Level Of Agreements Research Articles

Performance of the new SmartCardia wireless, wearable oximeter: a comparison with arterial SaO2 in healthy volunteers

BackgroundOur goal was to evaluate the performance of a new wearable arm located pulse oximeter.MethodsTwelve volunteers were monitored with three pulse oximeters and underwent desaturation to 70% SaO2.We compared the accuracy of SpO2 reading from the SmartCardia system with SpO2 using two well established devices (Masimo and Nellcor) as reference.Oximetry was performed at different level of oxygen saturation varying from 70 to 100%. Bias, ARMS and precision were evaluated using Bland-Altman plots.ResultsThe mean (SD) differences between SaO2 compared to SpO2 and the devices were as follows: SaO2 versus Masimo 2,12 ± 1,01% (95% CI 1,45 to 2,79), SaO2 versus Nellcor 0,78 ± 0,58% (95% CI − 0,29 to 1,65) and SaO2 versus SmartCardia 0,42 ± 0,24% (95% CI − 0,64 to 1,46). The bias between SmartCardia, Masimo, Nellcor devices and SaO2 was 0.16 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.33) and LoA (level of agreements) 2.96 (95% CI − 2,68 to 2,89) for SmartCardia, 2,02 (95% CI 1,49 to 2,54) and LoA − 6 to 11 for Masimo, and 0,76 (95% CI 0,5 to − 1) and LoA − 3,5 to 5,0 for Nellcor. ARMS for the 70–100% SaO2 range was 1,4 for SmartCardia, 5,0 for Masimo and 2,31 for Nellcor.ConclusionsThe new wireless SmartCardia SpO2 measurement system demonstrated in-line results, bias, ARMS and precision in healthy volunteers, when compared with the gold standard SaO2 and with two well established systems, Masimo and Nellcor.Trial registrationThe present trial was prospectively registered at UCSF record (registration number:10–00437), on March 8, 2021.

Application of the Salini test in determining investments in the practice of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes

The article analyzes the subject jurisdiction of ICSID in relation to investments. The determination of the existence of an investment in a particular dispute belongs to the exclusive competence of the arbitration itself, since the concept of "investment" is not disclosed in the text of the Washington Convention. The authors analyze in detail the criteria of the Salini test, which determine the subject jurisdiction of ICSID in relation to investments. The authors evaluate the main features of investment activity used by arbitrators in the qualification of certain transactions for their compliance with the requirements of Article 25 of the Washington Convention. The article presents an analysis of ICSID decisions, starting with the Fedex case, where for the first time the need to use objective criteria to determine jurisdiction was noted, and the Salini case, where the arbitrators disclosed the content of these criteria, as well as the subsequent ICSID practice. The application of the Salini test is carried out by different arbitration structures in different ways. Despite the fact that the arbitrators using the Salini criteria differ in their number, content and method of determining the criteria (intuitive and deductive), the basis of the Salini Test (conditions of contribution, duration, presence of risks, contribution to the economy of the host state) remains unchanged. The authors pay special attention to the methodology of applying these criteria, noting that in each of the criteria, the arbitrators identify their own structure. The authors come to the conclusion that the Salini test, without having a regulatory character, allows to objectively distinguish investments protected at the level of international agreements from ordinary commercial transactions, provides potential investors with the opportunity to assess risks even before the start of investment activity on the territory of a foreign state, as well as to protect the parties to the investment legal relationship from abuse by the other party.

Reliable Peak Power Assessment During Concentric and Flexion-Extension-Cycle Based Rowing Strokes using a Non-Modified Rowing Ergometer.

Accurate assessment of peak rowing power is crucial for rowing-specific performance testing. Therefore, within and between day reliability of a non-modified rowing ergometer was examined. 52 trained male rowers (21.0 ± 2.9 years; 1.89 ± 0.05 m; 83.2 ± 8.2 kg; 2,000-m ergometer Time Trial mean power: 369 ± 57 W) performed (two times 4) isolated concentric rowing strokes (DRIVE) and single flexion-extension cycle (FEC-type) rowing strokes (SLIDE-DRIVE) on two separate days (1 week apart). Good to excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (0.94 ≤ ICC ≤ 1.00), low standard error of measurement (≤ 2.7%), low coefficient of variation (≤ 4.9%), and suitable level of agreements (≤ 30W) for DRIVE and SLIDE-DRIVE indicated a high level of (within and between day) reliability. In addition, SLIDE-DRIVE (423 ± 157 W) revealed remarkably higher rowing power (p ≤ 0.001; ηp2 = 0.601; SMD = 0.34) compared to DRIVE (370 ± 154 W). The non-modified rowing ergometer is considered to be a reliable tool for the peak power assessment during isolated concentric contraction and FEC-type rowing strokes. Notably higher power outputs (compared to an isolated concentric contraction) during FEC rowing may refer to an underlying stretch shortening cycle.

Validation and pilot assessment of Tanzania water supply resilience measures

Water supply systems (WSSs) face constant water contamination and breakdown risks during disasters. Several studies develop resilience metrics without validation processes to ascertain their suitability and applicability. The current study examines the validity of existing qualitative resilience tools developed through a pre-assessment of the variables, a three-round Delphi process, and tested in three cases for applicability and generality. Validation applied the tools development data through a six-stage assessment process: (1) Group opinions, (2) Convergency of opinions, (3) Reliability analysis, (4) Inter-items correlations, (5) Level of agreements, (6) Applicability and generality. The tool encompasses 47 indicators in technical, organisational, social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The variables show better content validity with strong group opinions, significant convergence of opinions, high reliability, adequate relationship pattern, and excellent agreement in about 98% of indicators. Besides, there is adequate applicability and generality, thus, the variables are considered valid for Tanzania WSSs and in other developing countries.

Арктическая зона Российской Федерации: международное сотрудничество и перспективы развития

The Arctic plays in international cooperation, due to its geographical location and the wealth of natural resources. The international legal regulation of the Arctic regime is fixed at the level of international multilateral and bilateral agreements. Multilateral international agreements are aimed at regulating the Arctic marine spaces and protecting the environment in this region. Bilateral agreements are aimed at the settlement of border disputes between the Arctic States, as well as economic cooperation. Analysis of bilateral international agreements concluded between the Russian Federation and countries such as Canada, the Kingdom of Norway, the United States of America, as well as the United Kingdom allows us to come to the following conclusions: the issues of international cooperation between the Russian Federation and Canada in the field of trade and commercial relations, environmental protection have been most fully worked out., issues of joint economic activity in the Svalbard archipelago, fishing were resolved and territorial disputes were settled between Russia and Norway. International agreements with other mentioned countries are mainly aimed at establishing territorial borders

Promising Aspects of Economic Development of Industry in the Siberian Regions of Russia

According to many analysts, the modern digital technological transformation of the economy, both at the macro level and at the level of industrial enterprises, has a deep character and is aimed at establishing a new global economic structure. Programming at the level of international, climate, anti-pandemic, sanctional, technological, military-political and other agreements to reduce the level of production and consumption in accordance with the principles of sustainable development determines the prospect of transformations in industry, including in the raw materials sector. A significant part of the industrial companies of the Siberian regions belongs to the field of raw materials extraction, which forms new guidelines in the new technological conditions, both in personnel and technical areas. Large-scale introduction and application of a new generation of equipment that meets modern environmental standards requires accelerated training of a significant number of professional personnel. In fact, the education system, which should ensure the educational process of a high strategic status, both in scale and in terms of engineering and technical level, requires a systemic transformation based on the principles of digital technological innovations. The release of a significant number of workers, both representatives of the working professions and the intellectuals, which is happening and threatening to intensify, in the light of the ongoing contraction of the economy, will require the formation of millions of new jobs. This fillip, aimed at the development of small industrial forms of production of end-use goods, is able to provide employment for the population, as well as an increase in the level and quality of life in export-raw materials regions with the support from the state. The creation and development of engineering, technical and technological business franchises with the formation of a large retail network representing the goods of "industrial farms" are promising in this aspect. The upcoming steps of digital technological transformation require a comprehensive balanced scientific understanding, the development of appropriate justifications and recommendations.

Feasibility, Reliability, and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Esophageal-Atresia-Quality-of-Life Questionnaires to Assess Condition-Specific Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents Born with Esophageal Atresia.

This study reports the feasibility, validity and reliability of the Turkish versions of the Esophageal-Atresia-Quality-of-Life (EA-QOL) questionnaires, which were originally developed in Sweden and Germany. After translation from Swedish to Turkish and cognitive debriefings, 51 families of children aged 2 to 7 years (parent-report, 17-items) and 54 families of children 8 to 17 years (child and parent-report, 24-items) responded to the EA-QOL questionnaires and a validated generic HRQOL-instrument (PedsQL4.0). Medical records of patients and questionnaires were used to obtain clinical data. The Turkish version of the EA-QOL questionnaires were evaluated for feasibility (<5% missing item responses), reliability (internal consistency/retest reliability for 3 weeks) and validity (known-groups/concurrent/convergent). Level of significance was p<0.05. Feasibility of the Turkish version of the EA-QOL questionnaires was good. Internal consistency of all scales was satisfactory, as were the level of agreements of EA-QOL scores between the field- and retest study. Known-group and concurrent validity were achieved since the EA-QOL questionnaires showed that esophageal symptoms and feeding difficulties were negatively associated with EA-QOL total scores in both age specific versions (child-and parent report), and respiratory symptoms in the version for EA children 2 to 7 years (parent-report). A higher number of respiratory symptoms decreased the EA-QOL total scores in both age groups (parent-report, p<0.05). Correlations between the EA-QOL total scores and PedsQL-4.0 total scores supported convergent validity. The Turkish version of the EA-QOL questionnaires are feasible, valid and reliable to assess condition-specific HRQOL in EA children.

Forest shelter belts in organic agricultural landscape: structure of biodiversity and their ecological role

Abstract The aim of this article is to assess the structure of biodiversity of field protective forest shelter belts to determine the directions of increasing their reclamation and conservation potential in the organic agricultural landscape. Methods of comparative ecology (synecological approach, assessment of α-diversity), forestry, geobotany, ornithology and statistical analysis are used. Changes in species diversity of plants and birds in forest shelter belts around organic fields are characterized. It is established that plantations with developed undergrowth and under-storey are transformed due to the loss of up to 43.5% of trees, liquefaction of the edificatory tier. Transformer species with a wide phytocenotic range predominate in the tree stands. The grass tier is dominated by ruderants (36.5%) and adventive species (24.5%). The share (60%) of species with a mixed life strategy indicates changes in moisture conditions and soil trophism. A 2.4% of shade-loving plants and the presence of 14.7% nitrophils indicate an imbalance in the structure of forest shelter belts. Depletion of species composition, ecological and trophic structure of bird groups testify to the decrease in the capacity of forest shelter belts and their statio diversity, reduction of protective, environment-creating functions and other ecosystem services. In the three-tiered dense forest shelter belts with developed undergrowth and understorey, 10–27 species of birds nest. In general, avifauna is represented by 2 ecological groups (93.1% dendrophiles, 6.9% sclerophiles), divided into 5 types of nesting strategy (with a predominance of hollow-nests 37.0–53.3%), and 5 types of feeding (with a predominance of entomophagous 70.4–90.0%). Twenty-nine species have been identified on nesting, 27 of which are subject to protection at the level of international agreements. There are no adventive species, the index of synanthropization of avifauna is high – 0.85–1.0. For organic technologies to increase the potential of biological protection of fields from entomological pests by attracting insectivorous birds is relevant.

Application of the Salini test in determining investments in the practice of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes

Determination of the existence of subject-matter jurisdiction is of practical importance for the entire dispute settlement process by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which was created for protection of the rights of foreign investors. The subject-matter jurisdiction of ICSID is conditioned by existence of an &amp;ldquo;investment&amp;rdquo;. Determination of existence of an investment in each particular dispute is attributed to the exclusive competence of the arbitral tribunal itself, since the concept of &amp;ldquo;investment&amp;rdquo; is not disclosed in the text of the Washington Convention. The authors assess the key features of the activity that is recognized as investment, used by the arbitrators conducting qualification of one or another transaction to establish whether or not they fall under requirements of the Article 25 of the Washington Convention. Special attention is turned to the methodology and practice of application of the aforementioned criteria. It is noted that in each criteria, the arbitrators determine their own structure. Detailed analysis is carried out on the issues of subject-matter jurisdiction in the decisions of ICSID , beginning with the Fedex case, in which the need to use objective criteria in determination of ICSID jurisdiction without their interpretation is pointed for the first time; and Salini case, in which the arbitrators disclosed the content of these criteria, as well as subsequent decisions that illustrated different approaches of the arbitrators towards interpreting the Salini test. The conclusion is made that despite the fact that the criteria used in modern arbitration practice developed in the Salini case do not possess regulatory characteristics, their presence allows making objective distinction between the investments protected on the level of international agreements and regular commercial transactions. The Salini test provides potential investors with the opportunity to assess risks prior to starting investment activity on the territory of a foreign country, as well as protect the parties to the investment relations from abuse.

Modified Optical Burst Switching (OBS) Based Edge Node Architecture Using Real-Time Scheduling Techniques

Contention is the main problem in optical burst switching (OBS) systems that lead to loss more burst by dropping the contended burst. To deal with this problem, we propose a new proactive method which is based on the integration of Real-Time Scheduling Techniques: Earliest-deadline-first (EDF) and round-robin (RR). Based on this consideration, this paper proposes a series of novel coherent interdependence methods to propose a novel OBS edge node Architecture: (i) An adaptive priority system to obtain QoS guarantees, (ii) Admission control and bandwidth distribution to maximize the link throughput. The proposed technique classifies the incoming data packets into two categories: granted service (GS) for high priority and best effort (BE) for low priority. The RR technique is used for scheduling different BE and GS packets when they have the same deadlines while the EDF is used to manage GS packets with different deadlines. In addition, the admission and bandwidth assignment policies vary in function of traffic characteristics. For GS traffic, only the bandwidth used is needed, while the remaining bandwidth is assigned to best effort traffic. With the EDF and RR scheduling algorithms, the proposed edge node design obtains a brand new architecture. The proposed OBS architecture has been tested for dynamic traffic in which both BE and GS traffic arrives according to a Poisson distribution for different scenarios based on traffic distribution and switch resources reservation. In scenario#1, 90% GS traffic and 10% BE traffic and reserve 7% of the switch resources for BE traffic are considered. Therefore, the proposed architecture provides a higher grade of service to the end-users with the guaranteed service level of agreements than the existing architecture that does not implement resource reservation protocols. In addition, the modified OBS-edge node is designed and implemented on FPGA Virtex-11C2V40. The hardware performance analysis shows that the network dimension is a key factor in latency measurement. A 2×2 network dimension can serve approximately 230 Mbps throughput and approximately 400 Mbps in the case when the number of flits (segment of burst) is twice.

The functions and positions of political parties in consociational democracies: theoretical and empirical contexts

An article is devoted to the analysis of the functions and formats of political parties in consociational democracies. In particular, it is defined that parties that represent the interests of certain subcultures in society and that reach a consensus among themselves at the level of political agreements are called segmental. At the same time, parties that encapsulate different subgroups of the society that cooperate inside the party within main features of the consociational theory (grand coalition, mutual veto, proportionality in representations, and independence of segments or society subcultures) are called consociational.&#x0D; The theory of consociationalism has received a wide range of theoretical additions and criticism from political scientists over the past fifty years. And while political parties should have been, by definition, one of the key aspects of research within such democratic regimes (parties are part of large coalitions and agents of representation of certain subcultures), there is very scarce number of literature that focuses on this aspect. Therefore, the presented article provides a description of the functions of political parties that could be observed as inside their subcultures as well as in interaction with other segmental parties.&#x0D; Based on the experience of two European countries in the period of “classical” consociationalism (Belgium and the Netherlands), we explain the functions of the parties we have defined in such societies with examples of relevant consociational practices in them. Simultaneously with the analysis of segmental parties, the article also offers the characteristics of consociational parties. The emergence of such parties has its own institutional and historical features. The way of further development of the party system and the level of preservation of consociational practices makes it possible to understand the nature of changes in the societies. Similarly, the analysis of the forms of party competition and interaction between segmental parties makes it possible to outline the forms of those consociational changes that are taking place in the research countries.

Freelancing Models for Fostering Innovation and Problem Solving in Software Startups: An Empirical Comparative Study

Context: freelancers and startups could provide each other with promising opportunities that lead to mutual growth, by improving software development metrics, such as cost, time, and quality. Niche skills processed by freelancers could help startups reduce uncertainties associated with developments and markets, with the ability to quickly address market issues (and with higher quality). This requires the associations between freelancers and startup to be long-term, based on trust, and promising agreements driven by motivations (leading to the growth of both parties). Freelancers could help startups foster innovations and undertake software development tasks in better ways than conducted in-house, if they are selected using informed decision-making. Objectives: the paper has three objectives, (1) to explore the strategies of startups to outsource software development tasks to freelancers (termed as freelancing association strategies); (2) to identify challenges in such outsourcings; and (3) to identify the impacts of outsourcing tasks to freelancers on overall project metrics. The overall objective is to understand the strategies for involving freelancers in the software development process, throughout the startup lifecycle, and the associated challenges and the impacts that help to foster innovation (to maintain competitive advantages). Method: this paper performs empirical studies through case studies of three software startups located in Italy, France, and India, followed by a survey of 54 freelancers. The results are analyzed and compared in the identification of association models, issues, challenges, and reported results arising because of such associations. The case study results are validated using members checking with the research participants, which shows a higher level of result agreements. Results: the results indicate that the freelancer association strategy is task based, panel based, or a hybrid. The associations are constrained by issues such as deciding pricing, setting deadlines, difficulty in getting good freelancers, quality issues with software artefacts, and efforts to access freelancer work submissions for reward. The associations have a positive impact on software development if there is availability of good freelancers (which lasts long for various tasks). The paper finally provides a freelancing model framework and recommends activities that could result in making the situation beneficial to both parties, and streamline such associations. Fostering innovation in startups is, thus, a trade-off situation, which is limited and supported by many conflicting parameters.

Fostering Continuous Value Proposition Innovation through Freelancer Involvement in Software Startups: Insights from Multiple Case Studies

[Context] The software startups could continuously innovate business model value proposition by involving freelancers as a source of innovative ideas (that enhance customer perceived value) and as experts for implementing the innovative ideas (by undertaking software engineering tasks). Startups employ one of three strategies for associating with freelancers i.e., task based (association ends with completion of the outsourced task), panel based (outsourcing task to a panel of freelancers associated with startup), or hybrid. Uncertainties, terminology issues, high technical debt, lack of documentation, lack of systematic decision making processes, lack of resources, lack of brand values, need for the continuous involvement of the freelancer to incorporate continuous validated learnings, merging freelancer perspectives, and deciding the level of their involvement in individual requirement engineering (or value proposition innovation) activities, are the main inhibitors for associations with freelancers. The availability of good freelancers and their long term and continuous commitments are necessary requirements for value proposition innovation. The theory about freelancer association with the software startups is extended by studying the real practices of startups, which successfully involved freelancers for value proposition innovation by capturing innovative ideas and acquiring the freelancer’s skills to implement those ideas. [Objectives] The objective of this paper is to explain the strategies adopted by the software startups to foster value proposition innovation by continuously involving the freelancers and the way they overcome the challenges arising because of the associations. The findings are driven by the study of real practices of startups that proved to be successful in the market by involving freelancers and continuous innovations leading to increased market shares. [Method] This paper performs empirical studies through case studies of three software startups located in Italy, France, and India, which are at the verge of being transforming into big companies, with large market share. The current practices highlighting the successful way of executing freelancing association strategies for value proposition innovation and the way to overcome the arising challenges are reported. The findings are also compared with those of two young startups based in Switzerland and India, to bring useful lessons for the young startups. The case study results are validated by employees from the studied startups (both those who participated in data collection and those who did not). [Results] The results indicate that freelancer involvement during value proposition activities, which is the core business operation, is beneficial to the both freelancers and the startups. Startup teams could reduce the development costs, shorten time to market, and increase customer satisfaction (by providing features addressing real market needs) by correctly involving the freelancers uniformly across value proposition activities. The startups could manage innovation with small teams (compared to human resources in companies) if done jointly with the freelancers, that helps the team members to learn new skills, upgrade their skills, and learn new perspectives about their markets. Business impacts due to freelancer involvement are stronger if the level of freelancer involvement across various value proposition activities is higher compared to their involvement across few activities only. The studied startups are not completely dependent on the freelancers but the freelancer’s perspectives and skills are valued as a rich source of market success. Freelancer involvement is taken as an opportunity to gain access to global market perspectives, which otherwise would be effortful for in-house teams to collect. In addition, they resolve technical debt, are a source of upgrading skills for undertaking future innovation, and help reaching customers for marketing (promoting product and gaining access to the feedbacks). Overall, the value proposition innovation in the studied startups have different levels of involvement of the freelancers but these startups have reported positive impacts on the business in terms of development cost reductions, shorten time to market, and high customer satisfaction (measured on early attainment of product/market fit and fast growth thereafter). The case study results are validated by the startup employees (member checking). The responses collected are analysed using box plots, which shows a higher level of result agreements among the employees.

Multi-formalism Models for Performance Engineering

Nowadays, the necessity to predict the performance of cloud and edge computing-based architectures has become paramount, in order to respond to the pressure of data growth and more aggressive level of service agreements. In this respect, the problem can be analyzed by creating a model of a given system and studying the performance indices values generated by the model’s simulation. This process requires considering a set of paradigms, carefully balancing the benefits and the disadvantages of each one. While queuing networks are particularly suited to modeling cloud and edge computing architectures, particular occurrences—such as autoscaling—require different techniques to be analyzed. This work presents a review of paradigms designed to model specific events in different scenarios, such as timeout with quorum-based join, approximate computing with finite capacity region, MapReduce with class switch, dynamic provisioning in hybrid clouds, and batching of requests in e-Health applications. The case studies are investigated by implementing models based on the above-mentioned paradigms and analyzed with discrete event simulation techniques.

The Turkish League Against Rheumatism Recommendations for the Management of Hand Osteoarthritis Under Guidance of the Current Literature and 2018 European League Against Rheumatism Recommendations.

Objectives This study aims to explore the accordance to the 2018 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for the management of hand osteoarthritis (OA) among the Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) expert panel and composition of TLAR recommendations for the management of hand OA under guidance of the current literature.Materials and methods The TLAR convener designated an expert panel of 10 physicians experienced in hand OA for this process. The 2018 EULAR recommendations for the management of hand OA and the systematic review of the literature were sent to the expert panel via e-mails. The e-mail process which included Delphi round surveys was completed. The EULAR standard operational procedure Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II was followed. The level of agreement was calculated for each item and presented as mean, standard deviations, minimum and maximum and comparisons of 2018 EULAR recommendations were performed.Results Five overarching principles and 10 recommendations were discussed. Revisions were held for the sixth, seventh, and ninth recommendations with lowest level of agreements. These recommendations were revised in accordance with suggestions from the experts and re-voted. The revised forms were approved despite the lack of statistically significant difference between these forms (p=0.400, p=0.451, p=0.496, respectively). Except for the ninth recommendation about surgery (p=0.008), no significant difference in level of agreements was observed between the EULAR and TLAR hand OA recommendations. The 11th recommendation about paraffin bath was added.Conclusion The optimal treatment of hand OA consists of personalized non-pharmacological (self-management, exercise, splint), pharmacological (topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as the first choice), and interventional procedures (only for refractory cases) based on shared decision between the patient and physician. TLAR hand OA recommendations were created mainly based on the most recent literature and the last EULAR hand OA management recommendations, which are widely approved among the TLAR experts.

From the Universal Declaration on the human genome to the international legal regulation of genomic research and technology: idea and reality

The modern society headlong transition to the genomics era is accompanied by a dangerous lagging the genomic research and technology socio-normative regulation from the progress of genetic engineering, which carries not only colossal opportunities for the medicine development, but also existential risks for humanity. It is long overdue to move the socio-normative regulation of this sphere from the level of international declarations and recommendations to the level of global legal agreements. However, progress in this direction is blocked by an exceptionally high degree of competition between countries and transnational pharmaceutical giants. It is significant that in the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome the most controversial problem of genomics, related to the possibility of human germ line editing, is not even indicated. At the moment this problem requires special attention from the scientific community, including scientists in the field of jurisprudence specializing in the philosophy of law, medical law and legal support of the modern technologies.

Assessing Farmer’s Perception Towards Improved Quncho Teff Variety in Gindeberet District, West Showa Zone, Oromia Region Ethiopia

Tef is among the major cereal crops in the Horn of Africa particularly in Ethiopia where it is number one in terms of land allocated to its cultivation. This crop is the major staple food crop to most of the Ethiopian people living in the highlands which comprise more than 65% of the population. This study was aimed at analyzing farmers’ perception towards improved Quncho teff varieties and constraints faced in producing improved teff variety in Gindeberet district. A descriptive survey design was adopted in which 150 respondents were randomly selected from six Peasant association of the district to collect the required data. The study result revealed that depending on the items developed for this study among the given agreements perception on high yield potential of the variety, increase production and yield, availability of the technology on production and agro-ecological suitability of the variety had showed relatively best performance of the varieties, whereas availability of the improved seed at the right time with its quality and disease resistance of the crop indicates relatively poorest agreement compared to all other characteristics of level of agreements considered. The overall finding revealed that, the government and other stakeholders should invest in farmer training since it enables farmers to understand well technologies and perceive their benefits increasing their probability to adopt agricultural technologies and provide adequate extension services and solve un availability of improved seed at the right time, high prices of inputs particularly improved seeds, pesticides and fertilizers in the district.

Clinical Validation of Mobile Cardiotocograph Device for Intrapartum and Antepartum Monitoring Compared to Standard Cardiotocograph: An Inter-Rater Agreement Study

Objective: Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) using cardiotocograph (CTG) is commonly used both to assess fetal wellbeing in late antepartum and for intervention during intrapartum period. We validated the performance of indigenously developed mobile cardiotocograph (CTG) device with wireless probes compared to standard CTG device. Materials and methods: We sequentially used mobile and standard CTG devices in 495 pregnant women in labour and 359 pregnant women with gestation > 32 weeks. The CTG interpreted by two independent obstetricians in a blinded manner were compared to estimate the agreement by kappa (k) statistic. Results: High level of agreements between mobile and standard CTG devices for both intrapartum (87.9%; kappa 0.61) and antepartum monitoring (91.2%; kappa 0.60) were observed. Most of the pregnant women (80% in intrapartum and 70% in antepartum groups) and all nurses and obstetricians preferred the mobile CTG device over standard CTG device. Conclusion: The mobile CTG device can reliably be used for both intrapartum and antepartum monitoring instead of the standard CTG devices. The smaller size, portability and ability to transmit the recordings for second opinion make it suitable for use by midwives for appropriate triaging and referral. Wider availability of CTG and interpretation support at the peripheral facilities would assist identifying at-risk pregnancies and foetuses for timely referral and appropriate action to reduce perinatal deaths, stillbirths and birth asphyxi.

Survey Questionnaire Survey Pretesting Method: An Evaluation of Survey Questionnaire via Expert Reviews Technique

Whereas the literature on questionnaire pretesting has revealed a paradox, questionnaire pretesting is a simple technique to measure in advance whether a questionnaire causes problems for respondents or interviewers. Consequently, experienced researchers and survey methodologists have declared questionnaire pretesting indispensable. All the same, published survey reports provide no information about whether a questionnaire was pretested and, if so, how and with what results. Moreover, until recently, there has been limited methodological research on questionnaire pretesting. The universally acknowledged importance of questionnaire pretesting has been honoured more in theory than in practice. As a result, we know very little about pretesting and the extent to which a pretest serves its intended purpose and leads to value-added on questionnaires. An expert review is a traditional method of questionnaire pretesting. Expert reviews can be conducted with varying levels of organisation and rigor. On the lower end of the spectrum, an experienced subject matter expert, or survey methodologist reviews a draft questionnaire to identify issues with question wording or administration that may lead to measurement error. On the more rigorous end of the spectrum, as employed in this study is the Questionnaire Appraisal Scheme method, a standardized instrument review containing 28 problem types that allow experienced researchers and/or coders to code, analyse and compare the results of questionnaire problems reported by the independent expert reviewers for consistency and agreement across the expert reviewers. However, in spite of the wider use of the expert review as a pretest method, fewer empirical evaluations of this method exist. Specifically, there is little evidence as to whether different expert reviews consistently identified similar questionnaire problems. Similarly, there has been no reasonable level of agreements across the expert reviewers in their evaluation of questionnaire problems. This paper addresses these shortcomings. The protocols employed in the paper would contribute to reducing the shortfall in pretesting guidelines and encourage roundtable discussions in academia and management practice.

The board of directors and firm performance: empirical evidence from listed companies

PurposeThis study aims to reconcile some of the conflicting results in prior studies of the board structure–firm performance relationship and to evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of agency theory in the specific context of Italian corporate governance practice.Design/methodology/approachThis research applies a dynamic generalised method of moments on a sample of Italian listed companies over the period 2003-2015. Proxies for corporate governance mechanisms are the board size, the level of board independence, ownership structure, shareholder agreements and CEO–chairman leadership.FindingsWhile directors elected by minority shareholders are not able to impact performance, independent directors do have a non-linear effect on performance. Board size has a positive effect on firm performance for lower levels of board size. Ownership structure per se and shareholder agreements do not affect firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to the literature on agency theory by reconciling some of the conflicting results inherent in the board structure–performance relationship. Firm performance is not necessarily improved by having a high number of independent directors on the board. Ownership structure and composition do not affect firm performance; therefore, greater monitoring provided by concentrated ownership does not necessarily lead to stronger firm performance.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that Italian corporate governance law should improve the rules and effectiveness of minority directors by analysing whether they are able to impede the main shareholders to expropriate private benefits on the expenses of the minority. The legislator should not impose any restrictive regulations with regard to CEO duality, as the influence of CEO duality on performance may vary with respect to the unique characteristics of each company.Originality/valueThe results enrich the understanding of the applicability of agency theory in listed companies, especially in Italy. Additionally, this paper provides a comprehensive synthesis of research evidence of agency theory studies.