The countryside in urbanized Flanders: towards a flexible definition for a dynamic policy

The countryside, the rural area, the open space, … many definitions are used for rural Flanders. Everyone makes its own interpretation of the countryside, considering it as a place for living, working or recreating. The countryside is more than just a geographical area: it is an aggregate of physical, social, economic and cultural functions, strongly interrelated with each other. According to international and European definitions of rural areas there would be almost no rural area in Flanders. These international definitions are all developed to be used for analysis and policy within their specific context. They are not really applicable to Flanders because of the historical specificity of its spatial structure. Flanders is characterized by a giant urbanization pressure on its countryside while internationally rural depopulation is a point of interest. To date, for every single rural policy initiative – like the implementation of the European Rural Development Policy – Flanders used a specifically adapted definition, based on existing data or previously made delineations. To overcome this oversupply of definitions and delineations, the Flemish government funded a research project to obtain a clear and flexible definition of the Flemish countryside and a dynamic method to support Flemish rural policy aims. First, an analysis of the currently used definitions of the countryside in Flanders was made. It is clear that, depending on the perspective or the policy context, another definition of the countryside comes into view. The comparative study showed that, according to the used criteria, the area percentage of Flanders that is rural, varies between 9 and 93 per cent. Second, dynamic sets of criteria were developed, facilitating a flexible definition of the countryside, according to the policy aims concerned. This research part was focused on 6 policy themes, like ‘construction, maintenance and management of local (transport) infrastructures’ and ‘provision of (minimum) services (education, culture, health care, …)’. For each theme a dynamic set of criteria or indicators was constructed. These indicators make it possible to show where a policy theme manifests itself and/or where policy interventions are possible or needed. In this way every set of criteria makes up a new definition of rural Flanders. This method is dynamic; new data or insights can easily be incorporated and new criteria sets can be developed if other policy aims come into view. The developed method can contribute to a more region-oriented and theme-specific rural policy and funding mechanism

Sustainability Analysis of Sei Mangkei Palm Oil Based Industrial Cluster

Sei Mangkei Industrial Park have been designed by Government of Indonesia as industrial cluster for palm oil derivative product industries. In many cases, selected areas for industrial cluster developed into an industrial aglomeration than industrial clustering. To ensure industrial cluster accomplishment, sustainability analysis should be done. The aim of paper was to conduct  sustainability analysis of Sei  Mangkei industrial cluster development. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to determine the value of sustainability index.  There were 23 attributes considered for measuring the index categorized in 5 dimensions : economic, social, enviromental, infrastructure and technology, and institutional.   The index score range used was 0-100. Results showed that the average of sustainability index of Sei Mangkei Palm Oil Based Industrial Cluster Development was 52.84  showing that the industrial cluster development categorized as sufficient category. The lowest index was found for institutional dimension (36.21) and the highest was environment dimension (64.79). From the leverage analysis, some critical attributes in each dimensions were found and need improvement to increase the sustainability. Institutional strengthening and accelerated development of infrastructure are the crucial factor should be prioritized for the development of palm oil based industrial cluster at Sei Mangkei. This could be a significant reference for the decision makers, in this case is Government and in cooperation with private sectors, to develop Sei Mangkei Industrial Park. Too, readers would find out and learn in developing an industrial park needs sustainability study for comprehensive development. Keywords: industrial cluster, sustainability analysis, mutlidimensional scalin

Barriers to the diffusion of nanotechnology.

This paper provides the first empirical information about barriers related to the diffusion of nanotechnology, a general purpose technology. Our analysis is based on the findings from a state-wide survey of companies in North Carolina, USA. We find that the primary barrier is lack of access to early-stage capital, and the extent of this barrier is greater when the company contributes to the value chain for nanotechnology through R&D as opposed to through products or services. Another barrier is lack of access to university equipment and facilities, a problem greater in companies involved in nanotechnology research. From a policy perspective, our analysis suggests that state governments could act as venture capitalists to overcome market failure in the capital market, and that states could provide incentives to universities through public/private centers of excellence for sharing capital equipment and facilities with nanotechnology companies

Strategic groups and competitive groups in the UK pharmaceutical industry 1993-2002

Strategic group research originated in the 1970s and a number of notable studies centered on the US pharmaceutical industry. Results were however, conflicting. This thesis explores the nature of strategic groups and the related concept of competitive groups in the UK pharmaceutical industry during the period 1993 to 2002. The research follows three related themes. The first research theme identifies two stable strategic time periods each of five years duration across the period studied. Within each of these time periods strategic groups were identified using a combination of Ward's method and aK means clustering algorithm and the presence of a relatively stable strategic group structure was confirmed. A statistically significant relationship between these strategic groups and performance is demonstrated using three performance measures. The second research theme then explores the movement of firms between strategic groups and finds some support for the proposition that firms moving between strategic groups move to more advantageousp ositions. The relationship between strategicg roups and mergers is also investigated and this research finds that mergers between firms occur preferentially across strategic groups rather than within strategic groups. This relationship is confirmed as highly statistically significant. Finally in the third research theme the relationship between strategic groups, how firms compete and competitive groups, where firms compete, are investigated. Six different competitive groups are identified, all but one of which is concentrated around a dominant therapeutic area. This finding suggests that direct competition between firms is reduced by market segmentation. A weak relationship was found between competitive groups and performance but when competitive groups (where firms compete) and strategic groups how firms compete) are examined in combination a strong statistically significant relationship with performance was found