scholarly journals Sustainability of global and international business operations during the adversity and hardship

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-26
Author(s):  
Ramo Palalic ◽  
Robert D. Hisrich ◽  
Leo Paul Dana ◽  
Veland Ramadani

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way business is conducted. The widespread closure of commercial organizations presents opportunities to reset the way business activities are conducted. Regardless of the organization’s size or its status as a domestic or international firm, due diligence is required to find solutions that will allow firms to sustain their business activities in uncertain times. This study addresses this issue and attempts to identify issues that require urgent attention so that organizations can be effective and efficient in their global operations. In this context, the study proposes three imperatives for global/international businesses to sustain their operations in the long term. These imperatives include having a strong reserve fund, access to a local mutual fund, and networking to form alliances in host countries. Other implications are discussed, and we identify areas for future research.

Author(s):  
Madan Mohan ◽  
◽  
Aadarsh Malviya ◽  
Anuranjan Mishra ◽  
◽  
...  

Big Data is the way to go especially for the large companies which keep a lot of information on the systems. This paper delves into the new challenges associated with big data. It points out safety challenges on Big Data as the main issues that organizations seek to address on a day-to-day basis. These challenges include securing the trusted environments, sufficient access management, performing due diligence, combating AVI vulnerabilities, and security automation. They can be solved by maintaining strict access strategies that only allow their esteemed and responsible employees to login and also set the systems in such a way that they can detect abnormalities and allow for investigations while there is still time. The paper has addressed big data challenges as well as their solutions which are always be considered in the case of the organization as they have long-term consequences if not put into consideration.


Kybernetes ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 1171-1188
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Aleksic ◽  
Hrvoje Puskaric ◽  
Danijela Tadic ◽  
Miladin Stefanovic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the vulnerability of projects implemented in enterprises. The paper focuses on the issue of vulnerability assessment in the planning stages of a project, before its realization. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the realization of the project has been analyzed through the phases of delivery, and the fuzzy approach has been deployed for mathematical modeling of uncertainties. An appropriate expert and management team has assessed the variables of the project’s vulnerability by using linguistic expressions, as this way of assessment is close to the human way of thinking. The model of project’s vulnerability assessment has been verified on real life data by means of an illustrative example. Findings A very significant part of business operations in enterprises all over the world is realized through the practice of project management. In daily business practice, project activities may be exposed to different risk sources. These risks may be studied from different perspectives, but without reevaluation, risk sources increase the vulnerability of projects as well as of the whole enterprise. Originality/value The results of the analysis of the obtained data gives good direction to future research in the scope of vulnerability management in the enterprises oriented to long-term sustainability.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Kállay

Abstract. The last several decades have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of individuals suffering from both diagnosable and subsyndromal mental health problems. Consequently, the development of cost-effective treatment methods, accessible to large populations suffering from different forms of mental health problems, became imperative. A very promising intervention is the method of expressive writing (EW), which may be used in both clinically diagnosable cases and subthreshold symptomatology. This method, in which people express their feelings and thoughts related to stressful situations in writing, has been found to improve participants’ long-term psychological, physiological, behavioral, and social functioning. Based on a thorough analysis and synthesis of the published literature (also including most recent meta-analyses), the present paper presents the expressive writing method, its short- and long-term, intra-and interpersonal effects, different situations and conditions in which it has been proven to be effective, the most important mechanisms implied in the process of recovery, advantages, disadvantages, and possible pitfalls of the method, as well as variants of the original technique and future research directions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-77
Author(s):  
O. Demydenko ◽  
V. Velychko

The contemporary condition of soil cover in Ukraine is characterized. The attention is focused onto widespread degradation processes in soils. The causes that determine the development of these negative processes are considered. The contemporary informational support for the condition of soil cover in Ukraine is estimated. In general, the current available information is of narrow-departmental nature, obtained by different methods and non-correlated monitoring programs. As a rule, it is stored in under-structured databases, incompatible with other information systems; mainly recorded on paper media unusable with modern technologies, whereby such information resources are diffi cult to be compiled together. These disadvantages are strong constraints against consistent usage of materials for evaluation, forecast and management of changes in the soil cover. The Soil Observation program should thereby be combined with Agrochemical Passportization and ecology-ameliora- tive monitoring; in other words, the application of innovative soil-agrochemical methodology is considered. Each individual type of surveys shall complement the others, and taken altogether, they shall constitute a con- sistent Information System, capable of solving the problems of assessing the condition, forecasting, manage- ment, usage and protection of soil resources. The monitoring procedures should be conducted on the basis of a new soil concept in line with unifi ed programs and methods, so as to meet European approaches to the maxi- mum extent. Such a technical composition enables getting information on present-day processes in soils, and is the only combination that actually helps us to “ecologize” our knowledge of soils, which is the leading trend in the scope of global soil-science. Thus obtained results will serve as a State-owned tool which would subse- quently facilitate the use and protection of soil resources all over the country, to be involved in a united global soil-information scope. The attention is focused onto social signifi cance of the information on soils and their fertility in terms of land resources optimization, as well as the formation of sustainable land use in Ukraine. Aim. To demonstrate the long-term effect of different ways of tillage of typical low-humus chernozem on the change in humus content and composition and the direction of transformation processes of organic fertili- zers. To study the changes in the structure of energy reserves in group and fractional composition of humus in typical low-humus light-loamy chernozem of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Field, laboratory, microbiological, computational, mathematical and statistical. Results. It was determined that in conditions of long-term subsurface tillage the most effi cient humus accumulation occurs in the 0–20 cm layer of chernozem with simultaneous increase in its content in the lower part of the processed layer without any accumulation differentiation. Surface tillage leads to expressed differentiation in humus accumulation in the 0–20 cm layer of soil (0.005 % per year). When 6 t/ha of humus are replaced by 7 t/ha of by-products the intensity of humus accumulation is decreasing regardless of the way of tillage, but humus accumulation was found to be the most effi cient for subsurface tillage. The application of subsurface tillage leads to the increase in the ratio of C HA : C FA , which is conditioned by the increase in the humifi cation of plant remains of by-products in the 0−20 cm layer of soil by 110–112 % – for subsurface tillage, and by 105 % – for surface tillage. Conclusions. It was established that systematic subsurface tillage of typical chernozem of the Left-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine leads to the structuring both of the total reserves of energy С org , and its quality content, aimed at the increase in the intensity of the processes of humifi cation and accumulation of organic carbon, and the decrease in miner- alization. The ratio of energy reserves С org of humic acids to fulvic acids in the 0−30 cm layer of chernozem is 1.85−1.87 regardless of the way of tillage, which testifi es to the repeatability of humus accumulation, but the total reserves of energy С org was higher for subsurface tillage (+ 31 Teracalorie/ha) compared to deep plough- ing. As for the surface tillage, the energy enrichment was at the level of deep ploughing.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Budzynski-Seymour ◽  
James Steele ◽  
Michelle Jones

Physical activity (PA) is considered essential to overall health yet it is consistently reported that children are failing to meet the recommended levels. Due to the bidirectional relationship between affective states and PA, affective responses are a potential predictor to long term engagement. Since late March 2020 the UK government enforced ‘lockdown’ measures to help control the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19); however, this has impacted children’s PA. Using online resources at home to support PA is now common. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the use of the Change4Life 10-minute Shake Ups to support PA by examining the effects of Disney branding upon children’s (n=32) post activity affective responses and perceived exertion. The secondary was to investigate the effect of the lockdown on PA habits. Children had similar positive affective responses and perceived effort to activities; however, branding was considered to be a key contributing factor based upon qualitative feedback from parents. Children’s PA levels dropped slightly since ‘lockdown’ was imposed; though online resources have been utilised to support PA. The use of immersive elements such as characters and narrative in PA sessions, as well as utilising online resources during ‘lockdown’ appear potentially promising for future research.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 558c-558
Author(s):  
Jennifer B. Neujahr ◽  
Karen L.B. Gast

Consumer behavior research seems to play an big role in determining the wants and needs of an industry. This research helps to shape the way we market to the consumers and helps make marketing strategies more effective. In the 1950s grocery stores began to sell horticulture products in order to alleviate the growers' surplus. Supermarkets now have seem to found their niche in this market due to the fact that they can influence their consumers to buy their flowers right along with their bread, and get all of their shopping done at once. This new type of sale, commonly referred to as the impulse sale, can relate directly to how well the store is merchandised and maintained. A study was conducted at a local supermarket, to determine the following: good locations for impulse sales items, special conditions affecting impulse sales items, and what types of things could affect demand for impulse items. It was discovered that certain locations make better sales than other locations. Locations that were front and center and allowed easy access to seeing the mixed flower bouquet without having to touch it yielded the best results. The variables used to show a change in demand showed little to some variability and has raised some questions which may be used to conduct future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinlu Feng ◽  
Zifei Yin ◽  
Daniel Zhang ◽  
Arun Srivastava ◽  
Chen Ling

The success of gene and cell therapy in clinic during the past two decades as well as our expanding ability to manipulate these biomaterials are leading to new therapeutic options for a wide range of inherited and acquired diseases. Combining conventional therapies with this emerging field is a promising strategy to treat those previously-thought untreatable diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved for thousands of years in China and still plays an important role in human health. As part of the active ingredients of TCM, proteins and peptides have attracted long-term enthusiasm of researchers. More recently, they have been utilized in gene and cell therapy, resulting in promising novel strategies to treat both cancer and non-cancer diseases. This manuscript presents a critical review on this field, accompanied with perspectives on the challenges and new directions for future research in this emerging frontier.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 1398-1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darby J.E. Lowe ◽  
Daniel J. Müller ◽  
Tony P. George

Ketamine has been shown to be efficacious for the treatment of depression, specifically among individuals who do not respond to first-line treatments. There is still, however, a lack of clarity surrounding the clinical features and response periods across samples that respond to ketamine. This paper systematically reviews published randomized controlled trials that investigate ketamine as an antidepressant intervention in both unipolar and bipolar depression to determine the specific clinical features of the samples across different efficacy periods. Moreover, similarities and differences in clinical characteristics associated with acute versus longer-term drug response are discussed. Similarities across all samples suggest that the population that responds to ketamine’s antidepressant effect has experienced chronic, long-term depression, approaching ketamine treatment as a “last resort”. Moreover, differences between these groups suggest future research to investigate the potential of stronger efficacy towards depression in the context of bipolar disorder compared to major depression, and in participants who undergo antidepressant washout before ketamine administration. From these findings, suggestions for the future direction of ketamine research for depression are formed.


Author(s):  
Steven Gunn

Henry VIII fought many wars, against the French and Scots, against rebels in England and the Gaelic lords of Ireland, even against his traditional allies in the Low Countries. But how much did they really affect his subjects? And what role did Henry’s reign play in the long-term transformation of England’s military capabilities? This book searches for the answers to these questions in parish and borough account books, wills and memoirs, buildings and paintings, letters from Henry’s captains, and the notes readers wrote in their printed history books. It looks back from Henry’s reign to that of his grandfather, Edward IV, who in 1475 invaded France in the afterglow of the Hundred Years War, and forwards to that of Henry’s daughter Elizabeth, who was trying by the 1570s to shape a trained militia and a powerful navy to defend England in a Europe increasingly polarized by religion. War, it shows, marked Henry’s England at every turn: in the news and prophecies people discussed, in the money towns and villages spent on armour, guns, fortifications, and warning beacons, in the way noblemen used their power. War disturbed economic life, made men buy weapons and learn how to use them, and shaped people’s attitudes to the king and to national history. War mobilized a high proportion of the English population and conditioned their relationships with the French and Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. War should be recognized as one of the defining features of life in the England of Henry VIII.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110252
Author(s):  
Sebastián Valenzuela ◽  
Daniel Halpern ◽  
Felipe Araneda

Despite widespread concern, research on the consequences of misinformation on people's attitudes is surprisingly scant. To fill in this gap, the current study examines the long-term relationship between misinformation and trust in the news media. Based on the reinforcing spirals model, we analyzed data from a three-wave panel survey collected in Chile between 2017 and 2019. We found a weak, over-time relationship between misinformation and media skepticism. Specifically, initial beliefs on factually dubious information were negatively correlated with subsequent levels of trust in the news media. Lower trust in the media, in turn, was related over time to higher levels of misinformation. However, we found no evidence of a reverse, parallel process where media trust shielded users against misinformation, further reinforcing trust in the news media. The lack of evidence of a downward spiral suggests that the corrosive effects of misinformation on attitudes toward the news media are less serious than originally suggested. We close with a discussion of directions for future research.


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