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This article analyses the relationship between law and class formation through the case of migrant care and domestic work, and puts sociological class theory into conversation with critical migration research. It contributes to class theory by analysing how law helps produce class relations in the Finnish context. The Finnish state channels migrants into cleaning and domestic work through policy measures, and migration law ties them to the reproductive sector, making law a central social relation that defines migrants' relation to production. The analysis draws on interviews with migrant care and domestic workers (N = 30) holding temporary work permits and examines their structural and affective descriptions of a position restricted by law. The article argues that the way migrant domestic work is formalised in the legislation produces a class relation for migrants, in which they lack full ownership over their labour power. The findings demonstrate how migrant domestic workers express gratitude for their employment despite experiencing it as devalued, indicating labour as repayment of the 'gift' of the residence permit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I analyse the case of 'modern' central banking's dual failures in effectively containing financial fragilities and inflationary pressures as a cautionary tale about the intrinsic limitations and contradictions of 'governing through quantified futures'. I construct a genealogy of central banks' much-vaunted 'performative art' of governing the economy through the management of expectations in order to reveal a crucial tension between the control of expectations about the future and controlling the future through (present) expectations of it. I argue that social scientific analyses tend to operate with a truncated understanding of performativity that prevents them from developing sufficiently precise and discerning accounts of the mechanics of performative processes to reveal their (intrinsic) limitations and explain how and why they (may) fail. By dissecting the surprisingly complex mechanics of central banks' performative agency, I thus contribute towards a more precise theorisation of how governing through quantified futures operates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the results of a didactic experiment are presented whose objective was to analyze the potential of Comics in promoting learning in Higher Education, especially in the Differential Calculus I component, during the remote period resulting from the COVID health emergency - 19. The study was based on notions of intuition and formalization, in addition to assumptions from the Anthropological Theory of Didactics, particularly mathematical praxeology and praxeological analysis. A praxeological analysis of the comics produced was carried out, identifying the predominant epistemological model in this experimentation. The application of derivative concepts to problems related to real situations resulted in an improvement in the student's relationship with knowledge, contributing to the construction of meaning in learning. Aspects inherent to the process that occurs between intuition and the formalization of a concept were highlighted. A paradigm shift was observed in the teaching of Calculus by focusing on the proposition of creative situations. The implications of this research for the training of Higher Education teachers are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article sheds light on criticism of the increasing degree of formalisation in collating and synthesising research findings in the systematic review format in education. A textual analysis of two systematic reviews produced by the Swedish Institute for Educational Research unpacks the significance of interaction between formalisation and professional judgement. The article also shows that there is a mismatch between the "front-stage" and "back-stage" of the review process. Interestingly, criticism is aimed at the ideal image of scholarly practice rather than the actual review process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given limitations of resource and market access reported by traditional local communities and a limiting institutional environment for socio-biodiversity in Amazônia, the main question is: how do institutions (re)shape natural resource and market access by Quilombolas in the protected area of the Trombetas River Biological Reserve (TRBR) and the Implications of the TRBR Term of Compromise (TC) – a formal institution written by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) – on livelihoodrelevant access to socio-biodiversity products (Brazil nuts) and markets. Methods include semi-structured interviews (n=89) focusing on Non-timber forest products gatherers, as well as observation and focusgroup interviews for data triangulation. An analytical framework is developed, combining access theory, institutions and property rights scholarship. Findings reveal that the TC overwrites institutionalised norms of Quilombola communities, which regulated such livelihood-relevant access long before the TRBR establishment (1979). The TC not only formalises BN use but also unintentionally restricts natural resources and market access, limiting Quilombolas’ bioeconomy-benefits.

There are some sentences that include expressions that refer to entities that do not exist. One example is this: Mary is in terror of werewolves. Some argue that this sentence cannot be translated into predicate logic. This may be seen as flaw in predicate logic. Against this, I argue in this paper that the problem is not predicate logic, but rather our commitments with the existence and nature of certain things. By revising some of these commitments, we can see that predicate logic is perfectly capable to deal with the problematic sentences.

This article explores the risk factors limiting access to formal financing in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) industry. It is argued in this study that to tackle the funding constraints in the ASM industry a bottom-up approach that captures the perspective of the miners who are engaged in these activities themselves is required. This involves understanding more about the limiting factors that inhibit the miners’ access to formal lending from the perspective of the miners themselves. This will provide better guidance when formal lenders scrutinize the documents for issuing loans to this group of miners. This study draws data from participants in the mining industry and from formal lenders who lend to operators in the industry, using grounded theory. Results of the analyses of the study data helped to underpin the credit risk factors that limits access of ASM operators to formal sources of funding. With the knowledge of these risk factors, lenders are aware of the critical areas for due diligence, which minimises their risk exposure and can potentially encourage loan issuance to this sector. Adequate funding for the ASM industry will improve their contribution to the national economic development. With access to formal financing which this study promotes, ASM companies are enabled to achieve safe and healthy operations, with reduced negative impact on the environment. Also, formal financing will limit the prospect of vested interests of informal financiers in the industry, thereby increasing the earnings of the miners from the operations and improving their living conditions. Thus, a well-financed ASM sector can help developing nations across the world to move closer to meeting key targets linked to the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs), especially SDG1 (end poverty), SDG2 (zero hunger), SDG8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG10 (reduced inequality).

Dans toutes les économies du monde, qu’elles soient occidentales ou africaines, les petites et moyennes entreprises (et industrie) constituent les instruments de création des richesses et de l’emploi. Cependant la crise que connaît la République Démocratique du Congo aujourd’hui sur le plan économique, et surtout social est sans précédent et imaginable. Elle date il y a une vingtaine d’années et beaucoup plus amplifiée depuis les pillages de 1991-1993. En conséquence, le développement du secteur informel qui échappe au contrôle de l’administration fiscale pourtant manipulant des chiffres très importants susceptibles de contribuer au développement de l’économie nationale. L’informel a pris le caractère d’une réalité qui parait incontournable alors qu’elle recouvre des enjeux économiques non négligeables, devant impacter sur l’assiette fiscale. D’où la nécessité de la formalisation de ce secteur qui occupe une plus grande part de la population congolaise et kinoise en particulier. L’étude recommande l’identification des activités y afférentes pour commencer par celles présentant les aspects de structurations jusqu’ aux plus complexes.

The child welfare work within the Swedish personal social services (PSS) is clearly marked by formalisation and specialisation. It is guided by a diversity of national and local guidelines, while different units assume responsibility for specific tasks (e.g., intake, investigation and decision, or care and treatment). A risk of service fragmentation has been identified as a substantial downside to these organisational settings. However, prior research has mainly focused on formal organisational structures and how work is ‘supposed to’ be carried out. Less attention is paid to informal organisation, namely how work is ‘actually performed’ on day-to-day basis, which has been identified as an important but often overlooked aspect for understanding organisational performance. Therefore, the aim was to describe and analyse the influence of informal organisation in child welfare cases. Non-participating observations and group interviews were conducted in 11 Swedish municipalities. The findings show that informal organisation can ‘grease the wheels’ in child welfare cases: firstly, by complementing formal structures and offering alternative channels for collaboration and information exchange; and secondly, by compensating for gaps in areas of responsibility within the formal organisation, such as when staff offer informal care and support, even though their work is supposed to specifically focus on investigation and decision making, or individual social workers assume an informal case management role. Nevertheless, informal organisation was also found to complicate work, as unregulated and informal areas of work also allow the conflicting interests and work logics among different units and their staff to unfold. The findings are finally discussed in relation to the future organisation of social services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on direct observations in an out-of-school club in France, this paper discusses the different forms of actions grouped under the general term of 'play' initiated either by the children or their animateurs. After presenting the fieldwork, the first part of the paper aims to untangle the complex web of frameworks that organise out-of-school times and spaces depending on the different engagements and levels of involvement on the part of the children and their animateurs. The analysis then describes how games and other organised play activities can be formalised through an educational process led by adult agenda and contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of the relationships between leisure and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé: La négociation collective étant rare dans le secteur du travail domestique, la recherche ne s'est pas encore intéressée à son rôle dans la réglementation et la formalisation de cette activité. L'Italie, qui est l'un des pays d'Europe comptant le plus de travailleurs domestiques, est aussi l'un des rares pays dotés d'une convention collective, négociée depuis 1974 par les syndicats et les associations de ménages employeurs. L'analyse qualitative par entretiens présentée ici décrit les difficultés et limites rencontrées, mais aussi le processus de formalisation permis par la négociation collective et l'engagement des partenaires sociaux dans une profession où les femmes immigrées sont surreprésentées. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Competing effectively in the contemporary marketing landscape is becoming increasing challenging. Equally increasing therefore is the pertinence for organisations to be customer oriented. Academic discourse emphasises the need for more customer-oriented approach. Inspired by gaps in the literature, this study explores the contingency factors and performance implications of customer accounting in the Kuwaiti financial services industry. A questionnaire was used to collect data, and data analysis was based on 115 responses from management accountants of participating firms. This study reports critical insights that enhance the no one-size fits all notion of contingency foundation. For organisations in the industrial and geographical setting covered in this study, the insights from this study offer relevant cues for optimising customer accounting operationalisation and maximising the organisational performance impact. The limitations of this study have been acknowledged and critical directions for further knowledge development flagged.

With the rapid development of modern technologies, autonomous or robotic construction sites are becoming a new reality in civil engineering. Despite various potential benefits of the automation of construction sites, there is still a lack of understanding of their complex nature combining physical and cyber components in one system. A typical approach to describing complex system structures is to use tools of abstract mathematics, which provide a high level of abstraction, allowing a formal description of the entire system while omitting non-essential details. Therefore, in this paper, autonomous construction is formalised using categorical ontology logs enhanced by abstract definitions of individual components of an autonomous construction system. In this context, followed by a brief introduction to category theory and ologs, exemplary algebraic definitions are given as a basis for the olog-based conceptual modelling of autonomous construction systems. As a result, any automated construction system can be described without providing exhausting detailed definitions of the system components. Existing ologs can be extended, contracted or revised to fit the given system or situation. To illustrate the descriptive capacity of ologs, a lattice of representations is presented. The main advantage of using the conceptual modelling approach presented in this paper is that any given real-world or engineering problem could be modelled with a mathematically sound background.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is growing concern about increasing administrative burden within universities around the world. At the same time, the literature explicitly devoted to the issue of administrative burden within universities remains relatively scant. Drawing on various bodies of literature and reflections on the situation at Australian universities, this paper (a) presents a conceptualisation of what constitutes administrative burden, considering its organisational implications for universities, (b) interrogates a range of potential drivers of administrative burden, and (c) outlines avenues for both future research into and for practical responses to the issue. The specific contributions of this paper include, first, showing that administrative burden can impact universities' core activities not only indirectly but also more directly, and second, illustrating that some of the key changes that were meant to make universities more efficient may have inadvertently increased levels of administrative burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal labour has become one of the main ways of earning income and a reason for non-payment of taxes to the state budget. Governments and international organisations are making many efforts to study the phenomenon of informal labour and formulate proposals for further formalisation of informal labour to «come out of the shadows» of activities in various fields. The relevance of our study is due to the rapid spread of informal employment and informal labour in various spheres of society, which entails economic losses for each state and a lack of faith in the declared labour relations. The purpose of the study is to identify possible ways and prospects for formalising informal labour, to determine the legal aspects of formalising informal labour, to analyse the challenges to the social protection of workers in the course of such formalisation, and to improve the current labour legislation. The author formulated legal conclusions on the legal aspects of formalisation of informal labour, the ways of such formalisation and its prospects. In particular, conclusions on social challenges for all participants in the so-called informal labour relations were pro-vided. Finally, proposals for improving the legislation on informal employment were formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colombia is considered a pioneer in inclusive recycling in Latin America and the state-led formalisation policies are considered a referent for the socio-economic inclusion of waste pickers beyond the region. Nevertheless, more than 60,000 waste pickers in Colombia are struggling to remain in place despite these inclusive recycling and formalisation policies. This paper examines the implementation of formalisation policies and their consequences for the population of waste pickers by comparing evidence from two Colombian cities: Bogotá and Cartagena de Indias. The paper draws on extensive qualitative community-based research methodology with waste pickers in both cities guided by an interdisciplinary epistemological position to support Colombian waste pickers' political struggle for recognition from a theoretical reflection. This paper shows how formalisation policies became a mechanism of manifold dispossessions in both cities. This paper categorises three forms of enclosures faced by waste pickers: (a) material and socio-economic; (b) bodily and spatial; and (c) political and organisational. Finally, this paper concludes by urging to consider the situated social, political, and cultural facets of waste pickers' labour to enhance grassroots reflections on how to achieve greater levels of social justice and inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop an enabling entrepreneurial ecosystem framework for the formalisation of manufacturing Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Harare, Zimbabwe. This study adopted a pragmatism research philosophy that adopts a mixed methods research design. The population for the quantitative research consisted of around 2 000 metal fabricators and furniture manufacturers operating at Mbare-Magaba Siyaso and Glenview Area 8 Home Industry Complex clusters and the sample was made up of 300 respondents. Quantitative data was collected using structured closed-ended questionnaires and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Qualitative data was collected through indepth semi-structured face to face interviews and the population consisted of five directors at the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development. However the sample for qualitative data was made up of two directors. The findings from this study show that informal manufacturing MSEs in Harare face several barriers to formalising their businesses and the key entrepreneurial ecosystem factors are not currently available in the environment where they operate. Furthermore, access to financial support, physical infrastructure, support systems, domestic and export markets as well as favourable legal and regulatory framework were considered as key to formalisation of the informal manufacturing MSEs. The findings from the interviews show that the current Zimbabwe Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Policy has failed to ensure regularisation of the informal sector.

With the rapid development of modern technologies, autonomous or robotic construction sites are becoming a new reality in civil engineering. Despite various potential benefits of the automation of construction sites, there is still a lack of understanding of their complex nature combining physical and cyber components in one system. A typical approach to describing complex system structures is to use tools of abstract mathematics, which provide a high level of abstraction, allowing a formal description of the entire system while omitting non-essential details. Therefore, in this paper, autonomous construction is formalised using categorical ontology logs enhanced by abstract definitions of individual components of an autonomous construction system. In this context, followed by a brief introduction to category theory and ologs, exemplary algebraic definitions are given as a basis for the olog-based conceptual modelling of autonomous construction systems. As a result, any automated construction system can be described without providing exhausting detailed definitions of the system components. Existing ologs can be extended, contracted or revised to fit the given system or situation. To illustrate the descriptive capacity of ologs, a lattice of representations is presented. The main advantage of using the conceptual modelling approach presented in this paper is that any given real-world or engineering problem could be modelled with a mathematically sound background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: AI4PD presents an ontology that relates Digital Engineering methods to product development, with an intent to identify data-driven methods for use cases that enable the support or substitution of specific tasks in product development. The transformation of virtual product development to Digital Engineering (DE) requires the successful integration of Digital Engineering or data-driven methods into existing product development processes. Those methods allow for the analysis and usage of existing data. However, missing knowledge about these methods, as well as their performance or limitations, is a major burden for their application, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises. In order to close this gap, this paper proposes the AI4PD ontology, linking product development processes (PD) and Digital Engineering methods (AI). This knowledge representation gives companies an overview of the available methods to support them in selecting a suitable solution for their problems. The representation of AI4PD is performed in Protégé using the W3C standard OWL syntax. The opportunities of AI4PD are shown by a use case of identifying a DE-Method for predicting manufacturing possibilities based on test data and CAD files. Furthermore, after possible problems in existing product development processes are identified, AI4PD covers the necessary knowledge for a successful method of identification and integration to transform virtual product development to Digital Engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The publication presents the materials and results of the research and construction of the methodology and the methodology for formalising the tasks, procedures, functions of managing a socio-economic organisation as its main goal. Its formulation and achievement are ensured by the definition and resolution of the range of tasks for formalising the management of the formation, functioning and development of an organisation, the methods and results of solving which are considered in relation to digitalisation procedures. Their selection, description, adaptation to the requirements, conditions and possibilities of formalisation are identified, analysed and positioned in the process of substantiating the methodology, developing and testing the methodology for constructing a spectrum of the most constructive functional positions for digitalisation. The examples of their selection, definition and positioning given in the publication methodically substantiate and adaptively demonstrate the relevance of the research being conducted, the constructiveness and relevance of the results obtained.

The minibus taxi is currently the most common mode of transport in South Africa, particularly for the low-income population living in townships. Minibus taxis are also seen as most people's only option for mobility. With regards to the public transport system as a whole, the minibus taxi industry accounts for 68% of work journeys, followed by buses and trains. The sector remains, in a structural sense, in the informal economy, but is increasingly subject to overlapping mechanisms of formalisation and informalisation. In 1999, the government launched the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) to formalise or restructure the minibus taxi industry. Part of this programme was to scrap unroadworthy or unlicensed vehicles. However, these annual scrapping targets have not been met. In my research, I have carried out a total of 58 interviews on employment conditions in the industry using qualitative research methods. Many taxi drivers and taxi marshals are placed in precarious conditions on a daily basis. These conditions contradict those set out in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, including the Sectoral Determination of compensation. While the government announced the TRP to formalise the industry, there continue to be difficulties and entanglements with formalising the industry that have adversely affected the impact of the programme. I argue that such pitfalls delay the transformation of the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper sought to evaluate the influence of entrepreneurial education on informal entrepreneur's intention to formalise. A positivist approach was employed backed by quantitative analysis to determine the impact of education on intention to formalise informal businesses. The study analysed a sample of 265 informal traders and a structured questionnaire was used to gather data. Collected data was analysed using parameters such as regression analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. The results indicate that the general level of education is not among enablers of formalisation. However entrepreneurial knowledge, entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial attitude were found to be positively correlated with intention to formalise businesses. The study recommends that more focus should be on entrepreneurial education rather than convectional education system so as to enable transition from informal to formal economy. The study therefore brings a new perspective on formalisation of the informal sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have found evidence of contextual bias in forensic science, but the discussion of contextual bias is currently qualitative. We formalise existing empirical research and show quantitatively how biases can be propagated throughout the legal system, all the way up to the final determination of guilt in a criminal trial. We provide a probabilistic framework for describing how information is updated in a forensic analysis setting by using the ratio form of Bayes' rule. We analyse results from empirical studies using this framework and employ simulations to demonstrate how bias can be compounded where experiments do not exist. We find that even minor biases in the earlier stages of forensic analysis can lead to large, compounded biases in the final determination of guilt in a criminal trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this exploratory study, we investigate the effects of digital labour platforms (DLPs) on cleaning workers. The prevalence of informality in this sector leads us to suggest analysing workers’ experiences by combining the literature on DLPs with that on the informal economy. Through in-depth interviews with cleaners in Milan and Rome, as well as DLP representatives, the article highlights on one hand, how DLPs affect informal workers and their conditions, and, on the other hand, how workers represent their work and what meanings they associate with the terms formal and informal in the location-based platform economy. The study shows that DLPs seem to play a limited role in the formalisation of work, revealing new forms of hybridisation between formal and informal labour. The use of DLPs also results in increasingly confusing perceptions of what constitutes formal (or regular) and informal work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically reflects on the impact of "development minerals" on rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the case of Malawi. It does so by analysing data collected at multiple quarrying sites in Lilongwe District, with the objective of assessing how production of these commodities can help meet Malawi's commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Findings indicate that despite their extraction being associated with environmental problems, development minerals do impact positively on the livelihoods of Malawians in rural areas where very few viable alternative income-earning opportunities. To maximise the sector's contribution to the SDGs in Malawi, however, greater emphasis must be placed on formalising and supporting quarrying operations and other activities oriented around development minerals. • Development minerals sector is already contributing positively to livelihoods in Malawi. • Malawian policymakers overlook ASM quarries' vital role in livelihoods. • Miners need civic education on licensing and regulations. • Reviewing Malawi's formalisation strategies is vital for the national extractives agenda. • Government should prioritise ASM formalisation to empower miners, not simply to control them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper was to establish challenges and benefits on formalisation in South Africa using a qualitative approach. To meet the objective, 15 interviews were carried out with owners of small businesses that had just formalized in Johannesburg and Pretoria. This study contributes to the existing knowledge on small business formalisation by bringing evidence from formalised businesses. The research does so through asking unique questions that cannot be answered quantitatively. Using themes for analysis, the study found conditional formalisation, high levels of bureaucracy, unsustainable fees, information asymmetry, credit or capital unavailability and corruption as key challenges being faced by emerging entrepreneurs. In addition, the study also identified increased chances to benefit from BEE, improved access to information to supply the public sector, improved chances of securing credit, increased credibility of the business and better access to markets as the benefits that entrepreneurs derive from formalisation. This study recommends that informal businesses be supported through skills training initiatives and expanded credit opportunities so that they can be of better size and capacity to formalise.