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As on previous occasions, the editors of the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship have sought to interview local small businessowners as well as entrepreneurs who have national reputations. One such small business operator is Allan Lichter, coowner of Millennium Graphics in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mr. Lichterʼs story is certainly unique to him and to his partner, but readers may resonate with portions of this story as to how challenging it can be to surmount the ups and downs of the business cycle.

Front-of-pack nutritional labels have been extensively studied to support consumers in making healthier and more informed food choices. However, existing research has gathered conflicting evidence about which category of label, nutrient-specific or summary labels, is more effective. As a result, the European Union has postponed its decision on selecting a unified label to collect additional information. This study specifically focusses on individuals with noncommunicable diseases, an overlooked yet relevant segment of consumers who can significantly benefit from the proper use of nutritional labels in their self-care.

In a sequence of three studies grounded in the front-of-pack acceptance model and focussing on customers with specific noncommunicable diseases, the authors examined the different effects of the NutrInform Battery and Nutri-Score on food acceptance and portion selection. This research involved the use of structural equation modelling and ANOVA and was conducted with a cumulative sample of 2,942 EU adults, residing in countries with or without previous exposure to nutritional labels.

The results suggest that among individuals with noncommunicable diseases, nutrient-specific labels are perceived as more useful and easier to use. They also generate a better attitude towards the usage of nutritional labels and are more effective in nudging those consumers towards a proper selection of portions.

The results provide valuable insights into how front-of-pack nutritional labels can impact the food choices of individuals with noncommunicable diseases and have implications for public health policies.

Investigation of the effects of NutrInform Battery and Nutri-Score on consumers with noncommunicable diseases, an area currently under-researched.

Crop suitability analysis is vital for identifying a piece of land’s potential for sustainable crop production and aids in the formulation of an effective agricultural management plan. This study aims to conduct crop suitability analysis of prominent Kharif (rice and maize) and Rabi (potato and wheat) crops in Sirajganj district, a flood-prone area of Bangladesh, and recommend a suitable cropping pattern to mitigate the detrimental effects of flooding.

Various factors such as soil drainage, soil depth, soil moisture, soil texture, soil permeability, soil pH, erosion hazard, nutrient status and flooding risk were considered for this study. For all four crops, the weights of each factor were determined using the analytical hierarchy process approach, and the scores of each subfactor were assigned on the basis of favorable circumstances of crop cultivation. Using the weighted overlay analysis in the ArcGIS 10.3 environment, the crop suitability maps were generated and were divided into four suitable classes. Geographic information system integration of crop suitability for all the crops determined the suitable cropping pattern of the study area in Kharif and Rabi seasons.

A vast portion of the study area covering 64.80% of the total land is suitable for cultivating either rice or maize in Kharif season followed by either potato or wheat in Rabi season. Other suitable cropping pattern for Kharif and Rabi seasons found in the study area are rice-wheat, rice-wheat/potato, rice/maize-wheat and rice/maize-potato, which covers a little portion of the study area.

This research validates the suitable location of crop cultivation on the basis of flooding occurrences in the locality.

The chapter deals with the interface between the law of succession and corporate law and explains the completely different objects of these two fields of law. Succession law tries to shift and contribute assets to the successors, whereas corporate law focuses on the well-being of the company. However, in a family business, it is necessary to find legal, social, and psychological techniques to combine these two areas and to establish strong and binding relations. This is the function of shareholder agreements and family constitutions.

This paper aims to raise awareness of a potential planning pitfall and provide recommendations on how to assess and improve upon current practices. In potential conflict areas, such as the Korean Theater of Operations (KTO), military forces are required to store a portion of their ammunition combat load within depots and ammunition supply points under the control of a servicing ammunition company. This necessitates a lengthy retrieval process, as the ammunition company does not have enough resources to serve all customers simultaneously.

The stored combat load (SCL) retrieval process is modeled as a parallel machine scheduling problem and simulated using synthetic requirements. The current system of retrieval is contrasted against a proposed alternate system through a series of simulations scaled across three factors: number of ammunition company Soldiers, number of customer units and number of magazines.

The proposed alternate system demonstrates a significant potential for reducing the makespan of the SCL retrieval process when more than half of the magazines store SCL for multiple customers and there are more than five customers per Soldier.

Transitioning military units from a peacetime standing to full combat readiness as quickly as possible is of immense value within the KTO and other hostile areas with established troops not actively engaged in combat.

The purpose of this paper is to fit a logit model for dry bulkers transporting grains through the Panama Canal versus alternative routes destined to East Asia, originating on the US Gulf and East Coast. This is with the purpose of better understanding the attributes.

In this paper, grain transits both through the Panama Canal and alternative routes, which are examined, and a logit model is developed to explain the route decision from a carrier/vessel operator point of view.

Transit draft is the most important attribute in the route decision process for grains according to this study. Also, Panamax bulkers are the preferred vessel size into China, especially through the Cape of Good Hope route, impacting Panama Canal’s market share for grains.

This research used only a full year of grain traffic data approximating fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). Data will come mostly from the Panama Canal transit data and observations using IHS’s Market Intelligence Network (MINT).

This paper is highly dependent on visual observations of grains vessels through alternative routes using AIS data from MINT software.

This paper aims to assess the consumption of dairy products in Kuwaiti children, and develop and validate a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire to measure dairy product consumption.

This cross-sectional study was based on a sample of child–parent dyads (n = 150). A dietary assessment questionnaire on local dairy products consumed by preschool and preadolescent children was developed. Serving and portion sizes were evaluated on the basis of the guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture and the American Academy of Pediatrics to calculate median intake levels of three age groups (3-5, 6-8 and 9-11 years).

All children met or exceeded the recommended daily servings of dairy products for their age and sex. Dairy product intake was often from processed dairy including milk-based desserts, flavored milk and cheese. Compared to boys, girls consumed more yogurt (15.5 per cent vs 14.2 per cent, p = 0.001) and milk-based desserts (15.5 vs 14.3, p = 0.001). In boys, flavored milk contributed more to the total dairy intake than in girls, especially in 6-8-year-olds (21.8 per cent vs 18.9 per cent, p = 0.021). Weight status was not associated with dairy product intake in either sex.

This is the first study that quantifies dairy product consumption in Kuwaiti children and provides insight into sex-specific trends in dairy product selection. The findings of this study may help in investigating relationships between dairy product consumption in children and disease risk factors, and are important for the development of local dietary guidelines for children.

Much debate was brought forth during the South Korean credit card companies' liquidity crisis in 2003. This paper is an in-depth analysis of those credit card issuers' option embedded commercial paper (mentioned as ‘option CP’ henceforth). The main purpose of this paper is in evaluating the ‘option CP's fair value, with the decomposition and analysis on ‘option CP’.

Option CP is stipulated as a CP joined by an OTC credit derivative product. The structure is set so that anyone of the two options, put options and call options, will be executed.

Therefore, the price of option CP excluding the credit option portion will be equal to that of the standard coupon bond at the same maturity.

However, empirical evidence shows otherwise. The evidence clearly states that the option CP yield rates were generally quoted lower than the fair-value rates, even if option premium of credit option portion was included in calculating the value. This evidence has an implication that ‘option CP’s rates are generally issued and traded with unfair value. This paper has significance that it made valuation model of ‘option CP’ and evaluated its fairness, by way of the in-depth analysis of option CP which has not been before.

This paper examined the future prospects of China’s economic development and its impact on the East Asian Economy and the economic integration of the region. The key issue to China’s economic growth is the contradiction between the socialist political system and a market-based economy. The overall assessment is that China will be able to manage the transformation of the nation into a steadily growing market economy.

We also found that China is the key country forming a triangular trading block which has implemented the international division of labor in the North-East Asian region. China’s rapid export growth and increased market share in the world economy is not a threat but a new opportunity for the East Asian countries. The rise of China will certainly be accompanied by an expansion of a consumer market, which will also broaden business opportunities for East Asian.

Despite the interdependence between East Asian countries, a regional trading bloc embracing East Asia has not been created yet. The future prospects for realizing the vision of a regional free trade agreement in East Asia in the foreseeable future is not bright, either.

This study investigates how the consumption of sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages has changed across birth cohorts. In addition, this study examines how the socio-economic gaps in the consumption of said products have evolved across birth cohorts.

The research data are drawn from the Finnish household expenditure surveys covering the period 1985–2016 (n = 44,286). An age-period-cohort methodology is utilised through the age-period-cohort-trended lag model. The model assumes that the linear long-term component of change is caused by generations replacing one-another, and that the age effect is similar across cohorts.

Sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages occupied a larger portion of more recent birth cohorts' food baskets. Cohort differences were larger in beverage consumption. Lower income was associated with a higher food expenditure share of sugar products in several cohorts. A higher education level was linked to a higher food expenditure share of sugar products in more cohorts than a lower education level. In cohorts born before the 1950s, non-alcoholic beverages occupied a larger portion of the food baskets of the high socio-economic status groups. This gap reversed over time, leading to larger food expenditure shares of non-alcoholic beverages in low socio-economic status groups.

This study assessed how the consumption of sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages has changed across birth cohorts. In addition, this study assessed how socio-economic differences in the consumption of said products have changed. The results highlight that sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages occupy larger portions of more recent birth cohorts’ food baskets. The results also highlight a reversal of socioeconomic differences in non-alcoholic beverage consumption.