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Sensitivity Analysis of Heat Transport in Nanofluids with Marangoni Convection
Crystal growth, soap flm stabilization, coating processes, and growth of silicon newlinewafers involve Marangoni convective and#64258;ows. In microgravity situations, Marangoni effect is more prominent than gravity-induced buoyancy forces. In such situations, the convective and#64258;ows in the and#64258;uids will be driven by surface tension gradients. Moreover, the control of heat transport in the hydromagnetic semiconductor crystals involves Marangoni convection. Therefore, the heat transport rate in Marangoni convective and#64258;ow of nanoand#64258;uids is optimized in this research work. The thermal, thermo-solutal, mixed thermo-solutal Marangoni convection problems are explored in the presence of an external magnetic feld. The thermal phenomenon is scrutinized by including thermal radiation. Diand#64256;erent external eand#64256;ects are included in the problems and a detailed parametric analysis is carried out by using graphical visualizations. The newlinegoverning equations are constructed by utilizing the conservation equations of mass, newlinemomentum, energy and concentration. Realistic nanoand#64258;uid models are chosen which are validated with experimental data. Finite-diand#64256;erence-based and Runge-Kuttabased solving methodologies are adopted. The optimization of the heat (and mass) transport is carried out using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The facecentered central composite design is used for optimization. The quadratic empirical models obtained are further explored by estimating the sensitivity. The problem studied in each chapter is given below: Thermal Marangoni and#64258;ow of a nanoand#64258;uid with nanoparticle aggregation newlineA study of magnetohydrodynamic thermal Marangoni convection of ethylene glycol (EG) based titania (TiO2) nanoand#64258;uid is carried out by considering the eand#64256;ect of nanoparticle aggregation. The heat transport phenomenon is scrutinized with thermal radiation. The eand#64256;ective thermal conductivity and viscosity with aggregation are modeled by using the Maxwell-Bruggeman and Krieger-Dougherty models. -
Leadership management strategies and organisational practices with respect to the hotel sector of rainbow tourism group limited
This was a research exercise which sought to explore leadership management strategies and organisational practices taking place in the hotel sector of Rainbow Tourism Group Limited (RTGL). RTGL is one of Zimbabwe s biggest hotel and tourism sector. The hotel portfolio are comprised of Rainbow Towers and Conference Centre, Bulawayo Rainbow, Victoria Falls Rainbow, Kadoma Rainbow and Conference Centre, A Zambezi River Lodge and Ambassador Hotel. The six hotels have a combined total of 886 rooms, with the largest number of 304 rooms being in the five star hotel, Rainbow Towers and Conference Centre and while the rest in the three star group hotels. Other operations outside Zimbabwe are Hotel Edinburg, the Savoy Hotel and a hotel in Mozambique. The problem statement of the research study was to examine the role of organisational culture in shaping the leadership strategies in hotel and catering sector, organizational leadership and their effectiveness in helping to achieve organizational objectives. The following was newlinethe set of objectives that the research sought to achieve. Firstly, the research sought to determine and analyze the different types of leadership strategies adapted by the hotel sector of Rainbow Tourism Group Limited in the hotel sector a Case Study. The second newlineobjective was to determine the environment forces affecting the acceptance and newlineassimilation of the mentioned strategies. Thirdly the research sought to ascertain the newlineefficacy of mentioned strategies in attaining these organisational strategies in the hotel newlinesector of RTGL. The fourth objective was to suggest if any alternate strategies will be newlinerequired to enhance leadership effectiveness in Hotel Sector of the RTGL. Finally the newlineresearch sought to develop a Leadership Model that can be used in the hotel industry. -
Migration to bangalore : A study of return migration of IT professionals
Bengaluru, Karnataka, is widely known as India s Silicon Valley and an important centre for Information Technology (IT). It is also one of the fastest growing cities in India. Migration to the city has contributed to its growth and this study has focussed on the phenomenon of return migration with specific reference to the return migration of IT professionals to Bengaluru. The main newlineobjectives of the study were to explore some of the factors underlying return migration in general and return migration to Bengaluru in particular, to examine the reasons underlying the decision to migrate, to examine the process of return migration, to describe transnationalism in the context of this return migration and to observe the experience of being back home This study used mixed methods and adopted concurrent triangulation to analyse and interpret the data in the study of the research problem. The framework adopted by Lee was also used to understand the factors that influence the decision to migrate within a broader theoretical framework to study return migration. The researcher explored the factors that influenced the decision to return which were an outcome of the push factors operating from the place of origin and the pull factors operating in the place of destination, India and Bengaluru in this case, both sets of which relate to the socio-cultural, economic and political realms. The newlineresearcher examined the factors that operated as push factors in the host country as well as those that operated as pull factors upon professionals working in the IT sector in the context of return migration to Bengaluru.According to the study, the pull factors being exercised from the city of newlineBengaluru were more relevant in terms of the forces underlying the decision to move. Bengaluru s reputation as a technopole or a high tech cluster has contributed largely to the way in which the migrants have been drawn to the city. -
Discrimination and Coping of Old Settlers in Sikkim
The study was conducted to explore the existence and manifestation of discrimination in Sikkim. In the Indian context, race-based discrimination has been extensively studied from the point of view of the northeasterners residing in mainland India. An important reason for this is the differences in race, culture, language, and minority status of the northeasterners in mainland India. However, within the northeastern states all of the above mentioned aspects are reversed newlineand the minority is the mainland Indian community, race-based discrimination has not been studied. Sikkim was considered as the region for study as it is part of the sister states of the northeastern region and the Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions has acknowledged that discrimination has been practiced in the state. An exploratory sequential mixed design was adopted for the newlinestudy. Eleven telephonic semi-structured interviews were conducted for the qualitative phase with members of the old settlers of Sikkim. A survey was conducted for the quantitative phase. Thematic analysis revealed two global theme, five organizing themes and 44 basic themes. Survey method revealed that 51% of old settlers felt discriminated daily in Sikkim. The results newlinerevealed that race based discrimination does exist in Sikkim with it being purported at newlineinstitutional and interpersonal levels. -
Echo mapping of active galacticn nuclei
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are the persistent high luminosity sources powered by accretion of matter onto super massive black holes (SMBHs) at their centres. They are known to show flux variation and this property can be used as an effective tool to map the extent of the broad line region (BLR) and the dusty torus that surrounds the central SMBH. Though the mass of the SMBH (MBH) can be directly measured using the dynamics of stars that are close to the SMBH, this method is limited to objects in the low redshift Universe (z < 0.1). On the other hand, the technique of reverberation mapping (RM) can provide MBH estimate over a range of redshifts. RM is based on the light travel time delayed response of the line emitting gas as well as the re-processed torus emission to changes in the continuum emission from the accretion disk. As of now, MBH measure-ments are available for more than 100 sources based on RM. The obtained BLR sizes (RBLR) are found to be correlated with the optical luminosity (L5100) at wavelength 5100 This relationship is obtained based on mea-surements of AGN available over a limited range of luminosity. Moreover, many of these measurements also have larger error bars. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase RM measurements with small errors on more AGN covering a wide range of redshifts to better constrain the RBLR ? L5100 relation. We have carried out photometric reverberation observa- tions on the AGN Mrk 590. Using both broad band (that overlaps with the continuum) and narrow band (that overlaps with the H? emission line) observations, we found the BLR size to be 21.44+1.49 ?2.11 days, which is equiv- alent to 0.018+0.001 ?0.002 pc. Using this measured BLR size and the full width at half maximum of the H? line measured from the newly acquired Subaru spectrum we found a black hole mass of 1.96+0.15 ?0.21 108 M , using virial relationship and adopting a scale factor of 1.12. Similar to BLR reverberation mapping, the extent of the dusty torus in AGN can also be measured using dust reverberation mapping (DRM) based on the delayed response of the near infrared (NIR) flux from the torus to the ionizing UV/optical continuum coming from the accretion disk. From these observations too, a strong correlation is known to exist between the torus size (Rdust) and the optical luminosity (LV). Based on the Rdust ?LV relation, it is also possible to use AGN as standard candle to con- strain the Hubble constant (H0) and other cosmological parameters. But for that, a large number of DRM observations are needed at different red- shifts. As of today, very few NIR interferometric observations are avail-able, but measurements of the torus size via such direct imaging observa-tions are again limited to very near and bright AGN. Moreover, there is a large discrepancy in the size of the torus obtained via the direct imaging method through interferometry and that obtained from DRM. From long term monitoring in the optical and infra-red, we found the inner edge of the dust torus in H0507+164 and Z229?15 to lie at a distance of 0.029+0.010 ?0.008 pc and 0.017+0.005 ?0.005 pc, respectively, from the central optical continuum source. These two new measurements are also found to lie closely on the known Rdust ? LV relation line. Also, by modeling the available BLR RM data in the literature, it is possible to constrain the size, structure and kinemat-ics of the BLR using Bayesian approach. This approach is adopted several times to study the BLR morphology by different ways but is not applied to a large number of sources in an homogeneous manner. From an analysis of the RM data for a total of 57 sources following a Bayesian approach, we could constrain the structure of the BLR in them as well as derive other properties of BLR. -
Impact of microfinance in socio economic development evidence from south India
The role and impact of microfinance in the socio economic development of the low income people who are not credit worthy has been assessing and exploring by researchers for its sustainable operation and the development of formal financial system. The study explores the socio economic development of microfinance in South India. The objectives are based on variables like financial inclusion, employment and earning opportunities, social inclusion, economic development. social development, personal development. family relationship, economic newlineresilience, social capital, and well-being. The scope of the study is limited to the newlinebeneficiaries of microfinance in four states, namely Andhra Pradesh (undivided),Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The sampling method used in the study is non probability sampling technique of purposive sampling. Both primary and secondary data are used and it is found that microfinance has contributed to financial inclusion, social inclusion and employment and earning opportunities. Besides it has supported substantially social developinent and moderately economic development of the beneficiaries. Further it is noted that it has positive effect on personal development, and family development. Thus it has contributed to develop economic resilience and social capital among low income people which ultimately sustain their well-being, The major findings of the study are: is found that social inclusion, employment and earning opportunity and newlinefinancial inclusion have a significant influence on social development. It is explored that the financial inclusion and employment and earning opportunity can predict the economic development. It is concluded that the financial inclusion and employment and earning opportunity have a significant influence on the family relationship. It is found that the financial inclusion, employment and earning opportunity newlinecan predict the Personal development. It is observed that the personal development newlineand social development can predict the social capital. -
A critical analysis of the zimbabwean political leadership in the practice of justice
Political leadership is a fundamental philosophical issue influencing governance newlineof states and the success of every state is directly or indirectly linked to the newlineleadership ideology of its political leaders. This study investigated the nature and newlinecharacter of political leaders in Zimbabwe by assessing their political philosophy in the context of the major historical events since 1890 masked by three eras namely the pre-colonial era, (characterised by little political activities) followed by the colonial era (dominated by socio-political system that weakened the African culture and governance) and lastly, the post-independence era (characterised by failure to uphold the constitution by the ruling party leadership). newlineThe scope of this study is based on benchmarking the concepts of the Zimbabwean political philosophy with political ideas from renown philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle and Gandhi. More specifically, the Gandhian philosophy was selected and conceptually applied to the Zimbabwean political situation in an attempt to develop an ideal political philosophy because of its illustrious wisdom with regards to good governance principles. A hermeneutics and newlinephilosophical analytic models were used to interpret relevant literature and leadership responsibilities as provided for in the Zimbabwe Constitution. Study findings revealed challenges in the current political leadership that calls for developing a new Zimbabwean political leadership philosophy. These include but not limited to partisan politics, political violence, unbridled favouritism and nepotism, ethnicity in leadership, state capture of key institutions, negative use of power by the state, political violence, poor electoral systems flouted with impunity and rampant corruption. These political challenges militate against democratic principles of common good that fight human oppression, repression and suppression. -
Models for load forecasting and demand response
Increasing pressure on the utilities to accommodate energy efficiency, load management and progress in advanced technology has led to transformations of existing grids into smarter grids. With the development of Smart Grid Technology and the integration of smart meters it is possible to control the equipment installed at the consumer site. Creating awareness among the end- users to participate in load management programs instead of capacity addition is the best solution for maintaining the stability in the grid. Utilities can also encourage consumer participation in load control activities. They can ensure that power is given to a consumer during his priority time. For this, loads have to be categorized, prioritized and then considered for load shedding so that revenue loss and social impacts of load shedding are minimized. It would be beneficial if a consumer's load is not completely shed during load shedding. Amount of power that is shed from a consumer can be limited and consumers can be allowed to adjust their loads based on the availability of power and get incentives from the utilities for their change in load pattern. Consumers are also benefited with the reduced energy charges on the consumed energy during these periods. Review of the recent research work shows that demand response and load forecasting play an important role to relieve the power system from economic and environmental constraints. Various approaches have been used in the past for developing different demand response and forecasting methodologies including neural networks, fuzzy logic and statistical techniques. These methodologies fluctuate in complication, suppleness, and information necessity. In addition, statistical methods such as time series, regression, and state space methods have large numerical deviation in the predicted load series. In general, for accurate modeling of nonlinear and undecided type of load behavior, artificial intelligence-based techniques are employed. Also, these methods concentrate mainly on ordinary system conditions. However, proposing the possible Demand Response strategies to maintain power system security constraints in unpredicted turbulences pose a serious challenge. In the undertaken research, a novel load forecasting method using hybrid Genetic Algorithm Support Vector Regression model has been proposed. The forecast error is around 1-2%. The second part of the work focuses on formulation of demand response strategies based on time of the day and load prioritization. A Unique grading method has been proposed to prioritize the loads and load management during power deficiency by controlling the loads individually using different optimization techniques. The performance of three well recognized population based meta-heuristic algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm, Ant Colony Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization, to solve load management at the consumer level in the Smart Grid environment were examined in terms of their efficiency, effectiveness and consistency in obtaining the optimal solution. In the last part of the work the Demand Response model for residential load is proposed to minimize the energy cost of the electricity usage by shifting the loads from peak period to off-peak period with the help of intelligent techniques such as Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm. -
Road-Traffic Congestion in Bengaluru : Psychological and Social Consequences
The study investigated the commuting experiences of frequent travelers during congestion using a three-phase sequential exploratory design. Using semi-structured interviews, phase-1 explored the experiences of a sample of ten (4 women and 6 men) regular commuters on Bengaluru's congested roads. Thematic analysis revealed that psychological experiences due to travel adversities during congestion generated negative affect that narrowed thought-action repertoire of the commuters into fight or flight responses. Fight responses caused negative road occurrences that intensified travel adversities further, creating a vicious cycle showing a non-linear loop. Social consequences included challenges for personal time and activities, family time, health and health care activities, work, social, community, and recreational activities, increase of virtual socialization, and social Darwinism. In phase 2, a check-list of psychological consequences was developed based on the thematic analysis. Phase 3 statistically validated the vicious cycle in a sample of 190 (87 women and 103 men) commuters using structural equation modelling. The model substantiated the probability of the vicious cycle. Based on the model, a mathematical model was developed that could be used to test the non-linear relationship between the components of the vicious cycle. -
A Study on the Impact of Intervention Program for the Care Givers of People with Head and Neck Cancer
Head and neck cancer patients experienced profound psychosocial and functional abilities because of the location of the disease and treatment. It hampers their activities of daily living making them dependant on the caregivers. Subsequently caregivers have different needs especially during the initial phase of hospitalization because they are unfamiliar to the whole process, unprepared for the new task and new role and lack the necessary knowledge and skills in care giving. Thus they face a number of problems. Hence this study aimed to understand their needs, develop psycho educational intervention program based on it and assess its feasibility. It was taken up because of limited number of Indian studies and increase in the number of incidences owing to the changing life style. Quasi experimental research design and sequential mixed research design was used. The variables taken for the study were Caregiver burden and distress. Zarit burden interview schedule and Caregiver Self Assessment Questionnaire was used to collect data from 30 caregivers of head and neck cancer patient before and after the Psycho educational intervention program was delivered. Paired sample t test and Cohen s d tests were used for data analysis. The effect size for burden and distress was 2.01 and 1.91 respectively. Findings showed that the intervention program significantly reduced the level of burden -
Adoption and Usage of Artificial Intelligence in Food Processing Industries
In recent years, technological changes and advancements have forced Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industries, especially food processing, to redesign their functionality. This includes the integration of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance performance. Future trends in the food processing industry will be shaped by sustainability, efficiency, traceability, wellness, safety, hygiene, health, and newlinetransparency. Food processing industries are compelled to embrace digitalization in the newlinecurrent era of globalization and digital transformation. AI encompasses programs, newlinealgorithms, robotics, drones, data mining, cloud computing, sensors, driver-less newlinevehicles, the internet of things, digital platforms, and machines, representing a new newlinelevel of intelligence. AI aims to replicate human reasoning and problem-solving newlinecapabilities, leading to task automation, increased efficiency, and reduced human newlineeffort. The growth of AI is reshaping the food processing industry, with potential newlineapplications spanning from cultivation, supply chain management, storage and safety, newlineHuman Resource Management (HRM), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Integrating and adopting AI in food processing can address unique challenges and offer substantial benefits across these functions. While large-scale food processing newlineindustries have made significant progress in adopting AI systems, small and mediumscale food industries are also integrating AI technology. The current research study employs a quantitative research methodology and obtained data from 320 small and medium-scale food processing industries employees in the city of Bengaluru. The primary surveyed data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach through AMOS 26. The research used the UTAUT 2 model to measure the usage and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) among the employees of small and medium-scale food processing industries. -
Influence of positive psychological capacities emotional intelligence and subjective well being of nurses in healthcare sector
The aim of this research is to address the insufficient empirical investigation of newlinepositive psychological variables among the nurses in the healthcare sector in India. Here we explore positive psychological capacities proposed by Luthan and team 2007), newlinecomprising of self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience their influence on emotional newlineintelligence; a concept of empirical interest among the nursing population (Freshwater newlineand Stickley 2004) and subjective well-being. Gill (2011) has mentioned that the health newlineworker determines the quality and nature of services offered in any healthcare system. newlineAdhering to the conceptual framework of positive psychology, psychological capital, newlineconservation of resource and broaden-and-build theory, this study is an exploration of newline(a) the positive psychological capacities, (b) its influence on emotional intelligence, and (c) subjective well-being of nurses (n=302) across government, private and trust newlinehospitals in Bangalore. The hospitals were chosen based on stratified sampling with the nursing respondents identified through random sampling and judgemental sampling. A pilot newlinestudy was carried out (n=100) to validate the standardized scales used for measuring the newlinevariables. An explanatory sequential mixed method design was proposed through which newlinethe quantitative analysis using a detailed descriptive statistics and regression analysis suggested that efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience influenced emotional newlineintelligence. While resilience and optimism influenced subjective well-being of nurses newlinethere was no influence of emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and hope. A qualitative follow-up interview was executed (n=15) to understand the reason for no influence. The findings substantiated that most of the nurses viewed themselves as happy individuals despite their work-related dissatisfactions as almost all saw their profession as service to mankind. The implications of these findings are traced along with the suggestions for future research. -
A study on the prospects of zimbabwe fertilizer industry for a sustainable market match
This paper is as a result of a process of seeking a solution to theperennial challenge of mismatch of fertilizer demand and supply in Zimbabwe. The study investigated the causes of the mismatch of fertilizer demand and supply in the post agrarian reform with a view to finding the factors that cause the mismatch. The study has been necessitated by the fact that Zimbabwe?s economy is agro-based and supportsmore than twelve million people. The study was informed by the following objectives: (i) To know and understand the existing demand and supply of fertilizer in Zimbabwe(ii) To find reasons for the gap in the market and its impact on Zimbabwe?s agricultural sector (iii) To examine the role of banks and financial institutions in leveraging farmer access to loans in Zimbabwe (iv) To understand the farmers' perceptions of the situation and make justifications of the mismatch and (v) To suggest and adopt suitable strategies which reinforce sustainable demand and supply of fertilizer in the country. In context and pursuit of the objectives, this study used both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. A survey questionnaire was administered on the total of 380 respondents within the study returned questionnaires. The study was premised on 3 null hypotheses, one testing significance difference between product brand and market demand for fertilizer, another testing significance difference between availability and accessibility of fertilizer and yet another tested significance difference in the perception among farmers and stakeholders on the use of fertilizer. To do the hypothesis testing,data frequencies were run to note descriptive data patterns, cross-tabulations to establish a relationship between variable through various statistical tests: chi- square, correlations, ANOVA correlation coefficients, regression analysis and R-square value. Regression analysis was conducted to establish squared multiple correlation coefficient(R2) between Fertilizer Market,the unobserved dependent variable comprised of Demand (need for fertilizer, Supply/usage of fertilizer and availability of fertilizer) and independent composite variables of location/place of the fertilizer, fertilizer company brands, i.e. products, respondents in the study(people) and costs of financing fertilizer.This study accepted the first 2 null hypotheses and rejected the last hypothesis respectively.During the content thematic analysis salient themes and issues were; fertilizer availability at specific locations, high usage of ammonia brand, low application of fertilizer, inadequate fertilizer storage facilities, quality of fertilizer and accessibility to markets and specific fertilizers brands at specific periods. Upon triangulation, thequalitative responses were similar and complimentary to the quantitative responses.The composite or unobserved predictor variables; Place/Location of fertilizer, Type of fertilizer/Product brand, cost price and people accounted for the squared multiple correlation coefficient.573 or 57.3% (R2) adjusted R2 0.568 of the variance of Fertilizer Market dependent composite variable. This proportion in other words was the contribution of the independent variables. This suggests relationships that has the moderate effect (substantial) on Market the dependent variable based on the criterion that 0.573 is moderate. Regression analysis pointed to a strong Pearson correlations relation between fertilizer market and location (place where fertilizer was available) .004 and product 0.21. The unobserved predictor independent variable fertilizer type product or brand multiple correlation coefficient.517 or 51.3% (R2), fertilizer location or location could be found .542 or 54.2% (R2) with unobserved predictor dependent variable fertilizer market.Following onto this, the study highlights a model to help us better manage the mismatch. This model is developed from a collaborative ramework.The thesis ultimately makes conclusions and recommendations about crafting policies that will assist to match fertilizer demand and supply in Zimbabwe. -
Convective Instability of Ferromagnetic Fluids in A Porous Medium
The thesis is concerned with the study of Rayleigh-Bard ferroconvection in a horizontal porous layer. Darcy-Brinkman law is employed to describe the fluid motion. The effect of second sound,thermal radiation, internal heat generation, variable viscosity and surface tension on the onset of Darcy-Brinkman ferroconvection is considered. newlineThe findings of the problems investigated in the thesis have implications for heat transfer applications wherein magnetic fluids serve as working media. The summary of the problems addressed in the thesis is given newlinebelow. Ferroconvection in a horizontal layer of porous medium with second sound The problem of Rayleigh-Bard convection in a ferromagnetic fluid saturated porous medium with the Maxwell-Cattaneo law is studied by newlinethe method of small perturbation. Modified Darcy-Brinkman model is used to describe the fluid motion. The horizontal porous layer is cooled from the upper boundary, while an isothermal boundary condition is imposed at the lower boundary. The fluid and solid matrix are assumed to be in local thermal equilibrium. The non-classical Maxwell-Cattaneo heat flux law involves a wave type heat transport and does not suffer from the newlinephysically unacceptable drawback of infinite heat propagation speed. The resulting eigenvalue problem is solved exactly for simplified boundary conditions and closed form solutions for both stationary and oscillatory instability are obtained. Some of the known cases have been deduced as newlinelimiting cases of the present study. The influence of porous, magnetic, and non-magnetic parameters on the onset of ferroconvection has been analyzed. It is found that magnetic stresses and second sound hasten the onset of Darcy-Brinkman ferroconvection. As the magnetic equation of newlinestate becomes more and more nonlinear, ferroconvection in a porous layer in the presence of second sound is advanced. However, it is delayed when the porous parameters are increased. -
Modified carbon substrates for electrocatalytic oxidation of selected heterocyclic carbinols
Electrochemically modified carbon electrodes are used as a substrate for electrocatalytic oxidation of different heterocyclic carbinols. Carbon fiber paper (CFP) is newlineused as the electrode substrate on which various modifications are employed. Modified newlineelectrodes were prepared by using different surface modification strategies such as newlineelectrodeposition of Pd nanoparticles or Pd-Pt bimetallic nanoparticles on a conducting newlinepolymer, polyaniline which is electropolymerized on to CFP. Biomass derived porous carbon nanoparticle coated CFP was also used for electrodeposition of Pd nanoparticles or MnO2-Pi nanoparticles. These modified electrodes were physicochemically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Optical profilometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemically characterized using Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). This modification methods have attracted a lot of attention due to their exceptional stability, high electronic conductivity, mechanical strength, and good adhesive property to the substrate and to the modified electrode. The modified electrodes show excellent electrochemical and newlinephysicochemical properties which are demonstrated using various analytical techniques. The organocatalytic reagent, TEMPO is used as a mediator throughout the studies which helps to carry out the oxidation of organic molecules in an aqueous acidic medium. The developed electrodes have been successfully applied for the oxidation of different heterocyclic alcohol such as 4-pyridinemethanol, 2-thiophene methanol, and 2-Furfuryl alcohol to corresponding 4-pyridinemethanal, 2-thiophene methanol and 2-Furfural. -
Effect of Various Double-Frequency Modulations on Rayleigh-Benard Convection
Rayleigh-Bard convection in Newtonian fluid under different types of modulations are studied in this thesis by replacing the single frequency modulations with two frequency modulations with different amplitude and frequency. Linear and non-linear analysis of Rayleigh-Benard convection is considered under two-frequency gravity, rotation, temperature, magnetic field and internal heat generation modulation. The sixteen combinations of sinusoidal (trigonometric sine) and non-sinusoidal (square, triangular, sawtooth) wave forms of different modulations are considered to study the impact of modulations on the onset of convection and heat transport. The expressions for unmodulated Rayleigh number and correction Rayleigh number in the linear case are obtained from linearized Lorentz model using Venezian approach. To study the impact of different types of modulations and wave forms on the heat transport, the expression for the Nusselt number is obtained by solving the non-linear Lorentz model numerically. From the study it is found that the two-frequency modulations make the system more stable compare to no-modulation and single-frequency modulations. The mixing angle of the two frequency plays major role in deciding the stability of the system. The results pertaining to no-modulation and single frequency are obtained as the limiting cases. Onset of Rayleigh-Bard Convection and Heat Transfer under Two-frequency newlineRotation Modulation The study investigates the effect of sixteen sinusoidal (sine) and non-sinusoidal combinations (square, triangular, sawtooth) of time-periodic Coriolis force (rotation modulation) on Rayleigh-Bard convection (RBC) in a Newtonian liquid. The consideration captures the potential effects of two-frequency rotation modulation on stability, newlinespecifically the onset of convection and the amount of heat transfer in the system simultaneously. -
Actualization of educational vision of chavara by principals of congregation of mother of carmel (CMC) school as perceived by teachers inrelation to transformational leadership organizational socialization and organizational learning
Education is one of the most powerful instruments of desirable social changes and transformation. It plays a fundamental role in human, social and economic development. St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara. a transformational leader of the 19th Century strived to transform the society through education. This educational vision immensely contributed in the development of the archaic society of Kerala. The education envisaged by Chavara was a flawless blend of intellectual, practical and spiritual formation. He aimed at the growth of the individual from the narrow boundary of self and doing service for the society. The religious Congregations (CMI and CMC) which were established by Chavara play a vital role in the field of education. These Congregations made its mark in the Indian educational system by their systematic and excellent performance through their educational institutions. In this study, the author explores the Actualization of the Educational Vision of Chavara by the principals in CMC schools. Descriptive survey method was used in the study. The population consisted of all the teaching faculty members of CMC schools and the sample size was 844. The study includes the independent variables such as Transformational Leadership, Organizational Socialization and Organizational Learning and its influence in actualizing Chavara vision by the principals. The finding of the study reveals that, the independent variables channelize the actualization of Chavara vision in CMC schools. The study throws light on the educational field of the CMC Congregation and inspires to renovate the present educational system on the basis of Chavara vision. -
Attitude towards the medical profession among higher secondary students in relation to medical aptitude, parental innfluene, peer influence and perceived social expectations
Attitude towards the medical profession includes concepts, motives or beliefs associated with the profession of medical science. A profession that challenges the intellectual competency of the aspirant to qualify- with soaring expectations from family and society- the demands of the career entail the individual to possess an appropriate attitude and a realistic understanding of it. The current study explores the role of medical aptitude, parental influence, peer influence and perceived social expectations in the formation of attitude towards the medical profession and their differences among higher secondary students based on their gender and type of pre-university college. The study-cum-survey employed a quantitative approach using the paradigm of post-positivism. The participants comprised of 396 second-year pre-university students from colleges of Bangalore South, who were selected by convenience sampling, with Physics, Chemistry and Biology as their core subjects. The findings reveal peer influence to be essential in the development of professionalism and a sense of service mindedness. Parental influence and the higher secondary adolescent s perceived social expectations act as significant predictors in the formation of favourable attitude. However, gender and the type of pre-university colleges bear no significant difference with respect to their attitude towards the profession. The study has set a base on what needs to be focussed in our country on the next generation of medical professionals. It is hoped that educational and medical institutions, policy and curriculum drafters, parents and teachers realise that a combination of sound medical aptitude, parental influence, peer influence and perceived social expectations resonates in the formation of a favourable attitude towards medical science. Assessing those higher secondary students qualifying into medical science would enable to analyse differences that existed, if any, in their entry-level and post-qualifying attitude towards the medical profession. -
A Model for storage optimization of brain MRI images for tumor detection using image processing technique
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a major non-invasive method for Brain tumor detection. The anatomical assessment of brain newlinetumor can be carried out using brain MRI image analysis. MRI is widely used in brain tumor identification and classification. Images generated during the diagnosis purpose are unattended after the specified diagnosis. newlineBrain MRI images in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format require large amount of storage space. newlineAccumulation of the MRI images put forward the requirement of more storage space. To store large number of images, existing storage models has to be handled wisely. Research associated with storage, process and newlinemanipulation of medical image data using modern technologies with a minimal human intervention is the need of the time. Image processing deals with the study and development of innovative technologies for newlineanalysis,representation and interpretation of the image data. In this research, the need of an efficient storage model that can help in storing the brain MRI images is studied with the help of image processing technique. To store the brain MRI images with a reduced storage space, a matrix-based method is proposed. In this model brain MRI images in newlineDICOM format are converted into matrix format. In the DICOM images, the image data and header information together hold the details of the patient and image data. These data are converted and stored in the matrix. newlineThe stored matrix is accessed as the input to the proposed model. The proposed model follows different image processing steps.The process starts with pre-processing of brain MRI images followed by clustering of newlinewhite matter (WM), gray matter (GM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), segmentation of tumor and classification of tumor and finally it handles the storage of the MRI images. In the pre-processing step, filtering algorithms are applied on MRI to remove the noise and text artifacts. The newlinewhite matter, gray matter and CSF are separated using the K-means newlineclustering method. -
Determinants of customer loyalty and retention : A Study of supermarket customers in Bangalore
Considering the ever dynamic lifestyle of the customers in Bangalore,the proposed study tried to find out the expectations and aspirations of supermarket customers in Bangalore.Most of the currently available studies are based on conceptual understanding and don t have an empirical backup. The proposed study is designed to determine the customer loyalty and retention of Supermarket Customers in Bangalore. newlineThe literature initiates an exhaustive discussion of various constructs leading to customer retention. Based on references from the literature constructs identified for customer retention are customer satisfaction, switching costs and customer loyalty and for customer loyalty the constructs identified are trust,commitment and customer satisfaction.For determining satisfaction the constructs identified in the proposed study are convenience of location, store atmosphere,promotion, customer relationship management practices and merchandise. Through extensive literature review,hypotheses were derived and the proposed conceptual model is developed. newlineObjectives of the proposed study are to empirically validate a model linking customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer retention with select antecedents. Research Methodology explains about the population spread from which the samples are collected, the justification for using the particular sampling technique and also about the tool employed for data collection. The techniques employed for checking the reliability and validity of the tool and pilot data analysis are also explained. Data collection was conducted using a structured questionnaire designed using Likert scale measurement. The pilot sample data consisted of 250 respondents.The questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS(v.20,software using Cronbach Alpha, Intra Class Correlation and Confirmatory factor analysis. newlineThe data collected from 600 respondents in Bengaluru city was used for the full fledged study.