Archives-April 2012

Present study was conducted to develop and validate an indigenous inventory, for the measurement of cognitive and behavioral development in the adult learners, because at present no appropriate scale is available through which one can measures these learning domains in Pakistani cultural context, therefore scale was developed through standardized procedure. Such as, related literature was studied and various rationales were floated in the population of the study. Informal discussions were also held on the topic. On the basis of responses of students, the researcher generated about 90 items for the instrument. After item evaluation through experts’opinion the numbers of the items were reduced to 60and few changes and modifications were also made in proposed scale. A tool consisting of 60 items was administered on male (80), female (100) of higher secondary and degree level students for the empirical evaluation of each item. The researcher analyzed data with the help of SPSS 16.0 by using factor analysis, correlation, alpha coefficient and percentile analysis. After factor analysis 10 more items were deleted from the scale and only 50items were retained in finalized scale , furthermore, five basic dimensions emerged as the result of varimax rotation which were termed as subscales namely, Personal, social and academic factors (10 items), Cognitive maturity (14 items), Learning Distracters (11 Items), Proactive Behavior ( 8 Items) and Synergy (07 Items). For the establishment of norms percentile scores were calculated, the higher score on cognitive and behavioural development indicates higher level of cognitive and behavioural maturity. On the basis of its reliability and validity scale is considered reliable and valid tool for the measurement of cognitive development of the adult learners.

Response Surface Methodology was used to evaluate the interactions of carbonization temperatures of adsorbents and concentrations of adsorbates on the adsorption capacities and removal efficiencies of activated carbons obtained from flamboyant (Delonix regia) pod bark (FB), milk bush (Thevetia peruviana) kernel shell (MB) and rice (Oryza sativa) husks (RH). The activated carbons produced at various temperatures (300 – 6000C) were used to adsorb concentrations (50 – 150 mg/L) of naphthalene and acenaphthene in a batch process at 150 rpm. The amount adsorbed was quantified with gas chromatography (GC-FID). Two factors interaction (2FI) model , showed that the interactions between increasing activation temperature of the adsorbents and increasing concentrations of the adsorbates increased the adsorption capacity of the MB while the adsorption capacities of FB and RH were reduced. The order of suitability of the adsorbents is MB > RH > FB and MB > FB > RH, respectively.

The present research studies the ceremonies about birth and impregnation in Abarkooh city, Iran. Abarkooh is one of the cities of Yazd Province, Iran, that is of great importance to do anthropology and historical researched, due to its old and rich cultural record. Customs and ceremonies about the birth in Iranian culture are more interesting and considerable. They are conventions that are more considerable in male chauvinistic Iranian society. Society in which women have always been surrounded within a four-way intersection, appealing to any superstition for the purpose of being pregnant was considered a usual affair. In such a society, the female barren had no place for herself in her society as well as among the members of her own family, thus, taking this fact into account, the importance of giving birth to offspring will fully be understood. This paper attempts to investigate the beliefs related to pregnancy and birth.

A spectrophotometric method for the analysis of phorate (organophosphorus insecticide) is described. The analysis is based on the oxidation of organophosphorus pesticide with slight excess of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and the unconsumed NBS was determined with rhodamine B on a spectrophotometer (Genesis IOS V1.200) at ?max. 553nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of 0.10 to 1.00ppm. The method was successfully applied for the determination of phorate in vegetable samples. The validity of the proposed method was assessed by comparing it with the high performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) through statistical analysis. There was no significant difference between the two methods. In the absence of sophisticated equipment like high performance liquid chromatograph and gas liquid chromatograph, the proposed method could be used for pesticide residues analysis.

For the last two decades, the government strategy in most developing countries has been focusing on the development policy of rural areas. This is caused by the slower socioeconomic development in these areas compared to that of the urban areas. The flaw in the previous development policy, which concentrated more on the development of rural areas, has resulted in the regression of the rural areas. For that reason, rural development concept has become the government strategy in improving the standard of living and socio-economic of the rural community, particularly for the poor people. Most of the rural community members are less active and hardly become involved in the government development programmes. Moreover, their economic activities are concentrated on agricultural based activities which provide low proceeds and unprofitable. Therefore, new policy has been legislated to ensure that the rural community will be free from poverty and regression through active involvement in the development of the rural tourism sector. The government anticipates that the development in the rural tourism sector particularly in homestay tourism will be able to boost the socioeconomic development of the community in the areas involved. It is for the reason that, the homestay tourism is able to make the most of nature’s beauty as well as the community’s idyllic customs and cultures as appealing strategies to attract tourists to come to their village, which in turn will heighten the tourism activities in the area. Ever since it was introduced, the homestay tourism has gained encouraging responses that it is utilized as the strategy to overcome poverty in rural areas. Since then, the homestay tourism has attracted tourists, particularly international tourists. Through homestay tourism, participants are given the opportunity to experience the difference in the way of living and customs of the local community as well as given accommodation package throughout their stay in the chosen village. The implementation of the homestay programme offers opportunity to the tourists to be aware of and understand the cultures and the way of life of the local community as they, themselves will be experiencing the village life. This research uses questionnaire distributed to 70 homestay proprietors in Banghuris, Selangor. Based on the fieldwork carried out in Banghuris, it is evident that the homestay tourism has been able to bring in socio-economic changes ever since it was implemented. Therefore, this research proves that the homestay tourism is able to be a medium of the strategy to overcome poverty in rural areas, and above all in improving the community’s income rate as well as receiving outside influence for the betterment of their lives.

The alternative work options play an important role in the public organizations in the macro level. These alternative work options of job sharing and job rotation for organization outcome of organizational commitment have been neglected in the human resource studies. As a result, it holds great promise for benefiting organization over time in term of returns. In this paper, we presented and discussed a conceptual framework intended to capture the current domain of new work structures that can be adaptable into public organizations. The proposed framework could guide future researchers to better understand and integrate the alternative work options into organizational work structures.

Chemical properties of groundwater resources were studied in the Kwahu South District of Ghana. The study used hydrochemical data employing a series of comprehensive data interpretation e.g. Bivariate plots, Schoeller and Piper diagram to obtain a better understanding of the system functioning. The physico-chemical parameters suggest that the groundwaters in the Kwahu South District are generally good for domestic use per World Health Organization (W.H.O) standards with the exception of boreholes from Nkyenenkyene (NKY and NKY 3) which have hydrogen sulphide problems. Stiff diagrams were superimposed on the map of the study area to display the area differences in water quality across the district. The following main hydrochemical processes were identified as factors controlling the chemistry of the groundwater system: dissolution, ion exchange, and reverse ion exchange. Three main hydrochemical facies were identified from the Piper diagram: Facies (I); Ca –HCO3, Facies (II); Na –HCO3 and Facies (III); Na–Cl. Three main hydrochemical groups were also identified by the Schoeller diagram: Group I, II, III. The groups identified by the Schoeller diagrams corresponded with the hydrochemical facies identified in the Piper Diagram respectively.

Coordination compounds derived from N-phthaloylglycine and N-phthaloyltyrosine were synthesized. The ligands were formed by 1:2 molar condensation of phthalic anhydride with tyrosine and glycine respectively. The complexes were formulated as [Zn(PHG)2 (H2O)2] (OAc)2[1], [Ni(PHG)2 (H2O)2] (OAc)2 [2] and [Cu(PHT)2 ] (OAc)2 [3] characterized by melting point, conductivity, AAS , IR, Uv-Visible spectroscopies. Both ligands were found to be bidentate. For complexes [1] and [2] the metal ions coordinate through both oxygen of OH and C=O in the carboxylic group to give octahedral geometry whereas in the [3] the coordination of metal ion occurs through both oxygen of phenoxyl and carbonyl group resulting in tetrahedral geometry. The antimicrobial studies using four test organisms(P.aerugenosa, E.Coli, S. aureus and C. albicans) revealed that the metal complexes exhibit higher activity than their respective ligands.

Many years ago, a necessity in human daily life made him to cogitate about the possible ways to take advantage of nature and invent an important tool. At that time, the first and most crucial need of human was to make bread to eat. To make bread, they needed to crush the wheat into powder. To achieve this end, the hard-working people of Khuzestan Province tried to use hydropower by building mill and operating it. Near Dez River in Dezful city, there is an old and ruined installation, namely watermill, which is thought to date back to 1700 years ago to Sasanid Dynasty. It is obvious that these watermills were operative throughout the centuries. Watermills can be found in a limited number of areas in Iran, as the rotation of the wheels of this type of mill requires powerful and continuous hydropower. Dez River in Dezful city has all the necessary requisites. This very powerful river made the people of the city, from which the river passes, to benefit from the water power. In the past, the watermills operated with the water power of the river and transfer of this power into the reservoirs. In this way, the river flow was accelerated, which caused the rotation of the mill wheels and millstone and, as a result, crushing the wheat. With the invention of machine, the mills were neglected. Nowadays, only ruined buildings of these mills have remained, which are the reminder of the age of prosperity and fertility. The method of the current research is of descriptive-analytical type. Data gathering was done in library and fieldwork methods. Following the study of the history of Dezful watermills, we investigated the quotations from tourists, the books which have been remained from that time, and the belief of indigenous people to find the place, application, and the architecture of these windmills. At the end, we conclude that these mills are the indicators of the creativity and initiation of our ancestors and updated technology of that time. That is, they were aware of the hydraulics and the capacity and behavior of water to fulfill their daily and physical demands. This fact made the design of these mills sustainable and noble during the centuries. They can be a model for human to build a comfortable environment to live. In this way, such examples of architecture, being recognized as windmill, in Dezful have become the focus of attention during the recent years.

Rangeland ecosystems are dynamic and will change in the occurrence turbulences and will degrade if cross the threshold of rangeland health. We can judge on the effects of management activities by determination of rangeland health features. In this study using 17 ecological indicators, including rill, water flow pattern, Pedestal, bare ground, gully, wind-scoured, litter movement, soil surface resistance to erosion, soil surface loss or degradation, plant community composition and distribution relative to infiltration and runoff and, compaction layer, structural and functional groups, plant mortality, litter amount, annual production, invasive plants and reproductive capability of perennial plants for determination of three characteristics of rangeland ecosystems (soil and habitat stability, hydrological functions and health of living organisms). The main objective of this study is applying this concept in the area of Cheshme Anjir. Indicators were studied in three ecosystems characteristic expressed in five evaluation class and deviation degree of rangeland health features with reference area. The results showed that the key habitat in term of sustainability of soil and habitat in slight to moderate, hydrologic function slight to moderate, organisms’ health slight to moderate while critical habitat in term of soil sustainability and habitat in relatively extreme, hydrologic function in extreme and organism health located in extreme class.