Social assistance performance in Central and Eastern Europe: A pre-transfer post-transfer comparison

The anti-poverty impact of national social assistance programmes in eight Central and Eastern European countries is examined using data from the European Union-Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). Results indicate that social assistance programmes achieve only limited poverty reduction, while spending a significant amount of their resources on the non-poor. The more extensive and generous programmes achieve higher effectiveness in reducing poverty. Efficiency on the other hand appears to be linked only to programme size and not to benefit levels. Unlike Western Europe, no trade-off between effectiveness and efficiency could be detected

Externalizing, internalizing and fostering commitment: the case of born-global firms in emerging economies

This paper examines the HR practices of mature born-global firms from twenty-nine emerging economies. Through an examination of large scale survey data the paper questions the extent to which firm size impacts the employment of temporary workers, the employment of skilled workers and the extent of employee training. Findings suggest that as firm size increases the use of temporary workers decreases, the number of skilled workers increases and the number of employees receiving training also increases. The paper highlights how born-global firms are able to shift away from externalized, market-based approaches towards more internalized, commitment-based approaches in order to survive, adapt and grow

Trends in poverty risks among people with and without limiting-longstanding illness by employment status in Sweden, Denmark, and the United Kingdom during the current economic recession – a comparative study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found higher employment rates and lower risk of relative poverty among people with chronic illness in the Nordic countries than in the rest of Europe. However, Nordic countries have not been immune to the general rise in poverty in many welfare states in recent decades. This study analysed the trends in poverty risks among a particularly vulnerable group in the labour market: people with limiting-longstanding illness (LLSI), examining the experience of those with and without employment, and compared to healthy people in employment in Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey data from EU-SILC (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) on people aged 25–64 years in Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom (UK) were analysed between 2005 and 2010. Age-standardised rates of poverty risks (<60% of national median equalised disposable income) were calculated. Odds ratios (ORs) of poverty risks were estimated using logistic regression. RESULTS: In all three countries, non-employed people with LLSI had considerably higher prevalence of poverty risk than employed people with or without LLSI. Rates of poverty risk in the UK for non-employed people with LLSI were higher than in Sweden and Denmark. Over time, the rates of poverty risk for Swedish non-employed people with LLSI in 2005 (13.8% CI=9.7-17.8) had almost doubled by 2010 (26.5% CI=19.9-33.1). For both sexes, the inequalities in poverty risks between non-employed people with LLSI and healthy employed people were much higher in the UK than in Sweden and Denmark. Over time, however, the odds of poverty risk among British non-employed men and women with LLSI compared with their healthy employed counterparts declined. The opposite trend was seen for Swedish men: the odds of poverty risk for non-employed men with LLSI compared with healthy employed men increased from OR 2.8 (CIs=1.6-4.7) in 2005 to OR 5.3 (CIs=3.2-8.9) in 2010. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing poverty risks among the non-employed people with LLSI in Sweden over time are of concern from a health equity perspective. The role of recent Swedish social policy changes should be further investigated

The Fukushima Daiichi Accident

The Fukushima Daiichi Accident consists of a Report by the IAEA Director General and five technical volumes. It is the result of an extensive international collaborative effort involving five working groups with about 180 experts from 42 Member States with and without nuclear power programmes and several international bodies. It provides a description of the accident and its causes, evolution and consequences, based on the evaluation of data and information from a large number of sources available at the time of writing. The set contains six printed parts and five supplementary CD-ROMs. Contents: Report by the Director General; Technical Volume 1/5, Description and Context of the Accident; Technical Volume 2/5, Safety Assessment; Technical Volume 3/5, Emergency Preparedness and Response; Technical Volume 4/5, Radiological Consequences; Technical Volume 5/5, Post-accident Recovery; Annexes. The JRC contributed to volumes 1,2 and 3, which are attached.JRC.F.5-Nuclear Reactor Safety Assessmen

Pathways of SME Internationalization: a bibliometric and systematic review

Business is dynamic and rapidly changing. Global markets were previously the playing field of multinational corporations (MNCs), while small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were local; however, the removal of imposed barriers, and recent technological advances in manufacturing, transportation and communications have indorsed SMEs and international entrepreneurs (IE) global access. SMEs and IEs are increasingly fueling economic growth and innovation and these trends are presenting both opportunities and challenges to both MNCs and SMEs in the global arena. This review systematically examines comparative SME and IE research, analyzing (after fine tuning) 762 articles published in leading journals from 1992 to September 2018. Our bibliometric and systematic review classifies SME and IE research findings into three echelons: (i) subjects; (ii) theories; and (iii) methods

Emerging CO2 capture systems

In 2005, the IPCC SRCCS recognized the large potential for developing and scaling up a wide range of emerging CO2 capture technologies that promised to deliver lower energy penalties and cost. These included new energy conversion technologies such as chemical looping and novel capture systems based on the use of solid sorbents or membrane-based separation systems. In the last 10 years, a substantial body of scientific and technical literature on these topics has been produced from a large number of R&D projects worldwide, trying to demonstrate these concepts at increasing pilot scales, test and model the performance of key components at bench scale, investigate and develop improved functional materials, optimize the full process schemes with a view to a wide range of industrial applications, and to carry out more rigorous cost studies etc. This paper presents a general and critical review of the state of the art of these emerging CO2 capture technologies paying special attention to specific process routes that have undergone a substantial increase in technical readiness level toward the large scales required by any CO2 capture system

STABILITY OF THE MAGNETIC POLARON

On étudie la stabilité du polaron magnétique dans un semiconducteur ferromagnétique à bande large. Utilisant la méthode des fonctions de Green on développe les équations de mouvement aux systèmes électroniques et magnétiques jusqu'à deuxième ordre en constante du couplage d'échange. On trouve que dans les chalcogénes de Eu le polaron est stable dans une région relativement large au voisinage de TC.The stability of the magnetic polaron is studied in a broad band ferromagnetic semiconductor. Using the Green's function techniques the equations of motion for the electronic and magnetic systems are developed up to second order in the exchange coupling constant. It is found that in Eu chalcogenides the polaron is stable in a relatively broad region around TC

Tackling boundaries of CCS in market deployment of second-generation oxy-fuel technology

Abstract This article discusses the market potential estimation results at different stages of second-generation oxy-fuel technology for carbon capture and storage, where oxygen content is increased in order to increase efficiency and product life cycle. The article highlights the challenges to commercializing an energy technology with long development lead times. Challenges related to external market environment, regulations and market price for carbon dioxide (CO₂) also need to be resolved. The study is based on a second-generation oxy-CFB technology evaluation, SWOT analysis and product life-cycle estimation. The commercialization of second-generation oxy-fuel technology, estimated as a basis of oxy-CFB technology, is largely found to be dependent on technical, sociological and economical aspects related to the energy market environment. The CO₂ price in European Union (EU) emissions trading is currently below 10 €/ton, which does not favour investment in CCS. CO₂ storage also faces public opposition and EU directive limitations. The CO₂ price needs to be in the range of 30 €/ton by 2030, the estimated time of commercialization. Technological development or subsidies would also be required for the second-generation oxy-CFB power production concept to become viable. This is one of the critical factors in market deployment as the price development is influenced by several external factors, including the EU’s environmental policy, politics and public acceptance