Legal dilemmas:The facilitation of the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the procurement of labour market programmes

Within the framework of Norway’s constitutional obligations as laid down in § 110 of the Norwegian Constitution, this thesis explores the facilitation of the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the public procurement of labour market programmes. The thesis’ outset is that legal dilemmas may arise when facilitating the participation of SMEs in the procurement of labour market programmes. Central to this notion is the tension between the demands of the general interest of the society, and the requirements of the protection of the individual’s fundamental right to work. A central tenet of this thesis is that a first interpretation of § 110 imposes a legal barrier as to what measures the contracting authority may make us of in the effort to facilitate the participation of SMEs in the procurement of labour market programmes.MasteroppgaveJUS399MAJURMAJUR-

Keeping up with the neighbors : The role of cluster identity in internationalization

This paper explores the implications of the collective identity of a regional cluster on firms’ internationalization. Prior research has established the value of cluster “insidership” through access to knowledge and resources. Through a longitudinal study, we find that cluster identity, through distinct identity claims, provides imperatives and shapes the motivation of firms to internationalize. These imperatives, we argue, stem from cluster identity seen as defined features of regional collectives, extending reference theory to encompass the role of social cues from similar firms located geographically close. The imperatives are particularly salient in the early stages of firms’ internationalization, adding the role of cluster identity to explain the differences between inexperienced and experienced firms in internationalization. Keywords: Cluster identity; Internationalization; Multinational enterprise; Longitudinal study.acceptedVersio

Resilience and related variety : the role of family firms in an ocean-related Norwegian region

Recent research in economic geography has introduced two notions that historical studies should explore: regional resilience and related variety. Regional resilience refers to a region’s ability to recover from external shocks. Related variety refers to the existence of related industrial sectors in a region, and the relatedness promotes economic development due to spill-overs between sectors. From an evolutionary perspective, external shocks result in new development paths in regions with related variety. This is a dynamic process well suited to historical studies. This article argues that historical studies can contribute to this literature by studying how related sectors interact in resilient regions. We propose that family firms may act as a micro-coordination mechanism by moving financial and human resources from one sector to another related sector as a response to shock. The paper develops this argument by studying how six major regional business families within ocean industries reacted to external shocks over time.acceptedVersio

Digitalisering og regional kunnskapsutvikling

De siste årene har vi sett en økende interesse for de økonomiske og organisatoriske implikasjonene av digitalisering. Med utgangspunkt i klyngeteori og teori om kunnskap identifiserer vi manglende forskning om hvordan digitalisering vil påvirke kunnskapsutvikling i klynger. Empiri fra den maritime klyngen i Møre og Romsdal indikerer at til tross for økt globalisering og digitalisering synes taus og kontekstuell kunnskap fremdeles å spille en viktig rolle. Nøkkelord: kunnskap, digitalisering, klynger, nettverkpublishedVersio

The dynamic role of small- and medium-sized multinationals in global production networks: Norwegian maritime firms in the Greater Shanghai Region in China

This article examines the role of small- and medium-sized multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the dynamic development of global production networks (GPNs) in the maritime industry. It studies the dynamism between subsidiaries of Norwegian maritime firms and regional actors and institutions in the Greater Shanghai Region of China from the perspectives of the subsidiaries. It argues that strategic coupling, recoupling and decoupling are partly the results of regional selection mechanisms. However, in the cases where the subsidiaries are embedded within the host region, the strategies and behaviour of MNEs are of decisive importance for the dynamic development of GPNs

Determination of OH-PCBs and OH.PBDEs in biological matrices : Method development, identification and quantification

In the present study, an analytical method for determination of hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) and a selection of PCBs, PBDEs and pesticides in biological matrices has been developed. The method is a modified version of the method used for determination of PCBs, pesticides and brominated flame retardants at the Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology (MT-lab) at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH). Blood samples from sheep and seals and liver samples from chicken, cattle and seals were used for the method development. After acidifying with 1 M H2SO4, extraction with cyclohexane and acetone was performed twice. The combined organic phases were evaporated and the lipid content determined gravimetrically. The residue was redissolved in cyclohexane and concentrated H2SO4 was added to remove lipids. Extraction with 1 M KOH in 50% ethanol was performed twice to separate the neutral and phenolic analytes. The organic phase containing neutral compounds such as PCBs and PBDEs, was analysed by GCECD (PCBs and pesticides) and GC-ECNI-MS (PBDEs). The alkaline phase containing the phenolic analytes was acidified and re-extracted with cyclohexane. Derivatization was performed with acetic anhydride:pyridine (1:1) to yield the acetylated analytes, which were subsequently determined using GC-ECNI-MS. The method was validated for OH-PCBs and one OH-PBDE by spiking sheep blood (~5 g) at five different levels in the range 0.025 - 0.5 ng/g blood, and cattle liver (~4 g) at two different levels; 0.063 - 0.625 ng/g liver. The accuracy given as recovery relative to the internal standard 4 -OH-[13C12]CB159 was in the range 28-128% for blood, with the lowest result being assigned to 4-OH-CB187, which generally gave low recoveries. The other OH-PCBs were within the range 71-128%, and the variation coefficients were in the range 0.9-53%. The recoveries of OH-PCBs and 6-OH-BDE47 from liver samples were in the range 47-123%, with variation coefficients in the range 0.3-6.5%. Estimated instrumental limits of detection for OH-PCBs and the OH-PBDE were in the range 0.01-0.2 ng/ml (0.02-0.4 pg injected). The method limits of detection were in the range 0.001-0.036 ng/g blood and 0.001-0.031 ng/g liver, respectively. The method linearity was in the range 0.9962-0.9992 for the validated concentration range. Validation results for PBDEs, PCBs, DDT and its metabolites, HCB and Mirex are also included in the thesis. All of these gave validation results within the requirements in the accredited quality system at the MT-lab. The validated method has been used to investigate levels of OH-PCBs, 6-OH-BDE47 and PBDEs in plasma samples of female polar bears (n = 10) from Svalbard sampled in 1996/1997, and liver samples of male harbour seals (n = 5) from the Norwegian Coast sampled in 2002. Levels of the two most abundant congeners, 4-OH-CB187 and 4-OHCB146, in polar bear plasma were in the ranges 56.7-178 ng/g (recovery-corrected) and 28.1- 106 ng/g, respectively. The most abundant PBDE congener was BDE-47 which was present in the range 0.101-0.357 ng/g polar bear plasma. Levels of the OH-PCBs were considerably lower in the harbour seal liver samples. 4-OH-CB187 ranged from 0.088-0.159 ng/g liver, while the BDE-47 was present in the range 1.34-5.36 ng/g

Narrative entrapments in the novels of J.M.Coetzee: a postmodern feminist reading of his three female narrating personas

Masteroppgave i engelsk, Høgskolen i Agder, Kristiansan

Mikki, DV og skáldskapurinn: Mörk blaðamennsku og skáldskapar

So a novelist is the same as a journalist, then. Is that what your‘re saying? --Question asked by Judge William J. Rea during the MacDonald-McGinnis trial, July 7, 1987“ Meginefni þessarar ritgerðar er að skoða hvar mörk blaðamennsku og skáldskapar liggja; eru þar hugsanlega lítil sem engin mörk?Efnið varðar því frásagnarhátt; sögumann og sjónarhorn – stöðu rithöfundarins gagnvart umfjöllunarefni sínu. Er munur á hvort hann skoði það með augum rithöfundar eða með augum blaðamanns? Í "Mikki, DV og skáldskapurinn" eru verk Mikaels Torfasonar á sviði skáldsagnagerðar mátuð við störf hans sem ritstjóri DV. Þessi ritsmíð byggir að stofni til á minnispunktum Mikaels og ótal viðtölum sem tekin voru við hann á tímabilinu ágúst 2011 til mars 2012. Ritstjórnartíð Mikaels er ekki löng, telur 27 mánuði eða frá 13. október 2003 til 10. janúar 2006. Nálgast Mikael viðfangsefni þessi með sitthvorum hættinum eftir því hvort hann skrifar inn í skáldsagnaformið eða í dagblað? Kenningin sem hér er lagt upp með er sú að svo sé ekki - en í því þarf ekki að felast áfellisdómur. Skv. Eco; túlkun hefst um leið og byrjað er að segja frá. Tengsl blaðamennsku og ritun skáldsagna byggir á gömlum merg; rithöfundar skrifa í fjölmiðla og blaðamenn skáldskap. Bókspjöldin – ákvarða ekki gæði eða merkingu texta þó vissulega hafi form áhrif á innihald og merkingu. ... Athuga: Með þessari ritgerð fylgir sem viðauki talsvert lengri ritsmíð, "Í slagsmálum við þjóðina", sem byggir á því sama og sett er fram í ritgerðinni en þar fær sjónarhorn Mikaels Torfasonar, rithöfundar og fyrrverandi ritstjóra DV, meira rými; hann segir athyglisverða sögu DV frá því tímabili sem hann var ritstjóri. Þar getur að líta heildstæðari mynd sem er að baki þeim kenningum sem eru settar fram og reynt er að fá frekari botn í hvað orsakaði þessa stormasömu sambúð blaðs og þjóðar.Ritgerðin, "Mikki, DV og skáldskapurinn" byggir á því sama og "Í slagsmálum við þjóðina" -- sem telst þannig viðauki