This thesis has aimed to study steering process and institutionalization in the context of educational policy work. This has been conducted by using empirical material from the political decision-making process that preceded the implementation of a new national program on how principals should be educated and certified. By using an aggregated theoretical point of view containing new institutionalism and traditional Swedish curriculum theory, the process was analyzed from different perspectives. The results depict a process that contained several actors who tried to shape the principal education program differently. From the theoretical perspectives, the decision-making process could be understood as an act of both self-interest as well as trust in their own beliefs and cultural values.

In 2010 Swedish political parties used commercials broadcasted on TV for the first time in order to gain votes in a general election. In connection with the election the parties were criticized for not succeeding to formulate a story to the voters that conveyed how they wanted to change Sweden. In this paper I use central concepts from rhetoric, storytelling, postmodernism and psychology to formulate three demands each on the narrator, the story and its reception. Using the resulting image of what distinguishes a good narrator, a good story and a good reception as a starting point, I investigate to what extent the critique was justified. My findings indicate that the degree to which the commercials fulfill these demands vary greatly.

A brush of paint on a grey compound wall can mean so much more than simply an addition of colour. It can meanan appropriation of public space, a shared public space enclosed by a wall now ?owned? by someone. It can meanan arisen conflict leading to debate about the right to use public space.The Wall Project is a Mumbai based beautification project that uses paint and outdoor walls to brighten uptheir city. The Urban Typhoon workshop is an activity set up in self-evolving neighbourhoods where municipalinterference is scarce.

The aim of this master thesis is to study how the development of a public library by means of ideas and methods from the private sector can be related to traditional core values. We base our study on institutional theory, which focuses on norms and values in an organisation, and new institutional theory, which focuses on how organisations are influenced by changes in the environment. We also use New Public Management with a market focus to analyze the implications of a development towards a more market oriented view.The method used is that of a case study of a new library concept, Idea Stores in London. Idea Stores are a number of new public libraries in Tower Hamlets developed from the results of a major opinion survey about libraries. The Idea Stores combine traditional library services with elements of adult education and lifelong learning in a partnership with local learning centres.

ÖREBRO UNIVERSITYDepartment of Behavioural, Social and Legal SciencesC-essay in Social work, Advanced course2006To give up a criminal life styleA study of motivation and protectional factors of juveniles after a sentence of institutional care or community workEmma Henriksson & Karin TengnäsABSTRACTThe purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that juveniles sentenced to institutional care or community work perceive as important for their decision to give up a criminal life style. The study approach was based on a few specific questions: (1) What aspects of the treatment have contributed to a motivation to abandon the criminal life style? (2) What have motivated the juveniles to make a decision to leave the criminal life style? (3) Are there any specific internal or external protectional factors that have been decisive for the rehabilitation process and, if so, are they linked to intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? The study rests on the theoretical foundation created by earlier research on institutional care, motivation and protectional factors. Interviews were chosen as a method to secure qualitative data and the interview manual was designed on the basis of themes that reflect the questions of the study. Six young people?s perception of their treatment is documented in the study, as well as their opinion on the effectiveness of the treatment.

Risk-free profit sounds appealing. The opportunity to arbitrage exists. Investments in underpriced IPO:s can generate profit, but for whom?Previous studies have shown that underpricing is a common phenomenon. This study intends to investigate whether underpricing and the arbitrage opportunity exists on Aktietorget which is a smaller venue.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the United Nation?s work and structure to find possible factors that can explain why some peacekeeping operations have achieved to mainstream a gender perspective, when others have not. This study is based on two cases; the peacekeeping operation in Namibia and the peacekeeping operation in Kosovo.The theory I have chosen to apply is feminism, a theory that allows an alternative explanation to this phenomenon. The conclusion is that there are three decisive factors: The leadership and its will to recruit female personnel to decision-making positions, the number of female employees and whether the peacekeeping operation cooperates with local women-organisations or not. All this is of great importance whether the institutional hegemonic masculine culture within the United Nation and its peacekeeping operations, is challenged or not..

The emergency medical care in Sweden has been under persistent debate, due to factors such as long waiting hours, inefficient patient flow, and understaffed departments. In an effort to meet the critique and with a willingness to improve the problems, an increasing amount of emergency clinics are adopting theories and models within Lean. Positive outcomes are evident, there has been some criticism directed towards Lean. Among these is the argument that in order for Lean to be successful it needs to be used within standardized and foreseeable processes, and that it therefore only is applicable to those kind of processes found within industrial production. This prompted the question of whether Lean was a suitable strategy within emergency medical care, considering the large variation of patients and non-foreseeable processes that in fact share little resemblance to that of industrial production.

Abstract: In this Master's thesis our aim is to study the situation and process regarding the decision to use outsourcing of the media acquisition function in a Swedish public library. By using New institutional theory, focusing on ways of organising and values in the organisation we are able to analyse this phenomenon. Skot-Hansens theory about three different culture political argumentation schemes, humanistic, sociological and instrumental (or market oriented), gives us the opportunity to place statements and facts into a functional theoretical context. The market oriented scheme is further clarified with the concept of New Public Management. The role of values in the institution, regarding aims and goals is stressed.

This thesis is based on the implementation of a bilateral rural development program in Burkina Faso. The main purpose of this study was to put the actual implementation process of a bilateral development program in view. This was done by investigating how two dominant perspectives in the implementation literature can explain what in fact happens during the realization of an aid program. A further aim of the thesis was to explore the limitations of these two dominant theories, in order to get a full understanding of the complexity of the realization of an aid program. Based on the implementation theory, this study shows that the realization of an aid program can be understood from three different angles.

The purpose of this study is, on the basis of institutional theory, to contribute with moreunderstanding about resistance to management accounting change and also to survey reasonsfor the resistance and how to cope with the resistance.The study is a qualitative case study and semi-structured interviews have been used tocomplement the study?s theoretical area, consisting of scientific articles.The conclusion from the study is that resistance to management accounting change can beunderstood and explained by the institutions of each organisation and its underlying structures. Afurther conclusion is, with the structures in mind there are many reasons for resistance and alsomany ways to cope with the resistance. A model has been produced in purpose to createunderstanding and to survey the resistance to management accounting change..

This is a study concerning the conventions surrounding death and it´s rituals during the latter half ofthe 21th century. The study´s main material is the official magazine of SBF - Sweden´s funeral association ? Memento. By studying the undertaker and the self-image of his services at an intervalof years from 1945 to 2005, one is able to notice certain changes of values concerning what afuneral, a chest and a tombstone really is ? or rather how the meaning of these symbols of death slowly shifts from the ?dignity? of death towards the self-expression of the individual.In the 1940´s towards the 80´s, there is much talk of giving the dead a ?dignified? funeral and burial, and this is how the undertaker defends himself against public critique of his or her´sprofession´s ?trade with death?.

The use of social media has increased considerably in recent years and has also caused some problems. It has been notable cases in the media where employees adversely criticized their employer on social networks, which subsequently led to the dismissal of the employee. The purpose of this study is to investigate an employee's right to express themselves about their employers in various forms but the main focus will be on social networks. The study investigates employees on both private and public sectors.Employees have a duty of loyalty to their employer, which means that they must be loyal to their employer and not deliberately harm them. The reason that employed comment his employer on social networks has its basis in that they also have freedom of speech and it is raised in such a case, a collision between their rights and responsibilities as an employee.The employees also hold a critique right entitling them to publicly criticize the employer and its activities.

The following inquiry begins with one simple question: who is the margin? In other words, what is the referent of the term margin? Is it possible for language to capture connotations of an intended and supposed reality beyond its own limits? My supposition is that margin is a valuable concept to critical studies of the hegemonic order and dominant culture in various contexts. It is therefore necessary to expose the term itself to a critical analysis by attempting to trace its position in different discourses. The intention is to illustrate that the term margin is not merely an abstraction, confined within the framework of intricate theoretical rhetoric.In a deconstructive analysis of Gender Trouble by Judith Butler and Can the Subaltern Speak? by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, based on the work of Jacques Derrida, I study the significance of the term margin and explore how the use or non-use of concrete examples affects the reception of both the term margin and ultimately the text as a whole.The study of these two texts reveals that some of the very same critique raised by Butler and Spivak is itself applicable to the authors? own theory production.

The purpose with this study has been, based on different public and private procurement conditions, to measure if there are any significant differences in the business relations between public- and private institutional kitchens. Furthermore, to observe what important influencing factors there are to maintain and develop a relationship between a producer and customer. The result of the analysis shows that there are important factors that influences on the trust in the relationship between a producer and customer. These factors are product- and service exchange, communication, strategic purchase and social exchange. In this examination we have showed that there are differences in the relationship between public- and private customers.