Search results
1 – 10 of 35Arthur Rocha-Gomes, Juliana Dara Silva, Thais Angélica Morais, Amanda Rosa da Costa Ferreira, Viviane Cristina Costa, Amanda Escobar Teixeira, Mayara Rodrigues Lessa, Alexandre Alves da Silva, Nísia Andrade Villela Dessimoni-Pinto and Tania Regina Riul
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the nutritional effects in Wistar rats of supplementation with stand-alone saturated fatty acid (SFA) or monounsaturated fatty acid…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the nutritional effects in Wistar rats of supplementation with stand-alone saturated fatty acid (SFA) or monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), the replacement of SFA by MUFA and the combination of both (SFA + MUFA) over a long period of time (13 weeks).
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 30 Wistar rats were used and randomly assigned to receive (n = 6): control – lab chow; lard (L20%) – lab chow with added lard (20%); olive oil (O20%) – lab chow with added olive oil (20%); lard replacement with olive oil (L20% –O20%) – during six weeks lab chow with added lard (20%) replaced by lab chow with added olive oil (20%) given during the past seven weeks of the trial; lard combination with olive oil (L10% + O10%) – lab chow with added lard (10%) and olive oil (10%). Food and caloric intake, weight gain, food and energy efficiency, body mass index, bone mineral composition and blood biochemistry were evaluated.
Findings
All diets with added fatty acids showed higher energy intake (p < 0.001), weight gain (p = 0.01), accumulation of adipose tissue (p = 0.02) and food and energy efficiency (p = 0.01) compared to the control group. All groups exhibited higher levels of blood triglycerides compared to the control group (p = 0.02). In addition, the L10% + O10% group developed hyperglycemia (p < 0.001); the L group showed higher amounts of non- high density lipoprotein (HDL-c) (p = 0.04); and the L20%−O20% group exhibited high levels of the triglyceride/HDL-c ratio (p = 0.04) in relation to the control.
Originality/value
These results indicate that regardless of the fatty acid type, consumption in large quantities of fatty acids for long periods of time can cause obesity and dyslipidemia.
Details
Keywords
Russell Ashmore and Neil Carver
– The purpose of this paper is to review policy or guidance on the implementation of Section 5(4) written by NHS mental health trusts in England and health boards in Wales.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review policy or guidance on the implementation of Section 5(4) written by NHS mental health trusts in England and health boards in Wales.
Design/methodology/approach
A Freedom of Information request was submitted to all trusts in England (n=57) and health boards in Wales (n=7) asking them to provide a copy of any policy or guidance on the implementation of Section 5(4). Documents were analysed using content analysis. Specific attention was given to any deviations from the national Mental Health Act Codes of Practice.
Findings
In total, 41 (67.2 per cent) organisations had a policy on the implementation of Section 5(4). There was a high level of consistency between local guidance and the Mental Health Act Codes of Practice. There were however; different interpretations of the guidance and errors that could lead to misuse of the section. Some policies contained useful guidance that could be adopted by future versions of the national Codes of Practice.
Research limitations/implications
The research has demonstrated the value of examining the relationship between national and local guidance. Further research should be undertaken on the frequency and reasons for any reuse of the section.
Practical implications
Greater attention should be given to considering the necessity of local policy, given the existence of national Codes of Practice.
Originality/value
This is the only research examining the policy framework for the implementation of Section 5(4).
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for empirically studying knowledge creation (KC) with phenomenological approach and propose that understanding interaction as…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for empirically studying knowledge creation (KC) with phenomenological approach and propose that understanding interaction as play conceptualized by Hans-Georg Gadamer allows examining KC starting from the idea of a human being interacting in the events of co-creation. The presented framework is used to examine KC in a community of librarians and teachers collaborating to promote children’s joy of reading.
Design/methodology/approach
An ethnographic approach is applied to investigate knowledge-creating interaction in a working community. The triangulated data consist of ethnographic observations and video recordings of the community’s gatherings, its members’ interviews and produced documents.
Findings
The phenomenological conceptions of temporality of a human being and play are suitable for understanding being in the knowledge-creating interaction, as they give means to understand the meaningfulness of the past experiences, but promote an open attitude toward the future possibilities in a way which promotes KC. Studying interactive events allows understanding how KC can be examined as a collective accomplishment. The playful mode of being in the event was seen as a way to use the limited time available for interaction effectively.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical study was conducted in one community, and further research is needed to test the developed approach in other contexts.
Practical implications
The results may be utilized to develop organizational circumstances, which promote KC by acknowledging the meaningfulness of interaction.
Originality/value
The study presents a novel way to conceptualize and examine KC as an experience and an event with phenomenological approach.
Details
Keywords
Mina Ranjbarfard, Mohammad Aghdasi, Pedro López-Sáez and José Emilio Navas López
This paper aims to find and rank the barriers of the four knowledge management (KM) processes including generation, storage, distribution and application in the gas and petroleum…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to find and rank the barriers of the four knowledge management (KM) processes including generation, storage, distribution and application in the gas and petroleum sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Reviewing the literature of KM and organizational learning, this paper extracted all of the barriers which impede KM processes. Then it designed a questionnaire for validating, ranking and categorizing barriers. Totally, 190 completed questionnaires were gathered from 26 gas and petroleum companies in Iran. Some statistical tests such as T, Friedman, Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney were used for analyzing data.
Findings
Findings reviewed the current literature of KM barriers, validated and ranked the barriers of knowledge generation, storage, distribution and application separately. The importance of knowledge generation and knowledge application barriers were significantly different between gas and petroleum companies. Hence they were disjointedly ranked for gas and petroleum. Finally, KM barriers were ranked according to their contribution to KM processes and the average mean of their importance in KM processes.
Practical implications
From the practical point of view, this paper suggests managers of gas and petroleum companies to emphasize solving high-priority barriers according to the KM process which they are focused on. Furthermore, the study provides a checklist that can be used as an assessment tool for evaluating KM processes considering barriers.
Originality/value
This paper finds the importance of each barrier for each of the four KM processes and ranks the “critical barriers” according to their contribution to four KM processes in the gas and petroleum sector.
Details
Keywords
Achieving Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) is main agenda of any democratic government. The demand for needs of the society is increasing day by day due to increasing…
Abstract
Achieving Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) is main agenda of any democratic government. The demand for needs of the society is increasing day by day due to increasing globalization and rapid transformation in all spheres of the society, and as a result, agriculture has shifted from a situation where food is primarily considered as a national concern with high self-sufficiency goals to a situation, where food can be traded subject to high degree of vertical integration of value chain. This study attempts to examine first, how far the state Tripura has developed toward to achieving its SDGs; so that Central dependency of the state would be reduced; second, the impact of globalization on its sustainable development; and, third, the possibility of development in different sectors of the economy toward fulfilling the SDGs through globalization. It observes that the state is in the take-off stage; it needs to go long way to make it developed. The state has lot of potentialities for its sustainable development.
Details
Keywords
Samson Edo and Obianuju Nnadozie
The purpose of this paper is to determine how macroeconomic performance work with institutional quality influences divestment of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Sub-Saharan…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine how macroeconomic performance work with institutional quality influences divestment of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the short and long run.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper investigates divestment of FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa, within the period 1980–2020. The investigation is undertaken by first comparing the trend with what is obtained in other economic regions of the world. The factors behind the divestment are subsequently investigated, using the vector error-correction model.
Findings
In the comparative analysis, Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions are observed to have witnessed sustained divestment in recent years. The estimation results of the model reveal that macroeconomic performance and institutional quality are the predominant drivers behind the divestment.
Research limitations/implications
The findings, however, do not conform to the neoclassical theory that lays emphasis on investment return as the fundamental factor influencing investment. Long-run structural stability is also established; hence, the results may be considered suitable for predicting future divestment in the region.
Practical implications
In view of the empirical findings, macroeconomic performance and institutional quality need to be improved to ameliorate FDI divestment in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Originality/value
There is paucity of research works on divestment of FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa. Again, there is paucity of works on how macroeconomic and institutional conditions work together to influence divestment. This study provides some evidence to bridge the perceived gaps.
Details
Keywords
Michael Hicks and Dagney G. Faulk
As a component of a benefit-cost analysis into the efficacy of publicly funded facility incentives, the purpose of this paper is to examine the county-wide impact of business…
Abstract
Purpose
As a component of a benefit-cost analysis into the efficacy of publicly funded facility incentives, the purpose of this paper is to examine the county-wide impact of business incubators, makerspaces and co-working spaces on employment, proprietor’s employment and the average wage per job. The period under analysis is 1971 through 2015 across Indiana’s 92 counties.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a unique data set on facility incentives in Indiana, a spatial panel model, which includes a unique identification strategy to account for underlying conditions identified as a source of incubator success in earlier studies, is developed.
Findings
This study finds no statistically significant impact of these facilities on total employment or average wage per job during this period. There is a statistically meaningful impact of co-working spaces on proprietor’s employment, but the effect is an economically insignificant one-time increase of 2.3 jobs in the typical county, which can be interpreted as shifting employment from traditional employment to proprietorship employment.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical estimate of the contribution of modern facility incentives on measures of local economic activity.
Details
Keywords
Simplice A. Asongu and Vanessa S. Tchamyou
– This paper aims to assess how entrepreneurship affects knowledge economy (KE) in Africa.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess how entrepreneurship affects knowledge economy (KE) in Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
Entrepreneurship is measured by indicators of starting, doing and ending business. The four dimensions of the World Bank’s index of KE are used. Instrumental variable panel-fixed effects are applied on a sample of 53 African countries for the period of 1996-2010.
Findings
The following are some of the findings. First, creating an enabling environment for starting business can substantially boost most dimensions of KE. Second, doing business through mechanisms of trade globalization has positive effects from sectors that are not information and communication technology (ICT) and high-tech oriented. Third, the time required to end business has negative effects on KE.
Practical implications
The findings confirm the narrative that the technology in African countries at the moment may be more imitative and adaptive for reverse engineering in ICTs and high-tech products. Given the massive consumption of ICT and high-tech commodities in Africa, the continent has to start thinking of how to participate in the global value chain of producing what it consumes.
Originality/value
This paper has a twofold motivation. First, given the ambitions of African countries of moving towards knowledge-based economies, the line of inquiry is timely. Second, investigating the nexus may have substantial poverty mitigation and sustainable development implications. These entail, inter alia, the development of technology with value-added services; enhancement of existing agricultural practices; promotion of conditions that are essential for competitiveness; and adjustment to globalization challenges.
Details
Keywords
Large numbers of women in prison report significant emotional and mental health problems, and there is evidence to suggest that the prison environment may exacerbate the incidence…
Abstract
Purpose
Large numbers of women in prison report significant emotional and mental health problems, and there is evidence to suggest that the prison environment may exacerbate the incidence and severity of these issues (Armour, 2012). However, there has been limited exploration of the extent to which women’s mental health problems exist prior to incarceration, whether symptoms first occur in incarceration, and how incarceration affects this. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth interviews were conducted with 43 women incarcerated in three English prisons and a thematic analysis of the data was conducted. Review of official prison records provided a form of data triangulation.
Findings
Analysis of the data revealed that while many women who experienced mental health issues in prison had experienced these issues in the past, a number of women reported first experiencing mental health and emotional problems only after entering prison. Although these problems often recede, this demonstrates the significant impact that entering prison can have upon the mental health of women. Unusually, the data highlighted many positive experiences of support within prison. However, there was some lack of consistency in the treatment and support offered to women.
Originality/value
The data presented here are in many ways more positive than previous research and – as opposed to much of the existing literature that simply states the prevalence women’s issues in prison – provides insight into the lived experiences of women in prison. This paper documents how prison can present an opportunity for women to engage with treatment, but there is a need for a clearer understanding of women’s needs and consistent and appropriate support.
Details
Keywords
Oasis Kodila-Tedika and Asongu Simplice
The purpose of this paper is to assess the determinants of state fragility in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using hitherto unexplored variables in the literature.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the determinants of state fragility in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using hitherto unexplored variables in the literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The previously missing dimension of nation building is integrated and the hypothesis of state fragility being a function of rent seeking and/or lobbying by de facto power holders is tested.
Findings
The resulting interesting finding is that political interference, rent seeking and lobbying increase the probability of state fragility by mitigating the effectiveness of governance capacity. This relationship (after controlling for a range of economic, institutional and demographic factors) is consistent with a plethora of models and specifications. The validity of the hypothesis is confirmed in a scenario of extreme state fragility. Moreover, the interaction between political interferences and revolutions mitigates the probability of state fragility while the interaction between natural resources and political interferences breeds the probability of extreme state fragility.
Practical implications
There are two main policy implications. First, political interference, rent seeking and lobbying are likely to increase the fragility of SSA nations. Second, there is a “Sub-Saharan African specificity” in “nation building” and prevention of conflicts. Blanket fragility-oriented policies will be misplaced unless they are contingent on the degree of fragility, since “fragile” and “extreme fragile” countries respond differently to economic, institutional and demographic characteristics of state fragility.
Originality/value
The study is timely given the political strife, violence and conflicts issues currently affecting African development.
Details