The Emergence of Industrial Relations in Regional Trade Blocks — A Comparative Analysis

This article analyses the emergence and institutionalization of regional industrial relations arrangements in six regional integration agreements (European Union, North American Free Trade Association, Mercado Común del Sur, Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community, Association of Southeast Asian Nations). In each, the article investigates human and social rights, labour standards, residence and social security rights of migrants, regional union and employer organization, and provisions for social dialogue. The article tries to explain the comparative differences in emergent regional industrial relations by testing four competing hypotheses based on integration and institutional theories specified at the regional and national level.     

Internationale Forschungs- und Entwicklungsstandorte

The internationalisation of research and development (R&D) is continuously increasing and will also take on steadily growing importance in the future. Firms are very mobile when deciding upon their R&D locations and choose locations where they can profit from local knowledge. In the light of the high degree of specialisation in certain technology fields by German firms while at the same time foreign firms focus their R&D activities on these very same fields, the authors recommend a broad approach for policies regarding education and basic research in order to be prepared for future technological developments.     

Redefining Boundaries in Families through Social Networking Leisure

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence the use of social networking sites (SNS) for leisure has on boundaries between families and the outside world, as well as boundaries between family members. The family systems theory and the concept of boundaries served as a basis for this study. Seven families (22 individual family members) took part in the study. Group and individual interviews were conducted for this study. The data supported previous research claiming that connection with the outside world was among the major reasons for using SNS. The findings also suggested that families tried to preserve clear boundaries between themselves and the outside world by controlling who can access their accounts, what information can be shared and what is appropriate time to use SNS. The findings also suggested that the boundaries between family members are constantly being redefined to meet the changing realities of technological world.     

Immigrants' Adaptation and Interracial/Interethnic Interactions in Natural Environments

ABSTRACT

This study examined the role of leisure in natural environments in immigrants' adaptation, with a particular emphasis on facilitating interracial/interethnic interactions. Berry's adaptation framework was used as a theoretical framework. The project used in-depth individual interviews with 70 immigrants from China, Latin America, Morocco, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam residing in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland. The findings showed that recreation in natural environments promoted immigrants' psychological adaptation by helping to improve psychological and emotional well-being, develop feelings of attachment, strengthen social ties, and build memories and family traditions. The sociocultural adaptation was increased when immigrants learned about the culture of the host countries. The natural environments were not particularly conducive to establishing interactions with strangers but were convenient settings for interacting with families and members of the ethnic community.     

The Protection of Lithuanian Consumers against Unfair Contract Terms

Lithuania joined the European Union in 2004. This paper presents the outcome of a research project on the protection provided to Lithuanian consumers by the legislation adopted to transpose the provisions of Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair contract terms into national law. This research was supported by the Eurofaculty of Vilnius University in May/June 2005.     

Dimensional analysis of schoolchildren's food label comprehension: a pilot study

This article discusses some weaknesses in current research into young consumers’ abilities to comprehend and successfully manipulate food label information and describes the development of a research project through to an analysis of the pilot phase. The research programme identifies a method of measuring the effectiveness of state education in enabling the next generation of consumers to make informed food choices through the provision of appropriate tools and skills, both of which are necessary to fully understand a label's informational elements within a marketing context. The article also discusses the appropriateness of a quantitative questionnaire to measure the abilities and skills of individuals through the identification of some key comprehension dimensions required by modern food consumers. Finally, the article questions the appropriateness of the context in which information is provided to food consumers. Through a continuing programme of research, it is envisaged that a more appropriate context for certain elements important in the choice of a diet that is relevant to an individual's lifestyle may be proposed.     

Measuring Changes in Poverty: A Methodological Case Study of Indonesia during an Adjustment Period

Analysis of the effects of policy changes on the poor is oftenhindered by the difficulties inherent in measuring poverty andcomparing levels of poverty before and after policy changes.This article outlines two techniques which can overcome manyof these measurement problems: stochastic dominance conditions,which can facilitate a robust poverty ranking of distributionsof living standards; and a decomposable poverty index, whichallows measured changes in aggregate poverty to be disaggregatedinto their various components, such as the changes among populationsubgroups, and growth and redistributive components. These techniquescan be applied to a wide range of indicators of economic well-beingand poverty lines, and to assumptions about the poor. The approachesare illustrated using household survey data from Indonesia beforeand after external shocks and the subsequent structural adjustmentprogram in the mid-1980s. The study finds that favorable initialconditions and a pro-poor pattern of growth enabled Indonesiato maintain its momentum in poverty alleviation during the period.     

CAP and Advisory Services: From Farm Advisory Systems to Innovation Support

Farm advisory services have become an important topic in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU). The aim of this article is to draw lessons from the implementation of the regulation and measures of the current 2014–2022 CAP in knowledge transfer and advisory services to contribute to debates about the future of farm advisory policies. Findings are based on two studies commissioned by the European Commission: an evaluation study implemented by a consortium of consultancies and researchers and a comparative analysis implemented in the frame of the H2020 research project AgriLink. The article first provides a historical perspective of the ‘knowledge and advice’ dimension of the CAP since 2007. We show a gradual transition towards greater flexibility of measures supporting innovation and knowledge flows. The professional status of farm advisors across European countries was more strongly acknowledged, offering new life-long training opportunities to advisors. However, the implementation of CAP’s advisory measures remains complex. As a result, the effects of these measures have been rather limited, with only few farmers reached overall. Fostering an inclusiveness of these measures remains an ongoing challenge for policymakers.     

New insights into mutual fund brokerage commissions

Using data collected from equity mutual fund reports filed by single-fund registrants to the Securities and Exchange Commission, I study the determinants of brokerage commissions paid by fund managers when they buy or sell securities and investigate the role these commissions play in fund performance. Consistent with related studies, my results from cross-sectional analyses reveal that higher portfolio turnover funds are associated with higher commissions and larger funds incur lower commissions, as well as the positive relation between expense ratios and commissions. This positive relation is puzzling as most commissions include “soft dollars” for payments of products and services that should be already covered by the costs reported under expense ratios. However, once I take into account unobservable fund heterogeneity, I find that higher expense ratio funds do not necessarily pay higher commissions. Further, controlling for whether a fund increased commission payments as the result of flow-induced trading, I show that the underperformance related to brokerage commissions documented in the literature is attributable (at least partly) to higher level of fund flows.