More and more women from poor areas of the world are migrating to rich countries for domestic work. Given the increasing published research on their exploitation and ‘slavery,’ much policy action has been oriented towards their protection as victims. Far from protecting the livelihood needs of these migrant workers, however, this victim-based approach has instead resulted in legitimising the protection of rich countries’ borders. An emerging perspective underscoring migrant women’s agency is producing a counter-approach that fights for migrant workers’ rights: not as victims but as workers. Yet despite this important development in research and policy agendas, increasing inequality in the global economy and stringent immigration policies render a rights-based approach ineffective. From poor countries, and with very limited livelihood options, these migrant women choose overseas domestic work often at the expense of their human rights. As migrants, they are outsiders whose rights are superseded by the rights of the sovereign, receiving-state. How is it possible then, to protect the rights of these workers? This thesis employs Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum’s Capability Approach to evaluate the efficacy of these women’s agency in overcoming victimisation. This evaluation gives equal consideration to the victim and rights-based perspectives. It synthesises the Capability Approach with Anthony Giddens’ Structuration Theory in order to reconcile the polarised theories underlying the victim and rights-based perspectives - feminist structural theory and migration agency theory, respectively. In so doing, the study is able to refine the conceptualisation of agency from the highly ambiguous rights-based approach, to a more theoretically sound and feasible capability approach. The main hypothesis is that agency requires capability to successfully mediate victimisation; agency in itself is insufficient. The study draws on the experiences of Filipina overseas domestic workers in Paris and Hong Kong to test this hypothesis, and demonstrates how it is ‘capability’ that can turn the ‘slave’ into ‘the worker’, and protect ‘the worker’ from turning into a ‘slave.’

Background: In September 2001, in addition to their existing management of primary care pharmaceutical expenditure, PHARMAC, the New Zealand government�s Pharmaceutical Management Agency, was authorized to manage pharmaceutical expenditure in public hospitals.[1] In February 2002 PHARMAC launched a three-part Strategy, the National Hospital Pharmaceutical Strategy (NHPS), for this purpose.[2] The Strategy focused on Price Management (PM), the Assessment of New Medicines (ANM), and promoting Quality in the Use of Medicines (QUM). Major initiatives planned were: for PM, to negotiate new, national (as opposed to current, local) contracts for frequently used pharmaceuticals; for ANM, to provide economic assessments of new hospital medicines; and for QUM, to coordinate activities in hospitals. Aims: To assess the impact of each of the three parts of the National Hospital Pharmaceutical Strategy, and assess any impact of the Strategy�s new contracts on the availability of those medicines. Methods: Price Management was assessed in 2003, 2004 and 2005 using data from eleven selected hospitals to estimate savings for all 29 major hospitals, and by tracking hospital pharmaceutical expenditure from 2000 to 2006. For other aspects, cross-sectional surveys were administered to chief pharmacists at all hospitals employing a pharmacist; 30 hospitals in 2002, 29 in 2004. Surveys were undertaken in 2002 and 2004 to examine ANM and QUM activity in hospitals before and after the Strategy. Surveys were undertaken in 2004 and 2005 to examine any changes in the availability of medicines on new contracts, in hospitals. In 2005 a survey was undertaken of opinions on PHARMAC�s specially-developed pharmacoeconomic (PE) assessments. Results: PM results indicated that, by 2006, savings of $7.84-13.45m per annum (6-8%) had been made on hospital pharmaceutical expenditure, and growth in inpatient pharmaceutical expenditure appeared to slow for all types of hospitals in 2003/4. ANM surveys indicated that, by 2004, hospital new medicine assessment processes, predominantly formal, became more complex, more focused on cost-effectiveness, and the use of pharmacoeconomic information increased. The PE survey indicated that PHARMAC�s economic assessments of new medicines were mainly viewed favourably but were not sufficiently timely to be widely used in hospital formulary decisions. Availability surveys indicated that new contracts occasionally caused availability problems e.g. products that were "out of stock", or products considered inferior by respondents. Problems were usually resolved within weeks, but some took over a year. QUM activities showed little change between surveys, but during the period an independent organisation was formed by the District Health Boards of New Zealand, with representation from PHARMAC, to coordinate the Safe and Quality Use of Medicines in New Zealand. Conclusion: The National Hospital Pharmaceutical Strategy has been moderately successful in New Zealand. Savings of NZ$7.84-13.45m per annum were made, and growth in inpatient pharmaceutical expenditure appeared to slow in the year following the Strategy�s launch. The study has indicated some important short-term effects from the Strategy, but further research is needed to ensure that favourable effects are sustained and unfavourable effects kept to a minimum. Similar, centralized, multifaceted, approaches to managing pharmaceutical expenditure may be worth considering in other countries. 1. New Zealand Parliament. New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act. In: The Statutes of New Zealand 2000. No 91.Wellington: New Zealand Parliament; 2000 2. Pharmaceutical Management Agency. National Hospital Pharmaceutical Strategy Final Version. Wellington: PHARMAC; 2002

When A.C.T. secondary colleges opened in 1976 they constituted the first government senior secondary system in Australia to design their own curricula and assess their own students under the general direction of their own college boards and within broad system guidelines. An Accrediting Agency was set up to approve the courses of study devised by the colleges, determine assessment procedures, arrange certification of students' attainments and negotiate acceptance of students' qualifications with tertiary institutions and employers. All but one of Canberra's private schools teaching to senior secondary level also joined this accreditation system. This field study traces the genesis and development of the A.C.T. schools accreditation system, and looks in detail at its implementation at system and college level. After a brief introduction there is an outline of innovation principles relevant to the topic. To avoid repetition the literature review and the development of the accreditation system are treated together in Chapters 3 and A. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with the establishment and implementation of accreditation, with particular emphasis on the Accrediting Agency and Dickson College (used as an example of the system at college level). In 1979 a major review of the work of the Agency was undertaken by the Selby Smith Committee; Chapter 7 analyses the recommendations of that Committee. The final chapter of this study examines some of the major issues of accreditation, particularly its innovative aspects. Although this study analyses the accreditation system in some detail, it is intended to be descriptive rather than evaluative. Information was obtained mainly from primary sources: official reports, studies and papers written by participants, surveys conducted in the colleges, and original documents. Interviews were conducted but were used mainly as a check on written information.

本文主要的研究目的在於從代理理論來探討在實務上公務人員中立的情形，以瞭解在政府機關中主管與部屬在互動之下公務人員如何產生不中立的動機與行為。本文將「公務人員中立」區分為兩個層次：一個是屬於政策層次的中立，指的是公務人員制定政策時與政治人物之間的份際；另一個則是本文所關注的焦點—公務人員在執行職務時中立的層次，亦即公務人員依法行政與執法公正的態度不受個人或主管因素而有所影響。本文所採取的研究方法主要是個案分析與問卷研究。本研究試圖從個案分析來瞭解公務人員因個人因素而不中立的原因，然後從問卷研究來探討公務人員對機關中主管的看法以瞭解他們在執行職務時是否會受到主管的影響。 本文共分為六大部分。第一章為緒論，說明本文的研究目的與方法，並針對重要名詞進行界定；第二章主要是說明一般學理上所討論公務人員中立的政治層次，闡述了中立概念的重要性與緣起，進而說明中立的意涵與所引起的爭議；第三章則是探討公務人員日常執行職務層次的中立態度，即從公務人員的角度出發來瞭解他們與主管互動之下如何產生不中立的動機與行為。根據相關文獻的整理，本文建構了公務人員因個人因素而不中立的模式以及他們可能會因主管的獎懲權的使用而產生配合主管偏好執行職務的態度；在第四章中則以三個個案並進行分析來與上述公務人員因個人因素而不中立的模式進行驗證；在第五章中則以問卷研究的方式來瞭解公務人員執行職務時中立的態度是否會受到主管因素的影響；第六章則提出本文的結論與建議。 在針對我國公務人員中立進行研究之後，我們發現公務人員就個人因素而言，他們之所以採取不中立的行為是結合了不中立的意圖與不中立的機會二者的考量。當他們產生了不中立的意圖，即他們的動機明顯的與公共利益相抵觸，他們會進一步衡量是否有適當不中立的機會，即他們會考量「不中立被發現的可能性」與「不中立所能獲得利益的多寡」，從而決定他們是否要採取不中立的行為。就主管因素而言，本文發現台北市政府的公務人員的確會因主管的獎賞權與強制權的使用而影響他們執行職務時的態度。因此本文針對消除公務人員不中立的動機與減少公務人員不中立的機會提出建議。

The thesis examines the role of regional labour councils in local employment generation. It specifically analyses the case of an Australian regional labour council, the South Coast Labour Council (SCLC), between 1981 and 1996. The Illawarra region was the centre of SCLC activity. It was an industrialised region that experienced high levels of unemployment in the period. These were greater than the State and national averages, which reflected a geographical concentration of unemployment in certain regions in Australia. The SCLC attempted to address this issue, as it was part of the union structure that was specifically focused on the regional level and on regional concerns. The study argues that the SCLC developed a local employment generation strategy and it examines how and why this was adopted and pursued. It finds that the SCLC was well placed at the regional level and was well resourced with a capacity to influence the external environment through its utilisation of both political and industrial methods in a period of agreeable internal relations. The research identifies the development of its local employment generation strategy. Sometimes the SCLC pursued its strategy in a manner of ad hoc decision-making and muddling through, while at other times it involved characteristic and distinctive regular patterns. The thesis concludes by evaluating the SCLC�s strategy of local employment generation and by exploring the applicability of the general trade union literature on methods and strategy to regional labour councils.

<p>This study intends to find out how Swedish stock photography agencies use the Internet and specifically their websites as tools for building their brands.</p><p>Lately more and more specialized stock agencies are emerging and due to the digital revolution these agencies are almost solely Internet based. Thus online-branding tools and strategies are especially important in order to survive in this competitive market. Even though there are plenty of dot-com companies out there running an Internet-only stock agency is a rather new way of conducting business. Thus the author is of the opinion that there is a limited research on the subject.</p><p>A qualitative research method was chosen as the research problem demanded in-depth information in order to reveal the studied area. Three stock agencies, Folio, Miro and Picturo, were sampled and in order to obtain the necessary information telephone interviews were conducted.</p><p>According to existing marketing literature the theory section is built up of the three basic foundations: Brand building, the Internet and One-to-one marketing.</p><p>Moreover the theory chapter in this study intends to function as a framework in the process of gaining new information about this business area. That is also the reason why the study is built up on an inductive scientific approach without testing an already existing theory model.</p><p>The analysis concludes that none of the examined companies utilizes the power of the Internet and its features to a satisfying extent. Partly they do not even provide standard tools and thus creating a strong bond between the company and the customer is made difficult. The author argues that in order to become an innovative and dynamic company it is crucial to have an effective, well-designed and easy to use website. Hence it is not only important to have an esthetical appealing site but also one that provides a high level of service and one-to-one tools. To be ahead of time as well as to be sensitive for technologies on the rise is especially important for stock agencies, as they now almost solely are web-based. To sum up existing technology should be used to it’s fullest extend in order to create a professional website and strong online-brand building tools.</p>

<p>This thesis explores the fields of contracting and competence agencies. Itfocuses on the relationship between contractors and their agencies, and aims toidentify the expectations that contractors have on competence agencies and theactivities that can be undertaken by the agencies in order to improve andstrengthen the relation. A case study was made of a Danish competence agencyand of the contractors within its network. The qualitative part of the studyincluded interviews with five contractors and a questionnaire directed to theorganization. From the conclusions of the qualitative study and relevant theories,a set of hypotheses were formulated. The quantitative part consisted of a surveythat was sent out to the contractors in the network. The survey aimed to test thehypotheses and the results from the survey were analysed in Excel.The conclusions that were drawn from the outcome of the quantitative studywere that contractors join agencies because of the access to big companies thatare granted by agencies, because they do not have time to promote themselvesso they need someone to do it for them and because of the possibility to createnetworks and that contractors join more than one agency because they do notbelieve that one agency alone can supply them with full time occupation.Further on, it was also concluded that certain HRM as well as SHRM activitieshad a positive impact on the relationship, and that employer brandingstrengthened the bonds between the contractors and the competence agency.</p>

<p>During the last four decades, acidifications has been seen as a great environmental hazard. To combat the effects of the acidification, the Swedish government is funding liming of affected areas. This practice has been questioned in northern Sweden, since there is no general agreement about the origin of the acidity there. This thesis aims to explain the administrative handling of the scientific disputes, and thereby the relation between the responsible authority, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the research exrecised on the matter. Research findings are therefore compared with the content of interviews, performed by civil servants at SEPA. It is concluded that the liming in northern Sweden is a very complicated issue, involving many groups and individuals - so much so that it might not just be an issue of acidification science.</p>

<p>Background: Research results show that the potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased. That means there is a growing pressure on Swedish companies to act with responsibility: general public has a positive attitude towards companies that communicate their CSR. Advertising agencies have been criticized by their way to manage the question of social responsibility. One of the characteristics of an advertising agency is their anonymity; even though their products are extremely visible, it is rarely clear who gave rise to an advertising production. If this is put in relation to CSR in general, we find ourselves in a contradictory situation when CSR in many cases is about exposure of the responsible corporation. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explain whether CSR can be applied to advertising agencies, by describing in which way their conditions limit respectively make possible to run business in terms of CSR. </p><p>Research Method: The thesis has a qualitative approach, and the empirical data is in large parts based on personal interviews, where the interviewees represent Swedish advertising agencies. </p><p>Result: We have identified a number of limitations and possibilities related to advertising agencies concerning CSR. Principally limits are that the advertising industry by tradition does not sanction responsibility in this matter, that professionals belittle the social effect by their own business but recognize the impact of advertising productions taken all together. Finally, efficient advertising and customer satisfaction are top priority concerns: ethics may have to step aside due to these matters. On the other hand, there are several aspects to suggest that CSR is to be applied on agencies: the surrounding world is an important matter to agency activities. Our results show that the attention given an agency in factual can be used in characteristics of CSR: the professionals have the opportunity to choose how and what to produce.</p>

<p>In recent years the Internet has greatly changed the travel industry and the emergence of social media has driven this change further. In the past travel companies have been natural links between customers and suppliers but today customers can buy travel directly from the supplier, making it difficult for travel companies to attract new customers and retain existing customers. As social media is revolutionizing the way people communicate, the trend suggests that it is becoming increasingly important for firms to take part in this technological development to interact with customers.<strong> </strong></p><p>Although Internet and social media has a major impact on firm-to-customer and customer-to-customer conversations, there is little guidance in academic literature and organizational contexts on how to use social media in an effective way. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to describe and explain how social media has transformed the relationships between selected Swedish travel companies and their customers, and how these firms create and sustain value and relationships through social media. Furthermore, we will give implications for management on how to utilize social media to create and sustain value and relationships.</p><p>The results of our research confirm that social media is transforming the relationships between firms and customers. From our findings we conclude that the customer has become more empowered, that interaction now occurs through a two-way communication and that social media has made industries and relationships more transparent. The results also indicate that firms do not realize the value that can be created through social media for the customer as well as for the firm. The use of social media among the interviewed firms varies with some firms using social media through many tools and some firms not using social media at all.<strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Our findings implicate that being aware of what value is created and why the firm is involved in a certain social media tool increases the likelihood of success. The firm should further not be afraid to experiment with social media. However, social media also presents challenges. As social media is characterized by rapidly changing trends, it is difficult to predict what will happen not only in a distant future, but even so just a few years ahead.</p>