Part-time employment within the Swedish retail business : – A study of part-time employment from a management perspective

Research question: How has the presence of PT employees affected the role of managers in the Swedish food retail business? Research purpose: The purpose of this paper was to describe the change that accompanies part-time employment from a management perspective, and particularly, describe how the presence of part-time employment has influenced the role of the manager within the Swedish food retail business. Conceptual framework: The main focused in this chapter is directed towards the role of managers. The basis of the conceptual framework consist of the model developed by Mintzberg including the ten managerial roles and Quinn's eight leadership roles and how the presence of PT employments might affect these roles. Methodology: In this paper, the authors adopted a qualitative design and used narrative inquiry as a research strategy in order to gain a deep understanding of the context. Semi- structured interviews have been collected through a self-selection sampling and the total number of participants was ten. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this paper the presence of PT employees have not influenced and changed the role of managers. The changes that have influenced and caused the change of the role of the managers constitutes of the increased workload, the delegations of tasks and responsibilities, changed positions, the change of the organisational structure of the individual store, and the increased workforce.

Manliga och kvinnliga kockar : En analys av kokböckers omslagsdesign ur ett genusperspektiv

Syftet med denna studie var att genom en visuell innehållsanalys undersöka hur kokböcker normalt såg ut för varje genus. Resultatet skulle sedan jämföras för att hitta skillnader och likheter mellan manliga och kvinnliga omslag för att sätta ett genusperspektiv på utformningen, samt undersöka om designen berodde på författarens eller målgruppens kön. Den visuella innehållsanalysen utfördes på sammanlagt 84 svenska kokböcker där hälften var skrivna av kvinnor och hälften av män. Analysen visade att kvinnor hade ett mer feminint utseende på sin omslagsdesign, men att även männens omslag var mer feminina än maskulina. Detta resultat berodde både på målgruppens och författarens kön. Omslagen var i övrigt lika varandra i utformning och i modellens posering då kokböckers egentliga målgrupp ska vara alla matintresserade och inte ett bestämt kön.

Brazil and Turkey, a comparative analysis of both countries' economic development and institutional design from the Great Depression to the early 21st century

Apos uma década de rápido crescimento econômico na primeira década do século 21, Brasil e Turquia foram considerados duas das economias emergentes mais dinâmicas e promissoras. No entanto, vários sinais de dificuldades econômicas e tensões políticas reapareceram recentemente e simultaneamente nos dois países. Acreditamos que esses sinais e a sua simultaneidade podem ser entendidos melhor com um olhar retrospectivo sobre a história econômica dos dois países, que revela ser surpreendentemente paralela. Numa primeira parte, empreendemos uma comparação abrangente da história econômica brasileira e turca para mostrar as numerosas similaridades entre os desafios de política econômica que os dois países enfrentaram, assim como entre as respostas que eles lhes deram desde a virada da Grande Depressão até a primeira década do século 21. Essas escolhas de política econômica comuns dão forma a uma trajetória de desenvolvimento notavelmente análoga, caracterizada primeiro pela adoção do modelo de industrialização por substituição das importações (ISI) no contexto da recessão mundial dos anos 1930; depois pela intensificação e crise final desse modelo nos anos 1980; e finalmente por duas décadas de estabilização e transição para um modelo econômico mais liberal. Numa segunda parte, o desenvolvimento das instituições econômicas e políticas, assim como da economia política subjacente nos dois países, são analisados comparativamente a fim de prover alguns elementos de explicação do paralelo observado na primeira parte. Sustentamos que o marco institucional estabelecido nos dois países durante esse período também têm varias características fundamentais em comum e contribui a explicar as escolhas de política econômica e as performances econômicas comparáveis, detalhadas na primeira parte. Este estudo aborda elementos do contexto histórico úteis para compreender a situação econômica e política atual nos dois países. Potencialmente também constitui uma tentativa de considerar as economias emergentes numa perspectiva histórica e comparativa mais ampla para entender melhor as suas fraquezas institucionais e adotar um olhar mais equilibrado sobre seu potencial econômico.

Pension legislation and gender equity in Latin America

Includes bibliography

The gender perspective in transport in Latin America and the Caribbean

This issue of the FAL Bulletin analyses the situation of women in the transport sector in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, from the perspective of women workers. The study begins by giving an overview of labour conditions, looks specifically at the transport sector, and concludes with a series of public policy recommendation.

Problems in functioning from the patient perspective using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a reference

We conducted a qualitative, multicenter study using a focus group design to explore the lived experiences of persons with any kind of primary sleep disorder with regard to functioning and contextual factors using six open-ended questions related to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) components. We classified the results using the ICF as a frame of reference. We identified the meaningful concepts within the transcribed data and then linked them to ICF categories according to established linking rules. The six focus groups with 27 participants yielded a total of 6986 relevant concepts, which were linked to a total of 168 different second-level ICF categories. From the patient perspective, the ICF components: (1) Body Functions; (2) Activities & Participation; and (3) Environmental Factors were equally represented; while (4) Body Structures appeared poignantly less frequently. Out of the total number of concepts, 1843 concepts (26%) were assigned to the ICF component Personal Factors, which is not yet classified but could indicate important aspects of resource management and strategy development of those who have a sleep disorder. Therefore, treatment of patients with sleep disorders must not be limited to anatomical and (patho-)physiological changes, but should also consider a more comprehensive view that includes patient's demands, strategies and resources in daily life and the contextual circumstances surrounding the individual.

A landscape mosaics approach for characterizing swidden systems from a REDD+ perspective

Swidden agriculture is often deemed responsible for deforestation and forest degradation in tropical regions, yet swidden landscapes are commonly not visible on land cover/use maps, making it difficult to prove this assertion. For a future REDD+ scheme, the correct identification of deforestation and forest degradation and linking these processes to land use is crucial. However, it is a key challenge to distinguish degradation and deforestation from temporal vegetation dynamics inherent to swiddening. In this article we present an approach for spatial delineation of swidden systems based on landscape mosaics. Furthermore we introduce a classification for change processes based on the change matrix of these landscape mosaics. Our approach is illustrated by a case study in Viengkham district in northern Laos. Over a 30-year time period the swidden landscapes have increased in extent and they have degraded, shifting from long crop–fallow cycles to short cycles. From 2007 to 2009 degradation within the swidden system accounted for half of all the landscape mosaics change processes. Pioneering shifting cultivation did not prevail. The landscape mosaics approach could be used in a swidden compatible monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system of a future REDD+ framework.

Active materiality : the agency of matter from the phenomenological perspective = Materialidad activa : la operatividad de la materia desde el punto de vista fenomenológico

The role of matter has remained central to the making and the thinking of architecture, yet many attempts to capture its essence have been trapped in a dialectic tension between form and materiality, between material consistency and immaterial modes of perception, between static states and dynamic processes, between the real and the virtual, thus advancing an increasing awareness of the perplexing complexity of the material world. Within that complexity, the notion of agency – emerging from and within ecological, politico-economic and socio-cultural processes – calls for a reconceptualization of matter, and consequently processes of materialisation, offering a new understanding of context and space, approached as a field of dynamic relationships. In this context, cutting across boundaries between architectural discourse and practice as well as across the vast trans-disciplinary territory, this dissertation aims to illustrate a variety of design methodologies that have derived from the relational approach. More specifically, the intention is to offer new insights into spatial epistemologies embedded within the notion of atmosphere – commonly associated with the so-called New Phenomenology – and to reflect upon its implications for architectural production. In what follows, the intended argumentation has a twofold dimension. First, through a scrutiny of the notion of atmosphere, the aim is to explore ways of thinking and shaping reality through relations, thus acknowledging the aforementioned complexity of the material universe disclosed through human and non-human as well as material and immaterial forces. Secondly, despite the fact that concerns for atmospherics have flourished over the last few decades, the objective is to reveal that the conceptual foundations and procedures for the production of atmosphere might be found beneath the surface of contemporary debates. Hence, in order to unfold and illustrate previously advocated assumptions, an archaeological approach is adopted, tracing a particular projective genealogy, one that builds upon an atmospheric awareness. Accordingly, in tracing such an atmospheric awareness the study explores the notoriously ambiguous nature and the twofold dimension of atmosphere – meteorological and aesthetic – and the heterogeneity of meanings embedded in them. In this context, the notion of atmosphere is presented as parallactic. It transgresses the formal and material boundaries of bodies. It calls for a reevaluation of perceptual experience, opening a new gap that exposes the orthodox space-bodyenvironment relationships to questioning. It offers to architecture an expanded domain in which to manifest itself, defining architectural space as a contingent construction and field of engagement, and presenting matter as a locus of production/performance/action. Consequently, it is such an expanded or relational dimension that constitutes the foundation of what in the context of this study is to be referred to as affective tectonics. Namely, a tectonics that represents processual and experiential multiplicity of convergent time and space, body and environment, the material and the immaterial; a tectonics in which matter neither appears as an inert and passive substance, nor is limited to the traditionally regarded tectonic significance or expressive values, but is presented as an active element charged with inherent potential and vitality. By defining such a relational materialism, the intention is to expand the spectrum of material attributes revealing the intrinsic relationships between the physical properties of materials and their performative, transformative and affective capacities, including effects of interference and haptic dynamics – i.e. protocols of transmission and interaction. The expression that encapsulates its essence is: ACTIVE MATERIALITY RESUMEN El significado de la materia ha estado desde siempre ligado al pensamiento y el quehacer arquitectónico. Sin embargo, muchos intentos de capturar su esencia se han visto sumergidos en una tensión dialéctica entre la forma y la materialidad, entre la consistencia material y los modos inmateriales de la percepción, entre los estados estáticos y los procesos dinámicos, entre lo real y lo virtual, revelando una creciente conciencia de la desconcertante complejidad del mundo material. En esta complejidad, la noción de la operatividad o capacidad agencial– que emerge desde y dentro de los procesos ecológicos, políticos y socio-culturales– requiere de una reconceptualización de la materia y los procesos inherentes a la materialización, ofreciendo una nueva visión del contexto y el espacio, entendidos como un campo relacional dinámico. Oscilando entre el discurso arquitectónico y la práctica arquitectónica, y atravesando un extenso territorio trans-disciplinar, el objetivo de la presente tesis es ilustrar la variedad de metodologías proyectuales que emergieron desde este enfoque relacional. Concretamente, la intención es indagar en las epistemologías espaciales vinculadas a la noción de la atmósfera– generalmente asociada a la llamada Nueva Fenomenología–, reflexionando sobre su impacto en la producción arquitectónica. A continuación, el estudio ofrece una doble línea argumental. Primero, a través del análisis crítico de la noción de atmósfera, el objetivo es explorar maneras de pensar y dar forma a la realidad a través de las relaciones, reconociendo la mencionada complejidad del universo material revelado a través de fuerzas humanas y no-humanas, materiales e inmateriales. Segundo, a pesar de que el interés por las atmósferas ha florecido en las últimas décadas, la intención es demostrar que las bases conceptuales y los protocolos proyectuales de la creación de atmósferas se pueden encontrar bajo la superficie de los debates contemporáneos. Para corroborar e ilustrar estas hipótesis se propone una metodología de carácter arqueológico, trazando una particular genealogía de proyectos– la que se basa en una conciencia atmosférica. Asimismo, al definir esta conciencia atmosférica, el estudio explora tanto la naturaleza notoriamente ambigua y la dimensión dual de la atmósfera– meteorológica y estética–, como la heterogeneidad de significados derivados de ellas. En este contexto, la atmósfera se entiende como un concepto detonante, ya que sobrepasa los limites formales y materiales de los cuerpos, llevando a la re-evaluación de la experiencia perceptiva y abriendo a preguntas la ortodoxa relación espacio- cuerpo-ambiente. En consecuencia, la noción de la atmósfera ofrece a la arquitectura una dimensión expandida donde manifestarse, definiendo el espacio como una construcción contingente, performativa y afectiva, y presentando la materia como locus de producción/ actuación/ acción. Es precisamente esta dimensión expandida relacional la que constituye una base para lo que en el contexto del presente estudio se define como una tectónica afectiva. Es decir, una tectónica que representa una multiplicidad procesual y experiencial derivada de la convergencia entre el tiempo y el espacio, el cuerpo y el entorno, lo material y lo inmaterial; una tectónica en la que la materia no aparece como una substancia pasiva e inerte, ni es limitada al significado considerado tradicionalmente constructivo o a sus valores expresivos, sino que se presenta como elemento activo cargado de un potencial y vitalidad inherentes. A través de la definición de este tipo de materialismo afectivo, la intención es expandir el espectro de los atributos materiales, revelando las relaciones intrínsecas entre las propiedades físicas de los materiales y sus capacidades performativas, transformativas y afectivas, incluyendo efectos de interferencias y dinámicas hápticas– o dicho de otro modo, protocolos de transmisión e interacción. Una expresión que encapsula su esencia vendría a ser: MATERIALIDAD ACTIVA

Transparency in European football : A study of financial disclosure transparency from a supporter perspective

Background and Problem: Despite the exploding increase in revenue by more than 500 percent (1996-2014) among European football clubs, the operating profit in the “big five” leagues are, paradoxically, inexistent or very low. Hence, there is a need for more transparent financial reporting in European football. To preserve the game’s well-being and establish a sustainable future, UEFA introduced Financial Fair Play (FFP) back in 2010 as a part of their club licensing requirements. The transparency that FFP is intended to improve is however only disclosed to UEFA and its member associations, which is only one of many stakeholders. In times of financial turmoil in European football clubs, where fair play and sustainability is frequently discussed since the implementation of FFP, one could ask; is it really fair play that not all European football clubs are obligated to be transparent towards all their stakeholders and supporters? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to, from a supporter perspective, look at how transparent European football clubs’ financial disclosure is. Methodology: The research has elements of both a deductive and an inductive approach and uses a disclosure checklist with a cross-sectional design, in order to measure disclosure transparency.  Empirical Results and Conclusion: Even though the empirical findings proved that financial reporting transparency are present within European football, the conclusion is that the financial reporting is generally not transparent within the industry.

Establishing continental sovereignty in Africa: risk and opportunity in financial integration - lessons for Africa from a legal perspective

This thesis identifies and defines the new African sovereignty. It establishes a modern sovereignty in Africa hatched from the changing nature of sovereignty in which countries come together at various levels or grades of partial surrender of national sovereignty in order to work closer together for their mutual advantage and benefit. To this end, the narrative zooms in on the central issues within the realms of money matters whereby a new model of monetary sovereignty and monetary solutions is designed in an attempt to ease the recurring tensions and challenges of modern national sovereignty in the continent of Africa. As such, this discussion will offer a historical journey through the constitution of sovereignty, to the birth of the nation state and international public law. It develops the theory of the changing nature of sovereignty within the modern state and opens new lines of inquiry for Africa. In this regard, it draws from juxtaposing and mixing elements of regional and global financial integration as well as retaining national financial sovereignty features to form this new design which I dub continental sovereignty. At its core, the thesis will deal with the legal aspects that stem from the co-mingling of legal systems of nation states and communities at the regional and global levels within the context of financial integration. The argument is that the rule of law remains sacrosanct in monetary management. Effective financial integration is the result of properly structured and managed legal frameworks with robust laws and institutions whether at a national, regional or global level. However, the thesis reveals that in order to avoid undermining the progress of Africa’s financial integration project, any solution for Africa must be immersed within a broader global solution where development issues are addressed and resolved and Africa can form a more central part in all relevant international discussion fora. The work will expound these issues by applying them within a regional and global context, with the state of affairs in Africa forming the nucleus. This application consequently presents the six key themes of the thesis which will be considered therein. They are: a.) regional advantage: which exploits the possibilities of deeper and further financial integration between smaller communal arrangements; b.) regional risk and exposure: the extent to which this deeper form of financial integration can spiral out of control if effected too quickly and too ambitiously; c.) global advantage: which considers the merits of global financial integration and the influence exerted by financial laws on the global financial architecture; d.) global risk and exposure: which considers the challenges of global financial integration especially within the background of the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2008; e.) African challenge: which considers the extent to which this analysis impacts the African economic and financial integration agenda; and f.) development challenge: which examines the extent to which global development issues impact the African solution (continental sovereignty) and the need for any solution for the continent to be roped into a broader global solution within which Africa can form an important part. Even though the thesis requests an optimistic undertone on the progress made so far, it unearths the African problem of multiple national sovereignty and multiple overlapping regional sovereignty constituted as the ‘spaghetti bowl’ dilemma. As such, the unique contribution to knowledge on financial integration in Africa can be echoed in these words: Africa‘s financial integration agenda has had little success in authenticating a systematic and dependable legal framework for monetary management. Efforts made have been incomplete, substandard, and not carefully followed through particularly reflected in the impuissant nature of the judicial enforcement mechanisms. Thus, the thesis argues that, any meaningful answer to the problems dogging the continent is inter alia deeply entrenched within a new form of cooperative monetary sovereignty. In other words, the thesis does not prescribe the creation of new laws; rather it advocates the effective enforcement of existing laws.

O ensino do esporte paralímpico na escola a partir da visão dos professores : o caso do Goolball e do voleibol sentado = The teaching paralympic sport at school from teacher's perspective : the case of Goalball and sitting volleyball

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Coexistence of forest and savanna in an Amazonian area from a geological perspective

Question: How can the coexistence of savanna and forest in Amazonian areas with relatively uniform climates be explained? Location: Eastern Marajo Island, northeast Amazonia, Brazil. Methods: The study integrated floristic analysis, terrain morphology, sedimentology and delta(13)C of soil organic matter. Floristic analysis involved rapid ecological assessment of 33 sites, determination of occurrence, specific richness, hierarchical distribution and matrix of floristic similarity between paired vegetation types. Terrain characterization was based on analysis of Landsat images using 4(R), 5(G) and 7(B) composition and digital elevation model (DEM). Sedimentology involved field descriptions of surface and core sediments. Finally, radiocarbon dating and analysis of delta(13)C of soil profile organic matter and natural ecotone forest-savanna was undertaken. Results: Slight tectonic subsidence in eastern Marajo Island favours seasonal flooding, making it unsuitable for forest growth. However, this area displays slightly convex-up, sinuous morphologies related to paleochannels, covered by forest. Terra-firme lowland forests are expanding from west to east, preferentially occupying paleochannels and replacing savanna. Slack, running water during channel abandonment leads to disappearance of varzea/gallery forest at channel margins. Long-abandoned channels sustain continuous terra-firme forests, because of longer times for more species to establish. Recently abandoned channels have had less time to become sites for widespread tree development, and are either not vegetated or covered by savanna. Conclusion: Landforms in eastern Marajo Island reflect changes in the physical environment due to reactivation of tectonic faults during the latest Quaternary. This promoted a dynamic history of channel abandonment, which controlled a set of interrelated parameters (soil type, topography, hydrology) that determined species location. Inclusion of a geological perspective for paleoenvironmental reconstruction can increase understanding of plant distribution in Amazonia.

The role of physiological understanding in plant breeding; From a breeding perspective

The role of physiological understanding in improving the efficiency of breeding programs is examined largely from the perspective of conventional breeding programs. Impact of physiological research to date on breeding programs, and the nature of that research, was assessed from (i) responses to a questionnaire distributed to plant breeders and physiologists, and (ii) a survey of literature abstracts. Ways to better utilise physiological understanding for improving breeding programs are suggested, together with possible constraints to delivering beneficial outcomes. Responses from the questionnaire indicated a general view that the contribution by crop physiology to date has been modest. However, most of those surveyed expected the contribution to be larger in the next 20 years. Some constraints to progress perceived by breeders and physiologists were highlighted. The survey of literature abstracts indicated that from a plant breeding perspective, much physiological research is not progressing further than making suggestions about possible approaches to selection. There was limited evidence in the literature of objective comparison of such suggestions with existing methodology, or of development and application of these within active breeding programs. It is argued in this paper that the development of outputs from physiological research for breeding requires a good understanding of the breeding program(s) being serviced and factors affecting its performance. Simple quantitative genetic models, or at least the ideas they represent, should be considered in conducting physiological research and in envisaging and evaluating outputs. The key steps of a generalised breeding program are outlined, and the potential pathways for physiological understanding to impact on these steps are discussed. Impact on breeding programs may arise through (i) better choice of environments in which to conduct selection trials, (ii) identification of selection criteria and traits for focused introgression programs, and (iii) identifying traits for indirect selection criteria as an adjunct to criteria already used. While many breeders and physiologists apparently recognise that physiological understanding may have a major role in the first area, there appears to be relatively Little research activity targeting this issue, and a corresponding bias, arguably unjustified, toward examining traits for indirect selection. Furthermore, research on traits aimed at crop improvement is often deficient because key genetic parameters, such as genetic variation in relevant breeding populations and genetic (as opposed to phenotypic) correlations with yield or other characters of economic importance, are not properly considered in the research. Some areas requiring special attention for successfully interfacing physiology research with breeding are discussed. These include (i) the need to work with relevant genetic populations, (ii) close integration of the physiological research with an active breeding program, and (iii) the dangers of a pre-defined or narrow focus in the physiological research.