Product Of Effort Research Articles

Craft Product Development to Overcome Business Challenges in Eastern Indonesia

In the pursuit of Indonesia's ambitious "Indonesia 2045 Vision," this comprehensive research initiative focuses on empowering craft artisans and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Eastern Indonesia through design innovation. The region, with its vast natural beauty and cultural heritage, is earmarked for development to contribute more significantly to the nation's economy. This study examines the challenges and opportunities in Eastern Indonesia's craft sector and outlines a structured approach to enhance it. Traditional crafts, particularly weaving and handwoven fabric, play a crucial role in sustaining local livelihoods. However, a balance must be struck between production efforts and economic returns, given varying selling prices. Handwoven fabric exhibits higher adaptability to market demand. The research underscores the importance of product direction, sample creation, and quality control in the iterative design process, emphasizing the need for regular communication with artisans. To streamline support, a Product Development Readiness Index is proposed, allowing designers to allocate resources effectively based on artisans' capabilities. In conclusion, this research lays the foundation for enhancing Eastern Indonesia's craft industry through design innovation, aligning with the country's long-term vision. Future research opportunities encompass interdisciplinary collaboration, market diversification, sustainability, and policy analysis to further enrich the craft sector's development.

Savings Mobilization Efforts of the Nigerian Money Market and Economic Growth

Economic growth is a function of some productive efforts among which savings mobilizations is considered very vital. This study examined saving mobilization efforts of the Nigerian money market and the effects on economic growth during the year 2001 – 2022.Vested with the objectives to investigate the effect of banking density, savings rates and money supply on economic growth. The study relied on time series data sourced from the publication of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (GDPGR) was adopted as dependent variable, while Banking Density (BD), Savings Rates (SR) and Money Supply (MS) were the independent variables. Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test was employed, to test the stationarity. The Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (ADRL) was used to ascertain the relationship between the variables alongside Vector Error Correction Model (VCM). Post estimation diagnostic tools used include; Breuch-Godfrey serial correlation LM test and the CUSUM test for stability. From the ARDL, β-coefficient and the associated probabilities were adopted to determine the extent and direction of relationship on economic growth. Data were tested at 5% level of significance, it was discovered that banking density and savings rates affected economic growth positively but with insignificant effects, while money supply affected economic growth negatively with insignificant effect. The study therefore recommends amongst other, that stakeholders, be directed towards entrenching higher banking density as opposed to banking desert, and that money supply should be made dynamic in accordance with economic realities.

Temperature and hypoxia‐driven shifts in Daphnia interspecific competition

AbstractPrevious research has shown that elevated temperature and environmental hypoxia are associated with a reduced representation of larger‐bodied species in communities of ectotherms, suggesting their competitive disadvantage resulting from increased oxygen demands and limited oxygen availability. To investigate this, we conducted a comparative analysis of two pairs of competing zooplankton species: Daphnia galeata (smaller‐bodied) and Daphnia pulex (larger‐bodied), as well as D. pulex (smaller‐bodied) and Daphnia magna (larger‐bodied). We monitored their population dynamics under different oxygen concentrations and temperatures, and additionally measured hemoglobin concentration in the latter pair. Contrary to expectations, the results demonstrated that the larger‐bodied species outcompeted the smaller‐bodied ones in all experimental treatments involving the first pair of species. In the second pair, elevated temperature favored the smaller‐bodied species, while environmental hypoxia had the opposite effect. The competitive advantage of D. pulex under elevated temperature likely stemmed from their ability to allocate energy from somatic growth to reproduction, as indicated by the increased number of reproducing females. Conversely, the competitive advantage of D. magna under environmental hypoxia may be attributed to their ability to reallocate energy from reproduction to somatic growth, as indicated by lower reproductive effort and greater plasticity in hemoglobin production. These findings indicate that elevated temperature and hypoxia can independently and jointly influence interspecific competitive abilities by impacting the pace of life. However, the numerical dominance of smaller‐sized species in warm and hypoxic zooplankton communities cannot be explained by their enhanced competitive abilities resulting from a more favorable oxygen supply demand balance.

Biocatalysts for biomethanol production: Advancements and future prospects

Biomethanol, a renewable and sustainable alternative to traditional fossil-fuel-derived methanol, has garnered considerable attention as a potential solution to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on non-renewable resources. The utilization of biocatalysts in biomethanol production offers a promising avenue to achieve environmentally friendly and economically viable processes. Paper highlights the biocatalytic pathways involved in biomethanol synthesis. Particular emphasis is placed on microbial biocatalysts, such as methanogenic archaea and certain bacteria, which possess the unique capability of converting carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methanol through a series of enzymatic reactions. Additionally, enzyme-based systems derived from various microorganisms and genetically engineered organisms are also discussed as potential biocatalysts for biomethanol synthesis. Paper also delves into the current challenges and limitations faced in harnessing biocatalysts for biomethanol production. These challenges include substrate availability, low conversion rates, enzyme stability, and process scalability. Several strategies to address these issues are highlighted, including metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and bioprocess optimization techniques. The advantages of utilizing biocatalysts for biomethanol production are outlined. Biocatalytic routes offer the advantage of operating under mild conditions, which reduces energy consumption and minimizes the production of unwanted by-products. Furthermore, the utilization of renewable feedstocks, such as carbon dioxide captured from industrial emissions or waste streams, enhances the sustainability of the process. The final section discusses future prospects and potential research directions in the field of biocatalytic biomethanol production. Advances in biotechnology, omics technologies, and computational modeling are poised to accelerate the discovery and optimization of novel biocatalysts, thereby unlocking the full potential of biomethanol as a sustainable fuel and chemical precursor. The use of biocatalysts for biomethanol production offers an attractive approach to establish a green and circular economy. With ongoing research and technological advancements, the field holds significant promise for reducing carbon emissions and transitioning towards a more sustainable energy landscape. However, to fully realize the potential of biocatalytic biomethanol production, interdisciplinary collaboration and concerted efforts are required to address existing challenges.

Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was – Documenting Radio on the Radio

ABSTRACT During the mid-1990s, the Smithsonian Institution’s documentary series, Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was, aired on hundreds of public radio stations nationwide. The series explored approximately 70 years of the history and socio-cultural impact of African Americans in radio – an ambitious and unprecedented undertaking. No previous radio documentary series had attempted to examine, so expansively, this influential subset of the broadcast industry. Given this author’s service as one of the producers of this historic series, this paper will provide an insider’s perspective on Black Radio’s creation and significance, and it will suggest that the series may serve as an inspirational roadmap for future media production and preservation efforts.

The Role of Multinational Corporations in Third World

Transnational Corporations (TNCs) or Multinational Corporations (MNCs) have been the subject of numerous articles, books, and conferences that have sought to develop a conceptual framework within which this rapidly evolving phenomenon might be better analyzed and understood. While it may be argued that the availability of manpower, natural resources, technology, and tools are of importance in driving societal development and productive effort, the level of economic development, the social structure, the educational system, the degree of scientific and technological absorption and research have been major factors in the zenith of the revolutionary process.

The Effects of Relative Performance Information and Transparency on Knowledge Sharing and Productive Effort

The Effects of Relative Performance Information and Transparency on Knowledge Sharing and Productive Effort

Learning by doing? The relationship between effort, learning effect and product quality during hackathons of novice teams

Abstract Design education prepares novice designers to solve complex and challenging problems requiring diverse skill sets and an interdisciplinary approach. Hackathons, for example, offer a hands-on, collaborative learning approach in a limited time frame to gain practical experience and develop problem-solving skills quickly. They enable collaboration, prototyping and testing among interdisciplinary teams. Typically, hackathons strongly focus on the solution, assuming that this will support learning. However, building the best product and achieving a strong learning effect may not be related. This paper presents the results of an empirical study that examines the relationship between product quality, learning effect and effort spent in an academic 2-week hackathon. Thirty teams identified user problems in this course and developed hardware and mechatronic products. This study collected the following data: (1) effort spent during the hackathon through task tracking, (2) learning effect through self-assessment by the participants and (3) product quality after the hackathon by an external jury. The study found that the team effort spent has a statistically significant but moderate correlation with product quality. The correlation between product quality and learning effect is statistically insignificant, suggesting that for this setting, there is no relevant association.

The Recent Advances to Increase Nutrient Utilization of Dietary Plant Proteins by Enzyme Supplementation and Fermentation in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): A Review

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal production sector globally. However, its sustainability heavily relies on the development of nutritionally balanced cost-effective and environmentally friendly aqua feeds for fish and crustacean species that are already being farmed or the candidate species for intensive farming in the future around the world. Therefore, feeds produced for farmed aquatic species should be highly digestible in terms of nitrogen and phosphorous contents in order to avoid excessive release of these nutrients into the water column through solid and soluble discharge. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorous in the water are the main reason of eutrophication occurring causing severe depletion of oxygen and creating hypoxia for many aquatic organisms living inside water column. Strategies like formulating aqua feeds on required DP/DE (Digestible Protein/Digestible non-protein Energy) basis for farmed species and using synthetic enzymes as feed additives in order to make plant phosphorous bioavailable for fish are being utilized by the commercial aqua feed producers around the world. Fermenting plant protein ingredients with microorganisms and using prebiotics and probiotics as feed additives are also considered a viable option to reduce the nutrient load of aquafarms since these have been shown to increase the digestibility of feed ingredients via increased gut health maintaining the optimal composition and environmental conditions for gut microbiome. In this regard, this review is intended to emphasize the importance of the sustainability efforts of aquaculture production from the perspectives of environmentally friendly aqua feed formulations and improvements based on the recent knowledge gathered for the effects of dietary external enzyme supplementation and fermentation of plant ingredients on growth and wellbeing of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) throughout the world.

TRIZ辅助猕猴桃采摘末端执行器设计与试验

Currently kiwifruit picking process mainly leverages manual labour, which has low productivity and high human effort, meanwhile the existing kiwifruit picking machinery also has low picking efficiency and easily damages fruits. In this regard, a multi-fruit envelope-cutting kiwifruit picking end-effector was designed by applying TRIZ assistance in this paper. First, a common kiwifruit picking end-effector was selected as a prototype, the functional analysis method of TRIZ was applied to discover the functional defects of the prototype, after which TRIZ solution tools such as technical contradiction analysis, substance-field analysis, and trimming were applied to improve and innovate, a kiwifruit picking end-effector for automatically recognizing fruits-enveloping fruit clusters-cutting and separating fruit stalks was designed to pick kiwifruit in clusters. Then, ADAMS was applied to perform gait simulation of the end-effector picking action to verify the smoothness and coherence of the picking process. Finally, a kiwifruit picking test stand was set up to conduct picking tests in the form of fruit clusters. The results showed that the average time to pick each cluster of fruit was 8.8s, the picking success rate was 89.3%, and the picking damage rate was 6.0%. All the indicators were better than the prototype and met the expected design requirements.

Obsidian lithic technology: Chaîne opératoire and symbolic meaning in the Northern Hualfín Valley (Northwest Argentina) during the Late Inka period

The main objective of this research is to analyse the lithic technology applied to obsidian, a raw material popular amongst pre-Columbian populations from Northwestern Argentina (NWA) because of its social and symbolic value. The analysed assemblage comes from the archaeological site of Villavil 2 (VV2), located in the Hualfín Valley (Catamarca, Argentina) and distant ca. 100 - 200 kms from the nearest sources of this raw material. VV2 was discovered in 2015 by one of the authors and shows a particular presence of rock art which had not previously been registered in this area. The site was associated to the Late and Inka Period (ca. 10th - 16th centuries CE). So far, we suggest that this was a place of temporal, but periodical use that best fits with what we would call a ceremonial space.
 The assemblage comprises the totality of obsidian elements collected from both superficial and stratigraphic contexts. It was divided into three typological classes: tools (projectile points), flakes with natural sharp edges (FNSE) and waste products (WP). We did not identify the presence of cores. The analysis considered the following variables: knapping methods and techniques, size, amount of cortex, flake type and edge types.
 At VV2, points are the only retouched tools made of obsidian. They correspond to the triangular unstemmed concave-based type, very common during the Late-Inka Periods, and they were shaped using the perimetral bifacial pressure technique, possibly from flake blanks. FNSEs’ size is small, and they present scarce cortex. On the other hand, the abundance of very small-sized WPs is remarkable. They were found in the same stratigraphic context and attest a complete finish of the points (edge retouch).
 The results let us infer that the point-shaping tasks were carried out in situ. Moreover, the implemented technology involved both major production efforts and skills, that contrast with those involved in local raw material knapping. It is possible that this curated strategy was not related to the difficulty of accessing this allochthonous material. Instead, these choices could reflect social and symbolic meanings. According to linguistic and ethnohistoric information, the obsidian brightness and transparency are propitiatory to win the favour of the w'akas. Furthermore, in NWA the obsidian long-distance exchange is an ancient pre-Columbian tradition that lasted for a long time. Obtaining obsidian could display the ability of a social group to access distant resources and legitimize their political status. Nevertheless, we cannot forget that this raw material also was very important for making different artefacts for subsistence activities.

Contest Schemes and Dynamic Incentive Provision

Simple contest schemes, which tend to use extreme contemporaneous peer benchmarking, are generally thought to be less efficient at motivating productive and cooperative effort than explicit bonus contracts that optimally weight observed own and peer outputs. We show, however, that contest schemes can outperform explicit bonus contracts in a two-period dynamic setting if periodic output is correlated over time, and contract terms can be renegotiated. In our model, all parties update their beliefs about ex ante unknown time-invariant noise upon observing first-period outputs, and second-period wage offers are updated accordingly. This creates first-period shirking incentives for the agents. We show that relative to bonus contracts, the extreme contemporaneous peer benchmarking in contest schemes can weaken or even eliminate the adverse incentives created by prior-period benchmarking, even though the available information and the learning process are the same under both schemes. This dynamic advantage allows contest schemes to outperform repeated bonus contracts for a wide range of parameter values, despite imposing higher static efficiency losses in each period. If competing agents are assigned to sufficiently similar tasks, a contest scheme’s ability to sever the statistical link between periods can yield not only higher early productive effort compared with bonus contracts, but also less uncooperative behavior, despite putting the agents in a more contest-like situation. This paper was accepted by Brian Bushee, accounting. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.00035 .

Pinus pinaster Diameter, Height, and Volume Estimation Using Mask-RCNN

Pinus pinaster, commonly called the maritime pine, is a vital species in Mediterranean forests. Its ability to thrive in the local climate and rapid growth make it an essential resource for wood production and reforestation efforts. Accurately estimating the volume of wood within a pine forest is of great significance to the wood industry. The traditional process is either a rough estimation without measurements or a time-consuming process based on manual measurements and calculations. This article presents a method for determining a tree’s diameter, total height, and volume based on a photograph. The method involves placing reference targets of known dimensions on the trees. A deep learning neural network is used to extract the tree trunk and the targets from the background, and the dimensions of the trunk are estimated based on the dimensions of the targets. The results indicate less than 10% estimation errors for diameter, height, and volume in general. The proposed methodology automates the estimation of the dendrometric characteristics of trees, reducing field time consumed in a forest inventory and without the need to use nonprofessional instruments.

Biodegradation of aliphatic polyurethane foams in soil: Influence of amide linkages and supramolecular structure

Polyurethane (PU) foams are classified as physically nonrecyclable thermosets. The current effort of sustainable and eco-friendly production makes it essential to explore methods of better waste management, for instance by modifying the structure of these frequently used polymers to enhance their microbial degradability. The presence of ester links is known to be a crucial prerequisite for the biodegradability of PU foams. However, the impact of other hydrolysable groups (urethane, urea and amide) occurred in PU materials, as well as the supramolecular structure of the PU network and the cellular morphology of PU foams, is still relatively unexplored.In this work, fully aliphatic PU foams with and without hydrolyzable amide linkages were prepared and their aerobic biodegradation was investigated using a six-month soil burial test. Besides the variable chemical composition of the PU foams, the influence of their different supramolecular arrangement and cellular morphologies on the extent of biodegradation was also evaluated. Throughout the soil burial test, the release of carbon dioxide, and enzyme activities of proteases, esterases, and ureases were measured. At the same time, phospho-lipid fatty acids (PLFA) analysis was conducted together with an assessment of microbial community composition achieved by analysing the genetic information from the 16S rRNA gene and ITS2 region sequencing.The results revealed a mineralization rate of 30–50 % for the PU foams, indicating a significant level of degradation as well as indicating that PU foams can be utilized by soil microorganisms as a source of both energy and nutrients. Importantly, microbial biomass remained unaffected, suggesting that there was no toxicity associated with the degradation products of the PU foams. It was further confirmed that ester linkages in PU foam structure were easily enzymatically cleavable, while amide linkages were not prone to degradation by soil microorganisms. In addition, it was shown that the presence of amide linkages in PU foam leads to a change in the supramolecular network arrangement due to increased content of hard segments, which in turn reduces the biodegradability of PU foam. These findings show that it is important to consider both chemical composition and supramolecular/macroscopic structure when designing new PU materials in an effort to develop environmentally friendly alternatives.

Effect of Product Quality and Promotion on Purchasing Decisions

The present study emerged from the recognized concern surrounding consumers' decision-making process when purchasing a product from a beauty company located in Bandung. The primary issue identified in this study pertains to the diminished purchasing decisions resulting from the inadequate quality of the product and promotional efforts. This research aims to investigate the impact of product quality and promotion on consumer purchasing behavior for a beauty product offered by a company in the city of Bandung. The present study utilizes descriptive and confirmatory methodologies, employing a quantitative research approach. The research sample comprises consumers of a product offered by a beauty company located in Bandung, with 100 participants residing in the city of Bandung. The findings indicate a strong and statistically significant relationship between product quality and consumer purchasing behaviour. Likewise, the influence of promotional activities on consumer purchasing decisions is positive and statistically significant. The correlation coefficient demonstrates a robust relationship.

A streamlined, automated workflow to screen and triage large numbers of baculoviruses for protein expression

The baculovirus expression system is a powerful and widely used method to generate large quantities of recombinant protein. However, challenges exist in workflows utilizing either liquid baculovirus stocks or the Titerless Infected-Cells Preservation and Scale-Up (TIPS) method, including the time and effort to generate baculoviruses, screen for protein expression and store large numbers of baculovirus stocks. To mitigate these challenges, we have developed a streamlined, hybrid workflow which utilizes high titer liquid virus stocks for rapid plate-based protein expression screening, followed by a TIPS-based scale-up for larger protein production efforts. Additionally, we have automated each step in this screening workflow using a custom robotic system. With these process improvements, we have significantly reduced the time, effort and resources required to manage large baculovirus generation and expression screening campaigns.

Pengaruh Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) terhadap Kinerja Bank Syariah Indonesia

and are involved in decision making. One of the compensations is the granting of shares or known as the Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP). The existence of ESOPs is expected to provide incentives for employees to increase productivity efforts. The application of ESOPs to performance is associated with agency theory where there is a contractual attachment between principals (shareholders/owners) and agents (management/employees). In this study, the research method used was paired sample t test. It was found that there was an effect of ESOP application on ROA and no effect of ESOP application on PBV.

Greening the bottom line: a new scale to discern consumer perceptions of a firm’s green orientation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce a new scale designed to assess a firm's green orientation from the consumer's perspective. Its effects are tested on a managerially relevant outcome variable and an objectively measured product-performance indicator.Design/methodology/approachFour studies based on various data sources identify and operationalize a green-oriented firm. Leveraging signaling theory, a model tests the orientation’s impact on two outcome variables, behavioral intentions and revenue, demonstrating its relevance to both scholars and practitioners.FindingsPrevious research has explored consumers’ reactions to green products, announcements and initiatives in a piecemeal fashion. This study suggests that firms are perceived as green-oriented when they operate in an environmentally friendly manner, develop green products and publicize these accomplishments. Consequently, consumers’ identification of a firm as green-oriented affected their behavioral intentions, which positively influenced firms’ revenues.Research limitations/implicationsGreen-oriented firms must incorporate environmental standards into production efforts and confidently trumpet such behaviors if they wish to profit from consumer perceptions.Practical implicationsTo accrue positive behavioral intentions from consumers and to increase the firm’s revenues, marketers should invest in developing green-oriented products, operating in an environmentally friendly manner and publicizing these efforts. Understanding consumer perceptions is critical, as they are a leading indicator of firm performance.Originality/valueThis novel operationalization of a green orientation captures consumers’ perceptions, demonstrating that firms can significantly benefit from this consumer-aligned strategy.

Sustainable Ecotourism: The Case of the Riverine Communities in Capiz, Philippines

The Capizenos had been firmly fighting the pandemic for almost two years. The province’s economy and the people’s livelihood had drastically fallen as the virus hindered the logistics, sales, and production efforts of the region. Capiz State University implemented the RISE Capiz (Riverine Improvement towards a Sustainable Ecotourism in Roxas City, Capiz) Program to address the gaps, challenges, and needs of the riverine communities within Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines. It aimed to establish a sustainable ecotourism industry in the riverine communities. This study involved a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The qualitative component utilized a citizen-centric community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) approach, ensuring river tour members’ active participation in the research process. The results indicate that the trainings were well received and have produced tangible outcomes in terms of increased income and improved livelihoods. The implementation of the acquired knowledge and skills has not only benefited the riverine communities, but also played a role in preserving the riverine communities. It is the hope that the impact of these trainings will be long-lasting and continue to provide benefits to the riverine communities in the future. The utilization of social media pages, as a tool for promoting RISE Capiz’s Palina and Cadimahan river tour operators and their offerings, was found to be an effective strategy.

- Invited Review - Current status of global pig production: an overview and research trends.

Global pig production has increased by 140% since the 1960s. The increase in global population, coupled with improving socioeconomic conditions of many countries has led to an increased consumption of meat globally, including pork. To keep up with demand and capitalize on economic opportunities, the countries of China, the United States (US), and the European Union (EU) have become the top 3 pork producers globally. China is of particular interest, as it is the both the largest country in pork production and pig numbers, as well as being the largest importer of pork from other countries. Globally, the efficiency of pork production has improved, in relation to the integration of pig production and the dramatic increase in research efforts in pig nutrition and production. Through integration, large producers can consolidate resources and maximize profits and efficiency. The increased research interest and efforts in pig production have given scientists and producers the opportunity to collaborate to adapt to challenges and identify possible solutions to issues brought on by a volatile global market. Intestinal health (23%), general nutrition and growth (23%), and amino acid nutrition (15%) were the top 3 areas (61%) leading research trends in pig nutrition and production. Major dietary interventions with feed additives evaluated include functional amino acids, feed enzymes, pre-/pro-/post-biotics, and phytobiotics with a common goal to improve the growth efficiency by enhancing nutrient utilization and intestinal health. With increasing global issues with environment, pig producers and the supporting scientists should continue their efforts to improve the production efficiency and to reduce the environmental footprint from pig production.