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Recently, the demand and application of creative marketing and innovative branding have been increased surprisingly because of its ability to grab the attention of customers more quickly than any other media. The objective of this study is to investigate the dimension of effectiveness in creative marketing and innovative branding to attract customer in the tourism and hospitality industry of Bangladesh. Purposive sampling was applied to take a sample of 150 including 117 customers and 33 service providers of the tourism and hospitality industry of Bangladesh. Descriptive analysis, chi-square goodness of fit, chi-square test of independence, and binary logistic regression were performed to obtain the purpose of the study. In the bivariate test (chi-square test of independence) all of creative marketing and innovative branding strategies and tools were found significantly effective to attract customers in that specific industry. But binary logistic regression analysis identified only launching mobile apps and promoting Bangladesh’s tourism is significant for customer attraction in the tourism and hospitality industry of Bangladesh among different creative marketing and innovative branding strategies and tools. Bangladesh tourism and hospitality industry should practice creative marketing and innovative branding tools and strategies to attract more customers. Contribution/ Originality
The paper`s primary contribution is to investigate the dimension of effectiveness in creative marketing and innovative branding to attract customer in the tourism and hospitality industry. The findings of the study will provide some useful marketing and branding strategies and tools for the tourism and hospitality industry of Bangladesh. Economics » The Economics and Finance Letters » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 2
Production of Pectin as a Relevant Tool for by-Products Management Resulting from Four Tropical Edible Fruits Processing: Extraction Yield, Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Pectin Powder
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Chemical and Process Engineering Research
The appropriate re-use ways of fruit processing by-products remains a central concern for scientist and industry, especially in the current context of circular economy. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the valorization of four most processing fruit peel (orange peel, lemon, grapefruit, and avocado) into pectin as well as compare to commercial ones. The pectin yield and their physicochemical properties including ash content, water content, pH, titratable acidity and functional properties, in term of solubility and viscosity, were determined. The increasing fraction of lemon pectin was incorporated to two garden soil (black and arable) and their water holding capacity were also evaluated. The hydrochloric acid extraction method was performed to extract pectin. The results revealed that lemon peel pectin yield (25.80 %) was higher than those of orange (19.1%) followed by grapefruit (16.36%) and avocado (2.93%). Furthermore, commercial and orange peel pectin showed the highest (43.01±1.06 g/100g w.b) and the lowest (13.33±0.31 g/100g w.b) moisture contents respectively. In addition, orange peel pectin had the highest pH (2.98) similar to that of commercial pectin (3.00). Moreover, grapefruit and orange peel pectin demonstrated the highest water solubility values (? 55 g/100g w.d) while lemon pectin was found to be the most viscous (1.50±0.02 mPa.s) and avocado the less viscous (0.11±0.01 mPa.s). In addition, when incorporated to garden soils, lemon pectin increase soils water retention capacity. This trend was found to be high for black soil. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of the few studies which have investigated the adding value appropriate technique for four most processing fruit by-products through pectin extraction. It also demonstrates that mixing the extracted pectin to garden soil enhance their water retention capacity, thus avoiding drastic losses during watering. Engineering » International Journal of Chemical and Process Engineering Research » Month: 06-2020 Issue: 1
Insect Activities and their Impact on the Yield of Abelmoschus esculentus L ( Malvaceae) in Bambili ( Mezam - Cameroon)
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research
Experiments were made to evaluate the impact of the flowering insect activity on Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) pod and seed yields. Their foraging and pollination activities were examined in Bambili from September 2019 to February 2020. Treatments included open ?oral access to all visitors (treatment 1) and bagging of ?owers to avoid all visits (treatment 2). Observations were made on 30 ?owers per treatment. The Insect foraging behavior, their rhythm of activity, the fruiting rate and the mean number of seeds per pod were recorded. The results show that three insect species visited A. esculentus flowers. Lipotriches collaris was the most common species with 76.40 %, followed by Apis mellifera (19.10%) and Musca domestica (4.49%). Insects foraged throughout the day light period. Their activity was highest between 9 am and 12 pm Insect species foraged the flowers for pollen and nectar. Comparing the yields of the two treatments, it appeared that insect visits increase the number of fruits per plant, the average number of seeds per fruit and the percentage of normal seeds by 42.27%, 17.39% and 22.88%. The maintenance of insect nest close to A. esculentus field is recommended to improve the seed production of okra. Contribution/ Originality
The paper's primary contribution is finding that the insect associated with A. esculentus flowers can be exploited in Cameroon agricultural program to increase the agricultural outputs especially in bambili area. Agricultural Sciences » International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 4
Determinant of Indonesian Plantation Industry Investment ERA 4.0
The plantation management, its performance are determined by its productivity which is influenced by both internal and external factors. The objectives of this study are to determine the effect of inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, and infrastructure on plantation investment in Indonesia, to determine which factors are dominant in plantation investment, and to determine the effect of plantation investment on the gross domestic product of plantations in Indonesia. The method of determining the research area was carried out purposively, namely plantations in Indonesia. This study uses secondary data from annual data from 1990 to 2019 with OLS multiple linear regression data analysis methods. The results of this research are that simultaneously, the variables of inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, and infrastructure have a significant effect on plantation investment in Indonesia. Partially, the inflation and interest rate variables have a negative non-significant effect on investment, while the exchange rate and infrastructure variables have a positive significant effect on plantation investment. Infrastructure is a dominant factor. Investment has a positive significant effect on plantation GDP. The findings of his research are that plantation investment is resistant to shocks from fluctuations in inflation and interest rates. The increase in the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar provides benefits for foreign investment. Infrastructure as a dominant factor is an attraction and a driver for investment. Investment has a strong and large contribution to the formation of GDP for plantations and their productivity. Contribution/ Originality
The paper's primary contribution is finding that the driver and attractor of plantation investment is infrastructure. The originality of this study is to examine the effect of macroeconomic factors i.e. inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, and infrastructure on long-term investment in the plantation industries. Economics » The Economics and Finance Letters » Month: 06-2021 Issue: 1
Brexit Calling! Aftermath in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Business, Economics and Management
This paper aims to examine the impact of the Brexit referendum on the financial performance of the pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom. We analyze daily data for the period 1/2000-10/2019, for the two largest British pharmaceutical firms, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, as well as two European competitors, the Swiss Novartis and the German Bayer. We perform returns and volatility analysis, financial ratio analysis and regression analysis. Our empirical results are heterogeneous among firms, pinpointing strengths and weaknesses of the pharmaceutical firms. The Brexit decision has had a significant, positive effect on the stock returns of the two British firms, a negative effect for Bayer and no effect for Novartis, while lagged returns are significant only for the European firms. At least in the short-run, both British firms have gained considerably from the depreciation of the sterling and should aim to expand their overseas network and avoid prospective trade barriers and regulatory issues. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the effect of the Brexit decision on a highly profitable sector, looking at the consequences from many different perspectives, employing various statistical techniques and focusing not only on the pharmaceutical companies in the United Kingdom, but their competitors as well. Economics » International Journal of Business, Economics and Management » Month: 02-2021 Issue: 2
Jordanian EFL Students Use of English Color Terms in Collocations
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Education and Practice
The present study addresses a significant but neglected aspect of vocabulary teaching in general and teaching collocations, in particular, which is color term collocations. A significant number of idioms involve use color terms such as blue blood, black death, red tape, black sheep, and yellow press that are significant to study in the context of foreign language teaching. This study dealt with teaching color term collocations that are essence of language teaching/learning and translation. A multiple-choice test was used as the main instrument of this study. The sample of the study consisted of 94 Jordanian EFL students. Results obtained from the study showed that students’ performance in the test was weak. Moreover, the statements that had the black color terms were the most successfully addressed ones while the least correctly tackled ones were those related to the yellow color term. The data also showed that neither the students' gender nor their academic degree level had significantly affected their performance in the test. The study also revealed that the teaching of this component of vocabulary teaching was much neglected, which could be due to students’ insufficient knowledge regarding this respect in learning English as a foreign language. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of very few studies that have investigated the background knowledge of Jordanian EFL students in English collocational color terms. It showed that this area in needs more attention since it is vital not only in language teaching but also in translation studies. Arts and Education » International Journal of Education and Practice » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 4
Some Non-Linear Problems in Accounting and Finance: Can we Apply Regression?
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Business, Economics and Management
Recent studies have indicated that many decision problems in accounting and finance can be better modeled by non-linear models in practice. However, existing literatures have also shown that managers and decision makers are not very conversant with non-linear models as compared to linear models because of the simplicity of linear models. In this paper, attempts are made to transform some non-linear models in accounting and finance which conform to exponential and power functions to their equivalent linear forms. The resulting equivalent linear models are subjected to regression analysis. The paper documents interesting practical non-linear problems in accounting and finance where it is possible to apply regression, and provides technical interpretations of coefficients of resulting regression equations. Some non-linear problems which have been documented in this analysis include; depreciation of non-current assets, the learning curve model, life cycle costing, compounding, discounting and exponential growth bias. Although logarithmic transformation of non- linear functions is not a novel idea in literature of accounting and finance, there is no evidence in literature that scholars have proposed particular cases in finance and accounting where these linear transformations and their resulting regression equations would yield meaningful results that can enhance management decision making. This paper fills this gap by documenting practical non-linear problems in finance and accounting where linearization and subsequent application of regression analysis generates useful results for management decision making purposes. Contribution/ Originality
In the literature of accounting and finance specifically; firstly, this paper originates new formulae for some non-linear problems. Secondly, it’s among very few papers which examined regression of non-linear problems. Thirdly, this is the first paper to document practical cases where regression of log transformed variables generates useful results. Economics » International Journal of Business, Economics and Management » Month: 02-2021 Issue: 2
A Field Study on the Relationship between Personality and Professional Commitment
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Business Strategy and Social Sciences
The study aims to reveal the relationship between the personality traits and professional commitment of university students and to determine whether personality affects professional commitment. For this purpose, 272 students studying at Akdeniz University, Faculty of Tourism participated in the research. A questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. Arithmetic mean and standard deviation values were calculated to determine students’ personality traits and organizational commitment levels. Correlation analysis was performed to calculate the relationships between the variables discussed in the study, and multiple linear regression analysis was carried out to identify the predictive power that the independent variables had on the dependent variables. Research results indicated that there was a significant and positive relationship between the students' personality traits and professional commitment levels. In addition, it was determined that the extraversion personality trait was a significant predictor of the affective commitment dimension, neuroticism personality trait was a significant predictor of the continuance commitment dimension, and agreeableness personality trait was a significant predictor of the normative commitment dimension. It is believed that the results of the study will provide concrete information about the relationship between professional commitment, one of the main problem areas of the sector, and personality, one of the key concerns and interesting topics in the field of organizational behavior and bring considerable benefits to the business world. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to existing literature by revealing the relationship between the personality traits and professional commitment of university students and to determine whether personality affects professional commitment. Social Sciences » International Journal of Business Strategy and Social Sciences » Month: 06-2020 Issue: 1
On-Farm Evaluation of Conservation Agriculture Practice on Weed Control and Yield of Wheat in Northern Bangladesh
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: Current Research in Agricultural Sciences
On account of rural labour shortages, smallholder farms in South Asia are seeking labour saving strategies for planting and weed control. To overcome this challenge, conservation agriculture practices involving mechanized planting and crop residue retention together with the application of herbicides are being developed. But their effectiveness for weed control is still uncertain. The present study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of residue retention relative to herbicides and hand weeding for weed control and yield of wheat in strip planted soil in northern Bangladesh. The on-farm experiment was conducted during November-March in 2014-2016, with wheat cv. BARI Wheat 26 grown after monsoon rice under two tillage types combined with the six weed control practices [P1: conventional tillage (CT)+three hand weedings (HW) (Control), P2: Glyphosate (Gly)+strip planting (SP)+one HW, P3: Gly+SP+pre-emergence (PE) herbicide, P4: Gly+SP+post-emergence (PO) herbicide, P5: Gly+SP+PE+PO, P6: Gly+SP+weed-free (WF); and two levels of rice residue retention, R0: no-residue and R50: 50% residue (by height). The CT consisted of two primary tillage operations by a two-wheel tractor, anwhiled SP had done by a Versatile Multi-crop Planter in a single-pass process. A pre-plant herbicide (glyphosate), a PE herbicide (pendimethalin) and PO herbicide (carfentrazon-ethyl) was applied at recommended doses. The combination of applied glyphosate, SP, followed by sequential application of PE and PO herbicides and the retention of 50% of rice straw achieved the highest weed control efficacy. Furthermore, this practice produced the 24% higher yield and 40% higher economic returns relative to control without exerting any phyto-toxicity in wheat. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of the very few studies in Bangladesh which have investigated the effect of conservation agriculture principles on weed and crops. Results highlighted the impact of herbicides together with crop residue mulching on weed control and yield of wheat in strip planted soil. Agricultural Sciences » Current Research in Agricultural Sciences » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 2
Effect of Fermentation on the Proximate and Antinutrient Composition of Banana Peels
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: The International Journal of Biotechnology
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of fermentation on the physicochemical and microbiological properties of banana peels with the view of reducing environmental pollution. Bacteria and fungi responsible for the fermentation were isolated and characterized using standard microbiological techniques. A total of 11 microorganisms were isolated and identified as: Bacillus substilis, Lactobacillus fermentum, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus flavus, Mucor mucedo, Rhizopus stonifer, Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisae and Penicillium frequentans. The pH of the samples decreased from 6.88 at 0 hr to 4.80 at 72 hr of fermentation while the titratable acidity increased from 0.21 g/l at 0 hr to 0.36 g/l at 72 hr of fermentation. The results of the proximate analyses revealed that there was a decrease in the ash (15.30 to 5.67%), fat (13.15 to 8.53%) and protein (13.72 to 10.09%) contents after fermentation. The moisture ( 8.28 to 13.28% ) , crude fibre (15.29 to 32.08%) and carbohydrate (29.24 to 35.32%) contents and the energy value also increased from 1087.14 to 1217.75kj/g after fermentation. Results of the anti-nutrient composition shows that there was reduction in Phytate (12.66 mg/g to 9.27mg/g ), oxalate (33.31 mg/g to 8.28 mg/g), glycosides (256.19 mg/kg to 149.02 mg/kg), Phenol (8.06% to 4.15 %), Tannin (7.01 mg/g to 3.79 mg/g) and Phytic acid (3.52 mg/g to 2.68 mg/g) contents after fermentation. Therefore, it can be concluded from this study that fermented banana peels are rich in nutrients needed in the formulation animal feeds. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to the existing literature that fermented fruit peels such as banana peels can serve as key ingredients in the formulation of animal feeds. Fermentation of these fruit peels enhances the nutritional properties and reduce the anti-nutritional contents, which makes the feeds relatively cheap and easily accessible. Biological Sciences » The International Journal of Biotechnology » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 2
The Reasons Behind the Shift of Patients from Public to Private Hospitals: Evidence from Public Hospitals in Cumilla City Corporation
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Public Policy and Administration Research
Health care services involve improving our health necessities. Public hospitals play a vital role to provide health services to the people. The private sector also comes forward and working with hand to hand with the government. This study investigates the reasons behind the patient's shift from public to private hospitals at Cumilla City Corporation (CuCC) in Bangladesh. This study has found that the total numbers of physicians are very few compared to demand in government hospitals which are why the time consideration to prescribe a patient is quite poor. The behavior of physicians, nurses and other staff accelerates the patient shift in private hospitals. The environmental quality of the public hospital is also an important reason for the patient's shift to private hospitals. Distance between household and public hospitals also a major barrier to adequate services of the public hospital. The current study contributes to assures the importance of public health care services to the stakeholders of the study. Contribution/ Originality
This study is the first attempt to contribute in the literature by investigating the reasons behind the patient's shift from public to private hospitals at Cumilla City Corporation (CuCC) in Bangladesh. Economics » International Journal of Public Policy and Administration Research » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 2
International Integration of Pharmaceutical Supply Chains in Vietnam: An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities at Hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Medical and Health Sciences Research
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changing aspects of the types of pharmaceuticals purchased, distributed, and sold throughout the supply chain in hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City. The information for analysis is based on the secondary data from the previous studies. The research was combined with analysis from practitioner papers to gain key insights change affects the international integration of pharmaceutical supply chains in hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City. The outcomes of the study are suggestions four key issues: Pharmacists are a workforce of hospital workers to provide quality products and services at affordable prices; Quality management is an important component of all hospital or healthcare industry; Hospitals ensure patient supply continuity is to protect the brand and the hospital by restoring normal operations as quickly as possible with minimal disruption; Hospitals need to pay attention to applying the techniques and information technology available today to build integrated relationships from stakeholders in the supply chain to create a competitive advantage, using comprehension. Information technology results play a very important role in the success of the hospital. The hospital wanted to get the pharmaceutical supply chain's desired performance measurable by monitoring and controlling its operation. The article contributes specific information about the pharmaceutical supply chain in hospitals in globalization for Vietnam. Contribution/ Originality
The paper's primary contribution is finding that the situation of the pharmaceutical supply chain at hospitals: (i) pharmacist human resource management, (ii) management activities comprehensive quality management, (iii) ensuring the pharmaceutical product supply process for patients, and (iv) applying information technology for pharmaceutical supply chain operations in hospitals. Medical Sciences » International Journal of Medical and Health Sciences Research » Month: 06-2020 Issue: 1
Exogenous Application of Antioxidants on Leaf Chlorophyll, Yield Dynamics and Berry Quality of Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research
An experiment was carried out to investigate the influences of seven levels of antioxidants on BARI Mistimorich-1 and BARI Mistimorich-2 varieties of sweet pepper at the Central Research Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Antioxidants were applied to sweet pepper varieties which had a significant effect on physiology, yield and quality of sweet pepper. Among those treatments, ascorbic acid (AA) at 200 ppm with salicylic acid (SA) at 200 ppm was more potential to enhance chlorophyll a (30%), chlorophyll b (39.39%), total chlorophyll (33.73%), number of flower plant-1 (17.63%), number of fruits plants-1 (56.73%), fruit yield plant-1 (43.61%), total soluble sugar (28.67%) and vitamin C (22.75%) compare to control. The variety of BARI Mistimorich-2 produces 4.55% higher fruit yield than BARI Mistimorich-1. Among those antioxidants, AA at 200 ppm with SA at 200 ppm demonstrate the best potentiality to solved flower and fruit dropping problems and ultimately lead to higher production of sweet pepper. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of very few studies which have investigated the sweet pepper responses to antioxidants in robi season and their role in mitigating the possible constrain during the production. Agricultural Sciences » International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 4
A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of Wheat Production Sustainability in the Semi-Arid Environment of Mashhad, Northeastern Iran
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research
Globally, wheat is the most staple food for one-third of the population and provides more daily calories and protein than any other crop. However, its production still poses great social and environmental challenges for humanity. Hence, agricultural sustainability indices are commonly used to evaluate all economic, ecological, and social dimensions of crop production from theory into practice around the world. This assessed agricultural sustainability of irrigated (IWPS) and rainfed (RWPS) wheat production systems in the semi-arid environment of Mashhad (northeastern Iran). Data were obtained from irrigated and rainfed wheat farms in Mashhad for the growing seasons (Oct-May) during 2006-2010. The questionnaire was also designed to collect data from the farmers. A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was performed to identify the most significant economic, ecological, and social criteria influencing the agricultural sustainability index. The results determined that IWPS is more sustainable than RWPS in Mashhad as the economic viability for IWPS is relatively higher than that for RWPS. However, RWPS has also a high potential to achieve agricultural sustainability in environments without water stress. Finally, face-to-face interviews confirmed that farmers do not invest heavily in RWPS because of its high sensitivity to precipitation, temperature, and soil quality in Mashhad (northeastern Iran). Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of very few studies which have investigated the agricultural sustainability (in all economic, ecological, and social dimensions) of both irrigated and rainfed wheat production systems in semi-arid environments using a multi-criteria decision analysis. Agricultural Sciences » International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research » Month: 03-2021 Issue: 1
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Human Development: Implications for Climate Change Impacts in Africa
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Climate Research
This study examined the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on human development, particularly focusing on its impacts on the human development in Africa. The paper first discussed the trends in global GHG emissions and human development, and subsequently adopted the ARDL estimation technique to examine the effects of GHG emissions on human development in Africa from two perspectives. This involved examining and comparing the effects of GHG emissions from African countries and that from the rest of the world (ROW) on the human development in the region at two periods in time. Results showed that GHG emissions from Africa and from the ROW are increasing. Moreover, both have the same effects on human development in Africa in two periods in time. These effects were positive and significant in the short run, and negative and significant in the long run. The former implies that as GHG emissions increase in the short run, human development improves. Conversely, the latter means that as GHG emissions increased in the long run, human development retards. The comparative analysis showed that, in the short run, GHG-emitting activities from the ROW have benefited African countries much more than what they can produce for themselves. However, GHG-emitting activities from the ROW emit GHGs larger than that emitted in Africa in the long run which causes climate change with undesirable consequences that undermine human development in Africa. Finally, various strategic mitigation procedures and adaptive measures were recommended. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of the few studies which have investigated the activities in Africa that have the most greenhouse gas emissions. The study contributes to the existing literature by using the ARDL estimation methodology to examine the effects of GHG emissions on human development in Africa from two perspectives. Energy & Environmental Sciences » International Journal of Climate Research » Month: 06-2021 Issue: 1
Interactive Effects of Zinc-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) Fungi on Cadmium Uptake, Rubisco, Osmolyte Synthesis and Yield in Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research
Cadmium (Cd) and Zinc (Zn) are two closely associated chemical elements having varied biological roles. Cd is a non-essential noxious element whereas Zn is an indispensable micronutrient at low concentrations but toxic to plants at higher levels. At the root surface, Cd competes with Zn for the same transmembrane carriers and Zn reduces Cd uptake in plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are considered potential biotechnological approach for increasing plant tolerance to Cd-polluted soils. Applications of Zn and AM fungal inoculations might augment metal tolerance by reducing Cd uptake through their interactive effects. Thus, experiments were carried out to investigate the interplay between Zn (500 and 1000 mg kg-1 dry soil) and AM fungus [Funneliformis mosseae (T.H. Nicolson & Gerd.) C. Walker & A. Schüßler] on growth, nutrient management, photosynthetic efficiency, osmotic equilibrium and productivity in two pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) genotypes (Tolerant- Sel 85N and Sensitive- P792) exposed to Cd stress (25 and 50 mg kg-1 dry soil). Results revealed that accumulation of Cd and Zn individually reduced plant dry matter, total chlorophyll contents, Rubisco activity and nutrient uptake resulting in loss of yield, with Cd proving to be more toxic. However, Zn and AM reduced Cd uptake and their combined treatments enhanced plant biomass, photosynthetic ability and harvest index (HI) significantly by providing osmotic balance (total soluble sugars, free amino acids, proline, glycine betaine). The effects were more discernible in Sel 85N than P792 which could be directly correlated with its better ability for mycorrhizal colonization under stress. Contribution/ Originality
This study documents concomitant application of Zn and AM fungi as an economically feasible strategy in increasing the tolerance as well as yield potential of pigeonpea genotypes subjected to Cd stress by improving photosynthetic ability, nutrient status and osmoprotection. Agricultural Sciences » International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research » Month: 03-2021 Issue: 1
Impact of Teaching Critical Thinking Tasks for Enhancing Paragraph Writing Performance of EFL Learners
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Education and Practice
Critical thinking tasks can be useful in teaching and learning foreign or second languages, but they can be something innovative for some learning and teaching contexts. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore how EFL learners behave toward these tasks. 42 non-English majors were recruited for the study. They were divided into two groups: experimental and control. Only the experimental group benefited from the application of critical thinking tasks to writing paragraphs. Both groups were engaged in learning how to write paragraphs in English for 15 weeks. The study mainly employed the pretest, posttest, the questionnaire and six treatment lesson plans to collect data. The result revealed that critical thinking tasks empowered these EFL learners in their paragraph writing. The experimental group had more significant enhancement. The result obtained from the questionnaire also indicated that most of the EFL learners had a positive attitude toward the use of critical thinking tasks supporting their paragraph writing. They also showed their satisfaction when they applied critical thinking tasks in their writing classes. Some implications were given for both language teachers and EFL students about the importance of applying critical thinking tasks to developing and teaching writing. Some recommendations for further research in the future were also discussed. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of very few studies which have investigated a group of Vietnamese – speaking learners of English by applying critical thinking tasks in paragraph writing. This study attempts to fill the gap in the domain of writing skills, which though emphasized upon linguistic features but deemphasized the critical thinking aspect which positively influences EFL learners in their writing performance. Arts and Education » International Journal of Education and Practice » Month: 12-2020 Issue: 4
Innovation Efforts in the Face of Institutional Obstacles in Latin America
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: International Journal of Business, Economics and Management
Among scholars, politicians and practitioners, innovation has become a priority. However, a consensus and convergence have yet to be reached in the literature regarding the factors that determine innovation efforts at the firm level regarding developing countries. Thus, the general aim was to gauge to what extent rapid internationalization and relational triggers enable a potential for innovation efforts in companies from Latin American countries faced with the perception of the gravity of institutional obstacles. In methodological terms, a database of the World Bank (Environment Surveys) was used, with 14,064 companies from 20 Latin American countries, with responses to question related to their innovation efforts. Unprecedented contributions were collected, as this was the first time that the perception of the gravity of institutional obstacles was jointly and empirically evaluated, together with evidence of rapid internationalization and the use of relational triggers, to explain innovation efforts, considering many firms from Latin American companies. This work also provides some clues about the potentializing effect of rapid internationalization in the relationship between institutional obstacles and innovation efforts. The main results allow a better understanding about inter- and intra-group analyses, demonstrating in which groups of Latin American company’s innovation efforts are more significant and distinctive, and therefore require pro-market and pro-internationalization public policies. Contribution/ Originality
The paper's primary contribution is finding that what extent rapid internationalization and relational triggers potentialize the innovation efforts of Latin American companies regarding the perception of the gravity of institutional obstacles. Economics » International Journal of Business, Economics and Management » Month: 02-2021 Issue: 2
Halal Food in Tourism: Exploring the Factors that Influence Halal Food Selection among Travelers
Halal industry has been commercialized by the Malaysian government for many years, and Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) is part of the Malaysian government initiatives to facilitate the growth of Halal industry whereby it has been successfully stimulating Malaysian halal products in locally and globally. Although there were lots of effort taken by the Malaysian government in commercializing the Halal food and brand, the consciousness of consuming the Halal food is still imprecise especially among the young Muslim consumers. Muslims’ consciousness in seeking for the availability of Halal food while travelling is not in satisfactory phase when there are some of the Muslims were found to avoid religious attributes such as having Halal food when travelling to a destination. Thus, this study aims to investigate the factors influence Halal food selection among Muslim youth while traveling. A total of 384 respondents of Malaysian Muslim youth consumers were participated in this research. The data was analyzed by using IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21 through several analyses such as descriptive analysis, frequency analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. Results of this study indicated that religious beliefs, health reasons, and Halal logo and certificate affect Halal food selection among Muslim youth. This study provide several implication for the Muslim consumers to be conscious of the Halal logo and certificate presence before making selection in buying food products. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to the existing literature by discovering the factors that influence Halal food selection among travelers and identifies the relationship between the three factors (Religious Belief, Health Reasons and Halal Logo Certificate) with Halal Food Selection among Malaysian Muslim youth while traveling. Business & Management » Journal of Tourism Management Research » Month: 06-2021 Issue: 1
Assessment of Mental Health of Undergraduate Students Based on Age: A Bayesian Ordinal Quantile Regression Approach
Research Article
Author(s):
Journal: Quarterly Journal of Econometrics Research
The traditional frequentist quantile regression makes minimal assumptions that accommodate errors that are not normal given that the response variable (y) is continuous even in Bayesian framework. However inference on these models where y is not continuous proves to be challenging particularly when the response variable is an ordinal data. This paper portrays the idea of Bayesian quantile estimation on ordinal data. This method utilizes the latent variable inferential framework. Estimation was done using Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation with Gibbs sampler where the cut points were set ahead of time and remained fixed all through the analysis. The method was applied in a mental health study of University undergraduate students. Investigations of the model exemplify the practical utility of Bayesian ordinal quantile models. In this paper we were able to investigate the mental health state of undergraduate students at different points in the distribution of their ages. Our findings show that the age of the students has a significant effect on their mental health. The results revealed that at 25th, 50th and 75th quantiles the ages had a negative effect on their mental health while at the 95th quantile the effect was positive. This study was able to show that older undergraduate students are more mentally equipped to withstand the stress of higher learning in the University. Contribution/ Originality
The paper's primary contribution is to apply Bayesian ordinal quantile regression to mental health analysis. The study utilized the Gibbs sampler with fixed cut-points. It portrayed insight to the effect of age on the mental health of undergraduate students at different points on the age distribution. Economics » Quarterly Journal of Econometrics Research » Month: 06-2020 Issue: 1
Abstract