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Many schools face barriers that hinder access to services, including limited funding and staff trained in evidence-based interventions. In particular, rural schools must provide targeted intervention to promote academic growth and narrow achievement gaps despite these barriers. One seldom-considered solution to ease the resource costs in the provision of intervention services is to provide high school students with the training and supervision necessary to carry them out. Thirty elementary students participated in an explicit timing intervention administered by either a high school student or graduate student in school psychology. A 2 × 2 mixed factorial ANOVA found significant growth from pre- to post-test with no effects of interventionist education level. These findings imply that school-based interventionists may be able to expand the reach of their practice by recruiting and training older students to carry out interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for machined components of superior quality at competitive costs has driven machine and cutting tools manufacturers to innovate in machine tool technologies and cutting tools materials. Consequently, optimizing the machining process becomes an important subject of research. Particularly, optimizing machining parameters like cutting speed, depth of cut and feed rate stands out. Literature review highlights that optimization considers various "objective functions" such as minimum production cost, maximum production rate, and minimum energy consumption. However, one aspect not objectively considered is the customer's demand within a specific timeframe, known as takt time. The relevance, originality and contribution of this work is the development of a method that, considering the current machining parameters and the takt time for a given machining stage, defines the optimized cutting speed for each cutting tool to meet the takt time at the lowest production cost. An algorithm based on classical equations for calculating machining times and costs for machining processes with multiple cutting tools was developed. A software in Excel receives process data, "x and K" coefficients from Taylor's life equation and calculates the optimized cutting speeds. The present method was applied in a heavy machining industrial environment using actual production data and machining parameters. Taylor coefficients x and K were obtained through cutting tool life tests carried out on the part under analysis. Results showed potential machining cost savings of up to 6.2% compared to traditional methods for obtaining takt time on shop floor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reduced-cost explicitly correlated second-order Møller–Plesset (MP2-F12) approach is presented. Based on our recent reduced-cost explicitly correlated coupled-cluster method [J. Chem. Theory Comput., 19, 174 (2023)], the frozen natural orbital, the natural auxiliary basis, and the natural auxiliary function approximations are utilised to decrease the size of the molecular orbital basis and the auxiliary basis sets required for the density fitting and for the expansion of the explicitly correlated geminals. The necessary modifications of the above approximations for MP2-F12 are discussed. The performance of the new method is tested for atomisation and reaction energies. Our results demonstrate that speedups of 1.5–4 can be achieved in the calculation of MP2-F12 correlation energies with a moderate loss of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological denitrification is a generally economically viable and reliable technology for nitrate (NO3−-N) and nitrite (NO2−-N) removal from wastewater. Nitrate/nitrite reduction requires an electron donor, which can be supplied from influent wastewater organic compounds, added as an external carbon source, or by endogenous respiration. Decisions regarding the selection of an external carbon source should take into consideration its cost, sludge generation quantity, the rate and efficiency of denitrification, and chemical storage safety. The expense of waste management and external carbon sources accounts for up to 50% of the overall cost of wastewater treatment. The carbon source characteristics required for biological denitrification affect the microbial community structure, denitrification rate, and intermediate products. This review is based on a bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review providing information and insight into the topic of the denitrification process using different carbon sources. In this review, the main focus was on discussing alternative carbon sources vs. traditional carbon sources in terms of the carbon source price, C/N ratio, denitrification efficiency and rate, operational parameters, and advantages and disadvantages, as well as the limitations in the denitrification process. Future perspectives may include the operating parameters influencing the stability of the removal performance; the maintenance and improvement of nitrate removal; a study of the diversity of the microbial community; research on the application of new alternative carbon sources in denitrification; and N2O emission detection and minimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe a simple variation of burr hole craniostomy for the management of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) that uses a frontal drainage system to facilitate timely decompression in the event of tension pneumocephalus and spares the need for additional surgery. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 20 patients with CSDH who underwent burr hole craniostomy and 20 patients who underwent the same procedure alongside the placement of a 5 Fr neonatal feeding tube as a backup drainage for the anterior craniostomy. Depending on the situation, the secondary drain stayed for a maximum of 72 hours to be opened and used in emergency settings for drainage, aspiration, or as a 1-way valve with a water seal. The outcomes of 20 patients who underwent this procedure and 20 controls are described. One patient from each group presented tension pneumocephalus. One was promptly resolved by opening the backup drain under a water seal to evacuate pneumocephalus and the other patient had to undergo a reopening of the craniostomy. The described variation of burr hole craniostomy represents a low-cost and easy-to-implement technique that can be used for emergency decompression of tension pneumocephalus. It also has the potential to reduce reoperation rates and CSDH recurrence. Prospective controlled research is needed to validate this approach further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the large-size shipbuilding block as the research object, this article describes the general phenomenon of the long blasting operation time and long painting operation time, and analyzes its impact and reasons. Through a series of refined management practices such as fine production preparation, strengthened process control and improved equipment efficiency, a new process of "block blasting completion in the morning" is put forward to achieve good results such as production efficiency improvement and cost reduction as well as social benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective vendor-buyer collaboration is a successful supply chain management (SCM) cornerstone. By working together, both parties can achieve significant benefits. This collaboration approach fosters open communication, which allows for better communication, improved efficiency, service levels, and reduced costs, i.e., a win-win situation. Ultimately, this partnership strengthens the entire supply chain, increasing efficiency and profitability for vendors and buyers. This study aims to investigate the dynamics of collaboration between supply chain partners. It focuses on a scenario where a single vendor supplies a single product to multiple buyers through a vendor-managed inventory (VMI) and consignment stock (CS) agreement. Managing inventory and product quality is a key challenge, as the components may be imperfect. Buyers are responsible for inspecting these items, but the process is susceptible to misclassification. To address these issues, the research aims to develop an optimization model that incorporates costs associated with collaboration, quality, inspection, and potential misclassification. In addition, developing a methodology to identify the optimal solution minimizes overall costs and maximizes benefits for both vendors and buyers. Furthermore, a numerical example is presented for tangible illustration, offering practical insights into the benefits of partner collaboration in SCM. The findings underscore the efficacy of implementing a collaborative approach between vendors and buyers to minimize supply chain costs. This collaborative policy necessitates a willingness from both parties to forgo their individual cost-minimization strategies in favor of optimizing the overall system cost through cooperation. Through this sacrifice, synergistic benefits emerge, resulting in enhanced efficiency, reduced expenses, and improved overall performance within the supply chain ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Professional Business Review (JPBReview) is the property of AOS: ESTRATEGIA & INOVACAO 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 assessment of barriers to the application of cost-reduction techniques in delivering educational buildings in Nigeria is essential in addressing the infrastructural shortage, building performance, delay, cost, time overrun, and abandonment in the delivery of higher educational buildings (HEBs). This study examines barriers to applying cost-reduction techniques in educational buildings in southwestern Nigeria. Using a survey design, the questionnaire was distributed to stakeholders who participated in delivering the government intervention, private donors, and internally generated revenue educational buildings in public tertiary institutions in southwestern Nigeria from 2012 to 2022. A total of 150 copies of the questionnaire were administered, while 133 responses were obtained and analyzed. To begin with, data reliability and validity were examined using Bartlett's sphericity, Cronbach's alpha, and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) tests, accordingly, followed by descriptive, Kruskal–Wallis H test, and exploratory factor analysis. The six components obtained from exploratory factor analysis for explaining the barriers to applying cost-reduction techniques in educational buildings were as follows: ambiguity in HEB contracts awards and project executions, lack of control from the HEIs management over HEB project delivery, perceived political influence in HEB procurement, unrealistic contract requirements and change orders, non-prioritization of automation integration in HEB delivery, and deficiencies in contract documents and costing. This study recommends establishing a project-monitoring team involving independent consultants from project inception to reduce excessive errors, practices of assigning contracts to the lowest bidder, and excessive claims for variation orders that escalate the project's final sum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The newly developed computational fluid dynamics, transport, and chemical kinetics-based monolith catalyst dimensioning methodology consists of the following steps: (i) initial calculations, which generate some of the data, e.g., average inlet fluid velocity used in the (ii) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, which uses the laminar flow interface and the transport of diluted species interface while the user has to provide the kinetics of the reactions; (iii) the model order reduction uses a modified version of the plug flow reactor model and the linear pressure variation model; and (iv) the dimensioning optimization algorithm extracts the optimal monolith catalyst's channel geometry, which satisfies the user's performance constraints and reduces material consumption. Therefore, the methodology enables chemical engineers to quickly and efficiently design and dimension monolith catalysts for many different applications in an environmentally friendly way, which enables them to reduce both the material and operating costs while maintaining sufficient catalyst performance and, therefore, achieve its cost-effective performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of global efforts to combat the rise in global climate change and carbon dioxide emissions, there has been a substantial increase in renewable energy investment for both residential and utility power generation. Solar power facilities are estimated to be among the major contributors to global decarbonization in terms of capacity by 2050. Consequently, the majority of economically significant countries are progressively implementing utility-scale photovoltaic (U-PV) systems. Nevertheless, a major obstacle to the expansion of U-PV generation is the identification and assessment of direct current (DC) faults in the extensive array of PV panels. In order to address this obstacle, it is imperative to provide an evaluation method that can accurately and cost-effectively identify and locate potential DC faults in PV arrays. Therefore, many studies attempted to utilize thermal cameras, voltage and current sensors, power databases, and other detecting elements; however, some of these technologies provide extra hurdles in terms of the quantity and expense of the utilized hardware equipment. This work presents a sophisticated system that aims to diagnose and locate various types of PV faults, such as line-to-ground, line-to-line, inter-string, open-circuit, and partial shading events, within a PV array strings down to a module level. This study primarily depends on three crucial indicators: precise calculation of the PV array output power and current, optimal placement of a limited number of voltage sensors, and execution of specifically specified tests. The estimation of PV array power, along with selectively placed voltage sensors, minimizes the time and equipment required for fault detection and diagnosis. The feasibility of the proposed method is investigated with real field data and the PSCAD simulation platform during all possible weather conditions and array faults. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach can accurately diagnose and localize faults with only NS/2 voltage sensors, where NS is the number of PV array parallel strings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature selection is a preprocessing step in machine learning that aims to reduce dimensionality and improve performance. The approaches for feature selection are often classified according to the evaluation of a subset of features as filter, wrapper, and embedded approaches. The high performance of wrapper approaches for feature selection is associated at the same time with the disadvantage of high computational cost. Cost-reduction mechanisms for feature selection have been proposed in the literature, where competitive performance is achieved more efficiently. This work applies the simple and effective resource-saving mechanisms of the fixed and incremental sampling fraction strategies with memory to avoid repeated evaluations in multi-objective permutational-based differential evolution for feature selection. The selected multi-objective approach is an extension of the DE-FSPM algorithm with the selection mechanism of the GDE3 algorithm. The results showed high resource savings, especially in computational time and the number of evaluations required for the search process. Nonetheless, it was also detected that the algorithm's performance was diminished. Therefore, the results reported in the literature on the effectiveness of the strategies for cost reduction in single-objective feature selection were only partially sustained in multi-objective feature selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study maintenance service operations in large facilities portfolios with a focus on modeling logistics of associated spare parts and their storage locations serviced by personnel from several trades who move around the buildings in their vehicles. The key challenge is to reduce the cost of spare parts inventory, storage, and vehicles while providing responsive customer service. To address these challenges, we propose (i) inventory models to determine stock levels and (ii) storage space in personnel vehicles to allocate the mix and location of spare parts by trade. The two models can be readily integrated, and conceptually, technician vehicles serve as “forward-reserve storage” that improves service responsiveness. The proposed model is applied to a large facility of a non-profit organization with 330 buildings, 17,000 spare parts, and 254 vehicles. Compared to prevailing practice, the proposed model can potentially reduce $1.27 million worth of inventory costs, a reduction of ~77%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge 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.)

Downy mildew is a production limiting factor for Brazil's main onion producing region. In the present study we tested two management strategies, namely the utilization of a resistant cultivar and the implementation of a disease alert system. Our objective was to mitigate the frequency of systemic fungicide applications while concurrently sustaining optimal yield levels. By carrying out fungicide sprays only when the alert system indicated a severe risk and using the cultivar "SCS379 Robusta", it was possible to reduce the number of sprays from 11 (calendar) to 5 (alert system), maintaining statistically similar yields (32.58 tonnes/ha – calendar; and 30.76 tonnes/ha – alert system). The reduction in spray applications using an integrated management strategy reduced the cost of spraying by more than half from BRL 0.069/Kg to BRL 0.033/Kg. This study demonstrates that implementation of an integrated management strategy can reduce chemical use and cost without compromising the protection of onion using alert system and more susceptible varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed integer linear programming (MILP) has been gaining traction as a method for solving optimal pump scheduling problems in water distribution networks (WDNs). However, inclusion of variable speed pumps (VSPs) in MILP pump scheduling frameworks has not been given adequate treatment. This article addresses this gap by describing a methodology for formulating and solving optimal pump scheduling problems with VSPs using MILP and piece-linear approximations of network components. The methodology proceeds in four steps: (a) WDN simulation with initial pump schedule(s), (b) approximation of network components, including VSP, using linear and piece-linear functions around the chosen operating points, (c) formulation of a fully parameterised mixed integer linear programme, and (d) solution of the optimisation problem and WDN simulation with optimal pump schedule(s). The methodology is coded in MATLAB/OCTAVE and Python and is publicly available on GitHub. It was applied to solve a pump scheduling problem on a two variable speed pump single-tank network that allows the reader to easily understand how the methodology works and how it is applied in practice. The results show that the formulation is robust and the optimiser is able to return a globally optimal solution for a range of operating points. HIGHLIGHTS Mathematical description of variable speed pumps (VSPs) for MILP formulations is introduced.; Formulation of pump schedule optimisations using MILP is described from first principles.; A pump scheduling framework for VSPs is designed and released as open-source software.; Problem size calculation formulae are provided for a generic network.;

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association 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.)

How bridge refurbishment projects are performed requires a trade-off between the speed and cost of the project and the amount of traffic disturbances during the project. A possible way to help reach a better balance between these two extremes is the ASTRA Bridge developed in Switzerland. The ASTRA Bridge is a 236-meter long steel ramp system on wheels, which is placed on top of the bridge deck undergoing refurbishment to enable vehicles to continue to pass over the bridge while construction work progresses underneath. This study illustrates new refurbishment processes by using the ASTRA Bridge and presents the first quantitative analysis of the effects of using the ASTRA Bridge on the time, costs and traffic disturbances associated with bridge refurbishment. The bridge investigated is a short-span (50 m long) highway bridge requiring refurbishment of its superstructure. The analysis indicates that the use of the ASTRA Bridge resulted in reductions in duration and costs (14% and 3% for the example), and a substantial reduction in user costs (51% for the example). Although more analysis is required for different types of refurbishment projects, the initial results indicate that the ASTRA Bridge may become an integral part of future highway bridge refurbishment projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a firm's strategic choices of self-development or cooperation with (wholesaling from) its stronger rival. Both choices can improve the efficiency and competitive strength. We develop a benchmark of a full competition model, coopetition strategy, self-development strategy and hybrid strategy to investigate the effect of coopetition and self-development on firms who sell substitutive products in the end market. We show that both coopetition and self-development can benefit the high-cost firm. While the low-cost firm prefers the coopetition strategy. And in the hybrid strategy, the high-cost firm just utilises the self-development ability as a threat to enjoy a lower wholesale price. Interestingly, our research indicates that the mixed cooperation and competition relationship varies low-cost firm's attitudes towards product differentiation. On the one hand, the low-cost firm wants to produce homogeneous products to compete with rivals. On the other hand, he also wants to provide heterogenous products to alleviate competition in the coopetition strategy. The result provides company managers with a certain meaning in the complicated cooperative and competitive market environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the topical problem of reducing the self-cost of production in the modern market, especially in the context of Ukrainian enterprises that face unique challenges in the context of the ongoing war. The aim of this article is to analyze the main measures to reduce the cost of production, identify unresolved problems in this area and determine the prospects for further research. The article analyzes the main ways to reduce the self-cost and identifies unresolved problems, such as insufficiently active introduction of new technologies, instability of the economic situation and currency exchange rates. An important issue of effective production management at enterprises in order to ensure their competitiveness and profitability is also considered. In particular, various ways to optimize the cost of production are explored, for example, through the introduction of effective technologies and production methods, minimization of waste, automation of management and production, optimization of inventory levels and replacement of obsolete equipment, etc. The authors analyze each of these paths, provide specific methodologies and outline the prospects for their application, emphasizing the importance of continuous analysis of market conditions and adapting the pricing strategy to changes. The research uses the methodology of analysis of scientific research and publications, including a review of scientific articles, journal publications and web resources. Based on the collected information, an overview of practical examples of successful enterprises that use innovative methods of cost reduction is provided, namely, such world-famous firms as Tesla, Inc., Unilever, Amazon, Walmart, General Electric (GE). The article will be of considerable practical and scientific interest for enterprises struggling with economic challenges, as well as for researchers interested in the problems of optimization of production processes.

Abstract The increased penetration of renewable energy sources and the intensification of peak‐valley differences present challenges to peak regulation in the power system. Fulfilling the peak regulation needs of the power system solely through generation‐side resources proves to be challenging. Large‐scale fixed frequency air‐conditioning (FFAC) and inverter air‐conditioning (IAC) are high‐quality flexible load resources. This paper proposes a hierarchical coordinated control strategy of air‐conditioning (AC) loads for peak regulation service. In the first layer of the control strategy, the load aggregator collaborates with multiple AC groups to ensure the completion of peak regulation tasks with specific power‐constrained requirements. In the second layer of the control strategy, the control centre of each group optimizes the temperature adjustment values for each AC load, aiming to reduce incentive costs. Finally, the proposed method is validated through simulations, demonstrating its capability to achieve coordinated control of FFAC and IAC loads under various power‐constrained requirements. Furthermore, the simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the control strategy in reducing user discomfort and the AC's incentive costs.

Abstract It has been well documented that the usage of a textured cover layer reduces reflection from the air‐solar cell interface, which ultimately enhances the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a solar cell. The most commonly used patterns, such as pyramids, micropillars, nanowires (NW), and nanoholes have been widely studied and optimized. Besides using such NWs to enhance light absorption, this work also additionally considers the concept of mimicking the antireflection coating of single or multiple layers in minimizing the reflectance and thus enhancing the total absorptance further. It is shown here that at least one order of magnitude shorter multilayer NW pattern of 268 nm total height can outperform a standard NW of 4270 nm height, which needs less material and can also be fabricated at a reduced cost. Furthermore, the proposed design with reduced height has a significantly lower surface‐to‐volume ratio, which also reduces surface recombination loss than the other textured surface patterns. The results presented in this work have been comprehensively analyzed by initially optimizing optical absorption and then completing the electrical simulations. The optimized design in conjunction with a back reflector offers an efficiency as high as 16.434%.

FEATURES / [Profitability] Make a Stronger Business Case for Sustainability When greener products and processes add costs, managers can shift other levers to maintain profitability. By Karel Cool, Atalay Atasu, [...]

This research focuses on the dynamic landscape of today’s competitive market, where production management must meet clients’ expectations for high-quality products and shorter lead times while managing internal disruptions due to inevitable defects and unpredictable equipment failures. Achieving these operational goals without compromising product quality, missing deadlines, or experiencing production disruptions is essential for minimizing operational expenses. The study examines the dynamics of the system’s operating costs through the development of models, mathematical formulations, optimization techniques, and algorithm proposals. It demonstrates the system’s convexity and establishes the optimal batch time for implementing the proposed methodologies. The research results show relevant failure costs of 3.51 %, overtime added costs of 4.57 %, outsourcing setup costs of 0.73 %, outsourcing variable costs of 41.82 %, quality-related costs of 2.98 %, in-house variable costs of 40.42 %, and in-house holding costs of 3.55 %. The study develops strategies for optimal overtime use to meet production targets without excessive labor costs and provides a structured framework for making informed outsourcing decisions that balance cost savings with quality and reliability considerations. Overall, the research provides a robust framework for reducing operational costs while maintaining or improving the quality and reliability of manufacturing processes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the potential benefits of integrating coarser particle size distributions (PSDs) of 45–106 µm into laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M), aiming to reduce costs while maintaining quality standards. Despite the considerable advantages of PBF-LB/M for producing intricate geometries with high precision, the high cost of metal powders remains a barrier to its widespread adoption. By exploring the use of coarser PSDs, particularly from electron beam-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-EB/M), significant cost-saving opportunities are identified. Through a comprehensive powder characterization, process analysis, and mechanical property evaluation, this study demonstrates that PBF-LB/M can effectively utilize coarser powders while achieving comparable mechanical properties as those produced with a 20–53 µm PSD. Adaptations to the process parameters enable the successful processing of coarser powders, maintaining high relative density components with minimal porosity. Additionally, market surveys reveal substantial cost differentials between PBF-LB/M and PBF-EB/M powders, indicating a 40% cost reduction potential for the feedstock material by integrating coarser PSDs into PBF-LB/M. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the economic and technical feasibility of printing with coarser powders in PBF-LB/M, offering promising avenues for cost reduction without compromising quality, thus enhancing competitiveness and the adoption of the technology in manufacturing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many advantages of distributed generation (DG), it can have adverse effects on the network protection coordination by raising the short-circuit level of buses. This issue can often be resolved by incorporating fault current limiters (FCLs) that are properly located and sized in the network. We propose an efficient method to simultaneously attain the optimal location and size of DG and FCL units for protection coordination of overcurrent relays and cost reduction in a distribution network. The proposed method involves three stages. First, two separate objective functions are derived, representing the operation times of relays and the network costs associated with the installation of DGs and FCLs and system losses. The Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm 2 (SPEA-2) is then used for finding a Pareto-optimal solution set for the interrelated multiobjective problem at hand. Finally, the k-means clustering method is utilized to group the best solutions. In contrast to the conventional weighted sum (WS) method, the proposed method is more computationally efficient while being capable of treating complex networks with non-convex Pareto front solutions. These features are demonstrated by implementing the proposed approach in the 14-bus IEEE test grid and comparing the results with those obtained using the conventional WS method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Economics & Administrative Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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.)

Copyright of Journal of Economics & Administrative Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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.)