Development and performance evaluation of a natural draft mixed-type solar dryer for agricultural products

Reduced moisture content enhances storage properties of agricultural products and reduces post-harvest losses. Effective drying can be achieved using solar dryers in regions with abundant solar radiation. In this study, a natural draft mixed-type solar dryer suitable for rural communities of developing countries was developed. The performance of the solar dryer was also investigated using pepper, okra and tomato. The temperature taken at different points of the drying chamber and the auxiliary collector show that the temperature within the drying chamber is higher than the ambient temperature. The temperature within the drying chamber was also found to depend on the atmospheric conditions. The maximum drying rate was obtained at periods between 1200 and 1400 hrs Nigeria local time during which the temperature within the solar dryer is also maximum. Temperature within the solar dryer reached up to 62°C. The solar collector efficiency was 52.0% while the drying efficiency was 21.9%.Peer reviewe

How Much is E-Commerce Worth to Rural Businesses?

The probability of a business paying for an e-commerce presence ultimately depends on demographic features, experiences with e-commerce, technological expertise, and knowledge of e-commerce opportunities and limitations. Results allow for the assignment of probabilities associated with various business profiles to determine the willingness to pay for an e-commerce presence.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Website Usage Information for Rural-Based E-Commerce Start-Ups

Usage patterns for start-up agricultural and non-agricultural websites, as well as product and service oriented websites, were studied to determine differences in the number of unique visitors, usage based on the day and time of the week, total time spent on the website, and how the visitor found the website.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Extent of Role Conflict Among Principals and Teachers on the Administration of Secondary School in Ebonyi State

This study set out to investigate the impact of role conflicts among principals and teachers on the administration of secondary schools in Ebonyi State. It was a descriptive survey. The study was guided by two (2) research questions and two (2) hypotheses, all derived from the purpose of the study. The population of the study consists of five thousand and forty seven (5047) teaching staff in the 221 secondary schools in the three education zones of Ebonyi State. A total sample of one thousand four hundred and seventy (1470) teachers and ninety eight (98) principals were sampled and was used for the study. A stratified proportionate random sampling technique was adopted by the researcher to select a sample of 98 principals and fifteen (15) teachers in each of the ninety eight (98) secondary schools from Afikpo, Onueke and Abakaliki respectively; given 1470 teachers for the study. Researcher developed instrument titled Principals Teachers role Conflict Questionnaire (PTRCOQ) was used for data collection The data were analysed using arithmetic mean and z-test statistics. The findings showed that there are no significant differences in the mean opinion scores of principals and teachers on the extent conflict between them arising from the role' performance of a principal in the areas of supervision, finance management, discipline and decision making affect secondary school administration. Based on the findings, appropriate recommendations were made regarding the various strategies to reduce conflict in secondary school administration which include among others; there should be very clear job description for both teachers and principals as this will help to reduce role confusion in secondary school. Principals should also strive to adopt democratic principles in school administration. This will help to promote team work and also enhance teacher's commitment in teaching and learning activities. Keywords: Role Conflict, Principals and Teachers, Administration, Secondary Schoo

Workforce diversity in specialist physicians: Implications of findings for religious affiliation in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care

BACKGROUND: Minority ethnic identification between physician and patient can reduce communication and access barriers, improve physician-patient relationship, trust, and health outcomes. Religion influences health beliefs, behaviours, treatment decisions, and outcomes. Ethically contentious dilemmas in treatment decisions are often entangled with religious beliefs. They feature more in medical specialties such as Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, with issues including informed consent for surgery, organ donation, transplant, transfusion, and end-of-life decisions. METHODS: We investigate diversity in religious affiliation in the UK medical workforce, using data from the General Medical Council (GMC) specialist register and Health Education England (HEE) trainee applications to medical specialties. We performed conservative Bonferroni corrections for multiple comparisons using Chi-squared tests, as well as normalised mutual-information scores. Robust associations that persisted on all sensitivity analyses are reported, investigating whether ethnicity or foreign primary medical qualification could explain the underlying association. FINDINGS: The only significant and robust association in both GMC and HEE datasets affecting the same religious group and specialty was disproportionately fewer Anaesthesia & Intensive Care physicians with a religious affiliation of “Muslim”, both as consultants (RR 0.57[0.47,0.7]) and trainee applicants (RR 0.27[0.19,0.38]. Associations were not explained by ethnicity or foreign training. We discuss the myriad of implications of the findings for multi-cultural societies. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of physician workforce diversity has far-reaching consequences, especially for specialties such as Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, where ethically contentious decisions could have a big impact. Religious beliefs and practices, or lack thereof, may have unmeasured influences on clinical decisions and on whether patients identify with physicians, which in turn can affect health outcomes. Examining an influencing variable such as religion in healthcare decisions should be prioritised, especially considering findings from the clinician-patient concordance literature. It is important to further explore potential historical and socio-cultural barriers to entry of training medics into under-represented specialties, such as Anaesthesia and Intensive Care

Implementation of Information Communication Technology in the Teaching/Learning Process for Sustainable Development of Adults in West Africa Sub Sahara Region

This study examines the implementation of information technology in the teaching/learning process for sustainable development of adults in West Africa Sub Sahara Region (WASSR). Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population for the study was 3071 participants and instructors drawn from 10 education centres that were selected for the study. The sample for the study was made up of 823 participants and 30 instructors that were selected. Simple random sampling technique was used in drawing the sample for the study. Questionnaires were administered to the 853 sample population in countries that make up the region. The result indicates that it is necessary to implement information communication technology in the teaching/learning process for the benefits of sustainable development for adults. The following major findings emerged: The participants believe that information technology will make them independent in their studies. The educators are of the opinion that information technology can expand the community of learners to include virtually anyone who wishes to obtain information and who is not excluded by policy or cost. The major recommendations: that government through the schools should initiate effective programmes to create mass awareness by educating the participants about the benefits of computer literacy in this 21st century. The schools should offer face-to-face workshops; self-placed learning modules and online courses that assist with the development of the essential skills. Formulating approaches to the use of information and communication technology and incorporating it into the curriculum of formal and non-formal education of adults and other learners with exceptionalities for sustainable development. Keywords: Information Communication Technology, Teaching/Learning Process, Sustainable Development

The Delta E-Commerce Connection: Preliminary Findings

A USDA Fund for Rural America project is creating economic opportunities for small agricultural and rural businesses in the Lower Mississippi Delta by assisting in e-commerce business development. Select rural businesses are provided technical support in web site development, marketing strategy formulation, electronic retailing services, and space on a secure server for one year. Businesses retaining web sites after this time assume responsibility for maintaining and funding the site. Characteristics of rural businesses adopting e-commerce are compared with those not adopting. Preliminary results suggest the amount of time invested in initial web site design, satisfaction with design, economic benefits from owning a web site, and number of levels traveled in the e-commerce roadmap (a measure of technological progress) as determinants of success. These findings will assist in selecting and guiding participant involvement to maximize the likelihood of success

Influence of Rotor Pole Number on the Output of Double Stator Flux-Switching Machine

Influence of rotor pole numbers on the output performance of a double stator flux-switching permanent magnet machine is investigated and compared in this study. A description of the analyzed machine is first given. Maxwell-2D time-stepping finite element analysis is adopted in estimating the results. The no-load and load characteristics of the investigated machine is considered and quantitatively compared amongst four different rotor pole configurations. The compared machine categories are designated as: 6S/10P, 6S/11P, 6S/13P and 6S/14P, where P stands for rotor pole and S stands for stator slot. It is revealed that the compared 6S/11P machine topology has a lot of good qualities amongst all the compared machine types, since it exhibits the largest electromotive force (EMF), power, torque and greatest overload sustainability feature, etc. Though, the 6S/14P has excellent flux-weakening capability. Moreover, the 6S/13P machine configuration would produce the largest torque if all the compared machines are equipped with same amount of permanent magnet volume/material. The compared machine topologies have reasonably good anti-demagnetization potentials; particularly, the 6S/13P topology