Abstract: The increasing volume of solid waste generated,
collected and disposed daily complicate adequate management of
solid waste by relevant agency like Niger State Environmental
Protection Agency (NISEPA). In addition, the impacts of solid waste
on the natural environment and human livelihood require
identification of cost-effective ways for sustainable municipal waste
management in Nigeria. These signal the need for identifying
environment-friendly initiative and local solution to address the
problem of municipal solid waste. A research field was secured at
Pago, Minna, Niger State which is located in the guinea savanna belt
of Nigeria, within longitude 60 361 4311 - 4511 and latitude 90 291
37.6111 - .6211 N. Poultry droppings, decomposed household waste
manure and NPK treatments were used. The experimental field was
divided into three replications and four (4) treatments on each
replication making a total of twelve (12) plots. The treatments were
allotted using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and
Data collected was analyzed using SPSS software and RCBD. The
result depicts variation in plant height and number of leaves at 50%
flowering; Poultry dropping records the highest height while the
number of leaves for waste manure competes fairly well with NPK
treatment. Similarly, the varying treatments significantly increase
vegetable yield, as the control (non-treatment) records the least yield
for the three vegetable samples. Adoption of this organic manure for
cultivation does not only enhance environment quality and attainment
of food security but will contribute to local economic development,
poverty alleviation as well as social inclusion.
Abstract: This survey paper shows the recent state of model
comparison as it’s applies to Model Driven engineering. In Model
Driven Engineering to calculate the difference between the models is
a very important and challenging task. There are number of tasks
involved in model differencing that firstly starts with identifying and
matching the elements of the model. In this paper, we discuss how
model matching is accomplished, the strategies, techniques and the
types of the model. We also discuss the future direction. We found
out that many of the latest model comparison strategies are geared
near enabling Meta model and similarity based matching. Therefore
model versioning is the most dominant application of the model
comparison. Recently to work on comparison for versioning has
begun to deteriorate, giving way to different applications. Ultimately
there is wide change among the tools in the measure of client exertion
needed to perform model comparisons, as some require more push to
encourage more sweeping statement and expressive force.
Abstract: The goal of the modern education system is to prepare
students to be able to adapt to ever-changing life situations. They
must be able to acquire required knowledge independently; apply
such knowledge in practice to solve various problems by using
modern technologies; think critically and creatively; competently use
information; be communicative, work in a team; and develop their
own moral values, intellect and cultural awareness. As a result, the
status of education significantly increases; new requirements to its
quality have been formed. In recent years the competency-based
approach in education has become of significant interest. This
approach is a strengthening of applied and practical characteristics of
a school education and leads to the forming of the key students’
competencies which define their success in future life. In this article,
the authors’ attention focuses on a range of key competencies,
educational, informational and communicative and on the possibility
to develop such competencies via STEM education. This research
shows the change in students’ attitude towards scientific disciplines
such as mathematics, general science, technology and engineering as
a result of STEM education. Two staged analyzed questionnaires
completed by students of forms II to IV in the republic of Trinidad
and Tobago allowed the authors to categorize students between two
levels that represent students’ attitude to various disciplines. The
significance of differences between selected levels was confirmed
with the use of Pearson’s chi-squared test. In summary, the analysis
of obtained data makes it possible to conclude that STEM education
has a great potential for development of core students’ competencies
and encourage the development of positive student attitude towards
the above mentioned above scientific disciplines.
Abstract: This paper seeks to assess the implications of
insurance to foreign direct investment inflow in Nigeria. Multiple
linear regression technique and correlation matrix test were employed
to measure the extent to which foreign direct investment was
influenced. The result showed that insurance premium (IP), asset size
of insurance industry (AS), and total investment of the industry (TI)
impacted significantly and positively on foreign direct investment
inflow in Nigeria. There should be effective risk transfer mechanism
and financial intermediation, which gives the investor confidence in
the risk management strength of the host country.
Abstract: Electrohydraulic servo system have been used in
industry in a wide number of applications. Its dynamics are highly
nonlinear and also have large extent of model uncertainties and
external disturbances. In this paper, a robust back-stepping control
(RBSC) scheme is proposed to overcome the problem of disturbances
and system uncertainties effectively and to improve the tracking
performance of EHS systems. In order to implement the proposed
control scheme, the system uncertainties in EHS systems are
considered as total leakage coefficient and effective oil volume. In
addition, in order to obtain the virtual controls for stabilizing system,
the update rule for the system uncertainty term is induced by
the Lyapunov control function (LCF). To verify the performance and
robustness of the proposed control system, computer simulation of
the proposed control system using Matlab/Simulink Software
is executed. From the computer simulation, it was found that the
RBSC system produces the desired tracking performance and has
robustness to the disturbances and system uncertainties of EHS
systems.
Abstract: The teaching of computer programming for beginners
has been generally considered as a difficult and challenging task.
Several methodologies and research tools have been developed,
however, the difficulty of teaching still remains. Our work integrates
the state of the art in teaching programming with game software and
further provides metrics for the evaluation of student performance in
a collaborative activity of playing games. This paper aims to present a
multi-agent system architecture to be incorporated to the educational
collaborative game software for teaching programming that monitors,
evaluates and encourages collaboration by the participants. A
literature review has been made on the concepts of Collaborative
Learning, Multi-agents systems, collaborative games and techniques
to teach programming using these concepts simultaneously.
Abstract: Financial innovations can be regarded as the cause
and the effect of the evolution of the financial system. Most of
financial innovations are created by various financial institutions for
their own purposes and needs. However, due to their diversity,
financial innovations can be also applied by various business entities
(other than financial institutions).
This paper focuses on the potential application of financial
innovations by non-financial companies. It is assumed that financial
innovations may be effectively applied in all fields of corporate
financial decisions integrating financial management with the risk
management process. Appropriate application of financial
innovations may enhance the development of the company and
increase its value by improving its financial situation and reducing
the level of risk. On the other hand, misused financial innovations
may become the source of extra risk for the company threatening its
further operation.
The main objective of the paper is to identify the major types of
financial innovations offered to non-financial companies by the
banking system in Poland. It also aims at identifying the main factors
determining the creation of financial innovations in the banking
system in Poland and indicating future directions of their
development.
This paper consists of conceptual and empirical part. Conceptual
part based on theoretical study is focused on the determinants of the
process of financial innovations and their application by the nonfinancial
companies. Theoretical study is followed by the empirical
research based on the analysis of the actual offer of the 20 biggest
banks operating in Poland with regard to financial innovations
offered to SMEs and large corporations. These innovations are
classified according to the main functions of the integrated financial
management, such as financing, investment, working capital
management and risk management.
Empirical study has proved that the biggest banks operating in the
Polish market offer to their business customers many types and
classes of financial innovations. This offer appears vast and adequate
to the needs and purposes of the Polish non-financial companies. It
was observed that financial innovations pertained to financing
decisions dominate in the banks’ offer. However, due to high
diversification of the offered financial innovations, business
customers may effectively apply them in all fields and areas of
integrated financial management. It should be underlined, that the
banks’ offer is highly dispersed, which may limit the implementation
of financial innovations in the corporate finance. It would be also
recommended for the banks operating in the Polish market to
intensify the education campaign aiming at increasing knowledge
about financial innovations among business customers.
Abstract: Twin steel plates-concrete composite shear walls are
composed of a pair of steel plate layers and a concrete layer
sandwiched between them, which have the characteristics of both
reinforced concrete shear walls and steel plate shear walls. Twin steel
plates-composite shear walls contain very high ultimsate bearing
capacity and ductility, which have great potential to be applied in the
super high-rise buildings and special structures. In this paper, we
analyzed the basic characteristics and stress mechanism of the twin
steel plates-composite shear walls. Specifically, we analyzed the
effects of the steel plate thickness, wall thickness and concrete
strength on the bearing capacity of the twin steel plates-composite
shear walls. The analysis results indicate that: (1) the initial shear
stiffness and ultimate shear-carrying capacity is not significantly
affected by the thickness of concrete wall but by the class of concrete,
(2) both factors significantly impact the shear distribution of the
shear walls in ultimate shear-carrying capacity. The technique of twin
steel plates-composite shear walls has been successfully applied in
the construction of an 88-meter Huge Statue of Buddha located in
Hunan Province, China. The analysis results and engineering
experiences showed that the twin steel plates-composite shear walls
have great potential for future research and applications.
Abstract: Land reallocation is one of the most important steps in
land consolidation projects. Many different models were proposed for
land reallocation in the literature such as Fuzzy Logic, block priority
based land reallocation and Spatial Decision Support Systems. A
model including four parts is considered for automatic block
reallocation with genetic algorithm method in land consolidation
projects. These stages are preparing data tables for a project land,
determining conditions and constraints of land reallocation, designing
command steps and logical flow chart of reallocation algorithm and
finally writing program codes of Genetic Algorithm respectively. In
this study, we designed the first three steps of the considered model
comprising four steps.
Abstract: This research paper presents the current practices of
teacher professional development, perceived as beneficial by teachers
themselves, in a private secondary school in Brunei Darussalam. This
is part of the findings of a larger qualitative study on teacher
empowerment, using ethnographic methods for data collection, i.e.
participant observation, interviews and document analysis. The field
work was carried out over a period of six months in 2013. An
analysis of the field data revealed multiple pathways of teacher
professional development existing in the school. The results indicate
that school leaders, the teacher community in the school, students,
and the teachers themselves were the agents in a school that
facilitated teacher empowerment. Besides contributing to the
knowledge base on teacher professional development, the results of
this study provide directions for educational policy makers in their
efforts to enhance professional development in secondary schools of
similar characteristics. For school leaders and the teacher community,
these findings offer guidelines for maximizing the opportunities for
these professional development practices, by strengthening
collegiality and by using the existing structures optimally for the
benefit of all concerned.
Abstract: In recent years, the use of the aluminum based alloys
in the industry and technology are increasing. Alloying elements in
aluminum have further been improving the strength and stiffness
properties that provide superior compared to other metals. In this
study, investigation of physical properties (microstructure,
microhardness, tensile strength, electrical conductivity and thermal
properties) in the Al-12.6wt.%Si-%2wt.Ni ternary alloy were
investigated. Al-Si-Ni alloy was prepared in vacuum atmosphere. The
samples were directionally solidified upwards with different growth
rate V (8.3−165.45 μm/s) at constant temperature gradient G (7.73
K/mm). The flake spacings (λ), microhardness (HV), ultimate tensile
strength (σ), electrical resistivity (ρ) and thermal properties (H, Cp,
Tm) of the samples were measured. Influence of the growth rate and
spacings on microhardness, ultimate tensile strength and electrical
resistivity were investigated and relationships between them were
obtained. According to results, λ values decrease with increasing V,
but HV, σ and ρ values increase with increasing V. Variations of
electrical resistivity (ρ) of solidified samples were also measured.
The enthalpy of fusion (H) and specific heat (Cp) for the alloy was
also determined by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) from
heating trace during the transformation from liquid to solid. The
results in this work were compared with the previous similar
experimental results.
Abstract: The localization information is crucial for the
operation of WSN. There are principally two types of localization
algorithms. The Range-based localization algorithm has strict
requirements on hardware, thus is expensive to be implemented in
practice. The Range-free localization algorithm reduces the hardware
cost. However, it can only achieve high accuracy in ideal scenarios.
In this paper, we locate unknown nodes by incorporating the
advantages of these two types of methods. The proposed algorithm
makes the unknown nodes select the nearest anchor using the
Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and choose two other
anchors which are the most accurate to achieve the estimated
location. Our algorithm improves the localization accuracy compared
with previous algorithms, which has been demonstrated by the
simulating results.
Abstract: In this article, a method is presented to effectively
estimate the deformed shape of a thick plate due to line heating. The
method uses a fifth order spline interpolation, with up to C3
continuity at specific points to compute the shape of the deformed
geometry. First and second order derivatives over a surface are the
resulting parameters of a given heating line on a plate. These
parameters are determined through experiments and/or finite element
simulations. Very accurate kriging models are fitted to real or virtual
surfaces to build-up a database of maps. Maps of first and second
order derivatives are then applied on numerical plate models to
evaluate their evolving shapes through a sequence of heating lines.
Adding an optimization process to this approach would allow
determining the trajectories of heating lines needed to shape complex
geometries, such as Francis turbine blades.
Abstract: In order to achieve high data rate and increase the
spectral efficiency, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system has
been proposed. However, multiple antennas are limited by size and
cost. Therefore, recently developed cooperative diversity scheme,
which profits the transmit diversity only with the existing hardware by
constituting a virtual antenna array, can be a solution. However, most
of the introduced cooperative techniques have a common fault of
decreased transmission rate because the destination should receive the
decodable compositions of symbols from the source and the relay. In
this paper, we propose a cooperative cyclic delay diversity (CDD)
scheme that use hierarchical modulation. This scheme is free from the
rate loss and allows seamless cooperative communication.
Abstract: In this study, electric field distribution analyses for
three pylon models are carried out by a Finite Element Method
(FEM) based software. Analyses are performed in both stationary and
time domains to observe instantaneous values along with the
effective ones. Considering the results of the study, different line
geometries is considerably affecting the magnitude and distribution
of electric field although the line voltages are the same. Furthermore,
it is observed that maximum values of instantaneous electric field
obtained in time domain analysis are quite higher than the effective
ones in stationary mode. In consequence, electric field distribution
analyses should be individually made for each different line model
and the limit exposure values or distances to residential buildings
should be defined according to the results obtained.
Abstract: Expansive soils are often encountered in many parts
of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid fields. Such kind of
soils, generally including active clay minerals in low water content,
enlarge in volume by absorbing the water through the surface and
cause a great harm to the light structures such as channel coating,
roads and airports. The expansive soils were encountered on the path
of Apa-Hotamış conveyance channel belonging to the State
Hydraulic Works in the region of Konya. In the research done in this
area, it is predicted that the soil has a swollen nature and the soil
should be filled with proper granular equipments by digging the
ground to 50-60 cm. In this study, for purpose of helping the other
research to be done in the same area, it is thought that instead of
replacing swollen soil with the granular soil, by stabilizing it with
polypropylene fiber and using it its original place decreases effect of
swelling percent, in this way the cost will be decreased. Therefore,
laboratory tests were conducted to study the effects of polypropylene
fiber on swelling characteristics of expansive soil. Test results
indicated that inclusion of fiber reduced swell percent of expansive
soil. As the fiber content increased, the unconfined compressive
strength was increased. Finally, it can be said that stabilization of
expansive soils with polypropylene fiber is an effective method.
Abstract: Facility location is a complex real-world problem
which needs a strategic management decision. This paper provides a
general review on studies, efforts and developments in Facility
Location Problems which are classical optimization problems having
a wide-spread applications in various areas such as transportation,
distribution, production, supply chain decisions and
telecommunication. Our goal is not to review all variants of different
studies in FLPs or to describe very detailed computational techniques
and solution approaches, but rather to provide a broad overview of
major location problems that have been studied, indicating how they
are formulated and what are proposed by researchers to tackle the
problem. A brief, elucidative table based on a grouping according to
“General Problem Type” and “Methods Proposed” used in the studies
is also presented at the end of the work.
Abstract: The right to basic sanitation, was elevated to the
category of fundamental right by the Constitution of 1988 to protect
the ecologically balanced environment, ensuring social rights to
health and adequate housing and put the dignity of the human person
as the foundation of the Brazilian Democratic State. Before their
essentiality to humans, this article seeks to understand why universal
access to basic sanitation is a goal so difficult to achieve in Brazil.
Therefore, this research uses the deductive and analytical method.
Given the nature of the research literature, research techniques were
centered in specialized books on the subject, journals, theses and
dissertations, laws, relevant law case and raising social indicators
relating to the theme. The relevance of the topic stems, among other
things, the fact that sanitation services are essential for a dignified
life, i.e., everyone is entitled to the maintenance of the necessary
existence conditions are satisfied. However, the effectiveness of this
right is undermined in society, since Brazil has huge deficit in
sanitation services, denying thus a worthy life to most of the
population. Thus, it can be seen that the provision of water and
sewage services in Brazil is still characterized by a large imbalance,
since the municipalities with lower population index have greater
disability in the sanitation service. The truth is that the precariousness
of water and sewage services in Brazil is still very concentrated in the
North and Northeast regions, limiting the effective implementation of
the Law 11.445/2007 in the country. Therefore, there is urgent need
for a positive service by the State in the provision of sanitation
services in order to prevent and control disease, improve quality of
life and productivity of individuals, besides preventing contamination
of water resources. More than just social and economic necessity,
there is a government duty to implement such services. In this sense,
given the current scenario, to achieve universal access to basic
sanitation imposes many hurdles. These are mainly in the field of
properly formulated and implemented public policies, i.e., it requires
an excellent institutional organization, management services,
strategic planning, social control, in order to provide answers to
complex challenges.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the
effects of calving season on the production and economic efficiency
of dairy farms in Egypt. Our study was performed at dairy
production farms in the Alexandria, Behera, and Kafr El-Sheikh
provinces of Egypt from summer 2010 to winter 2013. The
randomly selected dairy farms had herds consisting of Baladi,
Holstein-Friesian, or cross-bred (Baladi × Holstein-Friesian) cows.
The data were collected from production records and responses to a
structured questionnaire. The average total return differed
significantly (P < 0.05) between the different cattle breeds and
calving seasons. The average total return was highest for the
Holstein- Friesian cows that calved in the winter (29106.42
EGP/cow/year), and it was lowest for Baladi cows that calved in the
summer (12489.79 EGP/cow/year). Differences in total returns
between the cows that calved in the winter or summer or between
the foreign and native breeds, as well as variations in calf prices,
might have contributed to the differences in milk yield. The average
net profit per cow differed significantly (P < 0.05) between the cattle
breeds and calving seasons. The average net profit values for the
Baladi cows that calved in the winter or summer were 2413 and
2994.96 EGP/cow/year, respectively, and those for the Holstein-
Friesian cows were 10744.17 and 7860.56 EGP/cow/year,
respectively, whereas those for the cross-bred cows were 10174.86
and 7571.33 EGP/cow/year, respectively. The variations in net profit
might have resulted from variation in the availability or price of feed
materials, milk prices, or sales volumes. Our results show that the
breed and calving season of dairy cows significantly affected the
economic efficiency of dairy farms in Egypt. The cows that calved
in the winter produced more milk than those that calved in the
summer, which may have been the result of seasonal influences,
such as temperature, humidity, management practices, and the type
of feed or green fodder available.
Abstract: The Multiple Intelligences theory characterizes human
intelligence as a multifaceted entity that exists in all human beings
with varying degrees. The most important contribution of this theory
to the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) is its role in
identifying individual differences and designing more learnercentered
programs. The present study aims at investigating the
relationship between different elements of multiple intelligence and
grammar scores. To this end, 63 female Iranian EFL learner selected
from among intermediate students participated in the study. The
instruments employed were a Nelson English language test, Michigan
Grammar Test, and Teele Inventory for Multiple Intelligences
(TIMI). The results of Pearson Product-Moment Correlation revealed
a significant positive correlation between grammatical accuracy and
linguistic as well as interpersonal intelligence. The results of
Stepwise Multiple Regression indicated that linguistic intelligence
contributed to the prediction of grammatical accuracy.