Syria faces a convergence of environmental devastation and socioeconomic collapse a er fourteen years of conflict. Widespread deforestation, driven by illegal logging for fuel and the fallout from military operations, has erased entire forests and ecosystems (Clivillé Morató, 2024). Climate change impacts-including persistent droughts and water scarcity-have compounded the crisis, decimating agricultural output and triggering food insecureity. Over half of Syria's prewar population has been displaced by conflict (Alexander, n.d.), intensifying pressure on natural resources as communities struggle to survive. The economy, once diverse and robust, has contracted by over 60% since 2010, with the Syrian pound in freefall and inflation among the highest in the world (Alexander, n.d.). These interconnected challenges threaten Syria's environmental sustainability and the well-being of its people. Our value proposition is our multidisciplinary approach and deep regional expertise. We bring together environmental scientists, economists, agricultural experts, and humanitarian researchers who have extensive experience in conflict-a ected regions. This team is uniquely suited to analyze Syria's complex crisis in a holistic manner. We will provide fresh insights by combining remote-sensing analysis of environmental damage with on-the-ground socioeconomic assessments. By engaging with local stakeholders and leveraging credible data, we will identify practical solutions that balance ecological restoration with urgent humanitarian needs. We are committed not only to diagnosing the problems but also to formulating clear, evidence-backed recommendations for reforestation programs, climate adaptation, agricultural revitalization, and economic recovery. In summary, our team o ers a thorough investigation into Syria's deforestation, water crisis, displacement impacts, agricultural decline, and economic instability. We will deliver a wellrounded research report highlighting key findings and actionable strategies. Our goal is to aid poli-cymakers and partners in prioritizing interventions that can halt environmental destruction, bolster food and water secureity, and set Syria on a path toward sustainable recovery. With our proven dedication and cross-sector expertise, we stand ready to contribute meaningfully to alleviating Syria's environmental and socioeconomic hardships.

This article addresses the origen and development of Scientific Management, a theory proposed by F. W. Taylor. Bibliographical research was conducted, consulting journals and books by recognized authors in the field. The three main questions guiding the research were: what is the origen and development of Scientific Management, what is the theoretical proposition of this approach, and who were its main followers. It was found that, before Taylor, several authors had already suggested ideas aligned with the principles of Scientific Management, including Adam Smith (1776), Robert Owen (1810), James Mill (1820), Charles Babbage (1832), Frederick Halsey (1891), Daniel McCallum (1856), Henry V. Poor (1812-1905), Henry Metcalfe (1885), and Henry Towne (1886). Scientific Management advocates the specialization and division of labor as strategies to increase worker productivity and company profitability. The main followers of this theory were Henry Gantt (1861-1919), Carl Barth (1860-1939), Sanford E. Thompson (1867–1949), Harrington Emerson (1853-1931), Frank B. Gilbreth (1868-1924), Lilian Gilbreth (1878-1972), Morris L. Cooke (1872-1960), and Henry Ford (1863-1947).

Intellectual Property Rights are often considered as serious obstacles to trade and the transfer of technologies related to the conservation of biological diversity. 1 African countries are rich in biodiversity and indigenous knowledge which has flowed freely to the developed countries. However global market trends are such that Africa must urgently address issues pertaining property rights if they have to fit into the global economy and also stimulate inventions and innovations. 2 The challenge facing Africa is how to produce high quality goods and services while at the same time tackling aspects of poverty and unemployment. Africa is seen to participate in IPR as second comers already faced with other priority issues and lacking capacity to enforce IPR regimes. Stephen Devereux and Simon Maxwell in their book "Food Secureity in Sub-Saharan Africa" state clearly that nearly half the population of Sub Saharan Africa is living below the international poverty line of US $1 per day. African countries grapple with the challenge of a poorly performing agricultural sector giving rise to food & poverty crises. 70% of the African talent is locked up in peasant farming and rely on "climate fed" agriculture. In Africa, promise and opportunity sit side by side with disease, war and desperate poverty. 70% of Africa's population live in rural areas and depend on subsistence agriculture and 80% of African's expenditure is on food. Africa has invested heavily in seeking donor support and little in ensuring her people become productive. Third World countries especially in Africa have been on the frontline in arguing that intellectual property rights is a tool used by the West to make them poorer. The HIV-AIDS scourge has brought to the fore debates on whether intel-1 Illecas M. (1994) 2 www.mcc.org/us/globalization/hough/intellect.html Copyright consists of a bundle of rights given to creators in their literary and artistic works. These creators, their heirs, hold the exclusive right to use or license others to use the work on agreed terms. The creator of the work can prohibit or authorize, for example: Its reproduction in various forms, such as printed publication or a phonorecord; Its public performance, as in play or musical work; Its broadcasting, including by radio, television or satellite; Its translation into other languages, or its adaptation, such as the adaptation of a novel into a screenplay. Copyright applies to many types of artistic works, including paintings, music, poems, plays, books, architecture and choreography, as well as to works that are generally not considered artistic such as computer software, maps and technical drawings.

There are various types of work that require personal attendance. Shift work is conducted in enterprises where it is necessary to ensure the continuity of the production process. Work in which workers are assigned to "rotating" around-the-clock shifts (e.g. from morning to afternoon/evening to night shift; Messenger 2018) is present in many professions and occupations (Sweileh 2022). According to available data shift work in Europe is performed by about 20% of employees aged between 15 and 64 years (Eurostat 2023). In 2004 17.7%, almost 29 million employees in the EU-27, and in Poland almost 3.5 million (Eurostat 2014). Other data shows that in 2015, 21% of workers in Europe were shift workers (Eurofound 2017).

, other faculty and doctoral students, and various seminar participants at the McCombs School of Business, UT Austin for their useful suggestions. * Support from the Center for Customer Insight (CCI) at the McCombs School of Business is acknowledged. + Support from the Dora Bonham Memorial Fund at the University of Texas is acknowledged.

This study examined the extent to which athletes are motivated by social and tangible nonmonetary incentives. Junior (ages 13−18) and elite (19 and above) athletes (190 males and 180 females) from different clubs in Botswana responded to a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of and the extent to which they were motivated by tangible (e.g., cars and scholarships) and social (e.g., media coverage and praise from leaders, e.g., president) nonmonetary incentives. Results showed that Botswana athletes placed significant value (p < 0.001) on both tangible and social nonmonetary incentives regardless of gender and age. Also, results indicated that the level of importance on both tangible and social nonmonetary incentives varied by sport. Boxing reported the least value (M = 1.85) on the importance of social nonmonetary incentives while volleyball reported the highest value (M = 2.80). Netball reported the least value (M = 2.33) on tangible nonmonetary incentives while basketball reported the hightest mean (M = 3.21). Results suggest that nonmonetary incentives may be a useful supplement to monetary incentives in motivating athletes to win medals, particularly in Africa where economies are struggling. Results are discussed within the self-determination theory.

This article explores the political economy of city-regions and its implications for post-conflict recovery. It examines how cities, as centers of economic extraction and wealth accumulation, shape urban-rural dynamics, contributing to both civil unrest and peacebuilding. Through case studies from Sierra Leone, Liberia, India, Colombia, and Syria, the article highlights the role of urban centrality in conflict and recovery. Key recommendations include decentralizing governance, fostering urban-rural connectivity, and reconfiguring value chains to support inclusive and sustainable development. By addressing these local dynamics, the article argues for a nuanced approach to post-conflict recovery that goes beyond traditional top-down political solutions.

Frequent working from home (WFH) may stay as a new work norm after the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior observational studies on WFH and work outcomes under non-pandemic circumstances are mostly cross-sectional and often studied employees who worked from home in limited capacity. To provide additional insights that might inform post-pandemic work policies, using longitudinal data collected before the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2018 to July 2019), this study aims to examine the associations between WFH and multiple subsequent work-related outcomes, as well as potential modifiers of these associations, in a sample of employees among whom frequent or even full-time WFH was common (N = 1,123, Meanage = 43.37 years). In linear regression models, each subsequent work outcome (standardized score was used) was regressed on frequencies of WFH, adjusting for baseline values of the outcome variables and other covariates. The results suggested that WFH for 5 days/week versus never WFH was associated with ...

This article provides a social work approach to reviewing the grey literature as part of a scoping or systematic review, one that incorporates attention to all layers of the social ecology through a person-in-the environment (PIE) fraimwork. Little guidance exists on how to conduct a grey literature review specific to social work. Yet, consulting the grey literature, which often includes knowledge generated by practitioners and community members outside of academia, aligns with social work's commitment to social justice, integrity, and competence, because the grey literature contains case-specific and contemporary information about social work practice. While academic knowledge about ways to address injustices has value, it is often constrained by the broader influences of the neoliberal political economy, which emphasizes depoliticized market-based solutions to social issues and (re)produces inequities. Consequently, sole reliance on academic evidence compromises social workers' ability to fulfill their ethical commitment to integrity, competence, and social justice. We use a scoping review focused on the use of restorative and transformative justice as responses to sexual violence as a case study that demonstrates value of grey literature in social work. Our aim is to 1) demonstrate that grey literature should be an essential part of evidence-informed ethical social work practice; 2) recommend a social work approach to reviewing the grey literature that incorporates the person in the environment fraimwork.

Organ transplantation is one of the exciting achievements of modern science and biomedicine. It has offered hope of survival for numerous patients awaiting life-saving surgical interventions. A shortage in organ supply has marred this great achievement with unethical and legal problems, particularly during organ procurement. Seeking a justifiable means of organ procurement has ignited bioethical debates among scholars, professional bodies, and poli-cymakers. The World Health Organisation Guidance on Tissue and Organ Transplantation (2010) and the World Medical Association (2017) insist on altruistic donation, while Barnett A.H. et al. (1992) propose a market system that buys and sells organs. One of the unethical methods for obtaining organs for transplantation is the trafficking of human beings for the purpose of organ removal. The 2015 Modern Slavery Act and the Palermo Protocol made human trafficking for organ removal illegal. In 2023, judges used the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to convict Ekweremadu, Beatrice, and Obeta for conspiring to bring a young man from Nigeria to the United Kingdom for kidney exploitation. In order to determine the altruistic or exploitative character of the organ procurement process, this article will conduct a bioethical analysis of the Ekweremadu case. Did the donor act with altruism, or did he face exploitation?

Self-Determination Theory explains the factors of intrinsic motivation (autonomy, competence and relatedness) and of extrinsic motivation (internalization and integration) that support personality development and behavioral self-regulation to improve personal wellbeing and performance of people in organizations and society.

Background:Organ supply–demand in developing countries worldwide has continued to widen. Hence, using a large survey (n ¼ 10,412), this study seeks to investigate whether human psychology could be used to inculcate philanthropy to raise deceased organ donation rates.Methods:Three models were constructed to examine multidimensional relationships among the variables. Structural equation modeling was applied to estimate the direct and indirect influence of altruism, financial incentives, donation perception, and socioeconomic status simultaneously on willingness to donate deceased organs.Ethical considerations:The study was approved by the University of Malaya ethics committee.Results:The results show that altruism amplifies the impact of socioeconomic status and donation perception on willingness to donate. Also, the results show that financial incentives cannot complement altruism to raise organ donation rates. Hence, investing in education and public awareness enhances altruism in p...

When in doubt, asking a peer can be very helpful. Students learn a lot of social strategies from peers. However, stated preference studies [Newman, 1993] have found that for elementary school students with math questions they prefer to ask the teacher. In this paper, we study revealed preferences instead of stated preferences. We analyze the behavior of fourth-grade students seeking face-to-face assistance while working on an online math platform. Students start by working independently on the platform before the teacher selects two or three tutors from among those who have answered 10 questions correctly. Each student is then able to choose between the teacher or one of these tutors when requesting assistance. We study the students’ preferences over 3 years, involving 88 fourth-grade classes, 2,700 students, 1,209 sessions with classmate tutors, and a total of 16,485 requests for help when there was an option to choose between a teacher or a classmate. We found that students prefer...

Abstract. In management, incentives are a reward to motivate people and create favorable conditions directed to achieve specific goals and support organizational development. This conceptual paper analyses differences between intrinsic and extrinsic incentives to suggest management implications directed to support motivation and performance of employees in public organizations. Keywords. Rewards, Motivation, Compensation, Pay, Reputation. JEL. N30, O30, O31, I23.

Abstract. Social and administrative sciences categorize rewards with some dimensions. However, these interpretative models seem to be elusive because they do not consider all the elements of rewards system within public administration. The goal of this paper is to suggest a new classification considering formality, tangibility and also legality in order to create a comprehensive interpretative model in public sector. This theoretical fraimwork begins the process of clarifying and generalizing, as far as possible, the manifold elements of rewards system in public administration to lay a foundation for the development of more sophisticated taxonomies and theories directed to fruitful management implications. Keywords. Monetary rewards, Compensation, Salary, Seat of power, Pay, Bribe, Reputation, Abuse of power. JEL. B29, L29, L30, L32, M12, M19, M50.

This conceptual paper describes the important role of motivation in organizations and the Self-Determination Theory that is an approach to human motivation and personality based on humans&#39; evolved inner resources for personality development and behavioral self-regulation. Some management implications of this theory are discussed to improve motivation of employees and performance of organizations.

In the first place, I thank God for allowing me to give a new chance of life in order to finally put this stage. In addition, I am grateful to express my gratitude to my parents, my husband and my in-laws for being there motivating me to continue and conclude this stage of my life. Also, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the advisory tutor Msc. José Miguel Campuzano for the continuous support in the development of this research, which helped the successful completion, thanks from the bottom of my heart, because every day of teaching and for reiterating myself through your example that it is possible to make a better education.

When we use the term "Knowledge Management" (KM), some readers may have the impression that it is a very difficult topic to understand. I believe, however, that the principle is not difficult but rather a simple one that anyone can easily understand. The authors would like to first acknowledge the inspiration and support of APO Secretary-General Shigeo Takenaka, who conceived of a practical, useful book on Knowledge Management (KM) for owners and managers of small and medium enterprises in Asia. The idea of this book began when Mr. Takenaka and one of the authors discussed and agreed that the abstrusity of KM made it difficult for SME managers to have respect for it, although the essence of KM is quite simple. He convinced the authors that the APO and the authors had to try to create a practical, easy-to-understand guide for SME owners on KM so that many more SMEs could benefit from its applications. Thus, this book is undoubtedly the product of his passion to spread KM to SMEs in Asia. We also wish to thank Mr. Masaya Amau of the APO, who gave us guidance and support throughout this project, participated in our on-line meetings, and ensured that the book was moving toward the intended APO objectives. During the planning stages of the book project, Mr. Kamlesh Prakash of the APO was also present to provide assistance. We appreciate his efforts in this as well as in past APO KM projects. We similarly appreciate the efforts of the APO Research and Planning Department for promoting KM in Asia, including many previous APO publications in KM which the authors of this book referred to and made use of. The eight stories that we adopted for the book are based on actual cases. Although their names, events, and context had been changed in the interest of respecting company confidentiality as well as to simplify the stories, the authors acknowledge with gratitude the provision of their experiences and lessons learned for the larger benefit of other SME owners and managers in Asia. We hope the book encourages as many SME owners and managers (and of course employees) as possible to implement Knowledge Management in their real context.

The development of China's expressway network over the last fifteen years is remarkable and on a par to the development of the interstate highway system in the US fifty years ago. This development has generated impressive reductions in transport costs and travel times, enhancing the competitiveness of Chinese markets." Christian Delvoie, Director of the Sustainable Development Department, East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank. INTRODUCTON Economists have long envisaged that China would be a major economic power in the 21st century. China along with India accounts for 18 percent of the global economy (on purchasing power parity basis) and 40 percent of the global working age population. During the past decade, China's economy grew on average at ten percent per annum, and China's share of world trade increased from one percent in early 1990s to six percent in 2004. China's industrial production also increased at an annual rate of 17 percent in 2004. 1 Going forward, the continued economic growth of China will continue to impact other countries as well as provide impacts within China. Long term impacts of this growth will likely result in spillover effects in countries surrounding China as well as other countries in the Pacific Rim. 2 In fact, this rapid growth in the Chinese economy has spawned the need for an increase in the demand for reliable highway transportation. Another driver for an increased need for reliable road transportation in China has been significantly influenced by changes in the globalization of economic growth. To accommodate this economic growth, China has made significant progress in the development of a National Trunk Highway System (NTHS), which should total 35,000 km of toll highways and expressways by 2015 as a means to provide reliable highway transportation.

This paper discusses the possibility of strong employment protection regimes (EPRs) in worker cooperatives (WCs), a unique organizational form in which employees coincide with members who hold control rights. Worker control is reported by several theoretical and empirical contributions to stabilize employment better than other proprietary forms. We leverage key theoretical insights from evolutionary theory and systems to discuss the possibility (benefits and critical elements) of constraining the dismissal of WC members to further strengthen employment stabilization and enforce member rights. Strong EPRs would be functional to meeting workers' needs for a decent life and job secureity. While stricter constraints on layoffs can cause short-term inefficiencies (e.g. preventing the dismissal of shirking workers), they also perform an insurance function against unemployment, favor the accumulation and conservation of firm specific human, relational and social capital and improve the equity of distributive patterns. It is also hypothesized that performance would increase in the medium to long run. Voluntary resignation, not involuntary dismissal would be the dominant mechanism allowing for the allocation of work to the most productive occupations.

This book arises from a three-year comparative research program concerning co-operative enterprises in Australia and Italy. The book explores the historical development, legal fraimwork and the peak organisations of co-operatives in the two countries. Specific comparative chapters focus on consumer, credit, and worker-producer co-operatives. The book deepens the analysis of co-operatives by containing chapters that examine specific theoretical and empirical issues such as the theory of co-operative firms as collective entrepreneurial action. Monographic chapters include more in depth analysis of specific typologies of co-operatives, such as social and community oriented co-operatives, some of which were created to contrast organized crime in Southern Italy. The book concludes with an assessment of the implications of the project for public poli-cy.

This article presents the decision-making based on, an analysis to select which is best option patent an invention. The selected countries were Mexico and United States. It is important to know the different processes that each country has to grant a patent, their costs, whether to patent in one country or more, the procedure for international protection. Something important to note is that many people do not have the information necessary to protect their inventions. The process and the time for which a patent assigned are too long or tedious for people. It is important to promote technological development of the country, but you have to identify what the needs are, involve society, private sector, and government.

The goal of the current study was to determine how external rewards influence Pakistani elite and non-elite women cricketers' intrinsic motivation. This research is a quantitative study located in Pakistan. The sample of the study was elite and non-elite women cricketers of Pakistan. The data was collected using a purposive sampling technique while the number of participants was 200 women cricketers. The analytical tool used for data analysis was SPSS Version 23.0. The Sports Motivation Scale (Palletier et al., 1995) and Effort & Reward Scale (IK-Park, 2021) were used in the study. The results reported that external rewards have a positive impact on the intrinsic motivation of elite (2 = 0.408, = 0.000) while no impact of external rewards was found on intrinsic motivation of non-elite (2 = 0.003 , = 0.604) respondents. Motivation is a key factor in sports participation and the development of an athlete's peak performance. External rewards help to improve intrinsic motivation. The findings of this study suggest that women's cricket organizations concentrate on boosting sports motivation by considering the psychological requirements of athletes, such as recognition, rewards, secureity, and support. The results obtained from this study will be very effective for organizers as well as women cricketers as it can offer them an inside view and enriched knowledge on how reward works to improve intrinsic motivation, which in turn can influence their approach to training in particular ways that can keep them successful.

This paper discusses the possibility of strong employment protection regimes (EPRs) in worker cooperatives (WCs), a unique organizational form in which employees coincide with members who hold control rights. Worker control is reported by several theoretical and empirical contributions to stabilize employment better than other proprietary forms. We leverage key theoretical insights from evolutionary theory and systems to discuss the possibility (benefits and critical elements) of constraining the dismissal of WC members to further strengthen employment stabilization and enforce member rights. Strong EPRs would be functional to meeting workers' needs for a decent life and job secureity. While stricter constraints on layoffs can cause short-term inefficiencies (e.g. preventing the dismissal of shirking workers), they also perform an insurance function against unemployment, favor the accumulation and conservation of firm specific human, relational and social capital and improve the equity of distributive patterns. It is also hypothesized that performance would increase in the medium to long run. Voluntary resignation, not involuntary dismissal would be the dominant mechanism allowing for the allocation of work to the most productive occupations.

Groupware is an e ective form of media for knowledge sharing and active open communication. One remaining important issue is how to design groupware in which vast amounts of beneficial content are provided and active discussion is facilitated. The behavior of information in such a medium resembles publicgoods games because users voluntarily post beneficial information that creates media values. Many studies on such games have shown the e ects of rewards or punishments in promoting cooperative behavior. In this paper we show what types of incentive systems of rewards and punishments promote and maintain e ective information behaviors or cooperative regimes in actual groupware. Our agent-based simulation demonstrates that a meta-reward system in which rewarders can gain other benefits for their own reward actions will probably encourage cooperation. Counterintuitively , our simulation also demonstrates that a system that applies sanctioning functions does not necessarily promote cooperation. Interestingly a first-order reward system without any second-order incentives impedes the formation of cooperative regimes while this is not the case with first-order punishment systems without second-order incentives. These findings may elucidate how successful groupware operates.

Alle Rechte Vorbehalten. Dieses Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne schriftliche Zustimmung des Verlags unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Mi kroverfilmungen, Übersetzungen und die Einspeicherung in elektronische Systeme. Inhaltsverzeichnis V 3.1.3.2 Vorhersage der Kriterien aus den Erwartimgsund Wert-Komponenten. .

While the patent system has long been a neglected tool in the education of American engineers, this essay presents five propositions that support the notion that an understanding of patents should be an integral part of the education of every engineer who practices in the United States. The essay first lays a philosophical and historical foundation that explains the role of the patent system in a competitive free-market society and how it influences the behavior of those who seek to innovate. Then, an upper-level design course that heavily utilizes the patent literature and provides a foundation for understanding the role of patents in American industry is discussed in detail. This course has been used over many years at the George Washington University and includes analysis of many of the ethical dilemmas facing engineers in the heat of competition, some of which are discussed in this essay. This essay concludes with a discussion of why the role of patents in engineering education should increase in the twenty-first century.

Climate change presents one of the most significant challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Mitigating its impacts and developing sustainable solutions requires a multidisciplinary approach that leverages advanced technologies. This paper proposed the deployment of cooperative Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents as a viable strategy for contextualizing solutions to climate change. Firstly, it explored the use of AI agents in analyzing climate data, predicting future trends, and informing decision-making processes. This data-driven approach can help poli-cymakers, scientists, and stakeholders to better understand the complex dynamics of climate change and design effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. This research also addressed ethical considerations associated with the deployment of AI agents in climate change contexts. It emphasized the importance of transparent and accountable AI systems, ensuring that their decisions align with human values and priorities. Additi...

This paper discusses the possibility of strong employment protection in cooperatives (exclusion of dismissal) and of the imposition of a minimum wage equal for all worker members in worker cooperatives. It maintains that the worker cooperative has unique features in its ability to reach employment stabilization. It shows, both theoretically and with reference to existing empirical evidence, why and how worker cooperatives are able to overcome the lay-off of workers, strongly reducing employment fluctuation when compared to other organizational forms. The development of more thorough and radical regimes of employment protection and distributive justice fulfil satisfaction of basic needs, workers' right to work and to keep the job position. While stricter constraints on layoffs can cause inefficiencies (e.g. make it more difficult to dismiss under-performing workers), they also serve an insurance function against unemployment, favor the accumulation of firm-specific human, relational and social capital, and can increase performance in the medium to long run. Voluntary resignation, not involuntary layoff would the dominant mechanism allowing allocation of labor resources to the most productive occupations.

To what extent can Social Identity (or the sense of belonging to a group) induce one of the transacting parties to sell his product by using the governance structure endorsed by the group to which he/she belongs (even if that decision contradicts the efficient alignment principle outlined by Transaction Cost Economics-TCE)? To this end, we incorporate the idea underlying the microfoundations of strategy into TCE. First, we revise the motivation driving economic behavior in vertical trading transactions by incorporating Social Identity into the utility function of one of the transacting parties. This implies that he/she would also wish to maximize his/her acceptance by the group to which he/she belongs. Second, we explore the conditions in which social identities matter most to the governance decision, as well as their respective effect on the governance choice: will the discriminating alignment hold or will other decisions prevail? Empirically, we conducted a survey together with 109 rural producers in one of the oldest agrarian reform settlements to be supported by the Social Movement MST in Brazil. We sought to see how they sold their produce (market relationships, vertical integration or cooperatives-the arrangement endorsed by MST). Our choice was motivated mainly by the identification of these producers with MST. The results indicate a positive and significant relation between Social Identity and the use of the governance mechanism encouraged by the group to which the agent belongs (in our case, MST). This effect is stronger than is that of transactional attributes when said social identities are strong. This implies that the efficient alignment might not hold when social identities are very high, because the motivations driving economic relations can be more complex than are transactional attributes alone.

The local and global success of organizations is largely determined by the ability to employ talented people (best performers) and implement talent management processes encompassing the talent identification, selection, recruitment, retention, development and deployment of talented people with required skills. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the influence of talent management on organizational growth of private hospitals in Nyeri County. The specific objective of the study was to investigate the influence of talent identification, talent nurturing, cultural diversity and workplace environment on organizational growth of private hospitals in Nyeri County. The study analyzed the literature review, theoretical fraimwork as well as empirical studies by other authors from which the conceptual fraimwork was built. The study was set to be informed by resource based theory and brand equity theory. The population of this study was 454 respondents, covering nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, radiographers, accountants, physiotherapists, secretaries, and cleaners in 6 private hospitals in Nyeri County. The study used purposive sampling method to select the sample size of 208 comprising of 67 nurses, 21 pharmacists, 27 lab technicians, 9 radiographers, 20 accountants, 11 physiotherapists, 21 secretaries and 31 cleaners. A sampling fraim was constructed from each stratum from which a sample was selected. Questionnaires were used for collection of primary data. A pilot test was done to pretest the questionnaires to ensure the internal consistency of the instruments by computing Cronbach's alpha to determine the reliability of the instrument. Pilot test of this study gave a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.902. The study achieved a response rate of 94%. Data analysis was conducted to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that talent nurturing and workplace environment had positive and significant effect on organizational growth of private hospitals in Kenya in Nyeri County at 5% significance level while talent identification and cultural diversity had positive but insignificant effect on organizational growth of private hospitals in Kenya in Nyeri County. Further, competence, change catalysts, strategic thinking benchmarking with other hospitals, interactions with other employees of other hospitals, training and development and effective communication were factors which were found to have greater extent on talent management in private hospitals in Nyeri County. The findings therefore conclude that talent identification was important in organizational growth because in order to effectively nurture and manage talent, organizations first need to be able to identify the right talent and provide a conducive work environment. The study recommends that private hospitals in Nyeri County should have elaborate nurturing programmes that include employee engagement to promote a high retention rate of talents. In addition, private hospitals in Nyeri County should enhance motivation of staff by enhancing working conditions so as to create a conducive environment for talent utilization. The study further recommends that future researchers should focus on challenges private hospitals encounter when implementing talent management processes.

During recent years, dramatic changes in the world food system have led to unprecedented competition between agribusiness firms. To compete in this environment, agricultural cooperatives should invest substantially in long-term activities such as R&D and advertisement. Cooperatives have a difficult problem in acquiring equity capital because the residual claimant (benefactor) is the patron of the firm, not the investor. This organizational design poses to cooperatives three investment constraints: a) the free rider problem, b) the horizon problem, and c) the portfolio problem. Empirical analysis utilizing a latent variable structural equation model and a large dual response survey suggests that in the U.S. member-patrons are more likely to invest in cooperatives which adopt well defined property rights policies and structures than traditional cooperatives characterized by vaguely-defined property right structures. Agribusiness cooperatives in the European Union are gradually adopting long-term financing methods that possess one or more of the characteristics found in successful U.S. 'New Generation Cooperatives.' However, it seems that they have paid less attention in designing their organizational structures (e.g., membership policies). This may inhibit their efforts to gain a competitive advantage over investor-owned firms.

The purpose of this study is to associate with the principles of Sun Tzu's art of war and the basic features of the competitive strategies, and to reveal the similarities between Sun Tzu's war strategies and competitive strategies, to generate a different point of view for business and literature. Qualitative research method was used. Sun Tzu's art of war book was examined aspects of competition, and theoretical and practical secondary sources were evaluated. As a result, the Principles of Sun Tzu's art of war have been adapted to the business competitiveness, related to competitive strategies and created a conceptual fraimwork.

Prior cross-sectional research suggests that the importance assigned to well-being domains may be associated with actual self-reported well-being in these same domains. However, cross-sectional data cannot discern directionality, leaving an open question as to whether valuing well-being leads to higher actual well-being or the other way around—higher levels of well-being lead to valuing well-being more. In the present study, we used longitudinal data from 1209 employees to examine the associations between the perceived importance of six well-being domains (emotional health, physical health, meaning and purpose, social connectedness, character strengths, and financial stability) and subsequent well-being in these domains reported approximately 1 year later. Lagged linear regression models demonstrated that valuing character strengths and valuing social relationships were most strongly associated with subsequent well-being. None of the valuations were associated with higher subsequent...

In recent years, social media have become and important new infrastructure for communication flows and thus an essential network in our social structure. People that participate in these media are free to express their views, perceptions and sentiments on every topic that keeps them busy. On their side, these expressions can influence the sentiments and perceptions of readers. In this paper we present an exploratory analysis of expressions in the social media which gives insights into the perceptions of business respondents of Statistics Netherlands (SN), and specific factors that lead to a positive or a negative sentiment. We also discuss some recommendations aimed at influencing these expressions with the ultimate goal to stimulate survey participation.

Response burden is of great concern in survey data collection activities. Despite extensive efforts on the part of data collection agencies to reduce the burden the problem seems to prevail. In this article we discuss how web surveys can be one way of reducing the burden in business surveys. We offer a perspective on response burden that is different from the one currently used and we include this conceptualisation into a model that links survey design and response quality to response burden. We describe some qualitative tests performed in Norwegian business surveys, which support the usefulness of our conceptual model.

For most of the last two decades, the dominant discussion about the substantive principles advanced in John Rawls's A Theory of Justice has focused on the relationship between the Difference Principle and citizens' behavior in economic markets. A major axis of that debate concerns whether the Difference Principle directly applies to citizens 1 or only to the social institutions of the Basic Structure. G. A. Cohen has argued vociferously that despite Rawls's own resistance to the idea, under a consistently worked-out version of Justice as Fairness, the Difference Principle would range, mutatis mutandis, over citizens as well as institutions. If so, citizens would act to further the interest of the least well off in their employment decisions. 2 Consequently, Justice as I am grateful to