Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Ecuador: Evolution and Challenges

The main objective of this article is to analyze the evolution of Ecuadorian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME), their contribution to the national economy, institutional framework, and internal operating characteristics. To this end, the focus is on companies related to the manufacturing sector in Ecuador. The main periods of the analysis are: i) the 1990s, ii) 2000-2008 and iii) 2009-2019; however, the decades of the 1970s and 1980s have been included in the first part of the article for their relevance. Literature review is the main data collection methodology, and the databases used are from official sources. Data from the Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE, Central Bank of Ecuador), the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC, National Institute of Statistics and Census), regulations and research around the SME sector have been used. The main findings are that SMEs are crucial within the Ecuadorian industrial fabric, because of its specialization in products that contribute to satisfying basic needs, but also because they provide parts and supplies to other companies. The quantitative contribution of SMEs, however, has been declining over time, both in number of establishments, staffing, and production, which reveals the increasing relevance of large industries. In this process, the institutional framework has had an influence in the evolution of SMEs, with certain strengths and weaknesses in terms of supporting the development of SMEs. In turn, in regards to internal operation, it becomes apparent that despite some improvement, there has not been significant progress during the period under analysis. In short, this work contributes to the larger discussion about the relevance of SMEs in Ecuador, their history, and whether there might be grounds for public policies to support their development.

News Sources and Framing of Responsibility on Devolution in Kenya, 2013–2017

The present research examines two aspects of newspaper coverage of devolution during a 4-year period between March 27, 2013, and May 28, 2017: first, through the lens of attribution of responsibility, who the news media most blamed for problems facing devolution; second, whether reliance on official sources in reporting of devolution mirrors the indexing hypothesis. Findings show that the most-blamed actor and dominant news source on devolution is the county executive. Journalists continue to rely on the elite as their main news source and as a result they shape the discourse on devolution.

The use of bibliometrics in assessments of social scientists

The paper is focused on practical advice for the use of bibliometrics in research assessment in the social sciences. Guidelines are presented from three official sources of advice with a particular focus on individual-level assessments of applications for positions, promotions, and external funding. General problems with applying bibliometrics in evaluations of the social sciences are also discussed, as well as the specific problems with using the Journal Impact Factor and the H-Index. The conclusion is not that bibliometrics should be avoided in research assessment of social scientists. Used with care and competence, bibliometrics can be a valuable extra source of information, but not replace judgement in research evaluation.

Information Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In any healthcare crisis, people typically seek out information and news about infections, expert analysis of the situation, government policies, sources of support, and so on. Research on other types of crisis situations have shown how individuals draw on information from official sources, the media, and their own contacts in order to make sense of what is going on, understand the risks, and decide how to respond to the situation at a personal level. This chapter examines what is known about individual information behaviors during a pandemic and the implications of these. The chapter includes consideration of levels, patterns, and changes in information consumption during a pandemic; the links between information consumption and pandemic-related behaviors; information content and messaging styles as tools for achieving pandemic management goals; the role of online information channels in supporting daily life during a pandemic; and technology and access to information in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to support various life activities.

The reality of the cognitive burden of the methods of teaching physical education for male and female teachers of Al-Karkh Al-Thania Education Directorate

The aim of the research is to build a cognitive load scale for the methods of teaching physical education for male and female teachers of the eduction for male and female teachers of the second karkh Education Directorate , and to identify the details of the leval of cognitive burden for the methods of teaching physical education forthem . Baghdad Al - Karkh /2 numbering (59) individuals , all of them were chosen deliberately at a rate of (100%) , and then they wrer divded into three samples ( contruction , exploratory and application ) according to the requirements of the research , and a specialized cognitive burden scale was built for the sample and the specificity of this The research is according to the determinants of measurement and evaluation , and its application in apaper form with direct measurement , as the time prtiod for procedures and application took from 5l1l2021 to 28l2l2021 and after data was obtained , it was processed using the (SPSS) system to be the only extracts and applicatons from this research in that Teachers of physical education in middle school need to schedule and properly codify the information the receive about how to evaluate , and the need to rely on official sources about virtual classroom information and e-learning by reducing its momentum on their minds , and it is necessary that continuous development courses have reakistic goals and do not cause a cognitive burden . and exhausting them, and it is necessary to find open channels of communication to help them identify useful inforomation from non- improvised scintific sources

Аgricultural cooperation from a historical perspective

The purpose of the article is to show that cooperation conducted in a «voluntary-compulsory» manner only discredits the idea of cooperation in rural areas and leads to food crises in society. The research uses the method of historical analogies. The article examines the processes of agricultural concentration, including in the form of cooperation, from a historical perspective; an assessment of current trends is given by comparing them with similar processes that took place in the Soviet era in the conditions of the administrative economy. Statistical materials from official sources, party-Soviet documents were used for the analysis. The content of V.I. Lenin's article «On Cooperation», to which the former and current ideologists of the cooperation of the peasantry refer, allows for a very twofold interpretation of the ideas of the leader of the revolution. On the one hand, Lenin's position presupposes a link between the city and the countryside on the basis of a new economic policy. On the other hand, his remark that «the system of civilized cooperators with public ownership of the means of production... – this is the system of socialism,» clearly indicates that Lenin considered the collective farm form as the highest form of peasant cooperation. This form of cooperation objectively leads to the use of the state coercive apparatus with all the ensuing consequences. This form of cooperation objectively leads to the use of the state coercive apparatus with all the ensuing consequences. It is shown that the basis of failures in the development of cooperation in modern agriculture of Kazakhstan is the prevalence of administrative and bureaucratic methods of solving the problem. Author summarizes that only reliance on the initiative of the peasants themselves, their personal interests and motivation are the main condition for the successful promotion of ideas of cooperation in rural areas.

Fir and Empire: The Transformation of Forests in Early Modern China, Reviewed by Peter C. Perdue

Ian M. Miller's important book follows the impact of the Chinese state and economy on the forests of southern China, from the eleventh through sixteenth centuries. Besides providing a new narrative of forest history, based on the scouring of official sources, his helpful comparisons to Europe and Japan ask us to rethink how we periodize Chinese history and evaluate the success of the imperial state.

The UK’s first (unsanctioned) overdose prevention site

Background: The UK is currently experiencing a public health crisis of drug-related deaths. The government has rejected recommendations to open overdose prevention services, under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. To report on the operation and use of an unsanctioned overdose prevention service which operated in Glasgow city centre from September 2020 to May 2021.Methods: Description of the service, with analysis of data collected on its use.Results: The service operated for nine months without permission or funding from official sources. We report on the 894 injections supervised and recorded, and nine successful interventions with overdose events (seven opioid/two cocaine). Powder cocaine injection predominated either alone (60.6%) or with heroin (22.1%). Injection was mostly in the groin (68.0%) or arm (16.8%). More injections were recorded by males (70.1%). Conclusion: It is possible to operate an overdose prevention service in the UK without it being shut down by the police. There is an urgent need and demand for these services in the UK to reduce harm, prevent and intervene during overdose, and provide vital psychosocial support for health and wellbeing in a highly marginalised population.

Citizen journalism reduces the credibility deficit of authoritarian government in risk communication amid COVID-19 outbreaks

During the outbreak of an epidemic, the success in risk communications to make the public comply with disease preventive measures depends on the public’s trust in the government. In this study, we aim to understand how media audiences update their trust in the government during the COVID-19 outbreak depending on the information they received. We conducted an online survey experiment in February 2020 in Hong Kong (n = 1,016) in which respondents were randomly provided with a government press release and an endorsement either from an official or a non-official source. This study shows that the information from a non-official source enhances the credibility of official government messages. Our findings imply that dictators can actually “borrow credibility” from their citizen journalists and even nondemocratic leaders can make themselves more trustworthy to potential dissenters through citizen journalism. Allowing information flow from non-official sources can be a practical measure for governments to address the problem of a credibility deficit during a pandemic.

Misinformation and instant access: inconsistent reporting during extreme climatic events, reflecting on Tropical Cyclone Idai

In an era of globalisation, the spread of misinformation is becoming increasingly problematic. The dissemination of inaccurate and conflicting news on events such as tropical cyclones, can result in people being placed at increased risk and negatively influence the amount of aid received by the region. This study scrutinises media articles, and with the use of comparative analysis, uncovers the potential cause of misinformation in disaster journalism. The results of the study found that 59% (n=80) of the articles reported on wind speed values while 80% (n=80) of the articles reported on the number of fatalities. Results indicate that 44% (n=80) of the articles used official sources, uncovering that the potential source of misinformation is not only what is provided to journalists from official sources, but how the various sources used lead to contradicting news articles. The variations in news reports can be attributed to factors such as, the influx of different reports and the changing conditions during a disaster, all of which make consistent reporting on a disaster a challenging process.