Bo Carlson

Among the reasons for studying the technological system for factory automation were the strong position of Sweden in all of the technologies which make up factory automation and the pervasive nature of these technologies in terms of their diffusion among a broad set of industries. But while it is often assumed that there is a strongly positive impact of automation on economic performance, there is little conclusive empirical evidence. A recent search of articles on automation yielded the result that there was only a handful of articles on the subject in economics journals during the period 1985–91 (—the few that were found dealt mostly with diffusion and labor issues), while there have been numerous articles published in business, management, and engineering journals. The majority of these articles deal with the problem of quantifying the benefits of, and therefore justifying investment in, automation technology at the level of the firm.

This paper reviews the emergence of 10 industry clusters and examines the role of individual actors as well as public policy in each case. Some empirical regularities in the form of path dependence, knowledge spillovers from previous or related activities, the necessity of a triggering event, and an entrepreneurial/organizational response are observed. Six functions of public policy in cluster formation are identified. While all of these functions are necessary for the formation of a successful industry cluster, they may not be sufficient. Public policy can support and sometimes even initiate a cluster in its early phase – although spontaneous development and serendipity seem to be more prevalent mechanisms. A more frequent role of public policy is to provide support and reinforcement in the later phase of cluster formation. The policy requirements in each phase vary a great deal both over time and between clusters. No single policy is universally applicable, and even sustained and ...

In the study of The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (1989), the internationally renownedDanish researcher Gösta Esping-Andersen characterizes the Scandinavian countries as examples of a social democratic welfare model. Significant for this model is the ideal of equal social benefits to all citizens and far-reaching state ambitions concerning security and well-being for all members of society. Furthermore, the governments’ relatively high expenditures require a labour market policy prioritizing full employment and high tax revenues (Esping-Andersen 1989, 1996). For sports, this social democratic welfare model has led to substantial state support. However, despite the historical emphasis on state regulations in the Scandinavian countries, the governance of sport has been shaped by a considerable degree of autonomy and self-regulation. In the Scandinavian countries, sports have always had their roots in civil society – organized as a large ‘people’s movement’ on voluntary and idealistic premises. Thus, the states have permitted grants and subsidies but avoided political pressure with regard to regulation and normative development of sport clubs and federations. In this respect, Scandinavian sport has been able to uphold a normative autonomy regarding values, morals and sport policy, at least ideologically. Even if the idea of the idealistic virtue of sport as ‘spiritual fosterage’ and ‘physical education’ should not be taken too far, the ideology of a ‘popular movement’, voluntarism and fosterage plays a vital role. In recent decades many characteristics of the Scandinavian – or social democratic – welfare model have declined. The governance of society has become increasingly differentiated with more individualistic and pragmatic approaches towards welfare and governance. These changes can also be seen in the field of sports. Despite some continuance, the Scandinavian sport model has become gradually more differentiated due to comprehensive societal processes such as professionalization, commercialization and globalization. For instance, club football in Denmark has become highly commercialized, regardless of its history of strong amateurism. Norway is facing a similar development. In Sweden, the commercialization of sport has been held back somewhat by the prevailing ideology of sport as a voluntary movement. In the long run, however, it can be questioned whether this ideology of voluntarism can retain its strong position. The Scandinavian societies and their welfare systems are in transition – and so are sports and the governance of sport. Lately, several journals have published articles concerning sports in Scandinavia. For instance, in 2009, Torbjörn Andersson and Bo Carlsson were the editors of a theme issue in Soccer and Society concerning ‘Football in Scandinavia: A Fusion of Welfare Policy and the Market’. In May 2010 Sport in Society published a theme issue with the title ‘Sport in Scandinavian Societies’ (Ørnulf et al. 2010). In addition, in 2008 an issue on ‘Swedish Physical Education Research’ was published in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (Quennerstedt and Öhman 2008). These articles have without doubt shed new insights into sports in the Scandinavian countries. Some articles also deal with questions concerning sport policy and the governance of sport, at least implicitly. Regardless of this, we find the need of a International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics Vol. 3, No. 3, November 2011, 305–309

Entrepreneur/Executive in Residence programs address the VCs’ need to better predict − through the variegated experience of individual entrepreneurs − the how, why, when and where of successful venture formation. Venture capital executives assert that ventures associated with an EIR program will sell for a higher price (Jacobius, 2004) when it comes time for the VC to exit the deal.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a major problem despite the availability of drugs that influence major risk factors. New treatments are needed, and there is growing interest in therapies that may have multiple actions. Thyroid hormone modulates several cardiovascular risk factors and delays atherosclerosis progression in humans. However, use of thyroid hormone is limited by side effects, especially in the heart. To overcome this limitation, pharmacologically selective thyromimetics that mimic metabolic effects of thyroid hormone and bypass side effects are under development. In animal models, such thyromimetics have been shown to stimulate cholesterol elimination through LDL and HDL pathways and decrease body weight without eliciting side effects. We report here studies on a selective thyromimetic [KB2115; (3-[[3,5-dibromo-4-[4-hydroxy-3-(1-methylethyl)-phenoxy]-phenyl]-amino]-3-oxopropanoic acid)] in humans. In moderately overweight and hypercholesterolemic subjects KB211...

In the European project MANIAC—Innovative Measurement Methodology in Quality Assessment of Coating, a methodology was developed to assess the long term durability of coatings. The project was focused on environmentally friendly waterborne automotive multi-layer ...

This paper presents a revision and re-structuring of the Resources/Capabilities/Competences (RCC) perspective, arguably the most important research program in strategy, based on a thorough epistemological analysis and a re-interpretation of Edith Penrose’s 1959 classic. Three distinct schools of thought are identified and differentiated according to a set of dimensions spanning the epistemological, methodological and conceptual domains. The three schools are: