oss i internasjonal kultursosiologi med en særegen faglig tilnærming. Vi ønsker også at resultatene skal benyttes aktivt i undervisningen vår i sosiologi.

Har dere publisert en monografi eller artikkel/artikler? Hvor er det i så fall publisert?

Vi har mange arbeider i produksjon og flere under publisering, men trekker frem en artikkel av Vassenden og Jonvik nylig publisert i The Sociological Quarterly. “Photo Elicitation and the Sociology of Taste: A Review of the Field, Empirical Illustrations, Arguments for A ‘Return to Photography’.”

Photo Elicitation and the Sociology of Taste: A Review of the Field, Empirical Illustrations, Arguments for A “Return to Photography”: The Sociological Quarterly: Vol 0, No 0 (tandfonline.com)

Research group on populism, anti-gender and democracy

Who does the research group consist of?

We have eleven members - Hande Eslen-Ziya, Carlo Michael Knotz, Ragnhild Sjurseike, Lene Myong, Murat Yidirim, Elisabeth Lund, Thomas Sattich, Luise Salte, Liv Sunnercrantz, Sanjana Arora from UiS and one external member Cheryl Potgieter from Durban University of Technology. 

Could you please explain a bit about the research the group does?

The research group hosts the Fringe Talk Series to draw on recent debates on populism, polarisation and democracy. So far, we’ve organized six Fringe Talks where scholars from the United States, to Spain, UK, Norway, France and Turkey joined to present their research. Some of these talks included discussions on: Populism and climate action; Eco-anxieties and ecological grief; “calculated ambiguity” among far-right in Norway; debates on political masculinities, vaccine scepticism; and discussions on the entanglements of populism, religion and gender. The research group also – in collaboration with C-REX, at University of Oslo – organized a one-day-online workshop titled “Moderate right-wing populism to right-wing extremism as a gendered phenomenon” where researchers working on populism and anti-gender developments across the globe came together. 

Why is this an important topic to do research on?

The research group on Populism, Anti-gender Democracy established in January 2020 gathers researchers across disciplines to study both right-wing and left-wing-populism, anti-gender developments and its effects on democracy. Our goal is to build a point of contact for the interdisciplinary and international intellectual community, for academics working on populism, to facilitate innovative research as well as to seek external funding for collaborative research projects on populist politics.

Which results have come from your research so far?

The papers presented in the workshop will be published in a Special Issue to reach a wider audience. The book titled “Populism and Science in Europe” (Palgrave Macmillan) edited by the chair of the research group Hande Eslen-Ziya (University of Stavanger) and Alberta Giorgi (University of Bergamo) and will include chapters from members of the research group. 

What do you hope the findings of your research can contribute to?

The rise of populism and the emergence of anti-science rhetoric, gender backlash as well as anti-vaccination and climate change denial seem to occur simultaneously.  Understanding populist politics will provide insights on how to tackle the big conspiracy theories dominating the popular culture which in return helps further spreading populist discourses further.  The research group on populism, anti-gender and democracy aims to start discussions and provide an understanding and/ or  shedding light to what is happening around us such as the anti-gender, anti-climate change mobilisation across Europe, as well as political polarisation.

Have you published a monography or article(s) yet? If so, where?

Besides the above mentioned book project and special issue collection we have all published in academic journals.

Education, Work and Social Cohension (EduWorkSoCo)

Who does the research group consist of?

We aim at building a cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural, international-oriented research group, therefore we recruit and select group members from the international perspective. Currently we have members from The Department of Media and Social Science at UiS, UiS Business School, Finland, UK, HK and mainland China, working on thematical themes structured in the group “Education, Work and Social Cohesion”.

Could you please explain a bit about the research the group does?

Four dimensions :

1. Research publications in terms of co-authored articles, books or reports or other research products.
2. Research and educational projects. We tried a few project applications, some succussed, some not. Currently our group has lead to or based on a few ongoing funded projects and joint initiatives. For example, (education wise), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by UiS and a list of Chinese universities regarding academic exchange and research collaboration; and (research wise), national funded project by Chinese government on anti-bullying work. (we are very happy with the funding, considering the competition with good colleagues from over 3000 universities in China)
3. Research exchange in terms of joint seminars, symposiums, guest lectures. This happens periodically, directing to international academic exchange and promote UiS and Norwegian academy. For example, we conducted joint panel entitled ‘Higher Education, Job Opportunities and Transgenerational Inequality’, in the Conference for Higher Education Research (CHER) 2020, held on Nov 13-14, 2020. The conference is co-organised by Asia Pacific Higher Education Research Partnership, Lingnan University, University of Bath and Durham University. Ninety distinguished speakers from 13 countries and regions discussed their ideas and analysis with both in-person and online audiences.

Three recent examples are: first, academic seminar on the digital symposium ‘Internationalisation and Quality Management in Higher Education’ held in March 2021, with the involvement of 260 international audience. Second, joint digital forum with University of Hong Kong on ‘University Graduate Employability and Entrepreneurship in China’s Greater Bay Area’ held on 16.04, you find more info via https://www.scapegba2020.edu.hku.hk/gba3. And third, invited guest lecture to postgraduate students in Central China Normal University held digitally on 21.04.

• Related to No.3, research-informed teaching and learning. For example, research products/results function as course materials to students in the UiS course BSS320 ‘Arbeidlivssosiologi’, bringing international insights and visions regarding a global labor market to students.

Why is this an important topic to do research on?

To enhance the qualification of employees in an inclusive labour market is a key concern expressed in many Norwegian government documents and UN sustainability goals, and our work aligns with the concerns and initiatives.

The research topic is important because it touches key issues regarding the alignment between education and the labor market, and how to prepare and enhance employability of students before their joining the labor market, and what hidden obstacles can be encountered and to be addressed (for example, as a female job seeker, and as an employee with minority background). Several other issues are related and structured in the group, which are: what kind of roles higher education are playing right now, especially under the covid-19 when unemployment rate rises; and what are different practices in diverse social and cultural contexts, to inform and inspire each other.

We insist the international, cross-cultural perspective to reach more diverse insights.

Which results have come from your research so far?

This is more difficult to answer, because the research work structured in the group are from diverse perspectives.

We have quite a few interesting findings in different works. For example, culture difference is not as big as gender difference when it comes to job search.

In another work, we found that universities apply different models in its engagement in regional innovation across cultures, and it seems each model make sense, even though a perfect model in one culture can be a disaster in another.

At the individual level, Norwegian students are very reluctant to start up their own business, or motivated to mobilise into another society, compared with their counterparts from other European countries.     

What do you hope the findings of your research can contribute to?

1. Contributing to the cross-cultural, and cross-disciplinary research on the alignment between education and work, and meanwhile the research on cultural and social contexts of higher education at UiS.
2. Our observation is collaboration at UiS happens more with colleagues/teams from a local or European background, which is of course, very understandable. We hope the group work can contribute to the internationalisation of UiS, and enhance the mutual understandings across diverse cultural contexts.
3. Additionally contribute to the enhancement of research-informed teaching and learning at UiS, by involving more research in teaching activities.

Have you published a monography or article(s) yet? If so, where?

According to the faculty evaluation, our group has done quite a good job and meet the required publication quota to use the allocated fund. Therefore, other articles under review or under plan are not listed.   We aim to prolong and expand the group in the next term with more thematic articles and activities.