Comparative Analysis Based on New Competitiveness Index

The current economic crisis points out to an even greater need to improve competitiveness. Since 2005, numerous developing countries have succeeded in increasing their competitiveness scores and decreasing the difference relative to advanced countries. The countries of Central and South Eastern Europe, to which Serbia belongs, have recorded an increase in their score by 0.3 on average, whereby the region of South Eastern Europe has achieved poorer results. During the period 2005-2011, Serbia recorded an increase in its score by 0.5, from 3.38 to 3.88. In 2011, Serbia was ranked 95th among 142 countries, with the score of 3.88. This is a decline relative to 2008 and 2005, when Serbia was ranked 85th with the scores of 3.38 and 3.90 respectively. However, this increase was not sufficient to improve Serbia’s ranking, which shows that other countries were more successful. This faces Serbia with the task to strengthen its efforts towards improving competitiveness.Competitiveness, Porter’s diamond, Productivity, Serbia

p-Charts in the Quality Control of the Grading Process in the High Education

European countries are making efforts to change their educational system. These changes include implementation of the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) and are based on the Bologna Declaration. Adoption of ECTS will necessitate new quality standards in higher education, especially in grading procedures. With only small modifications, the control charts (such as p-charts) used in production and distribution applications can be applied to educational purposes.ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), Quality control, Statistical analysis, p-charts

Questions about Household Consumption in Surveys

Household total expenditure (consumption) is a very important phenomenon in many research areas. The problem is how to get precise information about the consumption from each household and at the same time not to make the questionnaire so long and involved that it becomes a burden to the respondent. In this paper is evidence from several sources on the usefulness of recall consumption questions. Valid information can be collected by adding specific recall questions to general purpose surveys. There are a few recommendations on how to do so.Households, Consumption, Surveys

Principal Components Analysis of Employment in Eastern Europe

For the last decade, the employment structure is one of the fastest changing areas of Eastern Europe. This paper explores the best methodology to compare the employment situations in the countries of this region. Multivariate statistical analyses are very reliable in portraying the full picture of the problem. Principal components analysis is one of the simplest multivariate methods. It can produce very useful information about Eastern European employment in a very easy and understandable way.Employment, Multivariate analysis, Principal components analysis

Leading change in information management

Introducing and leading change in any field is a difficult and complex task with no mapped path or certain route that guarantees success. Working in a public and administrative institution rarely offers opportunities for introducing and leading creative and innovative changes. However, my work on various information management tasks gave me a chance to lead change in a number of international organizations for which I worked, discovering new or improved information solutions, products and services. In retrospect, leading change in information management was a sine qua non of my long career and is a major focus of this Context Statement. This Context Statement offers a review of my own public works and achievements during my long professional career in information management. It concentrates on four public works, describing them in chronological order. It defines main influencers, theories, concepts and people that made the greatest impact on my career; evaluates the work performed, the technology used, the results achieved, and the lessons learned. The Context Statement also offers a thematic review of my public works, putting them in the perspective of the dramatically changed world of information management, the global impact of information, the democratisation of scientific and technical information, and the information ethics. The Context Statement concludes that, if we - the information managers - do not lead change and instigate constant innovation and modernization of our field, we will become museum custodians, instead of a leading avant-garde in today’s knowledge economy and the information world in which we live

Spectrophotometric Determination of Stability Constants of Lactato and B-Hydroxypropionato Complexes of Cobalt(ll), Nickel(II), and Copper(II)

Stability constants for lactato and B-hydroxypropionato complexes of Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) were obtained from spectrophotometric data, using Bjerrum\u27s method of corresponding solutions. Measurements were made in the visible range and the results plotted for graphical evaluation by Fronaeus\u27 method. Graphically determined values for each stability constant were utilized for averaging and least-squares calculations with a digital computer programmed according to R. S. Tobias (»Gauss Z« program)