Determinants of firm growth with repect to exporting and innovation activities:evidence from Egyptian SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the driving engine for employment growth, source of innovation and technological progress. Moreover, the success of small exporters is critical for economic growth and is considered as an important development stage for many SMEs. However, their competitive advantage lies within the firm’s ability to innovate. This thesis contributes to the above literature by examining two main factors believed to promote firm growth namely ‘exporting’ and ‘innovation’ activities. Growing interests on the relationship between exporting, innovation and growth have recently been tackled. However, there remains a gap in literature on the relationship between exporting, innovation and firm growth for SMEs in emerging economies. Previous studies are conducted in developed counties such as UK, Ireland, USA, Germany, and Switzerland, which leaves the gap for those developing countries. Thus, this thesis addresses the gap by examining the importance of innovation and exporting activities in the growth of SMEs in Egypt. It is also the researcher’s intent to recognise the unique contribution of innovation on firm exporting activities covering all sectors. Egypt, one of the countries that were tremendously affected by the so-called ‘Arab Spring revolution’, is suffering from slow economic growth, high unemployment and poverty rate. Thus, the government must ensure economic growth and job creation. Programmes to encourage and develop SMEs should be part of inclusive growth strategy. Meanwhile, exporting is regarded as a key factor to help the economy recover from recession and stimulate economic growth. On the other hand, innovation leads to better performance in terms of growth, exporting and productivity. Therefore, SMEs and their exporting and innovation activities should be an integral part of any recovery and growth strategy for the economy. Moreover, Egypt is suffering from the so-called ‘Missing Middle’, which is problematic as medium firms tend to provide better employment growth and productivity. Therefore, more light is to shed on the importance of exporting and innovation in the growth of firms. The research design was quantitative in nature, testing the proposed hypotheses. The study was conducted in 2013 based on questionnaires of 406 Egyptians SMEs. The results of the empirical study suggest that both exporting and innovation activities are important in firm growth. However, the results show that, after controlling for endogeneity, innovation does not affect exporting activities in SMEs.

Tourism in the Egyptian Red Sea Area: A Responsible Development Approach

Egypt has always been a world-renowned tourism destination of antiquity. A government policy of product diversification attempts to disperse tourists more evenly in the country. The Egyptian Red Sea coast is therefore targeted as a new tourism development zone. The author identifies the new development patterns in the Egyptian Red Sea area and discusses the potential tourism impact on the coastal environment. It is recommended that a responsible development approach be adopted for coastal and marine tourism in the Egyptian Red Sea area

Czechs Look Back on 1989, a Revolution Betrayed: A Reflection on the Mythology of the Velvet Revolution

Twenty-five years ago today the Velvet Revolution kicked off in what was then Czechoslovakia to bring an end to the one-party government of the Communist Party. This exclusive translation of a feature from the Czech journal A2 Cultural Bi-Weekly explains that the events of 1989 were about more than just Václav Havel, a playwright and leader in the revolution who was elected president in 1990. A generation of unfulfilled promises later, Czechs are struggling to revive the spirit of not only democracy and humanism, but also socialism. This article originally appeared in Ricochet, November 17, 2014.

From Underground to Elite: Egyptian Bloggers before and after the 2011 Uprising

This research looks at how the shift in the status of Egyptian bloggers from underground dissident voices to mainstream political and media players affected the plurality they add to the public space for discourse in Egypt’s authoritarian settings. The role of the internet – and more recently social media and bloggers – in democratic transition has been studied by various media scholars since the introduction of the worldwide web and especially after the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings of 2011. But no work has been done to study how bringing those once-underground bloggers into the public and media spotlight affected the nature of the blogosphere and the bloggers themselves. Star bloggers were not only covered by the media after January 25th, 2011, they also started joining the media as column writers; a move that had various effects on them and the blogosphere but was never examined in media studies. The plurality the blogosphere adds to the Egyptian public space for discourse in light of those changes as well as in light of the financial and practical sustainability of blogging was hence never looked at in a context similar to Egypt’s. Guided by modified theories of the public sphere and theories of hegemony and manufacturing consent, I look at whether bloggers have been co-opted into the historical bloc in the process of renewing the social order and how this affects them and the online sphere. Also, guided by theories of power and media elites, I look at bloggers’ backgrounds to assess whether they come from power elites and are transforming into media elites, thus limiting the plurality of the online sphere. Finally, guided by theoretical works on institutionalizing and commercializing the internet, I look at how those shifts into mainstream affect the independence and freedom of the blogs and microblogs. The research uses a comparative study to assess how those changes affect prominent versus less prominent bloggers and compare their backgrounds. The study uses quantitative content analysis and framing analysis of chosen media outlets and interviews with bloggers, marketeers and media professionals. The findings trace an increase in media coverage of bloggers post January 25th, 2011, especially in the prominent bloggers category, and an overall positive framing of bloggers post the uprising. This led to the mainstreaming of bloggers into the media as well as public work, which had various implications on the freedom they had over their content and voice, both online and offline. It also points to a dramatic decrease in bloggers’ activity on their blogs in favour of mainstream and social media and due to star bloggers becoming more career-oriented and their failure to make blogs financially sustainable. The findings also indicate that more prominent bloggers seem to come from more elite backgrounds than others and enjoy luxuries that allow them the time, technology and security to post online. This research concludes that the shifts in bloggers’ status post-January 25th have limited the plurality they add to the discourse in Egypt.

The magical transformation contest in the ancient storytelling tradition

El concurso de transformación mágica, esquema narrativo difundido en la tradición popular, se presenta en dos variantes principales: los hechiceros que compiten pueden metamorfosearse en varios seres o crear esos seres por medios mágicos. En cualquier caso el concursante ganador da a luz criaturas más fuertes que superan las de su oponente. La segunda variante fue preferida en el antiguo Cercano Oriente (Sumeria, Egipto, Israel). La primera se puede encontrar en algunos mitos griegos sobre cambiadores de forma (por ejemplo, Zeus y Némesis). El mismo esquema narrativo puede haber influido en un episodio de la Novela de Alejandro (1.36-38), en el que Darío envía regalos simbólicos a Alejandro y los dos monarcas enemigos ofrecen contrastantes explicaciones de ellos. Esta historia griega racionaliza el concurso de cuento de hadas, transfiriendo las fantásticas hazañas de creaciones milagrosas a un plano secundario pero realista de metáfora lingüística.

Adaptability of three newly introduced apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivars to Egyptian conditions

An experiment was conducted in 2013 and 2014 with three newly introduced cultivars of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), namely “Antonio Errani”, “Tirynthos” and “Ninfa” to study their performance and adaptability under Egyptian conditions. Results indicated that calculating the chilling hours temperature at or below 15°C was more suitable than temperatures at or below 7.2°C and 10°C. The cultivar with a low chilling requirement started with the opening of vegetative and flower buds earlier when compared to other cultivars. Furthermore, the cultivar Ninfa required less heat units as compared to the other two cultivars. Thus, the accumulated growing degree-days (GDDs) from the time of the flower bud break l until fruit maturity was low in early matured Ninfa cultivar. However, Antonio Errani and Tirynthos cultivars were late in the date of fruit ripening. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in the opening percentage of vegetative and flower buds, trunk circumference, fruit drop, fruit number and yield weight among cultivars during the two seasons. Conversely, the leaf drop of Antonio Errani cultivar was earlier while Ninfa cultivar started it’s leaf drop later in the two seasons. Tirynthos gave the highest fruit weight, fruit size and fruit surface lightness. Meanwhile, the Antonio Errani cultivar was the highest in fruit firmness and total soluble solids. The appearance and behavior of cultivars under the study varied from one season to another with shoot length, leaf area, percentage of fruit set and acidity. It can be recommended from the present study that, Antonio Errani, Tirynthos and Ninfa cultivars are well adapted under Egyptian conditions. Further, fruits from the cultivars mature early and late in the season and can fulfill the demands of the market.

Egyptian Pagans through Christian Eyes

Construction of Christian identity in Egypt proceeded in pace with construction of the Egyptian pagan “Other” between the second and sixth centuries. Apologies, martyrdoms, apocalypses, histories, sermons, hagiographies, and magical texts provide several different vantage points from which to view the Christian construction of the Egyptian pagan “Other”: as the agent of anti-Christian violence, as an intellectual rival, as an object of anti-pagan violence, as an obstacle to salvation, and—perhaps most dangerously—as but another participant in a shared religious experience. The recent work of social scientists on identity, deviance, violence, social/cultural memory, and religiosity provides insight into the strategies by which construction of the “Other” was part of a larger project of fashioning a “proper” Christian religious domain.

A study of asymptomatic bacteriuria in Egyptian school-going children.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a common and important clinical problem in childhood. Upper urinary tract infections (i.e., acute pyelonephritis) may lead to renal scarring, hypertension, and end-stage renal disease. Despite the presence of simple and reliable methods of preliminary screening of children's urine, urinary tract infection continues to be under diagnosed. Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish prevalence rates of significant bacteriuria in asymptomatic school children by simple urine tests in comparison to standard urine culture techniques in Giza, Egypt. Patients and methods: A total of 1000 apparently healthy school going children (6-12) years, 552 boys (55.2%) and 448 girls (44.8%), were enrolled in this cross-sectional prevalence survey. Results: Overall prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 6%. Higher prevalence occurred in girls (11.4%) than boys (1.6%). Escherichia coli was isolated in 35(58%) cases (3 boys and 32 girls), Staph. aureus in 13 (22%) cases (3 boys and 10 girls), Enterobacter in 6 girls (10%), Kelbsiella pneumoniae in 3 boys (5%) and Proteus vulgaris in 3 girls (5%) Conclusion: Asymptomatic bacteriurea could be detected by urine screening program at school age. Overall prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 6%, with predominance in girls than boys.

O touro na mitologia egípcia : Ápis, cerimónias, insígnias e epítetos reais

Os antigos Egípcios acreditavam que o touro poderoso representava a personalidade do próprio faraó. O touro estava, de facto, intimamente associado ao Estado faraónico, estando presente ao nível dos regalia (cauda taurina) e significativamente nos próprios epítetos reais (ka nakht). Na mitologia egípcia, de todos os touros sagrados o que maior projecção alcançou, como deus agrário da fecundidade, da vegetação renascida e da ressurreição, foi, seguramente, o touro Ápis, associado em Mênfis aos deuses Ptah e Osíris. Na sua condição de touro ágil, vigoroso e viril, Ápis era um intermediário consistente entre o mundo dos vivos e o dos mortos, além de ser um propiciador de fertilidade e renascimento quando associado ao deus-Sol. A sua participação, literalmente ao lado do faraó, na «corrida ritual», importante cerimónia no âmbito da concepção ideológica do poder real, reforçou ainda mais a sua importância no seio do panteão egípcio.

Carbon gold rush and carbon cowboys: a new chapter in green mythology?

Individual and collective efforts to mitigate climate change in the form of carbon offsetting and emissions trading schemes have recently become the focus of much media attention. In this paper we explore a subset of the UK national press coverage centered on such schemes. The articles, selected from general as well as specialized business and finance newspapers, make use of gold rush, Wild West and cowboy imagery which is rooted in deeply entrenched myths and metaphors and allows readers to make sense of very complex environmental, political, ethical, and financial issues associated with carbon mitigation. They make what appears complicated and unfamiliar, namely carbon trading and offsetting, seem less complex and more familiar. A critical discussion of this type of imagery is necessary in order to uncover and question tacit assumptions and connotations which are built into it and which might otherwise go unnoticed and unchallenged in environmental communication.

Mitochondrial demographic history of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), an expanding carnivore in the Iberian Peninsula

Describing the genetic patterns and the demographic history of expanding species is essential for providing insights into the processes linked with range dynamics. We analysed the mitochondrial diversity of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) across the Iberian Peninsula, where the species is currently expanding northwest. A total of 242 individuals were analysed, together with nine representatives from the North African dispersal source. Haplotype segregation and strong differentiation between Iberian and North African populations confirmed the longterm presence of the species in the Iberian Peninsula. The distribution of mitochondrial diversity fitted the pattern of a historically diversified population in southern Iberia, from which the recent dispersals into northern areas may have occurred. Higher levels of haplotype and nucleotide diversities in the northern areas, together with the heterogeneous distribution of pairwise population differentiations and the weak signal for isolationbydistance suggest the existence of longdispersal migrants across the Iberian Peninsula. Sudden and spatial expansion scenarios of H. ichneumon in the Iberian Peninsula were supported by mismatch analysis and marginally supported by neutrality tests. However, the precise time of occurrence of the detected expansion remains unclear. Future studies should incorporate additional markers in order to further clarify the population dynamics of the Egyptian mongoose in its Iberian range.

Genetic signature of the northward expansion of the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (Herpestidae) in the Iberian Peninsula

In the last three decades, the range of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) has increased in the Iberian Peninsula. A panel of microsatellites was used to confront the patterns of genetic diversity of the species with the scenario of its recent northward expansion in its Iberian range. Evidence of substructure and significant genetic differentiation within the studied population were recorded, with a central-northern subpopulation (CNorth) and a southern subpopulation (S). Northward range expansion was supported by the observed allelic frequencies, diversity parameters, and observed heterozygosity of the studied loci, with S showing a higher allelic diversity and a higher number of private alleles than CNorth. Patterns of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-barrier as a result of the Tagus River were demonstrated, suggesting that the river acted as a semi-permeable barrier, possibly leading to genetic differentiation of the studied population. The observed individuals from CNorth in southern locations and individuals from S in central/northern areas might comprise evidence for long range dispersals across the studied range. A bottleneck event after population expansion was supported by a significant heterozygosity deficiency in CNorth, which is in agreement with a scenario of founder events occurring in recently colonized areas after the crossing of the Tagus River.

Corpo-sujeito Kadiweu : jogo e esporte

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Estudo da imagem corporal da mulher : corpo (ir)real x corpo ideal

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física