Evolutionary governance in mining: Boom and bust in peripheral communities in Sweden

This study investigates the consequences of dramatic price fluctuations on the global iron ore market between boom and bust for the Swedish communities Kiruna and Pajala, located above the polar circle, in the years 2006-2018. It focuses on the impact of the Swedish state’s reorientation towards neoliberal policies that have entailed reduced state involvement in peripheral communities still dependant on heavy industry. This reorientation was manifested in the Mineral Strategy presented by the liberal-conservative government in 2013, in which the state was prescribed a role as facilitator of investment of foreign and private capital in the Swedish mining sector, but not as an active owner or developer of mining enterprises. The neoliberalisation of Swedish mining has established a fundamental conflict of interests between communities whose economic, social and cultural wellbeing depends on long-term state commitment, and the state whose main interests are aimed at global capital flows rather than the maintenance of industrial production in peripheral regions. This conflict remained latent as long as global mineral prices were high, but as boom turned to bust around 2012, it was activated in a way that highlighted asymmetric relations of power and economic development between the sparsely populated and resource-rich northern parts of the country and the densely populated south.     

加味黄芪桂枝五物汤联合西药治疗糖尿病周围神经病变患者的临床疗效

目的探讨加味黄芪桂枝五物汤联合西药治疗糖尿病周围神经病变(DPN)患者的临床疗效。方法选取2019年3—9月辽宁中医药大学附属医院收治的100例DPN患者作为研究对象,利用随机分配法将其分为对照组和观察组,每组50例。对照组患者在常规治疗(控制血糖、饮食指导、运动处方建立)基础上采用硫辛酸注射液治疗,观察组在对照组西医治疗基础上予以加味黄芪桂枝五物汤口服。比较两组患者治疗前后中医主症积分、一氧化氮(NO)、前列环素(PGI2)、多伦多临床评分系统(TCSS)评分、密西根神经病变筛选表(MNSI)评分变化情况。结果治疗后,两组中医主症评分、NO及PGI2表达水平、TCSS评分、MNSI评分有所改善,且观察组明显优于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论在西医常规治疗基础上采用加味黄芪桂枝五物汤治疗DPN,可有效改善患者微循环,改善肢体麻凉、疼痛等症状,减轻患者痛苦。     

Upstream social marketing strategy: An integrated marketing communications approach

This article provides an organized approach for managers to develop social marketing strategies that target upstream decision and policy makers. A conceptual application model and five-stage process is presented for an upstream social marketing strategy based on integrated marketing communications (IMC). IMC concepts are described in the context of social marketing, as well as specific stages for creating an IMC social marketing strategy; these include target audience research and determination, channel selection and integration, strategic message creation, and measurement and control. A central and novel feature of the IMC social marketing strategy model is the simultaneous targeting of an upstream decision maker and influential peripheral (upstream) audiences in order to triangulate and increase campaign effectiveness. An IMC approach to upstream social marketing ensures consistent, persuasive messages specifically crafted for the selected target audiences and coordinated through precise channels to maximize impact. This multi-channel, multi-audience approach to message creation and channel selection produces synergies that increase the potential to influence an upstream decision/policy maker.     

Regional engagement of locally anchored firms and its influence on socio-economic development in two peripheral regions over time

Abstract

This article sets out to explore the ways locally anchored firms in peripheral regions influence regional social capital through regional engagement and how this contributes to socio-economic development. Through regional engagement firms shape regional contexts by generating concrete outcomes, such as setting up schools (structural aspect) and by possibly influencing regional bonding and bridging social capital (social aspect). To examine the effects of regional engagement and its possible influence on bonding and bridging social capital of regional firms, an analytical framework is developed distinguishing between inclusive/exclusive agency for inclusive/exclusive benefit. This article focuses on regional engagement in two Swiss peripheral regions, which have followed different development paths in spite of their common institutional framework and geographical proximity. This study aims to gain insight into the ‘how’ of regional engagement and its influence on regional social capital and to examine the assumption of higher levels of regional social capital in a dynamic region from a long-term perspective (ca. 1850–2015). The findings of the qualitative research show that the dynamic Rhine Valley indeed disposes of higher levels of regional social capital than the less dynamic Toggenburg, which is related to the willingness of firms and other actors to collaborate for regional interests.     

The drachma, foreign creditors, and the international monetary system: tales of a currency during the 19th and the early 20th centuries

Fixed exchange rate regimes can be regarded as a “rule with escape clauses,” allowing the monetary authorities to temporarily suspend convertibility and enact a discretionary policy only under well-understood contingencies, such as wartime emergencies and financial panics. Seen from this perspective, adherence to the specie convertibility rule enables peripheral countries to establish credibility of the nation’s economic policy and, thus, to obtain access to the core countries’ capital markets. An example of a peripheral country is Greece during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The evidence assembled in the paper suggests that Greece tried very hard to adhere to “good housekeeping rules.”     

A Scottish east coast European ferry service: review of the issues

Peripheral regions and nations within the EU generally enjoy a balanced mix of transport alternatives for access to the Continent's economic centre. Unique among peripheral regions and nations in Northern Europe, Scotland has no direct ferry service to the Continent and relies for access on ferry services from remote seaports, resulting in a greater relative dependence on land transport, particularly road. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that Scotland does not enjoy direct ferry access with the Continent due to any geographic or economic reason, rather the explanation is more to do with technological obsolescence of existing seaport infrastructure coupled with the lack of sufficient Government initiative to help promote direct links. Ultimately, a direct ferry service could help reduce the effects of peripherality and bring about further integration. It would also spread increasing transport demand across modes.     

Administration costs of intravenous chemotherapy in treating peripheral T-cell lymphoma

Objective:

This retrospective cohort analysis was conducted to examine the cost components of administering IV chemotherapy to peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) patients in the US to inform decision makers.

Methods:

Patients diagnosed with PTCL (ICD-9 code 202.7X) between 1 October 2007 and 30 September 2012 were identified from a US administrative claims database. Costs for patients receiving at least one NCCN recommended IV chemotherapy were assessed using the allowed payment from claim line items, categorized into cost components (study drug costs, IV administration costs and other visit-related services).

Results:

The mean costs to the payer for IV cancer therapy administration in a PTCL patient population averaged about $5735 per visit and $9356 per member per month (PMPM). Across all therapies, mean IV administration costs accounted for $127–$794 per visit and $594–$1808 PMPM, contributing an additional 2–32% to the total costs of the drug alone. Mean other visit-related services costs for treating PTCL accounted for $70–$2487 per visit and $444–$3094 PMPM, contributing an additional 2–74% to the total costs. Combined, these additional costs represent an additional mean cost of $220–$3150 per visit and $1193–$4609 PMPM to the base price of the drug alone.

Limitations:

This study used a convenience sample to identify PTCL patients and only included visits where at least one NCCN recommended IV chemotherapy was administered.

Conclusions:

The costs of IV administration and other visit-related services add measurable costs to the total cost of IV therapy for treating PTCL. When considering the cost of the drug, these additional costs can represent a substantial proportion of the overall costs and must be considered when evaluating the costs of IV treatment options for PTCL.     

Outsourcing of peripheral services: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing plant-level data

In this paper we empirically explore outsourcing decisions of peripheral services using information from a data set of 926 Spanish manufacturing plants. We find that increases in outsourcing of peripheral services are positively correlated with increases in the plant׳s market share as well as increases in product market competition and product prices. These findings are robust to controlling for whether plants belong to single-plant or multi-plant firms. These patterns are consistent with a strategic shift in the allocation of attention to core manufacturing activities, and are at odds with traditional TCE and PRT theories of vertical integration.     

Contributors

This paper attempts to show that convergence or divergence in the European Union (EU) will be influenced by developments in the periphery of Europe to a considerable extent, although the core situation cannot be ignored. In essence, therefore, it is the relationship between core and periphery that will determine the future of the EU. The main thesis of this study is that the EU economic position is such that divergence is more likely to occur than convergence. The focus of the analysis is what has come to be known as “Peripheral Fordism”, which enables us to suggest that periphery prospects for economic development are predicated upon substantial expansion of their industrial sectors based on indigenous forces. It is therefore the existing institutional structure within the EU that poses obstacles to convergence.