Skills are not enough : the globalisation of knowledge and the future Uk economy

The UK’s policy response to globalisation centres on building a highly skilled population and competing in higher value market places: this is not enough. The UK needs to move beyond a ‘national-centric view of the world’ and to place a greater emphasis on active demand side policy that engages with employers and focuses on job creation, job quality and labour supply

Transnational Corporations and Global Governance

Scholars and critics often lament that corporations rule the world, but predominant accounts of global governance imply almost the opposite: With theories populated by national governments and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, it might appear that nearly everyone except corporations writes the rules that govern across borders. This article compiles research on the varied ways in which multinational and transnational corporations have shaped global governance, drawing attention to the contours and limits of corporate power. Corporations can be seen variously as sponsors, inhibitors, and direct providers of global governance. They have, for example, been sponsors of neoliberal trade rules, inhibitors of some labor and environmental regimes, and providers of private standards for finance, safety, sustainability, and human rights. Scholars may be tempted to focus on just one of these roles or to presume unified corporate dominance, but it is important to grapple with all three and to investigate the conditions under which corporate actions are more or less unified and decisive.Introduction National, multinational, and transnational corporations in sociology Sponsors Inhibitors Providers: The rise of private authority Implications Disclosure statement Acknowledgements Literature cite

\u27Converted Co-ethnics\u27: Romanian Migrants in the Northern Serbian Province of Vojvodina

In this paper, my case study highlights Romanian neo-Protestant migrants from Serbia who either returned to their “home country,” or work on different missionary activities among their co-ethnics after the fall of communism. To a large degree, members of the Romanian minority in Serbia belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is the dominant confession, then a smaller number to the Romanian Greek-Catholic church and various neo-Protestant communities, such as the Nazarene, the Adventist, the Baptist, and the Pentecostal community. Starting from the hypothesis that the conversion of the Romanians in Serbia to neo-Protestantism is closely related to issues of migration, whether the conversion occurred while living abroad or they were, for religious reasons, forced to leave the country, the focus of this paper is transformation of social relations among converted Romanians and their co-ethnics. Based on the results from ethnographic research conducted in Serbia in 2014–2015, I will focus on how migrants perceive themselves and their co-ethnic attitudes towards them. Becoming a part of transnational religious community and emphasizing supra-nationality, the Romanian neo-Protestants perceive themselves as a part of “worldwide brotherhood,” adopting some new forms of collective identity while distancing themselves from the Romanian Orthodox tradition. Thus, religious otherness raises questions of the attitude of the Romanian local community towards the Romanian neo-Protestant migrants and their new religious, cultural, and social practices

The Critical Challenges from International High-Tech and Computer-Related Crime at the Millennium

The automotive industry stands in front of a great challenge, to decrease its impact on the environment. One important part in succeeding with this is to decrease the structural weight of the body structure and by that the fuel consumption or the required battery power. Carbon fibre composites are by many seen as the only real option when traditional engineering materials are running out of potential for further weight reduction. However, the automotive industry lacks experience working with structural composites and the methods for high volume composite manufacturing are immature. The development of a composite automotive body structure, therefore, needs methods to support and guide the conceptual work to improve the financial and technical results. In this thesis a framework is presented which will provide guidelines for the conceptual phase of the development of an automotive body structure. The framework follows two main paths, one to strive for the ideal material diversity, which also defines an initial partition of the body structure based on the process and material selection. Secondly, a further analysis of the structures are made to evaluate if a more cost and weight efficient solution can be found by a more differential design and by that define the ideal part size. In the case and parameter studies performed, different carbon fibre composite material systems and processes are compared and evaluated. The results show that high performance material system with continuous fibres becomes both more cost and performance effective compared to industrialised discontinuous fibre composites. But also that cycle times, sometimes, are less important than a competitive feedstock cost for a manufacturing process. When further analysing the manufacturing design of the structures it is seen that further partition(s) can become cost effective if the size and complexity is large enough.      QC 20140527</p

National Innovation System in the Era of Liberalization: Implications for Science and Technology Policy for Developing Economies

The national system of innovations in the recent phase of globalization has undergone dramatic structural transformation. Innovations entails organizational as well as changes in the rules of the game. The history of economic development of the developing and newly industrializing economies shows that national systems of innovation have evolved keeping in view the most pressing requirements of the national economic development. The knowledge generation and transmission are the two essential characteristics of national innovation system that connects the users and producers of knowledge and also allows institutional arrangements to functions as a feedback system. The institutional arrangements are being altered substantially to allow capital to move freely across national borders on the one side and strict trade related intellectual property rights on the other. How these arrangements have affected the national system of innovation both in the developed and developing countries during the recent liberalisation phase of economic development? In this paper an attempt has been made to provide some plausible answers to this question. Input and output indicators have been used with a view to unravel the dramatic structural changes occurring both in the economic and innovation structure of the global economy. The internationalisation of R&D expenditure and its implications for revealed comparative advantage have been examined in order to understand the direction of change during the era of liberalisation. The suitable changes in the science and technology policy have been suggested to strengthen the national system of innovation for generating unique competitive advantage in the developing countries.National system of innovation; structural transformation; input and output measures of innovations; revealed competitive advantage; public policy; internationalisation of R&D; intellectual property rights

Can conflict-generated diasporas be moderate actors during episodes of contested sovereignty? Lebanese and Albanian diasporas compared

Conflict-generated diasporas are considered likely to maintain radical behaviours. This article seeks to explain why and how they nevertheless adopt moderate claims, especially when advocating highly sensitive issues such as state sovereignty. Focusing on groups in the US I investigate the Lebanese diaspora linked to the pro-sovereignty movement in Lebanon (2000–2005) and the Albanian diaspora linked to Kosovo's independence movement (1999–2008). The contentious episodes take place during the original homeland's post-conflict reconstruction. Embedded in the literatures on diasporas, conflicts, and transnational social movements, this article argues that instrumental approach towards the achievement of sovereignty explains why conflict-generated diasporas adopt moderate behaviours. Diasporas hope that by linking their claims to a global political opportunity structure of ‘liberalism’ they ‘play the game’ of the international community interested in promoting the liberal paradigm, and thus expect to obtain its support for the legitimisation of their pro-sovereignty goals. Diaspora entrepreneurs advance their claims in a two-step process. Initially they use frame bridging and frame extension to formulate their existing grievances. Then, an increased responsiveness from their host-state emerges to sustain their initial moderation. While individuals or groups in diaspora circles occasionally issue threats during the contentious episodes, the majority in the diaspora consider moderate politics as their dominant behaviour

Diasporas and Development: An Assessment of the Irish Experience for the Caribbean

Dialogue on diasporas and their role in the development of the home country has grown in the last twenty years and Caribbean states have begun to identify ways they can engage their nationals residing abroad in this process. Those in the region looking to harness the power of the diaspora have turned their attention to the example of Ireland, a country with a large diaspora that has contributed significantly to its national advancement. By highlighting the lessons of the Irish experience, this paper argues that while the Caribbean’s diaspora has the desire to contribute and does help through remittances, there remain a number of challenges to this participation including perceptions of security and stability, establishing the conditions necessary for attracting investment and a lack of confidence in government institutions in the region