The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) is changing the service of the public sector. Previously, the government and public sector acted as street-level...Show moreThe rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) is changing the service of the public sector. Previously, the government and public sector acted as street-level bureaucrats on an individual and physical level, according to the street-level bureaucracy theory. In the meantime, many sectors have replaced physical contact with system analysts and software developers and have become influenced by system-level bureaucracies. This article examines the implementation of this transformation in the Dutch mental healthcare. More specifically, this study compares the opinions of street-level bureaucrats (i.e., psychologists) and system-level bureaucrats (i.e., data experts) concerning the levels of satisfaction of digital services (i.e., digital therapy forms). In total, eight participants (four psychologists and four data experts) were interviewed. In accordance with the hypothesis, data experts were slightly more positive toward digital therapy forms as compared to psychologists. Interesting was the fact that the data experts were aware of the disadvantages experienced by the psychologists. Larger sample sizes are needed to draw valid and more generalizable conclusions. As research on the level of satisfaction of both psychologists and data experts against online therapy forms from a street- and system-level bureaucracy perspective is scarce, more research is required to investigate which factors contribute to the difference in opinions between street- and system-level bureaucrats. By identifying such factors, our basic understanding of digital services in the public services increases, and digital innovations can be more effective to match the street-level bureaucrats’ needs.Show less
Abstract Dit kwalitatieve onderzoek kijkt naar waarom belangenorganisaties zich verantwoorden over akkoorden. Akkoorden zijn erg bepalend in het Nederlandse bestuur. Door uitsluiting van...Show moreAbstract Dit kwalitatieve onderzoek kijkt naar waarom belangenorganisaties zich verantwoorden over akkoorden. Akkoorden zijn erg bepalend in het Nederlandse bestuur. Door uitsluiting van democratisch verkozen organen en de afnemende representativiteit van belangenorganisaties wordt deze besluitvorming steeds minder legitiem. Door verantwoordingsmechanismen toe te passen kunnen belangenorganisties hun substantiele representativiteit verhogen. Dit verhoogt de legitimiteit van de beleidsvorming uit akkoorden. Twee cases zijn onderzocht om beeld te brengen welke verantwoordingsmechanismen belangenorganisaties het best kunnen toepassen; twee werkgeversverenigingen uit de publieke sector en een vakbond. Dit onderzoek concludeert dat leden de belangrijkste drijfveer zijn achter het toepassen van verantwoordingsmechanismen. Zij oefenen sociale druk uit om de onderhandelingen of organisatie te beinvloeden. Wanneer dit hen wordt ontzegd kan dit leiden tot negatieve gevolgen voor de organisatie. Belangenorganisaties moeten zich daarnaast schikken naar de verwachtingen van de samenleving. Werkgeversverenigingen in de publieke sector moeten zich ook verantwoorden over hun organisatie van de overheid. Vakbonden doen er goed aan leden voordurend en behoorlijk te informeren om hen actief bij het proces te betrekken, geactiveerde leden zorgen voor meer beleidsinvloed. Voor werkgeversverenigingen werkt dit omgekeerd, wanneer informatie in verkeerde handen valt kan dit hun onderhandelingspositie schaden. Verantwoordingsmechanismen die discussie met leden bevorderen leveren ook meer beleidsinvloed op. Discussie helpt belangenorganisaties met het duiden van belangen en het vormen van argumenten. Vakbonden kunnen dit effectiever toepassen door gebruik te maken van enquetes. Verantwoordingsmechanismen waaruit nutteloze kritiek kan ontstaan kunnen beter niet worden toegepast. Door emoties of een gebrek aan kennis kunnen leden hun controlerende rol soms niet naar behoren vervullen en dit kan de onderhandelaar of organisatie schaden.Show less
Met de discretionaire ruimte hebben frontlijnwerkers veel invloed op de mate en wijze waarop burgers ondersteuning ontvangen. Uit de literatuur blijkt dat er verschillen kunnen zitten tussen...Show moreMet de discretionaire ruimte hebben frontlijnwerkers veel invloed op de mate en wijze waarop burgers ondersteuning ontvangen. Uit de literatuur blijkt dat er verschillen kunnen zitten tussen frontlijnwerkers en de wijze waarop ze deze ruimte invullen. In dit vergelijkend onderzoek is met behulp van 10 diepte interviews onderzocht op welke wijze gemeentelijke frontlijnwerkers (consulenten) in twee gemeenten invulling geven aan de discretionaire ruimte in totstandkoming van Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning (Wmo)-ondersteuning, en aan de hand van welke organisatorische factoren verschillen verklaard kunnen worden.Show less
This study explores the relationship between street-level bureaucrats’ role conceptions and the ambiguity inherent to their work. Street-level bureaucrats are not neutral servants of the states,...Show moreThis study explores the relationship between street-level bureaucrats’ role conceptions and the ambiguity inherent to their work. Street-level bureaucrats are not neutral servants of the states, but have their own perceptions of what their work entails, i.e. role conceptions. As a result, they occupy their role differently even if they, technically, have the same job description. The perspective of street-level bureaucrats is adopted to explore whether they experience ambiguity differently due to difference in role conception. Additionally, it is explored how the street-level bureaucrats act in response to their experience of ambiguity. To ensure a theoretical foundation, broad expectations are formulated on the basis of existing literature. By means of a qualitative interview study, 10 street-level bureaucrats are interviewed. The street-level bureaucrats mostly experience ambiguity as expected from their role conceptions. Some experience ambiguity as undesirable and aim to minimalize it, while others experience ambiguity as desirable and want to make good use of it. Regarding the acts in response to ambiguity, it can be cautiously said that street-level bureaucrats acts in response to ambiguity in line with their role conception. Recommendations are made for future research, to eventually contribute to better coordination between organizations and street-level bureaucrats, which would ultimately also benefit citizens.Show less
The literature of historical institutionalism emphasizes the path dependent character of the policy making process in which critical junctures can alter prevailing policy monopolies and put new...Show moreThe literature of historical institutionalism emphasizes the path dependent character of the policy making process in which critical junctures can alter prevailing policy monopolies and put new path dependent institutions in place, according to scholars in the field of Public Administration. However, ideational change and development of prevailing ideas in an institution could also be part of a non-punctuated institutional dynamic, because change in dominant ideas could happen overtime. In other words, institutions themselves also allow an endogenous dynamic of change. So, instead of focussing on the specific role of critical junctures on the decision-making process as scholars in the field of public administration tend to do, it is crucial to discuss the institutional environment that could be influenced by the critical juncture. This study will highlight the prevailing ideas in the EU’s institutions on the usage of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to protect public health in the EU before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, by establishing a Union-wide framework of collecting and analysing health data. The EU advocated for the need to use such technologies in the formulated EU4Healthplan that acted as a response to COVID-19. However, this programme could also elaborate on the results and ideas of such a Union-wide health and data framework relying on the EU’s Health Programme 2014 – 2020. The latter would indicate a path of slow change in ideas within the policy cycle for EU policymakers. Therefore, this study will research the following question: ‘How did the COVID-19 pandemic influence the adoption of Big Health Data infrastructure in the policy process of the EU?’. To answer this question, the study will discuss the development of a policy monopoly concerning digital health in the European Union via a process-tracing method of analysing documents and journals provided by the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and it will also take the public opinion into account. As a result, the method showed that prevailing ideas of using Big Data and AI to protect the public health were already high on the European policy agenda before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, COVID-19 was a crucial factor for the implementation of a pan-European model, in terms of using Big Data and AI to protect public health. It did not radically alter the ideas within Europe but accelerated the EU policy process. In this degree of agreement with the literature on critical junctures that it causes a shift in prevailing ideas, this study opts for a measured tone towards the role of a critical juncture opening up a window of opportunity by causing a shift in prevailing ideas – at the same time – will not underestimate itShow less
Receiving an inheritance can potentially decrease the incentive to work so in order to increase labour force participation, it is necessary to have an insight into the potential effect of receiving...Show moreReceiving an inheritance can potentially decrease the incentive to work so in order to increase labour force participation, it is necessary to have an insight into the potential effect of receiving an inheritance on labour supply. This research aims to get an insight into this relation in The Netherlands. This is done by determining if, and if so, to what extent, there is a relation between inheritance received and the labour supply.Show less
This thesis examines the influence of Brexit on British foreign policymaking by making use of the concept of strategic culture. In 2016, a general referendum in the United Kingdom was held asking...Show moreThis thesis examines the influence of Brexit on British foreign policymaking by making use of the concept of strategic culture. In 2016, a general referendum in the United Kingdom was held asking the question whether the country should remain a member of, or leave, the European Union. A majority vote in favour of ‘leave’ transformed both the foreign policy outlook of Britain, as well as the reigning Conservative Party government. These changes are embodied in the defence review published under Johnson’s Conservative government, named as Global Britain in a Competitive Age. By combining foregoing academic research with an analysis of British defence reviews since the end of the Cold War, this thesis articulates the defining characteristics of British strategic culture. By comparing this with an analysis of the defence review published under Johnson’s government, this thesis shows that Brexit has brought about a change in strategic culture on several accounts and has thereby considerably affected British foreign policymaking.Show less
This thesis discusses the potential larger role of domestic actors playing a role in the creation of military agreements or alliances. Previous literature has mostly focused on states or the...Show moreThis thesis discusses the potential larger role of domestic actors playing a role in the creation of military agreements or alliances. Previous literature has mostly focused on states or the potential economic transaction of the alliance formation process, and under-analysed the role of domestic actors. This thesis attempted to add to that debate by using the Kingdon model of policy change to assess the role of domestic actors.Show less
What is environmental turbulence? How does it affect organisational performance? And how is this relationship moderated by stabilising features? This thesis delves into the topic of organisational...Show moreWhat is environmental turbulence? How does it affect organisational performance? And how is this relationship moderated by stabilising features? This thesis delves into the topic of organisational stability in the wake of turbulence stemming from the outside of (public) organisations. It uses COVID-19 crisis as an example of environmental turbulence and assesses its impact on the provision of education in The Netherlands. Moreover, this thesis investigates the moderating role of stabilising features, conceptualised as personnel stability in the form of personnel tenure, forms of employment and teacher-to-student ratio. This thesis is quantitative and deductive. In order to test this relationship, a statistical model has been set up, with the data on 429 public schools in the secondary education in The Netherlands. This thesis finds positive support for the argument that stabilising features attenuate the negative effect of environmental turbulence on the organisational performance, albeit weakly. This thesis recommends to delve further into contextual factors that could have an impact on aforementioned relationships, by choosing, for instance, a smaller N, or investigating one or few particular schools through interviews and thick description.Show less
The objective of this single-case exploratory study is to investigate the annexation of Kashmir by India in 2019. The research question in this thesis is how domestic factors have played a role in...Show moreThe objective of this single-case exploratory study is to investigate the annexation of Kashmir by India in 2019. The research question in this thesis is how domestic factors have played a role in the decision of the Modi administration to annex Kashmir. Kingdon’s (1995) Multiple Streams Framework has been applied to the annexation of Kashmir in order to investigate what domestic factors led to the window of opportunity, the annexation of Kashmir. By study of the problem, political and policy stream, an explanation of the course of events leading up to the window of opportunity has been formed. Each stream has been separately analyzed according to Kingdon’s (1995) parameters and indicators in order to select the information relevant to this thesis. This thesis recognizes that there might have been limitations regarding other parameters such as e.g. psychological/leadership parameters, which could not have been taken into consideration. However, Kingdon’s model (1995) has proven useful to understand the annexation of Kashmir by India through a public policy perspective.Show less
Industrial policy has become one of the most pressing issues in contemporary policymaking. State intervention in the market has long been considered irrelevant, irreprehensible, or unsuccessful,...Show moreIndustrial policy has become one of the most pressing issues in contemporary policymaking. State intervention in the market has long been considered irrelevant, irreprehensible, or unsuccessful, but the recent crises, including the pandemic, have boosted its name amongst policymakers across the world. However, the academic literature on industrial policies within comparative political policy literature is still lacking, and would benefit from more research. Taking an exploratory comparative approach, this thesis research variations of industrial policies related to the management of lithium-ion battery value chains in the United States and the European Union. Several researchers have observed different types policies that have been put forward by policymakers to strengthen global value chains, but these analyses have been lacking a strong link with theoretical frameworks on industrial policy and policy instrument literature. This research fills the gap by linking academic literature on industrial policy, value chain resilience, and policy instruments analysis to provide constructive insights into existing policy proposals and documents. This thesis finds a strong link between the historical preferences of governments in industrial policy mixes and the specific policies put forward to strengthen lithium-ion value chains. It indicates that, although resilience policies of the United States and the European Union are in line with industrial policy in other areas, there are shifts in the instrument mix that warrant future research to improve our understanding of industrial policy in the twenty-first century.Show less
Within the Council of the European Union, Qualified Majority Voting is being implemented in a growing number of policy areas. This thesis tries to answer the question “What is the effect of...Show moreWithin the Council of the European Union, Qualified Majority Voting is being implemented in a growing number of policy areas. This thesis tries to answer the question “What is the effect of substituting unanimity with qualified majority voting on behaviour of member states’ representatives in meetings of the Council of the European Union?”. To answer this question, one case is selected, the council configuration of Agriculture and Fisheries. Through conducting interviews with member states’ representatives active in this policy area, a general overview of the negotiations there is constructed. It is found that shifting the decision rule results in more rational behaviour during the negotiations. Actors showcase more bargaining behaviour when the decision rule is Qualified Majority Voting, and more arguing when it is unanimous decision making. It was not possible to accurately pinpoint what type of negotiating was more common at a certain moment in the negotiations due to the inability to access certain dataShow less
