Firms’ Contribution to Regional Economic Development: Unravelling Some Explanatory and Moderating Variables

Drawing on entrepreneurial orientation (EO), family business, strategic decision-making (SDM) and social capital (SC) theories, we investigated whether the family and non-family firms contribute differently to regional economic development (RED) and the moderating role of family involvement in firms. Using survey research design and data from 307 Kenyan firms, the findings of the study showed that: a) Firms’ EO positively influences RED, but the effect of family firms’ EO on RED is twice that of nonfamily firms; b) the relationship between strategic decision-making and RED is negative and this is more pronounced in family firms than nonfamily firms; c) Bridging social capital’s (BSC) influence on firms’ contributions to RED is positive, but nonfamily firms’ BSC effect is twice that of family firms; d) family involvement moderates the effects of firms’ contribution to RED. The overall conclusion of this study is that better understanding of firms’ effect on RED can be achieved by using a range of theories in combination, as such use would help to unpack the underlying mechanisms through which firms influence RED. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Managing institutional complexity in a transitional economy: The Legitimacy work of senior managers

The purpose of this paper is to examine how senior managers in a transitional economy context deal with the challenge of handling competing institutional logics through legitimacy work. The paper draws on the qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 34 senior managers in Ethiopia in matched pairs of four commercial organisations in private and state sectors and secondary sources. The research reveals how the erstwhile protected state-owned organisations responded to institutional complexity, by seeking to extend their legitimacy claims whereas the emergent private sector organisations sought to construct a new legitimacy, in part by adopting some of the logics used by state-firms. Extending this study with longitudinal comparative case studies across other emerging market economies could cast light on the varied ways in which organisations manage institutional complexities. It is imperative that the government and policy makers have clarity in issuing directives and other signals about valued objectives to be pursued by enterprises. Otherwise, the organisational level actors may remain uncertain about the acceptable behaviours and responses and are likely to waste time and resources in trying to anticipate an unclear sense of direction. This is a novel study which examines how organisational actors manage institutional complexity in a transitional economy context by undertaking legitimacy building work and appearing to meet state-public expectations

AE 2250: Construction Graphics and Design—A Peer Review of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio

This course portfolio designs and documents AE 2250 (Construction Design and Graphics) course that is taught in Spring 2016 at UNL\u27s College of Engineering under the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction program. The course is intended to introduce BIM (Building Information Modeling) to architectural engineering, construction engineering, construction management and civil engineering students ranging from freshman to juniors. This course portfolio documents the challenges associated with delivering this course, tailors the course objectives, activities and tracking measures to meet the course objectives throughout the semester. This portfolio uses quantitative and qualitative measures to track student performances and learning objectives including Blackboard statistics and CATME modules. Various course activities including final project, research presentation, quizzes and exams are designed and presented using representative examples and student performances. The portfolio also documents future works and improvements that needs to be addressed at the department and college level

AE 2250: Construction Graphics and Design—A Peer Review of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio

This course portfolio designs and documents AE 2250 (Construction Design and Graphics) course that is taught in Spring 2016 at UNL\u27s College of Engineering under the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction program. The course is intended to introduce BIM (Building Information Modeling) to architectural engineering, construction engineering, construction management and civil engineering students ranging from freshman to juniors. This course portfolio documents the challenges associated with delivering this course, tailors the course objectives, activities and tracking measures to meet the course objectives throughout the semester. This portfolio uses quantitative and qualitative measures to track student performances and learning objectives including Blackboard statistics and CATME modules. Various course activities including final project, research presentation, quizzes and exams are designed and presented using representative examples and student performances. The portfolio also documents future works and improvements that needs to be addressed at the department and college level

Top-Level Managers' 'Business Knowledge' in a Transition Economy: The Case of Ethiopia

The research reported in this thesis explores the work of knowing which managers bring to their roles in a transition economy context. It focuses on the processes by which a sample of managers in Ethiopia know how to make sense of, and act upon, the differences that make a difference. The point of departure was the contemporary Western construct of 'business knowledge'. But the research problematises this and reveals the processual nature of knowing using a sensemaking perspective. The empirical work involved interviews with 40 top-level managers in five case studies supplemented with 18 interviews with analysts, industry experts and officials at national level. The study found that at the national level, Ethiopian top-level managers' business knowledge tended overall to be uncertain, differentiated, politicised and rapidly evolving. At the organizational level of analysis a number of important differences were revealed in the ways in which these senior managers made sense of the business environment and of their own organizational strategies and capabilities. Four main factors seemed to explain these differences. These were: (a) the degree of perceived reliance on the state for legitimacy and critical resources; (b) the extent to which managers were exposed to market pressures; (c) path dependence; and (d) managers' interpretive orientations. This thesis contributes to the ongoing debates on how top-level managers' judgements on key organisational issues are based upon their sensemaking, their interpretative work and the forms of knowledge which they utilise to frame their decision making. The thesis adds to the conceptualisation and understanding of the nature of managers' knowledge in general and how, in particular, managers make sense of and act upon what they know in a transition economy context. On a wider plane also, this thesis represents a serious attempts to span the cultural divide between, on the one hand, Anglo-centric debates about knowledge and knowing, and, on the other, the Ethiopian business practice. Hence, it offers a novel alternative to the idea that management should be as 'scientific as possible' by illuminating the variety of ways in which different people make sense of experiences in different ways. In doing so, it raises questions about the utility of received thinking about management in various social and cultural contexts

The impact of electricity shortages on large- and medium-scale manufacturing industries in Ethiopia

This study examines the impact of electricity shortages on the Large- and Medium-Scale Manufacturing Industry (LMSMI) in Ethiopia, using data obtained from a case study of 16 LMSMI firms that was undertaken in Addis Ababa from January 2004 to February 2004. In addition, the study examines the causes of these electricity shortages. Ethiopia's electricity supply relies very heavily on hydroelectric power, with geothermal, natural gas, solar, coal and diesel together providing only 1% of the total electricity supply. Significant power shortages occurred in the years 1995/96, 1997/98 and 1999/2000, with a particularly severe power shortage happening in 2002/03. The causes of these included a general increase in electriCity demand, without a corresponding increase in installed hydropower capacity, and a sustained period of drought. The case study findings showed that power outages were particularly costly in the LMSMI sector, through production and raw materials losses, damage to equipment, and the additional investment and operating costs of self-generation among those firms that purchased and used their own diesel generators as a backup source of electriCity. The case study results indicated that power outages caused firms without backup generators to lose approximately 15% to 30% of their potential production in 2002/03. Even in the other years when the power shortages were less severe, losses could reach up to 10%. By extrapolating the sampled firms' production losses to the total number of LMSMI firms in the country, it can be estimated that the country may have lost 10% to 15% of total yearly gross value of production that could have contributed from this sector and 1 % to 3% of total yearly government revenue. In the past, because of the low level of development in the Ethiopian LMSMI sector, the costs of power outages on this sector had not been as big, despite their high frequency. It is envisaged that, when the country's economy grows and the government's new policy (the Agricultural Development-Led Industrialization strategic plan) increases the economy's dependence on LMSMI production, then power outages would certainly have a much greater impact on the LMSMI sector as well as on the total economy of the country. In order to avoid this, therefore, some of the constraints which contributed to power shortages in the past (such as poor planning and governance, bad decision-making, and a lack of integrated planning), should be addressed. In addition, unplanned power outages, which, according to the firms interviewed, had an even greater impact than scheduled power outages, should be minimized. Hopefully, in the future, these measures will improve the performance and reliability of the electriCity supply in the country

Review on Pumkin Production and Nutritional Value in Ethiopia

Among cucurbitaceous vegetables, pumpkin has been appreciated for high yields, long storage life and high nutritive value. All world continent produce pumpkin except Antarctica: including United States, Canada, Mexico, India, and China. Large number of pumpkin varieties varying in shape, size and colour of flesh are available. Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata are the worldwide commonly grown species of pumpkin. The weather of Ethiopia makes a suitable environment for the growth of pumpkin. Few years ago, farmers used to produce pumpkin in their gardens together with cereals, in farms near fences for the plants to easily creep on fences and houses, marginal or waste land, on decaying hay and heap of cow dung. It is commonly known to be used for both food and in herbal medicine formulation for the treatment of various ailments. Pumpkin contains biologically active compounds like polysaccharides, para-aminobenzoic acid, fixed oils, sterol, proteins and peptides. The fruits are a good source of carotenoid and γ - aminobutyric acid. Pumpkin seeds are good sources of protein, fats, carbohydrates and minerals. It said to have contained 93% essential amino acids, 53% crude fat and 27% crude protein. The seed contains oil which is used for cooking. Pumpkin despite its enormous benefits, information on production, challenges and nutritive value was limited in Ethiopia. This is as a result of inadequate knowledge on its importance and how livelihoods of many families will be affected by its production. Therefore the objective of this paper was to review the production status and challenges and nutritive values of pumpkin in Ethiopia. Keywords: pumpkin, nutritive value, production, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-24-01 Publication date: December 31st 202

Towards an evaluation of schema theory with reference to ESL/EFL reading comprehension.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D93524 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo