Pub Date : 2017-06-16DOI: 10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.1.1
Magnús Þór Torfason, Þorgerður Einarsdóttir, Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir, M. Sigurðardóttir
Iceland has generally been characterized as a nation where social and economic equality are prominent, and where elite structures are relatively unimportant. There are, however, indications that elites exist, and futhermore, that they are becoming more pronounced and that inequality is on the rise. The goal of this paper is to analyze the business and commerce elite in Iceland the years 2014 and 2015, based on its relations with other elite groups and relations within the group. This allows conclusions to be drawn about the openness of the elite, its relations with the populace, and the democratic structures of the group. The analysis utilizes two data sets: Power and Democracy – A Study of Elites, and Gender Equality in Business: Evolution and Influence. Graphical analysis of elite structures was performed using R and igraph. The results indicate various internal relationship structures within the business and commerce elite. Residential homogeneity is prevalent, especially among male and older elites. A top management team member’s participation in politics or organized sports is predictive of greatly increased residential homogeneity in his or her team. The results suggest a layered elite structure and gaps in elite-populace relations. This indicates that it is important to consider the democratic structures of the Icelandic business elite and whether its homogeneity affects decision making within the elite.
{"title":"Elítur á Íslandi – einsleitni og innbyrðis tengsl","authors":"Magnús Þór Torfason, Þorgerður Einarsdóttir, Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir, M. Sigurðardóttir","doi":"10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"Iceland has generally been characterized as a nation where social and economic equality are prominent, and where elite structures are relatively unimportant. There are, however, indications that elites exist, and futhermore, that they are becoming more pronounced and that inequality is on the rise. The goal of this paper is to analyze the business and commerce elite in Iceland the years 2014 and 2015, based on its relations with other elite groups and relations within the group. This allows conclusions to be drawn about the openness of the elite, its relations with the populace, and the democratic structures of the group. The analysis utilizes two data sets: Power and Democracy – A Study of Elites, and Gender Equality in Business: Evolution and Influence. Graphical analysis of elite structures was performed using R and igraph. The results indicate various internal relationship structures within the business and commerce elite. Residential homogeneity is prevalent, especially among male and older elites. A top management team member’s participation in politics or organized sports is predictive of greatly increased residential homogeneity in his or her team. The results suggest a layered elite structure and gaps in elite-populace relations. This indicates that it is important to consider the democratic structures of the Icelandic business elite and whether its homogeneity affects decision making within the elite.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129072658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2017-06-16DOI: 10.13177/IRPA.A.2017.13.1.3
Haukur Arnþórsson
The interrelations and jurisdiction of the Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, vis-a-vis the executive branch are often a matter of discussion. This paper reports on qualitative research on how Parliament Members and Ministers deal with the factors involved in the state’s authority to enact laws. The main conclusion is that Parliament can and do effectively exercise the right of rejection, at three levels; within the Prime Minister’s party, within the party/-ies that make up the coalition government, and with the opposition parties both before and in the parliamentary handling of any issue involved. Most of those interviewed considered themselves aware of the overwhelming authority invested in the Parliament as regards enactment of laws, and the research confirms this. Althingi could increase this with the full adoption of the Nordic model of negotiation democracy; this would also increase social quality in society. It could increase the performance of the system of governance as a whole in enactment of laws with changes in the allocation of projects (moved earlier in the process of handling an issue), which should not affect its authority in the matter. It can also strengthen its position as regards its agenda.
{"title":"Althingi and the executive power","authors":"Haukur Arnþórsson","doi":"10.13177/IRPA.A.2017.13.1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/IRPA.A.2017.13.1.3","url":null,"abstract":"The interrelations and jurisdiction of the Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, vis-a-vis the executive branch are often a matter of discussion. This paper reports on qualitative research on how Parliament Members and Ministers deal with the factors involved in the state’s authority to enact laws. The main conclusion is that Parliament can and do effectively exercise the right of rejection, at three levels; within the Prime Minister’s party, within the party/-ies that make up the coalition government, and with the opposition parties both before and in the parliamentary handling of any issue involved.\u0000Most of those interviewed considered themselves aware of the overwhelming authority invested in the Parliament as regards enactment of laws, and the research confirms this. Althingi could increase this with the full adoption of the Nordic model of negotiation democracy; this would also increase social quality in society. It could increase the performance of the system of governance as a whole in enactment of laws with changes in the allocation of projects (moved earlier in the process of handling an issue), which should not affect its authority in the matter. It can also strengthen its position as regards its agenda.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"150 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124178087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2017-06-16DOI: 10.13177/IRPA.A.2017.13.1.5
G. Zoega
Several economic models predict that effort may decline as retirement approaches. These models are reviewed and data from the University of Iceland used to measure how research productivity of members of staff depends on age. We find support for the hypothesis that men are at a greater risk of becoming inactive when they approach retirement. Moreover, men tend to be more research active than women in their thirties and forties but lose their edge in their fifties and sixties. Finally, we detect a cohort effect such that later cohorts are more productive than earlier ones.
{"title":"Does research activity decline with age","authors":"G. Zoega","doi":"10.13177/IRPA.A.2017.13.1.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/IRPA.A.2017.13.1.5","url":null,"abstract":"Several economic models predict that effort may decline as retirement approaches. These models are reviewed and data from the University of Iceland used to measure how research productivity of members of staff depends on age. We find support for the hypothesis that men are at a greater risk of becoming inactive when they approach retirement. Moreover, men tend to be more research active than women in their thirties and forties but lose their edge in their fifties and sixties. Finally, we detect a cohort effect such that later cohorts are more productive than earlier ones.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117282635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-12-19DOI: 10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.5
S. Sigurgeirsdóttir
This research seeks to explain a landmark change in the provision of public services for people with disabilities in Iceland. Public policy has for long been characterized by incremental changes. Every now and then, major policy changes take place and longstanding policy objectives pushed by interest groups come through. Agenda-setting theories seek to explain major policy changes by focusing on how and why a policy issue gets on governments agenda at a given point in time. The American political scientist, John W. Kingdon, presented his theory of three streams and the window of opportunity some 30 years ago. European scientists maintain in their recent research that Kingdon s approach is helpful in shedding light on how the political system in which public policy-making takes place operates and how behaviour and strategies of those participating in the process influence the outcome. This qualitative research examines how the idea about user-driven personal assistance came to fruition in Iceland. The study is based on existing data and interviews with key people involved in the policy development leading to the decision to implement the programme of user-driven personal assistance. The research describes how and why this idea reached the government agenda and came to be implemented by Icelandic authorities. The conclusions show how the process of decentralisation opened opportunities for a new ideology which benefitted service users, and business as well as political interests. The conclusions indicate that not only was there a right man at the right place at the right time, but it provides theoretical explanations about what characterises policy entrepreneurs and how and why their activities matter in times of uncertainty.
这项研究试图解释冰岛为残疾人提供公共服务方面的一个里程碑式的变化。长期以来，公共政策的特点一直是渐进式变化。政策不时发生重大变化，利益集团推动的长期政策目标得以实现。议程设置理论试图通过关注政策问题如何以及为什么在给定时间点上政府议程来解释重大政策变化。大约30年前，美国政治学家约翰·w·金登(John W. Kingdon)提出了他的“三股流”和“机会之窗”理论。欧洲科学家在最近的研究中认为，Kingdon的方法有助于揭示公共决策发生的政治体系是如何运作的，以及参与过程的人的行为和策略如何影响结果。这项定性研究考察了用户驱动的个人协助在冰岛是如何实现的。这项研究是根据现有数据和对参与制定政策的主要人员的访谈，这些政策制定导致决定执行用户驱动的个人援助方案。这项研究描述了这个想法是如何以及为什么进入政府议程并被冰岛当局实施的。这些结论表明，权力下放的过程如何为一种新的意识形态提供了机会，这种意识形态使服务使用者、商业和政治利益受益。结论表明，不仅有一个正确的人在正确的时间出现在正确的地点，而且它还为政策企业家的特征以及他们的活动在不确定时期如何以及为什么重要提供了理论解释。
{"title":"Athafnafólk í opinberri stefnumótun á óvissutímum: Hvernig hugmyndin um notendastýrða persónulega aðstoð varð að veruleika á Íslandi","authors":"S. Sigurgeirsdóttir","doi":"10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.5","url":null,"abstract":"This research seeks to explain a landmark change in the provision of public services for people with disabilities in Iceland. Public policy has for long been characterized by incremental changes. Every now and then, major policy changes take place and longstanding policy objectives pushed by interest groups come through. Agenda-setting theories seek to explain major policy changes by focusing on how and why a policy issue gets on governments agenda at a given point in time. The American political scientist, John W. Kingdon, presented his theory of three streams and the window of opportunity some 30 years ago. European scientists maintain in their recent research that Kingdon s approach is helpful in shedding light on how the political system in which public policy-making takes place operates and how behaviour and strategies of those participating in the process influence the outcome. This qualitative research examines how the idea about user-driven personal assistance came to fruition in Iceland. The study is based on existing data and interviews with key people involved in the policy development leading to the decision to implement the programme of user-driven personal assistance. The research describes how and why this idea reached the government agenda and came to be implemented by Icelandic authorities. The conclusions show how the process of decentralisation opened opportunities for a new ideology which benefitted service users, and business as well as political interests. The conclusions indicate that not only was there a right man at the right place at the right time, but it provides theoretical explanations about what characterises policy entrepreneurs and how and why their activities matter in times of uncertainty.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"170 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114464674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-12-19DOI: 10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.13
S. Halldórsdóttir, Hafdís Skúladóttir, Hjördís Sigursteinsdóttir, Þórey Agnarsdóttir
Middle managers have demanding roles and often experience themselves between a rock and a hard place, and their jobs are characterized by heavy workload and stress. They have not received adequate attention in management science, in particular within healthcare. We know, for example, little about how stressful factors in the work environment are related to musculoskeletal pain and sleep. The purpose of this study was to examine this relationship. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study in which data was collected by a questionnaire which was sent electronically to 137 nursing managers through the Outcome-survey system. The response rate was 80.9%. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for statistical analysis. The results showed a clear link between stressful factors in the work environment and insufficient sleep, after controlling for the effects of age, marital status and the number of staff in the nursing unit. Stressful factors in the work environment and sleep affected the intensity of pain in the neck and shoulder area, and sleep correlated with the intensity of pain in the lower back. Taking sleep into account, more stress meant more pain in the neck and shoulder area. Taking into account stressful factors, insufficient sleep meant more pain in all three body regions. Together, stressful factors in the work environment and insufficient sleep explained 17% of the total variation in the intensity of pain in the neck area, 21% in the shoulder area, and 14% in the lower back, taking into account age, marital status and the number of staff in the nursing unit. There was a statistically significant interaction between stressful factors in the work environment and sleep regarding the intensity of musculoskeletal pain in the neck area. The results of this study will hopefully lead to better consideration of stressful factors in the work environment, sleep and musculoskeletal pain of middle managers.
{"title":"Tengsl streituvaldandi þátta í starfsumhverfi, svefns og stoðkerfisverkja hjá millistjórnendum í opinberri þjónustu","authors":"S. Halldórsdóttir, Hafdís Skúladóttir, Hjördís Sigursteinsdóttir, Þórey Agnarsdóttir","doi":"10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.13","url":null,"abstract":"Middle managers have demanding roles and often experience themselves between a rock and a hard place, and their jobs are characterized by heavy workload and stress. They have not received adequate attention in management science, in particular within healthcare. We know, for example, little about how stressful factors in the work environment are related to musculoskeletal pain and sleep. The purpose of this study was to examine this relationship. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study in which data was collected by a questionnaire which was sent electronically to 137 nursing managers through the Outcome-survey system. The response rate was 80.9%. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for statistical analysis. The results showed a clear link between stressful factors in the work environment and insufficient sleep, after controlling for the effects of age, marital status and the number of staff in the nursing unit. Stressful factors in the work environment and sleep affected the intensity of pain in the neck and shoulder area, and sleep correlated with the intensity of pain in the lower back. Taking sleep into account, more stress meant more pain in the neck and shoulder area. Taking into account stressful factors, insufficient sleep meant more pain in all three body regions. Together, stressful factors in the work environment and insufficient sleep explained 17% of the total variation in the intensity of pain in the neck area, 21% in the shoulder area, and 14% in the lower back, taking into account age, marital status and the number of staff in the nursing unit. There was a statistically significant interaction between stressful factors in the work environment and sleep regarding the intensity of musculoskeletal pain in the neck area. The results of this study will hopefully lead to better consideration of stressful factors in the work environment, sleep and musculoskeletal pain of middle managers.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129239124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-12-19DOI: 10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.14
Trausti Þorsteinsson, Amalía Björnsdóttir
In the last decades the Icelandic compulsory school system has become increasingly decentralized and the scope of the school principals‘ responsibilities has widened. Principals have the responsibility of organizing their schools‘ managerial structure and divide the workload between teachers and administrators. Their responsibilities include both management and professional leadership. Research points to a clear correlation between the professional leadership of principals and academic achievement. The collective agreement from 2001 between the teachers union and local authorities contained clauses on the posts of vice principals and heads of departments and the number of people hired into those positions grew rapidly until 2008. The purpose of this study was to examine background and working conditions of principals and which tasks within management and professional leadership they choose to take on. Data was collected by questionnaire which was sent to principals of schools with more than 100 students. Compulsory school principals have considerable work experience and the vast majority of them have completed post-graduate education in management. The managerial structure of the schools seems quite vague and this has led to certain symptoms of chaos rather than professional bureaucracy. The role of assistant principals and head of departments are vaguely defined but the principals shoulder most of the management roles. The important professional leadership roles are often said to be the common responsibility of the administrative team. The results indicate that the intention of the collective agreement in 2001 to promote aca - demic leadership in schools has not been realized.
{"title":"Stjórnun og fagleg forysta í grunnskólum","authors":"Trausti Þorsteinsson, Amalía Björnsdóttir","doi":"10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.14","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.14","url":null,"abstract":"In the last decades the Icelandic compulsory school system has become increasingly decentralized and the scope of the school principals‘ responsibilities has widened. Principals have the responsibility of organizing their schools‘ managerial structure and divide the workload between teachers and administrators. Their responsibilities include both management and professional leadership. Research points to a clear correlation between the professional leadership of principals and academic achievement. \u0000The collective agreement from 2001 between the teachers union and local authorities contained clauses on the posts of vice principals and heads of departments and the number of people hired into those positions grew rapidly until 2008. The purpose of this study was to examine background and working conditions of principals and which tasks within management and professional leadership they choose to take on. Data was collected by questionnaire which was sent to principals of schools with more than 100 students. Compulsory school principals have considerable work experience and the vast majority of them have completed post-graduate education in management. The managerial structure of the schools seems quite vague and this has led to certain symptoms of chaos rather than professional bureaucracy. The role of assistant principals and head of departments are vaguely defined but the principals shoulder most of the management roles. The important professional leadership roles are often said to be the common responsibility of the administrative team. The results indicate that the intention of the collective agreement in 2001 to promote aca - demic leadership in schools has not been realized.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"259 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124248106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-12-19DOI: 10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.9
Þorgerður H. Þorvaldsdóttir, Guðbjörg Lilja Hjartardóttir
The City of Reykjavik took the lead in promoting equality and human rights in Iceland when the City Council adopted the first human rights policy in 2006. The policy is based on international human rights law and principles of equality and non-discrimination. A questionnaire for the city’s managers and administrators, enquiring about their experience of the human rights policy, prejudice and the status of marginalized groups, demonstrated various challenges in implementing and promoting the policy. This is due, not the least, to the fact that the national legislation on ban on discrimination is limited to gender equality, thus halting further development in the field of human rights. The human rights policy is fairly well known by the city s managers and administrators. They apply the policy in their different and demanding jobs especially in human resource management but to a limited extent in finance management. The policy has thus proven to be a valuable instrument to bring about changes. The City of Reykjavik aims to achieve equality for all and to work against multiple discrimination. However, some of the marginalized groups seem more vulnerable to discrimination and marginalization than other groups, notably immigrants, people with disabilities and people with long-term health issues.
{"title":"The City of Reykjavík’s Human Rights Policy: Challenges, Dilemmas and Opportunities","authors":"Þorgerður H. Þorvaldsdóttir, Guðbjörg Lilja Hjartardóttir","doi":"10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.9","url":null,"abstract":"The City of Reykjavik took the lead in promoting equality and human rights in Iceland when the City Council adopted the first human rights policy in 2006. The policy is based on international human rights law and principles of equality and non-discrimination. A questionnaire for the city’s managers and administrators, enquiring about their experience of the human rights policy, prejudice and the status of marginalized groups, demonstrated various challenges in implementing and promoting the policy. This is due, not the least, to the fact that the national legislation on ban on discrimination is limited to gender equality, thus halting further development in the field of human rights. The human rights policy is fairly well known by the city s managers and administrators. They apply the policy in their different and demanding jobs especially in human resource management but to a limited extent in finance management. The policy has thus proven to be a valuable instrument to bring about changes. The City of Reykjavik aims to achieve equality for all and to work against multiple discrimination. However, some of the marginalized groups seem more vulnerable to discrimination and marginalization than other groups, notably immigrants, people with disabilities and people with long-term health issues.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132428734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-12-19DOI: 10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.3
E. Hlynsdóttir
Leach and Wilson (2002) identified four key tasks of local government leaders. Building on their initiative, this paper examines the task of developing strategic and policy direction at the Icelandic local level from the viewpoint of the Icelandic mayor. In addition, it explores the administrative capacity of Icelandic local governance. Individuals occupying mayoral positions in Iceland always serve as heads of administration. At times, mayors are council members (political mayors), while other times they are hired based on their professional skills (manager-mayors). The findings suggest that mayors of both types play crucial roles in long-term policy making. However, the study shows that the daily work of manager-mayors is often hindered by fragmentation and lack of specialisation within the administration as well as by the laymen rule upon which the council-committee system is based.
{"title":"Administrative capacity and long-term policy making at the Icelandic local level","authors":"E. Hlynsdóttir","doi":"10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.3","url":null,"abstract":"Leach and Wilson (2002) identified four key tasks of local government leaders. Building on their initiative, this paper examines the task of developing strategic and policy direction at the Icelandic local level from the viewpoint of the Icelandic mayor. In addition, it explores the administrative capacity of Icelandic local governance. Individuals occupying mayoral positions in Iceland always serve as heads of administration. At times, mayors are council members (political mayors), while other times they are hired based on their professional skills (manager-mayors). The findings suggest that mayors of both types play crucial roles in long-term policy making. However, the study shows that the daily work of manager-mayors is often hindered by fragmentation and lack of specialisation within the administration as well as by the laymen rule upon which the council-committee system is based.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116656843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-12-19DOI: 10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.10
Kristín Loftsdóttir, M. Sigurðardóttir, Kári Kristinsson
International research has shown that immigrants are often at a disadvantage in the labor market and their expertise often underappreciated. The objective of this article is to review the recruitment process of companies in services, in regard to attitudes to foreign applicants by human resource managers. The research is based on the “thinking aloud” method, where interviewees in qualitative interviews were asked to think aloud while reviewing applicant information. The researchers fabricated six CVs for female applicants from six countries. After examination and discussion of the CVs, the human resource managers were asked further questions on the recruitment of immigrants in their company. The main findings are that human resource managers seem aware of prejudice against people from Eastern Europe, and were willing to hire a woman from Lithuania or Poland for the job. The findings further indicate that in the Icelandic labor market, prejudice centers strongly around religion, then Islam. The participants did, however, attempt to separate themselves from prejudice against Islam by referring to gender equality. The research further suggests that it might not be relevant to make a sharp distinction between skilled and unskilled workers. The findings suggest that the applicant s experience makes a difference when the experience has been gained in Iceland, while being much less important if gained somewhere else.
{"title":"\"Hún gæti alveg verið múslimi og allt það\": Ráðning fólks af erlendum uppruna til íslenskra fyrirtækja","authors":"Kristín Loftsdóttir, M. Sigurðardóttir, Kári Kristinsson","doi":"10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.10","url":null,"abstract":"International research has shown that immigrants are often at a disadvantage in the labor market and their expertise often underappreciated. The objective of this article is to review the recruitment process of companies in services, in regard to attitudes to foreign applicants by human resource managers. The research is based on the “thinking aloud” method, where interviewees in qualitative interviews were asked to think aloud while reviewing applicant information. The researchers fabricated six CVs for female applicants from six countries. After examination and discussion of the CVs, the human resource managers were asked further questions on the recruitment of immigrants in their company. The main findings are that human resource managers seem aware of prejudice against people from Eastern Europe, and were willing to hire a woman from Lithuania or Poland for the job. The findings further indicate that in the Icelandic labor market, prejudice centers strongly around religion, then Islam. The participants did, however, attempt to separate themselves from prejudice against Islam by referring to gender equality. The research further suggests that it might not be relevant to make a sharp distinction between skilled and unskilled workers. The findings suggest that the applicant s experience makes a difference when the experience has been gained in Iceland, while being much less important if gained somewhere else.","PeriodicalId":294103,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Review of Politics and Administration","volume":"211 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123264888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-12-19DOI: 10.13177/IRPA.A.2016.12.2.16
Haukur Arnþórsson
This article examines selected aspects of Althingi’s operations over the last 24 years in light of theories on parliamentary affairs, the effect of the Internet on society and changes in Althingi’s internal and external environment. It shows that political struggles are stuck in a definite rut which undermines time management and the government’s agenda power. All main characteristics and measurable quantities of its work altered little. There are also indications that the quality of legislation is deficient. The opposition’s tactics have been to carve a negotiating position for cases with filibuster utilizing the parliament’s low level of organisation of case processing. This seems a cheap and irrelevant solution for an otherwise important matter. Modern demands have become outspoken, calling for careful methods, efficiency and discussion that is objective, concise and comprehensible.
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