Labor Migration Challenges in Economic Planning: A Case Study of Astana

The end of the cold war removed a major barrier against free trade and consequently, globalization of business spread economic developments around the world, created job opportunities, particularly in industrial sectors, which led to migration of many people who were in search of a better life. Newly independent countries have emerged and many have been, or are in the process of, integrating into various trade packs of the free market system. This labor migration has taken place at various levels. This work studies the attributes of domestic migration and the challenges it has created for economic and urban planning. The article outlines the results of a study conducted to understand the migration patterns into the newly established capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana, for planning purposes

A comparison of hydroponic and soil-based screening methods to identify salt tolerance in the field in barley

Success in breeding crops for yield and other quantitative traits depends on the use of methods to evaluate genotypes accurately under field conditions. Although many screening criteria have been suggested to distinguish between genotypes for their salt tolerance under controlled environmental conditions, there is a need to test these criteria in the field. In this study, the salt tolerance, ion concentrations, and accumulation of compatible solutes of genotypes of barley with a range of putative salt tolerance were investigated using three growing conditions (hydroponics, soil in pots, and natural saline field). Initially, 60 genotypes of barley were screened for their salt tolerance and uptake of Na+, Cl–, and K+ at 150 mM NaCl and, based on this, a subset of 15 genotypes was selected for testing in pots and in the field. Expression of salt tolerance in saline solution culture was not a reliable indicator of the differences in salt tolerance between barley plants that were evident in saline soil-based comparisons. Significant correlations were observed in the rankings of genotypes on the basis of their grain yield production at a moderately saline field site and their relative shoot growth in pots at ECe 7.2 [Spearman’s rank correlation (rs)=0.79] and ECe 15.3 (rs=0.82) and the crucial parameter of leaf Na+ (rs=0.72) and Cl– (rs=0.82) concentrations at ECe 7.2 dS m−1. This work has established screening procedures that correlated well with grain yield at sites with moderate levels of soil salinity. This study also showed that both salt exclusion and osmotic tolerance are involved in salt tolerance and that the relative importance of these traits may differ with the severity of the salt stress. In soil, ion exclusion tended to be more important at low to moderate levels of stress but osmotic stress became more important at higher stress levels. Salt exclusion coupled with a synthesis of organic solutes were shown to be important components of salt tolerance in the tolerant genotypes and further field tests of these plants under stress conditions will help to verify their potential utility in crop-improvement programmes

Additive effects of Na+ and Cl– ions on barley growth under salinity stress

Soil salinity affects large areas of the world’s cultivated land, causing significant reductions in crop yield. Despite the fact that most plants accumulate both sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl–) ions in high concentrations in their shoot tissues when grown in saline soils, most research on salt tolerance in annual plants has focused on the toxic effects of Na+ accumulation. It has previously been suggested that Cl– toxicity may also be an important cause of growth reduction in barley plants. Here, the extent to which specific ion toxicities of Na+ and Cl– reduce the growth of barley grown in saline soils is shown under varying salinity treatments using four barley genotypes differing in their salt tolerance in solution and soil-based systems. High Na+, Cl–, and NaCl separately reduced the growth of barley, however, the reductions in growth and photosynthesis were greatest under NaCl stress and were mainly additive of the effects of Na+ and Cl– stress. The results demonstrated that Na+ and Cl– exclusion among barley genotypes are independent mechanisms and different genotypes expressed different combinations of the two mechanisms. High concentrations of Na+ reduced K+ and Ca2+ uptake and reduced photosynthesis mainly by reducing stomatal conductance. By comparison, high Cl– concentration reduced photosynthetic capacity due to non-stomatal effects: there was chlorophyll degradation, and a reduction in the actual quantum yield of PSII electron transport which was associated with both photochemical quenching and the efficiency of excitation energy capture. The results also showed that there are fundamental differences in salinity responses between soil and solution culture, and that the importance of the different mechanisms of salt damage varies according to the system under which the plants were grown

Emergent Realities of Global Competition

Purpose -- The purpose of the paper is to discuss the new realities of global rivalry which has been elevated to include economic competition between nations, in addition to the more traditional forms of competitive interactions between firms, Design/methodology/approach -- The Introduction section discusses the changes that global geopolitics and the economy have undergone from the end of the Second World War to the present time. The 11 macro-economic factors that have impacted international business over this time period are then discussed. The next section of the paper discusses the nature of the new relational assets of firms, their locations, and the means of harnessing and utilizing them in knowledge-based economic competition. A series of propositions relating to the nature of these assets, how managers of corporations can access them, the roles and skill sets required of these managers, and the competitive advantages these assets provide, are then presented. The Conclusion section explores the impacts of these global economic changes for national governments and government bureaucrats, for managers of international firms, for their roles, perspectives, and their skill sets. Findings -- These changes have modified the competitive landscape at the level of competition between nations, across industries as well as between firms. These changes have necessitated modifications in the roles, training and skills required on the part of government bureaucrats and managers of international companies. New roles and skills are needed to meet these challenges. Practical implications -- The paper has implications for competitive advantages of firms as well as nations. Executive education and training programs for managers may need to be restructured to provide these managers the required perspectives, skills and knowledge that will equip them to compete and be effective champions of their companies, and also to some extent, ambassadors of their nation states. Originality/value -- The paper offers a new way of thinking about competition and competitive advantages

SWATH-based quantitative proteomics gives insight into a significant proteome shift in UCB-1 pistachio rootstock under salt stress

The hybrid pistachio rootstock UCB-1 is especially tolerant to abiotic stresses including salinity. However, the effect of salinity on its whole proteome is obscure, which limits our ability to develop high-confident protein biomarkers to facilitate the genetic improvement of pistachio cultivars with enhanced salt-tolerance. In the present study, using sequential window acquisition of all theoretical mass spectra (SWATH-MS) technology, the expression of 1150 proteins was quantified, with the expression of 459 proteins significantly impacted by salt exposure. Functional enrichment determined that salinity stress increases the level of proteins associated with response to salt stress and reduces the level of ribosomal subunits. We used KEGG pathway enrichment analysis to link salt exposure with a set of alterations in several pathways including ribosome components, biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids, and carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms. To track the potential consequences of protein alteration with more crucial biological functions in the enriched pathways, the incorporation of SWATH-MS data and protein-protein interactions (PPIs) analysis were then conducted. Centrality analysis of the three top-ranked enriched pathways highlighted that any alterations in the abundance of EMB3010, PA2, NAD-ME1, and PGAM proteins may result in desirable consequences on salt tolerance in UCB-1. Therefore, centrality analysis of whole proteome survey-derived responsive PPIs was useful in the identification, prioritization, and selection of potential biomarker candidates by which the need for expensive and time-consuming experimental validation will be minimized. At the early selection stages in tree breeding programs, integration of proteomics-generated resources with conventional programs can assist in developing fast selection assays

Transitional Economies of Central Asia and Business Education

Economic development projects benefit, among other factors, from a supporting education system, particularly business education.However, in Central Asian countries, insufficient business education is a pressing problem. This is partly due to the lack of qualified experts in business education and unavailability of teaching material. Therefore, most of them rely on imported business programs to satisfy their economic development needs. In this paper, we present a model of business education importation and adoption that could be useful to these countries in their economic development efforts

Migrants to Astana, the New Capital City of Kazakhstan

This paper discusses a research that deals with the pattern of labor migration into Astana. The research was to be used by the Kazakhstan policy-makers. The results, however, are very useful for the purpose of comparison with the patterns of labor migration into other cities which were constructed to serve as capital cities. Astana has fulfilled all expectations, but the problems of the new city could be a challenge for planners and policy-makers for year to come

Changes in antioxidant enzyme activities and gene expression profiles under drought stress in tolerant, intermediate, and susceptible wheat genotypes

Drought is a common abiotic stress that influences crop production to a large extent all over the world. Wheat crop experiences drought at main stages during its life cycle, which induces oxidative stress in the plants. The antioxidant mechanisms of the plant have a significant role in providing tolerance against the water stress. The objective of this work was to investigate the antioxidant activity and transcript profile of antioxidant enzyme related genes in three wheat genotypes to be TN4228 (drought tolerant), TN1399 (moderately tolerant) and TN3737 (susceptible) at control [80% Field capacity (FC)] medium (40% FC) and severe stress (25% FC). Water-limited conditions led to a decrease in relative water content (RWC). However, drought increased malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline content, and antioxidant enzyme activities [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX)]. In addition, we observed the enhancement of the delta-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS), CAT, APX and SOD gene expressions at drought stress conditions. Both moderate and severe stresses caused genotype-specific responses, which were dependent on stress severity. According to drought stress and defense systems in TN4228, it was obtained that the engaged genes and enzymes play significant roles in defense responses and could be viable targets to determine the level of drought tolerance