Harnessing Market Competition in PPP Procurement: The Importance of Periodically Taking a Strategic View

Public‐Private Partnerships (PPP) procurement is routinely portrayed as offering greater scope for harnessing competitive market forces to secure Value for Money (VfM) than traditional procurement approaches ( OECD 2008 ). The aim of this article is (a) to demonstrate the importance of periodically taking a more systematic and strategic view when assessing VfM in PPP procurement ( OGC 2003 ), and (b) to develop an analytical framework for such an analysis. Road infrastructure procurement in South East Queensland is used as a case study to test the usefulness of the proposed framework, and to show how a narrow focus on individual contracts increases the risk of overlooking overdependence on one supplier ( OGC 2003 ). Discussion focuses on the need to combine detailed analysis of individual contracts with longitudinal analyses of market competitiveness when assessing best VfM.     

The Rudd Government's Employment Services Agenda: Is it Post‐NPM and Why is that Important?

Perhaps the most potent symbol of the Howard government's faith in New Public Management (NPM) was the Job Network. Interrogating the Rudd government's replacement package, this article assesses whether the recent restructuring of employment services constitutes a post‐NPM environment. It is argued that there are major post‐NPM elements, seen most clearly in: the softening of jobseeker sanctions; greater deliberation on policy direction and results; a more inclusive employment super‐ministry and reliance on other ‘horizontal’ governance reforms; and enhanced government resources for multiple‐disadvantage clients. However, categorising these changes as post‐NPM is problematic because the steering mechanism remains the market‐based contract, a central NPM characteristic. Theoretical difficulties in applying paradigmatic concepts to services provide additional barriers to conclusive assessments, though the Rudd government's employment services regime provides a basis for taking stock in the post‐NPM debate.     

法律英语词汇特点分析

法律英语是指英语国家的法官、律师、法学研究人员等在诉讼或非诉讼法律事务或在法学研究中所使用的语言。法律英语具有专业的使用领域,具有与普通英语、其他专门用途英语不同的特点。法律英语的特征突出地体现在其词汇方面,其主要由来自拉丁语及法语的外来词汇、中古英语词汇、专业词汇等构成,同时本文也对英国及美国的法律英语词汇进行了对比分析。     

Regional Corporate Spawning and the Role of Homegrown Companies

This paper presents the results and policy implications of a study that examined the spawning of founders who had previously been employed at large corporations. We found that spawning of founders is positively associated with the parent companies' productivity, innovativeness, and headquarter location. Furthermore, we found that the spin‐off per employee rate is higher in smaller establishments. We also found that the local entrepreneurial culture is significant in explaining local spawning of founders. Finally, we present new empirical evidence on the crucial role of successful homegrown companies in regional cluster development. More specifically, we found that the existence of successful homegrown companies is significantly correlated with the level of the regional entrepreneurial activity. This finding is consistent with the finding of many cluster development case studies. Thus, we argue that successful homegrown companies have a unique role in cluster development. This role can seldom be replaced by nonhomegrown companies. This is related to the notion that prior to the development of an entrepreneurial cluster, some intangible precondition should be realized such as the appearance of local role models and a shift toward a more entrepreneurial culture. In a more general perspective, these results support the notion that knowledge‐based regional development is a complex process that requires a long‐term and continuously adjusting supporting policy rather than being based mainly on attracting established companies' R&D centers to the region.     

Empirical study of investment activity＇s drivers in capital-intensive Russian firms

In this paper we present the research results of key factors that determine the investment behavior of Russian companies during 2004-2008. The emphasis is made on the policy of capital expenditures. In the analysis, it included maeroeconomic, some industry factors （growth rate, spread of efficiency （ROIC-WACC）, market and industry risks） as well as some internal factors related to the equity structure and the quality of corporate governance.     

公安机关人民警察涉爆业务培训的分析

公共安全是国家安全的重要组成部分,爆炸物品管理水平和涉爆犯罪的打击力度直接关系到我国的公共安全,尤其是当前国际国内形势日益复杂的情况下,这一工作显得更为重要。政府将涉爆公共安全管理交给了公安机关,而涉爆公共安全管理水平的高低取决于公安机关人民警察对爆炸物知识和涉爆犯罪规律掌握的程度。     

Level Two Negotiations: Helping the Other Side Meet Its “Behind‐the‐Table” Challenges

A long analytic tradition has explored the challenge of productively synchronizing “internal” with “external” negotiations, with a special focus on how each side can best manage internal opposition to agreements negotiated “at the table.” Implicit in much of this work has been the view that each side's leadership is best positioned to manage its own internal conflicts, often by pressing for deal terms that will overcome internal objections and by effectively “selling” the agreement to key constituencies. Far less frequently have analysts considered how each side can help the other side with its “behind‐the‐table” barriers to successful agreement. Following Robert Putnam's two‐level games schema, I characterize such “behind‐the‐table” or “Level Two” barriers more broadly, offer several innovative examples of how each side can help the other overcome them, and develop more general advice on doing so most effectively. As a fuller illustration of a Level Two negotiator helping the other side with its formidable behind‐the‐table challenges, I pay special attention to the end‐of‐Cold‐War negotiations over German reunification in which former American Secretary of State James Baker played a key role.     

东北地区新城疫流行株的分子生物学特性调查

从东北地区发生新城疫 (ND)的病鸡、病鸽和产蛋下降鸡分离到 19株NDV ,对其融合蛋白 (F)基因 5 32bp或 2 80bp片段进行了克隆、测序 (在GenBank中的登录号为AY2 0 86 80～AY2 0 86 98) ,并对各株的F基因序列进行了比较。结果 ,各毒株之间的核苷酸同源性为 83.1%～10 0 % ,氨基酸同源性为 85 .5 %～ 10 0 % ;系统发育进化树分析表明 ,其中 2株与疫苗株V4同属基因Ⅰ型 ,为弱毒株 ;其余 17株为强毒株 ,其中 2株为基因Ⅵ型 ,其余为基因Ⅶ型。表明东北地区目前由 3种基因型的NDV毒株 (Ⅰ型、Ⅵ型、Ⅶ型 )所引发 ,并以基因Ⅶ型为主。另外 ,对其中的代表毒株APMV1/chicken/China/JL 11/ 0 2进行了免疫学试验 ,结果显示 ,LaSota疫苗的免疫保护效果不理想 ,可能是LaSota疫苗免疫鸡群发生ND的主要原因。     

中国法治模式的法经济学分析

法治模式又称法治道路问题 ,是建设社会主义法治国家的重要理论问题。运用经济学中的生产要素组合的理论作为类比 ,以一种新的视角来研究法治道路问题 ,说明法治的道路在政府推进型和社会演进型之间如何结合的理论问题 ,也许能带来一个解决这个社会问题的困境的思路 ,因为毕竟法治道路问题的研究之路上还有诸多的理论和实践的荆棘潜伏着 ,我们的路依然很漫长。     

Marketing good works: new trends in how interest groups recruit supporters

Charities or interest groups need to attract supporters, who offer both financial support and participation, to achieve their overall goal of influencing public affairs. They can use political marketing to help them attract and retain such supporters. Existing literature indicates they use marketing techniques such as direct mail to communicate to potential new supporters, but new research has discovered that the influence of political marketing is much more comprehensive. The most effective groups are now using political marketing to design the package they offer to supporters. They go through a four‐stage process. First, they conduct market intelligence to understand what supporters want from the organisation and second, they design their product accordingly. Third, they communicate this to potential supporters and then finally deliver campaign progress and they communicate this to existing supporters. They use marketing concepts: they adopt a market orientation and build an organisation designed to take account of its users' needs and wants. Although such charities are often associated with non‐business behaviour, the most successful groups are adopting the concepts and techniques of comprehensive political marketing as the means to increase their influence on government and public affairs. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications