Biogas appliances in Sub-Sahara Africa

Acknowledgement The authors are grateful to DFID for the financial support granted through The New and Emerging Technologies Research Competition (NET-RC). We also want to thank numerous authors, staff at CREEC and Uganda Domestic program who work tirelessly to provide the know-how, books, articles on biogas technology whose works were made reference to.Peer reviewedPostprin

From Data Capture to Code Generation: Tools for Entity Modeling

The entity-relationship approach to conceptual modelling has long been at the heart of information systems design. Most automated tools and CASE environments created to support database design tend to start at the conceptual modelling stage. This assumes that somehow the analyst has been able to deduce, from the initial requirements specification, what entities are to form part of the system and how they are interrelated. We bring together in this paper two strands of our research to present a set of prototype tools to support the major stages of database design, starting with the tasks of document analysis and data capture, and progressing through to code generation. We conclude with a proposal for an integrated environment for database design

Determination of the potential impact of domestic Anaerobic Digester Systems: a community based research initiative in rural Bangladesh

Abstract : This research examines the potential impact of domestic anaerobic digester (AD) systems adopted in Bangladesh and similar developing countries. Cattle dung and poultry litter feed stocks were specifically investigated, because these were freely available and plentiful to people living within agricultural areas of rural Bangladesh. Data was collected to ascertain whether these two representative AD facility types provide tangible social, economic and environmental impact that benefits homeowners. Primary quantitative and qualitative data was obtained by field data collection, and meeting with expert groups and stakeholders. Empirical analysis conducted revealed that variations were found in the biomass feedstocks available on different sites but also differences were apparent in terms of the operations and maintenance (O and M) systems of the biogas plants operated. The biogas and methane yield variation was also measured, and variations were found in the cattle dung and poultry litter AD yield capacity. Overall, 64% of feedstock was utilised, 91% of biogas plants remain underfed and energy yield efficiency was 57% from cattle smallholdings’ AD and 28% from poultry farms’ AD. These results showed that small scale AD can offer a significant impact upon rural lifestyles through augmented economics, improved social activities, relationship building with neighbours and improved lifestyle achieved via time savings accrued. These results could help rural entrepreneurs, AD equipment providers and government institutions to develop a road map to implement future AD installation on a much wider geographical scale

Book Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the authors;Projects & Investigations for Advanced Physics - reviewed by Tim HicksonWords, Science and Leaning - reviewed by Andrea PriceInteractions: Hotels - reviewed by Christine TwistletonTeaching Design and Technology - reviewed by David DickinsonWorking Technology - reviewed by Tim Fulfor

Determination of the Potential Impact of Domestic Anaerobic Digester Systems: A Community Based Research Initiative in Rural Bangladesh

This research examines the potential impact of domestic anaerobic digester (AD) systems adopted in Bangladesh and similar developing countries. Cattle dung and poultry litter feed stocks were specifically investigated, because these were freely available and plentiful to people living within agricultural areas of rural Bangladesh. Data was collected to ascertain whether these two representative AD facility types provide tangible social, economic and environmental impact that benefits homeowners. Primary quantitative and qualitative data was obtained by field data collection, and meeting with expert groups and stakeholders. Empirical analysis conducted revealed that variations were found in the biomass feedstocks available on different sites but also differences were apparent in terms of the operations and maintenance (O and M) systems of the biogas plants operated. The biogas and methane yield variation was also measured, and variations were found in the cattle dung and poultry litter AD yield capacity. Overall, 64% of feedstock was utilised, 91% of biogas plants remain underfed and energy yield efficiency was 57% from cattle smallholdings’ AD and 28% from poultry farms’ AD. These results showed that small scale AD can offer a significant impact upon rural lifestyles through augmented economics, improved social activities, relationship building with neighbours and improved lifestyle achieved via time savings accrued. These results could help rural entrepreneurs, AD equipment providers and government institutions to develop a road map to implement future AD installation on a much wider geographical scale

Cruise passengers' perceived value and willingness to recommend Valor percebido e disposição para recomendar por parte dos passageiros de cruzeiros

Abstract This paper evaluates cruise passengers perceived value, satisfaction and willingness to recommend a cruise to someone. Passengers aboard an underway ship cruising the Caribbean were surveyed. Regression analyses revealed that, not surprisingly, perceived value and service quality aboard the ship are key determinants of willingness to recommend a cruise to someone else. More interestingly, however, the quality of the food aboard the ship and the degree to which cruisers found the destinations to be relaxing were also significant indicators. Implications for future research and practical recommendations to cruise operators are discussed. Keywords: Cruise, perceived value, satisfaction, willingness to recommend. Resumo Este artigo avalia o valor percebido, a satisfação e a vontade de recomendar por parte dos passageiros de cruzeiro. Valor percebido, satisfação e vontade de recomendar um cruzeiro para alguém. Para o efeito foi aplicado um inquérito a passageiros bordo de um navio de cruzeiro nas Caraíbas. Análises de regressão revelaram que, não surpreendentemente, valor e serviço de qualidade percebida a bordo do navio são os principais determinantes da disposição de recomendar um cruzeiro a outra pessoa. Mais interessante, no entanto, a qualidade da comida a bordo e a medida em que os inquiridos consideraram os destinos relaxantes também foram indicadores significativos. Implicações para futuras pesquisas e recomendações práticas para os operadores de cruzeiros são discutidas. Palavras-chave: Cruzeiros, valor percebido, satisfação, disposição de recomendar

Evaluating the Potential of Rice Straw as a Co-digestion Feedstock for Biogas Production in Bangladesh

This research was done to evaluate the potential energy yield capacity of rice straw for anaerobic digestion (AD) as an alternative use of this material. Cattle markets were found to be a potential source that generates a significant amount of a mixture of 80% straw + 20% cattle dung. This waste rice straw/dung mix from cattle markets provides a good mixture with a much better C/N ratio than pure straw. This mix of straw and dung are often left in piles in the market for between 10 and 20 days, where they degrade naturally. Tests involving feeding this mixture into a domestic biogas plant showed that the biogas yield is 0.099 m3/kg feed stock with a methane content of 74.43%. . In the whole of Bangladesh there are 500 cattle markets, so their waste can produce about 35,000,000 MJ of energy through AD. A biogas plant will continue to generate biogas, even after daily feeding has been stopped, although the gas production and the methane content do reduce with time

Do cognitive impairments limit treatment gains in a standalone digital intervention for psychosis? A test of the digital divide

Digital mental health interventions, such as those provided by smartphone applications (apps), show promise as cost-effective approaches to increasing access to evidence-based psychosocial interventions for psychosis. Although it is well known that limited financial resources can reduce the benefits of digital approaches to mental healthcare, the extent to which cognitive functioning in this population could impact capacity to engage in and benefit from these interventions is less studied. In the current study we examined the extent to which cognitive functioning (premorbid cognitive abilities and social cognition) were related to treatment engagement and outcome in a standalone digital intervention for social functioning. Premorbid cognitive abilities generally showed no association with aggregated treatment engagement markers, including proportion of notifications responded to and degree of interest in working on app content, though there was a small positive association with improvements in social functioning. Social cognition, as measured using facial affect recognition ability, was unrelated to treatment engagement or outcome. These preliminary findings suggest that cognitive functioning is generally not associated with engagement or outcomes in a standalone digital intervention designed for and with people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.Accepted manuscrip

How did that interaction make you feel? The relationship between quality of everyday social experiences and emotion in people with and without schizophrenia

People with schizophrenia report positive emotion during social interactions in ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies; however, few of these studies examine the qualities of social interactions (e.g., intimacy) that may affect emotion experience. In the current EMA study, people with (n = 20) and without schizophrenia (n = 15) answered questions about the quality of their social interactions, including their emotion experiences. We also explored the relationship between EMA-reported social experiences and trait loneliness, negative symptoms, and social functioning. People with and without schizophrenia did not differ in EMA-reported proportion of time spent with others, extent of involvement during social interactions, intimacy of interactions, or average number of social interactions. Both people with and without schizophrenia reported more positive than negative emotion during social experiences. However, people with schizophrenia reported more loneliness, more severe negative symptoms, and impaired social functioning compared to people without schizophrenia. Further, specific qualities of social interactions (intimacy of interaction, involvement during interaction) were related to happiness during interactions only in people without schizophrenia. These results suggest that while people with and without schizophrenia report similar rates of in-the-moment social emotion experiences, the impact of social interaction quality on emotion may differ between groups.Published versio