Abstract: E-Learning enables the users to learn at anywhere at
any time. In E-Learning systems, authenticating the E-Learning user
has security issues. The usage of appropriate communication
networks for providing the internet connectivity for E-learning is
another challenge. WiMAX networks provide Broadband Wireless
Access through the Multicast Broadcast Service so these networks
can be most suitable for E-Learning applications. The authentication
of E-Learning user is vulnerable to session hijacking problems. The
repeated authentication of users can be done to overcome these
issues. In this paper, session based Profile Caching Authentication is
proposed. In this scheme, the credentials of E-Learning users can be
cached at authentication server during the initial authentication
through the appropriate subscriber station. The proposed cache based
authentication scheme performs fast authentication by using cached
user profile. Thus, the proposed authentication protocol reduces the
delay in repeated authentication to enhance the security in ELearning.
Abstract: Purpose: The key aim of the research was to identify
the secondary stressors experienced by businesses affected by single
or repeated flooding and to determine to what extent businesses were
affected by these stressors, along with any resulting impact on health.
Additionally the research aimed to establish the likelihood of
businesses being re-exposed to the secondary stressors through
assessing awareness of flood risk, implementation of property
protection measures and level of community resilience. Design/methodology/approach: The chosen research method
involved the distribution of a questionnaire survey to businesses
affected by either single or repeated flood events. The questionnaire
included the Impact of Event Scale (a 15-item self-report measure
which assesses subjective distress caused by traumatic events). Findings: 55 completed questionnaires were returned by flood
impacted businesses. 89% of the businesses had sustained internal
flooding, while 11% had experienced external flooding. The results
established that the key secondary stressors experienced by
businesses, in order of priority, were: flood damage, fear of
reoccurring flooding, prevention of access to the premise/closure,
loss of income, repair works, length of closure and insurance issues.
There was a lack of preparedness for potential future floods and
consequent vulnerability to the emergence of secondary stressors
among flood affected businesses, as flood resistance or flood
resilience measures had only been implemented by 11% and 13%
respectively. In relation to the psychological repercussions, the
Impact of Event scores suggested that potential prevalence of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) was noted among 8 out of 55
respondents (l5%). Originality/value: The results improve understanding of the
enduring repercussions of flood events on businesses, indicating that
not only residents may be susceptible to the detrimental health
impacts of flood events and single flood events may be just as likely
as reoccurring flooding to contribute to ongoing stress. Lack of
financial resources is a possible explanation for the lack of
implementation of property protection measures among businesses,
despite 49% experiencing flooding on multiple occasions. Therefore
it is recommended that policymakers should consider potential
sources of financial support or grants towards flood defences for
flood impacted businesses. Any form of assistance should be made
available to businesses at the earliest opportunity as there was no
significant association between the time of the last flood event and
the likelihood of experiencing PTSD symptoms.
Abstract: Issues relating to the destructive phenomena that can
damage people and goods have returned to the centre of debate in
Italy with the increase in catastrophic episodes in recent years in a
country which is highly vulnerable to hydrological risk.
Environmental factors and geological and geomorphological
territorial characteristics play an important role in determining the
level of vulnerability and the natural tendency to risk. However, a
territory has also been subjected to the requirements of and
transformations of society and this brings other relevant factors. The
reasons for the increase in destructive phenomena are often to be
found in the territorial development models adopted. Stewardship of
the landscape and management of risk are related issues. This study aims to summarize the most relevant elements about
this connection and at the same time to clarify the role of
environmental risk assessment as a tool to aid in the sustainable
management of landscape. Finally, the study reflects on how regional
and urban planners deal with environmental risk and which aspects
should be monitored in order to adopt responsible and useful
interventions.
Abstract: A myriad of environmental issues face the Nigerian
industrial region, resulting from; oil and gas production, mining,
manufacturing and domestic wastes. Amidst these, much effort has
been directed by stakeholders in the Nigerian oil producing regions,
because of the impacts of the region on the wider Nigerian economy.
Although collaborative environmental management has been noted as
an effective approach in managing environmental issues, little
attention has been given to the roles and practices of stakeholders in
effecting a collaborative environmental management framework for
the Nigerian oil-producing region. This paper produces a framework
to expand and deepen knowledge relating to stakeholders aspects of
collaborative roles in managing environmental issues in the Nigeria
oil-producing region. The knowledge is derived from analysis of
stakeholders’ practices – studied through multiple case studies using
document analysis. Selected documents of key stakeholders –
Nigerian government agencies, multi-national oil companies and host
communities, were analyzed. Open and selective coding was
employed manually during document analysis of data collected from
the offices and websites of the stakeholders. The findings showed
that the stakeholders have a range of roles, practices, interests, drivers
and barriers regarding their collaborative roles in managing
environmental issues. While they have interests for efficient resource
use, compliance to standards, sharing of responsibilities, generating
of new solutions, and shared objectives; there is evidence of major
barriers and these include resource allocation, disjointed policy,
ineffective monitoring, diverse socio- economic interests, lack of
stakeholders’ commitment and limited knowledge sharing. However,
host communities hold deep concerns over the collaborative roles of
stakeholders for economic interests, particularly, where government
agencies and multi-national oil companies are involved. With these
barriers and concerns, a genuine stakeholders’ collaboration is found
to be limited, and as a result, optimal environmental management
practices and policies have not been successfully implemented in the
Nigeria oil-producing region. A framework is produced that describes
practices that characterize collaborative environmental management
might be employed to satisfy the stakeholders’ interests. The
framework recommends critical factors, based on the findings, which
may guide a collaborative environmental management in the oil
producing regions. The recommendations are designed to re-define
the practices of stakeholders in managing environmental issues in the
oil producing regions, not as something wholly new, but as an
approach essential for implementing a sustainable environmental
policy. This research outcome may clarify areas for future research as
well as to contribute to industry guidance in the area of collaborative
environmental management.
Abstract: Ensuring of continuity of business is basic strategy of
every company. Continuity of organization activities includes
comprehensive procedures that help in solving unexpected situations
of natural and anthropogenic character (for example flood, blaze,
economic situations). Planning of continuity operations is a process
that helps identify critical processes and implement plans for the
security and recovery of key processes. The aim of this article is to
demonstrate application of system approach to managing business
continuity called business continuity management systems in military
issues. This article describes the life cycle of business continuity
management which is based on the established cycle PDCA (Plan-
Do-Check-Act). After this is carried out by activities which are
making by University of Defence during activation of forces and
means of the integrated rescue system in case of emergencies -
accidents at a nuclear power plant in Czech Republic. Activities of
various stages of deployment earmarked forces and resources are
managed and evaluated by using MCMS application (Military
Continuity Management System).
Abstract: Much of the literature on research design has focused
on research conducted in developed, uni-cultural or primarily English
speaking countries. Studies of qualitative case study research, the
challenges, and prospects have been embedded in Western/Eurocentric
society and social theories. Although there have been some
theoretical studies, few empirical studies have been conducted to
explore the nature of the challenges of qualitative case study in
developing countries. These challenges include accessibility to
organizations, conducting interviews in developing countries,
accessing documents and observing official meetings, language and
cultural challenges, the use of consent forms, issues affecting access
to companies, respondent issues, and data analysis. The author, while
conducting qualitative case study research in Libya, faced all these
issues. The discussion in this paper examines these issues in order to
make a contribution toward the literature in this area.
Abstract: Finding the optimal 3D path of an aerial vehicle under
flight mechanics constraints is a major challenge, especially when
the algorithm has to produce real time results in flight. Kinematics
models and Pythagorian Hodograph curves have been widely used
in mobile robotics to solve this problematic. The level of difficulty
is mainly driven by the number of constraints to be saturated at the
same time while minimizing the total length of the path. In this paper,
we suggest a pragmatic algorithm capable of saturating at the same
time most of dimensioning helicopter 3D trajectories’ constraints
like: curvature, curvature derivative, torsion, torsion derivative, climb
angle, climb angle derivative, positions. The trajectories generation
algorithm is able to generate versatile complex 3D motion primitives
feasible by a helicopter with parameterization of the curvature and the
climb angle. An upper ”motion primitives’ concatenation” algorithm
is presented based. In this article we introduce a new way of designing
three-dimensional trajectories based on what we call the ”Dubins
gliding symmetry conjecture”. This extremely performing algorithm
will be soon integrated to a real-time decisional system dealing with
inflight safety issues.
Abstract: Unemployment among the youth is a significant
problem in South Africa. Large corporations and the public sector
simply cannot create enough jobs. Too many youths in South Africa
currently do not consider entrepreneurship as an option in order to
become independent. Unlike the youth of the Netherlands, South
African youth prefer to find employment in the public or private
sector. The Netherlands has a much lower unemployment rate than
South Africa and the Dutch are generally very entrepreneurial. From
early on, entrepreneurship is considered a desirable career option in
the Netherlands. The purpose of this study was to determine whether
there is a difference in the perceptions of some Dutch and South
African students in terms of unemployment and entrepreneurship.
Questionnaires were distributed to students at the North West
University's Vaal Triangle campus in Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng,
South Africa and the Technical University of Delft in the
Netherlands. A descriptive statistical analysis approach was followed
and the means for the independent questions were calculated. The
results demonstrate that the Dutch students are not as concerned
about unemployment after completion of their studies as this is not as
significant a problem as it is in South Africa. Both groups had
positive responses towards the posed questions, but the South African
group felt more strongly about the issues. Both groups of students felt
that there was a need for more practical entrepreneurship training.
The South African education system should focus on practical
entrepreneurship training from a young age.
Abstract: Targeted drug delivery is a method of delivering
medication to a patient in a manner that increases the concentration
of the medication in some parts of the body relative to others.
Targeted drug delivery seeks to concentrate the medication in the
tissues of interest while reducing the relative concentration of the
medication in the remaining tissues. This improves efficacy of the
while reducing side effects. In the present work, we investigate the
effect of magnetic field, flow rate and particle concentration on the
capturing of magnetic particles transported in a stent implanted
fluidic channel. Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4)
nanoparticles were synthesized via co-precipitation method. The
synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were added in the de-ionized (DI)
water to prepare the Fe3O4 magnetic particle suspended fluid. This
fluid is transported in a cylindrical tube of diameter 8 mm with help
of a peristaltic pump at different flow rate (25-40 ml/min). A
ferromagnetic coil of SS 430 has been implanted inside the
cylindrical tube to enhance the capturing of magnetic nanoparticles
under magnetic field. The capturing of magnetic nanoparticles was
observed at different magnetic magnetic field, flow rate and particle
concentration. It is observed that capture efficiency increases from
47-67% at magnetic field 2-5kG, respectively at particle
concentration 0.6mg/ml and at flow rate 30 ml/min. However, the
capture efficiency decreases from 65 to 44% by increasing the flow
rate from 25 to 40 ml/min, respectively. Furthermore, it is observed
that capture efficiency increases from 51 to 67% by increasing the
particle concentration from 0.3 to 0.6 mg/ml, respectively.
Abstract: The current study focuses on the seismic design of
offshore pipelines against active faults. After an extensive literature
review of the provisions of the seismic norms worldwide and of the
available analytical methods, the study simulates numerically
(through finite-element modeling and strain-based criteria) the
distress of offshore pipelines subjected to PGDs induced by active
normal and reverse seismic faults at the seabed. Factors, such as the
geometrical properties of the fault, the mechanical properties of the
ruptured soil formations, and the pipeline characteristics, are
examined. After some interesting conclusions regarding the seismic
vulnerability of offshore pipelines, potential cost-effective mitigation
measures are proposed taking into account constructability issues.
Abstract: An unrecorded experiment of use of the smartphone
as a tool for practical classes of histology is presented in this paper.
Behavior and learning of students of science courses at the University
were analyzed and compared as well as the mode of teaching of this
discipline and the appreciation of the students, using either digital
photographs taken by phone or drawings for record microscopic
observations, analyze and interpret histological sections of human or
animal tissues.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to analyze the role played by the institute of the public hearings in the Brazilian Supreme Court. The public hearings are regulated since 1999 by the Brazilian Laws nº 9.868, nº 9.882 and by the Intern Regiment of the Brazilian Supreme Court. According to this legislation, the public hearings are supposed to be called when a matter of circumstance of fact must be clarified, what can be done through the hearing of the testimonies of persons with expertise and authority in the theme related to the cause. This work aims to investigate what is the role played by the public hearings and by the experts in the Brazilian Supreme Court. The hypothesis of this research is that: (I) The public hearings in the Brazilian Supreme Court are used to uphold a rhetoric of a democratic legitimacy of the Court`s decisions; (II) The Legislative intentions have been distorted. To test this hypothesis, the adopted methodology involves an empirical study of the Brazilian jurisprudence. As a conclusion, it follows that the public hearings convened by the Brazilian Supreme Court do not correspond, in practice, to the role assigned to them by the Congress since they do not serve properly to epistemic interests. The public hearings not only do not legitimate democratically the decisions, but also, do not properly clarify technical issues.
Abstract: The environmental, cultural, social, and technological
changes have led higher education institutes to question their
traditional roles. Many declarations and frameworks highlight the
importance of fulfilling social responsibility of higher education
institutes. The study aims at developing a framework of university
social responsibility and sustainability (USR&S) with focus on South
Valley University (SVU) as a case study of Egyptian Universities.
The study used meetings with 12 vice deans of community services
and environmental affairs on social responsibility and environmental
issues. The proposed framework integrates social responsibility with
strategic management through the establishment and maintenance of
the vision, mission, values, goals and management systems;
elaboration of policies; provision of actions; evaluation of services
and development of social collaboration with stakeholders to meet
current and future needs of the community and environment. The
framework links between different stakeholders internally and
externally using communication and reporting tools. The results show
that SVU integrates social responsibility and sustainability in its
strategic plans. It has policies and actions however fragmented and
lack of appropriate structure and budgeting. The proposed framework
could be valuable for researchers and decision makers of the
Egyptian Universities. The study proposed recommendations and
highlighted building on the results and conducting future research.
Abstract: In this study, breeding biology and induced breeding
of freshwater mud eel, Monopterus cuchia was observed during the
experimental period from February to June, 2013. Breeding biology
of freshwater mud eel, Monopterus cuchia was considered in terms of
gonadosomatic index, length-weight relationship of gonad, ova
diameter and fecundity. The ova diameter was recorded from 0.3 mm
to 4.30 mm and the individual fecundity was recorded from 155 to
1495 while relative fecundity was found from 2.64 to 12.45. The
fecundity related to body weight and length of fish was also
discussed. A peak of GSI was observed 2.14±0.2 in male and 5.1
±1.09 in female. Induced breeding of freshwater mud eel,
Monopterus cuchia was also practiced with different doses of
different inducing agents like pituitary gland (PG), human chorionic
gonadotropin (HCG), Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and
Ovuline-a synthetic hormone in different environmental conditions.
However, it was observed that the artificial breeding of freshwater
mud eel, Monopterus cuchia was not yet succeeded through inducing
agents in captive conditions, rather the inducing agent showed
negative impacts on fecundity and ovarian tissues. It was seen that
mature eggs in the oviduct were reduced, absorbed and some eggs
were found in spoiled condition.
Abstract: The aim of this research is to clarify the difference by
industry segment or product characteristics as regards organisation
management for an open innovation to raise R&D performance. In
particular, the trait of the pharmaceutical industry is defined in
comparison with IT component industry segment. In considering open
innovation, both inter-organisational relation and the management in
an organisation are important issues. As methodology, a questionnaire
was conducted. In conclusion, suitable organisation management
according to the difference in industry segment or product
characteristics became clear.
Abstract: Nowadays, cloud environments are becoming a need for companies, this new technology gives the opportunities to access to the data anywhere and anytime. It also provides an optimized and secured access to the resources and gives more security for the data which is stored in the platform. However, some companies do not trust Cloud providers, they think that providers can access and modify some confidential data such as bank accounts. Many works have been done in this context, they conclude that encryption methods realized by providers ensure the confidentiality, but, they forgot that Cloud providers can decrypt the confidential resources. The best solution here is to apply some operations on the data before sending them to the provider Cloud in the objective to make them unreadable. The principal idea is to allow user how it can protect his data with his own methods. In this paper, we are going to demonstrate our approach and prove that is more efficient in term of execution time than some existing methods. This work aims at enhancing the quality of service of providers and ensuring the trust of the customers.
Abstract: Toxicity of copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and iron (Fe) to
Tilapia guinensis was carried out for 4 days with a view to
determining their effects on the liver and muscle tissues. Tilapia
guinensis samples of about 10 - 14cm length and 0.2 – 0.4kg weight
each were obtained from University of Calabar fish ponds and
acclimated for three (3) days before the experimental set up.
Survivors after the 96-hr LC50 test period were selected from test
solutions of the heavy metals for the histopathological studies.
Histological preparations of liver and muscle tissues were randomly
examined for histopathological lesions. Results of the histological
examinations showed gross abnormalities in the liver tissues due to
pathological and degenerative changes compared to liver and muscle
tissues from control samples (tilapia fishes from aquaria without
heavy metals). Extensive hepatocyte necrosis with chronic
inflammatory changes was observed in the liver of fishes exposed to
Cu solution. Similar but less damaging effects were observed in the
liver of fishes exposed to Pb and Fe. The extent of lesion observed
was therefore heavy metal-related. However, no pathologic changes
occurred in the muscle tissues.
Abstract: Agro-industry is one of major industries that have
strong impacts on national economic incomes, growth, stability, and
sustainable development. Moreover, this industry also has strong
influences on social, cultural and political issues. Furthermore, this
industry, as producing primary and secondary products, is facing
challenges from such diverse factors such as demand inconsistency,
intense international competition, technological advancements and
new competitors. In order to maintain and to improve industry’s
competitiveness in both domestics and international markets, science
and technology are key factors. Besides hard sciences and
technologies, modern industrial engineering concepts such as Just in
Time (JIT) Total Quality Management (TQM), Quick Response
(QR), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Lean can be very
effective to support to increase efficiency and effectiveness of these
agricultural products on world stage. Onion is one of Thailand’s
major export products which bring back national incomes. But, it is
also facing challenges in many ways. This paper focused its interests
in onion packing process and its related activities such as storage and
shipment from one of major packing plant and storage in Mae Wang
District, Chiang Mai, Thailand, by applying Toyota Production
System (TPS) or Lean concepts, to improve process capability
throughout the entire packing and distribution process which will be
profitable for the whole onion supply chain. And it will be beneficial
to other related agricultural products in Thailand and other ASEAN
countries.
Abstract: In today’s rapidly changing and increasingly complex
environment, organizations have relied on their members’ positive
attitude toward their employers. In particular, employees’
organizational commitment (primarily, the affective component) has
been recognized as an essential component of organizational
functioning and success. Hence, identifying the determinants of
affective commitment is one of the most important research issues.
This study tested the influence of leader-member exchange (LMX)
and exchange ideology on employee’s affective commitment. In
addition, the interactive effect of LMX and exchange ideology was
examined. Data from 198 members of the Korean military supports
each of the hypotheses. Lastly, implications for research and directions
for future research are discussed.
Abstract: Parabolic solar trough systems have seen limited
deployments in cold northern climates as they are more suitable for
electricity production in southern latitudes. A numerical dynamic
model is developed to simulate troughs installed in cold climates and
validated using a parabolic solar trough facility in Winnipeg. The
model is developed in Simulink and will be utilized to simulate a trigeneration
system for heating, cooling and electricity generation in
remote northern communities. The main objective of this simulation
is to obtain operational data of solar troughs in cold climates and use
the model to determine ways to improve the economics and address
cold weather issues.
In this paper the validated Simulink model is applied to simulate a
solar assisted absorption cooling system along with electricity
generation using Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and thermal storage.
A control strategy is employed to distribute the heated oil from solar
collectors among the above three systems considering the
temperature requirements. This modelling provides dynamic
performance results using measured meteorological data recorded
every minute at the solar facility location. The purpose of this
modeling approach is to accurately predict system performance at
each time step considering the solar radiation fluctuations due to
passing clouds. Optimization of the controller in cold temperatures is
another goal of the simulation to for example minimize heat losses in
winter when energy demand is high and solar resources are low.
The solar absorption cooling is modeled to use the generated heat
from the solar trough system and provide cooling in summer for a
greenhouse which is located next to the solar field.
The results of the simulation are presented for a summer day in
Winnipeg which includes comparison of performance parameters of
the absorption cooling and ORC systems at different heat transfer
fluid (HTF) temperatures.