Despite attempts to induce regional competitiveness in industrial manufactures, poor productivity performances continue to plague the ability of African entrepreneurs to compete successfully in international markets. While many plausible explanations can be put forward to explain this failing,...

This thesis examines the performance, challenges and prospects of the Chinese coalindustry under transformation in the market transition period from 1993 to date. The term'transformation' is used intentionally to distinguish it from 'transition', which is more commonly used. While issues arising...

This study analyzes the structure of the water industry in Peru. It investigates economies of scale and cost inefficiencies in 43 water providers during the years from 1996 to 2005. Different water sources in different geographical regions directly affect the production technology of the sector,...

Research has suggested that outcome feedback is less effective than other forms of feedback in promoting learning by users of decision support systems. However, if circumstances can be identified where the effectiveness of outcome feedback can be improved, this offers considerable advantages,...

In the United States of America, numerous organizations are writing standards and recommend practices for contamination control and cleanroom applications. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES), and various US Government agencies are...