Treatment is both about the actual encounter and how individuals interact as well as the behaviour among the counterparts. Previous research shows that a person’s experience of how he/she is being treated is formed by conditions created by external factors, in literature known as the general view on treatment. The purpose of the study is to show how people with a physical disability experience the treatment from their Social Security Agency administrators. We have compared the empirical material with theories on treatment and power and analysed how this affect the interaction between the administrator and the disabled person. We have used qualitative interviews to collect the empirical material; in all we have conducted six semi-structural interviews. The result shows that the clients have experienced both positive and negative aspects of treatment, with emphasis on feelings of positive reception. The respondents have pointed out different strategies in order to take control of their own situation. Despite this, the Social Security Agency aadministrators always has the final say, i.e. the executive power. All respondents stress that the administrator must be a good listener, able to motivate them as well as humble during their encounter.   Key words: street-level bureaucrat, disability, treatment and public sector   Nyckelord: gräsrotsbyråkrat, funktionsnedsättning, bemötande, offentlig sektor

This is a qualitative study based on two focus group interviews with a total of six social workers who work with assessing financial aid in two municipalities. The study aims to examine how the social workers experience and handle their ambiguous professional role, on the basis that they are expected to support and control the client. The theoretical framework is the theory about discretion and role theory. The results show that social workers find it difficult to combine these different approaches. Two different groups of strategies that social workers use to manage their professional role have been distinguished, the first is used to combine the different approaches (combination strategies), which are: empathy, to be distinct and to "blame" the organization. The second is used to manage the professional role (managing strategies) and are: support of work colleagues, support of manager, "squareness" and distance. / Detta är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på två fokusgruppintervjuer med totalt sex socialsekreterare som arbetar med att handlägga ekonomiskt bistånd i två kommuner. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare som arbetar med ekonomiskt bistånd upplever och hanterar sin dualistiska yrkesroll, utifrån att de förväntas stötta och kontrollera klienten på en och samma gång. Studiens teoretiska ram utgörs av teorin om handlingsutrymme samt rollteori. Resultatet visar att socialsekreterarna upplever det svårt att kombinera dessa olika förhållningssätt/roller och att svårigheterna främst uppstår då de tvingas fatta beslut som går klienten emot. Två olika grupper av strategier som socialsekreterarna använder sig av för att hantera yrkesrollen har kunnat urskiljas, den första används för att kombinera de olika förhållningssätten (kombinationsstrategier), vilka är: visa empati, tydlighet och “skylla” på organisationen. De andra används för att hantera yrkesrollen (hanteringsstrategier) och är: stöd av arbetskollegor, stöd av chef, “fyrkantighet” och distans.

No description available.

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka lärares medvetenhet om den förändrade skollagen vad avser disciplinära och andra åtgärder och i vilken omfattning de upplever att den påverkar skolmiljön. För att kunna uppnå syftet med studien har tre frågor formulerats: för det första i vilken grad är lärare medvetna om vilka åtgärder som enligt lagen finns att tillgå och för det andra, i vilken omfattning tillämpar lärare de befogenheter de fått genom den nya skollagen? Avslutningsvis ställs frågan om lärare upplever att den nya lagen bidragit till några förändringar i deras handlingsutrymme?  Undersökningen som ligger till grund för uppsatsens resultat baserades på enkäter som besvarades av trettiosex lärare vilka undervisar i grundskolans senare år (7-9). Resultatet av undersökningen visar att lärare har begränsade kunskaper om skollagen vad avser lärarens mandat att vidta disciplinära åtgärder mot elever. Det framkommer också att lärare använder sig av disciplinära åtgärder för att stävja störningar i klassrumsmiljön och att en majoritet inte upplever att förändringen av skollagen har ökat lärarnas handlingsutrymme i klassrummet samtidigt som andra lärare anser att studiemiljön påverkats positivt till följd av lagens införande. Avslutningsvis kan det konstateras att studiens resultat kan förklaras med stöd av Michael Lipsky och hans ”gräsrotsteori”, vad avser skillnader mellan skollagens formuleringar och den praktiska tillämpningen i klassrummet. / The aim of this essay is to examine teachers' awareness in the changing school law with regards to disciplinary and other measures and to what extent they feel that this affects the school environment.  In order to achieve this objective, three main questions are posed: Firstly, to what degree are teachers aware of the measures available under the Act? Secondly, to what extent are teachers applying the powers gained through the new Education Act? Finally, do teachers feel the new law has contributed to any changes in their decision making process? The essay's conclusions are based on research resulting from questionnaires answered by thirty-six teachers who teach in compulsory schools higher grades (7-9). The research shows that, firstly, teachers have a limited knowledge of the Education Act regarding a teacher's authority to take disciplinary action against students. Secondly, it appears teachers are using the disciplinary measures to curb disruptions in the classroom.  Finally, a majority do not feel the changes in the Education Act has led to any increase in flexibility within the decision making process in the classroom, whilst others believe the learning environment has been positively affected as a result of the law's introduction. In conclusion the study's results are supported by Michael Lipsky's ”Street-level Bureaucracy," with regards to the differences between the Education Act's wording and practical application in the classroom.

The overall aim of this study is to investigate how social workers who are dealing with financial assistance are experiencing discretion in their daily work. The aim of the study is also to examine how social workers who are dealing with financial assistance relates to the controlling and the supporting functions of their daily work and how this in turn affects the attitude to the client. In order to examine the aim of the study, qualitative method was used. Eight social workers have been interviewed and presented with two fictitious cases that they have been able to discuss. Theories regarding the street-level bureaucrat and its discretion have been used to interpret and understand the collected material. Kerstin Svenssons’ (2001) theory regarding the social worker’s position has also been used to analyse the study’s gathered material. The study shows that social workers consider themselves to have a relatively large discretion in their daily work. However, the majority of the social workers agree that despite the great discretion they can at times feel limited in their work. Findings of the study also show that social workers are either more controlling or more supportive in meeting with the client.

The purpose of this study was to understand how social workers experienced working with Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in relation to the goal set by the National Board of Health and Welfare. The method is spread nationwide and therefore it is of great importance to examine how the social workers themselves experience the demands and the resources surrounding ASI. We choose to do a qualitative study interviewing eight social workers at six different occasions. The result was analyzed using Max Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy and Michael Lipsky’s thesis on street-level bureaucrats. We found that the social workers consider the method useful when used from without their own purposes. The standards set by the National Board of Health and Welfare was considered hard to achieve because of the complexity of the method. Among other things the valuation done by both social worker and client was regarded as tough and therefore the results of the interview are at risk of not becoming reliable. We found that the outcome of the interview depends on the performer.

<p>The purpose of this study was to <em>understand</em> how social workers experienced working with Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in relation to the goal set by the National Board of Health and Welfare. The method is spread nationwide and therefore it is of great importance to examine how the social workers themselves experience the demands and the resources surrounding ASI. We choose to do a qualitative study interviewing eight social workers at six different occasions. The result was analyzed using Max Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy and Michael Lipsky’s thesis on street-level bureaucrats. We found that the social workers consider the method useful when used from without their own purposes. The standards set by the National Board of Health and Welfare was considered hard to achieve because of the complexity of the method. Among other things the valuation done by both social worker and client was regarded as tough and therefore the results of the interview are at risk of not becoming reliable. We found that the outcome of the interview depends on the performer.</p>

Western governments face increasing demands to achieve both cost efficiency and responsiveness in their public services leading to radical and challenging transformations. Following the imposition of New Public Management (NPM) approaches within England, it is argued that similar elements of NPM can be also seen within Scottish healthcare, despite policy divergences following devolution. This thesis considers the influence of NPM on Scottish hospital frontline nursing staff in their work. It explores the ways in which managerial practices (specifically professional management; discipline & parsimony; standard setting & performance measurement; and consumerism) have shaped the working relationships, interactions, and knowledge-exchange between managers, staff and patients and the ability of staff to carry out nursing duties within an acute hospital setting. The study is a qualitative interpretivist study grounded in the methodology of adaptive theory and draws upon the works of Lipsky (1980) in order to explore how the front-line nurses cope with and resist the demands of the workplace. Based on thirty-one qualitative interviews with front-line nursing staff in an inner city hospital in Scotland, this thesis presents the findings resulting from nurses’ views of management, finances, policies, targets, audits and consumerism. The findings show that these nurses believe there has been a proliferation of targets, audits and policies, an increasing emphasis on cost efficiency and effectiveness, a drive for professional management and a greater focus on consumerism in NHS Scotland. These are all closely linked to the ethos of NPM. From the findings it can be seen that many elements influence the working relationships of the frontline hospital nursing staff. The study suggests that the main reason for conflict between managers and nursing staff is due to their differing foci. Managers are seen to concentrate on issues of targets, audits and budgets with little thought given to the impact these decisions will have on patient care or nurses’ working conditions. Furthermore the findings highlight high levels of micro-management, self-surveillance, control and the regulation of the frontline nursing staff which has led to tensions both between nursing staff and managers, but also with patients and the public. Finally, although there has supposedly been policy divergence between Scotland and England, this thesis has identified many similarities between Scottish and English polices and NPM approaches continues to influence the working relationships of front-line nursing staff within this study despite the rhetoric that Scotland has moved away from such practices.

The thesis had its starting point in the first paragraph of the eleventh chapter in the Swedish social services act, which discusses the immediate risk assessments that has to be made when the social services receive a report about a child. The thesis highlights an area that has received a lot of attention in media since the spring of 2014, when an eight year old girl was fatally abused by her legal guardians. The social services had at the time received a report about the girl but it was left unread. This tragic case has brought attention to the routines used by the social services for dealing with reports and risk assessments. This thesis was conducted through individual interviews with social workers working with children and families in the social services, with the aim to acquire an enhanced understanding of how social workers perform immediate risk assessments and what these assessments are based on. The results of the study showed that several of the municipalities had a routine for how to handle incoming reports, but lacked specific routines regarding the immediate risk assessments. Without specific routines, the informants stated experience, intuition and cooperation with co-workers and managers as important factors of making risk assessments. / Studien tog avstamp i socialtjänstlagens elfte kapitel, första paragrafen, vilken behandlar den omedelbara skyddsbedömning som ska göras av socialtjänsten vid en inkommen anmälan gällande ett barn. Studien belyser ett medialt uppmärksammat område som sedan våren 2014 blivit vida diskuterat då en åttaårig flicka misshandlades till döds av sina vårdnadshavare. Socialtjänsten hade då fått in en anmälan om flickan men som ingen ännu hade läst. Detta tragiska fall har uppmärksammat socialtjänstens rutiner kring anmälningar och hur de genomför skyddsbedömningar. Studien genomfördes genom individuella intervjuer med socialsekreterare som arbetar inom Barn och familj i socialtjänsten och syftet med studien var att få en ökad förståelse för hur socialsekreterarna utför skyddsbedömningar och vad som ligger till grund för dessa bedömningar. Studiens resultat visade att det i flera av kommunerna fanns en rutin för hur en inkommen anmälan skulle hanteras, men att det saknades specifika riktlinjer för hur de omedelbara skyddsbedömningarna skulle göras. I avsaknad av specifika riktlinjer uppgav informanterna att erfarenhet, intuition och samarbete med kollegor och chefer utgjorde viktiga delar av att göra skyddsbedömningar.

Sweden has one of the best elderly cares in Europe and the Swedish care work is also one of the best in terms of quality, compared to other European countries. In recent years, higher demands have been set on the care work and the number of privatizations of public services has increased. In 2009 a new law came into force, the Act on System of Choice (LOV) which increased individual’s right to a greater participation and a free choice in the selection of health and social care providers. This paper aims to highlight the impact of the law, system of choice. By using the method of qualitative surveys and interviews with care managers, and an exploration of relevant studies and reports, I was able to complete this study. With institutional theory and other sociological concepts such as isomorphism and street-level bureaucracy, I made an analysis of both the care managers and also at an organizational level. In the conclusions I argue that the system of choice has had a greater impact at an organizational level rather than on the care managers. The paper also highlights the fact that the knowledge of processes of implementation and political governance has had a significant role. The three main issues are how the law has influenced care managers work, how organizations have changed, how and if the active choices work in practice.