- Agency employment The name of my diploma thesis is the agency employment. Nowadays, the institute of agency employment is a widespread phenomenon on the labour market. It is a very popular institution for employees as well as for employers, which is being changed under the demand of society needs and according to valid legislation. I have chosen this topic due to its timeliness and flexibility with which the agency employment reacts to the growing unemployment rate. Since the capacity of the agency employment is very vast, this diploma thesis aims to approach the fundamental issues and concepts relating to it. The thesis is divided into 6 chapters dealing with different aspects of agency employment. The first chapter provides the basic notions of agency employment, defines key terms associated to it. The second chapter focuses on the historical development of agency employment. It also outlines the view of international adjustment of agency employment, gives a short excursion into European legislation and provides an approach of the valid legislation in the Czech Republic. The main institution that is in charge of agency employment is an agency of labour; therefore the third chapter is dedicated to the institution of agency of labour. This chapter specifies its position with respect to the...

Little has been written on the pedagogy of Catholic Social Teaching and how to teach it in a way that encourages a living out of its main principles. Working for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), I was interested in how staff of diverse faith backgrounds might be encouraged to live out, in their work, the espoused values of the organisation, rooted as they are in the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. My research question asked how effective Theological Action Research is in enabling CAFOD staff to interpret, embed and embody CAFOD’s values in their work. As an insider-researcher, I set up a research project called Reflecting on Values and invited 12 members of staff, from three different parts of the organisation, to conduct their own research on one of CAFOD’s values in conversation with their practice. Theological Action Research was both the research methodology and a tool under investigation. My findings were threefold. First, Theological Action Research revealed itself to be a strong tool of adult theological education, which allowed CAFOD staff to interpret, embed and embody CAFOD’s espoused values in their work. Second, the research process identified practices that enhanced the confidence and competence of staff in ecclesiology, in religious and faith language, and in theological reflection. Third, the data revealed an operant Eucharistic theology rooted in CAFOD’s practice of responding to poverty and injustice pastorally, politically, and in partnership. The research is original in that it demonstrates how CAFOD’s practices embody Catholic Social Teaching and can contribute to its development. It also offers the first systematic evaluation of Theological Action Research as a tool for adult theological education which is rooted in both theory and practice. The findings affirm the importance of allowing space for theological reflection within CAFOD, and that for this organisation, the practice of theological reflection is an essential dimension of living out its Catholic identity.

Submitted by Rosivalda Pereira (mrs.pereira@ufma.br) on 2017-09-04T21:31:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DavidLeal.pdf: 2328764 bytes, checksum: cfd5f4e1764514d2cc1ec64ea8574598 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-04T21:31:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DavidLeal.pdf: 2328764 bytes, checksum: cfd5f4e1764514d2cc1ec64ea8574598 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-11 / The exercise of the competences established in the Brazilian Constitution by the Brazilian Regulatory Agencies, especially in view of the concentration of functions that can be classified as typical by other powers of the Republic, in a single organ, have generated questions, especially when dealing with normative competence. The present work has the objective of analyzing whether the production procedure of Normative Resolution No. 414/2010, of the National Electric Energy Agency, can be considered as an inducer of legitimacy in light of the Theory of Legitimation by the Niklas Luhmann Procedure (1980). It was observed that the procedure adopted by ANEEL in the approval of Normative Resolution 414 of September 9, 2010 was sufficiently open to the flows of contributions of the most diverse groups of stakeholders, shaping the final product of the normative procedure and, thus, contributing To reduce the questions about this product, and it can be concluded that the procedure adopted can be considered as inducing legitimacy, in the form of the Theory of Legitimation by Procedure. Thus, it is clear that other mechanisms of legitimization are necessary in addition to those related to the function carried out by the agencies, such as those used in the context of this administrative procedure, which have allowed the establishment of an effective communication between the Regulatory State and the stakeholders of the most diverse categories, through The submission of contributions by the latter and of answers justified by the Agency, which allowed the procedure to be framed to the bases of the theory in question, since the procedure required the aptitude necessary to carry out structural changes in the expectations of those involved, reducing the possibility of not Acceptance of the state decision included in the resolution. / O exercício das competências estabelecidas na Constituição brasileira pelas Agências Reguladoras brasileiras, especialmente em face da concentração de funções que possam ser enquadradas como típicas por outros poderes da República, num só órgão, têm gerado questionamentos, especialmente em se tratando da competência normativa. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar se o procedimento de produção da Resolução Normativa nº 414/2010, da Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica, pode ser considerado como indutor de legitimidade à luz da Teoria da Legitimação pelo Procedimento de Niklas Luhmann (1980). Observou-se que o procedimento adotado pela ANEEL na aprovação da Resolução Normativa nº 414, de 9 de setembro de 2010 , foi suficientemente aberto aos fluxos de contribuições dos mais diversos grupos de interessados, moldando o produto final do procedimento normativo e, assim, contribuindo para a redução dos questionamentos acerca deste produto, sendo possível concluir que o procedimento adotado pode ser considerado como indutor de legitimidade, na forma da Teoria da Legitimação pelo Procedimento. Assim, restou evidenciado que outros mecanismos de legitimação são necessários além dos relacionados à função exercida pelas agências, como os utilizados no bojo deste procedimento administrativo, que permitiram o estabelecimento de uma comunicação eficaz entre o Estado Regulador e os interessados das mais diversas categorias, mediante a apresentação de contribuições por estes e de respostas justificadas pela Agência, que permitiram o enquadramento do procedimento às bases da teoria em referência, uma vez que ao procedimento a aptidão necessária para a realização de transformações estruturais nas expectativas dos envolvidos, reduzindo a possibilidade de não aceitação da decisão estatal encartada na resolução em referência.

Detention centres are a rather new phenomena in the Swedish institutional setup. However, due to the migration inflow of 2015 it is now rapidly expanding all over Sweden. So far, it has been only scarcely monitored and researched and mostly with a focus on the perspective of the detainee’s health or the employee’s experiences at the detention centres. Little is known about the role of the NGOs and how they collaborate with the Migration Agency to secure the rights for those who are detained. This study is a qualitative case study on one of the five detention centres in Sweden, namely Åstorp detention centre which is located in Skåne 20km from Helsingborg. Four interviews have been made with the Migration Agency and with the NGOs that are continuously visiting the detainees in Åstorp. By using data triangulation, the validity of the study has increased and principles from the rights-based approach have been used to highlight important aspects of the collaboration. One significant finding in this research is that the Migration Agency is willingly increasing the transparency by inviting an unlimited number of NGOs to monitor and secure the rights for the detainees, which in turn has led to Sweden's detention centres being referred to as a successful model for the rest of the world. This study has also showed a successful and mutual collaboration between the Migration Agency and the NGOs and even if their roles at the detention centres are different, all participants are working towards a common goal, to improve the conditions for those who are detained. Notwithstanding the relatively limited sample by including one out of five detention centres, this study contributes also, in a small way, to new insights of the situation in Sweden's detention centres and the importance of a successful collaboration between the Migration Agency and NGOs for the detainee’s rights.

Essa pesquisa estabelece a relação entre políticas públicas e a política. Especificamente, investiga a influência que têm para a disseminação de conflitos entre agentes por posições nos espaços políticos, gerando condições para manifestação do fenômeno denominado antagonismo posicional. Concentra-se na agenda de políticas públicas redistributivas de Reforma do Estado e de reestruturação da base econômica do Rio Grande do Sul, encaminhadas no governo de Antônio Britto Filho do PMDB, cujos efeitos se estenderam ao governo de Olívio de Oliveira Dutra do PT. Nos programas que têm origem nestas políticas (de Demissão Voluntária, privatizações, concessões rodoviárias, FUNDOPEM-RS e os casos de GM e Ford), investiga as condições para a manifestação do fenômeno analisado através (i) dos resultados obtidos (ii) dos impactos na agenda pública e (iii) da influência destes sobre as articulações e sobre o comportamento eleitoral. Ao final, através da reflexão sobre fatos passados vinte (20) agentes políticos que tiveram agência sobre essas políticas públicas apontam suas motivações e razões para que o fenômeno tenha ocorrido. A explicação é a de as políticas públicas importaram mais para articular a manutenção ou reforços das posições nos espaços políticos do que pelos resultados socioeconômicos produzidos. / This research establishes the relationship between public policy and politics. Specifically, it investigates the influence they have on the conflict between agents for positions on political spaces, creating conditions for the phenomenon so-called positional antagonism. It focuses on the redistributive public policy agenda of both state reform and restructuring of the economic base of Rio Grande do Sul, directed by the governor Antonio Britto Filho from the PMDB party, whose effects extended to the governor Olívio Dutra de Oliveira from the PT party. In programs that originate in these policies (Voluntary Dismissal, privatization, highway concessions, FUNDOPEM-RS and the cases of GM and Ford), investigates the conditions for the manifestation of the phenomenon analyzed by (i) the results obtained (ii) the impact on the public agenda and (iii) the influence of these on the joints and on voting behavior. Finally, through the analysis of past events, twenty (20) political agents who had agency on those policies indicate their motivations and reasons for the phenomenon occurrence. The explanation is that public policies imported more to maintain or reinforce positions in the political space than by socioeconomic results.

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The primary task of this thesis is to explain what the relationship between social practice and the socially emergent self is, and to concurrently explain why this relationship is of significance to an accurate theory of social practice itself. A subsequent aim of this is to explain how the socially emergent self can be used to account for individual engagement in moral practices. Building on George Herbert Mead, it is argued that the social process through which the self emerges moulds the individual’s capacity to engage with social practice. It is argued that combining Mead’s theory of the socially emergent self with relational sociology provides a theoretical framework that can account for how intersubjective and historically situated social practices are taken on by the individual, to the extent that she can engage in such practices both reflectively and pre-reflectively. What is more, this theoretical synthesis is able to account for how social practices are engaged with in an incredibly routine and ‘ordinary’ manner, while also accounting for individual variation in this engagement. This theory is then applied to moral practices. It is contended that individual engagement in moral practice is not altogether different from engagement in social practice generally, and thus the theory offered here also accounts for how individuals are able to engage in moral practice in both a routine and an individualised manner.

[pt] O modelo de Mintzberg das cinco configurações estruturais é útil para a classificação das organizações e para a identificação de suas tendências evolutivas. O modelo serviu de suporte para uma análise crítica da estrutura adotada pela Agência Nacional de Águas - ANA. A ANA foi criada pela lei 9984/2000 com a missão de, simultaneamente, regular um bem de uso público - o uso dos rios - e implementar o Sistema Nacional de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos. A ANA tem uma dupla personalidade: deve atuar, ao mesmo tempo, como agência reguladora e implementadora. Com base em levantamento de documentos institucionais e legais e de pesquisa de campo, foram colhidos os dados necessários para : (i) identificar a missão e desenho funcional; (ii) verificar se a estrutura organizacional atendia às suas necessidades funcionais; (iii) analisar alternativas de arquitetura organizacional, à luz da teoria de Mintzberg. Concluiuse que a ANA ainda se encontra num estágio inicial de organização, semelhante à estrutura simples da taxonomia proposta por Mintzberg. Entretanto, constatou-se um acúmulo quantitativo de insuficiências nessa configuração inicial que prenunciam uma mudança qualitativa em direção a estruturas mais sofisticadas. Em particular, verificou-se que a missão da ANA seria melhor atendida se adotada a estrutura híbrida da burocracia profissional com a adhocracia. / [en] Mintzberg s five different structural configurations for organizations is a useful tool for both classifying and identifying evolutionary trends in organizations. His model was applied to make a critical analysis of the structure adopted by the Brazilian Water Authority - ANA. ANA was created by Law 9984/2000 with the mission of regulate the use of a public resource - the water of the rivers - and to implement the National Water Resources Management Program. Thus, ANA has a double personality aspect and must act both as a regulatory agency and as policy maker for the Water Sector. Based on a compilation of institutional and legal documents and also on field research, important data was collected to: (i) identify ANA s mission and functional design; (ii) verify if the structural organization met the functional requirements; (iii) study alternatives for the organizational architecture, using Mintzberg s theory. It was found that ANA is currently in an initial organizational stage, similar to the simple structure of the taxonomy proposed by Mintzberg. However, a quantitative accumulation of deficiencies in this initial configuration has been observed, thus foreseeing a qualitative shift towards more sophisticated structures. In particular, it was observed that ANA s mission would be better met if a hybrid structure of professional bureaucracy and adhocracy was adopted.

Household inventories record objects that can be compared with surviving artefacts contributing to the study of material culture and social history. However, this thesis shows how heterogeneous inventories found in early modern Scottish sources resist quantification and aggregation. Instead, qualitative use of inventory evidence is advocated. Inventories can contribute information on the locations of activities in the home. These activities may be preferred to the object as evidence of historical change and as units of international comparison. Furnishing a house was cultural activity, and a construction of culture. In this study, objects are regarded as participants in cultural activities, strategies, and the construction of values. Sixteenth-century inventories are often impersonal and tend to show similarities in content, encouraging mechanistic interpretations of domestic life. The seventeenth century saw a proliferation of household equipment and furnishing for elites throughout Europe due to changes in production and consumerism. Some of this new furnishing was bought in London, some in France. While national difference was apparently maintained in architecture, new furnishings may have effaced distinctions within elite rooms. Scottish and English culture was merged by aristocratic intermarriage. This new culture is seen in the inventories of Mary, dowager Countess of Home. She maintained houses in England and Scotland. Some of her furnishings represented the style of an inner circle at court. Her inventories are also significant because they detailed equipment for a range of activities. She personally prepared medicines and sweetmeats, and had a number of scientific instruments. Pursuits reconstructed from the detail of later inventories can illuminate other domestic situations where clues are more subtle or absent. The level of autonomy Lady Home and her daughters exercised over their homes is a reminder of the agency exercised by women over furnishings, gardens, architecture, and estate policy.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The thesis explores the role of semiotic structuring of health information in relation to language, multimodality and health literacy and the affordances for agentive participation among consumers of two leading South African medical schemes - Discovery Health Medical Scheme (Discovery Health) and the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS). The focus is on who has access to health information, how this information is constructed and what the semiotic health habitat looks like for citizen-consumers. Through a virtual ethnographic approach the thesis explores the design of genres of health information artefacts: application forms, application guides, a comic book, and a variety of website images. The choice to study the commercial package of a private health industry is aimed at finding and defining codes of practice in health communication that could be replicable in the public health sector. A new perspective emerging out of the thesis is how semiotic structuring of style, stance-taking, and choice of registers affects reading positions, and how these determine with what voice citizenconsumers can engage with this information.