Strategic positioning of Taiwan in the outsourcing market: Evidence from information technology services and electronic manufacturing outsourcing to China

In outsourcing relationships with China, the Electronic Manufacturing (EM) and Information Technology Services (ITS) industry in Taiwan may possess such advantages as the continuing growth of its production value, complete manufacturing supply chain, low production cost and a large-scale Chinese market, and language and culture similarity compared to outsourcing to other countries. Nevertheless, the Council for Economic Planning and Development of Executive Yuan (CEPD) found that Taiwan's IT services outsourcing to China is subject to certain constraints and might not be as successful as the EM outsourcing (Aggarwal, 2003; CEPD, 2004a; CIER, 2003; Einhorn and Kriplani, 2003; Kumar and Zhu, 2006; Li and Gao, 2003; MIC, 2006). Some studies examined this issue, but failed to (1) provide statistical evidence about lower prevalence rates of IT services outsourcing, and (2) clearly explain the lower prevalence rates of IT services outsourcing by identifying similarities and differences between both types of outsourcing contexts. This research seeks to fill that gap and possibly provide potential strategic guidelines to ITS firms in Taiwan. This study adopts Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) as the theoretical basis. The basic premise is that different types of outsourcing activities may incur differing transaction costs and realize varying degrees of outsourcing success due to differential attributes of the transactions in the outsourcing process. Using primary data gathered from questionnaire surveys of ninety two firms, the results from exploratory analysis and binary logistic regression indicated that (1) when outsourcing to China, Taiwanese firms' ITS outsourcing tends to have higher level of asset specificity, uncertainty and technical skills relative to EM outsourcing, and these features indirectly reduce firms' outsourcing prevalence rates via their direct positive impacts on transaction costs; (2) Taiwanese firms' ITS outsourcing tends to have lower level of transaction structurability relative to EM outsourcing, and this feature indirectly increases firms' outsourcing prevalence rates via its direct negative impacts on transaction costs; (3) frequency does influence firms' transaction costs in ITS outsourcing positively, but does not bring impacts into their outsourcing prevalence rates, (4) relatedness does influence firms' transaction costs positively and prevalence rates negatively in ITS outsourcing, but its impacts on the prevalence rates are not caused by the mediation effects of transaction costs, and (5) firm size of outsourcing provider does not affect firms' transaction costs, but does affect their outsourcing prevalence rates in ITS outsourcing directly and positively. Using primary data gathered from face-to-face interviews of executives from seven firms, the results from inductive analysis indicated that (1) IT services outsourcing has lower prevalence rates than EM outsourcing, and (2) this result is mainly attributed to Taiwan's core competence in manufacturing and management and higher overall transaction costs of IT services outsourcing. Specifically, there is not much difference between both types of outsourcing context in the transaction characteristics of reputation and most aspects of overall comparison. Although there are some differences in the feature of firm size of the outsourcing provider, the difference doesn't cause apparent impacts on firms' overall transaction costs. The medium or above medium difference in the transaction characteristics of asset specificity, uncertainty, frequency, technical skills, transaction structurability, and relatedness has caused higher overall transaction costs for IT services outsourcing. This higher cost might cause lower prevalence rates for ITS outsourcing relative to EM outsourcing. Overall, the interview results are consistent with the statistical analyses and provide support to my expectation that in outsourcing to China, Taiwan's electronic manufacturing firms do have lower prevalence rates of IT services outsourcing relative to EM outsourcing due to higher transaction costs caused by certain attributes. To solve this problem, firms' management should aim at identifying alternative strategies and strive to reduce their overall transaction costs of IT services outsourcing by initiating appropriate strategies which fit their environment and needs.

Does market upgrading benefit farmers? : market differentiation, contract farming, and professional cooperatives in China's pork processing industry

This study tested whether contract farming or farmers professional cooperatives (FPCs) improved the social benefit of pork production and income of breeding farmers in China. The main concern of this study is whether institutional arrangement like contract farming or FPCs actually improved the welfare of farmers as expected. To answer this question accurately, we estimated the differentiated market demand of pork products in order to quantify the benefit by transaction types. Our study finds that contract farming or FPCs improved the benefits of pork products, but farmer's income remained lower than that of traditional transaction types. This finding is new in terms of quantifying distribution of the economic values among sales outlets, agro-firms and farmers. It is more reliable because it explicitly captures impacts from both demand side and supply side by structural estimation. In practice, we need to keep it mind the bargaining power of small farmers will not improve instantly even when the contract farming or FPCs are introduced.

Labour market turnovers among South African youths

We describe the labour market turnovers of young people using a household survey data collected from Cape Town industrial area. We measure the correlates of first unemployment duration out of school and find that matriculation and late cohort (leaving school after 2007) are related with reduced initial unemployment, yet matriculation impacts are reduced among late cohort relative to early cohort. Our estimation reveals that initial unemployment is not related with subsequent employment duration nor wage rates, but related with number of turnovers which suggests that a shorter spell is associated with more stable job tenure.

Agricultural microcredit and technical efficiency: The case of smallholder rice farmers in Northern Ghana

In the current study, we compared technical efficiency of smallholder rice farmers with and without credit in northern Ghana using data from a farm household survey. We fitted a stochastic frontier production function to input and output data to measure technical efficiency. We addressed self-selection into credit participation using propensity score matching and found that the mean efficiency did not differ between credit users and non-users. Credit-participating households had an efficiency of 63.0 percent compared to 61.7 percent for non-participants. The results indicate significant inefficiencies in production and thus a high scope for improving farmers’ technical efficiency through better use of available resources at the current level of technology. Apart from labour and capital, all the conventional farm inputs had a significant effect on rice production. The determinants of efficiency included the respondent’s age, sex, educational status, distance to the nearest market, herd ownership, access to irrigation and specialisation in rice production. From a policy perspective, we recommend that the credit should be channelled to farmers who demonstrate the need for it and show the commitment to improve their production through external financing. Such a screening mechanism will ensure that the credit goes to the right farmers who need it to improve their technical efficiency.

A satisfação profissional e a cultura organizacional : uma análise a partir do modelo ASH no Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Rio Grande do Norte

With the need of the companies in becoming more competitive within the market, it arises an incessant search for selective human potential, with a high level of capacity and low rotativity, which motivation results in production raise, quality optimization and waste reduction. This scenario requires a strategy development which advantages the Human Resources Quality Management. This way, the model of the Human System Audit (HSA), developed by the Spanish researchers Ouijano and Navarro, presents itself as an important tool to diagnosis and evaluation, contemplating the environment where the organization is inserted, its strategies, its organizational design, its processes and its organizational effectiveness. In this sense, the present study has identified the existent relation between the professional satisfaction and the Organizational Culture, based in the model HSA. The research has been a quantitative-descriptive one and has had as population the technical-administrative workers from the Federal Center of Technical Education of Rio Grande do Norte (CEFET RN). The data collection has occurred during May, 2008, by means of the application of a questionnaire in the HSA model. The sample was composed by 167 subjects, distributed among the Five units of the institution. It was used the factorial analysis, with the extraction method of main components and orthogonal rotation varimax, in order to extract the dimensions of the satisfaction and of the organizational culture and the calculation of Cronbach s Alpha coefficient, to evaluate the reliability of these dimensions. The factorial analysis of the satisfaction indicators has identified four factors,, all of them showing significance: gratefulness and relationship , self-realization , stability and security and physical conditions and social benefits . The result of the factorial analysis with the indicators of the organizational culture has extracted four factors and among them, three of them have obtained significance: Personal Satisfaction Style , Competitive-Denial-Power Style and the Conventional-Dependent Style . After identifying the dimensions of the satisfaction and culture found at CEFET-RN, it has been notice the existence or not of relation among them, through the application of Pearson s coefficient. It has been verified that all of the dimensions of the Professional satisfaction are correlated with some dimension of the organizational culture, having in outstand position, with higher intensity, the relation between the culture style of Personal Satisfaction and the satisfaction factor referring to the self-realization

Nature-based solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban areas: perspectives on indicators, knowledge gaps, barriers, and opportunities for action

Nature-based solutions promoting green and blue urban areas have significant potential to decrease the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of cities in light of climatic change. They can thereby help to mitigate climate change-induced impacts and serve as proactive adaptation options for municipalities. We explore the various contexts in which nature-based solutions are relevant for climate mitigation and adaptation in urban areas, identify indicators for assessing the effectiveness of nature-based solutions and related knowledge gaps. In addition, we explore existing barriers and potential opportunities for increasing the scale and effectiveness of nature-based solution implementation. The results were derived from an inter- and transdisciplinary workshop with experts from research, municipalities, policy, and society. As an outcome of the workshop discussions and building on existing evidence, we highlight three main needs for future science and policy agendas when dealing with nature-based solutions: (i) produce stronger evidence on nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation and raise awareness by increasing implementation; (ii) adapt for governance challenges in implementing nature-based solutions by using reflexive approaches, which implies bringing together new networks of society, nature-based solution ambassadors, and practitioners; (iii) consider socio-environmental justice and social cohesion when implementing nature-based solutions by using integrated governance approaches that take into account an integrative and transdisciplinary participation of diverse actors. Taking these needs into account, nature-based solutions can serve as climate mitigation and adaptation tools that produce additional cobenefits for societal well-being, thereby serving as strong investment options for sustainable urban planning.

Market work and household production in Brazil

This thesis is composed of three papers in which the research questions are related to the double burden that accrues to Brazilian women. The first and second papers address this issue by looking at expenditure decisions about home production. The first paper examines whether the expenditure decisions about production goods, such as white appliances, relative to entertainment goods, such as TVs, are the outcome of a bargaining process between husbands and wives. The second paper looks at the demand for maid services and for production durable goods, examining the extent to which other household members substitute for maid services and durable goods in home production. The third paper addresses the effects of Brazilian women's double burden on their labor market participation by examining whether the occupational choice of Brazilian women is affected by their gender roles and whether entry into other occupations that are not identified as female occupations has become easier since the introduction of anti-discrimination laws in the labor market. The first paper combines two Brazilian data sets: a Brazilian household expenditure survey, Pesquisa de Orçamento Familiares (POF), and a Brazilian household survey, Pesquisa Nacional Por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD). The results of the first paper indicate that the decision about durable goods ownership is the outcome of a bargaining process between husband and wife. The test on the coefficients of the marriage market variable and the indicators of households in which only the wife and households in which only the husband makes expenditure decisions corroborate the expectations about wives' preferences for production goods. The same data sets as the first paper are used in the second paper. The finding of the second paper indicates that if the marriage market is favorable to women, that is if the ratio of women to men goes from 1.07 to 0.96, the increment in the household probability of owning at least one maid's substitute durable goods is equivalent to 24% the impact of moving a household up one income quintile. Moreover, the results indicate that daughters' time substitutes for wives' time and maid services in home production. Parents may want daughters trained in home production to be able to perform their future role as wives. However, this training comes at a cost to daughters' investment in formal education, narrowing their future career options. The data used in the third paper come from a Brazilian household survey, Pesquisa Nacional Por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD). Gender roles are responsible for women to choose female-dominated occupations, married women are 1.14 times more likely to work in female-dominated occupations and having a child six years and older increases on average by 12% the probability that women work in female-dominated occupations instead of genderintegrated occupations in 2001. However, it becomes easier for all types of women to enter into male-dominated and gender-integrated occupations in 2001 compared to 1981.

A satisfação profissional e a cultura organizacional : uma análise a partir do modelo ASH no Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Rio Grande do Norte

With the need of the companies in becoming more competitive within the market, it arises an incessant search for selective human potential, with a high level of capacity and low rotativity, which motivation results in production raise, quality optimization and waste reduction. This scenario requires a strategy development which advantages the Human Resources Quality Management. This way, the model of the Human System Audit (HSA), developed by the Spanish researchers Ouijano and Navarro, presents itself as an important tool to diagnosis and evaluation, contemplating the environment where the organization is inserted, its strategies, its organizational design, its processes and its organizational effectiveness. In this sense, the present study has identified the existent relation between the professional satisfaction and the Organizational Culture, based in the model HSA. The research has been a quantitative-descriptive one and has had as population the technical-administrative workers from the Federal Center of Technical Education of Rio Grande do Norte (CEFET RN). The data collection has occurred during May, 2008, by means of the application of a questionnaire in the HSA model. The sample was composed by 167 subjects, distributed among the Five units of the institution. It was used the factorial analysis, with the extraction method of main components and orthogonal rotation varimax, in order to extract the dimensions of the satisfaction and of the organizational culture and the calculation of Cronbach s Alpha coefficient, to evaluate the reliability of these dimensions. The factorial analysis of the satisfaction indicators has identified four factors,, all of them showing significance: gratefulness and relationship , self-realization , stability and security and physical conditions and social benefits . The result of the factorial analysis with the indicators of the organizational culture has extracted four factors and among them, three of them have obtained significance: Personal Satisfaction Style , Competitive-Denial-Power Style and the Conventional-Dependent Style . After identifying the dimensions of the satisfaction and culture found at CEFET-RN, it has been notice the existence or not of relation among them, through the application of Pearson s coefficient. It has been verified that all of the dimensions of the Professional satisfaction are correlated with some dimension of the organizational culture, having in outstand position, with higher intensity, the relation between the culture style of Personal Satisfaction and the satisfaction factor referring to the self-realization

Re-evaluation of central America drug market where to start?

Atral is a Portuguese Pharmaceutical firm devoted to the production of finished drugs. Due to domestic market hurdles, Atral is now, more than ever, focused in the world. The Central America region seams alluring due to its context alignment with firm’s resources bundle. As Atral should approach one regional country at a time, the purpose of this thesis is to find out the most suitable country to approach now. Hence a tailored scoring model was applied, based on contexts analysis and importance of benchmarking indicators to both firm and industry. Upon analysis of the highest scored country, the most appropriate entry modes were assessed.

Exchange market pressure and incidence of currency crises in Norway

Mestrado em Economia Monetária e Financeira

Integrated pest management and the (un)sustainable use of pesticides

Doutoramento em Engenharia Agronómica - Instituto Superior de Agronomia - UL

Local productive arrangements for biodiesel production in Brazil: Environmental assessment of small-holders integrated oleaginous crops management.

Sustainability assessments were carried out in small-holders? farms in four territories where productive arrangements have been organized for production of minor oleagi- nous crops under the Brazilian biodiesel program. The study aimed at checking local impacts of the biodiesel productive chains at the rural establishment scale, and pro- moting the environmental performance of the selected farms, henceforth proposed as sustainable management demonstration units. Assessments were carried out with the APOIA-NovoRural system, which integrates 62 objective and quantitative indicators re- lated to five sustainability dimensions: i) Landscape Ecology, ii) Environmental Quality (Atmosphere, Water and Soil), iii) Socio-cultural Values, iv) Economic Values and v) Management and Administration. The main results point out that, in general, the eco- logical dimensions of sustainability, that is, the Landscape Ecology and Atmosphere, Water, and Soil quality indicators, show adequate field conditions, seemingly not yet negatively affected by increases in chemical inputs and natural resources use predicted as important potential impacts of the agro-energy sector. The Economic Values indica- tors have been favorably influenced in the studied farms, due to a steadier demand and improved prices for the oleaginous crops. On the other hand, valuable positive conse- quences expected for favoring farmers? market insertion, such as improved Socio-cultural Values and Management & Administration indicators, are still opportunities to be ma-terialized. The Environmental Management Reports issued to the farmers, based on the presented sustainability assessment procedures, offer valuable documentation and com-munication means for consolidating the organizational influence of the local productive arrangements studied. These productive arrangements were shown to be determinant for the selection of crop associations and diversification, as well as for the provision of technical assistance and the stabilization of demand - conditions that promote value aggregation and income improvements, favoring small-holders? insertion in the market. More importantly, these locally organized productive arrangements have been shown to strongly influence the valorization of natural resources and environmental assets, which are fundamental if sustainable rural development is to take place under the emerging agro-energy scenario.

[ATC performance indicators, 2013-2014]

This document gives statistics for Aiken Technical College for the years 2008/09 through 2012/13. It includes information on the graduate placement rates, licensure exam pass rates, Fall to Spring persistence rates, student success rate and graduate production rate.

Brucite Microbialites in Living Coral Skeletons: Indicators of Extreme Microenvironments in Shallow-Marine Settings

Brucite [Mg(OH)2] microbialites occur in vacated interseptal spaces of living scleractinian coral colonies (Acropora, Pocillopora, Porites) from subtidal and intertidal settings in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and subtidal Montastraea from the Florida Keys, United States. Brucite encrusts microbial filaments of endobionts (i.e., fungi, green algae, cyanobacteria) growing under organic biofilms; the brucite distribution is patchy both within interseptal spaces and within coralla. Although brucite is undersaturated in seawater, its precipitation was apparently induced in the corals by lowered pCO2 and increased pH within microenvironments protected by microbial biofilms. The occurrence of brucite in shallow-marine settings highlights the importance of microenvironments in the formation and early diagenesis of marine carbonates. Significantly, the brucite precipitates discovered in microenvironments in these corals show that early diagenetic products do not necessarily reflect ambient seawater chemistry. Errors in environmental interpretation may arise where unidentified precipitates occur in microenvironments in skeletal carbonates that are subsequently utilized as geochemical seawater proxies.