The Swedish Conservative Party and the Welfare State. Institutional Change and Adapting Preferences.

The paper argues that the Swedish ‘neo-liberal’ party (Moderaterna) has adapted its policies because of the popularity of the ‘universal’ Swedish welfare state. The party has come to accept that the modern welfare state is irreplaceable. We furthermore argue that the party’s moderate electoral platform in 2006 is earnest. In the “short run” the party can only hope to achieve incremental changes and it recognises this. Simultaneously however, the party in the “long run” wants to gradually change society. Over time the party in its rhetoric and ideological statements has emphasised the short and the long run differently. These differences between the ‘neo-liberal’ 1980s and 2006 should not conceal that the mechanism of welfare popularity largely remains the same. The party’s actual policy proposals tend to suggest incremental changes only in both periods.Swedish conservative party; welfare state; neo-liberal

Carbon leakage in the Steel Sector Accounting for Induced Technological Change and Spillover Effects : a Theoretical Analysis

This analysis investigates the relationship between unilateral climate policy and the risk of carbon leakage in the steel sector. A simple analytical macroeconomic model is employed to highlight the various parameters influencing the magnitude of carbon leakage. An extended version of the model allows for assessing the impacts of induced technical change and technological spillover effects on the industry’s carbon leakage. A numerical illustration using sector-specific parameters shows that the leakage rate within the steel sector is 27%. Accounting for induced technological change and spillover effects reveals that higher rates of innovative activity reduce the risk of carbon leakage within the sector. In the presence of technological spillover effects under the assumption that the rate of technological change is 0.8, the carbon leakage rate reduces to 5%. The impact of induced technological change on carbon leakage in the steel industry implies that a global industrial network empowering the expansion of new technologies has the potential to decrease the industry’s overall emissions

Використання вільного програмного забезпечення для вивчення технічних дисциплін майбутніми учителями інформатики

В статті охарактеризовано вільне програмне забезпечення для моделювання комп’ютерних мереж, яке може бути використане для технічної підготовки майбутніх учителів інформатики. Запропоноване імітаційно-моделююче середовище GNS3 дає змогу побудувати комплексні мережеві проекти, перевірити працездатність тієї чи іншої топології, визначити кількість мережевого обладнання для комп’ютерного класу, протестувати роботу віртуальної комп’ютерної мережі

Special regulations increase angler success on the Hiwassee River Tennessee

The Hiwassee River tailwater was created in 1943. In 1986, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency put special regulations in effect on a 4.8-kin section of river designed to allow anglers using artificial lures an opportunity to catch trophy rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo trutta). The regulations allow a limit of two trout per day, 14 in (356 mm) or longer, and anglers must use artificial lures. This study was implemented to evaluate the success of these special regulations. For three summers in 1989-1991, a roving creel survey was conducted in the special regulations area (Area 2) and the 4.8 km of river above it (Area 1). Water temperature data from this three-year period were also examined. Each year the number of anglers increased in both areas. Trip length remained the same, resulting in greater effort. In 1989, 219 anglers fished Area 1 for 8,469 hours, and 77 anglers fished Area 2 for 3,262 hours. In 1991, 355 anglers fished Area 1 for 12,387 hours, and 137 anglers fished Area 2 for 4,959 hours. In Area 2, at least 96% of the rainbow trout caught were released each year. In Area 1, only 26% were released in 1989, but 52% were released by 1991. Catch rates were high in both areas, but higher in Area 2. The three-year average from Area 1 was 1.0 fish per angler hour, and 1.8 fish per angler hour from Area 2. Water temperature at the lower end of Area 2 was significantly higher than water temperature at the upper end of the area. The average coefficient of condition of rainbow trout sampled from Area 1 (1.05) was significantly higher than that of rainbow trout from Area 2 (0.90). Condition factors for brown trout were similar (about 1.00) for both areas

The Swedish welfare state: neo-liberal challenge and welfare state resilience

'Angesichts neo-liberaler Strömungen und schwerer wirtschaftlicher Probleme während der frühen 1990er Jahre befürchteten viele Beobachter, der schwedische Wohlfahrtsstaat würde sein umfassendes und geschlechter-gerechtes Profil verlieren. Dieser Beitrag argumentiert, dass die Veränderungen des schwedischen Wohlfahrtsstaates in den 1990er Jahren inkrementell, aber nicht fundamental waren. Tatsächlich wurden Kürzungen und Änderungen vorgenommen, diese resultieren allerdings nicht in einer radikalen Restrukturierung des Wohlfahrtsstaates. Die zentralen Sozialleistungen wurden universalistischer, nicht zuletzt dank des steigenden Anteils von Frauen am Arbeitsmarkt. Auch die öffentliche Kinderbetreuung wurde eher ausgedehnt denn eingeschränkt. Dies belegt, dass es nach wie vor Spielraum für Politikdivergenz gibt. Selbst einer kleinen offenen Wirtschaft mit dem höchsten Budgetdefizit innerhalb der OECD in den 1990er Jahren war es möglich, das nationale Budget wieder unter Kontrolle zu bringen, ohne den Wohlfahrtsstaat abzubauen.' (Autorenreferat)'In the light of neo-liberalism and severe economic problems during the early 1990s many observers have feared that the Swedish welfare state would loose its universal and gender-equal profile. In this article the authors argue that changes of the Swedish welfare state during the 1990s were incremental, rather than fundamental. Cuts and changes have indeed been made, but they do not sum up to a radical restructuring of the welfare state. The core social insurance programs have become more universal, not least thanks to the growing number of women's labour market participation. Also public childcare services have expanded rather than decreased. This shows that there is still room for public policy divergence. Even for a small open economy with the highest budget deficit in the OECD in the early 1990s it has been possible to regain control over the national budget without dismantling the welfare state.' (author's abstract

How well do capability assessments reflect actual capability? – An experimental study of capability assessments with multi-actor dependencies

In order to cater for the increasingly complex society several countries have adopted a capabilities-based planning approach, including capability assessments, as part of their preparedness for disasters. Since the number of actors who are dependent on each other is increasing, capability assessments are made based on assumptions of other actors’ capabilities. It is therefore crucial to understand how multi-actor dependencies affect capability assessments. This experimental study aims at investigating how well capability assessments correspond to actual capability, taking multi-actor dependencies into account. A total of 48 participants, randomly assigned into 24 pairs, assessed their individual capability and capability as a group to accomplish a given task. The results show that the participants in general underestimated their capability, both individually and in groups

How is capability assessment related to risk assessment? Evaluating existing research and current application from a design science perspective

Several countries use capability assessments as a part of their efforts to manage risk. However, it is unclear how such assessments are connected to other risk management activities, e.g. risk assessment. Therefore, the aim of the present paper is to present a study of how capability assessment is related to risk assessment. Capability assessment methods were identified through a scoping study and the Swedish capability assessment method was investigated through interviews with Swedish public actors and analysis of legislative documents. The data was analysed using a design science perspective. The results of the analysis show that the purposes presented for some capability assessment methods are the same or similar to purposes common to risk assessment methods, and the actual form of some of the methods is similar to existing risk assessment methods. Nevertheless, the relationship between capability assessment and risk assessment is unclear. We conclude that if capability assessments are going to continue to be an important part of risk management activities more research is needed to better establish the relationship between risk assessment and capability assessment

The capability concept – On how to define and describe capability in relation to risk, vulnerability and resilience

Capabilities-based planning and capability assessment are high on the agendas of several countries and organisations as part of their risk management and emergency preparedness. Despite this, few definitions of capability exist, and they are not easily related to concepts such as risk, vulnerability and resilience. The aim of the present study was thus to broaden the scientific basis of the risk field to also include the concept of capability. The proposed definition is based on a recently developed risk framework, and we define capability as the uncertainty about and the severity of the consequences of an activity given the occurrence of the initiating event and the performed task. We provide examples of how the response capability for a fictive scenario can be described using this definition, and illustrate how our definition can be used to analyse capability assessments prepared according to the Swedish crisis management system. We have analysed the content of 25 capability assessments produced in 2011 by stakeholders on local, regional and national level. It was concluded that none addressed uncertainty to any appreciable extent, and only a third described capability in terms of consequences and task, making it difficult to relate these capability assessments to risk assessments

Green-Lean Synergy - Root-Cause Analysis in Food Waste Prevention

Purpose_The goal of this paper is to explore the possible synergetic effects between lean philosophy and green endeavors in improving resource efficiency in the food sector. To that end, it is investigated how a proper and tailor-made adaptation of the lean six sigma root cause analysis method could help in overcoming the complexities of increased resource efficiency in food production.Design/methodology/approach_The case study concerned reduction of waste at an industrial production line of a dough-based product, through the implementation of the lean six sigma tool.Findings_An achievement of a 50% reduction of waste on the studied process line was reached, thus exceeding the initial improvement goal.Research limitations/implications (if applicable)_While the explicit findings on the specific root causes of waste on this actual production line are not immediately transferrable to other cases, they show that applying this method to identifying and eliminating root causes of waste for other products and processes in the food sector could not only reduce costs but also contribute to more resource-efficient and sustainable industrial food production.Practical implications (if applicable)_ Political and public high interest in environmental and social sustainability associated with food waste render this an important development.Originality/value_ While the potential of linking green and lean efforts has been acknowledged, the application of the lean six sigma methodology for more sustainable food production has not yet been explored. This paper contributes to this researc