Implications for Research Methods When Conducting Studies With the Users of Online Health Communities

Bournemouth Universit

Controlling CoSi2 formation temperature by reactive deposition

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-77).When cobalt is evaporated under ultra high vacuum conditions onto a heated silicon substrate, the reaction between the cobalt and the silicon starts immediately and cobalt silicides are formed directly - a technique referred to as reactive deposition. This procedure was used to grow silicide films over a variety of temperatures ranging between 375 - 550 ce. It was found that a disilicide film is formed directly for substrate temperature maintained at

After COVID-19: Mitigating Domestic Gender-based Violence in Egypt in Times of Emergency

In times of crises and emergencies, violence against women tends to increase. The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in severe precautionary measures such as social isolation, physical distancing, staying at home, curfews and lockdowns, which brought “normal” life to a halt and created a temporary convergence between the public and the private. The pandemic has forced the global community to turn its gaze back to the private, and compelled them to pay attention to the old/new problem of gender-based violence, particularly, domestic violence that spiked during the pandemic. Against such a backdrop, and using a critical feminist lens that analyzes the historical socio-political roots of the problem, this paper revisits the national structures, mechanisms, strategies and policies that address gender-based violence in Egypt. Data for this paper was collected through various methods to measure and analyze domestic violence in Egypt. These included qualitative research tools such as expert interviews in addition to secondary data such as literature review on the policy problem, and a desk review of the official data, relevant laws, policies, and law enforcement practices related to domestic violence. This policy paper argues that while COVID-19 exacerbated a set of deeply-seated problems that have limited the efficacy of national policy interventions, it provided a rare opportunity for a comprehensive reassessment of the national structures of gender-based violence reporting, socio-legal interventions, and risk-mitigation. The paper further argues that while the current policies, institutions, laws and efforts have taken into consideration some of the particular challenges presented by COVID-19 in addressing domestic violence in Egypt, there remains room for more interventions that are sensitive to the root causes of the problem through a set of policy measures. The paper focuses on emergency services during COVID-19 through a close-up analysis of the efficacy of state-run shelters for survivors of domestic violence. Shelters continue to be globally recognized as one of the main tools for mitigating domestic violence. With that in mind, the paper analyzes the main challenges facing service providers of Shelters in Egypt and the gap that exists between international and national standards. While critical of the UN calls for combatting domestic violence worldwide without providing member states with the necessary resources or technical aid to do so, this paper demonstrates how a combined lack of resources, along with a set of complex legal loopholes and socio-cultural set of gendered beliefs about women’s role in the family unit render shelters practically useless as tools to tackle domestic violence in Egypt. COVID-19 did however, highlight the importance of the private sphere to the economic and social realms and its life sustaining role worldwide, thus making interventions to combat domestic violence both a policy and public health necessity. The paper concludes with a number of short, medium and long-term recommendations to combat domestic and gender-based violence on a national scale in Egypt post COVID-19

Plasmonic luminescent down shifting layers for the enhancement of CdTe mini-modules performance

In this investigation, plasmonic coupling between luminescent species (lumogen yellow, and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) has been exploited to produce significant enhancement in absorption and fluorescence emission of lumogen yellow dye luminescent downshifting (LDS) layers. The optimum dye concentration in a poly(methyl,methacrylate) polymer LDS layer of ∼100μm thickness was established. Subsequently, plasmonic coupling with Ag NPs was introduced and optimum concentration has been determined for the composite plasmonic Luminescent Down-Shifting (pLDS) layers. The optimum plasmonic coupling has been observed to produce fluorescence emission enhancement of up to 81% for the dye-pLDS layers. The pLDS layers were deposited on top of CdTe mini-modules to investigate the action of plasmonic interaction in LDS layers. It has been demonstrated that the addition of pLDS layers containing lumogen yellow dye increases the short circuit current density (Jsc) of CdTe devices between 300 and 500nm. An increase of ∼100% has been achieved. External quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements of the pLDS layers have also shown significant improvement below 500nm reaching 25–40%, while increased efficiency was confirmed with current–voltage (J–V) measurements

Studying the genetic relationship among three populations for Musca domestica L. (Diptera : Muscidae) in Iraq by using RAPD-PCR Technique

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction RAPD-PCR  Technique was used in this study to investigate genetic relationship among three populations of housefly Musca domestica (L.) from Northern, Middle and Southern Iraq. Environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity and the amount of annual rainfall to be different in the northern, Middle and Southern Iraq , In addition to the northern of Iraq away from the southern a distance of 1,000 km and away from the middle distance of approximately 500 km or less, as well as there are some mountains and rivers separating northern Iraq from the middle and south , these environmental conditions act as geographical barriers to gen flow among the three population. We have used in this study nine primers and Tools For Population Genetic Analysis (TFPGA) software was used to calculate percentage efficiency of each primer and percentage of discriminatory ability of each primer , In addition to Nei’s genetic identity. The results showed that the primer No. 3 gave the highest of percentage efficiency and percentage of discriminatory ability which is 17.24 and 17.07 respectively ., While primer No. 6 gave The lowest of percentage efficiency and percentage of discriminatory ability which is 5.74 and 6.09 respectively ., The genetic identity among three populations ranges from 1.383 to 1.586, which reveals that there is a low level of genetic identity reflecting the fact that the environmental conditions appear to act as a barrier to gene flow among these populations. Keywords: Musca domestica , RAPD-PCR , Northern , Middle , Southern , Ira

Improved control for DFIG based wind power system under voltage dips using ADRC optimized by genetic algorithms

Many countries have focused on the study of the electrical energy production using wind generators. These studies include maintaining the production under disturbed conditions at the grid connection point of wind farms, and maintaining production during voltage dips. Electrical grid operators have established different requirements for connecting renewable energy production systems to electrical grids. In this research paper, we are interested in the study of the wind power system based on the Doubly Fed Induction Generator during a voltage dip. We are also developing a control approach based on Active Disturbance Rejection Control and Genetic Algorithms, which aims to control the stator flux variations which should be taken into account during the current controllers computing. This control strategy will allow the wind power system to remain connected to the grid under voltage dips, and to resume the normal operation after the fault disappearance. The model of the wind power system and the proposed control strategy, are tested in the MATLAB-Simulink software

The Role of Kenena Sugar Company’s CSR in Community Development,Case Study: Fangoa Cluster Communities, White Nile State, Sudan

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) backed  to strategies corporations of  firms  or company conduct their business in a way that is ethical, society friendly to community in terms of development. This paper highlights to the role of Kenena Sugar Company’s CSR in community development on Fongoga Cluster community.    Primary data was collected using a questionnaire designed to cover all study aspects in open and closed-ended questions filled in face to face interview session..42 households participated in the study. Analyses, show there have been positive outcomes to the livelihoods of some of the households as a result of company intervention and its operations in the studied community. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, physical and natural capital assis

El-Sissi’s Women? Shifting gender discourses and the limits of state feminism

In the wake of the overthrow of former President Morsi amid massive demonstrations through June and July 2013, a specific new gender discourse began emerging in Egypt. Focusing on the high levels of participation of women from all wakes of life in the demonstrations against Islamist rule in Egypt, this new popular discourse is articulated in vernacular forms of expression, in the media, or in the writings of intellectuals and political analysts. It stresses the supposedly unanimous and uncontested support of “Egyptian women” as a uniform category, to the Egyptian military in their war against Islamic terrorism and to the military State, as well as their purportedly universal infatuation with President Abd el-Fattah el-Sissi. This indicates the rise of a new discursive form of State feminism, one that seeks to erase a rich four-year history of diverse gender-based mobilization. This article deconstructs the myth of “El-Sissi’s women” in reference to particular models of gendered imaginations of the nation-State and Egyptian women in the twentieth century, as well as their political expressions – and to the emerging “revolutionary” representation of women since 2011. These images and narratives allow us to decode the media-borne myth of “El-Sissi’s women” and analyze it as an attempt to construct a new and disturbing discursive form of State feminism. The politicization of women’s images – dancing in front of ballot boxes in the 2014 presidential elections or expressing support for their favorite candidate El-Sissi in videos – is part of this emerging discursive attempt to mask the multitude of claims women address to the State and of readings of women’s rights. By constructing the image of “Egyptian women” as a unified category and silencing alternative and independent voices, this new State feminism instrumentalizes women and their issues for political purposes in this period of sharp political and identity-based polarization, while giving them little in return.Suite au renversement de l’ancien président Morsi lors d’énormes manifestations en juin-juillet 2013, un nouveau discours spécifique sur le genre a commencé à apparaitre en Égypte. Centré sur le haut niveau de participation des femmes de toutes origines sociales à ces manifestations, ce nouveau discours à succès est articulé dans la langue vernaculaire, dans les médias, dans les écrits d’intellectuels et d’analystes politiques. Il met l’accent sur un soutien présumé unanime et incontesté des « femmes égyptiennes », comme catégorie uniforme, pour l’armée égyptienne dans sa guerre contre le terrorisme islamiste et pour l’État militaire, ainsi que sur leur engouement supposé universel, pour le Président Abd al-Fattâh al-Sissi. Cela indique la montée en puissance d’une nouvelle forme discursive de féminisme d’État, cherchant à effacer une histoire riche et diverse de quatre ans de mobilisations liées au genre. Cette contribution déconstruit le mythe des « femmes d’al-Sissi » en référence à des modèles spécifiques d’imaginaires genrés de l’État-nation et des femmes égyptiennes au vingtième siècle, ainsi qu’à leurs expressions politiques—ainsi qu’aux représentations « révolutionnaires » émergentes des femmes depuis 2011. Ces images et ces récits nous permettent de décoder le mythe des « femmes d’al-Sissi » porté par les médias, et de l’analyser en tant que volonté de construire une forme discursive aussi nouvelle que troublante, du féminisme d’État. La politisation des images de femmes, dansant devant les urnes lors de la présidentielle de 2014 ou exprimant leur soutien à leur candidat favori, al-Sissi, dans des vidéos, fait partie de cette tentative discursive de masquer la multitude de revendications adressées par les femmes à l’État et, et de lectures des droits des femmes. En construisant l’image des « femmes égyptiennes » comme catégorie unique et en réduisant au silence les voix alternatives et indépendantes, ce nouveau féminisme d’État instrumentalise les femmes et leurs problématiques à des fins politiques, en cette période de vive polarisation politique et identitaire, tout en ne leur donnant que très peu en retour

A transfer matrix approach to aid in the design and optimization of hybrid advanced passive structures for enhancing photovoltaic efficiency

The addition of a luminescent down-shifting (LDS) layer directly onto a photovoltaic (PV) cell introduces additional loss mechanisms within the system. The combination of non-ideal photo-luminescent materials encapsulated within a limited range of viable host materials, with the increased reflection losses arising from the newly created interface represent losses which must be overcome for LDS to offer an enhancement to the underlying cells efficiency. Exploiting the interaction between the highly enhanced electric fields established close to a metal nanoparticles (MNP’s) surface is one route aimed at mitigating the poor optical properties of the luminophore-host combinations available. Alternative approaches, aimed at addressing the other loss mechanisms within such a system have gone relatively unexplored. Exploiting the non-ideal nature of the photo-luminescent materials available, offers a possibility of recycling the photons which previously did not undergo photoluminescence while also addressing the reflection losses through the inclusion of selectively reflecting optical structures. The hybrid device designs, incorporating single- and double layer- antireflection coatings composed of commonly available materials offer enhancements in the underlying PV cells performance of 8% - 30% depending upon the design criteria established. The transfer matrix approach adopted allowed the impact of individual design considerations on the reflection suppression capabilities of the structure, as well as their impact on the underlying cells efficiency to be readily determined

Comparative study of power smoothing techniques produced by a wind energy conversion system

This paper aims to present and compare two techniques used to smooth the injected power in the grid from a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) based conversion system. The first technique based on an inertial storage system while the second is founded on limiting the power captured by the wind turbine. The overall system composed of a wind energy conversion system (WECS) allowing to convert a wind power into electric power. It is controlled by two converters, grid side converter and a rotor side converter, both are controlled by sliding mode. The storage system is used to consume power which exceeds the setpoint due to storing it or producing more in the event of a lack, the system is controlled through the flywheel side converter by the sliding mode. Numerical simulations were carried out using Matlab/Simulink software