[RESEARCH]

Medical emergency call centres

Research on medical emergency call centres (AMK centres) has been one of my main interests since 1995 when this unit of the health sector by coincidence ended up being my main empirical base for my doctoral degree (dr.polit 1997). Later I have done some follow-up work financed by KoKom (AMK-forskning 2000). I am still doing a lot of writing on the topic and several publications are in review.


Electronic health records, health informatics and telemedicine

At
NTNU, we have been developing interdisciplinary research about EPR in the projects KVALIS and MOBEL and has been rewarded with a national research centre for EPR at the university: NSEP. NSEP will run from 2004 until 2009 and is mainly aimed at advanced research within health informatics, as well as core academic fields such as informatics, sociology and medicine, to make possible better electronic patient records. I am also involved in more telemedicine-related projects by my engagement as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the National Centre for Telemedicine in Tromsų.


The patient role in the 'technologicalised' health services

This research interest is related to medical sociology, as a critical perspective on medicine and health. Questions include the potential of medicalisation because of use of new technologies, the new 'digital patient' role, the technological momentum in medicine, the development of
bioethics, and so on. As basically a more theoretical interest, it is aimed at developing reflections on the topic. I am working on a edited book in Norwegian on this topic.


Music technologies

As a musician and composer, as well as a sociologist, I have developed a research project a few years ago aiming at a better understanding of the influence of technology in music-making. Based on perspectives from science and technology studies, I am developing some perspectives that make sense both within sociology and musicology (fairly ambitious, OK, but at least there are publications in review). Included in this interest is a project on music technology and social work among youth, together with
ISAK.


Urban sociology

Very much in favor of ethnographic research methods and influenced by thoughts from the
Chicago School of Sociology, I am have since 2005 been developing research on urban life. In the first instance it is concentrated around student housing, experimental dwelling, perspectives on community and neighbourhood, and domestication of public and semipublic spaces. Within this research topic I collaborate with the Department of Architectural Design NTNU and the Housing Section of Trondheim Municipality.