O objetivo do presente trabalho foi examinar o desempenho das firmas em períodos próximos à realização da colocação secundária, perfazendo uma análise das pesquisas relatadas sobre o evento. Como constatado na literatura, os agentes alienam sua participação acionária por motivos diversos e, dependendo do tipo de informação que o alienante possui, a performance das ações e operacional das firmas tendem a ser robusto em momentos próximos ao fenômeno e fraco conforme vai se distanciando do mesmo. Foi a demonstração dessa repercussão que se buscou comprovar nesse trabalho, tratando de diferenciar os efeitos no mercado quando a venda é feita por um detentor de informação privilegiada da que é realizada por um alienante que não detém esse tipo de informação. O que se depreende da literatura é que os agentes no momento da venda de suas ações tendem a se aproveitar da janela de oportunidade. Apresentando ainda as teorias levantadas sobre o tema, percebe-se que elas possuem um poder de explicação sobre o que ocorre no mercado de capitais no momento da distribuição secundária. / The objective of this study was to examine the performance of firms in periods near completion of secondary offering, executing an analysis of the research reported on the event. As noted in the literature, shareholders sell shares for various reasons and, depending on the type of information that the he carry, the stock and operational performance of the firms tend to be robust at times closest to the phenomenon and poor as will moving away from same. Was the demonstration of this effect which sought to prove in this work, trying to differentiate the effects on the market when the sale is made by an insider with respect to non-insider. What is clear from the literature is that agents at the time of sale of their shares tend to take advantage of the window of opportunity. Yet anchoring in theories raised on the topic, it is clear that they have a powerful explanation of what happens in the capital market at the time of the secondary distribution.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi examinar o desempenho das firmas em períodos próximos à realização da colocação secundária, perfazendo uma análise das pesquisas relatadas sobre o evento. Como constatado na literatura, os agentes alienam sua participação acionária por motivos diversos e, dependendo do tipo de informação que o alienante possui, a performance das ações e operacional das firmas tendem a ser robusto em momentos próximos ao fenômeno e fraco conforme vai se distanciando do mesmo. Foi a demonstração dessa repercussão que se buscou comprovar nesse trabalho, tratando de diferenciar os efeitos no mercado quando a venda é feita por um detentor de informação privilegiada da que é realizada por um alienante que não detém esse tipo de informação. O que se depreende da literatura é que os agentes no momento da venda de suas ações tendem a se aproveitar da janela de oportunidade. Apresentando ainda as teorias levantadas sobre o tema, percebe-se que elas possuem um poder de explicação sobre o que ocorre no mercado de capitais no momento da distribuição secundária. / The objective of this study was to examine the performance of firms in periods near completion of secondary offering, executing an analysis of the research reported on the event. As noted in the literature, shareholders sell shares for various reasons and, depending on the type of information that the he carry, the stock and operational performance of the firms tend to be robust at times closest to the phenomenon and poor as will moving away from same. Was the demonstration of this effect which sought to prove in this work, trying to differentiate the effects on the market when the sale is made by an insider with respect to non-insider. What is clear from the literature is that agents at the time of sale of their shares tend to take advantage of the window of opportunity. Yet anchoring in theories raised on the topic, it is clear that they have a powerful explanation of what happens in the capital market at the time of the secondary distribution.

This thesis examines how and to what extent humanitarian aid organizations strategically focus on gender roles following disasters, and how they contribute to potential changes in gender roles. The case selected for the study is Nepal after the 2015 earthquakes where the reports of four international humanitarian aid organizations were examined through a qualitative content analysis. The thesis aims to provide a contribution to the disaster risk reduction literature with a special focus on the possibilities to use disasters as catalysts for changes in traditional gender roles. As humanitarian organizations are major actors in the aftermath of disasters, the purpose is to evaluate their efforts and connect that to previous literature in the field. As a theoretical foundation two contrasting theories are incorporated in the study, the first is the idea that a disaster can be a ’window of opportunity’ for changes in gender roles whereas the other one is that vulnerable people is often left more vulnerable after a disaster due to secondary consequences, a so called double disaster.  The main findings of the study demonstrate that none of the four international humanitarian organizations incorporated a gendered perspective in their aid efforts following the earthquakes in Nepal 2015. The organizations seldom separate women from men in their reports, demonstrating an unawareness of the gender power structures at play. Few activities had a potential to empower women and the ones that did lacked a long-term perspective to enhance gender equality and lower vulnerability.

There is an increasingly vocal debate on potential long-term changes in environmental sustainability spurred by the global COVID-19 pandemic. This article scrutinizes the social science basis of selected popular hypotheses regarding the nexus between the COVID-19 pandemic and the societal transitions towards environmental sustainability. It presents results that were derived through an interdisciplinary dialogue among social scientists. First, it is confirmed that the COVID-19 crisis has likely created a potential window of opportunity for societal change. Yet, to ensure that societal change is enduring and actually supporting the transition towards environmental sustainability, a clear and well-targeted political framework guiding private investments and behavior is required. Second, it is emphasized that there are important structural differences between the COVID-19 crisis and environmental crises, like time scales. Consequently, many strategies used to address the COVID-19 crisis are hardly suitable for long-term transitions towards environmental sustainability. Third, it is argued that transitions towards environmental sustainability—building both on reducing environmental degradation and building socio-techno-ecological resilience—may create co-benefits in terms of preventing and coping with potential future pandemics. However, research still needs to explore how big these synergies are (and whether trade-offs are also possible), and what type of governance framework they require to materialize.

ObamaCare 2010: Political Aspects of U.S. Health-care Reform Katarína Dujčíková Abstract The enactment of the comprehensive health-care reform in March 2010 is one of major political achievements of the administration of the 44th president of the United States of America, a Democrat Barack Obama and the 111th Congress with the majority of Democrats in both chambers. Democratic politicians reacted to the need to answer three major problems of American health care system; rising cost, average quality and limited access to standard health care services for million Americans. The historical passage of health-care reform enacted despite unified opposition by Republicans was possible due to the rare combination of favorable conditions, or so-called window of opportunity and legislative tactic, which had to be adopted in order to diffuse opposition and secure enough votes from undecided congressmen. Compromises that had to be made necessarily altered an initial reform proposal. This diploma thesis has focused on two major aims. First, it examines in detail the legislative process of health-care reform, actions of its major players (public, congressional parties, president, and interest groups) as well as its result (the reform bills), which compares to the initial reform proposals of President Obama. The findings...

There is currently an ongoing transition into more sustainable aviation. One of the sustainable alternatives to the conventional fossil-fueled aircraft is electric aviation. The research aim of the study could be divided into two parts. The first part was to identify the barriers to the development of electric aviation in Sweden. The second part was to ascertain if and, in that case, how the process to reach dominant design can be affected by the actors. Empirical data was mainly gathered through semi-structured interviews. In order to address the research aim, a theoretical framework built upon theories from both multi-level perspective and dominant design theory was used. There were barriers arising from Financial, Regulatory & Political, Business Model & Legitimacy, and Technical conditions. The theoretical analysis implied the existence of two socio-technical gates. These gates consist of collaboration and legitimacy aspects. Metaphorically passing through these gates would make overcoming the relevant barriers much easier. This would also align all elements of the transition, which makes it possible for the actors to affect the process of achieving dominant design. / Det pågår en övergång till mer hållbart flyg. Ett exempel på dessa hållbara flyg är elektriska flygplan. Målet med studien kan delas upp i två delar. Den första delen är att identifiera barriärerna som hindrar utvecklingen av dessa elektriska flygplan. Den andra delen är att ta reda på om och i så fall hur processen för att nå en dominant design på marknaden kan påverkas av aktörerna. Insamlingen av data gjordes huvudsakligen med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Teorier från “multi-levelperspective” och dominant design-teori har använts. Resultaten visar på att det finns möjliga barriärer för utvecklingen inom områden av ekonomi, regelverk, affärsmodeller och legitimitet samt teknik. Analysen implicerar existensen av två “socio-tekniska portar”. Dessa består av legitimitet och samarbete mellan aktörer. Genom att bildligt passera genom dessa portar blir det mycket enklare att överbrygga alla relaterade barriärer. Detta riktar också alla element i övergången mot sammahåll. Det i sin tur möjliggör att aktörerna kan påverka processen för att nå den dominanta designen.

Le 8 mars 1963, un coup d’État en Syrie permet à une secte minoritaire marginalisée au sein du parti Baas, à idéologie radicale et révolutionnaire, de s’emparer des rênes de l’État avec l’appui des militaires et de conserver le pouvoir depuis. Ainsi la Syrie, premier pays arabe à connaître le système pluraliste parlementaire dès 1919, sera soumise à un régime militaire et autoritaire pendant presque un demi siècle. Ce mémoire vise à expliquer comment cette faction, groupusculaire à l’origine, a su profiter des circonstances et des fenêtres d’opportunité politique ouvertes par les comportements de l’élite traditionnelle syrienne, au pouvoir depuis le Mandat français, s’étant trouvée affaiblie, isolée et illégitime aux yeux de la population. Cette fragmentation exprimée par des agitations internes, avait provoqué des décisions contradictoires, des conflits d’intérêts ainsi que des divisions de nature identitaire, générationnelle, sociale, économique, militaire et politique. La Syrie a de ce fait, depuis son indépendance en 1941, été victime du jeu de son élite, un jeu dont ce mémoire est consacré à étudier la dynamique. Cette étude, qui définit le concept de l’élite théoriquement, s’appuie sur l’état des liens entre élites, l’envergure et les modes de leur circulation, pour confirmer qu’une élite fragmentée s’affaibli, perd sa légitimité et mène la société à l’instabilité. Ceci soutien l’hypothèse centrale de l’étude que la fragmentation de l’élite syrienne traditionnelle a ouvert des fenêtres d’opportunité politique devant le parti Baas, minoritaire et radical, qui a su les saisir pour conquérir le pouvoir. / On March 8, 1963, a coup in Syria allows a marginalized minority sect, of radical and revolutionary ideologies within the Baath Party, to conquer the reins of State with military support; and to stay in power ever since. Thus, Syria -the first Arab country to experience the pluralist parliamentary system since 1919, will be subject to a military and authoritarian regime for almost half a century. This thesis aims to explain how this minority faction took advantage of the circumstances and the windows of political opportunity that have opened because of the weakness of the traditional elite in power since the French mandate, due to its fragmentation that led to its isolation and illegitimacy in the eyes of people. This fragmentation manifested by internal unrests, has resulted in contradicting decisions, conflicts of interests and division of nature in identity, generational, social, economical, military and political aspects –all at once. Hence, since its independence in 1941, Syria was a victim of its elites’ game -a game this thesis is devoted to study its dynamics. The study that defines the concept of elite theory, while focusing on the state of relation between the elites and the extent and patterns of their circulation, in order to confirm that a weakened fragmented elite, loses its legitimacy and leads the society to instability. This supports the main hypothesis of the study that the fragmentation of traditional Syrian elite has opened windows of opportunities that the Baath Party, a radical minority, was able to seize power through.

Le 8 mars 1963, un coup d’État en Syrie permet à une secte minoritaire marginalisée au sein du parti Baas, à idéologie radicale et révolutionnaire, de s’emparer des rênes de l’État avec l’appui des militaires et de conserver le pouvoir depuis. Ainsi la Syrie, premier pays arabe à connaître le système pluraliste parlementaire dès 1919, sera soumise à un régime militaire et autoritaire pendant presque un demi siècle. Ce mémoire vise à expliquer comment cette faction, groupusculaire à l’origine, a su profiter des circonstances et des fenêtres d’opportunité politique ouvertes par les comportements de l’élite traditionnelle syrienne, au pouvoir depuis le Mandat français, s’étant trouvée affaiblie, isolée et illégitime aux yeux de la population. Cette fragmentation exprimée par des agitations internes, avait provoqué des décisions contradictoires, des conflits d’intérêts ainsi que des divisions de nature identitaire, générationnelle, sociale, économique, militaire et politique. La Syrie a de ce fait, depuis son indépendance en 1941, été victime du jeu de son élite, un jeu dont ce mémoire est consacré à étudier la dynamique. Cette étude, qui définit le concept de l’élite théoriquement, s’appuie sur l’état des liens entre élites, l’envergure et les modes de leur circulation, pour confirmer qu’une élite fragmentée s’affaibli, perd sa légitimité et mène la société à l’instabilité. Ceci soutien l’hypothèse centrale de l’étude que la fragmentation de l’élite syrienne traditionnelle a ouvert des fenêtres d’opportunité politique devant le parti Baas, minoritaire et radical, qui a su les saisir pour conquérir le pouvoir. / On March 8, 1963, a coup in Syria allows a marginalized minority sect, of radical and revolutionary ideologies within the Baath Party, to conquer the reins of State with military support; and to stay in power ever since. Thus, Syria -the first Arab country to experience the pluralist parliamentary system since 1919, will be subject to a military and authoritarian regime for almost half a century. This thesis aims to explain how this minority faction took advantage of the circumstances and the windows of political opportunity that have opened because of the weakness of the traditional elite in power since the French mandate, due to its fragmentation that led to its isolation and illegitimacy in the eyes of people. This fragmentation manifested by internal unrests, has resulted in contradicting decisions, conflicts of interests and division of nature in identity, generational, social, economical, military and political aspects –all at once. Hence, since its independence in 1941, Syria was a victim of its elites’ game -a game this thesis is devoted to study its dynamics. The study that defines the concept of elite theory, while focusing on the state of relation between the elites and the extent and patterns of their circulation, in order to confirm that a weakened fragmented elite, loses its legitimacy and leads the society to instability. This supports the main hypothesis of the study that the fragmentation of traditional Syrian elite has opened windows of opportunities that the Baath Party, a radical minority, was able to seize power through.

Le système de santé libanais connait une évolution chaotique de son secteur sanitaire, dans un univers en concurrence croissante. De plus, dans l’organisation de ce système, divers groupes d’acteurs évoluent et influencent directement ou indirectement les prises de décisions stratégiques dans les établissements de santé libanais. Voilà pourquoi, dans un contexte où évolue une pluralité d’acteurs qui sont interdépendants et poursuivent des objectifs divergents, la prise de decision stratégique semble un défi de taille. La présente étude vise donc à comprendre et à analyser les processus dynamiques des décideurs ayant une influence sur la prise de décision stratégique dans une organisation de santé, en contexte pluraliste, où diverses forces externes et internes exercent une influence sur ce processus décisionnel. Pour y arriver, la prise de décision stratégique est analysée selon une perspective de relations de pouvoir, en partant des acteurs de l’organisation de santé et du contexte dans lequel ils évoluent. Cette recherche propose un modèle conceptuel qui s’appuie sur les concepts généraux de l’analyse stratégique de Crozier et Friedberg (1977) jumelés au modèle de la poubelle « Garbage Can ». Les éléments proposés de ce cadre conceptuel sont pertinents pour expliquer l’interaction entre la liberté des acteurs et les relations de pouvoir qui en ressortent, la présence fortuite des courants menant à la prise de décision et l’environnement dans lequel baignent les acteurs et l’organisation, qui influencent de façon majeure l’élaboration de la prise de décision stratégique dans un établissement de santé pluraliste. Afin de répondre à l’objectif de cette recherche, nous nous sommes basés sur une revue de littérature sur la prise de décision stratégique en contexte hospitalier pluraliste. Ensuite, nous avons procédé à une démarche qualitative basée sur les entrevues semi-structurées et l’analyse documentaire, dans le cadre de deux hôpitaux libanais, représentatifs du bassin hospitalier libanais. Cette étude de cas a permis de retracer 4 cas traceurs à partir desquels les comportements stratégiques mobilisés par les acteurs concernés par le processus décisionnel ont été mis en évidence. Pour ne citer que quelques stratégies répertoriées, nous prenons l’exemple des stratégies d’adaptation à l’environnement, d’implication des acteurs externes ainsi que de collaboration et de négociation qui prennent en considération l’environnement turbulent dans lequel baignent ces établissements de santé. En outre, l’interprétation des résultats a mis l’accent sur les stratégies d’acteurs internes et externes qui ont mené à la formation d’une constellation de leadership élargie, composée d’acteurs stratégiques multiples en constante interaction. Ces jeux de pouvoir ont influencé le processus décisionnel et ont permis la rencontre des processus formels et « informels » de prise de décision, menant à une meilleure compréhension du cheminement décisionnel stratégique dans les établissements de santé pluralistes. En conclusion, des recommandations concrètes sont formulées à l’intention des décideurs en santé. De plus, la rencontre théorique développée pour la première fois dans cette thèse, apporte une contribution intéressante aux théories des organisations. Ultimement, la thèse ouvre la voie à des pistes de réflexion prometteuses sur la prise de décision stratégique, en contexte pluraliste. / The Lebanese health system is experiencing a chaotic evolution of its health sector, in a world of increasing competition. In addition, in the organization of this system, various groups of actors evolve and influence directly or indirectly the strategic decision-making of the Lebanese healthcare establishments. In a context in which evolves a plurality of actors who are interdependent and pursue divergent objectives, strategic decision-making seems a major challenge. Therefore, the present study aims to understand and analyze the dynamic processes of decisionmakers having an influence on strategic decision-making in a healthcare organization, in a pluralistic context, where various external and internal forces exert an influence on this strategic decision-making. To achieve this, strategic decision-making is analyzed from a power relation’s perspective, starting with the players in the health organization and the context in which they operate. This research proposes a conceptual model based on the general concepts of strategic analysis of Crozier and Friedberg (1977) combined with the garbage can model. The proposed elements of this conceptual framework are relevant for explaining the interaction between the freedom of actors and the power relations that emerge from it, the fortuitous presence of the currents leading to decision-making and the environment in which the actors are immersed which have a major influence on the development of strategic decision-making in a pluralistic healthcare establishment. To meet the objective of this research, we started with a literature review on strategic decisionmaking in a pluralistic context. Then, we used a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, within two Lebanese hospitals that are representative of the Lebanese hospital basin. This case study made it possible to trace 4 decisions from which the strategic behaviors mobilized by the actors were highlighted. To cite only a few listed strategies, we take the example of strategies of adapting to the environment, involving external actors as well as collaboration and negotiation that take into consideration the turbulent environment in which these establishments are surrounded. The results of this thesis show how the strategies developed by internal and external actors led to the formation of a broad constellation of leadership. This constellation is composed of multiple strategic actors who are in constant interaction, thus influencing the decision-making process through their power relations and strategic plays. Also, the results of this thesis highlight the 7 political decision-making process that takes place in a pluralistic health care organistion, leading to a better understanding of the strategic decision-making process in these establishments. In conclusion, concrete recommendations are made for decision-makers, to better manage health care organisations. In addition, the theoretical encounter developed for the first time in this thesis, makes an interesting contribution to the theories of organizations. Ultimately, the thesis opens the way to promising lines of reflection on strategic decision-making, in a pluralistic context.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic showed that disastrous events can develop in ways both new and surprising. It demonstrated that an infectious disease can easily spread over the globe in a matter of weeks. While there has been a surge of policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic there is uncertainty regarding which of these changes will remain permanent and which will be terminated. The pandemic highlighted the complex structures of governance in modern societies and raised new interest in how institutions of governance work. The COVID-19 pandemic has opened a window of opportunity for politicians and leaders to transform institutional settings.    Aim: This thesis will bring further insight into potential policy change, during a protracted crisis. The aim is to examine the role of COVID-19 pandemic in enabling changes on the agenda regarding risk governance, the Swedish crisis management system, and the overall organisation of governmental responsibility through a qualitative content analysis of governmental reports. The study investigates the policy process and agenda setting during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic at the Swedish national government. The focus is on the beginning of the crisis before the issue became better known.    Method: This study has been conducted through a qualitative case study design. The information has been retrieved from documents, that were analysed through a qualitative document analysis. Based on the case (Sweden and its national Government and Parliament), the information has been documents provided by these government bodies. In total 72 documents were chosen based on specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. These documents were then coded in NVivo 12.    Results: The analysis resulted in different themes, labelled here as: risk constructs, risk governance, crisis management, power, responsibility policy stream, political stream, and problem stream. The overall picture is that issues related to COVID-19 were at a low level during the beginning of 2020, with an increase beginning I March and apart from a drop in May, continued to rise in prevalence reaching its hight in June 2020. The data show that the COVID-19 pandemic is described in tones of great uncertainty, that it was something that could be used for learning or improvement. The data further showed discussions regarding jurisdiction and co-operation and that it started discussions on how to manage a crisis. The different risk governance strategies that came through were discursive strategy, precaution strategy, prevention strategy and risk-based strategy. Where the risk-based strategy was the most prevalent. The data show a general positive stand towards giving the Government a clearer and wider mandate to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also focus on voluntary actions, safeguarding democracy and human rights.   Conclusion: This study reveals that the discussions on the coded themes coincide with the reported infection rates of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic is argued to have caused an increase on the agenda regarding power, responsibility, and risk governance. It opened a policy window for an increase in centralisation for the national government.