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Organic farming is an alternative method for dynamic agricultural system. Products that are obtained from organic farming are referred to as ecological or organic food [1]. These include products of animal origin that come from organic farming [2]. In the case of animal production in organic farming there are particular requirements for breed, animal welfare and feeding. Additionally, the origins of animals is also of crucial importance since, basically, such animals should be purchased from organic farms. However, there can be exceptions to this requirement, for instance, if the number of animals of a particular species or of a specific breed is not sufficient [3]. The main idea behind organic production is obtaining plant or animal products maintaining good soil structure, clean water and adjusting to the natural rhythm of nature. Enhancement of the social status has led to the situation where consumers pay more attention to the quality and origins of the products they choose. Numerous scientific papers from recent years, based on consumer’s opinion, show substantial impact of welfare system on the quality of animal products. Since ‘90s there has been a systematic surge of interest in products from ecological systems and demand for these, which in turn affect the development of this agricultural sector. The aim of the work is to compare the changes in organic production over the last 26 years in Poland with reference to the situation in Europe and whole globe. The research has been done on the basis of statistics since 1990 up till now as well as on scientific studies. Nowadays, there are increasing numbers of farms and redirections of production, as well as changes in the sizes of farms producing organic food.

This paper outlines the recent studies on the application of photocatalysis using semiconductors, with modified titanium dioxide (TiO2) in the process of reducing chemical contamination of surface and ground waters. During the last forty years, an increasing interest in catalysts of this type is noticeable. Hence, a wide range of methods of TiO2 modifications have been proposed so far by using its various polymorphs, composites with metals and non-metals and polymer-coatings or impregnating it with dyes that effectively absorb sunlight.

Research about exploitation the potential of waste and sludge increased drastically in the recent years. One of the most promising alternative methods of waste management is Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC), which generate clean bio-electricity using microorganisms. Organic compounds, sewage, municipal solid waste could be used as a source for microbial nutrition. The construction of MFC is one of the most important parameter in laboratory studies and during scale-up. The efficiency of MFC depends on many factors including type of membrane. To obtain optimization in terms of various operating conditions, a prototype of Microbial Fuel Cell with exchangeable membrane was projected and fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM) technology. This novel device allows to research effects of different types of separator membranes. Preliminary research showed possibility to produce 3D printed MFC systems.

This study explores how managerial practices can develop and enhance a creative climate in science parks. Based on a case study of one of the most important Italian science parks, Area Science Park, our results suggest that science park management can further enhance the park’s park potential and strengthen ties to its different actors by focusing on creative climate development. In particular, we identify and discuss key aspects that are relevant to this challenge, i.e. promotion of a shared identity, design of structured work processes, use of communal spaces and internal communication technology. Overall, the study contributes to show that creative climate development implies more than merely being located in the physical platform of a science park., CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, Vol. 2 No. 1 (2018): Special issue: "Designing creative spaces to support Experimental Innovation"

This time the experimental innovation team at IdeaSquare explores the science (and excitement) behind soap bubbles seeking for keys to achieve “order of magnitude jumps” in projects., CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, Vol. 2 No. 1 (2018): Special issue: "Designing creative spaces to support Experimental Innovation"

Though data is largely recognized as a new form of capital in the digital era, little research has been done on how innovations related to finding health professionals and using health services are evolving in smart-city-based, preventive healthcare service delivery networks. How does digital data affect preventive healthcare practices in service delivery networks? Evidence is provided from a smart city service delivery network on how data and ICT usage impact preventive healthcare innovations. The research is based on a case study highlighting the transformations continuously occurring in such a network. The results suggest that using data from different sectors will enable individuals and health professionals to communicate via intelligent personalized services, which will act as agents, guiding and coaching individuals to change their lifestyles to avoid chronic diseases. This study provides new knowledge on how continuously using health data can produce novel routines and innovations in healthcare networks over time.

Were you ever asked by a manager to ‘do what you want’, where you felt free to innovate? Did it feel like freedom? Maybe you felt encouraged since you could now experiment your idea, but did it mean that your performance was now on the radar? Could you then stay true to your vision or did you feel the need to compromise so that the ‘numbers lined up’? Either way, you should know that you are not alone. Arguably, we are in an age of paradox1 where simultaneous contradic- tions are all too common. Innovation paradox arises when “the aggressive pursuit of operational excellence and incremental innovation crowds out the possibility of creating ground-breaking innovations” (Davila & Epstein, 2014, p.2). Often these contradictions are meaningful on their own merit but when interdependent on each other, they create tensions in economic, social, environmental and ethical decision-making. In previous editorials, we have shared how digital innovations and societal disparity across the world are influencing strategic decision-making and shifting the innovation mindset. We now stretch the boundaries by suggesting that paradigms relying on economic trade-offs and shared-value that have shaped conventional organisational strategies are no longer sufficient to guide paradoxical tensions in decision-making. (...)

Rough set theory is one of the mathematical models for dealing with a vague, imprecise, and fuzzy knowledge that has been successfully used to handle incomplete information systems. Since, in fact in the real-world problems, often found the conditions that are the user can not provide all the necessary preference values. In this research, an implementation of extension technique of rough set theory that called limited tolerance relation is used to overcome incomplete information systems in student data at Telkom University. Based on the obtained results, the limited tolerance relation technique successfully used to handle that problem. The results show that the technique achieved the accuracy of 96.04% with an execution time of 3.1830 seconds.

Lectures schedule management in campus is an important aspect that must be implemented in every period. The schedule will be managed well if avoided from collision of the room, time, and lecturer. To overcome collision problem it's necessary to make mitigate system to avoid schedule changes frequently caused by collision of room, time, and lecturer. Thus, the author design and build SIM-DRaW (Sistem Informasi Manajemen Dosen, Ruang, dan Waktu) web-based to fulfill needs and overcome schedule management system. The final result of the design and build SIM-DRaW is implemented information system that can help schedule manager to avoid collision earlier.

Many organizations find themselves at the "front end of innovation", that is, they know they need to do something, but they are not quite sure what to do. Through our research, we have learned much more about the practice and implementation of innovation. For example, we have discovered that innovation is most successful if there is leadership support for a culture of innovation combined with systematic approaches to embed and reinforce innovative behaviours. This article outlines a case study of an organization in the financial services industry who began their innovation journey a number of years ago, and reports on the progress of a sustained and deliberate approach. This research highlights the relationship between an innovation cultural assessment model and its utilization as a framework to manage the implementation of activities to support the development of an innovation approach in a context specific scenario. A case study methodology was adopted that utilized an innovation culture model as a measurement tool. By actively observing the organization, including two cultural assessments over a 4-year period, the findings indicate that an innovation assessment model is useful as an approach to advance the innovation agenda in the organization. In this sense, the research findings are of interest to academics looking to conceptualize a broader implementation framework that is closely associated to the innovation measure associated with the organization. As well, practitioners looking to advance their innovation platforms will find the framework useful as they plan initiatives aimed at advancing their innovation agendas.

Research studies of SME innovation practice observe some common themes, such as an orientation towards networking, and some differences that may seem activity-related (e.g. production or service). In this paper we suggest the kinds of innovation activity undertaken by an SME will depend on their dominant business model and owner/enterprise attitudes, each one being moderated by purposeful networking. This is illustrated in our review of data from 50 case studies, where combining a CEO narrative analysis with secondary data on the nature of the firm has identified seven generic manufacturing business models. We observe these may be adopted singly or in combination to pursue a competitive advantage, and the dominant business model may change over time as new capabilities are developed and/or in response to market changes.

Studies of diffusion have found conflicting patterns of inter-organizational innovation adoption. This paper uses the concept of middle-status conformity to propose a model of diffusion that helps to make sense of these conflicting results. This model is developed by combining the status-competition model (Podolny, 1993) with the audience-candidate interface model (Zuckerman, 1999). The integration of these models yields two distinct diffusion patterns characterized by status differences in originating and adopting organizations. Additionally, five empirically testable propositions are developed in order to lay the groundwork for testing this hybrid model.

This paper is devoted to experimental and numerical studies of heat distribution in an external building bulkhead. It analyzes the variation of temperature across the width of the bulkheads including the impact of changing external conditions. Mathematical model used in the research is formulated based on a fractional differential equation, which was proven to be a useful tool for describing this type of process in previous paper. Numerical results are compared with experiment data for different bulkhead configurations.

Purpose. The entrepreneurial process is a complicated structure defined by interaction of many factors. When analyzing entrepreneurship in the context of modern - day development of new technologies, technology parks are also being introduced in this process. Technology parks are specific forms which started their growth in the middle of twentieth century. They are viewed as places where technology, entrepreneurship, knowledge, innovation and creativity are being combined together in order to nurture the process of creating visions, ideas and new values. Technology parks are the nexus between academic community and ventures. The aim of this paper was to present the interaction between entrepreneurship and technology parks, and to identify the role of technology parks in today's entrepreneurial venture. Design. Over time industrial economy has developed into information economy, which also has many forms. That lead to acknowledgement of the strength of connection between industry and know - how. Therefore this paper foremost defines the concepts of entrepreneurship and technology parks through their historic evolution and modalities of their interaction, that being the base for a case study. A case study was conducted in Technology park Varaždin in the period from March 7th to March 13th 2016, using following methods. Firstly secondary data analysis was conducted (data acquired from available literature and business reports) which gave basis for a decision regarding primary data collecting and hypotheses proposal. Afterwards primary data analysis was conducted (data acquired using online survey method). Survey was conducted on population consisting of entrepreneurs whose companies are tenants of Technology park Varaždin. The mentioned research survey consisted of twenty questions divided into four sections. Findings. Total of three hypotheses were proposed and tested in order to make tenants profiles and analysis of their habitat in Technology park Varaždin, and finally in order to identify the role of Technology park Varaždin in their entrepreneurial process.

The drying process is one of the most important stages in the production of building materials. The choice of the drying method affects the chemical and physical properties of the final product. The aim of this research is to measure and analyze the dynamic changes of internal pressure in non-shrinking, porous material during convective drying. In this work the problem will be discussed with special attention to the behavior of rewetted plaster. A commercial gypsum of company PIOTROWICE II (Alpol brand), typically used in construction and decorative plastering was applied. Gypsum was mixed with water in recommended proportion of 0.6 water/gypsum and drying experiments were performed at 50°C. The changes in sample overall mass as well as pressure and material temperature on the midpoint of sample axis were monitored. On the basis of the obtained experimental data of axial pressure, it is possible to perform a more detailed analysis of mass and heat transfer mechanisms than based on the drying kinetics alone. The pressure trends in the sample allow one to determine the moment of transition from the first to the second drying period, without the need to determine the kinetics of drying. The element of novelty consists of using a direct internal pressure measurement to provide information on the variation of the actual drying rate and mass transfer mechanisms.

Synthetic food dyes (E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E132, E133) were concentrated by solid phase extraction on aminopropyl modified silica with aqueous sodium hydroxide or selected amines as eluents. Ponceau 4R (E124) was used as the model dye in the studies of the elution step. The recoveries of E124 differed depending on the eluent and ranged from 76% (AMP) to over 90% (TEA, imidazole, NaOH). Diluted aqueous triethanolamine (TEA) was found to be a suitable eluent for E124 but other dyes were eluted more effectively with NaOH. The solid extraction process was combined with UV/VIS spectroscopy to quantify synthetic dyes in drinks and OTC pharmaceutical tablets. The SPE-UV/VIS spectroscopic method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy (recovery of dyes from spiked preparations), precision (repeatability, intermediate precision) and limits of detection/quantification. The method was found sufficiently fast, easy and reliable for the routine control of dyes in these types of products.

Purpose. This research paper shows which value add measures are used by German DAX 30 corporations in their 2015 annual reports. It explains how different measures like shareholder value, economical value add (EVATM), return on capital employed (ROCE), return on equity (ROE) and others are calculated and how they correlate. Corporate governance has been highly professionalized which clearly shows in the annual reports of all firms. The requirement for “sustainable creation of value” as stated in the German Corporate Governance Codex (Regierungskommision Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex, 2015) is made transparent as a core element in the companies’ annual reports. Design. 70% of the DAX 30 firms show value add data and some of them even highlight that value add has been made part of their corporate management approach. In turn this means that 30% of the firms are not showing value add data in a prominent way. The paper focuses on the 70% showing value add data and how EVA, company specific EVA-like measures or ROCE are the most used ones. Findings. The paper shows that ROCE with a factor of 0,97 correlates best with EVA and in absence of an EVA calculation is the best measure to represent value creation. Originality. As part of a dissertation the aim is to develop a best in class measurement system and comparison for corporate governance theoretical and empirical analyses. The paper has been presented at 21st European Scientific Conference of Doctoral Students - PEFnet2017 organized by the Faculty of Business and Economics of Mendel University in Brno, taking place on November 30, 2017 on the campus of Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic.

The article presents examples of rehabilitation solutions in which textiles play an important role. They are a fully functional garment, an element of clothing adapted to a given part of the body or a product intended for use in improving health. They are designed with the use of modern production technologies that utilize various raw materials to support the health aspects of the user with their structure and properties.

Purpose. Crude oil is an important and most demanded commodity throughout the world. There are various oil processes like electricity production, manufacturing processes and transport sector. Oil is the basic necessity thus is important to study the volatility in oil prices because oil price volatility reduces the aggregate output for short run and as a result uncertainty increases and investment also decreases (Guo and Kliesen, 2005).This research analysis the effect of exchange rate variation and the fiscal policy changes on the oil price volatility and granger causality of macroeconomic variables. Lee (1998) defined volatility as the standard deviation in a given period. She submitted that Volatility has a negative and significant impact on economic growth immediately, while the impact of oil price changes delays until after a year. She concludes by stating that it is volatility/change in crude oil prices rather than oil price level that has a significant influence on economic growth. Methodology. GARCH (1,1) test define the exchange rate has not a significant relation with the local oil price but fiscal policy effect and foreign oil price has a significant relation on the local oil price. Granger Causality test indicate that oil price volatility does not granger cause on public sector investment and gross domestic production does not granger cause on public sector investment is significant. Except these relationship, all other variables relationship exist and possible. Findings. This research identify the effect of exchange rate, fiscal policy and international oil prices on oil prices of Pakistan. Different econometrics tests are utilized for analyses. Due to shortage of time, money and resources, this study only focus on Pakistan but this type of study can also implemented in Asia or more developing countries for more generalize effects and conclusion. Originality. This is the first implemented research who define the magnitude, direction and effects among the variable in context of Pakistan. Before this research, there is only opinions are founds by different economists, politicians and analysists.

The article aims to analyse the strategies of the selected progressive smart cities (London-Stockholm-Vienna) based on the methodology described below along with the strategy of the emerging smart city (Kyiv). The idea is to see which components of Smart Sustainable city Framework are covered by the “actual” strategies and how they are presented, which projects are currently underway and prioritised and how the evolvement process goes in different cities. We wanted to find common elements and approaches among the selected cities along with the best practices which can be taken into account by the cities when developing their own Smart City Strategy based on the experience already available.

Purpose. The article is focused on the empirical properties of the high-frequency data of 20 selected stocks from the Warsaw Stock Exchange (in particular the ones listed on WIG 20).The intraday data from at least more than 1 year were analysed. In particular, correlation between returns and durations were checked. Methodology. Also, the heterogeneous autoregressive model for realized volatility (HAR) was analysed and an attempt to construct the UHF-GARCH model was taken. The HAR model is a linear model and the UHF-GARCH is based on a certain adjustment of physical durations. Then, the standard ARMA-GARCH approach can be considered. Moreover, the hypothesis of Diamond and Verrecchia predicting a negative correlation between price changes and the time passed between transactions was checked. The analysis was done in R statistical software. Findings. The presented research can serve as an introduction to some further (and more thorough and narrow) researches. Except a direct presentation of outcomes from the study of the selected stocks from the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the paper contains quite an extensive literature review on high-frequency data.

Purpose. Attention of macroeconomists and financial experts has focused on the determinants of bank credit, with more attention on the demand side analysis. However, few existing study on the supply side determinants of bank credit are reported with inconsistent results, though they emphasized the role of economic growth. By employing Autoregressive Distribution Lag estimation technique, this study specifically focuses on the short-run dynamic and long-run effects of bank credit supply determinants in Nigeria using the data that span 1970-2015. We found that exchange rate, money supply, net foreign liabilities and real GDP all have a positive long-run impact on bank credit to private sector in Nigeria, whereas the effect of the general price level is negative. In the short run, the effect of money supply, net foreign liabilities and reserve requirement on bank credit to the private sector is positive with only inflation exerting a negative influence. In conclusion, policymakers are required to implement policies that stabilize the financial system and boost per capita income in order to promote a sustained and stable growth of bank credit to private sector in Nigeria. Bankers also should, however, monitor the rate at which they create credit which has implication for the overall money supply.The study was set out to estimate both the short and long-run relationship as well as dynamic effect of supply side factors on bank credit to private sector in Nigeria between 1970 and 2015. Methodology. The study employed Linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) co-integration test as suggested by Pesaran, Shin and Smith, (2001). Findings. It was evidenced that exchange rate, money supply, net foreign liabilities and real GDP all have a positive long-run impact on bank credit to private sector in Nigeria, whereas the effect of the general price level is negative. In the short run, the effect of money supply, net foreign liabilities and reserve requirement on bank credit to the private sector is positive with only inflation exerting a negative influence. Limitations. This study is limited only by its focus on the supply size analysis. A new line of study is suggested that can possibly investigate both the demand and supply size analysis together in one paper. Originality. This is an original work and has neither been published in any other peer-reviewed journal nor is under consideration for publication by any other journal.

The kernel of the debate on the relation between government spending and economic growth is whether the former causes the latter or the latter causes the former. In addition, there is the issue of possibility of nonlinearity in the relation between government expenditure and economic growth. Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relations between government expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria. Design/Methodology/Approach. The nonlinearity and causality in the relation between government expenditure and economic growth are examined using nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model (NARDL), vector error correction model (VECM) and causality. Findings/Implications. The findings show the existence of cointegration and nonlinear effect on the relation between government expenditure and economic growth in both long- and short-run. The results equally show unidirectional causality that runs from economic growth to government expenditure thus providing support for Wagner’s law in Nigeria. Originality. The findings from this study suggest that nonlinearity and asymmetry should be taken into account when examining the nexus between government expenditure and economic growth.

Operation of biogas plants, anaerobic fermentation processes, collection and purification of biogas and its subsequent combustion may be a source of environmental hazard. The construction and operation of biogas plants is inextricably connected with the generation and emission of solid, liquid and gaseous pollutants into the environment. The aim of the work is to analyze environmental hazards resulting from the construction and operation of biogas plants. As part of the work, a comprehensive analysis of their impact on individual components of the environment was made. The effect of biogas plants on atmospheric air, soil and water environment and acoustic climate was analyzed and the potential range of these impacts was presented.

The thermosensitive hydrogels are widely used in tissue engineering due to their non-invasive application. Special interest of researchers, due to the specific characteristics of both materials, is aimed at composites of natural origin obtained from chitosan hydrogels combined with collagen. The mechanical properties of the thermosensitive chitosan-fish collagen hydrogels and the sol-gel phase transition parameters were determined by the rotational rheometry measurement techniques. Based on comparison of the obtained storage modulus G' curves, it was found that the addition of collagen negatively affects the mechanical properties of composite scaffolds. The addition of this protein substance decreases their elasticity. Only the smallest concentration (0.25g collagen/1 g chitosan) of collagen improves the mechanical properties of composite hydrogels, from 56 kPa to 61 kPa. Conducted non-isothermal studies allowed to conclude that the addition of collagen causes an increasing temperature of sol-gel phase transition. However, the observed changes are not a monotone function of the biopolymer concentration.

Have you ever been a tourist or a traveller? How did you plan that? What experiences did you collect? Ask a tourist and they will tell you that it is all about maximising time and money – see as many things as possible, take a picture and move on. Ask a traveller and they will tell you all about the hidden secrets of the land, how they felt when they met “that person” and how the experience has changed their worldview. So, question for the budding globe trotter is – what would you rather have – efficient quick wins or productive shifts in mindset? Maybe the plan is to have both at the same time and if so, you share similar sentiments to those who are either contemplating or already are on the journey of innovation. Yes, innovation is a journey in which destinations are often temporary. Where, journey is that of collecting knowledge and learning from experiences and destinations are the ‘photo-opportunities’, the time to sharpen up, go-to-market and get smarter. Destinations are temporary as the quest to get to the ‘next best thing’ keeps the senses active. Scholars in innovation call this the circular path of innovation: research-development-commercialisation-feedback-reflection (and repeat). (...)

When planting our human print in a new technology-driven world we should ask, remembering Neil Armstrong in 1969, “after many small steps for AI researchers, will it result in a giant leap in the unknown for mankind?” An “Artificial Intelligence-first” world is being preached all over the media by many responsible players in economic and scientific communities. This letter states our belief in AI potentialities, including its major and decisive role in computer science and engineering, while warning against the current hyping of its near future. Although quite excited by several recent interesting revelations about the future of AI, we here argue in favor of a more cautious interpretation of the current and future AI-based systems potential outreach. We also include some personal perspectives on simple remedies to preventing recognized possible dangers. We advocate a set of practices and principles that may prevent the development of AI-based systems prone to be misused. Accountable “Data curators”, appropriate Software Engineering specification methods, the inclusion, when needed, of the “human in the loop”, software agents with emotion-like states might be important factors leading to more secure AI-based systems. Moreover, to inseminate ART in Artificial Intelligence, ART standing for Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency, becomes also mandatory for trustworthy AI-based systems. This letter is an abbreviation of a more substantial article to be published in IJCA journal.

Much of the existing literature on innovation intermediaries is focused on manufacturing, and limited scientific knowledge has been developed about the role of intermediaries in services. This paper aims to expand and test an existing framework on the roles and functions of intermediaries in services, focusing specifically on consultancies. Furthermore, it is investigated to what extent services and manufacturing are perceived as different clients, and what represents the added-value of consultancies. Using a case study approach, consultancies´ activities are analysed and compared within services and manufacturing contexts. Findings indicate that while consultancies do not consider manufacturing companies different from service companies, during the collaboration process several differences do exist in terms of their role in these two types of companies, mainly due to different degrees of development of the corresponding innovation strategies and to different perspectives regarding the use of technology.

Instead of looking at slums as strictly ‘urban problems’ requiring ‘urban solutions’, this paper attempts to build a structural link between growth of slums in urban areas and, what can be called, the ‘decay’ of the rural in India. It contends that uneven development of Indian cities with great spatial disparities – made evident by increasing number of slums – is related to uneven development between rural and urban areas. Thus, in order to grapple with the ‘enigma’ of slums, the political economy of rural areas – from where the migrants living in slums ‘originally’ belong – becomes the essential site to engage with. The paper foregrounds the need to study transformations in the rural domain in order to make sense of the growth of slums in cities. In a nutshell, the argument is that the ‘decay’ of the rural and the ‘swelling’ of the city are to be visualised in hyphenated terms since the rural-urban divide is at the heart of the ‘great urban divide’.

The Sundarbans or the ‘beautiful forest’ is a cluster of low-lying islands in the Bay of Bengal, considered as one of the natural wonders of the world, which is facing the problem of global warming since the past few decades. Global warming, climate change, increasing water level and salinity of the river as well as inlet areas are some recognized threats to the Sundarbans. This is threatening species survival, the health of natural systems and causing extinction of biodiversity. This study is a modest attempt to examine the factors because of which the burning issues of Sundarbans are almost excluded from the attention of the media in India as well as Bangladesh. This is despite the fact that various initiatives have been taken by the governments and at the private level in these two countries to conserve the Sundarbans ecosystem. The research paper summarizes findings of newspaper reports on Sundarbans, from Earth Day to World Environment Day 2017 (22 April to 5 June) of two reputed broadsheets dailies i.e. The Daily Prothom Alo (Dhaka, Bangladesh) and The Ei Samay Sangbadpatra (Kolkata, India). The youngest member of the mass communication family, the film has also been included in this paper. This is because the joint production of the two Bengali film industries has already made a lot of cinema. There is going to be more in the near future, where many issues of India and Bangladesh are getting priority, but the destruction of Sundarbans has never been the subject of any such media intervention.

This article is a reflection of cultural differences recorded by the author during her research visit to Sweden in the year 2017 (February-March month). The objectives of the research visit included understanding official dialects of both countries, existing education system and work environments, variant food habits, family structure and associations, available transport systems, sustainable living options and cultural exchange within India and Sweden. The information was first collected through existing literature and was supported by information collected through observation method, informal discussions and interactions with the Swedish people. It can be concluded that both countries are culturally very different and different parts of each country further exhibit alteration in cultural practices, languages and food preferences. Some variations are also due to population size in both countries. For instance, transportation is very well developed in developed countries due to the availability of advanced technology and less population.

Sustainable development is achieved by satisfying the current ends without shrinking the existing means which can serve as needs for the society in the future. It has become global motive and responsibility of present community to utilize resources in an optimum way with minimum environmental damage. The objective of this paper is to study theoretical framework and practical approaches on sustainable offering practices through customer engagement. The study has also examined the opportunities and challenges of sustainable offering practices in India. The study is based on a previous study and secondary data has been used for analysis. The outcome revealed the process for successful sustainable offering practices in context of Indian consumers. The analysis has helped to understand different practices of sustainable offering through engaging stakeholders.

This research contribution attempts to study the role that agro-based industry as well as multi-farming in improving the agricultural sector in Manipur, India. Till now, farmers in the remote North-eastern state of Manipur have been using traditional methods of farming. However, with increasing population and due to lack of awareness towards efficient utilization of land resource, farmers in the state are struggling to keep this sector sustainable. It is thus the need of the hour to make farming economically viable in Manipur so that the food supply in the region is not adversely affected. Manipur also produces several local and nutritious crops like black rice or chakhao, the commercial production of which could help turn around the farming sector in Manipur towards prosperity. The properties of the black rice and how its well-planned production can augment and improve the income of the state is discussed. Presence of rich nutrients and the medicinal properties of chakhao make it a good crop for the health-conscious citizens. However, there is need for generating awareness about this crop and a simultaneous requirement of incentives for the farmers who are growing black rice, before it can become a useful cash crop for Manipur.

India is home to a multitude of art forms. The rich cultural diversity of India lies at the very root of its existence. However, many of these art forms have either completely vanished into the unknown or are on the verge of extinction. This paper provides a brief account of one such art forms called, Aipan, a Kumaoni folk art practised in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. This is discussed in the backdrop of ‘Project Aipan’, initiated by the Enactus team of Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. Consisting of rhythmic geometrical patterns made of lines and dots, Aipan is traditionally made on Geru (an earthy-red surface) with white rice paste. It is practiced on special ceremonies and household rituals to evoke divine blessings. Project Aipan worked towards strengthening communities, bound by a common thread of hope fostered by collective entrepreneurial actions. Through this paper, an attempt is made to highlight the struggle to keep alive the Aipan art form and sustaining it for posterity. The role of women in this struggle is also highlighted, be it the Kumaoni women who have been the practitioners of this art form, or the women team of Enactus IPCW who took the charge of protecting this heritage.

Delhi, capital of the world’s largest democracy, is witnessing large-scale increase in population since the beginning of the twentieth century. Two prominent factors that have contributed to this include the shifting of capital of the British Raj from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi in 1911 and the partition of India that accompanied its independence in 1947. Delhi continued to witness high rate of migration in post-independent India due to uneven implementation of development policies. Rising population led to spatial expansion and the largest connotation of Delhi today (National Capital Region) is an area 36 times its size in 1947. Rising population has also had an adverse impact on Delhi’s natural resources. Consequently, clean air, water and land availability have become limited and Delhi today is undergoing a severe sustainability crisis. The latter requires urgent intervention for restoring Delhi’s urban ecosystem. Since urban areas are highly contested ecological spaces, urban ecological interventions are incomplete without political overtones. Thus, the success of urban ecological interventions lies in identifying politically correct boundaries which encompasses true ‘urban Delhi’ despite the political boundaries. This research contribution attempts to identify the geographical expanse of ‘urban Delhi’ amidst the various political terminologies that define Delhi. An understanding of various divisions and definitions of Delhi is also presented from the perspective of appreciating the challenges in urban planning. We conclude that urban ecology investigations in Delhi should be embedded within the ‘Delhi conurbation’, which represents a geographical area greater than the Delhi city-state but much smaller than Delhi NCR.

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The article describes the quality parameters of the selected elements of biomass as a potential ecological biofuel. Several selected elements of a type of biomass were tested to determine the calorific value, humidity, content of sulfur and amount of ash produced in burning process. The concept of biomass and the legal aspects of its combustion are described. The research of biomass samples revealed that they may be turned into a high-energy, ecologically solid biofuel. Production of biofuel from the tested biomass does not require any additional binders. Studies have shown that the tested material can also act as a component of composite pellets. The quality parameters of such pellets can be determined with the composite calculator that is described in this article. The article also describes the technical aspects of the pellet production line, which should be applied to produce good-quality pellets from the tested types of biomass.

Purpose. There are sufficient evidences in the literature that welfare of food producers and consumers is easily compromised due to unfavorable food price volatility dynamics. Therefore, this study investigates the volatility dynamics in food price index returns (FPIRETURNS), imported food price index returns (CIFCPIRETURNS), price of dollars at bureau de change (BDCRETURNS) and inter-bank rate (EXRETURNS). Design/Methodology/Approach. In view of the increasing quest to account for volatility behavior such as non-linear and time-varying risk premium in food price series using an appropriate tool, this paper adopts exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) model. This is because it allows error terms to be conditional heteroscedastic, and the dynamics process generating the underlying heteroscedasticity to be asymmetric. That is, the model introduces a parameter that can reveal how conditional variance respond to both positive and negative shocks of equal magnitude (asymmetric effect). Findings and Implications. The study finds leverage effect and high persistence in some of the selected models. Also, exchange rate volatility affects volatility of FPIRETURNS, but it is more pronounced on the volatility of CIFCPIRETURNS. Limitations. Inadequate data especially for CIFCPIRETURNS is a huge limitation in this study. Originality. However, this study has sufficient empirical evidences that instability in forex market flows into the Nigerian food market with pronounced leverage effect and persistence in food price volatility. The recommendation is, government should implement stabilization policy in the forex market as a precursor to ensuring stability in domestic food market.

The wastewater produced by the metal industry is often present in the form of oil-in-water (O/W) or water-in- oil (W/O) emulsions. These fluids contain a certain amount of valuable oil that can be recovered in the recycling process. Therefore, the development of novel, efficient, and low cost processes for the treatment of metalworking fluid is necessary. Demulsification to separate oil/water mixtures is a very interesting option because it allows the recovery and reuse of the lubricant oil and effects in cleaner, easily treatablemwastewater.Chemical destabilization is the most common way of demulsification of metalworking fluids. As an example, inorganic salts can be used as demulsifiers. In the presented work the efficiency of treatment of cutting emulsions with chemical demulsification with usage of aluminum sulfate (IV) is described. The emulsion was prepared with Emulgol-ES12 self-emulsyfing oil delivered by Orlen S.A. In the research the feasibility of the demulsifier was checked.The novel in this paper is determination of the optimal dosage of emulsifier using the TurbiscanLab® apparatus. It is relatively quick and precise method that can be applied in the industry.

The book „Contemporary Labor Market“ written by Marija Bušelić, PhD, was published by Juraj Dobrila University of Pula. The book represents a scientific work accessible to experts, students, but also to a wider circle of readers. The 21st century is a time of change in the field of labor, occurring and changing through extraordinary dynamics. It is therefore necessary to observe labor and related phenomenon in a wider and interdisciplinary way...For any author who would place himself in the position of writing a book on such a demanding, complex and dynamic subject such as human labor and the labor market, one of the key questions would probably be the selection of topics and the method to present them without leaving out fundamental theories and relevant knowledge on which labor theory is based, while at the same time updating the theme with the presentation of all relevant issues and areas that are present on the global, as well as on the European and national labor market "scene". We are convinced that Bušelić succeeded in that task entirely through her very specific and praise worthy contribution to the already published domestic and international scientific works dedicated to human labor. Furthermore, her work can serve as an incentive and basis for further research of a number of particular topics covered in this book.

The main goal of the study was to investigate the relationship between the orientation of the PVT (PhotoVoltaic Thermal) collector and the thermal and electric power generated. Extensive research was performed to find optimal tilt angles for hybrid solar thermal collectors, which combine photovoltaic as well as thermal collection in a single unit, known as PVT (PhotoVoltaic Thermal) modules for an office building with working hours between 7.00 and 16.00. The comprehensive study included field measurements of the modules in central Poland and tests under AM (air mass) 1.5 conditions in a certified laboratory KEZO (Centre for Energy Conversion and Renewable Resources) Polish Academy of Sciences in Jablonna. Furthermore, a PVT system was investigated using the simulation method based on the dedicated Polysun software. The PV characteristics and efficiency of the PV module and the relation between power or efficiency of the PVT module and incidence angle of solar-irradiance were studied. Optimal work conditions for commercial PVT modules were ascertained. In addition, it was found that the maximum efficiencies of PV module (ηPV), solar thermal-collector (ηc) and PVT hybrid collector (ηPVT) registered under field conditions were higher than the ones measured under laboratory conditions.

Purpose. The main objective of this study is to investigate the dynamics of exchange rate shocks in Nigeria. Methodology. The researcher used Error Correction Model (ECM) with annual time series data covering the period of 36 years; 1981 through 2016 as the estimation technique. The estimated co-integration test shows that the macroeconomic variables in the system do share a long run relationship with the exchange rates in the period under investigation. Accordingly, each variable in the system tends to adjust proportionally to bring in the system back to its long run equilibrium. Findings and Implications. The estimation result shows that increase in productive output (gross domestic product) leads to depreciation of the exchange rate in the short run but with insignificant effect in the long run. This, hence, implies that the dwindling trend in domestic production has remained one of the major causal factors of the persistent fluctuation in exchange rate in Nigeria. The persistent rise in price level is equally found to lead to appreciation of the exchange rate simply because of over reliance on cheap and more sophisticated foreign goods and materials, in the short run but with insignificant effect in the long run. The domestic interest rate, as reveal by the estimation results, is found to be significantly impacted on the fluctuation of exchange rate in Nigeria. Limitations. The main limitation of this study is in the area of data availability and model specification. The VAR model as popularized by Sims, (1980) is such that all the variables in the framework are assumed to be endogenous with the exception of exogenous variable. This problem may raise the tendency of for multicollinearity and the statistical insignificance of the regressors co-existing with high overall statistical significance of the regression model (Gujarati, 2005; Brooks, 2008). Originality. To the best of my knowledge, at the time of conducting this research, many of the studies in Nigeria have employed other methods other than Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). And, we affirm that this work is original and not being considered elsewhere for publishing. Therefore, this study will contribute to existing literature on the dynamics of exchange rate shocks in Nigeria.

Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical used in oxidation reactions, treatment of various inorganic and organic pollutants, bleaching processes in pulp, paper and textile industries and for various disinfection applications. It is a monopropellant, which, when purified, is self-decomposing at high temperatures or when a catalyst is present. Decomposing to yield only oxygen and water(disproportionation), hydrogen peroxide is one of the cleanest, most versatile chemicals available. The catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide allows the use of various catalysts that will increase the rate of decomposition. Comparison and description of the most commonly used catalysts were presented in this review.

The oxidised and reduced graphene samples (having different surface functionalities) were studied by inverse gas chromatography to characterise their acceptor-donor properties. The DN values denoting the donor number in the Gutmann scale and the AN* values denoting the acceptor number in the Riddle-Fowkes scale have been chosen in the estimation of the electron-acceptor parameter KA and electron-donor parameter KD values

Purpose. This paper focuses on the measurement of the human capital level in Albania, Serbia and European Countries and in identifying the gaps between them. In addition, it focuses on the link between human capital and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), by extending the analyse in finding the gender disparity of human capital and GDP relationship. Lastly, this study estimates the growth rate of the human capital level for Albania and Serbia and make a comparison with the average human capital of the European Countries. Methodology. The methodology used in the calculation of the growth rate of human capital is exponential trend method which makes possible the estimation of the years needed for Albania and Serbia to catch up the average of EU-28. The data employed mostly in the above-mentioned analysis is the data set taken from Barro and Lee (2010) corresponding the Educational Attainment Data from 1950 to 2010. For the estimation of the growth rate of the human capital level, additional data until 2015 have been used compiled from the UIS database and UN population database, respectively. Findings. The findings show that Albania has a higher probability of an earlier convergence than the Serbia has. Even though the proxy of human capital for year 2010 for Albania (9.85), is lower than Serbia (10.97), Albania is experiencing a rapid increase in the average years of schooling. Limitations. But again, the study is limited to data related to only the years of schooling without considering the quality of education and skills acquired. Originality. This study can serve as a contributor to the performance examination of Albania and Serbia to the EU community with regard to human capital accumulation.

Odorous substances emitted to ambient air from wastewater treatment plants cause a serious nuisance to inhabitants in the direct vicinity of such emitters. The solutions currently used to remove malodorous gases in the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Belchatow do not fulfill their function properly. This article presents the test results of the composition and concentrations of odorous compounds emitted from the above- mentioned plant. In addition, the paper introduces the concept of eliminating substances by the biofiltration process. Due to the applied method, one can expect to reduce the odor by at least 90%.

The transport of liquids driven by capillary suction-pressure and balanced by both viscous drag force and gravity acceleration is known as spontaneous imbibition. The prediction of spontaneous imbibition in porous media is of importance due to its relevance as a fundamental phenomenon in numerous industrial technologies as well as in nature. A vast majority of the experimental results and mathematical models concerning the imbibition process of single-phase liquids are considered and analyzed in the literature. The present research focuses on two-phase liquids transport in porous medium driven by capillary force. The penetrating liquids were surfactant-stabilized emulsions with the different dispersed phase concentrations. The discussed issues are the influence of porous bed composition and inner phase concentration on the height of an emulsion penetration, which allows to predict the velocity of imbibition process. From a practical point of view, the experimental results give the possibility to evaluate: productivity of granular sorbents applied to recover the environment, efficiency of building materials wetting with multiphase liquids, process of oil-derived pollutants migration in porous media, e.g. soil and other rock structures, etc.

Purpose. The study aims to study four attributes of the electronic retailing service quality [website design, reliability/fulfillment, security/privacy and customer service] based on the implications each one of them has towards brand loyalty [being measured through intentions to repurchase from the same brand on upcoming occasions and customer incentives to pay a price premium for the brand]. This process in two contexts, when respondents are faced with a local vs global brand. Design/Methodology/Approach. Through literature review the study has used the model of mapping electronic service quality variables introduced by Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003) in their eTail Quality model. Related to data collection we have conducted two focus groups each being prompted with local and global renown brands, respectively. Considering that the study aims to measure perceptions, and knowing that the best way to express them is through linguistic terms, which is the way humans express their feelings on daily basis, the analysis is based on fuzzy logic by using triangular fuzzy sets as means of analysis. The process through the analysis phase has followed the (i) fuzzification process, where linguistic terms have been converted to triangular fuzzy sets, (ii) fuzzy averaging to find group opinions, (iii) clarifying weak and/or strong conditions in between the importance and satisfaction degrees, lastly (iv) defuzzification process in order to convert triangular fuzzy sets in linguistic terms. Findings and Implications. The analysis suggests that when customers are faced with global brands, service quality elements such as website design, customer service and reliability/fulfillment are good predictors for the creation of behavioral intents towards the brand. Whereas when customers faced with local brands, service quality elements such as security/privacy, reliability/fulfillment and website design, have high implications towards customers’ behavioral intents. Limitations. The study represents an innovative approach to measuring service quality variables in the apparel purchase online context. Due to its generic nature as a model the conceptual framework and methods of analysis could be tested in other industries, apart from the apparel online purchase. Furthermore, in order to enforce external validity, the study is recommended to be replicated within the same or other contexts. Originality. This scientific paper presents an innovative approach to measuring online service quality in the apparel industry. Furthermore, the understanding of underlying factors impacting customers purchase online from local or global brands makes it unique in its nature for the context applied. The use of fuzzy logic and triangular fuzzy sets has allowed the research to use linguistic measurements (which belong to the nature of how humans’ express feelings) and their conversion in fuzzy triangular sets allowing for deeper analysis in descriptive and predictive statistics without comprising the reliability of either of them.

The article presents the ways of support from European funds in the development of student competencies and organizational innovation in the field education. It is based on a case study of the project ‘Inżynieria materiałowa – inżynieria przyszłości’ (Material engineering – engineering of the future’), financed by the European Social Fund in Poland. The project was implemented at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Cracow University of Technology in the years 2012-15. The research methods used are critical analysis of literature sources, surveys and a case study of the project mentioned above.

This paper examines the trade account sustainability for sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over the period 1960-2014. It addresses three important issues econometrically in the sustainability literature: i) nonlinearity, ii) structural breaks and iii) cross-sectional dependence. By incorporating these three stylized facts jointly in the modelling and estimation procedure, we refute the erstwhile view that the SSA countries violate their intertemporal budget constraints and challenge the position that these countries may not be able to control their external imbalances. This puts in perspective that the observed unsustainable current accounts in many of these countries are not necessarily failure to control the imbalances between exports and imports but exogenously driven by policy somersaults leading to mean shifts in relationship. Purpose. The purpose of this paper is premised on the need to understand the reality of current account sustainability among the sub-Saharan African countries, update the understanding since the last papers were published by Arize (2002), Narayan and Narayan (2005) and Razafimahefa and Hamori (2007), and to study the implications of nonlinearity as well as structural breaks. Design/Methodology/Approach. We develop a smooth break stationarity technique that accounts for the unknown number of breaks in the series thereby overcoming the bias due to using sharp structural break stationarity techniques that require predetermined number of break points. In particular, utilize the Fractional Frequency Flexible Fourier Form (FFFFF) and Integer Frequency Flexible Fourier Form (IFFFF). We solve the problem of crosssectional dependence by utilizing bootstrap method. Findings And Implications. Using the methodology outlined above, we find that it seems that the sub-Saharan African countries are unable to tame the divergence between exports and imports not because of any inherent inability but because of the exogenous factors major breaks in policy milieu that threaten their ability to ensure the intertemporal budget constraints are not violated. This puts in perspective that the observed unsustainable current accounts in many of these countries are not necessarily failure to control the imbalances between exports and imports but exogenously driven by policy somersaults leading to mean shifts in relationship. The policy implications therefore include ensuring more tranquil policy environment in the sub-Saharan Africa. Interestingly, lack of stability in policy environment and policy continuity has been one of the most bedeviling problems facing sub-Saharan Africa. Limitations. A major limitation of the present study is that the approach used to investigate is based on unit root testing. Bohn (2007) highlights the limitations of using this approach. However, the literature on sustainability has not seen a significant decline in the number of studies using the approach. Therefore, this study belongs to the class of studies that deduce sustainability from the stationarity property rather than from the error-correction response function.