Search results for: nature of extension services

Authors: Majid Afkhami, Maryam Ehsanpour

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The present study provides information about the nature of adverse effects on fish and the ecological impact that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollutant are having in the northern coast of Hormuz Strait. The glucose and cholesterol levels were higher in fish from the St3 than in Walton's mudskipper from other stations however St3 samples had lowest total proteins levels. There was a significant positive correlation between glucose and cholesterol with PAHs concentrations in sediment and tissue samples (P<0.05). However, total proteins had adverse significant correlation with PAHs concentrations (P>0.05). The adverse correlation was seen between length and body weight of fish samples with PAHs concentrations. According to the results of this study, the monitoring of contaminants bioaccumulation in the northern part of Hormuz Strait is necessary, because this will give an indication of the temporal and spatial extent of the process, as well as an assessment of the potential impact on aquatic organisms health.

Keywords: PAHs, blood metabolic factors, Periophthalmus waltoni, Hormuz Strait

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Authors: Bishal Baniya

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This paper proposes the sustainability related policy areas for decarbonisation and value addition at an organizational level. General and public sector organizations around the world are usually significant in terms of consuming resources and producing waste – powered through their massive procurement capacity. However, these organizations also possess huge potential to cut resource use and emission as many of these organizations controls supply chain of goods/services. They can therefore be a trend setter and can easily lead other major economic sectors such as manufacturing, construction and mining, transportation, etc. in pursuit towards paradigm shift for sustainability. Whilst the environmental and social awareness has improved in recent years and they have identified policy areas to improve the organizational environmental performance, value addition to the core business of the organization hasn’t been understood and interpreted correctly. This paper therefore investigates ways to align sustainability policy measures in a way that it creates better value proposition relative to benchmark by accounting both eco and social efficiency. Preliminary analysis shows co-benefits other than resource and cost savings fosters the business cases for organizations and this can be achieved by better aligning the policy measures and engaging stakeholders.

Keywords: policy measures, environmental performance, value proposition, organisational level

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Authors: Magid Maatallah

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The problem is, investment management in modern conditions boils down to risk management which is very underdeveloped in Islamic financial theory and practice. Add to this the fact that, in Islamic perception, this is one of the areas of conventional finance in need of drastic reforms. This need was recently underlined by the story of Long Term Capital Management (LTCM ), ( told by Roger Lowenstein in his book, When Genius Failed, Random House, 2000 ). So we face a double challenge, to develop Islamic techniques of risk management and to see that these new techniques are free from the ills with which conventional methods are suffering. This is different from the challenge faced in the middle of twentieth century, to develop a method of financial intermediation free of interest.Risk was always there, especially in business. But industrialization brought risks unknown in trade and agriculture. Industrial production often involves long periods of time .The longer the period of production the more the uncertainty. The scope of the market has expanded to cover the whole world, introducing new kinds of risk. More than a thousand years ago, when Islamic laws were being written, the nature and scope of risk and uncertainty was different. However, something can still be learnt which, in combination with the modern experience, should enable us to realize the Shariah objectives of justice, fairness and efficiency.

Keywords: financial markets, Islamic framework, risk management, investment

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Authors: Zouhir Gabsi

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The Arab Spring has had noticeable effects on Tunisia in socio-economic, political, and cultural terms. Few have predicted that the music of hip-hop and rap could engage with the socio-political situation in Tunisia, especially after the downfall of Ben Ali’s regime. Having survived as underground music since the year 2000, the genre of hip-hop and rap remains an aberration from the folkloric tradition. By adhering to the socio-economic reality of the Tunisian street, rappers attempt to claim authenticity mainly in both thematic and language uses, and by usurping the power of ‘space’ from the regime’s control. With the songs’ fast-paced rhythms, catchy phrases, puns, vulgarisms, and linguistic innovations using metaphors, hip-hop, and rap have struck a chord with Tunisia’s youth. Tunisia’s new social reality has allowed Tunisian rappers to express dissent and voice people’s despair over the socio-economic and political situation. This paper argues that rap artists use language as a vehicle to claim the authenticity of their message. It also explores how the performative nature of the language of hip-hop and rap interacts with the Tunisian culture and argues the power of music in the context of political and socio-economic grievances in post-Arab Spring Tunisia.

Keywords: Arab Spring, hip-hop, eevolution, Tunisia, Tunisian Arabic

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Authors: Robert Kimutai Tewo, Hilary Limo Rutto, Tumisang Seodigeng

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The rheological and morphological properties of paraffin wax, linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microbeads formulations were prepared via an extrusion process. The blends were characterized by rheometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results indicated that the viscosity of the blends increased as compared to that of neat wax. SEM confirmed that LLDPE alters the wax crystal habit at higher concentrations. The rheological experimental data fitted with predicted data using the modified Krieger and Dougherty expression. The SEM micrograph of wax/LLDPE/PMMA revealed a near-perfect spherical nature for the filler particles in the wax/EVA polymer matrix. The FT-IR spectra show the deformation vibrations stretch of a long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbon (C-H) and also the presence of carbonyls absorption group denoted by -C=O- stretch.

Keywords: investment casting pattern, paraffin wax, LLDPE, PMMA, rheological properties, modified Krieger and Dougherty expression

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Authors: Ruotian Wang

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Since the birth of the Buddha himself more than 2000 years ago, Buddhism has continued to lead many people’s lives. Scholars and Buddhists have contributed to give detailed explanations to all kinds of issues within the structure of Buddhist philosophy to make Buddhism more complete. Different schools have developed, therefore leading to a lot of different branches within Buddhism. Although they all follow what the Buddha himself taught, they still have various explanations to even fundamental issues. As one of the fundamental problems regarding our lives, death is widely discussed in Buddhism. The controversy regarding death is its seemly incompatibility with the idea of non-self and impermanence, which is what I will discuss in this essay. The idea of rebirth is the basic structure of birth and death, which suggests a connection between this life and the next. Therefore, according to common logic, we should tell that there is something that connects each life, an agent that receives the process of rebirth, which is normally known as a soul. In Buddhism, non-self is also an important concept which speaks to the illusion of a self or soul. The idea of rebirth and non-self seems contradicted. Many different schools of Buddhism attempt to resolve such conflicts, but there are logical flaws within the arguments they made. Thus, I raise a better solution: Different from the annihilationist view, non-self in Buddhism speaks only to the illusion of a self in each moment. There is a self that exists as a sum of all our karmas which we can achieve after Nirvana. However, the nature of such a self is still emptiness. There are no agents needed as one rebirth since the whole cycle of rebirth is the self. Then, the contradiction between rebirth and non-self can be resolved.

Keywords: Buddhism, impermanence, non-self, reincarnation

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Authors: Manel Boulakoud, Abdelkader Chouaih, Fodil Hamzaoui

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In the present work we are interested in the determination of the Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) in Z-3N(2-Ethoxyphenyl), 2-N’(2-Ethoxyphenyl) imino thiazolidin-4-one molecule by ab initio and Density Functional Theory (DFT) in the ground state. The MEP is related to the electronic density and is a very useful descriptor in understanding sites for electrophilic attack and nucleophilic reactions as well as hydrogen bonding interactions. First, geometry optimization was carried out using Hartree–Fock (HF) and DFT methods with 6-311G(d,p) basis set. In order to get more information on the molecule, its stability has been analyzed by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. Mulliken population analyses have been calculated. Finally, the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and HOMO-LUMO energy levels have been performed. The calculated HOMO and LUMO energies show also the charge transfer within the molecule. The energy gap obtained is about 4 eV which explain the stability of the studied compound. The obtained molecular electrostatic potential from the two methods confirms the nature of the electron charge transfer at the molecular shell and locate the electropositive part and the electronegative part in molecular scale of the title compound.

Keywords: DFT, ab initio, HOMO-LUMO, organic compounds

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Authors: Kamna Solanki, Yudhvir Singh, Sandeep Dalal

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Software testing is a time and cost intensive process. A scrutiny of the code and rigorous testing is required to identify and rectify the putative bugs. The process of bug identification and its consequent correction is continuous in nature and often some of the bugs are removed after the software has been launched in the market. This process of code validation of the altered software during the maintenance phase is termed as Regression testing. Regression testing ubiquitously considers resource constraints; therefore, the deduction of an appropriate set of test cases, from the ensemble of the entire gamut of test cases, is a critical issue for regression test planning. This paper presents a novel method for designing a suitable prioritization process to optimize fault detection rate and performance of regression test on predefined constraints. The proposed method for test case prioritization m-ACO alters the food source selection criteria of natural ants and is basically a modified version of Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). The proposed m-ACO approach has been coded in 'Perl' language and results are validated using three examples by computation of Average Percentage of Faults Detected (APFD) metric.

Keywords: regression testing, software testing, test case prioritization, test suite optimization

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Authors: Osamede Asowata

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The current resurgence of interest in the use of renewable energy is driven by the need to reduce the high environmental impact of fossil-based energy. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of a stationary PV panel on the charging rate of deep-cycle valve regulated lead-acid (DCVRLA) batteries. Stationary PV panels are set to a fixed tilt and orientation angle, which plays a major role in dictating the output power of a PV panel and subsequently on the charging time of a DCVRLA battery. In a basic PV system, an energy storage device that stores the power from the PV panel is necessary due to the fluctuating nature of the PV voltage caused by climatic conditions. The charging and discharging times of a DCVRLA battery were determined for a twelve month period from January through December 2012. Preliminary results, which include regression analysis (R2), conversion-time per week and work-time per day, indicate that a 36 degrees tilt angle produces a good charging rate for a latitude of 26 degrees south throughout the year.

Keywords: tilt and orientation angles, solar chargers, PV panels, storage devices, direct solar radiation.

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Authors: James Q. Feng

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Pneumatic nebulizers (as variations based on the Collison nebulizer) have been widely used for producing fine aerosol droplets from a liquid material. As qualitatively described by many authors, the basic working principle of those nebulizers involves utilization of the negative pressure associated with an expanding gas jet to syphon liquid into the jet stream, then to blow and shear into liquid sheets, filaments, and eventually droplets. But detailed quantitative analysis based on fluid mechanics theory has been lacking in the literature. The purpose of present work is to investigate the nature of negative pressure distribution associated with compressible gas jet flow in the Collison nebulizer by a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, using an OpenFOAM® compressible flow solver. The value of the negative pressure associated with a gas jet flow is examined by varying geometric parameters of the jet expansion channel adjacent to the jet orifice outlet. Such an analysis can provide valuable insights into fundamental mechanisms in liquid aspiration process, helpful for effective design of the pneumatic atomizer in the Aerosol Jet® direct-write system for micro-feature, high-aspect-ratio material deposition in additive manufacturing.

Keywords: collison nebulizer, compressible gas jet flow, liquid aspiration, pneumatic atomization

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Authors: N. Zanganeh, M. Zabet

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Lactulose is a synthetic disaccharide which has remarkable applications in food and pharmaceutical fields. Lactulose is not found in nature and it is produced by isomerization reaction of lactose in an alkaline environment. It should be noted that this reaction has a very low yield since significant amount of lactose stays un-reacted in the system. Basically, purification of lactulose is difficult and costly. Previous studies have revealed that solubility of lactose and lactulose are significantly different in ethanol. Considering the fact that solubility is also affected by temperature itself, we investigated the effect of ethanol and temperature on separation process of lactose from the syrup containing lactose and lactulose. For this purpose, a saturated solution containing lactulose and lactose was made at three different temperatures; 25⁰C (room temperature), 31⁰C, and 37⁰C first.  Five samples containing 2g saturated solution was taken and then 2g, 3g, 4g, 5g, and 6g ethanol separately was added to the sampling tubes. Sampling tubes were kept at respective temperatures afterward. The concentration of lactose and lactulose after separation process measured and analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Results showed that ethanol has such a greater impact than operating temperature on purification process. Also, it was observed that the maximum rate of separation occurred at initial amount of added ethanol.

Keywords: lactulose, lactose, purification, solubility

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Authors: Fredrick Olatunji Ajegbomogun, Clement Ola Adekoya

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Mathematics has, for ages, been an essential subject in the education curriculum across the globe. The word mathematics scares the majority of undergraduate students and even more library and information science (LIS) students who have not seen the pertinence of the subject to their academic pursuits. This study investigated mathematics anxiety and attitudes among LIS undergraduate students in Nigerian universities. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Multi-stage and convenient sampling techniques were used for the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistical tools. It was found that mathematics is important in LIS education. The students displayed a high level of anxiety toward mathematics. The students have a negative attitude toward mathematics. However, the hypotheses tested revealed that while the LIS female undergraduate students displayed low levels of anxiety and a positive attitude toward mathematics, the level of anxiety of the male undergraduate students was high, and their attitude toward mathematics was negative. It was recommended that LIS undergraduate students develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and appreciate that the paradigm shift in the practice of librarianship is towards mathematics as a way of developing technological tools (hardware and software) to facilitate the effective delivery of library services.

Keywords: anxiety, attitude, library and information science, mathematics anxiety, undergraduate students, Nigerian universities

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Authors: Nadir Sidiqi

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Biodiversity conservation is humanity’s building block to sustain lives - ultimately allowing all living and nonliving creatures to interact in a balanced proportion. Humanity’s challenge in the 21st century is to maintain biodiversity without harming the natural habitat of plants, animals and beneficial microorganisms. There are many good reasons to consider why biodiversity is important to every nation around the world, especially for a nation like Afghanistan. One of the major values of biodiversity is its economic value: biodiversity provides goods and services to the Afghan nation directly through links and components such as the maintenance of traditional crops, medicine, fruits, animals, grazing, fuel, timber, harvesting, fishing, hunting and related supplies. Biodiversity is the variety of the living components, such as humans, plants, animals, and microorganisms, and nonliving components interaction, including air, water, sunlight, soil, humidity and environmental factors in an area. There are many ways of gauging the value of biodiversity. As an ecosystem, biodiversity includes such benefits as soil fertility, erosion control, crop pollination, crop rotation, and pest control. The conservation of biodiversity is crucial for these benefits, which would be impossible to replace. Biodiversity conservation also has heritage values; this wealth of genetic diversity provides backup to rural people living close together.

Keywords: Afghanistan, biodiversity, conservation, economy, environment

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Authors: Marina Nosik, Irina Rymanova, Konstantin Ryzhov, Joan Yarovaya, Alexander Sobkin

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Tuberculosis (TB) associated with HIV is one of the top causes of death worldwide. However, early detection and treatment of TB in HIV-infected individuals significantly reduces the risk of developing severe forms of TB and mortality. The goal of the study was to analyze the peculiarities of TB associated with HIV infection. Over the period of 2015-2016 a retrospective cohort study was conducted among 377 patients with TB/HIV co-infection who attended the Moscow Tuberculosis Clinic. The majority of the patients was male (64,5%). The median age was: men 37,9 (24÷62) and women 35,4 (22÷72) years. The most prevalent age group was 30-39 years both for men and women (73,3% and 54,7%, respectively). The ratio of patients in age group 50-59 and senior was 3,9%. Socioeconomic status of patients was rather low: only 2.3% of patients had a university degree; 76,1% was unemployed (of whom 21,7% were disabled). Most patients had disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis in the phase of infiltration/ decay (41,5%). The infiltrative TB was detected in 18,9% of patients; 20,1% patients had tuberculosis of intrathoracic lymph nodes. The occurrence of MDR-TB was 16,8% and XDR-TB – 17,9%. The number of HIV-positive patients with newly diagnosed TB was n=261(69,2%). The active TB-form (MbT+) among new TB/HIV cases was 44,7 %. The severe clinical forms of TB and a high TB incidence rate among HIV-infected individuals alongside with a large number of cases of newly diagnosed tuberculosis, indicate the need for more intense interaction with TB services for timely diagnosis of TB which will optimize treatment outcomes.

Keywords: HIV, tuberculosis (TB), TB associated with HIV, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB)

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Authors: Lo Kar Yin, Law Ka Mei

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Architectural, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) industry practitioners have been well adapting to the dynamic construction market from the fundamental training of its discipline. As further triggered by the pandemic since 2019, great steps are taken in virtual environment and the best collaboration is strived with project teams without boundaries. With adoption of Building Information Modeling-based approach and qualitative analysis, this paper is to review quantity take-off and cost estimation process through modeling techniques in liaison with suppliers, fabricators, subcontractors, contractors, designers, consultants and services providers in the construction industry value chain for automatic project cost budgeting, project cost control and cost evaluation on design options of in-situ reinforced-concrete construction and Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) at design stage, variation of works and cash flow/spending analysis at construction stage as far as practicable, with a view to sharing the findings for enhancing mutual trust and co-operation among AECO industry practitioners. It is to foster development through a common prototype of design and build project delivery method in NEC Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Options A and C.

Keywords: building information modeling, cost estimation, quantity take-off, modeling techniques

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Authors: H. Hammoudi, S. Bendenia, I. Batonneau-Gener, J. Comparot, K. Marouf-Khelifa, A. Khelifa

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X zeolites were prepared by ion-exchange with Cu2+ and/or Zn2+ cations, at different concentrations of the exchange solution, and characterised by thermal analysis and nitrogen adsorption. The acidity of the samples was investigated by pyridine adsorption–desorption followed by in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Desorption was carried out at 150, 250 and 350 °C. The objective is to estimate the nature and concentration of acid sites. A comparison between the binary (Cu(x)X, Zn(x)X) and ternary (CuZn(x)X) exchanges was also established (x = level of exchange) through the Cu(43)X, Zn(48)X and CuZn(50)X samples. Lewis acidity decreases overall with desorption temperature and the level of exchange. As the latter increases, there is a conversion of some Lewis sites into those of Brønsted during thermal treatment. In return, the concentration of Brønsted sites increases with the degree of exchange. The Brønsted acidity of CuZn(50)X at 350 °C is more important than the sum of those of Cu(43)X and Zn(48)X. The found values were 73, 32 and 15 μmol g-1, respectively. Besides, the concentration of Brønsted sites for CuZn(50)X increases with desorption temperature. These features indicate the presence of a synergistic effect amplifying the strength of these sites when Cu2+ and Zn2+ cations compete for the occupancy of sites distributed inside zeolitic cavities.

Keywords: acidity, adsorption, pyridine, zeolites

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Authors: Muhammad Badar Habib, Muhammad Shakir, Asif Ali, Muhammad Zia ul Haq

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Purpose of the research is to examine the university teachers’ health and physical activities regarding their academic competencies. Major objectives of this piece research were (a) to identify health problems of teachers at university level that affects academic competencies of university teachers and (b) to evaluate educational betterment through physical balance. This research is descriptive in nature and questionnaire was used as source of collecting data. Population of the present research comprises teachers, professors and professionals teaching in the universities of Pakistan. 580 university teachers were selected as a population of the study. Random sampling technique was used to identify recipients. Data was feed and filter in Ms-Excel. In the light of the analysis of the study following findings were drawn out. This study found that the university teachers in Pakistan do not adopt proper physical exercise program. They were less interested to burn their extra calories and face diseases such as cramping, contraction of the muscles, diabetics and stomach diseases. This study recommends that seminars/workshops may be held by University establishment; to develop overall awareness among the teachers.

Keywords: evaluating effects of health and physical maintenance, academic competencies, university teachers, Pakistan

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Authors: Marcin Kruszewski, Barbara Sochanowicz, Sylwia Męczyńska-Wielgosz, Maria Wojewódzka, Lucyna Kapka-Skrzypczak

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Metallic NPs are widely used in a number of applications in industry, science and medicine. Among metallic NPs foreseen to be widely used in medicine are gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) due to their low toxicity, and silver NPs (AgNPs) due to their strong antimicrobial activity. In this study, we compared an effect of AgNPs and gold NPs (AuNPs) on the formation of DNA damage and global DNA methylation and in A2780 and 4T1 cell lines, widely used models of human ovarian carcinoma and murine mammary carcinoma, respectively. The cells were treated with AgNPs coated with citrate (AgNPs(cit) or PEG (AgNPs(PEG), or AuNPs. A global DNA methylation was investigated with ELISA, whereas the formation of DNA damage was investigated by a comet +/- FPG. AgNPs decreased global DNA methylation and increased the formation of DNA lesions in both cell lines. The effect was dependent on the type of NPs used, it's coating, and cell line used. In conclusion, the epigenetic and genotoxic effects of NPs strongly depends on NP nature and cellular context. Epigenetic changes observed upon the action of AgNPs may play a crucial role in NPs-induced changes in protein expression.

Keywords: DNA damage, gold nanoparticles, methylation, silver nanoparticles

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Authors: Qura-tul-aain Khair

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Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to empirically examining the strength of association of responsive market orientation and proactive market orientation with new product performance and exploring the possible moderating role of organizational learning based on contingency theory. Design/methodology/approach- Data for this study was collected from FMCG manufacturing industry and services industry, where customers are in contact frequently and responses are recorded on continuous basis. Sample was collected through convenience sampling. The data collected from different marketing department and sales personnel were analysed using SPSS 16 version. Findings- The paper finds that responsive market orientation is more strongly associated with new product performance. The moderator, organizational learning, plays it significant role on the relationship between responsive market orientation and new product performance. Research limitations/implications- this paper has taken sample from just FMCG industry and service industry, more work can be done regarding how different-markets require different market orientation behaviours. Originality/value- This paper will be useful for foreign business looking for investing and expanding in Pakistan, they can find opportunity to get sustained competitive advantage through exploring the proactive side of market orientation and importance of organizational learning.

Keywords: organizational learning, proactive market orientation, responsive market orientation, new product performance

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Authors: Sven Tackenberg, Sönke Duckwitz, Andreas Petz, Christopher M. Schlick

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This paper introduces an extension to the well-established Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) to apply it to complex maintenance problems. The problem is to assign technicians to a team which has to process several tasks with multi-level skill requirements during a work shift. Here, several alternative activities for a task allow both, the temporal shift of activities or the reallocation of technicians and tools. As a result, switches from one valid work process variant to another can be considered and may be selected by the developed evolutionary algorithm based on the present skill level of technicians or the available tools. An additional complication of the observed scheduling problem is that the locations of the construction sites are only temporarily accessible during a day. Due to intensive rail traffic, the available time slots for maintenance and repair works are extremely short and are often distributed throughout the day. To identify efficient working periods, a first concept of a Bayesian network is introduced and is integrated into the extended RCPSP with pre-emptive and non-pre-emptive tasks. Thereby, the Bayesian network is used to calculate the probability of a maintenance task to be processed during a specific period of the shift. Focusing on the domain of maintenance of the railway infrastructure in metropolitan areas as the most unproductive implementation process at construction site, the paper illustrates how the extended RCPSP can be applied for maintenance planning support. A multi-criteria evolutionary algorithm with a problem representation is introduced which is capable of revising technician-task allocations, whereas the duration of the task may be stochastic. The approach uses a novel activity list representation to ensure easily describable and modifiable elements which can be converted into detailed shift schedules. Thereby, the main objective is to develop a shift plan which maximizes the utilization of each technician due to a minimization of the waiting times caused by rail traffic. The results of the already implemented core algorithm illustrate a fast convergence towards an optimal team composition for a shift, an efficient sequence of tasks and a high probability of the subsequent implementation due to the stochastic durations of the tasks. In the paper, the algorithm for the extended RCPSP is analyzed in experimental evaluation using real-world example problems with various size, resource complexity, tightness and so forth.

Keywords: maintenance management, scheduling, resource constrained project scheduling problem, genetic algorithms

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Authors: Faranak Omidian

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The aim of this research was to examine the quality of education service at master's level in the Islamic Azad University of Dezful. In terms of objective, this is an applied research and in regard to methodology, it is a descriptive analytical research. The statistical population included all students of master's degree in the Islamic Azad University of Dezful. The sample size was determined using stratified random sampling method in different fields of study. The research questionnaire is the translated version of standardized Abdullah's HEdPERF 41-item scale which is based on a 5-point Likert scale. In order to determine the validity, the translated questionnaire was given to the professors of educational sciences. The correlation among all questions has been regarded at a value of 0.644. The results showed that the quality of educational service at master's level in this university, based on chi-square goodness of fit test, was equal to 73.36 and its degree of freedom was 2 at a significant level of 0.001, indicating the low desirability of the services. According to Friedman test, academic responsiveness has been reported to be in a higher status than other dimensions with an average rank of 3.94 while accessibility, with an average rank of 2.15, has been in the lowest status from master's students' viewpoint.

Keywords: educational service quality, master's level, Iranian university

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Authors: Kenji Gwee

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The Mental Capacity Act is a new legislation that allows for lasting powers of attorney and court-appointed deputies, in respect of people who lack legal capacity. While the UK Act, after which the Singapore Act is modeled, has been shown to be therapeutic to donors, the Singapore Act differs from its UK counterpart and it is unclear if the Singapore Act can be beneficial to donors as purported. The purpose of this study was to determine what the perceptions of three groups of stakeholders (patients, caregivers and psychiatrists) are about the aspects of the Mental Capacity Act that are therapeutic to donors. In addition, ways to increase the therapeutic value of the Act to donors are sought. A qualitative methodology was used and the research was guided by two theoretical frameworks: therapeutic jurisprudence and an interpretive constructive framework. Interviews with 12 psychiatrists, and focus groups with twenty three patients and seven caregivers showed agreement that, allowing donors to nominate more than one decision- maker, and whistle-blowing mechanisms for recourse for abuse, were therapeutic to donors. To further increase the therapeutic value of the Act, 2 suggestions were made: the Act should provide for (i) advanced healthcare directives- allowing donors to make advance decisions to refuse treatment, or cease existing treatment, and (ii) independent advocacy services- to have a case worker to represent people who have no family or friends and are thus unable to find suitable donees.

Keywords: Mental Capacity Act, therapeutic jurisprudence, qualitative methodology, the UK Act

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Authors: Doaa El-Shereef

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This paper will focus on proving a theory that it is an Egyptian knife with Canaanite relief and will discuss the nature of the Gebel el-Arak Knife and the civilization to which it belongs and the relationship of the Canaanite deity with Mount Abydos in Egypt, and the influence between the ancient Egyptian religion and the Canaanite religion and their effect on each other. Finally, the paper will discuss in full detail the engraving of the two faces of the knife handle and analyze the register on the front face, which is the scene of the two lions engraved, and between them, an old man symbolized as the deity in the middle and compared it with other drawings similar in the Egyptian civilization. The paper will also discuss the registers on the back face, which are the engravings of a battle, soldiers, uniforms, and boats, and how the back face describes a water battle between three Egyptian boats and two foreign ships. In addition, it will prove that those foreign ships were not Mesopotamian ships because, in the period to which the knife of Gebel Al-Arak belongs, between 3300-3100 BC, there were no battles or trade exchanges between Egypt and Mesopotamia on sea routes. However, there was already a strong land and sea trade between Canaan and Egypt during Chalcolithic Age (4500-3500 BC), as described in many primary sources.

Keywords: Canaan, Egypt, Gebel el-Arak Knife, Louvre

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Authors: Mohamed Boubekri, Jaewook Lee

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The assessment of the daylighting performance of a design solution is a complex task due to the changing nature of daylight. A few quantitative metrics are available to designers to assess such a performance, among them are the mean hourly illuminance (MHI), the daylight factor (DF), the daylight autonomy (DA) and the useful daylight illuminance (UDI). Each of these metrics has criteria and limitations that affect the outcome of the evaluation. When to use one metric instead of another depends largely on the design goals to be achieved. Using Design Iterate Validate Adapt (DIVA) daylighting simulation program we set out to examine the performance behavior of these four metrics with the changing dimensions of three shading devices: a horizontal overhang, a horizontal louver system, and a vertical louver system, and compare their performance behavior as the orientation of the window changes. The context is a classroom of a prototypical elementary school in South Korea. Our results indicate that not all four metrics behave similarly as we vary the size of each shading device and as orientations changes. The UDI is the metric that leads to outcome most different than the other three metrics. Our conclusion is that not all daylighting metrics lead to the same conclusions and that it is important to use the metric that corresponds to the specific goals and objectives of the daylighting solution.

Keywords: daylight factor, hourly daylight illuminance, daylight autonomy, useful daylight illuminance

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Authors: Levan Sabauri

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Audit is an independent inspection of the financial statement of the audited person and expresses the opinion of an auditor on the reliability of this statement. The auditor’s activity (auditor’s service) is realized by auditing organizations, individual auditors in connection to conduction of an audit and rendering of audit accompanying services. The profession of auditor means a high level of responsibility for rendered service. Results of decisions made by information users depend on the quality of the auditor’s conclusion. Owners, investors, creditors, and society rely on the opinion of the auditor under the condition that inspection was conducted with good quality. Therefore, the existence of the well-functioning audit quality control system for the administering of the audit is an important issue. An efficient audit quality control system is a substantial challenge that many countries face worldwide, especially those states where these systems are being formed within the respective reform program. The presented article reflects on the best practices of the leading countries, the assumptions and recommendations for the financial accounting, reporting and audit; current reforms in Georgia are made based on this comparative analysis.

Keywords: audit quality control, audit program, financial statement, perspective analysis

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Authors: P. Cavlan, B. Kırmızıgil

Abstract:

Introduction: Each exercise in suspension exercises offer the use of gravity and body weight; and is thought to develop the equilibrium, flexibility and body stability necessary for daily life activities and sports, in addition to creating the correct functional force. Suspension exercises based on body weight focus the human body as an integrated system. Total Resistance Exercises (TRX) suspension training that physiotherapists, athletic health clinics, exercise centers of hospitals and chiropractic clinics now use for rehabilitation purposes. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the effects of TRX suspension exercises on physical performance in healthy individuals. Method: Healthy subjects divided into two groups; the study group and the control group with 40 individuals for each, between ages 20 to 45 with similar gender distributions. Study group had 2 sessions of suspension exercises per week for 8 weeks and control group had no exercises during this period. All the participants were given explosive strength, flexibility, strength and endurance tests before and after the 8 week period. The tests used for evaluation were respectively; standing long jump test and single leg (left and right) long jump tests, sit and reach test, sit up and back extension tests. Results: In the study group a statistically significant difference was found between prior- and final-tests in all evaluations, including explosive strength, flexibility, core strength and endurance of the group performing TRX exercises. These values were higher than the control groups’ values. The final test results were found to be statistically different between the study and control groups. Study group showed development in all values. Conclusions: In this study, which was conducted with the aim of investigating and comparing the effects of TRX suspension exercises on physical performance, the results of the prior-tests of both groups were similar. There was no significant difference between the prior and the final values in the control group. It was observed that in the study group, explosive strength, flexibility, strength, and endurance development was achieved after 8 weeks. According to these results, it was shown that TRX suspension exercise program improved explosive strength, flexibility, especially core strength and endurance; therefore the physical performance. Based on the results of our study, it was determined that the physical performance, an indispensable requirement of our life, was developed by the TRX suspension system. We concluded that TRX suspension exercises can be used to improve the explosive strength and flexibility in healthy individuals, as well as developing the muscle strength and endurance of the core region. The specific investigations could be done in this area so that programs that emphasize the TRX's physical performance features could be created.

Keywords: core strength, endurance, explosive strength, flexibility, physical performance, suspension exercises

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Neha Bhushan

Abstract:

For the purpose of this study a village of district Azamgarh has been selected which is a part of the most populous and backward state of the country, Uttar Pradesh. In the age of information, everyone has the right to acquire information and it becomes important to assess the acceptance and non-acceptance of social media among rural population. Rural women of the state are showing positive trends in the form of increased social media and mobile usage. This study is an effort to know the purpose of rural women for using social media. The study design is exploratory and qualitative in nature. Data collection primarily consisted of 25 semi-structured individual interviews having 10 open-ended specific questions in one of the villages of Azamgarh district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Sampling approach is flexible and situational. Data reveals that rural women have become active on social media since last six months to one year. Most of them are using Facebook, Whatsapp, and YouTube for the purpose of interaction, learning new skills, checking out recipes and latest fashion. This pilot study gives a bird eye view of the problem and opens door for exploring this least explored area.

Keywords: exploratory research, mobile usage, rural women, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Julie Wittmannová, Petr Šeda

Abstract:

Quality of life measurements (QLF) help to evaluate interventions programs in different groups of persons with special needs. Our presentation deals with QLF of persons with addiction in relation to the physical activity (PA), type of addiction, age, gender and other variables. The aim of presentation is to summarize the basic findings and offer thoughts for questions arose. Methods: SQUALA (Subjective Quality of Life Analysis); SEIQoL (Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life); questionnaire of own construction. The results are evaluated by Mann­Whitney U test and Kruskall­Wallis ANOVA test (p ≤ 0,05). Sample of 64 participants – clients of aftercare center, aged 18 plus. Findings: Application of the methods SQUALA and SEIQoL in the chosen population seems appropriate, the obtaining information regarding the QLF correlate to intervention program topics, the need of an activelifestyle and health related topics in persons with addiction is visible. Conclusions or Implications: The subjective evaluation of quality of life of Aftercare clients is an important part of evaluation process, especially used to evaluate satisfaction with offered services and programs. Techniques SQUALA and SEIQoL gave us the desired outcomes.

Keywords: adapted physical activity, addiction, quality of life, physical activity, aftercare

Procedia PDF Downloads 320

Authors: Phibankhamti Ryngnga

Abstract:

It is a common phenomenon worldwide that farmland has been gradually converted for urban development particularly in the 21st century keeping in mind the population increase on the other hand. Since food demand and supply are not in equilibrium in urban set up, therefore, there is a need for alternative to feed the hungry urban settlers worldwide. In this regard, urban rooftop farming is the only way out to meet the growing demand for food production with the extra benefits of making our urban areas and cities greener and when the populace is exposed to nature and vegetation, it in turn provides an array of psychological benefits, from decreased anxiety to increased productivity. Bare roofs in cities absorb and then radiate heat — a phenomenon known as the “heat island effect. This increases energy usage and contributes to the poor air quality that often plagues big cities. But Urban rooftop farming do provide many solutions to help cool buildings, ultimately reducing carbon emissions, and by growing food in the communities they serve, rooftop farmers lessen the environmental impact of food transportation. This paper will emphasise the significance of Urban roof farming in the present century which in itself a multi-solution to various city problems.

Keywords: urban, roof farming, smart solution, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Ohood Alshammary

Abstract:

This study explores the current situation of teacher professional development, focusing on challenges experienced by English language teachers at a Saudi Arabian university. The study examines the current context of English language department (ELD) teachers in relation to PD activities available and the nature of the challenges they face in their attempts to engage in PD. The study adopted an interpretive approach to understanding the current situation of teachers working at the English language department (ELD) at one Saudi Arabian university. The study's findings reveal that participating teachers were aware of the significance of PD but were disappointed that the voices of teachers were not heard. The research reveals many challenges; lack of autonomy, insufficient time, heavy workloads, unsupportive working environments, and PD activities that were not considered necessary by the participants. Teachers viewed PD as subject to a top-down system, causing them to feel professionally undermined, lacking autonomy, and forced to comply with university rules. The study makes several recommendations for improving the PD experience and helping raise institutional awareness of the need to encourage teacher engagement and recommend enhancements to ELD teachers' professional development based on teachers' perspectives.

Keywords: adult learning., professional development, PD challenge, teacher perspective

Procedia PDF Downloads 56