Preparation and caracterization of arcylated expoxidized soybean oil in the making of vegetable oil based – film / Farah Izati Ibrahim

The demand of bio-based coating has been greatly increased in order to solve the environmental issues. Petroleum-based coating is expensive, hard to recycle and all the sources come from non-renewable fossil fuel. Therefore, solution needed to overcome the problem. This study was carried to synthesize ESO to produce AESO film coating. The acrylation of epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) was successfully synthesized by introducing acrylic acid, which is an unsaturated monomer into oxirane groups of the epoxidized oil (ESO). Then, AESO has been reacted with trimethylolpropane triacrylate as monomer and 3-(Triethoxysilyl)-propylamine as the curing agent to produce AESO film with varying formulation of TMPTA: amine were 70:30, 50:50 and 30:70 respectively. The oxirane oxygen content, viscosity, FTIR and acid value were obtained to know the amount of unsaturation in the synthesized product. Based on the successfulness of esterification process, FTIR result showed the hydroxyl group that exists in the AESO structure at peak 3618 cm-1. In addition, the hydroxyl group presence in the AESO film for sample ratio with 30:70 at peak 3459.6 cm-1. The viscosity of AESO was found within desirable range and higher compared to ESO which were 835.96 cP and 329.62 cP. Moreover, the result revealed that AESO has lower VOC than AESO film which was 4%. In the pencil hardness result, AESO film with ratio 30monomer:70curing agent had high scratching resistance with pencil grade 2H and indicates that the film had better properties than the others. In overall, AESO is suitable to replace petroleum-based film and used as vegetable oil-based film

The Influence of Religiously Motivated Consumer Boycotts on Brand Image, Loyalty and Product Judgment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to examine the in!uence of religiously motivated boycotts, such as the one conducted in Saudi Arabia against Danish companies, on corporate brand image, customer loyalty and product judgment. Despite a growing research interest in understanding the effects of different types of consumer animosities on companies’ performance, there appears to be a scarcity of studies addressing the speci"c effects of religious animosity. Religious animosity is considered as an additional type which may have more stable and longer-term impacts than other animosities on behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on a two-stage design: an exploratory qualitative stage involving 11 in-depth interviews, followed by a more comprehensive quantitative stage designed to test a proposed theoretical model. Data was collected from Saudi customers of the Danish company Arla Foods in Saudi Arabia. Data was analysed using structural equation model (LISREL 8). Findings – The model con"rms that boycotting have strong negative impact on brand image and consumer loyalty but does not in!uence consumers’ product judgment. Practical implications – Religious boycotts have signi"cant consequences on both corporate pro"ts and brand image. The study provides clear steps for companies to combat the in!uence of religious boycotts especially in relation to brand image and customer loyalty. Originality/value – The study tested the in!uence of consumer religious boycotts on brand image and customer loyalty. Religious animosity was found to cause a more persistent boycott that negatively impacts brand image and weakens customer loyalty. However, by and large, boycotting was found not to have any signi"cant impact on product judgment

External Debt Stock and Economic Growth in Somalia (1990-2016)

Somalia has an estimated 5.5 billion dollars outstanding, due to many reasons, but the socio-economic indicators of the country show that it has contributed a little or almost nothing to the overall GDP, and continues to dwindle. Thus, this study investigates the relationship between the external debt stock and economic growth in Somalia (1990 to 2016) using the Error Correction Model (ECM). The Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Kwiatkowski- Phillips-Schmidt- Shin (KPSS) unit root tests were carried out on all variables to ascertain their stationarity in which all of them were found to be stationary at first difference. Co-integration results of Trace and Maximum Eigen-value showed that there is a long run relationship between external debt stock and economic growth in Somalia for the period 1990-2016. The ECM result showed that external debt stock negatively affects economic growth. This implies that when external debt increases economic growth reduces. Thus, the study concluded that the problem of high external debt stock is associated with inadequate debt management; borrowing for social and political reasons; poor performance of export sector to increase foreign exchange earnings, and lack of transparent loan cycles to make projects compete for the scarce resources. Based on the above-mentioned results, the study recommends that the government should further promote the rational and proper utilization of resources while increasing the concessional ability of newly acquired debt inflows. To this end, measures should be taken to encourage non-borrowed funds, such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), portfolio investment and non-government guaranteed private debts

External Debt Stock and Economic Growth in Somalia (1990-2016)

Somalia has an estimated 5.5 billion dollars outstanding, due to many reasons, but the socio-economic indicators of the country show that it has contributed a little or almost nothing to the overall GDP, and continues to dwindle. Thus, this study investigates the relationship between the external debt stock and economic growth in Somalia (1990 to 2016) using the Error Correction Model (ECM). The Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Kwiatkowski- Phillips-Schmidt- Shin (KPSS) unit root tests were carried out on all variables to ascertain their stationarity in which all of them were found to be stationary at first difference. Co-integration results of Trace and Maximum Eigen-value showed that there is a long run relationship between external debt stock and economic growth in Somalia for the period 1990-2016. The ECM result showed that external debt stock negatively affects economic growth. This implies that when external debt increases economic growth reduces. Thus, the study concluded that the problem of high external debt stock is associated with inadequate debt management; borrowing for social and political reasons; poor performance of export sector to increase foreign exchange earnings, and lack of transparent loan cycles to make projects compete for the scarce resources. Based on the above-mentioned results, the study recommends that the government should further promote the rational and proper utilization of resources while increasing the concessional ability of newly acquired debt inflows. To this end, measures should be taken to encourage non-borrowed funds, such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), portfolio investment and non-government guaranteed private debts

PERAN MEDIASI DALAM MENANGGULANGI ANGKA PERCERAIAN DI PENGADILAN AGAMA WONOSOBO TAHUN 2012

Mediasi merupakan proses penyelesaian suatu sengketa yang dibantu pihak ketiga melalui suatu perundingan atau pendekatan mufakat antara kedua belah pihak, dimana orang yang menjadi penengah suatu sengketa menurut Peraturan Mahkamah Agung PERMA disebut mediator. Dengan meningkatnya perceraian di Pengadilan Agama Wonosobo peran mediasi sangat dibutuhkan untuk mengurangi penumpukkan perkara. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan bagaimana peran/efektifitas praktik mediasi dalam mengatasi jumlah perkara yang semakin meningkat, dan apakah praktik tersebut sudah sesuai dengan konsep hakam dan Hukum Islam. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa peran / efektifitas pelaksanaan mediasi di PA Wonosobo pada tahun 2012 masih kurang berhasil atau kurang maksimal. Hal tersebut disebabkan dua hal, baik dari aspek PA (hakim) maupun dari aspek para pihak yang berperkara. Dari aspek hakim dari sebelas hakim yang bertugas di PA Wonosobo hanya satu orang yang sudah mengikuti pelatihan mediasi (bersertifikat). Sedangkan dari para pihak yang berperkara yaitu banyaknya perkara verstek, serta para pihak yang belum memahami pentingnya mediasi disamping hal tersebut diperkuat oleh motifasi dari para pihak yang berperkara hanya untuk bercerai saja, disamping bila rumah tangganya diteruskan hanya mendatangkan kemadhorotan, sehingga perkara gugatan perceraian dikabulkan. Praktik mediasi di PA Wonosobo tahun 2012 tersebut sudah sesuai dengan konsep hakam dalam Hukum Islam.

Urgenda vs. Juliana: Lessons for Future Climate Change Litigation Cases

In recent years, climate change litigation has increased but many of these cases have failed to achieve their stated objective(s) of legally coercing states to combat global warming. Nevertheless, more recent rulings have signaled a shifting momentum in favor of climate activists, gaining significant international attention. Among these rulings are two cases out of the Netherlands and the United States (U.S.)––Urgenda and Juliana. The former is considered a great success, given the Dutch state’s mandate to meet and increase its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The latter is considered a case to build upon, given that the presiding U.S. judge dismissed the case. This article seeks to answer the following question: what lessons may be learned from the success of Urgenda, and the failure of Juliana, for future climate change litigation? The authors highlight two key factors that play vital roles in climate change litigation: the specificity to which the state is coerced to pursue strict environmental regulation and judicial activism affected by the types of demands made by the plaintiffs

Strategies to Minimise the Impact of COVID-19 on the Construction Industry: A Case Study of Construction Site Clusters in Malaysia

Malaysia has seen the third wave of infection since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with approximately 103 construction sites involving over 14,667 workers reported from April 2020 to February 2021. This has led to limited progress in construction projects or a complete halt, resulting in late project delivery. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the spread of COVID-19 and the strategies taken by the affected construction sites to mitigate the spread of the outbreak. The researchers adopted a case study approach with a multiple-case design and discusses the use of an in-depth interviewing method to collect rich data on the studied phenomenon. Data were collected from three construction sites. The sites were mixed development projects in nature and provided in-depth, rigorous, and robust information. Based on the results, two categories of factors influencing the spread of COVID-19 were established. These are primary and secondary factors, such as workers’ mobilisation, uncontrolled movement of workers, and the limited practice of social distancing. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the strategies adopted to control the effects of the pandemic were a combination of government enforcement and initiatives taken by construction companies. This paper concludes that an early identification of the causes of the spread will enable appropriate implementation strategies to control the outbreak. This study is an attempt to present the experiences of one developing country as an example of a means of dealing with unexpected pandemics or other intractable diseases that can affect project delivery

Challenges of sustaining urban water supply for rapidly growing post war city: case study of Hargeisa City

Over 65% of the estimated one million people in Somaliland capital city of Hargeisa are currently relying on water trucking from unprotected and poorly maintained water sources around Hargeisa for daily water use and the poorest families spend almost 5 times more than others who have access to main water due to the high price of the trucked water. Hence, the Hargeisa urban water supply upgrading project is currently underway to replace the tumbledown and inadequate water infrastructure that was constructed 1970s to supply what was a city of 180,000 inhabitants. The project is principally funded by the European Union with supplementary fund from the Somaliland Development Fund and World Bank/WSP in partnership with the Hargeisa Water Agency and UN- Habitat. Therefore, this paper is examining the challenges that the poor resourced Hargeisa Water Agency (HWA) will face for managing the improved Hargeisa water supply system beyond the current large-scale water supply upgrading project

iPad2 Logical Acquisition: Automated or Manual Examination?

Due to their usage increase worldwide, iPads are on the path of becoming key sources of digital evidence in criminal investigations. This research investigated the logical backup acquisition and examination of the iPad2 device using the Apple iTunes backup utility while manually examining the backup data (manual examination) and automatically parsing the backup data (Lantern software - automated examination). The results indicate that a manual examination of the logical backup structure from iTunes reveals more digital evidence, especially if installed application data is required for an investigation. However, the researchers note that if a quick triage is needed of an iOS device, then automated tools provide a faster method for obtaining digital evidence from an iOS device. The results also illustrate that the file names in the backup folders have changed between iOS 3 and iOS 4. Lastly, the authors note the need for an extensible software framework for future automated logical iPad examination tools. Keywords: iPad, forensics, logical backup, iOS, manual examination

Characterization of Screen Printed Ag-PDMS Flexible Electrode for Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)

Electrical Stimulation is vital for maintaining muscle tone and strength particularly in improving muscle conditions. However, commonly used electrodes for muscle stimulation are flat, solid and have a fixed curvature and therefore cannot conform to the surface of the body. In this paper, a newly developed silver (Ag)- Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) flexible electrode for electrical muscle stimulation was developed. The electrodes were fabricated using screen printing for both single and array designs. The Ag-PDMS composite was developed to allow electrode pattern to be transferred properly on the PDMS substrate because due to same material property.Subsequently, the Ag-PDMS sheet resistance (R) which related to the conductivity of the electrode, was characterized. The R increases each time strain was given to the substrate (0.1cm in each test) with the initial value of 0.7Ω and 75Ω for single and array electrode respectively.To evaluate the functionalities of the electrodes, the Mechanomyogram (MMG) signals were measured by using an equipment called USBamp and a commercial Electrical Muscle Stimulator. Results show that the functionality of the fabricated single electrodes were comparable to the commercial one