Suchergebnisse

Continued unsustainability and surpassed planetary boundaries require not only scientific and technological advances, but deep and enduring social and cultural changes. The purpose of this article is to contribute a theoretical approach to understand conditions and constraints for societal change towards sustainable development. In order to break with unsustainable norms, habits, practices, and structures, there is a need for learning for transformation, not only adaption. Based on a critical literature review within the field of learning for sustainable development, our approach is a development of the concept of transformative learning, by integrating three additional dimensions—Institutional Structures, Social Practices, and Conflict Perspectives. This approach acknowledges conflicts on macro, meso, and micro levels, as well as structural and cultural constraints. It contends that transformative learning is processual, interactional, long-term, and cumbersome. It takes place within existing institutions and social practices, while also transcending them. The article adopts an interdisciplinary social science perspective that acknowledges the importance of transformative learning in order for communities, organizations, and individuals to be able to deal with global sustainability problems, acknowledging the societal and personal conflicts involved in such transformation.

This paper aims at documenting the experience of the Environmental Research Center at the Royal Scientific Society in stakeholder participation in greywater management (treatment and reuse) in the rural communities in the northeastern Badia of Jordan. Stakeholders participating in the management process included local people, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, governmental authorities, scientists and experts from universities and research institutions. The local stakeholders committee, NGOs, CBOs and local people have participated in capacity-building programs, data collection, situation analysis, problems identification, selection of types and locations of treatment technologies and construction and operation of treatment units and reuse projects. Experts, scientists and governmental entities contributed to the development of a treatment technology selection matrix and identification the best technology that suits the study area. The study reveals that the incorporation of input from a broad range of sectors and stakeholders during the project insured cooperative management of the greywater resources and enhanced project quality and ownership.

Den här avhandlingen undersöker vilken inverkan styrning som "governance" och interorganisatorisk samverkan har på lokala integrationsprogram inom det svenska flyktingmottagandet. Fokus ligger på att studera hur organisationer på lokal nivå förhåller sig till ett institutionellt förändringstryck om att etablera ett interorganisatoriskt och arbetsmarknadsinriktat program. Syftet är också att bidra till den teoretiska förståelsen av "governancemisslyckanden" och den mångfald av processer som styrning genom icke-tvingande mekanismer och decentraliserat beslutsfattande kan ge upphov till på lokal nivå. Den empiriska studien bygger på intervjuer med företrädare för myndigheter och andra aktörer på olika nivåer inom integrationsområdet. Fallstudier av lokalt utvecklingsarbete har genomförts i fyra kommuner. Avhandlingen visar att styrningen baserad på icke-tvingande mekanismer hade svårt att få genomslag när den stod i konflikt med etablerade arbetssätt och professionella normer. Den har också inneburit vaga och svårförenliga riktlinjer för arbetet på lokal nivå. Inom det lokala flyktingmottagandet har utvecklingsarbetet karaktäriserats av erfarenhetsutbyte, jämförelser och en vilja till gemensamt lärande inom ramen för professionella nätvek. Denna typ av samverkan har bidragit till ökad likformighet, eller isomorfism, inom de lokala insatserna, vilket står i kontrast till målet om ett mer differentierat och flexibelt program. ; This thesis examines the impact and significance of governance and inter-organizational collaboration in the policy area of local refugee reception and immigrant integration in Sweden. The study focuses on how local actors respond to institutional pressures to engage in collaborative efforts in order to make service provision more differentiated and more orientated towards employment. The aim also is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of 'governance failure' and the multiplicity of outcomes that are possible when non-coercive mechanisms are applied rather than formal 'command-and-control'. The empirical study is based on interviews with representatives from agencies involved at different levels. At the local level, case studies of integration programme development were carried out in four municipalities. The analysis shows that the governance strategies, based on non-coercive mechanisms, had a limited significance because they were in conflict with professional norms and practices at the local level of service provision. They also failed to provide more detailed guidance on how the differentiated services should be realized in practice. Instead, programme development at the local level was characterized by collaborative learning and imitation in professional networks, or 'communities of practice'. This type of collaboration contributed to processes of increased homogenization, or isomorphism, which stands in contrast to the goal of a more de-standardized and flexible programme.

In a world of permanent change, traditional language teaching methods do not solve the communicative needs in foreign languages ​​that favor knowledge and adaptation to changing educational contexts. The CLIL method is widely used to develop skills both in the learning language and in other areas of knowledge, it allows for the strengthening of teaching capacities to assume the teaching of contents of the different subjects in a foreign language. The objective of this bibliographic review is to collect significant and existing information on the CLIL method and contribution of this method in the educational field. The documentary descriptive approach of recent research related to the subject of study is used, based on the theoretical foundations of bilingual education. The literature review shows that by teaching the foreign language as a vehicle to instruct content from other subjects, students understand the need to learn the language to seize the knowledge of the subject and allows teachers to explore their own teaching context, reflect and identify factors that can improve their teaching practice, especially in the inclusion of writing activities in English.

The current situation in the field of education demands teachers who are capable of functioning in new learning scenarios where the possibilities offered by ICT for information acquisition and communication processes are enormous. In this sense, it is necessary to have postgraduate programs that contribute to the development of digital skills in teachers. The main purpose of this work is to propose the curricular design for a Master's program in Education, Mention in Management of Learning Mediated by ICT, offered by Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo in Ecuador. For this, a qualitative research was undertaken in order to characterize and determine the most important features of each module of the curriculum. A documentary research design was applied through the PICOC method (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Context). The result of this work was a curricular mesh that consists of 12 study modules wherein aspects such as: digital literacy for the new society were addressed; didactics in new digital environments; the design and development of content and digital resources for learning; new ways of learning and innovating in education; as well as research in educational technology.

The aim of the overview article is to encircle a research field focusing the role of local government in the Swedish national climate protection policy. First, the policy area of climate protection is historically identified as a part of a third generation policy areas. Secondly, relating to contemporary governance literature some steering measurements are presented. There is thus an increasing steering complexity containing hierarchical, market-based & network based steering. Thirdly, the role of local government is discussed in terms of reasons for engaging or not engaging in climate protection work. Political, institutional, financial & professional aspects are considered important in order to explain variations in municipal climate protection activities. Finally some research questions are put forth, such as how & why municipal leaders are handling uncertainty in certain ways, municipal leaders as network managers & local climate protection policy-making & implementation from perspectives of learning & democracy. References. Adapted from the source document.

Design science research was used for the generation, use and evaluation of a model for knowledge sharing in the user community through open educational resources (OER). The focus of interest was on the development process of a model for knowledge sharing that emphasizes the characteristics and the needs of the user community; the empowerment and democratic issues of openness; the collaboration between institutions and dialog with society; and the consideration of quality and sustainability issues. Initially, the community needs were analyzed through surveys and workshops, and the findings used, through negotiations, to formulate the development process. An open-training platform served as an infrastructure and included a repository with OER, a wiki and a discussion forum. The purpose of this article is an attempt to provide universities with a plan and template for integrated knowledge sharing that responds to societal needs. Usability and usefulness has not been evaluated. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PerOla Oberg, from the University of Uppsala, who is the vice-chairman for the Federation of Political Science, currently engaged in changing the structure of their yearly meeting. This includes attracting more established scientists & advanced graduate students, planning workshops with more focused topics, & giving prizes for promising and novel presentations. Adapted from the source document.

The thesis deals with responsibilities and social interactions in auditing political accountability in Swedish municipalities and regions. Can local audit institutions and their practices help to strengthen democratic leadership and responsibility? Case-studies have been performed in ten municipalities, one county council and one regional unit across Sweden during the period 2003 to 2007. They were selected with regard to variation in size, political majority and through informed observers' knowledge of their auditing strategies and structures. Documents describing their audit institution were also used in the selection process. The regional political unit is an innovation in public sector organization in Sweden. It comprises many municipalities in several earlier county councils forged into one regional politico-administrative unit, mainly concerned with citizens' healthcare. All political units in the study have democratically elected bodies and are legally similarly state regulated. The field-studies started with interviews in the audit institutions of municipalities and regions. The responsible politically elected auditors have repeatedly been interviewed throughout the period of research to ascertain developments. Questions have been asked about how they select challenges to be audited, their use of and experience with professional auditors and their relations with the political bodies and professional organizations in their municipalities and regions. Documents from the audit institutions have been perused and their use in formal, political decision-making pursued and registered. The results of the study show that auditing processes have impact on the organizing of services in the researched political units. But it differs, and is significantly related to local practices of organizing processes. More successful are organized when audit institutions relate well to professionals in services, invite them to participate as equals in auditing dialogs. It creates learning, for auditors as well as for responsible persons in the services. Important is also that municipal auditing is supported by legitimate political bodies and get the resources to contract professional advice by relevant external actors. This is not always the case, either for lack of asking for it or lack of political understanding of the necessity of learning by auditing. Successful auditing practices, in the complex organization of very specialized production of local welfare for citizens, depend on the leadership capability and legitimacy of political auditors to create trust and motive for specialists to engage in common endeavors, organized across, what Max Weber calls, 'iron cages' of bureaucratic organization. The democratic ethos of welfare states demands that resources politically are reserved for the 'have-nots' rather than for the 'haves'. Due to centralized 'iron cages', the general principles of welfare states today cannot cope with this localization. Since the 1970s, it has become the remit of welfare municipalities and regions. In Sweden 'have-nots' usually have multiple needs. An auditing focus on the 'have-nots', in line with the democratic ethos of welfare states, signifies more successful auditing practices. Auditors know 'for whom or what' they audit and are able to organize and motivate so that specialized, bureaucratic organizations combine their competences and skills. The results of the investigation show that auditing in few researched units are high on the learning curve of competent, inter-organizational political accountability. Several are moving upwards, but most are on the lower end on the curve.

The book deals with the rise of the professional medical field in Sweden during Middle Ages to 1990s with special focus on the professions which have been active in the field, doctors, nurses and biomedical analysts (previous laboratory assistants). Often books about professions focus on one profession or one important institution but there are none covering the wider professional medical field over time.;The analysis of the professional field departs from acknowledging the social processes which are profound in the development of professional knowledge, power and social order. Why has the medical profession such high status? How come that certain professions have powers over others? What kind of professional knowledge does the medical science contribute with? These are some of the questions this book is aiming to answer, using theory from the tradition of sociology of professions. ;The book gives an overview of the development of the Swedish state and the healthcare system in particular. In addition, it analyses how early organizational traditions, social mobilization and the creation of a common cognitive base both stimulate and limit opportunities for occupations and their professionalization within the field. It contributes to a deepened knowledge about professions which extends the everyday meaning of an occupation. Potential readers are researchers within sociology of professions, university students and professionals within the medical field who have interest in professions and power structures.

"To analyze the emergence of a professional field means to understand the social processes that take place in the formation of professions in society such as. knowledge, power and social order. Why does the medical profession have such a high status? How come some professions have power over others? What does medical science contribute to professional knowledge? These are some of the questions that this book seeks to answer through a professional sociological analysis.
The book is about the growth and professionalization of the Swedish medical field from the Middle Ages to the 1990s, with a focus on three of its professions that have been active there, namely doctors, nurses and biomedical analysts (former laboratory assistants). Books about professions often focus on a profession or an important institution, but there is no book that describes the larger social professional medical field over time.
By becoming aware of the field-specific change and development processes and their inertia, one understands that change is very slow and that there are many parameters that must work in the same direction for a real change to take place and be noticed. Other important insights are that the professions themselves are not so strong and dynamic, but that they are dependent on opportunities being opened and closed by external forces, in many cases without their intervention. The book sheds light on how to understand the world around you in a new way, with a critical holistic perspective and with terminology that can help to put into words what is experienced."