Search results for: country of manufacturing

Authors: M. Nemer, E. I. Konukseven

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In this paper, a motion generation algorithm for a six Degrees of Freedom (DoF) robotic hand in a static environment is presented. The purpose of developing this method is to be used in the path generation of the end-effector for edge finishing and inspection processes by utilizing the CAD model of the considered workpiece. Nonetheless, the proposed algorithm may be extended to be applicable for other similar manufacturing processes. A software package programmed in the application programming interface (API) of SolidWorks generates tool path data for the robot. The proposed method significantly simplifies the given problem, resulting in a reduction in the CPU time needed to generate the path, and offers an efficient overall solution. The ABB IRB2000 robot is chosen for executing the generated tool path.

Keywords: CAD-based tools, edge deburring, edge scanning, offline programming, path generation

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Authors: Nebojša Janićijević

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At the end of 1970s, Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede, had conducted an enormous empirical research on the differences between national cultures. In his huge research, he had identified four dimensions of national culture according to which national cultures differ and determined the index for every dimension of national culture for each country that took part in his research. The index showed a country’s position on the continuum between the two extreme poles of the cultural dimensions. Since more than 40 years have passed since Hofstede's research, there is a doubt that, due to the changes in national cultures during that period, they are no longer a good basis for research. The aim of this research is to check the validity of Hofstee's indices of national culture The empirical study conducted in the branches of a multinational company in Serbia, France, the Netherlands and Denmark aimed to determine whether Hofstede’s measures of national culture dimensions are still valid. The sample consisted of 155 employees of one multinational company, where 40 employees came from three countries and 35 employees were from Serbia. The questionnaire that analyzed the positions of national cultures according to the Hofstede’s four dimensions was formulated on the basis of the initial Hofstede’s questionnaire, but it was much shorter and significantly simplified comparing to the original questionnaire. Such instrument had already been used in earlier researches. A statistical analysis of the obtained questionnaire results was done by a simple calculation of the frequency of the provided answers. Due to the limitations in methodology, sample size, instrument, and applied statistical methods, the aim of the study was not to explicitly test the accuracy Hofstede’s indexes but to enlighten the general position of the four observed countries in national culture dimensions and their mutual relations. The study results have indicated that the position of the four observed national cultures (Serbia, France, the Netherlands and Denmark) is precisely the same in three out of four dimensions as Hofstede had described in his research. Furthermore, the differences between national cultures and the relative relations between their positions in three dimensions of national culture correspond to Hofstede’s results. The only deviation from Hofstede’s results is concentrated around the masculinity–femininity dimension. In addition, the study revealed that the degree of power distance is a determinant when choosing leadership style. It has been found that national cultures with high power distance, like Serbia and France, favor one of the two authoritative leadership styles. On the other hand, countries with low power distance, such as the Netherlands and Denmark, prefer one of the forms of democratic leadership styles. This confirms Hofstede’s premises about the impact of power distance on leadership style. The key contribution of the study is that Hofstede’s national culture indexes are still a reliable tool for measuring the positions of countries in national culture dimensions, and they can be applied in the cross-cultural research in management. That was at least the case with four observed countries: Serbia, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

Keywords: national culture, leadership styles, power distance, collectivism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance

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Authors: Yeliz Ekinci, Melis Koyuncu

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Successful planning of solid waste management systems requires successful prediction of the amount of solid waste generated in an area. Waste management planning can protect the environment and human health, hence it is tremendously important for countries. The lack of information in waste generation can cause many environmental and health problems. Turkey is a country that plans to join European Union, hence, solid waste management is one of the most significant criteria that should be handled in order to be a part of this community. Solid waste management system requires a good forecast of solid waste generation. Thus, this study aims to forecast solid waste generation in Turkey. Artificial Neural Network and Linear Regression models will be used for this aim. Many models will be run and the best one will be selected based on some predetermined performance measures.

Keywords: forecast, solid waste generation, solid waste management, Turkey

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Authors: Nukarova Marjona Kayimovna

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This article examines Uzbekistan's participation in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, as the country took part in the assessment for the first time. The analysis delves into the initial results and performance metrics reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). By exploring Uzbekistan's data, the article highlights key findings, trends, and areas of strength and improvement. The aim is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how Uzbekistan's education system compares on the international stage and to offer insights into potential implications for future educational policies and reforms.

Keywords: PISA, OECD, data analysis of Uzbekistan, results, critical thinking.

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Authors: Lema Catherine Forje

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Innovation activates the system of an economy to a new level. Innovation follows a process. The first step in innovation is the idea-generation process. There is widespread appreciation that people go to great lengths, incur expenses: energy and materials to generate innovative ideas. People get inspired, create, and connect. The inspiration also enables the building of a culture of innovation. Data collection was done through a face-to-face interview with the producer of the first Cameroon beer that came out in the early 1960s, a rice producing company, a cement producing company, and 100 women following a type of dressing commonly worn by Cameroonian women (wrappa). There were a total number of one hundred and three interviewees. The implication of this study is for everybody. It sheds light on the factors that are likely to sustain an innovation. Conclusion emphasises continuous research to keep giving the innovation a face lift.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, ideas, innovation, sustainability

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Authors: W. Deboucha, M. N. Oudjit, A. Bouzid, L. Belagraa, A.Noui

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The cement manufacturing is the one of the factors that pollutes the atmosphere in the industrial sector. The common way to reduce this pollution is using mineral additions as partial replacement of Portland cement. Particularly, natural pozzolana (NP) is component in which they can be used to decrease the rate of pollution. The main objective of this experimental work is the study of the effect of mineral addition (natural pozzolana) on the capillary water absorption and compressive-flexural strength of cement mortar. The results obtained in the present research showed that the higher dosages of natural pozzolana added could be the principal parameter of such decrease in strength at early and medium term. Further, this increase of incorporated addition has been believed to reduce the capillary water absorption.

Keywords: Natural pozzolana, mortar, strength, capillary absorption

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Authors: Mohd Asrul Affendi Bi Abdullah, Nyi Nyi Naing

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The purpose of this study was to identify comparable manner between negative binomial death rate (NBDR) and zero inflated negative binomial death rate (ZINBDR) with died patients with (HIV + T B+) and (HIV + T B−). HIV and TB is a serious world wide problem in the developing country. Data were analyzed with applying NBDR and ZINBDR to make comparison which a favorable model is better to used. The ZINBDR model is able to account for the disproportionately large number of zero within the data and is shown to be a consistently better fit than the NBDR model. Hence, as a results ZINBDR model is a superior fit to the data than the NBDR model and provides additional information regarding the died mechanisms HIV+TB. The ZINBDR model is shown to be a use tool for analysis death rate according age categorical.

Keywords: zero inflated negative binomial death rate, HIV and TB, AIC and BIC, death rate

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Authors: L. Horňák

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The aim of the paper is to analyze a longstanding problem in Slovakia – the effective education of Roma students coming from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Although it is a relatively small country, there are over 630 communities in the Slovak Republic. The efficiency of the projects was verified by interviews with participants; questionnaires; and direct observations. Evaluation reports which summarized and evaluated the outcomes of the projects only confirmed their success. Slovakia realizes that appropriate social inclusion of marginalized citizens coming from the Roma ethnic group can only be achieved through education based on equality of all students and acceptance of diversity.

Keywords: inclusive education, marginalized communities, Roma pupil, equity in education, socially disadvantaged backgrounds, social inclusion

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Authors: Muhammad Zia Ullah Baig, Atiq Uz Zama

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The motivation of the project is to facilitate the governance body, as well as the common man in his/her daily life consuming product rates, to easily monitor the expense, to control the budget with the help of single SMS (message), e-mail facility, and to manage governance body by task management system. The system will also be capable of finding irregularities being done by the concerned department in mitigating the complaints generated by the customer and also provide a solution to overcome problems. We are building a system that easily controls the price control system of any country, we will feeling proud to give this system free of cost to Indian Government also. The system is able to easily manage and control the price control department of government all over the country. Price control department run in different cities under City District Government, so the system easily run in different cities with different SMS Code and decentralize Database ensure the non-functional requirement of system (scalability, reliability, availability, security, safety). The customer request for the government official price list with respect to his/her city SMS code (price list of all city available on website or application), the server will forward the price list through a SMS, if the product is not available according to the price list the customer generate a complaint through an SMS or using website/smartphone application, complaint is registered in complaint database and forward to inspection department when the complaint is entertained, the inspection department will forward a message about the complaint to customer. Inspection department physically checks the seller who does not follow the price list, but the major issue of the system is corruption, may be inspection officer will take a bribe and resolve the complaint (complaint is fake) in that case the customer will not use the system. The major issue of the system is to distinguish the fake and real complain and fight for corruption in the department. To counter the corruption, our strategy is to rank the complain if the same type of complaint is generated the complaint is in high rank and the higher authority will also notify about that complain, now the higher authority of department have reviewed the complaint and its history, the officer who resolve that complaint in past and the action against the complaint, these data will help in decision-making process, if the complaint was resolved because the officer takes bribe, the higher authority will take action against that officer. When the price of any good is decided the market/former representative is also there, with the mutual understanding of both party the price is decided, the system facilitate the decision-making process. The system shows the price history of any goods, inflation rate, available supply, demand, and the gap between supply and demand, these data will help to allot for the decision-making process.

Keywords: price control, goods, government, inspection, department, customer, employees

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Authors: M. Sari Yilmaz, N. Karamahmut Mermer

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Coal fly ash is formed as a solid waste product from the combustion of coal in coal fired power stations. Huge amounts of fly ash are produced globally every year and are predicted to increase. Nowadays, less than half of the fly ash is used as a raw material for cement manufacturing, construction and the rest of it is disposed as a waste causing yet another environmental concern. For this reason, the recycling of this kind of slurries into useful materials is quite important in terms of economical and environmental aspects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Orhaneli and Tuncbilek coal fly ashes for utilization in some industrial applications. Therefore the mineralogical and chemical compositions of these fly ashes were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al) in the fly ashes were activated by alkali fusion technique with sodium hydroxide. The obtained extracts were analyzed for Si and Al content by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).

Keywords: extraction, fly ash, fusion, XRD

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Authors: Norbert Tomaszewski

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Modern politicians tend to resign from the traditional media as Web 2.0 tools allow them to interact with a much bigger audience while spending less money on their campaign. Current studies on this subject prove that in order to win the elections, the candidate needs to show his personal side during the campaign to appeal to the voter as an average citizen. Because of that, the internet user may engage in the politician's campaign by spreading his message along with his followers. The aim of the study is to determine how did the Democratic candidates use the Web 2.0 tools during the 2018 midterm elections campaign and whether they managed to succeed. Taking into consideration the fact that the United States as a country, has always set important milestones for the political marketing as a field of science, the result of the research can set some examples on how to manage the modern internet campaign in less developed countries.

Keywords: political campaign, midterm elections, social media, Web 2.0

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Authors: Anna Czarczynska

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Creativity is taken as a requirement for a personal anti-fragile career path in the context of regional competitive advantage in the terms of socio-economics creative environment. At the personal level, the competence and value-based approach to creativity are proposed, is an elaboration of the resource-based view of the group of individuals selected from given country. Entrepreneurial creativity competence (measured by the Schein anchor questionnaire) is based on an independent way of thinking and empowerment presents one aspect of creative capability, however quickly verified by the market, that’s why we treat this as a basic exemplification of average creative attitude combine with the entrepreneurial attitude. This introductory instrument enables further scientific research based on the same group in the context of multi-cultural external creative or the non-creative environment.

Keywords: creativity, value-based approach, entrepreneurship, regional culture

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Authors: Thanapat Chaireongsirikul, Apichit Svang-Ariyaskul

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An analysis of mass balance, energy performance, and environmental impact assessment were performed to evaluate bioethanol production in Thailand. Thailand is an agricultural country. Thai government plans to increase the use of alternative energy to 20 percent by 2022. One of the primary campaigns is to promote a bioethanol production from abundant biomass resources such as bitter cassava, molasses and sugarcane. The bioethanol production is composed of three stages: cultivation, pretreatment, and bioethanol conversion. All of mass, material, fuel, and energy were calculated to determine the environmental impact of three types of bioethanol production: bioethanol production from cassava (CBP), bioethanol production from molasses (MBP), and bioethanol production from rice straw (RBP). The results showed that bioethanol production from cassava has the best environmental performance. CBP contributes less impact when compared to the other processes.

Keywords: bioethanol production, biofuel, LCA, chemical engineering

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Authors: Balarabe Z. Ahmad, Anne-Lorène Vernay

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The emergence of electricity in Nigeria was dated back to 1896. The power plants have the potential to generate 12,522 MW of electric power. Whereas current dispatch is about 4,000 MW, access to electrification is about 60%, with consumption at 0.14 MWh/capita. The government embarked on energy reforms to mitigate energy poverty. The reform targeted the provision of electricity access to 75% of the population by 2020 and 90% by 2030. Growth of total electricity demand by a factor of 5 by 2035 had been projected. This means that Nigeria will require almost 530 TWh of electricity which can be delivered through generators with a capacity of 65 GW. Analogously, the geographical location of Nigeria has placed it in an advantageous position as the source of solar energy; the availability of a high sunshine belt is obvious in the country. The implication is that the far North, where energy poverty is high, equally has about twice the solar radiation as against southern Nigeria. Hence, the chance of generating solar electricity is 66% possible at 11850 x 103 GWh per year, which is one hundred times the current electricity consumption rate in the country. Harvesting these huge potentials may be a mirage if the entrepreneurs in the solar panel business are left with the conventional business models that are not uncertainty resilient. Currently, business entities in RE in Nigeria are uncertain of; accessing the national grid, purchasing potentials of cooperating organizations, currency fluctuation and interest rate increases. Uncertainties such as the security of projects and government policy are issues entrepreneurs must navigate to remain sustainable in the solar panel industry in Nigeria. The aim of this paper is to identify how entrepreneurial firms consider uncertainties in developing workable business models for commercializing solar energy projects in Nigeria. In an attempt to develop a novel business model, the paper investigated how entrepreneurial firms assess and navigate uncertainties. The roles of key stakeholders in helping entrepreneurs to manage uncertainties in the Nigeria RE sector were probed in the ongoing study. The study explored empirical uncertainties that are peculiar to RE entrepreneurs in Nigeria. A mixed-mode of research was embraced using qualitative data from face-to-face interviews conducted on the Solar Energy Entrepreneurs and the experts drawn from key stakeholders. Content analysis of the interview was done using Atlas. It is a nine qualitative tool. The result suggested that all stakeholders are required to synergize in developing an uncertainty resilient business model. It was opined that the RE entrepreneurs need modifications in the business recommendations encapsulated in the energy policy in Nigeria to strengthen their capability in delivering solar energy solutions to the yawning Nigerians.

Keywords: uncertainties, entrepreneurial, business model, solar-panel

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Authors: Mikail Altan

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International trust takes first place in the development of foreign trade in the country. They see an important role in ensuring that trust. Various payment methods that are developed in the banking system provide fast and reliable way to execution and promote foreign trade by financing the foreign trade. In this study, we investigate the influence of bank on foreign trade in Turkey. 26 years of data for 1990-2015 period have been used in this study. After correlation analysis, a simple regression model was established. Payment methods that are developed in the banking system make a positive contribution in Turkey’s foreign trade volume. In addition, the export of Turkey was affected positively more than import’s by these payment methods.

Keywords: banks, export, foreign trade, import

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Authors: Nakarin Prempri

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Single-phase induction motors are widely used in industry. Most manufacturing processes use capacitor-run single-phase induction motors to drive mechanical loads. The selection of a suitable motor for driving is important. The optimum operating range of the motor can help the motor operate efficiently. Thus, this paper presents an operating range analysis of capacitor-run single-phase induction motors and a determination of suitability between motor and mechanical loads. an observational study found that the optimum operating range of the motor can be used to determine the suitability between the motor and the mechanical load. Such considerations ensure that the motor uses no more current than necessary and operates efficiently.

Keywords: single phase induction motor, operating range, torque curve, efficiency curve

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Authors: Abdurahman Anwar Shfa

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Addis Ababa is among the fastest-growing urban areas in the country. There are many new constructions of public and private condominiums and large new low rising residential buildings for residents. But the wide range of heaving problems of expansive soil in the city become a major difficulty for the construction sector, especially in low rising buildings, by causing different problems such as distortion and cracking of floor slabs, cracks in grade beams, and walls, jammed or misaligned Doors and Windows; failure of blocks supporting grade beams. Hence an attractive and economical design solution may be required for such type of problem. Therefore, this research works to publicize a recent innovation called the Granular Anchor Pile system for the reduction of the heave effect of expansive soil. This research is written for the objective of numerical investigation of the behavior of Granular Anchor Pile under the heave using Finite element analysis PLAXIS 3D program by means of studying the effect of different parameters like length of the pile, diameter of pile, and pile group by applying prescribed displacement of 10% of pile diameter at the center of granular pile anchor. An additional objective is examining the suitability of Granular Anchor Pile as an alternative solution for heave problems in expansive soils mostly for low rising buildings found in Addis Ababa City, especially in Bole Sub-City, by considering different factors such as the local availability of construction materials, economy for the construction, installation process condition, environmental benefit, time consumption and performance of the pile. Accordingly, the performance of the pile improves when the length of the pile increases. This is due to an increase in the self-weight of the pile and friction mobilized between the pile and soil interface. Additionally, the uplift capacity of the pile decreases when increasing the pile diameter and spacing between the piles in the group due to a reduction in the number of piles in the group. But, few cases show that the uplift capacity of the pile increases with increasing the pile diameter for a constant number of piles in the group and increasing the spacing between the pile and in the case of single pile capacity. This is due to the increment of piles' self-weight and surface area of the pile group and also the decrement of stress overlap in the soil caused by piles respectively. According to the suitability analysis, it is observed that Granular Anchor Pile is sensible or practical to apply for the actual problem of Expansive soil in a low rising building constructed in the country because of its convenience for all considerations.

Keywords: expansive soil, granular anchor pile, PLAXIS, suitability analysis

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Authors: Humaira Irfan Khan

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The paper discusses that Pakistan is a multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic society. The findings from quantitative and qualitative data collected in two public universities look at the importance of English language and the role and status of national and regional languages in the country. The evidence implies that postgraduate students having diverse linguistic, cultural, ethnic, socio-economic, and educational backgrounds display negative attitudes towards the use of English language for academic and interactive functions in universities. It is also discovered that language anxiety of postgraduate students is an outcome of their language learning difficulties. It is suggested that considering the academic needs of students, universities should introduce a language proficiency course to enable them to use English with confidence.

Keywords: Multilingualism, Ethnicity, Cultural Diversity, Importance of English, National language, Regional languages, Language Anxiety

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Authors: Joseph Ippolito, David Megenhardt

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In the United States, displaced workers, the unemployed and those seeking to build additional work skills are provided employment training and job placement services through a system of One-Stop Career Centers that are sponsored by the country’s 593 local Workforce Boards. During the period 2010-2015, these centers served roughly 8 million individuals each year. The quality of services provided at these centers rests upon professional employment specialists who work closely with clients to identify their job interests, to connect them to appropriate training opportunities, to match them with needed supportive social services and to guide them to eventual employment. Despite the crucial role these Employment Specialists play, currently there are no broadly accepted standards that establish what these individuals are expected to do in the workplace, nor are there indicators to assess how well an individual performs these responsibilities. Education Development Center (EDC) and the United Labor Agency (ULA) have partnered to create a foundation upon which curriculum can be developed that addresses the skills, knowledge and behaviors that Employment Specialists must master in order to serve their clients effectively. EDC is a non-profit, education research and development organization that designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health and economic opportunity worldwide. ULA is the social action arm of organized labor in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. ULA currently operates One-Stop Career Centers in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This case study outlines efforts taken to create standards that define the work of Employment Specialists and to establish indicators that can guide assessment of work performance. The methodology involved in the study has engaged a panel of expert Employment Specialists in rigorous, structured dialogues that analyze and identify the characteristics that enable them to be effective in their jobs. It has also drawn upon and integrated reviews of the panel’s work by more than 100 other Employment Specialists across the country. The results of this process are two documents that provide resources for developing training curriculum for future Employment Specialists, namely: an occupational profile of an Employment Specialist that offers a detailed articulation of the skills, knowledge and behaviors that enable individuals to be successful at this job, and; a collection of performance based indicators, aligned to the profile, which illustrate what the work responsibilities of an Employment Specialist 'look like' a four levels of effectiveness ranging from novice to expert. The method of occupational analysis used by the study has application across a broad number of fields.

Keywords: assessment, employability, job standards, workforce development

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Authors: Waqar Un Nisa Faizi, Anila Fatima Shakil, Wilayat Bibi, Sajjad Hayat Akhtar

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This study will discuss the sustainable opportunities regarding educational facilities provided to the children of imprisoned women in the different jails of Pakistan particularly in Central Jail of Karachi. It will also discuss the importance of educational facilities which are required for the mental and personal growth of the children as education has the capability to enhance the general knowledge and the personality of any individual. Education is extremely important for the children whether they live in a society or in prison, because they are the future of any country. Therefore, the point of discussion in this paper will be the provision of educational facilities and sustainable opportunities regarding these facilities to the children of imprisoned women in Karachi and other countries of the world.

Keywords: imprisoned, educational facilities, criminal activities, positive atmosphere

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Authors: Mehdi Modabberifar, Behrouz Raad, Bahman Mirzakhani

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Flanges are widely used for connecting valves, pipes and other industrial devices such as gearboxes. Method of producing a flange has a considerable impact on the manner of their involvement with the industrial engines and gearboxes. By Using die casting instead of sand casting and machining for manufacturing flanges, production speed and dimensional accuracy of the parts increases. Also, in die casting, obtained dimensions are close to final dimensions and hence the need for machining flanges after die casting process decreases which makes a significant savings in raw materials and improves the mechanical properties of flanges. In this paper, a typical die of an industrial helical gearbox flange (size ISO 50) was designed and die casting process for producing this type of flange was simulated using ProCAST software. The results of simulation were used for optimizing die design. Finally, using the results of the analysis, optimized die was built.

Keywords: die casting, finite element, flange, helical gearbox

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Authors: Manisha Singh, Padam Simkhada

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Background: Although mental health policy has been adapted in Nepal since 1997, the implementation of the policy framework is yet to happen. The fact that mental health services are largely concentrated in urban areas more specific to treatment only provides a clear picture of the scarcity of mental health services in the country. The shreds of evidence from around the world, along with WHO’s (World Health Organization) Mental Health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) suggest that effective mental health services can be provided from Primary Health Care (PHC) centers through community-based programs without having to place a specialized health worker. However, the country is still facing the same challenges to date with very few psychiatrists and psychologists, but they are largely based in cities. Objectives: The main objectives of this study are; (a) to understand the perception of health workers at PHC on maternal mental health, and (b) to assess the availability of the mental health services at PHC to address maternal mental health. Methods: This study used a qualitative approach where an in-depth interview was conducted with the health workers at the primary level. “Mayadevi” rural municipality in Rupendehi District that comprised of 13 small villages, was chosen as the study site. A total 8 health institutions which covered all 13 sites were included where either the health post in- charge or health worker working in maternal and child health care was interviewed for the study. All the health posts in the study area were included in the study. The interviews were conducted in Nepali; later, they were translated in English, transcribed, and triangulated. NViVO was used for the analysis. Results: The findings show that most of the health workers understood what maternal mental health was and deemed it as a public health issue. They could explain the symptoms and knew what medication to prescribe if need be. However, the majority of them failed to name the screening tools in place for maternal mental health. Moreover, they hadn’t even seen one. None of the health care centers had any provision for screening mental health status. However, one of the centers prescribed medication when the patients displayed symptoms of depression. But they believed there were a significant number of hidden cases in the community due to the stigma around mental health and being a woman with mental health problem makes the situation even difficult. Nonetheless, the health workers understood the importance of having screening tools and acknowledged the need of training and support in order to provide the services from PHC. Conclusion: Community health workers can identify cases with mental health problems and prevent them from deteriorating further. But there is a need for robust training and support to build the capacity of the health workers. The screening tools on mental health needs to be encouraged to be used in the PHC levels. Furthermore, community-based culture-sensitive programs need to be initiated and implemented to mitigate the stigma related issues around mental health.

Keywords: maternal mental health, health care providers, screening, Nepal

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Authors: Shiksha Thakur, Rashmi Jain

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Maternal health is the most crucial element in the primary health care delivery system of any healthy society. We aware that the maternal health situation in India has been a cause of concern for us, in spite of the rapidly progressing socio-economic environment overall. India has realized impressive gains in Mother & Child survival over the last two decades. MMR as per 2012-2013 in India is 167 as per MMR bulletin, though there are variations between states in the Country. In 2013, an estimated 2,89,000 women worldwide died from complications arising from pregnancy & childbirth. In view of the above facts, a study was conducted in Indore to analyse the maternal health status among urban slums and non-slums women.

Keywords: antenatal care, postnatal care, JSY, maternal health, child health, reproductive health

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Authors: Wheyming Song, Hung-Hsiang Lin, Scott Lian

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In this research, we investigate the optimal dispatching rule for machines and manpower allocation in the solar ingot-wafer systems. The performance of the method is measured by the sales profit for each dollar paid to the operators in a one week at steady-state. The decision variables are identification-number of machines and operators when each job is required to be served in each process. We propose a rule which is a function of operator’s ability, corresponding salary, and standing location while in the factory. The rule is named ‘Multi-nominal distribution dispatch rule’. The proposed rule performs better than many traditional rules including generic algorithm and particle swarm optimization. Simulation results show that the proposed Multi-nominal distribution dispatch rule improvement on the sales profit dramatically.

Keywords: dispatching, solar ingot, simulation, flexsim

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Authors: Liliana Crăc, Nicolae Giorgi, Gheorghe Fometescu, Mihai Cruceru

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Power plants represent the main source of air pollution, through combustion processes, both by releasing large amounts of dust, greenhouse gases and acidifying, and large quantities of waste, slag and ash disposed in landfills covering significant areas. SC Turceni S.A. is one of the largest power generating unit from Romania. Their policy is focused on the production and delivery of electricity in order to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the environmental impact. The paper presents environmental impact produced by slag and ash storage, while pointing out that the recovery of this waste significant improves the air quality in the area. An important aspect is the proprieties of the ash and slag evacuated by Turceni power plant in order to use them for building materials manufacturing.

Keywords: ash and slag properties, air pollution, building materials industry, power plants

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Authors: G. Erkomaishvili

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This paper discusses small entrepreneurship development strategy in Georgia and the tools and regulations that will encourage development of small entrepreneurship. The current situation in the small entrepreneurship sector, as well as factors affecting growth and decline in the sector and the priorities of state support, are studied and analyzed. The objective of this research is to assess the current situation of the sector to highlight opportunities and reveal the gaps. State support of small entrepreneurship should become a key priority in the country’s economic policy, as development of the sector will ensure social, economic and political stability. Based on the research, a small entrepreneurship development strategy is presented; corresponding conclusions are made and recommendations are developed.

Keywords: economic policy for small entrepreneurship development, small entrepreneurship, regulations, small entrepreneurship development strategy

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Authors: Mokhtar Nikgoo

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Civil engineering is one of the disciplines that shows the application of science in creating construction and civil engineering. That is, everything that returns to the population of a country, such as dams, airports, roads, bridges, towers, tunnels, telecommunication towers, buildings resistant to earthquakes, floods and fires, power plants and light, cheap and quality materials for construction. And the construction is included in the scope of work of the civil engineer. Civil engineering covers a wide range of tasks. That is, for the construction of buildings, bridges, towers, tunnels, roads, silos, or sewage networks, an efficient civil engineer is needed at the beginning, in addition to complying with the technical and operational aspects, he also works economically. Because being economical is a principle in civil engineering. Is. This field at the undergraduate level has three majors: civil-building, civil-mapping and civil-water.

Keywords: civil engineering, construction, surveying, mapping, pile

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Authors: M. Tammaro, S. Manzo, J. Rimauro, A. Salluzzo, S. Schiavo

Abstract:

The solar photovoltaic (PV) modules are considered to have a negligible environmental impact compared to the fossil energy. Therefore also the waste management and the corresponding potential environmental hazard needs to be considered. The case of the photovoltaic panel is unique because the time lag from the manufacturing to the decommissioning as waste usually takes 25-30 years. Then the environmental hazard associated with end life of PV panels has been largely related to their metal contents. The principal concern regards the presence of heavy metals as Cd in thin film (TF) modules or Pb and Cr in crystalline silicon (c-Si) panels. At the end of life of PV panels, these dangerous substances could be released in the environment, if special requirements for their disposal are not adopted. Nevertheless, in literature, only a few experimental study about metal emissions from silicon crystalline/thin film panels and the corresponding environmental effect are present. As part of a study funded by the Italian national consortium for the waste collection and recycling (COBAT), the present work was aimed to analyze experimentally the potential release into the environment of hazardous elements, particularly metals, from PV waste. In this paper, for the first time, eighteen releasable metals a large number of photovoltaic panels, by c-Si and TF, manufactured in the last 30 years, together with the environmental effects by a battery of ecotoxicological tests, were investigated. Leaching tests are conducted on the crushed samples of PV module. The test is conducted according to Italian and European Standard procedure for hazard assessment of the granular waste and of the sludge. The sample material is shaken for 24 hours in HDPE bottles with an overhead mixer Rotax 6.8 VELP at indoor temperature and using pure water (18 MΩ resistivity) as leaching solution. The liquid-to-solid ratio was 10 (L/S=10, i.e. 10 liters of water per kg of solid). The ecotoxicological tests were performed in the subsequent 24 hours. A battery of toxicity test with bacteria (Vibrio fisheri), algae (Pseudochirneriella subcapitata) and crustacea (Daphnia magna) was carried out on PV panel leachates obtained as previously described and immediately stored in dark and at 4°C until testing (in the next 24 hours). For understand the actual pollution load, a comparison with the current European and Italian benchmark limits was performed. The trend of leachable metal amount from panels in relation to manufacturing years was then highlighted in order to assess the environmental sustainability of PV technology over time. The experimental results were very heterogeneous and show that the photovoltaic panels could represent an environmental hazard. The experimental results showed that the amounts of some hazardous metals (Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni), for c-Si and TF, exceed the law limits and they are a clear indication of the potential environmental risk of photovoltaic panels "as a waste" without a proper management.

Keywords: photovoltaic panel, environment, ecotoxicity, metals emission

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Laurent Maurin, Mervi Toivanen

Abstract:

This paper estimates euro area banks’ internal target capital ratios and investigates whether banks’ adjustment to the targets have an impact on credit supply and holding of securities during the financial crisis in 2005-2011. Using data on listed banks and country-specific macro-variables a partial adjustment model is estimated in a panel context. The results indicate, firstly, that an increase in the riskiness of banks’ balance sheets influences positively on the target capital ratios. Secondly, the adjustment towards higher equilibrium capital ratios has a significant impact on banks’ assets. The impact is found to be more size-able on security holdings than on loans, thereby suggesting a pecking order.

Keywords: Euro area, capital ratios, credit supply, partial adjustment model

Procedia PDF Downloads 450

Authors: John Christian Lequiron, Gerry Bagtasa, Olivia Cabrera, Leoncio Amadore, Tolentino Moya

Abstract:

Changes in air surface temperature play an important role in the Philippine’s economy, industry, health, and food production. While increasing global mean temperature in the recent several decades has prompted a number of climate change and variability studies in the Philippines, most studies still focus on rainfall and tropical cyclones. This study aims to investigate the trend and variability of observed air surface temperature and determine its major influencing factor/s in the Philippines. A non-parametric Mann-Kendall trend test was applied to monthly mean temperature of 17 synoptic stations covering 56 years from 1960 to 2015 and a mean change of 0.58 °C or a positive trend of 0.0105 °C/year (p < 0.05) was found. In addition, wavelet decomposition was used to determine the frequency of temperature variability show a 12-month, 30-80-month and more than 120-month cycles. This indicates strong annual variations, interannual variations that coincide with ENSO events, and interdecadal variations that are attributed to PDO and CO2 concentrations. Air surface temperature was also correlated with smoothed sunspot number and galactic cosmic rays, the results show a low to no effect. The influence of ENSO teleconnection on temperature, wind pattern, cloud cover, and outgoing longwave radiation on different ENSO phases had significant effects on regional temperature variability. Particularly, an anomalous anticyclonic (cyclonic) flow east of the Philippines during the peak and decay phase of El Niño (La Niña) events leads to the advection of warm southeasterly (cold northeasterly) air mass over the country. Furthermore, an apparent increasing cloud cover trend is observed over the West Philippine Sea including portions of the Philippines, and this is believed to lessen the effect of the increasing air surface temperature. However, relative humidity was also found to be increasing especially on the central part of the country, which results in a high positive trend of heat index, exacerbating the effects on human discomfort. Finally, an assessment of gridded temperature datasets was done to look at the viability of using three high-resolution datasets in future climate analysis and model calibration and verification. Several error statistics (i.e. Pearson correlation, Bias, MAE, and RMSE) were used for this validation. Results show that gridded temperature datasets generally follows the observed surface temperature change and anomalies. In addition, it is more representative of regional temperature rather than a substitute to station-observed air temperature.

Keywords: air surface temperature, carbon dioxide, ENSO, galactic cosmic rays, smoothed sunspot number

Procedia PDF Downloads 328