|
Journal Name: Prometheus, Volume 1, Number 1, June 1983
Contents
Papers
The Economics of Uranium Enrichment
by A.D.Owen
Abstract:
A number of factors which determine the demand for enrichment services are identified and proectins of enrichment capacity and requirements to the year 2000 are discussed. An outline of the nuclear fuel cycle is given. The prospects for the establishment of an Australian enrichment supply industry during the 1990s are considered. It is concluded that those prospects are limited by the depressed state of the world market and the lack of a domestic market.
Telecommunications in Australia: an Historical Perspective, 1854-1930
by Ann Moyal
Abstract:
Australian history has been conspicuously short on the examination of the history of technical subjects and of the role technological development has played in the country's evolution. As early as 1961, Beoffrey Blainey observed:"We historians are uneasy outside the old triad of political, social and religious history; we are inclined to avoid the history of technical subjects even more than did the historians of the last century with their narrower compass of history." athe comment remains valid today. The history of technology in Australia stads as a broad and relatively empty canvas on which to depict the major underpinnings - and their social interconnections - of an increasingly industrialised society.
Diversity, Economics and the Australian Newspaper Industry
by Allan Brown
Abstract:
Diversity of newspaper outlets and deversity of newspaper ownership are both generally conducive to economic efficiency within the newspaper industry. A review of the economics of newspaper ppublishing reveals two major factors concering the structure and ownership of the press. The first is that xscale economies of production are largely responsible for the tendency of newspaper markets in cities and towns to be dominated by a single title. The second is that the combined effect of economies of scale and newspaper firms' drive towards growth is likely to bring about a high concentration of newspaper ownership. It is argued that economic theory lends qualified support to policy proposals to prevent mergers between newspaper firms and to require divestiture of newspaper titles.
The Transfer of Industrial Technology to Western Pacific Developing Countries
by Hal Hill and Brian Johns
Abstract:
This paper reviews recent evidence on technology transfer to the rapidly growing Western Pacific region, where most devloping countries have adopted relatively liberal policies towards the importation of technology and equity capital. In recent years Japan has emerged as a major supplier of technology to the region. Moreover, there have been impotant changes in the international technology market, which has become larger and more competitive. Nevertheless, many aspects of technology imports have been criticised, including the conditions attached to its sale, and its appropriateness for low income countries. The arguments for limited regulation of technology flows are assessed and the economic and administrative difficulties pointed out. From the host country viewpoint, the policies influencing diffusion of technology within the country seem to be at least as impotant as the policies directly bearing on technology transfer from overseas.
International Trade and Welfare Implications of Transborder Data Flows
by Meheroo Jssawalla
Abstract:
All countries are finding their economicgrowth determined increasingly by investment in information technology. In the ultimate analysis, the selfare effects will be determined by which industries are strengthened or weakened. Whether the technology is benign or not depends on the objectives of international communication systems and the policies for achieving them. International policy must be geared to specific objectives.
Broadcasting in the 1920s: Government and Private Interests
by Alan Barnard
Abstract:
Australian broadcasting has always been subject to government regulation. This paper identifies fundamental changes in regulaory rules in the formative years of the 1920s and relates them to the interests they affected. Pressure by radio dealers determined the character of initial regulation and therefore the early shape of the broadcasting industry: private firms dependent on revenue from government-imposed listeners' licence fees. Government initiative, quite independent of private lobbying, ended that system. Seeking to subsidise broadcasting in small States and rural areas, it 'expropriated' the pioneers in 1929 and replaced them with a single Australia-wide revenue-supported private program contractor using transmission facilities provided by the PMG Department - an immediate forerunner to the creation of the ABC in 1932.
The International Realpolitik of Science and Technology Policy
by Clem Tisdell
Abstract:
Reasons are considered for growing government intervention in scientific and technological progress, justifications for such interference and variations in the objectives sought by developed nations through their science and technology policies. Many governments of developed countries now place high priority on using science and technology policy to maintain and enhance the international competitiveness of their countries. It is hoped thereby to increase their living standards and reduce unemployment. The belief is widespread that to be effective such policies should be directed towards encouraging selected industries and technologies, as in Japan and Germany. Since Australian policies broadly have not been industry specific and technology specific, they need to be re-assessed in the light of these developments.
Australia's Dependence on Imported Technology - Some Issues for Discussion
by P. J. Morris
Abstract:
This article assesses the extent of Australia's dependence on imported technology and discusses the effects this may have had on domestic research and development expenditure. Drawing upon recent studies of the operations of subsidiaries and branches of US multinational enterprises, some coments are made concerning their contribution to Australia's technological development. In conclusion a number of policy issues are raised.
Informatics and Law Reform
by M. D. Kirby
Abstract:
The Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission identifies science and technology as one of teh main factors necessitating reform of the law in Australia. The way in which informatics, one of the most dynamic technologies of today, has penetrated Australian society is described. The implications of this technology for two major projects before teh Australian Law Reform Commission are then outlined. The first is the design of new laws to protect privacy of the individual in the growing computeriation of personal data. The second is the adaptation of the law of evidence, from a system highly dependent on oral testimony to one responsive to computer and computer generated testimony. The author then outlines a number of future issues concerning the interface between informatics and the law. He proposes the establishment of permanent machinery to examine the mosaic of computer law topics. Finally, he examines impediments to the computerisation of land information systems - as a species of the way in which the growth of informatics will present challenges to lawmakers, administrators and law reformers in Australia.
Techniques for Guiding the Allocation of Resources Among Rural Research Projects: State of the Art
by Jock R. Anderson and Kevin A. Parton
Abstract:
Diverse methods are available for evaluating benefits and costs of rural research projects. They have been developed in response to a felt need for information in a highly uncertain environment. These formal evaluation schemes are compared in an attempt to show whether any offer useful guidelines for rational allocation of research funds. The outcome is a series of conjectures on the level of effort to devote to research evaluation, and hence on the techniques which should be used. In most circumstances encountered in Australian rural research the optimal type of evaluation would be relatively unsophisticated.
The Nature of Australian Regional Input-Output Multipliers
by R. C. Jensen and G. R. West
Abstract:
This paper presents the first general analysis of the multipliers derived from twenty-nine Australian regional (GRIT) input-output tables, ranging from metropolitan areas to quite isolated regions. The study attempts to summarise the formidable array of results, aiming to provide an empirical reference point for research into regional multipliers, to identify any regularities in the multiplier components and to suggest conclusions for general policy purposes.
(This journal is available online: http://www.tandf.co.uk/online.html)
Posted with permission from the publisher.
| 
