Strategic Control Research Articles

Deformation induced solute segregation and G.P. zone formation in Mg-Al and Mg-Zn binary alloys

A dispersion of Guinier Preston (G.P.) zones yields attractive mechanical properties in wrought magnesium alloys. However, the precipitation of G.P. zones has been reported in a limited number of Mg alloys. Here, we report deformation-induced G.P. zone precipitation in Mg-9Al and Mg-5 Zn (wt.%) alloys following equal channel angular extrusion at 150 °C. While the extrusion leads to the formation of a bimodal grain structure consisting of unrecrystallized and recrystallized regions, atom probe tomography reveals a high number density of G.P. zones across both regions. Furthermore, hybrid molecular dynamics/Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the attraction of Al and Zn solute atoms to vacancy clusters formed from excess vacancies during extrusion could be the major driving force for the G.P. zone formation. This combination of experiments and computations demonstrates that strategic control of atomic-scale defects can generate novel, far from equilibrium, microstructures, thereby providing an innovative approach to strengthening severely deformed Mg alloys.

Shaping strategic arms trade controls: A multivariate approach

AbstractThe objective of this study is to measure the stringency of strategic arms trade controls across countries and explain the variation herein. This regulatory framework is implemented by sovereign states to control the international transfer of military‐strategic items that potentially contain a security risk. For the purpose of this study, I apply a two‐stage approach. In the first step, I employ factor analysis on more than sixty regulatory indicators related to the rigorousness of and compliance to strategic arms trade controls in a particular country to construct two new measures. The first measure is related to the extent of implementing arms trade laws and legislation, while the second captures the enforcement and control of this kind of regulation. The individual country scores indicate that there exists substantial variation in the extent to which countries implement and enforce strategic trade regulations. Therefore, in the second step, I use the predicted factor scores as a dependent variable in a Bayesian Model Averaging analysis to test several economic and political theories and find the key drivers of the stringency of strategic arms trade regulations and control policies. The general findings of this analysis suggest that the implementation and enforcement of strategic arms trade controls are primarily determined by the trade‐off between two competing policy objectives: national security on the one hand and domestic economic interests on the other. In particular, the implementation effort of arms trade laws and legislation is mainly explained by economic factors, while the degree of enforcement and control is more associated with political factors.

Epidemiologic profile of hard ticks and molecular characterization of Rhipicephalus microplus infesting cattle in central part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Tick infestation is a major public and animal health concern causing significant financial losses, especially in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This study aimed at investigating the epidemiologic profile of ticks infesting cattle and molecular identification of R. microplus in the centrally ignored part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of 600 cattle from 20 farms were examined for the tick infestation, among them 358 (59.7%) cattle were infested with ticks. A total of 2118 nymph, larvae and adult tick stages were collected and morphologically identified followed by molecular confirmation of Rhipicephalus microplus. Host-based demographic and ecological parameter analysis revealed significantly higher tick infestation in adult, female, exotic, freely grazing, and with irregular/no acaricides treated cattle. The univariate logistic analysis showed that host age, gender, breed, acaricides use, and feeding method were significantly (P < 0.05) associated, whereas multivariate analysis revealed only host breed and feeding method were potential risk factors (P < 0.05) for tick infestation. Microscopy-based examination identified four different species of ticks including R. microplus (44.5%), Hyalomma anatolicum (38.5%), and Hyalomma marginatum (10.5%) and Hyalomma excavatum (6.5%). Tick infestation pattern showed that 55.9% of cattle was found co-infested with R. microplus and H. anatolicum followed by R. microplus and H. anatolicum and H. marginatum (29.3%) then R. microplus, H. anatolicum, H. marginatum, and H. excavatum (11.2%). Sequencing of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2-) and 16S rRNA gene fragments also confirmed the molecular identification of Rhipicephalus microplus. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS-2 revealed all sequences clustered in single clade of the R. microplus while the 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences showed that R. microplus in this study was clustered together in clade A along with other isolates from Pakistan, China, and India. The high tick infestation suggests the need for designing strategic and integrated control measures for ticks in order to ensure good health of domestic animals in this region of Pakistan.

No More Illegal Subdivided Units? A Game-Theoretical Explanation of the Failure of Building Control in Hong Kong

Safety has long been regarded as one of the most important functional requirements of buildings. However, building safety in Hong Kong has long been jeopardised by the proliferation of unauthorised building works (UBWs), which are essentially works constructed without any prior approval or consent of the government. Due to the acute problem of housing supply–demand imbalance, the numbers of illegal subdivided units (ISUs) in the city have been increasing since the early 2010s, frequently resulting in injuries and deaths amongst the residents. It is therefore a matter of urgency for the government to tackle the problem. Speculative property owners construct ISUs in their premises for economic gain so the government needs to enforce rules against the construction of ISUs. Building inspection should be carried out to uncover cases of illegal construction for subsequent enforcement actions. In this article, a game-theoretic model for the strategic control of existing buildings in Hong Kong is developed to illustrate that, when the level of punishment against ISU increases, the less frequent ISU inspections needed by the government will be, and concurrently, the chances of ISU construction by property owners will decrease. The model offers valuable insights into why Hong Kong’s building control system fails to solve the problem of ISU proliferation in the city.

Prevalence of Poultry Coccidiosis and Associated Risk Factors in Intensive Farm and Individual Small Holder Poultry Farm in Benadir Region, Somalia

A cross sectional study was conducted from September2021 to February2022 in Mogadishu, Somalia to determine the prevalence of poultry coccidiosis and associated risk factors in intensive farm and Individual smallholder poultry farm in Benadir region-Somalia. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of poultry coccidiosis, to assess the risk factors associated with poultry coccidiosis. However, floatation technique was used for isolation of coccidian oocysts obtained from 384 fecal samples of chicken and the prevalence revealed was 19.8%. There was no statistically significant difference in poultry coccidiosis between the different ages of chicken (P&gt;0.05) Where the young chickens (chicks) had shown slightly higher prevalence (20.4%) than adult chickens (18.8%). The effect of sex on the disease prevalence was assessed and relatively slightly higher prevalence was recorded in male chickens (20%) than female (19.4%). However, the difference between sex groups was not statistically significant (P&gt;0.05). According to the management system of the chickens, the study had shown a significant difference between extensive and intensive management systems, with the extensive system having a higher prevalence (25.5%) than intensive system (14%) with P-value (0.003). There was a significant difference in poultry coccidiosis between the different body condition score of chickens (P&lt;0.05), where those poor body condition (26.6%) are more prevalence than middle (16%) and good (8.8%) chickens. The study also revealed a statistically significant association between infection rate and housing methods with the chickens kept in floor house had a higher prevalence (25.5%) than cage house (14%) with P-value (0.003) However, appropriate control strategies should be designed considering important risk factors such as age, management system and housing system. Especially, focus should be given to biosecurity practices in the prevention and control of coccidiosis, and in addition, further studies are needed to be conducted to identify the prevalent Eimeria species for strategic control.

Chemotherapeutic Strategies with Valnemulin, Tilmicosin, and Tulathromycin to Control Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Infection in Pigs.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the primary agent of Swine Enzootic Pneumonia (SEP). Vaccines reduce the clinical manifestation of the disease but do not prevent infection. The present study aimed to evaluate the use of antimicrobial drugs to minimize the impact of M. hyopneumoniae. For this, 32 pregnant female pigs and their litters were selected and then followed from birth to slaughter. The study involved three experimental groups that received metaphylactic treatment with different protocols involving tilmicosin, valnemulin, tulathromycin, and a control group to compare the effect of treatments against M. hyopneumoniae infection throughout the phases. Performance data were recorded, and the piglets were evaluated for the occurrence of cough. Nasal swab and blood collection was conducted periodically to detect M. hyopneumoniae shedding and anti-M. hyopneumoniae IgG, respectively. At slaughter, the lungs of animals from all groups were evaluated, and samples were collected for histopathological examination and qPCR for M. hyopneumoniae detection. All protocols promoted a reduction in consolidation lung lesions when compared to the control group. Individuals treated with valnemulin showed increased performance results, lower mortality, and low bacterial load in the lung. The results are promising and may indicate an alternative in the strategic control of M. hyopneumoniae infection in pigs.

Governance for Major and Mega-events: A Framework Proposition

Governance for major and mega-events is an effective strategic direction, control, and evaluation system to achieve stakeholders' goals and outcomes. Therefore, this system is shaped by governance context, content, system, and processes. The framework for the analysis of major and mega-events was built based on an adaptive methodological process comprising four cycles: bibliographic and documentary survey for the initial framework construction; framework validation in two cases (Rock in Rio Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro (private event) and Natal Luz (public event); panel with academia, market, and government experts; and direct nonparticipant and participant observations in loco. The framework was built by taking into consideration context (organizational and interorganizational), governance content (strategic direction and alignment), and governance system (systemic composition) of the event. It presents dimensions, categories, features, and analysis criteria that can be subtracted or increased upon replication.

An Assessment of Funding Management Strategies in ‘’No Fee’’ Schools in Cape Town: With Specific Reference to Selected Primary Schools.

Purpose: South Africa has a growing literature on no-fees public schools’ policy. The vision of this policy is to ensure that all citizens have equal access to quality basic education. This study, assessed the funding-management strategies in three no-fees public primary schools within the Western Cape Education Department. The specific objective of this study was to identify and discuss the funding-management strategies of schools in resources scarce communities and its impact in providing quality education.&#x0D; Methodology: The study used a qualitative research model. Data were collected through semi-structured guided questions. A total of nine participants were chosen using purposeful sampling, which is selecting participants based on their experiences and knowledge. Participants comprised three school principals’, three chairpersons of the school governing body, and three school finance heads. Data were recorded using telephonic conversation due to the covid-19 pandemic. The conversations were recorded and later transcribed word by word, as a result, the data were analyzed by the researcher using a thematic data analysis approach. To instill trust in the research findings, the researcher combined individual interviews with information from the participants and an analysis of written documents. As such, the data from interviews and the case study were verified to see if they pointed in the same direction. Also, the researcher gave all the participants a chance to verify whether or not the facts were what they gave to the researcher as data.&#x0D; Results: The study showed that schools involved in financial management realize that it is wise to manage their budgets more carefully than in the past, especially since budgets have always been tighter over the years. Thus, the topics of financial management, financial planning, reporting, recordkeeping, and control all present themselves in the same way. Funding strategies have improved transparency, accountability and collective accountability. However, there are still shortcomings in school fund management such as lack of clear strategic planning, irregular reporting and control measures. The study concluded that tuition waivers and funding management strategies in under-resourced communities affect the performance of elementary schools.&#x0D; Recommendations: Aligning funding strategies with policy goals is essential to ensuring that financial resources are used effectively to guide school reform and development. School-level learning objectives need to be clearly defined and prioritized, especially in school with resource planning responsibilities.

Impact of strategic control and supply chain management on recycled plastic additive manufacturing

Climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions is the most important issue in the world, threatening our lives. Studies reveal that most emissions are caused by transportation (29%), manufacturing (23%), and irregular population distribution across the world. This study suggests the localization of recycling and manufacturing plastic parts and components by additive manufacturing. Localization will decrease transportation, resulting in reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions. However, the method may not be sufficient because local additive manufacturing means less reliance on supply chains and higher dependence on the workforce in rural areas. Factors such as the workforce in rural areas, multientity authorities, and policy are important to the realization of sustainable manufacturing. In this study, a novel strategic control model is proposed to focus on human-centric approaches. The strategic control model proposes methods to connect strategic planning with demography and the workforce and to apply control metrics to relocate overcrowded populations to rural areas. The strategic control model realizes localization through workforce allocation and home-based manufacturing. It streamlines the integration between recycling, manufacturing, and distribution. As a result, decreased reliance on the supply chain reduces transportation, energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and cost. It also creates job opportunities and mitigates societal issues.

Does depth of processing affect temporal contiguity?

Memory tends to be better when items are processed for their meaning (deep processing) rather than their perceptual features (shallow processing). This levels of processing (LOP) effect is well-replicated and has been applied in many settings, but the mechanisms involved are still not well understood. The temporal contiguity effect (TCE), the finding that recalling one event often triggers recall of another event experienced nearby in time, also predicts memory performance. This effect has given rise to several competing theories with specific contiguity-generating mechanisms related to how items are processed. Therefore, studying how LOP and the TCE interact may shed light on the mechanisms underlying both effects. However, it is unknown how LOP and the TCE interact—various theories make differing predictions. In this preregistered study, we tested predictions of three theoretical explanations: accounts which assume temporal information is automatically encoded, accounts based on a trade-off between item and order information, and accounts which emphasize the importance of strategic control processes. Participants completed an immediate free recall task where they either engaged in deep processing, shallow processing, or no additional task while studying each word. Recall and the TCE were highest for no-task lists and greater for deep than shallow processing. Our results support theories which assume temporal associations are automatically encoded and those which emphasize strategic control processes. Both perspectives should be considered in theory development. These findings also suggest temporal information may contribute to better recall under deeper processing with implications for determining which situations benefit from deep processing.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13423-022-02112-1.

The effect of human capital on energy consumption: Evidence from an extended version of STIRPAT framework

Human capital is an important aspect of energy consumption, exerting crucial effects on economic growth, technological progress, and economic restructuring. This paper presents an in-depth investigation of the effect of human capital on energy consumption using an extended version of the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology framework. The estimated results using a panel dataset covering China’s 30 provincial regions during the period 1997–2018 and applying fixed effects with instrumental variables and the generalized method of moments indicated that an increase in human capital significantly drove energy consumption. A 1% increase in human capital increased energy consumption by approximately 0.3%. A two-step channel analysis to test scale, technical, and structural effects revealed that the positive effect of human capital on energy consumption is based primarily on the scale effect. However, highly educated human capital alleviates the energy pressure of this effect. In contrast to the scale effect, both the technical and structural effects of human capital reduced energy consumption, and this reduction is primarily correlated with enterprises’ utility-oriented technological progress. Finally, we present strategic energy control policy implications related to human capital.

Influence of Strategic Leadership on Competitiveness of Logistics Firms in Kenya

The main objective of the study was, therefore, to determine the influence of Strategic leadership on competitiveness of firms in Kenya’s Logistics Sector. The general objective of this study was therefore to determine the influence strategic leadership including strategic direction, strategic control, capacity building and organizational dynamics had on competitiveness of logistics firms in Nairobi Kenya. The study was based on leadership theories, resource-based view, capacity building theory. The study embraced both qualitative and quantitative method. Primary data was obtained using questionnaires from sample of 30 employees from each of the targeted 65 logistics firms in Kenya. Secondary data was also used. Reliability was calculated with assistance of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Quantitative data was analyzed as per study objectives using SPSS. Results indicated that Strategic leadership significantly influenced Competitiveness of firms in the Kenya’s logistics sector. On overall profitability majority of firms had an increase in profitability of between 15-20 million at 49.1.1% in the year 2020, between 15-20 million at 48.6% in the year 2019 and between Kshs 5-10 million at 39.5% in the year 2018. The year 2020 however had less increase from the previous year because of the Global pandemic Covid-19. Therefore, the study recommended that Firms in logistics sector should have very specific and quantifiable goals clear to everyone in the organization, Internal controls ensure errors and mistakes are removed and the standard operating procedures are observed is important. Keywords: Strategic leadership, Competitiveness, Strategic control, Strategic direction, Capacity building, Organization dynamics

Seroprevalence of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in sows fifteen years after implementation of a control programme for enzootic pneumonia in Switzerland

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the etiological agent of enzootic pneumonia (EP), an economically important chronic respiratory disease in pigs. M. hyopneumoniae impacts the mucociliary clearance system by disrupting the cilia and modulates the immune response, resulting in intermittent dry non-productive cough. For progressive control of EP in Switzerland, a corresponding programme was fully implemented in 2004. It is based on total depopulation strategies of affected fattening farms as well as partial depopulation in breeding farms. Surveillance of EP status in Switzerland is mainly based on real-time PCR of nasal swabs from coughing animals or suspicious lungs and thereby sporadic cases are still observed every year. In order to obtain information on the seroprevalence, serum samples of 5021 sows from 968 farms collected in 2018 at eight different slaughterhouses were analyzed for the presence of M. hyopneumoniae-specific antibodies using a commercial ELISA kit. The overall seroprevalence was low with 0.98% of sows testing positive and these seropositive animals could be allocated to 3.92% of farms tested. Most seropositive farms presented weakly positive singleton reactors and only one farm showed several strongly seropositive animals. In conclusion, the serological status mirrors the successful progressive control of M. hyopneumoniae in the Swiss domestic pig population over the years. The current study underlines the added value of serological testing in the surveillance of EP in a country with low prevalence and confirms the sustained benefit of strategic control programmes.

Prevalence and Identification of Mange Mites on Cattle in and Around Nekemte Town, East Wollega Zone, Oromia Regional State, Western Ethiopia.

PurposeMange mite is one of the skin diseases of cattle that can cause huge economic loss through a decrease in production.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with the objective of determining the prevalence and identification of species of mange mites that affect cattle in and around Nekemte town. The study methods involved were clinical and laboratory examinations of skin scraping samples from the animals.ResultsFrom 384 examined animals, 86 (22.40%) were found to be infected with mange mites. The most commonly encountered mange mite genus was Sarcoptes (15.10%), Demodex (5.47%) and Psoroptes (1.82%). The higher prevalence was observed in young animals, 49 (22.69%), compared to adult animals, 37 (22.02), but statistically insignificant variations were observed. Also a non-significant variation was found between sexes (P ≤ 0.067), even though it was higher in female, 72 (23.00%) than male, 14 (19.72%), but a statistically significant variation was observed among body condition score (P ≤ 0.024), with the highest prevalence being in poor body condition score, 31 (57.41%). A statistically significant variation was detected among the body part infestation (P ≤ 0.024). The most frequent sites of mange mite infestation were the shoulder, neck, face, ears, tail and legs, respectively.ConclusionThe study indicated that there was high prevalence of mange mite infestation in cattle in the study area that needs appropriate and strategic control measures by employing additional research for species identification and improving the standards of animal husbandry.

Effect of Strategic Management Practices on Organizational Excellence

Strategic management is one of the prominent topics widely adopted for research purposes all over the academic society. It was argued that strategic management could encourage the organization to be more goal-oriented. At the same time, other opinions stated that being strategic in the approach means the organization strategically runs and manages its sources, abilities, and the human factor in achieving better performance. Also, many scholars agreed with that idea, arguing that strategic thinking means being more empowered to utilize the right item in the right place to achieve performance excellence. From that idea, the present research sought to investigate the impact of strategic management methods on bringing the company to peak performance. The SM practices used in the present investigation were (Strategic Planning, Strategy Formulation, Strategy Implementation, and Strategic Control). The study's goal was achieved via a quantitative technique; for this purpose, an online questionnaire was posted to Google Forms, and 268 persons from senior management inside Jordanian SMEs answered it. The study's findings revealed that strategic management practices positively affect organizational efforts to achieve excellence. Strategic control is the most significant variable with a correlation of r = 0.806, followed by strategy execution with a correlation of r = 0.584. Other factors (formulation and planning) had a weak to medium link but looked important in bringing the organization to excellence. Based on these findings, the research suggested establishing coherence between the organization's objectives and the strategic plans established to have a successful operational strategy. The report also included further suggestions.

Optimisation methods for dispatch and control of energy storage with renewable integration

Renewable energy integration is an effective measure to resolve environmental problems and implement sustainable development, yet the volatility of wind and solar generation has a profound impact on power system operation, calling for sufficient backup capacity. Energy storage can shift demand over time and mitigate real-time power mismatch and thus help integrate renewable energy resources into power grids. However, the unit capacity price of energy storage is still relatively high, and the capacity of energy storage is usually limited. Given the prominent uncertainty and finite capacity of energy storage, it is crucially important to take full advantage of energy storage units by strategic dispatch and control. From the mathematical point of view, energy storage dispatch and control give rise to a sequential decision-making process involving uncertain parameters and inter-temporal constraints. Multitudinous optimisation methods have been developed for such a problem while they differ in two aspects: the modelling of uncertainty and the mechanism to handle uncertainty. This review aims to draw a methodological picture of historical developments and state-of-the-art advances in this research field. These methods are subsumed into three major categories: multistage optimisation, online optimisation, and multi-timescale optimisation. In addition to introducing the advancements and applications, the authors also explain the motivations and theoretical foundations of these methodologies. The authors hope interested readers can attain a holistic outlook of these sophisticated approaches and choose the most appropriate one for their specific applications.

Technique Selection of Corporation by considering the Environmental Restraints

Abstract: Demands of Individuals and the government for corporation environmental conservation are so stern. Corporation encounters a danger of environmental conservation. Environmental restraints contain important elements that should be regarded in corporation strategic control planning. This study explains the connection between environmental rule and corporation competitiveness and presents the elements that impact corporation environmental technique selection. It investigates the impact on the corporation. The competitiveness that corporation assumes various environmental control techniques and suggests various corporation strategic selection countermeasures by environmental restraints.

Operational Adaptation and Innovation During COVID-19: Lessons Learned from Consulting and a Road Map for the Future

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed professional service firm (PSF) operations, most visible perhaps in the transition to a work from home economy. This study is a deep dive into management consulting (a common type of PSF) and describes the impact of the pandemic on short- and long-term operations. It uses a mixed-method approach to data collection (primary/secondary and quantitative/qualitative) to explain the operational adaptations that consulting firms made in response to the pandemic and the service innovations that resulted. During the pandemic, disruptions to client mix, customer experience, customer acquisition, and employee lifestyle triggered new organizational challenges in strategic planning, marketing, employee relations, and cost control. Firms responded by modifying operational characteristics (e.g., customer engagement, customization, knowledge intensity, and capital intensity). Successful operational adaptations led to service innovation (most commonly in product, strategy, delivery, and marketing). The study finishes with an exploration of how the lessons learned in management consulting may provide a road map for other PSFs and more generalized services in a post-pandemic world.

Methodological aspects of the formation and evaluation of indicators financial and strategic control of enterprises in the rocket and space industry

Methodological aspects of the formation and evaluation of indicators financial and strategic control of enterprises in the rocket and space industry

Hypertension and Diabetes in Akatsi South District, Ghana: Modeling and Forecasting.

Background The rising incidence of hypertension and diabetes calls for a global response. Hypertension and diabetes will rise in Ghana as the population ages, urbanization increases, and people lead unhealthy lives. Our goal was to create a time series algorithm that effectively predicts future increases to help preventative medicine and health care intervention strategies by preparing health care practitioners to control health problems. Methods Data on hypertension and diabetes from January 2016 to December 2020 were obtained from three health facilities. To detect patterns and predict data from a particular time series, three forecasting algorithms (SARIMAX (seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous components), ARIMA (autoregressive integrated moving average), and LSTM (long short-term memory networks)) were implemented. We assessed the model's ability to perform by calculating the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Results The RMSE, MSE, MAE, and MAPE for ARIMA (5, 2, 4), SARIMAX (1, 1, 1) × (1, 1, 1, 7), and LSTM was 28, 769.02, 22, and 7%, 67, 4473, 56, and 14%, and 36, 1307, 27, and 8.6%, respectively. We chose ARIMA (5, 2, 4) as a more suitable model due to its lower error metrics when compared to the others. Conclusion All models had promising predictability and predicted a rise in the number of cases in the future, and this was essential for administrative and management planning. For appropriate and efficient strategic planning and control, the prognosis was useful enough than would have been possible without it.