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Jurisprudential basis of the right to clean and healthy environment
Examining the basis of the right to a clean and healthy environment helps in an increased understanding of the nature of the right which in turn will further the job of devising effective strategies and policies to meet the interests of the environment and make the right a reality. This paper examines four strategies: Firstly protect environment rights by declaring it to be a right. This would protect it from mutilation at the hands of political processes, and thus would be a safer option, but its dimensions have not yet been crystallised. Secondly, it can be protected by making it part and parcel of human rights. Thirdly, the Interest Theory suggests that the interest of the environment must be protected for its own sake by creating such an interest. Fourthly, the notion of Intergenerational Responsibility which establishes that the present generation has an obligation/duty to preserve and protect the environment for a correlative similar right which the future generation enjoys. The article also examines the conflict between environment protection and developmental needs of humanity. Indian courts have referred to traditional Indian philosophy of 'Dharma' and have tried to adopt a balancing approach by integrating environment values with developmental values. Any theory that does not resolve the above conflict would clearly be insufficient. 2013 Journal of Dharma: Dharmaram Journal of Religions and Philosophies (DVK, Bangalore). -
Classification of supply chain knowledge: A morphological approach
Purpose The purpose of the article is to create a knowledge classification model that can be used by knowledge management (KM) practitioners for establishing a knowledge management framework (KMF) in a supply chain (SC) network. Epistemological and ontological aspects of knowledge have been examined. SC networks provide a more generic setting for managing knowledge due to the additional issues concerning flow of knowledge across the boundaries of organizations. Design/methodology/approach Morphological analysis has been used to build the knowledge classification model. Morphological approach is particularly useful in exploratory research on concepts/ entities having multiple dimensions. Knowledge itself has been shown in literature to have many characteristics, and the methodology used has enabled a comprehensive classification scheme based on such characteristics. Findings A single comprehensive classification model for knowledge that exists in SC networks has been proposed. Nine characteristics, each possessing two or more value options, have been finally included in the model. Research limitations/implications Knowledge characteristics have been mostly derived from past research with the exception of three which have been introduced without empirical evidence. Although the article is primarily about SC knowledge, the results are fairly generic. Practical implications The proposed model would be of use in developing KM policies, procedures and establishing knowledge management systems in SC networks. The model will cater to both system and people aspects of a KMF. Originality/value The proposed knowledge classification model based on morphological analysis fills a gap in a vital area of research in KM as well as SC management. No similar classification model of knowledge with all its dimensions has been found in literature. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. -
N?-[(1E)-1-(2-Fluorophenyl)ethylidene]pyridine-3-carbohydrazide
The title compound, C14H12FN3O, adopts an E conformation with respect to the azomethine double bond whereas the N and methyl C atoms are in a Z conformation with respect to the same bond. The ketonic O and azomethine N atoms are cis to each other. The non-planar molecule [the dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 7.44(11)] exists in an amido form with a C=O bond length of 1.221(2) In the crystal, a bifurcated N - H(O,N) hydrogen bond is formed between the amide H atom and the keto O and imine N atoms of an adjacent molecule, leading to the formation of chains propagating along the b-axis direction. Through a 180 rotation of the fluorophenyl ring, the F atom is disordered over two sites with an occupancy ratio of 0.632(4):0.368(4). Sreeja et al. 2014. -
Photovoltaic structures using thermally evaporated SnS and CdS thin films
Polycrystalline tin sulfide thin films were prepared by thermal evaporation technique.The films grown at substrate temperature of 300 C had an orthorhombic crystal structure with strong preferred orientation along (111) plane.Electrical resistivity of the deposited films was about 32.5 ? cm with a direct optical band gap of 1.33 eV.Carrier concentration and mobility of charge carriers estimated from the Hall measurement were found to be 6.24 1015 cm- 3 and 30.7 cm2V- 1 s- 1 respectively.Heterojunction solar cells were fabricated in superstrate configuration using thermally evaporated SnS as an absorber layer and CdS, In:CdS as window layer.The resistivity of pure CdS thin film of a thickness of 320 nm was about 1-2 ? cm and was reduced to 40 10- 3 ? cm upon indium doping.The fabricated solar cells were characterized using solar simulator.The solar cells with indium doped CdS window layer showed improved performance as compared to pure CdS window layer.The best device had a conversion efficiency of 0.4% and a fill factor of 33.5%. 2013 Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved. -
On the Temporal Causal Relationship Between Macroeconomic Variables: Empirical Evidence From India
The present study examines the dynamic interactions among macroeconomic variables such as real output, prices, money supply, interest rate (IR), and exchange rate (EXR) in India during the pre-economic crisis and economic crisis periods, using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test for cointegration, Johansen and Juselius multivariate cointegration test, Granger causality/Block exogeneity Wald test based on Vector Error Correction Model, variance decomposition analysis and impulse response functions. The empirical results reveal a stronger long-run bilateral relationship between real output, price level, IR, and EXR during the pre-crisis sample period. Moreover, the empirical results confirm a unidirectional short-run causality running from price level to EXR, IR to price level, and real output to money supply during the pre-crisis period. Also, it is evident from the test results that there exist short-run bidirectional relationships running between real output and EXR, price level and IR, and IR and EXR in the pre-crisis era, respectively. Most importantly, long-run bidirectional causality is found between real output, EXR, and IR during the economic crisis period. And the study results indicate short-run bidirectional causality between money supply and EXR, IR and price level, and IR and output in India during the crisis era. Also, a short-run unidirectional causality runs from prices to real output in the crisis period. The Author(s) 2014. -
Physical ageing in Se-Te-Sb glasses
Bulk Se60-xTe40Sbx glasses in the composition range 0?x?14 were prepared by the melt quenching method. Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC) and thermal crystallization studies were performed to understand the thermodynamic property like glass transition and structural transformations. These glasses exhibit sharp endothermic peak at the glass transition (Tg). Disappearance of the endothermic peak at Tg in the rejuvenated samples clearly indicates the ageing effect in these glasses. Addition of Sb to Se-Te increases the connectivity of the structural network which is evidenced from the increase in Tg. A distinct change in the slope of the Tg at x=6, indicates a major change in the way the network is connected. The glass forming ability and the thermal stability also exhibit a maximum at x=6. Tg increases with the ageing time and the corresponding fictive temperature (Tf) calculated from the specific heat curves shows a decreasing trend. The molecular movements along the polymeric Se chains might cause the structural relaxation and the physical ageing. The physical ageing effect has been understood on the basis of the Bond Free Solid Angle (BFSA) model proposed by Kastner. Thermally crystallized samples show the formation of rhombohedral Sb2Te 3, rhombohedral Sb2Se3 and hexagonal Te phases. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. -
K-shell X-ray intensity ratios and vacancy transfer probabilities of Pt, Au, and Pb by a simple method
The K-shell X-ray intensity ratios, radiative and total vacancy transfer probablities of platinum, gold, and lead are measured by employing the 2?-geometrical configuration and a weak gamma source, a simple method proposed previously by our group. The targets of Pt, Au, and Pb were excited using ?-rays of weighted energy 123.6 keV from a weak 57Co source and the emitted K-shell X-rays were detected using an HPGe X-ray detector spectrometer coupled to a 16k multichannel analyzer. The measured values of these parameters are compared with the theoretical values and experimental data of other researchers, finding a good agreement. Thus, the 2?-geometrical configuration method with a weak gamma source can be alternative simple method to measure various atomic parameters in the field of X-ray spectroscopy. 2014, Pleiades Publishing, Inc. -
Moderating influence of critical psychological states on work engagement and personal outcomes in the telecom sector
Organizations want their employees to be engaged with their work, exhibiting proactive behavior, initiative, and responsibility for personal development. Existing literature has a dearth of studies that evaluate all the three key variables that lead to optimal employee performancecritical psychological states (CPSs), work engagement, and personal outcomes. The present study attempts to fill that gap by linking the variable CPSs (which measures experienced meaningfulness, responsibility, and knowledge of results) with the other two. The study surveyed 359 sales personnel in the Indian telecom industry and adopted standardized, valid, and reliable instruments to measure their work engagement, CPSs, and personal outcomes. Analysis was done using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings indicated that CPSs significantly moderate the relationship between personal outcomes and work engagement. The Author(s) 2014. -
Raman spectroscopy investigation of camphor Soot: Spectral analysis and structural information
Raman spectra of camphor soot has been investigated and optimised with a Raman microscope system operated at laser excitation wavelength of 514.5 nm. Several band combinations for spectral analysis have been tested, and a combination of three Lorentian bands ( G,D1,D2) at about 1580, 1350 and 1620 cm-1, respectively, with Gaussian-shaped band (D3) at 1500 cm-1and 1200 cm-1 (D4) was best suited for the first order spectra. The second-order spectra were best fitted with Lorentian shaped bands at about 2450, 2700, 2900 and 3250 cm-1. The results are discussed and compared with X-ray diifraction measurements and SEM analysis. The camphor soot shows ? and P{cyrillic} bands which reveals the presence of crystalline graphitic carbon. The SEM micrographs of camphor show the presence of carbon nanostructures. 2013 by ESG. -
Electrical and mechanical properties of vapour grown gallium monotelluride crystals
The physical vapour deposition (PVD) of gallium monotelluride (GaTe) in different crystalline habits was established in the growth ampoule, strongly depending on the temperature gradient. Proper control on the temperatures of source and growth zones in an indigenously fabricated dual zone furnace could yield the crystals in the form of whiskers and spherulites. Optical and electron microscopic images were examined to predict the growth mechanism of morphologies. The structural parameters of the grown spherulites were determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The stoichiometric composition of these crystals was confirmed using energy dispersive analysis by X-rays (EDAX). The type and nature of electrical conductivity were identified by the conventional hot probe and two probe methods, respectively. The mechanical parameters, such as Vickers microhardness, work hardening index, and yield strength, were deduced from microindentation measurements. The results show that the vapour grown p-GaTe crystals exhibit novel physical properties, which make them suitable for device applications. 2013 University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. -
Visible light responsive Gd, N co-doped mesoporous titania in the photo-oxidation of some novel 9-(N,N-Dimethylaminomethyl)anthracene systems
Oxidative semiconductor catalysis by light can be considered as an easy method for the conversion of harmful aromatics to less harmful products and at the same time move towards a sustainable chemistry. The present work reports the preparation of Gd, N co-doped TiO2 system by hydrothermal technique followed by calcination at 500C and checks its activity in photo-oxidation reactions. The prepared system was characterized by various physico-chemical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, TGDTG, UV-DRS, SEM, TEM and XPS. Structural identity and mesoporous nature were identified from XRD and BET measurements respectively. On reaction, Tertiary amine appended anthracene and its phenyl substituted derivative in CH3CN yielded Anthraquinone as the major product. Substituted Anthracenemethanamine reacted slowly and a relatively stable intermediate could be isolated at shorter periods of time. The products were separated and purified by column chromatography and the resultant products were characterized thoroughly by 1H NMR, IR spectroscopy and GCMS analysis. 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. -
Repercussions of global turbulence and market volatility in spot & futures market: India preparedness
This article examines the repercussions of global turbulence and market volatility in Indian Capital market for the period spanning from January 1, 2003 to August 31, 2013 with a total of 2654 observations and it is broken into pre-crisis and post-crisis respectively. The study employed Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (1,1) model to measure the volatility persistence by employing dummy variables. Cointegrating Regression Augmented Dickey Fuller (CRADF) and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) was employed to investigate the casual nexus between spot and futures market in both short and long run equilibrium. The squared residuals of VECM were applied to investigate the lead-lag relationship between the bivariate variables. Our findings indicate that there was a significant change in the post crisis period for spot and futures market volatility. Our result suggests that nothing can be learned and new regulation can only do more harm. Apart from this, nobody knows which financial instrument will be at the centre of the next crisis. Overall, the comprehensive financial sector reform like Credit Default Swap, Valuation Assumptions and Basel II Accord can create more problems and make the investors more complex to meet the global challenges environment. IJER Serials Publications. -
Detection of carbapenem resistance genes and cephalosporin, and quinolone resistance genes along with oqxAB gene in Escherichia coli in hospital wastewater: A matter of concern
Aims: This study was performed to detect the presence of Escherichia coli resistant to cephalosporins, carbapenems and quinolones in hospital wastewater. Methods and Results: Wastewaters from a rural (H1) and an urban (H2) hospital were tested for E.coli resistant to cephalosporins, carbapenem and quinolones. Genes coding for chromosomal and plasmid-mediated resistance and phylogenetic grouping was detected by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for genetic relatedness by rep-PCR. Of 190 (H1=94; H2=96) E.coli examined, 44% were resistant to both cephalosporins and quinolones and 3% to imipenem. ESBLs were detected phenotypically in 96% of the isolates, the gene blaCTX-M coding for 87% and blaTEM for 63%. Quinolone resistance was due to mutations in gyrA and parC genes in 97% and plasmid-coded aac-(6?)-Ib-cr in 89% of isolates. Only in one carbapenem-resistant E.coli, NDM-1 was detected. Nearly 67% of the isolates belonged to phylogenetic group B2. There was no genetic relatedness among the isolates. Conclusions: Hospital wastewater contains genetically diverse multidrug-resistant E.coli. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study stresses the need for efficient water treatment plants in healthcare settings as a public health measure to minimize spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria into the environment. 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology. -
Correlation based ADALINE neural network for commodity trading
Commodity trading is one of the most popular resources owning to its eminent predictable return on investment to earn money through trading. The trading includes all kinds of commodities like agricultural goods such as wheat, coffee, cocoa etc. and hard products like gold, rubber, crude oils etc.,. The investment decision can be made very easily with the help of the proposed model. The proposed model correlation based multi layer perceptron feed forward adaline neural network is an integrated method to forecast the future values of all commodity trading. The correlation based adaline neuron is used as an optimized predictor in the multi layer perceptron feed forward neural network. The correlation is used for feature selection before building the predictive model. The aim of the paper is to build the predictive model for commodity trading. The model is created using correlation based feature selection and adaline neural network to prognosticate all future values of commodities. The adaptive linear neuron is formed with the help of linear regression. To implement the proposed model the live data is captured from mcxindia. The mcxindia is considered as one the popular website for doing commodities and derivatives in India. To train the proposed model, few random samples are used and the model is evaluated with the help of few test samples from the same data set. 2015 Chandra, J., M. Nachamai and Anitha S. Pillai. -
Analysis and measurement of supply chain flexibility
Supply chain flexibility is a strategic and tactical necessity for sustenance and progress of business enterprises. Measurement of flexibility is therefore necessary for its monitoring, control and communication. The study proposes a framework and a methodology for flexibility performance measurement of supply chains. The framework identifies flexibility objectives and its contributing attributes at four levels of the supply chain and suggests taxonomy of flexibility performance measures. A methodology to prioritise the contribution of each performance attribute to achieve the desired flexibility objective using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has also been proposed and demonstrated in this study. The research is based on detailed literature-based study and analysis of existing frameworks of flexibility performance measurement in supply chain and expert opinion. The proposed framework is suitable for measurement, monitoring and controlling flexibility in a supply chain in addition to prioritising contributing attributes of flexibility. The research does not test the model but suggests a platform for further development. Copyright 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
Performance comparison of artificial neural network techniques for foreign exchange rate forecasting
Artificial Neural Networks is one of the promising techniques for forecasting financial time series markets and business. In this paper, Radial Basis Function is used to forecast the daily foreign exchange rate of USD in terms of Indian rupees in India during the period 2009-2014. Here, seven technical indicators like simple moving average of one week, Two week, Momentum, Price rate of change, Disparity 7, Disparity 14, Price oscillator are proposed as inputs for forecasting the time series. In addition, this study compares the four models namely Pattern Recognition Networks, Feed Forward Back Propagation Networks, Feed Forward Networks with no feedback, and Radial Basis Function Network to forecast the daily currency exchange rate during the period. The performance of all these models are analysed from accuracy measures namely Mean Square Error, Mean Absolute Error, Sum Square Error and Root Mean Square Error. From the simulation results, the average performance of Radial Basis Function network was found considerably better than the other networks. Research India Publications. -
Dynamic task distribution model for on-chip reconfigurable high speed computing system
Modern embedded systems are being modeled as Reconfigurable High Speed Computing System (RHSCS) where Reconfigurable Hardware, that is, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and softcore processors configured on FPGA act as computing elements. As system complexity increases, efficient task distribution methodologies are essential to obtain high performance. A dynamic task distribution methodology based on Minimum Laxity First (MLF) policy (DTD-MLF) distributes the tasks of an application dynamically onto RHSCS and utilizes available RHSCS resources effectively. The DTD-MLF methodology takes the advantage of runtime design parameters of an application represented as DAG and considers the attributes of tasks in DAG and computing resources to distribute the tasks of an application onto RHSCS. In this paper, we have described the DTD-MLF model and verified its effectiveness by distributing some of real life benchmark applications onto RHSCS configured on Virtex-5 FPGA device. Some benchmark applications are represented as DAG and are distributed to the resources of RHSCS based on DTD-MLF model. The performance of the MLF based dynamic task distribution methodology is compared with static task distribution methodology. The comparison shows that the dynamic task distribution model with MLF criteria outperforms the static task distribution techniques in terms of schedule length and effective utilization of available RHSCS resources. 2015 Mahendra Vucha and Arvind Rajawat. -
Preparation for parenthood programme: Experiences from southern India
Parenting skills are critically important to ensure that children are brought up in a safe environment. Recent evidence shows that studies of parenting skills are still at a preliminary stage in low-and middle-income countries. These need to involve family practitioners and religious groups who often play a major role in preparing young people in India. There are organized programmes available in the country for Christian adults to prepare themselves for marriage and family life through various church initiatives and activities. In order to develop a programme which can be used to prepare young parents for responsibilities of parenthood, a needs assessment was carried out among 70 young adults who attended a marriage preparation course in Bangalore, India. All the participants belonged to the Christian faith. Participants consisted of 53% men and 47% women whose average age for deciding to get married was 26.8 years. All of them expressed a need for such a preparatory programme for parenthood. They considered they needed to know about normal child development, behavioural management of children, to develop adequate skills in handling children at different ages, and deal with their own past issues with their own parents when they were being parented. The results suggest that the development of a preparatory programme for young adults to support them in the role of parenthood must take their views and needs into account. 2014 Institute of Psychiatry. -
Vapour growth and characterization of beta indium sesquitelluride crystals
Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) provides stoichiometric crystals of different morphology, depending upon the materials, geometry of ampoules, temperature profiles, growth parameters and kinetics of crystallization. The crystal forms such as needles, platelets and spherulites of beta indium sesquitelluride (?-In2Te3) were produced by controlling the temperature of source and growth zones. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and chemical analysis of the spherulitic crystals confirmed zinc blende structure with beta phase. Their resistivity (135.16 ? cm) at room temperature (300 K) was determined by van der Pauw method. The temperature dependence of DC conductivity was investigated using the conventional two-probe technique. The variation of dielectric constant (?1) and dielectric loss (tan ?) with temperature has been studied for different frequencies (1 kHz-1 MHz). The AC conductivity, ?ac(?) was found to vary with angular frequency as ?s, where s is the frequency exponent. The values of s lie very close to unity and show a slight decrease with increase in temperature, which indicate a Correlated Barrier Hopping (CBH) between centres forming Intimate Valence Alternation Pairs (IVAP). The activation energy for conduction ranges from 0.187 eV to 0.095 eV. The microhardness of ?-In2Te3 spherulites is found to be 353.5 kg/mm2, which is higher than that of other semiconducting chalcogenides. The results thus obtained on crystals grown from vapour phase open up ample possibilities for radiation detector applications. 2014 Elsevier B.V. -
Stock market linkages in emerging Asia-Pacific markets
This study examines the stock market integration among major stock markets of emerging Asia-Pacific economies, viz. India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Johansen and Juselius multivariate cointegration test, Granger causality/Block exogeneity Wald test based on the vector error correction model (VECM) approach, and variance decomposition analysis were used to investigate the dynamic linkages between markets. Cointegration test confirmed a well-defined long-run equilibrium relationship among the major stock markets, implying that there exists a common force, such as arbitrage activity, which brings these stock markets together in the long run. The results of Granger causality/Block exogeneity Wald test based on VECM and variance decomposition analysis revealed the stock market interdependencies and dynamic interactions among the selected emerging Asia-Pacific economies. This result implies that investors can gain feasible benefits from international portfolio diversification in the short run. On the whole, the study results suggest that although long-term diversification benefits from exposure to these markets might be limited, short-run benefits might exist due to substantial transitory fluctuations. The Author(s) 2013.