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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to see how critical and vital artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are in today's world. Besides this, this paper also seeks to explore qualitative and theoretical perspectives to underscore the importance of AI and big data applications in multi-sectoral scenarios of businesses across the world. Moreover, this paper also aims at working out the scope of ontological communicative perspectives based on AI alongside emphasizing their relevance in business organizations that need to survive and sustain with a view to achieve their strategic goals. Design/methodology/approach: This paper attempts to explore the qualitative perspectives to build a direction for strategic management via addressing the following research questions concerned with assessing the scope of ontological communicative perspectives in AI relevant to business organizations; exploring benefits of big data combined with AI in modern businesses; and underscoring the importance of AI and big data applications in multi-sectoral scenarios of businesses in today's world. Employing bibliometric analysis along with NVivo software to do sentiment analysis, this paper attempts to develop an understanding of what happens when AI and big data are combined in businesses. Findings: AI and big data have tremendous bearing on modern businesses. Because big data comprises enormous information of diverse sorts, AI-assisted machines, tools and devices help modern businesses process it quickly, efficiently and meaningfully. Therefore, business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus heavily on ontological and communicative perspectives to deal with diverse range of challenges and problems particularly in the context of recent crises caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Research limitations/implications: There is hardly any arena of human activity wherein AI and big data are not relevant. The implication of this paper is that of combining both well so that we may find answers to the difficult and challenging multi-sectoral scenarios concerning not just businesses but life at large. Moreover, automated tools based on AI such as natural language processing and speech to text also facilitate meaningful communication at various levels not just in business organizations but other fields of human activities as well. Social implications: This paper has layered social implications, as it conceptually works out as to how strategically we may combine AI and big data to benefit modern business scenarios dealing with service providers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, customers and consumers. All the stakeholders are socio-culturally and contextually rooted/situated, and that is how this study becomes socially relevant. Originality/value: This paper is an original piece of research and has been envisioned in view of the challenging business scenarios across the world today. This paper underscores the importance of strategically combining AI and big data, as they have enormous bearing on modern businesses. The insights arrived at in this paper have implications for business leaders and entrepreneurs across the globe who could focus more on ontological and communicative perspectives of AI combined with Big Data to deal with diverse range of challenges and problems that modern businesses have been facing particularly in recent times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bushmeat is a resource exploited by thousands of people around the world, especially in tropical and neotropical regions, constituting an important source of protein and income. But what is known, so far, about the consumption and trade of wild vertebrate meat (hereinafter "bushmeat") in a megadiverse country like Brazil? This question was answered through a systematic survey of publications on the consumption and trade of wild vertebrate meat made in Brazil between 2011 and 2021. Methods: We selected 63 scientific articles available on "Google Scholar," "Science Direct," "Scopus," " Web of Science" and "Portal de Periódico da CAPES." The articles were categorized as: exclusive to (1) consumption or (2) bushmeat trade, totals of 54 and three articles, respectively; both (3) consumption and trade bushmeat, totaling six articles. We applied a nonparametric Spearman's correlation analysis to verify the association between the number of papers and the species richness of wild vertebrates cited for consumption by Brazilian state. Results: The results revealed that the publications were concentrated in the Northeast (36), North (26) and Southeast (1) regions, distributed across 16 states of the federation. These data reinforce the need for more researches in states and other regions of the country. Our research hypothesis was confirmed, since the richness of species cited for meat consumption was positively associated with the amount of work carried out by the states of the federation. We identified a total of 321 species of wild vertebrates mentioned in the categories involving the consumption of bushmeat. We had a greater bird species richness mentioned for consumption (170) to the detriment of mammals (107), reptiles (40) and amphibians (4). Furthermore, in the articles involving the bushmeat trade categories we had 57 species of vertebrates mentioned, with mammals being the most representative in terms of species richness (29), to the detriment of birds (20) and reptiles (8). These data reinforce that birds and mammals have been the groups most used both for consumption and trade in bushmeat in the country's regions, and it is necessary to mitigate the hunting exploitation of these groups. We recorded that socioeconomic, biological, environmental and sociocultural factors were the most cited predictors of the consumption and trade of bushmeat in the articles. We identified that the bushmeat trade chain is dynamic and ramified, made up of several actors, including specialized and diversified hunters, intermediaries, market sellers, market vendors, restaurant owners and final customers. Public markets and open-air fairs were the most cited places for buying and selling wild meat in commerce. Conclusions: In general, our results indicate that we have made significant advances in publications on the consumption and trade of bushmeat in Brazil over the last few years. However, we highlight the need to better understand the patterns of consumption and trade of bushmeat in different regions of the country, as well as the factors associated with the dynamics of the trade chain and uses of wildlife by local communities. We emphasized that a multidimensional understanding of hunting activities is important to face socio-ecological problems and improve the conservation of target species which have continually been explored for uses by populations in different regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future of work is constantly evolving and changing, making it increasingly challenging for businesses to anticipate and respond to these changes. Strategic foresight, the process of systematically exploring the future to identify and understand potential opportunities and threats, has become an essential tool for organisations that want to remain competitive and adapt to the changing nature of work. This paper focuses on the futures triangle tool, a widely used strategic foresight tool, and provides examples of how it can be used by organisations to prepare for the future of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutting-edge technologies, with a special emphasis on the Internet of Things (IoT), tend to operate as game changers, generating enormous alterations in both traditional and modern enterprises. Understanding multiple uses of IoT has become vital for effective financial management, given the ever-changing nature of organizations and the technological disruptions that come with this paradigm change. IoT has proven to be a powerful tool for improving operational efficiency, decision-making processes, overall productivity, and data management. As a result of the continuously expanding data volume, there is an increasing demand for a robust IT system capable of adeptly handling all enterprise processes. Consequently, businesses must develop suitable IoT architectures that can efficiently address these continually evolving requirements. This research adopts an incremental explanatory approach, guided by the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). A rigorous examination of 84 research papers has allowed us to delve deeply into the current landscape of IoT research. This research aims to provide a complete and cohesive overview of the existing body of knowledge on IoT. This is accomplished by combining a rigorous empirical approach to categorization with ideas from specialized literature in the IoT sector. This study actively contributes to the ongoing conversation around IoT by recognizing and critically examining current difficulties. This, consequently, opens new research possibilities and promotes future developments in this ever-changing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prospective authors are requested to submit new, unpublished manuscripts for inclusion in the upcoming event described in this call for papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term internationalization has been mainly used to show the expansion of economic activities of firms outside of their home country where they aim at capturing a bigger market. The Central and Eastern Europe region has gone through a process of market transition over the past few decades, yet the business internationalization process has played an important role in the states' economies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the firm internationalization process in the new member states and the Western Balkans countries and gain a better understanding of the process and its course over time. Due to different geopolitical circumstances, the Western Balkan countries did not attract as many investors as much as the EU member states in CEE did that have had a constant flow of investments once they were members of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So-called spatial web queries retrieve web content representing points of interest, such that the points of interest have descriptions that are relevant to query keywords and are located close to a query location. Two broad categories of such queries exist. The first encompasses queries that retrieve single spatial web objects that each satisfy the query arguments. Most proposals belong to this category. The second category, to which this paper's proposal belongs, encompasses queries that support exploratory user behavior and retrieve sets of objects that represent regions of space that may be of interest to the user. Specifically, the paper proposes a new type of query, the top- $k$ k spatial textual cluster retrieval ($k$ k -STC) query that returns the top- $k$ k clusters that (i) are located close to a query location, (ii) contain objects that are relevant with regard to given query keywords, and (iii) have an object density that exceeds a given threshold. To compute this query, we propose a DBSCAN-based approach and an OPTICS-based approach that rely on on-line density-based clustering and that exploit early stop conditions. Empirical studies on real data sets offer evidence that the paper's proposals can find good quality clusters and are capable of excellent performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology is taken into account because the vital driver for the changes happening round the creation and within the future enlargement of monetary services and banking is one among the foremost significant between them. With the rapid climb of the web most banks are trying to draw in and retain customers during this highly competitive market through providing various ebanking services. Electronic banking service is gradually important in providing customers with a suitable and interactive facility. The target of this study is to explore factors like reduced cost of deal processing, improved payment efficiency, suitability, ease usage, improved banker customer link, less transaction time, consciousness and access to internet facility that shape the customer decision in adoption of e-banking service and to see the customer's level of satisfaction with reference to electronic banking services provided by Indian banks. The purchasers consuming banking services with the various e-channels are more satisfied but the shortage of alertness and safety may be a major issue within the spread of e-banking services. The paper also aims to look at the present status of banking e-services, identity its strengths and weaknesses, and use the findings in formulating future recommendations to form a contribution to knowledge within the chosen area. The paper concludes with suggestion to form ebanking services simpler within the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: The Scottish Government introduced minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol on 1 May 2018. This means retailers in Scotland cannot sell alcohol to consumers for less than £0.50 per unit (1 UK unit = 8 g ethanol). The Government intended the policy to increase the price of cheap alcohol, cut alcohol consumption overall and particularly among those drinking at hazardous or harmful levels, and ultimately reduce alcohol‐related harm. This paper aims to summarise and assess the evidence to date evaluating the impact of MUP on alcohol consumption and related behaviours in Scotland. Argument: Evidence from analyses of population‐level sales data suggest, all else being equal, MUP reduced the volume of alcohol sold in Scotland by ~ 3.0% to 3.5%, with the largest reductions affecting cider and spirits sales. Analyses of two time series datasets on household‐level alcohol purchasing and individual‐level alcohol consumption suggest reductions in purchasing and consumption among those drinking at hazardous and harmful levels, but offer conflicting results for those drinking at the most harmful levels. These subgroup analyses are methodologically robust, but the underlying datasets have important limitations as they rely on non‐random sampling strategies. Further studies identified no clear evidence of reduced alcohol consumption among those with alcohol dependence or those presenting to emergency departments and sexual health clinics, some evidence of increased financial strain among people with dependence and no evidence of wider negative outcomes arising from changes in alcohol consumption behaviours. Conclusions: Minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland has led to reduced consumption, including among heavier drinkers. However, there is uncertainty regarding its impact on those at greatest risk and some limited evidence of negative outcomes, specifically financial strain, among people with alcohol dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will review the strategies and learning trajectories followed to tap the opportunities opened by the successive waves of biotechnologies: early imitators followed by late imitators in the first generation of biosimilars (erythropoietin, insulins, interferons), and then sequential entry and skipping stages during the second generation (monoclonal antibodies). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business Information Systems (BIS) is a professional discipline that combines Computer Science, Management, and Business Administration. In this article the researchers evaluate the evolution of BIS curriculum in terms of its past, present and future, considering its historical background, the existing strengths and weaknesses, and how it can be developed to meet market needs. The study reveals the skills required by a BIS graduate and highlights how the existing/existed BIS curricula have made their graduates weaker when compared with Computer Science and Business Administration specialists. The research further compares the existential crisis of BIS with Library and Information Science (LIS) discipline, which have also faced a similar controversial crisis concerning their disciplinary boundaries, whether it belong to Social and Behavioral Sciences or Computer Science and Engineering and yet succeeded in its growth and contributions. This research concludes that the BIS curriculum is still budding and needs to be re-evaluated and updated regularly to meet the changing demands of the market highlighting the need for collaboration between academia and industry to ensure that BIS graduates are equipped with the skills that employers require. The paper finally proposes a balanced model of BIS curriculum that incorporates the latest technology updates. The proposed curriculum model aims to address the current gaps in BIS education and meets the changing demands of the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: There are still a lot of countries that do not provide employment opportunities to people with intellectual disability (ID). Ten years after the UN passed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it is important to review existing studies on the employment of individuals with intellectual disabilities. OBJECTIVE: In this study, researchers reviewed studies that examined the employment of people with intellectual disability. METHOD: A thorough search of various bibliographic databases identified 1005 academic papers. Ten studies on the employment of persons with intellectual disabilities met the criteria for in-depth analysis. RESULTS: Employment is vital for individuals with intellectual disability, but predetermined employment options and parent-related factors may limit their access to the labour market. Efforts must be made to ensure a seamless progression from school to work. Lack of support makes bridging the gap between individual capacity and societal demands challenging. For people with intellectual disability to increase employment opportunities, stakeholders must work together. CONCLUSION: An intervention to support and follow up on older employees with intellectual disability will be greatly appreciated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era of rapid advancements in highly intelligent digital systems, blockchain, and other transformative technologies, the role of control and automation in shaping human civilization is of paramount, even critical, importance. This paper examines the strategic significance of IFAC's Social Systems Coordinating Committee (CC), a unique multidisciplinary global community of researchers and practitioners comprising leading universities, research centers, industry partners and international agencies at the forefront of integrating technological and societal progress. This paper reports the results of a strategic "milestone" review, including an extensive meta-analysis of the Social Systems CC's five Technical Committees (TCs) and their activities. It uncovers key themes emphasizing this CC's contributions to models, systems, infrastructures, and operations. Using content analysis and word clouds, 272 keywords were refined to elucidate the main themes of the CC, revealing significant current and future collaborations with other IFAC communities and external organizations. The paper identifies high-potential new cooperation opportunities between this CC and the other IFAC CCs and their TCs, suggesting ways to achieve these collaborations. The findings highlight the Social Systems CC's unique position at the heart of the global automation and control community, where it offers practical applications in planning, management, and sustainability as well as fostering cross-sector cooperation crucial for human progress and effective humanitarian and environmental responses. This paper underscores the Social Systems CC's role in advancing control science and automation systems engineering to tackle pressing societal challenges, advocating for a future where technology and human systems synergize for the global well-being of all living systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Alcohol policies that protect public health do not necessarily harm bars. • 'Sweetspot' policies are those which can improve public health without affecting hospitality businesses. • There is good evidence that increasing the price of shop-bought alcohol is a sweetspot policy. • Restricting remote/online alcohol sales is also a likely sweetspot policy. • Measures to shape or manage the night-time economy are less well supported by evidence. During COVID-19, hospitality businesses (e.g. bars, restaurants) were closed/restricted whilst off-sales of alcohol increased, with health consequences. Post-covid, governments face lobbying to support such businesses, but many health services remain under pressure. We appraised 'sweetspot' policy options: those with potential to benefit public services and health, whilst avoiding or minimising negative impact on the hospitality sector. We conducted rapid non-systematic evidence reviews using index papers, citation searches and team knowledge to summarise the literature relating to four possible 'sweetspot' policy areas: pricing interventions (9 systematic reviews (SR); 14 papers/reports); regulation of online sales (1 SR; 1 paper); place-shaping (2 SRs; 18 papers/reports); and violence reduction initiatives (9 SRs; 24 papers/reports); and led two expert workshops (n = 11). Interventions that raise the price of cheaper shop-bought alcohol appear promising as 'sweetspot' policies; any impact on hospitality is likely small and potentially positive. Restrictions on online sales such as speed or timing of delivery may reduce harm and diversion of consumption from on-trade to home settings. Place-shaping is not well-supported by evidence and experts were sceptical. Reduced late-night trading hours likely reduce violence; evidence of impact on hospitality is scant. Other violence reduction initiatives may modestly reduce harms whilst supporting hospitality, but require resources to deliver multiple measures simultaneously in partnership. Available evidence and expert views point to regulation of pricing and online sales as having greatest potential as 'sweetspot' alcohol policies, reducing alcohol harm whilst minimising negative impact on hospitality businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The online retail market shows a sharp increase in traffic during holiday sales. The ability to distinguish customers who will likely purchase is critical for provisioning traffic and for providing cost-effective promotions. This paper uniquely studies the browsing and purchasing behaviors of online shoppers during a yearly sale event in China, the world’s largest online marketplace. Based on 31 million action logs gathered from wide residential areas, we characterize the steps leading to purchases and determine their precursors. We investigate the effect of time (e.g., date, time of date), environment (e.g., platform, viewed category), and action (e.g., session time, clicks, sequence) on purchases. Action cues from shopping behaviors can be used for early detection. While most shoppers start with strong intentions to purchase, yet the moment of ordering comes rather impulsively within 30 seconds to several minutes of browsing. The predictive accuracy reaches as a high AUC of 0.924. The findings in this paper provide an understanding of traffic during mega sale events that can help online shops plan and provide a better user experience for upcoming shopping festivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the impact of the exchange rate on stock market indices of four main sectors in Turkey. For this purpose, the paper uses monthly data spanning the period between 06/2008-11/2020 and employs the panel GMM estimation method. This method instrumentalizes the past observation values of the dependent variable to control the endogeneity and provides efficient results. Considering that firms operating in many sectors in Turkey are affected by the volatility of the exchange rate, the paper takes initiative in understanding how stock market indices of four sectors react to the fluctuation in USD and Euro prices. This study contributes to the current literature, performing the panel GMM estimation method, unlike studies that only examine the causality relationship on the link between exchange rate and the stock market. The results show that there is unidirectional causality from the exchange rate to stock market indices. According to our findings, the USD/TRY exchange rate negatively affects stock market indices, and the Euro/TRY exchange rate positively affects stock market indices. The findings obtained from the analysis results confirm prior knowledge acquired from Turkey's foreign trade structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the atmosphere of mistrust that permeated the response to the tenth Ebola epidemic in Eastern DRC (2018–2020). The concept of an 'atmosphere of mistrust' that we develop in this article directs attention to the elusive-yet-pervasive presence of mistrust in interactions between responders and communities during the Ebola epidemic. This analysis focuses on the popular notion that 'Ebola is a business'. Our interviewees frequently used this saying during our research on the Ebola response to explain why mistrust had emerged, how it materialized, and against whom it was directed. Based on these interviews, we examine 'Ebola is a business' as a slogan that enabled people to voice mistrust. This slogan, as we aim to show, resonated with a wider atmosphere of mistrust that governed the emergency situation in Eastern DRC. In using it, people responded to their perceptions of mistrust whilst simultaneously perpetuating and extending this atmosphere of mistrust. Our analysis of the atmosphere of mistrust highlights the power of atmospheres in governing situations, mobilizing people, and disrupting structures of discrimination. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of the barriers inhibiting the collaborations between affected communities and responders, which are required to deliver effective epidemic responses. Moreover, we argue that voice and the atmosphere are important analytics for exploring the histories of mistrust that Ebola epidemics ask for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003 and 2004, Aotearoa New Zealand enacted two key laws that regulate two very different ways in which the female body may be commodified. The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 (PRA) decriminalized prostitution, removing legal barriers to the buying and selling of commercial sexual services. The Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 (HART Act), on the other hand, put a prohibition on commercial surrogacy agreements. This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of the ethical arguments underlying New Zealand's legislative solutions to prostitution and commercial surrogacy. While the regulation of prostitution is approached with a Marxist feminist lens with the aim to ensure the health and safety of sex workers, commercial surrogacy is prohibited outright for concerns of negative impacts on present and future persons. I ground the principles of each Act in their ethical foundations and compare these two against one another. I conclude that New Zealand's legislative approach to regulating the commodification of the female body is ethically inconsistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to assess the exploitation of small economies by global digital firms through tax evasion. It explored the obstacles and suggests how small economies can address these challenges posed by global digital firms that leverage the nature of their service and technology to evade tax. Qualitative research methods were applied with the use of key informant interviews and secondary data collection from relevant literature and reports. Five key informants purposefully selected from Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) were interviewed. The paper also classifies the nature of services provided by different digital economies. It highlights the challenges being faced by small economies such as the shift in the global business models, tax concept and evasion, international tax regulations, and lack of capacities thereof. The findings indicate how small economies are being taken advantage of by digital giant firms through operating in their jurisdictions, capitalizing on profits, and circumventing tax payments due to non legally binding instruments that compel global firms to comply. Tax evasion by these firms leads to the shrinking of the small economies' tax base. A possible solution to this tax deceitfulness is the adoption of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Pillar One proposal to address and overhaul the current international tax regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprises, which are businesses with social objectives, have been championed by the UK government as an opportunity to deliver more innovative, socially oriented, and commercially sustainable public services. However, very little is known about them, especially in a social care context. This paper therefore aims to answer the following three questions: (1) What are care social enterprises?, (2) What are their distinctive qualities?, and (3) How can they contribute to the adult social care sector? It presents evidence from a "mapping" of care social enterprises in three English local authorities, and from interviews with 35 stakeholders from across the social care and social enterprise sectors. Drawing on an institutional logics framework, we explore the influence of different norms, goals, and practices on care social enterprises and the extent to which they are aligned with those of the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. We found that their unique combination of business and social logics, along with an entrepreneurial mindset, may make them more flexible, innovative, and able to diversify their income than public and not-for-profit care organisations. They were also considered more trustworthy than private care services. However, their competing social and business logics can create internal tensions and bring uncertainty about what organisational model they are. These tensions can make it challenging for us to define what a care social enterprise is and in turn for social enterprises to promote themselves and attract funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents various titles and abstracts of research papers related to geography by the Association of American Geographers. Some of papers included are "Problems of Geographic Influence," by Albert Perry Brigham, "Some Geographic Factors Influencing Brazilian Trade," by Walter S. Tower, "Postglacial Migrations of Vegetation in the Middle West," by Henry Allan Gleason, "Bases for Dividing the United States into Physiographic Provinces," by N. M. Fenneman, "The Losses of Nebraska," by G. E. Condra.

The history of British universities before 1945 remains poorly understood. In particular, the factors shaping new academic developments, especially in the humanities, are under-researched. This paper looks at the development of teaching and research in the Modern Languages at the University of Leeds during the First World War, a period that was pivotal in the creation of new departments and programmes in many universities. Using extensive archival sources, the paper examines the pressures that led to the creation of new departments and the interplay of local and national influences that stimulated such change. Tensions are identified, such as that between employers urging an emphasis on the spoken language necessary for trade and commerce, and an 'academic' perspective that favoured more linguistic study and work on literature or history. Other factors, such as funding issues, institutional leadership, links with other educational institutions, staffing and student recruitment are also considered. In conclusion, the paper sheds light not only on developments in the Modern Languages, but also on the working of universities in the first half of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing models of capitalist transformation have nearly always prioritised an analysis of domestic capital in shaping economic trajectories. Yet, even as industrial policy has been re-imagined in Africa, the potential contribution of domestic capital has remained marginal in academic analysis and policy discussions. The prevailing assumptions are that African capital is either non-existent or too weak to influence the policies of African governments. However, there is evidence within nascent literature that large African-owned businesses continue to influence the trajectory of capitalist transformation within their countries. This paper examines why the study of African capitalists – popular in the 1980s and 1990s – has remained dormant. This paper makes the case for analysing the politics driving the activity of large African-owned firms through researching the politics of diversified business groups (DBGs). Arguing that DBGs are the predominant form that large-scale domestic investment takes on the continent, the paper introduces an inductively-informed typology of African DBGs. The framework shows how domestic political economy (and the politics of state-business relations, in particular) shapes the form and trajectories of diversification of domestic business groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quince is a fruit tree species that occupies 2% of the total orchard area in Romania. It can be utilized considering that quince is a fruit species used for ornamental purposes, for protective hedges, as a pollen-rich plant, for obtaining rootstock seedlings, in medicine, and the food industry. Following the identification of eco-pedological factors influencing the growth and development of quinces and the implementation of the stages underlying quince cultivation technology, it has been demonstrated that, in the pedoclimatic conditions of South Western Romania, establishing and exploiting a quince orchard is a highly profitable and interesting business with low investment and high returns. This fruit species yields abundantly, produces a large quantity of fruits, the production costs are low and can be recovered in a short time, the inter-row spaces can be used for intermediate crops, and the attractive selling price and the scarcity of quinces on the market provide the entrepreneur with an attractive income, making the business economically efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose an integrative framework that synthesizes the literature on collaborative value creation between nonprofit and business organizations. A systematic literature review was conducted of 41 papers. We analyzed the content of the papers quantitatively to present an overview. We also provided a qualitative analysis with the aim of identifying those attributes that influence collaborative value creation. The proposed integrative framework was based on the main findings, and the attributes and sub-attributes for value creation were presented. The framework extends the study on collaborative value creation, and provides the context (countries and businesses) and the main theories found in the literature. There is a lack of studies of emerging economies that adopt relevant theories (such as the relational view) and quantitative methods. Studies that address the environmental and economic impacts of partnerships and analyze the relationship between attributes and their influence on value creation are also scarce. Thus, a research agenda was proposed encompassing such aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper addresses the significance of training students in entrepreneurship to enable sustained national and international competitiveness in the knowledge-based global marketplace. Entrepreneurial education is varied, ranging from basic to in-depth courses, including customer-focused programs, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. This program is nationally-renowned with strong academic roots. A full site was launched at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in January 2015 and was the first I-Corps program in the state of Florida. Design/methodology/approach: This paper addresses the importance of entrepreneurship education, reviews the available national training programs in entrepreneurship, presents the design methodology of the NSF I-Corps program, and analyzes the results of the teams who have participated in the NSF I-Corps program. Findings: The results are categorized into innovative areas and show the percentage of teams who participated in the I-Corps program in each area. It also identifies the percentage of teams who engaged in actual startup activities following I-Corps participation. Practical implications: Educators, students, and trainers can use the findings to benchmark the outcomes of training programs in entrepreneurship. Students and innovators interested in participating in I-Corps can use this paper to obtain insights and a broader understanding of what was done in terms of results and implications. Originality/value: This paper contributes a unique analysis of the I-Corps program approach and its outcomes since its launch in 2015 and can be used as a reference for any training program in entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to systematize the state of knowledge of and research on the inclusion of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risk in companies' business models, with a special stress on energy sector companies. Many publications address incorporating ESG, but only some deal with it from the perspective of business models. This paper fills that gap. The methods of incorporating ESG risk into a sustainable business model, identified on the basis of the literature review, were verified based on the examples of three companies from the energy industry. A two-stage review of publications from the WoS and Scopus databases was carried out, considering a more comprehensive (sustainability) and a narrower (ESG risk) range of keywords, and the period from 2000 to 2022. The result showed that SMEs and large enterprises consider ESG risk in their risk management systems (ERMs), while small enterprises and start-ups do not. In Europe, Asia, and Australia, it is common to include ESG risk in an ERM, while it is rare in Latin America. In developing countries, companies in the service sector are more likely to include ESG risk in ERMs than those in the manufacturing sector. These findings may be useful for policymakers who wish to provide support and financial incentives for companies transforming their business models toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: Innovation, which is the result of the joint work of university and industry, is an initiative that improves the efficiency of innovation. This type of cooperation, i.e. collaborative innovation between university and industry, is called collaborative innovation. Collaborative innovation brings dynamism and vitality to companies and causes economic growth and expansion. (1). In fact, one of the important factors in innovation, and one of the important factors in economic growth and development, is the transfer of knowledge that takes place between universities and industry because this cooperation makes commercialization in companies easier (2). On the other hand, one of the things that has always been very important in knowledgebased companies is the commercialization process. This process has three separate phases, the ideation phase, the technology/product development phase, and the commercialization phase. First, an idea that has a demand in the market is created and cultivated. In the development stage, this idea becomes a product or technology, and commercialization is technological knowledge that has entered the market (9). In our beloved country of Iran, knowledge-based companies active in the field of medical products have succeeded in reaching self-sufficiency in the field of medical products to almost 40% in the past few years, but they have been very unsuccessful in the discussion of commercializing medical products for export to other countries. . Now, according to the capacity of our country, we can earn up to two billion dollars a year from the commercialization of these types of goods, which has a positive impact on the national economy. Therefore, the researcher seeks to solve these problems by presenting a model for commercialization. Therefore, the main research question is, what is the commercialization model of medical products for knowledge-based companies? Methods: The current research is of an exploratory and expansion type, which was conducted using a qualitative method. The statistical population of this research is experts with practical experience in the field of commercialization of products of knowledgebased companies in the science and technology park of Mazandaran province, and professors of the University of Medical Sciences and management professors of management faculties of universities of Mazandaran province, who are aware of the subject of the research. 12 people were selected as samples from among them by snowball method until full saturation. Then a semi-structured interview was conducted to collect data from them. Interviews were held one by one with each expert. After conducting the interviews (audio recording), the texts of the interviews recorded from the experts, on the same day of the interview, were transcribed word by word on paper and typed as research data., was used. The research data are analyzed on two levels, the textual level and the conceptual level The textual level includes the coding of the data, the conceptual level emphasizes the construction of the research model including establishing a relationship between the codes based on the Strauss and Corbin model. Also, in order to ensure the validity of the model, the strategy of analysis and review by knowledgeable people (multi-view) has been used. Results: To design the model using the foundation data method in the first step; Initial coding was done using the text of the interviews. In this step, one hundred and nine primary codes were extracted. In the second step; Axial coding was done. In this step, thirty-two axial codings were obtained from a total of one hundred and nine initial codes. In the third step; Selective coding Selective coding was done based on the results of open coding and axial coding in this step, which is the main step of theorizing. Thirteen codes were obtained. Also, the validity of the research model was done by using the analysis and review method by knowledgeable people, in this method, to check the validity of the research model, all the data and primary extracted codes were sent to other experts who are familiar with the issue of commercialization of medical products in knowledge-based companies. They were informed and experts were given and they were asked to modify and approve the designed codes, and all the codes were approved, thus the validity of this research was proved. Also, the reliability of the research was checked with Kreppendorf's alpha method, and the agreement of five experts on the codes was equal to 89%. Considering that this amount is more than 60%, the reliability of the codings of this research is confirmed. Conclusion: In this research, the causal conditions for the commercialization of medical products, four factors of human capital, technology, digital transformability of the company and environmental factors have been stated. (Shirvani, Tulai and Delavi, 2019 limited the causal conditions to digital technology. Considering these factors by the companies residing in the science and technology park, they can take into account all the effective factors in creating a successful business for their products and Don't just focus on technology. The strategies of this research have been identified in three dimensions; Financial strategies, market orientation and attracting cooperation of the University of Medical Sciences. Every business unit needs capital in order to set up and start its activity, and in order to develop and continue its activity, it needs new investment, which must be provided through financial resources (24). Access to financial resources is one of the important factors in the success of companies and one of the important concerns of companies at different stages of their life (25). Market orientation can be defined as a stage of organizational growth or as a level that reflects organizational maturity (26). Kotler has looked at market orientation as the final stage of the development of a business organization and believes that the market orientation is created along the development of different business orientations. Market orientation is based on marketing thinking and marketing thinking forms its philosophical foundation. (26). However, marketing thinking as a foundation and philosophical foundation is not enough. Because market orientation focuses not only on customers, but also on competitors, different organizational issues and many external factors that affect the needs and preferences of customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/Purpose Business schools need to design, develop and deliver courses that are relevant to business problem-solving. Current pedagogies do not often provide the insight - or experience - necessary to close the gap between theory and practice. Background The paper describes an initiative to design, develop and deliver courses in business-technology problem-solving that thoroughly immerses students in the actual world of business. Methodology The methodology included case-based analysis where actual cases where selected to model problem-solving scenarios. Contribution Several courses are developed that immerse students into actual problemsolving experiences. Findings The courses will be delivered to business students to assess the impact of immersive/experiential learning. Recommendations for Practitioners Additional courses should be informed by actual cases; the commitment to relevance should be expanded. Recommendations for Researchers Ongoing research to measure the impact of immersive/experiential learning is recommended. Impact on Society Business schools should rethink the content of their courses and the pedagogies that have dominated business schools for many decades. Future Research Additional research will include more courses and additional immersive/experiential pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The introduction of elements of the circular economy requires major structural changes in economies, the involvement of a wide range of actors, including primarily businesses. However, it is worth noting the importance of other organizations, including the so-called third sector. Research objectives: The purpose of this article is to introduce the issue of cooperation of business and the third sector entities for the development of the circular economy. Research design and methods: For the purpose of the research paper, the following research method was used: a classic literature review and case study. Results: Collaboration between business and third sector providers has enormous potential for development and innovation. Conclusions: In Polish conditions the benefits and possibilities of cooperation between business and the third sector are not properly appreciated, and they are connected with a huge potential for the entities themselves and the possibilities of implementing the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship is regarded by policy makers and politicians as an accelerant for economic development. Economic geography demonstrates that rather than stimulating entrepreneurship in general, policy makers should support specific forms of entrepreneurship that fuel wider growth. The paper's original contribution is to insist that entrepreneurship research must also explore less growth-oriented, but crucially very widespread, forms of entrepreneurial activity. The paper therefore places solo self-employment – the self-employed without employees – centre stage as an exemplar of this trend. Research is presented on private tutors who run businesses from home, offering children one-to-one tuition in the burgeoning supplementary education industry. The paper scrutinises the causes, configuration and consequences of such solo self-employment as an economically marginal, but numerically dominant, form of entrepreneurship. In so doing, it makes three conceptual advances in the exploration of heterogeneous entrepreneurship. First, in examining why individuals become self-employed, the paper moves beyond classic efforts to understand entrepreneurship through binary push/pull mechanisms in models of occupational choice. Instead, the analysis demonstrates the importance of risk in entrepreneurship and paid employment, highlighting the multiple pathways into solo self-employment as opportunities and constraints coalesce in individual's lives. Secondly, in considering how the solo self-employed think about business, the research breaks through conventional definitions of entrepreneurship to demonstrate that solo self-employment involves a distinctively entrepreneurial subjectivity and practices. Thirdly, by investigating the consequences of solo self-employment, the findings transcend dualist interpretations of self-employment as the realm of entrepreneurial wealth or economic precarity, highlighting instead a security–precarity continuum in immediate and long-term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the use of social networks in agricultural enterprises and focuses mainly on their role and share in increasing the competitiveness of agricultural enterprises in the market. Primary data were obtained from an extensive survey of the development of information and communication technologies in agricultural enterprises, which was conducted in the first quarter of 2021 throughout the Czech Republic ("Survey 2021"). The research was primarily focused on capturing current trends in the use of ICT with emphasis on selected key areas (broadband, social networks, communication tools, regional Internet portals, used hardware categories, used software, mobile communications, Internet of Things, data storage and security, social networks, etc.). This survey builds on previous extensive surveys conducted by the Department of Information Technologies, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, CULS in Prague in several phases since 1999, with the last stage being conducted in 2017. Some surveys were conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of Czech Republic. Compared to recent years, the survey includes new domains, such as the use of the Internet of Things in plant and animal production, data storage and security, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company's core operations, etc. The survey was prepared, conducted and administered by the Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Life Sciences Prague. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) is a mega regional trade agreement signed by fifteen countries on 15 November 2020 after 8 years of negotiation. Signatories include the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Australia. India was a negotiating party until it withdrew from the negotiations in November 2019. The RCEP negotiations were initially framed as focused on the needs of low income countries. Public health concerns emerged however when draft negotiating chapters were leaked online, revealing pressures on countries to agree to intellectual property and investment measures that could exacerbate issues of access to medicines and seeds, and protecting regulatory space for public health. A concerted Asia Pacific civil society campaign emerged in response to these concerns, and in 2019, media and government reporting suggested that several of these measures had been taken off the table, which was subsequently confirmed in the release of the signed text in November 2020.Results: This paper examines civil society and health actors' views of the conditions that successfully contributed to the removal of these measures in RCEP, with a focus on intellectual property and access to medicines. Drawing on twenty semi-structured qualitative interviews with civil society, government and legal and health experts from nine countries participating in the RCEP negotiations, the paper reports a matrix of ten conditions related to actor power, ideas, political context and specific health issues that appeared to support prioritisation of some public health concerns in the RCEP negotiations.Conclusions: Conditions identified included strong low and middle income country leadership; strong civil society mobilisation, increased technical capacity of civil society and low and middle income negotiators; supportive public health norms; processes that somewhat opened up the negotiations to hear public health views; the use of evidence; domestic support for health issues; and supportive international public health legislation. Lessons from the RCEP can inform prioritisation of public health in future trade agreement negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the subject matter is conditioned by the fact that the innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is based on the introduction of technological advances, the use of computer and resource-saving technologies, industrial and innovative achievements, is currently of great importance for the country’s economy. The paper aims to prepare recommendations for the development of public-private partnerships (PPP) in the conditions of innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The leading methods of researching the issues of the paper include the analysis of theoretical sources, analysis of statistics, and comparison. The analysis of statistical indicators plays a crucial role in the study since data on the innovation level on the development of PPP can be directly obtained from statistical databases. The research results showed that for the development of projects that are carried out on an innovative basis, cooperation between the state and business is necessary. Certain risks and consequences are inherent in innovative projects. Therefore, such projects require private partners who agree to PPP even under unstable political, economic and social conditions and also have corresponding production and innovative potential. Given the improvement of the regulatory framework at the national and regional levels, increasing the attractiveness of such cooperation, and providing comprehensive support for such projects, a partnership between the state and business in the innovation sector will develop. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that the method of analysis of statistical indicators was used for the first time to analyse the concept of PPP in the context of the innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The observations of the paper have practical value for the development of PPP in the conditions of innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New business opportunities based on grassland and green fodder present a promising avenue to realize the transition towards a circular and sustainable bio-based economy. Yet, such potential remains largely untapped and grass-based products and businesses remain a small niche in the global economy. To understand this phenomenon, this paper introduces and operationalizes a model to assess innovation readiness built around seven focus areas: technology, manufacturing, business, IPR, customer, team, and funding readiness with their own detailed "progress scales." We employ necessary condition analysis (NCA) to identify limiting factors and bottlenecks in actual business situations. Our results reveal that lack of consumer awareness, infant conversion technologies and paucity of long-term investments that support emerging bio-based businesses are the most limiting conditions for the growth of emerging grass-based markets. The present study advances our understanding of the factors that limit complex innovations in grassland systems. Focusing on necessary conditions in a coordinated way between practitioners and policy makers by giving priority to fostering positive awareness of bioeconomy businesses, developing conversion technologies, and improving access to capital is a recommended approach to foster emerging grass-based innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to investigate how the state, specifically the Department of Trade and Industry's Bayanihan COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program, responds to women's economic struggle and how Filipina entrepreneurs make use of the internet for ICT-based business as a solution for income-generating means and sales during the COVID-19 economic struggle. The research locale covers the experiences of online Filipina Entrepreneurs during this pandemic in the Philippines' Region VII, Central Visayas. The research is a qualitative and descriptive case study that uses a purposive sampling technique for data collection utilizing a researchermade questionnaire and their experiences are analyzed using Colaizzi's method. In our investigation, we found out that the pandemic has a detrimental effect on women's businesses, from causing large losses in income and necessitating other sources of income to cover these losses. In solution, these women have entered into an online-operated business employing various marketing strategies to keep their businesses running. Fortunately, there is a consensus that entering in the online business has been a great economic opportunity and helped foster feelings of independence and financial freedom. However, despite this, challenges with internet connectivity in transacting with the government and customers have been a great obstacle and disadvantages such as; increased competition, the possibility of fraudulent transactions, and lack of transportation services experiencedall of which necessitate a systematic solution from the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization, high city population growth rates, technological development, environmental impacts, and human wellbeing in urban areas have over the years become increasingly challenging concerns. These trends are related to the complex, multiple factors to be considered when evaluating “smart” cities, that is, municipalities that seek to improve residents’ quality of life by combining new technologies and environmentally sustainable practices. The above tendencies thus add to the myriad of indicators that need to be included in smart city assessments, whose intricacy hinders related decision-making processes. Based on the principles of multiple-criteria decision analysis, this paper seeks to integrate cognitive mapping and the Choquet integral to develop an assessment system that facilitates the evaluation of smart cities, which was named “SMART-C.” The research includes a panel of experts on smart cities who identifies the evaluation criteria and their respective interactions. The results of a real-life application of the assessment system developed in this paper are validated both by the panel members and a representative of the Lisboa E-Nova nonprofit association of the Lisbon City Council's Environment and Energy Department. These experts confirm that the proposed evaluation system facilitates making distinctions between cities according to how fully they develop “smartness.” The advantages and limitations of this assessment framework are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2002 proved to be another difficult year for the global forest and paper industry, with stagnant growth, economic instability and oversupply continuing to hamper the industry’s performance.This is a short news story only. Visit www.worldpumps.com for the latest pump industry news. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Microenterprises are very small businesses requiring little capital and can be an employment pathway for people with intellectual disabilities. This systematic review aims to identify the facilitators, barriers and outcomes from microenterprise. Method: Web of Science, Scopus, EconLit, PsycINFO and ProQuest were searched to identify peer‐reviewed studies on microenterprises owned by people with intellectual disability published up to and including 1 October 2019. Results: A total of 1080 papers were independently screened by two reviewers. Six papers met the inclusion criteria. Barriers included lack of access to business expertise and resources, and the tension between growing microenterprises and maintaining eligibility for welfare payments. Formal and informal supports were key facilitators. Outcomes experienced included additional income, skills development, increased confidence and engagement in meaningful activities. Conclusion: Additional research is required to develop an evidence base which may support investment in this employment pathway, making microenterprise more accessible to people with intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries in the Global South are particularly vulnerable to social and political violence. This paper suggests that such violence makes certain recalcitrant economic interests more open to taxes and spending on social welfare. Using results from a survey experiment of business owners and operators in Mexico, we show that relative to more innocuous institutional weaknesses, concerns over violence generally increase support for anti-poverty spending and decrease support for tax cuts. To build a theory, we explore heterogeneous effects and textual data. The findings suggest that business interests see anti-poverty spending as a tool for shoring up costs of violence in consumer markets, with some leaders even extending support to welfare-enhancing taxes. However, violence can create challenges in labor markets that increase operational costs, leading some business interests to resist tax policies that ask them to help fund social programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate politics and governance across the globe involve an increasing number of interest groups such as from business and civil society. Against this backdrop, it matters a great deal whether interest group mobilization is able to influence climate policy-making. First, there is an increasing number of climate policy supporters like nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and green businesses lobbying in favour of additional climate policies. Second, there is also strong mobilization of groups from energy-intensive and fossil fuel industries lobbying against potentially costly climate policies. In this paper, we investigate the potential effects of these mobilization patterns. More precisely, we ask whether there is any systematic effect of competing interest group mobilization on national climate policy production. To this end, we harness arguments from literatures on interest group mobilization and climate policy-making. Empirically, we exploit a comprehensive global dataset on the adoption of national climate laws and interest group mobilization (over 4,000 organizations) between 1997 and 2016. The results show that the increasing mobilization of climate policy supporters is positively related to national climate policy production. Climate policy opponents are able to weaken this effect, but are hardly able to block new climate laws. The results add to our understanding of climate politics focusing on the role of business organizations and NGOs. This is highly policy relevant for both analysts and practitioners given that the Paris Agreement relies heavily on national policy efforts. The growing mobilization of climate policy supporters is positively related to the adoption of additional climate laws. The positive effect of climate policy supporters is weakened but rarely blocked by climate policy opponents, such as those from the fossil fuel industry. The effect of lobbying over climate policy needs to be assessed in its competitive context, that is by considering how political support and opposition on climate policy interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA databases have significant commercial value. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies have built databanks using samples and information voluntarily provided by customers. As the price of genetic analysis falls, there is growing interest in building such databases by paying individuals for their DNA and personal data. This paper maps the ethical issues associated with private companies paying for DNA. We outline the benefits of building better genomic databases and describe possible concerns about crowding out, undue inducement, exploitation, and commodification. While certain objections deserve more empirical and philosophical investigation, we argue that none currently provide decisive reasons against using financial incentives to secure DNA samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the supervised classification area, the algorithm selection problem (ASP) refers to determining the a priori performance of a given classifier in some specific problem, as well as the finding of which is the most suitable classifier for some tasks. Recently, this topic has attracted the attention of international research groups because a very promising vein of research has emerged: the application of some measures of data complexity in the pattern classification algorithms. This paper aims to analyze the response of the Customized Naïve Associative Classifier (CNAC) in data taken from the business area when some measures of data complexity are introduced. To perform this analysis, we used classification datasets from real-world related to business, 22 in total; then, we computed the value of nine measures of data complexity to compare the performance of the CNAC against other algorithms of the state of the art. A very important aspect of performing this task is the creation of an artificial dataset for meta-learning purposes, in which we considered the performance of CNAC, and then we trained a decision tree as meta learner. As shown, the CNAC classifier obtained the best results for 10 out of 22 datasets of the experimental study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Czech Republic has missed the transposition deadline for implementing the EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. Yet, business relationships between a buyer (the Hruška retailer) and several suppliers of food products have already witnessed breaches of that Directive. These had to be assessed by the Czech Competition Authority also under the applicable Czech legislation, which is the Significant Market Power Act. The paper concludes that the Czech Competition Authority conducted a legal assessment of the case in compliance with the EU Directive. Also, this contribution summarizes the current stage of progress towards achieving full transposition of the EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive into the Czech domestic legal order by way of amending the current Significant Market Power Act. Completing the transposition of the Directive as soon as possible is essential in order to stop the infringement procedure lodged by the European Commission against the Czech Republic in this respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019 the total accumulated digital data reached 4.4 trillion gigabytes; Facebook alone produced 4 million gigabytes, which includes 350 million photos and 100 million hours of video watch time, 65 billion messages via WhatsApp, and 95 million photos or videos on Instagram.1 With the vast volumes of data accessible to users, the necessity for filtering agents, which separate relevant data from noise, becomes clear for both the user and the businesses aiming to target specific audiences. The lack of regulation and misalignment of values between businesses and users, however, has led to poor design and implementation of filtering agents, which have been shown to be able to manipulate, extremize, and restrict users, even in situations and contexts beyond access to information and media. This paper aims to map the current state of interaction and dynamics between stakeholder groups and the consequences that arise from the current state and its perpetuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviewed the relevant scientific literature on the business and economics of biobanking to explore key themes and paradigms. The structural properties of the literature were investigated, such as key authors, journals, studies, as well as co-citation and co-authorship networks; the study revealed that the research on business and economics is a niche area within the vast biobanking literature. The research is concentrated in a relatively small number of journals, institutions, and countries, which is rather surprising given the substantial public investment in and concerns about biobank sustainability. The structural analysis also suggested major themes in research on biobanking business and economics and noted shifts in focus on specific themes. The commercialisation of samples is more acknowledged than before but under the condition of equitable sharing of benefits across various stakeholders. Most biobanks are heavily subsidised by the public sector and are considered public goods rather than business enterprises. This is OK, but underutilisation of specimens and low rates of cost recovery suggest that the current mainstream operating model is hardly sustainable. With many biobanks maturing, long-term sustainability became a key topic of the discussion on biobanking trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sentiment analysis is an emerging technique that caters for semantic orientation and opinion mining. It is increasingly used to analyze online reviews and posts for identifying people's opinions and attitudes to products and events in order to improve business performance of companies and aid to make better organizing strategies of events. This paper presents an innovative approach to combining the outputs of sentiment classifiers under the framework of belief functions. It consists of the formulation of sentiment classifier outputs in the triplet evidence structure and the development of general formulas for combining triplet functions derived from sentiment classification results via three evidential combination rules along with comparative analyses. The empirical studies have been conducted on examining the effectiveness of our method for sentiment classification individually and in combination, and the results demonstrate that the best combined classifiers by our method outperforms the best individual classifiers over five review datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]