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Strategic Management in Finnish and Norwegian Government Agencies
Get PDFThe purpose of this article is to analyse the design and implementation of strategic planning and performance management in governmental agencies in two Nordic countries, Finland and Norway. Nordic countries are an interesting study from a comparative perspective because while they are commonly assumed to have been high-intensity new public management reformers, they are also commonly assumed to have a distinct public management tradition. Moreover, these two countries are interesting to study because within the Nordic public management tradition, Finland and Norway specifically represent two different public management traditions. Finland belongs to the Eastern Nordic public management tradition, with an emphasis on decentralisation and agency autonomy, while Norway belongs to the Western Nordic public management tradition, with an emphasis on hierarchical governance, and hence, much performance management and reporting. Therefore, we expected to find more decentralised strategic management and an emphasis on evaluation in Finland, and more central, planning-like strategic management and reporting in Norway. Our comparison shows that both countries had mandatory strategic planning and utilised decentralised strategic planning in government agencies. The stronger legal orientation in the public administration in Finland, however, made strategic changes more complicated in Finland than in NorwaypublishedVersio
Chinese journalism in changing times : a case study of Southern Weekly newspaper
Get PDFThe interplay of political and economic forces in shaping media has been a central discussion in the politcal economy of communication studies. Scholarly opinions differ from the role of state and market played in influencing media. Political economists mostly take the state and the market as antithetical forces in the media spectrum. This paper presents a content analysis of a Chinese national newspaper, Southern Weekly, and gives an examenation of its changes in two-time frames, 1993-1996 versus 2013-2016. The evidence demonstrates that when in an unflavored economic status, the market plays as an auxiliary force with the state, rather than a conflicting pole to defuse political intervention. The findings suggest that in a state formation like China, where journalism is facing tightening political control and enormous pressure, the theoretical presupposition of the state versus market model in the political economy of communication studies needs to be reconsidered
Journalistic practice and media production away from home (in exile) : the case of Wazema Radio
Get PDFBenefitting from the theories of alternative media and journalistic professionalism, this study tries to portray the lived professional experiences of Ethiopian journalists establishing and running an online radio named Wazema from their new destinations. The station is registered and operated from Sweden, but its contributors hail from the Ethiopian diaspora environment in various countries, and also from the homeland. Qualitative in-depth interviews with ten journalists and available document analysis are the methods of data collection.
The study asks how journalists consider their professional integrity as journalists in exile and how they use the digital medium to reach their audiences back in the homeland. It also tries to reflect on production and organizational opportunities and challenges met by the journalists.
Referring to their background in the homeland and their victimization as journalists, as well as their work at Wazema, the journalists regard their role as exile journalists with no reference to elements of activism. Most regard credibility as the most important journalistic element of their practice at Wazema followed by verification and independence, though at the same time they admit the challenge to prioritize one from the other.
Wazema journalists view the political reform in their homeland as facilitating their transition from exile media practitioners to founders and runners of independent mainstream media, provided the political change sustains in institutionalization and legal backing.
This investigation shows the role of exile media in aiding journalists on the run from authoritarian regimes, the use of local working journalists’ identity to extract information in a media repressive regime as well as the role ordinary citizens play in smuggling information to journalists in exile
Hvordan opplever jenter med Asperger-syndrom ungdomsskolen?
Get PDFTemaet for dette masterstudiet er jenter med Asperger-syndrom (AS) sin opplevelse av ungdomsskolen og hvordan lærere kan tilrettelegge for dem på skolen. Forskningsspørsmålet mitt har vært: Hvordan opplevdes opplæringssituasjonen på ungdomsskolen for noen utvalgte jenter med Asperger-syndrom, og hvilke pedagogiske konsekvenser kan dette få for lærere i grunnskolen?
Formålet med studiet har vært å få frem jenter med AS sin stemme, slik at lærere lettere kan forstå deres vansker og utfordringer knyttet til sin skolehverdag. Bedre kompetanse om AS medfører at tilretteleggingen kan bli bedre i skolen. Studiet mitt er ikke et nøyaktig bilde på hvordan alle jenter med AS opplever ungdomsskolen siden det er basert på fire narrativ, men det er egnet til å gi detaljerte og nære eksempler på hva enkeltmennesker med AS kan ha behov for. Litteraturen jeg har brukt er både norsk og internasjonal forskning vedrørende AS og biografier skrevet av kvinner med AS.
Personer med AS diagnosen har ofte sosiale vansker og deres kognitive profil gjør at de har utfordringer med å lese andre menneskers tanker og intensjoner (Kaland, 2014). Andre kjennetegn er sterke særinteresser, sensoriske vansker, eksekutive vansker, motoriske vansker og rigiditet. Mange med AS får tilleggsdiagnoser knyttet til angst og depresjon. De er en utsatt gruppe og mange opplever å bli mobbet som igjen medfører en vanskelig hverdag og kan lede til at de kan få diagnosen posttraumatisk stresslidelse (PTSD). Jenter med AS kan ha en annen form for autisme enn gutter med AS og klare seg bedre sosialt. Denne kjønnsforskjellen medfører blant annet at de diagnostiseres senere enn gutter.
Jeg har valgt å bruke en kvalitativ eksplorativ metode og tar et aktørperspektiv. Informantene har fortalt sine historier om tiden i ungdomsskolen ved å levere inn narrativ. Gjennom analysen av tekstmaterialet har jeg brukt hermeneutisk metode.
Jeg har gjort flere funn som belyser problemstillingen min. For noen elever med AS er ungdomsskolen en vanskelig tid og da er de sosiale vanskene det som er mest fremtredende. Dette virker negativt inn på den faglige utviklingen på skolen. Informantene mine la vekt på betydningen av at skolehverdagen ble tilrettelagt og at lærere hadde kompetanse om AS. De sensoriske vanskene ble også trukket frem og da var det lyder som var mest utfordrende
Female journalists' reporting in the Ethiopian print media : a case on the privately-owned press
Get PDFWomen in Ethiopia make up close to half of the total population. Like in other African countries, Ethiopian women live under high dominance of men. Also, the society does not portray women positively. In the study of media and women, three areas have characterized most of the research tradition: a portrayal of women in media content; women representation in the media institutions; and women as sources of information. Little attention has been paid to the practice of female journalists in the Ethiopian media. Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to assess how female journalists in Ethiopia report issues. Four research questions were set: How are news stories reported by female journalists in the newspapers; what are the major themes in the stories reported by female journalists; how do female journalists use their professional autonomy when reporting news stories, and what challenges do female journalists experience in the process of reporting issues in the sampled newspapers. For the purpose of this study, four newspapers were purposively selected, namely Addis Admas, Reporter, Fortune, and Capital (all privately owned). These are some of the strongest newspapers in the media market in the country, where there has been much pressure on the media, particularly on the privately-owned press. By using textual analysis, 12 stories reported by female journalists were analyzed. Five female journalists and an expert were also interviewed. The data collected through interviews and textual analysis indicate that female journalists in the selected newspapers highly depend on events in their reporting; they use one or two sources for the most part; and they have a preference for reporting on social issues. Also, the stories of the female journalists expressed high concern towards public interest
Mediatization of religion in the Ethiopian mainstream media
Get PDFThe Ethiopian society is dominantly religious. The constitution of the country advocates for a strictly secular approach with a sharp separation of state and religion. This study is mainly intended to examine the transformation of religious reporting (i.e. mediatization of religion) across time and space in the Ethiopian media. The essence and practice of secularization as a guiding principle of journalism in the Ethiopian mainstream media are also assessed. To this end, qualitative and quantitative methods are used. The qualitative aspect involves in-depth interviews of 6 experienced journalists and 5 key individuals with considerable media (journalistic) experience from the different Ethiopian religions. The quantitative aspect is done by considering the religious content of three Ethiopian newspapers (Addis Zemen, Reporter and Addis Admass) in 1988/92, 1998 and 2008 (years in Ethiopian calendar). The findings revealed that religion is a neglected topic in the Ethiopian mainstream media. State media often report religion during religious holidays; at other times, it is reported together with such topics as peace, security, development, tourism and national integration. The practice of not considering religion as an independent subject matter is found to emanate partly from a misconception of the principle of secularism and partly from a lack of knowledge and understanding of the issue being reported. As such, the journalists were found to be non-religious in approach, rather than being secular. Private media are also found to give sporadic coverage of religion, and their reports focus mainly on the investigation of corruption in business activities of religious institutions. This seems to be because of lack of interest, commitment and understanding of religion by journalists and because of threats from religious institutions which seem to find it hard to take journalistic criticism and investigations positively.
The quantitative aspect revealed that across the selected years, the three newspapers altogether presented 362 articles on religion, of which 262 appeared in the state newspaper, Addis Zemen. Religion is found to increase in its visibility as a topic in terms of number of articles as opposed to having smaller size allotted to it. It is also found that the dominant proportion of articles on religion is presented in the form of news and that the tendency of such articles appearing in social, cultural and political columns is increasing. All Ethiopian religious traditions are found to be underrepresented compared to the proportion of their respective population. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOTC) and Islam are, however, found to be more visible and significant compared to their Protestant and Catholic counterparts. The significance aspect of the quantitative study also revealed that double the number of religious articles deal with religion as secondary issue (N=241) showing that religion is considered significant by only half of the religious stories (N=121). It is also found that most of the main articles are reported in such mediatized forms as news and columns. Articles on religion that are not related to one of the Ethiopian religious traditions (unclassified articles) are mostly presented as additional topics, and hence much of them are considered to be less significant. In sum, the findings reveal that media representation of religion seems to be at a low level in Ethiopia
Utprøving og innføring av ny teknologi i skolen – hva har vi lært?
Get PDFNår teknologi skal testes ut og innføres i skolen, hender det ofte at alt ikke går helt etter planen. Men etter hvert er det visse mønstre som avtegner seg og som man kan lære av når man planlegger nye prosjekter.Utprøving og innføring av ny teknologi i skolen – hva har vi lært?publishedVersio
Lived Space and Support as Interrelated Phenomena in the Context of Young People with Mental Health Problems
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Counter-terrorism measures and media autonomy in Kenya since 2015 : the case of Daily Nation and The Standard newspapers
Get PDFAfter the US embassy attack in Nairobi in 1998, terrorism has gained a foot in Kenya. According to the reports of international organizations and Kenyan police, AlShabaab claimed responsibility for most of these attacks. Owing to the scholarly posits that, the very purpose of terrorists is not to kill, but to draw attention. The perpetrators exploited the media belligerently questioning the media’s ability to draw a line on passing useful information and glorifying terrorist activities. Like any good government is expected to find solutions to its people’s problems, the Kenyan government came up with new measures when it was faced with one terror attack after another, to tackle a dire issue. This study sets to find out what counter-terrorism measures were set by the Kenyan government and how it affected the functions of media outlets, with a focus on print media, particularly on the case of Daily Nation and The Standard newspapers. To achieve this aim the study applied qualitative research methodology, involving an in-depth interview and quantitative content analysis as techniques of data collection. To select samples, the study mainly adopted the purposive sampling technique. Snowball sampling was also used as an addition. 11 key informants from reporters, editors, and a media expert from Media Council of Kenya and a veteran Journalism professor were interviewed in face-to-face situations. In addition, 52 news articles written by these newspapers between 2015 and 2018 were analyzed. The study based its arguments on media sovereignty theory. The study authoritatively concludes that the counter-terrorism measures built by the government could end up a rat ship. They diminished the freedom of the two newspapers to independently make decisions without fear of possible ramifications. Particularly, individual journalists admitted to coerced self-censorship. Scribes covering terrorism also experienced numerous challenges. The new laws amputate their spirit and broke the boughs in their cradle, leading to the fall of their independence. In sum, the study finds out that, the government turned its guns to the media, with stringent laws and a warning tag to it; ‘anything short of that we will burn you at the stake’. The study suggests workable recommendations aimed at mitigating the effects of allowing counter-terrorism measures to override the autonomy of privately owned media houses including consultations and coordination from both parties. It also, advises the two players to build a rapport with agreements and understanding on how to support each other’s functions and responsibilities for a common good
Når regler ikke er tilstrekkelig : en kvalitativ studie av læreres forståelse av sitt profesjonelle skjønn
Get PDFSom yrkesutøver må man i hverdagen foreta en rekke beslutninger. Regler vil her være nyttig, men ikke alltid tilstrekkelig til å løse alle problemer. Læreryrket har historisk sett blitt omtalt som en semiprofesjon grunnet påstander om en utydelig kunnskapsbase, begrenset autonomi og manglende etiske retningslinjer (Ohnstad, 2015, s. 17-18). Det sies at man som lærer hver dag står ovenfor rundt 700 valg og etiske dilemmaer (Ohnstad, 2015, s. 5). Flere av situasjonene lærere møter preges av uforutsigbarhet og mangel på klar sikt, og aktualiserer slik bruken av skjønn. I nyere tid er ifølge Bergem (2014, s. 48) skillet mellom profesjoner og yrker nærmest visket ut, og begrepene benyttes i stor grad om hverandre. Fra politisk hold opplever en likevel økt bruk av profesjonsbegrepet når læreryrket omtales (Kunnskapsdepartementet [KD], 2016a). Samtidig registrer man en økt vektlegging av evidensbasert kunnskap, utvidet femårig lærerutdannelse og utforming av lærerprofesjonens etiske plattform (Ohnstad, 2015, s. 18). Slik aktualiserer også betydningen av lærerens profesjonelle skjønn. Begrepet har blant annet blitt satt fokus på i den nye overordnede del av læreplanen og offentlige utredninger. (KD, 2016a; Utdanningsdirektoratet, 2017b). I rapporten Ekspertgruppa om lærerrollen – et kunnskapsgrunnlag konkluderes det med at utøvelse av skjønn er et kjennetegn i lærerens yrkesutøvelse (KD, 2016a, s. 216-217).
Formålet med denne masteroppgaven er å belyse temaet lærerens profesjonelle skjønn med utgangspunkt i læreres forståelse av det. For å undersøke dette har jeg gjennomført fem semistrukturerte intervju med lærere som arbeider i grunnskolen og videregående skole. Videre vil dette analyseres å drøftes opp mot utvalgt teori som er relevant for temaet. Til slutt vil funnene oppsummeres opp mot forskningsspørsmålene:
1. Hvordan forstår lærere begrepet «lærerens profesjonelle skjønn»?
2. I hvilke situasjoner benytter lærere sitt profesjonelle skjønn?
3. Hva er avgjørende for læreres profesjonelle skjønn?
Dette er ment å besvare oppgavens problemstilling: Hvordan forstår lærere sitt profesjonelle skjønn