PERCEIVED RISK AND EXTENDED WARRANTY

This study examined how income and mathematical skills influence one’s perception of risk. The study particularly focused on overestimation as the main cognitive phenomenon that influences one’s decision-making process when thinking about purchasing an extended warranty. Two questions this study tried to shed light on 1) - Why do people buy extended warranties? 2) - How much is the risk overestimated when considering the damage and loss of common products? A total of 67 St John’s undergraduate students participated, 18 males and 49 females M(age) = 19.5 were recruited through the university research platform. Finally, I hypothesized that income and mathematical skills were correlated with an individual’s perceived risk. However, this hypothesis was not supported by the data

The Relationship Between Organizational Commitment and Employee Turnover Intention in PT. X Mojokerto

The turnover intention for employees occurs in every company, including PT. X Mojokerto which is located in Jabon District, Mojokerto Regency. The purpose of the study is to empirically examine whether there is a relationship between organizational commitment and employee turnover intention in PT. X Mojokerto. A quantitative approach is used in this study with a descriptive correlational research design. Correlational research was used in the design of this study, where this study illustrates the presence or absence of relationships between the variables to be measured. There are 57 employees of PT. X Mojokerto who were recruited through accidental sampling. The instruments were the OC organizational commitment scale and the Turnover Intention Scale 14 (TIS-14). The data analysis techniques used in the study are descriptive analysis and Pearson Product Moment correlation data analysis techniques. Descriptive analysis aims to describe organizational commitment and turnover intention. The results showed a significant negative relationship. Keywords: organizational commitment, turnover intention, employee

Can the Nanoflare Model Reproduce Observed Emissions?

All theories that attempt to explain the high temperatures observed in the solar corona are based on short bursts of energy release. The intensities and velocities measured in the core of an active, however, can be steady over many hours of observation. One heating scenario that has been proposed to reconcile such observations with models is the "long nanoflare storm," where short duration heating events occur infrequently on many sub-resolutions strands. In this Letter, we examine the emission measure distribution predicted for such a heating scenario by modeling an arcade of strands in an active region core. Comparisons of the computed emission measure distributions with recent observations indicate that that the long nanoflare storm scenario implies much more 1 MK emission than is actually observed for all plausible combinations of loop lengths, heating rates, and abundances. We conjecture that if the plasma had super coronal abundances, the model may be able to match the observations at low temperatures

A survey of opportunistic infections in HIV seropositive patients attending major hospitals of Kebbi state, Nigeria

A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of HIV/AIDS related opportunistic infections from the patients attending the five major Hospitals in Kebbi State , which included Federal Medical Center (FMC), Birnin Kebbi, Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital (SYMH), Birnin Kebbi, General Hospital, Argungu (GHA), General Hospital , Yauri (GHY) and General Hospital , Zuru (GHZ). The screening for the HIV/AID was done using the Genic II HIV-1/HIV – 2 Test and the screening for opportunistic infections was done using thin and thick blood films, direct wet mount, formal ether concentration technique and modified Ziehl – Neelsen (ZN) technique. Microbial Pathogens were isolated through culture and identified through gram staining and biochemical tests. Out of the 1950 patients screened for HIV/AIDS infection, 606 (31.6%) were positive. Higher prevalence 195 (32.2%) was from FMC and the lowest from GHY 90 (15%). The result revealed that 374 (61.7%) of HIV/AIDS positive patients were also positive to one or more opportunistic infections. In this respect, higher prevalence of 32.3% was observed from FMC and the lowest was observed from SYMH with 13.9%. The result of the study also revealed the presence of malarial (Plasmodium) parasites with prevalence of (75.9%).The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) had the highest prevalence of 29.5%, SYMH, 21.7%, GHA, 17.2%, GHY, 16.1 and lastly GHZ with 15.4%. There is therefore the need for urgent positive control programme of HIV and HIV related opportunistic infections. Keywords: Survey, opportunistic infections, HIV Sero positive, Kebbi State

Design and Manufacture of 1kW Wind Turbine Blades

To meet sustainable development goals and address concerns on climate change, much of the world's energy demand is expected to be delivered from clean alternative energy sources. Small-scale wind turbines have proven to be applicable for off-grid electrification. The objective of this study is to present the details on the design and manufacture of a 1 kW wind turbine blade for specified conditions. Blade element moment theory is adopted in the design of the geometry of the blade. Accordingly, the aerodynamic analysis on NACA 64A410 airfoil resulted in a blade radius of 1.95m, an overall twist angle of 31°, and a gradually tapering chord length of 0.062m at the root and 0.247m at the tip of the blade. Then, the wind turbine blades are manufactured from fiberglass (mat350g), resin, catalyst, and gelcoat.  Experimental results reveal the wind turbine blades started producing power at a cut-in wind speed of 3m/s. The maximum power achieved during the testing process was 900W at a hub wind velocity of 9m/s. This is lower than the expected 1000W theoretical power output due to not perfect workmanship in the manufacture of the wind turbine blades. This study will help in building local manufacturing facilities and enhance rural electrification through off-grid technologies

The potential for rhizobial inoculation to increase soybean grain yields on acid soils in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, inoculation of soybean with rhizobial inoculants is not common practice, but could provide an option to increase grain yields in the low nitrogen (N) acidic soils. In these acid soils, the selection of acid tolerant rhizobia is one strategy that may increase the performance of soybean. In this study, rhizobial strains isolated from Ethiopian soils were evaluated for their acid tolerance and symbiotic N fixation efficiency with soybean, in controlled environments. Following this, four isolated rhizobial strains were evaluated in six field experiments in major soybean growing areas of Ethiopia. Inoculation with the commercial strain or with one of two locally-sourced isolates, that were developed as inoculants, improved soybean yield. The yield increase due to inoculation with the commercial strain was consistent and greater than other treatments, while the increase due to the two locally-sourced strains was comparable to, or greater than, application of 46 kg N/ha in soils, where the resident rhizobial population was ≤ 1.4 × 103 cfu/g soil. For soils with high background rhizobial populations, there was no response to inoculation. In one of the experimental sites (Bako), the percentage of N fixed (%Ndfa) was 55 for the commercial strain and 35 for a local strain, ES3. This study demonstrated that field validation is a necessary step in the selection of acid tolerant strains of rhizobia to increase soybean production for Ethiopia.Daniel Muleta, Maarten H. Ryder and Matthew D. Dento

Serological Survey of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus in Buffaloes ( Syncerus caffer

A study was conducted to determine the serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease viruses (FMDV) circulating in African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) from selected areas in Zambia. Sera and probang samples were collected between 2011 and 2012 and analysed for presence of antibodies against FMDV while probang samples were used to isolate the FMDV by observing cytopathic effect (CPE). Samples with CPE were further analysed using antigen ELISA. High FMD seroprevalence was observed and antibodies to all the three Southern African Territories (SAT) serotypes were detected in four study areas represented as follows: SAT2 was 72.7 percent; SAT1 was 62.6 percent; and SAT3 was 26.2 percent. Mixed infections accounted for 68.6 percent of those that were tested positive. For probang samples, CPE were observed in three of the samples, while the antigen ELISA results showed positivity and for SAT1 (n=1) and SAT2 (n=2). It is concluded that FMDV is highly prevalent in Zambian buffaloes which could play an important role in the epidemiology of the disease. Therefore livestock reared at interface with the game parks should be included in all routine FMDV vaccination programmes