Summer 2008

Now that it's only two weeks before the Summerholidays start, I can make a short summary of the work that is to be done during summer and in the coming Autumn. I had a meeting with Mats, and it all became clearer to me :)

I will attempt to write 2 chapters in different anthologies (readers): One in a book called Bilden av Bergslagen (The image of Bergslagen), about the image that the Bergslagen area wants to create abroad, eg. in Dutch migrants' minds. The other in a book about space and place about local labour markets and the different conditions for immigrants to get a job, depending on variables such as country of origin, age, education, gender, and so on.

For both chapters, I will need access to Bergslagens Database (BeDa) at Statistics Sweden, in order to create a basic understanding of what's going on and what has been going on. I will also conduct interviews with key persons in different recruitment organisations (Region Dalarna, Invest in Värmland & Placement Utvikling) and municipalities (Smedjebacken, Hagfors and Hällefors).

Moreover, I will take part in 2 courses: the one about Geographical classics continues and a new course about Interview Methods starts. Add a number of conferences to this (in Umeå and Örebro - see for instance www.oru.se/cures2009), and my schedule is pretty full. . .

But first of all, in about two weeks time, we expect our first child! Exciting!