Executive Guide for East-West Joint Ventures

This Executive Guide is designed to provide useful answers to business executive's basic and most essential questions on East-West joint ventures. The Guide is a result of work by the international network of the Management of Technological Change (MTC) Project at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The answers elucidate legislative practices based on the most recent documentation, as well as administrative practices should they differ. Provisions for each country were examined and approved by the respective chamber of commerce or competent national agency

Technology Development and Product Life Cycle: The Case of Counter-pressure Casting in Bulgaria

This paper presents the second part of the case study developed at the Metals Technology Company, in Bulgaria, which created and is applying the new original Bulgarian technology of casting by counter-pressure. After an investigation of the technology life cycle in the first part, the second part of the study concentrates on the inter-relation between technology and product life cycles. Selected product areas were investigated, and the product life cycle was applied in analyzing the product structure of aluminum casting and different product technologies. Reasons for some instances of reduced competitiveness of these technologies leading to lost market positions in certain product areas were also investigated. The case study demonstrates the applicability of technology and product life cycles as management tools useful in connection with new original technologies, developed in small countries. As a tool, the life cycles can be used to find market niches and strengthen company strategy. This paper, therefore, is a continuation of the IIASA working paper WP-87-088, "Management and Technology Life Cycle: Bulgarian Case Study on the Technology of Counter-pressure Casting" by J. Djarova, C. Nachev, I. Nenov, and T. Tonchev. The two together describe the entire case study

A New Step Forward for Joint Ventures

This working paper is one of a series produced by TES-MTC project discussing the problems of East-West Joint Ventures located in the CMEA countries on a country basis. The dynamics in the process of creation of joint ventures, as well as the rapid changes in legal conditions create the need, according to the empirical studies undertaken, to compare and to follow the changes in legislation and statistics. The end of 1988 and the beginning of 1989 was marked by new requirements and opportunities for jvs in the legislation of almost all CMEA countries. The latest working paper of the series highlights recent changes and gives some general views on the legal situation in various countries

Management and Technology Life Cycle: Bulgarian Case Study on the Technology of Counter-pressure Casting

At IIASA, several researchers have studied and described the cumulative nature of development of technologies and their substitution, using global and macro-economic data. Those processes have their "fine micro-structure" which is interesting and valuable for one country as a whole or for individual companies. Studying this micro-structure can permit us to connect global theory with processes taking place on the micro-level and, based on that, to make recommendations to decision-makers to permit them to select instruments for analyzing and synthesizing their strategy. Small countries often have limited resources (either natural or financial or even both). However, they always have limited human resources which should be used effectively and purposefully. Today, technological developments even outside the sphere of so-called high-tech are very intensive scientifically and intellectually. This once more increases the necessity for small countries to concentrate their scientific human potential in areas in which they can make break-throughs with high economic efficiency. From this point, positioning technological innovations correctly in the international market and forecasting their competitiveness are very important. A picture of the possible future development of a technological innovation gives the small countries and their companies the opportunity to spot market niches and to develop effective strategies for their fulfillment. The application of life cycle theory and use of substitution curves as possible management instruments for strategy development on company level is one of the main goals of the research currently being carried out in Bulgaria under the contract with IIASA's "Management of the Technological Life Cycle" (MTL) activity, part of the "Technology-Economy-Society" (TES) program. The research in Bulgaria is being conducted by the Problem Center "Management of Technological Development" through the Institute for Social Management and has broader goals in the area. These goals are directed towards enhancing instruments for strategic management on company level and methods for accelerating technological development. The Bulgarian study is directed to three main groups of technologies (irrespective of branch of industry): a) original Bulgarian technologies with possibilities on international market; b) new technologies transferred from other countries; and c) traditional mature technologies. Structuring the research in this way not only avoids certain drawbacks inherent in research based on particular characteristics of industrial branches (namely the questionable validity of results and lack of transferability of those results to other branches of industry). It also permits researchers to study the dynamics of these technologies and the dynamics of organizational and management characteristics of the companies independent of branch specification, according to the type of technology described and the degree of its development. In the paper presented, some results of the first stage of the study are discussed. The objects of this first stage are several original Bulgarian technologies. The case study presented here concerns the technology of counter-pressure casting. This original Bulgarian technology is part of a group of technologies based on the method of casting with counter-pressure developed by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The company under study is an interesting integration of a basic research institute, with applied research and production functions. Preliminary results based only on aluminum casting technology are presented in this paper. This method is also being applied to plastic and steel casting technologies which will be addressed in the second stage of the study. Variables and indicators through which technology is studied are developed within the MTL activity, but for the purposes of national study have been adapted, increased in number, and developed according to the specific requirements of a centrally planned economy by the Bulgarian national team

Concurrent low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet with/without physical activity does not improve glycaemic control in type 2 diabetics

Aim: This study aimed to determine if a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet (LCHFD) provides any benefits of glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, either alone or in conjunction with physical activity. Methods: Type 2 diabetics (n = 39) were assigned into either a concurrent physical activity and LCHFD group (DiExG), LCHFD only group (DietG) or control group (ConG). Results: No significant (p > 0.05) changes were observed in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), glucose and insulin in either the DiExG (HbA1c: p = 0.592; 8.3% decrease, glucose: p = 0.477; 11.1% decrease and insulin: p = 0.367; 44.1% increase) or DietG (HbA1c: p = 0.822; 0% change, glucose: p = 0.108; 11.0% decrease and insulin: p = 0.976; 4.2% decrease) group. Conclusions: In this study, neither an LCHFD alone nor in combination with a physical activity programme succeeded in eliciting improvements in insulin sensitivity in the type 2 diabetics. As such, adoption of a LCHFD, either alone or in combination with physical activity, should not unequivocally be part of the treatment approach for type 2 diabetics. Furthermore, it should carefully be weighed against the benefits of more balanced dietary and/or physical activity interventions