Optimization cane traction output from hopper in full-automatic sugarcane planters by using response surface modeling and analytical hierarchy process

Agriculture mechanization plays a significant economic role by increasing agriculture production and reducing cost of cultivation.  There is a dire need to develop more processing machinery for value addition of agricultural produce with a reduction in time and labour.  The planting operation is one of the most important tasks that sugarcane growers undertake.  It should result in a plant stand at the desired density that emerges quickly and uniformly.  Austoft sugarcane planter was studied and the CAD model for metering device was simulated with Catia software.  Main components of this machine are hopper, metering device, and basis.  Multiple regression and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were applied to data for investigating the effect of angle and speed of sugarcane billet metering device on discharging and precision indices.  The speed of metering device had more effect than angle on both performance indices.  Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) used to match the best operation condition for discharging billets from hopper.  The angle of 80° and speed of 1 m s-1 was the best suited condition for sugarcane billet metering device with 98.64% for precision index and 4.2 billets in per second for discharging index. A consistency ratio evaluation value of 0.1 confirmed the results.   Keywords: sugarcane, planters, AHP, mechanization agriculture, RSM, computer aided design (CAD)

Open and Closed Systems in Data Analysis Entropy.

This dissertation presents an efficient and integrated approach to data analysis. Entropy data analysis is an evolution of reconstructability analysis, which investigates the relationships between parts and wholes. The central theme of the dissertation is the development of a system to condense the information in a data set into a small number of parameters. The new system is called a k-system. k-system analysis goes beyond traditional data analysis in that it has the potentiality for changes to be made to a system; and the impact of these changes can be evaluated. k-system can be useful in designing and evaluating open and closed systems. The behavior of these systems is measured by the k(.) function. The k-system is a closed system. The concept of open comes about when we try to reconstruct the k-system starting with an empty system which contains no information. We add information until we are satisfied that this constructed system adequately reproduces the k-system. The dissertation will identify and isolate the mathematics in the k-system algorithms that determine an open or closed system. It will change the algorithms to offer the option of an open or closed system, and then implement these changes in the k-system algorithms for option of an open or closed system

How Does She Learn English? A Case of a Successful Blind Language Learner

This study reports on a case study of a blind EFL learner. The purpose of the study was to explore a detailed situated data to examine to what extent it is feasible to be a successful language learner despite being visually impaired and lacking some learning resources.  Interview data and the narratives of this EFL learner have revealed that her success was mainly based on her agentic interaction with the environment and learning context, her high motivation and strategic behavior, and her sustained efforts. The findings provide further insight into the role of learner in exerting control over contextual resources that frame learning and on how different factors interact with each other in the language learning process in the construction of learner identity and the strategies used by learners

Beliefs and Practices of EFL Instructors in Teaching Pronunciation

Pronunciation teaching and learning have stimulated a renewed interest among second language acquisition (SLA) researchers in the past few years. To pursue this line of inquiry, this study set out to investigate the beliefs and practices of Iranian EFL teachers on pronunciation teaching. Convenience sampling was employed to recruit 74 participants who completed a pronunciation teaching and learning questionnaire. Interviews were also conducted with volunteered participants. The results revealed that 57% of the respondent teachers mostly worked on suffixes such as the -ed and -s endings always or often in their classrooms. The second most frequently taught feature was word stress (54%), followed by syllable structure, which 53% of the teachers often or always taught. Drama and role-play were the most common strategies often or always used by 49% of the teachers in teaching pronunciation. In addition, interviews with participant teachers revealed that the most common classroom activities were imitation and repetition. Finally, although most participants emphasized the need to teach pronunciation, they did not consider themselves highly qualified. They indicated an insatiable desire for more pronunciation training in teacher education programs to use opportunistic teaching and integrated phases to teach pronunciation. Most of the teachers did not teach pronunciation as a separate lesson since the school curriculum, the pre-specified book, and the time limitation did not let them focus on pronunciation as a separate lesson

Beliefs and Practices of EFL Instructors in Teaching Pronunciation

Pronunciation teaching and learning have stimulated a renewed interest among second language acquisition (SLA) researchers in the past few years. To pursue this line of inquiry, this study set out to investigate the beliefs and practices of Iranian EFL teachers on pronunciation teaching. Convenience sampling was employed to recruit 74 participants who completed a pronunciation teaching and learning questionnaire. Interviews were also conducted with volunteered participants. The results revealed that 57% of the respondent teachers mostly worked on suffixes such as the -ed and -s endings always or often in their classrooms. The second most frequently taught feature was word stress (54%), followed by syllable structure, which 53% of the teachers often or always taught. Drama and role-play were the most common strategies often or always used by 49% of the teachers in teaching pronunciation. In addition, interviews with participant teachers revealed that the most common classroom activities were imitation and repetition. Finally, although most participants emphasized the need to teach pronunciation, they did not consider themselves highly qualified. They indicated an insatiable desire for more pronunciation training in teacher education programs to use opportunistic teaching and integrated phases to teach pronunciation. Most of the teachers did not teach pronunciation as a separate lesson since the school curriculum, the pre-specified book, and the time limitation did not let them focus on pronunciation as a separate lesson

A simple method to create superhydrophobic aluminium surfaces

Superhydrophobic surfaces were prepared using a very simple and low-cost method by spray coating. A high static water contact angle of about 154° was obtained by deposition of stearic acid on an aluminium alloy. However, this coating demonstrated a high contact angle hysteresis (~ 30º). On the other hand, superhydrophobic surfaces with a static contact angle of about 162º and 158º, and a low contact angle hysteresis of about 3º and 5º were respectively obtained by incorporating nanoparticles of SiO2 and CaCO3 in stearic acid. The excellent resulting hydrophobicity is attributed to the synergistic effects of micro/nanoroughness and low surface energy. A study of the wettability of these surfaces at temperatures ranging from 20 to-10 ºC showed that the superhydrophobic surface becomes rather hydrophobic at supercooled temperatures