Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2015 Edition

Publication for Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2015.

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Political Journey of School Heads: A Phenomenological Inquiry[ ]


The purpose of this undertaking was to discover the untold political experiences of school heads. Employing phenomenological approach with 18 school heads, in-depth interviews and focus group discussion, results revealed that participants divulged that their political experiences in public elementary schools in Region. Consequently, the participants mobilized their resources based on school priorities and offered their insights on what they can offer to academic community. With due consideration with the narratives of the participants, politics in education is the rallying call of school leaders in lobbying school improvements to external political structures.

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Optimization of Waterflooding Patterns in Multilateral Wells – a Numerical Simulation Approach[ ]


Multilateral wells have been documented to afford better production performance than vertical wells in primary oil recovery processes especially in thin reservoirs. However, little is known about how multilaterals perform relative to vertical wells in water-injection secondary recovery processes, and how the configuration and pattern of arrangement of these multilaterals affect their performance. In this work, Boast98, a three-dimensional, three-phase, black oil reservoir simulator was used to simulate different waterflooding schemes involving various multilateral well configurations and patterns of arrangement using a synthetic reservoir of a given areal extend in order to compare the performance of vertical wells against multilaterals in a water-injection secondary oil recovery operation. Basically four types of multilateral well configurations were investigated which included the Dual lateral (two laterals), the Trilateral (three laterals), the Quadlateral (four laterals), and the Multilevel (four laterals) well configurations. Vertical and horizontal wells were used as base cases against which the performance of multilaterals were judged. The vertical five-spot pattern performed better than the best multilateral well scenario in terms of cumulative oil produced. All multilateral wells considered were found to be more profitable than vertical and horizontal wells because of their accelerated rate of recovery and reduced water production. The only exception was the trilateral six-spot pattern.

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Investigating the effect of genetic factors on periodontal diseases among Iranian population[ ]


Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease in which the host’s immune system and genetic factors greatly influence the pathogenesis of the disease. Polymorphism in cytokines genes and the associated receptors is considered as a potential genetic risk factor for the occurrence of periodontal diseases.

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THE EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON LANDUSE PATTERN IN BORI, RIVERS STATE NIGERIA[ ]


This study has addressed the effects of urbanization on the land use pattern of Bori. The study objectives were to examine the land use pattern in Bori as at 1972 when the Master Plan for the settlement was prepared; examine the land use changes that have since then; describe the characteristics of the migrants into Bori and their reasons for moving into the place; and recommend ways to deal with the effects of urbanization, especially on land use. The study used both primary and secondary data. The main instrument used to collect primary data was a pre-coded household questionnaire administered face-to-face to a carefully selected sample of 150 heads of households. Primary data were also collected through personal observation, interview of key informants and photography. Secondary information was obtained from published and unpublished sources, including the internet. The Master Plan for Bori, prepared in 1972 was found particularly useful. Analysis of questionnaire data was carried out with the aid of the computer, using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results were summarized using simple summary statistics, especially percentages, sometimes presented as charts and tables. Hypotheses were tested using the Chi Square test of independence between two cross-tabulated variables. The study found among others that the population of Bori had grown from 6,000 persons in 1972 to 23,741 in 2013, with in-migrants constituting 26.7% of the population. The latter were mainly people in the active age groups, with low education and mainly traders. The study further found that with the influx of migrants and the natural increase of population, there was more demand for land for residential development as well as for other uses; thus large part of the area once covered by forests had now been converted to mixed use – residential – commercial – farmland, constituting 49.6% of the total land area as at the time of the survey. The study thus concluded, among others, that the present unorganized development and land use pattern in Bori is as a result of the absence of a Town Planning Authority to regulate and control developments in the area and also recommended, among others, that a Local Planning Authority should be established and made functional in Bori by the employment of Town Planners and other development professionals to regulate development and that the Master Plan for Bori should be urgently revised to properly organize land use and provide a basis for development control to accommodate the recent growth trend.

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Effects of Adhesive Characteristics between Matrix and Reinforced Nanoparticle of AA6061/Carbon Black Nanocomposites[ ]


This paper presents the experimental and finite element analysis of AA6061/carbon black nanocomposites. A cubical representative volume element (RVE) has been implemented to analyze the tensile behavior AA6061/carbon black nanocomposites. The carbon black nanoparticles were randomly distributed in the AA6061 matrix. The tensile strength was increased with an increase of carbon black content in the nanocomposites. The interfacial debonding was high between the particle and the matrix because the local stress concentration around the nanoparticle was increased with an increase in the volume fraction of carbon black in the nanocomposite.

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Vehicle Detection and Tracking by Localizing Rear Lamps and License Plate[ ]


Automatic vehicle detection and tracking is an essential processing system for an intelligent transport applications. However, it is posed to great challenges such as landscape variations, vehicle speed, dimension, color, etc. This paper introduces a methodology to detect and track the rear view of vehicles from videos. The methodology adopts two different color space models to detect rear lamps and rear license plates, respectively. Kalman filter is used to estimate and track the moving object and further to aid in detecting and tracking the vehicles. The relationship between the locations of the rear lamps and license plate are used to construct the Markov model, which detects and tracks the vehicle based on the kalman filter output. The experimental investigation shows the methodology maintains minimum error on detecting and tracking the vehicles. The developed user interface is believed to be useful for applying the system comfortably.

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The Effect of Composition Ratios on Structural and Optical Properties of (ZnO)1-x (CdO)x Thin Films Prepared by PLD.[ ]


In this work (ZnO)1-x (CdO)x films were prepared by using Pulse laser deposition. Annealing in air at temperature 500 °C at constant time of 180 min. The crystalline structure was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) having found the presence of the ZnO hexagonal at X=0 and cubic phase pattern for CdO at x=1 and a mixing of cubic-CdO and hexagonal-ZnO phases for (X= 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) concentrations. The crystallinity of all samples improves with the thermal annealing. The optical band-gap was also studied from the optical transmittance for the as grown and annealed samples. As expected, the band-gap changes between that for pure CdO and that for ZnO.

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Improved Class of Ratio-type estimator for finite Population mean[ ]


In this paper, an improved class of Ratio type estimator has been proposed to estimate population mean of the characteristic under study. Particular cases of proposed estimator have been obtained which are improvement over existing estimator in literature and, thus, it serves as a unified study of several estimators. The expression for bias and mean square error of the proposed estimator including its particular cases have been derived up to the first order of approximation and compared Theoretically with the other improved ratio-type estimators and conditions found for which the proposed estimator is better than improved ratio-type estimators. An empirical study has also been carried out to demonstrate the efficiencies of proposed estimator.

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Changes in coastal line and their impact on coastal tourist services in Damietta governorate, Egypt by Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques[ ]


Damietta coastal plain northern of Nile Delta, is a very promising area for energy resources, tourism and industrial activities. It suffered from several changes over the past century, especially in its boundaries and topography. The objective of this work was to study the spatial and temporal changes that took place along the coastal line of Damietta governorate by using RS and GIS techniques. This is in addition to providing an accurate estimation of the areas where erosion and deposition processes take place. For that purpose multi-temporal Landsat data were collected in 1984, 2000, 2011 and 2014. Also, two spectral indices were used in this study, which are the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and the World View Water Index (WVWI)) to study the changes along the coastal water/land interface. The obtained results indicated that the eroded areas were about 14.08 km2 from 1984 to 2000, about 3.54 km2 from 2000 to 2011, and about 2.05 km2 from 2011 to 2014. The erosion rate during the studied period from 1984 to 2014 was about 0.41 km2/ year. The areas were deposition take place was about 4.92 km2 during the period from 1984 to 2000, about 4.94 km2 from 2000 to 2011 and about 6.35 km2 from 2011 to 2014. The deposition rate during the whole studied period was about 0.291 km2/ year. Accordingly, the deposition rate along the coastline was higher than the erosion rate, however it took place at different locations. Some of these areas were naturally occurred, however some others were human induced, especially after 2011. Accuracy assessment revealed that WVWI was more accurate than the NDWI in studying the changes along the coastal line. Different scenarios about the possibilities of costal submersion as a result of possible tsunamis or global warming were also studied. These scenarios indicated that a possible area of about 75.89 km2 of the coastal land could be submerged in case of a sea level raised by about 5 meters. The obtained results and the hypothetical views were also considered in setting the criteria for selecting the most suitable and secure areas for tourist.

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Power Quality Improvement using Unified Power Quality Conditioner with Distributed Generation[ ]


Recently power quality has become more important issue. Now a day’s power electronics based appliances are widely used in industries and in distribution system which creates more power quality problems. The power electronics based power conditioning devices can be an effective solution to improve power quality in power system. Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) is one of the custom power devices which are used to solve voltage and current related problems simultaneously. In this paper, combined operation of UPQC with Distributed Generation (DG) is discussed. This system integrated with wind energy is able to compensate voltage sag/swell, load current disturbances. Also proposed system is able to compensate voltage interruption and active power transfer to load and source in both interconnected and islanding mode and help to improve power quality. The operation of UPQC with DG has been evaluated through simulation studies using MATLAB/SIMULINK software.

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AUTOMATIC TRANSFER SWITCH WITH THREE PHASE SELECTOR[ ]


Constant supply of power is the wheel of growth to any nation’s economy. A country like Nigeria, where total power generation is less than one quarter of total demand, means of augmentation and smooth operation cannot be over emphasized. This paper presents a real laboratory design and construction of Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) with three phase selector. The design method involves the use of electromechanical type relays, and comparators, etc. The ATS designed demonstrates its ability to perform automatic power change over activities easily without any human interaction.

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EFFECT OF COST PUSH INFLATION ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF SACCOS IN ELDAMA RAVINE SUB COUNTY, KENYA[ ]


The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of cost push inflation on financial performance of SACCOs in Eldama Ravine Sub County, Kenya. The study was based on a descriptive design. Data was collected by a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS version 21. The target population of the study comprised 150 Board members, the SACCOs’ unionizable staff and management staff. Stratified random sampling was used to obtain a sample size of 107 respondents. From the analysis, the study found that cost push inflation had an influence on the financial performance of SACCOs. However, there was a weak relationship between financial performance of SACCOs and cost push inflation. The study revealed that a unit increase in cost push inflation would lead to a slight increase in financial performance indicating that there was a positive weak relationship between financial performance of SACCOs and cost push inflation.

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OPTIMIZATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF CHICKEN FEATHER PLUCKING MACHINE[ ]


The top-table chicken feather plucking machine was optimized to top style chicken feather plucking machine and its performance was evaluated. The machine consists of metal drum, plucker finger, plucker bass, plucker rotor, feather plate, electric motor, shaft, tyre, pulley, v-belt and metallic frame. An electric motor of 1 hp provides drives to the feather plate through v-belt and pulley via 45mm diameter shaft. The rubber fingers that were fixed on the feather plate rotate against the stationary cylinder drum that was studded with rubber plucker. The machine performed the plucking as the plate rotates with the fingers against the stationary rubber plucker on the casing. The machine was evaluated using five different species of chicken at three different speeds of 400 rpm, 450 rpm and 500rpm. The results obtained showed that the machine performed highest at an average efficiency of 84.49% at the speed of 400 rpm on average time of 22.8 seconds. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the results obtained showed that speed and species of chicken significantly affect the efficiency of the machine.

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Assessment of risk factors concerning of systemic lupus erythamatosus on women and outcome of pregnancy at Karbala city[ ]


Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic inflammation autoimmune disease which can effect multiple systems of the human body. The underlying cause of SLE is not fully known, however, genetics, heredity, and environmental features are associated with the severity and outcome of the disease. SLE is a chronic disease that is more frequent in women of reproductive age. The relationship between lupus and pregnancy is problematic: maternal and fetal outcomes are worse than in the general population, and the management of flare-ups is difficult during this period. Objectives: The aim of the present work was ANA and anti-dsDNA to determine the prevalence of autoimmune in a cohort of Iraqi SLE woman patients and to describe their sites and relation to clinical characteristics, laboratory features and disease activity in pregnant women. Patients and Methods: A total of 30 patients with SLE (all patients were females) with ages ranged between (20 – 40) years were taken from (Al – Hassein Medical city/Karbala). Control group consisted of 20 healthy females who were free from signs and symptoms of SLE, with ANA tested by Immunofluorescence technique, also anti – dsDNA antibody was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays kit supplied by (Euroimmune, Germany). C3 and C4 were measured using turbidimetry technique, their kits were supplied by(Vital Diagnostics , Italy ). Results: In the present study the ANA antibodies were positive in 100% of the cases. The mean value of anti – dsDNA (300.4±201.44) which shown in highly significance. In addition results showed that serum levels of C3 and C4 were low significantly in pregnant women of SLE in coparsion with those healthy in significant negative correlation between C3 and C4 levels in lupus. Conclusion: The effect of systemic lupus erythematosus on pregnant women are associated with high risk on pregnant itself and her baby in compeer with healthy pregnant women.Index Terms— Systemic lupus erythematosus, Antinuclear antibodies, Lupus pregnancy.

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IPTV Over WiMAX : Possibilities And Challenges [ ]


This paper is intended to be an introduction into the issues involved with delivering IPTV over WiMAX networks. The use of WiMAX Networks can provide service not only for fixed but also for mobile subscribers , However, there are still issues concerning bandwidth, codec selection, QoS and payload on WiMAX , where passing IPTV traffic relates to the addition payload, besides, WiMAX technology adds its payload. This paper will address each of these issues and discuss the major players involved in deploying this new technology.

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Effect of Petrographical Characteristics on the Engineering Properties of Some Egyptian Ornamental Stones[ ]


Ornamental stones have wide variety in their mineralogical, petrographic and engineering properties.Five different types of Egyptian orna-mental stones have been chosen to be analyzed chemically and petro-graphically for studying their engineering properties as a function of their petrographic characteristics. These types of studied ornamental stones including;Aswan red granite,Aswan granodiorite (grey granite), Minya, Red Sea and South Sinai compactlimestone (marble like) were prepared for mechanical and physical tests. The mechanical and physical properties included; uniaxial compression, abrasion resistance, apparent porosity, water absorption, and dry density.The results indicated that the engineering properties of samples of the same type are generally a function of a wide range of petrographic parameters including; appearance,texture, grain size, mineralogical composition,degree of metamorphism, diagenesis, rate of strength minerals, pores, micro-cracks and fossils that may affect the stone selection for different uses.

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CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR GENERATOR SIDE CONVERTER OF DIRECT DRIVEN WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM[ ]


This paper presents a comparative analysis of different controlling strategies for a direct driven PMSG wind energy power system (WECS) connected to the grid. The DC link voltage is controlled by the generator side converter by using a current mode PWM controller and fixed frequency sliding mode controller (FFSMC). The Grid side converter (GSC) controls the grid active power for maximum power point tracking. The validity of the proposed control schemes has been verified by simulation. The merits of the proposed control scheme are, it does not require the measurement of wind velocity, PMSG stator currents are sinusoidal and power injected into the grid at unity power factor. Modeling of Wind turbine, PMSG, controlling of generator side switch mode converter, controlling of the GSC and Simulation results are presented. Simulation is done in MATLAB/POWERSYSTEM environment.

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Cloud Computing Worldwide: Changing the Strategies of NGOs Work[ ]


Cloud computing has had a tremendous impact on NGOs. Their adoption of the technology has helped to cut operational costs, streamline the flow of communications, modernize accounting systems, and facilitate resource management. Indeed, the cloud has introduced a paradigm shift in the way people manage information of resources. Email, websites, e-commerce, webinars, and social media - all of which are based on cloud computing - are now fundamental elements of NGO operations. With the increasingly ubiquitous nature of Social Networks and Cloud Computing, users are starting to explore new ways to interact with, and exploit these developing paradigms. Social Networks are used to reflect real world relationships that allow users to share information and form connections between one another, essentially creating dynamic Virtual Organizations.

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Test Algorithms for Embedded Systems Testing[ ]


Now a days, embedded systems are used in day to day life. Though people of all ages are using embedded system in daily life they are totally unaware about it. As it is widely used as safety critical device, Testing are the main issue and a matter of concern for the manufacturers.Embedded systems are developed against the issues such as best performance, less power and low cost. Several faults occur while running embedded systems. Some of them are related to components, some are related to memories and some are related to interfacing with hardwares. All these errors can be easily removed via testing algorithms.This paper focuses on new test algorithms for testing of memory of embedded systems. It deals with on online testing of embedded system and also describes the various testing techniques. BIST (Built in Self Test) which is widely used for non concurrent system is also discussed in this paper.

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Benford’s Law in Scientific Research[ ]


As departures from Benford’s law have been observed in many scientific data sets, there is a theoretical need to understand such discrepancies. We argue that the use of parametric extensions to Benford’s law is appropriate and demonstrate this for several first significant digit distributions taken from theoretical scientific laws or extracted from real-world data sets.

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Big Data Technologies[ ]


Big Data! The word is quiet not as simple as it sounds like. Big Data is a combination of many activities that involve elicitation of data, organizing the data on the basis of prioritization and usage and finally performing analysis of large sets cluster and collection of data; these all activities combine together to be known as BIG DATA (Fiedler, 2014). This is done so that further enhancements can be performed in discovering patterns by which it is easy to work with things in a flow (Mongodb.com, 2015).

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Data Mining in Social Media[ ]


Social media mining is a process involving the extraction, analysis and representation of useful patterns from data in the social media, deriving from social interactions (Adedoyin-Olowe, Gaber & Stahl, 2013). Social media mining is a young field which has been leading research and development by handling enormous amounts of information. Just like the mining of the minerals, data mining also involve the extraction of useful information from a larger set of data, which is otherwise not evident and is difficult to acquire.

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The influence of stakeholder involvement in the success rates for change and development initiatives[ ]


In this work we are going to undertake the analysis of stakeholder involvement for taking or changing new initiative within the Blue Horizon Company. Nowadays consumers, employees and investors are more aware than ever of the activities going on in the business sector. We categorized the stakeholders and have investigated the degree up to which a stakeholders can be involved in the business, worked out the areas in which they should or should not be involved and hence estimated a success rate. Methods have been crafted to engage them. A critical analysis is being done that whether this approach can be useful for minimizing the hindrance occurring in propagation of the mission and vision of the company. The work elaborates that whether their involvement in Blue Horizon can help creating a consistent problem solving synergy. Further we have suggested some recommendations and precautions followed by the solution to these problems.

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