Explicit Versus Implicit “Halal” Information: Influence of the Halal Label and the Country-of-Origin Information on Product Perceptions in Indonesia

PubMed Central

Maison, Dominika; Marchlewska, Marta; Syarifah, Dewi; Zein, Rizqy A.; Purba, Herison P.

2018-01-01

Halal refers to what is permissible in traditional Islamic law. Food that meets halal requirements is marked by a halal label on the packaging and should be especially attractive to those Muslims who follow the set of dietary laws outlined in the Quran. This research examines the role of the halal label (explicit cue) and the country-of-origin (COO) (implicit cue) in predicting positive product perceptions among Muslim consumers. We hypothesized that when an explicit sign of “halalness” (i.e., halal label) relating to a particular product is accompanied by an implicit sign of anti-“halalness” (i.e., non-Islamic COO information), Muslim consumers who pay attention to the dietary laws of Islam would have negative perceptions of such a product. We tested our assumptions in an experiment conducted among Indonesian participants who declared themselves as Muslims (n = 444). We manipulated: (a) exposure to the halal label, and (b) the COO information. Religion-based purchase behavior was measured as a moderator variable. Positive product perceptions were measured as a dependent variable. The results showed that the halal label itself had limited influence on product perceptions. However, we found that positive product perceptions significantly decreased among people who were high in religion-based purchase behavior in response to exposure to non-Islamic COO information accompanied by a halal label. In conclusion, people who are high (vs. low) in religion-based purchase behavior do not seem to trust halal-labeled food produced in a country with other than an Islamic tradition. PMID:29623061

Ultrasound-enhanced mass transfer in Halal compared with non-Halal chicken.

PubMed

Leal-Ramos, Martha Y; Alarcon-Rojo, Alma D; Mason, Timothy J; Paniwnyk, Larysa; Alarjah, Mohammed

2011-01-15

Halal foods are often perceived as wholesome products that are specially selected and processed to achieve the highest standards of quality. In this study, dye penetration from an aqueous solution of methylene blue (1 mol L(-1)) was used as a model for the marination process of Halal and non-Halal chicken breast. The effect of dye penetration was evaluated by three techniques: (1) the mass of methylene blue solution in the samples was quantified by mass gain, (2) the amount of dye absorbed was determined by spectroscopy and (3) the penetration distance of dye inside the samples was measured. For non-Halal meat, ultrasound increased the amount of dye inside the samples by 6 and 13% after 15 and 30 min respectively. The effect on Halal meat was much more pronounced, with an increase in dye uptake of over 60% being observed for both time periods. Dye penetration is an indication of meat permeability and so can be used as an estimate of marinading of meat. Thus the use of high-power ultrasound has potential in poultry-processing methods, in particular that of Halal chicken marination. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.

Halal stunning and slaughter: Criteria for the assessment of dead animals.

PubMed

Fuseini, Awal; Knowles, Toby G; Hadley, Phil J; Wotton, Steve B

2016-09-01

The debate surrounding the acceptability of stunning for Halal slaughter is one that is likely to linger. Compared to a couple of decades or so ago, one may argue that pre-slaughter stunning is becoming a popular practice during Halal slaughter due to the increasing number of Muslim-majority countries who continue to issue religious rulings (Fatwa) to approve the practice. Concerns have often, however been raised about the likelihood of some animals dying as a result of stunning and whether there are mechanisms in place to identify and remove dead animals stunned with irreversible techniques before their necks are cut. This paper reviews literature about what makes meat Halal, considers the arguments put forward by proponents and opponents of pre-slaughter stunning for Halal production and examines the criteria used by Halal Certification Bodies to identify and reject animals that may die as a result of irreversible stunning and considers the specific risks of waterbath stunning (for poultry) from a Halal viewpoint. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Near East/South Asia Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-26

percent, 134 percent for cassette tapes, 96 percent for color televisions. Al- Halal Industrial Company implemented its marketing contracts for...fresn ahd salt water fish and using crop protection methods. The intermediate term projects include: breeding cows, the industrialization of their meat ...SERVICE SPRINGFIELD, VA 22161 riyne QDÄurr EHSEJCTED I 3 US NOTE JPRS publications contain information primarily from foreign newspapers

Exploring the Halal Status of Cardiovascular, Endocrine, and Respiratory Group of Medications

PubMed Central

Sarriff, Azmi; Abdul razzaq, Hadeer Akram

2013-01-01

Muslim consumers have special needs in medical treatment that differ from non-Muslim consumers. In particular, there is a growing demand among Muslim consumers for Halal medications. This descriptive exploratory study aims to determine the Halal status of selected cardiovascular, endocrine, and respiratory medications stored in an out-patient pharmacy in a Malaysian governmental hospital. Sources of active ingredients and excipients for each product were assessed for Halal status based on available information obtained from product leaflets, the Medical Information Management System (MIMS) website, or manufacturers. Halal status was based on the products’ sources and categorized into Halal, Mushbooh, or Haram. The proportions of Halal, Mushbooh, and Haram products were at 19.1%, 57.1%, and 23.8%, respectively. The percentage of active ingredients for cardiovascular/endocrine products that were assessed as Haram was 5.3%; for respiratory medications, it was only 1.1%. For excipients, 1.7% and 4.8% fall under the category of Haram for cardiovascular/endocrine products and respiratory products, respectively. Ethanol and magnesium stearate were found to be the common substances that were categorized as Haram and Mushbooh. PMID:23785257

Progress and challenges associated with halal authentication of consumer packaged goods.

PubMed

Premanandh, Jagadeesan; Bin Salem, Samara

2017-11-01

Abusive business practices are increasingly evident in consumer packaged goods. Although consumers have the right to protect themselves against such practices, rapid urbanization and industrialization result in greater distances between producers and consumers, raising serious concerns on the supply chain. The operational complexities surrounding halal authentication pose serious challenges on the integrity of consumer packaged goods. This article attempts to address the progress and challenges associated with halal authentication. Advancement and concerns on the application of new, rapid analytical methods for halal authentication are discussed. The significance of zero tolerance policy in consumer packaged foods and its impact on analytical testing are presented. The role of halal assurance systems and their challenges are also considered. In conclusion, consensus on the establishment of one standard approach coupled with a sound traceability system and constant monitoring would certainly improve and ensure halalness of consumer packaged goods. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Efficient halal bleeding, animal handling, and welfare: A holistic approach for meat quality.

PubMed

Aghwan, Z A; Bello, A U; Abubakar, A A; Imlan, J C; Sazili, A Q

2016-11-01

Traditional halal slaughter and other forms of religious slaughter are still an issue of debate. Opposing arguments related to pre-slaughter handling, stress and pain associated with restraint, whether the incision is painful or not, and the onset of unconsciousness have been put forward, but no consensus has been achieved. There is a need to strike a balance between halal bleeding in the light of science and animal welfare. There is a paucity of scientific data with respect to animal welfare, particularly the use of restraining devices, animal handling, and efficient halal bleeding. However, this review found that competent handling of animals, proper use of restraining devices, and the efficient bleeding process that follows halal slaughter maintains meat eating quality. In conclusion, halal bleeding, when carried out in accordance with recommended animal welfare procedures, will not only maintain the quality and wholesomeness of meat but could also potentially reduce suffering and pain. Maintained meat quality increases consumer satisfaction and food safety. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Rapid discrimination of pork in Halal and non-Halal Chinese ham sausages by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and chemometrics.

PubMed

Xu, L; Cai, C B; Cui, H F; Ye, Z H; Yu, X P

2012-12-01

Rapid discrimination of pork in Halal and non-Halal Chinese ham sausages was developed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry combined with chemometrics. Transmittance spectra ranging from 400 to 4000 cm⁻¹ of 73 Halal and 78 non-Halal Chinese ham sausages were measured. Sample preparation involved finely grinding of samples and formation of KBr disks (under 10 MPa for 5 min). The influence of data preprocessing methods including smoothing, taking derivatives and standard normal variate (SNV) on partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) and least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) was investigated. The results indicate removal of spectral background and baseline plays an important role in discrimination. Taking derivatives, SNV can improve classification accuracy and reduce the complexity of PLSDA. Possibly due to the loss of detailed high-frequency spectral information, smoothing degrades the model performance. For the best models, the sensitivity and specificity was 0.913 and 0.929 for PLSDA with SNV spectra, 0.957 and 0.929 for LS-SVM with second derivative spectra, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A usability evaluation of an interactive application for halal products using optical character recognition and augmented reality technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, Meng Chun; Nizam, Siti Soleha Muhammad; Arshad, Haslina; A'isyah Ahmad Shukri, Saidatul; Hashim, Nurhazarifah Che; Putra, Haekal Mozzia; Abidin, Rimaniza Zainal

2017-10-01

This article discusses the usability of an interactive application for halal products using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies. Among the problems that have been identified in this study is that consumers have little knowledge about the E-Code. Therefore, users often have doubts about the halal status of the product. Nowadays, the integrity of halal status can be doubtful due to the actions of some irresponsible people spreading false information about a product. Therefore, an application that uses OCR and AR technology developed in this study will help the users to identify the information content of a product by scanning the E-Code label and by scanning the product's brand to know the halal status of the product. In this application, E-Code on the label of a product is scanned using OCR technology to display information about the E-Code. The product's brand is scan using augmented reality technology to display halal status of the product. The findings reveal that users are satisfied with this application and it is useful and easy to use.

Advances in the industrial production of halal and kosher red meat.

PubMed

Farouk, Mustafa M

2013-12-01

The worldwide volume and value of trade in halal and kosher meat and co-products are huge. Muslim countries alone consumed meat estimated to be worth USD 57.2 billion in 2008. The halal and kosher principles that govern the production of red meat have many similarities, as well as some fundamental differences. Perhaps the most significant difference is that at the time of slaughter, the animal needs only to be alive to meet the minimum halal requirement, but must be both alive and conscious for kosher. It is for this reason that reversible pre-slaughter stunning is acceptable only for halal meat, although a compromise form of post-slaughter stunning is now considered kosher in some countries. Extensive research on animal physiology and welfare has characterised and optimised the methods for stunning livestock, and enabled advancement in associated technologies. This forms the basis for harmonising the religious and secular requirements for the protection of animal welfare at slaughter. These technologies and the associated processing practices for the industrial production of halal and kosher meat are reviewed in this paper. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Halal and kosher slaughter methods and meat quality: a review.

PubMed

Farouk, M M; Al-Mazeedi, H M; Sabow, A B; Bekhit, A E D; Adeyemi, K D; Sazili, A Q; Ghani, A

2014-11-01

There are many slaughter procedures that religions and cultures use around the world. The two that are commercially relevant are the halal and kosher methods practiced by Muslims and Jews respectively. The global trade in red meat and poultry produced using these two methods is substantial, thus the importance of the quality of the meat produced using the methods. Halal and kosher slaughter per se should not affect meat quality more than their industrial equivalents, however, some of their associated pre- and post-slaughter processes do. For instance, the slow decline in blood pressure following a halal pre-slaughter head-only stun and neck cut causes blood splash (ecchymosis) in a range of muscles and organs of slaughtered livestock. Other quality concerns include bruising, hemorrhages, skin discoloration and broken bones particularly in poultry. In addition to these conventional quality issues, the "spiritual quality" of the meat can also be affected when the halal and kosher religious requirements are not fully met during the slaughter process. The nature, causes, importance and mitigations of these and other quality issues related to halal and kosher slaughtering and meat production using these methods are the subjects of this review. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison between Mt-DNA D-Loop and Cyt B primers for porcine DNA detection in meat products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamzah, Azhana; Mutalib, Sahilah Abd.; Babji, Abdul Salam

2013-11-01

This study was conducted to detect the presence of porcine DNA in meat products in the market using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and commercial PCR-southern hybridization analysis. Porcine DNA detection in meat products was tested due to some issues associated with the adulteration of food products in Malaysia. This is an important issue especially for Halal authentication which is required for some religious practices such as in Islam and Hinduisms. Many techniques have been developed for determining the Halal status of food products. In this paper, mt-DNA D-loop primer and cytochrome (cyt) b were used to detect the presence of porcine DNA in meat products. Positive and negative controls were always present for each batch of extraction. DNA of raw pork meat was used as a positive control while nucleus free water is used as negative control. A pair of oligonucleotide primer was used namely Pork1 and Pork2 which produced amplicon of 531 base pair (bp) in size. While, PCR-southern hybridization was conducted using primers readily supplied by commercial PCR-Southern hybridization and produced amplicon with 276 bp in size. In the present study, demonstrated that none of the samples were contaminated with porcine residuals but selected samples with pork meat were positive. The species-specific PCR amplification yielded excellent results for identification of pork derivatives in food products and it is a potentially reliable and suitable technique in routine food analysis for Halal certification.

Islamic value to the modification of BSC model (a case study in evaluating company performance)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harwati; Permana, Y.

2017-12-01

Halal is the key word for the Muslim community in consuming goods or services. Providing halal products is the main focus for companies with the largest consumers from the Muslim community. Halal is not only from the ingredients but also from the process in its production. The purpose of this study is to design a model of performance measurement for a company in order to provide halal products. Balance Score Card (BSC) is used as a framework. BSC as a performance measurement system has advantages not only focus on financial aspect but also non finance. Islamic values are incorporated into four perspective of BSC. They are: Selection of sharia financial institutions in financial perspective, payment method by consumer in consumer perspective, number of product with halal certificate and menu clarify in internal business process perspective, then accuracy of payroll time in learning and growth perspective. The modified BSC model obtains 17 Key Performance Indicators (KPI). The model is applied in a culinary industry (restaurant). Structured questionnaires and scheduled interviews are used to collect the important data. The result show that these industry fail to meet 8 from total 17 KPI so performance achievement is only 70.81%, and only reach 22.58% in Islamic value aspect. This is recorded by the company as an input to improve their performance in order to compete in halal food business.

The perception and acceptability of pre-slaughter and post-slaughter stunning for Halal production: The views of UK Islamic scholars and Halal consumers.

PubMed

Fuseini, Awal; Wotton, Steve B; Hadley, Phil J; Knowles, Toby G

2017-01-01

The importance of religious slaughter from economic, emotive and ethical viewpoints is significant. There are apparent economic benefits associated with trading in meats slaughtered according to religious traditions. Some religious authorities insist on the slaughter of animals without stunning, but this, according to many researchers, compromises animal welfare. We conducted a survey of Islamic scholars and Halal consumers, 66 scholars from 55 organisations and 314 consumers from 54 UK cities/towns were surveyed. Forty-nine scholars were interviewed through pre-arranged meetings, 17 surveyed online whilst all 314 consumers were either surveyed online or through the remote completion of copies of the questionnaire. Most of the scholars (>95%) (CI 86.9 to 98.4%) agreed that if an animal is stunned and then slaughtered by a Muslim and the method of stunning does not result in death, cause physical injury or obstruct bleed-out, the meat would be Halal and 53% (CI 47 to 58%) consumers also thought such meat would be Halal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Religious slaughter in Italy.

PubMed

Cenci-Goga, B T; Mattiacci, C; De Angelis, G; Marini, P; Cuccurese, A; Rossi, R; Catanese, B

2010-06-01

This research aims to understand the prevalence of religious slaughter practices in Italy. Two different ways of slaughtering animals are identified. Conventional slaughter is performed with prior stunning; kosher slaughter is practiced without stunning. Halal slaughter is performed for most animals without stunning. Halal slaughter with prior stunning is acceptable for 5.90% of small ruminants. For Halal slaughter in Italy, the terms "religious slaughter with stunning" and "religious slaughter without stunning" should be used to differentiate religious slaughter practices, keeping animal welfare in perspective.

[Summary of Hui prescriptions for treating cough].

PubMed

Zhang, Wen-jin; Liu, Yue; Zhang, Xin-hui

2015-02-01

In this study, by using the method of literature research, 35 prescriptions related to asthma therapy has been screened out from Hui medicine through collecting the ancient and modern literature. A comparison of fragrant medicine between the name in Arab and Chinese herbal medicine is done. The countif function in Microsoft Excel 2007 is used to get the prescriptions of the drug on the frequency statistics, summarizing the common drugs of Hui medicine for asthma are Pinellia, almond, white sugar, walnut. According to the commonly used drugs, the pathogeny and treatment principle about Hui medicine for asthma is preliminarily inferred combining literature research and the related Hui medical theory. In this study, those prescriptions have been classified into 21 cases which are effective and can be used in medical therapy according to the relevant literatures with the development of the Hui people in their long process of formation of the unique diet culture, 14 useful and convenient Halal diet therapies are made up according to the indications, therapies, party name and composition. Halal diet and "medicine and food" herbs are preliminarily analyzed and summarized, which can be convenient for the people to reduce pains through the diet and improve health awareness.

The Effect Of Atributes Product’s Analysis, Halal Certification, And Product Innovation To The Interest Of Consumer Buying-Back Through The Advantage Competitive Of Micro Small And Medium Business (MSMB) In Medan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aditi, Bunga

2017-12-01

This research is done to know and analyzing the effect of attribute, halal certification product, and product innovation on the competitiveness of Micro Small and Medium Business in Medan, knowing and analyzing the effect of product attribute, halal certification, and product innovation to consumer buying surge. The type of research used is explanatory research with quantitative approach. The population in this study is the community as consumers who are in the area of Medan province of North Sumatera. Total sample of 150 people. Sampling method which use an accidental sampling is the technique of determining samples by chance, example: consumers whomeets with researcher coincidentally can be sampled if the consumer is appropriate or suitable as a source of data. This research uses the method of Structural Equation Modeling analysis. The mainting of this research is showed that product attributes, halal certification, and product innovation had a positive and significant impact on competitive advantage which impact on consumer buy-back (surge) interest. The advantage competitive has affects consumer buying surge interest positively. Keywords: Product attributes, halal certification, product innovation, competitive advantage, consumer buying interest

Industrial halal meat production and animal welfare: A review.

PubMed

Farouk, M M; Pufpaff, K M; Amir, M

2016-10-01

Islam teaches zero-tolerance to all forms of animal abuse throughout the halal meat production supply chain and demands that when animals are slaughtered, they must be slaughtered in the mindful and attentive way espoused by the Prophet Muhammad. Why then are poor practices and animal welfare abuses still occurring during halal meat production, and how can they be reduced or eliminated? In this review we discuss how improvements might be achieved through: (1) training of staff regarding the religious and regulatory requirements of animal welfare from on-farm to slaughter; (2) empathy and compassion assessment of applicants prior to employment; (3) installation of CCTV cameras around lairage and slaughter sites; (4) regular employee follow-up training to minimise 'compassion fatigue'; (5) incorporating animal welfare requirements in halal certification; (6) using mosque-based sermons by Imams to increase awareness of animal welfare issues; and (7) making portable humane slaughter units available to small cottage operations and home/neighbourhood-kills through mosque-based organizations/structures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of a molecular technique for the detection of porcine ingredients in the Malaysian food market.

PubMed

Farouk, Abd-ElAziem; Batcha, Mohamed F; Greiner, Ralf; Salleh, Hamzah M; Salleh, Mohamad R; Sirajudin, Abdur R

2006-09-01

To develop a molecular technique that is fast and reliable in detecting porcine contamination or ingredients in foods. The method applied involved DNA amplification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. Thus, the sequence of a certain gene found uniquely in pork was identified and its sequence was used to design specific primers for the PCR. The extraction of DNA was optimized in respect to PCR and detection limits were established. The optimized method was then used to identify pork in food products obtained from various local hypermarkets. The latest results were confirmed in triplicates on the 20th April 2006 at the Molecular Biology Laboratory, International Islamic University, Malaysia. The method was shown to be robust and reliable. Out of 30 food samples not expected to contain pork material, 3 samples were shown to be contaminated with pork material; 2 chocolates and one chicken nugget. We observed that 2 food products that were labeled as halal showed positive for porcine ingredients, while another that did not have any halal logo but originated from outside Malaysia and exported to many Middle Eastern nations also showed positive.

Cultured Meat in Islamic Perspective.

PubMed

Hamdan, Mohammad Naqib; Post, Mark J; Ramli, Mohd Anuar; Mustafa, Amin Rukaini

2017-04-29

Cultured meat is a promising product that is derived through biotechnology that partially circumvents animal physiology, thereby being potentially more sustainable, environmentally friendly and animal friendly than traditional livestock meat. Such a novel technology that can impact many consumers evokes ethical, philosophical and religious discussions. For the Islamic community, the crucial question is whether cultured meat is halal, meaning compliant with Islamic laws. Since the culturing of meat is a new discovery, invention and innovation by scientists that has never been discussed by classical jurists (fuqaha'), an ijtihad by contemporary jurists must look for and provide answers for every technology introduced, whether it comply the requirements of Islamic law or not. So, this article will discuss an Islamic perspective on cultured meat based on the original scripture in the Qur'an and interpretations by authoritative Islamic jurists. The halal status of cultured meat can be resolve through identifying the source cell and culture medium used in culturing the meat. The halal cultured meat can be obtained if the stem cell is extracted from a (Halal) slaughtered animal, and no blood or serum is used in the process. The impact of this innovation will give positive results in the environmental and sustain the livestock industry.

Microbiological investigation of halal butchery products and butchers' premises.

PubMed

Little, C; Gillespie, I; de Louvois, J; Mitchell, R

1999-06-01

Halal butchers' premises were investigated as they had not been represented in a recent study of butchery products and butchers' premises conducted by the Local Authorities Coordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards and the PHLS. This study examined 183 raw prepared meats and 212 environmental samples from 105 halal butcher premises. Only raw meats were prepared on 97 of the premises visited; and the types of meat prepared on the remaining eight premises was not specified. Four halal butchers sold cooked meats prepared elsewhere. Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. were detected in 12 (7%) and 52 (28%) of the 183 raw meat products, respectively. Five raw prepared meats (3%) contained both salmonella and campylobacter. Vero cytotoxin producing Escherichia coli O157 was isolated from a raw meat product that also contained campylobacter. No cooked meat products were available for collection. The physical separation of raw and unwrapped cooked meat products in premises that prepared raw and sold cooked meats was not recorded. Apron cloths were the most heavily contaminated environmental samples examined; hygiene indicator microorganisms indicated an increased risk of cross contamination. Managers in 85 premises had received no food hygiene training and 88 premises had no hazard analysis system in place. Improvements are needed to reduce the risk of cross contamination.

Prevalence of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 and Enterobacteriaceae on Hands of Workers in Halal Cattle Abattoirs in Peninsular Malaysia

PubMed Central

Shamsul, Bahri Mohd Tamrin; Adamu, Muhammad Tukur; Mohd Desa, Mohd Nasir; Khairani-Bejo, Siti

2016-01-01

Background Several occupational diseases of multiple origins are encountered among abattoir workers. Presence of indicator microorganisms (coliforms) on hands of workers can be used a gauge for hygienic practices. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the prevalence of E.coli and enterobacteriaceae among Halal abattoir workers in some government halal abattoirs of Malaysia. A total of one hundred and sixty-five hand swab samples were collected from workers of Halal abattoirs in Malaysia. The samples were subjected to microbiological analysis for characterisation and serotyping. Results The results have shown that no Escherichia coli O157:H7 was isolated on the hands of abattoir workers before and after work. However, a total prevalence of 9.7% was recorded for all samples during work. For non-O157:H7, total prevalence of 33.3% during work and 13% after work were obtained. High prevalence was recorded in sample taken during work from Tampin, Jasin and Kemaman (100% each) while low prevalence where observed in Shah Alam, Banting and Ipoh (20% each). Conclusions Based on the findings the hygienic practices of hand washing among the workers in few locations was found to be low especially after work. PMID:27904427

Prevalence of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 and Enterobacteriaceae on Hands of Workers in Halal Cattle Abattoirs in Peninsular Malaysia.

PubMed

Shamsul, Bahri Mohd Tamrin; Adamu, Muhammad Tukur; Mohd Desa, Mohd Nasir; Khairani-Bejo, Siti

2016-09-01

Several occupational diseases of multiple origins are encountered among abattoir workers. Presence of indicator microorganisms (coliforms) on hands of workers can be used a gauge for hygienic practices. A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the prevalence of E.coli and enterobacteriaceae among Halal abattoir workers in some government halal abattoirs of Malaysia. A total of one hundred and sixty-five hand swab samples were collected from workers of Halal abattoirs in Malaysia. The samples were subjected to microbiological analysis for characterisation and serotyping. The results have shown that no Escherichia coli O157:H7 was isolated on the hands of abattoir workers before and after work. However, a total prevalence of 9.7% was recorded for all samples during work. For non-O157:H7, total prevalence of 33.3% during work and 13% after work were obtained. High prevalence was recorded in sample taken during work from Tampin, Jasin and Kemaman (100% each) while low prevalence where observed in Shah Alam, Banting and Ipoh (20% each). Based on the findings the hygienic practices of hand washing among the workers in few locations was found to be low especially after work.

Molecular assay to fraud identification of meat products.

PubMed

Doosti, Abbas; Ghasemi Dehkordi, Payam; Rahimi, Ebrahim

2014-01-01

Detection of species fraud in meat products is important for consumer protection and food industries. A molecular technique such as PCR method for detection of beef, sheep, pork, chicken, donkey, and horse meats in food products was established. The purpose of this study was to identification of fraud and adulteration in industrial meat products by PCR-RFLP assay in Iran. In present study, 224 meat products include 68 sausages, 48 frankfurters, 55 hamburgers, 33 hams and 20 cold cut meats were collected from different companies and food markets in Iran. Genomic DNA was extracted and PCR was performed for gene amplification of meat species using specific oligonucleotid primers. Raw meat samples are served as the positive control. For differentiation between donkey's and horse's meat, the mitochondrial DNA segment (cytochrome-b gene) was amplified and products were digested with AluI restriction enzyme. Results showed that 6 of 68 fermented sausages (8.82%), 4 of 48 frankfurters (8.33%), 4 of 55 hamburgers (7.27%), 2 of 33 hams (6.6%), and 1 of 20 cold cut meat (5%) were found to contain Haram (unlawful or prohibited) meat. These results indicate that 7.58% of the total samples were not containing Halal (lawful or permitted) meat and have another meat. These findings showed that molecular methods such as PCR and PCR-RFLP are potentially reliable techniques for detection of meat type in meat products for Halal authentication.

Stunning and animal welfare from Islamic and scientific perspectives.

PubMed

Nakyinsige, K; Man, Y B Che; Aghwan, Zeiad A; Zulkifli, I; Goh, Y M; Abu Bakar, F; Al-Kahtani, H A; Sazili, A Q

2013-10-01

The transformation of an animal into pieces fit for human consumption is a very important operation. Rather than argue about halal slaughter without stunning being inhumane or stunning being controversial from the Islamic point of view, we discuss slaughter, stunning and animal welfare considering both Islamic and animal welfare legislation requirements. With the world Muslim population close to two billion, the provision of halal meat for the Muslim community is important both ethically and economically. However, from the animal welfare standard point of view, a number of issues have been raised about halal slaughter without stunning, particularly, about stressful methods of restraint and the latency of the onset of unconsciousness. This paper sets out to, discuss the methods of stunning that are acceptable by Islamic authorities, highlight the requirements for stunning to be acceptable in Islam and suggest practical ways to improve the humanness of slaughter. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of porcine DNA in gelatine and gelatine-containing processed food products-Halal/Kosher authentication.

PubMed

Demirhan, Yasemin; Ulca, Pelin; Senyuva, Hamide Z

2012-03-01

A commercially available real-time PCR, based on a multi-copy target cytochrome b (cyt b) using porcine specific primers, has been validated for the Halal/Kosher authentication of gelatine. Extraction and purification of DNA from gelatine were successfully achieved using the SureFood® PREP Animal system, and real-time PCR was carried out using SureFood® Animal ID Pork Sens kit. The minimum level of adulteration that could be detected was 1.0% w/w for marshmallows and gum drops. A small survey was undertaken of processed food products such as gum drops, marshmallows and Turkish delight, believed to contain gelatine. Of fourteen food products from Germany, two samples were found to contain porcine gelatine, whereas of twenty-nine samples from Turkey twenty-eight were negative. However, one product from Turkey contained porcine DNA and thus was not Halal, and neither was the use of porcine gelatine indicated on the product label. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of bleeding efficiency, microbiological quality and lipid oxidation in goats subjected to conscious halal slaughter and slaughter following minimal anesthesia.

PubMed

Sabow, A B; Sazili, A Q; Zulkifli, I; Goh, Y M; Ab Kadir, M Z A; Abdulla, N R; Nakyinsige, K; Kaka, U; Adeyemi, K D

2015-06-01

The study assessed the effect of conscious halal slaughter and slaughter following minimal anesthesia on bleeding efficiency of goats and keeping quality of goat meat. Ten Boer cross bucks were divided into two groups and subjected to either halal slaughter without stunning (HS) or minimal anesthesia prior to slaughter (AS). The blood lost during exsanguination was measured. Residual blood was further quantified by determination of hemoglobin and myoglobin content in longissimus lumborum muscle. Storage stability of the meat was evaluated by microbiological analysis and lipid oxidation. Blood loss at exsanguination, residual hemoglobin and lipid oxidation were not significantly different (p>0.05) between HS and AS. Lactic acid bacteria was the only microbe that was significantly elevated after 24h of storage at 4°C in the AS group. In conclusion, slaughtering goats under minimal anesthesia or fully conscious did not affect bleeding efficiency and keeping quality of goat meat. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Physico-chemical characteristics of Longissimus lumborum muscle in goats subjected to halal slaughter and anesthesia (halothane) pre-slaughter.

PubMed

Sabow, Azad Behnan; Sazili, Awis Qurni; Zulkifli, Idrus; Goh, Yong Meng; Ab Kadir, Mohd Zainal Abidin; Adeyemi, Kazeem Dauda

2015-12-01

This study assessed the effect of halal slaughter and anesthesia pre-slaughter followed by bleeding on meat quality characteristics of goats. Eleven male Boer cross goats were divided into two groups and subjected to either halal slaughter (HS) or anesthesia with halothane and propofol pre-slaughter (AS). At pre-rigor, HS had significantly lower (P < 0.05) muscle pH and glycogen than AS. However, no significant difference was observed in the pH and glycogen content between the treatments on 1, 3 and 7 days post mortem. The drip loss of HS was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of AS at all aging periods. Treatment had no effect on sarcomere length, myofibrillar fragmentation index and shear force values, loss of thiol groups and degradation of major myofibrillar proteins. It can be concluded that HS did not have deleterious effect on meat quality traits of goat when compared to AS. © 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Feedstock for ruminant, non-ruminant and aquatic fish in Malaysia-A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leman, A. M.; Muzarpar, Syafiq; Baba, I.; Sunar, N. M.; Wahab, R. Abdul

2017-09-01

Large demand of feedstock in Malaysia initiated the farmers to accelerate animal growth by improving quality of livestock's. However, quality increase will effect to the cost increment as well. Therefore, main objective of this study is to review various material and methods which acceptable in Malaysia in order to teach the farmer in selecting appropriate material for animal feed. Animal feed for ruminant, non-ruminant and aquatic fish has big issues in Halal animal feed. It caused by sources of existing animal feed from non-halal material such as blood meal and pig bone. There are various sources of halal animal feed sources such as from plant such as napier, PKC, banana tree and corn leaf as well as from waste material such as waste toufu, waste coconut, soy meal, coconut meal and sagoo. Therefore, the farmer able to select the appropriate material for own animal feed to reduce cost and fulfill the animal feed requirement regarding to protein and nutrient need.

Halal authenticity of gelatin using species-specific PCR.

PubMed

Shabani, Hessam; Mehdizadeh, Mehrangiz; Mousavi, Seyed Mohammad; Dezfouli, Ehsan Ansari; Solgi, Tara; Khodaverdi, Mahdi; Rabiei, Maryam; Rastegar, Hossein; Alebouyeh, Mahmoud

2015-10-01

Consumption of food products derived from porcine sources is strictly prohibited in Islam. Gelatin, mostly derived from bovine and porcine sources, has many applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. To ensure that food products comply with halal regulations, development of valid and reliable analytical methods is very much required. In this study, a species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using conserved regions of mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b gene) was performed to evaluate the halal authenticity of gelatin. After isolation of DNA from gelatin powders with known origin, conventional PCR using species-specific primers was carried out on the extracted DNA. The amplified expected PCR products of 212 and 271 bp were observed for porcine and bovine gelatin, respectively. The sensitivity of the method was tested on binary gelatin mixtures containing 0.1%, 1%, 10%, and 100% (w/w) of porcine gelatin within bovine gelatin and vice versa. Although most of the DNA is degraded due to the severe processing steps of gelatin production, the minimum level of 0.1% w/w of both porcine and bovine gelatin was detected. Moreover, eight food products labeled as containing bovine gelatin and eight capsule shells were subjected to PCR examination. The results showed that all samples contained bovine gelatin, and the absence of porcine gelatin was verified. This method of species authenticity is very useful to verify whether gelatin and gelatin-containing food products are derived from halal ingredients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The enlightenment from Malaysian consumers' perspective toward cosmetic products.

PubMed

Ayob, Ain; Awadh, Ammar Ihsan; Jafri, Juliana; Jamshed, Shazia; Ahmad, Hawa Mas Azmar; Hadi, Hazrina

2016-01-01

Variety of cosmetic products was used in our daily life, yet the amount and types of the cosmetic products used by the consumers were varied, which may be due to the different perspectives held by each of the consumers. To explore consumers' perspectives toward cosmetic products. An interview guide was developed with a set of 12 semistructured questions. Participants in Kuantan, Pahang were recruited via the purposive sampling, and they undergo in-depth face-to-face interviews. All of the interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and were analyzed via thematic content analysis. For the awareness of cosmetic products, less aware about the cosmetic products in Malaysia were noted among the participants. In terms of perceptions about the cosmetic products, participants expressed positive perceptions toward natural cosmetic products, quality were seen as synonymous with branded products and halal certification. Next, for the attitude toward the use of cosmetic products, participants were influenced by ingredients, product brand, and halal certification. Based on personal experiences, they provide complaints and suggestions for the enhancement of cosmetic products' quality. Participants were found to have less awareness about the cosmetic products in Malaysia. Besides, they realized about the chemical ingredients and halal certification for the cosmetic products. Therefore, they held positive perceptions and practiced positive attitudes toward natural and halal cosmetic products. Finally, adverse reactions from the use of cosmetic products were commonly experienced by the participants, which contributed mainly by the ingredients. Thus, they hoped for serious approached to be enacted to solve this problem.

The enlightenment from Malaysian consumers’ perspective toward cosmetic products

PubMed Central

Ayob, Ain; Awadh, Ammar Ihsan; Jafri, Juliana; Jamshed, Shazia; Ahmad, Hawa Mas Azmar; Hadi, Hazrina

2016-01-01

Backgrounds: Variety of cosmetic products was used in our daily life, yet the amount and types of the cosmetic products used by the consumers were varied, which may be due to the different perspectives held by each of the consumers. Objectives: To explore consumers’ perspectives toward cosmetic products. Methods: An interview guide was developed with a set of 12 semistructured questions. Participants in Kuantan, Pahang were recruited via the purposive sampling, and they undergo in-depth face-to-face interviews. All of the interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and were analyzed via thematic content analysis. Results: For the awareness of cosmetic products, less aware about the cosmetic products in Malaysia were noted among the participants. In terms of perceptions about the cosmetic products, participants expressed positive perceptions toward natural cosmetic products, quality were seen as synonymous with branded products and halal certification. Next, for the attitude toward the use of cosmetic products, participants were influenced by ingredients, product brand, and halal certification. Based on personal experiences, they provide complaints and suggestions for the enhancement of cosmetic products’ quality. Conclusions: Participants were found to have less awareness about the cosmetic products in Malaysia. Besides, they realized about the chemical ingredients and halal certification for the cosmetic products. Therefore, they held positive perceptions and practiced positive attitudes toward natural and halal cosmetic products. Finally, adverse reactions from the use of cosmetic products were commonly experienced by the participants, which contributed mainly by the ingredients. Thus, they hoped for serious approached to be enacted to solve this problem. PMID:27413352

Detection of pork adulteration in processed meat by species-specific PCR-QIAxcel procedure based on D-loop and cytb genes.

PubMed

Barakat, Hassan; El-Garhy, Hoda A S; Moustafa, Mahmoud M A

2014-12-01

Detection of pork meat adulteration in "halal" meat products is a crucial issue in the fields of modern food inspection according to implementation of very strict procedures for halal food labelling. Present study aims at detecting and quantifying pork adulteration in both raw and cooked manufactured sausages. This is by applying an optimized species-specific PCR procedure followed by QIAxcel capillary electrophoresis system. Manufacturing experiment was designed by incorporating pork with beef meat at 0.01 to 10 % substitution levels beside beef and pork sausages as negative and positive controls, respectively. Subsequently, sausages were divided into raw and cooked sausages then subjected to DNA extraction. Results indicated that PCR amplifications of mitochondrial D-loop and cytochrome b (cytb) genes by porcine-specific primers produced 185 and 117 bp pork-specific DNA fragments in sausages, respectively. No DNA fragments were detected when PCR was applied on beef sausage DNA confirming primers specificity. For internal control, a 141-bp DNA fragment of eukaryotic 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was amplified from pork and beef DNA templates. Although PCR followed by either QIAxcel or agarose techniques were efficient for targeted DNA fragments differentiation even as low as 0.01 % (pork/meat: w/w). For proficiency, adequacy, and performance, PCR-QIA procedure is highly sensitive, a time-saver, electronically documented, mutagenic-reagent free, of little manual errors, accurate in measuring PCR fragments length, and quantitative data supplier. In conclusion, it can be suggested that optimized PCR-QAI is considered as a rapid and sensitive method for routine pork detection and quantification in raw or processed meat.

A comparison of blood loss during the Halal slaughter of lambs following Traditional Religious Slaughter without stunning, Electric Head-Only Stunning and Post-Cut Electric Head-Only Stunning.

PubMed

Khalid, Rizvan; Knowles, Toby G; Wotton, Steve B

2015-12-01

Blood lost at exsanguination during the Halal slaughter of lambs was compared between the slaughter methods of Traditional Religious Slaughter without stunning (TRS), Electric Head-Only Stunning (EHOS) and Post-Cut Electric Head-Only Stunning (PCEHOS). Two protocols were examined, Experimental (80 lambs) and Commercial (360 lambs), assessing varying periods of animal orientation during the 4 min bleeding process (upright orientation before vertical hanging). Live-weight, blood weight (Experimental only), carcass weights and by-product weights were recorded. The Experimental protocol highlighted an increase in blood loss at 60s in EHOS and PCEHOS compared to TRS (P<0.001) but by 90 s there was no significant difference. A post-slaughter change in animal orientation from an upright to a vertical hanging position aided the amount of blood loss. The bleeding of lambs is largely completed by 2 min. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in final blood loss between treatments. This research was undertaken to inform discussion on the merits of different slaughter methods compatible with Halal requirements. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Meat species identification and Halal authentication analysis using mitochondrial DNA.

PubMed

Murugaiah, Chandrika; Noor, Zainon Mohd; Mastakim, Maimunah; Bilung, Lesley Maurice; Selamat, Jinap; Radu, Son

2009-09-01

A method utilizing PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in the mitochondrial genes was developed for beef (Bos taurus), pork (Sus scrofa), buffalo (Bubalus bubali), quail (Coturnix coturnix), chicken (Gallus gallus), goat (Capra hircus), rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) species identification and Halal authentication. PCR products of 359-bp were successfully obtained from the cyt b gene of these six meats. AluI, BsaJI, RsaI, MseI, and BstUI enzymes were identified as potential restriction endonucleases to differentiate the meats. The genetic differences within the cyt b gene among the meat were successfully confirmed by PCR-RFLP. A reliable typing scheme of species which revealed the genetic differences among the species was developed.

Molecular beacon-based real-time PCR method for detection of porcine DNA in gelatin and gelatin capsules.

PubMed

Mohamad, Nurhidayatul Asma; Mustafa, Shuhaimi; Khairil Mokhtar, Nur Fadhilah; El Sheikha, Aly Farag

2018-03-05

The pharmaceutical industry has boosted gelatin consumption worldwide. This is supported by the availability of cost-effective gelatin production from porcine by-products. However, cross-contamination of gelatin materials, where porcine gelatin was unintentionally included in the other animal sources of gelatin, has caused significant concerns about halal authenticity. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has enabled a highly specific and sensitive animal species detection method in various food products. Hence, such a technique was employed in the present study to detect and quantify porcine DNA in gelatin using a molecular beacon probe, with differences in performance between mitochondrial (cytochrome b gene) and chromosomal DNA-(MPRE42 repetitive element) based porcine-specific PCR assays being compared. A higher sensitivity was observed in chromosomal DNA (MPRE-PCR assay), where this assay allows the detection of gelatin DNA at amounts as as low as 1 pg, whereas mitochondrial DNA (CBH-PCR assay) can only detect at levels down to 10 pg of gelatin DNA. When an analysis with commercial gelatin and gelatin capsule samples was conducted, the same result was observed, with a significantly more sensitive detection being provided by the repetitive element of chromosomal DNA. The present study has established highly sensitive DNA-based porcine detection systems derived from chromosomal DNA that are feasible for highly processed products such as gelatin and gelatin capsules containing a minute amount of DNA. This sensitive detection method can also be implemented to assist the halal authentication process of various food products available on the market. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

"Make Your Own Way There": An Agenda for Young People in the Modern Labour Market.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spierings, John

The problems facing young people in Australia's current labor market and the effectiveness of Australia's educational system in preparing young people for the labor market were examined. Particular attention was paid to the following issues: the reshaping of work in the modern labor market; skill development in the modern labor market; the impact…

Halal and Kosher Food Act of 2013

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Crowley, Joseph [D-NY-14

2013-04-26

House - 05/22/2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, and Nutrition. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Halal and Kosher Food Act of 2013

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY

2013-04-25

Senate - 04/25/2013 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Kosher and Halal Food Act of 2012

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY

2012-11-15

Senate - 11/15/2012 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Effect of dietary habits on prevalence of anemia in pregnant women of Delhi.

PubMed

Sharma, Jai Bhagwan; Soni, Dimple; Murthy, Nandagudi Srinivasa; Malhotra, Monika

2003-04-01

To see the effect of various dietary habits, such as a vegetarian diet or various types of meat, on the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women. A study was carried out in Delhi to determine the effect of different dietary habits on prevalence of anemia during pregnancy by questioning the women during pregnancy regarding their dietary habits (vegetarian diet, jhatka or halal meat) and assessing their hemoglobin levels. The data was compiled and chi2 test was employed for understanding the associations between the effect of food habits on prevalence of anemia. Mean age was 26.5 years. Most women were in the second (26%) or third trimester (63.2%) of pregnancy. Prevalence of anemia was found to be very high. Of 1150 women, 96% were anemic (89.8% mildly anemic, 5.3% severely anemic). Anemia was seen in 96.18% cases in vegetarian women, 95.3% in halal meat eaters, and 96.2% in jhatka meat eaters (not significant). Although the percentage of women with < 11 g/dL Hb was less in the jhatka group eating meat more than 5 times per month, than in halal meat eaters and vegetarians, the difference was not statistically significant. There is very high prevalence of anemia during pregnancy in Delhi, probably due to very low frequency of meat eating in India. Different types of dietary habits had no effect on the prevalence of anemia in pregnant Indian women.

A simple visual ethanol biosensor based on alcohol oxidase immobilized onto polyaniline film for halal verification of fermented beverage samples.

PubMed

Kuswandi, Bambang; Irmawati, Titi; Hidayat, Moch Amrun; Jayus; Ahmad, Musa

2014-01-27

A simple visual ethanol biosensor based on alcohol oxidase (AOX) immobilised onto polyaniline (PANI) film for halal verification of fermented beverage samples is described. This biosensor responds to ethanol via a colour change from green to blue, due to the enzymatic reaction of ethanol that produces acetaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide, when the latter oxidizes the PANI film. The procedure to obtain this biosensor consists of the immobilization of AOX onto PANI film by adsorption. For the immobilisation, an AOX solution is deposited on the PANI film and left at room temperature until dried (30 min). The biosensor was constructed as a dip stick for visual and simple use. The colour changes of the films have been scanned and analysed using image analysis software (i.e., ImageJ) to study the characteristics of the biosensor's response toward ethanol. The biosensor has a linear response in an ethanol concentration range of 0.01%-0.8%, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.996. The limit detection of the biosensor was 0.001%, with reproducibility (RSD) of 1.6% and a life time up to seven weeks when stored at 4 °C. The biosensor provides accurate results for ethanol determination in fermented drinks and was in good agreement with the standard method (gas chromatography) results. Thus, the biosensor could be used as a simple visual method for ethanol determination in fermented beverage samples that can be useful for Muslim community for halal verification.

Analysis of raw meats and fats of pigs using polymerase chain reaction for Halal authentication.

PubMed

Aida, A A; Che Man, Y B; Wong, C M V L; Raha, A R; Son, R

2005-01-01

A method for species identification from pork and lard samples using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of a conserved region in the mitochondrial (mt) cytochrome b (cyt b) gene has been developed. Genomic DNA of pork and lard were extracted using Qiagen DNeasy(®) Tissue Kits and subjected to PCR amplification targeting the mt cyt b gene. The genomic DNA from lard was found to be of good quality and produced clear PCR products on the amplification of the mt cyt b gene of approximately 360 base pairs. To distinguish between species, the amplified PCR products were cut with restriction enzyme BsaJI resulting in porcine-specific restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP). The cyt b PCR-RFLP species identification assay yielded excellent results for identification of pig species. It is a potentially reliable technique for detection of pig meat and fat from other animals for Halal authentication.

A Simple Visual Ethanol Biosensor Based on Alcohol Oxidase Immobilized onto Polyaniline Film for Halal Verification of Fermented Beverage Samples

PubMed Central

Kuswandi, Bambang; Irmawati, Titi; Hidayat, Moch Amrun; Jayus; Ahmad, Musa

2014-01-01

A simple visual ethanol biosensor based on alcohol oxidase (AOX) immobilised onto polyaniline (PANI) film for halal verification of fermented beverage samples is described. This biosensor responds to ethanol via a colour change from green to blue, due to the enzymatic reaction of ethanol that produces acetaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide, when the latter oxidizes the PANI film. The procedure to obtain this biosensor consists of the immobilization of AOX onto PANI film by adsorption. For the immobilisation, an AOX solution is deposited on the PANI film and left at room temperature until dried (30 min). The biosensor was constructed as a dip stick for visual and simple use. The colour changes of the films have been scanned and analysed using image analysis software (i.e., ImageJ) to study the characteristics of the biosensor's response toward ethanol. The biosensor has a linear response in an ethanol concentration range of 0.01%–0.8%, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.996. The limit detection of the biosensor was 0.001%, with reproducibility (RSD) of 1.6% and a life time up to seven weeks when stored at 4 °C. The biosensor provides accurate results for ethanol determination in fermented drinks and was in good agreement with the standard method (gas chromatography) results. Thus, the biosensor could be used as a simple visual method for ethanol determination in fermented beverage samples that can be useful for Muslim community for halal verification. PMID:24473284

Neotectonics and fluvial geomorphology of the Northern Sinai Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusky, T.; El-Baz, F.

2000-08-01

Large anticlinal ridges of Jurassic-Tertiary limestone in the northern Sinai Peninsula are part of the Syrian Arc Fold Belt, parts of which have been active intermittently from Late Cretaceous through the present. Recent uplift of the Syrian Arc Fold Belt is supported by quantitative indices of active tectonics including low values of mountain front sinuosity and, by recent seismicity, extending southwest past Cairo into the Fayoum Depression. The northern Sinai Desert has a climate similar to that of the adjacent part of the eastern Sahara. Sand sheets and dune fields cover its northwestern part, which is a depression extending from the Suez Canal to Wadi El-Arish. Numerous dry channels of palaeorivers and streams lead into this depression, where several temporary palaeolakes and flood overbank deposits have been identified. Some of the temporary pluvial palaeolakes developed behind natural dams formed by folds of the Syrian Arc, whereas others filled deeply-eroded fault traces. Migration of sand dunes may have blocked some channels, but the location of the dunes seems to be controlled by Recent uplift of parts of the fold belt, with the dunes residing in synclinal depressions and adjacent to fault scarps. The palaeolakes are correlated more with structures than with active dune fields. Wadi El-Arish abandoned a channel west of its present-day course, perhaps because of recent growth and uplift of the Gebel Halal Fold. This abandonment was synchronous with down-cutting of a gorge through Gebel Halal, which follows conjugate faults formed during uplift of an anticline. The presence of standing water during wetter climates in the past is supported by silt deposits and archaeological evidence of previous human habitation. The newly identified lake margin and fluvial sediments could be important targets for studying early-modern human and Neanderthal activities. In the eastern Sahara, cycles of pluvial periods that date back 320,000 years appear to correspond to interglacial stages. These indicate major global climate changes resulting in alternation of wet and dry climate episodes, which interplayed with local tectonic uplift to dramatically change the physiography of the northern Sinai.

Successful Strategies for Marketing School Levies. Fastback No. 310.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Glenn T.; And Others

The use of modern marketing concepts to assist public school districts in the passage of school levies and bond issues is presented in this guidebook. The modern marketing concept is based on maximizing customer satisfaction and solving the problem of the consumer. Strategies are presented for conducting market analysis; financing, organizing, and…

Critical limits for the control points for halal poultry slaughter.

PubMed

Shahdan, Intan Azura; Regenstein, Joe Mac; Rahman, Mohammad Tariqur

2017-06-01

This study proposes critical limits (CL) for control points for halal slaughter (CPHS). Previously, 6 control points (CP) were determined, and CL for these 6 CPHS are suggested based on: 1) a literature survey for the CL for CP 1 (poultry breeding, rearing, and poultry feed) and CP 2 (welfare of poultry during transportation and lairage); 2) a field survey of slaughter plants in Kuantan (Malaysia) for CP 3 (immobilization), CP 4 (slaughter), CP 5 (time for full bleed-out), and CP 6 (washing and packaging); and 3) controlled experiments to refine the CL for CP 3, 4, and 5. The CL for CP 1 focused on stress reduction during rearing and use of substances that could compromise poultry meat wholesomeness. The CL for CP 2 emphasizes humane best-practices for handling poultry during lairage. The CL for CP 3 suggests a gap of 5 s between 2 shackles if only one shackler is employed and shackling times of <1 min for live chickens. In countries permitting water-bath electrical stunning of halal poultry, the stunning current needed to induce unconsciousness must be defined for the breed and bird size but not cause any chicken deaths. The CL for CP 4 mandates the recitation of the tasmiyah (the invocation), which if done for every chicken, will require ≥5 s between stunning and neck cutting. The CL for CP 4 also includes information about the slaughter knife. In CP 5 the recommended minimum time between neck cutting and scalding is 9.5 min. Finally, the CL for CP 6 emphasizes good supply chain hygiene and zero adulteration from haram species and substances. © 2016 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Simultaneous detection of bovine and porcine DNA in pharmaceutical gelatin capsules by duplex PCR assay for Halal authentication.

PubMed

Nikzad, Jafar; Shahhosseini, Soraya; Tabarzad, Maryam; Nafissi-Varcheh, Nastaran; Torshabi, Maryam

2017-02-14

In the pharmaceutical industry, hard- and soft-shelled capsules are typically made from gelatin, commonly derived from bovine and porcine sources. To ensure that pharmaceutical products comply with halal regulations in Muslim countries (no porcine products allowed), development of a valid, reliable, quick, and most importantly, cost-effective tests are of utmost importance. We developed a species-specific duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting 149 bp porcine and 271 bp bovine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to simultaneously detect both porcine and bovine DNA (in one reaction at the same time) in gelatin. Some additional simplex PCR tests (targeting 126 bp bovine and 212 bp porcine mtDNA) and real-time PCR using a commercially available kit (for identification of porcine DNA) were used to verify the selectivity and sensitivity of our duplex PCR. After optimization of DNA extraction and PCR methods, hard/soft pharmaceutical gelatin capsules (containing drug) were tested for the presence of porcine and/or bovine DNA. Duplex PCR detected the presence of as little as 0.1% porcine DNA, which was more accurate than the commercially available kit. Of all gelatin capsules tested (n = 24), 50% contained porcine DNA (pure porcine gelatin alone or in combination with bovine gelatin). Duplex PCR presents an easy-to-follow, quick, low-cost and reliable method to simultaneously detect porcine and bovine DNAs (>100 bp) in minute amounts in highly processed gelatin-containing pharmaceutical products (with a 0.1% sensitivity for porcine DNA) which may be used for halal authentication. Simultaneous detection of porcine and bovine DNA in gelatin capsules by duplex PCR.

Bleeding Efficiency and Meat Oxidative Stability and Microbiological Quality of New Zealand White Rabbits Subjected to Halal Slaughter without Stunning and Gas Stun-killing

PubMed Central

Nakyinsige, K.; Fatimah, A. B.; Aghwan, Z. A.; Zulkifli, I.; Goh, Y. M.; Sazili, A. Q.

2014-01-01

A study was conducted to compare the effect of halal slaughter without stunning and gas stun killing followed by bleeding on residual blood content and storage stability of rabbit meat. Eighty male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into two groups of 40 animals each and subjected to either halal slaughter without stunning (HS) or gas stun-kill (GK). The volume of blood lost during exsanguination was measured. Residual blood was further quantified by determination of haemoglobin content in Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle. Storage stability of the meat was evaluated by microbiological analysis and measuring lipid oxidation in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). HS resulted in significantly higher blood loss than GK. HS had significantly lower residual haemoglobin in LL muscle compared to GK. Slaughter method had no effect on rabbit meat lipid oxidation at 0, 1, and 3 d postmortem. However, at 5 and 8 days of storage at 4°C, significant differences (p<0.05) were found, with meat from the GK group exhibiting significantly higher levels of MDA than that from HS. At day 3, greater growth of Pseudomonas aeroginosa and E. coli were observed in the GK group (p<0.05) with B. thermosphacta and total aerobic counts remained unaffected by slaughter method. At days 5 and 7 postmortem, bacterial counts for all tested microbes were affected by slaughter method, with GK exhibiting significantly higher growth than HS. It can be concluded that slaughter method can affect keeping quality of rabbit meat, and HS may be a favourable option compared to GK due to high bleed out. PMID:25049968

Bleeding Efficiency and Meat Oxidative Stability and Microbiological Quality of New Zealand White Rabbits Subjected to Halal Slaughter without Stunning and Gas Stun-killing.

PubMed

Nakyinsige, K; Fatimah, A B; Aghwan, Z A; Zulkifli, I; Goh, Y M; Sazili, A Q

2014-03-01

A study was conducted to compare the effect of halal slaughter without stunning and gas stun killing followed by bleeding on residual blood content and storage stability of rabbit meat. Eighty male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into two groups of 40 animals each and subjected to either halal slaughter without stunning (HS) or gas stun-kill (GK). The volume of blood lost during exsanguination was measured. Residual blood was further quantified by determination of haemoglobin content in Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle. Storage stability of the meat was evaluated by microbiological analysis and measuring lipid oxidation in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). HS resulted in significantly higher blood loss than GK. HS had significantly lower residual haemoglobin in LL muscle compared to GK. Slaughter method had no effect on rabbit meat lipid oxidation at 0, 1, and 3 d postmortem. However, at 5 and 8 days of storage at 4°C, significant differences (p<0.05) were found, with meat from the GK group exhibiting significantly higher levels of MDA than that from HS. At day 3, greater growth of Pseudomonas aeroginosa and E. coli were observed in the GK group (p<0.05) with B. thermosphacta and total aerobic counts remained unaffected by slaughter method. At days 5 and 7 postmortem, bacterial counts for all tested microbes were affected by slaughter method, with GK exhibiting significantly higher growth than HS. It can be concluded that slaughter method can affect keeping quality of rabbit meat, and HS may be a favourable option compared to GK due to high bleed out.

Microbiological and physicochemical characterization of dry-cured Halal goat meat. Effect of salting time and addition of olive oil and paprika covering.

PubMed

Cherroud, Sanâa; Cachaldora, Aida; Fonseca, Sonia; Laglaoui, Amin; Carballo, Javier; Franco, Inmaculada

2014-10-01

The objective of this work was to define a simple technological process for dry-cured Halal goat meat elaboration. The aims of this study were to analyze physicochemical parameters and to enumerate the microbial population at the end of the different manufacturing processes (two salting times and the addition of olive oil and paprika covering) on 36 units of meat product. A total of 532 strains were isolated from several selective culture media and then identified using classical and molecular methods. In general, salt effect and the addition of olive oil and paprika were significant for all the studied microbial groups as well as on NaCl content and water activity. Molecular analysis proves that staphylococci, especially Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus equorum, were the most common naturally occurring microbiota. The best manufacturing process would be obtained with a longer salting time and the addition of the olive oil and paprika covering. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid identification of pork for halal authentication using the electronic nose and gas chromatography mass spectrometer with headspace analyzer.

PubMed

Nurjuliana, M; Che Man, Y B; Mat Hashim, D; Mohamed, A K S

2011-08-01

The volatile compounds of pork, other meats and meat products were studied using an electronic nose and gas chromatography mass spectrometer with headspace analyzer (GCMS-HS) for halal verification. The zNose™ was successfully employed for identification and differentiation of pork and pork sausages from beef, mutton and chicken meats and sausages which were achieved using a visual odor pattern called VaporPrint™, derived from the frequency of the surface acoustic wave (SAW) detector of the electronic nose. GCMS-HS was employed to separate and analyze the headspace gasses from samples into peaks corresponding to individual compounds for the purpose of identification. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for data interpretation. Analysis by PCA was able to cluster and discriminate pork from other types of meats and sausages. It was shown that PCA could provide a good separation of the samples with 67% of the total variance accounted by PC1. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of gas stunning and halal slaughter (no stunning) on rabbits welfare indicators and meat quality.

PubMed

Nakyinsige, K; Sazili, A Q; Zulkifli, I; Goh, Y M; Abu Bakar, F; Sabow, A B

2014-12-01

This study assessed the effect of gas stunning which has not been conducted until now in comparison with slaughter without stunning on the welfare and meat quality of rabbits. Eighty male New Zealand White rabbits were divided into two groups of 40 animals and subjected to either halal slaughter without stunning (HS) or gas stunning using 61.4% CO2, 20.3% oxygen and 18.3 % nitrogen (GS). Analysis of the sticking blood revealed that both slaughter procedures caused a substantial increase in the levels of catecholamines, hypercalcemia, hyperglycemia, lactic acidemia and an increase in enzyme activities. The ultimate pH of the Longissimus lumborum muscle did not differ between treatments. GS exhibited higher lightness and cooking loss, and lower glycogen and MFI than HS. This indicates that both GS and HS can be significant stressors although the amount of stress may be below the threshold to negatively affect rabbit meat quality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scope for biological sensing technologies in meat production and export in northern Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qureshi, M. S.; Qureshi, I. H.

2013-12-01

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan is rich in livestock resources, including 14.84 million sheep and goats (valued at US1.60 billion) and a 27% share of the national poultry sector (having an investment of US2.00 billion), and produces 834 billion kg meat. These huge assets have the potential to support the provincial economy through income generation, self employment and production of certified high-quality food items for the domestic and international Halal Food Market. A model has been developed for analyzing the gaps in the status of health, productivity, nutrition, fertility and management aspects of local farming. Improved practices would be introduced to combat the losses. The model will comprise a farming network linked to farmers' welfare centre, a central lab and an expert group. A strong sensing technology network would be introduced for data transfer and quality control of the inputs and products. The farmers will e-tag their animals for the purpose of traceability, online history and biodata. The data will be maintained in remote and central servers. A communication system would be developed utilizing mobile phones for the prices, demands and availability status of inputs and produce at local and international markets. A mobile money transfer system will be introduced to exchange, save and borrow small amounts of capital as well as take out short-term insurance policies.

Netherlands Antilles and French West Indies. Section 23. Weather and Climate

DTIC Science & Technology

1965-05-01

srpport, and veloped for use in the tropic, would provide protection thealements myeound inrthe Subsections on Air, against Inscts wherever food is being...oi I𔃾 it.( halal .................... 1 t 01 2 at Wra ol Illioull ...................... .. in 09 011 47 ,7K (Iroot Sint Jorlm ................ 13 (I

Technology Modernization for DoD Subcontractors: A Study of Market, Business, Financial, and Capital Investment Factors.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-01

contractors requiring the product( s ) offered by the respondent first-tier subcontractor. 3. Knowledge of competition (ordinal)--the amount of market ...Question Interview Schedule Number Factor Question Number( s ) market environment 1, 2, - 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 perceived market environment 6 DOD business 16, 17...ADA T432 ECHNOLO MODERNIZATION FOR DOD SUBCONTRACTORS: A I STUDY 0F MARKET BUSINE..U AIR FORCE INS OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERS AFB OH SCHOOLOD SS UNC ASS

Assessment of the meat quality of lamb M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum and M. triceps brachii following three different Halal slaughter procedures.

PubMed

Danso, A S; Richardson, R I; Khalid, R

2017-05-01

A total of fifteen male and fifteen female lambs were allocated to three groups of ten animals and subjected to: traditional Halal slaughter without stunning (TNS); slaughter following electric head-only stunning (EHOS) or; post-cut electric head-only stun (PCEHOS) and their meat quality was determined. Instrumental and sensory analyses were carried out on two muscles; M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) and M. triceps brachii (TB). Additionally, the effects of sex and muscle type were also assessed. No differences were found among slaughter methods for pH, drip loss and shear force. TB had a higher pHu and was more tender than LTL. Muscles from EHOS and PCEHOS lambs discoloured more quickly than TNS muscles. There were no differences in the measured sensory attributes, with the exception of EHOS meat being tougher than PCEHOS and TNS meat. This study showed that the three slaughter methods had no substantial effect on lamb meat quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contraceptive social marketing in Albania - the NESMARK story.

PubMed

Paravani, Ardian; Orgocka, Aida

2013-06-01

To present the history of social marketing of modern contraceptives in Albania. We review documentation and activity of NESMARK, an Albanian non-governmental social marketing organisation, and national data on adoption of modern contraception. During 15 years of awareness raising, sales of affordable products, and provider training, NESMARK has impacted the introduction and adoption of modern contraception in Albania. NESMARK is the country's main distributor of emergency contraception (EC) and complements the public sector in the distribution of condoms and oral contraceptives. NESMARK has made major efforts to overcome prevalent taboos and misinformation held by medical and nursing personnel, pharmacists and the general public, regarding the effectiveness and safety of condoms, oral contraceptives, and EC. NESMARK has contributed to increasing the choices for modern contraception methods in Albania by providing affordable contraceptives, training providers, and educating the general population. However, widespread use of withdrawal coupled with the belief that it is as or more effective than modern contraception, continues to limit uptake of new methods and is a significant challenge to comprehensive and sustained social marketing programmes.

Traditional, modern or mixed? Perspectives on social, economic, and health impacts of evolving food retail in Thailand.

PubMed

Kelly, Matthew; Seubsman, Sam-Ang; Banwell, Cathy; Dixon, Jane; Sleigh, Adrian

Transnational food retailers expanded to middle-income countries over recent decades responding to supply (liberalized foreign investment) and demand (rising incomes, urbanization, female workforce participation, and time poverty). Control in new markets diffuses along three axes: socio-economic (rich to poor), geographic (urban to rural), and product category (processed foods to fresh foods). We used a mixed method approach to study the progression of modern retail in Thailand on these three axes and consumer preferences for food retailing. In Thailand modern retail controls half the food sales but traditional fresh markets remain important. Quantitative questionnaires administered to members of a large national cohort study revealed around half of respondents were primarily traditional shoppers and half either utilized modern and traditional formats equally or primarily shopped at supermarkets. Fresh foods were mainly purchased at traditional retail formats and dry packaged foods at supermarkets. Qualitative interviews found price and quality of produce and availability of culturally important products to be significant reasons for continued support of fresh markets. Our results show socio-economic and geographic diffusion is already advanced with most respondents having access to and utilizing modern retail. Control of the fresh food sector by transnationals faces barriers in Thailand and may remain elusive. The short to mid-term outcome may be a bifurcated food system with modern and traditional retail each retaining market share, but fresh markets longer term survival may require government assistance as supermarkets become more established. Fresh markets supply affordable, healthy foods, and livelihoods for poorer Thais and are repositories of Thai food culture and social networks. If they survive they will confer cultural, social, economic, and health benefits.

A lab-on-a-chip-based multiplex platform to detect potential fraud of introducing pig, dog, cat, rat and monkey meat into the food chain.

PubMed

Razzak, Md Abdur; Hamid, Sharifah Bee Abd; Ali, Md Eaqub

2015-01-01

Food forgery has posed considerable risk to public health, religious rituals, personal budget and wildlife. Pig, dog, cat, rat and monkey meat are restricted in most religions, but their sporadic adulteration are rampant. Market controllers need a low-cost but reliable technique to track and trace suspected species in the food chain. Considering the need, here we documented a lab-on-a-chip-based multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the authentication of five non-halal meat species in foods. Using species-specific primers, 172, 163, 141, 129 and 108-bp sites of mitochondrial ND5, ATPase 6 and cytochrome b genes were amplified to detect cat, dog, pig, monkey and rat species under complex matrices. Species-specificity was authenticated against 20 different species with the potential to be used in food. The targets were stable under extreme sterilisation (121°C at 45 psi for 2.5 h) which severely degrades DNA. The assay was optimised under the backgrounds of various commercial meat products and validated for the analysis of meatballs, burgers and frankfurters, which are popular fast food items across the globe. The assay was tested to detect 0.1% suspected meats under commercial backgrounds of marketed foods. Instead of simplex PCR which detects only one species at a time, such a multiplex platform can reduce cost by at least fivefolds by detecting five different species in a single assay platform.

Comparison of Campylobacter contamination levels on chicken carcasses between modern and traditional types of slaughtering facilities in Malaysia.

PubMed

Rejab, Saira Banu Mohamed; Zessin, Karl-Hans; Fries, Reinhard; Patchanee, Prapas

2012-01-01

A total of 360 samples including fresh fecal droppings, neck skins, and swab samples was collected from 24 broiler flocks and processed by 12 modern processing plants in 6 states in Malaysia. Ninety samples from 10 traditional wet markets located in the same states as modern processing plants were also collected. Microbiological isolation for Campylobacter was performed following ISO 10272-1:2006 (E). The overall rate of contamination for Campylobacter in modern processing plants and in traditional wet markets was 61.1% (220/360) and 85.6% (77/90), respectively. Campylobacter jejuni was detected as the majority with approximately 70% for both facilities. In the modern processing plants, the contamination rate for Campylobacter gradually declined from 80.6% before the inside-outside washing to 62.5% after inside-outside washing and to 38.9% after the post chilling step. The contamination rate for Campylobacter from processed chicken neck skin in traditional wet markets (93.3%) was significantly (P<0.01) higher than in modern processing plants (38.9%).

Development of swine-specific DNA markers for biosensor-based halal authentication.

PubMed

Ali, M E; Hashim, U; Kashif, M; Mustafa, S; Che Man, Y B; Abd Hamid, S B

2012-06-29

The pig (Sus scrofa) mitochondrial genome was targeted to design short (15-30 nucleotides) DNA markers that would be suitable for biosensor-based hybridization detection of target DNA. Short DNA markers are reported to survive harsh conditions in which longer ones are degraded into smaller fragments. The whole swine mitochondrial-genome was in silico digested with AluI restriction enzyme. Among 66 AluI fragments, five were selected as potential markers because of their convenient lengths, high degree of interspecies polymorphism and intraspecies conservatism. These were confirmed by NCBI blast analysis and ClustalW alignment analysis with 11 different meat-providing animal and fish species. Finally, we integrated a tetramethyl rhodamine-labeled 18-nucleotide AluI fragment into a 3-nm diameter citrate-tannate coated gold nanoparticle to develop a swine-specific hybrid nanobioprobe for the determination of pork adulteration in 2.5-h autoclaved pork-beef binary mixtures. This hybrid probe detected as low as 1% pork in deliberately contaminated autoclaved pork-beef binary mixtures and no cross-species detection was recorded, demonstrating the feasibility of this type of probe for biosensor-based detection of pork adulteration of halal and kosher foods.

Perception of medical university members from nutritional health in the quran.

PubMed

Salarvand, Shahin; Pournia, Yadollah

2014-04-01

Desirable health is impossible without good nutrition, and Allah has addressed us on eating foods in 118 verses. This study aimed to describe the medical university faculty members' perceptions of nutritional health in the Quran, revealing the important role of faculty members. This qualitative study was conducted with a phenomenological approach. Homogeneous sampling was performed in a final sample size of 16 subjects. The Colaizzi's phenomenological method was applied for data analysis. Three main categories were extracted from the data analysis, including the importance of nutrition in the Quran (referring to certain fruits, vegetables and foods, illustrating and venerating the heavenly ones, nutritional recommendations, revealing the healing power of honey and the effects of fruits and vegetables on physical and social health); reasons of different foods being lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram) (religious slaughter, wine, meats, consequences of consuming haram materials, general expression of halal and haram terms); and fasting (fasting and physical health, fasting and mental health). What has been mentioned in the Quran is what scientists have achieved over the time, since the Quran is governed by logic. Although we do not know the reasons for many things in the Quran, we consider it as the foundation.

Trust: The Missing Dimension in the Food Retail Transition in Thailand

PubMed Central

Banwell, C.; Kelly, M.; Dixon, J.; Seubsman, S-A.; Sleigh, A.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Thailand has experienced dramatic growth of large national and international modern food retailers, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores in large cities and regional centres in the last two decades. Nevertheless, Thai consumers continue to purchase perishables (fruits, vegetables and animal products) from fresh markets (wet markets, talat sot) contradicting predictions from analysts that modern food retail chains will rapidly replace fresh markets as the preferred venue for purchasing all types of foods. This paper examines trust in food retail systems as an under-explored dimension lying behind the continued patronage by Thais of fresh markets to purchase perishable items. It derives from a research program commenced in 2005 that includes fieldwork visits, interviews and questionnaires. In the context of the Thai food retail transition, we propose that trust affects relationships between consumers and (1) individual fresh market-based vendors, (2) the food products sold at fresh markets and (3) the food retail system more broadly. If fresh markets can be maintained in the face of sustained pressure from modern national and international food retailers, Thais will continue to use them. Meanwhile, trust is a relatively unrecognised dimension that is supporting the continued existence of traditional food retail formats. PMID:27499561

Trust: The Missing Dimension in the Food Retail Transition in Thailand.

PubMed

Banwell, C; Kelly, M; Dixon, J; Seubsman, S-A; Sleigh, A

2016-04-02

Thailand has experienced dramatic growth of large national and international modern food retailers, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores in large cities and regional centres in the last two decades. Nevertheless, Thai consumers continue to purchase perishables (fruits, vegetables and animal products) from fresh markets (wet markets, talat sot) contradicting predictions from analysts that modern food retail chains will rapidly replace fresh markets as the preferred venue for purchasing all types of foods. This paper examines trust in food retail systems as an under-explored dimension lying behind the continued patronage by Thais of fresh markets to purchase perishable items. It derives from a research program commenced in 2005 that includes fieldwork visits, interviews and questionnaires. In the context of the Thai food retail transition, we propose that trust affects relationships between consumers and (1) individual fresh market-based vendors, (2) the food products sold at fresh markets and (3) the food retail system more broadly. If fresh markets can be maintained in the face of sustained pressure from modern national and international food retailers, Thais will continue to use them. Meanwhile, trust is a relatively unrecognised dimension that is supporting the continued existence of traditional food retail formats.

Industrial Technology Modernization Program. Project 44. Modernize Facility Equipment and Processes. Volume 2. Revision 2. Phase 2

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-05-01

not be implemented. A change in foreign exchange rates (which increase the equipment cost) and a reduction in marketing forecast resulted in an...project will not be implemented due to unfavorable changes in foreign exchange rates (which increase the equipment costs) and a reduction in market

Assessment of bacterial superficial contamination in classical or ritually slaughtered cattle using metagenetics and microbiological analysis.

PubMed

Korsak, N; Taminiau, B; Hupperts, C; Delhalle, L; Nezer, C; Delcenserie, V; Daube, G

2017-04-17

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the slaughter technique (Halal vs Classical slaughter) on the superficial contamination of cattle carcasses, by using traditional microbiological procedures and 16S rDNA metagenetics. The purpose was also to investigate the neck area to identify bacteria originating from the digestive or the respiratory tract. Twenty bovine carcasses (10 from each group) were swabbed at the slaughterhouse, where both slaughtering methods are practiced. Two swabbing areas were chosen: one "legal" zone of 1600cm 2 (composed of zones from rump, flank, brisket and forelimb) and locally on the neck area (200cm 2 ). Samples were submitted to classical microbiology for aerobic Total Viable Counts (TVC) at 30°C and Enterobacteriaceae counts, while metagenetic analysis was performed on the same samples. The classical microbiological results revealed no significant differences between both slaughtering practices; with values between 3.95 and 4.87log CFU/100cm 2 and 0.49 and 1.94log CFU/100cm 2 , for TVC and Enterobacteriaceae respectively. Analysis of pyrosequencing data showed that differences in the bacterial population abundance between slaughtering methods were mainly observed in the "legal" swabbing zone compared to the neck area. Bacterial genera belonging to the Actinobacteria phylum were more abundant in the "legal" swabbing zone in "Halal" samples, while Brevibacterium and Corynebacterium were encountered more in "Halal" samples, in all swabbing areas. This was also the case for Firmicutes bacterial populations (families of Aerococcaceae, Planococcaceae). Except for Planococcoceae, the analysis of Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) abundances of bacteria from the digestive or respiratory tract revealed no differences between groups. In conclusion, the slaughtering method does not influence the superficial microbiological pattern in terms of specific microbiological markers of the digestive or respiratory tract. However, precise analysis of taxonomy at the genus level taxonomy highlights differences between swabbing areas. Although not clearly proven in this study, differences in hygiene practices used during both slaughtering protocols could explain the differences in contamination between carcasses from both slaughtering groups. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Market Research Methods for Improving College Responsiveness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larkin, Paul G.

1979-01-01

Essential elements of a good marketing plan for higher education institutions are described. What market research is and how the modern concept of marketing differs from the traditional sales approach are discussed as well as market analysis and definition. Also included is a discussion of marketing for proposed new programs. (Author/SF)

Applying Modern Marketing Concepts to Military Recruiting

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-03-03

new to military recruiting or are an updated version of currently used concepts. The concepts and systems include social marketing, marketing ... research , market planning and product development, pricing and management. New simulated application including a strategic planning war game and a simulated

Interaction among actors in retail market competition in malang city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurniawan, B.; Ma'ruf, M. F.

2018-01-01

In several countries, traditional market lose in competition with supermarket. Supermarket has several advantages compared with traditional market. It can provides consumers with lower prices, offer more varieties of products and higher quality products than traditional retailers, has more comfortable place for shopping. In Malang City, the existence of traditional traders was threatened. In a competitive retail market, traditional traders get less protection from the Government of Malang Municipality. Massive demonstrations conducted by traditional traders along with other society elements unable to stem the rapid growth of modern retail. This paper focus on the interaction of Malang Municipality actors in the local retail market competition. How those interaction can make imbalance retail market competition. The author uses descriptive-analytic method with a qualitative approach in this work. As a result, the interaction tend to produce imbalance retail market competition. Interaction between legislative, executive, bureaucracy and mass media tend to support modern retail growth than traditional one.

The Impact of Modern Retail Minimarket towards the Continuity of Traditional Retail Businesses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masruroh, R.

2017-03-01

Today the business is growing rapidly minimarket with the development of socioeconomic conditions of society, and changes in value systems that result in changes to the pattern of life and needs of the community. In meeting the needs and desires, people tend to prefer a wide range of modern facilities expenditures. Thus increasing the number of modern minimarket store increasingly cornered the existence of traditional retail stores are stand-alone and based on social economy. This study aimed to analyze the changes in turnover and market traditional retail stores before and after the modern mini-market retail in the vicinity. To achieve these objectives, conducted survey research approach, this study uses primary and secondary data by distributing interviews and questionnaires to 40 respondents traditional retail store owners in the district of Kuningan which is selected by probability sampling. Descriptive qualitative were used to analyse this study. Based on the survey results revealed that there are significant differences between turnover and market traditional retail stores before and after the modern minimarket in the vicinity. This shows that the presence of modern retail stores provide a decrease in turnover and customers impact for traditional retail stores. But the research also shows that traditional retail stores that improve the quality of services and facilities are not affected by the presence of modern retail stores in the vicinity.

Perception of Medical University Members From Nutritional Health in the Quran

PubMed Central

Salarvand, Shahin; Pournia, Yadollah

2014-01-01

Background: Desirable health is impossible without good nutrition, and Allah has addressed us on eating foods in 118 verses. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the medical university faculty members’ perceptions of nutritional health in the Quran, revealing the important role of faculty members. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted with a phenomenological approach. Homogeneous sampling was performed in a final sample size of 16 subjects. The Colaizzi's phenomenological method was applied for data analysis. Results: Three main categories were extracted from the data analysis, including the importance of nutrition in the Quran (referring to certain fruits, vegetables and foods, illustrating and venerating the heavenly ones, nutritional recommendations, revealing the healing power of honey and the effects of fruits and vegetables on physical and social health); reasons of different foods being lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram) (religious slaughter, wine, meats, consequences of consuming haram materials, general expression of halal and haram terms); and fasting (fasting and physical health, fasting and mental health). Conclusions: What has been mentioned in the Quran is what scientists have achieved over the time, since the Quran is governed by logic. Although we do not know the reasons for many things in the Quran, we consider it as the foundation. PMID:24910781

Education for the Future: New Strategies of Distance Education for the Universities of Eastern Siberia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirko, Vladimir I.; Malakhova, Ekaterina V.; Pack, Nikolay I.

2014-01-01

This article discusses the main trends of global education and educational problems in the Arctic and Siberian regions. The modern labor markets are changing in the Arctic. The modern labor market requires the creation of new jobs associated with the provision of the Arctic zone with food. Small food productions will be created. We will need a…

DOD Business Systems Modernization: Further Actions Needed to Address Challenges and Improve Accountability

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

to Lack Adequate Validation Page 35 GAO-13-557 DOD Business Systems Modernization provided a compliance dashboard to document BEA...campaigns, execute marketing campaigns, and measure and evaluate the performance of marketing campaigns. Order-to- Cash Accept and process customer... dashboards reflected related GAO reports. In addition, the department’s fiscal year 2014 investment management guidance issued by the Office of the

Assessing the Community College Transfer Market: A Metamarketing Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leister, Douglas V.; MacLachlan, Douglas L.

1976-01-01

A conceptual model is proposed for strategic assessment of potential clientele groups of higher educational institutions. Market segmentation, a modern marketing tool for planning and strategy development, is illustrated with a particular four-year institution's analysis of its regional community college transfer market. (Author/LBH)

Strategic Detention and Intelligence Operations: GTMO is the Answer

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-25

different meal choices ( vegetarian , bland diet , regular menu or high fiber); each main meal menu choice usually includes noodles, fish, meat, a...Finally detainees are fed a "Halal" diet that is culturally correct and meets all dietary requirements to include the preparation of over 80 individually...prepared special diet meals usually directed by medical personnel. Detainees are given a menu two weeks in advance so they can select from four

Changes in the Economy, the Labor Market, and Expectations for the Future: What Might Europe and the United States Look Like in Twenty-Five Years?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchholz, Sandra; Blossfeld, Hans-Peter

2012-01-01

There is no doubt that the labor markets and economies of modern societies have been confronted by a marked intensification of cross-border exchange between modern states that has attained a new and previously unattained quality over the past thirty years. In the economic and sociological literature, this development is usually labeled…

Power Market Design | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Power Market Design Power Market Design NREL researchers are developing a modeling platform to test (a commercial electricity production simulation model) and FESTIV (the NREL-developed Flexible Energy consisting of researchers in power systems and economics Projects Grid Market Design Project The objective of

The asset pricing model of musharakah factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Shahril; Omar, Mohd; Lazam, Norazliani Md

2015-02-01

The existing three-factor model developed by Fama and French for conventional investment was formulated based on risk-free rates element in which contradict with Shariah principles. We note that the underlying principles that govern Shariah investment were mutual risk and profit sharing between parties, the assurance of fairness for all and that transactions were based on an underlying asset. In addition, the three-factor model did not exclude stock that was not permissible by Shariah such as financial services based on riba (interest), gambling operator, manufacture or sale of non-halal products or related products and other activities deemed non-permissible according to Shariah. Our approach to construct the factor model for Shariah investment was based on the basic tenets of musharakah in tabulating the factors. We start by noting that Islamic stocks with similar characteristics should have similar returns and risks. This similarity between Islamic stocks was defined by the similarity of musharakah attributes such as business, management, profitability and capital. These attributes define factor exposures (or betas) to factors. The main takeaways were that musharakah attributes we chose had explain stock returns well in cross section and were significant in different market environments. The management factor seemed to be responsible for the general dynamics of the explanatory power.

Integrating Metrics across the Marketing Curriculum: The Digital and Social Media Opportunity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spiller, Lisa; Tuten, Tracy

2015-01-01

Modern digital and social media formats have revolutionized marketing measurement, producing an abundance of data, meaningful metrics, new tools, and methodologies. This increased emphasis on metrics in the marketing industry signifies the need for increased quantitative and critical thinking content in our marketing coursework if we are to…

Modern Approaches to Training Competitive Locksmiths-Electricians in the EU Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roskvas, Ihor

2017-01-01

The article deals with the issues of modern approaches to training competitive locksmiths-electricians and the influence of effective management on the process of vocational training. The modern labour market needs concerning vocational training of highly qualified workers have been analyzed. The concept of a competitive worker has been revealed…

Erotic Love and the Development of Proto-Capitalist Ideology in Early Modern Comedy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Damsen, Silver

2009-01-01

My dissertation, "Erotic Love and the Development of Proto-Capitalist Ideology in Early Modern Comedy" demonstrates how increased crown authority, and an expanded market combine with the mixed agency of the romantic comedy daughter to further encourage early modern economic growth. The triumph of rebelling daughter over blocking father has…

Getting to FP2020: Harnessing the private sector to increase modern contraceptive access and choice in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC

PubMed Central

Garfinkel, Danielle; Thanel, Katherine; Esch, Keith; Workalemahu, Endale; Anyanti, Jennifer; Mpanya, Godéfroid; Binanga, Arsène; Pope, Jen; Longfield, Kim; Bertrand, Jane; Shaw, Bryan

2018-01-01

Background An estimated 214 million women have unmet need for family planning in developing regions. Improved utilization of the private sector is key to achieving universal access to a range of safe and effective modern contraceptive methods stipulated by FP2020 and SDG commitments. Until now, a lack of market data has limited understanding of the private sector’s role in increasing contraceptive coverage and choice. Methods In 2015, the FPwatch Project conducted representative outlet surveys in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC using a full census approach in selected administrative areas. Every public and private sector outlet with the potential to sell or distribute modern contraceptives was approached. In outlets with modern contraceptives, product audits and provider interviews assessed contraceptive market composition, availability, and price. Findings Excluding general retailers, 96% of potential outlets in Ethiopia, 55% in Nigeria, and 41% in DRC had modern contraceptive methods available. In Ethiopia, 41% of modern contraceptive stocking outlets were in the private sector compared with approximately 80% in Nigeria and DRC where drug shops were dominant. Ninety-five percent of private sector outlets in Ethiopia had modern contraceptive methods available; 37% had three or more methods. In Nigeria and DRC, only 54% and 42% of private sector outlets stocked modern contraceptives with 5% and 4% stocking three or more methods, respectively. High prices in Nigeria and DRC create barriers to consumer access and choice. Discussion There is a missed opportunity to provide modern contraception through the private sector, particularly drug shops. Subsidies and interventions, like social marketing and social franchising, could leverage the private sector’s role in increasing access to a range of contraceptives. Achieving global FP2020 commitments depends on the expansion of national contraceptive policies that promote greater partnership and cooperation with the private sector and improvement of decisions around funding streams of countries with large populations and high unmet need like Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC. PMID:29444140

Getting to FP2020: Harnessing the private sector to increase modern contraceptive access and choice in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC.

PubMed

Riley, Christina; Garfinkel, Danielle; Thanel, Katherine; Esch, Keith; Workalemahu, Endale; Anyanti, Jennifer; Mpanya, Godéfroid; Binanga, Arsène; Pope, Jen; Longfield, Kim; Bertrand, Jane; Shaw, Bryan

2018-01-01

An estimated 214 million women have unmet need for family planning in developing regions. Improved utilization of the private sector is key to achieving universal access to a range of safe and effective modern contraceptive methods stipulated by FP2020 and SDG commitments. Until now, a lack of market data has limited understanding of the private sector's role in increasing contraceptive coverage and choice. In 2015, the FPwatch Project conducted representative outlet surveys in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC using a full census approach in selected administrative areas. Every public and private sector outlet with the potential to sell or distribute modern contraceptives was approached. In outlets with modern contraceptives, product audits and provider interviews assessed contraceptive market composition, availability, and price. Excluding general retailers, 96% of potential outlets in Ethiopia, 55% in Nigeria, and 41% in DRC had modern contraceptive methods available. In Ethiopia, 41% of modern contraceptive stocking outlets were in the private sector compared with approximately 80% in Nigeria and DRC where drug shops were dominant. Ninety-five percent of private sector outlets in Ethiopia had modern contraceptive methods available; 37% had three or more methods. In Nigeria and DRC, only 54% and 42% of private sector outlets stocked modern contraceptives with 5% and 4% stocking three or more methods, respectively. High prices in Nigeria and DRC create barriers to consumer access and choice. There is a missed opportunity to provide modern contraception through the private sector, particularly drug shops. Subsidies and interventions, like social marketing and social franchising, could leverage the private sector's role in increasing access to a range of contraceptives. Achieving global FP2020 commitments depends on the expansion of national contraceptive policies that promote greater partnership and cooperation with the private sector and improvement of decisions around funding streams of countries with large populations and high unmet need like Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC.

Financing Naval Support for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response: An Analysis of Cost Drivers and Cash Flows

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

2011). Special halal meals were provided in response to the floods in Pakistan in 2010 (Rogers, 2011). 12 However, as was the case in the...delivered 2,700 tons of food , water, and medicine, and evacuated 3,000 people (Elleman, 2007). The other important characteristic of the U.S...eat swine. Expired food was sent throughout the area. These items were not only worthless to the recipients but actually provided negative value

76 FR 61052 - Service Standards for Market-Dominant Special Services Products

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-03

... POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 122 Service Standards for Market-Dominant Special Services Products... products set forth in our regulations. DATES: Effective date: November 2, 2011. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION... Service to establish modern service standards for its market-dominant products within a year of the law's...

Degrees of Co-Creation: An Exploratory Study of Perceptions of International Students' Role in Community Engagement Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleischman, David; Raciti, Maria; Lawley, Meredith

2015-01-01

Increased competition for the international student market has motivated universities to modernize their marketing strategies. Community engagement is an important component of students' international university experience and represents a potential point of competitive advantage. Developing marketing strategies around university-student-community…

Broadening the concept of marketing.

PubMed

Kotler, P; Levy, S J

1969-01-01

Marketing in business is the task of finding and stimulating buyers for a firms's output. Product development, pricing, distribution, and communication are the mainstays of marketing, while progressive firms also develop new products and chart the trends and changes in people's needs and desires. Marketing can either apply its knowledge to social problems and organizations or remain in a narrowly defined business activity. Every organization has basically the same functions: personnel management, production, income, and promotion, which are using modern marketing skills in commercial sectors. Suppliers and consumers are needed by all organizations. In Canada a group wished to promote an antismoking campaign but they had little money compared to the tobacco companies. This group used modern marketing techniques to combat their lack of funds and found many ways, e.g., books, articles. A business firm uses a multitude of marketing tools to sell its product. Nonbusiness organizations frequently do not integrate their programs the way the businesses place all activities under one marketing vice president and department. Astute marketing depends on continuous feedback from consumers and suppliers. They are dependent upon up-to-the-minute research that tells them about changes in the environment and moves of competitors. Nonbusiness organizations are often casual about the research upon which they base their vital decisions.

About the development strategies of power plant in energy market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duinea, Adelaida Mihaela

2017-12-01

The paper aims at identifying and assessing the revenues and costs incurred by various modernization and modernization-development strategies for a power plant in order to optimize the electric and thermal energy are produced and to conduct a sensitivity analysis of the main performance indicators. The Romanian energy system and the energy market have gone a long transition way, from the vertically integrated model, the responsibility for the delivery of the electricity comes exclusively to a state monopoly, to a decentralized system, characterized by the decentralization of production and transport, respectively distribution activities. Romania chose the liberal market model where the relations between the actors in the market - producers and suppliers free to make sales and purchase transactions for electrical energy - are mostly governed by contracts, which may be either bilaterally negotiated or are already regulated. Therefore, the importance of understanding the development trend of the Romanian energy market lies in its economic effects upon the solutions which could be adopted for the evolution of the cogeneration power plant in question.

Market Analysis. What Is It? How Does It Fit into Comprehensive Institutional Planning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groff, Warren

The basic principles of market analysis are examined in this paper especially as they relate to institutional planning. Introductory material presents background information, including: (1) a description of two projects undertaken to implement modern management techniques at small colleges; (2) an examination of three marketing philosophies; and…

The Marketing Ethics Course: Current State and Future Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferrell, O. C.; Keig, Dawn L.

2013-01-01

Many of the critical issues facing modern businesses can be considered marketing ethics issues. It follows that as the field of business ethics has evolved, marketing has played a key role in the development of business ethics education. Despite a general trend of increasingly larger amounts of ethical content included in business curricula, prior…

"Drink beer regularly - it's good for you (and us)": selling Tooth's Beer in a depressed market.

PubMed

Crawford, Robert

2007-01-01

This study examines the unique publicity activities devised by the Tooth's brewery in Sydney during the Great Depression and the 1930s. Unlike many advertisers, the brewery did not turn its back on advertising or marketing. Recognising the importance of publicity, the brewery developed innovative advertising and marketing initiatives in an attempt to arrest its declining sales. Such strategies included the development of co-operative advertising campaigns, the creation of advertisements directly targeting female consumers, and the renovation of pubs owned by the brewery. However, the significance of these initiatives extends beyond the immediate economic concerns. They were also celebration of modernity. By locating Tooth's advertising, marketing, and public relations activities within the broader social, cultural, and political context, this study provides a revealing insight into the way in which such campaigns simultaneously informed and reflected the Australian experience of modernity during the 1930s.

[Physiotherapeutic care marketing research: current state-of-the art].

PubMed

Babaskin, D V

2011-01-01

Successful introduction of modern technologies into the national health care systems strongly depends on the current pharmaceutical market situation. The present article is focused on the peculiarities of marketing research with special reference to physiotherapeutic services and commodities. Analysis of the structure and sequence of marketing research processes is described along with the methods applied for the purpose including their support by the use of Internet resources and technologies.

Health care capital market and product market constraints and the role of the chief financial officer.

PubMed

Wheeler, J R; Smith, D G

2001-01-01

To understand better the financial management practices and strategies of modern health care organizations, we conducted interviews with chief financial officers (CFOs) of several leading health care systems. The constraints imposed on health care systems by both capital and product markets has made the role of the CFO a challenge.

Modern Youth Market of Labour: Problems and Ways of Solution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pukhova, Anna; Belyaeva, Tatiana; Nochvina, Bella; Nemova, Olga; Shimanskaya, Olga; Tolkunova, Svetlana

2016-01-01

More than ever, in the current economic crisis, becomes relevant the question of the extent assessing and the monitoring of the young people behavior at the labor market. In youth research an important issue is the problem of their employment in today's labor market. Youth plays an important role in the economic, social and political life of…

Does Price Transparency Improve Market Efficiency? Implications of Empirical Evidence in Other Markets for the Health Sector

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-24

for many high-volume stocks of CRS-3 1 William H. Christie and Paul H. Schultz, “Did NASDAQ Market Makers Implicitly Collude?,” Journal of Economic...abandoned, and spreads for several major stocks fell by about half.1 Some other examples of transparency in financial markets suggested transparency lowered...losses. CRS-34 67 For a more detailed description of the structure of modern financial markets, see Hans R. Stoll, “Electronic Trading in Stock

Putting a Price on Strategy: Implementing a Prediction Market in a Modern Military Unit

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

hit TV show Who Wants to be a Millionaire , the behavior of the stock market immediately following the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in...Implementation for a Sales Forecasting Problem,” Social Science Working Paper 1131 (2002), accessed May 15, 2012, http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Kay...culture and social change. Of note, the FWE market runs on Inkling Markets software. Both markets began in the summer of 2011 and remain open to

National Program for Inspection of Non-Federal Dams. Clam Lake Dam (MA 01052), Connecticut River Basin, Sandisfield, Massachusetts. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-01

1.". 0.0 1.5 1073011. 30rt, wa1*16 at .. 11.- wo /165 1.5 2..0 AND,. -1.3y. 41,4k. hALAL 2*2.5 FIL. 4.0 la41.ck .t bett1 30 pit. 17.232, arv. !1111...THE DISPOSAL AREAS AND WITHIN THE S THE SURFACE OF THE BORROW AND DISPOSAL AREAS SMALL CLASSW’ PERMANENT POOL BELOW ELEVATION 110.3 BE LEFT MEAT AND IN

Model of personal consumption under conditions of modern economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakhmatullina, D. K.; Akhmetshina, E. R.; Ignatjeva, O. A.

2017-12-01

In the conditions of the modern economy, in connection with the development of production, the expansion of the market for goods and services, its differentiation, active use of marketing tools in the sphere of sales, changes occur in the system of values and consumer needs. Motives that drive the consumer are transformed, stimulating it to activity. The article presents a model of personal consumption that takes into account modern trends in consumer behavior. The consumer, making a choice, seeks to maximize the overall utility from consumption, physiological and socio-psychological satisfaction, in accordance with his expectations, preferences and conditions of consumption. The system of his preferences is formed under the influence of factors of a different nature. It is also shown that the structure of consumer spending allows us to characterize and predict its further behavior in the market. Based on the proposed model and analysis of current trends in consumer behavior, conclusions and recommendations have been made that can be used by legislative and executive government bodies, business organizations, research centres and other structures to form a methodological and analytical tool for preparing a forecast model of consumption.

Stark laws and fair market value exceptions: an introduction.

PubMed

Siebrasse, Paul B

2007-01-01

This article will focus on one aspect of complexity in modern healthcare, namely the implications of Stark laws and other fraud and abuse provisions, including anti-kickback statutes and HIPAA. Also, this article explores the prevalence of fair market value as an exception in the Stark laws and discusses the meanings of those exceptions. Finally, the article explores basic approaches to assessing fair market value, including cost, income, and marketing approaches.

Mexico's Regulatory Engagement in Bulk Electric Power System Planning: An Overview of U.S. Practices and Tools

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O'Neill, Barbara; Hurlbut, David; Pena, Ivonne

2016-06-01

Mexico's transition to a modern wholesale power market will place new demands on how regulators evaluate and approve transmission expansion projects. Transmission projects in a modern wholesale market fulfill one of several needs, and utilities, regional transmission organizations, and regulatory authorities in the United States have encountered comparable challenges in their market transitions to ensure projects meeting each type of need can be built. The purpose of this report is to open a window to view that experience. The report examines key practices of different U.S. jurisdictions that have moved from transmission planning to transmission approval, and it focuses onmore » the role of the regulator in supporting a planning process that equitably meets identified needs.« less

An Exploration of the Use of Branding to Shape Institutional Image in the Marketing Activities of Faith-Based Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolbert, Dawn

2014-01-01

Modern higher education includes student-consumers who shop for educational opportunities and institutions that actively market themselves. This study examined the marketing of faith-based institutions to determine how faith-related missions are reflected in the printed recruitment materials, Web sites, and admissions portals of the 112 member…

Millennials in the Fire Service: The Effectiveness of Fire Service Recruiting, Testing, and Retention

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

to effectively attract and retain millennials is in question. Stale marketing and static testing processes may be contributing to smaller hiring pools...ABSTRACT Modern-day fire service methods’ ability to effectively attract and retain millennials is in question. Stale marketing and static testing... Marketing of the Testing Process ..............................................................50  Table 6.  Type of Testing Process

Rethinking Young Children's Digital Game Play outside of the Home as a Means of Coping with Modern Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huh, Youn Jung

2017-01-01

This study explores young children's digital game play outside of the home as a means of surviving and thriving in modern spaces that limit young children's participation by looking at four digital game-playing three-year-old children. In this ethnographic study, critical theory is used to examine how modern public spaces (e.g., a grocery market,…

Marketing in Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hockenberger, Susan J.

Educational institutions must seek new approaches to institutional planning because of such factors as shrinking traditional college age populations, eroding grants, governmental and judicial incursion, the tightening economic belt, and concern over the relevance of education to modern day needs. The concept of marketing higher education is…

Religious values and healthcare accommodations: voices from the American Muslim community.

PubMed

Padela, Aasim I; Gunter, Katie; Killawi, Amal; Heisler, Michele

2012-06-01

Minority populations receive a lower quality healthcare in part due to the inadequate assessment of, and cultural adaptations to meet, their culturally informed healthcare needs. The seven million American Muslims, while ethnically and racially diverse, share religiously informed healthcare values that influence their expectations of healthcare. There is limited empirical research on this community's preferences for cultural modifications in healthcare delivery. Identify healthcare accommodations requested by American Muslims. Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods, we partnered with four community organizations in the Greater Detroit area to design and conduct thirteen focus groups at area mosques serving African American, Arab American, and South Asian American Muslims. Qualitative content analysis utilized a framework team-based approach. Participants reported stigmatization within the healthcare system and voiced the need for culturally competent healthcare providers. In addition, they identified three key healthcare accommodations to address Muslim sensitivities: the provision of (1) gender-concordant care, (2) halal food and (3) a neutral prayer space. Gender concordance was requested based on Islamic conceptions of modesty and privacy. Halal food was deemed to be health-promoting and therefore integral to the healing process. Lastly, a neutral prayer space was requested to ensure security and privacy during worship. This study informs efforts to deliver high-quality healthcare to American Muslims in several ways. We note three specific healthcare accommodations requested by this community and the religious values underlying these requests. Healthcare systems can further cultural sensitivity, engender trust, and improve the healthcare experiences of American Muslims by understanding and then attempting to accommodate these values as much as possible.

How to Prepare Modern Specialist in the Sphere of Physical Culture and Sports? Implementation of the Sports Marketing Discipline in Educational Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doshybekov, Aidyn Bagdatovich; Abildabekov, Sabit Akimbaevich; Kasymbaev, Medet Imanbekovich; Berekbusynova, Gulzhan Maulsharifkyzy; Niyazakynov, Erdos Bagdatovich

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the state of marketing in the sphere of physical culture and sport and develop methodological foundations of sports and health services marketing on its basis. In the study we adhere to the following philosophical and pedagogical strategies--methodological principles: axiological, humanistic and synergistic…

Five Indisputable Facts on Modern Power Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bloom, Aaron P; Brinkman, Gregory L; Lopez, Anthony J

This presentation overviews five indisputable facts about modern power systems: Fact one: The grid can handle more renewable generation than previously thought. Fact two: Geographic and resource diversity provide additional reliability to the system. Fact three: Wind and solar forecasting provide significant value. Fact four: Our electric power markets were not originally designed for variable renewables -- but they could be adapted. Fact five: Modern power electronics are creating new sources of essential reliability services.

The Returns to Human Capital Migration within the Department of Defense Civilian Internal Labor Market

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-09-01

a period of time from year 1 to year T † From Ronald Ehrenberg and Robert Smith. Modern Labor Economics : Theory and...Economic Literature 13 (June): 397- 433. Ehrenberg, Ronald G. and Robert S. Smith. 2003. Modern Labor Economics : Theory and Public Policy. 8th ed

Initial Approaches for Discovery of Undocumented Functionality in FPGAs

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

commercial pressures such as IP protection, support cost, and time to market , modern COTS devices contain many functions that are not exposed to the... market pressures have increased, industry increasingly uses the current generation device to do trial runs of next-generation architecture features...the product of industry operating in a highly cost competitive market , and are not inserted with malicious intent, however, this does not preclude

75 FR 44846 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 8874-A

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-29

... comments concerning Form 8874-A, Notice of Qualified Equity Investment for New Markets Credit. DATES... Investment for New Markets Credit. OMB Number: 1545-2065. Form Number: 8874-A. Abstract: New modernized e... the qualified mining company to compute and claim the credit. Current Actions: There are no changes...

75 FR 38176 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 8874-B

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-01

... Form 8874-B, Notice of Recapture Event for New Markets Credit. DATES: Written comments should be... [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Notice of Recapture Event for New Markets Credit Credit. OMB Number: 1545-2066. Form Number: 8874-B. Abstract: New modernized e-file return for...

Communicating food safety, authenticity and consumer choice. Field experiences.

PubMed

Syntesa, Heiner Lehr

2013-04-01

The paper reviews patented and non-patented technologies, methods and solutions in the area of food traceability. It pays special attention to the communication of food safety, authenticity and consumer choice. Twenty eight recent patents are reviewed in the areas of (secure) identification, product freshness indicators, meat traceability, (secure) transport of information along the supply chain, country/region/place of origin, automated authentication, supply chain management systems, consumer interaction systems. In addition, solutions and pilot projects are described in the areas of Halal traceability, traceability of bird's nests, cold chain management, general food traceability and other areas.

Supermarket revolution in Asia and emerging development strategies to include small farmers.

PubMed

Reardon, Thomas; Timmer, C Peter; Minten, Bart

2012-07-31

A "supermarket revolution" has occurred in developing countries in the past 2 decades. We focus on three specific issues that reflect the impact of this revolution, particularly in Asia: continuity in transformation, innovation in transformation, and unique development strategies. First, the record shows that the rapid growth observed in the early 2000s in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand has continued, and the "newcomers"--India and Vietnam--have grown even faster. Although foreign direct investment has been important, the roles of domestic conglomerates and even state investment have been significant and unique. Second, Asia's supermarket revolution has exhibited unique pathways of retail diffusion and procurement system change. There has been "precocious" penetration of rural towns by rural supermarkets and rural business hubs, emergence of penetration of fresh produce retail that took much longer to initiate in other regions, and emergence of Asian retail developing-country multinational chains. In procurement, a symbiosis between modern retail and the emerging and consolidating modern food processing and logistics sectors has arisen. Third, several approaches are being tried to link small farmers to supermarkets. Some are unique to Asia, for example assembling into a "hub" or "platform" or "park" the various companies and services that link farmers to modern markets. Other approaches relatively new to Asia are found elsewhere, especially in Latin America, including "bringing modern markets to farmers" by establishing collection centers and multipronged collection cum service provision arrangements, and forming market cooperatives and farmer companies to help small farmers access supermarkets.

Developmental and Implementation Challenges of E-Learning Management Systems in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidovitch, Nitza; Belichenko, Margaryta

2016-01-01

The competition that exists today in the labour market has significantly raised the value of knowledge, skills and experience of staff. This particular importance for the modern professional acquire fluency in its modern information technology and the ability to continuously improve the skills. The actual trend is also for university teachers.…

Privatization and Commercialization of Public Education: Consequences for Citizenship and Citizenship Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ichilov, Orit

2012-01-01

My purpose is to examine and evaluate the implementation of market ideology and practices in education through the prism of both modern democratic theory and the discourse of rights. I examine the essence and defining characteristics of public schooling in modern democratic theory, explore the democratic purposes of education, and the unique…

Progress Report on the South Carolina Market for Foreign Languages Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgenroth, Robert L.; And Others

The Market for Foreign Languages Study was begun in South Carolina to ascertain both the state's projected needs for modern foreign language competencies and the state's foreign language resources over the next five years. Questionnaires have been sent to industrial plants, secondary schools, and junior and senior colleges. Of the plants…

Product policy - the main component of the marketing mix in the Romanian health services.

PubMed

Coculescu, B I; Purcarea, V L; Coculescu, E C

2016-01-01

The objectives of the reforms in the EU healthcare systems are based on the implementation of the marketing concept in the health systems, which are, among other things: • efficient management of the financial resources and control costs of the rendered health services; • increased satisfaction of the clients of health care services; • broad accessibility to health services; • effective implementation of modern technologies; • rational stimulation of medical services consumption; • achievement of a fair and neutral competition between the public/ private providers and health insurance companies; • introduction of performance criteria in order to increase the incomes of the medical staff and hierarchy in hospitals; • implementation of modern management methods in health services management; • decentralization of the public healthcare system. Product policy in the medical system of healthcare - the most important component of the marketing mix - is the attitude that addresses a medical organization to the volume, structure, and diversity of services subject to their own activities in relation to the requirements of the services market and the competitive actions of other medical institutions.

Product policy - the main component of the marketing mix in the Romanian health services

PubMed Central

Coculescu, BI; Purcarea, VL; Coculescu, EC

2016-01-01

The objectives of the reforms in the EU healthcare systems are based on the implementation of the marketing concept in the health systems, which are, among other things: • efficient management of the financial resources and control costs of the rendered health services; • increased satisfaction of the clients of health care services; • broad accessibility to health services; • effective implementation of modern technologies; • rational stimulation of medical services consumption; • achievement of a fair and neutral competition between the public/ private providers and health insurance companies; • introduction of performance criteria in order to increase the incomes of the medical staff and hierarchy in hospitals; • implementation of modern management methods in health services management; • decentralization of the public healthcare system. Product policy in the medical system of healthcare - the most important component of the marketing mix - is the attitude that addresses a medical organization to the volume, structure, and diversity of services subject to their own activities in relation to the requirements of the services market and the competitive actions of other medical institutions. PMID:27974913

Advanced Manufacturing and Value-added Products from US Agriculture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Villet, Ruxton H.; Child, Dennis R.; Acock, Basil

1992-01-01

An objective of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service (ARS) is to develop technology leading to a broad portfolio of value-added marketable products. Modern scientific disciplines such as chemical engineering are brought into play to develop processes for converting bulk commodities into high-margin products. To accomplish this, the extremely sophisticated processing devices which form the basis of modern biotechnology, namely, genes and enzymes, can be tailored to perform the required functions. The USDA/ARS is a leader in the development of intelligent processing equipment (IPE) for agriculture in the broadest sense. Applications of IPE are found in the production, processing, grading, and marketing aspects of agriculture. Various biotechnology applications of IPE are discussed.

Investigation into the suitability and accessibility of catering practices to inpatients from minority ethnic groups in Brent.

PubMed

Hartley, Becky A; Hamid, F

2002-06-01

The Borough of Brent has one of the largest ethnic minority populations in England, with a growing number of refugee communities from Africa and Europe. Two important issues to be considered when developing culturally sensitive services in the hospital (including food provision) are that practices meet the religious and cultural requirements of the population that the hospital serves and that staff are equipped with the skills to understand cultural differences in illness and treatment. To review accessibility and suitability of multicultural meals to minority ethnic communities across five hospital sites in Brent and determine the level of nursing staff knowledge of multicultural dietary competencies. One survey was completed in each of the five hospital sites to gather information about current catering practices. Two separate questionnaires obtained information of the level of inpatient satisfaction with multicultural meals amongst Hindu, Muslim, Caribbean and Jewish patient groups and knowledge of nursing staff about multicultural competencies. Community groups representing minority ethnic populations participated in focus groups to establish feedback about dietary requirements in hospitals. Access to multicultural meals varied across hospital sites. Of 98 patients in the inpatient satisfaction survey, 74% were aware of the availability of multicultural meals with 51% of these patients not ordering any of the Asian vegetarian, Asian halal, Caribbean or kosher meals, citing satisfaction with European food as the main reason. Those ordering multicultural meals reported satisfaction most of the time (42%), satisfied most of the time (38%) and never satisfied (19%). The African Muslim group was the least satisfied with current halal meal provision. Forty-seven per cent of nurses questioned could accurately answer questions about multicultural dietary competencies. Improvements could be made to improve accessibility and improve suitability of meal choices to inpatients from minority ethnic groups.

a Statistical Dynamic Approach to Structural Evolution of Complex Capital Market Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Xiao; Chai, Li H.

As an important part of modern financial systems, capital market has played a crucial role on diverse social resource allocations and economical exchanges. Beyond traditional models and/or theories based on neoclassical economics, considering capital markets as typical complex open systems, this paper attempts to develop a new approach to overcome some shortcomings of the available researches. By defining the generalized entropy of capital market systems, a theoretical model and nonlinear dynamic equation on the operations of capital market are proposed from statistical dynamic perspectives. The US security market from 1995 to 2001 is then simulated and analyzed as a typical case. Some instructive results are discussed and summarized.

Basic Knowledge for Market Principle: Approaches to the Price Coordination Mechanism by Using Optimization Theory and Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aiyoshi, Eitaro; Masuda, Kazuaki

On the basis of market fundamentalism, new types of social systems with the market mechanism such as electricity trading markets and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trading markets have been developed. However, there are few textbooks in science and technology which present the explanation that Lagrange multipliers can be interpreted as market prices. This tutorial paper explains that (1) the steepest descent method for dual problems in optimization, and (2) Gauss-Seidel method for solving the stationary conditions of Lagrange problems with market principles, can formulate the mechanism of market pricing, which works even in the information-oriented modern society. The authors expect readers to acquire basic knowledge on optimization theory and algorithms related to economics and to utilize them for designing the mechanism of more complicated markets.

Modern Customers and Open Universities: Can Open Universities Develop a Course Model in Which Students Become the Co-Creators of Value?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moerkerke, George

2015-01-01

Marketing specialists have recently redefined the roles customers and enterprises play in the economy. Modern customers are connected, informed, mobile, educated and internationally oriented. They seek enterprises that empower them to co-construct personalised experiences. This view of the customer-enterprise relationship has a great impact on the…

Leveraging long acting reversible contraceptives to achieve FP2020 commitments in sub-Saharan Africa: The potential of implants

PubMed Central

Garfinkel, Danielle; Riley, Christina; Esch, Keith; Girma, Woldemariam; Kebede, Tadele; Kasongo, Gaby; Afolabi, Kayode; Kalamar, Amanda; Thurston, Sarah; Longfield, Kim; Bertrand, Jane; Shaw, Bryan

2018-01-01

Background In developing regions, an estimated 214 million women have an unmet need for family planning. Reaching Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) commitments will require a shift in modern contraceptive promotion, including improved access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). Until now, a lack of market data limited understanding of the potential of LARCs to increase contraceptive access and choice. Methods From 2015, the FPwatch Project conducted representative surveys in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using a full census approach in selected administrative areas. In these areas, every public and private sector outlet with the potential to sell or distribute modern contraceptives was approached. In outlets with modern contraceptives, product audits and provider interviews assessed contraceptive market composition, market share, availability, price, and outlet readiness to perform services. Results Fifty-four percent of outlets in Ethiopia had LARC commodities or services available at the time of the survey, versus 7% and 8% of outlets in Nigeria and DRC, respectively. When present, LARCs were usually available with at least two other methods (99%, 39%, and 84% of public health facilities in Ethiopia, Nigeria and DRC, respectively). Many public facilities had both implants and IUDs in stock (76%, 47%, and 53%, respectively). Lack of readiness to provide LARCs was mostly due to a lack of equipment, private room, or the commodity itself. Market share for implants in the public sector was 60%, 53%, and 37% of Couple Years of Protection (CYP) in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and DRC. Discussion Limited availability of LARCs in Nigeria and DRC restricts contraceptive choice and makes it difficult for women to adopt and use modern contraception consistently. Brand-specific subsidies, task shifting, and promotion of methods that require less equipment and training are promising strategies for increasing uptake. Substantial government investment is required to improve availability and affordability. Investment in implants should be prioritized to make progress towards FP2020 commitments. PMID:29630607

Effectively Embedded: Schools and the Machinery of Modern Marketing. The Thirteenth Annual Report on Schoolhouse Commercializing Trends: 2009-2010

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molnar, Alex; Boninger, Faith; Wilkinson, Gary; Fogarty, Joseph; Geary, Sean

2010-01-01

In the context of the last two years' recession, parents, teachers and administrators seem to increasingly welcome school-business "partnerships" that they hope may help ward off program cuts. Businesses encourage such arrangements because school-based marketing and advertising programs are perfectly poised to "brand" children…

Free Markets, Government Intervention and Homework Passes: An Economics Simulation for the History Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolley, Ron

2011-01-01

From the Industrial Revolution and the communist revolutions of the twentieth century to modern globalization and the current economic crisis in the United States, the struggles between free markets and government-controlled economics have determined who would get access to scarce resources and the ways in which various societies have balanced…

Universities on the Market: Academic Capitalism as a Challenge and a Window of Opportunity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demin, M. R.

2017-01-01

The modern university and the academic profession itself are facing new challenges: First, the increasing complexity of labor markets and globalization are undermining the structure of the academic profession, and secondly, the rise in cost of university research calls into question the autonomy of the university. The internationalization of the…

The Three Rs: Parental Risk Management Strategies in the International Secondary Education Market

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayling, Pere

2017-01-01

Risk permeates all aspects of modern life, and the International Secondary Education Market (ISEM) is no exception. Drawing on empirical data, this paper considers a specific type of risk: namely, the potential loss of cultural identity, which Nigerian parents associate with educating their children in the West. This paper argues that Nigerian…

Supermarket revolution in Asia and emerging development strategies to include small farmers

PubMed Central

Reardon, Thomas; Timmer, C. Peter; Minten, Bart

2012-01-01

A “supermarket revolution” has occurred in developing countries in the past 2 decades. We focus on three specific issues that reflect the impact of this revolution, particularly in Asia: continuity in transformation, innovation in transformation, and unique development strategies. First, the record shows that the rapid growth observed in the early 2000s in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand has continued, and the “newcomers”—India and Vietnam—have grown even faster. Although foreign direct investment has been important, the roles of domestic conglomerates and even state investment have been significant and unique. Second, Asia's supermarket revolution has exhibited unique pathways of retail diffusion and procurement system change. There has been “precocious” penetration of rural towns by rural supermarkets and rural business hubs, emergence of penetration of fresh produce retail that took much longer to initiate in other regions, and emergence of Asian retail developing-country multinational chains. In procurement, a symbiosis between modern retail and the emerging and consolidating modern food processing and logistics sectors has arisen. Third, several approaches are being tried to link small farmers to supermarkets. Some are unique to Asia, for example assembling into a “hub” or “platform” or “park” the various companies and services that link farmers to modern markets. Other approaches relatively new to Asia are found elsewhere, especially in Latin America, including “bringing modern markets to farmers” by establishing collection centers and multipronged collection cum service provision arrangements, and forming market cooperatives and farmer companies to help small farmers access supermarkets. PMID:21135250

A nutrition/health mindset on commercial Big Data and drivers of food demand in modern and traditional systems.

PubMed

Dubé, Laurette; Labban, Alice; Moubarac, Jean-Claude; Heslop, Gabriela; Ma, Yu; Paquet, Catherine

2014-12-01

Building greater reciprocity between traditional and modern food systems and better convergence of human and economic development outcomes may enable the production and consumption of accessible, affordable, and appealing nutritious food for all. Information being key to such transformations, this roadmap paper offers a strategy that capitalizes on Big Data and advanced analytics, setting the foundation for an integrative intersectoral knowledge platform to better inform and monitor behavioral change and ecosystem transformation. Building upon the four P's of marketing (product, price, promotion, placement), we examine digital commercial marketing data through the lenses of the four A's of food security (availability, accessibility, affordability, appeal) using advanced consumer choice analytics for archetypal traditional (fresh fruits and vegetables) and modern (soft drinks) product categories. We demonstrate that business practices typically associated with the latter also have an important, if not more important, impact on purchases of the former category. Implications and limitations of the approach are discussed. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.

Attitudes toward medication-assisted treatment among fishermen in Kuantan, Malaysia, who inject drugs.

PubMed

Brown, Shan-Estelle; Wickersham, Jeffrey A; Pelletier, Alyssa R; Marcus, Ruthanne M; Erenrich, Rebecca; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L

2017-01-01

Fishermen who inject drugs represent an understudied group at high risk for HIV in Malaysia. This study describes fishing, drug use, and attitudes toward medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders. Thirty-four male ethnic Malay fishermen completed semistructured interviews analyzed by content analysis. Analysis revealed four themes surrounding opioids, which they called ubat ("medicine"): (a) the fishing lifestyle facilitating substance use, (b) previous unsuccessful attempts to quit, (c) categorizing substances as haram or halal, and (d) attitudes toward MAT. Fishermen's environment permits substance use, including injecting drugs on boats. Fishermen expressed more positive attitudes toward methadone and negative attitudes toward buprenorphine.

Socioeconomic thresholds that affect use of customary fisheries management tools.

PubMed

Cinner, Joshua E; Sutton, Stephen G; Bond, Trevor G

2007-12-01

Customary forms of resource management, such as taboos, have received considerable attention as a potential basis for conservation initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. Yet little is known about how socioeconomic factors influence the ability of communities to use customary management practices and whether socioeconomic transformations within communities will weaken conservation initiatives with a customary foundation. We used a comparative approach to examine how socioeconomic factors may influence whether communities use customary fisheries management in Papua New Guinea. We examined levels of material wealth (modernization), dependence on marine resources, population, and distance to market in 15 coastal communities. We compared these socioeconomic conditions in 5 communities that used a customary method of closing their fishing ground with 10 communities that did not use this type of management. There were apparent threshold levels of dependence on marine resources, modernization, distance to markets (<16.5 km), and population (>600 people) beyond which communities did not use customary fisheries closures. Nevertheless, economic inequality, rather than mean modernization levels seemed to influence the use of closures. Our results suggest that customary management institutions are not resilient to factors such as population growth and economic modernization. If customary management is to be used as a basis for modern conservation initiatives, cross-scale institutional arrangements such as networks and bridging organizations may be required to help filter the impacts of socioeconomic transformations.

Can You Hear Me Now? Marketing Essentials for Audiologists in a Noisy Health Care World

PubMed Central

Rudden, DAnne

2016-01-01

Audiologists, even those with a strong acumen for business, are not traditionally taught the basics of creating a robust practice identity and dynamic marketing plan. This activity will teach learners how to create a distinct brand that separates them from others in a competitive and distracted marketplace. Additionally, learners will gain an understanding for how to blend traditional marketing tools with more modern online options and social media. Upon completion, learners will be familiar with the skills necessary to actively create, implement, and track the effectiveness of their marketing strategy using proven methodologies. PMID:28028325

Can You Hear Me Now? Marketing Essentials for Audiologists in a Noisy Health Care World.

PubMed

Rudden, DAnne

2016-11-01

Audiologists, even those with a strong acumen for business, are not traditionally taught the basics of creating a robust practice identity and dynamic marketing plan. This activity will teach learners how to create a distinct brand that separates them from others in a competitive and distracted marketplace. Additionally, learners will gain an understanding for how to blend traditional marketing tools with more modern online options and social media. Upon completion, learners will be familiar with the skills necessary to actively create, implement, and track the effectiveness of their marketing strategy using proven methodologies.

Strategic planning and marketing research for older, inner-city health care facilities: a case study.

PubMed

Wood, V R; Robertson, K R

1992-01-01

Numerous health care facilities, located in downtown metropolitan areas, now find themselves surrounded by a decaying inner-city environment. Consumers may perceive these facilities as "old," and catering to an "urban poor" consumer. These same consumers may, therefore, prefer to patronize more modern facilities located in suburban areas. This paper presents a case study of such a health care facility and how strategic planning and marketing research were conducted in order to identify market opportunities and new strategic directions.

78 FR 25137 - Radio Experimentation and Market Trials-Streamlining Rules

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-29

...This document revises and streamlines the Commission rules to modernize the Experimental Radio Service (ERS). The rules adopted in the Report and Order updates the ERS to a more flexible framework to keep pace with the speed of modern technological change while continuing to provide an environment where creativity can thrive. To accomplish this transition, the Commission created three new types of ERS licenses--the program license, the medical testing license, and the compliance testing license--to benefit the development of new technologies, expedite their introduction to the marketplace, and unleash the full power of innovators to keep the United States at the forefront of the communications industry. The Commission's actions also modify the market trial rules to eliminate confusion and more clearly articulate its policies with respect to marketing products prior to equipment certification. The Commission believes that these actions will remove regulatory barriers to experimentation, thereby permitting institutions to move from concept to experimentation to finished product more rapidly and to more quickly implement creative problem- solving methodologies.

Active and intelligent packaging systems for a modern society.

PubMed

Realini, Carolina E; Marcos, Begonya

2014-11-01

Active and intelligent packaging systems are continuously evolving in response to growing challenges from a modern society. This article reviews: (1) the different categories of active and intelligent packaging concepts and currently available commercial applications, (2) latest packaging research trends and innovations, and (3) the growth perspectives of the active and intelligent packaging market. Active packaging aiming at extending shelf life or improving safety while maintaining quality is progressing towards the incorporation of natural active agents into more sustainable packaging materials. Intelligent packaging systems which monitor the condition of the packed food or its environment are progressing towards more cost-effective, convenient and integrated systems to provide innovative packaging solutions. Market growth is expected for active packaging with leading shares for moisture absorbers, oxygen scavengers, microwave susceptors and antimicrobial packaging. The market for intelligent packaging is also promising with strong gains for time-temperature indicator labels and advancements in the integration of intelligent concepts into packaging materials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polish plant beats the odds to become model EU generator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neville, A.

2009-03-15

Once a Soviet satellite, Poland is now transforming into a thoroughly modern nation. To support its growing economy, this recent European Union member country is modernizing its power industry. Exemplifying the advances in the Polish electricity generation market is the 460 MW Patnow II power plant - the largest, most efficient (supercritical cycle) and environmentally cleanest lignite-fired unit in the country. 3 photos.

Unraveling hidden order in the dynamics of developed and emerging markets.

PubMed

Berman, Yonatan; Shapira, Yoash; Ben-Jacob, Eshel

2014-01-01

The characterization of asset price returns is an important subject in modern finance. Traditionally, the dynamics of stock returns are assumed to lack any temporal order. Here we present an analysis of the autocovariance of stock market indices and unravel temporal order in several major stock markets. We also demonstrate a fundamental difference between developed and emerging markets in the past decade - emerging markets are marked by positive order in contrast to developed markets whose dynamics are marked by weakly negative order. In addition, the reaction to financial crises was found to be reversed among developed and emerging markets, presenting large positive/negative autocovariance spikes following the onset of these crises. Notably, the Chinese market shows neutral or no order while being regarded as an emerging market. These findings show that despite the coupling between international markets and global trading, major differences exist between different markets, and demonstrate that the autocovariance of markets is correlated with their stability, as well as with their state of development.

Unraveling Hidden Order in the Dynamics of Developed and Emerging Markets

PubMed Central

Berman, Yonatan; Shapira, Yoash; Ben-Jacob, Eshel

2014-01-01

The characterization of asset price returns is an important subject in modern finance. Traditionally, the dynamics of stock returns are assumed to lack any temporal order. Here we present an analysis of the autocovariance of stock market indices and unravel temporal order in several major stock markets. We also demonstrate a fundamental difference between developed and emerging markets in the past decade - emerging markets are marked by positive order in contrast to developed markets whose dynamics are marked by weakly negative order. In addition, the reaction to financial crises was found to be reversed among developed and emerging markets, presenting large positive/negative autocovariance spikes following the onset of these crises. Notably, the Chinese market shows neutral or no order while being regarded as an emerging market. These findings show that despite the coupling between international markets and global trading, major differences exist between different markets, and demonstrate that the autocovariance of markets is correlated with their stability, as well as with their state of development. PMID:25383630

Revitalizing Higher Education through Innovative Labor Market Based Curriculum for Sustainable National Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alao, A. O.

2014-01-01

The role of higher education in preparing youths for the labour market is becoming more challenging in the modern society. This is visible in the high number of tertiary institutions' graduates that are unemployable for lack of necessary skills, which would make them contribute profitably to any employer of labour. This paper examines the history…

Marketing information goods and services in medical libraries and information centers

PubMed Central

Ashrafi-rizi, Hasan; Kazempour, Zahra

2012-01-01

Marketing is one of the essential parts of any business corporation in the modern management. One can see the difference between corporations in gaining their goals, considering their marketing methods. Gaining more advantage or acquiring more funds can be of reasons for marketing, but these are not all the reasons. Perhaps the most important reason for marketing is increasing the customer satisfaction. This, in turn, leads to more willingness in payment and using services. Nowadays, due to rapid growth in ICT, changes in budgets, rapid growth in development and use of knowledge, variety of users and their needs, marketing has become an important factor in any library activities. Libraries are now more responsible in this regard, because marketing is now an important tool in improving users’ satisfaction in using library services. Hence, marketing is now very important for libraries to survive in the increasing pressures of competitive conditions of the information market. This article is tapping on issues such as information marketing, principles of marketing, marketing techniques, developing markets, and marketing skills. Some recommendations are also presented for marketing in libraries. PMID:23555112

Marketing information goods and services in medical libraries and information centers.

PubMed

Ashrafi-Rizi, Hasan; Kazempour, Zahra

2012-01-01

Marketing is one of the essential parts of any business corporation in the modern management. One can see the difference between corporations in gaining their goals, considering their marketing methods. Gaining more advantage or acquiring more funds can be of reasons for marketing, but these are not all the reasons. Perhaps the most important reason for marketing is increasing the customer satisfaction. This, in turn, leads to more willingness in payment and using services. Nowadays, due to rapid growth in ICT, changes in budgets, rapid growth in development and use of knowledge, variety of users and their needs, marketing has become an important factor in any library activities. Libraries are now more responsible in this regard, because marketing is now an important tool in improving users' satisfaction in using library services. Hence, marketing is now very important for libraries to survive in the increasing pressures of competitive conditions of the information market. This article is tapping on issues such as information marketing, principles of marketing, marketing techniques, developing markets, and marketing skills. Some recommendations are also presented for marketing in libraries.

Computational methods in the pricing and risk management of modern financial derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deutsch, Hans-Peter

1999-09-01

In the last 20 years modern finance has developed into a complex mathematically challenging field. Very complicated risks exist in financial markets which need very advanced methods to measure and/or model them. The financial instruments invented by the market participants to trade these risk, the so called derivatives are usually even more complicated than the risks themselves and also sometimes generate new riks. Topics like random walks, stochastic differential equations, martingale measures, time series analysis, implied correlations, etc. are of common use in the field. This is why more and more people with a science background, such as physicists, mathematicians, or computer scientists, are entering the field of finance. The measurement and management of all theses risks is the key to the continuing success of banks. This talk gives insight into today's common methods of modern market risk management such as variance-covariance, historical simulation, Monte Carlo, “Greek” ratios, etc., including the statistical concepts on which they are based. Derivatives are at the same time the main reason for and the most effective means of conducting risk management. As such, they stand at the beginning and end of risk management. The valuation of derivatives and structured financial instruments is therefore the prerequisite, the condition sine qua non, for all risk management. This talk introduces some of the important valuation methods used in modern derivatives pricing such as present value, Black-Scholes, binomial trees, Monte Carlo, etc. In summary this talk highlights an area outside physics where there is a lot of interesting work to do, especially for physicists. Or as one of our consultants said: The fascinating thing about this job is that Arthur Andersen hired me not ALTHOUGH I am a physicist but BECAUSE I am a physicist.

Motivating your patients: marketing dental services.

PubMed

Grönroos, C; Masalin, K

1990-02-01

In most industrialized countries the issues of unemployment or under-employment are becoming more critical for the members of the dental associations. In some countries this is creating greater competition between the private practitioners and public health dentists as well as between private dental practitioners themselves. Modern marketing, especially service marketing theory and models, can provide dentists and dental associations with tools to improve their position in relation to patients, political decision makers and other public agencies. However, marketing has to be understood correctly as a philosophy providing a means of approaching the establishing, maintaining and enhancing patient or customer relationships and not as a narrowly defined set of tools. As long as marketing is considered to be external campaigns, such as advertising and not much else, it is bound to fail. Other dimensions of marketing, such as interactive marketing and internal marketing, are of much greater importance to dental practitioners.

Sweetening Android Lemon Markets: Measuring and Curbing Malware in Application Marketplaces

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-08

the main software distribution mechanism for modern mobile devices but are also emerging as a viable alternative to brick -and- mortar stores for...mechanism for modern mobile devices but are also emerging as a viable alternative to brick -and- mortar stores for personal computers. While most...through the Apple App Store , thereby entirely forgoing the traditional distribution channel – packaged opti- cal media sold in brick -and- mortar

Modernization and the Emergence of a Landless Peasantry: Essays on the Integration of Peripheries to Socioeconomic Centers. Studies in Third World Societies Publication No. 33.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appell, G. N., Ed.

Many developing nations are engaged in efforts to transform the traditional agricultural sectors of their economies into modern forms that are more closely linked to the national economy and the export market. Almost universally, the traditional rights to land of the indigenous populations are ignored. The 12 essays in this book examine the…

Global Labour Mobility and Mutual Recognition of Skills and Qualifications: European Union and Australia/New Zealand Perspectives. Working Paper No. 56

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shah, Chandra; Long, Michael

2004-01-01

The labour market is one the most significant markets in modern economies. Today labour embodies increasing amounts of human capital in the form of skills, talents and knowledge. Migration of workers between regions and countries can contribute to efficiency. People are moving from areas in which they are underemployed or unemployed to areas in…

Changes in the economy, the labor market, and expectations for the future: what might Europe and the United States look like in twenty-five years?

PubMed

Buchholz, Sandra; Blossfeld, Hans-Peter

2012-01-01

In times of globalization, modern societies' labor markets have been marked by an increasing segmentation and growing social inequality. Youths in particular have experienced a worsening of their employment chances in the past three decades. However, what will the future bring? Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Senior services. Hospitals around the country have seen the future and it is gray.

PubMed

Snow, C

1997-06-16

Hospitals across the country are busy adding services and making investments in new facilities and renovations to serve the exploding senior-services market, which has estimated annual revenues of more than $124 billion when the assisted-living, skilled-nursing and home-care industries are combined. MODERN HEALTHCARE looks at what providers in three diverse major markets are doing to stay competitive.

Revisiting the modernization of the educational process IT component in Russia on the basis of the model of "economic cross"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putilov, A. V.; Bugaenko, M. V.; Timokhin, D. V.

2017-01-01

In the article approaches to the modernization of the national education system with the use of IT-technologies are offered, the review of the problems and obstacles of such modernization is held and concrete steps on the adaptation of the educational process to the labor market requirements are stated. On the basis of the previously proposed model of "economic cross" strategic directions of informatization of the educational process are defined, the analysis of conditions and intensity of the use of IT-technologies at the time of this writing is conducted, the recommendations on the improvement of known modernization tools and the development of new ones for Russian education are developed.

Attitudes toward medication-assisted treatment among fishermen in Kuantan, Malaysia, who inject drugs

PubMed Central

Brown, Shan-Estelle; Wickersham, Jeffrey A.; Pelletier, Alyssa R.; Marcus, Ruthanne M.; Erenrich, Rebecca; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L.

2017-01-01

Fishermen who inject drugs represent an understudied group at high risk for HIV in Malaysia. This study describes fishing, drug use, and attitudes toward medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders. Thirty-four male ethnic Malay fishermen completed semistructured interviews analyzed by content analysis. Analysis revealed four themes surrounding opioids, which they called ubat (“medicine”): (a) the fishing lifestyle facilitating substance use, (b) previous unsuccessful attempts to quit, (c) categorizing substances as haram or halal, and (d) attitudes toward MAT. Fishermen’s environment permits substance use, including injecting drugs on boats. Fishermen expressed more positive attitudes toward methadone and negative attitudes toward buprenorphine. PMID:27404914

Multi-agent electricity market modeling with EMCAS.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

North, M.; Macal, C.; Conzelmann, G.

2002-09-05

Electricity systems are a central component of modern economies. Many electricity markets are transitioning from centrally regulated systems to decentralized markets. Furthermore, several electricity markets that have recently undergone this transition have exhibited extremely unsatisfactory results, most notably in California. These high stakes transformations require the introduction of largely untested regulatory structures. Suitable tools that can be used to test these regulatory structures before they are applied to real systems are required. Multi-agent models can provide such tools. To better understand the requirements such as tool, a live electricity market simulation was created. This experience helped to shape the developmentmore » of the multi-agent Electricity Market Complex Adaptive Systems (EMCAS) model. To explore EMCAS' potential, several variations of the live simulation were created. These variations probed the possible effects of changing power plant outages and price setting rules on electricity market prices.« less

The Modern Design of Experiments: A Technical and Marketing Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeLoach, R.

2000-01-01

A new wind tunnel testing process under development at NASA Langley Research Center, called Modern Design of Experiments (MDOE), differs from conventional wind tunnel testing techniques on a number of levels. Chief among these is that MDOE focuses on the generation of adequate prediction models rather than high-volume data collection. Some cultural issues attached to this and other distinctions between MDOE and conventional wind tunnel testing are addressed in this paper.

The China Factor in Japanese Military Modernization for the 21st Century

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-06-01

Japan’s ongoing modernization of its forces, which are directed under its National Defense Program Outline and Midterm Defense Program, do not, however...directed under its National Defense Program Outline and Midterm Defense Program, do not, however, seem to be in reaction to any overt perception of a...It did so with the economic motive of acquiring a captive market for Japanese consumer goods, the strategic consideration of preempting Russian

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aalund, L.R

Lost in the controversy over project cost overruns during the late 1980s was the fact that Statoil, Norway's state-owned oil company, was turning its Mongstad plant into one of Europe's most modern refiners. The expansion and revamp project was completed and put on stream during the last half of 1989. The author reports how the modernized refinery's output of top quality products has implications for markets not only throughout Scandinavia but also in northwestern Europe and the United States.

Space Weather Influence on the Earth wheat markets: past, present, and future.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pustil'Nik, Lev

We consider problem of a possible influence of unfavorable states of the space weather on agriculture market through chain of connections: "space weather"-"earth weather"-"agriculture crops"-"price reaction". We show that new manifestations of "space weather"-"earth weather" relations discovered in the last time allow to revise wide field of expected solar-terrestrial connections. In the previous works we proposed possible mechanisms of wheat market reaction in the form of price bursts on the specific unfavorable states of space weather. We show that implementation of considered "price reaction scenarios" is possible only for condition of simultaneous realization of several necessary conditions: high sensitivity of local earth weather in selected region to space weather; state of "high risk agriculture" in selected agriculture zone; high sensitivity of agricultural market to possible deficit of supply. Results of previous works (I, II) included application of this approach to wheat market in Medieval England and to modern USA durum market showed that real connection between wheat price bursts and space weather state is observed with high confidence level. The aim of present work is answer on the question, why wheat markets in one region are sensitive to space weather factor, while another regional wheat markets demonstrate absolute indifferent reaction on this factor. For this aim we consider distribution of sensitivity of wheat markets in Europe to space weather as function of localization in different climatic zones. We analyze giant database of 95 European wheat markets from 14 countries during about 600-year period (1260-1912). We show that observed sensitivity of wheat market to space weather effects controlled, first of all, by type of predominant climate in different zones of agriculture. Wheat markets in the North and part of Central Europe (England, Iceland, Holland) shows reliable sensitivity to space weather in minimum states of solar activity with low solar wind, high cosmic ray flux and North Atlantic cloudiness, caused by CR excess, with negative sequences for wheat agriculture in this humid zone. In the same time wheat markets in the South Europe (Spain, Italy) show reliable sensitivity to space weather state in the opposite (maximum) phase of solar activity with strong solar wind, low cosmic ray flux and deficit of CR input in cloudiness in North Atlantic with next deficit of precipitations in the arid zones of the South Europe. In the same time the large part of markets in the Central Europe zone, functioned far from "high risk agriculture state" show the absence of any effects-responses on space weather. This asymmetry is in accordance with model expectation in the frame of proposed approach. For extremely case of the Iceland agriculture we show that drop of agriculture production in unfavorable states of space weather leads to mass mortality from famines correlated with phase of solar activity with high confi- dence level. We discuss possible increasing of sensitivity of wheat markets to space weather effects in condition of drastic and fast change of modern climate, caused by global warming of the Earth atmosphere with fast and unexpected shift of numerous agriculture regions in the world to state of "high risk agriculture zone". Publications on the theme of review: I. "INFLUENCE OF SOLAR ACTIVITY ON THE STATE OF THE WHEAT MARKET IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND", Solar Physics 223: 335-356, 2004. c 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers II. "SPACE CLIMATE MANIFESTATION IN EARTH PRICES - FROM MEDIEVAL ENGLAND UP TO MODERN U.S.A.", LEV PUSTIL'NIK and GREGORY YOM DIN, Solar Physics, 224: 473-481 c Springer 2005

Business Development Company Modernization Act

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Mulvaney, Mick [R-SC-5

2013-05-14

House - 10/23/2013 Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Prior to Referral. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

The role of local governments in traditional market revitalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prastyawan, A.; Isbandono, P.

2018-01-01

This paper presents the discussion the role of local government in traditional market revitalization. It is obvious that traditional market contributes economically into a certain region. However, the existence of the traditional market is decreasing since there are modern markets that are fully facilitated by the government. In order to increase the economic standard of the traders, the government and the legislative revitalized the improper traditional market, without the participation of the society and the stakeholders. Government’s intention to revitalize the market is to increase local revenue. While the Legislative Council considered politically motivated by profit, rent-seeking. Restrictions on the aspirations of the traders in the revitalization cause resistance to the government. The traders wished to be recognized as part of the stakeholder. In the future, the market revitalization activities should involve the traders as the main actors who have received services from the government. Government as policy makers should consider as it partners in developing business traders and increase local revenues.

Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act of 2014

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV

2014-05-22

Senate - 05/22/2014 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

IPS technologies in sales improvement in companies in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micic, Lj; Preradovic, D.

2018-01-01

Modern economy, in first order Retail sector, are introducing new and modern technologies which improve sales, communication with customers as well as marketing decision process. Retail sector is more and more oriented to technologies which improve not just communication with possible customers but also information gathering for better decision making process. Among those technologies special place is given to Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) technologies, specialized technologies which are used for locating the people and objects but also their movement as well as for communication with clients in the store. These technologies follows customers in the store, follow their movement across, communicate with them about offers and promotions but also are base for predictive marketing of retail sector which has a goal to achieve „offer to customers what they look for and what they really need“. These technologies are in limited usage in Banja Luka area but potential for their use is present. There is no enough demand from retails industry but having in mind that these technologies are raising in modern economies as well as predictions and trends it is to be expected that those technologies will be implemented in retail sector in this region too.

Chemical Composition and Meat Quality Attributes of Indigenous Sheep and Goats from Traditional Production System in Tanzania

PubMed Central

Shija, Dismas S.; Mtenga, Louis A.; Kimambo, Abiliza E.; Laswai, Germana H.; Mushi, Daniel E.; Mgheni, Dynes M.; Mwilawa, Angello J.; Shirima, Eligy J. M.; Safari, John G.

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to compare chemical composition and quality attributes of meat between male long fat tailed sheep (n = 17) and Small East African goats (n = 17) existing in Tanzania. Animals of 1.5 to 2 yrs in age and live body weight of 22.59±0.50 kg were purchased from livestock auction markets. Animals were fasted for 18 h and slaughtered according to standard halal procedure. Left carcasses were dissected into muscles, fat and bone and the muscle and fat were mixed together and chemically analysed. Meat quality attributes were measured based on Muscle longissimus thoracis et lumborum excised from right sides of carcasses. Goat carcasses had significant higher (p = 0.0302) moisture content (70.65% vs 66.96%) and lower (p = 0.0027) ether extract (2.49% vs 5.82%) than sheep but there was no significant species differences in protein and ash content. Sheep had lower (p = 0.0157) ultimate pH (5.74 vs 5.88) and higher (p = 0.0307) temperature (3.77°C vs 3.15°C) than goat carcasses. Sheep meat had lower (p = 0.0021) shear force values (29.83 N vs 34.07 N) than goat. Within species, at day 9 of ageing, meat tenderness improved (p = 0.0001) by 44.63% and 34.18% for sheep and goat. Pooled data showed that at d 9 of ageing, meat tenderness improved (p = 0.0001) by 39.25% (from 39.54 N to 24.02 N) compared to tenderness of meat which was not aged at day one of slaughter. The present study demonstrated the differences in chemical composition and quality attributes of meat existing between sheep and goats originated from East Africa. PMID:25049790

Chemical composition and meat quality attributes of indigenous sheep and goats from traditional production system in Tanzania.

PubMed

Shija, Dismas S; Mtenga, Louis A; Kimambo, Abiliza E; Laswai, Germana H; Mushi, Daniel E; Mgheni, Dynes M; Mwilawa, Angello J; Shirima, Eligy J M; Safari, John G

2013-02-01

The aim of the study was to compare chemical composition and quality attributes of meat between male long fat tailed sheep (n = 17) and Small East African goats (n = 17) existing in Tanzania. Animals of 1.5 to 2 yrs in age and live body weight of 22.59±0.50 kg were purchased from livestock auction markets. Animals were fasted for 18 h and slaughtered according to standard halal procedure. Left carcasses were dissected into muscles, fat and bone and the muscle and fat were mixed together and chemically analysed. Meat quality attributes were measured based on Muscle longissimus thoracis et lumborum excised from right sides of carcasses. Goat carcasses had significant higher (p = 0.0302) moisture content (70.65% vs 66.96%) and lower (p = 0.0027) ether extract (2.49% vs 5.82%) than sheep but there was no significant species differences in protein and ash content. Sheep had lower (p = 0.0157) ultimate pH (5.74 vs 5.88) and higher (p = 0.0307) temperature (3.77°C vs 3.15°C) than goat carcasses. Sheep meat had lower (p = 0.0021) shear force values (29.83 N vs 34.07 N) than goat. Within species, at day 9 of ageing, meat tenderness improved (p = 0.0001) by 44.63% and 34.18% for sheep and goat. Pooled data showed that at d 9 of ageing, meat tenderness improved (p = 0.0001) by 39.25% (from 39.54 N to 24.02 N) compared to tenderness of meat which was not aged at day one of slaughter. The present study demonstrated the differences in chemical composition and quality attributes of meat existing between sheep and goats originated from East Africa.

Theoretical bases of project management in conditions of innovative economy based on fuzzy modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beilin, I. L.; Khomenko, V. V.

2018-05-01

In recent years, more and more Russian enterprises (both private and public) are trying to organize their activities on the basis of modern scientific research in order to improve the management of economic processes. Business planning, financial and investment analysis, modern software products based on the latest scientific developments are introduced everywhere. At the same time, there is a growing demand for market research (both at the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels), for financial and general economic information.

Automated video surveillance: teaching an old dog new tricks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLeod, Alastair

1993-12-01

The automated video surveillance market is booming with new players, new systems, new hardware and software, and an extended range of applications. This paper reviews available technology, and describes the features required for a good automated surveillance system. Both hardware and software are discussed. An overview of typical applications is also given. A shift towards PC-based hybrid systems, use of parallel processing, neural networks, and exploitation of modern telecomms are introduced, highlighting the evolution modern video surveillance systems.

Advancement in modern approaches to mineral production quality control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freidina, EV; Botvinnik, AA; Dvornikova, AN

2017-02-01

The natural resource potential of mineral deposits is represented by three categories: upside, attainable and investment. A modern methodology is proposed in this paper for production quality control, and its tools aimed at ensuring agreement between the product quality and the market requirements are described. The definitions of the costs of the product quality compliance and incompliance with the consumer requirements are introduced; the latter is suggested to use in evaluating resource potential of mineral deposits at a certain degree of probability.

Modern trends in crystal growth and new applications of sapphire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akselrod, Mark S.; Bruni, Frank J.

2012-12-01

We provide an overview of the latest market trends and modern competing methods of sapphire crystal growth and the application of sapphire wafers as LED substrates. Almost all methods of high temperature growth from the melt are suitable for sapphire production, but each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the application and required finished product form factor. Special attention is paid to the review of defects and imperfections that allow the engineering of new active devices based on sapphire.

The dual economy in long-run development

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

A salient feature of developing economies is the coexistence of a modern commercial sector alongside a traditional subsistence sector—the dual economy. The apparent differences in productivity between sectors imply substantial losses in aggregate productivity. Existing theories of the dual economy rely on exogenous price distortions, and cannot explain why or if these distortions evolve over the course of development. This paper provides a model of the dual economy in which the productivity differences arise endogenously because of a non-separability between the value of market and non-market time in the traditional sector. Incorporating endogenous fertility, the model then demonstrates how a dual economy will originate, persist, and eventually disappear within a unified growth framework. An implication is that traditional sector productivity growth will exacerbate the inefficiencies of a dual economy and produce slower overall growth than will modern sector productivity improvements. PMID:23946556

Russia and the Medical Drug Trade in the Seventeenth Century

PubMed Central

Griffin, Clare

2018-01-01

Summary This article deals with the trade in medicines into Russia in the seventeenth century. Both the early modern medical drug trade, and Russian medicine, have previously received substantial attention, but no work has thus far been undertaken on the Russian angle of the drug trade. Drawing on previously unused documents, this article traces the kinds of drugs acquired by the Moscow court. In contrast to the dominant view of official Russian medicine as divorced from native healing practices and fundamentally reliant upon Western European trends, these documents reveal that drugs were sourced as locally as Moscow markets, and from as far afield as East Asia and the Americas, but that not all drugs were accepted. As many of these imports came through Western European markets, this article also sheds further light on what drugs were available there, demonstrating the great diversity of drugs traded in early modern Europe. PMID:29713122

Marketing urbanistyczny jako instrument aktywizacji turystyki

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polska, Anna

2009-01-01

In the paper there are two studies of cases of council individuals from the Lublin voivodship presented. In order to stimulate the development of tourism and socio-economic activation, authorities of both communes applied in the tools of town-planning marketing. Presented instruments are: the strategy of socio-economic development and the many years' plan of development. Particular attention was paid to modernization of spatial structure and transformation in the sphere of town-planning as well as architecture.

DIY Solar Market Analysis Webinar Series: PVWatts® | State, Local, and

Science.gov Websites

, and updates the energy prediction algorithms to be in line with the actual performance of modern the latest update." In this webinar, one of the tool's developers explains how the new version of ® Wednesday, July 9, 2014 As part of a Do-It-Yourself Solar Market Analysis summer series, NREL's Solar

Digital prototyping technique applied for redesigning plastic products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pop, A.; Andrei, A.

2015-11-01

After products are on the market for some time, they often need to be redesigned to meet new market requirements. New products are generally derived from similar but outdated products. Redesigning a product is an important part of the production and development process. The purpose of this paper is to show that using modern technology, like Digital Prototyping in industry is an effective way to produce new products. This paper tries to demonstrate and highlight the effectiveness of the concept of Digital Prototyping, both to reduce the design time of a new product, but also the costs required for implementing this step. The results of this paper show that using Digital Prototyping techniques in designing a new product from an existing one available on the market mould offers a significantly manufacturing time and cost reduction. The ability to simulate and test a new product with modern CAD-CAM programs in all aspects of production (designing of the 3D model, simulation of the structural resistance, analysis of the injection process and beautification) offers a helpful tool for engineers. The whole process can be realised by one skilled engineer very fast and effective.

Trust-Based Security Level Evaluation Using Bayesian Belief Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houmb, Siv Hilde; Ray, Indrakshi; Ray, Indrajit; Chakraborty, Sudip

Security is not merely about technical solutions and patching vulnerabilities. Security is about trade-offs and adhering to realistic security needs, employed to support core business processes. Also, modern systems are subject to a highly competitive market, often demanding rapid development cycles, short life-time, short time-to-market, and small budgets. Security evaluation standards, such as ISO 14508 Common Criteria and ISO/IEC 27002, are not adequate for evaluating the security of many modern systems for resource limitations, time-to-market, and other constraints. Towards this end, we propose an alternative time and cost effective approach for evaluating the security level of a security solution, system or part thereof. Our approach relies on collecting information from different sources, who are trusted to varying degrees, and on using a trust measure to aggregate available information when deriving security level. Our approach is quantitative and implemented as a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) topology, allowing us to reason over uncertain information and seemingly aggregating disparate information. We illustrate our approach by deriving the security level of two alternative Denial of Service (DoS) solutions. Our approach can also be used in the context of security solution trade-off analysis.

Transportation Systems Analyses (TSA): Highly Reusable Space Transportation (HRST). A preliminary programmatic assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duffey, Jack; Lowrey, Alan

1996-01-01

This report overviews the strategic implications of the Highly Reusable Space Transportation (HRST) program. The analysis postulates the anticipated HRST market (window is 2006-30, with a 2015 focus). Next the analysis speculates on market 'price of entry' for several potential markets. HRST is envisioned as a NASA overlay to either the STS modernization or the on-going RLV initiative. Three NASA options are reviewed. An example HRST program (MagLifter + RBCC RLV) is assessed in terms of financial/political issues. The merits of HRST-vs-RLV are briefly examined. Finally, a Small Launch Vehicle (SLV) HRST application is reviewed.

Market survey on products from the Tema Oil Refinery carried out as part of the feasibility study on the Tema Oil Refinery expansion project. Export trade information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-10-01

The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), which was commissioned in 1963, is a simple hydroskimming plant which processes crude oil into LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gasoil, and fuel oil. It is the only petroleum refinery in Ghana. Over the years some of the equipment in the refinery has deteriorated or become obsolete necessitating major rehabilitation. A feasibility study is investigating the modernization and expansion of the refinery to meet projected market demands until the year 2005. The report presents the results of a market survey done on products from TOR.

Contraceptive social marketing in the Philippines. A new initiative.

PubMed

Migallos, G; Araneta, A

1994-01-01

By offering contraceptives at subsidized prices through pharmacies, drugstores, grocery shops, and other conveniently-located retail outlets, and promoting them with modern marketing techniques, social marketing programs can do much to reduce the unmet need for family planning. Users obviously benefit, while the family planning program benefits from advertising and marketing skills and some cost recovery. The Philippine Contraceptive Social Marketing Project (PCSMP) was formally launched in the Philippines in 1993 in response to the large unmet need in the country, and initial results are promising. The project was started with funding from the US Agency for International Development to provide affordable, quality contraceptives through the private sector to Filipino couples who choose to practice family planning. A 1988 survey found that only 22.4% of women aged 15-44 years were using modern methods of contraception and 13.8% were using traditional methods; approximately three million women therefore had unmet need for family planning. The PCSMP established an AIDS prevention component and a birth spacing component, enlisting the participation of oral contraceptive manufacturers Wyeth, Organon, and Schering, along with one condom distributor, Philusa. These companies lowered their product prices by 20% for the program. Despite objections from the Catholic church, sales of both oral pills and condoms increased in the first year. In its second year, the program will advertise Sensation condoms and the Couple's Choice Pills via television, through intensive distribution drives, consumer and trade promotions, and the continuous training of health professionals. The contraceptive injectable DMPA will be added to the Couple's Choice product line in April 1994. This method, too, will be heavily promoted.

Cornering the College Job Market.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pressler, Michael

1984-01-01

Competition for teaching positions in the liberal arts is greater than ever. Every year good applicants fail, not because they lack the credentials, but because they don't take advantage of modern promotional advertising. Some humorous "award-winning" campaigns are presented. (MLW)

Post-Modernizing Education on the Periphery and in the Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kempner, Ken

1998-09-01

The political economics of educational change are central to understanding reform in developing countries because of the role that education plays in relationship to economic and social policies. Given the uncertain association between the expansion of education and economic development, this paper explores the role which modernization policies of the State play in promoting contemporary conflicts between private and public interests in education. By first introducing Best's concept of the "New Competition" this paper examines the economic consequences for education in the larger context of the global market. Through case examples of Mexico and the US state of Oregon the effects of modernization policies are examined to understand how modernization policies are inappropriate to meet the social, political, and economic needs of both the periphery and core countries. The paper concludes by addressing the potential consequences for the public good of modernization efforts that promote the privatization of education on the basis of human capital theory rather than on that of a more comprehensive and humanistic approach to the development of social capital.

How a south Florida hospital targeted Hispanic consumers.

PubMed

Weinstein, A

1988-02-01

Last month's "Case in Point" presented AMI Parkway Regional Medical Center, a 412-bed acute care hospital in North Miami Beach, Fla. The hospital's administration has recognized the ethnic make-up of the South Florida market (white, black and Hispanic) and wants to increase its penetration into the large and potentially lucrative Latin market. The hospital is one of six in South Florida that are owned by American Medical International Inc., Los Angeles. Parkway recently completed a modernization and development program that resulted in an expanded emergency department, state-of-the-art critical care units, a cost-saving ambulatory unit and facilities for outpatient and community education programs. Positioned in a fiercely competitive market, Parkway has adopted an aggressive marketing posture. The marketing function has been elevated to one of six hospital divisions, sharing equal footing with finance, professional services, administrative services, nursing and human resources. Given the hospital's reputation for action and the previous success of programs based on market research, the assistant administrator for marketing and business development secured support for research on the Latin market.

[Consumer demands concerning meat between price and ethics].

PubMed

Branscheid, W

1998-08-01

A review is given about consumer demands on meat. Mainly the problems of decreasing meat consumption, health aspects and special questions of ecological products are considered. The market gives evidence of a further drop in meat consumption and a more consistent differentiation of product lines. Eco-products, emphasising the animal welfare aspect, will have their place in that context but persist in the state of a minor market segment. Nevertheless it has to be expected, that also the conventional products will increasingly comply to modern consumer demands.

The Third World Arms Market in the 1980’s: Implications for U. S. Policy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-02

transfer of modern armaments has gone beyond6 the bounds of ordinary laisse - faire economics. This study is best remembered for its early recognition of... styles , and 8 relationships" in arms transfers. As in the Adelphi study, arms transfers are tabulated numerically rather than in dollar terms. Country...or sells the services of DOD personnel such as training or management advice. 19 91. ILI ’a.UK E.B. Rex The Third World Arms Market 92. As written

Online marketing of food and beverages to children: a content analysis.

PubMed

Brady, Jennifer; Mendelson, Rena; Farrell, Amber; Wong, Sharon

2010-01-01

The goal was to assess websites sponsored by food and beverage manufacturers that have pledged to market branded food and beverage products to children responsibly, by ratifying the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). A content analysis was conducted of 24 purposively sampled websites sponsored by 10 companies that promote food and beverage products to children. All are participant members of the CFBAI. Of the 24 websites analyzed, the majority targeted children below age 12 (83%). An array of innovative online marketing techniques, most notably free website membership (63%), leader boards (50%), adver-games (79%), and branded downloadable content (76%), were used to encourage children's engagement with branded food and beverage promotions. Food and beverage manufacturers are engaging children with dynamic online marketing techniques that challenge regulatory codes governing broadcast media. These techniques may contradict the spirit of the CFBAI. Innovative regulatory guidelines are needed to address modern marketing media.

The Auto

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Novick, Sheldon

1976-01-01

The basic automobile design has persisted for fifty years with innovations only in production and marketing. Complex interrelationships among steel, oil, rubber, road building, and automobile industries perpetuate the "modern Model T's." Efforts to alter design to meet safety and environmental standards face tremendous resistance from a…

Mathematical modeling of project management in logistics systems based on two-dimensional random vector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glushkova, Yu O.; Gordashnukova, O. Yu; Pahomova, A. V.; Shatohina, S. P.; Filippov, D. V.

2018-05-01

The modern markets are characterized by fierce competition, constantly changing demand, increasing demands of consumers, shortening of the life cycle of goods and services in connection with scientific and technological progress. Therefore, for survival, modern logistic systems of industrial enterprises must be constantly improved. Modern economic literature is represented by a large volume of publications on various aspects of the studied issues. They consider the issues of project management in the logistics system that inevitably encounter with triple Limited. It initially describes the balance between project content, cost, and time. Later it was suggested to either replace the content with quality or add a fourth criterion. Therefore it is possible to name such limitation as triple or four-criteria limitation.

An Italian peculiarity? Psychoanalysis, modernization and the sociology of consumption in 1960s Italy.

PubMed

Pasqualini, Mauro

2017-11-01

Psychoanalysis experienced a remarkable boom in 1960s Italy. One of the areas where psychoanalytic theory disseminated was the world of marketing and the sociology of consumption. Based on the case of the sociologist Francesco Alberoni, we can examine the impact of the theories of Melanie Klein for understanding the behavior of consumers. Similarly, Alberoni's work shows the concerns and uncertainties on the social modernization of Italy, and also raises questions on the specificities of the growing importance of psychoanalysis in Italy in the 1960s.

The care of the brute beast: animals and the seventeenth-century medical market-place.

PubMed

Curth, Louise Hill

2002-12-01

This article examines the medical options for animals in early modern England. At the present time, this is a topic that has been largely ignored by modern academics. The small number of existing scholarly works tend to begin with the late eighteenth century, after the founding of England's first veterinary college. This institutionalization is generally credited as marking the beginning of modern animal medicine. In turn, what might be called 'pre-veterinary' care is treated as beging unworthy of serious study. As this article will show, this is a misconception. Although there were many differences in the way people perceived animals, social and economic concerns demanded that everything possible be done to protect their health. There were a variety of medical options for animals, some of which could be purchased or bartered for in the market-place, as well as those that were available 'free of charge'. The main categories of animal healers consisted of 'professional' farriers, self-styled farriers, horseleeches and horse-doctors, leeches specializing in other types of lowlier working animals, and laymen. Although some of these people acquired their skills during an apprenticeship, traditional Galenic/astrological medical information was also disseminated orally, through vernacular medical books and through various types of manuscripts.

Developing School Psychology in Vietnam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Le, Phuong; Hagans, Kristi; Powers, Kristin; Hass, Michael

2011-01-01

Like China, Vietnam is a communist country with increasingly capitalist economic policies. A fundamental change occurred in these policies with the enactment of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy in 1986 that called for a "free market with socialist orientations." However, this economic modernization has inadvertently…

Modern Techniques for Searching the Chemical Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holm, Bart E.

The chemists' information needs are for current awareness, selective dissemination, and retrospective search services, of research, development, engineering, production, and marketing information located internally or externally, and contained in journals, patents, theses, reports, data files, information services, and from people. This paper is…

Making It Underground: Comparative Material on the Informal Sector in Western Market Economies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Portes, Alejandro; Sassen-Koob, Saskia

1987-01-01

This paper examines the informal economy and its relationship to commonly held theories of industrial development. Evidence is presented which contradicts the prevailing assumption that informal economies will disappear with the advance of modern industrial growth. (Author/JDH)

Interdigitated electrode (IDE) for porcine detection based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nordin, N.; Hashim, U.; Azizah, N.

2016-07-01

Interdigited Electrode (IDE) porcine detection can be accomplished to authenticate the halal issue that has been a concern to Muslim not only in Malaysia but all around the world. The method used is photolithography that used the p-type photoresist on the spin coater with 2500 rpm. Bare IDEs device is deposited with Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) to improve the performance of the device. The result indicates that current-voltage (I-V) measurement of porcine probe line slightly above porcine target due to negative charges repelled each other. The IDE device can detect the porcine presence in food as lowest as 1.0 µM. Better performance of the device can be achieved with the replacement of gold deposited to trigger more sensitivity of the device.

Future regional transport aircraft market, constraints, and technology stimuli

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harvey, W. Don; Foreman, Brent

1992-01-01

This report provides updated information on the current market and operating environment and identifies interlinking technical possibilities for competitive future commuter-type transport aircraft. The conclusions on the market and operating environment indicate that the regional airlines are moving toward more modern and effective fleets with greater passenger capacity and comfort, reduced noise levels, increased speed, and longer range. This direction leads to a nearly 'seamless' service and continued code-sharing agreements with the major carriers. Whereas the benefits from individual technologies may be small, the overall integration in existing and new aircraft designs can produce improvements in direct operating cost and competitiveness. Production costs are identified as being equally important as pure technical advances.

Energy Policy Case Study - Texas: Wind, Markets, and Grid Modernization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Orrell, Alice C.; Homer, Juliet S.; Bender, Sadie R.

This document presents a case study of energy policies in Texas related to power system transformation, renewable energy and distributed energy resources (DERs). Texas has experienced a dramatic increase in installed wind capacity, from 116 MW in 2000 to over 15,000 MW in 2015. This achievement was enabled by the designation of Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZs) and new transmission lines that transmit wind to load centers. This report highlights nascent efforts to include DERs in the ERCOT market. As costs decline and adoption rates increase, ERCOT expects distributed generation to have an increasing effect on grid operations, while bringingmore » potentially valuable new resources to the wholesale markets.« less

The ecology of markets.

PubMed Central

Nordhaus, W D

1992-01-01

Economies are sometimes viewed as analogous to ecological systems in which "everything is connected to everything else." In complex modern economies, the question arises whether the market mechanism can appropriately coordinate all the interconnections or whether instead some supramarket body is needed to coordinate the vast web of human activities. This study describes how an idealized decentralized competitive market in fact coordinates the different economic organisms in an efficient manner. The problems of pollution and other externalities can undo the efficient outcome unless corrected by appropriate property rights or corrective taxes. But in closing the economic circle, the internalized economy does not actually need to close the natural cycles by linking up all physical flows through recycling. PMID:11607264

The competitiveness of medicinal plants in Central Java Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riptanti, E. W.; Qonita, R. A.; Fajarningsih, R. U.

2018-03-01

Indonesia hold a potential opportunity to be a pharmaceutical production country. In the other side, Indonesia facing agriculture product and market competition internationally and domestically. Improving competitiveness of specific products are aimed to hit the export market and also to be able to compete with import products in domestic market. Considering Indonesian market opportunity, therefore we perform this study aiming to examine the competitiveness of medicinal plants in Central Java area. The basic method applied in this study was descriptive and data sources are primary and secondary data. Data were analyzed using Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Trade Specialization Index (TSI) approaches. According to the study, we reveal that medicinal plant commodities in Central Java province have average score 8.52, indicating a strong comparative advantage in global markets, while the commodities appear to have average score of 0.97 at 0 to 1 range, representing a strong competitiveness. Those results are attributed to natural and environmental condition, as well as high demand of global market. This competitiveness will encourage traditional/modern medicinal industries in global market.

Using marketing muscle to sell fat: the rise of obesity in the modern economy.

PubMed

Zimmerman, Frederick J

2011-01-01

The large increase in obesity in the past 30 years has often been explained in rational choice terms; for example, a decline in food prices has engendered greater food consumption. On closer examination, this kind of explanation does not fit the facts of the current obesity epidemic. Instead, an unprecedented expansion in the scope, power, and ubiquity of food marketing has coincided with an unprecedented expansion in food consumption in predictable ways. Ongoing protestations that the causes of the recent increase in obesity are unknown may overstate the case. Ample evidence indicates that the obesity epidemic is, at least to a large degree, the result of increased marketing power over the American diet. Only by reigning in or countering marketing power can rationality be restored to the dietary choices of Americans.

Standing up to Managerialism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowe, Stephen

2014-01-01

"Managerialism" represents a relatively new orientation to college and university administration, one that arises from the coincidence of three distinct features of the contemporary landscape: market rationality, nihilism, and the modern wish for a new beginning. In this article, the author offers simple clarification as to the nature of…

Cold Temperature Effects on Speciated VOC Emissions from modern GDI Light Duty Truck

EPA Science Inventory

Although gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles represent nearly half of the light-duty vehicle market share, few studies have reported speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in GDI vehicle exhaust emissions. In this study, speciated VOC emissions were characterized from t...

Merchandising Techniques and Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Sylvie A.

1981-01-01

Proposes that libraries employ modern booksellers' merchandising techniques to improve circulation of library materials. Using displays in various ways, the methods and reasons for weeding out books, replacing worn book jackets, and selecting new books are discussed. Suggestions for learning how to market and 11 references are provided. (RBF)

Sensitivity of Earth Wheat Markets to Space Weather: Comparative Analysis based on data from Medieval European Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pustil'Nik, Lev

We consider a problem of the possible influence of unfavorable states of the space weather on agriculture markets through the chain of connections: "space weather"-"earth weather"- "agriculture crops"-"price reaction". We show that new manifestations of "space weather"- "earth weather" relations discovered in the recent time allow revising a wide range of the expected solar-terrestrial connections. In the previous works we proposed possible mechanisms of wheat market reaction on the specific unfavorable states of space weather in the form of price bursts and price asymmetry. We point out that implementation of considered "price reaction scenarios" is possible only for the case of simultaneous realization of several necessary conditions: high sensitivity of local earth weather in the selected region to space weather; the state of "high risk agriculture" in the selected agriculture zone; high sensitivity of agricultural market to a possible deficit of yield. Results of our previous works (I, II), including application of this approach to the Medieval England wheat market (1250-1700) and to the modern USA durum market (1910-1992), showed that connection between wheat price bursts and space weather state in these cases was absolutely real. The aim of the present work is to answer the question why wheat markets in one selected region may be sensitive to a space weather factor, while in other regions wheat markets demonstrate absolutely indifferent reaction on the space weather. For this aim, we consider dependence of sensitivity of wheat markets to space weather as a function of their location in different climatic zones of Europe. We analyze a database of 95 European wheat markets from 14 countries for the 600-year period (1260-1912). We show that the observed sensitivity of wheat markets to space weather effects is controlled, first of all, by a type of predominant climate in different zones of agricultural production. Wheat markets in the Northern and, partly, in Central Europe (England, Holland, Belgium) show high sensitivity to space weather in minimum states of solar activity, when excess of the high energy cosmic ray stimulate additional cloudiness and precipitation. In the same time, wheat markets in the Southern Europe (Spain, Italy) show high sensitivity to space weather state in the opposite (maximum) phase of solar activity when a deficit of cosmic ray entering into the earth atmosphere leads to decrease of cloudiness and to increase of probability of drought weather periods. We demonstrate that the large part of markets in the Central Europe zone show absence of any effects of sensitivity to space weather state and show that this North-South asymmetry is in good accordance with the suggested model of expected wheat market reaction. We discuss possible increasing of sensitivity of wheat markets to space weather effects under conditions of fast and drastic change of modern climate with a shift of numerous agriculture regions to the state of "high risk agriculture zone".

Modular organization and hospital performance.

PubMed

Kuntz, Ludwig; Vera, Antonio

2007-02-01

The concept of modularization represents a modern form of organization, which contains the vertical disaggregation of the firm and the use of market mechanisms within hierarchies. The objective of this paper is to examine whether the use of modular structures has a positive effect on hospital performance. The empirical section makes use of multiple regression analyses and leads to the main result that modularization does not have a positive effect on hospital performance. However, the analysis also finds out positive efficiency effects of two central ideas of modularization, namely process orientation and internal market mechanisms.

China's Chemical Information Online Service: ChI2Net.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naiyan, Yu; And Others

1997-01-01

Describes the Chemical Integrated Information Service Network (ChI2Net), a comprehensive online information service system which includes chemical, technical, economic, market, news, and management information based on computer and modern communication technology that was built by the China National Chemical Information Centre. (Author/LRW)

Globalization and Migration: Some Pressing Contradictions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castles, Stephen

1998-01-01

Examines the contradictions of inclusion and exclusion of group members, the state and market, growing wealth and impoverishment, networks and the self, global and local levels, economy and environment, modernity and postmodernity, citizen as a national and global citizen, and globalization from above and below. Illustrates each contradiction by…

Change Leadership in Universities: The Confucian Dimension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tjeldvoll, Arild

2011-01-01

The intensified competition of the global, market-based knowledge economy requires change leadership in universities and colleges throughout the world. National policy makers increasingly see knowledge as a core resource of modern economies and a prerequisite for global competitiveness. By implication, the quality of university leadership becomes…

Globalization and the Experiences of Aging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fry, Christine L.

2005-01-01

Globalization is a product of urbanization and economic intensification which has escalated since the 1970s. Globalized markets have created many of the features of modern life including consumerism, increased cultural homogeneity, increased social polarization, erosion of the sovereignty of nation states, and delocalization of daily life. The…

Changes in the ''Urania - Postepy Astronomii'' astronomical magazine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czart, Krzysztof; Mikołajewski, Maciej

2014-12-01

''Urania - Postepy Astronomii'' is one of the oldest popular science magazines about astronomy in the world. During 2012-2013 it undergone revolutionary changes into a modern magazine suitable for 21st century market of popular science press, at the same time maintaining a high level of popularization. The main changes included: diversity of content, full colour for all pages, changing website into modern internet portal, using social media, ambitious project of a digital archive of all issues from 1922 to 2011, web store to provide easier access for everyone, and projects aimed at schools and school libraries.

Feasibility study on the modernization and expansion of the Tema Oil Refinery: Appendix 1, Part A. REFOP reports. Export trade information (Draft)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1992-04-01

The Tema Oil Refinery, which was commissioned in 1963, is a simple hydroskimming plant which processes crude oil into LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gasoil, and fuel oil. It is the only petroleum refinery in Ghana. Over the years, some of the equipment in the refinery has deteriorated or become obsolete, necessitating major rehabilitation. A feasibility study is investigating the modernization and expansion of the refinery to meet projected market demands until the year 2005. This report is appendix I, part A to the feasibility study.

Feasibility study on the modernization and expansion of the Tema Oil Refinery: Appendix 1, Part B. REFOP reports (Final report). Export trade information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1992-04-01

The Tema Oil Refinery, which was commissioned in 1963, is a simple hydroskimming plant which processes crude oil into LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gasoil, and fuel oil. It is the only petroleum refinery in Ghana. Over the years, some of the equipment in the refinery has deteriorated or become obsolete, necessitating major rehabilitation. A feasibility study is investigating the modernization and expansion of the refinery to meet projected market demands until the year 2005. This report is appendix I, part B to the feasibility study.

A market approach to better care at lower cost.

PubMed

Antos, Joseph

2015-11-01

The Affordable Care Act expanded health insurance coverage in the United States but did little to address the structural problems that plague the U.S. health care system. Controlling cost while maintaining or improving access to quality care requires a more fundamental reform based on market principles. Such an approach means aligning the financial incentives of patients and providers to promote smarter spending. It also requires better information and more flexible regulation to promote well-functioning competitive markets. Key elements of these reforms include setting reasonable limits on subsidies for Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance; modernizing the Medicare program and adopting reforms that promote competition between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage; allowing greater flexibility for states in running their Medicaid programs; enacting smarter regulations to protect consumers without imposing greater inefficiency on the health market; and promoting more direct consumer involvement in all phases of their health and health care. These changes will challenge academic medical centers as a new era of creativity and competition emerges in the health care market.

Study on spatial structure of retailing based on GIS in the city of Wuhan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Cheng-liang; Tian, Ying

2008-10-01

With the agility of market economy, the characteristic of market spatial structure becomes more complex since the reformation and open policy. The spatial structure has broken through the traditional framework which is non-equilibriums and scattered, and represented such modern development character as diversification, grade, network, and non-equilibrium. This paper chooses 200 stochastic retailing stores whose acreages all exceed 40m2 in the four circles of Wuhan city, after the analysis of spatial difference on acreages, number, population density, and manage forms with GIS spatial methods, and makes a conclusion that the retailing spatial structure of Wuhan city has took on figure of rating circle wholly and frame of centralization-diffusion and enchasing partially; as location is concerned, centralization and diffusion takes place simultaneously, has behaved that retailing concentrated in heartland of city with more favorable traffic and market location by the means of market infiltration, and distributed in suburb more dispersive by market monopoly.

In the mind of the market: theory of mind biases value computation during financial bubbles.

PubMed

De Martino, Benedetto; O'Doherty, John P; Ray, Debajyoti; Bossaerts, Peter; Camerer, Colin

2013-09-18

The ability to infer intentions of other agents, called theory of mind (ToM), confers strong advantages for individuals in social situations. Here, we show that ToM can also be maladaptive when people interact with complex modern institutions like financial markets. We tested participants who were investing in an experimental bubble market, a situation in which the price of an asset is much higher than its underlying fundamental value. We describe a mechanism by which social signals computed in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex affect value computations in ventromedial prefrontal cortex, thereby increasing an individual's propensity to 'ride' financial bubbles and lose money. These regions compute a financial metric that signals variations in order flow intensity, prompting inference about other traders' intentions. Our results suggest that incorporating inferences about the intentions of others when making value judgments in a complex financial market could lead to the formation of market bubbles. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[The significance of meat quality in marketing].

PubMed

Kallweit, E

1994-07-01

Food quality in general and meat quality in particular are not only evaluated by means of objective quality traits but the entire production process is gaining more attention by the modern consumer. Due to this development quality programs were developed to define the majority of the processes in all production and marketing steps which are again linked by contracts. Not all of these items are quality relevant, but are concessions to ethic principles (animal welfare etc.). This is demonstrated by the example of Scharrel-pork production. The price differentiation at the pork market is still influenced predominantly by quantitative carcass traits. On the European market quality programs still are of minor significance. Premiums which are paid for high quality standards are more or less compensated by higher production costs and lower lean meat percentages, which must be expected in stress susceptible strains. The high efforts to establish quality programs, however, help to improve the quality level in general, and secure the market shares for local producers.

In the Mind of the Market: Theory of Mind Biases Value Computation during Financial Bubbles

PubMed Central

De Martino, Benedetto; O’Doherty, John P.; Ray, Debajyoti; Bossaerts, Peter; Camerer, Colin

2013-01-01

Summary The ability to infer intentions of other agents, called theory of mind (ToM), confers strong advantages for individuals in social situations. Here, we show that ToM can also be maladaptive when people interact with complex modern institutions like financial markets. We tested participants who were investing in an experimental bubble market, a situation in which the price of an asset is much higher than its underlying fundamental value. We describe a mechanism by which social signals computed in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex affect value computations in ventromedial prefrontal cortex, thereby increasing an individual’s propensity to ‘ride’ financial bubbles and lose money. These regions compute a financial metric that signals variations in order flow intensity, prompting inference about other traders’ intentions. Our results suggest that incorporating inferences about the intentions of others when making value judgments in a complex financial market could lead to the formation of market bubbles. PMID:24050407

Research on Agricultural Product Options Pricing Based on Lévy Copula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Hong

2017-11-01

China is a large agricultural country, and the healthy development of agriculture is related to the stability of the whole society. With the advancement of modern agriculture and the expansion of agricultural scale, the demand for farmers to avoid market risks is increasingly urgent. Option trading has the effect of attracting farmers’ intervention, promoting order agriculture development, perfecting agricultural support policy and promoting the development of agricultural futures market. Relative to the futures, the option transaction because the margin is low, reducing the trader’s entry threshold, you can make more small and medium investors to participate. This is not only active in the futures market, but also for many small and medium investors to provide effective financial management tools.

Evolving food retail environments in Thailand and implications for the health and nutrition transition.

PubMed

Banwell, Cathy; Dixon, Jane; Seubsman, Sam-Ang; Pangsap, S; Kelly, Matthew; Sleigh, Adrian

2013-04-01

To investigate evolving food retail systems in Thailand. Rapid assessment procedures based on qualitative research methods including interviews, focus groups discussions and site visits. Seven fresh markets located in the four main regions of Thailand. Managers, food specialists, vendors and shoppers from seven fresh markets who participated in interviews and focus group discussions. Fresh markets are under economic pressure and are declining in number. They are attempting to resist the competition from supermarkets by improving convenience, food diversity, quality and safety. Obesity has increased in Thailand at the same time as rapid growth of modern food retail formats has occurred. As fresh markets are overtaken by supermarkets there is a likely loss of fresh, healthy, affordable food for poorer Thais, and a diminution of regional culinary culture, women's jobs and social capital, with implications for the health and nutrition transition in Thailand.

[Research of regional medical consumables reagent logistics system in the modern hospital].

PubMed

Wu, Jingjiong; Zhang, Yanwen; Luo, Xiaochen; Zhang, Qing; Zhu, Jianxin

2013-09-01

To explore the modern hospital and regional medical consumable reagents logistics system management. The characteristics of regional logistics, through cooperation between medical institutions within the region, and organize a wide range of special logistics activities, to make reasonable of the regional medical consumable reagents logistics. To set the regional management system, dynamic management systems, supply chain information management system, after-sales service system and assessment system. By the research of existing medical market and medical resources, to establish the regional medical supplies reagents directory and the initial data. The emphasis is centralized dispatch of medical supplies reagents, to introduce qualified logistics company for dispatching, to improve the modern hospital management efficiency, to costs down. Regional medical center and regional community health service centers constitute a regional logistics network, the introduction of medical consumable reagents logistics services, fully embodies integrity level, relevance, purpose, environmental adaptability of characteristics by the medical consumable reagents regional logistics distribution. Modern logistics distribution systems can increase the area of medical consumables reagent management efficiency and reduce costs.

The Use Potential of Traditional Building Materials for the Realization of Structures by Modern Methods of Construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spišáková, Marcela; Mačková, Daniela

2015-11-01

The sustainable building has taken off in recent years with many investors looking for new and different methods of construction. The traditional building materials can be made out of natural materials, while others can help to lower energy costs of the occupant once built. Regardless of what the goal of the investor is, traditional building materials and their use is on the rise. The submitted paper provides an overview of natural building materials and possible modern building systems using these construction materials. Based on the questionnaire survey is defined the use potential of traditional building materials for the realization of the construction by methods of modern constructions and then are determined the drivers and barriers of traditional materials through using modern methods of construction. Considering the analysis of the achieved results, we can identify the gaps in the construction market in Slovakia and also to assess the perception of potential investors in the field of traditional building materials use, which is the purpose of submitted paper.

Together and apart: twin beds, domestic hygiene and modern marriage, 1890-1945.

PubMed

Hinds, Hilary

2010-01-01

This article examines the advent of twin beds as a common sleeping arrangement for English couples. Through an analysis of a range of sources from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries - marketing materials, advertisements, domestic, decorative and marital advice books and novels and films - it argues that while twin beds were initially recommended by proponents of the domestic sanitation movement as part of a raft of hygiene measures, by the 1920s they had become a fashionable item of bedroom furniture for modern couples in "companionate" marriages. It was in this context that Marie Stopes, in her popular marital advice books, railed against them as an "invention of the devil", symptomatic of the evils of modernity, and endangering the happiness of the modern married couple. The article concludes that, despite these changing contexts of consumption, the significance of the history of twin beds needs to be understood through the intersecting discourses of domesticity, health and sexuality.

Destination: Alumni Relations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scully, Maura King

2010-01-01

Increasingly today, with the growing and sophisticated skill set alumni professionals need to get the job done, alumni relations has become a destination career rather than a stop along the way. Modern alumni relations is "so much more than homecoming and punch-and-cookie receptions." It's marketing, volunteer management, and social networking. To…

The Return of Rare Breeds: How Heritage Livestock Can Lead Us to Greener Pastures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacques, Ben

2002-01-01

Several New England groups are breeding and marketing "heritage livestock"--older, multipurpose breeds that are hardier and more disease resistant than modern livestock bred for specialized uses. Hancock Shaker Village (Massachusetts)--a historical museum and working farm--will teach visitors about heritage breeds and sustainable…

12 CFR 360.9 - Large-bank deposit insurance determination modernization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... market discipline, ensure equitable treatment of depositors at different institutions and reduce the FDIC... section for a covered institution that: Has a composite rating of 3, 4, or 5 under the Uniform Financial... operations of a large insured depository institution (defined as a “Covered Institution”) to continue...

Irradiation, microwave and alternative energy-based treatments for low water activity foods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is an increasing recognition of low water activity foods as vectors for human pathogens. Partially or fully dried agricultural commodities, along with modern formulated dried food products, are complex, and designed to meet a variety of nutritional, sensory, and market-oriented goal. This comp...

The Evolution of Economist's Labour Market in Romania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaic-Maniu, Alexandru; Herteliu, Claudiu

2006-01-01

The modern world is undergoing a fundamental transformation characterized by a lot of challenges, dynamism, globalization, and the increasing influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). These new technologies have implications for all aspects of the society and economy; they are changing the way of doing business, the way of…

Application of Neural Network Technologies for Price Forecasting in the Liberalized Electricity Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerikh, Valentin; Kolosok, Irina; Kurbatsky, Victor; Tomin, Nikita

2009-01-01

The paper presents the results of experimental studies concerning calculation of electricity prices in different price zones in Russia and Europe. The calculations are based on the intelligent software "ANAPRO" that implements the approaches based on the modern methods of data analysis and artificial intelligence technologies.

Training and Organising People for Flexible Manufacturing. A Literature Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cesnich, Janine

Integrated or flexible manufacturing is a management strategy that integrates training and the organization of people with the modernization of hardware. It would allow Australian manufacturing organizations to produce value-added goods for niche markets and be competitive. Manufacturing organizations that identify and change their production…

How yogurt is processed

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This month’s Processing column on the theme of “How Is It Processed?” focuses on yogurt. Yogurt is known for its health-promoting properties. This column will provide a brief overview of the history of yogurt and the current market. It will also unveil both traditional and modern yogurt processing t...

Learning Competition and Business Restructuring in the Enlarging EU

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schienstock, Gerd

2004-01-01

The growing importance of learning as the key competition criterion obliges companies to undertake holistic and integrated restructuring to maintain or improve their market position. Such a renewal approach includes a focus on innovation as a strategic goal, intelligent use of modern ICT, development of decentralised organisation forms,…

Agile Bodies: A New Imperative in Neoliberal Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillies, Donald

2011-01-01

Modern business discourse suggests that a key bulwark against market fluctuation and the threat of failure is for organizations to become "agile'", a more dynamic and proactive position than that previously afforded by mere "flexibility". The same idea is also directed at the personal level, it being argued that the…

Worlds of Knowledge, Cosmologies of Skills: Ethnography Outdoors in a Neo-Liberal University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abramson, Allen

2006-01-01

This article investigates the signs that modernizing agendas in contemporary UK universities have not only reduced autonomy and marketized practices but have also stimulated the crystallization of a ramifying academic worldview, structurally consonant with neo-liberal horizons and new organizational vistas. Ethnographically, the account focuses…

Automation Training Tools of the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rehg, James

1986-01-01

Manufacturing isn't what it used to be, and the United States must ensure its position in the world trade market by educating factory workers in new automated systems. A computer manufacturing engineer outlines the training requirements of a modern workforce and details robotic training devices suitable for classroom use. (JN)

Statistics and Politics in a "Knowledge Society"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giovannini, Enrico

2008-01-01

The importance of information in economic and political processes is widely recognised by modern theories. This information, coupled with the advancements in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has changed the way in which markets and societies work. The availability of the Internet and other advanced forms of media have made…

Carbonaceous Aerosols Emitted from Light-Duty Vehicles Operating on Ethanol Fuel Blends

EPA Science Inventory

Air pollution is among the many environmental and public health concerns associated with increased ethanol use in vehicles. Jacobson [2007] showed for the U.S. market that full conversion to e85 ([85% ethanol, 15% gasoline]—the maximum standard blend used in modern dual fuel veh...

Pedagogical Strategies for Incorporating Behavioral Finance Concepts in Investment Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Michael; Mullins, Terry; Thornton, Barry

2007-01-01

The traditional approach to teaching a course in investments is predicated upon the efficient market hypothesis, modern portfolio theory, and the assumption that decision-makers are rational, wealth optimizing entities. Recent developments in the arena of behavioral finance (BF) have raised questions about this approach. Although the idea of…

Returns to ICT Skills. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 134

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falck, Oliver; Heimisch, Alexandra; Wiederhold, Simon

2016-01-01

How important is mastering information and communication technologies (ICT) in modern labour markets? We present the first evidence on this question, drawing on unique data that provide internationally comparable information on ICT skills in 19 countries from the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Our…

Two Worlds of Academic Publishing: Chemistry and German Sociology in Comparison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volkmann, Ute; Schimank, Uwe; Rost, Markus

2014-01-01

The communication infrastructure of modern science is provided by profit-oriented business firms: the publishing houses which print and distribute academic books and journals. Surprisingly, beyond some rather superficial impressions, in science studies little is known about how academic publishers work--in particular, how markets for books and…

Locating Environmental Education between Modern Capitalism and Postmodern Socialism: A Reply to Lucie Sauve.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huckle, John

1999-01-01

Claims that structural-adjustment programs, deregulation, and opening of markets may be good for international capital, but such processes increase inequalities, encourage people and countries to over-exploit natural resources, and contribute to reductions in spending on social and environmental welfare. (Author/CCM)

Essays on Environmental Economics and Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, W. Reed

A central feature of modern government is its role in designing welfare improving policies to address and correct market failures stemming from externalities and public goods. The rationale for most modern environmental regulations stems from the failure of markets to efficiently allocate goods and services. Yet, as with any policy, distributional effects are important there exist clear winners and losers. Despite the clear theoretical justification for environmental and energy policy, empirical work credibly identifying both the source and consequences of these externalities as well as the distributional effects of existing policies remains in its infancy. My dissertation focuses on the development of empirical methods to investigate the role of environmental and energy policy in addressing market failures as well as exploring the distributional implications of these policies. These questions are important not only as a justification for government intervention into markets but also for understanding how distributional consequences may shape the design and implementation of these policies. My dissertation investigates these questions in the context of programs and policies that are important in their own right. Chapters 1 and 2 of my dissertation explore the economic costs and distributional implications associated with the largest environmental regulatory program in the United States, the Clean Air Act. Chapters 3 and 4 examine the social costs of air pollution in the context of transportation externalities, showing how effective transportation policy has additional co-benefits in the form of environmental policy. My dissertation remains unified in both its subject matter and methodological approach -- using unique sources of data and sound research designs to understand important issues in environmental policy.

Interdigitated electrode (IDE) for porcine detection based on titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nordin, N.; Azizah, N.; Hashim, U., E-mail: uda@unimap.edu.my

2016-07-06

Interdigited Electrode (IDE) porcine detection can be accomplished to authenticate the halal issue that has been a concern to Muslim not only in Malaysia but all around the world. The method used is photolithography that used the p-type photoresist on the spin coater with 2500 rpm. Bare IDEs device is deposited with Titanium Dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) to improve the performance of the device. The result indicates that current-voltage (I-V) measurement of porcine probe line slightly above porcine target due to negative charges repelled each other. The IDE device can detect the porcine presence in food as lowest as 1.0 µM.more » Better performance of the device can be achieved with the replacement of gold deposited to trigger more sensitivity of the device.« less

Present state of the telecommunications market in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zielinski, Andrzej

2003-10-01

This statement shortly describes the changes in the telecommunication market that have taken place in the last 12 years, during the socio-economical transformation in Poland. It concerns economical, legal and technical problems related to the development of the telecommunications in Poland based on the principles of the market economy. Especially it is related to the commercialization of this sector, what has been a result of the changes of the principal law ruling the national economy including changes ot the telecommunication law. Changes of the law enabled the creation of the commercial company Polish Telecom and opened the way to the privatization of this company. Due to the changed law the way to the step-by-step liberalization and de-monopolization process has been also opened in Poland. It has caused fully digital modernization of telecommunication network, introduction new services such as cellular communications and Internet services, as well as rapid development of the market, what has expressed in multiplication of number of subscribers of stationary telephony, creation of the big cellular market and new increasing Internet market. The statemnet also refers to present difficulties in development of this market and as well as to the prospects for the future developments.

Federal Trade Commission's authority to regulate marketing to children: deceptive vs. unfair rulemaking.

PubMed

Pomeranz, Jennifer L

2011-01-01

Food and beverage marketing directed at children is of increasing concern to the public health and legal communities. The new administration at the Federal Trade Commission and abundant science on the topic make it a particularly opportune time for the government to reconsider regulating marketing directed at youth. This Article analyzes the Commission's authority to regulate food and beverage marketing directed at children under its jurisdiction over unfair and deceptive acts and practices to determine which avenue is most viable. The author finds that the Federal Trade Commission has the authority to regulate deceptive marketing practices directed at vulnerable populations. Although the Commission can issue individual orders, its remedial power to initiate rules would better address the pervasiveness of modern marketing practices. The Commission does not currently have the power to regulate unfair marketing to children; however, even if Congress reinstated this authority, the Commission's authority over deceptive marketing may be preferable to regulate these practices. Deceptive communications are not protected by the First Amendment and the deceptive standard matches the science associated with marketing to children. The Federal Trade Commission has the authority to initiate rulemaking in the realm of food and beverage marketing to children as deceptive communications in interstate commerce, in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act. However, to effectuate this process, Congress would need to grant the Commission the authority to do so under the Administrative Procedures Act.

Ethnic diversity deflates price bubbles

PubMed Central

Levine, Sheen S.; Apfelbaum, Evan P.; Bernard, Mark; Bartelt, Valerie L.; Zajac, Edward J.; Stark, David

2014-01-01

Markets are central to modern society, so their failures can be devastating. Here, we examine a prominent failure: price bubbles. Bubbles emerge when traders err collectively in pricing, causing misfit between market prices and the true values of assets. The causes of such collective errors remain elusive. We propose that bubbles are affected by ethnic homogeneity in the market and can be thwarted by diversity. In homogenous markets, traders place undue confidence in the decisions of others. Less likely to scrutinize others’ decisions, traders are more likely to accept prices that deviate from true values. To test this, we constructed experimental markets in Southeast Asia and North America, where participants traded stocks to earn money. We randomly assigned participants to ethnically homogeneous or diverse markets. We find a marked difference: Across markets and locations, market prices fit true values 58% better in diverse markets. The effect is similar across sites, despite sizeable differences in culture and ethnic composition. Specifically, in homogenous markets, overpricing is higher as traders are more likely to accept speculative prices. Their pricing errors are more correlated than in diverse markets. In addition, when bubbles burst, homogenous markets crash more severely. The findings suggest that price bubbles arise not only from individual errors or financial conditions, but also from the social context of decision making. The evidence may inform public discussion on ethnic diversity: it may be beneficial not only for providing variety in perspectives and skills, but also because diversity facilitates friction that enhances deliberation and upends conformity. PMID:25404313

Ethnic diversity deflates price bubbles.

PubMed

Levine, Sheen S; Apfelbaum, Evan P; Bernard, Mark; Bartelt, Valerie L; Zajac, Edward J; Stark, David

2014-12-30

Markets are central to modern society, so their failures can be devastating. Here, we examine a prominent failure: price bubbles. Bubbles emerge when traders err collectively in pricing, causing misfit between market prices and the true values of assets. The causes of such collective errors remain elusive. We propose that bubbles are affected by ethnic homogeneity in the market and can be thwarted by diversity. In homogenous markets, traders place undue confidence in the decisions of others. Less likely to scrutinize others' decisions, traders are more likely to accept prices that deviate from true values. To test this, we constructed experimental markets in Southeast Asia and North America, where participants traded stocks to earn money. We randomly assigned participants to ethnically homogeneous or diverse markets. We find a marked difference: Across markets and locations, market prices fit true values 58% better in diverse markets. The effect is similar across sites, despite sizeable differences in culture and ethnic composition. Specifically, in homogenous markets, overpricing is higher as traders are more likely to accept speculative prices. Their pricing errors are more correlated than in diverse markets. In addition, when bubbles burst, homogenous markets crash more severely. The findings suggest that price bubbles arise not only from individual errors or financial conditions, but also from the social context of decision making. The evidence may inform public discussion on ethnic diversity: it may be beneficial not only for providing variety in perspectives and skills, but also because diversity facilitates friction that enhances deliberation and upends conformity.

[History in the public communication of specialist scientific societies: history marketing].

PubMed

Moll, F H; Halling, T; Rathert, P; Fangerau, H

2014-10-01

History is nowadays used as an economic factor. The past is therefore specifically targeted and cultivated, which for specialist scientific associations and societies often fullfils totally different functions in comparison to the open market, although the techniques and requirements are similar. Within medical specialties these facts are often still unknown. Museums and archives as well as the historians and curators working in them are very familiar with the special cultures of communication within these scientific communities and they play a major role in the establishment and development of history as a modern part of public relations and public identity.

[Oral disintegrating tablets. A new, modern, solid dosage form].

PubMed

Popa, Graţiela; Gafiţanu, Eliza

2003-01-01

The pharmaceutical market shows lately an increasing interest in orally disintegrating tablets, due to their good acceptability among certain age categories (ex. elderly, children), and other patients with difficulties in swallowing classic solid dosage forms. Some of the methods of preparing such tablets have gained industrial applicability: molding, lyophilization, direct compression with highly soluble excipients, super disintegrants and/or effervescent systems. Some of the patients have had a good impact on the pharmaceutical market and more improvements are expected in the next few years, with new drugs to be formulated as fast dissolving dosage formulations.

Price-Dynamics of Shares and Bohmian Mechanics: Deterministic or Stochastic Model?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choustova, Olga

2007-02-01

We apply the mathematical formalism of Bohmian mechanics to describe dynamics of shares. The main distinguishing feature of the financial Bohmian model is the possibility to take into account market psychology by describing expectations of traders by the pilot wave. We also discuss some objections (coming from conventional financial mathematics of stochastic processes) against the deterministic Bohmian model. In particular, the objection that such a model contradicts to the efficient market hypothesis which is the cornerstone of the modern market ideology. Another objection is of pure mathematical nature: it is related to the quadratic variation of price trajectories. One possibility to reply to this critique is to consider the stochastic Bohm-Vigier model, instead of the deterministic one. We do this in the present note.

Schooling as a Rational Rite of Passage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimitrijevic, Ivan

2017-01-01

Starting from Illich's identification of the compulsory schooling process with the rational initiation rite to the modern, free-market, society, the paper aims to detach the philosophical premises this expensive and unequal ritual is grounded in. After having referred to Van Gennep's conception of the rites of passage, we shall show that the…

The Culture of Learning from Mistakes: How Employees Handle Mistakes in Everyday Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harteis, Christian; Bauer, Johannes; Gruber, Hans

2008-01-01

Workplace learning circumscribes processes leading to the development of competencies and skills through daily work. It is of increasing importance for many modern enterprises, which consider themselves as being learning organisations, to make use of the potential of their employees in order to be competitive within global markets. Dealing with…

International Aid Agencies, Learner-Centred Pedagogy and Political Democratisation: A Critique.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabulawa, Richard

2003-01-01

Since 1989, international aid agencies have shown a marked interest in and preference for learner-centered pedagogy. This change follows a shift in agency ideology from modernization theory to neoliberalism, which sees democratic social relations as a prerequisite to free-market capitalism. Thus, the pedagogy represents a process of Westernization…

Power Systems Design and Studies | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Design and Studies Power Systems Design and Studies NREL develops new tools, algorithms, and market design and performance evaluations; and planning, operations, and protection studies. Photo of two researchers looking at a screen showing a distribution grid map Current design and planning tools for the

Innovations in Higher Education. Singapore at the Competitive Edge. World Bank Technical Paper No. 222.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selvaratnam, Viswanathan

This report provides an overview of Singapore's strategy for human resource development and the country's concerted effort to successfully orchestrate the many separate initiatives between 1960s to 1980s into an effective market-driven, three-tiered higher education system emphasizing technology and modernization. The study highlights the…

Peculiarities of Design Competence Formation in Future Clothing Engineering Educators in Ukraine and Foreign Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bilyk, Victoria

2015-01-01

The importance of engineering pedagogical education for the global labour market has been characterized. The peculiarities of modern engineering pedagogical education formation in foreign countries consisting in economy globalization, transition to a high quality education and international cooperation enhancing have been presented. The essence of…

Examining Impacts of Organizational Capabilities in Information Security: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Jacqueline Huynh

2011-01-01

In today's modern business world, most organizations use information as a critical business asset to gain competitive advantage and create market value. Increasingly, an organization's ability to protect information assets plays a critical role in its ability to meet regulatory compliance requirements, increase customer trust, preserve brand…

The Impact of Image Management, Self-Justification, and Escalation of Commitment on Knowledge Development in the Marketing Discipline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharmaa, Dheeraj; Albers-Miller, Nancy D.; Pelton, Lou E.; Straughan, Robert D.

2006-01-01

The paramount role of scholarship in the modern academic environment is manifest across program accreditation, individual evaluation, and institutional reputation processes. At the microlevel, success in this domain positively influences scholars' performance evaluations and institutions' external reputations. At the macrolevel, research expands…

[The training of administration personnel for private medical organizations].

PubMed

2012-01-01

The training of administration personnel for medical institutions is an integral part of the restructuring of health care. The authors proposed a system approach during the development of business-competences needed for modem medicine to provide the corresponding level of activity in the conditions of market economy and modernization of health care system.

In the Eye of the Beholder? Conceptualizing Academic Attraction in the Global Higher Education Market

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cremonini, Leon; Antonowicz, Dominik

2009-01-01

Globalization steers modern society and contributes significantly to the internationalization of higher education. New means of transport and communication expand educational and research opportunities worldwide and higher education is becoming a blossoming global industry. It is also seen as a vital part of national policy and the national…

TCSL and TESL in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deng, Shi-zhong

2006-01-01

The recent drive of Chinese modernization and world globalization has caused the rapid development of TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language) and there are currently 300 million ESL (English as a Second Language) students in China. At the same time, due to similar forces and China's market economy reform, more and more foreigners are…

Entre Nous: A Tutorial Approach to the Teaching of Business French.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaisson, Arthur P.

Suffolk University (Massachusetts) has developed a degree program in international marketing in French and Spanish that links curricula in the economics department and the department of humanities and modern languages. Language tutorials are mandatory for students in the international economics major. The tutorials are taught by native French- and…

Design Implications of Real-Time Feedback in Continuous Combinatorial Auctions: An Experimental Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanyal, Pallab

2009-01-01

Information Technology (IT) has spawned the growth of novel and innovative market mechanisms (such as online auctions) and associated businesses (such as eBay and Priceline) that were not feasible without the capabilities and reach of these modern information technologies. Previous studies on designing trading mechanisms for online markets…

The East India Company: Agent of Empire in the Early Modern Capitalist Era

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunton, Bruce

2013-01-01

The world economy and political map changed dramatically between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Unprecedented trade linked the continents together and set off a European scramble to discover new resources and markets. European ships and merchants reached across the world, and their governments followed after them, inaugurating the…

Mobile Business Retailing: Driving Experiential Learning on Campus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischbach, Sarah; Guerrero, Veronica

2018-01-01

Engaging students in the classroom is a struggle all faculty face especially in the age of modern technology. This article proposes a novel approach to engage and motivate students through the mobile business "on wheels" marketing concept. The growth in mobile business retailing (e.g., food trucks, mobile dog groomers, etc.) is an…

Solar Integration National Dataset Toolkit | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

system with them. As system topology, operation practices, and electrics power markets evolve, system data sets (for solar, wind, and load, among others) that accurately represent system conditions. For injection into the power system at each location. Related Publications NREL Develops Sub-Hour Solar Power

Liquid Modernity: Exploring the Research Contract Nexus within Contemporary Scottish Political Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holligan, Chris

2013-01-01

This paper contributes to our understanding of a supposed free-market in research, where knowledge-transfer is to government, which then brokers the evidence into professional fields. Education research contracts are put out to tender by Scottish Government and a constellation of factors constructing this phenomenon has epistemological and…

75 FR 81685 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-28

... confusing or duplicative language and unnecessary references to terms or systems that are now obsolete. The... confusing or duplicative language and unnecessary references to terms or systems that are now obsolete. By... designed to modernize and strengthen the national market system for equities and replace the outdated...

Students' Experiences with Popular Music: The Case of Beijing, China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Wai-Chung

2016-01-01

Since the 1980s, the establishment of a socialist market economy has quickened the pace of China's economic development; at the same time, increased modernization and globalization have influenced, to varying degrees, the development of music and music education. With reference to 12 secondary schools in Beijing, this empirical study examines…

Human Capital, Social Classes, and the Earnings Determination Process in Brazilian Agriculture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neves, Jorge A.; Haller, Archibald O.; Fernandes, Danielle C.

This paper examines the process of earnings determination in the agricultural sector of Brazil. Among the main causal factors analyzed are human capital (education and work experience), labor market segmentation, gender, social class position, level of development/modernization, and concentration of land ownership. Data on individuals employed in…

Capitalism in Six Westerns by John Ford

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braun, Carlos Rodriguez

2011-01-01

The economic and institutional analysis of capitalism can be illustrated through John Ford's Westerns. This article focuses on six classics by Ford that show the move toward modern order, the creation of a new society, and the rule of law. Economic features are pervading, from property rights and contracts to markets, money, and trade. Ford has…

The Modern Cult of Efficiency: Intermediary Organizations and the New Scientific Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trujillo, Tina

2014-01-01

This article analyzes one intermediary organization. It draws on critical policy studies to frame the agency's behaviors amid a discourse of managerialism in the public sector, and critical studies of education markets to explain the relationships between its reforms and education policy. Findings illustrate how the intermediary enacted…

Markets, Marx, Modernity and Mathematics Education: A Response to Michael Apple.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gates, Peter

This paper is a response to Michael Apple's paper, "What Postmodernists Forget: Cultural Capital and Official Knowledge." The paper advocates Michael's identification of the current dangers and processes of the growth of new right ideologies in the development of subjectivity, society, and education. The differences in success in the education…

Embracing Technology: Learning a Foreign Language in Multimedia Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shen, Hui Zhong

2003-01-01

Examines the experience of two young children learning Modern Standard Chinese (MSC) through playing in an unstructured home situation. Reports findings of their interaction with the software "The Language market." he research is the first phase of a longitudinal study of two young children learning MSC in a multimedia learning environment.…

Young People's Transitions in London and Temporal Orientations of Agency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitagawa, Kaori; Encinas, Mabel

2014-01-01

This article presents findings from the Changing Youth Labour Markets and Schools to Work Transitions in Modern Britain projects undertaken between 2009 and 2010. The projects examined young people's experiences and perceptions about study, work, and the future while going through transitions. The target group was young people on vocational…

Personal and Social Development in Post-compulsory Education in the UK and Mexico.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Christopher

1996-01-01

Compares the role of post-compulsory technical education in less developed countries and in developed market economies. Argues that England, by displacing education with skill accreditation, has turned the student into an object of economic policy. Mexico remains focused on a crude program designed to "modernize" the "ignorant"…

Energy Systems Integration Newsletter - December 2016 | Energy Systems

Science.gov Websites

in New NSF Big Data Project for Smart Grids NREL is participating in a National Science Foundation control features of modern wind turbine generators. Frew presented research on wholesale market design and industry research. Previous work was cited in numerous European studies, and ERGIS was mentioned as an

What does modern technology portend for uneven-aged southern pine silviculture?

Treesearch

Don C. Bragg; Michael G. Shelton; James M. Guldin; Ernest Lovett

2004-01-01

Recent changes in forest technology and market influences may impede the practice of uneven-aged (LEA) silviculture. For example, the use of tree-length systems with mechanized harvesters can unacceptably reduce the density of advanced regeneration, making it difficult to maintain the desired size class distribution. Changes to tree utilization standards, limited...

South African Academia in Crisis: The Spread of "Contrived Collegial Managerialism"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, B.

2006-01-01

In 1999, on the eve of rationalisation of South African higher education, J. M. Coetzee published a book entitled "Disgrace". In this publication he narrates the tale of a Classics and Modern Languages professor transformed into an adjunct professor of Communications, a marketable identity, as a consequence of rationalisation. Coetzee,…

Translation to success of surgical innovation.

PubMed

Vecht, Joshua A; von Segesser, Ludwig Karl; Ashrafian, Hutan; Rao, Christopher; Skapinakis, Petros; Saso, Srdjan; Darzi, Ara; Athanasiou, Thanos

2010-03-01

Contemporary thoracic and cardiovascular surgery uses extensive equipment and devices to enable its performance. As the specialties develop and new frontiers are crossed, the technology needs to advance in a parallel fashion. Strokes of genius or problem-solving brain-storming may generate great ideas, but the metamorphosis of an idea into a physical functioning tool requires a lot more than just a thinking process. A modern surgical device is the end-point of a sophisticated, complicated and potentially treacherous route, which incorporates new skills and knowledge acquisition. Processes including technology transfer, commercialisation, corporate and product development, intellectual property and regulatory routes all play pivotal roles in this voyage. Many good ideas may fall by the wayside for a multitude of reasons as they may not be marketable or may be badly marketed. In this article, we attempt to illuminate the components required in the process of surgical innovation, which we believe must remain in the remit of the modern-day thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon. Copyright (c) 2009 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keeping the doctor in the loop: Ayurvedic pharmaceuticals in Kerala.

PubMed

Kudlu, Chithprabha

2016-12-01

Ethnographic inquiry into Ayurvedic commodification in Kerala revealed the prevalence of a distinct regional pharmaceutical market dominated by physician-manufacturers, oriented towards supplying classical medicines to Ayurvedic doctors. This stands in sharp contrast to mainstream Ayurveda that is observed to have undergone biomedicalization and pharmaceuticalization. This paper argues that Kerala's classical-medicine-centric pharmaceutical market constitutes an alternative modernity because it provided Kerala Ayurveda with a different route to modernization impervious to the biomedical regime, as well as endowing it with the institutional power to safeguard its regional identity. Although physician-entrepreneurs are its key architects, it is sustained by value regimes shaped by a unique regional medico-cultural milieu. Even when industrially produced, classical medicines remain embedded within Ayurveda's socio-technical network; unlike proprietary drugs sold as individual product-identities through non-Ayurvedic channels, they travel together as a pharmacopeia, distributed through exclusive doctor-mediated agencies. This clinic-centric distribution format is best conceptualized as an open-source business model as it made low-margin generics viable by packaging them with therapies and services. Besides ensuring better access and affordability, it provided resistance to pharmaceuticalization and intellectual property concentration. By keeping the doctor in the loop, it prevented medicines from degenerating into de-contextualized commodities; the service component of Ayurveda therein preserved went on become the unique selling point in the health-tourism market. The tourism-inspired proliferation of Brand Kerala eventually triggered a paradigm shift in mainstream Ayurveda - shifting focus from 'pharmaceuticals' to 'services' and from 'illness' to 'wellness'. Furthermore, interacting with hybrid Ayurvedas in transnational markets, Kerala Ayurveda co-produces new alterities countervailing the structurally dominant biomedical paradigm.

Market Integration Predicts Human Gut Microbiome Attributes across a Gradient of Economic Development

PubMed Central

Cepon-Robins, Tara J.; Liebert, Melissa A.; Gildner, Theresa E.; Urlacher, Samuel S.; Madimenos, Felicia C.; Guillemin, Karen; Snodgrass, J. Josh; Sugiyama, Lawrence S.; Bohannan, Brendan J. M.

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Economic development is marked by dramatic increases in the incidence of microbiome-associated diseases, such as autoimmune diseases and metabolic syndromes, but the lifestyle changes that drive alterations in the human microbiome are not known. We measured market integration as a proxy for economically related lifestyle attributes, such as ownership of specific market goods that index degree of market integration and components of traditional and nontraditional (more modern) house structure and infrastructure, and profiled the fecal microbiomes of 213 participants from a contiguous, indigenous Ecuadorian population. Despite relatively modest differences in lifestyle across the population, greater economic development correlated with significantly lower within-host diversity, higher between-host dissimilarity, and a decrease in the relative abundance of the bacterium Prevotella. These microbiome shifts were most strongly associated with more modern housing, followed by reduced ownership of traditional subsistence lifestyle-associated items. IMPORTANCE Previous research has reported differences in the gut microbiome between populations residing in wealthy versus poorer countries, leading to the assertion that lifestyle changes associated with economic development promote changes in the gut microbiome that promote the proliferation of microbiome-associated diseases. However, a direct relationship between economic development and the gut microbiome has not previously been shown. We surveyed the gut microbiomes of a single indigenous population undergoing economic development and found significant associations between features of the gut microbiome and lifestyle changes associated with economic development. These findings suggest that even the earliest stages of economic development can drive changes in the gut microbiome, which may provide a warning sign for the development of microbiome-associated diseases. PMID:29507896

Preliminary Evaluation of Slaughter Value and Carcass Composition of Indigenous Sheep and Goats from Traditional Production System in Tanzania

PubMed Central

Shija, Dismas S.; Mtenga, Louis A.; Kimambo, Abiliza E.; Laswai, Germana H.; Mushi, Daniel E.; Mgheni, Dynes M.; Mwilawa, Angello J.; Shirima, Eligy J. M.; Safari, John G.

2013-01-01

The aim of the pilot study was to evaluate slaughter characteristics and carcass composition of indigenous long fat tailed sheep and Small East African goats purchased from the auction markets slaughtered at 1.5 to 2 yrs of age and 20 kg to 25 kg live weight. The animals were slaughtered according to halal standard procedures. The left half carcasses were jointed into eight wholesale joints, and dissected into muscles, fat and bone, which were weighed separately. Sheep had greater (p<0.05) slaughter BW (22.29 kg vs 20.50 kg) and empty BW (20.17 kg vs 18.67 kg) than goats (p<0.05). Dressing percentages were lower (p<0.001) in sheep than goats when carcass weight was expressed as percentage of slaughter BW (42.31% and 47.15%) and empty BW (46.75% and 51.79%). Sheep carcasses had lower (p<0.001) proportion (66.18% vs 71.64%) of muscles and higher (p<0.001) proportion of fat (7.41% vs 3.44%) than goat carcasses. Sheep had proportionally lighter (p<0.001) shoulder (18.89% vs 22.68%) and heavier (p<0.05) proportion of chump (7.916% vs 6.76%) and main rib (8.12% vs 7.07%). Sheep had more (p<0.001) muscles in the leg (28.83% vs 27.08%) and main rib (7.62% vs 6.36%) than goats. Sheep had less (p<0.001) muscles (20.28% vs 23.56%) in shoulder joints when expressed as percentage of total muscle of carcasses. It is concluded that there are differences in sheep and goat both in terms of carcass and joint yields and composition. The present study also implies that there is need to consider setting different meat cuts and prices for these cuts when one takes into account the differences in muscle distribution within joints in sheep and goats. PMID:25049717

An Integrated Design approach to Power Systems: from Power Flows to Electricity Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bose, Subhonmesh

Power system is at the brink of change. Engineering needs, economic forces and environmental factors are the main drivers of this change. The vision is to build a smart electrical grid and a smarter market mechanism around it to fulfill mandates on clean energy. Looking at engineering and economic issues in isolation is no longer an option today; it needs an integrated design approach. In this thesis, I shall revisit some of the classical questions on the engineering operation of power systems that deals with the nonconvexity of power flow equations. Then I shall explore some issues of the interaction of these power flow equations on the electricity markets to address the fundamental issue of market power in a deregulated market environment. Finally, motivated by the emergence of new storage technologies, I present an interesting result on the investment decision problem of placing storage over a power network. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that modern optimization and game theory can provide unique insights into this complex system. Some of the ideas carry over to applications beyond power systems.

Understanding the devaluation of vulnerable groups: A novel application of Institutional Anomie Theory.

PubMed

Hövermann, Andreas; Groß, Eva M; Zick, Andreas; Messner, Steven F

2015-07-01

Prejudices legitimize the discrimination against groups by declaring them to be of unequal, especially of less, worth. This legitimizing power is highly relevant in social conflicts of modern societies that are governed by market-oriented value systems. However, prejudice research has yet to be linked to sociological discourses on the marketization of society. We argue that Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT), a theory originally developed to explain crime rates, offers a fruitful macro-sociological framework for a better understanding of micro-social prejudices that emerge along with processes of marketization. Extending IAT to explain prejudices in a German study based on survey data offers a first attempt to underpin our theoretical hypotheses with empirical data. Although the results need to be interpreted with due caution, they suggest that the extended IAT model can be usefully applied to explain how a marketized mentality is related to different forms of institutional integration, and how it is conducive to specific prejudices that emerge in market-dominated societies against purported economically burdening social groups. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

UNDERSTANDING THE DEVALUATION OF VULNERABLE GROUPS: A NOVEL APPLICATION OF INSTITUTIONAL ANOMIE THEORY

PubMed Central

Groß, Eva M.; Zick, Andreas; Messner, Steven F.

2015-01-01

Prejudices legitimize the discrimination against groups by declaring them to be of unequal, especially of less, worth. This legitimizing power is highly relevant in social conflicts of modern societies that are governed by market-oriented value systems. However, prejudice research has yet to be linked to sociological discourses on the marketization of society. We argue that Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT), a theory originally developed to explain crime rates, offers a fruitful macro-sociological framework for a better understanding of micro-social prejudices that emerge along with processes of marketization. Extending IAT to explain prejudices in a German study based on survey data offers a first attempt to underpin our theoretical hypotheses with empirical data. Although the results need to be interpreted with due caution, they suggest that the extended IAT model can be usefully applied to explain how a marketized mentality is related to different forms of institutional integration, and how it is conducive to specific prejudices that emerge in market-dominated societies against purported economically burdening social groups. PMID:26004470

An Application on Merton Model in the Non-efficient Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yanan; Xiao, Qingxian

Merton Model is one of the famous credit risk models. This model presumes that the only source of uncertainty in equity prices is the firm’s net asset value .But the above market condition holds only when the market is efficient which is often been ignored in modern research. Another, the original Merton Model is based on assumptions that in the event of default absolute priority holds, renegotiation is not permitted , liquidation of the firm is costless and in the Merton Model and most of its modified version the default boundary is assumed to be constant which don’t correspond with the reality. So these can influence the level of predictive power of the model. In this paper, we have made some extensions on some of these assumptions underlying the original model. The model is virtually a modification of Merton’s model. In a non-efficient market, we use the stock data to analysis this model. The result shows that the modified model can evaluate the credit risk well in the non-efficient market.

Modeling of market segmentation for new IT product development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasiopoulos, Dimitrios K.; Sakas, Damianos P.; Vlachos, D. S.; Mavrogianni, Amanda

2015-02-01

Businesses from all Information Technology sectors use market segmentation[1] in their product development[2] and strategic planning[3]. Many studies have concluded that market segmentation is considered as the norm of modern marketing. With the rapid development of technology, customer needs are becoming increasingly diverse. These needs can no longer be satisfied by a mass marketing approach and follow one rule. IT Businesses can face with this diversity by pooling customers[4] with similar requirements and buying behavior and strength into segments. The result of the best choices about which segments are the most appropriate to serve can then be made, thus making the best of finite resources. Despite the attention which segmentation gathers and the resources that are invested in it, growing evidence suggests that businesses have problems operationalizing segmentation[5]. These problems take various forms. There may have been a rule that the segmentation process necessarily results in homogeneous groups of customers for whom appropriate marketing programs and procedures for dealing with them can be developed. Then the segmentation process, that a company follows, can fail. This increases concerns about what causes segmentation failure and how it might be overcome. To prevent the failure, we created a dynamic simulation model of market segmentation[6] based on the basic factors leading to this segmentation.

Regulatory science requirements of labeling of genetically modified food.

PubMed

Moghissi, A Alan; Jaeger, Lisa M; Shafei, Dania; Bloom, Lindsey L

2018-05-01

This paper provides an overview of the evolution of food labeling in the USA. It briefly describes the three phases of agricultural development consisting of naturally occurring, cross-bred, and genetically engineered, edited or modified crops, otherwise known as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). It uses the Best Available Regulatory Science (BARS) and Metrics for Evaluation of Regulatory Science Claims (MERSC) to evaluate the scientific validity of claims applicable to GMO and the Best Available Public Information (BAPI) to evaluate the pronouncements by public media and others. Subsequently claims on health risk, ecological risk, consumer choice, and corporate greed are evaluated based on BARS/MERSC and BAPI. The paper concludes by suggesting that labeling of food containing GMO should consider the consumer's choice, such as the food used by those who desire kosher and halal food. Furthermore, the consumer choice is already met by the exclusion of GMO in organic food.

Evaluation of Catalytic Effects of Chymotrypsin and Cu2+ for Development of UV-Spectroscopic Method for Gelatin-Source Differentiation

PubMed Central

Hamizah, Anis; Asiyanbi-H, Tawakalit Tope; Mirghani, Mohamed Elwathig Saeed; Jaswir, Irwandi; Ahamad Fadzillah, Nurrulhidayah binti

2017-01-01

The consumers interest in gelatin authentication is high due to allergic reactions and adoption of Halal and Kosher eating cultures. This research investigated browning development due to enzymatic hydrolysis and presence of Cu2+ during Maillard reaction of fish, porcine, and bovine gelatin. The rate of browning index samples showed two phases—rapid and slow—for all the gelatin samples and changes in browning index (ΔBindex) were increased (>100%) in presence of Cu2+. ΔBindex of enzymatic hydrolysates were different among the gelatin species. Fish gelatin hydrolyzate displayed > 400% increase in browning in the first six hours compared to gelatin hydrolyzates from porcine (200%) and bovine (140%). The variation in ΔBindex of chymotrypsin digested gelatin in presence of Cu2+ could be valuable for the development of an efficient UV-spectroscopic method for gelatin differentiation. PMID:29119103

Evaluation of Catalytic Effects of Chymotrypsin and Cu2+ for Development of UV-Spectroscopic Method for Gelatin-Source Differentiation.

PubMed

Hamizah, Anis; Hammed, Ademola Monsur; Asiyanbi-H, Tawakalit Tope; Mirghani, Mohamed Elwathig Saeed; Jaswir, Irwandi; Ahamad Fadzillah, Nurrulhidayah Binti

2017-01-01

The consumers interest in gelatin authentication is high due to allergic reactions and adoption of Halal and Kosher eating cultures. This research investigated browning development due to enzymatic hydrolysis and presence of Cu 2+ during Maillard reaction of fish, porcine, and bovine gelatin. The rate of browning index samples showed two phases-rapid and slow-for all the gelatin samples and changes in browning index (Δ B index ) were increased (>100%) in presence of Cu 2+ . Δ B index of enzymatic hydrolysates were different among the gelatin species. Fish gelatin hydrolyzate displayed > 400% increase in browning in the first six hours compared to gelatin hydrolyzates from porcine (200%) and bovine (140%). The variation in Δ B index of chymotrypsin digested gelatin in presence of Cu 2+ could be valuable for the development of an efficient UV-spectroscopic method for gelatin differentiation.

Polymerase chain reaction assay targeting cytochrome b gene for the detection of dog meat adulteration in meatball formulation.

PubMed

Rahman, Md Mahfujur; Ali, Md Eaqub; Hamid, Sharifah Bee Abd; Mustafa, Shuhaimi; Hashim, Uda; Hanapi, Ummi Kalthum

2014-08-01

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the assessment of dog meat adulteration in meatballs was developed. The assay selectively amplified a 100-bp region of canine mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from pure, raw, processed and mixed backgrounds. The specificity of the assay was tested against 11 animals and 3 plants species, commonly available for meatball formulation. The stability of the assay was proven under extensively autoclaving conditions that breakdown target DNA. A blind test from ready to eat chicken and beef meatballs showed that the assay can repeatedly detect 0.2% canine meat tissues under complex matrices using 0.04 ng of dog DNA extracted from differentially treated meatballs. The simplicity, stability and sensitivity of the assay suggested that it could be used in halal food industry for the authentication of canine derivatives in processed foods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of microbial spoilage and lipid and protein oxidation in rabbit meat.

PubMed

Nakyinsige, K; Sazili, A Q; Aghwan, Z A; Zulkifli, I; Goh, Y M; Abu Bakar, F; Sarah, S A

2015-10-01

This experiment aimed to determine microbial spoilage and lipid and protein oxidation during aerobic refrigerated (4°C) storage of rabbit meat. Forty male New Zealand white rabbits were slaughtered according to the Halal slaughter procedure. The hind limbs were used for microbial analysis while the Longissimus lumborum m. was used for determination of lipid and protein oxidation. Bacterial counts generally increased with aging time and the limit for fresh meat (10(8)cfu/g) was reached at d 7 postmortem. Significant differences in malondialdehyde content were observed after 3d of storage. The thiol concentration significantly decreased with increase in aging time. The band intensities of myosin heavy chain and troponin T significantly reduced with increased refrigerated storage while actin remained relatively stable. This study thus proposes protein oxidation as a potential deteriorative change in refrigerated rabbit meat along with microbial spoilage and lipid oxidation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Codependence in Péter Hajnóczy's novella Death rode out of Persia].

PubMed

Marjai, Kamilla

2015-01-01

It is assumed that in connection with literature the artistic product generates interaction between the creator and the recipient, as in the all other cases of art. The formation of a writing leads to the birth of the reading, while the reader creates a new quality weaving artistic literature into a subjective context, this is how the so-called "personal reading" springs into existence. The Death rode out of Persia (A halal kilovagolt Perzsiabol) written by Peter Hajnoczy - which is about the everyday life of a man suffering from alcoholism -facilitates not only the formation of a subjective reading based on emotional impressions, but also provokes the formation of an analytic reading which reflects on the phenomena of addiction and the loss of control. This kind of focused analysis claims to let the particular art product and the professional literature of addictology meet on the field of alcoholism and codependence.

Cyberspace modernization. An interest protocol planning advisory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Keliiaa, Curtis M.; McLane, Victor N.

A common challenge across the communications and information technology (IT) sectors is Internet + modernization + complexity + risk + cost. Cyberspace modernization and cyber security risks, issues, and concerns impact service providers, their customers, and the industry at large. Public and private sectors are struggling to solve the problem. New service opportunities lie in mobile voice, video, and data, and machine-to-machine (M2M) information and communication technologies that are migrating not only to predominant Internet Protocol (IP) communications, but also concurrently integrating IP, version 4 (IPv4) and IP, version 6 (IPv6). With reference to the Second Internet and the Internetmore » of Things, next generation information services portend business survivability in the changing global market. The planning, architecture, and design information herein is intended to increase infrastructure preparedness, security, interoperability, resilience, and trust in the midst of such unprecedented change and opportunity. This document is a product of Sandia National Laboratories Tribal Cyber and IPv6 project work. It is a Cyberspace Modernization objective advisory in support of bridging the digital divide through strategic partnership and an informed path forward.« less

Romantic Rhetoric, Revisionist Reality: The Effectiveness of Regulation in Maritime Education and Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sampson, Helen

2004-01-01

This article offers an insight into the regulation and conduct of training and education in a globalised industry, and across an international labour market. Focusing on the cargo shipping sector of the maritime industry, it considers the provision of training and education for modern merchant officers within the context of an international…

Contesting Ideologies and the Struggle for Equality: Reconsidering the Politics of Education in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomlin, Hannah

2016-01-01

As international standards are continually publicized, countries across the globe have adapted educational policies to meet the demands of the global market, which has led to much emphasis on specific subjects and teaching methods. Although modern educational policies tend to focus on rhetoric about inclusion, systematic segregation remains in…

The Efficiency of Higher Education Institutions as a Basis for Forming Competent Personnel for Region Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sezonova, Olga N.; Galchenko, Svetlana A.; Khodirevskaya, Valentina N.

2016-01-01

The modern market relations open provide new opportunities of development for higher educational institutions, however the majority of universities aren't ready for effective and independent business management yet. At the turn of the 21st century many educational institutions faced such problems as scarcity of federal financing, fundamental…

Restoring Fiscal Discipline for Poverty Reduction in Peru: A Public Expenditure Review. A World Bank Country Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopez-Calix, Jose; Melo, Alberto

Since his inauguration in July 2001, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has proposed to take actions in the areas of macroeconomic stabilization; reopening of country's access to international financial markets; budget modernization and state decentralization; social policy; revamping of the armed forces, police, and internal security services;…

Advertising and the Public Interest. A Staff Report to the Federal Trade Commission.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, John A.; Hulbert, James

The advertising industry in the United States is thoroughly analyzed in this comprehensive report. The report was prepared mostly from the transcripts of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) hearings on Modern Advertising Practices. The basic structure of the industry as well as its role in marketing strategy is reviewed and some interesting…

University Education and Professional Profile of Chemists: Tradition and Modernity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silva, Joyce Mary Adam de Paula

This study examined the education of chemistry professionals in Brazil in light of the profile of such professionals in the current job market. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 chemists employed by two foreign and one domestic companies in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The chemists were graduates of the three major universities…

Educational-Methodical Projects for Students' Intellectual Competences Formation: The Imperative Goal of the Educational Process of the University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kutuev, Ruslan A.; Kudyasheva, Albina N.; Buldakova, Natalya V.; Aleksandrova, Natalia S.; Vasilenko, Alexandra S.

2016-01-01

The research urgency is caused by the tendencies of the modern information society which produces and consumes intelligence, knowledge and competences as the main educational product of labor market. These trends fundamentally alter the methodological basis of the educational process of the University, subjecting it to imperative goals: the…

Policies to Create and Destroy Human Capital in Europe. NBER Working Paper No. 15742

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heckman, James J.; Jacobs, Bas

2010-01-01

Trends in skill bias and greater turbulence in modern labor markets put wages and employment prospects of unskilled workers under pressure. Weak incentives to utilize and maintain skills over the life-cycle become manifest with the ageing of the population. Policies to promote human capital formation reduce welfare state dependency among the…

Dilemmas in the Legal Treatment of the Status of People Living with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laki, Ildikó; Tóth, László

2015-01-01

The legal treatment of disability affairs carries in itself an inherent contradiction due to the nature of modern society and free-market economy. On the one hand both the historically developed notions of essentialism and on the other the particular-functional definition of manhood drawing its roots from the established democratic order and…

Making "Good" Choices: The Impact of Entitlement Models on Upskilling Later in Life. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polidano, Cain; van de Ven, Justin; Voitchovsky, Sarah

2017-01-01

Tailoring education policy to deliver the skills needed by modern labour markets is complicated by the rapid pace of technological change. These complications are amplified when the associated risks of technological redundancy and the lengthening working lifetimes are taken into account. At the heart of the challenge for policy-makers is…

Integration of Pedagogical and Technological Knowledge in Forming Meta-Competencies of a Modern Worker

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sopegina, Vera T.; Chapaev, Nikolay K.; Simonova, Marina V.

2016-01-01

The relevance of the problem under study is based on the society, economy and job market's demand for workers who possess meta-competencies: comprehensive knowledge, free and critical thinking, readiness for using personal approach in work and establishing the strategy of professional and personal development, as well as capacity for…

Competition for Private and State School Teachers. CEE DP 94

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Francis; Machin, Stephen; Murphy, Richard; Zhu, Yu

2010-01-01

Private schools have historically played an important role in the reproduction of the ruling classes in Britain. They continue to do so, but there is surprisingly little modern research as to how these schools impinge on the economy. In this paper we analyse the role of independent schools in the teachers' labour market. Teacher shortages in…

Human Identities and Nation Building: Comparative Analysis, Markets, and the Modern University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callejo Pérez, David; Hernández Ulloa, Abel; Martínez Ruiz, Xicoténcatl

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to discuss the dilemma of the multi-university in sustainable education, research, and outreach by addressing some of the ways in which universities, must generate actions that seek to address these challenges, develop strategic relationships, and maximize their potential in the areas of teaching, research and…

Burlington Industries: Modernize or Perish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honeycutt, Earl D., Jr.

2013-01-01

In the 1960s, Burlington Industries was the largest textile firm in the world, and in 1973 the U. S. textile industry employed more than 1 million workers. Dynamic change came to the textile industry beginning in the 1960s, and in 2001 Burlington Industries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This case traces the dynamics of the market and the…

The Interventionary State in China and Programs and Curricula at a Chinese Vocational University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ding, Anning; Levin, John S.

2007-01-01

Through case study methods, we examine a vocational university in China to ascertain if and the extent to which industrial modernization, the global economy and economic market forces, and state planning have altered this institution. We focus specifically upon a vocational university in China, as these institutions comprise the newest higher…

Enclosure Then and Now: Rural Schools and Communities in the Wake of Market-Driven Agriculture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Theobald, Paul; Rochon, Ronald S.

2006-01-01

The following is an historically-based analysis of a new phenomenon affecting rural schools and communities: animal confinement operations. A contrast is made between "enclosure" as it unfolded in England a few centuries ago and the way animal concentration units constitute a second, "modern" form of enclosure today. In both…

Supporting Friendly Atmosphere in a Classroom by Technology Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lukaš, Mirko

2014-01-01

Extremely rapid development of information technology and the lack of monopoly in the technological market have resulted in a sudden price reduction of the informatic equipment and gadgets enabling them to be used in all segments of a human life, hence the education as well. In the modern, digital era it is almost impossible to make any…

Modern Campuses, Local Connections and Unconventional Symbols: Promotional Practises in the Canadian Community College Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pizarro Milian, Roger

2016-01-01

Canadian community colleges operate within a trying market environment. They compete against a diversified group of post-secondary institutions, ranging from small and relatively unknown for-profit vocational colleges to larger and more prestigious public universities. To date, there has been no effort to empirically examine how Canadian community…

Social Insurance as a Collective Resource: Unemployment Benefits, Job Insecurity and Subjective Well-Being in a Comparative Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sjoberg, Ola

2010-01-01

This article argues that unemployment benefits are providing a crucial but often overlooked function by reducing the insecurity associated with modern labor markets. Because job insecurity is associated with concerns about future financial security, economic support during unemployment may lessen the negative effects of job insecurity on employed…

The Dowry System in Northern India: Women's Attitudes and Social Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Srinivasan, Padma; Lee, Gary R.

2004-01-01

In spite of modernization and women's increasing role in the market economy, the practice of the dowry in India is becoming more widespread, and the value of dowries is increasing. There are many well-documented adverse consequences of the dowry system, particularly for women. This is a study of attitudes toward the dowry system among married…

Technology Prospecting on Enzymes: Application, Marketing and Engineering

PubMed Central

Li, Shuang; Yang, Xiaofeng; Yang, Shuai; Zhu, Muzi; Wang, Xiaoning

2012-01-01

Enzymes are protein molecules functioning as specialized catalysts for chemical reactions. They have contributed greatly to the traditional and modern chemical industry by improving existing processes. In this article, we first give a survey of representative industrial applications of enzymes, focusing on the technical applications, feed industry, food processing and cosmetic products. The recent important developments and applications of enzymes in industry are reviewed. Then large efforts are dedicated to the worldwide enzyme market from the demand and production perspectives. Special attention is laid on the Chinese enzyme market. Although enzyme applications are being developed in full swing, breakthroughs are needed to overcome their weaknesses in maintaining activities during the catalytic processes. Strategies of metagomic analysis, cell surface display technology and cell-free system might give valuable solutions in novel enzyme exploiting and enzyme engineering. PMID:24688658

Smart Meter Rollout: Intelligente Messsysteme als Schnittstelle zum Kunden im Smart Grid und Smart Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vortanz, Karsten; Zayer, Peter

Das Gesetz zur Digitalisierung der Energiewende ist verabschiedet. Ab 2017 sind moderne Messeinrichtungen (mME) und intelligente Messsysteme (iMSys) zu verbauen und zu betreiben. Der "deutsche Weg" für die Einführung von Smart Metern sieht einen stufenweisen Rollout sowie ein Höchstmaß an Informations- und Datensicherheit vor. Dabei spielen iMSys und mME eine wichtige Rolle bei der Neugestaltung der intelligenten Netze (Smart Grids) und des neuen Marktmodells (Smart Market). Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit den neuen Gesetzen, den Marktrollen und ihren Aufgaben, Datenschutz und Datensicherheit, dem iMSys als sichere Lösung, dem sicheren Betrieb von Smart Meter Gateways, Smart Grid - Smart Market, dem Zusammenspiel zwischen reguliertem Bereich und Markt, den Einsatzbereichen der iMSys sowie den Auswirkungen auf Prozesse und Systeme und gibt Handlungsempfehlungen.

Market transition, educational disparities, and family strategies in rural China: new evidence on gender stratification and development.

PubMed

Hannum, Emily

2005-05-01

Two theoretical perspectives have dominated debates about the impact of development on gender stratification: modernization theory, which argues that gender inequalities decline with economic growth, and the "women in development" perspective, which argues that development may initially widen gender gaps. Analyzing cross-sectional surveys and time-series data from China, this article indicates the relevance of both perspectives: while girls' educational opportunities were clearly more responsive than boys' to better household economic circumstances, the era of market transition in the late 1970s and early 1980s failed to accelerate and, in fact, may have temporarily slowed progress toward gender equity.

From naughty goods to Nicole Miller: medicine and the marketing of American contraceptives.

PubMed

Tone, Andrea

2006-06-01

In the rich history of modern pharmaceutical advertising in the United States, few medical objects have been as controversial as contraceptives. Condemned in the 1870s as lascivious devices whose commercial visibility would tarnish female sexual purity, contraceptives have in the late twentieth century been repackaged by pharmaceutical companies as the smart, progressive, and fashion-conscious woman's ally. This article explores evolving perspectives on the place of birth control in public spaces from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. In so doing, it elucidates the changes and continuities in the long and contested history of marketing, medicine, sexuality, and reproductive control.

Technological renovation of thermal power plants as a long-term check factor of electricity price growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veselov, F. V.; Novikova, T. V.; Khorshev, A. A.

2015-12-01

The paper focuses on economic aspects of the Russian thermal generation sector's renovation in a competitive market environment. Capabilities of the existing competitive electricity and capacity pricing mechanisms, created during the wholesale market reform, to ensure the wide-scale modernization of thermal power plants (TPPs) are estimated. Some additional stimulating measures to focus the investment process on the renovation of the thermal generation sector are formulated, and supplementing and supporting costs are assessed. Finally, the systemic effect of decelerating wholesale electricity prices caused by efficiency improvements at thermal power plants is analyzed depending on the scales of renovation and fuel prices.

How Picky Eating Becomes an Illness-Marketing Nutrient-Enriched Formula Milk in a Chinese Society.

PubMed

Mak, Veronica Sau-Wa

2017-01-01

The essential adaptive food selection behavior of young children has become increasingly medicalized as a kind of disease-the "picky-eating" syndrome in Hong Kong. The researcher used the multiple case studies approach with data collected from in-depth interviews and advertisements to examine the process of the medicalization of picky-eating disorder, which demonstrates how an essential adaptive human behavior can be redefined by the market and medical system as a deviant, abnormal behavior that needs to be eliminated and how the resulting health risks can be resolved by modern medicine produced by this pharmaceutical nexus.

Evaluation of Market Design Agents: The Mertacor Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stavrogiannis, Lampros C.; Mitkas, Pericles A.

The annual Trading Agent Competition for Market Design, CAT, provides a testbed to study the mechanisms that modern stock exchanges use in their effort to attract potential traders while maximizing their profit. This paper presents an evaluation of the agents that participated in the 2008 competition. The evaluation is based on the analysis of the CAT finals as well as on the results obtained from post-tournament experiments. We present Mertacor, our entrant for 2008, and compare it with the other available agents. In addition, we introduce a simple yet effective way of computing the global competitive equilibrium that Mertacor utilizes and discuss its importance for the game.

Physical stature of adult Tsimane' Amerindians, Bolivian Amazon in the 20th century.

PubMed

Godoy, Ricardo A; Leonard, William R; Reyes-García, Victoria; Goodman, Elizabeth; McDade, Thomas; Huanca, Tomás; Tanner, Susan; Vadez, Vincent

2006-06-01

We examine the association between exposure to the market and Western society on the height of adult Tsimane', a foraging-farming society in the Bolivian Amazon. As with other contemporary native peoples, we find little evidence of a significant secular change in height during 1920-1980. Female height bore a positive association with own schooling and fluency in spoken Spanish and with maternal modern human capital (schooling, writing ability, and fluency in spoken Spanish), but male heights bore no association with parental height or with modern human capital. The absence of a secular change likely reflects the persistence of traditional forms of social organization and production that protect health.

Misinformation, mistrust, and mistreatment: family planning among Bolivian market women.

PubMed

Schuler, S R; Choque, M E; Rance, S

1994-01-01

Results of an ethnographic study suggest that, despite stereotypes to the contrary, urban Aymara women in Bolivia want to regulate their fertility, and sociocultural norms support fertility regulation. However, the norms also make such regulation difficult to achieve. One barrier is a deep suspicion of modern medicine and medical practitioners, who are not seen as reliable sources of information. This suspicion is reinforced when the quality of health services is inadequate. Among urban Aymara, the level of acceptability of most modern methods of contraception is low. Many would prefer to use traditional methods, even when use of these methods entails considerable sacrifice and risk of conflict with their partners, unwanted pregnancies, and recourse to unsafe abortion.

The Impact of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes on WHO-Recommended Breastfeeding Practices.

PubMed

Piwoz, Ellen G; Huffman, Sandra L

2015-12-01

Suboptimal breastfeeding results in 800 000 child deaths annually. There are multiple causes of suboptimal breastfeeding, including marketing of breast-milk substitutes. To describe sales and marketing of breast-milk substitutes and their influence on World Health Organization-recommended breastfeeding behaviors, focusing on low- and middle-income countries. Literature review. Global sales of breast-milk substitutes reached US$40 billion in 2013. Growth in sales exceeds 10% annually in many low- and middle-income countries, while it is close to stagnant in high-income countries. Breast-milk substitutes are marketed directly to consumers via mass media and print advertisements and indirectly via incentives, free supplies, and promotions to and through health workers and facilities, retailers, and policy makers. Internet marketing via company web sites and social media is on the rise. Marketing influences social norms by making formula use seem to be extensive, modern, and comparable to or better than breast milk. Clear evidence of a negative impact is found when breast-milk substitutes are provided for free in maternity facilities and when they are promoted by health workers and in the media. Influences through other channels are plausible, but rigorous studies are lacking. It was not possible with the data available to quantify the impact of marketing relative to other factors on suboptimal breastfeeding behaviors. Marketing remains widespread even in countries that have adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes to restrict such activities. Adoption of stricter regulatory frameworks coupled with independent, quantitative monitoring and compliance enforcement are needed to counter the impacts of formula marketing globally. © The Author(s) 2015.

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Technology & Entrepreneurial Development Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farbrother, Barry J.

The era of economic dominance supported by the existence of a large and inexpensive labor pool, and expanding domestic market, and/or exploitation of natural resources is over in the United States. It's time to work smarter, not just work harder. Thus, the economic vitality of any region in a modern economy is dependent on the ability of its…

The Image of Russia Formed by Means of Modern Russian Paper Money

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dzhandzhugazova, Elena A.; Layko, Mikhail Y.; Ilina, Elena L.; Latkin, Aleksander N.; Valedinskaya, Ekaterina N.

2016-01-01

The relevance of the problem posed in the article is caused by the fact that under current conditions it is necessary to develop a comprehensive, but a complete image of Russia as a huge Eurasian state on the basis of effective use of scientific and practical approaches proposed by marketing of territories and tools used in the practice of…

Bioanalytical method transfer considerations of chromatographic-based assays.

PubMed

Williard, Clark V

2016-07-01

Bioanalysis is an important part of the modern drug development process. The business practice of outsourcing and transferring bioanalytical methods from laboratory to laboratory has increasingly become a crucial strategy for successful and efficient delivery of therapies to the market. This chapter discusses important considerations when transferring various types of chromatographic-based assays in today's pharmaceutical research and development environment.

2009 Munitions Executive Summit

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-05

CURRENT OPERATIONS • Replenish stocks expended in operations • Build /Replenish War Reserve stocks • Modernize stocks in the process • Industrial Base...4 Steel-Consuming Markets Construction (40% - 45%) Appliances, Office Furniture (2.5%) Containers (4%) Industrial Equipment (15% - 18...Partnership - HPS for Bridges • U.S. Navy • FHWA • AISI Steel and Defense Industries Collaboration – High- Performance Steels 17 Major

Reinventing "retrotels": using engaged scholarship to market nostalgia tourism in rural New Hampshire

Treesearch

Ben Amsden; Thad Guldbrandsen; Mark Okrant

2012-01-01

Nostalgia tourism is an emerging phenomenon in which visitors actively seek to relive their experiences and/or perceptions of yesteryear. How can modern-day tourism development best leverage this desire to reexperience the past? The Institute for New Hampshire Studies and the Center for Rural Partnerships at Plymouth State University sought to answer this question by...

Mapping by sequencing in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) line MD52ne identified candidate genes for fiber strength and its related quality attributes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Fiber strength, length, maturity and fineness determine the market value of cotton fibers and the quality of spun yarn. Cotton fiber strength has been recognized as a critical quality attribute in the modern textile industry. Fine mapping along with quantitative trait loci (QTL) validation and candi...

Building Better Bridges to Life after High School: Experimental Evidence on Contemporary Career Academies. Working Paper 176

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemelt, Steven W.; Lenard, Matthew A.; Paeplow, Colleen G.

2017-01-01

Modern career academies aim to prepare students for college and the labor market. This paper examines the profile of students entering such academies in one school district and estimates causal effects of participation in one of the district's well-regarded academies on a range of high school and college outcomes. Using rich administrative data…

76 FR 38040 - Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-29

... comprehensive set of proposals to better target support to needy consumers and maximize the number of Americans... Low-Income Program in order to align it with changes in technology and market dynamics, such as the... comprehensive set of proposals to better target support to needy consumers and maximize the number of Americans...

Social Class and Education in Modern Britain: Why Inequalities Persist and How Can We Explain Them

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Themelis, Spyros

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the historical continuity and persistence of educational inequalities I postwar Britain. It shows that despite much policy activity, educational inequalities have never really been the real target of policy action. Rather, a more concrete policy target has been the support of the markets, which were expected to act an…

Dimensions of Self-Perceived Employability in First Year IT Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antonio, Amy; Tuffley, David

2017-01-01

Undergraduate students entering university arrive with certain expectations as to how their degree program will equip them to enter the world of work. Students are aware of the competitive nature of the modern day labor market and, as seen in this study, there is a majority belief that their program of choice and the good reputation of the…

Characteristics of the Process of Culture Development Project Activities (Culture of Social Engineering) at the Future Bachelors of Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nikitina, Natalya I.; Romanova, Elena Yu.; Vasilyeva, Tatyana V.; Nikishina, Irina N.; Grebennikova, Veronica M.

2017-01-01

In modern Russia professional activity productivity of social work specialist depends largely on his abilities and skills in the field of social design. University graduate's (social work bachelor`s) high level of professional-project activity culture can be regarded as one of the necessary conditions of successful labour market adaptation of…

The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-01

CONTRACTING ACT --------------------- 55 D. THE NAVY’S IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMPETITION IN CONTRACTING ACT ------------------------------------ 58 E ...the implementation of th• e Competition in Contracting Act. This chapter explores the issues and problems associated with the implementation of the...a third party by the offer of the most favorable terms.ŗ Modern price and economic theory classifies markets by degrees of competition . Product

Out with the Old and in with the New: The Problem of Ethical Travel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vardalos, Marianne

2005-01-01

Featuring the tourist as a subject position powerful enough to activate new market mechanisms by way of choosing to travel in more ethical ways, theorists argue that new tourism activities present an alternative to the modern conception of mass tourism and the devastation it has come to represent. Tourists, once portrayed by leisure theorists as…

Herbal medicines: challenges in the modern world. Part 2. European Union and Russia.

PubMed

Sammons, Helen M; Gubarev, Michael I; Krepkova, Lubov V; Bortnikova, Valentina V; Corrick, Fenella; Job, Kathleen M; Sherwin, Catherine Mt; Enioutina, Elena Y

2016-08-01

Herbal medicines (HMs) have been well known to people of the European Union (EU) and Russia for centuries. Currently, Western HMs can be classified into two categories, plant-derived conventional medicines and dietary supplements. Interest to HMs has grown rapidly in all countries during the past two decades. The main goal of this review article is to present the history of HMs in the EU and Russia, forms of modern HMs, including Oriental Medicines that are popular among consumers of both countries. Additional discussion points comprise safety and adulteration issues associated with HMs, including regulatory changes and new legislative measures undertaken by the authorities. Materials available from legislative and governmental websites, PubMed and news media were used. Expert commentary: Due to cultural diversities in the EU and Russia, traditional HMs of other regions, particularly Chinese Traditional and Ayurvedic medicines, are also popular. Recently, dietary supplements containing multiple herbal and other natural products have flooded the EU and Russian markets. Pharmacovigilance in these markets is challenging in terms of establishing quality and safety of ingredients, determining efficacy, and defining risks of herb-herb and herb-drug interactions. Both the EU and Russia have introduced new legislation aimed to overcome these deficiencies.

Are you sitting comfortably? The political economy of the body.

PubMed

Wilkin, Peter

2009-01-01

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the mass production of furniture in modern industrial societies and lower back pain (LBP). The latter has proven to be a major cost to health services and private industry throughout the industrialised world and now represents a global health issue as recent WHO reports on obesity and LBP reveal. Thus far there have been few co-ordinated attempts to deal with the causes of the problem through public policy. Drawing upon a range of sources in anthropology, health studies, politics and economics, the paper argues that this a modern social problem rooted in the contingent conjuncture of natural and social causal mechanisms. The key question it raises is: what are the appropriate mechanisms for addressing this problem? This paper develops an analysis rooted in libertarian social theory and argues that both the state and the capitalist market are flawed mechanisms for resolving this problem. There remains a fundamental dilemma for libertarians, however. Whilst the state and the market may well be flawed mechanisms, they are the dominant ones shaping global political economy. To what extent can libertarians work within these structures and remain committed to libertarian goals?

[The dentist between medicine and cosmetology. Ethical shortcomings of the esthetics boom in dentistry].

PubMed

Maio, Giovanni

2009-01-01

Dentistry has evolved from a genuine medical practice to a mere business. From an ethical point of view it is asked whether this evolution creates more problems than it solves. The paper elaborates four arguments against this evolution and shows that aesthetics in dentistry which works only according to market categories runs the risk of loosing the view for the real need of patients. Dentistry which comprehends itself as part of a market will be nothing else than a part of a beauty industry which has the only aim to sell something, but not the aim to help people. Such a dentistry makes profit from the ideology of a society which serves only vanity, youthfulness and personal success and which is losing the sight for real values. The real value of man cannot be reduced to his appearance and medicine as an art should feel the obligation to resist these modern ideologies and should help people to get a more authentic attitude to themselves. If modern dentistry fails to think about these implications it will lose its identity as medicine, which would be too great a loss.

Models for the modern power grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nardelli, Pedro H. J.; Rubido, Nicolas; Wang, Chengwei; Baptista, Murilo S.; Pomalaza-Raez, Carlos; Cardieri, Paulo; Latva-aho, Matti

2014-10-01

This article reviews different kinds of models for the electric power grid that can be used to understand the modern power system, the smart grid. From the physical network to abstract energy markets, we identify in the literature different aspects that co-determine the spatio-temporal multilayer dynamics of power system. We start our review by showing how the generation, transmission and distribution characteristics of the traditional power grids are already subject to complex behaviour appearing as a result of the the interplay between dynamics of the nodes and topology, namely synchronisation and cascade effects. When dealing with smart grids, the system complexity increases even more: on top of the physical network of power lines and controllable sources of electricity, the modernisation brings information networks, renewable intermittent generation, market liberalisation, prosumers, among other aspects. In this case, we forecast a dynamical co-evolution of the smart grid and other kind of networked systems that cannot be understood isolated. This review compiles recent results that model electric power grids as complex systems, going beyond pure technological aspects. From this perspective, we then indicate possible ways to incorporate the diverse co-evolving systems into the smart grid model using, for example, network theory and multi-agent simulation.

Marketing and semiotic approach on communication. Consequences on knowledge of target-audiences.

PubMed

Borţun, D; Purcarea, V L

2013-03-15

Modern marketing puts the consumer and not the manufacturer in the center, the essence of the marketing approach being the conception, the projection and the making of the product, starting from the consumer towards the manufacturer; this resulting in the fact that the product's marketing approach seems strikingly similar to the semiotic approach of the message. In the semiotic approach, the message is a construction of signs, which, by interacting with the receiver, produces the meaning. The transmitter (the message transmitter) becomes less important. The focus is centered to the "text" and the way this is "read", the sense being born when the "reader" negotiates the "text". The negotiation takes place when the "reader" filtrates the message through the sieve of his cultural loading. A "target public" is a group which is specific to a certain Cultural Loading, a loading which deals with linguistic, logical, psychological and symbolic structures, which get out to meet the message and "negotiates" with the structures similar to it. When we are thinking in terms of the semiotic approach, we are handling the cultural determinism of communication, using the concepts of Kuhn and Gonseth (paradigm and referential). They open a new path in the market research, in the market segmentation and knowledge of the "target audiences".

Towards developing new partnerships in public services: users as consumers, citizens and/or co-producers in health and social care in England and Sweden.

PubMed

Fotaki, Marianna

2011-01-01

The causes and effects of marketization of public services have been analysed extensively in the literature, but there is relatively little research on how those policies impact on the development of new forms of governance, and the role of users in these new arrangements. This study reviews examples of competition, freedom of choice and personalized care in health and social services in England and Sweden, in order to examine the type of relationships emerging between the user/consumer vis-à-vis market driven providers and various agencies of the state under the marketized welfare. The article focuses on the possible roles users might assume in new hybrid arrangements between markets, collaborations and steering. A user typology: namely, that of a consumer, citizen, co-producer and responsibilized agent in various governance arrangements, is then suggested. The article concludes by arguing that pro-market policies instead of meeting the alleged needs of post-modern users for individualized public services are likely to promote a new type of highly volatile and fragile partnerships, and create a new subordinated user who has no choice but to ‘choose’ services they have little control over.

MM-122: High speed civil transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Demarest, Bill; Anders, Kurt; Manchec, John; Yang, Eric; Overgaard, Dan; Kalkwarf, Mike

1992-01-01

The rapidly expanding Pacific Rim market along with other growing markets indicates that the future market potential for a high speed civil transport is great indeed. The MM-122 is the answer to the international market desire for a state of the art, long range, high speed civil transport. It will carry 250 passengers a distance of 5200 nm at over twice the speed of sound. The MM-122 is designed to incorporate the latest technologies in the areas of control systems, propulsions, aerodynamics, and materials. The MM-122 will accomplish these goals using the following design parameters. First, a double delta wing planform with highly swept canards and an appropriately area ruled fuselage will be incorporated to accomplish desired aerodynamic characteristics. Propulsion will be provided by four low bypass variable cycle turbofan engines. A quad-redundant fly-by-wire flight control system will be incorporated to provide appropriate static stability and level 1 handling qualities. Finally, the latest in conventional metallic and modern composite materials will be used to provide desired weight and performance characteristics. The MM-122 incorporates the latest in technology and cost minimization techniques to provide a viable solution to this future market potential.

VOLTTRON™: Tech-to-Market Best-Practices Guide for Small- and Medium-Sized Commercial Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cort, Katherine A.; Haack, Jereme N.; Katipamula, Srinivas

VOLTTRON™ is an open-source distributed control and sensing platform developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. It was developed to be used by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to support transactive controls research and deployment activities. VOLTTRON is designed to be an overarching integration platform that could be used to bring together vendors, users, and developers and enable rapid application development and testing. The platform is designed to support modern control strategies, including the use of agent- and transaction-based controls. It also is designed to support the management of a wide rangemore » of applications, including heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems; electric vehicles; and distributed-energy and whole-building loads. This report was completed as part of the Building Technologies Office’s Technology-to-Market Initiative for VOLTTRON’s Market Validation and Business Case Development efforts. The report provides technology-to-market guidance and best practices related to VOLTTRON platform deployments and commercialization activities for use by entities serving small- and medium-sized commercial buildings. The report characterizes the platform ecosystem within the small- and medium-sized commercial building market and articulates the value proposition of VOLTTRON for three core participants in this ecosystem: 1) platform owners/adopters, 2) app developers, and 3) end-users. The report also identifies key market drivers and opportunities for open platform deployments in the small- and medium-sized commercial building market. Possible pathways to the market are described—laboratory testing to market adoption to commercialization. We also identify and address various technical and market barriers that could hinder deployment of VOLTTRON. Finally, we provide “best practice” tech-to-market guidance for building energy-related deployment efforts serving small- and medium-sized commercial buildings.« less

New solid-state chemistry technologies to bring better drugs to market: knowledge-based decision making.

PubMed

Park, Aeri; Chyall, Leonard J; Dunlap, Jeanette; Schertz, Christine; Jonaitis, David; Stahly, Barbara C; Bates, Simon; Shipplett, Rex; Childs, Scott

2007-01-01

Modern drug development demands constant deployment of more effective technologies to mitigate the high cost of bringing new drugs to market. In addition to cost savings, new technologies can improve all aspects of pharmaceutical development. New technologies developed at SSCI, Inc. include solid form development of an active pharmaceutical ingredients. (APIs) are PatternMatch software and capillary-based crystallisation techniques that not only allow for fast and effective solid form screening, but also extract maximum property information from the routine screening data that is generally available. These new technologies offer knowledge-based decision making during solid form development of APIs and result in more developable API solid forms.

We really need to talk: adapting FDA processes to rapid change.

PubMed

Lykken, Sara

2013-01-01

The rapidly evolving realm of modern commerce strains traditional regulatory paradigms. This paper traces the historical evolution of FDA crisis-response regulation and provides examples of ways in which the definitions and procedures resulting from that past continue to be challenged by new products as market entrants, some in good faith and others not, take actions that create disconnects between actual product and marketing controls and those that consumers might expect. The paper then explores some of the techniques used by other federal agencies that have faced similar challenges in environments characterized by rapid innovation, and draws from this analysis suggestions for improvement of the FDA's warning letter system.

Integrated Approach to Industrial Packaging Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorobeva, O.

2017-11-01

The article reviews studies in the field of industrial packaging design. The major factors which influence technological, ergonomic, economic and ecological features of packaging are established. The main modern trends in packaging design are defined, the principles of marketing communications and their influence on consumers’ consciousness are indicated, and the function of packaging as a transmitter of brand values is specified. Peculiarities of packaging technology and printing techniques in modern printing industry are considered. The role of designers in the stage-by-stage development of the construction, form and graphic design concept of packaging is defined. The examples of authentic packaging are given and the mention of the tetrahedron packaging history is made. At the end of the article, conclusions on the key research aspects are made.

The economic situation and construction-sector developments in the UNECE region, 2011-2012

Treesearch

Delton Alderman

2012-01-01

The US housing market continues to struggle from overbuilding, the housing crash, and the Great Recession. It is still in a correction that began in 2008, with new housing starts and sales at their lowest levels since modern records began being kept in 1963. Spending on housing construction is at record lows; however, the remodelling and multi-family subsectors'...

Traces of Civil Economy in Early Modern Franciscan Economic Thought: An Education Essay for Civilisation and Integral Human Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamagni, Stefano

2017-01-01

After a brief historical reconstruction of the emergence of the market economy as a model of social order in Europe, dating back to the eleventh century--the century of the commercial revolution--the paper focuses on the decisive contribution of the Franciscan school of thought to furnish the theoretical infrastructure of the new mode of…

The Law and Its Illicit Desires: Transversing Free Market Claustrophobia and the Zombie Imaginary in "Dredd 3-D"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orpana, Simon

2014-01-01

With the rise of biopolitical modernity, states justify both the existence of zombies and their monopoly on coercive violence via an imperative to care for the populations within their purview. But biopolitics' intrinsic link to the rise of a neoliberal model of governance, demonstrated by Foucault (2008), places a contradiction at the heart…

New and Old Identities among Young People in Secondary Schooling: Old and Renewed Ways of Inequalities and Social Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langa, Delia

2007-01-01

Post-industrial society, late modernity, globalization --- all these are terms that appeal to a changing reality in many of its manifestations; the labor market: the family; education; gender values; ways of thinking the world, space and oneself; and so forth. In such a world of many important transformations, the construction of youth and gender…

How Are School Systems Adapting to Increasing Numbers of Immigrant Students? PISA in Focus. No. 11

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OECD Publishing (NJ1), 2011

2011-01-01

Whether in flight from conflict, with the hope of building a better life, or to seize a social or economic opportunity, people have been crossing borders for as long as there have been borders to cross. Modern means of transportation and communication, the globalisation of the labour market, and the ageing of populations in OECD (Organisation for…

What Makes Teacher Teams in a Vocational Education Context Effective?: A Qualitative Study of Managers' View on Team Working

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Truijen, K. J. P.; Sleegers, P. J. C.; Meelissen, M. R. M.; Nieuwenhuis, A. F. M.

2013-01-01

Purpose: At a time when secondary vocational education is implementing competence-based education (CBE) on a large scale, to adapt to the needs of students and of the labour market in a modern society, many vocational schools have recognised that interdisciplinary teacher teams are an important condition for this implementation. In order to…

What Drives a Successful E-Learning? An Empirical Investigation of the Critical Factors Influencing Learner Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Pei-Chen; Tsai, Ray J.; Finger, Glenn; Chen, Yueh-Yang; Yeh, Dowming

2008-01-01

E-Learning is emerging as the new paradigm of modern education. Worldwide, the e-Learning market has a growth rate of 35.6%, but failures exist. Little is known about why many users stop their online learning after their initial experience. Previous research done under different task environments has suggested a variety of factors affecting user…

Increasing Visual Literacy Skills with Digital Imagery: Successful Models for Using a Set of Digital Cameras in a College of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilhelm, Lance

2005-01-01

The use of images is becoming more pervasive in modern culture, and schools must adapt their curricula and instructional practices accordingly. Visual literacy is becoming more important from a curricular standpoint as society relies to a greater degree on images and visual communication strategies. Thus, in order for students to be marketable in…

China’s Rise and Satisfaction with the Modern Global Order

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

of markets. Even though the United States plays a significant role in APEC —it is the only regional economic forum in Asia to which it...able to pursue its economic objectives within the framework of APEC , despite the presence of the United States, and this in turn contributes to its...within the hierarchy of states. In each chapter—power and hierarchy,

Alchemical poetry in medieval and early modern Europe: a preliminary survey and synthesis. Part I--Preliminary survey.

PubMed

Kahn, Didier

2010-11-01

This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

Alchemical poetry in medieval and early modern Europe: a preliminary survey and synthesis. Part II - Synthesis.

PubMed

Kahn, Didier

2011-03-01

This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

Marketing and semiotic approach on communication. Consequences on knowledge of target-audiences

PubMed Central

Borţun, D; Purcarea, VL

2013-01-01

Modern marketing puts the consumer and not the manufacturer in the center, the essence of the marketing approach being the conception, the projection and the making of the product, starting from the consumer towards the manufacturer; this resulting in the fact that the product’s marketing approach seems strikingly similar to the semiotic approach of the message. In the semiotic approach, the message is a construction of signs, which, by interacting with the receiver, produces the meaning. The transmitter (the message transmitter) becomes less important. The focus is centered to the „text" and the way this is „read", the sense being born when the „reader" negotiates the „text". The negotiation takes place when the „reader" filtrates the message through the sieve of his cultural loading. A „target public" is a group which is specific to a certain Cultural Loading, a loading which deals with linguistic, logical, psychological and symbolic structures, which get out to meet the message and „negotiates" with the structures similar to it. When we are thinking in terms of the semiotic approach, we are handling the cultural determinism of communication, using the concepts of Kuhn and Gonseth (paradigm and referential). They open a new path in the market research, in the market segmentation and knowledge of the „target audiences". PMID:23610591

Behavioural and physiological reactions of cattle in a commercial abattoir: relationships with organisational aspects of the abattoir and animal characteristics.

PubMed

Bourguet, Cécile; Deiss, Véronique; Tannugi, Carole Cohen; Terlouw, E M Claudia

2011-05-01

Behavioural, physiological and metabolic reactions of cattle to handling and slaughter procedures were evaluated in a commercial abattoir, from arrival until slaughter. Different genders or breeds were not subjected to the same procedures due to abattoir equipment or organisational aspects of the abattoir. Reactions to similar slaughter procedures varied according to animal characteristics and could have consequences for subsequent handling procedures. Factors that appeared to cause handling problems and vocalisation were excessive pressure during restraint, and distractions in the corridor such as noise, darkness, seeing people and activity. Post-mortem muscle metabolism depended on slaughter procedures. Following stunning or halal slaughter, some animals showed head rising movements despite the abolition of the corneal reflex, suggesting that head rising is not always indicative of consciousness. Overall, this study presents concrete data on how different types of cattle may react to slaughter procedures with a direct interest for the abattoir itself but also for scientific purposes. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

LC-QTOF-MS identification of porcine-specific peptide in heat treated pork identifies candidate markers for meat species determination.

PubMed

Sarah, S A; Faradalila, W N; Salwani, M S; Amin, I; Karsani, S A; Sazili, A Q

2016-05-15

The purpose of this study was to identify porcine-specific peptide markers from thermally processed meat that could differentiate pork from beef, chevon and chicken meat. In the initial stage, markers from tryptic digested protein of chilled, boiled and autoclaved pork were identified using LC-QTOF-MS. An MRM method was then established for verification. A thorough investigation of LC-QTOF-MS data showed that only seven porcine-specific peptides were consistently detected. Among these peptides, two were derived from lactate dehydrogenase, one from creatine kinase, and four from serum albumin protein. However, MRM could only detect four peptides (EVTEFAK, LVVITAGAR, FVIER and TVLGNFAAFVQK) that were consistently present in pork samples. In conclusion, meat species determination through a tandem mass spectrometry platform shows high potential in providing scientifically valid and reliable results even at peptide level. Besides, the specificity and selectivity offered by the proteomics approach also provide a robust platform for Halal authentication. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A note comparing the welfare of Zebu cattle following three stunning-slaughter methods.

PubMed

Neves, J E G; Paranhos da Costa, M J R; Roça, R O; Faucitano, L; Gregory, N G

2016-07-01

The objective of this study was to assess welfare of cattle during bleeding after slaughter with or without stunning. A total of 434 bulls were distributed across three slaughter treatments: penetrating captive bolt stunning followed by chest sticking (PCB, N=279), non-penetrating captive bolt stunning followed by halal slaughter (NPCB, N=67) and shechita without previous stunning (SHE, N=88). Four measures of possible consciousness and return to sensibility were recorded 20 and 60 s after bleeding as welfare indicators. They were the frequencies of responses to nostril stimulation and tongue pinch, spontaneous eye blinking, and rhythmic breathing. All responses were absent in stunned cattle at both 20 and 60 s, and in SHE cattle 7, 4, 10, and 100% of the animals presented these responses, respectively. Repeat shots were required for 46% NPCB and 2% PCB (P<0.05). The application of religious slaughter without previous stunning may result in greater risk of cattle suffering, pain and distress at slaughter. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolation of fish skin and bone gelatin from tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Response surface approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arpi, N.; Fahrizal; Novita, M.

2018-03-01

In this study, gelatin from fish collagen, as one of halal sources, was extracted from tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) skin and bone, by using Response Surface Methodology to optimize gelatin extraction conditions. Concentrations of alkaline NaOH and acid HCl, in the pretreatment process, and temperatures in extraction process were chosen as independent variables, while dependent variables were yield, gel strength, and emulsion activity index (EAI). The result of investigation showed that lower NaOH pretreatment concentrations provided proper pH extraction conditions which combine with higher extraction temperatures resulted in high gelatin yield. However, gelatin emulsion activity index increased proportionally to the decreased in NaOH concentrations and extraction temperatures. No significant effect of the three independent variables on the gelatin gel strength. RSM optimization process resulted in optimum gelatin extraction process conditions using alkaline NaOH concentration of 0.77 N, acid HCl of 0.59 N, and extraction temperature of 66.80 °C. The optimal solution formula had optimization targets of 94.38%.

Analysis of lard in meatball broth using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics.

PubMed

Kurniawati, Endah; Rohman, Abdul; Triyana, Kuwat

2014-01-01

Meatball is one of the favorite foods in Indonesia. For the economic reason (due to the price difference), the substitution of beef meat with pork can occur. In this study, FTIR spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics of partial least square (PLS) and principal component analysis (PCA) was used for analysis of pork fat (lard) in meatball broth. Lard in meatball broth was quantitatively determined at wavenumber region of 1018-1284 cm(-1). The coefficient of determination (R(2)) and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) values obtained were 0.9975 and 1.34% (v/v), respectively. Furthermore, the classification of lard and beef fat in meatball broth as well as in commercial samples was performed at wavenumber region of 1200-1000 cm(-1). The results showed that FTIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics can be used for quantitative analysis and classification of lard in meatball broth for Halal verification studies. The developed method is simple in operation, rapid and not involving extensive sample preparation. © 2013.

Young multiethnic women's attitudes toward the HPV vaccine and HPV vaccination.

PubMed

Wong, Li Ping

2008-11-01

To investigate the acceptability of the HPV vaccine among a multiethnic sample of young women in Malaysia. A qualitative study of 40 young women aged between 13 and 27 years recruited into 7 focus groups to discuss their knowledge of HPV infection, and their attitudes toward and acceptance of the HPV vaccine. The women were divided into Malay, Chinese, and Indian groups to allow for comparison among ethnicities. Poor knowledge about HPV did not influence the HPV vaccine's acceptability. Although participants were in favor of the vaccine, the majority preferred to delay vaccination because it is newly introduced, they did not perceive themselves to be at risk of HPV infection, or because of cost factors. Concerns were raised regarding the vaccine's safety, the potential to be perceived as promiscuous and sexually active, and whether the vaccine was halal. Promotion of the HPV vaccine should take account of social and cultural acceptability. The findings will help develop strategies for effective vaccination initiatives in a multiethnic and multireligious Asian society.

Comparison between global financial crisis and local stock disaster on top of Chinese stock network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Lisi; You, Daming; Jiang, Xin; Guo, Quantong

2018-01-01

The science of complex network theory can be usefully applied in many important fields, one of which is the finance. In these practical cases, a massive dataset can be represented as a very large network with certain attributes associated with its nodes and edges. As one of the most important components of financial market, stock market has been attracting more and more attention. In this paper, we propose a threshold model to build Chinese stock market networks and study the topological properties of these networks. To be specific, we compare the effects of different crises, namely the 2008 global crisis and the stock market disaster in 2015, on the threshold networks. Prices of the stocks belonging to the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 index are considered for three periods: the global crisis, common period and the stock market disaster. We find the probability distribution of the cross-correlations of the stocks during the stock market disaster is fatter than that of others. Besides, the thresholds of cross-correlations are assigned to obtain the threshold networks and the power-law of degree distribution in these networks are observed in a certain range of threshold values. The networks during the stock market disaster also appear to have larger mean degree and modularity, which reveals the strong correlations among these stock prices. Our findings to some extent crosscheck the liquidity shortage reason which is believed to result in the outbreak of the stock market disaster. Moreover, we hope that this paper could give us a deeper understanding of the market's behavior and also lead to interesting future research about the problems of modern finance theory.

GridLAB-D: An Agent-Based Simulation Framework for Smart Grids

DOE PAGES

Chassin, David P.; Fuller, Jason C.; Djilali, Ned

2014-01-01

Simulation of smart grid technologies requires a fundamentally new approach to integrated modeling of power systems, energy markets, building technologies, and the plethora of other resources and assets that are becoming part of modern electricity production, delivery, and consumption systems. As a result, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity commissioned the development of a new type of power system simulation tool called GridLAB-D that uses an agent-based approach to simulating smart grids. This paper presents the numerical methods and approach to time-series simulation used by GridLAB-D and reviews applications in power system studies, market design, building control systemmore » design, and integration of wind power in a smart grid.« less

GridLAB-D: An Agent-Based Simulation Framework for Smart Grids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chassin, David P.; Fuller, Jason C.; Djilali, Ned

2014-06-23

Simulation of smart grid technologies requires a fundamentally new approach to integrated modeling of power systems, energy markets, building technologies, and the plethora of other resources and assets that are becoming part of modern electricity production, delivery, and consumption systems. As a result, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity commissioned the development of a new type of power system simulation tool called GridLAB-D that uses an agent-based approach to simulating smart grids. This paper presents the numerical methods and approach to time-series simulation used by GridLAB-D and reviews applications in power system studies, market design, building control systemmore » design, and integration of wind power in a smart grid.« less

Grid flexibility: The quiet revolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsieh, Eric; Anderson, Robert

The concept of flexibility describes the capability of the power system to maintain balance between generation and load under uncertainty. While the grid has historically incorporated flexibility-specific resources such as pumped hydro to complement nuclear generators, modern trends and the increased deployment of variable energy resources (VERs) are increasing the need for a transparent market value of flexibility. A review of analyses, docket filings, tariffs, and business practice manuals from the past several years finds substantial flexibility-related activity. These activities are categorized as market and financial structures; incorporation of new operations or technology; and legal or procedural reforms. The cumulativemore » outcome of these incremental changes will be a major transformation to power systems that can rapidly adapt to new needs, technologies, and conditions.« less

Grid flexibility: The quiet revolution

DOE PAGES

Hsieh, Eric; Anderson, Robert

2017-02-16

The concept of flexibility describes the capability of the power system to maintain balance between generation and load under uncertainty. While the grid has historically incorporated flexibility-specific resources such as pumped hydro to complement nuclear generators, modern trends and the increased deployment of variable energy resources (VERs) are increasing the need for a transparent market value of flexibility. A review of analyses, docket filings, tariffs, and business practice manuals from the past several years finds substantial flexibility-related activity. These activities are categorized as market and financial structures; incorporation of new operations or technology; and legal or procedural reforms. The cumulativemore » outcome of these incremental changes will be a major transformation to power systems that can rapidly adapt to new needs, technologies, and conditions.« less

Returning migrant characteristics and labor market demand in Greece.

PubMed

Petras, E M; Kousis, M

1988-01-01

Immigrants who repatriate bring with them modern work skills which many observers in labor exporting regions describe as a great contribution to the mother country. Using data from 2 samples of Greek repatriates as well as projections of industrial labor force demands in Greece for the 1980s, this article challenges this concept. The authors find that the uneven regional development and stunted industrial growth which pushed these workers abroad are also responsible for the narrowly limited employment options which they face once they repatriate. For the urban repatriate, the market is limited to unemployment, the urban informal sector and scattered jobs, while for the rural repatriate, small-scale agriculture, multiple job holdings and unemployment are the only viable options.

Acquisition Management for System of Systems: Requirement Evolution and Acquisition Strategy Planning

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-29

of modern portfolio and control theory . The reformulation allows for possible changes in estimated quantities (e.g., due to market shifts in... Portfolio Theory (MPT). Final Report: NPS award N00244-11-1-0003 5 Extending CEM and Markov: Agent-Based Modeling Approach Research conducted in the...integration and acquisition from a robust portfolio theory standpoint. Robust portfolio management methodologies have been widely used by financial

COTD: Reference-free Hardware Trojan Detection in Gate-level Netlist

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

modern designs , the constraint of time- to-market window, and the cost restriction of final product highly drive the horizontal design process. The...third-party intellectual properties (3PIPs) are widely used while they expose a design to hardware Trojans (HTs) that may tamper with the design and...activated. Some work have investigated hardware Trojans in early design stages and several techniques have been proposed to study the switching

India’s Military Aviation Market: Opportunities for the United States

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

colonialism.” India, therefore, pursued the LCA with familiar results : cost overruns, lengthy delays, obsolescence, and the inability to meet...see the need to develop a robust deterrent against that country; this requires en­ hancing both the conventional and the nuclear capabilities of...and this included the development of a modern arms industry.1 Early Indian efforts to domestically produce aircraft led to mixed results . The piston

Environmental Assessment Addressing the Privatization of Military Family Housing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

HRMA Housing Requirements and Marketing Analysis HQ headquarters HUD U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development I-84 Interstate 84 IAAQS...that bedroom closets, kitchen storage, and kitchen counter space are insufficient; and plumbing, electrical systems, and heating, ventilation, and air...extensive maintenance. Housing interiors are inadequate by modern criteria in that bedroom closets, kitchen storage, and kitchen counter space are

Enable and Succeed, Force and Fail: Military Intervention to Enable Democratization

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-25

aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information ... a democratic government. The double challenge for elites is to increase the cost of violent competition while at the same time reducing the cost of...domestic product (GDP), literacy , penetration of modern goods, urbanization, and a market-oriented economy.31 Sociocultural Factors. Social

The science in social science

PubMed Central

Bernard, H. Russell

2012-01-01

A recent poll showed that most people think of science as technology and engineering—life-saving drugs, computers, space exploration, and so on. This was, in fact, the promise of the founders of modern science in the 17th century. It is less commonly understood that social and behavioral sciences have also produced technologies and engineering that dominate our everyday lives. These include polling, marketing, management, insurance, and public health programs. PMID:23213222

JPRS Report, East Europe.

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-17

traditional markets is con- cerned. In the West resigning employees pledge them- selves in writing not to engage in a competing business for, say, a year...showing a great interest. Project plans are being worked out for large hotels, programs for what is called big business , for food production, as...generation of electric power for export, projects in agriculture and food and beverage produc- tion, the construction and modernization of trunk rail

Fillers: from the past to the future.

PubMed

Glogau, Richard G

2012-06-01

Modern medical use of injectable soft-tissue augmentation fillers has evolved from the introduction of bovine collage implants to an array of synthesized materials in the current domestic and foreign markets. The concept of augmentation has moved from simple lines, scars, and wrinkles to revolumizing the aging face. A brief overview of the past, present, and future injectable fillers is presented. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Researching the Uses of the English Language in the Law Job Market in the Sultanate of Oman: Implications for Policy-Practice Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Issa, Ali S. M.

2014-01-01

The Sultanate of Oman is a developing country that has accepted the English language as a significant tool for modernization. This was best interpreted in the opening of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in 1986, which has delivered its different academic programmes totally or partially through the English language. One of the colleges of SQU has…

The evolution of modern agriculture and its future with biotechnology.

PubMed

Harlander, Susan K

2002-06-01

Since the dawn of agriculture, humans have been manipulating crops to enhance their quality and yield. Via conventional breeding, seed producers have developed the modern corn hybrids and wheat commonly grown today. Newer techniques, such as radiation breeding, enhanced the seed producers' ability to develop new traits in crops. Then in the 1980's-1990's, scientists began applying genetic engineering techniques to improve crop quality and yield. In contrast to earlier breeding methods, these techniques raised questions about their safety to consumers and the environment. This paper provides an overview of the kinds of genetically modified crops developed and marketed to date and the value they provide farmers and consumers. The safety assessment process required for these crops is contrasted with the lack of a formal process required for traditionally bred crops. While European consumers have expressed concern about foods and animal feeds containing ingredients from genetically modified crops, Americans have largely been unconcerned or unaware of the presence of genetically modified foods on the market. This difference in attitude is reflected in Europe's decision to label foods containing genetically modified ingredients while no such labeling is required in the U.S. In the future, genetic modification will produce a variety of new products with enhanced nutritional or quality attributes.

Indulging our gendered selves? Sex segregation by field of study in 44 countries.

PubMed

Charles, Maria; Bradley, Karen

2009-01-01

Data from 44 societies are used to explore sex segregation by field of study. Contrary to accounts linking socioeconomic modernization to a "degendering" of public-sphere institutions, sex typing of curricular fields is stronger in more economically developed contexts. The authors argue that two cultural forces combine in advanced industrial societies to create a new sort of sex segregation regime. The first is gender-essentialist ideology, which has proven to be extremely resilient even in the most liberal-egalitarian of contexts; the second is self-expressive value systems, which create opportunities and incentives for the expression of "gendered selves." Multivariate analyses suggest that structural features of postindustrial labor markets and modern educational systems support the cultivation, realization, and display of gender-specific curricular affinities.

Ghana refinery expansion and modernization project. Export trade information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1990-11-01

The U.S. Trade and Development Program (TDP) is considering the provision of funds to the Ghanaian Ministry of Fuel and Power (MFP) to conduct a study of the scope and feasibility of expanding and modernizing its Tema Refinery to meet future demands for gasoline and to minimize heavy fuel oil production. All of the needed licensed process technology and process know-how could be provided by U.S. sources and this, coupled with U.S. equipment and catalyst supply, meets the TDP criteria for funding the feasibility study. Europe aggressively offers alternate licensable technology for some of the processes. U.S. manufacturers of specialtymore » equipment are marginally competitive in the international market, where competition is fierce. The Definitional Mission recommends that full feasibility study be undertaken.« less

Eulerian Circles (Venn Diagrams) as model for modern economy education on the basis of Russian professional standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharonov, M. A.; Sharonova, O. V.; Sharonova, V. P.

2018-03-01

The article is an attempt to create a model built using Eulerian circles (Venn diagrams) to illustrate the methodological impact of recent Federal Law 283-FZ “On the independent evaluation of qualifications” and new Federal State Educational Standards of higher education of generation 3++ on educational process in Russia. In modern economic conditions, the ability to correctly assess the role of professional standards, as a matter of fact, some set, the degree of intersection with the approximate basic educational program and the Federal State Educational Standards becomes an important factor on which in the future will depend not only the demand of graduates in the labor market, but also the possibility of passing the professional and public accreditation of the proposed program.

Potential of Progressive Construction Systems in Slovakia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlovska, Maria; Spisakova, Marcela; Mackova, Daniela

2017-10-01

Construction industry is a sector with rapid development. Progressive technologies of construction and new construction materials also called modern methods of construction (MMC) are developed constantly. MMC represent the adoption of construction industrialisation and the use of prefabrication of components in building construction. One of these modern methods is also system Varianthaus, which is based on, insulated concrete forms principle and provides complete production plant for wall, ceiling and roof elements for a high thermal insulation house construction. Another progressive construction system is EcoB, which represents an insulated precast concrete panel based on combination of two layers, insulation and concrete, produced in a factory as a whole. Both modern methods of construction are not yet known and wide-spread in the Slovak construction market. The aim of this paper is focused on demonstration of MMC using potential in Slovakia. MMC potential is proved based on comparison of the selected parameters of construction process - construction costs and construction time. The subject of this study is family house modelled in three material variants - masonry construction (as a representative of traditional methods of construction), Varianthaus and EcoB (as the representatives of modern methods of construction). The results of this study provide the useful information in decision-making process for potential investors of construction.

Maintaining relationships with your patients by maximizing your online presence.

PubMed

Donnelly, John; Kaaihue, Maarit

2011-01-01

Medical practices that take full advantage of today's online consumer-driven culture will leave other practices in their wake. With today's modern consumers looking to the Internet more and more for finding medical solutions for their family, it is imperative that your practice uses all of the tools available for creating and maintaining its online presence. We all know that having a functional Web site these days is a necessity for practically any business in any industry; however, taking your online presence further by using a few techniques can set up your practice for great success. Your online marketing should help your practice with managing patient relationships at all levels. To best reach this goal, continually analyzing data and updating your online marketing approach will help further drive leads and conversions. Using a few search engine optimization techniques as well as optimal design and marketing methods will allow you to more easily find prospective patients, build trust and credibility with your current patients, and manage your reputation.

The long-run dynamic relationship between exchange rate and its attention index: Based on DCCA and TOP method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xuan; Guo, Kun; Lu, Xiaolin

2016-07-01

The behavior information of financial market plays a more and more important role in modern economic system. The behavior information reflected in INTERNET search data has already been used in short-term prediction for exchange rate, stock market return, house price and so on. However, the long-run relationship between behavior information and financial market fluctuation has not been studied systematically. Further, most traditional statistic methods and econometric models could not catch the dynamic and non-linear relationship. An attention index of CNY/USD exchange rate is constructed based on search data from 360 search engine of China in this paper. Then the DCCA and Thermal Optimal Path methods are used to explore the long-run dynamic relationship between CNY/USD exchange rate and the corresponding attention index. The results show that the significant interdependency exists and the change of exchange rate is 1-2 days lag behind the attention index.

Social marketing as a strategy to increase immunization rates.

PubMed

Opel, Douglas J; Diekema, Douglas S; Lee, Nancy R; Marcuse, Edgar K

2009-05-01

Today in the United States, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease are often traced to susceptible children whose parents have claimed an exemption from school or child care immunization regulations. The origins of this immunization hesitancy and resistance have roots in the decline of the threat of vaccine-preventable disease coupled with an increase in concerns about the adverse effects of vaccines, the emergence of mass media and the Internet, and the intrinsic limitations of modern medicine. Appeals to emotion have drowned out thoughtful discussion in public forums, and overall, public trust in immunizations has declined. We present an often overlooked behavior change strategy-social marketing-as a way to improve immunization rates by addressing the important roots of immunization hesitancy and effectively engaging emotions. As an example, we provide a synopsis of a social marketing campaign that is currently in development in Washington state and that is aimed at increasing timely immunizations in children from birth to age 24 months.

The great American medicine show revisited.

PubMed

Tomes, Nancy

2005-01-01

Since the late 1800s, changes in the advertising and marketing of medicinal drugs have produced heated debates in the United States. With the emergence of the modern prescription drug between 1938 and 1951, concerns that once focused primarily on patients' use of over-the-counter drugs were broadened to include physicians and their "doctors' drugs" as well. The medical profession's growing control over their patients' drug choices inevitably heightened the scrutiny of their own performance as consumers. Although deeply divided over issues of the patient's role in medical decision making, consumer activists and physician reformers expressed similar concerns about the impact of aggressive pharmaceutical marketing and advertising on the doctor-patient relationship, and starting in the late 1950s they employed strikingly similar strategies to counter the new corporate "medicine show." Yet their efforts to promote a more rational use of prescription drugs have usually been too little and too late to offset the effectiveness of pharmaceutical advertising and mar-keting activities.

Environmental analysis and monitoring for recreational farms in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Wen-Chuan; Lin, Chun-Nan; Wongchai, Anupong

2017-11-01

The rapid growth of recreational farms and leisure industry has fiercely faced competitive in a Taiwan’s market to achieve business development sustainability trends. Effective business development strategy has become a key of the business performance management to help develop and implement growth opportunities. Recreational farms have functional products, culture, and natural resources as essential elements for the business development of local cuisine. The purpose of this study is, based on the SWOT analysis, to understand the current situation of catering business in recreational farms in Taiwan and to analyze the trends in development to discover how to operate local food restaurant business in recreational farms successfully and create long-term value for a business from customers, markets, and related parties. This research collected a total of 300 questionnaires from recreational farm tourists and excellent recreational farm entrepreneurs, as well as on-site staffs in an outstanding recreational farm. The results of this study provided a reference and guidelines of trends in development for the entrepreneurs to create a modern niche market.

Thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in salad vegetables in Malaysia.

PubMed

Chai, Lay Ching; Robin, Tunung; Ragavan, Usha Menon; Gunsalam, Jurin Wolmon; Bakar, Fatimah Abu; Ghazali, Farinazleen Mohamad; Radu, Son; Kumar, Malakar Pradeep

2007-06-10

The main aim of this study was to combine the techniques of most probable number (MPN) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for quantifying the prevalence and numbers of Campylobacter spp. in ulam, a popular Malaysian salad dish, from a traditional wet market and two modern supermarkets in Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 309 samples of raw vegetables which are used in ulam were examined in the study. The prevalences of campylobacters in raw vegetables were, for supermarket I, Campylobacter spp., 51.9%; Campylobacter jejuni, 40.7%; and Campylobacter coli, 35.2%: for supermarket II, Campylobacter spp., 67.7%; C. jejuni, 67.7%; and C. coli, 65.7%: and for the wet market, Campylobacter spp., 29.4%; C. jejuni, 25.5%; and C. coli, 22.6%. In addition Campylobacter fetus was detected in 1.9% of raw vegetables from supermarket I. The maximum numbers of Campylobacter spp. in raw vegetables from supermarkets and the wet market were >2400 and 460 MPN/g, respectively.

Metroplex Optimization Model Expansion and Analysis: The Airline Fleet, Route, and Schedule Optimization Model (AFRS-OM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherry, Lance; Ferguson, John; Hoffman, Karla; Donohue, George; Beradino, Frank

2012-01-01

This report describes the Airline Fleet, Route, and Schedule Optimization Model (AFRS-OM) that is designed to provide insights into airline decision-making with regards to markets served, schedule of flights on these markets, the type of aircraft assigned to each scheduled flight, load factors, airfares, and airline profits. The main inputs to the model are hedged fuel prices, airport capacity limits, and candidate markets. Embedded in the model are aircraft performance and associated cost factors, and willingness-to-pay (i.e. demand vs. airfare curves). Case studies demonstrate the application of the model for analysis of the effects of increased capacity and changes in operating costs (e.g. fuel prices). Although there are differences between airports (due to differences in the magnitude of travel demand and sensitivity to airfare), the system is more sensitive to changes in fuel prices than capacity. Further, the benefits of modernization in the form of increased capacity could be undermined by increases in hedged fuel prices

Marketing medicines: charting the rise of modern therapeutics through a systematic review of adverts in UK medical journals (1950-1980).

PubMed

Green, A Richard; Haddad, Peter M; Aronson, Jeffrey K

2018-02-14

To examine how pharmaceutical products that were first marketed between 1950 and 1980 were promoted to physicians through advertisements and briefly review advertising regulations and accuracy of the advertisements in the light of modern knowledge. We systematically reviewed advertisements promoting drugs for specific therapeutic areas, namely central nervous system disorders (anxiety and sleep disorders, depression, psychoses, and Parkinson's disease), respiratory disorders, cardiovascular disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders. We examined about 800 issues of the British Medical Journal (1950-1980) and about 150 issues of World Medicine (1965-1984). Advertising material was minimally regulated until the mid-1970s. Many drugs were marketed with little preclinical or clinical knowledge and some with the expectation that prescribers would obtain further data. The peak of advertising occurred in parallel with the surge in the release of novel drugs during the 1960s, but declined markedly after the mid-1970s. Advertisements generally contained little useful prescribing information. The period we investigated saw the release of many novel pharmaceuticals in the therapeutic areas we examined, and many (or their class successors) still play important therapeutic roles, including benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, phenothiazines, levodopa, selective and non-selective β-adrenoceptor antagonists, thiazide diuretics, β-adrenoceptor agonists, and histamine H 2 receptor antagonists. Advertising pharmaceuticals in the BMJ and World Medicine in 1950-1980 was poorly regulated and often lacked rigour. However, advertisements were gradually modified in the light of increasing clinical pharmacological knowledge, and they reflect an exciting period for the introduction of many drugs that continue to be of benefit today. © 2018 The British Pharmacological Society.

The environmental impact of beef production in the United States: 1977 compared with 2007.

PubMed

Capper, J L

2011-12-01

Consumers often perceive that the modern beef production system has an environmental impact far greater than that of historical systems, with improved efficiency being achieved at the expense of greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this study was to compare the environmental impact of modern (2007) US beef production with production practices characteristic of the US beef system in 1977. A deterministic model based on the metabolism and nutrient requirements of the beef population was used to quantify resource inputs and waste outputs per billion kilograms of beef. Both the modern and historical production systems were modeled using characteristic management practices, population dynamics, and production data from US beef systems. Modern beef production requires considerably fewer resources than the equivalent system in 1977, with 69.9% of animals, 81.4% of feedstuffs, 87.9% of the water, and only 67.0% of the land required to produce 1 billion kg of beef. Waste outputs were similarly reduced, with modern beef systems producing 81.9% of the manure, 82.3% CH(4), and 88.0% N(2)O per billion kilograms of beef compared with production systems in 1977. The C footprint per billion kilograms of beef produced in 2007 was reduced by 16.3% compared with equivalent beef production in 1977. As the US population increases, it is crucial to continue the improvements in efficiency demonstrated over the past 30 yr to supply the market demand for safe, affordable beef while reducing resource use and mitigating environmental impact.

Energy efficiency in urban management: Russian and world experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pryadko, Igor

2017-10-01

The article discusses the role of energetics in creating a comfortable and safe environment of modern megacities, and the problem is considered in the socio-economic aspect. The object is the energy security of the city, and the subject is the influence of urban society on the formation of energy security. In particular, the problems are raised: ecological problems of urban energy supply, the condition of surface layer of the atmosphere near electric power lines. The author assesses the actions, implemented by the urban authorities in Mytischi, in the southwestern areas of New Moscow. The author assesses these sample areas on the basis of Ch. Landry’s concept of self-training, designated for municipal authorities and urban communities, and offers several successfully implemented self-study cases and in the light of modern methods of ensuring energy security. The forecasts of creation of energy-safe space, made by modern sociologist-urbanist Leo Hollis, are taken into account. The author also considers some of the economic aspects of biosphere safety. In particular, he insists that biosphere safety, convenience, and comfort have developed into competitive advantages in the housing market.

Polishers around the globe: an overview on the market of large astronomical mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Döhring, Thorsten

2014-07-01

Astronomical mirrors are key elements in modern optical telescopes, their dimensions are usually large and their specifications are demanding. Only a limited number of skilled companies respectively institutions around the world are able to master the challenge to polish an individual astronomical mirror, especially in dimensions above one meter. This paper presents an overview on the corresponding market including a listing of polishers around the globe. Therefore valuable information is provided to the astronomical community: Polishers may use the information as a global competitor database, astronomers and project managers may get more transparency on potential suppliers, and suppliers of polishing equipment may learn about unknown potential customers in other parts of the world. An evaluation of the historical market demand on large monolithic astronomical mirrors is presented. It concluded that this is still a niche market with a typical mean rate of 1-2 mirrors per year. Polishing of such mirrors is an enabling technology with impact on the development of technical know-how, public relation, visibility and reputation of the supplier. Within a corresponding technical discussion different polishing technologies are described. In addition it is demonstrated that strategic aspects and political considerations are influencing the selection of the optical finisher.

A supply chain model to improve the beef quality distribution using investment analysis: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lupita, Alessandra; Rangkuti, Sabrina Heriza; Sutopo, Wahyudi; Hisjam, Muh.

2017-11-01

There are significant differences related to the quality and price of the beef commodity in traditional market and modern market in Indonesia. Those are caused by very different treatments of the commodity. The different treatments are in the slaughter lines, the transportation from the abattoir to the outlet, the display system, and the control system. If the problem is not solved by the Government, the gap will result a great loss of the consumer regarding to the quality and sustainability of traditional traders business because of the declining interest in purchasing beef in the traditional markets. This article aims to improve the quality of beef in traditional markets. This study proposed A Supply Chain Model that involves the schemes of investment and government incentive for improving the distribution system. The supply chain model is can be formulated using the Mix Integer Linear Programming (MILP) and solved using the IBM®ILOG®CPLEX software. The results show that the proposed model can be used to determine the priority of programs for improving the quality and sustainability business of traditional beef merchants. By using the models, The Government can make a decision to consider incentives for improving the condition.

The Global Positioning System for Military Users: Current Modernization Plans and Alternatives

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

stronger signal would not be available. That drawback might be mitigated, however, by the widespread availability on the commercial market of small...development efforts needed to achieve such reductions would have associated costs. An additional drawback of Option 2 is that operation of iGPS...the Foucault pendulum but uses a vibrating element, known as a Micro Electro-Mechanical System, instead of an actual pendulum . iGPS Module. The

Increasing the Efficiency of the Recycling of Propylene—Polyethylene Raw Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belokon', T. D.; Kurganova, Yu. A.; Bragin, D. A.; Kovalev, M. N.

2017-12-01

The problem of the recycling of plastic wastes is discussed. The polypropylene needs of the modern Russian market are analyzed. The necessity of recycling of plastic wastes is revealed, and its advantages over reclamation are substantiated. The problems of a real enterprise regarding the recycling of polypropylene—polyethylene raw materials for increasing the properties of the end product and optimizing its production are considered, and methods for their solution are proposed.

Proceedings of the ’Managing the Industrial Modernization Process’ Conference

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-05

international companies --- with international interests taking top priority. The consequences of these companies ’ decisions --- about plant location, hiring, R...Some key plants going off shore. Companies like ours exiting the defense market; others putting their defense divisions up for sale and, at least, one... designed , very quickly become obsolete and unable to be modified. An example was given of a company that developed a large, multi-million dollar data

An Empirical Review of Major Legislation Affecting Drug Development: Past Experiences, Effects, and Unintended Consequences

PubMed Central

Kesselheim, Aaron S

2011-01-01

Context: With the development of transformative drugs at a low point, numerous commentators have recommended new legislation that uses supplementary market exclusivity as an incentive to promote innovation in the pharmaceutical market. Methods: This report provides an historical perspective on proposals for encouraging drug research. Four legislative programs have been primarily designed to offer market exclusivity to promote public health goals in the pharmaceutical or biomedical sciences: the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, and the pediatric exclusivity provisions of the FDA Modernization Act of 1997. I reviewed quantitative and qualitative studies that reported on the outcomes from these programs and evaluated the quality of evidence generated. Findings: All four legislative programs generally have been regarded as successful, although such conclusions are largely based on straightforward descriptive reports rather than on more rigorous comparative data or analyses that sufficiently account for confounding. Overall, solid data demonstrate that market exclusivity incentives can attract interest from parties involved in drug development. However, using market exclusivity to promote innovation in the pharmaceutical market can be prone to misuse, leading to improper gains. In addition, important collateral effects have emerged with substantial negative public health implications. Conclusions: Using market exclusivity to promote pharmaceutical innovation can lead to positive outcomes, but the practice is also characterized by waste and collateral effects. Certain practices, such as mechanisms for reevaluation and closer ties of incentives programs to public health outcomes, can help address these problems. PMID:21933276

An empirical review of major legislation affecting drug development: past experiences, effects, and unintended consequences.

PubMed

Kesselheim, Aaron S

2011-09-01

With the development of transformative drugs at a low point, numerous commentators have recommended new legislation that uses supplementary market exclusivity as an incentive to promote innovation in the pharmaceutical market. This report provides an historical perspective on proposals for encouraging drug research. Four legislative programs have been primarily designed to offer market exclusivity to promote public health goals in the pharmaceutical or biomedical sciences: the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, and the pediatric exclusivity provisions of the FDA Modernization Act of 1997. I reviewed quantitative and qualitative studies that reported on the outcomes from these programs and evaluated the quality of evidence generated. All four legislative programs generally have been regarded as successful, although such conclusions are largely based on straightforward descriptive reports rather than on more rigorous comparative data or analyses that sufficiently account for confounding. Overall, solid data demonstrate that market exclusivity incentives can attract interest from parties involved in drug development. However, using market exclusivity to promote innovation in the pharmaceutical market can be prone to misuse, leading to improper gains. In addition, important collateral effects have emerged with substantial negative public health implications. Using market exclusivity to promote pharmaceutical innovation can lead to positive outcomes, but the practice is also characterized by waste and collateral effects. Certain practices, such as mechanisms for reevaluation and closer ties of incentives programs to public health outcomes, can help address these problems. © 2011 Milbank Memorial Fund. Published by Wiley Periodicals Inc.

Audible and infrasonic noise levels in the cabins of modern agricultural tractors--does the risk of adverse, exposure-dependent effects still exist?

PubMed

Bilski, Bartosz

2013-06-01

The agricultural tractor is one of the most commonly used vehicles on farms and one of the most prominent sources of noise. This article presents an exemplary assessment of the audible and infrasonic noise levels in the cabins of selected modern wheeled agricultural tractors. Operator-perceived audible and infrasonic noise levels in the cabins were examined for 20 types of modern tractors during typical conditions of work. The tractors had been in use for no longer than 3 years, with rated power between 96 kW and 227 kW, designed and produced by world-renowned companies. Noise level measurements were performed in accordance with PN-EN ISO 9612:2011 (ISO 9612:2009). Audible noise levels (A-weighted) ranged from 62.1 to 87.4 dB-A (average: 68.2 to 83.8 dB-A) for different work tasks. The factors influencing noise levels include performed tasks, soil, weather conditions and the skills of individual drivers. In spectrum analysis, the highest noise levels occurred at frequencies 250 Hz, 1 and 2 kHz. Infrasound noise levels (G-weighted) ranged from 87.3 to 111.3 dB-G. The driver-experienced exposure to infrasound was found to increase significantly when the vehicle was in motion. Average audible noise levels have no potential to adversely affect the hearing organ during tasks performed inside the closed cabins of the analysed modern agricultural tractors. Due to the relatively low audible noise levels inside the cabins of modern agricultural tractors, non-auditory effects are the only adverse symptoms that can develop. Modern agricultural tractors emit considerable infrasonic noise levels. All tractors introduced into the market should be subjected to tests with regard to infrasonic noise levels.

Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Less, Brennan; Walker, Iain

2015-01-01

The U.S. DOE Building America program has established a research agenda targeting market-relevant strategies to achieve 40% reductions in existing home energy use by 2030. Deep Energy Retrofits (DERs) are part of the strategy to meet and exceed this goal. DERs are projects that create new, valuable assets from existing residences, by bringing homes into alignment with the expectations of the 21st century. Ideally, high energy using, dated homes that are failing to provide adequate modern services to their owners and occupants (e.g., comfortable temperatures, acceptable humidity, clean, healthy), are transformed through comprehensive upgrades to the building envelope, services andmore » miscellaneous loads into next generation high performance homes. These guidance documents provide information to aid in the broader market adoption of DERs.« less

Technology for low-cost PIR security sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liddiard, Kevin C.

2008-03-01

Current passive infrared (PIR) security sensors employing pyroelectric detectors are simple, cheap and reliable, but have several deficiencies. These sensors, developed two decades ago, are essentially short-range moving-target hotspot detectors. They cannot detect slow temperature changes, and thus are unable to respond to radiation stimuli indicating potential danger such as overheating electrical appliances and developing fires. They have a poor optical resolution and limited ability to recognize detected targets. Modern uncooled thermal infrared technology has vastly superior performance but as yet is too costly to challenge the PIR security sensor market. In this paper microbolometer technology will be discussed which can provide enhanced performance at acceptable cost. In addition to security sensing the technology has numerous applications in the military, industrial and domestic markets where target range is short and low cost is paramount.

Modern embalming, circulation of fluids, and the voyage through the human arterial system: Carl L. Barnes and the culture of immortality in America.

PubMed

Podgorny, Irina

2011-01-01

By considering the work of American embalmer, lawyer, and physician Carl Lewis Barnes (1872-1927), this paper analyzes the emergence of modern embalming in America. Barnes experimented with and exhibited the techniques by which embalming fluids travelled into the most remote cavities of the human body. In this sense, modem embalmers based their skills and methods on experimental medicine, turning the anatomy of blood vessels, physiology of circulation, and composition of blood into a circuit that allowed embalming fluids to move throughout the corpse. Embalmers in the late 19th century took ownership of the laws of hydrodynamics and the physiology of blood circulation to market their fluids and equipment, thus playing the role of physiologists of death, performing and demonstrating physiological experiments with dead bodies.

Immigration and the modern welfare state: the case of USA and Germany.

PubMed

Wenzel, U; Bos, M

1997-10-01

"This article presents a comparison of the inclusion of migrants into welfare programmes in the USA and in Germany. In the first part of the article a brief overview is provided of immigration categories in both countries in order to demonstrate the relevance of these administrative regulations for the opportunities of individual migrants to participate in the welfare system. In the second part we elaborate in more detail on how welfare programmes have developed as basic mechanisms to include or exclude migrants. Our findings illustrate an increasing differentiation of membership statuses parallel to the expansion of modern welfare systems. In both the USA and Germany, the territorial principle and participation in the labour market are of prime importance to the access to social rights. In both cases all migrants may profit from contributory programmes." excerpt

Recent research on the effects of alcohol policy changes.

PubMed

Room, R

1990-09-01

As the agenda of alcohol problems prevention has broadened, new traditions of research have emerged: of experimental studies at the community or the societal level, of "natural experiment" studies of the effects of sudden changes such as strikes or new legislation, and of sophisticated time-series analyses of the effects of sudden and of long-term changes. While it has been shown that control measures can influence alcohol problems rates, substantial change seems to require changes in the political status quo, often also involving popular movements. Except for taxes, raising the drinking age and drinking-driving countermeasures, the political will to restrict availability has been lacking in market-oriented industrial societies in the modern era, so that the modern experience of the effects of other control measures is based on centrally-planned or non-industrial economies.

[Strategy of constructing post-market integral evaluation system of traditional Chinese medicine injection].

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Yan-Ping; Lin, Li-Kai; Shang, Hong-Cai; Wang, Yong-Yan

2017-08-01

As an important representative of modern Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) injzection has become an indispensable part of the Chinese medicine industry. However, its development is now restricted by the bottleneck of insufficient core competitiveness, low-level research and production, even injection quality and the safe use are not guaranteed. Thus, it is urgent to reevaluate post-marketing TCM injection generally and to make secondary development. Under current circumstances, taking major brands which have good clinical and market foundation, as well as research value, as the main subject of cultivation and evaluation is an important approach to innovative development of TCM injection industry. Unlike oral proprietary Chinese medicine, the cultivatation of major brands of TCM injection needs higher technical support, quality standards and more timely feedback. Therefore, a post-market integral evaluation system adaptive to TCM injection is required. This article discussed some key points on the construction of a post-market integral evaluation system of TCM injection in three levels： optimizing evaluation methods, building synergistic innovation platforms which combine the medical research institutions and pharmaceutical enterprises, and finally constructing the integral evaluation system. A "five to one" structure has been proposed to enhance TCM injection effectiveness, safety and adaptability on the whole, which are from the following aspects： mechanism research, clinical evidence validation, literature information mining, sustainable development of resources and industrialization operation. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Agrarian Structure and Labor Migration in Rural Mexico: The Case of Circular Migration of Undocumented Workers to the U.S.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-07-01

Investigaciones Agr~rias. The study purposes and methods employed in these surveys and the data extracted from them for purposes of this study are...Specifically, communal and other forms of property rights impede the proper functioning of commodity and factor markets, so that the establishment of individual... property rights becomes a necessary condition for maximization of social welfare (Bhagwati and Srinivasan, 1974). The very process of modernization

From Not-So-Great to Worse: The Myth of Best Practice Methodologies

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-13

Collins’ arguments and suggested principled commonalities about great fi rms were unsupported. Resnick and Smunt conducted a fi nancial analysis over... market performance according to Collins’ measure, and that none do so when measured according to a metric based on modern portfolio theory. We...applying the fi ve principles to other fi rms or time periods will lead to anything other than average results.” By the way, Col- lins’ list of 11 great

An Analysis of the Best Available Unmanned Ground Vehicle in the Current Market with Respect to the Requirements of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

Special Weapons and Tactics SWORDS Special Weapons Observation Remote Reconnaissance Direct Action System TAF Turkish Armed Forces tEODor...especially concentrated in the southeastern part of Turkey where the Turkish Armed Forces ( TAF ) are fighting against terrorists determinedly and continuously...Systems (MDS) to strengthen the TAF and to modernize its current systems. Today, many countries are making large investments to strengthen their

Air Base Ground Defense Wargame: Study of a Security Police Training Device.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

different locations of the air base under siege. Therefore, AFOSP supports the development of a board wargame training device to compensate for the...commercial wargames available on the market . Eight games were identified as having application to this study due to their use of modern weapons and the...operation under his operational control (9:23). Concentration of MIR Efforts. This principle is a restatement of the universally accepted principle of mass (9

Mathematical model of the competition life cycle under limited resources conditions: Problem statement for business community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shelomentsev, A. G.; Medvedev, M. A.; Berg, D. B.; Lapshina, S. N.; Taubayev, A. A.; Davletbaev, R. H.; Savina, D. V.

2017-12-01

Present study is devoted to the development of competition life cycle mathematical model in the closed business community with limited resources. Growth of each agent is determined by the balance of input and output resource flows: input (cash) flow W is covering the variable V and constant C costs and growth dA/dt of the agent's assets A. Value of V is proportional to assets A that allows us to write down a first order non-stationary differential equation of the agent growth. Model includes the number of such equations due to the number of agents. The amount of resources that is available for agents vary in time. The balances of their input and output flows are changing correspondingly to the different stages of the competition life cycle. According to the theory of systems, the most complete description of any object or process is the model of its life cycle. Such a model describes all stages of its development: from the appearance ("birth") through development ("growth") to extinction ("death"). The model of the evolution of an individual firm, not contradicting the economic meaning of events actually observed in the market, is the desired result from modern AVMs for applied use. With a correct description of the market, rules for participants' actions, restrictions, forecasts can be obtained, which modern mathematics and the economy can not give.

The China Health and Nutrition Survey, 1989-2011.

PubMed

Zhang, B; Zhai, F Y; Du, S F; Popkin, B M

2014-01-01

The China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) began in 1989 with the goal of creating a multilevel method of data collection from individuals and households and their communities to understand how the wide-ranging social and economic changes in China affect a wide array of nutrition and health-related outcomes. Initiated with a partial sample in 1989, the full survey runs from 1991 to 2011, and this issue documents the CHNS history. The CHNS cohort includes new household formation and replacement communities and households; all household members are studied. Furthermore, in-depth community data are collected. The sample began with eight provinces and added a ninth, Heilongjiang, in 1997 and three autonomous cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, in 2011. The in-depth community contextual measures have allowed us to create a unique measure of urbanicity that captures major dimensions of modernization across all 288 communities currently in the CHNS sample. The standardized, validated urbanicity measure captures the changes in 12 dimensions: population density; economic activity; traditional markets; modern markets; transportation infrastructure; sanitation; communications; housing; education; diversity; health infrastructure; and social services. Each is based on numerous measures applicable to each dimension. They are used jointly and separately in hundreds of studies. © 2014 The Authors. Obesity Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

Integration of educational and scientific-technological areas during the process of education of aerospace engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayorova, Vera

2011-09-01

National priorities, defined by modern state of high-tech industries, demand adequate problem solving of training professionals possessing required modern qualifications. Modern tendencies of the development of aerospace technologies, harsh competition in the market of space services and expansion of international cooperation for implementation of space projects, demand sharp increase of the scientific/technical level and competitiveness of the developed projects. Especially important is to be able to solve technological problems, which in turn define the cost and quality attributes of the designed item, as well as the ability to utilize the most modern design principles. Training of highly efficient, creative professionals who are capable of generating and implementing new ideas is a very important factor driving not only the development of national economy and industry, but also enriching the human capital of the country. Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman developed and successfully implemented the project-oriented technology of professional training for aerospace industry. It assumes a multitude of forms, methodologies and organizational events, which allow preparing the specialists - on the basis of integration of scientific/technological and educational environment - who are adapted to the conditions of the intellectual market. The Youth Space Center of the University is the base where graduate and post-graduate students attend unique lectures as a part of the facultative course "Applied Cosmonautics", participate in annual International Youth Science School "Space Development: Theory and Practice" and develop innovative technical projects aimed at creation of real-life space hardware. Microsatellite technologies are being developed in Bauman University through various projects, which are implemented in a coordinated manner by way of accomplishing the following steps: development of small-size satellites by universities, using them as test-beds for quick and affordable trial-and-test of new technologies and design solutions in aerospace followed by implementation of selected efficiencies in the industry; development and improvement of ground control infrastructure based in the university, which includes the Mission Control Center and the Earth Remote Sensing Center; development of cooperative partnerships with international partners in the field of microsatellite technologies with the goal of sharing experience, uniting efforts in preparing and running scientific and educational experiments and creating next-generation spacecraft by multi-national student groups. Such approaches allow creating seamless environment that unites educational, scientific and innovative processes. This allows students to develop high professionalism, modern engineering thinking and stable engineering skills at an early stage of education at the university.

Getting your message out with social marketing.

PubMed

Manoff, R K

1997-09-01

This article was based on a speech presented at a Plenary Session of the 1996 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The address describes the nature of social marketing with examples and some lessons learned in developing countries. The earliest social marketers were Moses with the Ten Commandments of God and Indian religious authorities with fertility motifs inscribed on temple walls. Modern marketers of beer and snack food preempted the ancients and made social marketing more ingenious. The strategy shifted to supplying a product to satisfy a consumer want. Messages became a two-way process that minimized feedback shock. Focus groups were used to probe consumers' thoughts. Research must probe the total environment of the "problem." In Brazil, breast feeding promotions revealed that the perceived problem may not be the real problem, and there was no single magic solution. Most tropical disease prevention approaches do not rely on multistage strategies. The oral rehydration therapy (ORT) strategy became a world-wide model when strategists realized that the formula had to be easy to remember, diarrhea had to be recognized as a disease, and the function of ORT had to be clearly defined. The Bangladesh Social Marketing Campaign was successful in getting men to discuss family planning with their wives and establishing the family planning worker as a heroine. Effective messages must uncover points of resistance to the message. Public health advances in the 19th century were due to social policy to improve water supply, sanitation, and nutrition. The iodization of salt in Ecuador was possible with political will, public awareness, redirection of perception, and motivation of demand. Social marketing resources exist in all countries nowadays. Only medical and scientific professionals can promote concern about tropical diseases and raise the prevention priority on the public agenda.

Stochastic processes in the social sciences: Markets, prices and wealth distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, Natalia E.

The present work uses statistical mechanics tools to investigate the dynamics of markets, prices, trades and wealth distribution. We studied the evolution of market dynamics in different stages of historical development by analyzing commodity prices from two distinct periods ancient Babylon, and medieval and early modern England. We find that the first-digit distributions of both Babylon and England commodity prices follow Benfords law, indicating that the data represent empirical observations typically arising from a free market. Further, we find that the normalized prices of both Babylon and England agricultural commodities are characterized by stretched exponential distributions, and exhibit persistent correlations of a power law type over long periods of up to several centuries, in contrast to contemporary markets. Our findings suggest that similar market interactions may underlie the dynamics of ancient agricultural commodity prices, and that these interactions may remain stable across centuries. To further investigate the dynamics of markets we present the analogy between transfers of money between individuals and the transfer of energy through particle collisions by means of the kinetic theory of gases. We introduce a theoretical framework of how the micro rules of trading lead to the emergence of income and wealth distribution. Particularly, we study the effects of different types of distribution of savings/investments among individuals in a society and different welfare/subsidies redistribution policies. Results show that while considering savings propensities the models approach empirical distributions of wealth quite well the effect of redistribution better captures specific features of the distributions which earlier models failed to do; moreover the models still preserve the exponential decay observed in empirical income distributions reported by tax data and surveys.

Buying health: the costs of commercialism and an alternative philosophy.

PubMed

Churchill, Larry R; Churchill, Shelley C

2013-08-01

This paper argues that commercial forces have steadily encroached into our understanding of medicine and health in modern industrial societies. The impact on the delivery of personal medical services and on common ideas about food and nutrition is profound and largely deleterious to public health. A key component of commercialization is reductionism of medical services, health products and nutritional components into small, marketable units. This reductive force makes both medical services and nutritional components more costly and is corrosive to more holistic concepts of health. We compare commercial and holistic approaches to nutrition in detail and offer an alternative philosophy. Adopting this alternative will require sound public policies that rely less on marketing as a distribution system and that enfranchise individuals to be reflective on their use of medical services, their food and nutrition choices, and their larger health needs.

Bioethics, theology, and social change.

PubMed

Cahill, Lisa Sowle

2003-01-01

Recent years have witnessed a concern among theological bioethicists that secular debate has grown increasingly "thin," and that "thick" religious traditions and their spokespersons have been correspondingly excluded. This essay disputes that analysis. First, religious and theological voices compete for public attention and effectiveness with the equally "thick" cultural traditions of modern science and market capitalism. The distinctive contribution of religion should be to emphasize social justice in access to the benefits of health care, challenging the for-profit global marketing of research and biotechnology to wealthy consumers. Second, religion and theology have been and are still socially effective in sponsoring activism for practical change, both locally and globally. This claim will be supported with specific examples; with familiar concepts like subsidiarity and "middle axioms"; and with recent analyses of "participatory democracy" and of emerging, decentralized forms of global governance.

Anesthesiology and competitive strategy.

PubMed

Gross, Wendy L; Gold, Barbara

2009-03-01

Whether we like it or not, medicine is big business. The argument is sometimes made that standard management strategies from the business world do not apply to medicine because the economics and practice of medicine are unique--driven by science and rapid rates of change. But an exploding knowledge base, light-speed technological development, and ever-changing reimbursement schemes are not exclusive to medicine and health care. Some fundamental principles of finance, business management, and strategic development have evolved to deal with problems of rapid change. These principles do apply to modern medicine. The business side of anesthesia practice is off-putting to many clinicians. However, knowledge of the market forces at play can help enhance patient care, improve service, expand opportunities, and extend the perimeter of the discipline. The mission and current market position of anesthesiology practice are considered here.

Medicine as a Public Calling.

PubMed

Bagley, Nicholas

2015-01-01

The debate over how to tame private medical spending tends to pit advocates of government-provided insurance--a single-payer scheme--against those who would prefer to harness market forces to hold down costs. When it is mentioned at all, the possibility of regulating the medical industry as a public utility is brusquely dismissed as anathema to the American regulatory tradition. This dismissiveness, however, rests on a failure to appreciate just how deeply the public utility model shaped health law in the twentieth century-- and how it continues to shape health law today. Closer economic regulation of the medical industry may or may not be prudent, but it is by no means incompatible with our governing institutions and political culture. Indeed, the durability of such regulation suggests that the modern embrace of market-based approaches in the medical industry may be more ephemeral than it seems.

Restructuring the US telecommunications industry - Impact on innovation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agnew, C. E.; Romeo, A. A.

1981-01-01

The Communications Act of 1934, which regulates the United States telecommunications industry, is becoming less able to deal with the changes brought by modern technology. Therefore, proposals are being made to restructure the industry. Breaking up AT&T into smaller firms would have only minor effects, since its ratio of R and D to sales has been near the median for large telephone companies. Restructuring AT&T into subsidiaries dealing at arms' length might cause a reordering of priorities toward more directly marketable and useful products, but too extensive a break-up could endanger Bell Labs' commitment to basic research. Regulation leads a firm to ignore true social value of possible products, expand into low profit markets, and favor capital-intensive over labor-intensive innovation. If regulatory lag occurs, a firm will produce cost-reducing innovation in order to increase its profit.

A profile of U.S. hospital mergers.

PubMed

Harrison, Jeffrey P; McDowell, Geoffrey M

2005-01-01

According to Modern Healthcare's Annual Report on Mergers and Acquisitions the number of hospital mergers has declined significantly since the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. This study evaluated market characteristics, organizational factors and the operational performance of these hospitals prior to merger. We found that merged hospitals were more likely to be located in markets with higher per capital income and higher HMO penetration. Merged hospitals were larger in size and had greater clinical complexity as measured by increased services. Finally, we found that merged hospitals had higher occupancy rates, lower return on assets (ROA), and older facilities. From a managerial perspective, merged hospitals display many of the characteristics of an organization in financial distress. From a policy standpoint, the decline in hospital mergers subsequent to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 may affect the long-term survivability of many U.S. hospitals.

A new valve-regulated lead/acid automotive battery for use in original equipment and supply to the replacement market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fouache, S.; Douady, J. P.; Fossati, G.; Pascon, C.

Valve-regulated lead/acid (VRLA) batteries have been available since the beginning of the 1970s for stationary applications. Nevertheless, the development and the commercialization of VRLA starter batteries have been very slow and mainlyrestricted to certain niche markets. This is due to the difficulty in designing products that comply with the technical specificationsrequired by the operating conditions of modern cars, and that have both a high level of reliability and a cost in accordance with the needs ofthe automotive market. The STR (sealed technology with gas recombination) battery has been developed in order to place on the automotiveoriginal equipment and replacement markets a battery with the benefits of the VRLA technology, namely: absolutely no maintenance; cleanand safe; good open-circuit storage; good cycling ability; performance comparable with that of flooded batteries (i.e., cranking powerand reserve capacity, charge acceptance, rechargeability, and life). Due to the technical choices made for the components and forthe manufacturing process, the STR battery is today manufactured on a production line very similar to that for a flooded battery, with agood level of productivity and the same reliability as the best flooded batteries. For all these reasons, the STR battery is producedat a cost that is acceptable for automotive applications.

Why should we compensate organ donors when we can continue to take organs for free? A response to some of my critics.

PubMed

Cherry, Mark J

2009-12-01

In Kidney for Sale by Owner: Human Organs, Transplantation, and the Market, I argued that the market is the most efficient and effective-and morally justified-means of procuring and allocating human organs for transplantation. This special issue of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy publishes several articles critical of this position and of my arguments mustered in its support. In this essay, I explore the core criticisms these authors raise against my conclusions. I argue that clinging to comfortable, but unfounded, notions that human body parts are not commodities, that the physician-patient relationship transcends commercial practices, and that medicine rises above market-place morality (where "market-place morality" is presented rhetorically as a criticism) leads to a real failure adequately to appreciate the complex reality of modern medicine. Denying the illicit moral intuitions that commodification of body parts is immoral or that it necessarily violates human dignity would benefit donors and recipients alike, while also reinforcing virtuous transplantation practice and policy. Honestly acknowledging the medical marketplace would shed light on what is often a hazy and shrouded policy setting. At stake is not solely the efficiency of procuring human organs for transplantation but also the recognition of the moral authority of persons over themselves.

DEEP-SaM - Energy-Efficient Provisioning Policies for Computing Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodenstein, Christian; Püschel, Tim; Hedwig, Markus; Neumann, Dirk

The cost of electricity for datacenters is a substantial operational cost that can and should be managed, not only for saving energy, but also due to the ecologic commitment inherent to power consumption. Often, pursuing this goal results in chronic underutilization of resources, a luxury most resource providers do not have in light of their corporate commitments. This work proposes, formalizes and numerically evaluates DEEP-Sam, for clearing provisioning markets, based on the maximization of welfare, subject to utility-level dependant energy costs and customer satisfaction levels. We focus specifically on linear power models, and the implications of the inherent fixed costs related to energy consumption of modern datacenters and cloud environments. We rigorously test the model by running multiple simulation scenarios and evaluate the results critically. We conclude with positive results and implications for long-term sustainable management of modern datacenters.

Food Store Choice Among Urban Slum Women Is Associated With Consumption of Energy-Dense Food.

PubMed

Anggraini, Roselynne; Februhartanty, Judhiastuty; Bardosono, Saptawati; Khusun, Helda; Worsley, Anthony

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to examine the associations of food store choice with food consumption among urban slum women. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 188 urban slum women (19-50 years old) in Jakarta, Indonesia. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food consumption. Associations between food consumption and food store choice were tested by linear regression. This study found that frequencies of buying food from small shops (warung), street food vendors, and modern food stores were significantly associated with consumption of snacks, mixed dishes, and fruit respectively. In addition, buying food from traditional markets and small cafes (warung makan) was not significantly associated with particular types of food consumption. As modern food stores are rarely utilized by these women, small shops (warung) and street food vendors are likely to be important channels to improve slum dwellers' diet. © 2016 APJPH.

Social modernization and the increase in the divorce rate.

PubMed

Esser, H

1993-03-01

The author develops a micro-model of marital interactions that is used to analyze factors affecting the divorce rate in modern industrialized societies. The core of the model is the concept of production of marital gain and mutual control of this production. "The increase of divorce rates, then, is explained by a steady decrease of institutional and social embeddedness, which helps to solve this kind of an 'assurance game.' The shape of the individual risk is explained by the typical form of change of the 'production functions' of marriages within the first period of adaptation. The inconsistent results concerning womens' labor market participation in linear regression models are explained as a consequence of the (theoretical and statistical) 'interaction' of decreases in embeddedness and increases in external alternatives for women." Comments are included by Karl-Dieter Opp (pp. 278-82) and Ulrich Witt (pp. 283-5). excerpt

China’s Banking Reform Strategies and Its Effects on the Modernization Efforts of the People’s Liberation Army

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-12-01

through the sale of ownership shares to individual investors or by the licensing of new private institutions and expanding the role of foreign financial ... institutions , market forces will have a greater input in focusing capital resources.22 Nicholas Lardy elegantly captures the dilemma for Beijing’s...Unfinished Revolution, Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998, 220. 22 John Langlois, Jr., “The WTO and China’s Financial System” The China

Thoughts on The Battle for the Minds: IO and COIN in the Pashtun Belt

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-10-01

the blackjack table. Some of the world’s best poker players are those who have grown up in the modern battlefields of insurgency. Local... life in a hard society. Such concepts as vegetable diversity and the ability to obtain wider access to markets matter daily to the average Afghan on... the Pashtunwali code are certainly central to much of daily life and social The concerns of the aver- age citizen on an average day should be the

Military Review: The Professional Journal of the U.S. Army, May-June 2008

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

materialize. Soldiers, USAID personnel, and local Iraqis walk through a market during a mission in Taji, Iraq, 8 February 2008. U .S . a ir Fo rc e...the armed Forces and a paper nominating James Forrestal to be the first Secretary of Defense. an hour later, en route to missouri, Truman learned that...substitute. Eberstadt argued that military unification “looks good on paper ,” but “has never been put to the acid test of modern war.” The idea

Applying Modern Portfolio Theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model to DoD’s Information Technology Investments

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

axis was really historical volatility of the return on a particular stock (capital gains of losses as well as dividends). Markowitz’s theory is an...market, the risk involved in a particular stock is determined by the historical volatility of the return. “But investments like IT projects or new...product development don’t typically have ‘ historical volatility .’ They do, however, share another characteristic of risk that is more fundamental than

Foreign Languages for the Professions: An Inter-Cultural Approach to Modern Communications. Proceedings of the [Center for International Higher Education Documentation] Conference (5th, Weston, MA, May 14, 1981). CIHED Conference Series, No. 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Solveig M., Ed.

The general focus of the papers in these proceedings is communication and the specific purpose for which persons study a foreign language. The following papers are included: (1) "Marketing Your Innovative Language Program," by S. Sadow; (2) "The Implementation of Taped Interviews in Foreign Language Courses," by J. Frommer and M. Collins Weitz;…

Information Technology Portfolio Management Proof of Concept: Modern Portfolio Theory With KVA and ROI Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

approach” that provides analysis for “program managers to attain the right knowledge [e.g., portfolio values] at critical junctures so they can make...portfolio, it is critical to create a credible beta (β) for the presumed “market volatility” of the IT asset class. The KVA methodology may be used...for this critical task. Establishing a beta (β) for DoD wide IT portfolio management uses the work conducted at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS

Increased mercury emissions from modern dental amalgams.

PubMed

Bengtsson, Ulf G; Hylander, Lars D

2017-04-01

All types of dental amalgams contain mercury, which partly is emitted as mercury vapor. All types of dental amalgams corrode after being placed in the oral cavity. Modern high copper amalgams exhibit two new traits of increased instability. Firstly, when subjected to wear/polishing, droplets rich in mercury are formed on the surface, showing that mercury is not being strongly bonded to the base or alloy metals. Secondly, high copper amalgams emit substantially larger amounts of mercury vapor than the low copper amalgams used before the 1970s. High copper amalgams has been developed with focus on mechanical strength and corrosion resistance, but has been sub-optimized in other aspects, resulting in increased instability and higher emission of mercury vapor. This has not been presented to policy makers and scientists. Both low and high copper amalgams undergo a transformation process for several years after placement, resulting in a substantial reduction in mercury content, but there exist no limit for maximum allowed emission of mercury from dental amalgams. These modern high copper amalgams are nowadays totally dominating the European, US and other markets, resulting in significant emissions of mercury, not considered when judging their suitability for dental restoration.

A never-ending succession of epidemics? Mortality in early-modern York.

PubMed

Galley, C

1994-04-01

Early-modern cities are often perceived to be centres of high mortality and under constant siege from a barrage of epidemics. However, few urban mortality rates have been calculated and by employing parish register evidence from the regional capital of York, the thesis that the city was subjected to continual sudden increases in mortality can be firmly rejected. Infant mortality was high but remained virtually constant between 1561 and 1700. About a quarter of all infants did not survive to reach their first birthday and neonatal mortality was especially severe. From the mid-seventeenth century a series of epidemics increased child mortality although overall levels of mortality were not significantly affected. Relatively little can be said about adult mortality and apart from two periods of 'crisis' mortality there is little to suggest that adults were greatly affected by epidemics. Indeed, for many adults the urban environment appears to have posed no great threat to health and most could look forward to a relatively long life in the city. York's mortality regime was very similar to that of the smaller market town of Gainsborough where high levels of mortality remained stable throughout much of the early-modern period.

Meat species identification and Halal authentication using PCR analysis of raw and cooked traditional Turkish foods.

PubMed

Ulca, Pelin; Balta, Handan; Çağın, Ilknur; Senyuva, Hamide Z

2013-07-01

The method performance characteristics of commercially available PCR kits for animal species identification were established. Comminuted meat products containing different levels of pork were prepared from authentic beef, chicken, and turkey. These meat products were analysed in the raw state and after cooking for 20 min at 200 °C. For both raw and cooked meats, the PCR kit could correctly identify the animal species and could reliably detect the addition of pork at a level below 0.1%. A survey of 42 Turkish processed meat products such as soudjouk, salami, sausage, meatball, cured spiced beef and doner kebap was conducted. Thirty-six samples were negative for the presence of pork (<0.1%) and four were found to be correctly labelled as containing pork. However, one sausage sample was labelled as containing 5% beef, but beef DNA was not detected and a meatball sample labelled as 100% beef was found to contain chicken. Another turkey meatball sample was predominantly chicken. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiplex-PCR As a Rapid and Sensitive Method for Identification of Meat Species in Halal-Meat Products.

PubMed

Alikord, Mahsa; Keramat, Javad; Kadivar, Mahdi; Momtaz, Hassan; Eshtiaghi, Mohammad N; Homayouni-Rad, Aziz

2017-01-01

Species identification and authentication in meat products are important subjects for ensuring the health of consumers. The multiplex-PCR amplification and species- specific primer set were used for the identification of horse, donkey, pig and other ruminants in raw and processed meat products. Oligonucleotid primers were designed and patented for amplification of species-specific mitochondrial DNA sequences of each species and samples were prepared from binary meat mixtures. The results showed that meat species were accurately determined in all combinations by multiplex-PCR, and the sensitivity of this method was 0.001 ng, rendering this technique open to and suitable for use in industrial meat products. It is concluded that more fraud is seen in lower percentage industrial meat products than in higher percentage ones. There was also more fraud found in processed products than in raw ones. This rapid and useful test is recommended for quality control firms for applying more rigorous controls over industrial meat products, for the benefit of target consumers. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

[Drug advertising as communication between the pharmaceutical industry and the physician: advertisements for psychotropic drugs in the Dutch medical journal, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, 1900-1940].

PubMed

van der Hoogte, Arjo Roersch; Pieters, Toine

2010-01-01

In this article we explore the historical development of drug advertisements for psychotropic drugs in the leading Dutch medical journal from 1900 to 1940. The advertisements for hypnotics and sedatives, in The Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (Dutch medical journal) reflected the changes in the vocabulary and image promoted by the pharmaceutical companies. In the first two decades, the advertisements were sober and to the point, and included the trademark, company name, molecular formula and therapeutic properties of the medication. The emphasis was on creating a scientific image of reliable symptom control for the therapeutic drug. In doing so, the ethical drug companies tried (successfully) to distinguish themselves from the producers of patent medicines. Once scientific credibility was established, the form and content of the advertisements changed significantly. In the late 1920s and 1930s drug companies embraced modern advertising techniques, developing a figurative language to address the changing beliefs and practices of Dutch physicians. Instead of promoting therapeutic drugs as safe and scientific, the emphasis was on their effectiveness in comparison to similar drugs. In the process, scientific information was reduced to an indispensable standardized minimum, whereby therapeutic drugs were advertised according to the latest pharmacological taxonomy rather than molecular formulas. The image-making of 'ethical marketing' began during the interwar years when marketers applied modern advertising techniques and infotainment strategies. The scanty black and white informational bulletins transitioned into colourful advertisements. The pharmaceutical companies employed the same medical language as used by physicians, so that one word or image in an advertisement would suffice for the physician to recognize a drug and its therapeutic properties. These developments show the changing relationship between the modern ethical pharmaceutical industry and Dutch doctors during the interwar years--from rapprochement towards concerted action.

New labour and reform of the English NHS: user views and attitudes.

PubMed

Wallace, Andrew; Taylor-Gooby, Peter

2010-06-01

The British National Health Service has undergone significant restructuring in recent years. In England this has taken a distinctive direction where the New Labour Government has embraced and intensified the influence of market principles towards its vision of a 'modernized' NHS. This has entailed the introduction of competition and incentives for providers of NHS care and the expansion of choice for patients. To explore how users of the NHS perceive and respond to the market reforms being implemented within the NHS. In addition, to examine the normative values held by NHS users in relation to welfare provision in the UK. Qualitative interviews using a quota sample of 48 recent NHS users in South East England recruited from three local health economies. Some NHS users are exhibiting an ambivalent or anxious response to aspects of market reform such as patient choice, the use of targets and markets and the increasing presence of the private sector within the state healthcare sector. This has resulted in a sense that current reforms, are distracting or preventing NHS staff from delivering quality of care and fail to embody the relationships of care that are felt to sustain the NHS as a progressive public institution. The best way of delivering such values for patients is perceived to involve empowering frontline staffs who are deemed to embody the same values as service users, thus problematizing the current assumptions of reform frameworks that market-style incentives will necessarily gain public consent and support.

“Smoking Revolution” A Content Analysis of Electronic Cigarette Retail Websites

PubMed Central

Grana, Rachel A.; Ling, Pamela M.

2014-01-01

Background Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been increasingly available and marketed in the U.S. since 2007. As patterns of product adoption are frequently driven and reinforced by marketing, it is important to understand the marketing claims encountered by consumers. Purpose To describe the main advertising claims made on branded e-cigarette retail websites. Methods Websites were retrieved from two major search engines in 2011 using iterative searches with the following terms: electronic cigarette, e-cigarette, e-cig, and personal vaporizer. Fifty-nine websites met inclusion criteria, and 13 marketing claims were coded for main marketing messages in 2012. Results Ninety-five percent of the websites made explicit or implicit health-related claims, 64% had a smoking cessation-related claim, 22% featured doctors, and 76% claimed that the product does not produce secondhand smoke. Comparisons to cigarettes included claims that e-cigarettes were cleaner (95%) and cheaper (93%). Eighty-eight percent stated that the product could be smoked anywhere and 71% mentioned using the product to circumvent clean air policies. Candy, fruit, and coffee flavors were offered on most sites. Youthful appeals included images or claims of modernity (73%), increased social status (44%), enhanced social activity (32%), romance (31%), and use by celebrities (22%). Conclusions Health claims and smoking cessation messages that are unsupported by current scientific evidence are frequently used to sell e-cigarettes. Implied and overt health claims, the presence of doctors on websites, celebrity endorsements, and the use of characterizing flavors should be prohibited. PMID:24650842

The quest to be "modern": The adoption of electric light, heat, and power technology in small-town America, 1883-1929

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hellrigel, Mary Ann

This dissertation is a social, business, and technological history of electrification in the United States. It examines the origins of the electric utility industry, the development of light, heat and power technology, the marketing of electric service, and the adoption of electricity and domestic appliances in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in two communities: Harrisburg and West Chester, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the 1880s, manufactured gas and electric utilities waged an intense and lengthy battle for the urban energy marketplace. Many villages, small towns and big cities had multiple gas and electric companies, driving technological change as they worked to increase reliability, lower costs, and improve lamps, lighting fixtures, and appliances. Producers as well as consumers grappled with these new sources of energy, looking for profitable and practical ways to incorporate them into everyday life. Gas and utility executives, locked in head-to-head competition, realized that marketing their invisible product was an uncertain process. Utilities redefined the concepts of "tradition" and "modernity" to attract investors and offer appliances and installation in addition to selling energy. Upper and middle class households seeking a modern comfortable home could use gas or electricity (and often both), while working classes made do with kerosene, coal and wood. Mixed technologies, based on consumer preference, access, product availability, price, and service greatly influenced the creation of "modern" America. Initially, Pennsylvania law mandated local energy systems-electricity and gas had to be consumed within the same town. Only in the early twentieth century were these laws amended to permit inter-connections, allowing merger and consolidation of utilities to serve a wider geographic area. By the 1910s, law, technology, and capital made it possible to abandon local central stations. In only a few decades, the industry shifted from locally-owned small scale generation plants to larger regional systems capable of long distance transmission and directed by a cadre of engineering, financial, and managerial experts. In 1928, Harrisburg's electric utility merged into the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company and the next year West Chester's electric and gas companies became part of the Philadelphia Electric Company, marking the beginning of a new era.

Modernization is Associated with Intensive Breastfeeding Patterns in the Bolivian Amazon

PubMed Central

Veile, Amanda; Martin, Melanie; McAllister, Lisa

2014-01-01

For many traditional, non-industrialized populations, intensive and prolonged breastfeeding buffers infant health against poverty, poor sanitation, and limited health care. Due to novel influences on local economies, values, and beliefs, the traditional and largely beneficial breastfeeding patterns of such populations may be changing to the detriment of infant health. To assess if and why such changes are occurring in a traditional breastfeeding population, we document breastfeeding patterns in the Bolivian Tsimane, a forager-horticulturalist population in the early stages of modernization. Three predictions are developed and tested to evaluate the general hypothesis that modernizing influences encourage less intensive breastfeeding in the Tsimane: 1) Tsimane mothers in regions of higher infant mortality will practice more intensive BF; 2) Tsimane mothers who are located closer to a local market town will practice more intensive BF; and 3) Older Tsimane mothers will practice more intensive BF. Predictions were tested using a series of maternal interviews (from 2003-2011, n=215) and observations of mother-infant dyads (from 2002-2007, n=133). Tsimane breastfeeding patterns were generally intensive: 72% of mothers reported initiating BF within a few hours of birth, mean (± SD) age of CF introduction was 4.1±2.0 months, and mean (± SD) weaning age was 19.2±7.3 months. There was, however, intra-population variation in several dimensions of breastfeeding (initiation, frequency, duration, and complementary feeding). Contrary to our predictions, breastfeeding was most intensive in the most modernized Tsimane villages, and maternal age was not a significant predictor of breastfeeding patterns. Regional differences accounted for variation in most dimensions of breastfeeding (initiation, frequency, and complementary feeding). Future research should therefore identify constraints on breastfeeding in the less modernized Tsimane regions, and examine the formation of maternal beliefs regarding infant feeding. PMID:24444850

Demand generation activities and modern contraceptive use in urban areas of four countries: a longitudinal evaluation

PubMed Central

Speizer, Ilene S; Corroon, Meghan; Calhoun, Lisa; Lance, Peter; Montana, Livia; Nanda, Priya; Guilkey, David

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Family planning is crucial for preventing unintended pregnancies and for improving maternal and child health and well-being. In urban areas where there are large inequities in family planning use, particularly among the urban poor, programs are needed to increase access to and use of contraception among those most in need. This paper presents the midterm evaluation findings of the Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (Urban RH Initiative) programs, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, that are being implemented in 4 countries: India (Uttar Pradesh), Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. Between 2010 and 2013, the Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) project collected baseline and 2-year longitudinal follow-up data from women in target study cities to examine the role of demand generation activities undertaken as part of the Urban RH Initiative programs. Evaluation results demonstrate that, in each country where it was measured, outreach by community health or family planning workers as well as local radio programs were significantly associated with increased use of modern contraceptive methods. In addition, in India and Nigeria, television programs had a significant effect on modern contraceptive use, and in Kenya and Nigeria, the program slogans and materials that were blanketed across the cities (eg, leaflets/brochures distributed at health clinics and the program logo placed on all forms of materials, from market umbrellas to health facility signs and television programs) were also significantly associated with modern method use. Our results show that targeted, multilevel demand generation activities can make an important contribution to increasing modern contraceptive use in urban areas and could impact Millennium Development Goals for improved maternal and child health and access to reproductive health for all. PMID:25611476

Modern Role of Architectural Style Category in Russian Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chudinova, V. G.

2017-11-01

The article examines the functional aspects of architectural style use as an instrument for communication, self-positioning, representation and commercial attractiveness. The modern Russian practice is marked by a predominance of decorating methods rather than architectural ones used to create an artistic image. Specific examples illustrate stylistic trends that are indicative of an identity crisis. The problem goes beyond the scope of a custom or corporate design. This is especially evident in the former Soviet Union republics. The style issue is inherent in the advertising and commercial sphere of interior design and furnishing promotion. One can state that the category of art studies has been introduced into the collective consciousness but in some extrinsic way. Marketing managers and designers who have a very vague idea of the fundamental scientific concepts form a new language and market demand not only for a design work product but also for its positioning. This leads to a semantic distortion of the architectural style characteristic and a misconception. At the same time, there is a growing need for new definitions and verbalizations of perceptual experience. The conclusions contain an assumption on a reversible scientific and practical process when the theory is forced to accept and attend to a spontaneously formed and deep-rooted system of meanings. The need to develop the architectural theory in the communication language realm is brought up. The research problem is stated both for social science and anthropology as well as for culturology and art history.

Double degree master program: Optical Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakholdin, Alexey; Kujawinska, Malgorzata; Livshits, Irina; Styk, Adam; Voznesenskaya, Anna; Ezhova, Kseniia; Ermolayeva, Elena; Ivanova, Tatiana; Romanova, Galina; Tolstoba, Nadezhda

2015-10-01

Modern tendencies of higher education require development of master programs providing achievement of learning outcomes corresponding to quickly variable job market needs. ITMO University represented by Applied and Computer Optics Department and Optical Design and Testing Laboratory jointly with Warsaw University of Technology represented by the Institute of Micromechanics and Photonics at The Faculty of Mechatronics have developed a novel international master double-degree program "Optical Design" accumulating the expertise of both universities including experienced teaching staff, educational technologies, and experimental resources. The program presents studies targeting research and professional activities in high-tech fields connected with optical and optoelectronics devices, optical engineering, numerical methods and computer technologies. This master program deals with the design of optical systems of various types, assemblies and layouts using computer modeling means; investigation of light distribution phenomena; image modeling and formation; development of optical methods for image analysis and optical metrology including optical testing, materials characterization, NDT and industrial control and monitoring. The goal of this program is training a graduate capable to solve a wide range of research and engineering tasks in optical design and metrology leading to modern manufacturing and innovation. Variability of the program structure provides its flexibility and adoption according to current job market demands and personal learning paths for each student. In addition considerable proportion of internship and research expands practical skills. Some special features of the "Optical Design" program which implements the best practices of both Universities, the challenges and lessons learnt during its realization are presented in the paper.

Characteristics of products generated by selective sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cariapa, Vikram

1993-01-01

The trend in the modern global economy towards free market policies has motivated companies to use rapid prototyping technologies to not only reduce product development cycle time but also to maintain their competitive edge. A rapid prototyping technology is one which combines computer aided design with computer controlled tracking of focussed high energy source (eg. lasers, heat) on modern ceramic powders, metallic powders, plastics or photosensitive liquid resins in order to produce prototypes or models. At present, except for the process of shape melting, most rapid prototyping processes generate products that are only dimensionally similar to those of the desired end product. There is an urgent need, therefore, to enhance the understanding of the characteristics of these processes in order to realize their potential for production. Currently, the commercial market is dominated by four rapid prototyping processes, namely selective laser sintering, stereolithography, fused deposition modelling and laminated object manufacturing. This phase of the research has focussed on the selective laser sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes. A theoretical model for these processes is under development. Different rapid prototyping sites supplied test specimens (based on ASTM 638-84, Type I) that have been measured and tested to provide a data base on surface finish, dimensional variation and ultimate tensile strength. Further plans call for developing and verifying the theoretical models by carefully designed experiments. This will be a joint effort between NASA and other prototyping centers to generate a larger database, thus encouraging more widespread usage by product designers.

Buying Health: The Costs of Commercialism and an Alternative Philosophy

PubMed Central

Churchill, Larry R.; Churchill, Shelley C.

2013-01-01

This paper argues that commercial forces have steadily encroached into our understanding of medicine and health in modern industrial societies. The impact on the delivery of personal medical services and on common ideas about food and nutrition is profound and largely deleterious to public health. A key component of commercialization is reductionism of medical services, health products and nutritional components into small, marketable units. This reductive force makes both medical services and nutritional components more costly and is corrosive to more holistic concepts of health. We compare commercial and holistic approaches to nutrition in detail and offer an alternative philosophy. Adopting this alternative will require sound public policies that rely less on marketing as a distribution system and that enfranchise individuals to be reflective on their use of medical services, their food and nutrition choices, and their larger health needs. PMID:24596842

[Physicians, journalists and patients as public spheres in West Germany. The example of the journal "Der Spiegel" (1947-1955)].

PubMed

Prüll, Cay-Rüdiger

2010-01-01

Until today, it is still unexplored, how modern (scientific) medicine in Western Germany could negotiate its social position in the public sphere and how it was represented in the media. This paper will contribute to the analysis of this problem by investigating all entries on "medicine" in the journal "Der Spiegel" during the period 1947 to 1955, when Western Germany was built up. It is possible to show that the journal was a market place where specific public spheres as e.g. physicians, patients or journalists could discuss medical topics. This way, on the one hand, "Der Spiegel" grasped contemporary notions on medicine and the medical market, which made itself felt in later years of Western Germany. On the other hand, the journal itself molded the discussions about a scientific medicine, which was to be not only innovative but also democratic.

Magic, science and masculinity: marketing toy chemistry sets.

PubMed

Al-Gailani, Salim

2009-12-01

At least since the late nineteenth century, toy chemistry sets have featured in standard scripts of the achievement of eminence in science, and they remain important in constructions of scientific identity. Using a selection of these toys manufactured in Britain and the United States, and with particular reference to the two dominant American brands, Gilbert and Chemcraft, this paper suggests that early twentieth-century chemistry sets were rooted in overlapping Victorian traditions of entertainment magic and scientific recreations. As chemistry set marketing copy gradually reoriented towards emphasising scientific modernity, citizenship, discipline and educational value, pre-twentieth-century traditions were subsumed within domestic-and specifically masculine-tropes. These developments in branding strategies point to transformations in both users' engagement with their chemistry sets and the role of scientific toys in domestic play. The chemistry set serves here as a useful tool for measuring cultural change and lay engagement with chemistry.

The model and the planning method of volume and variety assessment of innovative products in an industrial enterprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anisimov, V. G.; Anisimov, E. G.; Saurenko, T. N.; Sonkin, M. A.

2017-01-01

In the long term, the innovative development strategy efficiency is considered as the most crucial condition for assurance of economic system competitiveness in market conditions. It determines the problem relevance of such justification strategies with regard to specific systems features and conditions of their operation. The problem solution for industrial enterprises can be based on mathematical models of supporting the decision-making on the elements of the innovative manufacturing program. An optimization model and the planning method of innovative products volume and variety are suggested. The feature of the suggested model lies in the nonlinear nature of the objective function. It allows taking into consideration the law of diminishing marginal utility. The suggested method of optimization takes into account the system features and enables the effective implementation of manufacturing capabilities in modern conditions of production organization and sales in terms of market saturation.

Integrated Patient Education on U.S. Hospital Web Sites.

PubMed

Huang, Edgar; Wu, Kerong; Edwards, Kelsey

2016-01-01

Based on a census of the 2015 Most Wired Hospitals, this content analysis aimed to find out how patient education has been integrated on these best IT hospitals' Web sites to serve the purposes of marketing and meeting online visitors' needs. This study will help hospitals to understand where the weaknesses are in their interactive patient education implementation and come up with a smart integration strategy. The study found that 70% of these hospitals had adopted interactive patient education contents, 76.6% of such contents were from a third-party developer, and only 20% of the hospitals linked their patient education contents to one or more of the hospital's resources while 26% cross-references such contents. The authors concluded that more hospitals should take advantage of modern information communication technology to cross-reference their patient education contents and to integrate such contents into their overall online marketing strategy to benefit patients and themselves.

Drugs, consumption, and supply in Asia: the case of cocaine in colonial India, c. 1900 - c. 1930.

PubMed

Mills, James H

2007-05-01

This article examines the market for cocaine in India during the early twentieth century and the efforts of the colonial state to control it. The British authorities issued regulations to prohibit the drug's use as early as 1900, and yet by the start of World War I, cocaine's appeal had become socially diverse and geographically wide. This account of a significant market for a powerful new drug suggests that Indian society was able to rapidly develop a demand for such products even when the colonial state had no part in their introduction. Indians used these new products in complex ways- as medicines, as tonics, and as intoxicants, albeit through the localized medium of the everyday paan leaf. The study points to a reconsideration of a number of debates about the history of drugs and modern medicines in Asia.

Analysis on the integration of ERP and e-commerce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yongqing; Shi, Yuliana

2017-08-01

With the continuous development of China's modern economic construction, a variety of information technology are emerging. The new economic development characterized by e-commerce has accelerated the globalization of the economy. In face of increasingly fierce market competition, for enterprises, the constructions of ERP and e-commerce are necessary ways to enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises. At present, most of the internal ERP systems and external e-commerce systems are in relatively independent state. However, with the increasing fierce market competition, a single mode of operation has been unable to meet the requirements of enterprise development. Accordingly, the effective integration of ERP and e-commerce in the new era has become one of the most important topics for enterprise development. This paper firstly analyzes the relationship between ERP and e-commerce, and then analyzes the necessity and feasibility of integration, and finally discusses the integration strategies and technologies.

West Europe report: Science and technology. FRG: Concept paper on microelectronics, communications technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1984-07-01

Precisely because the Federal Republic of Germany is a nation with a strong export orientation the capability to develop and apply, with an eye to the market, modern information and communication technologies and microelectronics which provides the basis for them has a very important bearing on the nations competitive position. To attain a leadership position in information technology, the men and women of the FRG must take up the challenge of this technology in terms of training and continuing education as well as in the media and in public life. Industry must agressively seek out markets and engage in international competition and the state must remove existing obstacles and create the kind of conditions that will make its assistance programs most effective. Programs which reflect the government's resolve to meet the challenge of information technology and to help improve the FRG's competitive position in this field are outlined.

The Virginia Slims identity crisis: an inside look at tobacco industry marketing to women.

PubMed

Toll, B A; Ling, P M

2005-06-01

Because no prior studies have comprehensively analysed previously secret tobacco industry documents describing marketing female brands, the Virginia Slims brand was studied to explore how Philip Morris and competitors develop and adapt promotional campaigns targeting women. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. The majority of the documents used were from Philip Morris. The key to Virginia Slims advertising was creating an aspirational image which women associated with the brand. Virginia Slims co-opted women's liberation slogans to build a modern female image from 1968 through to the 1980s, and its market share grew from 0.24% to 3.16% during that time period. Ironically, the feminist image that worked very well for the brand was also the reason for its subsequent problems. Philip Morris experienced unprecedented losses in market share in the early 1990s, with a decline in market share for four consecutive years from 3.16% to 2.26%; they attributed this decline to both the fact that the brand's feminist image no longer appealed to young women aged 18-24 years, and increased competition from more contemporary and lower priced competitors. Throughout the 1990s, attempts to reacquire young women while retaining Virginia Slims loyal (now older) smokers were made using a "King Size" line extension, new slogans, and loyalty building promotions. Tobacco advertisers initially created distinct female brands with aspirational images; continued appeal to young women was critical for long term growth. The need for established brands to evolve to maintain relevance to young women creates an opportunity for tobacco counter-marketing, which should undermine tobacco brand imagery and promote aspirational smoke-free lifestyle images. Young women age 18-24 are extremely valuable to the tobacco industry and should be a focus for tobacco control programmes.

Biosimilar insulins.

PubMed

Heinemann, Lutz

2012-08-01

Until now most insulin used in developed countries is manufactured and distributed by a small number of multinational companies. Other pharmaceutical companies - many of these are located in countries such as India or China - are also able to manufacture insulin with modern biotechnological methods. Additionally, the patents for many insulin formulations have expired or are going to expire soon. This enables such companies to produce insulins and to apply for market approval of these as biosimilar insulins (BIs) in highly regulated markets such as the EU or the US. To understand the complexity of BIs' approval and usage, scientific and regulatory aspects have to be discussed. Differences in the manufacturing process (none of the insulin-manufacturing procedures are identical) result in the fact that all insulin that might become BIs differ from the originator insulin to some extent. The question is, have such differences in the structure of the insulin molecule and or the purity and so on clinically relevant consequences for the biological effects induced or not. The guidelines already in place in the EU for market approval require that the manufacturer demonstrates that his insulin has a safety and efficacy profile that is similar to that of the 'original' insulin formulation. Recently guidelines for biosimilars were issued in the US; however, these do not cover insulin. Although a challenging approval process for insulins to become BI might be regarded as a hurdle to keep companies out of certain markets, it is fair to say that the potential safety and efficacy issues surrounding BI are substantial and relevant, and do warrant a careful and evidence-driven approval process. Nevertheless, it is very likely that in the next years, BIs will come to the market also in highly regulated markets.

Composition, Respirable Fraction and Dissolution Rate of 24 Stone Wool MMVF with their Binder.

PubMed

Wohlleben, Wendel; Waindok, Hubert; Daumann, Björn; Werle, Kai; Drum, Melanie; Egenolf, Heiko

2017-08-07

Man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF) are produced on a large scale for thermal insulation purposes. After extensive studies of fibre effects in the 1980ies and 1990ies, the composition of MMVF was modified to reduce the fibrotic and cancerogenic potential via reduced biopersistence. However, occupational risks by handling, applying, disposing modern MMVF may be underestimated as the conventional regulatory classification -combining composition, in-vivo clearance and effects- seems to be based entirely on MMVF after removal of the binder. Here we report the oxide composition of 23 modern MMVF from Germany, Finland, UK, Denmark, Russia, China (five different producers) and one pre-1995 MMVF. We find that most of the investigated modern MMVF can be classified as "High-alumina, low-silica wool", but several were on or beyond the borderline to "pre-1995 Rock (Stone) wool". We then used well-established flow-through dissolution testing at pH 4.5 and pH 7.4, with and without binder, at various flow rates, to screen the biosolubility of 14 MMVF over 32 days. At the flow rate and acidic pH of reports that found 47 ng/cm 2 /h dissolution rate for reference biopersistent MMVF21 (without binder), we find rates from 17 to 90 ng/cm 2 /h for modern MMVF as customary in trade (with binder). Removing the binder accelerates the dissolution significantly, but not to the level of reference biosoluble MMVF34. We finally simulated handling or disposing of MMVF and measured size fractions in the aerosol. The respirable fraction of modern MMVF is low, but not less than pre-1995 MMVF. The average composition of modern stone wool MMVF is different from historic biopersistent MMVF, but to a lesser extent than expected. The dissolution rates measured by abiotic methods indicate that the binder has a significant influence on dissolution via gel formation. Considering the content of respirable fibres, these findings imply that the risk assessment of modern stone wool may need to be revisited based on in-vivo studies of MMFV as marketed (with binder).

Electricity market reforms: Institutional developments, investment dynamics and game modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pineau, Pierre-Olivier

The reform trend of the 1990's in electricity markets recreates, to some extent, the institutional framework from which they developed one century ago. Although these reforms do not endeavor to completely remove regulation, the basic objectives of deregulation dwell on limiting central and governmental control over the industry in order to promote free competition at all possible levels. To assess whether the electricity industry is or is not moving back to a 19th century structure is not the goal of this thesis. We will rather try to understand on what grounds deregulation reforms stand and review how different countries and large utilities have reacted to this trend. The special nature of electricity (non-storable basic good, centrally produced) creates different obstacles in the restructuring of electricity markets, compared to other industries like the airline or telecommunication ones. For example, the dominant positions of some utilities, the production structure and the importance of electricity in modern life could transform these reforms in a threatening move for consumers. Another specific issue arising from deregulation, now that national energy policy goals no longer rule the behavior of utilities, is how investment will be coordinated in the new market. A key element to keep in sight is the competition level targeted by these reforms. To which extent full competition can really occur in electricity markets remains an unanswered question. Indeed, the oligopolistic structure of the market could prevent such an outcome. An investigation of the investment dynamics in such a context seems therefore appropriate, and this will be an important theme of the thesis. This work offers an analysis of deregulated electricity markets and studies the oligopolistic market dynamics that could prevail in the new structure. Two complementary approaches are used for these purposes. The first is institutional and presents a thorough illustration of the economic arguments advanced to support market reforms and an industry view of the actual strategic actions undertaken by important utilities. Legislative changes will be reviewed for different countries with a discussion on the assessment procedures for these reforms. A detailed example of the reform process in the Finnish electricity market is presented. The investment issue will emerge as an interesting challenge to focus on, due to its importance for the market. The second approach is more analytical and develops on the market equilibria that could result from the new structure. A dynamic model of investment for the electricity market is built and applied to the Finnish market. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The marketing mix and development of medical tourism in shiraz.

PubMed

Jabbari, Alireza; Rahimi Zarchi, Mohammad Kazem; Kavosi, Zahra; Shafaghat, Tahere; Keshtkaran, Ali

2013-01-01

In recent years, medical tourism market has been raised as one of the income-earning and competitive industries in the world and is considered as a modern field of advanced tourism. Therefore, a great number of countries are seeking to develop this type of tourism and one of the strategies for developing this industry is using the marketing mix elements. This study was a descriptive-analytic and cross sectional one. The research community included all the public and private hospitals of Shiraz among which, 7 public and 9 private hospitals were studied. The study data were collected through a researcher-made check list whose face and content validity was confirmed by the experts. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software. According to the objectives of the study, the descriptive results were presented in frequency tables and Chi-square test was used for data analysis. In addition, P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. According to the results, both public and private hospitals of Shiraz were in the best condition regarding staff and physician mix and in the worst condition concerning promoting and facilities mixes. No significant difference was found between public and private hospitals regarding the mixes. From marketing mix elements view, paying more attention to media advertisements and providing more facilities can improve the status of the hospitals which, consequently, results in attracting more medical tourists and developing this industry in Shiraz.

Effects of human population density and proximity to markets on coral reef fishes vulnerable to extinction by fishing.

PubMed

Brewer, T D; Cinner, J E; Green, A; Pressey, R L

2013-06-01

Coral reef fisheries are crucial to the livelihoods of tens of millions of people; yet, widespread habitat degradation and unsustainable fishing are causing severe depletion of stocks of reef fish. Understanding how social and economic factors, such as human population density, access to external markets, and modernization interact with fishing and habitat degradation to affect fish stocks is vital to sustainable management of coral reef fisheries. We used fish survey data, national social and economic data, and path analyses to assess whether these factors explain variation in biomass of coral reef fishes among 25 sites in Solomon Islands. We categorized fishes into 3 groups on the basis of life-history characteristics associated with vulnerability to extinction by fishing (high, medium, and low vulnerability). The biomass of fish with low vulnerability was positively related to habitat condition. The biomass of fishes with high vulnerability was negatively related to fishing conducted with efficient gear. Use of efficient gear, in turn, was strongly and positively related to both population density and market proximity. This result suggests local population pressure and external markets have additive negative effects on vulnerable reef fish. Biomass of the fish of medium vulnerability was not explained by fishing intensity or habitat condition, which suggests these species may be relatively resilient to both habitat degradation and fishing. © 2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Equity monitoring for social marketing: use of wealth quintiles and the concentration index for decision making in HIV prevention, family planning, and malaria programs.

PubMed

Chakraborty, Nirali M; Firestone, Rebecca; Bellows, Nicole

2013-01-01

The majority of social marketing programs are intended to reach the poor. It is therefore essential that social marketing organizations monitor the health equity of their programs and improve targeting when the poor are not being reached. Current measurement approaches are often insufficient for decision making because they fail to show a program's ability to reach the poor and demonstrate progress over time. Further, effective program equity metrics should be benchmarked against a national reference population and consider exposure, not just health outcomes, to measure direct results of implementation. This study compares two measures of health equity, concentration indices and wealth quintiles, using a defined reference population, and considers benefits of both measures together to inform programmatic decision making. Three datasets from recent cross-sectional behavioral surveys on malaria, HIV, and family planning from Nepal and Burkina Faso were used to calculate concentration indices and wealth quintiles. Each sample was standardized to national wealth distributions based on recent Demographic and Health Surveys. Wealth quintiles were generated and concentration indices calculated for health outcomes and program exposure in each sample. Chi-square and t-tests were used to assess statistical significance of results. Reporting wealth quintiles showed that recipients of Population Services International (PSI) interventions were wealthier than national populations. Both measures indicated that desirable health outcomes were usually concentrated among wealthier populations. Positive and significant concentration indices in all three surveys indicated that wealth and program exposure were correlated; however this relationship was not necessarily linear. In analyzing the equity of modern contraceptive use stratified by exposure to family planning messages in Nepal, the outcome was equitable (concentration index = 0.006, p = 0.68) among the exposed, while the wealthy were more likely to use modern contraceptives (concentration index = 0.071, p < 0.01) among the unexposed. Using wealth quintiles and concentration indices together for equity monitoring improves usability of findings for decision making. Applying both metrics, and analyzing equity of exposure along with health outcomes, provides results that have statistical and programmatic significance. Benchmarking equity data against national data improves generalizability. This approach benefits social marketers and global health implementers to improve strategic decision making and programs' ability to reach the poor.

Equity monitoring for social marketing: use of wealth quintiles and the concentration index for decision making in HIV prevention, family planning, and malaria programs

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The majority of social marketing programs are intended to reach the poor. It is therefore essential that social marketing organizations monitor the health equity of their programs and improve targeting when the poor are not being reached. Current measurement approaches are often insufficient for decision making because they fail to show a program's ability to reach the poor and demonstrate progress over time. Further, effective program equity metrics should be benchmarked against a national reference population and consider exposure, not just health outcomes, to measure direct results of implementation. This study compares two measures of health equity, concentration indices and wealth quintiles, using a defined reference population, and considers benefits of both measures together to inform programmatic decision making. Methods Three datasets from recent cross-sectional behavioral surveys on malaria, HIV, and family planning from Nepal and Burkina Faso were used to calculate concentration indices and wealth quintiles. Each sample was standardized to national wealth distributions based on recent Demographic and Health Surveys. Wealth quintiles were generated and concentration indices calculated for health outcomes and program exposure in each sample. Chi-square and t-tests were used to assess statistical significance of results. Results Reporting wealth quintiles showed that recipients of Population Services International (PSI) interventions were wealthier than national populations. Both measures indicated that desirable health outcomes were usually concentrated among wealthier populations. Positive and significant concentration indices in all three surveys indicated that wealth and program exposure were correlated; however this relationship was not necessarily linear. In analyzing the equity of modern contraceptive use stratified by exposure to family planning messages in Nepal, the outcome was equitable (concentration index = 0.006, p = 0.68) among the exposed, while the wealthy were more likely to use modern contraceptives (concentration index = 0.071, p < 0.01) among the unexposed. Conclusions Using wealth quintiles and concentration indices together for equity monitoring improves usability of findings for decision making. Applying both metrics, and analyzing equity of exposure along with health outcomes, provides results that have statistical and programmatic significance. Benchmarking equity data against national data improves generalizability. This approach benefits social marketers and global health implementers to improve strategic decision making and programs' ability to reach the poor. PMID:23902715

Securing Gender Equality through a Nexus of Energy Policy Performance and Relative Political Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perkins-Ozuagiemhe, Andrea Christen

This dissertation presents what is believed to be the first empirical study that measures the effect of increasing access to modern household energy sources upon advancing gender equality within developing countries. As a powerful and fundamental public infrastructural socio-economic building block, improved access to modern energy in developing countries delivers the necessary economic ingredient of time as a major component of household production and consumption and captures the interdependence between market and household economies. Thus, because it has been empirically proven that men and women differ in their utilization of household energy with women spending more time engaged in non-market household labor than men, improving access to modern household energy in developing countries, especially in rural areas, theoretically would disproportionately affect women's lives. Essentially, the element of "time" not only extends the day for women to use towards more economically and educationally productive activities, but also lessens the burden of domestic chores from women with technological advancements in more time-efficient household appliances and cleaner modern energy sources. This dissertation introduces gender differentiation in a model in the form of a gender relative status composite measure comparing socio-economic achievements in secondary education, life expectancy, and labor force participation rates by varying degree of demographic transition, thereby, measuring the effect of improved access to modern household energy upon overall gender equality. Fixed effects panel regressions employing a Driscoll-Kraay non-parametric covariance matrix, and estimated and interpreted adjusted predictions and marginal effects of the two-way interaction between a country's available access to residential electric power (kWh per capita) and the level of relative political performance against predicted values of gender relative status are employed. The models confirm that, in fact, that women are not impacted equally by energy policy preferences as men and that women in developing countries benefit from increased access to modern household energy. Thus, gender-differentiated energy usage illustrates why treating population as a homogenous group fails to capture how energy policy preferences and energy policy performance can affect different subgroups of population in terms of individual choices and how those differences can affect an overall economic growth and development. Fundamental theoretical implications emerge from this dissertation's empirical findings. First, improving gender equality through technological advancements in household electricity facilitates the progress of demographic transition in terms of reducing fertility rates. Time altering effects of increased access and use of household electricity modify intra-household relations by diminishing differing roles between men and women. When women gain greater autonomy facilitated by increasing time via access to modern household electricity for more economically and educationally productive activities, fertility rates and child births tend to decrease by altering choice in family size with increased investments in children. The effect that the reduction in fertility generated by increased gender equality has upon demographic transition is that it alters the change in age structure in a developing country by decreasing youth dependency ratios generating the demographic dividend. Gender equality-generated fertility reductions may also facilitate the return to human capital by lessening the burden of non-SNA work and activities including reducing child care, increasing female labor force participation rates.

Tourism: world's biggest industry in the twenty-first century

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Papson, S.

If present growth rates continue, tourism, with its associated social, economic, and environmental impacts, could become the world's largest industry by the end of the century. These impacts may force many countries to reevaluate their tourist policies. Noticeable trends affecting tourism are an increase in leisure time, an expanding middle class, the diffusion of transportation and communication technology, a need to escape from the modern work environment, and a growth in travel marketing. The implications of these developments are examined in the context of world inflation and the scarcity of energy and materials.

The problem of liquid fuels (for aircraft engines)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallo, Gino

1924-01-01

The crisis which troubles the world market for liquid fuel in general and for carburants in particular is doubtless one of the most serious ever experienced by modern industry. It is a national crisis of economic and political independence for countries like Italy and France. The solutions suggested for meeting the lack of liquid fuel may be summed up under two general headings: the economical use of the petroleum now available; creation of petroleum substitutes from natural sources within the country. The process of cracking is described at length.

Feasibility study of modern airships, phase 1. Volume 3: Historical overview (task 1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faurote, G. L.

1975-01-01

The history of lighter-than-air vehicles is reviewed in terms of providing a background for the mission analysis and parametric analysis tasks. Data from past airships and airship operations are presented in the following areas: (1) parameterization of design characteristics; (2) markets, missions, costs, and operating procedures, (3) indices of efficiency for comparison; (4) identification of critical design and operational characteristics; and (5) definition of the 1930 state-of-the-art and the 1974 state-of-the-art from a technical and economic standpoint.

Research requirements to reduce empty weight of helicopters by use of advanced materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffstedt, D.J.

1976-12-01

Utilization of the new, lightweight, high-strength, aerospace structural-composite (filament/matrix) materials, when specifically designed into a new aircraft, promises reductions in structural empty weight of 12% at recurring costs competetive with metals. A program of basic and applied research and demonstration is identified with the objective of advancing the state of the art to the point where civil helicopters are confidently designed, produced, certified, and marketed by 1985. A structural empty-weight reduction of 12% was shown to significantly reduce energy consumption in modern high-performance helicopters.

Lignin carbon fiber: The path for quality

DOE PAGES

Yuan, Joshua S.; Li, Qiang; Ragauskas, Arthur J.

2017-03-01

Lignin represents an abundant biopolymer and a major waste from lignocellulosic processing plants, yet the utilization of lignin for fungible products remains one of the most challenging technical barriers for pulp mills and the modern biorefinery industry. In recent decades, lignin has been sought after as a precursor polymer for carbon fiber due to the high carbon content (up to 60%). Furthermore lignin carbon fiber is expected to be compatible with the market size of the pulp and paper industry and may have transformative impact on petroleum-based carbon fiber.

[The implementation of innovations in public health].

PubMed

Systerova, A A; Totskaia, E G

2012-01-01

Nowadays, the innovative activities are considered as the mechanism of implementation of public policy to increase effectiveness of public health system on the basis of achievements of modern medicine and technical sciences. The development, elaboration and implementation of products being in line with corresponding to criteria of innovation, promote the concurrency of medical institutions at the medical services market. The administrators of health departments and medical science professionals are to become aware about the problems of implementation of innovations into medical practice to develop the mechanisms of overcoming these issues.

[Physician and autonomy: on time perception and job satisfaction].

PubMed

Huisman, Frank G

2015-01-01

Is it true that haste is sneaking into medicine? In this article, it is argued that it mainly concerns the perception of being rushed, which is caused by a loss of autonomy of the modern physician. In the fifties, physicians were busy as well, but because they enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy compared to their contemporary colleagues, they did not experience this in a negative way. Due to increased bureaucracy and the introduction of market dynamics, the medical profession has lost autonomy, which in turn led to a loss of job satisfaction.

Combating employee benefit cost and control issues: the case for coalition purchasing.

PubMed

Anastasio, Louis N

2005-01-01

Growing in popularity, employee benefit coalitions can impact an employer's bottom line and are becoming a market factor to be dealt with in every industry and business setting. This article examines how modern-day coalitions are bringing classic aggregation theory into the 21st century and the reasons behind the growing popularity of employee benefit coalitions. It also suggests several strategic initiatives that human resource (HR) and benefit managers can take within their own organization to unlock the power of the coalition movement toward a better, more efficient buying model.

Multi-step-ahead crude oil price forecasting using a hybrid grey wave model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yanhui; Zhang, Chuan; He, Kaijian; Zheng, Aibing

2018-07-01

Crude oil is crucial to the operation and economic well-being of the modern society. Huge changes of crude oil price always cause panics to the global economy. There are many factors influencing crude oil price. Crude oil price prediction is still a difficult research problem widely discussed among researchers. Based on the researches on Heterogeneous Market Hypothesis and the relationship between crude oil price and macroeconomic factors, exchange market, stock market, this paper proposes a hybrid grey wave forecasting model, which combines Random Walk (RW)/ARMA to forecast multi-step-ahead crude oil price. More specifically, we use grey wave forecasting model to model the periodical characteristics of crude oil price and ARMA/RW to simulate the daily random movements. The innovation also comes from using the information of the time series graph to forecast crude oil price, since grey wave forecasting is a graphical prediction method. The empirical results demonstrate that based on the daily data of crude oil price, the hybrid grey wave forecasting model performs well in 15- to 20-step-ahead prediction and it always dominates ARMA and Random Walk in correct direction prediction.

The Evolving Law of Disputed Relocation: constructing inner-city renewal practices in Shanghai, 1990-2005.

PubMed

Shih, Mi

2010-01-01

The forceful pursuit of inner-city renewal in Shanghai since the early 1990s has to a great extent achieved spatial modernization, but at the same time it has given rise to increasing conflicts over residential relocation. Using law as a prism through which to examine the dialectic relationship between renewal practices and disputed relocation, this article argues that the series of unprecedented enactments in law that have taken place during this period have both paved the way for real estate market expansion and been a significant source of relocation disputes in Shanghai. Rather than viewing law as simply given and determinate, the article traces the regulatory regime's codification of property practices as a means of actively responding to the requirements of the real estate market. Under large-scale renewal practices, residents' legal rights of "return settlement" (huiban) in inner-city areas were largely denied in the early 1990s, before being effectively abolished by the adoption of monetary compensation for displacement in the 2000s. The evolving law on property practices has greatly shaped the process of disputed relocation while simultaneously posing a potential challenge to China's use of law for market-oriented development.

Competitive bidding for health insurance contracts: lessons from the online HMO auctions.

PubMed

Gupta, Alok; Parente, Stephen T; Sanyal, Pallab

2012-12-01

Healthcare is an important social and economic component of modern society, and the effective use of information technology in this industry is critical to its success. As health insurance premiums continue to rise, competitive bidding may be useful in generating stronger price competition and lower premium costs for employers and possibly, government agencies. In this paper, we assess an endeavor by several Fortune 500 companies to reduce healthcare procurement costs for their employees by having HMOs compete in open electronic auctions. Although the auctions were successful in generating significant cost savings for the companies in the first year, i.e., 1999, they failed to replicate the success and were eventually discontinued after two more years. Over the past decade since the failed auction experiment, effective utilization of information technologies have led to significant advances in the design of complex electronic markets. Using this knowledge, and data from the auctions, we point out several shortcomings of the auction design that, we believe, led to the discontinuation of the market after three years. Based on our analysis, we propose several actionable recommendations that policy makers can use to design a sustainable electronic market for procuring health insurance.

Retrospective View of North American Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Breeding in the 20th and 21st Centuries

PubMed Central

Hirsch, Candice N.; Hirsch, Cory D.; Felcher, Kimberly; Coombs, Joseph; Zarka, Dan; Van Deynze, Allen; De Jong, Walter; Veilleux, Richard E.; Jansky, Shelley; Bethke, Paul; Douches, David S.; Buell, C. Robin

2013-01-01

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), a vegetatively propagated autotetraploid, has been bred for distinct market classes, including fresh market, pigmented, and processing varieties. Breeding efforts have relied on phenotypic selection of populations developed from intra- and intermarket class crosses and introgressions of wild and cultivated Solanum relatives. To retrospectively explore the effects of potato breeding at the genome level, we used 8303 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers to genotype a 250-line diversity panel composed of wild species, genetic stocks, and cultivated potato lines with release dates ranging from 1857 to 2011. Population structure analysis revealed four subpopulations within the panel, with cultivated potato lines grouping together and separate from wild species and genetic stocks. With pairwise kinship estimates clear separation between potato market classes was observed. Modern breeding efforts have scarcely changed the percentage of heterozygous loci or the frequency of homozygous, single-dose, and duplex loci on a genome level, despite concerted efforts by breeders. In contrast, clear selection in less than 50 years of breeding was observed for alleles in biosynthetic pathways important for market class-specific traits such as pigmentation and carbohydrate composition. Although improvement and diversification for distinct market classes was observed through whole-genome analysis of historic and current potato lines, an increased rate of gain from selection will be required to meet growing global food demands and challenges due to climate change. Understanding the genetic basis of diversification and trait improvement will allow for more rapid genome-guided improvement of potato in future breeding efforts. PMID:23589519

Retrospective view of North American potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) breeding in the 20th and 21st centuries.

PubMed

Hirsch, Candice N; Hirsch, Cory D; Felcher, Kimberly; Coombs, Joseph; Zarka, Dan; Van Deynze, Allen; De Jong, Walter; Veilleux, Richard E; Jansky, Shelley; Bethke, Paul; Douches, David S; Buell, C Robin

2013-06-21

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), a vegetatively propagated autotetraploid, has been bred for distinct market classes, including fresh market, pigmented, and processing varieties. Breeding efforts have relied on phenotypic selection of populations developed from intra- and intermarket class crosses and introgressions of wild and cultivated Solanum relatives. To retrospectively explore the effects of potato breeding at the genome level, we used 8303 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers to genotype a 250-line diversity panel composed of wild species, genetic stocks, and cultivated potato lines with release dates ranging from 1857 to 2011. Population structure analysis revealed four subpopulations within the panel, with cultivated potato lines grouping together and separate from wild species and genetic stocks. With pairwise kinship estimates clear separation between potato market classes was observed. Modern breeding efforts have scarcely changed the percentage of heterozygous loci or the frequency of homozygous, single-dose, and duplex loci on a genome level, despite concerted efforts by breeders. In contrast, clear selection in less than 50 years of breeding was observed for alleles in biosynthetic pathways important for market class-specific traits such as pigmentation and carbohydrate composition. Although improvement and diversification for distinct market classes was observed through whole-genome analysis of historic and current potato lines, an increased rate of gain from selection will be required to meet growing global food demands and challenges due to climate change. Understanding the genetic basis of diversification and trait improvement will allow for more rapid genome-guided improvement of potato in future breeding efforts.

Small bugs, big business: the economic power of the microbe.

PubMed

Demain, A L

2000-10-01

The versatility of microbial biosynthesis is enormous. The most industrially important primary metabolites are the amino acids, nucleotides, vitamins, solvents, and organic acids. Millions of tons of amino acids are produced each year with a total multibillion dollar market. Many synthetic vitamin production processes are being replaced by microbial fermentations. In addition to the multiple reaction sequences of fermentations, microorganisms are extremely useful in carrying out biotransformation processes. These are becoming essential to the fine chemical industry in the production of single-isomer intermediates. Microbially produced secondary metabolites are extremely important to our health and nutrition. As a group, they have tremendous economic importance. The antibiotic market amounts to almost 30 billion dollars and includes about 160 antibiotics and derivatives such as the beta-lactam peptide antibiotics, the macrolide polyketide erythromycin, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides and others. Other important pharmaceutical products produced by microrganisms are hypocholesterolemic agents, enzyme inhibitors, immunosuppressants and antitumor compounds, some having markets of over 1 billion dollars per year. Agriculturally important secondary metabolites include coccidiostats, animal growth promotants, antihelmintics and biopesticides. The modern biotechnology industry has made a major impact in the business world, biopharmaceuticals (recombinant protein drugs, vaccines and monoclonal antibodies) having a market of 15 billion dollars. Recombinant DNA technology has also produced a revolution in agriculture and has markedly increased markets for microbial enzymes. Molecular manipulations have been added to mutational techniques as means of increasing titers and yields of microbial procresses and in discovery of new drugs. Today, microbiology is a major participant in global industry. The best is yet to come as microbes move into the environmental and energy sectors.

"Smoking revolution": a content analysis of electronic cigarette retail websites.

PubMed

Grana, Rachel A; Ling, Pamela M

2014-04-01

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been increasingly available and marketed in the U.S. since 2007. As patterns of product adoption are frequently driven and reinforced by marketing, it is important to understand the marketing claims encountered by consumers. To describe the main advertising claims made on branded e-cigarette retail websites. Websites were retrieved from two major search engines in 2011 using iterative searches with the following terms: electronic cigarette, e-cigarette, e-cig, and personal vaporizer. Fifty-nine websites met inclusion criteria, and 13 marketing claims were coded for main marketing messages in 2012. Ninety-five percent of the websites made explicit or implicit health-related claims, 64% had a smoking cessation-related claim, 22% featured doctors, and 76% claimed that the product does not produce secondhand smoke. Comparisons to cigarettes included claims that e-cigarettes were cleaner (95%) and cheaper (93%). Eighty-eight percent stated that the product could be smoked anywhere and 71% mentioned using the product to circumvent clean air policies. Candy, fruit, and coffee flavors were offered on most sites. Youthful appeals included images or claims of modernity (73%); increased social status (44%); enhanced social activity (32%); romance (31%); and use by celebrities (22%). Health claims and smoking-cessation messages that are unsupported by current scientific evidence are frequently used to sell e-cigarettes. Implied and overt health claims, the presence of doctors on websites, celebrity endorsements, and the use of characterizing flavors should be prohibited. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Trend analysis of modern high-rise construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radushinsky, Dmitry; Gubankov, Andrey; Mottaeva, Asiiat

2018-03-01

The article reviews the main trends of modern high-rise construction considered a number of architectural, engineering and technological, economic and image factors that have influenced the intensification of construction of high-rise buildings in the 21st century. The key factors of modern high-rise construction are identified, which are associated with an attractive image component for businessmen and politicians, with the ability to translate current views on architecture and innovations in construction technologies and the lobbying of relevant structures, as well as the opportunity to serve as an effective driver in the development of a complex of national economy sectors with the achievement of a multiplicative effect. The estimation of the priority nature of participation of foreign architectural bureaus in the design of super-high buildings in Russia at the present stage is given. The issue of economic expediency of construction of high-rise buildings, including those with only a residential function, has been investigated. The connection between the construction of skyscrapers as an important component of the image of cities in the marketing of places and territories, the connection of the availability of a high-rise center, the City, with the possibilities of attracting a "creative class" and the features of creating a large working space for specialists on the basis of territorial proximity and density of high-rise buildings.

Novel and transgenic food crops: overview of scientific versus public perception.

PubMed

Ruibal-Mendieta, N L; Lints, F A

1998-09-01

Recombinant DNA technology offers opportunities to develop new products in many different fields, including agriculture and the agro-food area. Transgenic plants with improved agronomic traits currently grow in field trials and a few varieties have already reached the European market. By and large, new technologies raise both concerns and expectations and modern biotechnology is no exception. Indeed, a voluntary moratorium on experiments involving recombinant DNA molecules was called for in 1974. At the present time, although a majority of academic and industrial scientists agree that transgenic food crops pose no risk for the environment or human health, some others believe that certain applications of modern plant biotechnology are hazardous. In particular, deliberate releases of genetically modified plants are regarded as risky. There is also a disparity between expert and lay perception of r-DNA technology applications to food crops, which makes public information a difficult task. This paper aims at exposing these conflicting points of view on the agricultural applications of modern biotechnology. We also propose some recommendations pertaining to public information in Europe. It appears that consensus conferences might be a good approach to stimulate public information and public debate in Europe, although this approach has to be adapted to the cultural context of each country.

Nutraceuticals and botanicals: overview and perspectives.

PubMed

Nicoletti, Marcello

2012-03-01

The discovery, development and marketing of food supplements, nutraceuticals and related products are currently the fastest growing segments of the food industry. Functional foods can be considered part or borderline to these products and may be defined as foods or food ingredients that have additional health or physiological benefits over and above the normal nutritional value they provide. This trend is driven by several factors, mainly due to the current consumer perceptions: the first and dominant being 'Natural is good', and other secondary, such as the increasing cost of many pharmaceuticals and their negative secondary effects, the insistent marketing campaign, the increasing perception of the need of a healthy diet and its importance in the health and homeostasis organism conditions. However, the central point is that nutraceuticals, botanicals and other herbal remedies, including the entry of new functional foods, are important because of their acceptance as the novel and modern forms to benefit of natural substances. Due to the rapid expansion in this area, the development of several aspects is considered as it could influence the future of the market of these products negatively: an imbalance existing between the increasing number of claims and products on the one hand, the development of policies to regulate their application and safety on the other, rapid and valuable controls to check the composition, including the plant extracts or adulteration to improve efficacy, like the presence of synthetic drugs. It is interesting to see that, from the negative factors reported by the market analysts, a change in consumers preferences is absent. The functional properties of many plant extracts, in particular, are being investigated for potential use as novel nutraceuticals and functional foods. Although the availability of scientific data is rapidly improving, the central aspect concerns the validation of these products. The first step of this crucial aspect is the security of the composition, obtained by the useful and adapted analytical approach. On the other hand, in the first instance, security is assured by the millenary use as food of the great majority of these plants. The importance and the novelty of functional food are inherent in the possibility to renew the secure use of plants to maintain healthiness of man in novel forms of use adapted to modern times. The market of 'other substances', after the emergence of the first period of enthusiastic explosion, is entering into the maturation period, with three important arguments to face: (a) security in composition, production and sale, avoiding easy conversions or convenient approaches and favouring competence and professionalism, (b) definition of influence of metabolic aspects, including scientific validation and (c) regulatory aspects, e.g. the claims definition and relative influences. The last aspect seams to be in primis the most crucial and fundamental to the future of all the sectors. The role of European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA) in the EU market must be considered and consequences if negative decisions on 'other substances' claim will be adopted in each country's legislation.