Archives-February 2016

This paper is on the growing importance of Human Resource Information System and High Performance Work System’s perspective for small and medium-sized enterprises. There are a lot of small firms that experience crucial HRIS difficulties, but in the same manner, HPWS also act a main role in developing and sustaining their competitive resources in employee performances. The main focus of this research paper is to explore the different aspects and also analyze barriers which occur during the implementation of its practices as well as study the IT and HPWS approach influence on training and developments, performance management and recruitment. To present a comprehensive literature review of these practices in Pakistani SMEs, we did Qualitative descriptive survey research.

Abstract Information assurance (IA) projects are essential components of the information technology industry and often fail due to budget overruns, missed deadlines, and lack of performance by the project teams. The purpose of this phenomenological research was to explore the strategies necessary to improve IA project team performance. Lewin’s situational leadership theory was used as the conceptual framework for this research. Interviews were conducted with 20 IA professionals located in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. The data were transcribed, coded, and clustered for the identification of common patterns based on the Moustakas’ modified van Kaam analysis. The major themes that emerged from the interview data included the importance of: communication and teamwork, technical knowledge, training, hiring of skilled resources, and balanced project teams. An organization-wide internal training program emerged as an overarching best practice to improve the leadership strategies within the IA sector. The research results may help improve project success and contribute in some small way to the growth of the IA industry.

The study on the analysis of information communication technologies uses and perception of its role in cassava marketing in Imo state, Nigeria. Sample sizes of 60 respondents were used for the study. Data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire. The finding revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 51.2 years, about 66.7% of the respondents consist of female marketers, majority (83.3%) of the marketers in the study area were married, the mean household size of the respondents was 6 persons, the mean years spent in school was 9.6 years, the mean marketing experience was 14.2 years. The finding also showed that majority of the marketers (60%) made use of mobile phone as their main ICT tool for cassava marketing. It is therefore recommended that adequate power supply and electricity be provided to enable the farmers utilize their ICT tools.

Twenty weaned rabbits of mixed sexes aged between 8 to 9 weeks were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments with four rabbits per treatment. Each rabbit was used as a replicate. Three tropical grasses and leaves from two forage plants were used to prepare the diets. The leaves were obtained from Myrianthus arboreus and Gmelina arborea two common forages and the tropical grasses incude Tridax procumbens, Pannicum maximum and Pennisetum purpureum. Parameters studied include average weekly feed intake, average weekly weight gain, feed conversion ratio and feed efficiency ratio. The study was carried out in the rabbit section of the Faculty of Agriculture Research and Teaching Farm of the Delta State University, Asaba Campus Delta State Nigeria. Significance was reported at 5% level of probability and the means were separated using Duncan's Multiple Range Test Procedure. Significant differences were observed for all parameters measured between all the test materials. Variations in feed intake and weight gain were observed and values obtained were within the ranges of reported values.

Present study deals with the bed load transport and shear stress with uniform and non-uniform sediments in an open channel under different experimental conditions. Effort has been made to analyse extensive experimental results in comparison with the existing theories given by the various eminent researchers for both the types of sediment materials. Empirical relations are proposed by dimensionless approach with the help of Buckingham-? theorem in terms of dimensionless shear stress and bed load transport parameter. Results are compared and vaidated with Meunier (2006) and Roorkee’s approach [i.e. Gilbert (1914), Pazis & Graf, Paintal (1977), Misri et. al (1984), Ranga Raju & R. J. Garde (1986)] for both uniform and non uniform sediment material.

The solid phase FTIR and FT-Raman spectra of 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoroaniline(PFA) have been recorded in the region 4000-400 cm-1 and 3500-100 cm-1, respectively. The spectra were interpreted with the aid of normal coordinate analysis following a full structure optimization and force field calculation based on the density functional theory (DFT) using the standard HF/6-31+G(d,p) and B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) methods and basis set combination. A close agreement between the observed and calculated frequencies by refinement of the scale factor. The values of electric dipole moment (? and First-order hyperpolarizability(?) of the compound were computed using ab-initio quantum mechanical calculations.The calculation results also show that the PFA molecule might have microscopic nonlinear optical (NLO) behavior with non-zero values. HOMO and LUMO energy gap explains the eventual charge transfer interaction taking place within the molecule. Temperature dependence of various thermodynamic properties like heat capacity, enthalpy, Gibb’s free energy, entropy is increase with increase in temperature. And magnetic susceptibility of the title compound at different temperatures is calculated.

Theoretical studies were conducted on the molecular structure and vibrational spectra of 2-amino-5-bromo-4-methylpyridine (ABMP). The FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of ABMP were recorded in the solid phase. The molecular geometry and vibrational frequencies of ABMP in the ground state have been calculated by using the ab initio HF (Hartree-Fock) /6-311+G(d,p) and density functional methods (B3LYP) invoking 6-311+G(d,p)/6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The optimized geometric bond lengths and bond angles obtained by HF method show best agreement with the experimental values. Comparison of the observed fundamental vibrational frequencies of ABMP with calculated results by HF and density functional methods indicates that B3LYP is superior to the scaled Hartree-Fock approach for molecular vibrational problems. The difference between the observed and scaled wave number values of most of the fundamentals is very small. A detailed interpretation of the FT-IR and FT- Raman, NMR spectra of ABMP was also reported. NBO analysis has been performed in order to elucidate charge transfers or conjugative interaction, the intra-molecule rehybridization and delocalization of electron density within the molecule. UV–vis spectrum of the compound was recorded and the electronic properties, such as HOMO and LUMO energies, were performed by time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) approach. Finally the calculations results were applied to simulated infrared and Raman spectra of the title compound which show good agreement with observed spectra.

Abstract: Dynamic assessment (henceforth, DA) is an approach to assessment which is derived from Vygotsky’s notion of zone of proximal development (ZPD). More precisely, DA is as an alternative to traditional testing which emphasizes greatly on the role of interaction. Recently, the focus of research has shifted from testing listening to teaching it through the use of dynamic assessment; therefore, the present paper aims at reviewing the implementation of dynamic assessment (DA) on listening comprehension. Reviewing the literature has shown that generally dynamic assessment has led learner’s development in listening comprehension. Moreover, the present paper concluded some valuable points. First, group dynamic assessment was conducted in most studies. Second, researchers applied mixed method in their researches. Third, interactionist kind of DA was mainly used and finally lower-intermediate and intermediate learners were the subjects of most studies

Sixteenth century Europe is widely recognized by the word Renaissance which made an enormous evolution in cultural, economic, artistic and literary aspects of that age. British literature in particular went under the influence of masterpieces of great men like William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe who injected a generous motif to the literary canon of that time. By establishing a peculiar research on the side of the heroes of the two plays i.e. Shakespeare's Hamlet and Marlowe's Faustus, we come to face with the emergence of novel characters who are in need of more precision. In this direction, Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical thoughts come in handy to researcher's attempt to apply a critical reading of the two plays in a comparative manner in order to shed light on the deep levels of the groundwork of these two plays. For doing so, six fundamental concepts taken out of Nietzsche's theories are being observed along the context of the works each of which though might meet in a number of overlaps, represent the complicated concept of Renaissance Man with a critical and metaphoric perspective. Finally, the outcome is captured as was the ultimate goal of the researcher: a moral implication perceived on the literary basis of the two plays. Without considering any biased tendency towards a specific author or critic, the extracted concepts of the works rely on Nietzsche's enlightenments by expressing life's various ups and downs and by manifesting the outcomes of such jeopardies happened to the heroes which directly target the literary reader on how to supply the eternal pace of life as the mere meaning of humanity.

This study argues for a third wave feminist interpretation of Daughter of Fortune and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende as two significant texts that take multiple feminist perspectives into consideration and oppose certain patriarchal systems. As will be argued, the problems faced by the female characters that relate to their personal feminism cannot be explored sufficiently by assuming that they are tossing aside their liberties. Rather, the characters and their stories are best examined by exploring how each woman can work through her problems in ways that allow her to maintain her feminist position.