Search results for: advanced countries

Authors: Kwok Tak Kit

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Construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated in the process of urbanization which only contribute to approx. 25–35 per cent of municipal solid waste (MSW), and the action to reduce the generation of other MSW is considered more critical. Developed and cities produce a higher percentage of inorganic waste rather than organic waste. Most of the MSW was disposed in landfill, and a large number of the landfills are not effectively and efficiently operated to receive the untreated incoming waste. It is also a global problem that the demands for enhancement of basic infrastructure for waste collection, treatment, and disposal, including rehabilitation of the dump sites, is the urgent priority. This paper is to review the factors taken into consideration of waste management development in relation to circular economy development on development countries and green recovery in the post-pandemic era for further researches use.

Keywords: waste management, waste reduction, circular economy, developed countries, sustainable design goals

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Authors: Pennisi Stefania, Giuffrida Graziella, Coppa Federica, Iannello Giulia, Cartelli Simone, Lo Faro Riccardo, Ferruggia Greta, Brundo Maria Violetta

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Tissue engineering aims to develop advanced medical devices to restore normal functions of damaged tissue. These devices, even more effective than conventional methods, are called skin substitutes and are configured as drugs to be applied to the damaged area, to heal extensive and deep wounds which could otherwise lead to chronic wounds lasting over time. Among the variety of commercially available skin substitutes, those that have proven to be most effective are those consisting of a bilayer scaffold. The aim of our research was to design a skin substitute which can promote cell proliferation, cell migration and angiogenesis, and which can guarantee timely closure of the wound with satisfactory aesthetic results, in order to avoid the patient excessive pain, risk of contracting infections and long-term hospitalization. The product was tested in vitro using the Scratch Assay. The assay was carried out both on the matrix modified with hyaluronic acid and on the matrix based only on collagen. In both cases, after 48 hours of exposure the wound scratch was almost completely closed in treated cells compared to untreated control.

Keywords: collagen, hyaluronic acid, scratch- wound-healing assay, tissue regeneration

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Authors: Jesus D. Cortes Gil, Fernanda Ewerling, Leonardo Ferreira, Aluisio J. D. Barros

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Background: The sustainable development goals call for inclusive, equitable, and quality learning opportunities for all. This is especially important for children, to ensure they all develop to their full potential. We studied the prevalence and inequalities of suspected delay in child development in 63 low- and middle-income countries. Methods and Findings: We used the early child development module from national health surveys, which covers four developmental domains (physical, social-emotional, learning, literacy-numeracy) and provides a combined indicator (early child development index, ECDI) of whether children are on track. We calculated the age-adjusted prevalence of suspected delay at the country level and stratifying by wealth, urban/rural residence, sex of the child, and maternal education. We also calculated measures of absolute and relative inequality. We studied 330.613 children from 63 countries. The prevalence of suspected delay for the ECDI ranged from 3% in Barbados to 67% in Chad. For all countries together, 25% of the children were suspected of developmental delay. At regional level, the prevalence of delay ranged from 10% in Europe and Central Asia to 42% in West and Central Africa. The literacy-numeracy domain was by far the most challenging, with the highest proportions of delay. We observed very large inequalities, and most markedly for the literacy-numeracy domain. Conclusions: To date, our study presents the most comprehensive analysis of child development using an instrument especially developed for national health surveys. With a quarter of the children globally suspected of developmental delay, we face an immense challenge. The multifactorial aspect of early child development and the large gaps we found only add to the challenge of not leaving these children behind.

Keywords: child development, inequalities, global health, equity

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Authors: Valon Shkodra

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In our paper, we will give an overview of the cultural heritage and tourism in Kosovo. Kosovo has a history, culture, tradition and architecture that are different from those of other countries in the region, and each country has its own characteristics and peculiarities. In this paper, we will mainly present the situation of cultural heritage and its interpretation. The research is based on fieldwork and the aim of the research is to live the situation of cultural heritage and tourism. The reason why we chose this topic is that cultural heritage and tourism are now the most important industry developing many countries in the world. Besides the benefits that tourism brings, it also has an impact on the preservation, protection and promotion of culture in general. Kosovo, with its cultural diversity and very good geographical location, is also very well suited to develop these two areas as a bridge to each other. The cultural heritage holds traces from the earliest eras and shows a diversity of different civilizations that have just begun to be explored and presented.

Keywords: cultural heritage, economy, tourism, development, institutions, protection

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Authors: Adebisi M. Tiamiyu, Adewale F. Adeyemi, Olu-Ayobamikale V. Irewunmi

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Fish consumption has increased in recent years in both developing and advanced countries, owing to increased awareness of its nutritional and therapeutic benefits and its availability and affordability relative to other animal protein sources. Fish and fish products, however, are extremely prone to contamination by a wide range of hazardous organic and inorganic substances. This study assessed the levels of three heavy metals, copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn), in frozen fish imported into Nigeria and sold in Ondo City for their safety for human consumption as recommended by WHO and FEPA. Three species of frozen fish (Scombrus scombrus, Merluccius merluccius, and Clupea harengus) were purchased, and the wet tissues (gills, muscles, and liver) were digested using a 3:1 mixture of nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrochloric acid (HCL). An atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) was used to detect the amount of metal in the tissues. The levels of heavy metals in different fish species' organs varied. The fish had Zn > Fe > Cu heavy metal concentrations in that order. While the concentration of Cu and Fe in the tissues of all three fish species studied were within the WHO and FEPA prescribed limits for food fish, the concentration of Zn in the muscles of M. merluccius (0.262±0.052), C. harengus harengus (0.327±0.099), and S. scombrus (0.362±0.119) was above the prescribed limit (0.075 ppm) set by FEPA. An excessive amount of zinc in the body can cause nausea, headaches, decreased immunity, and appetite loss.

Keywords: heavy metal, atomic absorption spectrophotometer, fish, agencies

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Authors: Abubakar Salisu Garba

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The objective of the paper is to highlight the nature of entrepreneurial activities in the Sub Sahara Africa. Five countries in the Sub Sahara African that are participating in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research have been studied to understand the types of entrepreneurial activities and their socio-economic implications in the region. The importance of entrepreneurial activities in boosting socio-economic development has been recognized not only in developing countries, but across the entire global economies. Some people believe that the wealth and poverty of developing countries is associated with nature and type of entrepreneurial activity. Policy makers are not only concern about the rate of business start up, but the growth and development of those starts up is of paramount importance to the development of the country’s economy. Although, the supply of entrepreneurs is essential, sometimes it does not really matters in boosting economic performance. What is more important is having high impact entrepreneurs who could make meaningful contribution to the economy. High growth oriented entrepreneurs are more stable and contribute greatly in enhancing the economic performance. When entrepreneurs are facing difficulties in sustaining and growing their businesses, it may be unlikely for entrepreneurship to reduce unemployment and poverty. Inadequate financial supports, insufficient infrastructure, lack of enforcing laws protecting the right of entrepreneurs are some of the problems making business environment difficult in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial activity, job creation, poverty reduction, Sub-Saharan Africa

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Authors: Francis Sichimba

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Literature has increasingly acknowledged the important role that grandparents play in child care with evidence highlighting differences in grand-parental investment between countries and cultures. However, there are very few systematic cross cultural studies on grandparents’ participation in child care. Thus, we decided to conduct this study in Zambia and the Netherlands because the two countries differ rather drastically socially and culturally. The objective of this study was to investigate grand-parental involvement in child care in Zambia and the Netherlands. In line with the general objective, four hypotheses were formulated using nationality, family size, social economic status (SES), attachment security as independent variables. The study sample consisted of 411 undergraduate students from the University of Zambia and the University of Leiden. A questionnaire was used to measure grand-parental involvement in child care. Results indicated that grandparent involvement in child care was prevalent in both Zambia and Netherlands. However, as predicted it was found that Zambian grandparents (M = 9.69, SD=2.40) provided more care for their grandchildren compared to their Dutch counterparts (M = 7.80, SD=3.31) even after controlling for parents being alive. Using hierarchical logistic regression analysis the study revealed that nationality and attachment-related avoidance were significant predictors of grand-parental involvement in child care. It was concluded that grand-parental care is a great resource in offering complementary care in both countries.

Keywords: attachment, care, grand-parenting involvement, social economic status

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Authors: Gabriel Woldu, Maria Sassi

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Coffee performs a pivotal role in Ethiopia's GDP, revenue, employment, domestic demand, and export earnings. Ethiopia's coffee production and exports show high variability in the amount of production and export earnings. Despite being the continent's fifth-largest coffee producer, Ethiopia has not developed its ability to shine as a major exporter in the globe's green coffee exports. Ethiopian coffee exports were not stable and had high volume and earnings fluctuations. The main aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of the export of coffee variation to different importing nations using a first-order Markov Chain model. 14 years of time-series data has been used to examine the direction and structural change in the export of coffee. A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) was used to determine the annual growth rate in the coffee export quantity, value, and per-unit price over the study period. The major export markets for Ethiopian coffee were Germany, Japan, and the USA, which were more stable, while countries such as France, Italy, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia were less stable and had low retention rates for Ethiopian coffee. The study, therefore, recommends that Ethiopia should again revitalize its market to France, Italy, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia, as these countries are the major coffee-consuming countries in the world to boost its export stake to the global coffee markets in the future. In order to further enhance export stability, the Ethiopian Government and other stakeholders in the coffee sector should have to work on reducing the volatility of coffee output and exports in order to improve production and quality efficiency, so that stabilize markets as well as to make the product attractive and price competitive in the importing countries.

Keywords: coffee, CAGR, Markov chain, direction of trade, Ethiopia

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Authors: Tsietsi J. Pilusa, Tumisang G. Seodigeng

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This study evaluates the benefits of advanced waste management practices in unlocking waste-to-energy opportunities within the solid waste industry. The key drivers of sustainable waste management practices, specifically with respect to packaging waste-to-energy technology options are discussed. The success of a waste-to-energy system depends significantly on the appropriateness of available technologies, including those that are well established as well as those that are less so. There are hard and soft interventions to be considered when packaging an integrated waste treatment solution. Technology compatibility with variation in feedstock (waste) quality and quantities remains a key factor. These factors influence the technology reliability in terms of production efficiencies and product consistency, which in turn, drives the supply and demand network. Waste treatment technologies rely on the waste material as feedstock; the feedstock varies in quality and quantities depending on several factors; hence, the technology fails, as a result. It is critical to design an advanced waste treatment technology in an integrated approach to minimize the possibility of technology failure due to unpredictable feedstock quality, quantities, conversion efficiencies, and inconsistent product yield or quality. An integrated waste-to-energy approach offers a secure system design that considers sustainable waste management practices.

Keywords: emerging markets, evaluation tool, interventions, waste treatment technologies

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Authors: Gulfam Hasan, Ijaz Ashraf, Saleem Ashraf, Muhammad Rafay Muzammil, Salman Asghar, Shafiq-Ur-Rehman Zia

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The word “climate change” has become the most popular term when anyone observes any uncertain climate variation in their respective region. Asian countries are more prone to the impact of this phenomenon, and Pakistan is the leading affected country. Last few years, governments all over the world have been trying to cater to this issue for the best entrust of their population, especially agriculture. Now the farmers in Pakistan are fully aware of the term “climate change” and are more concerned about its solutions. On the other hand, developed countries like the USA are setting a benchmark for developing countries in every sphere of life. Based on cultural and other variations, the research was carried out to identify the behavior of farmers regarding the same issue. Cross-sectional survey research was designed for an in-depth study of relevant research questions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in Pakistan, while virtual and face-to-face interviews were conducted in the Indiana State of the USA. The results of the present study and the responses of farmers were very interesting. The common climate change mitigation strategies suggested by farmers of both countries were less use of motor vehicles (replacement with bicycles in the circle of 10 Km), less dependency on chemical fertilizers (increased use of Manure, Bio-fertilizer, Compost), and plantation of the tree. The difference of opinion was in less government interest, lack of farmers’ education, political instability (views of Pakistani farmers), awareness of local communities, self-satisfaction, and economic disparities (views of USA farmers). Based on the given evidence, it was recommended that there is a dire need to address the climate change issue all over the world without discrimination of race, color, region, or religion. Because it will affect not only agriculture but also the real effect will be on HUMANITY.

Keywords: climate change, mitigation strategies, forests, biodiversity

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Authors: James Etim Archibong

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The death penalty, to be or not to be, is a topical and hugely divisive issue in several countries. The United Nations recommends its universal abolition. Europe has abolished it, while some countries limit the practice to heinous crimes. Nigeria is one of the countries that have retained the death penalty. In 2004, the federal government placed a moratorium on execution, which was breached in 2006, 2013 and 2016. Nigeria currently has about three thousand inmates on death row because governors are reluctant to sign execution warrants. Human rights groups have consistently called for its abolition in Nigeria, but this has been rebuffed by the government. Nigeria currently finds itself in a dilemma between the global campaign to end the practice and the local support for its retention. This paper, employing a doctrinal approach, examines the concept of capital punishment in Nigeria from the first execution in 1971 to date. It has also examined the debate to abolish or retain it against the backdrop of Nigeria’s present social, economic and multicultural circumstances. It finds that the death penalty is a human right issue and Nigeria should join the majority of states that have dispensed with the practice. While the government contemplates which way to go, amid the impasse, the paper recommends, in the interim, an official, legally backed a moratorium on execution; commuting of death sentences to life imprisonment, and eventually expunging it from the constitution in the ongoing constitutional review.

Keywords: death penalty, capital punishment, human rights, deterrence, right to life

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Authors: Jyoti Sharma

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India and Pakistan are two strategically important neighboring countries in Asia-Pacific region. Since independence of more than six decades, both, India and Pakistan have transverse different paths, India as a Sovereign, Democratic, Republic Country and Pakistan as Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The advent of democracy in India and Islamic republic in Pakistan resulted in new hopes, aspirations and demands on education. During the six decades after Independence, teacher education in both countries has come a long way from its initial bleak stature to gain an identity as a complex network of institutions and programs. The present paper takes a close look into the paradigm shift in teacher education programs in India and Pakistan and how much the shift is influenced by constitutional frameworks of each country.

Keywords: pre-service teachers, teacher education reforms, India, Pakistan

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Authors: Abonyi Matthew Ndubuisi, Christopher Chiedozie Obi, Joseph Tagbo Nwabanne

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This review focuses on the application of advanced nanomaterials in catalysis for pollution control and renewable energy solutions. This review provides a comprehensive examination of the latest developments in nanocatalysts, highlighting their role in addressing environmental challenges and facilitating sustainable energy solutions. The unique properties of nanomaterials, including high surface area, tunable electronic properties, and enhanced reactivity, make them ideal candidates for catalytic applications. This review explores various types of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles, carbon-based nanostructures, and metal-organic frameworks, and their effectiveness in processes like photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and hydrogen production. Additionally, the review discusses the environmental benefits of using nanocatalysts in pollution control, focusing on the degradation of pollutants in water and air. The potential of these materials to bridge the gap between environmental remediation and clean energy production is emphasized, showcasing their dual role in mitigating pollution and advancing renewable energy technologies. In conclusion, the review analyzes the current challenges and future directions in the field, highlighting the need for continued research to improve the design and application of nanocatalysts for a sustainable future.

Keywords: nanomaterials, catalysis, pollution control, renewable energy, sustainable technology

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Authors: Edmund Kwablah, Anthony Amoah

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The merits associated with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to host countries in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot be overemphasized. Against this background, countries have sought to design and implement strategic policies geared towards enhacing FDI and promoting economic growth. In this study, we used the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares technique and a panel data for Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries spanning from 1998 to 2016. We hypothesize that FDI’s effect on economic growth is contingent on some absorptive capacities (e.g., financial market development and economic freedom) of the host country. We used financial market data that accounts for market fragility as a measure of financial market development and economic freedom data which uses the overall score of all the freedom indicators as a measure of economic freedom. Our results suggest that FDI has a statistically positive effect on economic growth when we account for host country’s absorptive capacities. However, a negative relationship will ensue if these absorptive capacities are not accounted for. We recommend that a developing continent like SSA should focus on identifying and building the relevant absorptive capacities that can translate the effect of FDI into a positive growth. This is because an economy with sound absorptive capacities reduces business risk and spur economic growth.

Keywords: FDI, absorptive capacity, economic growth, FMOLS, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares, SSA

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Authors: Andrey Makarov

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This article will focus on the development of antitrust policy in transition economies in the context of preventing explicit and tacit collusion. Experience of BRICS, CIS (Ukraine, Kazakhstan) and CEE countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Estonia) in the creation of antitrust institutions was analyzed, including both legislation and enforcement practice. Most of these countries in the early 90th were forced to develop completely new legislation in the field of protection of competition and it is important to compare different ways of building antitrust institutions and policy results. The article proposes a special approach to evaluation of preventing collusion mechanisms. This approach takes into account such enforcement problems as: classification problems (tacit vs explicit collusion, vertical vs horizontal agreements), flexibility of prohibitions (the balance between “per se” vs “rule of reason” approaches de jure and in practice), design of sanctions, private enforcement challenge, leniency program mechanisms, the role of antitrust authorities etc. The analysis is conducted using both official data, published by competition authorities, and expert assessments. The paper will show how the integration process within the EU predetermined some aspects of the development of antitrust policy in CEE countries, including the trend of the use of "rule of reason" approach. Simultaneously was analyzed the experience of CEE countries in special mechanisms of government intervention. CIS countries in the development of antitrust policy followed more or less original ways, without such a great impact from the European Union, more attention will be given to Russian experience in this field, including the analysis of judicial decisions in antitrust cases. Main problems and challenges for transition economies in this field will be shown, including: Legal uncertainty problem; Problem of rigidity of prohibitions; Enforcement priorities of the regulator; Interaction of administrative and criminal law, limited effectiveness of criminal sanctions in the antitrust field; The effectiveness of leniency program design; Private enforcement challenge.

Keywords: collusion, antitrust policy, leniency program, transition economies, Russia, CEE

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Authors: Chuang-Chang Chang, Keng-Yu Ho, Yu-Jen Hsiao, Hsin-Ni Yang

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Using a sample of detailed ownership data of 1,032 listed commercial bank observations in 30 European countries from 2004 to 2010, we explore what categories of shareholder are more likely to use derivatives and how different types of owners affect the bank value. We find that a shift in equity from bank investors to either non-financial companies or institutional investors have increase incentives to use derivatives. Moreover, we have significant evidence that a shift in equity from bank investors to either family or manager shareholders who attend derivative activities will decrease bank value. However, a shift in equity from bank investors to non-financial companies who use derivative instrument will increase the bank value. Our results are also robustness to address for the potential endogeneity problems.

Keywords: derivative usage, ownership structure, bank value

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Authors: Mahdi Fakheri, Mohammad Mohsen Mahdizadeh Naeini

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This paper addresses an understudied aspect of U.S. foreign aids between the years 2000 and 2020. Despite a growing body of literature on the impacts of U.S. aids, the question about how the United States uses its foreign aids to change developing countries has remained unanswered. As foreign aid is a tool of the United States' foreign policy, answering this very question can reveal the future that the U.S. prefers for developing countries and that secures its national interest. This paper will explore USAID's official dataset, which includes the data of foreign aids to the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia from 2000 to 2020. Through an empirical analysis, this paper argues that the focus of U.S. foreign aid is evenly divided between institutional and non-institutional (i.e., slight enhancement of status quo) changes. The former is induced by training and education, funding the initiatives and projects, making capacity and increasing the efficiency of human, operational, and management sectors, and enhancing the living condition of the people. Moreover, it will be demonstrated that the political, military, cultural, economic, and judicial are some of the institutions that the U.S. has planned to change in the aforementioned period and regions.

Keywords: USAID, foreign aid, development, developing countries, Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America

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Authors: Tanmay Bisen, Aastha Shayla

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This study introduces an advanced approach to tree canopy detection in urban environments and a regional analysis of Northern and Central Kolkata that delves into the intricate relationship between urban development and environmental conservation. Leveraging high-resolution drone imagery from diverse urban green spaces in Kolkata, we fine-tuned the deep forest model to enhance its precision and accuracy. Our results, characterized by an impressive Intersection over Union (IoU) score of 0.90 and a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.87, underscore the model's robustness in detecting and classifying tree crowns amidst the complexities of aerial imagery. This research not only emphasizes the importance of model customization for specific datasets but also highlights the potential of drone-based remote sensing in urban forestry studies. The study investigates the spatial distribution, density, and environmental impact of trees in Northern and Central Kolkata. The findings underscore the significance of urban green spaces in met-ropolitan cities, emphasizing the need for sustainable urban planning that integrates green infrastructure for ecological balance and human well-being.

Keywords: urban greenery, advanced spatial distribution analysis, drone imagery, deep learning, tree detection

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Authors: Selina Schwaabe

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Community pharmacies deliver high-quality health care and are responsible for medication safety. During the pandemic, accessibility to the nearest pharmacy became more essential to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and to get medical aid. The government's goal is to ensure nationwide, reachable, and affordable medical health care services by pharmacies. Therefore, the density of community pharmacies matters. Overall, the density of community pharmacies is fluctuating, with slightly decreasing tendencies in some countries. So far, the literature has shown that changes in the system affect prices and density. However, a European overview of the development of the density of community pharmacies and its triggers is still missing. This research is essential to counteract against decreasing density consulting in a lack of professional health care through pharmacies. The analysis focuses on liberal versus regulated market structures, mail-order prescription drug regulation, and third-party ownership consequences. In a panel analysis, the relative influence of the measures is examined across 27 European countries over the last 21 years. In addition, the paper examines seven selected countries in depth, selected for the substantial variance in their pharmacy system: Germany, Austria, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Poland. Overall, the results show that regulated pharmacy markets have over 10.75 pharmacies/100.000 inhabitants more than liberal markets. Further, mail-order prescription drugs decrease the density by -17.98 pharmacies/100.000 inhabitants. Countries allowing third-party ownership have 7.67 pharmacies/100.000 inhabitants more. The results are statistically significant at a 0.001 level. The output of this analysis recommends regulated pharmacy markets, with a ban on mail-order prescription drugs allowing third-party ownership to support nationwide medical health care through community pharmacies.

Keywords: community pharmacy, market conditions, pharmacy, pharmacy market, pharmacy lobby, prescription, e-prescription, ownership structures

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Authors: Jasmin H. Kwon , Thomas M. Brinthaupt

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There is a general lack of consumer behavior research on seasonal shopping events. Studying these kinds of events is interesting and important for several reasons. First, global shopping opportunities have implications for cross-cultural shopping events and effects on seasonal events in other countries. Second, seasonal shopping events are subject to economic conditions and may wane in popularity, especially with e-commerce options. Third, retailers can expand the success of their seasonal shopping events by taking advantage of cross-cultural opportunities. Fourth, it is interesting to consider how consumers from other countries might take advantage of different countries’ seasonal shopping events. Many countries have seasonal shopping events such as Black Friday. Research on these kinds of events can lead to the identification of cross-cultural similarities and differences in consumer behavior. We compared shopping motivations of college students who did (n=36) and did not (n=81) shop on Cyber Monday. The results showed that the groups did not differ significantly on any of the shopping motivation subscales. The Cyber Monday shoppers reported being significantly more likely to agree than disagree that their online shopping experience was enjoyable and exciting. They were more likely to disagree than agree that their experience was overwhelming. In addition, they agreed that they shopped only for deals, purchased the exact items they wanted, and thought that their efforts were worth it. Finally, they intended to shop again at next year’s Cyber Monday. It appears that there are many positive aspects to online seasonal shopping, independent of one’s typical shopping motivations. Different countries have seasonal events similar to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping holiday (e.g., Boxing Day, Fukubukuro, China’s Singles Day). In Korea, there is increasing interest in taking advantage of U.S. Black Friday and Cyber Monday opportunities. Government officials are interested in adapting the U.S. holiday to Korean retailers, essentially recreating the Black Friday/Cyber Monday holiday there. Similarly, the Japanese Fukubukuro ('Lucky Bag') holiday is being adapted by other countries such as Korea and the U.S. International shipping support companies are also emerging that help customers to identify and receive products from other countries. U.S. department stores also provide free shipping on international orders for certain items. As these structural changes are occurring and new options for global shopping emerge, the need to understand the role of shoppers’ motivations becomes even more important. For example, the Cyber Monday results are particularly relevant to the new landscape with e-commerce and cross-cultural opportunities, since many of these events involve e-commerce. Within today’s global market, physical location of a retail store is no longer a limitation to growing one’s market share. From a consumer perspective, it is important to investigate how shopping motivations are related to e-commerce seasonal events. From a retail perspective, understanding the shopping motivations of international customers would help retailers to expand and better tailor their seasonal shopping events beyond the boundaries of their own countries. From a collaborative perspective, research on this topic can include interdisciplinary researchers, including those from fashion merchandising, marketing, retailing, and psychology.

Keywords: Black Friday, cross-cultural research, Cyber Monday, seasonal shopping behavior

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Authors: Magdalena Biela, Marta Weber-Siwirska, Edyta Sierka

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The current noticed trend in Central European countries, as in other regions of the world, is for people to migrate to cities. As a result, the urban population is to have reached 70% of the total by 2050. Due to this tendency, as well as taking high real estate prices and limited reserves of city green areas into consideration, the greenery and agricultural soil adjacent to cities is are to be devoted to housing projects, while city centres are expected to undergo partial depopulation. Urban heat islands and phenomena such as torrential rains may cause serious damage. They may even endanger the very life and health of the inhabitants. Due to these tangible effects of climate change, residents expect that local government takes action to develop green infrastructure (GI). The main purpose of our research has been to assess the degree of readiness on the part of the local government in Poland to develop BGI. A questionnaire using the CAWI method was prepared, and a survey was carried out. The target group were town hall employees in all 380 powiat cities and towns (380 county centres) in Poland. The form contained 14 questions covering, among others, actions taken to support the development of GI and ways of motivating residents to take such actions. 224 respondents replied to the questions. The results of the research show that 52% of the cities/towns have taken or intend to take measures to favour the development of green spaces. Currently, the installation of green roofs and living walls is are only carried out by 6 Polish cities, and a few more are at the stage of preparing appropriate regulations. The problem of rainwater retention is much more widespread. Among the municipalities declaring any activities for the benefit of GI, approximately 42% have decided to work on this problem. Over 19% of the respondents are planning an increase in the surface occupied by green areas, 14% - the installation of green roofs, and 12% - redevelopment of city greenery. It is optimistic that 67% of the respondents are willing to acquire knowledge about BGI by means of taking part in educational activities both at the national and international levels. There are many ways to help GI development. The most common type of support in the cities and towns surveyed is co-financing (35%), followed by full financing of projects (11%). About 15% of the cities declare only advisory support. Thus, the problem of GI in Central European cities is at the stage of initial development and requires advanced measures and implementation of both proven solutions applied in other European and world countries using the concept of Nature-based Solutions.

Keywords: city/town, blue-green infrastructure, green roofs, climate change adaptation

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Authors: Abdullah Alhajoj, Bassam Alowaiesh

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This work aims to reduce the risks of discharging olive mill waste directly to the environment without treatment in Sakaka City, KSA. The organic loads expressed by chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) of the produced wastewater (OMWW) as well as the solid waste (OMW) were evaluated. The wastes emitted from the three-phase centrifuge decanters was found to be higher than that emitted from the two-phase centrifuge decanters. The olive mill wastewater (OMWW) was treated using advanced oxidation combined with filtration treatment. The results indicated that the concentration of COD, BOD, TSS, oil and grease and phenol was reduced by using complex sand filtration from 72150, 21660 10256, 36430, and 1470 mg/l to 980, 421, 58, 68, and 0.35 mg/l for three-phase OMWW and from 150562, 17955, 15325, 19658 and 2153 mg/l to 1050, 501, 29, 0.75, and 0.29 mg/l, respectively. While, by using modified trickling filter (packed with the neck of waste plastic bottles the concentration of the previously mentioned parameters was reduced to 1190, 570, 55, 0.85, and 0.3 mg/l, respectively. This work supports the application of such treatment technique for reducing the environmental threats of olive mill waste effluents in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: two-phase, three-phase, olive mill, olive oil, waste treatment, filtration, advanced oxidation, waste plastic bottles

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Authors: Yrfet Shkreli

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To determine the content of human rights norms in national constitutions, international law - in the form of treaties, declarations and case law from international monitoring bodies, and comparative case law from other countries - is often discussed in the judgments of domestic courts. This paper explores the extent to which international law has influenced domestic human rights case law in Africa. The paper first explores how the human rights provisions of African constitutions came into being before turning to the role played by international law in the constitutional order of various African states and how treaties, declarations and findings of international monitoring bodies have been used in African countries to interpret and expand on constitutional human rights provisions.

Keywords: European Union, global governance, globalization, normative power

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Authors: Mary Luna Mancao Ninal

Abstract:

This study aimed to determine the performance of the kindergarten teachers and its relation to pupils’ achievement in different learning areas in the Division of Kabankalan City. Using the standardized assessment and evaluation of the Department of Education secondary data, 100 kinder teachers and 2901 kinder pupils were investigated to determine the performance of the kindergarten teachers based on their Competency–Based Performance Appraisal System for Teachers and the periodic assessment of kinder pupils collected as secondary data. Weighted mean, Pearson–r, chi-square, Analysis of Variance were used in the study. Findings revealed that the kindergarten teacher respondents were 26-31 years old and most of them were female and married; they spent teaching for two years and less and passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers. They were very satisfactory as to instructional competences, school, and home and community involvement, personal, social, and professional characteristics. It also revealed that performance of the kindergarten pupils on their period of assessment shows that they were slightly advanced in their development. It also shows that domain as to performance of the kindergarten pupils were average overall development. Based on the results, it is recommended that Kindergarten teacher must augment their educational qualification and pursue their graduate studies and must develop the total personality of the children for them to achieve high advanced development to become productive individual.

Keywords: performance, kindergarten teacher, learning areas, professional, pupil

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Authors: Patricia Sanz-Cordoba, Bernd Theilen

Abstract:

This article analyzes the conditions where decentralization and partial tax harmonization in a coalition of asymmetric jurisdictions plays a role in the fight of fiscal competition (i.e. the race to bottom). Starting from a centralized economies, we use the ZM-W model to analyze the fiscal competition and coordination among three countries. We find that the asymmetry of jurisdictions facilitates partial tax harmonization between jurisdictions when these asymmetries are not too large. Furthermore, when the asymmetries are large enough, the level of labor tax plays an important role in the decision of decentralize capital tax. Accordingly, decentralization is achievable when labor tax is low. This result indicates that decentralization and partial tax harmonization between jurisdictions can be possible results in order to fight the negative externalities from fiscal competition, and more in the European Union countries where the asymmetries are substantial.

Keywords: centralization, decentralization, fiscal competition, partial tax harmonization

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Authors: Ming-Jong Tsai, T. M. Wu, R. C. Chu

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to develop an Advanced linear calibration Technique for air flow sensing by using CTA-based Hot wire Anemometry. It contains a host PC with Human Machine Interface, a wind tunnel, a wind speed controller, an automatic data acquisition module, and nonlinear calibration model. To improve the fitting error by using single fitting polynomial, this study proposes a Multiple three-order Polynomial Fitting Method (MPFM) for fitting the non-linear output of a CTA-based Hot wire Anemometry. The CTA-based anemometer with built-in fitting parameters is installed in the wind tunnel, and the wind speed is controlled by the PC-based controller. The Hot-Wire anemometer's thermistor resistance change is converted into a voltage signal or temperature differences, and then sent to the PC through a DAQ card. After completion measurements of original signal, the Multiple polynomial mathematical coefficients can be automatically calculated, and then sent into the micro-processor in the Hot-Wire anemometer. Finally, the corrected Hot-Wire anemometer is verified for the linearity, the repeatability, error percentage, and the system outputs quality control reports.

Keywords: flow rate sensing, hot wire, constant temperature anemometry (CTA), linear calibration, multiple three-order polynomial fitting method (MPFM), temperature compensation

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Authors: Lubowa Samuel

Abstract:

Health information systems, often known as HIS, are critical components of the healthcare system to improve health policies and promote global health development. In a broader sense, HIS as a system integrates data collecting, processing, reporting, and making use of various types of data to improve healthcare efficacy and efficiency through better management at all levels of healthcare delivery. The aim of this study is to assess the adoption of health information systems (HIS) in a resource-constrained country drawing from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model. The results indicate that the user's perception of the technology and the poor information technology infrastructures contribute a lot to the low adoption of HIS in resource-constrained countries.

Keywords: health information systems, resource-constrained countries, health information systems

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Authors: Sema Cortoglu Koca

Abstract:

Intellectual and industrial property rules, have a substantial effect on the sustainable development. Intellectual and industrial property rights, as temporary privileges over the products of intellectual activity, determine the supervision of information and technology. The level and scope of intellectual property protection thus influence the flow of technology between developed and developing countries. In addition, intellectual and industrial property rights are based on the notion of balance. Since they are time-limited rights, they reconcile private and public benefits. That is, intellectual and industrial property rights respond to both private interests and public interests by rewarding innovators and by promoting the dissemination of ideas, respectively. Intellectual and industrial property rights can, therefore, be a tool for sustainable development. If countries can balance their private and public interests according to their particular context and circumstances, they can ensure the intellectual and industrial property which promotes innovation and technology transfer relevant for them. People, enterprises and countries who need technology, can transfer developed technology which is acquired by people, enterprises and countries so as to decrease their technological necessity and improve their technology. Because of the significance of intellectual and industrial property rights on the technology transfer law as mentioned above, this paper is confined to intellectual and industrial property agreements especially technology transfer contracts. These are license contract, know-how contract, franchise agreement, joint venture agreement, management agreement, research and development agreement. In Turkey, technology transfer law is still a developing subject. For developing countries, technology transfer regulations are very important for their private international law because these countries do not know which technology transfer law is applicable when conflicts arise. In most technology transfer contracts having international elements, the parties choose a law to govern their contracts. Where the parties do not choose a law, either expressly or impliedly, and matters which is not excluded in party autonomy, the court has to determine the applicable law to contracts in a matter of capacity, material, the formal and essential validity of contracts. For determining the proper law of technology transfer contracts, it is tried to build a rule for applying all technology transfer contracts. This paper is confined to the applicable law to intellectual and industrial property agreements according to ‘5718 Turkish Act on Private International Law and Civil Procedure’ and ‘Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I)’. Like these complex contracts, to find a rule can be really difficult. We can arrange technology transfer contracts in groups, and we can determine the rule and connecting factors to these groups. For the contracts which are not included in these groups, we can determine a special rule considering the characteristics of the contract.

Keywords: intellectual and industrial property agreements, Rome I regulation, technology transfer, Turkish act on private international law and civil procedure

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Authors: Maryam Kalkatechi

Abstract:

Nowadays, parametric design, scientific analysis, and digital fabrication are dominant. Many architectural practices are increasingly seeking to incorporate advanced digital software and fabrication in their projects. Proposing an erudite design process that combines digital and practical aspects in a strong frame within the method was resulted from the dissertation research. The digital aspects are the progressive advancements in algorithm design and simulation software. These aspects have assisted the firms to develop more holistic concepts at the early stage and maintain collaboration among disciplines during the design process. The erudite design process enhances the current design processes by encouraging the designer to implement the construction and architecture knowledge within the algorithm to make successful design processes. The erudite design process also involves the ongoing improvements of applying the new method of 3D printing in construction. This is achieved through the ‘data-sketches’. The term ‘data-sketch’ was developed by the author in the dissertation that was recently completed. It accommodates the decisions of the architect on the algorithm. This paper introduces the erudite design process and its components. It will summarize the application of this process in development of the ‘3D printed construction unit’. This paper contributes to overlaying the academic and practice with advanced technology by presenting a design process that transfers the dominance of tool to the learned architect and encourages innovation in design processes.

Keywords: erudite, data-sketch, algorithm design in architecture, design process

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Authors: Prih Bukhari

Abstract:

The purpose of the proposed paper is to determine if the perception of online advertisement formed due to attitude and belief vary among two different countries or not. Specifically, it seeks to find out how people from China and Pakistan perceive online advertisement. Public attitude and belief towards advertising have been a focus of attention to explore a path to a better strategy of advertising. The ‘belief’ factor was analyzed through 4 items, i.e., product information, entertainment, and increase in economy’ whereas, the ‘attitude’ factor was analyzed thorough questions based on 4 items, i.e. ‘overall, I consider online advertising a good thing’; 'overall, I like online advertising’; ‘'I consider online advertising very essential’; and 'I would describe my overall attitude toward online advertising very favorably’. As such, it provides theoretical basis to explain similarities and differences of beliefs and attitude towards advertising across the two countries. Given its mixed method approach, both quantitative and qualitative method is used to carry out research. A questionnaire-based survey and focus group interviews were conducted. The sample size was of 500 participants. For analysis survey copies were then collected from which 497 were received whereas focus group interviews were collected from both nations. The findings showed that the belief factor among both countries had no significant relation with the perception of online advertisement. However, the attitude had a significant relation with the perception about online advertisement. Also it was observed that despite of different backgrounds, perception about online advertisement based on beliefs and attitude were found largely to be similar. Implications and future studies are provided.

Keywords: attitude, belief, online advertisement, perception

Procedia PDF Downloads 144