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Master's thesis Innovative governance and public management ME523 - University of Agder 2019 ; Developing schoolsexualityeducation policies is a complex matterdue to the controversial and politicized nature of sexuality. This thesisaims at understanding the development of institutional change in the presence of complex policy systems that involvemultiple actors in the policy process. To achieve this aim, itanalyses the actionsof an advocacy coalition that works to change sexuality education policies in Norway.The study adopts the Advocacy CoalitionFramework (ACF)for understanding the interconnections among the macro-level of the political and historicalcontext, the micro-level of the actor's motivationsand the meso-level ofcoalition's goals and strategies. Moreover, it supports the ACF with the Historical Institutionalism (HI) approach toexplain the struggle between the actors' effortsto achieve policy change and the persistence of cultural and political institutions.Through the conduction of interviews and the analysis of relevant policy documents, this study identified aclose interaction and co-dependence among differentelements of the political system. In implementing its strategy, the coalition encountered facilitating and hindering factors that determined the achievement of aslow incremental change. The advocacy coalition started and continuouslyinfluenced the change process through a strategy of knowledge production and sharingthat contributed inchangingattitudes and perception of policy participantson sexuality education.The active agency of the coalition's actors in creating arenas and channels of sharing and coordination facilitated the learning process. Nonetheless, fixed institutions and conflictsof interests hindered the achievement of a major policy change.Therefore, this thesis identifiesthe policy process as a complex interaction among different factors and elements that generate reciprocal influence and jointly determine the process' outcomes. Hence, the study concluded that the institutional setting is essential in determining rules and constraints for the actors.However,the active agency of policy participantscan strategically exploit the historicaland institutional setting for achieving the actors' goals.Keywords: Sexuality education, Norway, advocacy coalitions, institutional change, policy-learning, historical institutionalism

Dagens og middelalderens kriger er åpenbart forskjellige på en rekke felter - fra ideologi og teknologi til globalisering og statsutvikling. Hvorfor da sammenlikne dem? Fordi vår oppfatning av krig, at kriger er noe som utkjempes mellom stater, at de har en klar begynnelse og slutt og kan kontrasteres til en tilstand av fred, har vært preget av hvordan krig er blitt utkjempet de siste 3-400 år i Vesten. Men de siste 30 år har de aller færreste kriger vært statskriger, og de unndrar seg de motsetningene vi setter opp mellom krig og fred, soldater og sivile, soldater og kriminelle. For å forstå disse «nye krigene» kan sammenlikningen med middelalderen være relevant - altså perioden før staten ble dominerende. I middelalderen var kriger vanskelig å avgrense fra fred, og selv om konger førte kriger, var dette noe i prinsippet hele overklassen hadde rett til. Krig foregikk mindre som store slag og felttog, og mer som feider, plyndring og forhandlinger. I en verden der krigen har endret karakter fra de klassiske krigene som preget Vesten fra Trettiårskrigen til den andre verdenskrig, er det viktig å finne fram til nye forståelser og perspektiver på krigføring

De ti forfatterne er Stein Reegård, Jarle Trondal, Noralv Veggeland, Ole Gunnar Austvik, Bjørg Marit Andersen, Per Kristian Mydske, Per Halvor Vale, Torill Nyseth, Helene Bank og Dag O. Hessen. Temaene de skriver om er EUs Statsstøtteregel, den solbergske staten som reformstat, norsk energipolitikk, konsekvenser av helseforetaksreformen, regional styring. norsk landbrukspolitikk, New Public Management, miljøkrisa og Coronapandemie

Kosningaréttur er grundvallarréttur þegna í lýðræðisríkjum og þátttaka í kosningum álitin ein af mikilvægustu athöfnum borgaranna. Þó að þessi réttindi skuli tryggð öllum þegnum sýna alþjóðlegar rannsóknir að fatlað fólk er víða útilokað frá þátttöku í kosningum. Fatlað fólk er síður líklegt til að kjósa en ófatlað fólk og mætir iðulega ýmsum hindrunum ef það reynir að taka þátt í kosningum. Þessi grein fjallar um kosningaþátttöku fatlaðs fólks með hliðsjón af niðurstöðum alþjóðlegra rannsókna. Í upphafi eru raktar helstu hindranir í vegi kosningaþátttöku fatlaðs fólks og leitast við að svara hvaða áhrif þessar hindranir hafi, ekki aðeins fyrir fatlaða borgara, heldur jafnframt hvað það þýði fyrir heilbrigði lýðræðis og lýðræðislegra stofnana þegar hluti þegnanna mætir alvarlegum hindrunum varðandi borgaraleg grundvallarréttindi. Íslenskar rannsóknir á þessu sviði eru ekki fyrir hendi og engin skipuleg tölfræðileg gögn eru til varðandi þátttöku fatlaðs fólks í kosningum eða stjórnmálum hér á landi. Byggt á gögnum sem aflað var hjá tveimur fjölmennustu heildarsamtökum fatlaðs fólks hér á landi er rýnt í reynslu, aðstæður og möguleika fatlaðs fólks til þátttöku í kosningum á Íslandi, lagasetningar þar að lútandi og skyldur ríkisins til að stuðla að og tryggja þátttöku fatlaðs fólks í stjórnmálum og opinberu lífi, ekki síst í ljósi þess að Samningur Sameinuðu þjóðanna (SÞ) um réttindi fatlaðs fólks (SRFF) hefur verið fullgiltur hér á landi ; The right to vote is a fundamental right of citizenship in democratic nations, and participation in elections in one of the most important acts undertaken by citizens. Although these rights are guaranteed to all citizens, international research shows that disabled people are widely excluded from participation in elections. Disabled people are less likely to vote than non-disabled people and often encounter various obstacles when they try to participate in elections. This article discusses the voting participation of disabled people in consideration of the international research. The main barriers that disabled people encounter in the voting process will first be outlined. This will be followed by questions concerning the effects these obstacles produce, not only for disabled citizens, but what this means overall for the health of democracy and democratic institutions when a portion of the citizenry encounter serious obstacles concerning their basic civil rights. Icelandic research in this field is extremely limited and no systematic statistical data exists on the participation of disabled people in elections, or politics in general, in this country. Based on data drawn from sources from two of the largest disabled people's organization in the country, the focus here is on the experiences, circumstances and opportunities for disabled people to participate in elections in the country. The findings draw attention to the obligations of the state to promote and ensure the participation of disabled people in politics and public life in light of the recent ratification in Iceland of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) ; Peer Reviewed

Bakgrunn: Tillit som en del av sosial kapital er et viktig fundament for et helsefremmende og velfungerende samfunn. Til tross for at det i Norge generelt er høye nivåer av tillit og relativt små sosiale ulikheter i befolkningen, er det tidligere funnet forskjeller mellom ulike sosioøkonomiske grupper i grad av tillit. Det er derfor behov for mer kunnskap om nivået av tillit hos befolkningen, og hvordan tilliten fordeler seg. Formål: Å undersøke både grad av tillit til institusjoner (vertikal tillit) og generell tillit (horisontal tillit) i et utvalg av befolkningen i Østfold. Videre var et mål å undersøke om demografiske og sosioøkonomiske faktorer var assosiert med grad av tillit. Metode: Det ble benyttet data fra tverrsnittstudien "Oss i Øsfold 2019" utført av Østfold fylkeskommune, med et representativt utvalg (n=16 558) av befolkningen i Østfold i alderen 18-79 år. Assosiasjonen mellom de sosiodemografiske variablene kjønn, alder, utdanning og opplevd økonomisk situasjon, og grad av tillit, ble undersøkt ved hjelp av logistiske regresjonsanalyser. Institusjonene som ble undersøkt var helsevesenet, skolevesenet, NAV, kommunestyret, politiet, rettsvesenet og massemedia. Forskjeller mellom gruppene ble oppgitt ved odds ratio (OR). Resultater: For utvalget som helhet var helsevesenet den institusjonen flest hadde høy tillit til (83.0 %), mens færrest hadde høy tillit til massemedia (42.9 %). Det var 65.9 % av utvalget som oppga at de generelt hadde høy tillit til andre mennesker. Funnene viste at det var klare sosiodemografiske forskjeller i grad av tillit. Kvinner hadde høyere tillit til institusjoner og høyere generell tillit enn menn. Den generelle tilliten økte med alderen. Funnene viste også at utdanningsnivå og opplevd økonomisk situasjon var positivt assosiert med grad av både institusjonell- og generell tillit. Konklusjon: Det ble funnet en klar sosial gradient i forekomst av både vertikal og horisontal tillit. Dette er viktig å ta på alvor, da økende grad av mistillit kan føre til en utvikling som undergraver demokratiske verdier, og svekker den generelle viljen i samfunnet til å slutte opp om kollektive velferdsordninger. I Østfold kan det være behov for å ha et bevisst forhold til tillitsbyggende arbeid, for å generere sosial kapital som en viktig ressurs i samfunnet. Det bør fokuseres på strategier som sikrer høy sysselsetting, rettferdig inntektsfordeling og gode velferdsordninger. I tillegg, kan det være behov for målrettede tiltak mot grupper med lav sosioøkonomisk posisjon. ; Background: Trust as a part of social capital is an important foundation for a healthpromoting and well-functioning society. Even though there are generally high levels of trust in Norway and relatively small social inequalities in the population, differences between socio-economic groups in levels of trust have been found in previous research. There is therefore a need for more knowledge about the levels of trust among the population, and how trust is distributed. Aim: To study the levels of trust in public institutions (vertical trust) and general trust (horizontal trust) within a representative sample of the population in Østfold aged 18-79 years. Furthermore, examine whether demographic (gender and age) and socioeconomic (education level and economic situation) factors are associated with levels of trust. Method: Data from the cross-sectional study "Oss i Østfold 2019", conducted by the county municipality Østfold was used, with a representative sample (n=16 558) of the population of Østfold. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine whether the sociodemographic variables gender, age, education and perceived economic self-sufficiency were associated with levels of trust. The institutions examined were the healthcare system, the school system, NAV (Social Security office), the municipal council, the police, the legal system and the media. Differences between the groups were measured using odds ratio (OR). Results: Overall, the majority in the sample had high levels of trust in the healthcare system (83.0 %). Fewest in the analysed sample had high levels of trust in the media (42.9 %). 65.9 % of the sample reported high levels of general trust in other people. The findings showed significant sociodemographic factors in terms of trust. The women in the study had higher institutional and general trust, than the male participants. Horizontal trust increased with the age. Education level and perceived economic self-sufficiency were positively associated with the degree of both institutional trust and general trust. Conclusion: A clear social gradient was found in the incidence of both vertical and horizontal trust. It is important to take this seriously, as an increase of distrust can lead to a development that undermines democratic values and reduces the general will in society to support collective welfare schemes. In Østfold there may be a need for a conscious approach to trustbuilding work, in order to generate social capital as an important resource in society. Strategies that focus on high employment, economic equality and good welfare schemes should be in focus. In addition, these findings may imply that targeted measures to build trust in low socio-economic groups are needed. ; M-FOL

This article presents findings from two qualitative research studies on readers' emotional reactions and empathy towards literary texts. Participants were presented with two fragments from novels by Vigdís Grímsdóttir and then asked about their reactions. In the first study, 20 participants were asked to read a fragment from the novel Þögnin(2000) and half of the participants had some kind of a musical education and the other half with no background in music. Interestingly, having a musical background impacted reactions differently than what was expected. As a result, a second study was carried out where the reactions of visual artists (10) were compared to non-artists (10) to a fragment from the novel Þegar stjarna hrapar (2003). Both novels contain information specific to music (Þögnin) or visual arts (Þegar stjarna hrapar). Cognitive science methods, such as the schema theory, will be used to explain how readers of diverse backgrounds react differently to the same text. This approach also illustrates how useful qualitative methods can be in studying topics beyond only the content of the text.

Afstaða Íslendinga til öryggismála hefur lítið verið rannsökuð frá því í lok kalda stríðsins. Í þessari grein eru kynntar niðurstöður könnunar um afstöðu til og hugmyndir um utanríkis- og öryggismál, en Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ vann könnunina í nóvember og desember 2016. Niðurstöður könnunarinnar eru settar í samhengi við þróun í öryggisfræðum, þá sérstaklega öryggisgeira (e. security sectors) verufræðilegt öryggi (e. ontological security) og öryggisvæðingu (e. securitization). Helstu niðurstöður eru að almenningur á Íslandi telur öryggi sínu helst stafa ógn af efnahagslegum og fjárhagslegum óstöðugleika og náttúruhamförum, en telur litlar líkur á því að hernaðarátök eða hryðjuverkaárásir snerti landið beint. Þessar niðurstöður eru í takmörkuðu samræmi við helstu áherslur stjórnvalda í öryggismálum og því mikilvægt að stjórnvöld átti sig á því hvernig hægt er að tryggja það að almenningur sé meðvitaður um þær forsendur sem áhættumat og öryggisstefna grundvallast á. ; Icelanders' views on security and foreign affairs since the end of the Cold War are an understudied issue. This article presents the findings of a large scale survey on the position and ideas about foreign affairs and security. The survey was conducted by the Social Science Research Institute of the University of Iceland in November and December 2016. The results of the survey are placed in the context of developments in security studies, with an emphasis on security sectors, ontological security, and securitization. The main findings are that the Icelandic public believes that its security is most threatened by economic and financial instability, as well as natural hazards, but thinks there is a very limited chance of military conflict or terrorist attacks directly affecting the country. These findings are incongruent with the main emphases of Icelandic authorities, as they appear in security policy and political discourse. It is therefore important that the authorities understand how to engage with the public about the criteria upon which risk assessments and security policies are based. ; Peer Reviewed

The article initially addresses the novel Kata by Steinar Bragi in the context of genre and asks to what extent it aligns itself with the crime novel, in particular the more recent brand of the crime novel wherein social issues are placed at the forefront. The point is made that Kata diverges in some important respects from even the most radical of critiques found within the parameters of the crime genre, in that it suspends the very concepts that usually ground such narratives (justice, right, and crime) and comes to the conclusion that the widespread social acceptance of violence against women delegitimizes the entire edifice of Western thinking on social justice. It is here that the article looks towards Louis Althusser's theorization 149of ideological and oppressive state apparatuses, while shifting their object from the class struggle to gender relations. Althusser's concepts are employed to shed light on the ideology that supports and enables violence against women in contemporary societies, and how the reverse of the oppressive function of the state, that is, state leniency and disinterest in prosecuting sex crimes, or creating the environment in which they are unlikely to be reported, are taken up in the novel, thematized, and in turn, fuel the rage of the protagonist. Finally, a question is raised as to the signific-ance of the fact that a novel about female rage and disempowerment is written by a male author.