Search results for: investment behaviour

Authors: Warjito, Kevin Geraldo, Budiarso, Muhammad Mizan, Rafi Adhi Pranata, Farhan Rizqi Syahnakri

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According to data from 2021, the number of households in Indonesia that have access to on-grid electricity is claimed to have reached 99.28%, which means that around 0.7% of Indonesia's population (1.95 million people) still have no proper access to electricity and 38.1% of it comes from remote areas in Nusa Tenggara Timur. Remote areas are classified as areas with a small population of 30 to 60 families, have limited infrastructure, have scarce access to electricity and clean water, have a relatively weak economy, are behind in access to technological innovation, and earn a living mostly as farmers or fishermen. These people still need electricity but can’t afford the high cost of electricity from national on-grid sources. To overcome this, it is proposed that a hydroelectric power plant driven by a pico-hydro turbine with an undershot water wheel will be a suitable pico-hydro turbine technology because of the design, materials and installation of the turbine that is believed to be easier (i.e., operational and maintenance) and cheaper (i.e., investment and operating costs) than any other type. The comparative study of the angle of the undershot water wheel blades will be discussed comprehensively. This study will look into the best variation of curved blades on an undershot water wheel that produces maximum hydraulic efficiency. In this study, the blade angles were varied by 180 ̊, 160 ̊, and 140 ̊. Two methods of analysis will be used, which are analytical and numerical methods. The analytical method will be based on calculations of the amount of torque and rotational speed of the turbine, which is used to obtain the input and output power of the turbine. Whereas the numerical method will use the ANSYS application to simulate the flow during the collision with the designed turbine blades. It can be concluded, based on the analytical and numerical methods, that the best angle for the blade is 140 ̊, with an efficiency of 43.52% for the analytical method and 37.15% for the numerical method.

Keywords: pico hydro, undershot waterwheel, blade angle, computational fluid dynamics

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Authors: Ipek Gunay, Efe B. Orman, Metin Ozer, Bekir Salih, Ali R. Ozkaya

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Phthalocyanines with macrocyclic ring containing at least three heteroatoms have nine or more membered structures. Metal-free phthalocyanines react with metal salts to obtain chelate complexes. This is one of the most important features of metal-free phthalocyanine as ligand structure. Although phthalocyanines have very similar properties with porphyrins, they have some advantages such as lower cost, easy to prepare, and chemical and thermal stability. It’s known that Pc compounds have shown one-electron metal-and/or ligand-based reversible or quasi-reversible reduction and oxidation processes. The redox properties of phthalocyanines are critically related to the desirable properties of these compounds in their technological applications. Thus, Pc complexes have also been receiving increasing interest in the area of fuel cells due to their high electrocatalytic activity in dioxygen reduction and fuel cell applications. In this study, novel phthalocyanine complexes coordinated with Fe(II) and Co (II) to be used as catalyst were synthesized. Aiming this goal, a new nitrile ligand was synthesized starting from 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy benzyl alcohol and 4-nitrophthalonitrile in the presence of K2CO3 as catalyst. After the isolation of the new type of nitrile and metal complexes, the characterization of mentioned compounds was achieved by IR, H-NMR and UV-vis methods. In addition, the electrochemical behaviour of Pc complexes was identified by cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry and in situ spectroelectrochemical measurements. Furthermore, the catalytic performances of Pc complexes for oxygen reduction were tested by dynamic voltammetry measurements, carried out by the combined system of rotating ring-disk electrode and potentiostat, in a medium similar to fuel-cell working conditions.

Keywords: phthalocyanine, electrocatalysis, electrochemistry, in-situ spectroelectrochemistry

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Authors: Hend Albalawi

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Amid the dynamic use of the Arabic language worldwide, Saudi Arabia employs Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) as its formal, official language, whereas other dialects of Arabic are common in informal situations. Such trends not only maintain the powerful, state-supported status of MSA but are liable to also affect the use and status of other varieties, including Bedouin dialects, and prompt code-mixing behaviour among their speakers. Exposure to MSA and English in education in Saudi Arabia may also be liable to reduce the vitality of Bedouin dialects in the country, particularly among current generations of educated Bedouin speakers. Therefore, the proposed research will involve examining the perceived vitality of Bedouin dialects in Saudi language policies prescribing MSA as the official national language of Saudi Arabia and requiring university students to complete English-language coursework in the national education system. It will also entail identifying Bedouin speakers’ attitudes towards the use of Bedouin dialects in order to assess the need, if any, to implement policies in Saudi Arabia that can enhance the use of those dialects amid the competing use of MSA and English in the country. Empirical data collected from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews that purport patterns of the everyday use of languages among Bedouin-speaking university students in Tabuk, as well as the content of language policy documents, can clarify whether policy-based pressure to use MSA and English in mainstream educational and social activities in Saudi Arabia has jeopardised the language vitality of Bedouin dialects in north-west Saudi Arabia. The findings of the research can thus ultimately contribute to the development of policies to support and enhance the use of Bedouin dialects and, in turn, their language vitality.

Keywords: attitudes, Bedouin dialects, language policy, vitality

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Authors: Azize Serap Tuncer

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Turkey is one of the most outstanding figures among the Mediterranean countries from the natural and historical point at view. It is relatively rich country as regards the flora and vegetation. But at the same time as a result of improper and unplanned usage of the land for centuries, its forests and fertile soils have been exposed to great damages. While rapid and uncontrolled urbanization has important effects on the environment, urban development legislations, have become very unsufficient for the protection of these areas. Some of them have been completely eradicated, and some others have lost their fertility. Besides Turkey has a high main land with a rough surface and its soils areas exposed to heavy erosion. On the other hand as a developing country, it is not willing to endanger the goals of industrialization and avoid foreign direct investment by implementing strict environmental policies. Although this kind of pressure on forestland resources threatens the stability of forest land and land use management, in recent years, there has been an obvious increase in public concern about environmental problems like over global warming, environmental pollution, deforestation and their potential effects on natural resources. To protect the ecological balance and prevention of naturel resources from the unplanned intervention of human-beıng is only possible establishing conservation areas wıth co-operation at the national and the internatıonal levels. This study was carried out to evaluate the relation between urbanization and forestry policies in Turkey. While it elaborates the normative arrangements resulting in power conflicts, it also addresses which shortages and discrepancies are responsible for the said conflicts. The present urban reconstruction and transformation practices and their aesthetic and functional aspects were studied with some examples in a country level and evaluated within the assistance of literature researches, analyses, and observations. Atatürk Forest Farm and ODTU Forest examples were negotiated as two famous cases. Obtained findings were supported by charts and photos.

Keywords: deforestration, environmental policies, metropolitan, pollution, urbanization

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Authors: Ibrahim Aliyu Isah, Mohd Mansor Ismail, Salim Hassan, Norsida Bint Man

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Global and National contributions of Extension Agents in income derive through stingless beekeeping production as acknowledged globally as a new source of wealth creation, which contributes significantly to the positive, sustainable economic growth of Malaysia. A common specie, Trigona itama, production through effective utilization of highly competent agents of extension services led to high increase of output that guaranteed high income and sustainability to farmers throughout the study areas. A study on impacts of extension services on stingless bee production and its profitability and sustainability in both Peninsular Malaysia and East (Sarawak) Malaysia was conducted with the following objectives: (i) to examined various impacts of extension services on sustainability as variables in enhancing stingless beekeeping production for positive profitability. (ii) to determine the profitability and sustainability of stingless beekeeping production in the study area through transfer of technology and human resources development. The study covers a sample of beekeepers in ten states of Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. The sample size of 87 respondents were selected out of the population and 54 of filled questionnaires were retrieved. Capital budgeting analysis was carried out and economic performance was evaluated. Data collected was analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Correlation and Regression analyses were used. The capital budgeting analysis and government incentive schemes was incorporated in the applied projection of stingless bee farms. The result of Net Present Value (NPV) is determined as an accepted projection to the financial appraisal. The NPV in the study indicated positive outcome of production that can generate positive income and indicated efficient yield of investment and Profitability index (PI). In summary, it is possible for the extension services to increase output and hence increase profit which is sustainable for growth and development of agricultural sector in Malaysia.

Keywords: extension services, impacts, profitability and sustainability, Sarawak and peninsular Malaysia, trigona itama production

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Authors: Abdelsalam Elawwad, Mostafa Ragab, Hisham Abdel-Halim

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Leakage in sewerage system can cause groundwater and soil contamination in urban areas, especially in area with a high groundwater table. This is a serious problem in small villages in developing countries that rely on ground water as a source for irrigation and drinking purposes. In the developed countries, the recent trend in areas with low population densities is vacuum sewerage system, which is environmentally safer than conventional gravity system, protecting public health, preventing exfiltration to the ground water, very easily applied in a relatively short time and can cope with a faster expansion of the urbanized areas. The aim of this work is to assess the feasibility of using vacuum sewerage in developing country, such as Egypt. Knowledge of local conditions can determine the most suitable sewer system for a specific region. Technical, environmental and financial comparisons between conventional sewerage system and vacuum sewerage system were held using statistical analysis. Different conditions, such as population densities, geometry of area, and ground water depths were evaluated. Sample comprising of 30 Egyptian villages was selected, where a complete design for conventional sewerage system and vacuum sewerage system was done. Based on this study, it is recommended from the environmental point of view to construct the vacuum sewerage system in such villages with low population densities; however, it is not economic for all cases. From financial point of view, vacuum sewerage system was a good competitor to conventional systems in flat areas and areas with high groundwater table. The local market supplying of the construction equipment especially collection chambers will greatly affect the investment cost. Capacity building and social mobilization will also play a great role in sustainability of this system. At the end, it is noteworthy that environmental sustainability and public health are more important than the financial aspects.

Keywords: ground water, conventional system, vacuum system, statistics, cost, density, terrain

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Authors: Nalini Murugaiyah

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Indigenous students require a positive school environment where meaningful learning ought to be there to minimise myriad challenges. Therefore, Orang Asli student’s school environment should be culturally responsive and equipped with student-centred activities or provide constructively designed curriculum and pedagogy. This study sought to extend the knowledge of culturally responsive school leadership practises which relevant and responsive to Orang Asli students through th lens of a theoretical framework, Culturally Responsive School Leadership. The aim of the proposed study is to examine and understand the real-world application of leadership practices that are relevant and responsive to Orang Asli students in Malaysia. This study will also include the often-voiceless voices’ of Orang Asli students, parents, and community leaders to gain a deeper understanding of the process and experience of engaging in culturally responsive school leadership. The study will explore the differences between school leaders, teachers, parents, and community leaders in relation to culturally responsive school environment, non-Orang Asli school leaders’ and teachers’ support to the needs of Orang Asli children, children’s perspectives of teachers’ practices in the classroom align with their culture; and, the demonstration of teacher’s culturally responsive behaviour in the classroom. A basic qualitative study is the proposed research design for this study, and the data is collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews. This qualitative research is designed to gain in-depth knowledge about how the principal’s leadership is culturally responsive towards the school environment, which will improve the quality of education received by the Orang Asli community in Malaysia, hence reducing the drop-out rates in Orang Asli students.

Keywords: indigenous leadership, equity, inclusion, policy

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Authors: Surabhi Pandey, Pavuluri Srinivasa Rao

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Extrusion processing is a high-temperature short time (HTST) treatment which can improve protein quality and digestibility together with retaining active nutrients. In-vitro protein digestibility of plant protein-based foods is generally enhanced by extrusion. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of extrusion cooking on in-vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) and conformational modification of protein in green banana flour extrudates. Green banana flour was extruded through a co-rotating twin-screw extruder varying the moisture content, barrel temperature, screw speed in the range of 10-20 %, 60-80 °C, 200-300 rpm, respectively, at constant feed rate. Response surface methodology was used to optimise the result for IVPD. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis provided a convenient and powerful means to monitor interactions and changes in functional and conformational properties of extrudates. Results showed that protein digestibility was highest in extrudate produced at 80°C, 250 rpm and 15% feed moisture. FTIR analysis was done for the optimised sample having highest IVPD. FTIR analysis showed that there were no changes in primary structure of protein while the secondary protein structure changed. In order to explain this behaviour, infrared spectroscopy analysis was carried out, mainly in the amide I and II regions. Moreover, curve fitting analysis showed the conformational changes produced in the flour due to protein denaturation. The quantitative analysis of the changes in the amide I and II regions provided information about the modifications produced in banana flour extrudates.

Keywords: extrusion, FTIR, protein conformation, raw banana flour, SDS-PAGE method

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Authors: Bolanle Deborah Motilewa, E. K. Rowland Worlu, Gbenga Mayowa Agboola, Ayodele Maxwell Olokundun

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In the pursuit of profit maximization as a major objective of business organizations, several firms forfeit their social and economic responsibility whilst focusing on activities that are deemed to solely profit the firm, without taking into cognizance the effect of their operations on the society in which they operate. Business analysts have, however, realized the determinant role of social responsibility in corporate performance, such that firms that are able to imbibe corporate social responsibility in their core business operations may be able to take advantage of the social reputation gained across their several stakeholders. Small and medium enterprises operating in highly competitive markets are also advised to leverage on this reputation gained from being socially responsible, if they seek ways to remain relevant in the same markets dominated by multinational corporations. Adapting a case study approach, this study highlights the advantages (such as employee and customer loyalty) gained by House of Tara, a small business operating in the beauty and make-up industry in Nigeria, resulting from the firm’s commitment to advancing the society in which it operates through several social responsibility activities. It is observed that although competing with major makeup brands such as MAC, Maybelline, Dior, Mary Kay and others, House of Tara has been able to not only thrive, but gain a sizeable market in the Nigerian makeup industry, because several consumers purchase their products not solely because of the quality or price of their product, but because they perceive themselves as buying into the firm’s CSR vision. This study, therefore, recommends that small and medium enterprises that may lack adequate resources (manpower, technology, capital) needed to successfully compete with multinationals, can harness the potentials in the reputation and loyalty gained from adequate investment in corporate social responsibility.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, small and medium enterprises, House of Tara, sustainability

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Authors: Pei-Ti Hsu, I-Ju Chen, Jeu-Jung Chen, Cheng-Fen Chang, Shiu-Yan Yang

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Taiwan now is an aging society Research on the elderly should not be confined to caring for seniors, but should also be focused on ways to improve health and the quality of life. Senior citizens who participate in volunteer services could become less lonely, have new growth opportunities, and regain a sense of accomplishment. Thus, the question of how to get the elderly to participate in volunteer service is worth exploring. Apply the Transtheoretical Model to understand stages of change in regular volunteer service and voluntary service behaviour among the seniors. 1525 adults over the age of 65 from the Renai district of Keelung City were interviewed. The research tool was a self-constructed questionnaire and individual interviews were conducted to collect data. Then the data was processed and analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 (Windows version) statistical software program. In the past six months, research subjects averaged 9.92 days of volunteer services. A majority of these elderly individuals had no intention to change their regular volunteer services. We discovered that during the maintenance stage, the self-efficacy for volunteer services was higher than during all other stages, but self-perceived barriers were less during the preparation stage and action stage. Self-perceived benefits were found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in the previous stage, and self-efficacy was found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in later stages. The research results support the conclusion that community nursing staff should group elders based on their regular volunteer services change stages and design appropriate behavioral change strategies.

Keywords: seniors, stages of change in regular volunteer services, volunteer service behavior, self-efficacy, self-perceived benefits

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Authors: Mohamed Abdalla Khalil Mahmoud, Omnia Haidar Suliman

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Information and Communication technologies have revolutionized the way services are developed and offered to customers and have achieved evident success in a variety of vital sectors and widely contributed to the growth and resilience of the economy worldwide. Consequently, governments, especially of developing countries, have turned their attention to examine possible ways to utilize contemporary technology advances to offer essential governmental services to citizens, especially in areas where government agencies are not present. This paper investigates the challenges that impede governments of developing countries to provide basic services to its constituents nationwide. Sudan, as a case study, has taken major steps to provide essential governmental services via electronic channels. However, these services are still not widely used by the citizens, resulting in waste of financial and human resources and efforts that could have been invested more appropriately. This paper examines the challenges that hinder the Sudan’s government in their pursuit of availing its services via electronic channels. Different categories of e-government challenges, such as organizational, technological, social and, demographic, and financial and economic, have been explored in order to pinpoint the major challenges. A structured questionnaire is used to survey the target population of e-government professionals and executives who have direct involvement in the implementation of this nationwide endeavor in Sudan. The survey has successfully identified the main challenges that have high impact on the government’s effort to offer its services via electronic channels, such as Lack of coordination between public and private sectors and Lack of the benefits recognition of the e-government program. The findings of this paper can be used as a solid foundation for improving the way governmental services are offered to citizens in Sudan, resulting in a successful investment of financial and human resources and benefiting the targeted customers of all types.

Keywords: citizen, digital, e-channels, public sector, Sudan, technology

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Authors: Sitaram Dahal

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Sustainable Development, a universal need for the present generation and the future generation, is an accepted way to assure intra and inter-generational equity. International movements like Rio Earth Summit 1992, Stockholm Conference 1972, Kyoto Protocol, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proclaim the need of sustainable globe. The socio- economic disparity prevailing in the society shows that the indigenous peoples are living life far below poverty line. These indigenous people, aboriginal social groups sharing common cultural values and with a unique identity, are away from development being merely focused on the growth. Though studies suggest that most of the indigenous practices are often environment-friendly, alert about the plunging trend of the practices. This study explores the trend of intergenerational transmission of indigenous profession of pottery making of Kumal community (Meghauli Village Development Committee of Chitwan district) and factors affecting the trend. The SD indicators - contribution of IP to well-being of pottery makers had been query in the study. The study reveals that the pottery making profession can stand sustainable in terms of environment and socio-economic capital compared to modern technologies. However, the number of practitioners has been decreasing and youths hardly show interest to continue their indigenous profession. The new generations are not in a stage of accepting pottery in complete profession, that challenges the social and cultural sustainability of the profession. Indigenous profession demand people investments over modern technology and innovations. The relative investment of human labour is dramatically high with the indigenous profession. In addition, the fashion and innovations of market rule challenge the sustainability of the pottery making profession. The practice is limited to small cluster as a show piece at present. The study illustrates the market driven unsustainability of indigenous profession of Kumal community.

Keywords: professional unsustainability, pottery making, Kumal Community, Indigenous Professoin

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Authors: Rasouli Divkalaee Zeinab, Kalteh Safa, Roudbari Aliakbar

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Introduction: Medical waste can lead to the generation and transmission of many infectious and contagious diseases due to the presence of pathogenic agents, thereby necessitating the need for special management to collect, decontaminate, and finally dispose of such products. This study aimed to design a centralized health care (medical) waste management program for the cities of Semnan, Mahdishahr, and Shahmirzad. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted for six months in the cities of Semnan, Mahdishahr, and Shahmirzad. In this study, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the generated wastes were determined by taking samples from all medical waste production centers. Then, the equipment, devices, and machines required for separate collection of the waste from the production centers and for their subsequent decontamination were estimated. Next, the investment costs, current costs, and working capital required for collection, decontamination, and final disposal of the wastes were determined. Finally, the payment for proper waste management of each category of medical waste-producing centers was determined. Results: 1021 kilograms of medical waste are produced daily in the cities of Semnan, Mahdishahr, and Shahmirzad. It was estimated that a 1000-liter autoclave, a machine for collecting medical waste, four 60-liter bins, four 120-liter bins, and four 1200-liter bins were required for implementing the study plan. Also, the estimated total annual medical waste management costs for Semnan City were determined (23,283,903,720 Iranian Rials). Conclusion: The study results showed that establishing a proper management system for medical wastes generated in the three studied cities will cost between 334,280 and 1,253,715 Iranian Rials in fees for the medical centers. The findings of this study provided comprehensive data regarding medical wastes from the generation point to the landfill site, which is vital for the government and the private sector.

Keywords: clinics, decontamination, management, medical waste

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Authors: Noor Hasmini Abdghani, Nik Kamariah Nikmat, Nor Hayati Ahmad

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Rapid growth of the internet technology led to changes in the consumer lifestyles. This involved customer buying behaviour-based internet that create new kind of buying strategy. Hence, it has summoned many of world firms including Malaysia to generate new quality strategy in preparation to face new customer buying lifestyles. Particularly, this study focused on identifying online customer segment of automobile passenger car customers. Secondly, the objective is to understand online customer’s receptiveness towards internet technologies. This study distributed 700 questionnaires whereby 582 were returned representing 83% response rate. The data were analysed using factor and regression analyses. The result from the factor analysis precipitates four online passenger car segmentations in Malaysia, which are: Segment (1)- Automobile Online shopping Preferences, Segment (2)- Automobile Online Brand Comparison, Segment (3)- Automobile Online Information Seeking and Segment (4)- Automobile Offline Shopping Preferences. In understanding the online customer’s receptiveness towards internet, the regression result shows that there is significant relationship between each of four segments of online passenger car customer with attitude towards automobile online shopping. This implies that, for online customers to have receptiveness toward internet technologies, he or she must have preferences toward online shopping or at least prefer to browse any related information online even if the actual purchase is made at the traditional store. With this proposed segmentation strategy, the firms especially the automobile firms will be able to understand their online customer behavior. At least, the proposed segmentation strategy will help the firms to strategize quality management approach for their online customers’ buying decision making.

Keywords: Automobile, Market Segmentation, Online Shopping Attitude, Quality Management Strategy

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Authors: C. M. Nur Syazwani, M. K. Ahmad Imran, Rizal E. M. Nasir

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The study on BWB UV begins in UiTM since 2005 and three designs have been studied and published. The latest designs are Baseline-III and inspired by birds that have features and aerodynamics behaviour of cruising birds without flapping capability. The aircraft featuring planform and configuration are similar to the bird. Baseline-III has major flaws particularly in its low lift-to-drag ratio, stability and issues regarding limited controllability. New design known as Baseline-IV replaces straight, swept wing to delta wing and have a broader tail compares to the Baseline-III’s. The objective of the study is to investigate aerodynamics of Baseline-IV bird-inspired BWB aircraft. This will be achieved by theoretical calculation and wind tunnel experiments. The result shows that both theoretical and wind tunnel experiments of Baseline-IV graph of CL and CD versus alpha are quite similar to each other in term of pattern of graph slopes and values. Baseline-IV has higher lift coefficient values at wide range of angle of attack compares to Baseline-III. Baseline-IV also has higher maximum lift coefficient, higher maximum lift-to-drag and lower parasite drag. It has stable pitch moment versus lift slope but negative moment at zero lift for zero angle-of-attack tail setting. At high angle of attack, Baseline-IV does not have stability reversal as shown in Baseline-III. Baseline-IV is proven to have improvements over Baseline-III in terms of lift, lift-to-drag ratio and pitch moment stability at high angle-of-attack.

Keywords: blended wing-body, bird-inspired blended wing-body, aerodynamic, stability

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Authors: Abubakar Mukhtar Yakasai, Muhammad Tahir Jan

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Purpose: This paper is aimed at exploring factors influencing online shopping intention among the young consumers in Nigeria. Design/Methodology/approach: The paper adopted and extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the basis for literature review. Additionally, the paper proposed a framework with the inclusion of culture as a moderating factor of consumer online shopping intention among consumers in Nigeria. Findings: Despite high rate of internet penetration in Nigerian, as well as the rapid advancement of online shopping in the world, little attention was paid to this important revolution specifically among Nigeria’s consumers. Based on the review of extant literature, the TAM extended to include perceived risk and enjoyment (PR and PE) was discovered to be a better alternative framework for predicting Nigeria’s young consumers’ online shopping intention. The moderating effect of culture in the proposed model is shown to help immensely in ascertaining differences, if any, between various cultural groups among online shoppers in Nigeria. Originality/ value: The critical analysis of different factors will assist practitioners (like online retailers, e-marketing managers, website developers, etc.) by signifying which combinations of factors can best predict consumer online shopping behaviour in particular instances, thereby resulting in effective value delivery. Online shopping is a newly adopted technology in Nigeria, hence the paper will give a clear focus for effective e-marketing strategy. In addition, the proposed framework in this paper will guide future researchers by providing a tool for systematic evaluation and testing of real empirical situation of online shopping in Nigeria.

Keywords: online shopping, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, technology acceptance model, Nigeria

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Authors: Bisi Olawoyin

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The idea of knowledge sharing facilitated by the internet and complemented by a collaborative offline process in form of shared workshops called Makerspaces has become an attractive economic development agenda worldwide. Towards this end, Nigeria has established a number of Technology Incubation Centers (TICs) across the country with a view to using them as institutional mechanisms for commercializing Research and Development results; thus helping to promote venture creation and economic development. This study thus examines the impact of the nurturing by the TICs, on the performance of selected incubated enterprises that have grown into medium scale businesses in different sectors of the economy. The objective is to determine the extent to which the process of incubation has contributed to their growth in relation to similar businesses that developed outside the TICs. Six enterprises nurtured by TICs and six others outside, these were selected for the study. Data were collected in respect of the twelve enterprises covering their first five years of operation. Performances in terms of annual turnover, market share, and product range were analysed by scatter diagram plotted to show these variables against time and on comparative basis between TIC and non-TIC enterprises. Results showed an initial decline in performance for most of the incubatees in the first two years due to sluggish adjustment to withdrawal of subsidies enjoyed at the TICs. However, four of them were able to catch up with improved performance and surpass their non–TIC counterparts consistently from the third year. Analysis of year on year performance also showed average growth rate of 7% and 5 % respectively for TIC and non–TIC enterprises. The study, therefore, concludes that TICs have great role to play in nurturing new, innovative businesses but sees the need for government to address the provision of critical facilities especially electricity and utilities that constitute critical cost components for businesses. It must also address the issue of investment grants, loans including the development of technology/industrial parks that will serve to boost business survival.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, incubation, innovation, makerspaces

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Authors: Xiaolin Li, Terence Turney, John Forsythe, Bryce Feltis, Paul Wright, Vinh Truong, Will Gates

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Clay-hydrogel nanocomposites have attracted great attention recently, mainly because of their enhanced mechanical properties and ease of fabrication. Moreover, the unique platelet structure of clay nanoparticles enables the incorporation of bioactive molecules, such as proteins or drugs, through ion exchange, adsorption or intercalation. This study seeks to improve the mechanical and rheological properties of a novel hydrogel system, copolymerized from a tetrapodal polyethylene glycol (PEG) thiol and a linear, triblock PEG-PPG-PEG (PPG: polypropylene glycol) α,ω-bispropynoate polymer, with the simultaneous incorporation of various amounts of Na-saturated, montmorillonite clay (MMT) platelets (av. lateral dimension = 200 nm), to form a bioactive three-dimensional network. Although the parent hydrogel has controlled swelling ability and its PEG groups have good affinity for the clay platelets, it suffers from poor mechanical stability and is currently unsuitable for potential applications. Nanocomposite hydrogels containing 4wt% MMT showed a twelve-fold enhancement in compressive strength, reaching 0.75MPa, and also a three-fold acceleration in gelation time, when compared with the parent hydrogel. Interestingly, clay nanoplatelet incorporation into the hydrogel slowed down the rate of its dehydration in air. Preliminary results showed that protein binding by the MMT varied with the nature of the protein, as horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was more strongly bound than bovine serum albumin. The HRP was no longer active when bound, presumably as a result of extensive structural refolding. Further work is being undertaken to assess protein binding behaviour within the nanocomposite hydrogel for potential diabetic wound healing applications.

Keywords: hydrogel, nanocomposite, small molecule, wound healing

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Authors: Ashim Kanti Dey, Briti Sundar Bhowmik

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This paper presents an idea to improve the soft soil by using lime grits which are normally produced as waste product in the paper manufacturing industries. This waste material cannot be used as a construction material because of its light weight, uniform size and poor compaction control. With scarcity in land, effective disposal of lime grit is a major concern of all paper manufacturing industries. Considering its non-plasticity and high permeability characteristics the lime grit may suitably be used as a drainage material for speedy consolidation of cohesive soil. It can also be used to improve the bearing capacity of soft clay. An attempt has been made in this paper to show the usefulness of lime grit in improving the bearing capacity of shallow foundation resting on soft clayey soil. A series of undrained unconsolidated cyclic triaxial tests performed at different area ratios and at three different water contents shows that dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio can be substantially improved with lime grit. Improvement is observed to be more in case of higher area ratio and higher water content. Static triaxial tests were also conducted on lime grit reinforced clayey soil after application of 50 load cycles to determine the effect of lime grit columns on cyclically loaded clayey soils. It is observed that the degradation is less for lime grit stabilized soil. A study of model test with different area ratio of lime column installation is also included to see the field behaviour of lime grit reinforced soil.

Keywords: lime grit column, area ratio, shear modulus, damping ratio, strength ratio, improvement factor, degradation factor

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Authors: Tugce Caliskan

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The gentrification literature in Turkey provided important insights regarding the analysis of the socio-spatial change in İstanbul mostly through the existing gentrification theories which were produced in Anglo-American literature. Yet early researches focused on the classical gentrification while failing to notice other place-specific forms of the phenomena. It was only after the mid-2000s that scholarly attention shifted to the recent discussions in the mainstream such as the neoliberal urban policies, government involvement, and resistance. Although these studies have considerable potential to contribute to the geography of gentrification, it seems that copying the linear timeline of Anglo-American conceptualization limited the space to introduce contextually nuanced way of process in Turkey. More specifically, the gentrification literature in Turkey acknowledged the linear timeline of the process drawing on the mainstream studies, and, made the spontaneous classical gentrification as the starting point in İstanbul at the expense of contextually specific forms of the phenomenon that took place in the same years. This paper is an attempt to understand place-specific forms of gentrification through the abandonment of the linear understanding of time. In this vein, this paper approaches the process as moving both linear and cyclical rather than the waves succeeded each other. Maintaining a dialectical relationship between the cyclical and the linear time, this paper investigates how the components of gentrification have been taken place in the cyclical timeline while becoming bolder in the linear timeline. This paper argues that taking the (re)investment in the secondary circuit of capital and class transformation as the core characteristics of gentrification, and accordingly, searching for these components beyond the linear timeline provide strategic value to decenter the perspectives, not merely for Turkish studies. In this vein, this strategy revealed that Western experience of gentrification did not travel, adopted or copied in Turkey but gentrification -as an abstract and general concept- has emerged as a product of different contextual, historical and temporal forces which must be considered within the framework of state-led urbanization as early as 1980 differing from the Global North trajectories.

Keywords: comparative urbanism, geography of gentrification, linear and cyclical timeline, state-led gentrification

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Authors: Koko Iwan Agus Kurniawan, Dwi Purnomo, Anas Bunyamin, Arif Rahman Jaya

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Fruters model is a concept of technopreneurship-based on empowerment, in which technology research results were designed to create high value-added products and implemented as a locomotive of collaborative empowerment; thereby, the impact was widely spread. This model still needs to be inventoried and validated concerning the influenced variables in the business growth process. Model validation accompanied by mapping was required to be applicable to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) agro-industry based on sustainable social business and existing real cases. This research explained the empowerment model of Yourgood, an SME, which emphasized on empowering the farmers/ breeders in farmers in rural areas, Cipageran, Cimahi, to housewives in urban areas, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. This research reviewed some works of literature discussing the agro-industrial development associated with the empowerment and social business process and gained a unique business model picture with the social business platform as well. Through the mapped business model, there were several advantages such as technology acquisition, independence, capital generation, good investment growth, strengthening of collaboration, and improvement of social impacts that can be replicated on other businesses. This research used analytical-descriptive research method consisting of qualitative analysis with design thinking approach and that of quantitative with the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process). Based on the results, the development of the enterprise’s process was highly affected by supplying farmers with the score of 0.248 out of 1, being the most valuable for the existence of the enterprise. It was followed by university (0.178), supplying farmers (0.153), business actors (0.128), government (0.100), distributor (0.092), techno-preneurship laboratory (0.069), banking (0.033), and Non-Government Organization (NGO) (0.031).

Keywords: agro-industry, small medium enterprises, empowerment, design thinking, AHP, business model canvas, social business

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Authors: Raquel Mateo Mendaza, Carmen Novo Urraca

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The current paper presents the elaboration of a corpus database that aligns two different corpora in order to simplify the search of information both for researchers and students of Old English. This database comprises the information contained in two main reference corpora, namely the Dictionary of Old English Corpus (DOEC), compiled at the University of Toronto, and the York-Toronto-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English (YCOE). The first one provides information on all surviving texts written in the Old English language. The latter offers the syntactical and morphological annotation of several texts included in the DOEC. Although both corpora are closely related, as the YCOE includes the DOE source text identifier, the main problem detected is that there is not an alignment of texts that allows for the search of whole fragments to be further analysed in terms of morphology and syntax. The database proposed in this paper gathers all this information and presents it in a simple, more accessible, visual, and educational way. The alignment of fragments has been done in an automatized way. However, some problems have emerged during the creating process particularly related to the lack of correspondence in the division of fragments. For this reason, it has been necessary to revise the whole entries manually to obtain a truthful high-quality product and to carefully indicate the gaps encountered in these corpora. All in all, this database contains more than 60,000 entries corresponding with the DOE fragments annotated by the YCOE. The main strength of the resulting product is its research and teaching implications in the study of Old English. The use of this database will help researchers and students in the study of different aspects of the language, such as inflectional morphology, syntactic behaviour of given words, or translation studies, among others. By means of the search of words or fragments, the annotated information on morphology and syntax will be automatically displayed, automatizing, and speeding up the search of data.

Keywords: alignment, corpus database, morphosyntactic analysis, Old English

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Authors: Simone Belli, Sergio Minniti, Valeria Santoro

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ICTs and technology transfer can benefit and move a country forward in economic and social development. However, ICT and access to the Internet have been inequitably distributed in most developing countries. In terms of science production and dissemination, this divide articulates itself also through the inequitable distribution of access to scientific knowledge and networks, which results in the exclusion of developing countries from the center of science. Developing countries are on the fringe of Science and Technology (S&T) production due not only to low investment in research but also to the difficulties to access international scholarly literature. In this respect, Open access (OA) initiatives and knowledge infrastructure represent key elements for both producing significant changes in scholarly communication and reducing the problems of developing countries. The spreading of the OA movement in the region, exemplified by the growth of regional and national initiatives, such as the creation of OA institutional repositories (e.g. SciELO and Redalyc) and the establishing of supportive governmental policies, provides evidence of the significant role that OA is playing in reducing the scientific gap between Latin American countries and improving their participation in the so-called ‘global knowledge commons’. In this paper, we map OA publications in Latin America and observe how Latin American countries are moving forward and becoming a leading force in widening access to knowledge. Our analysis, developed as part of the H2020 EULAC Focus research project, is based on mixed methods and consists mainly of a bibliometric analysis of OA publications indexed in the most important scientific databases (Web of Science and Scopus) and OA regional repositories, as well as the qualitative analysis of documents related to the main OA initiatives in Latin America. Through our analysis, we aim at reflecting critically on what policies, international standards, and best practices might be adapted to incorporate OA worldwide and improve the infrastructure of the global knowledge commons.

Keywords: open access, LAC countries, scientific publications, bibliometric analysis

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Authors: Veerpal Kaur

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The present paper aims at investigating the role of dynamic externalities of agglomeration in the regional productivity growth of manufacturing sector in India and China. Taking 2-digit level manufacturing sector data of states and provinces of India and China respectively for the period of 1998-99 to 2011-12, this paper examines the effect of dynamic externalities namely – Marshall-Arrow-Romer (MAR) specialization externalities, Jacobs’s diversity externalities, and Porter’s competition externalities on regional total factor productivity growth (TFPG) of manufacturing sector in both economies. Regressions have been carried on pooled data for all 2-digit manufacturing industries for India and China separately. The estimation of Panel has been based on a fixed effect by sector model. The results of econometric exercise show that labour-intensive industries in Indian regional manufacturing benefit from diversity externalities and capital intensive industries gain more from specialization in terms of TFPG. In China, diversity externalities and competition externalities hold better prospectus for regional TFPG in both labour intensive and capital intensive industries. But if we look at results for coastal and non-coastal region separately, specialization tends to assert a positive effect on TFPG in coastal regions whereas it has a negative effect on TFPG of coastal regions. Competition externalities put a negative effect on TFPG of non-coastal regions whereas it has a positive effect on TFPG of coastal regions. Diversity externalities made a positive contribution to TFPG in both coastal and non-coastal regions. So the results of the study postulate that the importance of dynamic externalities should not be examined by pooling all industries and all regions together. This could hold differential implications for region specific and industry-specific policy formulation. Other important variables explaining regional level TFPG in both India and China have been the availability of infrastructure, level of competitiveness, foreign direct investment, exports and geographical location of the region (especially in China).

Keywords: China, dynamic externalities, India, manufacturing, productivity

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Authors: Melanie Macgregor-Ramiasa, Isabel Hopp, Patricia Murray, Krasimir Vasilev

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Stem cells based therapies are one of the greatest promises of new-age medicine due to their potential to help curing most dreaded conditions such as cancer, diabetes and even auto-immune disease. However, establishing suitable in vitro culture materials allowing to control the fate of stem cells remain a challenge. Amongst the factor influencing stem cell behavior, substrate chemistry and nanotopogaphy are particularly critical. In this work, we used plasma assisted surface modification methods to produce model substrates with tailored nanotopography and controlled chemistry. Three different sizes of gold nanoparticles were bound to amine rich plasma polymer layers to produce homogeneous and gradient surface nanotopographies. The outer chemistry of the substrate was kept constant for all substrates by depositing a thin layer of our patented biocompatible polyoxazoline plasma polymer on top of the nanofeatures. For the first time, protein adsorption and stem cell behaviour (mouse kidney stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells) were evaluated on nanorough plasma deposited polyoxazoline thin films. Compared to other nitrogen rich coatings, polyoxazoline plasma polymer supports the covalent binding of proteins. Moderate surface nanoroughness, in both size and density, triggers cell proliferation. In association with polyoxazoline coating, cell proliferation is further enhanced on nanorough substrates. Results are discussed in term of substrates wetting properties. These findings provide valuable insights on the mechanisms governing the interactions between stem cells and their growth support.

Keywords: nanotopography, stem cells, differentiation, plasma polymer, oxazoline, gold nanoparticles

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Authors: J. Cadby, K. Miyazawa

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been widely adopted into the agricultural landscape with advancements of mobile connectivity and data accessibility. In developed nations, mobile-technology is well integrated into marketing transactions, and also plays a crucial role in making data-driven decisions on-farm. In developing nations, mobile banking and access to agricultural extension services allow for informed decision-making and smoother transactions. In addition, the availability of updated and readily available market and climate data provides a negotiation platform, reducing economic risks for farmers worldwide. The total usage of mobile technology has risen over the past 20 years, and almost three-quarters of the world’s population subscribes to mobile technology. This study reviewed mobile technology integration into agricultural systems in developing and developed nations. Data from secondary sources were collected and investigated. The objectives of the study include a review of the success of mobile banking transactions in developing nations, and a review of application and SMS based services for direct marketing in both developed and developing nations. Rural farmers in developing countries with access to diverse m-banking options experienced increased access to farm investment resources with the use of mobile banking technology. Rural farmers involved in perishable crop production were also more likely to benefit from mobile platform sales participation. ICT programs reached through mobile application and SMS increased access to agricultural extension materials and marketing tools for demographics that faced literacy-challenges and isolated markets. As mobile technology becomes more ubiquitous in the global agricultural system, training and market opportunities to facilitate mobile usage in developing agricultural systems are necessary. Digital skills training programs are necessary in order to improve equal global adoption of ICT in agriculture.

Keywords: market participation, mobile banking, mobile technology, rural farming

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Authors: Subesh Panta

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The land is a one of the major boosting factors of production for the agricultural country like Nepal where access to land has been a major source of livelihood of tenants and small farmers. But there is an absence of secure land tenure arrangement which drastically affect the overall production of farmers leading towards food insecurity. Sharecropping is practiced in Nepal especially in tarai region from early period, but there is the gap in the academic study whether the sharecropping has benefitted tenant farmers and make them food sufficient or not. This study attempts to find out the food sufficiency among the tenant households. The research was carried in the three VDCs of Parsa district -Paterwa (Sugauli), Jitpur and Nirchuta. A total of 111 households were determined as the sample size from each of the three VDCs was randomly visited for interview in the study. The size of land rent-in was found to be very small and fragmented. At the same time, the land tenure security was not found to be secured among the tenants. Due to lack of land tenure security, on one hand tenants and small farmers were not found to be motivated to investment in agriculture as they need to share fifty percent of their production with the land owners, and on other hand land owners were also not interested in investing as they have other alternative sources of livelihood rather than agriculture. In conclusion, the study highpoint that the crop production and food sufficiency level of the tenants’ farmers of the Parsa district are decreasing. Many tenants’ farmers are seeking alternative opportunities for livelihood rather than sharecropping due to insecure land tenure, feudalistic practice, lack of storage for agriculture production, lack of proper agro-market. The situation is such that, if no action is taken timely, there may be a situation that we will have to depend on imports for all the food requirements. Thus, the study discloses that the sharecropping could act as catalyst for ensuring food sufficiency for all, if proper land tenure police are promoted to tenants/small farmers with legal titles to their land or promoted with sustainable agriculture methods.

Keywords: agriculture, food sufficiency, land, tenant farmes

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Authors: Javier Comes Fayos, Isabel RodríGuez Moreno, Sara Bressanutti, Marisol Lila, Angel Romero MartíNez, Luis Moya Albiol

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Given the great impact produced by gender-based violence, its comprehensive approach seems essential. Consequently, research has focused on risk factors for violent behaviour, linking various psychosocial variables, as well as cognitive and neuropsychological deficits with the aggressors. However, studies on affective processing are scarce, so the present study investigates possible emotional alterations in men convicted of gender violence. The participants were 51 aggressors, who attended the CONTEXTO program with sentences of less than two years, and 47 men with no history of violence. The sample did not differ in age, socioeconomic level, education, or alcohol and other substances consumption. Anger, alexithymia and facial recognition of other people´s emotions were assessed through the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Reading the mind in the eyes (REM), respectively. Men convicted of gender-based violence showed higher scores on the anger trait and temperament dimensions, as well as on the anger expression index. They also scored higher on alexithymia and in the identification and emotional expression subscales. In addition, they showed greater difficulties in the facial recognition of emotions by having a lower score in the REM. These results seem to show difficulties in different affective areas in men condemned for gender violence. The deficits are reflected in greater difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions, in processing anger and in recognizing the emotions of others. All these difficulties have been related to the use of violent behavior. Consequently, it is essential and necessary to include emotional regulation in intervention programs for men who have been convicted of gender-based violence.

Keywords: alexithymia, anger, emotional processing, emotional recognition, empathy, intimate partner violence

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Authors: Kunal Mankodi, Sudhir Pandey

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This study aims to assess the factors that play a role in setting up and running a social enterprise driven towards sustainability at the intersection of energy, environment, and poverty alleviation. According to the theory of sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI), conventional organisations adapt their processes to focus on sustainability-oriented innovations. On the other hand, social enterprises that are purpose-driven are also influenced by the context of innovation, which need due attention. This paper presents an account of innovation at Oorja - an Indian social enterprise operating with a farming-as-a-service business model. It aims to illustrate the contexts in which the innovative solutions were developed to work at an intersection between agriculture and clean energy, thereby allowing small farmers access to efficient solutions in the agriculture cycle. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews, and secondary data was collected from company sources. The study finds that in the case of a social enterprise, the definition of innovation assumes a wider scope by going beyond the introduction of a new product/service. The context of innovation for social enterprise is affected by organisational factors such as organisation’s philosophical mindset, behaviour towards innovation, organisation’s capabilities, regulatory environment, and customer receptiveness. Additionally, the study also finds that the context of innovation for a social enterprise is affected by its organizational structure. A majority of these organizational factors are, in turn, affected by individual (Founder’s) factors such as the founder’s formative years, education, direct exposure to relevant issues, complementary skills of co-founders, and a common calling.

Keywords: context of innovation, social enterprise, sustainability oriented innovations, emerging markets, agriculture

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Authors: Kinga Topolska, Agnieszka Filipiak-Florkiewicz, Adam Florkiewicz, Daria Chechelska, Iwona Cieślik, Ewa Cieślik

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Food choice is a complex human behaviour, that is influenced by many interrelating factors. It is important to understand what consumers really want to eat. Nowadays, the growing popularity of frozen desserts is observed. Among them, sorbets are of the special interest. They are made primarily of fruit juice or fruit purée, water and sugar. A questionnaire study was done to evaluate the consumer preferences towards sorbets. A hundred respondents were included in the study. The respondents answered the questions concerning, inter alia, on the favourite taste of sorbets, additional ingredients (pieces of fruits, nuts etc.), the reason for choosing the product and also the opinion about potential purchasing or not the new product. Women, more frequently than men, indicated strawberry sorbet or the product on the basis of citrus fruits as a favourite one. In turn, 14% of men chose the apple taste. Pieces of chocolate were chosen by most of respondents. Men, more often than women, regarded raisins, alcohol and nuts as the most desirable additional ingredients of sorbets. The candied fruits and spices were indicated more frequently by women. Most of respondents indicated the taste as the major reason for sorbet buying. In turn, for 20% women the most important determinant was the care for their figure. It was observed that more than a half of women regarded sorbets as healthier than traditional ice creams. Answering the question: 'If you had the opportunity to try a new sorbet, containing the ingredient with proven healthy properties, would you buy it?', significantly more men than women answered 'yes, because I like novelty'. Meanwhile, for 14% respondents (independently of gender) it would be only a publicity stunt. Knowing what the consumers desire in selecting a product, is a very important information to design and offer them a new one. Sorbets could be an interesting alternative to ice creams.

Keywords: consumer, preferences, sorbets, questionnaire study

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