DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGRICULTURAL CROPS TRADE SECTOR OF SUDAN UNDER THE INCREASING WORLD FOOD PRICES

The agricultural trade of the Sudan is expected to develop under the recent dramatic increase of world food prices. Sudan as one of the developing countries and as price taker on the world agricultural market has been affected greatly by the world price increase. This paper aims at studying the impact of the increasing world food prices on developments of the agricultural crops trade sector of Sudan. In this paper a multimarket model is used as the main tool to estimate the increase of the world food prices on the crop trade sector. Multi-market analysis is a tool for simulating the effects of agricultural price policies on outcomes considered of interest to policy makers. The model under consideration takes the normal specification of a standard partial equilibrium model; it is static and consists of a set of demand and supply equations for each commodity with the level of production and demand determined by factors including prices, income, and demand and supply-shift variables, in addition to various other assumptions about policies. Price transmission equations in the model establish links between the domestic price, the producer price (for producers of exportable products and of import-substitute products), the consumer price and the world market price. The model has been developed to calculate the impact of high food prices on the main economy variables including supply and demand of the major agricultural commodities. The scenario of high world food prices showed on one hand, an increase in farmers' incentives resulting in higher levels of production of agricultural commodities, on the other hand, consumers demand has decreased significantly, and trade indicators reflect a positive effect on the agricultural crop trade sector.Trade, Multi-market model, Sudan, International Development, International Relations/Trade,

Pengaruh Stabilisasi Aspal Emulsi Terhadap Karakteristik Lapisan Tanah Dasar Yang Berasal Dari Tanah Lunak

Subgrade is an important part in road pavement construction, which serves as the foundation and must have the ability to bear the traffic load applying on the surface of the pavement. This study examined changes in the carrying capacity of soft soil after stabilization process using asphalt emulsion. The results of this study indicate that the stabilization process using asphalt emulsion can lower the Plasticity Index and increase the dry density and strength of the soil

European populations of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera are resistant to aldrin, but not to methyl-parathion

The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a major pest of cultivated corn in North America and has recently begun to invade Europe. In addition to crop rotation, chemical control is an important option for D. v. virgifera management. However, resistance to chemical insecticides has evolved repeatedly in the USA. In Europe, chemical control strategies have yet to be harmonized and no surveys of insecticide resistance have been carried out. We investigated the resistance to methyl-parathion and aldrin of samples from nine D. v. virgifera field populations originating from two European outbreaks thought to have originated from two independent introductions from North America. Diagnostic concentration bioassays revealed that all nine D. v. virgifera field populations were resistant to aldrin but susceptible to methyl-parathion. Aldrin resistance was probably introduced independently, at least twice, from North America into Europe, as there is no evident selection pressure to account for an increase of frequency of aldrin resistance in each of the invasive outbreaks in Europe. Our results suggest that organophosphates, such as methyl-parathion, may still provide effective control of both larval and adult D. v. virgifera in the European invasive outbreaks studied

Over-the-counter and prescription medicine misuse in Cape Town - findings from specialist treatment centres

Objective. To provide community-level public health surveillance information on over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medicine misuse.Methods. A retrospective study of OTC and prescription medicine misuse among 9 063 patients from 23 specialist substance abuse treatment centres in Cape Town, South Africa, between 1998 and 2000.                       Results. OTC and prescription medicine misuse places a burden on health and social services in South Africa. This is evidenced through the constant demand for treatment for OTC/prescription medicine misuse. Benzodiazepines are the class of medicines for which users most often receive treatment, followed by analgesics. Analgesic misuse is most often accounted for by the use of codeine-containing medicines, many of which are available over the counter. Patients using OTC/prescription medicines as their primary drug of abuse are significantly more likely to be female, and aged over 40 years. In contrast, patients using OTC/prescription medicine as an additional drug of abuse tend to be male and over 40 years of age.Conclusions. This study points to the need to develop primary health care protocols for detection, management and referral of patients misusing OTC/prescription drugs and the need to debate the re-scheduling of codeine as a prescription-only substance. The study also points to the need for further community-based research on the nature and extent of OTC/prescription drug misuse among the general population

Species richness and abundance of clinid fish (Teleostei; Clinidae) in intertidal rock pools

Factors affecting species richness and abundance of clinid fish(Fam. Clinidae)in 19 intertidal rock pools near Muizenberg, South Africa, were investigated. Some measure of cover is the most important predictor of clinid species richness, abundance and biomass. Intraspecific partitioning of habitat by Clinus superciliosus was observed, and apparently occurs in C. cottoides as well. Fish were observed to move between pools during high tides, and some individuals showed fidelity to particular pools. There is some evidence for suggesting that C. superciliosus might be a colonizing species

Alliance management and innovation under uncertainty

Drawing on the configuration argument of strategic fit – i.e., an effective alignment of a firm's strategy with its environment, internal structures, and processes – and the resource-based view, this paper clarifies the impact of alliance strategy, alliance management resources, and alliance management capabilities on innovation performance in collaborative ventures. This study of 441 collaborative ventures in the electronics industry offers empirical support for the configuration argument. First, greater alliance strategy formalization influences innovation performance directly and indirectly. Alliance management capabilities – that reflect organizational routines to implement an alliance strategy – partially mediate this effect. Second, alliance management capabilities leverage alliance management resources in that the effect of the former on innovation performance is moderated by the latter. Furthermore, greater innovation strategy formalization affects innovation performance and moderates the direct effect of alliance strategy formalization on innovation performance; an effect that increases with technological uncertainty

Dynamic Capabilities, Internationalization and Growth of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: The Roles of Research and Development Intensity and Collaborative Intensity

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from internationalization. However, there is little evidence of the extent of the benefit and its dependence on both research and development (R&D) intensity and collaborative intensity. Drawing on data of 262 SMEs, this study illuminates why some SMEs benefit more from internationalization than others, thereby illustrating an advanced application of partial least squares structural equation modeling by demonstrating conditional mediation analysis with two interdependent exogenous moderators (i.e., testing a second-stage three-way conditional mediation). Our findings substantiate that an SME’s dynamic capabilities affect its degree of internationalization and indirectly its growth, and suggest a positive marginal growth impact of internationalization provided that an SME’s R&D and collaborative intensities are proportional; when they are disproportional (i.e., one is “greater” than the other), SMEs do not experience positive marginal growth

Dynamic Capabilities, Internationalization and Growth of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: The Roles of Research and Development Intensity and Collaborative Intensity

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from internationalization. However, there is little evidence of the extent of the benefit and its dependence on both research and development (R&D) intensity and collaborative intensity. Drawing on data of 262 SMEs, this study illuminates why some SMEs benefit more from internationalization than others, thereby illustrating an advanced application of partial least squares structural equation modeling by demonstrating conditional mediation analysis with two interdependent exogenous moderators (i.e., testing a second-stage three-way conditional mediation). Our findings substantiate that an SME’s dynamic capabilities affect its degree of internationalization and indirectly its growth, and suggest a positive marginal growth impact of internationalization provided that an SME’s R&D and collaborative intensities are proportional; when they are disproportional (i.e., one is “greater” than the other), SMEs do not experience positive marginal growth

Non-linear rheology of active particle suspensions: Insights from an analytical approach

We consider active suspensions in the isotropic phase subjected to a shear flow. Using a set of extended hydrodynamic equations we derive a variety of {\em analytical} expressions for rheological quantities such as shear viscosity and normal stress differences. In agreement to full-blown numerical calculations and experiments we find a shear thickening or -thinning behaviour depending on whether the particles are contractile or extensile. Moreover, our analytical approach predicts that the normal stress differences can change their sign in contrast to passive suspensions.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, appear in PR