Are Nuclear-Weapon States not Parties to the Non-proliferation Treaty Ready to Renounce to the Possession of Nuclear Weapons?

The situation of nuclear-weapon states not parties to the NPT is different from the situation of the nuclear-weapon states parties to that treaty. This last group of countries has signed and ratified a treaty that encourage them to begin negotiations in good faith for the discussion of concrete measures that lead them to nuclear disarmament, while the first group of states have made no commitment to do that. In other words, nuclear-weapon states not parties to the NPT have made no commitment to nuclear disarmament and are not obliged to report anything related to the possession of nuclear weapons to the any specific body or organ or to the international community. Taking into account the position of nuclear-weapon states parties to the NPT regarding the possession of nuclear weapons, there is no possibility to convince nuclear-weapon states not parties to this treaty to renounce to the possession of this type of weapons under the present circumstances.     

The VIII NPT Review Conference: A Successful or Failure Event?

In August 1945, the United States dropped two nuclear bombs against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki initiating the so-called “nuclear era”. Some years later, the number of countries possessing this terrible weapon increased to five. Today, eight or nine countries are in possession of such destructive weapons. What has done by the international community to stop the proliferation of such deadly weapon? The international community began in the 1950s the consideration of specific measures with the purpose of impeding further the proliferation of nuclear weapons and, at appropriate time, to begin the destruction of all nuclear weapons in a defined period at multilateral level and under international supervision. After so many years of efforts in this direction, these two important objectives have not been still reached. This paper analyses each one of the main outcomes of the VIII NPT Review Conference and recommend specific actions to be implemented by all NPT State parties in order not only to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons but to destroy them.     

Multiattribute Risk Analysis in Nuclear Emergency Management

Radiation protection authorities have seen a potential for applying multiattribute risk analysis in nuclear emergency management and planning to deal with conflicting objectives, different parties involved, and uncertainties. This type of approach is expected to help in the following areas: to ensure that all relevant attributes are considered in decision making; to enhance communication between the concerned parties, including the public; and to provide a method for explicitly including risk analysis in the process. A multiattribute utility theory analysis was used to select a strategy for protecting the population after a simulated nuclear accident. The value-focused approach and the use of a neutral facilitator were identified as being useful.     

The impact of national culture on negotiating behaviors across borders

Recent declines in American competitiveness and the increasing globalization of American business underscore the importance of one's culturally-based negotiating ability in international business transactions. This paper examines the impact of cultural dimensions on negotiating effectiveness on three levels: the role of a single dimension of culture, the interactive effects between multiple dimensions of culture, and the degree of cultural compatibility between negotiating parties. Two existing models of negotiation are integrated, outlining the critical importance of culture in each stage of effective international business negotiations. The integrated model is then applied to the cultures of eleven nations. Propositions and suggestions for future research are provided.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Academy of International Business Conference. The authors wish to thank two anonymous AIB reviewers and session participants at the AIB meeting for their constructive comments concerning the paper.     

The IAEA, the NPT and the VIII NPT Review Conference

Since the end of World War II the international community has been building, step by step and with many difficulties, the nuclear weapon non-proliferation regime. The purpose of this regime is the prevention of the proliferation of this type of weaponry and to achieve, as one of their final goal, the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons and the closure of all nuclear weapon production facilities or the conversion of these facilities for their exclusively use with peaceful purposes in the future. Despite all efforts made by the majority of the international community, the world still is far from achieving this important objective. This article offers to the international community a group of actions for the strengthening of the nuclear weapon non-proliferation regime and for the beginning of multilateral negotiations towards nuclear disarmament.     

PARTY CUES IN ELECTIONS UNDER MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE: THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM US STATES

In federal countries, voters’ ability to evaluate the performance of their leaders might be reduced when different levels of government shape policy outcomes. This can blur political accountability. In this article, we analyze how party cues (i.e., politicians’ party membership acting as a cue towards their characteristics) affect voters’ incomplete information in a federal setting. We theoretically show that party cues allow indirect inference regarding politicians using observed policy outcomes, and can alleviate the accountability problem. Empirical evidence from US presidential election results across all 50 US states over the period 1972–2008 supports this proposition. However, party cues also have a downside in that they may reduce politicians’ effort, particularly when politicians at different levels of government are from different parties.     

Limitations to Freedom: is there a Choice for Human Resource Management?

There is a great variety in human resource management (HRM) practices, not only in terms of policies and personnel activities, but also with regard to the parties involved and the procedures for decision-making. But which factors can best account for these differences? Are they due to organizational and environmental characteristics or are they basically due to the interests, preferences and power positions of the parties concerned - parties like management, employees, personnel management staff, trade union representatives, members of the works council and so on? Based on elements of industrial relations theory, organization theory and organization sociology, a research project was set up with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the factors which can shape HRM practices. The empirical part of the research consisted of paired comparative case studies from different industries. The result is a conceptual model which not only encompasses the relevant forces in the shaping of HRM, but also states the conditions determining the amount of room for manoeuvre the parties concerned have to make their own strategic choices with regard to HRM.     

Stress states in nuclear operators under conditions of shiftwork

This study examined the stress states experienced by nuclear power operators at work under an existing shift system, time-on-shift effects and the manner in which these states may be moderated by achievement motivation and a sense of coherence. The results show an incidence of stress states during evening shifts and night-shifts in the operators, which are primarily characterized by increased distraction as well as by enhanced sleepiness and low irritability. The night-shift was found to be the most problematic one in terms of increased sleepiness and distractibility, and reduced alertness. An abrupt fall in alertness during the evening shift and a considerably increased distractibility at its end was observed. These facts, as well as the lack of recuperation from daily domestic activities and caring for children at the start of the shift, suggest that besides the night duty, the evening one also constitutes a serious challenge to operational safety at this nuclear facility. Correlations found between personality characteristics and sleepiness, distractibility and irritability, indicate personal resources as important modifiers of stress states. A narrowing in the effects of motivation and sense of coherence was found in the evening shifts and night-shifts. The results have practical implications for intentional modifications of personal resources at nuclear facilities.     

The Need to Establish the Organisation for the Prohibition of Biological Weapons: A Proposal for the Future

Biological weapons are considered, by the international community, as a weapon of mass destruction. When the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) was negotiated during the 1960s and early 1970s, the negotiators considered unnecessary the establishment of an international organisation to supervise the implementation of the Convention’s provisions by the State parties. It is important to highlight that since the entry into force of the BWC, the international situation has significantly changed. For this reason perhaps the moment has arrived to consider again the proposal of settling down such an organisation in the framework of the strengthening the BWC.     

External resource provision and the international performance of SMEs – A contextual analysis

This paper investigates whether different categories of links (core and discretionary) to external resource providers are associated with the international performance of SMEs, as well as the perceived importance of external links for providing specific forms of assistance toward internationalization. A study of 180 internationally active SMEs examines whether these features vary according to the SMEs' contexts, specifically their industry and level of home economy development. The relevance of these two contexts is theoretically informed by resource dependence, environmental munificence and institutional perspectives. SME decision-makers' attribution of importance to discretionary external links predicts stronger international performance, but this is not the case with core market transactional links. Different external parties emerge as important sources of specific forms of assistance toward internationalization. Many of these results are associated with the SME's industry and home economy context. The paper concludes with a new contextually-informed model of SME egocentric networking and implications for practice.     

Stress states in nuclear operators under conditions of shiftwork

Abstract

This study examined the stress states experienced by nuclear power operators at work under an existing shift system, time-on-shift effects and the manner in which these states may be moderated by achievement motivation and a sense of coherence. The results show an incidence of stress states during evening shifts and night-shifts in the operators, which are primarily characterized by increased distraction as well as by enhanced sleepiness and low irritability. The night-shift was found to be the most problematic one in terms of increased sleepiness and distractibility, and reduced alertness. An abrupt fall in alertness during the evening shift and a considerably increased distractibility at its end were observed. These facts, as well as the lack of recuperation from daily domestic activities and caring for children at the start of the shift, suggest that besides the night duty, the evening one also constitutes a serious challenge to operational safety at this nuclear facility. Correlations found between personality characteristics and sleepiness, distractibility and irritability, indicate personal resources as important modifiers of stress states. A narrowing in the effects of motivation and sense of coherence was found in the evening shifts and night-shifts. The results have practical implications for intentional modifications of personal resources at nuclear facilities.     

Unionization Structures in International Oligopoly

We examine how competition in international markets affects a union's choice of wage regime, which can be either uniform or discriminatory. Firms are heterogeneous with regard to international competition. When unions choose their wage regimes sequentially, a discriminatory outcome becomes more likely when international competition increases. However, for intermediate levels a union may stick with a uniform wage regime even if the rival union adopts a discriminatory regime. When competition is sufficiently intense, both unions revert to the discriminatory regime. Paradoxically only in those latter instances all parties (consumers, workers, and firms) may be better off (each in aggregate) if all unions adopt a uniform wage regime. We conclude that union incentives to coordinate their wage regimes should then also become largest.     

A Mechanism‐Design Approach to Speculative Trade

When two parties have different prior beliefs about some future event, they can realize gains through speculative trade. Can these gains be realized when the parties' prior beliefs are not common knowledge? We examine a simple example in which two parties having heterogeneous prior beliefs, independently drawn from some distribution, bet on what future action one of them will choose. We define a notion of “constrained interim‐efficient” best and ask whether they can be implemented in Bayesian equilibrium by some mechanism. Our main result establishes that as the costs of unilaterally manipulating the bet's outcome become more symmetric across states, implementation becomes easier. In particular, when these costs are equal in both states, implementation is possible for any distribution.     

Stigma as a multispatial-scale process: Revisiting the worst US Superfund sites

Areas immediately adjacent to 16 of the first US national priority (NPL) hazardous waste sites that also had pre-superfund emergency actions were examined to measure local stigma. Four decades after their NPL designation, I found marked variation in these areas’ social, public health and environmental attributes. About one-third of these small areas fit the stereotype of stressed areas with environmental injustice challenges. Yet, another one-third of these sites have better measurable outcomes than a combination of their host states and counties. For example, they have elevated levels of broadband access and their local jurisdictions are classified as safe and attractive to families. I conclude that long-term stigma around a Superfund site was limited by US EPA actions, as well as by progressive state and local governments, and community groups, in other words, contributions from parties at multiple geographical scales.     

THE BALANCED US PRESS

We measure the relative ideological positions of newspapers, voters, interest groups, and political parties, using data on ballot propositions. We exploit the fact that newspapers, parties, and interest groups take positions on these propositions, and the fact that citizens ultimately vote on them. We find that, on average, newspapers in the United States are located almost exactly at the median voter in their states—that is, they are balanced around the median voter. Still, there is a significant amount of ideological heterogeneity across newspapers, which is smaller than the one found for interest groups. However, when we group propositions by issue area, we find a sizable amount of ideological imbalance: broadly speaking, newspapers are to the left of the state‐level median voter on many social issues, and to the right on many economic issues. To complete the picture, we use two existing methods of measuring bias and show that the news and editorial sections of newspapers have almost identical partisan positions.     

How Do MNCs Conduct Local Technological Innovation in a Host Country? An Examination From Subsidiaries' Perspective

The growing tendency of local technological innovation (LTI) of multinational corporations (MNCs), together with the increasing significance of subsidiaries in MNCs' overseas operations, are promoting subsidiaries' engagement in conducting LTI activities in a host country. In this research, a systematic review methodology with the identification of 116 articles is adopted for the purpose of explicating MNCs' holistic and dynamic LTI process from subsidiaries' perspective. Concretely, we propose a thorough framework upon the typical input-process-output model by taking the antecedents, mechanisms, and consequences into consideration about the whole LTI process. It is suggested in this review that the trigger logic of LTI activities can be explained as the interactions between firm-specific advantages and country-specific advantages that took place at subsidiaries. Crucially, the elaborations on LTI mechanisms have been extended by means of evoking a duality lens of the top-down and the bottom-up pattern. Finally, the results show that differential consequences of LTI activities are presented by bringing divergent benefits to different parties. More importantly, the subsidiary takes the unique role in fostering a virtuous loop between dualistic LTI patterns. Overall, these insights reflect what we have obtained from extant literature and the challenges international business landscapes have ahead, which could point to the directions of future research.     

Application of TQM Principles in the International Technology Transfer Process of Industrial Production Plants: A Conceptual Framework

This paper attempts to illustrate the application of the principles in Total Quality Management (TQM) to the International Technology Transfer (ITT) processes used in industrial production plants. Disaggregated analysis of the ‘technology transformation’ process is deployed to highlight the application of TQM. AT&T's ‘customer–supplier’ model of quality is introduced to explain the interactive roles of the parties involved. It argues that the existing literature deals inadequately with the issues raised and discussed in this paper. A conceptual ITT-TQM model is proposed. Such a model should ensure proper assimilation of imported technology and permit continuous improvement of the processes leading to the customer satisfaction. It is suggested that the success of the model depends on the ‘win-win-win’ strategies of the supplier, the process owner and the customer. Examples from various sources are presented to reinforce the argument. In addition, international standards such as the ISO 9000 standard and frameworks for TQM such as the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the European Quality Award (European Foundation for Quality Management) are posited as necessary to ensure quality technology transfer.     

外生的隐性“关系”与显性激励

将关系理解为一种外生于显性激励问题的隐性合同,建立一个将显性激励问题嵌入关系维持过程的三阶段模型,获得了模型的均衡。通过分析该均衡,获得了如下结果:(1)关系双方的关系行为对关系利益系数、关系利益分享系数和委托人关系行为成本变化的反应具有协调性,但关系双方的关系行为对代理人关系行为成本的反应不协调;(2)关系利益系数增加(关系利益分享系数增加,委托人的关系行为成本减小)将倾向于降低显性业绩分享系数和期望显性业绩,而代理人的关系成本增加不会影响显性业绩分享系数,但会增加代理人用于生产显性业绩的努力,从而增加期望显性业绩;(3)与不考虑关系的委托代理模型合同相比较,考虑关系合同时的委托代理合同的激励效果是否优于前者取决于显性业绩生产所涉及到的经济特征、关系合同性质和关系行为成本。中国转型经济背景下,这些结果既可以用来解释一些典型经济现象,也可以在一定程度上回应关系是否是引致竞争优势的一种资源这一争论。     

Authenticity: Meanings,targets, audiences and third parties

Research shows that perceived authenticity conveys value in many disparate domains. The analytical attention of this research focuses on producers of products and services, identifying which actions and structures the typical individual associates with authenticity. Far less is known about how individuals and audiences differ in their interest, receptiveness and response to potentially authentic entities and services. Even less is known about how regulators, certifiers, critics and other third parties play a role in the social construction of authenticity. Yet the perception and valuation of a product or service as authentic rests largely with heterogeneous audiences and interpretive third parties. Accordingly, in this chapter, we review and develop theory and empirical research about how targeted entities (producers, persons, products, services), audiences and third parties combine to produce authenticity. For targets, we examine the range of actions and structures of various entities that have been empirically associated with authenticity. For audiences, we explore variations in interests in authenticity based on domain engagement, cosmopolitanism, and cross-cultural differences. For third parties, we consider the roles of other audience members, certifiers and regulators. Finally, we conceptualize a co-evolutionary process whereby targets, audiences and third parties combine to generate social pockets where authenticity is recognized and highly valued.