Are Landscape Restoration Interventions Sustainable? A Case for the Upper Tana Basin of Kenya

Landscape restoration initiatives often have the potential to result in environmental gains, but the question of whether these gains are sustainable and how they are linked to other community needs (social, productivity and economic gains) remains unclear. We use the Sustainable Intensification Assessment Framework (SIAF) to demonstrate how environmental benefits are linked to productivity, environment, social, human, and economic components. Using the SIAF, the standardization of relevant indicators across multiple objectives provided a contextual representation of sustainability. The study assessed the overall gains resulting from the measured indicators of sustainable land management (SLM) practices and their relationship to the multiple domains of the SIAF. We present a unique case for SLM options using a combined-methods approach where biophysical, socio-economic, and citizen science help assess the sustainability of the interventions. Using a participatory approach with farmers, land restoration options were conducted in four target micro-watersheds for 3 years (2015–2017). Co-developed restoration measures at the landscape level within the four micro-watersheds (MW1-MW4) resulted in a substantial increment (50%) for all treatments (grass strips, terraces, and a combination of grass strips and terraces) in soil moisture storage and increased maize and forage production. We demonstrate that SLM practices, when used in combination, greatly reduce soil erosion and are profitable and sustainable while conferring livelihood benefits to smallholder farmers.

Application of Artificial Intelligence in Precision Marketing

The development of artificial intelligence technology has greatly helped social productivity and economic growth. At the same time, we have changed modern marketing methods, provided technical assistance for precision marketing, improved modern marketing efficiency, and effectively reduced marketing costs. Compared to traditional marketing, artificial intelligence technology is applied to accurate marketing activities. It will make the marketing effect more accurate and personalized. Faced with these technological advances, it is important to study the application of artificial intelligence technology for the precise new marketing model. The advancement of artificial intelligence technology not only changed the way of marketing activities, but also enabled marketers to attract consumers more effectively. The enormous amount of data provides new opportunities and challenges for marketers. AI technology can accurately identify customer needs in a huge database to locate potential customers, meet customer needs, and establish a good relationship between marketers and consumers.

Contribution of Green Productivity to the Success of Business Performance: A Literature Review

Green Productivity is integrated for enhancing the profitability of the organization by improving productivity and environmental performance for overall socio-economic development. It considered the win-win situation of uplifting the quality of life in the form of generating profits to the business and considering the less impact to the environment from the business processes which leads to the greener business practices. The objective of this research paper is to review the existing literature about the practical application of the GP to identify the business areas which are influenced by the GP methodology. This is Qualitative research in nature. Nineteen existing research papers from reputed Journals are considered for the study. The content analysis method is used to analyze the research papers. The analysis results highlighted that GP methodology could be applied to any organization regardless of nature and size, and it will generate a significant contribution to the overall profitability of the organization by creating a competitive advantage in the market. GP will contribute to the organizations in two areas, (1) Productivity through reducing manufacturing cost, cycle time, risk, waste and increasing competitive advantages through social productivity, labour, and capital productivity of the business, (2) The environment in the form of reducing waste with many environmental concepts such as 3R, 5R Concepts and releasing less carbon emission to the environment. It is clear that this GP Methodology practice will enhance the development of socioeconomic and sustainability, which uplifts the living standard of all living beings in the natural environment.

A Literature Review of Contribution of Green Productivity to the Success of Business Performance

Green Productivity (GP) is integrated for enhancing the profitability of the organization by improving productivity and environmental performance for overall socio-economic development. It considered the win-win situation of uplifting the quality of life in the foam of generating profits to the business and considering the less impact to the environment from the business processes which leads to the greener business practices. The objective of this research paper is to review the existing Literature about the practical application of the GP to identify the business areas which are influenced by the GP methodology. This is Qualitative research in nature. Twenty existing research papers from reputed Journals are considered for the study. The contents analysis method is used to analyse the research papers. The analysis results highlighted that GP methodology can be applied to any organization regardless of nature and the size of them and it will generate a significant contribution to the overall profitability of the organization by creating a competitive advantage in the market. GP will contribute to the organizations in two areas 1. Productivity through reducing manufacturing cost, cycle time, risk, and waste as well as increasing competitive advantages through Social productivity, Labour, and Capital productivity of the business. 2. The environment in the foam of reducing waste with many environmental concepts such as 3R, 5R Concepts and releasing less carbon emission to the environment. It is crystal clear that this GP Methodology practice will enhance the development of Socioeconomic and sustainability which uplifts the living standard of all living beings in the natural environment

Shadow pricing utilitarian justice: some tentative estimates

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to recognise and provide an approach to estimate the value of an institution that produces a public good to the wealth of a nation. Specifically, the authors value utilitarian justice.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs the classical economic theories of crime and shadow pricing to estimate the total economic value and shadow prices or social productivity of police and higher court deterrence. These measures are estimated using the definitions provided by Dasgupta and by re-engineering key deterrence elasticity estimates gleaned from Australian econometric studies.FindingsThe empirical findings suggest a relatively high social value for police and higher court deterrence. Notwithstanding, addressing socio-economic disadvantage is likely to prevent more subsequent offences than directing more resources to the operation of the criminal justice system.Research limitations/implicationsThe key limitations involve the sensitivity of the estimates to error. Further work is required on all the estimates in the model and in particular the social costs of the serious offences. The next step is to estimate the opportunity cost of supplying police and court deterrence. The cost estimate can then be combined with the estimates of social benefits to estimate a benefit-cost ratio. The model in broad terms demonstrates a way forward to estimating the economic value of and the social productivity of the criminal justice system. The provision of retributive justice is also ignored in this contribution. This requires a separate analysis.Social implicationsThe social implications are that there appears a way to both justify and evaluate the criminal justice system and this methodology may be applied to the operation of other public services.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper lies in suggesting a method to solve the valuation problem for the jointly produced public goods of the higher courts and police.

The Impact of Air Quality on Effective Labor Supply: Based on the Survey Data of Zhejiang Province in China

Labor is one of the most important factors of production and the basis for the development of social productivity. China’s aging population problem is serious, and the study of the labor supply is of great importance in order to achieve its second centenary goal regarding social development. In this study, four stage mixed sampling was used to conduct a questionnaire survey in the Zhejiang province of China, and 590 valid questionnaires were obtained. An ordered logit model and sample selection model were used to analyze the impact of air quality on the effective labor supply. The results show that the effective labor supply was significantly correlated with air quality. That is, the worse the air quality was, the lower the effective labor supply was, although this relationship was more explicit for people who worked indoors. When air quality impedes residents’ daily lives and even affects their health, it indirectly affects the effective supply of local labor. This paper indicates the causal relationship between economic development and the ecological environment and has enlightening significance for the realization of sustainable development.

Ha-Balkan Ha-Bo‘er (The Balkans in Flames)

Ha-Balkan Ha-Bo‘er (The Balkans in Flames), the memoirs of Yitzhak Halperin, are at the center of this article. Born in Palestine in 1890, Halperin was part of the so-called “first generation” – meaning Jews, natives of the newly established colonies in Palestine, who conversed in the Hebrew language and whose life and social productivity embodied the Zionist vision of the nation. Halperin volunteered to serve in the Ottoman Army in November 1911. Later, during the first weeks of the First Balkan War (October 1912-May 1913), he served on the Macedonian front before fleeing to Salonica, where he deserted. Published in Hebrew in 1932, Halperin’s memoirs can be read against both Zionist and Ottoman contexts. They shed light on various personal experiences and perceptions that can enrich our understanding of his particular ideological and ethnic group. In addition, his memoirs are unique as they describe the daily experiences of an Ottoman rank-and-file soldier who served in the Balkan Wars. As such, it offers different insights into the broader Ottoman context. Halperin’s memoirs expose two main topics: the related issues of identity, sociability, and friendship as they developed among the conscripts during his military service; and his clear disappointment with the poor performance and low morale of the Ottoman army before and during the Balkan Wars.

Presenteeism in Nurses: Prevalence, Consequences, and Causes From the Perspectives of Nurses and Chief Nurses

Presenteeism refers to the behavior of people who turn up for work despite complaints of ill health that should prompt rest and absence from work. The high incidence of presenteeism in the nurse population has been extensively investigated using self-reported methods to explore its effects on individual outcomes. However, few studies have examined nurse presenteeism using an “other's” perspective to verify self-reported information. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the prevalence, consequences, and causes of presenteeism in Chinese nurses from the perspectives of nurses and chief nurses. A sample of 481 nurses and 282 chief nurses from five hospitals in Henan Province, China, took part in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed the Sickness Presenteeism Questionnaire, Social Productivity Loss Questionnaire, and Causes of Nurse Presenteeism Questionnaire. The human capital method was used to estimate the monetary loss because of nurse presenteeism. We found that 94.25 and 82.08% of nurses experienced presenteeism in the past 6 months from the perspective of nurses and chief nurses, respectively. The annual monetary loss was estimated to be ¥4.38 billion and ¥2.88 billion based on the presenteeism reports from nurses and chief nurses, respectively. Workload, leave system, and conscientiousness are the main reasons for nurse presenteeism, and financial need is another important reason that is likely overlooked by chief nurses. This study provides a foundation for future research by presenting new knowledge about the prevalence, consequences, and causes of presenteeism in Chinese nurses. The findings emphasize the need for nursing managers and nursing departments to establish policy systems around paid sick leave, workload, and communication with managers to reduce nurse presenteeism and the subsequent socio-economic financial losses.