This dissertation examines the development and implementation of alternative currencies in North-West Europe. Although often analysed as grassroots alternatives to global financial practice,... Show moreThis dissertation examines the development and implementation of alternative currencies in North-West Europe. Although often analysed as grassroots alternatives to global financial practice, alternative currencies are, by and large, professionally designed and managed by specialised enterprises. I found that these enterprises engage in intense interactions with established public institutions and businesses, as well as with financial legislation and regulatory bodies. Even though they are privately issued, such currencies are subsidised, purchased, and implemented by local governments and civic institutions. The institutionalisation of alternative currencies thus concerns processes whereby their establishment becomes embedded in formalised practices, procedures, and regimes of regulation. I argue that this is a common feature of alternative economic practice that is consistently disregarded or overlooked, both in activist literature, and in the anthropology of money. This dissertation addresses the question of what this institutionalisation implies for our understandings of (alternative) economies. In doing so, I aim to draw attention to the tight institutional network that connects the multiplicity of agents constituting and structuring economies. There are more than two sides—heads (the state) or tails (the market) to a coin. This dissertation turns to the space in-between—to the edge of the coin—for its inspiration. Show less
he creation of European Union agencies is arguably one of the most prominent institutional innovations at the EU level in recent history. Especially since the early 1990s, the EU and its member... Show morehe creation of European Union agencies is arguably one of the most prominent institutional innovations at the EU level in recent history. Especially since the early 1990s, the EU and its member states delegated a wide range of (semi-)regulatory, monitoring, and coordination tasks to a quickly growing number of agencies. Most existing research focuses on the creation of these agencies. As a result, we do not know much about how agencies develop after their creation. EU agencies are formally independent, but do they also behave autonomously in practice? How does actual autonomy vary across EU agencies and how does this affect the role these agencies play in the multi-level system of European governance? This study addresses these questions theoretically and empirically by comparing six EU agencies – the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Environm ent Agency (EEA), the European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), Europol and Eurojust. It shows how some of these agencies develop into relatively autonomous entities by acquiring a distinct organisational character and by generating support from actors in their environment, whereas other agencies do so to a much lesser extent or not at all. Show less
Transformation of public administration is acknowledged as a crucial element in the transition process in Central and Eastern Europe. Why have the state bureaucracies in Central and Eastern... Show moreTransformation of public administration is acknowledged as a crucial element in the transition process in Central and Eastern Europe. Why have the state bureaucracies in Central and Eastern European states been less affected by post-communist transformation when compared to other public institutions and sectors of their economies? Why have declared reforms of civil services failed to reach most of their objectives and sometimes had counter-productive effects? On the basis of comprehensive and comparative analysis of the development of the Russian and Czech state administrations over the last decade and a half the author provides a thorough insight into the causes of the prevailing tendencies and numerous constrains in their development. Key factors that have led to only modest results in the reforms of their civil services are explored. The research leads to important lessons for reformers in all post-communist countries and conclusions on methodologies in comparative research into administrative systems. Show less
Ditberoepensociologische proefschrift bevat een analyse van de opkomst, groei enneergang van opbouwwerk als beroep. Opbouwwerk werd in 1952 door het Ministerievan Maatschappelijk Werk... Show moreDitberoepensociologische proefschrift bevat een analyse van de opkomst, groei enneergang van opbouwwerk als beroep. Opbouwwerk werd in 1952 door het Ministerievan Maatschappelijk Werk geparachuteerd. ‘Samenlevingsopbouw’ werd debelangrijkste doelstelling; de sociale begeleiding van achterstandsgroepen debelangrijkste taak. De hoogtijdagen lagen in de jaren zeventig, ten tijde vande stadsvernieuwing, waarin opbouwwerkers zich luid en duidelijk manifesteerdenmet ‘sociale actie’. Vanaf de jaren tachtig keerde het tij. Er werd forsbezuinigd en het opbouwwerk verloor, na de decentralisatie van hetwelzijnsbeleid in 1988, zijn toch alniet erg grote maatschappelijk draagvlak. De opleiding en deopbouwwerkonderzoeksinstituten verdwenen en de functie opbouwwerk werd mediojaren negentig uit de CAO geschrapt. Door taakintegratie vervaagden vervolgensde grenzen met andere welzijnsberoepen.Taakafbakeningblijkt cruciaal voor de ontwikkeling vanspecifieke beroepskennis en -kunde – de belangrijkste legitimatiegrond voor declaims op zeggenschap over een bepaald taakveld. Taakafbakening blijkt echterlastig voor een geheel subsidieafhankelijk beroep als opbouwwerk want: ‘wiebetaalt, bepaalt’. Ook laat het onderzoek de noodzaak van een beroepsverenigingzien. Deze kan bewerkstelligen wat individuele beroepsbeoefenaren niet lukt:versterking van de kennisbasis van het beroep, met als doel het verkrijgen vanzeggenschap over het taakveld en vergroting van de maatschappelijke waardering,uitgedrukt in inkomen en aanzien. Show less
