Government Laws, Regulations and Policies: Small Fish in a Big Pond

Global development has, in recent years, been shaped by the rise of transnational capital. This has implications for the quality and effectiveness of those national laws, regulations and policies in place to monitor transnational capital, ensure that multi national organisations assume responsibility and hold them accountable should they fail to do so. In balancing these objectives, contrasting issues come to the fore, such as the fear of capital flight; an issue especially profound in small open economies where the balance may tip in the favour of retaining, as opposed to regulating, foreign capital.
This paper can be considered in three parts. First, the paper addresses the shift in global leadership from national governments to multinational corporations (with particular reference to the rise of the Transnational Capitalist Class). This shift will incorporate the connotations of the Third Way. In considering this ideology, it will propose the Third Way as a transition phase to a stage when government is more the “third wheel” than an equal partner in governance structures. Second, the implications of the changing nature of governance on the capacity of nation states to develop effective laws, regulations and policies is discussed which leads on to the third aspect of the paper which identifies the challenges for governments, business and society in reimagining the governance structure pertaining to law, regulation and policy and the need to reconsider existing structures in light of global shifts in power structures.
A new leadership structure, both within the national and international governance system has far reaching implications. Boundary constraints no longer an issue, the potential for equality and global democracy is huge. Instead, a post recessionary world faces new governance challenges in the shape of; legitimacy; accountability and responsibility. Capitalism has invaded government and the primary challenge will be in avoiding the same issues that have dogged our financial markets for the last number of years. The challenge then to laws, regulations and public policy is huge, especially considering that the governments regulating are smaller than those dictating agenda on a global level

Assessing Lifetime Homes Standards and Part M Building Regulations for Housing Design in the UK

The aims of this article are to examine Lifetime Home Standards (LTHS) and Part M of the UK Building Regulations and to discuss how relevant and successful they are. The UK government expects all new homes to be built to LTHS by 2013. This is increasingly important with an ageing population. The home environment can enable independence and provide a therapeutic place for everyone. As Part M of the building regulations are compulsory in all housing and LTHS are mandatory for public sector housing, a review of research articles was undertaken on these standards. The paper begins with a brief background on accessibility regulations, followed by a critical review of the standards that takes the body of literature that has been written around them into account. This review suggests that the standards should be improved and that designers and architects face challenges to creatively incorporate them into housing design.

Meeting the Requirements of the CDM Regulations: Identification of Critical Success Factors of Small to Medium Sized Contractor’ Compliance in the UK Construction Industry

The Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations (2007) is one of the most important set of health and safety regulations in the construction industry today. The aim of this research is to examine critical success factors for CDM compliance in small to medium size contractors in the UK construction industry. The objectives of the research include the identification of critical barriers in doing so along with the identification of success factors where CDM is incorporated. A mixed method approach is adopted in the identification and categorisation of the various factors encompassing a literature review, interviews and questionnaire survey. The key finding which emerge is the lack of knowledge and understanding with regards the CDM regulations with the recommendation to encourage small and medium contractor compliance through illustrating the benefits attainable. The practicality of the research is evident based on the significant uptake in the CDM by larger contractors, yet the research indicates that further insight and guidance is required to educate and inform those working within small to medium sized contractors in the UK. Where such acknowledgement and compliance is adopted, it is envisaged that this sector will benefit from reduced incidents and accidents, increased productivity while ultimately leading to a safer and more productive industry as a whole.

Neolithic settlement at the woodland’s edge: palynological data and timber architecture in Orkney, Scotland

It has often been assumed that the islands of Orkney were essentially treeless throughout much of the Holocene, with any ‘scrub’ woodland having been destroyed by Neolithic farming communities by around 3500 cal. BC. This apparently open, hyper-oceanic environment would presumably have provided quite marginal conditions for human settlement, yet Neolithic communities flourished and the islands contain some of the most spectacular remains of this period in north-west Europe. The study of new Orcadian pollen sequences, in conjunction with the synthesis of existing data, indicates that the timing of woodland decline was not synchronous across the archipelago, beginning in the Mesolithic, and that in some areas woodland persisted into the Bronze Age. There is also evidence to suggest that woodland communities in Orkney were more diverse, and therefore that a wider range of resources was available to Neolithic people, than has previously been assumed. Recent archaeological investigations have revealed evidence for timber buildings at early Neolithic settlement sites, suggesting that the predominance of stone architecture in Neolithic Orkney may not have been due to a lack of timber as has been supposed. Rather than simply reflecting adaptation to resource constraints, the reasons behind the shift from timber to stone construction are more complex and encompass social, cultural and environmental factors.