FDI horizontal and vertical effects on local firm technical efficiency

Differencing from previous studies on foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers to domestic enterprises which mainly focus on productivity, in this paper we take a different perspective by analysing the impacts of FDI to technical efficiency of domestic firms. The paper goes beyond the current literature to shed some light on the spillover effects of FDI to technical efficiency of small and medium enterprises in a developing country. By exploiting a firm-level panel dataset and using SFA models following Battese and Coelli (1995), the paper is able to analyse horizontal spillovers through imitation and competition and labour mobility as well as vertical spillovers through backward and forward linkages on technical efficiency. The paper contributes to the understanding of potential effects on foreign invested enterprises on domestic economy in general and local enterprises performance in particular. Thus it importantly assists policy making by the government of developing countries, where FDI is believed to create technical spillovers on domestic enterprises.

New lecturers' beliefs about learning, teaching and assessment in higher education:the role of the PGCLTHE programme

This study was carried out with new lecturers on a two year Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education programme in a UK university. The aim was to establish their beliefs about how studying on the programme aligned with their teaching and learning philosophy and what, if anything, had changed or constrained those beliefs. Ten lecturers took part in an in-depth semi-structured interview. Content analysis of the transcripts suggested positive reactions to the programme but lecturers’ new insights were sometimes constrained by departments and university bureaucracy, particularly in the area of assessment. The conflicting roles of research and teaching were also a major issue facing these new professionals.

Technical efficiency determinants within a dual banking system:a DEA-bootstrap approach

The purpose of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of the efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In this study, we explain inefficiencies obtained by introducing firm-specific as well as macroeconomic variables. Our findings indicate that during the eight years of study, conventional banks largely outperform Islamic banks with an average technical efficiency score of 81% compared to 95.57%. However, it is clear that since 2008, efficiency of conventional banks was in a downward trend while the efficiency of their Islamic counterparts was in an upward trend since 2009. This indicates that Islamic banks have succeeded to maintain a level of efficiency during the subprime crisis period. Finally, for the whole sample, the analysis demonstrates the strong link of macroeconomic indicators with efficiency for GCC banks. Surprisingly, we have not found any significant relationship in the case of Islamic banks.

Technical efficiency and human capital in the retail sector

The performance of the British retail sectors in terms of productivity growth is not brilliant. This paper focuses on a specific component of productivity growth (technical efficiency) and tests the extent to which its variance across the sector can be explained by the differences in the educational attainment of the pool of workers to which retail firms have access. The empirical analysis is carried out on a sample of 1061 retail firms from the Annual Respondents Database, 1997-2005. The results confirm that the county-level differences of the stock of human capital can explain the technical efficiency differentials across the sector. © 2011 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Financial constraints and technical efficiency:some empirical evidence for Italian producers' cooperatives

In this paper, we test the extent to which producers' cooperatives can experience an increase in technical efficiency following a tightening of financial constraints. This hypothesis is tested on a sample of Italian conventional and cooperative firms for the wine production and processing sector, using frontier analysis. The results support the hypothesis that increasing financial pressure can affect positively the cooperatives efficiency. Journal compilation © CIRIEC 2010.

Heterogenitás és technikai hatékonyság - a magyar specializált szántóföldi növénytermesztő üzemek esete = Heterogeneity and technical efficiency - the case of Hungary's specialized arable crop production units

A cikkben paneladatok segítségével a magyar gabonatermesztő üzemek 2001 és 2009 közötti technikai hatékonyságát vizsgáljuk. A technikai hatékonyság szintjének becslésére egy hagyományos sztochasztikus határok modell (SFA) mellett a látens csoportok modelljét (LCM) használjuk, amely figyelembe veszi a technológiai különbségeket is. Eredményeink arra utalnak, hogy a technológiai heterogenitás fontos lehet egy olyan ágazatban is, mint a szántóföldi növénytermesztés, ahol viszonylag homogén technológiát alkalmaznak. A hagyományos, azonos technológiát feltételező és a látens osztályok modelljeinek összehasonlítása azt mutatja, hogy a gabonatermesztő üzemek technikai hatékonyságát a hagyományos modellek alábecsülhetik. _____ The article sets out to analyse the technical efficiency of Hungarian crop farms between 2001 and 2009, using panel data and employing both standard stochastic frontier analysis and the latent class model (LCM) to estimate technical efficiency. The findings suggest that technological heterogeneity plays an important role in the crop sector, though it is traditionally assumed to employ homogenous technology. A comparison of standard SFA models that assumes the technology is common to all farms and LCM estimates highlights the way the efficiency of crop farms can be underestimated using traditional SFA models.

Engineering the future! Innovation in learning & teaching:an empirical approach

Learning and teaching approaches to engineering are generally perceived to be difficult and academically challenging. Such challenges are reflected in high levels of student attrition and failure. In addressing this issue, a unique approach to engineering education has been developed by one of the paper authors. This approach, which is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate levels, brings together pedagogic and engineering epistemologies in an empirically grounded framework. It is underpinned by three distinctive concepts: Relationships, Variety & Alignment. Based upon research, the R + V + A approach to engineering education provides a learning and teaching strategy which in enhancing the student experience increases retention and positively impacts student success. In discussing the emergent findings of a study into the pedagogical value of the approach the paper makes a significant contribution to academic theory and practice in this area.

Agricultural microcredit and technical efficiency: The case of smallholder rice farmers in Northern Ghana

In the current study, we compared technical efficiency of smallholder rice farmers with and without credit in northern Ghana using data from a farm household survey. We fitted a stochastic frontier production function to input and output data to measure technical efficiency. We addressed self-selection into credit participation using propensity score matching and found that the mean efficiency did not differ between credit users and non-users. Credit-participating households had an efficiency of 63.0 percent compared to 61.7 percent for non-participants. The results indicate significant inefficiencies in production and thus a high scope for improving farmers’ technical efficiency through better use of available resources at the current level of technology. Apart from labour and capital, all the conventional farm inputs had a significant effect on rice production. The determinants of efficiency included the respondent’s age, sex, educational status, distance to the nearest market, herd ownership, access to irrigation and specialisation in rice production. From a policy perspective, we recommend that the credit should be channelled to farmers who demonstrate the need for it and show the commitment to improve their production through external financing. Such a screening mechanism will ensure that the credit goes to the right farmers who need it to improve their technical efficiency.

Stress During ACLS Courses: Is it Important for Learning Skills?

OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of stress on teaching medical emergencies in an Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) course and to verify this influence on learning, and the efficiency of emergency care training. METHODS: Seventeen physicians signed up for an ACLS course. Their pulses were taken and blood pressure (BP) verified on the first day, before the beginning of the course, and on the second day, during the theoretical and practical test (TPT). Variations in pulse rates and BP were compared with students' test grades. Then, students answered a questionnaire of variables (QV) about the amount of sleep they had during the course, the quantity of study material and the time spent studying for the course, and a stress scale graphic. RESULTS: Seven students had a pulse variation less than 10% between the 2 periods and 10 had a 10% or more variation. Grades on TPT were, respectively, 91.4±2.4 and 87.3±5.2 (p<0.05). Six students had a BP variation less than 20 mmHg, and in 11 it varied more than 21 mmHg. Grades on the TPT were 92.3±3.3 and 86.2± 8.1, respectively (p<0.05). The QV dates did not significantly influence grades. CONCLUSION: Stress, as an isolated variable, had a negative influence on the learning process and on the efficiency of emergency training in this situation.

Technical and scale efficiency of cassava production system in Delta State, Nigeria: an application of Two-Stage DEA approach

The present study examines the level of pure technical and scale efficiencies of cassava production system including its sub-processes (that is production and processing stages) of 278 cassava farmers/processors from three regions of Delta State, Nigeria by applying Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. Results reveal that pure technical efficiency (PTE) is significantly lower at the production stage 0.41 vs 0.55 for the processing stage, but scale efficiency (SE) is high at both stages (0.84 and 0.87), implying that productivity can be improved substantially by reallocation of resources and adjusting operation size. The socio-economic determinants exert differential impacts on PTE and SE at each stage. Overall, education, experience and main occupation as farmer significantly improve SE while subsistence pressure reduces it. Extension contact significantly improves SE at the processing stage but reduces PTE and SE overall. Inverse size-PTE and size-SE relationships exist in cassava production system. In other words, large/medium farms are technically and scale inefficient. Gender gap exists in performance. Male farmers are technically efficient at processing stage but scale inefficient overall. Farmers in northern region are technically efficient. Investments in education, extension services and infrastructure are suggested as policy options to improve the cassava sector in Nigeria.

The Personal tutorial guidance sessions in the framework of the teaching-learning field of the Bologna process: University of Minho (first cycle) courses students’ perceptions

The Bologna Process defends the adoption of a higher education in teaching-learning methodologies that – in contraposition to the previous model based on the transmission of knowledge, which for being essentially theoretical, gives the student a passive role in the knowledge construction process – allows a (pro) active, autonomous and practical learning, where the student acquires and develops his competences. The personal tutorial guidance sessions are included in the teaching contact hours. This abstract presents a study about the University of Minho (first cycle) Courses Students’ perceptions of the personal tutorial guidance sessions’ relevance in the scope of the learning-teaching process, so as to confirm if the implementation/implantation of the commonly called tutorial (type) education, as an approach to an active, autonomous and practical learning, is sensed by the learners themselves

Technical report template, links to additonal writing resources

A set of support material to be used when preparing a technical report. Includes report template, and links to other supporting materials specific to the University. Finally link to 2015 COMP1205 technical report assignment specification and allocations http://www.edshare.soton.ac.uk/14582/