Primary Asset Research Articles

Linking aspects of human capital management, employee engagement, perceived organizational support, and selfreported employee job performance

Purpose. The primary intangible asset of firms and the main factor determining the ircompetitive advantage has emerged as human capital. This paper examined the effect of the selected aspects of human capital management on self-reported employee job performance and the mediating role of employee engagement. Likewise, this study tested the moderation role of perceived organizational support on the human capital management with self-reported employee performance link. Method. This paper is structured on a quantitative approach, with stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The research model analysis method applies structural equation modeling with AMOS to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings. The aspects of human capital management were positively related to self-reported employee job performance. Moreover, employee engagement partially mediates the relationship, and perceived organizational support positively moderates the association between knowledge accessibility, learning capacity, leadership practice, career advancement, and selfreported employee job performance. Conversely, it has an in significant moderation between workforce optimization and employee job performance, optimization and self-reported employee job performance. Implications for practice. This paper has an implication for policy makers, organizational managers, investors in general, and the banking sector in particular in their effort towards creating strategies for matching human capital management strategies, employee engagement, perceived organizational support, and self-reported employee job performance. Thus, aspects of human capital management are the determinant factors of employee engagement and self-reported employee job performance. Moreover, the perception of employees towards organizational support contributes to the relationship.

COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILL THROUGH BANANA AND CHILI PRODUCT TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMY OF RURAL COMMUNITIES

Community entrepreneurship skill  is an effort and strategy in producing the product based on the owned–asset. Through this, ideas emerged for processing raw materials into processed goods that were worth selling, as well as Taddan village which was the target of this community empowerment activity. Taddan village with its own primary asset such bananas and chilies will increase the economic growth of the village through processing the bananas and chilies into economical and selling products. To achieve this goal, the author used the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) method. This method was developed from the owned assets, not from problems. With the ABCD method, the author tried to empower rural communities, especially Taddan village, in processing banana and chili products into worth selling products. The result of this activity is the launching of banana chips and sambal cumi kribo from processed bananas and chilies which are well received, and got many orders from the local community.

Mineral water as food for bone: an overview

Water is a primary asset and contributes significantly to human health. Although water requirements vary from person to person, an intake of 1.5-2 L per day is known to guarantee proper hydration, and is essential to maintaining the body’s water balance. Water for human use includes “water” (treated or not) intended to be drinkable, used for the preparation of food and drinks, and for other domestic uses, and “natural mineral water”, meaning waters that “originate from an aquifer or from a groundwater basin, which flow from one or more natural or reamed (perforated) springs and which have specific hygienic characteristics and, possibly, health properties”. According to European legislation (Directive 2009/54/EC), mineral waters can be classified on the basis of analysis of their main chemical-physical characteristics. Natural mineral waters can also be classified into many categories on the basis of their mineral composition and principal component. Natural mineral waters are known to have many beneficial (and non-beneficial) effects on human health and several studies have explored their properties and their role in different physiological and pathological conditions. Despite concerns about possible negative effects due to the plasticizers and/or endocrine disruptors that may be present in bottled mineral waters, their consumption is widespread. Calcium-rich mineral waters (calcium content >150 mg/L) supply excellent amounts of highly bioavailable calcium and are a very useful way of taking in calcium regularly and in a well distributed way throughout the day, without experiencing side effects; they therefore contribute to the achievement of the recommended intakes. Mineral waters can also be used as supplements to reduce the risk of deficiency of other micronutrients important for bone health such as boron, strontium and fluoride. Finally, gut microbiota is emerging as a key player in bone turnover regulation due to its ability to modulate the immune system, controlling inflammation and also influencing calcium absorption and vitamin D levels. Intestinal dysbiosis may promote bone mass loss in older people and after menopause. For this reason, the maintenance of a healthy and efficient intestinal microbiota is considered fundamental in the management of skeletal pathologies, both to prevent them and to support possible drug therapies.

Factors Affecting Adoption and Intensity of Use of Tef-Acacia decurrens-Charcoal Production Agroforestry System in Northwestern Ethiopia

The tef-Acacia decurrens-charcoal production agroforestry system (TACPA system) is a conventionally and uniquely adopted indigenous potential climate-smart agricultural technology (CSAT) in northwest Ethiopia. This study investigates factors determining farmers’ adoption and intensity of use of the TACPA system using a descriptive statistic and a double-hurdle model. A total of 326 farming household heads were selected using multistage random sampling from two purposively chosen provinces. The descriptive statistics showed that 64.42% of the local farmers adopted the TACPA system, and the area covered by the adopter was 0.38 ha. Empirical estimates of the first hurdle revealed that credit, plot ownership, association, primary road distance, asset, farming experience, labor, family size, livestock, tenure, and marginal land influenced the adoption of the TACPA system. On the other hand, estimates of the second hurdle showed that the intensity of use of the TACPA system was determined by age, plot ownership, nativity, primary road distance use, livestock, tenure, secondary road distance, and experience. The complementarity between the adoption of the TACPA system and its intensity of use suggests the necessity of joint socio-economic policies to meet the priority needs of smallholder farmers of the study area and to disseminate the innovation to other parts of Africa with similar environmental conditions.

Philanthropic Investment in Equity: Cultivating Grass Roots Leaders for the Equitable Revitalization of Marginalized Communities

Community development must include deeper investment to foster a pipeline of community leaders to support equitable redevelopment practice in marginalized communities under threat of gentrification in the city. We argue that philanthropy is critical to develop this pipeline, particularly in the era of the neoliberal city. The following case study analyzes efforts to develop place-based grass roots leadership in marginalized neighborhoods of Columbus, Ohio. The United Way of Central Ohio, through their Neighborhood Leadership Academy (NLA) program, has partnered with community organizations to develop multiple cohorts of grass roots neighborhood leaders over several years within three specific neighborhoods. Our case identifies how philanthropic investment into a grass roots leadership development model centered on equity has impacted policy outcomes, built bridging social capital and spurred successful activism. Our case illustrates a potential model for building social infrastructure through philanthropic investment to buttress potentially disruptive neighborhood change. In the era of the neoliberal city, neighborhoods can no longer rely upon federal funding, leaving redeveloping neighborhoods particularly vulnerable to market driven gentrification and displacement. In this void of resources, philanthropic efforts to support robust grass roots leadership is the last remaining defense against widespread displacement and the primary asset to support equitable development practices.

Effectiveness of Waste Management in the United States of America

Waste is a significant concern at this time. No matter what country, waste will always exist in people's daily lives, including the United States. To deal with all types of waste, the United States has implemented policies and regulations called the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 3R.This study aims to see how the policies launched by the United States, namely the Environmental Protection Agency and 3R, in dealing with environmental problems, where one of the causes is that it comes from various types of waste, both from the household sector and large companies. In writing this journal, the author uses a descriptive-qualitative research method based on green theory. The environmental crisis has penetrated almost all parts of the world since the 60s, starting from an individual protest until finally, this environmental problem has become an international concern; green theory is present as a form of concern for the environment because the environment is the world's primary asset, so by saving the environment indirectly also save the inhabitants of the earth. Each country is competing in finding ways to overcome these problems. One of which is the United States. The environmental protection agency and 3R are some of the steps taken by the United States in dealing with environmental problems in the hope that the policies taken can save them from environmental problems not only in the present but also in the future, where several factors cause these problems. In this program, the United States implements several activities. The most important is providing education about the dangers of waste and recycling waste in the environment. This is done in response to the environmental crisis, which is the leading cause of damage and life crises, including disease. In this paper, the authors also see how effective Environmental Protection Agency policies are and describe several types of waste that damage the environment.

Asset Management in HEP DSO: from Development of Methodologies towards Application

Increasing demands for cost-effective operation of DSOs emphasise the importance of optimised management of distribution network assets. Installation of a growing number of intelligent components and sensors in the network, resulting in more information available on its condition, can be used in a comprehensive asset management system to optimize the network maintenance, replacement or refurbishment. The process of introduction of the asset management function in HEP DSO commenced with a pilot project of adopting the risk assessment based methodology in cooperation with EA Technology and the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar (EIHP) in 2018. It was followed by implementation of the results in the model for prioritising the investment portfolio of transition from 10 kV to 20 kV operating voltage and a full application of risk assessment based methodology to planning of refurbishment of 35(30) kV overhead lines as an important primary distribution network asset class. The conducted research is currently being used for identifying challenges for wide-range application of asset management to all distribution network asset classes.

Peasant farmers and pandemics: the role of seasonality and labor-leisure trade-off decisions in economy-wide models

Pandemics attack the primary asset (labor) of peasant households and the rural poor. Peasant households must simultaneously allocate labor between farm and household activities, where the demand for agricultural labor is seasonal, which limits intra-temporal substitution, without perfect foresight. A pandemic reduces the supply of labor, through deaths and morbidity, with the scale of reductions in labor supply depending on the seasons in which a pandemic occurs. The analyses, using a recursive dynamic economy-wide model for Bhutan, demonstrate that outbreaks in high labor demand seasons cause increases in wage rates almost three times as high as for outbreaks in low labor demand seasons. Increases in wage rates induce peasant households to reallocate labor time between farm and household activities through the labor-leisure trade-off mechanism. Such changes in the allocation of labor time are important elements of peasants’ mitigation responses, and can reduce the negative economic implications of a pandemic.

A comprehensive review on the application of artificial intelligence in drug discovery.

The 21st century is witnessing immense achievements in human history, starting from home science to space science. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a salient one among these feats, the critical factor of the 4th industrial revolution. Health is the primary and essential asset for the continuity of human civilization on this planet. Not only must we address the deadly existing diseases like Cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, heart diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, etc., but on top of that, we must effectively predict, prevent and respond to potential pathogens capable of causing havoc like the recent outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2. AI-enabled technology with the computational capacity of a computer and reasoning ability of humans saves surplus labor and time that is majorly consumed in target validation, lead optimization, molecular representation, and designing reaction pathways, which traditionally is a decade-long way of searching, visualizing, studying, imagining, experimenting and maintaining a ton of data. This article would focus on how AI will help find the drug-like properties in the compound screening phase predicting the Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) and ADMET properties in lead identification and optimization phases, sustainable development of chemicals in the synthesis phases up to AI's assistance in the successful conduct of clinical trials and repurposing.

Innovative human resource management strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic narrative review approach

BackgroundThe spread of COVID-19 creates disruption, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity in all organizations. People are the primary asset of any organization and help achieve their goals. Accordingly, to manage human resources sustainably, the organizational strategy review is an appropriate retort. ObjectiveThe purpose of this comprehensive review study is to identify unknown challenges, strategies, and unusual decisions related to human resource management other than clinical organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsThe study applied a narrative review approach dissection based on organizations' human resource management strategies to combat the COVID-19 impacts. In total, 797 records, until November 20, 2020, were extracted from these databases. Then, we updated our search to the first quarter of 2021, which included 484 records. After removing duplicates and reviewing articles according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 articles were used for the study. Finally, the study developed a conceptual framework of human resource management strategies based on the literature findings to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsThe COVID-19 pandemic posed numerous adverse consequences, such as economic shock, global health crisis, change in social behaviors, and challenges at the organization level to continue business operations. Besides, the strategies included flexibility, strengthening internal efficiency, talent acquisition, and making innovative changes based on organizational assessment and needs for smooth business activities. ConclusionThe appropriate human resource management strategies implementations would increase employees’ mental well-being, satisfaction, productivity, motivation, and health safety at the workplace.

Modelling Crop Insurance Based on Weather Index Using The Homotopy Analysis for American Put Option

The crop insurance in Indonesia (AUTP) is much focused on the area impacted by flood, drought, and pest attack. The complication of the procedure to claim the loss must follow several conditions. The different approaches in the insurance sector, using weather index can be taken into consideration to produce a variety of insurance products. This insurance product used the American put option with the primary asset is the rainfall and the cumulative rainfall to exercise the claim, considering the optimal execution limit. The homotopic analysis is used to determine the valuation of the American put option, which also becomes the insurance premium. The case study is focused on areas experiencing a drought so that insurance claims can be exercise when the rainfall index value is below a predetermined limit. Considering the normality of the rainfall data, the calculation of insurance premium was done for the first growing season. The insurance premium is varies based on the optimal execution limit, while the calculation of profit is based on the optimum limit exercise and the minimum rainfall for the growing season, and its different depended on insurance claim acceptance limits.

Digital Transformation of Energy Companies: A Colombian Case Study

The United Nations established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the fulfillment of the 7th, defined as “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all”, requires energy industry transitions and digital transformations, which implies that diverse stakeholders need to move fast to allow the growth of more flexible power systems. This paper contains the case report that addresses the commercial digital transformation process developed at AES Colombia, through the implementation of a modern platform based on specialized applications that use Industry 4.0 tools. The Chivor hydropower project, a 1000-MW powerplant that covers 6% of Colombia’s demand, which is owned by AES Colombia and constitutes its primary asset, is first described. Then, a description of Colombia’s complex market (energy matrix, trading and dispatch mechanisms, and future projects) is presented. Then, the methodology followed for the digital transformation process using modern tools is described. The project, conceived as a broad framework, comprises applications for the management of hydrological, operational, and market information, commercial information systems and platforms to facilitate consultation and analysis by different users. Such an innovative project in the Latin American context has been developed in order reduce risks and to contribute to a sustainable energy supply for the future.

Thematic Learning in Kindergarten Based on Al-Islam Kemuhamadiyahan and Local Wisdom

This research is motivated by the preservation and implementation of religious values and local wisdom, it is a case study with a qualitative approach, where the data collected from observation and interviews. The results showed that the Al-Islam kemuhammadiyahan and local wisdom value had been described in the lesson plan and the learning implementation. The value of the Dewata Seuwae is a form of instilling faith in children by introducing Allah creation, the holy book, and the Prophet. The values of alempureng and amaccangang are instilled so that they are always honest. Agettengeng means adherence to principles and responsibility to the ummah, nation, and state. The value of aperrukeng is a child's primary asset for cooperation and a sense of caring for the people around them. This research proves that religion and culture can coexist harmoniously, and their values can be used in thematic Learning in early childhood

Survive, Revive, Thrive: Chapter 5: Shakedown Cruise

I am very resourceful, as any woman would be. - Valentina Tereshkova, Russian cosmonaut, born 1937 (first woman in space, Vostok 6, 16 June 1963) What is a Shakedown Cruise? Learning is not compulsory ... neither is survival. - W. Edwards Deming, American engineer, 1900-1993 (His management practices revived Japan.) For those unfamiliar, a “shakedown cruise,” also known as a sea trial, is performed to test a ship’s operational systems, both mechanical and human. I became painfully aware of the term “shakedown” when I went on my first trip to the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base operated by the Boy Scouts in northern Minnesota in 1974. The guides had us (literally) dump everything out of our travel bags and then selected only the essential items we could take. Weight was at a premium, and, if I may confess, I did lie a little about my age. The minimum age was 12, and I turned 12 during the trip, but it was a brutal physical experience for us. We were left with a compass, a few utensils for eating, a sleeping bag, and one change of clothes. I actually recall drinking, eating, and cooking out of a single stainless steel cup. Bluntly, I don’t think I have ever been colder, hungrier, or more tired in my life. But, of course, the guides were correct. You only need the essentials to survive. Many of you are probably thinking, “I’ll bet I know where he is going with this …,” and you are right. As individuals and as an industry, we need to focus on the essentials. Our industry is on a shakedown cruise like no other in our history. We must jettison the nonessentials and test the machinery (i.e., our technical knowledge and capabilities) as we restart and re-engage. Most importantly, we must focus on those actions/paths that ensure our effectiveness, efficiency, and long-term survival. At SPE, we, too, are in shakedown mode, which has been painful for all and excruciating for some. We have had to redirect resources, and, perhaps most importantly, we have had to focus on the reality that our business model must undergo substantial changes. The essentials will remain, such as technical conferences, workshops, and our primary intellectual asset, technical publications. However, assistance to sections and student chapters has been reduced, as well as support for academic and public service programs. The reality is that SPE is financially sound, but, like any ship in a storm, it has to batten its hatches and, if the pandemic prevails, make further program reductions. On a positive note, SPE has been able to avoid reducing its workforce, as we have created a financial path that avoids personnel reductions. As the 2021 SPE President, I congratulate the SPE’s senior management for their efforts to achieve this outcome.

A metamorphic cryptography approach towards securing medical data using chaotic sequences and Ramanujan conjecture

Medical Images has evolved from time to time and the need to protect sensitive information related to such images have also grown significantly. Nowadays data being the primary asset of an individual, protecting them has posed new challenges from time and again. With the advancement of the digital medium, the medical image has been at greater risk and there is an urgent need to protect the information and the raw pixel data of such images. This research focuses on ensuring the confidentiality of DICOM medical images and protecting the Electronic Patient Report (EPR) by applying both cryptographic and steganographic protection techniques. The encryption keys are generated using the Logistic Chaotic Map and Non-Linear Feedback Shift Register. the electronic patient report (EPR) is converted into a 9-space-format using Continued Fraction of Ramanujan conjecture and then using steganography techniques EPR is embedded into the Most Significant Bits of Medical Images. The final encrypted image contains the EPR as well as encrypted medical image. The key sequence used in order to encrypt the medical image is highly pseudo random and the Key Space Analysis depicted that the algorithm is very strong. This work has paved a better way of securely storing 16-bit DICOM medical images and EPR into the Picture Archive and Communication System repository. The proposed security model has shown promising results in comparison to other research and the various analysis did show significant improvements over past studies.

The Pragmatic Theory of the Firm: Powerpoint Presentation

This 20-slide PowerPoint has been used in business classes to introduce the pragmatic theory of the firm. The pragmatic theory begins with the firm's purpose and treats the firm as a holistic system. The theory clarifies the purpose of the firm and treats all components as interrelated, rather than analyzing each component separately and in isolation, as has been customary. The theory then focuses on the firm's knowledge-building proficiency as the primary intangible asset for achieving the firm's purpose. The life-cycle, financial-performance framework is used to illustrate the unique practical benefits of the pragmatic theory, especially improved decision-making for management. The pragmatic theory should enable new and more fruitful research programs on the workings of the firm, while solidifying the firm as the fundamental unit of analysis for economic progress.

Mapping the Inter-relation of Abuse of Dominant Position and Merger Control Regime vis-à-vis Big Data: The Curious Case of WhatsApp Privacy Policy

The meteoric rise of the digital platforms and their increasing dominance can be easily considered the highlight of the latter half of the previous decade. Even though antitrust laws do apply to such online markets, the determination of the competitive strength of in these digital markets was often determined by the quantum of data accumulated by the entities. The article is an attempt by the authors to evaluate the feasibility of applicability of the existing competition law framework to the growing platform economies and the resultant implications of personal data being collected by such entities. For this research, the authors have outlined three specific questions. First, what is the inter-relation between the growing platform economy and merger control regime of a country? Second, what are the possible avenues of concerns that may arise due to collection of personal data? Finally, what are the possible enforcement challenges that would hamper the applicability of existing competition regimes to the digital platforms? The research is doctrinal research, and the authors have adopted a comparative-analytical research methodology for evaluating the above-mentioned research questions. The authors have considered the jurisdictions of the EU and India as the geographical scope for the research. The authors consider the following upon the conclusion of the study. First, the use and access of this data after the merger with companies with low turnover confer the acquiring enterprise a market power by which it can have an edge over its competitors in the market which will ultimately harm the competition in the market. Second, the digital market is data-driven; hence, collection of copious amounts of data places the big-tech players in a position of control, allowing them to indulge in exclusionary and exploitative conduct. Third, the assessment basis of combinations, more specifically in cases of data-based entities within the competition law, needs a serious re-assessment to include data within the scope of assessment as it is the primary asset in such cases.

What Bayesian quantiles can tell about volatility transmission between the major agricultural futures?

This paper investigates an idiosyncratic volatility spillover effect between the four agricultural futures – corn, wheat, soybean, and rise. In order to avoid biased measurements of the volatilities, we use the Markov switching generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (MS-GARCH) model. The created volatilities are imbedded in the Bayesian quantile regression framework which can produce accurate quantile estimates. We report that soybean and wheat receive relatively high levels of volatility shocks from the other markets, and that excludes soybean and wheat as primary investment assets in a portfolio. On the other hand, rice receives the lowest amount of volatility shocks from all other agricultural futures. The reason could be the policy of rice price stability that is conducted by countries in the Asia and Pacific region. This result favours rice futures, from the four commodities, as the primary asset in a portfolio. All other futures are suitable to be an auxiliary asset in a portfolio with rice, because rice receives the weakest volatility shocks spillover effect from the other three markets.

The Experiences of Youth Mental Health Peer Workers over Time: A Qualitative Study with Longitudinal Analysis

Peer work is a rapidly growing part of the mental health workforce, yet few studies explore the implementation of peer work in youth mental health. Qualitative focus groups were conducted with eight youth peer workers at the commencement of their employment, then at 3-months and 6-months after this time. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic and trajectory analysis. The three main findings included: (1) there was a trajectory from fear to hope; (2) there was an improved understanding of benefits and role definition over time; and (3) there was an evolving concept of understanding shared experiences as a primary asset. Known barriers to implementing peer work are likely to occur in youth mental health settings as well. Ensuring that adequate training, change management and tailored support strategies are important to maximise the chances of successful youth peer work programs.

Knowledge management in the software industry:how Scrum activities support a knowledge management cycle

Knowledge is the primary asset of the software industry which increases the complexity of the software development activities. Knowledge Management (KM) is an important practice that offers processes namely KM cycles and addressed to knowledge capture, creation, storage, dissemination, sharing, and use. Thereby, understanding different means to consolidate individual’s knowledge within the software industry is relevant to software development practitioners and researchers. Therefore, this article discusses how Scrum activities support KM cycle to convert the individual’s knowledge into common knowledge within software development teams. Our analysis points out that KM cycle combined with Scrum practices is a potential tool to disseminate individual knowledge across software development team members.