Society & culture - Sciencenorway.no

Fat shaming makes people gain more weight

People are not motivated to lose weight if they are told they are fat. They just get fatter. This is the most important message that the television personality Ronny Brede Aase hopes people are left with after having seen the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s (NRK) series "A fat life".

What is the rose from the famous Norwegian Selbu mitten doing in the remains of a medieval cathedral in Sudan?

What is the rose from the Selbu mitten doing in the remains of a medieval cathedral in Sudan?

And is it even a rose?

New study on the difficulties facing children of diplomats:"The hardest thing about being a diplomat's kid was, without comparison, returning home"

Constantly moving to new countries can pose a difficult childhood in various ways, research finds.

What old graffiti can tell us about medieval people

In some places, the carvings are a sign of religious community. On other walls, they are a product of competition.

From the Nobel Peace Prize to the front lines: Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed named worst head of state in the world

In competition with among others Jair Bolsonaro and Boris Johnson, Abiy Ahmed has been named the worst head of state in 2021 by a panel of professors and researchers, on behalf of the Norwegian newspaper Morgenbladet.

Did this Viking helmet belong to a Norwegian warrior who served rulers in the East?

New interpretations of the so-called Gjermundbu find suggest that the Viking buried in one of Norway's richest male warrior graves had ties to great rulers in Eastern Europe.

Maternal behaviour may transmit mental health problems to children

Mental health issues and the personality trait of neuroticism may be transmitted from parents to children. But does this transmission occur through genes or upbringing and environment? A new Norwegian study sheds light on the subject.

A bone and a stick inscribed with Norse runic text found in Oslo

A large bone inscribed on both sides is the first such item found in Oslo in more than 30 years, according to the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU).

Most read 2021: the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, celiac disease and alpha wolves

These are the 2021-articles that you read the most in the year gone by.

What’s happening with Russia's climate policy?

The Russian president recently stated that the country will become carbon neutral by the year 2060, but there’s a big gap between words and deeds in Russian climate policy, researchers say.

Christmas cards haven't always been cute. Rowdy, drunk Christmas gnomes were a popular motif back in the day.

“Some of the early Christmas cards are quite a bit darker than what we’re used to today,” says research librarian at the National Library in Norway.

The violence continues, even though the mother leaves the father. Are politics of gender equality to blame?

OPINION: Having to organise contact between the children and their father may result in continued exposure to violence for mothers – even after they leave a violent partner.

Researchers uncover insider trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange

Insider trading by a group of executives below the top tier has been flying under the radar, according to researchers. The execs have been making significantly higher profits on buying and selling shares in their own company.

Nine reasons why immigrants in Norway were hit harder by Covid-19

Among the reasons listed in a new report are language barriers as well as delayed isolation, tracing and quarantining.

Is green growth possible?

OPINION: Increases in economic growth contribute to one-for-one increases in carbon emissions. Energy system decarbonization and economic productivity gains are the most effective carbon emissions mitigation mechanisms for sustainable economic development.

Knife handle in the shape of a king from the 13th century found in the Medieval Park in Oslo

It may be the oldest of its kind in Scandinavia, researchers believe.

This demon wall was supposed to be from the Middle Ages. But it’s only 80 years old — and a fake.

What makes a conservator paint a wall and say it dates from the Middle Ages? And how did this happen?

The Polish Independence March 2021 – nationalized nationalism

The Independence March passed through Warsaw once again. This time, no flat was burnt, no shops were vandalized, no squat or embassy attacked, and no freshly planted trees were torn out. According to Przemyslaw Witkowski, this is a worrying development, as it signals that nationalists are gaining political power in Poland and beyond.

The 12 most exciting finds from the Gjellestad Viking ship dig

A large amber bead, an axe placed under the ship, 25 horse teeth and pieces of wood that will tell us exactly when it sailed are among the results from Norway’s first excavation of a monumental Viking ship burial in a century.

Norwegian researchers work on average 46 hours per week

Researchers with foreign citizenships work the most – and thus contribute to increasing this average.

Huge longhouse found near the Gjellestad Viking ship – one of the largest in Scandinavia

The finding confirms what the researchers already believed – that this place was a significant site of power during the Iron and Viking Ages.

Political myths and the making of fascism

In a recently published book, Nathaniël Kunkeler compares the political cultures of the Swedish National Socialist Workers’ Party (Nationalsocialistiska Arbetarepartiet, NSAP) and the Dutch National Socialist Movement (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging, NSB). Central to the analysis is the construction of political myths: myth-making or mythopoeia of the largest fascist parties in these countries, neither of which ever came close to seizing power in the 1930s.

UN Lebanon-mission in 1978: Norway wanted to support the UN and the US – sent troops off in a hurry without really understanding the consequences

Historians have now gone through classified documents to understand what really happened behind the scenes when Norway almost immediately agreed to participate in the UN force. Former UNIFIL soldier Harald Stanghelle is sceptical of some of the researchers' analyses.

Transformation of the Far Right: What can protest event analysis tell us?

The far right today is a global and diverse phenomenon, that encompasses a wide range of different actors and organizations. Tamta Gelashvili argues that scholarship on the far right would benefit from the use of Protest Event Analysis (PEA) to analyze and compare far-right mobilization across cultural contexts and over time.

Was there such a thing as a female Viking warrior?

OPINION: Are the changing answers to this question a direct result of our own changing views on gender?

Why is Russia's economy doing so poorly?

The elites' power and desire for money slows down economic growth.

Would more games between attractive teams increase attendance?

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Football authorities might have something to learn from economic theory.

Medieval scribes wrote about religion, medicine and magic in the margins

Ildar Garipzanov has gone through several thousand manuscripts from the Middle Ages in search of the smallest texts.

In times of crisis people usually postpone having children – but in Norway, the pandemic resulted in a baby boom

The Norwegian trend completely breaks with the researchers' theory and diverges from most other countries in Europe.

At least 300 top officials in Norway earn more than the prime minister

Executives and top officials in the public sector have seen a pay increase of 64 per cent.

From grassroots to government: far-right threats to academic freedom

In recent years, and particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, far right forces have increased efforts to systematically undermine the principles of academic freedom. Léonie de Jonge, Iris Beau Segers and Cathrine Thorleifsson highlight the urgency of defending academic freedom against governmental interference and protecting researchers from threats and intimidation.

People are ashamed of their consumer loans

But consumer loans are not the worst kind of loan you can have, researchers say.

Lega East? A close look at AfD’s electoral strength in eastern Germany

The electoral showing of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, Alternative for Germany) at past Sunday’s general election in Germany highlights once again that it is essential to scrutinize the party’s strength in eastern Germany, writes C-REX Postdoctoral Fellow Manès Weisskircher.

Do not let the fear of terror rule. Other dangers threaten democracy

Right-wing terrorists do not pose the greatest far-right threat to liberal democracies, according to C-REX scholar Jacob Aasland Ravndal.

Women are less frequently quoted in the news than men

This statistic has barely changed over the last ten years.

Militant political Islam wins, peaceful political Islam loses – Is that the lesson we want to teach the world?

Whilst the world closely watched the debacle in Afghanistan, equally important events in Tunisia fell under the radar. Ironically, the dissolution of the Tunisian parliament enhances the lessons that jihadists might draw from Afghanistan. The combined lessons from events in Tunisia and Afghanistan send a signal that will come back to haunt the West.

The summer of 2020 lured out many first-time hikers

Fewer and fewer Norwegians are interested in hiking off the marked mountain trails, according to researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.

Is this Norway's new national dish?

A couple of decades ago, Norwegians thought tacos were exotic and exciting. Now 80 per cent eat tacos and other Tex-Mex food more than once a month.

The less a manager interferes in idea development, the better

OPINION: Only very few companies succeed consistently in developing new ideas. But those that do have one factor in common. The boss doesn’t interfere.

Claiming a terrorist is ‘one of us’ is highly problematic

OPINION: The phrase ‘He was one of us’ has become entrenched in Norwegian public rhetoric after the far-right terrorist attack on 22 July 2011. This poses a threat to a more tolerant society.

An effective ban on foreign fighting? Wider implications of the Czech policy towards foreign (terrorist) fighters

“Foreign terrorist fighters” (FTFs) are commonly understood as being synonymous with jihadists. But what if we were to be faced with a foreign terrorist fighter, who is not a jihadi and is hardly ideologically motivated at all? C-REX Postdoctoral Fellow Kacper Rekawek discusses the recent conviction of three Czech foreign fighters involved in the conflict in Ukraine, who fall into that category. Their cases differ substantially from their jihadi counterparts and offer a fascinating insight into how different Western states approach the issue of their citizens or inhabitants deploying to foreign wars.

Low income workers and young people could end up fleeing the big cities. We need to rethink housing in Norway, say researchers

When the gap between housing prices and what first-time buyers can afford becomes too big, new ways of thinking emerge.

Afghanistan crisis: Is cooperation with the Taliban a recipe for disaster or a new way forward?

OPINION: Whilst we wait for the Taliban to meet international human rights standards, it would be wrong to withhold humanitarian assistance as the harsh winter draws in. Humanitarian action will build confidence on both sides whilst providing critical aid.

Researchers to investigate whether foreign powers attempted to influence Norway’s 2021 parliamentary elections

The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) will try to assess if the election was subjected to attempts by foreign actors to influence election-related information.

Can political advertising change our minds?

According to US research the answer is no. But advertising affects us in other ways, according to Norwegian researchers.

Researchers have figured out what it takes to be among the political elite in Norway

Almost all of the politicians in Norway’s Parliament, the Storting, are career politicians. Norwegians should be happy about that, researchers say.

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.

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.

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