Search results for: endogenous economic growth

Authors: Luxy Grebers Swend Sinaga, Akhmaloka

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The global energy crisis, triggered by declining fossil The global energy crisis, triggered by declining fossil fuel reserves and exacerbated by population growth and increasing energy demand, was driven the development of renewable energy sources. One of the green energy alternatives being developed is biodiesel. Transesterification is at the core of biodiesel production, where fatty acids in oil are converted into methyl esters with the aid of a catalyst. Lipases exhibit high activity and stability during catalysis, especially under harsh conditions. Lipase (Lk1) isolated from organic waste compost at the Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, West Java, shows promising potential in this field. The thermostable lipase was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, followed by SDS-PAGE analysis for purity confirmation. Characterizing the transesterification activity of Lk1 is essential for assessing its effectiveness in converting oil into biodiesel, including methyl esters. The results of this study showed that Lk1 exhibited the highest activity on a methyl palmitate substrate, with an optimum temperature of 60°C, very stable activity in the non-polar solvent n-hexane, and was able to maintain its optimum activity for up to 1 hour. These characters make Lk1 highly suitable for biodiesel production, as it meets the main criteria for the transesterification process in producing renewable energy.

Keywords: biodiesel, lipase Lk1, transesterification, renewable energy, thermostability

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Authors: Aboozar Dehghan, S. Sharifi, S. A. Dehghan, Ali Aliabadi, Arash Esfandiari

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Ultrasonography is a safe, available and particular method in diagnostic imaging science. In ultrasonography most of body soft tissue imaged in B mode display. Iranian Qashqaeian sheep is an old and domestic breed in Zagros mountain area in central plateau of Iran. Population of this breed in Fars state (study location) is 250000 animals. Gestation age detection in sheep was performed by ultarasonography in Kivircik breed in 2010 in turkey. In this study 5 adult, clinically healthy, Iranian ewes and 1 Iranian ram were selected. We measured biparital diameter that thickened part of fetal skull include (BPD), trunk diameter (TD), fetal heart diameter(FHD), intercostals space of fetus (ICS) and fetal heart rate per minute (FHR) weekly after day 60 after pregnancy. Inguinal area in both sides shaved and cleaned by alcohol 70 degree and covered by enough copulating gel. Trans abdominal Ultarasonography was performed by a convex multi frequency transducer with 2.5-5 MHz frequency. Data were collected and analyzed by on way Annova method in Spss15 software. Mean of BPD, TD, FHD and ICS in day 60 were 14.58, 25.92, 3.53, 2.3mm. FHR can measure on day 109 to 150. TD after day 109 cannot displayed in 1 frame in scanning. Ultrasonography in sheep pregnancy is a particular method. Using this study can help in theriogeniologic disease that affected fetal growth. Differentiating between various sheep breed is a functional result of this study.

Keywords: qashqaeian sheep, fetometry, ultrasonography

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Authors: Robin Becker, Nane Roetmann, Manfred Helmus

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The construction industry faces a significant challenge due to a shortage of skilled work-ers, especially in construction management, despite an increase in graduates. This is main-ly because the job is associated with high stress, long hours, and poor work-life balance. A survey revealed that the profession is unattractive to students, who prioritize personal growth, flexibility, and digitalization in their careers. To address this issue, companies can consider implementing various work modules like "working time documentation," "home office," "job sharing," and "time off." These modules can improve control, work-life bal-ance, and efficiency if tailored to the company's framework. They offer a way to make the field more appealing to future employees while benefiting existing staff, provided that both employers and employees are flexible and considerate of project-specific conditions and teams. The feasibility of these models depends on the company's overall framework, with potential for cost-neutral implementation and positive effects on efficiency and men-tal health. However, their success also relies on the specific context of the company, and more data is needed to assess their full impact.

Keywords: modern construction management, construction industry, work modules, shortage of junior staff, sustainable personnel management, making construction management more attractive, working time model

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Authors: Sara Khalifa, Dina Salem

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Cities have become overly automobile-oriented which clearly accommodates driving at the expense of walking in an age of global concerns about emerging health issues (obesity, cancer, heart disease) and environmental disasters (global warming, depletion of resources) which makes sustainable solutions a necessity not an option. One of these sustainable solutions is creating walkable communities. Walking is a distinctive and fundamental human activity that plays an important role in achieving urban sustainability and yields incredible benefits to people and environment with its influence on transportation infrastructure, public health, economic development, and social equity. Considerable research supports the idea that the presence of green, natural settings and quality urban landscapes can enhance walking and other physical activity and travel behaviour. Stepping towards a sustainable future, requires rethinking our communities in terms of walkability enhancement for this purpose, this paper starts with defining walkable communities and their characteristics, benefits and related concepts then discusses the contribution of urban landscape quality in promoting walkability.

Keywords: walkability, walkable community, liveable communities, urban landscape qualities

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Authors: John K. Mensah, Mary A. Sword Sayer, Ryan L. Nadel, George Matusick, Zhaofei Fan, Lori G. Eckhardt

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Leptographium terebrantis is an opportunistic root pathogen commonly associated with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands that are undergoing a loss of vigor in the southeastern US. In order to understand the relationship between L. terebrantis inoculum density and host physiology, an artificial inoculation study was conducted in a five-year-old naturally regenerated loblolly pine stand over a 24 week period in a completely randomized design. L. terebrantis caused sapwood occlusions that increased in severity as inoculum density increased. The occlusions significantly reduced water transport through the stem but did not interfere with fascicle-level stomatal conductance or induce moisture stress in the saplings. The resilience of stomatal conductance among pathogen-infested saplings is attributed to the growth and hydraulic function of new sapwood that developed after artificial inoculation. Results demonstrate that faster-growing families of loblolly pine may be capable of tolerating the vascular root disease when the formation of new sapwood is supported by sustained crown health.

Keywords: hydraulic conductance, inoculum density, Leptographium terebrantis, Pinus taeda, sapwood occlusion

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Authors: Biva Samadder, Samita Manna

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India is a melting pot of races, tribes, castes and communities. The population of India can be roughly branched into the huge majority of “Civilized” Indians of the Plains and the minority of Tribal population of the hill area and the forest who constituting almost 16 percent of total population of India. The Kirat community composed of four ethnic tribes: Limbu, Lepcha, Dhimal, and Rai. These Kirat people were found to be rich in indigenous knowledge, skill and practices especially for the use on medicinal plants and livelihood purposes. The “Mundhum" is the oral scripture or the “Bible of the Limbus” which serves as the canon of the codes of the Limbu socialization, their moral values and the very orientation of their lifestyle. From birth till death the Limbus are disciplined in the life with full of religious rituals, traditions and culture governed by community norms with a rich legacy of indigenous knowledge and traditional practices. The present study has been conducted using both secondary as well as primary data by applying social methodology consisting of the social survey, questionnaire, interviews and observations in the Kalimpong Block-I of Darjeeling District of west Bengal of India, which is a heterogeneous zone in terms of its ethnic composition and where the Limbus are pre-dominantly concentrated. Due to their close contact with other caste and communities Limbus are now adjusted with the changing situation by borrowing some cultural traits from the other communities and changes that have taken place in their cultural practices, religious beliefs, economic aspects, languages and in social roles and relationships which is bringing the change in their material culture. Limbu language is placed in the Tibeto- Burman Language category. But due to the political and cultural domination of educationally sound and numerically dominant Bengali race, the different communities in this area forced to come under the one umbrella of the Nepali or Gorkhali nation (nation-people). Their respective identities had to be submerged in order to constitute as a strong force to resist Nepali domination and ensure their common survival. As Nepali is a lingua-franca of the area knowing and speaking Nepali language helps them in procuring economic and occupational facilities. Ironically, present day younger generation does not feel comfortable speaking in their own Limbu tongue. The traditional knowledge about medicinal plants, healing, and health culture is found to be wear away due to the lack of interest of young generation. Not only poverty, along with exclusion due to policies they are in the phase of extinction, but their capabilities are ignored and not documented and preserved especially in the case of Limbus who having a great cultural heritage of an oral tradition. Attempts have been made to discuss the persistence and changes in socioeconomic pattern of life in relation to the social structure, material culture, cultural practices, social relationships, indigenous technology, ethos and their values and belief system.

Keywords: changing social relationship, cultural transition, identity, indigenous knowledge, language

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Authors: Min-Shiuan Liou, Yi Shan Yang, Yang-Zhan Huang, Chia-Wen Hsieh

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A high speed growing and butanol-tolerant Clostridium acetobutylicum HOL1 mutant was screened throughout continuous adaption culture with C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824. The HOL1 strain can grow well in 10 g/L butanol contained CGM medium and can produce about 12.8 g /L butanol during 24 hrs. The C. acetobutylicum HOL1 strain was able to produce 166 mM butanol with 21 mM acetone at pH 4.8, resulting in a butanol selectivity (a molar ratio of butanol to total solvents) of 0.79, which is much higher than that (0.6) of the wild-type strain C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824. The acetate and butyrate accumulation were not observed during fermentation of the HOL1 strain. A hyper-butanol producing C. acetobutylicum HOL1 (pBPHS-3), which was created to overexpress the Bacillus psychrosaccharolyticus originated specific heat-shock protein gene, hspX, from a clostridial phosphotransbutyrylase promoter, was studied for its potential to produce a high titer of butanol. Overexpression of hspX resulted in increased final butanol yield 47% and 30% higher than those of the the ATCC824 and the HOL1 strains, respectively. The remarkable high-speed growth and butanol tolerance of strain HOL1 (pBPHS-3) demonstrates that overexpression of heterogeneous stress protein-encoding gene, hspX, could help C. acetobutylicum to effectively produce a high concentration of butanol.

Keywords: Clostridium acetobutylicum, butanol, heat-shock protein, resistance

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Authors: Tanzeel Ur Rehman Khan, Franz Josef Behr, Phillip Davis

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Open source geospatial certifications are needed in geospatial technology education and industry sector. In parallel with proprietary software, free and open source software solutions become important in geospatial technology research and play an important role for the growth of the geospatial industry. ESRI, GISCI (GIS Certification Institute), ASPRS (American Society of Photogrammetry and remote sensing), and Meta spatial are offering certifications on proprietary and open source software. These are portfolio and competency based certifications depending on GIS Body of Knowledge (Bok). The analysis of these certification approaches might lead to the discovery of some gaps in them and will open a new way to develop certifications related to the geospatial open source (OS). This new certification will investigate the different geospatial competencies according to open source tools that help to identify geospatial professionals and strengthen the geospatial academic content. The goal of this research is to introduce a geospatial certification model based on geospatial technology competency model (GTCM).The developed certification will not only incorporate the importance of geospatial education and production of the geospatial competency-based workforce in universities and companies (private or public) as well as describe open source solutions with tools and technology. Job analysis, market analysis, survey analysis of this certification opens a new horizon for business as well.

Keywords: geospatial certification, open source, geospatial technology competency model, geoscience

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Authors: Doruk Atahan Erbas

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This paper concerns the early writings of Karl Marx, specifically The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, The German Ideology and Theses on Feuerbach. The two crucial themes of these early writings are the doctrine called historical materialism and, as a worker, the worker's resistance towards the current condition of society out of the division of labor. After Marx, including his closest friend Friedrich Engels, some of the philosophers, activists, and politicians have considered the historical materialism as a rigorous science which includes the explanation of historical causality manifested in the social, political sphere. However, this consideration, by its description as a science, is completely alienated from the concept of subject (as the suffering worker) nothing other than one of the abovementioned themes. Therefore, from this perspective, Marx's early doctrine seems to be self contradictory. The alternative approach which will be introduced in this essay offers a new basis for a correlation between the concept of subject and historical materiality by means of investigating materiality as phenomenality and ultimately rereading Marx as a creator of an existential subject surrounded by phenomenality. So that, it provides an opportunity to rethink the concept of historical materiality from an existential point of view.

Keywords: existentialism, Karl Marx, materiality, phenomenality, subject

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Authors: Xhevrie Mamaqi

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Organization capacity learning is a process referring to the sum total of individual and collective learning through training programs, experience and experimentation, among others. Today, in-business ongoing training is one of the most important strategies for human capital development and it is crucial to sustain and improve workers’ knowledge and skills. Many organizations, firms and business are adopting a strategy of continuous learning, encouraging employees to learn new skills continually to be innovative and to try new processes and work in order to achieve a competitive advantage and superior business results. This paper uses the Resource Based View and Capacities (RBV) approach to construct a hypothetical relationships model between training and business results. The test of the model is applied on transversal data. A sample of 266 business of Spanish sector service has been selected. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to estimate the relationship between ongoing training, represented by two latent dimension denominated Human and Social Capital resources and economic business results. The coefficients estimated have shown the efficient of some training aspects explaining the variation in business results.

Keywords: business results, human and social capital resources, training, RBV theory, SEM

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Authors: Italo Luigi de Paoli

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The use of synthetic soil for the vegetables cultivation in conditions of limited water consumption The separate collection of urban organic waste and green waste for the countries of the European Union averages 100 kg / inhabitant x year with an annual growth of about 10%. The production of quality compost averages 38% - 40% of the production of organic waste material. Most of the compost produced is used as an organic soil improver in those nutrient-poor soils in order to improve its quality. This study seeks to enhance the production of quality compost by creating a synthetic soil, where the percentages of compost on average oscillate between 50% and 60% in which, with appropriate precautions, different species of horticultural can be grown in conditions of high environmental safety without the use of pesticides and with a consumption of water used for irrigation limited to the actual evaporation of the plants. The project started in 2018 and is still ongoing, confirms its validity through a series of different horticultural productions, especially if this technology is applied where the availability of land suitable for the cultivation of vegetables is limited and where the use of water for irrigation represents a cultural criticality. Furthermore, the creation of "open field" crops, together with their automation, represents a further possibility in the concrete development of such technologies, giving the final product organoleptic characteristics equal if not superior to what the market offers today for human nutrition.

Keywords: water scarcity, compost, vegetable foods, syntetic soil

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Authors: Kaustuvmani Patowary, Suresh Deka

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Oil pollution accidents, nowadays, have become a common phenomenon and have caused ecological and social disasters. Microorganisms with high oil-degrading performance are essential for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon. In this investigation, an effective biosurfactant producer and hydrocarbon degrading bacterial strain, Pseudomonas sp.PG1 (identified by 16s rDNA sequencing) was isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated garage soil of Pathsala, Assam, India, using crude oil enrichment technique. The growth parameters such as pH and temperature were optimized for the strain and upto 81.8% degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) has been achieved after 5 weeks when grown in mineral salt media (MSM) containing 2% (w/v) crude oil as the carbon source. The biosurfactant production during the course of hydrocarbon degradation was monitored by surface tension measurement and emulsification activity. The produced biosurfactant had the ability to decrease the surface tension of MSM from 72 mN/m to 29.6 mN/m, with the critical micelle concentration (CMC)of 56 mg/L. The biosurfactant exhibited 100% emulsification activity on crude oil. FTIR spectroscopy and LCMS-MS analysis of the purified biosurfactant revealed that the biosurfactant is Rhamnolipidic in nature with several rhamnolipid congeners. Gas Chromatography-Mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis clearly demonstrated that the strain PG1 efficiently degrade different hydrocarbon fractions of the crude oil. The study suggeststhat application of the biosurfactant producing strain PG1 as an appropriate candidate for bioremediation of crude oil contaminants.

Keywords: petroleum hydrocarbon, hydrocarbon contamination, bioremediation, biosurfactant, rhamnolipid

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Authors: Amal Aljohani, Ahmed Iraqi

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Emitting materials with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) properties as the third generation of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have received much attention as a modern class of highly efficient emitters because such properties enable the harvesting of both singlet and triplet excitons in EL applications without the doping with complexes of scarce noble metals such as platinum and iridium. Improved molecular design of TADF molecules and applied materials exhibiting internal electroluminescence (EL) with quantum efficiencies of nearly 100% has been achieved being. A2B3 hyperbranched polymers based on new derivatives containing silane core units serving as host materials for thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) guest molecules have been designed and synthesized through several steps, including the synthesis of tetrakis(4-bromophenyl)silane, bis(4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)bis(4-bromophenyl)silane,bis(4-(9H-carbazol-9 yl)phenyl)bis(4-methoxyphenyl)silane and bis(4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)bis(4hydroxyphenyl)silane. This monomer has been used successfully used along with 1,1,1-tri-(p-tosyloxymethyl)-propane to prepare A2B3 hyperbranched polymers via step-growth polymerization. The characterization and the properties of these new host polymers will be presented and discussed in this contribution.

Keywords: carbazole, organic light emitting diodes, thermally activated delayed fluorescence, donor-acceptor, host and guest interaction

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Authors: May A. Massoud, R. Harissi

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The fundamental principle and overall goal of an Environmental Management System is the concept of continual improvement. The implementation of such a system reveals a commitment to compliance and sustainable development. This research project aims at identifying and evaluating the prospects and challenges facing the adoption of ISO 14001 standard in the higher education system of Lebanon. It examines the corresponding barriers, drivers and incentives associated with the implementation of the standard. For this purpose, primary data were collected using quantitative method. The results revealed a significant lack of knowledge and sense of responsibility towards ISO 14001 standard and environmental accountability. Improving educational and social responsibility, improving environmental performance and enhancing institution image are the most noticeable drivers to adopt ISO 14001. The main perceived barriers for acquiring the standard are unclear benefits of ISO 14001, the lack of government support and the fact that the standard is not seen as a priority by top management. Lebanese Higher Education institutions are far likely to consider ISO 14001 before having proper accreditation programs or until ISO 14001 become widely-known in the Lebanese economic sectors.

Keywords: ISO 14001, higher education institution, environmental management, system

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Authors: Haitam Emhemad, Brian Agnew, David Greenwood

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Amongst the many priorities facing Libya following the 2011 uprising is the provision of a transport infrastructure that will meet the nation’s needs and not undermine its prospects for economic prosperity as with many developing economies non-technical issues such as management, planning and financing are the major barriers to the efficient and effective provision of transport infrastructure. This is particularly true in the case of the effective incorporation of sustainability criteria, and the research upon which this paper is based involves the examination of alternative ways of approaching this problem. It is probably fair to say that criteria that relate to sustainability have not, historically, featured strongly in Libya’s approach to the development of its transport infrastructure. However, the current reappraisal of how best to redevelop the country’s transport infrastructure that has been afforded by recent events may offer the opportunity to alter this. The research examines recent case studies from a number of countries to explore ways in which sustainability has been included as a criterion for planning and procurement decisions. There will also be an in-depth investigation into the Libyan planning and legislative context to examine the feasibility of the introduction of such sustainability criteria into the process of planning and procurement of Libya’s transport infrastructure.

Keywords: Libya reconstruction, sustainability criteria, transport infrastructure, public transport

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Authors: Zeliha Erdogan, Hatice Torcu Koc

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The fish, Sarpa salpa (L.), is one of the main macroherbivores in the Mediterranean. A total of 600 Salema individuals were collected from around Gökçeada, Sea of Northern Aegean, between January 2014 and January 2015 in order to evaluate some information on the biology of the Salema population. For this aim, measurements of the Salema were obtained using a caliper. The age readings were made from otoliths. The population was composed of 6 age classes (I-VI). The total lengths and total weights of sampled fish were determined to be ranged from 12.5 to 33.1 cm and 33.57 to 559.33 g, respectively. Length-weight relationship for all individuals was calculated as W=0.0085*L3.1723, R2=0.9524. Growth parameters were determined as L∞= 35.55cm, k=0.31, t0= -9.2, '=2.60. As the sexual ratio was 1.08:1 (M: F), the Salema population consisted of 51.66% male and 47.5% female individuals. The highest average condition factors were observed for females in May (1.68) and for males in May (1.67). According to gonad somatic index values, the spawning period was determined twice a year in spring (April) and autumn (October). The highest average hepatosomatix index value was observed for all individuals in May and December. It was estimated that total (Z) mortality, natural (M) mortality, and fishing (F) mortality rates were Z=0.44 year-1, M=0.064 year-1 and F=0.38 year-1, respectively. As the exploitation rate was estimated as E=0.86, it can be shown that the Salema stock was highly influenced by overfishing.

Keywords: biology, sarpa salpa, Gökceada, meadows

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Authors: J. Zekri, N. Souilah, W. Abdelaziz, D. Alatou

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Our study shall focus on the ability of trees cork oak that showed vis-à-vis sensitivity to climate change, including late spring frosts. The combination of these factors resulted in damage alarmed, therefore forest ecosystems weakened trees that can affect their ability to support other abiotic and biotic stresses, For this we tested its tolerance to thermal variations and cold weather conditions by estimating some stress markers (quantification of proteins, RNA, soluble sugars) that are quantified to evaluate the cold tolerance of seedlings. Sowing of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is grown in controlled conditions at 25° C ± 2° C in long days 16h. These seedlings are transferred at low temperatures between 5° C and -6° C for a period of 3 hours. Biochemical analyzes were performed in the various organs of the cork oak seedlings. Cool temperatures induced a significant accumulation of proline in different organs of seedlings and the optimum concentrations were observed in the roots with very high concentrations (4 times larger than those of the control). The accumulation of soluble sugars is significantly in stems and roots at 0° C. Protein concentrations are very high in leaves of both growth and high waves in rod at -4° C to -2° C. Tolerance cork oak seems to be at the thermal limit of -2°C. The concentration of these metabolites in the various organs showed the ability oak cork hardening during the winter.

Keywords: climate change, thermal change, semi-aride, biochemical markers, heat stress

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Authors: Kyle Phillips, Ndiko Ludidi

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Global climate change has resulted in altered rainfall patterns, which has resulted in annual losses in maize crop yields due to drought. Therefore it is important to produce maize cultivars that are more drought-tolerant, which is not an easily accomplished task as plants have a plethora of physical and biochemical adaptation methods. One such mechanism is the drought-induced expression of enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins which assist plants to resist the effects of drought on their growth and development. One of these proteins is AtRD22 which has been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using an in silico approach, a maize protein with 48% sequence homology to AtRD22 has been identified. This protein appears to be localized in the extracellular matrix, similarly to AtRD22. Promoter analysis of the encoding gene reveals cis-acting elements suggestive of induction of the gene’s expression by abscisic acid (ABA). Semi-quantitative transcriptomic analysis of the putative maize RD22 has revealed an increase in transcript levels after the exposure to drought. Current work elucidates the effect of up-regulation and silencing of the maize RD22 gene on the tolerance of maize to drought. The potential role of the maize RD22 gene in maize drought tolerance can be used as a tool to improve food security.

Keywords: abscisic acid, drought-responsive cis-acting elements, maize drought tolerance, RD22

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Authors: Noman Ahmed, Fariha Tahseen

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Since several decades, unplanned urbanization and rapid growth of informal settlements have evolved and increased in size and number. Large cities such as Karachi have been impacted with sprawl and rising share of unplanned settlements where poor communities reside. Threats of eviction, deteriorating law and order situation, lack of essential amenities and infrastructure, extortion and bullying from local and non-local musclemen and feeble response of government agencies towards their development needs are some predicaments. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have caused important interventions in such locations. Appraisal of the community-based mapping as a tool in supporting the development work in less privileged areas in Karachi has been the objective of this research. The Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), under the leadership of its slain director Perween Rahman had a significant role to play in developing and extending this approach in low income locations in Karachi and beyond. The paper investigates the application of mapping in the process of peri urban land invasion causing rapid transformation of traditional settlements in Karachi. Mixed methodology components comprising literature review, archival research, and unstructured interviews with key informants and case studies have been used.

Keywords: squatters (katchi abadis), land grabbing, community empowerment, housing rights, mapping, infrastructure development

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Authors: Amir Farouk Ahmed Ali Hussin

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Social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Ex-Twitter have experienced exponential growth and a remarkable adoption rate in recent years. They give fantastic means of online social interactions and communications with family, friends, and colleagues from around the corner or across the globe, and they have become an important part of daily digital interactions for more than one and a half billion users around the world. The personal information sharing practices that social network providers encourage have led to their success as innovative social interaction platforms. Moreover, these practices have outcome in concerns with respect to privacy and security from different stakeholders. Guiding these privacy and security concerns in social networks is a must for these networks to be sustainable. Real security and privacy tools may not be enough to address existing concerns. Some points should be followed to protect users from the existing risks. In this research, we have checked the various privacy and security issues and concerns pertaining to social media. However, we have classified these privacy and security issues and presented a thorough discussion of the effects of these issues and concerns on the future of the social networks. In addition, we have presented a set of points as precaution measures that users can consider to address these issues.

Keywords: international legal, consultation mix, legal research, small and medium-sized enterprises, strategic International law, strategy alignment, house of laws, deployment, production strategy, legal strategy, business strategy

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Authors: M. Boudjerda, B. Touaibia, M. K. Mihoubi

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In Algeria agricultural irrigation is the primary water consuming sector followed by the domestic and industrial sectors. Economic development in the last decade has weighed heavily on water resources which are relatively limited and gradually decreasing to the detriment of agriculture. The research presented in this paper focuses on the optimization of irrigation water demand. Dynamic Programming-Neural Network (DPNN) method is applied to investigate reservoir optimization. The optimal operation rule is formulated to minimize the gap between water release and water irrigation demand. As a case study, Foum El-Gherza dam’s reservoir system in south of Algeria has been selected to examine our proposed optimization model. The application of DPNN method allowed increasing the satisfaction rate (SR) from 12.32% to 55%. In addition, the operation rule generated showed more reliable and resilience operation for the examined case study.

Keywords: water management, agricultural demand, dam and reservoir operation, Foum el-Gherza dam, dynamic programming, artificial neural network

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Authors: Bangaly Kaba

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In the global information society, the importance of the Internet cannot be overemphasized. Africa needs access to the powerful information and communication tools of the Internet in order to obtain the resources and efficiency essential for sustainable development. Unfortunately, in 2013, the data from Internetworldstats showed only 15% of African populations have access to Internet. This relative low Internet penetration rate signals a problem that may threaten the economic development, governmental efficiency, and ultimately the global competitiveness of African countries. Many initiatives were undertaken to bring the benefits of the global information revolution to the people of Africa, through connection to the Internet and other Global Information Infrastructure technologies. The purpose is to understand differences between socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged internet users. From that, we will determine what prevents disadvantaged groups from benefiting from Internet usage. Data were collected through a survey from Internet users in Ivory Coast. The results reveal that Personal network exposure, Self-efficacy and Availability are the key drivers of continued use intention for the socio-economically disadvantaged group. The theoretical and practical implications are also described.

Keywords: digital inequality, internet, integrative model, socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged, use continuance, Africa

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Authors: Mahsaossadat Pourrahmati Khelejan

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The purpose of this research was to identify and prioritize the sustainable development of sports venues using new and degradable energies with using the AHP Hierarchical Analysis approach. The research method is a descriptive strategy with regard to the direction of implementation and is a hierarchical research with a practical purpose. In this study, 30 experts (physical education faculty members, geography professors, accredited sports venues managers, and renewable energy engineers) were selected using purposeful sampling method as the research population. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire on the factors affecting the sustainable development of sports venues by using new technologies and degradable energy. Finally, the research questionnaire was designed with four components and 21 items. All steps were performed by using Expert Choice software. The importance of indicators that influence the sustainable development of sports venues is highlighted by the use of clean and degradable energy, for example: 1. Economic factor, weighing 0.420 2. Environmental index, weighing 0. 320 3. Physical index, weighing 0.148 4. Social index, weighing 0.122.

Keywords: Sports Venues, Sustainable Development, Degradable Energies, Prioritize

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Authors: Chamindi Dilkushi Senaratne

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Staff development both formal and informal, structured and unstructured is universally accepted as fundamental to the growth of individuals and institutions. This study is based on feedback summaries collected from 2014 to 2017 from 240 participants of the staff development programme for probationary lecturers at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It also contains data from interviews conducted with the resource persons in the programme. The study further includes observations from experts involved in staff training in higher education institutions in Sri Lanka The data reveals that though the programme has many aspects that can be improved, the selected topics in the curriculum and new topics that were incorporated had positive impacts to enhance continuing professional development of staff in Sri Lankan universities. The participants also believe that the programme has an impact on professional development, teaching, and management of classroom and curricula and research skills. Based on the findings, the study recommends the addition of new topics to the curriculum such as continuing professional development, code of conduct in universities, gender awareness and the green concept. The study further recommends programmes for senior academic staff in universities to assist them to reach higher levels in their career by focusing on areas such as teaching, research, and administrative skills.

Keywords: staff development, higher education, curriculum, research

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Authors: Nady Farag Faragalla Hanna

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In the car dealership industry in Japan, the sales specialist is a key factor in the success of the company. I hypothesize that when a company understands the characteristics of sales professionals in its industry, it is easier to recruit and train salespeople effectively. Lean human resources management ensures the economic success and performance of companies, especially small and medium-sized companies.The purpose of the article is to determine the characteristics of sales specialists for small and medium-sized car dealerships using the chi-square test and the proximate variable model. Accordingly, the results show that career change experience, learning ability and product knowledge are important, while university education, career building through internal transfer, leadership experience and people development are not important for becoming a sales professional. I also show that the characteristics of sales specialists are perseverance, humility, improvisation and passion for business.

Keywords: electronics engineering, marketing, sales, E-commerce digitalization, interactive systems, sales process ARIMA models, sales demand forecasting, time series, R codetraits of sales professionals, variable precision rough sets theory, sales professional, sales professionals

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Authors: H. K. Bonsu-Owu

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Media portrayal of women in traditional stereotypical roles such as mothers, or seductress has been the norm for years. However, the changing socioeconomic and political environment and advancement of women in today’s society have given rise to questions on the appropriate portrayal of women in the media today. The purpose of the study is to analyze the portrayal of women in Ghanaian newspapers and find women’s perception on the issue. The study uses a three step approach in gathering data for analysis. Using the stratified sampling method, it analyzes front page images of women from 210 issues of the selected newspapers. Further, it administers questionnaires to 100 female students to find out how they relate to the images of women in the selected newspapers. Finally, editors of the newspapers are interviewed to find their rational for portraying women as seen on their front pages. The findings suggest that the newspapers portray women for varied reasons such as promoting sales and influencing the public agenda. Further, the female students claim that in spite of women’s vast contribution to the growth of society, the media continue to marginalize them. They add that such portrayals promote and reinforce social construct, however, refuse to see themselves through the male gaze concept. The study concludes that the stereotyped portrayal of women is likely to continue if the government, regulatory bodies, the media and society do not make a conscious effort to address this problem.

Keywords: women, newspaper, portrayal, social construct

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Authors: Lynndee Kemmet

Abstract:

The U.S. military plays an increasing role in supporting political stability efforts, and this includes efforts to prevent the food insecurity that can trigger political and social instability. This paper presents a model that assists military commanders in identifying variables that impact food production and distribution in their areas of operation (AO), in identifying connections between variables and in assessing the impacts of those variables on food production and distribution. Through use of the model, military units can better target their data collection efforts and can categorize and analyze data within the data categorization framework most widely-used by military forces—PMESII-PT (Political, Military, Economic, Infrastructure, Information, Physical Environment and Time). The model provides flexibility of analysis in that commanders can target analysis to be highly focused on a specific PMESII-PT domain or variable or conduct analysis across multiple PMESII-PT domains. The model is also designed to assist commanders in mapping food systems in their AOs and then identifying components of those systems that must be strengthened or protected.

Keywords: food security, food system model, political stability, US Military

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Authors: Kelly Danielly Da Silva Alcantara, Daniel Fernando Molina Junqueira, Graziella Colato Antonio

Abstract:

The Law No. 12,305/10, established by the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), provides major changes in the management and managing scenario of solid waste in Brazil. The PNRS established since changes from population behavior as environmental and the consciousness and commitment of the companies with the waste produced. The objective of this project is to conduct a benchmarking study of the management models of Waste Management Municipal Solid (MSW) in national and international levels emphasizing especially in the European Union (Portugal, France and Germany), which are reference countries in energy development, sustainability and consequently recovery of waste generated. The management that encompasses all stages that are included in this sector will be analyzed by benchmarking, as the collection, transportation, processing/treatment and final disposal of waste. Considering the needs to produce clean energy in Brazil, this study will allow the determination to the best treatment of the waste in order to reduce the amount of waste and increase the lifetime of the landfill. Finally, it intends to identify the energy recovery potential through a study analysis of economic viability, energy and sustainable based on a holistic approach.

Keywords: benchmarking, energy recovery, landfill, municipal solid waste

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Authors: Juan Bojórquez, Sonia E. Ruiz, Edén Bojórquez, David de León Escobedo

Abstract:

A life-cycle optimization procedure to establish the best load factors combinations for seismic design of buildings, is proposed. The expected cost of damage from future earthquakes within the life of the structure is estimated, and realistic cost functions are assumed. The functions include: Repair cost, cost of contents damage, cost associated with loss of life, cost of injuries and economic loss. The loads considered are dead, live and earthquake load. The study is performed for reinforced concrete buildings located in Mexico City. The buildings are modeled as multiple-degree-of-freedom frame structures. The parameter selected to measure the structural damage is the maximum inter-story drift. The structural models are subjected to 31 soft-soil ground motions recorded in the Lake Zone of Mexico City. In order to obtain the annual structural failure rates, a numerical integration method is applied.

Keywords: load factors, life-cycle analysis, seismic design, reinforced concrete buildings

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Authors: Behrooz Balaei, Suzanne Wilkinson, Regan Potangaroa, Larry Abel, Philip McFarlane

Abstract:

Water supply system failure has serious direct and indirect effects on people wellbeing. Post-disaster water system serviceability depends on a variety of factors from technical characteristics to social, economic, and organizational attributes of communities. This paper tests the organizational factors affecting water supply resilience to outline how these factors contributed to previous disasters. To do so, a framework is briefly introduced in this study to provide a clear guide to identify the significant relevant organizational factors. Then the factors affecting water serviceability following a disaster are outlines. Next, these factors are measured in the case of Tropical Cyclone Pam, which hit Vanuatu in March 2015. Reviewing the existing literature has also been carried out to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the background A site visit and a series of interviews have also been undertaken following the cyclone to collect site-specific data and information. In the end, the organizational factors were ranked to enable decision makers to identify significance of each factor compared to the others.

Keywords: water supply, resilience, organizational capacity, Vanuatu, Tropical Cyclone Pam

Procedia PDF Downloads 130