Search results for: economic freedom
6572 Continuous Catalytic Hydrogenation and Purification for Synthesis Non-Phthalate
Authors: Chia-Ling Li
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The scope of this article includes the production of 10,000 metric tons of non-phthalate per annum. The production process will include hydrogenation, separation, purification, and recycling of unprocessed feedstock. Based on experimental data, conversion and selectivity were chosen as reaction model parameters. The synthesis and separation processes of non-phthalate and phthalate were established by using Aspen Plus software. The article will be divided into six parts: estimation of physical properties, integration of production processes, purification case study, utility consumption, economic feasibility study and identification of bottlenecks. The purities of products was higher than 99.9 wt. %. Process parameters have important guiding significance to the commercialization of hydrogenation of phthalate.Keywords: economic analysis, hydrogenation, non-phthalate, process simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 2656571 Iraqi Media Entrepreneurs across Social Media: Factors and Challenges
Authors: Ahmed Omar Bali, Sherko Jabar, Hazhar Jalal, Mahdi Sofi-Karim
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For a long while in Iraq, media organizations were owned by political parties, particularly the ruling parties, because media traditional organizations required big capital and human resources. This paper has examined the dynamics of Iraqi media market transformation with emphasizing on factors that help to merge media entrepreneurs and digital media firms which target audience on social media. A qualitative method was adopted in this study using open, in-depth interviews with 19 media entrepreneurs and three managers of media firms. The study revealed that relative freedom and advanced communication technologies have encouraged media entrepreneurs to drive the new media on producing short videos and broadcast them on social media which has become popular among media consumers.Keywords: media entrepreneur, Iraq, journalists, media technicians, digital media firms, media market
Procedia PDF Downloads 2846570 Buddhism and Innovative Sustainable Development
Authors: Sraman Sree Mattananda
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This present article is an analytical research on ‘Buddhism and Innovative Sustainable Development.' The main purpose of researching is to the better understanding of many social science theories both in politics and in economics. And the understanding of both Buddhism and science is complementary in order to enable any individual to live a full and meaningful human life. How people can avoid conflict, socially, economically, politically and spiritually using Buddhist teachings for a sustainable development. The aim of studying is also to comprehend every human to be aware that peoples’ happiness and sorrow depends on the choices that they had taken to do what was perceptional right and wrong. Everything that happens does have a reason. This study will be supported by the supply of environmental knowledge, philosophy, and experience. Within the domestic and international cultures, this knowledge might provide a significant basis for the contemporary and the future world. Happiness and unsatisfactoriness of mind depend on the consequences of what we had already done. This is to give deep sense to adjust the nature of all that exists and desire not to attach to them and to liberate oneself leaving the reality as it is. An implicit of references will be drawn from the primary sources, secondary sources, internet sources, and other Scholar’s diamond writings, to prove the investigation of philosophical and theoretical analysis. After the investigation of philosophical and theoretical analysis, the article will demonstrate about, what Buddha advised the follows to stop over-exploitation and how to eradicate conflicts to gain a peaceful society. This will be a lively awareness in the approach to the understanding of the Buddhist view of reality and adopt with middle path. The last part of the article will concern with the Buddhist Challenge of sustaining the society and how Buddhist contemporary scholars interpret sustainable development issues. Mahatma Gandhi’s emphasize to use Buddhist Non-Violence will be demonstrating to gain peace, freedom, and security. Twelve things that concern us when we want to explore the issues of sustainability, demonstrated by A Little Book of Hope will be cleared. How individual hearts can implicate to the contemporary globe will be demonstrated to obtain healthy and practical environment. Finally, generating new awareness and care by minimizing the negative impact on earth resources will reduce the degradation of the planet which would pose a challenge to sustain Development.Keywords: Buddhism, economic, sustainable development, Buddhist ethics
Procedia PDF Downloads 2086569 Modeling and Control of a 4DoF Robotic Assistive Device for Hand Rehabilitation
Authors: Christopher Spiewak, M. R. Islam, Mohammad Arifur Rahaman, Mohammad H. Rahman, Roger Smith, Maarouf Saad
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For those who have lost the ability to move their hand, going through repetitious motions with the assistance of a therapist is the main method of recovery. We have been developed a robotic assistive device to rehabilitate the hand motions in place of the traditional therapy. The developed assistive device (RAD-HR) is comprised of four degrees of freedom enabling basic movements, hand function, and assists in supporting the hand during rehabilitation. We used a nonlinear computed torque control technique to control the RAD-HR. The accuracy of the controller was evaluated in simulations (MATLAB/Simulink environment). To see the robustness of the controller external disturbance as modelling uncertainty (±10% of joint torques) were added in each joints.Keywords: biorobotics, rehabilitation, robotic assistive device, exoskeleton, nonlinear control
Procedia PDF Downloads 4626568 Decision Making Regarding Spouse Selection and Women's Autonomy in India: Exploring the Linkage
Authors: Nivedita Paul
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The changing character of marriage be it arranged marriage, love marriage, polygamy, informal unions, all signify different gender relations in everyday lives. Marriages in India are part and parcel of the kinship and cultural practices. Arranged marriage is still the dominant form of marriage where spouse selection is the initiative and decision of the parents; but its form is changing, as women are now actively participating in spouse selection but with parental consent. Spouse selection related decision making is important because marriage as an institution brings social change and gender inequality; especially in a women’s life as marriages in India are mostly patrilocal. Moreover, the amount of say in spouse selection can affect a woman’s reproductive rights, domestic violence issues, household resource allocation, communication possibilities with the spouse/husband, marital life, etc. The present study uses data from Indian Human Development Survey II (2011-12) which is a nationally representative multitopic survey that covers 41,554 households. Currently, married women of age group 15-49 in their first marriage; whose year of marriage is from 1970s to 2000s have been taken for the study. Based on spouse selection experiences, the sample of women has been divided into three marriage categories-self, semi and family arranged. Women in self arranged or love marriage is the sole decision maker in choosing the partner, in semi arranged marriage or arranged marriage with consent both parents and women together take the decision, whereas in family arranged or arranged marriage without consent only parents take the decision. The main aim of the study is to find the relationship between spouse selection experiences and women’s autonomy in India. Decision making in economic matters, child and health related decision making, mobility and access to resources are taken to be proxies of autonomy. Method of ordinal regression has been used to find the relationship between spouse selection experiences and autonomy after marriage keeping other independent variables as control factors. Results show that women in semi arranged marriage have more decision making power regarding financial matters of the household, health related matters, mobility and accessibility to resources, when compared to women in family, arranged marriages. For freedom of movement and access to resources women in self arranged marriage have the highest say or exercise greatest power. Therefore, greater participation of women (even though not absolute control) in spouse selection may lead to greater autonomy after marriage.Keywords: arranged marriage, autonomy, consent, spouse selection
Procedia PDF Downloads 1416567 In a Situation of Great Distress: Cross Border Migration and the Quest for Enduring Security in North-East Nigeria
Authors: Nuhu Bitrus Mailabari
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Nigeria is a highly multifarious nation trapped between affluence and affliction. On one hand, the state has vast territorial size, economic strength, relative internal cohesion, and good external linkages. On the other, it is bedeviled with enormous challenges. It is common knowledge that the North-East geo-political zone has suffered colossal destruction for the most part of the last ten years due to the activities of the insurgent group Boko Haram. Several factors (political, economic, religious, socio-cultural) have been credited with the heightened insecurity in the region. Without a doubt, the security crisis in the region has rekindled several discussions critical to Nigeria’s security architecture. However, the debate on finding an enduring solution to the devastation in the North East continually neglects the nexus between cross border migration and national security. Using content analysis, this paper debates two main issues that continue to affect security in the North East. One, the cumulative impact of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on the free movement of people and goods. Two, the porous nature of Nigeria’s borders. Theoretically, the paper will rely on the systems theory because of its broad focus on structure, linkage, and process. The work concludes in twofold. First, that cross border migration and poor border management processes further worsened the political and socio-economic conditions of a region that is already in a bad state. Secondly, in addition to the existing strategies, Nigeria must develop a holistic approach including new methods of handling cross border movements in solving the security issues.Keywords: border, cross border, migration, Nigeria, northeast region, security
Procedia PDF Downloads 1566566 Internal and External Influences on the Firm Objective
Authors: A. Briseno, A, Zorrilla
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Firms are increasingly responding to social and environmental claims from society. Practices oriented to attend issues such as poverty, work equality, or renewable energy, are being implemented more frequently by firms to address impacts on sustainability. However, questions remain on how the responses of firms vary across industries and regions between the social and the economic objectives. Using concepts from organizational theory and social network theory, this paper aims to create a theoretical framework that explains the internal and external influences that make a firm establish its objective. The framework explains why firms might have a different objective orientation in terms of its economic and social prioritization.Keywords: organizational identity, social network theory, firm objective, value maximization, social responsibility
Procedia PDF Downloads 3006565 The Developing Method of Supply Chain Economy in Eurasia and North America
Authors: Tae Ho Kim
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Using the center of gravity method, we intend to find the center of gravity of Eurasia and North America, focusing on the local population, and study economic development plans in Eurasia and North America. By analyzing the strengths and opportunities of an industrial location for each region, we find ways for the country to grow and develop. Through economic cooperation and support between countries, we want to reduce the cause of conflict and dispute through economic growth in countries or regions. Furthermore, we want to create conditions for peaceful and happy regions or countries. Eurasia and North America are rich in resources, have great growth potential in terms of global supply chains, and have a good position to develop further. By analyzing intimacy between countries using REM, a CRM method, we intend to transform it into a region where a hopeful future of peace and prosperity begins. The future can be transformed through positive thinking or love for humanity. Indicators of intimacy between countries or regions can also be created anew if they change how they view each other. The Earth we live on is facing great risks, such as climate change and war. In order to reduce this crisis and maintain peace and prosperity, we must cooperate with each other in new directions.Keywords: supply chain economy, REM, Indicators of intimacy, peace and prosperity
Procedia PDF Downloads 506564 Intelligent Human Pose Recognition Based on EMG Signal Analysis and Machine 3D Model
Authors: Si Chen, Quanhong Jiang
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In the increasingly mature posture recognition technology, human movement information is widely used in sports rehabilitation, human-computer interaction, medical health, human posture assessment, and other fields today; this project uses the most original ideas; it is proposed to use the collection equipment for the collection of myoelectric data, reflect the muscle posture change on a degree of freedom through data processing, carry out data-muscle three-dimensional model joint adjustment, and realize basic pose recognition. Based on this, bionic aids or medical rehabilitation equipment can be further developed with the help of robotic arms and cutting-edge technology, which has a bright future and unlimited development space.Keywords: pose recognition, 3D animation, electromyography, machine learning, bionics
Procedia PDF Downloads 656563 Slavery Transcending Borders: An Analysis of Human Trafficking in Europe and the EU’s Impact on the Issue
Authors: Santiago Martínez Hernández
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The establishment of the European Union signified the culmination of the supra-national power addressing economic, political, legal and humanitarian matters within and above a national territory. Human rights have taken a protagonist role as one of the pressing concerns that the EU addresses, and one of the most critical problems is that of human trafficking. This multi-billion dollar criminal business represents $31.6 per year made out of 2.5 million trafficked persons worldwide, making it one of the most crucial human rights problems in the world to address. The EU has developed strategies to tackle this issue through supra-national governance, however, how have they fared? What is the impact of its development on the issue? This paper will address the direct and indirect impact of the formation of the European Union as a supranational political and economic entity on the illicit industry of human trafficking in Europe. It attempts to analyse first, the situation of human trafficking in Europe, as an attempt to understand its importance in the region, addressing its root causes and the role of the states addressed. Second, the paper will examine the impact of the EU on human breaking down its policy-making at a supranational level, the role of the economic integration of the region, and the change of migration patterns since its inception.Keywords: human trafficking, human rights, European union, criminal business
Procedia PDF Downloads 3476562 Economic Policy Promoting Economically Rational Behavior of Start-Up Entrepreneurs in Georgia
Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili
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Introduction: The pandemic and the current economic crisis have created problems for entrepreneurship and, therefore for start-up entrepreneurs. The paper presents the challenges of start-up entrepreneurs in Georgia in the time of pandemic and the analysis of the state economic policy measures. Despite many problems, the study found that in 54.2% of start-ups surveyed under the pandemic, innovation opportunities were growing. It can be stated that the pandemic was a good opportunity to increase the innovative capacity of the enterprise. 52% of the surveyed start-up entrepreneurs managed to adapt to the current situation and increase the sale of their products/services through remote channels. As for the assessment of state support measures by start-up entrepreneurs, a large number of Georgian start-ups do not assess the measures implemented by the state positively. Methodology: The research process uses methods of analysis and synthesis, quantitative and qualitative, interview/survey, grouping, relative and average values, graphing, comparison, data analysis, and others. Main Findings: Studies have shown that for the start-up entrepreneurs, the main problem remains: inaccessible funding, workers' qualifications gap, inflation, taxes, regulation, political instability, inadequate provision of infrastructure, amount of taxes, and other factors. Conclusions: The state should take the following measures to support business start-ups: create an attractive environment for investment, availability of soft loans, creation of an insurance system, infrastructure development, increase the effectiveness of tax policy (simplicity of the tax system, clarity, optimal tax level ); promote export growth (develop strategy for opening up international markets, build up a broad marketing network, etc.).Keywords: start-up entrepreneurs, startups, start-up entrepreneurs support programs, start-up entrepreneurs support economic policy
Procedia PDF Downloads 1076561 World on the Edge: Migration and Cross Border Crimes in West Africa
Authors: Adeyemi Kamil Hamzah
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The contiguity of nations in international system suggests that world is a composite of socio-economic unit with people exploring and exploiting the potentials in the world via migrations. Thus, cross border migration has made positive contributions to social and economic development of individuals and nations by increasing the household incomes of the host countries. However, the cross border migrations in West Africa are becoming part of a dynamic and unstable world migration system. This is due to the nature and consequences of trans-border crimes in West Africa, with both short and long term effects on the socio-economic viability of developing countries like West African States. The paper identified that migration influenced cross-border crimes as well as the high spate of insurgencies in the sub-region. Furthermore, the consequential effect of a global village has imbalanced population flows, making some countries host and parasites to others. Also, stern and deft cross-border rules and regulations, as well as territorial security and protections, ameliorate cross border crimes and migration in West African sub-regions. Therefore, the study concluded that cross border migration is the linchpin of all kinds of criminal activities which affect the security of states in the sub-region.Keywords: cross-border migration, border crimes, security, West Africa, development, globalisation
Procedia PDF Downloads 2166560 Scenarios for the Energy Transition in Residential Buildings for the European Regions
Authors: Domenico Carmelo Mongelli, Laura Carnieletto, Michele De Carli, Filippo Busato
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Starting from the current context in which the Russian invasion in Ukraine has highlighted Europe's dependence on natural gas imports for heating buildings, this study proposes solutions to resolve this dependency and evaluates related scenarios in the near future. In the first part of this work the methodologies and results of the economic impact are indicated by simulating a massive replacement of boilers powered by fossil fuels with electrically powered hightemperature air-water heat pumps for heating residential buildings in different European climates, without changing the current energy mix. For each individual European region, the costs for the purchase and installation of heat pumps for all residential buildings have been determined. Again for each individual European region, the economic savings during the operation phase that would be obtained in this future scenario of energy transition from fossil fuels to the electrification of domestic heating were calculated. For the European regions for which the economic savings were identified as positive, the payback times of the economic investments were analysed. In the second part of the work, hypothesizing different scenarios for a possible greater use of renewable energy sources and therefore with different possible future scenarios of the energy mix, the methodologies and results of the simulations on the economic analysis and on the environmental analysis are reported which have allowed us to evaluate the future effects of the energy transition from boilers to heat pumps for each European region. In the third part, assuming a rapid short-term diffusion of cooling for European residential buildings, the penetration shares in the cooling market and future projections of energy needs for cooling for each European region have been identified. A database was created where the results of this research relating to 38 European Nations divided into 179 regions were reported. Other previous works on the topics covered were limited to analyzing individual European nations, without ever going into detail about the individual regions within each nation, while the original contribution of the present work lies in the fact that the results achieved allow a specific numerical analysis and punctual for every single European region.Keywords: buildings, energy, Europe, future
Procedia PDF Downloads 816559 Determination of Economic and Ecological Potential of Bio Hydrogen Generated through Dark Photosynthesis Process
Authors: Johannes Full, Martin Reisinger, Alexander Sauer, Robert Miehe
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The use of biogenic residues for the biotechnological production of chemical energy carriers for electricity and heat generation as well as for mobile applications is an important lever for the shift away from fossil fuels towards a carbon dioxide neutral post-fossil future. A multitude of promising biotechnological processes needs, therefore, to be compared against each other. For this purpose, a multi-objective target system and a corresponding methodology for the evaluation of the underlying key figures are presented in this paper, which can serve as a basis for decisionmaking for companies and promotional policy measures. The methodology considers in this paper the economic and ecological potential of bio-hydrogen production using the example of hydrogen production from fruit and milk production waste with the purple bacterium R. rubrum (so-called dark photosynthesis process) for the first time. The substrate used in this cost-effective and scalable process is fructose from waste material and waste deposits. Based on an estimation of the biomass potential of such fructose residues, the new methodology is used to compare different scenarios for the production and usage of bio-hydrogen through the considered process. In conclusion, this paper presents, at the example of the promising dark photosynthesis process, a methodology to evaluate the ecological and economic potential of biotechnological production of bio-hydrogen from residues and waste.Keywords: biofuel, hydrogen, R. rubrum, bioenergy
Procedia PDF Downloads 1876558 On the Move: Factors Impacting the Migratory Decision-Making Capabilities of Gambians Relocating to Europe
Authors: Jeremy Goldsmith
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The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa and one of the poorest countries on Earth, is currently experiencing historically unprecedented levels of out-migration to Europe. As a result, Gambians are currently among the top four nationalities emigrating to Europe. The central question that this thesis will address is: what factors impact the migration-related decision-making capabilities of Gambians? Based on interviews with NGOs, as well as those who have migrated and returned, are planning to migrate, and their friends and families, a pattern will emerge. This pattern will be woven into first person narratives which will explore the politico-economic, environmental, and socio-cultural factors that inform individual decision-making with regards to migration.Keywords: migration, The Gambia, Africa, politico-economic, sociocultural, environmental
Procedia PDF Downloads 3186557 A Review on the Outlook of the Circular Economy in the Automotive Industry
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The relationship of the automotive industry with raw material supply is a major challenge and presents obstacles. Automobiles are ones of the most complex products using a large variety of materials. Safety, eco-friendliness and comfort requirements, physical, chemical and economic limitations set the framework in which this industry continuously optimizes the efficient and responsible use of resources. The concept of circular economy covers the issues of waste generation, resource scarcity and economic advantages. However, circularity is already known for the automobile industry – several efforts are done to foster material reuse, product remanufacturing and recycling. The aim of this study is to give an overview on how the producers comply with the growing demands on one hand, and gain efficiency and increase profitability on the other hand from circular economy.Keywords: automotive industry, circular economy, international requirements, natural resources
Procedia PDF Downloads 3136556 Language Choice and Language Maintenance of Northeastern Thai Staff in Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University
Authors: Napasri Suwanajote
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The purposes of this research were to analyze and evaluate successful factors in OTOP production process for the developing of learning center on OTOP production process based on Sufficiency Economic Philosophy for sustainable life quality. The research has been designed as a qualitative study to gather information from 30 OTOP producers in Bangkontee District, Samudsongkram Province. They were all interviewed on 3 main parts. Part 1 was about the production process including 1) production, 2) product development, 3) the community strength, 4) marketing possibility, and 5) product quality. Part 2 evaluated appropriate successful factors including 1) the analysis of the successful factors, 2) evaluate the strategy based on Sufficiency Economic Philosophy, and 3) the model of learning center on OTOP production process based on Sufficiency Economic Philosophy for sustainable life quality. The results showed that the production did not affect the environment with potential in continuing standard quality production. They used the raw materials in the country. On the aspect of product and community strength in the past 1 year, it was found that there was no appropriate packaging showing product identity according to global market standard. They needed the training on packaging especially for food and drink products. On the aspect of product quality and product specification, it was found that the products were certified by the local OTOP standard. There should be a responsible organization to help the uncertified producers pass the standard. However, there was a problem on food contamination which was hazardous to the consumers. The producers should cooperate with the government sector or educational institutes involving with food processing to reach FDA standard. The results from small group discussion showed that the community expected high education and better standard living. Some problems reported by the community included informal debt and drugs in the community. There were 8 steps in developing the model of learning center on OTOP production process based on Sufficiency Economic Philosophy for sustainable life quality.Keywords: production process, OTOP, sufficiency economic philosophy, language choice
Procedia PDF Downloads 2286555 Sustainable Tourism at the Bedside of Local Development of a Rural Coastline Village: Taleza, Collo, Algeria
Authors: Sihem Ferah, Karima Messaoudi
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Tourism is far from of being apprehended as a closed space limited to a defined area. The different experiences in the world have shown that tourism should be set up in the city, where locals can meet tourists, to know their history, tradition, culture, and relationship with the territory. In Algeria, the strategy employed in the context of promoting tourism is to integrate sustainable tourism based on a set of instruments such as the tourism expansion areas named ZET. Unfortunately, these areas have promoted the economic and environmental dimension, neglecting the social dimension which is the responsible of the community well–being. The case of Taleza village in Collo (characterized by its various potential) demonstrates clearly this paradox between the planned tourism in the ZET in Taleza as an economic product and the Tourism lived inside this local environment. When people by their genius and innovative action have succeeded to create an alternative tourism (social tourism) developed through guesthouses, sales of local products which have participated in promoting local Tourism Taleza. The aim of this research is to find a strong position between the planned space ZET and the village of Taleža where sustainable tourism can be installed that encourages the social membership, preservation of the natural heritage of Taleza and generates economic benefits that will ensure a local development of the village and will succeed in maintain sustainable tourism on its territory.Keywords: sustainable tourism, local development, rural areas, tourism expansion zone
Procedia PDF Downloads 4166554 Foreign Direct Investment, International Trade and Environment in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study
Authors: Shilpi Tripathi
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After independence, Bangladesh had to learn to survive on its own without any economic crutches (aid). Foreign direct investment (FDI) became a crucial economic tool for the country to become economically independent. The government started removing restrictions to encourage foreign investment, economic growth, international trade, and the environment. FDI is considered as a way to bridge the saving-investment gap, reduce poverty, balance trade, create jobs for its vast labour force, increase foreign exchange earnings and acquire new modern technology and management skills in the country. At the same time, spillovers of foreign investments in Bangladesh, such as low wages (compared to laborers of developed countries), poor working conditions and unbridled exploitation of the domestic resources, environmental externalities, etc., cannot be ignored. The most important adverse implications of FDI inflows noticed are the environmental problems, which are further impacting the health and society of the country. This paper empirically studies the relationship between FDI, economic growth, international trade (exports and Imports), and the environment since 1996. The first part of the paper focuses on the background and trends of FDI, GDP, trade, and environment (CO₂). The second part focuses on the literature review on the relationship between all the variables. The last part of the paper examines the results of empirical analysis like co-integration and Granger causality. The findings of the paper reveal that a uni-directional relationship exists between FDI, CO₂, and international trade (exports and imports). The direction of the causality reveals that FDI inflow is one of the major contributors to high-volume international trade. At the same time, FDI and international trade both are contributing to carbon emissions in Bangladesh. The paper concludes with the policy recommendations that will ensure environmentally friendly trade, investment, and growth in Bangladesh for the future.Keywords: foreign direct investment, GDP, international trade, CO₂, Granger causality, environment
Procedia PDF Downloads 1686553 The Effect of Deficit Financing on Macro-Economic Variables in Nigeria (1970-2013)
Authors: Ezeoke Callistus Obiora, Ezeoke Nneka Angela
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The study investigated the effect of deficit financing on macroeconomic variables in Nigeria. The specific objectives included to find out the relationship between deficit financing and GDP, interest rate, inflation rate, money supply, exchange rate and private investment respectively on a time series covering a period of 44 years (1970 – 2013). The Ordinary Least Square multiple regression produced statistics for the coefficient of determination (R2), F-test, t-test used for the interpretation of the study. The findings revealed that Deficit financing has significant positive effect on GDP and exchange rate. Again, deficit financing has a positive and insignificant relationship inflation, money supply and investment. Only interest rate recorded negative yet insignificant relationship with deficit financing. The implications of the findings are that deficit financing can be a veritable tool for boosting economic development in Nigeria, but the influential positively rising exchange rate implies that deficit financing devalues the Naira exchange rate to other currencies indicating that deficit financing can affect Nigerians competitive advantage at the world market. Thus, the study concludes that deficit financing has not encouraged economic growth in Nigeria.Keywords: deficit financing, money supply, exchange rate, inflation, GDP, investment, Nigeria
Procedia PDF Downloads 4686552 Examining Postcolonial Corporate Power Structures through the Lens of Development Induced Projects in Africa
Authors: Omogboyega Abe
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This paper examines the relationships between socio-economic inequalities of power, race, wealth engendered by corporate structure, and domination in postcolonial Africa. The paper further considers how land as an epitome of property and power for the locals paved the way for capitalist accumulation and control in the hands of transnational corporations. European colonization of Africa was contingent on settler colonialism, where properties, including land, were re-modified as extractive resources for primitive accumulation. In developing Africa's extractive resources, transnational corporations (TNCs) usurped states' structures and domination over native land. The usurpation/corporate capture that exists to date has led to remonstrations and arguably a counter-productive approach to development projects. In some communities, the mention of extractive companies triggers resentment. The paradigm of state capture and state autonomy is simply inadequate to either describe or resolve the play of forces or actors responsible for severe corporate-induced human rights violations in emerging markets. Moreover, even if the deadly working conditions are conceived as some regulatory failure, it is tough to tell whose failure. The analysis in this paper is that the complexity and ambiguity evidenced by the multiple regimes and political and economic forces shaping production, consumption, and distribution of socio-economic variables are not exceptional in emerging markets. Instead, the varied experience in developing countries provides a window for seeing what we face in understanding and theorizing the structure and operation of the global economic and regulatory order in general.Keywords: colonial, emerging markets, business, human rights, corporation
Procedia PDF Downloads 596551 An Experimental Approach to the Influence of Tipping Points and Scientific Uncertainties in the Success of International Fisheries Management
Authors: Jules Selles
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The Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery have been considered as the archetype of an overfished and mismanaged fishery. This crisis has demonstrated the role of public awareness and the importance of the interactions between science and management about scientific uncertainties. This work aims at investigating the policy making process associated with a regional fisheries management organization. We propose a contextualized computer-based experimental approach, in order to explore the effects of key factors on the cooperation process in a complex straddling stock management setting. Namely, we analyze the effects of the introduction of a socio-economic tipping point and the uncertainty surrounding the estimation of the resource level. Our approach is based on a Gordon-Schaefer bio-economic model which explicitly represents the decision making process. Each participant plays the role of a stakeholder of ICCAT and represents a coalition of fishing nations involved in the fishery and decide unilaterally a harvest policy for the coming year. The context of the experiment induces the incentives for exploitation and collaboration to achieve common sustainable harvest plans at the Atlantic bluefin tuna stock scale. Our rigorous framework allows testing how stakeholders who plan the exploitation of a fish stock (a common pool resource) respond to two kinds of effects: i) the inclusion of a drastic shift in the management constraints (beyond a socio-economic tipping point) and ii) an increasing uncertainty in the scientific estimation of the resource level.Keywords: economic experiment, fisheries management, game theory, policy making, Atlantic Bluefin tuna
Procedia PDF Downloads 2466550 The Reasons for the Continuous Decline in the Quality of Higher Education in Iran, with a Case Study of Students at Tehran University Law School
Authors: Mohammad Matin
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Nowadays, one of the basic problems of higher education is a significant decline in the quality of education and reduction in efficiency of training. These research and studies are aiming to assess affecting factors of the erosion of academic quality, including educational environmental and content, social and economic factors, elements of the training, elements of education, family factors, from the perspective of students. The result of such improper competition, totally, has led to the decline of education quality in higher education centers, and in many aspects. The results showed a significant difference between male and female students' perspective for two areas of social and economic factors.Keywords: higher education, decline, the quality of education, student
Procedia PDF Downloads 3276549 Climate Change, Women's Labour Markets and Domestic Work in Mexico
Authors: Luis Enrique Escalante Ochoa
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This paper attempts to assess the impacts of Climate change (CC) on inequalities in the labour market. CC will have the most serious effects on some vulnerable economic sectors, such as agriculture, livestock or tourism, but also on the most vulnerable population groups. The objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of CC on the labour market and particularly on Mexican women. Influential documents such as the synthesis reports produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 and 2014 revived a global effort to counteract the effects of CC, called for an analysis of the impacts on vulnerable socio-economic groups and on economic activities, and for the development of decision-making tools to enable policy and other decisions based on the complexity of the world in relation to climate change, taking into account socio-economic attributes. We follow up this suggestion and determine the impact of CC on vulnerable populations in the Mexican labour market, taking into account two attributes (gender and level of qualification of workers). Most studies have focused on the effects of CC on the agricultural sector, as it is considered a highly vulnerable economic sector to the effects of climate variability. This research seeks to contribute to the existing literature taking into account, in addition to the agricultural sector, other sectors such as tourism, water availability, and energy that are of vital importance to the Mexican economy. Likewise, the effects of climate change will be extended to the labour market and specifically to women who in some cases have been left out. The studies are sceptical about the impact of CC on the female labour market because of the perverse effects on women's domestic work, which are too often omitted from analyses. This work will contribute to the literature by integrating domestic work, which in the case of Mexico is much higher among women than among men (80.9% vs. 19.1%), according to the 2009 time use survey. This study is relevant since it will allow us to analyse impacts of climate change not only in the labour market of the formal economy, but also in the non-market sphere. Likewise, we consider that including the gender dimension is valid for the Mexican economy as it is a country with high degrees of gender inequality in the labour market. In the OECD economic study for Mexico (2017), the low labour participation of Mexican women is highlighted. Although participation has increased substantially in recent years (from 36% in 1990 to 47% in 2017), it remains low compared to the OECD average where women participate around 70% of the labour market. According to Mexico's 2009 time use survey, domestic work represents about 13% of the total time available. Understanding the interdependence between the market and non-market spheres, and the gender division of labour within them is the necessary premise for any economic analysis aimed at promoting gender equality and inclusive growth.Keywords: climate change, labour market, domestic work, rural sector
Procedia PDF Downloads 1226548 The Long-Run Impact of Financial Development on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in India: An Application of Regime Shift Based Cointegration Approach
Authors: Javaid Ahmad Dar, Mohammad Asif
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The present study investigates the long-run impact of financial development, energy consumption and economic growth on greenhouse gas emissions for India, in presence of endogenous structural breaks, over a period of 1971-2013. Autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing procedure and Hatemi-J threshold cointegration technique have been used to test the variables for cointegration. ARDL bounds test did not confirm any cointegrating relationship between the variables. The threshold cointegration test establishes the presence of long-run impact of financial development, energy use and economic growth on greenhouse gas emissions in India. The results reveal that the long-run relationship between the variables has witnessed two regime shifts, in 1978 and 2002. The empirical evidence shows that financial sector development and energy consumption in India degrade environment. Unlike previous studies, this paper finds no statistical evidence of long-run relationship between economic growth and environmental deterioration. The study also challenges the existence of environmental Kuznets curve in India.Keywords: cointegration, financial development, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, regime shift, unit root
Procedia PDF Downloads 3696547 Nonlinear Dynamic Response of Helical Gear with Torque-Limiter
Authors: Ahmed Guerine, Ali El Hafidi, Bruno Martin, Philippe Leclaire
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This paper investigates the nonlinear dynamic response of a mechanical torque limiter which is used to protect drive parts from overload (helical transmission gears). The system is driven by four excitations: two external excitations (aerodynamics torque and force) and two internal excitations (two mesh stiffness fluctuations). In this work, we develop a dynamic model with lumped components and 28 degrees of freedom. We use the Runge Kutta step-by-step time integration numerical algorithm to solve the equations of motion obtained by Lagrange formalism. The numerical results have allowed us to identify the sources of vibration in the wind turbine. Also, they are useful to help the designer to make the right design and correctly choose the times for maintenance.Keywords: two-stage helical gear, lumped model, dynamic response, torque-limiter
Procedia PDF Downloads 3456546 Assessing Economic Losses Of 2104 Flood Disaster: A Case Study on Dabong, Kelantan, Malaysia
Authors: Ahmad Hamidi Mohamed, Jamaluddin Othman, Mashitah Suid, Mohd Zaim Mohd Shukri
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Floods are considered an annual natural disaster in Kelantan. However, the record-setting flood of 2014 was a 'tsunami-like disaster'. A study has been conducted with the objectives to assess the economic impact of the flood to the resident of Dabong area in Kelantan Darul Naim, Malaysia. This area was selected due to the severity during the flood. The impacts of flood on local people were done by conducting structured interviews with the use of questionnaires. The questionnaire was intended to acquire information on losses faced by Dabong residence. Questionnaires covered various areas of inconveniences suffered with respect to health effects, including illnesses suffered, their intensities, duration and their associated costs. Loss of productivity and quality of life was also assessed. Inquiries were made to Government agencies to obtain relevant statistical data regarding the loss due to the flood tragedy. The data collected by giving formal request to the governmental agencies and formal meetings were done. From the study a staggering amount of losses were calculated. This figure comes from losses of property, Farmers/Agriculture, Traders/Business, Health, Insurance and Governmental losses. Flood brings hardship to the people of Dabong and these losses of home will cause inconveniences to the society. The huge amount of economic loss extracted from this study shows that federal and state government of Kelantan need to find out the cause of the major flood in 2014. Fast and effective measures have to be planned and implemented in flood prone area to prevent same tragedy happens in the future.Keywords: economic impact, flood tragedy, Malaysia, property losses
Procedia PDF Downloads 2596545 Economic Evaluation of Varying Scenarios to Fulfill the Regional Electricity Demand in Pakistan
Authors: Muhammad Shahid, Kafait Ullah, Kashif Imran, Arshad Mahmood, Maarten Arentsen
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Poor planning and governance in the power sector of Pakistan have generated several issues ranging from gradual reliance on thermal-based expensive energy mix, supply shortages, unrestricted demand, subsidization, inefficiencies at different levels of the value chain and resultantly, the circular debt. This situation in the power sector has also hampered the growth of allied economic sectors. This study uses the Long-range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP) system for electricity modelling of Pakistan from the period of 2016 to 2040. The study has first time in Pakistan forecasted the electricity demand at the provincial level. At the supply side, five scenarios Business as Usual Scenario (BAUS), Coal Scenario (CS), Gas Scenario (GS), Nuclear Scenario (NS) and Renewable Scenario (RS) have been analyzed based on the techno-economic and environmental parameters. The study has also included environmental externality costs for evaluating the actual costs and benefits of different scenarios. Contrary to the expectations, RS has a lower output than even BAUS. The study has concluded that the generation from RS has five times lesser costs than BAUS, CS, and GS. NS can also be an alternative for the sustainable future of Pakistan. Generation from imported coal is not a good option, however, indigenous coal with clean coal technologies should be promoted. This paper proposes energy planners of the country to devise incentives for the utilization of indigenous energy resources including renewables on priority and then clean coal to reduce the energy crises of Pakistan.Keywords: economic evaluation, externality cost, penetration of renewable energy, regional electricity supply-demand planning
Procedia PDF Downloads 1076544 Factors Affecting the Work Efficiency of Employees of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University
Authors: Unnop Panpuang
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The objectives of this project are to study on the work efficiency of the employees, sorted by their profiles, and to study on the relation between job attributes and work efficiency of employees of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The samples used for this study are 292 employees. The statistics used in this study are frequencies, standard deviations, One-way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Majority of respondent were male with an undergraduate degree, married and lives together. The average age of respondents was between 31-41 years old, married and the educational background are higher than bachelor’s degree. The job attribute is correlated to the work efficiency with the statistical significance level of .01. This concurs with the predetermined hypothesis. The correlation between the two main factors is in the moderate level. All the categories of job attributes such as the variety of skills, job clarity, job importance, freedom to do work are considered separately.Keywords: employees, job attributes, work efficiency, university
Procedia PDF Downloads 3466543 Review on Japan Environmental Future City: Development, Critics and Cases
Authors: Runlang Zhu, Weijun Gao, Yinqi Zhang, Gangwei Cai
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In order to deal with issues such as the environmental problems and aging of the population, the Japanese government wanted to achieve goals like 'a city where everyone wants to live' and 'a city full of energy for everyone' by creating environmental, social, and economic values in the process of urban development. They began to promote the concept of 'Environmental Future City' in 2010, aiming to create cities and regions with excellent environments, sustainable economic development, and social systems. After taking a look at the history, concept, and development of environmental future cities, the paper will discuss the evaluation system of them, introduce representative cases, and point out what other cities can learn from their development process.Keywords: environmental future city, city concept, CASBEE, environmental performance assessment
Procedia PDF Downloads 151