Commercial Imports Research Articles

The rheological and filtration properties of black seed (Nigella Sativa L.) ester as a base fluid in drilling fluid

The unceasing utilization of diesel oil, the regular base fluid, as the base fluid of drilling mud has brought about severe ecological worries and regulation because of its poisonousness, non-biodegradability, and similarity issues. Notwithstanding, drilling more complex wells is turning out to be progressively significant in satisfying the world’s need for oil and gas, bringing about increased commercial synthetic-based fluid importation. In light of the ecological worries associated with the usage of diesel-based drilling fluids as well as reducing commercial synthetic-based fluid imports, black seed oil (BSO) was utilized to make an ester for a new ecologically safe drilling fluid. This research explored the potential use of black seed ester in formulating oil-based muds with standard additives. It compares its qualities to that of diesel following a thorough mud check on the mud samples to evaluate the rheological properties and the impact of aging at test temperatures of 86°F, 120°F, and 150°F. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry technique affirmed that BSO ester is a natural compound. About the flow properties, the kinematic thickness at 40 °C of the biodiesel is 4.31 mm2/s and is higher than that of petroleum diesel, which is 3.52 mm2/s. Densities for the ester and diesel oil-based mud tests were 7.9 ppg, 7.8 ppg, 7.3 ppg, and 6.8 ppg, respectively, at 70/30, 75/25, and 80/20, oil–water-proportion (OWR), as utilized in the mud formulation. The prepared mud was aged for 24 h under static conditions to guarantee total hydration. Black seed oil (BSO) ester mud exhibited lower viscosity at all temperatures, aging conditions, and shear rates analyzed, making it more suitable for oil-well drilling fluids when compared with Diesel. BSO being a naturally occurring seed oil could be important for drilling contractors and service companies due to its good ecological acceptability and its applicability.

"It's my calling", Canadian dog rescuers' motives and experiences for engaging in international dog rescue efforts.

The importation of rescue dogs has become an increasingly common occurrence in recent years, often involving industrialized countries as the ultimate destination. However, international dog rescue activities have attracted considerable criticism from the veterinary community and the public due to the associated zoonotic disease and public health risks, as well as the potential poor behaviour of international rescue dogs. The Government of Canada has also recently placed a temporary suspension on all commercial dog imports from non-rabies free countries due to the growing concerns of the zoonotic disease risks. To understand the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders involved in dog import activities in Canada, we interviewed nine members in leadership positions of Canadian-based international dog rescue organizations. Thematic analysis of interview dialogue yielded three themes: 1) Motive, which described the reason behind participants' involvement in international dog rescue; 2) Challenge, which described the major difficulties faced in participants' dog rescue work; 3) Duty, which described participants' beliefs on responsible dog rescue practices. Members of international dog rescue organizations described being driven by strong desires to provide animal and humanitarian aid. However, local dog rescue efforts were constrained by logistical and societal barriers unique to the Canadian context. Additionally, the current study revealed both similarities and differences in occupational experiences between international dog rescue organizations and other animal care professions. Specifically, difficulties with the emotional burden associated with caregiving professions was also present within dog rescue work. However, international dog rescue members also experienced additional challenges due to the stigma surrounding international dog rescue operations. Further research on attitudes held by other stakeholders involved in dog import activities, as well as members of Canadian communities needing dog rescue aid may provide meaningful inputs on how to better support and facilitate local and international dog rescue efforts.

Consumers’ willingness to pay for local rice: Empirical evidence from Central Java, Indonesia

This study examines Indonesian consumers’ willingness to pay for local rice products as against commercial imports. We aimed to determine the consumer preference factors for local rice through a questionnaire survey and experimental auction in Surakarta and Sleman, two areas in the top rice-producing region of Central Java. The bidding price results of the three rounds of auction to determine the increasing nominal price for the local rice type, after information and tasting sessions, show the participants, as major rice consumers, confirming the highest interest in local rice, while displaying relatively less knowledge of the different rice varieties available in the markets. Most consumers evaluated both cooked and uncooked rice based on swelling and variety. The findings suggest the need to pay greater policy attention to local rice production and varieties, based on the preferences and attributes of the consumers.

Power and Play

Power and Play

Out of the limelight: The privileging of auteurs over actors at FESPACO

This article uses the changing fortunes of actors at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) over the last 50 years as a point of departure to examine how their creative agency and professional opportunities have been delimited by the dominant film culture in West Africa. Taking into consideration the various efforts, such as awards and the organization of colloquia, made by the festival to recognize their work, it argues that the discontinuity of such promotion has kept them overshadowed by directors, for whom the festival was initially established. It examines the iconography of the star as introduced to Africa by commercial imports and deconstructed by filmmakers like Djibril Diop Mambéty and Flora Gomes. This article posits that the transnational circulation of certain key performers within West African cinema bears the promise of a more elaborate network of African film production and distribution to come.

Detection of the protistan parasite, Haplosporidium costale in Crassostrea gigas oysters from the French coast: A retrospective study

The parasite Haplosporidium costale is known to infect and cause mortality in the oyster Crassostrea virginica in the USA. Decades after its first description in the 1960s, this parasite was detected in Crassostrea gigas in the USA and China. However, it presented a low prevalence and no mortality was associated with it. More recently, in 2019, H. costale was detected in France in a batch of moribund oysters. In order to observe how long this parasite has been present on French coasts, from Normandy to Thau lagoon, a retrospective investigation was conducted on 871 adult and spat oyster batches from 2004 to 2020. To allow rapid detection on a large panel of samples, a real-time PCR for the H. costale actin gene was developed. This method allowed the detection of H. costale DNA in adults from 2005 and in spat from 2008. The H. costale prevalence in spat appeared higher than in adults over the years studied, 14.59 % compared to 6.50 %, respectively. All samples presenting positive results were then sequenced on two targets, H. costale rRNA and actin genes. The actin gene sequencing highlighted the presence of two H. costale strains. Adult C. gigas as well as spat batches coming from hatcheries and DNA controls from C. virginica all presented with the Profile 1 H. costale strain. The Profile 2 H. costale strain was detected only in C. gigas spat coming from natural sources. These observations suggest a correlation between the origin of oysters and H. costale strains which may have been caused by commercial imports between Japan, USA and France back to the 1970s. Over the positive samples studied, only few batches (n = 3) suffered mortalities which could be hypothesized to be caused by H. costale, all presenting the Profile 1 H. costale strain.

Characterization of supply of marine finfish species with potential for commercial growth in the United States

AbstractGlobal production of marine finfish has grown in total volume of production and the number of species farmed commercially, but there has been little production in the United States of marine finfish other than salmon and red drum. For most species considered to be ready for commercialization, there are few or no farms from which to evaluate the size of the market or to estimate revenues and costs necessary to assess economic feasibility. This present study takes a first step to fill this gap with an analysis of the existing supply of 20 marine finfish species identified as candidates for commercialization in the United States, as a proxy for effective demand (the volume of a product sold at the market equilibrium price). Secondary data from 1950 (where available) through 2019 were compiled on each species, including (1) global aquaculture production, (2) US aquaculture production, (3) US commercial landings, (4) US recreational landings, and (5) imports. Current effective market demand (measured as the sum of commercial landings, farmed production, and imports) was low, totaling 36.6 million kg across the 20 species, which is equivalent to less than 23% of the annual volume sold of US farmed catfish. Commercial landings for 17 of the 20 species exhibited declines, potentially offering opportunities for farmed product to capture market share by filling the increasing gaps in supply. The variability in commercial landings provides opportunities for farms to capitalize on their advantage in supplying product with a high degree of consistency of volume, size, delivery frequency, and quality. Several unknown factors suggest the need for follow‐up studies on consumer preferences, degree of substitutability among finfish species, and effects of recreational landings on demand. An important limitation to prospective producers is the lack of species‐specific import data for the generic categories of “flounder,” “bass,” and “snapper.” This supply analysis provides a foundational analysis for prospective producers, investors, and researchers interested in commercialization of these marine species.

Global merchandise and agricultural trade developments during WTO regime: Commercial crops performance

AbstractGlobal trade has increased the growth proportionally over the last two centuries. Trade increases the prosperity of nation, fueling economic growth, rising employment opportunities, reducing poverty, and raising the living standards of the people. The study period is from 1990–1991 to 2018–2019. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR), coefficient of variation, moving average method, terms of trade, and elasticity of total merchandise, agricultural, and commercial crops exports and imports were used to achieve objectives. The study revealed that agricultural trade shared very less percentage out of total merchandise trade in the world, that is, 7.55%. South America and South Africa (poor continent) have shown the highest percentage of agricultural commodities traded out of total merchandise trade. Richest continents such as Europe, North America, and Asia shared very less percentage of agricultural commodities traded to total merchandise trade. Globally, China, USA, and Germany highly expanded their trade. China and Republic of Korea were the largest exporting and importing countries of total traded goods. Brazil, Spain, and China were shown the highest significant growth potential of agricultural exports, whereas China, Canada, and USA have shown the highest growth rate of agricultural imports in the world during the study period. America was exporting more quantity of cotton, tea, rubber, and opium while importing tobacco and coffee. Asia was exporting more quantity of sugar crops and coffee while importing cotton, jute, opium, rubber, tea, and tobacco. Africa was exporting more quantity of cotton, jute, tea, and rubber while importing sugar crops, cocoa, tobacco, and coffee. Europe was exporting more quantity of tea, rubber, opium, tobacco, and coffee while importing cocoa. More quantity of opium by America and Europe; coffee by Europe; and sugar crops by Asia was exported with the highest price in the world. Terms of trade was favored for sugar crops, jute, opium, and coffee in the Africa; cocoa, opium, rubber, tea, and coffee in the Europe; and rubber in the America. Export price elasticity of sugar crops, cotton, jute, opium, rubber, and coffee in the America; jute in the Asia; cotton, rubber, and tobacco in the Africa; and sugar crops, opium, rubber, tea, tobacco, and coffee in the Europe was marginally greater than their imports. Countries governments that are growing commercial crops must give prominence in framing price policies for the cash crops. Governments should take action against the unfair competition existing in the international markets of cash crops especially for opium and tobacco. The study found that even Neoliberal globalization modern period also, developing countries and continents such as Africa, Latin America and South America trade economies are more depend on agriculture and developed countries more on manufactured sector. Developing countries and continents must design strategies and policies to promote manufactured sectors keeping agriculture sector self‐sufficiency.

Methodological Approach to Identification of Innovative Determinants of Human Capital Management

This article summarizes the arguments and counter-arguments in the scientific discussion on identifying the essential characteristics of human capital and key quantitative indicators of its evaluation. The article determined the evolutionary patterns of changing approaches to interpreting the essence of human capital. The study's main purpose is to form an integrated indicator of human capital assessment and identify the most relevant innovative drivers and inhibitors of its development. Systematization of literature sources and approaches to solving the human capital evaluation problem has shown a significant variation in both national approaches to solving the problem and their supranational counterparts. Given the lack of a unified approach to evaluating human capital, the article proposes an author's approach to solving the problem using the Fishburne formula and additive convolution. The relevance of the selection of normalized partial indicators to the integrated indicator is confirmed based on the Cronbach's alpha test. The composite human capital evaluation indicator includes several social, economic, and institutional indicators. Given the transformation of all components of the business environment and the national economy due to the formation of Industry 4.0, it is necessary to determine the most relevant innovative factors of human capital development. A sample of potential drivers and inhibitors of impact on the composite indicator of human capital evaluation, which have an innovative nature, is formed to achieve this goal. The panel data regression model was built. All calculations were performed using Stata 12/SE software product. Modeling results showed that most determinants of innovation development do not have a statistically significant impact on Human Capital Index and vice versa. Human Capital Index is positively influenced by information and communication technology exports but negatively influenced by the imports of computers, communications and services, and high-tech exports. At the same time, the growth of the Human Capital Index has a negative impact on the growth of the share of exports of computers, communications, and services in the structure of commercial imports and high-tech exports. The study results could be useful to scientists, public authorities, local governments, businesses, and entrepreneurs.

Some problems of trade relations during the Mongol rule in China

In the article, the author establishes to what extent the nature of China’s foreign trade underwent changes during the Mongolian Yuan dynasty. The author’s task is to explain some aspects of the continu- ity of trade relations when power in China passes from the Southern Song Empire to the Yuan Empire, China’s entry into the Eurasian Mongolian Empire. The author conducted a comparative analysis of ma- terials on trade in China in various sources, which reveal the nature of commercial transactions, imports and exports of China in the Yuan period compared to the period when the Southern Song Dynasty ruled. The works considered in the article are devoted to the history of trade of the XIII century, commodity exchange and trends in the economic development of the region, are valuable sources of the period from the fall of the Song Dynasty to the coming to power of the founder of the Yuan Dynasty. A comparative analysis of the works revealed similarities in the characteristics of a number of phenomena and process- es, which confirms the accuracy of the reports of medieval authors. As a result of the research, the author comes to the conclusion that the coming to power of the Yuan dynasty has had a positive impact on the trade situation in the region, the position of merchants has become stronger compared to the previous period, external relations have remained and developed, the developed system of collecting duties has shown a high level of organization of the bureaucratic apparatus, the range of imported and exported goods has significantly expanded. Key words: trade, Yuan empire, Mongol empire, foreign trade, price evolution.

The propellants of the Logistics Performance Index: an empirical panel investigation of the European region

ABSTRACT Due to globalization, logistics has been constituting the main and capillary vessels of foreign trade. In today's global supply chains, better logistics systems allow for and facilitate the efficient flow of resources, goods and services. Since logistics plays an important role on countries’ economic growth, development and competitiveness, measuring the logistics capability of a country is critical. In this study, we collected data for 32 countries in the European region from various sources covering the period 2010 through 2018 and estimated several static panel data models to evaluate their logistics performance and to understand the factors that propel their LPIs. The results indicate that GDP per capita, the percentage of commercial service imports, and the liner shipping connectivity index have significant effects on the LPI at country level, surpassing other factors. Even though supported at only a significance level of 0.10, the most striking evidence is the negative relationship between the LPI and the percentage of commercial transport service imports, which has not been extensively investigated in the related literature. The strength of this study lies in adopting a panel-data approach with the inclusion of a variety of factors to explain the variance in the LPI.

Merchandise and Service Trade Deviations During COVID-19: A Performance Comparison Between India and China

The current study compares trade performance between India and China during COVID period (January–December 2020). The merchandise trade and commercial service exports and imports from both countries were obtained from the official World Trade Organization website to compare the output (deviation of actual from projected during COVID-19) of India and China’s foreign trade with the rest of the world. The present study employs models of autoregressive integrated moving average using a three-step model creation process. As per the results obtained, we can conclude that India is behind China in achieving the amount of merchandise exports and imports in relation to the output of its previous years, while China’s variance between expected and real is relatively lower. When comparing service exports and imports, it can be found that the gap between service exports is not much, but in the case of service imports, China’s deviation from India is much greater.

Extrapolative Modeling of International Trade using ARIMA Model: A Performance Comparison between India and China during COVID-19

A reshaping of the global supply chain is on the cards with companies searching for alternative supply choices, with the current instability in China and with some countries planning to pull their businesses out of China. India has already earned the reputation of being a responsible and trustworthy nation with efficient and participatory governance in these times of crisis. In the light of this scenery, the current study contrasts the success of Indian and Chinese foreign trade with the rest of the world.The merchandise trade and commercial service exports and imports from both countries with the rest of the world were obtained from the official WTO website to compare the output (deviation of actual from projected during COVID-19) of Indian and Chinese foreign trade with the rest of the world. The present research employs models of ARIMA using a three-step model creation process (i.e. model recognition, model estimation and diagnostic check). For the identification of the appropriate model ADF, PP Test, KPSS test and Auto-correlation function and partial auto-correlation function were used, approximate models were developed based on the defined p, d, q order and finally the diagnostic Box- Ljung test was carried out. The results show that China has favorable merchandise trading conditions while India is in a stronger spot in the case of trade in services.

Examining National Privacy Laws in the Context of International Trade

In recent years, multiple government officials, members of civil society, industry representatives, and academic scholars have suggested that a direct relationship exists between a country’s data privacy framework and international trade prospects. However, quantitative research in this field is still nascent. Therefore, this thesis explores the relationship between countries’ data privacy laws and annual commercial services exports and imports. I hypothesize that a positive correlation exists between privacy laws and international trade: I predict that countries or territories with stronger national privacy laws are likely to see higher levels of commercial services exports and imports, holding constant various control factors. Using demographic and international trade data from the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, I adopt linear and fixed-effects regression models to analyze national data privacy frameworks from 202 countries or territories between 2005 and 2018. I find that the results of this study generally support my hypothesis, although I underscore the limitations of these findings, including missing data and uncontrollable confounding variables. Finally, I offer conclusions and policy recommendations based on my preliminary analysis and offer support for further research into this topic.

Total Imports and Its Components Influence on Inflation in Kenya

Aim: The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of total imports (TIMP) and its components of commercial imports (CIMP) and government imports (GIMP) on inflation in Kenya.
 Study Design: Quantitative approach was employed to analyze the influence of imports on inflation in Kenya.
 Methodology: Monthly time series data from Central Bank of Kenya for the period 2005 to 2018 was used for analysis involving correlation analysis, variance decomposition, impulse response and Granger causality tests.
 Results: Results indicated that total imports and commercial imports had negative influence on inflation while government imports did not significantly influence inflation in Kenya. Unidirectional causality from total imports and commercial imports to inflation was noted while there was no causality between government imports and inflation.
 Conclusion: The study concluded that imports influence inflation in Kenya but commercial imports highly determined total imports influence on inflation in Kenya.

Monetary Factors and Inflation in Kenya: Comparative Aggregated and Disaggregated Econometric Analysis

Aim: This study aimed to analyze the influence of monetary factors on inflation in Kenya.
 Study Design: Correlational research design was employed to analyze the relationship between inflation and monetary factors in Kenya.
 Methodology: Monthly time series data from Central Bank of Kenya spanning from 2005 to 2018 was used for analysis using Variance decomposition, impulse response and Granger causality techniques.
 Results: Results indicated that total money supply had a positive influence on inflation that was highly influenced by extended broad money.
 Conclusion: The study concluded that imports influence inflation in Kenya but commercial imports highly determined total imports influence on inflation in Kenya.

Determinants of farmers’ participation in informal seed production for wheat in Palestine

In Palestine, agriculture plays an important role in the livelihoods of the farmer's society. However, most production inputs and supplies including seeds are imported, reducing the agricultural sector's dependence on the commercial imports of inputs is given high priority in the Agricultural Sector. Formal and informal organizations including ministries and universities worked with farmer's societies to produce high quality seeds through informal seed producers, where farmer's participation in informal seed production activities was limited. In order to determine farmer's participation in informal seed production of wheat in Palestine, socio-economic analysis was conducted for 145 farmers. The sample was collected from the major seed production sites in Palestine. Definition of seven technical variables and 13 socio-economic variables was used in data collection. Descriptive statistics like frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviations and inferential statistics such as t-test and Chi-square test were employed to see main difference and association between both the participating categories. The result shows that farmers’ participation in seed production was significantly influenced by seed source, planting date, rainfall and productivity, membership in agricultural association, technology adoption, capacity building, frequency of extension contact, and net returns and profit. The most important reason that the participants want to participate in the seed production is the access to improved input, the increase in rate of net returns, increase in profit and decreased production costs.

Imported rescue dogs: lack of research impedes evidence-based advice to ensure the welfare of individual dogs

If you are a veterinary professional working in general practice in the UK, you cannot have failed to notice the increase in the number of dogs originating from overseas being...

Balance of Payments Constraint — Trade and Finance

This paper summarizes conceptual aspects of two contemporary global phenomena: “economic growth external constraint” or “balance of payments constraint (BPC)” and “financial flows”, both of them especially studied as structural features of Argentina economy. Our general hypothesis is that external constrain, in its commercial (exports and imports relative income-elasticity) or financial (unsustainable debt, interest payments) versions, means a significant difficulty for some countries’ growth. Besides, financial outflows (purchase of foreign assets by residents, capital flight), offer various additional complexities. Both performs simultaneously as cause and consequence of growth, as circular cumulative causation (CCC).

Disharmonization in the Regulation of Transgenic Plants in Europe

Disharmonization in the Regulation of Transgenic Plants in Europe