<p>This thesis examines which processes enable knowledge transfer and which factors affect the transfer of knowledge from a repatriate to the home office within management consulting services. The results from one firm engaging in management consulting activities in Sweden suggest that the prime process for knowledge transfer is through providing post-repatriation assignments, which requires the repatriate to use the acquired knowledge and to cooperate with coworkers and thus share the knowledge. The main factors affecting the knowledge transfer are a corporate culture and a strategy which promote teamwork and sharing. The study indicates that the studied firm has a pragmatic view of sharing knowledge; knowledge is shared when it is used, and all efforts should in the end gain the firm's clients.</p>

It has been stated in many studies that MNCs are in the position of transferring and combining market knowledge and by doing so are creating a competitive edge on national firms. In addition, research has also pointed out the expatriates as one of the most important vehicles for transporting this knowledge. However, recent studies have indicated that there is a gap between what the expatriate learn and what their organization as a whole learn from the expatriates’ international assignments. This study therefore investigates if Nordic MNC’s use mechanisms to assimilate the knowledge expatriates have gained on their international assignments. The findings from 39 Large Cap companies indicate that the participating MNCs do not use mechanisms of knowledge assimilation in any wider sense. Formal methods of sharing knowledge, for example through reports, seminars or IT systems were not common in the studied MNCs nor were informal mechanisms such as fostering a common knowledge sharing vision within the MNC. The findings suggest that the most commonly used methods of assimilating repatriate knowledge are informal in forms of assigning the repatriates to positions that take advantage of their international knowledge and by using different forms of mentoring systems.

Deportation due to criminal activity is often viewed as a neutral administrative practice and has to date received little research attention. This study views the phenomenon as part of a broader field focused on regulating people’s mobility. It also looks at the balance between the state’s interest in deporting non-citizens who commit crime and the goal of protecting refugees. Deportation due to criminal activity is first discussed from five perspectives: as alien control, as punishment and the spatial separation of criminal “others”, as migratory movement and forcible repatriation, in relation to human rights and as a “second asylum hearing”, and as border practice. The study then examines deportation in district courts between 1973 and 2003, via a quantitative study of all convictions involving deportation. Deportation practice differs between persons who are and are not registered as residents. Residents are deported for more serious offences than others and increasingly often over time for crimes against the person and drug crime. The number of non-residents deported increases greatly from 1985, which cannot be explained by an increase in convictions or by legislative changes. The study finally examines the reasoning of courts on possible impediments to deportation when the person convicted had refugee or equivalent status. The court collected an opinion from the Swedish Immigration Board in 80 percent of such cases. The opinions are very brief, often identical for different individuals and seem to be based on general guidelines for different countries rather than the individual’s fear of persecution at sentencing time. In the other cases the court makes its own assessment of impediments to deportation, but the risks faced by those convicted are rarely discussed in the court judgements. In 17 cases, the individual was deported despite the Board’s opinion noting a risk of persecution.

The focus of this study is the assumption that the return of refugees is a necessary condition for the establishment of sustainable peace after armed conflict. This assumption is often made in the peacebuilding literature as well as by policy makers, but it has rarely been the object of systematic analysis. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to test this assumption, which I label the “peace-by-repatriation thesis.” I adopt a two-step approach to analyzing the peace-by-repatriation thesis. The first step is to formulate an analytical framework. The second step is to use the framework to test the peace-by-repatriation thesis on a medium number of cases. The formulation of the analytical framework starts with an examination of previous research. I trace the theoretical foundations of the peace-by-repatriation thesis in research on peacebuilding, forced migration, and partition. The analytical framework is further informed by case studies of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nagorno-Karabakh, two cases that represent opposing perceptions of repatriation as a condition for peace. I adopt a set-theoretic approach to test the peace-by-repatriation thesis. I describe in some detail how the key concepts of the analytical framework are operationalized. I select and code forty-three cases—terminated conflicts that caused large-scale displacement—and use fuzzy-set analysis to test the peace-by-repatriation thesis. The analysis shows that repatriation is not a necessary condition for sustainable peace. Instead, ending displacement—irrespective of how this is done—turns out to be an important condition for peace. This result is consistent across tests of different combinations of cases and tests using alternative operationalizations of key concepts. Taken together, the fuzzy-set analysis and the case studies suggest that the relationship between repatriation and peace will vary from case to case and that pre-war interethnic relations is one of the circumstances that affect that relationship.

This thesis examines which processes enable knowledge transfer and which factors affect the transfer of knowledge from a repatriate to the home office within management consulting services. The results from one firm engaging in management consulting activities in Sweden suggest that the prime process for knowledge transfer is through providing post-repatriation assignments, which requires the repatriate to use the acquired knowledge and to cooperate with coworkers and thus share the knowledge. The main factors affecting the knowledge transfer are a corporate culture and a strategy which promote teamwork and sharing. The study indicates that the studied firm has a pragmatic view of sharing knowledge; knowledge is shared when it is used, and all efforts should in the end gain the firm's clients.

Background In a global market where competition is constantly growing, organizations need to staff employees from the home country company in the subsidiaries abroad in order to create a local presence and sustain the international competition which is referred to as expatria-tion. The expatriation process requires lots of planning and training before departure and adaptation when on place and also re-adaptation of oneself when coming back to the home country. Problems that occur during the international assignment might lead to ex-patriate failure which is termination of the assignment prematurely. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to contribute with an understanding of problems expatriates encounter during their expatriation period and how the expatriation process can be im-proved. Method A qualitative study with in-depth interviews has been carried out. Seven case studies have been conducted with seven expatriates from three different organizations, who have been working in different countries. The personnel who work with the expatriation process have also been interviewed in order to gain a better understanding about how the expatriation process is planned and supported. Conclusion The empirical findings show that the pre-departure training expatriates receive are focused on work related issues, hence cultural awareness training are often neglected. This leads to problems for the expatriates, like for example integration problems, adjustment problems for the expatriate and his/her family members, and not being able to communicate in the local language. Also the support received from the home country company are many times insufficient, and the home country companies rarely provide the expatriates with any form of repatriation program to ease their re-adjustment process. This study shows that many organizations need to improve the different parts of their expatriation process. The organizations should especially focus on developing their pre-departure training to include cultural training for both the expatriate and the spouse, and develop a sufficient repatria-tion program.

The “twice-looted” archives refer to a vast body of documents that were looted by Nazi agencies during, and again by Soviet Army units immediately following World War II. The archives were taken in the context of the two most intensive programs of cultural heritage looting in modern history. Their fate remained unknown until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, many efforts have been made to return the documents to their original owners. However, significant obstacles have hindered restitution, leaving a large body of foreign archives in Russia. By connecting the history and current status of the “twice-looted” archives to archival theory and ethical principles on cultural heritage property, this thesis provides a foundation from which to approach archival restitution. The analysis of recent additions to archival theory provides new understandings of archival meaning that may facilitate the restitution of archives displaced by war. Reviewing the details of the archives’ successive seizures leading to their extended residency in the secret “Special Archive” (TsGOA) and discussing restitution developments on national and international levels reveals how exploitation of archives during war violates archival principles. Concluding with specific case studies further illustrates the complex nature of archives and archival meaning and its significance for archival restitution. These discussions reveal the damages that result when archives become targets of war. This in turn, encourages respect for archives and brings attention to the necessity of safeguarding archival heritage.

The repatriation of Aboriginal human remains is still a debated issue in some forums. However, among many Canadian museums and other institutions, repatriation of ancestral remains is no longer a debate. It has become part of an obligation institutions have to ‘decolonize’ their collections. While the question concerning whether repatriation is ‘the right thing to do’ has been recognized in most North American museums, trying to decide the best method to return the remains is still undecided. In examining how perceptions of human remains have changed in the Anglo-European, Haida and Ojibway cultures, an explanation of the importance of repatriation emerges. This thesis analyses how changes in perception have impacted the acceptance of repatriation among museums and other institutions and produced a discourse concerned with returning all Aboriginal remains back to Native communities. By analysing the experiences and opinions of 14 stakeholders in repatriation (collected during in-person and telephone conversations as well as open-ended questionnaires) I was able to garner a general opinion on the status of repatriation in Canada. It was found that the current method Canadian institutions employ to repatriate Aboriginal human remains adequately addresses the issue. Flaws are found in all methods of repatriation; however, presently, negotiations based on mediation and not litigation produce more valuable consultation relationships, more cooperation between institutions and Native groups, and a more beneficial repatriation experience.

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of Sino-U.S. governmental law enforcement cooperation to combat human smuggling. A history of bilateral law enforcement cooperation against human smuggling is presented, with emphasis given to the period since 1993. U.S. immigration statistics, along with statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard, are presented as a measure of the success of law enforcement efforts. In the analysis that follows, identification is made of factors that seem to have hindered and obstructed, or promoted and advanced Sino-U.S. law enforcement cooperation. This study finds that sudden shifts in the macroclimate of Sino-U.S. relations may positively or adversely affect cooperation on law enforcement matters, including human smuggling. In the current case, bilateral cooperation against human smuggling has been advanced by spillover effects of convergent Sino-U.S. counterterrorism interests that occurred in the wake of September 11. Next, it is found that the creation of formal bilateral institutions for law enforcement cooperation since 1997 has facilitated improved effectiveness in Sino-U.S. work against human smuggling.. Finally, this study finds that the effectiveness of bilateral law enforcement cooperation against human smuggling has been substantially undermined by the inability of the two sides to maintain an effective repatriation-based deterrent against human smuggling.

<p>Background</p><p>In a global market where competition is constantly growing, organizations need to staff employees from the home country company in the subsidiaries abroad in order to create a local presence and sustain the international competition which is referred to as expatria-tion. The expatriation process requires lots of planning and training before departure and adaptation when on place and also re-adaptation of oneself when coming back to the home country. Problems that occur during the international assignment might lead to ex-patriate failure which is termination of the assignment prematurely.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to contribute with an understanding of problems expatriates encounter during their expatriation period and how the expatriation process can be im-proved.</p><p>Method</p><p>A qualitative study with in-depth interviews has been carried out. Seven case studies have been conducted with seven expatriates from three different organizations, who have been working in different countries. The personnel who work with the expatriation process have also been interviewed in order to gain a better understanding about how the expatriation process is planned and supported.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The empirical findings show that the pre-departure training expatriates receive are focused on work related issues, hence cultural awareness training are often neglected. This leads to problems for the expatriates, like for example integration problems, adjustment problems for the expatriate and his/her family members, and not being able to communicate in the local language. Also the support received from the home country company are many times insufficient, and the home country companies rarely provide the expatriates with any form of repatriation program to ease their re-adjustment process. This study shows that many organizations need to improve the different parts of their expatriation process. The organizations should especially focus on developing their pre-departure training to include cultural training for both the expatriate and the spouse, and develop a sufficient repatria-tion program.</p>