As an innovation Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is designed as a tool for clinical problem solving. According to its theory of use EBP will bring a difference for policy makers, for professionals, for researchers and for service users. One question to be asked is whether EBP actually leads to the radical social change it is designed to accomplish. The aim of the study is to describe and analyse the outcome of the effort to establish EBP, with a focus on the case of social work in Sweden. The research questions are: What is EBP? Why are efforts made to establish EBP? What is the outcome of the EBP project? How can the outcome of the EBP project be explained? The case study was conducted on a critical realistic meta-theoretical ground with a focus on explanation of social change with an explicit actor-structure perspective. Methodologically, a narrative synthesis of studies was made. As a complement primary data were collected to fill empirical gaps. The state of things was described before and after the EBP-initiatives. Several helping theories – Kuhn’s theory of paradigm, program theory, neo-institutional theory and theory of diffusion – were used to analyse the empirically mapped outcome of the EBP project. The results show that the import of the original model of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) to social work is a part of a wider social movement in the helping and educational professions. The new model has influenced social work as a discipline, as a field of practice and as a field of policy. There are examples of full-scale implementations of EBP, although EBP has not reached a general status as daily practice. Some obstacles remain. The gradual adaption of EBP corresponds to criteria hold by Kuhn for a paradigm shift. Acceptance of the model has contributed to change the structure and function of social systems. At an organizational level, this change means on-going institutionalization. The innovation is influencing the way institutional actors conduct their work. Although the structural conditions have been optimal, the EBP-model has been debated with heat. The EBP-debate and policy-driven infrastructural efforts have brought a more in-depth examination of the model. So-called coercive, normative, and regulative isomorphisms were used to change organizations. The degree of institutionalization depended on the individuals and the organizations willingness and preparedness to change, to understand, and to put the model into practice. When actors used a less strict version of the original EBP model, the pace of cultural and institutional change slowed down.

For a person who has been diagnosed with a disability at some point in their life, their ability to be an active democratic citizen in our information society changes. This thesis examines what kind of challenges the Swedish public libraries and librarians faces in their day-to-day work connected to the specific group of users with vision-related disabilities and discusses and analyze public librarians' perception of what digital skills means to them.  In the combination of people with visual impairments and their digital needs and competence development and on the actual conditions and challenges existing at the Swedish public libraries regarding digital services for people with visual impairments, the study identifies several challenges for both parties. The study results present an insecurity among librarians regarding the expectations to adjust and help with digital guidance, when they still are feeling insecure about what kind of digital competence expects of them.  During the qualitative interviews, a shared experience of anxiety, uncertainty, and an uneven level among the library staff regarding basic digital competences and where the "boundary" is revealed. The uneven level of digital competence is highlighted as problematic, as the patrons are assumed to be treated differently on repeated visits to the public library. The study identifies several challenges that would further encourage both the individual, the profession, the institution as well as society and research to study further. New knowledge in a library context has been identified and needs to be studied in a broader and more comprehensive research study.

Dagens organisationer kontrolleras allt mer, där granskning och mätning tenderar att genomföras av all dokumentation som behandlats i offentlig verksamhet. I förlängningen är utredningar i offentlig verksamhet idag en vanligt förekommande arbetsuppgift för HR specialister och syftet med studien är att undersöka betydelsen av utredningar i kommuner. För att kunna utreda olika typer av ärenden som kan innefatta både arbetsrättsliga och arbetsmiljömässiga problem krävs vissa kunskaper. Mer specifikt innebär det att undersöka betydelsen av och kompetensförutsättningar för utredningar utförda i tre olika kommuner ur ett HR-perspektiv. Under tidigare forskning behandlas frågan om kontroll av medarbetares arbete, ansvarsutkrävning av professioner, värdeskapande organisationer, organisatoriskrättvisa samt, betydelsen av kunskap och New Public Management (NPM), en styrform som vunnit allt mer mark i offentlig verksamhet. Teorier som använts som grund för att analyserainsamlad empiri kring utredningar och dess betydelse är legitimitet, HR-transformation, ny institutionell teori, isomorfism och isärkoppling. För att kunna utreda olika typer av ärenden som kan innefatta både arbetsrättsliga och arbetsmiljömässiga problem krävs vissa kunskaper. Studiens resultat visar att HR-specialister anser att utredningar är betydelsefulla i offentlig verksamhet, både för de individer det berör men även för arbetsmiljön som helhet. De understryker vikten av kunskap i utredningsmetodik för att kunna genomföra utredningar av god kvalitet. Resultatet ger en indikation på att HR-specialister i offentlig verksamhet ser utredningar som värdefulla handlingar som kan bidra till en bättre arbetsmiljö. Dock saknas i organisationerna strukturer för återkoppling och uppföljning av genomförda utredningar, 3vilket innebär att det saknas en vetskap bland respondenterna om vad som sker efter en utfördutredning.