Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

"Factors Affecting Ethical Leadership” shows that the ethical behavior of leaders is the most important factor in shaping an organization’s ethical climate. Representatives from ten countries, Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America participated in the research, with six (Canada, Australia, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden and the USA) able to collect data. The goals of RTG HFM-304 included identifying the individual, situational, and organizational variables predictive of ethical leadership, developing a model of ethical leadership, and collating best practice in military ethics education amongst NATO and Partner for Peace (PfP) countries. Findings evidence that ethical leadership is strongly associated with values, in particular with value achievement (e.g., setting high standards and striving for excellence) and person-environment fit. Leaders who have the ability to address an ethical dilemma tend also to be those with high standards, a firm foundation in values (such as helping others and generosity) and belief that their institution shares these values. To engender ethical cultures and attract, train and sustain principled leaders, there is a need for military institutions to emphasize values, reinforce ethical decision-making and promote and value-informed ethical leadership from the beginning.

En ledares förmåga att leda påverkas i stor utsträckning av yttre omständigheter. Trots detta finns få böcker som denna som behandlar ledarskap, organisationsutveckling och medarbetarskap utifrån kontextfaktorer. I särskilt fokus är organisationer som arbetar i påfrestande kontexter. Författarna beskriver hur ledarskapet påverkas av exempelvis samhällsförändringar och yttre kriser såväl som av organisatoriska problem och andra typer av faktorer som omger ledaren.

När en kris inträffar ska en organisation kunna agera snabbt. Som ledare kan det finnas många mål och perspektiv att ta i beaktande, samtidigt som beslut måste fattas – ofta under tidspress och med bristande beslutsunderlag. I boken beskrivs ledarskapsutmaningar som uppstår till följd av kontextfaktorer i kombination med krissituationers ovisshet och oförutsägbarhet. Författarna presenterar också ett antal verktyg som stöd för analys och agerande i olika situationer.

Ledarskapets kontext vänder sig till personer som studerar ämnen relaterade till krig, kris och säkerhet, men även till yrkesverksamma i insatsorganisationer som vill fördjupa sig i faktorer som påverkar ledarens förmåga att verka under svåra och ibland farliga betingelser.

The study examines Sweden’s strategy for total defense, emphasizing inter-sectoral collaboration at the regional level. Specifically, it aims to identify potential challenges in such collaboration, leading to the following overarching research question: What are the principal challenges linked to cross-sector collaboration within Sweden’s total defense strategy at the regional level. The study is based on interviews and observations from various collaborative exercises. Six participants from different organizations specializing in total defense collaboration were interviewed. In addition to interviews, six observations were conducted during different collaborative exercises, each resulting in field notes forming the basis for analysis. Data collection took place between August 2022 and October 2023. The analysis of collected data identifies three overarching themes – inability, unwillingness, and lack of synchronization – depicting the challenges of collaboration in total defense. These themes intertwine and construct a complex situation, described as “a colossus on clay feet,” referring to various mechanisms of inertia in civil-military collaboration. The study concludes that the identified themes pose significant theoretical challenges, suggesting inherent vulnerabilities in the concept that may impede its effectiveness, with the most concerning aspect being the inability to address fundamental problems even amidst increased resources and determination, necessitating a focused research direction to tackle these dilemmas.

Background: Answering calls for an interactionist approach that would help clarify the complexity of organizational socialization, this study applied a person-centered analytic approach aiming to examine the role of proximal socialization outcome profiles for distal outcomes. Organizational socialization concerns the learning and adjustment process enabling newcomers to adapt to an organizational role. Proximal outcomes (or adjustment indicators) are assumed to reflect how well individuals adjust on their way to become organizational insiders, while distal outcomes reflect the ultimate organizational socialization outcomes. Thus, proximal outcomes precede distal outcomes, mediating effects of various organizational and individual socialization factors (known as antecedents) that foster the socialization process.

Method: In this study, a person-centered analytic approach was used to examine the role of proximal socialization outcome profiles for distal outcomes. Data from new police officers in Sweden (N = 430), from three time points (T0 = Application process [spring 2008], T1 = Near end of field training [end of 2010], and T2 = Near end of first work year [end of 2011]), were analyzed. First, latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed to identify proximal outcomes profiles. Then, the identified profiles were validated by a complementary analysis, which examined differences in antecedents and distal socialization outcomes among officers with different profiles.

Results: Among the new police officers, three proximal outcome profiles were identified – a vulnerable (35%), a troublesome (11%), and a successful (54%) – with profiles exhibiting distinct patterns in the proximal outcome indicators role conflict, task mastery, and social integration. Complementary analysis showed subgroup differences in some antecedents (e.g., personality and psychosocial working conditions) and distal outcomes (e.g., organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and work-related anxiety), thus emphasizing the role of personality and psychosocial working conditions in organizational socialization.

Implications: The study showed that proximal socialization outcome indicators may form profiles that characterize subgroups of newcomers following different socialization paths. Depicting how the socialization process may differ among subgroups is a significant theoretical contribution that adds nuance to traditional stage models. Findings also emphasize that both psychosocial working conditions and personality are important antecedents, which support viewing organizational socialization as an interactive process including both the individual and the environment. Accordingly, the study suggests the person-centered approach as promising for gaining new insights regarding organizational socialization processes. Further, this study indicates that the socialization process was successful for most new police officers. Still, for a fairly large proportion (i.e., the Vulnerable and Troublesome groups), the proximal outcome profiles indicated a less favourable adjustment. The differences in proximal outcome profiles suggest that the Troublesome and the Vulnerable groups struggled with somewhat different adjustment challenges, which may yield organizational challenges. From an applied perspective, the findings suggest that targeting the challenges and needs that characterize different groups of newcomers may help organizations to tailor actions facilitating learning and adjustment among newcomers. Moreover, to facilitate newcomers’ socialization, organizations may also benefit from monitoring newcomers’ experiences of their working climate as well as their personality.

Answering calls for an interactionist approach that would help clarify complex relationships among organizational socialization variables, this study applied a person-centered analytic approach aiming to examine the role of proximal socialization outcome profiles for distal outcomes. This approach is novel to organizational socialization research, contrasting the variable-centered approach dominating the field. Data from new police officers in Sweden (N = 430) were analyzed using latent profile analysis (LPA). Three proximal outcome profiles - a vulnerable (n = 151), a troublesome (n = 47), and a successful (n = 232) - were identified, with distinct patterns in the proximal outcome indicators role conflict, task mastery, and social integration. Complementary analysis showed subgroup differences in some antecedents and distal outcomes, which emphasized the role of personality and psychosocial working conditions. Thus, the findings show that proximal socialization outcome indicators may yield profiles characteristic of subgroups of newcomers who follow different socialization paths. Importantly, the findings show that a person-centered approach can add nuance to the understanding of how socialization processes differ among newcomers. While these results are promising, their generalizability to other professions and organizations remains to be investigated, which calls for continued person-centered research of organizational socialization processes.

This study uses the full-range leadership model to argue that on days when leaders engage in transformational leadership behaviors, they identify follower strengths and stimulate followers to show personal initiative. We propose that transformational leadership is related to follower work engagement and performance through follower strengths use and personal initiative. Moreover, we hypothesize that followers' personal initiative is most effective when followers use their strengths. A total of 57 Norwegian naval cadets filled out a diary booklet for 30 days (response = 72.6%; n = 1242). Multilevel modeling analyses largely supported our hypotheses. On the days when leaders used transformational leadership behaviors such as intellectual stimulation and individual consideration, followers were more likely to use their strengths and take initiative. These behaviors, in turn, predicted next-day work engagement and next-day job performance. Moreover, followers’ personal initiative was particularly related to work engagement when strengths use was high rather than low. We discuss how these findings contribute to the leadership literature by showing how leaders inspire their followers to lead themselves. In addition, we elaborate on the practical implications for leadership training.

This study scrutinizes how the effect of artificial intelligence on workerwelfare is discussed in banking-related news media. We reviewed 162articles from 2021 to 2023 and found only 47 articles that mentionedworkers. Among these articles, where business leaders and other industryexperts were interviewed, a prevailing trend was the lack of attention toworker welfare concerns. However, Fintech innovations pose potentialthreats to working conditions if left unchecked. Despite academicevidence of work intensification and surveillance from AI, the publicdiscourse, including that of union executives, lacks acknowledgment ofthese issues. Urgent action is needed to address these overlookedconcerns and ensure the well-being of bank employees amidsttechnological advancements, now and in the future.

The present case study examines a new form of security threat in the form of a network of “military over-interested persons” who tried to perform a mapping of Sweden’s classified military infrastructure. What makes them stand out is that they seem to have had no malicious intent, unlike the more frequently studied areas of spies and other insider threats. The results indicate that an obsessive military interest and a “perfect storm” of factors—individual risk factors, a toxic social network, and the false safety of a closed military web forum—allowed the individuals to commit serious crimes. Implications for the security of military organizations and future research are discussed.

Det är i de mest extrema situationer vi ofta finner människans mest onda och grymma handlingar. Men det är även där individer ofta uppvisar tapperhet, lojalitet och osjälviskt riskerar sitt eget liv för att hjälpa andra. När vi kan förstå mänskliga reaktioner i extrema situationer blir vi bättre rustade att fungera i dem, men också att förstå många fenomen vi omges av i vardagen. Stridens psykologi tar bland annat upp psykologiska aspekter på ondska, våldsutövning, fångenskap, tortyr och att möta döden. Men den diskuterar också coping, överlevnad och vägen tillbaka efter att ha upplevt extrema situationer, såsom krig. Boken tar sin utgångspunkt hos soldater i strid. Resonemangen är dock tillämpbara även för andra yrkesgrupper som regelmässigt arbetar i extrema situationer eller möter människor i kris såsom poliser, brandmän, sjukvårdspersonal, psykologer och präster. Men kriser drabbar inte bara yrkesfolk. Över 80 procent av oss kommer under vår livstid att uppleva något potentiellt traumatiserande, och denna bok kan göra dig bättre rustad att hantera det

The present study examined failure in an extreme setting within a military parachute training course used to better prepare individualsfor combat. A grounded theory analysis of interviews and observations led to four interdependent reasons for failure, three mediatingfactors of how failure was perceived, and eight ways of coping in how individuals handled failure. Two overarching master themes wereestablished of decision aversion where individuals tend to avoid making decisions regarding their own failure in order to minimize guiltand shame, and externalization where attribution is made primarily to causes outside the self in order to maintain a positive self-image.In a few cases, active measures were taken to overcome failure, most often by the ones with the strongest reactions of surprise and anger,somewhat counterintuitively indicating that the worst reactions bring out the most successful coping. Suggestions for further research andimplementation in extreme military training courses are discussed.

During the last few years the use of armed remotely piloted aircraft, most often referred to as drones, has caused extensive debate on the morality in warfare. This chapter will argue that drones have been humanized (attributed both intent and purpose) by being labeled e.g., as “killer-drones” while the pilot is often portrayed as a victim. It is possible that this humanized perception of drones has led to them being criticized specifically for violating universal legal and ethical principles. The humanization of drones together with the occupational stress seen in drone pilots as a result of organizational shortcomings indicates that technology has developed faster than the human ability to fully comprehend that progress. In conclusion, several aspects for successful integration of future autonomous systems in military organizations are discussed.

Since military operations in international settings often place a greater emphasis on cooperating with indigenous forces and working within local populations the understanding of cultural factors - what is commonly referred to as cultural awareness - is frequently stressed in military training. This article presents a slightly dissenting view from mainstream cultural awareness training and critically analyses the 'primacy of culture perspective', concluding that cultural factors will not significantly alter human nature and that military commanders often tend to overcomplicate the issue of culture. This article will argue that most human behaviours are universal - not cultural - and that although understanding cultural factors may appear to be an operational necessity, they do not fundamentally change the principles of warfare, military strategy or the military profession. Culture is one factor to consider in military operations, but by no means the most crucial. This article also considers the perspective that cultural awareness has to start with an awareness of our own culture and how we will be perceived in international operations.

Den här boken handlar om chefer, experter och stödfunktioner i kommuner - och om deras administrativa arbete. Den kommunala sektorns administration har på några decennier förändrats genomgripande, både vad gäller omfattning, arbetsinnehåll och styrka. Inom flera områden har roller professionaliserats, och mer kraft och resurser har lagts på att styra organisationen med bakgrund i krav på granskningsbarhet, kommunövergripande policyer och mätbar måluppfyllelse. Det har kommit att påverka hela den kommunala organisationen. I den här boken redogör vi för hur samspel mellan olika administrativa funktioner (såsom chefer, stödverksamhet och staber) ser ut och förändras. Vi diskuterar också hur goda samspel kan se ut, och vad som krävs för att åstadkomma sådana. Boken riktar sig till alla med intresse för organisatoriskt samspel mellan chefer, experter av olika slag och servicefunktioner i dagens kommunala värld. Särskilt riktar den sig till studenter som läser utbildningar inom personal- och arbetsvetenskap, organisation och ledarskap, och offentlig förvaltning, samt till dem som arbetar med ledning och administration i kommuner.

A multilevel theory of agility for C2 is absent. This paper uses an organizing paradigm to reinterpret the existing body ofresearch in order to explore the multilevel self-organizing dynamics that underpin the emergence of organizationalagility. Following social theory’s practice-turn, we outline in section 2 the essence of the organizing paradigm and mapsome of its implications. We reflect on the routines, creativity and complexity inherent in human organizing, and howorganizing practices manifest new collective C2 capabilities for unanticipated, unexpected and unfamiliar circumstances.Then we consider the role and limits of individual agency and rationality within the process of organizing, placing theemphasis on a collective process of structuring that imposes change and order in structure. In section 3 we present anillustration of some organizing principles and practices that may feature within a multi-level theory of agility. We explorehow collective sensemaking is intertwined with collective organizing, and briefly reflect on a conceptual model of agilityin the organizing paradigm. In the concluding section 4 we discuss the usefulness of an organizing paradigm for C2 agilityresearch and invite collaboration in researching cross-level organizing processes and practices.

This book taps into discussions about social vulnerability, empowerment, and resistance in relation to disaster relief and recovery. It disentangles tensions and dilemmas within post-disaster empowerment, through a rich ethnographic narrative of the work of Occupy Sandy in Rockaway, New York City, after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It details both a remarkable collaborative relief phase, in which marginalized communities were empowered to take active part, as well as a phase of conflict and resistance that came about as relief turned to long-term recovery.

This volume particularly aims to understand how community empowerment processes can breach pre-disaster marginalization in the aftermath of disasters. It connects with broader emancipatory literature on dilemmas involved in empowerment ‘from the outside’. In a future of potentially harsher climate related disasters and increased social vulnerability for certain communities, this book contributes to a full and nuanced understanding of community empowerment and vulnerability reduction.

This book will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, political scientists, and urban studies researchers, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in disaster management, disaster risk reduction, social vulnerability, community empowerment, development studies, local studies, social work, community-based work, and emancipatory theory.

Den här boken handlar om chefer, experter och stödfunktioner i kommuner - och om deras administrativa arbete. Den kommunala sektorns administration har på några decennier förändrats genomgripande, både vad gäller omfattning, arbetsinnehåll och styrka. Inom flera områden har roller professionaliserats, och mer kraft och resurser har lagts på att styra organisationen med bakgrund i krav på granskningsbarhet, kommunövergripande policyer och mätbar måluppfyllelse. Det har kommit att påverka hela den kommunala organisationen. I den här boken redogör vi för hur samspel mellan olika administrativa funktioner (såsom chefer, stödverksamhet och staber) ser ut och förändras. Vi diskuterar också hur goda samspel kan se ut, och vad som krävs för att åstadkomma sådana. Boken riktar sig till alla med intresse för organisatoriskt samspel mellan chefer, experter av olika slag och servicefunktioner i dagens kommunala värld. Särskilt riktar den sig till studenter som läser utbildningar inom personal- och arbetsvetenskap, organisation och ledarskap, och offentlig förvaltning, samt till dem som arbetar med ledning och administration i kommuner.

Den här boken handlar om chefer, experter och stödfunktioner i kommuner - och om deras administrativa arbete. Den kommunala sektorns administration har på några decennier förändrats genomgripande, både vad gäller omfattning, arbetsinnehåll och styrka. Inom flera områden har roller professionaliserats, och mer kraft och resurser har lagts på att styra organisationen med bakgrund i krav på granskningsbarhet, kommunövergripande policyer och mätbar måluppfyllelse. Det har kommit att påverka hela den kommunala organisationen. I den här boken redogör vi för hur samspel mellan olika administrativa funktioner (såsom chefer, stödverksamhet och staber) ser ut och förändras. Vi diskuterar också hur goda samspel kan se ut, och vad som krävs för att åstadkomma sådana. Boken riktar sig till alla med intresse för organisatoriskt samspel mellan chefer, experter av olika slag och servicefunktioner i dagens kommunala värld. Särskilt riktar den sig till studenter som läser utbildningar inom personal- och arbetsvetenskap, organisation och ledarskap, och offentlig förvaltning, samt till dem som arbetar med ledning och administration i kommuner.

Den här boken handlar om chefer, experter och stödfunktioner i kommuner - och om deras administrativa arbete. Den kommunala sektorns administration har på några decennier förändrats genomgripande, både vad gäller omfattning, arbetsinnehåll och styrka. Inom flera områden har roller professionaliserats, och mer kraft och resurser har lagts på att styra organisationen med bakgrund i krav på granskningsbarhet, kommunövergripande policyer och mätbar måluppfyllelse. Det har kommit att påverka hela den kommunala organisationen. I den här boken redogör vi för hur samspel mellan olika administrativa funktioner (såsom chefer, stödverksamhet och staber) ser ut och förändras. Vi diskuterar också hur goda samspel kan se ut, och vad som krävs för att åstadkomma sådana. Boken riktar sig till alla med intresse för organisatoriskt samspel mellan chefer, experter av olika slag och servicefunktioner i dagens kommunala värld. Särskilt riktar den sig till studenter som läser utbildningar inom personal- och arbetsvetenskap, organisation och ledarskap, och offentlig förvaltning, samt till dem som arbetar med ledning och administration i kommuner.

Objective: High-quality healthcare services is delivered by teams rather than individuals and depends heavily on multidisciplinary cooperation between dispersed healthcare professionals. The aim of this scoping review is to identify common barriers and innovative applications of technology supporting team processes and patient safety, in geographically dispersed healthcare services.

Methods: Studies were identified from searches in APA PsychINFO, Epistemonikos and Medline databases, from 2010 to 2023. A detailed search strategy was performed, and studies were included, based on prior established criteria.

Results: Among the 19 studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria, the majority (85%) were from Europe or North America, and most studies (53%) were quantitative, with a cross-sectional study design. Several reported observed distributed team processes in training and education. Most studies described barriers and detailed how innovative approaches and technological solutions were introduced to improve communication, coordination, and shared mental models in distributed healthcare settings. A small proportion of studies (16%) used health services data to examine interpersonal exchange and team processes.

Conclusion: The scoping review offer recommendations to enhance future research on distributed team processes in healthcare services.

The crisis triggered by Covid-19 has exposed the interdependencies of modern society and sparked interest in local response to protracted and complex crisis situations. There has been a growing awareness and interest in the key roles of political and professional stakeholders, their emotional regulation and how they influence team performance and outcomes in dealing with uncertainty and complex crisis situations. While cognitive and behavioral aspects of crisis leadership are well researched, less is understood about how one can mitigate negative emotions, instill trust, or restore public faith and support of security forces and emergency response teams during crises. In addressing this gap, we propose a simplified conceptual roadmap for research and training of local crisis leadership. In this, we emphasize complex problem solving, team interaction, team context and technology and team training design. These four factors represent significant barriers if neglected. On the other side, they may be considerable force multipliers when better understood and managed. We suggest how seven research and training questions could be linked to the four conceptual factors and guide an evidence-based approach to develop local crisis leadership.

Organizations need co-workers who are committed to common goals and that are loyal to the core values of the organization.[1] The conscious fostering of organizational core values is seen as an important tool in creating loyal co-workers and hence an effective organization.[2] Professions with a strong vocational calling such as medicine (Kallin, 2010), the police (Ewin, 1990 ; Foust, 2018) or the military[3] have particular demands on loyalty to certain core values, and individuals are expected to adopt these as their own. However, organizational core values can be contradictive (Billig, 1988) and sometimes in conflict with the individual´s own core values which – when incompatible – can in turn cause severe moral stress and mental illness.[4] This implies a need for clarification about what is expected from members of an organization concerning the objectives and manifestations of core values. In terms of loyalty, the military profession is possibly one of the most demanding, expecting individuals to risk their own lives and to kill other human beings for the benefit of the organizational goals. However, since misplaced loyalty can cause destructive,[5] and unethical behaviour[6] with enormous consequences – especially in the military (Winslow, 1998) – there is a need to be clear about what kind of loyalty behaviour is constructive and vice versa. Although loyalty is a concept that seems to be defined in many different ways, the number of studies of loyalty and its meaning are quite limited - especially in military research.[7] The overall purpose of this study is to broaden understanding of the meaning of loyalty within the military. Because important core values of an organization are set – or strongly influenced[8] – by its leaders,[9] the aim of this study was to explore how high-ranking officers in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) give meaning to their own personal experiences of loyalty and to describe possible common patterns within the participant group.

 [1] Wieseke, Alavi & Habel, 2014.[2] Berghaus & Cartagena, 2013.[3] Huntington, 1985 ; Moskos & Wood, 1988 ; Kirkhaug, 2009 ; Olsthoorn, 2011 ; Beard, 2014.[4] Molendijk, Kramer & Verweij, 2018.[5] Gabriel, 1982 ; Connor, 2010.)[6] Umphress & Bingham, 2011.[7] Olsthoorn, 2011 ; Connor, Andrews, Noack-Lundberg & Wadham, 2019.[8] Larsson, Haerem, Sjöberg, Alvinius & Bakken, 2007.[9] Fergusson & Milliman, 2008 ; Oh, Cho & Lim, 2018.

Military organizations often emphasize the importance of loyalty. It has been suggested that loyalty enhances motivation to take great risks and strive to accomplish a mission. However, research into what influences loyalty among military personnel is scarce. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine how leadership and social identity fusion relate to loyalty, using data from a sample consisting of a Swedish military unit on a United Nation mission (N = 152) in Mali. Hierarchical multiple regression results generally showed that social identity fusion and leadership were positively related to a willingness to show loyalty to the closest workgroup, one’s own unit, and the mission. The findings indicate that leadership and high levels of social identity fusion may influence the willingness to be loyal to organizational goals. The practical implication of this study is increased knowledge about the importance of leadership and social identity in developing relevant loyalties.

Naval officers must through leadership act well under pressure and be able to develop mature teams. This requires social competence, empathic skills, and a respectful approach to those around you that ensures closeness and durable interaction. Use of safe, free-play cadet-led activities is paramount. Two invariable requirements are set for each cadet – action and justification. Research shows that the Naval Academy’s leadership development program has the desired effect.

Based on the impact of the theoretical big five of teamwork model proposed by Salas et al. (2005), the present study aimed at investigating the model within an operational police simulation. One hundred and sixty-seven frontline police officers participated in the study. Based on path analyses, a reduced model excluding trust and leadership obtained a good fit with the data.

The results provided some support for the model by confirming six out of 10 proposed direct effects and four out of seven indirect pathways. Shared mental models directly affected team adaptability, and backup behavior affects adaptability and team effectiveness. Team orientation affects mutual performance monitoring and backup behavior, and finally, reciprocal monitoring affects backup behavior. Monitoring influenced both team effectiveness and adaptability through backup behavior. Two paths from team orientation towards effectiveness were found. One flowing through monitoring and another through back-up behavior. Our study expands former knowledge of the big five theory by empirically testing the totality of the model and identifying important pathways.

Burnout was originally conceptualized based on experiences of new professionals. Role clarity, task mastery, and social acceptance are recognized as key resources enabling new professionals’ management of the challenges of the new profession. However, relations between these resources and stress, strain, and burnout have not yet been thoroughly investigated at professional entry. Increased understanding of these relations could have implications for strategies to prevent burnout. The aim of the study was to investigate within- and between-individual effects over the first months and relations to burnout at one-year post-entry. Data (n = 322) was collected weekly over the first 13 weeks and again 9 months later. Relationships were modelled using a multilevel regression model and correlation analysis. Results showed that on weeks when participants experienced higher role clarity, task mastery, and social acceptance, they reported significantly less stress, and that participants who experienced higher levels of the resources in general, reported significantly less strain. Levels of the resources at three months were related to symptoms of burnout at 12 months. The study findings provide support of the role of task mastery, role clarity, and social acceptance as resources buffering the impact of demands at professional entry on experiences of stress, strain, and burnout.

Illegitimate tasks violate the norms of what is considered part of the employee’s work role and have been found to harm individuals, groups and organisations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between key organisational conditions– span of control, recruitment needs, administrative support and organisational changes – and the prevalence of unnecessary and unreasonable illegitimate tasks experienced by managers and their subordinates. Data were collected from a sample comprising 80 managers and 863 subordinates in a Swedish municipality using questionnaires to assess their perceptions of illegitimate tasks. Organisational conditions were collected from the human resources register in the municipality. Multilevel analysis resultsreveal a positive association between the size of workgroups and illegitimate tasks; the more subordinates per workgroup, the more unnecessary and unreasonable tasks managers reported and the more unreasonable tasks the subordinates reported. These findings hold practical implications for organisations because they indicatethat illegitimate tasks can be reduced by decreasing the number of employees in larger workgroups.

Following the Cold War, Sweden adopted a doctrine promoting perpetual peace, resultingin significant reductions in military defense capabilities and the dismantling of civil defenseinfrastructure. However, geopolitical events such as the Russian invasion of Georgia in2008 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted Sweden to reassess its securityposture in 2015, leading to the reconstruction of total defense, and an emphasis oncollaboration between the civilian and military defense sectors. Exercises have beeninstrumental in fostering civil‐military collaboration capability. This study aims toinvestigate whether these exercises are effective in enhancing capability for civil‐military collaboration. Data collection involved participant observation during sevenexercises and was analyzed using constructive alignment (CA). Findings indicate that theexercises did not yield discernible learning outcomes, and this is attributed to the Swedishprinciples of responsibility, deficiencies in CA, contextual support, and entrencheddefensive routines.

In early 2020, decision makers in Stockholm were concerned that intensive care units (ICUs) would fill up because of the massive spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, they decided that a group of doctors, a construction company and the Swedish Armed Forces would build a temporary hospital inside an exhibition hall. Using field study observations and in-depth interviews, this study investigates the role of boundary spanners and leadership in crisis management and team learning. Two types of boundary spanners were prevalent: the 'Leader' and the 'Expert', and together they are crucial for successful crisis management, and for team learning. This study contributes to filling a gap in research regarding the role of boundary spanners in team learning within and across teams. Results show that research into boundary spanners and team learning can use the variables in Edmondson's team learning model for thematic data analysis, and to describe and understand how boundary spanners can contribute to learning within and across teams, when collaborating in the mutual management of crises.

Whereas previous research has focused on the link between (mental and physical) workload and task performance, less is known about the intervening mechanisms influencing this relationship. In the present study, we test the moderating roles of daily recovery and total sleep time in the relationship between work pressure and daily task performance. Using performance and recovery theories, we hypothesized that (a) work pressure relates positively to daily task performance, and that both (b) daily recovery in the form of psychological detachment and relaxation, and (c) total sleep time independently enhance this relationship. Our hypotheses were tested in a 30-day diary study with 110 officer cadets on a cross-Atlantic voyage on a Naval sail ship. The results of multilevel modeling lend support to all three hypotheses. Taken together, our findings suggest that recovery and sleep duration between shifts play a key role in the relationship between daily work pressure and task performance. We discuss the implications of these findings for the stressor-detachment model.

Background and Objectives

Drawing on affective events theory, the present study investigates relationships between daily interpersonal conflicts and negative and positive affective reactions, and tested whether trait neuroticism moderates immediate (same day) and persisting (next-day) affective reactions.

Design and Methods

A sample of 53 Norwegian naval cadets completed a diary questionnaire for 30 consecutive days (total N = 1590).

Results

As predicted, the findings showed that cadets reported more negative affect (but not less positive affect) on days they were confronted with affective events that were of a conflicting nature. In addition, the proposed interaction effects between daily conflict and neuroticism were significant for both negative and positive affect. Specifically, the immediate and persistent effects of daily conflicts on negative affect were strongest for individuals high (vs. low) in neuroticism. Moreover, individuals high in neuroticism reported less positive affect on days with conflicts, whereas individuals low in neuroticism reported more positive affect the two days following interpersonal conflicts.

Conclusions

The findings contribute to affective events theory with important knowledge about the role of trait neuroticism in dealing with interpersonal conflicts in a natural work setting.

Mot bakgrund av en breddad och allt mer komplex hotbild mot Sverige och en ambition att stärka den svenska totalförsvarsförmågan har regeringen och Regeringskansliet på senare år skjutit till nya medel och försvarsanslag till det militära och civila försvaret, inklusive den militära Säkerhetstjänsten. De har även tagit fram ett antal nya lagar och regler som på olika sätt syftar till att vägleda säkerhetstjänstens verksamhet och stärka landets motståndskraft mot olika säkerhetshot inom ramen för totalförsvaret.

Denna antologi har till uppgift att utifrån olika perspektiv analysera hur moderna hotbilder, ny teknik, lagstiftning, natomedlemskap och krav på samverkan med andra myndigheter och företag kommer påverka den militära säkerhetstjänstens och säkerhetsunderrättelsetjänstens verksamhet i framtiden. Antologin är skriven av några av Sveriges ledande experter på området i syfte att beskriva de utmaningar som den militära säkerhetstjänsten och säkerhetsunderrättelsetjänsten står inför samtidigt som totalförsvaret och krisberedskapen i Sverige återuppbyggs.

Några av de frågor som ställs i antologin är hur och i vilken utsträckning det försämrade säkerhetsläget i vårt närområde, ny säkerhetsskyddslagstiftning, ambitionen att stärka det svenska totalförsvaret och Sveriges medlemskap i Nato kommer leda till att säkerhetstjänstens arbetsuppgifter förändras i framtiden? Slutsatserna från denna antologi är säkerhetstjänsten och säkerhetsunderrättelsetjänsterna i Sverige står inför ett paradigmskifte där det kommer vara nödvändigt att modernisera organisationen och implementera ny teknik för att anpassa sig till den digitala eran. Även vikten av intensifierad internationell samverkan kommer spela stor roll för säkerhetstjänstens möjligheter att bedriva ett effektivt arbete på nationell nivå i framtiden. Det multilaterala samarbetet är här för att stanna även om det är svårt och bygger på förtroenden mellan stater som inte alltid finns.

This paper draws attention to some of the unintended consequences of current planning directives, which not only obscure the true essence of complex endeavours, but may also inhibit the intellectual capabilities of planning teams because of their prescriptive and voluminous nature. In the Set-based Approach (SbA), we introduce five principles aimed at optimizing planning time and reducing the likelihood of making premature assumptions. SbA extends beyond the scope of military operational planning, offering a flexible planning philosophy that enables teams to deal more adeptly with uncertainty. The SbA concept has undergone informal testing during two pilot programs at the Swedish Defence University.

This paper introduces the Harmonization Emergence Model (HEM), a model that integrates two key dimensions of harmony: Einheit(coalescing unity) and Stimmigkeit (congruent shared meaning). The HEM, in conjunction with John Boyd's OODA-loop, provides avaluable tool for comprehending how harmonization can emerge within complex endeavors that span organizational, linguistic,and cultural boundaries. By employing these models, our aim is to broaden the understanding of the imperative to shift the focusof Command and Control (C2), beyond mere direction and control towards a function for catalyzing and modulating collaborationamong organizations and actors within a specific context. Our objective with the HEM, is to better understand the 'power to theedge' concept and how C2 could facilitate assemblages (teams of teams) in actively engaging with and influencing the environment.This is guided by the pursuit of Congruence, which represents the metastable shared meaning we seek through Participatory SenseMaking.

Background 

Empirical research on shared mental models (SMM) in virtual environments are almost non-existent. Pre-hospital emergencies presents an opportunity to examine team processes in virtual teams because the dispatcher is geographically separated from the ambulance and at the same time plays a significant role in coordinating, organizing, obtaining, evaluating, and conveying relevant information to the deployed ambulance. The present study aimed at mapping team behavior and cognition in critical real-life emergency medical missions based on the concept of SMM. 

Methods 

By investigating the frequencies of coordinating mechanisms and team competencies based on voice recordings from real-life missions, differences in team behavior between low and high-complexity missions were investigated. 

Results 

Lower frequencies of team competencies and coordinating mechanisms were found in high compared to low-complexity missions. The results showed a different profile in communication between high and low-complexity missions with more frequent use of both coordinating mechanisms and team competencies in low-complexity missions. Furthermore, the profiles revealed that SMM and closed loop communication were the only coordinating mechanism used, and leadership and team orientation were the only competencies exercised. 

Conclusion 

It was concluded that the lack of visual input of a team member during team interaction could lead to team process loss due to a breakdown of the team into sub-units. Potential improvement of team behavior is discussed within the SMM framework. 

In recent decades there has been an increased emphasis on non-technical skills in medical teams. One promising approach that relates teamwork to medical efficiency is the theory of Shared Mental Models (SMM). The aim of the present study was to investigate the suitability of the Shared Mental Model approach for teamwork between operators in emergency medical communication centers and the first line ambulance personnel in real-life settings. These teams collaborate while working from geographically dispersed positions, which makes them distinct from the kinds of teams examined in most previous research on team effectiveness. A pressing issue is therefore whether current models on co-located teams are valid for medical distributed teams. A total of 240 participants from 80 emergency medical teams participated in the study. A team effectiveness model was proposed based on identified team coordinating mechanisms and the “Big five” team processes. Path analyses showed that SMM was positively associated with team effectiveness (i.e., performance satisfaction and situational awareness) and negatively related to mission complexity. Furthermore, the coordinating mechanisms of SMM and Closed Loop Communication was positively related to “Big five” team scores. However, no effects were found for the “Big five” team processes on effectiveness, which could indicate that the model needs to be adjusted for application to geographically dispersed teams. Possible implications for team training of distributed emergency response teams are discussed.

Objective: To test if decreased parental protective behaviors, monitoring behaviors, and parental catastrophizing mediate relief of gastrointestinal symptoms in children 8–12 years with functional abdominal pain disorders(FAPDs). The study uses secondary data analyses of a randomized controlled trial in which exposure-based online cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) was found superior to treatment as usual in decreasing gastrointestinal symptoms.

Methods: The ICBT included 10 weekly modules for children and 10 weekly modules for parents. Treatment as usual consisted of any medication, dietary adjustments, and healthcare visits that the participants engaged in during 10 weeks. All measures were self-assessed online by parents. Biweekly assessments of the Adult Responses to Children’s Symptoms (ARCS), Protectand Monitor subscales, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, parental version (PCS-P) were included in univariate and multivariate growth models to test their mediating effect on the child’s gastrointestinal symptoms assessed withthe Pediatric Quality of Life Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scale (PedsQL).

Results: A total of 90 dyads of children with FAPDs and their parents were includedin the study, of which 46 were randomized to ICBT and 44 to treatment as usual. The PCS-P was found to mediate change in the PedsQL ab = 0.639 (95% CI0.020–2.331), while the ARCS Monitor ab = 0.472 (95% CI −1.002 to 2.547), and Protect ab= −0.151 (95% CI −1.455 to 0.674) were not mediators of change.

Conclusions: To target parental catastrophizing in ICBT for pediatric FAPDs is potentially important to reduce abdominal symptoms in children.

The topic of this paper is prospective field-level sensemaking, and particularly sensemaking of technological futures. Using the case of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is likely to affect the future of the Swedish financial sector, we show how prospective sensemaking of potential consequences of AI draws on existing, but also emerging, discursive resources. /.../ The purpose of the paper is to explore how stakeholders in the Swedish financial sector make sense of the future using hypothetical constructions while simultaneously engaging in shaping these. Our research links to organizational scholarship on prospective sensemaking (Gephart et al., 2010; Kaplan & Orlikowski, 2013). Whereas sensemaking has long been a central concept to understand retrospective interpretation of events and of the world (Maitlis & Christianson, 2014), our interest in prospective sensemaking entails a focus on how sense is made concerning the future on a field-level. Our contribution to the study of prospective sensemaking lies in attending to how different types of actors temporally embed their prospective reasoning, and how they both make sense and (re)-imagine the future. Divergencies in prospective sensemaking, we posit, also show how different stakeholders contend with their respective interests in the future and their diverging views of what the future ought to entail.

China’s improving nuclear arsenal, the United States’ deteriorating “strategic ambiguity” policy, and Taiwan’s increasing identification as independent polity raises the prospect of conflict over Taiwan. But the use of nuclear weapons in the Taiwan Straits would happen only under extreme circumstances. This paper argues Beijing is increasing its use of gray-zone tactics with conventional and non-military means below the level of nuclear provocation to tip the cross-straits military balance in its favor. This report first examines China’s aim to achieve unification with Taiwan via its use of threat and use of force in both the nuclear and conventional domains through a close examination of the three historical cross-strait crises. Second, it outlines the geostrategic and geopolitical rationale for continued American support for Taiwan in an era of United States-China competition. Lastly, it explores the role of Taiwan’s consolidating democracy and how Taipei responds to Beijing’s coercion. The report concludes with consideration of how the Taiwan Straits case may affect the possibility of nuclear weapons use in Northeast Asia, including in Japan and on the Korean peninsula.

This report assesses trends in Taiwan’s defense policy and force posture. The Republic of China’s (ROC, Taiwan) armed forces’ primary aim is to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC, China) from military aggression against Taiwan’s main island and offshore islands. In the event of such a contingency, the ROC armed forces aim to deny the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) the ability to establish mainland China’s rule over Taipei. But Beijing is ratcheting up military pressure on Taiwan to coerce it to accept “peaceful reunification” on Chinese terms. This includes record-setting air incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in October 2021 and the regular holding of military drills and amphibious landings on small islands near Taiwan. As well, in response to the 2022 visit of the US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan, China held its largest live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait with the firing of ballistic missiles and the deployment of warships and fighter jets. The exercises simulated a blockade of Taiwan and infringed on Taiwan’s territorial waters. Such scenarios have demonstrated the vulnerabilities in Taiwan’s defense, including a haphazard force structure, lack of readiness, and dependence on US military and diplomatic support.

The United States has recently stated that it would prevent changes to the cross-strait status quo by bolstering Taiwan’s defense against China. As a result, America’s Indo-Pacific allies and partners are considering how to contribute to Taiwan’s defense and deterrence against China. Also, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reminded Taiwan and other countries in the Indo-Pacific that the possibility of war in the Taiwan Strait is very real. The willingness with which Japan, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, and Singapore responded to the Biden administration’s call to sanction Russia and provide assistance to Ukraine suggests that the Indo-Pacific would be looking to Europe for similar support should China provoke conflict. Today, neither Europe nor the Indo-Pacific can continue to hold the notion that “far-away” conflicts will not have political, economic, or strategic repercussions on their own neighborhood.

This report begins by tracing Taiwan’s evolution to a de facto sovereign nation with a unique geopolitical and geostrategic status. It then looks at the country’s military capabilities and modernization plans and examines whether Taipei can meet its objectives to deter and deny China from using force to impose sovereign control over Taiwan. Taiwan is investing in missile defense and asymmetric weapons to signal to China that it would incur high costs if it decided to invade. Should such an invasion occur, Taiwan’s armed forces must meet certain requirements to defend its littoral coast and offshore islands. For China to invade Taiwan, PLA forces would have to dominate the air and sea approaches to Taiwan, land amphibious forces, and deliver sufficient manpower, weapons, logistics, and supplies to achieve control over Taiwan. Such an effort would also mean occupying Taiwan’s offshore islands which could otherwise be used to cut off the PLA from resupply and support from the mainland. Due to their geostrategic position, the islands also serve as an early warning system for Taiwan, the United States, and its allies.

As part of its deterrence effort, Taipei is also attempting to diversify its security partnerships, to increase its standing in the international system, and to raise awareness of the repercussions if China invaded Taiwan. As Taiwan remains reliant on the United States for arms and informal security guarantees under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the 1982 Six Assurances, it is focusing on enhancing its partnerships with the United States’ allies in the region. Primarily, these are Japan and Australia, who have a shared interest in countering China in the East and South China Sea. Taipei may also look to European defense manufacturing nations such as France and Germany to obtain technological and military know-how for its indigenous defense industry.

This report continues with an analysis of the regional and international implications of a possible loss of Taiwan’s independence. The United States and its allies have already begun to adjust doctrine and force posture. Regional stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific are also discussing what they can learn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to strategically support Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China. This has heated up the debate within Taiwan – as well as between Taipei and Washington – of how ROC armed forces can succeed in defending Taiwan, deterring China from a unilateral attack, and denying China control over Taiwan and its offshore islands.

Moreover, bolstering Taiwan’s defense in the short to medium term would make a lasting contribution to deterring China from aggression and adventurism. Therefore, this report concludes with a set of policy recommendations to hold substantive ex - changes between Taiwan, Europe, and the IndoPacific. The recommendations are based on the assumption that war over Taiwan is not a certainty. Key recommendations include establishing an official dialogue between Taiwanese and Europe - an lawmakers to exchange knowledge on countering foreign interference and disinformation. NATO and Taiwan should set up a working group to raise awareness of the implications to both the IndoPacific and Europe of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait. This could include a wargame about the consequences of a Taiwan Strait conflict on Russia’s calculations in Europe and NATO deployments. Lastly, it would be useful for Taiwan, other Indo-Pacific nations, and European countries to share insights on improving societal resilience and civil defense capabilities. Such joint efforts would signal to China the willingness to punish actions that change the cross-straits status quo. This could contribute to deterring China from conducting a unilateral attack on Taiwan and its territories and might decrease the likelihood of conflict.