Suchergebnisse

Mobile phone has become an integral part of our lives. The penetration rate of mobile phones in the developing countries has increased abruptly and this is a good sign for the banking sector. Mobile banking is the most recently launched innovative feat in the banking sector. The unique ability of mobile banking to perform banking transactions irrespective of place and time has given a competitive edge over traditional banking. Even though, all circumstances are in favour of mobile banking, it has failed to take off in most of the developing countries. Hence, the main objective of the study is to find out the constructs which affect the adoption of mobile banking in India. A model has been proposed with the factors namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, self-efficacy, perceived risk, perceived enjoyment, relative advantage, compatibility, trust, social influence and personal innovativeness. The proposed model has been tested using various statistical analyses and the findings of this study reveal that relative advantage has the strongest relationship with the intention to use mobile banking.

Abstract
Environmental migration owes its existence to pull factors, i.e. disastrous environmental factors that push people to migrate to other lands. In this article the definition of environmental migration is reversed, since in Russian internal migration towards the Kuban' region and, in particular, towards the city of Krasnodar, pull factors are transformed into push factors, giving rise to migration in which the climate is an attractive pole, around which other migratory causes are placed. The migratory flows directed towards the city of Krasnodar are a great resource of demographic rebirth, the motor of regional and city life, the growing stimulus towards rapid urban development and the transformative and generative force of infinite territorial images, endlessly created by each migrant present on the territory under examination.

This study analyses efficiency levels in Spanish local governments and their determining factors through the application of DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) methodology. It aims to find out to what extent inefficiency arises from external factors beyond the control of the entity, or on the other hand, how much it is due to inadequate management of productive resources. The results show that on the whole, there is still a wide margin within which managers could increase local government efficiency levels, although it is revealed that a great deal of inefficiency is due to exogenous factors. It is specifically found that the size of the entity, per capita tax revenue, the per capita grants or the amount of commercial activity are some of the factors determining local government inefficiency.

In native Hawaiian culture, the land is considered sacred, never exploited, & used only when needed. The practice of owning land, therefore, is considered a violation of Hawaiian cultural practice, which even the US government has recognized, despite its history of oppressing the region & its inhabitants. While native Hawaiians are legally entitled to land, the US has repeatedly illegally annexed much of these properties, which violates both the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights & the self-determination rights of indigenous nations. Most of the region's ecological destruction has been caused by the arrival of Europeans & Americans, with only 10% of the original lowland rain forest left today. While federal land is devoted primarily to ecological reserves, this has been inadequate in preserving the state's natural resources & wildlife. Private land is primarily devoted to the tourist industry, which further contributes to ecological degradation & the dehumanization of native people through capitalist-patriarchal structures of objectification dominance. It is suggested that continued efforts toward self-determination & the renunciation of modernization principles will present the best challenges to these colonial principles. J. MacDowell

Seit den 1950er Jahren hat die Nutzung des Nils als gemeinsames Wasserreservoir eine zentrale Rolle bei den - zumeist von Ägypten ausgehenden - Bemühungen um enge Beziehungen zwischen Ägypten und Sudan gespielt. Die Verschlechterung der bilateralen Beziehungen seit dem Sturz Numairis 1985 stellt unter dem Aspekt der Wasserversorgung eine unmittelbare Bedrohung Ägyptens dar, denn das unkontrollierte Bevölkerungswachstum einerseits und der Rückgang des Nilwassers andererseits werden in absehbarer Zeit zu einer Wasserknappheit führen, der nur durch Wasserschutzmaßnahmen im sudanesischen Teil des Nils begegnet werden kann, wobei Ägypten von dem "guten Willen" Sudans abhängig ist. (DÜI-Hns)

Regulations essential for improving labor standards are often ignored to the detriment of workers. In many countries, the agencies charged with enforcement lack resources and are subject to political interference. How can inspectors in flawed bureaucracies overcome these barriers and enforce labor regulations? In this article, based on case studies of subnational variation in Argentina, the author develops a theory to explain enforcement in places with weak and politicized labor inspectorates. The framework focuses on two factors: the strength of linkages between bureaucrats and allied civil society organizations, and the level of administrative resources in the bureaucracy. Linkages facilitate routinized resource sharing and the construction of pro- enforcement coalitions, and administrative resources determine whether bureaucrats use societal resources passively or strategically. By identifying pathways to enforcement that are obscured by dominant approaches to studying labor inspection, this research opens up new possibilities for crafting strategies to improve labor standards.

The precise simulation of urban space evolution and grasping of the leading factors are the most important basis for urban space planning. However, the simulation ability of current models is lacking when it comes to complicated/unpredictable urban space changes, resulting in flawed government decision-making and wasting of urban resources. In this study, a macro–micro joint decision model was proposed to improve the ability of urban space evolution simulation. The simulation objects were unified into production, living and ecological space to realize "multiple planning in one". For validation of the proposed model and method, remote sensing images, geographic information and socio-economic data of Xuzhou, China from 2000 to 2020 were collected and tested. The results showed that the simulation precision of the cellular automata (CA) model was about 87% (Kappa coefficient), which improved to 89% if using a CA and multi-agent system (MAS) joint model. The simulation precision could be better than 92% using the prosed model. The result of factor weight determination indicated that the micro factors affected the evolution of production and living space more than the macro factors, while the macro factors had more influence on the evolution of ecological space than the micro factors. Therefore, active policies should be formulated to strengthen the ideological guidance towards micro individuals (e.g., a resident, farmer, or entrepreneur), and avoid disordered development of living and production space. In addition, ecological space planning should closely link with the local environment and natural conditions, to improve urban ecological carrying capacity and realize urban sustainable development.

Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to determine and analyse the factors that affected economic growth in the EU's Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries in the 2000-2015 period. Economic growth is one of the main targets of economic policy of any country and influenced by various determinants. Of particular interest is the endogenous and exogenous nature of these factors. Having classified these factors into exogenous and endogenous ones, we examined and determined the significance and robustness of various factors influencing the economic growth in these countries, like investment, human capital, research and development, economic policies and macroeconomic conditions, openness to trade, geography, political factors and others. Correlation and factor analysis showed significance and strong association of GDP per capita with physical, human capital, and R&D in EaP countries and with natural resources and active population share in Central Asian countries.

Abstract
The narrow field of research here is the development of a model for the building of personal excellence using a career plan that is empirically tested and confirmed, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The purpose of this study relates to the writing of a career plan, for the determination of the factors that influence the feeling of personal excellence of participants in career planning education, in relation to other participants who are not. The qualitative analysis consists of basic experience data that was collected during the education process, through 20 essays, and the paradigmatic model, with the final theory defined, and based on this, a questionnaire was created. The quantitative analysis involved a total of 547 participants. For the statistical analyses of the data, bivariate analysis was used to assess the linear connection of individual pairs of variables. The search for differences between the two groups used t-tests for independent samples. Factor analysis was used to determine whether the relations among the examined variables can be explained with a smaller number of indirectly examined variables. The final model consists of three elements: (1) relation with career; (2) self-esteem; and (3) perception of personal excellence. Management can use the results of this study for management decisions. The increased success of every individual organisation benefits the whole of society. This study represents an original contribution and offers a new approach that is based on the paradigm of the understanding of a career and the importance of its planning as a motive for excellence.

Utah, located in the arid southwest, is a state that experience s chronic water shortages. The pattern of valleys and high mountain ranges that exists in the state produces sharply contrasting differences in climatic conditions . Desert valleys in the western portion may receive as few a s 4 inches of precipitation in a year while headwater areas in the Wasatch Mountains receive 60 inches or more. Wide cyclic as well a s geographical variations of precipitation added to uneven seasonal distribution makes development and efficient utilization of water resource s vital though difficult. In order to make the most effective distribution and use of this precious water resource, the State of Utah is engaged in the preparation of a State Water Plan . The Utah Division of Water Resources, designated by the Utah Legislature to accept prime responsibility in this task, is cooperating with universities and other government agencies in this effort. As a basis f or planning and further development, an assessment of available water resources and the current stage of development is essential . To facilitate this assessment the area of the state has been divided geographically into several hydrologic study areas and sub-areas , shown in Figure 1. The Division of Water Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey , the Utah Water Research Laboratory, and other organizations are cooperating in making hydrologic studies and reports for these areas . To provide for uniformity in this state -wide effort, the following general procedures have been established : 1. Review existing land use data for each hydrologic area and determine their adequacy for meeting the needs of the water planning program . 2. Conduct field land-us e surveys for those areas where inadequate information is available in order to delineate the various land use categories f or each hydrologic area and sub-area. Summarize the acreage data for use in the water budget studies . 3 . For each sub-area, determine t he quantity and quality of runoff . Also, assemble and prepare for computer processing relevant available data regarding the hydrology and climate of each area, together with appropriate maps and charts . 4 . Investigate relationships between precipitation and runoff with respect to both time and space . In this regard, factors influencing runoff, such as physiography, geology , vegetative cover, slope, elevation, and aspect are evaluated . 5 . Estimate all major depletions from the flow system of the area . 6 . Prepare water budgets which account for the time and spatial distribution of the total water. The hydrologic inventory presented herein pertains to the Great Salt Lake Desert Area lying in Tooele County and in portions of Box Elder and Juab Counties. The shaded portion of Figure 1 depicts the area and sub areas included. Sparse population and widely scattered areas of development characterize this dry northwest region of the state . Because of the lack of hydrologic data for much of this relatively undeveloped region, only a rough appraisal and analysis of hydrologic conditions is possible. This report covers steps 3 and 4 listed previously. The results of this report will be incorporated with information generated in the other steps listed and will be published as a composite report at a later date.

This article presents the results of a discrete choice experiment conducted among 90 French farmers in 2017. We analyze the factors influencing farmers' motivations to reduce -or not- their use of pesticides and value the willingness to accept/willingness to pay for changes in each of these factors. We include, besides other attributes, the role of the harvest-risk in farmers' decisions, whereas this factor has barely been studied in the quantitative literature on the topic. Our results indicate that this "Risk of poor harvest" attribute is strongly significant, followed by the kind of "Administrative commitment" that may come along with the practices' change. Regarding the former attribute, farmers express high preferences for not bearing a risk of harvest loss (all else equal, including mean profit): they need to receive in average 83.27 euros (112.52 euros) per hectare and per year to compensate the risk of encountering one (two) additional year(s) of poor harvest out of ten ; La réduction de l'usage de produits phytosanitaires est devenu un défi majeur en France et dans la plupart des pays développés. L'essor récent du Bio en France (+20% de ventes en 2016, BioBaromètre 2017) montre une réelle prise de conscience du grand public et de nouvelles exigences des consommateurs. Plusieurs pratiques permettant de réduire le recours aux produits phytosanitaires tout en maintenant les profits semblent avoir émergé dans des réseaux pilotes (Lerchenet et al 2017) mais demeurent peu appliquées par la majorité des agriculteurs. Les politiques publiques mises en place jusqu'à présent ont abouti à des résultats décevants et l'utilisation de produits phytosanitaires continue d'augmenter (hausse d'environ 12% en France entre 2009 et 2014). Notre étude s'interroge sur les principaux freins et principales motivations des agriculteurs français à réduire leur utilisation de pesticides. Elle repose sur la méthode de Discrete Choice Experiment et permet de mesurer le poids relatif de différents facteurs de décision dans les choix de pratiques des agriculteurs. Elle permet également d'estimer des consentements et payer / à recevoir pour les éléments non monétaires associés à ces choix de pratiques agricoles. Nous montrons notamment que le rôle du risque-récolte est prépondérant dans la réticence des agriculteurs à réduire leur usage de produits phytosanitaires.

This research focuses on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) to balance economic growth with ecological preservation. It assesses Greek consumers' attitudes, satisfaction, and knowledge about green products through questionnaires, analyzing the interplay of these factors in consumer satisfaction and highlighting the role of awareness in the green market. The study also compares these findings with Romanian consumer behavior to understand cultural and socioeconomic influences. Results show that positive attitudes towards green products and access to information significantly enhance consumer satisfaction, a trend consistent across different cultures. However, a lack of sustainability knowledge among youth presents an educational opportunity. The study advocates for strategic educational efforts to support SCP, emphasizing the need for well-informed product design, fair pricing, and clear communication to promote sustainable consumer habits, contributing to the broader SCP discourse and guiding future sustainable economy policies.

The province of Albay in the Philippines is highly vulnerable to climatic and geologic hazards, but it has largely achieved its zero-casualty goal for the past two decades. In recognition of this achievement, the province has garnered numerous awards from international and national organizations. Past studies have identified Albay's success factors, but the role of communication has been overlooked. Thus, this research discusses the communication projects and protocols of Albay on disaster management. Data were obtained from interviews of key informants and examination of official documents. Results showed that the province's communication activities are assigned to specific persons, embedded in an early warning system, enacted using multiple media, supported by multiple stakeholders, and implemented under a strict protocol. These make Albay's disaster communication practices effective in attaining its zero-casualty goal during disasters.