Showing papers in "Prometheus in 1990"
TL;DR: Hodgson as discussed by the authors, a Manifesto for a Modern Institutional Economics by Geoffrey M. Hodgson (Polity Press, Cambridge, 1988), pp. xviii + 365, 10.95, ISBN 0-7456-0277-0.
Abstract: (1990). Economics and Institutions: A Manifesto for a Modern Institutional Economics by Geoffrey M. Hodgson (Polity Press, Cambridge, 1988), pp. xviii + 365, 10.95, ISBN 0-7456-0277-0. Prometheus: Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 401-404.
12 citations
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the external forces influencing the European Community's efforts to fashion a more open, integrated and competitive telecommunication environment, focusing on organisational, regulatory, and trade issues.
Abstract: Complexity characterises technical and institutional restructuring in telecommunications. This makes it difficult to determine the social and economic implications of transformations in an industry that has outgrown its monopolistic origins. This paper focuses on the external forces influencing the European Community's efforts to fashion a more open, integrated and competitive telecommunication environment. Attention is given to organisational, regulatory, and trade issues. The analysis considers whether the strategic economic and political importance of telecommunications in the wider context of European integration is taking precedence over telecommunications as a major tool of social policy.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present Models of Thought, Volume II by Herbert Simon (Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1989) pp. 385-387, ISBN 0-300-04230-2.
Abstract: (1990). Models of Thought, Volume II by Herbert Simon (Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1989) pp.xviii + 508, ISBN 0-300-04230-2. Prometheus: Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 385-387.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the benefits and drawbacks of joint business ventures are discussed, taking account of such factors as transfer of technology and knowhow, access to markets, cost considerations, provision of capital and foreign exchange and the possibility of continuing dependence on joint-ventures and foreign knowhow.
Abstract: The paper outlines the benefits and drawbacks to domestic enterprises and to a country of international joint business ventures both at home and abroad. It takes account of such factors as transfer of (and failure to transfer) technology and knowhow, access to markets, cost considerations, provision of capital and foreign exchange and the possibility of continuing dependence on joint-ventures and foreign knowhow. Alternatives to joint ventures, such as purchase of knowhow, solely foreign-owned enterprises, franchising and symbiotic co-operation between legally independent firms, are also considered as means of transfer of knowhow. The impact of profit distribution between partners in a joint venture on knowledge transfer and collective returns is considered from a different viewpoint from that normally considered in the literature. Practical problems, such as the search for a suitable business partner and the problem of detecting and revealing anti-social behaviourby a partner, are raised.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an investigation of new product process activities of Australian manufacturing firms was carried out to determine the sorts and forms of activities undertaken, their proficiency of execution and the sorts of improvements needed.
Abstract: Australian manufacturing industry needs to pay more attention to introducing innovative products if it is to be more competitive in the international marketplace. This paper reports some results of an investigation of new product process activities of Australian manufacturing firms. The aims of the study were to determine the sorts and forms of activities undertaken, their proficiency of execution and the sorts of improvements needed. The result have implications for more informed managerial decision-making to promote successfulproduct innovation.
5 citations
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that the CPI-X price cap rule is very economical of information required by the regulator, and that such a rule is not the case.
Abstract: The Australian Government decided in the May Statement of 1988 to instruct the new telecommunications regulator to impose a price cap rule on Telecom Australia's basic or monopolised services, while relying on market forces to discipline prices in value added services and customer premises equipment markets. The rule “CPI-X” was explicitly invented for the regulation of British Telecom by OFTEL in 1983, and is to be used by OFTEL until at least 1993, the value of X changing every 4 years. Claims have been made that the rule is very economical of information required by the regulator. This paper suggests that such isnot the case.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the implications for the Australian information technology industry of the spread of global industrial strategies and the emerging tendency of governments to intervene in strategic sectors of the economy are examined.
Abstract: It has been claimed that globalisation was the most exaggerated fad of the 1980s. Likewise, strategic trade policy has been described as the new protectionism. Yet Australian industry must compete in a world which is increasingly dominated by transnational corporations. Governments must frame policies for industrial development recognising that their counterparts overseas are implementing comprehensive global strategies. This article examines some of the implications for the Australian information technology industry of the spread of global industrial strategies and the emerging tendency of governments to intervene in strategic sectors of the economy.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, some of the key problems of Soviet science are examined, in two basic categories: problems which are internal to Soviet science itself and problems of its relations with the outside world.
Abstract: Gorbachev has exposed science to the same pressure for restructuring as all other sectors of Soviet society, as there has been an increasing recognition of poor scientific returns on a major investment. Some of the key problems of Soviet science are examined, in two basic categories: problems which are internal to Soviet science itself and problems of its relations with the outside world. The first category includes planning and funding difficulties, management style, and management-staff relations; the second, backwardness in key technologies and isolation from the world scientific community. The analysis of each of these areas of difficulty includes an account of current attempts at reform.
4 citations
TL;DR: Literature on the link between market structure and industrial innovation is surveyed in this paper, focusing on the so-called Schumpeterian hypothesis that large firm size, diversification or monopoly power is conducive to innovation and technical progress.
Abstract: Literature on the link between market structure and industrial innovation is surveyed. Part II focuses on the so-called Schumpeterian hypothesis that large firm size, diversification or monopoly power is conducive to innovation and technical progress. Both empirical studies and theoretical developments are reviewed; for the former, the difficulties are catalogued and for the latter, a critique of recent trends is developed. The effect of innovation on market structure is taken up in Part IV, while Part V portrays the merits of the new approach of Nelson and Winter in their An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change.
TL;DR: This paper compares views recently collected from the United States and explores the actors that will determine acceptability and take-up of the new service offering of teleconferencing as a new value-added service.
Abstract: Recent technological developments have fused computer and telecommunications technologies together creating the scope for a wider and more diversified array of communication services. The new services rising out of this integration are called value-added services (VAS) and are offered on value-added networks (VAN). One such new offering is teleconferencing which involves multipoint simultaneous or store and forward connect facilities using audio, video, computer or graphic support systems. This paper reports on some results collected from a recent study on the applications and acceptability of teleconferencing as a new value-added service. It compares views recently collected from the United States and explores the actors that will determine acceptability and take-up of the new service offering. Some attention is also paid to new regulator provisions and pricing practices for the VAS and contends that teleconferencing may well be a test case to determine the boundary between old and new technologies.
TL;DR: In this paper, conditions of Australian acceptance for the multifunction polis (MFP) are examined, where a specific physical location has taken the place of the earlier network concept, and the MFP will be an entrep[obreve]t; it will export information, produce and institutional modes; and it must serve as an environmental tariff wall.
Abstract: This paper examines conditions of Australian acceptance for the multifunction polis (MFP). A specific physical location has taken the place of the earlier network concept. Other characteristics are: the MFP will be an entrep[obreve]t; it will export information, produce and institutional modes; and it must serve as an environmental tariff wall. For Japan the MFP can contribute to technological ‘catch-up’ and serve the dual function of improving Japan's international and cultural image as well as focussing information transfer to Japan. For Australia the MFP can facilitate industrial restructuring by providing an innovating institutional environment for manufacturing innovation and production, with a possible increase in foreign investment and venture capital. This restructuring link is problematic due to external uncertainties. Key issues are urban location, internationalisation, the centrality of high-tech, contracted employment, internal organization, the position in the technological system, a...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the scientific and planning background to the proposal for an integrated greenhouse data management system (IGDMS) and briefly note some policy and planning opti...
Abstract: There is a growing realization that the greenhouse-induced warming of the planet and the intensification of the hydrological cycle will have a significant impact on human society and its economic infrastructure. The significance of the effects for Australia, and for any other community in the world, will depend upon how government agencies and planners prepare for the consequences of these predicted changes. Governments need considerable help with any decision process associated with a long-term issue such as greenhouse. Availability of information (both accurate and complete) is of crucial importance if governments are to be expected to develop national (and polynational) strategic plans to ensure the continuation of, and development of, an acceptable lifestyle over the coming decades and centuries. In this paper, the authors present the scientific and planning background to the proposal for an integrated greenhouse data management system (IGDMS) and we briefly note some policy and planning opti...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the policy-making processes and the nature of the information available to those who participate in them, and the issue of how to define what is a risk to which governments should pay attention in the public interest.
Abstract: This paper is concerned with the policy-making processes and the nature of the information available to those who participate in them. At a very simple level of concern is the issue of how to define what is a risk to which governments should pay attention in the public interest. For those responsible for making policy decisions there are real dilemmas. The policy process itself is inadequate to deal with the processing of scientific information about risk. A representative parliamentary system is notoriously ill-equipped to cope with a multiplicity of information sources. The question of which particular scientific voice should be regarded as legitimate is problematic. There is no single institutional centre to identify particular problems. It is this latter question that creates the most difficulty for policymakers since they need to base their justification of policy on the most valid of grounds. In the past objective scientific fact has been so regarded. Today there are as many different scien...
TL;DR: In this article, a quick analysis of the information sector in Singapore, Japan and the United States using the input-output methodology is performed. But it is found that information sector is a natural extension of the tertiary or service sector and its dominance and linkages reflect the service orientation of Singapore economy.
Abstract: This paper attempts a quick analysis of the information sector in Singapore, Japan and the United States using the input-output methodology. An alternative way of computing the scalars to bisect a sector into two, namely information and non-information sectors, is used. From the empirical analysis, it is found that the information sector in Singapore has still some way to go before approaching the levels as found in Japan and the United States. Within Singapore, the information sector is a natural extension of the tertiary or service sector and its dominance and linkages reflect the service orientation of the Singapore economy. The information sector plays a crucial role in the global network of telecommunications and transport affecting economic as well as socio-political welfare. The paper suggests that regional and international co-operation is necessary to tackle the problems of uneven growth and development of various information sectors. Information and its communication is a two-way proces...
TL;DR: The New Imperatives of Public Communication: The New Imperative by Marjorie Ferguson (ed.) (Sage, London 1990), pp. 381-384 + 210 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: (1990). Public Communication: The New Imperatives by Marjorie Ferguson (ed.) (Sage, London 1990), pp.xii + 210. ISBN 0 8039 8268 2 (pbk) 0 8039 8267 4 (cased) Prometheus: Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 381-384.
TL;DR: The Human Communication as a Field of Study Selected Contemporary Views edited by Sarah Sanderson King (State University of New York Press, New York, 1989), pp. 396-398.
Abstract: (1990). Human Communication as a Field of Study Selected Contemporary Views edited by Sarah Sanderson King (State University of New York Press, New York, 1989), pp. xiv + 282. ISBN 0-88706-986-X. Prometheus: Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 396-398.
TL;DR: The authors argue that Australia's negotiating position is that Japan needs the outcomes from the investment in MFP as much or more than Australia does and that Australia negotiators must bargain fiercely for enforceable claims to a share of the international benefits.
Abstract: Japan has initiated the program to establish the Multi-Function Polis. Australia's negotiating position is that Japan needs the outcomes from the investment in MFP as much or more than Australia does. The MFP is a test of Australis's ability to look for new ways to master the future. While the project should be favoured for its visionary uncertainty, Australian negotiators must bargain fiercely for enforceable claims to a share of the international benefits.
TL;DR: Techniques for improving computer security are discussed and the appropriate lessons drawn on the nature and extent of computer crime are drawn.
Abstract: The new information and communication technologies bring many benefits to society, but they also create new social and ethical problems — such as software theft, invasions of privacy, hacking and the creation of viruses. Computer-assisted crime is one of the most serious and its apparent growth in recent years demonstrates clearly how new technologies create new opportunities for criminal activity. The available evidence on the nature and extent of computer crime is reviewed, together with the available data on participation. Techniques for improving computer security are then discussed and the appropriate lessons drawn.
TL;DR: The history of the Commonwealth Line from its formation as a desperate measure to overcome a wartime shipping shortage that was preventing the transportation of vital primary products, especially wheat, is discussed in this paper.
Abstract: The origins of a number of important public enterprises can be traced to the First World War. This article deals with the Commonwealth Line and traces the factors which led to its creation by government and those that caused its privatization. The article traces the history of the Commonwealth Line from its formation as a desperate measure to overcome a wartime shipping shortage that was preventing the transportation of vital primary products, especially wheat. Emphasis is placed on bargaining between the Australian and British governments over the tonnage to be allocated to Australia. At the end of the war the Line's obsolescent ships and its need for greater public investment was not welcomed by the Commonwealth government. The article concludes with a discussion of the decline of the Commonwealth Line after 1918 and emphasizes the role of the British shipping cartel and labor costs in its demise.
TL;DR: Okimoto as discussed by the authors, between MITI and the market: Japanese Industrial Policy for High Technology by Daniel I. Okimoto (Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1989), pp. 406-410.
Abstract: (1990). Between MITI and the Market: Japanese Industrial Policy for High Technology by Daniel I. Okimoto (Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1989), pp. vx + 267, US$27.50, ISBN 0-8047-1298-0. Prometheus: Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 406-410.