Productivity

Theory at both the micro and macro level predicts that investments in superior human capital generate better firm-level performance. However, human capital takes time and money to develop or acquire, which potentially offsets its positive benefits. Indeed, extant tests appear equivocal regarding its impact. To clarify what is known, we meta-analyzed effects drawn from 66 studies of the human capital-firm performance relationship and investigated 3 moderators suggested by resource-based theory. We found that human capital relates strongly to performance, especially when the human capital in question is not readily tradable in labor markets and when researchers use operational performance measures that are not subject to profit appropriation. Our results suggest that managers should invest in programs that increase and retain firm-specific human capital.

Firms’ ability to compete in the global market crucially depends on their ability to innovate and to introduce new products or processes into the market. This typically requires more complex and structured business organization and ultimately the ability to grow. We use a representative panel of Italian manufacturing firms to investigate whether their pattern of growth entails such an ability. Although the estimates suggest that small firms grow faster than larger ones, we do not observe a significant change in the average size of companies at the end of the period under investigation. The greater propensity to grow shown by smaller firms is confined to the size class in which they are established. However, export intensity plays a significant role in affecting the size growth rate together with industry characteristics related to technological levels.

Since New Labour came to power in the UK in 1997, there has been a drive to improve the effectiveness of public services through the use of private sector principles. From, the Modernising Government White Paper to the development of the Public Services Productivity Panel who, produced a raft of White Papers tackling health, social services, welfare and criminal justice. This paper, through the analysis of two studies, will reflect on some of the general literature on public sector performance management and the findings and recommendations of the Public Services Productivity Panel in order to attempt to answer whether performance management in the public sector is currently fact or fiction? In other words the paper will aim to develop and answer, to a certain extent, if it really possible to raise productivity and performance within public sector organisations through developing performance management systems based on private sector experience.

Robotic technologies are being employed increasingly in the treatment of lower limb disabilities. Individuals suffering from stroke and other neurological disorders often experience inadequate dorsiflexion during swing phase of the gait cycle due to dorsiflexor muscle weakness. This type of pathological gait, mostly known as drop-foot gait, has two major complications, foot-slap during loading response and toe-drag during swing. Ankle foot orthotic (AFO) devices are mostly prescribed to resolve these complications. Existing AFOs are designed with or without articulated joint with various motion control elements like springs, dampers, four-bar mechanism, series elastic actuator, and so forth. This paper examines various AFO designs for drop-foot, discusses the mechanism, and identifies limitations and remaining design challenges. Along with two commercially available AFOs some designs possess promising prospective to be used as daily-wear device. However, the design and mechanism of ...

Developing economies may face a trade-off between specializing according to existing comparative advantage (in low-technology goods), and entering sectors in which they currently lack a comparative advantage, but may acquire such an advantage in the future as a result of the potential for productivity growth (in high-technology goods). Comparative advantage is endogenously determined by past technological change, while simultaneously shaping current rates of innovation. Hence, specialization according to current comparative advantage under free trade may be welfare reducing. Selective intervention may be welfare improving, both for the economy undertaking it, and for its trade partner.

Rapid population growth ceased in Canada when the baby boom ended, and gave way to the baby bust; rapid labour force growth lasted for another two decades. As the century closes growth has become much more dependent on immigration. This paper reviews the consequences of the boom-bust sequence for the age distribution of the population and labour force since the 1950s, and provides measures of labour productivity growth over that period. It considers also the implications of three alternative projections extending to 2036, and calculates for each the productivity growth that would be required to attain specified rates of increase in total and per capita gross domestic product. It concludes that to sustain even modest gains in GDP per capita will soon require gains in productivity greater than have been observed in the last two decades.

In 1998, and in the context of the European Directives, a reform of the Portuguese rail sector was implemented, through the vertical separation of the two basic rail activities, and an access charging system with economic regulation was introduced. This study sought to understand the Portuguese reform and its outcomes, particularly, at the level of the infrastructure manager's productivity, where losses were detected. Although access charges are being defined under a price-cap regulation regime since 2005, no progress was found in the cost recovery by the infrastructure manager. The paper concludes with suggestions to improve the current regulatory model.

امروزه حجم انبوهی از سازمان¬ها با ابعاد کوچک و متوسط در صنعت تولید قطعات شرکت نفت فعالیت داشته و تأثیر قابل توجهی در رشد اقتصاد و اشتغال¬زایی در عرصه ملی دارند. با توجه به محیط پر رقابت ناشی از تعدد این شرکت¬ها و عدم پیچیدگی فرآیند تولید این قطعات در سطح انبوه، این سازمان¬ها جهت ادامه حیات خود در محیط پر¬رقابت صنعت مذکور، نیازمند به کسب شرایط مطلوب و افزایش بهره¬وری تولید خویش می¬باشند، چرا که وجود رقبای متعدد، تولید¬محور بودن این سازمان¬ها و مشکلات فراوان فراروی تولید، آن¬ها را بسیار صدمه¬پذیر می¬سازد. جهت مقابله با این موانع، ارائه مدلی کاربردی لازم به نظر می¬رسد. در این مقاله تلاش شده تا مؤثر¬ترین شاخص¬های تاثیر¬گذار بر بهره¬وری صنایع تولیدی کوچک و متوسط، در صنایع تولید قطعات مورد نیاز شرکت نفت شناسایی شده و با استفاده از رویکرد ساختاری تفسیری نسبت اهمیت هر یک در مقایسه با یکدیگر مشخص گردد و در نهایت مدلی جهت پایش مستمر بهره¬وری آنها ارائه گردد. برای تشخیص شاخص¬های مؤثر بر بهره¬وری تولید قطعات مورد نیاز صنعت نفت و ارائه مدلی کاربردی جهت رسیدن به سطح مطلوبی از آن، چهار سازمان تولیدی کوچک و متوسط، با نیروی شاغل کمتر از 150 نفر مورد مطالعه قرار گرفته و در نتیجه با استفاده از مطالعات مرتبط با بهره¬وری آن شرکت¬ها و استفاده از نظرات خبرگان شاغل در آن، شانزده شاخص جهت افزایش بهره¬وری تولید در پنج بعد شناسایی و بررسی گردید. روابط بین این شاخص¬ها مبتنی بر مدل ساختاری تفسیری تعیین گردیده و مدلی نو، به شکل منظومه¬ای، تدوین و ارائه شده است. نتیجه مقاله دلالت بر اهمیت قابل توجه اخذ گواهینامه¬ها و استاندارد¬های مرتبط با صنعت معرفی شده و پایش دوره¬ای آنها دارد و در مرتبه دوم اهمیت می¬توان به آموزش پرسنل کلیدی آنها و نیز بهبود سیستم تهیه مواد اولیه مورد استفاده جهت تولید اشاره نمود.

This paper analyzes productivity growth trends in emerging-market economies vis-à-vis advanced economies, both in the recent global productivity slowdown and from a long-term perspective. While income has converged in most countries in the last three decades, total factor productivity has diverged. Periods of high productivity growth coincide with episodes of output accelerations, while during normal times productivity growth is modest. Most recently, the correlation between productivity growth in emerging markets and advanced economies has increased. This paper analyzes potential factors explaining this increase, which presumably is due to the slowdown in trade and microeconomic factors that underlie technology diffusion. It concludes with a discussion of long-term challenges and opportunities facing emerging-market economies in a low productivity environment.

An improvement methodology is proposed for the design process in construction projects. Based on concepts and principles of lean production, the methodology considers the design process as a set of three different models-conversion, flow, and value. Four stages are necessary to produce improvements and changes-͑1͒ diagnosis/evaluation; ͑2͒ changes implementation; ͑3͒ control; and ͑4͒ standardization. The methodology suggests the application of seven tools in accordance to specific needs ͑detected and desired͒ on five potential areas of improvement-client, administration, project, resources, and information. Results of an application included an increase of 31% in the share of value adding activities, 44% reduction of unit errors in the products, up to 58% decrease of waiting times in the process, and an expansion of the utilization in the cycle times. In this manner, not only did the efficiency and effectiveness of internal engineering products improve, but also the whole project, by improving one of the main suppliers of construction.

Telecommunication and more specially mobile phones have the potential to provide solution to the existing information asymmetry in various lagging sectors like Agriculture. India’s agricultural sector suffers from low growth rates and low productivity. Issues in access to information is a week point at every stage of the agrisupply chain. For small farmers base economy like India, access to information can possible enable better incomes and productivity to the farmers. This paper through focus group discussions and in-depth interview with farmers in villages of India, has tried to find answers to the use and impact of mobile and mobile enabled services on agricultural productivity. The answers to these questions are of relevance to develop better policy environment conducive for the small and medium farmers and has implications for mobile operators, for information service providers, and for policy-makers. The results show that although, mobiles can act as catalyst to improving prod...

This paper describes the performance of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in 10 Latin American countries under the New Economic Model (NEM). Based on an original databank, the authors analyze SME performance in relation to production, ...

There is a long-standing debate in labour economics on the impact of workers' intrinsic motivations on equilibrium wages. One direction in economic theory suggests that intrinsically motivated workers are willing to accept lower wages and ''donate'' work, for example, in terms of unpaid overtime (the donative-labour hypothesis). In the other direction, intrinsic motivations are expected to increase worker productivity and, in turn, wages (the intrinsic motivation-productivity hypothesis). Using a new database of a sample of workers in the cooperative non-profit sector, we find that, consistently with the motivation-productivity hypothesis, more motivated workers earn significantly higher wages, which signals higher productivity. Evidence supporting the donativelabour hypothesis is weaker, even though a generally positive connection between motivations and work-donation is confirmed. We interpret these findings by arguing that the impact of the donative-labour effect is dominated by the intrinsic motivation-productivity effect.

[Excerpt] Using data from a large cross section of British establishments, we ask how different firm characteristics are associated with the predicted benefits to organizational performance from using team production. To compute the predicted benefits from using team production, we estimate structural models for financial performance, labor productivity, and product quality, treating the firm's choices of whether or not to use teams and whether or not to grant teams autonomy as endogenous. One of the main results is that many firm characteristics are associated with larger predicted benefits from teams to labor productivity and product quality but smaller predicted benefits to financial performance. For example, this is true for union recognition as measured by the number of recognized unions in an establishment. Similarly, when a particular firm characteristic is associated with lower benefits from teams to labor productivity or product quality, the same characteristic is frequently associated with higher predicted benefits to financial performance. This is true for the degree of financial participation and employee ownership and also for establishment size and a number of industries. These results highlight the advantages of analyzing broader measures of organizational performance that are more inclusive of the wide spectrum of benefits and costs associated with teams than the labor productivity measures frequently studied in the teams literature.

This paper uses a new set of industry data for the US and the UK non-agricultural market economy, to provide new evidence on the impact of ICT on TFP. We compare the results from standard panel data techniques with newly developed dynamic panel data estimation methods. The traditional industry panel data analysis fails to find a significant impact of ICT on output/TFP growth. This paper argues that this is due to heterogeneity across industries, particularly in the time dimension. An alternative technique which allows the dynamic specification to vary across industries yields a positive and significant long-run impact of ICT on TFP.

This study describes the optimality in resource utilization of the manufacturing firms in the south-west region of Bangladesh. A translog production function has been estimated to describe the input-output relationship. The large scale firms have the opportunity to substitute capital for labour for producing the same level of output. On the other hand, scarcity in capital leads to lower productivity of labour in medium and small firms. Therefore, an increase in capital may lead to an increase in labour productivity as well as output for these small and medium firms. The productive labour force may ensure proper utilization of the capital resources as well as the long run growth.

IDS is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (No. 877338). The IDS programme on Strengthening Evidence-based Policy works across seven key themes. Each theme works with partner institutions to co-construct policy-relevant knowledge and engage in policy-influencing processes. This material has been developed under the Digital and Technology theme. The material has been funded by UK aid from the UK Government, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government's official policies. AG Level 2 Output ID: 712 Contents Abbreviations 1 Introduction 2 Economic growth 2.1 Correlations between communication technologies and economic growth 2.1.1 Causality and heterogeneity 2.2 Mechanisms 2.3 Leapfrogging 2.4 Impacts of ICT on poverty 3 Productivity 3.1 Productivity gains from the Digital Revolution 3.2 Measurement issues and consumer surplus 3.3 Evidence of productivity gains 3.3.1 ICT investment and productivity 3.3.2 ICT adoption and productivity 3.3.3 Heterogeneity in productivity gains for firms 3.4 Spillover effects 3.5 Productivity gains of micro-entrepreneurs 3.5.1 Studies focusing on micro-entrepreneurs 3.5.2 Information asymmetries 3.6 Complements needed to increase productivity 4 Employment 4.1 Current and future trends of employment and technological change 4.2 Employment on the internet 4.2.1 Online outsourcing 4.2.2 Impact outsourcing 5 Inequality 5.1 Inequality between users of digital technology 5.2 Inequality exacerbated by digital technology in developed countries 5.3 Inequality exacerbated by digital technology in developing countries 5.4 When does job polarisation occur? 6 Conclusion References Boxes Box 3.1 Consumer surplus at the base of the pyramid Box 3.2 Innovation at the bottom of the pyramid Box 4.1 Assessing 'digital job' impact outsourcing using value chain, middleincome trap, and economic complexity literature 2 Economic growth 2.1 Correlations between communication technologies and economic growth Rather than being a set thing, digital is an adjective 'describing an increasing information intensity and connectedness of physical resources' (Accenture 2013). Due to its ubiquity and diversity, it is impossible to capture the impact of digital technology as a whole on economic growth. Instead, the term 'digital technology' is typically used interchangeably with 'ICT Investment' and different sets of ICTs such as computers, the internet or mobile phones. Thus, studies are typically limited to the impacts of one or a few instruments of digital technology rather than digital technology as a whole. ICTs are often touted as engines of growth. This chapter reviews the evidence behind such claims. Early aggregate studies of the impact of the internet on economic growth such as Koutroumpis (2009) and Czernich et al. (2009) focused mainly on the European Union/United States, and OECD countries. These studies found that a 10 per cent increase in internet penetration correlates with a 0.9-1.5 and a 0.3-0.9 percentage point (pp) in gross domestic product (GDP) growth respectively. Other than Garcia Zaballos and Lopez-Rivas (2012), who found that broadband correlates with a 3.2 per cent increase in GDP in 26 Latin American countries, much less work has been done with sets of developing countries (Minges 2015). However, there are some studies that look at the impact of the internet and other ICTs at a global level while classifying countries into different economic development levels. Study Country Years Correlation with GDP growth for every 10% increase in internet penetration

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) offers an interesting alternative to the use of management tools, in especial yours TOC cycle. Although it is an interesting alternative, only a small number of publications focus on the TOC cycle. This article aims to describe the TOC cycle and to present its application in the furniture industry, aiming to show a simplified method of your application. The approach is exploratory and descriptive, with a bibliometric analysis and case study. After finding a restricted number of publications, some of the articles were analyzed and it was possible to propose and demonstrate a simplified method for the application of the TOC. From the application of the five steps of TOC cycle, it was possible to identify and eliminate the bottlenecks. The results obtained were positive, because in less than a year the productive process presented productivity gains and a change in the organizational culture.

The effects of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) is one of the economic mysteries of the current literature. However, at sectoral-level, it has still failed to provide any obvious empirical evidence regarding any direct link between patents and productivity. The chief contribution of this research paper is to provide empirical evidence on how chemistry patents relate to productivity growth in the case of a low-tech intensive industry (Food, Beverage and Tobacco). In order to support both the theoretical and empirical findings of the literature a dynamic regression model is tested and found a valid representation of the negative relationship between food chemistry patents granted and productivity growth in the long run. Subsequently, some conclusions and policy implications are suggested in order to support the enhanced productivity growth performance of these food industries, highlighting the importance of changes in current property protection systems

This article was downloaded by: [Ingenta Content Distribution - Routledge]On: 6 June 2011Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 791963552]Publisher Psychology PressInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

A review of the literature on employer-based training (EBT) and case studies of 17 exemplary EBT programs (9 of which were Job Training Partnership Act [JTPA] programs) were used to determine best practices in EBT and make recommendations for effective strategies for implementing EBT programs. Some of these strategies included the following: (1) JTPA programs should be visible to the community; (2) market JTPA training by stressing its benefits, including its effects on the bottom line for companies; (3) provide JTPA training for a consortium of businesses rather than a single business; (4) ask for commitments from companies for JTPA programs; (5) don't overburden companies with paperwork requirements; (6) companies should first plan their EBT programs based on company goals; (7) employee input is essential to a successful program; (8) linkages with outside organizations can provide access to training resources; (9) companies can maximize their EBT programs by making sure employees apply their training knowledge soon after training; (10) companies should consider the pros and cons of providing training in-house or at another locale; (10) stretch the-training budget by shifting some costs to employees; and (11) evaluate the training program and make adjustments as needed. (Contains 45 references.) (KC)

This paper uses a traditional compiler architecture to discuss how a transformation component can be integrated in CASE tools. The architecture outlines some general requirements to the transjbrmatwn component as well as to the source and the target language. To illustrate this approach, the PPP environment is presented. Within this environment several transformations from PPP models to programs have been implemented. A specifrc t,ransformationfrom PPP models to TEQUELIC is discussed with reference to the compiler architecture.

The a.borigi?zaf d~t~b~Lt~~~ of ~a~~~~~a~ irk North Alnerka is found not to be positively related to the richrkess of the n&ml ~~~r~~r~l~, cantmy to thr: ~edicti~~ of the ~~~u~th~s~ark model, the dominant one irk Anthr~lo~y. Great aln4ndurtce of some reso?&rces can encourage nomadism or rake thtz productivity of women, two detuminarkts qf the cost qfc/kildr??n, which I find are associated with lower abotiginal population density umong a sample of tribes of Norttk American Indians. POPULATION EQUILIBRIUM IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES 749 POPUIATION EQUILIBRIUM IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES 767 8. See the earlier quotation from Marshall Sahlins. 9. This rate was computed from those societies with both pre and post-epidemic estimates. 10. The important role of forest is because the implements of the Indians were not suitable for breaking up the tough grasses of open land (Driver and Massey, 1957, p. 225).

Changes in the status and distribution of Wisconsin's double-crested cormorant (DCCO) breeding population during the 20th century closely approximate a similar pattern throughout the Great Lakes and generally along the Atlantic coast: a gradual increase in popula- tion size from about 1921 until about 1950, followed by a population crash, and then a remarkable population resurgence beginning in the early

The study had established empirical relationships between remittances and indicators of agricultural productivity (agricultural GDP/total GDP, Agricultural productivity index and crop productivity index) in Nigeria. Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root tests were conducted on the specified time series to ascertain the variables' order of integration. The trend analysis revealed that, remittances, agricultural GDP, agricultural productivity index and crop productivity index have positive exponential growth rates, but remittances grew at a faster rate than others. It was discovered that, remittance has linear and symmetric relationships with agricultural productivity index and crop productivity index in Nigeria. However, there was no significant relationship among growth rates of remittances, agricultural GDP, agricultural productivity index and crop productivity index in Nigeria. The bilateral Granger causality test indicates unilateral relationship between nominal value of agricultural GDP and remittance inflow in the country. The result of the co-integration test revealed the presence of co-integration among specified variables. Agricultural productivity index and crop productivity index have significant relationships with remittance in the long run. Also, agricultural GDP and agricultural productivity index exhibited significant association with remittances in the short run.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether water quality parameters commonly associated with primary productivity may be used to predict the susceptibility of a specific water body to exceed proposed fish consumption advisory limitation of 0.3 mg kg −1 . South Dakota currently has nine lakes and impoundments that exceed fish tissue mercury advisory limits of 1.0 mg kg −1 total mercury, far exceeding US Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration 0.3 mg kg −1 consumption criteria. Previous studies suggest that increased aquatic productivity may mitigate the effects of biological production and subsequent uptake of methyl mercury through bio-dilution; however, it is uncertain whether these trends may exist within highly alkaline and highly productive aquatic conditions common to South Dakota lakes and impoundments. Water quality parameters and fish tissue mercury data for northern pike and walleye were collected and assessed using existing South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Game Fish and Parks data. The data was initially screened using both parametric linear regression and non-parametric Mann-Whitney rank sum comparisons and further assessed using binary logistic regression and stepwise logistic regression methodology. Three separate phosphorus measurements (total, total dissolved, and Trophic State Index) and pH were determined to significantly correlate with increased mercury concentrations for the northern pike-in-impoundments model. However, phosphorus surprisingly was not a strong predictor for the remaining scenarios modeled. For the northern pike-in-natural lakes models, alkalinity was the most significant water quality parameter predicting increased mercury concentrations. Mercury concentrations for the walleye-in-natural lakes models were further influenced by pH and alkalinity. The water quality and fish tissue mercury interrelationships determined within this study suggest aquatic productivity, and consequential eutrophication processes appear to be reasonable indicators of fish tissue mercury susceptibility for aquatic conditions common to South Dakota and highlight the continuing need to minimize eutrophication through effective watershed management strategies.

This article is about an unexplored area of information and communication technology (ICT) use in organizations related to the assumed productivity gains by the use of ICTs. On the one hand, we focus on the losses of labor time that are caused by malfunctioning hardware or non-functional software, and on the other hand, we focus on the labor time losses that are caused by a lack of skills to maximize ICT. To estimate these losses, we conducted a large-scale survey among the Dutch workforce. The respondents were presented scenarios, and then they were asked to assess the loss of labor time. When working with ICTs, malfunctions and skill insufficiencies lead to a loss in labor time of 7.5%. Organizations should account for these losses when calculating ICT expenditures of hardware, software, energy and support. The losses increase with decreasing educational attainment level. However, age does not contribute to the total average losses. In addressing experienced problems, the role of co-workers is more significant than the formally organized means by the organization. In addition, workers highly underestimate the effects of ICT-related training. The results indicate that organizations do not realize that higher levels of productivity gains are attainable.

Agile and flexible manufacturing systems make it mandatory that control programs have features such as agility, flexibility and reusability to meet fast changing, customer demands. To cope with this, a task-oriented model of the control system provides control code, data mapping and generating PLC code according to assembly sequences. The model is defined with the unit functions which can describe

Efficient management of mass algal cultures requires appreciation of the most important factors governing the light regime of the average cell, i.e. the interrelationships between the intensity of the light source -never the sole factor involved in mass culture productivity -and the optimal cell density affected by the optical path. The latter is a dominant factor in photosynthetic productivity of ultra high cell density cultures (UHDC) cultured in flat plate reactors. Indeed, a very short optical path (5-10 mm) permits a most efficient use of strong light by facilitating ultra-high cell densities (ca. 10-20 g dry cell mass l −1 ), in which the condensed cells are exposed to very high frequency light/dark cycles. Another important feature of dense cultures concerns the very small but highly efficient light dose available to cells under extreme mutual shading. The low productivity of the single cell in the culture is well compensated, in terms of culture productivity, by the high culture cell mass exposed to very high frequency light/dark cycles. The combined effects of all these factors result in high efficiency of strong light-use for photosynthesis. UHDC are associated with growth inhibition which represents a severe production obstacle. Once this aspect is better understood and managed, UHDC in ultra short optical path reactors may become a useful production mode of photoautotrophic cell mass and secondary metabolites.

Currently the industry is trying to improve its competitiveness. This makes the manufacturingindustry needs to adapt the Lean-Kaizen concept. Lean-Kaizen means eliminating waste through small improvements made on an ongoing basis. This research takes a case study at PT Inoac Poltechno Indonesia, which is engaged in foam production. The current production target is only 56% of the planned target. Besides that, there are found many defective products and activities that have no added value. Furthermore, a map of the current condition is made to find waste and know the kaizen that will be carried out. Furthermore, a future map was developed with work standardization and Value Stream Mapping to determine activities that have no added value. Calculation of Waste Assessment Model (WAM), shows the biggest waste is defect (26.73%), inventory (15.79%), and waiting (13.35%). This study found that by adding trolley, adding operators, making SOPs, scheduling engine maintenance would make non-va...

This study examined the relationship between organizational climate and employees’ productivity in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, South-South, Nigeria. The study adopted the correlational research design. The area of the study is Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Edo State. The institution is located along express Way, KM 70 Benin Auchi Road, Benin City. The population of the study was made up of all the 1,432 non-teaching staff in all the units which the non-teaching staff function in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State. The purposive sampling technique was adopted in selecting 8 units/department of the non-teaching staff while the simple random sampling technique was adopted in selecting a sample size of 300 non teaching staff from units/department in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State. These included Verification unit, Audit, Bursary, Post-Graduate Studies, Admission Unit, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Unit, Exams and Records and Senate Serv...

A circulating loop bioreactor (CLB) with cells immobilized in loofa sponge was constructed for simultaneous aerobic and anaerobic processes. The CLB consists of an aerated riser and a non-aerated downcomer column connected at the top and bottom by cylindrical pipes. Ethanol production from raw cassava starch was investigated in the CLB. Aspergillus awamori IAM 2389 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae IR2 immobilized on loofa sponge were placed, respectively, in the aerated riser column and non-aerated downcomer column. Both aamylase and glucoamylase activities increased as the aeration rate was increased. Ethanol yield and productivity increased with an increase in the aeration rate up to 0.5 vvm, but decreased at higher aeration rates. The CLB was operated at an aeration rate of 0.5 vvm for more than 600 h, resulting in an average ethanol productivity and yield from raw cassava starch of 0.5 g-ethanol l-1 h-1 and 0.45 g ethanol/g starch, respectively. In order to increase ethanol productivity, it was necessary to increase the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the riser column and decrease the DO concentration in the downcomer column. However, increasing the aeration rate resulted in increases in the DO concentration in both the riser and the downcomer columns. At high aeration rate, there was no significant difference in the DO concentration in the riser and downcomer columns. The aeration rate was therefore uncoupled from the liquid circulation by attaching a timecontrolled valve in the upper connecting pipe. By optimizing the time and frequency of valve opening, and operation at high aeration rate, it was possible to maintain a very high DO concentration in the riser column and a low DO concentration in the downcomer column. Under these conditions, ethanol productivity increased by more than 100%, to 1.17 g l-1 h-1 .

The objective of this study is to develop statistical models to predict the depth limit stop of water drilling in Conception de modèles statistiques à variables hydrogéologiques pour la prévision de la profondeur limite d'arrêt de forage d'eau en milieux de socle en Côte d'Ivoire

ence on Roborics and A U~O I W K 2. S h i l l e r S. 3ubowsky l a s e a r c h Assisunc Pro terror The mtioa of c u r r e n t i n d u s t r i a l n r n f p u l a t o r s is t y p i c a l l y c o n t r o l l e d so L ! C tasks are not done io 8 rfninum t i m e o p t i m~l manner. The r e s u l t is s u b s u n t f a l l y lower p r o d u c t i v i t y Chm Chat poteatial Ly possib le. JOCentLy a ColpUU C i O M l Ly e f f i c i e n t algorithm !ma been dereloped LO f i n d the t r u e iinimum tine optimal aocioa f o r a M n i p U b t O t novily along a s p e c i f i e d path in space rht uses bo-L!a f u l l aonlfnear dynamic c . k r a C t e t Of the a n i p u l a t r and the c o n s t r a i n t s Imposed by Lts i m p l o r e n u t f o n of c. 90 algorithm c a l l e d 0PYAR.Y is described which u n meat p r a c t i c a l l y gmeral six dogroe-of-freedom a u a i p u l a t o r s . Exraples a r e presented which show 3PTAR.Y eo ba a u s e f u l design tool f o r manipulators. their u r k s and work places. The algorftSm is extended L a O P T A X l LO i n c l u d e &e eoastraints fmposed by s a n i p u l a t o r payloads and end-effectors. A Computer Aided 3esi;o (CAD) C . fn troduc ti on The p r o d u c t i v i t y of p.ny i n d u s t r i a l robotic m n f p u l a c o c u s k s can 5. faproved by !mViBg n a n i p u l a t o r s aov. more quickLy. 3uc several f a c t o r s L h i t r u n i ? u l a t o r speeds. such as the f i i i t e c a p a b f l l t e s o f 3 s y s t e m ' s a c t u a t o r s and the level of jynamic forces a h i c h cSe object baing manipulated u a t o l e r a t e r i c h o u t lamage or b e i n s pulled out of che g r i p p e r . Ivan sore import.nc, the desisur o € currant a a n i p u l a t o r c o n t r o l l e t s do a o t p e r m i t i n d u s t r i a l n a n i p u l a t o r s to move as q u i c k l y as they 3f;hC. because t h y do not use e f f e c t i v e l y L.0 f u l l u p a b i l i t i e s of choir actuators, nor o p e r a t e a t o r aear che Units Lmposed by their payloads o r end-effectors. Yanipulator d p m f e s are h i z h l y i o n l i n e a r and complex. met? a c t u a f o r s a r e r r q u i r e d to produce complex, tine varying torques or f o r c e r in order f o r the a a n i p u l a t o r t o follow e v m r e l a t f v o l y simple paths: tSe dynamic f o r c e s a t the payload a r e e q u a l l y eo=?Lex. Today's commercfal manipulators are proqramed EO move along cheit p a t h s a t t h eonsunt a c c e i e r a t t o n s 3nd v e l o c i t i e s .

Overall equipment effiiency (OEE) measures the ratio of how much of a product or part is being made defect-free versus how much could be made according to the equipment’s design. A machine or process that has an OEE of 100 percent is producing at its maximum designed capacity with zero defects. Three metrics – availability, performance and quality – make up OEE. When real output is lower than expected, practitioners can find opportunities for improvement in all three of these factors and take actions that maximize the current process capabilities, fix problems and improve productivity.

Design patterns, which encapsulate common solutions to the recurring design problems, have contributed to the increased reuse, quality and productivity in software design. We argue that hardware design patterns could be used for customizing and integrating the Intellectual Property (IP) components into Systemon-Chip designs. We formulate the role of design patterns in HW design, and describe their implementation using metaprogramming. We propose a Wrapper design pattern for adapting the behavior of the soft IPs, and demonstrate its application to the communication interface synthesis.

The eighth international census of Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus wintering in Britain, Ireland and Iceland (also including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) took place in January 2020, to update the estimates of the size, midwinter distribution, habitat use and breeding success of the Icelandic Whooper Swan population. The total of 43,255 swans counted represented a 27.2% increase in numbers since the previous census in 2015. Overall, 36.8% of the population (15,927 birds) was recorded in England, 33.4% (14,467) in the Republic of Ireland, 11.7% (5,052) in Scotland, 10.7% (4,644) in Northern Ireland and 6.8% (2,923) in Iceland, with < 1% (242) in Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands combined. Despite numbers increasing in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 2015, the proportion of the total population in the Republic of Ireland was significantly lower in 2020 and no significant difference was detected for Northern Ireland, whereas proportions in England and Scotland were significantly higher in 2020 and lower in Iceland. Breeding success was not associated with temperatures on either the breeding or wintering grounds. It also showed no clear trend over time, suggesting that increased survival may be the demographic driver of the population growth.

There has been substantial academic interest surrounding innovation, change management, and the individual attributes that permit and promote learning, organisational change and innovative behaviour. This research uses a psychometric tool known as the Instinctive Drives System® to measure preferred working styles in 3,943 employees from a range of international companies. The employees were then classified into three groups (Engineers, Operators and Executives) following Schein's (1996) classification of occupational subcultures. This study reveals significant differences between the occupational subcultures, suggesting that executives are more inclined towards variety, flexibility and change rather than routine and structure. In contrast, operators and engineers demonstrated preferences for logic and certainty. These results have a range of implications, for researchers and practitioners. Researchers can extend the results of this study, and further explore the differences found between executives and managers from different subcultures. Practitioners may use the results to initiate change to integrate preferred working styles.

The digital revolution that has been taking place for the past two decades propelled by major breakthroughs in the ICT field has changed the way we communicate, work, travel, live-and even the way we use public space. Our cities are increasingly moving from a collection of static buildings and infrastructures to dynamic and evolving smart ecosystems known as, Intelligent Cities. In this article we analyze an intelligent city from the electronic information and communication perspective and offer examples of variants of its implementation. An intelligent city lays its foundation on a digital-city infrastructure which connects a local community and drives growth, efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness. The high level architecture of an intelligent city ecosystem, key enabling technologies, and the necessary policy framework for the establishment of digital cities worldwide are introduced. Business models for this new ecosystem bridging the physical and virtual worlds are briefly discussed.