Abstract: This work is undertaken to develop a methodology to enhance the management of dredged marine and river sediments in the North of France. The main objective of this study is to determine the main characteristics of these sediments. In this order, physical, mineralogical and chemical properties of both types of sediments are measured. Moreover, their potential impacts on the environment are assessed throughout leaching tests. From the obtained results, the potential of their use in road engineering is discussed.
Abstract: This paper argues nation-building theories that
prioritize democratic governance best explain the successful postindependence
development of Botswana. Three main competing
schools of thought exist regarding the sequencing of policies that
should occur to re-build weakened or failed states. The first posits
that economic development should receive foremost attention, while
democratization and a binding sense of nationalism can wait. A
second group of experts identified constructing a sense of nationalism
among a populace is necessary first, so that the state receives popular
legitimacy and obedience that are prerequisites for development.
Botswana, though, transitioned into a multi-party democracy and
prosperous open economy due to the utilization of traditional
democratic structures, enlightened and accountable leadership, and an
educated technocratic civil service. With these political foundations
already in place when the discovery of diamonds occurred, the
resulting revenues were spent wisely on projects that grew the
economy, improved basic living standards, and attracted foreign
investment. Thus democratization preceded, and therefore provided
an accountable basis for, economic development that might otherwise
have been squandered by greedy and isolated elites to the detriment
of the greater population. Botswana was one of the poorest nations in
the world at the time of its independence in 1966, with little
infrastructure, a dependence on apartheid South Africa for trade, and
a largely subsistence economy. Over the next thirty years, though, its
economy grew the fastest of any nation in the world. The transparent
and judicious use of diamond returns is only a partial explanation, as
the government also pursued economic diversification, mass
education, and rural development in response to public needs.
As nation-building has become a project undertaken by nations
and multilateral agencies such as the United Nations and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, Botswana may provide best practices
that others should follow in attempting to reconstruct economically
and politically unstable states.
Abstract: This paper is focusing on the attitude of Georgian
consumers toward social media, influence of social media on
consumer buying behavior. The purpose of this paper is to explore
the usage of social media marketing for small business companies of
Georgia. The result of marketing research has revealed that social
webs are mostly used by Georgian consumers, but they have little
impact on the buying decision. The research method was exploratory
and descriptive. Conclusions summarize the research results and
offers insight to provide better understandings of consumers demand
and implementation of marketing strategy through social media in
Georgia.
Abstract: Degradation of agricultural soils has increased rapidly
during the last 20 years due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides
and other anthropogenic activities. Currently, there is an urgent need
of soil restoration to increase agricultural production. Utilization of
sewage sludge or municipal solid waste is an important way to
recycle nutrient elements and improve soil quality. With these
amendments, nutrient availability in the aqueous phase might be
increased and production of healthier crops can be accomplished.
This research project aimed to achieve sustainable management of
tropical agricultural soils, specifically in Puerto Rico, through the
amendment of water treatment plant sludge’s. This practice avoids
landfill disposal of sewage sludge and at the same time results costeffective
practice for recycling solid waste residues. Coriander
sativum was cultivated in a compost-soil-sludge mixture at different
proportions. Results showed that Coriander grown in a mixture of
25% compost+50% Voladora soi+25% sludge had the best growth
and development. High chlorophyll content (33.01 ± 0.8) was
observed in Coriander plants cultivated in 25% compost+62.5%
Coloso soil+ 12.5% sludge compared to plants grown with no sludge
(32.59 ± 0.7). ICP-OES analysis showed variations in mineral
element contents (macro and micronutrients) in coriander plant
grown I soil amended with sludge and compost.
Abstract: The paper tackles the topic of determining the cost of
innovation in software development projects. Innovation can be
achieved either in a planned or unplanned manner. The paper
approaches the scenarios were innovation is planned for. As a starting
point an innovative software development project is analyzed. The
project is depicted step by step as it was implemented, from inception
to delivery. Costs that are proprietary to innovation in software
development are isolated based on the author’s personal experience
in managing the above mentioned project. Innovation costs
components identified by the author are then validated using open
discussions with software development professionals and projects
managers on LinkedIn groups. In order to receive relevant feedback
only groups that focus on software development and innovation
management are targeted. Additional innovation cost components
suggested by software development professionals and projects
managers are also considered. Based on the identified cost
components an indicator is built. The indicator is meant to formalize
the process of determining the cost of innovation in a software
development project. The indicator aggregates all the innovation cost
components that are identified in the research process. The process of
calculating each cost component is also described. Conclusions are
formulated and new related research topics are submitted for debate.
Abstract: The key role in phenomenological modelling of cyclic
plasticity is good understanding of stress-strain behaviour of given
material. There are many models describing behaviour of materials
using numerous parameters and constants. Combination of individual
parameters in those material models significantly determines whether
observed and predicted results are in compliance. Parameter
identification techniques such as random gradient, genetic algorithm
and sensitivity analysis are used for identification of parameters using
numerical modelling and simulation. In this paper genetic algorithm
and sensitivity analysis are used to study effect of 4 parameters of
modified AbdelKarim-Ohno cyclic plasticity model. Results
predicted by Finite Element (FE) simulation are compared with
experimental data from biaxial ratcheting test with semi-elliptical
loading path.
Abstract: This paper reports the numerical simulation of doublediffusive
natural convection flows within a horizontal annular filled
with a saturated porous medium. The analysis concerns the influence
of the different parameters governing the problem, namely, the
Rayleigh number Ra, the Lewis number Le and the buoyancy ratio N,
on the heat and mass transfer and on the flow structure, in the case of
a fixed radius ratio R = 2. The numerical model used for the
discretization of the dimensionless equations governing the problem
is based on the finite difference method, using the ADI scheme. The
study is focused on steady-state solutions in the cooperation situation.
Abstract: Properties of Portland cement mixtures with various
fractions of metakaolin were studied. 10% of Portland cement CEM I
42.5 R was replaced by different fractions of high reactivity
metakaolin with defined chemical and mineralogical properties.
Various fractions of metakaolin were prepared by jet mill classifying
system. There is a clear trend between fineness of metakaolin and
hydration heat development. Due to metakaolin presence in mixtures
the compressive strength development of mortars is rather slower for
coarser fractions but 28-day flexural strengths are improved for all
fractions of metakaoline used in mixtures compared to reference
sample of pure Portland cement. Yield point, plastic viscosity and
adhesion of fresh pastes are considerably influenced by fineness of
metakaolin used in cement pastes.
Abstract: The value co-creation has gained much attention in
sales research, but less is known about how salespeople and
customers interact in the authentic business to business (B2B) sales
meetings. The study presented in this paper empirically contributes to
existing research by presenting authentic B2B sales meetings that
were video recorded and analyzed using observation and qualitative
content analysis methods. This paper aims to study key elements of
successful sales interactions between salespeople and customers/
buyers. This study points out that salespeople are selling value rather
than the products or services themselves, which are only enablers in
realizing business benefits. Therefore, our findings suggest that
promoting and easing open discourse is an essential part of a
successful sales encounter. A better understanding of how
salespeople and customers successfully interact would help
salespeople to develop their interpersonal sales skills.
Abstract: The objective of countercyclical capital buffer is to
encourage banks to build up buffers in good times that can be drawn
down in bad times. The aim of the report is to assess such decisions
by banks derived from three approaches. The approaches are the
aggregate credit-to-GDP ratio, credit growth as well as banking
sector profits. The approaches are implemented for Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania for the time period 2000-2012. The report compares
three approaches and analyses their relevance to the Baltic States by
testing the correlation between a growth in studied variables and a
growth of corresponding gaps. Methods used in the empirical part of
the report are econometric analysis as well as economic analysis,
development indicators, relative and absolute indicators and other
methods. The research outcome is a cross-Baltic comparison of two
alternative approaches to establish or release a countercyclical capital
buffer by banks and their implications for each Baltic country.
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the effect of friendly
jamming power allocation strategies on the achievable average
secrecy rate over a bank of parallel fading wiretap channels.
We investigate the achievable average secrecy rate in parallel
fading wiretap channels subject to Rayleigh and Rician fading.
The achievable average secrecy rate, due to the presence of a
line-of-sight component in the jammer channel is also evaluated.
Moreover, we study the detrimental effect of correlation across the
parallel sub-channels, and evaluate the corresponding decrease in the
achievable average secrecy rate for the various fading configurations.
We also investigate the tradeoff between the transmission power
and the jamming power for a fixed total power budget. Our
results, which are applicable to current orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing (OFDM) communications systems, shed further light on
the achievable average secrecy rates over a bank of parallel fading
channels in the presence of friendly jammers.
Abstract: In Jordan having deficit atmospheric precipitation, an
increase in water demand occurs during summer months. Jordan can
be regarded with a relatively high potential for wastewater recycling
and reuse. The main purpose of this paper was to investigate the
removal of total suspended solids (TSS) and chemical oxygen
demand (COD) for olive mill wastewater (OMW) by
electrocoagulation (EC) process. In the combination of
electrocoagulation by using coupled iron–aluminum electrodes, the
optimum working pH was found to be around 6. Results indicated
that the electrocoagulation process allowed removal of TSS and COD
of about 82.5% and 47.5%, respectively at 45 mA/cm2 after 70
minutes by using coupled iron–aluminum electrodes. It was
demonstrated that the maximum TSS and COD removals were
obtained at some optimum experimental parameters for current
density, pH, and reaction time.
Abstract: A Smart Building Controller (SBC) is a server
software that offers secured access to a pool of building specific
resources, executes monitoring tasks and performs automatic
administration of a building, thus optimizing the exploitation cost and
maximizing comfort. This paper brings to discussion the issues that
arise with the secure exploitation of the SBC administered resources
and proposes a technical solution to implement a robust secure access
system based on roles, individual rights and privileges (special
rights).
Abstract: The effects of hypertension are often lethal thus its
early detection and prevention is very important for everybody. In
this paper, a neural network (NN) model was developed and trained
based on a dataset of hypertension causative parameters in order to
forecast the likelihood of occurrence of hypertension in patients. Our
research goal was to analyze the potential of the presented NN to
predict, for a period of time, the risk of hypertension or the risk of
developing this disease for patients that are or not currently
hypertensive. The results of the analysis for a given patient can
support doctors in taking pro-active measures for averting the
occurrence of hypertension such as recommendations regarding the
patient behavior in order to lower his hypertension risk. Moreover,
the paper envisages a set of three example scenarios in order to
determine the age when the patient becomes hypertensive, i.e.
determine the threshold for hypertensive age, to analyze what
happens if the threshold hypertensive age is set to a certain age and
the weight of the patient if being varied, and, to set the ideal weight
for the patient and analyze what happens with the threshold of
hypertensive age.
Abstract: There is a trend in development discourse to
understand and explain the level of corruption in Nigeria, its anticorruption
crusade and why it is failing, as well as its level of
compliance with International standards of United Nations
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) & African Union
Convention on Converting and Preventing Corruption) to which
Nigeria is a signatory. This paper discusses the legal and
Constitutional provisions relating to corrupt practices and safeguards
in Nigeria, as well as the obstacles to the implementation of these
Conventions.
The paper highlights the challenges posed to the Anti-Corruption
crusade by analysing the loopholes that exist both in administrative
structure and in scope of the relevant laws. The paper argues that
Nigerian Constitution did not make adequate provisions for the
implementation of the conventions, hence a proposal which will
ensure adequate provision for implementing the conventions to better
the lives of Nigerians. The paper concludes that there is the need to
build institutional parameters, adequate constitutional and structural
safeguards, as well as to synergise strategies, collaborations and
alliances to facilitate the timely domestication and implementation of
the conventions.
Abstract: The paper presents a thermodynamic cycle analysis
for three turboshaft engines. The first cycle is a Brayton cycle,
describing the evolution of a classical turboshaft, based on the
Klimov TV2 engine. The other four cycles aim at approaching an
Ericsson cycle, by replacing the Brayton cycle adiabatic expansion in
the turbine by quasi-isothermal expansion. The maximum quasi-
Ericsson cycles temperature is set to a lower value than the maximum
Brayton cycle temperature, equal to the Brayton cycle power turbine
inlet temperature, in order to decrease the engine NOx emissions.
Also, the power/expansion ratio distribution over the stages of the gas
generator turbine is maintained the same. In two of the considered
quasi-Ericsson cycles, the efficiencies of the gas generator turbine, as
well as the power/expansion ratio distribution over the stages of the
gas generator turbine are maintained the same as for the reference
case, while for the other two cases, the efficiencies are increased in
order to obtain the same shaft power as in the reference case. For the
two cases respecting the first condition, both the shaft power and the
thermodynamic efficiency of the engine decrease, while for the other
two, the power and efficiency are maintained, as a result of assuming
new, more efficient gas generator turbines.
Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the performance of applying
hybrid spiral dynamic bacterial chemotaxis (HSDBC) optimisation
algorithm on an intelligent controller for a differential drive robot. A
unicycle class of differential drive robot is utilised to serve as a basis
application to evaluate the performance of the HSDBC algorithm. A
hybrid fuzzy logic controller is developed and implemented for the
unicycle robot to follow a predefined trajectory. Trajectories of
various frictional profiles and levels were simulated to evaluate the
performance of the robot at different operating conditions. Controller
gains and scaling factors were optimised using HSDBC and the
performance is evaluated in comparison to previously adopted
optimisation algorithms. The HSDBC has proven its feasibility in
achieving a faster convergence toward the optimal gains and resulted
in a superior performance.
Abstract: In this paper, a new design of spherical robotic system
based on the concepts of gimbal structure and gyro dynamics is
presented. Robots equipped with multiple wheels and complex
steering mechanics may increase the weight and degrade the energy
transmission efficiency. In addition, the wheeled and legged robots are
relatively vulnerable to lateral impact and lack of lateral mobility.
Therefore, the proposed robotic design uses a spherical shell as the
main body for ground locomotion, instead of using wheel devices.
Three spherical shells are structured in a similar way to a gimbal
device and rotate like a gyro system. The design and mechanism of the
proposed robotic system is introduced. In addition, preliminary results
of the dynamic model based on the principles of planar rigid body
kinematics and Lagrangian equation are included. Simulation results
and rig construction are presented to verify the concepts.
Abstract: Interaction of Schiff base complexes of Iron and
Manganese: Iron [N, N’ Bis (5- (triphenyl phosphonium methyl)
salicylidene) -1, 2 ethanediamine) chloride, [Fe Salen]Cl; Manganese
[N, N’ Bis (5- (triphenyl phosphonium methyl) salicylidene) -1, 2
ethanediamine) acetate, were investigated by spectroscopic and
isothermal titration calorimetry techniques (ITC).
The absorbance spectra of complexes have shown hyper and
hypochromism in the presence of DNA that is indication of
interaction of complexes with DNA. The linear dichroism (LD)
measurements confirmed the bending of DNA in the presence of
complexes.
Furthermore, Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments
approved that complexes bound to DNA on the base of both
electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. More, ITC profile exhibits
the existence of two binding phases for the complexes. Antibacterial
activity of ligand and complexes were tested in vitro to evaluate their
activity against the gram positive and negative bacteria.
Abstract: The objectives of the study were to determine the
marketing mix factors that influencing tourist’s destination decision
making for cultural tourism in the Chonburi province. Both
quantitative and qualitative data were applied in this study. The
samples of 400 cases for quantitative analysis were tourists (both
Thai and foreign) who were interested in cultural tourism in the
Chonburi province, and traveled to cultural sites in Chonburi and 14
representatives from provincial tourism committee of Chonburi and
local tourism experts. Statistics utilized in this research included
frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple
regression analysis. The study found that Thai and foreign tourists
are influenced by different important marketing mix factors. The
important factors for Thai respondents were physical evidence, price,
people, and place at high importance level. For foreign respondents,
physical evidence, price, people, and process were high importance
level, whereas, product, place and promotion were moderate
importance level.