Search results for: Positive Affect

Authors: Neves, L., Ferreira, V., Oliveira, R.

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Addition of an oily waste to a co-composting process of dairy cow manure with food waste, and the influence in the final product was evaluated. Three static composting piles with different substrates concentrations were assessed. Sawdust was also added to all composting piles to attain 60%, humidity at the beginning of the process. In pile 1, the co-substrates were the solid-phase of dairy cow manure, food waste and sawdust as bulking agent. In piles 2 and 3 there was an extra input of oily waste of 7 and 11% of the total volume, respectively, corresponding to 18 and 28% in dry weight. The results showed that the co-composting process was feasible even at the highest fat content. Another positive effect due to the oily waste addition was the requirement of extra humidity, due to the hydrophobic properties of this specific waste, which may imply reduced need of a bulking agent. Moreover, this study shows that composting can be a feasible way of adding value to fatty wastes. The three final composts presented very similar and suitable properties for land application.

Keywords: Cow manure, composting, food waste, lipids content.

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Authors: Alhamdi Alfi Fajri

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The purpose of this study is to analyze and to give empirical proof about the effect of fair value implementation on financial asset against information asymmetry in Indonesia’s banking sector. This research tested the effect of fair value implementation on financial asset based on Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (PSAK) No. 55 and the fair value reliability measurement based on PSAK No. 60 against level of information asymmetry. The scope of research is Indonesia’s banking sector. The test’s result shows that the use of fair value based on PSAK No. 55 is significantly associated with information asymmetry. This positive relation is higher than the amortized cost implementation on financial asset. In addition, the fair value hierarchy based on PSAK No. 60 is significantly associated with information asymmetry. This research proves that the more reliable measurement of fair value on financial asset, the more observable fair value measurement and reduces level of information asymmetry.

Keywords: Fair value, PSAK No. 55, PSAK No. 60, information asymmetry, banks.

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Authors: O. Soji-Omoniwa, N. O. Muhammad, L. A. Usman, B. P. Omoniwa

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This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the leaf essential oil of C. sinensis harvested at 7.00a.m and 4.00p.m on some Liver and Kidney function indices of diabetic rats as well as investigate the effect of time of harvest on the observed effect. Experimental animals were divided into 4 groups (A, B, C and D). Diabetes mellitus was induced in all animals, except the normal control group (Group A), by injecting 150mg/kg body weight of alloxan monohydrate intraperitoneally. Group A received distilled water while group B (diabetic control group) was not treated. Group C and D were treated with leaf essential oil of C. sinensis harvested at 7.00 a.m and 4.00p.m respectively at a dose of 110 mg/kg body weight every other day for 15 days. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate Transaminase (AST) activity was evaluated in the serum, Liver and Kidney of studied animals. Total and Direct Bilirubin level, Total Protein and Globulin, Creatinine and Urea level were also evaluated. Result showed that creatinine and urea, serum ALP, AST and ALT levels was significantly reduced (p < 0.05), while the levels of total Protein and Globulin increased significantly (p < 0.05) for the treated animals compared to the diabetic control group. In conclusion, the leaf essential oil of Citrus sinensis ameliorated the impaired renal and liver function; however, the time of harvest of the leaf does not significantly affect its ameliorative effect.

Keywords: C. sinensis, Function indices, Harvest time, Leaf essential oil.

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Authors: N.R.N. Idris

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This study uses simulated meta-analysis to assess the effects of publication bias on meta-analysis estimates and to evaluate the efficacy of the trim and fill method in adjusting for these biases. The estimated effect sizes and the standard error were evaluated in terms of the statistical bias and the coverage probability. The results demonstrate that if publication bias is not adjusted it could lead to up to 40% bias in the treatment effect estimates. Utilization of the trim and fill method could reduce the bias in the overall estimate by more than half. The method is optimum in presence of moderate underlying bias but has minimal effects in presence of low and severe publication bias. Additionally, the trim and fill method improves the coverage probability by more than half when subjected to the same level of publication bias as those of the unadjusted data. The method however tends to produce false positive results and will incorrectly adjust the data for publication bias up to 45 % of the time. Nonetheless, the bias introduced into the estimates due to this adjustment is minimal

Keywords: Publication bias, Trim and Fill method, percentage relative bias, coverage probability

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Authors: M. Bambulyakа

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Tolerance is a tool for achieving a social cohesion, particularly, among individuals and groups with different values. The aim is to study the characteristics of the ethnic tolerance, the inhabitants of Latvia. The ethnic tolerance is taught as a set of conscious and unconscious orientations of the individual in social interaction and inter-ethnic communication. It uses the tools of empirical studies of the ethnic tolerance which allows to identify the explicitly and implicitly levels of the emotional component of Latvia's residents. Explicit measurements were made using the techniques of self-report which revealed the index of the ethnic tolerance and the ethnic identity of the participants. The implicit component was studied using methods based on the effect of the emotional priming. During the processing of the results, there were calculated indicators of the positive and negative implicit attitudes towards members of their own and other ethnicity as well as the explicit parameters of the ethnic tolerance and the ethnic identity of Latvia-s residents. The implicit measurements of the ratio of neighboring ethnic groups against each other showed a mutual negative attitude whereas the explicit measurements indicate a neutral attitude. The data obtained contribute to a further study of the ethnic tolerance of Latvia's residents.

Keywords: ethnic tolerance, implicit measure, priming, ethnic attitudes

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Authors: C. Ardil

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This paper investigates the application of the determinate fuzzy preference programming method for a more nuanced and comprehensive evaluation of stealth aircraft. Traditional methods often struggle to incorporate subjective factors and uncertainties inherent in complex systems like stealth aircraft. Determinate fuzzy preference programming addresses this limitation by leveraging the strengths of determinate fuzzy sets. The proposed novel multiple criteria decision-making algorithm integrates these concepts to consider aspects and criteria influencing aircraft performance. This approach aims to provide a more holistic assessment by enabling decision-makers to observe positive and negative outranking flows simultaneously. By demonstrating the validity and effectiveness of this approach through a practical example of selecting a stealth aircraft, this paper aims to establish the determinate fuzzy preference programming method as a valuable tool for informed decision-making in this critical domain.

Keywords: Determinate fuzzy set, stealth aircraft selection, distance function, decision making, uncertainty, preference programming. MCDM

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Authors: Mohammad Saraj Sharifzai, Keisuke Kitagawa, Mohammad Kamil Halimee, Javid Habib, Daishi Sakaguchi

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The overall goal of this paper is to examine the suitability and potential of the policies addressing the sustainability and affordability of housing for returnees, and to determine the impact of this policy on housing delivery for Afghan refugees. Housing is a central component of the settlement experience of refugees. A positive housing situation can facilitate many aspects of integration. Unaffordable, and unsafe housing, however, can cause disruptions in the entire settlement process. This paper aims to identify a suite of built forms for housing that is both affordable and environmentally sustainable for Afghan refugees. The result was the development of a framework that enables the assessment of the overall performance of various types of housing development in all zones of the country. There is very little evidence that the present approach of housing provision to the vagaries of market forces has provided affordable housing, especially for Afghan refugees. There is a need to incorporate social housing into the policy to assist people who cannot afford to have their own houses.

Keywords: Afghan refugees, housing policy, affordability, social housing, housing provision, environmental sustainability principles, resettlement.

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Authors: Nurfirdawati Muhamad Hanafi, Azmanirah Ab Rahman, Marina Ibrahim Mukhtar, Jamil Ahmad, Sarebah Warman

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This study was conducted to generate empirical evidence on validity and reliability of the item of Competency Assessment Implementation (CAI) Instrument using Rasch Model for polythomous data aided by Winstep software version 3.68. The construct validity was examined by analyzing the point-measure correlation index (PTMEA), infit and outfit MNSQ values; meanwhile the reliability was examined by analyzing item reliability index. A survey technique was used as the major method with the CAI instrument on 156 teachers from vocational schools. The results have shown that the reliability of CAI Instrument items were between 0.80 and 0.98. PTMEA Correlation is in positive values, in which the item is able to distinguish between the ability of the respondent. Statistical data obtained show that out of 154 items, 12 items from the instrument suggested to be omitted. This study is hoped could bring a new direction to the process of data analysis in educational research.

Keywords: Competency Assessment, Reliability, Validity, Item Analysis.

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Authors: H. Naghawi, M. Abu Shattal, W. Idewu

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Side friction factors can be defined as all activities taking place at the side of the road and within the traffic stream, which would negatively affect the traffic stream performance. If the effect of these factors is adequately addressed and managed, traffic stream performance and capacity could be improved. The main objective of this paper is to identify and assess the impact of different side friction factors on traffic stream performance of a hypothesized urban arterial road. Hypothetical data were assumed mainly because there is no road operating under ideal conditions, with zero side friction, in the developing countries. This is important for the creation of the base model which is important for comparison purposes. For this purpose, three essential steps were employed. Step one, a hypothetical base model was developed under ideal traffic and geometric conditions. Step two, 18 hypothetical alternative scenarios were developed including side friction factors such as on-road parking, pedestrian movement, and the presence of trucks in the traffic stream. These scenarios were evaluated for one, two, and three lane configurations and under different traffic volumes ranging from low to high. Step three, the impact of side friction, of each scenario, on speed-flow models was evaluated using AIMSUN microscopic traffic simulation software. Generally, it was found that, a noticeable negative shift in the speed flow curves from the base conditions was observed for all scenarios. This indicates negative impact of the side friction factors on free flow speed and traffic stream average speed as well as on capacity.

Keywords: AIMSUN, parked vehicles, pedestrians, side friction, traffic performance, trucks.

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Authors: Simin Sadeghi-Saeb

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Metacognitive strategies consistently play important roles in reading comprehension. The metacognitive strategies involve the active monitoring and consequent regulation and orchestration of the cognitive processes in relation to the cognitive objects or data on which they bear. In this paper, the effect of instruction in using metacognitive strategies on reading academic materials, type of metacognitive strategies were mostly used by college university students before and after the instruction and the level they use those strategies before and after the instruction were studied. For these aims, 50 female college students were chosen. Then, they were divided randomly into two groups, experimental and control groups. At first session, students in both groups took the standard TOFEL exam. After the pre-test had been administered, the instruction began. After treatment, a post-test was taken. It is useful to state that after pre-test and post-test the same questionnaire was handed to the students of experimental group. The results of this research show that the instruction of metacognitive strategies has positive effect on the students' scores in reading comprehension tests. Furthermore, it showed that before and after the instruction, the students' usage of metacognitive strategies changed. Also, it demonstrated that the instruction affected the students' level of metacognitive strategies' usage.

Keywords: EFL students, English reading comprehension, instruction, metacognitive strategies.

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Authors: Hyeondal Jeong, Yoonjung Baek

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The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of diversity sensitive orientation on job satisfaction and turnover intention. Diversity sensitive orientation is the attitude of the individual to respect and accommodate diversity. This is focused on an individual’s perception of diversity. Although being made from the most diversity related research team and organizational level, this study deals with diversity issues at the individual level. To test the proposed research model and hypothesis, the data were collected from 291 Korean employees. The study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis for the validity test. Furthermore, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationship in the conceptual model. The results of this paper were as followings: First, diversity sensitive orientation was positively related to job satisfaction. Second, diversity sensitive orientation was negatively related to turnover intention. In other words, the positive influence of the diversity sensitive orientation has been verified. Based on the findings, this study suggested implications and directions for future research.

Keywords: Diversity sensitive orientation, job satisfaction, turnover intention, perception, cognition.

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Authors: Najib Ahmad Marzuki, Che Su Mustaffa, Johana Johari, Nur Hafizza Rahaman

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects and relationship of stress and social support towards the quality of life among flood victims in Malaysia. A total of 764 respondents took part in the survey via convenience sampling. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS) was utilized to measure stress while The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was used to measure social support. To measure quality of life, the combination of WHO Quality of Life – BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and The Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) were utilized. The findings of this study indicate that there were significant correlations between variables in the study. The findings showed a significant negative relation between stress and quality of life; and significant positive correlations between support from family as well as support from friends with quality of life. Stress and support from family were found to be significant predictors that influence the quality of life among flood victims.

Keywords: Stress, social support, quality of life, flood victims.

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Authors: Jong Hoon Kim, Hyun-Soo Lee, Moonseo Park, Min Jeong, Inbeom Lee

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Pre-construction is essential in achieving the success of a construction project. Due to the early involvement of project participants in the construction phase, project managers are able to plan ahead and solve issues well in advance leading to the success of the project and the satisfaction of the client. This research utilizes quantitative data derived from construction management projects in order to identify the relationship between pre-construction, construction schedule, and client satisfaction. A total of 65 construction projects and 93 clients were investigated for this research in an attempt to identify (a) the relationship between pre-construction and schedule reduction, and (b) pre-construction and client loyalty. Based on the quantitative analysis, this research was able to establish a negative correlation based on 65 construction projects between pre-construction and project schedule existed. This finding represents that the more pre-construction is performed for a certain project, the overall construction schedule decreased. Then, to determine the relationship between pre-construction and client satisfaction, Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 93 clients from the 65 projects was utilized. Pre-construction and NPS was further analyzed and a positive correlation was found between the two. This infers that clients tend to be more satisfied with projects with higher ratio of pre-construction than those projects with less pre-construction.

Keywords: Client loyalty, NPS, pre-construction, schedule reduction.

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Authors: Pibool Waijittragum

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The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the research result of brand Identities of Thai Halal brands which related to the way of life for Thai Muslims. The results will be transforming to Thai Halal Brands packaging and label design. The expected benefit is an alternative of marketing strategy for brand building process for Halal products in Thailand. Four elements of marketing strategies which necessary for the brand identity creation is the research framework: consists of Attributes, Benefits, Values and Personality. The research methodology was applied using qualitative and quantitative; 19 marketing experts with dynamic roles in Thai consumer products were interviewed. In addition, a field survey of 122 Thai Muslims selected from 175 Muslim communities in Bangkok was studied. Data analysis will be according to 5 categories of Thai Halal product: 1) Meat 2) Vegetable and Fruits 3) Instant foods and Garnishing ingredient 4) Beverages, Desserts and Snacks 5) Hygienic daily products.

The results will explain some suitable approach for brand Identities of Thai Halal brands as are: 1) Benefit approach as the characteristics of the product with its benefit. The brand identity created transform to the packaging design should be clear and display a fresh product 2) Value approach as the value of products that affect to consumers’ perception. The brand identity created transform to the packaging design should be simply look and using a trustful image 3) Personality approach as the reflection of consumers thought. The brand identity created transform to the packaging design should be sincere, enjoyable, merry, flamboyant look and using a humoristic image.

Keywords: Marketing strategies, Brand identity, Packaging and Label Design, Thai Halal products.

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Authors: M. Sadeghi, A.H. Jafari, S.M.P. Firoozabadi

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Deep Brain Stimulation or DBS is a surgical treatment for Parkinson-s Disease with three stimulation parameters: frequency, pulse width, and voltage. The parameters should be selected appropriately to achieve effective treatment. This selection now, performs clinically. The aim of this research is to study chaotic behavior of recorded tremor of patients under DBS in order to present a computational method to recognize stimulation optimum voltage. We obtained some chaotic features of tremor signal, and discovered embedding space of it has an attractor, and its largest Lyapunov exponent is positive, which show tremor signal has chaotic behavior, also we found out, in optimal voltage, entropy and embedding space variance of tremor signal have minimum values in comparison with other voltages. These differences can help neurologists recognize optimal voltage numerically, which leads to reduce patients' role and discomfort in optimizing stimulation parameters and to do treatment with high accuracy.

Keywords: Chaos, Deep Brain Stimulation, Parkinson's Disease, Stimulation Parameters, tremor.

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Authors: May Phyo Thwal, Khin Htay Kyi, Kyaw Swar Soe

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According to the density of the chips, designers are trying to put so any facilities of computational and storage on single chips. Along with the complexity of computational and storage circuits, the designing, testing and debugging become more and more complex and expensive. So, hardware design will be built by using very high speed hardware description language, which is more efficient and cost effective. This paper will focus on the implementation of 32-bit ALU design based on Verilog hardware description language. Adder and subtracter operate correctly on both unsigned and positive numbers. In ALU, addition takes most of the time if it uses the ripple-carry adder. The general strategy for designing fast adders is to reduce the time required to form carry signals. Adders that use this principle are called carry look- ahead adder. The carry look-ahead adder is to be designed with combination of 4-bit adders. The syntax of Verilog HDL is similar to the C programming language. This paper proposes a unified approach to ALU design in which both simulation and formal verification can co-exist.

Keywords: Addition, arithmetic logic unit, carry look-ahead adder, Verilog HDL.

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Authors: J. Mbihi

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This paper presents a dynamic architecture of digital duty-cycle modulation control drivers. Compared to most oversampling digital modulation schemes encountered in industrial electronics, its novelty is founded on a number of relevant merits including; embedded positive and negative feedback loops, internal modulation clock, structural simplicity, elementary building operators, no explicit need of samples of the nonlinear duty-cycle function when computing the switching modulated signal, and minimum number of design parameters. A prototyping digital control driver is synthesized and well tested within MATLAB/Simulink workspace. Then, the virtual simulation results and performance obtained under a sample of relevant instrumentation and control systems are presented, in order to show the feasibility, the reliability, and the versatility of target applications, of the proposed class of low cost and high quality digital control drivers in industrial electronics.

Keywords: Dynamic architecture, virtual simulation, duty-cycle modulation, digital control drivers, industrial electronics.

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Authors: Kasra Afsahi, Maryam Soheilifar, Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari

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COVID-19 has been associated with stroke and neurological complications. The patient was a 59-year-old male presented with sudden left hemiparesis and diplopia due to cavernous sinus thrombosis (CST) on 28/03/2020. The COVID-19 test was positive. Multislice computerized tomography (MSCT) showed ischemic infarction. He underwent surgical sinectomy 9 days after admission. Physiotherapy began for him on August 2020. Our game-based virtual reality (VR) technology developed for stroke patients was based on upper extremity exercises and function for stroke. After 6 weeks of VR therapy plus conventional physiotherapy exercises (18 sessions, three times per week, 60 minutes each session), there were significant improvements in Brunnstrom Motor Recovery Stage (from “4” to “5”), Fugl-Meyer Scale score of upper extremity section (from 49 to 54), and Modified Barthel Index (from 15 to 18). There were no adverse effects. This case with stroke post COVID-19 due to the CST showed the usefulness of VR therapy used as an adjunct to conventional physiotherapy in improving affected upper extremity.

Keywords: COVID-19, stroke, virtual reality, rehabilitation.

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Authors: Ali Lemouari, Mohamed Benmohamed

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Biological evolution has generated a rich variety of successful solutions; from nature, optimized strategies can be inspired. One interesting example is the ant colonies, which are able to exhibit a collective intelligence, still that their dynamic is simple. The emergence of different patterns depends on the pheromone trail, leaved by the foragers. It serves as positive feedback mechanism for sharing information. In this paper, we use the dynamic of TASEP as a model of interaction at a low level of the collective environment in the ant-s traffic flow. This work consists of modifying the movement rules of particles “ants" belonging to the TASEP model, so that it adopts with the natural movement of ants. Therefore, as to respect the constraints of having no more than one particle per a given site, and in order to avoid collision within a bidirectional circulation, we suggested two strategies: decease strategy and waiting strategy. As a third work stage, this is devoted to the study of these two proposed strategies- stability. As a final work stage, we applied the first strategy to the whole environment, in order to get to the emergence of traffic flow, which is a way of learning.

Keywords: Ants system, emergence, exclusion process, pheromone.

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Authors: P. O. Angienda, B. O. Aketch, E. N. Waindi

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Juvenile Nile tilapia subjected to heat treatment at temperatures ranging from 260C to 370C showed positive correlation (P<0.01) between treatment temperatures and resultant sex ratios, while, survival rate of the fry showed a negative correlation against temperature (P<0.01). The optimal temperature for both sex shift towards males and survival rates was 36±0.5°C, producing male percentage of 86.31 and a fry survival of 65.25. To determine the genetic basis of temperature sex-determination in Nile tilapia, we employed three microsatellite markers (Abur36, Abur100 and UNH846). Abur36 predicted the sex of 95% of the heat induced individuals, suggesting that the locus influence sex ratio and its interaction with temperature result in male biased sex ratio. This locus could turn out to be the major sex determining gene operating in Nile tilapia. These markers could be used in marker-assisted selection to select genotypes that give a higher percentage of males for commercial production.

Keywords: Heat treatment, Microsatellite, Nile tilapia, sex-determination.

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Authors: R. Pastusiak, M. Jasiniak, A. Kaźmierska

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The impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) has been analyzed for many years by researchers. There are lot of theoretical studies proving the SEZs importance for regional development, however, there is lack of empirical studies (and they are mainly focused on China market) that are based on available data. The theoretical studies indicate the various impacts of enterprises operating within SEZs on the economy. The article proves that, in case of Poland, locating SEZs in municipalities is an important part of increasing municipalities’ income. Therefore SEZs have a positive impact on regional development. Municipality income is understood as taxes paid by taxpayers who depend on SEZ companies’ performance. The analysis includes the Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Personal Income Tax (PIT) and real estate tax. The effects of SEZs on regional development were narrowed to a few variables that are most significant for the financial system. The analysis indicates the significant impact of SEZs on the amount of taxes influencing the municipality budget.

Keywords: Government, local finance, municipal finance, Special Economic Zones.

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Authors: Jui P. Hung, Yuan L. Lai, Tzuo L. Luo, Hsi H. Hsiao

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The machining performance is determined by the frequency characteristics of the machine-tool structure and the dynamics of the cutting process. Therefore, the prediction of dynamic vibration behavior of spindle tool system is of great importance for the design of a machine tool capable of high-precision and high-speed machining. The aim of this study is to develop a finite element model to predict the dynamic characteristics of milling machine tool and hence evaluate the influence of the preload of the spindle bearings. To this purpose, a three dimensional spindle bearing model of a high speed engraving spindle tool was created. In this model, the rolling interfaces with contact stiffness defined by Harris model were used to simulate the spindle bearing components. Then a full finite element model of a vertical milling machine was established by coupling the spindle tool unit with the machine frame structure. Using this model, the vibration mode that had a dominant influence on the dynamic stiffness was determined. The results of the finite element simulations reveal that spindle bearing with different preloads greatly affect the dynamic behavior of the spindle tool unit and hence the dynamic responses of the vertical column milling system. These results were validated by performing vibration on the individual spindle tool unit and the milling machine prototype, respectively. We conclude that preload of the spindle bearings is an important component affecting the dynamic characteristics and machining performance of the entire vertical column structure of the milling machine.

Keywords: Dynamic compliance, Milling machine, Spindle unit, Bearing preload.

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Authors: Omaima N. Ahmad AL-Allaf

Abstract:

Over communication networks, images can be easily copied and distributed in an illegal way. The copyright protection for authors and owners is necessary. Therefore, the digital watermarking techniques play an important role as a valid solution for authority problems. Digital image watermarking techniques are used to hide watermarks into images to achieve copyright protection and prevent its illegal copy. Watermarks need to be robust to attacks and maintain data quality. Therefore, we discussed in this paper two approaches for image watermarking, first is based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and the second approach is based on Genetic Algorithm (GA). Discrete wavelet transformation (DWT) is used with the two approaches separately for embedding process to cover image transformation. Each of PSO and GA is based on co-relation coefficient to detect the high energy coefficient watermark bit in the original image and then hide the watermark in original image. Many experiments were conducted for the two approaches with different values of PSO and GA parameters. From experiments, PSO approach got better results with PSNR equal 53, MSE equal 0.0039. Whereas GA approach got PSNR equal 50.5 and MSE equal 0.0048 when using population size equal to 100, number of iterations equal to 150 and 3×3 block. According to the results, we can note that small block size can affect the quality of image watermarking based PSO/GA because small block size can increase the search area of the watermarking image. Better PSO results were obtained when using swarm size equal to 100.

Keywords: Image watermarking, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, discrete wavelet transform.

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Authors: Vincent M. Russo

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Salinity level may affect early development of biofuel feedstock crops. The biofuel feedstock crops canola (Brassica napus L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.); and the potential feedstock crop sweet corn (Zea mays L.) were planted in media in pots and treated with aqueous solutions of 0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 M NaCl once at: 1) planting; 2) 7-10 days after planting or 3) first true leaf expansion. An additional treatment (4) comprised of one-half strength of the 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 M (concentrations 0.05, 0.25, 0.5 M at each application) was applied at first true leaf expansion and four days later. Survival of most crops decreased below 90% above 0.5 M; survival of canola decreased above 0.1 M. Application timing had little effect on crop survival. For canola root fresh and dry weights improved when application was at plant emergence; for sorghum top and root fresh weights improved when the split application was used. When application was at planting root dry weight was improved over most other applications. Sunflower top fresh weight was among the highest when saline solutions were split and top dry weight was among the highest when application was at plant emergence. Sweet corn root fresh weight was improved when the split application was used or application was at planting. Sweet corn root dry weight was highest when application was at planting or plant emergence. Even at high salinity rates survival rates greater than what might be expected occurred. Plants that survived appear to be able to adjust to saline during the early stages of development.

Keywords: Canola, Development, Sorghum, Sunflower, Sweetcorn, Survival

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Authors: Tina Vuko, Marija Maretić, Marko Čular

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The aim of this study is to analyze the role and effectiveness of internal mechanism (audit committee) of corporate governance on credit institutions performance in Croatia. Based on research objective, sample of 78 credit institutions listed on Zagreb Stock Exchange, from 2007 to 2012, has been collected and efficiency index of audit committee (EIAC) has been created. Based on the sample and created EIAC, conclusions are as follows: audit committees of credit institutions have medium efficiency, based on EIAC measurement; there is a significant difference in audit committee effectiveness, in observed period; there is no positive relationship between audit committee effectiveness and credit institution performance; there is a significant difference between level of audit committee effectiveness and audit firm type. Future research should contain increased number of elements in EIAC creation and increased sample, for all obligators who need to establish audit committee.

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Audit Committee, Financial Institutions, Efficiency Index of Audit Committee.

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Authors: Lucy Ampaw-Asiedu, Terri R. Norton

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In the wake of recent disasters happening around the world such as earthquake in Italy (January, 2017); hurricanes in the United States (US) (September 2016 and September 2017); and compounding disasters in Haiti (September 2010 and September 2016); to our best knowledge, never has the world seen the need to work on preemptive rather than reactionary measures to salvage this situation than now. Tornadoes are natural hazards that mostly affect mid-western and central states in the US. Tornadoes, like all natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and others, are very destructive and result in massive destruction to homes, cause billions of dollars in damage and claims many lives. Healthcare facilities in general are vulnerable to disasters, and therefore, the safety of patients, health workers and those who come in to seek shelter should be a priority. The focus of this study is to assess disaster management measures instituted by healthcare facilities. Thus, the sole aim of the study is to examine the vulnerabilities and the design of safe spaces in healthcare facilities in Central US. Objectives that guide the study are to primarily identify the impacts of tornadoes in hospitals and to assess the structural design or specifications of safe spaces. St. John’s Regional Medical Center, now Mercy Hospital in Joplin, is used as a case study. Preliminary results show that the lateral base shear of the proposed design to be 684.24 ton (1508.49kip) for the safe space. Findings from this work will be used to make recommendations about the design of safe spaces for health care facilities in Central US.

Keywords: Disaster management, safe spaces, structural design, tornado, vulnerability.

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Authors: Y. Rathiranee, D. M. Semasinghe

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This study attempts to identify the factors influencing on women empowerment of rural area in Sri Lanka through micro finance services. Data were collected from one hundred (100) rural women involving self-employment activities through a questionnaire using direct personal interviews. Judgment and Convenience Random sampling technique was used to select the sample size from three Divisional Secretariat divisions of Kandawalai, Poonakari and Karachchi in Kilinochchi District. The factor analysis was performed on fourteen (14) variables for screening and reducing the variables to identify the influencing factors on empowerment. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between the three empowerment factors and the impact of micro finance on overall empowerment of rural women. The result of this study summarized the variables into three factors namely decision making, freedom to mobility and family support and which are positively associated with empowerment. In addition to this the value of adjusted R2 is 0.248 indicates that all the variables extracted can be explained 24.8% of the variation in the women empowerment through microfinance. Independent variables of these three factors have positive correlation with women empowerment as well as significant values at 5 percent level.

Keywords: Influencing factors, Micro finance, rural women and women empowerment.

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Authors: Chris Ewe, Naoum Jamous, Holger Schrödl

Abstract:

Like most entrepreneurs, data center operators pursue goals such as profit-maximization, improvement of the company’s reputation or basically to exist on the market. Part of those aims is to guarantee a given quality of service. Quality characteristics are specified in a contract called the service level agreement. Central part of this agreement is non-functional properties of an IT service. The system availability is one of the most important properties as it will be shown in this paper. To comply with availability requirements, data center operators can use virtualization technologies. A clear model to assess the effect of virtualization functions on the parts of a data center in relation to the system availability is still missing. This paper aims to introduce a basic model that shows these connections, and consider if the identified effects are positive or negative. Thus, this work also points out possible disadvantages of the technology. In consequence, the paper shows opportunities as well as risks of data center virtualization in relation to system availability.

Keywords: Availability, cloud computing IT service, quality of service, service level agreement, virtualization.

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Authors: S. M. Rifat, André L. Marchildon, Mark F. Tachie

Abstract:

The effect of upstream surface roughness over a smooth forward facing step in an open channel was investigated using a particle image velocimetry technique. Three different upstream surface topographies consisting of hydraulically smooth wall, sandpaper 36 grit and sand grains were examined. Besides the wall roughness conditions, all other upstream flow characteristics were kept constant. It was also observed that upstream roughness decreased the approach velocity by 2% and 10% but increased the turbulence intensity by 14% and 35% at the wall-normal distance corresponding to the top plane of the step compared to smooth upstream. The results showed that roughness decreased the reattachment lengths by 14% and 30% compared to smooth upstream. Although the magnitudes of maximum positive and negative Reynolds shear stress in separated and reattached region were 0.02Ue for all the cases, the physical size of both the maximum and minimum contour levels were decreased by increasing upstream roughness.

Keywords: Forward facing step, open channel, separated and reattached turbulent flows, wall roughness.

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Authors: Amir Khalid, B. Manshoor

Abstract:

The mixture formation prior to the ignition process plays as a key element in the diesel combustion. Parametric studies of mixture formation and ignition process in various injection parameter has received considerable attention in potential for reducing emissions. Purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of injection pressure on mixture formation and ignition especially during ignition delay period, which have to be significantly influences throughout the combustion process and exhaust emissions. This study investigated the effects of injection pressure on diesel combustion fundamentally using rapid compression machine. The detail behavior of mixture formation during ignition delay period was investigated using the schlieren photography system with a high speed camera. This method can capture spray evaporation, spray interference, mixture formation and flame development clearly with real images. Ignition process and flame development were investigated by direct photography method using a light sensitive high-speed color digital video camera. The injection pressure and air motion are important variable that strongly affect to the fuel evaporation, endothermic and prolysis process during ignition delay. An increased injection pressure makes spray tip penetration longer and promotes a greater amount of fuel-air mixing occurs during ignition delay. A greater quantity of fuel prepared during ignition delay period thus predominantly promotes more rapid heat release.

Keywords: Mixture Formation, Diesel Combustion, Ignition Process, Spray, Rapid Compression Machine.

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