| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Cregård, Anna, 1971, et al.
(författare)
-
Dissemination of Environmental Information and its Effects on Stakeholders’ Decision-Making: A Comparative Study between Swedish and Polish Municipalities
- 2018
-
Ingår i: The NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy. - Bratislava : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1337-9038 .- 1338-4309. ; :2, s. 9-47
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- According to Action Agenda 21, which was adopted at the Rio Conference in 1992, sustainable development is a major objective for local and global development. Eco- nomic growth, good living conditions, and protection of the earth’s natural environ- ment are important to all people in the world. Th is article focuses on one aspect of sustainable development, i.e. on environmental sustainability. Research shows that local government can take a leading position in protecting the natural environment and disseminating information on it among stakeholders. However, our knowledge about the dissemination of environmental information practices among stakehold- ers is limited. Th e purpose of this research is to fi ll a gap in current knowledge, to describe and compare the practical work with dissemination of such information among stakeholders in Swedish and Polish municipalities . Th e questions to be answered are: What environmental information is collected and produced by the local government ? At what stakeholders is such information targeted ? and What eff ects does it have on decision-making by stakeholders in the investigated municipalities ? Th e study is based on state regulations, the homepages of municipal offi ces, and policy documents, offi cial reports, and semi-structured interviews with key managers responsible for the protection of the natural environment in the studied municipalities. Data were collected from late 2015 to early 2017. Th is research indicates that dissemination of environmental information has a positive eff ect on the decision-making of internal stakeholders. In both countries, the municipal authorities follow the EU recommendations, resulting in innovative work and growing environmental awareness among the municipal authorities, the residents, and other stakeholders. Improvement of the natural environment is per- ceived as “a must” for the future. Nonetheless, especially larger municipalities face challenges because the production and dissemination of environmental informa- tion is time-consuming. In the long run, however, surprisingly positive eff ects on the local protection of the natural environment appear.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- de Vries, Michiel, et al.
(författare)
-
Reluctant Reforms: The Case of Kazakhstan
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Public Organization Review. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1566-7170 .- 1573-7098. ; 14:2, s. 139-157
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates what happens during reluctant reforms in which normative imperatives conflict with self-interest. In the literature one of the expected outcomes is hypocrisy. However, the claim of hypocrisy is a strong one and needs backing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate on the basis of which indicators such claims can be warranted and whether these indicators are found in the case of reforms in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The common thread in the literature about hypocrisy is the point of inconsistency. Inconsistency in two ways: in the case of reforms to claim to induce huge changes, while resulting in nominal reforms, not changing anything; and inconsistency in the reactions to and opinions about such changes showing ‘differential judgments according to contexts’. This is investigated for the reforms in Kazakhstan with regard to promoting democracy and protecting human rights during the last decade. The analysis argues that these reforms as well as the international reactions do possess all the elements indicative for hypocrisy. At the end the implications for research on reforms are discussed.
|
|
| 5. |
- de Vries, Michiel S., et al.
(författare)
-
Bracketing Democracy: A Comparison of Frames Used to Demarcate Democracy and Its Application to Developments in Poland
- 2022
-
Ingår i: East European Politics and Societies. - : SAGE Publications. - 0888-3254 .- 1533-8371. ; 36:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2020 Sage Publications. This paper proposes a framework to analyze the varying understanding of democratic developments. Based on the theory of frame-analysis, it distinguishes six brackets within which democratic developments can be interpreted. This framework is applied to identify the nature of international rankings of domestic democracy and to compare the framing of developments in Polish democracy in reports on democratic developments from international organizations. The conclusion is that sense-making of democratic developments in general varies enormously, and that this is also visible in the international rankings of democracy. Democratic developments in Poland are also assessed in different ways, resulting in varying claims about the nature of the developments in Poland.
|
|
| 6. |
- de Vries, M. S., et al.
(författare)
-
The Potential Capacity of Hamlets: Comparative Research on Small European Municipalities
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Central European Public Administration Review. - : University of Ljubljana. - 2591-2240 .- 2591-2259. ; 17:1, s. 199-220
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main theories on small municipalities and the practices as seen in many a country involving the consolidation thereof presume that the contextual and structural conditions under which small municipalities have to perform work to their detriment and pose a threat to their viability. However, the institutional and human resource conditions in which small municipalities operate might work both ways, being profitable as well as disadvantageous. This paper investigates what is theoretically known and can be empirically deduced about the capacity of small municipalities in Europe. The conclusion is that existing research is inconclusive in its outcomes regarding the actual capacity of so-called hamlets and that existing data related to local capacity are unfit to measure such among these small municipalities. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that although no conclusions can be drawn on the actual capacity of small municipalities, their potential capacity is significant. This is concluded based on their legal protection, their inclination to focus on a limited number of policy areas, their access to central and regional decision-making, and especially the trust they receive from their residents.
|
|
| 7. |
- de Vries, Michiel S, et al.
(författare)
-
Trust in the Local Administration: A Comparative Study between Capitals and Non-Capital Cities in Europe
- 2018
-
Ingår i: NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1337-9038 .- 1338-4309. ; 11:1, s. 209-228
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Often a distinction is made between interpersonal and institutional trust, as the former is defined in terms of encapsulated interests, that is the idea that somebody will take your interests into account. Scholars have argued that this cannot be applied to institutions and that generalized institutional trust is therefore not a meaningful concept. This article disputes this reasoning by distinguishing this kind of trust in the governance of capital cities from such trust in non-capital cities. It argues that it can be doubted especially for the local administration in capital cities that they predominantly have the interests of their residents in mind when making decisions. The resulting hypothesis that residents of capital cities have less trust in their local administration than residents of non-capital cities is tested and confirmed through a secondary analysis of Urban Audit data. The analysis shows a significant effect in the predicted direction, which remains strong when controlling for the satisfaction with public issues, the respective region, and poverty of the respondent. The conclusion is that citizens in municipalities do know whether or not local institutions have their interests in mind when making decisions, which makes institutional trust equally meaningful a concept as interpersonal trust.
|
|
| 8. |
- Holmberg, Christopher, 1984, et al.
(författare)
-
Job satisfaction among Swedish mental health nursing personnel: Revisiting the two-factor theory
- 2018
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. - : Wiley. - 1445-8330 .- 1447-0349. ; 27:2, s. 581-592
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Swedish mental health-care services are experiencing a critical shortage of nursing personnel. Researchers suggest that this shortage is due to low levels of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is frequently studied with the assistance of Herzberg's two-factor theory, and this theory has foremost been explored with studies using quantitative methods. The purpose of the present study was to provide a better understanding of Herzberg's theory in relation to job satisfaction among Swedish mental health nursing personnel within inpatient psychiatric care while using qualitative methodology. This explorative study was based on semistructured interviews with 25 nursing personnel. Qualitative content analysis of interview transcripts identified three main categories: (i) respondents' perception of their work duties, which was perceived as important, meaningful, and demanding; (ii) respondents' relations with colleagues and supervisors, which provided valuable support in everyday work; and (iii) the way the respondents experienced their professional role as mental health nurses, which was described as unclear and vague. Job satisfaction primarily stemmed from working for patients and with other professionals, but their perceived limited progression of responsibilities discouraged a career in the profession. Herzberg's theory proved useful in exploring job satisfaction in this setting, but the findings partly contradict the basic tenets of the theory. Career advancements and incentives, such as salary and compensation, were perceived as lacking, which negatively influenced job satisfaction. Ward managers should establish clinical ladder programmes to recognize and motivate the continuing professional development of nurses. This needs to be coupled with monetary incentives, and linked with increased clinical authority.
|
|
| 9. |
- Holmberg, Christopher, 1984, et al.
(författare)
-
Job Satisfaction Among Swedish Mental Health Nursing Staff: A Cross-Sectional Survey
- 2016
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Public Administration. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0190-0692 .- 1532-4265. ; 39:6, s. 429-436
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is limited amount of empirical studies concerning job satisfaction in inpatient psychiatric care. However, job satisfaction has several implications on public administration and management. The objective of this study is to identify factors having positive impact on job satisfaction among Swedish psychiatric nursing staff in an inpatient psychiatric clinic. The cross-sectional study is based on Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. The survey was distributed among nursing staff at a psychiatric university hospital clinic in Western Sweden. Overall, job satisfaction was rated relatively high, and salary was rated the lowest of all factors investigated. Unlike the premises in Herzberg’s theory, salary showed a positive correlation with job satisfaction and not only in preventing dissatisfaction. Hospital managers must be attentive to salary levels and staff turnover. Psychiatric nursing personnel in Sweden lack competitive salaries, and hospital administrators should encourage nursing staff to improve relationships between staff and managers and establish good relationships among colleagues.
|
|
| 10. |
- Kling, Staffan, 1961, et al.
(författare)
-
Public reforms in upper secondary schools, Sweden 1991-2017
- 2017
-
Ingår i: NORKOM XXVI Kommunforskarkonferens. Reykjavik: 1-2 december.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The general idea of public reform is to improve a situation at hand. Literature in this research field has documented that public reforms have plenty of magnificent aims e.g., to make government work better, to save money, to increase efficiency and effectiveness, to address a pressing problem, to improve service delivery, to achieve better leadership, to establish deregulation, decentralization and devolution etc. This article focuses on the Swedish reforms of upper secondary schools during the period of 1991-2017, the reforms conducted in the spirit of New Public Management (NPM). Municipalisation of upper secondary school have been perceived by the Swedish political decision-makers as a remedial measure to run education, when the state government could not manage the financial crisis of 1980s and early 1990s. However, this municipalisation has caused some unintended consequences. According to Program for International Student Assessment -PISA (2015), the performance of the Swedish pupils from upper secondary school in science, reading and mathematics proved surprisingly low, under the OECD average, which suggests that the Swedish upper secondary school is in a crisis. Moreover, the reform of educational system has generated additional problems. Thus, the purpose of this article is mapping: What do we know about the NPM reforms within the field of the Swedish upper secondary schools since 1991? What kind of knowledge about the Swedish upper secondary schools is still missing and should be developed in the nearest future? With assistance of Roland Almqvist’s (2006) understanding for NPM movement, which consists of three theoretical perspectives, we propose a literature study to answer the research questions. We argue that most studies about the Swedish reforms of upper secondary school since 1991 point to their negative effects on students’ performance, quality of teaching, teachers’ professionalism but even on students’ segregation and their unequal opportunities for carrier making. Despite all research done, we don’t know what kind of upper secondary school in Sweden represent the best practice for the future.
|
|
