UiS Open Journals (Univ. of Stavanger)
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Runyoga: Från arisk blodsmystik till nyandlig självutveckling
Get PDFRune yoga is a spiritual practice based on the idea that the Runic alphabet can be used for spiritual and magical purposes. Based on an interpretation of the Runes where every letter in the alphabet is considered to contain within it a source of mystical powers Rune Yoga uses techniques inspired by Indian yoga to channel these forces. While contemporary Rune Yoga has become a part of Heathen and Alternative Spirituality that attracts people from a variety of Ethnic background the origin of the practice lies within the Ariosophical movement, a racial form of Esotericism that developed in Germany and Austria in the early 20th century. In this article the origin of Rune Yoga within the Ariosphical movement is presented, how it was integrated in ideas about Aryan racial supremacy. The article continues to show how Rune Yoga later migrated to North America and became a practice used within a non-racial milieu and what aspects remained from the original Ariosophical movement. The article argues that while some aspects of Ariosophical thinking remains within Rune Yoga the racial aspects have ceased to be important. Rather than focusing on race modern Rune Yoga focus in self-improvement for the individual and there is a lack of collectivist goals
How I became homeless: Stories of homeless shelter residents in El Paso, Texas USA
Get PDFThis study explores the stories of 40 homeless residents from a local shelter in El Paso, Texas located in the United States, with an emphasis on the socio-ecological factors (i.e. individual and environmental) leading to their homelessness. A total of 40 adult residents were recruited using purposive sampling between 2016 and 2017 to participate in an in-depth interview and a brief survey. Interview data were analysed using grounded theory method. Survey data were presented in the form of descriptive statistics. Overall, we found that contrary to the typical stereotypes that attribute the difficulties the homeless population faces to personal deficits (e.g. lack of motivation for upward mobility and maladaptive coping), many of our participants struggled with varying personal challenges and social constraints, which created a vulnerability to homelessness. Furthermore, inconsistent with the assumption that Hispanics are less susceptible to the concern of homelessness given their cultural and family orientations, we found that among our participants who were Hispanic, more than half had contact with family or friends and/or had at least one family member who was homeless, thus indicating that Hispanics are not free from the challenge of homelessness. This finding has public policy implications for U.S. cities that are predominantly Hispanic (of which El Paso is one), and cautions about the danger of overgeneralizing the homeless population. We noted five major life domains (legal, relational, economic, physiological, and psychiatric) that triggered the participants’ homelessness. Understanding factors leading to homelessness can form the basis for formulating effective intervention programmes that promote well-being, as well as a holistic roadmap that prioritizes strategies for sustainable healthy living
Hanseatic fish trade in the North Atlantic: evidence of fish remains from Hanse cities in Germany
Get PDFThis paper reviews the evidence for the Hanseatic fish trade in the North Atlantic from the perspective of the consumer sites: the Hanse cities in Germany. Stockfish, the most important good in the North Atlantic trade, are discussed from an archaeozoological perspective. The evidence from Hanse cities accumulated thus far is presented and evaluated. The amount of fish remains analysed from Hanse cities in Germany is still very low, which precludes in-depth research and wider conclusions. Nevertheless, overall patterns appear that are generally consistent with the assumptions of patterns for imported stockfish: high frequencies of Gadidae among the fish remains of coastal Hanse cities, overrepresentation of postcranial skeletal elements, prevailing remains of large size classes, and isotopic data supporting the hypothesis
The North Atlantic trade of Hamburg (c. 1400–1650)
Get PDFHamburg was the main north German town trading with the western North Atlantic region in the period between 1450 and 1650. Other towns, such as Lübeck, Wismar and Rostock also called at Bergen, but the contact of German seafaring merchants with Iceland was dominated by men from Hamburg. Even after the closing of the island to all except Danish-Norwegian merchants by the Danish kings, the trade with Hamburg continued and partly bypassing the warehouse in Glückstadt. The main export commodities were grain and cloth, while back came fish and sulphur, besides some articles of minor significance. The Shetland trade also had some importance for the Hamburg merchants, importing fish and exporting grain and fishing material. In general, the North Atlantic trade was of minor importance in the total of the Hamburg trade which was dominated by transactions with western (Holland, England, France) and south-western (Portugal, Spain) Europe. The highest profits were made in that sphere
Sten som betydelsebärare i den förhistoriska föreställningsvärlden
Get PDFThis article discusses the meaning of stones and the practice of gathering stones, in graves, clearance cairns and stone-covered hillocks. The emphases are on stone-covered hillocks and their long-term usage (up to 1500 years), analyzed using the concept of longue durée. In this paper I propose that the stones in themselves have a cultic meaning as well as the actions, i.e. the remodeling of hillocks and the placing of clearance cairns among graves. In this, I see a connection between stone-covered hillocks, graves and clearance cairns. The underlying concept is a stable, but slowly changing, prehistoric religious tradition that lasted from the Bronze Age to the Migration Period and possibly also through the Late Iron Age. A basic change in this does not take place until the coming of Christianity in the Medieval Period. The reason that Medieval and later clearance cairns were placed together with graves is probably due to their similar appearance
Introduction: German trade in the North Atlantic
Get PDFTrade from 1400 onwards had an impact upon the North Atlantic region quite out of proportion to its volume. The opening of a ready market for dried fish, in particular, but also cloth, train oil and sulphur encouraged the production for export on a much larger scale than before. In return, a greater range of finished goods and raw materials was supplied by German merchants. Initially, trade was channelled through Bergen, but this system broke down, largely because English merchants sailed to Iceland. From the 1470s onwards, the number of German ships travelling to Iceland and Shetland increased. The Danish government struggled to control the trade in their North Atlantic territories, but first in the Faroes and later in Iceland, they sought to impose greater restrictions on foreign merchants. The Danes licensed ships to trade at certain ports and from 1601 attempted to restrict the trade to their own merchants. The introduction summarizes the history of German trade in the North Atlantic, and outlines its economic and cultural impacts
Å sjå røysa som eit objekt, ein markør og ein prosess av handlingsmønster
Get PDFCairns: graves, clearances or both, a seminar held at the Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger, in February 2017, attempted to look beyond the traditional concept of cairns as objects resulting from specific or single activities, focusing instead on the idea of a more fluid symbolism, constantly changing over time. This article seeks to build upon the questions and themes raised at the seminar, combining traditional definitions of cairns with the results of more recent research. The results will then be discussed in a broader, Scandinavian context. The aim is to draw attention to the idea that cairns are the product of various ongoing processes, both active and symbolic, and that these processes continuously redefine the relevance and meaning of cairns to society. The article will also draw attention to the results of more recent research and the implications they have for the field of cultural heritage management, both administratively and practically, and cultural heritage legislation in general in Norway
Social workers understanding of extended families position in child welfare in Lithuania, Chile and Norway
Get PDFChild welfare services around the world deal with families and family complexities. The study from Chile, Lithuania and Norway explores how social workers define family and more specific the position of extended families within child welfare and thus indicate contextual differences and similarities. In the data collection, five focus groups were included: one Lithuanian (eight participants), two Chilean (with two and two participants) and two Norwegian groups (with seven and eight participants). The analysis reveals significant and thematic differences and similarities between the countries related to the fluid and varied concept of family. The results also show variations across contexts in which families that are targeted by the services, the involvement of children and nuclear and extended family members. A dilemma between children’s need to keep family bonds and the states responsibility to protect children, can be exemplified with the position of the extended family. We can identity a difference between Norway, with comprehensive state involvement that can be framed as they are dealing with a public family, and both Chile and Lithuania, which put more of an emphasis on problem-solving within families, and thus look at the family as more of a private sphere
Community Work as Opposition: Tensions and Potentials in a Formalistic Welfare Context
Get PDFA number of tensions pertaining to social problems and human suffering become apparent when analysing community work in a Danish welfare setting. As a source for critical reflection, we discern some of these challenges, but also potentials, which relate not only to a Danish context, but to challenges in any highly institutionalized welfare system. Three community work social enterprises serve to exemplify the objectives of addressing social problems by fostering participation and empowerment. To enhance and include the voice of service users, the programmes attempt to cultivate human resources as opposed to perceived formalism and a subsequent diminishment of the potentials of community inclusion. The formalistic governmental agendas are perceived to be unable to appreciate the diversity of service users’ individual needs and social challenges, which produces conflicting prospects. Such a dichotomy between formalistic welfare practices and the ideals represented in the three enterprises offers a podium for users, professionals, policymakers and researchers to consider alternative expressions of community work, and how these can address social problems. We maintain that rapidly changing welfare models require an increased sensitivity to human suffering as a position embedded in the habitus and sociological imagination of community work. It is a source for reflection on the role of welfare arenas perceived as spaces in which service users ideally, based on their own social situation, can improve their social circumstances. It is an invitation to reflect on the potentials of community work in a diversity of cultures and practices
Gamle steinsamlingar; gravminne, ryddingsrøyser – eller kva?
Get PDFThis article discusses how to better unlock the information potential of unremarkable, though complex, prehistoric stone-built structures, by integrating the past 30 years worth of Nordic archaeological research results into aspects of the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Management processes. Traditionally, it has been rather commonplace to interpret such manmade collections of rocks as remains of either clearance of fields for agricultural purposes or as containers for burials, but this dichotomy should now be regarded as an oversimplification. The site of Orstad in the county of Rogaland, SW Norway, excavated in 2014, serves as a case study. This paper demonstrates how difficult it can be to put updated theories and methods into proper use in the field. Since these new research results call for changes in the approach to the subject were not sufficiently considered in the planning process, neither time nor budget allowed for an adequate examination of the individual structures and their context. This is likely to cause information loss, which creates challenges for both the excavation and post-excavation phases of an archaeological investigation. This paper stresses the need to update and improve how excavations of such sites are handled within Norwegian cultural heritage management. By applying new approaches, such localities can yield more information about the past than previously assumed