Search results for "Public Administration"
showing 10 items of 1623 documents
Minding the Gaps : The Role of Finnish Civil Society Organizations in the Labour Market Integration of Migrants
2021
AbstractThe growing role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in welfare service provision is sometimes portrayed as a threat to welfare state universalism in Nordic societies. In Finland, CSOs co-produce integration services alongside comprehensive official integration programmes, compensating for gaps and shortcomings in those services. We identify three “gaps”, which are (1) limited availability of services in terms of time and target group, (2) lack of direct labour market contacts and (3) limited flexibility to serve individual needs. We assess how CSOs target these gaps with their service offerings through qualitative interviews with policy implementers, CSO workers and migrants. How…
Impact of care responsibilities on women’s employment: a comparison between European and East Asian welfare states
2017
ABSTRACTWomen with care responsibilities tend to reduce their labour market activity and to work part time, even if there are cross-national differences. Empirical research often analyses this separately for childcare and elderly care, and studies are usually limited to Western societies. This article aims to explore to what extent women’s care responsibilities for children and older people impact on women’s labour market integration and how this impact differs in the context of different welfare states in Europe and Asia. The analysis is based on data from a new comparative survey for four cities (Jyvaskyla, Hamburg, Bologna and Hsinchu) in four countries (Finland, Germany, Italy and Taiwa…
Employability and Finnish University Graduates
2010
In this article the authors concentrate on the change in the concept of employability during the Bologna process. They show that employability has gradually moved from a peripheral to a core presence in the most recent Bologna process documents. Using a Finnish university merger (University of Eastern Finland) as an example, the authors demonstrate that implementation of the Bologna process has reached the most remote eastern border of the European Union. The Bologna process is shaping the Finnish universities, and employability discussion is embedded in university reforms. The authors argue that the reason why employability has been raised as one of the core concepts of the Bologna proces…
The influence of personal and social identity on the clothing consumption of adolescents
2016
We consider the influence of personal and social identity among adolescents on the importance they attach to clothing products and brands. The conceptual framework includes more conventional variables such as socialization (family, peers, media, and celebrities) and individual characteristics (gender and grade level). Based on a sample of 1,596 French high school adolescents, our results highlight: (i) the influence of identity on the importance attached to product and brand; (ii) the mediating effects of personal and social identities; and (iii) the moderating effects of gender and grade level. We conclude with an analysis of theoretical contributions, practical implications, and future re…
The Use of and Commitment to Goods
2004
In social theory, goods have usually not been included in the social world. However, in the sociology of consumption, they have been seen as mediating social relations and offering opportunities to make social distinctions. It is precisely the symbolic aspect of goods that makes this possible. In helping to make these distinctions, goods are only given a passive role in our lives. They only get to function as markers of social differences, tastes, and so on. However, the use value of goods cannot be reduced to their symbolic aspect. Generally speaking, the use value also has two other aspects which I will call the ‘functionality’ and ‘productivity’ of goods. I am going to argue that becaus…
Introduction: The Challenges of Defining and Studying Contemporary Entrepreneurship
2011
Entrepreneurship is a broad and complex concept, and is an important contributor to the economic prospects of companies, sectors, and entire nations. To a casual observer, entrepreneurship is most closely associated with smalland medium-sized enterprises, yet it plays a vital role, either directly or indirectly, in the sustainability of organizations of all sizes and types, private or public, national or multinational. The entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process are critical to creating new economic activity—boosting innovation, wealth, growth, and employment. It strengthens competition between developed economies and supports social welfare within developing countries. There has been …
The Compound Machinery of Government: The Case of Seconded Officials in the European Commission
2008
textabstractThis article explores the compound machinery of government. Attention is directed toward decision making within the core executive of the European Union - the European Commission. The article studies seconded national civil servants (SNEs) hired on short-term contracts. The analysis benefits from an original and rich body of surveys and interview data derived from current and former SNEs. The decision-making dynamics of SNEs are shown to contain a compound mix of departmental, epistemic, and supranational dynamics. This study clearly demonstrates that the socializing power of the Commission is conditional and only partly sustained when SNEs exit the Commission. Any long-lasting …
Aseguramiento del informe de sostenibilidad en España y Latinoamérica
2015
Este trabajo presenta un estudio sobre el aseguramiento de los informes de sostenibilidad emitidos en España y Latinoamérica. Sobre una muestra de 783 empresas que envían su informe de sostenibilidad al Global Reporting Initiative, se identifican en primer lugar las características corporativas que conducen a las empresas a someter a aseguramiento dicho informe. En segundo lugar, se analiza la evolución del mercado de aseguramiento y su distribución que se evidencia dominado por firmas auditoras. En tercer lugar, se estudia el contenido del informe de aseguramiento para observar las diferentes tendencias en su confección, así como para crear un índice sobre la calidad del mismo. Las conclus…
A review of negotiation outcome: A proposal on delimitation and subsequent assessment in joint venture negotiations
2009
Abstract In this study, we examine the outcomes of negotiation processes in joint ventures. Following a review of negotiation and strategy literature, we propose that satisfaction with the relationship created between partners is the most suitable indicator of negotiation outcome. This indicator is analyzed through the use of two parameters or variables: trust and uncertainty. The analysis is then used to bridge the gap that currently exists in the literature by proposing when a negotiation should be considered successful in joint ventures. One important conclusion of our study is that nonagreement should not always be valued in negative terms as in certain circumstances it can imply the mo…
Online authority communication during an epidemic: A Finnish example
2011
Abstract Social media are creating new challenges for authority communications during crises, such as a pandemic. This study examined Finnish citizens’ opinions about authorities as crisis managers during the swine flu epidemic of 2009–2010 and examined the success of authority intervention to online discussion forums. Through a content analysis carried out at the discussion forums, the study showed that though authorities are highly trusted in general in Finland, this trust is not extended to the online environment. Online, civilians did not trust authorities and the protective actions taken. Moreover, the authorities’ intervention to the discussion forums aimed at correcting false informa…