On the regulation of technology: Examining the linear model

The kind, magnitude and distribution of the risks borne by industrialized societies are determined by regulations and the effectiveness of their implementation and enforcement. The authors examine the paradox that the quantified, ‘hard’ risk estimates which provide the scientific basis for the linear model of regulation are, in fact, unrealistic because they are unable to deal with human and organizational influences on regulatory processes. The principal elements of regulation are discussed and placed in a more comprehensive and realistic perspective.     

Sensitivity Analysis And Schemes Of Arrangement

Formal mathematical techniques are being used increasingly as aids to commercial decision-making. We propose that those deciding whether to liquidate or trade-out should, as a matter of course, have sufficient information to enable sensitivity analysis on any forecast returns. Sensitivity analyses are notably lacking in documentation used for predicting the outcomes of schemes of arrangement such as the complex Estate Mortgage Trusts (EMT) moratorium on the withdrawal of funds by unitholders. This article details the outcomes of some schemes of arrangement in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s and discusses the EMT moratorium. The moratorium procedures provide the setting and data for simulations and sensitivity analyses. Coupled with the evidence provided by Dean (1977, 1983) and Aitken (1981), this suggests a need for information on the expected timing of payouts to enable sensitivity analysis whenever a scheme involves delayed distributions.     

THE SUPPLY OF NON-DEGRADED AGRICULTURAL LAND*

Profitability increases because of favourable product or factor price changes provide incentives for profit-maximising farmers, who use soils in conjunction with other cooperant inputs, to increase their investment in the preservation of soil-quality, whenever there exist economically viable technologies for preserving soils. However, when such technologies do not exist, regardless of whether farmers utilise soils as non-renewable or renewable resources, such profitability increases are associated with a long-run deterioration in soil quality.     

An implicit food policy : Wheat consumption changes in Venezuela

The authors examine Venezuela's wheat and maize consumption in the light of the country's historical process of economic development. They show how certain development policies and strategies affected the consumption of wheat and maize and how, although generally lacking any explicit food policy content, these policies acted as implicit food policies aiding the progressive replacement of maize as the dietary staple by wheat.     

Product innovation in food processing—a Swedish survey

Abstract: Product development strategies in 20 major Swedish food processing companies are described and evaluated both from a company and a consumer point of view. Three types of company outcomes are focused on, technological, market and commercial success. Company variables related to success are size, ownership and research intensity. Strategic variables analyzed in relation to success are technology use, R and D cooperation and marketing. Consumer outcome is studied in terms of price differences, convenience, taste, nutritional benefit and medical value. As in previous studies carried out in the same research programme in more research and technology intensive industries, cooperating with the outside research environment and combining technologies is shown to be clearly associated with success in finding and developing new products. With regard to consumer outcome, convenience and taste differences are the most common attributes of new food products, differentiating them from existing products.     

The role of the ideal organization in comparative management: A cross cultural perspective of Japan & Korea

It is popular to talk of the Confucian Work Ethic when explaining the successes of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. This is not an accurate impression. The authors of this article found significant differences in management practices — both actual and ideal — between Japan and South Korea.Professors Lane Kelley, Reginald Worthley and Harry Lie are from the College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii while Professor Arthur Whatley is from the College of Business Administration & Economics, New Mexico State University.     

Basic improvement and pseudo-innovations and their impact on efficiency

Increasing gaps between needs and resources lead both directly and indirectly to many economic and political implications, and have a widely uncontrolled feedback to the national economy. In this situation preference of improvement policy is a real danger to the economy. It is necessary to distinguish clearly three directions of technological policy (push, compensation, and continuation) and three types of innovation: basic, improvement, and pseudo-innovation. Innovation classification can be made due to various criteria. In this study two criteria were combined to evaluate the importance of a given technological innovation: scientific-technological level and range of application. The role of basic and improvement innovation in the cyclical development of economic efficiency can be described by a periodic function over time and also as a simple optimization model for investment policy.