As we start seeing the end of summer here in Örebro, it is time for a resume of the past months. Before the summerbreak, I've been working a lot with "other things" such as the PhD Section, Lecturing and writing a chapter for the Anthology/Reader "Fram träder Bergslagen" (Bergslagen Emerges). This was all fun and worthwile, but together with moving houses, my 'real' work was somewhat neglected. Around the 14th of July, I finished a first manuscript for the article that I had been preparing from the coruse in Norrköping onwards. After comments on the congresses in Örebro and Turku, it is now quite close to a "Publishable" version I would say.
On a few weeks time, I will meet my two supervisors Mats and Dieter in order to see what should be changed in the article before we can try to submit it to an academic journal.
Now, as I am on paternity leave until mid-January, and C. works full time, I have to take care of Lucas, who just awoke from his mid-day sleep. More about the paternity leave later and perhaps also elsewhere in cyberspace.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Getting serious
So, now that the last exams are graded for this course I was lecturing and Peter and me gave our lecture on Geographical Area Studies, I can seriously concentrate on my first article. It will hopefully be finished by the start of the summer, and I have received some good comments by my second supervisor from Umeå; Dieter Müller. An 8,000 words paper cannot be too broad so the aim and questions need to be specified to quite a large extent. This first article will be about characterising the Dutch that migrate to the Swedish countryside and I will travel to the Netherlands in order to find som more statistics and conduct some telephone-interviews.
The article will be quite quantitative and it will introduce the phenomenon from a more national perspective. It will discuss why I choose to study the Dutch, why they are recruited and why now. Quite simple questions, but the answers may be quite complicated. We'll see! At least, I can thank a good friend of mine for reviewing the first version of the manuscript :)
Now, I'm off to the spring-sun, my "caught a cold"-son and some sports before the weekend starts!
Cheersio, /Meimer
The article will be quite quantitative and it will introduce the phenomenon from a more national perspective. It will discuss why I choose to study the Dutch, why they are recruited and why now. Quite simple questions, but the answers may be quite complicated. We'll see! At least, I can thank a good friend of mine for reviewing the first version of the manuscript :)
Now, I'm off to the spring-sun, my "caught a cold"-son and some sports before the weekend starts!
Cheersio, /Meimer
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Article 1 - the orange wave
Good news about the course in Norrköping - I passed! Yeah, the course leaders sent me an e-mail yesterday and I couldn't have a better start of the weekend. They praised my work and encouraged me to try to publish the course-paper in a journal.
This is exactly what I'm trying to do. The work with my first real scientific article has started. Inspired by concepts as transnational entrepreneurship, regional growth and literature about why Dutch migrants leave the Netherlands, I have written a text. This text was commented on during a conference in Örebro. I will revise it soon and send it to Dieter Müller, my second supervisor from Umeå. He will visit us in Örebro at the end of March and comment on my paper. His comments are of course valuable and I will revise the paper again and try to submit and present it at the Nordic Geographers Meet in Finland at the beginning of June. Who knows, after this, I might be able to send it to a scientific journal such as Population, Space and Place or Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. In the meantime, I need some more statistics and references to relevant literature.
Also in the meantime, I am and will be lecturing in various courses. Economic Geography, the same course as last semester; a course on how to write a thesis; and a guestlecture in a course about social work. This last lecture is a good challenge to me, as I will try to combine some interesting knowledge about migration studies with Area-studies and my own study.
Also, it is interesting to follow the current developments in the migrant recruitment industry. A close familymember to me has visited the Emigration Fair in March 2009 in Utrecht and sent me some interesting information and a good report about this. Placement will organise a fair in April and Region Dalarna is of course continuing their recruitment.
It is really exciting to try to combine this information into a good article just around the time of celebrating my 30th birthday, as well as raising our son and preparing for moving houses!
This is exactly what I'm trying to do. The work with my first real scientific article has started. Inspired by concepts as transnational entrepreneurship, regional growth and literature about why Dutch migrants leave the Netherlands, I have written a text. This text was commented on during a conference in Örebro. I will revise it soon and send it to Dieter Müller, my second supervisor from Umeå. He will visit us in Örebro at the end of March and comment on my paper. His comments are of course valuable and I will revise the paper again and try to submit and present it at the Nordic Geographers Meet in Finland at the beginning of June. Who knows, after this, I might be able to send it to a scientific journal such as Population, Space and Place or Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. In the meantime, I need some more statistics and references to relevant literature.
Also in the meantime, I am and will be lecturing in various courses. Economic Geography, the same course as last semester; a course on how to write a thesis; and a guestlecture in a course about social work. This last lecture is a good challenge to me, as I will try to combine some interesting knowledge about migration studies with Area-studies and my own study.
Also, it is interesting to follow the current developments in the migrant recruitment industry. A close familymember to me has visited the Emigration Fair in March 2009 in Utrecht and sent me some interesting information and a good report about this. Placement will organise a fair in April and Region Dalarna is of course continuing their recruitment.
It is really exciting to try to combine this information into a good article just around the time of celebrating my 30th birthday, as well as raising our son and preparing for moving houses!
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Norrköping
Monday 19 January was not a usual Monday.
Caroline, Lucas and me were driving the car to Norrköping, because I was going to take a course there. We also had my mum in the car, who had visited us for some days and who would now take the coach from Norrköping to Skavsta Airport that same day. The weather Gods were not with us, as we had heavy snow. Road 51 between Örebro and Norrköping is not exactly a highway and most of the time wewere stuck behind a truck. Due to the bad weather and road conditions we weren't driving faster than 40 km/h instead of the allowed 90. Very frustrating, since I didn't want to start the course by missing the first lecture, and my mum didn't want to end her visit by missing the coach to the airport.
However, after 2 hours we arrived in Norrköping, about 110 km from Örebro. I was lucky to find the campus quite soon and I only missed some minutes of the inaugural lecture. My mum notified me some minutes later that se made it to the bus. Everything alright, and Caroline and Lucas could take it easy on their way back to Örebro. I think they even took a rest in Katrineholm.
The campus in Norrköping is wonderful! In the middle of this town, situated in some old buildings that once were the blooming centre of the textile industry, are now some faculties of Linköping University's Campus Norrköping. One of the buildings at the entrance is now the Louis de Geer theatre, marking the importance of this Dutch entrepreneur that initiated some of the industries in Norrköping in the 18th Century. For entering the campus you have to walk through a small tower, or campanille, which reminded me of Trinity College Dublin. The Motala Ström meanders through the area and waterfalls cascade beside bridges and pathways. Pleasant surroundings!
The course is called Theories and Politics of International Migration. It is part of the Graduate School in REMESO (Institute for on Research Migration, Ethnicity and Society) and lasted from Monday to Friday. Accomodation was taken care of by the course administrator. We were about 20 students from all over Europe, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Poland, Turkey, Scotland, Lithuania and Spain. Some of us had a more difficult story, such as the girl from Spain who actually was from Mexico, a guy from Bosnia that had been living in Sweden for many years, the girsl from Scotland who's parents are Czech but who lived most of their life in Denmark, and me, a Dutch guy from Sweden (or the other way around). It was like an Erasmus Exchange and we never had a dull moment. Either we were in class, some days 11 hours of lectures and seminars, or we hung out in one of the town's bars and restaurants. We also met in the hotel/youthhostel where we stayed. You can imagine that I was completely exhausted when I sat in the coach back home on Friday afternoon!
What was the course about? Yeah, well, there were 5 themes. The first day, Professor Russell King (University of Sussex) lectured about the state of the art in International Migration Research. Very interesting lectures, especially from a Human Geography point of view. He told about the somewhat artificial divide between internal and international migration and about a new map of migration in Europe. Here is where my study fits best; lifestyle migration. The second day, Political scientist Peo Hanssen - one of the initiators of the course - told us about the European Integration of Migration. Also an interesting subject, especially since I am interest in the EU and it's "internal migration". Day three started with an extra lecture by Russell King on his newest work about Albania. Very inspiring for my forthcoming article! Later that day, Branka Likić spoke about Irregular Migration, Changing Labour Markets and Perspectives on Global Governance. Interesting, but not directly related to my research interests. Migrant Experiences of Integration and Discrimination was the subject of the next-last day. Stefan Jonsson, a critic writing about social and cultural phenomena for the Swedish Newspaper DN, showed us the movie "La raison du plus fort". Together, we took the role of philosophers and talked bout different experiences of migrating to a completely different society. Most focus was put on the politics of the veil in France and difficulties between Muslim and other ethnic groups in Europe. The course was concluded by a panel discussion on Friday. Theme for the discussion was Migration and Development and here guest lecturer Charles Woolfsson from Glasgow University but living in Lithuania painted a picture about Lithuanian membership in the EU and the role of migration and development for this Baltic state. You can imagine it took me some days to sort all the information I got, it was a very intensive week!
But now, I should start writing the paper for the course, if I want to receive my 7.5 ECTS credits! Cheerio!
Caroline, Lucas and me were driving the car to Norrköping, because I was going to take a course there. We also had my mum in the car, who had visited us for some days and who would now take the coach from Norrköping to Skavsta Airport that same day. The weather Gods were not with us, as we had heavy snow. Road 51 between Örebro and Norrköping is not exactly a highway and most of the time wewere stuck behind a truck. Due to the bad weather and road conditions we weren't driving faster than 40 km/h instead of the allowed 90. Very frustrating, since I didn't want to start the course by missing the first lecture, and my mum didn't want to end her visit by missing the coach to the airport.
However, after 2 hours we arrived in Norrköping, about 110 km from Örebro. I was lucky to find the campus quite soon and I only missed some minutes of the inaugural lecture. My mum notified me some minutes later that se made it to the bus. Everything alright, and Caroline and Lucas could take it easy on their way back to Örebro. I think they even took a rest in Katrineholm.
The campus in Norrköping is wonderful! In the middle of this town, situated in some old buildings that once were the blooming centre of the textile industry, are now some faculties of Linköping University's Campus Norrköping. One of the buildings at the entrance is now the Louis de Geer theatre, marking the importance of this Dutch entrepreneur that initiated some of the industries in Norrköping in the 18th Century. For entering the campus you have to walk through a small tower, or campanille, which reminded me of Trinity College Dublin. The Motala Ström meanders through the area and waterfalls cascade beside bridges and pathways. Pleasant surroundings!
The course is called Theories and Politics of International Migration. It is part of the Graduate School in REMESO (Institute for on Research Migration, Ethnicity and Society) and lasted from Monday to Friday. Accomodation was taken care of by the course administrator. We were about 20 students from all over Europe, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Poland, Turkey, Scotland, Lithuania and Spain. Some of us had a more difficult story, such as the girl from Spain who actually was from Mexico, a guy from Bosnia that had been living in Sweden for many years, the girsl from Scotland who's parents are Czech but who lived most of their life in Denmark, and me, a Dutch guy from Sweden (or the other way around). It was like an Erasmus Exchange and we never had a dull moment. Either we were in class, some days 11 hours of lectures and seminars, or we hung out in one of the town's bars and restaurants. We also met in the hotel/youthhostel where we stayed. You can imagine that I was completely exhausted when I sat in the coach back home on Friday afternoon!
What was the course about? Yeah, well, there were 5 themes. The first day, Professor Russell King (University of Sussex) lectured about the state of the art in International Migration Research. Very interesting lectures, especially from a Human Geography point of view. He told about the somewhat artificial divide between internal and international migration and about a new map of migration in Europe. Here is where my study fits best; lifestyle migration. The second day, Political scientist Peo Hanssen - one of the initiators of the course - told us about the European Integration of Migration. Also an interesting subject, especially since I am interest in the EU and it's "internal migration". Day three started with an extra lecture by Russell King on his newest work about Albania. Very inspiring for my forthcoming article! Later that day, Branka Likić spoke about Irregular Migration, Changing Labour Markets and Perspectives on Global Governance. Interesting, but not directly related to my research interests. Migrant Experiences of Integration and Discrimination was the subject of the next-last day. Stefan Jonsson, a critic writing about social and cultural phenomena for the Swedish Newspaper DN, showed us the movie "La raison du plus fort". Together, we took the role of philosophers and talked bout different experiences of migrating to a completely different society. Most focus was put on the politics of the veil in France and difficulties between Muslim and other ethnic groups in Europe. The course was concluded by a panel discussion on Friday. Theme for the discussion was Migration and Development and here guest lecturer Charles Woolfsson from Glasgow University but living in Lithuania painted a picture about Lithuanian membership in the EU and the role of migration and development for this Baltic state. You can imagine it took me some days to sort all the information I got, it was a very intensive week!
But now, I should start writing the paper for the course, if I want to receive my 7.5 ECTS credits! Cheerio!
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Happy 2009!
Almost one week of 2009 has passed and Sweden is getting ready for a new year of work and relaxation. Hopefully, you had some good Christmas Holidays. We spent it in the North of Sweden, enjoying the winterweather and lacking internet access.
For now, I started slowly with some hours of work yesterday evening. Today, an official holiday in Sweden (Three Kings, 13 days after Christmas, aka Epiphany), I worked some hours. Many things have to be done again, starting with the essay I have to write for the course in GeoClassics. I aim at investigating the concepts of livsform (introduced by Höjrup in 1983), and linking it to Livestyle migration. Also, I am thinking of exploring some classics in Migration research; Ravenstein, Zipf, Hägerstrand and the like. In doing so, I should get a better understanding of the eras in Human Geography, from the 1880s to the end opf the 20th Century, with the Humanist era getting most attention.
This essay will probably also serve as a good starter for an intensive week in Norrköping, starting 19 January. At the Institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity and Society (REMESO), I will attend a course called Theories and Politics of International Migration. A lot of reading needs to be done, but fortunately, most of this is sent to us in pdf format by e-mail. It seems to be a well-organised course, as accomodation is booked for us, and we can receive a student grant to cover the travel costs.
After this course, for which a paper is compulsory, I will have to focus on 2 scientific articles, a congress in Örebro in March (Sustainable Cities and Regions) and of course lecturing. Besides this, I will attend courses about Interview Methods and Cultural Heritage in the Bergslagen Area.
A lot of work, but from Midsommar onwards, I will be on paternity leave to spend half a year at home with my son!
have a happy 2009,
/Meimer (see also my Dutch blog @ volkskrantreizen)
For now, I started slowly with some hours of work yesterday evening. Today, an official holiday in Sweden (Three Kings, 13 days after Christmas, aka Epiphany), I worked some hours. Many things have to be done again, starting with the essay I have to write for the course in GeoClassics. I aim at investigating the concepts of livsform (introduced by Höjrup in 1983), and linking it to Livestyle migration. Also, I am thinking of exploring some classics in Migration research; Ravenstein, Zipf, Hägerstrand and the like. In doing so, I should get a better understanding of the eras in Human Geography, from the 1880s to the end opf the 20th Century, with the Humanist era getting most attention.
This essay will probably also serve as a good starter for an intensive week in Norrköping, starting 19 January. At the Institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity and Society (REMESO), I will attend a course called Theories and Politics of International Migration. A lot of reading needs to be done, but fortunately, most of this is sent to us in pdf format by e-mail. It seems to be a well-organised course, as accomodation is booked for us, and we can receive a student grant to cover the travel costs.
After this course, for which a paper is compulsory, I will have to focus on 2 scientific articles, a congress in Örebro in March (Sustainable Cities and Regions) and of course lecturing. Besides this, I will attend courses about Interview Methods and Cultural Heritage in the Bergslagen Area.
A lot of work, but from Midsommar onwards, I will be on paternity leave to spend half a year at home with my son!
have a happy 2009,
/Meimer (see also my Dutch blog @ volkskrantreizen)
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Decemberstress
December is always a busy month, but this year seems to beat all other years! First of all, our little son is growing and exploring his new world endlessly, which naturally takes much energy from us, the parents. It is lovely though!
Second of all, at works the creativity just expands and expands, and at the moment I am planning my text for the course GeoClassics, as well as the chapter about the Dutch Impressions of Bergslagen for the reader Bilder av Bergslagen.
Moreover, I am planning to attend a course called Politics and Theories of International Migration in Norrköping in the middle of January, for which an article will have to be written as an assignment. this article can be combined with the article that I wanted to write anyway, by the working title "Mapping The Orange Wave" - more news to come. Also, I would like to finish a 1st version of my 2nd article before the summer holidays.
And last but not least, a working group (including myself) at the university has been busy attempting to start a Section for PhD Students at Örebro Student Union see the Result at DokSek.
Also, have a look at t he menu on the left of this page, scroll down a bitt and take a look at Swedish tv item 3, or at the websites under the header other blogs & sites. With the new report by the Swedish National Agency for Rural Development, a lot is happening, not least in Bergslagen!
Second of all, at works the creativity just expands and expands, and at the moment I am planning my text for the course GeoClassics, as well as the chapter about the Dutch Impressions of Bergslagen for the reader Bilder av Bergslagen.
Moreover, I am planning to attend a course called Politics and Theories of International Migration in Norrköping in the middle of January, for which an article will have to be written as an assignment. this article can be combined with the article that I wanted to write anyway, by the working title "Mapping The Orange Wave" - more news to come. Also, I would like to finish a 1st version of my 2nd article before the summer holidays.
And last but not least, a working group (including myself) at the university has been busy attempting to start a Section for PhD Students at Örebro Student Union see the Result at DokSek.
Also, have a look at t he menu on the left of this page, scroll down a bitt and take a look at Swedish tv item 3, or at the websites under the header other blogs & sites. With the new report by the Swedish National Agency for Rural Development, a lot is happening, not least in Bergslagen!
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Umeå
Last week, I was in Umeå to meet my second supervisor Dieter Müller, a Human Geographer who has written much about Germans owning Second Homes in Sweden. We had an interesting conversation and he made me aware of the book Tourism and Migration by C. Michael Hall. We chatted about where migration starts and where tourism ends - no one really knows!
On 18 November 2008, I took part in a Meeting of the Population Geographers Network, also at Umeå University. This was a very interesting day and it gave my some new insights and knowledge about present and upcoming studies about Hallstahammar and Åland for example.
On the way back to Örebro, I visited Region Dalarna in Falun and had an interview there. I received a brochure about the work by Region Dalarna and found their thoughts about Place Branding very interesting, especially the pages by Simon Anholt, about Regional Competition.
This, together with earlier remarks about my plans during the conference in Bredsjö, and during a course in Interview Methods, makes that I have enough plans for my study for the comings months! And I still haven't transcribed all my interviews! Upcoming; another interview with a Dutch couple living close by Örebro.
More news later!
/Meimer
On 18 November 2008, I took part in a Meeting of the Population Geographers Network, also at Umeå University. This was a very interesting day and it gave my some new insights and knowledge about present and upcoming studies about Hallstahammar and Åland for example.
On the way back to Örebro, I visited Region Dalarna in Falun and had an interview there. I received a brochure about the work by Region Dalarna and found their thoughts about Place Branding very interesting, especially the pages by Simon Anholt, about Regional Competition.
This, together with earlier remarks about my plans during the conference in Bredsjö, and during a course in Interview Methods, makes that I have enough plans for my study for the comings months! And I still haven't transcribed all my interviews! Upcoming; another interview with a Dutch couple living close by Örebro.
More news later!
/Meimer
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