Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of value added (VA) as an indicator of intellectual capital (IC), and its impact on the firm's economic, financial and stock market performance.Design/methodology/approach – The value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC™) method is used on 300 UK companies divided into three groups of industries: high‐tech, traditional and services. Data require to calculate VAIC™ method are obtained from the “Value Added Scoreboard” provided by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Empirical analysis is conducted using correlation and linear multiple regression analysis.Findings – The results show that companies' IC has a positive impact on economic and financial performance. However, the association between IC and stock market performance is only significant for high‐tech industries. The results also indicate that capital employed remains a major determinant of financial and stock market performance although it has a negative impact on economic perform...
Amparo Moret-Tatay, Marcelino Pérez-Bemejo, Maria Teresa Murillo Llorente
et al.
Mental health disorders are a growing concern in Italy, where prevalence rates for anxiety and depression reach 5.1 % and 3.5 %, respectively (ESEMeD study), compounded by post-COVID-19 socioeconomic stressors. Validated, efficient tools for screening are urgently needed. This study compares the psychometric properties of the DASS-21 and its short forms, the DASS-12, DASS-10, and DASS-8, in the Italian general population.A total of 204 Italian adults (M age = 35.14, SD = 12.84) participated via an online survey. We evaluated test-retest reliability, convergent validity with the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), and structural validity through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Reliability was high across all versions (r = 0.94–0.98). Convergent validity with the BRCS showed negative correlations (r = −0.39 to −0.14), with the strongest associations for the depression subscales of DASS-12 (r = −0.39) and DASS-21 (r = −0.359), likely due to their alignment with cognitive-emotional resilience, while weaker anxiety correlations reflect its somatic focus. CFA results showed that the DASS-8 had the best model fit (CFI = 0.979, RMSEA = 0.064). It also demonstrated the strongest bifactor structure, with the highest omega hierarchical coefficient and explained variance.While all versions performed adequately, trade-offs emerged: the DASS-8 offered excellent fit but limited domain coverage; the DASS-10 showed structural inconsistencies; and the DASS-12 provided a balanced compromise. The DASS-8 is recommended for rapid screening in primary care and digital health platforms, supporting scalable public health strategies for early detection and intervention. The DASS-12 may be preferable when construct differentiation is essential.
Frances Sentilles, Louise O. R. Machado, Rita de Cássia Franco Rêgo
The 2019 Northeast Brazil Oil Spill represents an opportunity to observe small-scale fishing communities’ disaster response capacity and identify opportunities to improve resilience. With a delayed and disjointed national government response, many communities organised clean-up activities and other actions. A mixed-methods study including a questionnaire (n=168) and semi-structured interviews (n=11) was conducted in two municipalities in Bahia to analyse the disaster response. 66.1% (111/168) of the questionnaire respondents participated in clean-up efforts, with greater participation in the community, with more fishing trade associations and government support. The rapid mobilisation of these volunteer efforts was a positive indicator of resilience, although fishers’ involvement puts them at risk for health consequences. Risk management, access to materials, and emergency literacy were weaknesses in the disaster response. While government management and ownership are needed during acute disasters, partnerships with fishing communities could serve to enhance disaster resilience due to their pre-existing organisational structures and demonstrated willingness to volunteer as first responders.
Peter Griffiths, Christina Saville, Jane Ball
et al.
Background The National Health Service faces significant challenges in recruiting and retaining registered nurses. Recruiting unregistered staff is often adopted as a solution to the registered nurse shortage, but recent research found lower registered nurse staffing levels increase hospital mortality with no evidence that higher levels of assistant staff reduced risk. Objectives To estimate the consequences, costs and cost-effectiveness of variation in the size and composition of the staff on acute hospital wards in England. To determine if results are likely to be sensitive to staff groups such as doctors and therapists, who are not on ward rosters, associations between staffing and outcomes for multiple staff groups, including medical, are explored at hospital level. Design A national cross-sectional panel study and a patient-level longitudinal observational study using routine data. Setting All English acute hospital Trusts and a subsample of four Trusts for the patient-level study. Interventions Naturally occurring variation in the size and composition of the workforce. Participants Patients experiencing a hospital admission with an overnight stay and nursing staff providing care on inpatient wards. Outcomes Death, patient and staff experience, length of stay, re-admission, adverse events, incidents (Datix), staff sickness, costs and quality-adjusted life-years. Data sources Publicly available records of hospital activity, staffing and outcomes (cross-sectional study) and hospital administrative systems (longitudinal study). Results In the cross-sectional study, lower staffing levels from doctors and allied health professionals were associated with increased risk of death. Higher nurse staffing levels were associated with better patient experience and staff well-being. In the longitudinal study, for adult inpatients, exposure to days with lower-than-expected registered nurses or nursing assistant staff was associated with increased hazard of death (adjusted hazard ratio 1.08/1.07, 95% confidence interval 1.07 to 1.09/1.06 to 1.08) and longer hospital stays. Low registered nurse staffing was also associated with increased hazard of re-admission (adjusted hazard ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 1.02). Eliminating low staffing cost £2778 per quality-adjusted life-years gained. Avoidance of registered nurse understaffing gave more benefits and was more cost-effective for highly acute patients. Although high bank or agency staffing was associated with increased hazard of death, avoiding low staffing using temporary staff still reduced mortality but was more costly and less effective than using permanent staff. If costs of avoided hospital stays are included, avoiding low staffing generates a net cost saving. Exploration of thresholds for low staffing indicated a greater beneficial effect from registered nurse staffing higher than current norms. Limitations This is an observational study. Causal inferences cannot be made from these results in isolation. Quality-adjusted life-years gains were estimated, although conclusions are not sensitive to assumptions or discount rates. We used current ward norms as reference for low staffing. Conclusions Our results show the adverse effects of low nurse staffing but also show that medical and allied health professional staffing are important considerations for patient safety. Eliminating low registered nurse staffing gave more benefits than eliminating assistant staffing. Future work Research is needed to validate methods to determine nurse staffing requirements, and the interaction between registered nurse and assistant staffing needs further exploration. Study registration This study is registered as Current Controlled Trials ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04374812. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR128056) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 13, No. 25. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.
Plain language summary Staffing shortages are a major concern for the National Health Service. A lot of research shows that low nurse staffing in hospital is correlated with worse patient outcomes, including an increased risk of death. However, a lot of this research has only looked at hospital average staffing and has not considered other staff, such as doctors and allied health professionals, so it is hard to be sure if improving nurse staffing on wards leads to better outcomes. It is also hard to know the most cost-effective approach to addressing staff shortages. Our study used existing data from national reports and daily staffing data from hospital wards to answer some of the main uncertainties from past research. Using data from national reports, we found low staffing levels from doctors and allied health professionals were linked to increased risk of death. Nurse staffing levels were linked to important aspects of patient experience and staff well-being, but to properly understand the effects of nurse staffing we needed to know the staffing patients experience when on hospital wards. Our study included 626,313 patients in 4 hospitals. We found that when patients spent time on wards with fewer-than-expected registered nurses or nursing assistants, they were more likely to die and their stay in hospital was longer. Low registered nurse staffing was also associated with more re-admissions. We looked at the cost of avoiding low staffing and the cost of gaining the equivalent of 1 year of healthy life. We compared these ‘cost-effectiveness’ estimates for different ways of avoiding low staffing and for different patient groups. Overall, we concluded that a focus on avoiding low registered nurse staffing gave more benefits than using assistants to fill any gaps, and should be the priority, although it is still not clear what the best level of staff is.
Scientific summary Background The consequences of staff shortages in the NHS are potentially serious. Several inquiries, NHS guidance and an extensive body of research indicate that lower registered nurse (RN) staffing levels are associated with adverse patient and staff outcomes. Patient outcomes associated with lower nurse staffing include increased risk of death, hospital-acquired infections, falls, poor patient experience and nursing care omissions. Adverse nurse outcomes include burnout, job dissatisfaction and intention to leave. Maintaining adequate staffing for hospital wards is challenging. As of March 2022, approximately 10% of nursing posts in acute settings were vacant, totalling 38,972 vacancies. In the aftermath of the Francis inquiry and the publication of guidance for safe staffing in adult wards in acute hospitals by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2014, the number of RNs employed in acute hospitals increased. However, this followed a period where absolute numbers fell, and the increases have not matched activity growth. Although there appeared to be an immediate uplift in the number of applicants for nursing courses following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, this has not been sustained. Steps taken to increase supply will not resolve shortages for some time, assuming they are successful. In the face of such scarcity and the need to manage expenditure on staff, care providers and policy-makers face difficult decisions as they plan how to provide adequate nurse staffing levels. Despite extensive evidence demonstrating associations between low nurse staffing levels and adverse outcomes, important uncertainties remain. Most evidence is from cross-sectional studies which have not considered staffing by other staff groups. This means that estimates of nurse staffing effects could be biased, and the importance of the multidisciplinary team may not be recognised. Although there is a growing body of longitudinal studies which avoid many of the limitations of cross-sectional studies, these are still limited. Most economic studies rely on studies with a high risk of bias to estimate the effects of changes in staffing configurations. Aims and objectives This study aims to provide evidence to inform cost-effective deployment of nursing and other care staff on hospital wards in England and policy decisions to address nursing workforce shortages. We address the question of which combinations of care staff employed by hospitals and deployed on hospital wards provide the most cost-effective care in terms of patient safety, experience and efficient use of resources by undertaking two studies. First, we explore hospital-level cross-sectional associations between staffing and outcomes and, second, we assess how outcomes and costs vary as patients and nurses are exposed to low staffing on hospital wards longitudinally. Methods We undertook a national cross-sectional panel study using routine data from all English acute hospital Trusts and a patient-level longitudinal observational study in four Trusts. We used natural variation in workload (beds per staff member) and, for the longitudinal study, staffing shortfalls relative to the expected staffing for the ward to determine the association between staffing levels and outcomes and to estimate the effects of change. For nursing, we considered RNs (band 5+) and nursing assistant staff (bands 2–4), which would include nursing associates (although current numbers are small). In the longitudinal study, we also considered the composition of the nursing team in terms of the staff grade mix (proportion of band 4 assistant staff, proportion of band 6+ RNs) and the proportion of bank and agency staff. Across the two studies, we considered a range of outcomes including death, length of stay, re-admission, patient experience, staff experience and staff sickness. For the economic analysis, we considered costs, consequences and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), estimating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (cost per life saved and cost per QALY gained) for eliminating low staffing. Our data were derived from publicly available records of hospital activity, staffing and outcomes for the cross-sectional study and hospital administrative systems for the longitudinal study. We tested associations with multivariable mixed statistical models including random terms to account for the clustering of observations in Trust or ward, as appropriate. We used the national standardised hospital mortality indicator model to adjust for risk of death and for national patient and the staff experience models included the Trust’s mortality rate to adjust for the acuity of the case mix. Results Cross-sectional study We included 138 hospital Trusts. The number of beds per full-time equivalent (FTE) staff member varied considerably between Trusts. The largest variation was in allied healthcare professional (AHP) staff (mean 2.4 beds per FTE) and support to AHP staff (mean 11.1 beds per FTE), where the standard deviation was 38% and 44% of the mean, respectively. RN staffing levels were strongly correlated with staffing levels by doctors (ρ > 0.71). Although the number of beds per RN had the largest effect on mortality in models including single staff groups [rate ratio (RR) 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15 to 1.54], this was greatly reduced and no longer statistically significant when all staff groups were included in the model, although it remained the largest effect size (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.31). In multiprofessional models, more occupied beds per AHP (RR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.06) and per medical doctor (RR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.06) were associated with increased risk of death. More beds per nurse support (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.91) and AHP support (1.00, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.00) were associated with lower death rates. In multiprofessional models, having more beds per RN was associated with lower scores for patient experience, staff health and well-being, and staff reports of quality of care. More beds per nurse support were associated with lower morale scores but more beds per surgical doctor were associated with higher morale scores. Using ward-level reports of nurse staffing we found that wards with more RN hours per patient day reported fewer harms on the national ‘safety thermometer’ but calculating a staffing shortfall, relative to the Trusts’ reported staffing plans, did not strengthen the observed relationship and, for nursing assistant staff, shortfalls were associated with reduced harms. Longitudinal study We linked staffing data for 626,313 adult admissions and 57,375 paediatric admissions with overnight stays from four hospital Trusts. We used the ward mean to define the expected staffing level, with staffing below this classified as low. During the first 5 days of hospital stay for adult patients low staffing (relative to the ward mean) occurred on 45% of days, with a mean exposure of 3.32 days. On days when RN staffing was low, the mean shortfall was 0.87 RN hours relative to average staffing of 5.3 hours per patient day. For nursing assistants, the mean shortfall on days of low staffing was 0.49 hours relative to average staffing of 2.9 hours per patient day. For adult inpatients, exposure to days with lower-than-expected RNs or nursing assistant staff was associated with increased hazard of death [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.08/1.07, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.09/1.06 to 1.08] and longer hospital stays. Low RN staffing was also associated with increased hazard of re-admission (aHR 1.01, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.02). Results for paediatric admissions were similar, although low nursing assistant staffing was also significantly associated with increased risk of re-admission. Effect sizes were larger, but CIs were much wider. The risk of death was very low (0.25%) and associations with deaths were not statistically significant. Exposure to days of low RN staffing increased the odds of sickness absence for both RNs and assistants (adjusted odds ratio 1.02/1.03, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.03/1.01 to 1.04 for each 10% of the past 7 days worked that were understaffed). Our primary analyses included staffing in the first 5 days of the hospital stay but results were not sensitive to the exposure window used. We had no measure of the availability of AHPs, doctors or other staff groups, but we tested models that included weekend and seasonal effects, both factors that may cause short staffing from other groups to correlate with low nurse staffing. Addition of these factors did not alter the estimated effect of low staffing. We modelled effects for various subgroups. The effects of low staffing on general wards and for less acute patients [National Early Warning Score (NEWS) < 5] only were similar to the original results. Effects in highly acute patients (NEWS 5+) and older peoples’ wards were smaller. For highly acute patients, there was evidence of an adverse effect from nursing assistant staffing, as low staffing was associated with significant decreases in the hazard of death (aHR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.00) and increased risk of re-admission (aHR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95 to 0.99). Nursing assistant low staffing was also associated with a lower hazard of re-admission for people over 75. There was no statistically significant association between low staffing and mortality in intensive care or for people over 75, but hospital stays were longer. We found that days of low staffing were also associated with increased risk of the potentially nurse-sensitive adverse events of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pneumonia and pressure ulcers in surgical admissions. Low RN staffing had a larger effect than low assistant staffing. For example, a patient who experienced low RN staffing on all the first 5 days of their stay had a 59% increased risk of DVT. For low assistant staffing, the risk was increased by 33%. Analysis of data from incident reporting systems gave counterintuitive associations consistent with ascertainment and reporting bias. We used the ward mean as a threshold to define low staffing. Although our previous research has shown that mean staffing correlates strongly with planned staffing on a ward, it is an arbitrary threshold and may not reflect a desirable staffing level or any tolerance to lower than planned staffing. Estimated effects of low staffing were largely unchanged if the threshold to define low staffing was set at lower levels. For assistant staffing, this is also the case for higher thresholds, above the mean. However, for RN staffing the effects of days of low staffing increase when a higher threshold is used. For example, if low staffing were defined as when staffing falls below 110% of the mean, the HR associated with a day of low staffing is 1.12. We also explored continuous (net hours) effects, nonlinear and interaction effects. There was some evidence of nonlinearity and interaction, but the effects were mostly subtle, although there was some indication that the effect of additional days of low RN staffing was greater as the cumulative number of days exposure increased and that the marginal effect of change in net hours was slightly greater at very high as well as very low staffing levels. We considered the mix of staff in terms of grades of RN and assistant staff and proportions of bank and agency staff. A higher proportion of band 6+ RNs and band 4 nursing assistants were associated with reduced hazard of death (aHR 0.98), although the result was not statistically significant for nursing assistants nor when all staff mix variables were considered simultaneously. Higher proportions of bank and agency staff (both RNs and nursing assistants) were associated with increased hazard of death, with the strongest adverse effect associated with agency assistant staff. Economic analysis The estimated cost of providing care for our analysis cohort of adult inpatients was £4173 per admission. The mean cost of avoiding low staffing was £197 per admission. The mean discounted QALY lost among patients who died was estimated to be 6.82 and we used this as our base-case assumption for the QALY gained when modelling the effects of reducing understaffing. Eliminating low staffing cost £2778 per QALY gained. Savings from avoided sickness absence and re-admissions made cost-effectiveness estimates more favourable but did not have a major impact. If costs of avoided hospital stays are included, avoiding low staffing generates a net cost saving under all scenarios modelled except reducing understaffing by nursing assistants for highly acute patients, which led to a net cost increase and worse outcomes. Avoidance of RN rather than assistant understaffing for highly acute patients gave more benefits and was more cost-effective. Avoiding low staffing using temporary agency staff reduced mortality but was less cost-effective than using substantive staff because benefits were reduced, and costs increased. Assuming agency staff cost 50% more than the cost of substantive staff, reducing low staffing with agency staff cost £10,980 per QALY. If agency staff were assumed to cost the same as substantive staff, this was still less cost-effective (£7320 per QALY) because the benefit of reduced mortality was weakened by the adverse effect from a higher proportion of temporary staff. Conclusions The NHS faces multiple competing demands for scarce resources. The evidence presented here suggests that investment in nurse staffing in acute hospitals could be cost-effective, on a par with many public health interventions. If the benefits of reduced length of stay are considered and realised, for example through freeing capacity to improve flow through emergency departments or for elective surgery, then there could be net gains. The relative increase in costs is modest, although the supply of staff to meet demand remains challenging. It is important that this scarcity does not obscure the need and demonstrated value for money. While decision-makers may, of necessity, need to experiment with novel approaches to addressing staffing shortages, this needs to be done in the context of a full understanding of what is already known. The safety and cost-effectiveness of alternatives should not be assumed. Several priorities for future research emerge from this work. More research is needed into methods to determine nurse staffing requirements in hospital wards, for planning, real-time monitoring and for use in research. The requirements of service should inform decisions about the required timeliness of data, acceptable data gathering load and the necessary precision. Our findings, combined with the results of previous research, leave uncertainty about the trade-offs between staff shortages and temporary staffing levels, including the relative (adverse) effects of temporary staff at different levels and from different sources. Both qualitative and quantitative research would be of value. There remains uncertainty about the interaction between RN and assistant staffing levels which should be addressed through both qualitative and quantitative research. Research is required to better understand whether the observed variation in AHP staffing is based on variation in service and patient need. The observed association with mortality rates in this study suggests it may not be, and if that is the case, evidence-based methods for determining appropriate staffing need to be developed. Our results not only show the adverse effects of low nurse staffing but also show that medical and AHP staffing are important considerations for patient safety. Eliminating low RN staffing gives more benefits than eliminating assistant staffing but both interventions are cost-effective in terms of QALYs gained relative to many public health interventions. Using agency staff to reduce staffing shortages is also less cost-effective than using substantive staff, because of higher costs but also reduced benefits. However, these findings suggest that while relatively less cost-effective, the use of agency staff to avoid staff shortages is still cost-effective relative to many public health interventions. These findings lend support to policy initiatives aimed at increasing the supply of RNs. Study registration This study is registered as Current Controlled Trials ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04374812. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR128056) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 13, No. 25. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.
In the 19th century, with industrialization in the West, the modern concepts of labor and workers began to emerge. In fact, in many countries of the world, there had been some revolts and resistances in working life in earlier periods. However, the strikes carried out by workers to protect their rights in today's sense were the product of the industrialization that started in England. In the Ottoman Empire, the paid working class began to emerge in the second half of the 19th century, when the state's industrialization efforts intensified in the light of developments in the West. In this period, workers took different attitudes that showed their dissatisfaction with the problems they encountered in working life, but the strike movements took place in the last quarter of the 19th century. With the declaration of the Second Constitutional Era on July 23, 1908, workers' movements began to increase. Therefore, on August 9, 1909, the “Tatil-i Eşgal Law”, which is the strike and lockout law, was accepted in the Meclisi Mebusan (Parliament). Although strike movements did not completely disappear with the acceptance of the “Tatil-i Eşgal Law”, they largely decreased. Workers' movements experienced a period of stagnation from 1914 onwards due to the effects of war conditions. After the signing of the Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918, both the existing labor organizations established in 1908 and new labor organizations increased their activities. Consequently, the industrialization process that began in the West in the 19th century became a significant factor influencing labor movements and the protection of workers' rights. A similar process was experienced in the Ottoman Empire, however it developed under different conditions. With significant economic difficulties experienced throughout the country due to the destructive effects of World War I, The Armistice period was a challenging one for the Ottoman Empire. Owing to the long years of war and destruction, food stocks reached the point of depletion, and import routes were almost completely closed. This situation gave rise to a decrease in production in the Ottoman territories and a scarcity of consumer goods. Specifically, Istanbul felt these economic difficulties more intensively. The city faced both the direct impacts of the war and influxes of refugees. With the arrival of refugees, the population of Istanbul rapidly increased while resources gradually diminished. This deepened the economic bottleneck in the city even further. The scarcity of food and other essential commodities led to price increases and an increase in the activities of black marketeers. Black marketeers manipulated the economy by reaching scarce resources through illegitimate means and controlling prices. The situation was no different in Anatolia. War conditions negatively affected agricultural and production activities. The decrease in production naturally also affected exports negatively. Especially in many regions of Anatolia known for its agriculture-based economy, the quantity and quality of agricultural products decreased due to the war's effect. As a result, casualties were experienced both in the domestic market and in foreign trade. The Armistice period was also an economically challenging transitional period for the Ottoman Empire. Economic bottlenecks were experienced throughout the country due to the destructive effects of the war. During this period, not only Istanbul but also the entire country had to struggle with difficult economic conditions. The early years of the Republic of Türkiye marked an important period of transformation for the country. During this period, there was a restructuring of the state and intensified efforts towards modernization. However, the working class did not remain silent during this process. On the contrary, workers continued their activities through various associations and organizations to demand their rights. Workers demanding better conditions in the workplace attempted to make their voices heard by using effective tools such as strikes. Strikes became a common method that workers frequently resorted to defend their rights. Workers organized strikes to demand increases in wages, improvements in working hours, and better working conditions. One notable strike during the early years of the Republic was the attempted strike by telegraph workers in Adana, Samsun, and Trabzon in 1925. Although the strike fundamentally aimed to improve the wages and working conditions of telegraph workers, conflicting information provided by workers during the preparation of the strike's communication and text raised suspicions in Ankara. In this context, the chaotic environment in the country in 1925 led to the trial of telegraph workers who attempted the strike at the Ankara Independence Court.
Abstract Remote sensing and spatial analyses are increasingly used to understand the role of seminatural habitats in biocontrol, but knowing how to best leverage these tools is a persistent challenge. In arid agroecosystems, irrigation often exaggerates the differences between crop fields and their interspaces. Weeds adjacent to irrigated fields are thus often some of the only persistent vegetation. Remote sensing may be essential to capture the effect of this fine‐scale variation on pest biocontrol. We examined the role of land‐cover in determining the degree of aphid pest pressure and biocontrol in irrigated alfalfa fields in the Great Basin Desert (Nevada, USA). We experimentally manipulated predator densities to determine true agents of aphid biocontrol in this system. We then assessed land‐cover and spatial scale using alternative methods to determine the approaches that best defined the combined direct and indirect effects of seminatural habitat on aphid pest suppression. A remote‐sensing approach revealed the importance of land‐cover to aphid biocontrol more clearly than conventional vegetation surveys. In particular, remote sensing revealed that weedy patches within alfalfa fields reduced aphid densities, whereas flood irrigation increased aphid densities. Our experiments confirmed that coccinellid beetles are important aphid biocontrol agents. Coccinellids were positively associated with weedy land‐cover that was spatially close to alfalfa fields, particularly in the spring. Other predator taxa were also associated with distinct landscape features, though these associations varied between spring and fall. Solution: Weedy seminatural habitat near alfalfa fields, occurring along field margins and the banks of irrigation ditches, was positively associated with the density of coccinellid beetles and associated aphid pest suppression. Remote sensing excelled at identifying these areas and their effects, highlighting its utility as a management tool. Preserving these weedy areas can enhance aphid biocontrol, but farmers must consider potential trade‐offs between the control of insect‐pests and weeds.
Chathuni Wijesekara, Chamath Tittagalla, Ashinsana Jayathilaka
et al.
This paper empirically investigates the relationship between tourism and economic growth by using a panel data cointegration test, Granger causality test and Wavelet coherence analysis at the global level. This analysis examines 105 nations utilising panel data from 2003 to 2020. The findings indicates that in most regions, tourism contributes significantly to economic growth and vice versa. Developing trade across most of the regions appears to be a major influencer in the study, as a bidirectional association exists between trade openness and economic growth. Additionally, all regions other than the American region showed a one-way association between gross capital formation and economic growth. Therefore, it is crucial to highlight that using initiatives to increase demand would advance tourism while also boosting the economy.
Maryna Kovbatiuk, George Kovbatiuk, Viktoriia Shkliar
Foreign trade is an important factor of economic growth and development of open economies. At the same time, the analysis of the state of foreign trade operations is becoming methodologically more complex due to the increase in the number of indicators used and the appearance of new ones. They allow not only to examine the effectiveness of the state trade policy, the set of goods and trade partners, but also to get an idea of the structure of the economy, the level of its development and competitiveness, as well as to assess the quality of the export and import baskets from the point of view of economic growth prospects. Therefore, it is advisable to use models of commodity export valuation, which determines the relevance of the chosen topic. The subject of the study is the methods and models of commodity export evaluation. The purpose of the article is the formation of a model for the evaluation of Ukraine's commodity exports to the integration associations of the world and its approval. Methodology. The theoretical and methodological basis of the conducted research is the dialectical method of cognition, the principles of system analysis and synthesis, statistical processing of information. The methods of structural dynamics were used for the analysis of statistical indicators of commodity exports for 2016-2020; the method of constant market share – for the evaluation of changes in commodity exports of Ukraine for the period under consideration; the method of scientific abstraction is used for the generalization of the obtained results and the formation of conclusions; the graphic method – for the visual presentation of the obtained research results. Results. The article proposes a model for assessing Ukraine's commodity exports to the world integration associations, the main component of which is the constant market share method (CMS analysis). This model is easy to use and allows a qualitative assessment of changes in Ukraine's commodity exports. Approval of the model and assessment of changes in commodity exports of Ukraine was carried out on the international statistical database UNCTADstat for 2016-2020. The data are aggregated into groups according to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). The following trading partners have been selected for the CMS analysis: EU-27, ASEAN+3, CIS and REST OF THE WORLD. The obtained results make it possible to assess the state of Ukraine's commodity exports and the level of its competitiveness in foreign markets. Practical implications. The practical implications are related to the possibility of using the proposed model for the evaluation of commodity exports, using various options for the classification of goods and integration associations – partners of the exporting country. Value / originality. The originality lies in the development of a model for the assessment of Ukraine's commodity exports to the world integration associations based on the Constant Market Share (CMS) method, which allows to determine to what extent exports change with the growth of the competitiveness of the goods of the exporting country.
Waste management is one of the most strategic areas of regional policy planning. The impact of decisions such as the allocation of industrial waste treatment plants and waste collection strategies can affect the economic structure and quality of life of territories. The effectiveness of regulatory and organisational arrangements of Regional Waste Plans is linked to the availability of technologies and material infrastructure, but also to social consensus and behaviours. On this level, participatory planning conducted through foresight techniques plays an increasing role. The article presents an innovative case carried out in Valle d’Aosta in 2021, with the aim of promoting the participatory methodology experimented and the institutionalisation of such applications in strategic waste planning processes. The process involved 35 different stakeholders (unions, businesses, schools, trade, environmental associations, etc.) in structured consultations based on the principle of building a shared transition to 2030. In particular, the project was effective in broadening the participation of civil society in the area, in making the plan’s objectives more ambitious, and in fostering the creation of a collaborative network between public, market and third sector actors.
Serdar Durdyev, Jasper Mbachu, Derek Thurnell
et al.
Critical issues surrounding the promotion and adoption of building information modeling (BIM) for construction projects are largely country-specific due to contextual socio-cultural, economic, and regulatory environments impacting construction operations and outcomes. There is little information on BIM adoption issues specific to the Cambodian construction industry (‘the industry’). This paper aims to narrow existing knowledge by investigating key drivers for, and barriers to the adoption of BIM in the industry. Using descriptive survey method, feedback was received from contractors and architects that were registered with their respective trade and professional associations in the industry. The multi-attribute method and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)-based Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (<i>W</i>) test were used to analyze the empirical datasets. Results showed that out of the 13 significant drivers identified in the study, the most influential comprised the technology’s ability to remarkably enhance project visualization and schedule performance; this is followed by awareness that the technology is redefining how project information is created and shared among stakeholders and therefore the future of the industry that cannot be ignored. On the other hand, the most constraining barrier to the adoption of the technology, out of 19 significant barriers, related to strong industry resistance to change, especially reluctance to change from 2D drafting to 3D modeling; other highly rated barriers included the high initial cost of the software and the shortage of professionals with BIM skills. Implementation of the study findings could support greater uptake of the technology and the leveraging of its key benefits to improving project success and the growth of the Cambodian construction industry, as well as those of other developing economies that share similar socio-cultural, economic, and regulatory environments.
Caitlin R. Bowman, Caitlin R. Bowman, Maria-Alejandra de Araujo Sanchez
et al.
The ability to make inferences about related experiences is an important function of memory that allows individuals to build generalizable knowledge. In some cases, however, making inferences may lead to false memories when individuals misremember inferred information as having been observed. One factor that is known to increase the prevalence of false memories is the physical resemblance between new and old information. The extent to which physical resemblance has parallel effects on generalization and memory for the source of inferred associations is not known. To investigate the parallels between memory generalization and false memories, we conducted three experiments using an acquired equivalence paradigm and manipulated physical resemblance between items that made up related experiences. The three experiments showed increased generalization for higher levels of resemblance. Recognition and source memory judgments revealed that high rates of generalization were not always accompanied by high rates of false memories. Thus, physical resemblance across episodes may promote generalization with or without a trade-off in terms of impeding memory specificity.
AbstractWe study a recent case where most gynecologists in one city formed a trade association to bargain for better rates with insurance companies. After unsuccessful negotiations, the physicians jointly terminated their insurer contracts and set a minimum price. We find that subsequent realized prices coincided with Nash‐Bertrand prices, and that the minimum price was barely binding. We show that these actions ensured the association's stability and increased profits. Our findings shed light on the role of trade association in collusion among a large number of heterogeneous agents, and provide insights for the antitrust analysis of trade associations.
Lauge Peter Westergaard Clausen, Oliver Foss Hessner Hansen, Nikoline Bang Oturai
et al.
Stakeholder involvement is pivotal EU governance. In this paper, we complete a stakeholder analysis of the European Chemicals Agency's recent Annex XV restriction proposal process on intentionally added microplastics. The aim of this study is to map the interests, influence and importance of active stakeholders in order to understand the arguments being put forward by different stakeholders and provide recommendations to policy-makers on how to ensure a balanced consideration of all stakeholder perspectives. Stakeholders were identified through niche media analysis and by scrutinising comments from the public consultation on the restriction proposal. Their importance and influence were mapped using three approaches: "scale from low to high", "psychometric scale" and "qualitative ranking". We identified 205 different stakeholders out of which 77 were industry and trade associations, 25 were large companies and only four were small and medium-sized enterprises. National authorities and researchers did not comment on the restriction proposal, whilst large companies were very active providing comments. Industry trade associations and sports-related non-governmental organizations articulated anxiety about the costs associated with the implementation of the restriction proposal. Among environmental non-governmental organizations, there was consensus that plastics should be handled like other substances under EU's chemical regulation. Primary stakeholders identified exhibited high importance, but varying degrees of influence, while the opposite applied to the major European institutions. Based on our analysis, we recommend that: The European Chemicals Agency implement measures to include "silent" stakeholders and invite guest experts to participate in their committees on Risk Assessment and Socio-Economic Analysis; Researchers should be more active in the public consultation; and that special emphasis should be put on helping small and medium-sized enterprises. With regards to stakeholder consultation, we find that media analysis is a good supplement to stakeholder analysis and that a more objective top-down measure of stakeholder importance and influence is needed.
Marta E. Ulaski, Heather Finkle, Peter A. H. Westley
Abstract Due to the mediating role of body size in determining fitness, the “bigger‐is‐better” hypothesis still pervades evolutionary ecology despite evidence that natural selection on phenotypic traits varies in time and space. For Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus), most individual studies quantify selection across a narrow range of sizes and ages; therefore, uncertainties remain concerning how selection on size may differ among diverse life histories. Here, we quantify the direction and magnitude of natural selection on body size among age‐classes of multiple marine cohorts of O. nerka (sockeye salmon). Across four cohorts of seaward migrants, we calculated standardized selection differentials by comparing observed size distributions of out‐migrating juvenile salmon to back‐calculated smolt length from the scales of surviving, returning adults. Results reveal the magnitude of selection on size was very strong (>90th percentile compared to a database of 3,759 linear selection differentials) and consistent among years. However, the direction of selection on size consistently varied among age‐classes. Selection was positive for fish migrating to sea after two years in freshwater (age 2) and in their first year of life (age 0), but negative for fish migrating after 1 year in freshwater (age 1). The absolute magnitude of selection was negatively correlated to mean ocean‐entry timing, which may underpin negative selection favoring small age‐1 fish, given associations between size and timing of seaward migration. Collectively, these results indicate that “bigger is not always better” in terms of survival and emphasize trade‐offs that may exist between fitness components for organisms with similarly diverse migratory life histories.
Since the Myanmar central government decentralized some of its power to state and regional governments, few studies investigated the performance of local governments, and no studies investigated the relationships between the types of governance modes and the performance of public service delivery. This study investigates the associations between three types of governance—i.e., hierarchy, market, and network—and the multiple performances of agricultural services in terms of the competing public values of efficiency, effectiveness and equity in southern Shan State. The findings indicate that the three types of governance simultaneously coexist in local agriculture departments and that their associations with the performances of public services differ. Network governance is negatively associated with efficiency, effectiveness, and equity during its initial stage, but these associations become positive when the degree of network governance increases in agriculture departments. In contrast, market governance is positively related to effectiveness and equity during its initial stage; however, increasing the degree of market governance further leads to a negative association with both public service values. This assessment of the performance of public programmes in terms of the trade-offs among public service values contributes to improving the local governance of public service delivery not only in Myanmar but also in other developing countries.