Using Social Media for Government Passive Expert-Sourcing

Social Media have been initially used by government agencies for general public oriented -˜citizen-sourcing’. Though this enabled the collection of useful policy relevant information and knowledge from the general public, and provided valuable insights into their relevant perceptions, it would be quite useful if this could be combined with the collection of policy relevant information and knowledge from experts as well (-˜expert-sourcing’). In this paper, a passive expert-sourcing method based on social media, which has been developed in a European research project, is evaluated from a fundamental perspective: the wicked problems theory perspective. In particular, we investigate to what extent this method enables government agencies to collect high quality information concerning the main elements of important social problems to be addressed through public policies: particular issues posed, alternative interventions/ actions, and advantages/disadvantages of them; as well as to what extent there is consensus about these elements among different stakeholder groups. For this purpose data are collected through interviews with Members of the Greek Parliament. From their analysis interesting conclusions have been drawn about the strengths and weaknesses of this expert-sourcing method, as well as required impro-vements of it

Foreign Direct Investments in Business Services: Transforming the Visegrád Four Region into a Knowledge-based Economy?

Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the service sector are widely attributed an important role in bringing more skill-intensive activities into the Visegrad Four (V4). This region—comprising Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia—relied heavily on FDIs in manufacturing, which was often found to generate activities with limited skill content. This contribution deconstructs the chaotic concept of “business services” by analysing the actual nature of service sector activities outsourced and offshored to the V4. Using the knowledge-based economy (KBE) as a benchmark, the paper assesses the potential of service sector outsourcing in contributing to regional competitiveness by increasing the innovative capacity. It also discusses the role of state policies towards service sector FDI (SFDI). The analysis combines data obtained from case studies undertaken in service sector outsourcing projects in V4 countries. Moreover, it draws on interviews with senior employees of investment promotion agencies and publicly available data and statistics on activities within the service sector in the region. It argues that the recent inward investments in business services in the V4 mainly utilize existing local human capital resources, and their contribution to the development of the KBE is limited to employment creation and demand for skilled labour

The regional employment impacts of renewable energy expenditures: The case for modelling

One aspect of the case for policy support for renewable energy developments is the wider economic benefits that are expected to be generated. Within Scotland, as with other regions of the UK, there is a focus on encouraging domesticallyâ€based renewable technologies. In this paper, we use a regional computable general equilibrium framework to model the impact on the Scottish economy of expenditures relating to marine energy installations. The results illustrate the potential for (considerable) ‘legacy’ effects after expenditures cease. In identifying the specific sectoral expenditures with the largest impact on (lifetime) regional employment, this approach offers important policy guidance.Renewable energy policy; regional economic impacts; computable general equilibrium modelling.

Managing supply chain uncertainty arising from geopolitical disruptions: evidence from the pharmaceutical industry and Brexit

Purpose This paper examines how firms of different sizes formulate and implement strategies to achieve fit with an external environment disrupted by a geopolitical event. The context of the study is the pharmaceutical industry and how it managed the supply chain uncertainty created by the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, or Brexit. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected longitudinally from the pro-Brexit vote on 23 June 2016, until the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January 2020. Twenty-seven interviews were conducted in the pharmaceutical sector, including nineteen interviews with senior managers at eight case companies and eight interviews with experts working for trade associations and standards institutes. The interview findings were triangulated with Brexit policy and strategy documentation. Findings When formulating strategy, multi-national enterprises (MNEs) used worst case assumptions, while large firms, and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) gathered knowledge as part of a “wait-and-see” strategy, allowing them to reduce perceptions of heightened supply chain uncertainty. Firms then implemented reactive and/or proactive strategies to mitigate supply chain risks. Originality/value The study elaborates on strategic contingency theory by identifying two important conditions for achieving strategic fit: first, companies deploy intangible resources, such as management time, to gather information and reduce perceptions of heightened supply chain uncertainty. Second, companies deploy tangible resources (supply chain redundancies, new supply chain assets) to lessen the negative outcomes of supply chain risks. Managers are provided with an empirical framework for mitigating supply chain uncertainty and risk originating from geopolitical disruptions

Enhancing Participation and Transparency in the EU Interactive Policy Making Initiative

The potential that information- and communication technologies have to promote democracy and improve transparency increasingly attracts the interest of researchers and policy-makers. Both social media and mobile connectivity are linked to the idea of providing channels “not just for mass dissemination but also for mass production and collaboration” in the political sphere (Linders, 2012, p.1). These new means may alter how the government and the public interact, develop solutions for perceived democratic deficits and improve the delivery of public services (ibid). Because of the relatively limited costs of Internet communication in terms of time, material- and human resources and its decentralized as well as interactive features, ICTs are believed to lead to a more open and democratic exchange of information and political participation. In consideration of the decreasing trust in EU institutions and EU’s supposed democratic deficit, the Internet might provide a new way of improving the relationship between European citizens and Brussels. However, from a normative perspective, concerns have been voiced about the gap between “technology haves and have-nots”, pointing to the potential digital divide (West, 2000, p.3). Next to the lack of both access to new technologies and the necessary skills to work with software and hardware, the promotion of these new instruments to the wider public remains another obstacle to complete democratic participation

East and Southeast Asia Regional Labor Research Report

CCC_East_and_South_East_Asia_Regional_Research_Rep.pdf: 2398 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Rising waters : integrating national datasets for the visualisation of diminishing spatial entities

Preparing for the potential changes wrought by climate change can be grounded in commonly integrated real data. Efforts by various countries to prepare for such potentialities have resulted in a stepped- approach to data management and integration. Small island states experience an added burden through data limitations, disparate datasets and data hoarding. This paper reviews the processes employed in Malta that target a spatio-temporal analysis of current and future climate change scenarios aimed at integrating environmental, spatial planning and social data in line with the transposition of the Aarhus Convention, the INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) and the SEIS (Shared Environmental Information System) initiative. The study analyses potential physical and social aspects that will be impacted by sea-level rise in the Maltese islands. Scenarios include the analysis of areas that will be inundated, the methodology employed to carry out the analysis, and the relative impacts on land use and environmental, infrastructural and population loss. Spatial information systems and 3D outputs illustrate outcome scenarios.peer-reviewe

Factors Influencing Strategic Options Of Managed Service Adoption By Telecommunication Operators: The Case Of Sri Lanka

The market pressure on the mobile operators to improve bottom line, network performance, competence needs and rapid changing business environment led the operators to adopt managed services at different levels in their operation. Transferring value chain activities to an expert service provider is called a “managed service”.Managed services are a spectrum of solutions offering incremental levels. Existing practices indicate five levels of managed services in the spectrum viz transaction, task, project, service management, service and capacity management based.The purpose of this research is to identify the factors influencing managed services at different levels in the context of a developing country. For this intent, this research adopted a case study approach of the Sri Lankan telecom industry covering all mobile operators of the country.The findings of this study show a clear pattern between levels from Level-1 to Level-5. Level 1 is almost as subset of level 2, and level 4 is a subset of level 5. Five levels of managed services can be divided into three distinct groups, levels 1&2, level 3 and levels 4 & 5. Organizational and industry dynamics factors influence all levels. However, national regulatory environment factors are very important in adopting managed services at levels 4&5. The existing studies look the factors influencing managed services in general. This study is unique as it identifies the factors influencing managed services at each level and prioritized them. This will help operators to select a level of adoption instead of adopting managed services on a trial and error basis