The Swedish public bus transport sector is showing a negative development as costs are escalating and the number of passengers is stagnating. Based on theories in Public-Private Partnerships and inter-organizational cooperation, this paper presents an exploratory study how the cooperation between public and private actors affects the quality of public bus transport. Evidence shows that the negative development in the sector is mainly due to the nature of the contracts between public and private actors. Despite the contracts, two of four cases have increased their quality and public welfare through cooperation between the actors.The results highlight the importance of customizing the cooperation based on each actors´ driving force in the contract. Additionally are detailed goal setting and a clear inter-organizational structure strongly correlating with increased quality, finally is trust identified as a corner stone for the construction of a successful cooperation.

Road and rail are the predominant means of freight transport in South Africa and generally contribute to approximately 99% of all logistics costs. While there exists a solid infrastructure of rail and road transportation, and with the latter being a cheaper option, the former is still the most preferred mode. This places tremendous pressure on South Africa’s rapidly deteriorating roads network. Unfortunately the downside to this popularity is the enormous costs incurred in repairing the roads and the principal wrongdoers are the commercial carriers, especially heavy vehicles. The problem is exacerbated by overloaded vehicles intending to maximise profits. Law enforcement of this particular problem in the Durban Metropolitan region has been ineffective due to a lack of skilled personnel and proper equipment. A joint venture in the form of a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Durban Metropolitan Police Service and the Vululeka-TMT Consortium was created to combat this problem. There are various benefits in general where PPPs exist, such as private sector efficiencies, innovation and specialisation. However endemic to this PPP was the addition of accountability resulting in increased productivity and a ‘watchdog’ situation that certainly aided in the prevention of corruption. / Thesis (MPA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

The study addresses: (1) changes in Canada's science-policy climate over the past two decades; (2) impacts o f such changes on the conduct and organization of academic science; and (3) publicinterest implications of promoting, in public institutions, research 'relevant' to private sector needs. Working within the interdisciplinary traditions of science studies, the conceptual framework draws on the cross-cutting tensions at the intersection of public and private space, and basic and applied science. These tensions are articulated in two opposing models: 'open science' and 'overflowing networks'. Canada's Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program provides the study's empirical focus. Founded in 1988, the NCE program rests on dual goals of research excellence and commercial relevance. It promotes a national research capacity that 'floats across' existing provincial institutions. The first part of the study investigates the evolution of the NCE program against the background of Canadian science policy. The second part problematizes the notion of 'network' while investigating one of the NCEs in depth, examining the scientific, commercial, cultural, and spatial-structural practices that are the outcomes of policy. Examination of these practices reveals not only the cultural and commercial shifts sought by policy, but also unintended consequences such as regional clustering; elitism and exclusion; problems with social and fiscal accountability; tensions with host institutions; and goal displacement between science and commerce.

Ramunė Bleizgienė‘s dissertaiton Female Identity Problem in Lithuanian Women’s Creative Writing in the Late 19th – Early 20th Century analyses identity as a result of an interaction between a person and his/her socio-cultural context, by raising a question how the development of modern Lithuanian society influenced the forms of female identity. A heterogeneous methodological perspective introduces a shift in female identity as an inseparable part of the process of women becoming public individuals. The exploration of creative texts by Žemaitė, Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, Šatrijos Ragana, Ona Pleirytės-Puidienė Vaidilutė and Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė reveals how the writing women bring up and establish themselves as a speaking public subject. A thorough analysis of women’s writing, their diaries, letters, and memoirs reveals the ways in which the writing women experience their sociability, and emphasizes the impact that socio-cultural definitions of an individual/woman made on women’s self-perception. Structural changes in female identity undergo analysis in a condensed socio-cultural context with a review and a presentation of many texts by female authors that were circulating in public space, which gives a view of the multiple nature and complexity of the process. The study presents a lot of journalistic and fiction texts that were written in the late 19th – early 20th century, but were not in the scope of analysis up to the present moment. Ramunė Bleizgienė‘s... [to full text] / Ramunės Bleizgienės disertacijoje „Moters tapatybės problema XIX a. pabaigos–XX a. pradžios moterų kūryboje“ tapatumas nagrinėjamas kaip abipusės asmens ir sociokultūrinio konteksto sąveikos rezultatas, klausiant, kaip vykęs modernios lietuviškos visuomenės kūrimasis veikė moters tapatumo formas. Remiantis keleriopa metodologine perspektyva, moterų tapatybės kaita pristatoma kaip neatsiejama moterų tapimo viešais asmenimis proceso dalis. Analizuojant Žemaitės, Gabrielės Petkevičaitės-Bitės, Šatrijos Raganos, Onos Pleirytės-Puidienės Vaidilutės ir Sofijos Kymantaitės-Čiurlionienės kūrybą siekiama išsiaiškinti, kaip rašydamos moterys įsteigia ir įtvirtina save kaip kalbantįjį viešumos subjektą. Nuodugniai nagrinėjant moterų kūrinius, daugiausia – pirminius variantus, dienoraščius, laiškus, atsiminimus, stebima, kaip rašančiosios patyrė savąjį socialumą, ryškinama, kaip moterų savivoka buvo veikiama sociokultūrinių asmens / moters apibrėžčių. Moters tapatybės struktūriniai pokyčiai tyrinėjami sutankintame sociokultūriniame kontekste, apžvelgiant ir pristatant daugybę viešojoje erdvėje cirkuliavusių moterų tekstų, padedančių įsivaizduoti vykusio proceso daugialypiškumą ir kompleksiškumą. Disertacijoje pristatoma nemažai XIX a. pabaigos–XX a. pradžios moterų publicistikos ir grožinės kūrybos tekstų, kurie iki šiol nebuvo patekę į tyrinėjimų akiratį.

Lietuvai, kaip daugeliui pasaulio valstybių, vis aktualesnė tampa viešosios infrastruktūros plėtros, įvairių viešųjų paslaugų teikimo ir jų kokybės poreikių užtikrinimo problema. Ši problema kyla dėl ribotų viešojo sektoriaus finansinių galimybių. Vienas iš galimų esamos problemos spredimų būdų – viešojo ir privataus sektorių partnerystės projektai, kuriuos įgyvendinat viešojo sektoriaus poreikiams užtikrinti pritraukiamos privataus sektoriaus investicijos. Lietuvoje populiariausia viešojo ir privataus sektorių partnerystės forma – koncesijos. Pagal Lietuvos teisę koncesija paprastai suprantama kaip valstybės ar savivaldybės institucijos privačiam subjektui suteiktiamas leidimas infrastruktūros sukūrimui arba viešųjų paslaugų teikimui, о atlyginimas yra teisė eksploatuoti sukurtus infrastruktūros objektus arba tokia teisė su atlyginimu. Darbo tikslas – koncesijos projektų įgyvendinimo metu kylančių teisinio reglamentavimo problemų nustatymas ir pasiūlymų jų sprendimui pateikimas. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Atskleisti koncesijos, kaip viešojo ir privataus sektorių partnerystės formos, sampratą bei apibendrinti šiai partnerystės formai būdingus požymius; 2. Atlikti teisinio reglamentavimo bazės analizę, apžvelgiant ir apibendrinant tam tikriems teisinės bazės raidos etapams būdingas iš teisinio reglamentavimo kylančias koncesijos projektų įgyvendinimo problemas; 3. Remiantis įvairių šaltinių duomenimis identifikuoti kitas, galimai iš pirmo žvilgsnio tiesiogiai iš teisinio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The expansion of the public infrastructure, the rendering of various public services and the needs in its quality assurance have become a more relevant problem in Lithuania and in many other world countries. This problem arises due to the limited financial capacity of the public sector. One of the possible solutions to the problem could be a public-private partnership projects, where the private sector investments are enlisted to meet public sector needs. Concessions are particularly the most popular forms of public-private partnerships in Lithuania. Under the Lithuanian laws, concession generally means the authorisation granted by the state or municipal authority to the private entity to build/develop the infrastructure or provide public services. The remunaration for that is the right to use the objects buil. The aim of the present thesis is to define the actual legal regulation problems arising in implementation process of concession projects and submit proposals of how they can be solved; The tasks of thesis are the following: 1. Examine a concept of concession as a form of public-private partnership and to identify its characteristic features; 2. Make an analysis of the legal regulation, review and to make an overview of the concession projects implementation process, identify characteristic problems which are relevant to the different stages of the legal regulation development; 3. On the basis of various sources, identify problems which can be solved by using legal... [to full text]

Magistro baigiamajame darbe tiriamos ir vertinamos viešojo ir privataus sektorių partnerystės(VPSP) inovacijų įgyvendinimo valdyme plėtros prielaidos Šiaulių regiono kaimiškosiose vietovėse. Siekiant atskleisti viešojo ir privataus sektorių partnerystės plėtros teorinius aspektus atlikta mokslinės literatūros, dokumentų ir kitų šaltinių analizė. Atliekant VPSP inovacijų įgyvendinimo valdyme plėtros prioritetų analizę teoriniame kontekste buvo nagrinėjama viešojo ir privataus sektorių partnerystės koncepcija. Darbe nagrinėjant VPSP plėtros prioritetus inovacijų įgyvendinimo valdyme, atlikta inovacijų sampratos analizė, atskleistas inovacijų ir pokyčių santykis. Vykdant VPSP plėtrą inovacijų įgyvendinimo valdymo procese ypač svarbus valdančiųjų institucijų požiūris, kuriuo remiantis yra formuoja inovacijų plėtros aplinka. Šiuo pagrindu atlikta inovacijų politikos reikšmės analizė VPSP inovacijų įgyvendinimo valdymo proceso kaimo vietovėse aspektu. Siekiant identifikuoti pagrindines VPSP inovacijų įgyvendinimo valdyme plėtros prielaidas Šiaulių regiono kaimiškosiose vietovėse buvo atliekama ekspertinė apklausa, kurioje dalyvavo keturi viešojo ir keturi privataus sektorių ekspertai. Tyrimo metu atlikta JAV VPSP inovacijų įgyvendinimo valdyme plėtros kaimo vietovėse patirties analizė, o taip pat pateikiama statistinių duomenų analizė, kurių kitimo tendencijos buvo nagrinėjamos kartu su ekspertais. Nagrinėti statistiniai duomenys, kurie yra susiję su inovacijų plėtra ir kaimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the Master's undergraduate thesis are investigated and evaluated the development presumptions of PPP in the process of innovations implementation management in Šiauliai region’s rural areas. In order to reveal the PPP development of the theoretical aspects the analysis of scientific literature, documents and other sources have been made. On this basis paper work represents the concept of the PPP. Also concept of innovations was analyzed and revealed the relation between innovations and changes in certain organizations. In order to identify the main PPP development presumptions in the process of innovations implementation management both public and private sector experts were interviewed to point out the main position of the sectors. One of the public sector’s experts was the regional development professor of the Salisbury University in the USA who suggested the model of how PPP in the process of innovations implementation management in rural areas can be developed. On purpose to analyze the major aspects of the innovations implementation management of PPP in the Siauliai region’s rural areas there have been selected four innovation projects and their leaders have been interviewed. It showed that innovation projects do benefit to the Siauliai region’s rural areas: increased export, expenditure of the energy have been reduced, modernization of the economic activity in rural areas. Moreover in the process of research there was used PEST and SWOT analysis to show the main... [to full text]

No description available.

This paper takes as its starting point the fact of reasonable pluralism and defends political liberalism as the best means of accommodating diversity and a plurality of different conceptions of the good. I then ask what is needed for a social order characterized by diversity and a multiplicity of different ways of life to come into existence and perpetuate itself over time. First, I defend political liberalism and argue that the creation of a society that is accommodating of diversity requires that the state be mindful of the spillover effects between public institutions and the private lives of citizens. Second, I argue that the individuals living in such a society must adopt certain virtues, both publicly as well as privately. I achieve this by presenting an account of the virtues of citizens in a political liberal society. Third, I draw out the implications of having a society characterized by reasonable pluralism and many different conceptions of the good, by arguing that such a society should avoid adopting too expansive a role, since an overly ambitious conception of social justice risks stifling the diversity a political liberal society is trying to protect. I conclude with some general remarks about the current state of liberal theorizing and the need for liberal theorists to provide an account of liberalism that includes more than one’s conception of distributive justice and legitimate state coercion. / Thesis (Master, Philosophy) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-22 21:48:39.206

This dissertation explores the legal issues raised by the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes, using the potential enlargement of legal standing in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a case study. In the first part, a typology of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members is drawn, to serve as a "normative bridge" between the twin phenomenon of legalisation of international trade relations and judicialisation of international trade dispute settlement. In the second part, a comparative study of the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes is conducted, using the doctrine of diplomatic protection from general international law as the analytical framework. This permits an inventory of the various means of private participation in the current practice of States, as well as shedding light on the main systemic problems that are raised, notably in the field of foreign direct investment, where important developments have taken place. In the third part, a study de lege feranda on the enlargement of legal standing in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is undertaken. The study is rooted in the previous analysis of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members and the comparative survey on the participation of private parties in the settlement of international economic disputes. The dissertation demonstrates that the problems concerning private persons in the current mechanism should not be answered by offering them direct access to the WTO, but rather by refocusing attention on the central role of the State in the mediation of diverging interests in the governance of the world trading system. It proposes as a conclusion that WTO Members should instead look into formalising the process of handling private complaints at the domestic level.

As neoliberalism has risen into ascendancy, cities have shifted their development approach, often in ways that produce problematic and heavily critiqued outcomes (Bond, 2005a; Leitner et al, 2007). In many instances, cities have taken on a development agenda characterised by the prioritisation of economic growth and improving the quality of life in cities (Pieterse, 2008). Thus, cities, often with limited resources and skills, face the challenge of negotiating between these imperatives. In this context, public private partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as a development mechanism through which local, redistributive, and global, economic, urban imperatives can be negotiated. Building on the theorisation of neoliberalism and urban development in the contemporary city, this thesis draws on the concepts of the ‘ordinary city’ (Amin and Graham, 1996; Robinson, 2002; 2006) and ‘entanglement’ (Sharp et al, 2000; Nuttall, 2009). The adoption of this theoretical approach facilitates an understanding of the relationship between neoliberalism and the negotiation of competing urban development imperatives in public private partnerships. This understanding is relational and freed from the constraints of developmentalist or global cities approaches, which have come to dominate theorisations of urban development. The empirical research concentrates on two public private partnerships in Durban, South Africa, namely; the Durban Growth Coalition and the eThekwini Municipality-Moreland Developments Joint Venture. These partnerships have produced significant interventions in the urban landscape since their inception in 1999 and 2002, respectively. In addition, the empirical investigation includes the Riverhorse Valley Business Estate and the Bridge City mixed use development. These projects have been implemented through the eThekwini Municipality-Moreland Developments Joint Venture. The empirical study predominantly relies on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders involved in these partnerships, their projects, and within the broader urban development arena of Durban. Documentary evidence and observation has further contributed to the empirical material examined in the research. The research findings reveal how actors in Durban enmesh and co-constitute the competing priorities of economic growth and post apartheid redress through a range of discourses. This discursive inter-relating of the imperatives produces their entanglement. In turn, this entanglement produces an ‘actually existing neoliberalism’ (Brenner and Theodore, 2002a). The form of this local version of neoliberalism is shown to be strongly shaped by the contingent conditions in Durban and the broader context of transition in South Africa. Furthermore, the examination of the two PPP projects brings to light the nuanced character of the ‘actually existing neoliberalism’ and how variably it is materialised within urban development. Through these findings, the thesis gives evidence of the active agency of places in the production of neoliberalism, and thereby challenges the assumption that cities, especially in the developing world, are simply passively responding to the global impulse of neoliberalism (Hart, 2002). As such, it responds to the need for new insight into how neoliberalism is produced at the local level, and addresses concerns for the lack of agency ascribed to cities in theorisations of neoliberalism (Larner, 2000, 2003; Brenner and Theodore, 2002a; Castree, 2005; 2006; Hart, 2002; 2006). Finally, conceptualisations of the binary relationship between the global and the local, and between competing urban development imperatives, are challenged (Hart, 2002). / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.