Search results for: market discipline

Authors: Lopamudra D. Satpathy, Bani Chatterjee, Jitendra Mahakud

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The rapid economic growth in terms of output and investment necessitates a substantial growth of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of firms which is an indicator of an economy’s technological change. The strong empirical relationship between financial sector development and economic growth clearly indicates that firms financing decisions do affect their levels of output via their investment decisions. Hence it establishes a linkage between the financial factors and productivity growth of the firms. To achieve the smooth and continuous economic growth over time, it is imperative to understand the financial channel that serves as one of the vital channels. The theoretical or logical argument behind this linkage is that when the internal financial capital is not sufficient enough for the investment, the firms always rely upon the external sources of finance. But due to the frictions and existence of information asymmetric behavior, it is always costlier for the firms to raise the external capital from the market, which in turn affect their investment sentiment and productivity. This kind of financial position of the firms puts heavy pressure on their productive activities. Keeping in view this theoretical background, the present study has tried to analyze the role of both external and internal financial factors (leverage, cash flow and liquidity) on the determination of total factor productivity of the firms of manufacturing industry and its sub-industries, maintaining a set of firm specific variables as control variables (size, age and disembodied technological intensity). An estimate of total factor productivity of the Indian manufacturing industry and sub-industries is computed using a semi-parametric approach, i.e., Levinsohn- Petrin method. It establishes the relationship between financial factors and productivity growth of 652 firms using a dynamic panel GMM method covering the time period between 1997-98 and 2012-13. From the econometric analyses, it has been found that the internal cash flow has a positive and significant impact on the productivity of overall manufacturing sector. The other financial factors like leverage and liquidity also play the significant role in the determination of total factor productivity of the Indian manufacturing sector. The significant role of internal cash flow on determination of firm-level productivity suggests that access to external finance is not available to Indian companies easily. Further, the negative impact of leverage on productivity could be due to the less developed bond market in India. These findings have certain implications for the policy makers to take various policy reforms to develop the external bond market and easily workout through which the financially constrained companies will be able to raise the financial capital in a cost-effective manner and would be able to influence their investments in the highly productive activities, which would help for the acceleration of economic growth.

Keywords: dynamic panel, financial factors, manufacturing sector, total factor productivity

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Authors: Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz, Jonathan Adams, Felix Pedrotti

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This paper introduces the applicability of underwater photogrammetric survey within challenging conditions as the main tool to enhance and enrich the process of documenting archaeological excavation through the creation of 4D models. Photogrammetry was being attempted on underwater archaeological sites at least as early as the 1970s’ and today the production of traditional 3D models is becoming a common practice within the discipline. Photogrammetry underwater is more often implemented to record exposed underwater archaeological remains and less so as a dynamic interpretative tool.  Therefore, it tends to be applied in bright environments and when underwater visibility is > 1m, reducing its implementation on most submerged archaeological sites in more turbid conditions. Recent years have seen significant development of better digital photographic sensors and the improvement of optical technology, ideal for darker environments. Such developments, in tandem with powerful processing computing systems, have allowed underwater photogrammetry to be used by this research as a standard recording and interpretative tool. Using multi-source photogrammetry (5, GoPro5 Hero Black cameras) this paper presents the accumulation of daily (4D) underwater surveys carried out in the Early Bronze Age (3,300 BC) to Late Ottoman (17th Century AD) archaeological site of Ropotamo in the Bulgarian Black Sea under challenging conditions (< 0.5m visibility). It proves that underwater photogrammetry can and should be used as one of the main recording methods even in low light and poor underwater conditions as a way to better understand the complexity of the underwater archaeological record.

Keywords: 4D modelling, Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project, multi-source photogrammetry, low visibility underwater survey

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Authors: María-Dolores Afonso-Suárez, Nayra Pumar-Carreras, Juan Ruiz-Alzola

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This research addresses the use of an e-Learning creation methodology for learning objects. Throughout the process, indicators are being gathered, to determine if it responds to the main objectives of an engineering discipline. These parameters will also indicate if it is necessary to review the creation cycle and readjust any phase. Within the project developed for this study, apart from the use of structured methods, there has been a central objective: the establishment of a learning atmosphere. A place where all the professionals involved are able to collaborate, plan, solve problems and determine guides to follow in order to develop creative and innovative solutions. It has been outlined as a blended learning program with an assessment plan that proposes face to face lessons, coaching, collaboration, multimedia and web based learning objects as well as support resources. The project has been drawn as a long term task, the pilot teaching actions designed provide the preliminary results object of study. This methodology is been used in the creation of learning content for the African countries of Senegal, Mauritania and Cape Verde. It has been developed within the framework of the MACbioIDi, an Interreg European project for the International cooperation and development. The educational area of this project is focused in the training and advice of professionals of the medicine as well as engineers in the use of applications of medical imaging technology, specifically the 3DSlicer application and the Open Anatomy Browser.

Keywords: teaching contents engineering, e-learning, blended learning, international cooperation, 3dslicer, open anatomy browser

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Authors: Tahar Tayachi, Ahlam Alrehaili

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the corporate board characteristics and the dividend policy among firms on the Saudi Stock Exchange. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper uses a sample of 103 nonfinancial firms over a time period of 4 years from 2015 to 2018. To investigate how corporate governance mechanisms such as board independence, the board size, frequency of meetings, and free cash flow impact dividends, the study uses Logit and Tobit models. Findings: This paper finds that board size, board independence, and frequency of board meetings have no influence on a firm’s decision to pay dividends, while board size has a significantly positive impact on the levels of cash dividends paid to investors. This study also finds that the level of free cash flows has a positively significant influence on both the decision to pay dividends and the magnitude of dividend payouts. Research Limitations/Implications: This paper attempts to study the effectiveness of dividend policy among some firms on the Saudi Stock Exchange. Practical Implications: The findings reveal that board characteristics, which represent one of the crucial mechanisms of corporate governance, were found to be complementary to corporate laws and regulations imposed on the Saudi market in 2015. The findings also imply that capital market authorities should revise their corporate regulations and ensure that protection laws are adequate and strong enough to protect the interests of all shareholders. Originality/Value: This paper is among the few studies focusing on dividend policy in Saudi Arabia. Finally, these findings suggest that the improvements in corporate laws in Saudi Arabia led to such an outcome, and it has become prevalent in dividend policy decisions and behaviors of Saudi firms.

Keywords: agency theory, Tobit, corporate governance, dividend payout, Logit

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Authors: Etty Soesilowati

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This research was intended to: (1) designing production systems that produce high quality salt and (2) diversification of salt products. This research used qualitative and quantitative approaches which Garam Mas Ltd. as the research site. The data were analyzed interactively and subjected to laboratory tests. The analyses showed that salt production system using HDPE geomembranes produced whiter and cleaner salts than those produced by conventional methods without HDPE geomembranes. High quality consumption salt contained 97% NaCl and a maximum of 0.05% water, in the form of white minute crystals and usually used for table salt of food and snack seasoning, souses and cheese and vegetable oil industries. Medium grade salt contained 94.7%-97% NaCl and 3%-7% water and usually used for kitchen salt, soy sauce, tofu industries and cattle feeding. Low quality salt contained 90%-94.7% NaCl and 5%-10% water, with dull white color and usually used for fish preservation and agriculture. The quality and quantity of salts production were influenced by temperatures, weather, water concentrations used during production processes and the discipline of salt farmers itself. The use of water temperature less than 23 °Be during the production processes produced low quality salts. Optimizing cultivation of the production process from raw material to end product (consumption salt) should be attempted to produce quality salt that fulfills the Indonesian National Standard. Therefore, the integrated policies among stakeholders are really needed to build strong institutional base at salt farmer level. This might be achieved through the establishment of specific region for salt production.

Keywords: cultivation system, diversification, salt products, high quality salt

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Authors: Yuhang Wang

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As energy is vital to industrial productivity and human existence, ensuring energy security becomes a critical government responsibility. The Chinese government has implemented the energy transition to safeguard China’s energy security. Throughout this progression, the Chinese government has faced numerous obstacles. This article seeks to describe the causes of China’s energy transition barriers and the steps taken by the Chinese government to overcome them.

Keywords: energy transition, energy market, fragmentation, path dependency

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Authors: V. Suganya, V. Balasuriya

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The functioning of Micro and Small Scale (MSS) businesses in the northern part of Sri Lanka was vulnerable due to three decades of internal conflict and the subsequent post-war economic openings has resulted new market prospects for MSS businesses. MSS businesses survive and operate with limited resources and struggle to access finance, raw material, markets, and technology. This study attempts to identify the manner in which entrepreneurial orientation puts into practice by the business operators to overcome these business challenges. Business operators in the traditional food processing sector are taken for this study as this sub-sector of the food industry is developing at a rapid pace. A review of the literature was done to recognize the concepts of entrepreneurial orientation, defining MMS businesses and the manner in which business performance is measured. Direct interview method supported by a structured questionnaire is used to collect data from 80 respondents; based on a fixed interval random sampling technique. This study reveals that more than half of the business operators have opted to commence their business ventures as a result of identifying a market opportunity. 41 per cent of the business operators are highly entrepreneurial oriented in a scale of 1 to 5. Entrepreneurial orientation shows significant relationship and strongly correlated with business performance. Pro-activeness, innovativeness and competitive aggressiveness shows a significant relationship with business performance while risk taking is negative and autonomy is not significantly related to business performance. It is evident that entrepreneurial oriented business practices contribute to better business performance even though 70 per cent prefer the ideas/views of the support agencies than the stakeholders when making business decisions. It is recommended that appropriate training should be introduced to develop entrepreneurial skills focusing to improve business networks so that new business opportunities and innovative business practices are identified.

Keywords: Micro and Small Scale (MMS) businesses, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), food processing, business operators

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Authors: Christiana Wulty Diku

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This research mapped and documented archaeological heritage resources with associated indigenous knowledge in Lawra, an understudied Municipality in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Since the inception of Archaeology as a discipline in the 1930s at the University of Ghana, the Lawra Municipality has rarely been investigated archaeologically. Consequently, the unconsciousness and ignorance of indigenes on the relevance of these resources to national development has destroyed many significant archaeological sites, with agriculture and infrastructural developmental activities endangering countless of them. Drawing from a community archaeological approach, a collaborative archaeological investigation between local groups, communities and professionals (archaeologists) was conducted to recover these lost histories of settlements in the municipality, salvage and protect endangered archaeological heritage resources and sites from agricultural, exploitative and developmental activities. This was geared towards expanding on the limited research on northern Ghana and deepening our understanding on the existing symbiotic relationship between people and their heritage resources in past and present times. The study deploying ethnographic, archaeological and physical survey techniques as methods in six field seasons beginning from August 2013 to April 2023. This resulted in the reconstruction of the settlement history of Lawra with chronological dates, compilation of inventory on significant archaeological heritage resources with associated indigenous knowledge, mitigation of endangered archaeological sites and heritage resources through surface collections and the development of a photographic record, with associated metadata for purposes of preservation and future research.

Keywords: archaeological heritage resources, indigenous knowledge, lawra municipality, community archaeology

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Authors: Nhi Ngoc Thien

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Franchising is a popular trend in Vietnam retail industry, especially in fast food industry. Several famous foreign fast food brands such as KFC, Lotteria, Jollibee or Pizza Hut invested on this potential market since the 1990s. Following this trend, in 2011, Burger King - the second largest fast food hamburger chain all over the world - entered Vietnam with its first store located in Tan Son Nhat International Airport, with the expectation to become the leading brand in the country. However, the business performance of Burger King was not going well in the first few years making it questioned about its strategy. The given assumption was that its business performance was affected negatively by its store location selection strategy. This research aims to investigate the current performance of Burger King Vietnam in terms of the controllable variables like store location as well as to explore the key factors influencing customer decision to choose Burger King. Therefore, a case study research method was conducted to approach deeply on the opinions and evaluations of 10 Burger King’s customers, Burger King's staffs and other fast food experts on Burger King’s performance through in-depth interview, direct observation and documentary analysis. Findings show that there are 8 determinants affecting the decision-making of Burger King’s customers, which are store location, quality of food, service quality, store atmosphere, price, promotion, menu and brand reputation. Moreover, findings present that Burger King’s staffs and fast food experts also mentioned the main problems of Burger King, which are about store location and food quality. As a result, there are some recommendations for Burger King Vietnam to improve its performance in the market and attract more Vietnamese target customers by giving suitable promotional activities among its customers and being differentiated itself from other fast food brands.

Keywords: overall retail strategy, controllable variables, store location, quality of food

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Authors: Milena Gojny-Zbierowska

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In the last decades psychological tests have been gaining in popularity as a method used for evaluating personnel, and they bring consulting companies solid profits rising by up to 10% each year. The market is offering a growing range of tools for the assessment of personality. Tests are used in organizations mainly in the recruitment and selection of staff. This paper is an attempt to initially diagnose the state of the use of psychological tests in Polish companies on the basis of empirical research.

Keywords: psychological tests, personality, content analysis, NEO FFI, big five personality model

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Authors: Nahed Al-Hajeri

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There are several reasons which lead to a delay in project completion, out of all, one main reason is the delay in deliverable processing, i.e. submission and review of documents. Most of the project cycles start with a list of deliverables but without a sequence of submission of the same, means without a direction to move, leading to overlapping of activities and more interdependencies. Hence Project Design Deliverables (PDD) is developed as a solution to Organize Transmittals (Documents/Drawings) received from contractors/consultants during different phases of an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) projects, which gives proper direction to the stakeholders from the beginning, to reduce inter-discipline dependency, avoid overlapping of activities, provide a list of deliverables, sequence of activities, etc. PDD attempts to provide a list and sequencing of the engineering documents/drawings required during different phases of a Project which will benefit both client and Contractor in performing planned activities through timely submission and review of deliverables. This helps in ensuring improved quality and completion of Project in time. The successful implementation begins with a detailed understanding the specific challenges and requirements of the project. PDD will help to learn about vendor document submissions including general workflow, sequence and monitor the submission and review of the deliverables from the early stages of Project. This will provide an overview for the Submission of deliverables by the concerned during the projects in proper sequence. The goal of PDD is also to hold responsible and accountability of all stakeholders during complete project cycle. We believe that successful implementation of PDD with a detailed list of documents and their sequence will help organizations to achieve the project target.

Keywords: EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction), project design deliverables (PDD), econometrics sciences, management sciences

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Authors: Rukhsana Kausar, Issam Malki

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The integration and assimilation of ethnic minority immigrants (EMIs) and their subsequent generations remains a serious unsettled issue in most of the host countries. This study conducts the labour market gender analysis to investigate specifically whether second generation of ethnic minority immigrants in the UK is gaining access to professional and managerial employment and advantaged occupational positions on par with their native counterparts. The data used to examine the labour market achievements of EMIs is taken from Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the period 2014-2018. We apply a multivalued treatment under ignorability as proposed by Cattaneo (2010), which refers to treatment effects under the assumptions of (i) selection – on – observables and (ii) common support. We report estimates of Average Treatment Effect (ATE), Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET), and Potential Outcomes Means (POM) using three estimators, including the Regression Adjustment (RA), Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting (AIPW) and Inverse Probability Weighting- Regression Adjustment (IPWRA). We consider two cases: the case with four categories where the first-generation natives are the base category, the second case combine all natives as a base group. Our findings suggest the following. Under Case 1, the estimated probabilities and differences across groups are consistently similar and highly significant. As expected, first generation natives have the highest probability for higher career attainment among both men and women. The findings also suggest that first generation immigrants perform better than the remaining two groups, including the second-generation natives and immigrants. Furthermore, second generation immigrants have higher probability to attain higher professional career, while this is lower for a managerial career. Similar conclusions are reached under Case 2. That is to say that both first – generation and second – generation immigrants have a lower probability for higher career and managerial attainment. First – generation immigrants are found to perform better than second – generation immigrants.

Keywords: immigrnats, second generation, occupational attainment, ethnicity

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Authors: Moshmi Sangavarapu

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The US healthcare industry has undergone tremendous digital transformation in recent years, but critical care access to lower-income ethnicities is still in its nascency. This population has historically showcased substantial hesitation to seek any medical assistance. While the lack of sufficient financial resources plays a critical role, the existing cultural and knowledge barriers also contribute significantly to widening the access gap. It is imperative to break these barriers to ensure timely access to therapeutic procedures that can save important lives! Based on ongoing research, healthcare access barriers can be best addressed by tapping the untapped potential of caregiver communities first. They play a critical role in patients’ diagnoses, building healthcare knowledge and instilling confidence in required therapeutic procedures. Recent technological advancements have opened many avenues by developing smart ways of reaching the large caregiver community. A digitized go-to-market strategy featuring connected media coupled with smart IoT devices and geo-location targeting can be collectively leveraged to reach this key audience group. AI/ML algorithms can be thoroughly trained to identify relevant data signals from users' location and browsing behavior and determine useful marketing touchpoints. The web behavior can be further assimilated with natural language processing to identify contextually relevant interest topics and decipher potential caregivers on digital avenues to serve that brand message. In conclusion, grasping the true health access journey of any lower-income ethnic group is important to design beneficial touchpoints that can alleviate patients’ concerns and allow them to break their own access barriers and opt for timely and quality healthcare.

Keywords: healthcare access, market access, diversity barriers, patient journey

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Authors: Duy Nguyen Do, Bart Julien Dewancker

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Many Soviet-style collective housing complexes (also known as KTT) were built since the 1960s in Hanoi to support the post-war population growth. Those low-rise buildings have created well-knitted, robust communities, so much to the point that in most complexes, all families in one housing block would know each other, occasionally interact and provide supports in need. To understand how the community of collective housing complexes have developed and maintained in order to adapt their advantages into modern housing designs, the study is executed on the site of Nguyen Cong Tru KTT. This is one of the oldest KTT in Hanoi, completed in 1954. The complex also has an unique characteristic that is closely related to its community: the symbiotic relationship with Hom – a flea market that has been co-developing with Nguyen Cong Tru KTT since its beginning. The research consists of three phases: the first phase is a sociological investigation with Nguyen Cong Tru KTT’s current residents and a site survey on the complex’s economic and architectural characteristics. In the second phase, the collected data is analyzed to find out people’s opinions with the KTT’s concerning their satisfaction with the current housing status, floor plan organization, community, the relationship between the KTT’s dedicated public spaces with the flea market and their usage. Simultaneously, the master plan and gathered information regarding current architectural characteristics of the complex are also inspected. On the third phase, the analyses’ results will provide information regarding the issues, positive trends and significant historical features of the complex’s architecture in order to generate suitable proposals for the redesigning project of Nguyen Cong Tru KTT, a design focused on vitalizing modern apartments’ communities.

Keywords: collective house community, collective house public space, community-focused, redesigning Nguyen Cong Tru KTT, sociological investigation

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Authors: Wei Wang

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Queli Hotel, Xixi Scenery Spot Reception and Square Pagoda Garden are three important landmarks of localized Chinese modern architecture (LCMA) in the architectural design context of "Inheriting the Traditions in Modern Architecture" in the 1980s. As the most representative cases of LCMA in the 1980s, they interpret the traditions of Chinese garden and imperial roof from different perspectives. Based on the research text, conceptual drawings, construction drawings and site investigation, this paper extracts two groups of prominent contradictions in practice ("Pattern-Material-Structure" and "Type-Topography-Body") for keyword-based analysis to compare and examine different choices and balances by architects. Based on this, this paper attempts to indicate that the ideographic form derived from macro-narrative and the innovative investigation in construction is a pair of inevitable contradictions that must be handled and coordinated in these practices. The collision of the contradictions under specific conditions results in three cognitive attitudes and practical strategies towards traditions: Formal symbolism, spatial abstraction and construction-based narrative. These differentiated thoughts about Localization and Chineseness reflect various professional ideologies and value standpoints in the transition of Chinese Architecture discipline in the 1980s. The great variety in this particular circumstance suggests tremendous potential and possibilities of the future LCMA.

Keywords: construction, meaning, Queli Hotel, square pagoda garden, tradition, Xixi scenery spot reception

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Authors: Arnav M. Raval

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This paper critically examines the neoliberal economic model and its role in enabling corporate greenwashing, a practice where corporations deceptively market themselves as environmentally responsible while continuing harmful environmental practices. Through a rigorous focus on the neoliberal emphasis of free markets, deregulation, and minimal government intervention, this paper explores how these policies have set the stage for corporations to externalize environmental costs and engage in superficial sustainability initiatives. Within this framework, companies often bypass meaningful environmental reform, opting for strategies that enhance their public image without addressing their actual environmental impacts. The paper also draws on the works of critical theorists Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, and Herbert Marcuse, particularly their critiques of capitalist society and its tendency to commodify social values. This paper argues that neoliberal capitalism has commodified environmentalism, transforming genuine ecological responsibility into a marketable product. Through corporate social responsibility initiatives, corporations have created the illusion of sustainability while masking deeper environmental harm. Under neoliberalism, these initiatives often serve as public relations tools rather than genuine commitments to environmental justice and sustainability. This commodification has become particularly dangerous because as it manipulates consumer perceptions and diverts attention away from the structural causes of environmental degradation. The analysis also examines how greenwashing practices have disproportionately affected marginalized communities, particularly in the global South, where environmental costs are often externalized. As these corporations promote their “sustainability” in wealthier markets, these marginalized communities bear the brunt of their pollution, resource depletion, and other forms of environmental degradation. This dynamic underscores the inherent injustice within neoliberal environmental policies, as those most vulnerable to environmental risks are often neglected, as companies reap the benefits of corporate sustainability efforts at their expense. Finally, this paper calls for a fundamental transition away from neoliberal market-driven solutions, which prioritize corporate profit over genuine ecological reform. It advocates for stronger regulatory frameworks, transparent third-party certifications, and a more collective approach to environmental governance. In order to ensure genuine corporate accountability, governments and institutions must move beyond superficial green initiatives and market-based solutions, shifting toward policies that enforce real environmental responsibility and prioritize environmental justice for all communities. Through the critique of the neoliberal system and its commodification of environmentalism, this paper has highlighted the urgent need to rethink how environmental responsibility is defined and enacted in the corporate world. Without systemic change, greenwashing will continue to undermine both ecological sustainability and social justice, leaving the most vulnerable populations to suffer the consequences.

Keywords: critical theory, environmental justice, greenwashing, neoliberalism

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Authors: Ndeye Tiguida Sarr, Onur Akpinar

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The tourism industry, being the sector that includes all the activities related to the organization and satisfaction of tourists during their trip, also has a very important role in the national economy of the host country. In order to measure the stakes of tourism on the economy, microeconomic and macroeconomic factors are elements of analysis. While microeconomics is limited to an individual perspective, macroeconomics extends to a global perspective and treats the economy as a whole by focusing on social and economic actors in general. It is in this context that this study focuses on macroeconomic variables in order to determine the factors that influence the financial performance of tourism firms in Turkey, which is one of the world's major destinations. The aim of the study is to demonstrate the relationship between macroeconomic variables and the financial performance of tourism firms. Data from 2011 to 2020 are collected, from a sample of 16 companies that represent the tourism sector in Borsa Istanbul. Tobin’s Q ratio, Market to Book ratio, Return on Invested Capital, and Return on Assets as the financial performance indicators were dependent variables of the study. Gross Domestic Products, Inflation, Interest Rates, and Unemployment as macroeconomic indicators were independent variables. Again, Size, Liquidity, Leverage, and Age were control variables of the study. According to the results, value indicators, which are Tobin’s Q ratio and Market to Book ratio, have a statistically significant relationship with Inflation, Interest Rates, and Unemployment. A negative relationship is found between value indicators and Interest rates and a positive relationship between value indicators and Unemployment and Inflation. On the other hand, there is no significant relationship between profit indicators (Return on Invested Capital and Return on Assets) and macroeconomic variables. Accordingly, Interest rates negatively affect the financial performance of tourism firms and stand out as a factor that decreases the value.

Keywords: financial performance, macroeconomic variables, panel data, Tobin Q

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Authors: Sara D. Garduno-Diaz, Ramona Milcheva, Chanyu Xu

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Women’s reproductive stages (pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and lactation) represent a time of higher micronutrient needs. With a healthy food selection as the first path of choice to cover these increased needs, tandem micronutrient supplementation is often required. Because pregnancy and lactation should be treated with care, all supplements consumed should be of quality ingredients and manufactured through controlled processes. This work describes the process followed for the development of plant-based multiple micronutrient supplements aimed at addressing the growing demand for natural ingredients of non-animal origin. A list of key nutrients for inclusion was prioritized, followed by the identification and selection of qualified raw ingredient providers. Nutrient absorption into the food matrix was carried out through natural processes. The outcome is a new line of products meeting the set criteria of being gluten and lactose-free, suitable for vegans/vegetarians, and without artificial conservatives. In addition, each product provides the consumer with 10 vitamins, 6 inorganic nutrients, 1 source of essential fatty acids, and 1 source of phytonutrients each (maca, moringa, and chlorella). Each raw material, as well as the final product, was submitted to microbiological control three-fold (in-house and external). The final micronutrient mix was then tested for human factor contamination, pesticides, total aerobic microbial count, total yeast count, and total mold count. The product was created with the aim of meeting product standards for the European Union, as well as specific requirements for the German market in the food and pharma fields. The results presented here reach the point of introduction of the newly developed product to the market, with acceptability and effectiveness results to be published at a later date.

Keywords: fertility, lactation, organic, pregnancy, vegetarian

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Authors: Insaf Mehani, Bachir Bouchekima

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The fight against climate change and the replacement of fossil energies nearing exhaustion gradually emerge as major societal and economic challenges. It is possible to develop common dates of low commercial value, and put on the local and international market a new generation of products with high added values such as bio ethanol. Besides its use in chemical synthesis, bio ethanol can be blended with gasoline to produce a clean fuel while improving the octane.

Keywords: bio-energy, waste dates, bio ethanol, Algeria

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Authors: Andreas Hirseland, Lukas Kerschbaumer

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In Germany, during the past years there constantly are about one million long term unemployed who did not benefit from the prospering labor market while most short term unemployed did. Instead, they are continuously dependent on welfare and sometimes precarious short-term employment, experiencing work poverty. Long term unemployment thus turns into a main obstacle to regular employment, especially if accompanied by other impediments such as low level education (school/vocational), poor health (especially chronical illness), advanced age (older than fifty), immigrant status, motherhood or engagement in care for other relatives. Almost two thirds of all welfare recipients have multiple impediments which hinder a successful transition from welfare back to sustainable and sufficient employment. Hiring them is often considered as an investment too risky for employers. Therefore formal application schemes based on formal qualification certificates and vocational biographies might reduce employers’ risks but at the same time are not helpful for long-term unemployed and welfare recipients. The panel survey ‘Labor market and social security’ (PASS; ~15,000 respondents in ~10,000 households), carried out by the Institute of Employment Research (the research institute of the German Federal Labor Agency), shows that their chance to get back to work tends to fall to nil. Only 66 cases of such unlikely transitions could be observed. In a sequential explanatory mixed-method study, the very scarce ‘success stories’ of unlikely transitions from long term unemployment to work were explored by qualitative inquiry – in-depth interviews with a focus on biography accompanied by qualitative network techniques in order to get a more detailed insight of relevant actors involved in the processes which promote the transition from being a welfare recipient to work. There is strong evidence that sustainable transitions are influenced by biographical resources like habits of network use, a set of informal skills and particularly a resilient way of dealing with obstacles, combined with contextual factors rather than by job-placement procedures promoted by Job-Centers according to activation rules or by following formal paths of application. On the employer’s side small and medium-sized enterprises are often found to give job opportunities to a wider variety of applicants, often based on a slow but steadily increasing relationship leading to employment. According to these results it is possible to show and discuss some limitations of (German) activation policies targeting welfare dependency and long-term unemployment. Based on these findings, indications for more supportive small scale measures in the field of labor-market policies are suggested to help long-term unemployed with multiple impediments to overcome their situation.

Keywords: against-all-odds, economic sociology, long-term unemployment, mixed-methods

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Authors: Mohammed Usman Sani

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Worldwide it is observed that sport plays an important role in our communities and is capable of bringing about the need for peaceful coexistence within and among nations which include tolerating one another, building team spirit, showing loyalty and fair play. In addition, sport builds character and the development of skills, which are necessary in fulfilling a desirable and happy life among nations. Sport builds discipline, endurance, courage and self-motivation among nations. Sports for Peace was set up to answer the question of whether sport can foster common ideals. In sports as a powerful tool in building peace, athletes all over the world come together to promote the core values of sport, such as fair play, tolerance, the Olympic ideal of freedom and intercultural understanding. Sport as a powerful tool is used to address varieties of social issues that is widely accepted in countries mostly affected by poverty, violence and conflict. In building peace through sports among nations, a wide range of individuals and nonprofit organizations which includes the United Nations (UN) and international development agencies have accepted sport as an important social catalyst. This paper therefore seeks to define sports, sports and its fundamental rights, sports as a powerful tool, and ways in which sport may bring about peace building among countries and finally the status of Sport Development and Peace initiatives in Nigeria. It concluded that the international community has acknowledged the importance of sport in peace building efforts among nations. It further recommended that countries should engage in the design and delivery of sports, adhering to generally accepted principles of openness and sustainability through sports collaboration, sports partnerships and coordinated effort.

Keywords: building, peace, powerful tool, sports

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Authors: Serhat Tuzun, Tufan Demirel

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Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is the modelling of real-life to solve problems we encounter. It is a discipline that aids decision makers who are faced with conflicting alternatives to make an optimal decision. MCDM problems can be classified into two main categories: Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) and Multi-Objective Decision Making (MODM), based on the different purposes and different data types. Although various MADM techniques were developed for the problems encountered, their methodology is limited in modelling real-life. Moreover, objective results are hard to obtain, and the findings are generally derived from subjective data. Although, new and modified techniques are developed by presenting new approaches such as fuzzy logic; comprehensive techniques, even though they are better in modelling real-life, could not find a place in real world applications for being hard to apply due to its complex structure. These constraints restrict the development of MADM. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of preference methods in MADM and propose an approach based on information. For this purpose, a detailed literature review has been conducted, current approaches with their advantages and disadvantages have been analyzed. Then, the approach has been introduced. In this approach, performance values of the criteria are calculated in two steps: first by determining the distribution of each attribute and standardizing them, then calculating the information of each attribute as informational energy.

Keywords: literature review, multi-attribute decision making, operations research, preference method, informational energy

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Authors: Radhika Jagtap

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Contemporary scholarship in international legal theory is investigating new avenues of providing alternatives to dominant concepts. Indigenous peoples’ philosophies and perspectives developed through them provide a fertile ground to explore similar alternative ideas. This review paper evaluates the theorized accounts of indigenous scholarships which have contributed towards a rich body of knowledge generating alternative visions on dominant notions of ‘post coloniality’, ‘resistance’ and ‘globalization’. Further, it shall assess the relevance of such a project in shaping contemporary international legal thought. Traditional or classical international law has been opined to be highly influenced by the colonial and imperialist history which also left a mark on the way dominant discourses of resistance and globalization are read in mainstream international law. The paper shall first define what do we mean by indigenous philosophy and what kind of indigeneity is that inclusive of. Second, the paper defines the dominant discourse and then counters the same with the alternative indigenous perspective in the case of each concept that is in question. Finally, the paper shall conclude with certain theoretical findings – that the post coloniality, from indigenous perspective, lead to the further marginalization of indigeneity, especially in the third world; that human rights as the sole means of representing resistance in international law ends up making it a very state-centric discipline and last, that globalization from an indigenous, marginalised perspective is not as celebrated as it is in mainstream international law. Major scholarly works that shall be central to the discussion are those of Linda Tuiwahi Smith, Ella Shohat and David Harvey. The nature of the research shall be inductive and involve mostly theoretical review of scholarly works.

Keywords: indigenous, post colonial, globalization, perspectives

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Authors: Fauziah Aziz, Mohd.fadzil Arshad, Hazrina Mansor, Sedat Kömürcü

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Masonry is an isotropic and heterogeneous material due to the presence of the different components within the assembly process. Normally the mortar plays a significant role in the compressive behavior of the traditional masonry structures. Biaxial interlocking concrete block is a masonry unit that comes out with the interlocking concept. This masonry unit can improve the quality of the construction process, reduce the cost of labor, reduce high skill workmanship, and speeding the construction time. Normally, the interlocking concrete block masonry unit in the market place was designed in a way interlocking concept only either x or y-axis, shorter in length, and low compressive strength value. However, the biaxial interlocking concrete block is a dry-stack concept being introduced in this research, offered the specialty compared to the normal interlocking concrete available in the market place due to its length and the geometry of the groove and tongue. This material can be used as a non-load bearing wall, or load-bearing wall depends on the application of the masonry. But, there is a lack of technical data that was produced before. This paper presents a finding on the compressive resistance of the biaxial interlocking concrete block masonry wall compared to the other traditional masonry walls. Two series of biaxial interlocking concrete block masonry walls, namely M1 and M2, a series of solid concrete block and cement sand brick walls M3, and M4 have tested the compressive resistance. M1 is the masonry wall of a hollow biaxial interlocking concrete block meanwhile; M2 is the grouted masonry wall, M3 is a solid concrete block masonry wall, and M4 is a cement sand brick masonry wall. All the samples were tested under static compressive load. The results examine that M2 is higher in compressive resistance compared to the M1, M3, and M4. It shows that the compressive strength of the concrete masonry units plays a significant role in the capacity of the masonry wall.

Keywords: interlocking concrete block, compressive resistance, concrete masonry unit, masonry

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Authors: Tamar Trop, Michal Roffeh

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One of the emerging trends in construction is installing an exterior “green wall” (GW). GW is an overarching and most common term for various techniques of incorporating greenery into buildings’ vertical elements, mainly facades. This green infrastructure yields numerous benefits for the urban environment, the public, and the buildings’ tenants and users, such as enhancing air quality and biodiversity, managing stormwater runoff, mitigating urban heat island and climate change, improving urban aesthetics and mental wellbeing, improving indoor comfort conditions, and saving energy. Yet, the penetration rate of GWs into the construction market, especially into the housing sector, is still very slow. Furthermore, the research regarding prospective homebuyers’ willingness to purchase and pay a price premium for GW apartments is scarce and does not refer to newly built buildings and specific GW types. This research aims to narrow these knowledge gaps by exploring the willingness of prospective homebuyers in Israel to purchase a newly built apartment with a hydroponic living wall, the size of the PP that they would be willing to pay for it, and the various factors ̶ knowledge-related, concern, economic, and personal ̶ that influence these motivations. A nationwide online survey was conducted among a sample of 514 adults using a structured questionnaire. Findings show that despite low familiarity with GWs and strong concerns about various kinds of nuisance, technical issues, and maintenance costs, potential homebuyers express a relatively high willingness to purchase and pay a significant price premium for such an apartment. The main motivations behind this willingness were found to be potential energy savings and governmental incentives. Study findings can contribute to a better understanding of the maturity of the housing market in Israel to adopt GWs and to better tailor intervention tools for increasing GWs’ uptake among potential homebuyers.

Keywords: green façade, green wall, living wall, willingness to pay

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Authors: S. Bagur, S. Verger, B. Mut

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Early childhood intervention (ECI) is the set of actions aimed at children aged 0-6 years with special needs, the family, and the environment that aim to improve child development and family well-being. Socio-educational intervention with children with disabilities and their families should be understood through the principles of family-centered practice (FCP). The multidisciplinary team of professionals carries out the intake, assessment, and intervention, understanding that families may experience mental health problems, parental role incompetence, or feelings of exclusion. This study examines the relationship between caregivers' levels of anxiety and depression and child development during the fostering and assessment phase. The design is quantitative, non-experimental, and cross-sectional. The sample consisted of 135 family members (78.5% female, 21.5% male) users of child development services in the Balearic Islands (Spain). Three questionnaires were completed: Anxiety and Depression Scale, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1½-5), and sociodemographic questionnaire. The main results show that parents of children with special needs score higher on anxiety than on depression. It should be noted that professional discipline is a variable to be taken into account in relation to parents' perception of the improvement of their child's development. In addition, there is an association between the developmental subscales, where the more the child is affected, the more the parents' mental health is affected. In short, we propose a reflection on the application of FCP during the intervention, understanding the lack of professional training as a predictor of quality in early intervention. Likewise, future lines of research are proposed to improve early care practices.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, early childhood intervention, family

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Authors: Mounir Azzam, Valerie Graw, Andreas Rienow

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The Syrian war, which commenced in 2011, has resulted in significant changes in the real estate market in the Damascus metropolitan area, with rising levels of insecurity and disputes over tenure rights. The quest for spatial justice is, therefore, imperative, and this study performs a spatiotemporal analysis to investigate the impact of the war on real estate differentiation. Using the hedonic price models including 2,411 housing transactions over the period 2010-2022, this study aims to understand the spatial dynamics of the real estate market in wartime. Our findings indicate that war variables have had a significant impact on the differentiation and depreciation of property prices. Notably, property attributes have a more substantial impact on real estate values than district location, with severely damaged buildings in Damascus city resulting in an 89% decline in prices, while prices in Rural Damascus districts have decreased by 50%. Additionally, this study examines the urban texture of Damascus using correlation and homogeneity statistics derived from the gray-level co-occurrence matrix obtained from Google Earth Engine. We monitored 250 samples from hedonic datasets within three different years of the Syrian war (2015, 2019, and 2022). Our findings show that correlation values were highly differentiated, particularly among Rural Damascus districts, with a total decline of 87.2%. While homogeneity values decreased overall between 2015 and 2019, they improved slightly after 2019. The findings have valuable implications, not only for investment prospects in setting up a successful reconstruction strategy but also for spatial justice of property rights in strongly encouraging sustainable real estate development.

Keywords: hedonic price, real estate differentiation, reconstruction strategy, spatial justice, urban texture analysis

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Authors: Xiaoyan Wang, Zhongde Wang

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The issue of climate change, which originated in the middle of the twentieth century, has become a focus of international political, academic, and non-governmental organizations and public attention. In order to address the problems caused by climate change, the Chinese government has proposed a dual-carbon target and taken some national measures, such as ecological priority and green low-carbon development. These goals and measures are highly aligned with the values of the landscape architecture industry. This is an opportunity for the architectural discipline and the landscape architecture industry, so it is very necessary to summarize and analyze the hotspots related to climate change in the field of building science in China, which can assist the landscape architecture industry and related organizations in formulating more rational professional goals and taking actions that contribute to the betterment of societal, environmental development. Through the study, it is found as follows: firstly, after 20 years of rapid development, the research on climate change in the major architectural disciplines has shown a trend of diversification of research perspectives, interdisciplinary cross-cutting, and broadening of content; secondly, the research contents of landscape architecture focuses on the strategies to adapt to climate change, such as selection of urban tree species, the urban green infrastructure space layout, and the resilient city. Finally, in the future, climate change-based landscape architecture research will make the content system more diversified, but at the same time, it is still necessary to further deepen the research on quantitative methodology and construct scale systematic planning and design methods.

Keywords: climate change, landscape architecture, knowledge mapping, cites-pace

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Authors: Mohammad Aljuhani, Yasamina Aljuhani

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The Mining Engineering Department at College of Engineering in NBU is under establishment. It is essential to establish such department in NBU. This is because, it is the only university in the region. Moreover, the mining industry is very active in the northern borders region. However, there is no mining engineering department in KSA except one in King Abdulziz University, which is 1400 km from the mining industry in the northern borders. As a result, department graduates from KAU find difficulties to get suitable jobs in their specialization in spite of their few numbers graduated per year and the presence of many jobs vacancies at the local mining sector. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to identify, measure and analyze the above mentioned problem from educational point of view. One more objective is to add a contribution towards solving such vital, society affecting problem. For achieving the first task of the research, that is problem size identification and analyses, a questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was directed towards experienced engineers, in the mining and related industries, including the ministry of petroleum and minerals, Saudi Geological Survey, and Ma’aden Company as being prospective employers for the mining sector. The questionnaire target was to evaluate the Saudi mining engineers from an industrial point of view and to detect the main reasons behind their failure to find jobs. In addition, the study focuses in the demand of mining engineers in the northern borders region. Moreover, the study plan of the suggested department is designed based on the requirements of the mining industry. The feedback received from the industry reflected major educational shortcomings. In order to overcome the revealed defects, the second objective of the research was achieved where a suggested study plan “curriculum” has been prepared to take into consideration all the points of weakness so as to improve the graduates’ quality to fit the local mining work market.

Keywords: mining engineering, labor market, qualifications, curriculum, mining industry, mining engineers

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Authors: Loes Nijskens

Abstract:

The city of The Hague is coping with several social issues: high unemployment rates, segregation and environmental pollution. The amount of social enterprises in The Hague that want to tackle these issues is increasing, but no clear image exists of the stimulants and obstacles social entrepreneurs encounter. In this qualitative study 20 starting and established social entrepreneurs, investors and stimulators of social entrepreneurship have been interviewed. The findings indicate that the majority of entrepreneurs situated in The Hague focuses on creating jobs (the so called social nurturers) and diminishing food waste. Moreover, the study found smaller groups of social connectors, (who focus on stimulating the social cohesion in the city) and social traders (who create a market for products from developing countries). For the social nurturers, working together with local government to find people with a distance to the labour market is a challenge. The entrepreneurs are missing a governance approach within the local government, wherein space is provided to develop suitable legislation and projects in cooperation with several stakeholders in order to diminish social problems. All entrepreneurs in the sample face(d) the challenge of having a clear purpose of their business in the beginning. Starting social entrepreneurs tend to be idealistic without having defined a business model. Without a defined business model it is difficult to find proper funding for their business. The more advanced enterprises cope with the challenge of measuring social impact. The larger they grow, the more they have to ‘defend’ themselves towards the local government and their customers, of mainly being social. Hence, the more experienced social nurturers still find it difficult to work together with the local government. They tend to settle their business in other municipalities, where they find more effective public-private partnerships. Al this said, the eco-system for social enterprises in The Hague is on the rise. To stimulate the amount and growth of social enterprises the cooperation between entrepreneurs and local government, the developing of social business models and measuring of impact needs more attention.

Keywords: obstacles, social enterprises, stimulants, the Hague

Procedia PDF Downloads 218