Managerial Strategies to Sustain Small Auto Repair Businesses

Small auto repair business owners need strong operational skills; however, some lack expertise in managerial strategy. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify managerial strategies small auto repair business owners use to sustain businesses in Columbus, Ohio with respect to strategy, time management, and alteration of value chain services. Based on the Vroom expectancy theory of motivation, small auto repair business owners may use effectiveness and efficiency of business performance with particular emphasis on managerial strategic development and execution to enhance financial results and rewards. Data collection involved face-to-face, semistructured interviews with 5 small auto repair business owners. Analysis of the interview transcripts involved coding data to identify key themes. Themes that emerged from the study included effective managerial strategies for small auto repair business owners, business plans, initial challenges and addressing subsequent changes, education and certification, customer satisfaction and business knowledge, and financial analysis and reporting. Recommendations for enhanced small auto repair business ownership focus included adequate access to resources to achieve operational competence and achieve managerial success. Findings from this study might engender positive social change by providing owners of small auto repair businesses ways to improve planning processes and make prudent investments to ensure long-term, viable, and sustainable businesses

Assessment of Pollution Potential of Cyanide-Bearing Tailings Dam

This study ascertained the types of chemical species that are formed in tailings material of gold leaching plants and assessed their short and long term pollution potential capabilities. The results revealed that chemical, biochemical and geochemical reactions were occurring in the tailings material; producing complexed cyanides, bicarbonates and nitrates which accumulate with depth in the tailings material while ammonium, carbonate and sulphate ions decreased with depth. Heavy metal accumulation particularly Mn, Pb, Zn Cu, Fe were also observed to increase with depth. It was concluded that the cyanide bearing tailings material has short term pollution potential of free cyanides, ammonium ions, sulphates ions and a long term risk of, complexed cyanide, nitrate and increase in water hardness due to bicarbonate ion. Heavy metal pollution and a decrease in pH are also possible

Application of Discrete Element Methods to the Problem of Rock Bumps

This paper is a continuation of a previous paper by the authors. Applications of two discrete element methods (DEM) to several fields of geotechnics are discussed. The free hexagon element method is considered a powerful discrete element method, and is widely used in mechanics of granular media. It substitutes the methods for solving continuum problems. In order to complete the study, other discrete element methods are discussed. The second method starts with the classical particle flow code (PFC, which uses dynamic equilibrium), but we apply static equilibrium in our case. The second method is called the static particle flow code (SPFC). The numerical experiences and comparison with experimental results from scaled models are discussed

GABRIELLE ROY, MARIE-CLAIRE BLAIS ET ANNE HÉBERT : CONVERGENCES ET DIVERGENCES ENTRE TROIS OPTIQUES FÉMINISTES LITTÉRAIRES

This thesis examines the similarities and differences in the treatment of women in three novels by Gabrielle Roy, Marie-Claire Blais and Anne Hébert. Our objective was to compare the feminist preoccupations of these three 20th Century female writers through the study of three novels: Roy’s Bonheur d’occasion (1945), Blais’ Une saison dans la vie d’Emmanuel (1965), and Hébert’s Les Fous de Bassan (1982) all of which take place between 1936 and 1940 and explore various female characters as well as the family dynamics which define their matrilineal inter-generational relationships and, ultimately, their struggles and place in the world. Published roughly 20 years apart, the three novels provided us with an opportunity to examine the influence of the date of publication on the feminist priorities and perspectives of each writer as well as on their stylistic and narrative choices

A Framework Towards Technology Creation in Africa: Focusing on Ghana

Underdevelopment in Africa has been historical and a global concern coupled with the quest for good governance. Several efforts have been made in academia, national governments, the international community, and other institutional arrangements to reverse the trend. These efforts however are yet to produce a lasting result as Africa is still characterized by low productivity output, poverty and a widening technology gap when compared to other developing regions of the world. Conventional approaches used to address the African problem have consistently been devoid of indigenous technology development. Technology is here seen as paramount to every form of production on which an economy is based. This study is therefore aimed at developing a sustainable technology development framework for the production industry in Africa that focuses on Ghana for socio-techno-economic development. The study confirmed the absence of a framework for technology development in Ghana and therefore, proposed one for Africa. Using data from Ghana, the focus therefore is on manufacturing of production technologies for local industry

Food Legumes and Rising Temperatures: Effects, Adaptive Functional Mechanisms Specific to Reproductive Growth Stage and Strategies to Improve Heat Tolerance

Ambient temperatures are predicted to rise in the future owing to several reasons associated with global climate changes. These temperature increases can result in heat stress- a severe threat to crop production in most countries. Legumes are well-known for their impact on agricultural sustainability as well as their nutritional and health benefits. Heat stress imposes challenges for legume crops and has deleterious effects on the morphology, physiology, and reproductive growth of plants. High-temperature stress at the time of the reproductive stage is becoming a severe limitation for production of grain legumes as their cultivation expands to warmer environments and temperature variability increases due to climate change. The reproductive period is vital in the life cycle of all plants and is susceptible to high-temperature stress as various metabolic processes are adversely impacted during this phase, which reduces crop yield. Food legumes exposed to high-temperature stress during reproduction show flower abortion, pollen and ovule infertility, impaired fertilization, and reduced seed filling, leading to smaller seeds and poor yields. Through various breeding techniques, heat tolerance in major legumes can be enhanced to improve performance in the field. Omics approaches unravel different mechanisms underlying thermotolerance, which is imperative to understand the processes of molecular responses toward high-temperature stress

Separation of Duty in Role Based Access

In today’s business world, many organizations use Information Systems to many their sensitive and business critical information. The need to protect such a key component of the organization cannot be over emphasized. Access control has been found to be one of the effective ways of insuring that only authorized users have access to the information resources to perform their job function. Role Based Access Control has been found to be the access control mechanism that fits naturally with the organizational structure of businesses. Separation of duties is a security principle that has been used extensively to prevent conflict of interest, fraud and error control in organizations. In this thesis, we identify the various forms of separation of duties in role based access control systems. We also do a case study of the role based access control system in the banking application of a financial institution

Smart Contract Enabled Decentralized Reputation System for E-Commerce Reviews

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.E-commerce has seen a surge in growth in the wake of the ongoing pandemic and is gaining ground worldwide. Inherently, product reviews by customers have fueled purchasing decisions. Blockchain is a decentralized ledger technology where a history of transactions are managed in an immutable manner. This technology is gaining traction as a result of general distrust and fragmentation in centralized systems. This paper proposes a smart contract enabled decentralized reputation system on a permissioned blockchain for E-commerce reviews. We present an overview of the limitations of current reputation system. We show how our approach addresses the fragmentation and credibility issues of product reviews in current reputation systems.Peer reviewe

Separation of Duty in Role Based Access

In today’s business world, many organizations use Information Systems to many their sensitive and business critical information. The need to protect such a key component of the organization cannot be over emphasized. Access control has been found to be one of the effective ways of insuring that only authorized users have access to the information resources to perform their job function. Role Based Access Control has been found to be the access control mechanism that fits naturally with the organizational structure of businesses. Separation of duties is a security principle that has been used extensively to prevent conflict of interest, fraud and error control in organizations. In this thesis, we identify the various forms of separation of duties in role based access control systems. We also do a case study of the role based access control system in the banking application of a financial institution