In light of the European Union`s 2012 theme year: Active aging and solidarity between generations I wished to gain an understanding of weather elderly immigrant are provided with equal possibilities and access to local community information as the majority population and their participation in activities arranged for senior citizens in the municipality where they live. I have done this by meeting with those who work in this capacity. I also chose to meet with representatives for immigrant organizations in the local community to enquire of their work with senior citizens within their own ethnic group. This is a qualitative study on a phenomenological ground based on nine interviews and four observations. I have had two theories to help me analyze my empirical material. Globalization theory is a good groundwork to understanding the changes in modern multicultural societies where I have looked at the work of Anthony Giddens first at hand. The theory of KASAM by Aaron Antonowsky explains how the sense of coherence helps people to remain positive and satisfied in old age despite their failing health and unfavorable circumstances at times. I have found that the municipality where this study is preformed has a multicultural focus in their manor of spreading information. Yet many ethnic groups seek information verbally from friends and family rather than seek it through the official channels which may be more common among the majority population and immigrants that have established themselves in the society. Still all those whom I interviewed agreed that spreading information through direct contact always is the most effective way to get information across to people. I found that the local community meeting places for senior citizens have no immigrants attending on a regular basis. I did meet a group of senior migrant citizens with their origin in various nationalities that gather under the supervision of a cooperation project that has integration and public health as its main goal. All the participants in their activities for senior citizens started coming through personal invitation from the project leader or other group participants. With regards to the theme year those working with senior citizens were aware of it but haven’t had any specific focus on it in their work except for a few that participate in a regional public health project. They all agree that a theme year for active ageing and solidarity is an important milestone to recognizing the needs for recreation and showing respect to those who are beyond the age for retirement.

The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the crisis communication was perceived between SAS, massmedia and citizens during the volcano crisis in 2010. The questions posed are: - How did the communication between SAS, media and citizens function during the crisis? - How did senders, intermediaries and beneficiaries experience the information and communication during the crisis? - How important was the internet communication for SAS, media and citizens during the crisis? The collected material consists of interviews and desktop research of material from Internet. The study shows that the communication between SAS, the media and citizens worked well on the social medias but was weaker in all other mediachannels. SAS was also weak in following up information received by media and travelers, and they therefore they had a different picture of the situation during the crisis. SAS thought that the communication worked fine between the parties involved. Media and citizens felt that SAS gave them poor information and that they could have been better with giving deeper and more information. Internet played an important part in communication during the crisis. Internet and social media has become increasingly important for SAS and without the internet in this crisis, SAS would have had difficulties in maintaining its credibility and reputation for many customers. With the social media, SAS could easier establish a dialogue and help their passengers.

Institutional philanthropy (which includes the spectrum of all formalized grantmaking organizations) remains one of the least understood and researched aspects of giving. There is also limited scholarly attention to the relationship between foundation governance and grantmaking, despite normative claims about 'elite' foundation boards selecting 'elite' nonprofit's. Yet, foundations are increasingly using committees of community volunteers to allocate grants, rather than leaving grant decisions to a traditional board of directors. The goal of community involvement in grantmaking is better grant decisions, due to community members' information advantage and consequently greater knowledge of community needs. However, no one has tested whether community boards are making different decisions than traditional boards, much less whether their decisions are better. Drawing on a sample of 6 funders who use both community and traditional boards, their 616 grantees, and 955 comparable non-grantees I build on the economic model of giving to identify differences and similarities in the characteristics of nonprofit's that receive grants. Although I find much more congruence between grant decisions of community and traditional boards than literature expects I explore this finding through an in depth case study of two foundations who do this type of work. I find, similar to previous work in the public sector that simply involving community members in a grants process does not automatically generate different organizational decisions. Instead, it is only when a public participation program is effectively designed that grant decisions truly reflective community input.

<p>This Minor Field Study examines whether or not Batswana female master students at the University of Botswana, due to their university education, have become more politically aware and critical towards their national political system. Botswana has been chosen as a critical case on the basis of the country’s long lasting democracy and the Botswana’s positive attitude towards their government.</p><p>The research takes off in theories such as democratic and critical citizen’s theory and feminism. Based on these theories, an analytical framework with the core assumption that female university education creates politically critical women, has been developed. The study is based on ten qualitative interviews with female master students. The interview questions concern the respondent’s political awareness, participation and their perceptions of political institutions, regime principles and governmental performance.</p><p>The findings of the study are that university education makes women more politically aware, empowered and active, although we have found no significant correlation between university education and a rise in criticism among the interviewed women. However a majority of the respondents that actually have been affected by their education declare that they have become more politically critical.</p>

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare tolkar begreppet uppehållsrätt när EU-medborgare ansöker om försörjningsstöd. Intersektionellt perspektiv användes för att belysa maktförhållanden mellan socialsekreterare som representatner för svenska myndigheter och klienter med utländsk härkomst. I studien användes domar från svenska förvaltningsrätter som analyserades med kvalitativ diskursanalys. Resultat kategoriserades in i kategorier som rörde socialsekreteres tolkningar av uppehållsrätten, omständigheter avgörande för bedömning av uppehållsrätten och socialsekreterares tolkningar av EU-medborgares rätt till försörjningsstöd. Data om EU-medborgares medborgarskap och kön samlades in för att undersöka deras eventuella påverkan på utfall av ansökan om försörjningsstöd. Analys av resultat visade signifikant inkonsekvens i såväl socialsekreterares tolkningar av uppehållsrätten som i tillämpning av relevanta lagar. EU-medborgares rättigheter till försörjningsstöd nekades på grund av att EU-medborgare bedömdes vara "ekonomiskt icke aktiva personer" eller inte ansågs ha "en verklig möjlighet till att få anställning". Varken EU-medborgares medborgarskap eller kön kunde kopplas till utfall av deras ansökan om försörjningsstöd. / The purpose of this study was to examine how social workers interpret right of residence when EU-citizens apply for social assistance by claiming their residential rights. The intersectional perspective was used as a theoretical approach in order to illustrate power relationship between social workers as representatives for Swedish authorities and clients of foreign origin. Using appeal documents from Swedish administrative courts as a study material and a qualitative discourse analysis as a data collection method the results were classified into categories concerning social workers’ interpretations of right of residence, circumstances considered by social workers as crucial for right of residence and social workers interpretations of EU-citizens’ entitlement to social assistance. Data regarding EU-citizens’ nationalities and gender were collected in order to identify their possible influence on outcome of their applications. Analysis of results identified a significant inconsistency in social workers’ interpretations of right of residence as well as in application of the law. EU-citizens’ entitlement to social assistance was denied on terms of EU-citizens being “economically inactive persons” or not having “a real chance to get an employment”. Neither EU-citizens nationalities nor gender could be linked to outcomes of their applications for social assistance.

Many developing countries’ governments have invested heavily in e-service projects. However, there is a lack of clear case material research, which describes the potentialities experienced by governmental organisations. This research examines egovernment service projects and provides insights and learning into how to successfully develop and implement these projects within a developing country, specifically Egypt. The aim of this research is to develop a robust framework to support an efficient e-government system focusing on the case of Egypt. This is achieved by investigating selected completed and on-going successful initiatives and focusing on the barriers to, and the enablers of, these initiatives. As a result, the nature of successful e-governmental services initiatives is determined, and solutions to the possible emerging barriers and challenges are developed. Many lessons are learned to be taken into consideration in repeating the successful experience of other new eservice projects in the Egyptian government. A combination of research methodology approaches has been employed in this research. Firstly, an extensive review of literature took place to summarise and synthesise the arguments of the main factors contributing to the development of e-service research. Secondly, the qualitative approach and the case study are selected as an appropriate methodology for this research, using the semi-structured interview technique to gather data from top level officials who are involved in the Egyptian e-government program. Based on evidence, the cultural barriers group is the main group facing Egyptian e-government progress. On the other hand, the political will and enforcing decisions are the ultimate driving forces for the successful implementation of e-service projects in particular and the egovernment program in Egypt in general. Based on the findings, a framework is developed for explaining the main barriers and enablers of government e-service projects development, and providing solutions for the identified barriers, especially in a developing country environment like Egypt. Also, a process, of e-service projects implementation is proposed. A new enabler (decision enforcement) is found in the Egyptian government context and added to the list of enablers. From a practical point of view, this research provides realistic implications for the decision makers and officials within the Egyptian government involved in the process of planning, developing and implementing e-service projects.

Ordinary citizens are rarely charged with making consequential decisions in representative democracies. Almost all consequential decisions are delegated to elected representatives or political appointees. On what basis should we judge whether decisions should be placed in the hands of ordinary citizens or delegated to political elites? I argue that decision-making authority should be allocated in whatever way an assembly of randomly selected citizens would choose, given reasonable beliefs about the consequences of their possible choices. The standard I defend is a variation of the principal-agent model of political representation, in which the people are viewed as a principal and officeholders as their agents. As it is usually formulated, the objectives of the people are defined by the preferences of the majority. I draw on this formulation in chapter 4 to explain why the majority might rationally prefer to delegate authority to a citizens’ assembly instead of an elected legislature and why they might rationally view citizens’ assemblies with distrust, when they are organized and administered by elites. But the standard formulation of the principal-agent model does not provide a coherent standard when the will of the majority is not well-defined. Several chapters on social choice theory explain this problem and why political theorists’ previous responses to it have been unconvincing. In light of this problem, I argue for a revisionary understanding of the principal-agent model, according to which the people and its will are identified not with the preferences of the majority but rather with the decisions of a citizens’ assembly. To motivate this approach I offer a critique of the recent literature on “epistemic democracy,” which describes an alternative form of justification for empowering ordinary citizens. Appeals to expertise and knowledge have historically figured prominently in justifications of political exclusion and hierarchy, but epistemic democrats put them to use in defending participatory forms of democratic politics. Epistemic democrats claim that decision processes in which inexpert, ordinary citizens participate can exhibit greater “collective wisdom” than elite- or expert-dominated decision-making. Chapters 2 and 3 explain why these arguments sit uncomfortably with the nature of disagreements in politics. / Government

Europos Sąjungos pilietybės koncepcija, pirmiausia pristatyta Mastrichto sutartimi (1992 m.), vėliau patikslinta Amsterdamo sutartimi (1997 m.), ilgai buvo laikoma tuščiu pažadu. Nors pradžioje ši simbolinės reikšmės koncepcija nesukūrė naujų teisių, tačiau dabar tapo esmine kylančioje Europos santvarkoje. Dėl Teisingumo Teismo dinamiškos praktikos ir jos kodifikavimo naujojoje Direktyvoje 2004/38/EB dėl Sąjungos piliečių ir jų šeimos narių teisės laisvai judėti ir gyventi valstybių narių teritorijoje koncepcijos vaidmuo pradėjo keistis. Europos Sąjungos pilietybė pamažu tampa tiesioginiu teisių šaltiniu išeinant už ekonominio konteksto ribų. Darbe analizuojama ekonomiškai neaktyvių Europos Sąjungos piliečių teisė laisvai judėti ir įsikurti Sąjungos teritorijoje. Pagrindinis darbo tikslas – aptarti esamą ir potencialiai galimą laisvo judėjimo principo išplėtimą ekonomiškai neaktyvių Sąjungos piliečių atžvilgiu. Pirmoje darbo dalyje akcentuojamas Europos Sąjungos pilietybės principas kaip nepriklausomas ekonomiškai neaktyvių Europos Sąjungos piliečių teisių šaltinis. Analizuojamas teisės laisvai judėti turinys, ypač daug dėmesio skiriama Sutarties 17 ir 18 straipsnių analizei, siekiant nustatyti, kokias naujoves skatina ir problemas kelia šių straipsnių taikymas naujausioje Teisingumo Teismo praktikoje, t.y., ar Sutarties 17-18 straipsnių nuostatos sukuria autonomišką ir tiesioginę teisę laisvai judėti ir įsikurti Europos Sąjungoje; ar pakeičia “išimtinai vidaus situacijos”... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / First introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, and subsequently revised by the Amsterdam Treaty, European Union (EU) citizenship long remained an empty promise. Even if it did not offer much in terms of new rights at first, EU citizenship has now become a key element of the rising European polity. Recently, indeed, and thanks primarily to the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) case-law and its codification in Directive 2004/38/EC on the rights of movement and residence of EU citizens and their family, things have started to change. European citizenship is slowly becoming a direct source of rights outside the economic context. This academic master work explores the right of economically inactive EU citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of European Union. The main purpose of this work is to review the existing and potential extension as well as challenges to the principle of free movement of economically inactive EU citizens. Part I of this work highlights the principle of EU citizenship as an independent source of rights of economically inactive people. This part explores the material scope of free movement rights concentrating on the added value of Articles 17-18 EC: whether the new provisions introduce an autonomous and directly effective right to move and reside in a Member State; whether Article 17 and 18 change the law as it relates to ‘wholly internal situations’; whether Articles 17 and 18 contribute to the creation of new substantive rights for EU... [to full text]

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