Suchergebnisse

Rural depopulation in Spain is forever on the increase. The reduction in the number of inhabitants is causing local public administrations to be incapable of providing the quantity and quality of public services needed by the citizenry, which increases the emigration of the population to other areas with more residents. This research identifies some of the actions that can be carried out by different Public Administrations to correct the situation, especially from the local perspective. ; España se enfrenta a un escenario continuado de pérdida de población en buena parte de los municipios del medio rural. La reducción de habitantes está provocando que las administraciones públicas locales no sean capaces de ofrecer la cantidad y la calidad de los servicios públicos que necesita la ciudadanía, lo que potencia una mayor emigración poblacional hacia otras zonas con más residentes. En esta investigación se señalan algunas de las actuaciones que se pueden llevar a cabo por las diferentes Administraciones Públicas para corregir la situación actual, especialmente desde la óptica local. ; España enfróntase a un escenario continuado de perda de poboación en boa parte dos municipios do medio rural. A redución de habitantes está a provocar que as administracións públicas locais non sexan capaces de ofrecer a cantidade e calidade dos servizos públicos que necesita a cidadanía, o que potencia una maior emigración poboacional cara a outras zonas con máis residentes. Nesta investigación sinálanse algunhas das actuacións que se poden levar a cabo polas diferentes Administracións Públicas para corrixir a situación actual, especialmente desde a óptica local.

- ; In critically important parts of the cold war era the Democratic Party was the steward of American foreign policy. But since September 11. 2001, the party has, however, mostly been a bystander to the major transformation of U.S. foreign policy carried out by the Bush administration. Will the party continue to play such a passive and reactive role or will it be able to formulate a coherent and realistic alternative the Bush foreign policy? Both the U.S. international behavior and world politics will be greatly affected by the outcome of the ongoing internal debate in the party. This paper takes a closer look at this debate and the various fractions that now compete for being the foreign policy face of the party. It is still too early to tell the outcome of this jockeying for power, and consequently the Bush administration will most likely continue as the dominant force behind American foreign policy.

In this thesis, we compare two organizational reforms within one policy area. How the "Modernization reform for development management" from 2002/03 and the "Reform for the organization of grant management" from 2018/19, affected the relationship between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad - the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. Central is the political choice of the overall organizational model in the reforms, with two main alternatives: an integrated model in which the directorate becomes part of the ministry, and a delegated model that assigns the directorate additional tasks (enhanced vertical autonomy). In the thesis, we examine what led to the reform in 2003, and whether the newer reform can be regarded as a continuation of the 2003 reform. We have chosen to base our analysis on the theoretical framework for reforms by Pollitt and Bouckaert. The thesis is a comparative case study, and the analysis is based on three types of data sources: semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and media coverage. In the thesis, we find that several driving forces contributed to the initiation of reform in 2002/03, but that the Minister of Development's political ambitions must be regarded as a main reason to reform. The result of the reform was a mixed model, which can best be explained by the interaction - or tug-of-war - between two ministers, between foreign policy and development policy and the meeting between political desires and what was administratively feasible. Unresolved issues in the 2003 reform led to constant attempts to find an administrative balance in the years between the two reforms. In 2019, driving forces within the political system, especially party politics, became decisive for the choice of model, after the political party KrF (the Christian Democrats) entered the government. By studying the two reforms over time, we show in the thesis that ongoing discussions about the interface between politics and administration, as well as tensions between foreign policy and development policy interests, were central to the reform processes. This may help explain why reforms are repeated. The thesis is a contribution to understanding reforms in a context that also includes the time perspective. ; publishedVersion

Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a politically initiated financing scheme from the Research Council in Norway aiming for long term, high quality and innovative research, contributing towards solving the big challenges of our society. Two evaluations conclude that this scheme is a success. These evaluations does not however pay much attention to the role of the administration in that regard. This master-thesis investigate how administrative leaders in the CoE contribute towards goal achievement. This has not previously been studied. For the data collection individual interviews was chosen, because they provide an open and investigative approach, well suited to gather relevant information. The analysis are based on organizational theory for public organizations, theories about organization types and previous research regarding the role of administrative personnel in research and higher education. The administrative leaders in CoE work in the interface between academic work and administration. My research shows that most of them have an academic background. They are highly educated, on master or PhD level, and some have research experience beyond that. Most of them have relevant work experience with a good overview of how the research and university systems work. The administrative leaders can further be recognised by their ability to create a good work environment and their social integration skills. This is very important in CoE, not the least because the centres depends heavily on recruitment of international research staff. In this regard good language skills and intercultural competence are also important. These leaders contribute to goal achievement through relieving the researchers and facilitating research related tasks, like conferences and meeting places, and haveing a good overview and ensure internal and external information flow. They also organize social activities and function as a central hub or connector. The administrative leader role demands a mix of knowledge and competencies, resembling the role of the classic middle range leader in the professional bureaucracy of today. With a great variety of different assignments coupled with being a connector for tasks and functions, both vertical and horizontal in the organization. In addition the administrative leader in a CoE also works close with the research leaders and the research activities at the centre. CoE are organized as time-limited projects with high demands and expectations. My study shows that the administration apparatus in CoE is important for goal achievement, but also that it is necessary with one 100% administrative leader or coordinator in a CoE, in order to take care of and coordinate the interests of the centre, both internally and in relation to the host institution. These CoE administrative leaders are a highly selected group regarding qualifications and background, which is something to be aware of when planning these kinds of research units, but also concerning the status- and role of administrative research personnel in general. ; publishedVersion

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

This paper aims to explain the changes that occurred in the Galician innovation policy during the last two decades. We note that this policy emerged as an innovation policy, not only focused on S&T, at the end of the 1990s. In a way, there was a pattern of continuity until 2009, in which the changes came to a large extent to be determined by processes of imitation and learning. Interactions with other levels of government are particularly relevant. Thus, the Spanish innovation policy has been very influential in regard to the institutional and governance structure, particularly at the beginning. The influence of the European level has been gradually increased, especially in the field of the selection of priorities and instruments, until reaching the highest point at present with the RIS3. Even so, the Galician innovation policy has gradually consolidated its own dynamics, due to the internal processes of accumulation of experiences and learning. Starting in 2009, certain changes have been made, largely due to the economic crisis. This crisis did not only mean a decrease in the public budget for innovation, but also made possible a scenario for changes in ideological orientation and in the instruments of this policy. ; El objetivo de este artículo es explicar los cambios acontecidos en la política gallega de innovación durante las dos últimas décadas. Observamos que esta política surgió como una política de innovación, y no solo de ciencia y tecnología, a finales de los años 90. En cierto modo, existe un patrón de continuidad hasta el 2009 en que los cambios vinieron determinados en buena medida por procesos de imitación y aprendizaje, siendo particularmente relevante las interacciones con otros niveles de gobierno. Así, la política de innovación española fue muy influyente en lo que se refiere al organigrama institucional de gobierno, particularmente al inicio. La influencia del nivel europeo fue aumentando gradualmente, sobre todo en el campo de la selección de prioridades e instrumentos, hasta llegar al punto culminante en la actualidad con la RIS3. Aún así, la política gallega de innovación fue poco a poco consolidando una dinámica propia, debido a los propios procesos internos de acumulación de experiencias y de aprendizaje. A partir del año 2009 se producen cambios de cierto calado, en buena medida debido a la crisis económica. Esta crisis no solo significó una disminución del presupuesto público para la innovación, sino que también posibilitó un escenario para que pudieran aplicarse cambios en la orientación ideológica y en los instrumentos de esta política. ; O obxectivo deste artigo é explicar os cambios acontecidos na política galega de innovación durante as dúas últimas décadas. Observamos que esta política xurdiu como unha política de innovación, e non só de ciencia e tecnoloxía, a finais dos anos 90. En certo modo, existe un patrón de continuidade ata o 2009 en que os cambios viñeron determinados en boa medida por procesos de imitación e aprendizaxe, sendo particularmente relevante as interaccións con outros niveis de goberno. Así, a política de innovación española foi moi influente no que se refire ao organigrama institucional de goberno, particularmente ao inicio. A influencia do nivel europeo foi aumentando gradualmente, sobre todo no eido da selección de prioridades e instrumentos, ata chegar ao punto culminante na actualidade coa RIS3. Aínda así, a política galega de innovación foi pouco a pouco consolidando unha dinámica propia, debido aos propios procesos internos de acumulación de experiencias e de aprendizaxe. A partir do ano 2009 prodúcense mudanzas de certo calado, en boa medida debido á crise económica. Esa crise no só significou unha diminución do orzamento público para a innovación, senón que tamén posibilitou un escenario para que puideran aplicarse cambios na orientación ideolóxica e nos instrumentos desta política.

This paper examines participation in water management, more specifically in implementing the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Norway. Attainment of the goals of the WFD depends on new ways of coordinating the activities, knowledge and resources of many sectors and levels of government, including the private sector. The WFD explicitly emphasizes broad stakeholder involvement and public participation. The new network arena of River Basin District Water Boards at the regional level and Sub-District Boards at the sub-regional level, cut across existing municipal, regional and national borders. In each River Basin District, broad reference groups are established. Through surveys and qualitative case studies, we examine how this norm of participation is operationalized in the River Basin Districts, and how different actors evaluate it. We find that the reference grou ps have mobilized many actors from civil society and the private sector, but they do not report having influe nce. The role of the reference group is unclear. ; Artikkelen er skrevet i forskningsprosjektet «Water Pollution Abatement in a System of Multi-level Governance: A study of Norway's implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WAPABAT), finansiert av MILJØ2015-programmet i Norges forskningsråd.

The aim of this study was to reveal if there is literature about who's still playing Pokémon Go two years after game launch, and whether players report the AR-aspect as part of the reason they're still engaging in the game. Investigating the phenomenon covered widely by news and social media from this angle could be of interest of public health workers with the ambition to replicate the success. We ran a systematic search resulting in 22 articles included, published between 2016-2018. The results revealed that the main part of the included studies were conducted just around game launch (July 2016) and within the first six months Pokémon Go was out "in the wild". AR was in general not questioned about, and there exists different and vague understandings of what augmented reality actually is. We were not able to identify the typical long-term player engaging with the game, and to what extent AR was a part of the prolonged success. The search also revealed a lack of longitudinal studies (with larger, more representative participant groups) about general social and mental health implications of playing the game. The studies imply a successful combination of several game aspects - whether playing for the adventure and discovering new places, family bonding, general game flexibility, "to pass time", a bit of nostalgia – or just for fun. Further studies are needed to understand of which importance it is to implement an AR- or location-based-feature, the importance of branding, what app/game mechanics appeal to the general and how deeply immersive experiences through a mobile screen are able to affect us, dragging us into an augmented world – and keeping us there. ; M-FOL

This master's thesis seeks to map the discourse on trust-based management and leadership (TBML) in some of the largest Norwegian newspapers. Namely to assess 1) the Norwegian discourse compared to tendencies otherwise in Scandinavia, 2) which actors are most active within the discourse, 3) the terminology used to frame TBML, as well as aspects of the newspapers, 4) attitudes towards TBML and their development, and 5) the development in the spread (mention) of TBML over time. Over 180 newspaper articles have been selected, covering a period of eleven years (2010-2020). They are registered and analyzed by utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Concepts from discourse analysis are drawn upon throughout. The results are viewed and discussed within the frame of the initial five-part division of focal areas and discussed in light of relevant theory on the fields of trust, discourse, and the spread of management and leadership ideas. The findings indicate that the Norwegian discourse gains momentum simultaneously as the rest of Scandinavia, though with a few more odd peaks in mention, related to specific, highly politicized and debated topics. By sector, political representation and attitudes, the actors that are most active within the discourse are political, social-democratic and positive towards TBML. The most positive actors towards TBML, by level of position, are political and public leaders. I tie these individual groupings of actors to different theoretical contributions on the spread of management ideas, hereunder diffusion theory, the translation of ideas, the life-cycle perspective, and the analogy of resistance. Pronounced negative mention of TBML does not occur, however, TBML is often problematized by individual actors through a line of thought that sees "trust" as a phenomenon that cannot be united with a professional reality that calls for control. The problematization of TBML is also more frequent in regional newspapers and by actors on employee level. The findings also indicate that the shift in conceptual focus from "leadership" exclusively, to "management (steering) and leadership" over the last three years, results from a process of learning. "Steering" as a counter-concept, paradoxically becomes more common at the same time. This is tied to the leader-employee division and its impact on the spread, reception and implementation of ideas. To the degree the spread of TBML can be mapped by article frequency over time, it seems to follow an S-shaped diffusion line. However, other important aspects than the visual development in article frequency are in line with different approaches to the spread of management ideas, as highlighted throughout the analysis. ; publishedVersion

The EU lacks a single legislation on port matters, except for provisions concerning port facilities and the operations of certain technical port services. Europe has more than 1200 ports, of which 319 are global and basic, integrated into the TransEuropean Transport Networks as a whole. Ports play an essential role in the EU trade and passenger services, as they are key nodes in global trade networks. 74% of non-EU trade takes place through ports. The European port sector is not homogeneous and is based on different organizational models. European port diversity (in term of size and type of organizational) makes it difficult to define a joint strategy. This work addresses the analysis of progress in the construction of a common port policy, as well as the different cross-conceptions of the maritime port business agents. ; La Unión Europea carece de una legislación única en materia portuaria, salvo disposiciones relativas a las instalaciones portuarias y al funcionamiento de determinados servicios técnico-náuticos. Europa cuenta con más de 1.200 puertos, de los que 319 entre globales y básicos están integrados en el conjunto de las Redes Transeuropeas de Transporte. Los puertos desempeñan un rol esencial en lo que se refiere a los intercambios comerciales de la UE y en lo que concierne al servicio de pasajeros en la medida que son nodos clave en la red comercial mundial. Así, el 74% de las mercancías extracomunitarias se envían a través de los puertos. El sector portuario europeo no es homogéneo y reposa sobre diversos modelos organizativos. La diversidad portuaria europea, con diferenciación significativa en cuanto a tamaño, tipo, organización y forma de conectarse, hace difícil definir una estrategia conjunta para afrontar los grandes retos actuales. El trabajo aborda el análisis de los avances en la construcción de una política común portuaria y al mismo tiempo se exponen las distintas concepciones cruzadas de los actores del negocio marítimo y portuario. ; A Unión Europea carece dunha lexislación única en materia portuaria, agás disposicións relativas ás instalacións portuarias e ao funcionamento de determinados servizos técnico-náuticos. Europa conta con máis de 1.200 portos, dos que 319 entre glo-bais e básicos están integrados no conxunto das Redes Transeuropeas de Transporte. Os portos desempeñan un rol esencial no tocante aos intercambios comerciais da UE e no que concirne ao servizo de pasaxeiros na medida en que son nós claves na rede comercial mundial. Así, o 74% das mercadorías extracomunitarias envíanse a través dos portos. O sector portuario eu-ropeo non é homoxéneo e repousa sobre diversos modelos organizativos. A diversidade portuaria europea, con diferencia-ción significativa en canto a tamaño, tipo, organización e forma de conectarse, fai difícil definir unha estratexia conxunta para afrontar os grandes retos actuais. O traballo aborda a análise dos avances na construción dunha política común portuaria e asemade expóñense as distintas concepcións cruzadas dos actores do negocio marítimo e portuario.

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