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The purpose of this study is to examine, explain and interpret concepts of gender in relation to information management, crisis communication and collaboration within the framework of (crisis) communicator tasks. Since the crisis management realm is malecoded and the communications profession is female-coded, there is reason to gain more knowledge of how these relate to each other. The ambition is to contribute to an underdeveloped area of theory. A total of nineteen participants joined the study. All the interviews were processed according to the guidelines for the thematic analysis method. Analysis showed that three themes are central to understanding the role of communicators in the crisis management system. These are a) crisis communication as a temporary organization; b) requirements imposed on, and expectations from, the role and the individual and c) organizational greed. Results are discussed theoretically from a gender perspective, and practical implications are given as well as proposals for further studies. 

This study aims to deepen the understanding of processes that affect collaboration between professions and organisations in the crisis preparedness domain from a gender perspective. A total of twenty-three Swedish duty officers participated in the study. The analysis of the interviews show that collaboration can be understood as (a) the militarisation of civil crisis management actors, which means that many of the work processes and cultures that originate in military organisations can now be found in the security and crisis management sector; (b) the masculinisation, which means that when male dominance appears to prevail, active strategies are used against women, civilian personnel and also inexperienced colleagues and (c) organisational exclusion which emerges particularly in situations where collaboration between female-dominated and male-dominated organisations are required. The findings are important for crisis preparedness research and practice and should work in favour of evening out asymmetries in collaborative crisis management.

This article explores individual resistance related to a military organization’s gender equality work as expressed in online contexts. Resistance is explained as expressions of wider social conflicts, grounded in experiences of threats towards military masculinities, challenged by societal and political transformation processes perceived as feminine. The data consists of defence-related blogs and comments. A thematic analysis finds that individual resistance can be understood as blaming and shaming strategies. Five sub-themes are identified: blaming the “feminised” organization, blaming and shaming women’s abilities to serve, individualisation of structural problems, verbal violence and violations, and objectification of men working with and supporting gender equality initiatives. The analysis exemplifies how social conflict is transferred to organizations through individual resistance. As gender equality policies are questioned, organizations need to confront resistance also within the online context.

Numerous societal change processes such as globalization, professionalization and social and technical acceleration have challenged military organizations. The aims of this study were to (1) gain a deeper understanding of coping strategies used by the military leaders at the strategic level to manage everyday organizational demands and (2) relate these strategies to multidisciplinary models of organizational challenges. Owing to an insufficiently developed base of research, an inductive approach was used. Interviews were performed with 23 Swedish brigadier generals and colonels. Five coping strategies were found for handling the negative organizational aspects: repair work, catching up, reproducing, using formal and informal strategies and managing loyalties. The theoretical concepts of narcissistic, anorectic and greedy organizations were used as a framework when interpreting the inductively generated coping strategies. It was suggested that the specific connection found between individual-level coping strategies and theoretically framed organizational challenges is new. The results of this study are discussed theoretically and may be valuable in educational settings when evaluating the working conditions and performance of high-level officers.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att få djupare förståelse för förskollärarnas och barnskötarnas upplevda organisatoriska arbetsvillkor så som de beskrevs i vittnesmålen i den 689-sidor långa förskoleuppropet #pressatläge. Studien baserades på anonymiserade vittnesmål från personal i barnomsorgen från hela Sverige. Analysen av datamaterialet resulterade i tre huvudsakliga teman: a) prekariserande arbetsförhållanden, b) förskolemiljön som en krisplats och c) barns utsatthet nu och i framtiden. Slutsatsen av studien visar att konsekvenser av dåliga arbetsvillkor i en kvinnodominerad yrkesgrupp är kortsiktiga i form av psykisk ohälsa men också långsiktiga vad gäller barnens bästa och verksamhetens framtida utveckling.

The article problematizes decision-making in the health and care sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is done deductively by applying an empi-rically developed decision model to new data that consists of media articles. The decision model can be divided into two dimensions; an employee-orien-ted and an organization-oriented. Each dimension indicates the direction of the decision and ranges from anti to pro. This means that decisions can be made pro/anti employees/organization. We have found evidence for the models’ various dimensions, which are the basis of an analysis of the con-sequences decisions may have on employees, the working life and the civil society as a whole.  

The current study examined the association between leadership self-efficacy and the developmental leadership model. The purpose was to better understand how leadership training transfers to facets of developmental leadership. This was tested in a cross-sectional design with military commanders in the Swedish Armed Forces. The results show that the sub-domain of leader self-control efficacy (the cognitive and emotional ability to remain composure) did not predict developmental leadership, but that leader assertiveness efficacy (the ability to make rational decisions) predicted the two dimensions of the exemplary model, and inspiration and motivation in the developmental leadership model. One possibility is that leader self-control efficacy can be what enables the individual to function within an extreme context, but leader assertiveness efficacy can be what most determines the leadership performance within that context. The possibility for mediatory analyses in further research is discussed.

The present study examined a parachute training course intended to improve the leadership abilities of future military officers. Two research questions were examined. First, whether there were any differences between completers and non-completers in anxiety, stress, and collective identity at the beginning of the course (time 1), and second, whether there were any differences between completers and non-completers in leadership self-efficacy immediately after the course and at a five-month follow-up (time 2 and time 3). Participants were cadets from the Swedish Military Academy undergoing the course as part of their officer training curriculum. The results showed no significant differences between completers and non-completers in anxiety, stress, and collective identity at the beginning of the course (time 1). Non-completers showed a significant reduction in leader self-control efficacy compared to those who completed the training immediately after the course and at a five-month follow-up (time 2 and 3). Overall, these results indicate that non-completion of this type of demanding training could have negative effects on the individual's leader self-control efficacy.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of flotation REST upon skilled and less skilled golfers’ anxiety in terms of physiological indicators of stress, self-rated anxiety scores, muscle tension, and the effect on golf putting. Prior to performing the putting task participants underwent a treatment of flotation REST or a period of resting in an armchair. Participants completed both treatments in a randomized order with a two-week interval. The results showed that both flotation REST and the armchair treatment reduced systolic blood pressure and heart rate, with no differences between treatments or athlete skill levels. No significant differences between treatments were revealed regarding self-ratings, level of muscle tension or putting precision. The results indicate that flotation REST may be useful for reducing negative symptoms related to stress and anxiety in general; however, no support for direct positive effects on golf performance were found.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to increased knowledge of destructive leadership in crisis management. The specific research questions are: (1) What types of destructive leadership behaviours can be identified in leaders in crisis management? and (2) Why are these behaviours considered destructive in this context? Design/methodology/approach About 21 informants involved in crisis management at regional, local and operational levels in Sweden were interviewed. They were selected since they had recently been involved in severe accidents and/or crises (e.g. terror attacks, forest fires). A grounded theory analysis of interview data yielded two core variables: destructive leadership behaviours, and appraisal: interpretation of leader behaviour. Findings The study identified seven different destructive leadership behaviours: four task-related and three relationship-related. Task-related behaviours primarily led to negative consequences for the task/crisis. Relationship-related behaviours have negative consequences for subordinates' job satisfaction, well-being and/or sense of meaningfulness. The paper relates the identified behaviours to existing leadership ideals within crisis management and discusses behaviours that appear to be unique for the crisis management context. Practical implications The paper highlights the fact that great crisis managers are not always good at managing relationships, which may have negative implications for crisis management in the long term. Originality/value Destructive leadership is a research field that is rapidly expanding. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the nature of destructive leadership behaviours and what makes an individual appraise a leader as destructive in crisis management.

Cohesion is one of the most studied group phenomena and there is an agreement among scholars today that cohesion is a key contributor to team functioning and performance. A large body of research has shown that cohesion has several positive effects on psychological, social, and behavioral outcomes. Since research on cohesion has increased significantly in recent decades there is a need for an updated overview of research regarding antecedents and outcomes of cohesion in a military context. In this paper, a systematic literature review is conducted. The paper adheres to suggestions by scholars, relating the results in accordance with the dimensionality (i.e. social, task, or general) and organizational level of the construct (i.e. horizontal, vertical, or organizational) as well as focusing exclusively on studies with a longitudinal design. The paper highlights gaps in the literature and provides direction for future research.

This chapter describes two important groups relative to military service – reservists and veterans. Definitions are provided regarding who is a member of each group. A summary of past and current research findings for each group is provided. The summary is organized by investigative topics or themes, which provide the current scope of the field for reservists and for veterans. Finally, approaches to the study of reservists and veterans are described, along with challenges – both substantively and methodologically – for future research studies. These serve as fertile areas for improvements and investigations in future research studies.

Both the models of moral distress and of moral injury place an emphasis on various types of moral challenges that may violate the individual’s conscience, evoking moral emotions. Yet, there appears to be great conceptual confusion as regards both scholarly perspectives. The purpose of this article is to further elaborate on the qualitative content and conceptual demarcations of the theories of moral injury and moral distress. In the light of this theoretical elaboration, we propose an integrated moral distress and injury scale that provides a more holistic overview of these moral challenges. We suggest that the utility and applicability of the moral injury and moral distress theories may benefit from the integration of these concepts. A practical implication of our theoretical understanding is that processes of recovery, which involve moral dimensions, are complex. In line with this understanding, we advocate a holistic approach to health and well-being among military service members and Veterans.

Officer education has a long tradition of being primarily a vocational education focused on training in knowledge and skills that can be used here and now. The content of officer education has mainly been based on the profession’s overall and proven experience. Rapid technological development, globalization, new threats such as terrorist attacks, hybrid warfare and gray zone issues, refugee issues, and the effects of climate change have meant that officer education needed to be reformed in order to provide knowledge and skills to deal with the unknown in a VUCA world. The goal is to create officer education that will produce officers with ambidextrous competences and skills, who have the knowledge to take up their positions immediately after training, but which also provides them with the knowledge and skills to prepare them for the unknown, lifelong learning, and gives them the ability to handle a rapidly changing environment.

In an effort to address some of the current knowledge gaps in the literature on collaborative crisis management, this chapter explores the nature and development of the political-administrative system in Turkey and the role some of its attributes played for collaboration during the response to two earthquakes in southeast Turkey in 2011. In particular, the chapter investigates how state-society relationships, political conflicts, and intergovernmental relations influenced stakeholder collaboration during the earthquake response. In order to capture how the actors perceived collaboration and how they organized their collaborative activities, interviews were conducted with state officials from varying administrative levels, municipality and NGO representatives as well as village and neighborhood leaders, all of whom were involved in managing the earthquake disasters. By applying a general collaborative governance framework, this chapter attempts to shed light on the perceptions of collaboration in Turkey’s political-administrative system and the role it plays for collaboration. Two components of this framework are in particular focus: the drivers (i.e. uncertainty, interdependence, initiating leadership, and consequential incentives) and the “system context” (socio-economic and cultural characteristics) as well as the interplay between them. This chapter illustrates that there are evident differences across political-administrative systems regarding the conditions for collaboration, who is engaged in such activities, and what collaborations can realistically achieve. The chapter highlights that there needs to be a greater recognition of how these conditions for collaboration, and collaboration itself, may differ in various settings. Also, research should pay close attention to meanings and values that actors in these varying political-administrative systems ascribe to collaboration, as these too affect the outcomes of such activities.

Experienced collectively, disasters are also remembered collectively. Constituting a social glue among affected communities, disaster memories are essential for recovery processes. Focusing on teachers, who became frontline disaster workers, this paper explores how disasters are experienced and managed by a professional group lacking emergency management training. The study draws on in-depth interviews with school teachers about their memories of a forest fire in Sweden in 2014. As residents in, or close by, a small, rural community close to the fire, the teachers experienced the fire both as professionals and as citizens in their roles as family members and neighbours. The paper explores the role of kinship and vicinity of community reflecting the concepts of Therapeutic community and Gemeinschaft to provide a more substantial understanding of the social structures of a small, rural community without previous experiences of a disaster. The second theoretical focus and consequential contribution of the study lies within the teacher's recollections of professionalism, and how such interlinked norms and values remained intact through the disaster. In addition to convergence concerning professional ideals in the teacher collective, there was divergence in the teachers' memories of their performance and how others valued them, outlining how the social context and organizational support structures have tangible impacts on individuals' memories. Findings enable further systematic exploration of post-disaster social structures, training and organizational support, as well as the role of professional ideals, in disaster recovery processes.

Detta kapitel undersöker en aspekt av etik som militära praktiker ställs inför bland annat i samband med internationella insatser, men även vid nationellt försvar. Kapitlet öppnar upp för reflektion kring frågor som: Har olika kulturer olika moraliska sanningar? Begrepp som universalism och kulturrelativism har presenterats och använts för att stimulera reflektion kring följande frågor: Kan jag ha mer rätt att med våld försvara mina värderingar än vad motståndaren har? Kan jag som svensk militär acceptera andras kulturella seder och bruk som tycks bryta mot svenska normer? Kapitlet är avsett som komplement till mer teoretiskt informerad litteratur och mer praktiskt orienterade texter om kultur och etik. Fokus är främst fredsbevarande insatser och mötet med lokalbefolkningen.

Society is continuously impacted by accelerating technical and social changes that challenge individuals, organizations, and societies. This appears to lead to the emergence of negative organizational behavior patterns that impose high levels of demands on employees. Firstly, the purpose of this study is to qualitatively examine how three organizational challenges—organizational anorexia, organizational greed, and organizational narcissism—are expressed in the Swedish public sector. Secondly, the Swedish Armed Forces and the field of elderly care are compared to discover additional organizational challenges by carrying out comparisons. The sample of organizations used is described in the Methods section. The study’s main findings show that these three organizational challenges have been experienced in different ways in these organizations. A new organizational challenge has appeared, organizational temporality, describing participants’ perceptions of time when carrying out their assigned tasks.

This article proposes that children constitute a new climate precariat. This conceptualization contributes to a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of the vulnerability of children in relation to the climate crisis. Previous literature tends to treat climate change in an abstract fashion that renders today’s children invisible. Climate precarity consists of three main elements of vulnerability: temporality problems, insecurity and an identity vacuum. In relation to temporality and security, children are suffering from the potential loss of a sustainable future, which spurs the need for urgent action and constant consciousness – in the present. World leaders’ inaction creates an uncertainty regarding whom should be held responsible for taking action in guaranteeing children the future which climate change is at risk of depriving them. The concept of climate precarity could be used to explain children’s collective action in relation to the climate crisis. Children’s concerns in relation to the climate crisis suggest that agency and empowerment are spurred through their resistance towards these vulnerabilities.

This article analyses the gendered nature of teachers’ views on schools and security.Current research on security emphasizes masculinity and the absence of femininity inrelation to the security field – traditionally dominated by the military and emergencyrescue services. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the areas of society that arenew to the security field. Schools, pupils and teachers are gendered in many ways. Whathappens when security is added to this nexus? Existing, limited research suggests thatthis relationship may be both complicated and gendered. A qualitative content analysisis conducted based on interviews with teachers and principals from two municipalitiesin Sweden. It shows that teachers hold gendered views of their roles as security actors;of pupils in relation to security, as subjects of risks and sources of threats; and ofexternal security threats. Men are embodied as positive or negative actors, whereaswomen are embodied mostly as powerless actors. Teachers give voice to a discoursefocused on everyday insecurities. This is important, as the role of teachers (in particularwomen) as promoters of democratic citizens risks becoming undermined, and individualperspectives of security risk becoming replaced by national perspectives.

The Corona pandemic has, in addition to human suffering, resulted in long-term stress for many organizations and managers. This article summarizes some knowledge gained in previous crises with a focus on leadership. A stress psychological perspective is used as point of departure. At the individual level of managers, decision making models such as rational optimizing and recognition-primed decision making are discussed. A conclusion is that good enough is good in enough in acute stressful situations. Moral dilemmas among healthcare personnel are mentioned, in particular, the forced need for doctors still under training to make independent decisions at intensive care units and covid-19 departments. Leaders’ social skills are emphasized when inter-organizational collaboration is required. At the organizational level the following aspects are discussed: leaders’ containing ability, mission command, boundary spanners and the balance between structure and freedom of action.

Purpose

This paper aims to systematically review the extant research on social psychological aspects of civil-military inter-organizational collaboration, particularly in a total defense context.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic scoping studies review was performed. Peer-reviewed articles were searched in PsycInfo and Sociological Abstracts. Inclusion criteria were met by 25 articles.

Findings

Four higher-order categories with underpinning categories were derived in the analysis. They were modeled as follows: antecedent conditions affect, informal processes and practical efforts, which, in turn, affect inter-organizational trust and collaboration. These higher-order categories are all influenced by formal organizational aspects and the society in which they are found.

Research limitations/implications

The existing literature covering the chosen study focus is limited. Further studies are needed and the presented model can serve as a road map. Practical implications A series of questions derived from the categories of the model is presented. The questions are included as a tool for practical reflection for collaborating actors in common education, training or exercise settings or in after-action reviews.

Originality/value

The focus on social psychological aspects of civil-military inter-organizational collaboration, particularly in a total defense context, is new. The suggested relationship between superior themes adds knowledge to a research field dominated by sociological and political science approaches.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to compare the self-rated leadership behaviors, leadership-related competencies and results of the leadership of younger, mid-aged and older leaders; and second to compare these aspects among younger leaders in different kinds of the work environment and between men and women. 

Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected using the developmental leadership questionnaire from a sample of Swedish leadership course participants (N = 7,743). 

Findings – The results showed that the younger group of leaders (29 years old or younger n = 539), rated themselves more negatively than the mid-aged (30–50 years, n = 5,208) and older (51 years or older, n = 1,996) leaders. Analysis of the group of younger leaders showed that those working in the private sector scored most favorably. The gender comparison revealed that young male leaders scored higher on negative conventional (transactional) and destructive leadership behaviors. A logistic regression analysis of the younger group showed that social competence, developmental leadership and destructive leadership (negative) influenced self-rated results of leadership. 

Research limitations/implications – The study is based on leaders’ self-ratings only. 

Practical implications – The results can be used in leadership development contexts and in individualized coaching or mentoring programs. 

Originality/value – The results have new implications for leadership theory related to self-confidence, stereotypes, selection and organizational culture.

Drawing on previous research, two hypotheses were tested: (1) the higher the frequency of daily uplifts and use of functional coping strategies, and the lower the frequency of daily hassles and use of dysfunctional coping strategies, the lower the prevalence of stress‐related symptoms will be, and vice versa; and (2) the direct relationship between the personality dimension emotional stability and stress‐related symptoms, will be moderated by daily hassles, daily uplifts and coping processes. A quantitative test of a qualitatively developed model was performed. A questionnaire was sent to all Swedish military veterans who had served in the period 2011–2015 and 1859 individuals (1,614 men and 199 women, 46 individuals did not mark gender) responded (40.5% total response rate). All analyses were made separately for men and women. Comparisons between theoretically favorable and unfavorable profiles across the model variables, daily uplifts, daily hassles, functional coping and dysfunctional coping (based on a cluster analysis), showed considerable differences regarding the prevalence of stress‐related symptoms as predicted by the model and supporting the first hypothesis. Regression and moderation analyses yielded limited support for the second hypothesis. As predicted, female veterans reported a higher frequency of physical, emotional and cognitive stress‐related symptoms than male veterans. The main conclusion is that the theoretical model stood up well when empirically tested and offers a promising approach to future studies on everyday stress and health. The results contribute with new knowledge of military veterans compared to the main stream PTSD, depression and drug abuse‐oriented studies.

The aim was to examine hair cortisol levels and self-reported stress amongst conscripts during their basic military training, and how they are related to four types of theory-derived determinants. The following prediction was made: lower levels of perceived stress and hair cortisol will be associated with: (1) higher levels of emotional stability (the individual nonmilitary aspect); (2) a lower degree of private life problems (the contextual nonmilitary aspect); (3) more positive attitudes toward the military, higher engagement in military service, and higher adaptability to military conditions (the individual-military aspect); and (4) stronger group cohesion and better leadership (the contextual-military aspect). The sample consisted of a total of 107 male Lithuanian conscripts. Assessments were made at the beginning of their basic military training, in the middle, and at the end. Established instruments were used on all self-reported scales. Hair cortisol levels were established through analyses of hair samples. Low to moderate levels of stress were found throughout the basic training period regarding perceived stress levels. Hair cortisol levels were mainly unrelated to the self-rating scales. Regarding perceived stress, the prediction was fully confirmed. The future value of the theoretical model is discussed.

The Armed Forces are one of Sweden’sSweden largest governmental organizations and at the same time one of Sweden’s most genderGender-segregated and male-dominated workplaces. Recruiting more women into the organization is one of the organization’s main goals for personnel planning, along with providing them with more opportunities for career developmentCareer development. This study sought a deeper understanding of the power resourcesPower resources that can be identified and which are used by female military personnel within the armed forces. A total of 16 women were interviewed and their ranks ranged from soldier/sailor to general/admiral. The qualitative analysis of the interviews shows that female military personnel use power resources to adapt to the male-dominated organization’s demands and to even out perceived asymmetric power relationships in their daily professional work. The power resources can be explained using four themes: structural power resources, cultural and social power resourcesSocial power resources, emotional power resources, and minority perspective as a power resource. More female military personnel would have increased the task effectiveness of the military organization. To make that possible, the Swedish Armed ForcesSwedish Armed Forces would have to discuss the prevailing masculinity norm, the meaning of being a man, and the gains of a more gender-equal organization.