Towards a meta-analysis and toolkit for port-related socio-economic impacts: a review of socio-economic impact studies conducted for seaports

Port authorities increasingly need to communicate with a variety of external stakeholders in order to maintain and strengthen the societal acceptance of seaport activities. The availability of socio-economic impact studies on port authority and regional development agency websites has often made this information accessible to the public at large. However, the differences in methodologies adopted, in terms of selecting, defining and measuring various types of socio-economic impacts, sometimes lead to misconceptions as well as misleading comparisons across ports within and between regions. In this paper, we suggest guidelines for the design and application of a potential best practice from an interregional perspective (UK, France and Belgium), based on research in the framework of a European Commission co-funded project, ‘IMPACTE’. The paper also aims to develop guidelines for comparing the socio-economic impacts of ports across regional and national borders and discusses the development of a European port economic impact measurement toolkit. We analyse a sample of 33 recent socio-economic impact assessment reports in terms of methodologies adopted and types of impacts measured. The review shows a great diversity among these studies, leading to important differences between the impacts of port activity communicated to stakeholders.

Becoming a region, becoming global, becoming imperceptable: territorialising salmon in Chilean Patagonia

Our article focuses on the region of Chilean Patagonia and considers how it has developed as a leading producer of salmon for global food markets. It addresses the problem of how to decentre conventional views of the forces driving regional development that give primacy to the role of capital and technology, instead giving due recognition to the knowledge and practices of situated actors and to the relationships that form between human and non-human entities in food producing regions. As an alternative, we ask whether an assemblage approach can improve our understanding of regional transformation. To explore this question, we present original ethnographic data on constitutive practices that have transformed the Patagonian region, from the territorialization of Salmonidae species to experimentation in ocean ranching and sea water fish farming, and finally the development of a global industry. The evidence leads us to argue that in a complex globalised world, assemblage theory offers a valuable approach for understanding how regional potential is realised. In the case of Chilean Patagonia, it is apparent that forms of bio-power generate new relations between life, agency and nature, stimulating contemporary regional transformations in ways overlooked by the lineal logic of capital objectification discourses. Applying an assemblage approach enables the significance of new contemporary human – non-human relationships and inter-subjectivities to come to the fore, keeping the social in view as potential for regional transformation and new power asymmetries continuously emerge.

Improved Road Design for Future Maintenance - Analysis of Road Barrier Repair Costs

The cost of a road construction over its service life is a function of the design, quality of construction, maintenance strategies and maintenance operations. Unfortunately, designers often neglect a very important aspect which is the possibility to perform future maintenance activities. The focus is mainly on other aspects such as investment costs, traffic safety, aesthetic appearance, regional development and environmental effects. This licentiate thesis is a part of a Ph.D. project entitled “Road Design for lower maintenance costs” that aims to examine how the life-cycle costs can be optimized by selection of appropriate geometrical designs for the roads and their components. The result is expected to give a basis for a new method used in the road planning and design process using life-cycle cost analysis with particular emphasis on road maintenance. The project started with a review of literature with the intention to study conditions causing increased needs for road maintenance, the efforts made by the road authorities to satisfy those needs and the improvement potential by consideration of maintenance aspects during planning and design. An investigation was carried out to identify the problems which obstruct due consideration of maintenance aspects during the road planning and design process. This investigation focused mainly on the road planning and design process at the Swedish Road Administration. However, the road planning and design process in Denmark, Finland and Norway were also roughly evaluated to gain a broader knowledge about the research subject. The investigation was carried out in two phases: data collection and data analysis. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with expert actors involved in planning, design and maintenance and by a review of design-related documents. Data analyses were carried out using a method called “Change Analysis”. This investigation revealed a complex combination of problems which result in inadequate consideration of maintenance aspects. Several urgent needs for changes to eliminate these problems were identified. Another study was carried out to develop a model for calculation of the repair costs for damages of different road barrier types and to analyse how factors such as road type, speed limits, barrier types, barrier placement, type of road section, alignment and seasonal effects affect the barrier damages and the associated repair costs. This study was carried out using a method called the “Case Study Research Method”. Data was collected from 1087 barrier repairs in two regional offices of the Swedish Road Administration, the Central Region and the Western Region. A table was established for both regions containing the repair cost per vehicle kilometre for different combinations of barrier types, road types and speed limits. This table can be used by the designers in the calculation of the life-cycle costs for different road barrier types.

Road Design for Future Maintenance : Life-cycle Cost Analyses for Road Barriers

The cost of a road construction over its service life is a function of design, quality of construction as well as maintenance strategies and operations. An optimal life-cycle cost for a road requires evaluations of the above mentioned components. Unfortunately, road designers often neglect a very important aspect, namely, the possibility to perform future maintenance activities. Focus is mainly directed towards other aspects such as investment costs, traffic safety, aesthetic appearance, regional development and environmental effects. This doctoral thesis presents the results of a research project aimed to increase consideration of road maintenance aspects in the planning and design process. The following subgoals were established: Identify the obstacles that prevent adequate consideration of future maintenance during the road planning and design process; and Examine optimisation of life-cycle costs as an approach towards increased efficiency during the road planning and design process. The research project started with a literature review aimed at evaluating the extent to which maintenance aspects are considered during road planning and design as an improvement potential for maintenance efficiency. Efforts made by road authorities to increase efficiency, especially maintenance efficiency, were evaluated. The results indicated that all the evaluated efforts had one thing in common, namely ignorance of the interrelationship between geometrical road design and maintenance as an effective tool to increase maintenance efficiency. Focus has mainly been on improving operating practises and maintenance procedures. This fact might also explain why some efforts to increase maintenance efficiency have been less successful. An investigation was conducted to identify the problems and difficulties, which obstruct due consideration of maintainability during the road planning and design process. A method called “Change Analysis” was used to analyse data collected during interviews with experts in road design and maintenance. The study indicated a complex combination of problems which result in inadequate consideration of maintenance aspects when planning and designing roads. The identified problems were classified into six categories: insufficient consulting, insufficient knowledge, regulations and specifications without consideration of maintenance aspects, insufficient planning and design activities, inadequate organisation and demands from other authorities. Several urgent needs for changes to eliminate these problems were identified. One of the problems identified in the above mentioned study as an obstacle for due consideration of maintenance aspects during road design was the absence of a model for calculating life-cycle costs for roads. Because of this lack of knowledge, the research project focused on implementing a new approach for calculating and analysing life-cycle costs for roads with emphasis on the relationship between road design and road maintainability. Road barriers were chosen as an example. The ambition is to develop this approach to cover other road components at a later stage. A study was conducted to quantify repair rates for barriers and associated repair costs as one of the major maintenance costs for road barriers. A method called “Case Study Research Method” was used to analyse the effect of several factors on barrier repairs costs, such as barrier type, road type, posted speed and seasonal effect. The analyses were based on documented data associated with 1625 repairs conducted in four different geographical regions in Sweden during 2006. A model for calculation of average repair costs per vehicle kilometres was created. Significant differences in the barrier repair costs were found between the studied barrier types. In another study, the injuries associated with road barrier collisions and the corresponding influencing factors were analysed. The analyses in this study were based on documented data from actual barrier collisions between 2005 and 2008 in Sweden. The result was used to calculate the cost for injuries associated with barrier collisions as a part of the socio-economic cost for road barriers. The results showed significant differences in the number of injuries associated with collisions with different barrier types. To calculate and analyse life-cycle costs for road barriers a new approach was developed based on a method called “Activity-based Life-cycle Costing”. By modelling uncertainties, the presented approach gives a possibility to identify and analyse factors crucial for optimising life-cycle costs. The study showed a great potential to increase road maintenance efficiency through road design. It also showed that road components with low investment costs might not be the best choice when including maintenance and socio-economic aspects. The difficulties and problems faced during the collection of data for calculating life-cycle costs for road barriers indicated a great need for improving current data collecting and archiving procedures. The research focused on Swedish road planning and design. However, the conclusions can be applied to other Nordic countries, where weather conditions and road design practices are similar. The general methodological approaches used in this research project may be applied also to other studies.

Arctic Tourism: Realities & Possibilities

This paper addresses human capital in the Arctic in relation to tourism. More specifically, with an ever-increasing number oftourists recognizing the attractiveness of the Arctic, tour companies are increasingly recognizing the opportunities. The media(typically southern media) sells the image, either before or after the tourists arrive, and communities are often left to deal with therepercussions – whether those are social, economic, environmental, or the like. Many of the repercussions are negative; however,even when perceived as positive they can create tensions within small communities and showcase a variety of capacity issues.This paper focuses on the realities and possibilities of tourism in the Arctic. It offers an up-to-date descriptive overview of tourismnumbers and valuations. In addition, ‘realities’ also focuses on the current suite of challenges and ‘possibilities’ addresses criticalquestions that need to be asked as tourism grows. We are in an uncertain age and academic critique of the Arctic tourismphenomenon is growing as quickly as the numbers. This paper is almost fully circumpolar in outlook, written by individuals fromthose jurisdictions, and aims to intersect with other sectors active in the Arctic.

The Passionate Combining Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are portrayed as salient drivers of regional development and for a number of years nascent entrepreneurs have been studied in a large number of countries as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project and the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics. Scholars have devoted much effort to investigating factors that determine how individuals engage in entrepreneurial activities, with most of the discussion limited to business start-ups. However, since this type of project does not follow identical nascent entrepreneurs over time, limited knowledge exists about their development and whether they stay in this nascent phase for a long time. In practice, it is common for entrepreneurs to run a business and at the same time work in wage work, so-called combining entrepreneurs. In Sweden, almost half of all business owners combine wage work with a business. However, not all combining entrepreneurs will eventually decide to leave the wage work and invest fully in the business. Consequently, much research has focused on the first step of entering entrepreneurship full time, but less has focused on the second step, the transition from the combining phase to full-time self-employment. The aim of this thesis is therefore to contribute to the theory of entrepreneurship by gaining a deeper understanding of combining entrepreneurs and their motives and intentions.   In the context of combining entrepreneurs, the theory of identity, resources and choice overload has been used to examine how entrepreneurs’ age (when starting the business), entrepreneurial tenure (the length of engagement in the side-business), hours spent (weekly involvement in the side-business), involvement in entrepreneurial teams (leading the business with one or more partners) and involvement in networks (business networks) influence their passion for engaging in entrepreneurship while sustaining wage work. Different categories of combining entrepreneurs and their intentions have also been examined.   A survey was administered to 1457 entrepreneurs within the creative sector in two counties in Sweden (Gävleborgs County and Jämtlands County). Since there were no separate mailing lists to only combining entrepreneurs, the survey was sent to all entrepreneurs within the chosen industry and counties. The total response rate was 33.5 percent and of them 57.6 percent combined, yielding 262 combining entrepreneurs who answered the questionnaire. The survey was then followed up with eight focus group interviews and two single interviews to validate the answers from the questionnaire.   The results indicate three types of combining entrepreneurs: nascent – with the intention to leave the combining phase for a transition into full-time self-employment, lifestyle – with the intention to stay in the combining phase, and occasional – with the intention to leave the combining phase for full-time wage work and close down the business. Transitioning fully to self-employment increases with the individual’s age. Also, a positive interactive effect exists with involvement in entrepreneurial networks. The results also indicate that the ability to work with something one is passionate about is the top motive for combining wage work with a side-business. Passion is also more likely to be the main motive behind the combining form among individuals who are older at business start-up, but passion is less likely to be the main motive behind the combining form among individuals who spend more time on the business. The longer the individual has had the side-business, the less likely passion is the main motive behind the combining form, and passion is less likely to be the main motive among those who are part of an entrepreneurial team.

MPME- Qual o tratamento mais adequado - regime diferenciado como forma de redução da informalidade?

Este trabalho analisa o papel das micro , pequenas e médias empresas no Brasil, sua importância na geração de rendas e empregos e compara os principais indicadores desse segmento com o de outros países. O trabalho faz uma análise dos principais problemas que dificultam o desenvolvimento das MPME, evidencia o que já foi feito e sugere que as políticas públicas priorizem a melhoria da competitividade das empresas, através da redução dos obstáculos causados pela excessiva regulamentação, dificuldades de acesso a financiamentos de médio e de longo prazos e através de programas e incentivos visando a melhoria da gestão das mesmas. O trabalho evidencia a importância e a evolução dos Distritos Industriais ( APL's) no Brasil, por muitos considerado como uma alternativa de fortalecimento das MPME e de desenvolvimento regional. É feita uma análise dos principais indicadores da economia informal e como algumas medidas de políticas públicas poderiam colaborar para redução dos atuais níveis de informalidade. O trabalho é concluído reenfatizando as principais ações que poderiam ser priorizadas nas diversas áreas - regulamentação, judiciário, tributária, crédito, todas objetivando melhorar a produtividade das MPME.

Regiões metropolitanas brasileiras: índices de diferenciação

The research investigates the differences among Brazilian metropolitan regions, in what concerns to the composition of their productive and occupational structures. This investigation aims to allow the observation of the differentiated stages of metropolitan development, in comparing the spaces among themselves and in measuring the intensity of the differences. This work intends to subsidize the analysis of the private and public firms location choices, and on the other hand, to point out the necessities of public intervention aiming regional development. The analysis is accomplished with the help of differentiation regional indexes, calculated from information aggregated in special tabulations, in order to accomplish the specifics objectives of this research.

Parques e incubadoras de empresas de base tecnológica

The main purpose of this paper is to give a wide vision about science parks, technology parks, incubators and technology based firms and to show the Brazilian experience on these subjects. This kind of enterprises is considered one of the most important local and regional development instruments in the present. They demand actions to strengthen the links between firms, R&D centers, universities and governments, especially, local governments. Furthermore, the venture capital firms have an important role to play in these new approach to further the regional and local development through technological innovations. This paper emphasizes the importance of the venture capital and the strategic alliances to support this new approaches and shows that the lack of these instruments in Brazilian environment is one of the main problem of these technology based enterprises.

Gestão pública como fonte de competitividade nacional: um estudo da evidência latino-americana no século xx

The thesis explores how the public management influenced the competitivity in the countries of Latin America along the XXth century. A historical review of the development in the modern period leads to a model involving six main variables: public management, innovation, transaction costs, military efficiency, productivity and competitivity. A historical and geographical analysis of the Latin America is used as basis to understand how the development unfolded in the region in light of the model. Several analyses, both quantitative and qualitative, are made involving the variables. It¿s concluded that the influence of public management in the region can be explained through the model, and it was done in two great movements, one in the 1930¿s decade and another one in the 1990¿s decade. The analysis reveals that the action of public management was a reaction to external events and it was done in an adaptive manner. It is also concluded that these actions make sense when seen in light of the Game theory, and that public management always tried to stimulate regional development through coopetition.

Modelo de avaliação competitiva de destinos turísticos com base nas capacidades dinâmicas

Over the past few decades, the phenomenon of competitiveness, and the underlying competitive advantage thereof, has been analyzed in diverse ways, in terms of its sources (external and internal environment) and competitive management strategies, as well as different scopes (nations, economic sectors and organizations) and fields of study (economy and organizational theory). Moreover, competitiveness is a complex phenomenon and, thus, reflected in the many methods and approaches which some frameworks have developed throughout the period to try to examine it in the tourism sector as well as other industries. In this research a framework for destinations is presented on the basis of dynamic capabilities. This is an important contribution to the research, since previous studies for the tourism sector have not approached this relevant aspect of the competitive development of tourist destinations, i.e. based on the capabilities of innovation, transformation, creation and research presents a competitive evaluation of the dynamic capabilities of tourist destinations, on the basis of 79 activities, distributed in eight , this work presents an empirical application of the framework in a sample of twenty Brazilian cities, considered, by the Brazilian Tourism Minister, as indicative tourist destinations for regional development. The results obtained from this evaluation were submitted to tests of statistical reliability and have demonstrated that the destinations possess heterogeneous levels of capabilities between themselves (different levels developed in the categories between the cities) and inside each destination (developed levels of capability between the categories of the destination). In other words: heterogeneity is not only between category to category.

Os processos de inserção e atuação do ISAE junto à comunidade empresarial paranaense

A proposta realizada nesta Dissertação de evidenciar participação do Instituto Superior de Administração Economia do Mercosul da Fundação Getulio Vargas, no desenvolvimento empresarial regional do Paraná. Seis anos, desde sua criação no Estado, em 1996, período de tempo focalizado descrito mediante as diversas evidências coletadas no Estudo de Caso. Os focos da contextualização do trabalho são os processos de inserção atuação do Instituto na comunidade paranaense, com ênfase no meio empresarial. estudo aponta as iniciativas empreendimentos integrantes de sua memória institucional. Como categorias de análise no estudo, foram caracterizados na literatura, em seus conceitos principais, explicitados na prática do ISAE, os eixos de Internacionalização, Articulação Promoção Institucional, Customização Regionalizada Empreendedorismo Inovação, cujas ações possibilitaram conhecimento, aceitação, reconhecimento sentido de pertencimento do ISAE pela comunidade, também inserção atuação da própria comunidade, com ênfase no meio empresarial, no cotidiano do Instituto. papel de refletor da marca FGV como integrador dos produtos de suas diversas Unidades proporcionou quebra de resistências iniciais de uma cultura avessa influências estranhas. investigação empírica realizada no Estudo de Caso.com os alunos, egressos lideranças da comunidade evidencia ressalta, nos resultados obtidos, valorização do espírito inovador, credibilidade confiança, bem como modernidade e o respeito que Instituição conquistou em sua trajetória. As conclusões do estudo realizado demonstram que forma de condução que ISAE, como uma instituição de modelo organizacional descentralizado, vem implementando atende supera as expectativas que levaram sua criação.

A importância da reavaliação do papel dos Bancos de desenvolvimento e o caso do BANDES

o presente estudo analisa de que forma a reavaliação do papel dos bancos de desenvolvimento e uma efetiva alteração de seu direcionamento estratégico, principalmente no que tange à sua forma de apoiar financeiramente os empreendimentos, em um mercado competitivo e inovador, poderia contribuir para o desenvolvimento regional dos estados onde estão localizados. o levantamento empírico foi realizado no BANDES Banco de Desenvolvimento do Espírito Santo que se tornou desde sua criação em 1967 o principal instrumento de fomento e de financiamento de longo prazo da economia capixaba. A reflexão tende à conclusão de que a reavaliação dos bancos de desenvolvimento, neste atual cenário econômico, será fator decisivo de sobrevivência dessas instituições bem como contribuirá para a diminuição das distorções regionais dos estados onde estão localizados desde que, na construção de uma nova visão, as diretrizes a serem implementadas por essas instituições estejam em sintonia com as ações do governo, com as carências regionais/setoriais e principalmente com um mundo competitivo e globalizado.

A efetividade dos instrumentos de financiamento público da FINEP no desenvolvimento do APL eletroeletrônico de Santa Rita do Sapucaí

O objetivo principal do estudo foi compreender a efetividade dos instrumentos públicos de subsídios financeiros aplicados no APL Eletroeletrônico de Santa Rita do Sapucaí, MG, pela Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP), focando a empresa motriz do APL, Linear - Equipamentos Eletrônicos S/A. No estudo foram identificados os principais modelos de desenvolvimento regional, porém foram enfatizados os modelos de Arranjos Produtivos Locais (APLs) e Pólos de Crescimento, pois são os que mais caracterizam a região estudada. Também foram descritos a Lei da Inovação Tecnológica (LlT), os principais incentivadores de APLs no Brasil, ou seja, os agentes financeiros, bem como os atuais mecanismos e instrumentos de financiamentos da FINEP e como os mesmos são disponibilizados. Baseado nas políticas públicas traçadas, tanto pelo Governo Federal, como pelo Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (MCT), ao qual a FINEP se vincula, pode se analisar, no contexto do APL Eletroeletrônico de Santa Rita do Sapucaí, na figura da empresa Linear, a efetividade desses instrumentos de financiamento público estabelecidos para o desenvolvimento do referido APL. Finalmente, como conclusão e em resposta à questão inicial levantada na pesquisa, pode se compreender se houve efetividade dos instrumentos de financiamento público da FINEP no desenvolvimento do APL Eletroeletrônico de Santa Rita do Sapucaí.

Educação e trabalho nos planos nacionais de desenvolvimento no periodo 1970/1980: um estudo introdutório sobre a realidade da Sudam

Este estudo faz uma análise crítica da educação e do trabalho nos Planos Nacionais de Desenvolvimento, via açoes coordenadas pela Superintendência do Desenvolvimento da Amazônia (Sudam), com sua política de desenvolvimento regional, que significa expansão da acumulação capitalista - desenvolvimento em nome da região. A natureza "verdadeira" desta relação (educação e trabalho), no plano real, está contida muito mais nos programas econômicos do que nos formalmente enquadrados como educativos. Se a Amazônia dependesse do ensino formal para modificação das estruturas dominantes e para transformação das relações antagônicas de apropriação e expropiaçao, permaneceria inalterada, como ocorreu até 1960, antes da construção da rodovia Belém-Brasília e implantação dos grandes projetos de desenvolvimento deslanchados pelo Estado. A política de desenvolvimento regional dirigiu-se a favor da classe dominante, que tem seu locus hegemônico no Centro-Sul do Brasil. A ação pedagógica dos grandes projetos econômicos - pedagogia do capital - foi tão ou mais efetiva do que a da escola, exatamente pela "ausência" desta na Amazônia. A rede escolar da região está em torno de 11.626 escolas para atender a uma população escolarizável de cerca de 2 milhões de crianças. Na zona rural se atende a 37% da demanda. Hoje, pouco ou quase nada se tem de uma típica comunidade amazônica: o espaço-homem ou homem-espaço é outro, com pletamente diferente; novos hábitos foram incorporados, há novas maneiras de viver e/ou morrer, próprias do "urbano"; os tipos e formas de produção também se transformaram, as culturas de subsistência, por exemplo, estão sendo gradativamente substituídas por outras de maior valor para exportação, corno café, cacau, pimenta-do-reino, juta etc.; as tradições culturais estão sendo vilipendiadas, até no tratamento de doenças, através da alopatia convencional; há descaracterização das manifestações folclóricas etc. Todas essas transformações ocorridas se integram ao projeto maior de desenvolvimento, como produto da entrada da Amazônia no mundo do "progresso". As ações implementadas pelo Estado se articulam e se completam nos empreendimentos econômicos da iniciativa privada. Em suma, trata-se de um "progresso" que, ao contrário de representar um meio de melhoria das condições de vida, representa para a grande maioria dos trabalhadores urna radicalização da degradação destas condições.