Physics and operation oriented activities in preparation of the JT-60SA tokamak exploitation

The JT-60SA tokamak, being built under the Broader Approach agreement jointly by Europe and Japan, is due to start operation in 2020 and is expected to give substantial contributions to both ITER and DEMO scenario optimisation. A broad set of preparation activities for an efficient start of the experiments on JT-60SA is being carried out, involving elaboration of the Research Plan, advanced modelling in various domains, feasibility and conception studies of diagnostics and other sub-systems in connection with the priorities of the scientific programme, development and validation of operation tools. The logic and coherence of this approach, as well as the most significant results of the main activities undertaken are presented and summarised.EURATOM 63305

Evaluation of EPIM III: Emerging Insights From the Evaluation So Far

This report sets out some emerging insights from the ongoing evaluation of the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) 2012-2015 programme. The activities of EPIM and this evaluation lie at the very heart of EPIM's efforts to strengthen the capacity of NGOs active in migration and integration issues, to engage with and influence decision-making at EU and Member state levels, and to do so by drawing on a rigorous evidence base, and through a pragmatic approach. Founded in 2005 as an activity of the Network of European Foundations (NEF) in a unique effort to fund European migration and integration organisations, EPIM's activities include strategic grant-making as well as networking, capacity-building, supporting advocacy and policy work. The Programme has now disbursed over 3m to more than 24 grantee organisations. Drawing on experience and learning from previous phases, EPIM's current three core areas of focus are asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, and equality, integration and social inclusion of vulnerable migrants. Recognising the importance of the role played by civil society, one of EPIM's key goals is to strengthen the advocacy capacities of NGOs at the European level. This goal reflects the fact that over the past decade the EU has become an important actor in the field of immigration and asylum, as well as that the majority of countries face some challenges in this area

The logic of post-communist capitalist collective inaction

The relationship between politics and business is obviously a key feature of policy-making in capitalist democracies, and business associations are an important element of that relationship. A consensus has now emerged that organised business is remarkably weak in East-Central Europe. This article proposes a theoretical synthesis with which to explain that weakness. It shows how the strength of trade unions, varieties of capitalism and interest diversity are specifications of Olson’s logic of collective action, specifications without which the logic itself is too general to explain concrete outcomes. Detailed evidence in favour of the theory is provided from the Polish case. It is argued that the analysis should also apply to other post-communist countries

How costumers’ way of life influence the value co-creation

Purpose: This article is a contribution to the understanding of how value arises in wellestablished markets, and under which circumstances actors integrate resources from different service ecosystems to generate value. To understand this phenomenon, it is fundamental to consider which practices are performed by customers to co-create value and how they do so. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using a qualitative approach, the study provides fresh empirical insight into well-established market processes of value creation. After a literature review an ethnographic approach was chosen in order to understand how co-creation processes occur in the empirical setting of an international restaurant chain. Several observations, conversations and semi-structured interviews were undertaken concerning the analysis of the topic under study. Findings: The results show that even in a well-established market, a provider must consider individual customers’ distinct needs, present in their daily practices, to be able to assist them in the value creation process. It is argued that the practice styles are the building blocks for prevailing ways of life that actors assume, according to the context in which they are, to integrate resources. Practical implications: The study includes implications for service providers of a wellfounded market for facilitating value co-creation along with customers and fulfils the need to better understand this phenomenon. Originality/Value: Recent studies call for empirical evidence on co-creation processes in mature markets, accordingly, this study brings an additional understanding on how actors, depending on the context, adopt different ways of life that require unique resources, which activate to achieve what they want, in order to establish room for co-creation.peer-reviewe

When Europe encounters urban governance: Policy Types, Actor Games and Mechanisms of cites Europeanization

This paper examines European Union (EU) causal mechanisms and policy instruments affecting the urban domain throughout the lenses of the Europeanization approach. Instead of looking at EU instruments that are formally/legally consecrated to cities, we use theoretical public policy analysis to explore the arenas and the causal mechanisms that structure the encounters between the EU and urban systems of governance. Policy instruments are related to policy arenas and in turn to different mechanisms of transmission thus originating a typology of European Policy Modes. The paper focuses on four different EU instruments in the in the macro-area of sustainable development and proposes potential game-theoretical models for each of them. In the conclusions we highlight the differences between this approach and the traditional analysis of EU urban policy, and suggest avenues for future empirical research based on typologies of policy instruments and modes of Europeanization

Internal Barriers in the Transition of Enterprises from Central Plan to Market

While a number of transition countries have been able to make significant progress with macroeconomic stabilization, little is being done to understand and to address the horrendous difficulties and barriers that attend the process of transition at the level of the enterprise. Not knowing what to change and what to leave in place -either because of its intrinsic value or because of its impenetrable and unyielding nature- exacerbates the complexity of the challenge. The purpose of this paper is to present the insights revealed by our study on the barriers obstructing the transition of enterprises from central plan to market. Stakeholders' fears and institutional uncertainty seem to be the major impediments to the transition of enterprises from central plan to market. It is the fears of "being independent and self responsible, not having the protecting 'umbrella' of the state", of ignorance of markets, of "too many fast changes", of "losing one's own job", of "increased unemployment" and most importantly the fear of "losing power and status". These fears are all derived from a deep suspicion of the consequences of any change. Thus workers fear the loss of job and of the enterprise umbrella, managers fear the loss of power and status and boards fear financial losses and loss of ownership. The insights gained apply to most transition countries. Differences from country to country are a matter of degree. The degree of effectiveness and stability of the market economy to which the system is transforming will greatly depend on the degree of transmutation of local, social value systems to the new values and practices, which market oriented systems will be able to contain and integrate. Efforts to introduce management techniques suited to a market economy will almost certainly fail, unless the techniques chosen from the arsenal of contemporary market oriented management methods, complement and build upon local traditional managerial values. Successful transition might hinge more upon overcoming internal barriers of enterprises, than upon any other single factor of this complex and arduous process. Local as well as western managers and investors should spend time and efforts to understand the concealed logic of the barriers encountered during the implementation of each change. They should address the fears of individual stakeholders (employees, potential partners, clients, suppliers and public officials) with whom they are dealing. They should be mindful of how deeply certain attitudes may be ingrained and should not overlook the value of experience, existing skills and the prevailing managerial behavior that can be usefully built upon; they should expect to work hard and long at change before it really occurs.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39634/3/wp248.pd