Search results for: Eastern Intake

Authors: Alloysius C. Ogodo, Ositadinma C. Ugbogu, Uzochukwu G. Ekeleme

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Food poisoning and infection by bacteria are of public health significance to both developing and developed countries. Samples of ogi (akamu) prepared from white and yellow variety of maize sold in Uturu and Okigwe were analyzed together with the laboratory prepared ogi for bacterial quality using the standard microbiological methods. The analyses showed that both white and yellow variety had total bacterial counts (cfu/g) of 4.0 ×107 and 3.9 x 107 for the laboratory prepared ogi while the commercial ogi had 5.2 x 107 and 4.9 x107, 4.9 x107 and 4.5 x107, 5.4 x107 and 5.0 x107 for Eke-Okigwe, Up-gate and Nkwo-Achara market respectively. The Staphylococcal counts ranged from 2.0 x 102 to 5.0 x102 and 1.0 x 102 to 4.0 x102 for the white and yellow variety from the different markets while Staphylococcal growth was not recorded on the laboratory prepared ogi. The laboratory prepared ogi had no Coliform growth while the commercially prepared ogi had counts of 0.5 x103 to 1.6 x 103 for white variety and 0.3 x 103 to 1.1 x103 for yellow variety respectively. The Lactic acid bacterial count of 3.5x106 and 3.0x106 was recorded for the laboratory ogi while the commercially prepared ogi ranged from 3.2x106 to 4.2x106 (white variety) and 3.0 x106 to 3.9 x106 (yellow). The presence of bacteria isolates from the commercial and laboratory fermented ogi showed that Lactobacillus sp, Leuconostoc sp and Citrobacter sp were present in all the samples, Micrococcus sp and Klebsiella sp were isolated from Eke- Okigwe and ABSU-up-gate markets varieties respectively, E. coli and Staphylococcus sp were present in Eke-Okigwe and Nkwo- Achara markets while Salmonella sp were isolated from the three markets. Hence, there are chances of contracting food borne diseases from commercially prepared ogi. Therefore, there is the need for sanitary measures in the production of fermented cereals so as to minimize the rate of food borne pathogens during processing and storage.

Keywords: Bacterial quality, fermentation, maize, Ogi.

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Authors: B. Sadepovich Maikanov, Z. Shabanbayevich Adilbekov, R. Husainovna Mustafina, L. Tyulegenovna Auteleyeva

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This study involves detailed information about contaminants of honey in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The requirements of the technical regulation ‘Requirements to safety of honey and bee products’ and GOST 19792-2001 were taken into account in this research. Contamination of honey by antibiotics wqs determined by the IEA (immune-enzyme analysis), Ridder analyzer and Tecna produced test systems. Voltammetry (TaLab device) was used to define contamination by salts of heavy metals and gamma-beta spectrometry, ‘Progress BG’ system, with preliminary ashing of the sample of honey was used to define radioactive contamination. This article pointed out that residues of chloramphenicol were detected in 24% of investigated products, in 22% of them –streptomycin, in 7.3% - sulfanilamide, in 2.4% - tylosin, and in 12% - combined contamination was noted. Geographically, the greatest degree of contamination of honey with antibiotics occurs in the Northern Kazakhstan – 54.4%, and Southern Kazakhstan - 50%, and the lowest in Central and Eastern Kazakhstan with 30% and 25%, respectively. Generally, pollution by heavy metals is within acceptable limits, but the contamination from lead is highest in the Akmola region. The level of radioactive cesium and strontium is also within acceptable concentrations. The highest radioactivity in terms of cesium was observed in the East Kazakhstan region - 49.00±10 Bq/kg, in Akmola, North Kazakhstan and Almaty - 12.00±5, 11.05±3 and 19.0±8 Bq/kg, respectively, while the norm is 100 Bq/kg. In terms of strontium, the radioactivity in the East Kazakhstan region is 25.03±15 Bq/kg, while in Akmola, North Kazakhstan and Almaty regions it is 12.00±3, 10.2±4 and 1.0±2 Bq/kg, respectively, with the norm of 80 Bq/kg. This accumulation is mainly associated with the environmental degradation, feeding and treating of bees. Moreover, in the process of collecting nectar, external substances can penetrate honey. Overall, this research determines factors and reasons of honey contamination.

Keywords: Antibiotics, contamination of honey, honey, radionuclides.

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Authors: Siddharth Ahuja, T. M. Muruganandam

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An analytical investigation is performed to study the unsteady response of a one-dimensional, non-linear dynamic shock system to external downstream pressure perturbations in a supersonic flow in a varying area duct. For a given pressure ratio across a wind tunnel, the normal shock's location can be computed as per one-dimensional steady gas dynamics. Similarly, for some other pressure ratio, the location of the normal shock will change accordingly, again computed using one-dimensional gas dynamics. This investigation focuses on the small-time interval between the first steady shock location and the new steady shock location (corresponding to different pressure ratios). In essence, this study aims to shed light on the motion of the shock from one steady location to another steady location. Further, this study aims to create the foundation of the Unsteady Gas Dynamics field enabling further insight in future research work. According to the new pressure ratio, a pressure pulse, generated at the exit of the tunnel which travels and perturbs the shock from its original position, setting it into motion. During such activity, other numerous physical phenomena also happen at the same time. However, three broad phenomena have been focused on, in this study - Traversal of a Wave, Fluid Element Interactions and Wave Interactions. The above mentioned three phenomena create, alter and kill numerous waves for different conditions. The waves which are created by the above-mentioned phenomena eventually interact with the shock and set it into motion. Numerous such interactions with the shock will slowly make it settle into its final position owing to the new pressure ratio across the duct, as estimated by one-dimensional gas dynamics. This analysis will be extremely helpful in the prediction of inlet 'unstart' of the flow in a supersonic engine intake and its prominence with the incoming flow Mach number, incoming flow pressure and the external perturbation pressure is also studied to help design more efficient supersonic intakes for engines like ramjets and scramjets.

Keywords: Analytical investigation, compression and expansion waves, fluid element interactions, shock trajectory, supersonic flow, unsteady gas dynamics, varying area duct, wave interactions.

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Authors: Ke Zhao, Ballarat Colin Richardson, Jerry Courvisanos, John Crawford

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Climate change has profound consequences for the agriculture of south-eastern Australia and its climate-induced water shortage in the Murray-Darling Basin. Post Keynesian Economics (PKE) macro-dynamics, along with Kaleckian investment and growth theory, are used to develop an ecological-economic system dynamics model of this complex nonlinear river basin system. The Murray- Darling Basin Simulation Model (MDB-SM) uses the principles of PKE to incorporate the fundamental uncertainty of economic behaviors of farmers regarding the investments they make and the climate change they face, particularly as regards water ecosystem services. MDB-SM provides a framework for macroeconomic policies, especially for long-term fiscal policy and for policy directed at the sustainability of agricultural water, as measured by socio-economic well-being considerations, which include sustainable consumption and investment in the river basin. The model can also reproduce other ecological and economic aspects and, for certain parameters and initial values, exhibit endogenous business cycles and ecological sustainability with realistic characteristics. Most importantly, MDBSM provides a platform for the analysis of alternative economic policy scenarios. These results reveal the importance of understanding water ecosystem adaptation under climate change by integrating a PKE macroeconomic analytical framework with the system dynamics modelling approach. Once parameterised and supplied with historical initial values, MDB-SM should prove to be a practical tool to provide alternative long-term policy simulations of agricultural water and socio-economic well-being.

Keywords: Agricultural water, Macroeconomic dynamics, Modeling, Investment dynamics, Sustainability, Unemployment, Economics, Keynesian, Kaleckian.

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Authors: Kaushal Kumar Jha

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Nagaland, the 16th state of India in order of statehood, is situated between 25° 6' and 27° 4' latitude north and between 93º 20' E and 95º 15' E longitude of equator in the North Eastern part of the India. Endowed with varied topography, soil and agro climatic conditions it is known for its potentiality to grow all most all kinds of horticultural crops. Pineapple being grown since long organically by default is one of the most promising crops of the state with emphasis being laid for commercialization by the government of Nagaland. In light of commercialization, globalization and scope of setting small-scale industries, a research study was undertaken to examine the socio-economic and personal characteristics, entrepreneurial characteristics and attitude of the pineapple growers towards improved package of practices of pineapple cultivation. The study was conducted in Medziphema block of Dimapur district of the Nagaland state of India following ex post facto research design. Ninety pineapple growers were selected from four different villages of Medziphema block based on proportionate random selection procedure. Findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents had medium level of entrepreneurial characteristics in terms of knowledge level, risk orientation, self confidence, management orientation, farm decision making ability and leadership ability and most of them had favourable attitude towards improved package of practices of pineapple cultivation. The variables age, education, farm size, risk orientation, management orientation and sources of information utilized were found important to influence the attitude of the respondents. The study revealed that favourable attitude and entrepreneurial characteristics of the pineapple cultivators might be harnessed for increased production of pineapple in the state thereby bringing socio economic upliftment of the marginal and small-scale farmers.

Keywords: Attitude, Entrepreneurial characteristics, Pineapple, Socio economic upliftment.

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Authors: G. S. Eldiabani, W. H. G. Hale, C. P. Heron

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Forest areas are particularly susceptible to fires, which are often manmade. One of the most fire affected forest regions in the world is the Mediterranean. Libya, in the Mediterranean region, has soils that are considered to be arid except in a small area called Aljabal Alakhdar (Green mountain), which is the geographic area covered by this study. Like other forests in the Mediterranean it has suffered extreme degradation. This is mainly due to people removing fire wood, or sometimes converting forested areas to agricultural use, as well as fires which may alter several soil chemical and physical properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of fires on the physical properties of soil of Aljabal Alakhdar forest in the north-east of Libya. The physical properties of soil following fire in two geographic areas have been determined, with those subjected to the fire compared to those in adjacent unburned areas in one coastal and one mountain site. Physical properties studied were: soil particle size (soil texture), soil water content, soil porosity and soil particle density. For the first time in Libyan soils, the effect of burning on the magnetic susceptibility properties of soils was also tested. The results showed that the soils in both study sites, irrespective of burning or depth fell into the category of a silt loam texture, low water content, homogeneity of porosity of the soil profiles, relatively high soil particle density values and there is a much greater value of the soil magnetic susceptibility in the top layer from both sites except for the soil water content and magnetic susceptibility, fire has not had a clear effect on the soils’ physical properties.

Keywords: Aljabal Alakhdar, the coastal site, the mountain site, fire effect, soil particle size, soil water content, soil porosity, soil particle density, soil magnetic susceptibility.

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Authors: B. L. Gadiga

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This study assesses the major ecological zones in Nigeria with the view to understanding the spatial pattern of vegetation zones and the implications on conservation within the period of sixteen (16) years. Satellite images used for this study were acquired from the SPOT-VEGETATION between 1998 and 2013. The annual NDVI images selected for this study were derived from SPOT-4 sensor and were acquired within the same season (November) in order to reduce differences in spectral reflectance due to seasonal variations. The images were sliced into five classes based on literatures and knowledge of the area (i.e. <0.16 Non-Vegetated areas; 0.16-0.22 Sahel Savannah; 0.22-0.40 Sudan Savannah, 0.40-0.47 Guinea Savannah and >0.47 Forest Zone). Classification of the 1998 and 2013 images into forested and non forested areas showed that forested area decrease from 511,691 km² in 1998 to 478,360 km² in 2013. Differencing change detection method was performed on 1998 and 2013 NDVI images to identify areas of ecological concern. The result shows that areas undergoing vegetation degradation covers an area of 73,062 km² while areas witnessing some form restoration cover an area of 86,315 km². The result also shows that there is a weak correlation between rainfall and the vegetation zones. The non-vegetated areas have a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.0088, Sahel Savannah belt 0.1988, Sudan Savannah belt -0.3343, Guinea Savannah belt 0.0328 and Forest belt 0.2635. The low correlation can be associated with the encroachment of the Sudan Savannah belt into the forest belt of South-eastern part of the country as revealed by the image analysis. The degradation of the forest vegetation is therefore responsible for the serious erosion problems witnessed in the South-east. The study recommends constant monitoring of vegetation and strict enforcement of environmental laws in the country.

Keywords: Vegetation, NDVI, SPOT-vegetation, ecology, degradation.

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Authors: Sriranjani Srinivasan

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To appreciate Indian art and architecture by studying it in India alone will only lead to partial understanding of the whole story and the variety of the statement has been amply proved by subsequent decades of patient research. The results of the work of the Archaeological Survey of India forms only one half of the picture, the other half emerges with the studies of the archaeology and art of the Far East that progressed almost simultaneously under the Archaeological Survey of the Dutch East Indies, the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), or French School of Asian Studies, and allied institutions. The conclusions arrived at have only rendered the assertion that India produced her ultimate master pieces only through foreign influences and in foreign lands (the South-Eastern peninsular and archipelagic regions) almost axiomatic. Angkor in Cambodia and Borobudur in Java, undoubtedly the two greatest architectural marvels of Indian genius, for in content and spirit these (and other monuments of varying magnitudes), are purely Indian, would well illustrate the statement mentioned earlier. Stimulated research followed the discoveries and among the many studies and publications of such pioneers like Coedes, Parmentier, Coomaraswamy and many others in Dutch, French and English made growing contributions to the subject. This paper will discuss in detail the impact of India on the architecture of South East Asia by detailed comparison of architectural styles, elements, and construction materials of a few specific architectural master pieces, in both India and South East Asian countries. It will also analyze the reasoning behind the influence of India on South East Asian countries in spite of them being exposed to the equally culturally rich and civilized kingdoms of China. The intention of this paper is to understand that, conquest by war is not always the only reason for architectural influences and impacts.

Keywords: Architectural influence, Buddhist architecture, Indian architecture, Southeast Asian architecture.

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Authors: Cholpassorn Sitthiwarongchai, Chutikarn Sriviboon

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The two primary objectives of this research were (1)  to examine the current knowledge and actual circumstance of  agricultural workers about mangosteen product processing; and (2) to  analyze and evaluate ways to develop capacity of mangosteen  product processing. The population of this study was 15,125 people  who work in the agricultural sector, in this context, mangosteen  production, in the eastern part of Thailand that included Chantaburi  Province, Rayong Province, Trad Province and Pracheenburi  Province. The sample size based on Yamane’s calculation with 95%  reliability was therefore 392 samples. Mixed method was employed  included questionnaire and focus group discussion with  Connoisseurship Model used in order to collect quantitative and  qualitative data. Key informants were used in the focus group  including agricultural business owners, academic people in agro food  processing, local academics, local community development staff,  OTOP subcommittee, and representatives of agro processing  industry professional organizations. The study found that the  majority of the respondents agreed with a high level (in five- rating  scale) towards most of variables of knowledge management in agro  food processing. The result of the current knowledge and actual  circumstance of agricultural human resource in an arena of  mangosteen product processing revealed that mostly, the respondents  agreed at a high level to establish 7 variables. The guideline to  developing the body of knowledge in order to enhance the capacity  of the agricultural workers in mangosteen product processing was  delivered in the focus group discussion. The discussion finally  contributed to an idea to produce manuals for mangosteen product  processing methods, with 4 products chosen: (1) mangosteen soap;  (2) mangosteen juice; (3) mangosteen toffee; and (4) mangosteen  preserves or jam.

Keywords: Capacity Enhancement, Agricultural Workers, Mangosteen Product Processing.

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Authors: Ingrid Ruzbarska, Martin Zvonar, Piotr Oleśniewicz, Julita Markiewicz-Patkowska, Krzysztof Widawski, Daniel Puciato

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Obese children will probably become obese adults, consequently exposed to an increased risk of comorbidity and premature mortality. Body weight may be indirectly determined by continuous development of coordination and motor skills. The level of motor skills and abilities is an important factor that promotes physical activity since early childhood. The aim of the study is to thoroughly understand the internal relations between motor coordination abilities and the somatic development of prepubertal children and to determine the effect of excess body weight on motor coordination by comparing the motor ability levels of children with different body mass index (BMI) values. The data were collected from 436 children aged 7–10 years, without health limitations, fully participating in school physical education classes. Body height was measured with portable stadiometers (Harpenden, Holtain Ltd.), and body mass—with a digital scale (HN-286, Omron). Motor coordination was evaluated with the Kiphard-Schilling body coordination test, Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder. The normality test by Shapiro-Wilk was used to verify the data distribution. The correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant negative association between the dynamic balance and BMI, as well as between the motor quotient and BMI (p<0.01) for both boys and girls. The results showed no effect of gender on the difference in the observed trends. The analysis of variance proved statistically significant differences between normal weight children and their overweight or obese counterparts. Coordination abilities probably play an important role in preventing or moderating the negative trajectory leading to childhood overweight and obesity. At this age, the development of coordination abilities should become a key strategy, targeted at long-term prevention of obesity and the promotion of an active lifestyle in adulthood. Motor performance is essential for implementing a healthy lifestyle in childhood already. Physical inactivity apparently results in motor deficits and a sedentary lifestyle in children, which may be accompanied by excess energy intake and overweight.

Keywords: Childhood, KTK test, Physical education, Psychomotor competence.

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Authors: S. Al-Khalasi, O. Mahgoub, H. Yaakub

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This study evaluated the use of raw or processed Prosopis juliflora (Meskit) pods as a major ingredient in a formulated ration to provide an alternative non-conventional concentrate for livestock feeding in Oman. Dry Meskit pods were reduced to lengths of 0.5- 1.0 cm to ensure thorough mixing into three diets. Meskit pods were subjected to two types of treatments; roasting and soaking. They were roasted at 150оC for 30 minutes using a locally-made roasting device (40 kg barrel container rotated by electric motor and heated by flame gas cooker). Chopped pods were soaked in tap water for 24 hours and dried for 2 days under the sun with frequent turning. The Meskit-pod-based diets (MPBD) were formulated and pelleted from 500 g/kg ground Meskit pods, 240 g/kg wheat bran, 200 g/kg barley grain, 50 g/kg local dried sardines and 10 g/kg of salt. Twenty four 10 months-old intact Omani male lambs with average body weight of 27.3 kg (± 0.5 kg) were used in a feeding trial for 84 days. They were divided (on body weight basis) and allocated to four diet combination groups. These were: Rhodes grass hay (RGH) plus a general ruminant concentrate (GRC); RGH plus raw Meskit pods (RMP) based concentrate; RGH plus roasted Meskit pods (ROMP) based concentrate; RGH plus soaked Meskit pods (SMP) based concentrate Daily feed intakes and bi-weekly body weights were recorded. MPBD had higher contents of crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) than the GRC. Animals fed various types of MPBD did not show signs of ill health. There was a significant effect of feeding ROMP on the performance of Omani sheep compared to RMP and SMP. The ROMP fed animals had similar performance to those fed the GRC in terms of feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR).This study indicated that roasted Meskit pods based diet may be used instead of the commercial concentrate for feeding Omani sheep without adverse effects on performance. It offers a cheap alternative source of protein and energy for feeding Omani sheep. Also, it might help in solving the spread impact of Meskit trees, maintain the ecosystem and helping in preserving the local tree species.

Keywords: Growth, Meskit, Omani sheep, Prosopis juliflora.

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Authors: Collins C. Chiemeke

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The need to evaluate and understand the natural drainage pattern in a flood prone, and fast developing environment is of paramount importance. This information will go a long way to help the town planners to determine the drainage pattern, road networks and areas where prominent structures are to be located. This research work was carried out with the aim of studying the Bayelsa landscape topography using digitized topographic information, and to model the natural drainage flow pattern that will aid the understanding and constructions of workable drainages. To achieve this, digitize information of elevation and coordinate points were extracted from a global imagery map. The extracted information was modeled into 3D surfaces. The result revealed that the average elevation for Bayelsa State is 12 m above sea level. The highest elevation is 28 m, and the lowest elevation 0 m, along the coastline. In Yenagoa the capital city of Bayelsa were a detail survey was carried out showed that average elevation is 15 m, the highest elevation is 25 m and lowest is 3 m above the mean sea level. The regional elevation in Bayelsa, showed a gradation decrease from the North Eastern zone to the South Western Zone. Yenagoa showed an observed elevation lineament, were low depression is flanked by high elevation that runs from the North East to the South west. Hence, future drainages in Yenagoa should be directed from the high elevation, from South East toward the North West and from the North West toward South East, to the point of convergence which is at the center that flows from South East toward the North West. Bayelsa when considered on a regional Scale, the flow pattern is from the North East to the South West, and also North South. It is recommended that in the event of any large drainage construction at municipal scale, it should be directed from North East to the South West or from North to South. Secondly, detail survey should be carried out to ascertain the local topography and the drainage pattern before the design and construction of any drainage system in any part of Bayelsa.

Keywords: Bayelsa, Digitized Topographic Information, Drainage, Flood.

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Authors: M. S. Alatas, H. D. Umucalilar

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SARA is a common and serious metabolic disorder in early lactation in dairy cattle and in finishing beef cattle, caused by diets with high inclusion of cereal grain. This experiment was performed to determine the efficacy of Megasphaera elsdenii, a major lactate-utilizing bacterium in prevention/treatment of SARA in vivo. In vivo experimentation, it was used eight ruminally cannulated rams and it was applied the rapid adaptation with the mixture of grain based on wheat (80% wheat, 20% barley) and barley (80% barley, 20% wheat). During the systematic adaptation, it was followed the probability of SARA formation by being measured the rumen pH with two hours intervals after and before feeding. After being evaluated the data, it was determined the ruminal pH ranged from 5.2-5.6 on the condition of feeding with 60 percentage of grain mixture based on barley and wheat, that assured the definite form of subacute acidosis. In four days SARA period, M. elsdenii (1010 cfu ml-1) was inoculated during the first two days. During the SARA period, it was observed the decrease of feed intake with M. elsdenii inoculation. Inoculation of M. elsdenii was caused to differentiation of rumen pH (P<0.0001), while it was found the pH level approximately 5.55 in animals applied the inoculation, it was 5.63 pH in other animals. It was observed that total VFA with the bacterium inoculation tended to change in terms of grain feed (P<0.07). It increased with the effect of total VFA inoculation in barley based diet, but it was more stabilized in wheat based diet. Bacterium inoculation increased the ratio of propionic acid (18.33%-21.38%) but it caused to decrease the butyric acid, and acetic/propionic acid. During the rapid adaptation, the concentration of lactic acid in the rumen liquid increased depending upon grain level (P<0.0001). On the other hand bacterium inoculation did not have an effect on concentration of lactic acid. M. elsdenii inoculation did not affect ruminal ammonia concentration. In the group that did not apply inoculation, the level of ruminal ammonia concentration was higher than the others applied inoculation. M. elsdenii inoculation did not changed protozoa count in barley-based diet whereas it decreased in wheat-based diet. When it is generally evaluated, it is seen that M. elsdenii inoculation has not a positive impact on rumen parameters. Therefore, to reveal the full impact of the inoculation with different strains, feedstuffs and animal groups, further research is required.

Keywords: In vivo, subactute ruminal acidosis, Megasphaera elsdenii, rumen fermentation.

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Authors: Anesha Atul Shende

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When we are aiming at high goals for economic development such as sustainable growth and development of economy, poverty reduction, and reduction in inequality etc., we must not forget to include each and everyone in the society in process of achieving these goals. This study particularly talks about women’s participation in economic activities with the special focus on the analysis of female labour force participation rate in the states of India. It makes comparison between the states having low female labour force participation with the states that have comparatively high female labour population. The study began with review of data on the current state of gender biases in employment. It has been found that the male workforce is dominant all across India. Further, the study highlights the major reasons for low women participation in economic activities in some of the backward Indian states like Bihar, etc. Reasons for low female participation are related to economic, cultural and social factors that are responsible for women’s unemployment. Afterwards, it analyses the reasons behind comparatively higher female participation in some of the other states in India. The case of the north-eastern region and state of Telangana and Tamil Nadu have been analysed in brief. These states show improvements in female labour force participation over a few decades. This is due to the government policies that have been adopted, women-friendly workplaces, availability of quality jobs for women etc. UN women has recognized the social and economic benefits of having an active female labour force in a country; if female unemployment declines, it will improve the growth rate of the nation as well as the welfare of the society. The study discusses the reasons why an economy must try to increase female workforce participation. It further provides suggestions to improve the conditions in backward states in India where the unemployment rate for women is high. The policy interventions and government schemes are some of the ways to recognise poor women workforce participation issues and work on it. The condition will improve when the changes would take place from regional level with social and moral support to the women.

Keywords: Women unemployment, labour force participation, women empowerment, economic growth and development, gender disparity.

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Authors: Elena Carcano, Mirzi Betasolo

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This study helps Public Water Bureaus in giving reliable answers to water concession requests. Rapidly increasing water requests can be supported provided that further uses of a river course are not totally compromised, and environmental features are protected as well. Strictly speaking, a water concession can be considered a continuous drawing from the source and causes a mean annual streamflow reduction. Therefore, deciding if a water concession is appropriate or inappropriate seems to be easily solved by comparing the generic demand to the mean annual streamflow value at disposal. Still, the immediate shortcoming for such a comparison is that streamflow data are information available only for few catchments and, most often, limited to specific sites. Subsequently, comparing the generic water demand to mean daily discharge is indeed far from being completely satisfactory since the mean daily streamflow is greater than the water withdrawal for a long period of a year. Consequently, such a comparison appears to be of little significance in order to preserve the quality and the quantity of the river. In order to overcome such a limit, this study aims to complete the information provided by flow duration curves introducing a link between Flow Duration Curves (FDCs) and recession curves and aims to show the chronological sequence of flows with a particular focus on low flow data. The analysis is carried out on 25 catchments located in North-Eastern Italy for which daily data are provided. The results identify groups of catchments as hydrologically homogeneous, having the lower part of the FDCs (corresponding streamflow interval is streamflow Q between 300 and 335, namely: Q(300), Q(335)) smoothly reproduced by a common recession curve. In conclusion, the results are useful to provide more reliable answers to water request, especially for those catchments which show similar hydrological response and can be used for a focused regionalization approach on low flow data. A mathematical link between streamflow duration curves and recession curves is herein provided, thus furnishing streamflow duration curves information upon a temporal sequence of data. In such a way, by introducing assumptions on recession curves, the chronological sequence upon low flow data can also be attributed to FDCs, which are known to lack this information by nature.

Keywords: Chronological sequence of discharges, recession curves, streamflow duration curves, water concession.

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Authors: S. Behnam Malekzadeh, I. Kerr, T. Kaempffer, T. Harper, A Watson

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The Site C Hydroelectric dam is currently being constructed in north-eastern British Columbia on sub-horizontal sedimentary strata that dip approximately 15 meters from one bank of the Peace River to the other. More than 615 pressure sensors (Vibrating Wire Piezometers) have been installed on bedding planes (BPs) since construction began, with over 80 more planned before project completion. These pressure measurements are essential to monitor the stability of the rock foundation during and after construction and for dam safety purposes. BPs are identified by their clay gouge infilling, which varies in thickness from less than 1 to 20 mm and can be challenging to identify as the core drilling process often disturbs or washes away the gouge material. Without the use of depth predictions from nearby boreholes, stratigraphic markers, and downhole geophysical data, it is difficult to confidently identify BP targets for the sensors. In this paper, a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) method was used to develop an empirical model called the Bedding Plane Elevation Prediction (BPEP) to help geologists and geotechnical engineers to predict geological features and BPs at new locations in a fast and accurate manner. To develop CBR, a database was developed based on 64 pressure sensors already installed on key bedding planes BP25, BP28, and BP31 on the Right Bank, including BP elevations and coordinates. 13 (20%) of the most recent cases were selected to validate and evaluate the accuracy of the developed model, while the similarity was defined as the distance between previous cases and recent cases to predict the depth of significant BPs. The average difference between actual BP elevations and predicted elevations for above BPs was ± 55 cm, while the actual results showed that 69% of predicted elevations were within ± 79 cm of actual BP elevations while 100% of predicted elevations for new cases were within ± 99 cm range. Eventually, the actual results will be used to develop the database and improve BPEP to perform as a learning machine to predict more accurate BP elevations for future sensor installations.

Keywords: Case-Based Reasoning, CBR, geological feature, geology, piezometer, pressure sensor, core logging, dam construction.

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Authors: Barbara Covarrubias Venegas, Sabine Groblschegg, Bernhard Klaus, Julia Domnanovich

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Research Objectives: The roles and activities of Human Resource Management (HRM) have changed a lot in the past years. Driven by a changing environment and therefore new business requirements, the scope of human resource (HR) activities has widened. The extent to which these activities should focus on strategic issues to support the long term success of a company has been discussed in science for many years. As many economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) experienced a phase of transition after the socialist era and are now recovering from the 2008 global crisis it is needed to examine the current state of HR positioning. Furthermore a trend in HR work developing from rather administrative units to being strategic partners of management can be noticed. This leads to the question of better understanding the underlying competencies which are necessary to support organisations. This topic was addressed by the international study “HR Competencies in international comparison”. The quantitative survey was conducted by the Institute for Human Resources & Organisation of FHWien University of Applied Science of WKW (A) in cooperation with partner universities in the countries Bosnia- Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. Methodology: Using the questionnaire developed by Dave Ulrich we tested whether the HR Competency model can be used for Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. After performing confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis for the whole data set containing all five countries we could clearly distinguish between four competencies. In a further step our analysis focused on median and average comparisons between the HR competency dimensions. Conclusion: Our literature review, in alignment with other studies, shows a relatively rapid pace of development of HR Roles and HR Competencies in BCSS in the past decades. Comparing data from BCSS and Austria we still can notice that regards strategic orientation there is a lack in BCSS countries, thus competencies are not as developed as in Austria. This leads us to the tentative conclusion that HR has undergone a rapid change but is still in a State of Transition from being a rather administrative unit to performing the role of a strategic partner.

Keywords: Comparative study, HR competencies, HRM, HR Roles.

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Authors: A. Basu, A. A. Purohit, M. M. Vaidya, M. D. Kudale

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Mumbai, being traditionally the epicenter of India's trade and commerce, the existing major ports such as Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Ports (JN) situated in Thane estuary are also developing its waterfront facilities. Various developments over the passage of decades in this region have changed the tidal flux entering/leaving the estuary. The intake at Pir-Pau is facing the problem of shortage of water in view of advancement of shoreline, while jetty near Ulwe faces the problem of ship scheduling due to existence of shallower depths between JN Port and Ulwe Bunder. In order to solve these problems, it is inevitable to have information about tide levels over a long duration by field measurements. However, field measurement is a tedious and costly affair; application of artificial intelligence was used to predict water levels by training the network for the measured tide data for one lunar tidal cycle. The application of two layered feed forward Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with back-propagation training algorithms such as Gradient Descent (GD) and Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) was used to predict the yearly tide levels at waterfront structures namely at Ulwe Bunder and Pir-Pau. The tide data collected at Apollo Bunder, Ulwe, and Vashi for a period of lunar tidal cycle (2013) was used to train, validate and test the neural networks. These trained networks having high co-relation coefficients (R= 0.998) were used to predict the tide at Ulwe, and Vashi for its verification with the measured tide for the year 2000 & 2013. The results indicate that the predicted tide levels by ANN give reasonably accurate estimation of tide. Hence, the trained network is used to predict the yearly tide data (2015) for Ulwe. Subsequently, the yearly tide data (2015) at Pir-Pau was predicted by using the neural network which was trained with the help of measured tide data (2000) of Apollo and Pir-Pau. The analysis of measured data and study reveals that: The measured tidal data at Pir-Pau, Vashi and Ulwe indicate that there is maximum amplification of tide by about 10-20 cm with a phase lag of 10-20 minutes with reference to the tide at Apollo Bunder (Mumbai). LM training algorithm is faster than GD and with increase in number of neurons in hidden layer and the performance of the network increases. The predicted tide levels by ANN at Pir-Pau and Ulwe provides valuable information about the occurrence of high and low water levels to plan the operation of pumping at Pir-Pau and improve ship schedule at Ulwe.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, back-propagation, tide data, training algorithm.

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Authors: Bitan Kumar Sarkar, Akashdeep Agarwal, Rajib Dey, Gopes Chandra Das

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The rapid depletion of high-grade iron ore (Fe₂O₃) has gained attention on the use of other sources of iron ore. Titaniferous magnetite ore (TMO) is a special type of magnetite ore having high titania content (23.23% TiO₂ present in this case). Due to high TiO₂ content and high density, TMO cannot be treated by the conventional smelting reduction. In this present work, the TMO has been collected from high-grade metamorphic terrain of the Precambrian Chotanagpur gneissic complex situated in the eastern part of India (Shaltora area, Bankura district, West Bengal) and the hematite ore has been collected from Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), Visakhapatnam. At VSP, iron ore is received from Bailadila mines, Chattisgarh of M/s. National Mineral Development Corporation. The preliminary characterization of TMO and hematite ore (HMO) has been investigated by WDXRF, XRD and FESEM analyses. Similarly, good quality of coal (mainly coking coal) is also getting depleted fast. The basic purpose of this work is to find how lean grade coal can be utilised along with TMO for smelting to produce pig iron. Lean grade coal has been characterised by using TG/DTA, proximate and ultimate analyses. The boiler grade coal has been found to contain 28.08% of fixed carbon and 28.31% of volatile matter. TMO fines (below 75 μm) and HMO fines (below 75 μm) have been separately agglomerated with lean grade coal fines (below 75 μm) in the form of briquettes using binders like bentonite and molasses. These green briquettes are dried first in oven at 423 K for 30 min and then reduced isothermally in tube furnace over the temperature range of 1323 K, 1373 K and 1423 K for 30 min & 60 min. After reduction, the reduced briquettes are characterized by XRD and FESEM analyses. The best reduced TMO and HMO samples are taken and blended in three different weight percentage ratios of 1:4, 1:8 and 1:12 of TMO:HMO. The chemical analysis of three blended samples is carried out and degree of metallisation of iron is found to contain 89.38%, 92.12% and 93.12%, respectively. These three blended samples are briquetted using binder like bentonite and lime. Thereafter these blended briquettes are separately smelted in raising hearth furnace at 1773 K for 30 min. The pig iron formed is characterized using XRD, microscopic analysis. It can be concluded that 90% yield of pig iron can be achieved when the blend ratio of TMO:HMO is 1:4.5. This means for 90% yield, the maximum TMO that could be used in the blend is about 18%.

Keywords: Briquetting reduction, lean grade coal, smelting reduction, TMO.

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Authors: Saurabh Sharma, Yong Sun, Bruce Vernham

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Accurate prediction of NOx emission is a continuous challenge in the field of diesel engine-out emission modeling. Performing experiments for each conditions and scenario cost significant amount of money and man hours, therefore model-based development strategy has been implemented in order to solve that issue. NOx formation is highly dependent on the burn gas temperature and the O₂ concentration inside the cylinder. The current empirical models are developed by calibrating the parameters representing the engine operating conditions with respect to the measured NOx. This makes the prediction of purely empirical models limited to the region where it has been calibrated. An alternative solution to that is presented in this paper, which focus on the utilization of in-cylinder combustion parameters to form a predictive semi-empirical NOx model. The result of this work is shown by developing a fast and predictive NOx model by using the physical parameters and empirical correlation. The model is developed based on the steady state data collected at entire operating region of the engine and the predictive combustion model, which is developed in Gamma Technology (GT)-Power by using Direct Injected (DI)-Pulse combustion object. In this approach, temperature in both burned and unburnt zone is considered during the combustion period i.e. from Intake Valve Closing (IVC) to Exhaust Valve Opening (EVO). Also, the oxygen concentration consumed in burnt zone and trapped fuel mass is also considered while developing the reported model.  Several statistical methods are used to construct the model, including individual machine learning methods and ensemble machine learning methods. A detailed validation of the model on multiple diesel engines is reported in this work. Substantial numbers of cases are tested for different engine configurations over a large span of speed and load points. Different sweeps of operating conditions such as Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), injection timing and Variable Valve Timing (VVT) are also considered for the validation. Model shows a very good predictability and robustness at both sea level and altitude condition with different ambient conditions. The various advantages such as high accuracy and robustness at different operating conditions, low computational time and lower number of data points requires for the calibration establishes the platform where the model-based approach can be used for the engine calibration and development process. Moreover, the focus of this work is towards establishing a framework for the future model development for other various targets such as soot, Combustion Noise Level (CNL), NO₂/NOx ratio etc.

Keywords: Diesel engine, machine learning, NOx emission, semi-empirical.

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Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan

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The geological environment where the groundwater is collected represents the most important element that affects the behaviour of groundwater aquifer. As groundwater is a worldwide vital resource, it requires knowing the parameters that affect this source accurately so that the conceptualized mathematical models would be acceptable to the broadest ranges. Therefore, groundwater models have recently become an effective and efficient tool to investigate groundwater aquifer behaviours. Groundwater aquifer may contain aquitards, aquicludes, or interfaces within its geological formations. Aquitards and aquicludes have geological formations that forced the modellers to include those formations within the conceptualized groundwater models, while interfaces are commonly neglected from the conceptualization process because the modellers believe that the interface has no effect on aquifer behaviour. The current research highlights the impact of an interface existing in a real unconfined groundwater aquifer called Dibdibba, located in Al-Najaf City, Iraq where it has a river called the Euphrates River that passes through the eastern part of this city. Dibdibba groundwater aquifer consists of two types of soil layers separated by an interface soil layer. A groundwater model is built for Al-Najaf City to explore the impact of this interface. Calibration process is done using PEST 'Parameter ESTimation' approach and the best Dibdibba groundwater model is obtained. When the soil interface is conceptualized, results show that the groundwater tables are significantly affected by that interface through appearing dry areas of 56.24 km² and 6.16 km² in the upper and lower layers of the aquifer, respectively. The Euphrates River will also leak water into the groundwater aquifer of 7359 m³/day. While these results are changed when the soil interface is neglected where the dry area became 0.16 km², the Euphrates River leakage became 6334 m³/day. In addition, the conceptualized models (with and without interface) reveal different responses for the change in the recharge rates applied on the aquifer through the uncertainty analysis test. The aquifer of Dibdibba in Al-Najaf City shows a slight deficit in the amount of water supplied by the current pumping scheme and also notices that the Euphrates River suffers from stresses applied to the aquifer. Ultimately, this study shows a crucial need to represent the interface soil layer in model conceptualization to be the intended and future predicted behaviours more reliable for consideration purposes.

Keywords: Al-Najaf City, groundwater aquifer behaviour, groundwater modelling, interface soil layer, Visual MODFLOW.

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Authors: Mayank Singh, O. P. Singh ‘Vatsa’, M. P. Singh

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Present paper deals with an evaluation of magnitude of changes in biomass and net primary productivity at ‘Gujar Tal’ sloppy lake margin at Jaunpur in tropical semi-arid region of eastern U.P. (India). The study site abandoned or neglected lands (50 ×125 m) was divided into two zones, i.e. upper zone (up-land) and lower zone (low-land). Maximum biomass in the upper zone of dominant weed Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf. was 207.47 g m-2 and ‘rest weeds’ was 457.45 g m-2 both in the month of September. In contrast, the peak biomass value in the lower zone of dominant weed Oryza rufipogon Griff. was 1571.44 g m-2 in October and ‘rest weeds’ 270.65 g m-2 in February. Among the two zones, the peak total community biomass was observed 1655.62 g m-2 (October) in the lower zone while its peak value for the upper zone 457.45 g m-2 (September) was comparatively low. Maximum percentage contribution of dominant weeds (D. bipinnata and O. rufipogon) in the respective upper and lower zones and ‘rest weeds’ in both the zones varied in different months in the total community biomass. The peak net primary productivity of dominant weed (D. bipinnata) was 2.09g m-2 day-1 (September) and ‘rest weeds’ was 2.37 g m-2 day-1 (August) in the upper zone, while the lower zone for O. rufipogon was 5.25 g m-2 day-1 (June) as this zone was inundated later and ‘rest weeds’ was 2.08 g m-2 day-1 (January, 2009). The annual net production of total community at site I was highest, 409.58 g m-2 yr-1 in the upper zone followed by 395.58 g m-2 per eight month in the lower zone as this zone was flooded with water during rainy season. The site significance of variations in biomass in relation to plant species was tested by analysis of variance. It was significant between months in all the two zones (p<0.01 and p<0.05).

Keywords: Biomass, Neglected Lake Margin, Productivity, Vegetation.

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Authors: D. S. Jaya, G. P. Deepthi

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Groundwater is vital to the livelihoods and health of the majority of the people, since it provides almost the entire water resource for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. Groundwater quality comprises the physical, chemical and bacteriological qualities. The present investigation was carried out to determine the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of the ground water sources in the residential areas of Karakulam Grama Panchayath in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala state in India. Karakulam is located in the eastern suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram city. The major drinking water source of the residents in the study area is wells. The present study aims to assess the portability and irrigational suitability of groundwater in the study area. The water samples were collected from randomly selected dug wells and bore wells in the study area during post monsoon and pre monsoon seasons of the year 2014 after a preliminary field survey. The physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters of the water samples were analyzed following standard procedures. The concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb and Mn) in the acid digested water samples were determined by using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed that the pH of well water samples ranged from acidic to alkaline level. In majority of well water samples (>54 %) the iron and magnesium content were found high in both the seasons studied, and the values were above the permissible limits of WHO drinking water quality standards. Bacteriological analyses showed that 63% of the wells were contaminated with total coliforms in both the seasons studied. Irrigational suitability of groundwater was assessed by determining the chemical indices like Sodium Percentage (%Na), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index (PI), and the results indicate that the well water in the study area are good for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the study reveals the degradation of drinking water quality groundwater sources in Karakulam Grama Panchayath in Thiruvananthapuram District, Keralain terms of its chemical and bacteriological characteristics, and is not potable without proper treatment. In the study, more than 1/3rdof the well water samples tested were positive for total coliforms, and the bacterial contamination may pose threat to public health. The study recommends the need for periodic well water quality monitoring in the study area and to conduct awareness programs among the residents.

Keywords: Bacteriological, groundwater, irrigational suitability, physicochemical, potability.

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Authors: K. Vallianou, T. Alexopoulos, V. Plaka, M. K. Seleventi, V. Skanavis, C. Skanavis

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The present research addresses the role of place attachment and emotions in community resiliency and recovery within the context of a disaster. Natural disasters represent a disruption in the normal functioning of a community, leading to a general feeling of disorientation. This study draws on the trauma caused by a natural hazard such as a forest fire. The changes of the sense of togetherness are being assessed. Finally this research determines how the place attachment of the inhabitants was affected during the reorientation process of the community. The case study area is Mati, a small coastal town in eastern Attica, Greece. The fire broke out on July 23^rd, 2018. A quantitative research was conducted through questionnaires via phone interviews, one year after the disaster, to address community resiliency in the long-run. The sample was composed of 159 participants from the rural community of Mati plus 120 coming from Skyros Island that was used as a control group. Inhabitants were prompted to answer items gauging their emotions related to the event, group identification and emotional significance of their community, and place attachment before and a year after the fire took place. Importantly, the community recovery and reorientation were examined within the context of a relative absence of government backing and official support. Emotions related to the event were aggregated into 4 clusters related to: activation/vigilance, distress/disorientation, indignation, and helplessness. The findings revealed a decrease in the level of place attachment in the impacted area of Mati as compared to the control group of Skyros Island. Importantly, initial distress caused by the fire prompted the residents to identify more with their community and to report more positive feelings toward their community. Moreover, a mediation analysis indicated that the positive effect of community cohesion on place attachment one year after the disaster was mediated by the positive feelings toward the community. Finally, place attachment contributes to enhanced optimism and a more positive perspective concerning Mati’s future prospects. Despite an insufficient state support to this affected area, the findings suggest an important role of emotions and place attachment during the process of recovery. Implications concerning the role of emotions and social dynamics in meshing place attachment during the disaster recovery process as well as community resiliency are discussed.

Keywords: Community resilience, natural disasters, place attachment, wildfire.

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Authors: Kollie B. Dogba, Willis Oluoch-Kosura, Chepchumba Chumo

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In Liberia, many of the agricultural households cultivate cassava for either sustenance purposes, or to generate farm income. Many of the concentrated cassava farmers reside in Nimba, a north-eastern County that borders two other economies: the Republics of Cote D’Ivoire and Guinea. With a high demand for cassava output and products in emerging Asian markets coupled with an objective of the Liberia agriculture policies to increase the competitiveness of valued agriculture crops; there is a need to examine the level of resource-use efficiency for many agriculture crops. However, there is a scarcity of information on the efficiency of many agriculture crops, including cassava. Hence the study applying an output-oriented method seeks to assess the economic efficiency of cassava farmers in Nimba County, Liberia. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to generate a sample for the study. From 216 cassava farmers, data related to on-farm attributes, socio-economic and institutional factors were collected. The stochastic frontier models, using the Translog functional forms, of production and revenue, were used to determine the level of revenue efficiency and its determinants. The result showed that most of the cassava farmers are male (60%). Many of the farmers are either married, engaged or living together with a spouse (83%), with a mean household size of nine persons. Farmland is prevalently obtained by inheritance (95%), average farm size is 1.34 hectares, and most cassava farmers did not access agriculture credits (76%) and extension services (91%). The mean cassava output per hectare is 1,506.02 kg, which estimates average revenue of L$23,551.16 (Liberian dollars). Empirical results showed that the revenue efficiency of cassava farmers varies from 0.1% to 73.5%; with the mean revenue efficiency of 12.9%. This indicates that on average, there is a vast potential of 87.1% to increase the economic efficiency of cassava farmers in Nimba by improving technical and allocative efficiencies. For the significant determinants of revenue efficiency, age and group membership had negative effects on revenue efficiency of cassava production; while farming experience, access to extension, formal education, and average wage rate have positive effects. The study recommends the setting-up and incentivizing of farmer field schools for cassava farmers to primarily share their farming experiences with others and to learn robust cultivation techniques of sustainable agriculture. Also, farm managers and farmers should consider a fix wage rate in labor contracts for all stages of cassava farming.

Keywords: Economic efficiency, frontier production, and revenue functions, Liberia, Nimba County, output-oriented, revenue efficiency.

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Authors: Nomataru P. Gontse, Lavanithum Joseph

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Deafness coupled with a lack of support and resources in developing countries poses a serious threat to the well- being of children. The mismatch between the needs of persons with disabilities and the resources available to them is a key factor in service provision in resource constrained contexts. Furthermore, deafness in children is the most common childhood sensory disorder in developing countries, and as such seriously affected with regard to resource constraints. This paper discusses the issues and research protocol for a Ph.D. study that aims to develop a practice guideline that is contextually sensitive and includes an interdisciplinary approach that will improve the outcomes of learners and the relationships in hearing households with deaf learners in rural areas of the Eastern Cape, one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. The guideline developed will consider the lived experiences of deaf children and their hearing families on the impact deafness has on their relationships and communication at home. Ethical clearance for the study has been obtained. The methodology is a mixed-methods approach in the form of a survey using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with deaf learners in primary and high school and their hearing parents to get their perspective on the impact deafness has on their relationships and communication at home. The study is conducted using adolescent learners from Grades 7 to 12 (excluding learners younger than 12 years and older than 21 years). An audiologist, teachers, and support staff will also give their views on how the intervention is currently done and possible suggestions on how management can be done differently. Data collection will be conducted in isiXhosa by the researcher, as isiXhosa is dominant in this region. The interviews will be conducted in South African Sign Language by the sign language interpreter for deaf learners and educational professionals. An expected outcome for this study is the development of recommendations and a practice guideline for deaf children diagnosed late from rural or under-resourced environments. To ensure the implementation of the findings, in the end, professionals will be given feedback on the outcomes of the study so that they can identify areas within their practices that require updated knowledge. The developed guideline is expected to have an impact on the Department of Education policies both regionally and nationally, providing recommendations for a strategic management plan and practice guidelines for this vulnerable and marginalized population. The IsiXhosa specific context could be generalized to other similar contexts.

Keywords: Deafness, family-centred approach, early identification, rural communities.

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Authors: Aliya Isaeva, Anar Sultaniarova

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The report focuses on such an important indicator of the nature and direction of development of ethnic and cultural processes in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as ethno linguistic situation. It is shown that, in essence, on the one hand, expresses the degree of the actual propagation and the level of use of the languages of the various ethnic communities. On the other hand, reflects the important patterns, trends and prospects of ethno-cultural and ethnodemographic processes in the Republic. It is important to note that the ethno linguistic situation in different regions of Kazakhstan, due to its more dynamic and much more difficult to demonstrate a much greater variety of options when compared with the ethnic situation in the country. For the two major ethnic groups of the republic – Kazakh and Russian language ethno differentiating retains its value, while for the other ethnic groups observed decline in the importance of this indicator. As you know, the language of international communication in the country is Russian. As the censuses of population, the Russian language in many areas of Northern, Central and Eastern Kazakhstan becomes a means of ethno linguistic development for most of the non-Russian population. This is most clearly illustrated by the Germans, and the Slavic ethnic groups. In this case, the Russian language is not just a means of international communication for a number of ethnic groups, and ethnic groups, it becomes a factor of ethnic self-expression. The value of the Kazakh language as their mother tongue for the other groups of the population is small. More clearly it can be traced only to the Turkic-speaking population of the republic – Uzbeks, Uighurs, Tatars, Turks, etc. The state Kazakh language is a means of international communication in the Western and Southern Kazakhstan, with a predominance of the Kazakh population. The report shows that the most important factor in the development of ethno-linguistic and ethno-cultural processes is bilingualism. Comparative analysis of materials census shows, first, on the increase of the proportion of bilingual population among Kazakhs and Russian, and second, to reduce the proportion of bilingual population of other ethnic groups living in Kazakhstan, and third, a higher proportion bilingual population among residents than rural residents, regardless of their ethnicity. Bilingualism is mainly of a "national Kazakh", "national Russian" or "Kazakh-national" or "Russian-national" character. The President N.A. Nazarbayev said that the Kazakh language is the most important factor in the consolidation of the people of Kazakhstan. He therefore called on government and other state and local representative bodies fully develop the state language, to create all the necessary organizational, material and technical conditions for free and open learning the state language by all citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Keywords: Ethnos, ethno cultural processes, ethnolinguistic situation, mother tongue, bilingualism.

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Authors: Tanima Bhattacharya, Joy Sen

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To transform a space into a better livable and sustainable zone, United Nations Summit in New York 2015, has decided upon 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that approach directly to achieve inclusive, people-centric, sustainable developments. Though sustainability has been majorly constructed by four pillars, namely, Ecological, Economic, Social and Cultural, but it is essentially reduced to economic and ecological consideration in the context of developing countries. Therefore, in most cases planning has reduced its ambit to concentrate around the tangible infrastructure, ignoring the fundamentals of socio-cultural heritage. With the accentuating hype of infrastructural augmentation, lack of emphasis of traditional concerns like ethnicity and social connection have further diluted the situation, disintegrating cultural continuity. As cultural continuity lacks its cohesion, it’s growing absence increasingly acts as a catalyst to degrade the heritage structures, spaces around and linking these structures, and the ability of stakeholders in identifying themselves rooted in that particular space. Hence, this paper will argue that sustainability depends on the people and their interaction with their surroundings, their culture and livelihood. The interaction between people and their surroundings strengthen community building and social interaction that abides by stakeholders reverting back to their roots. To assess the socio-cultural sustainability of the city of Kolkata, two study areas are selected, namely, an old settlement from the northern part of the city of Kolkata (KMA), imbued with social connection, age-old cultural and ethnic bonding and, another cluster of new high-rises coming up in the Newtown area having portions of planned city extension on the eastern side of the city itself. Whereas, Newtown prioritizes the surging post-industrial trends of economic aspiration and ecological aspects of urban sustainability; the former settlements of northern Kolkata still continue to represent the earliest community settlement of the British-colonial-cum native era and even the pre-colonial era, permeated with socio-cultural reciprocation. Thus, to compare and assess the inlayed organizational structure of both the spaces in the two cases, selected areas have been surveyed to portray their current imageability. The argument of this paper is structured in 5parts. First, an introduction of the idea has been forwarded, Secondly, a literature review has been conducted to ground the proposed ideas, Thirdly, methodology has been discussed and appropriate case study areas have been selected, Fourthly, surveys and analyses has been forwarded and lastly, the paper has arrived at a set of conclusions by suggesting a threefold development to create happy, healthy and sustainable community.

Keywords: Art innovation, current scenario assessment, heritage, imageability, socio-cultural sustainability.

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Authors: Karishma Kashyap, Subha D. Parida

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Rapid population growth and urbanization is creating pressure throughout the world. This has a dramatic effect on a lot of elements which include water, food, transportation, energy, infrastructure etc. as few of the key services. Built environment sector is growing concurrently to meet the needs of urbanization. Due to such large scale development of buildings, there is a need for them to be monitored and managed efficiently. Along with appropriate management, climate adaptation is highly crucial as well because buildings are one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emission in their operation phase. Buildings to be adaptive need to provide a triple bottom approach to sustainability i.e., being socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. Hence, in order to deliver these sustainability outcomes, there is a growing understanding and thrive towards switching to green buildings or renovating new ones as per green standards wherever possible. Academic institutions in particular have been following this trend globally. This is highly significant as universities usually have high occupancy rates because they manage a large building portfolio. Also, as universities accommodate the future generation of architects, policy makers etc., they have the potential of setting themselves as a best industry practice model for research and innovation for the rest to follow. Hence their climate adaptation, sustainable growth and performance management becomes highly crucial in order to provide the best services to users. With the objective of evaluating appropriate management mechanisms within academic institutions, a feasibility study was carried out in a recent 5-Star Green Star rated university building (housing the School of Construction) in Victoria (south-eastern state of Australia). The key aim was to understand the behavioral and social aspect of the building users, management and the impact of their relationship on overall building sustainability. A survey was used to understand the building occupant’s response and reactions in terms of their work environment and management. A report was generated based on the survey results complemented with utility and performance data which were then used to evaluate the management structure of the university. Followed by the report, interviews were scheduled with the facility and asset managers in order to understand the approach they use to manage the different buildings in their university campuses (old, new, refurbished), respective building and parameters incorporated in maintaining the Green Star performance. The results aimed at closing the communication and feedback loop within the respective institutions and assist the facility managers to deliver appropriate stakeholder engagement. For the wider design community, analysis of the data highlights the applicability and significance of prioritizing key stakeholders, integrating desired engagement policies within an institution’s management structures and frameworks and their effect on building performance

Keywords: Building Optimization, Green Building, Post Occupancy Evaluation, Stakeholder Engagement.

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Authors: Larysa Novak-Kalyayeva, Aleksander Kuczabski, Orystlava Sydorchuk, Nataliia Fersman, Tatyana Zemlinskaia

Abstract:

The article presents the results of the creative analysis and comparison of trends in the development of the theory of public administration during the period from the second half of the 20^th to the beginning of the 21^st century. The process of conceptualization of the priorities of public administration in the dynamics of reforming was held under the influence of such factors as globalization, integration, information and technological changes and human rights is examined. The priorities of the social state in the concepts of the second half of the 20^th century are studied. Peculiar approaches to determining the priorities of public administration in the countries of "Soviet dictatorship" in Central and Eastern Europe in the same period are outlined. Particular attention is paid to the priorities of public administration regarding the interaction between public power and society and the development of conceptual foundations for the modern managerial process. There is a thought that the dynamics of the formation of concepts of the European governance is characterized by the sequence of priorities: from socio-economic and moral-ethical to organizational-procedural and non-hierarchical ones. The priorities of the "welfare state" were focused on the decent level of material wellbeing of population. At the same time, the conception of "minimal state" emphasized priorities of human responsibility for their own fate under the conditions of minimal state protection. Later on, the emphasis was placed on horizontal ties and redistribution of powers and competences of "effective state" with its developed procedures and limits of responsibility at all levels of government and in close cooperation with the civil society. The priorities of the contemporary period are concentrated on human rights in the concepts of "good governance" and all the following ones, which recognize the absolute priority of public administration with compliance, provision and protection of human rights. There is a proved point of view that civilizational changes taking place under the influence of information and technological imperatives also stipulate changes in priorities, redistribution of emphases and update principles of managerial concepts on the basis of publicity, transparency, departure from traditional forms of hierarchy and control in favor of interactivity and inter-sectoral interaction, decentralization and humanization of managerial processes. The necessity to permanently carry out the reorganization, by establishing the interaction between different participants of public power and social relations, to establish a balance between political forces and social interests on the basis of mutual trust and mutual understanding determines changes of social, political, economic and humanitarian paradigms of public administration and their theoretical comprehension. The further studies of theoretical foundations of modern public administration in interdisciplinary discourse in the context of ambiguous consequences of the globalizational and integrational processes of modern European state-building would be advisable. This is especially true during the period of political transformations and economic crises which are the characteristic of the contemporary Europe, especially for democratic transition countries.

Keywords: Concepts of public administration, democratic transition countries, human rights, the priorities of public administration, theory of public administration.

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