Measuring the Role of Central and Eastern European Countries in World Drug Research

This paper explores the sociological behavior of firms in the pharmaceutical industry in Central and Eastern Europe as measured by funding linkages. Using the ISI Web of Science data-base, the number of research papers funded by top American and European pharmaceuticals with at least one author from Central and Eastern Europe are identified. Results indicate that Poland leads in the region by both the number of papers funded and by percentage of a firm’s total papers funded, followed closely by Hungary, Greece and the Czech Republic. Though the percentages of any firm’s linkages with a Central and Eastern European author are small (upper limit being 6.6%), this percentage is skewed due to the fact that the US is cited for 50% of papers for most firms. Roche Corporation is the top funder of papers among both US and European firms. Incidentally, zero top American pharmaceuticals were found to have an R&D center located in Central and Eastern Europe whereas European firms: GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Aventis do—possibly indicating a difference in business strategy between European and American pharmaceuticals.     

The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Central and Eastern Europe: Implications for the Agrifood Sector and Rural Development

During the 1990s transition period in Central and Eastern Europe, the retail sector was privatised and some domestic‐capital supermarket chains gradually emerged. Massive inflows of foreign direct investment followed and competitive domestic investments drove a rapid take‐off of large‐format modern retail sector development from a tiny ‘luxury’ niche of around 5% of food retail in the mid‐1990s to 40–50% by 2003 in ‘firstwave’ and 20–40% in ‘second‐wave’ countries. In ‘third‐wave’ countries like Russia, it is still only 10% but growing very fast. In most countries there is rapid multi‐nationalisation and consolidation of the supermarket sector, with profound changes in procurement systems affecting the conditions facing farmers, and creating important opportunities and challenges.     

When David met goliath: Research collaboration in the context of changing political realities

This article examines the dimensions of research collaboration between researchers from EU and Central and East European countries in the post‐communist period. The discussion draws on experience of two initiatives for research co‐operation, COST and EUREKA. Following an analysis of the formal levels of participation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in COST and EUREKA, the quality of exchange during the collaborative projects and the networks that have been established, some benefits from and barriers to East‐West co‐operation in research and technology are considered. Although the collaborative arrangements have been overall successful the different groups of participants display diverging and even sometimes conflicting expectations and perceptions of benefits. Two extreme positions view the collaborative links in terms of ‘master’ and ‘student’ and as relationships between partners of equal standing. By far the most serious barriers to successful East‐West research co‐operation stem from broad cultural differences and from a tendency to assume that lack of information means lack of development. The benefits from research co‐operation can increase many‐fold, it is suggested, if the relationships are seen as a symmetrical exchange rather than as a meeting between David and Goliath.     

The Role of International Organisations in Central and Eastern Europe

The international (financial) organisations had a leading role in the transformation process of Central and Eastern Europe, although most of them were not designed for this task. They learnt some valuable lessons out of more than 15 years of transition and were trying to adapt their strategies to the consequences of the reforms in this transformation process. Nevertheless, there could have been a better way of transformation in Eastern Europe which could have avoided the strong GDP fall in the 1990s.     

Territoriale Ungleichheiten in der erweiterten Eu

In a multi-level system like the European Union, social interests and conflicts are also defined in territorial categories. In this respect, the considerable regional disparities between Eastern and Western Europe may interfare with attempts at intensifying political cooperation within an enlarged European Union. They may give rise to considerable additional transfer payments or even endanger the further enlargement of the EU. This trilemma of enlargement, increased political cooperation and budgetary neutrality can only be overcome, if a polarization between East and West European interests can be avoided by a quick convergence of Eastern und Western performance levels or by a differentiation of the individual, interregional or international employment and income situation in Central and Eastern Europe. The growth rates of recent years and the economic structure of Central and Eastern Europe do not support the thesis of a quick convergence. However, the capital regions and the Western border regions in Central Europe are developing in a very dynamic way. A relatively permanent prosperity gap between Eastern and Western Europe as well as an increased regional differentiation within Central and Eastern Europe is to be expected. Historical dimensions of the economic and political differences between Eastern and Western Europe are analyzed. The relative stability of the European center-periphery structure does not support the thesis of a “deterritorialization” of social relationships. Instead, there is some evidence for a non-identical, path-dependent reproduction of long-established dependency relationships.     

Beware of Greeks? Some aspects of intercultural communication in international training programs for educators

The last decade has witnessed a growing number of international exchange and training programs for educators, particularly in the areas of social studies. Dramatic changes in Central and Eastern Europe made the western, particularly the American, experience in civic education and teaching for democracy more and more desirable. In many instances, instructors from the US and western Europe have acted as experts in those programs. However, there are observations that challenge the success of the ‘West as Expert model.’ In the described study, a group of Russian faculty and administrators of teacher‐training universities was probed on questions regarding their attitudes toward foreign and native teachers and instructors. The results of the study demonstrate that, despite unanimous support for international education, all respondents, regardless of the length of their professional experience, demonstrated a slight preference for Russian teachers and instructors compared with foreign teachers and instructors. This preference is a result of differences in school cultures, determined mainly by specific features of every school, local cultural traditions, and prejudices and misconceptions of the local population.     

Family-Enterprise Initiatives as a Response to Socioeconomic and Political Change in Eastern and Central Europe

It is argued that family business enterprises can be an adaptive response to the transformations that recently have characterized Eastern and Central Europe. Family-centered initiatives are important for sustainable socioeconomic development. In this article, a family-enterprise incubator scheme for the stimulation of family and socioeconomic development is discussed. This approach incorporates resources, services, and supports beyond those conventionally offered.     

Roma Education in Eastern and Central Europe: some personal reflections

In this article I reflect on my experiences working on educational projects involving Roma in Eastern and Central Europe, especially in Bulgaria. I discuss one particular case study, in which a group of educational experts were able to get the Bulgarian Government to accept and later to support intercultural education materials on the Roma. I also outline an educational approach that I would like to call the “bottle party” approach to education, to be contrasted with the “vessel filling” approach. I close by describing a new initiative in informal education in Central and Eastern Europe that revolves around the concepts of empowerment and mentorship.     

Grass Roots Promotion of Community Health and Human Rights for People with Disabilities in Post-communist Central Europe: a profile of the Slovak Republic

Individuals living with a disability or chronic illness in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe face significant challenges to quality of life. The government-supported health care infrastructures in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe remain highly centralised and institutional, which poses particular obstacles to people with disabilities who wish to live independently in their communities. A partial solution to this difficulty has been the development of innovative grass roots organisations that provide community-based support to individuals with disabilities or chronic illness. These disability organisations provide services and advocacy that allow individuals to receive needed support outside of the biomedical institutions, facilitating independent living in the community. They do so, however, in a political and economic environment of immense change, and one with varying degrees of support for non-governmental organisa tions and a Civil Society. The following article profiles this grass roots development in one particularly interesting post-communist Central European country, the Slovak Republic.     

Local cross‐sector partnerships

We focus in this article on the challenges local governmental (municipal) and third‐sector (nonprofit) organizations face when they seek to work collaboratively or in partnership. We build on the findings of an action research project to draw out the practical implications of cross‐sector working for the organizations involved. We describe jointly agreed suggestions for tackling the challenges that emerged when third‐sector organizations and local governmental agencies themselves worked collaboratively in a search for mutually acceptable solutions. Finally, we draw out learning points on cross‐sector working for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.     

Civil Society and Its Institutional Context in CEE

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Although civil societies in Central and Eastern Europe are often portrayed as similar, united by a shared communist past,...     

Social Pacts: A Helping Device in Euro Adoption?

The establishment and consolidation of social partnership and the revitalisation of social pacts greatly supported the success of the changeover to the euro in several European countries in the nineties. In Central and Eastern Europe as well, there is agreement among politicians and professionals alike that the creation of a social pact with a firm and comprehensive legitimacy could support the achievement of the Maastricht fiscal reference values enormously, and by doing so, it could establish the ground for long-lasting and sustainable economic growth. However, the continental Western-style neo-corporatist industrial relations system has not sprung into existence in Eastern Europe. Consequently, it is argued here that the launch of a successful and all-encompassing social pact cannot be expected within the current political and social constellations in the region. Through the example of two Central Eastern European countries, namely, the Czech Republic and Hungary, it is demonstrated that there is a general tendency of the spontaneous transformation of industrial relations into a segmented system, which is more similar to the deregulated labour markets of Anglo-Saxon liberal market economies than to the cooperative strategies of continental Europe.     

Migration,international relations and the new Europe: theoretical perspectives from institutional political sociology

The author examines the sociopolitical effects of recent political transformations in Eastern and Central Europe and the formation of the European Community on migration and international relations. Some policy implications are discussed.     

Supermarkets in Low‐income Mediterranean Countries: Impacts on Horticulture Systems

In the past decade, supermarkets have spread rapidly in the low‐income Mediterranean countries. Focusing on a case of advanced supermarket diffusion (Turkey) and of incipient diffusion (Morocco), this article examines this development and its impact on the fresh fruits and vegetable sector, emphasising the level of backward integration by the retailers into the supply chain and the type of retailer‐supplier governance structure. Both countries' food sectors resemble those of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) transition countries in their shift from a mixed traditional/staterun/owned retail system to a liberalised system. Moreover, Turkey is also on the road to joining the European Union, and is classed in policy discussions with the CEE candidates.     

Heading South: Time to Abandon the ‘Parallel Worlds’ of International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and Domestic Third Sector Scholarship?

Since third sector research emerged as a full-fledged interdisciplinary academic field during the late 1980s, a separation has usually been maintained—in common with many other social science disciplines—between communities of researchers who are primarily concerned with the study of the third sector in rich Western countries and those who work on the third sector in the so-called developing world. Whilst internationally focused researchers tend to use the language of ‘non-governmental organizations’, those in domestic settings usually prefer the terms ‘non-profit organization’ or ‘voluntary organization’, even though both subsectors share common principles and are equally internally diverse in terms of organisations and activities. Whilst there has long been common-sense logic to distinguishing between wealthier and poorer regions of the world based on differences in the scale of human need, the ‘developed’ versus ‘developing’ category can also be criticised as being rather simplistic and unhelpfully ideological. As the categories of ‘developing’ and ‘developed’ countries become less clear-cut, and global interconnectedness between third sectors and their ideas grows, this paper argues that we need to reconsider the value of maintaining these parallel worlds of research, and instead develop a more unified approach.     

Organization and Management in the Third Sector: Toward a Cross‐Cultural Research Agenda

Third sector organizations in the industrialized and the developing world—and particularly the subset of third sector organizations known as development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)—are becoming more culturally diverse in internal staff composition, management styles, and working environments. Although cultural issues have been largely absent from the nonprofit and the NGO research literatures, the organizational implications of societal culture and organizational culture are widely debated within other research fields. This article proposes a closer engagement between third sector management research and the wider study of cross‐cultural organizational issues within anthropology, development studies, and management theory. It argues that such an exchange is necessary if third sector organizational research agendas are to include changing organizational landscapes effectively, and the article concludes with some ideas for future research.     

Assessing child welfare outcomes in Central and Eastern Europe

Despite the declared priority given to children's well-being in Central and Eastern Europe, the effectiveness of services has never been measured. Financial considerations and differences in the objectives of those involved have increased the importance of outcome measurement.     

Migration and research commitments: long-term effects of national socialization

This study examines the influence of migration on the long-term commitments by foreign trained researchers at Israel's 6 universities. Israel's scientists are trained in the US, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe, and even though these centers have different research traditions, scientific endeavor may provide a common method and outlook. The author hypothesizes relationships between different training backgrounds and long-term research commitments that influence work goals and productivity, thus affecting the operation of the local scientific community. 318 interviews held with university faculty members in the sciences during 1976-77 provide data. 40% of those surveyed are returnees from the US, 15% are US immigrants, 20% are trained in or are immigrants from Western Europe, and 10% are Eastern European immigrants. The scientists largely agree that the most imporant occupational values are to 1) select goals independently, 2) contribute to basic scientific knowledge, 3) contribute to the nation, 4) be recognized by colleagues, 5) have a secure future, 6) develop useful production processes, and 7) advance economically. Value patterns are similar among all origins, although there is some variation between Israeli returnees and those who trained in Israel. Returnees and immigrants may be dissatisfied because they are unable to fulfill expectations stemming from occupational values, and scientists who have not trained or worked outside Israel, and immigrants from Eastern Europe, feel less independent in selection of goals, and deprived in job security and economic advancement. Training in the US or Western Europe contributes to higher perceptions of success. In summary, American trained scientists are competitive and seek recognition from colleagues, Eastern European training encourages a concern with practicality and the development of more products, Western Europeans develop fewer products but product high quality publications, and Israeli trained scientists publish widely. Intermixing of Israeli trained scientists with those from the 3 centers of scientific endeavor may contribute substantially to Israel's scientific productivity.     

The press,the market and democracy

The newspaper press in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe is currently being re‐organized on market lines. This will produce a much greater reliance upon advertising revenues. The evidence from developed market economies demonstrates that such a press is sharply stratified with regard to the provision of public information. The resulting imbalance produces severe problems for theories of democracy. In order to lessen the impact of these problems, some countries in Europe, for example Sweden, have managed to adopt a policy subsidy without endangering the freedom of the press.     

Migration policy objectives for European East-West international migration

The study contains selected results of Delphi research (subjective judgements concerning the future on a collective expert basis) on international migration between Central/Eastern (C/EEc) and Western European countries. Taking part in the research were 109 scholars and officers (70 in the first Delphi round and 39 in the second round) from all over Europe – mainly sociologists, economists, geographers and demographers dealing with the topic of migration.
Results indicate growing problems and tensions in societies, the division of Europe into two parts, and the triggering rather than pacifying of further antagonisms and hostile anti-immigrant attitudes on the Western side. As predicted, it seems that the West will further try to curb immigration by applying tighter restrictive measures. Regarding competition between Eastern Europeans and Third World immigrants in Western Europe, the preferred opinion is that "the C/EE immigrants will not significantly affect the activities of the Third World immigrants in the West because they will attempt to gain posts/jobs at higher levels of the social ladder."
Concerning policy objectives, the two most important general aims were how to contribute to migration stabilization in the East, and how to maintain and further develop stable democratic order and promote economic development.
Policy objectives devoted to specific migration issues indicate that more international cooperation, more information and more democracy/tolerance is necessary. Shared objectives should be: (1) to intensify mutual contacts; (2) disseminate information on rules and regulations regarding international migration as well as to tackle the issue of harmonizing the given migration controlling systems and statistics within Europe; and (3) provide further support for temporary labour contracts for Eastern professionals and manual workers in the West.