Meeting the cultural and service needs of Arabic international students by using QFD

Quality has become an important factor in global competition for many reasons. Intensive global competition and the demand for better quality by customers has led organizations to realize the benefits of providing quality products and services in order to successfully compete and survive. Higher education institutions are one example of these organisations. Higher education institutions work in an intensive competitive environment worldwide driven by increasing demands for learning by local and international students. As a result, the managers of these sectors have realized that improving the quality of services is important for achieving customer satisfaction which can help survival in an internationally competitive market. To do this, it is necessary for organizations to know their customers and identify their requirements. To this end, many higher education institutions have adopted principles of total quality management (TQM) to improve their education quality which leads to better performance through involvement of every department to achieve excellence in business. This chapter considers the importance of measuring quality in order to assist universities to proactively manage the design and improvement of the social and academic experiences of postgraduate international students, and plan management decision-making processes to deliver high-quality services in a globalized business of provision of higher education. Higher education institutions must operate effectively and efficiently and be able to deliver quality programs, by seeking to better understand the needs of their customers to be competitive in this market space

Effective utilisation of waste cooking oil in a single-cylinder diesel engine using alumina nanoparticles

Considering the rapid decline in the amount of fossil fuels and the large quantities of emissions they release into the atmosphere, which are responsible for global warming, researchers are looking for alternative sources of energy. Biodiesel is an alternative source that is suitable for use as an alternative to diesel and can result in a reduction in the level of pollutants released. It has been observed that trans-esterified cooking oil can be combusted in an internal combustion engine like different biofuels with no major adjustments. Recent studies have proved that with the addition of nanoadditives, the performance and emissions have a very good impact on the environment. In the present experimental study, trans-esterified vegetable oil was used as biodiesel, along with the addition of nanoadditives (alumina) to diesel, and the outcomes were compared with baseline diesel operation. The nanoadditive was blended in the fuel mixture alongside an appropriate surfactant. Various blends were made and used for this investigation. Performance, emission and combustion parameters were studied using a single-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine at various loads, keeping a constant compression ratio of 18. Due to the availability of oxygen in the biodiesel and the better blending capacities of the nanoparticles, it was observed that there was a reduction in the opacity, CO and HC emissions; however, there was a small increment in NOx. It was also observed that the specific fuel consumption decreased with the increase in in-cylinder pressures. The outcomes showed that the addition of alumina in the diesel-biodiesel mixture has a positive overall effect on the environment