Why do students choose to study particular courses and what is the impact of these choices on their later progression? Quite often the reason for the choice appears to be obvious and straightforward, and their after course trajectory is already determined. The education system has, what some may view as an easy to follow progression route when students reach the end of Key Stage 4, i.e. GCSE to A level, and then university for those who meet the criteria. With A levels considered by many to be the 'gold standard', there is probably no expectation by schools, parents and students that they will do anything else. But what about those who may not meet the criteria and A levels may not be the most appropriate progression route for them? This thesis examines the factors that influence the choices made by students who have decided to study a course other than A level. This is done through longitudinal case studies derived from the use of questionnaires, focus groups and individual interviews using BTEC L3 Science as a vehicle. Four educational establishments agreed to participate in the research to varying degrees, with one establishment providing the participants who provided the case studies. Many previous studies that have investigated student choice have often done so from either the perspective of structural factors or individual agency, but not usually both. Hemsley-Brown and Fosketts' 2001 Integrated Model of Educational Choice has been used to provide a theoretical framework as it allows consideration of both structural factors and individual agency. The model was used at two different points in the research, but in a different way at each point. The result was a series of individual stories that gave an insight into the factors that influence student choice and also how the balance of power in the decision making process shifted in favour of the student as they progressed through the course. At the start of the course structural factors such as the systems that exist within education had a significant role in the choice of course for the students, to the point where it was effectively a 'non-choice' for them. By the end of the course individual agency played a significant role and the students were able to adapt and make the systems work for them to enable them to make the best possible choices to meet their own needs.

In the wake of the recent and prolonged economic crisis, corporate governance in large corporations has come under increasing scrutiny. Employment is said to be precarious, and some commentators talk of how the social contract is being shredded. Against this backdrop, more nurturing approaches to employment and human resource management have an intrinsic appeal. With its stakeholder capitalism, Japan provides one such model. This thesis examines that model through the prism of a qualitative study of business repatriates and their careers. Using six career stories, it gives us a window on to contemporary Japanese HRM practices as they impact ‘core’ employees working with the assumption of lifetime employment at large Japanese companies. As a result, we learn about the ongoing strengths and weaknesses of Japanese HRM, and see how practices may change. The study’s longitudinal research design allows these career stories to unfold dynamically as the participants reflect reiteratively on their experiences and hopes, while interviews with two other repatriates, four HR managers, one mid-career job-changer, and a European administrator with long experience in multinationals add further depth and perspective. The repatriates express support for the HR systems in their companies, while also reporting frustration related to issues such as the opacity of the job assignment system. Their time abroad has changed how they think about their work and their employers, yet they are less vectors for change and more an internationalised old guard. Overall, this study gives us a detailed and nuanced picture of how Japanese repatriates experience their careers and think about their futures. It shows the value of an in-depth grounded approach to understanding contemporary attitudes in Japan related to the ongoing debate about HRM practices. The narratives of these Japanese business people, who have been exposed to what is alleged to be better practice overseas, demonstrate the importance of the continuity and stability of the Japanese employment model. Moreover, the traditional model emerges as logical and effective, suggesting that the considerable criticism of that model over the past two decades is misplaced. In addition, interpretation of the data suggests future avenues of research into how we understand change and continuity in Japanese HRM practices.

Denna avhandling handlar om förändring av kommunal ledning, specifikt inom vård och omsorg. I Sverige finns inte mindre än 15 000 chefer inom kommunal vård och omsorg. De kan hantera budgetar som överstiger en miljard kronor och mellanchefer inom samma verksamhet kan leda ett hundratal medarbetare. Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva organisering av kommunal ledning samt att förklara varför kommunala ledningsorganisationer förändras. Den bygger på litteraturstudier samt på longitudinella fallstudier i Linköpings och Norrköpings kommuner. Studien visar att förändrade omgivningsförhållanden och spänningar som finns i kommunernas övergripande uppgifter, det vill säga medborgarnas intresseorganisation, att vara serviceleverantör, myndighet och samhällsaktör driver på aktörer till att förändra kommunala ledningsorganisationer. Nya idéer växer fram som en effekt av bakslag av tidigare fattade beslut. Bakslagen och nya idéer leder till krav på ledningsförändringar för att kunna hantera uppgifter på ett mer önskvärt sätt. För att få till stånd förändring hänvisas till kommunernas övergripande uppgifter och legitima institutioner som är förknippade med rättvisa, effektivitet, öppenhet och utveckling. / This dissertation deals with municipal management and especially municipal management of eldercare. In Sweden there are at least 15 000 managers in public service managing eldercare. Some managers of them are responsible for budgets of more than one billion SEK. Middle managers in municipal care can be responsible for up to one hundred co-workers. The purpose of the dissertation is to describe the organising of municipal management and explain why it changes. The dissertation is based on studies of literature and longitudinal case studies in Linköping and Norrköping. Changed circumstances and tensions within the municipality’s organization, specifically related to the overall assignments of the municipalities are conditions that influence agents to want to change their management. The overall assignments of the municipalities are democracy, supplier of service, authority and being a society actor. New ideas grow as an effect of organisational setbacks of earlier decisions. The setbacks and new ideas contribute to a demand of management changes. In order to change the management of a municipality, actors have to refer to the overall assignments and institutions such as justice, efficiency, openness and development.

L’Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU) – une organisation unique à vocation universelle possédant sa propre personnalité juridique contrairement aux autres organisations internationales soumises, elles, au droit international, et disposant du pouvoir de définir ses relations avec les tiers ou parties prenantes, agit dans le cadre d’un système de gouvernance à deux niveaux. Ce système est composé d’une part de mécanismes de « gouvernance externe » (pour une coordination entre différents acteurs comme les États, les Ministères, les autres institutions internationales, les entreprises et les Organisations non gouvernementales) et d’autre part de dispositifs de « gouvernement interne » (cf. Bouquin & Kuszla, 2014), qui encadrent les différents organes de l’ONU. L’articulation de ces deux formes de gouvernance doit assurer la mise en œuvre des politiques internationales. Ces politiques prennent la forme de plans ou programmes d’action dans différents domaines, en particulier dans le domaine environnemental. Même si cet axe ne fait pas partie des missions historiques de l’ONU comme la paix et la sécurité internationale, il a pris de l’importance à partir de 1972 avec la création du Programme des Nations Unies pour l’environnement – PNUE. Bien que ses missions aient évolué, le PNUE n’a jamais été aussi faible. L'analyse des configurations de contrôle du PNUE nécessite une approche sociologique prenant en compte les interactions entre les acteurs et la structure (théorie de la structuration et des métaorganisations). La comparaison de deux études de cas mit au jour trois configurations de contrôle des organisations à vocation universelle et une grille d’analyse des facteurs à prendre en compte pour assurer une articulation cohérente de leurs deux formes de gouvernance. / The United Nations (UN) – an atypical organization with its own legal personality unlike other international organizations, has the power to define its relationships with all its stakeholders and is acting within a system of governance at two levels: one of "external governance" (for coordination between different actors such as governments, other international institutions, international funds, businesses and non-governmental organizations) and one of internal governance (Bouquin, Kuszla, 2014) which frames the various UN bodies. The articulation of those two forms of governance ensures the implementation of international policies at the national level. These policies take the form of plans or programs of action in various fields, especially in the environmental field. Although this axis is not part of the historic UN missions such as peace and international security, it gradually took on some importance in 1972 with the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme - UNEP. Although its missions and its organizational control model have progressively changed, UNEP’s governance has never been that weak. Analysis of UNEP’s control configurations requires a sociological approach that captures the interactions between actors and structure (structuration and metaorganizations theory). The comparison of two case studies carried out in a situation of participant observation revealed three universal’s organizational control configurations and a grid of factors to be considered in order a coherent articulation of these organizations’ two forms of governance.