Hard-working heroes or curious students?:Au pair positioning, organizing and negotiation

The precarious position and poor working conditions of au pairs in the Nordic and other western labor markets are well documented. Furthermore, research on au pairs and migrant domestic workers emphasizes many obstacles to their organizing (e.g., in trade unions) and negotiation to improve their working conditions. Using an ethnographic study of Filipino au pairs in Denmark as an illustrative case, we supplement this previous research by presenting an analytical approach inspired by governmentality studies. This approach highlights the complex transnational interplay of migration policies and practices affecting Filipino au pairs’ positioning in the Danish labor market and contributes to exploring how this positioning relates to their prospects for negotiating and organizing. We suggest that with a close examination of the often contradictory and multifaceted positioning of migrant workers in transnational policy fields, not only obstacles but also possibilities for negotiation and organizing to improve working conditions will become visibl

Main-streaming participatory and cross-disciplinary approaches in animal science research in developing countries

Conventional research approaches have lost considerable momentum after their astonishing achieve-ments during the green revolution. The negative side of focusing rigorously on production improve-ment was eminent around 1980 and led to considerations of environmental, gender and equity aspects - making agricultural development much more complex than previously. In the search for new ways of addressing the persisting problems of food insecurity and malnutrition, new ways should be explored. Based on the experiences from three international, African research projects, the article argues the case of participatory action research and cross-disciplinarity as some of the key elements in future animal science research in developing countries. The benefits are outlined as well as the challenges for the researchers and the donor agencies

Kosovo - en tvivlsom proces

Forhandlinger om en ny stat i Europa er nu gået i gang, efter at det internationale samfund er besluttet på at få afklaret Kosovos fremtidige status. Så besluttet, at FN-rapporten, der banede vej for forhandlinger, ligner bestillingsarbejde.&nbsp

Aktivisme på tjekkisk

Tjekkiet fører sin helt egen aktivistiske udenrigspolitik, der er baseret på dissidenternes erfaring fra den kommunistiske fortid, og som derfor lægger afgørende vægt på støtte til demokratisering, især i tjekkiets nærområde.&nbsp

Kommentar: Tak dem som takkes bør

Thank Those Who Should Be ThankedDenmark has received much praise for the rescue of the Jews in 1943. In reality, however, Denmark cannot live up to the altruistic myth about a whole nation saving its Jewish population. There was a lot of money involved, which was paid to fishermen and middlemen. Also, regular conmen operated in the waters used for the escape.These darker circumstances of the escape have remained almost unmentioned for a long time. Only recently has the money issue been publicly discussed, among other things, because of a kind of false gratitude from the Jews in Denmark. The author argues that when taken into consideration that a period of 70 years has passed since the Nazi action against the Jews, it should be possible to distinguish between those who made money on people in distress and those who really deserve a thank you

Kosovo – når virkeligheden er svær at styre

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