Economic cycle and Information Technology management : Explorative survey of effects and challenges

This master thesis aims to find out by literature review the interrelations between economic cycles and information technology (IT) stages and deployment. In furtherance of this aim, an explorative survey analysis of the opinions of IT managers in Finland about how the economic environment influences IT management and deployment was analyzed. By identifying recent economic cycles and IT infrastructure cycles, some inter-relations was ob-served. The effects of economic cycle on IT and IT deployment in organizations is difficult to prove although there has been some obvious reductions in IT project expenditures and in some circumstances an abrupt postponement of ongoing IT projects during recessions. The result of this study is based on the opinions of 249 IT managers. First, there was an evaluation in performance matrix on how organizational objectives including IT are affected by the economic situation. Some effects were noticed in this population, but they were not statistically significant differences. Therefore an explorative analysis of factors affecting different key phenomena of IT management and deployment were made. In the analysis, it was observed that IT manager’s opin-ions seems to be most homogenous in the following variables: 1) Trying to increase efficiency of IT by cutting down IT costs, 2) Postponing IT purchases and investments, 3) Requiring extremely short pay-back times from IT investments.The explanation for the homogeneity in financial items might be because of the pace of change and invention in the field of IT. As a result of the rapid pace of change in IT, organizations need to always keep up with budgets and investments into IT to derive the full benefits from IT. To be able to stay ahead of economic cycle changes, IT managers in particular and managers in general should continually scan the business environment for signals of economic cycle changes and subsequently implement pro-grams and policies to effectively mitigate the effects of economic cycle changes on their busi-nesses

Waste Epoxy Modified Iron Oxide-Polymer Composite Pellets: Green Strength Development and Oxide Reactivity in Ironmaking Technology

The effect of waste epoxy blending with iron oxide-polymer composite pellets on mechanical compressive strength (crushing strength), nature of crushed pellets and extent of reduction of iron oxide in iron oxide-polymer composite pellet has been investigated in the laboratory. The mechanical compressive strength (crushing strength) of self-reduced pellets modified with and without waste epoxy was determined using a universal mechanical test equipment INSTRON 3369 operating at load cell 50 KN and crosshead speed 2mm/min. Gas analysis of the offgas was conducted on thermal decomposition products at 1600 °C using a continuous infrared gas analyser, followed by reduction studies at 1200 and 1600 °C. It was observed that incorporating waste epoxy into the green pellets results in significant improvement in the crushing strength from around 0.2 kN to over 4.0 kN. Additionally, green pellets with waste epoxy did not suffer from catastrophic pulverisation that was observed for pellets without epoxy. Gas measurements by continuous infrared gas analyser revealed significant amounts of the gaseous reducing agents CO and CH4 and minor amounts of CO2 as the major gaseous products from thermal decomposition at 1600 °C. Finally, the presence of waste epoxy in the pellet resulted in significant improvement in the extent of reduction of Fe2O3 by raw palm nut shell (PNS) and charred palm nut shell (CPNS), with measured extent of reduction increasing from 43.6% to 92.7% and from 63.3% to 96.9% at 35% replacement of PNS and CPS, respectively. Keywords: Waste Epoxy, Palm Nut Shells, Composite Pellets, Compressive Strength, Extent of Reductio

Production of Metallic Iron from the Pudo Magnetite Ore using End-of-Life Rubber Tyre as Reductant: The Role of an Underlying Ankerite Ore as a Fluxing Agent on Productivity

This research work investigated the nature of a nonmagnetic ore from Pudo in the Upper West Region of Ghana and its fluxing effect on the extent of reduction of the Pudo titaniferous magnetite ore using pulverised samples of charred carbonaceous materials generated from end-of-life vehicle tyres (ELT) as reductants. Reduction studies were conducted on composite pellets of the Pudo titaniferous magnetite iron ore containing fixed amounts of charred ELT and varying amounts (0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) of the nonmagnetic fluxing material in a domestic microwave oven and the extent of reduction was calculated after microwave irradiation for 40 minutes. Analyses by XRF, SEM/EDS and XRD of the nonmagnetic ore revealed an Ankerite type of ore of the form Ca0.95Fe0.95Mn0.1 (CO3)2. From the microwave reduction studies it was observed that premium grade metallic iron could be produced from appropriate blends of the Pudo iron ores using ELT as reductant, with a measured extent of reduction up to 103.8%. Further, the extent of reduction was observed to increase with an increase in the amount of the nonmagnetic fluxing material (Ankerite) that was added as fluxing agent.   Keywords: Ankerite, End-of-life Rubber Tyres, Fluxing Agent, Extent of Reductio

Production of Iron Nuggets from the Akpafu-Todzi Iron Ore and Artisanal Ferrous Slag using Post Consumer Thermosets (Waste Electrical Sockets) as Reductants

AbstractPost-consumer thermosets are difficult to recycle because, unlike thermoplastics, they cannot be remoulded to create other items as a result of the extensive cross-linkages in their structure. The increased production of thermoset blends and composites in recent years has greatly increased the amount of waste materials. However, higher levels of carbon and hydrogen present in thermosets make them a potential reductant in the iron extractive industries. In this research work, postconsumer thermoset was transformed into carbon resource through a charring process. The resulting carbonaceous material from the thermoset was used as reductant in the production of metallic iron from the Akpafu-Todzi iron ore and artisanal slag using the microwave technology through the composite pellet approach at varying firing times. Analyses by XRF, XRD and SEM/EDS showed that the Akpafu Todzi iron ore is comprised of the iron oxides hematite (Fe2O3) and wustite (Fe0.942O), while the artisanal slag was predominantly fayalite (Fe2SiO4). Complete reduction of the ore was attained after 120 min reduction but the maximum extent of reduction was 78.84% for the slag, demonstrating the potential of postconsumer thermosets to function effectively as a reductant in the iron extractive industry. Keywords: Reduction; Akpafu-Todzi Iron Ore; Post Consumer Thermosets; Waste Electrical Socket

Recycling Mixed Plastics Waste as Reductant in Ironmaking

One of the major obstacles to the implementation of an appropriate plastics recycling scheme is the inhomogeneity of many plastics waste. Accordingly, most of the existing recycling schemes require a feedstock that is reasonably pure and contains only items made from a single polymer type. However, in reality, waste plastics contain a mixture of plastic types, and are often contaminated with non-plastic items. This demands sorting out, which is expensive and highly labour intensive. In this work, the reduction of reagent grade iron oxide by mixed plastic waste (MPW) has been investigated through experiments conducted in a laboratory scale horizontal tube furnace. Composite pellets of reagent grade iron oxide (97 % Fe2O3) with MPW [consisting of 50 wt % high density polyethylene (HDPE), 30% polypropylene (PP), 10% low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 10% polyethylene terephthalate (PET)] were rapidly heated at 1520°C under high purity argon gas and the off gas was continuously analysed for CO, CO2 and CH4 using an online infrared gas analyser (IR). The extent of reduction after ten minutes was determined for each carbonaceous reductant and the results were compared with the extent of reduction by conventional metallurgical coke under the same experimental conditions. The results show that iron oxide can be effectively reduced to produce metallic iron using MPW as reductant. An improvement in extent of reduction was observed over metallurgical coke and the individual polymers when MPW was used as reductant. This eliminates the need to sort out individual plastics from municipal solid waste for their effective utilisation as reductants in ironmaking.Keywords: Reduction, Metallurgical coke, Mixed plastics waste, Extent of reductio

Microwave Production of Manganese from Manganese (IV) Oxide using Postconsumer Polypropylene as Reductant

This work investigates the production of manganese metal from MnO2 by microwave irradiation using postconsumer polypropylene (PP) as reductant. Reagent grade MnO2 was first calcined to Mn3O4 followed by reduction with pulverised PP in a domestic microwave oven (Pioneer, Model PM-25 L, 1000 W, 2.45 GHz) in a recorded temperature range 900-1200 °C. Calcined and reduced products were characterised by XRD, XRF and SEM/EDX. The results showed that microwave irradiation is effective at calcining MnO2 to Mn3O4, evidenced by the complete disappearance of peaks of MnO2 and appearance of peaks of Mn3O4 after 40 minutes. SEM/EDX analysis revealed that calcined Mn3O4 was first transformed to MnO and later to manganese metal. The range of temperature achieved in the microwave oven was below the equilibrium temperature for MnO reduction by solid carbon and accordingly solid carbon produced from PP cannot be wholly responsible for the production of manganese metal. It is therefore concluded that the production of manganese metal observed in this investigation was effected with CH4 (generated from the thermal decomposition of PP) and solid amorphous carbon as the predominant reductants, with solid amorphous carbon providing the heat energy required for the reduction. The reduction of manganese oxides using postconsumer plastics as reductants is therefore a potential route for diverting plastics from landfill sites as well as decrease the amount of expensive metallurgical coke currently used in the ferromanganese process.Keywords: Microwave irradiation, Polypropylene, Calcination, Reduction, Manganes

Effect of waste plastics addition on the reduction of iron oxide by metallurgical coke

This work investigates the effect of waste plastics (high density polyethylene (HDPE)) addition on the production of premium grade iron nuggets from iron oxide using metallurgical coke as reducing agent. Composite pellets were formed from mixtures of iron oxide and carbonaceous materials consisting of coke, HDPE and three blends of coke-HDPE. The iron oxidecarbonaceous material composites were heated very rapidly in a laboratory scale horizontal tube furnace at 1500°C in a continuous stream of argon and the off gas was analysed continuously using an online infrared gas analyser and a gas chromatographic analyser. Elemental analyses of samples of the reduced metal were performed chemically for its carbon content and the extent of reduction was calculated based on a mass balance for removable oxygen. The results indicate that blending of coke with HDPE has the beneficial effect of improving the extent of reduction of iron oxide, with the time for complete reduction improving significantly from 600s (Coke) to 330s for Blends 1 and 2. Blending of coke with HDPE led to over 20% reduction in direct carbon dioxide emissions.Keywords: HDPE, coke, reduction, carburisation, iron oxid

Marrying Digital Performance Appraisal with Tutors’ Work Output: Evidence from Colleges of Education in Ghana

In this Digital Era teachers are required to develop professionalism in accordance with the development of time, science and technology, and the needs of society. Professional teachers should be able to understand the components of applicable educational concepts so as to appreciate the foundation and education policy, the development level of learners and learning approaches in accordance with the learning needs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of digital performance appraisal on teachers’ performance in Colleges of Education in Ghana. The study employed descriptive research design where simple random sample was used to choose 5 principals and 139 tutors from Colleges of Education in Ahafo and Bono regions of Ghana. Data for this study was collected using close-ended questionnaire. Data analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 25). The study results indicated that teachers’ appraisal processes are phenomenal in determining the performance of the teacher. The appraiser and appraisee need to be in collaboration in order to ensure the process is successfully undertaken. Communication is very essential on how the teachers’ appraisal is conducted and perceived. Training has the greatest influence on the appraisal of teachers which also affects significantly the performance of the teachers. Recommendations for further studies were made to address the study results found

MNCs and local microbusinesses at the bottom/base of pyramid (BoP) in Ghana:a fair deal or business as usual?

The bottom of pyramid (BoP) concept holds that multinational companies (MNCs) can profitably serve the needs of the poor and have the opportunity to invest in the BoP market to‘do good and do well’ simultaneously. This thesis contributes to BoP concept by challenging the notion that- MNCs and big companies are the initiators of BoP business models. Recent scholars cited NGOs, SMEs, and governments as initiators, without recognising the visible activities of microbusinesses in the developing economies such as Ghana. This project aims to understand the origins of BoP business models, examine both MNCs’ co-optation and offering more of MNCs and local microbusinesses’ activities in the BoP market of Ghana. It examines the how MNCs got interest to engage the poor microbusinesses in the BoP market. The research employed case study approach and explores how MNCs interact with the local microbusinesses in the BoP market, using so-called Gioia method for data analysis. The main result of the empirical research demonstrated the source of innovation in the BoP market as the microbusinesses and not MNCs and large companies. MNCs just identify gaps in the BoP market and then develop cost-effective solutions that often help to serve the market.The research examined a type of BoP strategy (co-optation) that was not wholly discussed in the BoP literature. BoP as a concept has become performative in Ghana as Pralahad’s proposition influenced MNCs’ managers to show interest in the BoP market

Sorption of Heavy Metals from Mine Wastewater by Activated Carbons Prepared from Coconut Husk

A study on sorption of heavy metal ions: Lead (Pb2+), Copper (Cu2+) and Cadmium (Cd2+) from mine wastewater by activated carbons prepared from coconut husk was conducted.  The activated carbons were prepared by carbonisation of the husk at 900 ºC pyrolysis temperature, followed by steam activation of the pyrolysis derived char. Activation was also performed at 900 ºC for various durations at steam addition rate of 0.2 mol/h/g in a Gas Fired Static Bed Pyrolysis-Activation Reactor. The derived activated carbons were contacted with mine wastewater containing heavy metal ions to assess their heavy metal ions adsorption potential. The results show that the activated carbons efficiently adsorbed the heavy metal ions from solution, reducing concentrations of  Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ from 1.56 mg/L, 1.87 mg/L and 0.69 mg/L respectively to below Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (GEPA) standards of  0.10 mg/L, 1.30 mg/L and 0.03 mg/L for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ respectively. The significances of this study are that, the conversion of the coconut husk to activated carbons provides a solution to environmental problems associated with dumping of the waste and also provides valuable products capable of reducing the effects of heavy metals in wastewater.  Keywords: Coconut Husk, Activated Carbon, Heavy Metal, Adsorptio