Causality and Effect Evaluation within Public Administration
ECTS: 10. Level: Master. Date: 5-30 August. Venue: Aarhus
Effect evaluations are becoming increasingly popular within public administration. The aim of these studies is to provide insights into how public performance can be improved by answering questions such as “Do higher motivation among employee lead to higher performance?” or “Do manager type X do better than manager type Z?”. As these studies often imply policy recommendations, e.g. do X instead of Z, it is essential to avoid mistaking accidental association with causality. The aim of this seminar is to enable students to assess the quality of existing effect evaluations within public administration and to set up their own empirical effect analysis. Course offered by Department of Political Science. Course offered by Department of Political Science. Course description. 
Lecturer: Maria Falk Mikkelsen, Aarhus University

Citizens’ Perceptions of Public Services
ECTS: 10. Level: Master. Date: 5-23 August. Venue: Aarhus
The course introduces students to theoretical perspectives about citizens’ perceptions of public services. Among the theoretical perspectives that we will touch upon are voter and performance information, fiscal illusions, and various accounts on citizen satisfaction. We will discuss whether citizens’ assessments of public services are based on valid knowledge, to what extent their perceptions can be influenced if they are presented to new and valid information about performance and costs, and under what conditions a valid estimate of the quality of public services can be obtained by using citizen satisfaction surveys. Course offered by Department of Political Science. Course description. 
Lecturer: Martin Bækgaard, Aarhus University

The Politics of Identity and Recognition
ECTS: 10. Level: Master. Date: 5-30 August (Oral exam included). Venue: Aarhus
Almost every Western society can be characterized by cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity. This diversity has given rise to a number of identity and recognition political problems, which the seminar will address through readings and discussions of key political theoretical texts. The key questions are how to achieve the most adequate understanding of relations between the concepts of distributive justice, equality, state neutrality, recognition, culture, collective identity and group rights, and how, in light of our understanding of these concepts, we should deal with a number of current political issues. Course offered by Department of Political Science. Course description.
Lecturer: Rasmus Sommer Hansen, Aarhus University