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EFFECT OF CORIOLIS FORCE AND NON UNIFORM BASIC TEMPERATURE GRADIENT ON THE ONSET OF RAYLEIGH BENARD CONVECTION IN SECOND ORDER FLUID WITH GENERAL BOUNDARY CONDITION
The effect of coriolis force and non uniform basic temperature gradient on the onset of Rayleigh B??nard convection in Second order fluid with general boundary conditions are studied using the Galerkin technique. The effects of one linear and five nonlinear basic temperature gradients are studied on the onset of convection. A linear stability analysis is performed. The influence of various parameters on the onset of convection has been analyzed and their comparative influence on onset is discussed. The study of the problem with general boundary conditions for velocity and temperature indicates that the results of the previous studies for different boundary conditions are obtained as limiting cases for the present studies. -
An Empirical Analysis of Price Discovery in Spot and Futures Market of Gold in India
The broadest classification of the Indian financial market can be made in terms of commodity market, stock and security markets and foreign exchange market. Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. These raw commodities are traded on regulated commodity exchanges, in which they are bought and sold in standardized contracts. Gold is a commodity which has been undergoing very serious price fluctuations in recent years. It has had its own impact on commodity trading too. Price discovery process of gold has always been a matter of wide discussion among researchers and policy makers. In this context this study aims at analyzing the price discovery process of Gold in Indian commodity market. It also looks into the volatility impact of futures price on spot price as well as the volatility impact of spot price on futures price. The study is completely based on the secondary data collected from the official website of NCDEX. The data extend for a period ranging from 23rd April 2009 to 29th December 2011. The daily data of spot and futures prices of gold during the period is taken into account. Various econometric tools are employed to test the hypotheses set. The VAR model result confirms the unidirectional relationship runs from the spot market to the futures market of gold in India. It reveals co integration and dynamic relationship between spot and futures markets of gold. The result of GARCH model implies that both futures as well as spot markets do have significant impact in the price volatility of gold in India. The result of VECM tells that spot market is dominant in the price discovery process which is a clear indication of the fact that spot market of gold is information efficient in India. The result is of great significance for the investors who wish to improve portfolio performance. With regard to policy making, a better understanding of the interconnectedness of these markets would be useful for the policy makers who coordinate the stability of financial markets. For marketers, it provides a reliable forecast of spot prices in the future to allow them to effectively manage their risks in the production or marketing process. The unprecedented uptrend in the price of gold and high volatility in recent years provides room for some important social implications. -
On Degree Sequence of Total Graphs and the Order of the Graphs
In this dissertation we discuss about the degree sequence of total graphs of some general graphs. A total graph of G, denoted by T(G) has vertex set as the union of vertices and edges in G and vertices are adjacent in T(G) if they are adjacent or incident in G. We try to obtain the degree sequence of total graphs of particular graphs like complete graph, path, cycle, wheel and star, from the number of vertices of the given graph (without directly drawing the total graph). We also explain the decomposition of T(G) into G and K_(d_i )s where dis are degrees of each of the vertices in G, moreover discuss about the degree sequence of T(G)??T(Ge). -
Evolution of Virtual Prey using a Virtual Predator
Can evolution happen on a computer is it possible for Images to evolve? This paper tries to show that Mother Nature has got it right and evolution is the future for programs. How many times will a new release come to solve my previous problem and in the process create new problems! Evolution can happen on a computer is very clear in this work titled Evolution of a Virtual Prey using a Virtual Predator. The Virtual Prey can evolve its skin color based on an Artificial Intelligent Virtual Predator. Monochrome patterns have evolved very successfully. Some repeatable patterns in the Brodatz Texture Database have also evolved. Charles Darwin in his famous book Origin of Species suggests that evolution takes place using a method he termed Natural Selection. Survival of fittest has to be considered in context of the environment in which the species are living. One of the criteria of survival depends on whether the specie was able to propagate before it was hunted down by a predator. For example the skin color of a prey like an insect evolves to match the background it is living on such that the predators like birds and frogs will not detect them. Assume there are thousand insects on a surface and if nine hundred and ninety are eaten over a period of time are eaten. Then the last 10 will be those which have got skin color, pattern, and texture closest to the original. Some findings have been in the comparison of different genetic operators to evolve specie. Use of Mutation and Crossover operator is critical. Some level of continuation is required in the next generation to maintain and not lose the quality which has been already attained. The number of generations required depend on DNA length and on the correct use of these three parameters.. The runtime from thirty minutes has been reduced to ten minutes to evolve specie of 100 plus variables in the DNA of the images. If we are ready to run the program for a day on multiple machine in parallel then the possibilities of great diversity is very much possible. The predator will be an algorithm which tries to do a basic computer vision operation of correlating two images and ranking them. Then it eliminates a certain percentage of the population. The dissertation is broken down in chapters. Chapter 1 gives the Introduction and Chapter 2 gives an idea of what all research is happening in this area. Chapter 3 is the core content of my work and it shows the different approaches I have used to evolve textures, the use of different operators. This chapter is followed by the testing I had to do due to the complexity of the application and high chance of error creeping into the results. An idea of the application can be got from the Appendix where I have given a walk through of the Zing World -
Work-Family Interface during the Age thirty Transition: Experiences of Women Professionals from the Corporate sector
The age thirty transition is a significant developmental transition in the lives of women. Past studies have found this to be a period of disruption and re-evaluation of choices before lasting commitments are made in work and family. This research is focused on studying the experiences of women professionals from the corporate sector as they negotiate the age thirty transition and the work-family interface during this transition period. It provides a current understanding of this transition in lives of women professionals in the context of urban India. Based in the paradigm of phenomenology, this study follows the IPA method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six women and the data was analyzed at individual as well as cross-case level. The findings indicate that approach of age thirty i.e. approximately between ages 25 and 31 is a transitional period as the young women enter and establish themselves in adult roles in work and family. The changes in their environment and social expectations interact with developmental changes within the ??self. Amidst unique individual experiences, the results suggest a common structure of the transition experience with distinct phases and an evolution of work-family interface across these phases. Keywords: age thirty transition, work-family interface -
On Specific Properties Common to a Graph and its Complement
In this dissertation we study some specific properties common to a graph and its complement. Here we compare the independence number of a graph with the chromatic number of its complement and find some relation between these properties for cycle, path, wheel, Berge graph, star and for some other graphs. We also find the relation between the independence number of a graph and its complement with its order. -
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PERCEPTION OF RETAILERS ON ADOPTING GESTURE CONTROLLED INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING AND DIGITAL DISPLAYS IN INDIA
In the advertising world, everything from billboards, to taxi signs to supermarket displays are going digital. Interactive floor advertising in malls is all the rage, especially in Western and Far East countries. Retailers across the world have been investing on gesture controlled interactive visual display systems to stand out from the crowd and turn their retail locations into a destination for customers. They use it as a means for sophisticated marketing solutions, such as, product advertising, retail merchandising, point-of-sale promotions, campaigning etc, resulting in transformation of retail customer experience. Such interactive elements not only help drive traffic to the desired location and keep visitors there for longer, but also help drive core business philosophies and return on investments. Well, all these are quite appealing to anyone in the retail business to bounce and invest with a hope to harvest, but, it has not gained as much coerce as one would expect with Indian retailers. So, it would be prudent to find their perception towards adopting this innovative marketing strategy. It is intended that the findings of this research, about the perceptions of adopting gesture controlled interactive advertising and digital displays, will be useful to retailers, consumer packaged goods organizations, distributors, mall owners, advertising agencies etc. It would help them to assess their current marketing strategies and to gain knowledge of pros and cons of incorporating this innovative form of advertising. These findings could also be used for any corrections to the investments already made in this area. The rest of the content in this report details out the research conducted in this regard followed by a conclusion. The first chapter introduces to the research topic, justifies & highlights the problem poser and the goal of the work presented in the dissertation. It also highlights the significant contributions from the investigation. The second chapter presents a critical appraisal of the previous work published in the literature pertaining to the topic of the investigation. The chapter three discusses the problem statement, overall methodology used in order to achieve the objectives of this research, present the sample characteristics, development of measurement instrument, pilot study, research variables, data collection procedure and finally the scope and limitations of the study. The fourth chapter is the penultimate chapter of the dissertation and includes a thorough evaluation of the investigation carried out. It focuses on the detailed analysis of the data obtained from the field from different retailers. Finally, the fifth chapter provides a brief report of the work carried out forms the first part of the Chapter. Conclusions derived from the logical analysis is presented and clearly enumerated. Suggestions from current findings and scope for future work are also stated in the last part of the Chapter. Key words: Retail, Interactive Advertising, Gesture Control, Digital Display. -
EFFECT OF NON UNIFORM BASIC TEMPERATURE GRADIENT ON THE ONSET OF RAYLEIGH-BNARD CONVECTION IN MAXWELLS VISCOELASTIC FLUID WITH MAXWELL-CATTANEO LAW
The effects resulting from the Maxwell-Cattaneo law in Rayleigh-B??nard convection in Maxwells viscoelastic fluid are studied using the Galerkin technique. The effects of one linear and five nonlinear basic temperature gradients are studied on the onset of convection. The Eigenvalue is obtained for free-free, rigid-rigid, rigid-free, velocity boundary combinations with isothermal boundaries. A linear stability analysis is performed. The influence of various parameters on the onset of convection has been analyzed. -
The Relationship between Assertiveness and Decision Making Styles among Emerging Adults
Emerging adulthood, the prolonged years from late teens through twenties marked by change and exploration before arriving at enduring life choices is becoming a normative period for young people worldwide. Past researches have described the emerging adults to be optimistic, assertive, self confident and making independent and effective decisions at the same time as miserable and indecisive. Lack of coherence in the conception about this new and distinct period in human development, the likelihood that it is pervading Indian culture and significance of this stage make it an important area to be explored. Hence, the current study investigates the relationship between assertiveness and decision making styles of emerging adults and attempts to identify the gender differences in their assertiveness and decision making styles.The Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire that measures self-reported decision making coping patterns and Rathus Assertiveness schedule that assesses self reported assertiveness level were administered to 1209 (Male, N = 581; Female, N= 628) undergraduate and post graduate students who were in the age range of 18-25 from five colleges in the city of Bangalore. The results of one way analysis of variance shows that decision making styles do have an influence on assertiveness such that assertiveness is significantly different for vigilance and buck-passing; vigilance and procrastination; vigilance and hyper-vigilance; buck-passing and procrastination and buck-passing and hyper-vigilance. Assertiveness was not significantly different for procrastination and hyper-vigilance. The emerging adults with vigilant style found to be more assertive than those with other decision making styles. 69% of the total sample had vigilant decision making style which is considered to be the effective coping style while only 31% had maladaptive coping styles like buck-passing (10%), procrastination (10%) and Hyper-vigilance (11%). A multiple regression results indicates that decision making style and assertiveness are moderately correlated (R=0.661); decision making style can predict assertiveness with a 0.661 accuracy level and that this value is significant at the 0.01 level of significance and that decision making style explains 43.7% of the variance in assertiveness (R2=0.437). No statistically significant gender differences were found in assertiveness and decision making styles. The study reveals that emerging adults choice and the frequency of usage of decision making style indicate the individual differences like assertiveness. It is recommended that existing literature on the decision making style and assertiveness can be enhanced with additional research that further examines the relationships among these constructs with a sample of emerging adults from different social, economic, cultural and academic background, adopting both qualitative and quantitative methods to reduce the sampling error and weaknesses of self report measures. In line with the findings obtained from the research, a training programme for improving decision making styles like assertiveness skill training could be developed even in educational settings. The results have implications for professionals working with university-aged individuals, particularly in the area of career and guidance and making stressful personal decisions with regard to life. Key Words: Emerging adults, Decision-Making Styles, vigilance, buck-passing, procrastination, hyper-vigilance, Assertiveness -
Synthesis and characterization of acid hydrazone complexes
The new azomethine compounds derived from Acetophenone benzhydrazone and Acetophenone nicotinicacidhydrazone have been prepared Further it is synthesized with Cu(II) and Co(II) salts to form stable complexes. The ligand and metal complexes have been characterized by Elemental analysis, IR, NMR, UV/Vis Spectrometry, Vibrating sample magnetometric measurements and Gouy Balance method. The nature of bonding and the stereochemistry of the complexes have been deduced from infrared spectra, electronic spectra, magnetic susceptibility, and an octahedral geometry has been suggested for cobalt (II) and square pyramidal structure for copper (II) complex. The complexes are non-hygroscopic, and photo stable crystalline powders with different melting point. The solubility of the metal-complexes in various solvents confirmed the diversity of the complexes as the ligands. The coordination process takes place through the carbonyl oxygen and the azomethine nitrogen atom, the anionic ion is in the outer sphere of the copper complex. The complexes were proposed to have the formulae [ML1.phen(H2O)]NO3H2O. where M=Cu(II),Co(II) ,and HL1 = acetophenone benzhydrazone and [MHL2phen.( NO3)2 ]H2O HL2 = Nicotinic acid acid hydrazone KEY WORDS: Complexes, Hydrazones, Acetophenone, Synthesis, Characterization. -
A Study on Index Futures and Index Options in India with Special Reference to NSE S&P CNX NIFTY
The surfacing and growth of derivative market in India is a recent observable fact. Since the introduction, the derivative market has been showing a dramatic growth in terms of both trading volume and number of contracts. This market helps different participants or economic agents to hedge themselves alongside uncertainties arise out of highly volatile market conditions. It is evident that the growth of trading on indices is massive for the last 5 years i.e, from 2008 to till date. This study tries to make an in-depth revise on Index Derivatives -Index Futures and Index Options, market in India and the reason behind the growing popularity of trading on indices with special reference to NSE S&P CNX Nifty. Since volatility is a part of derivative market and has a major effect in derivative market fluctuations, this paper attempts to study the volatility of Index derivatives over a period of time in NSE India. This study also aims to understand the historical background and growth of Index derivative market in India. The study covers the period of eleven years spread over from 2000 to 2011. Lastly, for the better understanding of the trend, future prospects and latest innovations in this market, different participants of Indian index derivative market are interviewed. In chapter one, the study presents an overview of Indian derivative market, the history of Index derivative market, various participants of derivative market, types and application of derivative products and theories and principles associated with these financial instruments. It also talks about the economic benefits of derivatives to the nation. Chapter two consists of literature related to the current study. It talks about various views about derivative market, the impact of derivative products especially index futures and index options to the market and economy. It also points out the volatility aspect of the derivative market, suggestions to improve the market etc Chapter three discusses about the research methodology for the study. It consists of statement of the problem, objectives of the study, data collection analysis and interpretation and limitations of the study. Chapter four discusses the research problem with different statistical analysis and measurement. It also talks about the findings of the study. Various statistical tools were used for the study like One Sample t-test, GARCH, EGARCH etc this chapter also does a historical and trend analysis of the derivative market in India for period ranging from 2000 to 2012. Chapter five is about the findings, suggestions and conclusion of this study. Keywords: Index Futures, Index Options, Volatility, Trading Volume, Open Interest -
Measuring Student Satisfaction: Services Provided by Higher Educational Institutions
The changing scenario in education has started to consider student as a customer (Zaiiri, 1995; Hill, 1995; Elliot & Healy 2001; Rowley, 2003; Sakthivel et al, 2005). As the students are the major customer of educational institution, it is important to consider students (customers) satisfaction. This study aims to contribute to the literature by indentifying the components of students` satisfaction with service provided by educational institutions. The components of student satisfaction were identified by conducting interviews with subject matter experts (N=10) and students (N=15) studying bachelor degree in arts, science and commerce in various public and private college in Bangalore. Based on the result of explorative study, the student satisfaction scale was developed with 76 items. This scale was used to collect data from 800 college students. The explorative factor analysis was used to explore factors of student satisfaction and was found that all the items measured single construct ?? student satisfaction. The reliability and validity of the scale was developed. The paper concludes discussing theoretical and academic implications, limitation and future research direction. Keywords: students` satisfaction, expectation disconfirmation theory, scale development and validation -
A Comparative Study of Effectiveness of Option Forecasting Models: Black Sholes Vs Simple Hybrid Neural Networks.
Many studies have shown that Artificial Neural Networks has the capacity to learn the underlying mechanics of stock markets. In fact, Artificial Neural Networks has been widely used for forecasting financial markets. However, such applications to Indian Stock Markets are scarce. This paper applies neural network models to predict the option prices which are traded in National Stock Exchange. Multilayer perceptron network is used to build the option forecasting model and the network is trained using Back Propagation algorithm. It is found that the predictive power of the network model is not influenced by the neural network using realised volatility. The study shows that satisfactory results can be achieved when applying Hybrid Neural Networks to forecast for the next 30 days. The result shows Black Scholes model outperforms the Hybrid Neural Network models and also when we compared the Hybrid Neural Networks results with the econometric Models such as OLS and EGARCH we saw that the Econometric models give the good results. -
A Trust Model for Cloud Security and Privacy for Startups in India
The great advantage of cloud computing is elasticity, the ability to add capacity or applications almost at a moments notice. Companies buy exactly the amount of storage, computing power, security and other IT functions that they need from specialists in data-centre computing. On the other side, there are also some disadvantages to using cloud computing that must be considered. In the cloud, the customer may not have the kind of control over their data or the performance of the applications that they need, or the ability to audit or change the processes and policies under which users must work. The security of cloud, and associated privacy concerns, give many organizations pause as they think through their particular cloud computing concerns. Security and privacy concerns include physical security and simple access to facilities and equipment, as well as logical security, industry compliance requirements, audit ability, and more. -
A Technological Framework for ICT Implementation in Teaching-Learning Process
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has penetrated into all walks of life and education sector is no exception. Many studies reveal that ICT is an extremely powerful tool that could bring about tremendous changes in the education process. Innovation has become mandatory to sustain in the global competitive environment. ICT plays an important role in reaching various goals. Its ability to transcend time and space allows learning to take place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week eliminating geographical barriers. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is foreseen as a tool to overcome various challenges in education. Many education institutions have taken a keen initiative towards the usage of ICT based teaching-learning systems so as to enhance efficiency. In this context, LMS has been identified as the most accepted ICT-based tool in the present education system. Through review of literature, it is evident that LMS is widely implemented in education sector. However, it is identified that various essential parameters that could enhance the performance are not adequately addressed in the present ICT-based LMS systems. The primitive and essential features of ICT- based LMS were identified. A detailed analysis on applicability of the identified features was done from the perspective of three major stakeholders namely students, teachers and technical experts. The inference of this analysis revealed that current LMS systems address only 25% of interoperability issues, followed by 21% accessibility and 19% of adaptability. This analysis further revealed that reusability accounts for 11% and affordability for 8% only. Hence, it is evident that the essential parameters are not completely addressed in the present LMS system. A comparative study of various existing LMS systems pertaining to various parameters identified was performed. A technological hybrid LMS framework was developed at macro and micro level to address the various LMS challenges identified like interoperability, accessibility, durability, adaptability and affordability so as to improve the system. Finally, a SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) enabled hybrid LMS framework was developed as the outcome of the research. This framework would enhance the overall performance and provide complete ICT based solutions for educational institutions. -
Localization Method for Camera Networks in Surveillance System
The significance of prevention and mitigation of critical issues especially in the homeland security has been increasing day by day. Emergence of autonomous video analytics tools greatly helped in the prevention of security threats. The recognition of video analytics for anomaly detection based on a set of unsupervised approaches has many fundamental technical challenges. This entails autonomous object localization and tracking technique especially in the presence of occlusion. This paper focuses on deriving a solution for the object detection and tracking in a heterogeneous camera network. The object tracking method is mainly based on Kalman filter whereas frame difference algorithm is used for object localization. This detection and tracking solution is expected to significantly reduce the effect of occlusion while tracking the anomaly. The organisation of the thesis is done into various chapters. The first chapter contains an introduction to the video surveillance system and the need for an unsupervised approach. This chapter also states the objective of the research. The solution overview gives high level solution architecture of the proposed system. The second chapter focus on the literature overview in which the citation from different papers in the field of video analytics, Kalman filter implementation and camera configuration has been referred. Chapter 3 provides the methodology in which a brief introduction to the basic algorithms used in the solution, the Kalman filter and the frame difference algorithm, are discussed. This is followed by the solution architecture of the proposed system. Chapter 4 shows the Matlab implementation of the mentioned algorithms. In Chapter 5, the results of the implementation are discussed. Chapter 6 talks about the summary of the work done and conclusion. This chapter also includes the future enhancements suggested. -
Identity formation and construction of communities among the users of social networking sites
Study of social networking sites and formation of community within the social networking sites is a new topic. Emergence of social networking sites and its impact on the social life is therefore a recent phenomenon. The social networking sites are a common platform for users to come together on the basis of common interest, ideas and opinions. Its existence and relevance is justified by number of factors operating together, such as large user base, radical changes in the process of socialization and impact of social media on our everyday life etc. What makes social networking sites so interesting is the fact that it is user centric. The very foundation of social networking sites was laid to facilitate socialization among the users. India has one of the largest social network user bases especially for social networking sites like Facebook and Orkut. This is even truer for urban centers such as Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The use of social networking sites is so common among the youth that it almost seems as though if one is not part of social networking site one does not have any social life. Everything we have in real life gets replicated in the online communities, the good and the bad. Therefore, this study is an attempt to understand how the users are able to come together and form community in the cyberspace. The researcher also attempts to study the impact of the same in the real life and vice versa. Since the advent of social networking sites it has radically changed the way we socialize. This study also looks at how social networking sites and social network analysis emerged. Identity formation is yet another aspect of the study; online identities are very fluid as one has to type themselves into existence. Therefore, the identities people take online are varied and often may be completely different from the reality. This aspect of fluid identity has both positive and negative aspects as we will see later in the thesis. Social media technologies are woven into the very fabric of our social life. As mentioned above are the various aspects of the social networking sites that we are looking into. The dissertation is divided into five chapters, the first chapter introduces one to the topic, along with aims, objectives, need and background of the study, the second chapter consists of the reviewed literature, the third chapter deals with the methodological part of the dissertation as various tools and techniques used in the study are explained, while the fourth chapter is the analysis and interpretation of the primary data collected, it is presented using various bar diagrams and tables, and the fifth chapter brings out the important findings in the study and also in the conclusion chapter. The fifth chapter summarizes all the findings of the earlier chapters. Finally, the dissertation consists of the bibliography list and the questionnaire which was distributed to collect the data. -
QUALITY OF WORK LIFE IN RELATION TO PEOPLE CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL IN IT AND ITES ORGANIZATIONS
The new found concern for Quality of Work Life in corporate life perhaps has been due to the realization that human resource is the most important asset which must be released and developed. Management viewed QWL programs as a way of reducing costs and improving productivity. The success of any organization depends on how it attracts recruits, motivates and retains its workforce. Human capital is clearly emerging as a key engine of economic growth, and it is evident that the skills and competencies of the workforce impact positively on productivity and competitiveness. In this regard investment in human capital would appear to be a prerequisite to economic success .In this new scenario People capability maturity model offers unlimited potential to develop and maximize human capital and organizational competence in the interest of the firm ,the employee ,the consumer ,the shareholder and not least the family. People capability maturity model is a maturity framework developed at the software engineering institute that guides the organizations in improving the ability to attract, develop, motivate, organize and retain talent.. Economies of the world over and companies facing tough domestic and international markets have been posing a serious challenge to all concerned. This coupled with every changing technology and increased access to information has necessitated studying organization with respect to productivity, efficiency and quality of service rendered. All this demands a new work culture, employee motivation, commitment to the job and organizational goals. Some organizations in the service sector have implemented PCMM to address all these organizational issues. However we have very little information at the grass root level to comprehend QWL, and very little research on QWL Life in relation to PCMM hence this study. Based on the objectives of the study a detailed questionnaire was constructed by the researcher. The questionnaire has three parts measuring demographics, implementation of PCMM and six dimensions of QWL. It was measured on a 5 point likert scale 1 indicating strongly disagree to 5 indicating strongly agree. The Cronbachs alpha reliability for the PCMM and the QWL for the present sample was .80 and above. The questionnaire was completed by 230 respondents using judgmental sampling technique from PCMM implemented and non implemented IT and ITES organizations. It was found that Quality of work life was not significantly higher in companies that implemented People capability maturity model as compared to other companies. Amongst all the dimensions of Quality of work life the only dimension influenced and affected by People capability maturity model was self evaluation of performance .It was found that there was a variation of 20.1% in the Quality of work life. In terms of correlation, the study indicated that there was significant intra relationship between the 6 dimensions of Quality of work Life; significant intra relationship between the People Capability Maturity Model related items and significant interrelationship between 6 dimensions of Quality of Work Life and the People capability maturity model related items. Amongst all the 6 dimensions of Quality of Work Life the only dimension that was significantly different across gender was self evaluation of performance. Females had higher self evaluation of performance as compared to the male counterparts. On the basis of the results attained from the current study we can clearly imply that Quality of work life dimensions is definitely positively influenced, affected and correlated with People Capability Maturity Model though there is no difference in Quality of Work Life among People Capability Maturity Model implemented and Non implemented IT and ITES organizations. The results from the study will have significant implications on the companies that have not implemented People Capability Maturity Model to join the group of People capability maturity model implemented companies as this will help the organizations to prepare the employees psychologically to meet the demands and challenges which otherwise may risk a poor Quality of work life program implementation. Key Words: Organizational behavior, Human Resource Management, People Capability Maturity Model, Quality of Work Life, General linear model. -
Study of Nanolayered Structure of Commercially Available Carbon Materials and Soot
Developments in the modern world periodically call for the discovery or invention of new and exotic materials. In the present situation, to develop unique and novel materials, which move beyond the barriers of the physical limits of the amount of micro- miniaturization possible as well as the current technology and take advantage of the opportunities not yet imagined, is not at all a need but a necessity. The advent of Nano technology of carbon allotropes is a giant leap towards this goal. The starting of the era of carbon nanomaterials traces back to 1985 when the fullerenes with a foot ball structure were accidently discovered. From then on, the field of carbon nanotechnology was in the constant limelight on account of the amazing properties displayed by the various allotropes of carbon. These properties are dependent mainly on the type of hybridization present in the nanostructures, which categorizes them to amorphous or crystalline. Also, there exist some structures which are the combination of these two and are termed as nanocrystalline or turbostratic structures. The discovery of graphene, which has a turbostratic structure and is the thinnest material known and the strongest ever measured, with outstanding properties such as highest room temperature electrical conductivity; high mechanical robustness etc was a ground breaking one. These remarkable properties open up a wide range of potential applications ranging from clean energy to nano-electronics to bio-medical devices. Thus, it is a necessity to explore and characterize various effective sources of these nanomaterials. The present study is an attempt to investigate such efficient, easily available and cost-effective precursors. Soot, also known as black carbon, is a fine-grained solid residue that results from incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons and is a widely used precursor for the production of carbon nanomaterials. Carbon soot is a major component of smoke from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels and hydrocarbons and hence has a vast number of sources. In the study presented here soot obtained from the thermal decomposition of commercially available kerosene, diesel oil, paraffin wax and lubricant oil is investigated. Nanostructure of the commercially available carbon black is also studied. Various techniques such as Micro Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HR-SEM), Electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and elemental analysis are employed for the structural and morphological characterization of the samples. Raman scattering is used as a probe to study the disorder in the carbon skeleton materials. The intensity ratio of the D and G modes occurring in the spectra is proportional to the number of rings at the edge of the grain and also indicates the quality of the sample. FT-IR spectroscopy is used to characterize qualitatively the functional groups of carbon materials. XRD is the most common analytical technique used for determining the structure of ordered and disordered carbons from the positions of the diffraction peaks at 2?? angle. The structural parameters like the size of the ordered grains along c and a axis (Lc and La), the average spacing of the crystallographic (002) planes (d002) can be determined through Scherrer equations. SEM micrographs give the surface morphology of the nanomaterials present and the EDS analysis gives the abundance of the microscopic constituents. Elemental composition of the samples can be derived from the elemental analysis using CHNS (Carbon Hydrogen Nitrogen Sulphur) analyser. The present study shows that all the samples investigated obeys the Tuinstra-Koening relation and posses a nanocrystalline structure. The ratio of the defect and graphite bands is found to be very low, especially in the case of diesel soot which has a value very much lower than those reported in the earlier studies, indicating high quality and a low amount of disorder in the samples. HR-SEM micrographs clearly indicate that the carbon nanostructured present in the samples are in the form of non-uniform nanospheres with diameter varying between 26-100 nm. The characteristic diffraction peak of graphene corresponding to (100) diffraction is observed in the x-ray diffraction profiles of all the samples. The interlayer spacing determined in all the samples lies very close to that of graphite. The H/C atomic ratio from the CHNS analysis is found to be very low and confirms the nanocrystalline structure of the materials. The graphite band position in the IR spectra indicates that the nanospheres formed are to be composed more of crystalline graphitic carbon. From the EDS analysis it is evident that all the samples have very high carbon content and are free from impurities and thus concludes that the materials and methods used in the present study for the synthesis of carbon nanospheres possessing a nanocrystalline structure are efficient and cost effective and are good precursors for graphene.