Monitoring urban growth and land use land cover change in Al Ain, UAE using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Urbanization and industrialization cause a serious land degradation problem, including an increased pressure on natural resources such as deforestation, rise in temperature and management of water resources. The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects of urbanization are widely acknowledged. Increase of impervious surface is a surrogate measure of urbanization and their effects on local hydrology is well reported in literature. This study investigates the spatial-temporal dynamics of land use and land cover changes in Al Ain, UAE, from 2006 to 2016. The Landsat images of two different periods, i.e., Landsat ETM of 2006 and Landsat 8 for 2016 were acquired from earth explorer site. Semi-supervised known as the hybrid classification method was used for image classification. The change detection was carried out through post-classification techniques. The study area was categorized into five major classes. These are agriculture, gardens, urban, sandy areas and mixed urban/sandy areas. It was observed that agricultural and urban land increases from 42,560 ha to 45,950 ha (8%) and 8150 ha to 9105 ha (12%), respectively. Consequently, the natural sandy area was reduced. It was also found that the urban area was expanded dramatically in the west and southwest directions. The outcomes of this study would help concerning authorities for a sustainable land and water resources management in the Al Ain region

Modeling and Trajectory Tracking Control of Robot Manipulators for Laser Cutting Industrial Application.

Robot manipulators are electromechanical devices whose functionality is similar to that of the arms of human beings. The problem with robot manipulators is that they are open loop unstable systems so it is important to stabilize the response of the robot manipulator. In this research project the robot manipulator is used for an industrial application of Laser Cutting. For this purpose trajectory tracking is important. The user will define any desired trajectory and the robot manipulator’s end effector is supposed to track the desired generated trajectory. For this purpose a PID controller is used which is tuned using iterative method.  In this research work, simulations are carried out on a 2R robot manipulator with end griper using Simulink / Matlab Software. The end gripper is supposed to hold the laser that is meant to cut an object in a shape defined by user. In this paper, kinematic & dynamic models of robot manipulator, with and without uncertainties, will be presented and a PID controller will be designed to track the desired trajectory of the end effectorfor laser cutting applications Keywords:Robot manipulator, Kinematics, trajectory tracking, PID controller, Joint Space, Joint variables, Work Space, End effector

VR-PMS: a new approach for performance measurement and management of industrial systems

A new performance measurement and management framework based on value and risk is proposed. The proposed framework is applied to the modelling and evaluation of the a priori performance evaluation of manufacturing processes and to deciding on their alternatives. For this reason, it consistently integrates concepts relevant to objectives, activity, and risk in a single framework comprising a conceptual value/risk model, and it conceptualises the idea of value- and risk based performance management in a process context. In addition, a methodological framework is developed to provide guidelines for the decision-makers or performance evaluators of the processes. To facilitate the performance measurement and management process, this latter framework is organized in four phases: context establishment, performance modelling, performance assessment, and decision-making. Each phase of the framework is then instrumented with state of-the-art quantitative analysis tools and methods. For process design and evaluation, the deliverable of the value- and risk-based performance measurement and management system (VR-PMS) is a set of ranked solutions (i.e. alternative business processes) evaluated against the developed value and risk indicators. The proposed VR-PMS is illustrated with a case study from discrete parts manufacturing but is indeed applicable to a wide range of processes or systems

Response of Maize to Integrated Use of Organic and Inorganic Sources of Phosphorous with Biochar

Soil phosphorous (P) limitation is one of the most important constraint to food production in Pakistan. An experiment comprised of two biochar levels (0 and 10 tons ha-1) and three P sources was designed with an objective to study the integration of organic and inorganic sources of P with biochar for improving maize yield. The P sources included two organic sources i.e. Farmyard manure (FYM) and poultry manure (PM) and an inorganic source i.e. diammonium phosphate (DAP). Experiment was conducted at Agronomy Research Farm of the University of Agriculture, Peshawar during summer 2015 by using randomized complete block design with three replications. FYM, PM and DAP were applied in different ratios of organic and inorganic fertilizers i.e. 100, 75 and 50% of P was obtained from the organic sources and the rest was compensated from the inorganic source to provide a total of 100 kg P ha-1. A control treatment was also included in the experiment for comparison. Statistical analysis of the data showed that more number of days to 75% tasseling and silking with maximum plant height, grains ear-1, grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index were recorded in plots treated with 10 tons ha-1 biochar along with application of 50% organic fertilizer of P and 50% inorganic fertilizer regardless of source of organic fertilizer. It can be concluded that application of P @ 100 kg ha-1 in such a combination that 50% P is applied from organic source (FYM/PM) and 50% P from inorganic source along with biochar (10 tons ha-1) improved yield of maize. Keywords: Farmyard manure, poultry manure, diammonium phosphate, grain yiel

Interactions between Bisphenol S or Dibutyl Phthalates and Reproductive System

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) adversely affect animals and human beings. This attracted the researchers in the previous decade to explore the possible association of these chemicals. However, among various studies, very limited data is available to explain the link between EDCs and reproductive tract outcome. One reason is that many potential EDCs and their probable mechanisms and underlying causes have not been studied so far. Bisphenol S (BPS) is used as an alternative of bisphenol A, after the worse effects of this bisphenol. Similarly, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is the least studied of its group. Dibutyl phthalate is widely used in polyvinyl plastic products. The current chapter aims to explore the possibly association of these two chemicals with animals and humans

The End of Multi-Fibre Arrangement and Firm Performance in the Textile Industry: New Evidence

Using a sample of 321 textile and clothing companies for the years 1992 to 2010, this paper analyses the effect of quota phase-outs on firm-level efficiency in Pakistan following the end of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA). It highlights sectoral heterogeneity within the manufacturing industry as a result of MFA expiration. The empirical methodology uses the structural techniques proposed by Olley and Pakes (1996), and Levinsohn and Petrin (2003) in order to take care of endogeneity in the estimation of production functions. The results differ for the two industries: MFA expiration lead to an increase in the average productivity of textile producing firms but a significant reduction in the mean productivity of clothing producers. We offer a number of explanations for this outcome, such as a change in the input and product mix, entry by non-exporters in the clothing sector, and sectoral differences in quality ladders. A number of crucial policy lessons can be drawn from the findings of this study. JEL Classification:F13; F14; D24; C14; O19 Keywords: Multi-Fibre Arrangement, Trade Liberalisation, Productivity, Firm Heterogeneity, Simultaneity and Production Functions, Endogeneity of Protectio

POST-DISASTER HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION: A Study of The Government of Pakistan’s Housing Reconstruction Programme in Azad Jammu & Kashmir after October 2005 Earthquake

Qabil Ajmeri (an Urdu poet) once wrote: وقت کرتاهے پرورش برسوں حادثہ ایک دم نہيں ھوتا Translation: Time nurtures for years Accident is never sudden Same is true for disasters; they just don’t happen suddenly. It is our actions (or inaction in certain cases) over the years that turn a hazard into a disaster. Development policies, governance system, disaster management system, poverty, and level of hazard are some of the most important factors that contribute towards disaster vulnerability. Most of the developing countries suffer higher disaster losses (as compared to the developed countries) due to their inability to properly address these factors. Societies need to have better development policies, good governance, efficient disaster management system, and improved livelihoods to minimise disaster vulnerability. Conducted from the positionality (Robinson 2014) of a victim of the earthquake and an important functionary of the post-2005 earthquake reconstruction programme in AJK, this research is an auto-ethnographic study in order to understand how societies become vulnerable to natural disasters and what role post-disaster housing reconstruction can play in addressing this vulnerability. By loosely following Blaikie et al.’s (1994) ‘Pressure and Release’ (PAR) model and Collins’ (2009) “disaster and development approach”, this research attempts to find what factors made people vulnerable to seismic hazard in AJK and turned an otherwise not so big Mw=7.6 earthquake into one of the deadliest environmental disasters in the world. The performance and impact of the post-2005 earthquake housing reconstruction program is evaluated in this study by using the mixed-methods research approach. The study finds that the sustainability of the seismic resistant construction and continuation of the pre-earthquake vulnerability factors are still issues. Till the time issues mentioned in this study are not addressed properly, communities in general and the study area in particular will remain vulnerable to environmental disasters

The Influence of Information Technology on Student’s Behavioural Nature in the Class Room

The use of mobile phones and other gadgets in the university class room is becoming a culture in the modern age of technology. Some students use this technology for the purpose of information only. However, it was noted that others use mobile phone to receive messages through different applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Viber. It is therefore important to understand the impacts of their behaviour. On the other hand, the use of mobile technology effects the teaching strategies. Teachers need to adopt new teaching methodologies to make sure that educational objectives and student’s deep learning could be achieved together. It is therefore critical to adopt a balance approach. The research in this paper conducted a survey to find the relationship between student’s behaviour and the use of mobile technology. The analysed data is used to balance the approach and to achieve educational objectives

The Determinants of Leverage of the Listed-Textile Companies in India

This study examines the determinants of leverage of Indian textile firms using panel data analysis. The sample of the study covers 170 Indian textile companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange covering the period from 2006 to 2010. Fixed effects regression model was used for the analysis of penal data of sample companies. Firm size, growth in total assets, non-debt tax shields, profitability and asset tangibility are used as explanatory variables, while leverage ratio is the dependent variable in the model. The results show that the variables of size, non-debt tax shields, and tangibility have highly significant positive relationship with the leverage ratio (p<0.01), while on the contrary, growth and profitability have highly significant negative relationship with debt ratio (p<0.01). The results are generally consistent with theoretical predictions as well as previous research papers. This paper adds to the existing literature on the relationship between the firm specific factors and leverage Keywords: leverage, capital structure, firm-specific factors, textile industry, penal dat

Towards organisational cultural alignment of strategic information systems planning (SISP) methodologies.

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