Suchergebnisse

A re-analysis of three Swedish studies of political trust at local level shows that the extent to which citizens trust the system of democracy in municipalities correlates strongly with how the employers in that area assess the state of the local business climate. This article deals with the question of how this can be understood. Three sets of underlying explanations are tested: social capital theory, a theory of local well-being and political-institutional conditions. The empirical analysis shows that only the theory of local well-being can explain consistently why political trust and a flourishing local business climate occur in concert. The study emphasises the need to expand research on political trust to also take into account the role played by the business climate. This has been completely ignored in previous research on political trust. Such knowledge would be highly relevant to local policy making. In order to capture the specific mechanisms at work, qualitative case studies of municipalities are suggested as the next step of research. Adapted from the source document.

Commuting has become an increasingly important feature of modern life. Theories of public participation, such as the civic voluntarism model, claim that commuting is likely to reduce the time available for political activism. Based on data from an American context, Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone has concluded that this is exactly what happens. However, empirical studies based on European data on how commuting may affect political participation are rare. This article aims to address this question with regard to Swedish city-regions. Is there also a negative relationship between commuting & citizen participation in Sweden? The analysis is based on survey data for 7,200 citizens from seven Swedish city-regions belonging to three different size categories. The relationship between commuting & several different forms of public participation is investigated, controlling for the variables suggested by the civic voluntarism model. The analysis indicates that there are no signs of a negative relationship & some aspects of participation are actually positively linked to commuting. These findings suggest that the civic voluntarism model needs to be revised, at least in a European context. The article ends with a discussion about how differences between Sweden & the US can be accounted for & what the more general consequences for democracy may be. Tables, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.

Following Swedish ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 1989, a number of further reforms of Sweden's system of local government have taken place. Based on premises derived from institutional theory, this article examines the extent to which these reforms can be seen as further adjustments to the Charter. Analyses of monitoring reports and policy documents indicate that the reforms are largely inspired by the Charter but that some key features of the Swedish legal system, such as the lack of a significant judicial remedy, remain unaffected despite the demands of the Charter.

Legitimacy, as one of the most important concepts in political science, is analyzed from a theoretical and empirical perspective. A study will be conducted in Swedish municipalities by surveys and case studies, which are trying to explain the variations in legitimacy between municipalities and if these variations are mainly contextual or individual. L. Pitkaniemi

In the Western world, education policy has increasingly become a local matter. Localities and schools adjust education to meet specific local needs, fragmentation and diversity. Globalization and the greater emphasis on knowledge in society however, also embody strong streamlining tendencies. This edited volume examines and compares the way in which local education systems in Britain and Sweden are created in the interplay between common tendencies of change and particular local conditions.

Despite growing interest in decentralized governance, the local government systems that comprise the most common element of decentralization around the world have received little systematic attention. This article, drawing on the first systematic index of decentralization to local government in 21 countries, demonstrates a close relation between Social Democratic welfare states and an intergovernmental infrastructure that in important respects ranks as the most decentralized among advanced industrial countries. This empowerment of local government in these countries was less an outgrowth of Social Democratic welfare state development than a preexisting condition that helped make this type of welfare state possible.

The Three Worlds of MultilevelDemocracydevelops and applies a novel theory of democratic governance. This theory incorporates micro-level patternsof governance and civic organization at the local scale into a comparative macro-analysisof national democratic institutions. Institutionsand politics at the micro-level of cities and communities provide the basis fora new perspective on national state-society relations. We demonstrate how these local patterns havedeveloped through historical processes that were often distinct from those thatgave rise to national democratic institutions, and analyze how they have shapeddemocratic institutions at the national level. These local patterns continue to account for significant cross-nationalcontrasts in the quality of democracy and the performance of policy.

The Swedish cities have been moving towards city regions that will have consequences for democracy, local citizenship and political institutions in forms of economic development, competitiveness and living environment. The proposed study will research how the citizens are affected and how the political institutions are responding to these changes. L. Pitkaniemi

Background: Time management skills are essential for living in modern society. People with mental or neurodevelopmental disorders typically have cognitive limitations, including affected time management, which might lead to poor occupational balance, low self-efficacy, and poor parental sense of competence. "Let's Get Organized" (LGO) is a recently developed manual-based group intervention to train time management skills. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the efficiency of the Swedish version of LGO (LGO-S) compared to treatment as usual (individual occupational therapy) to improve time management for adults with impaired time management skills due to mental or neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, to evaluate if the intervention is a cost-effective way to improve the quality of life and time management skills of these individuals, we will conduct a health economic evaluation. Methods: The trial will have a multi-centre, open, parallel randomised controlled design. A total of 104 adults with cognitive limitations due to mental or neurodevelopmental disorders will be recruited from open psychiatric or habilitation care units. Outcomes will be measured before and after a 10-week intervention, with a follow-up 3 months after completing the intervention. The primary outcome will be self-assessed time management skills. Secondary outcomes will be e.g. self-assessed skills in organisation and planning, regulation of emotions, satisfaction with daily occupations, occupational balance, self-efficacy, and quality-adjusted life years. Discussion: A recent feasibility study has shown promising results for LGO-S, and a randomised trial will provide robust evidence for the possible efficacy of LGO-S in comparison to treatment as usual.