Forskning i ledelseseffekter på borgernes udbytte af de offentlige ydelser: styrker, svagheder og fremtidige perspektiver

Både i Danmark og internationalt forskes der mere og mere i offentlig ledelse, og denne artikel giver et overblik over litteraturen om, hvilken effekt offentlig ledelse har på borgernes udbytte af de offentlige ydelser. Herunder går vi i dybden med transformationsledelse som en central tilgang indenfor lederskab, der fokuserer på lederens adfærd. Vi beskriver også dele af styringslitteraturen, der i højere grad fokuserer på effekten af formelle ledelsesredskaber. Endelig diskuterer vi ikke-ledercentrerede tilgange i form af forskning i distribueret ledelse og kollaborativ ledelse. I den afsluttende perspektivering diskuterer vi, hvordan fremtidig ledelsesforskning kan skabe mere sikker viden om ledelseseffekter på borgernes udbytte af de offentlige ydelser samt inddrage kontekstens betydning for dette

Brugernes reaktion når det offentlige øger serviceniveauet. Resultater fra et lodtrækningsforsøg på skoleområdet

Det er først for nylig, at det inden for uddannelsesområdet er blevet undersøgt, hvordan brugere reagerer, når investeringer i den offentlige serviceproduktion øges. Disse nye studier tyder på, at det får brugerne til at sænke deres bidrag til produktionen af disse ydelser. Det er uheldigt i den forstand, at det sænker den samlede effekt af de offentlige investeringer. Teori om samproduktion tilsiger imidlertid, at brugernes reaktion på forstærkede offentlige indsatser vil afhænge af, om de opfatter indsatserne som komplementære i forhold til, hvad de selv kan bidrage med, eller om de opfatter dem som rene substitutter. Vi undersøger brugernes reaktion ved i et felteksperiment på skoleområdet at sammenligne effekten af tre forskellige men sammenlignelige indsatser. Resultaterne viser, at den indsats, der appellerede til forældrenes aktive bidrag ved at give de fagligt svageste børn flere lektier for – og som samtidig var målrettet hjælp til børnene frem for hjælp til læreren – faktisk gjorde, at børnene oplevede, at forældrene hjalp dem mere med skolearbejdet. Resultaterne giver derfor grund til at forvente, at effekten af offentlige indsatser kan forstærkes frem for svækkes, hvis de tilrettelægges, så de giver brugerne en oplevelse af, at deres bidrag kan komplementere den offentlige indsats

Randomised controlled trials in Scandinavian educational research

Background: The Scandinavian countries have a long history of implementing social interventions, but the interventions have not been examined using randomised controlled trials until relatively recently compared with countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of randomised controlled trials in Scandinavian compulsory schools (grades 0–10; pupil ages 6–15). Specifically, we investigate drivers and barriers for randomised controlled trials in educational research and the differences between the three Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Methods: To locate relevant trials, we performed a systematic search of four bibliographic databases and a search for grey literature. Results were combined with trials located through direct contact with researchers and government officials. A trial was included if one or more interventions were randomly assigned to groups of students and carried out in a school setting with the primary aim of improving the academic performance of children aged 6–15 in grades 0–10 in Denmark, Norway, or Sweden. We included both conducted and ongoing trials. Publications that seemed relevant were screened based on full-text versions. Data extraction included information from the included studies on grade level, study period, sample size (N), project owner, funding source, and theme. In addition, we conducted two semi-structured interviews by phone or in person with central employees in funding agencies and ministries and 25 correspondences with researchers and policymakers. Findings and conclusion: RCTs in grades 0–10 were few in all of Scandinavia until about 2011, after which there was an increase in all three countries, although at different rates. The largest number of trials has been conducted in Denmark, and the increase is more marked in Denmark and Norway compared with Sweden. International trends towards more impact evaluations and results from international comparisons such as PISA have likely affected the development in all countries, but while many trials in Denmark and Norway are the result of policy initiatives, only one such example in Sweden was identified. We believe the lack of government initiatives to promote RCTs in Sweden is the most likely explanation for the differences across the Scandinavian countries. Funding and coordination from the government are often crucial for the implementation of RCTs and are likely more important in smaller countries such as the Scandinavian ones. Supporting institutions have now been established in all three countries, and we believe that the use of RCTs in Scandinavian educational research is likely to continue.publishedVersio

Continuous-wave second-harmonic generation in the far-UVC pumped by a blue laser diode

Far-UVC light in the wavelength range of 200-230 nm has attracted renewed interest because of its safety for human exposure and effectiveness in inactivating pathogens. Here we present a compact solid-state far-UVC laser source based on second-harmonic generation (SHG) using a low-cost commercially-available blue laser diode pump. Leveraging the high intensity of light in a nanophotonic waveguide and heterogeneous integration, our approach achieves Cherenkov phase-matching across a bonded interface consisting of a silicon nitride (SiN) waveguide and a beta barium borate (BBO) nonlinear crystal. Through systematic investigations of waveguide dimensions and pump power, we analyze the dependencies of Cherenkov emission angle, conversion efficiency, and output power. Experimental results confirm the feasibility of generating far-UVC, paving the way for mass production in a compact form factor. This solid-state far-UVC laser source shows significant potential for applications in human-safe disinfection, non-line-of-sight free-space communication, and deep-UV Raman spectroscopy

Re: Imaging and reporting considerations for suspected physical abuse (non-accidental injury) in infants and young children. Part 1: initial considerations and appendicular skeleton. A reply

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