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The acquisition of technology, technological capability and technical change : A study of the textile industry in TanzaniaMlawa, Hasa Mfaume January 1983 (has links)
This is a case-study of technological development in, and of technology policy for, industry in one developing country - Tanzania. It focusses on the details of technology policy at the level of a particular sector - cotton textiles. It attempts to encompass a range of related policy problems which are usually examined separately: technology transfer, technical efficiency in production, and the development of technological skills and expertise. It examines these issues in the context of the evolution of the sector from its origins in the mid-1960s to 1980, with particular emphasis on the 1970s. The cotton textile sector has been identified as a leading sector in Tanzanian industrial development from the time of the earnest development plans in the post-independence period. However, policy proposals and development plans have consistently failed to give any explicit attention to the technological dimension of the industrys expansion. Nor have they indicated how that dimension may be linked to other stated longer term objectives in the economy (e.g. development of a capital goods-sector etc.). At the same tima broad development strategies (e.g. about self-reliance) were never articulated in a way which encompassed issues about technology. The thesis focusses on two aspects of the development of the sector in the context of this technology policy "vacuum". First, through a series of major investment projects over nearly twenty years, the sector remained totally dependent on imported engineering services, 'capital-embodied' technology and techno-managerial services. There was no evidence of any progressive 'learning' to supply these kinds of technological input for investment. The thesis suggests that considerable costs were incurred as a result of this failure to make any movement at all towards technological 'self-reliance'. Second, over seven years (i.e. 1973-1979) all aspects of technical and economic efficiency in the industry consistently declined. Contrary to common expectations about 'infant' industries there was no 'learning' in on going production - only substantial 'unlearning'. Finally, the thesis suggests that these two costly patterns of technological stagnation and regression were linked, and resulted in large part from the failure to incorporate concerns about 'technology policy' in the process of policy formulation and development planning - in particular from the failure to make significant investment in 'technological capacity' for the sector. It suggests that the returns to such investment would probably have been very high. The thesis outlines implications for policy in this and similar sectors, together with the need for future research and analysis.
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Capitalist technology and socialist developmentMuchie, Mammo January 1986 (has links)
This thesis is essentially about the theory of the transition to socialism and aims at comprehending the Soviet experience of attempting to re-mould the relations of production and the forces of production mainly at the level of Soviet labour processes. The main finding is that the Soviet Union was rich in debate in the 20s but short in actually pioneering new labour processes in the years of construction and accelerated industrialization. As a by-product of this larger project, the thesis has begun to demarcate the division of labour from technology by constructing models on the basis of their shared characteristics of efficiency, output, cost, control and welfare. It is argued- that an attempt to 'abolish' the fragmentation of tasks arising from the technical . division of labour would require a redirection of the physical organization of technology itself. The thesis emphasizes the importance not only the re-arranging of macro-societal-level social relations but also micro production unit level changes. The socialist project ought to include simultaneous interventions at the micro and macro levels of reality. It is suggested that despotic control at both the society and production-unit levels would hardly expand the emancipatory possibilities for labour. Nor democratization at one or the other level alone whilst keeping despotic control will do. Only simultaneous democratizations at the enterprise and society levels will make the socialist development attractive. The thesis concludes by stressing the need to reinstate democracy in relation to the organization of the labour process pointing out the responsibility of the Gorbachov leadership in relation to the democratization of Soviet society and enterprises.
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The European Marches Network against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Social Exclusion : collective action beyond class?Mathers, Andrew January 2003 (has links)
This thesis is a study of the development of the European Marches Network against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Social Exclusion. It is considered as a component of an emerging international social movement that has contested the consequences of neoliberal European integration to develop the goal of a social and democratic Europe as part of a different world order. This study engages critically with the dominant sociological paradigm of social movements that renders the class politics associated with the labour movement as anachronistic. This paradigm asserts that fundamental socio-structural changes dictate that to be progressive, contemporary new social movements (NSMs) have to operate according to a new logic of collective action that is beyond class. The Network is investigated through the application of ethnographic methods that are integrated into a dialectical analysis. This methodological approach involved the author taking the role of `activist-researcher' that was consistent with his commitment to producing knowledge that was not only about progressive social change but also useful to the collective struggle to achieve it. The findings of the empirical investigation are presented under the headings of 'mobilisation', 'agenda formation' and 'organisation'. These headings represent three interconnected elements of collective action that form the totality of the Network. The Network is related to the locally and nationally based economic and social struggles through which it developed and is also located within a broader international social movement of which it was a product and producer. Various elements of the Network arising from the investigation are discussed in relation to the work of writers from the dominant paradigm. It is argued that the Network is not comprehensible as a manifestation of a postmaterial politics that is beyond class, but rather as a form of class politics in the present conjuncture of neoliberal restructuring. Therefore, it is concluded that far from indicating the terminal decline of labour as a progressive social actor, the Network suggests its renewal as a social movement.
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The United Front and the Popular Front in the North East of England, 1936-1939Mates, Lewis H. January 2002 (has links)
This thesis examines the united and popular front campaigns in the north east of England. The region was important for the national success of both projects since it was dominated by a moderate and loyal labour movement. Chapter one examines united and popular front activity in the region in 1936 and provides an explanation of why there was so little of it. The second chapter focuses on divisions within the labour movement which provided significant barriers to united and popular front supporters. Chapter three examines the divisions related to the significant number of Catholics within the labour movement. It argues that Catholic disquiet over the labour movement's attitude to the Spanish civil war did not provoke serious internal divisions, though Catholics remained opposed to Communism and therefore to the united and popular fronts. The Unity Campaign of 1937 and its effect is discussed in chapter four. This campaign drew very little support from within the labour movement and failed to improve relations between the left parties. Its effect, however, was not as damaging as some have claimed. The following four chapters deal solely with aspects of the popular front. Chapter five discusses the 1938 United Peace Alliance campaign and examines the fresh potential that the aftermath of the Munich settlement offered. The 1939 Cripps Petition campaign is examined in chapter six. Both campaigns failed to mobilise significant labour movement support in the region. Chapter seven considers the attitudes of Conservatives and Liberals to the popular front. Liberal support was almost non-existent. Liberal attitudes were generally characterised by opposition to both socialism and communism, therefore their natural allies were the Conservatives, who largely supported Chamberlain and thus opposed the popular front. Chapter eight, on the Tyneside foodship, assesses the argument that the 'Aid Spain' campaigns constituted the closest thing to a popular front in Britain. Generally speaking, these campaigns cannot be seen as de facto popular fronts as they were humanitarian and not political. The thesis concludes that the united front was not very united, nor was the popular front very popular in the region, reflecting their failures at national level.
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The changing character of industrial relations institutions and employment status : an evaluation of Whitleyism in the Civil ServiceProwse, Peter John January 1999 (has links)
No description available.
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The Bevan-Gaitskell rivalry : Leadership, conflict and divisions within the British Labour Party 1951-1959Godfrey, R. J. January 1985 (has links)
Throughout its history, internal conflict has divided and threatened to rupture the British Labour Party. Yet even by the standards of a party accustomed to internal dissension, conflict during the period 1951-59 was particularly intense. It becomes the purpose of the thesis to consider the sources and nature of conflict during the period, and in particular to examine the character of the Bevan/Gaitskell relationship relative to that conflict. It was found that Bevan and Gaitskell were both intellectuals and advanced theoreticians whose analyses led them to adopt different if not always opposing policy positions. On occasions these differences heightened the rivalry between them, and provoked conflict. However, Bevan in particular was willing to restrain his radical, fundamentalist insticts in the interests of preserving party unity. He was also prepared, on occasions, to attempt the influence of policy development not through rebellion, but rather as a participating member of the party leadership group. Just as it is possible to overestimate the importance of ideological difference as a source of conlict between the two men, so too the importance of rivalry between them for power and position is easily overestimated. The research indicates that conflict within the party was created not so much by direct rivalry between Bevan and Gaitskell as by the reaction of Gaitskell, Morrison and most particularly the trade union leadership to the threat posed by organized Bevanism, and by the subsequent reaction and interaction of the fundamentalist and social democratic associates of Bevan and Gaitskell.
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Industrial relations in the Nigerian textile industryBature, R. R. January 1983 (has links)
This thesis examines changes in industrial relations in the Nigerian textile industry after the 1976 Labour Act. It starts by a brief examination of the existing literature on industrial relations in Nigeria generally, and the textile industry in particular. It moves on to examine the textile industry in the context of the Nigerian economy as a whole. It goes on to examine the development of labour/management relationships in the early years of employment in the industry and more importantly, the contemporary system of industrial relations in the industry. It compares the past and present system of industrial relations in the Nigerian industry with the systems that obtain in other textile industries in the developed (such as the ones in the textile industries in Great Britain, France, West Germany, Italy, America, etc. ) and developing (such as the ones in the textile industries in India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Morocco, etc.) countries. The thesis crucially enables us to understand in more detail the system of industrial relations that used to, and now exist, in the Nigerian industrial scene and how the system actually operates at, the level of the workplace. We would discover in this thesis that during the early years of employment in the industry (from 1959) until 1976, the industrial relations system was, to a small extent, akin to the system that obtains in the United Kingdom. However, it was characterised by constant and uninvited government interventions; very weak house unions; an absence of free collective bargaining and thus the arbitrary setting of wages and conditions of service by employers and the frequent engagement in strikes and wild-cat strikes by employees. This early system corresponds closely with that described in the published literature on the Nigerian system of industrial relations. However, after 1976, the textile industry would appear to have adopted a system of industrial relations which is a unique combination of the characteristics of the British and West German systems of industrial relations. Employees in the industry belong to one trade union organisation - the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria - which basically resembles the West German trade union structure; while the introduction of voluntarism; free collective bargaining, and the use of shop stewards (to mention just a few characteristics) are basically similar to those of the British system of industrial relations. We have concluded that the hypotheses have been substantiated - the Nigerian industrial relations system has undergone substantial changes and that the practicalities of the system have produced a model somewhat different from that which we might have expected from a mere examination of the literature. Our fieldwork-based approach being instrumental in disclosing the existence of the role of the Nigerian shop stewards. Lastly, we propose that the contemporary system of industrial relations in this industry should be sustained because of its propensity for peaceful union/management relationships and, indeed, the industry's growth. We note that the contemporary system is, however, beset by a number of problems to which we draw attention.
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Gender and occupation : discourses on gender, work and equal opportunities in a college of technologyHenwood, Felicity Jane January 1991 (has links)
The thesis Is Intended to make a contribution towards the development of a new theoretical framework for understanding gender and occupational choice as It relates to both traditional and non-traditional choices. The research arose out of a need to develop more effective Interventionist strategies around gender. work and equal opportunities In the context of the recent. largely unsuccessful. attempts to encourage more women Into the fields of science. technology and engineering. Existing theoretical frameworks for understanding both occupational choice. and women in engineering and non-traditional fields. rely heavi lyon the individual-society dualism: emphasising either individual choice or structural determination. Neither are able to offer adequate explanations either for the paucity of women In non-traditional fields or for women who do make nontraditional choices. Based In a college of technology. the research focuses on two courses which. In terms of numbers at least. could be said to be 'gendered'- the Diploma for Personal Assistants and the HND In Software Engineering. Using ethnographic research techniques Including participant observation and In-depth Interviewing of key actors In the col lege. a range of perspectives and practices concerning gender. work and equal opportunities. are Identified. The analysis of the data suggests that occupational choice Is neither a static event nor a clear-cut process but one Involving change over time and in relation to experience. as wei I as considerable contradiction and conflict for the Individuals concerned. By drawing on theories of discourse and subjectivity In the poststructural 1st tradition. this thesis begins to develop a new theoretical framework that moves beyond the dualism found In existing theories of gender and occupation. In particular. It brings back Into view 'women's agency' In a way that does not rely on the notion of 'free choice' and which highlights the cultural nature of both femininity and masculinity. This is achieved by Identifying the ways In which both women's and men's subjectlvltles are constituted In discourse and are the outcome of their negotiations with conflicting discourses on Questions of gender. work and equal opportunities.
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Manpower, labour market and wage development : the case of JordanAl-Akel, Mohammed A. Hadi January 1985 (has links)
This thesis examines the Jordanian case concerning the importance of manpower resources in general, and the issue of manpower migration in particular in a developing economy characterised by a lack of natural resources. It focuses its investigation on the kind of economy with manpower shortages that interacts in the labour market and influences the process of wage development and the magnitude of wage differentials for various groups of manpower and across various sectors of employment. The thesis is firmly based on data gathered by a special survey conducted in Jordan and covered various governmental and non-governmental establishments operating in the domestic economy throughout the period 1970 to 1983. The findings of this thesis showed that manpower emigration and the shortages it caused has stimulated pressure for higher wages, and yielded a more pragmstic system ef industrial relations showed by the remarkable response it generates from employers, unions and the state towards collective bargaining; thus cooperation rather than confrontation becomes the main feature of Jordan's current system of industrial relations. On the other hand, emigrants remittances represent a major source of foreign exchange and proved to be of adequate importance to Jordan. It was also confirmed that wage structure in the Jordanian economy is closely tied to educational attainment with regard to major specialisation. With regard to wage development, it was found that while money wages increased rapidly, real wages for various groups of manpower and across various sectors of employment declined for new entrants to the labour market throughout the period under review; whereas, real wages for those on-the-job have generally improved. For both new entrants and those on-the-job, private to public sector wage differential widened. It was also shown that there was a tendency for narrowing wage differential between the professionals vis-a-vis other groups of manpower. The narrowing of differential proceeded faster for those on-the-job compared to the new entrants to the labour market. It also proceeded faster in the public sector compared to other sectors of employment. Finally, hiring procedures, labour turnover and other conditions of employment are also discussed. A consideration of these findings prompted thoughts of various policy measures that are of adequate importance to Jordan at this stage of development.
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Technical change and employment in the British printing industryHaywood, B. W. January 1985 (has links)
This thesis examines the impact of technical change on employment in the British printing industry. within this overall objective .one of the main purposes is to investigate the attitudes of employers, employees, and equipment suppliers to the introduction of new technology. The research was carried out by a comprehensive literature survey in relation to: international trade, employment, and competitiveness; technical change and industrial relations; management attitudes/behaviour in relation to innovation; and management qualifications. And by in-depth interviews with representatives from the three groups. Much research on the National Newspaper sector in the past has been applied to the whole of printing despite the fact that the unit size of that sector is considerably greater than the rest of the industry; and that· less than 10% of those working in the industry work in the National Newspaper sector. Little research has been done on other areas of the industry. This research is primarily concerned with these other sectors, and the attitudes and behaviour of those working there with regard to technical change. This research has found the analogy with the newspaper industry is misplaced, a substantial majority of employees viewing the introduction of new technology as desirable and vital to maintaining and/or improving competitiveness. The problem as they see it is how this is achieved. In common with other post-war industrial studies on management attitudes and behaviour with regards to innovation and investment, this industry was also found to be generally conservative and short-term in its planning and organisational methods. British manufacturers of printing press and post-press equipment were generally found to-be lacking in innovation and long-term developmental strategies, though British companies pre-press, were found to be at least as R&D intensive and innovative as their overseas competitors.
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