A Study on the Deterring Factors to Entrepreneurship among Graduates of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Case Study in Bushehr, Iran

The purpose of this research was to study deterring factors to entrepreneurship among graduates of agriculture and natural resources. A survey approach was used in this research. The statistical population included ninety eight graduates of agriculture and natural resources who are working in private or governmental business units in the province of Bushehr, Iran. A questionnaire was developed to interview the subjects of the study of which the validity and reliability were estimated based on the opinions of a panel of experts and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient respectively. The results indicated that among personality factors, low self-confidence and low spirit of independence were the most important deterring factors to entrepreneurship. The results also revealed that a weak relation between university and business environment, insufficient practical and theoretical education, high risk of investment in the agriculture, and legal and administrative restrictions were the most important environmentally deterring factors. Based on this research finding, male graduates had a higher spirit of opportunity recognition and independence than female graduates

Compressive Strength of Lightweight Concrete

This chapter has been prepared with the hope that its readers will become interested in lightweight concrete (LWC). Therefore, after a brief background of lightweight concrete, different types of LWC will be introduced and then LWC made of lightweight aggregates (LWA) will be specifically discussed. Compressive strength and density of LWC are the main points of interest in this chapter. In addition to conventional compression test, a nondestructive test (NDT) method will be used to assess the compressive strength of a variety of lightweight concrete mixes. A case study has been designed and conducted including an experimental program on the LWC made of expanded glass aggregate. The experimental program includes about 150 specimens, incorporating different unit weight for the entire specimens. In the end, it can be observed that the properties of LWC depend on the properties of the used LWA, and therefore for each specific type of lightweight aggregate, a brand new equation will be required for prediction of concrete compressive strength. The author hopes that the present chapter and the discussed case study on LWC would attract the attention of researchers to the importance of LWC in the future of construction industry

Copper-gold ore processing with ion exchange and SART technology

Anglo Asian Mining has developed a 50,000 oz Au/yr open pit gold mine at Gedabek in Western Azerbaijan. The deposit at Gedabek is a copper-gold porphyry, comprising both oxide and sulphide ore mineralisation, which is being mined at the rate of about 1 million tons of ore per year. Ore processing is by conventional cyanide heap leaching, which produces a pregnant leach solution (PLS) containing 1-2 ppm of gold, together with 1000 ppm or more of copper. The PLS is treated by column ion exchange, using Dows gold-selective MINIX resin. Loaded resin is stripped with an acidic thiourea solution, from which gold and silver are electrowon on to stainless steel mesh cathodes. Copper concentrations in the leach solutions are controlled by passing part of the PLS flow through a SART process, where the acronym stands for Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling and Thickening . The product from the SART process is a copper/silver sulphide precipitate, which is thickened, filtered and dried and then sold for copper smelting. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Modeling collaborative learning: case of clinical reasoning

Background: Collaborative learning is an important pedagogical strategy which gained a huge interest in critical domains such as the medical field. However, to ensure the quality of this learning method, it is necessary to focus intention not only on the cognitive aspect but also on the social activities that represent an essential issue during collaborative learning sessions. Our objective in this study is to highlight the collaborative aspect in the group learning method of clinical reasoning. Methods: In this work, we have focused on cognitive studies that are interested in the clinical reasoning processes, while proposing a model dedicated to the design of collaborative clinical reasoning learning environment in synchronous mode. This model is primarily interested in social activities that have a strong influence on the collaborative learning effectiveness, and they are generally treated implicitly by basing on the improvisation and spontaneity of the learners group. Results: The research idea was embodied through a collaborative learning clinical reasoning environment based on Web 2.0 technologies. We chose this technology to benefit from its ease of use and from its technical performances that can significantly contribute to the development of the cognitive and social aspects in the collaborative learning environment. Conclusion: Our first contact with medical students showed us that they are appreciating this learning method. Indeed, to evaluate objectively our choices reliability, we plan to accomplish this research with a quantitative study based on real experiences with clinicians and medical students. The suggested study will allow us to collect the necessary lessons to work in depth on the relevant questions concerning the cognitive and social activities in the collaborative clinical reasoning learning

Innovative Approach for Renewing Instructional Design Applied in the Context of e-Learning

This research aims to present an overview of an innovative approach for renewing instructional design by offering new form of research in e-learning design. Instructional innovations need to stand back and review the design of innovative components for e-learning system. We postulate in this chapter that the design of learning devices requires the design of complex multifaceted object which supports adaptive learning and lets learners bring into play their knowledge in order to carry out the prescribed tasks. Our approach is centred on the design of this complex object called pedagogical instrument, whose molecules are the smallest collection of the components retaining the properties of that material (according to the teaching intentions). The goal that we have set ourselves is to create the first specification of the micro-instructional engineering design. This specification aims at micro pedagogical technology which needs various types of competencies; our discussion implies that instructional innovation is better likely to succeed if it takes into account the actors, the constraints and the standards required to describe the tools allowing the integration of ICT

STR-877: FINITE-ELEMENT MODELING FOR FRP STRENGTHENING OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE BOX GIRDER BRIDGES BUILT BY CANTILEVER METHOD

Balanced cantilever construction is an economical method when access from below is expensive or practically impossible. In segmental balanced cantilever construction the precast segments are transported to the bridge construction site and placed and held at the right position before post-tensioning back to the rest of the bridge. As the construction stages go on, the statically determinate structure changes to a statically indeterminate one, which should be considered in the design process. Creep and shrinkage of concrete and relaxation of prestressing steel may lead to excess long-term deflection and may cause redistributions in internal forces and stresses. In the previous study (Hedjazi et. al.) a general simulation for time-dependent analysis of segmentally erected prestressed concrete box-girder bridges has been presented. A three dimensional finite-element model for the balanced-cantilever construction of segmental bridges, including effects of the load history, material nonlinearity, creep, shrinkage, and aging of concrete and relaxation of prestressing steel was developed using ABAQUS software. The analysis has shown significant changes in the values of deflections, longitudinal stresses and internal forces as a result of long-term effects of creep and shrinkage of concrete and relaxation of the prestressing steel which has led to new arrangement and the increase in the number of mid-span continuity cables. But some times, adding new cables or rearranging the cables in existing bridges, is impossible. In these cases strengthening of the deck is a fast and economical solution. The aim of this study is to analyze the structural behavior of prestressed concrete box girder bridges when strengthening with fiber reinforced polymer laminates (FRP). Three examples of prestressed concrete box-girder bridges segmentally-erected using the balanced-cantilever technique have previously discussed to demonstrate their long-term behavior under dead load and effects of live load at the end of construction and different ages up to a thousand days by performing nonlinear analysis up to failure. In the present study, same examples of prestressed concrete box-girder bridges is being strengthened using FRP laminates. A moment–curvature analysis was subsequently carried out to investigate the flexural characteristics of the prestressed concrete box-girder bridges prior to and after strengthening with CFRP laminates. The results shows that significant strength can be gained at the ultimate limit state. The increase in flexural resistance at ultimate does provide an adequate margin of safety against further overloading

Urban transitions and futures: a tale of governance, justice and security

This special edition of urbe is the product of an ongoing initiative of the University of Geneva, UCLA and City Environment Network (ICE°NET). Within this framework two colloquia gathered colleagues from academia government and the private sector to reβlect on the increasingly complex panorama of urban transformations across the planet. In 2007, a βirst group of academics and policymakers gathered in Geneva to address new sets of challenges that mid-size cities are increasingly being subject to. We then tracked signiβicant challenges that emerging dynamics of change in respect to the environment (i.e. climate change) and energy (patterns of production and consumption) are imposing on urban areas. In addition by raising the singularity of midsize cities in terms of adaptive policy formulation and monitoring, we identiβied new barriers and enablers to mitigate the impacts of those challenges. The discussions aimed to set preliminary readings of new urban transformative trajectories

STR-878: NUMERICAL MODELING FOR STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF BRIDGE DECK BARRIERS MADE OF FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Nonlinear finite-element (NLFE) analysis was used to compare and optimize the load transfer and failure mode of bridge barriers subjected to static transverse loads. Concrete is a material that needs strengthening in tension in order to meet the structural requirements. Studies have shown that the addition of steel fibers in a concrete matrix improves all the mechanical properties of concrete, especially tensile strength, impact strength, and toughness. The resulting material possesses higher tensile strength, consolidated response and better ductility. Although fiber reinforcement is a method that has been in use over the last few decades, yet it is unfamiliar to some practices, and there is no common guideline for design using this method. It is now well established that one of the important properties of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) is its superior resistance to cracking and crack propagation and also the fibers are able to hold the matrix together even after extensive cracking. In the present study, numerical finite-element analysis has been performed on selected bridge barriers with steel reinforcement, to compare the difference between barriers with normal and fiber reinforced concrete. The FE modeling was performed under static load testing with displacement control. The ultimate load carrying capacities for each barrier type was compared. The behaviors of FRC barriers with different amount of fibers were accurately simulated with NLFE models. Modifications were then made to FRC barriers to reduce the barrier wall thickness as well as the reinforcement arrangement. The present study shows reserved capacity of FRC barriers compared to their counterparts with normal concrete and steel reinforcement

The Sudden Death of a Pregnant Woman With Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Following a Legal Abortion: A Case Report

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) is characterized by left ventricular dysfunction and apical ballooning due to physical or mental stress in the absence of coronary artery disease. This transient heart disorder is rare in pregnancy. It may affect women of reproductive age.Case Presentation: The case was a 38-year-old woman in the first trimester of pregnancy with a history of TCM diagnosis one year ago, admitted to the hospital for a legal abortion. At the time of hospitalization, echo cardiography, echo cardiography, and clinical tests results were normal; however, due to stressful factors, such as the cancellation of the dilation & curettage (D&C) procedure, despite being transferred to the operating room (due to the absence of a gynecologist), receiving misoprostol for two consecutive days, the prolongation of surgery time, as well as the absence of a psychiatrist to reduce stress during the operation, suffered from recurrent TCM and eventually expired. In the autopsy, the cause of death was a massive pulmonary embolism.Conclusion: In pregnant women, there is a possibility of TCM recurrence due to changes in hormonal levels and emotional and physical stress caused by pregnancy. Therefore, when performing a surgical procedure such as D&C, a team consisting of gynecologists, cardiologists, and psychiatrists should be present to avoid dangerous complications such as sudden death