Factors affecting academic performance of international students in project management courses : a case study from a British Post 92 University

Original article can be found at : http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Copyright ElsevierThe aim of study is to investigate the factors affecting the academic performance of international students in Project Management courses. To achieve this aim, a conceptual framework including three categories of factors: (i) Teaching Style, (ii) English Language and Communication and (iii) Assessment Methods was developed and empirically tested on a sample of international students from a British Post 92 University. The results suggest that the factors: level of details given in lectures, speed of lectures, academic internet sources, English Language skills, group or individual assessment, the qualitative/quantitative content of assessment are important drivers of the academic performance of international students in Project ManagementPeer reviewe

Financial liquidity, geopolitics, and oil prices

This paper aims simultaneously to study the global dynamic relationship of oil prices, financial liquidity, and geopolitical risk, on the one hand, and the economic performance of oil-exports-dependent economies on the other. Global and country-specific dynamics are studied together in a Global Vector Autoregression (GVAR) model that allows different lag structures for different variables in different countries. Global impulse response functions from the estimated model suggest that new waves of high oil prices are unlikely, despite the likely continuation of high global financial liquidity and heightened geopolitical risk, which had driven earlier episodes of very high oil prices. With oil remaining at modest to low prices by recent historical standards, we study the prospects for economic growth in oil-export-dependent economies through dramatic increases in domestic investment, as planned under Visions 2030 of some Arab countries, and conclude that, unfortunately, success is unlikely

Antecedents of war: the geopolitics of low oil prices and decelerating financial liquidity

We investigate the joint dynamics of oil prices, financial liquidity and geopolitical risk, within a multi-country global vector autoregressive model. We find that low oil prices are expected to trigger higher levels of geopolitical risk and that decelerating financial liquidity serves as an accelerator

White elephants on quicksand: Low oil prices and high geopolitical risk

We investigate the effects of low oil prices and heightened geopolitical risks on economic growth and investment in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. We find that negative shocks to oil prices and positive shocks to geopolitical risk have adverse effects on GDP and investment. Moreover, we find that the impact of investment on GDP in MENA countries is muted when oil prices are low and/or geopolitical risk level is high. These findings cast doubts on the prospects of mega-project economic transformation plans as envisioned in 2030 visions for several MENA countries

Environmental fatigue of polymers-- a fracture mechanics approach

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Theoretical And Experimental Studies On The Instability Of Charged Liquid Drops

To be able to properly predict the breakup of highly charged liquid droplets, a complete understanding of their behavior at the Rayleigh limit is necessary. An analytical model has been developed for a conductive spherical drop charged to its Rayleigh limit which predicts the final state just after the breakup for both single and multi-sibling disintegrations. The numerical analysis of this model involves scanning all the possible radii of the sibling droplets and ensuring that the solutions satisfy the conservation of energy and Rayleigh limit criteria. For a drop unaffected by any external force, the results of this model show that the most probable disintegration satisfies the single sibling breakup. The sibling, under such conditions, carries about 25% of the initial mass and 40% of the initial charge. The results also show that the difference between the final energy, calculated at different sibling mass ratios, and the minimum final energy is very small for a very wide range of sibling mass ratios (0.1 to 0.9) and thus can be easily affected by any external force to produce a multi-sibling disintegration. For the multi-sibling case, the model assumes tree-like secondary breakups which lead to a residual drop and n siblings of different sizes and charges. The results of this model show good agreement with the experimental observations of many other investigators. The numerical results also show that the single sibling exists for all the values of sibling mass ratios greater than 11.1%. For all the values less than this, the multi-sibling disintegration is favoured. This has been verified experimentally by collecting water droplets after their breakup on water sensitive paper and then examining their traces with a microscope.;Since the Rayleigh limit is only valid for spherical droplets unaffected by any external force, general equations describing the drop stability have been derived for both prolate and oblate spheroidal shapes. From the analytical evaluation of these equations, it was concluded that the Rayleigh limit is only valid for small droplet sizes (R {dollar}\u3c{dollar} 50 {dollar}\mu{dollar}m) and for very low levels of external forces. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.

Improving Traffic Safety And Drivers\u27 Behavior In Reduced Visibility Conditions

This study is concerned with the safety risk of reduced visibility on roadways. Inclement weather events such as fog/smoke (FS), heavy rain (HR), high winds, etc, do affect every road by impacting pavement conditions, vehicle performance, visibility distance, and drivers’ behavior. Moreover, they affect travel demand, traffic safety, and traffic flow characteristics. Visibility in particular is critical to the task of driving and reduction in visibility due FS or other weather events such as HR is a major factor that affects safety and proper traffic operation. A real-time measurement of visibility and understanding drivers’ responses, when the visibility falls below certain acceptable level, may be helpful in reducing the chances of visibility-related crashes. In this regard, one way to improve safety under reduced visibility conditions (i.e., reduce the risk of visibility related crashes) is to improve drivers’ behavior under such adverse weather conditions. Therefore, one of objectives of this research was to investigate the factors affecting drivers’ stated behavior in adverse visibility conditions, and examine whether drivers rely on and follow advisory or warning messages displayed on portable changeable message signs (CMS) and/or variable speed limit (VSL) signs in different visibility, traffic conditions, and on two types of roadways; freeways and two-lane roads. The data used for the analyses were obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among 566 drivers in Central Florida, USA. Several categorical data analysis techniques such as conditional distribution, odds’ ratio, and Chi-Square tests were applied. In addition, two modeling approaches; bivariate and multivariate probit models were estimated. The results revealed that gender, age, road type, visibility condition, and familiarity with VSL signs were the significant factors affecting the likelihood of reducing speed following CMS/VSL instructions in reduced visibility conditions. Other objectives of this survey study were to determine the content of messages that iv would achieve the best perceived safety and drivers’ compliance and to examine the best way to improve safety during these adverse visibility conditions. The results indicated that Caution-fog ahead-reduce speed was the best message and using CMS and VSL signs together was the best way to improve safety during such inclement weather situations. In addition, this research aimed to thoroughly examine drivers’ responses under low visibility conditions and quantify the impacts and values of various factors found to be related to drivers’ compliance and drivers’ satisfaction with VSL and CMS instructions in different visibility and traffic conditions. To achieve these goals, Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approaches were adopted. The results revealed that drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS was the most significant factor that positively affected drivers’ compliance with advice or warning messages displayed on VSL/CMS signs under different fog conditions followed by driver factors. Moreover, it was found that roadway type affected drivers’ compliance to VSL instructions under medium and heavy fog conditions. Furthermore, drivers’ familiarity with VSL signs and driver factors were the significant factors affecting drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS advice under reduced visibility conditions. Based on the findings of the survey-based study, several recommendations are suggested as guidelines to improve drivers’ behavior in such reduced visibility conditions by enhancing drivers’ compliance with VSL/CMS instructions. Underground loop detectors (LDs) are the most common freeway traffic surveillance technologies used for various intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications such as travel time estimation and crash detection. Recently, the emphasis in freeway management has been shifting towards using LDs data to develop real-time crash-risk assessment models. Numerous v studies have established statistical links between freeway crash risk and traffic flow characteristics. However, there is a lack of good understanding of the relationship between traffic flow variables (i.e. speed, volume and occupancy) and crashes that occur under reduced visibility (VR crashes). Thus, another objective of this research was to explore the occurrence of reduced visibility related (VR) crashes on freeways using real-time traffic surveillance data collected from loop detectors (LDs) and radar sensors. In addition, it examines the difference between VR crashes to those occurring at clear visibility conditions (CV crashes). To achieve these objectives, Random Forests (RF) and matched case-control logistic regression model were estimated. The results indicated that traffic flow variables leading to VR crashes are slightly different from those variables leading to CV crashes. It was found that, higher occupancy observed about half a mile between the nearest upstream and downstream stations increases the risk for both VR and CV crashes. Moreover, an increase of the average speed observed on the same half a mile increases the probability of VR crash. On the other hand, high speed variation coupled with lower average speed observed on the same half a mile increase the likelihood of CV crashes. Moreover, two issues that have not explicitly been addressed in prior studies are; (1) the possibility of predicting VR crashes using traffic data collected from the Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) sensors installed on Expressways and (2) which traffic data is advantageous for predicting VR crashes; LDs or AVIs. Thus, this research attempts to examine the relationships between VR crash risk and real-time traffic data collected from LDs installed on two Freeways in Central Florida (I-4 and I-95) and from AVI sensors installed on two vi Expressways (SR 408 and SR 417). Also, it investigates which data is better for predicting VR crashes. The approach adopted here involves developing Bayesian matched case-control logistic regression using the historical VR crashes, LDs and AVI data. Regarding models estimated based on LDs data, the average speed observed at the nearest downstream station along with the coefficient of variation in speed observed at the nearest upstream station, all at 5-10 minute prior to the crash time, were found to have significant effect on VR crash risk. However, for the model developed based on AVI data, the coefficient of variation in speed observed at the crash segment, at 5-10 minute prior to the crash time, affected the likelihood of VR crash occurrence. Argument concerning which traffic data (LDs or AVI) is better for predicting VR crashes is also provided and discussed

Evaluation of Double Mesh Modification of Chevrel’s Technique in Management of Midline Incisional Hernia

Background: Chevrel’s technique provides tensionfree repair of midline incisional hernia, but wide skin and subcutaneous dissection increases rate of complications. Here, we evaluate the double mesh modification of Chevrel’s technique in midline incisional hernia repair. Methods: 22 patients with midline incisional hernia underwent double mesh modification of Chevrel’s technique. After excision of hernial sac with minimal dissection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, the anterior rectus sheath is incised on both sides to create medial flaps that are sutured toeach other. Both recti abdominis muscles were dissected off the posterior rectus sheath, opening the retrorectus space. Prolene mesh was fixed in the retrorectus space with prolene sutures, and tailored to cover the bare area of anterior surface of both recti muscles and fixed to the lateral flaps of the anterior rectus sheath with interrupted prolene sutures. Results: We observed no recurrences, no skin necrosis, two cases of seroma, one case of superficial wound infection and one case of temporarychronic pain. Conclusion: Double mesh modification of Chevrel technique is an efficient method for treatment of midline incisional hernia, with minimal surgical site occurrences. Keywords: Chevrel technique, Double mesh technique, Midline incisional herni