The degree and nature of government involvement in the production of war materials has changed markedly in recent years. This dissertation traces events that have occurred and the background to these. It attempts to put in context, changes that have taken place particularly over the past decade, and which to date have not been placed in a connected sequence or described as part of an overall plan. The dissertation commences with a brief outline of the growth of defence industry in Australia and its subsequent decline in size and performance during the last forty years. From this base, it looks at options which faced governments at the beginning of the 1980's, decisions which were made, and the reasons for those decisions. It then goes on to examine whether the "best" options were followed from a number of viewpoints. These include defence strategic considerations, matters of probity and equity in the disposal of assets, (particularly the public good), as well as the impact on those affected by the decision. The process of change, including the extent to which decisions and their effects were scrutinised by external and auditing agencies, is then considered. The experience in this country has to a large extent paralleled, although lagged, that in the United Kingdom. Accordingly, appropriate references are brought from the UK experience to highlight alternatives to, or weaknesses of, the processes followed and policies implemented locally. Finally, the essay provides some discussion of the benefits and costs which have been observed so far, as well as postulating options which may be taken in Australia as the process of change continues.

This thesis presents a study of technology transfer within the telecommunications company of Venezuela (CANTV) between 1991-1996. The thesis examines, in-depth, a single case - CANTV - at a critical time in its history. The company was state-owned until 1991 when it became a partnership with a US corporation, General Telephone Electronic (GTE) and Telefonica de Espana. The case is discussed against the background of global re-organisation of the telecommunications sector, its institutional transformation and technological change to provide an empirical foundation for a extensive study of technology transfer within the context of international alliances. It extends established theories which, hitherto, have not adequately described the role of partnerships as a conduit for the transfer of technologies. Until the early 1990s the performance of CANTV was far below international best practice. It was determined, at governmental level in Venezuela, to institute a radical transformation and profound changes took place in ownership, technology and, subsequently, performance. The case was analysed using a multi-disciplinary and longitudinal approach, drawing extensively on grounded theory. Data was gathered by participant observation, extensive interviews, study of company and governmental documentation. Frameworks for analysis were drawn from innovation theory, analyses of international technology transfer approaches and business management theory. In addition to an extensive organisational study, focusing on the relationships between partners, two specific technologies selected for examination as they were transferred into CANTV from partners. One technology was 'successfully transferred, the other not - this provided data for a detailed comparative analysis. The research concludes that a 'new' model of technology transfer has emerged within strategic partnerships and international alliances. However, to be successful, a portfolio of managerial capabilities is needed to reap the benefits of potential synergies between partners. Especially important are management skills and processes to define partners' capabilities, position technologies, manage complex transfer processes and support on-going learning.

Thèse (M.A.)--Université Laval, 2008. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 2 septembre 2008). Bibliogr.

The Czech Republic went through transformation of economy in the 90s. The key part of this proces was privatisation. It became the most important political economy proces in the history of the Czech Republic. The privatisation proces especially the nonstandard voucher privatisation is still important topic of public, politics and economic discussion. Purpose of this thesis is to evaulate the privatisation proces in the terms of its revenues and costs. The first chapter is focused on the economic history of privatisation ideas and its use in political practice. The main part is devoted to the analysis of the privatization process in the Czech Republic. Evaluated are the various methods of privatisation and the process as a whole. The final two chapters are focused on the comparison of the Czech privatization processes with the same processes in Hungary and Poland. Evaluated is the speed of the privatization process, the fiscal impacts and impact on the development of selected macroeconomic indicators. The working hypothesis was confirmed: The proceeds of the privatization process exceeded its costs.

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Texte remanié de: Thèse de doctorat--Droit--Paris 1, 2004. / Bibliogr. p. 237-244. Notes bibliogr.

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The privatisation of the British railway industry was announced in 1992, and a central plank of the government's strategy was to liberalise British Rail's (BR's) passenger market at the time of its divestiture. Competition was to be introduced both for the market, through franchising, and in the market, by freeing up access to the rail network. This thesis examines the policy adopted to promote competition in the British passenger railway industry. Its central aim is to assess the extent to which the promotion of competition between passenger train operators was an appropriate policy goal. In pursuit of this aim, the thesis critically evaluates the evolution, outcome and future prospects of rail liberalisation policy and closely examines the translation of neoliberalism - the theory of political economy upon which rail privatisation was based - into practical policy measures. A significant original investigation, drawing upon the experiences of key personnel involved in framing, executing and operating within the policy, augments secondary data to provide an in-depth level of analysis not currently available within the literature. The study employs predominantly inductive, qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, which together constitute a relatively novel investigative approach within transport geography. The empirical results are presented and discussed against the background of the other 'network' industry privatisations of the 1980s and early 1990s. The main findings are that, despite the sale of BR having been considered by the government for more than a decade, the privatisation and liberalisation strategy advanced by the 1992 White Paper, New Opportunities for the Railways, was not the result of a coherent policy analysis. The opportunities for, and even appropriateness of, a neoliberal agenda to promote competition between train operators were not sufficiently well understood by government when the proposals were adopted. Competition for the market, nevertheless, would appear to be a workable and 'successful' policy option, with the scope to offer long-term benefits to the rail industry should future governments choose to seek them. Competition in the market, on the other hand, is far less appropriate and continued emphasis on this aspect of rail policy could damage the industry's prospects in the coming years. Finally, the overall success of franchising seems to have occurred despite the muddled circumstances in which the Conservatives formulated rail privatisation policy, whereas the general failure of 'on-rail' competition seems to reflect them.

No description available.