Search results

Divisia component data is used in the training of an Aggregate Feedforward Neural Network (AFFNN), a general-purpose connectionist system designed to assist with data mining activities. The neural network is able to learn the money-price relationship, defined as the relationships between the rate of growth of the money supply and inflation. Learned relationships are expressed in terms of an automatically generated series of human-readable and machine-executable rules, shown to meaningfully and accurately describe inflation in terms of the original values of the Divisia component dataset.

The focus of this chapter is the role of technology in diverse students’ active learning and interconnectedness in inclusive classrooms. The discussion is guided by the inclusive pedagogical approach in action (IPAA) framework, which is used as a tool for planning teaching and critical reflection. Inclusive education has previously considered the role of technology through the lens of Universal Design for Learning to inform how teachers plan instruction for students’ maximal accessibility, participation and engagement. We use the IPAA framework to build on and extend this by challenging teachers to also consider and incorporate technologies in innovative ways for students to collaborate with each other and build classroom relationships, as well as engaging with the curriculum on their own terms to make learning more meaningful.

We examine the relationship between tax-related accounting misstatements and changes in the uncertain tax benefits accrual account in the year of the disclosure of a misstatement. We find that the disclosure of a tax-related misstatement is associated with an increase in unrecognized tax benefits during that year. We show that the increase in unrecognized tax benefits in the year of disclosure is from uncertain tax positions taken in prior periods. Overall, this finding is consistent with increase in financial reporting conservatism upon disclosure of tax-related accounting misstatement.

In The Changing Body (Cambridge University Press and NBER, 2011), we presented a series of estimates showing the number of calories available for human consumption in England and Wales at various points in time between 1700 and 1909/1913. We now seek to correct an error in our original figures and to compare the corrected figures with those published by a range of other authors. We also include new estimates showing the calorific value of meat and grains imported from Ireland. Disagreements with other authors reflect differences over a number of issues, including the amount of land under cultivation, the extraction and wastage rates for cereals and pulses and the number of animals supplying meat and dairy products. We consider recent attempts to achieve a compromise between these estimates and challenge claims that there was a dramatic reduction in either food availability or the average height of birth cohorts in the late-eighteenth century.

Purpose – This study aims to obtain the best lipid content in locally isolated microalga that grows in palm oil mill effluent (POME).

Design/Methodology/Approach – Microalgae were cultured in POME with 25% dilution (LP₂₅), 50% (LP₅₀), and no dilution (LP) in 1,500 ml glass vessel at room temperature using a lighting intensity of 13,000 lux and continuous aeration for 24 hours and 12 hours, respectively. The biomass (in dry weight) of microalgae was analyzed daily by means of spectrophotometry using 624 nm wavelength to determine their growth.

Findings – The results showed that the acclimatized growth of microalgae in POME media adapted faster to the POME concentration. Acclimatized biomass content tends to increase to 1.014 g/L, while the content of non-acclimatized biomass reached only 0.752 g/L. Lipid content resulting from the direct extraction process using the modified Bligh and Dyer method provided the best yield of 47% in the microalgae grown in the LP₅₀ POME medium.

Research Limitations/Implications – Lipid was produced from locally isolated microalgae cultured in POME medium with 25% dilution (LP₂₅), 50% (LP₅₀), and no dilution (LP).

Practical Implications – The lipid produced had the potential for biodiesel energy.

Originality/Value – In this study, microalga was used not only to treat POME liquid wastes but also to produce lipids as biodiesel energy potentials.

This paper applies the logic of economic calculation to the actions of autocrats. We model autocrats as stationary bandits who use profit-and-loss calculations to select institutions that maximize their extraction rents. We find in many cases autocrats achieve rent maximization through creating and protecting private property rights. This in turn yields high levels of production, with expropriation kept low enough to incentivize continued high production. Importantly, while this leads to increasing quantities of available goods and services over time, it does not lead to true development; that is, the coordination of consumer demand with producer supply through directing resources to their highest-valued uses. We apply our model to the authoritarian governments of Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, showing how they function as quasi-corporate governance organizations in the business of maximizing appropriable rents.

Utility strikes have spawned companies specializing in providing a priori analyses of the underground. Geophysical techniques such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) are harnessed for this purpose. However, analyzing GPR data is labour-intensive and repetitive. It may therefore be worthwhile to amplify this process by means of Machine Learning (ML). In this work, harnessing the ADR design science methodology, an Intelligence Amplification (IA) system is designed that uses ML for decision-making with respect to utility material type. It is driven by three novel classes of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) trained for this purpose, which yield accuracies of 81.5% with outliers of 86%. The tool is grounded in the available literature on IA, ML and GPR and is embedded into a generic analysis process. Early validation activities confirm its business value.

Sunk costs are a key feature of extractive industries that profoundly shape regional economic development outcomes. In this chapter, we argue that sunk costs do so by influencing both the investment behavior of firms and the organization, as well as the performance, of extractive industries in ways that often deviate substantially from traditional neoclassical models of competitive markets with resource mobility. Sunk costs are defined, and the features that give rise to such costs are identified, followed by an analysis of the impacts of sunk costs on firms, regions, and economies. Sunk costs are shown to underlie two important phenomena associated with the economic experience of resource extraction – “Dutch Disease” and the “resource curse”. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the need for development policy to incorporate often overlooked sunk cost considerations into efforts to promote economic development in extractive economies.

The increasing accumulation of synthetic plastic waste in oceans and landfills, along with the depletion of non-renewable fossil-based resources, has sparked environmental concerns and prompted the search for environmentally friendly alternatives. Biodegradable plastics derived from lignocellulosic materials are emerging as substitutes for synthetic plastics, offering significant potential to reduce landfill stress and minimise environmental impacts. This study highlights a sustainable and cost-effective solution by utilising agricultural residues and invasive plant materials as carbon substrates for the production of biopolymers, particularly polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), through microbiological processes. Locally sourced residual materials were preferred to reduce transportation costs and ensure accessibility. The selection of suitable residue streams was based on various criteria, including strength properties, cellulose content, low ash and lignin content, affordability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, shelf-life, mechanical and physical properties, short maturation period, antibacterial properties and compatibility with global food security. Life cycle assessments confirm that PHB dramatically lowers CO₂ emissions compared to traditional plastics, while the growing use of lignocellulosic biomass in biopolymeric applications offers renewable and readily available resources. Governments worldwide are increasingly inclined to develop comprehensive bioeconomy policies and specialised bioplastics initiatives, driven by customer acceptability and the rising demand for environmentally friendly solutions. The implications of climate change, price volatility in fossil materials, and the imperative to reduce dependence on fossil resources further contribute to the desirability of biopolymers. The study involves fermentation, turbidity measurements, extraction and purification of PHB, and the manufacturing and testing of composite biopolymers using various physical, mechanical and chemical tests.