While many significant studies have been made of small firms from economic, business and sociological perspectives, the bulk of the work to date has concentrated upon the male-owned enterprise. The role of women as owner/managers and employers has been largely neglected as an area of serious academic study despite the fact that greater numbers of women are now choosing self-employment. L'article abordera tout d'abord les rapports conceptuels qui existent entre Ie sexe des étudiants et les études entreprises en vue d'un emploi, puis il traitera, dans cette même perspective, de certains aspects significatifs que les chercheurs ont noté parmi les femmes établies à leur compte et enfin il identifiera les points qui devront être sujets d'étude à l'avenir. / This paper was prepared with the support of the Scottish Enterprise Foundation's M. Sc. in Entrepreneurial Studies program, and the Foundation's Research division.

Trots den ostabila lönen som oftast utgörs i form av provision, väljer många att arbeta som fastighetsmäklare. Statistiken visar att antalet fastighetsmäklare ökar för varje år som går och inte en enda gång under dessa år visar det motsatsen. I och med det riktar sig studien mot om det är belöningssystem som motiverar fastighetsmäklare i slutändan eftersom de fortsätter vara verksamma inom branschen. Det finns två typer av belöningar som vi kan utgå ifrån, dessa är finansiella och icke-finansiella belöningar. Finansiella belöningar består av provision, lön och olika typer av förmåner samtidigt som de icke-finansiella innebär uppskattning, beröm eller kundnöjdhet. Motivation är dock lite mer svår tolkad eftersom det är ett bredare begrepp, men det kan ses som något som driver en individ till att prestera eller utföra något. I och med det finns det mycket olika faktorer som skulle kunna påverka en fastighetsmäklares motivation och därför vill vi i denna studie ta reda på om belöningssystem verkligen håller som grund för motivationen. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad det är som motiverar fastighetsmäklare i sitt arbete eftersom deras lön främst är provisionsbaserad. Vi vill även undersöka om det finns andra belöningar utöver provisionen som får en mäklare att vilja fortsätta vara verksam inom branschen eftersom belöningssystem innefattar både finansiell och icke- finansiell belöning. Kvalitativ undersökningsmetod har använts på tre olika fastighetsbyråer, där intervjupersonerna består av tre chefer, en på varje fastighetsbyrå samt sju aktiva fastighetsmäklare. Genom att tillämpa tre teorier om motivation, har arbetet fått en bra grund för hur analysen sedan utformat sig. De tre teorierna som uppsatsen tar upp är Maslows behovshierarki, McClellands behovsteori och Herzbergs tvåfaktorteori. Dessa utgör en stabil grund för våra analyser som vi har tagit fram genom att tillämpa empirin där fastighetsmäklarna menar att båda belöningarna motiverar, men där en utav dem har en större påverkan. Det som framkommit av denna studie är att fastighetsmäklare motiveras framförallt av sin provision eftersom det är den enda lönen de får. Dock finns det andra icke- finansiella faktorer som kan påverka så som nöjda kunder, men i slutändan går det inte att jämföras med pengarna då det är den största drivande faktorn.

From the 1820s an ever present feature of most British ports has been the voluntary societies, little- studied before, offering spiritual and social welfare support to serving seafarers. The perspective taken in this study is that although there were numerous individual societies voluntary effort for seafarers constitutes a single movement. The continued existence of many societies well into the twentieth century suggests that the movement should be examined longitudinally in order to assess its contribution in relation to the changing context in which such welfare operated. To establish the internal operations of seamen's missions and. sailors' homes. the records of a selprtirnn nflarge and small societies quantifiable data as well as Particular attention has been target population - seafarers using contemporary sources; using public records, and to changing religious context has that of of social policy, a welfare state. have been examined for other forms of evidence. paid to the nature of the - and the situation in port, to involvement of the State the industrial context. The been examined closely, as has s it progressed towards the The study reveals the considerable voluntary effort which contributed to the movement, confirming the wide coverage of British ports which was achieved and the extent to which it was able to match the growing numbers of seafarers. The product of evangelical interest in the well-being of others, there was particular concern for rescuing the seafarer from the evils of port districts, especially crimping. Though to many seafarers. marginal in religious terms, seafarers' charities were more significant in social terms as the sole providers of social support throughout much of the period of this study. Although some local societies survived to the 1970s, by the 1890s the movement had changed from a mass of local societies to domination by the branch networks of a few national societies. Apart from control of seafaring employment, State intervention was not significant in seafaring welfare except in the 1940s, while the role of the shipping industry was small. The decline of the movement in Britain was linked with the effects of inflation, changing patterns of seafaring and the decline of the British shipping industry. In the broader religious and social welfare contexts, seamen's missions and homes were typical products of the nineteenth century and in their evolution to 1970 paralleled closely developments in religion and social welfare in Britain.

Sammanfattning Titel: Lönesystemens påverkan på fastighetsmäklare - en studie inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen. Författare: Eve-Linn och Nilsson Sanna Mattsson Handledare: Sofia Molander Problemformulering: "Påverkas fastighetsmäklare av provisionsbaserad lön?" "Påverkar provision mäklarens förmåga att leverera god kvalitet på sin tjänst?" "Påverkar provisionen konkurrensen och arbetsmiljön på arbetsplatsen?" Syfte: Syftet med vår studie är att beskriva om provision påverkar fastighetsmäklares arbetssituation och arbetsmiljö. Sammanfattning: För att besvara vårt syfte har vi i teorikapitlet presenterat relevanta teorier som ligger till grund för denna studie. Bland annat presenteras de vanligaste lönesystemen för fastighetsmäklare idag, definitionen av tjänstekvalitet, etiska svårigheter hos säljyrken, hur en god arbetsmiljö definieras och vad som krävs för att den ska vara god. Resultatet grundar sig i en enkätundersökning som skickats ut till aktiva fastighetsmäklare runt om i Sverige, där har det ställts frågor angående mäklarnas egen uppfattning om lönesystem och dess påverkan på deras yrkesliv. I undersökningen framkom att många är missnöjda med sin provisionsbaserade lön då det skapar stora osäkerheter. Det visade sig även att majoriteten av de svarande anser att lönesystemet uppmuntrar till oetiska handlingar, försämrad kvalitet och stress. Stor andel respondenter beskrev också att provisionslön leder till sämre arbetsmiljö och egoistiskt beteende. Nyckelord: Provision, lönesystem, tjänstekvalitet, fastighetsmäklare / Abstract Title: Payroll systems impact on real estate agents - A study in the real estate industry Authors: Eve-Linn Nilsson and Sanna Mattsson Supervisor: Sofia Molander Question formulation: "Do commission effects real estate agents?" "Do commission affects the agents ability to deliver high quality service?" "Do commission affect the competition between the agents and their working environment?" Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe if commission affects real estate agents, their working situation and working environment. Summary: The theory chapter presents relevant theories as the base to this study, but also to help us answer the purpose of this study. Among other things, the most common payroll systems for a real estate agent will be presented, the definition of service quality, ethical problems in sales occupations and how to define a good work environment is also included in this study. The result is based on a questionnaire sent out to active real estate agents in Sweden. The questionnaire contains questions regarding real estate agents own perception of salary system and its impact on their professional life. The survey found that many real estate agents are unhappy with their commission-based salary as it creates large uncertainties. It was also found that the majority of respondents feel that the payroll system encourages unethical acts, deteriorating quality and stress. Large proportion of respondents also describes that the commission salary leads to poorer working conditions and egoistic behaviour. Keywords: Commission, payroll system, service quality, real estate agent

Two specific shifts have occurred in the sectoral bases of welfare provision in the UK since the last war. The first involved in establishment of collective state provision whilst the second has involved a significant expansion of owner occupation. These developments have been interpreted at various times as signifying substantial changes in the nature of British society, particularly in the way that they are alleged to have attenuated class based social divisions and patterns of consciousness. In contemporary debates, owner occupation is alleged to have generated a conservative domestic oriented attitudinal disposition among manual households. Further, such households are held to be profoundly disaffected from state welfare as a result of their experiences as clients in this sector. The Plymouth study, which is reported below, was concerned with public attitudes to welfare. More specifically, its aim was to generate a data base which would enable the relative significance of sectoral patterns of welfare and household class as factors which influence the pattern of public attitudes to issues in social policy to be assessed. This aim was implemented by administering a structured questionnaire to a sample of 150 households in Plymouth. Subsequent empirical and conceptual analyses generated three conclusions. First, people are dissatisfied with the experience of state welfare but it is the distributive impact of welfare which is of the greatest significance in the calculations of the average household. Second, sectoral patterns of welfare do influence public perceptions of issues in social policy, but in a modest and specific way. Third, household class remains the most significant determinant of access to welfare, public or private, and because of this, the most significant influence on the pattern of public attitudes to welfare.

No description available.

The evolution of welfare feeding in the United Kingdom is investigated within the framework of the development of the Welfare State. Welfare feeding, including the nutritional role of meals, is then evaluated looking at two examples of welfare provision, feeding in schools as an example of provision for the young and meals-on-wheels as an example of provision for the elderly. The nutritional role of both school meals and meals-on-wheels are considered in the light of nutritional requirements, contemporary dietary views and the feeding behaviour of the young and elderly. Whilst research suggests that school meals make a more significant contribution to the diet than alternative sources of lunch there is evidence that the nutritional value of both school meals and meals-on-wheels are variable and that in some cases they have not provided expected levels of nutrients. There are thus clear requirements for some form of nutritional standards for both school meals and meals-on-wheels. The uptake of school meals is a function of pupils perceptions of lunchtime feeding. An attitude based approach using a Likert Scale was developed to identify what children perceive as important in the school feeding environment. A core group of problem areas were identified as relevant for all groups of pupils and more specific factors were identified for each sub-group. It was established that the attitude measurement tool was appropriate in the prediction of feeding behaviour. The transportation of meals was investigated in terms of the requirements of the meals-on-wheels service. Alternative delivery systems were evaluated and those most appropriate to the meals-on-wheels service were identified. Insulated systems are appropriate for deliveries of up to 90 minutes whilst the best of the heated delivery systems are appropriate for up to 3.5 hours.

In recent years, there has been concern about the impact of work on family life, particularly the effect that current working patterns may have on food behaviour (food provision, food consumption and eating patterns) within the home. Increased female employment and long working hours may affect family functioning though little has been done to model any association. There is evidence of less food preparation within the home, increased consumption of convenience products and fragmented meal times. In addition lack of time, irregular working hours and busy lifestyle have been identified as barriers to adopting a healthier diet Lappalainen et al (1998); suggesting those elements of work and time may also determine the relative healthiness of the diet. The effect this may have on future generations is unknown, but if less time is spent in food related activities within the home then there may be fewer opportunities for children to gain practical food knowledge and skills. Time constraints, experienced because of work, may possibly be eased by the use of time saving strategies and products. The main food provider's practical food knowledge, attitude and cooking skills may ameliorate the impact of work on food behaviour. Whilst previous academic research has explored changing patterns of work and food consumption independently, this study is original in its attempt to combine these separate disciplines. The aim of this research was to develop, build and test a theoretical model for exploring the relationship between working patterns and food behaviour. Following a systematic review of the literature, a conceptual framework was built to identify the key dimensions of work, food behaviour and the factors that may influence it. This was used in the development of a postal survey instrument to measure and test the research hypotheses. The sample was made up of 642 households, with children aged between 8-10 years old, (a response rate of 22%). Data was established on household patterns of eating and working in terms of the critical dimensions identified. This included food behaviour (food provider behaviour, eating behaviour of the household, healthy eating profile, shopping and cooking behaviours) and working patterns (hours, job satisfaction and time factors). Statistical analysis of the data was completed; descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and principal components were used to establish valid conclusions about relationships and test hypotheses. The findings of the research revealed no direct association between the number of hours worked and household food behaviour; although working hours were associated with greater shared responsibility for food related tasks. This may have positive implications for working parents as the results suggest that work commitments do not automatically lead to deterioration in eating patterns with unhealthy food choices being made. An association was found between the nutrition knowledge, attitudes and skills of the main food provider and consumption of certain types of foods. The impact of work patterns on food behaviour therefore cannot simply be explained by the management and redistribution of time. Qualitative analysis reveals suggests coping strategies and the value placed on time for food and a healthy diet to be the main determinants of food behaviour. Knowledge, skills and attitudes may lead to the development of more effective coping strategies when dealing with work and home responsibilities. The implications of these, findings are discussed and recommendations are made for future work.

A great deal of educational, psychological, medical and social service expertise, time and money is devoted to a small population of children and young people who do not currently fit into mainstream education. This thesis seeks to identify areas of practice and policy that might lead to more effective multiagency provision and to more inclusive education. It looks at the provision for a group of KS2, KS3 and KS4 young people who have been excluded or removed from mainstream education for behavioural, emotional and/or social reasons. The research took place in one unit within a portfolio pupil referral unit (PRU) over several years. The method of research was through unstructured and semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and the records of case histories. Interviewees and respondents include arbitrarily chosen adults, young people in mainstream schools and young people already in other education settings. Teachers, education managers, psychologists and social work professionals were interviewed as well as parents or carers. Through this process, lines of communication, accountability, information giving and sharing were explored. The findings relate to communication between agencies and the possibilities for wider education policy. The networks for essential information sharing between professionals were not uniform and relied heavily on the personal rapport between individual professionals. Communication between the client group and service providers was determined by professional parameters and time allocations. The satisfaction of the client relied heavily on their preconceived ideas of outcome and service deliverer’s performance judged against those ideas. The variety of life experiences that contributed to the need for alternative provision identified the call for further consideration of how education is delivered rather than what should be taught.

This thesis has examined the problem of target under-achievement of the Public Low-Cost Housing Programme (pLCHP) in three Malaysian five-year development plans between 1976 and 1990. The study tested the "policy implementation" approaches and data were analysed by the combination of both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The study focused on: (a) the project's preparation and planning; (b) the projects' funding and resourcing; and, (c) the effect of inter-actions amongst agencies and actors at the local level. The study confirmed that there were associations between these factors and the programme's performance. Analyses on time taken to complete the projects' implementation process confirmed that there was no significant difference between the five-year plans. This implied that no improvement occurred despite attempts and measures to improve this programme. The project implementation process involved four stages: (a) preparation and planning; (b) resourcing; (c) construction; and, (d) completion. Delays occurred because the longest time was spent on the preparation and planning stage. Delays at this stage caused further delays in other stages. Target shortfall occurred because of implementation delays where the mean project completion time was more than fiveyears and a large number of projects were completed outside the intended plan. There were also relationships between the programme funding and its performance. Delays in implementing the projects caused cost increases and further cost increases when projects were not completed within the five-year plan. Delays in starting the construction rendered the amount of funding allocated no longer adequate to cover the total project cost. Correct estimation and proper project preparation were important for building houses within the five-year plan and within the funding provided. Inadequate funding was made to this programme and as a result the states had to meet project costs from their own funding. The project cost also increased as time elapsed from 1976 to 1990 during the three five-year planning periods. This study validated the "bottom up" perspective of program implementation where it confirmed that there was a relationship between the interactions of actors and agencies at the bottom and the programme performance.