bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hospital sostenible: Una estrategia verde para mejorar la competitividad en servicios de salud
Authors: Acevedo Vecino Luz Marina
Published: March 2016

En este documento se presenta la experiencia de aplicación del concepto de producción más limpia en entidades que prestan servicios de salud en el departamento de Boyacá. La metodología aplicada se centra en innovación y desarrollo tecnológico, hacia la adopción de estrategias de producción más limpia dentro del esquema sistemático de mejora continua, contempla tres componentes fundamentales: capacitación colectiva, asistencia técnica individual y la entrega del reconocimiento “HOSPITAL SOSTENIBLE” y además integra cuatro elementos complementarios que la fortalecen: el intercambio de experiencias exitosas, el consultorio técnico ambiental, las actividades de gestión en casa y la red virtual HSOS.  La dinámica generada, única en su género en Colombia, a través de ya cinco versiones del programa Hospital Sostenible, ha llevado al fortalecimiento de la prestación de servicios de calidad y a la minimización de impactos sobre
a
 la salud humana y el medio ambiente. Finalmente, se resaltan las condiciones particulares de la experiencia en el contexto regional y los resultados alcanzados.
Escombreras como alternativa para el control de erosión en mesetas urbanizadas
Authors: Mantilla Oviedo Gustavo Adolfo , Pimiento Gutiérrez Mayra Alejandra , Delgado Luna Yudith Helena
Published: March 2016

El documento a continuación relata el desarrollo investigativo, análisis y resultados de la evaluación geotécnica de las escombreras como alternativas ambientales para la recuperación de zonas que presentan el problema de erosión en mesetas urbanizadas, como sucede con el incremento de sectores erosionados en la meseta del área metropolitana de Bucaramanga- AMB-.  Tradicionalmente, la erosión en el AMB se ha manejado con técnicas ambientalmente ineficientes como revestimientos y muros, económicamente costosas como gaviones y geomembranas y socialmente excluyentes en tanto implican desalojos y conflictos de uso del suelo con las comunidades.  El objetivo principal del trabajo investigativo, base de este artículo, fue el de evaluar la técnica constructiva de escombreras a partir del modelo 1:1 en una escombrera piloto denominada comercialmente: “Botadero de Tierra El Parque”, que se encuentra localizada precisamente en la meseta de Bucaramanga. La metodología seguida para tal evaluación se orientó hacia la comprobación de la hipótesis acerca de la utilización de la opción del aprovechamiento de las escombreras como una técnica ambiental que fuese eficiente para el control del problema de la erosión, económicamente viable para las entidades responsables; y socialmente incluyente con la participación de las comunidades que habitan zonas en condiciones o en peligro de erosión.  
Variabilidad climática y desarrollo de capacidad adaptativa en el archipiélago Bocas del Toro en Panamá
Authors: Camargo Velandia Mercedes , Imbach Alejandro Carlos , Díaz Brionez Ángela , Vargas Jorge Eliécer
Published: March 2016

Las zonas marino-costeras comprenden las playas, los manglares y los corales; ecosistemas frágiles al cambio climático global y a la variabilidad climática, en particular por efectos tales como el aumento del nivel medio del mar, la sedimentación y la salinización.  En el archipiélago de Bocas del Toro en Panamá, las comunidades locales tienen como actividades económicas principales el turismo y la pesca, ambas estrechamente relacionadas con la preservación de ecosistemas marino-costeros.  La comprensión y valoración de los servicios ecosistémicos que brindan las playas, los manglares y los corales a las comunidades como medios de vida y su uso como defensa natural ante oleajes fuertes y para evitar procesos de erosión de las playas y líneas costeras  causados por el aumento en el nivel medio del mar, es un tema de interés regional.  Las estrategias de adaptación de las comunidades costeras se planean a partir de la percepción que ellas tienen del impacto al que se están viendo enfrentadas a causa de la variabilidad climática. Este artículo indaga qué tipo de percepción tiene la comunidad local de Bocas del Toro sobre la variabilidad climática y las acciones que adelantan para contrarrestar sus efectos en las condiciones de su calidad de vida.
Guía discursiva para la mediación de conflictos de intereses en zonas mineras
Authors: Suancha Mendoza Omar Enrique , Moreno González María Consuelo
Published: March 2016

Este artículo expone, a partir del análisis semiótico (análisis de significados culturales) de la situación conflictiva colombiana, elementos simbólicos que sirvan como mediadores cuando se presentan conflictos de intereses, particularmente entre las poblaciones endógenas (viven en el sitio de actividad minera) y exógenas (relacionadas con la zona minera pero que no habitan el sitio) de zonas mineras colombianas.   Aunque se aborda el caso colombiano, es posible deducir después de la lectura del contenido de este documento, que las mediaciones semióticas (discursos) propuestas pueden aplicarse a otros contextos que pertenezcan a la cultura latinoamericana, caracterizados por sufrir situaciones conflictivas similares a las expuestas, en áreas de actividades mineras (exploración, explotación, transporte, procesamiento, transformación y comercialización).  Así, se ofrecen en primer lugar, datos relevantes acerca del problema de la inexistencia de guías discursivas que le permitan al ingeniero, administrador, o persona encargada de las actividades mineras, mediar asertivamente en la búsqueda de soluciones ante conflictos de intereses que surgen entre poblaciones de zonas mineras.  En segundo lugar, se plantea la metodología base de para la guía discursiva que inicia con la recolección y rastreo de frases idiosincráticas, para continuar con su análisis y finalizar con la interpretación de los significados culturales analizados.
Study of The Main Types of Beverages Adulteration Seized in Recife City – Brazil
Authors: Antonio Gomes de Castro Neto  , Marcella Melo Assis Costa  , Maria Silene Vilar Schuler  , Emmanuela Prado de Paiva Azevedo
Published: March 2016

In this paper we analyzed expertise reports between 2010-2014 of forensic analyses used to discover beverages adulteration in Recife city. This research was performed consulting reports copies at general file sector performed of the Institute of Criminalistics Prof. Armando Samico (ICPAS). Was made Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of adulteration patterns by Recife Political-Administrative Regions (PAR), to establish most common incidence adulteration by city areas. Was found a total of 295 analyzes in beverages. Of these 71% were in alcoholic beverages, 18% in non-alcoholic beverages and 11% in bottled water. Regarding the 41% adulteration corresponded to foreign bodies’ presence, 27% showed fungi presence, 17% were being sold out-dated, 6% had sensory change, 5% were inconclusive expertise and 4% product does not correspond to that shown on the label. Through the PCA it was found that in the Southwest region of Recife occurred more cases of foreign bodies presence and not correspond products, in the South region occurred more fungi presence and sensory change. Although Center, North, West and Northwest regions have not statistically significant any type of adulteration. Consumption of adulterate beverages may cause risks to consumer health ingesting toxic substances due to degradation or presence of microorganisms or the presence of foreign bodies.
Has Eurosceptic Mobilization Become More Contagious? Comparing the 2009 and 2014 EP Election Campaigns in The Netherlands and France
Authors: Meijers Maurits , Rauh Christian
Published: March 2016

With the lingering Euro crisis, personalized competition for the Commission presidency, and a surge of Eurosceptic parties, the 2014 European Parliament elections took place against an unknown level of European Union politicization. How does this changing context affect the supply side of party competition on European issues in EP election campaigns? This article compares the 2014 and 2009 EP elections in two EU founding members with high electoral support for radical left and radical right Euroscepticism—France and the Netherlands. We study publically visible patterns of partisan mobilization in the written news media with semi-automated content analyses. The data indicate that visible party mobilization on EU issues was on average not significantly higher in 2014. While particularly mainstream and especially incumbent parties publically mobilize on European issues during both campaigns, the radical right’s mobilization efforts have become more visible during the 2014 elections. Examining the temporal dynamics within electoral campaigns, we show that the Eurosceptic fringes exhibit significant contagion effects on the mainstream parties, but that the extent of this contagion was surprisingly lower in the 2014 campaign. As a result, the increasing EU politicization between the 2009 and 2014 electoral contests has not resulted in an enhanced and more interactive supply of partisan debate about Europe.
Process optimization for in-line production of Rabri
Authors: Chopde* Santosh , Kumar Bikram , Minz Prashant
Published: March 2016

Scraped surface heat exchanger (SSHE) was integrated with conical process vat (CPV) for in-line production of rabri. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the process parameters on the basis of sensory score, chromatic and textural attributes. The four factors considered for optimization were initial concentration of milk in SSHE, final concentration of milk in CPV, ratio of clotted cream layer (CCL) to sweetened concentrated milk (SCM) and steam pressure of CPV during removal of CCL. Optimum parameters predicted for rabri production were initial concentration of milk to 30% total solids (TS) in SSHE, final concentration of milk to 40% TS in CPV before sugar addition, 0.167 CCL/SCM ratio and 0.8 kg/cm2 steam pressure of CPV during removal of CCL. The observed values for flavour, body and texture, colour and appearance, overall acceptability, firmness, L*, a* and b* were 7.97, 7.93, 8.23, 8.067, 0.3540, 75.907, 01.14 and 16.3197 respectively.
Forecasting of milk production in India with ARIMA and VAR time series models
Authors: Deshmukh*1 Sagar Surendra , Paramasivam R.
Published: March 2016

India is witnessing tremendous growth in dairy industry. The milk production has increased from 20 million tonnes in 1961 to 132 million tonnes in 2012-13. India has been retaining its number one position in milk production for many years. Dairy Industry in India is growing at the rate of 10% per annum. Considering this, it is essential to know the future production to improve and sustain the growth and development of sector. The objective of the study is to find out most suitable forecasting method for milk production for sustainable future production and policy implications. The data used in study is secondary data, collected from FAOSTAT (1961 to 2012) and NDDB (1991 to 2012). Stationarity of data was checked with Autocorrelation Function (ACF) and Partial autocorrelation function (PACF), after confirming the stationarity, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Vector Autoregression (VAR) models were used. Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), Schwartz Bayesian Criteria (SBC), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), R square and RMSE were used to test reliability of model. The results indicate that ARIMA (1, 1, 1) is more suitable method with the use of SPSS software package for forecasting of milk. Milk production is expected to be 160 million tonnes by 2017.
Prioritization of constraints faced by different marketing functionaries in the organised cattle fairs of Rajasthan
Authors: Das* Goutam , Jain D.K. , Pandit1 Arun
Published: March 2016

State level cattle fairs of Rajasthan play an important role in the socio-economic matrix of the state. In spite of the importance of these cattle fairs, number of both assembled and transacted animals has been decreasing over the years due to several constraints. The present study was conducted during 2011 to identify the constraints faced by different marketing functionaries in the state level cattle fairs. According to sellers, lack of infrastructure, inadequate feeds and fodder availability at fair, un-remunerative margin, difficulty in transportation, lack of sanitation, lack of market information, harassment at check points, lack of security at night and difficulty to convince buyers were major constraints. Buyers on the other hand reported lack of infrastructure, inadequate feed and fodder availability, delay in “Rawana” (departure date), high market price of animals, malpractices, difficulty in transportation, lack of sanitation, lack of market information, harassment at check points and lack of security at night as some important constraints in the state level cattle fairs of Rajasthan.
Effect of inulin, fructooligosaccharides and L. acidophilus in formulating a synbiotic yoghurt
Authors: Rani K. Sudha , Srividya N.
Published: March 2016

The objective of the present investigation is to develop a suitable protocol for low fat synbiotic yoghurt with inclusion of L. acidophilus (probiotic), Inulin and Fructo oligosaccharides (prebiotics). The prebiotic yoghurts were prepared by using control yoghurt and addition of prebiotics. The nutritional profile of control yoghurt (CY), prebiotic yoghurt (PY) and Synbiotic yoghurt(SY) were studied. The nutritional profile of the products studied includes mineral composition, carbohydrate and in vitro calcium availability. The carbohydrate profiles determined were the total soluble sugars, reducing and non-reducing sugars. The prebiotics (which are fructose polymers) containing yoghurt exhibited a high sugar profile. The prebiotic yoghurt showed high mineral profile of Ca, Mg, and P followed by synbiotic yoghurt. In vitro calcium availability was found higher in samples containing inulin and/ FOS. Prebiotic yoghurt samples showed higher sensory acceptability scores than other samples. Texture profile analysis further confirmed improvement in textural parameters in samples containing prebiotics. Thus, the present investigation resulted in the development of low fat prebiotic and synbiotic yoghurts with improved functionality and enhanced therapeutic benefits, suitable for infants and elderly owing to its better digestibility and high nutrient availability, for boosting the immune system and for producing beneficial clinical and systemic effects.
Evaluation of little millet Paddu for physico-chemical nutritional, microbiological and sensory attributes
Authors: Madalageri Deepa M. , Yenagi* Nirmala B. , Shirnalli1 Geeta
Published: March 2016

The present study was undertaken to evaluate little millet paddu for physico-chemical, nutritional, microbiological and sensory attributes as compared to rice paddu. The standardized proportion of ingredients of cereal to mixture of pulse in the ratio of 6:1 (little millet 81.48, black gram dhal 13.58, bengal gram dhal 1.36, red gram dhal 1.36, fenugreek seed 0.82 and flaked rice 1.4g) and 4:1 (rice 74.58, black gram dhal 18.64, bengal gram dhal 1.86, red gram dhal 1.86, fenugreek seed 1.12 and flaked rice 1.94g) was used for little millet and rice paddu respectively. Processing treatments like soaking for 6 h and fermentation for 14 hr were used for preparation of paddu. Significant differences were observed in the increase in the volume, bulk density, specific gravity, pH and titratable acidity of little millet batter. The changes in physical characteristic of paddu with respect to total volume, average volume and bulk density were significant for little millet and rice paddu, whereas the total number, total weight of paddu and average weight of paddu did not show significant changes. Little millet paddu was highly nutritious than rice paddu and did not show significant difference in the scores of sensory attributes. Significant difference in the microbial population in fermented batter was observed between little millet and rice. L.mesenteroides, Lactobacillus spp. and yeast dominated the fermentation process among all the microorganisms. In little millet paddu, yeast were observed whereas in rice paddu bacteria were present. E coli were absent in both the paddu.
Study on effect of custard apple leaf extract on physico-chemical properties of aonla juice
Authors: S.* Mundhe Sushilkumar , R. Sawate Arvind , M. Patil Bhanudas , B. Kshirsagar Rajesh , Kulkarni S.P.
Published: March 2016

The leaf extract was prepared by shade drying of leaves for 4-5 days, the dried leaves were pulverized and boiled in water bath with distilled water to get the liquid extract. Further the liquid extract was centrifuged and then supernatant was spray dried to get powdered extract. Sweetened aonla juice formulation was made with different proportion of custard apple leaf extract varying from 0 to 15 g in increasing order from control (0) to A1 (5g), A2 (10g) and A3 (15g) respectively. The prepared juices were analyzed for physico-chemical composition and sensory evaluation. The retention of quercetin [(a flavonol, is a flavonoid, in other words, a plant pigment with a molecular structure like flavone. It is found in fruits, vegetables, leaves and grains. It can be used as an ingredient in supplements, beverages, or foods having nutraceutical value. )] in aonla juice sample A1, A2, A3 was 15.20, 32.80 and 49.75 mg per 1000 ml. Sample A2 (10g custard apple leaf extract) scored highest score for overall acceptability was 8.8.
Growth and export status of Indian floriculture: A review
Authors: Misra Debajit , Ghosh Sudip
Published: March 2016

This paper aims at conducting a study on recent developments of floriculture industry in India, particularly in terms of production of cut flowers and the growth of the industry and its trade with the world. Primary focus is on the flowers (loose as well as cut flowers) that are grown commercially. Time series data covering a period of last two decades have been used for the study. The paper also reports on the global trade scenario for floricultural products, indicating the major trading countries and their trade. It is observed that during the period the production of both the loose and cut flowers have been growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.92% and 26.66%, respectively. However, the first decade did not see substantial growth in export of floricultural products from India. During the last decade, export increased at a CAGR of 4.33%. India’s share of global floriculture trade at present is only about 0.6%.
Population Distribution Model For Oman
Authors: Rahman Shafiqur
Published: March 2016

Past population census data of Sultanate of Oman are analyzed to find the best-fitted age distribution model applying chi-square goodness of fit test and model selection criteria. It is observed that the age distribution of the Omani population is exponential. The population figures for different age groups of Oman are estimated using exponential distribution. Age distribution of Omani population is compared with that of other Gulf countries and also with some developed nations. It is observed that, unlike other developed countries of the world, the age distribution of Omani population does not change significantly over the last two decades. It is also observed that the median age of the Omani population is about half of that of other developed nations. Ageing is not a problem for Oman or Gulf countries, but it is a big issue for most developed countries. Young populations in Oman are significantly higher than that of developed countries.
Global Mutual Fund Industry Comparisons: Canada, The United Kingdom And The United States
Authors: Fitzpatrick Brian D. , Hepp Daniel C. , Lott Erinn J.
Published: March 2016

The concept of mutual funds is older than many believe, originating in Holland over 230 years ago.  Through the years, mutual funds have evolved by allowing investors to invest their capital in various venues.  The structure of mutual funds in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States possess similar configurations.  The majority of funds in all three nations are invested in the equity market.  Although the structure may be the same, the size in terms of assets varies by these three countries.  This is not the only difference though; the expense ratio is greatly differentiated, dramatically affecting the amount of return that the investor will anticipate over time.  Assuming identical returns, the authors illustrate that over a hypothetical ten-year time period, your funds would grow the most in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom and finally Canada.  This analysis assumes comparable contemporary expense ratios of 1.4% for the United States, 1.63% for the United Kingdom, and 2.1% for Canada.  In addition, we make the assumption that these comparison countries are having investors procure funds in no-load mutual funds.
The Effect Of IFRS Adoption On Global Market Integration
Authors: Cai Francis , Wong Hannah
Published: March 2016

This paper examines the effect of the adoption of international financial accounting standards (IFRS) on global capital market integration, measure by correlation matrix of the stock market index returns. We investigate a sample of countries that have adopted IFRS as their accounting standards for listed companies.  Our results are consistent with the suggestion that these markets will have a higher degree of integration among them after their IFRS adoption as compared to the period before the adoption.
Business Ethical Decisions In Kazakhstan
Authors: Erdener Carolyn
Published: March 2016

This paper is part of a larger study designed to explore the effects of ethnicity, nationality, and gender on responses to a variety of business ethical dilemmas in Central Asia.  The data were collected in spring 2010 from MBA students at an American-style business school located in Kazakhstan.  The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to the conceptual categories of western philosophies of ethics (utilitarianism, deontology, individual rights, justice, etc.).  Possible implications for managers of international and local firms operating in Central Asia are indicated.  Suggestions for the next phase of this line of research are included.  The study is ongoing and is presented as a work-in-progress, thus the findings are considered preliminary.
Gender, Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy, And Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientations: The Case Of The Caribbean
Authors: Esnard-Flavius Talia
Published: March 2016

Women owned business is increasingly becoming an important part of the entrepreneurial process.  As such, there is an ongoing effort in the entrepreneurial field to understand the factors that shape their entrepreneurial attitude orientations (EAOs) and by extension, their entrepreneurial behavior.  Given such importance, this paper advances local research in this field through the application of the integrated social cognitive theory to the understanding of the interplay between gender, entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), and students’ EAOs.  Using a survey of 539 Caribbean students from higher education institutions in Trinidad, the study found that while gender acts as a weak  determinant of students ESE (r=0.115, p=0.08), it has insignificant associations with EAOs (r=0.45, p=.305).  Furthermore, the study did not find any support for expected variations in students’ perception of their ESE and EAOs based on gender.  On the other hand, ESE as a personal and social construct proved to have both indirect and indirect effects on students’ perceptions of the EAOs.  In that regard, it produced a Pearsons r of (.0464, p=0.01) and showed mediating and inverse effect on the relationship between gender and EAOs.  Implications of these findings for researchers and policy makers are discussed and areas for further research are outlined.
Implications Of The Selection Of A Method To Allocate State Income Taxes In Order To Determine Net Foreign-Source Income
Authors: Kozub Robert M.
Published: March 2016

Internal Revenue Code Sections 861-864 determine the source of income and Sections 861(a) and 862(a) specifically allocate certain items of gross income to sources within or without the United States.  Sections 861(b) and 862(b) state generally how to determine taxable income for a taxpayer with income sources within or without the United States after such source has been determined. Regulation § 1.861-8 provides more information on allocating state and local taxes to U.S. - and foreign-source income.  Regulation § 1.861-8 is based on the factual relationship of deductions to gross income test.  This Regulation provides a concise rule requiring that the deduction for state, local, and foreign income, war profits, and excess profits taxes under Section 164 are definitely related and allocable to the gross income with respect to which such taxes are imposed. Under Regulation § 1.861(e)(6) if foreign-source of a corporation related by ownership to a corporate taxpayer is attributed to the activities conducted by the taxpayer in a state and is subject to state income tax, as in a state unitary income tax, the state tax deduction is allocable to the foreign-source income of the related corporation for purposes of the foreign tax credit used § 904.  This paper first considers the most common methods for allocating state income taxes, the presumptive, analytic, and state-by-state methods.  In the Chevron case, the Tax Court was asked to consider whether any of the following methods comply with the regulations; these methods are the gross income, factor operations, statutory notice, the pro rata, and the example methods.  This paper will also consider the requirements and validity of related regulations.
Fast Fashion In A Flat World: Global Sourcing Strategies
Authors: Mihm Barbara
Published: March 2016

The following research offers a theoretical model for understanding sourcing decisions made by apparel retailers. The concept of fast fashion is explored by applying the model to Zara and Kohl’s. Factors influencing sourcing decisions are noted, and financial results of the retailers are compared. Finally, ideas for future research using the model are offered.
The Influence Of Human Capital On The Innovativeness Of Firms
Authors: Santos-Rodrigues Helena , Dorrego Pedro Figueroa , Jardon Carlos Fernandez
Published: March 2016

Despite the importance of innovation and innovativeness within today’s economy, we know little about how intellectual capital of firms can contribute to a superior innovation at the firm’s level. Based on resources and knowledge-based views of firms we developed a hypothesis linking three dimensions of human capital (component of the intellectual capital) and the innovativeness of firms. As a representation of the firm’s innovativeness, we consider the product, process and management innovation. Using a survey from 68 firms working on the auto components sector, established in the Northern of Spain and Northern of Portugal, we found firstly, that innovativeness has two main dimensions, perfectly differentiated, the product-process innovation and the management innovation; secondly that the human capital dimensions (formation and knowledge creation, innovative behave, and incentives to innovation) influences differently each type of innovativeness capacity. We found that the different human capital dimension influences directly, only, the product-process innovativeness. More specifically only the innovative behavior and the incentives to innovation influence the product-process innovativeness. The formation and knowledge creation dimension doesn’t influence directly either the product-process innovativeness or the management innovativeness. Moreover, none of the human capital dimensions considered influence the management innovativeness directly. These results highlight the importance of human capital on innovative performance, and it allows identification of  the most important dimensions that influence directly the different innovativeness capacities and more broadly, highlight the value of intellectual capital as a competitive advantage in contemporary times.
Sustaining ECOWAS In The Dynamic Confluence Of Regional Market Constraints
Authors: Richards Darlington , Nwanna Gladson
Published: March 2016

This paper discusses the  Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a concept founded and deeply rooted in the market and economic integration of the participating countries, as well as a model frame for the larger, if more ambitious, integration of the entire continent. It contends that if effectively implemented, sub-Saharan Africa would experience a huge transition that would tremendously transform its participation in globalization so significantly than is otherwise the case today. In this paper, we outline the contending dynamics and constraints in the sub-region. From this premise, it focuses on the market integration challenges facing ECOWAS as it identifies the institutional, structural and infrastructural constraints, with their backgrounds and origins in the colonial antecedents of the member countries. It is our contention that effective economic integration (substantially lacking at present) requires the development of core human “facilitators”, as well as institutional and infrastructural convergence and compatibility in functional market structures. While we note that the need, and indeed urgency, to fully integrate the sub-region is hampered by the lack of a realistic timetable or framework for implementation, we also note the lack of prioritization of integratable policy options. In this paper, however, we have not addressed what or which policy options should enjoy sequential priority in the realization of full economic integration, even though such criticality is noted. The failure of full economic integration more than 25 years after inception speaks to larger underlying constraint components within and without the sub-region that must be addressed. The futility of an integration initiate with such disparate and divergent in-country policy initiatives cannot be over-emphasized. As a process, regional economic integration is a value-driven process that can potentially deliver benefits to consumers and present firms with new markets, as well as challenges. Hopefully, addressing these constraints would persuade a holistic and more optimistic assessment of the sub-region (as opposed to individual country assessment) as an alternative location that is sufficiently attractive in its competitive offer and sensitivity to Foreign Direct Investment.
Cross-Functional Maintenance And Logistics Business Process Integration: Lessons From A Large Oil And Gas Company
Authors: Van der Weshuizen Johannes P. , West Martin
Published: March 2016

The purpose of this research focused on integration and alignment of maintenance and logistics functions in a large ERP system in an oil and gas company to demonstrate how cross-functional integration can improve operations. A design science approach has been used based on a case study of a large oil and gas company. The study found that limited cross-functional integration involving the logistics function exists. Proposed process redesign involves activities include improved storage and picking strategies, information exchange, notification of fully received components at the warehouse and an improved shipping strategy. These improvement strategies have been tested through random questionnaires and most respondents support the improvements. This study shows that business process improvement facilitated by cross-functional process integration should realise substantial financial benefits. We have shown that warehouse operation strategies do have an impact on the work order performance through the on-time delivery of its components. In addition, regular communication and utilisation of the available information can also improve the scheduling of work order execution. These benefits are not limited to the company in question but the results show that if companies in general give more attention to cross-functional integration, substantial benefits are possible. The focus of this study is uncommon as it is the integration of logistics and maintenance functions within an organisation. We show substantial process improvements are possible. It therefore provides another opportunity for business process improvement experts to better align various systems and processes.
How Does External Knowledge Source Infuence Product Innovation In Korean Firms?
Authors: Lee Jaegun , Huh Moon-Goo
Published: March 2016

This study addresses how external knowledge sources affect product innovation by examining innovating Korean manufacturers surveyed by STEPI in 2012. The external knowledge source of the company is classified in STI mode (science-technology-innovation) on the basis of scientific knowledge and DUI mode (doing-using-interacting) on the basis of experience knowledge. First, the study reveals that neither the STI nor DUI modes affects the firm’s financial performance via product innovation. Second, the results show that the more the company learns from external knowledge through the STI or DUI modes, the more frequent its product innovation. Therefore, STI and DUI usage is found to be proportional to the frequency of product innovation, with the STI mode exerting much more influence on product innovation frequency. Finally, the study finds that neither the STI nor DUI modes affect exploratory innovation but that the DUI mode is proportional to it. Thus, the frequency of product innovation is enhanced through the STI mode via the application of externally sourced scientific knowledge to the innovation process, while current technology and products are enhanced through the DUI mode. This study finds that enhancing product innovation requires that companies determine the proper external knowledge source in accordance with their innovation performance goals.
The Reciprocal Relationship Between Human Resource Management Professionalism And A Diverse South African Workplace Context
Authors: Schutte Nico , Barkhuizen Nicolene
Published: March 2016

The main objective of this research was to determine the interactive relationship between human resource management (HRM) professional competencies and background variables of employees in diverse South African work place context. A Human Resource professional competency measure was administered among HR practitioners and managers (N=483) from a variety of South African organisations. The results showed that significant differences exist between the respondent’s perceptions of the importance of HRM competencies based on their age, educational qualifications years of work experience and management level. Respondents aged 20-29 years viewed the leadership- and personal credibility, solution creation, HR metrics, HR service delivery and HR technology as less important than older employees. Respondents with a higher level qualification viewed the HRM competencies of Leadership- and personal credibility, talent management, HR risk, HR service delivery, Strategic impact, HR business knowledge, Business acumen and HR technology as more important than respondents with a lower level qualification. Respondents with 11 to 15 years of work experience regarded the solution creation competency as more importance that did those with 0 to five years of work experience. Respondents employed on middle management level viewed the competency of being able to perform metrics as more important than did those employed on operational level. Recommendations are made.
A Comparative Study Of Smartphone Addiction Drivers’ Effect On Work Performance In The U.S. And Korea
Authors: Lee Won-Jun , Shin Seungjae
Published: March 2016

Smartphone addiction is a new phenomenon when a smartphone becomes a necessity in our daily life. This study explores smartphone addiction drivers and their results. Four factors such as ease of use, emotional lift, preference of social interaction, and flow, are used for drivers and neglect of work is used as a proxy of addiction result. In the result of structured equation modeling analysis, preference of social interaction is not related with smartphone usage behaviors such as usage frequency and usage hours. In the analysis of U.S. users, emotional lift is a driver and in the analysis of Korean users, ease of use and flow are drivers for smartphone addiction. There is a significant relationship between smartphone use and neglect of work in both countries. Even if there is a trend of converging user behavior because of globalization, drivers for smartphone addiction are different in the U.S. and Korea.
Factors Determining Industrial Competitiveness And The Role Of Spillovers
Authors: Kleynhans Ewert P.J.
Published: March 2016

This article applied regressions and panel data analysis to determine how micro-economic spillovers enhance the competitiveness of firms and industries. What made this study unique was that it considered the interactions between various spillover factors working simultaneously and their effect on competitiveness and also investigated possible harmful effects of spillovers. Data from the Manufacturing Firm Survey of the World Bank was used, which covered the first decade of the third millennium, including world economic crises. The investigation on sales used cross-sectional regressions, following a survey conducted on sales and competitiveness. The general findings were that FDI and technological expenses offered little spillover advantages to firms, but that spillovers from research and development do enhance competitiveness. Managerial expertise and education of the workforce restrict spillovers and enhance competitiveness, while a larger and less educated workforce increases leakages of information and spillovers, suppressing competitiveness. The results further revealed that exports and spending on communication, machinery and equipment, a trained work force and innovation all enhanced sales, but the numbers of new firms and the number of privately owned businesses suppress competitiveness. Concerning the negative effects of spillovers, corruption, crime, theft and disorder increase spillovers and curb competitiveness. More spending on security decreases these negative spillovers, as does support from well-known suppliers. A larger workforce causes more negative spillovers, as do the number of new and temporary workers, more competitors and new suppliers. The findings of this study will be of special value to managers and project planners.
Technical Efficiency And Its Determinants: An Empirical Study Of Surgical Instruments Cluster Of Pakistan
Authors: Ikram Amir , Su Qin , Sadiq Muhammad Asif
Published: March 2016

The empirical study was conducted to examine the technical efficiency of SMEs in the export-oriented surgical instruments cluster of Sialkot, Pakistan. Data was collected through survey questionnaire from 70 SMEs, listed at Census of Manufacturing Industries and Federal Bureau of Statistics. For data analysis, Cobb-Douglas production function and an inefficiency model based on stochastic frontier approach, estimated through OLS method, were employed. The study draws on its inferences from both the qualitative and quantitative data. There was widespread prevalence of technical inefficiencies and provision of indirect inputs, labor, material and energy found to be significant determinants of technical efficiency. Moreover, this export-oriented industrial cluster is shown to experience constant returns to scale.  Provision of proximate specialized surgical instruments and raw-material market is recommended. We also put forward cluster-specific suggestion of pursuing of 'triple-helix+1' model, whereby local community is integrated with the traditional triple helix forces. It was further advocated that by reducing the prevailing technical inefficiency in this urbanization economy, productivity can be enhanced by as much as 5.6%. Implications for cluster-based industries are drawn from our findings to provide pragmatic recommendations to both policymakers and prospective entrepreneurs.
Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting, Pyramidal Structure And Political Interference: Evidence From China
Authors: Wang Jianling , Zhou Mi , Lei Lijun , Fan Weiguo
Published: March 2016

This paper attempts to investigate the relation between pyramidal structure and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting quality and the effect of political interference on the relation. Based on 1388 Chinese A-share listed firms during 2010-2012, this paper demonstrates that the separation between control and ownership rights is significantly and positively related to the CSR reporting quality in the state-owned firms (SOFs), while negatively related to the CSR reporting quality in the non-state-owned firms (NSOFs). Results also indicate that the pyramidal layer between the bottom firms and their top ultimate owners is negatively related to CSR reporting quality, particularly significant for the NSOFs. Our research enriches the corporate governance literature by giving insights into the mechanism of pyramidal structure in corporate reporting, and extends the understanding of political interference in the CSR field. This study has public policy implications for China as well as a number of other countries in the Asia–Pacific region.
The Usefulness Of The Tax Avoidance Proxy: Evidence From Korea
Authors: Lee Hyun-Ah
Published: March 2016

This study aims to verify the usefulness of the tax avoidance proxy developed by Desai and Dharmapala (2006) in the setting where accounting-tax alignment is relatively high and aggressive tax planning is restricted. By using a large set of firms in Korea, I empirically test whether the tax avoidance proxy detects the management of book-tax and book-only accruals. My findings show that downward management of book-tax accruals for tax reporting purposes is not detected by the tax avoidance proxy. However, upward management of book-only accruals for financial reporting purposes is captured by the tax avoidance proxy. In addition, the tax avoidance proxy better detects simultaneous management of two accrual components than management of book-tax accruals alone. Lastly, the tax avoidance proxy is more powerful in detecting tax avoidance activities in a sample of firms with high tax and financial reporting costs than in firms that carry high tax costs but low financial reporting costs. The results of this study imply that the tax avoidance proxy can be a good indicator only when used for firms that are conscious of their financial reporting costs and have incentive to manage both taxable and book income at the same time under the setting where book-tax conformity is high and aggressive tax shelters are restricted. This study sheds light on the usefulness of the tax avoidance proxy which has been widely used in the accounting studies and provides a caveat to researchers that the proxy should be employed with caution and in appropriate setting.
Authors: Liu Cong , Bezerra Jorge Adbon
Published: March 2016

Objetivo: Culturas primárias de hepatócitos humanos sáo comuns em sistemas in vitro para estudar o metabolismo hepático de xenobióticos. No entanto, as fontes de tecidos humanos saudáveis como doadores de hepatócitos sáo muito limitados. No presente estudo, objetivamos desenvolver um sistema reversível para facilitar a auto-regeneraçáo dos hepatócitos primários, mantendo a capacidade de restauraçáo da funçáo diferenciada. Nossa hipótese foi que a remoçáo temporal dos SV40T dos hepatócitos transformado renovava a expressáo de funções metabólicas altamente especializadas. Métodos: Foram gerados retrovírus recombinantes com LoxP-ladeado SV40T sinalizados com EGFP (RetroSV40T) e adenovírus com a expressáo de Cre-recombinase sinalizadas com DsRed (AdCreDsRed). Os vírus foram usados seqüencialmente para condicionalmente transformar hepatócitos murinos e humanos in vitro. Resultados: A infecçáo com RetroSV40T transformou tanto hepatócitos murinos quanto humanos. A expressáo de EGFP facilitou a monitorizaçáo das células infectadas e isolamento de clones de células transformadas. A expressáo de SV40T resultou em uma reduçáo generalizada na expressáo dos genes CYP por clones transformados de hepatócitos humanos. A infecçáo de um desses clones com AdCreDsRed excisou SV40T e EGFP e expressou eficientemente DsRed para identificar células em reversáo. A análise da expressáo gênica em células infectadas com os adenovírus revelou plena restauraçáo da expressáo de CYP3A4 RNAm e recuperaçáo da expressáo parcial de CYP2C9 e CYP2D6. Conclusáo: A infecçáo sequencial dos hepatócitos primários com RetroSV40T e AdCreDsRed gera células com capacidade de auto-regeneraçáo, com o potencial para restaurar a expressáo gênica diferencial sobre a excisáo de SV40T pela Cre-recombinase.
Effect of simvastatin in hepatic ischemia and reperfusion in rats
Authors: Carvalho Marília Daniela Ferreira , Melo Laís Izabel Maia , Chacon Maria Clara Medeiros , Farias Daniel Costa Rodrigues , Azevedo Ítalo Medeiros de , Rêgo Amália Cínthia Meneses , Medeiros Vítor Brasil , Araújo-Filho Irami , Medeiros Aldo Cunha
Published: March 2016

Purpose: Liver injury induced by ischemia and reperfusion is frequently observed in the immediate postoperative period in liver transplantation and partial hepatectomy, when the liver is subjected to a period of partial or total ischemia at various times. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of simvastatin in preventing liver ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats, using the biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, biochemical, immunological and histological analysis. Methods: Eighteen Wistar rats were randomly divided into three equal groups of six each. Group sham; Group IR (isquemia of left and medium hepatic lobes for 45 min; reperfusion for 24 hs); and IR simvastatin group. Animals from IR simvastatin group were treated with simvastatin microemulsion at a dose of 10mg/kg v.o. (gavage) once daily for 5 days before ischemia and reperfusion (IR). Results: Both the right and the left hepatic lobe had higher uptake of fitate-99mTc04 radioactivity in group IR simvastatin than in group IR (p<0.05). The plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured at the end of each experiment. Simvastatin pretreatment led to a profound decrease in plasma enzyme levels compared with IR rats (p≤0.001). Histopathological examination revealed necrotic areas predominantly in the perivenular zone, cytoplasm vacuolization and sinusoidal congestion in an IR group rats. Simvastatin pretreatment strongly protected livers from these changes. Conclusion: In summary, our study provides the evidence that pretreatment with simvastatin protected rat livers from ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo. This protective effect was validated by a decrease of plasma liver enzymes and histopathological features of liver injury, as well as by biodistribution of fitate-Tc99m in liver tissue.
The Place of the “Indio” in Social Research: Considerations from Mapuche history
Authors: Nahuelpan Héctor
Published: March 2016

This article traces pivotal moments in the history of Indigenous participation in social research as “objects” of study, informants, collaborators and researchers. It proposes that these racial and political hierarchies have been forged by colonization. Specific histories reveal the ways these links have developed over time. The Mapuche peoples’ experience with the field of history and knowledge production is understood here as both a political position and a site of enunciation that contributes to understanding these relations. Consequently, I argue that any challenge, weakening or dismantling of colonial relations moves us towards a (self-)criticism of hegemonic ideological and epistemological formations and the racial and political hierarchies that structure these relations.