Trust and Organization: Integrating Responses to Freshwater Contamination within the Everyday Work of a Care Organization

In order to cut the word count I rewrote the entire abstract. Please replace with: Crisis management literature regularly focuses on large-scale incidents, crisis management organizations, and a managerial top-down approach. In reality, many crisis situations are small scale and local, involve non-emergency organizations, and often affect the entire organization. This chapter addresses this lacuna by fleshing out the empirical case of the outbreak of a waterborne parasite in a small municipality in Northern Sweden. The analysis showed that the outbreak affected the whole organization and was managed by the active agency of operative personnel and central experts. Additionally, findings suggest that spheres of action and different time-spatial framings were decisive elements in managing the crisis. The study concludes that issues of trust and the organizational setting influenced the framing and handling of the outbreak. In particular, the level of vertically directed trust established before the outbreak, along with the relatively high independence of the different units at operational level, played a decisive role in the integration of the outbreak in the everyday work of the organization. The paper calls for the development of organization theory addressing non-emergency organizations, small-scale events, and the integration of adverse events in the formal and social structures of everyday work

Protected Designation of Origin, Protected Geographical Indication : their significance for the growth of the food industries in France and Sweden

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is a quality control system created by the European Union (EU) to protect integrity of certain food and drinks that are produced in a specific area in a unique way. By protecting these products, the EU can certify that the traditional region-specific methods of food and drink production are preserved. The EU countries that follow such a system are mostly from Southern Europe. For instance in France, the PDO system has helped improve the income for farmers, boosted the rural development and assured protection for farmers against the abuse of their brand and the selling of their products by outsiders. In Sweden, there are no PDO products yet, instead there is Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guarantee (TSG) that are not as protective as PDO. However, there are many local products in Sweden that have a potential to be protected under the PDO system. The aim of this study is to find the reasons behind the absence of the PDO and to find possibilities to implement such a system in Sweden. The methods used are literature review, subject-specific websites and interviews that were carried out with two French companies following the system and two Swedish companies using PGI and TSG. Interviews with two scientists were also conducted to understand the cause of absence of PDO system in Sweden. This study showed that French companies are well aware of the PDO system, while knowledge of the PDO system is still poor among the Swedish companies. Furthermore, the Swedish government is yet to be convinced that the PDO system is for the benefit of the producers. Interestingly, EU rules concerning PDO do not seem to encourage the Swedish government to adopt the system all the way.Skyddad ursprungsbeteckning (på engelska: Protected Designation of Origin, PDO) är ett system för kvalitetskontroll som skapats i Europeiska Unionen för att skydda integriteten för vissa livsmedel och drycker som produceras i ett visst område på ett unikt sätt. Genom att skydda dessa produkter kan Europeiska unionen (EU) intyga att den traditionella region-specifika metoder för att producera ett visst livsmedel och dryck bevaras. De EU-länder som följer ett sådant system är i stort sett från södra Europa. T.ex. i Frankrike har PDO-systemet bidragit till att förbättra inkomsterna för jordbrukare, stärkt landsbygdsutvecklingen och säkerställt skydd för jordbrukarna mot olaglig kopiering och försäljning av deras produkter av utomstående. I Sverige finns det inga PDO produkter ännu, istället finns det skyddad geografisk beteckning (PGI, på engelska: Protected Geographical Indication) och traditionell specialitet garanterad (TSG, på engelska: Traditional Speciality Guarantee ) som ger ett sämre produktskydd än det som utlovas av PDO. Emellertid finns det många lokala produkter i Sverige som har en potential att få skydd av PDO systemet. Syftet med denna studie är att finna orsakerna bakom avsaknaden av PDO och att hitta möjligheter att genomföra ett sådant system i Sverige. Metoderna som används är litteraturstudie, genomgång av ämnesspecifika webbsidor och intervjuer som genomfördes med två franska företag som följer PDO och två svenska företag som använder PGI och TSG. Intervjuer med två forskare utfördes också i syfte att förstå orsaken till frånvaron av PDO i Sverige. Denna studie visade att de franska företagen är väl medvetna om fördelar med PDO system, medan kunskap om PDO är fortfarande knapphändig bland de svenska företagen. Dessutom är den svenska regeringen ännu inte övertygad om att PDO egentligen är till fördel för producenterna. Intressant nog verkar EU: s regler om PDO inte uppmuntra den svenska regeringen till att införa systemet för svenska producenter

The extractive industries transparency initiative in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This study looks at the adaptation and implementation of the E.I.T.I principles in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and assesses whether governance through transparency and accountability practices in its extractive sector have improved. It relies on 18 interviews with stakeholders implicated in the E.I.T.I implementation, a literature review, and reports from various stakeholders. The analysis of data is based on Michel Foucault’s theory of governmentality as well as a review of key concepts such as transparency, accountability and governance. The study uncovers that a culture of transparency and democratic debate is gradually gaining ground, although there is still too much resistance that prevents the E.I.T.I from leading to profound changes in policies in the extractive sector. In line with the previous studies, the E.I.T.I institutional and operational goals are progressing at the macro level of institutions but progress is almost inexistent at the micro-level. It concludes that in the DRC, E.I.T.I’s development goals are far from being achieved because all stakeholders do not fully understand the standard’s objectives. The study proposes that government sticks to E.I.T.I’s guidelines in administrating mining revenue’s, setting clear and measurable targets, implementing efficient data collection systems, put together a review system mechanism, and set up a punishment/reward mechanism that works. In sum, this study contributes to the field of natural resource management by pointing out that internal motivation, internal capacity, and external pressure appear to facilitate or limit the success of the global standard in solving the resource curse in poor countries that are rich in natural resources

Social and technological aspects of disaster resilience

Large scale projects tasked with designing infrastructures and urban networks resilient to disasters face a common challenge, i.e. the need to address concomitant technological issues and social problems. What is more, conflicting technologies and the diverse philosophical underpinnings of distinct academic disciplines pose difficulties in the collaboration among experts of different fields. These difficulties and possible ways to tackle them have been highlighted by a questionnaire developed in the framework of an EU project named ANDRDD (Academic Network for Disaster Resilience to optimize Educational development). More specifically, the project investigated the level of interdisciplinary work in current research and educational projects within the field of disaster resilience. findings illustrate the number and types of disciplines involved in disaster resilience projects and suggest that a higher degree of integration between different disciplines in tertiary education could promote a transdisciplinary approach to disaster resilience, resulting in design efficiency and innovation

Disaster Resilience Education and Research Roadmap for Europe 2030 : ANDROID Report

A disaster resilience education and research roadmap for Europe 2030 has been launched. This roadmap represents an important output of the ANDROID disaster resilience network, bringing together existing literature in the field, as well as the results of various analysis and study projects undertaken by project partners.The roadmap sets out five key challenges and opportunities in moving from 2015 to 2030 and aimed at addressing the challenges of the recently announced Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This roadmap was developed as part of the ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network, led by Professor Richard Haigh of the Global Disaster Resilience Centre (www.hud.ac.uk/gdrc ) at the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield, UK. The ANDROID consortium of applied, human, social and natural scientists, supported by international organisations and a stakeholder board, worked together to map the field in disaster resilience education, pool their results and findings, develop interdisciplinary explanations, develop capacity, move forward innovative education agendas, discuss methods, and inform policy development. Further information on ANDROID Disaster Resilience network is available at: http://www.disaster-resilience.netAn ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network ReportANDROI

Interdisciplinary approach to disaster resilience education and research

This paper is based on the results of a survey on “Interdisciplinary working in disaster resilience” conducted by the WP4 work group of the ANDROID Network. The survey had the aim of gathering information on the state of art and practice in the field of disaster resilience and promoting co-operation and interdisciplinary methodologies in research and education. The survey has been carried out by means of a questionnaire focusing on disaster-resilience projects and on the main challenges faced in interdisciplinary working. The results of the questionnaire, which collected 57 answers from more than 20 European countries and few extra European countries as well, allow for three main considerations: i) projects involved 5 different disciplines as average and geography and sociology were present in the majority of the projects; ii) the level of interconnection between disciplines seems intermediate, meaning that information and methods are exchanged, but a full integration of methods and concepts into a common shared language and system of axioms is missing; iii) the lack of a common framework and common terminology represents a major barrier to good interdisciplinary work. The results highlight the role played in disaster-resilience design by social and cultural aspects, which are instead not often adequately considered in the practice. The establishment of an education on resilient design of urban system, which includes both social and technological aspects, emerges as a possible solution to overcome barriers to interdisciplinary work and improve the efficacy and quality of resilience design

Advancing the operationalization of national policy styles

While national policy styles have (re)gained academic attention in recent comparative public policy work, the concept still needs a widely accepted operationalization that can allow the collection and analysis of data across contexts while steering away from construct validity threats. We build on Tosun and Howlett's (2022) work and employ a mixed‐methods approach, which relies on exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. We put forth an operationalization, using Bertelsmann's Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI) as proxies, that achieves conceptual clarity and distinctiveness, informational robustness, and statistical power. Ultimately, we construct two composite indicators—mode of problem‐solving and inclusiveness—calculate them in 41 countries and present policy style classifications based on their combinations. We report the distribution of countries across four policy styles (administrative, managerial, accommodative, adversarial) and conclude with an analysis of the clusters, assessments of robustness, and comparison with other national policy style classification schemes

Uppskattning av flödesregimsändringars inverkan på fiskerier i Mekong-flodområdet

In the Mekong River Basin in southeast Asia, remarkable hydropower development has occurred in the recent decades. While providing renewable energy for a growing population, hydropower dams also have other socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Dams have a big impact on river ecosystems, for example by acting as migration barriers for fish and by altering the flow regime of the river, which affects important habitats, spawning areas and behavioral cues. In the Mekong countries, fisheries are an important source of food and income for millions of people, thus the altered flow regime can affect many livelihoods. This thesis aims to develop a simple statistical method for estimating impacts of flow regime changes on fisheries on a country-wide scale, as many important fish species are migratory and previous studies mostly focused on smaller areas. The method is tested in Laos and Cambodia. Hydrological changes at selected streamgauge stations along the mainstream of the Mekong are analyzed, and correlations are computed between these hydrological changes and the fish catch, which was adjusted using GDP to reduce the effect of external, non-hydrological, factors. The results showed notable alteration to the natural flow regime following intensified hydropower development, especially after 2010. Increased dry season flows and decreased wet season flows were found, which are typical impacts of dam operation. Correlation analyses with GDP-adjusted fish catch in Laos revealed statistically significant negative correlations with parameters related to low flows, which was in contrast with previous studies, where high flows seemed to affect fish production. There was insufficient statistical evidence of correlations with the Cambodian fish catch, which also contradicted previous research and was likely due to large uncertainties in the data. Adjustment of the catch with GDP may also have been inadequate, as it provided a very rough indication of external factors affecting fisheries. These uncertainties make it difficult to assess the usefulness of the method, and further research on GDP adjustment of fish catch could provide insight into this. The results show there is still room for development in the methodology for estimating flow regime impacts on fisheries in the Mekong, and highlights the need for improved data collection on fish catch in the region.I Mekong-flodområdet i Sydostasien har en intensiv utveckling av vattenkraftverk skett under de senaste årtiondena. Kraftverken producerar förnybar el för en växande befolkning, men dammarna har även andra konsekvenser för sociala, ekonomiska och miljöaspekter. Dammar har stor inverkan på floders ekosystem, till exempel blockerar de vandringsrutter för fisk, och ändrar även flodens flödesregim vilket har följder för viktiga habitat, lekområden och beteendemönster. I Mekong-länderna är fiskerier viktiga mat- och inkomstkällor för miljontals människor, därmed kan ändringarna i vattenföring ha stor inverkan. Syftet med diplomarbetet är att utveckla en enkel statistisk metod för att uppskatta inverkan av flödesregimsändringar på fiskerier i Mekong-flodområdet på en landsomfattande nivå, eftersom många viktiga fiskarter är vandringsfiskar och tidigare forskning fokuserat på mindre områden. Metoden testas i Laos och Kambodja. De hydrologiska förändringarna analyserades vid utvalda flödesmätningsstationer längs Mekong-huvudfloden, och korrelationer räknades mellan dessa förändringar och fiskefångsten, som justerats med BNP för att förminska inverkan från icke-hydrologiska faktorer. Resultaten påvisade betydliga ändringar till den naturliga flödesregimen sedan vattenkraftsutvecklingen intensifierades, speciellt efter 2010. Förhöjda flöden under den torra perioden och minskade flöden under den våta perioden påträffades, vilka är typiska följder av vattenkraftsoperation. Korrelationsanalysen mellan BNP-justerad fångst och flödesändringarna i Laos påvisade statistiskt signifikanta negativa korrelationer med flödesparametrar som relaterar till flöden under den torra perioden, vilket motsade tidigare forskning enligt vilka den våta periodens flöden har störst inverkan på fisk. Det fanns inte tillräckliga statistiska bevis för korrelationer i Kambodja, vilket också motsäger tidigare forskning och troligtvis berodde på stora osäkerheter i fiskedatan. Justeringen med BNP kan också ha varit opassande, eftersom BNP det var en mycket grov indikator för externa faktorer som påverkar fiske. Dessa osäkerheter gör det svårt att bedöma hur väl metoden fungerade, och vidare forskning om BNP-justering av fiskefångst kunde ge en bättre inblick i detta. Resultaten visar att det ännu finns utrymme för utveckling av metoden, och belyser behovet av förbättrad insamling av fiskedata i området

Att möta oväntade risker från oväntat håll : STRIM – en systemteoretisk riskhanteringsmetod för att säkra behov i en komplex värld

Det senmoderna samhällets komplexitet har gjort organisationers riskhantering till en viktig men svårstrukturerad aktivitet. I en förstudie (Sparf, 2004) har en riskhanteringsmetod utifrån sociologisk systemteori utarbetats (STRIM). I föreliggande uppsats är syftet dels att ge en bild av och exempel på hur riskhantering kan gå till i teori och praktik och dels att testa den empiriska giltigheten hos STRIM. De bakomliggande systemteorierna rekapituleras och därtill har teorier om riskhantering lagts. Den empiriska undersökningen har utgjorts främst av två intervjuomgångar med fem informanter i varje. Resultatet ger en fyllig bild av praktisk riskhantering, men uppfyller bara delvis prövningen av STRIM. Den viktigaste slutsatsen är att instrumentella och administrativa riskhanteringsmetoder respektive processer och enstaka insatser i praktiken har svårt att mötas. Dessa problem kan STRIM förmodligen bidra till att överbrygga genom skapandet av en gemensam nomenklatur