A current challenge that Sweden is handling is the amount of food loss and food waste. One way to reuse food waste efficiently is to convert it to feed for insects. Studies have shown that insects such as black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) and yellow mealworms (Tenebrio militor) are the most promising insects to be used as feed, since they can be provided food waste. Furthermore, these insects have a high protein and amino acid content, which can compete with conventional feed. However, one challenge is the legislation, which does not allow food waste to be given to production animals, including insects. This study aimed to identify factors that affect the development of using insects as feed in poultry and pig production in Sweden. A flexible research design was used in this study, where both qualitative and quantitative data were used. An exploratory case study as a method with an abductive approach was furthermore the method choice of this study. The data gathering consisted essentially of semi-structured interviews and, secondarily, a survey. The survey was carried to collect hints of attitudes and opinions about insects as feed among potential consumers. The results showed that most of the respondents from the interviews were optimistic about transforming insects into a feed. It can possibly reduce the environmental impact connected to soy and fishmeal. The insects, black soldier fly and yellow mealworm were considered to take waste managers' role. Still, caution should be taken as to which substrate to use as feed for the insects. There were also split opinions between researchers about whether the black soldier fly or yellow mealworm is the best option for being transformed into a feed. There are concerns about using black soldier fly because it is not a domestic species. Furthermore, yellow mealworms might not be viewed as waste managers depending on how food waste is defined. Other concerns are that it will be challenging to identify and eliminate virus outbreaks from a circular system. Therefore, an essential characteristic of insects is that they function as a species barrier. The results made it clear that feed is rarely discussed in politics. Interest is required from politicians for this to end up on the political agenda. Furthermore, a large-scale production with an automated system is needed to lower the cost. The conclusions from this study are that stakeholders are optimistic about insects as feed. Environmental and social benefits, such as reduced food waste and insects' being a species barrier. Previous studies and our study show that it is mainly preferred to provide insects as feed for fish and poultry as they are part of their natural diet. Since population growth and increased prosperity are on the horizon, and poultry is prospected to be highly demanded, it can be beneficial to invest in poultry production to release pressure on future generations.
This report is based on the results obtained from two questionnaire studies carried out during 1999 and 2007. The aim of the studies is to increase our knowledge about the attitudes and approach of the police to traffic safety work and how these attitudes have changed with time. In the first study 729 randomly chosen police officers completed the questionnaire and in the second 1,022. The results show that the basic attitude among the police towards traffic surveillance has become more positive. The attitudes towards the directives from the governing bodies and their ability to participate in decision making have improved slightly from the first measurement to the second measurement. However, it is characteristic that a fairly large proportion still is dissatisfied with the same. The attitude of the police towards their own reporting of accidents has not changed appreciably at all. On the other hand, the understanding that a certain amount of statistics shall be reported is slightly greater in 2007 than in 1999. The attitudes towards automatic surveillance have strongly improved although a well-visible policeman is still advocated. The need to reinforce the surveillance of professional traffic is considered to be greater in 2007 than in 1999. According to the police, the attitude amongst the public towards speeding offences has become more negative than it was before. Nevertheless, a relatively high proportion still believes that it is a relatively minor offence. In 2006, the tolerance level for speeding offences was lowered at the same time as the fines for traffic offences were raised markedly. The results of the questionnaire show that the police are neutral towards whether or not these measures will influence the public's acceptance of the traffic safety work, which could indicate that they have not yet defined their attitude regarding the question. More than half of all police officers in 2007 do not believe that the public are aware of the possibility of having a time for consideration with respect to the acceptance of a fine for a breach of regulations. Finally the results show that in 2007, more controls were carried out than before. The most important conclusions that can be drawn from these results are that the police have developed a more positive attitude towards the traffic safety work and that, at the same time, more traffic controls are being carried out. But there are also many who still do not feel that they are able to influence their work. Furthermore, many are dissatisfied with the governing body's directives regarding traffic safety work. Such a dissatisfaction can influence the psycho-social work environment and the motivation for carrying out good work, but concretely the results show that such a dissatisfaction influences, both directly and indirectly, how many traffic controls one carries out.
Authors stress that farm animal welfare (FAW) has become a mainstream contemporary societal demand worldwide, resulting in research conducted with FAW. The most popular type of research are surveys that analyse consumers' attitudes towards FAW, yet, these are limited geographically to the European Union, the United States, and Canada. Very few studies have been done in Latin America, regardless of evidence that suggests an expected increase in the social demand of FAW and its associated products. FAW related knowledge in terms of consumer preferences today, still scarce in Latin American countries, with only Mexico, Chile, and Brazil being the referent countries creating scientific publications that address FAW. Nevertheless, such scientific publications often focus on farmers and slaughter practices, excluding consumers' attitudes and perceptions. Thus, this study acknowledges that the agri-food chain is integrated by different actors, focusing on understanding what FAW is from the consumers' perception perspective. This study aimed to investigate the Mexican respondents' perceptions in their role of consumers of animal-based food when forming a meaning for FAW. Thus, a novel approach was embraced by applying the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) and interpreting the results based on the Means-End Chain (MEC) theory and the Schwartz's personal values theory; this approach, together with the findings, are the study's key contribution. The findings in this research suggest that when attaching a meaning for FAW, the meaning respondents build is complex, being integrated by a set of hierarchical relationships. These relationships are integrated by elements like attributes leading to consequences, to achieve a specific set of values. The study displays them graphically through a Hierarchical Value Map (HVM) representing the first-ever Mexican respondents' mental model when forming a meaning for FAW. By examining such elements, this study discovered that respondents consistently reflected FAW as a set of specific and distinctive characteristics in animal-based food; such characteristics are the attributes free from chemicals, more natural, higher quality, cruelty-free, better taste, ethical and artisan-made. Also, the respondents perceived FAW as a physiological or psychological result happening not to them as a person, but to the farmed animals, taking the form of a set of consequences that were consistently evoked by them and that reflect their thoughts of FAW being no pain/painless life, freedom of movement, free from stress, non-alteration of the animals' development, access indoor/outdoor, access to natural food and water, no overexploitation, dignified life, access to medical care, non-forced reproduction, access to socializing with their own species, access to rest and sleep, dignified slaughter and recognition of farmed animals as sentient beings the recurrent constructs. Finally, when thinking of FAW, the respondents ultimately reach three end-states: being compassionate, wellness, and achievement. The results displayed here might serve as a source of useful knowledge or a guideline when the time comes, and the actors in the agri-food chain -producers, distributors, marketers, and policy-makers- in Mexico decide to listen to the consumer concerns by embracing FAW practices and designing FAW frameworks which goal is the insurability of farm.
During the 2000s, Sweden has pursued an active foreign and security policy. This has meant participation in several international military operations and has left many Swedish soldiers and officers with combat experience. Thus, the Swedish parliament decided in 2010 on a political reform of the veterans area, with more extensive societal support, war decorations to express the government recognition of personal sacrifices made in the service and a new medal for courage in combat. Considered as a reward system, it functions as an immaterial and emotionally established incentive, in contrast to the financial and bonus reward systems that are otherwise common. From a governance perspective, this setting is fundamentally interesting. The complexity of military operations and the demands for efficiency in armed combat are in contrast with the democratic state's need to guarantee the rule of law, even from a distance and under difficult conditions. Traditional government is not sufficient because the situation is characterized by high contextual uncertainty and therefore requires more situational adaptive control. Organizing in a professional model implies autonomy for military officials, and this means that there is a form of gap in terms of civilian control. In the dissertation, a concept and an analytical model are formulated to understand this phenomenon, entitled soft norm governance, that also form one of the main results. The model combines four levels of analysis to describe the dynamics of the steering mix: organizational metagovernance, rule control, policy work and professional ethics. One conclusion is that professional ethics has a two-way function in the chain of implementation steering, both as a decisive factor for concrete decision-making, but also as an objective for the government's soft norm governance. Thus, this control gap does not mean absence of control, but that other value-based norm systems govern our actions. In this way, soft norm governance also reaches beyond the scope of the law. The theoretical framework is metagovernance, the idea that the modern state is steering at a distance and with subtle methods, such as by organizational measures. It opens for the importance of soft law, social norms and ethics in governmental steering. The case study of the veterans policy and medal of courage contributes empirically to the specification of these theories. Furthermore, new institutionalism adds an explanatory value with a rationality of action for the officials, a so-called logic of appropriateness based on the professional role and on adaptation to the situation at hand and to applicable rules. Theoretically, the thesis contributes by supplementing with a logic of values, which takes into account the profession's ethical and moral rationality of action, which is particularly important in situations such as armed conflict. The methodological approach combines a structural statistical perspective with a qualitative and understanding-oriented perspective and can, with the support of the analytical model, illuminate both pattern and function. The material base is a total selection from the medal preparation of eight contingents in Afghanistan during the years 2008-2012, i.e. FS16-FS23. It consists of the archive material from the nominations as well as in-depth interviews with responsible commanders at the international units and at the national headquarters, including the Commander-in-Chief.
During the last few decades sustainable development has become a frequent topic among policy makers. In order to achieve this goal, the local level in the society has been regarded as one of the levels where changes towards a more sustainable development must come about. To this end, the Swedish state has used different instruments of control to influence its municipalities to start these changes. One example is the Local Investment Programme (LIP) which supported many different local investment programmes in Swedish municipalities between 1998-2002. The municipality of Luleå, where changes of the public transportation system were on the political agenda, received in 2000 financial support for a project called Public transportation in change. The aim of the project was to create a more attractive public transportation system, i.e. bus system, in order to get more people to choose the bus for their daily travels. Policy processes are however not always as rational as policy makers might think. Instead, they can sometimes be characterized as an incremental process with sudden changes. In order to conceptualize such processes, especially agenda- setting and decision making, John Kingdon has developed the multiple- streams framework (MS). According to this framework the policy process is separated into three streams; problem, policy and politics. When a window of opportunity opens, a policy entrepreneur with the right skills and institutional position might couple the streams thereby creating a policy change. The aim of this study is to describe and analyze the policy process underpinning the public transportation in Luleå kommun and explain why the process developed the way it did. The purpose is thereby to contribute to the understanding of the problems that are associated with local policy making regarding public transportation and sustainable development. Another aim is to test whether MS is applicable in a local context. The empirical material is made up of documents, interviews with policy makers, material from the local newspapers and a survey to the public. It is concluded that the 2002 election to the municipality council was the window of opportunity that finally brought about the introduction of a new bus system. The LIP programme mainly affected the local process in a positive way. It might even have been another reason that the new bus system was realized at this point. There were some problems concerning the institutional arrangement around the LIP programme, which seems to have caused a minor delay in the project. The study also indicates that sustainable development at the local level is associated with many problems. Rhetorically sustainable development is regarded as an important goal, but in reality there are differences about how to view and realize the concept. Sustainable development has been described as ecological, economical and social sustainability in cooperation or that they can be ranked. It is concluded that economical constraints seem to set the conditions in reality. Finally, MS has been found useful in a local context as well. MS have weaknesses concerning how it addresses value based conflicts and institutional arrangements. While this study deals with those problems, it is suggested that more studies should be conducted. ; Godkänd; 2006; 20070109 (haneit)
Symbolic politics is the degree to which political decision-making is motivated, not by the tangible aspects of the decision, but by the interpretation of what the decision represents symbolically. While symbolic politics is widely recognized as an important aspect of political decision-making, the phenomenon is insufficiently explored in political science. The first aim of the present dissertation is to develop and systematize concepts and mechanisms necessary for the study of symbolic politics. The second aim is to make a preliminary evaluation of the explanatory power of the suggested concepts. This is done by applying the concepts in two case studies of current Swedish policy-making. The first case is a study of the decision in 2000 to give state subsidies to broadband Internet connections. The second case is a study of the decision in 1997 to commence the nuclear power phase-out by closing the Barsebäck nuclear power plant. Symbolic politics is suggested to be defined negatively, as being those aspects of a political decision that are not tangible. The taxonomy of symbolic politics consists of four varieties: categories, principles, examples, and expressions. Categories are ways to create a symbolic connection between political issues by cognitively grouping them together. Principles are ways to give the categorization normative implications: since the issues are alike, they should be treated alike. Examples are instances where a single member of the group is offered as prototypical example of the entire group. An expression is the communicative use of political decisions, a deliberate signal or an unintended symptom of the actor's intentions. The taxonomy of symbolic politics can be incorporated in general theories of policy processes and political decision-making. Categories play an integral part of almost all public policy theories, and can help to explain problem-definition processes. Principles are techniques to expand the scope of a political conflict and mobilize new groups of actors. Examples are important to raise attention, both on an individual level, and on the political agenda. Expressions can be used both to expand and to contract the scope of a political conflict. The first case study, the broadband decision in 2000, reveals a mixture of instrumental and symbolic factors explaining the decision. Broadband connections were used as a prototypical example of Internet and information technology. In order to signal governmental commitment to it, the social democratic government changed their previously demand-based policy towards a more supply-oriented one. The second case study, the decision in 1997 to commence the nuclear power phase-out by closing the Barsebäck nuclear power plant, reveals a similar mixture of motives. It was decided in 1980 that all Swedish nuclear power should be phased-out before 2010. Fifteen years on, the credibility of this decision had successively eroded. By closing one nuclear reactor, and thereby sending a signal reassuring of the government's commitment to the phase-out, it was possible to abandon the 2010-limit without being accused of disrespecting the popular will. The symbolic political taxonomy is concluded to hold enough promise to warrant further elaboration.
Society and Identity- Developments and Challenges in Swedish Youth Politics in the 1990´s. There are many ways to describe and value young people's interest and engagement in politics. While some defend extraparliamentarian activism as an important road to political engagement, others stress the need for young people to become familiar with the political system. These two contradictory views express a common concern for the importance of involving the young in the political process – this is an issue that the system has to deal with. Should the established political system affirm the youths' active participation and desire to make a change? Is it possible to do this without a loss of respect for democracy? Is it possible to develop democracy without changing it radically Behind these questions, lies the deeper question about how the established democratic system, in practice in the state and municipalities, handle a) the political involvement of youths and b) the transmission of democratic values to new generations. Furthermore, these questions are based on the fundamental assumption that a democratic culture can only be communicated and upheld through processes of political socialization, where norms, knowledge and values are passed on from one generation to the next. In order for this particular kind of communication to succeed, it is crucial that people see their citizenship in a democratic society as an important part of their identity. One of the main functions of the democratic political system is to create and uphold identities and attitudes that are intimately connected to the system itself. Therefore, the political institutions are central actors in the communication process of political socialization. Communication is a paradoxical concept. It is a human activity that everyone is involved in, but few can define unambiguously. Professor James Carey, who analyses the concept in Communication as culture, essays on media and society (1989), introduced the idea of communication as ritual. Although broad in meaning, this definition highlights communication as central in the construction of both society and identity. Society exists and works through the communication between people and because we learn the codes of interaction that exist in the societal context: But, whatever the details of the production and reproduction of social life, it is through communication, through the intergraded relations of symbols and social structure, that societies, or at least those with we are most familiar, are created, maintained, and transformed. In this dissertation, the notion that communication is pivotal in the formation of both society and identities, is fundamental. Communication is the core of democratic development and the passing on of democratic values from one generation to the next. Political socialization is a question of communication processes. Objective and research questions The objective of this dissertation is to investigate how the main actors in the Swedish political system; the state and the municipalities, deal with processes of society- and identity formation. This is achieved through an analysis of the perspectives on political socialization that are expressed by these actors in youth politics in the 1990's. Three main research questions are central in this dissertation: Do the state and the municipalities understand their role in the process of political socialization as mainly hierachical or interactive? How is the role of the youth construed by these actors? Are they seen as active or passive in the process of political socialization? Do these actors regard political socialization chiefly as a matter of continuation or as development? Over the years, political socialization research has generated different views on the youth, democracy development and the political system. Early research tended to regard the youth as a passive group in a hierarchical political system that acted mainly on behalf of it's own preservation. This perspective saw political socialization as a matter of teaching the young to assimilate to the existing political system. Later research has shown that the process is more interactive than was previously thought: youths are influenced, but at the same time they also influence others. This shift in perspective raises questions of how the political system construes the process of political socialization, it's own role in this process, the role the youth and ultimately; how democracy best can be developed. Conclusion The findings of the different studies in this dissertation show an overwhelmingly hierarchical construal of political socialization by the state and the municipalities. The idea of interactivity and development, advocated by later research, is only visible in some of the municipalities. Furthermore, youths are considered as having some political awareness, but this awareness needs to be cultivated through teaching. Therefore, youths are seen as passive receivers in the communicative process of political socialization – and not as active participants. At the same time, –on a rhetorical level–both the state and the municipalities express an ambition to create possibilities for youths to take responsibility and to find their own organizational solutions for political engagement. However, this dissertation also shows that this ambition is nowhere matched by any willingness to change the existing system, if that is what is required in order for the youth to develop own organizational solutions. The state regards the process of political socialization from a perspective of continuation and conservation. Youths are therefore mainly seen as a problem until they have reached a level of political awareness that allows them to function within the existing political system. The municipalities wants to get involved in the political socialization of youths through their "youth-councils", but it is obvious that the main perspective is one of socialization into the existing political system. In order to be able to participate and have influence on decision-making, youths have to learn the form and the language required by the existing political system. It is not, according to the municipalities, the system that needs to change. The state and the municipalities consider youths as mouldable object that also have the ability to participate and shape society. When the states and municipalities' assumptions about the youth's political interests and enthusiasm do not correlate to the youth's, the process of identity-formation becomes paradoxical. A hierarchical system meets young people who do not want to interact with the system. A system aimed at its own continuation and preservation of the existing order, that mainly aims to teach youths to fit into the system, will meet youths who want to create new forms of organizations. Therefore, when the state and municipalities in the ambition of socializing youths into the political system, shut the door to real participation and influence that would mean actual change and development, it is perhaps not so surprising that some youths canalize their political commitment through extraparliamentary activism. On a rhetorical level everyone applauds ideas of development of the political system. But in reality, the state and the municipalities regard this development as challenging when the suggested changes threatens the established order.
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.
En hållbar utveckling innebär att samhällets begränsade resurser används på ett effektivt sätt med hänsyn tagen till sociala, ekonomiska och miljömässiga konsekvenser. För att uppnå önskade samhällsmål på ett effektivt sätt behöver olika aspekter vägas in vid utformning av styrmedel. Inom EU föregås beslut om regleringar av en så kallad Regleringskonsekvensbeskrivning (Regulatory Impact Assessment) där samhällsekonomisk analys ingår. Forskning och olika utredningar har visat att Sverige saknar en etablerad praxis för att genomföra denna typ av konsekvensanalyser på miljö, men även energi- och transportområdet. I detta projekt är syftet att undersöka hur Sverige arbetar med de analyser av detta slag som genomförs inom EU inför förhandlingar men också att studera orsaker till att de används eller inte används. Fokus ligger på förutsättningar inom en myndighet, men även vilken betydelse som tjänstemän har för vilka underlag som tas fram inför beslut om utformning av regleringar/styrmedel. Den övergripande slutsats som kan dras av de tre delstudierna som ingått i projektet, samt diskussionen på avslutningsseminariet, är att detta inte är ett etablerat arbetssätt i det svenska förvaltningssystemet. Detta kan förklaras av brist på kompetens, en etablerad misstro, målstyrning samt avsaknad av ett institutionellt ramverk för när och hur denna typ av bredare konsekvensanalyser ska genomföras. Vid avslutningsseminariet framkom att Naturvårdsverket nu arbetar med en vägledning för att hjälpa tjänstemän att i ett tidigt skede analysera om det finns behov av regleringar från samhällets sida, att inleda arbetet med att ställa frågan "Vad är problemet?". Vi bedömer att detta är ett steg i rätt riktning men ser också att de nationalekonomer som arbetar ute på myndigheter ofta är ensamma eller väldigt få och därmed kan behöva olika former av stöd för att kunna utveckla arbetet med denna typ av, ofta komplexa, analyser på sin myndighet. ; Sustainable development implies that society's limited resources should be used efficiently, taking into account the various impacts on society – social, economic and environmental. To achieve established societal goals efficiently, various aspects have to be accounted for in the design of policy measures. Within the EU a Regulatory Impact Assessment, where a cost-benefit analysis is included, needs to accompany all major regulatory initiatives. According to research and different policy assessment, Sweden lacks an established praxis regarding this type of analysis in the area of environmental policy but also in the field of energy and transport. The purpose of this project is to investigate how Sweden uses this type of information in the negotiations that take place within the EU regarding policy proposals but also investigate the reasons for use or non-use. The focus is on what role the organization and the bureaucrats play for the collection of this type of information. The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the three sub-studies included in the project, as well as the discussion at the closing seminar, is that this is not an established way of working in the Swedish government system. This can be explained by lack of competence, an established mistrust, management by objectives and lack of an institutional framework for when and how this type of broader impact assessment is to be conducted. At the closing seminar, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency presented that it is now working on a guide to help officials to analyze at an early stage whether there is a need for regulation by society, to initiate the work by asking the question "What is the problem?". We think that this is a step in the right direction, but we also see that the economists working out in government are often alone or very few and may therefore need different forms of support to develop the work on this kind of, often complex, analysis.
En hållbar utveckling innebär att samhällets begränsade resurser används på ett effektivt sätt med hänsyn tagen till sociala, ekonomiska och miljömässiga konsekvenser. För att uppnå önskade samhällsmål på ett effektivt sätt behöver olika aspekter vägas in vid utformning av styrmedel. Inom EU föregås beslut om regleringar av en så kallad Regleringskonsekvensbeskrivning (Regulatory Impact Assessment) där samhällsekonomisk analys ingår. Forskning och olika utredningar har visat att Sverige saknar en etablerad praxis för att genomföra denna typ av konsekvensanalyser på miljö, men även energi- och transportområdet. I detta projekt är syftet att undersöka hur Sverige arbetar med de analyser av detta slag som genomförs inom EU inför förhandlingar men också att studera orsaker till att de används eller inte används. Fokus ligger på förutsättningar inom en myndighet, men även vilken betydelse som tjänstemän har för vilka underlag som tas fram inför beslut om utformning av regleringar/styrmedel. Den övergripande slutsats som kan dras av de tre delstudierna som ingått i projektet, samt diskussionen på avslutningsseminariet, är att detta inte är ett etablerat arbetssätt i det svenska förvaltningssystemet. Detta kan förklaras av brist på kompetens, en etablerad misstro, målstyrning samt avsaknad av ett institutionellt ramverk för när och hur denna typ av bredare konsekvensanalyser ska genomföras. Vid avslutningsseminariet framkom att Naturvårdsverket nu arbetar med en vägledning för att hjälpa tjänstemän att i ett tidigt skede analysera om det finns behov av regleringar från samhällets sida, att inleda arbetet med att ställa frågan "Vad är problemet?". Vi bedömer att detta är ett steg i rätt riktning men ser också att de nationalekonomer som arbetar ute på myndigheter ofta är ensamma eller väldigt få och därmed kan behöva olika former av stöd för att kunna utveckla arbetet med denna typ av, ofta komplexa, analyser på sin myndighet. ; Sustainable development implies that society's limited resources should be used efficiently, taking into account the various impacts on society – social, economic and environmental. To achieve established societal goals efficiently, various aspects have to be accounted for in the design of policy measures. Within the EU a Regulatory Impact Assessment, where a cost-benefit analysis is included, needs to accompany all major regulatory initiatives. According to research and different policy assessment, Sweden lacks an established praxis regarding this type of analysis in the area of environmental policy but also in the field of energy and transport. The purpose of this project is to investigate how Sweden uses this type of information in the negotiations that take place within the EU regarding policy proposals but also investigate the reasons for use or non-use. The focus is on what role the organization and the bureaucrats play for the collection of this type of information. The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the three sub-studies included in the project, as well as the discussion at the closing seminar, is that this is not an established way of working in the Swedish government system. This can be explained by lack of competence, an established mistrust, management by objectives and lack of an institutional framework for when and how this type of broader impact assessment is to be conducted. At the closing seminar, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency presented that it is now working on a guide to help officials to analyze at an early stage whether there is a need for regulation by society, to initiate the work by asking the question "What is the problem?". We think that this is a step in the right direction, but we also see that the economists working out in government are often alone or very few and may therefore need different forms of support to develop the work on this kind of, often complex, analysis.
En hållbar utveckling innebär att samhällets begränsade resurser används på ett effektivt sätt med hänsyn tagen till sociala, ekonomiska och miljömässiga konsekvenser. För att uppnå önskade samhällsmål på ett effektivt sätt behöver olika aspekter vägas in vid utformning av styrmedel. Inom EU föregås beslut om regleringar av en så kallad Regleringskonsekvensbeskrivning (Regulatory Impact Assessment) där samhällsekonomisk analys ingår. Forskning och olika utredningar har visat att Sverige saknar en etablerad praxis för att genomföra denna typ av konsekvensanalyser på miljö, men även energi- och transportområdet. I detta projekt är syftet att undersöka hur Sverige arbetar med de analyser av detta slag som genomförs inom EU inför förhandlingar men också att studera orsaker till att de används eller inte används. Fokus ligger på förutsättningar inom en myndighet, men även vilken betydelse som tjänstemän har för vilka underlag som tas fram inför beslut om utformning av regleringar/styrmedel. Den övergripande slutsats som kan dras av de tre delstudierna som ingått i projektet, samt diskussionen på avslutningsseminariet, är att detta inte är ett etablerat arbetssätt i det svenska förvaltningssystemet. Detta kan förklaras av brist på kompetens, en etablerad misstro, målstyrning samt avsaknad av ett institutionellt ramverk för när och hur denna typ av bredare konsekvensanalyser ska genomföras. Vid avslutningsseminariet framkom att Naturvårdsverket nu arbetar med en vägledning för att hjälpa tjänstemän att i ett tidigt skede analysera om det finns behov av regleringar från samhällets sida, att inleda arbetet med att ställa frågan "Vad är problemet?". Vi bedömer att detta är ett steg i rätt riktning men ser också att de nationalekonomer som arbetar ute på myndigheter ofta är ensamma eller väldigt få och därmed kan behöva olika former av stöd för att kunna utveckla arbetet med denna typ av, ofta komplexa, analyser på sin myndighet. ; Sustainable development implies that society's limited resources should be used efficiently, taking into account the various impacts on society – social, economic and environmental. To achieve established societal goals efficiently, various aspects have to be accounted for in the design of policy measures. Within the EU a Regulatory Impact Assessment, where a cost-benefit analysis is included, needs to accompany all major regulatory initiatives. According to research and different policy assessment, Sweden lacks an established praxis regarding this type of analysis in the area of environmental policy but also in the field of energy and transport. The purpose of this project is to investigate how Sweden uses this type of information in the negotiations that take place within the EU regarding policy proposals but also investigate the reasons for use or non-use. The focus is on what role the organization and the bureaucrats play for the collection of this type of information. The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the three sub-studies included in the project, as well as the discussion at the closing seminar, is that this is not an established way of working in the Swedish government system. This can be explained by lack of competence, an established mistrust, management by objectives and lack of an institutional framework for when and how this type of broader impact assessment is to be conducted. At the closing seminar, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency presented that it is now working on a guide to help officials to analyze at an early stage whether there is a need for regulation by society, to initiate the work by asking the question "What is the problem?". We think that this is a step in the right direction, but we also see that the economists working out in government are often alone or very few and may therefore need different forms of support to develop the work on this kind of, often complex, analysis.
This dissertation is about leader development. It focuses on similarities and differences between contents in different in-house leader development programs, and on how these programs are organized. The purpose is to contribute knowledge about leader development in Swedish working life, by describing and analyzing different organizations' ways of doing leader development from a context-actor perspective. Very little research has been undertaken about leader development from a comparative perspective, although leader development is a question of current interest, and can be viewed as a fashion now in the beginning of the 21st century. The context-actor perspective that I use as theoretical point of departure is influenced partly by Bhaskar's transformational model of social activity, partly by institutional theory and the notion of isomorphic processes, containing powers in the context of the organization in combination with local actors. An educational culture is seen as a single organization's specific way to manage leader development. The dissertation is chiefly based on a case study of six organizations' leader development. I have interviewed 13 persons that had the responsibility for creating, carrying out and developing leader development efforts in these organizations. I also studied different documents from these organizations, and observed when actors from one of the organizations met their colleagues from similar organizations for discussions concerning leader development. The analysis of the data has had a distinct feature of abduction, and I used eight constructed aspects and 131 variables when comparing the organizations. My results suggest that the organizations' educational cultures had both overarching similarities and considerable differences. The deeper I probed into the ways in which the organizations did leader development, the more specific details I found. Most of the dissimilarities that appeared in the comparison turned out to be exclusive to specific organizations rather then to groups of organizations. The organizational level appeared as the most important context for shaping the specific characteristic of the different leader development programs. Likewise, the branch level and national level seem to play a central role, but the sector level turned out to be the context with the least importance for the organizations' ways of doing leader development. For the national level it is possible to argue that the similarities the organizations showed may constitute an example of the spirit of the times and everyday talk about leader development that can be found in Swedishworking life. The actors turned out to be part of the organizations' human resources, and they were not seldom human resource managers and women. It was above all these actors that had the responsibility for and organized the leader development. The interplay between the actors and the context can be described in terms of the actors as creators of culture and bearers of culture respectively. There is consequently a potential for both transformation and reproduction as a result of the interplay between the powers that contexts and actors constitute. From the actors' statements it is obvious that they saw themselves as active actors. Overall, the research indicates that it is reasonable to describe an organization's educational culture as a result of how the actors have interacted with different contexts. The existence of certain leader development ideals in Swedish working life is not necessarily a determining factor for how a single actor chooses to work with the leader development in a certain organization, though it depends on the latter.
One third of all food produced for human consumption globally is lost or wasted, making food waste a major problem from both an economic, social and environmental perspective. One way of preventing food waste is through legislation. In Sweden, food inspectors have been recommended to work according to the general rules of consideration (GRC) in the Swedish Environmental Code to reduce food waste. However, there is a lack of published information on whether the GRC are applied to reduce food waste at present, and, if so, how this works in practice. Moreover, the lack of a common standard for food waste quantification is a problem recognized by researchers. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether and how the GRC are or can be applied to prevent food waste. More specifically, the goal was to investigate the attitude of municipal supervisory authorities and other relevant actors towards applying the GRC in food control, and to identify opportunities and / or obstacles to this. This is expected to contribute with knowledge that in the long term can generate supervisory approaches for reduced food waste. A qualitative research method was used including self-administered questionnaires. Answers were obtained from 11 municipalities and six additional actors including courts, national authorities and a private law firm. After a thematic analysis of the data, this was sorted to describe 1) The current situation in municipal supervision / the current application of the GRC according to other actors 2) The attitude towards applying the GRC in supervision for food waste reduction 3) The attitude towards suggested supervisory practices for reducing food wastage. The results showed that most of the actors surveyed did not apply the GRC to food waste currently, and none of them had issued injunctions to prevent food waste. Nevertheless, it was found that applying the GRC to food control could be possible, according to some practical experience in the field and the majority of the respondents' attitudes. No apparent unsolvable obstacles were identified. How the application of the GRC to food waste would work in practice remains to be solved, though. Consequently, the link between the current situation, the attitudes towards applying the GRC in food control as well as the attitudes towards suggested supervisory practices, was found to be ambiguous. Legal contradictions justify the need for further research, which could pursue the development of a supervisory approach for food waste prevention. ; En tredjedel av all mat som produceras globalt går förlorad eller slösas bort, vilket gör matsvinn till ett omfattande problem ur både ett ekonomiskt, socialt och miljömässigt perspektiv. Ett sätt att förebygga matsvinn är genom lagstiftning. I Sverige har livsmedelsinspektörer rekommenderats att arbeta enligt de allmänna hänsynsreglerna i miljöbalken för att minska matsvinnet. Det saknas emellertid publicerad information om huruvida hänsynsreglerna används för att minska matsvinn för närvarande, och hur detta i så fall fungerar i praktiken. Dessutom är avsaknaden av en gemensam standard för kvantifiering av matsvinn ett problem enligt forskare. Den aktuella studien syftade således till att undersöka om och hur miljöbalkens hänsynsregler tillämpas eller kan tillämpas för att förebygga matsvinn. Mer specifikt var målet att undersöka de kommunala tillsynsmyndigheternas och andra relevanta aktörers inställning till att tillämpa hänsynsreglerna i livsmedelskontroll och att identifiera möjligheter och / eller hinder för detta. Detta förväntas bidra med kunskap som på lång sikt kan generera tillsynsstrategier för minskat matsvinn. En kvalitativ forskningsmetod användes med självadministrerade frågeformulär. Svar erhölls från 11 kommuner och sex ytterligare aktörer, såsom domstolar, nationella myndigheter samt en privat juristbyrå. Efter en tematisk analys av den insamlade datan sorterades denna för att beskriva 1) Den aktuella situationen i kommunal tillsyn / den aktuella tillämpningen av hänsynsreglerna enligt andra aktörer 2) Inställningen till att tillämpa miljöbalkens hänsynsregler i tillsyn för att förebygga matsvinn 3) Attityden gentemot föreslagna tillsynspraxis för att förebygga matsvinn. Resultaten visade att majoriteten av de undersökta aktörerna inte tillämpade hänsynsreglerna på matsvinn för närvarande, och att ingen hade skrivit förelägganden för att förebygga matsvinn. Praktiska erfarenheter inom området samt majoriteten av respondenternas attityder avslöjade dock att det skulle kunna vara möjligt att tillämpa hänsynsreglerna mot matsvinn inom livsmedelskontroll. Inga uppenbart olösliga hinder identifierades. Hur tillämpningen av hänsynsreglerna på matsvinn skulle gå till i praktiken återstår dock att lösa. Följaktligen kunde det konstateras att kopplingen mellan den nuvarande situationen, respondenternas inställning till att tillämpa hänsynsreglerna i livsmedelskontrollen samt attityderna gentemot föreslagna tillsynspraxis var tvetydig. Juridiska motsättningar motiverar behovet av ytterligare forskning, som kan driva utvecklingen av en tillsynsstrategi för förebyggande av matsvinn.
When animals are exposed to a novel situation such as transportation, they react by eliciting certain physiological and behavioural functions in order to cope with the situation. These changes can be measured to indicate how much stress the animal is suffering. Physiological stress indicators often measured in animal transport research include changes in heart rate, live-weight, cortisol levels, and blood composition including electrolytes, metabolites and enzymes (Broom and Johnson, 1993). Animal behavioural stress indicators include struggling, vocalisation, kicking or biting, hunching of the back, urination, defecation and recumbence (Broom et al. 1996; Gregory, 1998). Meat quality parameters post mortem can also help to indicate stress levels in animals (Grandin, 1990; Gregory, 1998). These include incidence of bruising and DFD in all farm animal species and PSE in pigs. Mortality is also an obvious indicator of poor welfare. Combined aspects of transport that contribute to causing stress in livestock include loading and unloading procedures, close proximity to stock handlers, water/feed deprivation, noise, riding in a truck, mixing with other animals and being forced into unfamiliar environments. The responses of stock to these conditions will depend on the animal's genetically controlled adaptability, physical condition and its previous handling experiences (Gross and Siegel, 1993). Factors such as the adequate preparation of animals for transport, controlled prior access to feed and water, minimal disruption to social groups, considerate animal handling skills, adequate handling and transport facilities including good ventilation in trucks, and careful driving technique are major areas that dictate the standard of animal transport. For example, considerations for pigs should include a pre-transport fasting period which balances the requirement to avoid hunger, travel sickness and deaths. Breeding and selecting for more stress-resistant genotypes of pigs can improve the welfare by reducing mortality and the metabolic consequences of transport stress. Other factors influencing animal transport include farm size and country size. For example, livestock transport in Scandinavia involves transport vehicles travelling to more than one farm in order to fill a vehicle. In Australia often one farm pick up can fill a truck, and although the distances may be much longer to the abattoir, it will be more direct. The market demand dictates the type of animals transported. For example the veal trade in Europe demands young live calves to be transported over long distances from northern countries which supply it to the southern countries which demand it. This trade exists in live animals rather than meat because the demanding countries further fatten and slaughter these animals specific to their needs. The industry set up influences the standard of animal transport in different countries. For example in countries where industries are vertically integrated consisting of producer-owned slaughter plant co-operatives (Sweden and Denmark), producers are paid according to slaughter weight and lean meat percentage, therefore there is more consistent quality control measures in place. In Australia the marketing system is such that it provides no economic incentive to reduce losses. Greater public awareness of animal welfare seems to be increasing in western countries, and as a result there is more pressure on the livestock industry to adopt better standards for the farming, handling, transport and slaughter of animals. The transport of livestock in Australia continues to be under increased scrutiny from overseas markets and animal welfare groups. In the European Union (EU), public pressure has been a successful instigator to the drafting and continued improvement of comprehensive legislation for animal transport. EU animal transport laws cover aspects such as minimum design standards for livestock vehicles (including ventilation controls), maximum journey lengths before resting intervals, stocking rates, what animals are considered as fit to travel, and general handling and care requirements of animals in transport. These laws are causing debate between northern and southern countries in areas such as maximum journey lengths and vehicle design standards. Some countries such as the UK have also gone to a great effort to adjust national laws in order to incorporate EU transport laws, but countries such as Spain and Italy have not. Typically it is these countries that more often have poor standards of animal welfare, and the welfare of farmed animals has historically been of low priority (Schmidt, 1995). When and how these countries will adopt the comprehensive EU animal transport regulations, continues to be an unanswered and politically sensitive question between EU member states.
The global growth in energy demand continues, but the way of meeting rising energy needs is not sustainable. The use of biomass energy is a widely accepted strategy towards sustainable development that sees the fastest rate with the most of increase in power generation followed by strong rises in the consumption of biofuels for transport. Agriculture, forestry and wood energy sector are the leading sources of biomass for bioenergy. However, to be acceptable, biomass feedstock must be produced sustainably. Bioenergy from sustainably managed systems could provide a renewable and carbon neutral source of energy. Bioenergy systems can be relatively complex, intersectoral and site- and scale-specific. The environmental benefits of biomass-for-energy production systems can vary strongly, depending on site properties, climate, management system and input intensities. Bioenergy supply is closely linked to issues of water and land use. It is important to understand the effects of introducing it as well as it is necessary to promote integrated and synergic policies and approaches in the sectors of forestry, agriculture, energy, industry and environment. Biofuels offer attractive solutions to reducing GHG emissions, addressing energy security concerns and have also other socio-economic advantages. Currently produced biofuels are classified as first-generation. Some first-generation biofuels, such as for example ethanol from corn possibly have a limited role in the future transport fuel mix, other ones such as ethanol from sugarcane or biodiesel made from oils extracted from rerennial crops, as well as non-food and industrial crops requiring minimal input and maintenance and offering several benefits over conventional annual crops for ethanol production are promising. Sugarcane ethanol has greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoidance potential; can be produced sustainably; can be cost effective without governments support mechanisms, provide useful and valuable co-products; and, if carefully managed with due regard given to sustainable land use, can support the drive for sustainable development in many developing countries. Sugarcane ethanol - currently the most effective biofuel at displacing GHG emissions - is already mitigating GHGs in Brazil. Jatropha curcas L., a multipurpose, drought resistant, perennial plant has gained lot of importance for the production of biodiesel. However, it is important to point out that nearly all of studies have overstated the impacts of first-generation biofuels on global agricultural and land markets due to the fact that they have ignored the role of biofuel by-products. However, feed by-products of first-generation biofuels, such as dried distillers grains with soluble and oilseed meals are used in the livestock industry as protein and energy sources mitigates the price impacts of biofuel production as well as reduce the demand for cropland and moderate the indirect land use consequences. The production of second generation biofuels is expected to start within a few years. Many of the problems associated with first-generation biofuels can be solved by the production of second generation biofuels manufactured from abundant ligno-cellulosic materials such as cereal straw, sugar cane bagasse, forest residues, wastes and dedicated feedstocks (purpose-grown vegetative grasses, short rotation forests and other energy crops). These feedstocks are not food competitive, do not require additional agricultural land and can be grown on marginal and wasteland. Depending on the feedstock choice and the cultivation technique, second-generation biofuel production has the potential to provide benefits such as consuming waste residues and making use of abandoned land. As much as 97-98% of GHG emissions could be avoided by substituting a fossil fuel with wood fuel. Forest fertilization is an attractive option for increasing energy security and reducing net GHG emission. In addition to carbon dioxide the emissions of methane and nitrous oxides may be important factors in GHG balance of biofuels. Forest management rules, best practices for nitrogen fertilizer use and development of second generation technologies use reduce these emissions. Soils have an important role in the global budget of greenhouse gases. However, the effects of biomass production on soil properties are entirely site and practice-specific and little is known about long-term impact. Soil biological systems are resilient and they do not show any lasting impacts due to intensive site management activities. Land management practices can change dramatically the characteristic and gas exchange of an ecosystem. GHG benefits from biomass feedstock use are in some cases significantly lower if the effects of direct¹ or indirect (ILUC²) land use change are taken into account. LUC and ILUC can impact the GHG emission by affecting carbon balance in soil and thus ecosystem. To understand carbon fluxes in an ecosystem large ecosystem units and time scale are critical. Mitigation measures of the impact of land use change on greenhouse gas emissions include the use of residues as feedstock, cultivation of feedstock on abandoned arable land and use of feedstock by-products as substitutes for primary crops as animal feed. Cropping management is the other key factor in estimating GHG emissions associated with LUC and there is significant opportunity to reduce the potential carbon debt and GHG emissions through improved crop and soil management practices, including crop choice, intensity of inputs, harvesting strategy, and tilling practices. Also a system with whole trees harvesting with nutrient compensation is closely to being greenhouse-gas-neutral. Biochar applied to the soil offers a direct method for sequestrating C and generating bioenergy. However, the most recent studies showing that emissions resulting from ILUC are significant have not been systematically compared and summarized and current practices for estimating the effects of ILUC suffer from large uncertainties. Therefore, it seems to be delicate to include the ILUC effects in the GHG emission balance at a country level. The land availability is an important factor in determining bioenergy sustainability. However, even though food and biofuel/biomass can compete for land, this is not inevitably the case. The pattern of completion competition will e.g. depend on whether food security policies are in place. Moreover, the great potential for uncomplicated biomass production lies in using residues and organic waste, introduction of second generation biofuels which are more efficient in use of land and bioresources as well as restoration of degraded and wasted areas. Agroforestry has high potential for simultaneously satisfying many important objectives at ecosystems, economic and social levels. For example, as a very flexible, but low-input system, alley cropping can supply biomass resources in a sustainable way and at the same time provide ecological benefits in Central Europe. A farming system that integrates woody crops with conventional agricultural crops/pasture can more fully utilize the basic resources of water, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and sunlight, thereby producing greater total biomass yield. Overall, whether food prices will rise in parallel to an increase in biofuel demand will depend, more on trade barriers, subsidies, policies and limitations of marketing infrastructure than on lack of physical capacity. There are plant species that provide not only biofuel resources but also has the potential to sequestrate carbon to soil. For example, reed canary grass (RCG, Phalaris arundinacea L.) indicates the potential as a carbon sink. Harvest residues are increasingly utilized to produce energy. Sweden developed a series of recommendations and good-practice guidelines (GPG) for whole tree harvesting practices. Water has a multifarious relationship to energy. Biofuel production will have a relatively minor impact on the global water use. It is critically important to use low-quality water sources and to select the crops and countries that (under current production circumstances) produce bioenergy feedstock in the water-efficient way. However, local and regional impacts of biofuel production could be substantial. Knowledge of watershed characteristics, local hydrology and natural peak flow patterns coupled with site planning, location choice and species choice, are all factors that will determine whether or not this relationship is sustainable. For example, bioethanol's water requirements can range from 5 to 2138 L per liter of ethanol depending on regional irrigation practices. Moreover, sugarcane in Brazil evaporates 2,200 liters for every liter of ethanol, but this demand is met by abundant rainfall. Biomass production can have both positive and negative effects on species diversity. However, woodfuel production systems as well as agroforestry have the potential to increase biodiversity. A regional energy planning could have an important role to play in order to achieve energy-efficient and cost-efficient energy systems. Closing the loop through the optimization of all resources is essential to minimize conflicts in resource requirements as a result of increased biomass feedstock production. A systems approach where the agricultural, forestry, energy, and environmental sectors are considered as components of a single system, and environmental liabilities are used as recoverable resources for biomass feedstock production has the potential to significantly improve the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of biofuels. The LCA (life cycle analysis) approach takes into account all the input and output flows occurring in biomass production systems. The source of biomass has a big impact on LCA outcomes and there is a broad agreement in the scientific community that LCA is one of the best methodologies for the GHG balance calculation of biomass systems. Overall, maximizing benefits of bioenergy while minimizing negative impacts is most likely to occur in the presence of adequate knowledge and frameworks, such as for example certification systems, policy and guidelines. Criteria for achieving sustainability and best land use practices when producing biomass for energy must be established and adopted. ___________ ¹ Direct land-use change occurs when feedstock for biofuels purposes (e.g. soybean for biodiesel) displace a prior land-use (e.g. forest), thereby generating possible changes in the carbon stock of that land. ² Indirect land-use change (ILUC) occurs when pressure on agriculture due to the displacement of previous activity or use of the biomass induces land-use changes on other lands.
