Search results for: transparency of the market

Authors: Freda E. Asem, R. D. Osei, D. B. Sarpong, J. K. Kuwornu

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While market access remains important, Ghana’s major handicap is her inability to sustain export growth on the open market. The causes of these could be attributed to inefficiency, lack of competitiveness and supply-side constraints. This study examined the challenges faced by smallholder horticultural farmers and how it relates to their technical efficiency. The study employed mixed methods to address the problem. Using the Millennium Development Account (MiDA) Farmer Based Organization survey data on farm households in 23 districts in Ghana, the study assessed the technical efficiency of smallholder horticultural farmers (taking into account production risks). Focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews were also conducted on smallholder mango, pineapple, and chilli pepper farmers selected districts in Ghana. Results revealed the constraints faced by smallholder horticultural farmers to be marketing, training, funding, accessibility, and affordability of inputs, land, access to credit, and the disconnect between themselves and policy makers and implementers.

Keywords: productivity, gender, policy, efficiency, constraints

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Authors: Sandra Maria Cerqueira Da Silva

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In Brazil, women are the majority of the country's population. They have advanced in terms of years of education and professional training. However, this has not prevented the differences in the labor market from being sustained, particularly the wage gap and inequalities concerning the access to command positions and promotions, i.e., in the gender relations and treatment. One of the conditions which constitute a barrier to career advancement is the necessary support chain to support women when they are in the labor market. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to demonstrate, describe, and criticize some of the current conformations of support chains and how these compete to promote the phenomenon known as glass ceiling in the country. However, this support may come even from inside a woman's own home, with a fairer division of household activities between men and women. Such behavior can free an entire network of women within the same family. In addition, it can serve as pressure to structure better conditions for women as a whole, improving the living conditions of the poor population. This can occur through programs and projects for qualification and retraining of adult women. In answer to the question that guides this study, it is concluded that a family support system is critical to the success of women in management positions. To meet this demand, one of the ways could be the development of specific gender policies by the public authorities, in accordance with the emerging global economic policies, in order to provide and structure the necessary support. This would respond to feminist manifestations - which should go on pointing needs – although the legislative assembly should also propose ideas to change this picture. This is a qualitative research, with a poststructuralist approach, featuring a cutout corpus of three interviews carried out with women holding leadership positions in the academia. Questions related to this very discussion are many. New studies could address points as the promotion of qualification and expansion of skills of women in subaltern condition. There is also need to investigate possible support systems, considering the inequalities and local economic conditions.

Keywords: gender and labor market, glass ceiling, post-structuralism, support chain

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Authors: Aarnav Singh, Jayesh Ghatate, Tarush Pandey

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Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play a crucial role in addressing societal challenges, relying heavily on financial transactions to fund their impactful initiatives. However, traditional financial systems can be cumbersome and lack transparency, hindering the efficiency and trustworthiness of NGO operations. The Ethereum main-net, while pioneering the decentralized finance landscape, grapples with inherent scalability challenges, restricting its transaction throughput to a range of 15-45 transactions per second (TPS). This limitation poses substantial obstacles for NGOs engaging in swift and dynamic financial transactions critical to their operational efficiency. This research is a comprehensive exploration of the intricacies of these scalability challenges and delves into the design and implementation of a purpose-built blockchain system explicitly crafted to surmount these constraints.

Keywords: non-governmental organizations, decentralized system, zero knowledge Ethereum virtual machine, decentralized application

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Authors: M. Lehtihet, S. Rosado, C. Pradère, J. Leng

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Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS), is a polymer mixture well-known for its semiconducting properties and is widely used in the coating industry for its visible transparency and high electronic conductivity (up to 4600 S/cm) as a transparent non-metallic electrode and in organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). It also possesses strong absorption properties in the Near Infra-Red (NIR) range (λ ranging between 900 nm to 2.5 µm). In the present work, we take advantage of this absorption to explore its potential use as a transparent light-to-heat converter. PEDOT: PSS aqueous dispersions are deposited onto a glass substrate using a blade-coating technique in order to produce uniform coatings with controlled thicknesses ranging in ≈ 400 nm to 2 µm. Blade-coating technique allows us good control of the deposit thickness and uniformity by the tuning of several experimental conditions (blade velocity, evaporation rate, temperature, etc…). This liquid coating technique is a well-known, non-expensive technique to realize thin film coatings on various substrates. For coatings on glass substrates destined to solar insulation applications, the ideal coating would be made of a material able to transmit all the visible range while reflecting the NIR range perfectly, but materials possessing similar properties still have unsatisfactory opacity in the visible too (for example, titanium dioxide nanoparticles). NIR absorbing thin films is a more realistic alternative for such an application. Under solar illumination, PEDOT: PSS thin films heat up due to absorption of NIR light and thus act as planar heaters while maintaining good transparency in the visible range. Whereas they screen some NIR radiation, they also generate heat which is then conducted into the substrate that re-emits this energy by thermal emission in every direction. In order to quantify the heating power of these coatings, a sample (coating on glass) is placed in a black enclosure and illuminated with a solar simulator, a lamp emitting a calibrated radiation very similar to the solar spectrum. The temperature of the rear face of the substrate is measured in real-time using thermocouples and a black-painted Peltier sensor measures the total entering flux (sum of transmitted and re-emitted fluxes). The heating power density of the thin films is estimated from a model of the thin film/glass substrate describing the system, and we estimate the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) to quantify the light-to-heat conversion efficiency of such systems. Eventually, the effect of additives such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or optical scatterers (particles) on the performances are also studied, as the first one can alter the IR absorption properties of PEDOT: PSS drastically and the second one can increase the apparent optical path of light within the thin film material.

Keywords: PEDOT: PSS, blade-coating, heat, thin-film, Solar spectrum

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Authors: Gabriela Chmelikova, Ludmila Hurajova, Pavol Bozek

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Current era has brought hand in hand with the vast and fast development of technologies enormous pressure on individuals to keep being well - oriented in their professional fields. Almost all projects in the real world require an interdisciplinary perspective. These days we notice some cases when students face that real requirements for jobs are in contrast to the knowledge and competences they gained at universities. Interlacing labor market and university programs is a big issue these days. Sometimes it seems that higher education only “chases” reality. Simulation-based learning can support students’ touch with real demand on competences and knowledge of job world. The contribution provided a descriptive study of some cases of simulation-based teaching environment in different courses at STU MTF in Trnava and discussed how students and teachers perceive this model of teaching-learning approach. Finally, some recommendations are proposed how to enhance closer relationship between academic world and labor market.

Keywords: interdisciplinary approach, simulation-based learning, students' job readiness, teaching environment in higher education

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Authors: Y. Smirlis, G. Koronakos, S. Plitsos

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Shipbrokers assist the ship companies in chartering or selling and buying vessels, acting as intermediates between them and the market. They facilitate deals, providing their expertise, negotiating skills, and knowledge about ship market bargains. Their role is very important as it affects the profitability and market position of a shipping company. Due to their significant contribution, the shipping companies have to employ systematic procedures to evaluate the shipbrokers’ services in order to select the best and, consequently, to achieve the best deals. Towards this, in this paper, we consider shipbrokers as financial service providers, and we formulate the problem of evaluating and selecting shipbrokers’ services as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) procedure. The proposed methodology comprises a first normalization step to adjust different scales and orientations of the criteria and a second step that includes the mathematical model to evaluate the performance of the shipbrokers’ services involved in the assessment. The criteria along which the shipbrokers are assessed may refer to their size and reputation, the potential efficiency of the services, the terms and conditions imposed, the expenses (e.g., commission – brokerage), the expected time to accomplish a chartering or selling/buying task, etc. and according to our modelling approach these criteria may be assigned different importance. The mathematical programming model performs a comparative assessment and estimates for the shipbrokers involved in the evaluation, a relative score that ranks the shipbrokers in terms of their potential performance. To illustrate the proposed methodology, we present a case study in which a shipping company evaluates and selects the most suitable among a number of sale and purchase (S&P) brokers. Acknowledgment: This study is supported by the OptiShip project, implemented within the framework of the National Recovery Plan and Resilience “Greece 2.0” and funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU programme.

Keywords: shipbrokers, multi-criteria decision making, mathematical programming, service-provider selection

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Authors: Aristeidis Samitas, Evangelos Vasileiou

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The aim of this study is to examine the month and the trading month effect under changing financial trends. We choose the Greek stock market to implement our assumption because there are clear and long term periods of financial growth and recession. Daily financial data from Athens Exchange General Index for the period 2002-2012 are considered. The paper employs several linear and non-linear models, although the TGARCH asymmetry model best fits in this sample and for this reason we mainly present the TGARCH results. Empirical results show that changing economic and financial conditions influences the calendar effects. Especially, the trading month effect totally changes in each fortnight according to the financial trend. On the other hand, in Greece the January effect exists during the growth periods, although it does not exist when the financial trend changes. The findings are helpful to anybody who invest and deals with the Greek stock market. Moreover, they may pave the way for an alternative calendar anomalies research approach, so it may be useful to investors who take into account these anomalies when they draw their investment strategy.

Keywords: month effect, trading month effect, economic cycles, crisis

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Authors: Olakunle Moses Makanjuola, Adebola Ajayi

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Noodles are made from unleavened dough, rolled flat and cut into shapes. The instant noodle market is growing fast in Asian countries and is gaining popularity in the western market. This project reports on the proximate functional and sensory evaluation of different brands of instant noodles in Nigeria. The comparisons were based on proximate functional and sensory evaluation of the product. The result obtained from the proximate analysis showed that sample QHR has the highest moisture content, sample BMG has the highest protein content, sample CPO has the highest fat content, sample. The obtained result from the functional properties showed that sample BMG (Dangote noodles) had the highest volume increase after cooking due to its high swelling capacity, high water absorption capacity and high hydration capacity. Sample sensory analysis of the noodles showed that all the samples are of significant difference (at P < 0.05) in terms of colour, texture, and aroma but there is no significant difference in terms of taste and overall acceptability. Sample QHR (Indomie noodles) is the most preferred by the panelists.

Keywords: proximate, functional, sensory evaluation, noodles

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Authors: Abdessalem Abbassi, Ahlem Dakhlaoui, Lota D. Tamini

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This article analyses management of hydropower dams within two different industrial structures: monopolistic and oligopolistic; when hydroelectricity producers are risk averse and face demand uncertainty. In each type of market structure we determine the water release path in closed-loop equilibrium. We show how a monopoly can manage its hydropower dams by additional pumping or storage depending on the relative abundance of water between different regions to smooth the effect of uncertainty on electricity prices. In the oligopolistic case with symmetric rates of risk aversion, we determine the conditions under which the relative scarcity (abundance) of water in the dam of a hydroelectric operator can favor additional strategic pumping (storage) in its competitor’s dams. When there is asymmetry of the risk aversion coefficient, the firm’s hydroelectricity production increases as its competitor’s risk aversion increases, if and only if the average recharge speed of the competitor’s dam exceeds a certain threshold, which is an increasing function of its average water inflows.

Keywords: asymmetric risk aversion, closed-loop Cournot competition, electricity wholesale market, hydropower dams

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Authors: Chenxiao Yang, Li Li

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In this decade, the sportswear market rapidly expanded while numerous sports brands are conducting fierce competitions to hold their market shares and trying to act as a leader in professional competition sports areas to set the trends. Thus, various advancing sports equipment is being deeply explored to improving athletes’ performance in fierce competitions. Although there is plenty protective equipment such as cuff, running legging, etc., on the market, there is still blank in the field of sportswear during prerace warm-up this important time gap, especially for those competitions host in cold environment. Because there is always time gaps between warm-up and race due to event logistics or unexpected weather factors. Athletes will be exposed to chilly condition for an unpredictable long period of time. As a consequence, the effects of warm-up will be negated, and the competition performance will be degraded. However, reviewing the current market, there is none effective sports equipment provided to help athletes against this harsh environment or the rare existing products are so blocky or heavy to restrict the actions. An ideal thermal-protective sportswear should be light, flexible, comfort and aesthetic at the same time. Therefore, this design research adopted the textile circular knitting methodology to integrate soft silver-coated conductive yarns (ab. SCCYs), elastic nylon yarn and polyester yarn to develop the proposed electrical, thermal sportswear, with the strengths aforementioned. Meanwhile, the relationship between heating performance, stretch load, and energy consumption were investigated. Further, a simulation model was established to ensure providing sufficient warm and flexibility at lower energy cost and with an optimized production, parameter determined. The proposed circular knitting technology and simulation model can be directly applied to instruct prototype developments to cater different target consumers’ needs and ensure prototypes’’ safety. On the other hand, high R&D investment and time consumption can be saved. Further, two prototypes: a kneecap and an elbow guard, were developed to facilitate the transformation of research technology into an industrial application and to give a hint on the blur future blueprint.

Keywords: cold environment, silver-coated conductive yarn, electrical thermal textile, stretchable

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Authors: Khalil Ahmad Khosa

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Pakistan is such a diverse region, it is the center of various religions and settlements long before the creation of the nation that exists today. The country's attraction range from the ruin of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000 m, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2.[4] The north part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architecture and the Hunza and Chitral valley, home to small pre-Islamic Animist Kalash people community. The romance of the historic Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is timeless and legendary, Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Tourism is a growing industry in Pakistan. However, till this date, the government has not be able to take the tourism market seriously within Pakistan. Pakistan is home to a diverse number of tourist attractions which have not been funded or protected due to the government giving the tourism market a low priority.

Keywords: architecture, Pakistan, tourism, turist

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Authors: Saleh Abu Hashanah, Abirami Radhakrishnan, Dessa David

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Sustainable practices in the supply chain have been an area of focus that require consideration of environmental, economic, and social sustainability practices. This paper aims to examine the use of blockchain as a disruptive technology to promote sustainable supply chains. Content analysis was used to analyze the uses of blockchain technology in sustainable supply chains. The results showed that blockchain technology features such as traceability, transparency, smart contracts, accountability, trust, immutability, anti-fraud, and decentralization promote sustainable supply chains. It is found that these features have impacted organizational efficiency in operations, transportation, and production, minimizing costs and reducing carbon emissions. In addition, blockchain technology has been found to elicit customer trust in the products.

Keywords: blockchain technology, sustainability, supply chains, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, social sustainability

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Authors: M. Dabirinezhad, M. Bayat Pour, A. Dabirinejad

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Recognition of the color spectrum of the teeth plays a significant role in the dental laboratories to produce dentures. Since there are various types and colours of teeth for each patient, there is a need to specify the exact and the most suitable colour to produce a denture. Usually, dentists utilize pallets to identify the color that suits a patient based on the color of the adjacent teeth. Consistent with this, there can be human errors by dentists to recognize the optimum colour for the patient, and it can be annoying for the patient. According to the statistics, there are some claims from the patients that they are not satisfied by the colour of their dentures after the installation of the denture in their mouths. This problem emanates from the lack of sufficient accuracy during the colour recognition process of denture production. The colour recognition pen (CRP) is a technology to distinguish the colour spectrum of the intended teeth with the highest accuracy. CRP is equipped with a sensor that is capable to read and analyse a wide range of spectrums. It is also connected to a database that contains all the spectrum ranges, which exist in the market. The database is editable and updatable based on market requirements. Another advantage of this invention can be mentioned as saving time for the patients since there is no need to redo the denture production in case of failure on the first try.

Keywords: colour recognition pen, colour spectrum, dental laboratory, denture

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Authors: S. Bouchami, M.N. Lakhoua

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The automotive market is a dynamic market that continues to grow. That’s why several companies belonging to this sector adopt a quality improvement approach. Wanting to be competitive and successful in the environment in which they operate, these companies are dedicated to establishing a system of quality management to ensure the achievement of the objective quality, improving the products and process as well as the satisfaction of the customers. In this paper, the management of the quality and the improvement of a production line in an industrial company is presented. In fact, the project is divided into two essential parts: the creation of the technical line documentation and the quality assurance documentation and the resolution of defects at the line, as well as those claimed by the customer. The creation of the documents has required a deep understanding of the manufacturing process. The analysis and problem solving were done through the implementation of PDCA (Plan Do Check Act) and FTA (Fault Tree Analysis). As perspective, in order to better optimize production and improve the efficiency of the production line, a study on the problems associated with the supply of raw materials should be made to solve the problems of stock-outs which cause delays penalizing for the industrial company.

Keywords: quality management, documentary system, Plan Do Check Act (PDCA), fault tree analysis (FTA) method

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Authors: Chuanqiao Zheng, Wei Zeng, Haozhen Lin

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As of March 2020, the number of Chinese netizens has reached 904 million. The proportion of Internet users accessing the Internet through mobile phones is as high as 99.3%. Under the background of 'Internet +', tourists have a stronger sense of independence in the choice of tourism destinations and tourism products. Tourists are more inclined to learn about the relevant information on tourism destinations and other tourists' evaluations of tourist products through the Internet. The search engine, as an integrated platform that contains a wealth of information, is highly valuable to the analysis of the characteristics of the Internet attention given to various tourism destinations, through big data mining and analysis. This article uses the Baidu Index as the data source, which is one of the products of Baidu Search. The Baidu Index is based on big data, which collects and shares the search results of a large number of Internet users on the Baidu search engine. The big data used in this article includes search index, demand map, population profile, etc. The main research methods used are: (1) based on the search index, analyzing the Internet attention given to the tourism in five cities in Northeast Sichuan at different times, so as to obtain the overall trend and individual characteristics of tourism development in the region; (2) based on the demand map and the population profile, analyzing the demographic characteristics and market positioning of the tourist groups in these cities to understand the characteristics and needs of the target groups; (3) correlating the Internet attention data with the permanent population of each province in China in the corresponding to construct the Boston matrix of the Internet attention rate of the Northeast Sichuan tourism, obtain the tourism target markets, and then propose development strategies for different markets. The study has found that: a) the Internet attention given to the tourism in the region can be categorized into tourist off-season and peak season; the Internet attention given to tourism in different cities is quite different. b) tourists look for information including tour guide information, ticket information, traffic information, weather information, and information on the competing tourism cities; with regard to the population profile, the main group of potential tourists searching for the keywords of tourism in the five prefecture-level cities in Northeast Sichuan are youth. The male to female ratio is about 6 to 4, with males being predominant. c) through the construction of the Boston matrix, it is concluded that the star market for tourism in the Northeast Sichuan Economic Zone includes Sichuan and Shaanxi; the cash cows market includes Hainan and Ningxia; the question market includes Jiangsu and Shanghai; the dog market includes Hubei and Jiangxi. The study concludes with the following planning strategies and recommendations: i) creating a diversified business format that integrates cultural and tourism; ii) creating a brand image of niche tourism; iii) focusing on the development of tourism products; iv) innovating composite three-dimensional marketing channels.

Keywords: Baidu Index, big data, internet attention, tourism

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Authors: Adetoun Adedotun Amubode

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Nigeria's Textile Industry was the second largest in Africa after Egypt, with above 250 vibrant factories and over 50 percent capacity utilization contributing to foreign exchange earnings and employment generation. Currently, multifaceted challenges such as epileptic power supply, inconsistent government policies, growing digitalization, smuggling of foreign textiles, insecurity and the inability of the local industries to compete with foreign products, especially Chinese textile, has created a hostile environment for the sector. This led to the closure of most of the textile industries. China's textile industry has experienced institutional change and industrial restructuring, having 30% of the world's market share. This paper examined the strategies adopted by China in transforming her textile and clothing industries and designed a model for the integration of these strategies to improve the competitive strength and growth of the Nigerian textile and clothing industries in a dynamic and changing market. The paper concludes that institutional support, regional production, export-oriented policy, value-added and branding cultivation, technological upgrading and enterprise resource planning be integrated into the Nigerian clothing and textile industries.

Keywords: clothing, industry, integration, Nigerian, textile, transformation.

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Authors: Innocensia John, Henrik Egelyng, Razack Lokina

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As the world`s population is constantly growing, food security has become a thorny trending issue. The impact has particularly been felt more in Africa as most of the people depend on food Agriculture products. Geographical Indications can aid in transforming the Tanzania agriculture-dependent economy through tapping the unique attributes of their quality products like soil, taste color etc. Consumers worldwide demand more uniquer products featuring a ´connect´ with the land use systems producing particular qualities. Tanzania has demonstrated the capacity to tap into the organic world market and has untapped potential for harvesting market value from geographical indications. This paper presents preliminary results from VALOR — a research project investigating conditions under which Tanzanian origin food producers can add value by incorporating territory specific cultural, environmental and social qualities into marketing, production and processing of unique local, niche and specialty products. Cases are investigated of the prospects for Tanzania to leapfrog perhaps into exports of geographical indications products, and certainly into allowing smallholders to create employment and build monetary value, while stewarding local food cultures and natural environments and resources, and increasing the diversity of supply of natural and unique quality products and so contribute to enhanced food security. Rice from Kyela, coffee and Sugar from Kilimanjaro, are some of the product cases investigated and provides for the in-depth case study, as ´landscape´ products incorporating ´taste of place´. Framework conditions for producers creating or capturing market value as stewards of cultural and landscape values and environments and institutional requirements for such creation or capturing to happen, including presence of export opportunities, are discussed.

Keywords: food origins, food security, protected geographical indications, case study analysis

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Authors: Obasi Igwe Oscar, Udokure Ubong James, Echebiri Raphael Ndubuisi

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The study examined the determinants of the welfare of itinerant palm oil marketers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling techniques were adopted to select 120 itinerant palm oil marketers for the study. Primary data were obtained using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the cost and returns formula and multiple regression model. Results showed that itinerant palm oil marketing was profitable and 57.39% efficient. The respondents' monthly expenditure of N111,787.90 on food and non-food items indicated that they live above the extreme poverty threshold of $2.15 per person per day, with a daily spending of over $2. Net income (P<0.05), age (P<0.01), educational level (P<0.01), household size (P<0.01), credit amount (P<0.01), market information (P<0.05), amount of tax paid (P<0.01) and the level of market participation (P<0.05) were the significant determinants of the welfare of itinerant traders in the study area. The study recommended that government and non-governmental organizations should make available marketing facilities and enhance transportation networks to reduce inefficiencies and lower transaction costs for itinerant palm oil traders in Akwa Ibom state.

Keywords: determinants, welfare, itinerant, palm oil, marketers

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Authors: Anocha Rojanapanich

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This research investigates the effect of financial accounting information and non-financial accounting reports on corporate credibility via strength of board of directors and market environment volatility as moderating effect. Data in this research is collected by questionnaire form non-financial companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Multiple regression statistic technique is used for analyzing the data. Results find that firms with greater financial accounting information reports and non-financial accounting information reports will gain greater corporate credibility. Therefore, the corporate reporting has the value for the firms. Moreover, the strength of board of directors will positively moderate the financial and non-financial accounting information reports and corporate credibility relationship. And market environment volatility will negatively moderate the financial and nonfinancial accounting information reports and corporate credibility relationship and the contribution of accounting information reports on corporate credibility is generated to the corporate image. That is the corporate image has affected by corporate credibility.

Keywords: corporate credibility, financial and non-financial reports, firms performance, corporate image

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Authors: Sirapop Nuannimnoi, Hojjat Baghban, Ching-Yao Huang

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Over the past decade, with the fast development of blockchain technology since the birth of Bitcoin, there has been a massive increase in the usage of Cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are not seen as an investment opportunity due to the market’s erratic behavior and high price volatility. With the recent success of deep reinforcement learning (DRL), portfolio management can be modeled and automated. In this paper, we propose a novel DRL-based multi-agent system to automatically make proper trading decisions on multiple cryptocurrencies and gain profits in the highly volatile cryptocurrency market. We also extend this multi-agent system with horizontal federated transfer learning for better adapting to the inclusion of new cryptocurrencies in our portfolio; therefore, we can, through the concept of diversification, maximize our profits and minimize the trading risks. Experimental results through multiple simulation scenarios reveal that this proposed algorithmic trading system can offer three promising key advantages over other systems, including maximized profits, minimized risks, and adaptability.

Keywords: cryptocurrency portfolio management, algorithmic trading, federated learning, multi-agent reinforcement learning

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Authors: Sam Ng, Lewis Leighton, Sam Atkinson, Carson Yan, Landan Hu, Leslie Cheung, Brian Yap, Kent Lung, Ketat Sarakune

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This paper introduces a method for verifying cryptocurrency reserves that balances the need for both transparency and data confidentiality. Our methodology employs cryptographic techniques, including Merkle Trees, Bulletproof, and zkSnark, to verify that total assets equal or exceed total liabilities, represented by customer funds. Importantly, this verification is achieved without disclosing sensitive information such as the total asset value, customer count, or cold wallet addresses. We delve into the construction and implementation of this methodology. While the system is robust and scalable, we also identify areas for potential enhancements to improve its efficiency and versatility. As the digital asset landscape continues to evolve, our approach provides a solid foundation for ensuring continued trust and security in digital asset platforms.

Keywords: cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, proof-of-reserve, por, zero-knowledge, ZKP

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Authors: Mozamil Mohamed Ali

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Understanding the relationship between law and democratic governance, this research, titled “The Role of Law in Enhancing Democratic Governance: A Comparative Study of Political Systems in Developing Countries,” focuses on examining the impact of legal frameworks on strengthening democratic practices within developing nations. Democratic governance requires transparency and institutional accountability to meet citizens’ needs, which necessitates legal frameworks that ensure compliance with governance standards. These frameworks hold greater significance in developing countries, where challenges such as corruption, weak public institutions, and socio-political conflicts affect their ability to achieve sustainable democratic governance. In this context, the research explores how laws influence these aspects. The study compares various developing countries that have experienced different levels of success and difficulty in enhancing democratic governance, focusing on the legal frameworks and public policies each country has implemented to improve transparency, accountability, and strengthen the role of public institutions. This comparative analysis aims to reveal the effectiveness of legal systems in supporting democratic governance and to identify the factors that lead to the success or failure of these legal frameworks in different contexts. For example, the study includes cases from countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, analyzing the legal and institutional policies and their roles in achieving justice and reducing corruption. It examines the impact of legislation that promotes freedom of the press, human rights, and judicial independence as fundamental elements for transparent and democratic governance. Additionally, the research discusses how anti-corruption policies and laws governing electoral competition contribute to improving government responsiveness to public demands. The hypothesis of the research centers on the idea that developing transparent and fair laws contributes to achieving sustainable democratic governance. The analyses show that applying laws equally and impartially strengthens citizens’ trust in public institutions and encourages political participation. At the same time, the research highlights the importance of local adaptation to global legal frameworks, as it may be necessary to consider local socio-political and economic contexts to ensure the success of these frameworks. In conclusion, this research underscores the importance of legal frameworks as a pivotal factor in the success of democratic governance. It provides recommendations related to enhancing judicial independence, enforcing anti-corruption laws, and improving access to information as essential steps for strengthening democratic governance in developing countries. The findings suggest that laws respected and carefully implemented can form a solid foundation for building more transparent and effective government institutions, contributing to sustainable development and social justice in these nations.

Keywords: impact of legislation, role of institutions in controlling power, community participation, role of the judiciary

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Authors: Waheed Akhtar

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Bears in Asia facing multiple threats and challenges such as hunting, illegal trading, habitat loss, and human conflicts. According to IUCN Red List, the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is listed as Vulnerable since 1990, population declining by 49% during the last 30 years. The present study was conducted in Manglawar (DwaSaro Mountain) from April-August 2021, to collect all the information on Asiatic black bear observation, illegal hunting, and cub poaching. According to the response of the local community, very intensive illegal hunting and cub poaching were observed. Hunters usually installed many traps in the routes of black bears and when they move in the winter season the cubs get trapped and they collect them and kept in a specialized wooden box that is mainly helpful for further transportation. These cubs are then brought to the concerned Market where they sell them to many dealers. One of the potential observers of the illegal trading responds towards the Market price of the cubs, “The average price of the black bear cub is ranging from 45000-50000 Pakistani Rupees”. Apart from cubs' poaching, the black bear is also hunted for its skin, claws, and teeth.

Keywords: first report, illegal hunting, cub poaching, parts trading, Ursus thibetanus

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Authors: Ahmadreza Jabalameli, Mohammad Ebrahimpour Borujeni

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This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) on ambiguity tolerance, emotional intelligence and stress coping strategies in financial market traders. The methodology of this study was quasi-experimental, pre-test and post-test with control group. The statistical population of this study includes all students at Jabalameli Information Technology Academy in 2022. Among them, 30 people were selected by voluntary sampling through interviews, and were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups of 51 people. And the components were measured according to McLain Ambiguity Tolerance Questionnaire, Bar-On Emotional Intelligence and Lazarus Stress Coping Strategies. The data were obtained by SPSS software and were analyzed by using multivariate analysis of covariance. The results indicate that intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy influences the emotional intelligence as well as the ambiguity tolerance of traders.

Keywords: ISTDP, ambiguity tolerance, trading, emotional intelligence, stress

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Authors: Jong-Won Lee

Abstract:

Since Cloud environment has appeared as the most powerful keyword in the computing industry, the growth in VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) became remarkable in domestic market. In recent years, with the trend that mobile devices such as smartphones and pads spread so rapidly, the strengths of VDI that allows people to access and perform business on the move along with companies' office needs expedite more rapid spread of VDI. However, although this enhanced accessibility and mobility can bring the enhanced productivity, it sometimes conflicts with the security, so there should be more detailed security solution, which is user authentication. In this paper, mobile OTP (One-Time Password) authentication method is proposed to secure mobile device portability through rapid and secure authentication using mobile devices such as mobile phones or pads, which does not require additional purchase or possession of OTP tokens of users. However, in order to use the service continuously and reliably in the cloud environment, both service provider and user have to prepare for security awareness and security threats, and continuously study the conflicting aspect between the improving user convenience and the security and supplement so that cloud service can provide opportunities to develop as a new growth industry in the future and create a new market in IT industry.

Keywords: cloud, OTP, mobility, security, authentication

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Authors: Iori Hamada

Abstract:

Australia's skilled migrant selection system is constantly changing its target skills and criteria according to the labour market demands. The government's intention to employ this highly selective market-driven selection system is to better target the skills needed in the economy, enable skilled migrants to be employed in industries that have the highest need, and consequently boost the economy and population. However, migration scholars have called this intention into question, arguing that the system is not making the best use of skilled migrants. This paper investigates the impact of recent reforms in Australian skilled migration system on skilled migrants' employment and related life conditions. Drawing on semi-structured qualitative interviews with Japanese skilled migrants in Australia, it argues that Australia’s skilled migrant selection system guarantees neither skilled migrants' employment nor successful transfer of their skills to the labour market. The findings show that Japanese skilled migrants are often unemployed or under-employed, although they intend to achieve upward occupational mobility. The interview data also reveal that male unemployment or under-employment status prompts some Japanese men to leave Australia and find a job that better matches their skills and qualifications in a new destination. Further, it finds that Japanese male skilled migrants who experience downward occupational mobility tend to continue to take a primary breadwinner role, which affects the distribution of paid and unpaid work within their families. There is a growing body of research investigating skilled migrants’ downward career mobility. However, little has been written on skilled Japanese migrants. Further, the work-family intersection is a 'hot public policy topic' in Australia and elsewhere. Yet, the existing studies focus almost exclusively on non-migrant families. This calls attention to the urgency of assessing the work-family lives of skilled migrants. This study fills these gaps, presenting additional insight into Japanese skilled migrants’ work and family in and beyond Australia.

Keywords: Australia, employment, family, Japanese skilled migrants

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Seba Quqandi

Abstract:

This study investigates the bond that people form using their assistive devices and the tactics applied during the product design process to help improve the user experience leading to a long-term product relationship. The aim is to develop a conceptual framework with which to describe and analyze the bond people form with their assistive devices and to integrate human emotions as a factor during the development of the product design process. The focus will be on the assistive technology market, namely, the Aid-For-Daily-Living market for situational impairments, to increase the quality of wellbeing. Findings will help us better understand the real issues of the product experience concerning people’s interaction throughout the product performance, establish awareness of the emotional effects in the daily interaction that fosters the product attachment, and help product developers and future designers create a connection between users and their assistive devices. The research concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for professionals and academics in the form of experiments in order to identify new areas that can stimulate new /or developed design directions.

Keywords: experience design, interaction design, emotion, design psychology, assistive tools, customization, userentred design

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Authors: Mohamad Farhad Bakhtiyariyan

Abstract:

One of the manner to earning profit and having a high income, is investing in an acceptable market. Every the thinker brain knows, investing in the business world today, maybe, have a manifold profit or lead to failure. So, before entering in the investment market, we must have a comprehensive and sufficient awareness, know markets, acquainted with the main industrial activities, know the rules and regulation and consider the conditions of society. Qatar, as a one of the richest countries in the world, can be a good destination for investment. The inflation rate, taxes, easiness of the importing, company registration, ease of exporting process, profitable and appropriate markets, simple and applicable rules, all of this has made Qatar, one of the best and gainful investment countries. Above all, Qatar 2022 world cup event, has led of investment in this country efficiently and profitable method. In this paper, first, we have introduced the Qatar and its location, also looked at the countries international markets during the world cup and we have described the impact of the world cup on business, and then the laws and regulations of the Qatar in the field of investment, company registration, ownership by foreigners, obtaining residency by investors, export and import process in second part its examined, and in third part, major investment markets, principal industrial activities in Qatar, markets affected by the world cup and the main needs of this country in various fields during the world cup, have been investigated.

Keywords: investment, Qatar, markets, world cup

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Olanike A. Ojo, Akindele M. Ojo, Jacob H. Tsado, Ramatu U. Kutigi

Abstract:

The study was carried out on analysis of the effect of farmers’ socio-economic factors on the net farm income of catfish farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from selected catfish farmers with the aid of well-structured questionnaire and a multistage sampling technique was used to select 102 catfish farmers in the area. The analytical techniques involved the use of descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The findings of the analysis of socio-economic characteristics of catfish farmers reveal that 60% of the catfish farmers in the study area were male gender which implied the existence of gender inequality in the area. The mean age of 47 years was an indication that they were at their economically productive age and could contribute positively to increased production of catfish in the area. Also, the mean household size was five while the mean year of experience was five. The latter implied that the farmers were experienced in fishing techniques, breeding and fish culture which would assist in generating more revenue, reduce cost of production and eventual increase in profit levels of the farmers. The result also revealed that stock capacity (X3), accessibility to credit (X7) and labour (X4) were the main determinants of catfish production in the area. In addition, farmer’s sex, household size, no of ponds, distance of the farm from market, access to credit were the main socio-economic factors influencing the net farm income of the catfish farmers in the area. The most serious constraints militating against catfish production in the study area were high mortality rate, insufficient market, inadequate credit facilities/ finance and inadequate skilled labour needed for daily production routine. Based on the findings, it is therefore recommended that, to reduce the mortality rate of catfish extension agents should organize training workshops on improved methods and techniques of raising catfish right from juvenile to market size.

Keywords: credit, income, stock, mortality

Procedia PDF Downloads 330

Authors: Eyosiyas Aga

Abstract:

The development of information communication technology has transformed the paper-based mapping and land registration processes to a computerized and networked system. The computerization and networking of real property information system play a vital role in good governance and sustainable development of emerging countries through cost effective, easy and accessible service delivery for the customer. The efficient, transparent and sustainable real property system is becoming the basic infrastructure for the urban development thus improve the data management system and service delivery in the organizations. In Ethiopia, the real property administration is paper based as a result, it confronted problems of data management, illegal transactions, corruptions, and poor service delivery. In order to solve this problem and to facilitate real property market, the implementation of web-based real property updating system is crucial. A web-based real property updating is one of the automation (computerizations) methods to facilitate data sharing, reduce time and cost of the service delivery in real property administration system. In additions, it is useful for the integration of data onto different information systems and organizations. This system is designed by combining open source software which supported by open Geo-spatial consortium. The web-based system is mainly designed by using open source software with the help of open Geo-spatial Consortium. The Open Geo-spatial Consortium standards such as the Web Feature Service and Web Map Services are the most widely used standards to support and improves web-based real property updating. These features allow the integration of data from different sources, and it can be used to maintain consistency of data throughout transactions. The PostgreSQL and Geoserver are used to manage and connect a real property data to the flex viewer and user interface. The system is designed for both internal updating system (municipality); which is mainly updating of spatial and textual information, and the external system (customer) which focus on providing and interacting with the customer. This research assessed the potential of open source web applications and adopted this technology for real property updating system in Ethiopia through simple, cost effective and secured way. The system is designed by combining and customizing open source software to enhance the efficiency of the system in cost effective way. The existing workflow for real property updating is analyzed to identify the bottlenecks, and the new workflow is designed for the system. The requirement is identified through questionnaire and literature review, and the system is prototype for the study area. The research mainly aimed to integrate human resource with technology in designing of the system to reduce data inconsistency and security problems. In additions, the research reflects on the current situation of real property administration and contributions of effective data management system for efficient, transparent and sustainable urban development in Ethiopia.

Keywords: cadaster, real property, sustainable, transparency, web feature service, web map service

Procedia PDF Downloads 264