Search results for: factors affecting in agricultural adoption

Authors: N. Beit Saeid

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Cyclones are used in the field of air industrial gases pollution and control the pollution with centrifugal forces that is generated with spatial geometry of the cyclone. Their simple design, low capital and maintenance costs and adaptability to a wide range of operating conditions have made cyclones one of the most widely used industrial dust collectors. Their cost of operation is proportional to the fan energy required to overcome their pressure drop. Optimized geometry of outlet diffuser of the cyclones potentially could reduce exit pressure losses without affecting collection efficiency. Three rectangular outlets and a radial outlet with a variable opening had been analyzed on two cyclones. Pressure drop was investigated for inlet velocities from about 10 to 20 m s−1. The radial outlet reduced cyclone pressure drop by between 8.7 and 11.9 percent when its exit area was equal to the flow area of the cyclone vortex finder or gas exit. A simple payback based on avoided energy costs was estimated to be between 3600 and 5000 h, not including installation cost.

Keywords: cyclone, CFD, optimization, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Andrzej Szewczak

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Study of the effect of high temperatures on polymer coatings represents an important field of research of their properties. Polymers, as materials with numerous features (chemical resistance, ease of processing and recycling, corrosion resistance, low density and weight) are currently the most widely used modern building materials, among others in the resin concrete, plastic parts, and hydrophobic coatings. Unfortunately, the polymers have also disadvantages, one of which decides about their usage - low resistance to high temperatures and brittleness. This applies in particular thin and flexible polymeric coatings applied to other materials, such a steel and concrete, which degrade under varying thermal conditions. Research about improvement of this state includes methods of modification of the polymer composition, structure, conditioning conditions, and the polymerization reaction. At present, ways are sought to reflect the actual environmental conditions, in which the coating will be operating after it has been applied to other material. These studies are difficult because of the need for adopting a proper model of the polymer operation and the determination of phenomena occurring at the time of temperature fluctuations. For this reason, alternative methods are being developed, taking into account the rapid modeling and the simulation of the actual operating conditions of polymeric coating’s materials in real conditions. The nature of a duration is typical for the temperature influence in the environment. Studies typically involve the measurement of variation one or more physical and mechanical properties of such coating in time. Based on these results it is possible to determine the effects of temperature loading and develop methods affecting in the improvement of coatings’ properties. This paper contains a description of the stability studies of silicone coatings deposited on the surface of a ceramic brick. The brick’s surface was hydrophobized by two types of inorganic polymers: nano-polymer preparation based on dialkyl siloxanes (Series 1 - 5) and an aqueous solution of the silicon (series 6 - 10). In order to enhance the stability of the film formed on the brick’s surface and immunize it to variable temperature and humidity loading, the nano silica was added to the polymer. The right combination of the polymer liquid phase and the solid phase of nano silica was obtained by disintegration of the mixture by the sonification. The changes of viscosity and surface tension of polymers were defined, which are the basic rheological parameters affecting the state and the durability of the polymer coating. The coatings created on the brick’s surfaces were then subjected to a temperature loading of 100° C and moisture by total immersion in water, in order to determine any water absorption changes caused by damages and the degradation of the polymer film. The effect of moisture and temperature was determined by measurement (at specified number of cycles) of changes in the surface hardness (using a Vickers’ method) and the absorption of individual samples. As a result, on the basis of the obtained results, the degradation process of polymer coatings related to their durability changes in time was determined.

Keywords: silicones, siloxanes, surface hardness, temperature, water absorption

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Authors: Mahdi Nasiri Tabrizi, A. Dadkhah, M. Khirkhah

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In order to study the effect of planting on yield, yield components and quality traits in bread and durum wheat varieties, a field split-plot experiment based on complete randomized design with three replications was conducted in Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Razavi Khorasan located in city of Mashhad during 2013-2014. Main factor were consisted of five sowing dates (first October, fifteenth December, first March, tenth March, twentieth March) and as sub-factors consisted of different bread wheat (Bahar, Pishgam, Pishtaz, Mihan, Falat and Karim) and two durum wheat (Dena and Dehdasht). According to results of analysis variance the effect of planting date was significant on all examined traits (grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, number of grain per spike, thousands kernel weight, number of spike per square meter, plant height, the number of days to heading, the number of days to maturity, during the grain filling period, percentage of wet gluten, percentage of dry gluten, gluten index, percentage of protein). By delay in planting, majority of traits significantly decreased, except quality traits (percentage of wet gluten, percentage of dry gluten and percentage of protein). Results of means comparison showed, among planting date the highest grain yield and biological yield were related to first planting date (Octobr) with mean of production of 5/6 and 1/17 tons per hectare respectively and the highest bread quality (gluten index) with mean of 85 and percentage of protein with mean of 13% to fifth planting date also the effect of genotype was significant on all traits. The highest grain yield among of studied wheat genotypes was related to Dehdasht cultivar with an average production of 4.4 tons per hectare. The highest protein percentage and bread quality (gluten index) were related to Dehdasht cultivar with 13.4% and Falat cultivar with number of 90 respectively. The interaction between cultivar and planting date was significant on all traits and different varieties had different trend for these traits. The highest grain yield was related to first planting date (October) and Falat cultivar with an average of production of 6/7 tons per hectare while in grain yield did not show a significant different with Pishtas and Mihan cultivars also the most of gluten index (bread quality index) and protein percentage was belonged to the third planting date and Karim cultivar with 7.98 and Dena cultivar with 7.14% respectively.

Keywords: yield component, yield, planting date, cultivar, quality traits, wheat

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Authors: Harsh Panchal, Saurabh Amrutkar

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Quality management is an essential part of any project that has directly related to the performance of a project. Quality management is depended on multiple factors at different stages in a project, right from time management to construction logistics. A project is a mixture of various components that include iternary management, health and safety, crew productivity, and many more. From the survey conducted, we came to the conclusion that advancement in technology and indigenous approach to any project will result in maximum quality standards and better project performance. In this paper, we discuss various components of the factors above that lead to compromise the quality of a project and how it can be controlled in order to achieve maximum quality assurance using quality planning and total quality management. The paper also focuses on limitations and problems faced in each factor responsible for quality management and to tackle them using techniques and processes based on activities and identifying the sequence, approaching critical path, and duration. The project management concept that deals with the sequence of scope cost time give us an overview regarding the ongoing quality management, in a nutshell, giving us hints to regulate the current procedure for maximum achievable quality. It also deals with the problems faced by engineers that make the mundane work process slow, reducing the quality outcome drastically.

Keywords: management, performance, project, quality

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Authors: Omaima A. Sharaf, Tarek A. Moussa, Said M. Badr El-Din, H. Moawad

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Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose great environmental and human health concerns for their widespread occurrence, persistence, and carcinogenic properties. PAHs releases due to anthropogenic activities to the wider environment have led to higher concentrations of these contaminants than would be expected from natural processes alone. This may result in a wide range of environmental problems that can accumulate in agricultural ecosystems, which threatened to become a negative impact on sustainable agricultural development. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical, and microbial properties of the compost leachate (CL) to assess its role as nutrient and microbial source (biostimulation/bioaugmentation) for developing a cost-effective bioremediation technology for PAHs contaminated sites. Material and Methods: PAHs-degrading bacteria were isolated from CL that was collected from a composting site located in central Scotland, UK. Isolation was carried out by enrichment using phenanthrene (PHR), pyrene (PYR) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as the sole source of carbon and energy. The isolates were characterized using a variety of phenotypic and molecular properties. Six different isolates were identified based on the difference in morphological and biochemical tests. The efficiency of these isolates in PAHs utilization was assessed. Further analysis was performed to define taxonomical status and phylogenic relation between the most potent PAHs-utilizing bacterial strains and other standard strains, using molecular approach by partial 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Results indicated that the 16S rDNA sequence analysis confirmed the results of biochemical identification, as both of biochemical and molecular identification of the isolates assigned them to Bacillus licheniformis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Alcaligenes faecalis, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae and Providenicia which were identified as the prominent PAHs-utilizers isolated from CL. Conclusion: This study indicates that the CL samples contain a diverse population of PAHs-degrading bacteria and the use of CL may have a potential for bioremediation of PAHs contaminated sites.

Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, physico-chemical analyses, compost leachate, microbial and biochemical analyses, phylogenic relations, 16S rDNA sequence analysis

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Authors: Jaime Carpio-García, Elena Blanco-Fernández, Javier González-Fernández, Daniel Castro-Fresno

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Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are more often used in order to prevent floods, water treatment, fight against pollution, urban heat island effect, and global warming in applications like green roofs, permeable pavements, and others. Furthermore, geosynthetics are also worldwide used as a part of drainage systems in road construction. Geotextiles are an essential part of both, and one of the main geotextile properties in those applications is permeability, whose behavior is not well established along its service life. In this paper, clogging reduction design factors for an estimated service life of 25 years are experimentally obtained for five different geotextiles used in SUDS and roads combined with two different soils and with two pollutants, motor oil, and lime, in order to evaluate chemical clogging, too. The effect of characteristic opening size and other characteristics of the geosynthetics are also discussed in order to give civil engineers, together with the clogging reduction factors, a better long-time design of geotextiles used in their SUDS and roads.

Keywords: geotextiles, drainage, clogging, reduction factor

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Authors: Sharmin Nasrin

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Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. In Dhaka among other trips, significant percentages of trips comprise education trips. This paper explores significant factors for private university students’ education trip to the University. A paper pencil based survey has been conducted on Asia Pacific University student in Dhaka from May 2016 to July 2016. Participants were chosen randomly for the survey. Exploratory analysis showed that about 50% chose bus, 33% chose Rickshaw, 2% chose car and 15% chose to walk for travel to their University. Results from Multinomial Logit model revealed that travel cost, travel time and comfort are the significant factors for private university students to choose different modes. However, magnitude of coefficient of attribute comfort is significantly higher compared to travel cost and travel time. Result from this paper can be used by policymakers and Government agencies to provide more cost effective, comfortable journey to their University.

Keywords: private university student's education trip, mode choice mode, Dhaka, developing country

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Authors: Kwame Amoah

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has the prospect of transforming project management, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy. By automating specific tasks with defined guidelines, AI can assist project managers in making better decisions and allocating resources efficiently, with possible risk mitigation. This study explores how AI is already impacting project management and likely future AI's impact on the field. The AI's reaction has been a divided opinion; while others picture it as a destroyer of jobs, some welcome it as an innovation advocate. Both sides agree that AI will be disruptive and revolutionize PM's functions. If current research is to go by, AI or some form will replace one-third of all learning graduate PM jobs by as early as 2030. A recent survey indicates AI spending will reach $97.9 billion by the end of 2023. Considering such a profound impact, the project management profession will also see a paradigm shift driven by AI. The study examines what the project management profession will look like in the next 5-10 years after this technological disruption. The research methods incorporate existing literature, develop trend analysis, and conduct structured interviews with project management stakeholders from North America to gauge the trend. PM professionals can harness the power of AI, ensuring a smooth transition and positive outcomes. AI adoption will maximize benefits, minimize adverse consequences, and uphold ethical standards, leading to improved project performance.

Keywords: project management, disruptive teacnologies, project management function, AL applications, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Atheer Al-Nuaimi, Harry Evdorides

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Every day many people die or get disabled or injured on roads around the world, which necessitates more specific treatments for transportation safety issues. International road assessment program (iRAP) model is one of the comprehensive road safety models which accounting for many factors that affect road safety in a cost-effective way in low and middle income countries. In iRAP model road safety has been divided into five star ratings from 1 star (the lowest level) to 5 star (the highest level). These star ratings are based on star rating score which is calculated by iRAP methodology depending on road attributes, traffic volumes and operating speeds. The outcome of iRAP methodology are the treatments that can be used to improve road safety and reduce fatalities and serious injuries (FSI) numbers. These countermeasures can be used separately as a single countermeasure or mix as multiple countermeasures for a location. There is general agreement that the adequacy of a countermeasure is liable to consistent losses when it is utilized as a part of mix with different countermeasures. That is, accident diminishment appraisals of individual countermeasures cannot be easily added together. The iRAP model philosophy makes utilization of a multiple countermeasure adjustment factors to predict diminishments in the effectiveness of road safety countermeasures when more than one countermeasure is chosen. A multiple countermeasure correction factors are figured for every 100-meter segment and for every accident type. However, restrictions of this methodology incorporate a presumable over-estimation in the predicted crash reduction. This study aims to adjust this correction factor by developing new models to calculate the effect of using multiple countermeasures on the number of fatalities for a location or an entire road. Regression models have been used to establish relationships between crash frequencies and the factors that affect their rates. Multiple linear regression, negative binomial regression, and Poisson regression techniques were used to develop models that can address the effectiveness of using multiple countermeasures. Analyses are conducted using The R Project for Statistical Computing showed that a model developed by negative binomial regression technique could give more reliable results of the predicted number of fatalities after the implementation of road safety multiple countermeasures than the results from iRAP model. The results also showed that the negative binomial regression approach gives more precise results in comparison with multiple linear and Poisson regression techniques because of the overdispersion and standard error issues.

Keywords: international road assessment program, negative binomial, road multiple countermeasures, road safety

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Authors: B. Khorram, M. Taslikh, R. Sattarzadeh, M. Ghazanfari

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Bitterness is one of the most important problems in cheese processing industry all over the world. There are several reasons that bitterness may develop in cheese. With a few exceptions bitterness is generally associated with proteolysis. In this investigation, anti-stick as a neutral substance in proteolysis were considered and studied for reducing the problem. This vast survey was conducted in a big cheese production factory (in Neyshabur) and in the same procedure anti-stick as interested factor in cheeses packaging compared to standard cheeses production, one line productions (65200 packs with anti-stick were tested by 2953 persons for bitterness and another line was included the same procedure with standard cheese. In this investigate: 83% of standard packaging cheeses, compared with only28% of consumers cheese with anti-stick which confirmed bitterness. Although bitterness is generally associated with proteolysis and Microbial factors, Somatic cell, Starters play important role in generating bitterness in ultra filtrated cheeses, but based on the results the other factors such as anti-stick in packaging can be effective methods for reducing and removing unfavorable bitterness in cheese production.

Keywords: bitterness, uf cheese, anti-stick, single packaged

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Authors: Sanjoy Barua Chowdhury

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This research is an attempt to examine psychological aspect of the Buddha’s most cardinal and fundamental doctrine of Dependent Origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) along with drawing out a clear picture of the constituents from the law of causation and analyzes the mental states and motivational factors behind each constituent among twelvefold links. Meticulous research into the doctrine of Dependent Origination reveals how the main links from the doctrine of dependent origination provide a framework for psychological analysis through volitional formation (saṅkhāra), consciousness (viññāna), mentality and materiality (nāma-rūpa), contact (phassa), feeling (vedanā), craving (tanhā) and clinging (upādāna). This paper further illustrates the notion of perception (saññā) which can be found in the function of volitional formation (saṅkhāra) - a contributing factor, according to modern psychology, in the role of understanding human (puggala) motivation. The psychological analysis of dependent origination expounds the concept of personality highlighting present existence through the inter-relationship of the five faculties (pañcaupadānakkhandhā), viz., form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), volitional formation (saṅkhārā) and consciousness (viññāṇa).

Keywords: dependent origination, perception, motivational factors, feelings

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Authors: C. C. Alamanjo, A. O. Adepoju, H. Martin, R. N. Baines

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Peri-urban agriculture in Jos Nigeria serves as a major means of livelihood for both urban and peri-urban poor, and constitutes huge commercial inclination with a target market that has spanned beyond Plateau State. Yet, the sustainability of this sector is threatened by intensive application of urban refuse ash contaminated with heavy metals, as a result of the highly heterogeneous materials used in ash production. Hence, this research aimed to understand the current fertilizer employed by farmers, their perception and acceptability in utilization of household sewage sludge for agricultural purposes and their capacity in mitigating risks associated with such practice. Mixed methods approach was adopted, and data collection tools used include survey questionnaire, focus group discussion with farmers, participants and field observation. The study identified that farmers maintain a complex mixture of organic and chemical fertilizers, with mixture composition that is dependent on fertilizer availability and affordability. Also, farmers have decreased the rate of utilization of urban refuse ash due to labor and increased logistic cost and are keen to utilize household sewage sludge for soil fertility improvement but are mainly constrained by accessibility of this waste product. Nevertheless, farmers near to sewage disposal points have commenced utilization of household sewage sludge for improving soil fertility. Farmers were knowledgeable on composting but find their strategic method of dewatering and sun drying more convenient. Irrigation farmers were not enthusiastic for treatment, as they desired both water and sludge. Secondly, household sewage sludge observed in the field is heterogeneous due to nearness between its disposal point and that of urban refuse, which raises concern for possible cross-contamination of pollutants and also portrays lack of extension guidance as regards to treatment and management of household sewage sludge for agricultural purposes. Hence, farmers concerns need to be addressed, particularly in providing extension advice and establishment of decentralized household sewage sludge collection centers, for continuous availability of liquid and concentrated sludge. Urgent need is also required for the Federal Government of Nigeria to increase commitment towards empowering her subsidiaries for efficient discharge of corporate responsibilities.

Keywords: ash, farmers, household, peri-urban, refuse, sewage, sludge, urban

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Authors: G. Infante Dennis, S. Balinas Elvira, C. Valencia Yolanda, Cunanan

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This paper examined the feed-backs, concerns, and insights of the teachers, supervisors, and teacher-trainers on the nature and qualities of the K-12 grade 8 design, content, approaches, and materials. Specifically, it sought to achieve the following objectives: 1) to describe the critical nature and qualities of the design, content, teaching-learning-and-evaluation approaches, and the materials to be utilized in the implementation of the grade 8 curriculum; 2) to extract the possible challenges relevant to the implementation of the design, content, teaching-learning-and-evaluation approaches, and the materials of the grade 8 curriculum in terms of the linguistic and technical competence of the teachers, readiness to implement, willingness to implement, and capability to make relevant adaptations; 3) to present essential demands on the successful and meaningful implementation of the grade 8 curriculum in terms of teacher-related factors, school-related factors, and student-related concerns.

Keywords: curriculum reforms, K-12, teacher-training, language teaching, learning

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Authors: Waisu Iliyasu

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It is a well-known fact that the Hausa people have, since time immemorial, had a distinct culture of living together and assisting one another. In fact, the communal bond has been an important aspect that bound society together. Over the years, this communal bond has been eroded, giving way to an individualistic society whereby everyone lives a different way of life free from social cohesion and family bonds. It is against this backdrop the paper examines the forces of change in Hausa society and their effect on communal living. The paper also highlights the factors and actors involved in such change and how, in the later years of Nigeria’s independence, such factors transformed the social, political and economic structures of Hausa society in Northern Nigeria. In writing this paper, qualitative research is used in which questionnaires and oral interviews were used as a method of data collection. Along this way, other sources like primary and secondary are also used extensively in writing the paper. The concluding part of the paper reveals that unless the problems of elitism, corruption and poverty are addressed, the gap between have and have-nots, wealthy and poor, literate and illiterate, will continue to widen, thereby leading to an individualistic society that negates all forms of communal living.

Keywords: communalism, individualism, historical insights, Hausa land

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Authors: Vithul Kalki

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The mainstream political economy failed to explain the nature and causes of systemic failures and thus to compare and comprehend how contemporary capitalist systems work. An alternative research framework of Critical Macro-Finance (CMF) is an attempt to collaborate political theory with post-Keynesian economics with an objective to find answers to unresolved questions that emerged since the international financial crisis and repeated failures of capital systems. This unorthodox approach brings out four main propositions, namely : (a) that the adoption of American financial practices has anchored financial globalization in market-based finance; (b) that global finance is a set of interconnected, hierarchical balance sheets, increasingly subject to time-critical liquidity; (c) that credit creation in market-based finance involves new forms of money; and (d) that market-based finance structurally requires a de-risking state capable both of protecting systemic liabilities and creating new investment opportunities. The ongoing discussion of CMF literature is yet to be tested or even fully framed. This qualitative paper will critically examine the CMF framework and will engage in discussions aiming to connect the CMF with theories of capitalism in a wider context to bring a holistic approach for analyzing contemporary financial capitalism.

Keywords: critical macro-finance, capitalism, financial system, comparative political economy

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Authors: Alireza Nikbakht Shahbazi, Emadeddin Shirali

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Since optimization issues of water resources are complicated due to the variety of decision making criteria and objective functions, it is sometimes impossible to resolve them through regular optimization methods or, it is time or money consuming. Therefore, the use of modern tools and methods is inevitable in resolving such problems. An accurate and essential utilization policy has to be determined in order to use natural resources such as water reservoirs optimally. Water reservoir programming studies aim to determine the final cultivated land area based on predefined agricultural models and water requirements. Dam utilization rule curve is also provided in such studies. The basic information applied in water reservoir programming studies generally include meteorological, hydrological, agricultural and water reservoir related data, and the geometric characteristics of the reservoir. The system of Dez dam water resources was simulated applying the basic information in order to determine the capability of its reservoir to provide the objectives of the performed plan. As a meta-exploratory method, genetic algorithm was applied in order to provide utilization rule curves (intersecting the reservoir volume). MATLAB software was used in order to resolve the foresaid model. Rule curves were firstly obtained through genetic algorithm. Then the significance of using rule curves and the decrease in decision making variables in the system was determined through system simulation and comparing the results with optimization results (Standard Operating Procedure). One of the most essential issues in optimization of a complicated water resource system is the increasing number of variables. Therefore a lot of time is required to find an optimum answer and in some cases, no desirable result is obtained. In this research, intersecting the reservoir volume has been applied as a modern model in order to reduce the number of variables. Water reservoir programming studies has been performed based on basic information, general hypotheses and standards and applying monthly simulation technique for a statistical period of 30 years. Results indicated that application of rule curve prevents the extreme shortages and decrease the monthly shortages.

Keywords: optimization, rule curve, genetic algorithm method, Dez dam reservoir

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Authors: Milton Jusu

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Efforts by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and its development partners to introduce “modern” aquaculture in Sierra Leone since the 1970s have not been successful. A number of reasons have been hypothesized, including the suggestion that the market infrastructure and demand for farmed fish were inadequate to stimulate large-scale and widespread aquaculture production in the country. We have assessed the size, structure, networks, and opportunities in fish markets using a combination of Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) and questionnaire surveys conducted in a sample of 29 markets (urban, weekly, wholesale, and retail) and two hundred traders. The study showed that the local fish markets were dynamic, with very high variations in demand and supply. The markets sampled supplied between 135.2 and 9947.6 tonnes/year. Mean prices for fresh fish varied between US$1.12 and US$3.89/kg depending on species, with smoked catfish and shrimps commanding prices as high as US$7.4/kg. It is unlikely that marine capture fisheries can increase their current production levels, and these may, in fact, already be over-exploited and declining. Marine fish supplies are particularly low between July and September. More careful attention to the timing of harvests (rainy season, not dry season) and to species (catfish, not tilapia) (could help in the successful adoption of aquaculture.

Keywords: fisheries, aquaculture, marine, fish ponds

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Authors: Vijay Kumar, Ron Bird

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The study investigates the effect of bank-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic variables on the profitability of conventional and Islamic banks. Our sample comprises 1,781 bank-year observations of 205 banks from four countries in the Asian region for the period 2004-2014. Our results suggest that credit quality, cost management and bank size are the keys factors that contribute positively to bank profitability in Asia. The banks with high non-performing loans and high cost-to-income ratio are more likely to be exposed to losses. The impacts of the bank-specific variables are stronger than are the industry-specific and macroeconomic variables. We find that Malaysian banks are the least profitable compared to the banks in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan. There is strong evidence to suggest that conventional banks are more profitable than Islamic banks. Our results suggest that the impact of capital adequacy ratio and bank size and loan to deposit ratio vary across Islamic and conventional banks and across different subsamples.

Keywords: capital adequacy ratio, Islamic banks, non-performing loan ratio, ownership

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Authors: Rahmad Wisnu Wardana, Eakachai Warinsiriruk, Sutep Joy-A-Ka

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Selecting the most suitable welding process usually depends on experiences or common application in similar companies. However, this approach generally ignores many criteria that can be affecting the suitable welding process selection. Therefore, knowledge automation through knowledge-based systems will significantly improve the decision-making process. The aims of this research propose integrated data envelopment analysis (DEA) and fuzzy credibility constrained programming approach for identifying the best welding process for stainless steel storage tank in the food and beverage industry. The proposed approach uses fuzzy concept and credibility measure to deal with uncertain data from experts' judgment. Furthermore, 12 parameters are used to determine the most appropriate welding processes among six competitive welding processes.

Keywords: welding process selection, data envelopment analysis, fuzzy credibility constrained programming, storage tank

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Authors: Idit Miller

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This paper examines the effect of a common organizational identity on intergroup relations of Israeli-Jews and non-Israeli Palestinians medical interns who are employed together within the Israeli hospitals, while asymmetrical relationships and ongoing conflict between the two groups still exist. Using mixed theory, which included the Intergroup contact, Othering, and the Common social identity theories, the study examines the intra-organizational identities dynamic involved within the hospital department and its effects on intergroup relations. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with the Palestinian and Jews physicians were conducted. Findings show three social identity responses are being constructed during the shared employment: Them vs. Us construction, Them vs. Us deconstruction, and an 'Organizational Us' reconstruction. Despite the inequality inherent within the intergroup relations, by holding a universal identity and using a deconstruction pattern, positive emotions are demonstrated by both sides. The adoption of a shared professional super-identity is found as an essential component for fostering and maintaining positive attitudes between the parties. This finding strengthens the significance of a long-term continuous intergroup contact inside the organization and especially between two polarized groups.

Keywords: common social identity theory, intergroup contact theory, inequality, intergroup conflict, othering theory

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Authors: Yun-Ching Tu, Yu-Chun Chih

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People with aphasia (PWA) may have communicative difficulties in their daily lives, but research on functional communication in aphasia is still limited in Taiwan. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of aphasia-related factors on functional communication assessment. This study adopted a convenience sampling method. Thirty aphasic participants participated in the study. During the test, the examiner would ask questions that are encountered in daily life and record the participant‘s responses. Some questions would provide pictures to simulate situations in daily life. The results showed that the non-fluent aphasia group performed significantly worse than the fluent aphasia group. In addition, patients with severe aphasia performed significantly lower scores than patients with moderate aphasia and mild aphasia. However, group differences in the chronic stage and acute stage were not significant. In sum, since communication in daily life is diverse and language is still needed in the communication process, patients with aphasia who have better language ability may have relatively better functional communication. In contrast, the more severely impaired the language ability of a patient with aphasia is, the more functional communication will be affected, resulting in poor communication performance in daily life.

Keywords: adult, aphasia, assessment, functional communication

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Authors: M. Khasro Miah, Chowdhury Hossan Golam, Muhammed Siddique Hossain

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Recently, financial institution brand image is turning out to be pretty weak due to the presence of strong local competitors and this in term is affecting their firm performance also. In this study, four major HR practices, namely employee commitment, empowerment, loyalty, and engagement are considered in order to measure its effects on the brand and financial performance of banking organization. This study finds that the banking institutions of Bangladesh are more customer oriented rather than internal employee oriented, which makes it quite obvious that the internal HR practices will have little or no effect on the banks brand performance. Employee Commitment has emerged out to be the most important predictor, followed by employee loyalty and empowerment. The employees are well-empowered, engaged, and shows loyalty towards the organization, but their activities are not well linked with the brand. Firms should concentrate to create a congenial working atmosphere and employees should feel like a part of the organization.

Keywords: HR in bank, employee commitment, empowerment, finance, employee commitment, loyalty and engagement

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Authors: Mihaela Munteanu Pila

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Abstract The Republic of Moldova has a high potential for commercial growth of fish, due to its rich natural resources. Every year, national actions are implemented for the development and improvement of wetlands through acclimatization of hydrobionts, cleaning of adjacent waste areas and repopulation with valuable fish species. Due to aggressive environmental factors, anthropogenic factors, poaching or insufficient financial resources allocated to the authorities, there is a strong degradation of aquatic resources in the area. The main issue of the study is to identify priority areas for the development of fish farming in the area and maintain potential reserves to increase the efficiency of fish production in the pond. The rational operation of pond-type reservoirs will make it possible to maintain the breeding base of many fish species and will in future become a valuable source of local marketable products, in order to increase the productivity of fish in ponds and exploit the region's resources. The research looked at the problems that led to a decline in local fish production and identified a number of long-term measures needed to develop aquaculture.

Keywords: Development, , Republic of Moldova, , fisheries, , productivity

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Authors: Alireza Saviz, Sedigheh Zarei

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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an integral part of an open and effective international economic system and a major catalyst to development. Developing countries, emerging economies and countries in transition have come increasingly to see FDI as a source of economic development modernization, income growth and employment. FDI is an important vehicle for the transfer of technology, contributing relatively more to growth than domestic investment. Exploratory research is being conducted here. The data for the study is collected from secondary sources like research papers, journals, websites and reports. This paper aim was to generate knowledge on Iran’s situation through these factors after lifting sanction in comparison to Turkey. Although the most important factors that influence foreign investor decisions vary depending on the countries, sectors, years, and the objective of investor, nowadays governments should pay more attention to human resources education, marketing, infrastructure and administrative process in order to attracting foreign investors. A proper understanding of these findings will help governments to create appropriate policies in order to encourage more foreign investors

Keywords: foreign direct investment, host country, competitive advantage, FDI

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Authors: Natalia Politaeva, Iuliia Smiatskaia, Iuliia Bazarnova, Iryna Atamaniuk, Kerstin Kuchta

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Nowadays, the progressive decrease of primary natural resources and ongoing upward trend in terms of energy demand, have resulted in development of new generation technological processes which are focused on step-wise production and residues utilization. Thus, microalgae-based 3^rd generation bioeconomy is considered one of the most promising approaches that allow production of value-added products and sophisticated utilization of residues biomass. In comparison to conventional biomass, microalgae can be cultivated in wide range of conditions without compromising food and feed production, and thus, addressing issues associated with negative social and environmental impacts. However, one of the most challenging tasks is to undergo seasonal variations and to achieve optimal growing conditions for indoor closed systems that can cover further demand for material and energetic utilization of microalgae. For instance, outdoor cultivation in St. Petersburg (Russia) is only suitable within rather narrow time frame (from mid-May to mid-September). At earlier and later periods, insufficient sunlight and heat for the growth of microalgae were detected. On the other hand, without additional physical effects, the biomass increment in summer is 3-5 times per week, depending on the solar radiation and the ambient temperature. In order to increase biomass production, scientists from all over the world have proposed various technical solutions for cultivators and have been studying the influence of various physical factors affecting biomass growth namely: magnetic field, radiation impact, and electric field, etc. In this paper, the influence of infrared radiation (IR) and fluorescent light on the growth rate of microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana has been studied. The cultivation of Chlorella sorokiniana was carried out in 500 ml cylindrical glass vessels, which were constantly aerated. To accelerate the cultivation process, the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes at 500 rpm following 120 minutes of rest time. At the same time, the metabolic needs in nutrients were provided by the addition of micro- and macro-nutrients in the microalgae growing medium. Lighting was provided by fluorescent lamps with the intensity of 2500 ± 300 lx. The influence of IR was determined using IR lamps with a voltage of 220 V, power of 250 W, in order to achieve the intensity of 13 600 ± 500 lx. The obtained results show that under the influence of fluorescent lamps along with the combined effect of active aeration and variable mixing, the biomass increment on the 2^nd day was three times, and on the 7^th day, it was eight-fold. The growth rate of microalgae under the influence of IR radiation was lower and has reached 22.6·10⁶ cells·mL^-1. However, application of IR lamps for the biomass growth allows maintaining the optimal temperature of microalgae suspension at approximately 25-28°C, which might especially be beneficial during the cold season in extreme climate zones.

Keywords: biomass, fluorescent lamp, infrared radiation, microalgae

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Rafik Ouared

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to invalidate decisions made by the Islamic conference led at Istanbul in 2016, which had defined two basic criteria to determine the start of the lunar month: (1)they are all based on the sighting of the crescent, be it observed or computed with modern methods, and (2) they've strongly recommended the adoption of the principle of 'unification of sighting', by which any occurrence of sighting anywhere would be applicable everywhere. To demonstrate the invalidation of those statements, a survey of 101 years of data, from 1938 to 2038, have been analyzed to compare the probability density function (PDF) of time difference between different types of fajr and new moon. Two groups of fajr have been considered: the 'natural fajr', which is the very first fajr following new moon, and the 'biased fajr', which is defined by human being inclusively of all chosen definitions. The parametric and non-parametric statistical comparisons between the different groups have shown the all the biased PDFs are significantly different from the unbiased (natural) PDF with probability value (p-value) less than 0.001. The significance level was fixed to 0.05. Conclusion: the on-going reference to sighting of crescent is inducing an significant bias in defining lunar calendar. Therefore, 'natural' calendar would be more applicable requiring a more contextualized revision of issue in fiqh.

Keywords: biased fajr, lunar calendar, natural fajr, probability density function, sighting of crescent, time difference between fajr and new moon

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Joseph Levodo, Andy Ford, ISSA Chaer

Abstract:

Africa enjoys some of the best solar radiation levels in the world averaging between 4-6 kWh/m2/day for most of the year and the global economic and political conditions that tend to make African countries more dependent on their own energy resources have caused growing interest in wanting renewable energy based technologies. However to-date, implementation of Modern Energy Technologies in Africa is still very low especially the use of solar conversion technologies. It was initially speculated that the low uptake of solar technology in Africa was associated with the continent’s high poverty levels and limitations in technical capacity as well as awareness. Nonetheless, this is not an academic based speculation and the exact reasons for this low trend in technology adoption are unclear and require further investigation. This paper presents literature review and analysis relating to the techno-economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation in Africa. The literature review would include the following four main categories: design methods, techno-economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation, performance evaluations of various systems, Then it looks at the role of policy and potential future of technological development of photovoltaic (PV) by exploring the impact of alternative policy instruments and technology cost reductions on the financial viability of investing solar photovoltaic (PV) in Africa.

Keywords: Africa Solar Potential, policy, photovoltaic, technologies

Procedia PDF Downloads 533

Authors: Amylyn F. Labasano, M. S. Econ

Abstract:

The study predicts the impact of collective bargaining agreement and its related factors on employees’ perceived productivity in terms of union-management relation’s climate, income, fringe benefits, and job satisfaction of the employees. It also determines whether there are significant differences in the employees’ perceived productivity based on the demographic characteristics of the respondents. The results revealed that the relationship climate which exists between the union and the management is found to have significant adverse effect on the average unpaid hours spent by employees working within the college. On the other hand, the total monthly wage earnings of employees have negative effect on the average hours an employee spent in bringing his work home while job satisfaction positively influences the overall productivity level of employees. The result further shows significant differences in the productivity level of employees across civil status and current designation.

Keywords: perceived productivity, collective bargaining agreement, union, union-management relations climate, income, fringe benefits, job satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Lauren Booker

Abstract:

In the United States, over 2.5 million children have incarcerated parents. Recent studies have shown 13% of young adults and one-fourth of African Americans will experience parental incarceration. The increasing numbers of incarcerated citizens have left these children as collateral damage and are often forgotten, their special needs inadequately meet or understood. Parental arrest and incarceration creates a uniquely traumatic experience in childhood and has long-term consequences for these children. Until recently, the eating and sleeping habits following parental incarceration had been nonexistent in the literature. However, even this groundbreaking study on eating habits and sleeping disorders following parental incarceration did not touch on the root causes of unhealthy eating which may be influenced by food and housing insecurity and environmental factors that may impact a child’s healthy eating and sleeping behaviors. This study will examine those factors as it could greatly aid in the policies and programs that affect children’s health and development. This proposed study will examine the impact of traumatic stress reactions to parental incarceration by studying sleep and eating habits as the hypothesis is that parental incarceration will lead to disordered eating and sleep disturbances in early adolescents.

Keywords: parental incarceration, eating disorder, trauma, family instability

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Jann-Eike Saathoff, Kirill Alexander Schmoor, Martin Achmus, Mauricio Terceros

Abstract:

By using partial factors of safety, uncertainties due to the inherent variability of the soil properties and loads are taken into account in the geotechnical design process. According to the reliability index concept in Eurocode-0 in conjunction with Eurocode-7 a minimum safety level of β = 3.8 for reliability class RC2 shall be established. The reliability of the system depends heavily on the choice of the prespecified safety factor and the choice of the characteristic soil properties. The safety factors stated in the standards are mainly based on experience. However, no general accepted method for the calculation of a characteristic value within the current design practice exists. In this study, a laterally loaded monopile is investigated and the influence of the chosen quantile values of the deterministic system, calculated with p-y springs, will be presented. Monopiles are the most common foundation concepts for offshore wind energy converters. Based on the calculations for non-cohesive soils, a recommendation for an appropriate quantile value for the necessary safety level according to the standards for a deterministic design is given.

Keywords: asymptotic sampling, characteristic value, monopile foundation, probabilistic design, quantile values

Procedia PDF Downloads 134