Search results for: growth dynamics

Authors: M. Tarafdar Haque, A.M. Kashtiban

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The electric power industry is currently undergoing an unprecedented reform. One of the most exciting and potentially profitable recent developments is increasing usage of artificial intelligence techniques. The intention of this paper is to give an overview of using neural network (NN) techniques in power systems. According to the growth rate of NNs application in some power system subjects, this paper introduce a brief overview in fault diagnosis, security assessment, load forecasting, economic dispatch and harmonic analyzing. Advantages and disadvantages of using NNs in above mentioned subjects and the main challenges in these fields have been explained, too.

Keywords: Neural network, power system, security assessment, fault diagnosis, load forecasting, economic dispatch, harmonic analyzing.

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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: Yongkui Cui, Fengping Wang, Hailai Zhao, Muhammad Zubair Iqbal, Ziya Wang, Yan Li, Pengpeng L. V.

Abstract:

The novel 3D SnO cabbages self-assembled by nanosheets were successfully synthesized via template-free hydrothermal growth method under facile conditions. The XRD results manifest that the as-prepared SnO is tetragonal phase. The TEM and HRTEM results show that the cabbage nanosheets are polycrystalline structure consisted of considerable single-crystalline nanoparticles. Two typical Raman modes A1g=210 and Eg=112 cm-1 of SnO are observed by Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, galvanostatic cycling tests has been performed using the SnO cabbages as anode material of lithium ion battery and the electrochemical results suggest that the synthesized SnO cabbage structures are a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries.

Keywords: Hydrothermal process, lithium ion battery, Raman spectroscopy, stannous oxide.

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Authors: A. M. Wahab, E. Rustighi

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Elastomeric dielectric material has recently become a new alternative for actuator technology. The characteristics of dielectric elastomers placed between two electrodes to withstand large strain when electrodes are charged has attracted the attention of many researcher to study this material for actuator technology. Thus, in the past few years Danfoss Ventures A/S has established their own dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP), which was called PolyPower. The main objective of this work was to investigate the dynamic characteristics for vibration control of a PolyPower actuator folded in ‘pull’ configuration. A range of experiments was carried out on the folded actuator including passive (without electrical load) and active (with electrical load) testing. For both categories static and dynamic testing have been done to determine the behavior of folded DEAP actuator. Voltage-Strain experiments show that the DEAP folded actuator is a non-linear system. It is also shown that the voltage supplied has no effect on the natural frequency. Finally, varying AC voltage with different amplitude and frequency shows the parameters that influence the performance of DEAP folded actuator. As a result, the actuator performance dominated by the frequency dependence of the elastic response and was less influenced by dielectric properties.

Keywords: Dielectric Electro-active Polymer, Pull Actuator, Static, Dynamic, Electromechanical.

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Authors: Khalid Hassan Abdesamed, Kalsom Abd Wahab

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Economic development and growth are significantly linked to the consistent and sustainable sector of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Banks are the frontrunners in financing and advising SMEs. The main objective of the study is to assess the tendency of SMEs to use the Islamic bank. Model was developed using quantitative method with a hypothetical-deductive testing approach. Model (N = 364) used primary data on the tendency of SMEs to use Islamic banks gathered from questionnaire. It is found by Mann-Whitney test that the tendency to use Islamic bank varies between those firms which consider formal financing with the ones relying on informal financing with the latter tends more to use Islamic bank. This study can serve academic researchers, policy makers, and developing countries as a model of SMEs’ desirability to Islamic banking.

Keywords: Formal financing, informal financing, Islamic bank, SMEs.

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Authors: Raza Abdulla Saeed

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In this study, the three-dimensional cavitating turbulent flow in a complete Francis turbine is simulated using mixture model for cavity/liquid two-phase flows. Numerical analysis is carried out using ANSYS CFX software release 12, and standard k-ε turbulence model is adopted for this analysis. The computational fluid domain consist of spiral casing, stay vanes, guide vanes, runner and draft tube. The computational domain is discretized with a threedimensional mesh system of unstructured tetrahedron mesh. The finite volume method (FVM) is used to solve the governing equations of the mixture model. Results of cavitation on the runner’s blades under three different boundary conditions are presented and discussed. From the numerical results it has been found that the numerical method was successfully applied to simulate the cavitating two-phase turbulent flow through a Francis turbine, and also cavitation is clearly predicted in the form of water vapor formation inside the turbine. By comparison the numerical prediction results with a real runner; it’s shown that the region of higher volume fraction obtained by simulation is consistent with the region of runner cavitation damage.

Keywords: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Hydraulic Francis Turbine, Numerical Simulation, Two-Phase Mixture Cavitation Model.

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Authors: Abir S. Al-Harrasi, Eyad B. Al-Zadjali, Zahran S. Al-Salti

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Entrepreneurship has captured the attention of policy-makers, educators and researchers in the last few decades. It has been regarded as a main driver for economic growth, development and employment generation in many countries worldwide. However, scholars have not agreed on the key factors that impact entrepreneurial intention.  This study attempts, through an extensive literature review, to provide a holistic view and a more comprehensive understanding of the key factors that lead university undergraduate students to become entrepreneurs. A systematic literature review is conducted and several scientific articles and reports have been examined. The results of this study indicate that there are four main sets of factors: the personality-traits factors, contextual factors, motivational factors, and personal background factors. This research will serve as a base for future studies and will have valuable implications for policy makers and educators.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Intention.

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Authors: Vujica Lazovic, Tamara Djurickovic

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Creation of information society, or in other words, a society based on knowledge, has wide consequences, both on individual and complete society, and in general – on a economy of one country. Development and implementation of ICT represents a stimulant for economic growth. On individual level, knowledge, skills and information gathered using ICT, are expanding individual possibilities of persons, enabling them to have access to timely sensitive information, such as market prices or investment conditions, possibilities to access Government-s or private development funds, etc. By doing so, productivity is increased both on individual and national level and therefore social wellbeing in general. In one word, creation of information society - a knowledge society is happening. This work will describe challenges and strategies that will follow the development as well as obstacles in creating information society – knowledge society in Montenegro.

Keywords: eDevelopment, eTransformation, informationsociety, knowledge economy

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Authors: Sze Wai Veera Fung, Peter W. Ferretto

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Similar to most ethnic groups in China, men of the Dong minority hold the primary position in policymaking, moral authority, social values, and the control of the property. As the spatial embodiment of the patriarchal ideals, the house plays a significant role in producing and reproducing the distinctive gender status within the Dong society. Nevertheless, Dong women do not see their home as a cage of confinement, nor do they see themselves as a victim of oppression. For these women with reference to their productive identity, a house is a dwelling place with manifold meanings, including a proof of identity, an economic instrument, and a public resource operating on the community level. This paper examines the role of the house as a central site for identity construction and maintenance for the southern dialect Dong minority women in Hunan, China. Drawing on recent interviews with the Dong women, this study argues that women as productive individuals have a strong influence on the form of their house and the immediate environment, regardless of the male-dominated social construct of the Dong society. The aim of this study is not to produce a definitive relationship between women, house, and identity. Rather, it seeks to offer an alternative lens into the complexity and diversity of gender dynamics operating in and beyond the boundary of the house in the context of contemporary rural China.

Keywords: Conception of home, Dong minority, house, rural China, woman’s identity.

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Authors: Azam Bayat, Aref Khalkhali, Ali Reza Mahjoub

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In this research, a type of drug supplement was synthesized by a green route. This organic biomaterial was named Nutrition Bio-Shield Superfood (NBS). Due to the destructive effects of various infectious diseases, their increasing prevalence and the lack of appropriate medication for treatment, the present study aimed to evaluate antimicrobial properties of the NBS dietary supplement. In the study of the simple effect of concentrations on the inhibitory diameter of the growth of the common bacteria involved in infectious diseases of the human body, the highest diameter of the halo was related to the concentration of 100 mg/ml and the least of them was the concentration of 12.5 mg/ml dietary supplement. In general, the NBS drug supplement increases the level of immunity in human body.

Keywords: Drug supplement, biomaterial, antimicrobial, human body.

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Authors: R. Sudhesh Solomon, P. Y. K. L. Srinivas, Abhay Narayan, Amitava Das

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Users in social networks either unicast or broadcast their messages. At mention is the popular way of unicasting for Twitter whereas general tweeting could be considered as broadcasting method. Understanding the information flow and dynamics within a Social Network and modeling the same is a promising and an open research area called Information Diffusion. This paper seeks an answer to a fundamental question - understanding if the at-mention network or the unicasting pattern in social media is purely random in nature or is there any user specific selectional preference? To answer the question we present an empirical analysis to understand the sociological aspects of Twitter mentions network within a social network community. To understand the sociological behavior we analyze the values (Schwartz model: Achievement, Benevolence, Conformity, Hedonism, Power, Security, Self-Direction, Stimulation, Traditional and Universalism) of all the users. Empirical results suggest that values traits are indeed salient cue to understand how the mention-based communication network functions. For example, we notice that individuals possessing similar values unicast among themselves more often than with other value type people. We also observe that traditional and self-directed people do not maintain very close relationship in the network with the people of different values traits.

Keywords: Social network analysis, information diffusion, personality and values, Twitter Mentions Network.

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Authors: B. Singh, A. Singh, R. C. Yadav

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Utmost care of human related issues are essentially required for sustainable growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) of India, as these MSMEs are contributing enormously to socio-economic development of country. In this research, aspects related to human factors and functioning of MSMEs of India were studied. The investigation, based on a survey of 84 MSMEs of India cited that the enterprises are mostly employing unskilled labor whose wages are less with poor training. In spite of reported minor accidents, attention towards safety is poorly paid. To meet-out the production target, MSMEs generally employ over-time and payment towards this overtime is sometimes missing. Hence, honest and humanitarian attention for better human resources is needed to improve the performance and competitiveness of MSMEs of India.

Keywords: Human factors, Small and medium enterprises, Working culture.

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Authors: Zarita Zainuddin, Kumatha Thinakaran, Mohammed Shuaib

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In today-s modern world, the number of vehicles is increasing on the road. This causes more people to choose walking instead of traveling using vehicles. Thus, proper planning of pedestrians- paths is important to ensure the safety of pedestrians in a walking area. Crowd dynamics study the pedestrians- behavior and modeling pedestrians- movement to ensure safety in their walking paths. To date, many models have been designed to ease pedestrians- movement. The Social Force Model is widely used among researchers as it is simpler and provides better simulation results. We will discuss the problem regarding the ritual of circumambulating the Ka-aba (Tawaf) where the entrances to this area are usually congested which worsens during the Hajj season. We will use the computer simulation model SimWalk which is based on the Social Force Model to simulate the movement of pilgrims in the Tawaf area. We will first discuss the effect of uni and bi-directional flows at the gates. We will then restrict certain gates to the area as the entrances only and others as exits only. From the simulations, we will study the effect of the distance of other entrances from the beginning line and their effects on the duration of pilgrims circumambulate Ka-aba. We will distribute the pilgrims at the different entrances evenly so that the congestion at the entrances can be reduced. We would also discuss the various locations and designs of barriers at the exits and its effect on the time taken for the pilgrims to exit the Tawaf area.

Keywords: circumambulation, Ka'aba, pedestrian flow, SFM, Tawaf , entrance, exit

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Authors: A. Tavangari, N. Salehzadeh

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In the crack growth analysis, the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) is a fundamental prerequisite. In the present study, the mode I stress intensity factor (SIF) of three-dimensional penny- Shaped crack is obtained in an isotropic elastic cylindrical medium with arbitrary dimensions under arbitrary loading at the top of the cylinder, by the semi-analytical method based on the Rayleigh-Ritz method. This method that is based on minimizing the potential energy amount of the whole of the system, gives a very close results to the previous studies. Defining the displacements (elastic fields) by hypothetical functions in a defined coordinate system is the base of this research. So for creating the singularity conditions at the tip of the crack the appropriate terms should be found.

Keywords: Penny-shaped crack, Stress intensity factor, Fracture mechanics, Ritz method.

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Authors: Faten A. Khorshid

Abstract:

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in the world among women. Many therapies have been designed to treat this disease. Mamectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are still the main therapies of breast cancer. However, the results were unsatisfactory and still far from the ideal treatment. PM 701is a natural product, has anticancer activity. The bioactive fraction PMF and subfraction PMFK had been isolated from PM701. PM 701 and its fractions were proved to have a cytotoxic properties against different cancer cell lines. This article is directed for the further examination of lyophilized PM701 and its active fractions on the growth of breast cancer cells (MCF-7). PM 701, PMF or PMFK were adding to the cultural medium, where MCF-7 is incubated. PM 701, PMF or PMFK were able to inhibit significantly the proliferation of MCF-7 cells, Moreover these new agents were proved to induce apoptosis of the breast cancer cells; through its direct effect on the nuclei.

Keywords: Anticancer agent, breast carcinoma, MCF-7 cell line, PM 701

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Authors: Dimitrios N. Gkritzapis, Elias E. Panagiotopoulos, Dionissios P. Margaris, Dimitrios G. Papanikas

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A full six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) flight dynamics model is proposed for the accurate prediction of short and long-range trajectories of high spin and fin-stabilized projectiles via atmospheric flight to final impact point. The projectiles is assumed to be both rigid (non-flexible), and rotationally symmetric about its spin axis launched at low and high pitch angles. The mathematical model is based on the full equations of motion set up in the no-roll body reference frame and is integrated numerically from given initial conditions at the firing site. The projectiles maneuvering motion depends on the most significant force and moment variations, in addition to wind and gravity. The computational flight analysis takes into consideration the Mach number and total angle of attack effects by means of the variable aerodynamic coefficients. For the purposes of the present work, linear interpolation has been applied from the tabulated database of McCoy-s book. The developed computational method gives satisfactory agreement with published data of verified experiments and computational codes on atmospheric projectile trajectory analysis for various initial firing flight conditions.

Keywords: Constant-Variable aerodynamic coefficients, low and high pitch angles, wind.

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Authors: Shanshan Qi, Rob Law, Dimitrios Buhalis

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The fast technology and economic growth in China has attracted global attention in its tourism development. This study makes an effort on investigating China-s online tourism market and the Chinese online travelers- perceptions of hotel websites. The findings are expected to better understand Chinese customers- online preference and identified the differences among online travelers from different regions in the country. Empirical findings showed online reservation information is the most important factor to Chinese customers, and tourists from different regions of China have perception difference on user-friendly factor. The findings benefit hoteliers from understanding their websites development and formulating more appropriate online strategies to meet the requirements of Chinese travelers.

Keywords: Chinese online travelers, Hotel websites, Regions of China, Website usefulness

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Authors: Hamed Qahri Saremi, Gholam Ali Montazer

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With the proliferation of World Wide Web, development of web-based technologies and the growth in web content, the structure of a website becomes more complex and web navigation becomes a critical issue to both web designers and users. In this paper we define the content and web pages as two important and influential factors in website navigation and paraphrase the enhancement in the website navigation as making some useful changes in the link structure of the website based on the aforementioned factors. Then we suggest a new method for proposing the changes using fuzzy approach to optimize the website architecture. Applying the proposed method to a real case of Iranian Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) website, we discuss the results of the novel approach at the final section.

Keywords: Web content, Web navigation, Website system, Webusage mining.

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Authors: Muthatakul Metasit, Setthasakko Watchaneeporn

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At present, increased concerns about global environmental problems have magnified the importance of sustainability management. To move towards sustainability, companies need to look at everything from a holistic perspective in order to understand the interconnections between economic growth and environmental and social sustainability. This paper aims to gain an understanding of key determinants that drive sustainability management and barriers that hinder its development. It employs semi-structured interviews with key informants, site observation and documentation. The informants are production, marketing and environmental managers of the leading wine producer, which aims to become an Asia-s leader in wine & wine based products. It is found that corporate image and top management leadership are the primary factors influencing the adoption of sustainability management. Lack of environmental knowledge and inefficient communication are identified as barriers.

Keywords: Environmental, knowledge; Sustainability management; Top management leadership; Wine industry

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Authors: M. Chomczyńska

Abstract:

The studies concerned an effect of six variants of ion exchange substrate (nutrient carriers with a different potential impact on pH of soil solution) on vegetation of orchard grass during two different periods (42 and 84 days). In the pot experiment plants were grown on sand (model of degraded soil) and six mixtures of sand and 2% (v/v) additions of particular variants of ion exchange substrate (with pH ranged from 5.5 to 8.0). The study results showed that the addition of the substrate at pH=6.5 caused the highest increase in plant yield after shorter vegetation period whereas the addition of the substrate at pH=5.5 increased dry stem and root biomass of orchard grass after longer vegetation period. Thus, the ion exchange substrate at pH=6.5 can be recommended for restoration of exhausted soils when shorter vegetation period is planned; the ion exchange substrate at pH=5.5 can be used for the same purpose when longer periods of vegetative growth are considered.

Keywords: ion exchanger, ion exchange substrate, soilrestoration

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Authors: Jong-won Lee

Abstract:

Since Cloud environment has appeared as the most powerful keyword in the computing industry, the growth in VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) became remarkable in domestic market. In recent years, with the trend that mobile devices such as smartphones and pads spread so rapidly, the strengths of VDI that allows people to access and perform business on the move along with companies' office needs expedite more rapid spread of VDI. In this paper, mobile OTP (One-Time Password) authentication method is proposed to secure mobile device portability through rapid and secure authentication using mobile devices such as mobile phones or pads, which does not require additional purchase or possession of OTP tokens of users. To facilitate diverse and wide use of Services in the future, service should be continuous and stable, and above all, security should be considered the most important to meet advanced portability and user accessibility, the strengths of VDI.

Keywords: Cloud, VDI, OTP, Mobility

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Authors: Andrzej Przemyslaw Kusnierczak

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Advances in technology (e.g. the internet, telecommunication) and political changes (fewer trade barriers and an enlarged European Union, ASEAN, NAFTA and other organizations) have led to develop international competition and expand into new markets. Companies in Thailand, Asia and around the globe are increasingly being pressured on price and for faster time to enter the market. At the same time, new markets are appearing and many companies are looking for changes and shifts in their domestic markets. These factors have enabled the rapid growth for companies and globalizing many different business activities during the product development process from research and development (R&D) to production. This research will show and clarify methods how to develop global product. Also, it will show how important is a global product impact into Thai Economy development.

Keywords: Development, global, management, product.

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Authors: Khosro Mohammadi

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Fertilization plays an important role in crop growth and soil improvement. This study was conducted to determine the best fertilization system for wheat production. Experiments were arranged in a complete block design with three replications in two years. Main plots consisted of six methods of fertilization including (N1): farmyard manure; (N2): compost; (N3): chemical fertilizers; (N4): farmyard manure + compost; (N5): farmyard manure + compost + chemical fertilizers and (N6): control were arranged in sub plots. The addition of compost or farm yard manure significantly increased the soil microbial biomass carbon in comparison to the chemical fertilizer. The dehydrogenase, phosphatase and urease activities in the N3 treatment were significantly lower than in the farm yard manure and compost treatments.

Keywords: Enzyme activity, fertilization, microbial biomasscarbon, wheat.

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Authors: Mykola S. Shestavin

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A strategy for the creation of a Virtual Interactive Platform (or Networking Platform) to combine the four web-baseness of expert systems on the transfer and diffusion of low-carbon technologies. It used the concept of “Open Innovation” and “Triple Helix” with regard to theories of “Green Growth” and “Carbon Footprint”. Interpreters expert systems operate on the basis of models of the “Predator-Prey” for the process of transfer and diffusion of technologies, taking into account the features caused by the need to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Keywords: Climate Change, Expert Systems, Low-Carbon Technology, Open Innovation, Virtual Interactive Platform.

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Authors: O. Babalola Oladapo, A. Igbatayo Samuel

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Climate change and poverty are global issues which cannot be waved aside in welfare of the ever increasing population. The causes / consequences are far more elaborate in developing countries, including Nigeria, which poses threats to the existence of man and his environment. The dominant role of agriculture makes it obvious that even minor climate deteriorations can cause devastating socio-economic consequences. Policies to curb the climate change by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels like oil, gas or carbon compounds have significant economical impacts on the producers/suppliers of these fuels. Thus a unified political narrative that advances both agendas is needed, because their components of an environmental coin that needs to be addressed. The developed world should maintain a low-carbon growth & real commitment of 0.7% of gross national income, as aid to developing countries & renewable energy approach should be emphasized, hence global poverty combated.

Keywords: Climate Change, Greenhouse gases, Nigeria, Poverty.

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Authors: Miguel Amado, João Freitas, Eveline Rodrigues, Rosario Ribeiro

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The United Nations has defined the inclusive community as “…promoting growth with equity, a place where everyone, regardless of their economic means, gender, race, ethnicity or religion, is enabled and empowered to fully participate in the social, economic and political opportunities that cities have to offer”. In this paper, the concept of walkability is viewed as an important tool towards the planning and future development of more inclusive communities. Walking is the cheapest and cleanest mode of travel available to all providing large benefits to both health and local economic development. To demonstrate the validity of this strategy a set of parameters, selected from existing research, were measure, compared and discussed in the existing and proposed scenarios of a Portuguese small town using GIS software.

Keywords: GIS, Inclusiveness, Planning, Sustainability, Walkability.

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Authors: Andrew Chimpololo

Abstract:

Open and distance learning is a fairly new concept in Malawi. The major public provider, the Malawi College of Distance Education, rolled out its activities only about 40 years ago. Over the years, the demand for distance education has tremendously increased. The present government has displayed positive political will to uplift ODL as outlined in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy as well as the National Education Sector Plan. A growing national interest in education coupled with political stability and a booming ICT industry also raise hope for success. However, a fragile economy with a GNI per capita of -US$ 200 over the last decade, poor public funding, erratic power supply and lack of expertise put strain on efforts towards the promotion of ODL initiatives. Despite the challenges, the nation appears determined to go flat out and explore all possible avenues that could revolutionise education access and equity through ODL.

Keywords: challenges, distance education, Malawi, openlearning, prospects.

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Authors: M. Ezkurra, J. A. Esnaola, M. Martinez-Agirre, U. Etxeberria, U. Lertxundi, L. Colomo, M. Begiristain, I. Zurutuza

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Butterfly valves are widely used industrial piping components as on-off and flow controlling devices. The main challenge in the design process of this type of valves is the correct dimensioning to ensure proper mechanical performance as well as to minimise flow losses that affect the efficiency of the system. Butterfly valves are typically dimensioned in a closed position based on mechanical approaches considering uniform hydrostatic pressure, whereas the flow losses are analysed by means of CFD simulations. The main limitation of these approaches is that they do not consider either the influence of the dynamics of the manoeuvring stage or coupled phenomena. Recent works have included the influence of the flow on the mechanical behaviour for different opening angles by means of one-way FSI approach. However, these works consider steady-state flow for the selected angles, not capturing the effect of the transient flow evolution during the manoeuvring stage. Two-way FSI modelling approach could allow overcoming such limitations providing more accurate results. Nevertheless, the use of this technique is limited due to the increase in the computational cost. In the present work, the applicability of FSI one-way and two-way approaches is evaluated for the analysis of butterfly valves, showing that not considering fluid-structure coupling involves not capturing the most critical situation for the valve disc.

Keywords: Butterfly valves, fluid-structure interaction, one-way approach, two-way approach.

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Authors: J. Ramírez-Ortiz, J. Núñez Monreal

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Due to the growth of the urban area towards lands contaminated with ancient tails, in this work we evaluated if the leaching with calcium thiosulfate (CaS2O3) for the recovery of silver, gold and mercury from this soil, also dissolves arsenic, cadmium and lead; for this, we determined their quantity per each fraction of size of particle of the soil before and after the dissolution. Half of the soil samples were leached in the plant Beneficiadora de Jales del Centro, S. A. de C.V. and the rest of them remained in the laboratory. The ICP-OES technique was used to determine the amounts of arsenic, cadmium and lead, in the samples of both lots. The soil samples were collected in a neighboring area at El Lampotal, Vetagrande, Zacatecas, México, with an extension of 600 m2 at 22º52' 37.69'' N, 102º25' 11.73'' W. The amount of arsenic, cadmium and lead found in nonleached soil and for a particle size of 47 μm was 203.72±3.73, 33.63±1.31 and 3480.99±20.4 mg/kg respectively.

Keywords: Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Soil, Tails.

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Authors: S. Z. Sarwar, N. Ehsan , I, Mirza, J. L. Piracha, M. Azeem, A. Ishaque

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The public sector losses are the major cause of stagnant growth of Pakistan. Public sector automotive manufacturing industry is one of the major contributors of these losses. This research has been carried out in order to identify the major barriers of productivity of this industry and suggest measures for improvement. This qualitative and quantitative research consisted of informal interviews, discussions augmented by closed ended questionnaire. Three major manufacturing units were chosen for this research and responses from 103 employees were collected. It was found out in this research that numerous productivity flaws exist in the system which requires immediate attention. Besides highlighting flaws this research also suggests corrective actions and areas for future research to overcome these problems.

Keywords: Automotive manufacturing industry, barriers ofproductivity, Public sector losses.

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