This thesis examined factors that influence three Canadian Nursing Associations’ priority setting and policy advocacy for community environmental health (CEH). The research questions that guided the study were: (a) how do the nature and scope of nursing organizations’ engagement for CEH policies differ according to provincial and federal contexts? and (b) how do nursing organizational factors and external system factors influence the priority-setting and policy advocacy choices for CEH policy? To answer these questions I undertook a qualitative comparative case study. The research was guided by epistemological and methodological principles of interpretative description and informed by whole-systems socio-ecological theory and institutional theory. Data were collected through participant interviews (n=41) and document review. Guided by framework analysis and the use of descriptive and conceptually-oriented matrices, cases were analyzed using an iterative and inductive approach to identify case patterns. These case patterns were then compared to identify cross-cutting factors that influence the Nursing Associations’ priority setting and policy advocacy for CEH. Key findings are represented in an integrated conceptual framework. Nursing Associations’ priority setting and policy advocacy are embedded in a dynamic policy field whereby structures and institutional pressure both create opportunities and narrow the Nursing Associations’ options for engaged CEH advocacy. The findings lead to recommendations for practice, policy, and research that have relevance for the profession, nursing associations, and policy decision-makers.

Protests have been important social phenomena for the wider Middle East, especially since the Arab Spring, with the potential to achieve dramatic change. Understanding the nature of uprisings in the region is important for our understanding of the present and the future. To this end, this thesis tried to make sense of the dynamics and processes that led to the emergence of three protests in the region, the 25th of January Revolution in Egypt, the Syrian Uprising, and the Gezi protest. It tried to analyze the different aspects in which they were comparable. Furthermore, it tried to analyze their representation in the media by uncovering the differences and similarities between the discourse of two Turkish newspapers, Sabah and Cumhuriyet, in their columns and news reports regarding these instances of protests. Critical discourse analysis was used alongside comparative case study to see the differences between social reality and the discourse of the newspapers. Also, the thesis tried to explain the discrepancies and commonalities between the discourse of the newspapers. When the protests were compared with the help of the existing literature, it was seen that the protests had some similarities in the aspects such as causes of protest, the performance of the protestors, and state reaction. Moreover,...

The EU integration process has led to severe changes in policy-making. On the one hand, authority shifted from the national level to the EU. On the other hand, national level executives have gained power relative to the national legislatures. However, since the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, scholars argue for a comeback of national legislatures. In Germany, parliamentary standing committees have gained considerable power throughout these developments. Nonetheless, their traditional role as policy shaper is contested among scholars. Thus, clarification of their role is needed. While, previous analysis has mainly focused on the Bundestag as a unitary actor. This thesis investigates the role of two standing committees of the Bundestag – Ausschuss für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung and Ausschuss für Gesundheit – in the EU policy-making process across two different competence areas emerging due to the Lisbon Treaty. To answer the research questions, semi-structured interviews with committee members have been conducted. The results of the study show a diverging picture. The members of the Ausschuss für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung are considerably constrained in their ability to act as a policy shaper. The members of the Ausschuss für Gesundheit can secure their policy-shaping powers to a great extent. The former committee lacks these qualities concerning the shift of an increasing amount of policy authority in agriculture to the EU, the restricted use and abilities of the Early Warning Mechanism and the constrained ability to influence the minister’s position in the Council. The members of the latter are more successful in securing policy authority in public health at the national level by making use of the EWM. Nonetheless, the restricted ability to influence the minister’s position in the Council is present, too. We can conclude that the Ausschuss für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung has inherited the role of a scrutiniser and executer meanwhile the Ausschuss für Gesundheit can be described as policy shaper.

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A double case study applying action research methodology was conducted in two pharmaceutical preparation manufacturers in the Netherlands to improve their manufacturing systems by implementing time-based manufacturing (TBM) practices. Following the diagnosis phase, the situation of each Company was analysed and suitable improvement interventions were selected for implementation in the Case Companies. At the end of the action research project, semi-structured interviews were taken in each Company a year later, and the achieved results of the improvement programmes were collected and analysed. This research extends the existing theory of time-based competition and demonstrates that TBM practices apply also in the pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing industry. Furthermore, this study shows how to improve TBM practices and reduce the throughput time by providing the route for improvement and implementation. Although the first Case Company did not improve the core TBM practices and manufacturing performance, its infrastructure improved through the implementation of an ERP system and further enhancement of its quality management system, illustrating that the design of the infrastructure is a key factor to become a time-based competitor. The second Case Company succeeded to improve the 2 TBM practices and throughput processes resulting in the reduction of the order cycle time and increase of the delivery dependability. Based on the data of the two Case Companies, this study demonstrated the relationship between these two manufacturing performance parameters, which indicates that manufacturers may strive for both delivery speed and delivery reliability using the same improvement plan. Adopting TBM is a long journey of many years and needs a continuous improvement infrastructure.

Engineering education for sustainable development (EESD) has emerged as a significant focus since the early 1990s, driven by the broader integration of sustainable development (SD) across education. SD has gained global attention and support from governments, businesses, and organizations. Still, education for sustainable development is emergent in engineering, and varies globally. Scandinavian countries, for example, have made significant progress in EESD with research and growth in courses and curricula, while the United States has seen more localized efforts. Prior research on EESD has focused heavily on course content and student learning, with far less attention to faculty attitudes and experiences. To advance global integration efforts, this study provides a deeper understanding of faculty engagement with EESD. Drawing on Lattuca and Pollard's (2016) model of faculty decision-making to engage in curricular change, this study compares the perspectives of faculty at two universities, one in the U.S. and one in Denmark, to explore the influences that shape engineering faculty choices to engage in EESD. To operationalize EESD, the study focuses on faculty who incorporate the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their courses. Denmark and the U.S. were selected because of the wide divergence in national policies and practices relative to SD. The two institutions, however, are similar in engineering program size, research orientation (both very high research), and scope of engineering programs. The research used a case study approach and included interviews with five to seven engineering faculty and two to three key informants at each site, along with available texts such as university mission statements, program descriptions, course syllabi provided by interviewees, and national policies or declarations. Lattuca and Pollard's model posits three levels of influence: external (outside the institution), internal (within the institution and the department), and individual (within the person) Findings suggest that all three categories of influence are present in each case, but the salience of each category, the specific factors within each category, and the interactions across categories differ markedly. Where the Denmark case had a more consistent alignment across the three levels of influence, with a largely top-down direction of influence, engagement in EESD in the US case was largely an individual, bottom-up phenomenon with some alignment to, but limited drivers from the external and internal levels. This study captures the importance of strong external and internal influences in shaping faculty engagement in EESD and underscores the limitations of relying solely on individual influences. The findings highlight the role of national policies and cultural norms in creating a supportive environment for faculty to integrate sustainability into their teaching. Where external influences are limited, institutions need to actively align their vision, culture, and resources with the principles of sustainable development to foster a widespread and consistent practice of EESD. While individual faculty have been shown to act as change agents in the absence of strong external and internal influences, their efforts alone are limited in their impact on the practice of EESD. / Doctor of Philosophy / Engineering education for sustainable development (EESD) has become an important focus in recent years as the concept of sustainable development (SD) has been increasingly integrated into education. Broadly, SD works to meet our current needs without harming future generations, and it has widespread global support from governments, businesses, and organizations. While the idea of teaching sustainable development is becoming more common in engineering programs, its implementation varies around the world. Scandinavian countries like Denmark have made significant progress in this area with research and the development of courses and curricula. In contrast, the United States has seen more localized efforts. Most research on EESD has focused on what students learn in their courses, but with less work exploring why faculty members choose to include SD in engineering courses. To better understand why faculty members engage with EESD, this study looks at the perspectives of engineering professors at two universities: one in the U.S. and one in Denmark. In particular, it explores what influences faculty decisions to include the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their courses. Denmark and the U.S. were chosen for this study because they have very different national policies and practices related to sustainable development. However, the universities in both countries are similar in size, focus on research, and the variety of engineering programs they offer. Data for this study includes interviews with five to seven engineering faculty members and two to three key informants at each university. Documents like university mission statements, program descriptions, course outlines provided by interviewees, and national policies related to education were also collected. Though faculty at both universities talked about influences outside the university, influences within their institutions departments, and their individual beliefs and values, both the specific factors at each level and the interactions between factors varied. In Denmark, strong national and institutional policies, values, and norms in support of sustainable development broadly and EESD in particular were key sources of influence, while in the U.S., where sustainable development is more contested, individual faculty beliefs and commitments were more prominent, though these commitments often aligned with broader institutional values and some external drivers. The study underscores the importance of both external factors, like national policies, and individual factors, such as personal beliefs, in shaping how faculty members integrate sustainable development in engineering. It highlights the role of government policies and cultural norms in creating an environment where faculty feel supported in integrating sustainability into their teaching. When external support is lacking, universities need to actively align their vision, culture, and resources with the principles of sustainable development to encourage consistent teaching of EESD. While individual faculty members can make a difference on their own, their impact is limited without strong external and internal support.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether, and in such cases how, children's rights have been strengthened by the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a law in Sweden. The study also aims to analyze the similarities and differences between the Värmland and Stockholm regions. The main questions that will be answered are as follows:  - To what extent have child healthcare centers in each region adapted their activities since the enforcement of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as law?- To what extent are there resources for the implementation of the new law in child healthcare centers?- What level of knowledge is there about the new law (and what is considered to be the children's best interests) in child healthcare centers?- Is it possible to explain on the basis of implementation theory (want, can, and understand) the extent to which child healthcare centers have adapted their work and activities to accommodate the new law? This study is a qualitative case study using a common theoretical framework, in which we have chosen to interview care staff at child healthcare centers. The study chose the interviewees as they represent the final stage of policy implementation in the political governance chain. The analysis shows that the staff agreed that it is positive that the convention has been given a higher status since being enforced as a law. The result shows that the experience of implementing the new law differed between regions. Whether the newly enforced law strengthens the child's rights is, however, still difficult to assess as some interviewees find it difficult to interpret whether or not to refer to the Convention in certain contexts. This can be problematic, especially in situations with no open dialogue about the healthcare center’s' working methods and approach. This can result in a lack of practice when applying strategic methods (based on the legal principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child) that aim to protect the rights of the child.

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<p><i>The Duke of Uncertainty - Aspects of Professional Skill</i>is a dissertation whose title is a literary metaphor designedto draw attention to encounters with unforeseen problems anddilemmas at work.</p><p>The first part of the dissertation presents the skill andtechnology tradition that has developed over the last twentyyears through explorative case studies. These have covered theskills of various occupational groups, such as processoperators in the paper-and-pulp and chemicals industries,managers and systems engineers working on real timeapplications in specialized knowledge intensive firms as wellas doctors and nurses.</p><p>The theoretical perspective is the epistemology of skillfocusing on the phenomenon of tacit knowledge. This has itsroots in Wittgenstein's philosophy of language as developed bythe philosophers Allan Janik and Kjell S. Johannessen.</p><p>The methodological framework develops indirect analogicalthinking which is a prerequisite for knowledge based onexperience, through exemplification.</p><p>The empirical part of the work shows knowledge offamiliarity among members of an occupational group with lowformal training but extensive practical experience, namelyassistant nurses. A comparative analysis is undertaken inrelation to previous case studies in the field of skill andtechnology aimed at occupational groups with high formaleducational qualifications.</p><p>A particular aspect to which attention is drawn is therhythm in work that unites occupational groups regardless ofeducational background. Occupational skill is treated as acapacity developed to find rhythm in action when confrontedwith situations that are hard to handle. The dissertationconsiders aspects that can be tried out in other occupationalarenas and paves the way for identifying phenomena in workinglife that hinder the development of rhythm in work.</p><p>The dissertation contributes to the setting-up ofundergraduate-level training for groups of people who have notpreviously had access to higher education, and aims tointroduce new aspects into the development of analoguethinking.</p><p><b>Key words</b>: practical versus theoretical knowledge, skillof epistemology, tacit knowledge, comparative case study,literary metaphor, analogical thinking, indirect method,occupational training.</p>