Social media readiness in small businesses

Information Technologies (IT) have helped businesses to look for new ways of competing. Social Media (SM) are considered as one of these technologies. There are ample examples in the literature about its effectiveness in business. Especially for small businesses (SMEs) SM have given an opportunity to create a global customer base in a cost effective manner which was not possible in other business model. The main aim of this research was to investigate how SMEs whose businesses are dependent on their networks can benefit from SM. Although there are many IT adoption models, only a very few focus on SM alone. According to our knowledge there is none which focuses on SM adoption by SMEs. This research aimed to come up with a suitable model which will help SMEs to evaluate their readiness in adopting SM

Evaluating social media frameworks for small and large organisation

The nature of the business today is very competitive for small businesses (SMEs) since they have limited resources comparing to large organisations. ITs have helped businesses to look for new competing ways in persuading their customers. Social media (SM) are considered one of these technologies and there have been successful existing practical examples in the literature about its effectiveness in business. SM have given SMEs an opportunity to create a global customer base in a cost effective manner which was not possible in other business model. The main aim of this research was to investigate how SMEs can benefit from SM. Although there are many IT adoption models but there are very few which focuses on SM alone. According to our knowledge there is none which focuses on SM adoption by SMEs until the Before, Process and After (BPA) framework has been proposed (Abeysinghe & Alsobhi 2013). This research also aimed to critically review of existing frameworks

Effect of Different Additives on Fermentation Characteristics of Fodder Sorghum [\u3cem\u3eSorghum bicolor \u3c/em\u3e(L) Moench] Compared to CO-3 (\u3cem\u3ePennisetum perpureum \u3c/em\u3e x \u3cem\u3e Pennisetum americarnum\u3c/em\u3e)

Milk production plays a vital role to overcome the nutritional poverty in all aged groups of people. But there are many kinds of constraints to sustainable milk production in Sri Lanka. The biggest problem is high cost of feeding of dairy animals due to high price of compounded feeds, lack of knowledge on methods of low-cost feed supplementation and seasonal fluctuations in ruminant feed resources. Less availability of good quality green forages has led to low productivity from national dairy herd of Sri Lanka during the dry season (Premaratne and Premalal, 2006). Silage production is one of the most popular as well as cheap and effective method of forage conservation to increase the feed availability for dairy cattle during the dry season. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) and CO-3 (Pennisetum perpureum x Pennisetum americarnum) are some of the crop varieties which can be effectively used for silage making. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to find out the effect of different additives on fermentation characteristics of fodder sorghum and CO-3

Towards relating delivery methods and examination success: lessons learned from the VALO LLP project case study

Didactic, teacher-centred approaches and rote learning have long been discredited and gradually replaced by participative, interactive and creative learning sessions. Formal classroom sessions are being replaced or augmented by self-directed study increasingly in distance mode. The evolution and affordability of technologies enables massive participation in studies, not only for short training for professional updating but also for longer study periods and attainment of qualifications. The rapid changes in society and technology demand that everybody continuously updates their knowledge and skills in their area of expertise and gain knowledge, skills and competencies in other areas for a successful life of careers and not necessarily a career for life as was the norm in the past. It is important to safeguard the quality of independent assessment and certification methods. In this paper we consider the main delivery methods and their impact on assessment methods and associated results. With reference to the ECQA framework and the recently completed EU co-funded Lifelong Learning Programme project VALO we juxtapose the delivery methods used and the examination results at different partner institutions. We extract observed issues and trends, which could be principles to be adopted by future projects with regards to process improvement and performance enhancement

Objective Measure of Working Memory Capacity Using Eye Movements

Human-autonomy teaming (HAT) has become an important area of research due to the autonomous systems being developed for different applications, such as remotely controlled aircraft. Many remotely controlled vehicles will be controlled by automated systems, with a human monitor that may be monitoring multiple vehicles simultaneously. The attention and working memory capacity of operators of remote-controlled vehicles must be maintained at appropriate levels during operation. However, there is currently no direct method of determining working memory capacity, which is important because it is a measure for how memory is being stored for a short term and interacting with long term memory with a capacity limit that is dependent on attention and other executive functions. This study uses machine learning algorithms to find an objective relationship between participant eye tracking measurements and their responses on the NASATLX which determines subjective workload. The dataset used in this study was collected and published by researchers at the University of Windsor and publicly available

Investigation of shock waves in explosive blasts using fibre optic pressure sensors

The published version of this article may be accessed at the link below. Copyright @ IOP Publishing, 2006.We describe miniature all-optical pressure sensors, fabricated by wafer etching techniques, less than 1 mm(2) in overall cross-section with rise times in the mu s regime and pressure ranges typically 900 kPa (9 bar). Their performance is suitable for experimental studies of the pressure-time history for test models exposed to shocks initiated by an explosive charge. The small size and fast response of the sensors promises higher quality data than has been previously available from conventional electrical sensors, with potential improvements to numerical models of blast effects. Results from blast tests are presented in which up to six sensors were multiplexed, embedded within test models in a range of orientations relative to the shock front.Support from the UK Engineering&Physical Sciences Research Council and Dstl Fort Halstead through the MoD Joint Grants Scheme are acknowledged. WN MacPherson is supported by an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship

Costing of a Blended Course at the Open University of Sri Lanka: An Empirical Study

In a viable Open and Distance Learning system, providing immediate access to learning resources and fostering effective teacher-learner interactions are essential components while balancing the cost of the course without compromising quality. Owing to the advancement of ICT across the globe, the Open University of Sri Lanka has initiated integrating online components into the existing print-based courses and offering them as blended courses. The gauging costs for these blended courses are also vital to determine the various costs components. Hence, an empirical study was conducted to estimate total costs and cost per student of a blended course. In this empirical study, costing was carried out, based on five major costs categories; course materials design and development, course materials production, course delivery, student evaluation, overhead and infrastructure. Th