Integration of Slovenia into EU and global industrial networks: review of existing evidence

Slovenia is a small economy, which is somehow "condemned" to be open and highly internationalised. Relatively high shares of exports and imports in GDP indicate that the economy is highly dependent on foreign markets and inputs. This orientation is additionally strengthened by the final stage of the transition process and accession to the EU, both meaning definite opening of the economy and its integration into EU and global economy. Internationalisation of operations is, therefore, increasingly becoming a critical factor for creating and stimulating a competitive corporate sector in Slovenia. To strengthen the internationalisation processes, the policy of internationalisation should be based on the following: (i) lifting barriers to internationalisation; (ii) taking the actual needs of companies as a starting point; (iii) flexibility, transparency and the long-term perspective; (iv) adaptability and a re-examination of policy; and (v) a holistic concept of internationalisation. Increasingly important aspects of internationalisation are inward and outward FDI. The paper review the existing evidence on the internationalisation of Slovenian economy in all the various modes. The paper is composed of three parts. In the first part the scale and dynamics of industry integration of Slovenia into EU/global industrial networks by the way of foreign trade, outward and inward processing trade (OPT) and subcontracting and FDI is given. The second part analyses the integration of Slovenian car components industry in international industrial networks, and the third part concentrates on the motivation and strategies of foreign investors in Slovenia and Slovenian investors abroad

Advanced Materials for Organic Photonics

V oblasti nových nízkomolekulárních organických materiálů patří deriváty difenyldiketopyrrolopyrrolu (DPP), používané dříve jako barviva a pigmenty, k objektům vysokého zájmu pro jejich potencionální aplikace v moderních technologiích. Studium jejich optických vlastností ve vztahu k jejich chemické struktuře umožní využití jejich vysokého potenciálu ve vývoji pokročilých inteligentních materiálů. Přehled chemických a fyzikálních vlastností DPP derivátů a zhodnocení současného stavu řešené problematiky jsou uvedeny v teoretické části této práce. Tři hlavní procesy studované v této práci jsou: klasická absorpce a emise, dvoufotonová absorpce (TPA) a zesílená spontánní emise (ASE). Výsledky budou diskutovány a shrnuty ve dvou částech: první zahrnuje první dvě výše zmíněné oblasti a druhá problematiku zesílené spontánní emise.Among low molecular organic materials, diphenyl-diketo-pyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives used earlier as dyes are of high interest in modern technologies. The study of their optical properties related to their chemical structure will provide more information on the later relationship and comfort the high potential of DPP derivatives in the making of more performant smart materials. An overview of their chemical and physical properties is described in the theoretical part and followed by the state of the art in the field of interest concerning this thesis. The three main processes studied in this work are: The classic absorption and emission, the two photon absorption (TPA) and the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). The results will be discussed and summarized in two parts: The first concerning the one and the two photon absorption and the second the amplified spontaneous emission.

RIO Country Report 2017: Slovenia

The R&I Observatory country report 2017 provides a brief analysis of the R&I system covering the economic context, main actors, funding trends & human resources, policies to address R&I challenges, and R&I in national and regional smart specialisation strategies. Data is from Eurostat, unless otherwise referenced and is correct as at January 2018. Data used from other international sources is also correct to that date. The report provides a state-of-play and analysis of the national level R&I system and its challenges, to support the European Semester.JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt

Parameter identification of a mechanical ductile damage using Artificial Neural Networks in sheet metal forming.

In this paper, we report on the developed and used of finite element methods, have been developed and used for sheet forming simulations since the 1970s, and have immensely contributed to ensure the success of concurrent design in the manufacturing process of sheets metal. During the forming operation, the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model was often employed to evaluate the ductile damage and fracture phenomena. GTN represents one of the most widely used ductile damage model. In this investigation, many experimental tests and finite element model computation are performed to predict the damage evolution in notched tensile specimen of sheet metal using the GTN model. The parameters in the GTN model are calibrated using an Artificial Neural Networks system and the results of the tensile test. In the experimental part, we used an optical measurement instruments in two phases: firstly during the tensile test, a digital image correlation method is applied to determinate the full-field displacements in the specimen surface. Secondly a profile projector is employed to evaluate the localization of deformation (formation of shear band) just before the specimen’s fracture. In the validation parts of this investigation, the experimental results of hydroforming part and Erichsen test are compared with their numerical finite element model taking into account the GTN model. A good correlation was observed between the two approaches

Development of a Computerized System for Fabric Structure Design based on Dobby Device Mechanism

     Generally,  a fabric design  can  be established as follows: firstly. The required fabric design is planned on the punched plastic card using the punching machine. Secondly, the punched plastic card  is used by the dobby device that  attached to the textile machine (rapier weaving loom) to make the final fabric design as required.      In this study, a direct interfacing system between a personal computer and the textile machine (rapier weaving loom) was established to replace the conventional system (plastic card and punching machine).           This  system  is  applied  in  the  University  of  Gezira to enhance performance (decrease the design time, requirements and the complexity) of the existing conventional dobby device. The  system  was   developed  using  Microsoft  Visual  Basic, Personal Computer, coil, and Parallel Printer Port. The system reads the machine statues via the input lines connected to the power adapter and a mechanical sensor. Then the system issues a suitable  action  on the machine by generating the electric signal applied  on  the  coil.     The magnetic field controls  the shaft movement and selects the required color according to the design parameters. The system also repeats the color selection process until the total length required is completed.By using this system; the  woven design operations  become quite  simple, easy  and flexible

Technology Transfer through FDI in Top-10 Transition Countries: How Important are Direct Effects, Horizontal and Vertical Spillovers?

The paper exploits a large set of more than 8,000 firms for ten advanced transition countries in order to uncover the importance of different channels of technology transfer through FDI and its impact on productivity growth of local firms. In addition to direct effects, we also distinguish between intra-industry (horizontal) and inter-industry (vertical) spillovers from foreign owned firms to local firms. After correcting for foreign investment selection bias and controlling for endogeneity of input demand (using a dynamic system GMM approach), direct FDI effects were found to provide by far the most important productivity effect for local firms in transition countries. Direct effects of FDI are found to provide on average an impact on firm’s productivity that is larger by factor 50 than the impact of backward linkages and by factor 500 larger than the impact of horizontal spillovers.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39934/3/wp549.pd

Characteristics of high potential employees: employees’ perspective

The objective of the study was to determine the major characteristics of high potential (HIPO) employees. HIPOs, as defined by Schumacher (2009), are employees who produce excellent work performance consistently. Prior research indicated various characteristics and traits portraying HIPO personalities, characters and competence but the studies only discussed the matter conceptually and in theory.Based on the data collected from 329 respondents, the overall study findings indicated that the term HIPO was made up of different competences as projected by the previous authors. It is reasonable to understand that a person with HIPO must be an individual who always want to produce results beyond expectation or at least meet with the job requirement. The findings suggest that a person with strong drive for high performance is less likely to leave, and must also have learning agility with leadership spirit. For a person with learning agility, besides having leadership spirit and drive for high performance, he/she is also highly engaged to the job and the organization. But for a person with strong leadership spirit, it is not just learning agility and drive for high performance that are important, the person also has high education level, seniority and more engaged to the organization. Nonetheless, positive relationship between leadership spirit and turnover intention will remain as a nightmare to employers. This implies that the more the person looks forward to advancement and building relationships, the more he/she intends to leave the organization

The performance of innovation networks in transition economies: An empirical study of Slovenia

Although the post-socialist countries in Eastern Europe experienced radical economic reforms, in many cases, the transformation of the industry sector has not been completed. As a result, the majority of enterprises is not internationally competitive and technological innovation is low. A model to foster innovation and competitiveness of Eastern European industries could be provided by western European regions with above-average growth rates during the last decades. The success of these regions, as is argued by an extensive literature on industrial districts, innovation networks and innovative milieux, relies on a special form of co-operation between companies from inside (and outside) the region. The aim of this paper is to assess the performance of networks and their impact on innovation activities in the transition context and to identify starting points for innovation policies. The empirical analysis is based on an extensive survey of industry and science in Slovenia. The theoretically guided empirical study of Slovenia further develops network analysis in the transformation context. Although Slovenia is one of the most developed transition economies, the socialist legacy, such as the fragmentation of research, applies to her as well. The first step assesses existing newly emerged and established networks in terms of type and quality of relations. As the opportunities of learning, technology transfer and innovating depend to some extend on the type of network, supplier-user relationships and horizontal networks between industry and science are distinguished. The quality of networks refers to their transactional and informational structure, trust relationships and regional dimensions. Special attention is on old versus new networks and their conduciveness to innovation: Whereas many actors in transition economies mourn about lost partnerships, these might hamper innovation. Therefore, the second step of this analysis documents the innovation performance of the sample. It relates the propensity of firms to engage in networks to the impact on process and product innovation. The third part is oriented towards policy recommendations. The Slovenian innovation policy is evaluated from the enterprises? point of view. This relies on the basis of the empirical analysis of the emergence of innovation networks and support by public programmes. The Ministry for Science and Technology has introduced various measures to realise the country?s innovation potential. The aim of the analysis is to suggest further improvements to effectively stimulate the development and consolidation of innovation networks. This benefits from extensive qualitative research carried out during the past years.