Professional Infrastructure Research Articles

An Investigation of the Effect of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem on Startups Success through the Mediating Effect of Self Efficacy, Entrepreneurial Attitude and Entrepreneurial Intention

Developing an effective entrepreneurial ecosystem is viewed as a regional economic development approach that focuses on developing supportive circumstances that encourage the startup’s success. This study aims to investigate the impact of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on startups’ success and the variables that could play a mediating role in the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystem and startups’ success. The research is based on face-to-face and online semi-structured interviews (the interview guide consisted of 9 open-ended questions) from second quarter of 2023 until the end of the third quarter of 2023 (the data collection phase was closed after meeting the criteria of data saturation). The participants were selected via purposeful sampling technique (20 owners or managers of startup companies including IT, customer service, food, transportation, etc. in Egypt). Thematic and content analysis is done by using NVivo software. From the analysis of the interviews, four themes are developed, and each theme consists of several codes. The first theme is the entrepreneurial ecosystem, with codes: competence development, education and training, enterprising culture and leadership, financial support, government policies and regulations, market openness, and intermediary services. The second theme is entrepreneurial characteristics, with codes: self-efficacy, entrepreneurial attitude, entrepreneurial intention, and entrepreneurial innovation. The third theme is entrepreneurial challenges, with codes: fierce competition, failure to plan and unrealistic expectations, knowledge and skills gaps, and ineffective marketing. The fourth theme is startup success, with codes: productivity, financial performance, and competitive advantage. This study found, that some elements are unimportant for startup’s ecosystem: government programs and support, commercial and professional infrastructure for entrepreneurs, and access to physical infrastructure for entrepreneurship. At the same time, the study confirmed that education and training, enterprising culture and leadership, financial support, government policies and regulations, and market openness are unimportant for startup’s ecosystem. Moreover, it is found that such elements as competence development and intermediate services should be additionally included in the ecosystem. From this study, the model that investigates the relationship between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and startup success was developed. Finally, some recommendations provided to decision-makers and current and future research.

Жобаны басқарудың жүйелік моделі

The rapid development of project management and its wide application in practice required the creation of an appropriate professional infrastructure. The analysis of project management methods is carried out. The directions of research in this area are considered. The analysis of control models from the point of view of systems theory is carried out. Analysis of operational and project management to establish common elements. The purpose of using the result when building a database model of a project management system

Comparative Analysis of the Determinants of Entrepreneurial Activities in the Middle East and Latin America

This study aims to contribute to advancing the understanding of entrepreneurial ecosystems, Latin American development, and the evolution and future perspectives of the Middle East. It used a cross-sectional research design and quantitative data with 750 observations from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, specifically the National Experts Survey and the Adult Population Survey. The results were analyzed by the Partial Least Squares Technique (PLS-SEM) by grouping countries into two balanced samples of underexplored regions: the Middle East and Latin America. The two regions, Latin America and the Middle East, have diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems; each condition impacts entrepreneurial activities in different ways. In Latin America, the most significant variable is “Physical Infrastructure”, while in the Middle East, the most significant determinants are “Commercial and Professional Infrastructure” and “Entrepreneurship Culture”. This study shows that to support entrepreneurial activities, each region requires different settings for their entrepreneurial ecosystems. It contributes to the literature on regional entrepreneurial ecosystems and to less explored regions to advance our understanding, which will drive better policies and actions.

Investigating the role of entrepreneurship in advancing renewable energy for sustainable development: Evidence from a System‐GMM panel data approach

AbstractEntrepreneurship serves as a driving force for the advancement of renewable energy. Entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of innovation, bringing new technologies and business models to the clean energy sector. This study conducts a comprehensive examination of the intricate relationship between entrepreneurship and renewable energy production in 23 developed countries throughout the period from 2000 to 2020. For this purpose, the impact of 11 sub‐index of entrepreneurship on renewable energy production has been estimated. The method is dynamic panel data with the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) technique. After estimating 11 entrepreneurship sub‐indices effects separately on renewable energy production, the impact of each is ranked. The findings showed that the impact rank of 11 sub‐indexes of entrepreneurship on renewable energy production is as follows: Commercial and professional infrastructure (CP), R&D transfer (RD), Physical and services infrastructure (PS), Governmental support and policies (GS), Taxes and bureaucracy (TB), Governmental programs (GP), Internal market openness (MO), Internal market dynamics (MD), Post‐school entrepreneurial education and training (PE), Basic school entrepreneurial education and training (BE), and Cultural and social norms (CS). The importance of Commercial and professional infrastructure (CP) as an entrepreneurship sub‐indices is 2 times more than R&D transfer (RD), so Commercial and professional infrastructure is vital for the development of entrepreneurship that affects the production of renewable energies. This study not only underscores the central role of entrepreneurship in driving the adoption of renewable energy but also provides essential insights into key policy measures to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources. It highlights the urgency of addressing environmental challenges and emphasizes the imperative for collaboration among governments, NGOs, and educational institutions to achieve these critical goals.

Palyatif Bakımda Sosyal Çalışmacı Varlığı

The employment of social workers in the health sector, who work in different institutions in terms of service areas, increased with the Health Transformation Program that started in the 2000s. There are some regulations that are accepted as a turning point in terms of the existence of social work in health institutions. The Patient Rights Regulation published in 1998 is one of them. Between 1998 and 2011, social workers were actively engaged in patient rights practices. In the process that started with the publication of the Medical Social Work Implementation Directive in 2011, the way for social workers to engage in professional interventions within the scope of medical social work has been paved. Today, there are issues regarding the units that social workers will take part in, in the published guidelines for the delivery of specific health services and in the standards determined for total quality management in health. Therefore, the need for specialization in the field of medical social work is increasing day by day. In this study, explanations about the field in the medical social work literature, the legislation on palliative care services and the standards regarding total quality management practices were examined. With this study, it is aimed to bring up the specialization and supervision needs of the social work profession, whose existence is accepted in the field of palliative care, and to emphasize the necessity of improving the professional infrastructure for the planned services. Keywords: Medical Social Work, Palliative Care, End of Life Care, Quality Standards in Health

Maximizing the potential value of the nursing workforce

This panel paper is the fifth installment in a six-part Nursing Outlook special edition based on the 2022 Emory Business Case for Nursing Summit. The 2022 summit convened national nursing, health care, and business leaders to explore possible solutions to nursing workforce crises, including the nursing shortage. Each of the summit’s four panels authored a paper in this special edition on their respective topic, and this panel paper focuses on maximizing the potential value of the nursing workforce. It addresses topics including the need to create a nursing-inclusive federal health care billing system improve nursing salaries by designing/testing nurse-informed compensation models, and strengthen nursing's national professional infrastructure.

Identifying the characteristics, constraints, and enablers to creating value in applied performance analysis

While applied performance analysts (PAs) are a well-established applied sports science practitioner group, there is no clear definition of the purpose of an analyst, their key relationships, or the expertise required to execute the role successfully. This research sought to understand how PA practitioners and educators perceive their role as applied PA practitioners. Twenty-seven applied PAs and educators with applied PA experience participated in six online focus groups, completing an online survey in advance. Reflexive thematic analysis of transcripts and survey data generated an overarching theme: embedded applied PA practitioners have a value co-creation role within performance ecosystems which is inhibited by poor professional infrastructure and a lack conceptual clarity for the role. Five sub-themes are reported; the (a) why, (b) what, and (c) how of professional practice; d) the impact of stakeholder misunderstanding on PA practitioners; and (e) issues with professional recognition, development, and renumeration opportunities. This study demonstrates applied PAs’ role as curators, translators, influencers, and educators aiming to add value to the decision-making of a wide range of stakeholders. It highlights a potential deficit in applied practice in ‘value capture’ which may be perpetuating the problems practitioners reported with stakeholder misconceptions and undervaluing of their role. It is hoped this paper will inspire those invested in applied PA practice to create a shared understanding of how they can add value within the performance ecosystem so the profession can evolve and thrive.

Environmental effects of entrepreneurship indices on ecological footprint of croplands and grazing lands in the economy

Entrepreneurial activities are considered a commitment to economic growth with the motivation of deriving ecological sustainability. The main objective of this paper is to capture the environmental effects of entrepreneurship development on the ecological footprint of croplands and grazing lands in 14 developing, emerging, and developed countries of different sizes during 2002–2018. Empirical analyses are anchored on a set of estimation procedures; 45 different models were estimated to assess the independent effects of the entrepreneurship indices. Then, the panel data estimator of Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) is applied. It was found that (1) a 1% increase in energy intensity has a positive, significant effect on the ecological footprint of the agriculture sector. This arises from a decreased efficiency in the production sector. (2) A 1% increase in governmental support and policies, governmental programs, and internal market dynamics had a positive, significant effect on croplands. Moreover, the commercial and professional infrastructure and the physical and services infrastructure also had positive, significant effects on grazing lands. Meanwhile, such positive effects are not stable in all entrepreneurship indicators, and an increase in the physical and services infrastructure and internal market dynamics had significant, negative effects on croplands and grazing lands, respectively. Therefore, improvement of most of the entrepreneurship indicators can facilitate alleviation of environmental degradation through improvement of technological conditions. However, entrepreneurial indicators contribute to an increase in the negative environmental consequences of increased energy intensity. (3) Finally, an increase in most of the entrepreneurship indicators significantly steepens the Kuznets curve. Hence, it can be concluded that an increase in entrepreneurship indicators reduces the effects of economic growth on the ecological footprint in low-income countries and increase it in high-income countries.

From Ruptures to Continuities: Czechoslovak Cultural Heritage in Non-Fiction Cinema 1948-1956

The article examines the post-war trajectory of the Czechoslovak politics of cultural heritage, its public presentation and circulation through the medium of non-fiction film. Specifically, it investigates the genres of ethnographic, geographic, and art films released after the political transformation in 1948 that brought the country under the direct influence of the Soviet Union. It describes the professional infrastructure and networks within which the fields of cultural heritage preservation and non-fiction cinema were operating and analyses their interactions in the realm of film production. Through the analysis of the film production background, audio-visual content itself, and related period visual ­culture, it finds a set of different narrative strategies used for public presentation of cultural heritage. These narratives are then placed in the context of the official cultural ideology. It exposes continuities that can be traced between the communist cultural politics introduced after the communist takeover in 1948 and the pre-WWII Czechoslovak cultural politics. The analysis shows the diversity within the film production whose primary goal was to celebrate and represent the national cultural heritage in and outside the country, and therefore understands these films as important tools of national and international cultural politics.

Reflection on the Centralization of Health Care and Its Threats

The necessity of reorganizing the provision of health care has been discussed at both the regional and central levels in recent years. This article deals with the possibility of centralization of health care provided in inpatient facilities. Assesses the need to apply different decision-making mechanisms, to delegate enormous responsibilities to individual managers, and to be influenced by external threats. The article aims to analyze the possible threats of centralization of healthcare care in general terms, taking into account the situation affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the current energy crisis. The methods of scientific work - retrospective analysis of legal documents, scientific and professional publications, synthesis of mainly foreign data on the results of centralization and decentralization of health care - were used in the work. Modified risk management was used to assess potential threats. Based on the investigation, it can be concluded that centralization of health care facilities providing standard health care would have a significant impact on a wider part of the population. At the same time, there is a significant increase in the risk of turnover of health workers. On the other hand, highly specialized centers need to be operated regionally, but with the need for sufficient professional infrastructure. Changes in centralization and decentralization need to be implemented systematically and systematically on the basis of expert studies focused on the specific needs of a particular area.

The Impacts of the Entrepreneurial Conditions on Economic Growth: Evidence from OECD Countries

This study aims to assess the impacts of entrepreneurial framework conditions on economic growth based on the level of economic development in transition-driven economies and innovation-driven economies. The data were organised into a panel (2000–2019) and obtained from the National Expert Survey (NES), the Global Monitor Entrepreneurship (GEM), and the World Bank. By applying the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation, we found that R&D transfer has a negative impact on economic growth that is innovation-driven, but positively impacts transition-driven economies. The results further highlighted that regardless of the level of development of the country, business and professional infrastructure do not positively impact economic growth. However, taxes and bureaucracy and physical and service infrastructure were shown to positively impact only innovation-driven economies, as in transition-driven economies, they were shown to have negative impacts on economic growth. The present study contributes to a better understanding of the link between economic growth and the conditions for entrepreneurship in economies with different degrees of economic growth. This study can serve as a basis for policy makers to adjust or develop new policies to accelerate economic growth.

Nurses’ perception regarding barriers of palliative care provision for people with severe mental illness: A qualitative study

It has been postulated that a palliative approach in psychiatric ward has the potential to increase the quality of care for people with severe mental illness (SMI). This study aimed to explain nurses’ perception about barriers to provision of palliative care for people with SMI. In this qualitative content analysis study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with 26 Iranian nurses. Two categories and four subcategories were formed. The categories included poor organizational and professional infrastructure, and inadequate patient/family follow-up system. The first category includes lack of specialists who provide palliative care, lack of palliative wards, and lack of teamwork. The second category contained erroneous cultural beliefs and lack of attention to the role of family. The society must deal with the cultural taboos associated with mental illness through cultural-based interventions. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the role of families in palliative care. The health system should try to build relevant palliative care units to facilitate the provision of it for people with SMI.

Professional Development of Teachers, Competencies, Educational Facilities and Infrastructure on Teacher Performance and Learning Achievement of High School Students in Makassar City

This study aims to analyze teacher professional development, competence, educational facilities, and infrastructure that affect teacher performance and high school student learning achievement. The population in this study was all teachers from five public high schools and five private high schools, with 183 teachers as samples. The analytical model used in this study is a structural equation model (SEM) using the AMOS program. The results showed that teacher professional development has no significant effect on the performance. Competence, educational facilities, infrastructure, and teacher professional development, have a positive and significant effect on teachers' performance. Competence has no significant impact on the performance of teachers. Educational facilities and infrastructure have a positive and significant effect on student learning achievement. Teacher performance has a positive and significant effect on students' learning achievement. Teacher professional development has a positive and significant effect on the learning achievements of high school students through teacher performance. Competence has a positive and significant effect on the learning achievement of high school students through teacher performance. Educational facilities and infrastructure have a positive and significant effect on the learning achievements of high school students through teacher performance.

The profession of bibliographer: Prospects in the digital era

The author examines the vectors for bibliographer profession within the professional infrastructure of digital economy. The need for interdisciplinary study of staffing in bibliography is substantiated, and the author’s approach is introduced. The predictive vectors for the bibliographer profession are discussed. The factors of bibliography professionalization are specified. The competence transformation and profession prospects due to digitalization are identified. The author applies her own methods to analyze information profession: the methods have been introduced in her preceding works. She investigates into the nature of socially transforming bibliographic activities, their limits, and interaction with other professions. Criteria of structural and functional stability of the profession, mechanisms and dynamics in the social professional structure are revealed. The author dissects and analyzes the concept of “digital bibliographer” as the new profession model. The tasks for bibliography on the stage of artificial intellect ideology integration are specified. Changing limits of the profession due to the bibliographical method universality are discussed.

Is the success of entrepreneurs dependent on the environment in a conflict zone: insights from Indian-administered Kashmir

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to empirically examine the impact of selecting entrepreneurial framework conditions on the success of entrepreneurs in a conflict zone. The study was conducted in Kashmir, which is a fitting conflict context. The study undertaken responds to the call by multiple authors to substantiate the entrepreneurship literature with empirical evidence from conflict-affected areas. The authors argue that better entrepreneurial framework conditions will enhance entrepreneurial success in conflict zones. This research work is important because it will add to our understanding of the influences of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on entrepreneurs who pursue an entrepreneurial career in conflict zones. This research will add to the existing body of knowledge, which seemingly lacks evidence from conflict zones. Furthermore, this research is important in the Kashmir context because this research will provide insights to stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, government agencies, entrepreneurship development agencies and NGOs, etc.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed 400 entrepreneurs in the manufacturing, services and retail sectors in Kashmir through a questionnaire. The self-reported responses were used for assessment of entrepreneurial framework conditions and financial and non-financial performance. The data were analysed through the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesised relationships. The results were considerable.FindingsThe authors found that most Kashmiri entrepreneurs do not find the entrepreneurial framework conditions supportive of their business. Upon testing the hypothesis, they found a significant and positive impact of entrepreneurial finance, government policies and cultural and social norms on entrepreneurial success. The common belief that ease in market dynamics would positively impact success was negated in this case. They found a significant and negative impact of market dynamics on success. Furthermore, the physical, commercial and professional infrastructure and services showed insignificant results.Research limitations/implicationsThis research provides insights about the requirements of entrepreneurial framework conditions in a conflict zone for achieving successful results. The current study acknowledges the call of researchers to carry out quantitative studies in conflict zones.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research might prove to be beneficial to the entrepreneurs, policymakers, government agencies and other stakeholders. If taken into consideration while formulating the policies in favour of entrepreneurs in a conflict zone, the findings of this research are an added resource. The current research might be valuable to the Government of Kashmir in recognising the perception of entrepreneurs towards the initiatives or the policies drafted in the past.Originality/valueAs per the knowledge of researchers, no such study has been conducted in Kashmir vis-a-vis the variables studied. The study is original in terms of analysing the impact of the environment on the success of entrepreneurs in a conflict zone in Kashmir.

Recommendation system for finding improved coworking area based on intelligent information technologies

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to make the implementation of a recommended Web service that allows one to formalize the search for a suitable coworking according to individual preferences as a decision-making task, as well as find a coworking area in an optimized setting for both the individual employee and those who carry out collective professional activities from a large number of alternatives in a shorter time.Design/methodology/approachIn the implemented system of each place category in coworking areas, a search will be carried out according to formalized parameters and with an individual approach. To find the set of the required services of the coworking zone, the target functions of maximizing the priority of the place and minimizing the cost are determined, between which the user can set the ratio. As a constraint, the general fund of financial expenses for the time to reach the zone from different locations is used. The results of problem formalization are presented in the form of a mathematical model.FindingsThe use of a problem-oriented solution can significantly reduce the laboriousness of finding a suitable workspace.Originality/valueThe development of coworking zone practices contributes to the development of a professional infrastructure of the city and minimizes the cost of equipping each enterprise with additional tools, as well as manages labor resources and tracks trends of both professional and novice workers’ needs.

Assessment of Business Infrastructure in 2018

The aim of the research is to assess development of entrepreneurship infrastructure of various countries according to opinions of experts from these countries. The elements were: knowledge and technology transfer infrastructure; commercial and professional infrastructure; production and information infrastructure; market infrastructure; institutions providing easy access to existing markets; social and cultural infrastructure. The research is based on methods of economic analysis, analogies, generalizations, classification, system, and structural approaches. Information from the Global entrepreneurship monitoring project report for 54 countries was used as input data. The estimation of the distribution of indicator values on the effectiveness of the six main infrastructure elements of business development reflecting the opinions of experts from these countries with the use of mathematic models of normal distribution. During the study we determined the average indicator values characterizing experts ' opinions on the effectiveness of each of the six key infrastructure elements of business development on a scale of ten; the intervals of their changes characteristic for the majority of countries were also considered. New knowledge about the effectiveness of infrastructure elements of business development in various countries has been obtained.

PlantifyAI: A Novel Convolutional Neural Network Based Mobile Application for Efficient Crop Disease Detection and Treatment

Crop diseases are a major threat to human food security. Around the world, more than 80% of agricultural production is generated by farmers, and over 50% of their yield is lost due to pests and pathogens, leading to mass disruption in food supply and a large number of hungry people. Identifying a disease correctly is a crucial first step for efficient treatment but remains difficult in many parts of the world due to limited access to agricultural experts and professional infrastructure. The purpose of this research was to create a free, easy-to-use, and widely accessible mobile application that efficiently and accurately, diagnoses 26 diseases of 14 crop species. Furthermore, this application provides treatment steps, common symptoms, and access to recommended curing products for each disease. The real-time crop disease diagnosis is based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) that was trained, validated, and tested on a dataset of 87,860 leaf images split into 38 classes. To design an optimal CNN, 16 different CNNs were designed and tested. MobileNetV2 using the Canny Edge Detection filter was chosen as it had the highest classification accuracy of 95.7% and an F1 score of 96.1. Multi-level testing and data analysis was conducted for this application, it has been verified to be functional in the real world through field testing at local garden centers. This application is a novel and accessible tool for crop disease management and can be deployed as a free service to farmers for ecologically sustainable production, overall increasing food security.

The Influence of Professional Human Resource and Firm Infrastructure towards Supply Chain Performance

The Influence of Professional Human Resource and Firm Infrastructure towards Supply Chain Performance

La perspectiva estudiantil sobre la reforma universitaria en cuatro instituciones públicas mexicanas

Este artículo muestra las percepciones del alumnado sobre los procesos de reforma educativa en cuatro universidades públicas: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit (UAN), Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala (UATx) y Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas (UNACH), en particular referidos al currículo escolar, las prácticas docentes, el sentido de la formación profesional, la infraestructura y servicios universitarios, así como la participación estudiantil en las reformas educativas. Todo ello a propósito de las reformas sugeridas por las políticas hacia la educación superior. Se buscó explorar lo anterior con el análisis de cinco índices, construidos a partir de información de la encuesta RUPA 2014. Los resultados encontrados ayudan a comprender cómo participan del cambio los estudiantes universitarios y el modo en que las universidades públicas lo hacen suyo; se hacen aportes en torno a las dificultades que se presentan en el cambio educativo, tanto para las instituciones como para la comunidad universitaria.