A Critical Assessment of Central Agency Motives in Danish Public Management Reform

This article explores the question why a relatively „healthy“ governance system like Denmark embarks on and continually develops NPM inspired public sector reforms. Expanding Roberts' categorization of problems as „simple“, „complex“ and „wicked“, the article interprets Hood's paradox of the „malade imaginaire“ as „solution driven problems“ in strong economies

European consumers' conceptions of organic food: A review of available research

This report is a publication from the project entitled 'Recommendations for Improved Procedures for Securing Consumer Oriented Food Safety and Quality of Certified Organic Foods from a Consumer Perspective' (acronym: 'Organic HACCP'), supported by the European Commission, Fifth Framework Programme, Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources, and co-ordinated by Dr. Kirsten Brandt. The report includes a summary and 9 chapters, which respectively regard a statement of objectives and methods (Chapter 1), critical considerations regarding current approaches to consumer studies (Chapter 2), an overview of factors related to the production, distribution and regulation of organic foods, which differentially affect patterns of consumption in European countries (Chapter 3), 4 case studies regarding the consumption of organic foods and the contextual features influencing consumption patterns in Denmark (Chapter 4), United kingdom (Chapter 5), Italy (Chapter 6) and Hungary (Chapter 7). These case studies are followed by a summary review of trends in Europe with regard to consumer characteristics, buying behaviour and consumer concerns (Chapter 8), as well as a series of recommendations with regard to future research regarding the consumption of organic foods within the European region (Chapter 9)

Book review of Danish Humour – SINK OR SWIM

Book review of Danish Humour – SINK OR SWIM by Lita Lundquist and Helen Dyrbye, Samfundslitteratur, 2022

Performances of peace: Utrecht 1713

The Peace of Utrecht (1713), which brought an end to the War of the Spanish Succession, was a milestone in global history. Performances of Peace aims to rethink the significance of the Peace of Utrecht by exploring the nexus between culture and politics. For too long, cultural and political historians have studied early modern international relations in isolation. By studying the political as well as the cultural aspects of this peace (and its concomitant paradoxes) from a broader perspective, this volume aims to shed new light on the relation between diplomacy and performative culture in the public spher

Diachronic and Synchronic Analysis - the Case of the Indirect Object in Spanish

This review article deals with a monograph on the indirect object in Spanish. The book offers a many-faceted analysis of the indirect object, as it, on the one hand, gives a detailed diachronic analysis of what is known as clitic-doubled constructions and, on the other, a synchronic analysis of both predicative constructions with an indirect object and the relationship between the notion of perspective and the indirect object. The general impression is that the author has produced an impressive analytical work, which, however, is not easily accessible

Distributed Plot-Making Creating overview via paper-based and electronic patient records

This paper investigates how physicians create an overview of patient cases through an analysis of physicians’ work practices. Based on observation of and interviews with physicians, we analyse what overview means to physicians and how they establish it by using different socio-technical systems (paper-based and electronic patient records). Drawing on the theory of distributed cognition and narrative theory, primarily inspired by the work done within health care by Cheryl Mattingly, we propose that the creation of overview may be conceptualised as ‘distributed plot-making’. Distributed cognition focuses on the role of artefacts, humans and their interaction in information processing, while narrative theory focuses on how humans create narratives through plot construction. Hence, the concept of distributed plot-making highlights the distribution of information processing between different social actors and artefacts, as well as the filtering, sorting and ordering of such information into a narrative that is made coherent by a plot. The analysis shows that the characteristics of paper-based and electronic patient records support or hinder the creation of overview in both similar and different ways. In the light of the current move towards electronic patient records, we explore ways in which the benefits of paper records may be carried over into the electronic patient record as well as the ways in which the possibilities afforded by digital artefacts may be exploited more fully than is currently the case