Low-level Production Research Articles

Increasing Productivity and Profitability of Summer Mungbean through Cluster Frontline Demonstrations in Sonipat, Haryana

Background: Cluster frontline demonstrations on summer mungbean were conducted at farmers’ fields in 2018-19 and 2019-20 in Sonipat district of Haryana state. Crop yield and returns of demonstrations were compared to those obtained in the local check plots. Adoption of improved practices of crop production in demonstration plots increased the crop yield by 30% over local check. Methods: A total number of 150 cluster front line demonstrations (CFLDs) were conducted in 60 ha. area during 2019 and 2020. A survey to get information on summer mungbean cultivation practices was undertaken before conducting the demonstrations. Selection of farmers and improved practices for demonstrations were done on the basis of survey information. Result: The average yield recorded in the demonstration and local check plots was 580 kg/ha and 447 kg/ha, respectively. This increase in yield was recorded with additional expenditure of Rs. 2285/ha. Net returns, additional returns and benefit cost ratio in demonstrations came out to be Rs. 13076 /ha, 3073 /ha and 1.77, respectively. The extension and technology gaps were recorded as 132.5 and 920.0 kg/ha, respectively. The technology index of 61.3% strongly indicated the technology inadequacies in the crop cultivation. The results of demonstrations revealed that low level of productivity at farmers’ fields could be increased to sustainable level by adoption of improved practices.

Measuring and Decomposing Productivity of Co-operatives in Aceh, Indonesia

This study empirically assesses the co-operatives' productivity across 23 districts/cities in Aceh province, Indonesia, over 2014-2018 using the Malmquist Total Factor of Productivity Index (MTFPI) based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Unlike previous studies that focused only on selected sectors and industries, this study examines the co-operative productivity of all industries and sectors within one province. Overall, this study recorded a low productivity level of co-operatives. Only co-operatives in Subulussalam City consistently experienced a fully productive using both Constant Return to Scale (CRS) and Variable Return to Scale (VRS) estimations. Meanwhile, based on the VRS estimation, the study found that the co-operatives in Aceh Besar and Aceh Utara's districts had experienced total productivity. Overall, the co-operatives' productivity level has slightly declined, contributed mainly by a decline in technical efficiency. However, the co-operatives' efficiency level has increased, mainly due to their scale efficiency improvement. The findings suggested the importance of implementing sound co-operative governance principles and enhancing technical efficiency by adopting e-marketing and the internet of things in their business activities.How to Cite:Majid, M.S.A., Faisal, F., Fahlevi, H., & Azhari, A. (2022). Measuring and Decomposing Productivity of Co-operatives in Aceh, Indonesia. Etikonomi, 21(1), 55-66. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v21i1.21299.

O-Acetyl-L-homoserine production enhanced by pathway strengthening and acetate supplementation in Corynebacterium glutamicum

BackgroundO-Acetyl-L-homoserine (OAH) is an important potential platform chemical. However, low levels of production of OAH are greatly limiting its industrial application. Furthermore, as a common and safe amino acid-producing strain, Corynebacterium glutamicum has not yet achieved efficient production of OAH.ResultsFirst, exogenous L-homoserine acetyltransferase was introduced into an L-homoserine-producing strain, resulting in the accumulation of 0.98 g/L of OAH. Second, by comparing different acetyl-CoA biosynthesis pathways and adding several feedstocks (acetate, citrate, and pantothenate), the OAH titer increased 2.3-fold to 3.2 g/L. Then, the OAH titer further increased by 62.5% when the expression of L-homoserine dehydrogenase and L-homoserine acetyltransferase was strengthened via strong promoters. Finally, the engineered strain produced 17.4 g/L of OAH in 96 h with acetate as the supplementary feedstock in a 5-L bioreactor.ConclusionsThis is the first report on the efficient production of OAH with C. glutamicum as the chassis, which would provide a good foundation for industrial production of OAH.

Impacts of agricultural waste and NPK fertilizers on soil chemical properties, production and phosphorus uptake of sweet corn plants on ultisol soil

Ultisol soil is classified as a marginal terrain with a low productivity level. Thus, this research aims to determine the most fitting biochar material and the effects of NPK fertilizer regarding the chemical properties of Ultisol soil that are analyzed on the production and phosphorus uptake of sweet corn plants. The materials used for the biochar consist of agricultural waste. This research utilized factorial randomized block design which was repeated three times. Factor number one consisted of three types of biochar: rice husk, corncob, and coconut shell. Factor number two was made up of NPK fertilizer which consisted of three dosages: without NPK, 2 g pot-1, and 4 g pot-1. This research was conducted on December 2019 up to March 2020. Research shows that there was no interaction between biochar types and NPK fertilizer, whether on the chemical properties of Ultisol soil, growth parameter, and production nor phosphorus uptake of the sweet corn plants. Corncob biochar was better than other types in affecting the chemical properties of Ultisol soil, production, root dry weight and phosphorus uptake by the sweet corn plants. Application of 4 g pot-1 NPK fertilizer was the best for almost all observation parameters.

Inequality and growth in Portugal: A reappraisal for the period 1986–2017

AbstractThis paper investigates the inequality‐growth nexus for Portugal over the period 1986–2017. Portugal is a country that has recorded a decelerating growth trajectory together with high levels of inequality, coupled with relatively low levels of human capital and productivity. We compute different measures of earnings inequality using microdata from the Quadros de Pessoal database and use them to estimate VAR and SVAR A‐B models with four variables (human capital, inequality, investment, and output) to empirically assess the sign of the relationship between inequality and growth, as well as the underlying mechanisms of transmission. The results from the impulse response analysis indicate that a shock to inequality has a negative impact on growth and on human capital availability, as well as an initial negative impact on investment which eventually becomes positive. The evidence found highlights the human capital, savings, and domestic demand channels as good candidates to explain the relationship between inequality and growth in Portugal.

A Flexible Multi-Temporal and Multi-Modal Framework for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Analysis Ready Data

The rich, complementary data provided by Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite constellations host considerable potential to transform Earth observation (EO) applications. However, a substantial amount of effort and infrastructure is still required for the generation of analysis-ready data (ARD) from the low-level products provided by the European Space Agency (ESA). Here, a flexible Python framework able to generate a range of consistent ARD aligned with the ESA-recommended processing pipeline is detailed. Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data are radiometrically calibrated, speckle-filtered and terrain-corrected, and Sentinel-2 multi-spectral data resampled in order to harmonise the spatial resolution between the two streams and to allow stacking with multiple scene classification masks. The global coverage and flexibility of the framework allows users to define a specific region of interest (ROI) and time window to create geo-referenced Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images, or a combination of both with closest temporal alignment. The framework can be applied to any location and is user-centric and versatile in generating multi-modal and multi-temporal ARD. Finally, the framework handles automatically the inherent challenges in processing Sentinel data, such as boundary regions with missing values within Sentinel-1 and the filtering of Sentinel-2 scenes based on ROI cloud coverage.

The Impact of State Ownership on the Productivity of China’s Agri-food Firms

This study examines the effects of state ownership on the productivity distribution of different quantiles of China’s agri-food firms based on data from the Chinese Industrial Enterprises Database between 1998 and 2013. Using panel quantile regression, this study finds that the contribution of state ownership to productivity varies across different quantiles of the productivity distribution. State ownership inhibits total factor productivity (TFP) of firms with low-level productivity but has no effect on TFP for firms with medium- and high-level productivity. Regions play a moderating role on the state ownership-productivity link. Regional economic development alleviates the inhibition of state-owned capital on the TFP of firms with low- and high-level productivity.

A waning Saxothuringian Ocean evidenced in the Famennian tephra-bearing siliceous succession of the Bardo Unit (Central Sudetes, SW Poland)

Abstract A tephra-rich cherty-clayey Famennian succession within the major Brzeźnica olistostrome in the Bardo Mountains, Central Sudetes, SW Poland, preserves a record of the lost ocean later incorporated into the Variscan orogenic belt. Fluctuating but mostly oligotrophic regimes and low primary production levels were influenced by weak up-welling below the perennial oxygen minimum zone, which controlled the interplay between biosiliceous and siliciclastic deposition in the oceanic basin, with episodic oxygen deficiency. The Hangenberg Black Shale has been identified in this oceanic setting based on its characteristics described worldwide (including mercury enrichments). A tectonic uplift of the sediment source area near the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary, recorded in the distinguishing provenance signal of old continental crust, was paired with a global transgression, anoxia, and volcanic episode in an interglacial interval. Assuming paleogeographic affinity with the Bavarian facies of the Saxothuringian terrane, we interpret the allochthonous sediments as part of an accretionary prism that was gravitationally redeposited into the late orogenic basin in front of advancing Variscan nappes. The oceanic basin parental to the Bardo pelagic succession is therefore thought to represent a tract of the waning Saxothuringian Ocean in the Peri-Gondwanan paleogeographic domain that was eventually subducted beneath the Brunovistulian margin of Laurussia. The sediments of the Bardo Ocean basin also include a distal record of Famennian explosive volcanic activity that was likely related to a continental magmatic arc whose remnants are preserved as the Vrbno Group of the East Sudetes.

Human Mobility and Climate Change Adaptation in Small-Scale Farming Areas in Eastern Zimbabwe

Abstract This paper examines the role played by human mobility as a climate change adaptation strategy in Zimbabwe’s small-scale farming areas. Livelihoods in Zimbabwe’s small-scale farming areas are mostly agriculture-based and have long suffered from low levels of production. This is largely due to poor agroecological conditions and lack of agricultural investment, including income diversification projects from the central government. Recently, extreme climatic events in these areas have exacerbated food insecurity challenges, prompting many households to relocate. The findings of this study indicate that most households in the small-scale farming regions are resorting to either short- or long-term migration to areas that offer them food security. In these areas, poor households are forced to work on large commercial farms where they are paid in maize grain or trade their products for food to support their families. This paper argues that, if properly used together with other climate change policies promoted in Zimbabwe, human mobility can be an effective climate change adaptation strategy in small-scale farming areas.

Transformation, stability and biodiversity of phytocenosis depending on their initial conditions

The paper presents the results of long-term observations of the agricultural land transformation into natural phytocenoses. The comparative analysis of sustainability and biodiversity of two closely located Plots No. 1 and No. 2 showed that the initial state of the land mainly determines these indicators. The transformation of well-cultivated fallows of Plot No. 1 was with a sufficiently high rate of succession. It led to the disturbance of the ecosystem, the degradation of the phytocenosis and a low level of biodiversity and productivity. A decrease in the number of almost all entomophilous plants, including Fabaceae, Asteraceae, from 25.6% to 3.4% was on the plot in the period from the 6th year. Moreover, there were shrubs of the test plot with birch the appearance of dominant species, by nettle and willow-herb. The transformation of seeded herbage with a Legume component of Plot No. 2 by the year 8 led to the displacement of sown grasses, the emergence of synusia with a high density and biomass of plants based on hybrid clover and Poaceae. They occupied a large area of Plot No. 2 and determined a steady state of the biocenosis with high biodiversity and productivity, with the retention of a high number of Fabaceae in the herbage from 9 to 16% for a long time. The paper indicates that the management by the initial state of phytocenoses, in particular, haymaking and a clover-cereal mixture sowing, makes it possible to change the direction of transformation of biocenoses and carry out long-term planning and restoration of their stability and biodiversity.

Phenomic analysis of the honey bee pathogen-web and its dynamics on colony productivity, health and social immunity behaviors.

Many pathogens and parasites have evolved to overwhelm and suppress their host’s immune system. Nevertheless, the interactive effects of these agents on colony productivity and wintering success have been relatively unexplored, particularly in large-scale phenomic studies. As a defense mechanism, honey bees have evolved remarkable social behaviors to defend against pathogen and parasite challenges, which reduce the impact of disease and improve colony health. To investigate the complex role of pathogens, parasites and social immunity behaviors in relation to colony productivity and outcomes, we extensively studied colonies at several locations across Canada for two years. In 2016 and 2017, colonies founded with 1-year-old queens of diverse genetic origin were evaluated, which represented a generalized subset of the Canadian bee population. During each experimental year (May through April), we collected phenotypic data and sampled colonies for pathogen analysis in a standardized manner. Measures included: colony size and productivity (colony weight, cluster size, honey production, and sealed brood population), social immunity traits (hygienic behavior, instantaneous mite population growth rate, and grooming behavior), as well as quantification of gut parasites (Nosema spp., and Lotmaria passim), viruses (DWV-A, DWV-B, BQCV and SBV) and external parasites (Varroa destructor). Our goal was to examine: 1) correlations between pathogens and colony phenotypes; 2) the dynamics of pathogens and parasites on colony phenotypes and productivity traits; and 3) the effects of social immunity behaviors on colony pathogen load. Our results show that colonies expressing high levels of some social immunity behaviors were associated with low levels of pathogens/parasites, including viruses, Nosema spp., and V. destructor. In addition, we determined that elevated viral and Nosema spp. levels were associated with low levels of colony productivity, and that five out of six pathogenic factors measured were negatively associated with colony size and weight in both fall and spring periods. Finally, this study also provides information about the incidence and abundance of pathogens, colony phenotypes, and further disentangles their inter-correlation, so as to better understand drivers of honey bee colony health and productivity.

OBJECTIVES AND INFORMATION BASE FOR ANALYZING THE EFFICIENCY OF LABOR RESOURCES UTILIZATION

The development of market relations and related structural changes in the economy have a significant impact on the processes of economic activity. Most enterprises operate in a tough environment of external and internal competition, which requires them to take active steps to optimize and adjust technological processes and economic strategy, both current operations and enterprise development. Optimization and adjustment of current operations is achieved by making appropriate management decisions, which requires a comprehensive analysis of the company's performance. It is used to develop the strategy and tactics of the company's development, to make plans and management decisions, to monitor their implementation, to identify reserves for improving production efficiency, and to evaluate the performance of the company, its divisions and employees.
 At the same time, as the practice of Ukrainian enterprises, especially privatized ones, shows, the use of modern methods is too limited, as evidenced by the large number of economically inexpedient business projects at various levels, low levels of labor productivity and profitability, unreasonably high costs of maintaining the administrative apparatus, which ultimately leads to severe financial losses up to the bankruptcy of the enterprise.
 Undoubtedly, this situation is shaped by a number of factors, among which the economic instability of the external business environment is the most important. However, internal factors also play a significant role, namely, the low level and quality of enterprise management, one of which is the inability to analyze activities and identify factors affecting both economic activity and the financial position of an enterprise.

Preparation and Application of Class A1 Flame Retardant Composite Material with Waterproof Properties

ABSTRACT The Class A1 flame retardant eco-material with excellent comprehensive properties is strongly needed to replace the low-level flame retardant products for potential applications in the building industry. In this work, modified titanium sol with the re-dispersible latex powder (VAE) is compounded to prepare non-combustible flame retardant composites. The optimal content of polylactic acid (PLA) is determined as 10 wt%. The results reveal that the addition of modified titanium sol has simultaneous improvements in flame resistance, water resistance, and mechanical properties of the composite material. The composites with 8 wt% modified titanium sol show low gross heat of combustion (0.646 MJ·kg−1) and low water absorption (4.26%), satisfying the enterprise standards. Besides, the flexural strength of the composites exhibited the maximum at 18.8 MPa. Structure observation discloses that the modified titanium sol promotes the formation of a three-dimensional network structure in the material and further forms a dense protective layer during combustion to inhibit burning. Overall results suggest that the composites with modified titanium sol as the Class A1 flame retardant composite will shed light on their promising applications in the construction industry.

LABOR PRODUCTIVITY AND PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

In today's world, the issue of sustainable economic growth and labor productivity is very acute. Low levels of labor productivity in all sectors of the economy affect the overall effectiveness of the state production and economic system, as labor productivity is a criterion for the efficient use of labor resources and social reproduction. The aim of the article is to scientifically substantiate and structure the system of factors that affect productivity. The research task is to analyze the categorical apparatus, economic essence and significance of labor productivity, to classify factors and conditions of labor productivity increase at industrial enterprises, to show practical application of formulas for calculation of possible dismissal of workers on the basis of measures to increase labor productivity. To do this, the article provides a definition of "productivity" and "productivity", "production per employee". It is proposed to combine many factors that determine the growth of labor productivity into the following groups: increasing the technical level of production, improving the organization of production and labor, increasing production, structural changes in production, the impact of natural conditions. It is emphasized that the identification and use of reserves for productivity growth leads to lower production costs and increase profitability, and thus increases the viability of enterprises.

Building Resilient Value Chains After the Impact of the COVID-19 Disruption: Challenges for the Coffee Sector in Central America

Coffee is an important agricultural sector in Central American, directly employing over 1.2 million people in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Although export revenues from coffee trade have an overall positive effect on the gross domestic product (GDP) of these countries, poverty still prevails. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional pressure on the sector which is vulnerable to fluctuations in the international coffee prices, low productivity levels, and climate change effects and damages caused by pest and diseases. This paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and analyzes if the sector is resilient to withstand unexpected external shocks such as the pandemic and the hurricanes which impacted the region in the last months of 2020. The capacity to absorb, adapt, and/or transform to these shocks was assessed from the perspective of small-scale coffee farmers, traders, exporters and the entire sector in two time periods—immediately after the start of the pandemic and after the coffee harvest. Although the actors in the coffee value chain absorbed these shocks and could withstand them, adaptation to the disruptions has been challenging for small-scale farmers. Despite the vulnerability to unexpected external shocks, results indicate that a long-term transformation of the sector to build resilience is likely to be slow.

Structural Convergence between African Countries: Empirical Evidence

This paper aims to investigate structural convergence in selected African countries over the period 1994-2019. Using panel data for 48 African countries and several estimation methods [Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE), Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS), tobit model, instrumental variable, and Granger non-causality], the results show the existence of the phenomenon of sectoral structural convergence in Africa, i.e. a greater similarity in sectoral structures while income gaps are narrowing. The paper also highlights the service sector's low relative productivity level and industrial sector's low labor force attractiveness despite a significant shift in labor from the agricultural sector and a higher level of relative productivity respectively. To address this issue, the development and acquisition of human and physical capital would be necessary to develop the industrial sector and increase the service sector's productivity.

Examining internal capability determinants on firms' financial performance before and after going public: a case of listed firms in Thailand

PurposeThis study aims to empirically analyze the effect of firm financial strengths (liquidity, leverage, and cost of goods sold) and firm characteristics (utilization, tangibility and company size) towards firm financial performance and study the differences of these effects before and after firms going public.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on 159 firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) during the transition periods of interest from one year before each firm became a listed firm and up to five years after becoming a listed firm (data collection from 2002 to 2019). Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is applied for the analysis.FindingsThe empirical evidence shows that the firms have to maintain different levels of determinants during different years of operation. Before becoming listed firms, the firms' size plays a significant role in determining the firms' financial performance. Different characteristics are required, according to the size of the firms. One year after becoming listed firms, a low level of production and operating expenses in relation to sales and low leverage are the two important factors for superior financial performance. Then, 2–5 years after becoming listed firms and after a steady state is reached, two more factors, good liquidity and high tangibility, are shown to be significant for good financial performance of the firms.Originality/valueUnlike prior studies, this study explains the causal relationships or combinations of determinants of financial strengths and firm characteristics, before and after going public toward good financial performance of firms, which cannot be identified by analyzing the calendar-year performance.

ІНВЕСТИЦІЙНІ РИЗИКИ ТА ІНВЕСТИЦІЙНІ ПРОЦЕСИ В УКРАЇНІ У РОЗРІЗІ ВИДІВ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ

The article is devoted to the problems of assessment and modeling of investment processes in terms of economic activity types. The article determines that the development of state investment activity as an economic category is characterized by certain degrees of uncertainty and risk. In addition, investment risks and the influence of their factors on the development of the economic system are characterized. It is emphasized that investment risks can be interpreted as the probability of not receiving investment profits, social effects of investments, failure to achieve planned investment goals. Obviously, the investment risks of the economic system are influenced by a number of external and internal factors. The authors indicated that among the external factors, if the economic system is considered at the micro level, are an unbalanced market, an unstable market situation, an increase in the level of inflation, unpredictable actions of economic counterparties, a decrease in the welfare of the population, an increase in unemployment, various force majeure circumstances, political and economic crises, military actions in country, etc. Among the internal – unqualified staff, dishonesty of management, low level of productivity and others. It is also stated that risk is an integral component of any sphere of economic activity. Therefore, it is extremely important to take into account risks in investment activities, as every investor seeks to minimize them, reduce the level of potential losses, take into account various factors influencing investment processes, etc. The research also analyzed the dynamics of capital investments in Ukraine for 2010–2020, calculated indicators of the dynamics of capital investments in Ukraine such as absolute growth, growth rate, growth rate, etc. The model of averaging indicators over time was also used. The research selected the types of economic activity that are the most important both in wartime and in peacetime: agriculture, forestry and fishing, industry, construction, transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities, food and beverage provision activities, information and telecommunications, financial and insurance activities, public administration and defense; compulsory social insurance. The profitability indicator is also used to assess investment risks. Therefore, the profitability of economic activities was evaluated. Special attention is focused on the systematization of information on investment processes in Ukraine in the form of tables and visualization of data on investment activity.

Альтернативні форми здобуття середньої освіти в США

The article examines the issue of alternative education in the United States as one of the innovative forms of education, which emerged due to a number of factors, including political, economic, social and cultural transformations constantly occurring in the world. These transformations have an effect on the educational environment by contributing to the emergence of non-traditional approaches, new educational forms, and alter parents` views on the education of their children. Changes in the organization of the society, global pandemics, and wars urge parents to seek solutions to the educational problems of their children, because they face new challenges which require immediate response and a new vision to solve them. Acquiring quality education requires an individual approach to each student. However, due to certain students’ characteristics (low level of productivity and mental activity, emotional and behavioral disorders etc.), there is a need in additional teachers and parents’ support. The search for the effective means to promote the development of a student’s personality and expand their knowledge, skills, abilities remains relevant today. Based on the analysis of foreign and domestic scientific and pedagogical literature, the essence of the alternative education is determined, the periodization of its formation and the differences between traditional and alternative education in the United States are substantiated. It is argued that the main stages of the alternative education development are: fragmentary, unified, progressive and universal, exploratory, innovational-reformist and reformist. The content of the concept “alternative school” as a form of alternative education implementation in pedagogical practice is presented in historical and contemporary contexts along with the typology of American alternative schools described by M. A. Raywid. Keywords: alternative education, periodization of alternative education development, alternative form of education, alternative schools, USA, educational transformations.

Does organizational culture influence employee productivity at the local level? A test of Denison's culture model in Ghana’s local government sector

There is mixed evidence that low levels of productivity at the local government level are not common with organizations with strong cultures as these are less prone to any externalities. The paper investigated the link between organizational culture and employee productivity from the perspectives of employees of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) in Ghana. The study used the quantitative approach with descriptive and cross-sectional designs. The simple random and stratified sampling techniques were used to select 132 respondents from the STMA using a self-administered survey questionnaire between August 2020 and December 2020. Denison’s 1984 model of organizational culture was adopted to measure organizational culture while employee productivity was measured by target achievement, available resources and hours of work in a week. With the support of the “SPSS version 22,” the study used descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and ANOVA tests with hypotheses using standard regression methods. The findings indicate a strong and positive culture of mission, involvement, adaptability and consistency in the STMA. Further, two hypotheses of the study were supported while one hypothesis failed to reject the null hypothesis. However, the relationship between the culture of adaptability and employee productivity was negative but statistically significant; hence, the research hypothesis on this variable was modified to reject the null. Denison’s culture model, which was used to measure organizational culture, was less effective in explaining the variance in the dependent variable as a combined variable.