Materialitet og mening. En studie av de besøkende på bygdetun

Both in Norway and Sweden, there are a large number of small rural museums that aim to tell the story of the local community and that intend to serve as meeting places for the inhabitants. Most of these museums were established in a period when they were heavily influenced by the values shaping society at the time, such as a very prevalent rurally based nationalism. Based on a master thesis, this article asks what these museums mean to the visitors today, and especially, how the materiality affects the visitors when entering such museums. The article also discusses what challenges this poses to the contemporary, everyday museum practice in museums like these.

Artists in an iron cage? Artists’ work in performing arts institutions

This article discusses artists’ work in performing arts institutions in Norway. Many scholars describe Nordic performing arts institutions as slow-moving and heavy “art factories,” where artistic creativity is almost suffocated within bureaucratic “prisons.” The general problem that we raise in the article is whether this pessimistic picture of the relation between state control, market influence, and artistic work is relevant for studying the performing arts today. The study is primarily based upon twenty-seven qualitative interviews with informants in an institutional theatre and a symphony orchestra. We conclude that the actors in the Theatre are trapped—not so much within “a bureaucratic iron cage”—but rather within “an iron cage of charismatic leadership,” while the musicians in the Orchestra enjoy the relative freedom and democratic power of a rather soft bureaucratic organization

Fra Plate til Plattform: Norsk musikk ut i verden

De siste ti årene har strømmetjenester og digitale plattformer nærmest overtatt distribusjonen av innspilt musikk. Hva har det gjort med norsk musikkbransje? I boka Fra plate til plattform: Norsk musikk ut i verden presenteres forskning på hvordan artister, musikere, komponister og ulike mellomledd i norsk musikkbransje håndterer den digitale hverdagen. Digitaliseringen har gitt nye muligheter til å produsere og distribuere musikk, drive med musikkeksport og til å lykkes internasjonalt. Samtidig kan veien ut i verden via internett være både uforutsigbar og bratt. Ved å undersøke arbeidsmåter, kompetansebehov og forhold knyttet til økonomi og opphavsrett, viser forfatterne hvordan digitale medier både er viktige verktøy i arbeidet og sentrale drivkrefter for bransjeutviklingen. Forfatterne bruker ulike teoretiske begreper og analytiske perspektiver for å undersøke samspillet mellom teknologiske, profesjonelle, sosiale og kulturelle forhold i musikkbransjens utvikling. Et sentralt funn i boka er at musikkbransjen har behov for økt bransjekunnskap og rettighetsforståelse. Plattformsentreringen inviterer også til større grad av profesjonalisering og spesialisert kompetanse enn det den norske musikkbransjen er rigget for i dag. Boka er relevant for forskere, studenter, politikere, beslutningstakere og aktører i musikkbransjen

Association between habitual sleep duration/quality and appetite markers in individuals with obesity

Study Objectives: To assess if habitual sleep duration/quality was associated with appetite in individuals with obesity, and if the association was modulated by sex. Methods: Sleep duration/quality was measured with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score in 95 healthy adults with obesity (BMI: 36.6 ± 4.2 kg/m2). Subjective feelings of appetite were assessed using visual analogue scales, and plasma concentrations of active ghrelin, total peptide YY, active glucagon-like peptide 1, cholecystokinin (CCK) and insulin were measured in fasting and every 30 min up to 2.5 h after a meal. Results: No significant associations were found between sleep duration, or overall quality, and appetite in all participants. However, a worse sleep efficiency was associated with lower postprandial CCK, a shorter habitual sleep was associated with lower postprandial desire to eat and a lower daytime dysfunction was associated with higher prospective food consumption in fasting (P<0.05, for all). In males, a shorter habitual sleep duration and a worse subjective sleep quality were associated with increased basal and postprandial active ghrelin (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively). Also, a shorter habitual sleep was associated with lower basal and postprandial insulin (P<0.05 for both) and a worse overall sleep quality with lower postprandial insulin (P<0.05). In females, a worse overall sleep quality was associated with lower postprandial active ghrelin (P<0.05), and short habitual sleep with higher postprandial insulin (P<0.05). Conclusion: A worse habitual sleep efficiency is associated with blunted postprandial CCK secretion in individuals with obesity. The association between habitual sleep duration/quality and insulin and active ghrelin seems to be modulated by sex, but more studies are needed to confirm these finding