Comments — Nordic Labour Journal

UK's Eastern European salvation or damnation

(Oct 01, 2006) A day trip to Britain's famous Blackpool seaside resort left me wondering whether I'd taken a wrong turning and ended up in Poland. In every chip shop, every café, every gaming arcade and at every amusement ride I was served by a Marek, an Ewa or a Dariuz.

Packing your bags is hard to do

(Mar 01, 2006) Two nights a week, over twenty foreigners like me gather in a classroom at an Oslo language school, determined to improve our faltering Norwegian.

Book in review: What future for the Nordic model?

(Sep 01, 2005) Slash taxes and cut benefits to put an end to poverty. This is the recipe that is often prescribed by neo-liberal thinkers to solve society’s woes. Doing the opposite, in their minds,would amount to kill the golden goose of economic development.

Tasting the community spirit

(Sep 01, 2005) A few weeks after moving to Norway, I did something I would never have done anywhere else. At 6pm on the dot, I left my flat to meet my neighbours in the courtyard. We planted flowers, cleaned the grounds, painted the door frames, did the odd repair, and generally made our apartment block a better place to live in.

Homo Nordicus in the eyes of a Diego

(Mar 01, 2004) If you rotate Norway like a compass with Oslo in the centre, the North Cape would hit Rome, I am told. Still there is a full ocean, or maybe several, separating the Nordic and Latin cultures.

Book in review: Karaoke Capitalism

(Mar 01, 2004) We live in the time of individualism. Grab the microphone and express your unique personality. Welcome to Club Karaoke Capitalism, where talent, originality and/or money creates freedom of choice like never before. At least for some.

Nordic cooperation - two sides to the coin?

(Nov 01, 2003) “The Nordic countries are unique” “The Nordic countries are a model” “The Nordic countries may serve as an example”. The reputation of the Nordic countries is on the whole rather favourable.

Book in review: Life and learning on the Net

(Oct 01, 2002) Distance learning via the Internet is an area fraught with high expectations.

The labyrinth of maternity leave benefits

(Oct 01, 2002) For the past two years in a row, the UN Development Programme has awarded Norway the best place to live in the world based on its quality of life index. With 10-12 months paid maternity leave, free prenatal care and delivery, and extra child care benefits once the baby is born, who could argue.

Models are not blueprints...

(Nov 01, 2001) The Nordic countries love their models. The Swedish model of a welfare system with state-guaranteed security from the cradle to the grave is the best known internationally, although Denmark, Finland and Norway have very similar systems.

Book in review: A hundred years of occupational safety and health

(Nov 01, 2001) A recently published study from the National Institute for Working Life in Sweden offers a fascinating introduction to the development of the work environment and safety at work in Sweden during the 20th century

Internet pop

(Oct 01, 2001) In recent months, several books have been written about the IT industry by former pop musicians.

Hungry Eyes for Scandinavian Baby Buggies

(Jun 01, 2001) As the first glimpses of spring appear in Copenhagen, rows of baby buggies stand neatly in line in front of fashionable bars. The children doze away at the comforting sounds of laughter from their parents who enjoy themselves inside.

Book in review: Hot conflicts in the Workplace

(Jun 01, 2001) After the Cold War ended, a series of conflicts and civil wars broke out. Although none of them threatened the world order, they were bloody and claimed many victims. Norwegian working life researchers Bjørg Aase Sørensen and Asbjørn Grimsmo see a similar trend developing on today’s labour market in which hierarchical structures have been replaced by teamwork and substantially streamlined organisations.