Cooperative Growth Research Articles

The impact of OPEC on East Asian oil import security: A multidimensional analysis

East Asian countries, such as China, Japan and South Korea, are major importers in the international oil market. Therefore, oil import security is critical to sustainable economic development in these countries. This paper uses a modified two-stage DEA-like model to investigate the impact of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on oil import security in the East Asian region over time. Specifically, three dimensional variables were introduced to the model: the OPEC internal dimension, the OPEC and Asian country interaction dimension, and the international external dimension. The empirical results show a substantial difference between China and the other two countries in terms of these dimensions. Although the impact of OPEC on China's oil security has increased over time, its impact on Japan has declined. Political uncertainty in OPEC countries and oil price volatility are the major issues for China, whereas cost is the key area of concern for Japan. South Korea's concerns are less clear. The results of this study lay an important foundation for discussing policy issues involved in regional cooperation, integration and sustainable growth in the East Asian region.

Peasant Cooperation and Agricultural Growth in Historical Perspective: Southeastern Shanxi in the 1950s

Historical evidence suggests that peasant cooperation in the form of mutual aid teams and co-ops contributed to agricultural growth in southeastern Shanxi before 1958. Well-managed mutual aid teams and co-ops could improve the efficiency of input allocation, help to increase the use of traditional inputs, and accelerate the diffusion of output-enhancing technologies. The case of the Guo Yu’en co-op in Chuandi village illustrates how institutions providing sufficient work incentives could emerge in rural communities. By linking the southeastern Shanxi story to national trends of agrarian change in the 1950s, this article emphasizes that cooperativization before the Great Leap Forward generated heterogeneous effects across different regions and cannot be indiscriminately labeled as inefficient.

International Airline Codesharing and Consumer Choice Behavior: Misconceptions vs. Quality Signals

Economic globalization has spurred the growth of international cooperation between companies. This paper analyzes partnerships between foreign and domestic firms as a source of signaling advantages. When partnerships affect the products offered, it is not possible to isolate this signaling impact. Virtual codesharing is an important type of marketing partnership in aviation that does not change the product and hence provides the opportunity to identify the direct impact of partnerships on consumer valuation of the partnered products. Roughly 75 per cent of the flights in trans-Atlantic and Pacific markets involves codesharing. Typically, the consumer buys the ticket with the domestic airline, while a foreign airline operates the flight. Analyzing individual-level choice data from a representative panel of Australian air travelers, we find that the average consumer is willing to a pay a premium between 4 and 5.5% of the ticket price when a flight by a foreign carrier is codeshared with the national carrier Qantas. When flying to a less familiar destination, risk averse consumers are willing to pay a premium about two times higher than non-risk averse consumers, suggesting that partnerships have a strong impact on consumer valuation through quality signaling.

Growth behavior of [formula omitted] coprecipitates in Ni-Base superalloys

Precipitation of the γ'' phase on {100} facets of preceding γ' precipitates is found to prevent the latter from overaging upon slow cooling from solution treatment in Ni-base superalloys based on the composition of alloy 718. By computer simulation using a multi-phase-field model, we find that the growth of a coprecipitate involves several concurrent and closely coupled processes, including thickening and lengthening of γ'' shells, growth of the γ' core along the 001γ', 011γ' and 111γ' directions, hard impingement between γ' and γ'' precipitates, and soft impingement among γ'' precipitates of different variants. These processes at different stages of growth are analyzed systematically as a function of coprecipitate size and configuration, and the results show that the growth kinetics of the γ' core in a coprecipitate is controlled by the interplay among: (1) partial removal of supersaturated γ matrix surrounding the γ' core by coprecipitation of γ'' shells, (2) cooperative growth of γ' and γ'' in the coprecipitates and (3) atomic mobility of γ'-formers in the γ'' phase. To maximize the effect of coprecipitation on preventing γ' from overaging upon slow cooling, the alloy composition and heat treatment schedule should be optimized to minimize the size of γ' cores at which coprecipitation of γ'' shells occurs and to reduce diffusion of γ'-formers through γ''.

Interface dominated cooperative nanoprecipitation in interstitial alloys

Steels belong to one of the best established materials, however, the mechanisms of various phase transformations down to the nano length scale are still not fully clear. In this work, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy is combined with atomistic simulations to study the nanoscale carbide precipitation in a Fe–Cr–C alloy. We identify a cooperative growth mechanism that connects host lattice reconstruction and interstitial segregation at the growing interface front, which leads to a preferential growth of cementite (Fe3C) nanoprecipitates along a particular direction. This insight significantly improves our understanding of the mechanisms of nanoscale precipitation in interstitial alloys, and paves the way for engineering nanostructures to enhance the mechanical performance of alloys.

Data Driven Approach to the Dynamics of Import and Export of G7 Countries.

The dynamics of imports plus exports of 226 product classes by the G7 countries between 1962 and 2000 is described in terms of stochastic differential equations. The model allows interesting comparisons among the different economies related to the compositions of the national baskets. Synthetic solutions can also be used to estimate hidden and unexploited growth potentials. These prerogatives are strictly connected with the fact that a network structure is at the basis of the model. Such a network expresses the mutual influences of different products through resource transfers, and is a key ingredient producing cooperative growth effects which can be quantified and distinguished from those generated by deterministic drifts and representing direct resource inputs. An analysis of this network, which differs substantially from those previously considered within the economic complexity approach, allows to estimate the centrality of different products in each national basket, highlighting the most essential commodities for each economy. Solutions of the model give the possibility of performing counterfactual analyses aimed at estimating how much the growth of each country could have profited from a general strengthening, or weakening, of the links in the same products network.

The Service Supply Effect of Cooperatives under Economic Transformation: A Demand-Supply Perspective

As an important part of the sustainable development of agriculture in China, cooperatives have become a hot topic. However, previous literature has mixed results on the relationship between quantity growth and service supply effect of cooperatives. By conducting multiple correspondence analysis, descriptive statistics, and Pearson’s chi-square test on survey data of 785 farmers, this paper aims to describe the characteristics of cooperatives’ members and evaluate the current state of cooperatives’ service supply from a demand-supply perspective. The results of the survey show that male, middle-aged, and middle-class farmers or farmers who plant local optimal crops are more likely to become the members of cooperatives. There is a huge gap between service supply and demand of farmers; cooperatives have a positive effect on reducing the degree of service demand. This effect is only significant when concerning sale, pest control, and mechanization. On the whole, there is a weak correlative relationship between the current service supply of cooperatives and the service demand of farmers in China.

FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO INVEST IN NEW COOPERATIVE INSTRUMENTS: A CHOICE EXPERIMENT

ABSTRACTGlobalization of agricultural markets put pressures on producer cooperatives to invest in expansion and growth to safeguard their competitiveness. Availability of capital is limited if farmers do not have incentives to increase their capital contribution. Cooperative literature recognizes the residual rights, transferability, and the appreciation potential of the investment as the potential solutions for the problems that may impede cooperative investments. The objective of this study is to understand farmer preferences regarding investment attributes and the potential for attracting investment capital from members and non‐members. We employ a choice experiment method to test new cooperative investment instruments. The data consist of a questionnaire conducted with 406 Finnish dairy farmers. Random parameter latent class logit model is used in the estimation of the data. The results indicate that most of the respondents regard the new investment instruments positively. However, farmers prefer restricting ownership rights to members. Incentives for members to participate in financing cooperative growth could be designed with capital‐based residual rights, mechanisms for transferability and for the appreciation of firm value. Estimation that considered choice difficulty improved model fit, which highlights the need to address respondent burden also in future studies of hypothetical investments in order to produce unbiased estimates.

Analyzing the cooperative growth of intermetallic phases with a curved solidification front

The classical Jackson-Hunt (JH) relation is re-derived to incorporate the physics of curved solid-liquid interfaces on the lamellar growth kinetics of binary intermetallic eutectics. A semi-analytical approach is adopted to explore the entire range of compositions within the miscibility gap. The interface shape calculation implemented in the classical theory is interpreted as a first step in an iterative process which can be carried through to convergence within the framework of the current extended analysis thus rendering the theory self-consistent and, except for the triple junction angles that have to be input, self-contained. The influence of the low péclet number approximation on the kinetics relation is thoroughly analyzed. It is found that the relative error in velocity due to this approximation scales with péclet number and is independent of the shape of the solid-liquid interface profile. Growth kinetics of NiZr-NiZr2 lamellar eutectics predicted by the modified theory are compared with those of the classical JH theory.

SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIC GROWTH, SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVE SOCIETY AND CREDIT UNION INDUSTRY: A GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Purpose: To ascertain the sustainable strategic growth Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies and Credit Unions Industry globallyMethodology: This is a secondary research based on review of existing available literature (from books, conference reports, websites and journals) in the area of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Societies and Credit Unions in various countries globally.Findings: The study found that number of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies/Credit Unions in Africa increased by 83.3%, while that of Asia increased by 78.0% between the periods 2007 and 2016 and the average industry growth for Africa and Asia was 33.2% and 42.3% respective. The number of Credit Union growth in Caribbean (-5.6%), Europe (-23.9%), Latin America (-4.5%), North America (-32.6%) and Oceania (-32.8%) registered number of Savings and Credit Cooperative Society/Credit Union growth decline between the periods 2007 and 2016. The global aggregate growth in the number of Savings and Credit Cooperative Society/Credit Unions between 2007 and 2016 was 46.0%.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Considerations for global Savings and Credit Cooperative and Credit Union growth are evaluated on the multiple dimensions of market, region diversity, technological innovation rate, and Savings and Credit Cooperative Society/Credit Union market trends. Growth is the most frequently used corporate strategy. It means increases sales, assets, net profits and a chance to take advantage of the experience curve.

Chemo-elastic phase-field simulation of the cooperative growth of mutually-accommodating Widmanstätten plates

A comprehensive understanding of the phase transformations is of primary importance to optimize the properties of a material. In the present study, a novel and thermodynamically consistent chemo-elastic multiphase-field model is formulated to simulate phase transformations which yield unique needle-like patterns, referred to as Widmanstätten structure. Owing to the critical role of the curvature in the growth of the Widmanstätten structure, the model is devised to recover the sharp interface solutions, despite the introduction of a diffuse interface. This condition is fulfilled by formulating the chemical and the elastic driving force based on the grand potential density and the mechanical jump conditions, respectively. Additionally, to render a quantitative chemical driving force, parameters from CALPHAD-database (TCFE8) are incorporated. The current work, through the multicomponent multiphase-field simulations, shows that at high temperatures, when the chemical driving force is insufficient to actuate the growth of a plate, the Widmanstätten structure evolves by the co-operative growth of self-accommodating plates. Furthermore, the growth of a single Widmanstätten plate at low temperature is also simulated, and the growth kinetics of the transformations are verified through existing analytical predictions.

Growth modulation of simultaneous epitaxy of ZnO obliquely aligned nanowire arrays and film on r-plane sapphire substrate

Simultaneous epitaxial growth of film and nanowire array on a substrate is of both scientific significance and practical importance for nanoscale optoelectronics. Nevertheless, in situ building conducting connection between individually isolated nanowires grown on insulating substrates is still challenging. Herein, we demonstrate a novel and facile strategy for the simultaneous epitaxial growth of nonpolar a-plane ZnO film and obliquely aligned nanowire array on Au-coated r-plane sapphire substrate. The morphology, structure, components, and optical properties of the as-synthesized ZnO nanostructures were investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, field-emission transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. A cooperative growth mechanism is proposed: Au-catalyzed vapor transport initiates the co-occurrence of nonpolar a-plane and polar c-plane ZnO nuclei, and subsequently, the non-upward directed Au catalyst helps the nonpolar a-plane ZnO nuclei develop into a ZnO conductive film at the bottom and zinc self-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid growth helps the polar c-plane ZnO nuclei develop simultaneously into obliquely aligned nanowire arrays. The proposed strategy realized in situ synthesis of nanowires with conductive connection and it can benefit the application of ZnO nanowires in optoelectronics.

Abstract 1794: The FES-related tyrosine kinase associates with and activates the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor at sites of cell adhesion

Abstract Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 signaling has a well-described function in facilitating tumourigenesis and promoting tumour growth. Attempts to suppress IGF signals at the level of the IGF-1 Receptor have been disappointing, with kinase inhibitors and blocking antibodies generally showing poor efficacy in clinical trials. To address the mechanisms for this lack of efficacy we sought to identify proteins that modulate the cytotoxic response to IGF-1R tyrosine kinase inhibition using a functional siRNA screen. We identified the non-receptor tyrosine FES-related (FER) kinase as a mediator of sensitivity to the IGF-1R tyrosine kinase inhibitor in MCF-7 cells. We found that FER and the IGF-1R co-locate and can be co-immunoprecipitated from different cell types. Ectopic expression of FER strongly enhanced IGF-1R expression and phosphorylation on the atuophosphorylation sites at tyrosines 950 and 1131. FER phosphorylated these sites in an IGF-1R kinase-independent manner and also enhanced IGF-1-mediated phosphorylation of SHC, and activation of either the AKT or MAPK signaling pathways in breast cancer cell lines. The IGF-1R, β1 Integrin, FER and its substrate cortactin were all observed to be co-located in cell adhesion complexes, the disruption of which reduced IGF-1R expression and activity. High FER expression correlates with phosphorylation of SHC in breast cancer cell lines and with a poor prognosis in patient cohorts. FER and SHC phosphorylation and IGF-1R expression could be suppressed with a known ALK inhibitor that shows high specificity for FER kinase. Overall, we conclude that FER-enhances IGF-1R expression, phosphorylation and signaling to promote cooperative growth and adhesion signaling that may facilitate cancer progression and resistance to IGF-1R inhibition. Citation Format: Joanna Stanicka, Leonie Rieger, Orla T. Cox, Sandra O'Shea, Michael Coleman, Ciara O'Flanagan, Barbara Addario, Nuala McCabe, Richard Kennedy, Rosemary O'Connor. The FES-related tyrosine kinase associates with and activates the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor at sites of cell adhesion [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1794.

Selection for increased quorum-sensing cooperation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa through the shut-down of a drug resistance pump

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs a hierarchical quorum-sensing network to regulate virulence factor production that cooperatively benefit the population at a cost to the individual. It has been argued that the evolution of a cooperative mutant in a quorum sensing-suppressed population would be hampered through its exploitation by neighboring non-mutant cells. It remains unclear whether mechanisms which overcome this exploitation exist. Here we investigate the regain of quorum-sensing cooperation by evolving a mutant of the lasR master quorum-sensing regulator. The mutant regained partial cooperative growth through null mutations in mexT, which codes for an activator of the MexEF-OprN multidrug-resistant pump. We find that these mutations enhance cooperative growth in both the lasR mutant and wild-type backgrounds through the activation of the RhlIR system. We show that the regain of cooperation in mexT mutants is mediated by the reduction in MexEF-OprN activity, whereas an additional source of private benefit is mostly mexEF-oprN-independent. Finally, we show that addition of antibiotics for which resistance is mediated by MexEF-OprN prevents the selection of increased cooperation at sub-MIC concentrations. MexT, therefore, not only links private and public goods, but also exposes conflicts between selection for antibiotic resistance and enhanced cooperation.

Evolution of the Macrostructure of Gray Cast Iron from Eutectic to Hypereutectic Composition

This work studies the evolution of the macrostructure of gray cast iron as the carbon equivalent (CE) increases from near-eutectic to highly hypereutectic values. The macrostructure of spherical samples of flake graphite irons of CE ranging between 4.24% and 5.23% was revealed by using direct austempering after solidification technique (DAAS). The results were analysed by applying the concept of coupled zone for gray cast irons. The coupled zone is a region in the stable Fe-C-Si diagram in which solidification proceeds as a cooperative growth of both austenite and flake graphite. The coupled zone for gray cast iron is claimed to be asymmetrical as the eutectic reaction is extended towards the prolongation of the austenite liquidus line. All the samples investigated in the present study show the presence of relatively large austenite grains, demonstrating that the number of active nucleation sites of austenite per unit volume is small. The observation of the microstructure shows the presence of several units of coupled growth inside each austenite grain, what proves that many eutectic colonies have grown from the same austenite nucleus, even for highly hypereutectic compositions. Colour etching was employed to reveal the “hidden” dendrites present in the microstructure. The results suggest that proeutectic graphite is not a good nucleating agent for austenite. These results contribute to the understanding of the solidification of hypereutectic gray irons and verify the earlier understanding of the solidification of eutectic gray irons and its extension to hypereutectic compositions.

Навчальні матеріали за професійним спрямуванням у системі викладання іноземної мови студентам лісотехнічного профілю

Навчальна дисципліна "Іноземна мова за професійним спрямуванням" є важливою складовою системи підготовки майбутніх спеціалістів вищого навчального закладу технічного профілю, що зумовлено тенденцією до світової інтеграції, розширенням культурного та наукового обміну, росту міжнародного економічного співробітництва. Вона базується на активізації, систематизації та узагальненні лексико-граматичних знань, отриманих учасниками навчального процесу за попередні роки навчання (Malynovska & Mason, 2014a) і передбачає успішне оволодіння іншомовним лексико-граматичним та синтаксично-стилістичним матеріалом у межах навчальної програми "Іноземна мова". Вивчення цієї навчальної дисципліни – це складний та багатогранний процес, оскільки, з одного боку, передбачає оволодіння іноземною мовою як лінгвістичним явищем, а з іншого – використання іншомовних розумових форм і категорій у площині конкретної галузі та в її окремо окреслених професійних сферах. Представлено навчальні продукти для студентів НЛТУ України: навчальний посібник "Екосистема лісу" та "Німецько-український словник лісотехнічних термінів", які складено на основі фахово орієнтованого іншомовного матеріалу, що необхідний для формування комунікативної компетенції в усіх видах мовленнєвої діяльності відповідної галузевої тематики лісотехнічного профілю. Цей навчальний матеріал створено для вивчення навчальної дисципліни "Іноземна мова за професійним спрямуванням (німецька мова)" та з урахуванням основних положень Державної національної програми "Освіта" (Україна ХХІ століття), Загальноєвропейських рекомендацій з мовної освіти, а також з урахуванням активного використання у навчальному процесі мультимедійних засобів навчання.

Comparison of anterior crowding relapse tendency in patients treated with incisor extraction, premolar extraction, and nonextraction treatment

Background and aimRelapse of incisor crowding is usually a serious challenge for orthodontists, and achieving long-term stable occlusion after treatment is one of the primary goals of orthodontic treatment. Stability of aligned incisors is unpredictable, and the difference is attributed to the type of malocclusion, treatment procedures, patient co-operation, or soft tissue growth and adaptability. Considering controversies in this issue, this study is aimed to compare various treatment plans used for incisor alignment in order to find the most useful one, which achieves long-term stability. MethodsThe study included 120 study casts from 40 patients with the mean age of 23.1 years and range of 15 to 38 years. The patients were treated with either nonextraction, single extraction, or premolar extraction and were evaluated at three time points, including T1 (before treatment), T2 (after treatment), and T3 (after retention). ResultsRelapse were observed in all three groups. The mean of mandibular incisor irregularity index was 0.37 ± 0.31, 0.37 ± 0.41, and 0.51 ± 0.47 in the nonextraction, premolar extraction, and incisor extraction groups, respectively. One-way analysis of variance suggested that there was no significant difference among the three groups in this regard (P = 0.2). ConclusionsGiven the results of this study, it appears that treatment modality in terms of extraction or nonextraction is not a major determinant in posttreatment relapse.

Penggunaan Rapid Application Development dalam Rancang Bangun Program Simpan Pinjam pada Koperasi


 Cooperatives in Indonesia over the past four years have been very positive with an average of 2.5 percent of active cooperative growth. Based on government data up to July 5, 2017, cooperatives in Indonesia have 152,282 units of cooperatives and 26.8 million cooperative members. With the development of it, it is necessary also in the use of information systems in data processing. One type of cooperative is a savings and loan cooperative, and many cooperatives perform conventional data processing. It can cause problems like old search data, inaccurate borrowing and inaccurate reports. Therefore, the need for application programs that are applied, by creating a design program that is able to provide information in the process of storing information produced quickly, timely and accurate. Using the method of rapid application development (RAD), became one of the options to assist in the design program of saving and loan cooperatives. With the implementation of application programs on savings and loan cooperatives, it can be done existing solutions in data processing cooperative.

Fluctuations uncover a distinct class of traveling waves

Epidemics, flame propagation, and cardiac rhythms are classic examples of reaction-diffusion waves that describe a switch from one alternative state to another. Only two types of waves are known: pulled, driven by the leading edge, and pushed, driven by the bulk of the wave. Here, we report a distinct class of semipushed waves for which both the bulk and the leading edge contribute to the dynamics. These hybrid waves have the kinetics of pushed waves, but exhibit giant fluctuations similar to pulled waves. The transitions between pulled, semipushed, and fully pushed waves occur at universal ratios of the wave velocity to the Fisher velocity. We derive these results in the context of a species invading a new habitat by examining front diffusion, rate of diversity loss, and fluctuation-induced corrections to the expansion velocity. All three quantities decrease as a power law of the population density with the same exponent. We analytically calculate this exponent, taking into account the fluctuations in the shape of the wave front. For fully pushed waves, the exponent is -1, consistent with the central limit theorem. In semipushed waves, however, the fluctuations average out much more slowly, and the exponent approaches 0 toward the transition to pulled waves. As a result, a rapid loss of genetic diversity and large fluctuations in the position of the front occur, even for populations with cooperative growth and other forms of an Allee effect. The evolutionary outcome of spatial spreading in such populations could therefore be less predictable than previously thought.

Energy modeling simulation of changes in ecosystem services before and after the implementation of a Grain-for-Green program on the Loess Plateau—A case study of the Zhifanggou valley in Ansai County, Shaanxi Province, China

Understanding the relationship between land use change and ecosystem services is critical for achieving sustainable ecosystem services and for developing scientifically effective eco-conservation policies. The Zhifanggou watershed is a typical hill and gully region on the Loess Plateau that has experienced a process of serious damage and rapid recovery in recent decades, and the accompanying land use changes have been dramatic. Taking the Zhifanggou watershed as an example, this study built an energy flow model for the watershed considering croplands, woodlands and grasslands as components. This study evaluated the changes in ecosystem service values before and after the implementation of a Grain for Green (GFG) program using the method of equivalent value factor per-unit of ecosystem area. Then changes in ecosystem service values in the Zhifanggou watershed were simulated. The results were as follows: (1) the total value of ecosystem services showed a linear increase (P < 0.01) from 1995 to 2010, increase 44.2% over this time. In addition, the provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural service values showed a cooperative growth trend (P < 0.01). (2) The change in ecosystem service values in the watershed was very small over the period examined and if the GFG program continues, it will stabilize after a slight net increase. Provisioning services showed a downward trend, while regulating, supporting and cultural services show an upward trend, furthermore, provisioning services showed a trade-off relationship with the other three services (P < 0.01). (3) If the cycle of deforestation and reclamation to agriculture continues, the ecosystem service values will decrease by approximately 83% in the next 30 years, the ecosystems will be seriously damaged again, and the values of all four types of ecosystem services will show a decreasing trend (P < 0.01). In general, the ecological environment of the Zhifanggou watershed has been stabilized by the Grain for Green program. However, the government’s scientific and rational policies to ensure that the GFG program results are not destroyed and to achieve stable and sustainable development on the Loess Plateau are still needed.