Youth Delinquency or Everyday Racism? Front-line Professionals’ Perspectives on Preventing Racism and Intolerance in Sweden

In this article, I ask which problematizations of racism and intolerance that substantiate a local implementation of a targeted educational program in Sweden, called the Tolerance Project. By participating in municipality-level meetings and conversations with front-line professionals concerning the recent implementation of the program in one specific region, I have found several motivations for the continuing work to reduce racism and intolerance at schools. To emphasize this point, I have divided the problematizations into four ideal types and applied a ‘what’s the problem represented to be’ analysis to each of them. The four problematizations can be described in the following terms: generational racism, growth of the Sweden Democrats, normalization of racist language, and general ‘at-risk’ youths. The first three problematizations are context dependent, in terms of both time (during the so-called refugee crisis) and space (in a region with a long history of National Socialism). Problematizing generational racism, growth of the Sweden Democrats and normalization of racist language indicate that what is mainly to be prevented is anti-immigrant sentiments in the young as well as the adult population. This implies a limitation to the role of schools in prevention, as adults cannot be directly targeted by the school. The fourth ideal type, at-risk youth, emphasizes that there are certain risk factors that might cause young people to later radicalize or deviate in one way or another. This corresponds to the general discourse of radicalization, but, in line with other studies of front-line professionals’ perspectives, there is no clear distinction between preventing radicalization and fostering democratic citizens. Furthermore, the conglomeration of problematizations might decrease the stigmatizing effect that a targeted initiative can have, as opposed to initiatives that operate with one specific target group. The Tolerance Project might thus be a useful model for the prevention of all forms of radicalization

The Role of Customer Engagement in Innovation Adoption

Full knowledge of a customer\u27s true unmet need should improve the likelihood of providing that customer with an Option that meets the need. Since there is inherent risk in making any change, that customer will be more likely to accept the risk they more they understand the option. Both the customer and the solution provider possess knowledge that the other needs, knowledge which is often highly contextual and difficult to transfer, and thus a sufficiently close relationship between the customer and the solution provider should improve this knowledge transfer. It is, however, exceedingly difficult to measure this relationship, or the level of understanding achieved, and its impact on the adoption of an innovative solution due the wide range of conditions under which change takes place. There is a concern that involving the customer will tend to lead to more constraints and desires being expressed by the customer. Projects conducted under the U.S. Air Force Core Process Three (CP-3) program, which share a number of common traits, served as the basis for this research in isolating the effect of customer engagement on innovation adoption. Technologists in CP-3 projects were surveyed for their assessments of customer engagement, their own understanding of the customer\u27s true need, and the risk they felt the customer was willing to accept. This research showed that customer engagement does lead to an increase in the understanding of the need and, further, that higher levels of engagement lead to a convergent customer voice that does not result in an increase in customer requirements

Gevinstrealisering – et fint begrep, men er det et godt grep? En kvalitativ casestudie av innføringen av gevinstrealiseringsmetodikk i Statpeds digitaliseringsprosjekt

Temaet for denne masteravhandlingen er implementering og iverksetting av gevinstrealiseringsmetodikk i Statped sitt digitaliseringsprosjekt. Vi ser på gevinstrealisering som en idé på reise. Den dukker opp, har sin tid, for så senere å bli fortrengt av nye ideer (Røvik, 1998). Oppgaven studerer gevinstrealisering sin ferd gjennom Statped, og oppgavens problemstilling er: Hvorfor har Statped tatt inn gevinstrealiseringsmetodikk som en del av sitt digitaliseringsprosjekt, og hvilke hemmere og fremmere har knyttet seg til implementering og iverksetting av gevinstrealisering i prosjektet? Hvorfor Statped har blitt motivert til å ta i bruk gevinstrealiseringsmetodikk som en del av sitt prosjekt er sentralt. Dette har vi belyst gjennom Røvik (1998, 2007) og Christensen, Egeberg, Lægreid, Roness & Røvik (2017) sine teorier om hvorfor organisasjoner motiveres til å ta inn organisasjonsoppskrifter; det rasjonalistisk- instrumentelle perspektivet og det symbolsk- institusjonelle perspektivet. Hvilke fremmere og hemmere som har vist seg underveis i innføringen sees i lys av fire ulike teorier for implementering. Teori om rask tilkobling, frastøting og frikobling, i tillegg til oversettelse. Vi ser også på momenter som kan knytte seg til endring og endringsmotstand og hvorvidt oppskriften er kompatibel med Statpeds kultur. Oppgaven har hatt et intensivt undersøkelsesopplegg med bruk av enkeltcase- studie. Det har vært en kvalitativ metode for datainnsamlingen og semistrukturert intervju er brukt som instrument. Som hovedkonklusjon kan en si at gevinstrealisering er tatt inn i Statped som følge av et institusjonelt -symbolperspektiv og har trekk av «mimetisk» adoptering. Viktige fremmere er m.a. organisasjonsinterne oversettere og tett kobling til virksomhetsstyring, mens hemmerne har knyttet seg til et for optimistisk scenario på implementeringen, kommunikasjon og oppskriftens kompatibilitet i organisasjonen

Water Quality and Sanitation, Aquatic Flora Fauna

Division of Power (DOP

The Government Deference Dimension of Judicial Decision Making: Evidence from the Supreme Court of Norway

Past research has revealed conflicting findings regarding the degree to which judges on European apex courts enact their policy preferences or instead disagree on the basis of divergent legal views. We investigate disagreement between judges on the Norwegian Supreme Court between 1996 and 2016. During this period, the court dealt with a greater volume of policy-relevant cases than previously. The method of appointment to the court was also changed to a judicial appointments commission. We analyse non-unanimous cases using item response theory models. We find that judges are not divided along left–right lines but instead disagree about the appropriate degree of deference to give to public authorities. There is no significant association between the appointing government and judges' ideal points either before or after the reform to appointments. Judges who were formerly academics are however much less deferential than career judges or judges who were previously lawyers in private practice.publishedVersio

Tiltak mot forsuring av Lyseelva. Kalkingsplan

På bakgrunn av forsuringssituasjonen i Lysevassdraget i Rogaland er det utarbeidet en kalkingsplan for å bedre forholdene for laksen i elva. Planen er utarbeidet i to alternativer, hvorav alternativ I anbefales. dette alternativet innebærer en doserer i hovedelva og èn doserer i sidevassdraget Stølåna. Kostnader til innkjøp og fundamentering av doseringsanlegg er anslått til omkring 1,4 mill. kr, mens framføring av vei, telefon og strøm vil kunne beløpe seg til 0,1-1,0 mill. kr., avhengig av valgt plasseringsalternativ for doseringsanleggene. de årlige utgiftene til kalk (310 tonn/år) og drifts-/serviceavtaler er anslått til drøyt 0.4 mill. kr

Tilfeldighetsprinsippet i Norges Høyesterett: Fordelingen av saker mellom dommere og fordelingen av dommere på avdeling. En empirisk undersøkelse

I hvilken grad etterlever Norges Høyesterett sitt eget «tilfeldighetsprinsipp» som domstolen sier den praktiserer? Et tilfeldighetsprinsipp er en viktig prosedyre som skal sikre at tildelingen av saker til dommere og fordelingen av dommere til avdeling ikke skjeler til sakens utfall. Vi finner ingen forretningsorden på tilfeldighetsprinsippet som gjør prosedyren gjennomsiktig og etterprøvbar for avdelingene, men vi legger til grunn prosedyren Høyesterett sier den følger. Vi tester to sider ved Høyesteretts tilfeldighetsprinsipp. For det første i hvor stor grad sivile saker og straffesaker over tid fordeles likt på dommerne. For det andre i hvor stor grad sammensetningen av avdelingene følger «tilfeldighetsprinsippet» om å ha avdelingenes ti dommerne fordelt i avtagende og alternerende ansiennitet. Vi analyserer sakene som er avgjort i avdeling i perioden 2008-2019. For den første testen finner vi en jevn fordeling av sivile saker og straffesaker til dommerne, med noen unntak som sannsynligvis kan forklares av habilitetsvurderinger. For den andre testen finner vi at bare 22.5 prosent av avdelingene som har forhandlinger samme dag er i samsvar med Høyesteretts egne interne prosedyrer for tilfeldighetsprinsippet. Hele 77.5 prosent av avdelingene er ikke i samsvar med domstolens erklærte prosedyre. Vi finner ingen åpenbare årsaker til at andelen avdelinger som avviker fra «tilfeldighetsprinsippet» skal være så stor. Resultatene bør oppmuntre til en avklaring og større gjennomsiktighet av hvordan Høyesterett praktiserer sitt erklærte tilfeldighetsprinsipp.acceptedVersio

In the green? Perceptions of hydrogen production methods among the Norwegian public

This article presents findings from a representative survey, fielded through the Norwegian Citizen Panel, examining public perceptions of hydrogen fuel and its different production methods. Although several countries, including Norway, have strategies to increase the production of hydrogen fuel, our results indicate that hydrogen as an energy carrier, and its different production methods, are still unknown to a large part of the public. A common misunderstanding seems to be confusing ‘hydrogen fuel’ in general with environmentally friendly ‘green hydrogen’. Results from a survey experiment (N = 1906) show that production method is important for public acceptance. On a five-point acceptance scale, respondents score on average 3.9 for ‘green’ hydrogen, which is produced from renewable energy sources. The level of acceptance is significantly lower for ‘blue’ (3.2) and ‘grey’ (2.3) hydrogen when respondents are informed that these are produced from coal, oil, or natural gas. Public support for hydrogen fuel in general, as well as the different production methods, is also related to their level of worry about climate change, gender, and political affiliation. Widespread misunderstandings regarding ‘green’ hydrogen production could potentially fuel public resistance as new ‘blue’ or ‘grey’ projects develop. Our results indicate a need for clearer communication from the government and developers regarding production methods to avoid distrust and potential public backfire.publishedVersio

Beyond the myth of legality? Framing effects and public reactions to high court decisions in Europe

How do people respond to different decision-making processes in high courts? One long-standing view suggests that citizens expect courts to be neutral arbiters of legal controversies. Although the relevance of such “myth of legality” has been challenged, we know very little about the relationship between the portrayals of the motives of courts and justices and public attitudes in civil law countries. We explore this question in a pair of experiments in Norway and Portugal where we isolate the effects of different institutional frames from outcome favorability. We find that while partisan frames are detrimental to fairness perceptions and acceptance of decisions, depictions of judicial decision-making that emphasize policy goals do not adversely affect citizens’ responses in comparison with legalistic frames. The results suggest that, even in civil law systems, preserving the myth of legality may not be a necessary condition to elicit public support for judicial decisions

Valgets kval: En kvalitativ undersøkelse om hvordan behandlere jobber med ambivalens for å fasilitere deltakelse i behandling hos mennesker med spiseforstyrrelse

Hovedoppgave psykologprogrammetPROPSY317PRPSY