Loss Of Ownership Research Articles

Projects and programmes: a development practitioner's critique of the transition to a sector-wide approach to educational development in Nepal

This article utilises the main principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness as one conceptual and methodological strategy for making sense of Nepal's recent experiences of educational reform, primarily an increasing loss in ownership in the transition from a project to programme (SWAp) aid delivery paradigm. Whilst drawing on theoretical ideas and concepts from a range of fields, my orientation to the object of Nepal is particular: from 1994 to 2000 I served as Danida's Chief Technical Adviser to the Basic and Primary Education Project (BPEP), allowing me to witness first-hand the shift from the ‘project’ BPEP I (1993–1997) to the ‘programme’ BPEP II (1999–2004). The article argues that despite repeated international declarations and new ‘solutions’ for recipient ownership of aid processes, the reality is a continued loss of ownership in places like Nepal, suggesting a further politics of domination and marginalisation likely to accentuate that country's mixed record of educational development and progress.

Sovereignty Without Sovereignty: Derrida’s Declarations Of Independence

This article questions the common assumptions in legal theory regarding Derrida’s well-known Declarations of Independence. Through a close reading of this text, well-known ground such as the relation between speech and writing, the notion of representation, speech act theory, the signature, and the proper name is covered. The contribution that this analysis makes in the present context lies in the additional ‘step’ that it takes. The article seeks to give an explanation of the laws at work in Derrida’s thinking in the above respects and to explain more specifically how they find expression in Declarations of Independence. The article in this regard also investigates the importance and role of the ‘notions’ of death, loss of meaning, loss of ownership, and loss of sovereignty in Derrida’s thinking. The contention is that if we take account of Derrida’s reading in Declarations of Independence, it is possible to view constitutions in a very different way, more specifically their ‘origins’, with inevitable implications for constitutional interpretation.

La internacionalización de la empresa familiar: un análisis exploratorio

Internationalization is nowadays one of the main challenges for family firms worldwide, as a consequence of the globalization of the competitive environment. This challenge is particularly important for this kind of firm owing to the fact that these firms tend to be adverse to any change in their strategy that may lead to a possible loss of ownership. This paper proposes a general model oriented towards understanding the selection of the internationalization strategy in family firms. We also deepen the understanding of the nature of the international behavior of SMEs by using a sample of 435 firms from Andalusia. Results point to a lesser international activity in the analyzed family firms when compared to non-family firms, as well as to differences in the professional qualification of their managers. [PUB ABSTRACT]

The king is dead, long live the king

In recent years it has become increasingly popular for marketing people to suggest that it is we, the consumers, who ‘own’ their brands. The argument, put forward by, among others, Jeremy Bullmore of WPP, rests on the notion that the true value of brands lies in our perceptions of them. These perceptions, it is argued, rest in our individual minds, thus it is we — not the manufacturers or trade mark proprietors — who own the brands. A second thread of the argument suggests that, as brands are now increasingly shaped by factors way beyond those within the control of the marketers and brand owners, there is clear evidence of a loss of ownership. While accepting that the nature of the relationship between brand owner and we, the consumer, has fundamentally changed, this paper argues that it would be dangerous for any marketer to accept the notion of consumer as brand owner at face value. This paper highlights the associated risks, not only from a legal sense of opening the door to possible counterfeiters, but also from a marketing perspective. The paper highlights a difference between individual perceptions of the brand and the brand itself, and it goes on to put forward the case for brands as units of social currency and tools of multiplicity, with the need for brand owners to manage them as such. The paper also champions the role of ‘that vision thing’, and the need for brand owners to lead, and not just follow, consumers' current wishes. Finally, the paper calls for brand owners not to abdicate their responsibilities, but rather to recognise that they are now operating in the field of negotiated relationships.

Sustaining our rivers in crisis: setting the international agenda for action

The history of streams and rivers is as much a social and technological history as it is a scientific one. Rivers are the lifeblood of nations and the control of their waters has been fundamental to the building of human civilisations. The control or regulation of rivers embodied the advancement of institutions, administration and co-ordination; it was a manifestation of military and economic power. Yet the history of human development is also characterised by the degradation of the basic resource--polluted water, increased flooding, and the loss of biological diversity. Many early civilisations collapsed in the face of environmental degradation, manifest by flood, drought, famine and plague. The Industrial Revolution upon which modern societies are founded was based upon a short-term vision that has left rivers in crisis, marked by a legacy of pollution, slums, a loss of confidence in civic life, and a loss of ownership of places and spaces--once seen to be at the heart of civilized society. Within this global or international context of water management, this paper examines the impacts and future of rivers and water within the United Kingdom, establishing some principles for such management in other settings.

PRIVATE EQUITY: SOURCES AND USES

Private equity capital is playing a large and growing role in the funding of small to medium‐sized, high‐growth businesses. Today's private equity investment typically takes the form of purchase of a minority interest in a post‐start‐up, high‐technology company followed by an IPO a few years later. A large number of such investors are scouring the markets for new investment possibilities and the competitive pressures are growing.Although private equity investors can and often do add significant value to a company, private equity is potentially expensive, in terms of both loss of ownership and loss of control over long‐term strategic decisions of the company. Owner‐managers who want to retain as much of both as possible are advised to install more formalized business procedures, expand the company's outside relationships, and become more familiar with the company's financial needs and options. These changes should reduce capital needs, reduce the costs of private equity funding, and increase negotiating leverage when dealing with large, sophisticated private capital investors.