Industrial restructuring in European Transition Economies and TNC's Investment Motivations

Using survey evidence the paper characterises TNCs' strategic positioning in central and eastern European economies in terms of the relative status of seven motives for investing and the degree of use of seven sources of technology. As a key theme the ways in which the diverse objectives and technological positioning of TNCs' operations in the transition economies can affect both the initial industrial transformation and further sustained development of such host countries is analysed. The entry of TNCs to the transition economies is found to target the supply of the local markets, using the groups' mature technologies as embodied in established products. However, the presence of various secondary motives and supporting localised technology sources demonstrates the presence of significant evolutionary processes. These may lead to individualised (exportoriented) roles of subsidiaries in transition economies using local technology and creative competences.

Transfer of technology in Multinational Enterprises and the Roles of Subsidiaries: an Empirical Investigation

This paper considers the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) as a differentiated learning network with subsidiaries playing a critical role in managing knowledge. Drawing on sample of 92 subsidiaries operating in Greece, this paper empirically tests the relationship between sources of technology acquired and/or generated (internally or externally) and relates them to differently strategically motivated subsidiaries.

REVISITING TRUSTEES' DECISIONS: IS PITT V HOLT THE FINAL WORD ON THE RULE IN RE HASTINGS-BASS?

Not every decision we make is a good one. The power to make decisions includes the power to make bad choices as well as good ones. Unless there is some other factor, such as the exercise of undue influence, the overbearing of will through duress, or a mistake, good and bad decisions are equally enforceable in law. It might be thought that the same rule applies to decisions made by trustees, even though their decisions generally relate to the interests of the beneficiaries, rather than to their own interests. Of course, if the decision is so bad that it amounts to a breach of trust, and loss is thereby caused to the trust fund, then the breach might expose the trustees to liability to the beneficiaries. It was against this background that what became known as the rule in Re Hastings-Bass achieved prominence. A series of first instance decisions permitted trustees in some instances to backtrack on a decision which had unintended effects or consequences. The rule became subject to criticism, and was reviewed by the Supreme Court in Futter v HMRC on appeal from Pitt v Holt in the Court of Appeal. The decision of the Supreme Court substantially limits the scope of the rule, and identifies three circumstances where the decisions of trustees can be reversed: namely where there has been an operative mistake; excessive execution; or inadequate deliberation. This article explores the three dimensions to the rule in Re Hastings-Bass and identifies a number  of difficulties with the decision in Futter v HMRC.  

Investigating the molecular pathology of Dupuytren’s disease

The eponymous progressive palmar fibromatosis described by Guillaume Dupuytren in 1831 is a common and debilitating disease with limited treatment options and high rates of recurrence after intervention. Dupuytren’s disease has been generally accepted as predominantly affecting Northern European individuals; Dupuytren’s disease is sometimes referred to as “Vikings Disease” as an attribution to this ethnic origin. Its familial occurrence in all communities is suggestive of Mendelian inheritance as an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance. The genetic and molecular basis of Dupuytren’s disease (DD) has been the focus of many studies, with increasingly sophisticated approaches since the sequencing of the human genome in 2003. However, whilst the pathology of the progressive fibrosis is well understood, the etiology and molecular triggers of the disease remain unknown. This study has investigated the genetic basis of Dupuytren’s disease in families and the population of Western Australia. The study involved a tripartite investigation in patients from three different cohorts. The DNA of four DD affected people within a four-generation family with autosomal dominant inheritance of DD was submitted for whole exome sequencing (WES) which initially identified 43 candidate genes with non-synonymous heterozygous rare variants. Two candidate genes, EXOG and GORASP1, were in regions of positive linkage whilst the remainder were not excluded by linkage analysis. Sanger sequencing was focused on three candidate genes, EXOG, GORASP1 and COL6A5, but no variant segregated with Dupuytren’s disease in additional family members. No likely disease-causing variant was identified in all family members positive for the disease phenotype. A second cohort consisted of the Busselton study population, a study initiated in the 1960s and following the health outcomes of nearly 5000 people in Busselton WA. Using a survey 48 unrelated individuals were identified as having had surgery for DD, whilst 409 people had evidence of early DD. DNA from the participants of the Busselton study was screened for SNPs using a GWAS chip approach and the data analysed to identify SNPs associated with DD. This study lacked sufficient power to identify statistically significant SNPs associated with the disease. A shortlist of variants was identified using an arbritrary p-value cut-off. However, none of these SNPs were associated with genes in either the familial study or previous research. For the final genetic study DNA from another set of individuals with severe DD were subject to WES. The aim was to identify rare mutations in genes that may be associated with DD and that would promote the more aggressive phenotype in these individuals. Whilst no mutations in identical genes as previous studies were identified there was overlap in gene families and networks that suggests pathways that may be important in DD. Finally, fibroblasts isolated from some Dupuytren patients and control fibroblasts from the wrist were characterized using a modified ‘scar-in-a-jar’ protocol to investigate their collagen production. Interestingly, this model did not identify any differences between disease fibroblasts and control fibroblasts from the same patients. This may suggest that profibrotic signals in Dupuytren disease are external to the fibroblasts rather than autonomous. In addition it strongly suggests a need to develop more complex models to reproduce the disease state in vitro for further studies to understand the molecular basis of Dupuytren’s disease and The complexity of the known genetic susceptibility together with environmental factors, as well as the likely importance of non-coding and epigenetic factors continues to make identification of the genetic changes underpinning Dupuytren’s disease difficult. In addition limited in vitro and animal models for Dupuytren’s disease will continue to hamper therapeutic development and understanding. However, the studies here suggest common pathways may be implicated from the familial and population study approaches. Further work to identify the functional changes that underpin DD will be critical to the development of more effective treatment and prevention of the disease

"DEFENDING AN ENGLISHMAN'S CASTLE” CAN I SELL MY HOUSE BUT CONTINUE LIVING IN IT? THE NORTH-EAST PROPERTY BUYERS LITIGATION

The maxim “an Englishman’s home is his castle” has its roots in Magna Carta. English land law has developed from a feudal system which emphasised the authority of the lord: in times long ago most occupiers of land were beholden in some way to their lord for their rights to the land, being obliged to give services in return for their landholding, and to demonstrate loyalty or fealty to their lord. The lords themselves had similar obligations to their lords, and ultimately to the King. Hence, it used to be said that all land in England was held directly or indirectly from the Crown

What kind of Castle?

What kind of Castle

PRIVACY, SUPERINJUNCTIONS AND ANONYMITY “SELLING MY STORY WILL SORT MY LIFE OUT”

In March 2010 Adakini Ntuli sent Howard Donald a text message in which she said:  “Why shud I continue 2 suffer financially 4 the sake of loyalty when selling my story will sort my life out?”  We do not know what her story was because Mr Donald, a member of the pop band Take That, obtained a superinjunction forbidding both publication of her story and disclosure of the existence of the injunction. The Court of Appeal later allowed the parties to be named, but not the details of their relationship

Choice of Location and the Roles of Foreign Subsidiaries: Evidence from UK Regions

In this paper we investigate the location determinants of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK at a regional level. The paper focuses on a relatively under investigated field, that of the linkage between choice of regional location- within a particular host countryand subsidiary roles. The key contribution steaming from this analysis is that we provide, for the first time, detailed support of the location factors affecting distinctive types of subsidiaries. The external environment affects differently the two types of subsidiaries under investigation with agglomeration features playing the most significant role. At the same time idiosyncratic FDI factors do seem to play the most important role for both types of subsidiaries. Important policy implications are then raised, regarding the design of welltargeted FDI promoting policies aiming both at upgrading regional potential as well as specific sectors and companies.UK Regions, subsidiaries, agglomeration, location choice