Human Economy Research Articles

Remote Working During COVID-19: BOONS or BANES For Instructors Working in Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan

Around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has emerged as the most serious threat to human health, economy, and well-being, affecting substantially every country. The current outbreak has presented society with unexpected obstacles and has jeopardized mankind and global resilience. The present study intends to determine the influence of Covid-19 on 250 educators teaching at various public and private higher educational institutions in Pakistan. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted using a link to a Google questionnaire form. The survey consisted of 20 questions covering demographic information, physical activity, remote working challenges, time spent on social media, and issues with online education. The data were collected using the snowball sampling method, and it was analyzed using SPSS 2021. The findings revealed the detrimental effects of COVID-19 lockdowns, such as excessive use of social media, a sedentary lifestyle, insufficient online classes training,excessive workload, rigorous timetable, the constant worry of shrinking, and wage cutbacks are all factors to consider. To continue the smooth teaching and learning process, the study recommends that educators, government, and policymakersreshape the present policies directly associated with the national teachers' personal, social, economic, physical, and mental well-being.

Climate change and lithium mining influence flamingo abundance in the Lithium Triangle.

The development of technologies to slow climate change has been identified as a global imperative. Nonetheless, such 'green' technologies can potentially have negative impacts on biodiversity. We explored how climate change and the mining of lithium for green technologies influence surface water availability, primary productivity and the abundance of three threatened and economically important flamingo species in the 'Lithium Triangle' of the Chilean Andes. We combined climate and primary productivity data with remotely sensed measures of surface water levels and a 30-year dataset on flamingo abundance using structural equation modelling. We found that, regionally, flamingo abundance fluctuated dramatically from year-to-year in response to variation in surface water levels and primary productivity but did not exhibit any temporal trends. Locally, in the Salar de Atacama-where lithium mining is focused-we found that mining was negatively correlated with the abundance of two of the three flamingo species. These results suggest continued increases in lithium mining and declines in surface water could soon have dramatic effects on flamingo abundance across their range. Efforts to slow the expansion of mining and the impacts of climate change are, therefore, urgently needed to benefit local biodiversity and the local human economy that depends on it.

Developing resilience in disaster relief operations management through lean transformation

The impact of disasters in terms of the loss of human lives, infrastructure, and economy has been increasing over time. Planning and management strategies for disaster relief operations (DROs) have got the attention of researchers and policymakers, particularly on how to achieve resilience in such operations. This research aims to investigate the use of the lean transformation approach, which in this context is the process of evaluating relief operations’ performance in terms of responsiveness and road mapping interventions, for achieving resilience in DROs. A systematic lean-based method instigated through DROs’ management initiative was developed. This was validated through an empirical industrial fire case study where selected lean concepts and tools like Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customer (SIPOC)-analysis, value stream maps (VSM), key performance indicators (KPIs), fishbone diagram, and plan-do-check-act (PDCA) were used to investigate DROs resilience in terms of their responsiveness. The VSMs were developed for ‘as-is’ and ‘to-be’ scenarios, and comparative analysis against standardized KPIs was carried out. The lean transformation approach was found effective in the studied case of industrial fire for developing resilience in DROs. Furthermore, lean tools could help in devising pragmatic strategies to prevent delays and achieve enhanced resilience through better coordination, communication, capacity building, and awareness. This research contributes to the operations management and disaster management fields through lean transformation.

Evaluation Of Anti-Biofilm Activity Of Bacterial Amylase Against Human Pathogens

Global healthcare crisis has a significant impact on human health and economy because of antimicrobial resistance. Emergence of antibiotic resistance due to excessive antibiotic use results in resistant microbes. Biofilm shows integral resistance to antimicrobial agents and the host defense system. Microbes that exist in the biofilms, shows 10-1000 times resistance to antibiotics as compared to the free life style. The biofilms of bacteria serve as a great issue in not only environmental and industrial line but also play an important role in healthcare setting. The biofilm producing bacteria such as Vibrio cholerae and antibiotic resistant bacteria like methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cause deadly infections. In present study, efficacy of bacterial amylase was tested against biofilm formation of pathogenic microbes. For this, Amylase producing bacterial isolates (isolated from a variety of sources, such as waste, rhizosphere of vegetable soil, rice field, potato, and sugarcane field soils sources (ArPs, ArDs, ArSs, ArVs and ArRs) were utilized to reduce the microbial biofilm development against pathogenic isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Six bacterial isolates (SB, SW, SU, PB, PW, and PU) obtained from cancer patients of tertiary care hospitals. Amylase enzyme extracted from ArPs showed maximum growth inhibitory effect on SW pathogen, while ArRs showed minimum growth effect upon SB pathogens. However, amylase showed highest anti-biofilm activity against SW pathogen. In general, the highest biofilm inhibition was recorded at pH7 at 37°C as compared to rest of pHs and temperatures. The efficacy of bacterial amylase in biofilm inhibition of human pathogens, seem promising and having significant potential in health care systems.

Short communication The Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Healing Effects on the Environment

COVID 19, the virus which originated from a wet market in Wuhan, China. Since its exposure in December, 2019, the virus has spread to almost all the countries in the world, thus turning an epidemic into a pandemic. Although COVID 19 has taken a massive toll on the Human health and global economy, its outbreak has shown positive impacts on the environmental air quality. As the majority of the world is under lock down, the global air pollution has reduced by 40 percent during April 2020. This was identified with the assistance of the data collected from European and American Atmospheric monitoring sites. This article thus summarizes the positive effects of lock down and reduced human mobility, towards the improvement of environmental air quality.

Design of automated database system for storage and management of reports on mycotoxins contaminated agricultural products in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper discusses the idea and the design of an automated system for storage and management of mycotoxins reports for decision making. Mycotoxins are poisonous chemical compounds produced by certain fungi. Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites that contaminate various feedstuffs and agricultural crops. The contamination of food by mycotoxins can occur before production, during storage, processing, transportation or marketing of the food products. High temperature, moisture content and water activity are among the factors that facilitate the production of mycotoxins in food. The five major mycotoxins produced in food and feedstuffs are Aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone. In Africa, mycotoxin contamination is considered to be a major problem with implications that causes human and animal health hazards and poor economy. Aflatoxin-related hepatic diseases are reported in many African countries. Ochratoxin and fumonisin toxicity in humans and animals is widespread in Africa. The available and updated information on the incidence of mycotoxin is not collectively vivid for policy making. A complete automated system allows to monitor the statistical report of mycotoxins stored in agricultural products. This study involves analytical Service conducted on Mycotoxins such as Mold Culture and Identification and Chemical Analysis which involves microbiological Culturing; Microscopic or biochemical identification, enzyme linked Immunosorbent (ELISA), tin layer Chromatography (TLC), high Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and gas Chromatography /Mass Spectroscopy. The design and development of Mycotoxins Automated Database System (MADAS) makes provision for easy access and acknowledgment of mycotoxins in different grains, fruits, vegetables and foods in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also enhances robust data collection, management, and analysis, a secure and protected data environment, error reduction and data storage to facilitate regulatory compliance, improved maintainability, standardization, control, predictability, and traceability of data and lower costs due to automation of labor intensive tasks and elimination of redundant work.

Economics of sustainable development and its environmental impact in the European Union: Case study

The natural environment and the human economy are tightly interrelated systems. The paper investigates long-term input-output relations between economics and the environment regarding draws (raw materials) from the system and loads (pollution) to the system. More recent evidence about consumption and use patterns was provided regarding raw extraction and waste production. New insights about the contribution of the EU member states toward the sustainable use and reuse of materials and waste have been highlighted. The results support the EKC hypothesis regarding the firm and negative relationship between income and GHG emissions in CO2 eq., strengthening the evidence about a further drop in emissions responding to income growth. However, the inconclusive results suggest a cyclical waste production and raw materials consumption pattern. Thus economic growth instead encourages consumption. Moreover, there is a lack of cooperation between the EU member states on a national level to fill common environmental goals. EU member states are pursuing their goals rather than individually, thereby "locking" themselves against each other. Their effort results in substantial differences, and their overall progress is vague. The cluster analysis shows relatively significant heterogeneity between the subclusters and high inter-class variance within; regarding renewable energy share, water use, waste recycling and circular material use. More inclusive coordination of policies and broader decentralization of power-decision bodies on the regional level might shape economic-environmental relations more sustainably.

Aquinas and the Market: Toward a Humane Economy

Aquinas and the Market: Toward a Humane Economy

Path Deconstruction of Agricultural Environmental Sustainable Development Policy in the Process of International Agricultural Trade Liberalization.

Agriculture is particularly essential in the equilibrium between man and nature because of its intimate contact with nature. So the cornerstone for the sustainable development of the human economy and society is the sustainable development of agriculture. When it comes to global trade, agricultural trade has always been in a very special position. The basic situation of agriculture involves food safety, environmental protection, Chinese politics, and many other issues. In order to overcome the problems of overlapping, repetitive, and too many indicators in the evaluation method of agricultural environmental sustainable development and unfavorable for practical operation, this paper proposes an ecological footprint model based on emergy. The model can effectively evaluate the ability of sustainable development of agricultural environment and solve the problem that traditional evaluation methods cannot comprehensively evaluate. This makes agricultural development sustainable and is conducive to the liberalization of international agricultural trade. The experimental results of this paper show that from 2014 to 2018, the degree of damage to the agricultural environment has increased from 21% to 45%, which has led to a decline in the quality of agricultural products, and the output and sales are not as good as before. It can be seen that only by ensuring the sustainable development of the agricultural environment can we ensure the smooth progress of the international agricultural trade liberalization and make China's economy flourish.

Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University and Its Impact on Social Economy

The purpose of this research is to analize the impact of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untirta) as one of the State Universities in Banten to social economy impact which is proxied by human development index and economy growth in Serang City. Generally, there are two subtansial problems. First, the impact of the existence of the Untirta campus has not much impact to the human development index Serang City. Second, the relationship between educational sector and economic growth rate requires to further study. This research uses Ordinary Less Square regression and Input-Output Analysis. According to the results of several regression models, there are consistent influence of government investment and student graduated of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University which lead to an increase in human development index of Serang City. Meanwhile, according to another regression model, investment has not significant influence to local economy growth. However, the student graduated of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University has positive relationship and significant to influence the local economy growth. Furthermore, Input-Output Analysis is an equilibrium model, where Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University as services provide on the education sector. Education sector has ability to increase industrial growth upstream (backward linkage) and encourage the production of other sectors that use inputs from the education service sector.

A Survey on the Visual Analytics for Data Ranking

<p indent="0mm">Ranking is a popular and universal approach to sort items based on the value of its attributes, which can make judicious and informed decisions effectively. This paper reviews the related research on the visual analysis for data ranking. Firstly, the design and application of visual elements such as coordinate axis location, length, angle, area and brightness/saturation from the perspective of visual element mapping is introduced. Secondly, with different structural forms of data for ranking, an overview of the advanced technologies and methods with respect to multidimensional, temporal, spatial and topological features is proposed. Furthermore, applications of ranking visual analysis in the human economy, urban traffic, culture, sports and entertainment are investigated. Finally, the challenges and future developments of ranking visualization are prospected.

Transmission, Prevention and Therapeutic Strategies for COVID-19: Updates and Challenges

Background: Almost the whole world is observing a pandemic like never before in the last century, affecting the human lifestyle and economies known as coronavirus disease -2019 (COVID-19). A new severe acute respiratory syndrome that has emerged in China in late 2019 and spread in more than 210 countries makes a global health care emergency. Objective: Considering the epidemiological features of COVID-19, it is crucial to prevent the spread of such a highly infectious disease through effective control methods such as early detection, isolation, and treatment strategies. Conclusion: This review highlights the virus transmission routes among communities and control measure to improve the quarantine and isolation of infected individuals. The "gold standard" molecular and other rapid diagnostic tests used to detect SARS-CoV-2 and their benefits and limitations have reported. Several repurposed drugs, including antivirals, trailed for COVID-19 patients and supportive treatments such as general, cellular, and immune therapies with the role of vitamins in the safe deployment for COVID-19 patients, have also discussed. Finally, the review also encompasses an overview and update about the recent development of COVID-19 vaccines and ongoing clinical studies, which can provide further research advances.

Position and Optimization of the Economic Benefits of Zakat for Empowerment of the People

Humans are creatures who need each other. Human destiny does not all have economic adequacy, but there are also those who have shortcomings. Zakat is a means of distributing wealth from the rich to the needy. This research is a literature study using the descriptive analysis method to examine the position of zakat in sharia economic perspective and how to optimize the economic benefits of zakat. The scope of the discussion in this study includes the concept of zakat. position of zakat, zakat management, benefits of zakat, optimization of productive zakat, as well as challenges and opportunities for zakat development. Sources of research data were obtained from various references that include books, journals, laws and regulations, and other related references. The results of this study state that zakat is worship that has a major influence on the human economy. The strategy for developing zakat can be done through da'wah, utilization of information technology, and increasing productive zakat. Zakat has a very strategic function in the context of the economic system, namely as an instrument of wealth distribution. Public awareness is an important key in growing zakat itself. The findings of this study are productive zakat can be done for the construction of mosques, schools, da'wah buildings, to factories with qiyas as asnaf fii sabilillah. Zakat funds on the development are handed over to people who qualify as fii sabilillah as zakat mustahik.

The increasing of Human Resources quality Through Food Security in Semarang City (A Study of Legal Anthropology)

Development of food security has a strategic meaning in development in an area through its human resources, in accordance with Constitution number 18 of 2012 concerning food, that the provincial, district / city and / or village governments determine the type and amount of certain food reserves according to the consumption needs of the local community. The Human Development Index (HDI) also states that three factors determine the Human Development Index, namely education, health, and economy, so the quality of human resources is very influential and has an important role in developing and managing food so that a synergistic relationship between various aspects of the food security development in a region is needed.&#x0D; &#x0D; In this study, improving the quality of human resources in the city of Semarang in terms of the Anthropological Study of Law on food security, the method used through a normative juridical approach that is the law conceptualized as a normative symptom in legislation with the legal anthropological approach, the population in this study is the Department of Agriculture Semarang City with samples of food products in improving the quality of its human resources&#x0D; &#x0D; The results of this study comes through the Empirical Legal Anthropology approach, the support of strong and effective food institutions can spur growth, development and improvement of food, the nutritional status improvement of the community is very influential in improving the quality of human resources in increasing intelligence and the performance of human resources in determining future growth as one of strengthening local food security in the city of Semarang. With the availability of high quality human resources characterized by a strong physical, strong mental, excellent health and mastering science and technology can support the development of the city of Semarang.

Energy consumption and economic growth: Does it accord with the allometric scaling law in biology?

Energy consumption plays an important role in economic growth. It has been reported that the pattern of energy use in human economies possesses the same form as the biological relationship governing the amount of energy required by animals for their base metabolism, namely the relationship is characterized by a power function having a scaling factor (exponent) of 0.75. Using two different sets of data, we consider whether these data for China support this hypothesis. Energy use per head in relation to its GDP per capita for the whole of China for the period 1980–2011 is examined. A similar exercise is completed for the three main regions of China (its Eastern, Middle and Western Regions) for the period 1980–2008. Substantial differences in regional energy intensities are found and reasons for these are suggested. Furthermore, it is discovered that the overall results do not support the hypothesis that China’s energy use accords with the above mentioned biological relationship. Alternative relationships are found to provide a better fit to the available data.

Definition of conceptual basics of nanoeconomics as inclusive society environment

The definition of nanoeconomics can relate to different levels and areas of economic life. First of all, this is the nanolevel of the economic system. As a human economy, nanoeconomics provides for the allocation of an individual factor within the framework of a socio-economic phenomenon. The nanoeconomic aspect is central to the definition of inclusion. So, the inclusion of a person, as the main subject of nanoeconomics, to the formation and stabilization of economic systems is the initial one in the integration of an individual in relation to production processes and economic development. A person is involved in academic and social life by making decisions about their own business and integrating it into the sectoral and national economic space. It is proved that its indicators are the conditions for clustering the economic system. The study carried out a cluster analysis of the innovation system in a country with an economy in transition. In addition, the study outlined that inclusive phenomena in the economy are close to integration and are the opposite of segregation and isolation. It is noted that different institutions of integration can be used to form objective conditions for the development of babyeconomics. Public decisions of inclusion involve the use of Arrow's impossibility theorem. The research results can be used: – the individualistic functions of inclusion should be used in the formation of the babyeconomics, the human economy and the economy of nanotechnology; – states of inclusion must be created at all levels of the economic system; – a person and wealth are an individualistic aspect of an inclusive economy, because national wealth consists of individual wealth. Nanoeconomics is just beginning to be included in the systemic processes of inclusive economic phenomena, especially in countries with economies in transition

Commentary: enabling service wisdom for MEA organizations and society

Purpose This commentary seeks to enable service researchers in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) regions and those in other regions to pursue service research that addresses the many difficult service system problems in the MEA. Design/methodology/approach This commentary is based on more than 40 years of service research experience and unique insights from a service research pioneer. The commentary addresses what service systems are and why they are important to human progress. Findings Three service wisdoms are offered to enable service researchers. Serving Human Needs focuses on the essential role of service because all human economies exist to serve human needs. It also provides the aspirational goal of improving human well-being by transforming service systems. The topic of Designing New Service Rules urges service researchers to design new service systems based on the win-win logic of mutualism. Collaborating With Each Other is the third service wisdom. With more than 7 billion humans living today, mutually beneficial collaborations are one of the best strategies for improving human well-being and the well-being of our crowded planet. Practical implications Practical ideas are offered for improving the human condition through collaboratively serving each other’s needs. Social implications Because service systems are both nonmonetary and monetary solutions to human needs, their social implications are profound. Human life itself depends on service systems. Originality/value This commentary offers service researchers guidance in understanding services, in designing better services, and in pursuing collaborative solutions to service system problems.

Is there tree senescence? The fecundity evidence

Despite its importance for forest regeneration, food webs, and human economies, changes in tree fecundity with tree size and age remain largely unknown. The allometric increase with tree diameter assumed in ecological models would substantially overestimate seed contributions from large trees if fecundity eventually declines with size. Current estimates are dominated by overrepresentation of small trees in regression models. We combined global fecundity data, including a substantial representation of large trees. We compared size-fecundity relationships against traditional allometric scaling with diameter and two models based on crown architecture. All allometric models fail to describe the declining rate of increase in fecundity with diameter found for 80% of 597 species in our analysis. The strong evidence of declining fecundity, beyond what can be explained by crown architectural change, is consistent with physiological decline. A downward revision of projected fecundity of large trees can improve the next generation of forest dynamic models.

Socio-environmental dynamics in the central Atacama desert (22°S) during the late Holocene

In the Central Atacama Desert (22°-24°S; henceforth CAD), around 3700 cal yrs BP, human economies begin to transition from relying mostly on hunting and gathering to increasingly incorporating horticulture and pastoralism became more intensive during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP; beginning at ca. 1050 cal yrs BP/900 AD). In this extreme environment, the well-being of past and present farming and herding communities is directly tied to water availability. The lack of proper paleoclimatic/environmental records in terms of their temporal/spatial resolution impeded evaluation whether sedentarization was synchronous, in some degree, with the amelioration of dry conditions recorded during the Late Holocene at millennial timescales. The present paper thus aims (1) to reconstruct the past environmental and climatic dynamics in the CAD (22°S) during the late Holocene at millennial to sub-centennial scales based on the pollen record of fossil rodent middens of Cuesta Chita site and; (2) to discuss their possible relationship to changes in cultivation and water management as seen at the archaeological sites of Topaín, Paniri and Turi, located in the Salado River basin. The CCH rodent midden pollen record reflects wetter (drier) than present phases around 4400, 3650, 3000, 2200–2100, 1600, 855–840, 520–450 and 100 cal yrs BP (980, 450-115 cal yrs BP). By the time that wetter-than-present conditions occurred in the CAD (Formative Period, 3500-1050 cal yrs BP), local communities had already developed small-scale horticultural practices, yet they did not develop extensive or intensive agricultural practices. Indeed, historical processes leading to economic transformations and the rapid adoption of intensive agriculture throughout the CAD after 1000 cal yrs BP occurred and were probably favored by wetter than present conditions, suggesting positive correlations between climatic and cultural change. However, these correlations are complex and non-deterministic. In fact, decreased moisture between 650 and 600 cal yrs BP in the Turi Basin was met by agropastoralists at Topaín with complex local strategies that included changing water management practices and significantly extending farmed lands. Similarly, the Topaín fields were abandoned during a period of much-wetter-than-present conditions. The chronologically fine-grained comparison of the CCH and archaeological records reveals that the relationship between climate and culture is complex, non-deterministic, and historically contingent, with examples of agricultural expansion during a time of water stress, and the abandonment of fields during a time of abundance.

PERBANDINGAN KONSEP RIBA DAN BUNGA BANK MENURUT YUSUF QARADHAWI DAN MUHAMMAD SAYYID THANTAWI SERTA IMPLIKASINYA TERHADAP PERBANKAN SYARIAH

Banks exist to be the power of human economy. Problems arise related to the banking system which has narrowed to interest, it has become a controversial topic of discussion. This led to differences of opinion among contemporary scholars such as Yusuf Qaradhâwi and Muhammad Sayyid Thantawi. This difference in opinion regarding the status of interest can affect public interest in conducting transactions with banks. The purpose of this study is to analyze the legal status of bank interest according to Yusuf Qaradhâwi and Muhammad Sayyid Thantawi and to find out its impact on the market share of Islamic banking in Indonesia. The research method used is a qualitative method with literature study. Based on the research results, the law of interest according to Muhammad Syyid Thantawi is not a prohibited riba. The istinbâth ahkam method used by Thantawi in determining the status of bank interest is Al-Qur'an, hadith, qiyas, and mashlahah mursalah. According to Yusuf Qaradhâwi, the law of interest is the same as usury. The istinbâth ahkam method used by Yusuf Qaradhâwi in determining the status of interest is Al-Qur'an, hadith, Ijma 'ulama, qiyas, and fiqh rules. Thantawi's thinking has implications for the paradigm of public thinking that the Islamic financial industry still tends to be conventional. Qradhawi's Opinion This needs to be supported considering the large number of Muslims in Indonesia, this is expected to change the paradigm of thinking of the public to conduct transactions with Islamic banks, as to increase the market share of Islamic banking in Indonesia. Keywords : Riba, Interst, Yusuf Yusuf Qaradhâwi, Muhammad Sayyid Thantawi and Market Share.