Democratic theorists have influentially argued that inclusive deliberation, where citizens voice their concerns and exchange justifications, is crucial to democracy. However, this deliberative ideal has come under sustained attack for being excessively utopian. As a result, to make this ideal more relevant and action-guiding, the present thesis investigates what norms should govern deliberation in political settings marked by severe social divisions. After motivating this project (Chapter 1), I defend the following account of deliberation. Although the requirement that deliberators appeal to shared reasons is morally attractive, even the weakest variant of this norm risks excluding too many considerations from the public deliberation of divided societies. To offset these exclusionary tendencies, I argue that public deliberation should give a greater role to emotionally-charged forms of speech, such as narrative (Chapter 2). Now, this last suggestion might seem overly inclusive, by opening the door for intensely angry narratives and for narratives expressing degrading or disrespectful views. In response to this 'overinclusiveness' concern, I argue 1) that degrading or disrespectful public speech is best countered through state-backed counterspeech, rather than through coercive legal norms that forcibly eliminate it from public discourse (Chapter 3) and 2) that narratives expressing anger in fact have a crucial epistemic role to play in divided societies, by enhancing our understanding of persisting injustices (Chapter 4). The final two chapters address a pressing worry: that the deliberative norms I advance demand too much of actual citizens. One might think that if citizens distrust each other and are highly ignorant about politics, they will be unable to deliberate fruitfully. But these problems are not decisive against my account. Chapter 5 investigates how the kind of public dialogue I defend offers important resources for rebuilding trust and goodwill in divided societies. As for political ignorance, Chapter 6 demonstrates that it is equally problematic for other political systems, democratic and non-democratic. Since this ignorance threatens all accounts, the solution is not to abandon inclusive deliberation, but rather to tackle political ignorance itself.

Esta pesquisa visa fornecer uma explicação para o quadro de ampla desconfiança em partidos políticos no Brasil. Mobilizando modelos culturalistas e racionalistas para entender esse fenômeno, o trabalho se inicia com uma discussão teórica sobre o lugar da desconfiança numa democracia representativa, passando para o debate pormenorizado de como a literatura tentou tratar do objeto dessa dissertação, nacional e internacionalmente. Por sua vez, os capítulos empíricos, fundamentados sobre testes de qui-quadrado, análises de correspondência e regressões logísticas ordinais, revelam os efeitos assimétricos das principais variáveis elencadas pela literatura, em que seu efeito negativo sobre a desconfiança é maior do que seu efeito positivo sobre a confiança. Argumenta-se que o quadro ilustra a consolidação de uma cultura de desconfiança em partidos políticos no Brasil, com consequências e importância incertas atualmente para a compreensão da intrincada relação entre partidos políticos e sociedade civil. / This research aims to provide an explanation to the broad distrust in political parties in Brazil. Using culturalist and racionalist models to assess this phenomenon, this work starts with a theoretical discussion about the place that distrust has in a representative democracy, going through a detailed discussion on how the literature tried to study this dissertations object, nationally and internationally. The empirical chapters, grounded in chi-square tests, correspondence analysis, and ordinal logistic regressions, reveal asymmetric effects from the main variables brought out by the literature, where its negative effects on distrust are bigger than its positive effects on trust in political parties. It is argued that this scenario illustrates the consolidation of a culture of distrust in political parties in Brazil, with unknown consequences and importance for the comprehension of the intricate relation between political parties and civil society.

Recent issues such as global economic crises, terrorism, and conservation efforts are making international collaboration a critical topic. While cultural diversity often brings with it new perspectives and innovative solutions, diversity in collaborative settings can also lead to misunderstandings and interaction problems. Therefore, there is a pressing need to understand the processes and influences of intercultural collaboration and how to manage the collaborative process to result in the most effective outcomes possible. In order to address this need, the current study examines the effect of ethnic diversity, perceived deep-level similarity, trust, and distrust on collaborative behavior and performance in decision-making dyads. Participants were assigned to either same-ethnicity or different-ethnicity dyads and worked together on a political simulation game in which they had to make complex decisions to solve societal problems and increase their popularity. The results of this study indicate that ethnically similar dyads reported higher levels of perceived deep-level similarity than ethnically dissimilar dyads, and that this perceived deep-level similarity served as the mediating mechanism between objective differences in ethnic diversity and trust and distrust, respectively. The findings also suggest that trust and distrust attitudes, when considered together as a multiple mediation model, mediate the positive relationship between perceived deep-level similarity and collaborative behavior. Finally, results show that collaborative behavior significantly predicts objective performance on the political decision-making simulation. The implications of this study for theory and practice are discussed along with the study limitations and several suggestions for future research.

Black Americans experience influenza vaccination rates that are lower than the rates of other ethnic groups. Low influenza vaccination rates among the Black community are associated with higher influenza infection rates, influenza-related hospitalizations, and higher influenza mortality rates. There is a belief within the Black American community that the medical establishment does not have the Black American patient in its best interest, leading to feelings of distrust. The purpose of this study was to determine if the distrust of the medical community is a relevant factor in the low influenza vaccination rates of Black Americans aged 18 and older in Baltimore, Maryland. The study also examined the belief that the influenza vaccine causes the flu and the effect this belief may have on influenza vaccination rates. The public health critical race theory served as the framework for the study. Previously validated survey instruments, the Health Care System Distrust Scale and the Adult Influenza Immunization Survey, were obtained with permission and used to collect data from the members of a Baltimore city church. The study used chi-square analysis, multivariable logistic regression, and narrative discussion to address the research questions and analyze the data of 105 completed surveys. Results of the study determined that distrust of the medical community was not a relevant factor in the influenza vaccination rates of study participants, and that participants' vaccination status was influenced by factors other than distrust. Implications for social change included improving the influenza vaccination rate among Black Americans and decreasing their influenza mortality rates.

In this project, local school boards with a majority of parents are studied. Such boards are set up at a number of sdmols in Sweden as a trail. The purpose of the study is to investigate the constitution of such boards, their work and the content of items dealt with. Members (parents, teachers and principals) as well as a political representative from eight municipal boards have been interviewed. An important aspect scrutinised in interviews is the relationship between professionals, politicians and parents. In this presentation some results, with respect to achievements, problems and expectations from eight different schools are provided. Special interest is paid to the principals and how their work is affected by collaboration with the local board. The project analyses how the local board suits into the organization of the municipality into the organi7.ation of the school. The confidence and distrust in the local boards is besides analysed.

Assurance of corporate sustainability reports relies on the idea of a third-party assuror who is independent and objective. The assurance approaches typically used by accountancy companies have been developed over many years and are supported by internal as well as external standards. With the help of these standards, the assuror provides credibility to the public statements of the companies through a thorough checking of statements, data and supporting systems. However, the orthodox approach overlooks or neglects the many paradoxes and dilemmas that are the daily experience of most assurors, e.g. what it means to be independent and objective while at the same time trying to develop a relation with the client. There has also been criticism of assurance, as currently practiced, as being too rigid, too predictable and providing too few benefits to the companies assured. In this thesis, the author explores why and how his own assurance practice differs from the more orthodox approach. This has led to the description of an alternative approach to assurance, called the ‘artist’ approach that takes the ethical dilemmas and paradoxes into account. The approach has been developed and described on the basis of the author’s own experiences using a critically reflexive methodology. The methodology builds on personal narratives and iterative feedback from fellow researchers and supervisors. The development of the ‘artist’ approach is based on: 1) a critical investigation into the idea of ‘compromise’, which leads to an alternative way of thinking about the practice of assurance; 2) a critical investigation into notions of trust and distrust, and power relations, and the effect of these on assurance work; and 3) a concept of ‘stumbling together’, which is built on relationality and ‘essential references’, where the assuror and the assuree are mutually exploring the territory. In the ‘artist’ approach, the values of independence and objectivity are compromised. The assuror actively strives to build personal trust based (at least in part) on technical kinship. Through this trust the power dynamics of the ‘insider’ and the ‘outsider’ are contained; indeed, the notion of ‘insider/outsider’ is forgotten in the moment. Independence has turned into interdependence, and objectivity into mutual engagement, where both assuror and assuree together might discover new issues not known to either of them before. In the orthodox approach, the assuree is ‘called to account’, whilst in the artist approach, the assuree is invited to ‘give an account’. This process of collaborative exploration allows the potential for radical new discoveries, for both assuror and assuree. The ‘artist’ approach as described here has affinities with complex responsive processes of relating as explained by Stacey. In the ‘artist’ approach, the craftsman approach is always paradoxically present at the same time, and the approach makes use of the same tools and the same framework as the craftsman approach. A wider understanding and application of the ‘artist’ approach can potentially lead to significant changes in the way assurors act, and hopefully to assurance results that are more relevant and useful.

Syfte – I denna studie undersöks sambandet mellan konsumenters kunskap och förtroendegentemot kommunikationen av miljövänliga textila produkter.Teoretiskt ramverk – För att undersöka syftet redogörs vad kunskap respektive förtroendeär. Det teoretiska ramverket stod även till grund för utformandet av metoden, och av denanledningen redogörs i detta kapitel hur kunskap respektive förtroende kan mätas.Metod – Studien grundades på en enkätundersökning där respondenternas kunskap ochförtroende för miljövänlig textil produktion prövades. Resultatet analyserades sedan medchi2-test för att statistiskt säkerställa eller förkasta samband mellan kunskapsnivå ochförtroendenivå.Resultat och analys – Resultatet visade inte något statistiskt samband mellanrespondenternas kunskaps- och förtroendenivå. Studien visade även att respondenternaskunskapsnivå var generellt sett låg, utifrån det kunskapstest som gjordes ienkätundersökningen. Respondenternas förtroendenivå gentemot textila produkter somkommuniceras med miljömärkningar var högre än för de textila produkter som kommunicerassom miljövänliga utan användning av miljömärkningar.Diskussion och slutsats – Den låga kunskapen om kommunikationen av miljövänliga textilaprodukter kan bero på att konsumenter inte blir tillräckligt exponerade med information kringämnet, men kan även bero på bristande intresse och tid hos konsumenten. Det låga förtroendetför textila produkter utan miljömärkningar kan bero på att respondenterna varit med omgreenwashing. Att förtroendet är högre för produkter som marknadsförs med miljömärkningarkan bero på att dessa organisationer har en högre auktoritet och att konsumenter litar på attcertifieringarna ser till att produkter uppfyller vissa kriterier.Fortsatt forskning – En mer omfattande studie inom samma område med ett större antalrespondenter hade varit intressant, för att undersöka om detta skulle kunna påverka chi2-testen. En annan intressant aspekt att gå djupare in på är varför kunskapen respektiveförtroende ligger på de nivåer de gör och vad företag och organisationer skulle kunna göra föratt förändra dessa. / Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between consumers’knowledge and trust towards the communication of environmentally friendly textile products.Theoretical Framework - To examine the purpose of this study, the terms knowledge andtrust needed clarification. The theoretical framework was also the foundation for the design ofthe method, and therefore this chapter clarifies how consumers’ knowledge and trust can bemeasured.Method – The study was based on a survey in which respondents' knowledge and trusttowards eco-friendly textile production was measured. The results were then analysed withchi2-tests to statistically ensure or reject correlations between the levels of knowledge andtrust.Results and Analysis – The result from the chi2-tests did not show any statistical correlationbetween the respondents' knowledge and trust levels. The results of the survey showed thatthe respondents' level of knowledge towards the communication of environmentally friendlytextile products was generally low. The respondents' levels of trust towards textile productscommunicated with eco-labels were higher than for those textile products that arecommunicated as environmentally friendly without the use of eco-labels.Discussion and Conclusion – The low knowledge of communication of eco-friendly textileproducts can be caused by consumers’ lack of time and interest or because consumers are notsufficiently exposed to information about the subject. The low trust in textile products withouteco-labels may be caused by greenwashing. Consumers may also have a higher trust towardseco-labels because these organizations have a higher authority and because consumers maytrust that certifications ensure that products fulfils certain criteria.Continued Research – A more extensive study in the same field with a larger number ofrespondents would be interesting to investigate, whether this might affect the chi2-tests.Another interesting aspect to study is the reasons behind the consumers’ levels of knowledgeand trust, and what companies and organisations could do to improve them.

In today’s business world, strategic alliances are becoming a common method for achieving a competitive advantage towards industry rivals. This tool, however, is not a guarantee for success as the failure rate of alliances is between 30-70%. Even with this high failure rate, strategic alliances continue to grow and becoming more and more common. Through strategic alliances, the organizations can gain the possibility to access, acquire and implement new knowledge from its partners as a step to achieve competitive advantage. However, by engaging in alliances or inter-firm arrangements they also place themselves in the risk zone of giving away knowledge, both intentionally or unintentionally, which is also known as knowledge leakage. Studies have shown that trust is important in knowledge sharing, and managers must understand the role of trust and distrust in this equation, in order to be able to successfully achieve an effective and trustworthy knowledge transfer for a firm. Previous research has focused mainly on the effects of trust on knowledge sharing and a few exceptions have focused on knowledge leakage. However, these articles have been ignoring the factor of distrust. The purpose of this thesis therefore lies in investigating the effect the dimensions of both trust and distrust simultaneously have on knowledge sharing and leakage, as theory view trust and distrust as separate but co-existing concepts. The dimensions chosen for investigation are goodwill trust, competence trust, goodwill distrust and competence distrust. In order to achieve this purpose, a quantitative research method was used. A questionnaire was developed and sent out to Swedish firms operating in knowledge-intensive industries according to Eurostat. 55 companies fully completed the questionnaire. From this a factor analysis and regression analysis was conducted in order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis. This thesis found that goodwill trust has a positive effect on knowledge sharing and negative effect on knowledge leakage. Competence trust and competence distrust was found to have a positive relationship with knowledge leakage. Also, the authors developed the dimensions of goodwill and competence distrust as well as empirically proved their existence. This thesis contributes by acknowledging the importance of both concepts, trust and distrust, and also providing managers with an idea of what dimensions of trust and distrust are important when associating it to knowledge exchange.

This thesis studies knowledge processes which span organisational boundaries, examining how knowledge is formed and shared between two companies with divergent interests, facing the challenges of innovation processes. Cross-boundary work provides access to diverse sources of knowledge, specialties and approaches, and this enhances the innovative performance of firms. However, managing knowledge and spanning diverse boundaries has proven to be difficult. While the epistemic and social challenges have been identified to trigger conflicts and misunderstandings across boundaries, the complexity, inter-dependency and uncertainty of innovation processes have been found to multiply these challenges. Informed by the practice-based perspective, this thesis examines how the challenges of integrating knowledge in such a context are addressed and resolved. Building upon this theoretical perspective, the thesis aims to enhance understandings of knowledge processes between the large bureaucratic organisations (publishers) and small/medium-sized companies (developers) in the videogames industry. Underpinned by a social constructionist and interpretivist methodology, a qualitative study of three publisher-developer relationships was conducted. With thirty six semi-structured interviews with senior directors, managers and team leaders, the thesis examined cross- boundary practices and the conflicts experienced in this process. In order to achieve this, the study focused on the role that boundary objects, trust development and power structures played in facilitating knowledge processes. The thesis recognises the evolving and relational character of boundary objects, highlighting that a combination of static and dynamic boundary objects were effective in facilitating knowledge integration in the publisher-developer relationship. It also reveals that despite high levels of distrust between the parties involved, they managed to create and maintain a working relationship by resorting to opportunistic practices, such as knowledge hiding, deception and collusion. It is emphasised that understanding the power dynamics in the publisher-developer relationship is a pre-requisite to explaining 2 how knowledge is managed across organisational boundaries during the course of a project. Drawing upon a Foucauldian perspective, the thesis identifies the positive and enabling aspects of power dynamics in this relationship. It argues that when the parties have discrepancies, competition and high levels of distrust, power games positively influence cross-boundary practices, the use of boundary objects and knowledge processes, ultimately mobilising knowledge integration. The thesis makes four significant contributions to the knowledge management and cross-boundary work literature. First, it identifies an evolving role for boundary objects, showing how they develop during the course of a project. Second, it finds a relational and politicised dimension for boundary objects, highlighting the role of brokers to manipulate and mobilise the use and effectiveness of these objects. Third, the thesis extends the existing literature by revealing that despite high levels of distrust, parties can create a working relationship. The research shows that this is achieved through resorting to opportunistic behaviour, such as knowledge hiding, deception and collusion. As a result, this thesis adds a complementary level to Carlile's Integrated Framework, explaining that when there are high levels of differences, dependencies and novelty in the cross-boundary work, knowledge hiding, deception and collusion are the driving force to facilitate knowledge integration and maintain a functional relationship. The fourth contribution of this thesis is recognising the positive and productive aspects of power dynamics that enable and mobilise boundary objects and knowledge processes, ultimately bringing positive outcomes and creating a functional relationship between two companies with divergent interests.

Over the last few decades there has been a statistical increase for the use of criminal background check. Organizations that operates in the business of transport and logistics have developed the control of criminal records before employment as a standardized recruitment tool. This, despite of the lack of constitutional support for the use of it. This study aims to study and problematizing the use of the criminal records. Furthermore, this study aims towards a deeper understanding of how organizations reasons and how the assessment is made if an individual has been previously convicted. The empirical material is gathered through qualitative interviews with representatives from different organizations working within the bransch. The results shows that despite the lack of constitutional support, all informants base their assessment in a similar way. Theoretically, this indicates that a moral structure has been developed around this issue. Through the study's theoretical framework, the study’s findings indicate that the criminal record is perceived to contribute to producing trust, reducing risks and increasing organizations security.