Macro-environmental Factors Research Articles

The impact of national macro-environment exogenous variables on airport efficiency

Our paper tests the extent to which airport efficiency is affected by national macro-environmental factors. The literature on airport performance measurement is extensive but has tended to focus mainly on estimating the effects on efficiency from what are mostly endogenous variables. We undertake a two-stage analysis of 59 international airports observations in the Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. The first stage involves the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of these airports. This is followed by a second stage, where we use a Truncated Regression model that incorporates the Simar and Wilson bootstrapping technique to test the extent to which a set of macro-environmental factors affect airport efficiency. Results reveal that a state's air transport sector output, institutional quality and robustness, the macro-economic environment, safety and security, and human development, all have a significant influence on the performance of airports. The result of this study fills the gap in the literature related to the non-discretionary variables affecting the performance of airports. It also suggests that policymakers and airport managers consider the identified factors when benchmarking airports.

Evaluating the Sustainability of Microfinance Institutions Considering Macro-Environmental Factors: A Cross-Country Study

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have attracted great attention, due to their significant role in poverty reduction. Given the features of MFIs, this paper proposes a novel hybrid model of soft set theory, and an improved order preference by similarity to ideal solution (HMSIT) to evaluate the sustainability of MFIs, considering accounting ratios, corporate governance factors, and macro-environmental factors, from a cross-country perspective. This setting enables the examination of the role of macro-environmental factors in the sustainability of MFIs. For this purpose, soft set theory is adopted to select optimal criteria. An improved order preference by similarity to ideal solution method, in which the weight of each criterion is determined by soft set theory, is proposed to rank the sustainability of MFIs. This algorithm enables HMSIT to make full use of various types of information. The case study uses cross-country samples. Results indicate that macro-environmental factors are significant in evaluating the sustainability of MFIs from a cross-country perspective. Particularly, they can play a key role in distinguishing MFIs with low sustainability. The results also indicate that HMSIT has strong robustness. Ranked results, produced from the proposed HMSIT are reliable enough to provide some managerial suggestions for MFIs and help stakeholders make decisions.

Multidimensional modelling of complex and strategic construction projects for a more effective risk management

Risk management is a growing concern in the field of construction management. Public–private partnership (PPP) procurement is recent and was introduced in France in 2004. This type of construction project is complex and may have a very long life-cycle, a complex organizational plan, contractual complexities, macro-environmental factors and a strategic importance. An objective, reliable and practical risk management process is essential for establishing an efficient risk management framework and reaching the project objectives. However, traditional methods are rather limited for managing the risks of complex construction projects. In this research study, a formalized and systematic multidimensional modelling of risk management process (MMRMP) is developed. This process aims to identify systematically the risk events, assess them, determine the critical risks and develop action plans in order to mitigate, eliminate or transfer the negative risk impacts. The MMRMP proposes a dynamic risk management approach in parallel with the project management through the project life-cycle, adapted to the evolving nature of the project. The model is developed based on the multi-dimensional analysis of several PPP projects in France, and in partnership with a major construction company to favour its use in real operation conditions. The process is primarily developed for PPP projects in general, but the model can be replicated in a specific type of complex and strategic construction project, and contractual frame. A user-friendly prototype interface has been developed to apply the process for real construction projects. How it works in practice is illustrated through a PPP project in France.

Contrasting human influences and macro-environmental factors on fire activity inside and outside protected areas of North America

Human activities threaten the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) in achieving their conservation goals across the globe. In this study, we contrast the influence of human and macro-environmental factors driving fire activity inside and outside PAs. Using area burned between 1984 and 2014 for 11 ecoregions in Canada and the United States, we built and compared statistical models of fire likelihood using the MaxEnt software and a set of 11 key anthropogenic, climatic, and physical variables. Overall, the full model (i.e. including all variables) performed better (adjusted area under the curve ranging from 0.71 to 0.95 for individual ecoregions) than the model that excluded anthropogenic variables. Both model types (with and without anthropogenic variables) generally performed better inside than outside the PAs. Climatic variables were usually of foremost importance in explaining fire activity inside and outside PAs, with anthropogenic variables being the second most important predictors, even inside PAs. While the individual contributions of anthropogenic variables indicate that fire activity decreased as of function of increasing human footprint, the anthropogenic effects were often substantially greater than those of physical features and were comparable to or even greater than climatic effects in some densely developed ecoregions, both outside and within PAs (e.g. Mediterranean California, Eastern Temperate Forest, and Tropical Wet Forests). Together, these results show the pervasive impact of humans on fire regimes inside PAs, as well as outside PAs. Given the increasing attractiveness of PAs, the implications for adaptive fire management beyond the concept of naturalness in the PAs are discussed. Our assessment of human-altered fire activity could serve as an indicator of human pressure in PAs; however, we suggest that further analysis is needed to understand specific interactions among fire, human pressures, and the environmental conditions at the scale of PAs.

The Impact of Macro Environmental Factors on Essential Oils of Oliveria decumbens Vent. from Different Regions of Iran

Background: Environmental factors may affect qualitative and quantitative properties of essential oil in medicinal plants. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of macro environmental factors on essential oils content and composition of Iranian populations of Oliveria decumbens. Methods: The aerial parts of 25 wild populations of Oliveria decumbens Vent. were collected from various natural habitats in the southwest of Iran. The essential oil of samples was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Therefore, macro environmental factors were determined by the PCA method. The correlations between the factors were calculated based on the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The major compounds of essential oils were thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene, and y-terpinene, respectively, with an average of 28.77%, 25.31%, 14.02%, and 8.12%. The results showed that the altitude, mean evaporative per month (MEM) and Mean Day Temperature (MDT) were effective macro environmental factors on essential oil, thymol, and carvacrol content. Conclusions: The highest content of essential oil, thymol, and carvacrol was related to warm and semi-humid regions.

Analysis of traffic accidents by using GIS - Prevention of national traffic accidents seen from the viewpoint of circumstantial crime prevention -

안전한 사회를 구축하는데 있어서 교통상의 안전은 가장 중요한 부분으로, 교통상의 안전에 위해를 가하는 교통사고는 단순히 사고로 인한 재물적인 손해 뿐 만 아니라 이를 복구하기 위한 2차, 3차적 비용과 생명에 있어서도 큰 손실을 입힐 수 있다. 본 연구는 이러한 교통사고와 관련하여 전국에서 발생하는 도로상의 교통사고의 분포를 분석해 교통사고 핫스팟을 제시하고, 공간회귀분석을 통해 교통사고에 영향을 미치는 거시환경 요인들을 진단하고자하였다. 독립변수로는 거시환경적 요인, 교통학적 요인에 해당하는 변인들을 사용하였으며 종속변수로는 교통사고 발생건수와 교통사고 사상자수로 설정하였다. 사고 장소의 포인트 데이터를 지도에 매핑하는 포인트 매핑 분석결과, 전국에서 발생하는 교통사고가 밀집되어 발생하고 있는 지역이 존재하고 있음을 지도상에서 확인할 수 있었다. 또한 핫스팟 지역을 구체적으로 확인하기 위하여 KDE 분석을 실시한 결과 서울특별시 및 광역시를 중심으로 교통사고 핫스팟이 분포하고 있었으며, 해당 지역에서 높은 밀도의 핫스팟 그리드 군집을 확인할 수 있었다. 마지막으로 공간회귀분석을 진행하기 전에 공간적 자기상관분석을 진행하였다. 전국구에서 발생한 교통사고 발생건수를 대상으로 전역적(globla) 통계량을 분석한 결과, Moran’s I 계수가 유의하게 나타나 교통사고 발생건수가 공간적 자기 상관성을 갖는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 국지적(local) 통계량 분석을 위한 LISA 분석을 실시한 결과, HH(high-high)유형에 속하는 지역으로 서울시 인근 경기도 지역이 제시되었다. 또 다른 종속변인인 전국구에서 발생한 교통사고 사상자수를 기준으로 한 공간적 자기상관성을 분석한 결과 또한 서울시 인근의 경기도 도시지역 중심으로 HH(high-high)유형을 발견하였다. 전국구 교통사고의 유의미한 공간적 자기 상관성을 확인한 후에 공간회귀분석을 실시한 결과, 사회환경적 요소 중에서는 인구밀도, 운수사업체 수가 교통사고 발생건수에 정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났으며 교통학적 요소 중에서는 대로, 중로가 유의미한 정적인 영향을 미치는 것을 발견하였다. 교통사고 사상자수를 대상으로 한 모형의 공간회귀 분석결과, 교통사고 사상자수에 공간자기종속성이 있음에도 불구하고 공간회귀모델이 유의미하지 않게 나타나 해당 모형은 분석에 적합하지 않은 것을 확인하였다. 본 연구는 2015년 발생한 교통사고 건수와 사상자 수를 경찰이 기록한 공식적 통계에 의존하여 센서스자료와 통합하여 접근하였는데, 교통사고를 중심으로 핫스팟을 진단하고 거시적인 측면에서 영향 요인을 다루었다는 데에 의의가 있는 연구라 할 수 있다.Traffic safety is the most important part of building a safe society. Traffic accidents, which pose a risk to traffic safety, can not only be a property damage caused by an accident, but also a secondary and tertiary cost for recovering it, and a great loss in life. The purpose of this study is to present the traffic accident hotspots by analyzing the distribution of traffic accidents on the roads related to these traffic accidents, and to diagnose the macro environment factors influencing the traffic accidents through spatial regression analysis. The dependent variable was the number of traffic accidents and the number of traffic accidents. As a result of the point mapping analysis which maps the point data of the accident place to the map, it was confirmed that there is an area where the traffic accidents occurred in the whole country are occurred. In addition, KDE analysis was conducted to confirm the hotspot area. As a result, hotspots of traffic accidents were distributed around Seoul and Metropolitan City, and hotspot grid clusters with high density were identified in the area. Finally, spatial autocorrelation analysis was performed before spatial regression analysis. As a result of analyzing the global statistic for the number of traffic accidents occurred in the whole country, Moran s I coefficient was significant and the number of traffic accidents was found to have spatial autocorrelation. As a result of LISA analysis for local statistical analysis, the Gyeonggi province of Seoul was suggested as a region belonging to the HH (high-high) type. As a result of analyzing the spatial autocorrelation based on the number of traffic accidents occurred in the nationwide district, another subordinate variable, HH (high-high) type was also found around Gyeonggi city area near Seoul city. As a result of the spatial regression analysis after confirming the significant spatial autocorrelation of the traffic accidents in the national district, the population density and the number of the transportation enterprises were found to have a statistically significant effect on the number of traffic accidents among the social environmental factors. , And middle school students had significant positive effects. As a result of the spatial regression analysis of the model for the traffic accidents, it was found that the spatial regression model was not significant even though there was spatial dependence on the number of traffic accidents. This study implies that the number of traffic accidents and the number of casualties incurred in 2015 were integrated with the census data based on the official statistics recorded by the police.

E-learning in healthcare professional education: an analysis of political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) factors.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Healthcare professional education is a vitally important part of the healthcare system. E-learning as a means of delivering this education has grown in significance over the years. Research evidence shows that e-learning can help healthcare professionals learn new knowledge and skills. E-learning is fundamentally about education, but it is also a social phenomenon and part of a wider technological revolution. The provision of e-learning for healthcare professional development can be influenced by a number of different factors. These include political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors (PESTLE). All these phenomena influence e-learning in healthcare professional education - their degree of influence often depends on the exact context that is being discussed. A PESTLE analysis uses a framework of these macro-environmental factors that can be used in the strategic analysis of a specific domain. This paper describes an analysis of political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that can influence e-learning in healthcare professional education.

МЕТОДИЧНІ ЗАСАДИ ВИБОРУ СТРАТЕГІЙ ВИПЕРЕДЖАЮЧОГО ІННОВАЦІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ ПРОМИСЛОВОГО ПІДПРИЄМСТВА

The purpose of the article is to develop a methodological basis for selecting rational strategies of advanced innovative development regarding the potential of the enterprise, as well as factors of the external micro-and macro environment. The results of the articlecomplement and deepen the theory of innovative management in terms of forming an approach to modeling the process of selecting innovative development strategies in the concept of innovative advancement. The author, in particular, developed and scientifically substantiated the conceptual approach to the step-by-step selection of the innovative development strategy of the enterprise; updated, supplemented and systematized factors influencing the selection of innovative development strategies of the enterprise; revealed peculiarities of implementation of each type of innovative development strategies of the enterprise – protective, moderately offensive and advanced; highlighted possible options of each type of strategies; developed recommendations for selecting possible ways of application of protective, moderately offensive and advanced strategies of innovative development of the enterprise at the stages of innovative or life cycle of products. Practical implications were carried out at industrial enterprises of the Sumy city (Ukraine) for the formation of a system of selection management by formalized procedures of rational strategies of their innovative development. Its results confirmed practical effectiveness of the obtained scientific and applied results. Developed approaches reflected in decision charts are of scientific novelty. They formalize the choice of a particular strategy depending on the state of components of the industrial enterprise’s potential, as well as the degree of radicalization of innovative activities (product’s innovative or life cycle stages on which the strategy is implemented).

Factors linked with adaptation in the Indian marine fishing community

Understanding the factors associated with adaptation can be crucial for building community adaptive-capacity. This study aims to provide a country-level assessment of some of the factors driving adaptation responses in marine fishing, and is based on data from 2564 villages and 66 districts along the coastline of India. Mechanization, usage of Global Positioning System (GPS) and diversification are important adaptation responses in the community. This study employs an analytical framework to understand three types of factors influencing adaptation: vulnerability/risk, difference in the macro environment and community-level factors (human, economic and social capitals, such as education, poverty and cooperative membership). The results indicate that the different factors are not uniformly associated with the adaptation responses. Regions which are vulnerable and face greater cyclone risk have low adaptation. The macro-environment of the state as well as support through cooperatives can play a role in adaptation. The results also highlight the importance of higher levels of education for adaptation responses, such as, using advanced navigation technology (GPS) and diversifying into other professions. The study provides useful insights regarding the factors linked with adaptation responses in the community and can be helpful for designing interventions. The paper can complement findings from regional studies and emphasizes the need for future rigorous research on adaptation in marine fishing.

A population-based age-period-cohort study of colorectal cancer incidence comparing Asia against the West

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide but incidence varied widely. Despite the role of genetics, CRC is also sensitive to macro-environmental factors. Few studies have ever compared across different countries/regions to suggest possible macro-environmental risk factors of CRC. We estimated the effects of age, period and cohort on the changes of incidence of colorectal cancer across different countries/regions. MethodsPoisson regression age-period-cohort (APC) models were conducted to estimate the age, period and cohorts effects on CRC incidence across the West (i.e., the UK, the US and Australia) and Asia (i.e. Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and India). We maximized the length of the study period according to each country’s data availability. ResultsWestern populations show upward inflections for their 1950s–1960s cohorts, while Asian populations (except India) show downward inflections for their 1950s cohorts. Japanese population also shows upward inflections for its 1960s cohorts, similar to the Western populations. There are apparent upward inflections towards the more recent cohorts for Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore; nevertheless, the confidence intervals are wider towards the more recent cohorts. ConclusionOur findings imply an increasing risk of CRC in both Western and Asian populations as their younger cohorts reach older ages. These findings are consistent with the life course argument that macro-environmental changes associated with socio-economic development have specific effects that extend over the life course. Actions that pertain to altering lifestyle-related exposures over the life course are of great importance in combating young CRC risks in the future.

Enterprise Architecture within the Process of Permanent Change

Permanent changes that happen within the external surroundings of an enterprise, respectively within the macro-environment, significantly influence its efficiency and behaviour. The framework for these changes is made up by Enterprise Architecture (EA). Impacts of these changes are distinct in both, the internal environment of an enterprise as well as in its mid-environment, being of dynamic nature, and their elimination is a basic assumption of keeping the enterprise's competitiveness. The article focuses on analysing the macro-environment factors' influence on the changes in enterprise EA from the perspective of their sector differentiation. Tests have been carried out both ways – for chosen macro-environment factors, as well as macro-environment areas as a whole. The research survey was carried out on a file of 456 enterprises from the whole of the Czech Republic, out of which the production and industry sectors included 187 enterprises, and the service sector 255 enterprises. Pearson's chi-quadrate test was used as a statistical method. At the same moment, macro-environment factor prediction was tested, respectively the importance attached by top managers to the individual macro-environment factors in the future. Research results have proven a significant sector differentiation from the perspective of macroenvironment factors' impact on EA, while a greater influence of these factors has been indicated mainly in the service sector. It may be assumed that top managers begin to prove a risk symptom caused by a change in the economic cycle.

The Review of Factors Affecting Merger Premium

As mergers and acquisitions (M&A) become more and more frequent around the world, the phenomenon of the extreme premium in mergers and acquisitions has begun to expose to the public and attract the widespread attention of scholars. In particular, in recent years, Chinese enterprises have been extremely overpriced in mergers and acquisitions. Based on this, the paper reviews the literature about the determinants of M&A premium and the related theories from three aspects: macro environment factors, business factors and management factors. Finally, the shortcomings of the existing research are analyzed and the prospect of the future research is put forward.

Contemporary economic development challenges of the industry in luhansk region

The modern Ukrainian economy is characterized by significant transformational processes that are accompanied by a transition from heavy industry to the agro-industrial sector. In recent years, traditional key domestic industries with high added value in production have substantially lost their positions in the domestic and foreign markets. Especially acute the crisis phenomena are observed in the areas that are involved or are bordered by the area of the armed conflict. Before the beginning of hostilities in the East of Ukraine, Luhansk region was among the five most powerful industrial and economic regions of Ukraine. Now the region has turned from industrial to agrarian. Therefore, the matter of analysing the impact of post-conflict transformation processes in Ukraine on the region’s economic development and identifying the reasons that hinder transformation in the areas of post-conflict transformation is relevant. The article assesses the impact of military actions in the east of Ukraine on the economic performance of the industry in the region. The modern problems of Luhansk region industrial enterprises development are determined. According to the results of the macro-environment factors PEST analysis of the industrial enterprises in the region the main measures to overcome the crisis phenomena in the region’s economy are determined.

Factors affecting the financial structure of Slovak and Czech enterprises in the Manufacture of machinery and equipment industry

The financial structure of enterprises is influenced by many factors. The aim of this paper is to analyze, evaluate and assess the effect of selected internal corporate factors and external macro-environment factors on the financial structure of enterprises. All the studied enterprises were operating in the Manufacture of machinery and equipment industry. We have also analyzed whether there were any differences in the action of these factors between enterprises operating in various countries—Slovakia and Czech Republic (i.e., what was the impact of the environment on the corporate financial structure). The analysis has been done for the years 2009–2014. The research results pointed to the fact that although the influence of some macro-environment factors has been proved, that were the internal corporate factors which had dominant position in shaping the financial structure of Slovak and Czech enterprises (concerning the Manufacture of machinery and equipment industry). Keywords: Financial structure, internal corporate factors, external factors of macroenvironment

The SWOT-PEST Analysis of the Construction of Incentive System for State-owned Enterprises’ Scientific Researchers

Analyse the internal micro-environment and external macro-environment factors which the construction of the scientific research personnel incentive system faces by the way of SWOT-PEST analysis method. Construct a SWOT-PEST analysis matrix to systematically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the scientific research personnel incentive system in terms of politics, economy, society, and technology. Find the opportunities and risks which the scientific person faced, and solve the incentive system for scientific research person.

Does Environmental Pollution Provoke Public Environmental Concern

With four decades of rapid growth, the extensive model of economic growth has led to severe damage to the ecological environment. Ecological environment quality has become a prominent shortcoming on building moderately prosperous society. With the increasingly urgent need for environmental quality, public participation in environmental protection has become an important fulcrum to propel environmental protection into a higher and deeper level. In the face of increasingly severe environmental pollution, how does the public make environmental behavior decisions? Does pollution exposure trigger changes in collective environmental cognition and behavior? Obviously, answering these questions is of great practical significance in promoting positive public environmental actions and forming the joint force of the government, the enterprise and the public in environmental governance. Using CGSS （2013） matched with city level data, this paper investigates the effects of environmental pollution on public environmental concern from three aspects: the attention on environmental problems, environmental actions and evaluation for the environmental work of the government. The study firstly finds that pollution drives the public to care about the environmental problems, take individual environmental actions actively, and induce public dissatisfaction with the government’s environment protection, but pollution has no significant influence on deeper public environment actions. Secondly, the environmental concern of different social groups presents differentiation characteristics. High income groups, men and urban residents have shown higher enthusiasm in taking individual environmental actions, and urban residents are more discontented with the government. Thirdly, the effects of environmental pollution on environmental concern have reflected ladder-like differences between people in different regions, that is, the residents in the mid-west area concern more about environmental problems and like to take active private environmental actions, while the residents in the eastern region like to take deeper public environmental actions. Further research shows that the better the economic situation is, the more the low income group concerns about environmental problems, but the better employment situation can ease the public dissatisfaction with the government. Compared with the existing literature, the marginal contributions of this paper mainly reflect in the following aspects. Firstly, most existing studies focus on the social basis of environmental behavior from the fields of psychology and sociology, while ignoring the impact of macro environment and economic factors on individual environmental behaviors. Our work is helpful for us to understand the overall mechanism and the trend of public environmental decision-making. Secondly, this study compares the impact of environmental pollution on different types of environmental concern, ranging from shallow environmental concern to deep environmental actions. The heterogeneity of environmental concern in different social groups is also examined in our study. These give us more comprehensive interpretation of the relationship between environmental pollution and environmental concern. Thirdly, this paper sorts out the theoretical mechanism of environmental pollution affecting residents’ environmental concern, and puts forward the personal decision-making mechanism from environmental attitudes to environmental actions, which provides a foundation for further theoretical analyses and interpretations. The research of this paper has strong political implications. Environmental pollution causes public concern about the collective rationality of environmental problems, but such collective rationality is hard to form in practical actions. Therefore, the government should guide and support the public to participate in positive environmental protection, refine the market and institute system for public participation in positive environmental protection, reduce the cost of public participation in environmental protection, and improve the acquisition of public participation in environmental protection.

PKC Laundries: a start-up business at the crossroads

Subject area Strategy Study level/applicability Strategic Management course in an undergraduate programme. Case overview PKC Laundries started a technology-driven laundry service that would be just a click away for their customers and would provide a quick and satisfying cost-effective solution to the customers’ laundry needs. The business, conceived as a start-up, was based on the asset-light aggregation model which used existing vendors to provide the service. The business has been running for almost two years now but has encountered certain operational challenges of vendor management and in generating sufficient operating profits. At this juncture, the question that is bothering the owners is would it be right if PKC went in for backward integration by investing in an automatic laundry plant to manage the risk of dependency on their vendors or should they strengthen and scale-up the present business model? The owners seem to be in a muddle about their strengths and weaknesses and the foreseeable opportunities and threats and going forward what sort of challenges should they prepare themselves for? This case requires the reader to understand the scenario in which a small and medium enterprise (SME) operates within its micro and macro environment. It then makes the reader think and critically analyse the dilemma the young entrepreneurs are facing and identify the problems and possible strategies to overcome these problems. The case highlights the challenges faced by PKC as an aggregator business and the scope of what PKC can do in the future to strengthen its position. It also explores various marketing management issues such as segmenting, targeting and positioning. The case also helps in understanding strategic management issues such as analysis and formulation and implementation of the strategy. Expected learning outcomes The expected learning outcomes are as follows: To understand the micro and macro environmental factors affecting a firm; to understand the issues involved in formulating and implementing a strategy; to understand the challenges faced by a start-up (both operational and for scaling up); and to understand the strategies adopted by the company to develop their business. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Contemporary approaches to the prevention and management of paediatric obesity: an Australian focus.

Of the 34 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, obesity prevalence is highest in the United States, with Australia ranking fifth for girls and eighth for boys. Curbing the problem is achievable and can be realised through a combination of smart governance across many sectors, community initiatives, the support of individual efforts, and clinical leadership. At 5 years of age, one in five Australian children are already affected by overweight or obesity; obesity prevention strategies must therefore start before this age. There is strong evidence that reducing screen time and promoting breastfeeding in 0-2-year-olds are effective interventions in the early years. The main behavioural risk factors for obesity are overconsumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and a lack of physical activity. Emerging evidence suggests poor sleep quality and duration and high amounts of sedentary time also play a role. Systems-based policy actions may change long term obesity prevalence in children by targeting the food environment through nutrition labelling, healthy foods in schools, restricted unhealthy food marketing to children, and fiscal policies to reduce consumption of harmful foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Macro-environmental factors influence obesity risk. Public transport policy and the built environment (proximity to parks, bike paths, green space, schools and shops) influence play time spent outdoors, walking and cycling. Greater access to parks and playgrounds and active commuting are associated with lower body mass index. Australian interventions have largely employed individual level approaches. These are important, but of limited effectiveness unless priority is also given to policies that reduce obesity-conducive environments. Clinicians can provide anticipatory guidance to support healthy weight and weight-related behaviours, including weight monitoring, early feeding and children's diets, physical activity opportunities, and limited sedentary and screen time. Investigations in children with obesity usually include liver function tests and measuring fasting glucose, lipid and possibly insulin levels. As obesity can be associated with micronutrient deficiencies, it may be prudent to check full blood count and iron, vitamin B12 and vitamin D levels. Endocrinological assessment is usually not needed. Second line investigations may include liver ultrasound, oral glucose tolerance testing and sleep study. Traditional treatment of child and adolescent obesity has focused on family-based, multicomponent (diet, physical activity and behaviour change) interventions, although these lead to small and often short term weight reductions (mean, - 1.45 kg; 95% CI, 1.88 to - 1.02). Nevertheless, these principles remain core interventions in children and adolescents with obesity. A very low energy diet should be considered in adolescents with severe obesity or obesity-related comorbidities, and for adolescents who have not achieved weight loss following a more conventional dietary approach. Pharmacotherapy confers only small reductions in weight; for example, effect size for metformin is - 3.90 kg (95% CI, - 5.86 to - 1.94). Bariatric surgery should be considered in adolescents over 15 years of age with severe obesity (body mass index > 40 kg/m2, or > 35 kg/m2 in the presence of severe complications).

Saudi Aramco plans to invest heavily in the US and India

Following a theory of strategic positioning perspective, this paper aims to explore the operating context in which dimensions of the macro-environment factors are likely to enhance Small and Medium Enterprise's (SMEs) intentions to invest in the Ghana's’ downstream oil and gas sector. Specifically, macro environment model has been developed wherein an important exogenous context (supply chain resilience) variable has been considered and studied its moderating effect on the relationship between macro environment dimensions and intentions to invest. The study also, examined the conditional effect of micro environment dimensions on intention to invest at different levels of supply chain resilience. Using Partial Least Square method we analyze cross sectional data across Ghana's SMEs spectrum between the periods 2017–2018. Our indicative evidence suggests that political factors, economic factors, environmental factors and technological factors are related to SMEs intentions to invest in the down stream oil and gas. Moreover, the research findings revealed that supply chain resilience moderated the relationship between macroenvironment dimensions and intention to invest. The link between macro environment dimensions and intention to invest was strengthened via the interaction effect of supply chain resilience. These robust results are consistent with the theory of strategic positioning. Overall, our results are akin to policy makers agenda to create enabling macro environment to improve local businesses participation in the Ghanaian oil and gas value chain. Besides, the findings will assist SMEs owners and managers in their decisi ons to invest in the downstream oil and gas sector by strengthening investment capability at different levels of Supply chain resilience.

Responsiveness and the macro-origins of immigration opinions: Evidence from Belgium, France and the UK

Throughout recent decades, social science studies have systematically reported that citizens respond to their macro-social environments. While this is typically true in highly visible and salient policy domains, scholarship remains ambiguous about which macro-environmental factors are at the origins of citizens’ opinions on immigration. We contribute to this debate by theorising three factors that have the potential to move immigration opinions and subsequently testing their empirical relevance. We most notably emphasise the role of immigration itself and ask whether and how increasing immigration levels affect immigration opinions. We then examine to what extent the regional power structure and economic hardship interplay with this relationship. Through the dyadic ratios algorithm, we estimate a unique set of immigration opinion measures across regions in Belgium, France and the UK between 1990 and 2015. When modelling these measures, our findings are threefold. First, citizens are responsive to their environments, and specifically to immigration. Second, citizens become more favourable towards immigrants when immigration levels increase. Third, we find evidence that decentralisation (regional power) conditions this empirical relationship, while there is little to no indication that economic conditions affect immigration opinions, either directly or indirectly.