This thesis depicts the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (1972), an international law for the protection of natural and cultural heritage sites, as an example of the multiple practices within international policy making. By analysing its transnational constitution, I show how the Convention is constructed in and between locales through bureaucratic and diplomatic procedures characterised by intersecting political and economic interests. Using neo-institutional theory, I argue that organisations such as UNESCO frame problems as global, provide solutions, and organise the actions of states, organizations, and individuals; furthermore, my research not only illustrates how this occurs but also explores the preconditions of international policy making. While adhering to its officially proclaimed aspirations, states, organisations, and individuals also use the Convention for other purposes such as international prestige, career advancement, publicity, identity, development, tourism – even war. Such contending interests raise the question of explaining the success of the Convention and thereby the preconditions of policy making at the international level. A conclusion reached by this study shows that growing interest in the Convention can be regarded to result only partially from the general acceptance of its global rhetoric and morally vested perspective or the need for states to gain legitimacy by engaging in international relations. My thesis proposes that rather than by its official aims and formal procedures, the Convention is constituted primarily through complex informal relations, concurring contexts, and external structures. Data for this ethnographic study consists of field notes from participant observations during UNESCO meetings in France, Morocco, Australia, and at the Convention’s secretariat. A case study of the Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland, a Swedish World Heritage site, is also included, along with interviews, documents, and media.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the implementation of a political aim – formulatedfrom a context of sustainable development. In 2006 both the Swedish national Parliament andthe municipality of Växjö (among others) stated that 25% of publically served food wouldstem from organic production by the end of 2010. The thesis investigates the outcome of theimplementation of this policy in a local perspective - looking at one part of the public sectorby focusing on four differently organized schools within Växjö municipality. School food in Sweden has a specific institutional setting. It holds the almost unique statusas a non-charged, legal right to all pupils in the compulsory school system. School food as apublic good is affected by the EU legislation of public procurement. The thesis studies theoverall institutional framework (i.e. legislation and regulations) fundamental to school food.With the institutional framework in mind the thesis also describes different organizationalactivities connected to school food. Thus the thesis involves four geographical levels: Theregional (EU), the national, the local and the individual level. The latter is defined in theorganized context from a number of individual professionals. Some of these individuals arefurther considered as so called street level bureaucrats – officials sandwiched between superiorsand their clients. The thesis builds a conceptual framework based on institutional, organizational and streetlevel theory together with policy analysis. Methodologically the thesis is formed around andcarried out as a local case study through a number of semi-structured qualitative interviews.The empirical and analytical part of the thesis is further structured around the three theoreticalconcepts. From the thesis´ purpose three guiding questions were outlined. The main implications of the thesis are that a number of factors were found to be involvedin the policy implementation. The most significant factors for the policy implementation arefirstly the formulation of the political goal, and secondly the individual professionals actuallybuying the food for the schools. As long as the policy of the school food is non-forcing (i.e. anaverage aim of the public sector, and not included in the legislation) the final outcome of thefood depends on the decisions made by the buyer. There is disagreement of the policy intention and of whether organic food is more sustainablethan other food. Thus I end the thesis by suggesting a change of concepts if the politicalaim is to reach sustainability. I encourage a system to control the food´s total ecological footprint.This would be achieved by formulating the policy around a suggested level of the ecologicalfootprint. The level would be calculated and set where experts say it´s in accordancewith sustainable development. From this the street level bureaucrats can sum up the componentsof the lunch they buy and serve. No matter if the individual product is labeled organic,local, conventional, or… This would – according to me – improve the chances for Växjö actually to live up to itslogo: the greenest city in Europe. At least this idea could awake a debate. / Opposition kl. 13.15

I denna studie analyserar vi handläggares upplevelse av samverkan mellan två stora välfärdsmyndigheter, Försäkringskassan och Arbetsförmedlingen. Genom sju kvalitativa intervjuer undersöker vi möjligheter och hinder med samverkan utifrån den s.k. nya arbetslinjen och rehabiliteringskedjan. Vår teoretiska referensram utgår ifrån gräsrotsbyråkratin, sektoriseringsteorin samt olika idéer om samverkan och domänkonflikter. För att få underlag för studien tar vi också del av aktuell forskning som berör ämnet. Resultatet från vår studie visar att det finns flera gemensamma upplevelser av hinder och möjligheter hos respondenterna. Bland annat lyfter alla respondenter fram att samverkan är någonting positivt som klargör myndigheternas ansvar inför klienten. Resultatet visar även att majoriteten av respondenterna upplever att rehabiliteringskedjan motverkar passivitet som de anser råder inom rehabiliteringssfären. / In this study we analyze handling offices experience of cooperation between two major welfare authorities, the social insurance office and the employment agency. With the help of seven qualitative interviews we investigate the opportunities and the hindrance for cooperation on the base of the new so called workfare and rehabilitation chain. Our theoretical frame takes its starting point in particularly the theory of street level bureaucracy, sectorisation within the public sector and different ideas about cooperation and domain conflict. To build a platform for the study, we also take part of topical science that is relevant for the study. The result showed that there are several common experiences of opportunities and hindrance of cooperation. All of the respondents brought up the fact that cooperation is something positive that, from the client perspective, elucidates the authorities’ responsibility. The majority of the respondents also experienced that the rehabilitation chain counteract passivity, which existed within the rehabilitation sphere.

Abstract Title: Gender equality – of course! A qualitative study on gender equal recruitment at a university Author: Ingrid Öhlund Several studies show that the division of gender in Swedish universities is uneven. Since universities are important organizations where our future citizens get their education and become socialized, I found it interesting to investigate how a Swedish university handles the gender equality issue in the process of recruitment. The aim of this study was to contribute with a higher level of knowledge and understanding about the recruitment process out of a gender equality perspective. The aim was also to identify which stages of the recruitment process that was vulnerable out of a gender equality perspective. To examine this, these following questions were put: Which struc-tures may seem prohibitive when it comes to recruit gender equal? and Which stages in the pro-cess is vulnerable out of a gender equal perspective?. Weber's bureaucracy model and also institutional theory with concepts such as legitimacy were used to explore the subject. To carry out the study, a qualitative method with interviews was used and seven persons with different experiences of the recruitment process participated. The result shows that there are several vulnerable stages in the recruitment process and that there are structures that may seem prohibitive from a gender equality perspective. There is a discrepancy between how the documents present the work with gender equality and the actual behavior in the organization. Another vulnerability that emerges from the study is that knowledge and information were not communicated and spread out in the organization. There are ambiguities in the routines and uncertainties on how you can, or cannot, write the employment profile to attract candidates. The commitment to gender equal recruitment is often a matter of personal interest. However, the results show that nobody opposes the issue of equality as an important matter. The results were further analyzed by using the concepts professional bureaucracy, meritocracy, inertia, legitimacy and decoupling. Keywords: Gender equality, University, Bureaucracy, Recruitment process, Meritocracy

This bachelor thesis aims to investigate how social workers in Uppsala describe their procedure when investigating applications for housing assistance (i.e. boendestöd). Boendestöd is a specific type of services for people with disabilities, which aim to assist them in their lives. This welfare service is one of many regulated by the framework legislation that is the social services act (SoL 2001:453). Previous research indicates that civil servants who make decisions based on goal-oriented framework legislations like SoL, have a great freedom to act when they make judgments and decisions. A consequence of this can be that they make judgments and decisions largely based on their own personal interpretations of this legislation. The previous research points to the fact that the individual civil servants freedom to act can be viewed as an infringement of individual rights, but also that this freedom is necessary when it comes to assessing the needs of help seeking persons in the context of social work.   We have carried out six interviews with social workers in Uppsala. These social workers primarily investigate the needs of persons with mental disabilities who apply for different forms of assistance from the city. The analysis suggests that the social workers interviewed are relatively unanimous when it comes to which grounds for judgment or criteria they use when investigating applications for boendestöd. This in spite of the fact that their judgments are based on individual cases as well as their own personal assessments of them.

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The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the democratization process in Kurdistan on the basis of consolidation democracy with focus on arenas defined by Linz and Stepan (1997), namely economic, political, legal, civil society and arenas of state bureaucracy. Furthermore, I intend to explain Kurdistan’s road toward democratization in Kurdistan from 1991 until today, with a focus on the years 2003-2012. The main results are that Kurdistan has developed conditions that support a future consolidation of democracy. However, there are weaknesses in the economic situation, rule of law and the arena of bureaucracy. The arena of the political and civil society grew stronger after the US war on Iraq in 2003 and as effect new institutions such as political parties, opposition, election, political governance and alliances arose.

Environmental Planning theory tells us that continued improvement in environmental outcomes will require new approaches that are voluntary; behavior change will come from within organizations, not imposed from outside. The concept of sustainability fits in this new phase of environmental planning and policy. In order for organizations to be successful in achieving sustainability goals, they must create an organizational context that produces innovative ideas (considered a strength of organic or learning organizations), along with an organizational context that effectively manages and implements continuous change (considered a strength of bureaucratic organizations). Effectively striking this balance appears to be a key component of making progress in sustainability for large public organizations. The research completed through this doctoral dissertation addresses gaps in the literature by asking the question: How have large public organizations implemented sustainability programs? A multiple case study design was used that examined three large public organizations that have adopted sustainability goals and established programs for achieving these goals. The data were analyzed based on a conceptual framework that predicts the types of activities and attributes organizations will exhibit to successfully achieve sustainability goals. The results demonstrate that sustainability implementation in these organizations is dependent upon leadership support, cross-functional teams, orientation to the external environment, effective management systems and consistent support over time. Bureaucratic organizations are structured to effectively accomplish the core mission, but if they also want to be more sustainable, they must adopt and promote more organic attributes to enable change, learning and innovation.

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka lärares medvetenhet om den förändrade skollagen vad avser disciplinära och andra åtgärder och i vilken omfattning de upplever att den påverkar skolmiljön. För att kunna uppnå syftet med studien har tre frågor formulerats: för det första i vilken grad är lärare medvetna om vilka åtgärder som enligt lagen finns att tillgå och för det andra, i vilken omfattning tillämpar lärare de befogenheter de fått genom den nya skollagen? Avslutningsvis ställs frågan om lärare upplever att den nya lagen bidragit till några förändringar i deras handlingsutrymme?  Undersökningen som ligger till grund för uppsatsens resultat baserades på enkäter som besvarades av trettiosex lärare vilka undervisar i grundskolans senare år (7-9). Resultatet av undersökningen visar att lärare har begränsade kunskaper om skollagen vad avser lärarens mandat att vidta disciplinära åtgärder mot elever. Det framkommer också att lärare använder sig av disciplinära åtgärder för att stävja störningar i klassrumsmiljön och att en majoritet inte upplever att förändringen av skollagen har ökat lärarnas handlingsutrymme i klassrummet samtidigt som andra lärare anser att studiemiljön påverkats positivt till följd av lagens införande. Avslutningsvis kan det konstateras att studiens resultat kan förklaras med stöd av Michael Lipsky och hans ”gräsrotsteori”, vad avser skillnader mellan skollagens formuleringar och den praktiska tillämpningen i klassrummet. / The aim of this essay is to examine teachers' awareness in the changing school law with regards to disciplinary and other measures and to what extent they feel that this affects the school environment.  In order to achieve this objective, three main questions are posed: Firstly, to what degree are teachers aware of the measures available under the Act? Secondly, to what extent are teachers applying the powers gained through the new Education Act? Finally, do teachers feel the new law has contributed to any changes in their decision making process? The essay's conclusions are based on research resulting from questionnaires answered by thirty-six teachers who teach in compulsory schools higher grades (7-9). The research shows that, firstly, teachers have a limited knowledge of the Education Act regarding a teacher's authority to take disciplinary action against students. Secondly, it appears teachers are using the disciplinary measures to curb disruptions in the classroom.  Finally, a majority do not feel the changes in the Education Act has led to any increase in flexibility within the decision making process in the classroom, whilst others believe the learning environment has been positively affected as a result of the law's introduction. In conclusion the study's results are supported by Michael Lipsky's ”Street-level Bureaucracy," with regards to the differences between the Education Act's wording and practical application in the classroom.

The overall aim of this study is to investigate how social workers who are dealing with financial assistance are experiencing discretion in their daily work. The aim of the study is also to examine how social workers who are dealing with financial assistance relates to the controlling and the supporting functions of their daily work and how this in turn affects the attitude to the client. In order to examine the aim of the study, qualitative method was used. Eight social workers have been interviewed and presented with two fictitious cases that they have been able to discuss. Theories regarding the street-level bureaucrat and its discretion have been used to interpret and understand the collected material. Kerstin Svenssons’ (2001) theory regarding the social worker’s position has also been used to analyse the study’s gathered material. The study shows that social workers consider themselves to have a relatively large discretion in their daily work. However, the majority of the social workers agree that despite the great discretion they can at times feel limited in their work. Findings of the study also show that social workers are either more controlling or more supportive in meeting with the client.