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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to address the role of the qualitative researcher in international business (IB) studies and the need for a local perspective to better comprehend the complexity and consequences of international economic activity. Argues that the internationalization process is constructed at the doorstep where local and international actors meet and should thus be studied from both angles. The article provides some empirical examples and anecdotes from research in China to underpin the argumentation. The questions are discussed in the voices of “the Geographer” and “the Explorer” – characters borrowed from Saint-Exupery's novel The Little Prince.

Abstract

The low and shrinking numbers of women in higher computer science education is a well-known problem in most Western countries. The dominant Western perception of the relationship between gender and computer science codes the latter as "masculine," and the low number of women is seen at least partly as an effect of that coding. Malaysia represents a different case. There are large numbers of women in computer science, and computer science is not perceived as "masculine." Rather, it is deemed as providing suitable jobs and good careers for women. This reflects an understanding of gender where femininities are constructed by association to office work, commonly recognized as a woman-friendly space because it is seen as more safe and protected than, for example, construction sites and factories. The findings suggest that gender and computer science may be more diversely coproduced than commonly believed in Western research.

Abstract

The growth in private energy consumption is an increasing problem in western countries. From an environmental point of view, this consumption has to be reduced. On the basis of two Norwegian case studies, this article discusses private energy consumption and possibilities for reduction, with a special focus on the home. It argues against a rational economic view of the consumer and emphasizes the significance of a more subtle understanding of private energy use. The article approaches the challenges of reducing private energy consumption by analysing the domestication of the home and discusses everyday life activities as well as the phenomenon of rebuilding and redecorating. By using the concept of domestication, the article challenges the linear understanding of technological as well as behavioural change. Private energy consumption is part of a complex network and it is necessary to understand this network in order to achieve a more permanent reduction.

Abstract

The article analyses the debate on egg donation in Norway using source material from the parliamentary debate of amendments to the Biotechnology Law. In both policy documents on bioethics and the Biotechnology Law, gender is not a spoken issue, but bringing egg and sperm directly to the fore highlights how gender is implicated in bioethics debates. Gender perceptions affect the understanding of `what egg and sperm may do' at the same time as the debate sets established perceptions of gender in motion. In Norway, gender equality is a valid and important premise within the general political debate. It is, however, contested as a valid argument in the context of egg donation, which therefore becomes a field of negotiations about the limits of equal opportunities. The article analyses the egg donation debate as a process of cultural co-production and asks how the Norwegian emphasis on gender equality influences the debate on egg donation and, vice versa, how debates of assisted reproductive technology (ART) reopen debates on gender in relation to reproduction and parenthood.

Abstract

This article reports from a European study on efforts to close a gendered digital divide through inclusion. The authors argue that inclusion is not just a mirror image of exclusion, and that to achieve inclusion, it is not sufficient to curb exclusion mechanisms but to enhance positive measures of inclusion. A variety of inclusion strategies have been studied, the authors concluding that ‘one size does not fit all’. Therefore, to reach a wide audience, a combination of many different strategies is needed. More women users are not sufficient to increase women's influence on ICT development, however. Particular measures are needed to recruit more women into the ICT profession and to curb marginalization within the profession.

Abstract

This article questions the sometimes over-polarized debates about theoretical perspectives within feminist academia. What differing effects do apparently conflicting theoretical approaches have on the empirical analysis of cultural phenomena and on our understanding of sexual politics or possibilities for change? The author gives an account of two contrasting understandings of the (bodily) symbolic, and applies these differing perspectives to the often problematical analysis of sexual penetration. One approach could be seen as the classical semiotic one, as found in the work of the Norwegian anthropologist, Jorun Solheim, the other, understood as poststructuralist or queer, is exemplified in the work of the American philosopher, Judith Butler. Both are feminists working for changes in traditional gender symbolism, but they otherwise start from seemingly quite separate theoretical premises.

Abstract

This article presents a case study of the entry of two Norwegian lifeboat companies into the Chinese production system. Rather than merely studying the situation through the eyes of these companies, it includes a perspective from the far side of international business, i.e., the local competitors. The article argues that to understand the dynamics and development of both international companies and localized production systems in a global economy, it is necessary to explore how international and local actors reflexively evaluate and act upon each other. The article, thus, presents a model for studying the internationalization process and localized production systems.