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This thesis describes research into the use of external design expertise by client bodies from a group of developing countries known as Newly Industrialised Countries (NICs). It explores the reasons for using design consultancy companies by NIC clients with particular reference to the operations of British automotive design consultancies. The study was carried outin two stages. The first stage was of an exploratory nature and consisted of a postal survey of 56 British design consultancy companies specialised in product design, and interviews of seven consultants which were chosen from the respondents of the postal survey. As vehicle design and development projects were found to represent a major part of the consultancies' work in NICs, the second stage of the study focused on the automotive industry. Case studies were carried out in four British design consultancies selected from the combined findings of the initial study and a focused literature survey on the automotive industry. The case studies focused on selected vehicle design and development projects as a device to find out about the contribution of design consultancies in the development of firm-level capabilities. The study has identified the use of design consultancy companies as one of the formal technology acquisition mechanisms for NIC clients. Design consultancies provide an alternative mechanism to other technology transfer mechanisms for companies wanting to establish indigenous product design and development capabilities. In addition, an NIC company producing as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), can receive help in creating its independent product development capacity from design consultancies. Finally, for aspiring NIC companies which aim at entering into the world markets with own brand vehicles, independent consultancies can provide a short-cut in putting together a product of the right quality. A typology of NIC clients is developed. According to this typology, NIC clients suffer from a number of scarcities to varying degrees; for these clients, the reasons why they use design consultancy companies are identified. While some of the reasons appear to be NIC and automotive industry specific, others are applicable to organisations from developed countries and NICs alike representing the general reasoning behind making use of design consultancies. Exporting to the advanced markets was found to be the dominant stimulating factor of design consultancy use by NIC producers in the context of the automotive industry. The study has revealed that design consultancies have a role as agents of learning for NIC clients. The consultancy role changes from 'provider of technology as a package' to 'problem fixer', as the client NIC companies progress in the process of acquiring indigenous capabilities. The findings of the study have also revealed that design consultancies play various roles as marketing agents for exporting NIC companies. These roles are determined by the level of development of client capabilities in terms of export. For example, at an advanced level, design consultancies can be effective in overcoming barriers caused by the lack of positive brand name and country image. In the light of the major findings of the study, a five stage conceptual model is built in the context of the automotive industry. This model identifies patterns of design consultancy use which vary according to the different stages in the development of firm-level capabilities in technology, marketing and design.

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The thesis examines three case studies of the Greek feminist and ecological movements during the period: 1975-1992. As the most appropriate theoretical framework for the analysis of those case studies, 'new social movement theory' is selected. However, the Greek case studies represent significant variations in regard to the 'ideal type' of new social movements as depicted in the literature. These differences originate to a certain degree from Greek new social movements' different cultural and political environment. The Greek social movements had to face a strong statocratic and partocratic society, where there was lack of an autonomous social movement sector. This led to the formation of semi-autonomous, party-affiliated social movement organisations. Moreover, the Greek political culture has been rooted on two different geopolitical visions. The one has pointed to a more traditionally oriented, inward looking political orientation hostile to Western values and the institutional arrangements of modernity. The other has been a modernising, outward looking orientation, adopting Western institutions and values. The stand of the Greek new social movements towards this open question of modernisation has been variable. Some social movement organisations have underlined the need for empowering national autonomy and have, therefore, been positively predisposed towards the state and the political parties as a significant means for achieving this goal. Others have eschewed the question altogether, focusing only on the local and international level with significant, however, political cost. Another factor, which has influenced the identity of the Greek new social movements, has been the tradition of the Left, which has favoured grand-narratives based on humanism and posing a dichotomy between 'general' and 'particular' struggles. Summing up, the social movements presented show marked variations in comparison with the ideal-typical type. They were strongly influenced by: statocracy and patrocracy, the open question of modernisation, and the political culture of the Left.

The universal two-child policy was introduced by the central government of China in 2016 to respond to the country’s deteriorating population problems, but it was soon replaced by a three-child policy in 2021 given that it failed to continuously boost fertility in Chinese society. This dissertation empirically investigates the implementation of universal two-child policy in three Chinese major cities. Based on the data collected through semi-structured interviews with leaders of local family planning agencies, it finds that local officials are primarily devoted to coping with the discontent of the bereaved single-child parents (shidu families), which is an unexpected consequence of the historical one-child policy, rather than working on the tasks regarding birth encouragement. The dissertation suggests understanding the implementation of China’s population policy within the framework of both historical and rational choice institutionalism. The target responsibility system as an effective tool of the central authority drives local agents to fix their attention at tasks that have larger impact on their career. The shifted focus in the implementation of the universal two-child policy is a result of local officials’ emphasis on the task of maintaining social stability. Shidu families are deemed as a salient threat to social order because their discontent with the state support has incurred continuous petitions at both the national and local level, which would severely undermine local officials’ career advancement. However, in the meantime, stability maintenance is found to have become alienated as reflected by the rising costs and that it replaced birth support to be the focus of local family planning agents in the universal two-child policy era. Since the conflict between the shidu group and the state is unlikely to be resolved, the future population policy design and enforcement will continue to be constrained by the shidu problem. / Die Zwei-Kind-Politik wurde 2016 von der chinesischen Zentralregierung als Reaktion auf die sich verschlechternden Bevölkerungsprobleme des Landes eingeführt, aber 2021 durch eine Drei-Kind-Politik ersetzt, da sie die Fruchtbarkeitsrate der chinesischen Gesellschaft nicht kontinuierlich steigern konnte. Diese Dissertation untersucht empirisch die Durchführung der Zwei-Kind-Politik in drei chinesischen Großstädten. Basierend auf den Daten, die durch halbstrukturierte Interviews mit Leitern lokaler Familienplanungsagenturen gesammelt wurden, stellt es fest, dass lokale Beamte sich in erster Linie der Bewältigung der Unzufriedenheit der hinterbliebenen Ein-Kind-Familien (Shidu-Familien) widmen, anstatt die Aufgaben der Geburtenförderung zu bearbeiten. Diese Dissertation schlägt vor, die Durchführung der chinesischen Bevölkerungspolitik sowohl im Rahmen des historischen als auch des Rational-Choice-Institutionalismus zu verstehen. Das System der Zielverantwortung als wirksames Instrument der zentralen Behörde treibt die lokalen Agenten dazu, ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf Aufgaben zu richten, die einen größeren Einfluss auf ihre Karriere haben. Der verschobene Fokus bei der Durchführung der Zwei-Kind-Politik ist ein Ergebnis der Betonung der Aufrechterhaltung der sozialen Stabilität bei lokalen Beamten. Shidu-Familien sind als eine seriöse Bedrohung für die soziale Stabilität betrachted geworden, da ihre Unzufriedenheit mit der staatlichen Unterstützung nicht nur zu ständigen Petitionen auf nationaler und lokaler Ebene geführt hat, als auch den beruflichen Aufstieg lokaler Beamter ernsthaft untergraben würde. Inzwischen hat sich jedoch herausgestellt, dass die Aufrechterhaltung der sozialen Stabilität, was sich in den steigenden Kosten widerspiegelt, entfremdet wurde und die Geburtsförderung als der Arbeitsschwerpunk lokaler Familienplanungsbehörden in der Ära der Zwei-Kind-Politik ersetzt hat. Da es unwahrscheinlich ist, dass der Konflikt zwischen der Shidu-Gruppe und dem Staat gelöst wird, wird die zukünftige Gestaltung und Durchsetzung der Bevölkerungspolitik weiterhin durch das Shidu-Problem eingeschränkt.