Search results for: west Algeria
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1824

Search results for: west Algeria

804 Students’ Motivation, Self-Determination, Test Anxiety and Academic Engagement

Authors: Shakirat Abimbola Adesola, Shuaib Akintunde Asifat, Jelili Olalekan Amoo

Abstract:

This paper presented the impact of students’ emotions on learning when receiving lectures and when taking tests. It was observed that students experience different types of emotions during the study, and this was found to have a significant effect on their academic performance. A total of one thousand six hundred and seventy-five (1675) students from the department of Computer Science in two Colleges of Education in South-West Nigeria took part in this study. The students were randomly selected for the research. Sample comprises of 968 males representing 58%, and 707 females representing 42%. A structured questionnaire, of Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was distributed to the participants to obtain their opinions. Data gathered were analyzed using the IBM SPSS 20 to obtain ANOVA, descriptive analysis, stepwise regression, and reliability tests. The results revealed that emotion moderately shape students’ motivation and engagement in learning; and that self-regulation and self-determination do have significant impact on academic performance. It was further revealed that test anxiety has a significant correlation with academic performance.

Keywords: motivation, self-determination, test anxiety, academic performance, and academic engagement

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803 Clash of Civilizations without Civilizational Groups: Revisiting Samuel P. Huntington´s Clash of Civilizations Theory

Authors: Jamal Abdi

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This paper is largely a response/critique of Samuel P. Huntington´s Clash of Civilizations thesis. The overriding argument is that Huntington´s thesis is characterized by failure to distinguish between ´groups´ and ´categories´. Multinational civilizations overcoming their internal collective action problems, which would enable them to pursue a unified strategy vis-à-vis the West, is a rather foundational assumption in his theory. Without assigning sufficient intellectual attention to the processes through which multinational civilizations may gain capacity for concerted action i.e. become a group, he contended that the post-cold-war world would be shaped in large measure by interactions among seven or eight major civilizations. Thus, failure in providing a convincing analysis of multi-national civilizations´ transition from categories to groups is a significant weakness in Huntington´s clash theory. It is also suggested that so-called Islamic terrorism and the war on terror is not to be taken as an expression of presence of clash between a Western and an Islamic civilization, as terrorist organizations would be superfluous in a world characterized by clash of civilizations. Consequences of multinational civilizations becoming a group are discussed in relation to contemporary Western superiority.

Keywords: categories, civilizations, clash, groups, groupness

Procedia PDF Downloads 160
802 Climate Change and Food Security: Effects of Ozone on Crops in North-West Pakistan

Authors: Muhammad Nauman Ahmad, Patrick Büker, Sofia Khalid, Leon Van Den Berg, Hamid Ullah Shah, Abdul Wahid, Lisa Emberson, Sally A. Power, Mike Ashmore

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Although ozone is well-documented to affect crop yields in the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plain, there is little knowledge of its effects around cities in more remote areas of South Asia. We surveyed crops around the city of Peshawar, Pakistan for visible injury, linking this to passive measurements of ozone concentrations. Foliar injury was found in the field on potato, onion and cotton when the mean monthly ozone concentration reached 35-55ppb. The symptoms on onion were reproduced in ozone fumigation experiments, which also showed that daytime ozone concentrations of 60ppb and above significantly reduce the growth of Pakistani varieties of both spinach (Beta vulgaris) and onion. Aphid infestation on spinach was also reduced at these elevated ozone concentrations. The ozone concentrations in Peshawar are comparable to those through many parts of northern south Asia, where ozone may therefore be a significant threat to sensitive vegetable crops in peri-urban regions.

Keywords: ozone, air pollution, vegetable crops, peshawar, south asia

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801 Application of Electrical Resistivity, Induced Polarization and Statistical Methods in Chichak Iron Deposit Exploration

Authors: Shahrzad Maghsoodi, Hamid Reza Ranazi

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This paper is devoted to exploration of Chichak (hematite) deposit, using electrical resistivity, chargeability and statistical methods. Chichak hematite deposit is located in Chichak area west Azarbaijan, northwest of Iran. There are some outcrops of hematite bodies in the area. The goal of this study was to identify the depth, thickness and shape of these bodies and to explore other probabile hematite bodies. Therefore nine profiles were considered to be surveyed by RS and IP method by utilizing an innovative electrode array so called CRSP (Combined Resistivity Sounding and Profiling). IP and RS sections were completed along each profile. In addition, the RS and IP data were analyzed and relation between these two variables was determined by statistical tools. Finally, hematite bodies were identified in each of the sections. The results showed that hematite bodies have a resistivity lower than 125 Ωm and very low chargeability, lower than 8 mV⁄V. After geophysical study some points were proposed for drilling, results obtained from drilling confirm the geophysical results.

Keywords: Hematite deposit, Iron exploration, Electrical resistivity, Chargeability, Iran, Chichak, Statistical, CRSP electrodes array

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800 Statistical Analysis of Extreme Flow (Regions of Chlef)

Authors: Bouthiba Amina

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The estimation of the statistics bound to the precipitation represents a vast domain, which puts numerous challenges to meteorologists and hydrologists. Sometimes, it is necessary, to approach in value the extreme events for sites where there is little, or no datum, as well as their periods of return. The search for a model of the frequency of the heights of daily rains dresses a big importance in operational hydrology: It establishes a basis for predicting the frequency and intensity of floods by estimating the amount of precipitation in past years. The most known and the most common approach is the statistical approach, It consists in looking for a law of probability that fits best the values observed by the random variable " daily maximal rain " after a comparison of various laws of probability and methods of estimation by means of tests of adequacy. Therefore, a frequent analysis of the annual series of daily maximal rains was realized on the data of 54 pluviometric stations of the pond of high and average. This choice was concerned with five laws usually applied to the study and the analysis of frequent maximal daily rains. The chosen period is from 1970 to 2013. It was of use to the forecast of quantiles. The used laws are the law generalized by extremes to three components, those of the extreme values to two components (Gumbel and log-normal) in two parameters, the law Pearson typifies III and Log-Pearson III in three parameters. In Algeria, Gumbel's law has been used for a long time to estimate the quantiles of maximum flows. However, and we will check and choose the most reliable law.

Keywords: return period, extreme flow, statistics laws, Gumbel, estimation

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799 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in West African Semi-Arid Lands Facing Climate Change

Authors: Mamadou Diop, Florence Crick, Momadou Sow, Kate Elizabeth Gannon

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Understanding SME leaders’ responses to climate is essential to cope with ongoing changes in temperature and rainfall. This study analyzes the response of SME leaders to the adverse effects of climate change in semi-arid lands (SAL) in Senegal. Based on surveys administrated to 161 SME leaders, this research shows that 91% of economic units are affected by climatic conditions, although 70% do not have a plan to deal with climate risks. Economic actors have striven to take measures to adapt. However, their efforts are limited by various obstacles accentuated by a lack of support from public authorities. In doing so, substantial political, institutional and financial efforts at national and local levels are needed to promote an enabling environment for economic actors to adapt. This will focus on information and training about the threats and opportunities related to global warming, the creation of an adaptation support fund to support local initiatives and the improvement of the institutional, regulatory and political framework.

Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises, climate change, adaptation, semi-arid lands

Procedia PDF Downloads 195
798 Restoring Statecraft in the U.S. Economy: A Proposal for an American Entrepreneurial State

Authors: Miron Wolnicki

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In the past 75 years the world was either influenced by, competing with or learning from U.S. corporations. This is no longer true. As the economic power shifts from the West to the East, U.S. corporations are lagging behind Asian competitors. Moreover, U.S. statecraft fails to address this decline. In a world dominated by interventionist and neo-mercantilist states, having an ineffective non-activist government becomes a costly neoclassic delusion which weakens the world’s largest economy. American conservative economists continue talking about the superiority of the free market system in generating new technologies. The reality is different. The U.S. is sliding further into an overregulated, over-taxed, anti-business state. This paper argues that in order to maintain its economic strength and technological leadership, the U.S. must reform federal institutions to increase support for artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies. The author outlines a number of institutional reforms, under one umbrella, which he calls the American Entrepreneurial State (AES). The AES will improve productivity and bring about coherent business strategies for the next 10-15 years. The design and inspiration for the AES come from the experience of successful statecraft examples in Asia and also other parts the global economy.

Keywords: post-neoliberal system, entrepreneurial state, government and economy, American entrepreneurial state

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797 Spatial Disparity in Education and Medical Facilities: A Case Study of Barddhaman District, West Bengal, India

Authors: Amit Bhattacharyya

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The economic scenario of any region does not show the real picture for the measurement of overall development. Therefore, economic development must be accompanied by social development to be able to make an assessment to measure the level of development. The spatial variation with respect to social development has been discussed taking into account the quality of functioning of a social system in a specific area. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the spatial distribution of social infrastructural facilities and analyze the magnitude of regional disparities at inter- block level in Barddhman district. It starts with the detailed account of the selection process of social infrastructure indicators and describes the methodology employed in the empirical analysis. Analyzing the block level data, this paper tries to identify the disparity among the blocks in the levels of social development. The results have been subsequently explained using both statistical analysis and geo spatial technique. The paper reveals that the social development is not going on at the same rate in every part of the district. Health facilities and educational facilities are concentrated at some selected point. So overall development activities come to be concentrated in a few centres and the disparity is seen over the blocks.

Keywords: disparity, inter-block, social development, spatial variation

Procedia PDF Downloads 157
796 Effects of Benzo(k)Fluoranthene, a Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, on DNA Damage and Oxidative Stress in Marine Gastropod Morula Granulata

Authors: Jacky Bhagat, Baban S Ingole

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In this study, in vivo experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of a toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), benzo(k)fluoranthene (B[k]F), on marine gastropod, Morula granulata collected from Goa, west coast of India. Snails were exposed to different concentrations of B(k)F (1, 10, 25 and 50 µg/L) for 96 h. The genotoxic effects were evaluated by measuring DNA strand breaks using alkaline comet assay and oxidative stress were measured with the help of battery of biomarkers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalase (CAT), glutathione-s-transferase (GST), and lipid peroxidation (LPO). Concentration-dependent increase in percentage tail DNA (TDNA) was observed in snails exposed to B(k)F. Exposure concentrations above 1 µg/L of B(k)F, showed significant increase in SOD activity and LPO value in snails. After 96 h, SOD activity were found to be doubled for 50 µg/L of B(k)F with reference to control. Significant increase in CAT and GST activity was observed at all exposure conditions at the end of the exposure time. Our study showed that B(k)F induces oxidative stress in snails which further lead to genotoxic damage.

Keywords: benzo(k)fluoranthene, comet assay, gastropod, oxidative stress

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795 Prophet and Philosopher Mohammed: A Precursor of Feminism

Authors: Mohammad Mozammel Haque

Abstract:

That feminism is nothing but the name of a belief that women should have the same rights as men needs no telling. The history of modern western feminism is divided into three waves and each is described as dealing with different aspects of the same feminist issues. The first wave refers to the movement of the 19th through early 20th centuries, which dealt mainly with suffrage, working conditions and educational rights for women. The second wave (1960s-1980s) dealt with the inequality of laws and the role of women in society. The third wave (late 1980s-early 2000s) is seen as both a continuation of the second wave and a response to the perceived failures. Mary Wollstonecraft struggled for the emancipation and freedom of the women of Europe, Begum Rokeya brought about revolution for the women of the East and West Bengal, Jeremy Bentham wrote for the independence of women in England. But if feminism refers to the movement of giving women what they deserve, then it won’t be an overstatement to state that Mohammad is the precursor of what we call feminism. This paper investigates the background of official starting of feminism, and also the backdrop of the women of Muhammad’s time. The article, besides showing that this great prophet and philosopher firstly brought about a movement for the education and rights of women and took them out of grave where they were buried alive, also delineates Mohammedan endeavours he attempted to give the women what they ought to have.

Keywords: education, equality, feminism, precursor

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794 Changing Trends of Population in Nashik District, Maharashtra, India

Authors: Pager Mansaram Pandit

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The present paper aims to changing trends of population in Nashik district. The spatial variation of changing trends of population from 1901 to 2011. Nasik, lying between 19° 33’ and 20° 53’ north latitude and 73° 16’ and 75° 16’, with an area of 15530 Sq. K.M.North South length is 120 km. East West length is 200 km. Nashik has a population of 6,109,052 of which 3,164,261 are males and 2,944,791 and females. Average literacy rate of Nashik district in 2011 was 82.91 compared to 80.96 in 2001. In 1901 the density was 52 and in 2011 the density was 393 per sq. km. The progressive growth rate from 1901 to 2012 was 11.25 to 642.22 percent, respectively. The population trend is calculated with the help of time series. In 1901 population was 45.44% more and less in 1941 i.e. -13.86. From 1921 to 1981 the population was below the population trend but after 1991 population it gradually increased. The average rainfall it receives is 1034 mm. In the present times, because of advances in good climate, industrialization, development of road, University level educational facilities, religious importance, cargo services, good quality of grapes, pomegranates and onions, more and more people are being attracted towards Nashik districts. Another cause for the increase in the population is the main attraction of Ramkund, Muktidham Temple, Kalaram Temple, Coin Museum, and Trimbakeshwar.

Keywords: density, growth, population, population trend

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793 Risk Prediction Based on Heavy Metal Distribution in Groundwater

Authors: Rama Bhattacharyya, S. N. Ojha, Umesh K. Singh

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Anthropogenic control on groundwater chemistry has emerged as a critical concern now-a-days, especially in the industrial areas. In view of this, a comprehensive study on the distribution of the heavy metal in the groundwater was conducted to investigate the impact of urbanization in the aquatic media. Water samples either from well or borehole from Fourty different sites in and around, Durgapur, West Bengal were collected for this purpose. The samples were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for Calcium (Ca), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Potassium (K), Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), Sodium (Na), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn) content and the levels were compared with WHO specified maximum contaminant level as well as permissible limits given by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The result obtained from the present study indicates a significant risk to the population of this important emerging ‘smart city’ of eastern India. Because of the toxicity of these metals and the fact that for many tube-wells, dug-wells and bore-wells are the only sources of the water supply for a major fraction of the population in this environment. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop metal contamination risk map.

Keywords: heavy metals, ground water, maximum contamination level, ICP-MS

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792 Modeling of the Thermal Exchanges of an Intelligent Polymer Film for the Development of New Generations of Greenhouses

Authors: Ziani Zakarya, Mahdad Moustafa Yassine

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Greenhouse farming has greatly contributed to the development of modern agriculture by optimizing crops, especially market gardening, ornamental horticulture, and recently, fruit species ... Greenhouse cultivation has enabled farmers to produce fruits and vegetables out of season while guaranteeing them a good production, and therefore a considerable gain throughout the year. However, this mode of production has shown its limits, especially in extreme conditions, such as the continental steppe climate and the Saharan climate, which are characterized by significant thermal amplitudes and strong winds, making it impossible to use conventional greenhouses for several months, of the year. In Algeria and precisely in the highlands, the use of greenhouses by farmers is very rare or occasional, especially in spring, because the limiting factors mentioned above are frequent there, causing significant damage to the plant product and to the environment. infrastructure. The same observation is observed in the Saharan regions but with less frequencies. Certainly, the use of controlled multi-chapel greenhouses would solve the problem, but at what cost? These hi-tech infrastructures are very expensive to purchase but also to maintain, so few farmers have the financial means to obtain them. In addition, the existence of intelligent and less expensive polymer films, whose properties could control greenhouse production parameters, in particular, the temperature parameter, maybe a judicious solution for the development of new generations of greenhouses that can be used in extreme conditions and normal.

Keywords: greenhouse, polymer film, modern agriculture, optimizing crops

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791 Praetical and Theoretical Study on Characteristic Landscape Construction of Tujia Village in Xiaguping, Shennongjia Forestry Distric

Authors: Tingting Chen, Shouliang Zhao

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Compared with other regions, the construction for villages and towns in regions inhabited by minority nationality shall be deeply rooted in natural and cultural endowment in locality, and more importance shall be attached to building of characteristics. In this kind of area, landscape design is very important for its character and tradition. By empirical study in Shennongjia Area, some findings could be summarized as below. There are unique natural and cultural resources in Shennongjia Forestry District; during transformation on style and features of Tujia Village, Xiaguping, special style and features have been successfully shaped through 4 strategies: (1) highlighting Tujia Culture and architectural style in west region of Hubei Province; (2) merging with local natural environment; (3) introducing system of rural coordination architect; and (4) making great efforts to design and construct environmental embellishments with village and town symbols.

Keywords: rural coordination architect, special style and features, characteristic landscape, villages and towns in regions inhabited by minority nationality

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790 Environmental Teachers’ Perceptions about Science-Technology-Society (STS) Education

Authors: Christiana Fwenji Zumyil, Toma Maina Antip

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Environmental Science subject is currently not an independent subject taught in secondary schools in Nigeria like Biology, Agricultural Science, Chemistry, Geography and other subjects that students take final exams (West Africa Examination Council, WAEC, National Examination Council, NEC, National Board for Technical Education, NABTED)., on it but its elements/topics/contents are integrated into the curriculum of the subjects mentioned, and because of that, it becomes difficult to know what should be taught and how it should be taught. Currently, it is still difficult to implement student-centered strategies in the classroom. Through this study, we sought to diagnose the difficulties, advantages and perceptions that Environmental Teachers experience when conceiving and implementing Science-Technology-Society (STS) strategies in SS2 classes at the Secondary Education level. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with Secondary School Environmental Teachers. Despite the difficulties found, the advantages, the motivation and the involvement of the students that this teaching perspective enables to lead the teacher to continue developing and implementing STS strategies in the classroom.

Keywords: environment, science, technology, society, science-technology-society, science education, secondary teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 88
789 Dissipation Capacity of Steel Building with Fiction Pendulum Base-Isolation System

Authors: A. Ras, I. Nait Zerrad, N. Benmouna, N. Boumechra

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Use of base isolators in the seismic design of structures has attracted considerable attention in recent years. The major concern in the design of these structures is to have enough lateral stability to resist wind and seismic forces. There are different systems providing such isolation, among them there are friction- pendulum base isolation systems (FPS) which are rather widely applied nowadays involving to both affordable cost and high fundamental periods. These devices are characterised by a stiff resistance against wind loads and to be flexible to the seismic tremors, which make them suitable for different situations. In this paper, a 3D numerical investigation is done considering the seismic response of a twelve-storey steel building retrofitted with a FPS. Fast nonlinear time history analysis (FNA) of Boumerdes earthquake (Algeria, May 2003) is considered for analysis and carried out using SAP2000 software. Comparisons between fixed base, bearing base isolated and braced structures are shown in a tabulated and graphical format. The results of the various alternatives studies to compare the structural response without and with this device of dissipation energy thus obtained were discussed and the conclusions showed the interesting potential of the FPS isolator. This system may to improve the dissipative capacities of the structure without increasing its rigidity in a significant way which contributes to optimize the quantity of steel necessary for its general stability.

Keywords: energy dissipation, friction-pendulum system, nonlinear analysis, steel structure

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788 History and Epidemiology of Foot and Mouth Disease in Afghanistan: A Retrospective Study

Authors: Arash Osmani, Ian Robertson, Ihab Habib, Ahmad Aslami

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Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is endemic in Afghanistan. A retrospective study of data collected through passive surveillance of outbreaks of FMD from 1995 to 2016 was undertaken. A total of 1471 outbreaks were reported between 1995 and 2008. Of 7776 samples originating from 34 provinces tested between 2009 and 2016 4845 (62.3%) tested positive. The prevalence varied significantly between years (2009 and 2016) (P < 0.001); however, the number of outbreaks did not differ significantly (P = 0.24) between 1995 and 2008. During this period, there was a strong correlation between the number of outbreaks reported and the number of districts with infected animals (r = 0.74, P = 0.002). Serotype O was the predominant serotype detected, although serotypes A and Asia1 were also detected. Cattle were involved in all outbreaks reported. Herat province in the north-west (bordering Iran), Nangarhar province in the east (bordering Pakistan) and Kabul province in the centre of the country had infections detected in all years of the study. The findings from this study provide valuable direction for further research to understand the epidemiology of FMD in Afghanistan.

Keywords: foot and mouth disease, retrospective, epidemiology, Afghanistan

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787 Improving Machine Learning Translation of Hausa Using Named Entity Recognition

Authors: Aishatu Ibrahim Birma, Aminu Tukur, Abdulkarim Abbass Gora

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Machine translation plays a vital role in the Field of Natural Language Processing (NLP), breaking down language barriers and enabling communication across diverse communities. In the context of Hausa, a widely spoken language in West Africa, mainly in Nigeria, effective translation systems are essential for enabling seamless communication and promoting cultural exchange. However, due to the unique linguistic characteristics of Hausa, accurate translation remains a challenging task. The research proposes an approach to improving the machine learning translation of Hausa by integrating Named Entity Recognition (NER) techniques. Named entities, such as person names, locations, organizations, and dates, are critical components of a language's structure and meaning. Incorporating NER into the translation process can enhance the quality and accuracy of translations by preserving the integrity of named entities and also maintaining consistency in translating entities (e.g., proper names), and addressing the cultural references specific to Hausa. The NER will be incorporated into Neural Machine Translation (NMT) for the Hausa to English Translation.

Keywords: machine translation, natural language processing (NLP), named entity recognition (NER), neural machine translation (NMT)

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786 Response Surface Methodology for the Optimization of Sugar Extraction from Phoenix dactylifera L.

Authors: Lila Boulekbache-Makhlouf, Kahina Djaoud, Myriam Tazarourte, Samir Hadjal, Khodir Madani

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In Algeria, important quantities of secondary date variety (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are generated in each campaign; their chemical composition is similar to that of commercial dates. The present work aims to valorize this common date variety (Degla-Beida) which is often poorly exploited. In this context, we tried to prepare syrup from the secondary date variety and to evaluate the effect of conventional extraction (CE) or water bath extraction (WBE) and alternative extraction (microwaves assisted extraction (MAE), and ultrasounds assisted extraction (UAE)) on its total sugar content (TSC), using response surface methodology (RSM). Then, the analysis of individual sugars was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Maximum predicted TSC recoveries under the optimized conditions for MAE, UAE and CE were 233.248 ± 3.594 g/l, 202.889 ± 5.797 g/l, and 233.535 ± 5.412 g/l, respectively, which were close to the experimental values: 233.796 ± 1.898 g/l; 202.037 ± 3.401 g/l and 234.380 ± 2.425 g/l. HPLC analysis revealed high similarity in the sugar composition of date juices obtained by MAE (60.11% sucrose, 16.64% glucose and 23.25% fructose) and CE (50.78% sucrose, 20.67% glucose and 28.55% fructose), although a large difference was detected for that obtained by UAE (0.00% sucrose, 46.94% glucose and 53.06% fructose). Microwave-assisted extraction was the best method for the preparation of date syrup with an optimal recovery of total sugar content. However, ultrasound-assisted extraction was the best one for the preparation of date syrup with high content of reducing sugars.

Keywords: dates, extraction, RSM, sugars, syrup

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785 Optimizing the Efficiency of Measuring Instruments in Ouagadougou-Burkina Faso

Authors: Moses Emetere, Marvel Akinyemi, S. E. Sanni

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At the moment, AERONET or AMMA database shows a large volume of data loss. With only about 47% data set available to the scientist, it is evident that accurate nowcast or forecast cannot be guaranteed. The calibration constants of most radiosonde or weather stations are not compatible with the atmospheric conditions of the West African climate. A dispersion model was developed to incorporate salient mathematical representations like a Unified number. The Unified number was derived to describe the turbulence of the aerosols transport in the frictional layer of the lower atmosphere. Fourteen years data set from Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) was tested using the dispersion model. A yearly estimation of the atmospheric constants over Ouagadougou using the model was obtained with about 87.5% accuracy. It further revealed that the average atmospheric constant for Ouagadougou-Niger is a_1 = 0.626, a_2 = 0.7999 and the tuning constants is n_1 = 0.09835 and n_2 = 0.266. Also, the yearly atmospheric constants affirmed the lower atmosphere of Ouagadougou is very dynamic. Hence, it is recommended that radiosonde and weather station manufacturers should constantly review the atmospheric constant over a geographical location to enable about eighty percent data retrieval.

Keywords: aerosols retention, aerosols loading, statistics, analytical technique

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784 The Reality of Ethical Finance in Algerian Commercial Banks: A Case Study of a Sample of Banking Agencies in Bordj Bou Arreridj and the Setif States

Authors: Asma Righi

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After the global financial crisis of 2008, interest in ethical economics increased, particularly in the field of finance in general and commercial banks in particular. Indeed, it has become imperative for them to move from an institution that aims to make a profit to a community partner that takes the environmental aspect into account in its funding, rationalizes its decisions and adheres to ethics in its dealings. This leads it to the need of adopting the concept of ethical finance and standing on its most important principles and dimensions to realize profits on the one hand and to serve its society and its economy on the other hand. The objective of this research is centered on knowing the reality of the Algerian commercial banks’ adoption of the dimensions and principles of ethical finance. The quantitative methodology used is based on a questionnaire survey of twenty-four banking agencies in the states of Bordj Bou Arreridj and Setif. The data obtained were processed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. This research led to two main results: first, the author observed a limited application of the principles of ethical finance in commercial banks active in Algeria. This application is particularly in line with the implementation of the directives of the Central Bank and the imposed monetary policy. Second, the results showed that there is a significant difference in the application of ethical financial dimensions and principles between government and foreign banks.

Keywords: Algerian commercial banks, ethical banking, ethical finance, socially responsible investment

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783 A Study on Earthquake Activities and Tectonic Setting in the Northeastern Part of Egypt

Authors: Sayed Abdallah Mohamed Dahy

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Northeastern part of Egypt is considered one of the few regions of the world whereas evidence of historical activities has been documented during the last 48 centuries or more. Instrumental, historical and pre-historical seismicity data indicate that large destructive earthquakes have occurred quite frequently in the investigated area. The main aims in the present study were to redraw attention to the fact that the northeastern part of Egypt is seismically active and this result is associated with earthquake risk in the region. The interaction of the African, Arabian and Eurasian plates and Sinai subplate, is the main factor behind the earthquake activities of northeastern part of Egypt. All earthquakes occur at shallow depth and are concentrated at four seismic zones, these zones including the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, around the entrance of the Gulf of Suez and the fourth one is located at the south-west of great Cairo (Dahshour area). The seismicity map of the previous zones shows that the activity is coincide with the major tectonic trends of the Suez rift, Aqaba rift with their connection with the great rift system of the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez-Cairo-Alexandria trend.

Keywords: earthquake ectivities, Egypt, northeastern, tectonic setting

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782 Empowerment at the Grassroots: Impact of Participatory (in) Equalities in Policy Formulation and Recognition and Redistribution of Women at the Grassroots in India

Authors: Samanwita Paul

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Borrowing from Kabeer’s framework of empowerment, participation of women at Panchayat level politics (grassroots level of politics in India) has been conceptualized as a resource in the study and the impact of the same in influencing the policies at the grassroots as an agency. The study attempts to examine such intricacies in the dynamics of participation and policy formulation at the Panchayat level and to assess its overall impact in altering the recognition and redistribution of women. A conscious attempt has been made to go beyond formal politics and consider participants of the informal political processes as subjects of the study. Primary surveys were conducted for data collection in 4 Panchayat villages (from Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal) of which 2 wards from each were selected based on the nature of reservation of the panchayat seats. In-depth interviews with the Panchayat members and an approximate of 80 voters from each of the villages were conducted. This has been further analyzed with the aid of appropriate statistical tools and narratives. Preliminary findings show that women from vulnerable sections tend to participate more in the political process since it offers them a means of negotiating with their vulnerabilities however in case of its impact on policy formulation, the effect of women’s participation does to appear to be as profound.

Keywords: recognition, redistribution, political participation, women

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781 Impact of Belongingness, Relational Communication, Religiosity and Screen Time of College Student Levels of Anxiety

Authors: Cherri Kelly Seese, Renee Bourdeaux, Sarah Drivdahl

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Emergent adults in the United States are currently experiencing high levels of anxiety. It is imperative to uncover insulating factors which mitigate the impact of anxiety. This study aims to explore how constructs such as belongingness, relational communication, screen time and religiosity impact anxiety levels of emerging adults. Approximately 250 college students from a small, private university on the West Coast were given an online assessment that included: the General Belongingness Scale, Relational Communication Scale, Duke University Religion Index (DUREL), a survey of screen time, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. A MANOVA statistical test was conducted by assessing the effects of multiple dependent variables (scores on GBS, RCS, self-reported screen time and DUREL) on the four different levels of anxiety as measured on the BAI (minimal = 1, mild =2, moderate = 3, or severe = 4). Results indicated a significant relationship between one’s sense of belonging and one’s reported level of anxiety. These findings have implications for systems, like universities, churches, and corporations that want to improve young adults’ level of anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety, belongingness, relational communication, religiosity, screen time

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780 Pavement Roughness Prediction Systems: A Bump Integrator Approach

Authors: Manish Pal, Rumi Sutradhar

Abstract:

Pavement surface unevenness plays a pivotal role on roughness index of road which affects on riding comfort ability. Comfort ability refers to the degree of protection offered to vehicle occupants from uneven elements in the road surface. So, it is preferable to have a lower roughness index value for a better riding quality of road users. Roughness is generally defined as an expression of irregularities in the pavement surface which can be measured using different equipment like MERLIN, Bump integrator, Profilometer etc. Among them Bump Integrator is quite simple and less time consuming in case of long road sections. A case study is conducted on low volume roads in West District in Tripura to determine roughness index (RI) using Bump Integrator at the standard speed of 32 km/h. But it becomes too tough to maintain the requisite standard speed throughout the road section. The speed of Bump Integrator (BI) has to lower or higher in some distinctive situations. So, it becomes necessary to convert these roughness index values of other speeds to the standard speed of 32 km/h. This paper highlights on that roughness index conversional model. Using SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) software a generalized equation is derived among the RI value at standard speed of 32 km/h and RI value at other speed conditions.

Keywords: bump integrator, pavement distresses, roughness index, SPSS

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779 Daily Variations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Industrial Sites in an Suburban Area of Sour El Ghozlane, Algeria

Authors: Sidali Khedidji, Noureddine Yassaa, Riad Ladji

Abstract:

In this study, n-alkanes which are hazardous for the environment and human health were investigated in Sour El Ghozlane suburban atmosphere at a sampling point from April 2013 to Mai 2013. Ambient concentration measurements of n-Alkanes were carried out at a regional study of the cement industry in Sour El Ghozlane. During sampling, the airborne particulate matter was enriched onto PTFE filters by using a two medium volume samplers with or without a size-selective inlet for PM10 and TSP were used and each sampling period lasted approximately 24 h. The organic compounds were characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). Total concentrations for n-Alkanes recorded in Sour El Ghozlane suburban ranged from 42 to 69 ng m-3. Gravimeter method was applied to the black smoke concentration data for Springer seasons. The 24 h average concentrations of n-alkanes contain the PM10 and TSP of Sour El Ghozlane suburban atmosphere were found in the range 0.50–7.06 ng/m3 and 0.29–6.97 ng/m3, respectively, in the sampling period. Meteorological factors, such as (relative humidity and temperature) were typically found to be affecting PMs, especially PM10. Air temperature did not seem to be significantly affecting TSP and PM10 mass concentrations. The guide value fixed by the European Community, 40 μg/m3 was not to exceed 35 days, was exceeded in some samples. However, it should be noted that the value limit fixed by the Algerian regulations 80 μg/m3 has been exceeded in 1 sampler during the period study.

Keywords: n-alkanes, PM10, TSP, particulate matter, cement industry

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778 Between Riots and Protests: A Structural Approach to Urban Environmental Uprisings in China

Authors: Zi Zhu

Abstract:

The last decade has witnessed increasing urban environmental uprisings in China, as thousands of citizens swarmed into streets to express their deep concerns about the environmental threat and public health through various collective actions. The prevalent western approaches to collective actions, which usually treat urban riots and social movements as distinct phenomenon, have plagued an adequate analysis of the urban environmental uprisings in China. The increasing urban environmental contention can neither be categorized into riots nor social movements, as they carry the features of both: at first sight, they are spontaneous, disorganized and disruptive with an absence of observable mobilization process; however, unlike riots in the west, these collective actions conveyed explicit demand in a mostly non-destructive way rather than a pure expression of frustration. This article proposes a different approach to urban environmental uprisings in China which concerns the diminishing boundaries between riots and social movements and points to the underlying structural causes to the unique forms of urban environmental contention. Taking the urban anti-PX protests as examples, this article analyzes the societal and political structural environment faced by the Chinese environmental protesters and its influence on the origin and development of their contention.

Keywords: urban environmental uprisings, China, anti-PX protests, opportunity structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 277
777 Social Structure of Corporate Social Responsibility Programme in Pantai Harapan Jaya Village, Bekasi Regency, West Java

Authors: Auliya Adzilatin Uzhma, Ismu Rini Dwi, I. Nyoman Suluh Wijaya

Abstract:

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme in Pantai Harapan Jaya village is cultivation of mangrove and fishery capital distribution, to achieve the goal the CSR programme needed participation from the society in it. Moeliono in Fahrudin (2011) mentioned that participation from society is based by intrinsic reason from inside people it self and extrinsic reason from the other who related to him. The fundamental connection who caused more boundaries from action which the organization can do called the social structure. The purpose of this research is to know the form of public participation and the social structure typology of the villager and people who is participated in CSR programme. The key actors of the society and key actors of the people who’s participated also can be known. This research use Social Network Analysis method by knew the Rate of Participation, Density and Centrality. The result of the research is people who is involved in the programme is lived in Dusun Pondok Dua and they work in fisheries field. The density value from the participant is 0.516 it’s mean that 51.6% of the people that participated is involved in the same step of CSR programme.

Keywords: social structure, social network analysis, corporate social responsibility, public participation

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776 The Influence of Incorporating in the Concrete of Recycled Waste from Shredding Used Tires and Crushed Glass on Their Characteristics and Behavior

Authors: Samiha Ramdani, Abdelhamid Geuttala

Abstract:

There is no doubt that the batteries increasingly used tires create environmental concerns. Algeria generates large amounts of by industrial and household waste, such as used tires and colored glass bottles and dishes, whose valuation in cementitious materials could be an interesting ecological and economical alternative for broadening eliminating cumbersome landfills. This work is a contribution to the promotion of local materials with the use of waste tires and glass bottle in the development of a new cementitious composite having the acceptable compressive strength and a capacity of improved strains. For this purpose, rubber crumb (GC) from shredding used tires were used as partial replacement of quarry sand with 10%, 20%, 40, 60%. In addition, some mixtures also contain glass powder at15% cement replacement by volume. The compressive strength, tensile strength, deformability, the water permeability and penetration Inions chlorides are studied. As results; an acceptable compressive strength was obtained with the substitution rate of 10% and 20% by volume, the deformability of the composite increases with increased replacement rate. The addition of finely ground glass as a partial replacement of cement concrete increases the resistance to penetration of Inions chloride and reduce the water permeability thereof; then increases their durability.

Keywords: crumb rubber, deformability, compressive strength, finely ground glass, durability, behavior law

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775 Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Phenolic Extracts of Endemic Plants Marrubium deserti and Ammodaucus leucotrichus from Algeria

Authors: Sifi Ibrahim, Benaddou Fatima Zohra, Yousfi Mohamed

Abstract:

The Marrubium deserti and Ammodaucus leucotrichus L. an Algerian endemic species, has several applications in traditional medicine for example as a remedy for asthma and diabetes, and was found to have antibacterial properties. In this work, an antioxidant and antimicrobial activities was performed on phenolic extracts of Marrubium deserti, Ammodaucus leucotrichus plants. The yield of methanol maceration of these plants is 12.4% and 20.4% respectively. The content of total polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanin in methanolic extracts, are varied between 19.52±1.88 and 59.24±3.45 mg/g gallic acid equivalent, and 2.08±0.29 to 1.46±0.39 mg/g quercetin equivalent, and 0.395 to 1.934µmol/g respectively. The total chlorophylls and carotenoids were be ranged from 0.149±0.20 to 1.537±0.20 g/ml and 1.537±0.20 to 0.149 ± 0.20 g/ml, respectively. According to DPPH and FRAP test, the values of EC50 was shows a higher activity of Marrubium deserti than Ammodaucus leucotrichus with EC50 values (DPPH) were 34.53±0.71 μg/mL and 258.60±15.67 mg/ml respectively. The TEAC values of FRAP test was a highly superior for Marrubium deserti 209.66±0.26 mg Equivalent Trolox/g dry residue than Ammodaucus leucotrichus 45.88±2.93 mg Trolox Equivalent/g dry residue. The antimicrobial activity against nine strains of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus(+), Staphylococcus aureus (-), Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi), was showed that the tested extracts are a significant antibacterial activity with inhibition zones ranging from 10 to 50 mm. the value of CMI were ranging from 0.89 to 14.29 mg/ml.

Keywords: phenolic extract, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, Marrubium deserti, Ammodaucus leucotrichus

Procedia PDF Downloads 378