Foreign direct investment and technology capabilities in the developing countries: a review

Economically developing countries are facing the very difficult problems of mastering the skills involved in newly emerging science-intensive industries. To improve technological capabilities, they must expend resources to establish themselves in industries that are technologically mature. Transfer of knowledge is the crux of the direct investment, so in this context transfer of technology (ToT) plays a vital role in the economic and technological development. So, the wide spread discussion of “economic globalization” has involved an important debate on the role of technology in “economic globalization” and economic growth. Much of that debates has concentrated of corporate behaviour within the developed countries but transfer of technology (ToT) combines the development of indiginous technological capabilities also. At the same time, organizational skills, procedure, and assumptions within the globalization of technology need to be adapted to fit the new technology in the developing countries. Thus this paper try to explain the story of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the economic growth and development of technology through technological capabilities that provides for an increasingly intense end of domestic competition. The paper also analysis and review the effect of access to technology and level of competition, on the level of technological capabilities by inference a strategy for the success acquisition of technology in developing countries.     

A review of the main determinants and characteristics of centre-local relations in Zimbabwe

This paper examines the main determinants shaping the ultimate nature of centre -local relations in the world' s countries with particular reference to Zimbabwe. These determinants are seen to result in two broad and generalist types of centre-local relations, namely, functional and territorial centre-local relations. Zimbabwe's colonial and post-colonial centre-local relations are then examined within the framework of the two broad models of centre-local relations, and are seen to be largely consisting of functional centre-local relations despite the post-colonial politicians's rhetoric in favour of more territorial relations. The Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (1976), the Urban Councils Act, the Rural Councils Act and the District Councils Act, all indicate a functional prevalence in the content of centre-local relations. The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe's 1984 Directive on decentralisation of administrative structures and the appointment of provincial governors equally indicates a functional preference by design or default in centre-local relations. The paper concludes by emphasizing the relationship between centre-local relations and planning systems at national, regional and local levels.     

Municipal forecasting practice: “demand” and “supply” side perspectives

Findings from a nationwide survey of Government Finance Officers Association members confirm previous research that indicates an over reliance on judgmental as opposed to quantitative forecast methods, for both revenue and expenditures. While incumbents in larger cities, and with advanced degrees, evidence greater forecast training than their small-city, baccalaureate-only counterparts, this differentiation fails to materialize in forecast practice. MPA's are at a disadvantage relative to MBA's In regression and econometrics. Content analysis of leading public administration texts suggests why utilization may be retarded in practice: forecasting, like many other “nuts and bolts” areas in public financial management, is displaced by continued treatment of budget format, budget theory, and public finance. This lends credence to recent reports of increasing practitioner dissatisfaction with academic-based consulting and training in the field, and raises questions about the need for NASPAA to exercise greater control with regard to the public financial management curriculum.     

Living Parallel Lives: Italy and Greece in an Age of Austerity

The economic crisis has triggered a process of political convergence between Italy and Greece. The simultaneous downfall of the Italian and Greek governments, following the public withdrawal of European confidence in their ability to handle the crisis, was followed by the establishment of technocrat-led governments based on parliamentary ‘super-majorities’ and then by ‘protest elections’, marked by unprecedented levels of electoral volatility. By apparently ending bipolarism, the crisis has completely changed patterns of national government formation and resulted in experiments with unusual government types. Both political systems have entered a transitional phase whose outcome is anything but certain, especially in the continuing context of economic crisis.     

Strategies used by Health Scrutiny Committees to Influence Decision-makers

The scrutiny function, designed to enhance and provide a counterbalance to executive decision-making, is a key element in the modernisation of public service delivery in England. Early research expressed concerns about the effectiveness of scrutiny however, with lack of responsiveness by local decision-makers being suggested as one of the main difficulties. This paper applies a model of political influence strategies drawn from the business sector to analyse the strategies which health scrutiny committees in eight local authorities adopted in order to influence decision-makers. The relevance of the model to health scrutiny is assessed, and possible implications for enhancing health scrutiny in the future are discussed.     

Positioning independent community media: Findings from a case study of six small South African newspapers

Abstract

This article brings defining aspects of ‘community media’ – as proposed by a group of media stakeholders – into dialogue with research findings from a study on small ‘independent media’. One significant difference between the two media sectors is that the former is usually understood as being driven by commune-style ownership and community control, and the latter by private ownership and profit-driven control. We argue that perceptions constructed by this difference potentially marginalise small independent media organisations. It may compromise their access to funding as well as obscure how, and how much, they contribute to their communities. We find that the six South African small independent newspapers in this research meet defining criteria for ‘community media’. Research findings on issues such as social responsibility, participatory democracy, media diversity and the generation of skills and wealth demonstrate how the principles and practices of the two media sectors overlap. So we propose ‘independent community media’ as a more inclusive and appropriate concept and term for small community-oriented publications, irrespective of their ownership profiles or relationship to profit. Independence is also examined – particularly how the newspapers balance editorial independence with outside control: this reveals inequitable practices currently threatening some newspapers’ survival and success.     

The intifada: Two assessments

Zeev Schiff and Ehud Ya'ari, Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising ‐ Israel's Third Front. Edited and translated by Ina Friedman. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990. Pp.352. $22.95. ISBN 0–67530–3     

The future of the United States as a European power: The case of NATO enlargement

Abstract

European Union enlargement has left Russia on the margins of European political processes and led to widespread suspicion in the Moscow foreign policy establishment of European motives. This has resulted in, first, increasing resistance to the imposition of European norms and, second, a more assertive policy, particularly in the EU's and Russia's ‘overlapping neighbourhoods’. Although Moscow is likely to continue the strategy of engagement initiated under Putin, Brussels must radically rethink the nature and extent of Russia's ‘Europeanisation’. Russia's drive for modernisation will coexist with the strengthening of sovereignty and the power of the state, seen by the Putin administration as key to external and internal security. The EU will have to limit its ambition and work within this ‘window’—wider or narrower depending on state of play—of policy possibilities.