In defence of "anecdotal data". A case study from a caribou area in West Greenland

The author pleads for a modification of ethological science that allows for the presentation of even tentative hypotheses, based on what is at present disparagingly referred to as "anecdotal data". It is argued that such data are crucial for the neglected study of the habituation of free-ranging large mammals. In such studies of learning, relevant behavioural observations lie outside the ethologist's control, and can only be replicated by further chance encounters. Observations in their anecdotal form should therefore be made available to other ethologists despite their lack of quantifiable data. This would allow for the creation of a pool of more or less unique observations helping to better understand behaviour

Energy-expending behaviour in frightened caribou when dispersed singly or in small bands

The behaviour of single, and small bands of caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) when confronted by humans was compared with the energy—saving behaviour zoologists have ascribed to caribou in encounters with non-hunting wolves (Canis lupus). When confronted by me, or upon getting my scent, caribou ran away on all occasions. Their flight was occasionally interrupted by short stops to look back in my direction, but would continue on all occasions until they were out of sight. This behaviour is inconsistent with the one ascribed to caribou by zoologists when the intruder is a wolf instead of a human. In their view, the caribou stop their flight soon after the wolf gives up the chase, and accordingly save energy owing to their ability to distinguish between hunting and non-hunting wolves. However, small bands of caribou, as well as single animals, have never been observed to behave in this manner. On the contrary, the behaviour of caribou in such encounters is known to follow the same pattern as in their encounters with humans. Energy—saving behaviour is, however, sometimes observed when caribou become inquisitive about something in their surroundings. They will then readily approach as well as try to get down-wind of the object. When the object does not induce fear, it may simply be ignored, or charged before the caribou calm down. The effect of this "confirming behaviour" is that energy which would otherwise have been spent in needless flights from non-predators is saved

‘Someone should have looked after us’: the boundary work of mental health disclosure on TV

publishedVersio

Bryllup, mening og moral

Royal weddings are magical moments. By stirring emotions and moving the public, they may redirect opinion and silence critical voices â at least for a while. This paper argues that a more long-term support for the monarchy will need an additional underpinning of respect for royal professionalism, and that studies of royal weddings, accordingly, should pay attention to how these ceremonies present their main characters as professional royal performers. The point is exemplified by a tentative comparison of the weddings of the Norwegian Crown Prince, in August, 2001 and a Norwegian princess, in May, 2002, and by some reflections on public reactions to these weddings

"When you live here, that’s what you get" : other-, ex-, and non-religious outsiders in the Norwegian Bible belt

This article presents data from our investigations in Kristiansand, the largest city in Southern Norway, an area sometimes called Norway’s ‘Bible belt’. We investigate how social media is reshaping social relations in the city, looking especially at how social order is generated, reinforced, and challenged on social media platforms. Drawing on the figurational sociology of Norbert Elias, as well as findings from research conducted among Muslim immigrants in Scandinavian cities and their response to what they perceive as the dominant media frame, we focus this article on a less visible group of outsiders in the local social figuration: young ex- and non-religious persons. The mediated and enacted performances of this loosely defined group and their interactions with more influential others provide a case study in how non-religious identities and networked communities are construed not (only) based on explicit rejection of religion but also in negotiation with a social order that happens to carry locally specific ‘religious’ overtones. With respect to the mediatization of religion we extend empirical investigation of the theory to social media, arguing that what while religious content is shaped by social media forms, in cases where religious identifiers already convey prestige in local social networks, social media may increase the influence of these networks, thus deepening processes of social inclusion for those in dominant groups and the exclusion of outsiders. In this way, platforms which are in principle open and in practice provide space for minorities to self-organise, also routinely reinforce existing power relations

Random field Ising systems on a general hierarchical lattice: Rigorous inequalities

Random Ising systems on a general hierarchical lattice with both, random fields and random bonds, are considered. Rigorous inequalities between eigenvalues of the Jacobian renormalization matrix at the pure fixed point are obtained. These inequalities lead to upper bounds on the crossover exponents $\{\phi_i\}$.Comment: LaTeX, 13 pages, figs. 1a,1b,2. To be published in PR