International Demand Research Articles

Studi Pola Aliran Distribusi Pemasaran pada Industri Konveksi Lokal di Desa Ledug, Kecamatan Kembaran, Kabupaten Banyumas

This study carries an analysis related to the pattern of marketing distribution flow of the convection industry in Ledug Village through various levels of marketing channels. Three convection industries, namely Enjoy Apparel, Kayla Jaya Convection, and N Convection, are the main focus in this study. The data collected during the period of 2020 to 2023 becomes material for analysis to understand marketing strategies and adaptations made by the three actors in facing changes in market dynamics. The results of the analysis revealed significant differences in marketing strategy and performance among the three industry players. In zero and single-tier marketing channels, Enjoy Apparel was able to cement impressive distribution growth, reflecting responsive adaptation to fluctuations in domestic and international market demand. On the other hand, Kayla Jaya Convection and N Convection experience more complex performance variations, with repeated periods of increases and decreases. A deeper analysis of level two distribution channels reveals a more detailed shift in marketing strategy. While Enjoy Apparel continues to show steady distribution improvements, Kayla Jaya Convection faces a sharper decline, while N Convection remains at a steady level of performance. In this context, strategic adaptation and the ability to respond to market changes are emerging as decisive factors for maintaining competitiveness in a dynamic industrial environment.

Evolution pattern of African countries' oil trade under the changing in the global oil market

Africa's oil trade plays a vital role in the global oil market, but it is more vulnerable compared to other regions due to its resource dependency. This study examines the evolution of African countries' oil trade in the context of the changing global oil market, aiming to shed light on the characteristics of resource-dependent oil trade in these areas. By utilizing global oil trade data, an oil trade network of African countries is constructed for the period from 2000 to 2020. The findings reveal that the comparative advantages of most African countries are primarily determined by their abundant resources, with the Gulf of Guinea and North Africa exhibiting greater revealed comparative advantages. However, the over-reliance on primary product exports leaves African countries susceptible to unpredictable changes in the global oil market. Furthermore, due to their single industrial structure, the control over resource flows within the trade network is significantly low for African oil-producing nations. The oil trade of African countries has formed distinct trade communities, including the Gulf of Guinea and North America, North Africa and European countries, and Angola, Sudan, and East Asian countries. These communities exhibit relative independence and self-reinforcement, influenced by factors such as the timing of market entry, international economic trends, energy demand and transformations in consumer countries, and geopolitical risks.

A first annotated genome sequence for Haliotis midae with genomic insights into abalone evolution and traits of economic importance.

Haliotis midae or "perlemoen" is one of five abalone species endemic to South Africa, and being palatable, the only commercially important abalone species with a high international demand. The higher demand for this abalone species has resulted in the decrease of natural stocks due to overexploitation by capture fisheries and poaching. Facilitating aquaculture production of H. midae should assist in minimising the pressure on the wild populations. Here, the draft genome of H. midae has been sequenced, assembled, and annotated. The draft assembly resulted in a total length of 1.5 Gb, contig N50 of 0.238Mb, scaffold N50 of 0. 238Mb and GC level of 40%. Gene annotation, combining ab initio and evidence-based pipelines identified 52,280 genes with protein coding potential. The genes identified were used to predict orthologous genes shared among the four other abalone species (H. laevigata, H. rubra, H. discus hannai and H. rufescens) and 4702 orthologous genes were shared across the five species. Among the orthologous genes in abalones, single copy genes were further analysed for signatures of selection and several molecular regulatory proteins involved in developmental functions were found to be under positive selection in specific abalone lineages. Furthermore, whole genome SNP-based phylogenomic assessment was performed to confirm the evolutionary relationship among the considered abalone species with draft genomes, reaffirming that H. midae is closely related to the Australian Greenlip (H. laevigata) and Blacklip (H. rubra). The study assists in the understanding of genes related to various biological systems underscoring the evolution and development of abalones, with potential applications for genetic improvement of commercial stocks.

BEHAVIORAL DUALISM OF ENDOPHYTES IN PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTION AND THEIR DIVERSE APPLICATIONS - A REVIEW

Microbes are harmful as well as beneficial for the human, plants and environment. Plant-microbe interaction array depicts both mutualism and pathogenesis. This dual nature of microbes depends on their surrounding abiotic and biotic factors. Endophytes are plant symbionts, beneficial for plant health. Some microbes are harmful for plants and they also live inside the plants, are called pathogens. The interactions that exist between the endophytic communities have hardly been investigated. The microbes associated with the plants act mostly according to environmental factors. These factors have the ability to alter the nature of microbes from endophytes to pathogens and vice-versa. Thus, by modulating such environmental factors, these microbes can be designed to produce important secondary metabolites or desired products, either within the plants or under laboratory conditions. The plant-microbe interactions have immense research orientation in the near future. The international demand for medicinal plant-based resources has increased due to their augmented exploitation for research and development. Studies of such plants species having parallel phytochemical constituents or microbes producing similar constituents could be an effective way of circumventing this global demand gap. The present review gives a detailed description of the dual behavior that exists in plant endophytes. In addition, it details a state of coherence in their vivid mannerisms and various applications of microbes in different aspects, environmental safety, agriculture, and pollution control.

A Critical Examination of the Legal Standards for the Exploitation of Timber Resources: Encumbrances and Prospects for Forest Sustainability in Cameroon

The forest of Cameroon which is located in western equatorial Africa is central to economic growth and development and livelihood sustainability. Forests play three important functions: They provide habitat for the preservation of biodiversity; act as carbon sinks; and contribute to maintaining and enhancing the quality of the soil. Furthermore, forest is a source for nutrition and generates income for the state. Recently the demand for forest products by loggers and other forest users for the production of timber, fuel wood, and charcoal have been on the rise. Illegalities in the forest sector is fast becoming worrisome with incidents of illegal logging at the forefront and visible on every angle, beginning with illegal loggers to the corrupt government officials. Illegal logging is a chain of activities, beginning with the unclear allocation of concession rights, inappropriate felling of wood, transportation and marketing of the illegally exploited wood. The major cause of this has led to over exploitation of the forest in order to meet local and international demands. This further has an adverse effect on the forest as species are gradually disappearing, a change of climate, pollution, soil depletion, and a breach of local community’s right to forest. To this respect, our objective is to analyze the legislative instruments and their consistency or efficacy in regulating logging activities, and the encumbrances faced. To achieve these objectives we made use of both doctrinal and analytical research methodology with primary and secondary sources of information as the main tools. We observed that, the forest is under serious threat from adverse human activities, especially illegal logging encourage by factors such as corruption, ineffective forest legislations, and lack of consistency amongst others. In the light of the above mentioned huddles we proffered some recommendations such as beefing up enforcement procedure, minimizing corruption, an increase in the sanction against defaulters, reducing the procedure to obtain exploitation permit, reforming, harmonization and codification of the forest law which will serve as a way forward.

Application of economic model optimization algorithm for international trade based on big data technology

Abstract The advent of the era of big data has posed greater challenges to the economic model of international trade and opportunities for international trade. In this paper, from the application of big data in international trade, we study the SVM-based big data clustering analysis method for international trade and propose to optimize the objective function in the iterative process by using the individual fitness function of the chicken flock optimization algorithm for the problem that SVM is easy to fall into the optimal local solution. Then, the steps of international trade big data analysis by constructing CSO-SVM are used to forecast international port throughput, international trade exports, and imports. The average absolute error rate of the trained CSO-SVM model for the prediction of international port throughput decreased to 6.19%, and the accuracy of the prediction of international trade export volume and export price reached 86.86% and 87.83%, respectively, and the accuracy of the prediction of international trade import demand and import price reached 86.71% and 87.07%, respectively. During the test, CSO-SVM has higher prediction performance than other models. The analysis based on big data can better quantify the challenges faced by international trade, optimize international logistics scheduling, and improve import and export planning.

ASSURE 모형 기반의 ASEAN 맞춤형 역량기반 보편적건강보장 연수프로그램 개발

Purpose: This study aims to design and propose a customized international training program for ASEAN countries based on competency-based education, following the six stages of the ASSURE model design. Originality: Korea is facing an opportune time to lead global health issues due to the increase in international recognition and demand for K-quarantine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Southeast Asian countries are experiencing growing demand for COVID-19 response and improving the quality of life for their citizens. Although ASEAN countries have made progress in achieving universal health coverage by improving healthcare accessibility and expanding the scope of health insurance, there is a need for cooperation in strengthening healthcare systems and building healthcare human resources. Against this background, there is a need for a strategic health cooperation project to establish universal health coverage in ASEAN and to improve the specialized skills of local health and medical personnel through education programs. However, research on systematic models of international health education training programs using curriculum models is inadequate, and studies proposing ASEAN-customized international health education training program models are also insufficient. Methodology: Therefore, this study utilized content analysis to conduct a literature review of the current status of universal health coverage in ASEAN countries and surveyed the needs of participants in international training programs to develop an ASEAN-customized training program using the ASSURE model. Result: The study secured an education and training module based on bidirectional communication and designed an education process focused on the needs of the training participants. Finally, an ASEAN-customized competency-based education international training program was designed and proposed. Conclusion and Implication: The systematically developed education and training program can be utilized not only as an ASEAN-customized curriculum but also as basic data for developing a systematic model of international health education based on competency-centered education. It can also be applied as a guideline for developing educational curricula using curriculum models. Moreover, it can contribute to sustainable health cooperation between Korea and ASEAN countries.

Going over the wall: insights into the illegal production of jaguar products in a Bolivian prison

AbstractAs the largest felid in the Americas, the jaguar Panthera onca has both ecological and cultural significance in Bolivia. Yet jaguar populations are declining because of multiple pervasive anthropogenic pressures, including domestic and international demand for their body parts. Since 2013, Bolivia has become a centre of the illegal trade of jaguar body parts, driven by demand from Chinese markets. From 2021, there have been anecdotal reports of jaguar body parts being sold to prisons in north-western Bolivia, where inmates use them to make crafts to be sold at local markets. Here we provide further insights into this illegal wildlife trade activity. Specifically, we show that inmates at Mocovi prison in Trinidad purchase skins of jaguars and other wild animals directly from hunters and from vendors at local markets. Goods (wallets, hats and purses) produced from the skins are sold back to vendors by the inmates to provide income for their daily sustenance. Testimony from an inmate also stated that large bulk orders for wildlife products had been received from a non-Bolivian client base. The San Borja municipality in Beni was indicated as a key location where jaguars are being targeted for their skins to supply the illegal production of wildlife products in Mocovi prison. Further studies are required to determine the extent of this illegal activity in Mocovi prison and other prisons in Bolivia, and in other Latin American countries.

Investigating the Economic Consequence of Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Model

Abstract This study examines the economic consequence of terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with a panel of 38 countries between 2010 and 2020. Specifically, the study examined the impact of terrorism on economic growth, international tourism demand, income inequality, unemployment rate, and inflation rate. The study employed the two-step system GMM and quantile regression for the estimation. The results show that terrorism has had a significant negative impact on economic growth in SSA. Similarly, the study results indicate that terrorism impacts negatively on international tourism demand, widens the income gap, and increases the rate of unemployment and inflation in SSA. Furthermore, the two governance institution indicators employed in the study (government effectiveness and control of corruption) shows a significant negative impact on economic growth in the zone, while credit to the private sector and human capital had performed abysmally in the zones’ growth trajectory. These findings were further supported by the quantile regression results. The study employed both system GMM model and quantile regression in the analysis. The use of these two different methods makes the results obtained to be robust and efficient for policy purpose, which no other author has done before now.

The internationalization performance of Indonesian SMEs during COVID-19 pandemic: exploring a mediation model

PurposeSmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies face significant challenges in formulating effective strategies to enter international markets, particularly amid uncertain conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, there is a pressing need to examine the performance of these SMEs and evaluate their internationalization process. This study aims to examine the effects of international entrepreneurial orientation on the internationalization performance of SMEs and the mediating effects of organizational dynamic capability and organizational culture in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a quantitative method with a survey approach by distributing questionnaires to 206 SMEs in Indonesia that have implemented internationalization practices. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to predict and estimate relationships.FindingsThis study finds that one of the SMEs’ strategies to encounter the new normal era of COVID-19 is to improve their internationalization performance, especially by actively participating in international markets. The empirical results show that organizational dynamic capabilities and organizational culture are proven to fully mediate the relationship between international entrepreneurial orientation and the internationalization performance of SMEs. Meanwhile, international entrepreneurial orientation does not directly affect SMEs’ internationalization performance. This study confirms the mediating role of organizational dynamic capabilities and organizational culture in dynamic capabilities theory and their relevance to internationalization.Originality/valueThis study provides valuable insights and encourages owner-managers and policy-makers in emerging economies, particularly Indonesia, to develop organizational dynamic capabilities and organizational culture that align with the demands of internationalization.

Impact of multidimensional distances on inbound tourist arrivals: evidence from India

ABSTRACT Despite the vital significance of the tourism sector for economic growth and employment generation in India as well as the growing popularity of India as a tourist destination, the literature examining the country-pair specific determinants for international tourism demand remains scarce. CAGE (Cultural-Administrative-Geographical-Economic) Distance framework by Ghemawat [(2001). Distance still matters. Harvard Business Review, 79(8), 137–147.] was employed in an augmented gravity model to examine the role of multidimensional distances from the source countries in determining international tourism inflows into India. The gravity model incorporates data for tourist arrivals to India from 54 source countries from 2004 to 2018. Results highlight that cultural distance, administrative distance and geographic distance significantly and negatively influence the tourist inflows while the influence of economic distance is significant and positive. The findings provide insights that aid the drafting of policies by the policymakers as well as the design and implementation of customized strategies by the businesses and service providers in the tourism industry.

Effect of Currency Devaluation on Performance of Small and Medium Firms in Beirut, Lebanon

Currency devaluation refers to a deliberate and official reduction in the value of a country's currency in relation to other currencies. It can occur through various mechanisms, such as adjusting interest rates, intervening in foreign exchange markets, or implementing monetary policies aimed at reducing the supply of domestic currency. Currency devaluation can create financial challenges for SMEs. Financial institutions may be more cautious in extending credit due to increased risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations. Devaluation reduces the value of collateral assets, making it harder for SMEs to secure financing.  The research used the descriptive research design. The target population was 200 small and medium firms in Beirut, Lebanon.  The study did sampling of 150 participants that were chosen from the target population of 200 small and medium firms in Beirut, Lebanon. Questionnaires were utilized to gather data. In conclusion, the devaluation of the Lebanese currency has presented numerous challenges for these businesses, impacting their competitiveness, profitability, and sustainability. It is crucial for SMEs to understand the direct and indirect impacts of currency devaluation. Increased import costs, inflationary pressures, and reduced purchasing power have placed significant strain on SMEs. By recognizing these challenges, SMEs can develop effective financial management strategies and explore hedging mechanisms to mitigate currency risk. The study recommended that Lebanese SMEs should consider developing export-oriented strategies, including identifying new export markets, conducting market research, and adapting their products and services to meet international demand. By capitalizing on export opportunities, SMEs can diversify their revenue streams and reduce their vulnerability to the domestic economic challenges caused by currency devaluation. Keywords: Currency Devaluation, Performance, Small and Medium Firms, Lebanon

Interdisciplinary pain therapy in the elderly

Chronic pain in the elderly is becoming increasingly important and is associated with serious health impacts. Therefore, international guidelines demand that pain therapy for the elderly preferably be amultimodal therapy based on abio-psycho-social pain model. Specific psychometric tests and interview guidelines are available for the interdisciplinary pain assessment. Evidence for the effectiveness of multimodal pain therapy in the elderly remains limited. However, controlled clinical trials have shown that these patients benefit-especially if the intervention is adapted to their specific needs. The focus of movement therapy is not only muscle strengthening but also coordination exercises. In individual physical therapy and occupational therapy, everyday solutions can be developed for individual physical limitations that are more frequent in old age. In psychological training, pain acceptance, balancing rest and activity, social integration and dealing with aging are particularly important topics. Relaxation and mindfulness techniques can also favorably affect pain and function. Thus, these are popular with patients and are often adopted in everyday pain management. Pain education is considered useful as an adjunctive measure and can also be increasingly supported by digital media in the elderly. Complementary therapy components include confrontational treatment of fear-avoidance beliefs (the German AMIKA scale, Ältere Menschen in körperlicher Aktion, "older people in physical action") and naturopathic applications as an active self-help strategy. Since it is unclear how long the achieved therapeutic effects last, follow-up care is of particular importance in therapy for older patients.

Determinants of Tourism Demand in Context of Environmental Quality

Tourism is a sector that contributes to the economic development of both developed and developing countries, and with this structure, it contains the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable development. This study aims to estimate the effects of environmental quality and other determinants on international tourism demand. Within the scope of the 2008–2017 period, the tourism demand from 27 different countries to the top 10 countries that attract the most tourists worldwide was examined using the multidimensional panel gravity model. The effects of environmental, economic, and non-economic indicators on tourism demand were investigated using Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML) estimation methods. The findings showed that the low environmental quality significantly reduces tourism demand. In addition, tourist income, common language, and common border had positive effects on tourism demand, while distance, relative price, and visa restrictions had negative effects. This study offers recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders and contributes to the literature on tourism economics and the environment.

MODERN TECHNOLOGIES AND MECHANISMS FOR MANAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF ENTERPRISES IN COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS

This article examines the issue of ensuring the competitiveness of Ukrainian enterprises in the face of increasing complexity in their internal and external operational environments, changes in the resource access, technologies, and knowledge. It argues that promoting innovative enterprise development requires a creative approach across various domains of human activity, including enterprise management. Creating of an environment for nurturing a company's creative potential and practicing creative management enables the establishment of new competitive advantages in both domestic and international markets. The distinct nature of innovation-driven enterprise development within the framework of heightened influence from global, international, national, regional, and local factors demands a corresponding response from enterprise management to facilitate necessary adaptations in the development of the creative potential. This particularly highlights tasks such as focusing on developing and implementing innovative technologies, customer orientation, employing contemporary analytical tools and big data to support managerial decisions regarding augmenting classical business models or devising alternative ones, managerial flexibility and rapid adaptation through the transition to project management methodologies, forming partnerships and facilitating collaboration with the other companies, startups, and research institutions as a mechanism for pooling necessary resources to jointly realize innovative ideas, and more. The levels of creative potential management within enterprises are characterized, including individual, group, organizational (enterprise-level), inter-organizational, regional, and national levels. It is argued that a key criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of innovative technologies for creative potential development is the knowledge creation. Applying of new concepts, mechanisms, and technologies in the management of innovation and creative potential development empowers enterprises to secure their competitiveness.

Indonesia’s tea competitiveness with Russia

Agriculture commodities play an important role in international market demand, one of which is tea. Geographical conditions and highlands in Indonesia are very suitable for tea plants, so it would increase its international competitiveness when it develops. This research aims to determine the effect of production, areas, price, exchange rate, and GDP on Indonesia’s tea exports. This research used quantitative data in a time series data of 60 samples from 2006-2020. Furthermore, this research used ARIMA to forecast with econometric aids Eviews 10. The results obtained include a positive and significant effect between production and export, and there is no effect on areas, price, the exchange rate, and GDP to exports. The forecasting results reveal that Indonesia’s tea exports will fall in the next year.

COVID-19, Domestic tourism and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Zimbabwe

This study aims to determine the role of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in rejuvenating domestic tourism in the context of suppressed international tourism demand. The current study is premised on the thinking that COVID-19 has changed the way countries do tourism and domestic tourism is now recognised for its ability to help the recovery of the tourism industry post-COVID-19. The infusion of IKS in tourism strategies is seen as important in encouraging locals to visit destinations within their countries. The study is based on a review of the literature on the nexus between indigenous knowledge systems, domestic tourism and COVID-19. The study contributes to the existing literature on domestic tourism by suggesting possible solutions to the industry based on IKS. In light of recent COVID-19 events in the tourism industry at large, it is becoming extremely difficult to ignore the importance of domestic markets.

The Impact of Carbon Tariffs on China’s Agricultural Trade

On 15 March 2022, the European Council reached an agreement on the relevant rules of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). In order to study the impact of the implementation of carbon tariffs on China’s agricultural trade, this paper sets three control groups, namely, economic development, the impact of the “Belt and Road” initiative’s (BRI’s) trade facilitation level, and separate taxation by different countries, and uses the dynamic Global Trade Analysis Project—Environment (GTAP-E) model for policy simulation. The empirical results show that, firstly, carbon tariffs can suppress international demand for agricultural products and increase international market prices. At the same time, under the pressure of carbon tariffs, China will reduce the main agricultural product’s Free on Board (FOB) prices to ensure that their Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) prices can maintain a competitive advantage in the international market after increasing the cost of carbon tariffs, and the market share of China’s agricultural products exported to recipient countries will decline. Secondly, China’s “Belt and Road” initiative has a two-way impact on carbon tariff policy. On the one hand, it reduces the negative impact of carbon tariffs through trade facilitation, and on the other hand, it will decrease the effectiveness of carbon emission reduction because of the huge trade demand and encourage countries to develop green and low-carbon agriculture. Finally, there is heterogeneity in the impact of carbon tariffs imposed by the United States, Japan, and Europe on Chinese agricultural trade.

ASEAN, Chinese and US legitimation strategies over the Indo-Pacific security architecture

Abstract As growing Sino-US tensions have led to increasingly contested architecture in the Asia–Pacific, rival actors have become more vocal in legitimizing their preferred structures. Yet supplanting existing, accepted structures requires legitimation, and raises questions this article seeks to address: how do competing actors legitimize their preferred architectures and what influences their legitimation strategies? This article looks at US-, China- and ASEAN-led legitimation strategies through Lenz and Söderbaum's three analytical perspectives (agent-, audience-, or environment-based approaches). The article argues that legitimation strategies will correlate with relative power in that established, rising and weak powers will source their strategies from agent, audience and environment bases respectively. The empirical basis is explored through three questions concerning the regional security architecture: the dispute over regional demarcation (‘Indo-Pacific’), the relevant structures of security provision and the idea of a ‘rules-based order.’ Assessing these issues against domestic sources of influence, adjustment for international audience demands and attempts to reconcile other actors' preferences, the article finds that actors' legitimation strategies correlate with their relational power: the US relied on agent-based legitimation, China usually pursued audience-based strategies and ASEAN used environment-based legitimation. These present distinct policy constraints for their respective goals.

Government debt deleveraging in the EMU

We build a Two-Country Open-Economy New-Keynesian DSGE model of a Currency Union, with a debt-elastic government bond spread and incomplete international financial markets, to study the e ects of government debt deleveraging. We evaluate the stabilization properties and welfare implications of di erent deleveraging schemes and instruments, under a range of alternative shocks and under alternative scenarios for fiscal policy coordination, bringing to policy conclusions for the proper government debt management in a Currency Union. We find that: a) coordinating on the net exports gap and consolidating budget constraints across countries when deleveraging provides more stabilization, b) taxes are a better instrument for deleveraging compared to government consumption or transfers, c) by backloading the deleveraging process one can achieve greater stabilization over time, d) deleveraging government debt increases the volatility and persistence of the economy after other shocks. Our policy prescriptions for the Eurozone are to reduce government debt more gradually over time and less during recessions, to do so using distortionary taxes, while concentrating on reducing international demand imbalances and maybe creating some form of fiscal union.