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The study examines the model fit of individual cognitive empowerment, which includes psychological and environmental factors, and investigates the direct effect of environmental empowerment specifically work methods, work criteria, and work schedules on in-role performance in Malaysia's Electrical and Electronic (E&E) manufacturing firms. Data were obtained from 173 engineers and 173 managers, matched in pairs, who have worked together for at least 1 year in 73 E&E manufacturing firms. The study found that the model fit of psychological and environmental factors is stronger for individual cognitive empowerment. Work methods show a positive direct effect on in-role performance. However, work schedules and work criteria do not appear to have a direct effect on inrole performance. This study highlights the importance of considering work methods in the engagement between engineer and manager pairs in the E&E manufacturing sector to enhance in-role performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Due to the limited water resources in Iran, optimal utilization of water resources is necessary to achieve food security and sustainable development of the agricultural sector. One of the suitable solutions for the optimal use of water resources is to estimate the virtual water content and the physical and economic water productivity of agricultural products. Virtual water is the amount of water that an agricultural product consumes during the production process to reach the stage of evolution, and its amount is equivalent to the total amount of water consumed in the different stages of the production chain from the beginning to the end. The amount of virtual water required to produce a product differs according to climatic, cultural, management, and planning conditions in each country and even region. This issue makes it necessary to study the estimation of virtual water content in each region. In recent years, many types of research have been conducted to estimate the virtual water content and the physical and economic productivity of water in crops. Dehloran County is the main hub of agricultural production in Ilam Province. So far, no study has been conducted in the field of estimating the virtual water content of crops in this county. This study was therefore conducted to estimate virtual water content and physical and economic water productivity of crops (i.e., wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, tomato, cucumber, carrot, melon, watermelon, and sesame) of Dehloran County. Materials and Methods The Dehloran County, located in the south of Ilam Province, with 6229 km2 constitutes about one-third of the total area of Ilam Province. This county has 103000 ha of suitable agricultural land, of which 67000 ha are irrigated and 36000 ha are rainfed, and it is considered the agricultural hub of Ilam Province. Most of the irrigated area in the study area is devoted to cultivating crops such as wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, tomato, cucumber, watermelon, melon, sesame, and carrot. This study investigated the virtual water content and the physical and economic water productivity of these crops in the agricultural year 2021-2022. The virtual water content of crops was estimated from the sum of green, blue, gray, and white virtual water. This study used the FAO Penman-Monteith and USDA methods in CROPWAT 8.0 software to estimate reference crop evapotranspiration and effective rainfall. Crop yields, nitrogen fertilizer consumption rates, production costs, and sales prices of crops were obtained from the Agricultural Jihad of Dehloran County. To check the validity of the mentioned data, an interview was conducted with the farmers of Dehloran County. The results of the interview confirmed the validity of the data. According to the data obtained from the water resources affairs of Dehloran County, the irrigation efficiency is equal to 85%, which was used to estimate the gross irrigation requirement. Crop per drop (CPD), benefit per drop (BPD), net benefit per drop (NBPD), and unit virtual water value (UWV) indicators were used to estimate the physical and economic water productivity of crops. Results and Discussion The results showed that the virtual water content of wheat, barley, rapeseed, maize, watermelon, melon, sesame, tomato, cucumber, and carrot crops is equal to 1.82, 1.64, 3.90, 1.49, 0.31, 0.29, 6.99, 0.49, 0.30, and 0.35 m3 kg-1, respectively. The amount of physical water productivity (CPD index) of wheat, barley, rapeseed, maize, watermelon, melon, sesame, tomato, cucumber, and carrot products is equal to 1.53, 2.04, 0.63, 0.81, 4.17, 5.45, 0.22, 2.59, 5.45, and 3.94 kg m-3, respectively. The amount of BPD index of wheat, barley, rapeseed, maize, watermelon, melon, sesame, tomato, cucumber, and carrot crops is equal to 0.17, 0.19, 0.14, 0.09, 0.13, 0.16, 0.10, 0.09, 0.19, and 0.12 million rials m-3, respectively. The amount of NBPD index of wheat, barley, rapeseed, maize, watermelon, melon, sesame, tomato, cucumber, and carrot crops is equal to 0.06, 0.09, 0.04, 0.06, 0.07, 0.05, 0.10,0.04, 0.11, and 0.07 million rials m-3, respectively. The amount of UWV index of wheat, barley, rapeseed, maize, watermelon, melon, sesame, tomato, cucumber, and carrot crops is equal to 0.06, 0.06, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10, 0.10, 0.06, 0.07, 0.12, and 0.09 rials m-3, respectively. According to the CPD index, cucumber, melon, watermelon, carrot, and tomato crops are respectively placed in the first to fourth priorities for cultivation. According to the BPD index, cucumber, barley, wheat, melon, and rapeseed crops are placed in the first to fourth priorities for cultivation. According to the NBPD index, cucumber, sesame, barley, watermelon, and carrot crops are placed in the first to fourth priorities for cultivation. According to the UWV index, cucumber, melon, watermelon, carrot, and maize crops are placed in the first to fourth priorities for cultivation. Conclusion Examining the amount of CPD, BPD, NBPD, and UWV indicators of the studied crops shows that cucumber has the highest physical and economic water productivity compared to other studied crops and its cultivation in Dehloran County reduces water consumption and implies high economic benefits for farmers. Melon has the lowest virtual water content and the highest physical water productivity compared to other studied crops. However, the high cost of melon production has caused this crop to not have high water economic productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt supportive policies from the government to reduce production costs and increase the relative advantage of this crop. Sesame has the lowest yield and the highest virtual water content compared to other studied crops. Sesame is placed in the last priority of cultivation based on the CPD index. However, the low cost of production and high income of sesame has caused this crop to be the second priority for cultivation based on the NBPD index. The high NBPD index of sesame necessitates the need to focus on indicators that are effective in increasing the yield of sesame. Rapeseed has the second rank in terms of low yield and high virtual water content among the studied crops. Rapeseed has been placed in the eighth priority for cultivation based on the CPD index. In addition, according to the NBPD index, rapeseed has been placed in the last priority of cultivation compared to other studied crops. Therefore, it is recommended to remove this crop from the cultivation pattern of Dehloran County and replace it by planting crops with high economic productivity and low water requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify and investigate from a national perspective the variety of factors that could influence the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal with focus of goal 8.2 on economic productivity, the aim of this study is to empirically examine the impact of foreign direct investment and the development of information and communication technology on Lesotho's economic productivity. Approach: In this study, the stationary analysis is performed by using Phillips-Perron and Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root tests, Johansen cointegration technique, and vector error correction method for short-run dynamics and causality relationship determination among the studied variables and their respective relative impact on economic productivity in the long-term period. Time series data for the period 1990 to 2021 was utilized to achieve the objectives of this study. Results: Results from the analysis suggest that FDI increases economic productivity in Lesotho, whereas ICT reduces. Implication: The result underscores the importance of creating an attractive investment climate and implementing policies to encourage foreign investors. It also suggests a need for re-evaluation of ICT investment strategies and policy interventions tailored to Lesotho's economic landscape. Addressing underlying structural issues or inefficiencies in ICT utilization may require targeted interventions such as enhancing digital literacy, improving technology infrastructure, or fostering a conducive business environment for ICT adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the model fit of individual cognitive empowerment, which includes psychological and environmental factors, and investigates the direct effect of environmental empowerment specifically work methods, work criteria, and work schedules on in-role performance in Malaysia’s Electrical and Electronic (E&E) manufacturing firms. Data were obtained from 173 engineers and 173 managers, matched in pairs, who have worked together for at least 1 year in 73 E&E manufacturing firms. The study found that the model fit of psychological and environmental factors is stronger for individual cognitive empowerment. Work methods show a positive direct effect on in-role performance. However, work schedules and work criteria do not appear to have a direct effect on in-role performance. This study highlights the importance of considering work methods in the engagement between engineer and manager pairs in the E&E manufacturing sector to enhance in-role performance.

IntroductionIrrigation efficiency is one of the most important key indicators in the macro-planning of water supply, allocation, and basic water consumption in various sectors such as industry, drinking, environment, and other biological resources, especially agriculture. In many countries such as Iran, irrigated agriculture is the main factor in food production and irrigation has played a key role in increasing the production of agricultural products in the last 50 years. One of the biggest problems for wheat production is the need for more water resources. Therefore, the necessity of optimal use of available and extractable water resources and increasing water consumption efficiency is inevitable. Experiments and experiences of the last half century in the science and technology of irrigation have shown that the effect of various inputs such as modified seeds, chemical fertilizers, appropriate planting operations, and harvesting has a positive and appropriate effect on plant growth. Irrigation management, which includes a set of actions that provide water in a certain amount and at the required time to the plant, must be done in a good way. Materials and MethodsThe current study has targeted the main areas of wheat production in Iran. Due to its high nutritional value and strategic importance, wheat is cultivated in almost all areas of the country. According to the Pareto principle, the areas where 80% of wheat cultivation and production (irrigated and rainfed) are carried out are the main wheat production areas. Since in Iran, the statistics of the agricultural situation are mainly presented based on political divisions, therefore, the major regions will be the set of provinces in which the above hypothesis is true. Accordingly, 13 provinces of Golestan, Kermanshah, West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Hamedan, Ardabil, Lorestan, Central, Khuzestan, Fars, Razavi Khorasan, Kurdistan, and Zanjan have been identified as the main wheat production areas in Iran and in this study also, the main focus was on these areas. Since the vast country of Iran has a diverse climate, to ensure that all the country's climate groups are represented in the selected regions, an adaptation of these regions to the country's climate groups was also done. Results and DiscussionThe comprehensive analysis indicated that the area proposed for implementing the drip irrigation system (tape) in 2020-2021 was equal to 75,000 ha, of which 53,523 ha (71.4%) belong to the 13 main producing provinces or the main wheat production areas. Also, the results showed that the reduction of agricultural water consumption with the development of a drip irrigation system in the main wheat production areas leads to a reduction of 134.1 million m3 of agricultural water. The implementation cost of this solution based on the average implementation of each ha of drip irrigation system is 400 million Rials in the year 2021, equal to 21409 billion Rials. Among the limitations of wheat irrigation with the tape method, we can point out the spreading and distribution of tapes in the field, which is time-consuming, but with the introduction of sowing and distribution devices, this problem will be solved. At the beginning stage, care should be taken not to tear the tapes during the spraying and fertilizing stage. In the harvesting phase, before harvesting the crop, tapes should be collected from the field. In the whole system, strip drip irrigation (type) can be used for dense and row crops such as all kinds of vegetables, summer crops, corn, wheat, fodder, watermelon, melon, tomato, onion, potato, strawberry, sunflower, sugar beet, and cotton. ConclusionOne of the pressurized irrigation methods that have been developed for wheat cultivation in recent years is the drip (tape) irrigation system, most of the research and field investigations in Iran have confirmed the high efficiency of this method in increasing wheat water productivity. As a result, using the modern irrigation system as a management tool can lead to the improvement of wheat water productivity in Iran. The main problem in this system is the high cost and low knowledge of the farmer. We can also mention the weak points of increasing the cost of constructing the irrigation system, the problems of collecting strips for the next crop, and the accumulation of salt in areas with salty water. Among the strengths, we can mention easier irrigation management, less labor, increased yield, reduced water consumption, increased productivity, and most importantly, increased cultivated area with the same amount of water. Another advantage is the use of the water-fertilizer system, which will be very precise, the operation of fertilizing and irrigation will be done for cultivated crops.

Polycentric urban regions have been advocated for, and justified as enhancing both economic growth and overall competitiveness while also creating more equitable and balanced metropolitan regions. We examine the role of regional polycentricity in effectuating certain desirable outcomes, specifically enhancing economic productivity and minimizing spatial disparities simultaneously in German urban regions (Großstadtregionen) as a case study. Using econometric analysis of both functional and morphological polycentricity measures, our results indicate that polycentric development can effectively reduce regional disparities in urban regions, but not simultaneously promote economic productivity. These findings confirm previous studies that progress toward one goal hampers progress toward another. Further investigation at a finer scale suggests that the borrowed size effect is essentially a "win-loss" game between peripheries and urban core(s) within the same urban region. Peripheries benefit from the spillovers generated by nearby urban core(s), thereby narrowing regional economic gaps and leading to more equitable regions. However, the gains of the peripheries are canceled out by the losses of the urban cores, and polycentric development has an insignificant overall effect on regional economic productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Irrigation efficiency is one of the most important key indicators in the macro-planning of water supply, allocation, and basic water consumption in various sectors such as industry, drinking, environment, and other biological resources, especially agriculture. In many countries such as Iran, irrigated agriculture is the main factor in food production and irrigation has played a key role in increasing the production of agricultural products in the last 50 years. One of the biggest problems for wheat production is the need for more water resources. Therefore, the necessity of optimal use of available and extractable water resources and increasing water consumption efficiency is inevitable. Experiments and experiences of the last half century in the science and technology of irrigation have shown that the effect of various inputs such as modified seeds, chemical fertilizers, appropriate planting operations, and harvesting has a positive and appropriate effect on plant growth. Irrigation management, which includes a set of actions that provide water in a certain amount and at the required time to the plant, must be done in a good way. Materials and Methods The current study has targeted the main areas of wheat production in Iran. Due to its high nutritional value and strategic importance, wheat is cultivated in almost all areas of the country. According to the Pareto principle, the areas where 80% of wheat cultivation and production (irrigated and rainfed) are carried out are the main wheat production areas. Since in Iran, the statistics of the agricultural situation are mainly presented based on political divisions, therefore, the major regions will be the set of provinces in which the above hypothesis is true. Accordingly, 13 provinces of Golestan, Kermanshah, West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Hamedan, Ardabil, Lorestan, Central, Khuzestan, Fars, Razavi Khorasan, Kurdistan, and Zanjan have been identified as the main wheat production areas in Iran and in this study also, the main focus was on these areas. Since the vast country of Iran has a diverse climate, to ensure that all the country's climate groups are represented in the selected regions, an adaptation of these regions to the country's climate groups was also done. Results and Discussion The comprehensive analysis indicated that the area proposed for implementing the drip irrigation system (tape) in 2020-2021 was equal to 75,000 ha, of which 53,523 ha (71.4%) belong to the 13 main producing provinces or the main wheat production areas. Also, the results showed that the reduction of agricultural water consumption with the development of a drip irrigation system in the main wheat production areas leads to a reduction of 134.1 million m3 of agricultural water. The implementation cost of this solution based on the average implementation of each ha of drip irrigation system is 400 million Rials in the year 2021, equal to 21409 billion Rials. Among the limitations of wheat irrigation with the tape method, we can point out the spreading and distribution of tapes in the field, which is time-consuming, but with the introduction of sowing and distribution devices, this problem will be solved. At the beginning stage, care should be taken not to tear the tapes during the spraying and fertilizing stage. In the harvesting phase, before harvesting the crop, tapes should be collected from the field. In the whole system, strip drip irrigation (type) can be used for dense and row crops such as all kinds of vegetables, summer crops, corn, wheat, fodder, watermelon, melon, tomato, onion, potato, strawberry, sunflower, sugar beet, and cotton. Conclusion One of the pressurized irrigation methods that have been developed for wheat cultivation in recent years is the drip (tape) irrigation system, most of the research and field investigations in Iran have confirmed the high efficiency of this method in increasing wheat water productivity. As a result, using the modern irrigation system as a management tool can lead to the improvement of wheat water productivity in Iran. The main problem in this system is the high cost and low knowledge of the farmer. We can also mention the weak points of increasing the cost of constructing the irrigation system, the problems of collecting strips for the next crop, and the accumulation of salt in areas with salty water. Among the strengths, we can mention easier irrigation management, less labor, increased yield, reduced water consumption, increased productivity, and most importantly, increased cultivated area with the same amount of water. Another advantage is the use of the water-fertilizer system, which will be very precise, the operation of fertilizing and irrigation will be done for cultivated crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The family, as a social institution, plays a key role in institutionalizing, accepting, and promoting the culture of productivity. Since the roots of productivity lie in the literature of economics and management, it has failed to establish conceptual links with the institution of “family.” Therefore, there is a need to clarify the concept of “family productivity” within the realm of family. This research aims to extract a model by delineating the components, dimensions, and different layers of the conceptual productivity of the family. Method: Thematic Analysis with a focus on the “economic productivity” domain has been conducted through library studies and interviews with experts in the field. Findings: According to the conceptual model, the family has inputs that, within its framework of actions and decision-making, transform into various economic and social outputs in the family and society. However, every decision made by the family has effects and consequences for its economic and social inputs and capital. The analysis of the economic productivity model of the family shows that the culture of productivity carries a meaningful system with it and imposes it on economic behaviors. Thus, desirable economic behaviors are achieved by the combination and fusion of family requirements and the culture of productivity, distinguishing action domains (including work and production, capital and physical assets, government subsidies, credit, loans, essential expenses, welfare and luxury expenses, savings, investment, charitable expenses, intergenerational transfers, religion and borrowing, risk management and insurance, taxation, allocation, and recovery). Discussion: Productive decisions lead to increased levels of input, whereas non-productive decisions result in reduced or wasted resources, and this feedback loop will continue. The elements of the culture of productivity in the family have the potential for repetition and practice and can easily be transmitted through the family. Individuals can determine the level of productivity in their own micro and macro decisions and even witness the consequences of their choices. Moreover, the analysis of behaviors showed that the three pillars of need, capability, and belief are indeed the same levers of intervention in deter- mining the level of economic productivity in the family, leading to the diversity of economic lifestyles of families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) 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.)

Background and Objectives: Energy is a limiting factor for agricultural sustainability due to costs and supply security. Agriculture section as one of the world's major food suppliers, has faced challenges in recent times due to increased energy consumption trends. This rise in energy consumption has led to increased production costs, negative impacts on food security, and environmental concerns. Therefore, achieving a balance between energy demand and supply in agricultural systems and assessing their economic performance is essential. With the recognition that soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merril] plays a crucial role in ensuring food security. A study was conducted in 2019 to analyze the energy flow and economic costs of soybean production at the provincial level in Mazandaran, Iran. Materials and Methods: To assess the economic efficiency and energy consumption pattern in soybean farms, data were collected through direct interviews with 301 soybean farmers. The inputs used for estimating energy efficiency per hectare of soybean cultivation included fossil fuels, machinery, human labor, seeds, irrigation water, electricity, fertilizers, and chemical pesticides. The produced soybean grain was also considered as an output energy source. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) methodology was employed to evaluate the economic efficiency of soybean production; for this purpose, the farm gate was defined as the system boundary, and one hectare of soybean farm was taken as the base unit for all analyses. The social costs of emissions, in addition to the fixed and variable production costs that are addressed in most studies, were evaluated and analyzed. In the current study, the social costs of pollutant emissions in soybean production agroecosystems were considered from two aspects: (1) emissions on the farm and (2) pollutants generated from electricity generation. These costs were estimated using the standard coefficients established in previous research. Results: Based on the results, diesel fuel, nitrogen chemical fertilizers, and consumed seeds had the highest shares of total input energy in soybean production with 47.90%, 19.61%, and 13.53% respectively. The average energy productivity for soybean production in Mazandaran province was calculated to be 0.16 kg MJ-1. From this point of view, Galugah county was the best with 0.25 kg MJ-1, while Amol was the worst with 0.11 kg MJ-1 compared to other cities under investigation. In terms of the type of consumed energy, the results indicated that the current soybean production in Mazandaran province is not sustainable due to heavy reliance on non-renewable energy resources such as diesel fuel and nitrogen chemical fertilizers. The LCC of soybean production in Mazandaran province, including variable, fixed, and social costs resulting from emissions, was estimated to be an average of $327.90 per hectare. Among these costs, variable costs accounted for the highest share in soybean production in the region with $299.52 per hectare (approximately 91%). The average wage paid to owners of agricultural machinery and equipment was $141.85 per hectare (equivalent to 47.36%), and the average wage for human labor was $85.77 per hectare (equivalent to 28.64%). These two factors were the first and second most significant contributors to production costs for the soybean crop, respectively. Together, they accounted for approximately 69% of the total production cost (LCC). Carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for 41.16% (mainly due to diesel fuel combustion and urea fertilizer consumption on the farm), constituted a significant portion of the social cost resulting from emissions (at $7.38 per ton). Conclusion: In general, the results of the survey of 301 farms indicated that soybean production in Mazandaran province, with an average energy efficiency of 2.43, is economically justifiable in terms of energy balance and constitutes a profitable agricultural product in the region, with a profit-to-cost ratio of 1.86. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a literature review on the topic of organizational performance. The study conceptualizes the overall performance of the organization as comprising of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). While there are numerous research studies on OCB, not many have focused on how OCB and CWB affect organizational performance simultaneously. The paper provides an explanation of the OCB and CWB concepts, followed by the primary research and focus of the study. The article presents a comprehensive framework for understanding the meanings of OCB and CWB, along with an internal hierarchy. This framework will serve as a beneficial resource for working managers, academics, and researchers, who seek to optimize economic productivity through improved understanding and management of OCB and CWB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies on developing countries have investigated the alignment of research output to a country's development agenda and economic productivity. Using evidence from Kenya, this study sought to empirically determine whether the country's research output is aligned to its development agenda in the first instance and to establish the output's relationship to economic productivity. Journal publications were used to measure research output. From the analysis, 86% of the publications fell within one or more of the national development priority areas, though 60% were in only 6 of the 35 areas. Several areas had no publications at all during the period under investigation. Furthermore, excluding the health and education sectors, a strong positive relationship was established between the number of publications in different priority areas and those areas' contribution to Gross Domestic Product. The Government, therefore, needs to avail research funding to research institutions, which, in turn, need to focus their research effort on all identified national development priority areas if Kenya's development aspirations are to be achieved and the desired economic growth attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) 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.)

Optimization of crop production inputs to reduce energy input and greenhouse gases emissions with maximizing economic productivity is needed to develop sustainable agriculture under groundwater-based irrigation conditions. This paper examined the effects of irrigated wheat tillage practices on energy indices, greenhouse gases emissions, and economic indices. Research treatments were conventional tillage and no-tillage (environment-friendly) systems in semi-arid environments. This study was conducted in wheat farms under groundwater-based irrigation, and data were monitored and collected for two years between 2012–2013 and 2013–2014. The results indicated that no-tillage practice had lower energy input (13%, 21.12 vs. 24.34 GJ ha−1), energy output (18%, 83.01 vs. 101.11 GJ ha−1), and energy use efficiency (7%), but higher energy productivity (19%) and indirect energy (9%) than conventional tillage practice. Moreover, no-tillage practice produced lower emissions of CO2 (24%, 830.28 vs. 1096.40 kg ha−1) and total global warming potential (GWP) (14%, 1830.03 vs. 2120.43 kg CO2-equivalents ha−1) than conventional tillage practice. In comparison, 53.9% of GWP originated from N2O and 45.4% from CO2. Inputs of electricity, diesel fuel, machinery, and nitrogen fertilizer had 95% contributions in emission from farms. Economically, no-tillage practice had higher productivity (3%, 7.06 vs. 6.86 kg US$−1) but lower net return (18%, 1076.52 vs. 1313.48 US$ ha−1) and benefit to cost ratio (14%, 3.10 vs. 3.61) than conventional tillage practice. However, producing wheat in this agroecosystem is profitable and beneficial under both tillage systems. It was concluded that the promising technique of the no-tillage under groundwater-based irrigation conditions significantly facilitated a cleaner production of wheat through managing energy with controlling greenhouse gases emissions in a semi-arid environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Agriculture has played a vital role in the economy, life, and culture in the civil history of Iranians. In recent years, this sector is the largest consumer of freshwater resources in this country. One of the adaptive ways to deal with the water shortage is the optimal use of water. In the production process of a commodity, different sources of water may be used, and the type of water supply source can play a significant role in the analysis of virtual water trade. In the period of 2016-2018, previous research covered by the Moghan irrigation network has been conducted in the field of physical and economic water productivity indicators estimation of crops. Moreover, in previous studies, only benefit per drop (BPD) and net benefit per drop (NBPD) indices have been used to estimate the economic productivity of agricultural water. Therefore, in this research, the agricultural year 2020-2021 was studied in order to investigate the physical and economical water productivity indicators of crops covered by the Moghan irrigation network. Materials and Methods The Moghan Plain is located in the northwestern part of Iran, on the west side of the Caspian Sea, and north of Ardabil province, on the border between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The total area of the Moghan watershed is more than 5545 km2. The altitude of the region is 50 to 600 m above sea level and its climate is semi-arid and moderate. Most of the agricultural farm covered by Moghan's irrigation and drainage network is devoted to cultivating crops such as wheat, barley, seed corn, fodder corn, soybean, rapeseed, rice, tomato, cotton, sugar beet, and peanut. In this research, these products' virtual water content and physical and economic water productivity are investigated. In this research, to complete the previous studies in the aforementioned field, the virtual water content of the studied products has also been investigated. In addition to the BPD and NBPD, the unit virtual water value (UWV) has been studied to further investigate the Moghan irrigation network economic efficiency of water crops. Results and Discussion The content of gray, blue, green, and white virtual water of the studied crops, sugar beet, tomato, and fodder corn, have the lowest content of gray virtual water among crops. Among the studied crops, fodder corn, tomato, and sugar beet products, respectively, have the highest physical water productivity, and rice, soybean, cotton, and peanut respectively have the lowest physical water productivity. Regarding gross value index per unit of irrigation volume among the studied crops tomatoes, peanuts, fodder corn, barley, and wheat, respectively have the; highest, moreover peanut, tomato, cotton, fodder corn, and sugar beet products, respectively, have the highest net value index per unit of irrigation volume among the studied crops, however, barley, wheat, rice, and grain corn, respectively, have the lowest net value index per unit of irrigation volume among the studied crops. In addition, tomatoes, peanuts, fodder corn, wheat, and barley have the highest index of value per virtual water unit among the studied crops, respectively, while rice has the lowest value index per virtual water unit among the studied crops. According to the BPD index, tomatoes, peanuts, fodder corn, barley, and wheat are the first to fifth priorities for cultivation in the Moghan Plain. The first to fifth priorities for cultivation in the Moghan plain according to the NBPD index are peanuts, tomatoes, cotton, fodder corn, and sugar beet, and based on the UWV index, tomatoes, peanuts, fodder corn, wheat, and barley are the first to fifth priorities. Conclusion In the current research, the content of virtual water and the amount of physical and economic water productivity of crops covered by the Moghan irrigation network were calculated. The crop per drop (CPD) index of rice shows the last level in the crop year 2020-2021 due to the amount of water consumed and the significant cost. Also, in the analysis of the BPD and NBPD index, this product has the lowest and ninth priority, respectively, and in the current water shortage conditions in the Moghan Plain, there is a need to review the cultivation of this product. Tomatoes and fodder corn have good productivity in all three indices of CPD, BPD, and NBPD in the crop year 2020-2021. In fact, while tomato does not have a low water requirement, measuring the performance of this product shows the high net and gross profit obtained according to the cost of planting and harvesting. The amount of UWV index of wheat, rapeseed, soybean, rice, fodder corn, seed corn, tomato, barley, sugar beet, cotton, and peanut products is 24269, 15644, 18894, 9956, 36279, 17362, 50073, 23010, 21748, 19403, and 45718 rials per m3, respectively. The proposed approaches and models of this research are different depending on whether the index of physical productivity or economic productivity of water is considered in planning and policy-making.

In recent decades, the growth of energy consumption and environmental pollution has increased significantly. The purpose of this study is to provide a suitable solution for energy, economic and environmental analysis in grape and olive production. The energy output of grapes in traditional and semi-mechanized production was 253110 MJ ha−1 and 284380 MJ ha−1, respectively. Also, olive energy output in traditional and semi-mechanized production was 56286 MJ ha−1 and 83780 MJ ha−1, respectively. Nitrogen consumption in both production methods also has the largest share of energy among the total energy of inputs with about 32 to 47%. The energy use efficiency of semi-mechanized grape production, traditional grape production, semi-mechanized olive production and traditional olive production were reported as 11.26, 9.66, 3.11 and 1.63, respectively. In economic results, the semi-mechanized grape production had a high profit to cost ratio (5.83) and productivity (38.88 kg $−1). The results of life cycle assessment of the two studied products showed that the highest value of aquatic eutrophication is related to the traditional production of olives (1051724.94 kg PO4- P limited) and the lowest value of this effect is related to the semi-mechanized production of grapes (106102.43 kg PO4- P limited). The values of global warming (865.01, 416.56, 143.23 and 122.17) kg CO2eq are related to traditional olive production, semi-mechanized olive production, traditional grape production and semi-mechanized grape cultivation, respectively. The most contaminants in the traditional method of olive (8688.52 PDF*m2*yr) and semi-mechanized olive (3869.91 MJ primary) were related to ecosystem quality and resources, respectively. The emissions of electricity, diesel fuel and machinery were higher in semi-mechanized production than in traditional production. According to results of energy, economic and environmental impacts semi-mechanized cultivation in two crops is better than traditional cultivation.

This study was undertaken to determine the impact of the Rural Financial Institution Building Program (RUFIN) on the productivity of women-owned farms and non-farm enterprises in Northern Nigeria. The study utilized primary data collected through a questionnaire administered to 390 beneficiaries and an equal number of non-beneficiaries selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure. The productivity of women-owned enterprises was determined using Total Factor Productivity (TFP), which was measured as a ratio of the total annual output of the enterprise to the product of capital input, labor input, and total material input. The propensity score matching approach was used to analyze data because of its aptness for overcoming selection bias in an intervention project like RUFIN. Four matching algorithms were tried, which include Nearest Neighbour Matching, Radius Matching, Epanechnikov Kernel Matching, and Stratification methods. Results showed the treatment (RUFIN) had a significant effect on the productivity of women-owned enterprises at 1% probability level, irrespective of the matching method. For the selected stratification matching method, the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) was 1.673, indicating participation in RUFIN increases the enterprise productivity of a given beneficiary by 1.673. The study concludes that RUFIN had positive impacts on the productivity of beneficiaries. It is recommended that institutionalized development programs that mirror the design and implementation approach of Rural Financial Institution Building Program (RUFIN) should be promoted across national and sub-national governments of Nigeria as a means of scaling the productivity of rural entrepreneurs and harnessing other benefits that accompany rural financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new comprehensive water, energy, food, greenhouse gas (WEFG) nexus index was developed to capture the interrelationships between them. A total of 11 indicators were applied to consider the interplay of resources consumption, productivity, economic issues, and carbon emission as one of the most critical issues regarding sustainable agricultural development. The proposed WEFG index was evaluated for crop pattern optimization. The results showed that the WEFG ranged from 0.162 to 0.658, which were calculated respectively for almonds and rice due to their energy consumption and carbon emission levels. The optimal cultivation pattern based on WEFG leads to 11% and 15.8% reductions in water and energy consumption, even with a 2.3% increase in cultivation area. The estimated profit for optimal pattern based on WEFG decreased by 13.67% due to lower cultivation levels of high‐yield crops such as onion and potatoes. However, the optimal cultivation pattern based on the WEFG index has decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 2%, leading to sustainable agricultural management. Therefore, the presented WEFG nexus index can be a practical metric for sustainable planning and management in the agriculture sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though the average employee spends a third of their day inside an office, designing a productive workspace can be challenging for designers. However, lighting design is a critical factor for the wellbeing of the employee. With the increasing number of local and international companies opening in Saudi Arabia, it is important to study the effect of natural and artificial lighting on the productivity of employees in the office environment. It is essential to consider that employee productivity leads to economic productivity. A questionnaire was shared with the employees of the head office of Ensan Charity for Orphans Care to collect data on the preferences of staff on the current lighting design in their offices. Office design is one of the most important aspects in need of special attention, since employees spend more than eight hours daily at their offices. Lighting design is one of the key aspects of office design that has a direct impact on employees' satisfaction and productivity. The aim of this study was to discover employees' preferences for office design in Saudi Arabia. The collected data are analyzed to uncover employee preferences as well as to predict two key design aspects using machine-learning techniques. The two design aspects of concern are direct sunlight in the office environment and manual control of light intensity. This research aimed to help improve the design of the office environment according to employees' preferences and international standards through investigating sustainable lighting design elements. A further challenge to be overcome was the need for further data collection as it relates to the two design aspects mentioned above. This paper demonstrates relatively high prediction accuracies of the mentioned design considerations using a variety of machine-learning algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of mild steel corrosion during the acid cleaning process can be reduced by using an aqueous extract of Euphorbia prostrata plant. The efficiency of Euphorbia prostrata plant extract for corrosion inhibition was explored by applying weight loss analysis, SEM, potentiodynamic polarization measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and DFT studies on mild steel corrosion in 1 M H2SO4. This extract contains β-sitosterol, Campesterol, Stigmasterol, Cholesterol, Apigenin, Luteolin, Apigenin-7-glucoside, Luteolin-7-glucoside, Gallic acid, and Ellagic acid. The availability of multiple bonds and heteroatoms in the phytochemicals of this extract are primarily responsible for its anticorrosive properties. The plant extract solution has a higher ∆Ha in the presence of an inhibitor (47.67 kJ/mol) than in the absence of an inhibitor (8.59 kJ/mol) suggesting that the metal is better protected. Furthermore, from quantum chemical studies, we compared the effectiveness of the phytochemicals present in the extract. At 1500 mg/L, the maximal inhibition efficiency of 96.23% in 1 M H2SO4 solution was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study assessment of energy use, economic productivity and environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) for different production of fish systems in Alborz province. Productivity indicators and the provision of necessary solutions in order to improve the values of energy and economic indices in fish breeding ponds have been implemented. For this purpose, information related to the two fish systems sites was collected by a questionnaire and direct reference to the site owners and administrators and reference to the records. Then, the amount of energy input and output of cold-water and hot-water fish was calculated. The results showed energy ratio (ER) (2.24), energy productivity (EP) (0.04 kg MJ−1), energy intensity (EI) (26.83 MJ kg−1) and net energy gain (NEG) (33222.16 MJ kg−1) of cold-water fish were reported to be more favorable. According to these results, among energy use inputs, fish feed and electricity are two factors that proper management of their consumption increases energy efficiency. The results of economic analysis showed the benefit-to-cost ratio was positive for cold-water fish (1.54) and hot-water fish (2.45). Productivity for cold-water and hot-water fish was 0.58 Kg $−1 and 0.52 Kg $−1, respectively. LCA results showed that damage assessment of human health, ecosystem quality and resources for cold-Water and hot-water fish production are (0.00041 and 0.00045) DALY, (4.04E-08 and 4.61E-08) species.yr and (0.076 and 0.087) USD2013, respectively. The results of cumulative exergy demand (CExD) also indicated that the energy form of non-renewable, fossil is significant for both types of fish.

Introduction: Management of irrigation water resources in the agricultural sector, as the most important renewable but limited resource, has been the most important challenge of the current century and has resulted in major concerns around the world. Therefore, the aim of this study was to optimal management and allocation irrigation water under different inflow scenarios with emphasis on water economic productivity. In this regard, multi-stage stochastic programming model with interval parameters for optimal water distribution in different growing seasons and under uncertainty has been used. Materials and Methods: for this purpos, first hydrometric data were obtained from Marun Network Station during 2006-2016. Then based the produced discharge data, the probability of occurrence inflow intensity of low, moderate and high is defined and the optimization model has been developed for water allocation and distribution between different growing seasons. Findings: The results showed that the average economic productivity index in the networks for both lower and upper bounds of the optimization model is 19 and 16 percent respectively higher than the current level in the current management, while water consumption management in the lower and upper bounds of the optimization model is better than the current management due to 34% and 3 % reduction in water consumption. Conclusion: Applying optimizing model for allocating water resources as for betterment of water consumption management and enhancing economic water productivity that is attained from running theses models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector in the world is facing social expectations to improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impacts, and at the same producing enough food and fiber for the growing world population. The purpose of the present research is to determine the economic, energy consumption, and environmental impacts in coriander seed production using material flow cost accounting approach along with life cycle assessment. The positive output and negative energy were 25,485 and 6742 MJ ha−1, respectively. Energy efficiency, net energy gain, specific energy, and energy productivity indicators were calculated as 0.6, − 11,944 MJ ha−1, 17.4 MJ kg−1, and 0.06 kg MJ−1, respectively. The average production cost was calculated as 588 $ ha−1 whereas gross income was 1267 $ ha−1. The value of negative products in coriander production was estimated as 239 $ ha−1. Seed shedding at harvest and water loss due to inefficient irrigation system were found to be the major negative products (economic and energy) in the system that can enhance the system productivity upon improvement. The values of benefit costs ratio and economic productivity were 1.74 and 3 kg $−1, respectively. The acidification potential (102.5 kg SO2 eq ha−1), global warming potential (897.3 kg CO2 eq ha−1), photochemical oxidation potential (0.13 kg C2H4 eq ha−1), and eutrophication potential (40.3 kg PO4−3 eq ha−1) indicators were evaluated. The hotspots in point of economic (labor and seed shedding), energy use (nitrogen fertilizer and machinery) and energy loss (seed shedding), and environment (diesel fuel consumption) were determined which can be used to optimize coriander production through decreasing the material and energy consumption in the field. The results showed that MFCA combined with LCA is a powerful tool in identifying hotspots in crop production systems and can be used in developing more sustainable systems as well as in developing sustainability models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge about the beginning and intermediate stages of production and the end of the business process is the only way to develop a modern competitive business in the market. To stay afloat, companies need to constantly evolve and maintain a high level of efficiency in the working business process and introduce innovative methods to improve the quality of activities and efficiency. Business development is impossible without receiving various support from the state. Each country should understand how decisions on freedoms and restrictions in doing business will affect the economy and business. The purpose of the study is to review the tools for determining the efficiency of business processes and improving the activity of socio-economic objects where these business processes are implemented, as well as find the levels of efficiency of a group of countries in the world and provide recommendations for achieving a potentially possible marginal level of efficiency. The meaningful essence of such concepts as business process, innovativeness, and innovative activity was determined, and the advantages of the implementation of innovative methods were revealed. Process documentation is described in detail, and methodological recommendations for using tools for improving existing business processes are developed. To understand the levels of efficiency at all stages of the process execution, possible ways of measuring efficiency are described. The value of the efficiency of the countries relative to the efficiency benchmark was obtained using the CCR and BCC analysis methods. Using the Frontier Analyst Application software analysis package, a list of recommendations for achieving benchmark performance has been created. The use of the above methods for measuring the effectiveness of the process and the presented methodology for creating a description of the business process makes it possible to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the existing business processes. Each such growth of small and medium-sized businesses as a whole provides an impetus to the development of the national economy of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the performance of practical alternatives in modernization projects of water distribution in irrigation networks based on the water-food-energy nexus using the AHP-Entropy-WASPAS technique. Three methods of improved manual operation, decentralized automatic operation, and centralized automatic operation were developed under normal and water shortage operation scenarios and modeling the current status of water distribution in the main canal of the Rudasht irrigation network as a case study. Water-based, energy-based and food-based indicators were used to develop the nexus evaluation framework. The results showed that the average values of the water-food-energy nexus index in the manual operation method were estimated at 0.49 and 0.16 under normal and water shortage operation scenarios, respectively. These average values were estimated at 0.53 and 0.17 under normal and water shortage operation scenarios, respectively, by improving the method to the improved manual operation method. The decentralized automatic operation method improved these average values to 0.82 and 0.39 under normal and water shortage operation scenarios. Finally, using the centralized automatic operation method, these average values were 0.94 and 0.35 under normal and water shortage operation scenarios. Since the downstream secondary off-takes of the irrigation network receive no water even by upgrading the surface water distribution system to the decentralized automatic operation method under the water shortage operation scenario, it can be said that the performance of the centralized automatic operation method is more efficient than the decentralized automatic operation method due to the fair and uniform distribution of water in both normal and water shortage scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shortage of water drives efforts to increase water use efficiency in agriculture. However, identification of hot-spots of water use inefficiency in agriculture is hindered by difficulty of monitoring the large number of factors that influence water use for irrigation. The goal of this study was to assess interrelations between crop type and topo-climate on water use, water use efficiency, and economic productivity, on a country and regional scales. We hypothesized that water use efficiency of plantation crops across topo-climatic regions do not match crop prevalence in each region. High-resolution datasets related to crop distribution, regional irrigation recommendation, and local multiyear reference evapotranspiration were integrated for the analysis of water demand (m3/ha), blue water footprint (m3/ton) and economic land (USD/ha) and water (USD/m3) productivity, across geographical regions throughout Israel. The results demonstrate a large variability in all indices across crops and regions, reflecting variability in water demand for individual crops, due to effects of topo-climatic conditions on reference evapotranspiration. Water footprint and water demand ranged ~ 90- 3,740 m3/ton and ~ 3,800- 23,500 m3/ha respectively, between crops. Large differences were identified between the highest and lowest water footprint amongst cultivation regions for some crops, such as avocado and almond, with a considerable portion of the cultivation area located in regions with the highest water footprint. This highlights the need to direct cultivation of crops to regions with relative low water footprint, to help reduce water use and increase water use efficiency. The results shown are a product of an interactive translational platform that facilitates access to an integrated high-resolution agricultural dataset via a user-friendly interactive Agri-Atlas, providing a comparative analysis of the agricultural and water footprints of different regions and crops in Israel. While the translational platform currently uses local data for Israel, it can be adapted for any country or region where agricultural data is collected, to support data-based studies and policies to help increase agricultural water use efficiency, in face of the growing demand for food and diminishing water supplies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Today, agricultural resource management is a fundamental task for managers and planners due to the need to address the challenging issues between the supply and demand sectors. Accordingly, many researchers have emphasized that water, food, and energy in the world are experiencing significant stress and scarcity, and demand for these resources will increase significantly in the coming decades. The main purpose of this study is to provide a method for decision-makers in analyzing the link between water, energy, and food in the crop production system at the regional level and to perform a quantitative evaluation of it, which can be used to create a suitable and optimal cultivation pattern with pay attention to the available resources of the area. Material and methods: The present study was conducted to evaluate the water-food-energy relations of agricultural products in Dehgolan County. The required data were collected through face-to-face interviews with farmers and agricultural jihad statistics. The method of this paper was based on six indicators of water and energy consumption, mass productivity of water and energy, and economic productivity of water and energy. Based on these indicators, a water-food-energy index (WFENI) was calculated for each product. This method was applied to evaluate 7 main crops of wheat, potato, alfalfa, cucumber, barley, carrot, and rapeseed in water farms of Dehgolan County in the years 2019-2020. Results and discussion: The results of data analysis showed that alfalfa and potatoes had the highest water consumption (13131 cubic meters per hectare) and energy (85404 megajoules per hectare), respectively. Barley had the lowest water consumption (4197 cubic meters per hectare) and energy consumption (31394.4 megajoules per hectare). The use of chemical fertilizers had the largest share in the energy sector (except alfalfa). In the alfalfa crop, due to high mechanization operations, machinery had the largest share of energy consumption. Carrot was the most productive in water consumption (7.08 kg/m3) and energy (1.03 kg/mJ). Also, the lowest water and energy efficiency for canola (0.44 kg/m3) and energy (0.06 kg/MJ) were obtained. In the economic index of water and energy productivity, the highest values were obtained for cucumber (92959 Rials per cubic meter) and carrot (13202 Rials per megajoule), respectively. The lowest economic efficiency of water and energy was calculated 1549 Rials per cubic meter for carrots and 10688 Rials per megajoule for canola. This study showed that the WEFNI was calculated 0.86, 0.73, 0.51, 0.41, 4 / 0, 0.3, and 0.26 for carrot, cucumber, potato, wheat, barley, canola, and alfalfa crops, respectively, in Dehgolan city. Carrots received the highest WFENI score (best score) and alfalfa the lowest (worst score). Although potato, which is one of the water crops with a high level of cultivation in the region, had high water and energy consumption, due to its high physical productivity and economic productivity, it obtained the third score of the total index. Conclusion: In this study, agricultural products were compared based on indicators of water and energy consumption, physical productivity of water and energy, and economic productivity of water and energy. Based on these indicators, the water, food, and energy link index were calculated. The results can also be used as an effective tool to determine appropriate strategies for cultivation patterns, management of water and energy resources in the region, and a basis for planning and agricultural policies in the county. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Today, agricultural resource management is a fundamental task for managers and planners due to the need to address the challenging issues between the supply and demand sectors. Accordingly, many researchers have emphasized that water, food, and energy in the world are experiencing significant stress and scarcity, and demand for these resources will increase significantly in the coming decades. The main purpose of this study is to provide a method for decision-makers in analyzing the link between water, energy, and food in the crop production system at the regional level and to perform a quantitative evaluation of it, which can be used to create a suitable and optimal cultivation pattern with pay attention to the available resources of the area. Material and methods: The present study was conducted to evaluate the water-food-energy relations of agricultural products in Dehgolan County. The required data were collected through face-to-face interviews with farmers and agricultural jihad statistics. The method of this paper was based on six indicators of water and energy consumption, mass productivity of water and energy, and economic productivity of water and energy. Based on these indicators, a water-food-energy index (WFENI) was calculated for each product. This method was applied to evaluate 7 main crops of wheat, potato, alfalfa, cucumber, barley, carrot, and rapeseed in water farms of Dehgolan County in the years 2019-2020. Results and discussion: The results of data analysis showed that alfalfa and potatoes had the highest water consumption (13131 cubic meters per hectare) and energy (85404 megajoules per hectare), respectively. Barley had the lowest water consumption (4197 cubic meters per hectare) and energy consumption (31394.4 megajoules per hectare). The use of chemical fertilizers had the largest share in the energy sector (except alfalfa). In the alfalfa crop, due to high mechanization operations, machinery had the largest share of energy consumption. Carrot was the most productive in water consumption (7.08 kg/m3) and energy (1.03 kg/mJ). Also, the lowest water and energy efficiency for canola (0.44 kg/m3) and energy (0.06 kg/MJ) were obtained. In the economic index of water and energy productivity, the highest values were obtained for cucumber (92959 Rials per cubic meter) and carrot (13202 Rials per megajoule), respectively. The lowest economic efficiency of water and energy was calculated 1549 Rials per cubic meter for carrots and 10688 Rials per megajoule for canola. This study showed that the WEFNI was calculated 0.86, 0.73, 0.51, 0.41, 4 / 0, 0.3, and 0.26 for carrot, cucumber, potato, wheat, barley, canola, and alfalfa crops, respectively, in Dehgolan city. Carrots received the highest WFENI score (best score) and alfalfa the lowest (worst score). Although potato, which is one of the water crops with a high level of cultivation in the region, had high water and energy consumption, due to its high physical productivity and economic productivity, it obtained the third score of the total index. Conclusion: In this study, agricultural products were compared based on indicators of water and energy consumption, physical productivity of water and energy, and economic productivity of water and energy. Based on these indicators, the water, food, and energy link index were calculated. The results can also be used as an effective tool to determine appropriate strategies for cultivation patterns, management of water and energy resources in the region, and a basis for planning and agricultural policies in the county. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting water productivity in food production is one of the main issues in different countries of the world, especially in low-water countries like Iran. In the present situation, measurement and analysis of productivity indices of scarce water input in agricultural sector in Iran is of special importance due to the quantitative and qualitative limitation of this valuable material. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to measure and compare the physical and economic productivity of irrigation water use in two traditional and modern irrigation systems for major crops (Wheat, Barley, Rapeseed, Alfalfa and Forage Corn) in Shahriar. In this study, the CPD, BPD and NBPD were used to calculate of agricultural water productivity. According to the results of the study, in both irrigation systems, the priority of crop cultivation to the second rank is based on CPD index Forage Corn and Alfalfa, respectively. Also based on both BPD and NBPD indices in modern irrigation system are Rapeseed and Wheat respectively and in traditional irrigation system Rapeseed and Alfalfa, respectively.

We examine the role of the ICT revolution in driving productivity growth behavior for the United States and an aggregate of ten Western European nations (the EU-10) from 1977 to 2015. We find that the standard growth accounting approach is deficient when it separates sources of growth between ICT capital deepening and TFP growth, because much of the effect of the ICT revolution was channeled through spillovers to TFP growth rather than being limited to the capital deepening path-way. Using industry-level data from EU KLEMS, we find that most of the 1995-2005 U.S. productivity growth revival was driven by ICT-intensive industries producing market services and computer hardware. In contrast the EU-10 experienced a 1995-2005 growth slowdown due to a paucity of ICT investment, a failure to capture the efficiency benefits of ICT, and performance shortfalls in specific industries including ICT production, finance-insurance, retail-wholesale, and agriculture. After 2005 both the United States and the EU-10 suffered a growth slowdown, indicating that the benefits of the ICT revolution were temporary rather than providing a new permanent era of faster productivity growth.

Productivity growth is slowing in OECD countries, coupled with increased mis-allocation of resources. A recent strand of literature focuses on the role of non-viable firms "zombie firms" to explain these developments. Using a rich firm-level dataset for Portugal, we explore the role played by zombies in firm dynamics and the mis-allocation of labour and capital. We confirm the results on the high presence of zombie firms, which are significantly less productive than their healthy counterparts and drag down aggregate productivity. Higher zombie presence is associated with lower growth of viable firms, stifling intra-sectoral capital reallocation. Portugal has shown one of the largest reductions in barriers to exit and restructuring of all OECD countries and is therefore particularly suited for an assessment of the extensive margin effects of these policy changes. We show that a reduction in exit and restructuring barriers promotes a more effective exit channel and fosters the restructuring of the most productive zombies. The results highlight the role of public policy in addressing zombies' prevalence, fostering a more efficient resource allocation, and promoting productivity growth.

Design operations and implementation of irrigation systems are usually done by experienced people with spending time, precision and high energy. But unfortunately, operation and continuous use of these systems done by farmers that they have little information about the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems and efficient irrigation management, that is an important part of operation of these systems, is not done properly. This study is done during the crop year 2017-18 in Faryab county in Kerman province and in fields equipped with drip irrigation systems. In this regard, the dominant agricultural products in the county including corn, wheat, rapeseed and watermelon, were examined.To do this research, two methods were examined and compared: 1- Projectsthat so far were without supervision on operation management of drip irrigation systems. 2- Projects that they were introduced by the Agricultural Jihad to monitor the operation management of drip irrigation systems. These projects for one crop year and according to the rules of description of monitoring services on the operation of drip irrigation systems, about the proper operation and maintenance of different parts of the irrigation system, proper irrigation management, also familiarity of beneficiaries with equipment and connections and their warranty, Necessary training was given to the beneficiaries in each project. Finally, by determining the volumeof irrigation water, crop yield and costs, each crop per hectare was examined and evaluated. The results of the study showed that by monitoring the operation of irrigation systems, in addition to significant water savings and increasing crop yield, it also increased the physical and economic efficiency of water consumption.

Health is an essential element of economic life and is therefore considered a source of comparative economic development of countries. The aim of the study was to examine the associations between health care financing, specific treatable mortality of males and females of working age, and economic prosperity, taking into account to the classification of health systems applied in the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). An insurance-based health system and a tax-based health system were identified in these countries, and data were collected for the period 1994–2016. Descriptive analysis, panel regression analysis and cluster analysis were used to achieve the aim. The analytical process included economic indicators [health expenditure, gross domestic product (GDP)] and health indicators (treatable mortality from circulatory system diseases and endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases). The results revealed significant negative associations of health care financing with treatable mortality from circulatory system diseases and endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases in both health systems and both gender categories. There were also negative associations between treatable mortality in both diagnosis groups and economic prosperity. These results have shown that health care financing is linked to economic prosperity also through health variability in the working age population. In terms of assessing economic and health outcomes, less positive and more positive countries were identified using cluster analysis. Countries such as Latvia with a tax-based health system and Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia with an insurance-based health system were characterized by great potential for improvements. Although reducing treatable mortality is a great motivation for public health leaders to increase health care financing, the importance for economic prosperity may be a more compelling argument. Effective interventions should be considered in the light of their regional, social and economic contexts.

The paper is devoted to developing a methodology for failure mode and effects analysis on the example of assessment of defects that occur during production and operation of polymer composite materials and industrial products from them. The paper uses the Ishikawa method to illustrate and further analyze the cause of defects in reinforced polymer composite material. The Ishikawa diagram was constructed and analyzed using the method of causal analysis. The types and consequences of failures and defects for polymer composite materials are analyzed. For each type of defect, the value of the priority number of risks is calculated. For the most critical defect, measures to reduce potential defects are proposed. Suggestions for improving the detected defective zones in the structures of polymer composites in the analysis process are given.

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Economics Researches is the property of Islamic Azad University 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 Water & Soil Conservation is the property of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources 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.)

Sugarcane, an important agro-industrial crop in India, plays a pivotal role in Indian economy. Sugar industry is the second largest industry of India next to textile. In North India, rice–wheat is the predominant cropping system and Punjab has contributed 25.8% and 37.8% rice and wheat to central pool of the country during 2018–2019, respectively. But due to degradation of natural resources, over exploitation of underground water and monoculture limitations, there is need to diversify some area from rice to sugarcane which offers a good scope for diversification and to enhance profitability of the farmers. But, due to long tillering phase of sugarcane, during summer months irrigation water requirement of this crop is also high. So need of the hour is to study the water-saving technologies for getting more crop per drop. For this purpose, a field experiment was conducted for 3 years, i.e., 2014–2015, 2015–2016 (plant crop) and 2016–2017 (ratoon crop) at research farm of Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Faridkot, Punjab, India. The experiment was laid out in split plot design keeping three irrigation schedules of drip irrigation at 60, 80 and 100% cumulative pan evaporation (CPE) to wide bed and furrow paired row planting (paired row trench planting) of sugarcane at 30–30: 120 cm row spacing in main plots and three fertigation levels of 60, 80 and 100% recommended N (RDN, 150 kg N/ha for plant crop and 225 kg N/ha for ratoon crop) in subplots, with an extra control of standard practice having flood irrigation and 100% RDN by line top dressing in three replications. Drip irrigation was applied at 3 days interval in paired row planting system, and fertigation was given in ten equal splits as per treatment. During 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, crop irrigated with drip at 100% CPE recorded the highest cane yield which was significantly better than drip irrigation at 60 and 80% CPE. Fertigation with 100% RDN recorded the highest cane yield which was significantly better than 80 and 60% RDN during 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, but during ratoon 2016–2017, cane yield was statistically at par between 80% RDN and 100% RDN. Drip irrigation at 100% CPE with 100% RDN recorded significantly higher cane yield than standard practice of surface flood irrigation and soil application of fertilizer to the tune of 15.6, 27.0 and 19.3% during 2014–2015, 2015–2016 (plant) and 2016–2017 (ratoon), respectively. The highest net returns of Rs. 150,900, 175808, 201666 per ha were recorded at 100% CPE and 100% RDN level during 2014–2015, 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes to measure the knowledge intensity of economies with an alternative approach to those based on the aggregation of industries according to their R&D expenditure or the qualification of the workforce. The proposed metric is based on the economic valuation of productive services provided by a set of assets that incorporate knowledge, specifically human capital and information and communication technologies (ICT). Rather than using a single indicator to measure knowledge intensity, we follow an economic approach rooted in a growth accounting methodology, determining the contribution of each individual asset according to the prices of the services they provide. This methodology is applied to four Latin-American (LA) countries, namely Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, taking the United States and Spain as benchmarks for the period 2000-2016.

Based on a newly compiled Norwegian KLEMS database, this article investigates structural change and productivity in the market economy of mainland Norway for the 1997-2014 period. The findings largely confirm the general trends identified by many other studies. However, detailed sector analyses reveal substantial differences within both goods production and services sectors. In addition, an increased share of skilled labour in value added is found for the total market economy over the entire period, as well as for almost all the sectors, at least for the latter period (2008-2014). For the total market economy, the shares in value added of both software and R&D capital increased, while those of hardware decreased, for the whole period. With a few exceptions, this finding also holds for most of the sectors, at least for the latter period (2008-2014). Finally, test results indicate that the complementarity hypothesis between ICT capital and skilled labour is not supported, but that between Intellectual Property Products (IPP), and esp. R&D capital, and highly skilled labour is supported, implying that intangible assets combined with human capital had been playing an increasingly important role in recent economic growth in Norway.

The role of physical capital is typically found to be limited in accounting for differences in GDP per worker, but this result may be because capital is customarily assumed to be a homogenous unit. This assumption is misleading, as different types of capital assets have different marginal products and richer countries tend to invest more in high-marginal product assets. We take this perspective to a global dataset, the Penn World Table, to improve cross-country productivity comparisons. We show that, properly measured, differences in capital input can account for a greater share of income variation, but (total factor) productivity differences remain dominant.

This article investigates the impact of participation in global value chains (GVCs) on productivity growth considering the mediating effect of investment in intangible assets. We explore the existence of synergies between intangible capital accumulation and GVC participation and their influence on productivity in a sample of nine European economies in 1998-2013. The analysis relates the macroeconomic literature on the impact of intangibles and GVCs on productivity growth to microeconomic studies about the functions of intangibles along the value chain. The existence of complementarities between intangibles and GVC participation and their productivity effects are tested in an augmented production function framework. We find: a) positive and statistically significant productivity impact of backward participation; b) the marginal effect of GVC participation on growth is greater in countries-industries with higher intensity of intangible capital; c) non-R&D intangibles, and particularly organizational capital, exert a significant conditional effect on backward participation strengthening the productivity returns of global production activity.

We compile a prefectural-level KLEMS database for Japan and conduct productivity comparisons for Japanese 47 prefectures. One of the difficulties in compiling regional KLEMS database is how to handle variation in service prices across regions. To cope with this problem, we estimated cross-regional pricelevel differences in each industry in the service sector based on prefectural-level item-wise data of service prices. For estimation, we applied the Country-ProductDummy (CPD) method, a method used to estimate absolute purchasing power parities among countries. As a result of re-calculation, the standard deviation of cross-regional TFP difference indices in 2009 decreased by around 13 per cent. In addition, by using the derived cross-regional price difference indices, we confirmed that the Balassa-Samuelson effect, which holds among international economies, also holds among regional economies in Japan.

We identify a new mechanism whereby education impacts economic growth: industry educational intensity. We define educational intensity as the share of an industry’s workforce with a college degree and above and use this new classification to build estimates of the sources of U.S. economic growth from the bottom up across industries. We find that that since 1995, the contribution of education intensive industries to aggregate value added growth exceeds that of non-education intensive industries and that this difference was driven by larger contributions of capital, labour, and TFP growth in these industries. The shift toward educationally intensive industries has not been enough to revive aggregate labour productivity and GDP growth over the medium term; we find that growth over the next ten years will be restrained by slower growth in capital and labour quality.