Search results for: construction sector

Authors: Parinaz Arashnia, Farzad Hatami, Saeed Ghaffarpour Jahromi

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Using steel in bridges’ construction because of their desired tensile and compressive strength and light weight especially in large spans was widely popular. Disadvantages of steel such as corrosion, buckling and weaknesses in high temperature and unsuitable weld could be solve with using Fibres Reinforced Polymer (FRP) profiles. The FRP is a remarkable class of composite polymers that can improve structural elements behaviour like corrosion resistance, fir resistance with good proofing and electricity and magnetic non-conductor. Nowadays except FRP reinforced bars and laminates, FRP I-beams are made and studied. The main reason for using FRP profiles is, prevent of corrosion and increase the load carrying capacity and durability, especially in large spans in bridges’ deck. In this paper, behaviour of I-section glass fibres reinforced polymer (GFRP) beam is discussed under point loads with numerical models and results has been compared and verified with experimental tests.

Keywords: glass fibres reinforced polymer, composite, I-section beam, durability, finite element method, numerical model

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Authors: Wildan Syafitri

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The main purpose of the development is to embody public welfare. Its indication is shown by the increasing of the public prosperity in which it will be related to the consumption level as a consequence of the increasing of public income. One of the government’s efforts to increase public welfare is to create development equity in order to alleviate poor people. Poverty’s problem is not merely about the number and percentage of the poor people, but also it includes the gap and severity of poverty.the analysis method used is Benefit Incidence Analysis (BIA) that is an analysis method used to disclose the impact of government policy or individual access based on the income distribution in society. Further, the finding of the study revealed is that the highest number of the poor people in the village is those who are unemployed and have family members who are still in the Junior High School. The income distribution calculation shows a fairly good budget allocation applied with good mass ratio that is 0.31. In addition, the finding of this study also discloses that Indonesian Government policy to subsidize education cost for Elementary and Junior High School students has reached the right target. It is indicated by more benefits received by Elementary and Junior High School students who are poor and very poor than other income group.

Keywords: benefit incidence analysis, budget allocation, poverty, education

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Authors: Nihan Akdemir

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This research aims to investigate the role of fashion in the context of the deconstruction of gender stereotypes. Expectation of society and culture related to the biological structure of the individual corresponds to the gender. At this point there are some unseen rules which are given to person even from his/her childhoods according to the sex and gender, are called stereotypes. With basic example, girls should wear pink, and the boys should wear blue. Or boys do not wear skirt and the woman must behave like a woman. There are also many many stereotypes like them. But the clothing style the individual uses to express his or her gender identity may not match the expectations of the community and society. In the context of big role of the clothing, these stereotypes could be deconstructed because clothes are the visible expression of gender identity of the person. And fashion is a big part of this structure because fashion is a pioneer of what people wear in other words fashion tells to people what should they wear this season. Nowadays fashion has also meant about expressing identity independent of whether you were born male or female. Many fashion brands prepare their collections in the concept of ‘gender fluid’ by deconstructions. It means that fashion is opening the roads for being more free about the gender identity. The representations of gender fluidity through fashion help bring a sense of normality to people who are trying to find the self-confidence to express who they want to be. Maybe the voice of the streets carries this point to the catwalks firstly, and then it becomes a trend. All these items have been explained with visual images and supported by the literature investigations. And the results are showed that the numbers of collections about it are increasing and fashion sector takes this issue into consideration. And this new approach reached to the streets.

Keywords: fashion, gender identity, gender stereotypes, trend

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Authors: Mahvish Anjum

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India is a land of craftsmen and a hub of many popular embroidery clusters. Chikankari is the name given to the delicate art of hand embroidery, traditionally practiced in the city of Lucknow and its environs. Chikankari not only provide employment to 250,000 artisans of different crafts but people from non-craft base also earn their livelihood by associating themselves with this craft. People working in this sector are exploited in term of working hours, low and irregular income, unsatisfactory work conditions, no legal protection and exposed to occupational health hazards. The present paper is an attempt to analyse occupational profile of workers engaged in Chikan embroidery industry. Being an empirical study, the entire work is based upon primary sources of data which have collected through field survey. Purposive random sampling has used for selection of data. Total 150 workers have surveyed through questionnaire technique in Lucknow city during October-November, 2017. For analysis of data Z-score, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation techniques are used. The result of present study indicates that artisans are exploited by the middle man and face the problem of late payment and long working hours because they are not directly associated with the manufacturers. Work conditions of the workers are quite poor such as improper ventilation, poor light and unhygienic conditions that adversely affect the health of workers.

Keywords: artisans, socio-economic status, unorganized industry, work condition

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Authors: Nela Milosevic, Sladjana Barjaktarovic Rakocevic, Sladjana Benkovic, Nemanja Milanovic

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Nowadays, performance measurement systems play a key role in evaluating the strategic performances of an organization. On the other hand, there has been a shift towards the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), which has been recognized as a valuable managerial approach. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the main performances of Serbian banks measured at the branches level, through the usage of the Balanced Scorecard framework. Although an extensive number of practitioners have an interest in the Balanced Scorecard approach, little empirical research has been conducted on the implementation of its concept in the service sector like banks, especially within developing countries. From the beginning of August till the end of September 2015, authors have been conducting in-depth interviews among a number of experts from the most successful banks in Serbia. The results show that the non-financial measures, especially, customer oriented indicators and product/ service oriented indicators, seem to be very important factors for improving not only the financial situation within the bank, but also overall business performances. Additionally, the findings prove that there is the cause-effect relationship between non-financial and financial dimensions of the Balanced Scorecard. Having in mind that the banks are still using outdated performance evaluation systems, such as annual, quarterly and monthly reports, we hope that this paper will contribute to the knowledge of how banks in Serbia may apply the Balanced Scorecard approach to evaluate their performance on the most efficient and effective way.

Keywords: balanced scorecard approach, bank management, performance measurement systems, strategic performances

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Authors: I. S. R. Butswat, D. Zahraddeen

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This study identified and described some skill-based and necessity-driven entrepreneurship in animal agriculture (AA). AA is an integral segment of the world food industry, and provides a good and rapid source of income. The contribution of AA to the Sub-Saharan economy is quite significant, and there are still large opportunities that remain untapped in the sector. However, it is imperative to understand, simplify and package the various components of AA in order to pave way for rapid wealth creation, poverty eradication and women empowerment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries. The entrepreneurial areas of AA highlighted were animal breeding, livestock fattening, dairy production, poultry farming, meat production (beef, mutton, chevon, etc.), rabbit farming, wool/leather production, animal traction, animal feed industry, commercial pasture management, fish farming, sport animals, micro livestock production, private ownership of abattoirs, slaughter slabs, animal parks and zoos, among others. This study concludes that reproductive biotechnology such as oestrous synchronization, super-/multiple ovulation, artificial insemination and embryo transfer can be employed as a tool for improvement of genetic make-up of low-yielding animals in terms of milk, meat, egg, wool, leather production and other economic traits that will necessitate sustainable job and wealth creations.

Keywords: animal, agriculture, entreprenurship, wealth

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Authors: Hanan M. Alghamdi, Kholud E. Alsalami, Manal I. Alshaikhi, Nouf M. Alsalami, Sara A. Awad, Ruqaya A. Alrabei

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Tourism in Saudi Arabia is one of the emerging sectors with rapid growth. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is characterized by its wonderful and historical areas, which constitute important cultural and tourist landmarks. These landmarks attract the attention of the government of Saudi Arabia; hence the improvement of the tourism sector becomes one of the important axes of Saudi Arabia's vision 2030. There is a need to enhance the tourist experience by facilitating the tourism process for visitors to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This project aims to design an application to serve domestic tourists and visitors from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This application will contain an automated tourist generate plan service by sentiment analysis of comments in Google Map using Lexicon for method Rule-based approach. There are thirteen regions in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The regions supported in this application will be Makkah and Asir regions. According to the output of the sentiment analysis, the application will recommend restaurants and cafes, activities (parks, museums) and shopping (shopping centers) in the generated plan. After that, the system will show the user a drop-down list of “Mega-events in Saudi Arabia” containing a link to the site of events in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. and “important information for you” public decency regulations.

Keywords: tourist automated plan, sentiment analysis, comments in google map, tourism in Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Colm Barcoe, Garvan Whelan

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact that US TV and movies have had on Irish tourism. This study examines how a destination marketing organisation (DMO) can use social media channels to capitalise upon the opportunities created by film tourism as it pertains to North American TV and movie productions. The findings are based on a combination of two qualitative methods, in-depth interviews with 20 industry professionals and a Netnographic analysis of social media activity between Tourism Ireland and the North American audience on Facebook and Twitter. The qualitative data were analysed in order to provide insights into the effectiveness of using North American pop culture as part of a digital marketing strategy when creating awareness of Ireland as a brand in the US and Canada. This study addresses a gap in the literature in relation to the use of social media when attracting the North American holidaymaker to Ireland. The findings from this investigation will extend an under-researched body of literature pertaining to Ireland as a destination and the successful digital marketing campaigns that have achieved exponential growth in this sector over the past five years. The empirical evidence presented also illustrates how the innovative use of social media has assisted the DMO to engage with the North American holidaymaker as part of an effective digital marketing strategy. This paper will be of value to academics and industry practitioners interested in film-induced tourism and indeed tourism in general, as well as students.

Keywords: digital marketing, tourism, strategies, movies, US TV

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Authors: Jayakrishnan Narayanan, Sengamalam Periyasamy Dhanavel

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Indian classical (Karnatik) music videos across various media platforms have followed an audio-visual pattern that conforms to its socio-cultural and quasi-religious identity. The present paper analyzes the semiotic variations between ‘pure Karnatik music videos’ and ‘independent/contemporary-collaborative music videos’ posted on social media by young professional Karnatik musicians. The paper analyzes these media texts by comparing their various structural sememes namely, the title, artists, music, narrative schemata, visuals, lighting, sound, and costumes. The paper argues that the pure Karnatik music videos are marked by the presence of certain recurring mythological or third level signifiers and that these signifiers and codes are marked by their conspicuous absence in the independent music videos produced by the same musicians. While the music and the musical instruments used in both these sets of music videos remain similar, the meaning that is abducted by the beholder in each case is entirely different. The paper also attempts to study the identity conflicts that are projected through these music videos and the extent to which the cultural connotations of Karnatik music govern the production of its music videos.

Keywords: abduction, identity, media semiotics, music video

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Authors: Shams Ul Khaliq, Mushtaq Zeb, Fawad Bilal, Faizan Akbar, Syed Aamir Abbas

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Self Compacting Concrete as the name implies--is the concrete requiring a very little or no vibration to fill the form homogeneously. Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) is defined by two primary properties: Ability to flow or deform under its own weight (with or without obstructions) and the ability to remain homogeneous while doing so. Flow ability is achieved by utilizing high range water reducing admixtures and segregation resistance is ensured by introducing a chemical viscosity modifying admixture (VMA) or increasing the amount of fines in the concrete. The study explores the use waste marble dust (WMD) to increase the amount of fines and hence achieve self-compatibility in an economical way, suitable for Pakistani construction industry. The study focuses on comparison of fresh properties of SCC containing varying amounts of waste marble dust (WMD) with that containing commercially available viscosity modifying admixture. The comparison is done at different dosages of super plasticizer keeping cement, water, coarse aggregate, and fine aggregate contents constant.

Keywords: self compacting concrete, waste marble dust (WMD), flow ability, segregation resistance

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Authors: Noorlizawati Abd Rahim, Zainai Mohamed, Zaidatun Tasir, Astuty Amrin, Haliyana Khalid, Nina Diana Nawi

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Entrepreneurial leaders have been sought as in-demand talents to lead profit-driven organizations during turbulent and unprecedented times. However, research regarding the pertinence of their roles in the public sector has been limited. This paper examined the characteristics of the challenging experiences encountered by senior leaders in public universities that require them to embrace entrepreneurialism in their leadership. Through a focus group interview with five Malaysian university top senior leaders with experience being Vice-Chancellor, we explored and developed a framework of institutional adversity characteristics and exemplary entrepreneurial leadership competency in the face of adversity. Complexity of diverse stakeholders, multiplicity of academic disciplines, unfamiliarity to lead different and broader roles, leading new directions, and creating change in high velocity and uncertain environment are among the dimensions that characterise institutional adversities. Our findings revealed that learning agility, opportunity recognition capacity, and bridging capability are among the characteristics of entrepreneurial university leaders. The findings reinforced that the presence of specific attributes in institutional adversity and experiences in overcoming those challenges may contribute to the development of entrepreneurial leadership capabilities.

Keywords: bridging capability, entrepreneurial leadership, leadership development, learning agility, opportunity recognition, university leaders

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Authors: Jenny Paola Forero Pachón, Sonia Cristina Gamboa Sarmiento, Luis Carlos Gómez Flórez

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The Colombian government has defined an e-government strategy to take advantage of Information Technologies (IT) in order to contribute to the building of a more efficient, transparent and participative State that provides better services to citizens and businesses. In this regard, the Justice sector is one of the government sectors where IT has generated more expectation considering that the country has a judicial processes backlog. This situation has led to the search for alternative forms of access to justice that speed up the process while providing a low cost for citizens. To this end, the Colombian government has authorized the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods (ADR), a remedy where disputes can be resolved more quickly compared to judicial processes while facilitating greater communication between the parties, without recourse to judicial authority. One of these methods is conciliation, which includes a special modality that takes advantage of IT for the development of itself known as virtual conciliation. With this option the conciliation is supported by information systems, applications or platforms and communications are provided through it. This paper evaluates the level of maturity in how the service of virtual conciliation is under the framework of this strategy. This evaluation is carried out considering Shahkooh's 5-phase model for e-government. As a result, it is evident that in the context of conciliation, maturity does not reach the necessary level in the model so that it can be considered as virtual conciliation; therefore, it is necessary to define strategies to maximize the potential of IT in this context.

Keywords: alternative dispute resolution, e-government, evaluation of maturity, Shahkooh model, virtual conciliation

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Authors: Holly Sandberg, Christina McCoy, Khaled Mansy

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Eucalyptus Cloeziana, commonly known as Gympie Messmate, is a fast-growing hardwood native to Australia. Its quick growth makes it advantageous for carbon sequestering, while its strength class lends itself to structural applications. Market research shows that the demand for timber is growing, especially mass timber. An environmental product declaration, or EPD, for eucalyptus Cloeziana in the Australian market has been evaluated and compared to the EPD’s of steel and Douglas fir of the same region. An EPD follows a product throughout its life cycle, stating values for global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, and abiotic depletion potential. This paper highlights the market potential, as well as the environmental benefits and challenges to using Gympie Messmate as a structural building material. In addition, a case study is performed to compare steel, Douglas fir, and eucalyptus in terms of embodied carbon and structural weight within a single structural bay. Comparisons among the three materials highlight both the differences in structural capabilities as well as environmental impact.

Keywords: eucalyptus, timber, construction, structural, material

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Authors: Bruno de Almeida Vilela, Heinz Ahn, Ana Lúcia Miranda Lopes, Marcelo Azevedo Costa

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Benchmarking public utilities such as transmission system operators (TSOs) is one of the main strategies employed by regulators in order to fix monopolistic companies’ revenues. Since 2007 the Brazilian regulator has been utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to benchmark TSOs. Despite the application of DEA to improve the transmission sector’s efficiency, some problems can be pointed out, such as the high price of electricity in Brazil; the limitation of the benchmarking only to operational expenses (OPEX); the absence of variables that represent the outcomes of the transmission service; and the presence of extremely low and high efficiencies. As an alternative to the current concept of benchmarking the Brazilian regulator uses, we propose a goal-oriented approach. Our proposal supports input/output selection by taking traditional organizational goals and measures as a basis for the selection of factors for benchmarking purposes. As the main advantage, it resolves the classical DEA problems of input/output selection, undesirable and dual-role factors. We also provide a demonstration of our goal-oriented concept regarding service quality. As a result, most TSOs’ efficiencies in Brazil might improve when considering quality as important in their efficiency estimation.

Keywords: decision making, goal-oriented benchmarking, input/output factor determination, TSO regulation

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Authors: Dong Wook Lee, Seung Hyun Kim, Jeongho Oh

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With the strengthened regulation on the mandatory use of recycled aggregate, development of construction materials using recycled aggregate has recently increased. This study aimed to secure the performance of asphalt concrete mixture by developing recycled-modified asphalt using recycled basalt aggregate from the Jeju area. The strength of the basalt aggregate from the Jeju area used in this study was similar to that of general aggregate, while the specific surface area was larger due to the development of pores. Modified asphalt was developed using a general aggregate-recycled aggregate ratio of 7:3, and the results indicated that the Marshall stability increased by 27% compared to that of asphalt concrete mixture using only general aggregate, and the flow values showed similar levels. Also, the indirect tensile strength increased by 79%, and the toughness increased by more than 100%. In addition, the TSR for examining moisture resistance was 0.95 indicating that the reduction in the indirect tensile strength due to moisture was very low (5% level), and the developed recycled-modified asphalt could satisfy all the quality standards of asphalt concrete mixture.

Keywords: asphalt concrete mixture, performance grade, recycled basalt aggregate, recycled-modified asphalt

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Authors: Andra Blumberga, Armands Gravelsins, Haralds Vigants, Dagnija Blumberga

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The paper discovers biotechonomy development analysis by use of system dynamics modelling. The research is connected with investigations of biomass application for production of bioproducts with higher added value. The most popular bioresource is wood, and therefore, the main question today is about future development and eco-design of products. The paper emphasizes and evaluates energy sector which is open for use of wood logs, wood chips, wood pellets and so on. The main aim for this research study was to build a framework to analyse development perspectives for wood pellet production. To reach the goal, a system dynamics model of energy wood supplies, processing, and consumption is built. Production capacity, energy consumption, changes in energy and technology efficiency, required labour source, prices of wood, energy and labour are taken into account. Validation and verification tests with available data and information have been carried out and indicate that the model constitutes the dynamic hypothesis. It is found that the more is invested into pellets production, the higher the specific profit per production unit compared to wood logs and wood chips. As a result, wood chips production is decreasing dramatically and is replaced by wood pellets. The limiting factor for pellet industry growth is availability of wood sources. This is governed by felling limit set by the government based on sustainable forestry principles.

Keywords: bioenergy, biotechonomy, system dynamics modelling, wood pellets

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Authors: Supriadi Hardianto, Aditya Daniswara

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Today's workplace, flooded by millennial Generation or known also as Generation Y. A common problem that faced by the company towards Gen Y is a high turnover rate, attitudes problem, communication style, and different work style than the older generation. This is common in private sector. The objective of this study is to get a better understanding of the Gen Y Career Attitude at the workplace. The subject of this study is focusing on 430 respondent of Gen Y which age between 20 – 35 years old who works for a private company. The Questionnaire as primary data source captured 9 aspects of career attitude based on Career Attitudes Strategy Inventory (CASI). This Survey distributes randomly among Gen Y in the IT Industry (125 Respondent) and Manufacture Company (305 Respondent). A Random deep interview was conducted to get the better understanding of the etiology of their primary obstacles. The study showed that most of Indonesia Gen Y have a moderate score on Job satisfaction but in the other aspects, Gen Y has the lowest score on Skill Development, Career Worries, Risk-Taking Style, Dominant Style, Work Involvement, Geographical Barrier, Interpersonal Abuse, and Family Commitment. The top 5 obstacles outside that 9 aspects that faced by Gen Y are 1. Lower communication & networking support; 2. Self-confidence issues; 3. Financial Problem; 4. Emotional issues; 5. Age. We also found that parent perspective toward the way they are nurturing their child are not aligned with their child’s real life. This research fundamentally helps the organization and other Gen Y’s Stakeholders to have a better understanding of Gen Y Career Attitude at the workplace.

Keywords: career attitudes, CASI, Gen Y, career attitude at workplace

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Authors: L. Almulla

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Native plants are better adapted to the local environment providing a more natural effect on landscape projects; their use will both conserve natural resources and produce sustainable greenery. Continuation of evaluation of additional native plants is essential to increase diversity of plant resources for greenery projects. Therefore, in this project an effort was made to study the mass multiplication of further native plants for greenery applications. Standardization of vegetative propagation methods is essential for conservation and sustainable utilization of native plants in restoration projects. Moreover, these simple propagation methods can be readily adapted by the local nursery sector in Kuwait. In the present study, various treatments were used to mass multiply selected plants using vegetative parts to secure maximum rooting and initial growth. Soft or semi-hardwood cuttings of selected native plants were collected from mother plants and subjected to different treatments. Pennisetum divisum can be vegetatively propagated by cuttings/off-shoots. However, Tamarix aucheriana showed maximum number of rooted cuttings and stronger vigor seedlings with the lowest growth hormone concentration. Standardizing the propagation techniques for the native plant species will add to the rehabilitation and landscape revegetation projects in Kuwait.

Keywords: Kuwait desert, landscape, rooting percentage, vegetative propagation

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Authors: Siddhartha Paul, Aman Harlalka, Ashim K. Dey

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Soft clayey soil possesses poor bearing capacity and high compressibility because of which foundations cannot be directly placed over soft clay. Normally pile foundations are constructed to carry the load through the soft soil up to the hard stratum below. Pile construction is costly and time consuming. In order to increase the properties of soft clay, many ground improvement techniques like stone column, preloading with and without sand drains/band drains, etc. are in vogue. Time is a constraint for successful application of these improvement techniques. Another way to improve the bearing capacity of soft clay and to reduce the settlement possibility is to apply geocells below the foundation. The geocells impart rigidity to the foundation soil, reduce the net load intensity on soil and thus reduce the compressibility. A well designed geocell reinforced soil may replace the pile foundation. The present paper deals with the applicability of geocells on improvement of the bearing capacity. It is observed that a properly designed geocell may increase the bearing capacity of soft clay up to two and a half times.

Keywords: bearing capacity, geo-cell, ground improvement, soft clay

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Authors: Ana P. R. N. Barroso, Maurício N. Kleinberg, Frederico R. Silva, Rodrigo F. Guimarães, Marcelo M. V. Parente, Walney S. Araújo

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The fight against accelerated wear of the equipment used in the oil and gas sector is a challenge for minimizing maintenance costs. Corrosion being one of the main agents of equipment deterioration, we seek alternative materials that exhibit improved corrosion resistance at low cost of production. This study aims to evaluate the corrosion behavior of experimental alloys containing 15% and 17% of chromium (Cr) and 5% of molybdenum (Mo) in comparison with an AISI 444 commercial alloy. Microstructural analyzes were performed on samples of the alloys before and after the electrochemical tests. Two samples of each solubilized alloy were also taken for analysis of the corrosion behavior by testing potentiodynamic polarization (PP) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) with immersion time of 24 hours in electrolytic solution with acidic character. The graphics obtained through electrochemical tests of PP and EIS indicated that among the experimental alloys, the alloy with higher chromium content (17%) had a higher corrosion resistance, confirming the beneficial effect of adding chromium. When comparing the experimental alloys with the AISI 444 commercial alloy, it is observed that the AISI 444 commercial alloy showed superior corrosion resistance to that of the experimental alloys for both assays, PP and EIS. The microstructural analyzes performed after the PP and EIS tests confirmed the results previously described. These results suggest that the addition of these levels of molybdenum did not favor the electrochemical behavior of experimental ferritic alloys for the electrolytic medium studied.

Keywords: corrosion, molybdenum, electrochemical tests, experimental alloys

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Authors: Sita Yuliastuti Amijaya, Wiyatiningsih Wiyatiningsih, Paulus Bawole

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Weaving skills were not originally a way to earn money for the traditional people on Sumba Island. Weaving is a leisure activity carried out between farming and caring for families. It is quite understandable if the weavers are women. At this time, weaving crafts become a unique potential inherent in an area, so that the weaver women also have the potential to drive economic activity in regional tourism sector. This study aims to measure the sustainability of traditional weaving business activities in Anajiaka Village, Umbu Ratu Nggay Barat, Central Sumba Regency, which is able to support the creative economy. The analysis was performed using qualitative descriptive methods by comparing the criteria of smart living and smart economy in the study of smart city. This study found that business sustainability will be better maintained if it is bound in a joint commitment, for example by forming a group of craftsmen. Other challenges besides the commitment of the group members are aspects of local government support and related agencies, in the form of guidance, funding, and promotion. In addition, fabric order targets, maintaining family and community balance, are recognized as obstacles for craftsmen. The modern marketing model is not yet mastered by the craftsmen group, so it needs assistance for future development.

Keywords: agriculture, craftsmen, creativepreneur, smart economy, smart living

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Authors: N. J. Shanono, J. G. Ndiritu

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The poor performance of water resource systems (WRS) has been reportedly linked to not only climate variability and the water demand dynamics but also human behaviour-driven unlawful activities. Some of these unlawful activities that have been adversely affecting water sector include unauthorized water abstractions, water wastage behaviour, refusal of water re‐use measures, excessive operational losses, discharging untreated or improperly treated wastewater, over‐application of chemicals by agricultural users and fraudulent WRS operation. Despite advances in WRS planning, operation, and analysis incorporating such undesirable human activities to quantitatively assess their impact on WRS performance remain elusive. This study was then inspired by the need to develop a methodological framework for WRS performance assessment that integrates the impact of human behaviour with WRS performance assessment analysis. We, therefore, proposed a conceptual framework for assessing the impact of human behaviour on WRS performance using the concept of socio-hydrology. The framework identifies and couples four major sources of WRS-related values (water values, water systems, water managers, and water users) using three missing links between human and water in the management of WRS (interactions, outcomes, and feedbacks). The framework is to serve as a database for choosing relevant social and hydrological variables and to understand the intrinsic relations between the selected variables to study a specific human-water problem in the context of WRS management.

Keywords: conceptual framework, human behaviour; socio-hydrology; water resource systems

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Authors: Niall J. English

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Under- and post-graduate training can benefit from a more active learning style, and most particularly so in engineering. Despite this, outreach to young children in primary and secondary schools is less-developed in terms of its documented effectiveness, especially given new emphasis placed within the third level and advanced research program’s on Education and Public Engagement (EPE). Bearing this in mind, outreach and school visits form the basis to ascertain how active learning, careers stimulus and EPE initiatives for young children can inform the university sector, helping to improve future engineering-teaching standards, and enhancing both quality and practicalities of the teaching-and-learning experience. Indeed, engineering-education EPE/outreach work has been demonstrated to lead to several tangible benefits and improved outcomes, such as greater engagement and interest with science/engineering for school-children, careers awareness, enabling teachers with strong contributions to technical knowledge of engineering subjects, and providing development of general professional skills for engineering, e.g., communication and teamwork. This intervention involved active learning in ‘buzz’ groups for young children of concepts in gas engineering, observing their peer interactions to develop university-level lessons on activity learning. In addition, at the secondary level, careers-outreach efforts have led to statistical determinations of motivations towards engineering education and training, which aids in the redesign of engineering curricula for more active learning.

Keywords: outreach, education and public engagement, careers, peer interactions

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Authors: Anna Lytvynova

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This essay presents labour as a performatively national phenomenon from a cultural perspective. Considering Engels’ proposition of labour as the epicentre of development of social structures and communities, it theorizes the formation and sustainment of group identities through labour identities. Taking labour in the cultural sector as the starting point case study, the essay further enunciates such labour and labour identity as a form of engaged citizenship. In doing so, this piece hopes to arrive at a potential contemporary understanding of labour as having a central and dynamic role in cultural organization and citizenship. A parallel goal is to de-link sociological models of cultural labor from narratives of art and culture as something that stands separate from the 'real world' and the economy and exists in precarity. Combining discourse from cultural sociology, performance studies, and economics and grounding it in historical archive, the essay makes a primarily discursive theoretical contribution. Taking North American theatre organizations as the exemplifying starting point, this project positions cultural workers not solely as workers in a professional industry but as active citizen-subjects who are deeply involved in their society’s democratic processes. The resulting discourse can be used to shape more effective labour policies, as well as help art and cultural organizations find more effective organizational structures to engage the arts in the economic, political, and social spheres.

Keywords: arts labour, cultural sociology, national identity, performativity

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Authors: Johannes Keil, Eric Mischorr, Veit Würfel, Jan Condé-Wolter, Alexander Liebsch, Maik Gude

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In the aviation sector wastewater pipes are subjected to many different mechanical and medial loads. Worst-case scenarios include high-velocity impacts resulting from the introduction of foreign objects into the system. The industry is seeking to reduce the weight of these pipes, which are currently manufactured from titanium. A promising alternative is the use of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP), specifically carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polyaryletherketone (PAEK) laminates. This study employs an experimental methodology to investigate the impact resistance of CF/PAEK laminates, with a particular focus on three configurations: crimp, non-crimp, and interleaved matrix rich films in cross-ply laminates. High-velocity impacts were performed using a gas gun resulting in three-dimensional damage patterns. Afterwards the damage behavior was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using ultrasonic scans and computed tomography (CT). Samples with an interleaved matrix-rich film led to a reduction of the damage area by around 40% compared to the non-interleaved, non-crimp samples, while the crimp architecture resulted in a reduction of more than 60%. Therefore, these findings contribute to understanding the influence of laminate architecture on impact resistance, paving the way for more efficient materials in aviation applications.

Keywords: fracture toughness, high-velocity-impact, textile architecture, thermoplastic composites

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Authors: Kalat P. Duniya

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A number of technologies expected to increase maize productivity have been introduced by several research programs at national and international level. To this end, the study sought to identify the factors influencing adoption intensity of certified maize varieties. The data used were obtained from a sample household survey of 406 maize farmers, conducted in the northern guinea savannah of Nigeria through multistage stratified sampling, structured questionnaire. A triple hurdle model was adopted to estimate the determinants of adoption intensity; considering awareness, adoption, and intensity as three separate stages. The result showed that the drivers of farmers’ awareness, adoption, and intensity of usage may not necessarily be the same, and where they are, not of the same magnitude and direction. However, factors which were found to be statistically significant were age, education, membership of association and frequency of extension advice. In addition, awareness and adoption of the technologies were likely to be increased with male respondents. Farmers that were members of either community organizations or cooperative organizations had a higher tendency of being aware and adopting certified maize seed varieties. It was also discovered that though some of the farmers were fully aware of the existence of some certified maize varieties, majority lacked detailed knowledge and technical know-how. There is a need for creation of awareness through an excellent trained extension and restructuring of the educational sector to improve on the adoption process as well as improve maize productivity in the country.

Keywords: adoption, awareness, maize farmers, Nigeria, regression

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Authors: Mohammad Rostami Mehr, Seyed Arya Mir Rashed, Arndt Lueder, Magdalena Missler-Behr

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This paper represents the conception that complex problems do not necessarily need a similar complex solution in order to cope with the complexity. Furthermore, a simple solution based on established methods can provide a sufficient way to deal with the complexity. To verify this conception, the presented paper focuses on the field of change management as a part of the new product development process in the automotive sector. In this field, dealing with increasing complexity is essential, while only non-flexible rigid processes that are not designed to handle complexity are available. The basic methodology of this paper can be divided into four main sections: 1) analyzing the complexity of the change management, 2) literature review in order to identify potential solutions and methods, 3) capturing and implementing expertise of experts from the change management field of an automobile manufacturing company and 4) systematical comparison of the identified methods from literature and connecting these with defined requirements of the complexity of the change management in order to develop a solution. As a practical outcome, this paper provides a method to capture the complexity of engineering changes (EC) and includes it within the EC evaluation process, following case-related process guidance to cope with the complexity. Furthermore, this approach supports the conception that dealing with complexity is possible while utilizing rather simple and established methods by combining them into a powerful tool.

Keywords: complexity management, new product development, engineering change management, flexibility

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Authors: Faezeh Shalchy

Abstract:

Concrete is the most used materials in the world. It is also one of the most versatile while complex materials which human have used for construction. However, concrete is weak in tension, over the past thirty years many studies were accomplished to improve the tensile properties of concrete (cement-based materials) using a variety of methods. One of the most successful attempts is to use polymeric fibers in the structure of concrete to obtain a composite with high tensile strength and ductility. Understanding the mechanical behavior of fiber reinforced concrete requires the knowledge of the fiber/matrix interfaces at the small scale. In this study, a combination of numerical simulations and experimental techniques have been used to study the nano structure of fiber/matrix interfaces. A new model for calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H)/fiber interfaces is proposed based on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The adhesion energy between the C-S-H gel and 2 different polymeric fibers (polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene) was numerically studied at the atomistic level since adhesion is one of the key factors in the design of fiber reinforced composites. The mechanisms of adhesion as a function of the nano structure of fiber/matrix interfaces are also studied and discussed.

Keywords: fiber-reinforced concrete, adhesion, molecular modeling

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Authors: Mati Ullah, Shams Ur Rahman

Abstract:

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the effect of macroeconomic and bank-specific factors on credit risk in Islamic banking in Pakistan. The future of financial institutions largely depends on how well they manage risks. Credit risk is an important type of risk affecting the banking sector. The current study has taken quarterly data for the period of 6 years, from 1st July 2014 to 30 Jun 2020. The data set consisted of secondary data. Data was extracted from the websites of the State Bank and World Bank and from the financial statements of the concerned banks. In this study, the Ordinary least square model was used for the analysis of the data. The results supported the hypothesis that macroeconomic factors and bank-specific factors have a significant effect on credit risk. Macroeconomic variables, Inflation and exchange rates have positive significant effects on credit risk. However, gross domestic product has a negative significant relationship with credit risk. Moreover, the corporate rate has no significant relation with credit risk. Internal variables, size, management efficiency, net profit share income and capital adequacy have been proven to influence positively and significantly the credit risk. However, loan to deposit-has a negative insignificance relationship with credit risk. The contribution of this article is that similar conclusions have been made regarding the influence of banking factors on credit risk.

Keywords: credit risk, Islamic banks, macroeconomic variables, banks specific variable

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Authors: Ziyda Abunada

Abstract:

In-situ remediation of contaminated land with deep mixing can deliver a multi-technique remedial strategy. A field trail includes permeable reactive barrier (PRB) took place at a severely contaminated site in Yorkshire to the north of the UK through the SMiRT (Soil Mix Remediation Technology) project in May 2011. SMiRT involved the execution of the largest research field trials in the UK to provide field validation. Innovative modified bentonite materials in combination with zeolite and organoclay were used to construct six different walls of a hexagonal PRB. Field monitoring, testing and site cores were collected from the PRB twice: once 2 months after the construction and again in March 2014 (almost 34 months later).This paper presents an overview of the results of the PRB materials’ relative performance with some initial 3-year time-related assessment. Results from the monitoring program and the site cores are presented. Some good correlations are seen together with some clear difference among the materials’ efficiency. These preliminary observations represent a potential for further investigations and highlighted the main lessons learned in a filed scale.

Keywords: in-situ remediation, groundwater, permeable reactive barrier, site cores

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