Suchergebnisse

Code-switching and code-mixing are considered dynamic conversational phenomena in interpersonal interactions, that is an alteration between two or more languages, dialectal variants, language registers, and it is an effective communicative strategy which Persian-English bilinguals consider a genuine thing in their ordinary speech practice. The focus of the present study is on the structural analysis of reverse code-switching between Persian and English that are known to be referred to two typologically different languages. Participants of the present research, all late bilinguals, reported on frequent use of code-switching (CS) and code-mixing (CM) in everyday language practice. CS/CM is quite normal and frequent among Iranian bilinguals, especially in informal settings where bilingual speakers can freely switch between their languages. Furthermore, the results revealed that Iranian bilinguals switch from English to Persian and in verso mostly at the lexical and the phrasal levels (intrasentential switching mode), but less frequently at the clausal or the sentence level (intersentential switching mode). The research states that there are some restrictions on inserting English verbs into the Persian syntactic frame: the Persian language is thought to be the matrix language and the preverbal part comes from English as the embedded language, such incongruity between the morphosyntactic structure and the verbal system of the Persian and English languages impose some constraints on the occurrence of switching codes between the pair of the languages under study.

AbstractThe recently developed bag-of-paths (BoP) framework consists in setting a Gibbs–Boltzmann distribution on all feasible paths of a graph. This probability distribution favors short paths over long ones, with a free parameter (the temperatureT) controlling the entropic level of the distribution. This formalism enables the computation of new distances or dissimilarities, interpolating between the shortest-path and the resistance distance, which have been shown to perform well in clustering and classification tasks. In this work, the bag-of-paths formalism is extended by adding two independent equality constraints fixing starting and ending nodes distributions of paths (margins).When the temperature is low, this formalism is shown to be equivalent to a relaxation of the optimal transport problem on a network where paths carry a flow between two discrete distributions on nodes. The randomization is achieved by considering free energy minimization instead of traditional cost minimization. Algorithms computing the optimal free energy solution are developed for two types of paths: hitting (or absorbing) paths and non-hitting, regular, paths and require the inversion of ann×nmatrix withnbeing the number of nodes. Interestingly, for regular paths on an undirected graph, the resulting optimal policy interpolates between the deterministic optimal transport policy (T→ 0+) and the solution to the corresponding electrical circuit (T→ ∞). Two distance measures between nodes and a dissimilarity between groups of nodes, both integrating weights on nodes, are derived from this framework.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the supply chain leagility proposing all supply chains are leagile with different magnitudes of leanness and agility. A new index, "Deviation from Leagility" (DFL), is introduced, aiming to optimise supply chain design and investigate the relationship between supply chain leagility and firm performance.


Design/methodology/approach
The partial least squares (PLS) method was employed to analyse data collected from 299 Australian firms by administering a structured questionnaire.


Findings
The results indicate that most companies adopt the leagile supply chain rather than the lean or pure agile design. Furthermore, better business performance is achievable when deviation from a balanced supply chain in which both aspects of leanness and agility are equally embedded is minimised.


Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to a number of constraints that measure leagility; further research is needed to incorporate different aspects of agility.


Practical implications
The findings of this study could provide a guideline for supply chain executives to improve their company's performance by designing a more balanced leagile supply chain.


Originality/value
This study is unique in its in-depth empirical investigation of modelling of leagile supply chain using a new index, and also addressing: first, the current mismatch between the well-known mutually exclusive strategies (lean/agile); and second, what has later been found when the proposed models were quantitatively tested.

Predicting the metabolic behavior of the human gut microbiota in different contexts is one of the most promising areas of constraint-based modeling. Recently, we presented a supra-organismal approach to build context-specific metabolic networks of bacterial communities using functional and taxonomic assignments of meta-omics data. In this work, this algorithm is applied to elucidate the metabolic changes induced over the first year after birth in the gut microbiota of a cohort of Spanish infants. We used metagenomics data of fecal samples and nutritional data of 13 infants at five time points. The resulting networks for each time point were analyzed, finding significant alterations once solid food is introduced in the diet. Our work shows that solid food leads to a different pattern of output metabolites that can be potentially released from the gut microbiota to the host. Experimental validation is presented for ferulate, a neuroprotective metabolite involved in the gut-brain axis. ; IA was supported by a Basque Government predoctoral grant (PRE_2017_2_0028). SP-B was supported by a Spanish Government predoctoral grant (FPU14/01192). This manuscript will form part of the doctoral thesis of SP-B conducted within the context of the "Nutrition and Food Sciences Programme" at the University of Granada. This work was supported by the EU Project STANCE4HEALTH (contract number 816303) and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (BIO2016-77998-R, SAF2009-13032-C02-02, CSD2009-00006 and SAF2012-31187).

El régimen jurídico financiero de los consorcios tras la modificaciones introducidas por la LRJSP de 2015, configurados como administración institucional, ofrece una mayor preocupación por las salidas de fondos de las Administraciones consorciadas que respecto del propio consorcio, quien debe regirse por la legislación aplicable a la Administración de adscripción. No obstante, entre los recursos financieros de los consorcios, además de los condicionantes de la legislación de estabilidad presupuestaria, por ejemplo en materia de operaciones de crédito, no parece que conforme a Derecho puedan establecer tasas fuera del caso de ser exclusivamente entidades municipales asociativas, sin perjuicio de que se les pueda ceder o afectar tributos establecidos por la Administración de adscripción. ; The legal and financial system of consortia after the amendments introduced by the LRJSP of 2015, which configure them as an institutional administration, offers greater concern for the outflow of funds from the consortium administrations than for the consortium itself, which must be governed by the applicable legislation to the public administration to which they are attached. However, among the financial resources of the consortiums, in addition to the constraints of budgetary stability legislation, for example in the area of credit operations, it does not appear that, according to law, they may establish tax rates, except for those being exclusively associative municipal entities, notwithstanding that they may be assigned or affected taxes established by the public administration to which they are attached.

Subdistricts are administrative regions in Indonesia under one regency or city headed by a Camat,the enactment of Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government so that in addition to carrying out general duties the Camat also obtains a portion of the authority of the Regent or Mayor in the administration of government as well as in Tebo Ulu District Tebo Regency. The formulation of the problem in this study are (1) What is the role of the Camat in the implementation of government administration in Tebo Ulu Subdistrict ?, (2) What are the obstacles faced by the camat in the administration of government in Tebo Ulu Subdistrict? in the administration of government in Tebo Ulu District?. This type of research is sociological juridical with primary data sources, namely direct and secondary interviews of literature document studies and legislation, data analysis used is qualitative analysis. Research Results (1) The role of the Camat in the implementation of governance in Tebo Ulu Subdistrict is to carry out the task of the sub-district in order to improve the coordination of government administration, one of which is public service performed to realize democratic governance. (2) Constraints faced are community services, human resources and facilities and infrastructure. (3) Efforts to overcome obstacles are to increase the provision of facilities that support the quality of public services and the interaction between the Camat and employees and the community in providing direct motivation. Keywords: Role, Camat, Administration of Government

The study was conducted in Sarangani Province to evaluate the upland rice farming in Sarangani Province. There are 275 respondents who came from the eight municipalities of the province. Descriptive statistics, costs and returns analysis, and the Cobb-Douglas production function were used in analyzing the data. In the performance of the cultural management practices of upland rice production, the whole family is involved; for planting and harvesting, both female and male members; for fertilization and pest management, only male members; and lastly, for postharvest activities, only female members. In terms of resource productivity, land is the most significant, followed by labor, in increasing the yield. Pesticide and fertilizer also significantly affected yields. Moreover, the farms have increasing returns to scale, which means that increased input will result in increased output. Since labor, land, fertilizer, and pesticides significantly affected yield, these will become constraints when not properly used. With these findings, it is recommended that research institutions must give more attention to upland rice farming to develop technologies to increase yield. Moreover, a gene bank must be provided to preserve all the upland rice cultivars. The government must also reach out to the farmers to provide credit as well as extension services so that their productivity will be enhanced. Another important factor is providing a good market to them so that they can take advantage of a higher price. Hence, government institutions must work hand in hand for the betterment of the upland rice farmers.

Turkey is one of the main actors of the global ready-made garment manufacturing industry both as a crucial country for organic and conventional cotton cultivation and as an exporter of yarn, fabric, textile, and RMG. Being a developing country, Turkey benefits from agricultural and industrial activities as they create employment opportunities and boost the national economy and development. On the other hand, Turkey also struggles to cope with the costs of this economic growth, such as the adverse impacts on the environment and human rights. In fact, except for certain legal loopholes, Turkish labour law and relevant legislation on environmental protection are mostly harmonised with the EU standards. Therefore, the main problems, such as unregistered foremanship, unregistered employment, informal workshops, and undeclared subcontracting seem to stem from the loose enforcement of these laws due to the deficiencies in the legal system in general. Other reasons that prove to create challenges for an effective implementation and enforcement of laws include: firstly, social realities, such as an increase in population, as a result of the high birth rates, rural-urban migration, and refugee influx, which is followed by high unemployment rates; secondly, economic constraints, such as a competitive labour market, market economy, and expensive eco-friendly technology; and, finally, structural obstacles, such as the lack of advanced irrigation systems and drainage canals, all of which are examined in this study in relation to cotton cultivation and the RMG industry.

Entrepreneurship research in the context of developing countries has typically investigated the ways in which culture, politics or economic institutions prohibit or enable entrepreneurial activities using macro-level surveys and deductive designs. In contrast, the purpose of this paper is to take a micro-institutional perspective to study these three institutions influencing entrepreneurial activities in such a context. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on inductive, qualitative field data from a challenging institutional environment, Tanzania. This includes two focus groups, one with experts and one with entrepreneurs; and 24 individual interviews with entrepreneurs. Findings: Entrepreneurial activities in Tanzania are not constrained only by bureaucracy and arbitrary enforcement, access to capital, competition and consumer spending, but also by language barriers, negative media portrayals and gender disparity. In their favour, recent trade policy, opening up of borders and changing gender relations, has led to more opportunities, but just as important are traditional festivals, marital gift-giving and familial support. Entrepreneurs respond to institutional constraints in many creative ways, including undertaking entrepreneurial strategies, developing inner strength, joining associations, giving back to communities and skilfully managing relations with authorities. Originality/value: The fine-grained discussion of the findings of this study specifically contributes to theory by illustrating the constraining and enabling role of under-represented institutions, such as festivals and marriages, as well as entrepreneurial creative responses that define everyday entrepreneurial life in a developing country.

The investment fund market has not only attracted increasing interest from investors seeking alternative investments but has also become increasingly important among professionals and academics. Within this framework, this study seeks to contribute to the research developed through identifying the inducers of investment fund performance in Portugal. The sample consists of 78 funds, covering the timeframe from 2006 to 2016, incorporating stock funds, bond funds, mixed funds and treasury funds analysed in accordance with the panel data methodology. This work finds variables such as risk, rotation, size, age, interest rates, commissions and benchmarks as highly significant determinants of mutual fund performance and when followed by mutual fund managers, may enhance their returns. The originality and value of the work stands on completing certain gaps and deepen knowledge about the Portuguese market, carrying out additional research on the funds marketed in Portugal, focusing on a more diversified asset market, expanding both the number of funds under study and the sampling period while seeking to identify the most relevant factors for performance and how they condition it. The main limitation of this study stems from the difficulties of collecting information due to limitations imposed by current data protection legislation, which restricted both the scope and the depth of analysis. When choosing the Portuguese context, we face constraints in comparison with studies made in more developed contexts where this theme has been studied for a longer period of time.

The recent IPCC Special Report on global warming of 1.5 °C emphasizes that rapid action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is vital to achieving the climate mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement. The most-needed substantial upscaling of investments in GHG mitigation options in all sectors, and particularly in manufacturing sectors, can be an opportunity for a green economic development leap in developing countries. Here, we use the Brazilian manufacturing sectors as an example to explore a transformation of its economy while contributing to the Paris targets. Projections of Brazil's economic futures with and without a portfolio of fiscal policies to induce low carbon investments are produced up to 2030 (end year of Brazil's Nationally Determined Contribution—NDC), by employing the large-scale macro econometric Energy-Environment-Economy Model, E3ME. Our findings highlight that the correct mix of green stimulus can help modernize and decarbonize the Brazilian manufacturing sectors and allow the country's economy to grow faster (by up to 0.42% compared to baseline) while its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions decline (by up to 14.5% in relation to baseline). Investment levels increase, thereby strengthening exports' competitiveness and alleviating external constraints to long-term economic growth in net terms. ; This research was funded by CAPES Foundation, grant number BEX 0885/13-4 and by European Union's Horizon 2020 Program, PARIS REINFORCE project, grant number 820846.

There have been reports that pediatric cardiology is an increasingly competitive field and that it has become difficult for recent graduates to find employment. In Canada, empirical observations are consistent with these findings, but this has not been formally evaluated. The aim of this study was to survey pediatric cardiologists (PCs) on their perception of the current workforce in Canada. A survey was sent to PCs and trainee members of the Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association in November 2017. Eligible nonmembers of the Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association were also contacted with the help of Canadian program directors and division chiefs. A total of 68 of 83 PCs completed the survey (82%). The proportion of respondents reporting difficulties in finding a stable position in pediatric cardiology was 83% for those finishing training after 2014 compared with 33% between 2010 and 2014. There was a concomitant increase in the duration of additional subspecialization, which more than doubled after 2014. This contrasted with most PCs (57%) and division chiefs (86%) reporting being understaffed, and with a higher number of anticipated openings compared with available trainees. Division chiefs reporting being understaffed mostly attributed this to government regulations or institutional budgetary constraints. We observed a discrepancy between a perceived need for additional PCs and a reported increasing difficulty in finding employment by recent graduates. This coincided with an increasing number of additional subspecialization years by recent graduates. Institutional and government restrictions may contribute to this situation.

On 28th April 2019 parliamentary elections were held in Spain, which won the left-wing Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. As a result of the elections the party system, which was characterised by the dominance of two main political forces (the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and the People's Party) continued to transform significantly. The People's Party suffered one of the worst election results during the three decades of its history, which could be explained by the strengthening of Ciudadanos and the emergence of the radical political force, Vox.It must be noted that neither the left-wing, nor the right-wing political parties succeeded gaining absolute majority (176 mandates) in the Congress of Deputies. Taking into account of the division of political sphere and the ideological differences among the parties, it will probably take a long time until the main political forces can strike a compromise to form a coalition government in the Iberian country. This requires mutual concessions by the Spanish political elite.Besides the evaluation of the antecedents of parliamentary elections the objective my paper is to analyse the peculiarities of election campaign, but I will also highlight which factors played crucial role in the transformation of the party system in Spain. In my essay emphasis will be given to the different scenarios as regards negotiations for constructing a stable government. Because of length constraints, I will not deal with the foreign affairs- and economic policy of the socialist government.

International audience ; In this study, we provide an overview of relevant national and local regulations and policies for smart mobility, focusing on carsharing services. In particular, we highlight the importance of parking policies. Given this importance, we propose a mathematical optimization model that can be used by a local government to analytically choose the best subset of parking slots to rent to carsharing companies, in order to improve urban mobility. Government that must choose which parking slots to rent to carsharing companies in a city, while finding an optimal balance between the interest of the population and those of the profit-oriented companies. Specifically, we propose to formulate this decision problem as a Binary Linear Programming problem, which includes boolean variables to represent the possibility of renting or not a cluster of parking slots. We present the results of testing the model using realistic data related to the City of Rome. Such data are defined on the basis of the experience gained within the collaboration with our industrial partners in EGo , a carsharing service launched at the University Roma Tre with the support of the electric utility company Enel. The application of the model to a set of realistic data of city of Rome shows that the model can return a fair territorial distribution of the parking slots, satisfying various families of constraints limiting the distribution.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, with the world in search for new economic engines, China and Japan have explicitly given their answer through their expansion of overseas infrastructure investments. This study focuses on the flagship sector of high-speed railways (HSR) and examines what kinds of development financing China and Japan have adopted in making these investments. It asks the following questions: What similarities are there in the Chinese and Japanese approaches to investments in overseas infrastructure, and how do they differ from traditional Western development financing? Also, in what ways have China and Japan changed their approaches to overseas infrastructure projects during this process? It argues that in the process of expanding overseas infrastructure investments and competing for infrastructure projects, China and Japan have become 'competitive partners' in challenging the traditional norms of development financing represented by the Washington Consensus and the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). To be more specific, China and Japan have adopted each other's practices of tied commercial financing, heavy government involvement, focusing on physical infrastructure and industrialization, and showing respect for host-country forms of governance. In particular, by joining China in the new game of exporting infrastructure and through its own 'quality infrastructure investment' initiative, Japan has broken out of the constraints of DAC norms as an aid donor and endorsed some fundamental Chinese approaches to development and development cooperation, which in their turn were inspired by earlier Japanese practices. (Pac Rev/GIGA)