Search results for: Ethiopia economy

Authors: Abdurrahman Karacabey

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Threat paradigm has shifted throughout the history. Considering conjuncture of our time, a major threat for humanity is terrorism. Although variety of reasons are influential, financial, and human resources are the vital needs for terrorist groups. It is known that terrorism is a significant term while taking decisions in diplomatic, politic, and military issues. Even though the methods to provide resources for terrorism are quite similar, there are still some differences for deterrent terrorist groups being active in various regions of the globe. Due to social and psychological reasons activists have generally similar excuses to join terrorist groups.At the same time, terrorists’ fiscal activities to secure permanence of terrorism, occupy the politics of the countries. Besides, preventive actions are expensive creating huge burdens in host nation’s economy. This paper elaborates on how ISIS is providing human and economic resources, course of actions to overcome ISIS is on the agenda of all countries.

Keywords: financial resources, human resources, isis, terrorism

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Authors: Jian Wu

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Since a few years, some French companies have integrated CRS (corporate social responsibility) criteria in their variable remuneration plans to ‘restore a good working atmosphere’ and ‘preserve the natural environment’. These CSR criteria are based on concerns on environment protection, social aspects, and corporate governance. In June 2012, a report on this practice has been made jointly by ORSE (which means Observatory on CSR in French) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Facing this initiative from the business world, we need to examine whether it has a real economic utility. We adopt a theoretical approach for our study. First, we examine the debate between the ‘orthodox’ point of view in economics and the CSR school of thought. The classical economic model asserts that in a capitalist economy, exists a certain ‘invisible hand’ which helps to resolve all problems. When companies seek to maximize their profits, they are also fulfilling, de facto, their duties towards society. As a result, the only social responsibility that firms should have is profit-searching while respecting the minimum legal requirement. However, the CSR school considers that, as long as the economy system is not perfect, there is no ‘invisible hand’ which can arrange all in a good order. This means that we cannot count on any ‘divine force’ which makes corporations responsible regarding to society. Something more needs to be done in addition to firms’ economic and legal obligations. Then, we reply on some financial theories and empirical evident to examine the sound foundation of CSR. Three theories developed in corporate governance can be used. Stakeholder theory tells us that corporations owe a duty to all of their stakeholders including stockholders, employees, clients, suppliers, government, environment, and society. Social contract theory tells us that there are some tacit ‘social contracts’ between a company and society itself. A firm has to respect these contracts if it does not want to be punished in the form of fine, resource constraints, or bad reputation. Legitime theory tells us that corporations have to ‘legitimize’ their actions toward society if they want to continue to operate in good conditions. As regards empirical results, we present a literature review on the relationship between the CSR performance and the financial performance of a firm. We note that, due to difficulties in defining these performances, this relationship remains still ambiguous despite numerous research works realized in the field. Finally, we are curious to know whether the integration of CSR criteria in variable remuneration plans – which is practiced so far in big companies – should be extended to other ones. After investigation, we note that two groups of firms have the greatest need. The first one involves industrial sectors whose activities have a direct impact on the environment, such as petroleum and transport companies. The second one involves companies which are under pressures in terms of return to deal with international competition.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, variable remuneration, stakeholder theory

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Authors: Lam Hong Lan

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The textile industry is said to be the second-largest polluter, responsible for 92 million tonnes of waste annually. There is an urgent need to practice the circular economy to increase the use and reuse around the world. By its nature, the pre-owned fashion business is considered part of the circular economy as it helps to eliminate waste and circulate products. Second-hand clothes and accessories used to be associated with a ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’ in Vietnam. This perception has been shifted, especially amongst the younger generation. Vietnamese consumer is spending more on products and services that increase self-esteem. The same consumer is moving away from a collectivist social identity towards a ‘me, not we’ outlook as they look for a way to express their individual identity. And pre-owned fashion is one of their solutions as it values money, can create a unique personal style for the wearer and links with sustainability. The design of this study is based on the second-hand shopping motivation theory. A semi-structured online survey with 100 consumers from one pre-owned clothing community and one pre-owned e-commerce site in Vietnam. The findings show that in contrast with Vietnamese older consumers (55+yo) who, in the previous study, generally associated pre-owned fashion with ‘low-cost’, ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’, young customers (20-30 yo) were actively promoted their pre-owned fashion items to the public via outlet’s social platforms and their social media. This cultural shift comes from the impact of global and local discourse around sustainable fashion and the growth of digital platforms in the pre-owned fashion business in the last five years, which has generally supported wider interest in pre-owned fashion in Vietnam. It can be summarised in three areas: (1) global and local celebrity influencers. A number of celebrities have been photographed wearing vintage items in music videos, photoshoots or at red carpet events. (2) E-commerce and intermediaries. International e-commerce sites – e.g., Vinted, TheRealReal – and/or local apps – e.g., Re.Loved – can influence attitudes and behaviors towards pre-owned consumption. (3) Eco-awareness. The increased online coverage of climate change and environmental pollution has encouraged customers to adopt a more eco-friendly approach to their wardrobes. While sustainable biomaterials and designs are still navigating their way into sustainability, sustainable consumerism via pre-owned fashion seems to be an immediate solution to lengthen the clothes lifecycle. This study has found that young consumers are primarily seeking value for money and/or a unique personal style from pre-owned/vintage fashion while using these purchases to promote their own “eco-awareness” via their social media networks. This is a good indication for fashion designers to keep in mind in their design process and for fashion enterprises in their business model’s choice to not overproduce fashion items.

Keywords: cultural shift, pre-owned fashion, sustainable consumption, sustainable fashion.

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Authors: Gao Fangting

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With the accelerated pace of industrialization and urbanization, the economic level has been significantly improved, and at the same time, the air quality situation has also become a focus of attention, which not only affects people's health but also has certain impacts on the economy and ecology. As the capital city of China, the air quality situation in Beijing has attracted much attention. In this paper, based on the day-by-day PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO₂, SO₂ and O₃ conditions in Beijing from 2018 to 2022, the characterization of pollutants is launched, and the seasonal decomposition and prediction of the main pollutants, PM2.5, PM10 and O3, are performed in STL. The results of the study show that (1) the overall air quality of Beijing has significantly improved from 2018 to 2022, and the main pollutants are PM2.5, PM10, and O₃; (2) the seasonal intensities of the main pollutants are higher, and they are influenced by seasonal factors; and (3) it is predicted that the O₃ concentration will have a trend of slowly increasing from 2023 to 2026, and the PM10 and PM2.5 pollution situation slowly improves.

Keywords: air pollutants, Beijing, characteristic analysis, STL

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Authors: Biniam Bahiru Tufa, Hana Delil Tesfaye, Seife Demisse Legesse, Manaye Tamire

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The healthcare industry is witnessing a digital transformation, with artificial intelligence (AI) offering potential solutions for challenges in health supply chain management (HSCM). However, the adoption of AI in this field remains limited. This research aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of AI among students and employees in the health supply chain sector in Ethiopia. Using an explanatory case study research design with a concurrent mixed approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously. The study included 153 participants comprising students and employed health supply chain professionals working in various sectors. The majority had a pharmacy background, and one-third of the participants were male. Most respondents were under 35 years old, and around 68.6% had less than 10 years of experience. The findings revealed that 94.1% of participants had prior knowledge of AI, but only 35.3% were aware of its application in the supply chain. Moreover, the majority indicated that their training curriculum did not cover AI in health supply chain management. Participants generally held positive attitudes toward the necessity of AI for improving efficiency, effectiveness, and cost savings in the supply chain. However, many expressed concerns about its impact on job security and satisfaction, considering it as a burden Graduate students demonstrated higher knowledge of AI compared to employed staff, while graduate students also exhibited a more positive attitude toward AI. The study indicated low previous utilization and potential future utilization of AI in the health supply chain, suggesting untapped opportunities for improvement. Overall, while supply chain experts and graduate students lacked sufficient understanding of AI and its significance, they expressed favorable views regarding its implementation in the sector. The study recommends that the Ethiopian government and international organizations consider introducing AI in the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum and promote its integration into the health supply chain field.

Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practice, supply chain, articifial intellegence

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Authors: Muhammad Bello Ibrahim, M. Auwal Zakari, Aliyu Usman

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Hybrid concrete construction (HCC) combines all the benefits of pre-casting with the advantages of cast in-situ construction. Merging the two, as a hybrid structure, results in even greater construction speed, value, and the overall economy. Its variety of uses has gained popularity in the United States and in Europe due to its distinctive benefits. However, the increase of its application in some countries (including Nigeria) has been relatively slow. Several researches have shown that hybrid construction offers an ultra-high performance concrete that offers superior strength, durability and aesthetics with design flexibility and within sustainability credentials, based on the available and economically visible technologies. This paper examines and documents the criterion that will help inform the process of deciding whether or not to adopt hybrid concrete construction (HCC) technology rather than more traditional alternatives. It also the present situation of design, construction and research on hybrid structures.

Keywords: hybrid concrete construction, Nigeria, sustainable infrastructure development, design flexibility

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Authors: Burcu Guvenek, Duygu Baysal Kurt

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The impact of foreign trade on economic growth has been discussed since the Classical Economists. Today, foreign trade has become more important for the country's economy with the increasing globalization. When it comes to foreign trade, policies which may vary from country to country and from time to time as protectionism or free trade are implemented. In general, the positive effect of foreign trade on economic growth is alleged. However, as studies supporting this general acceptance take place in the economics literature, there are also studies in the opposite direction. In this paper, the impact of foreign trade on economic growth will be investigated with the help of panel data analysis. For this research, 24 OECD countries’ GDP and foreign trade data, including the period of 1990 and 2010, will be used.

Keywords: foreign trade, economic growth, OECD countries, panel data analysis

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Authors: Mequanint Birhan

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Modern urban environments present a dynamically growing field where, notwithstanding shared goals, several mutually conflicting interests frequently collide. However, it has a big impact on the city's socioeconomic standing, waiting lines and queues are common occurrences. This results in extremely long lines for both vehicles and people on incongruous routes, service coagulation, customer murmuring, unhappiness, complaints, and looking for other options sometimes illegally. The root cause of this is corruption, which leads to traffic jams, stopping, and packing vehicles beyond their safe carrying capacity, and violating the human rights and freedoms of passengers. This study focused on the optimizing time of passengers had to wait in public vehicle stations. This applied research employed both data gathering sources and mixed approaches, then 166 samples of key informants of transport station were taken by using the Slovin sampling formula. The length of time vehicles, including the drivers and auxiliary drivers ‘Weyala', had to wait was also studied. To maximize the service level at vehicle stations, a queuing model was subsequently devised ‘Menaharya’. Time, cost, and quality encompass performance, scope, and suitability for the intended purposes. The minimal response time for passengers and vehicles queuing to reach their final destination at the stations of the Tepi, Mizan, and Bonga towns was determined. A new bus station system was modeled and simulated by Arena simulation software in the chosen study area. 84% improvement on cost reduced by 56.25%, time 4hr to 1.5hr, quality, safety and designed load performance calculations employed. Stakeholders are asked to put the model into practice and monitor the results obtained.

Keywords: Arena 14 automatic rockwell, queue, transport services, vehicle stations

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Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohamed

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This paper will explore the influence of energy sector in Arab Republic of Egypt which has shared its responsibilities of many environmental challenges as the second largest economy in the Middle East (after Iran). Air and water pollution, desertification, inadequate disposal of solid waste and damage to coral reefs are serious problems that influence environmental management in Egypt. The intensive reliance of high population density and strong industrial growth are wearing Egypt's resources, and the rapidly-growing population has forced Egypt to breakdown agricultural land to residential and relevant use of commercial ingestion. The depletion effects of natural resources impose the government to apply innovation techniques in emission control and focus on sustainability. The cogeneration will be presented to control thermal losses and increase efficiency of energy power system.

Keywords: cogeneration, environmental management, power electricity, energy indicators

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Authors: Ana Hol

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Digital systems are in the cognitive wave of the eTransformations and are now extensively aimed at meeting the individuals’ demands, both those of customers requiring services and those of service providers. It is also apparent that successful future systems will not just simply open doors to the traditional owners/users to offer and receive services such as Uber for example does today, but will in the future require more customized and cognitively enabled infrastructures that will be responsive to the system user’s needs. To be able to identify what is required for such systems, this research reviews the historical and the current effects of the eTransformation process by studying: 1. eTransitions of company websites and mobile applications, 2. Emergence of new sheared economy business models as Uber and, 3. New requirements for demand driven, cognitive systems capable of learning and just in time decision making. Based on the analysis, this study proposes a Cognitive eTransformation Framework capable of guiding implementations of new responsive and user aware systems.

Keywords: system implementations, AI supported systems, cognitive systems, eTransformation

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Authors: Mersha Tewodros Getnet, Mengistu Ketema, Bamlaku Alemu, Girma Demilew

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The availability of forest products determines the possibilities for forest-based livelihood options. Plantation forest is a widespread economic activity in highland areas of the Amhara regional state, owing primarily to degradation and limited access to natural forests. As a result, tree plantation has become one of the rural livelihood options in the area. Therefore, given the increasing importance of smallholder plantations in highland areas of Amhara Regional States, the aim of this research was to evaluate the extent of smallholder plantations and their socio-economic impact. To address the abovementioned research, a sequential embedded mixed research design was employed. This qualitative and quantitative information was gathered from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected from 385 sample households, which were chosen using a three-stage, multi-stage sampling method based on the Cochran sample size formula. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Smallholder eucalyptus plantations in the study area were discovered to be common, and they are now part of the livelihood portfolio for meeting both household wood consumption and generating cash income. According to the PSM model's ATT results, income from selling farm forest products certainly contributes more to total household income, farm expenditure per cultivated land, and education spending than non-planter households. As a result, the government must strengthen plantation practices by prioritizing specific intervention areas while implementing measures to counteract the plantation's inequality-increasing effect through a variety of means, including progressive taxation.

Keywords: smallholder plantation, Eucalyptus, propensity score matching, average treatment effect and income

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Authors: Sina Dehghani, Zhikang Rong

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Historically, a variety of approaches have been taken to forecast commodity prices due to the significant implications of these values on the global economy. An accurate forecasting tool for a valuable commodity would significantly benefit investors and governmental agencies. Silver, in particular, has grown significantly as a commodity in recent years due to its use in healthcare and technology. This manuscript aims to utilize the Geometric Brownian Motion predictive model to forecast silver commodity prices over multiple 3-year periods. The results of the study indicate that the model has several limitations, particularly its inability to work effectively over longer periods of time, but still was extremely effective over shorter time frames. This study sets a baseline for silver commodity forecasting with GBM, and the model could be further strengthened with refinement.

Keywords: geometric Brownian motion, commodity, risk management, volatility, stochastic behavior, price forecasting

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Authors: Tahmina Akhter

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In the present work, we make a study of the repercussions of the pandemic generated by Covid-19 in the real estate market, this disease has affected almost all sectors of the economy across different countries in the world, including the real estate markets. This documentary research, basically focused on the years 2021 and 2022, as we seek to focus on the strongest time of the pandemic. We carried out the study trying to take into account the repercussions throughout the world and that is why the data we analyze takes into account information from all continents as possible. Particularly in the US, Europe and China where the Covid-19 impact has been of such proportions that it has fundamentally affected the housing market for middle-class housing. In addition, a risk has been generated, the investment of this market, due to the fact that companies in the sector have generated losses in certain cases; in the Chinese case, Evergrande, one of the largest companies in the sector, fell into default.

Keywords: COVID-19, real estate market, statistics, pandemic

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Authors: Getinet Gezahegn Gebre

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The study examined the impact of gender differences on Crop productivity in Decha woreda of south west Kafa zone, located 140 Km from Jimma Town and 460 km south west of Addis Ababa, between Bonga town and Omo River. The specific objectives were to assess the extent to which the agricultural production system is gender oriented, to examine access and control over productive resources, and to estimate men’s and women’s productivity in agriculture. Cross-sectional data collected from a total of 140 respondents were used in this study, whereby 65 were female headed and 75 were male headed households. The data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, percentage, t-test, and chi-square were used to summarize and compare the information between the two groups. Moreover, Cobb-Douglas(CD) production function was to estimate the productivity difference in agriculture between male and female headed households. Results of the study showed that male headed households (MHH) own more productive resources such as land, livestock, labor, and other agricultural inputs as compared to female headed households (FHH). Moreover, the estimate of CD production function shows that livestock, herbicide use, land size, and male labor were statistically significant for MHH, while livestock, land size, herbicides use and female labor were significant variables for FHH. The crop productivity difference between MHH and FHH was about 68.83% in the study area. However, if FHH had equal access to the inputs as MHH, the gross value of the output would be higher by 23.58% for FHH. This might suggest that FHH would be more productive than MHH if they had equal access to inputs as MHH. Based on the results obtained, the following policy implication can be drawn: accessing FHH to inputs that increase the productivity of agriculture, such as herbicides, livestock, and male labor; increasing the productivity of land; and introducing technologies that reduce the time and energy of women, especially for inset processing.

Keywords: gender difference, crop, productivity, efficiency

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Authors: Asghar Ali, Narjis Khatoon

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This study focuses on the presence of wage differentials in Pakistan and also on the determinants that originate it. Since there are a smaller number of studies that are conducted on this topic in Pakistan, the current study aims to contribute in bridging the existing gap in this particular research genre. Hence, this study not only generates the desired results specific focus but it also contributes to the overall empirical work on the Pakistan economy. The preceding works which have been done to research wage determinants and wage differentials have used numerous different theories and approaches to reach their goals. The current study, in order to analyze the determinants of wage differentials in the developing economy, deals with the study of a number of such theories and approaches that are supposed as being beneficial for the purpose. This study undertakes the explanation of wage differentials in Pakistan by focusing on wage differentials in public and private sectors, formal and informal sectors, and major occupational groups. The study uses 'Wage Theory' to examine wage differentials among male and female employees in public and private sectors on varied levels of working conditions. This study also uses 'Segmented Labor Market Theory' to determine the wage differential in both public and private sectors, formal and informal, and major occupational groups in Pakistan. So the author has used various econometric techniques in order to explain and test these theories and to find out the required results. This study has employed seven different cross-sectional Labour Force Surveys for the time period between 2006-07 to 2012-13. Gender equality is not only a policy reform agenda for developing countries but also an important goal of Millennium Development Goals. This study investigates the nexus between wage inequality and economic growth and detects co-integration between gender wage differential and economic growth using ARDL bound test. It is confirmed from the empirical results that there exists long-run relationship between economic growth and wage differential. Our study indicated that half of the total female employees from fourteen major cities of Pakistan were employed in the public sector. Out of total female employees in private sector, 66 percent are employed in the formal sector, and 33 percent are working in the informal sector. Results also indicated that both men and women were paid more in the public sector compared to the private sector counterparts. Among the total female employees, only 9 percent had received any formal training, 52% were married and average years of schooling were 11 years. Further, our findings regarding wage differential between genders indicate that wage gap is lower in public sector as compared to private sector. In proportion, gender wage ratio was found to be 0.96, 0.62 and 0.66 in public, formal private and informal private sectors respectively. This suggests that in this case, private sector female employees with the same pay structure are compensated at a lower endowments rate as then public sector workers as compared to their counter parts.

Keywords: wage differentials, formal, informal, economic growth

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Authors: G. Erkomaishvili

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The paper discusses economic policy of Georgia aiming to increase national competitiveness as well as the tools and means which will help to improve the competitiveness of the country. The sectors of the economy, in which the country can achieve the competitive advantage, are studied. It is noted that the country’s economic policy plays an important role in obtaining and maintaining the competitive advantage - authority should take measures to ensure high level of education; scientific and research activities should be funded by the state; foreign direct investments should be attracted mainly in science-intensive industries; adaptation with the latest scientific achievements of the modern world and deepening of scientific and technical cooperation. Stable business environment and export oriented strategy is the basis for the country’s economic growth. As the outcome of the research, the paper suggests the strategy for improving competitiveness in Georgia; recommendations are provided based on relevant conclusions.

Keywords: competitive advantage, competitiveness, competitiveness improvement strategy, competitiveness of Georgia

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Authors: Kairat Kurakbayev, Dina Gungor, Adil Ashirbekov, Assel Kambatyrova

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Kazakhstan, a post-Soviet economy located in the Central Asia, is making great efforts to internationalize its national system of education. The country is very ambitious in making the national economy internationally competitive and education has become one of the main pillars of the nation’s strategic development plan for 2030. This paper discusses the role of professional teacher development in upgrading the secondary education curriculum with the introduction of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in grades 10-11 grades. Having Kazakh as the state language and Russian as the official language, English bears a status of foreign language in the country. The development of trilingual education is very high on the agenda of the Ministry of Education and Science. It is planned that by 2019 STEM-related subjects – Biology, Chemistry, Computing and Physics – will be taught in EMI. Introducing English-medium education appears to be a very drastic reform and the teaching cadre is the key driver here. At the same time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the teaching profession is still struggling to become attractive in the eyes of the local youth. Moreover, the quality of Kazakhstan’s secondary education is put in question by OECD national review reports. The paper presents a case study of the nation-wide professional development programme arranged for 5 010 school teachers so that they could be able to teach their content subjects in English starting from 2019 onwards. The study is based on the mixed methods research involving the data derived from the surveys and semi-structured interviews held with the programme participants, i.e. school teachers. The findings of the study imply the significance of the school teachers’ attitudes towards the top-down reform of trilingual education. The qualitative research data reveal the teachers’ beliefs about advantages and disadvantages of having their content subjects (e.g. Biology or Chemistry) taught in EMI. The study highlights teachers’ concerns about their professional readiness to implement the top-down reform of English-medium education and discusses possible risks of academic underperforming on the part of students whose English language proficiency is not advanced. This paper argues that for the effective implementation of the English-medium education in secondary schools, the state should adopt a comprehensive approach to upgrading the national academic system where teachers’ attitudes and beliefs play the key role in making the trilingual education policy effective. The study presents lessons for other national academic systems considering to transfer its secondary education to English as a medium of instruction.

Keywords: teacher education, teachers' beliefs, trilingual education, case study

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Authors: Feguens Pierre

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For a long time, Latin American countries have been introduced to numerous programs and public policies focused on improving the agricultural sector in terms of sustainability, as well as in terms of the relationship between producers and consumers, aimed at improve farmers' income and allow consumers to have access to quality products, encouraging alternative agriculture. Therefore, in Brazil, among the programs, that is, the public policies that have encompassed alternative agriculture, in other words organic, we have the Community that Supports Agriculture (CSA) which ensures a relationship between producers and consumers focused on a solidarity economy, also protecting the environment. This work aims to understand the importance of the Community Supporting Agriculture (CSA), as well as the challenges it has faced over time. Particularly in the case of Brazil. A bibliographic methodology was used to theoretically analyze through several books and articles the performance of (CSA) in Brazil.

Keywords: community supporting agriculture, importance, challenges, producer, consumer

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Authors: Minami Ito, Akihiro Iijima

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On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred off the coast of Sanriku, Japan. It is important to build a sustainable society through the reconstruction process rather than simply restoring the infrastructure. To compare the goals of reconstruction plans of quake-stricken municipalities, Japanese language morphological analysis was performed by using text mining techniques. Frequently-used nouns were sorted into four main categories of “life”, “disaster prevention”, “economy”, and “harmony with environment”. Because Soma City is affected by nuclear accident, sentences tagged to “harmony with environment” tended to be frequent compared to the other municipalities. Results from cluster analysis and principle component analysis clearly indicated that the local government reinforces the efforts to reduce risks from radiation exposure as a top priority.

Keywords: eco-friendly reconstruction, harmony with environment, decontamination, nuclear disaster

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Authors: Anis A. Ansari, Aftab A. Ansari

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Electronic waste is inundating the traditional solid-waste-disposal facilities, which are inadequately designed to handle and manage such type of new wastes. Since electronic waste contains mostly hazardous and even toxic materials, the seriousness of its effects on human health and the environment cannot be ignored in present scenario. Waste from the electronic industry is increasing exponentially day by day. From the last 20 years, we are continuously generating huge quantities of e-waste such as obsolete computers and other discarded electronic components, mainly due to evolution of newer technologies as a result of constant efforts in research and development in this sector. Polymers, one of the major constituents in almost every electronic waste, such as computers, printers, electronic equipment, entertainment devices, mobile phones, television sets etc., are if properly recycled can create a new business opportunity. This would not only create potential market for polymers to improve economy but also the priceless land used as dumping sites of electronic waste, can be utilized for other productive purposes.

Keywords: polymer recycling, electronic waste, hazardous materials, electronic components

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Authors: Kacper Tomasz Kröber-Mulawa

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This paper will address the topic of data ownership from an economic perspective, and examples of economic limitations of data property rights will be provided, which have been identified using methods and approaches of economic analysis of law. To properly build a background for the economic focus, in the beginning a short perspective of data and data ownership in the EU’s legal system will be provided. It will include a short introduction to its political and social importance and highlight relevant viewpoints. This will stress the importance of a Single Market for data but also far-reaching regulations of data governance and privacy (including the distinction of personal and non-personal data, data held by public bodies and private businesses). The main discussion of this paper will build upon the briefly referred to legal basis as well as methods and approaches of economic analysis of law.

Keywords: antitrust, data, data ownership, digital economy, property rights

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Authors: Riddhi Chopra

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Alfred Thayer Mahan described the sea as a ‘great common,’ which would serve as a medium for communication, trade, and transport. The seas of Asia are witnessing an intriguing historical anomaly – rise of an indigenous maritime power against the backdrop of US domination over the region. As China transforms from an inward leaning economy to an outward-leaning economy, it has become increasingly dependent on the global sea; as a result, we witness an evolution in its maritime strategy from near seas defense to far seas deployment strategies. It is not only patrolling the international waters but has also built a network of civilian and military infrastructure across the disputed oceanic expanse. The paper analyses the reorientation of China from a naval power to a blue water navy in an era of extensive globalisation. The actions of the Chinese have created a zone of high alert amongst its neighbors such as Japan, Philippines, Vietnam and North Korea. These nations are trying to align themselves so as to counter China’s growing brinkmanship, but China has been pursuing claims through a carefully calibrated strategy in the region shunning any coercive measures taken by other forces. If China continues to expand its maritime boundaries, its neighbors – all smaller and weaker Asian nations would be limited to a narrow band of the sea along its coastlines. Hence it is essential for the US to intervene and support its allies to offset Chinese supremacy. The paper intends to provide a profound analysis over the disputes in South China Sea and East China Sea focusing on Philippines and Japan respectively. Moreover, the paper attempts to give an account of US involvement in the region and its alignment with its South Asian allies. The geographic dynamics is said the breed a national coalition dominating the strategic ambitions of China as well as the weak littoral states. China has conducted behind the scenes diplomacy trying to persuade its neighbors to support its position on the territorial disputes. These efforts have been successful in creating fault lines in ASEAN thereby undermining regional integrity to reach a consensus on the issue. Chinese diplomatic efforts have also forced the US to revisit its foreign policy and engage with players like Cambodia and Laos. The current scenario in the SCS points to a strong Chinese hold trying to outspace all others with no regards to International law. Chinese activities are in contrast with US principles like Freedom of Navigation thereby signaling US to take bold actions to prevent Chinese hegemony in the region. The paper ultimately seeks to explore the changing power dynamics among various claimants where a rival superpower like US can pursue the traditional policy of alliance formation play a decisive role in changing the status quo in the arena, consequently determining the future trajectory.

Keywords: China, East China Sea, South China Sea, USA

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Authors: Boopen Seetanah, R. V. Sannassee, Sheereen Fauzel, Robin Nunkoo

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The bulk of research on the impact of research and development (R&D) has been carried out in developed economies where the intensity of R&D expenditure has been relatively high and stable for many years. However, there is a paucity of similar studies in developing countries. In this paper, we provide empirical estimates of the impact of R&D investment on economic growth in a developing African economy (Mauritius) where R&D expenditure intensity has been low initially, but rising, albeit moderately in recent years. Using a dynamic time series analysis over the period 1980 to 2014 in a Vector Autoregressive framework, R & D is shown to have a positive and significant effect on the economic progress of the island, although the impact is considerably less when compared to both other ingredients of growth and also to reported elasticities fromdeveloped economies . Interestingly, there is evidence of bicausality between R & D and growth. furthermore, R & D positively impacts on both domestic and foreign investment, suggesting the possibilities of indirect effects.

Keywords: R & D, VECM, Africa, Mauritius

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Authors: J-C. Leneveu, A. Chereau, L. Mansart, T. Mesbah, M. Wyka

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Extracting and interpreting information from Big Data represent a stake for years to come in several sectors such as finance. Currently, numerous methods are used (such as Technical Analysis) to try to understand and to anticipate market behavior, with mixed results because it still seems impossible to exactly predict a financial trend. The increase of available data on Internet and their diversity represent a great opportunity for the financial world. Indeed, it is possible, along with these standard financial data, to focus on exogenous data to take into account more macroeconomic factors. Coupling the interpretation of these data with standard methods could allow obtaining more precise trend predictions. In this paper, in order to observe the influence of exogenous data price independent of other usual effects occurring in classical markets, behaviors of Bitcoin users are introduced in a model reconstituting Bitcoin value, which is elaborated and tested for prediction purposes.

Keywords: big data, bitcoin, data mining, social network, financial trends, exogenous data, global economy, behavioral finance

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili, Eteri Kharaishvili, Marina Chavleishvili

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The paper discusses the economic policy of increasing national competitiveness, the tools, and means which help the country to improve its competitiveness. The sectors of the economy, in which the country can achieve a competitive advantage, are studied. It is noted that the country’s economic policy plays an important role in obtaining and maintaining a competitive advantage - authority should take measures to ensure a high level of education; scientific and research activities should be funded by the state; foreign direct investments should be attracted mainly in science-intensive industries; adaptation with the latest scientific achievements of the modern world and deepening of scientific and technical cooperation. Stable business environment and export-oriented strategy is the basis for the country’s economic growth. The studies have shown that institutional reforms in Georgia are not enough to significantly improve the country's competitiveness.

Keywords: competitiveness, economic policy, competitiveness improvement strategy, competitiveness of Georgia

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Authors: Gebreslassie Gebru, Gurja Belay, Minister Birhanie, Mulalem Zenebe, Tadelle Dessie, Adriana Vallejo-Trujillo, Olivier Hanotte

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Livestock must adapt to changing environmental conditions, which can result in either phenotypic plasticity or irreversible phenotypic change. In this study, we combine Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) and Phenotypic Distribution Modelling (PDM) to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the ecological and phenotypic characteristics of indigenous chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) ecotypes. This approach helped us to classify these ecotypes, differentiate their phenotypic traits, and identify associations between environmental variables and adaptive traits. We measured 297 adult indigenous chickens from various agro-ecologies, including 208 females and 89 males. A subset of the 22 measured traits was selected using stepwise selection, resulting in seven traits for each sex. Using ENM, we identified four agro-ecologies potentially harbouring distinct phenotypes of indigenous Tigray chickens. However, PDM classified these chickens into three phenotypical ecotypes. Chickens grouped in ecotype-1 and ecotype-3 exhibited superior adaptive traits compared to those in ecotype-2, with significant variance observed. This high variance suggests a broader range of trait expression within these ecotypes, indicating greater adaptation capacity and potentially more diverse genetic characteristics. Several environmental variables, such as soil clay content, forest cover, and mean temperature of the wettest quarter, were strongly associated with most phenotypic traits. This suggests that these environmental factors play a role in shaping the observed phenotypic variations. By integrating ENM and PDM, this study enhances our understanding of indigenous chickens' ecological and phenotypic diversity. It also provides valuable insights into their conservation and management in response to environmental changes.

Keywords: adaptive traits, agro-ecology, appendage, climate, environment, imagej, morphology, phenotypic variation

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Authors: Asowata Osamede

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Solar radiation provides the largest renewable energy potential on earth and photovoltaics (PV) are considered a promising technological solution to support the global transformation to a low-carbon economy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of power conditioning devices with a focus on the Buck and Boost DC-DC converters (12 V, 24 V and 48 V) in a basic off grid PV system with a varying load profile. This would assist in harnessing more of the available solar energy. The practical setup consists of a PV panel that is set to an orientation angle of 0º N, with corresponding tilt angles. Preliminary results, which include data analysis showing the power loss in the system and efficiency, indicate that the 12V DC-DC converter coupled with the load profile had the highest efficiency for a latitude of 26º S throughout the year.

Keywords: poly-crystalline PV panels, DC-DC converters, tilt and orientation angles, direct solar radiation, load profile

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Authors: Kassahun Tilahun Dessie

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The purpose of this study was to explore the awareness of teachers and the attitude they have to the curriculum they implement as well as to assess the actual and desired magnitude of teachers' participation in curriculum development process. It also aimed at investigating the factors that affect teachers' level of conception and perception towards the new higher education curriculum. The study was carried out in Debre Birhan University. Teachers, course coordinators, team leaders and presidents were included in the study as research subjects. Teachers were proportionally selected from each department (of the six faculties) based on available sampling technique. Accordingly, a total of 103 teachers were chosen as a subject of the study. In order to collect first hand data from the teachers, a questionnaire with four parts was developed by the researcher. To this end, scales were designed for measuring the extent of teachers' awareness and attitude. Each of the scales encompasses 11 and 17 items respectively. An open ended questionnaire was also attached for the purpose of obtaining elaborated data on the issue. Information was also obtained from interviews with presidents, team leaders and course coordinators. The data obtained were analyzed qualitatively using descriptive statistical tools. The overall results of the analysis revealed that the awareness of teachers on the curriculum was low. The meager participation of teachers in the process of curriculum development and the deficiency of trainings on the concern were major factors. Teachers' perception towards the existence and implementation of the new curriculum was also inclined to the negative, though difficult to generalize. Lack of awareness, administrators poor approach and lack of facilitating appropriate incentives as well as absence of room for evaluating the curriculum etc plays big role in endangering teachers attitude while the up to datedness of the new curriculum, involvement of teachers in the curriculum development process, the wide ranging quality of the new curriculum etc laid a better ground to boost teachers attitude towards the curriculum. This may have implication to the university in that there is a need to facilitate workshops or awareness creation trainings, to have positive and cooperative administrators, and embracing committed teachers to implement the curriculum efficiently.

Keywords: conception, perception, curriculum, higher education, Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 508

Authors: João Pereira Dos Santos

Abstract:

The uneven spatial distribution of start-ups and their respective survival may reflect comparative advantages resulting from the local institutional background. For the first time, we explore this idea using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess relative efficiency of Portuguese municipalities in this specific context. We depart from the related literature where expenditure is perceived as a desirable input by choosing a measure of fiscal responsibility and infrastructural variables in the first stage. Comparing results for 2006 and 2010, we find that mean performance decreased substantially with 1) the effects of the Global Financial Crisis; 2) as municipal population increases and 3) as financial independence decreases. A second stage is then computed employing a double-bootstrap procedure to evaluate how the regional context outside the control of local authorities (e.g. demographic characteristics and political preferences) impacts on efficiency.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, political economy, public finance, accountability, crisis, efficiency, Portuguese municipalities

Procedia PDF Downloads 502

Authors: Gurjinder Singh Randhawa, Jonny Garg, Sukhraj Singh, Gurmeet Singh Cheema

Abstract:

A major problem related to the use of rotavator is wear of rotavator blades due to abrasion by soil hard particles, as it seriously affects tillage quality and agricultural production economy. The objective of this study was to increase the wear resistance by covering the rotavator blades with two different hard facing electrodes. These blades are generally produced from low carbon or low alloy steel. During the field work i.e. preparing land for the cultivation these blades are subjected to severe wear conditions. Comparative wear tests on a regular rotavator blade and two kinds of hardfacing with electrodes were conducted in the field. These two different hardfacing electrodes, which are designated HARD ALLOY-400 and HARD ALLOY-650, were used for hardfacing. The wear rate in the field tests was found to be significantly different statistically. When the cost is taken into consideration; HARD ALLOY-650 and HARD ALLOY-400 have been found to be the best hardfacing electrodes.

Keywords: hardfacing, rotavator blades, hard alloy-400, abrasive wear

Procedia PDF Downloads 426