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How do host country institutions influence the value of a firm's local resources? Using a novel dataset on the performance of 47 private equity ( PE) firms in 49 emerging economies, we show evidence that the answer depends on the type of institution. Focusing on conditions at the time of initial investment, we find that PE firms with local origins and foreign PE firms with local experience performed better when contract enforcement institutions were weak than when they were strong. Financial development, in contrast, may have undermined the value of PE firm local origins. These results help reconcile contrasting findings on how host country institutions influence performance and lead us to contend that unbundling institutions is necessary for continued development of the institutions-based view. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community engagement has contributed to disease control and elimination in many countries. Community engagement in malaria elimination (ME) on Aneityum Island has been sustained since its introduction in the early 1990s. Capacity developed within this population has led to a health empowered community response. Health Empowerment Theory (HET) can account for the innovative community actions and capacity development efforts taken to realize and sustain meaningful changes in well-being. This study used the HET framework to investigate participant perceptions of ME efforts on the island focusing on two HET elements, personal and social-contextual resources. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of empowerment as a critical element of community engagement. Methods: Six focus group discussions, ten key informant interviews and 17 in-depth interviews were conducted in July 2012 on Aneityum. Both deductive and inductive approaches to qualitative content analysis were used to identify themes, which were condensed, coded and classified based on the HET elements above. Results: Awareness and use of personal and social-contextual resources played an important role in ME efforts. Most participants shared their knowledge to prevent malaria reintroduction. Many participants reported their skills needed for behavioral maintenance, problem-solving or leadership. Participants who perceived a threat took preventive actions even in the dry season. Community leaders focused on second generation capacity development. A local health coalition provided ME services. Members of networks were sources of information and assistance. Face-to-face was the preferred method of communication. Barriers to engagement (e.g., financial difficulties, health literacy issues and underdeveloped infrastructure) were minimized through active collaboration and mutual assistance. Conclusions: In the community engagement continuum, health empowerment develops incrementally overtime as people gain their knowledge and skills, form coalitions and develop collaborative networks (social capital) to make decisions and take action for change. Community engagement, which facilitates local personal and social-contextual resource development, has potential for ME and multilevel empowerment through community-based capacity development processes. These self-empowered communities have written and will continue to write a 'prescription' for sustaining high levels of engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Indonesian Tropical Animal Agriculture is the property of Diponegoro University & Indonesian Society of Animal Agriculture, Faculty of Animal Agriculture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The built environment represents a major component in the overall global energy use, being responsible for the consumption of at least 40% of the entire amount. Energy is a fundamental problem of humanity, being responsible for the accelerated fossil fuel depletion (as a result of production processes) and for the huge amount of greenhouse gases resulted during energy production and consumption processes. To mitigate these problems, a new energy pattern is required, mainly involving renewable energy systems. This paper presents the steps for a novel methodology aiming at supporting a community into the transition towards sustainability, by giving use to the local renewable energy sources, following four major steps: (i) estimating and analyzing the current energy demand, (ii) analysis of the community structure and of the consumers types, (iii) estimating the amount and variability of the local renewable energy resources, (iv) conceptual design of renewable-based energy mix scenarios, aiming at covering the energy demand at community level. This methodology can be tailored according to the specific profile of any average sized community, as the case study developed for a 10000 inhabitant-community shows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional development is a new concept whose opportunities are enhancing and diversifying economic activities, enhancing investments in the private sector, contributing to unemployment reduction, and last but not least improving the standard of living. To assure the development policies in economy, agriculture, forestry, tourism, regional planning, infrastructure, and education etc., it is needed to take into account the specific conditions of the rural regions, Romanian villages and to observe the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. In this context, the paper aimed to point out the opportunities for the development of rural communities through regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Region of Western Serbia and Šumadija has favorable conditions for agricultural and rural development due to the fact that it disposes of important resources such as: land, livestock resources, manpower. However, numerous difficulties influenced the development as a result of inherited property structure of farms, social structure of population, position, function and role of agriculture in rural development, economic development, but also in the development of agrar policy itself. Family farms represent the main subjects of agricultural production, other activities and rural development. Potentials of family farms of the region enable the members of farms and households to practice activities other than agricultural production and therefore to influence rural development and development of rural areas. Rural areas of the region with potentials have possibilities to produce more food and develop other production related activities with the scope of enabling sustainable socio-economic rural development, protection of natural resources from pollution, increase of the land fertility and biodiversity preservation. Agriculture has a special place in economic development of the region, especially because it represents an important source of profit and jobs in its numerous branches, and furthermore, it plays the main role in rural development enabling valorization of local resources and development of small and medium business activities in different sectors. Regarding crumbled and weak private sector of agriculture in the context of making conditions for a more balanced development of rural areas, a rational solution is the one that would create possibilities for a family farm to become equal with other economic entities in all aspects, in its status and position in development and economic policies, with the aim of increasing food production and therefore improvement of the development of rural areas and rural development. For this reason, it is important to create conditions for the development of comparative advantages of modern agricultue in rural areas of the region and more ballanced rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the incorporation of the sub product mucilage of coffee in the fabrication of nutritional blocks and its impact on fabrication variables, chemical composition and animal preference. Nutritional blocks with different concentrations of coffee mucilage (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 %) were used in place of molasses and combined with base ingredients corn, cement, urea, minerals and sulfur. The following variables were evaluated: setting time, consistency, ease of mixing, and hardness. The chemical composition was found by analyzing raw protein, insoluble and soluble protein, fractions of neutral detergent fiber, organic matter and ash. For the test of animal preference, a cafeteria test was used with the following measurements: number of visits, number of licks and bites, effective time of licking or biting, and consumption of each block by each animal. The field measurements were used to calculate the following variables: licking/biting speed, consumption speed, size of lick or bite, consumption rate and preference index. Data on quality and preference were submitted to an analysis of variance through the GLM procedure of the SAS statistical package (SAS, 1994). Quality variables were analyzed using a randomized experimental design with seven treatments and 10 repetitions per treatment. For the preference test, the experiment had a data collection period of four days, with two evaluation periods. A Latin square experimental design was used. In both cases, averages were evaluated using the Tukey test (p<0.05). Results indicate that it is feasible to incorporate coffee mucilage in nutritional blocks as an up to 75 % substitution for molasses from sugar cane. No alterations are thus produced in the chemical composition of the nutritional blocks and animal preference is greater than with molasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research proposes the development of the heritage of social housing as a public experiment to measure up to the quality parameters required for the achievement of a ‘European model of the city.’ The goal is configuring a development that can return, or provide, the liveability to the settlements considered, conscious of the territorial reality characterized by widespread housing system and consistent with the evolving needs (social, economic and environmental) and the emerging socio-economic and environmental criticalities. The work is developed from knowledge of the settlement and the territorial system connected, as the basis for prefiguration of a scenario in which you identify a few privileged areas of action for the main urban and territorial dynamics, the management of ‘flows’, and new areas of discussion related to the problem of time, communication, mobility and logistics. You configure structural and managerial innovations (enhancement of territorial potentialities and integration of productive sectors; building cycle based on the recovery and rehabilitation). A ‘closed loop system’ where urban regeneration is powered and built from local resources.

Copyright of Ekonomika APK is the property of Economy of Argo-Industrial Complex and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The energy efficiency of the buildings and environment protection are considered to be the most important factors in obtaining a sustainable development of the entire our society. One step to assure these objectives is to exploit the local natural resources in manufacturing of new buildings materials which has low cost, low embodied energy and improved thermal insulation properties. In this respect the paper present five new mortar recipes, using the local zeolitic volcanic tuff, from Macicas quarry (north-west of Cluj - Napoca city) used in different percentage (30%, 50%, 80%), as a substitute of the Portland cement. The mortar samples has been analysed and comparated from mechanical (compressive and flexural strength) and physical (apparent density, real volume, compactness and porosity) point of view showing the differences between them, cost and embodied energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The potential of incorporating fodder tree foliage in the production of multinutritional feed blocks (MNBs) to supplement grazing sheep was evaluated. Leaves from Guazuma ulmifolia Lam., Leucaena lanceolata S. Watson, Acacia cochliacantha Humb. & Bonpl. Willd, and Brosimum alicastrum Swartz were used to make 2.5kg blocks which were offered to test the preference, consumption and weight gain in Pelibuey sheep during MNB supplementation while grazing. The MNBs contained 23.5% crude protein, 25% neutral detergent fiber, 17.5% acid detergent fiber, and 63% dry matter in vitro digestibility. Sheep equally preferred MNBs containing B. alicastrum, L. lanceolata, and G. ulmifolia, and less so A. cochliacantha (P>0.05). They also consumed more B. alicastrum MNB dry matter and less from those with A. cochliacantha (P<0.05). Supplementation with MNBs containing B. alicastrum did not increase weight gain (EEM=0.021). However, the nutritional quality of the MNBs might have a higher impact when animal diets in the field are based on low quality forages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article is based on the results of the cooperation bet ween the small village Hronsek in Slovak Republic and the Faculty of Architecture oriented to the identification of the cultural heritage. Case study is an example of identification and description of cultural heritage, which could serve as a model for communities to identify their strengths, weaknes ses and opportunities, and the threats to design a strategy of sustainable development, built on the uniqueness and cul tural diversity. It also represents certain benchmarking tool which can be used to compare at first glance disparate muni cipalities, to determine the location of their intersection to provide a space for coordination of their activities, whether at regional, local or national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research proposes the development of the heritage of social housing as a public experiment to measure up to the quality parameters required for the achievement of a 'European model of the city.' The goal is configuring a development that can return, or provide, the liveability to the settlements considered, conscious of the territorial reality characterized by widespread housing system and consistent with the evolving needs (social, economic and environmental) and the emerging socio-economic and environmental criticalities. The work is developed from knowledge of the settlement and the territorial system connected, as the basis for prefiguration of a scenario in which you identify a few privileged areas of action for the main urban and territorial dynamics, the management of 'flows', and new areas of discussion related to the problem of time, communication, mobility and logistics. You configure structural and managerial innovations (enhancement of territorial potentialities and integration of productive sectors; building cycle based on the recovery and rehabilitation). A 'closed loop system' where urban regeneration is powered and built from local resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, Japan strives to preserve some of its rural Satoyama landscapes in a sustainable way in order to ensure the survival of some well-functioning rural ecosystems in the face of continuing urbanization on the one hand and the neglect of such landscapes on the other. In the Lake Biwa watershed area in Shiga Prefecture, Satoyama landscapes comprise woodlands, grasslands, dry and wet fields, residential areas, and the lakeshore. The area today faces two major challenges: first, how to use local natural resources in a sustainable way to avoid further neglect or destruction of Satoyama landscapes; and second, how to reorganize the management of Satoyama forest and lakeshore resources. The results of our investigation showed how solutions to the above issues were found in the context of lakeshore projects aimed at restoring reed ( Phragmites communis) communities, which are important component of the Lake Biwa Satoyama landscape. Since 2002, four such projects have been successfully undertaken through the efficient use of local forest resources, mainly wood and bamboo, in wave dissipation structures and jetties which facilitate the expansion of reed communities. Management was reorganized and now consists of stakeholders which include the original Satoyama management communities, governmental bodies, resident and nonresident citizens, and nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations. The projects are a unique attempt to revive Satoyama watershed landscapes, and may serve as models in other watershed areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Przeglad Socjologiczny is the property of Lodz Scientific Society / Lodzkie Towarzystwo Naukowe and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Griffis and Cooper were part of a team at the Richland County Public Library (RCPL) that sought to re-introduce a local resources database that would serve as an index and provide abstracts for articles in local magazines and newspapers that were not indexed in any other resource. This database also included an Obituary Index and a Quick Facts database. Their presentation provided an overview of how this local resources database was originated and organized. They also focused on the various tasks involved with the implementation of this database, including decision-making tasks, quality control measures, training of staff, and digitization issues. They discussed document delivery to patrons and problems and obstacles that were encountered post-implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

G. V. Ramanjaneyulu and V. Rukmini Rao argue that the Indian agrarian crisis is due to lopsided policies in technology and support to farmers, faulty regulatory and market systems. Experiences with scaling up an ecological model of pest management in agriculture in Andhra Pradesh provide an important breakthrough in promoting sustainable models in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, most of the casualties are known to suffer from musculoskeletal injuries. This leads to an enormous need of orthopaedic (surgical) implants such as osteosynthesis plates, which are difficult to provide in developing countries that rely on imported ones. One of the alternatives is utilization of local resources, but only after they have been proven safe to use, and meet the international standards set. Through this paper we would like to urge the international community to include locally produced biomedical products, like osteosynthesis plates in their scientific evaluations and communications. When the quality of local products is proven, the reluctance to use local products also by surgeons from developing countries will disappear and larger scale production can be initiated. This in its turn solves many problems that come after natural disasters and stimulates the national economy in an efficient and effective way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present research was studied the behavior of yield of fourteen crops and the fertility of soil at the site of study considering a period of six years with the use of biointensive method. The results showed that the yield was increasing in all crops during the first five years while seven of them kept the yield increasing in the last year, and the other seven crops decreased their yield. With regard to the variables of soil studied (pH, M.O, N, P, K, Ca, CIC, Dap). The results showed an improvement of the chemicophysical properties of soil, though some of them (pH, Ca, CIC) demonstrated a trend which is necessary to attend in order that problems don´t appear both in the soil and in biointensive method is an alternative to achieve increasing yield and improve soil properties using local resources by growers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity concerns and the sustainability of agroecological systems, together with consumer demand for higher quality products from alternative and extensive farming methods, have reinforced interest in local breeds that are well adapted to low-input environments. The first reference to Portuguese poultry breeds appeared in the 1930s, with registration and breeding programs of native breeds only being implemented in the last ten years. Portuguese chicken breeds (Pedrês Portuguesa, Preta Lusitânica, Amarela, and Branca) are almost extinct and are currently bred on small-scale farms for egg and meat production. This study aimed to characterize the performance of laying hens, evaluating the influence of genotype, age, and season on egg production over four years in farm conditions. The results highlight the Pedrês Portuguesa as the most productive breed regarding egg production and reveal a tendency for an increase in egg production performance by the Branca in contrast with the lower productive capacity of the Preta Lusitânica. Older hens start laying earlier in consecutive laying periods, present a shorter peak, and an inferior number of total eggs/cycle. There is a need to establish breeding goals and to evaluate and revise breeding programs to increase productivity in autochthonous Portuguese chicken breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers in Sahelian countries are confronted with a variety of soil fertility and management problems. During the last two decades, NGOs have worked with farmers and research institutions to develop and test practices that will increase food production, while at the same time enhance the natural resource base. Since 1987, The Rodale Institute (RI) has worked closely with farmers' associations and government institutions to promote regenerative agriculture-farming systems that prioritize the use of local resources while improving them as they are used to grow food, using agro-ecological methods. The Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute has collaborated in this program as a partner of RI. The Senegal Regenerative Agriculture Resource Center model has been applied as a new and viable approach that builds on traditional knowledge and farmer-to-farmer exchange. Research results on soil conservation and improvement have shown that fields spread with amended animal manure or compost yield greater harvests than fields farmed with traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]