Abstract: This paper aims to provide a conceptual framework to examine competitive disadvantage of banks that suffer from poor performance. Banks generate revenues mainly from the interest rate spread on taking deposits and making loans while collecting fees in the process. To maximize firm value, banks seek loan growth and expense control while managing risk associated with loans with respect to non-performing borrowers or narrowing interest spread between assets and liabilities. Competitive disadvantage refers to the failure to access imitable resources and to build managing capabilities to gain sustainable return given appropriate risk management. This paper proposes a four-quadrant framework of organizational typology is subsequently proposed to examine the features of competitive disadvantage in the banking sector. A resource configuration model, which is extracted from CAMEL indicators to examine the underlying features of bank failures.
Abstract: This study describes analysis of tower grounding
resistance effected the back flashover voltage across insulator string
in a transmission system. This paper studies the 500 kV transmission
lines from Mae Moh, Lampang to Nong Chok, Bangkok, Thailand,
which is double circuit in the same steel tower with two overhead
ground wires. The factor of this study includes magnitude of
lightning stroke, and front time of lightning stroke. Steel tower uses
multistory tower model. The assumption of studies based on the
return stroke current ranged 1-200 kA, front time of lightning stroke
between 1 μs to 3 μs. The simulations study the effect of varying
tower grounding resistance that affect the lightning current.
Simulation results are analyzed lightning over voltage that causes
back flashover at insulator strings. This study helps to know causes
of problems of back flashover the transmission line system, and also
be as a guideline solving the problem for 500 kV transmission line
systems, as well.
Abstract: The use of a Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) to interpret breath measurements obtained during a 13C Octanoic Breath Test (13COBT) is demonstrated. The statistical analysis was implemented using WinBUGS, a commercially available computer package for Bayesian inference. A hierarchical setting was adopted where poorly defined parameters associated with a delayed Gastric Emptying (GE) were able to "borrow" strength from global distributions. This is proved to be a sufficient tool to correct model's failures and data inconsistencies apparent in conventional analyses employing a Non-linear least squares technique (NLS). Direct comparison of two parameters describing gastric emptying ng ( tlag -lag phase, t1/ 2 -half emptying time) revealed a strong correlation between the two methods. Despite our large dataset ( n = 164 ), Bayesian modeling was fast and provided a successful fitting for all subjects. On the contrary, NLS failed to return acceptable estimates in cases where GE was delayed.
Abstract: The study analyzed the risk and returns of commercial-property in Southwestern Nigeria and selected stocksmarket investment between 2000 and 2009; compared the inflation hedging characteristics and diversification potentials of investing in commercial-property and selected stock- market investment. Primary data were collected on characteristics, rental and capital values of commercial- properties from their property managers through the use of questionnaire. Secondary data on stock prices and dividends on banking, insurance and conglomerates sectors were sourced from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (2000-2009). The result showed that average return on all the selected stock- investments was higher than that of commercial-property. As regards risk, commercial-property indicated lower risk, compared to stocks. Also the stock-investment had better inflation hedging capacity than commercial-properties; combination of both had diversification potentials. The study concluded that stock-market investment offered attractive higher return than commercial-property although with higher risk and there could be diversification benefits in combining commercial-property with stock- investment.
Abstract: Intermittent aeration process can be easily applied on
the existing activated sludge system and is highly reliable against the loading changes. It can be operated in a relatively simple way as well.
Since the moving-bed biofilm reactor method processes pollutants by attaching and securing the microorganisms on the media, the process
efficiency can be higher compared to the suspended growth biological
treatment process, and can reduce the return of sludge. In this study,
the existing intermittent aeration process with alternating flow being
applied on the oxidation ditch is applied on the continuous flow stirred tank reactor with advantages from both processes, and we would like
to develop the process to significantly reduce the return of sludge in the clarifier and to secure the reliable quality of treated water by
adding the moving media. Corresponding process has the appropriate
form as an infrastructure based on u- environment in future u- City and
is expected to accelerate the implementation of u-Eco city in conjunction with city based services. The system being conducted in a
laboratory scale has been operated in HRT 8hours except for the final
clarifier and showed the removal efficiency of 97.7 %, 73.1 % and 9.4
% in organic matters, TN and TP, respectively with operating range of
4hour cycle on system SRT 10days. After adding the media, the removal efficiency of phosphorus showed a similar level compared to
that before the addition, but the removal efficiency of nitrogen was
improved by 7~10 %. In addition, the solids which were maintained in
MLSS 1200~1400 at 25 % of media packing were attached all onto the
media, which produced no sludge entering the clarifier. Therefore, the
return of sludge is not needed any longer.
Abstract: To strengthen the capital market, there is a need to
integrate the capital markets within the region by removing legal or informal restriction, specifically, stock market liberalization. Thus the paper is to investigate the effects of the subsequent stock market liberalization on stock market integration in 4 ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore) and Korea from 1997 to 2007. The correlation between stock market liberalization and stock
market integration are to be examined by analyzing the stock prices
and returns within the region and in comparison with the world
MSCI index. Event study method is to be used with windows of ±12
months and T-7 + T. The results show that the subsequent stock
market liberalization generally, gives minor positive effects to stock
returns, except for one or two countries. The subsequent
liberalization also integrates the markets short-run and long-run.
Abstract: Recent trends in building constructions in Libya are
more toward tall (high-rise) building projects. As a consequence, a
better estimation of the lateral loading in the design process is
becoming the focal of a safe and cost effective building industry. Byin-
large, Libya is not considered a potential earthquake prone zone,
making wind is the dominant design lateral loads. Current design
practice in the country estimates wind speeds on a mere random
bases by considering certain factor of safety to the chosen wind
speed. Therefore, a need for a more accurate estimation of wind
speeds in Libya was the motivation behind this study. Records of
wind speed data were collected from 22 metrological stations in
Libya, and were statistically analysed. The analysis of more than four
decades of wind speed records suggests that the country can be
divided into four zones of distinct wind speeds. A computer “survey"
program was manipulated to draw design wind speeds contour map
for the state of Libya.
The paper presents the statistical analysis of Libya-s recorded
wind speed data and proposes design wind speed values for a 50-year
return period that covers the entire country.
Abstract: It is estimated that the total cost of abnormal
conditions to US process industries is around $20 billion dollars in
annual losses. The hydrotreatment (HDT) of diesel fuel in petroleum
refineries is a conversion process that leads to high profitable
economical returns. However, this is a difficult process to control
because it is operated continuously, with high hydrogen pressures
and it is also subject to disturbances in feed properties and catalyst
performance. So, the automatic detection of fault and diagnosis plays
an important role in this context. In this work, a hybrid approach
based on neural networks together with a pos-processing
classification algorithm is used to detect faults in a simulated HDT
unit. Nine classes (8 faults and the normal operation) were correctly
classified using the proposed approach in a maximum time of 5
minutes, based on on-line data process measurements.
Abstract: This paper presents a tested research concept that
implements a complex evolutionary algorithm, genetic algorithm
(GA), in a multi-microcontroller environment. Parallel Distributed
Genetic Algorithm (PDGA) is employed in adaptive beam forming
technique to reduce power usage of adaptive antenna at WCDMA
base station. Adaptive antenna has dynamic beam that requires more
advanced beam forming algorithm such as genetic algorithm which
requires heavy computation and memory space. Microcontrollers are
low resource platforms that are normally not associated with GAs,
which are typically resource intensive. The aim of this project was to
design a cooperative multiprocessor system by expanding the role of
small scale PIC microcontrollers to optimize WCDMA base station
transmitter power. Implementation results have shown that PDGA
multi-microcontroller system returned optimal transmitted power
compared to conventional GA.
Abstract: This paper presents the theoretical investigation of a
slotted patch antenna. The main objective of proposed work is to
obtain a large bandwidth antenna with reduced size. The antenna has
a compact size of 21.1mm x 20.25mm x 8.5mm. Two designs with
minor variation are studied which provide wide impedance
bandwidths of 24.056% and 25.63% respectively with the use of
parasitic elements when excited by a probe feed. The advantages of
this configuration are its compact size and the wide range of
frequencies covered. A parametric study is also conducted to
investigate the characteristics of the antenna under different
conditions. The measured return loss and radiation pattern indicate
the suitability of this design for WLAN applications, namely, Wi-
Max, 802.11a/b/g and ISM bands.
Abstract: Focusing on the environmental issues, including the reduction of scrap and consumer residuals, along with the benefiting from the economic value during the life cycle of goods/products leads the companies to have an important competitive approach. The aim of this paper is to present a new mixed nonlinear facility locationallocation model in recycling collection networks by considering multi-echelon, multi-suppliers, multi-collection centers and multifacilities in the recycling network. To make an appropriate decision in reality, demands, returns, capacities, costs and distances, are regarded uncertain in our model. For this purpose, a fuzzy mathematical programming-based possibilistic approach is introduced as a solution methodology from the recent literature to solve the proposed mixed-nonlinear programming model (MNLP). The computational experiments are provided to illustrate the applicability of the designed model in a supply chain environment and to help the decision makers to facilitate their analysis.
Abstract: In recent years, environment regulation forcing
manufactures to consider recovery activity of end-of- life products
and/or return products for refurbishing, recycling,
remanufacturing/repair and disposal in supply chain management. In
this paper, a mathematical model is formulated for single product
production-inventory system considering remanufacturing/reuse of
return products and rate of return products follows a demand like
function, dependent on purchasing price and acceptance quality level.
It is useful in decision making to determine whether to go for
remanufacturing or disposal of returned products along with newly
produced products to satisfy a stationary demand. In addition, a
modified genetic algorithm approach is proposed, inspired by particle
swarm optimization method. Numerical analysis of the case study is
carried out to validate the model.
Abstract: The recurring decimal of rural and urban poverty in
Nigeria, resulting from lack of sustainable livelihood activities by
the people due to non-diversification of the economy, necessitated
this study. One hundred snail farmers were randomly selected in
Akure North and Akure South Local Government areas of Ondo
State, Southwest Nigeria where snail farming is widely practised.
Data collection was through questionnaires administration and onsite
observation of farms. Data obtained were subjected to
descriptive statistics, Student-s t-test and regression analysis. Cost
benefit ratio (CBR) and rate of return on investment (RORI) were
calculated in order to determine the poverty alleviation potentials of
snail farming in the study areas. Although snail farming was
profitable and viable, it was below poverty line. With time and more
knowledge in its farming activities, and with more people taking to
snail production, its poverty alleviation and reduction potentials will
increase.
Abstract: This paper is to develop a fuzzy net present value (FNPV) method by taking vague cash flow and imprecise required rate of return into account for evaluating the value of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) sport facilities. In order to clearly manifest a more realistic capital budgeting model based on the classical net present value (NPV) method, some uncertain financial elements in NPV formula will be fuzzified as triangular fuzzy numbers. Through the conscientious manipulation of fuzzy set theory, we will find that the proposed FNPV model is a more explicit extension of classical (crisp) model and could be more practicable for the financial managers to capture the essence of capital budgeting of sport facilities than non-fuzzy model.
Abstract: IETF defines mobility support in IPv6, i.e. MIPv6, to
allow nodes to remain reachable while moving around in the IPv6
internet. When a node moves and visits a foreign network, it is still
reachable through the indirect packet forwarding from its home
network. This triangular routing feature provides node mobility but
increases the communication latency between nodes. This deficiency
can be overcome by using a Binding Update (BU) scheme, which let
nodes keep up-to-date IP addresses and communicate with each other
through direct IP routing. To further protect the security of BU, a
Return Routability (RR) procedure was developed. However, it has
been found that RR procedure is vulnerable to many attacks. In this
paper, we will propose a lightweight RR procedure based on
geometric computing. In consideration of the inherent limitation of
computing resources in mobile node, the proposed scheme is
developed to minimize the cost of computations and to eliminate the
overhead of state maintenance during binding updates. Compared with
other CGA-based BU schemes, our scheme is more efficient and
doesn-t need nonce tables in nodes.
Abstract: Recent theorizations on the cognitive process of moral
judgment have focused on the role of intuitions and emotions, marking
a departure from previous emphasis on conscious, step-by-step
reasoning. My study investigated how being in a disgusted mood state
affects moral judgment.
Participants were induced to enter a disgusted mood state through
listening to disgusting sounds and reading disgusting descriptions.
Results shows that they, when compared to control who have not been
induced to feel disgust, are more likely to endorse actions that are
emotionally aversive but maximizes utilitarian return
The result is analyzed using the 'emotion-as-information' approach
to decision making. The result is consistent with the view that
emotions play an important role in determining moral judgment.
Abstract: Nowadays, where most of the leading economies are
service oriented and e-business is being widely used for their
management, supply chain management has become one of the most
studied and practiced fields. Quality has an important role on today-s
business processes, so it is important to understand the impact of IT
service quality on the performance of supply chains. This paper will
start by analyzing the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR)
model and each of its five activities: Plan, Source, Make, Delivery,
and Return. This article proposes a framework for analyzing Effect of
IT Service Quality on Supply Chain Performance. Using the
proposed framework, hypotheses are framed for the direct effect of IT
service quality on Supply Chain Performance and its indirect effect
through effective Supply Chain Management. The framework will be
validated empirically based on the surveys of executives of various
organizations and statistical analyses of the data collected.
Abstract: UWB is a very attractive technology for many
applications. It provides many advantages such as fine resolution and high power efficiency. Our interest in the current study is the use of
UWB radar technique in microwave medical imaging systems, especially for early breast cancer detection. The Federal Communications Commission FCC allowed frequency bandwidth of
3.1 to 10.6 GHz for this purpose. In this paper we suggest an UWB Bowtie slot antenna with enhanced bandwidth. Effects of varying the geometry of the antenna
on its performance and bandwidth are studied. The proposed antenna
is simulated in CST Microwave Studio. Details of antenna design and
simulation results such as return loss and radiation patterns are discussed in this paper. The final antenna structure exhibits good
UWB characteristics and has surpassed the bandwidth requirements.
Abstract: Flood zoning studies have become more efficient in
recent years because of the availability of advanced computational
facilities and use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In the
present study, flood inundated areas were mapped using GIS for the
Dikrong river basin of Arunachal Pradesh, India, corresponding to
different return periods (2, 5, 25, 50, and 100 years). Further, the developed inundation maps corresponding to 25, 50, and 100 year return period floods were compared to corresponding maps
developed by conventional methods as reported in the Brahmaputra Board Master Plan for Dikrong basin. It was found that, the average
deviation of modelled flood inundation areas from reported map
inundation areas is below 5% (4.52%). Therefore, it can be said that
the modelled flood inundation areas matched satisfactorily with
reported map inundation areas. Hence, GIS techniques were proved to be successful in extracting the flood inundation extent in a time and cost effective manner for the remotely located hilly basin of Dikrong, where conducting conventional surveys is very difficult.
Abstract: This paper focuses on PSS/E modeling of wind farms
of Doubly-fed Induction Generator (DFIG) type and their impact on
issues of power system operation. Since Wind Turbine Generators
(WTG) don-t have the same characteristics as synchronous
generators, the appropriate modeling of wind farms is essential for
transmission system operators to analyze the best options of
transmission grid reinforcements as well as to evaluate the wind
power impact on reliability and security of supply. With the high
excepted penetration of wind power into the power system a
simultaneous loss of Wind Farm generation will put at risk power
system security and reliability. Therefore, the main wind grid code
requirements concern the fault ride through capability and frequency
operation range of wind turbines. In case of grid faults wind turbines
have to supply a definite reactive power depending on the
instantaneous voltage and to return quickly to normal operation.