Modeling of the Aerial Capacity through a Leontief Production Function: The Case of Tunisian Airports

Our objective is to model the airport capacity through a Leontief production function, which is based on the complementarity of the factors defining airport capacity. Results of our simulation for all Tunisian airports show that we can determine, especially, foreseeable future of the congestion, traffic processed by infrastructure, availability of infrastructures, the factors that block the circulation on the ground, and time measurements: delays, waiting time, and runway occupancy time. According to their capabilities (reduced, declared, optimal), three airports are identified. However, it is possible to avoid the extra costs experienced by the terminals and to optimize airports' capacity by making a reallocation of human resources and opting for a better exploitation of the existing infrastructures

Measuring and accounting for community capabilities in Kordofan, Sudan:

"Parallel to the growing attention being devoted to the relationship between empowerment and development, an increasing number of tools are being developed to measure empowerment and determine the link between these two phenomena. This paper details the methodological processes used to construct, test and possibly refine one such instrument, the Community Capability Index, an innovative tool to measure community capabilities in the domain of natural resource governance. Empirical reference is made to research conducted in 85 villages in North and South Kordofan, Sudan. Following this, the paper presents findings from analyses of the determinants of community capabilities, including geographic, economic, and institutional variables. The results suggest that in Kordofan a number of factors influence capabilities. Possessing a village market, proximity to the nearest town, and access to credit are economic variables that have a significant and highly positive effect on community capabilities. Regarding the environment, capabilities are found to be greater where there is more rainfall, but access to groundwater from lower-quality aquifers and cracking clay soils have negative impacts on capabilities. War shocks, as might be expected, have a negative and significant effect. Particularly interesting is the generally weak correlation found between capabilities and wealth, along with strong correlations between institutional and social dimensions of community capabilities and participation in donor-funded projects. This combination suggests that development interventions must take into account the non-identity of poverty reduction and empowerment processes, at least when the targeted agents are communities rather than individuals or households. The findings reveal areas for further investigation into the relationship between the determinants and dimensions of capabilities, and the potential significance of the relationship for some dimensions suggests context-specific interventions to strengthen the relevant capabilities." from Authors' AbstractCapabilities, Community Capabilities Index, Empowerment, methodologies, Social capital,

Understanding policy volatility in Sudan:

"In this paper we present the findings of a qualitative investigation into some dimensions and implications of policy volatility in the realms of natural resource (NR) governance and devolution in contemporary Sudan, with particular reference to Greater Kordofan. Our goal is to map out some aspects of the interplay between volatility, disempowerment processes affecting both state agents and the rural population, and certain problems of governance that are characteristic but not unique to Sudan. In particular, we argue that volatility is a dimension of poor governance worthy of investigation in its own right, as it is a primary ingredient of what we may call a “self-disempowering state,” where adaptive learning in policy processes is impeded and successful devolution faces particularly complex obstacles. The policy domain that we consider for analysis includes laws, regulations and policies enacted under the label of “Decentralization, Land Allocation and Land Use,” as well as large development projects supporting the decentralization or devolution of NR management to local communities in the region." from Authors' AbstractPolicy Volatility, Devolution, Communities, Governance, Rural population., Decentralization, Natural resource management, Land allocation, Land use, Greater Kordofan,

Le processus d’internationalisationdes PME Algériennes: les déterminants de la décision d’exportation

L’objectif principal de l’article est d’analyser les facteurs influençant la décision d’exportation d’un échantillon de 300 petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) manufacturières algériennes. Pour cela, nous utilisons la modélisation qualitative binomiale logistique. Les résultats montrent que la taille, l'âge de l’entreprise, larecherche & développement, la productivité du travail, l’appartenance au secteur d’activité, sont les variables qui influencent positivement la décision d’exportation des PME de notre échantillon. À contrario, l’expérience du dirigeant, le degré d’ouverture du secteur d’activité, sont des facteurs qui influencent négativement leur décision d’exportation. Par ailleurs, les variables qui caractérisent l’environnement des affaires, tels que les facilitations douanières, la fiscalité et le transport n’ont aucun effet sur l’engagement des PME de notre échantillon dans l’exportation.Mots Cles: internationalisation, PME, décision d’exportation, modèle logit, effets marginauxCode JEL: F2, F2

Theoretical Evidence and Empirical Investigation of the Impacts of Women’s Psychological Needs on the Environment, Well-Being, and Performance at Work

Purpose: This paper assesses how the satisfaction or frustration of women’s psychological needs (PN) influences their performance and well-being within their workplace, both in terms of positive effects and negative effects.   Theoretical framework: We explored how basis PN at work mediate the relationships between work demands–resources characteristics, well-being, and performance at work.   Design/Methodology/Approach: We conduct an electronics survey among 205 Saudi women workers and we do a multivariate analyzes with structural equations and tests with three specified models.   Findings: Job resources are positively related to satisfying women’s PN but negatively relate to any frustration of these needs. Job challenges also positively relate to the satisfaction of PN, while job hindrances are negatively related with satisfaction and positively related with the frustration of needs for autonomy, competence, and social affiliation. The satisfaction of PN is positively associated with engagement at work and good performance but negatively associated with burnout. Unsurprisingly, any frustration of PN is positively related to workplace deviance and burnout.   Research, Practical & Social implications: It is important to integrate self-determination theory at work with solid and credible scientific support. Leadership must provide a work environment in which women can tackle challenges and access sufficient resources to satisfy their basic psychological needs. They should reduce negative experiences that frustrate needs and promote positive experiences.   Originality/Value: The study contributes significantly to work and organizational psychology and human resource management by highlighting the nuances between job challenges and hindrances and distinguishes between satisfying and frustrating the women’s PN

Future anxiety and its relationship to mental health among a sample of Bouira University students

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف على العلاقة بين قلق المستقبل والصحة النفسية لدى عينة من طلبة جامعة البويرة، ولتحقيق هذا الهدف تم استخدام المنهج الوصفي الارتباطي، واختيرت عينة عشوائية مكونة من (50) طالبا وطالبة، واستخدمت في الدراسة أداتين هما: مقياس قلق المستقبل، ومقياس الصحة النفسية. وأظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن مستوى قلق المستقبل لدى عينة من طلبة جامعة البويرة مرتفع، وأن مستوى الصحة النفسية لديهم متوسط، وأن العلاقة الارتباطية موجبة ودالة إحصائيا بين قلق المستقبل والصحة النفسية لديهم.This study aimed to identify the relationship between future anxiety and mental health among a sample of Bouira University students, and in order to achieve this objective, the study was using the relational descriptive approach, and the sample was chosen randomly, and it consisted of (50) male and female students, and two tools were used in the study: The Future Anxiety Scale, and the Mental Health Scale. The results of the study showed that the level of future anxiety among a sample of Bouira University students is high, and that their level of mental health is average, and that the correlation positive and statistically significant between future anxiety and their mental health

Anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and cerebrovascular accidents in transitional Albania

Aim: The purpose of this study was twofold: i) in a case-control design, to determine the relationship between anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and cerebrovascular accidents; ii) to assess the association between anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and aneurisms among patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Albania in 2013-2014, including 100 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and 100 controls (individuals without cerebrovascular accidents). Patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage underwent a CT angiography procedure, whereas individuals in the control group underwent a magnetic resonance angiography procedure. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between cerebrovascular accidents and the anatomical variations of the circle of Willis. Conversely, Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the prevalence of aneurisms between subarachnoid hemorrhage patients with and without anatomical variations of the circle of Willis. Results: Among patients, there were 22 (22%) cases with anatomical variations of the circle of Willis compared with 10 (10%) individuals in the control group (P=0.033). There was no evidence of a statistically significant difference in the types of the anatomical variations of the circle of Willis between patients and controls (P=0.402). In age- and-sex adjusted logistic regression models, there was evidence of a significant positive association between cerebrovascular accidents and the anatomical variations of the circle of Willis (OR=1.87, 95%CI=1.03-4.68, P=0.048). Within the patients’ group, of the 52 cases with aneurisms, there were 22 (42.3%) individuals with anatomical variations of the circle of Willis compared with no individuals with anatomical variations among the 48 patients without aneurisms (P<0.001). Conclusion: This study provides useful evidence on the association between anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and cerebrovascular accidents in transitional Albania. Furthermore, findings from this study confirm the role of the anatomical variations of the circle of Willis in the occurrence of cerebral aneurisms

A Variable Kinematic Multifield Model for the Lamb Wave Propagation Analysis in Smart Panels

The present paper assessed the use of variable kinematic two-dimensional elements in the dynamic analysis of Lamb waves propagation in an isotropic plate with piezo-patches. The multi-field finite element model used in this work was based on the Carrera Unified Formulation which offers a versatile application enabling the model to apply the desired order theory. The used variable kinematic model allowed for the kinematic model to vary in space, thereby providing the possibility to implement a classical plate model in collaboration with a refined kinematic model in selected areas where higher order kinematics are needed. The propagation of the symmetric ((Formula presented.)) and the antisymmetric ((Formula presented.)) fundamental lamb waves in an isotropic strip was considered in both mechanical and piezo-elastic plate models. The convergence of the models was discussed for different kinematics approaches, under different mesh refinement, and under different time steps. The results were compared to the exact solution proposed in the literature in order to assess and further determine the effects of the different parameters used when dynamically modeling a Lamb wave propagating in such material. It was shown that the higher order kinematic models delivered a higher accuracy of the propagating wave evaluated using the corresponding Time Of Flight (TOF). Upon using the appropriate mesh refinement of 2000 elements and sufficient time steps of 4000 steps, the error between the TOF obtained analytically and numerically using a high order kinematics was found to be less than 1% for both types of fundamental Lamb waves (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.). Node-dependent kinematics models were also exploited in wave propagation to decrease the computational cost and to study their effect on the accuracy of the obtained results. The obtained results show, in both the mechanical and the piezo-electric models, that a reduction in the computational cost of up to 50% can be easily attained using such models while maintaining an error inferior to 1%