A Model Examining the Effect of Generative Learning on the Relationship between Diversification and Financial Performance

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Organizations are trying to attain and sustain competitive advantage in the highly competitive business world settings. It is argued that one of the strategies to achieve competitive advantage is to form learning organizations. Diversification strategies of organizations are important growth decisions managers need to make. In this paper, organizational learning, learning organization, fundamental diversification strategies and the link between learning and diversification in the literature were discussed shortly. Then, the link between them was revisited considering the literature with a schema. At last, a causal model was introduced. Model suggested that When a company decides to expand its operations by adding new products related to existing product line, with the aim of exploiting its existing knowledge base, this company can reach superior financial performance  (financial performance means profitability) through generative learning. When a company decides to grow by adding a new product line irrelevant to existing product lines, with the aim of exploring new knowledge, then through generative learning, this company can introduce or develop new technologies in forms of new products/services, in other words make innovation. Unrelated diversification does not directly provide high financial performance. But gradually, as the innovation gain awareness, it brings in superior financial performance more than related diversification can bring in.

Formulation Development, Characterization and In Vitro Antibacterial Activity Evaluation of Cefazolin Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

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The main aims of this manuscript are to: i) investigate the high drug loading of cefazolin and its characterization, ii), demonstrate the bioactivity of the cefazolin particles in vitro on Staphylococcus aureus. From our results, it is observed that the cefazolin loading into MCM-41 particles is 34 wt %. Furthermore, particles showed the burst release of cefazolin at pH 6.8.  At higher concentration, MCM-41 particles are comparatively more cytotoxic as compared to lower concentration. Finally, cefazolin loaded particles showed higher in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus as compared to cefazolin only.

Expanded Utilization of Personal Electronic Devices during the Pandemic and its Effect on Overall Health and Wellness of People in Bangalore

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Over the last few years, smart phones have been replaced by landlines, cellular phones and other older versions of mobile phones. Smartphones and other personal electronic devices like laptop, tab, iPad etc. has made our lives easier by providing access to almost everything making our lives more comfortable and easier. In-spite of these several benefits associated with smartphones and personal electronic devices yet excessive usage results in affecting the mental and physical health of the people. The recent pandemic of covid-19 has bought our lives to a standstill and made us confine within our homes since the lockdown was being enforced in Bangalore and other states of India respectively. Thus, most of the activities including our occupation is being done through the means of smartphones and personal electronic devices which includes laptops, iPod, iPad etc. and the internet. This increased usage of has made a greater impact on the people in affecting their mental and physical health. This study aims to analyze how the people of the city Bangalore have been affected both mentally and physically due to the extended utilization of personal electronic devices during the pandemic and also provide ways to resolve this. A semi-structured questionnaire containing the basic details of the respondents, number of hours spent on personal electronic devices for work purpose and other purposes, number of physical and mental health effects suffered by each individual were being collected from the total number of fifty-four individuals out of which a sample of forty-seven people were being considered for this study.

Modeling and Forecasting of Tourism Demand in Malaysia

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The pattern of foreign tourist demand to Malaysia is analysed and forecasted using time series method and non-linear technique. There are nine selected countries that contribute a lot to tourist arrivals to Malaysia, namely Australia, Brunei, China, Indonesia, India, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Box-Jenkins time series method and Singular Spectrum Analysis are conducted and compared to study the best model to forecast the foreign tourist demand to Malaysia. Monthly data of tourism arrival in 1990 to 2014 were used and the forecasting were compared with 2015. Based on the results obtained, the forecasting model of Box-Jenkins time series method is the best model based on the percentage accuracy in forecasting the tourist demand to Malaysia.

Helicobacter Pylori Infection: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

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Helicobacter Pylori infection is one of the common infections worldwide. The rates of infection are reducing in both developed and developing countries, but it is still a widespread infection. In this paper we will discuss about H. pylori causes and the disease that could arise due to infection, preventive measure, precautions, treatment, and several important information regarding the infection. We also reviewed several papers and studies conducted on patients both adults and children who are affected with H. pylori.

Challenges of Poverty on Sexual Reproductive Health

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This paper reflects on the challenges of poverty on sexual reproductive health in Botswana. It intends to stimulate discussions on issues surrounding poverty and sexual reproductive and how to alleviate such challenges. The challenges explored include: lack of information on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR); poor access to SRHR; lack of negotiation skills for sexuality, and adolescents in poverty and SRHR. The paper starts with an overview of poverty in Botswana, then discusses the challenges of poverty on sexual and reproductive health rights and lastly, the recommendations that intend to address the challenges of poverty related to SRHR.

Surgical Management of Necrotizing Sialometaplasia of Hard Palate: A Case Report

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Necrotizing Sialometaplasia is rare and in the oral cavity it accounts <1% of all biopsied lesion. For decades Necrotizing Sialometaplasia were treated by conservative management as it is a self healing lesion. The progressive healing period was reported from 2 weeks to 3 months in the literature. Is necrotizing sialometaplasia a self-limiting disease? Here we report a case of non-healing necrotizing sialometaplasia which was treated by surgical management. Complete regression of the lesion was evident after the surgical management and no recurrence until two years of follow-up.

Management of Blockchain Based Hybrid P2P Energy Trading Market

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In the local energy trade market peer to peer energy trading and generation of local energy can condense the cost of energy consumption and harmful gases emission ( results in to generate the energy at consumer’s end the renewable energy sources are used) and rise the resilience of smart grid. However, privacy issues and trust may available in the trading of local energy with peers. To manage the energy trading a centralized system can be utilized but it faces the several issues and also it promotes the overall system cost. In this tabloid, based on the blockchain system a hybrid P2P energy trading market is proposed. This system totally decentralized and this system allows that members in trading market can able to interact with each other member and can able to trade the energy without the third party involvement. In the blockchain based energy exchange market the smart agreements play a vital role. Smart agreements follows the all the essential rules in the energy trading. To develop the hybrid electricity exchange market the 3 smart agreements are proposed in this tabloid. The three smart agreements are Main Smart agreement, P2P smart agreement and Producer to Grid smart agreement. Initially the market member interacts with main smart agreement and for further process it follows the other 2 smart agreements. The implementation of an efficient hybrid energy exchange market is the main objective of this tabloid and also reduces the cost of energy and peak to average ratio of electricity.

Environmental Awareness and the Use of Disposable Plastic

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Disposable plastic pollution has become one of the biggest environmental issues. It is evident that single-use plastic products are cheap, versatile, lightweight, resistant, easily available everywhere, which has made them very popular among people around the globe.

However, in many countries, single-use plastic shopping bags are the main source of rubbish, causing pollution impacting the environment and biodiversity. Although a lot of people understand harmful effects of plastic pollution, most people still keep using single-use plastic products. Due to these problems, our study aims to 1) understand the relationship between awareness about plastic pollution and the use of disposable plastic products, 2) explore students’ behaviors, knowledge, and awareness in reducing global warming caused by the overuse of plastic products, 3) observe the students’ attitude toward the impacts of disposable plastic pollution, and 4) raise participants’ awareness about environmental issues among a group of Thai high school students. Data were collected using a questionnaire asking about participants’ global warming knowledge, behaviors, and opinions about plastic usage. Survey samples, including Triamudomsuksanomklao students, were randomly selected through a random sampling method with a total of 307 students (100 males, 182 females, and 25 others). The majority of participants understood how harmful plastic pollution is to the environment. Our results revealed that participants’ knowledge and awareness were at high levels. Nevertheless, statistical analyses showed that there is a significant correlation between the level of awareness about plastic pollution and behavioral change, i.e. trying to avoid and reduce the use of one-time plastic bags or stop using plastic straws.

Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of a Novel In-Service Training Strategy of Public Health Staff: Evidence from Colombo Regional Directorate of Health Services, Sri Lanka

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Introduction: Continuous in-service training sessions help in updating and upgrading the competency of the public health field staff. Implementation of these sessions with the uniform delivery of the quality assured content has been a challenge in the Sri Lankan well-established preventive healthcare system.

Aim: To describe the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of a novel in-service training strategy of public health staff including Pubic Health Inspectors (PHI) and Public Health Midwives (PHM) conducted in the Colombo Regional Directorate of Health, Sri Lanka from January to June 2018.

Methods: A consultative meeting and a workshop was conducted with the participation of all stakeholders in reviewing the existing in-service training methodology and in recommending the strategies of overcoming the limitations of it. A novel strategy was developed for the implementation of in-service sessions with multi-level implementation and evaluation components. The in-service training sessions were conducted to improve the knowledge and quality of service provision by Public Health Inspectors, Public Health Midwives and other public health staff. Four evaluation indicators were defined. Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed rank test were used in the evaluation.

Results: By the consultative meetings and workshops, four main weaknesses of the existing in-service training system were revealed, and three characteristics of an ideal system were defined. Two process indicators have shown a coverage of the intervention of 100% while the median satisfaction scores were observed to be 85% or above. Two output/outcome indicators have shown that the interventions have yielded significantly higher post-intervention scores compared to the pre-intervention scores as perceived by the staff members (p<0.05), while the reception of feedback reports was 100%.

Conclusions and Recommendations: The novel strategy is seemingly effective in relation to the four evaluation indicators used. Possibility of implementing similar strategies in other areas must be explored with the view of disseminating quality assured content with uniformity among the public health field staff categories in the monthly in-service sessions.