Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

This article presents a review of the book “Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems,” by W.R. Scott.

Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems

With the increasing differentiation of organisations involved in the pursuit of public health, there is also a growing need for inter-organisational integration. Starting from the concepts of differentiation and integration, this article is attempting a theoretical reconstruction based on published research on inter-organisational integration in public health and related welfare services. Different forms of integration are defined and related to each other in a conceptual framework, which is in itself an integration of different theoretical perspectives. According to this framework, integration in the field of public health requires inter-organisational collaboration across different sectors of the society. Such intersectoral collaboration can be organised mainly in the form of multidisciplinary teams across the boundaries of different organisations and sectors. Such an organisation is fragile and volatile, however, which means that it needs a lot of management support in order to survive.

Integration and collaboration in public health—a conceptual framework

&  and the Holacaust. Ovcrall,Ralandhasmadcauaiquc d ~ y a o d i b l e c o n t r i ~ o n t o t h e historical literature on the HoImllst. The book is c;xtmsivdy rekenad with citations to a variety of archival materials, primary litmame, and aubobiagraphical w m , as wdlm bo pmoml interviews conducted by the author. A h to Roland's d r , he diractly codion& conflicts that cxist in c o m e 8 acmunts a£ some wens and offers explando118 when mmmblc. Alehaugh rhis is a scholarly boo4 the resulting tat is concise and wtly integrated, rcadmg much like a novdla. Whik historians of the H o I ~ Judaica, and medial hiswry will h d that thls book provides new irmgh~t~ and detail, it is compdhg andpmwative reading .Ear all who d d e r & d y e s students of hulnaniq.

Deviance and Medicalization: From Badness to Sickness

In 1995 it became mandatory to establish individual educational plans (IEPs) for children with special educational needs in the Swedish compulsory school. On the basis of the pupils' needs, such a ...

School problems or individual shortcomings? A study of individual educational plans in Sweden

Vocational rehabilitation targeted to the socially disadvantaged long-term sick requires that the client keep in touch with a number of welfare state agencies, all of which have different regulations, conflicting goals and various types of benefits. This is an arduous and time-consuming task for clients with medical, social and labour market problems. Many of these clients run the risk of ending up in a no-man's land or being endlessly circulated between agencies because their problems do not correspond to the profile of the typical client. Both government and welfare workers see institutional co-operation between welfare state agencies as the remedy to such problems. This article, which is based on interviews with participants in fourteen cooperating projects, focuses on difficulties and opportunities experienced in such co-operation. It is concluded that such co-operation, when initiated in local settings and supported by local players, is a way of rejuvenating the existing Swedish model.

Vocational rehabilitation of the socially disadvantaged long-term sick: inter-organizational co-operation between welfare state agencies.

One important goal of Swedish educational policies is to integrate all pupils within regular education, irrespective of disability or difficulties in school, and to adjust education to individual n ...

‘Pupils with special educational needs’: a study of the assessments and categorising processes regarding pupils’ school difficulties in Sweden

The purpose of this study was to investigate the accessibility of playgrounds to children with restricted mobility in Norrland. The investigation was carried out as a descriptive postal survey study. The questions in the survey were retrospective, i.e. addressed the issue of what had or had not been done to adapt the playgrounds for children with restricted mobility. The questionnaire was sent out to all the 54 municipalities in the province of Norrland. In the municipalities that responded to the questionnaire there were in all 2,266 playgrounds. When compiling the answers it appeared that only two of the total number of playgrounds were considered by the municipalities to be completely adapted for children with restricted mobility and that 46 playgrounds were partially adapted for them. The investigation can be seen as an illustration of the social model of disability. The inadequate adaptation of playgrounds to the needs of children with restricted mobility constitutes a very tangible societal...

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Are playgrounds in Norrland (Northern Sweden) accessible to children with restricted mobility

During the last decade an increasing use of differentiated support measures for pupils with special educational needs, indicative of a discrepancy between educational policies and practices, has been witnessed in Sweden. Another trend has been the increased use of medical diagnoses in school. The aim of this study was to explore the main concern of support given to pupils with special educational needs and how pupils and parents experience and handle this. Interviews were conducted with eight pupils in Grades 7-9 - and their parents - at two compulsory schools in a city in northern Sweden. A grounded theory approach was used for analyzing the interview data. A conceptual model was generated illuminating the main concern of special support measures for pupils and parents. The core category of the model, struggling for recognition and inclusion, was related to two categories, which further described how this process was experienced and handled by the participants. These categories were labeled negotiating expertise knowledge within a fragmented support structure and coping with stigma, ambivalence, and special support measures. The developed conceptual model provides a deeper understanding of an ongoing process of struggle for recognition and inclusion in school as described by the pupils and parents. Key words: Grounded theory, pupils with special educational needs, parents, special needs education, medical diagnosis, personal experiences. (Published: 9 February 2010) Citation: Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2010, 5: 4646 - DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v5i1.4646

Rafael Lindqvist

Papers

School problems or individual shortcomings? A study of individual educational plans in Sweden

Vocational rehabilitation of the socially disadvantaged long-term sick: inter-organizational co-operation between welfare state agencies.

‘Pupils with special educational needs’: a study of the assessments and categorising processes regarding pupils’ school difficulties in Sweden

Are playgrounds in Norrland (Northern Sweden) accessible to children with restricted mobility

Struggling for recognition and inclusion : parents' and pupils' experiences of special support measures in school