Abstract: Virtual environments are a hot topic in academia and more importantly in courses offered via distance education. Today-s gaming generation view virtual worlds as strong social and interactive mediums for communicating and socializing. And while institutions of higher education are challenged with increasing enrollment while balancing budget cuts, offering effective courses via distance education become a valid option. Educators can utilize virtual worlds to offer students an enhanced learning environment which has the power to alleviate feelings of isolation through the promotion of communication, interaction, collaboration, teamwork, feedback, engagement and constructivists learning activities. This paper focuses on the use of virtual environments to facilitate interaction in distance education courses so as to produce positive learning outcomes for students. Furthermore, the instructional strategies were reviewed and discussed for use in virtual worlds to enhance learning within a social context.
Abstract: In this paper is being described a possible use of
virtualization technology in teaching computer networks. The
virtualization can be used as a suitable tool for creating virtual
network laboratories, supplementing the real laboratories and
network simulation software in teaching networking concepts. It will
be given a short description of characteristic projects in the area of
virtualization technology usage in network simulation, network
experiments and engineering education. A method for implementing
laboratory has also been explained, together with possible laboratory
usage and design of laboratory exercises. At the end, the laboratory
test results of virtual laboratory are presented as well.
Abstract: The study of cytokine expression in mice under the
influence of inactivated poliovirus and Imovaks polio vaccine in
combination with derivatives of chitosan shows various kinds of
processes. There is a significant increase in IL-12 in the serum of
immunized animals, which should stimulate the production of IFN-γ
NK-cells and T-cells and polarize the immune response to Th1 type.
Thus, the derivatives of chitosan can promote cell component of the
immune response, providing a full antiviral immunity.
Abstract: Occurrence of a multiple-points fault in machine operations could result in exhibiting complex fault signatures, which could result in lowering fault diagnosis accuracy. In this study, a multiple-points defect model (MPDM) is proposed which can simulate fault signature-s dynamics for n-points bearing faults. Furthermore, this study identifies that in case of multiple-points fault in the rotary machine, the location of the dominant component of defect frequency shifts depending upon the relative location of the fault points which could mislead the fault diagnostic model to inaccurate detections. Analytical and experimental results are presented to characterize and validate the variation in the dominant component of defect frequency. Based on envelop detection analysis, a modification is recommended in the existing fault diagnostic models to consider the multiples of defect frequency rather than only considering the frequency spectrum at the defect frequency in order to incorporate the impact of multiple points fault.
Abstract: According to the majority and to stereotypes in a simple everyman religious processes in the world in general, and Kazakhstan in particular, have only negative trends. The main reason for the author's opinion is seen in the fact that the media in the pursuit of ratings and sensation, more inclined to highlight the negative aspects of events in the country and the world of processes forgetting or casually mentioning the positive initiatives and achievements. That is why the article is mainly revealed positive trends in mind that the problems of fanaticism, terrorism and the confrontation of society on various issues, a lot has been written and detailed. This article describes the stages in the development of relations between religion and state, as well as institutionalization, networking and assistance in the correct orientation of religious activities in the country.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investiagte the use of
the ecommerce website in Indonesia as a developing country. The
ecommerce website has been identified having the significant impact
on business activities in particular solving the geographical problem
for islanded countries likes Indonesia. Again, website is identified as
a crucial marketing tool. This study presents the effect of quality and
features on the use and user satisfaction employing ecommerce
websites. Survey method for 115 undergraduate students of
Management Department in Andalas University who are attending
Management Information Systems (SIM) class have been
undertaken. The data obtained is analyzed using Structural Equation
Modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS program. This result found that
quality of system and information, feature as well satisfaction
influencing the use ecommerce website in Indonesia contexts.
Abstract: The purpose of the article is to illustrate the main
characteristics of the corporate governance challenge facing the
countries of South-Eastern Europe (SEE) and to subsequently
determine and assess the extensiveness and effectiveness of corporate
governance regulations in these countries. Therefore, we start with an
overview on the subject of the key problems of corporate governance
in transition. We then address the issue of corporate governance
measurement for SEE countries. To this end, we include a review of
the methodological framework for determining both the
extensiveness and the effectiveness of corporate governance
legislation. We then focus on the actual analysis of the quality of
corporate governance codes, as well as of legal institutions
effectiveness and provide a measure of corporate governance in
Romania and other SEE emerging markets. The paper concludes by
emphasizing the corporate governance enforcement gap and by
identifying research issues that require further study.
Abstract: An experimental study is presented on the effect
of microstructural change on the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect
behaviour of Al-2.5%Mg alloy. Tensile tests are performed on
the as received and heat treated (at 400 ºC for 16 hours)
samples for a wide range of strain rates. The serrations
observed in the stress-time curve are investigated from
statistical analysis point of view. Microstructures of the
samples are characterized by optical metallography and X-ray
diffraction. It is found that the excess vacancy generated due
to heat treatment leads to decrease in the strain rate sensitivity
and the increase in the number of stress drop occurrences per
unit time during the PLC effect. The microstructural
parameters like domain size, dislocation density have no
appreciable effect on the PLC effect as far as the statistical
behavior of the serrations is considered.
Abstract: This article summarizes ways to verify neutron
fluence for neutron transmutation doping of silicon with phosphorus
on the LVR-15 reactor. Neutron fluence is determined using
activation detectors placed along the crystal in a strip or encapsulated
in a rod holder. Holders are placed at the centre of a water-filled
capsule or in an aluminum or silicon ingot that simulates a real single
crystal. If the diameter of the crystal is significantly less than the
capsule diameter and water from the primary circuit enters the free
space in the capsule, neutron interaction in the water changes neutron
fluence, affecting axial irradiation homogeneity. The effect of
moving the capsule vertically in the channel relative to maximum
neutron fluence in the reactor core was also measured. Even a small
shift of the capsule-s centre causes great irradiation inhomogeneity.
This effect was measured using activation detectors, and was also
confirmed by MCNP calculation.
Abstract: The morphological short-term evolution of Ponta do Tubarão Island (PTI) was investigated through high accurate surveys based on post-processed kinematic (PPK) relative positioning on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). PTI is part of a barrier island system on a high energy northeast Brazilian coastal environment and also an area of high environmental sensitivity. Surveys were carried out quarterly over a two years period from May 2010 to May 2012. This paper assesses statically the performance of digital elevation models (DEM) derived from different interpolation methods to represent morphologic features and to quantify volumetric changes and TIN models shown the best results to that purposes. The MDE allowed quantifying surfaces and volumes in detail as well as identifying the most vulnerable segments of the PTI to erosion and/or accumulation of sediments and relate the alterations to climate conditions. The coastal setting and geometry of PTI protects a significant mangrove ecosystem and some oil and gas facilities installed in the vicinities from damaging effects of strong oceanwaves and currents. Thus, the maintenance of PTI is extremely required but the prediction of its longevity is uncertain because results indicate an irregularity of sedimentary balance and a substantial decline in sediment supply to this coastal area.
Abstract: In recent decade's tourism industry is one of main
reasons of the social and economical development for many
countries; so these countries try to gain more portion of it for
themselves. The excessive natural and cultural touristy potentialities
in Iran made this country to be one of the most attractive sightseeing
areas, although; Iran has got the lowest rate of tourists. Khark Island
is about 32 km. It is a beautiful coral reef coast; about 98% of oil
export has been done through this place. The ecotourism
potentialities of Khark and Kharko Islands (about 3.7km far from
Khark) are the reason to consider ecotourism and the main activity in
these islands which is exporting oil at the same time. This article
refers to way of measuring the geographical coordination of the
place, and the potentialities, ecotourism attraction of the islands and
introduces some ideas in order to expand tourism in the islands.
Abstract: Chikungunya virus (CHICKV) is an arboviruses belonging to family Tagoviridae and is transmitted to human through by mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) bite. A large outbreak of chikungunya has been reported in India between 2006 and 2007, along with several other countries from South-East Asia and for the first time in Europe. It was for the first time that the CHICKV outbreak has been reported with mortality from Reunion Island and increased mortality from Asian countries. CHICKV affects all age groups, and currently there are no specific drugs or vaccine to cure the disease. The need of antiviral agents for the treatment of CHICKV infection and the success of virtual screening against many therapeutically valuable targets led us to carry out the structure based drug design against Chikungunya nSP2 protease (PDB: 3TRK). Highthroughput virtual screening of publicly available databases, ZINC12 and BindingDB, has been carried out using the Openeye tools and Schrodinger LLC software packages. Openeye Filter program has been used to filter the database and the filtered outputs were docked using HTVS protocol implemented in GLIDE package of Schrodinger LLC. The top HITS were further used for enriching the similar molecules from the database through vROCS; a shape based screening protocol implemented in Openeye. The approach adopted has provided different scaffolds as HITS against CHICKV protease. Three scaffolds: Indole, Pyrazole and Sulphone derivatives were selected based on the docking score and synthetic feasibility. Derivatives of Pyrazole were synthesized and submitted for antiviral screening against CHICKV.
Abstract: Encryption protects communication partners from
disclosure of their secret messages but cannot prevent traffic analysis
and the leakage of information about “who communicates with
whom". In the presence of collaborating adversaries, this linkability
of actions can danger anonymity. However, reliably providing
anonymity is crucial in many applications. Especially in contextaware
mobile business, where mobile users equipped with PDAs
request and receive services from service providers, providing
anonymous communication is mission-critical and challenging at the
same time. Firstly, the limited performance of mobile devices does
not allow for heavy use of expensive public-key operations which are
commonly used in anonymity protocols. Moreover, the demands for
security depend on the application (e.g., mobile dating vs. pizza
delivery service), but different users (e.g., a celebrity vs. a normal
person) may even require different security levels for the same
application. Considering both hardware limitations of mobile devices
and different sensitivity of users, we propose an anonymity
framework that is dynamically configurable according to user and
application preferences. Our framework is based on Chaum-s mixnet.
We explain the proposed framework, its configuration
parameters for the dynamic behavior and the algorithm to enforce
dynamic anonymity.
Abstract: Food control measures are critical in fostering food safety management of a nation. However, no academic study has been undertaken to assess the food control system of Myanmar up to now. The objective of this research paper was to assess the food control system with in depth examination of five key components using desktop analysis and short survey from related food safety program organizations including regulators and inspectors. Study showed that the existing food control system is conventional, mainly focusing on primary health care approach while relying on reactive measures. The achievements of food control work have been limited to a certain extent due to insufficienttechnical capacity that is needed to upgrade staffs, laboratory equipment and technical assistance etc. associated with various sectors. Assessing food control measures is the first step in the integration of food safety management, this paper could assist policy makers in providing information for enhancing the safety and quality of food produced and consumed in Myanmar.
Abstract: This paper discusses a new model of Islamic code of
ethics for directors. Several corporate scandals and local (example
Transmile and Megan Media) and overseas corporate (example
Parmalat and Enron) collapses show that the current corporate
governance and regulatory reform are unable to prevent these events
from recurring. Arguably, the code of ethics for directors is under
research and the current code of ethics only concentrates on binding
the work of the employee of the organization as a whole, without
specifically putting direct attention to the directors, the group of
people responsible for the performance of the company. This study
used a semi-structured interview survey of well-known Islamic
scholars such as the Mufti to develop the model. It is expected that
the outcome of the research is a comprehensive model of code of
ethics based on the Islamic principles that can be applied and used by
the company to construct a code of ethics for their directors.
Abstract: Lean manufacturing is a production philosophy made
popular by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). It is globally known as
the Toyota Production System (TPS) and has the ultimate aim of
reducing cost by thoroughly eliminating wastes or muda. TPS
embraces the Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing; achieving cost
reduction through lead time reduction. JIT manufacturing can be
achieved by implementing Pull system in the production.
Furthermore, TPS aims to improve productivity and creating
continuous flow in the production by arranging the machines and
processes in cellular configurations. This is called as Cellular
Manufacturing Systems (CMS). This paper studies on integrating the
CMS with the Pull system to establish a Big Island-Pull system
production for High Mix Low Volume (HMLV) products in an
automotive component industry. The paper will use the build-in JIT
system steps adapted from TMC to create the Pull system production
and also create a shojinka line which, according to takt time, has the
flexibility to adapt to demand changes simply by adding and taking
out manpower. This will lead to optimization in production.
Abstract: The psychological well-being of a family is a subjective matter for evaluation, all the more when it involves the element of religions, whether Islam, Christianity, Buddhism or Hinduism. Each of these religions emphasises similar values and morals on family psychological well-being. This comparative study is specifically to determine the role of religion on family psychological well-being in Pekan district, Pahang, Malaysia. The study adopts a quantitative and qualitative mixed method design and considers a total of 412 samples of parents and children for the quantitative study, and 21 samples for the qualitative study. The quantitative study uses simple random sampling, whereas the qualitative sampling is purposive. The instrument for quantitative study is Ryff’s Psychological Well-being Scale and the qualitative study involves the construction of a guidelines protocol for in-depth interviews of respondents. The quantitative study uses the SPSS version .19 with One Way Anova, and the qualitative analysis is manual based on transcripts with specific codes and themes. The results show nonsignificance, that is, no significant difference among religions in all family psychological well-being constructs in the comparison of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, thereby accepting a null hypothesis and rejecting an alternative hypothesis. The qualitative study supports the quantitative study, that is, all 21 respondents explain that no difference exists in psychological wellbeing in the comparison of teachings in all the religious mentioned. These implications may be used as guidelines for government and non-government bodies in considering religion as an important element in family psychological well-being in the long run.
Abstract: In order to compare vertical stratification, floristic composition, and woody species diversity of subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests between the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, and South China, tree censuses in a 400 m2 plot in Ishigaki Island and a 1225 m2 plot in Dinghushan Nature Reserve were performed. Both of the subtropical forests consisted of five vertical strata. The floristic composition of the Ishigaki forest was quite different from that of the Dinghushan forest in terms of similarity on a species level (Kuno-s similarity index r0 = 0.05). The values of Shannon-s index H' and Pielou-s index J ' tended to increase from the bottom stratum upward in both forests, except H' for the top stratum in the Ishigaki forest and the upper two strata in the Dinghushan forest. The woody species diversity in the Dinghushan forest (H'= 3.01 bit) was much lower than that in the Ishigaki forest (H'= 4.36 bit).
Abstract: People have always needed to believe in some
supernatural power, which could explain nature phenomena.
Different kinds of religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Islam,
Buddhism have thought believers in all world, how to behave
themselves. We think the most important role of religion in modern
society most important role of religion in modern society is safety of
the People. World and traditional religion played a prominent role in
the socio-cultural progress, and in the development of man as a
spiritual being. At the heart of religious morals the belief in god and
responsibility before it lies and specifies religious and ethical values
and categories . The religion is based on ethical standards historically
developed by society, requirements and concepts, but it puts all
social and moral relations of the person in dependence on religious
values. For everything that the believer makes on a debt or a duty, he
bears moral responsibility before conscience, people and god. The
concept of value of religious morals takes the central place because
the religion from all forms of public consciousness most values is
painted as it is urged to answer vital questions. Any religion not only
considers questions of creation of the world, sense of human
existence, relationship of god and the person, but also offers the
ethical concept, develops rules of behavior of people. The religion a
long time dominated in the history of culture, and during this time
created a set of cultural and material values. The identity of Kazakh
culture can be defined as a Cultural identity traditional ,national
identity and the identity values developed by Kazakh people in
process of cultural-historical development, promoting formation of
Kazakh culture identity on public consciousness. Identity is the
historical process but always the tradition exists in it as a component
of stability, as a component of self that what this identity formed .
Abstract: There is inadequate information on the practice of
female genital mutilation (FGM) in the UK, and there are often
myths and perceptions within communities that influence the
effectiveness of prevention programmes. This means it is difficult to
address the trends and changes in the practice in the UK.
To this end, FORWARD undertook novel and innovative research
using the Participatory Ethnographic and Evaluative Research
(PEER) method to explore the views of women from Eritrea, Sudan,
Somalia and Ethiopia that live in London and Bristol (two UK cities).
Women-s views, taken from PEER interviews, reflected reasons for
continued practice of FGM: marriageability, the harnessing and
control of female sexuality, and upholding traditions from their
countries of origin. It was also clear that the main supporters of the
practice were believed to be older women within families and
communities.
Women described the impact FGM was having on their lives as
isolating. And although it was clearly considered a private and
personal matter, they developed a real sense of connection with their
peers within the research process.
The women were overwhelmingly positive about combating the
practice, although they believed it would probably take a while
before it ends completely. They also made concrete
recommendations on how to improve support services for women
affected by FGM: Training for professionals (particularly in
healthcare), increased engagement with, and outreach to,
communities, culturally appropriate materials and information made
available and accessible to communities, and more consequent
implementation of legislation.
Finally, the women asked for more empathy and understanding,
particularly from health professionals. Rather than presenting FGM
as a completely alien and inconceivable practice, it may help for
those looking into these women-s lives and working with them to
understand the social and economic context in which the practice
takes place.