Industrial production and capacity utilization: the 2006 annual revision

On December 11, 2006, the Federal Reserve published revisions to its index of industrial production and the related measures of capacity and capacity utilization. The revision affected the data from 1972 through October 2006, but the largest changes were for the period beginning in 2003. From the fourth quarter of 2002 to the third quarter of 2006, industrial production, as revised, increased about 13/4 percentage points less than previously reported. By year, the change in output was revised down a little for 2003, down substantially for 2004, up a little for 2005, and down a touch for 2006. Revisions for previous years were small.Industrial capacity ; Industrial productivity

Pragmatics of Na ‘see’ Perception Verb Expressions in Gӑ

The aim of this paper is to examine lexical semantics from a cognitive approach in Gӑ, a Kwa language. In Gӑ, the verb Na ‘see’ has polysemous and metaphorical uses. There has been linguistic research in Gᾶ and there is still the interest to study the language. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study that specifically explores lexical semantics from the cognitive approach. This is the gap the researcher attempts to fill. The verb denoting perception has metaphorical expressions that will have some relationship with the original verb. In the discussion, we consider the pragmatic implications and relevance of the extensions derived from the verb na ‘see’.. We look at the nature of the derived semantic patterns and consider the extent to which they are peculiar to the Gӑ language and culture. The study is based on Sweetser’s (1990) cognitive approach of semantic change. The paper shows that most of the metaphorical extensions are based on human perception and interaction with the physical world. The findings of the study reveal that the metaphorical meanings reflect the socio-cultural experiences of the Gӑ land. Hence, the more they move away from the physical realms, the greater the realizations. Keywords: metaphorical extensions, metaphor, perception, polysemy, pragmatics. semantic change

Examining the Influence of Human Resource Development (HRD) Practices on Organizational Commitment of Small and Medium Scale enterprises

Purpose: HRD practices are linked to greater corporate commitment. The purpose of the study was to investigate how HRD practices influences organizational commitment. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected from 65 SMEs of which 30 were small size enterprises while 35 were medium size enterprises. A standardized questionnaire was used. SEM was employed in testing the model and hypothesis. Findings: The findings show that affective commitment was significantly influenced by HRD practices. A significant influence of HRD practices on continuance commitment was observed. A non-significant influence of HRD practice on normative commitment was reported. Research limitations/implications: The present study emphasis on SMEs may limit how broadly the results may be applied. Practical implications: The study will aid SMEs in developing workplace strategies, policies and policies that can immensely improve employee loyalty, fulfillment and satisfaction and inordinately enhance organizational sustainability, retention and productivity. Originality/value: This study extends the literature by demonstrating empirically that HRD practices influence organizational commitment

Conjugate Additions and Transposition of the Allylic Alcohols of Enol Ethers of 1, 2-Cyclohexanedione.

A variety of protected enolic forms of 1, 2-cyclohexanedione was prepared as substrates for conjugate addition studies using organocopper reagents. The sequence involved the enol ether preparation via the enolate, alkylation with an organometalic reagent, and oxidative rearrangement with pyridinium chlorochromate followed by the conjugate addition reactions. Protection of 1, 2-cyclohexanedione was achieved by reacting with chloro tert-butyldimethyl silane and subjected to alkylation. Steric problems were encountered and so an alternative protective group the methoxymethyl acetal was prepared and studied. Alkylation of these derivatives was successful; however, the oxidation was problematic and although evidence for rearrangement was observed in one case, it did not provide the desired ketone

The Role of Listener’s Response Tokens Mm and Oh: The Case of Ga

This paper aims to examine the functions of ‘Oh’ and ‘Mm’ as used in Ga, a Kwa language that is spoken in the southern part of Ghana. There has been linguistic research in Ga and there is still the interest to study the language. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study we know of, that specifically explores response token in Ga from the point of linguistics. The two response tokens mm and oh as found in natural conversation recorded in Ga   form the basis for linguistic analysis in this study. We chose the two tokens because of their contribution to meaning and various contextual nuances they reveal. Response token is referred to as the verbal and non-verbal behavior of listeners in response to his or her co-conversationalist’s talk. These tokens could be particles such as, right, yes, yeah, mm…, oh, and connectives such as, so, because and but . The aim of the research is to: (i) analyze the role of “Mm” and “oh” in the Ga language. (ii) analyze errors in using the particles if there is any. We adopt the conversational analysis coupled with the descriptive and interpretive approach in analyzing the study. After the analysis, oh is used as pure surprise and a mitigator while mm is used as a brief request for clarification and agreement of what the speaker said. However, the study identified an error in the use of oh. Keywords: Backchannel, listener’s response, response token

The Pragmatics of the Marker ‘Kule’ in Utterance Interpretation: The Case of Ga

The paper looks at the marker, kulɛ , in Ga (Niger-Congo, Kwa branch), which has a variety of uses. Using a relevance-theoretic approach, I argue that ‘kulɛ’ exhibits modal features  and different  meanings in utterance. In spite of the variety of uses of this word, kulɛ for instance, has been presented as resulting in various semantic polysemies (Schwenter and Traugott 2000), instead of  a number of functions that are defined by the context and that can be brought back to a  lexical item as l propose – which would entail the idea of a core meaning. Other lexical elements probably developed differently and should therefore be explained by means of a semantic core meaning with pragmatic polysemy ( see Aijmer and Simon-Vandenbergen 2003). Looking at the interplay between the encoded meaning of kulɛ and pragmatically derived information in natural speech situations indicate that the cognitive plausible way of accounting for the communicative function of this Ga marker kulɛ is seen as a  lexical semantics . Keywords: Encoded meaning; explicature; Higher-level Implicature; Indirect requests;Modality; Relevance

The Development of a Primer Payload with Microparticles for UTI Pathogen Identification Using Polythymidine- Modified LAMP Primers in Droplet LAMP

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are among the diagnostic tests with the highest sensitivity and specificity. However, they are more complex to develop than other diagnostic tests such as biochemical tests and lateral flow immunoassay tests. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for NAATs. PCR requires thermal cycling to achieve clonal amplification of the target pathogen DNA for diagnosis. Thermal cycling poses a challenge in the development of PCR diagnostics for point-of-care (POC) settings. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) offers an isothermal method for NAATs diagnostics. The advancement of the microfluidics field significantly enhances the development of LAMP diagnostics devices for POC testing. Another challenge with NAATs, is the limitation in the development of multiplex NAATs. Multiplexing however, occupies an important role in the efforts to address the antimicrobial resistance global crisis. Multiplexing will help to provide more thorough and complete diagnostics of infections, and enable doctors to prescribe the most effective antibiotics to the patients. This will help slow the emergence of antibiotic resistant pathogens. We are currently in a period of discovery void, with regards to antibiotics discovery. At this rate, more pathogens are becoming resistant to the antibiotics that we have, faster than we are developing new classes of antibiotics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) interagency coordination group on AMR report to the secretary general of the United Nations, by 2050, there will be 10 million annual deaths globally, as a result of AMR-related events. There will also be $55 billion productivity losses globally due to AMR. In addition, there will be a total of$ 1 trillion in healthcare costs, and 28 million people will be living in poverty, as a result of the economic impact of uncontrolled AMR. Another area where multiplex diagnostics play a crucial role is infection control in the era of epidemics and pandemics. The increasing prevailing frequency of global pandemics stresses the need for the development of highly accurate and decentralized POC diagnostics. Over the last ten years, there have been more than 30 epidemics and pandemics around the world, including SARS-CoV-2, Monkey pox, India black fungus, Dengue fever, Measles, Zika, Avian influenza, Influenza A and Ebola. With advancing technology and international commerce and relations, we are now more connected than ever. This means that if there are no developments to make molecular tests more accessible at the POC, the future waves of epidemics and pandemics will have faster spread, further reach and more devastating impacts on the lives of the 8 billion people on our planet. We have developed a diagnostic method for executing droplet microfluidics LAMP via a microparticle primer payload mechanism and have demonstrated it with urinary tract infection (UTI) pathogens. With inspiration from overhang PCR and RNA-Seq, we engineered LAMP primers with 5’ polythymidine (PolyT) oligonucleotide (PolyT is placed in the middle of the Forward inner primers and Backward inner primers). The PolyT sequence is recognized by a biotinylated capture oligonucleotide engineered with a polyadenylated (PolyA) polynucleotide on the 3’ end. The streptavidin-coated microparticles functionalized with the PolyA oligonucleotide and PolyT primers, capture their specific target DNA and deliver the cargo into emulsion droplets of LAMP reagents for amplification. This platform provides the ability to multiplex by coding specific pathogen target DNA with different fluorescent signatures of the microparticles

Employee Retention Factors and Tools: Empirical Evidence from Ghana Revenue Authority

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the factors and tools for employee retention at the Ghana Revenue Authority. The survey employed purposive sampling technique in selecting the 92 GRA staff from two offices in Accra (Circle and North Kaneshie). The study found out that factors perceived by employees of the GRA to influence their retention included; the recognition of employees’ skills, provision of supporting and working climate, existence of family support schemes, good working relation with colleagues and strong team work. On the retention tools the study revealed that tools such as challenging work, high performance incentives/bonuses, opportunities for development, periodic increase in salary, well defined career ladder and promotions opportunities and feeling of belongingness to the organization were the tools employed by GRA for employee retention. Based on the findings for the study, the following recommendations were made: There should be a creation of the working environment in other enabling public sectors by ensuring the realization of factors of employee retention, tools for employee retention should be made known to all employees and should be made accessible by all employees and there is the need for a tripartite collaboration among the ministry, educational institutions and government agencies to ensure that the factors and tools for employees retention are put in place in all organisations, especially in the public sectors. Keywords: Retention, Employees, Recognition, Organization, Employee Turnove

Potential Demand for a New Value-Added Cowpea Product as Measured by the Willingness-to-Pay for Cowpea Flour in West Africa

The objective of this paper is to assess the potential demand for a new value-added cowpea product – cowpea flour for purchase by women street food vendors. We use a non-hypothetical real purchase decision mechanism that involves real purchase exchanges of 1 kg packages of cowpea flour in a real market environment in Niamey, Niger. Completed market transactions were bounded between an upper and lower limit price. Our results indicate that kossai vendors’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for 1kg of cowpea flour exceeds the costs of production including a retail margin. Differences in WTP averages for different groups of vendors (economic status, vendor processor type and scale of production) were found to be statistically significant. Potential exists for profitable entrepreneurial activity in the cowpea flour business targeting women street vendors from more affluent neighborhoods; those using the wet milling process and those who are medium and large scale vendors.Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Willingness-to-Pay, Real Purchase decision mechanism, Cowpea-based street foods,