103 research outputs found
CONDITIONS OF IMPACT. ORGANIZATION AND CONTEXT OF EFFECTIVE MULTI-STAKEHOLDER LABOUR GOVERNANCE IN GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS.
No full textIn vista dei limiti della gestione aziendale unilaterale, le cosiddette iniziative multi-stakeholder (MSI) ci sono progressivamente moltiplicate per affrontare la regolamentazione degli standard internazionali del lavoro nella catena globale del valore, utilizzando le leve e gli strumenti dei più svariati attori, tra cui governi, sindacati e ONG. L'emergere di queste MSI è legata alla convinzione che una maggiore collaborazione porti a una gestione del lavoro più efficace (World Bank, 2015). Le diverse iniziative di collaborazione suggeriscono però che la realtà sia più complessa. Fattori come il coinvolgimento delle parti interessate, la configurazione organizzativa e il contesto locale possono influire notevolmente sui risultati della loro gestione e, in ultima analisi, sul loro successo. Mentre gli studi sulla governance privata del lavoro hanno considerato separatamente ciascuno di questi fattori, non esiste a oggi uno studio che esamini in maniera congiunta l'impatto dei fattori interni ed esterni sul successo della governance collaborativa tramite le MSI. Il presente lavoro si propone di contribuire a colmare questo divario prendendo in esame i casi dell'associazione Fair Labor Association (FLA) e il programma Better Work dell'International Labour Organization (ILO), con una strategia di ricerca quantitativa e qualitativa. In primo luogo, la ricerca fornisce un approfondimento sulle caratteristiche della governance collaborativa offrendo una nuova e completa classificazione delle MSI sulla regolazione del lavoro, considerando le dimensioni del campo di applicazione delle iniziative, della compliance e della funzione delle stesse. Lo studio di caso comparato sottolinea ulteriormente la rilevanza delle dinamiche tra livelli di collaborazione e qualità di governance. In secondo luogo, la ricerca esamina l’impatto dei fattori esterni analizzando i dati sulla social compliance di FLA e Better Work, presentando nuovi risultati che svelano l'impatto delle caratteristiche della supply chain, del contesto istituzionale e del ruolo statale sullo sviluppo della social compliance a fronte di diversi standard di lavoro. La ricerca sottolinea in modo specifico la diversa tangibilità organizzativa dei diritti ammissibili e osservabili (Barrientos e Smith, 2007) e la rilevanza della regolamentazione nazionale del lavoro, nonché del commercio, per promuovere efficacemente gli standard internazionali del lavoro.As an answer to the limits of unilateral, corporate labour governance, so-called multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) have increasingly emerged to tackle the regulation of labour standards in global value chains (GVCs), making use of the leverage and tools of more diverse actors, including governments, trade unions and NGOs. The emergence of these MSIs is linked to the belief, that higher collaboration leads to more successful labour governance (World Bank, 2015). The diversity among collaborative initiatives suggests however that the reality is more complex. Factors such as the involvement of specific stakeholders, the organizational setup and the initiative’s local environments can all heavily affect their governance-outcomes, and ultimately their success. Whereas studies on private labour governance have considered each of these factors separately, so far there is no consorted effort which examines the impact of both internal and external conditions on the success of collaborative global labour governance through MSIs. Examining the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and the ILO’s Better Work Program, this dissertation contributes to fill this gap with a quantitative-qualitative research strategy. First, it gives insights into the internal conditions of collaborative governance by offering a new and comprehensive classification of labour-regulating MSIs, using dimensions of scope, membership and function. Through a comparative case-study, the research further uncovers re-enforcing dynamics between levels of collaborativeness and governance-quality. Second, external conditions are examined by analysing FLA’s and Better Work’s social compliance data. Here, the dissertation presents novel findings which unravel the impact of supply-chain characteristics, institutional environments and state roles on the development of social compliance with diverse labour standards. The research specifically highlights the distinct organizational tangibility of enabling and observable rights (Barrientos and Smith, 2007) and the relevance of national labour market regulation as well as controlled trade de-regulation for effective public reinforcement of global labour standards
The enforcement of diverse labour standards through private governance: an assessment
No full textThe effectiveness of private governance on global labour standards remains extremely difficult to assess, let alone measure. Debates surrounding relevant factors focus on two areas: contextual variables regarding social and economic upgrading, and firm-specific characteristics. This article contributes to both debates, looking at characteristics of buyer companies, while also taking institutional variables into account. It examines structural and environmental features of cases encoded in a data set derived from over 1000 audit reports compiled by the Fair Labor Association. Focusing on the apparel, sports- and footwear industry, the article highlights the importance of regulatory quality, economic performance and social freedom in sourcing countries for the success of private governance. The analysis statistically underlines the importance of public governance specifically for process rights, such as anti-discrimination and freedom of association. Complementarity between private and public governance programmes may therefore be particularly important for these standards
Religious intellectuals : the poetic gravity of Emily Brontë and Christina Rossetti
No full textThis thesis examines the writing of Emily Brontë and Christina Rossetti in terms of its
expression of religious culture and belief. It is my argument that Brontë and Rossetti
experienced religion as intellectuals, questioning and exploring doctrine and dogma neither
as sentimental lady Christians nor dismissive, secular critics. I contend that by close
reading their poetry, the genre both women privileged as most appropriate for the
consideration of religious matters, the reader may trace the sermons and theological works
they read. Moreover, their writing, I suggest, evinces their intellectual response to
theological, ecclesiological and ecclesiastical developments that took place in the
nineteenth century. I thus label Brontë and Rossetti 'religious intellectuals,' a phrase
suggestive of their intense understanding of, rather than their mild acquaintance with,
religious debate. Many women writing within the nineteenth century found that religion
granted them a field within which to freely read and research, but were denied the
professional title of 'theologian.' Brontë and Rossetti are thus examples of a wider
phenomenon wherein women encountered religion like scholars, one disregarded by current
criticism unable as it is to categorize a female activity simultaneously religious and
intellectual. I use Brontë and Rossetti as examples of what I call the 'religious intellectual'
because they represent different sides of this classification. Where Brontë struggled away
from her Methodist background, serving as a cultural commentator on its enthusiastic
belief-system, Rossetti forged a scholarly identity as a late member of the High Church
Oxford Movement. Both poets, I contend, wrote about religion in order to signal their
intellectual ability. I conclude that Brontë's interest in Methodism and Rossetti's
fascination with Tractarianism reveals the poets to be both independent of family pressures
and false consciousness, and fully engaged with a subject central to their age
Parental Advisory: The Female Character in the Dark and Gritty Works of Christina Henry
No full textAuthor Christina Henry writes dark retellings of canonical children’s literature, turning them into dark fiction aimed towards adults. Two of her works include Lost Boy -a retelling of J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy) - and Alice – the first novel of a series adapting Lewis Carroll’s original work Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The aim of this thesis is to look at the original works of J.M Barrie and Lewis Carroll and compare them to Christina Henry’s adult fiction retellings of them, especially focusing on how the portrayal of the main female characters in these works has changed through the adaptation process. The thesis conducts four close readings of the main female characters in the works of Barrie, Carroll and Henry, which are each analysed by using and relying on Judith Butler’s theory on gender and performativity. The conclusion of the thesis provides an overview of the findings in the four close readings and compares those to conclude how Christina Henry through her works expresses a resistance on more progressive views on gender
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Author Correction: Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function
No full textChristina M. Lill, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the article
Author correction: Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function
No full textChristina M. Lill, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the article
Transgressive femininity: gender in the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough
No full textThis PhD thesis deals with how new discourses on femininity and gender developed in
Scandinavian literature during the Modern Breakthrough, 1880-1909. Political,
economic and demographic changes in the Scandinavian societies put pressures on the
existing, conventional gender roles, which literature reflects; however, literature also
created and introduced new discourses on gender.
The main focus has been on transgressive female characters in Danish, Swedish
and Norwegian novels, which I have seen as indicators of emerging new forms of
femininity. The study shows how the transgression of gender boundaries is used in the
novels, when presenting their views on what femininity is, should be or could be. In
addition to analysing the textual strategies in the representation of these ‘deviant’
literary characters, I have examined how the relevant texts were received by critics and
reviewers at the time, as reviews are in themselves discursive constructs.
The theoretical basis of this study has mainly been Michel Foucault’s discourse
theory, Judith Butler’s theory of performativity and Yvonne Hirdman’s theory of
gender binarism. I have also used concepts from several (mainly Anglo-American and
Scandinavian) literary gender theorists and historians in the analyses.
The four novels analysed in this study are as follows: 1) Danish author Herman
Bang’s early decadence novel Haabløse Slægter (1880), where I use a queer theory
perspective. 2) Norwegian author Ragnhild Jølsen’s Rikka Gan (1904), where the
strong elements of pre-psychoanalysis are analysed. 3) Swedish author August
Strindberg’s Le Plaidoyer d’un fou (1887-88), where I make a narratological
examination of the narrative voice from a gender perspective. 4) Swedish author Annie
Quiding’s Fru Fanny (1904), analysed as an example of ‘negative’ New Woman
literature.
The thesis shows how literature of the time represented and introduced new forms
of femininity, often in the form of ambiguous female characters, and often to the
disapproval of the critics. It also shows that gender discourses were much alike within
Scandinavia. Furthermore, my study lays bare the skeleton of normative Breakthrough femininity, what can be called the dominant discourse on femininity at the time: a nonexisting
sexual desire, feminine immobility/containment in the home and an imperative,
self-sacrificing motherliness
Healthy homes initiative project
No full textA healthy and safe community is vital for the overall quality and economic stability of any city. To maintain the health and attractiveness of our communities, we must rebuild, enhance, restore and alleviate sickness in our neighborhoods. A major objective of many neighborhood revitalization programs is to increase home ownership to help stabilize neighborhoods and strengthen communities. It creates important local and individual incentives for maintaining and improving private property and public spaces. Local nonprofit community development corporations spearhead the revitalization of distressed communities.
The Lemoyne-Owen College area was faced with the challenge of a deteriorating community. To solve this problem, LeMoyne-Owen College Community Development Corporation (LOCCDC) was re- established in 1989 to institutionalize Lemoyne-Owen College's commitment to its community. Since its establishment, LOCCDC has been recognized as a key mechanism for community development and outreach. This organization has been successful in various areas, including Micro Lending, Business and Economic Development and Housing.
LOCCDC started the Housing component in 1999 when it received its first CHDO grant. Since then, it has built 10 new single homes and rehabilitated 5 single homes using its "Build a Block" infill program.
LOCCDC started the Healthy Homes Initiative program in 2004 to join the nation in its effort to eliminate the home lead poisoning especially in children under the age of six years by the year 2010 while producing affordable homes for sale to low income single families. LOCCDC aims to complete 20 such projects by the turn of the decade.
This paper is a demonstration of how LOCCDC conducted the first piece of the Healthy Homes Initiative Project with an outline of community needs assessment, the problem statement, project design, project implementation and project monitoring and implementation process. (Author abstract)Maina, J. (2005). Healthy homes initiative project. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduMaster of Science (M.S.)School of Community Economic Developmen
Christina_Hagen_Jungle
No full textThis project reviews the anthology Jungle (2017) written by Danish author Christina Hagen. With a focus on the representations of the dominating discourses concerning sexuality, race, and gender, the project examines whether the discourses in Jungle enables criticism of the dominating discourses in society, or if it simply reproduces the same discourses. The project opens with a presentation of the debate concerning the anthology, and the question about the responsibility to take sides as an author. To examine the discourses in Jungle we have explored the theories of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler and Stuart Hall. The theories have been used as a way to understand the theory behind and the history that produced the discourses. In the analysis we discovered that the moved enunciation is reflective from the author to the protag-onist in all chapters. We questioned the credibility of the protagonist and thus the author as the statements appear to be based on the authors unhappiness. The protagonist reproduces racist discourses though distanced. We argued that Christina Hagen expose and clarify the issues so that they can be criticized. But because the contributors of the debate are all white, they and us included can never know whether or not the discourses are broken down
The 'true use of reading' : Sarah Fielding and mid eighteenth-century literary strategies.
No full textPhDThe aim of this thesis is to explore, by examining her life and
works, how Sarah Fielding (1710-68) established her identity as an author.
The definition of her role involves her notions of the functions of
writing and reading.
Sarah Fielding attempts to invite readers to form a sense of ties
by tacit understanding of her messages. As she believes that a work
of literature is produced through collaboration between the writer and
the reader, it is an important task in her view to show her attentiveness
toward reading practice. In her consideration of reading, she has two
distinct, even opposite views of her audience: on the one hand a familiar
and limited circle of readers with shared moral and cultural values and
on the other potential readers among the unknown mass of people. The
dual targets direct her to devise various strategies. She tries to
appeal to those who can endorse and appreciate her moral values as well
as her learning. Her writings and letters testify that she is sensitive
to the demands of the literary market, trying to lead the taste of readers
by inventing new forms.
The thesis opens with an overview of Sarah Fielding's career,
followed by a consideration of her critical attention to the roles of
reading. I go on to examine the narrative structures and strategies
she deploys, with a particular emphasis on her use of the epistolary
method. The following chapter deals with her attention to the reading
of the moral message tangibly embodied in her educational writing. It
is followed by an analysis of the activity which earned her a reputation
as a learned woman. Various as the forms of her works are, they invariably
reflect her attempt to balance herself between the two demands of
inventiveness and familiarity
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