Search results for: North Eastern Tunisia

Authors: Nabila Louai, Fouad Khaldi, Houria Benharchache

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In this paper, the case of meeting a household’s electrical energy demand with hybrid systems has been examined. The objective is to study technological feasibility and economic viability of the electrification project by a hybrid system (PV/ wind) of a residential home located in Batna-Algeria and to reduce the emissions from traditional power by using renewable energy. An autonomous hybrid wind/photovoltaic (PV)/battery power system and a PV/Wind grid connected system, has been carried out using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) simulation software. As a result, it has been found that electricity from the grid can be supplied at a lower price than electricity from renewable energy at this moment.

Keywords: batna, household, hybrid system, renewable energy, techno-economy

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Authors: Gabriel Jinga, Madalina Dumitru

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The objective of this paper is to present the process of change in management accounting in Romania, a former communist country from Eastern Europe. In order to explain this process, we used the contingency and institutional theories. We focused on the following directions: the presentation of the scientific context and motivation of this research and the case study. We presented the state of the art in the process of change in the management accounting from the international and national perspective. We also described the evolution of management accounting in Romania in the context of economic and political changes. An important moment was the fall of communism in 1989. This represents a starting point for a new economic environment and for new management accounting. Accordingly, we developed a case study which presented this evolution. The conclusion of our research was that the changes in the management accounting system of the company analysed occurred in the same time with the institutionalisation of some elements (e.g. degree of competition, training and competencies in management accounting). The management accounting system was modelled by the contingencies specific to this company (e.g. environment, industry, strategy).

Keywords: management accounting, change, Romania, contingency and institutional theory

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Authors: Hajer Chaker Ben Hadj Kacem, Thouraya Slama, Néjiba El Yetim Zribi

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This paper analyzes the effects of gender, affiliation, prior work experience, social work, and vicarious learning through family role models on entrepreneurial skills development by students when they have learned through the entrepreneurship method in Tunisia. Authors suggest that these variables enhance the development of students’ entrepreneurial skills when combined with teaching through entrepreneurship. The article assesses the impact of these combinations by comparing their effects on the development of thirteen students’ entrepreneurial competencies, namely entrepreneurial mindset, core self-evaluation, entrepreneurial attitude, entrepreneurial knowledge, creativity, financial literacy, managing ambiguity, marshaling of resources, planning, teaching methods, entrepreneurial teachers, innovative employee, and Entrepreneurial intention. Authors use a two-sample independent t-test to make the comparison, and the results indicate that, when combined with teaching through the entrepreneurship method, students with prior work experience developed better six entrepreneurial skills; students with social work developed better three entrepreneurial skills, men developed better four entrepreneurial skills than women. However, all students developed their entrepreneurial skills through this practical method regardless of their affiliation and their vicarious learning through family role models.

Keywords: affiliation, entrepreneurial skills, gender, role models, social work, teaching through entrepreneurship, vicarious learning, work experience

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Authors: Mehmet Yavuz Hüseyinca, Şuayip Küpeli

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Sandstones from Upper Eocene - Oligocene Tepeköy formation (Member of Mezgit Group) that exposed on the eastern edge of Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) were analyzed for their rare earth element (REE) contents. Average concentrations of ΣREE, ΣLREE (Total light rare earth elements) and ΣHREE (Total heavy rare earth elements) were determined as 31.37, 26.47 and 4.55 ppm respectively. These values are lower than UCC (Upper continental crust) which indicates grain size and/or CaO dilution effect. The chondrite-normalized REE pattern is characterized by the average ratios of (La/Yb)cn = 6.20, (La/Sm)cn = 4.06, (Gd/Lu)cn = 1.10, Eu/Eu* = 0.99 and Ce/Ce* = 0.94. Lower values of ΣLREE/ΣHREE (Average 5.97) and (La/Yb)cn suggest lower fractionation of overall REE. Moreover (La/Sm)cn and (Gd/Lu)cn ratios define less inclined LREE and almost flat HREE pattern when compared with UCC. Almost no Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce*) emphasizes that REE were originated from terrigenous material. Also depleted LREE and no Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*) suggest an undifferentiated mafic provenance for the sandstones.

Keywords: central Anatolia, provenance, rare earth elements, REE, Tepeköy sandstone

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Authors: Clara Tramuta, Floris Irene, Daniela Manila Bianchi, Monica Pitti, Giulia Federica Cazzaniga, Lucia Decastelli

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This work presents the results obtained by the Regional Reference Centre for Salmonella Typing (CeRTiS) in a retrospective study aimed to investigate, through Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis, the genetic relatedness of emerging Salmonella serotypes of human origin circulating in North-West of Italy. Furthermore, the goal of this work was to create a Regional database to facilitate foodborne outbreak investigation and to monitor them at an earlier stage. A total of 112 strains, isolated from 2016 to 2018 in hospital laboratories, were included in this study. The isolates were previously identified as Salmonella according to standard microbiological techniques and serotyping was performed according to ISO 6579-3 and the Kaufmann-White scheme using O and H antisera (Statens Serum Institut®). All strains were characterized by PFGE: analysis was conducted according to a standardized PulseNet protocol. The restriction enzyme XbaI was used to generate several distinguishable genomic fragments on the agarose gel. PFGE was performed on a CHEF Mapper system, separating large fragments and generating comparable genetic patterns. The agarose gel was then stained with GelRed® and photographed under ultraviolet transillumination. The PFGE patterns obtained from the 112 strains were compared using Bionumerics version 7.6 software with the Dice coefficient with 2% band tolerance and 2% optimization. For each serotype, the data obtained with the PFGE were compared according to the geographical origin and the year in which they were isolated. Salmonella strains were identified as follow: S. Derby n. 34; S. Infantis n. 38; S. Napoli n. 40. All the isolates had appreciable restricted digestion patterns ranging from approximately 40 to 1100 kb. In general, a fairly heterogeneous distribution of pulsotypes has emerged in the different provinces. Cluster analysis indicated high genetic similarity (≥ 83%) among strains of S. Derby (n. 30; 88%), S. Infantis (n. 36; 95%) and S. Napoli (n. 38; 95%) circulating in north-western Italy. The study underlines the genomic similarities shared by the emerging Salmonella strains in Northwest Italy and allowed to create a database to detect outbreaks in an early stage. Therefore, the results confirmed that PFGE is a powerful and discriminatory tool to investigate the genetic relationships among strains in order to monitoring and control Salmonellosis outbreak spread. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) still represents one of the most suitable approaches to characterize strains, in particular for the laboratories for which NGS techniques are not available.

Keywords: emerging Salmonella serotypes, genetic characterization, human strains, PFGE

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Authors: Arthur Müller

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The study treats human dimensions of hunting by conducting statistical data analysis and providing decision-making support by examples of good prefectural governance and successful wildlife management, crucial to reduce pest species and sustain a stable hunter population in the future. Therefore it analyzes recent revision of wildlife legislation, reveals differences in administrative management structures, as well as socio-demographic characteristics of hunters in correlation with harvest trends of sika deer and wild boar in 47 prefectures in Japan between 1990 and 2013. In a wider context, Japan’s decentralized license hunting system might take the potential future role of a regional pioneer in East Asia. Consequently, the study contributes to similar issues in premature hunting systems of South Korea and Taiwan. Firstly, a quantitative comparison of seven mainland regions was conducted in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, and Kyushu. Example prefectures were chosen by a cluster analysis. Shifts, differences, mean values and exponential growth rates between trap and gun hunters, age classes and common occupation types of hunters were statistically exterminated. While western Japan is characterized by high numbers of aged trap-hunters, occupied in agricultural- and forestry, the north-eastern prefectures show higher relative numbers of younger gun-hunters occupied in the field of production and process workers. With the exception of Okinawa island, most hunters in all prefectures are 60 years and older. Hence, unemployed and retired hunters are the fastest growing occupation group. Despite to drastic decrease in hunter population in absolute numbers, Hunting Recruitment Index indicated that all age classes tend to continue their hunting activity over a longer period, above ten years from 2004 to 2013 than during the former decade. Associated with a rapid population increase and distribution of sika deer and wild boar since 1978, a number of harvest from hunting and culling also have been rapidly increasing. Both wild boar hunting and culling is particularly high in western Japan, while sika hunting and culling proofs most successful in Hokkaido, central and western Japan. Since the Wildlife Protection and Proper Hunting Act in 1999 distinct prefectural hunting management authorities with different power, sets apply management approaches under the principles of subsidiarity and guidelines of the Ministry of Environment. Additionally, the Act on Special Measures for Prevention of Damage Related to Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Caused by Wildlife from 2008 supports local hunters in damage prevention measures through subsidies by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which caused a rise of trap hunting, especially in western Japan. Secondly, prefectural staff in charge of wildlife management in seven regions was contacted. In summary, Hokkaido serves as a role model for dynamic, integrative, adaptive “feedback” management of Ezo sika deer, as well as a diverse network between management organizations, while Hyogo takes active measures to trap-hunt wild boars effectively. Both prefectures take the leadership in institutional performance and capacity. Northern prefectures in Tohoku, Chubu and Kanto region, firstly confronted with the emergence of wild boars and rising sika deer numbers, demand new institution and capacity building, as well as organizational learning.

Keywords: hunting and culling harvest trends, hunter socio-demographics, regional comparison, wildlife management approach

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Authors: Gia Surguladze, Nino Topuria, Lily Petriashvili, Giorgi Surguladze

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Modeling of building processes of a multimodal freight transportation support information system is discussed based on modern CASE technologies. Functional efficiencies of ports in the eastern part of the Black Sea are analyzed taking into account their ecological, seasonal, resource usage parameters. By resources, we mean capacities of berths, cranes, automotive transport, as well as work crews and neighbouring airports. For the purpose of designing database of computer support system for Managerial (Logistics) function, using Object-Role Modeling (ORM) tool (NORMA – Natural ORM Architecture) is proposed, after which Entity Relationship Model (ERM) is generated in automated process. The software is developed based on Process-Oriented and Service-Oriented architecture, in Visual Studio.NET environment.

Keywords: seaport resources, business-processes, multimodal transportation, CASE technology, object-role model, entity relationship model, SOA

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Authors: Jane E. Mullen, Kevin Kelloway, Ann Rhéaume-Brüning

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The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of perceived leader word-action alignment on subordinate extra-role safety behavior. Using survey data gathered from a sample of nurses employed in health care facilities located in Eastern Canada (n = 192), the effects of perceived word-action alignment (measured as the cross product of leaders speaking positively about safety and acting safely) on nurse safety participation was examined. Moderated regression analysis resulted in the significant (p < .01) prediction of nurse safety participation by the interaction term. Analysis of the simple slopes comprising the interaction term suggests that positively speaking about safety only predicted safety participation when leaders were also perceived by subordinates as acting safely. The results provide empirical support for the importance of the perceived alignment between leaders’ words, or espoused safety values and priorities, and their actions. Practical implications for safety leadership training are discussed.

Keywords: leadership, safety participation, safety performance, safety training

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Authors: Khrukulu Khusoh

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The strategies and tactics used by governments throughout the world to counter terrorism and insurgency over the past few decades include the declaration of states of siege or martial law, enactment of anti-terrorist legislation and strengthening of judicial powers. Some of these measures taken have been more successful than the other, but some have proved counterproductive, alienating the public from the authorities and further polarizing an already fractured political environment. Such cases of alienation and polarization can be seen in the northeastern states of India. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act which was introduced to curb insurgency in the remote jungles of the far-flung areas has remained a telling tale of agony in the north east India. Grievous trauma to humans through encounter killings, custodial deaths, unwarranted torture, exploitation of women and children in several ways have been reported in Nagaland, Manipur and other northeastern states where the Indian army has been exercising powers under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. While terrorism and the insurgency are destructive of human rights, counter-terrorism does not necessarily restore and safeguard human rights. This special law has not proven effective particularly in dealing with terrorism and insurgency. The insurgency has persisted in the state of Nagaland even after sixty years notwithstanding the presence of a good number of special laws. There is a need to fight elements that threaten the security of a nation, but the methods chosen should be measured, otherwise the fight is lost. There has been no review on the effectiveness or failure of the act to realize its intended purpose. Nor was there any attempt on the part of the state to critically look at the violation of rights of innocent citizens by the state agencies. The Indian state keeps enacting laws, but none of these could be effectively applied as there was the absence of clarity of purpose. Therefore, every new law which has been enacted time and again to deal with security threats failed to bring any solution for the last six decades. The Indian state resorts to measures which are actually not giving anything in terms of strategic benefits but are short-term victories that might result in long-term tragedies. Therefore, right thinking citizens and human rights activists across the country feel that introduction of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was as much violation of human rights and its continuation is undesirable. What worried everyone is the arbitrary use, or rather misuse of power by the Indian armed forces particularly against the weaker sections of the society, including women. After having being subjected to indiscriminate abuse of that law, people of the north-east India have been demanding its revocation for a long time. The present paper attempts to critically examine the violation of human rights under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. It also attempts to bring out the impact of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act on the Naga people.

Keywords: armed forces, insurgency, special laws, violence

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Authors: Nasser Karami

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Piracy in the North West of Indian Ocean and the Red Sea has become a global crisis in recent years. Pirates of this area are often very poor people from the Horn of Africa and the western coast of the Red Sea. Climatic and geographical evidence suggests that poverty and destruction of social structures in the region have directly relation to prolonged-drought. Indeed, after the seventies (more than 40 years ago) due to the long-term drought in the region, all political, economic and social structures had declined. Spread of terrorism, violent extremism and of course piracy, are main effects of climate change and drought of this regression. It is disturbing to say the climatic documents say that because of global climate change, severe drought will continue in this region. This mean that the dangers worse than piracy threatens the future of this area. Forty-year data that has assessed in this study indicate that there is direct relationship between spread of drought and piracy in the Red Sea.

Keywords: climate, poverty, climate change, drought, piracy in red sea

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Authors: Aysen Muderrisoglu

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As a result of the policies constituted and pursued by Russia which aimed to gain territory and power at Ottoman expense, Crimean War broke out in 1853. Nevertheless, the Eastern policies of Russia were in contradiction with the interests of Great Britain which was the great power of the era. Yet, it did hesitate to be confronted with Russian on its route to India, so the Ottoman territorial integrity was defended. In that period, Tzar Nicholas II, to begin with, tried to eliminate a probable opposition coming from the British side, and then tried its chance to build up cooperation with Britain on the territories of the sick man. As a more positive relation was being observed between these two states before the Crimean War, Great Britain initially had adopted a neutral policy. However, in the end, Britain entered the war against Russia due to the efforts of the opposing side in the British Parliament and the rising pressure of the public opinion. The article aims to examine the role of British public opinion in the process of Great Britain’s Involvement in this war. Also, the article will try to find an answer to the following question: to what extent did the public opinion become effective on the foreign policy-making of Great Britain before the war?

Keywords: British press, Crimean war, Great Britain, public opinion

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Authors: Ewa Bednorz, Marek Polrolniczak, Bartosz Czernecki, Arkadiusz Marek Tomczyk

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This study is meant as a contribution to the research of the upwelling phenomenon, which is one of the most pronounced examples of the sea-atmosphere coupling. The aim is to confirm the atmospheric forcing of the sea waters circulation and sea surface temperature along the variously oriented Baltic Sea coasts and to find out macroscale and regional circulation patterns triggering upwelling along different sections of this relatively small and semi-closed sea basin. The mean daily sea surface temperature data from the summer seasons (June–August) of the years 1982–2017 made the basis for the detection of upwelling cases. For the atmospheric part of the analysis, monthly indices of the Northern Hemisphere macroscale circulation patterns were used. Besides, in order to identify the local direction of airflow, the daily zonal and meridional regional circulation indices were constructed and introduced to the analysis. Finally, daily regional circulation patterns over the Baltic Sea region were distinguished by applying the principal component analysis to the gridded mean daily sea level pressure data. Within the Baltic Sea, upwelling is the most frequent along the zonally oriented northern coast of the Gulf of Finland, southern coasts of Sweden, and along the middle part of the western Gulf of Bothnia coast. Among the macroscale circulation patterns, the Scandinavian type (SCAND), with a primary circulation center located over Scandinavia, has the strongest impact on the horizontal flow of surface sea waters in the Baltic Sea, which triggers upwelling. An anticyclone center over Scandinavia in the positive phase of SCAND enhances the eastern airflow, which increases upwelling frequency along southeastern Baltic coasts. It was proved in the study that the zonal circulation has a stronger impact on upwelling occurrence than the meridional one, and it could increase/decrease a chance of upwelling formation by more than 70% in some coastal sections. Positive and negative phases of six distinguished regional daily circulation patterns made 12 different synoptic situations which were analyzed in the terms of their influence on the upwelling formation. Each of them revealed some impact on the frequency of upwelling in some coastal section of the Baltic Sea; however, two kinds of synoptic situations seemed to have the strongest influence, namely, the first kind representing pressure patterns enhancing the zonal flow and the second kind representing synoptic patterns with a cyclone/anticyclone centers over southern Scandinavia. Upwelling occurrence appeared to be particularly strongly reliant on the atmospheric conditions in some specific coastal sections, namely: the Gulf of Finland, the south eastern Baltic coasts (Polish and Latvian-Lithuanian section), and the western part of the Gulf of Bothnia. Concluding, it can be stated that atmospheric conditions strongly control the occurrence of upwelling within the Baltic Sea basin. Both local and macroscale circulation patterns expressed by the location of the pressure centers influence the frequency of this phenomenon; however, the impact strength varies, depending on the coastal region. Acknowledgment: This research was funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant number 2016/21/B/ST10/01440.

Keywords: Baltic Sea, circulation patterns, coastal upwelling, synoptic conditions

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Authors: Azubuike Ekwere

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The shallow and deep aquiferous horizons of the fractured and weathered crystalline basement Oban Massif of south-eastern Nigeria were studied during the dry and wet seasons. The criteria were ascertaining hydrochemistry relative to seasonal and spatial variations across the study area. Results indicate that concentrations of major cations and anions exhibit the order of abundance; Ca>Na>Mg>K and HCO3>SO4>Cl respectively, with minor variations across sampling seasons. Major elements Ca, Mg, Na and K were higher for the shallow aquifers than the deep aquifers across seasons. The major anions Cl, SO4, HCO3, and NO3 were higher for the deep aquifers compared to the shallow ones. Two water types were identified for both aquifer types: Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Ca-Na-Cl-SO4. Most of the parameters considered were within the international limits for drinking, domestic and irrigation purposes. Assessment by use of sodium absorption ratio (SAR), percent sodium (%Na) and the wilcox diagram reveals that the waters are suitable for irrigation purposes.

Keywords: shallow aquifer, deep aquifer, seasonal variation, hydrochemistry, Oban massif, Nigeria

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Authors: Abdallah Touaibia, Nachida Kasbadji Merzouk, Mustapha Merzouk, Ryma Belarbi

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accuracy assessment and a better understand of the wind resource distribution are the most important tasks for decision making before installing wind energy operating systems in a given region, there where our interest come to the Algerian coastline and its Mediterranean sea area. Despite its large coastline overlooking the border of Mediterranean Sea, there is still no strategy encouraging the development of offshore wind farms in Algerian waters. The present work aims to estimate the offshore wind fields for the Algerian Mediterranean Sea based on wind data measurements ranging from 1995 to 2018 provided of 24 years of measurement by seven observation stations focusing on three coastline cities in Algeria under a different measurement time step recorded from 30 min, 60 min, and 180 min variate from one to each other, two stations in Spain, two other ones in Italy and three in the coast of Algeria from the east Annaba, at the center Algiers, and to Oran taken place at the west of it. The idea behind consists to have multiple measurement points that helping to characterize this area in terms of wind potential by the use of interpolation method of their average wind speed values between these available data to achieve the approximate values of others locations where aren’t any available measurement because of the difficulties against the implementation of masts within the deep depth water. This study is organized as follow: first, a brief description of the studied area and its climatic characteristics were done. After that, the statistical properties of the recorded data were checked by evaluating wind histograms, direction roses, and average speeds using MatLab programs. Finally, ArcGIS and MapInfo soft-wares were used to establish offshore wind maps for better understanding the wind resource distribution, as well as to identify windy sites for wind farm installation and power management. The study pointed out that Cap Carbonara is the windiest site with an average wind speed of 7.26 m/s at 10 m, inducing a power density of 902 W/m², then the site of Cap Caccia with 4.88 m/s inducing a power density of 282 W/m². The average wind speed of 4.83 m/s is occurred for the site of Oran, inducing a power density of 230 W/m². The results indicated also that the dominant wind direction where the frequencies are highest for the site of Cap Carbonara is the West with 34%, an average wind speed of 9.49 m/s, and a power density of 1722 W/m². Then comes the site of Cap Caccia, where the prevailing wind direction is the North-west, about 20% and 5.82 m/s occurring a power density of 452 W/m². The site of Oran comes in third place with the North dominant direction with 32% inducing an average wind speed of 4.59 m/s and power density of 189 W/m². It also shown that the proposed method is either crucial in understanding wind resource distribution for revealing windy sites over a large area and more effective for wind turbines micro-siting.

Keywords: wind ressources, mediterranean sea, offshore, arcGIS, mapInfo, wind maps, wind farms

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Authors: Valentina Adduci

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The developing research aims to define in general the criteria of environmental sustainability of rural buildings in Puglia and particularly in the manor farm. The main part of the study analyzes the relationship / dependence between the rural building and the landscape which, after many stratifications, results clearly identified and sometimes also characterized in a positive way. The location of the manor farm, in fact, is often conditioned by the infrastructural network and by the structure of the agricultural landscape. The manor farm, without the constraints due to the urban pattern’s density, was developed in accordance with a logical settlement that gives priority to the environmental aspects. These vernacular architectures are the most valuable example of how our ancestors have planned their dwellings according to nature. The 237 farms, analysis’ object, have been reported in cartography through the GIS system; a symbol has been assigned to each of them to identify the architectural typology and a different color for the historical period of construction. A datasheet template has been drawn up, and it has made possible a deeper understanding of each manor farm. This method provides a faster comparison of the most recurring characters in all the considered buildings, except for those farms which benefited from special geographical conditions, such as proximity to the road network or waterways. Below there are some of the most frequently constants derived from the statistical study of the examined buildings: southeast orientation of the main facade; placement of the sheep pen on the ground tilted and exposed to the south side; larger windowed surface on the south elevation; smaller windowed surface on the north elevation; presence of shielding vegetation near the more exposed elevations to the solar radiation; food storage’s rooms located on the ground floor or in the basement; animal shelter located in north side of the farm; presence of tanks and wells, sometimes combined with a very accurate channeling storm water system; thick layers of masonry walls, inside of which were often obtained hollow spaces to house stairwells or depots for the food storage; exclusive use of local building materials. The research aims to trace the ancient use of bioclimatic constructive techniques in the Apulian rural architecture and to define those that derive from an empirical knowledge and those that respond to an already encoded design. These constructive expedients are especially useful to obtain an effective passive cooling, to promote the natural ventilation and to built ingenious systems for the recovery and the preservation of rainwater and are still found in some of the manor farms analyzed, most of them are, today, in a serious state of neglect.

Keywords: bioclimatic devices, farmstead, rural landscape, sustainability

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Authors: Nurtazin Sabir, Begon Michael, Yeszhanov Aidyn, Alexander Belyaev, Hughes Nelika, Bethany Levick, Salmurzauly Ruslan

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This paper describes the features of the distribution of the most abundant species of fleas that are carriers of the most dangerous infections in the Balkhash-Alakol depression of Kazakhstan. We show that of 153 species of fleas described in the territory of the great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus Licht.), 35 species are parasitic. 21 of them are specific to gerbils species, and four species of fleas from the Xenopsylla genus are dominant in number and value of epizootic. We also describe the modern features of habitats of these species and their relationship with the great gerbil populations found in the South Balkhash region. It indicates the need for research on the population structure of the most abundant fleas species and their relationship with the structure of the populations of main carrier of transmission infections in the region-great gerbil.

Keywords: Balkhash-Alakol depression, natural foci of plague, species diversity and distribution of fleas, flea and great gerbil population structure, epizootic activity, mass species of fleas

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Authors: Chander Shekhar, Manoj Kumar

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The present research paper is based on the explorations and excavations of Buddhist sites of the Indian state Haryana. It is a small state in north India. Earlier it was part of greater Punjab. Haryana has a very rich ancient history right from the Stone Age. It is known as the cradle of civilization. During the Buddha period, Haryana was very prosperous. Buddha also visited this region during the travel of the northwest province of British India. In this research work, the authors describe the Buddhist trail in Haryana and the tangible heritage of Buddhism, which were built in the respect and memory of the Buddha's journey like Stupa, Monasteries, Pillar, sculptures, etc. Several stupas like Chaneti Stupa, Thanesar Stupa, Agroha stupa, Adibadri, Katrawali, Assandh Stupa, and many monasteries were come into light during the excavation and exploration in Haryana as well as a lot of Buddhist sculptures also found.

Keywords: archaeology, Buddhism, exploration, excavations, stupa

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Authors: Tarantino E., Disciglio G., Gagliardi A., Gatta G., Tarantino A.

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Fertilizer is a critical input for improving production and increasing crop yields. Consecutive experimental trials during six years (from 2010-2015) were carried out in Apulia region (south-eastern Italy) on seven crops grown in cylinder pots. The aim was to determinate the effects of chemical and organic fertilizer on marketable yield and other parameters of processing tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L., cv Docet), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L., cv Canasta), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L., cv Casper), pepper (Capsicum annum L., cv Akron), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare L., cv Tarquinia), eggplant (Solanum melongena L. cv Primato F1) and chard (Beta vulgaris L., Argentata). At harvest the quail-quantitative yield characteristics of each crop were determined. All of the experimental data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed that the yields for all of these crops were greater under the chemical system than the organic system whereas quite variable results were generally observed for the other characteristics of the yield.

Keywords: fertilizers, herbaceous crops, yield characteristics, succession

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Authors: A. Onur Kutlu, H. Tolga Bolukbasi

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Since the 1990s, governments, international organizations and scholars have drawn increasing attention to the significance of women in the labour force. While advanced industrial countries in North Western Europe and North America have managed to increase female labour force participation (FLFP) in the early post world war two period, emerging economies of the 1970s have only been able to increase FLFP only a decade later. Among these areas, Southern Europe features a wave of remarkable bounce backs in FLFP. However, despite striking similarities between the features in Southern Europe and those in Turkey, Turkey has not been able to pull women into the labour force. Despite a host of institutional similarities, Turkey has failed to reach to the level of her Southern European neighbours. This paper addresses the puzzle why Turkey lag behind in FLFP in comparison to her Southern European neighbours. There are signs showing that FLFP is currently reaching a critical threshold at a time when structural factors may allow a trend. It is not known, however, the constellation of conditions which may bring rising FLFP in Turkey. In order to gain analytical leverage from similar transitions in countries that share similar labour market and welfare state regime characteristics, this paper identifies the conditions in Southern Europe that brought rising FLFP to be able to explore the prospects for Turkey. Second, this paper takes these variables in the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) as conditions which can potentially explain the outcome of rising FLFP in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. The purpose here is to identify any causal pathway there may exist that lead to rising FLFP in Southern Europe. In order to do so, this study analyses two time periods in all cases, which represent different periods for different countries. The first period is identified on the basis of low FLFP and the second period on the basis of the transition to significantly higher FLFP. Third, the conditions are treated following the standard procedures in fsQCA, which provide equifinal: two distinct paths to higher levels of FLFP in Southern Europe, each of which may potentially increase FLFP in Turkey. Based on this analysis, this paper proposes that there exist two distinct paths leading to higher levels of FLFP in Southern Europe. Among these paths, salience of left parties emerges as a sufficient condition. In cases where this condition was not present, a second path combining enlarging service sector employment, increased tertiary education among women and increased childcare enrolment rates led to increasing FLFP.

Keywords: female labour force participation, fsQCA, Southern Europe, Turkey

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh, Shyama Pada Gorai

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Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right; however, regions like Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Malda, Dinajpur in West Bengal, India, face formidable challenges due to heightened fluoride levels. This paper delves into the hurdles of fresh drinking water production, presenting comprehensive solutions derived from literature reviews, field surveys, and scientific analyses. Encompassing fluoride-affected areas in Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Malda, North-South Dinajpur, and South 24 Parganas, the study emphasizes an integrated and sustainable approach. Employing a multidisciplinary methodology, combining scientific analysis and community engagement, the study identifies key factors influencing water quality and proposes sustainable strategies. Elevated fluoride concentrations exceeding international health standards (Purulia: 0.126 – 8.16 mg/L, Bankura: 0.1 – 12.2 mg/L, Malda: 0.1 – 4.54 mg/L, Birbhum: 0.023 – 18 mg/L) necessitate urgent intervention. Infrastructure deficiencies impede water treatment and distribution, while limited awareness obstructs community participation. The proposed solutions embrace advanced water treatment technologies, infrastructure development, community education, and sustainable water management practices. This comprehensive effort aims to provide clean drinking water, safeguarding the health of affected populations. Building on these foundations, the study explores the potential of rooftop rainwater harvesting as an effective and sustainable strategy to mitigate challenges in fresh drinking water production. By addressing fluoride contamination concerns and promoting community involvement, this approach presents a holistic solution to water quality issues in affected regions. The findings underscore the importance of integrating sustainable practices with community engagement to achieve long-term water security in Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Malda, North-South Dinajpur, and South 24 Parganas. This study serves as a cornerstone for further research and policy development, addressing fluoride contamination's impact on public health in affected areas. Recommendations include the establishment of long-term monitoring programs to assess the effectiveness of implemented solutions and conducting health impact studies to understand the long-term effects of fluoride contamination on the local population.

Keywords: fluoride mitigation, rainwater harvesting, water quality, sustainable water management, community engagement

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Authors: Laatra Zemmouri, Said Boukhechem, Samia Haffaf, Mohamed Lafri

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A study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with abortion in ewes in the region of M’sila, located in central-eastern Algeria. A questionnaire was carried out to obtain information about the occurrence of abortion, sheep housing conditions, vaccination, feeding and management practices, and whether the farmers kept other livestock. This cross-sectional study was conducted for 36 months (between 2016 and 2019). A total of 71 sheep flocks were visited. Among 8168 ewes, we recorded 734 (8.99%) abortions and 3861 lambings. The risk factor analysis using multivariable logistic regression showed an association between abortion and vaccination against brucellosis (CI 95%= 2,76-1,35; p<0,001). Abortion decreased when dogs are owned (CI 95%= 0,36-0,84; p= 0.006), however, abortion increased with the presence of cats in farms (CI 95%= 1,24-2,8; p=0.003). There was a significant association between abortion and keeping goats (CI 95%= 1,18-2,40; p= 0.004), bovins (CI 95%= 0,3-0,68; p<0,001) and poultry CI 95%= 0,39-0,77; p= 0.001) in farms. Through this study, it is noticed that a strong association between the occurrence of abortion and estrus synchronization, stillbirth occurrence, and feed supplementation (p<0.05). Identification of the causes of abortion is an important task to reduce foetal losses and to improve livestock productivity.

Keywords: abortion, ewes, questionnaire, risk factors

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Authors: Ilknur Tuncer, Nihayet Bizsel

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The studies in bacterial diversity and antimicrobial resistance in coastal areas are important to understand the variability in the community structures and metabolic activities. In the present study, antimicrobial susceptibility and phylogenetic analysis of bacteria isolated from stations with different depths and influenced by terrestrial and marine fluxes in eastern Aegean Sea were illustrated. 51% of the isolates were found as resistant and 14% showed high MAR index indicating the high-risk sources of contamination in the environment. The resistance and the intermediate levels and high MAR index of the study area were 38–60%, 11–38% and 0–40%, respectively. According to 16S rRNA gene analysis, it was found that the isolates belonged to two phyla Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria with the genera Bacillus, Halomonas, Oceanobacillus, Photobacterium, Pseudoalteromonas, Psychrobacter, and Vibrio. 47% of Bacillus strains which were dominant among all isolates were resistant. In addition to phylogenetically diverse bacteria, the variability in resistance, intermediate and high MAR index levels of the study area indicated the effect of geographical differences.

Keywords: bacterial diversity, multiple antibiotic resistance, 16S rRNA genes, Aegean Sea

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Authors: Remember Samu, Kathy Kiema, Murat Fahrioglu

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This present study is aimed at minimizing the dependence on fossil fuels thus reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and also to curb for the rising energy demands in Kenya. In this analysis, 35 locations were each considered for their techno-economic potential of installation of a 10MW grid-connected PV plant. The sites are scattered across the country but are mostly concentrated in the eastern region and were selected based on their accessibility to the national grid and availability of their meteorological parameters from NASA Solar Energy Dataset. RETScreen software 4.0 version will be employed for the analysis in this present paper. The capacity factor, simple payback, equity payback, the net present value (NPV), annual life cycle savings, energy production cost, net annual greenhouse gas emission reduction and the equivalent barrels of crude oil not consumed are outlined. Energy accounting is performed and compared to the existing grid tariff for an effective feasibility argument of this 10MW grid-connected PV power system.

Keywords: photovoltaics, project viability analysis, PV module, renewable energy

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Authors: Oliver Echezona Ngwu

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The research was conducted in 2011 cropping season at the Teaching and Research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria to study the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the growth and yield of physic Nut (Jatropha curcas). There were five treatments namely, control, (no application of treatment), NPK 20:10:10, NPK 15:15;15, poultry droppings and goat dung. The treatments were laid out in a Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD) with five replications. The total land area used was 228m2 (19x12m) while the plot size was 3mx2 (6m2). The growth parameters measured were plant height, number of leaves, and leaf area, index (LAI). The results obtained showed that there were significant differences at P=0.05 among the different treatments in 30, to and 90 DAP. Based on the results T4 (poultry droppings) had higher effect at P=0.05 at 30, 60, 90 DAP than the other treatments when compared and is hereby recommended as the best type of fertilizer for the optimum growth and production of physic Nut (Jatropha Curcas) in South Eastern Nigeria.

Keywords: organic, inorganic fertilizers, growth, yield, Jatropha curcas

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Authors: Piotr Romaniuk, Krzysztof Kaczmarek, Adam Szromek

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Background: A number of approaches to assess the performance of health system have been proposed so far. Nonetheless, they lack a consensus regarding the key components of assessment procedure and criteria of evaluation. The WHO and OECD have developed methods of assessing health system to counteract the underlying issues, but they are not free of controversies and did not manage to produce a commonly accepted consensus. The aim of the study: On the basis of WHO and OECD approaches we decided to develop own methodology to assess the performance of health systems in Central and Eastern European countries. We have applied the method to compare the effects of health systems reforms in 20 countries of the region, in order to evaluate the dynamic of changes in terms of health system outcomes.Methods: Data was collected from a 25-year time period after the fall of communism, subsetted into different post-reform stages. Datasets collected from individual countries underwent one-, two- or multi-dimensional statistical analyses, and the Synthetic Measure of health system Outcomes (SMO) was calculated, on the basis of the method of zeroed unitarization. A map of dynamics of changes over time across the region was constructed. Results: When making a comparative analysis of the tested group in terms of the average SMO value throughout the analyzed period, we noticed some differences, although the gaps between individual countries were small. The countries with the highest SMO were the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia, while the lowest was in Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Georgia, Albania, and Armenia. Countries differ in terms of the range of SMO value changes throughout the analyzed period. The dynamics of change is high in the case of Estonia and Latvia, moderate in the case of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, Russia and Moldova, and small when it comes to Belarus, Ukraine, Macedonia, Lithuania, and Georgia. This information reveals fluctuation dynamics of the measured value in time, yet it does not necessarily mean that in such a dynamic range an improvement appears in a given country. In reality, some of the countries moved from on the scale with different effects. Albania decreased the level of health system outcomes while Armenia and Georgia made progress, but lost distance to leaders in the region. On the other hand, Latvia and Estonia showed the most dynamic progress in improving the outcomes. Conclusions: Countries that have decided to implement comprehensive health reform have achieved a positive result in terms of further improvements in health system efficiency levels. Besides, a higher level of efficiency during the initial transition period generally positively determined the subsequent value of the efficiency index value, but not the dynamics of change. The paths of health system outcomes improvement are highly diverse between different countries. The instrument we propose constitutes a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of reform processes in post-communist countries, but more studies are needed to identify factors that may determine results obtained by individual countries, as well as to eliminate the limitations of methodology we applied.

Keywords: health system outcomes, health reforms, health system assessment, health system evaluation

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Authors: Zeynep Balci

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This article examines the historical points of connection between Celtic Bagpipes and ‘’Tulum’’, which is a type of bagpipes that is culturally played mostly in Eastern Black Sea Regions of Turkey and Georgia, and melodic similarities of the pieces composed for such instruments with respect to sociological and geographical factors. Although the cultural centers of Celtic Bagpipes and ‘’Tulum’’ are separated, they share common geographical conditions, which show similar effects on the development of the folk tunes for such instruments. Geographic living conditions and the social lives that people created under the influence of their surroundings stand out most in ethnic music, and it can be argued that separated groups of people living under similar conditions might have closeness in their social lives and, thus, their ethnic music. Hence, the aim of this research is to understand the musical deviations and unification of the two culturally separated social lives lived near similar mountains and plateaus in two different regions of the world by comparing two closely related ethnic aerophones.

Keywords: bagpipes, Celts, Black Sea, Turkish people

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Authors: Mohammad Jafariahangari, Marjan Habibi, Miresmaeil Mirnabibaboli, Mirza Hassan Hosseini

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Self-service technologies (SSTs) make an important contribution to the daily life of people nowadays. However, the introduction of SST does not lead to its usage. Thereby, this paper was an attempt on discovery of the most preferred SST in the customers’ point of view. To fulfill this aim, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied based on Saaty’s questionnaire which was administered to the customers of e-banking services located in Golestan providence, north of Iran. This study used qualitative factors in association with the intention of consumers’ usage of SSTs to rank three SSTs: ATM, mobile banking, and internet banking. The results showed that mobile banking get the highest weight in consumers’ point of view. This research can be useful both for managers and service providers and also for customers who intend to use e-banking.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, decision-making, e-banking, self-service technologies, Iran

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Authors: Thozama Kwinana-Mandindi

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The contribution made by wild edible plants to the livelihoods, food baskets and diets of the indigenous people, particularly among the rural dwellers is invaluable. These wild vegetables are among the non-conventional crops which are widely distributed throughout the wild regions in South Africa, indigenous communities have always exploited for micro-nutrient supply. They also supply significant complex, recently discovered compounds, naturally occurring phytonutrients. In order to protect and promote sustainable use of these plants for household food security, there is a need to better understand them through studies and innovations. Assessment of the wild edible plants’ safety is very key to the promotion as an agricultural product which can be utilised during dry seasons and periods of food scarcity to alleviate nutrient insecurity. Through the use of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), the study is seen as the vital step in taking a holistic view of the value of the four most consumed wild vegetables in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa as they were analysed for safety and appraised for components that can influence utilisation. Results indicate that they can be relied upon and cultivation be promoted.

Keywords: nature’s resource, wild vegetables, appraisal for safety, SEM

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Authors: Rene Valdiviezo-Issa

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In this paper, we use Mexico’s Households Income and Expenditures (ENIGH) survey to explain the behaviour that the urban-rural expenditure gap has had since Mexico’s incorporation to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 and we compare it with the latest available survey, which took place in 2014. We use real trimestral expenditure per capita (RTEPC) as the measure of welfare. We use quantile regressions and a quantile regression decomposition to describe the gap between urban and rural distributions of log RTEPC. We discover that the decrease in the difference between the urban and rural distributions of log RTEPC, or inequality, is motivated because of a deprivation of the urban areas, in very specific characteristics, rather than an improvement of the urban areas. When using the decomposition we observe that the gap is primarily brought about because differences in returns to covariates between the urban and rural areas.

Keywords: quantile regression, urban-rural inequality, inequality in Mexico, income decompositon

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Authors: Said S. Aldhafri, Marwa N. Alrajhi

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This study examines gender differences in emotional intelligence levels in the Sultanate of Oman, an Arabic country in the Middle East. As a collective culture, the Omani culture rears children differently based on the Islamic beliefs and the Arabic culture. Gender differences across the different dimensions of emotional intelligence are possible within this collective culture. Emotional intelligences reflect the ability to understand and act upon one’s and others’ emotions. The sample of the study consisted of 338 (50.6% were females) adults from different regions in Oman. The participants completed a 25-item emotional intelligence scale, using 5-point Likert type responses. The results showed that the total scores of the scale as well as the scores from the five dimensions (self management, self motivation, social skills, empathy, and self-awareness) all have good reliability coefficients. Using independent sample t-tests, the findings show that female adults scored higher than male adults. The differences were all statistically significant across the five dimensions of emotional intelligence. The findings are discussed from a cultural perspective and applications for the development of emotional intelligence skills are outlined.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, gender, Arab, Oman

Procedia PDF Downloads 445