Archives-September 2012

A study was conducted to assess the barriers perceived by the learners in distance mode and to suggest the strategies for effective delivery of knowledge and skills to the learners, based on the data collected from 100 respondents randomly selected from each of 221 and 135 learners of dairy and goat farming courses of TANUVAS. The constraints perceived by the respondents of dairy and goat farming distance courses exhibited an overall mean score of 1.5 and 1.6 respectively, both ranging from ‘least constraint’ to ‘no constraint’. Lack of guidance from the local co-ordinators and lack of collaborations / co-operations with learning centres was perceived as constraint to more severe constraint. The factor - improper tracking of learners achievements – was given the score of 3.9 (by dairy course learners) and 4.0 (by goat course learners), implying it to be a severe constraint. The overall and individual constraints’ scores in social and economic barriers ranged between 1 and 2, as they were perceived not to be the constraints by the learners in both course categories.

Wavelet analysis is one of the most powerful and latest tool in the field of signal processing. It provides the better resolution in time and frequency domain simultaneously. Because of these properties of the wavelet it can be effectively used in EMG signal processing in order to determine the certain changes in amplitude at certain frequencies. At different levels of various mother wavelets we can get the useful resolution component from the EMG signal. In this paper, a single-channel electromyogram acquisition system Biopac MP36 was used to obtain the surface electromyogram signal. Single pair of surface electrodes was used to measure and record the EMG signal on forearm muscles. Then different levels of Daubechies Wavelet family were performed to analyze the EMG signal. We have used root mean square (rms) value of the EMG signal at different level of wavelet coefficients and reconstructed wave. The experimental results shows that rms feature vector provides very good performance for the classification of patterns.

Copper is one of the heavy metal which is essential but shows some toxic effects in high concentration. It has been found high copper uptakes lead to kidney, brain damage and death also. This study investigated copper degradation by a group of copper-resistant bacteria isolated from sea-water. Copper resistant bacteria, Bacillus pumilus Strain PD3 was isolated, which showed maximum copper-resistance at 150 mg l-1 Cu (II).Using the isolated bacteria bioremediation experiments were performed, varying the copper concentration from 10-100 mg l-1 and solution’s pH 3-6 at different time intervals. 45-54% copper degradation was obtained at pH 6, 50 mg l-1 and 47 hours. The result indicated that these isolated bacteria have a good potential in Copper degradation from aqueous solution.

Of the various methods available for providing better and effective treatment of wastewater, the method of using compact liner membrane prepared from bentonite, cement, lime, gypsum etc with clayey soil was explored in the laboratory scale experiments. The primary purpose of the liner membrane was to isolate the wastewater contents and, therefore, to protect the soil and ground water from pollution. Low porosity, slow diffusive transport, high adsorption of cations, and plasticity / swelling is some of the interesting properties of clay which makes it desirable as a liner membrane material. The metal concentration of wastewater passing through the compact liner were found to be below permissible limit and the metal concentration reduced to 87%, 96.33%, 90.4 % and 99% for zinc, copper, cadmium and lead respectively from their original concentration in wastewater. The present findings suggest that compact liner membrane can be used as a potential alternative technology to wastewater treatment.

Panchayath Raj is not a new phenomenon in the country. Its illustration in history goes back to more than 1000 years. Panchyati Raj Institutions have always been considered as a means to good governance and 73rd Constitutional Amendment was effected in the hope that it would lead to better governance and provide political space to the disadvantaged section of the society like schedule caste, schedule tribes and women. The present study was an effort to know the extent of participation of Dalit women elected representative in Panchayath and the problems faced by them. Purposive sampling technique was adopted consisting of 60 respondents from Bantwal Talluk. A pretested, semi structured questionnaire was administered and data were analysed by using percentages and proportions. The findings of the study revealed that Self Help Groups are the major inspiration and determinant factor for the membership in Panchayath Raj institutions. The respondents opined neither the reservation for women nor their actual presence in the Panchayath has become any more sensitive to the problems related to the village women. Most of the women were elected for the first time so they can yet to gain more political experience. A majority of the respondents revealed that financial assistance is a necessary ingredient for their self esteem, their independent functioning and their committed concern and approach to the needs and urges of the people of the area. Bringing women into power is not only a matter of equity, of correcting an unjust and unrepresentative system political restructuring is the key to economic growth with justice. The training of women Panchayath members should be based on their own local experiences and elicit their involvement in preparing a framework that will enable them to analyse and understand their roles and responsibilities in accordance with the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.

Terpolymer resins (o-APUF) synthesized by the condensation of o-aminophenol and urea with formaldehyde in the presence of acid catalyst, were proved to be selective chelation ion-exchange copolymers for certain metals. The chelating ion-exchange properties of these terpolymers were studied for Fe(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions in the form of their metal nitrate solutions. A batch equilibrium method was employed in the study of the selectivity of metal ion uptake involving the measurements of the distribution of a given metal ion between the terpolymer sample and a solution containing the metal ion. The study was carried out over a wide pH range, shaking time and in media of various ionic strengths of different electrolytes. The ion-exchange capacity of metal ions has also been determined experimentally and compared with other commercial resins. Besides ion-exchange properties, the terpolymer resins were also characterized by viscometric measurements in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), UV-visible absorption spectra in non-aqueous medium, infra-red spectra, nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and C13 NMR spectra. The physico-chemical and spectral methods were used to elucidate the structures of o-APUF resins. The morphology of the terpolymers was studied by scanning electron microscopy; showing amorphous nature of the resins therefore can be used as a selective ion-exchanger for certain metal ions.

Measurements on efflux time are performed for draining a large open spherical tank through an exit pipe, the flow in the exit pipe is assumed to be laminar. Laminar flow is maintained by using different concentrations of glycerin solutions. The experimental values are compared with the mathematical model and found to be in good agreement with the model. The model is also verified for different exit pipe lengths and different volumes of liquid in the tank. Further, the effect of addition of polyacrylamide and polythene oxide polymers on drag reduction for water as well different concentrations of glycerin solutions is contemplated. It is observed that, for the range of concentrations of polymers considered, drag reduction prevails in absence of glycerin solutions only. The optimum concentration with polyacrylamide is found to be 1.25 ppm and in case of polythene oxide, it is 10ppm. However, for the case of polymer solutions of different concentrations prepared using glycerin solutions, instead of drag reduction, drag enhancement takes place. The trend is found to be same for all volumes of liquid as well as for all exit pipe lengths. This suggests that caution has to be exercised when using polymer solutions for drag reduction in gravity driven flow systems.

There has been a varied advancement in the English language teaching materials for second language learners. Even though materials are in abundance, poetry seems to lack its appropriate usage in the process of second language teaching. Traditionally poetry may have lost its function as an attractive tool to impart novelty in teaching a language; the present study focuses to teach the four basic language skills and the linguistic role in learning English Language through poetry. Teaching second language through poetry is effectual since it made the learners to stir out their own insightful thinking and to stimulate their creativity. The interpretative ability of the learners had a gradual increase when a few lines were given to interpret. Thus the paper suggests that poetry is very beneficial for the teachers of English in second language learning classrooms.

This paper untangle the idea of software security and applying sound practices to the phases of software development life cycle that design and develop software and subject all phases to risk analysis and testing. It focuses on importance of secure software and unveils why and how attackers target software. It brings into light some of the exploitable software defects and certain methods to make software less vulnerable to attacks. It also presents the idea of software testing and its goal with the perspective of considering security as an important requirement to test.

This paper will focus on construction defects analysis on different types of walling system for building. There are various types of construction building defects on the main structure of building. This study is conducted based on 3 buildings located at Universiti Sains Malaysia. The chosen buildings are Hamzah Sendut 3 Library, Aman Damai Hostel and Restu Hostel. Observation and monitoring the defects at the buildings are the methodologies used in this study. Information is recorded and supported by photographic and digital documentation. Furthermore, the interview with those expert and professional in this field will be another critical element of this study. Lastly, the analysis will be done according to the data collected through observation and monitoring, and interview. Based on the obtained information, there are three types of building defects took place which are crack, dampness and paint peeling. These defects are not dangerous as they do not affect the structure of the building and there is no symptom which shows that the building is going to collapse. This research provides the solution for the building defect of the existing building.