A perceptual study of the impact of green practice implementation on the business functions

1This article outlines the perceptions of businesses regardingthe impact of green practice implementation on the businessfunctions. To achieve the aim of this study, an in-depth literaturestudy and empirical research were undertaken. A self-administeredquestionnaire was completed by 298 owners, managers andemployees in businesses within the Nelson Mandela Metropole. Toinvestigate the relationship between the independent (classifi cationdata) and dependent variables (perceptions of impact on businessfunctions), 13 null hypotheses were tested. The results revealedsignifi cant relationships between these variables. It was foundthat the functions least impacted by green business practicesare general management/human resources, purchasing/supplychain management and fi nance/information technology. Furtheranalysis of the business functions reveals that the manufacturing/operations, marketing/sales and distribution/logistics functions arethe most impacted by green business practices. Practical guidelinesare provided to assist in greening the business functions

Focused training programmes for solving growth problems of very small businesses

Purpose and objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the various types of focused training programmes that should be designed for eliminating or preventing small business growth problems. To help achieve this main objective, the following secondary goals are identified : • To highlight the role and nature of entrepreneurial training. • To identify possible focused training programmes for solving very small business problems. • To determine how training programmes should be structured to target very small business growth problems. • To explore which other method(s), besides training programmes could be uitilised for solving very small black business entrepreneurs' growth problems. • To provide trainers with guidelines in designing focused training programmes for solving very small business problems. Problem investigated: South African entrepreneurs have a poor skills record, which inhibits small business growth. The needs of a business changes as the business grows, resulting in growing pains for the very small business entrepreneur. Successful entrepreneurs are not necessarily academically inclined and often learn in a more dynamic, non-linear environment, therefore various specific focused training programmes need to be designed that can assist very small business entrepreneurs in eliminating or preventing small business growth problems. Methodology: A qualitative study was done, in which an empirical survey was conducted by means of a series of in-depth interviews with ten very small black business entrepreneurs. Findings: The empirical results identified seven types of training programmes focusing on financial management computer training, operations management, people management, marketing management, management and investment management. Other training programmes indicated were stress management, time management and security management. Within each of these types of training programmes specific focus areas were identified. Value of the research: The value of the research lies in the fact that specific focus areas were identified within the training programmes. Other studies have attempted to identify training programmes but the content thereof was not necessarily linked to the problems that very small businesses experienced, especially when attempting to grow. Time-, staff- and financial constraints regarding training programmes can be overcome. Conclusions: Training programmes should focus on specific training areas, be after hours and be well publicised. Computer training should preferably be on site on a one-to-one basis. Training programmes should suit the skills level of the very small business entrepreneurs and be broken up into smaller sessions to ensure understanding and meeting time constraints

Training Interventions Needed For Developing Black Micro-Entrepreneurial Skills In The Informal Sector: A Qualitative Perspective

This article outlines the results of a qualitative study, which investigates the nature of training interventions needed for developing black micro entrepreneurial skills in the informal sector. As this is a qualitative study, an empirical survey was conducted by means of a series of in-depth interviews with ten black micro entrepreneurs. A control group was used to verify the results of the initial sample selected. Four main types of entrepreneurial skills were identified, namely personal, technical, business operations and management skills. A model is developed indicating which training interventions and methods could be used to upgrade black micro entrepreneurial skills. General guidelines are also provided as to how training could be used to facilitate the acquisition of these microentrepreneurial skills

Use of spatially distributed time-integrated sediment sampling networks and distributed fine sediment modelling to inform catchment management

Under the EU Water Framework Directive, suspended sediment is omitted from environmental quality standards and compliance targets. This omission is partly explained by difficulties in assessing the complex dose-response of ecological communities. But equally, it is hindered by a lack of spatially distributed estimates of suspended sediment variability across catchments. In this paper, we demonstrate the inability of traditional, discrete sampling campaigns for assessing exposure to fine sediment. Sampling frequencies based on Environmental Quality Standard protocols, whilst reflecting typical manual sampling constraints, are unable to determine the magnitude of sediment exposure with an acceptable level of precision. Deviations from actual concentrations range between −35 and +20% based on the interquartile range of simulations. As an alternative, we assess the value of low-cost, suspended sediment sampling networks for quantifying suspended sediment transfer (SST). In this study of the 362 km2 upland Esk catchment we observe that spatial patterns of sediment flux are consistent over the two year monitoring period across a network of 17 monitoring sites. This enables the key contributing sub-catchments of Butter Beck (SST: 1141 t km2 yr−1) and Glaisdale Beck (SST: 841 t km2 yr−1) to be identified. The time-integrated samplers offer a feasible alternative to traditional infrequent and discrete sampling approaches for assessing spatio-temporal changes in contamination. In conjunction with a spatially distributed diffuse pollution model (SCIMAP), time-integrated sediment sampling is an effective means of identifying critical sediment source areas in the catchment, which can better inform sediment management strategies for pollution prevention and control

Understanding the evolution of native pinewoods in Scotland will benefit their future management and conservation

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a foundation species in Scottish highland forests and a national icon. Due to heavy exploitation, the current native pinewood coverage represents a small fraction of the postglacial maximum. To reverse this decline, various schemes have been initiated to promote planting of new and expansion of old pinewoods. This includes the designation of seed zones for control of the remaining genetic resources. The zoning was based mainly on biochemical similarity among pinewoods but, by definition, neutral molecular markers do not reflect local phenotypic adaptation. Environmental variation within Scotland is substantial and it is not yet clear to what extent this has shaped patterns of adaptive differentiation among Scottish populations. Systematic, rangewide common-environment trials can provide insights into the evolution of the native pinewoods, indicating how environment has influenced phenotypic variation and how variation is maintained. Careful design of such experiments can also provide data on the history and connectivity among populations, by molecular marker analysis. Together, phenotypic and molecular datasets from such trials can provide a robust basis for refining seed transfer guidelines for Scots pine in Scotland and should form the scientific basis for conservation action on this nationally important habitat

Differential interactions between IGFBP-3 and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) in normal vs cancerous breast epithelial cells

In addition to modulating insulin-like growth factors action, it is now clear that insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 also has intrinsic effects on cell growth and survival. We have compared the effects of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 and transforming growth factor-beta on cell proliferation and death of Hs578T cells and the normal breast epithelial cell line, MCF-10A. The growth of MCF-10A cells was inhibited at low concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 but stimulated at high concentrations. These differential effects were unaffected in the presence of an insulin-like growth factor-I receptor antagonist. A synthetic peptide corresponding to the serine phosphorylation domain of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (that does not bind to insulin-like growth factors) also mimicked these differential actions. The growth of both cell lines was significantly inhibited by transforming growth factor-beta, this was associated with a 14-fold increase of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 secreted by the Hs578T cells but a five-fold decrease of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 secreted by MCF-10A cells. Replacement doses of exogenous insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 overcame the transforming growth factor-beta-induced growth inhibition in the MCF-10A cells. Cell death induced by ceramide was significantly reduced by insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 in the MCF-10A cells and depleting insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 with transforming growth factor-beta in these cells consequently increased their susceptibility to ceramide. In contrast, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 enhanced apoptosis induced by ceramide in the Hs578T cells but transforming growth factor-beta treated Hs578T cells were resistant to apoptosis. The addition of anti-sense mRNA to insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 significantly abrogated this effect of transforming growth factor-beta. These data indicate that insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 has intrinsic activity capable of inhibiting or enhancing the growth and survival of breast epithelial cells depending on the cell line and exposure to other cytokines

High-frequency monitoring of nitrogen and phosphorus response in three rural catchments to the end of the 2011–2012 drought in England

This paper uses high-frequency bankside measurements from three catchments selected as part of the UK government-funded Demonstration Test Catchments (DTC) project. We compare the hydrological and hydrochemical patterns during the water year 2011–2012 from the Wylye tributary of the River Avon with mixed land use, the Blackwater tributary of the River Wensum with arable land use and the Newby Beck tributary of the River Eden with grassland land use. The beginning of the hydrological year was unusually dry and all three catchments were in states of drought. A sudden change to a wet summer occurred in April 2012 when a heavy rainfall event affected all three catchments. The year-long time series and the individual storm responses captured by in situ nutrient measurements of nitrate and phosphorus (total phosphorus and total reactive phosphorus) concentrations at each site reveal different pollutant sources and pathways operating in each catchment. Large storm-induced nutrient transfers of nitrogen and or phosphorus to each stream were recorded at all three sites during the late April rainfall event. Hysteresis loops suggested transport-limited delivery of nitrate in the Blackwater and of total phosphorus in the Wylye and Newby Beck, which was thought to be exacerbated by the dry antecedent conditions prior to the storm. The high rate of nutrient transport in each system highlights the scale of the challenges faced by environmental managers when designing mitigation measures to reduce the flux of nutrients to rivers from diffuse agricultural sources. It also highlights the scale of the challenge in adapting to future extreme weather events under a changing climate

Death receptor 3 regulates distinct pathological attributes of acute versus chronic murine allergic lung inflammation

The Death Receptor 3 (DR3)/Tumour Necrosis Factor-like cytokine 1A (TL1A) axis stimulates effector T cells and type 2 innate lymphocytes (ILC2) that trigger cytokine release and drive disease pathology in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including murine models of acute allergic lung inflammation (ALI). The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of DR3 in chronic ALI compared to acute ALI, using mice genetically deficient in the DR3 gene (DR3ko). Results showed DR3 expression in the lungs of wild-type mice was up-regulated following induction of acute ALI and this increased expression was maintained in chronic disease. DR3ko mice were resistant to cellular accumulation within the alveolar passages in acute, but not chronic ALI. However, DR3ko mice displayed reduced immuno-histopathology and goblet cell hyperplasia; hallmarks of the asthmatic phenotype; in chronic, but not acute ALI. These data suggest DR3 is a potential therapeutic target, involved in temporally distinct aspects of ALI progression and pathogenesis

Robust Inference of Trees

This paper is concerned with the reliable inference of optimal tree-approximations to the dependency structure of an unknown distribution generating data. The traditional approach to the problem measures the dependency strength between random variables by the index called mutual information. In this paper reliability is achieved by Walley's imprecise Dirichlet model, which generalizes Bayesian learning with Dirichlet priors. Adopting the imprecise Dirichlet model results in posterior interval expectation for mutual information, and in a set of plausible trees consistent with the data. Reliable inference about the actual tree is achieved by focusing on the substructure common to all the plausible trees. We develop an exact algorithm that infers the substructure in time O(m^4), m being the number of random variables. The new algorithm is applied to a set of data sampled from a known distribution. The method is shown to reliably infer edges of the actual tree even when the data are very scarce, unlike the traditional approach. Finally, we provide lower and upper credibility limits for mutual information under the imprecise Dirichlet model. These enable the previous developments to be extended to a full inferential method for trees.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figure

Identification of floodwater source areas in Nepal using SCIMAP‐Flood

Practical approaches for managing flooding from fluvial sources are moving away from mitigation solely at the point of impact and towards integrated catchment management. This considers the source areas, flow pathways of floodwaters and the locations and exposure to the risk of communities. For a field site in southern Nepal, we analyse catchment response to a range of simulated rainfall events, which when evaluated collectively can help guide potential flood management solutions. This is achieved through the adoption of SCIMAP-Flood, a decision support framework that works at the catchment-scale to identify critical source areas for floodwaters. The SCIMAP-Flood Fitted inverse modelling approach has been applied to the East Rapti catchment, Nepal. For multiple flood impact locations throughout the catchment, SCIMAP-Flood effectively identifies locations where flood management measures would have the most positive effects on risk reduction. The results show that the spatial targeting of mitigation measures in areas of irrigated and rainfed agriculture and the prevention of deforestation or removal of shrubland would be the most effective approaches. If these actions were in the upper catchment above Hetauda or upstream of Manahari they would have the most effective reduction in the flood peak