<p>Opinions on what is best way to provide more people in low income countries with adequate water and sanitation services have changed over time. A recent policy paradigm suggests that private companies should be involved in WSS service provision to improve the situation for those in need.</p><p>This study looks at how issues of water supply and sanitation (WSS) have been confronted by the international donor community and how strategies to improve performance in this sector have changed from the early 1970’s up until today. The evolution of ideas and strategies are linked to overall development policies in order to better understand the forces that have shaped policy redirections in the sector. In addition, the case study of Ghana gives a preliminary picture of how donor policies have been played out in a national context. The concept of problem frames is used as an analytical tool in order to highlight how ideas change and replace each other but also to illustrate how problem frames are becoming more inclusive as new knowledge and experiences are gained.</p><p>The study finds that while hardware knowledge such as engineering skills were put at the forefront to begin with, software matters such as capacity building and appropriate management of the sector gained increased attention with time. As the water challenge becomes increasingly framed as a matter of managing scarcity, the economic value of water is emphasized and private sector participation is promoted on a larger scale. With time the cross sectoral nature of the WSS issue gains increased attention as its overall impact on poverty reduction and environmental sustainability is emphasized. This holistic approach also contributes to an increased emphasis on sanitation as important to sustainable WSS systems and services.</p><p>The case study of Ghana shows that all in all, institutional change within the Ghanaian WSS sector during the post independence era, mirror international policy trends. Power is moving out from the state in different directions and responsibilities are gradually hived off from the central organization to local authorities or other agencies working on specific issues. Subsidies on water tariffs are abolished and at the end of the period the private sector is also invited to act in the sector. However, recent trends indicate that as democracy deepens and civil society is growing stronger this also effects policy development in the Ghanaian WSS sector.</p>

Die Politikfeldanalyse der belgischen Frauenförderpolitik für die Privatwirtschaft wird anhand eines Analyserasters für Gleichstellungspolitik durchgeführt. Nach einer Einführung in das politische System Belgiens und die gesellschaftspolitischen Bedingungen für Gleichstellungspolitik wird die staatliche Initivative für Gleichstellung in der Privatwirtschaft dargestellt. Die Analyse der Policy bezieht die relevanten politischen, verwaltungstechnischen und gesellschaftlichen Faktoren ein und nutzt Analyseinstrumente der Verwaltungswissenschaft und der feministischen Politikwissenschaft. / The Belgian equal opportunities policy for women in the private sector is analysed with an analytical framework useful for assessing gender equality policies. The text comprehends an introduction into the Belgian political system and the societal conditions for equal opportunity policies. The public policy for gender equality in the private sector is analysed borrowing analytical methods from Public Administration and feminist research on gender and the state.

This thesis analyses the development of urban water supply and sanitation services in Ghana from 1909 to 2005.  Special focus is put on institutional arrangements with regard to networked, large scale and centrally managed water and sewerage services. The national and international historical context is highlighted as a way to understand policy redirections in the sector. Further on, the concept of frames is used as an analytical tool in order to put light on the assumptions, arguments and reasons behind institutional reforms. The thesis finds that it was not until the water and sanitation challenge was framed from a productivity perspective, as opposed to a pure humanitarian “health frame”, that funds were released for investments in WSS infrastructure. To begin with, development strategies were largely focussed on “filling the gaps” in terms of manpower, technical and financial resources. As the water challenge was increasingly framed as a matter of managing scarcity, a new thinking gradually emerged which emphasized entrepreneurship, business mindedness and management skills as a way to achieve more efficiency within the sector. This development was also paralleled by a shift in the favoured organisational structure from an extremely centralised state utility model to a gradual focus on decentralisation and unbundling of the sector. Here a strong focus was put on private sector participation in urban water supply whereas the non-commercially viable task of sewerage development was decentralised to local authorities. The study finds that formal institutional change in the sector has been largely donor driven. However, the privatisation element of the recent urban water sector reform did not go unquestioned and a strong opposition movement concerned with the possible negative effects of privatisation was formed. Eventually the initial lease arrangement was transformed into a management contract where its signing was brought to closure in 2005. Besides changing frames strong elements of continuity in the urban water supply and sanitation sector development in Ghana are identified. Historical evidence demonstrate that urban water delivery was a highly political issue in Ghana already during colonial times which, just as today, was closely connected to the framing of water as independence and national integrity. The issue of finance and pricing has remained a constant concern and so the debate cannot be categorized as a novel issue that solely emanates from neo-liberal political trends during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The thesis argues that a legacy of a colonial frame tends to continue normalising inequalities in access and consumption.  Continuity can also be found in a neglect of the issue of sanitation which persistently lags behind the development of water distribution. The dissertation concludes that the perceived space for policy alternatives in Ghanaian WSS sector development has been largely constrained by the historical context and contemporary development theories. Therefore, to constantly strive towards a frame reflective policy dialogue is strongly encouraged as a way for policy planners and decision makers to make well informed decisions for the future.

This essay deals with the social services cooperation with the private sector relating to foster care. The aim was to examine whether and what the causes may be that the social service transfer tasks of authority to private actors. Furthermore, we have examined and discussed if such a working procedure can lead to consequences for the individual child and how / if the children's legal security is affected. Survey methodology is qualitative in nature where we conducted semi-structured interviews with three persons who work in different ways to be involved in work with a foster family. We have also made use of questionnaires sent to social workers around the country. The result has been interpreted on the basis inter alia, legal texts, legislative history, and two theories which have their origin in organization theory. Our results show that some municipalities do not feel that they have the resources to investigate the family. Furthermore, it appears that the cooperation of the social services have with the private sectors has declined, perhaps because of clearer legislation of 2008, or because of the sharp criticism that they received from the provincial government. Our study also shows that some municipalities still leaves management tasks to the private sector, without legal basis. Since there is no control over who is inquiring the family a result of this can be that a child is growing up in unsuitable environments, which in itself can affect the rule of law.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

With rapid urbanization and population growth in urban areas, urban development is necessary and urgent. However, with tight land supply from expropriating new farmland, redeveloping urban villages at central urban area would be full of potential. Basically, an urban village is the byproduct of rapid urbanization, with collective-owned non-agricultural use land surrounded by a state-owned urban area. Because of the particular land ownership structure in urban villages, conventional urban redevelopment methods are not suitable for the redevelopment of urban villages, public-private partnerships had been introduced into urban redevelopment to integrate the power and resources of private sector into the process of urban redevelopment with a legal contract, to form a collaboration between public and private sections, and to share the profits and benefits. A study on such partnerships in the redevelopment of urban villages could be instructive and enlightening for the future redevelopment of rural non-agricultural land in China. The major aim of the research is to discover the conditions under which partnerships for the redevelopment of urban villages could be established in China. The redevelopment of three urban villages in Shenzhen, namely the villages of Yunong, Gangxia and Huanggang, were thoroughly studied. A research framework has been established by examining the power relations of such partnerships and has been tailored to the scenario of redevelopment of urban village in China. The partnership synergy between local government, urban village communities and private developers, and role conflicts of each participants have been analyzed by considering the impact factors inherent in the institutional context of municipal government and the cultural context of urban villages in Shenzhen. These factors affect the composition, the process and the outcome of partnership in redevelopment of urban villages. The study found that because institutional support and land resource are exclusively and irreplaceably provided by the local government and the urban village, local government with systematic power is the primary partner who influences the partnership in redevelopment of urban villages the most. The local government arranges and executes the redevelopment timetable, decides the objective of redevelopment and devises rules of redistributing redevelopment profits. Under some conditions like better location, larger size and well-organization and efficient leadership, the secondary dominator namely village community becomes more important on the power balance of partnership. Private developer has no unique advantage in the partnership and could only be the follower of other two partners. Case studies from different cities with diversified institutional and cultural context are expected to be included into the future research areas. / published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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Europos Sąjungos finansų politika pagal savo prigimtį, įgyvendinimo procesą ir ateities tendencijas yra labai reikšminga Europos Sąjungos bendros ir finansų rinkos integracijos ir efektyvaus veikimo atžvilgių. Lietuva, vadovaudamasi Europos Sąjungos finansų politikos gairėmis ir reikalavimais, padarė didelę pažangą siekdama integruotis į Europos Sąjungos bendrą finansų rinką ir sudarė sąlygas tobulėti valstybės privataus finansų sektoriaus rinkai ir viešų finansų sistemai bei užtikrinti darnų ekonomikos augimą. Jeigu ateityje Europos Sąjungos finansų politika bus vykdoma kryptingai, galima tikėtis, jog bus sukurta konkurencingiausia ir dinamiškiausia ekonomika pasaulyje, turinti autentišką bendrą rinką, kurios egzistavimui reikalinga bendra valiuta norint garantuoti, jog bendra rinka turės potencialą augti bei klestėti. / The European Union’s finance policy, due to its nature, process of implementation and future tendencies, is of high importance in respect of the integration of European Union’s common and finance market and effective operation. Lithuania, following the requirements and milestones of the European Union’s finance policy, made a huge progress seeking for the integration into the common finance market of the European Union, moreover, Lithuania capacitated the market of public finance sector and the system of public finance to improve and ensured harmonious growth of the economy. If the European Union’s finance policy is implemented purposefully in the future, we may expect that the most competent and the most dynamic world’s economy, having the authentic common market and common currency, which is necessary for its existence, in order to guarantee that the common market will have the potential to grow and to flourish, will be created.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.