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In India, Various fund houses (58 AMCs) are offering mutual fund services. All these fund houses have several mutual fund schemes in each segment like equity, debt, gilt and liquid funds. Out of which equity segment has got several schemes and most of the investors are attracted towards equity mutual fund schemes. Because of availability of wide range of equity MF schemes in each AMC, it is important to identify outperforming funds available in the market. For that, it is appropriate to consider risk and return of each fund to yield better returns before taking investment decision. Hence Present study is an attempt of identifying risk and returns of equity funds and comparing the same with benchmark returns and peers to help mutual fund investors in choosing better funds as investment avenues.

The paper investigates the interaction among foreign remittance, banking sector development and GDP in four South Asian nations that export huge pools of labour abroad. Multivariate Granger causality tests, based on error correction models, are employed with data spanning from 1990 to 2010. A key finding of the paper is that remittances and banking sector development influence per capita income in all four South Asian nations. In addition, interactions among the variables are also examined in a panel setting. As in individual country analyses, both remittance and banking sector development have positive and significant influences on the national income of Nepal. On the other hand, neither domestic products nor advancement in banking sector have significant impact on the remittance flows. This is new findings of the linkage between remittances and economic development, which may also be evident for countries exporting labour pools. Remittance as a major source of foreign currency to the developing nation has become a substantial component of making current account surplus in the balance of payments. It is argued that many workers from Nepal going abroad for employment are no doubt young, energetic, laborious and enthusiastic. They do hard work for earning large remittance income to support their families. However, the downside of remittances reflects the view that remaining young generation for long time outside without family may increase their vulnerability and ultimately it will have a tendency to leave their homeland. Thus, in order to recover the loss of economically active labor force to the domestic economy, they should be encouraged to come back again with skilled knowledge for utilizing their savings and working experience for development to the productive areas in accordance with the priority of the national development plans.

Over the recent years, lives and property worth millions of shillings have been destroyed in fire disasters. This study assessed the role of administrators and other stakeholders in fire disaster preparedness in secondary schools in Vihiga County, Kenya. The study assessed the role of administrators and other stakeholders in fire disaster preparedness in secondary schools in the study area. An evaluation research design was used. Stratified simple random sampling was used to select the schools and respondents. Study population was composed of secondary school principals, teachers, laboratory technicians, students and the District Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (DQASOs). Data was collected by use of structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews and an observation checklist. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17 was used in the analysis of data with Chi-square being used to test independence and variation of responses. A Spearman’s rank order correlation was run to determine the relationship between teachers’ and students’ responses. The study established that most of the general requirements for fire disaster preparedness were not in place; most of the schools did not have trained personnel in handling fire disasters and limited funds was a strong barrier to fire disaster preparedness in secondary schools. It was concluded that: most of the administrators and even teachers were not trained in fire fighting skills; stakeholders had a role to play in fire disasters preparedness in secondary schools. The findings of the study are to empower schools to reduce their vulnerability to fire disasters.

The study explored and analyzed the responsibilities and functions of Executive District Education Officers (EDEOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Data were collected from six (06) Districts Education Officers in 06 different districts trough structured interviews. An eight- item open ended interview checklist used in the study. The review of relevant literature both in global and local perspectives provided an insight to the researcher for understanding what other researchers did in such situations. The analysis of data was given both qualitative and quantitative treatment. The study found that D.E.Os did not make proper visits to schools and educational institutions. Lack of educational funds and other resource were the main weaknesses of educational administration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The study explored that there was no institutionalized or mandatory training for the EDEOs to build their administrative and managerial skills. The study pinpointed weaknesses and lope holes in the administrative structure and powers of educational administrators in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Signal timing is the technique which traffic engineers use to determine who has the right-of-way at an intersection. Signal timing involves deciding how much green time the traffic lights shall provide at an intersection approach, how long the pedestrian walk signal should be, and many numerous other factors. Traffic volume studies are conducted to determine the number, movements, and classifications of roadway vehicles at a given location. The collected data is converted into PCU units. These data can help identify critical flow time periods, determine the influence of large vehicles or pedestrians on vehicular traffic flow, or document traffic volume trends. The length of the sampling period depends on the type of count being taken and the intended use of the data recorded. For example, an intersection count may be conducted during the peak flow period. If so, manual count with 15-minute intervals could be used to obtain the traffic volume data. Webster’s method is a rational approach for signal design. The design is simple and is totally based on formulae’s laid down by Webster. In this method, the total cycle of the signal is determined which forms a total least delay occurring at signal.

The angular spectrum approach (ASA) is applied for the simulation of focused ultrasound produced by NXN rectangular transducer phased arrays by inserting through human mouth towards lung surface. The ASA rapidly computes the output pressure in a certain volume. The pressure deposition due to the array used is converted to therapeutic temperature for tumor treatment. Simulation and results show that the NXN rectangular phased array producing pressure determined by ASA can be applied successfully for lung tumor treatments.

We investigate the simultaneous effects of soret and ohmic heating on MHD free convective heat and mass transfer flow for a micro polar fluid bounded by a vertical infinite surface. Approximate solutions have been derived for the velocity, angular velocity, temperature field, concentration profiles, skin friction and rate of heat transfer using multi-parameter perturbation method. The effects of various pertinent parameters on flow, heat and mass transfer properties are discussed numerically and explained graphically. Also the velocity profiles of micropolar fluid is compared with the corresponding flow problem for a Newtonian fluid and found that the polar fluid velocity is decreasing

The impact of soil quality indicators under small farm holding management practices was assessed to ascertain the status of soils and their potentials for sustainable agricultural development in Kaita, Mashi and Mai-adua Local Government Areas of Northern Katsina State, Nigeria. A total of 240 soil samples were collected for physical and chemical analyses. Perception of soil quality was investigated through the administration of 600 questionnaires. The Results indicated that pH value was optimum for crop production; PBS was low, but adequate and Ec within acceptable limits across the study area. SAR, ESP and OC contents vary within the Local Governments. It was concluded that farm management practices have effects on soil quality, and ultimately, crop yield.

The present work aimed mainly to isolate specific strains of microalgae potentially used in nutrition program in hatcheries. Six indigenous strains of microalgae with high interest were isolated herein using different techniques. Four species of diatoms were gender identified as Navicula sp1, Navicula sp2, Nitzschia sp and Melosira sp, while two species of flagellates were gender identified as Tetraselmis sp and Isochrysis sp. These native species have shown a high growth productivity comparing to other reference species mainly used as feeding source in aquaculture. Given that, hatcheries in Morocco are currently arising, a native algal collection is needed as well.

Ecofeminist theorists advocate the subsistence perspective as the lone solution for all postcolonial problems. Booker Prize winning Indian English writers Arundhathi Roy and Kiran Desai are analysed as having subscribed to the requirements of the ecofeminists .Far from the accepted surmise of these writers as having given a morbid picture of the postcolonial scenario, it is concluded that there is indeed a solution on offer- the retrieval of the female principle which is rooted in the connectedness of nature comprising its entire gamut of flora and fauna. The novels analysed are ‘The God Of Small Things’ and ‘The Inheritance of Loss.’