Search results for: sustainable business growth

Authors: Salhi Nesrine, Salama M. El-Darier, Halilat M. El-Taher

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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of two type of soil (clay and sandy soils) in the potential allelopathic effects of Artemisia herba-alba, Oudneya africana crude powder on some growth parameters and phytomass of two weeds (Bromus tectorum and Melilotus indica) under laboratory conditions (pot experiment). The experimental findings have reported that the donor species crude powder concentrations were suppressing to shoot length (SL), root length (RL), fresh and dry weight of shoot and root (SFw, RFw, SDw and RDw, respectively and the leaf number (LN)) in both soil types and caused a gradual reduction particularly when they are high. However, the reduction degree was varied and species, concentration dependent. The suppressive effect of all the eight donors on the two weedy species was in the following order Bromus tectorum> Melilotus indica. Generally, the growth parameters of two recipient species were significantly decreased with the increase of each of the donor species crude powder concentration levels. Concerning the type of sol the t-test indicated that the difference was insignificant between clay and sandy soils.

Keywords: allelopathy, soil, Artemisia herba-alba, Oudneya africana, growth, weeds

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Authors: E. Khattab, S. Halla

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Jojoba plants are characterized by a tolerance of water stress, but due to the conditions of the Sinai in which the water is less, an irrigation interval study was carried out the jojoba plant from water stress without affecting the yield of oil. The field experiment was carried out at Maghara Research Station at North Sinai, Desert Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt, to study the effect of irrigation interval on five clones of jojoba plants S-L, S-610, S- 700, S-B and S-G on growth and yield characters. Results showed that the clone S-700 has increase of all growth and yield characters under all interval irrigation compare with other clones. All variable of studied confirmed that clones of jojoba had significant effect with irrigation interval at one week but decrease value with three weeks. Jojoba plants tolerance to water stress but irrigation interval every week increased seed yield.

Keywords: interval irrigation, growth and yield characters, oil, jojoba, Sinai

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Penelope Paliadelis, Asheley Jones, Glenn Campbell

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This paper discusses the development of co-designed capability frameworks for two large multinational organizations led by a university department. The aim was to create evidence-based, integrated capability frameworks that could define, identify, and measure human skill capabilities independent of specific work roles. The frameworks capture and cluster human skills required in the workplace and capture their application at various levels of mastery. Identified capability gaps inform targeted learning opportunities for workers to enhance their employability skills. The paper highlights the value of this evidence-based framework development process in capturing, defining, and assessing desired human-focused capabilities for organizational growth and success.

Keywords: capability framework, human skills, work-integrated learning, credentialing, digital badging

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Mohammed Alquraish

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Saudi Arabia and other emerging nations have faced significant challenges in the sustainable construction industry. This paper presents a quantitative approach to assessing sustainability risk in the Saudi Arabian construction industry and offers insights into holistic sustainability design in industry operations. The implementation of sustainable construction industry practices in the manufacturing sector has been susceptible to several risk factors that need to be identified. In order to successfully execute sustainable building projects, decision makers in the fields of construction and industry can benefit greatly from the advice this study offers by promoting the elements that motivate sustainability implementation. Sustainability risk can be measured from combining failure probability with cumulative effects from sustainability factors: social, environmental, and economic; that affect the integrity of the construction industry. The cumulative effects of sustainability risk are measured by classifying the outcomes resulting from these consequences. Operators of industrial construction can strategically manage and minimize potential disruptions affecting long-term sustainability incentives by measuring sustainability risk. Thus, the suggested strategy greatly reinforces the crucial role of the construction industry.

Keywords: sustainability, risk, construction industry, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Ravi R. Patel, Vasudev R. Thakkar

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Use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to increase the production and decrees disease occurrence is a recent method in agriculture. An RA2 rhizospheric culture was isolated from peanut rhizosphere from Junagadh region of Gujarat, India and showed different direct and indirect plant growth promoting activity like indole acetic acid, gibberellic acid, siderophore, hydrogen cyanide, Ammonia and (1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate) deaminase production, N2 fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilization in vitro. RA2 was able to protect peanut germinating seedling from A. niger infection and reduce collar rot disease incidence 60-35% to 72-41% and increase germination percentage from 70-82% to 75-97% in two varieties GG20 and GG2 of peanut. RA2 was found to induce resistance in A. hypogaea L. seedlings via induction of different defense-related enzymes like phenylalanine ammonia lyase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, lipoxygenase and pathogenesis related protein like chitinase, ß – 1,3- glucanase. Jasmonic acid one of the major signaling molecules of inducing systemic resistance was also found to induced due to RA2 treatments. RA2 bacterium was also promoting peanut growth and reduce A. niger infection in pot studies. 16S rDNA sequence of RA2 showed 99 % homology to Azotobacter species.

Keywords: plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, peanut, aspergillus niger, induce systemic resistance

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Authors: Berhanu Keno Terfa

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To understand the consequences of urbanization, accurate, and long-term representation of urban dynamics is essential. Remote sensing data from various multi-temporal satellite images viz., TM (1987), TM (1995), ETM+ (2005) and OLI (2017) were used. An integrated method, landscape metrics, built-up density, and urban growth type analysis were employed to analyze the pattern, process, and overall growth status in the city. The result showed that the built-up area had increased by 541.3% between 1987 and 2017, at an average annual increment of 8.9%. The area of urban expansion in a city has tripled during the 2005-2017 period as compared to 187- 1995. The major growth took place in the east and southeast directions during 1987–1995 period, whereas predominant built-up development was observed in south and southeast direction during 1995–2017 period. The analysis using landscape metrics and urban typologies showed that Hawassa experienced a fragmented and irregular spatiotemporal urban growth patterns, mostly by extension, suggesting a strong tendency towards sprawl in the past three decades.

Keywords: Hawassa, spatial patterns, remote sensing, multi-temporal, urban sprawl

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Authors: A. Kabir, D. Boulainine, I. Bouanane, N. Benslim, B. Boudjema, C. Sedrati

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SnO₂ is an n-type semiconductor with a direct gap of about 3.6 eV. It is largely used in several domains such as nanocrystalline photovoltaic cells. Due to its interesting physic-chemical properties, this material was elaborated in thin film forms using different deposition techniques. It was found that SnO₂ properties were directly affected by the deposition method parameters. In this work, the RGTO method (Rheotaxial Growth and Thermal Oxidation) was used to deposit elaborate SnO₂ thin films. This technique consists on thermal oxidation of the Sn films deposited onto a substrate heated to a temperature close to Sn melting point (232°C). Such process allows the preparation of high porosity tin oxide films which are very suitable for the gas sensing. The films structural, morphological and optical properties pre and post thermal oxidation were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) respectively. XRD patterns showed a polycrystalline structure of the cassiterite phase of SnO₂. The grain growth was found affected by the oxidation temperature. This grain size evolution was confronted to existing grain growth models in order to understand the growth mechanism. From SEM images, the as deposited Sn film was formed of difference diameter spherical agglomerations. As a function of the oxidation temperature, these spherical agglomerations shape changed due to the introduction of oxygen ions. The deformed spheres started to interconnect by forming bridges between them. The volume porosity, determined from the UV-Visible reflexion spectra, Changes as a function of the oxidation temperature. The variation of the crystalline fraction, determined from FTIR spectra, correlated with the variation of both the grain size and the volume porosity.

Keywords: tin oxide, RGTO, grain growth, volume porosity, crystalline fraction

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Authors: Natalya G. Filimonova, Mariya G. Ozerova, Irina N. Ermakova

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The long-term strategy of the economic development of Russia up to 2030 is based on the concept of sustainable growth. The determining factor of such development is complex changes in the economic system which may be achieved by making progressive changes in its structure. The structural changes determine the character and the direction of economic development, as well as they include all elements of this system without exception, and their regulated character ensures the most rapid aim achievement. This article has discussed the industrial structure of the agriculture in Russia. With the use of the system of indexes, the article has determined the directions, intensity, and speed of structural shifts. The influence of structural changes on agricultural production development has been found out. It is noticed that the changes in the industrial structure are synchronized with the changes in the organisation and economic structure. Efficiency assessment of structural changes allowed to trace the efficiency of structural changes and elaborate the main directions for agricultural policy improvement.

Keywords: Russian agricultural sectors, sectoral structure, organizational and economic structure, structural changes

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Authors: Amira Khelil, Habib Affes

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Organization resource planning implementation success is important. Today`s competitors in business, in enterprise resource planning and in managing are becoming one of the main tools of achieving competitiveness in business. Resource technologies are considered as an infrastructure to create and maintain business to improve front and back-office efficiency and effectiveness. This study is significant to bring new ideas in determining the key antecedents which are technological resource planning implementation based on knowledge capacity perspectives and help to understand the key success factor in the Tunisian banks. Based on a survey of 150 front office Tunisian agents working in Tunisian banks with mixed capital, using Groupware system, only 51 respondents had given feedback to this survey. By using Warp PLS 3.0, through several tests the relationship between knowledge capability and Groupware implementation success having beta coefficient 0.37 and P-Value <0.01. This result highlights that knowledge capability of bank agent can influence the success of the Groupware implementation.

Keywords: groupware implementation, knowledge capacity, partial least squares method, Tunisian banks

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Authors: Karishma Kashyap, Subha D. Parida

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Rapid population growth and urbanization is creating pressure throughout the world. This has a dramatic effect on a lot of elements which include water, food, transportation, energy, infrastructure etc. as few of the key services. Built environment sector is growing concurrently to meet the needs of urbanization. Due to such large scale development of buildings, there is a need for them to be monitored and managed efficiently. Along with appropriate management, climate adaptation is highly crucial as well because buildings are one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emission in their operation phase. Buildings to be adaptive need to provide a triple bottom approach to sustainability i.e., being socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. Hence, in order to deliver these sustainability outcomes, there is a growing understanding and thrive towards switching to green buildings or renovating new ones as per green standards wherever possible. Academic institutions in particular have been following this trend globally. This is highly significant as universities usually have high occupancy rates because they manage a large building portfolio. Also, as universities accommodate the future generation of architects, policy makers etc., they have the potential of setting themselves as a best industry practice model for research and innovation for the rest to follow. Hence their climate adaptation, sustainable growth and performance management becomes highly crucial in order to provide the best services to users. With the objective of evaluating appropriate management mechanisms within academic institutions, a feasibility study was carried out in a recent 5-Star Green Star rated university building (housing the School of Construction) in Victoria (south-eastern state of Australia). The key aim was to understand the behavioral and social aspect of the building users, management and the impact of their relationship on overall building sustainability. A survey was used to understand the building occupant’s response and reactions in terms of their work environment and management. A report was generated based on the survey results complemented with utility and performance data which were then used to evaluate the management structure of the university. Followed by the report, interviews were scheduled with the facility and asset managers in order to understand the approach they use to manage the different buildings in their university campuses (old, new, refurbished), respective building and parameters incorporated in maintaining the Green Star performance. The results aimed at closing the communication and feedback loop within the respective institutions and assist the facility managers to deliver appropriate stakeholder engagement. For the wider design community, analysis of the data highlights the applicability and significance of prioritizing key stakeholders, integrating desired engagement policies within an institution’s management structures and frameworks and their effect on building performance

Keywords: building optimization, green building, post occupancy evaluation, stakeholder engagement

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Authors: Carin Chuang, Kuan-Chou Chen

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An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an integrated information system that supports the seamless integration of all the business processes of a company. Implementing an ERP system can increase efficiencies and decrease the costs while helping improve productivity. Many organizations including large, medium and small-sized companies have already adopted an ERP system for decades. Although ERP system can bring competitive advantages to organizations, the lack of proper training approach in ERP implementation is still a major concern. Organizations understand the importance of ERP training to adequately prepare managers and users. The low return on investment, however, for the ERP training makes the training difficult for knowledgeable workers to transfer what is learned in training to the jobs at workplace. Inadequate and inefficient ERP training limits the value realization and success of an ERP system. That is the need to call for a profound change and innovation for ERP training in both workplace at industry and the Information Systems (IS) education in academia. The innovated ERP training approach can improve the users’ knowledge in business processes and hands-on skills in mastering ERP system. It also can be instructed as educational material for IS students in universities. The purpose of the study is to examine the use of ERP simulation games via the ERPsim system to train the IS students in learning ERP implementation. The ERPsim is the business simulation game developed by ERPsim Lab at HEC Montréal, and the game is a real-life SAP (Systems Applications and Products) ERP system. The training uses the ERPsim system as the tool for the Internet-based simulation games and is designed as online student competitions during the class. The competitions involve student teams with the facilitation of instructor and put the students’ business skills to the test via intensive simulation games on a real-world SAP ERP system. The teams run the full business cycle of a manufacturing company while interacting with suppliers, vendors, and customers through sending and receiving orders, delivering products and completing the entire cash-to-cash cycle. To learn a range of business skills, student needs to adopt individual business role and make business decisions around the products and business processes. Based on the training experiences learned from rounds of business simulations, the findings show that learners have reduced risk in making mistakes that help learners build self-confidence in problem-solving. In addition, the learners’ reflections from their mistakes can speculate the root causes of the problems and further improve the efficiency of the training. ERP instructors teaching with the innovative approach report significant improvements in student evaluation, learner motivation, attendance, engagement as well as increased learner technology competency. The findings of the study can provide ERP instructors with guidelines to create an effective learning environment and can be transferred to a variety of other educational fields in which trainers are migrating towards a more active learning approach.

Keywords: business simulations, ERP implementation training, ERPsim, game-based learning, instructional strategy, training innovation

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Authors: Ece Çetin, İsmail Boz, Mehtap Şafak Boroğlu

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Energy is one of the most important components of production processes, economic activities, and daily life. Non-renewable energy sources cause serious environmental problems with the increase of greenhouse gases. Obtaining energy from renewable sources is also essential for sustainable economic growth. Solar energy is also an important renewable energy source with its unlimited and clean features. In this study, the effect of 1, 2, and 3 layers of perovskite film number and antisolvent dripping on perovskite based solar cell efficiency was investigated. The yield increased as the number of perovskite films increased. In addition, the yields obtained with the antisolvent dripped in the last 5 seconds are higher than the ones dropped in the last 17 seconds. The highest efficiency was obtained with 3 perovskite films, and antisolvent dropped in the last 5 seconds.

Keywords: antisolvent, efficiency, perovskite, solar cell

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Authors: Hyuk Sang Yoo, Young Ju Son, Wei Mao, Myung Gu Kang, Sol Lee

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Biomedical applications of electrospun nanofibrous meshes have been received tremendous attentions because of their unique structures and versatilities as biomaterials. Incorporation of growth factors in fibrous meshes can be performed by surface-modification and encapsulation. Those growth factors stimulate differentiation and proliferation of specific types of cells and thus lead tissue regenerations of specific cell types. Topographical cues of electrospun nanofibrous meshes also increase differentiation of specific cell types according to alignments of fibrous structures. Wound healing treatments of diabetic ulcers were performed using nanofibrous meshes encapsulating multiple growth factors. Aligned nanofibrous meshes and those with random configuration were compared for differentiating mesenchymal stem cells into neuronal cells. Thus, nanofibrous meshes can be applied to drug delivery carriers and matrix for promoting cellular proliferation.

Keywords: nanofiber, tissue, mesh, drug

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Authors: Alireza Barari

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Physical activity and diet are factors that influence the body's structure. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of four weeks of resistance training, and glutamine supplement consumption on growth hormone (GH), and Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) Axis. 40 amateur male bodybuilders, participated in this study. They were randomly divided into four equal groups, Resistance (R), Glutamine (G), Resistance with Glutamine (RG), and Control (C). The R group was assigned to a four week resistance training program, three times/week, three sets of 10 exercises with 6-10 repetitions, at the 80-95% 1RM (One Repetition Maximum), with 120 seconds rest between sets), G group is consuming l-glutamine (0.1 g/kg^-1/day^-1), RG group resistance training with consuming L-glutamine, and C group continued their normal lifestyle without exercise training. GH, IGF1, IGFBP-III plasma levels were measured before and after the protocol. One-way ANOVA indicated significant change in GH, IGF, and IGFBP-III between the four groups, and the Tukey test demonstrated significant increase in GH, IGF1, IGFBP-III plasma levels in R, and RG group. Based upon these findings, we concluded that resistance training at 80-95% 1RM intensity, and resistance training along with oral glutamine shows significantly increase secretion of GH, IGF-1, and IGFBP-III in amateur males, but the addition of oral glutamine to the exercise program did not show significant difference in GH, IGF-1, and IGFBP-III.

Keywords: strength, glutamine, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1

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Authors: Nanhee Cho, Eugene Han, Hanbyul Kim, Hochan Cho

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Pre-diabetes includes impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and there is a strong probability that pre-diabetes will lead to diabetes mellitus (DM). Serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is known to be increased as a compensatory response to metabolic imbalance under conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and DM. This study aims to identify the relationship of serum FGF-21 with pre-diabetes, and with biomarkers of related metabolic diseases. Fifty five Korea adult patients participated in a cohort study from June 2012 to December 2015. The analysis revealed that BMI, FBS levels, and serum FGF-21 levels were significantly higher in the IFG group compared to those in the normal group. A multiple regression analysis was conduted on the correlations of serum FGF-21 levels with BMI, and FBS levels, and the result did not show statistical significance. In conclusion, our results revealed that serum FGF-21 level serve as a marker to predict IFG.

Keywords: cytokine, fibroblast growth factor 21, impaired fasting glucose, prediabetes

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Authors: Ahmed Shaik

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Estimates are very critical in accounting and Financial Reporting cannot be complete without these estimates. There is a long list of accounting estimates that are required to be made to compute Net Income and to determine the value of assets and liabilities. To name a few, valuation of inventory, depreciation, valuation of goodwill, provision for bad debts and estimated warranties, etc. require the use of different valuation models and forecasts. Different business entities under the same industry may use different approaches to measure the value of financial items being reported in Income Statement and Balance Sheet. The disclosure notes do not provide enough details of the approach used by a business entity to arrive at the value of a financial item. Lack of details in the disclosure notes makes it difficult to compare the financial performance of one business entity with the other in the same industry. This paper is an attempt to identify the lack of enough information about accounting estimates in disclosure notes, the impact of the absence of details of accounting estimates on the comparability of financial data and financial analysis. An attempt is made to suggest the detailed disclosure while taking care of the cost and benefit of making such disclosure.

Keywords: accounting estimates, disclosure notes, financial reporting, transparency

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Authors: Yeliz Ekinci, Raife Merve Ön

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Nowadays, technological progress is one of the most important components of economic growth and the efficiency of R&D activities is particularly essential for countries. This study is an attempt to analyze the R&D efficiencies of EU countries. The indicators related to R&D efficiencies should be determined in advance in order to use DEA. For this reason a list of input and output indicators are derived from the literature review. Considering the data availability, a final list is given for the numerical analysis for future research.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, economic growth, EU countries, R&D efficiency

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Authors: Zainal A. Muchlisin, Muhammad Iqbal, Abdullah A. Muhammadar

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The objective of the present study was to determine the optimum dose of papain enzyme in the diet for growing, survival rate and feed efficacy of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus). The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Aquatic of Faculty of Veterinary, Syiah Kuala University from January to March 2016. The completely randomized design was used in this study. Six dosages level of papain enzyme were tested with 4 replications i.e. 0 g kg-1 of feed, 20.0 g kg-1 feed, 22.5 g kg-1 of feed, 25.0 g kg-1 of feed, 27.5 g kg-1 of feed, and 30.0 g kg-1 of feed. The experimental fish fed twice a day at feeding level of 5% for 60 days. The results showed that weight gain ranged from 2.41g to 7.37g, total length gain ranged from 0.67cm to 3.17cm, specific growth rate ranged from 1.46 % day to 3.41% day, daily growth rate ranged from 0.04 g day to 0.13 g day, feed conversion ratio ranged from 1.94 to 3.59, feed efficiency ranged from 27.99% to 51.37%, protein retention ranged from 3.38% to 28.28%, protein digestibility ranged from 50.63% to 90.38%, and survival rate ranged from 88.89% to 100%. The highest rate for all parameters was found in the dosage of 3.00% papain enzyme kg feed. The ANOVA test showed that enzyme papain gave a significant effect on the weight gain, total length gain, daily growth rate, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, feed efficiency, protein retention, protein digestibility, and survival rate of the climbing perch (Anabas testudieus). The best enzyme papain dosage was 3.0%.

Keywords: betok, feed conversion ratio, freshwater fish, nutrition, feeding

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Authors: Bamidele Wale-Oshinowo, Doris Akyere Boateng, Lebura Sorbarikor

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Women play significant roles when it comes to the survival of family businesses; however, their efforts are less acknowledged across the developing world. In the case where these businesses are started by husbands, women in many instances work as hard as the men to build up the business. In spite of this, the benefits women receive are not equal to their inputs. For instance, the profits accruing from ownership of these businesses are mainly enjoyed by husbands, as they are deemed to be the legal owners of family businesses in most developing economies. Though the number of women involvement in the ownership, management, and direction of family businesses keeps increasing over the years, their efforts sometimes are ‘invisible’ and not rewarded. Using a phenomenological approach, this study purposively selected 20 businesswomen each from Ghana and Nigeria for in-depth interviews on the different roles they play in ensuring the success of their family businesses (FBs). This study also explored the challenges and opportunities that these women have within their family businesses. Among the major findings of this study is the important strategic direction that women give in terms of providing both tangible and intangible resources such as transfer of transit knowledge to the next generation. Women were also found to play a significant role in the implementation of entrepreneurial orientation within small family businesses in Ghana and Nigeria. However, the study revealed that women experience various challenges as stakeholders in family businesses, among which are: work-life balance issues, succession issues, and culture-related presuppositions about gender roles both within the business and in their families. In the light of the study’s findings, critical recommendations made include encouraging founders and/or owners of family businesses to create a conducive and viable platform for women to grow into key leadership positions within Family businesses; doing this would impact strongly on the growth rate of these form of businesses within the African Region.

Keywords: emerging economies, control, management, resources, strategy, women

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Authors: Loh Fu Quan, Fong Zi Heng, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

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Cloud computing has completely transformed the way many businesses operate. Traditionally, confidential data of a business is stored in computers located within the premise of the business. Therefore, a lot of business capital is put towards maintaining computing resources and hiring IT teams to manage them. The advent of cloud computing changes everything. Instead of purchasing and managing their infrastructure, many businesses have started to shift towards working with the cloud with the help of a cloud service provider (CSP), leading to cost savings. However, it also introduces security risks. This research paper focuses on the security risks that arise during data migration and user authentication in cloud computing. To overcome this problem, this paper provides a comprehensive framework that includes Transport Layer Security (TLS), user authentication, security tokens and multi-level data encryption. This framework aims to prevent authorized access to cloud resources and data leakage, ensuring the confidentiality of sensitive information. This framework can be used by cloud service providers to strengthen the security of their cloud and instil confidence in their users.

Keywords: Cloud computing, Cloud security, Cloud security issues, Cloud security framework

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Authors: Eva Bodi, Szilvia Veres, Farzaneh Garousi, Szilvia Varallay, Bela Kovacs

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The aim of the present study was to examine whether increasing molybdenum (Mo) concentration affects on the growth and Mo concentration of maize and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv Arena PR) seedlings within laboratory conditions. In this experiment calcareous chernozem soil was used and Mo was supplemented into the soil as ammonium molybdate [(NH4)6Mo7O24.4H2O] in four different concentrations as follow: 0 (control), 30, 90 and 270 mg/kg. In this study we found that molybdenum in small amount (30 mg/kg) affects positively on growth of maize and sunflower seedlings, however, higher concentration of Mo reduces the dry weights of shoots and roots. In the case of maize the highest Mo treatment (270 mg/kg) and in sunflower 90 mg/kg treatment caused significant reduction in plant growth. In addition, we observed that molybdenum contents in the roots and shoots were very low in case of control soil but were significantly elevated with increasing concentration of Mo treatment. Only in case of sunflower the highest 270 mg/kg Mo treatment caused decrease in Mo concentration.

Keywords: dry weight, maize, molybdenum, sunflower

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Authors: Stanislovas Buteliauskas, Aušrius Juozapavičius

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City road transport contributes significantly to climate change, and the ongoing world urbanization is only increasing the problem. The paper describes a city planning concept minimizing the number of vehicles on the roads while increasing overall mobility. This becomes possible by utilizing a recently invented two-level road junction with a unique property of serving both as an intersection of uninterrupted traffic and an easily accessible transport hub capable of accumulating private vehicles, and therefore becoming an especially effective park-and-ride solution, and a logistics or business center. Optimized layouts of city road infrastructure, living and work areas, and major roads are presented. The layouts are suitable both for the development of new cities as well as for the expansion of existing ones. Costs of the infrastructure and a positive impact on climate are evaluated in comparison to current city growth patterns.

Keywords: congestion, city infrastructure, park-and-ride, road junctions

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Authors: Zain Alammari, Emna M. Mhedhbi, Claudio G. Grunewald

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This study aims to compare a standard F2 media to a local media called Altakamul. The new media was tested in Nannochloropsissp cultures at a lab scale. The main difference between both media is the Nitrogen source (NaNO3 in F/2 and NH4 in Altakamul). According to the preliminary results during three weeks experiments, no significant differences were found between F2 and Alatakamul media in terms of Nannochloropsis growth. We can anticipate that Altakamul media will be the cheapest media option for microalgae cultivation at a higher scale, reducing the OPEX

Keywords: microalgae, nannochloropsis, culture, nitrogen

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Authors: Nadjib Drouiche

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Water resources in Algeria are scarce, often low quality, fragile, and unevenly distributed in space and time. The pressure on water resources can be associated with industrial development, a steady population growth, and demanding land irrigation measures. These conditions createa tense competitionfor managing waterresourcesand sharing thembetween agricultural development, drinking water supply, industrial activities, etc. Moreover, the impact of climate change has placed in the forefront national policies focused on the water-energy-food nexus (WEF). In this context, desalination membrane technologies could play an increasing rolefor supporting segments of the Algerian economy that are heavily water-dependent. By implementing water reuse and desalination strategies together in the agricultural sector, there is an opportunity to expand the access to healthy food and clean water, thereby keeping the WEF nexus effects under control.

Keywords: desalination, mitigation, climate change, sustainable development goals

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Authors: Sara Khalifa, Dina Salem

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Cities have become overly automobile-oriented which clearly accommodates driving at the expense of walking in an age of global concerns about emerging health issues (obesity, cancer, heart disease) and environmental disasters (global warming, depletion of resources) which makes sustainable solutions a necessity not an option. One of these sustainable solutions is creating walkable communities. Walking is a distinctive and fundamental human activity that plays an important role in achieving urban sustainability and yields incredible benefits to people and environment with its influence on transportation infrastructure, public health, economic development, and social equity. Considerable research supports the idea that the presence of green, natural settings and quality urban landscapes can enhance walking and other physical activity and travel behaviour. Stepping towards a sustainable future, requires rethinking our communities in terms of walkability enhancement for this purpose, this paper starts with defining walkable communities and their characteristics, benefits and related concepts then discusses the contribution of urban landscape quality in promoting walkability.

Keywords: walkability, walkable community, liveable communities, urban landscape qualities

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Authors: Margerita Topalli

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In this paper, we analyze the impact of corruption (business environment, informal payments and state capture), crime and tax time, on the enterprise's performance during economic transition in the Central and Eastern Europe and the role of privatization as a moderator. We examine this effect by comparing the performance of the privatized enterprises and the state-owned-enterprises, while controlling for various forms of selection bias. The present study is based on firm-level panel data collected by the BEEPS for 27 transition countries over 2002, 2005, 2007, and 2011. In addition to firm characteristics, BEEPS collects valuable survey information on different forms of corruption, crime, tax time and firm ownership. We estimate the impact of corruption, crime, tax time on the different performance measures (sales, productivity, employment, labor costs and material costs) of the enterprise, whereby we control for firm ownership, with a special focus on the role of the privatization as a moderator. It argues that in general terms, the privatization has positive effects on the performance of enterprises during transition, but these effects are significantly different, depending on the examined performance measure (sales, productivity, employment, labor costs and material costs). When the privatization is effective, the privatized enterprises show a considerable performance improvements, particularly in terms of revenue growth and productivity growth. It also argues that the effects of privatization are different depending on the types of owner (outsider or insider) to whom it gives control. The results show that privatization to insider owners has no significant performance effect.

Keywords: effects of privatization, enterprise performance, state capture, corruption, firm ownership, economic transition, Central and Eastern Europe

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Authors: Hermanus J. Moolman

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the society and companies in South Africa. This raises questions about the position of creditors of companies facing financial distress and the actions that directors should take to cater to the interests of creditors. The extent to which directors owe their duties and consideration to creditors has been the subject of debate. The directors of a solvent company owe their duties to the company in favour of its shareholders. When the company becomes insolvent, creditors are the beneficiaries of the directors’ duties. However, the intermittent phase between solvency and insolvency, otherwise referred to as the realm of insolvency, is not accounted for. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether South African company law appropriately addresses the duties that directors owe to creditors and the extent of consideration given to creditors’ interests when the company is in the realm of insolvency and has started business rescue proceedings. A comparative study on South Africa, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and international instruments was employed to achieve the purpose statement. In the United States of America and the United Kingdom, the focus shifts from shareholders to the best interests of creditors when business recue proceedings commence. Such an approach is not aligned with the purpose of the Companies Act of 2008 that calls for a balance of interests of all persons affected by a company’s financial distress and will not be suitable for the South African context. Business rescue in South Africa is relatively new when compared to the practices of the United States of America and the United Kingdom, and the entrepreneurial landscape in South Africa is still evolving. The interests of creditors are not the only interests at risk when a company is financially distressed. It is recommended that an enlightened creditor value approach is adopted for South Africa, where the interests of creditors, albeit paramount, are balanced with those of other stakeholders. This approach optimises a gradual shift in the duties of directors from shareholders to creditors, without disregarding the interests of shareholders.

Keywords: business rescue, shareholders, creditors, financial distress, balance of interests, alternative remedies, company law

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Selin Guney, Andres Riquelme

Abstract:

The traditional bio-economic method for fisheries modeling uses some estimate of the growth parameters and the system carrying capacity from a biological model for the population dynamics (usually a logistic population growth model) which is then analyzed as a traditional production function. The stock dynamic is transformed into a revenue function and then compared with the extraction costs to estimate the maximum economic yield. In this paper, the logistic population growth model for the population is combined with a forecast of the abundance and location of the stock by using a generalized additive model approach. The paper focuses on the Chilean hake population. This method allows for the incorporation of climatic variables and the interaction with other marine species, which in turn will increase the reliability of the estimates and generate better extraction paths for different conservation objectives, such as the maximum biological yield or the maximum economic yield.

Keywords: bio-economic, fisheries, GAM, production

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Kehinde T. Kareem

Abstract:

The need to increase the production of cucumber has led to the use of inorganic fertilizers. This chemical affects the ecological balance of nature by increasing the nitrogen and phosphorus contents of the soil. Surface runoffs into rivers and streams cause eutrophication which affects aquatic organisms as well as the consumers of aquatic animals. Therefore, this study was carried out in the screenhouse to investigate the use of a plant growth-promoting fungus; Trichoderma longibrachiatum for the growth promotion of conventional and in-vitro propagated Ashley and Marketmoor cucumber. Before planting of cucumber, spore suspension (108 cfu/ml) of Trichoderma longibrachiatum grown on Potato dextrose agar (PDA) was inoculated into the soil. Fruits were evaluated for the presence of Trichoderma longibrachiatum using a species-specific primer. Results revealed that the highest significant plant height produced by in-vitro propagated Ashley was 19 cm while the highest plant height of in-vitro propagated Marketmoor was 19.67 cm. The yield of the conventional propagated Ashley cucumber showed that the number of fruit/plant obtained from T. longibrachiatum-fertilized plants were significantly more than those of the control. The in-vitro Ashely had 7 fruits/plant while the control produced 4 fruits/plant. In-vitro Marketmoor had ten fruits/plant, and the control had a value of 4 fruits/plant. There were no traces of Trichoderma longibrachiatum genes in the harvested cucumber fruits. Therefore, the use of Trichoderma longibrachiatum as a plant growth-promoter is safe for human health as well as the environment.

Keywords: biofertilizer, cucumber, genes, growth-promoter, in-vitro, propagation

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Al Mutawa A. Amir, Liaqat Ali, Faisal Ali

Abstract:

After the World War II, the world economy was disrupted and changed due to oil and its prices. The research in this paper presents the basic statistical features and economic characteristics of the Gulf economy. The main features of the Gulf economies and its heavy dependence on oil exports, its dualism between modern and traditional sectors and its rapidly increasing affluences are particularly emphasized.  In this context, the research in this paper discussed the problems of growth versus development and has attempted to draw the implications for the future economic development of this area.

Keywords: oil prices, GCC, economic growth, gulf oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 337