Abstract: This paper develops and extended eclectic paradigm
to fit the firm internationalization process with the real international
business world. The approach is based on Dunning´s, introducing
new concepts like mode of entry, international joint venture o
international mergers and acquisitions. At the same time is presented
a model to describe the Spanish international mergers and
acquisitions in order to determinate the most important factor that
influence in this type of foreign direct investment.
Abstract: There has been a significant decline in active travel
and a massive increase in the use of car dependent travel in many
countries during the past two decades. Evidential risks for people’s
physical and mental health problems are correlated with this
increased use of motorized travel. These health related problems
range from overweight and obesity to increased air pollution. In
response to these rising concerns health professionals, traffic planers,
local authorities and others have introduced a variety of initiatives to
counterbalance the dominance of cars for daily journeys.
However, the nature of travel behavior change interventions,
which aim to reduce car use, are very complex and challenging
regarding their interactions with human behavior. To change travel
behavior at least two aspects have to be taken into consideration.
First, how to alter attitudes and perceptions toward the sustainable
and healthy modes of travel, in competition with experiences of
private car use. And second, how to make these behavior change
processes irreversible and sustainable. There are no comprehensive
models available to guide policy interventions to increase the level of
success of travel behavior change interventions across both these
dimensions.
A comprehensive theoretical framework is required in the effort to
optimize how to facilitate and guide the processes of data collection
and analysis to achieve the best possible guidelines for policy
makers. Regarding the gaps in the travel behavior change research
literature, this paper attempted to identify and suggest a
multidimensional framework in order to facilitate planning the
implemented travel behavior change interventions. A structured
mixed-method model is suggested to improve the analytic power of
the results according to the complexity of human behavior.
In order to recognize people’s attitudes towards a specific travel
mode, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was operationalized.
But in order to capture decision making processes the Transtheoretical
model of Behavior Change (TTM) was also used.
Consequently, the combination of these two theories (TTM and TPB)
has resulted in a synthesis with appropriate concepts to identify and
design an implemented travel behavior change interventions.
Abstract: Moodle is an open source learning management
system that enables creation of a powerful and flexible learning
environment. Many organizations, especially learning institutions
have customized Moodle open source LMS for their own use. In
general open source LMSs are of great interest due to many
advantages they offer in terms of cost, usage and freedom to
customize to fit a particular context. Tanzania Secondary School e-
Learning (TanSSe-L) system is the learning management system for
Tanzania secondary schools. TanSSe-L system was developed using
a number of methods, one of them being customization of Moodle
Open Source LMS. This paper presents few areas on the way Moodle
OS LMS was customized to produce a functional TanSSe-L system
fitted to the requirements and specifications of Tanzania secondary
schools’ context.
Abstract: Anxiety is a common psychological problem and also
implicated as a contributor to many chronic diseases which decreased
quality of life even with pharmacological treatment. At the present
time several yogic practices- meditation, pranayama, and mantra,
etcetera are playing important role in treating physiological and
psychological problems. Hence, the present investigation is aimed to
see the effect of Trataka on the level of anxiety among adolescents.
For the present study, a sample of 30 adolescents belonging to the
age range 20-30 years was selected from Devsanskriti Vishwa
Vidyalaya Haridwar through random sampling. In this investigation,
Sinha’s Comprehensive anxiety test has been used to measure the
level of anxiety. Statistical analysis has been done by using t-test.
Findings of this study reveal that Trataka significantly decreases the
level of anxiety among adolescents.
Abstract: In review the generalized data about different methods
of synthesis of biological activity halogenated di-, tri- and tetrahydroxyanthraquinones
is presented. The basic regularity of a
synthesis is analyzed. Action of temperature, pH, solubility, catalysts
and other factors on a reaction product yield is revealed.
Abstract: Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the major
vegetable crops that are grown world –wide because of its economic
importance. This experiment investigated the effect of local sands
(River Base, Al-Ekader and Karbala) on number and total weight of
minitubers. Statistical analysis revealed that there were no significant
differences among sand cultures in number of stem/plant, chlorophyll
index and tubers dry weight. River Base sand had the highest plant
height (74.9 cm), leaf number/plant number (39.3), leaf area (84.4
dcm2⁄plant), dry weight/plant (26.31), tubers number/plant (8.5),
tubers weight/plant (635.53 gm) and potato tuber yields/trove (28.60
kg), whereas the Karbala sand had lower performance. All the
characters had positive and significant correlation with yields except
the traits number of stem and tuber dry weight.
Abstract: The turbocharger and turbocharging have been the
inherent component of diesel engines, so that critical parameters of
such engines, as BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption) or
thermal efficiency, fuel consumption, BMEP (Brake Mean Effective
Pressure), the power density output and emission level have been
improved extensively. In general, the turbocharger can be considered
as the most complex component of diesel engines, because it has
closely interrelated turbomachinery concepts of the turbines and the
compressors to thermodynamic fundamentals of internal combustion
engines and stress analysis of all components.
In this paper, a waste gate for a conventional single stage radial
turbine is investigated by consideration of turbochargers operation
constrains and engine operation conditions, without any detail
designs in the turbine and the compressor. Amount of opening waste
gate which extended between the ranges of full opened and closed
valve, is demonstrated by limiting compressor boost pressure ratio.
Obtaining of an optimum point by regard above mentioned items is
surveyed by three linked meanline modeling programs together
which consist of Turbomatch®, Compal®, Rital® madules in concepts
NREC® respectively.
Abstract: This study aims to analyze ceramic employees’
occupational health and safety training expectations. To that general
objective, the study tries to examine whether occupational health and
safety training expectations of ceramic employees meaningfully
differentiate depending on demographic features and professional,
social and economic conditions. For this purpose, a questionnaire was
developed by the researcher. The research data were collected
through this questionnaire called “Questionnaire of Occupational
Health and Safety Training Expectation” (QSOHSTE). QSOHSTE
was applied to 125 ceramic employees working in Kütahya, Turkey.
Data obtained from questionnaire were analyzed via SPSS 21.
The findings, obtained from the study, revealed that employees’
agreement level to occupational health and safety training expectation
statements is generally high-level. The findings reveal that employees
expect professional interest such as increased development and
investment, preventive measures for accidents, interventions to
evaluate the working conditions, establishment of safe working
environments and sustainment of adequate equipment for
occupational health and safety training process.
Besides these findings, employees’ agreement level to
occupational health and safety training expectation statements also
varies in terms of educational level, professional seniority, income
level and perception of economic condition.
Abstract: While millings materials from old pavement surface
can be an important component of cost effective maintenance
operation, their use in maintenance projects are not uniform and well
documented. This study documents the different maintenance
practices followed by four transportation districts of New Mexico
Department of Transportation (NMDOT) in an attempt to find
whether millings are being used in maintenance projects by those
districts. Based on existing literature, a questionnaire was developed
related to six common maintenance practices. NMDOT district
personal were interviewed face to face to discuss and get answers to
that questionnaire. It revealed that NMDOT districts mainly use chip
seal and patching. Other maintenance procedures such as sand seal,
scrub seal, slurry seal, and thin overlay have limited use. Two out of
four participating districts do not have any documents on chip
sealing; rather they employ the experiences of the chip seal crew. All
districts use polymer modified high float emulsion (HFE100P) for
chip seal with an application rate ranging from 0.4 to 0.56 gallons per
square yard. Chip application rate varies from 15 to 40 lb/ square
yard. State wide, the thickness of chip seal varies from 3/8'' to 1'' and
life varies from 3 to 10 years. NMDOT districts mainly use three type
of patching: pothole, dig-out and blade patch. Pothole patches are
used for small potholes and during emergency, dig-out patches are
used for all type of potholes sometimes after pothole patching, and
blade patch is used when a significant portion of the pavement is
damaged. Pothole patches last as low as three days whereas, blade
patch lasts as long as 3 years. It was observed that all participating
districts use millings in maintenance projects.
Abstract: The rhizome of Java grass, Cyperus rotundus was
extracted different organic polar and non-polar solvents and
performed the in vitro antiviral and immunostimulant activities
against White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Vibrio harveyi
respectively. Based on the initial screening the ethyl acetate extract of
C. rotundus was strong activities and further it was purified through
silica column chromatography and the fractions were screened again
for antiviral and immunostimulant activity. Among the different
fractions screened against the WSSV and V. harveyi, the fractions, FIII
to FV had strong activities. In order to study the in vivo influence
of C. rotundus, the fractions (F-III to FV) were pooled and delivered
to the F. indicus through artificial feed for 30 days. After the feeding
trail the experimental and control diet fed F. indicus were challenged
with virulent WSSV and studied the survival, molecular diagnosis,
biochemical, haematological, and immunological parameters.
Surprisingly, the pooled fractions (F-IV to FVI) incorporated diets
helped to significantly (P
Abstract: The paper presents a practical three-phase PWM
inverter suitable for low voltage, low rating energy efficient systems.
The work in the paper is conducted with the view to establishing the
significance of the loss contribution from the PWM inverter in the
determination of the complete losses of a photovoltaic (PV) arraypowered
induction motor drive water pumping system. Losses
investigated include; conduction and switching loss of the devices
and gate drive losses. It is found that the PWM inverter operates at a
reasonable variable efficiency that does not fall below 92%
depending on the load. The results between the simulated and
experimental results for the system with or without a maximum
power tracker (MPT) compares very well, within an acceptable range
of 2% margin.
Abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed
during the pyrolysis of scrap tyres to produce tyre pyrolytic oil
(TPO). Due to carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic properties PAHs
are priority pollutants. Hence it is essential to remove PAHs from
TPO before utilising TPO as a petroleum fuel alternative (to run the
engine). Agricultural wastes have promising future to be utilized as
biosorbent due to their cost effectiveness, abundant availability, high
biosorption capacity and renewability. Various low cost adsorbents
were prepared from natural sources. Uptake of PAHs present in tyre
pyrolytic oil was investigated using various low-cost adsorbents of
natural origin including sawdust (shisham), coconut fiber, neem bark,
chitin, activated charcoal. Adsorption experiments of different PAHs
viz. naphthalene, acenaphthalene, biphenyl and anthracene have been
carried out at ambient temperature (25°C) and at pH 7. It was
observed that for any given PAH, the adsorption capacity increases
with the lignin content. Freundlich constant Kf and 1/n have been
evaluated and it was found that the adsorption isotherms of PAHs
were in agreement with a Freundlich model, while the uptake
capacity of PAHs followed the order: activated charcoal> saw dust
(shisham) > coconut fiber > chitin. The partition coefficients in
acetone-water, and the adsorption constants at equilibrium, could be
linearly correlated with octanol–water partition coefficients. It is
observed that natural adsorbents are good alternative for PAHs
removal. Sawdust of Dalbergia sissoo, a by-product of sawmills was
found to be a promising adsorbent for the removal of PAHs present in
TPO. It is observed that adsorbents studied were comparable to those
of some conventional adsorbents.
Abstract: This work introduces a simple device designed to
perform in-situ direct shear and sinkage tests on granular materials
as sand, clays, or regolith. It consists of a box nested within a larger
box. Both have open bottoms, allowing them to be lowered into the
material. Afterwards, two rotating plates on opposite sides of the
outer box will rotate outwards in order to clear regolith on either
side, providing room for the inner box to move relative to the plates
and perform a shear test without the resistance of the surrounding
soil. From this test, Coulomb parameters, including cohesion and
internal friction angle, as well as, Bekker parameters can be inferred.
This device has been designed for a laboratory setting, but with few
modifications, could be put on the underside of a rover for use in
a remote location. The goal behind this work is to ultimately create
a compact, but accurate measuring tool to put onto a rover or any
kind of exploratory vehicle to test for regolith properties of celestial
bodies.
Abstract: This paper proposes a rotational invariant texture
feature based on the roughness property of the image for psoriasis
image analysis. In this work, we have applied this feature for image
classification and segmentation. The fuzzy concept is employed to
overcome the imprecision of roughness. Since the psoriasis lesion is
modeled by a rough surface, the feature is extended for calculating
the Psoriasis Area Severity Index value. For classification and
segmentation, the Nearest Neighbor algorithm is applied. We have
obtained promising results for identifying affected lesions by using
the roughness index and severity level estimation.
Abstract: Ti6Al4V alloy is highly used in the automotive and
aerospace industry due to its good machining characteristics. Micro
EDM drilling is commonly used to drill micro hole on extremely hard
material with very high depth to diameter ratio. In this study, the
parameters of micro-electrical discharge machining (EDM) in drilling
of Ti6Al4V alloy is optimized for higher machining accuracy with
less hole-dilation and hole taper ratio. The micro-EDM machining
parameters includes, peak current and pulse on time. Fuzzy analysis
was developed to evaluate the machining accuracy. The analysis
shows that hole-dilation and hole-taper ratio are increased with the
increasing of peak current and pulse on time. However, the surface
quality deteriorates as the peak current and pulse on time increase.
The combination that gives the optimum result for hole dilation is
medium peak current and short pulse on time. Meanwhile, the
optimum result for hole taper ratio is low peak current and short pulse
on time.
Abstract: Blueberries are widely valued for their high content in
phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity, and hence beneficial
for the human health. In this way, a study was done to determine the
phenolic composition (total phenols, anthocyanins and tannins) and
antioxidant activity of blueberries from three cultivars (Duke,
Bluecrop, and Ozarkblue) grown in two different Portuguese farms.
Initially two successive extractions were done with methanol
followed by two extractions with aqueous acetone solutions. These
extracts obtained were then used to evaluate the amount of phenolic
compounds and the antioxidant activity. The total phenols were
observed to vary from 4.9 to 8.2 mg GAE/g fresh weight, with
anthocyanin’s contents in the range 1.5-2.8 mg EMv3G/g and tannins
contents in the range 1.5- 3.8 mg/g. The results for antioxidant
activity ranged from 9.3 to 23.2 molTE/g and from 24.7 to 53.4molTE/g, when measured, respectively, by DPPH and ABTS
methods. In conclusion it was observed that, in general, the cultivar
had a visible effect on the phenols present, and furthermore, the
geographical origin showed relevance either in the phenols contents
or the antioxidant activity.
Abstract: The implementation of e-assessment as tool to support
the process of teaching and learning in university has become a
popular technological means in universities. E-Assessment provides
many advantages to the users especially the flexibility in teaching and
learning. The e-assessment system has the capability to improve its
quality of delivering education. However, there still exists a
drawback in terms of security which limits the user acceptance of the
online learning system. Even though there are studies providing
solutions for identified security threats in e-learning usage, there is no
particular model which addresses the factors that influences the
acceptance of e-assessment system by lecturers from security
perspective. The aim of this study is to explore security aspects of eassessment
in regard to the acceptance of the technology. As a result
a conceptual model of secure acceptance of e-assessment is proposed.
Both human and security factors are considered in formulation of this
conceptual model. In order to increase understanding of critical issues
related to the subject of this study, interpretive approach involving
convergent mixed method research method is proposed to be used to
execute the research. This study will be useful in providing more
insightful understanding regarding the factors that influence the user
acceptance of e-assessment system from security perspective.
Abstract: Maize constitutes a major agrarian production for use
by the vast population but despite its economic importance; it has not
been produced to meet the economic needs of the country. Achieving
optimum yield in maize can meaningfully be supported by land
suitability analysis in order to guarantee self-sufficiency for future
production optimization. This study examines land suitability for
maize production through the analysis of the physicochemical
variations in soil properties and other land attributes over space using
a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework.
Physicochemical parameters of importance selected include slope,
landuse, physical and chemical properties of the soil, and climatic
variables. Landsat imagery was used to categorize the landuse,
Shuttle Radar Topographic Mapping (SRTM) generated the slope and
soil samples were analyzed for its physical and chemical components.
Suitability was categorized into highly, moderately and marginally
suitable based on Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)
classification, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
technique of GIS. This result can be used by small scale farmers for
efficient decision making in the allocation of land for maize
production.
Abstract: Established objective and subjective preconditions for
entrepreneurship, forming the business organically related whole, are
the necessary condition of successful entrepreneurial activities.
Objective preconditions for entrepreneurship are developed by
market economy that should stimulate entrepreneurship by allowing
the use of economic opportunities for all those who want to do
business in respective field while providing guarantees to all owners
and creating a stable business environment for entrepreneurs.
Subjective preconditions of entrepreneurship are formed primarily by
personal characteristics of the entrepreneur. These are his properties,
abilities, skills, physiological and psychological preconditions which
may be inherited, inborn or sequentially developed and obtained
during his life on the basis of education and influences of
surrounding environment. The paper is dealing with issues of
objective and subjective preconditions for entrepreneurship and
provides their analysis in view of the current situation in Slovakia. It
presents risks of the business environment in Slovakia that the Slovak
managers considered the most significant in 2014 and defines the
dominant attributes of the entrepreneur in the current business
environment in Slovakia.
Abstract: This experimental study evaluates the effect of using
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Multidimensional Self-
Concept Model (MSCM) in a drug prevention programme to increase
resiliency and reduce aggression among at-risk youth in Malaysia. A
number of 60 (N=60) university students who were at-risk of taking
drugs were involved in this study. Participants were identified with
self-rating scales, Adolescent Resilience Attitude Scale (ARAS) and
Aggression Questionnaire. Based on the mean score of these
instruments, the participants were divided into the treatment group,
and the control group. Data were analyzed using t-test. The finding
showed that the mean score of resiliency was increased in the
treatment group compared to the control group. It also shows that the
mean score of aggression was reduced in the treatment group
compared to the control group. Drug Prevention Programme was
found to help in enhancing resiliency and reducing aggression among
participants in the treatment group compared to the controlled group.
Implications were given regarding the preventive actions on drug
abuse among youth in Malaysia.