Suchergebnisse

A review article devoted to the book of Andrzej
Blikle – Doktryna jakości. Rzecz o skutecznym
zarządzaniu. As pointed out by the Author,
the book is a case of a work rare on the Polish
publishing market, written by an outstanding
scientist, who successfully runs a business
activity. The combination of practical experience
with theoretical knowledge gave a result
that may be satisfying both for practitioners
as well as theorists, and also those who want
to get to know the ins and outs of an effective
and efficient business management. The Author
of the review believes that it is an important
voice for shaping an inclusive socio-economic
system, which constitutes a value in itself. Although
the book is mainly concerned with
business management, its message has a much
wider dimension and is concerned with real
measures of wealth, money and people's lives.
The book was awarded The SGH Collegium of
Business Administration Award "For the best
scientific work in the field of business administration
in the years 2014-2015".

Andrzej Jacek Blikle Doktryna jakości. Rzecz o skutecznym zarządzaniu (The Doctrine of Quality. On Effective Management) Gliwice, Helion Publishing Company, 2014, p. 546

Introduction

One of the distinctive features of the contemporary economy and contemporary world is a kind of obsession of quantity which is related to thoughtless consumerism, unfavourable to the care for the quality of the work and the quality of the produced and consumed goods and services. It is accompanied by culture (or rather non-culture) of singleness. Therefore, the book The Doctrine of Quality by Andrzej Blikle is like a breath of fresh air.

It is a different perspective on the economy and the model of operation of enterprises, on the model of work and life of people. A. Blikle proves that it can be done otherwise. He proves it on the basis of careful studies of the source literature – as expected from a professor of mathematics and an economist, but also on the basis of his own experience gained during the scientific and educational work, and most of all through the economic practice. In the world governed by the obsession of quantity, characterised by fragility, shortness of human relationships, including the relationship of the entrepreneur – employee, A. Blikle chooses durability of these relations, creativity, responsibility, quality of work and production, and ethics. The Doctrine of Quality is a rare example of the work on the Polish publishing market, whose author is a prominent scientist, successfully conducting a business activity for more than two decades, which has contributed to the development of the family company – a known confectionery brand "A. Blikle". The combination of practical experience with theoretical knowledge gave a result that may be satisfying both for practitioners as well as theorists, and also those who want to get to know the ins and outs of an effective and efficient business management, or develop the knowledge on this topic. In an attractive, clear narrative form, the author comprehensively presents the complexities of business management, indicating the sources of success, but also the reasons and the foundations of failures.

At the same time, he presents these issues with an interdisciplinary approach, which contributes to thoroughness of the arguments and deeper reflections.

Holism, typical to this book, is also expressed in the focus of A. Blikle not only on the economic, but also on social and ecological issues. Here, the author points to the possibility and need of reconciliation of the economic interests with social interests, and the care for the public good. Analyses of this subject are presented using the achievements of many areas of studies, in addition to economic sciences, including mathematics, sociology, psychology, medicine, and others. This gives a comprehensive picture of the complexity of business management – taking into account its close and distant environment.

There are no longueurs in the book, although extensive (over 500 pages), or lengthy, or even unnecessary reasoning overwhelming the reader, as the text is illustrated with a number of examples from practice, and coloured with anecdotes. At the same time, the author does not avoid using expressions popular in the world of (not only) business. He proves that a motivational system which is not based on the approach of "carrot and stick" and without a devastating competition of a "rat race" is possible. The author supports his arguments with references not only to the interdisciplinary scientific achievements, but also to the economic historical experiences and to a variety of older and newer business models.

There is a clear fascination with the reserves of creativity and productivity in the humanization of work. In fact, the author strongly exposes the potential of productivity and creativity in creating the conditions and atmosphere of work fostering elimination of fear of the future. He shows that such fear destroys creativity. It is not a coincidence that A. Blikle refers to the Fordist principles, including the warning that manufacturing and business do not consist of cheap buying and expensive selling. He reminds that Henry Ford, a legendary creator of the development of the automotive industry in the United States, put serving the public before the profit. The Doctrine of Quality is at the same time a book – proof that one of the most dangerous misconceptions or errors in the contemporary understanding of economics is finding that it is a science of making money, chremastics. Edmund Phelps and others warned against this in the year of the outbreak of the financial crisis in the USA in 2008, reminding that economics is not a science of making money but a science of relations between the economy and social life [Phelps, 2008]. Economics is a science of people in the process of management. Therefore, by definition, it applies to social values and ethos. Ethos is a general set of values, standards and models of proceedings adopted by a particular group of people. In this sense, ethos and economics as a science of people in the process of management are inseparable. Detaching economics from morality is in contradiction to the classical Smithian concept of economics, as Adam Smith combined the idea of the free market with morality. He treated his first work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, as an inseparable basis for deliberations on the nature and causes of the wealth of nations, which was the subject of the subsequent work of this thinker [Smith, 1989; Smith, 2012]. Identifying economics with chremastics would then mean that all actions are acceptable and desired, if their outcome is earnings, profit, money. The book of A. Blikle denies it. It contains a number of case studies, which also stimulate broader reflections. Therefore, and also due to the features indicated above, it can be a very useful teaching aid in teaching entrepreneurship and management.

The appearance of a book promoting the doctrine of quality and exposing the meaning of ethos of work is especially important because today the phenomenon of product adulteration becomes increasingly widespread, which is ironically referred to in literature as the "gold-plating" of products [Sennett, 2010, pp. 115-118], and the trend as "antifeatures", that is intentionally limiting the efficiency and durability of products of daily use to create demand for new products. A model example of antifeature is a sim-lock installed in some telephones which makes it impossible to use SIM cards of foreign operators [Rohwetter, 2011, p. 48; Miszewski, 2013]. These types of negative phenomena are also promoted by the development of systemic solutions aiming at the diffusion of responsibility [Sennett, 2010]. This issue is presented among others by Nassim N.N. Taleb, in the book with a meaningful title Antifragile: How to Live in a World We Don't Understand? The author proves that the economy and society lose their natural durability as a result of the introduction of numerous tools and methods of insurance against risks, but mostly by shifting the burden of risks on other entities [Taleb, 2012]. N.N. Taleb illustrates his arguments with numerous convincing examples and references to history, recalling, inter alia, that in ancient times there was no building control, but the constructors, e.g. of bridges had to sleep under them for some time after their construction, and the ancient aqueducts are still working well until today. So, he shows that a contemporary world, focused on quantitative effects, does not create a sound base for ethical behaviours and the care for the quality of work and manufacturing.

Andrzej Blikle points to the need and possibility of opposing this, and opposing to what the Noble Price Winner for Economics, Joseph Stiglitz described as avarice triumphs over prudence [Stiglitz, 2015, p. 277]. The phrase emphasised in the book "Live and work with a purpose" is the opposition to the dangerous phenomena listed above, such as for example antifeatures.

convincing that although the business activity is essentially focused on profits, making money, limited to this, it would be led to the syndrome of King Midas, who wanted to turn everything he touched into gold, but he soon realised that he was at risk of dying of starvation, as even the food turned into gold. What distinguishes this book is that almost every part of it forces in-depth reflections on the social and economic relations and brings to mind the works of other authors, but at the same time, creates a new context for them.

So, A. Blikle clearly proves that both the economy and businesses need social rooting. This corresponds to the theses of the Hungarian intellectual Karl Polanyi, who in his renowned work The Great Transformation, already in 1944 argued that the economy is not rooted in the social relations [Polanyi, 2010, p. 70]. He pointed to the risk resulting from commodification of everything, and warned that allowing the market mechanism and competition to control the human life and environment would result in disintegration of society. Although K. Polanyi's warnings were concerned with the industrial civilization, they are still valid, even now – when the digital revolution brings fundamental changes, among others, on the labour market – they strengthen it. The dynamics of these changes is so high that it seems that the thesis of Jeremy Rifkin on the end of work [Rifkin, 2003] becomes more plausible. It is also confirmed by recent analyses included in the book of this author, concerning the society of zero marginal cost and sharing economy [Rifkin, 2016], and the analyses concerning uberisation [Uberworld, 2016].

The book of Andrzej Blikle also evokes one of the basic asymmetries of the contemporary world, which is the inadequacy of the dynamics and sizes of the supply of products and services to the dynamics and sizes of the demand for them. Insufficient demand collides with the rapidly increasing, as a result of technological changes, possibilities of growth of production and services. This leads to overproduction and related therewith large negative implications, with features of wasteful economy of excess [Kornai, 2014]. It is accompanied by phenomena with features of some kind of market bulimia, sick consumerism, detrimental both to people and the environment [Rist, 2015]. One of the more compromising signs of the economy of excess and wasting of resources is wasting of food by rich countries, when simultaneously, there are areas of hunger in some parts of the world [Stuart, 2009].

At the same time, the economy of excess does not translate to the comfort of the buyers of goods – as in theory attributed to the consumer market. It is indicated in the publication of Janos Kornai concerning a comparative analysis of the features of socio-economic systems. While exposing his deep critical evaluation of socialist non-market systems, as economies of constant deficiency, he does not spare critical opinions on the capitalist economy of excess, with its quest for the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) and profits. As an example of the economy of excess, he indicates the pharmaceutical industry, with strong monopolistic competition, dynamic innovativeness, wide selection for the buyers, flood of advertisements, manipulation of customers, and often bribing the doctors prescribing products [Kornai 2014, p. 202]. This type of abnormalities is not alien to other industries. Although J. Konrai appreciates that in the economy of excess, including the excess of production capacities, the excess is "grease" calming down and soothing clashes that occur in the mechanisms of adaptation, he also sees that those who claim that in the economy of excess (or more generally in the market economy), sovereignty of consumers dominates, exaggerate [Kornai, 2014, pp. 171-172], as the manufacturers, creating the supply, manipulate the consumers. Thus, there is an excess of supply – both of values as well as junk [Kornai, 2014, p. 176]. Analysing the economy of excess, J. Kornai brings this issue to the question of domination and subordination. It corresponds with the opinion of Jerzy Wilkin, according to whom, the free market can also enslave, so take away individual freedom; on the other hand, the lack of the free market can lead to enslavement as well. Economists willingly talk about the free market, and less about the free man [Wilkin, 2014, p. 4].

The economy of excess is one of the consequences of making a fetish of the economic growth and its measure, which is the gross domestic product (GDP) and treating it as the basis of social and economic activity. In such a system, the pressure of growth is created, so you must grow to avoid death! The system is thus comparable to a cyclist, who has to move forwards to keep his balance [Rist, 2015, p. 181]. It corresponds with the known, unflattering to economists, saying of Kenneth E. Boulding [1956], criticising the focus of economics on the economic growth, while ignoring social implications and consequences to the environment: Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist. [from: Rist, 2015, p. 268].

GDP is a very much needed or even indispensable measure for evaluation of the material level of the economies of individual countries and for comparing their economic health. However, it is insufficient for evaluation of the real level of welfare and quality of life. It requires supplementation with other measures, as it takes into account only the values created by the market purchase and sale transactions. It reflects only the market results of the activity of enterprises and households. Additionally, the GDP account threats the socially desirable and not desirable activities equally. Thus, the market activity related to social pathologies (e.g. functioning of prisons, prostitution, and drug dealing) also increase the GDP. It was accurately expressed already in 1968 by Robert Kennedy, who concluded the discussion on this issue saying that: the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile [The Guardian, 2012].

While Grzegorz W. Kołodko even states that it should be surprising how it is possible that despite a number of alternative measures of social and economic progress, we are still in the corset of narrow measure of the gross product, which completely omits many significant aspects of the social process of reproduction [Kołodko, 2013, p. 44]. In this context he points to the necessity of triple sustainable growth – economic, social, and ecological [Kołodko, 2013, p. 377]. Transition from the industrial civilisation model to the new model of economy, to the age of information, causes a kind of cultural regression, a phenomenon of cultural anchoring in the old system. This type of lock-in effect - described in the source literature, that is the effect of locking in the existing frames and systemic solutions, is a barrier to development. The practice more and more often and clearer demonstrates that in the conditions of the new economy, the tools and traditional solutions turn out to be not only ineffective, but they even increase the risk of wrong social and economic decisions, made at different institutional levels.

All this proves that new development models must be searched for and implemented, to allow counteraction to dysfunctions of the contemporary economy and wasting the development potential, resulting from a variety of maladjustments generated by the crisis of civilisation. Polish authors who devote much of their work to these issues include G.W. Kołodko, Jerzy Kleer, or Maciej Bałtowski. Studies confirm that there is a need for a new pragmatism, new, proinclusive model of shaping the social and economic reality, a model which is more socially rooted, aiming at reconciling social, economic and ecological objectives, with simultaneous optimisation of the use of the social and economic potential [Kołodko, 2013; Bałtowski, 2016; Kleer, 2015]. There is more and more evidence that the barriers to economic development growing in the global economy are closely related with the rooting of the economy in social relations. The book of A. Blikle becomes a part of this trend in a new and original manner. Although the author concentrates on the analyses of social relations mainly at the level of an enterprise, at the same time, he comments them at a macroeconomic, sociological and ethical level, and interdisciplinary contexts constitute an original value of the book.

Conclusion

I treat the book of Andrzej Blike as an important voice in favour of shaping an inclusive social and economic system, in favour of shaping inclusive enterprises, that is oriented on an optimal absorption of knowledge, innovation and effective reconciliation of the interests of entrepreneurs with the interests of employees and the interests of society. Inclusiveness is indeed a value in itself. It is understood as a mechanism/system limiting wasting of material resources and human capital, and counteracting environmental degradation. An inclusive social and economic system is a system oriented on optimisation of the production resources and reducing the span between the actual and potential level of economic growth and social development [Reforma, 2015]. And this is the system addressed by Andrzej Blikle in his book. At least this is how I see it. Although the book is mainly concerned with business management, its message has a much wider dimension and is concerned with real measures of wealth, money and people's lives.

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В статті систематизовано результати існуючих емпіричних досліджень з виявлення макроекономічних ефектів військових витрат, і зокрема їхнього впливу на потенціал економічного зростання. Мета статті полягає у дослідженні впливу військового бюджету на економічний розвиток України. Наукова гіпотеза статті полягає в тому, що оборонний бюджет є важливим як сам по собі для реалізації безпекових функцій, так і для створення бази для розвитку виробництва високотехнологічної продукції і відповідно – зростання ВВП. В статті, на основі запропонованого підходу, визначено, які з експорторієнтованих на сьогодні видів діяльності і продуктів у військовій сфері, або тих, що потенційно можуть експортуватися в майбутньому, можуть розвинути свою технологічність. Виокремлено групу наявних секторів «потенційних лідерів» України (виробництво фармацевтичних продуктів, виробництво комп'ютерів, електронної та оптичної продукції) як таких, що є важливими для оцінки можливості використання військових витрат для прискорення розвитку високотехнологічного виробництва, оскільки до цієї категорії відноситься оборона, а відповідно виробництво товарів і послуг в цій сфері. Такі сектори, як освіта, наукові розробки, телекомунікації, інфраструктура також віднесено до групи «потенційних лідерів» (це сектори з високим рівнем доданої вартості, які відносяться до високотехнологічних секторів, проте мають низьку частку у загальному експорті України, однак володіють значним потенціалом виходу на міжнародні ринки і потенціалом імпортозаміщення на внутрішньому ринку). Виявлено, що у випадку ефективної державної політики, «потенційні лідери» можуть стати «стратегічними лідерами». Встановлено, що оборонні витрати в умовах військового конфлікту можна суттєво збільшити паралельно зі збільшенням експорту, використавши спрощені умови доступу до інвестицій, технологій та виходу на ринки для воюючої країни, які в умовах правильної геополітичної діяльності українського уряду можуть бути надані партнерами України. «Стратегічні сектори» мають важливе значення для розвитку військового виробництва своїми виробництвами продукції подвійного призначення, адже усі види транспорту так чи інакше пов'язані з потребами збройних сил усіх країн. У випадку неадекватної державної політики перспективні сектори можуть перейти до групи «проблемні сфери» - безперспективних видів діяльності, в разі, якщо знизиться їхня технологічність при наявному їх низькому експортному потенціалі. Ці факти яскраво проявляються у виробництві авіаційної і бронетанкової техніки – Україна, маючи стартові можливості не тільки по виробництву, але і по ринковим нішам, вже понад 25 років не спромоглася організувати процес наукових та конструкторських розробок, поступаючись новим виробникам – Туреччині, Кореї та іншим. Доведено перспективність збільшення військових витрат в рамках випуску облігацій зовнішнього займу.Встановлено, що використанню оборонних витрат для виходу за рамки екстенсивного сценарію розвитку (характерними ознаками якого є такі: збереження сформованої моделі розвитку української економіки з наявністю структурних диспропорцій в економічній системі країні; сировинна, матеріалозатратна та імпортозалежна економіка; структура експорту загалом незмінна; превалювання продукції з низькою доданою вартістю) сприятиме зростання індексу продуктивності інвестицій понад «1». Цьому сприятиме сценарій економічного зростання інтенсивного кластерного типу – спрямування суттєвого обсягу інвестиційних ресурсів в економіку України за рахунок узгодження сценарію з геополітичними партнерами, із застосуванням активної економічної політики. Обраховано, що для цього необхідно досягнути частки експорту у випуску продукції в середньому по економіці на рівні близько 50% при зниженні до 46% імпортної залежності. Для цього, зокрема, потрібно, аби військову продукцію, яка має високий експортний потенціал, було розглянуто в якості експортно-виробничого сектора. Актуалізовано зміну підходу до оборонних витрат з імпорту потрібних озброєнь на їхнє виробництво і за рахунок цього — підвищення обороноздатності та виробничого потенціалу. Оборонний сектор за такого сценарію має потенціал переміщення до стратегічного кластера при одночасному розвитку інноваційного кластера. Встановлено, що, як наслідок, розвиток національної економіки відбуватиметься у два етапи: на початку економічне зростання забезпечуватиметься завдяки екстенсивному розвитку та вкладанню інвестицій, а далі — протягом 3-4 років — зросте потенційна здатність інвестицій генерувати дохід (продуктивність інвестицій варіюватиметься в межах від 1 до 1,021), що у подальшому дозволить задіяти інтенсивний розвиток економіки, який дозволятиме економіці самогенеруватися. ; The article's objective is to investigate the impact of military budget on economic development. Our hypothesis is that the military budget is as such important both for implementing security functions and for creating the base for increasing the high tech output and consequent GDP growth. The proposed approach is used to determine which of the export-oriented activities and products in the military sector of Ukraine or the ones with export potentials are able to enhance technological capacities in future. The group of sectors which are "potential leaders" in Ukraine (manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, computers, electronic and optical devices) is important for the assessment of the possibilities to use military spending for accelerating the development of high tech industry, because this category includes the defense sector with its facilities to manufacture goods and services. Other "potential leaders" are sectors such as education, research and development (R&D), telecommunications, infrastructures. These sectors with high value added, classified as high tech ones, have a low share in the total Ukrainian exports, but they have significant potentials for international market expansion and potentials for import substitution on the domestic market. The development of education, R&D and infrastructures is supposed to create the ecosystem in Ukraine required to launch successful high tech business, on the one hand, and offer export-oriented products and services, on the other. In case of effective government policies, "potential leaders" can become "strategic leaders". A country at war can essentially increase its military spending in parallel with increasing its exports taking advantage of the simplified terms of access to investment, technologies and market expansion, which can be guaranteed by Ukraine's partners given the proper geo-political activities of the Ukrainian government. "Strategic sectors" have significant importance for the development of military industries with "dual purpose", because all the categories of transports in any country are linked, one way or another, to the needs of military forces.When the government policy is not adequate, the sectors with good development perspectives can fall into the group of "problematic sectors", i. e. dead-end activities, if their technological capacities are declined and export potentials are low. A clear evidence of these facts is the manufacturing of aircraft and armored vehicles: with good start-up capacities not only in manufacturing, but also in market niches 25 years ago, Ukraine has failed to organize the R&D process by now, giving way to new manufacturers like Turkey, Korea and others. "Current leaders" in Ukraine (basic metals and extraction of metal ores, agriculture, forestry and fisheries; foods and beverages, tobaccos) are sectors with a small value added and dependence on foreign market conjunctures. As their products are still demanded by global markets, they bring a major part of export earnings in Ukraine. The possibility to increase the military spending by foreign bond issuance is also important.It is determined that the military spending can be used for moving beyond the boundaries of the extensive development scenario (which implies the reliance on the existing model of the Ukrainian economy with its structural disproportions in the domestic economic system in favor of commodity-based, cost-ineffective and import-dependent segments; as its export structure will not change compared with the existing one, the share of products with low value added will prevail), when the index of investment productivity is higher than 1.The scenario of economic growth of the intensive cluster type needs to be adopted: streamlining of essential scopes of investment resources to the Ukrainian economy by coordinating the scenario with geo-political partners and using the active economic policy. It requires that the average share of exports in the output of domestic industries reach nearly 50% and the import dependence decline to 46%. A way to achieve these benchmarks is to consider the military products with high export potentials as an export-oriented sector.Approaches to military spending need to be changed in a way to have the defense capacity enhanced by abandoning imports of required weapons (but not by essentially increasing import dependence and decreasing rates of GDP growth). It will result in the military cluster's move to the strategic cluster in parallel with expansion of the innovation cluster. Consequently, the national economy development will involve two phases. At the first phase, the economy will be growing due to the extensive development and investment; at the second phase taking 3 to 4 years, its potential to generate income will be enhanced (with the investment productivity varying from 1 to 1.021), which will eventually give rise to the intensive economy development allowing for the economy's self-generation.

Editorial Editorial Welcome to this special doctoral workshop on Research Methodology which forms part of what is now a well-established support mechanism for researchers in the discipline of the Built Environment and more particularly construction management. The ARCOM doctoral series, around now for some seventeen years, has addressed many of the diverse research areas that PhD researchers in the discipline have chosen to focus on in their doctoral journey. This doctoral workshop has as an aim to offer an opportunity to explore and share research and the theoretical underpinnings facing PhD researchers within the construction and engineering sectors where the focus is on not just the topics of research but on the research approach underpinning that work. This workshop provides the opportunity for AEC researchers to come together in an environment where support for their approach to their research enquiry is offered by way of creating the correct conditions to share and discuss their journey. There is evidence to suggest there are many PhD students who would benefit from an environment where they can share their research phenomenon and this workshop session will allow for discourse and interaction to enable 'learning to take place' together. In these proceedings are the seven final papers selected from some fourteen abstracts presented for review. It is important to recognize that the papers selected offer the opportunity for participants to learn from each other but also learn from the guidance of academics in the community who have a depth of knowledge around different methodological approaches. The process of selection for the workshop, while closely aligned with the ARCOM conference proceedings, is such that it is aimed at selecting papers within the scope of the topic but very much directed to allowing doctoral researchers' the opportunity to present work in progress where formative and developmental review can be offered through a constructive support mechanism. The context of each paper is diverse which has added to the richness of this edition of the doctoral workshop series. All papers have been peer reviewed and each author has had the opportunity to receive feedback and update/ improve their paper. Alqatawneh's paper research through design as an approach to investigate design fiction insights and sees focuses on design fiction (DF) as an approach to speculation about the future using a combination of prototyping and storytelling, a type of scenario story telling if you like. They unpack the notion of DF through a link to its five criteria and principles, bringing together the notion of design - the capacity to imagine and make concrete products not yet in existence, and services for everyday life. This research employs research through design approach to investigate the functionality of fiction in design. Further, to explain the notion of design fiction and arising from using fiction in both design practice and design research the author defends the use of this methodology. Alqatawneh argues that the outcome knowledge is utilised to adapt and present fictional objects that suggest pathways to possible futures and sues the example of Self-Driving Vehicles to exemplify this.-.The author argues that DF offers the potential to consider far-reaching questions concerning the consequences of technological development while drawing attention to the social aspects and implications of techno-scientific solutions. Colley and Scott address the philosophical positioning of functional contextualism as an approach to research conflict of interest in the real estate sector in Ireland. In examining the research question of good practice for managing conflict of interest in the real estate valuation process within Ireland a number of research methodologies were engaged with and considered. The author's proffer that once a review of literature in the field has been accomplished a central question arises for the researcher, that of a philosophical position so that the research can be addressed in what they suggest is the 'correct way'. They offer an overall pragmatic approach to the central issues of the formation of an individual's ethical viewpoint and behaviours, the nature of the ethical challenges faced within the real estate 3 valuation process and the possible frameworks that may influence an individual's behaviour going forward. Within the pragmatic realm they argue for a more focused lens of Functional Contextualism. Functional contextualists they suggest seeks to predict and influence events using empirically-based concepts and rules and this they contend addresses the research question suitably. Emphasis is placed on highlighting the areas of the approach that fit and also those that require omission due to their lack of suitability to the subject under investigation. Overall they make the case for using the most appropriate methodological position through correct grounding with research methods that allow the researcher to progress without 'conflict'. Kelly in his paper addressing the impact of human cogitative behaviour and tacit judgement on the development and accuracy of cost estimates for pharmaceutical projects in Ireland and makes the strong case for researching this topic through the lens of 'more thoughtful research design'. He contends that 'more thoughtful research design' would get to the real reasons for cost overruns rather than using the convenient 'default responses' that continuously point in the wrong direction. He makes the case for a 'paradigm shift' towards the general use of the newer non-traditional types of building project contract price forecasting models and there is evidence that this has not been generally achieved. In considering his roadmap through the research topic he suggests the challenge with this proposed research is the adoption and justification of the research methodology. He argues for mixed-method research, methods that require positivist and interpretevist methods as well as multi-paradigm and multi-strategy approaches. The challenges, he contends, include the many different conflicts. For example how the researcher sees the world and the epistemological commitments needed which may cause confusion with the stated committed rules the research might follow and that will impact on the use of both positivism and interpretivism paradigms as well as qualitative and quantitative information. Mdaanayka and Egbu in their paper explore innovative solutions in consideration of exploring the possibilities for improving the utilisation of digital technologies via integrating BIM, Big Data Analytics and Internet of things (together aka BBI )which has the potential to give organisations the long awaited competitive advantage. The study follows a mixed methodological approach which leads to investigate the critical factors that impact on effective implementation and exploitation of BBI for competitive advantage and thereby develop a strategic framework for improved understanding of such critical factors at play. They argue for mixed methods based on epistemological, ontological and axiological perspectives. The factors associated with the research, they argue, fall in to four main themes inter alia; organisational size, culture, structure and skills-knowledge-training needs. The latter will be demonstrated as a separate skill-knowledge-Inventory (SKI). Their philosophical stance is a combination of interpretivist and positivist. They argue for an approach that holds a mixture of inductive and deductive means in different stages as the study starts from literature review to develop the strategic framework consisting of critical factors. Their data collection methods in this study will be the use of semi-structured interviews in pilot study phase and questionnaire surveys in the main study phase. Focus group approach is intended to be employed to validate the framework and SKI. They make the case for mixed methods as the multidimensional constructs/ variable implications demand such methods. O'Cleirigh deals with research within the construction industry which is primarily based on qualitative and quantitative methods but has the potential to include studies that combine both methodologies. The research review considers and outlines the various methods and the differing views of the purists from both traditions, while re-examines the 'war' between them 4 and thus proffers the arguments for and against using mixed-methods. O'Cleirigh also demonstrates that some commonalities and a relationship exist between quantitative and qualitative approaches to social science research and that his research explores that relationship in context to the construction industry. The author resolves to position mixed methods as a bridge between traditional qualitative and quantitative research. Discussion, he commends, centre on implications arising from the observation that, models upon which qualitative and quantitative methods are based, have differing philosophical views of real world research and consequently differing views of the research subject. O'Cleirigh strongly argues this positioning will aid advancement of industry knowledge by adapting methods used in academia through providing a robust framework, for construction managers, for designing and undertaking mixed methods research. He makes the point that mixed methods research will become increasingly successful as more construction managers study, use and spread the underpinning philosophy. Opiya and Chan, address the topic of the need for affordable housing and make the point that it has in recent times become a prominent policy issue for countries across the world. Among various challenges to affordable housing sector is the failure of supply to keep up with this growing demand. Consequently, they argue it is unsurprising to find a wealth of studies that focus on supply-side concerns of accommodating increasing demand for affordable housing. Through their research they have found studies tended to emphasize the role providers such as developers, contractors and government institutions can play to improve capacity and capability in the production of affordable housing. The point they do make, because of such emphasis has meant the relative neglect on the demand side. In their review, consideration of the problem of 'demand' to identify fresh perspectives on understanding the challenges associated with affordable housing is called for. They make the case for opening the complexities of studying 'demand' by researching a range of disciplines. The case for inter- disciplinary research aimed to understand a complex problem. They make the point that from an economic perspective, 'demand' is often framed in quantitative terms where balancing supply and demand results from rational, technological choices made by individual actors in the marketplace. They go on to make the point that a linear approach to 'demand' runs counter to a sociological understanding, where the realization is produced by complexes of social practices. They exemplify this making reference to a linguistic turn, the etymology of 'demand' stems from the Latin phrase de mandare, which means 'to formally order'. They proffer from this 'demand' is not simply defined by exogenous forces of the market, but also raises questions as to how society is brought to order. Relating this position to the context of affordable housing, they make the case understanding 'demand' also raises the need to examine ways in which vulnerable segments of society are excluded from formally ordering their requirements. In this review, we will reflect on various perspectives of 'demand' to raise questions about power relations and the problem of building a more inclusive society through housing. While the methodological approach is partly addressed in the paper the authors argue for a methodology that can be adaptable to deal with the complexity that surrounds the various perspectives of 'demand'. Abiodun and Egbu in their paper, Implementation of building information modelling (BIM) on construction projects, is increasing gaining global acceptance as government from various countries are becoming the driving force for its adoption. The purpose of this paper is to present the research methodology and method to be adopted for this research. They present the aim and the objectives of the research, a set of research questions and then propose an approach to move towards methodological positioning. The paper discussed the various 5 research paradigms and philosophical positions available to all researcher and position the research on one considered to be most suitable to achieve the stated aim and objectives of the study. The argument around their justification is well made and the paper further discussed the various research approaches, methods and strategies available. In each case, a position was adopted for the research and attempts were made to justify the position adopted. Abiodun and Egbu conclude by proposing a research design method to be followed that allows the researcher achieve the research aim and objectives but that is fit for purpose. The authors of the papers are to be commended for taking the courageous step in sharing their methodological and philosophical positioning, particularly as novice researchers it can be daunting to 'put on work out there'. It is a pleasure to be associated with this important aspect of the work of ARCOM and the continued support for this type of 'scaffolded experience' for the novice researchers, as they make their own personal research journey, should be supported into the future! Finally, there is a need to address the gaps in methodological approach and allow researchers flourish and blossom by allowing them the opportunity to experiment within their chosen research domain. "It is often necessary to take a decision on the basis of knowledge sufficient for action, but insufficient to satisfy the intellect." Attributed to Kant 1724 - 1804 Professor Lloyd Scott, 09th March 2018

"Thèse en cotutelle, Université Laval, Québec, Canada et Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, Rome, Italie" ; La coopération réglementaire joue un rôle croissant dans la stratégie d'externalisation européenne. Cette recherche vise à améliorer la compréhension de ce phénomène en fournissant une typologie des différents formats réglementaires utilisés dans les accords commerciaux. Bien que les recherches antérieures se soient concentrées sur la variation entre les accords commerciaux de ces formats juridiques cette thèse concentre ses efforts sur la variation des formats juridiques à l'intérieur des accords, en particulier entre les secteurs réglementaires dans un seul accord. Récent ajout au réseau commercial européen, l'UE et le Canada ont présenté l'Accord Commercial Global et Économique (AECG) comme « l'étalon-or » pour la nouvelle génération d'accords commerciaux. Cette thèse examine donc ce traité référentiel et tente de répondre à la question suivante: quels sont les différents types de format réglementaire au sein de l'AECG, et comment expliquer la variation des types entre les secteurs réglementaires? En me référant à la littérature sur la légalisation internationale et à certaines de ses évolutions récentes, je propose deux dimensions pour construire une typologie de quatre types de «format réglementaire», à savoir: la nature de l'obligation (Hard / Soft ) et le mode de décision (Ex-ante/ ex-post). Quatre types de conception sont établis pour classer les différents schémas réglementaires possibles: Type 1 (Ex-Ante / Hard); Type 2 (Ex-Post / Hard); Type 3 (Ex-Ante /Soft); Type 4 (Ex-post / Soft). En examinant l'AECG, j'ai identifié 7 secteurs de réglementation institutionnalisés selon les quatre types mentionnés: biotechnologie, produits forestiers, indications géographiques, véhicules à moteur, produits pharmaceutiques, qualifications professionnelles et matières premières. Pour expliquer les processus de négociation aboutissant au choix des types de format juridique, j'ai mobilisé un cadre théorique institutionnaliste rationnel en suivant les prémisses du programme de recherche « rational design ». Ce modèle suit une compréhension structurelle du processus de négociation, composée de deux risques d'interdépendance affectant ses résultats de la négociation et donc le format juridique choisie : risque élevé / faible de «hold-up» et risque élevé / faible de shirking. Le risque de «hold-up» fait référence à une éventuelle renégociation des termes de l'accord et de ses potentielles conséquences pour les signataires. Elle pose que l'intégration économique résultant de la coopération peut rendre certains états plus dépendants et donc dans une position plus difficile pour résister à de nouvelles demandes de concessions. Le risque de « shirking » se rapporte à la littérature sur les mécanicismes de sanction et de non conformité. Il examine la possible défection par l'une des parties de ses obligations légales et son utilisation opportuniste des divergences réglementaires préexistantes ou existantes pour créer des barrières commerciales supplémentaires. Cette thèse postule que lorsqu'un risque de blocage est élevé, les négociateurs utiliseront une conception Ex-ante, ce qui limite la coopération dans le temps et réduit les futures situations d'otages. Si ce risque est faible, les parties à la négociation s'engagent pour une fonctionnalité de conception Ex-post. Un niveau élevé de risque de contournement se traduit plutôt par le recours à une obligation « hard » dans le but de réduire le risque possible de « shirking » des engagements juridiques. À l'opposé, lorsqu'un tel risque est faible, les parties préfèrent utiliser l'obligation « Soft » pour concevoir leur coopération. Pour expliquer la variation des types de conception, quatre hypothèses sont formulées: le type 1 est causé par des risques élevés de «hold-up» et élevé de « shirking », le type 2 par des risques faibles d' «hold-up» mais élevé de « shirking », le type 3 par des risques élevés d'«Hold-up» mais faible de « shirking », et Type 4 par des risques faibles d'« Hold-up » et de « shirking ». Les résultats soutiennent les quatre hypothèses pour six secteurs sur sept, la biotechnologie étant un cas déviant. Le type 3 est indirectement vérifié car il a été trouvé absent de l'AECG et aucun secteur avec ses résultats connexes n'a pu être trouvé. Pour les tests empiriques, une approche qualitative multiméthodes a été adoptée. Deux méthodes de comparaison ont été combinées: entre les cas et à l'intérieur des cas. L'analyse empirique est ainsi divisée en deux parties, la première compare les sept secteurs, tandis que la seconde utilise le traçage des processus pour chaque secteur. En termes de données, différentes sources sont exploitées: statistiques commerciales d'Eurostat, documents réglementaires et prises de position. J'ai également interviewé 24 organisations européennes et canadiennes représentant l'industrie ou les pouvoirs publics. ; Regulatory cooperation plays an increasing part in the European externalization strategy. This research aims for increasing the understanding of this phenomenon by providing a typology of different regulatory schemes used within trade agreements. While past research focused on legal design variation across trade agreements, this thesis concentrates its efforts on legal design variation intra-agreement, specifically variation between regulatory sectors. In a recent addition to the European trade network, the EU and Canada presented the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) as the "gold standard" for the new generation of trade agreements.This thesis thus looks at this referential treaty and attempts to answer the following question: What are the different types of regulatory design within CETA, and how can the variationin types across regulatory sectors be explained? Based on the literature on international legalization I propose two dimensions of "regulatory design": nature of obligation (Hard/Soft) and mode of decision (Ex-ante/Ex-post). This typology establishes four design types that describe the different possible regulatory schemes: Type 1 (Ex-Ante/Hard); Type 2 (Ex-Post/Hard); Type 3 (Ex-Ante/Soft); Type 4 (Ex-post/Soft). Through reviewing CETA, I identify 7 regulatory sectors institutionalized within CETA according the four mentioned types: Biotechnology, Forest products, Geographical Indications, Motor Vehicles, Pharmaceutical Products, Professional Qualifications, Raw Materials. To explain the negotiation processes resulting in the choice of design types, I mobilize a Rational Institutionalist framework following the premises of the Rational Design research agenda. I develop an explanatory framework based on a structural understanding of the negotiating process.This structure is composed by two interdependence risks affecting the results of the negotiation and thus the design type : High/Low risk of "hold-up" and High/Low risk of shirking. The risk of "hold-up" refers to the possible future re-negotiation of the terms of the agreement and its consequences. It poses that the mutual economic integration resulting from cooperation could make such re-negotiation particularly damage for vulnerable parties. Shirking relates to the literature on enforcement and non-compliance issues. It looks at the possible defection by one party from its legal obligations and to the possibility that a party might opportunistically use preexisting or existing regulatory divergences to create additional barriers to trade.This thesis posits that when a risk of hold-up is High, negotiators will use an Ex-ante design, which limits in time cooperation and reduces future "hostage" situations. If this risk is Low, negotiating parties will commit to an Ex-post design. A high level of shirking risk results instead in the use of Hard obligation with the aim of reducing the possible risk of avoidance of legal commitments. At the opposite, when such a risk is low, parties will rather use Soft obligation to design their cooperation.To explain the variation of design types, three hypotheses are formulated: Type 1 is caused by High "hold-up" and High shirking risks, Type 2 by Low "hold-up" but High shirking, Type 3 by High "Hold-up" but Low shirking, and Type 4 by Low "Hold-up" and Low shirking. The results support the four hypotheses for six sectors out of seven, Biotech being a deviant case. Type 3 is indirectly verified as it is absent from CETA and no sectors with its related results could be found. For empirical testing, a qualitative multi-method approach was adopted. Two methods of comparison were combined: across-case and within-case. The empirical analysis is thus divided in two parts, the first one compares all seven sectors, while the second uses process-tracing for each sector. In terms of data, different sources are harnessed: trade statistics from Eurostat, regulatory documents and position papers. I also interviewed 24 European and Canadian organizations either representing industry or public authorities.

Industrial organization focuses on imperfectly competitive markets to understand the behavior of firms and the resulting welfare effects. This is a broad definition as most markets are imperfectly competitive and industrial organization research can then focus on a wide variety of topics. Imperfect competition may be due to many reason. Perfect competition in fact requires: a large number of firms and consumers, free entry and exit, marketability of all goods and service including risk, symmetric information with zero search cost. Moreover the list includes no increasing returns, no externalities, and no collusion. Health care markets are a good example for imperfect competition as generally they violate all requirements included in the previous list. If we focus only on some violation like asymmetric information and no marketability, then health care markets fail in a more clear way than other markets. This justifies the often made claim that the health care market is "different" and implies that any evaluation of its performance must be based on models that explicitly take into account its deviations from the assumption required for perfect competition. The model of perfect competition can still serve as the benchmark of optimal performance, but generally it cannot be used to analyze how health care markets work. For this reason the common thread of this thesis is to analyze health care markets using the theoretical and empirical tools provided by industrial organization. This thesis is composed by three essays. In the first one I am going to propose a theoretical framework to analyze product differentiation with consumers misperception and information disparities. The model is an extension of standard vertical product differentiation (Gabsewictz and Thisse, 1979 and Shaked and Sutton, 1982), where I relax the assumption of perfect information. As I said before asymmetric information is one of the big problem to deal with in health economics. And if products are credence goods, as in case of drugs, many consumers may lack the expertise to ascertain the quality differential with respect to cheaper standard brands, even after purchase. In that case consumers face a risky decision and to the extent they lack information about the true quality differential they may carry out purchase decision according to misperceptions about product quality. In this paper I extend the analysis of Cavaliere (2005) to include the quality choice by firms, when providing higher quality requires a costly effort, and propose to analyse the case of a duopoly with vertically differentiated products with consumers' misperceptions and information disparities. Consumers are actually split between uninformed and informed consumers. Uninformed consumers are characterized by consumers' misperceptions as they can underestimate or overestimate the quality differential. As a minimum quality standard is imposed by the Government even uninformed consumers expect that any product sold in the market at least complies with the standard. As low quality can be said to be verifiable, even uninformed consumers can be confident about low quality products: firms are expected to provide at least the minimum quality standard. This last assumption well fits the case of pharmaceutical products. Actually every developed country has a national institution that enforces and verifies drug's minimum quality standard. The aim of this paper is to shed light on how firm set price and quality when consumers are characterized by asymmetric information and mispercemption obout quality. We do not analyze information decisions by consumers, which are exogenously given, therefore firms follow a Stackelber behavior vis à vis consumers. However we can analyze quality and price competition between firms for the full range of information disparities, i.e. for any split between informed and uninformed consumers that can affect demand functions. Furthermore we distinguish between the case of optimistic misperceptions (uninformed consumers overestimate the quality differential) and the case of pessimistic consumers (uninformed consumers underestimate the quality differential). Competition between firms is represented by a two stage game, in the first stage the two firms compete in qualities, given the market split between informed and uninformed consumers. In the second stage price competition takes place. We will show that both price and quality are strictly depend on asymmetric information as expectation and number of informed consumer affect firm's choice. For different quality expectations and share of informed consumer we found market failure. In some cases uninformed consumers are cheated by high quality firm when they purchase high quality product, in other cases, for different information level and expectations, adverse selection arises endogenously in the model. The second paper consists in a theoretical model where I analyse incentives for cooperative behaviour when heterogeneous health care providers are faced with regulated prices under yardstick competition. Providers are heterogeneous in the degree to which their interests match to those of the regulator. The basic idea behind yardstick competition is that the price (or price cap) faced by each provider is dependent on the actions of all the other providers (Schleifer, 1985; Laffont and Tirole, 1993). According to Schleifer's rule, the price each provider faces is based on the costs of all other providers in the industry but not its own. This creates strong incentives for cost control. When there is a large number of providers, this is unlikely to be a problem, mainly because the cost of collusion rises, but even in larger countries, provision might be concentrated among a handful of providers, as is likely for utilities, rail or postal services and for specialist health services, such as bone marrow or lung transplantation. The innovation with respect to the standard model of yardstick competition is the introduction of heterogeneity in the degree to which the provider's interests correspond to those of the regulator. Because the incentive to collude with other providers will depend on the objectives of the providers, particularly the extent to which their objectives correspond with those of the price-setting regulator. We use "altruism" to describe the behavior of providers whose aims are closely related to those of the regulator and "self-interested" to describe providers whose interests are more divergent from those of the regulator. If we consider the different ownership types in health services this heterogeneity in "altruism" is evident since we observe full public ownership i.e. altruistic providers and full private hospital i.e. self-interested providers. This paper aims then to analyse incentives for collusive behaviour when heterogeneous providers are faced with regulated prices under yardstick competition. We analyse the choice of cost when providers do not collude and when they do, and we consider incentives to defect from the collusion agreement Our results suggest that under the yardstick competition each provider's choice of cooperative cost is decreasing in the degree of the other provider's altruism, so a self-interested provider will operate at a lower cost than an altruistic provider. The prospect of defection serves to moderate the chosen level of operating cost. More general results show that collusion is more stable in homogeneous than in heterogeneous markets. The third paper is an empirical analysis where I test the hypotheses of physicians' altruism and ex-post moral hazard using a large national panel dataset of drug prescription records from Finland. We estimate the probability that doctors prescribe generic versus branded versions of statins for their patients as a function of the shares of the difference in prices between what patients have to pay out of their pocket and what are covered by insurance. The role of physicians and insurance in health care markets has been of interest to economists since the seminal contribution of Arrow (1963). Pioneering the economic analysis of physician behavior in the context of health care, Arrow (1963) noticed that doctors may have motives and objectives that differentiate them from purely profit-maximizing agents. The original 'ex-post moral hazard' hypothesis, predicts that health insurance increases the consumption of health care and leads to excessive consumption of services even in a competitive health care market. Ex-post moral hazard has since then been the focus of various empirical and theoretical studies in health economics (see e.g. Feldstein, 1973; Leibowitz, Manning, and Newhouse, 1985; Manning, Newhouse, Duan, Keeler, Leibowitz, and Marquis, 1987; Dranove, 1989; Zweifel and Manning, 2000). We simultaneously test both altruism and ex-post moral hazard in drug prescription behavior using a large national panel of administrative data from Finland. We first develop a theoretical model on physician decision-making, which, in line with Hellerstein (1998) and Lundin (2000), then use a large national panel dataset with all statin prescriptions in Finland between 2003 and 2010 (n=17 858 829 prescriptions) to test the physicians' altruism and ex-post moral hazard hypotheses, while controlling for a large range of physicians, patients, and drug characteristics. Taking advantage of the panel structure of our national administrative dataset, we directly observe the repeated prescriptions of statins by physicians over time. We find that although the estimated coefficients associated with ex-post moral hazard and altruism are statistically significantly different from zero, their size is very close to zero and the orders of magnitude is smaller than the effects associated with other key explanatory factors. We also find robust and strong evidence of prescription habit-dependency.

International Council of Scientific Unions Science International Newsletter No. 64 April 1997 Code Number:NL97006 Sizes of Files: Text: 70.3K Graphics: No associated graphics files MEETING REPORT 72nd MEETING OF EXECUTIVE BOARD OF ICSU Julia Marton-Lefevre, Executive Director, ICSU The Executive Board (EB), elected at the time of the 25th General Assembly, held its first meeting in Paris in January. Board Members reviewed the measures being taken concerning each of the General Assembly resolutions, and agreed on the procedure to be adopted for responding to the report on the Assessment of ICSU. FIRST MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD (ISAB) OF LINESCO Julia Marton-Lefevre, Executive Director, ICSU ISAB, under the chairmanship of the President of ICSU, held its first meeting in Paris in January, immediately after the meeting of the Executive Board of ICSU. The terms of reference for ISAB are: to "assist UNESCO by advising on strategic issues of science and the substantive service science offers for development and the environment and provide scientific-based elements for decision-making". ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT (ACE) Sophie Boyer King Environmental Sciences Officer The 12th meeting of ICSU's ACE, held in Paris in January, reviewed ICSU's involvement in various programmes dealing with the environment, including the three Global Observing Systems (climate, oceans, terrestrial - GCOS, GOOS, GTOS), the IGBP (International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme), the WCRP (World Climate Research Programme), IHDP (International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change, DIVERSITAS (Programme on Biodiversity Science) and SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment). ACE continued to advise the Executive Board of ICSU about the membership of relevant environmental bodies. SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION (COMSCEE) Christine Glenday, on detail to ICSU from the National Science Foundation, USA. The third meeting of COMSCEE was held at the ICSU Secretariat on January 27, 1997, under its new Chairman Dr. Jan Krzysztof Frackowiak, Undersecretary of State, and Secretary of the State Committee for Scientific Research in Poland (KBN). While acknowledging that the problems of science in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (CEE/FSU) differ widely according to country, and that, furthermore, considerable progress has been made over the past five years, COMSCEE members identified several key problems which are still common at present in this region. GETTING TO KNOW CHILE'S ICSU NATIONAL COMMITTEE INCORPORATES SCIENCE TEACHERS AND SCIENCE JOURNALISTS J.E. Aliende, President, Chilean National Committee for ICSU The National Committee of Chile for ICSU gathers the Presidents of all major scientific societies and organizations of that country. This composition results in an organization which integrates the international linkages of the Chilean scientific community. In addition, however, the Chilean NCICSU constitutes a forum that discusses and acts on national issues of importance to scientific development in that country. During the 1993 ICSU General Assembly held in Santiago, delegates from other countries were able to witness the important studies that the Chilean Academy of Sciences and the National Committee for ICSU were able to put together about the state and future of science in Chile. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN DIMENSIONS PROGRAMME ON GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (IHDP): NEW PERSPECTIVES FOR THE IHDP Udo Bunnagel, Programme Officer When Professor Eckart Ehlers, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of IHDP, opened the inauguration reception for the new IHDP Secretariat in Bonn on 31 January 1997, he told the story of the child IHDP. Born in 1990, an off-spring of the International Social Science Council (ISSC), it had to move from Barcelona to Geneva, and even experienced homelessness for some time. With the second parent, ICSU, joining ISSC as cosponsor in 1996, and with the new home under the roof of Bonn University, Professor Ehlers expressed his hope that the child IHDP has finally found a stable environment, enabling it to grow Up. SPOTLIGHTS ON SCIENCE CHEMRAWN : CHEMICAL RESEARCH APPLIED TO WORLD NEEDS A. Hayes, Chairman, CHEMRAWN The International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has been active for over 75 years and is well known throughout the world for its work in setting internationally recognised and much needed standards for all manner of matters of concern to chemists everywhere. Examples are in the fields of atomic weights, gas coratants, and nomenclature. In addition, IUPAC has been the means whereby chemists have come together to work on various problems and also organise symposia, seminars, congresses, and assemblies - both on topics of general interest, as well as in specialist fields. It has an exemplary record of attempting to ensure that any bona fide scientist who wishes to attend such events is able to do so. The senior chemical community has recognised throughout the life of IUPAC the need for international cooperation and many of the past presidents of lUPAC have been holders of the Nobel prize as well as distinguished and senior members of industry. In the 1970's there was a growing appreciation of the need not only to address the purely scientific aspects of chemical topics on an international scale but to demonstrate that chemistry could - and should be applied to the solution of many of the problems which face mankind all over the world. Ideas were discussed and re-formulated, debated and finally expressed as the 'CHEMRAWN' Concept. MOONEY CALLS ON SCIENTISTS TO FIND HOW BIODIVERSITY PROTECTS ECOSYSTEMS H.A. Mooney When the Convention on Biological Diversity was signed by 159 governments in 1992, most observers saw it as a move to prevent the loss of various species - to ward off the disappearance of spotted owls from a forest, or the extinction of a plant that might contain some pharmaceutical miracle. Since then, a study commissioned by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), the world academy of scientists, has shown a more compelling reason to protect biodiversity. Whenever a habitat loses enough of the richness and variation among its living species, the study found, the ecological systems that nurture life begin to falter. Ecologists do not yet know how many species - or which ones - must be saved to keep an ecosystem functioning. They do know this: When ecosystems falter, they stop providing essential natural services like pure water from mountain watersheds, abundant fisheries, soulsustaining landscapes. Damaged ecosystems also have global effects: plants, for example, play an important role in the atmosphere's carbon cycle and thus in climate fluctuations. HOUSE NEWS ICSU EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TAKES ON NEW ASSIGNMENT Julia Marton-Lefevre As Members and friends of ICSU were informed in mid-February, Julia Marton-Lefevre will be on leave of absence from ICSU as of 1 September 1997, to become the first Executive Director of the programme set up by the Rockefeller Foundation known as LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) International. The International Secretariat for LEAD is based, for an initial period, in New York. The Executive Director informed the ICSU family in her February letter that her devotion to the mission of ICSU remains constant, and that this move is taken in the spirit of broadening her own expertise as well as hopefully enlarging ICSU's contacts. While on leave of absence, Julia Marton-Lefevre will continue to be involved in the major issues facing ICSU in the years ahead, and will also ensure that ICSU and LEAD, with facets in common, are able to undertake cooperative actions. Leadership for Environment and Development, or the LEAD Program, is a non-profit organization that seeks to bring together a generation of international leaders to carry forth a vision of sustainable development. The LEAD Program was established in direct response to the growing need for collaborative action in support of the world's natural and human resources. LEAD intends to inspire a course of development that is defined as environmentally responsible, culturally acceptable, economically viable and politically feasible. The LEAD Program trains mid-career professionals, called Associates, using a combination of interdisciplinary methods, interactive skills building and global networking. NEWS IN BRIEF AAAS AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION The 1997 AAAS Award for International Scientific Cooperation is given to Philip W. Hemily for having made contributions to international scientific research and engineering development for over 50 years. He recognized the importance of science and technology policies as components of political, economic, education, employment, and trade policies. PUBLICATIONS NEWS IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION REQUIRES A NEW INFRASTRUCTURE Dong Geng & A.J. (Tom)van Loon The progress of science and the implementation of new technical developments are hampered by the time-lag between submission of a manuscript to a journal and delivery of the article to readers. This problem is generally recognized, but none of the solutions suggested has been found feasible. In our opinion, however, it is possible to publish refereed material with a time-lag of no more than 24 hours, through a completely new infrastructure. The approach that is proposed here would be expensive - but probably much less so than the direct and indirect costs for society of a long time-lag. OBITUARIES Baron Nicolet Valentin A. Koptyug FUTURE MEETINGS International Young Scientists Programme at the 17th International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) announces the sponsorship of a conference for young scientists to be held at Asilomar, Monterey, CA, USA, on 22-24 August, 1997 preceding the 17th International IUBMB Congress in San Francisco on 24-29 August, 1997. CALENDAR OF FORTHCOMING MEETINGS from 23 April 1997 - 19 July 1997 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 25th MEETING OF THE COSTED EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IRBID/AMMAN FEBRUARY 25-27, 1997 Veena Ravichandran, Senior Scientific Officer, COSTED, Madras The Executive Committee (EXCOM) of COSTED held its 25th meeting during 25-27 February. A day prior to the EXCOM meeting, half- day parallel sessions on Strengthening Science in Africa and COSTED activities in the Arab region were organised so that EXCOM members could get an opportunity to participate in the regional plans. Strengthening Science in Africa COSTED Activities in the Arab Region EXCOM Meeting Nomenclature for COSTED-IBN: Brainstorming Session - The concept of networks in COSTED - The goals of COSTED - ICSU Assessment Report vis-avis COSTED

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Química (Processos Químicos) apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra ; Agricultural processing inevitably goes along with the production of large amounts of agro-residues, which may represent a major waste disposal problem. Legislation regulating the management of waste materials has appeared throughout the European Union and has significantly contributed to the introduction of sustainable waste management procedures. The reuse and recycling of agro-residues has been highly encouraged and new technologies applying environmentally clean processes have been playing a central role within this context. These strategies may boost both the environmental and economic profiles of the implied industries, since they may create value in the entire chain-production pipeline. Typically, a substantial part of the agro-residues produced during the handling and processing of fruits, vegetables and forest resources still comprises important amounts of the original plant materials, such as fruit skins, fruit seeds, flowers, leaves, stems, barks, and roots. High-value natural compounds can be found in most of these vegetable residues, many of them having health-promoting characteristics. It is the case of, for example, phenolic compounds (which have been associated to the alleged health-promoting effects related to the consumption of fruits and vegetables), since they are preferentially biosynthesised in the external vegetable tissues. Usually, and despite their significant potential value, these residues are often underexploited and thus their potential value as natural products is frequently lost. Efficient techniques can thus be explored for separation and isolation of oils, antioxidants, fragrances, colorants, biocides and other bioactive substances of natural origin. Therefore, with some additional and adequate processing steps, these materials can be easily transformed, from a residual low-value status into a very interesting high-value status, in terms of well-known and consumer high-value and accepted uses in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, among others. This Thesis is focused on the extraction of potentially valuable compounds from agroresidues of elder and maritime pine (Portuguese native plants) and also from tara (a Peruvian native plant). Solvents and techniques generally regarded as "environmental friendly" were applied. Despite conventional methods such as hydrodistillation and Soxhlet extraction had been employed, special attention was given to high pressure extraction procedures, namely supercritical and pressurized solvent extractions using, respectively, carbon dioxide and mixtures of carbon dioxide, ethanol and water as solvents. In general terms and besides other particular aspects, the effect of several process variables/conditions on the yields and on the characteristics of the obtained extracts, such as composition and antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities, was analyzed. Extract fractionation, solvent flow rate and composition, in addition to extraction time, temperature and pressure, were among these studied process variables/conditions. Characterization of extracts involved the use of diverse analytical techniques including spectrophotometric and chromatographic ones. Elderberry pomace and elderflower were evaluated as sources of potentially useful natural compounds. Elderberry pomace is a juice-processing industry residue which comprises the fruit skins and seeds, and is known to be rich in anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds. It was subjected to high pressure extractions at 313 K and ~20 MPa, applying supercritical carbon dioxide in a first step and pressurized solvent mixtures of carbon dioxide, ethanol and water in a second step. Extract fractionation was achieved by such a methodology. While the first step led to extracts rich in lipids and other apolar substances, obtained second step extracts revealed high contents of anthocyanins and presented high antioxidant activities, which were strongly influenced by the employed solvent mixture composition. The results of this study highlight the potential of elderberry pomace as a source of valuable compounds, and may assist in the development of strategies for integral exploitation of elderberries, reducing the environmental impact of elderberry juice processing industries. Elderflower was, in its turn, subjected to supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. The effect of solvent density (300-900 kg/m3) and of extraction temperature (308-328 K) on extracts characteristics was analyzed. Most of the obtained extracts revealed high contents of apolar compounds. Their phenolic compounds contents and the resulting antioxidant activities were relatively low, but they may possibly be increased if ethanol and water mixtures are added as cosolvents to carbon dioxide (which is planned to be performed in the near future). Nevertheless, obtained results revealed that elderflower extracts achieved by supercritical fluid technology may be added as natural aromatic additives to cosmetic and food systems. Maritime pine bark is an abundant residue from pine wood processing industries which is rich in condensed tannins. This residue was subjected to conventional solid-liquid aqueousbased extractions as well as to supercritical and pressurized solvent extraction procedures in order to obtain efficient vegetable tanning agents and bioactive phenolic-based extracts, respectively. Conventional aqueous extractions were optimized by adding small amounts (up to 15%, v/v) of ethanol. This methodology was selective for condensed tannins and the obtained extracts revealed adequate characteristics for leather tanning applications. Concerning supercritical fluid extraction experiments, carbon dioxide and a mixture of carbon dioxide and ethanol (10%) were used in two consecutive steps, varying extraction pressure in the range 10-30 MPa, and extraction temperature in the range 303-323 K. The employed fractionated extraction methodology showed that it was possible to obtain different extract fractions having diverse antioxidant activities from maritime pine bark. Moreover, it showed that the process could be further optimized through the usage of different solvent mixtures as well as other operational conditions. Therefore, pressurized solvent extractions were consecutively performed varying some process variables such as solvent mixture composition (carbon dioxide and ethanol, with up to 90% of ethanol) and flow rate. Extraction kinetics and extracts composition (in terms of phenolic compounds in general, and of condensed tannins in particular) were considerably affected by the solvent mixture composition. The results of these studies showed that both conventional and high pressure extraction methodologies may be feasible strategies for the valorization of maritime pine bark, therefore reducing the environmental impact and increasing the profit of the involved industries. Finally, tara seed coat, which is a residue of tara powder and of tara gum processing industries, was evaluated as a source of phenolic compounds in general, and of hydrolysable tannins, in particular. Pressurized solvent extractions using homogeneous solvent mixtures of carbon dioxide, ethanol and water were performed at 313 K and 20 MPa. An experimental mixture design was applied in order to optimize the solvent mixture composition in terms of selectivity towards the above referred compounds, as well as in terms of antioxidant activities and lipoxygenase inhibition activities (indicative of their anti-inflammatory capacities) of the whole extracts. The achieved mixture models permitted to discern the contribution of the three individual solvents used: while water revealed to be the most effective solvent to obtain high extraction yields, ethanol-rich mixtures originated the maximum extracts´ phenolic contents. Moreover, the obtained extracts presented quite relevant antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibition activities. Tara seed coat is, therefore, a rich source of bioactive compounds, which may be applied as natural additives in food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical goods, increasing their shelf-lives and/or acting as human health promoters. In conclusion, instead of being disposed as waste of environmental concern or utilized in low value applications, agro-residues of elder, maritime pine and tara are promising sources of important constituents and should be considered for valorization. Environmentally clean methodologies and solvents may be applied for the extraction of natural colorants, flavors, aromas, preservatives, among others, some of them presenting bioactive properties. The choice of the appropriate extraction methodology and extraction conditions is of extreme importance for the selectivity of the extraction towards the intended compounds and for the resulting properties of the obtained natural extracts, defining their future potential applications. The successful exploitation of the studied agro-residues still requires further research and development, besides the one presented in this Thesis. A more precise identification of the natural compounds present in the obtained extracts is still required and will be addressed in future works. Moreover, other issues like the toxicity, metabolism, bioavailability and physiological activities of the extracted compounds also need to be considered. Nevertheless, a contribution has been given to the sustainability of elder, maritime pine and tara processing industries. ; O processamento industrial de produtos agrícolas e florestais origina enormes quantidades de resíduos que podem constituir um sério problema ambiental, se forem sujeitos a procedimentos incorrectos de aproveitamento e/ou eliminação. Frequentemente, estes resíduos são apenas parcialmente valorizados, sendo utilizados para alimentação animal, como fertilizantes ou transformados em biocombustível. Contudo, nos últimos anos tem-se verificado uma tendência crescente para a sua valorização, acompanhando a evolução de uma legislação ambiental cada vez mais restritiva. Neste contexto, a reutilização e reciclagem destes resíduos naturais têm sido encorajadas, contribuindo para agregar valor económico na linha de produção das empresas do sector, podendo mesmo constituir uma excelente oportunidade de negócio. Tipicamente, uma parte substancial dos resíduos produzidos durante o processamento de frutos, vegetais e recursos florestais consiste da matéria-prima original, incluindo a pele e as sementes dos frutos, flores, folhas, caules, casca de árvores e raízes. Na maior parte destes resíduos existem quantidades substanciais de compostos com elevado valor acrescentado, muitos deles possuindo propriedades benéficas para a saúde humana. De entre eles, destacamse os compostos fenólicos (que têm sido associados aos benefícios relacionados com o consumo de frutos e vegetais), uma vez que são preferencialmente sintetizados nos tecidos vegetais exteriores. Usualmente, e apesar do seu valor significativo, estes resíduos são comummente sub-explorados, e o seu potencial valor como produto natural é frequentemente perdido. Sendo assim, uma das áreas com maior potencial de exploração é o aproveitamento de substâncias com elevado valor acrescentado. De facto, após o tratamento adequado das matérias-primas, seguido de técnicas de separação adequadas, a maior parte dos resíduos agro-industriais pode constituir uma fonte rica de antioxidantes, corantes, fragrâncias e biocidas naturais, entre outros, com enorme interesse para as indústrias farmacêutica, cosmética ou alimentar. Neste trabalho foi estudada a extracção de compostos com potencial valor acrescentado a partir de resíduos de três plantas: o sabugueiro e o pinheiro-bravo (nativas de Portugal), e a tara (nativa do Peru). Foram usadas técnicas e solventes de extracção considerados "amigos do ambiente". Apesar de terem sido usadas técnicas convencionais de extracção, como a hidrodestilação e a extracção por Soxhlet, foi dado especial destaque à extracção supercrítica e à extracção com solvente pressurizado, usando como solventes, respectivamente, o dióxido de carbono supercrítico e misturas pressurizadas de dióxido de carbono, etanol e água. Em termos gerais, e para além de outros aspectos particulares, foi estudado o efeito de diversas variáveis/condições de processo (fraccionamento de extracção, composição do solvente, temperatura e pressão de operação, caudal de solvente, entre outros) nos rendimentos e nas características dos extractos obtidos, nomeadamente em termos de composição e actividades antioxidante e anti-inflamatória. Para a caracterização analítica dos extractos foram usadas diversas técnicas analíticas, incluindo espectrofotométricas e cromatográficas. O bagaço e a flor de sabugueiro foram avaliados como possíveis fontes de compostos naturais de interesse. O bagaço de sabugueiro, um resíduo proveniente da indústria de processamento de sumo, é constituído essencialmente pelas peles e grainhas das bagas e é uma fonte rica de antocianinas e outros compostos fenólicos. Este resíduo foi sujeito a extracção a alta pressão a 313 K e a ~20 MPa, usando dióxido de carbono supercrítico numa primeira etapa, e misturas pressurizadas de dióxido de carbono, etanol e água numa segunda etapa. Esta metodologia de extracção permitiu obter o fraccionamento do extracto. A primeira etapa de extracção originou extractos contendo elevados teores de lípidos e outras substâncias apolares. Os extractos obtidos na segunda etapa revelaram ter elevados teores de antocianinas e apresentaram uma elevada actividade antioxidante, com uma acentuada influência da composição do solvente. Os resultados deste estudo evidenciaram o potencial do bagaço do sabugueiro como fonte de compostos com elevado valor acrescentado, podendo contribuir para o desenvolvimento de estratégias de utilização integral das bagas, reduzindo o impacto ambiental das indústrias do sector. Por outro lado, a flor foi sujeita a extracção supercrítica usando dióxido de carbono como solvente. Foi avaliado o efeito da massa específica do solvente (300-900 kg/m3) e da temperatura de extracção (308-328 K) nos rendimentos e nas características dos extractos obtidos. A maior parte dos extractos obtidos revelaram ter um elevado teor de compostos apolares. No entanto, os seus teores de compostos fenólicos e as suas actividades antioxidantes foram relativamente baixos, podendo eventualmente ser melhorados se misturas de etanol e água forem usadas como co-solventes (o que se prevê que venha a ser feito em trabalhos futuros). Os resultados obtidos revelaram que os extractos de flor de sabugueiro obtidos recorrendo à tecnologia de extracção supercrítica podem, eventualmente, ser usados como aditivos aromáticos naturais em produtos alimentares e cosméticos. A casca do pinheiro-bravo, um resíduo abundante da indústria madeireira e rico em taninos condensados, foi sujeita a extracções convencionais (com o objectivo de obter extractos eficazes na curtimenta de peles de animais) e a extracções supercríticas e com solvente pressurizado (com o objectivo de obter extractos bioactivos). Nas extracções convencionais, foi utilizada água como solvente e foi optimizado o aditivo usado. Verificouse que uma pequena percentagem de etanol (até 15%, v/v) foi selectiva para os taninos condensados e que os extractos obtidos tinham condições adequadas para serem usados na curtimenta de pele de animais. Nas extracções supercríticas foram estudadas as condições de pressão (10-30 MPa) e temperatura (303-323 K), usando o dióxido de carbono e uma mistura de dióxido de carbono e etanol (10%) como solventes, em dois passos consecutivos. A metodologia de extracção aplicada mostrou que é possível obter fracções de extracto com actividades diversas a partir da casca de pinheiro-bravo. Para além disso, mostrou que o processo podia, ainda, ser optimizado utilizando diferentes condições experimentais, entre as quais a composição do solvente. Sendo assim, foram efectuadas extracções com solvente pressurizado variando algumas condições de processo, tais como a composição do solvente (misturas de dióxido de carbono e etanol, contendo até 90% de etanol) e o caudal de solvente. Tanto as cinéticas de extracção como a composição dos extractos (em termos de compostos fenólicos, em geral, e de taninos condensados, em particular) foram consideravelmente afectados pela composição da mistura do solvente. Este estudo mostrou que, tanto a metodologia de extracção convencional como a de alta pressão, podem ser estratégias viáveis de valorização da casca do pinheiro-bravo, contribuindo para a redução do impacto ambiental e para o aumento do lucro das indústrias do sector. Finalmente, foi avaliada a possibilidade de aproveitamento da casca da semente de tara (um resíduo proveniente do processamento do fruto para a obtenção de pó e goma de tara) para a recuperação de compostos fenólicos, em geral, e de taninos hidrolisáveis, em particular. Foram efectuadas extracções pressurizadas usando misturas homogéneas de dióxido de carbono, etanol e água, a 313 K e a 20 MPa. Foi utilizado um desenho experimental para optimizar a composição do solvente de extracção, em termos de selectividade para com os compostos referidos, assim como em termos de actividade antioxidante e de inibição da lipoxigenase (indicativa da actividade anti-inflamatória). Os modelos de mistura obtidos permitiram avaliar a contribuição de cada um dos solventes individuais usados: enquanto que a água foi eficaz na promoção de elevados rendimentos de extracção, o etanol foi selectivo para os compostos fenólicos. Os extractos obtidos mostraram ter um elevado teor de compostos fenólicos e apresentaram relevantes actividades antioxidante e anti-inflamatória. Sendo assim, a casca da semente de tara é uma fonte rica de compostos bioactivos que podem ser usados como aditivos naturais em produtos alimentares, cosméticos e farmacêuticos, aumentando a sua vida útil e/ou actuando como substâncias promotoras da saúde humana. Em conclusão, os resíduos obtidos a partir de sabugueiro, pinheiro-bravo e tara são fontes promissoras de substâncias importantes devendo, por isso, ser considerados para valorização, em vez de serem encarados como causadores de problemas ambientais, ou serem usados em aplicações de baixo valor acrescentado. Neste estudo foram aplicadas metodologias e solventes "amigos do ambiente" para a extracção de corantes, aromas e antioxidantes, entre outros, de origem natural, alguns deles apresentando potenciais propriedades biológicas. A escolha da metodologia adequada e das condições particulares de extracção é de extrema importância para a selectividade da extracção para com os compostos de interesse, assim como para as propriedades evidenciadas pelos extractos naturais obtidos, definindo as suas potenciais aplicações futuras. O sucesso da exploração dos resíduos agro-industriais considerados requer mais investigação e desenvolvimento, para além dos apresentados neste estudo. Nomeadamente, requer uma identificação mais precisa dos compostos naturais presentes nos extractos obtidos, que irá ser abordada em trabalhos futuros. Outras questões tais como o metabolismo, a bio-disponibilidade e a actividade fisiológica dos compostos presentes nos extractos também necessitam, eventualmente, de ser considerados. No entanto, neste estudo foi dada uma contribuição para a sustentabilidade das indústrias de processamento de sabugueiro, pinheiro-bravo e tara.

Debarun Bhattacharjya (" Formulating Asymmetric Decision Problems as Decision Circuits " and " From Reliability Block Diagrams to Fault Tree Circuits ") is a research staff member in the Risk Analytics team within the broader Business Analytics and Math Sciences division at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. He received his Ph.D. in management science and engineering at Stanford University. His primary research interests lie in decision and risk analysis, and probabilistic models and decision theory in artificial intelligence. Specifically, he has pursued research in probabilistic graphical models (influence diagrams and Bayesian networks), value of information, sensitivity analysis, and utility theory. His applied work has been in domains such as sales, energy, business services, and public policy. He has coauthored more than 10 publications in highly refereed journals and conference proceedings, as well as two patents. He was nominated by IBM management for the Young Researcher Connection at the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Practice Conference in 2010. Email: debarunb@us.ibm.com . May Cheung (" Regulation Games Between Government and Competing Companies: Oil Spills and Other Disasters ") is an undergraduate senior in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University at Buffalo. Her research interests are in decision analysis, optimization, and simulation with respect to complex, high-impact decisions. Email: mgcheung@buffalo.edu . Léa A. Deleris (" From Reliability Block Diagrams to Fault Tree Circuits ") is a research staff member and manager at IBM Dublin Research Laboratory, where she oversees the Risk Collaboratory, a three-year research project funded in part by the Irish Industrial Development Agency around risk management, from stochastic optimization to the communication of risk information to decision makers. Prior to joining the Dublin lab, she was a research staff member with the Risk Analytics Group, Business Application and Mathematical Science Department, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York. Her primary interests have been in the fields of decision theory and risk analysis. Her work is currently focused on leveraging natural language processing techniques to facilitate the construction of risk models, distributed elicitation of expert opinions, and value of information problems. She holds a Ph.D. in management science and engineering from Stanford University. Email: lea.deleris@ie.ibm.com . Philippe Delquié (" Risk Measures from Risk-Reducing Experiments ") is an associate professor of decision sciences at the George Washington University, and holds a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Delquié's teaching and research are in decision, risk, and multicriteria analysis. His research is at the nexus of behavioral and normative theories of decision, addressing issues in preference elicitation, value of information, nonexpected utility models of choice, and risk measures. Prior to joining the George Washington University, he held academic appointments at INSEAD, the University of Texas at Austin, and École Normale Supérieure, France, and visiting appointments at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. He is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis and has completed a term as an associate editor. Email: delquie@gwu.edu . Lorraine Dodd (" Regulating Autonomous Agents Facing Conflicting Objectives: A Command and Control Example ") is a highly respected international contributor to command and leadership studies within military and UK governmental command, control, intelligence and information analysis, and research. She has an honours degree in pure mathematics and an M.Sc. in operational research and management science from the University of Warwick majoring in catastrophe theory and nonlinearity. Her main interest is in sense-making, decision making, and risk taking under conditions of uncertainty, confusion, volatility, ambiguity, and contention, as applied to the study of institutions, organizations, society, people, and governance. She uses analogy with brain functions and coherent cellular functions to develop mathematical models of complex decision behavior. Her most recent studies include an application of a multiagency, multiperspective approaches to collaborative decision making and planning, and development of an "open-eyes/open-mind" framework to provide support to leaders when dealing with complex crises and "black swans." She has developed an understanding of the nonlinear, slow and fast dynamics of behavior, in particular, of means of organizing for agility in complex and uncertain environments. Email: l.dodd@cranfield.ac.uk . Rachele Foschi (" Interactions Between Ageing and Risk Properties in the Analysis of Burn-in Problems ") has an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Rome La Sapienza, where she also worked as a tutor for the courses of calculus and probability. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the Economics and Institutional Change Research Area at IMT (Institutions, Markets, Technologies) Advanced Studies, in Lucca, Italy. Her research interests include stochastic dependence, reliability, stochastic orders, point processes, and mathematical models in economics. Random sets and graphs, linguistics, and behavioral models are of broader interest to her. Email: rachele.foschi@imtlucca.it . Simon French (" Expert Judgment, Meta-analysis, and Participatory Risk Analysis ") recently joined the Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick to become the director of the Risk Initiative and Statistical Consultancy Unit. Prior to joining the University of Warwick, he was a professor of information and decision sciences at Manchester Business School. Simon's research career began in Bayesian statistics, and he was one of the first to apply hierarchical modeling, particularly in the domain of protein crystallography. Nowadays he is better known for his work on decision making, which began with his early work on decision theory. Over the years, his work has generally become more applied: looking at ways of supporting real decision makers facing major strategic and risk issues. In collaboration with psychologists, he has sought to support real decision makers and stakeholders in complex decisions in ways that are mindful of their human characteristics. He has a particular interest in societal decision making, particularly with respect to major risks. He has worked on public risk communication and engagement and the wider areas of stakeholder involvement and deliberative democracy. Simon has worked across the public and private sectors, often in contexts that relate to the environment, energy, food safety, and the nuclear industry. In all of his work, the emphasis is on multidisciplinary and participatory approaches to solving real problems. Email: simon.french@warwick.ac.uk . L. Robin Keller (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is a professor of operations and decision technologies in the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. and M.B.A. in management science and her B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has served as a program director for the Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Her research is on decision analysis and risk analysis for business and policy decisions and has been funded by NSF and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her research interests cover multiple attribute decision making, riskiness, fairness, probability judgments, ambiguity of probabilities or outcomes, risk analysis (for terrorism, environmental, health, and safety risks), time preferences, problem structuring, cross-cultural decisions, and medical decision making. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Decision Analysis, published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). She is a fellow of INFORMS and has held numerous roles in INFORMS, including board member and chair of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. She is a recipient of the George F. Kimball Medal from INFORMS. She has served as the decision analyst on three National Academy of Sciences committees. Email: lrkeller@uci.edu . Miguel A. Lejeune (" Game Theoretical Approach for Reliable Enhanced Indexation ") is an assistant professor of decision sciences at the George Washington University (GWU) and holds a Ph.D. degree from Rutgers University. Prior to joining GWU, he was a visiting assistant professor in operations research at Carnegie Mellon University. His areas of expertise/research interests include stochastic programming, financial risk, and large-scale optimization. He is the recipient of a Young Investigator/CAREER Research Grant (2009) from the Army Research Office. He also received the IBM Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation Award (December 2011) and the Royal Belgian Sciences Academy Award for his master's thesis. Email: mlejeune@gwu.edu . Jason R. W. Merrick (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is a professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has a D.Sc. in operations research from the George Washington University. He teaches courses in decision analysis, risk analysis, and simulation. His research is primarily in the area of decision analysis and Bayesian statistics. He has worked on projects ranging from assessing maritime oil transportation and ferry system safety, the environmental health of watersheds, and optimal replacement policies for rail tracks and machine tools, and he has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, British Petroleum, and Booz Allen Hamilton, among others. He has also performed training for Infineon Technologies, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Capital One Services. He is an associate editor for Decision Analysis and Operations Research. He is the information officer for the Decision Analysis Society of INFORMS. Email: jrmerric@vcu.edu . Gilberto Montibeller (" Modeling State-Dependent Priorities of Malicious Agents ") is a tenured lecturer in decision sciences in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics (LSE). With a first degree in electrical engineering (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil, 1993), he started his career as an executive at British and American Tobacco. Moving back to academia, he was awarded a master's degree (UFSC, 1996) and a Ph.D. in production engineering (UFSC/University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom, 2000). He then continued his studies as a postdoctoral research fellow in management science at the University of Strathclyde (2002–2003). He is an area editor of the Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, and he is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis and the EURO Journal on Decision Processes. His main research interest is on supporting strategic-level decision making, both in terms of decision analytic methodologies and of decision processes. He has been funded by the AXA Research Fund, United Kingdom's EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), and Brazil's CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior). His research has been published in journals such as the European Journal of Operational Research, Decision Support Systems, and OMEGA—The International Journal of Management Science. One of his papers, on the evaluation of strategic options and scenario planning, was awarded the Wiley Prize in Applied Decision Analysis by the International Society of Multi-Criteria Decision Making. He has had visiting positions at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Austria) and the University of Warwick (United Kingdom), and is a visiting associate professor of production engineering at the University of São Paulo (Brazil). He also has extensive experience in applying decision analysis in practice; over the past 17 years he has provided consulting to both private and public organizations in Europe and South America. He is a regular speaker at the LSE Executive Education courses. Email: g.montibeller@lse.ac.uk . M. Elisabeth Paté-Cornell (" Games, Risks, and Analytics: Several Illustrative Cases Involving National Security and Management Situations ") specializes in engineering risk analysis with application to complex systems (space, medical, etc.). Her research has focused on explicit inclusion of human and organizational factors in the analysis of systems' failure risks. Her recent work is on the use of game theory in risk analysis with applications that have included counterterrorism and nuclear counterproliferation problems. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the French Académie des Technologies, and of several boards, including Aerospace, Draper Laboratory, and In-Q-Tel. Dr. Paté-Cornell was a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from December 2001 to 2008. She holds an engineering degree (applied mathematics and computer science) from the Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble (France), an M.S. in operations research and a Ph.D. in engineering-economic systems, both from Stanford University. Email: mep@stanford.edu . Jesus Rios (" Adversarial Risk Analysis: The Somali Pirates Case ") is a research staff member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. He has a Ph.D. in computer sciences and mathematical modeling from the University Rey Juan Carlos. Before joining IBM, he worked in several universities as a researcher, including the University of Manchester, the University of Luxembourg, Aalborg University, and Concordia University. He participated in the 2007 SAMSI program on Risk Analysis, Extreme Events, and Decision Theory, and led work in the area of adversarial risk analysis. He has also worked as a consultant for clients in the transportation, distribution, energy, defense, and telecommunication sectors. His main research interests are in the areas of risk and decision analysis and its applications. Email: jriosal@us.ibm.com . David Rios Insua (" Adversarial Risk Analysis: The Somali Pirates Case ") is a professor of statistics and operations research at Rey Juan Carlos University and a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences. He has written 15 monographs and more than 90 refereed papers in his areas of interest, which include decision analysis, negotiation analysis, risk analysis, and Bayesian statistics, and their applications. He is scientific advisor of AISoy Robotics. He is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis. Email: david.rios@urjc.es . Fabrizio Ruggeri (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is the director of research at IMATI CNR (Institute of Applied Mathematics and Information Technology at the Italian National Research Council) in Milano, Italy. He received a B.Sc. in mathematics from the University of Milano, an M.Sc. in statistics from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. in statistics from Duke University. After a start as a researcher at Alfa Romeo and then a computer consultant, he has been working at CNR since 1987. His interests are mostly in Bayesian and industrial statistics, especially in robustness, decision analysis, reliability, and stochastic processes; recently, he got involved in biostatistics and biology as well. Dr. Ruggeri is an adjunct faculty member at the Polytechnic Institute (New York University), a faculty member in the Ph.D. program in mathematics and statistics at the University of Pavia, a foreign faculty member in the Ph.D. program in statistics at the University of Valparaiso, and a member of the advisory board of the Ph.D. program in mathematical engineering at Polytechnic of Milano. An ASA Fellow and an ISI elected member, Dr. Ruggeri is the current ISBA (International Society for Bayesian Analysis) president and former ENBIS (European Network for Business and Industrial Statistics) president. He is the editor-in-chief of Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry and the Encyclopedia of Statistics in Quality and Reliability, and he is also the Chair of the Bayesian Inference in Stochastic Processes workshops and codirector of the Applied Bayesian Statistics summer school. Email: fabrizio@mi.imati.cnr.it . Juan Carlos Sevillano (" Adversarial Risk Analysis: The Somali Pirates Case ") is a part-time lecturer at the Department of Statistics and Operations Research II (Decision Methods) at the School of Economics of Complutense University. He holds a B.Sc. in mathematics from Complutense University and an M.Sc. in decision systems engineering from Rey Juan Carlos University. Email: sevimjc@ccee.ucm.es . Ross D. Shachter (" Formulating Asymmetric Decision Problems as Decision Circuits ") is an associate professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, where his teaching includes probability, decision analysis, and influence diagrams. He has been at Stanford since earning his Ph.D. in operations research from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982, except for two years visiting the Duke University Center for Health Policy Research and Education. His main research focus has been on the communication and analysis of the relationships among uncertain quantities in the graphical representations called Bayesian belief networks and influence diagrams, and in the 1980s he developed the DAVID influence diagram processing system for the Macintosh. His research in medical decision analysis has included the analysis of vaccination strategies and cancer screening and follow-up. At Duke he helped to develop an influence diagram-based approach for medical technology assessment. He has served on the Decision Analysis Society (DAS) of INFORMS Council, chaired its student paper competition, organized the DAS cluster in Nashville, and was honored with its Best Publication Award. For INFORMS, he organized the 1992 Doctoral Colloquium and has been an associate editor in decision analysis for Management Science and Operations Research. He has also served as Program Chair and General Chair for the Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence Conference. At Stanford he served from 1990 until 2011 as a resident fellow in an undergraduate dormitory, and he was active in planning the university's new student orientation activities and alcohol policy. Email: shachter@stanford.edu . Jim Q. Smith (" Regulating Autonomous Agents Facing Conflicting Objectives: A Command and Control Example ") has been a full professor of statistics at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom for 18 years, receiving a Ph.D. from Warwick University in 1977, and has more than 100 refereed publications in the area of Bayesian decision theory and related fields. He has particular interests in customizing probabilistic models in dynamic, high-dimensional problems to the practical needs of a decision maker, often using novel graphical approaches. As well as teaching decision analysis to more than 3,000 top math students in the United Kingdom and supervising 23 Ph.D. students in his areas of expertise, he has been chairman of the Risk Initiative and Statistical Consultancy Unit at Warwick for 10 years, engaging vigorously in the university's interaction with industry and commerce. His book Bayesian Decision Analysis: Principles and Practice was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. Email: j.q.smith@warwick.ac.uk . Refik Soyer (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is a professor of decision sciences and of statistics and the chair of the Department of Decision Sciences at the George Washington University (GWU). He also serves as the director of the Institute for Integrating Statistics in Decision Sciences at GWU. He received his D.Sc. in University of Sussex, England, and B.A. in Economics from Boğaziçi University, Turkey. His areas of interest are Bayesian statistics and decision analysis, stochastic modeling, statistical aspects of reliability analysis, and time-series analysis. He has published more than 90 articles. His work has appeared in journals such as Journal of the American Statistical Association; Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Ser. B.; Technometrics; Biometrics; Journal of Econometrics; Statistical Science; International Statistical Review; and Management Science. He has also coedited a volume titled Mathematical Reliability: An Expository Perspective. Soyer is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, a fellow of the Turkish Statistical Association, and a fellow of the American Statistical Association. He was vice president of the International Association for Statistical Computing. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Statistical Association and is currently an associate editor of the Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry. Email: soyer@gwu.edu . Fabio Spizzichino (" Interactions Between Ageing and Risk Properties in the Analysis of Burn-in Problems ") is a full professor of probability theory at the Department of Mathematics, the Sapienza University of Rome. He teaches courses on introductory probability, advanced probability, and stochastic processes. In the past, he has also taught courses on basic mathematical statistics, Bayesian statistics, decision theory, and reliability theory. His primary research interests are related to probability theory and its applications. A partial list of scientific activities includes dependence models, stochastic ageing for lifetimes, and (semi-)copulas; first-passage times and optimal stopping times for Markov chains and discrete state-space processes; order statistics property for counting processes in continuous or discrete time, in one or more dimensions; sufficiency concepts in Bayesian statistics and stochastic filtering; and reliability of coherent systems and networks. He also has a strong interest in the connections among the above-mentioned topics and in their applications in different fields. At the present time, he is particularly interested in the relations among dependence, ageing, and utility functions. Email: fabio.spizzichino@uniroma1.it . Sumitra Sri Bhashyam (" Modeling State-Dependent Priorities of Malicious Agents ") is a Ph.D. candidate in the Management Science Group at the London School of Economics (LSE). Her Ph.D. thesis is supervised by Dr. Gilberto Montibeller and cosupervised by Dr. David Lane. Her research interests include decision analysis, multicriteria decision analysis, preference modeling, and preference change. Before coming to study in the United Kingdom, Sri Bhashyam studied mathematics, physics, and computer sciences in France for two years, after which she moved to the United Kingdom to complete a B.A.Hons in marketing communications and then an M.Sc. in operational research from the LSE. She worked as a project manager at Xerox and, subsequently, as a consultant for an SME (small and medium enterprise) to help them set up their quality management system. Alongside the Ph.D., and participating in other research and consultancy projects, she has been a graduate teaching assistant for undergraduate, master, and executive students at the LSE. The courses she teaches include topics such as normative and descriptive decision theory, prescriptive decision analysis, simulation modeling and analysis. Email: s.sribhashyam@lse.ac.uk . Jun Zhuang (" Regulation Games Between Government and Competing Companies: Oil Spills and Other Disasters ") has been an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York (SUNY-Buffalo), since he obtained his Ph.D. in industrial engineering in 2008 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Zhuang's long-term research goal is to integrate operations research and game theory to better mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from both natural and man-made hazards. Other areas of interest include healthcare, sports, transportation, supply chain management, and sustainability. Dr. Zhuang's research has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) and National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Dr. Zhuang is a fellow of the 2011 U.S. Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (AF SFFP), sponsored by the AFOSR. Dr. Zhuang is also a fellow of the 2009–2010 Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Researchers Program, sponsored by the NSF. Dr. Zhuang is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis and is the coeditor of Decision Analysis Today. Email: jzhuang@buffalo.edu .

In this contribution we present three case studies of physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) modelling in regulatory risk assessment. (1) Age-dependent lower enzyme expression in the newborn leads to bisphenol A (BPA) blood levels which are near the levels of the tolerated daily intake (TDI) at the oral exposure as calculated by EFSA. (2) Dermal exposure of BPA by receipts, car park tickets, and so forth, contribute to the exposure towards BPA. However, at the present levels of dermal exposure there is no risk for the adult. (3) Dermal exposure towards coumarin via cosmetic products leads to external exposures of two-fold the TDI. PBTK modeling helped to identify liver peak concentration as the metric for liver toxicity. After dermal exposure of twice the TDI, the liver peak concentration was lower than that present after oral exposure with the TDI dose. In the presented cases, PBTK modeling was useful to reach scientifically sound regulatory decisions.

Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Industrial ; Introducción Durante la mayor parte del siglo XX, el concepto Innovación ha estado intrínsecamente ligado a universidades, centros de investigación y departamentos de Investigación y Desarrollo de grandes empresas. Los procesos, investigaciones y resultados se ocultaban o protegían mediante Propiedad Intelectual para mantener la competitividad y posición dominante de la empresa en el mercado. Los cerebros más brillantes, la gente más imaginativa e innovadora pertenecía a la organización, y su permanencia en la empresa durante toda la vida profesional era un factor clave en el mantenimiento de la posición dominante de la compañía y evitando que el conocimiento escapase del control de la empresa. El modelo arriba descrito, o modelo de Innovación Cerrada según H. Chesbrough, tiene gran éxito en el siglo pasado, y existen múltiples ejemplos de éxito de estas empresas a la vista, como compañías farmacéuticas, de armamento o de bienes de consumo. Sin embargo, a finales del siglo XX este modelo se enfrenta a factores externos que erosionan sus resultados. El acceso a formación universitaria y la mayor tasa de doctorandos e investigadores; la mayor movilidad de los trabajadores entre empresas y la posibilidad de arrastrar los conocimientos y la experiencia adquiridos; el incremento del flujo de dinero disponible a través de las compañías de capital de riesgo (Venture Capital); y la mayor formación de los consumidores junto con la necesidad de reducir el tiempo de desarrollo son los principales factores que han reducido la validez del modelo de Innovación Cerrada. Ante esta pérdida de valor, ciertas empresas han visto necesario aplicar un nuevo modelo que complementa al modelo anterior para conseguir una vuelta al crecimiento y a la innovación dentro de la compañía: el modelo de Innovación Abierta. viii El modelo de Innovación Abierta busca incluir a actores exteriores a la empresa para ayudar a resolver los problemas o desafíos de la empresa bajo un punto de vista diferente y sin estar afectados por la cultura, valoración interna o la asunción del modelo de negocio de la empresa. Las soluciones o tecnologías presentadas desde el exterior serán combinadas con las internas para conseguir un desarrollo más rápido hacia el mercado de cualquier producto o servicio. Además, el modelo de Innovación Abierta busca que las empresas distribuyan, de la manera que crean conveniente, aquellos desarrollos que, aún investigados dentro de los departamentos de I+D propios, no han sido utilizados o no constituyen una tecnología clave para mantener la posición de mercado o el futuro liderazgo. Este proyecto define una estrategia de implementación del modelo de Innovación Abierta en la empresa de servicios públicos, en este caso de distribución y trasmisión de electricidad, SP Energy Networks, con presencia en el sur y centro de Escocia y norte de Gales, donde sirve a más de 3,5 millones de consumidores de electricidad, para resolver los retos a los que se enfrenta la red eléctrica. SP Energy Networks tiene un gran compromiso con la innovación para resolver los retos a los que se está enfrentando la red eléctrica actualmente y los grandes cambios que se esperan en el futuro. El crecimiento inesperado en la generación renovable, el despliegue de generación distribuida, el salto de calidad y coste de sensores que permite una implantación masiva, el tratamiento y análisis de los datos obtenidos en la red y la introducción del vehículo eléctrico son, entre otros muchos, los retos que están cambiando el estado de la red, como esta se comporta y los perfiles de los usuarios. Metodología El proyecto realizado por el alumno define una estrategia de implementación del modelo de Innovación Abierta en la compañía para buscar el éxito de esta iniciativa, y que el proyecto sirva como modelo para futuras implementaciones en otras empresas de la misma industria o de otras industrias. Se estudia amplia literatura sobre Innovación Abierta, y tres casos de éxito en la implementación de procesos de Innovación Abierta como son Procter&Gamble, NASA y GE. ix Posteriormente se lleva a cabo la preparación y definición de una estrategia de implementación de Innovación Abierta en SP Energy Networks, estudiándose los mecanismos, actividades y procesos necesarios a implementar, modificar, mejorar o eliminar, y los riesgos asociados al cambio de modelo de Innovación y la respuesta por parte de los empleados a dicho cambio. La estrategia de implementación se divide en 6 Paquetes de trabajo que se puede observar en la imagen siguiente. El paquete WP1 incluye la definición de la estrategia, de la que es parte el proyecto Innovación Abierta en el Negocio Regulado. Gracias a la estrategia preparada en este proyecto, la implementación de Innovación Abierta en SP Energy Networks ha comenzado, una vez firmado el plan y autorizado por las autoridades de la empresa. Esto ha permitido contar con el apoyo de la organización y tener acceso a los primeros resultados sobre la implementación, que permite de manera todavía muy ligera tener conclusiones sobre la validez de la estrategia. También por ello se tiene muy en cuenta la necesidad de comunicar a los empleados de la empresa los cambios que el nuevo modelo puede suponer, como ellos pueden dar su apoyo o pasar a formar parte del nuevo modelo. Esta parte de la estrategia ha supuesto el mayor reto, ya que una parte importante de los empleados no están enterados de los procesos, tecnologías o nuevos desarrollos que se hacen desde el equipo de innovación de SP Energy Networks, el equipo de Redes Futuras. Por ello se ha dedicado un paquete de trabajo solamente a dar a conocer las nuevas x oportunidades a los empleados y recabar su soporte, ideas y futuro uso de las tecnologías que el modelo introduzca en la empresa. Resultados La definición de Innovación Abierta precisa y única para el sector de los servicios públicos, donde se engloba SP Energy Networks, ha sido probada y validada. "El principal objetivo de Innovación Abierta es cambiar la cultura innovadora en SP Energy Networks, ampliando la selección de proveedores para la compañía y la red eléctrica en Reino Unido, incrementando la conciencia y el apoyo de los empleados hacia la innovación, buscando siempre mejorar el servicio dado a los clientes, mejorando la calidad, la eficiencia y la eficacia, junto con un compromiso firme para reducir la huella ambiental de las actividades de SP Energy Networks. El socio elegido ha sido, en un primer momento, y con la posibilidad de añadir alguno más en el futuro, Energy Innovation Centre (EIC), con el que se han llevado a cabo ya una Llamada de Innovación con éxito, relativa a un nuevo proceso para monitorizar el estado de cimentaciones de las torres eléctricas de trasmisión y distribución. EIC es una empresa sin beneficios cofundada por todos los operadores de energía en el Reino Unido, enfocado en buscar empresas que puedan resolver las necesidades de estos, ya sea como conjunto, o en forma de retos individuales. El caso concreto de la Llamada de Innovación para la monitorización de las cimentaciones de las torres permite observar la gran oportunidad que presenta el modelo de Innovación Abierta. Debido a la falta de los resultados, se ha optado por un criterio conservativo respecto a las cifras tomadas y por confidencialidad, las cifras son todas indicativas del orden de magnitud. Concepto Coste Unitario (£) Cantidad Anual Total Coste anterior £9.000 600 £5.400.000 Coste posterior (Innovación Abierta) £6.000 600 £3.600.000 Anterior Total £5.400.000 Posterior Total £3.600.000 Ahorro estimado por año £1.800.000 Monitorización de la Cimentación de las Torres Eléctricas xi Se puede llegar a conseguir un ahorro superior a 1,5 millones de libras por año, sin tener en cuenta las mejoras en el conocimiento del estado de las cimentaciones, lo que permite mejores decisiones respecto a las necesidades de reparación, inversión o renovación. Respecto a la comunicación de la Innovación tanto interior como exterior se han llevado a cabo ya las primeras acciones con resultados muy prometedores, sobre todo en la aceptación por parte de los empleados de la compañía. El parcial desconocimiento anterior se ha visto sustituido por interés real por saber las posibilidades que la Innovación puede aportar a su trabajo del día a día. Los resultados que se pueden mostrar en este proyecto son aún muy limitados, ya que la implementación se encuentra en sus primeras etapas, y únicamente según pase el tiempo seremos capaces de entender el valor real del modelo de Innovación Abierta en el caso particular de SP Energy Networks. Conclusiones Este proyecto sirve como introducción a una metodología adecuada y probada de éxito para la implementación de la Innovación Abierta, sin necesidad de grandes inversiones ni cambios dramáticos dentro de la empresa, minimizando por tanto el cambio para los empleados, pero fomentando su participación y realizando un cambio en la cultura interna de la empresa y en la comunicación entre las diferentes partes que la componen. La estrategia presentada es válida, ya que se ha podido comprobar como el uso de un socio externo permite encontrar soluciones diferentes, muchas veces por empresas que no están muy lejos de la empresa interesada, pero que no ha entrado en ese sector por diferentes motivos. El desarrollo de la implementación basado en la estrategia durante los próximos años servirá para confirmar de manera más documentada y extensa la validez del modelo y de la estrategia presentada. ; Introduction During the XX century, innovation concept has been linked with universities, research centers and large Research & Development departments inside the big corporations. Processes, researches and results were kept hidden to the rest of the world to maintain the competitive position and the leadership in their respective markets. Brightest brains, most imaginative and innovative people had to be maintained working for the firm for all their professional life, to keep the knowledge and know-how under the control of the company. Closed Innovation model had a huge success, and there are multiple examples of companies that profited from the model, such as pharmaceutical, weaponry companies or consumer goods companies. However, at the end of XX century, it is observed that the model faces external factors that erode the results. The growing mobility of highly experienced and skilled people; higher number of graduates and PhDs, allowing knowledge to spill out of the corporate central research labs; the growing presence of private venture capital (VC), experts in create companies that commercialized external research that can become competitors for established companies and fast time to market and customers with more knowledge are the main factors that erode the validity of Closed Innovation model. Considering the loss of value of Closed Innovation model, and to face the external erosion factors, some companies have applied a model that supplement Closed Innovation model to return to constant growth rates and long-term profit: Open Innovation model. Open Innovation model aims to add external actors to solve the challenges and problems that appear inside a corporation or company, under a different point of view and without being affected by the company culture or own valuations or business model. Solutions and technologies presented or submitted would be combined with internal developments to get a faster path to market for any product or service the company is willing to commercialize. xiv Moreover, Open Innovation model expects companies to distribute, in a convenient way, those technologies or processes that have been developed inside the company, but have not been found an internal use for products and services, and that are not part of a key technology to maintain leadership position in the market currently or in the future. This project defines an implementation strategy for Open Innovation model in a utility, in the electricity distribution and transmission industry, SP Energy Networks, with presence in Central and Southern Scotland and Northern Wales, with more than 3,5 million customers. SP Energy Networks has a great commitment with innovation to solve the challenges that electricity network currently faces and the drastic changes that it would have in the future. An unexpected growth in renewable generation, the wide deployment of distributed generation, the quality of the new sensors with a reduced cost that allows a massive deployment, the processing and treatment of the data generated, or the introduction of the electric vehicle are some of the challenges that are moving forward the network, how it behaves and the consumption load profile of the customers. Methodology The project done by the student is pioneer, because it uses the opportunity given by SP Energy Networks to develop a strategy for the implementation of Open Innovation in a company in the regulated business. The project would serve as an example and case study for later implementations. The project is inside an initiative developed by the government agency Scottish Enterprise to increase innovation in Scotland through SMES and get them more contracts with the big corporations participating in the Open Innovation Award initiative. The report by the student takes a look about the literature about Open Innovation, and three of the most successful case of implementation of Open Innovation, Procter&Gamble, NASA and GE. Then, the preparation, study and plan of a implementation strategy for Open Innovation in SP Energy Networks is done, studying the mechanisms, activities and processes xv needed to be implemented, modified, improved or deleted. Also the risks related to the changes and to the innovation model are studied, together with the countermeasures to avoid their negative effects and to convince the employees of the need of change. The implementation strategy is divided in 6 Work Packages that are showed in the following picture for the 4-year duration of the project. Work package 1 includes the definition of the strategy, from where Open Innovation in the Regulated Business appears. In parallel to the drafting of the project, the student has start with the implementation tasks of Open Innovation in SP Energy Networks, at the moment the strategy was signed and approved by the management of the company. This fact has allowed to count on the support of the organization and to have access to the first implementation results that would allow reaching certain conclusions to the validity of the strategy. The need to communicate the employees the change that the new model could mean to their normal work has been really important, as they can support and take part in the new model. Gain the support of the employees has been one of the hardest part of the strategy, as they were not fully aware of the process, technologies and solutions that the innovation team has developed in last years, Future Networks team in SP Energy Networks. To solve this problem, a whole work package has been dedicated to spread and disseminate the work of the team, and gain support to the new model. xvi Results The definition of Open Innovation for the utility industries, in which SP Energy Networks is part, has been proven and validated. "Open Innovation main aims is to change the innovative culture in SP Energy Networks, broadening the pool of solvers for electricity networks challenges, and increasing the awareness and engagement of the employees on innovation, looking always to improve the service given to the customers, improving the quality, the efficient and the efficacy, together with the highest commitment to reduce the environmental print of the activity". The partner chosen is the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) and the first Innovation Call has been successfully launched, related to tower foundation monitoring. In the future the use of other extra partner is possible as a different approach or pool of solvers could help. EIC is a non-profit organization cofounded by United Kingdom energy operators, focusing its aims to search and scout for companies that could solve the need of the energy operators, as a whole or individually. The concrete case of the Call for Innovation related to tower foundation monitoring allows having a first view of the opportunities Open Innovation model has. Due to the lack of real results, a conservative criterion has been used in the numbers taken, together with the need to maintain confidential part of the data. Concept Unit Cost (£) Quantity Total Former Cost £9.000 600 £5.400.000 Open Innovation Cost (Future) £6.000 600 £3.600.000 Former Total Cost £5.400.000 Total Open Innovation Cost £3.600.000 Expected Annual Saving £1.800.000 Tower Foundation Monitoring Up to around 2-million-pound savings could be achieved per year, not taking into account the improvement in the knowledge of the real state of the assets that allows for better decisions to repair, invest or refurbish. In respect to the communication of the change of model, both internal and external activities have been carried out with really promising results, mostly in the acceptance by xvii employees. The partial former ignorance has been substituted by a real interest to know more about the possibilities that innovation can contribute to their day-to-day job. The results showed in this project are really limited, because the implementation is in its first stages, and only as the time goes by, we would be able to understand the real value of Open Innovation model in the particular case of SP Energy Networks, Conclusions The project serves as an introduction to a correct and proven methodology of success for the implementation of the Open Innovation model, without the need of big investments or dramatic changes in the organization, limiting the change for the employees, but promoting their participation and changing the internal culture of the company and the communication media. Presented strategy is valid, as it could be confirmed. The use of an external partner allows finding different solutions, by companies that are close in distance but far away in terms of industry. The opportunity of Open Innovation allows them to enter in service with SP Energy Networks. The development of the strategy during the following year would serve to confirm in a more documented way the validity of the model and the quality of the strategy.

The article is focused on analyzing current state of land use by categories, regional economic and financial data to propose new robust model for economically efficient land use planning for commercial and non-commercial enterprises. The research results can serve as an important material for decision making process on how to develop the land and the City areas in context в new global economic development. It provides extensive overview of existing land use trends for in Kyiv city based on analytical data and scientific assumptions. The Author believe that this research will be beneficial for government, city government, international organizations, private institutions, and researchers. The goal of the research paper is to build a solid scientific model based on general understanding of underlying economic challenges of efficient land use considering past data, short term and in long term planning. The paper has an overview of city planning documentation and city statistical data in context of real estate, urban population, economic data, including research of real estate and currency exchange rate data to median salary in Kyiv starting from 2000s. It is important not to put too much focus on the existing models and systems, as they rely too much on the assumptions and complicated calculations, that are hard to make use of in real world planning. Instead we build our research on real-world data and developed a forecast of the size of investment in land use, average real estate prices for the next 5 years. The paper noted an existing problem of inconsistency of the existing norms and regulations in Ukraine concerning rational and effective land use and planning, especially for local authorities and commercial organizations. The author substantiates why the economy in the context of urbanization needs a new look. The paper uses the planning of the city of Kiev. It is a suitable example of a developing city, so the proposed model can be developed based on the city economical and land use data. This research can help solve the existing problems of urbanization in Ukraine and have a positive impact on the economic development of the city and the region.In present times large urban agglomerations serve as none of the major catalysts of economic trends. Urbanization, as process, plays key role in transformation of the local, regional and world economies. Urbanization should be considered an important factor in the development of the economy of both the city and the state. It dictates the path of development of micro- and macroeconomics of regions, although not directly. And in the context of long-term land use and spatial development, this process can play a significant role. The issues of suburban development, industrialization, post-industrialization, environmental problems and the issues of further existence and development of agricultural regions bordering on urban centers (urban agglomerations) cannot be excluded from the field of view. Alongside with new possibilities that arise from large urban economy, great number of challenges that need to be addressed appear. Besides to the economic related issues, irreversible ecology changes (rise of sea level, forest fires etc.) global pandemics and new technologies, manufacturing process must be included in urbanization research. This requires novel approach to how we view city, build economic models, and make forecasts for future development. In this paper we set initial stage for development of such robust economic model, while using data and statistics of Kyiv city. This city can serve as great test ground for proposed model, as it is relatively new urban center, that is part of the developing country economy.The goal of this research work is to analyze current and past land use patterns, outline existing issues and economical inefficiencies in those patterns in large urban city. In addition, we plan to look at land use from several viewpoints, that of the researcher, governmental institutions, commercial company, personal level. This will enable us to make correct assumptions and help build economical model for future land use development. Research work is based on official statistics data, provided by State Statistics Service of Ukraine, Kyiv city council, Municipal Enterprise "Kyivgenplan", private real estate companies, economists, and Public cadastral map of Ukraine. We used statistical analytics, mathematical correlation, polynomial and linear approximations, Ratio analysis, utility curves, profit curves and growth models. For predictions modeling key economic parameters were identified. This data was used to build linear dependency models of functions and plotted charts, diagrams based on calculations data.Ukraine does not stand aside from the global challenges of time related to globalization and urbanization. These are indicators such as: significant labor migration, outdated land legislation and inefficient use of land resources. Therefore, the author of the study analyzed the social, environmental, and economic factors influencing the development of the economy of individual united territorial communities of Ukraine with emphasis on the Kyiv city. The main reason for focusing research work on this city is general availability of statistical information and economic data from 2000s.In recent history several events have happened that made dramatic effects on Ukraine and Kyiv land use economics situation. Global financial crisis of 2008 has affected real estate price in Ukraine, in addition to Ukraine currency devaluation. In 2014 military conflict, war, in the east part of Ukraine and Russian annexation of Crimea, had it impact on the housing market, as well as further currency devaluation.Current land area of Kyiv is 82,64 thousand hectares with population of 2 967,4 million people. Land use in Kyiv is classified by following types: Residential buildings; Public buildings; Industrial, research and production and utility territories; Transport infrastructure; Green areas; Water resources; Agricultural companies and other. Analysis of the types of buildings in the capital shows that the largest share in the Residential housing are – private houses 3.76 thousand hectares, and high-rise buildings 8.4 thousand hectares. Non-residential real estate - buildings, premises that are not classified in accordance with the law to the housing stock, are divided into the following types: hotel buildings, office buildings, commercial buildings, garages, industrial buildings and warehouses, buildings for public performances, outbuildings and other buildings.To make better predictions and effectively analyze land use data, we will start with real estate data and general social information - such as monthly salary, average numebr of employees per company, followed by currency exchange rate, average office rent prices and average living apartments price in USD. According to official data, the average salary for full-time employees in 2020 was 16,186 UAH. As of 2018 the highest monthly wage was in the mining industry (44,405 UAH) and the lowest in construction (8,311 UAH), and health care (8,406 UAH). The prices in Kyiv suburbs are much lower than in the city, with average cost of sq. m being around 13,500 UAH.Based on the State Statistics Service of Ukraine Kyiv city data the housing stock in Kyiv in 2019 had a total area of 59.1 million m2, and an average of 20.2 m2 per person. The total number of apartments in Kyiv was 991.6 thousand. If we look at the state building codes as of 2019, the minimal the minimum area of a one-room apartment is 28 sq. m. At the same time according to State Statistics Service of Ukraine Kyiv city data in 2019 the average available housing area per single person living in Kyiv was 20,2 sq. m. Let's look at 26600 $ for 28 sq. meters apartment, with average monthly wage of 16,186 UAH, which is 575 $, for an average it will take 46 month to buy an apartment, if there will be no other expenses and salary is tax free. Median flat rent in Kyiv 2020 – 9.4 $ per sq. m., which makes 263.2$ for 28 sq. meters apartment per month or 7401 UAH.Afterwards we conducted study of enterprise operations statistics between 2018 and 2019. The following data was produced as a result - the number of business entities was 294,458 companies, number of full-time employees was 1,149,074 people, the volume of sold products produced by one (average) enterprise was 36,843.35 thousand UAH per year or 3070.2 thousand UAH per month, with the average number of employees in one company being 16 people. Today there are about 500,000 sq. m. of commercial real estate in Kyiv, and according to experts, by the end of 2020 this figure will increase by at least another 150,000 square meters. m.Based on available data we analyzed the average rent price that company need to pay for one month in Kyiv. If one office employee needs at least 6 sq. meters of office space, then the average company that consist of 16 employees will need to rent 96 sq. of office space. Using 2020 data, on average the monthly rent is 2400$ per month, so the company will need to pay 28,800$ per year. The study showed that the average cost of office space as following - 1200$ per sq. m in 2020; 1500$ per sq. m in 2019; 1300$ per sq. m in 2018; 903$ per sq. m in 2017.The author analyzed the dynamics of increasing the number of living apartments by year. In 1995 their number was (in thousands) - 889,4; 2000 – 926,9; 2005 - 984,4; 2010 - 1037,9; 2015 -1112,1; 2018 - 1081,7; 2019 - 991,6. It should be noted that since 2001 the total area is determined taking into account the summer premises with the established reduction factors. Since 2004, the total area of the housing stock and the number of apartments has included data on bankrupt enterprises and those that have completely ceased operations [stat data]. The population of Kyiv, according to official statistics is as following, by year: 1995 – 2643,8 thou. ppl.; 2000 – 2615,3 thou. ppl.; 2005 – 2666,4 thou. ppl.; 2010 – 2785,1 thou. ppl.; 2015 – 2888,0 thou. ppl.; 2018 – 2934,5 thou. ppl.; 2019 – 2950,8 thou. ppl.; 2020 - 2 967,4 thou. ppl. Total income per all officially employed in Kyiv city: 2010 - 5286,46 UAH, 2015 - 6255,92 UAH; 2018 - 13243,96 UAH; 2019 - 17546,89 UAH. The total share of business income and self-employment as compared to total income in Kyiv per year: 2010 – 8%; 2015 – 4,5; 2018 – 6.3%; 2019 – 6.2%.Another trend is the rapid reduction of vacancies in the Kyiv office centers. During the first half of 2019 the growth in demand and the small amount of new supply of office space led to a decrease in the average vacancy rate from 6.5 to 6%, this data was taken from international real estate agency report. In some office buildings the vacancy was in the range of 4-5%. For comparison: in 2016 on average 16% of the areas were vacant in Kyiv business centers, and in 2015 - more than 20% of spaces were vacant. We analyzed which types of industries have formed the highest demand for real estate office rent in Kyiv in recent years to form this trend. The highest percentage is 52% by IT technologies companies; professional services in various fields – 35%; FMCG – 7%; pharmaceutical companies – 3%, energy companies – 2% and agricultural companies – 1%.A new period of urban development requires new theories and qualitatively new research. It is an indisputable fact that urbanization is a process that will continue. Its pace will be determined by the state of the world and regional economy, as well as innovation and the results of the fourth industrial revolution. In our future research, special attention will need to be paid not only to the economic and social components of the urbanization process, but also to environmental factors. Environmental issues are one of the main problems in the process of urbanization. This is due to the rapid development of infrastructure, development of cities and adjacent areas. And as a result - an uncontrolled very rapid increase in population, an increase in the number of personal transport and the development of new enterprises. All these factors negatively affect the quality of life in cities and can reduce the attractiveness of real estate. Therefore, people do not move to such centers, but begin to build others. The proposed Index of economic feasibility of land use by purpose is a result of mathematical modeling of main economic parameters that include land use, such as land price, real estate prices, investments ratios and personal income levels. It will serve as a foundation to build a more robust economic model that will describe conditions needed for future economic growth, efficient land used patterns in urban and sub-urban areas. It should be noted that for making more accurate future predictions, land use patterns and economic data of close (up to 50 km) and distant sub-urban areas (region) should be studied and added to the model. ; У статті автор зосередив увагу на аналізі поточного стану землекористування за видами економічної діяльності підприємств, регіональними економічними та фінансовими даними, щоби запропонувати нову сучасну модель економічно ефективного планування землекористування для комерційних та некомерційних підприємств та установ. Результати досліджень можуть слугувати важливим матеріалом для процесу прийняття рішень про те, як розвивати наявні земельні ділянки та райони міста в контексті нового глобального економічного розвитку. Наведено детальний огляд нинішніх тенденцій землекористування в місті Києві на основі аналітичних даних та наукових гіпотез. Автор статті вважає, що це дослідження буде корисним для урядових організацій, органів місцевого самоврядування, міжнародних організацій, приватних установ та деяких науковців і дослідників.Метою цієї роботи є побудова сучасної наукової моделі, що ґрунтується на загальному розумінні основних економічних проблем ефективного землекористування з урахуванням нинішніх даних, а також короткострокового та довгострокового планування. У статті наведено огляд містобудівної документації та статистичних даних столиці в контексті інформації про нерухомість, міське населення, економічні дані, включно з дослідженнями даних про нерухомість і курс валют до середньостатистичної зарплати в Києві, починаючи з 2000 років. Важливо не надто суттєво зосередитися на нинішніх моделях і системах, оскільки вони занадто покладаються на припущення і складні розрахунки, які важко використовувати в реальному плануванні. Замість цього ми будуємо наші дослідження на реальних даних, тому розробляємо прогноз розміру інвестицій у землекористуванні та середні ціни на нерухомість на найближчі 5 років.У статті відзначено наявну проблему невідповідності сучасних норм і нормативно-правових актів в Україні щодо раціонального та ефективного землекористування та планування, особливо для місцевих органів влади та комерційних організацій. Автор дослідження обґрунтує, чому економіка в умовах урбанізації потребує нового погляду. У статті використовується інформація про планування міста Києва. Київ – вдалий приклад європейського міста, яке інтенсивно розвивається, тому запропоновану модель можна розробити на основі даних міського економічного планування та землекористування. Це дослідження може допомогти вирішити наявні проблеми урбанізації в Україні та позитивно вплинути на економічний розвиток міста та регіону.

End Of Mission Statement Of The Special Rapporteur On The Negative Impact Of Unilateral Coercive Measures On The Enjoyment Of Human Rights To The Syrian Arab Republic ; 6/3/2018 OHCHR | End of mission statement of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights t… http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23094&LangID=E 1/4 English > News and Events > DisplayNews English | Français | Español Go to navigation | Go to content | русский | العربية | 中文 WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS? DONATE HOME ABOUT US ISSUES HUMAN RIGHTS BY COUNTRY WHERE WE WORK HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES NEWS AND EVENTS PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES End of mission statement of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights to the Syrian Arab Republic, 13 to 17 May 2018 Arabic End of mission statement 17 May 2018 Preliminary observations and recommendations I would like to begin this briefing by expressing my gratitude to the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic for the invitation to visit the country and for the openness and readiness with which it facilitated the meetings for my mission. I would also like to thank the office of the Resident Coordinator, the members of the UN country team and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for their invaluable support. I have been entrusted by the Human Rights Council with the task of monitoring, reporting and advising on the negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights of unilateral coercive measures. The United Nations has repeatedly expressed concern that the use of such measures may be contrary to international law, international humanitarian law, the UN Charter and the norms and principles governing peaceful relations among States . During my visit, I had the honour of being received by Ministers, Deputy Ministers and senior officials of the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Economy and Foreign Trade, Local Administration and Environment, Social Affairs and Labour, Transport, Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Electricity and Health. I also met with the leadership pf the Planning and International Cooperation Commission, the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Chamber of Commerce, and with the Governor of the Central Bank. I was b riefed by staff from civil society, humanitarian organizations and by independent experts. Last but not least, I am also grateful to the numerous diplomatic missions that shared their views with me during my visit. I very much appreciate the briefings I received from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in Beirut prior to my visit. The purpose of this mission was to examine to what extent unilateral coercive measures targeting the Syrian Arab Republic impair the full realization of the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. I will present my full report to the Human Rights Council in September 2018. My present statement contains my preliminary observations on the outcome of my visit. I have examined the situation of the Syrian Arab Republic as a target of unilateral coercive measures 1 134K 118K 2290 6/3/2018 OHCHR | End of mission statement of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights t… http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23094&LangID=E 2/4 I have examined the situation of the Syrian Arab Republic as a target of unilateral coercive measures by a number of source States. I have examined relevant evidence and endeavoured to assess the actual impact of such measures on the Syrian people. One source country has applied unilateral coercive measures since 1979, and they were strengthened in subsequent years. A larger group of States began applying similar measures in 2011. The collective measures call for a trade ban on the import and export of multiple goods and services. It also includes international financial transfers. The superimposition of different packages of collective sectoral measures, together with the across­the­board implementation of financial restrictions, are tantamount in their global impact to the imposition of comprehensive restrictions on Syria. Additional measures targeting individuals by virtue of their alleged relationship with the government have also been applied. Because of their comprehensive nature, these measures have had a devastating impact on the entire economy and the daily lives of ordinary people. This impact has compounded their suffering resulting from the devastating crisis that has unfolded since 2011. Singling out the impact of the unilateral coercive measures from that of the crisis is fraught with difficulty, but this does in no way diminish the necessity to take measures to restore their basic human rights as a whole. It is clear that the sufferings imposed by the unilateral coercive measures have reinforced those that were caused by the conflict. Indeed, it seems ironic that these measures applied by source States out of a concern for human rights are actually contributing to the worsening of the humanitarian crisis as an unintended consequence. The dramatic increase in the suffering of the Syrian people The Syrian economy continues to decline at an alarming rate. Since the application of coercive measures in 2011, and the beginning of the current crisis, the total annual GDP of Syria has fallen by two thirds. Foreign currency reserves have been depleted, and international financial and other assets remain frozen. In 2010, 45 Syrian Liras were exchanged for one dollar; by 2017 the rate fell to fell to 510 liras per dollar. Inflation has dramatically increased since 2010, reaching a peak of 82.4% in 2013; the cost of food items rose eight­fold during this time. This combination of factors visited further devastation on the living conditions of the population that were already degraded by the conflict. This has hit the half of working Syrians living on fixed salaries particularly hard. The unintended consequences of unilateral coercive measures This damage to the economy has had predictable effects on the ability of Syrians to realize their economic, social and cultural rights. Syria's human development indicators have all tumbled. There has been a staggering increase in the rate of poverty among ordinary Syrians. While there was no food insecurity prior to the outbreak of violence, by 2015 32% of Syrians were affected. At the same time unemployment rose went from 8.5% in 2010 to over 48% in 2015. Banking restrictions The most pervasive concerns I have heard during my mission relate to the negative effect that comprehensive financial restrictions have had on all aspects of Syrian life. Restrictions on the Central bank, state­owned and even private banks, and transactions in the main international currencies have comprehensively damaged the ability of anyone seeking to operate internationally. Despite nominally including "humanitarian exemptions" they have proven to be costly, or extremely slow, to access in practice. The uncertainty around what transactions do, or do not violate the unilateral coercive measures, have created a "chilling effect" on international banks and companies, which as a result are unwilling or unable to do business with Syria. This has prevented Syrian and international companies, non­governmental actors (including those operating in purely humanitarian fields), and Syrian citizens from engaging in international financial transactions (including for goods which are legal to import), obtaining credit, or for international actors to pay salaries or contractors in Syria. This has forced Syrians to find alternatives, such as hawala, which result in millions of dollars flowing 6/3/2018 OHCHR | End of mission statement of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights t… http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23094&LangID=E 3/4 y , , g through high cost financial intermediaries, who are alleged at times to be owned by terrorist organizations. These channels which are not transparent, cannot be audited, and increase transaction costs remain the only avenue for smaller companies and Syrian civil society actors to operate internationally. Medical care Syria practices universal, free health care for all its citizens. Prior to the current crisis, Syria enjoyed some of the highest levels of care in the region. The demands created by the crisis have overwhelmed the system, and created extraordinarily high levels of need. Despite this, restrictive measures, particularly those related to the banking system, have harmed the ability of Syria to purchase and pay for medicines, equipment, spare parts and software. While theoretical exemptions exist, in practice international private companies are unwilling to jump the hurdles necessary to ensure they can transact with Syria without being accused of inadvertently violating the restrictive measures. Migration and 'brain drain' While the security situation was a central factor which led to migration flows from Syria, it should be emphasized that the dramatic increase in unemployment, the lack of job opportunities, the closure of factories unable to obtain raw materials or machinery or to export their goods have all contributed to increasing the emigration of Syrians. Some receiving States have selected skilled migrants, while pressuring the less fortunate to return to Syria. This "brain drain" has harmed the medical and pharmaceutical industries in particular, at the worst possible time for Syria. The anticipated end of the current conflict will not put an end to the flows of migrants, especially to Europe, in view of the saturation of neighbouring countries. These flows are likely to continue so long as the Syrian authorities are prevented by unilateral coercive measures from addressing the pressing problems related to their social and economic infrastructure, in particular the restoration of energy and water supplies. Ban on equipment and spare parts The ban on the trade in equipment, machinery and spare parts has devastated Syrian industry. Vehicles, including ambulances and fire trucks, as well as agricultural machinery suffer from a lack of spare parts. Failing water pumps gravely affect the water supply and reduce agricultural production. Power generation plants are failing, and new plants cannot be purchased or maintained, leading to power outages. Complex machinery requiring international technicians for maintenance are failing, damaging medical devices and factory machinery. Civilian aircraft are no longer able to fly safely, and public transit buses are in woeful condition. Whatever rationale source countries may have for restricting so­called dual use goods, greater effort is needed to ensure that goods that are clearly intended for civilian use are permitted, and that they can be paid for. Ban on technology As a result of unilateral coercive measures, Syrians are unable to purchase many technologies, including mobile phones and computers. The global dominance of American software companies, technology companies, and banking and financial software, all of which are banned, has made it difficult to find alternatives. This has paralyzed or disrupted large parts of Syrian institutions. Education Shortages of inputs, energy and water supply as well as of teaching material causing delays in the rebuilding of schools have kept 1.8 million children without access to their classrooms. The ability of Syrians to participate in the international community has been sharply affected. Syrians have been excluded from international educational exchange programs, and the tremendous difficulties involved in obtaining a visa have prevented many from studying or travelling abroad, upgrading their training and skills, or participating in international conferences. By removing consular services from Syria, countries have forced people including the poorest, to travel to neighbouring countries for such applications, which are also placing onerous restrictions on entry for Syrians. 6/3/2018 OHCHR | End of mission statement of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights t… http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23094&LangID=E 4/4 Conclusion I am profoundly concerned that unilateral coercive measures are contributing to the ongoing suffering of the Syrian people. Claims that they exist to protect the Syrian population, or to promote a democratic transition, are hard to reconcile with the economic and humanitarian sufferings being caused. The time has come to ask whether these unintended consequences are now more severe than can be reasonably accepted by democratic States. Whatever their political objectives, there must be more humane means by which these can be achieved in full compliance with international law. In view of the complexity of the system of unilateral coercive measures in place, there needs to be a multi­stage approach to addressing the dire human rights situation prevailing in Syria. This would imply a sequenced approach involving addressing the crucial humanitarian needs of the population throughout the whole of Syria, without preconditions, when these touch on issues of life and death. A first stage could include addressing the urgent needs of the food insecure, which represent nearly one third of the population. The second stage is to translate at the ground level effective measures to fulfil the commitment of source States to meet their obligation to allow humanitarian exemptions, particularly for financial transactions. Finally, there must be a serious dialogue on reducing unilateral coercive measures, starting with those that have the most egregious effect on the population, along with those that will promote confidence building between the parties, with the ultimate aim of lifting the unilateral coercive measures. I hope that my report and my future work can contribute in this end. Thank you. Note: 1. More information on this prohibition can be found in the reports and resolutions on the website of the Special Rapporteur. Home CONTACT US Frequently Asked Questions OHCHR on Social Media OHCHR Memorial Employment Mobile App Site Map © OHCHR 1996­2018

Innovation in family firms is still a controversial issue within the academic community and poses some unique challenges for family business owners and managers. This special issue on innovation in family firms results from the cooperation of both academic and business guest editors, in a pioneering initiative that is not usual in academic journals. Indeed, a key feature of this Special Issue has been the collaboration with two family business leaders, who have been involved in the editorial process together with the academics.
The two business editors that we involved are Antonio Gallardo, Vicepresident of Almiralland former director of FBN-Family Business Network,andIgnacio Osborne, CEO of the Osborne Groupand Chairman of the Spanish Family Firm Institute.
In order to introduce the six papers that make up this special issue on innovation in family firms, we as academic editors are pleased to include some comments from the business editors that emerged during our interactions with the aim to make a step forward toward bridging the gap between research and practice on family business innovation, acknowledging the different perspectives and approaches adopted by academics and practitioners. As the business editor Mr. Osborne points: "Innovation issues in family firms are nowadays more important than ever, due to the rapid developments that are occurring in the business world and its corresponding technologies".
Despite being a topic analyzed by a number of authors over time (Feranita, Kotlar and De Massis, 2017; Aparicio, Iturralde and Sánchez-Famoso, 2020 in this issue; Chrisman, Chua, De Massis, Frattini and Wright, 2015), the study of innovation in family business still requires a greater volume of research to provide answers to the needs of family businesses. The distinctive nature of family firms results in a complex influence on the innovation process (De Massis, Frattini and Lichtenthaler, 2013), which is reflected in mixed research findings. For instance, the conclusions of the published research offer sometimes contradictory results, since family businesses can be considered innovative (Aronoff, 1998; Craig and Moores, 2006) or conservative (Sharma, Chrisman, y Chua, 1997; Zahra, Hayton y Salvato, 2004; Gómez-Mejía et al., 2007), with several studies that can support whatever of the two options.
Family businesses present a number of characteristics that, a priori, seem to favor innovation, such as long-term orientation (Tagiuri and Davis, 1996; Ward and Aronoff, 1994), the desire for continuity through the following generations (Miroshnychenko et al., 2020; Gallo, 1995), patient capital (De Massis, Audretsch, Uhlaner and Kammerlander, 2018; Sirmon and Hitt, 2003), and the long tenure of their main leaders (Lorenzo, 2020). The replacement of the prior generation by the next generation implies the access of younger people to the leadership of the company, who also often present a greater level of qualification (De Massis et al., 2008; Cabrera-Suárez, 2011). Young and qualified leaders would provide a new momentum to the firm, by means of the renewal of the firm (Núñez-Cacho and Lorenzo, 2020). Likewise, the successors receive an important legacy by means of the values of the family business (Erdogan et al., 2020), such as effort, perseverance, austerity, excellence, long-term orientation and entrepreneurial spirit, as basic foundations of their way of understanding business activity (Bermejo, 2008). Accordingly, the new generation managers could be in the best conditions to reinvent the company, since they know the business from within and they also provide the new vision of a person with a working life ahead. Another factor that favors the renewal impulse of the next generation is the familial support to carry out a prolonged tenure over time, which will not be as conditioned by short-term results as in other types of companies, by the so-called patient capital (Sirmon and Hitt, 2003) of the family business (Lorenzo, 2020). But, even if these ideal conditions are met in a specific family firm, it is not guaranteed that the company realizes the innovation it needs. Therefore, it is needed to shed more light about the determinants and conditions for innovation.
The editors of this special issue selected a number of papers to reflect the state-of-the-art on this topic, indicating some of the most promising research lines on innovation. According to the business editor Mr. Gallardo, "A very important aspect emerging from this special issue is that the papers published in it reveal that external contributions to the internal know-how of the family and the business are often vital to help produce the changes needed by a family firm for innovation to take place".
Innovation in the family business has been a phenomenon of great interest to researchers, especially in the last decade. This is highlighted in the article that opens this special issue by presenting a complete bibliometric review of the literature on innovation in family businesses. Generally, researchers have noted that the influence of the family is the factor that makes this type of businesses different from the other ones (Habbershon and Williams, 1999; Lorenzo and Núñez-Cacho, 2012). However, in order to conclude that this is really true, it is necessary to identify the nature of these differences and determine how and why they affect the innovative behavior of the family business.
The paper Innovation on family businesses: A holistic bibliometric(Aparicio, Iturralde and Sánchez-Famoso, 2020) offers an overview of the research field through an analysis of 207 articles that were published between 1994 and 2017. The authors complement other recent reviews such as those by Feranita, Kotlar and De Massis (2017) and Calabrò, Vecchiarini, Gast, Campopiano, De Massis and Kraus (2019), and reflect about the take-off of research on innovation that takes place since 2009. In the study two differentiated periods are highlighted: An initial one that covers the years 1994 to 2009, and one of expansion from 2010 to 2017. In addition, they identify the most influential journals, the most referenced articles, the most productive scholars -namely, De Massis, Frattini, Craig, Chrisman, Fang, Kotlar and Nordqvist appear as the most productive and referenced ones- and the main lines of research developed, providing a clear and synthetic map of innovation research in family businesses today. This paper approaches innovation from a more theoretical perspective, and also presents the lines of research that are currently being developed. These lines include the internal factors of the family business and its influence on innovation, as well as external factors, among others advances in research in the subject.
The paper An Analysis of Open Innovation Determinants: The Case Study of Singapore based Family owned Enterprises, by Koh, Kong and Timperio (2020, this issue) analyzes the drivers of open innovation by studying cases of family businesses in Singapore. The authors highlight the external determinants and catalysts of innovation projects, such as family and business culture, access to external funds, government support for initiatives, market dynamics and partnership between companies. In addition to these six external determinants, there are two other factors that have a great influence on open innovation. First, family capital, which is the main source of financing for innovative initiatives. Second, a strong external network, supported by Singapore's legal and regulatory framework that fosters innovation, promotes the development of an enabling business environment so that the spirit of innovation can truly thrive. Most of the surveyed companies' managers mentioned process innovation as the most critical aspect, and also organizational innovation. Process innovation is considered superior by the companies included in the sample due to their capabilities to drive product innovation, marketing and organizational structure (and people). Organizational innovation is also considered of utmost importance, due to the need to adopt technologies such as digitalization, robotics or automation, which require an adequate organizational structure. Some ideas from the surveyed managers highlight these statements, like: "The correct processes create the necessary conditions to shape the products, as well as the marketing and organization structures," as well as "Having cutting-edge processes underway is a key differentiator." This study also reflects the need to establish new financing mechanisms adapted to the peculiarities of innovation processes. External capital injection and stimulus policies are necessary, although not sufficient, since they must be combined with the determinants of the internal functioning of family businesses.
The relevance of the external network is also highlighted in the paper Collaborative innovation in the family SME: conceptualization, goals, and success factors, by Arzubiaga, Maseda, Uribarri and Palma Ruiz (2020, this issue), which analyzes the strategy of collaborative innovation that seeks the creation of knowledge, new product designs and Improving the efficiency of the production process.
Among the conditions of collaborative innovation, four groups stand out: The composition of the management team (in terms of family members percentage and number of generations involved in management), abilities (cognitive factors, absorption capacity and trajectory in innovation), attitudes, and legacy preservation, (referring to socio-emotional wealth and internal behavior). These factors of small and medium family businesses play a crucial role in the successful design and implementation of collaborative innovation. The main contributions of this paper can be summarized in the need for establish solid bases to deepen in the future the study of collaborative innovation. Moreover, a second contribution refers to the identification of the distinguishing characteristics of family SMEs. Arzubiaga, Maseda, Uribarri and Palma Ruiz (2020, this issue) also propose the analysis of the possible moderating effects of firm size and the sector to refine the impact of the variables in this model, looking to achieve excellence in collaborative innovation. As business reviewer, Mr. Osbornehave highlighted collaborative innovation as one of the relevant issues in order to reinforce the role of innovation in their companies.
Absorptive capacity is another aspect of great interest to researchers. There are numerous factors that condition it, some of them are features of the family character that make the behavior of family businesses paradoxical (Kotlar et al. 2020). The paper titled A mediating model of innovative capacity between absorptive capacity and family business performanceby Hernández-Perlines, Ariza-Montes and Araya-Castillo (2020, this issue) addresses the issue about absorptive capacity. Absorptive capacity is related to the identification, assimilation and exploitation of new knowledge by the company. Those family businesses that have these capabilities improve their performance. In addition, this effect is enhanced by the innovative capacity of the company, which acts as a mediator between absorption capacity and the company's performance, reinforcing this relationship. Thus, family business managers should focus their efforts on providing their organizations with the necessary skills to absorb and exploit knowledge. This will be easier if the company has developed innovative capabilities. In this sense, the business editor Mr. Gallardo points that: "There is also the possibility of establishing an advisory council with external collaborators that serves as a contrast to the company's board, in which oftentimes the weight of the family is too decisive."
The last two papers in this special issue address the role of family involvement in relation to innovation. Does too much love hinder innovation? Family involvement and firms' innovativeness in family-owned Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), by Filippo Ferrari (2020, this issue) reflects on the role of family cohesion and its flexibility in the process of innovation, drawing upon the Olson Circumplex model (Olson, 2000) which is applied in a sample of Italian family businesses. The study indicates that unbalanced families show the lowest levels of innovation, although family cohesion and flexibility do not show a significant correlation with the overall level of organizational innovation. Flexibility shows a positive correlation with the process and behavioral innovation, which can be explained by the demand for new forms and organizational routines to deal with process innovation. Here the author suggests some human resources practices that promote flexibility, such as labor rotation (Ortega, 2001), or the development of a horizontal internal career (Ichniowsky et al. 1996, 1997, 1999). Families that lack cohesion show a negative correlation with strategic innovation and process innovation. Ferrari (2020, this issue) considers as disconnected family systems those in which family members are not cohesive and have little family loyalty. On the other hand, innovation in processes is encouraged with new ideas through contributions in terms of new ways of doing things. According to the authors, the Olson Circumplex model (Olson, 2000) offers a framework that can diagnose the extent to which family systems are balanced and how the effects of balanced or unbalanced family dynamics can affect the family business (Daspit et al. 2018). Business reviewers were especially interested on the conclusions of this paper, and also pointed that it would be necessary more research on that kind of negative influences stemmed from lack of cohesion within the business family.
Entrepreneurial orientation and product innovation: The moderating role of family involvement in management, by Fredyma, Ruiz Palomo and Diéguez (2020, this issue) addresses a classic concept closely linked to the study of innovation such as entrepreneurial orientation. The relationships between this variable and product innovation, incremental innovation and radical innovation are examined. The influence of family performance on the company is also analyzed. In their conclusions, Fredyma, Ruiz Palomo and Diéguez (2020, this issue) point out that family involvement weakens the positive effect of entrepreneurial orientation in product innovation, especially in case of radical innovation. Therefore, the family business must be aware of these weaknesses to correct them, professionalizing with non-family managers and including their participation in innovation decisions. This conclusion is stressed by both business editors, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Gallardo, who point out that: "Having a network of external collaborators, some of them generalists and others specialized in specific problems, is nowadays practically indispensable."
Finally, the academic editors sincerely appreciate the contributions of two prominent Spanish businessmen, who have contributed to enrich this special issue with a business perspective, which helps to overcome the division that is sometimes perceived between the academic world and the business one. Both Antonio Gallardo and Ignacio Osborne represent the entrepreneurial vision that they have been able to maintain in their families and in their companies for generations. We all know how challenging it is for a family business to be entrepreneurial across generations (e.g., De Massis, Eddleston and Rovelli, 2020). Last but now least, we want to express our gratitude to the editor of the European Journal of Family Business, Professor Vanesa Guzmán for her collaboration and contributions.
The Osborne Group, founded in 1772, is one of the oldest family businesses in Europe. The group evolved from the original business of raising and exporting wines from Jerez to a wider food and beverage group which includes quality wines from various Spanish designations of origin, premium spirits, and products derived from Iberian pork, with a growing international acceptance, entering markets as demanding as China. Ignacio Osborne, a member of the sixth family generation, is the current president of the company since 2017, after 21 years as CEO. The company has been especially innovative in marketing, creating the symbol of the bull in the 50s, which has become a symbol that identifies the Spanish, transcending its initial origin as a reference for the winery.
Almirallis a pharmaceutical company founded in 1943. It is currently run by the second generation, which are giving way to the third. Although innovation is an essential requirement to compete in pharmaceutics, Almirall has managed to develop some well-known products in Spain, as Almax and Cleboril, becoming one of most innovative companies in the industry. Antonio Gallardo is honorary vice president of his company, which he chaired for 26 years. In addition, he was also president of the Family Council and the Family Office, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Family Business Network and vice president of the Family Business Institute.

Innovation in family firms is still a controversial issue within the academic community and poses some unique challenges for family business owners and managers. This special issue on innovation in family firms results from the cooperation of both academic and business guest editors, in a pioneering initiative that is not usual in academic journals. Indeed, a key feature of this Special Issue has been the collaboration with two family business leaders, who have been involved in the editorial process together with the academics. The two business editors that we involved are Antonio Gallardo, Vicepresident of Almirall and former director of FBN-Family Business Network, and Ignacio Osborne, CEO of the Osborne Group and Chairman of the Spanish Family Firm Institute. In order to introduce the six papers that make up this special issue on innovation in family firms, we as academic editors are pleased to include some comments from the business editors that emerged during our interactions with the aim to make a step forward toward bridging the gap between research and practice on family business innovation, acknowledging the different perspectives and approaches adopted by academics and practitioners. As the business editor Mr. Osborne points: "Innovation issues in family firms are nowadays more important than ever, due to the rapid developments that are occurring in the business world and its corresponding technologies". Despite being a topic analyzed by a number of authors over time (Feranita, Kotlar and De Massis, 2017; Aparicio, Iturralde and Sánchez-Famoso, 2020 in this issue; Chrisman, Chua, De Massis, Frattini and Wright, 2015), the study of innovation in family business still requires a greater volume of research to provide answers to the needs of family businesses. The distinctive nature of family firms results in a complex influence on the innovation process (De Massis, Frattini and Lichtenthaler, 2013), which is reflected in mixed research findings. For instance, the conclusions of the published research offer sometimes contradictory results, since family businesses can be considered innovative (Aronoff, 1998; Craig and Moores, 2006) or conservative (Sharma, Chrisman, y Chua, 1997; Zahra, Hayton y Salvato, 2004; Gómez-Mejía et al., 2007), with several studies that can support whatever of the two options. Family businesses present a number of characteristics that, a priori, seem to favor innovation, such as long-term orientation (Tagiuri and Davis, 1996; Ward and Aronoff, 1994), the desire for continuity through the following generations (Miroshnychenko et al., 2020; Gallo, 1995), patient capital (De Massis, Audretsch, Uhlaner and Kammerlander, 2018; Sirmon and Hitt, 2003), and the long tenure of their main leaders (Lorenzo, 2020). The replacement of the prior generation by the next generation implies the access of younger people to the leadership of the company, who also often present a greater level of qualification (De Massis et al., 2008; Cabrera-Suárez, 2011). Young and qualified leaders would provide a new momentum to the firm, by means of the renewal of the firm (Núñez-Cacho and Lorenzo, 2020). Likewise, the successors receive an important legacy by means of the values of the family business (Erdogan et al., 2020), such as effort, perseverance, austerity, excellence, long-term orientation and entrepreneurial spirit, as basic foundations of their way of understanding business activity (Bermejo, 2008). Accordingly, the new generation managers could be in the best conditions to reinvent the company, since they know the business from within and they also provide the new vision of a person with a working life ahead. Another factor that favors the renewal impulse of the next generation is the familial support to carry out a prolonged tenure over time, which will not be as conditioned by short-term results as in other types of companies, by the so-called patient capital (Sirmon and Hitt, 2003) of the family business (Lorenzo, 2020). But, even if these ideal conditions are met in a specific family firm, it is not guaranteed that the company realizes the innovation it needs. Therefore, it is needed to shed more light about the determinants and conditions for innovation. The editors of this special issue selected a number of papers to reflect the state-of-the-art on this topic, indicating some of the most promising research lines on innovation. According to the business editor Mr. Gallardo, "A very important aspect emerging from this special issue is that the papers published in it reveal that external contributions to the internal know-how of the family and the business are often vital to help produce the changes needed by a family firm for innovation to take place". Innovation in the family business has been a phenomenon of great interest to researchers, especially in the last decade. This is highlighted in the article that opens this special issue by presenting a complete bibliometric review of the literature on innovation in family businesses. Generally, researchers have noted that the influence of the family is the factor that makes this type of businesses different from the other ones (Habbershon and Williams, 1999; Lorenzo and Núñez-Cacho, 2012). However, in order to conclude that this is really true, it is necessary to identify the nature of these differences and determine how and why they affect the innovative behavior of the family business. The paper Innovation on family businesses: A holistic bibliometric(Aparicio, Iturralde and Sánchez-Famoso, 2020) offers an overview of the research field through an analysis of 207 articles that were published between 1994 and 2017. The authors complement other recent reviews such as those by Feranita, Kotlar and De Massis (2017) and Calabrò, Vecchiarini, Gast, Campopiano, De Massis and Kraus (2019), and reflect about the take-off of research on innovation that takes place since 2009. In the study two differentiated periods are highlighted: An initial one that covers the years 1994 to 2009, and one of expansion from 2010 to 2017. In addition, they identify the most influential journals, the most referenced articles, the most productive scholars -namely, De Massis, Frattini, Craig, Chrisman, Fang, Kotlar and Nordqvist appear as the most productive and referenced ones- and the main lines of research developed, providing a clear and synthetic map of innovation research in family businesses today. This paper approaches innovation from a more theoretical perspective, and also presents the lines of research that are currently being developed. These lines include the internal factors of the family business and its influence on innovation, as well as external factors, among others advances in research in the subject. The paper An Analysis of Open Innovation Determinants: The Case Study of Singapore based Family owned Enterprises, by Koh, Kong and Timperio (2020, this issue) analyzes the drivers of open innovation by studying cases of family businesses in Singapore. The authors highlight the external determinants and catalysts of innovation projects, such as family and business culture, access to external funds, government support for initiatives, market dynamics and partnership between companies. In addition to these six external determinants, there are two other factors that have a great influence on open innovation. First, family capital, which is the main source of financing for innovative initiatives. Second, a strong external network, supported by Singapore's legal and regulatory framework that fosters innovation, promotes the development of an enabling business environment so that the spirit of innovation can truly thrive. Most of the surveyed companies' managers mentioned process innovation as the most critical aspect, and also organizational innovation. Process innovation is considered superior by the companies included in the sample due to their capabilities to drive product innovation, marketing and organizational structure (and people). Organizational innovation is also considered of utmost importance, due to the need to adopt technologies such as digitalization, robotics or automation, which require an adequate organizational structure. Some ideas from the surveyed managers highlight these statements, like: "The correct processes create the necessary conditions to shape the products, as well as the marketing and organization structures," as well as "Having cutting-edge processes underway is a key differentiator." This study also reflects the need to establish new financing mechanisms adapted to the peculiarities of innovation processes. External capital injection and stimulus policies are necessary, although not sufficient, since they must be combined with the determinants of the internal functioning of family businesses. The relevance of the external network is also highlighted in the paper Collaborative innovation in the family SME: conceptualization, goals, and success factors, by Arzubiaga, Maseda, Uribarri and Palma Ruiz (2020, this issue), which analyzes the strategy of collaborative innovation that seeks the creation of knowledge, new product designs and Improving the efficiency of the production process. Among the conditions of collaborative innovation, four groups stand out: The composition of the management team (in terms of family members percentage and number of generations involved in management), abilities (cognitive factors, absorption capacity and trajectory in innovation), attitudes, and legacy preservation, (referring to socio-emotional wealth and internal behavior). These factors of small and medium family businesses play a crucial role in the successful design and implementation of collaborative innovation. The main contributions of this paper can be summarized in the need for establish solid bases to deepen in the future the study of collaborative innovation. Moreover, a second contribution refers to the identification of the distinguishing characteristics of family SMEs. Arzubiaga, Maseda, Uribarri and Palma Ruiz (2020, this issue) also propose the analysis of the possible moderating effects of firm size and the sector to refine the impact of the variables in this model, looking to achieve excellence in collaborative innovation. As business reviewer, Mr. Osbornehave highlighted collaborative innovation as one of the relevant issues in order to reinforce the role of innovation in their companies. Absorptive capacity is another aspect of great interest to researchers. There are numerous factors that condition it, some of them are features of the family character that make the behavior of family businesses paradoxical (Kotlar et al. 2020). The paper titled A mediating model of innovative capacity between absorptive capacity and family business performanceby Hernández-Perlines, Ariza-Montes and Araya-Castillo (2020, this issue) addresses the issue about absorptive capacity. Absorptive capacity is related to the identification, assimilation and exploitation of new knowledge by the company. Those family businesses that have these capabilities improve their performance. In addition, this effect is enhanced by the innovative capacity of the company, which acts as a mediator between absorption capacity and the company's performance, reinforcing this relationship. Thus, family business managers should focus their efforts on providing their organizations with the necessary skills to absorb and exploit knowledge. This will be easier if the company has developed innovative capabilities. In this sense, the business editor Mr. Gallardo points that: "There is also the possibility of establishing an advisory council with external collaborators that serves as a contrast to the company's board, in which oftentimes the weight of the family is too decisive." The last two papers in this special issue address the role of family involvement in relation to innovation. Does too much love hinder innovation? Family involvement and firms' innovativeness in family-owned Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), by Filippo Ferrari (2020, this issue) reflects on the role of family cohesion and its flexibility in the process of innovation, drawing upon the Olson Circumplex model (Olson, 2000) which is applied in a sample of Italian family businesses. The study indicates that unbalanced families show the lowest levels of innovation, although family cohesion and flexibility do not show a significant correlation with the overall level of organizational innovation. Flexibility shows a positive correlation with the process and behavioral innovation, which can be explained by the demand for new forms and organizational routines to deal with process innovation. Here the author suggests some human resources practices that promote flexibility, such as labor rotation (Ortega, 2001), or the development of a horizontal internal career (Ichniowsky et al. 1996, 1997, 1999). Families that lack cohesion show a negative correlation with strategic innovation and process innovation. Ferrari (2020, this issue) considers as disconnected family systems those in which family members are not cohesive and have little family loyalty. On the other hand, innovation in processes is encouraged with new ideas through contributions in terms of new ways of doing things. According to the authors, the Olson Circumplex model (Olson, 2000) offers a framework that can diagnose the extent to which family systems are balanced and how the effects of balanced or unbalanced family dynamics can affect the family business (Daspit et al. 2018). Business reviewers were especially interested on the conclusions of this paper, and also pointed that it would be necessary more research on that kind of negative influences stemmed from lack of cohesion within the business family. Entrepreneurial orientation and product innovation: The moderating role of family involvement in management, by Fredyma, Ruiz Palomo and Diéguez (2020, this issue) addresses a classic concept closely linked to the study of innovation such as entrepreneurial orientation. The relationships between this variable and product innovation, incremental innovation and radical innovation are examined. The influence of family performance on the company is also analyzed. In their conclusions, Fredyma, Ruiz Palomo and Diéguez (2020, this issue) point out that family involvement weakens the positive effect of entrepreneurial orientation in product innovation, especially in case of radical innovation. Therefore, the family business must be aware of these weaknesses to correct them, professionalizing with non-family managers and including their participation in innovation decisions. This conclusion is stressed by both business editors, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Gallardo, who point out that: "Having a network of external collaborators, some of them generalists and others specialized in specific problems, is nowadays practically indispensable." Finally, the academic editors sincerely appreciate the contributions of two prominent Spanish businessmen, who have contributed to enrich this special issue with a business perspective, which helps to overcome the division that is sometimes perceived between the academic world and the business one. Both Antonio Gallardo and Ignacio Osborne represent the entrepreneurial vision that they have been able to maintain in their families and in their companies for generations. We all know how challenging it is for a family business to be entrepreneurial across generations (e.g., De Massis, Eddleston and Rovelli, 2020). Last but now least, we want to express our gratitude to the editor of the European Journal of Family Business, Professor Vanesa Guzmán for her collaboration and contributions. The Osborne Group, founded in 1772, is one of the oldest family businesses in Europe. The group evolved from the original business of raising and exporting wines from Jerez to a wider food and beverage group which includes quality wines from various Spanish designations of origin, premium spirits, and products derived from Iberian pork, with a growing international acceptance, entering markets as demanding as China. Ignacio Osborne, a member of the sixth family generation, is the current president of the company since 2017, after 21 years as CEO. The company has been especially innovative in marketing, creating the symbol of the bull in the 50s, which has become a symbol that identifies the Spanish, transcending its initial origin as a reference for the winery. Almirall is a pharmaceutical company founded in 1943. It is currently run by the second generation, which are giving way to the third. Although innovation is an essential requirement to compete in pharmaceutics, Almirall has managed to develop some well-known products in Spain, as Almax and Cleboril, becoming one of most innovative companies in the industry. Antonio Gallardo is honorary vice president of his company, which he chaired for 26 years. In addition, he was also president of the Family Council and the Family Office, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Family Business Network and vice president of the Family Business Institute.

The PGC was funded by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Grant Nos. MH085520 (to PFS) and MH080403. Statistical analyses were carried out on the Genetic Cluster Computer (http://www. geneticcluster.org) hosted by SURFsara and financially supported by the Netherlands Scientific Organization Grant No. NWO 480-05-003 (to D. Posthuma) and the department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam along with a supplement from the Dutch Brain Foundation. The Bonn/Mannheim GWAS was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the Integrated Genome Research Network Systematic Investigation of the Molecular Causes of Major Mood Disorders and Schizophrenia Grant Nos. 01GS08144 and 01GS08147, under the auspices of the National Genome Research Network plus, and through the Integrated Network Integrated Understanding of Causes and Mechanisms in Mental Disorders, under the auspices of the e:Med Programme Grant Nos. 01ZX1314A and 01ZX1314G. The Bonn/Mannheim GWAS was also supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) Grant Nos. FOR2107, RI908/11-1, and NO246/10-1. The GenRED GWAS project was supported by NIMH R01 Grant Nos. MH061686 (to DFL), MH059542 (to W.H. Coryell), MH075131 (W.B. Lawson), MH059552 (JBP), MH059541 (W.A. Scheftner), and MH060912 (MMW). Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry MARS study was supported by the BMBF Program Molecular Diagnostics: Validation of Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Outcome in Major Depression by Grant No. 01ES0811. Genotyping was supported by the Bavarian Ministry of Commerce, and the BMBF in the framework of the National Genome Research Network by Grant Nos. NGFN2 and NGFN-Plus, FKZ 01GS0481 and 01GS08145. The Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety and the Netherlands Twin Register contributed to Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN)-MDD and to MDD2000. Funding for NTR/NESDA was from the following: the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (MagW/ZonMW Grant Nos. 904-61-090, 985-10-002, 904-61-193, 480-04004, 400-05-717, 912-100-20; Spinozapremie Grant No. 56-464-14192; Geestkracht program Grant No. 10-000-1002); the Center for Medical Systems Biology (NWO Genomics), Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure, Vrije Universiteit's Institutes for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, BIC/BioAssist/RK (Grant No. 2008.024); the European Science Foundation (Grant No. EU/QLRT-200101254); the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (Grant No. FP7/2007-2013); ENGAGE (Grant No. HEALTH-F4-2007-201413); and the European Science Council (Grant No. ERC 230374). Genotyping was funded in part by the GAIN of the Foundation for the US National Institutes of Health, and analysis was supported by grants from GAIN and the NIMH (Grant No. MH081802). Funding for the QIMR samples was provided by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Grant Nos. 241944, 339462, 389927, 389875, 389891, 389892, 389938, 442915, 442981, 496675, 496739, 552485, 552498, 613602, 613608, 613674, 619667), the Australian Research Council (Grant Nos. FT0991360, FT0991022), the FP-5 GenomEUtwin Project (Grant No. QLG2-CT-2002-01254), and the US National Institutes of Health (Grant Nos. AA07535, AA10248, AA13320, AA13321, AA13326, AA14041, MH66206, DA12854, DA019951), and the Center for Inherited Disease Research (Baltimore, MD). RADIANT was funded by the following: a joint grant from the UK Medical Research Council and GlaxoSmithKline (Grant No. r G0701420); the National Institute for Health Research Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London; the UK Medical Research Council (Grant No. G0000647), and the Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnership and Pathways (Grant No. 286213). The GENDEP study was funded by a European Commission Framework 6 grant (EC Contract Ref.: LSHB-CT2003- 503428). Genotyping of STAR* D was supported by NIMH Grant No. MH072802 (to SPH). STAR* D was funded by NIMH Grant No. N01MH90003 to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (to A.J. Rush). The CoLaus/PsyCoLaus study was supported by research grants from GlaxoSmithKline, the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 3200B0-105993, 3200B0-118308, 33CSCO-122661, 33CS30-139468, 33CS30-148401) and two grants from GlaxoSmithKline Clinical Genetics. SHIP is part of the Community Medicine Research net of the University of Greifswald, Germany, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant Nos. 01ZZ9603, 01ZZ0103, 01ZZ0403), the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, and the Social Ministry of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Genome-wide data have been supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant No. 03ZIK012) and a joint grant from Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany, and the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. SHIP-LEGEND is funded by the DFG (Grant No. GR 1912/5-1). The TwinGene study was supported by the Swedish Ministry for Higher Education, the Swedish Research Council (Grant No. M-2005-1112), GenomEUtwin (Grant Nos. EU/QLRT2001-01254,QLG2-CT-2002-01254), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and the US National Institutes of Health (Grant No. U01 DK066134). The collection of PRISME control subjects and genotyping of the 883 Danish control subjects was supported by grants from The Danish Strategic Research Council, The Stanley Research Foundation, and H. Lundbeck A/S. The Muenster Depression cohorts were supported by the European Union (Grant No. N Health-F2-2008-222963) and by grants from the DFG (Grant Nos. FOR 2107 and DA1151/5-1 [ to UD]), Innovative Medizinische Forschung of the Medical Faculty of Munster (Grant Nos. DA120903, DA111107, and DA211012 [ all to UD]). Generation Scotland is supported by a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award "Stratifying Resilience and Depression Longitudinally" (Reference No.: 104036/Z/14/Z) and core support from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates (Grant No. CZD/16/6) and the Scottish Funding Council (Grant No. HR03006).r The NIMH Cell Repository at Rutgers University and the NIMH Center for Collaborative Genetic Studies on Mental Disorders made essential contributions to this project. Genotyping was carried out by the Broad Institute Center for Genotyping and Analysis with support from Grant No. U54 RR020278 (which partially subsidized the genotyping of the GenRED cases). Collection and quality control analyses of the control dataset were supported by grants from NIMH and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.r We acknowledge the contributions of Dr. George S Zubenko and Dr. Wendy N Zubenko, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, to the GenRED I project. We are grateful to Knowledge Networks (Menlo Park, CA) for assistance in collecting the control dataset. We express our profound appreciation to the families who participated in this project, and to the many clinicians who facilitated the referral of participants to the study. We thank the twins and their families registered at the Australian Twin Registry for their participation in the many studies that have contributed to this research. We thank V. Mooser, G. Weaber, and P. Vollenweider who initiated the CoLaus project. We express our gratitude to the Lausanne inhabitants who volunteered to participate in the PsyCoLaus study. We would like to acknowledge the PRISME-study group, Denmark, for collection of the PRISME samples. We thank David M. Hougaard, Section of Neonatal Screening and Hormones, Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark; Preben Bo Mortensen, National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University, Denmark; Merete Nordentoft, Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark; and The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Denmark. Funding from the BBSRC and MRC is gratefully acknowledged.r Data used in the preparation of this article were obtained from the Genetic and Environmental Risk for Alzheimer's disease (GERAD1) Consortium. As such, the investigators within the GERAD1 consortia contributed to the design and implementation of GERAD1 and/or provided data but did not participate in analysis or writing of this report.r SS, HS, KS, and TET are employees of deCODE Genetics/Amgen. VA received funds from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, from the European Union (FP 7), and from the Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research Munster, and he has served on the advisory boards of, or has given presentations on behalf of the following companies: Astra-Zeneca, Janssen-Organon, Lilly, Lundbeck, Servier, Pfizer, Otsuka, and Trommsdorff. BTB has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia and honoraria from Lundbeck, BristolMeyers Squibb, Sanofi, Servier, Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer. IJD is supported by the MRC-BBSRC, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, part of the cross council Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative (Grant No. MR/K026992/1). HJG has received funding from German Research Foundation and Federal Ministry of Education and Research Germany and speakers honoraria from Eli Lilly and Servier. CH acknowledges support from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). DJM is supported by an , funded by the Chief Scientist Office. AMM is supported by a Scottish Funding Council Senior Clinical Fellowship and by the Dame Theresa and Mortimer Sackler Foundation and has received research support from Pfizer, Janssen, and Lilly. CMM was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Grant No. NOW VENI 916-76-125). BM- M has consulted for Affectis Pharmaceuticals. MP has served on the advisory boards of Lundbeck and Eli Lilly ; BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a disabling mood disorder, and despite a known heritable component, a large meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies revealed no replicable genetic risk variants. Given prior evidence of heterogeneity by age at onset in MDD, we tested whether genome-wide significant risk variants for MDD could be identified in cases subdivided by age at onset. METHODS: Discovery case-control genome-wide association studies were performed where cases were stratified using increasing/decreasing age-at-onset cutoffs; significant single nucleotide polymorphisms were tested in nine independent replication samples, giving a total sample of 22,158 cases and 133,749 control subjects for subsetting. Polygenic score analysis was used to examine whether differences in shared genetic risk exists between earlier and adult-onset MDD with commonly comorbid disorders of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and coronary artery disease. RESULTS: We identified one replicated genome-wide significant locus associated with adult-onset (.27 years) MDD (rs7647854, odds ratio: 1.16, 95% confidence interval: 1.11–1.21, p 5 5.2 3 10-11). Using polygenic score analyses, we show that earlier-onset MDD is genetically more similar to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder than adult-onset MDD. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that using additional phenotype data previously collected by genetic studies to tackle phenotypic heterogeneity in MDD can successfully lead to the discovery of genetic risk factor despite reduced sample size. Furthermore, our results suggest that the genetic susceptibility to MDD differs between adult- and earlier-onset MDD, with earlier-onset cases having a greater genetic overlap with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. ; United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) MH085520 MH080403 ; SURFsara ; Netherlands Scientific Organization NWO 480-05-003 ; Department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam ; Dutch Brain Foundation ; Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) 01GS08144 01GS08147 ; National Genome Research Network plus, and through the Integrated Network Integrated Understanding of Causes and Mechanisms in Mental Disorders ; e:Med Programme 01ZX1314A 01ZX1314G ; German Research Foundation (DFG) FOR2107 RI908/11-1 NO246/10-1 ; United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) MH061686 MH059542 MH075131 MH059552 MH059541 MH060912 ; Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) 01ES0811 ; Bavarian Ministry of Commerce ; Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) NGFN2 NGFN-Plus FKZ 01GS0481 01GS08145 ; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (MagW/ZonMW) 904-61-090 985-10-002 904-61-193 480-04004 400-05-717 912-100-20 ; Spinozapremie 56-464-14192 ; Geestkracht program 10-000-1002 ; Center for Medical Systems Biology (NWO Genomics) ; Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure ; Vrije Universiteit's Institutes for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam ; BIC/BioAssist/RK 2008.024 ; European Science Foundation (ESF) EU/QLRT-200101254 ; European Union (EU) FP7/2007-2013 ; ENGAGE HEALTH-F4-2007-201413 ; European Science Council ERC 230374 ; United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA ; GAIN ; United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) MH081802 MH072802 N01MH90003 ; National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia 241944 339462 389927 389875 389891 389892 389938 442915 442981 496675 496739 552485 552498 613602 613608 613674 619667 ; Australian Research Council FT0991360 FT0991022 ; FP-5 GenomEUtwin Project QLG2-CT-2002-01254 ; United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA AA07535 AA10248 AA13320 AA13321 AA13326 AA14041 MH66206 DA12854 DA019951 U01 DK066134 ; Center for Inherited Disease Research (Baltimore, MD) ; UK Medical Research Council and GlaxoSmithKline G0701420 ; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) ; Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust ; Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London ; Medical Research Council UK (MRC) G0000647 ; European Union (EU) 286213 ; European Commission Framework 6 grant (EC) LSHB-CT2003- 503428 ; GlaxoSmithKline ; Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne ; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 3200B0-105993 3200B0-118308 33CSCO-122661 33CS30-139468 33CS30-148401 ; GlaxoSmithKline Clinical Genetics ; Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) 01ZZ9603 01ZZ0103 01ZZ0403 03ZIK012 ; Ministry of Cultural Affairs ; Social Ministry of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania ; Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany ; German Research Foundation (DFG) GR 1912/5-1 FOR 2107 DA1151/5-1 ; Swedish Ministry for Higher Education ; Swedish Research Council M-2005-1112 ; GenomEUtwin QLG2-CT-2002-01254 EU/QLRT2001-01254 ; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research ; Danske Strategiske Forskningsrad (DSF) ; Stanley Research Foundation ; European Union (EU) N Health-F2-2008-222963 ; Innovative Medizinische Forschung of the Medical Faculty of Munster DA120903 DA111107 DA211012 ; Wellcome Trust Strategic Award "Stratifying Resilience and Depression Longitudinally" 104036/Z/14/Z ; Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates CZD/16/6 ; Scottish Funding Council HR03006 ; Broad Institute Center for Genotyping and Analysis U54 RR020278 ; NARSAD ; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) ; Medical Research Council UK (MRC) ; Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) ; Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research Munster ; National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia ; MRC-BBSRC, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, part of the cross council Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative MR/K026992/1 ; German Research Foundation (DFG) ; Federal Ministry of Education ; Research Germany and speakers honoraria from Eli Lilly and Servier ; Medical Research Council UK (MRC) ; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) ; NRS Career Fellowship - Chief Scientist Office ; Scottish Funding Council Senior Clinical Fellowship ; Dame Theresa and Mortimer Sackler Foundation ; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) NOW VENI 916-76-125 ; Lundbeckfonden R155-2014-1724 ; Medical Research Council UK (MRC) MR/K026992/1 MC_PC_U127561128 1292844 ; Chief Scientist Office CZD/16/6/4