Search results for "Productivity."

Morphological and agronomical characterization of eggplant genetic resources from the Sicily area

2013

The eggplant is a vegetable crop widely grown throughout Sicily both in greenhouse and open field. This study was carried out by the Department of Agri-Environmental Systems at the University of Palermo in the Spring/Summer of 2011 in open fields. The aim of the study was to characterize 6 eggplant ecotypes (G1-G6) and three eggplant varieties (Birgah, Black bell and Viola di Firenze) from a morphological, phenological and production point of view, gathered from Sicily and the smaller islands. The genotypes G1 and G3 were found to be more productive than the varieties used in the test field. Ecotype G1 produced fruits which were dark violet and highly glossy, and produced the lowest percent…

The map of biodiversity : from local to global scales

2018

Species richness is not homogeneous in space and it normally presents differences when comparing among different sites. These differences often respond to gradients in one or several factors which create biodiversity patterns in space and are scale-dependent. At a local scale, diversity patterns depend on the habitat size (species-area relationship), the productivity, the environmental harshness, the frequency and intensity of disturbance, or the regional species pool. Regional diversity may be influenced by environmental heterogeneity (increasing dissimilarity), although it could act also at smaller or larger spatial scales, and the connectivity among habitats. Finally, at a global scale, …

2021

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unusually high submission rate of scholarly articles. Given that most academics were forced to work from home, the competing demands for familial duties may have penalized the scientific productivity of women. To test this hypothesis, we looked at submitted manuscripts and peer review activities for all Elsevier journals between February and May 2018-2020, including data on over 5 million authors and referees. Results showed that during the first wave of the pandemic, women submitted proportionally fewer manuscripts than men. This deficit was especially pronounced among more junior cohorts of women academics. The rate of the pee…

THE PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVENESS PROBLEMS OF LATVIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL ECONOM

2019

In the article the dynamics of labour productivity in Latvia was analyzed and the factors which have influenced the labour productivity in last 5 years were detected, to compare the productivity in Latvia with EU average. Analysing changes in productivity and labour costs in Latvia from 2013 till 2017, we can see that growth of labour costs exceeds the growth of productivity by more than 2 times in both, tradable sector and total economy. Slow growth in productivity compared with the labour and other production expenses lead to an increase in the price of final goods and services, which negatively corresponds with producers’ competitiveness in both internal and external market. Also, the at…

Prospects of Innovative Development of Agricultural Production on the Example of the Republic of Kazakhstan

2021

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to revise the methods of farming with a focus on the use of innovative technologies to improve the quality and quantity of output. The purpose of the study is to analyse the problems and prospects of agricultural production in the Republic of Kazakhstan to create a comprehensive innovative model for the further development of the agro-industrial sector. The study of the prospects for the modernised improvement of the agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan was carried out in three stages based on the functional and logical, systemic, and structural approaches using methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, systematisation…

The Role of Productivity in Increasing Latvian Competitiveness

2018

Productivity is the main key factor for Latvia to increased prosperity, ensuring efficient use of resources. Due to limited availability of resources and the increasing competition in the global markets, it is important for Latvia to support its economic growth through increased productivity.

Upstream Product Market Regulations, ICT, R&D and Productivity

2017

Our study aims to assess the actual importance of the two main channels via which upstream anti-competitive sector regulations are usually considered to impact productivity growth, i.e. by acting as a disincentive to business investments in R&D and in ICT. We estimate the specific impacts of these two channels and their shares in the total impact as opposed to alternative channels of investments in other forms of intangible capital that we cannot explicitly consider for lack of appropriate data such as improvements in skills, management and organization. To achieve this, we specify an extended production function explicitly relating productivity to R&D and ICT capital as well as to upstream…

A comparison of growth, gas exchange and productivity in Olea europaea cultivars growing on Mediterranean hills.

2008

This work concerns the ecophysiology of olive cultivars growing on Mediterranean hills. Our aim was to quantify the photosynthetic efficiency of the cultivars in cultivation. In two hill areas, we tested the phenological and ecophysio- logical variability of olive cultivars grown on non-irrigated land, with different pedo-climatic characteristics. Cultivation area 1 falls within a natural protected area, while area 2 is on farming land. The cultivars selected (‘Biancolilla’, ‘Nocellara del Belice’ and ‘Giarraffa’) belong to the local genetic pool and require different amounts of water. We followed the phe- nological phases of shoot growth and drupe production. We studied leaf anatomy and ch…

Empirical BAC factors method application to two real case studies in South Italy

2021

Abstract The application of Building Automation and Control (BAC) systems has many advantages. One of these is the reduction of the end-user electricity consumption and, if applied to lighting systems, the achievement of well-acknowledged benefits from daylight, such as productivity, health, visual comfort and well-being. Concerning the first aspect, the international Standard EN 15232 proposes the so-called BAC Factors (BF) method to assess the impact of BAC systems on the final energy consumption. The method provides a simplified estimation of the energy savings due to automation in buildings and questions arise on its applicability in some situations. For this reason, the authors have ca…

Life Cycle Assessment of organic and conventional apple supply chains in the North of Italy

2017

Abstract This paper compares the energy and environmental impacts of organic and conventional apples cultivated in the North of Italy, by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The authors examined the supply chain of apples, including the input of raw materials and energy sources, the farming step, the post-harvest processes and the distribution of apples to the final users. The paper develops two original contributions: 1) it enhances the limited number of studies on LCA applied to apples; 2) it compares organic and conventional apples produced in lands characterized by the same climatic conditions, to evaluate which of the two products is more competitive from an energy an…