Operational scales, sources of finance, and firms’ performance: evidence from Vietnamese longitudinal data

This study investigates a longitudinal dataset consisting of financial and operational data from 37 listed companies listed on Vietnamese stock market, covering the period 2004-13. By performing three main types of regression analysis - pooled OLS, fixed-effect and random-effect regressions - the investigation finds mixed results on the relationships between operational scales, sources of finance and firms' performance, depending on the choice of analytical model and use of independent/dependent variables. In most situation, fixed-effect models appear to be preferable, providing for reasonably consistent results. Toward the end, the paper offers some further explanation about the obtained insights, which reflect the nature of a business environment of a transition economy and an emerging market.

Variations in the distributions of the Centropages chierchiae and Temora stylifera (Copepoda: Calanoida) in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and western european shelf waters.

Centropages chierchiae and Temora stylifera occurred rarely in the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey in the Bay of Biscay, Celtic Sea, and English Channel before 1988. By 2000 they were found frequently and in abundance. The seasonal cycles of abundance of these species differ, C. chierchiae occurring mainly in the summer while T. stylifera was found most frequently in late autumn or winter towards the northern limits of its distribution. The increase in abundance of both species is related to temperature. However, in the years when it was found in the samples, the frequency of occurrence of C. chierchiae was correlated positively with the strength of the shelf edge current and negatively with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) while the reverse was true for T. stylifera.

Swirl Flow Bioreactor coupled with Cu-alginate beads: A system for the eradication of Coliform and Escherichia coli from biological effluents

It is estimated that approximately 1.1 billion people globally drink unsafe water. We previously reported both a novel copper-alginate bead, which quickly reduces pathogen loading in waste streams and the incorporation of these beads into a novel swirl flow bioreactor (SFB), of low capital and running costs and of simple construction from commercially available plumbing pipes and fittings. The purpose of the present study was to trial this system for pathogen reduction in waste streams from an operating Dewats system in Hinjewadi, Pune, India and in both simulated and real waste streams in Seattle, Washington, USA. The trials in India, showed a complete inactivation of coliforms in the discharged effluent (Mean Log removal Value (MLRV) = 3.51), accompanied by a total inactivation of E. coli with a MLRV of 1.95. The secondary clarifier effluent also showed a 4.38 MLRV in viable coliforms during treatment. However, the system was slightly less effective in reducing E. coli viability, with a MLRV of 1.80. The trials in Seattle also demonstrated the efficacy of the system in the reduction of viable bacteria, with a LRV of 5.67 observed of viable Raoultella terrigena cells (100%).

Social Work and theatre: considering intersections

Theatre is a cultural and artistic form that involves a process of communication between creators and is received in a space and time located in the public sphere, which has meant that, over the centuries, it has acted as a space for expression, exchange and debate regarding all manner of ideas, causes and struggles. Implicit within this process are processes of expression, creation and reception, by way of which people demonstrate, analyse and question ways of seeing and understanding life, and ways of being and existing in the world. This gives rise to educational, cultural, social and political potential, which has been endorsed in numerous studies and investigations. In this work, in which theoretical orientation is established through a review of the relevant literature, we consider different intersections that occur between theatre and social work in order to also show that dramatic and theatrical expression offers substantive methodologies for achieving some objectives of social work, particularly in areas such as critical literacy, reflexivity and recognition, awareness raising, social participation, personal and/or community development, ownership of cultural capital and access to personal and social wellbeing.

Optimisation of source/drain extension region profile for suppression of short channel effects in sub-50 nm DG SOI MOSFETs with high- k gate dielectrics

Novel technology dependent scaling parameters i.e. spacer to gradient ratio and effective channel length (Leff) are proposed for source/drain engineered DG MOSFET, and their significance in minimizing short channel effects (SCES) in high-k gate dielectrics is discussed in detail. Results show that a high-k dielectric should be associated with a higher spacer to gradient ratio to minimise SCEs The analytical model agrees with simulated data over the entire range of spacer widths, doping gradients, high-k gate dielectrics and effective channel lengths.

Non-agrocultural co-peratives and economy transformation in Cuba: politic processes and strategies

Contribution of co-operatives has been demonstrated since the 1970s as the main development line in agricultural production in Cuba. In contrast, there has been a late recognition of urban co-operatives, even if the need of transformations based on the realization of property in different territorial scenarios had been identified. The article analyses the reform processes launched since the first decade of the 21st century focusing on the nature of the initiatives fostering formation and promotion of nonagricultural co-operatives including follow up of their performance. The potential and limitations of the recent experiences are examined in order to reflect on the organizational processes and transformations from the point of view of their members. To conclude, some questions are posed about whether these co-operatives are capable of avoiding the impact of earlier employment circumstances and of developing strategies aimed at reinforcing voluntary membership and autonomy on which they are founded.

Cooperativism, entrepreneurship and economic development: a linking theoretical model

Cooperatives, as a kind of firms, are considered by many scholars as an remarkable alternative for overcoming the economic crisis started in 2008. Besides, there are other scholars which pointed out the important role that these firms play in the regional economic development. Nevertheless, when one examines the economic literature on cooperatives, it is detected that this kind of firms is mainly studied starting from the point of view of their own characteristics and particularities of participation and solidarity. In this sense, following a different analysis framework, this article proposes a theoretical model in order to explain the behavior of cooperatives based on the entrepreneurship theory with the aim of increasing the knowledge about this kind of firms and, more specifically, their contribution to regional economic development.

Social economy and economic crisis in the basque country abstract

This article examines the socio-economic evolution of the social economy sector in the Basque Country during the 2008-2014 period of economic crisis. Data have been obtained within a framework of collaboration between university, Basque Government and private sector of the social economy. The results suggest that such entities have evolved better, both in terms of number of enterprises and employment, than the general economy of the Basque Country, while the context of public policies aimed at social economy has worsened over the years. However, in economic terms (measured through the Gross Value Added generated), they have not been able to cope with the crisis in equal conditions to the general economy. The main contribution of this research lies in that, unlike similar studies, it discusses the evolution of the whole sector of the social economy, taking as reference a broad period of the current economic crisis.

Engineering source/drain extension regions in nanoscale double gate (DG) SOI MOSFETs: Analytical model and design considerations

In this paper, we propose for the first time, an analytical model for short channel effects in nanoscale source/drain extension region engineered double gate (DG) SOI MOSFETs. The impact of (i) lateral source/drain doping gradient (d), (ii) spacer width (s), (iii) spacer to doping gradient ratio (s/d) and (iv) silicon film thickness (T-si), on short channel effects - threshold voltage (V-th) and subthreshold slope (S), on-current (I-on), off-current (I-on) and I-on/I-off is extensively analysed by using the analytical model and 2D device simulations. The results of the analytical model confirm well with simulated data over the entire range of spacer widths, doping gradients and effective channel lengths. Results show that lateral source/drain doping gradient along with spacer width can not only effectively control short channel effects, thus presenting low off-current, but can also be optimised to achieve high values of on-currents. The present work provides valuable design insights in the performance of nanoscale DG Sol devices with optimal source/drain engineering and serves as a tool to optimise important device and technological parameters for 65 nm technology node and below. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

University space planning and space-type profiles

Universities planning the provision of space for their teaching requirements need to do so in a fashion that reduces capital and maintenance costs whilst still providing a high-quality level of service. Space plans should aim to provide sufficient capacity without incurring excessive costs due to over-capacity. A simple measure used to estimate over-provision is utilisation. Essentially, the utilisation is the fraction of seats that are used in practice, or the ratio of demand to supply. However, studies usually find that utilisation is low, often only 20–40%, and this is suggestive of significant over-capacity.

Our previous work has provided methods to improve such space planning. They identify a critical level of utilisation as the highest level that can be achieved whilst still reliably satisfying the demand for places to allocate teaching events. In this paper, we extend this body of work to incorporate the notions of event-types and space-types. Teaching events have multiple ‘event-types’, such as lecture, tutorial, workshop, etc., and there are generally corresponding space-types. Matching the type of an event to a room of a corresponding space-type is generally desirable. However, realistically, allocation happens in a mixed space-type environment where teaching events of a given type are allocated to rooms of another space-type; e.g., tutorials will borrow lecture theatres or workshop rooms.

We propose a model and methodology to quantify the effects of space-type mixing and establish methods to search for better space-type profiles; where the term “space-type profile” refers to the relative numbers of each type of space. We give evidence that these methods have the potential to improve utilisation levels. Hence, the contribution of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we present informative studies of the effects of space-type mixing on utilisation, and critical utilisations. Secondly, we present straightforward though novel methods to determine better space-type profiles, and give an example in which the resulting profiles are indeed significantly improved.

Hicks meets Hotelling: the direction of technical change in capital-resource economies

We analyze a two-sector growth model with directed technical change where man-made capital and exhaustible resources are essential for production. The relative profitability of factor-specific innovations endogenously determines whether technical progress will be capital- or resource-augmenting. We show that any balanced growth equilibrium features purely resource-augmenting technical change. This result is compatible with alternative specifications of preferences and innovation technologies, as it hinges on the interplay between productive efficiency in the final sector, and the Hotelling rule characterizing the efficient depletion path for the exhaustible resource. Our result provides sound micro-foundations for the broad class of models of exogenous/endogenous growth where resource-augmenting progress is required to sustain consumption in the long run, contradicting the view that these models are conceptually biased in favor of sustainability.