Syftet med studien var att få en djupare förståelse för hur biståndshandläggare inom äldreomsorgen upplever sitt handlingsutrymme utifrån gräsrotsbyråkratens roll samt att identifiera vilka faktorer påverkar handlingsutrymmet. Fem intervjuer med sju informanter, varav sex kvinnor och en man, har genomförts och studien har en kvalitativ ansats. Analysen av resultatet visade att handlingsutrymmet ökar eller minskar vilket beror på ett antal identifierade faktorer. Dessa faktorer är: bakgrund, stödfunktioner, påtryckningar, reglementen och arbetssätt. I studien beskrivs hur handlingsutrymmet utförs och hur det upplevs av informanterna. En konsekvens av ett litet handlingsutrymme är att biståndshandläggarnas position mellan myndighetens uppdrag och medborgarnas behov kan bidra till stress. / The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how social worker in elderly care experience their discretion based on the street-level bureaucrats role and to identify the factors affecting the discretion. Five interviews with seven informants, six women and one man, have been completed and the study has a qualitative approach. The analysis of the results showed that the discretion increases or decreases due to a number of identified factors. These factors are: the background, support functions, pressure, regulations and practices. The study describes how the discretion is performed and how it is perceived by the informants. A consequence of a small discretion is that the social workers position between the authority´s  mission and the needs of citizens can contribute to stress.

Our study examining how well the guidelines, from Skolverket (School Department), aboutgrades in the course "Samhällskunskap A" are implemented in the Swedish Upper SecondarySchool. The study focus on both teachers and students. To discover which knowledge the bothgroups have, we have used two different methods. The students have answered a survey,which was based on the phrases from the course plan "Samhällskunskap A" about grades. Thesurvey wanted to see how well the students could match the correct phrases with the gradesteps (the Swedish school uses three grade steps). To see the teacher’s knowledge andopinions about the implementation, we used a shorter version of the survey that the studentsgot. We also complemented the survey with interviews to get the chance to ask more openquestions about the positive and negative aspects of the implementation. Our theory is basedon Lundquist (1992) about implementation, Rothstein (red. 2008 & 2010) about legitimacyand Lipsky (2010) about teachers as Street level bureaucrats. The conclusions of the study arethat the implementation, with some exceptions, works well from the top (parliament and government) to the bottom (the students). Some of the teachers also pointed out that thecourse plan "Samhällskunskap A" is formed in a bad way. / Uppsatsen har som syfte att undersöka hur välimplementerad skolverkets riktlinjer för kursenSamhällskunskap A samt betygsättning i denna kurs är hos lärare och elever igymnasieskolan. Som teoretisk grund för denna studie utgår vi dels från Lundquist (1992)som på ett för skolverksamheten mycket applicerbart sätt beskriver implementeringen somprocess samt förutsättningar för denna. Dels från Rothstein (red. 2008 & 2010) som beskriverregeringens behov av likvärdig och effektiv implementering för att bibehålla legitimitet. Dettaantagande att toppen av implementeringskedjan det vill säga riksdag och regering har etttydligt intresse av att implementeringen ska vara effektiv och likvärdig har varitgrundläggande för studien då samtliga tecken på brister i implementeringen bör tolkas som ettmisslyckande av dessa. Slutligen består studiens teoretiska beskrivning av Lipsky (2010) sombeskriver närbyråkraternas (lärarna) roll för implementeringen i verksamheten och derasbehov av frihet.Studieobjekt för studien har 40 elever ur den svenska gymnasieskolan bestående av tvåklasser från två olika skolor varit. Även tre lärare från två olika skolor har deltagit i studien.Som metod för att studera eleverna användes enkäter som även i en något nerbantad formbesvarades av lärarna för att utgöra en jämförelse. Lärarna i studien intervjuades i enhalvstrukturerad intervju som spelades in och återfinns som transkriberad bilaga tilluppsatsen.Förutom en öppen fråga ställd till eleverna via enkäten, samt de frågor rörandeimplementering samt förutsättningar för denna som ställdes till lärarna i intervjuerna utgårstudien från de så kallade nyckelord som beskriver efterfrågad kunskap för de olikabetygsstegen i Samhällskunskap A. I studien görs en oförberedd kontroll på hur väl lärare ochelever känner till dessa nyckelord och kan placera in dessa i korrekt betygssteg.Slutsatserna som studien visade på är bland annat att implementeringskedjan löpte hela vägenfrån toppen (riksdag och regering) till botten (eleverna). Denna slutsats var möjlig att dra dåeleverna visade på tydliga kunskaper om betygskriterierna i Samhällskunskap A. Övrigaslutsatser vi kunde dra utifrån det insamlade materialet pekade på olika typer av brister, varoch en i olika delar av implementeringskedjan. Vi vågar även påstå att det tolkade materialetkan tolkas som så att den absolut övervägande delen av implementeringskedjan har gjort deansträngningar som förväntas av dem för att åstadkomma en effektiv implementering. Vimenar att de brister som vi trots detta har lokaliserat beror på den enligt studien stora frihetsom lärare åtnjuter och att implementeringen inte låter sig tas längre med bibehållen frihet förlärarna. I studien har det även framkommit tecken på att brister i implementeringen beror påatt det material som ska implementeras (kursplanen) är dåligt anpassat till den verklighet somär reell i skolan. Felet återfinns i detta fall i toppen av implementeringskedjan då man harförsökt att implementera något som är bristfälligt anpassat till den verklighet som det syftartill att reglera.

Insatsen kontaktperson används flitigt inom socialtjänsten, trots det finns det ytterst lite forskning kring insatsen och dess effekter. Detta arbete strävar efter att få en ökad förståelse för socialsekreterares användande av insatsen kontaktperson för ungdomar samt hur socialsekreterares handlingsutrymme har påverkat det användandet. För att nå en ökad förståelse kring detta har en kvalitativ intervjustudie genomförts där socialsekreterare från olika socialkontor fått berätta om sina erfarenheter och upplevelser kring insatsen. Utifrån de uppgifter som framkommit under intervjuerna har olika teman skapats som beskriver skäl att använda insatsen, vilka effekter som ses av insatsen samt skillnader och likheter mellan olika handläggares agerande. Resultatet visar att kontaktperson kan beviljas av många olika anledningar och att de upplevda effekterna varierar. Det blir också tydligt hur fritt det är för varje socialsekreterare att själv utforma insatsen, vilket gör att det går ifrågasätta klienters rättssäkerhet då detta skiljer sig mellan olika kommuner. / In Swedish social services work with youths one of the most common ways to help is to grant the youth a sort of grownup mentor, a contact person. Despite of this, there is very little research about this kind of mentoring and its effects. In this study, we wanted to increase our understanding of the use of contact person for youths and also how the social workers discretion affects the use of contact person. To be able to do that a qualitative interview study was made where social workers from different social service offices shared their knowledge and experiences about contact person. Based on the information that was given during the interviews we were able to identify different themes that describe reasons to use contact person, which effects the social workers can see and also the differences and similarities between the different social workers way to use it. The result shows that social workers can provide youths with a contact person for a variety of reasons, and that the experienced effects differ between the social service offices. The result also makes it clear how the social workers in a free way are allowed to form the setup and implement of the contact person, which makes it possible to question the client’s rights to receive the same help no matter where you live or who you meet with.

<p>This study is about care managers, who process in the care of the elderly, regarding to needs, rules, regulations, guidelines and their freedom of space.</p><p> </p><p>The purpose with this study is to understand how the care managers process out of the basis from the needs of the elderly, the municipal guidelines in relation to the caremanagers freedom of space.</p><p>The study has a qualitative approach and is based on semistructured interviews with five different care managers.</p><p>To analyze our interview material we have use the street-level bureaucrat theory by Lipsky and Johansson and the theoretical idea<em> empowerment.</em></p><p> </p><p>Before we started our research about care managers we had an understanding in that the organization had an influence in the judgment of the needs of the elderly. Now we have an understanding in that the relative to the elderly is the one who wants to affect the care manager during the judgment of needs in what effort to make.</p><p> </p><p>Our study indicates that it exist insecurity regarding to the municipal guidelines, which was surprising. We thought that the guideline was something positive and a help full tool for the care managers.</p><p>The result in our research points out that the guidelines makes insecurity instead of comfort.</p><p>Our study shows that the care managers are contradictory regarding to their freedom of space. In the other hand they consider that their freedom of space is positive, but on the other hand when the municipal guidelines don´t work, they become worried and insecure.</p><p>It´s the none working municipal guidelines who gives the care managers a huge freedom of space. Which leads to that the care managers is afraid of doing misjudgments.</p><p> </p><p>Our result don´t distinguish from other studies made in this subject area.</p><p> </p>

Tidigare forskning gällande skolkuratorer har visat att deras roll på skolan är oklar och att deras arbete är relativt oreglerat. Den tidigare forskningen som gjorts, särskilt i Sverige, är begränsad och det finns mycket att utforska på området. Skolkuratorns handlingsutrymme är en aspekt av området som är relativt outforskat. Syftet med studien är att undersöka skolkuratorns upplevelse och tolkning av sitt handlingsutrymme i sitt yrkesutövande. Studien har en kvalitativ inriktning. Fem semi-strukturerade intervjuer med skolkuratorer genomfördes. Som teoretisk referensram har Michael Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater använts samt hans teoretiska begrepp handlingsutrymme.   Resultatet visar att kuratorerna upplever de riktlinjer och lagar som finns för deras arbete som lösa och tolkningsbara. De upplever även sitt handlingsutrymme som stort. Resultatet visar även att det finns ett flertal faktorer som kan påverka skolkuratorernas handlingsutrymme, både som gör det större och som krymper det. / Previous research regarding school social workers and school counselors has shown that their role in school is unclear and that their work is relatively unregulated. Despite this there have been few studies, especially in Sweden, in the area of school counselors. Particularly the discretion of the school counselor is an aspect of the area that is relatively unexplored. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the school counselors experience and interpretation of their discretion in the exercise of their profession. The study has a qualitative approach. Five semi-structured interviews with school counselors were conducted. Michael Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats and his theoretical concept of discretion have been used as a theoretical framework in this study.   The results show that the school counselors experience the laws and guidelines that are applicable for their work as loose and interpretable. They also experience their discretion as large. The results also show that there are several factors that can affect the school counselors’ discretion, factors that can both shrink their discretion and make it larger.

The municipal social services under the Social Services Act is responsible for the municipality’s citizens, but is at risk because of the situation in social services as social secretaries choose professions other than the exercise of authority. Social service work may be compromised on the basis that there will be a heavy workload for those social secretaries that stays when there are not enough resources. How social secretaries experience control in their work affects the way to trade and manage their work situation and the perceived control may be a discretion. The purpose of this study was to investigate how social secretaries perceive their work situation. The study was conducted based on a qualitative method and consisted of interviews of five social secretaries that all work in the same municipality. It was revealed from the qualitative content analysis that the social secretary job situation may seem complicated and the social secretaries tend to ”end up trapped” on the basis o fits position between the organization and the client. The conclusion of the study show that social secretaries work situation is characterized by frustration, both from the client and from the social secretaries own frustration to feel limited in their role as street-level bureaucrat. The framework constituting the discretion consists of organizational and social factors that the social secretaries needed to relate to. The discretion was perceived limited but constituted mainly a security in the complex work. / Kommunens socialtjänst har enligt socialtjänstlagen det yttersta ansvaret för kommunens medborgare, men detta riskeras på grund av den situation som råder inom socialtjänsten då socialsekreterare väljer andra yrken än myndighetsutövningen. Socialtjänstens arbete kan äventyras utifrån att det blir en hög arbetsbelastning för de socialsekreterare som arbetar kvar och att resurserna inte räcker till. Hur socialsekreterare upplever kontrollen i arbetet påverkar deras sätt att handla och hantera sin arbetssituation och den upplevda kontrollen kan utgöras av ett handlingsutrymme. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare upplever sin arbetssituation. Studien genomfördes utifrån en kvalitativ metod och bestod av intervjuer av fem socialsekreterare som arbetar inom samma kommun. Det framkom av den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen att socialsekreterares arbetssituation kan upplevas som komplicerad och att socialsekreterare tenderar att ”hamna i kläm” utifrån sin position mellan organisationen och klienten. Slutsatsen av studien visar att socialsekreterarnas arbetssituation präglas av frustration, dels från klient och dels från socialsekreterarnas egen frustration i att känna sig begränsad i sin roll som gräsrotsbyråkrat. Ramen som utgör handlingsutrymmet består av organisatoriska och sociala faktorer som socialsekreterarna behövde förhålla sig till i arbetet. Handlingsutrymmet upplevdes begränsat men utgjorde till största del en trygghet i det komplicerade arbetet.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The problems of the predispositions of municipal public officials and the professionalization of the public service have in the recent past come into the spotlight in service delivery protests involving poor people and unemployed youth. The criticism levelled at bureaucrats within the public service relates to administrative systems, bad policies as well as unresponsive attitudes among frontline staff. The existing perception is that South African street-level bureaucrats are lazy, uncaring, self-serving, unethical, and conceive of the poor in derogatory terms. They are generally only in public service because it is a means of employment or enrichment. Most recent literature on municipal water and free basic services focused on exposing the cost recovery drive of the state and its associated forms of oppressive neoliberal surveillance of the poor. The research sought to primarily understand the attitudes of street-level bureaucrats (SLB’s) within two B-category municipalities in the Western Cape, South Africa. This was done by identifying what motivates them to work in the public sector, how they see and interact with identified poor members of the public (usually defined as municipal indigents), what their value orientations are, and if and how principles of Batho Pele are understood by frontline workers. It explored how these principles are applied when interacting with indigent citizens in their everyday work environment. Additionally, the research explored how poor citizens view their experience of interacting with the state. A qualitative study, using semi-structured questionnaires, was conducted in the Cape Agulhas municipality which is the most southern municipality and the Matzikama municipality which is the most northern municipality of the WC on the west coast. Interviews with frontline municipal employees, senior bureaucrats and residents were conducted. The interviews were conducted, to obtain three different views on the problem, with a total of 71 participants. The participants comprised of 15 street-level bureaucrats, 8 senior staff, with a minimum of 5 years’ tenure, and a total of 43 indigent citizens. Given the sample size, composition and the demographics relating to these municipalities, the research is not generalizable. The public workers in the case studies, I found, cared deeply for the community and the community in turn are very appreciative of this. I also found that indigent citizens were not ashamed of their indigent status although there were those who outright denied being indigent and therefore were not interviewed.

The aim of this study was to examine how foster-care workers use their discretion, also how they evaluate foster-care investigations and which criteria affects the outcome of the investigations. Our focus group were social workers from four middle-sized municipalities and two social workers from the private sector. Two overall themes were identified after our interviews, both with underlying themes: discretion during investigation and criteria for foster-care takers.The analysis was based on previous research and theory. Our main conclusions were that social workers’ discretion is affected by the guidelines and methods established at their workplace. Also that the criterias for foster-care takers depends on the situation, but the foster child needs his or her own room in the home and the foster parent can not appear in criminal records.

This dissertation examines why planning is perceived as a barrier to the thermal improvement of conservation properties, and considers ways in which this might be addressed. The focus on thermal improvement is derived from a survey of UK scenario literature for energy management up to 2050. A further examination of the literature finds that conservation properties are particularly in need of thermal improvement; and barriers to thermal improvement are identified. A gap in the academic knowledge is found that identifies planning as a perceived barrier, but that there is no investigation of this widely held perception. The research question is therefore developed as, 'Why is English planning perceived as a barrier to the thermal improvement of conservation properties and how can it be addressed?' The dissertation methodology uses a pragmatic mixed-methods approach and research design. The first phase of the research examines 'Why planning is perceived as a barrier', by using surveys and interviews to gather evidence of the experiences and opinions of the multiple users of planning for conservation projects. Through this work, a lack of consistency and reliability in English planning is identified. The data suggests this may be due to the discretionary and fragmented nature of the English planning system which requires local authorities to interpret national policies and develop local plans and guidance. This results in local decision-making, which may not be consistent. Additionally, the research finds a perceived lack of strong national policy and guidance. This perceived lack of consistency and reliability in the application of planning is selected as the basis for validation phase of the dissertation research findings. The validation research seeks to test the perception of a lack of consistency and reliability through a Comparative Information Quality assessment adapted and developed from the discipline of Information Management. Online planning guidance for conservation projects provided by 13 London Councils is compared. The method confirms and highlights areas of inconsistency across the Councils' planning guidance. By identifying a number of areas of inconsistency, and by providing a tool that could help to ensure that policy is delivered consistently at the local level, this component of the research addresses the second part of the research question, 'How can the planning barrier be addressed?'. In conclusion, the dissertation suggests that planning is perceived as a barrier due to a lack of consistency and reliability in the planning process. Inconsistencies are identified and a recommendation is made for how these might be reduced.

When a person is forced to flee their home due to violence or the fear of persecution, they must seek refuge elsewhere – either within the borders of their home country or in a new country. Those who travel to another country in search of safety and protection are known as refugees, and as world conflicts continue, the number of refugees around the world is steadily increasing. As refugees integrate into their new communities, they often receive support from nonprofit organizations once government assistance has ceased. This mixed method study uses 60 open-ended, first-person interviews with refugees and nonprofit service providers, participant observation, and a secondary data analysis of nonprofit mission and goal statements to explore the needs of refugee populations in a southeastern city in the United States, compare and analyze how nonprofits in this area are interacting with and providing services to their refugee clients, determine the extent to which the refugees being served perceive the nonprofit’s services to be effective, and determine the extent to which refugees feel that their needs are being met. Findings indicate that refugees and nonprofit service providers typically gauge the effectiveness of nonprofit services in very different ways, with refugees measuring effectiveness as the extent to which a nonprofit helps its clients, and with service providers measuring effectiveness as the extent to which a nonprofits meets its mission and goals; thus, creating specific mission statements that are aligned with client needs is crucial for nonprofits. Findings also showed that refugees may be hesitant to fully express their needs to service providers due to cultural barriers and/or the fear of being a "burden", and that informal methods of soliciting refugee perspectives may help service providers better assist their refugee clients. The data also indicate that nonprofits that engage in collaborations with other nonprofits and governmental agencies, provide refugees with increased access to ESL classes, and ensure that refugees have ample opportunities to engage with other members of their community typically see more positive outcomes as their refugee clients seek to integrate.