Fafo news archive

Leaving the past behind?

12 December 2007
Fafo researcher Anette Brunovskis (pictured) has conducted a project about victims of trafficking in co-operation with Rebecca Surtees at NEXUS Institute in Vienna. An increasingly noted trend has been that many identified victims decline the assistance offered to them, and, to date, little systematic knowledge has been available on why this is so. The report Leaving the past behind? brings interviews with victims of trafficking and street prostitutes as well as anti-trafficking actors, in Albania, Moldova and Serbia. Read more and download the report

Returning to uncertainty?

10 December 2007
The report 'Returning to uncertainty? Adressing vulnerabilities in Northern Uganda", conducted by Fafo on behalf of UNDP and the Office of the Prime Minister Uganda, was launched Friday December 7, 2007 at The Imperial Royal Hotel, Kampala. The event was chaired by the Chairman of Kitgum District Mr. Ogwok John Komakech, and the opening programme included statements by the UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Theophane Nikyema, the Honorable David Wakikoona, Minister of State for Northern Uganda, and Mr. Gjermund Sæther from the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Kampala. Following these initial remarks, a summary of the report was presented by the Fafo researchers Morten Bøås and Anne Hatløy. Comments to this summary was given by Professor Callistus Baliddawa (Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Gulu University) and the Honorable Norbert Mao, Chairman of Gulu District. Thereafter the floor was opened for questions and comments from the 200 plus audience that in addition to representatives of Government, and national and international organisations, also included the chairmen from all the six districts in the north covered by the study. Download the report Download the presentation In the press: The New Vision, Sunday Monitor, AllAfrica

Productivity Puzzles - should employee participation be an issue?

3 December 2007
Fafo researcher Torunn Kvinge (pictured) and Bjørne Grimsrud have published an article in Nordic Journal of Political Economy where they review econometric efforts aiming to identify whether employee participation adds to productivity growth. The overall picture is mixed. Participation may lead to significant but not substantial higher productivity. The theoretical predictions, pointing to the importance of institutional setting and a need to establish quality cooperation and long-term commitment from both management and workers, seem to be supported by the empirical results. An emerging hypothesis is that both the intensity of involvement and a combination of involvement, economic rewards and participation in decisions significantly influence productivity. Read the article

Iraqis in Jordan: Their number and characteristics

15 November 2007
Since the start of the war in Iraq, increasing numbers of Iraqi nationals have left their homes to take up residence in neighboring countries. Various estimates of the numbers of Iraqis in Jordan have been put forward, with some as high as one million. To determine the number and characteristics of the Iraqis in Jordan, Fafo in cooperation with Department of Statistics in Jordan, carried out a living conditions survey. The sample survey estimates Iraqis at 161,000, but other sources are also consulted and presented in the report. The survey reveals that Iraqis in Jordan are well educated and that few have employment relying mainly on savings and transfers from Iraq for their livelihood. While two out of five plan to return to Iraq when the security situation allows, one in five have plans to emigrate to a third country. More information, results from the survey and details on the methods can be found here.

On the 13th of November the Jordanian government and Fafo held a joint press conference where findings on the number and characteristics of Iraqis in Jordan were presented. The picture shows Kristin Dalen, Jon Pedersen and Dr. Gazi Shbaikat (head of DoS) at the press conference. Source of photo: (Petra)

Learning and work

7 November 2007
Schematically but with a scent of truth, learning and work used to belong in separate categories. In an attempt to understand learning at work, warnings are issued that learning is too important to be left to educational institutions and in-house training departments. Summarising findings from training projects in Norwegian process industries and sharpened by comments from fellows at the 2006 European Conference on Educational Research, a new paper Fafo researcher Odd Bjørn Ure (pictured) discusses interactions between learning environments in Vocational Education and Training. It places the findings within the theoretical discourse on learning&work and closes with some implications for policies in Vocational Education and Training, notably in terms of validating prior learning experiences. In addition, some implications for policies on disseminating and transferring experiences from training projects are outlined. Download the paper