The Parliamentary Committee System in Bangladesh : An Analysis of its Functioning

This is s study on parliamentary committee system of Bangladesh. Drawing a theoretical framework this study examines how committee system works in a parliament where the political institutions, at least partly, have been imposed from outside rather than being fully indigenous. Though many favorable preconditions were adopted in the Constitution of Bangladesh, parliamentary system of government could not successfully work in the initial years of the independence. The political government was eliminated quickly through a bloody military coup in 1975. After the collapse of the military-authoritarian government, Bangladesh embarked upon a new democratic journey in 1990. Since the restoration of the parliamentary system of the government in 1991, committees have been serving as the extended working arms of the parliament. This study examines the pattern of performances of committees in the post-1990 parliaments. Examining the different dimensions of the working of committees, this study finds that they are now better poised to conduct their legislative and overseeing tasks. However, the absence of democratic principles within the party structure discourages the legislators from being proactive in the committees. Analyzing the committee structures and procedure of the selected developed and developing countries, it explores the lessons that Bangladesh can learn from them to make the committee system more effective

Predictors and their domain for statistical downscaling of climate in Bangladesh

Reliable projection of future rainfall in Bangladesh is very important for the assessment of possible impacts of climate change and implementation of necessary adaptation and mitigation measures. Statistical downscaling methods are widely used for downscaling coarse resolution general circulation model (GCM) output at local scale. Selection of predictors and their spatial domain is very important to facilitate downscaling future climate projected by GCMs. The present paper reports the finding of the study conducted to identify the GCM predictors and demarcate their climatic domain for statistical downscaling in Bangladesh at local or regional scale. Twenty-six large scale atmospheric variables which are widely simulated GCM predictors from 45 grid points around the country were analysed using various statistical methods for this purpose. The study reveals that large-scale atmospheric variables at the grid points located in the central-west part of Bangladesh have the highest influence on rainfall. It is expected that the finding of the study will help different meteorological and agricultural organizations of Bangladesh to project rainfall and temperature at local scale in order to provide various agricultural or hydrological services

Government E-Service Delivery in Rural Bangladesh: A Public-Private Partnership Approach

This paper reviews and analyzes government e-service delivery through Union Digital Centers (UDCs), being identified as telecenters. With the emergence of e-governance, e-services delivery has become expedited across different countries in the world including Bangladesh to foster socio-economic development. However, the concept of ‘digital divide’ or ‘digital gap’ limits the ultimate success of e-delivery services by increasing the gap between rich and poor. In connection to the digital gap, literature evidence that telecenters have largely failed to reach targeted hardcore poor. This research has used a survey technique to collect data from 383 respondents located at 14 different UDCs and seven divisions. The findings of the paper contemplate a positive response in terms of availability, cost, convenience, and delivery of services. Nevertheless, strengthening the approach of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) remains a necessity to reach the success goal in e-governance. This study would be particularly helpful for practitioners or government policy-making agencies to identify perceptions on e-services at root level. Keywords: telecenters, e-governance, e-service delivery, socio-economic development, public-private partnership, Bangladesh DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-2-1

The influence of functionality on the adsorption of p-hydroxybenzoate and phthalate at the hematite - electrolyte interface

Kinetics of adsorption of p-hydroxy benzoate and phthalate on hematite 13electrolyte interface were investigated at a constant ionic strength, I =

Kinetics and adsorption behaviour of benzoate and phthalate at the alpha-alumina- water interface : influence of functionality

Asystematicstudyonthei

Adsorption and surface complexation of trimesic acid at the alpha-Alumina electrolyte interface

Adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms and surface complexation of trimesic acid onto α-alumina surfaces were investigated. Adsorption kinetics of trimesic acid with an initial concentration of 0.5 mM onto α-alumina surfaces were carried out in batch method in presence of 0.05 mM NaCl(aq) at pH 6 and 298.15, 303.15 and 313.15 K. Adsorption isotherms were carried out at 298.15 K, pH 5–9, and 0.05 mMNaCl(aq) by varying trimesic acid concentration from 0.01 to 0.6 mM. Three kinetics equations such as pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and Ho equations were used to estimate the kinetics parameters of the adsorption of trimesic acid on the α-alumina surfaces. Ho equation fits the experimental kinetics data significantly better and the estimated equilibrium concentration is in excellent agreement with the experimental value. The adsorption data were fitted to Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption model and the later best fits the adsorption isotherms. Comparison of adsorption density of trimesic acid with that of benzoic and phthalic acids follows the sequence: benzoic acid < trimesic acid < phthalic acid. The negative activation energy and the Gibbs free energy for adsorption indicate that the adsorption of trimesic acid onto α-alumina is spontaneous and facile. DRIFT spectroscopic studies reveal that trimesate forms outer-sphere complexes with the surface hydroxyl groups that are generated onto α-alumina surfaces in the pH range of the stud

Secondary stress responses of zebrafish to different pH: Evaluation in a seasonal manner

AbstractStress is one of the most critical factors in fish health. The response to stress in fish is characterized by the stimulation of the hypothalamus, which results in the activation of the neuroendocrine system and a subsequent cascade of metabolic and physiological changes. The present paper deals with the stress responses of water pH on certain biochemical indices and hematological parameters of zebrafish in a seasonal basis. Zebrafish were exposed to different pH e.g., 7.2, 5.0 and 10.0 and the secondary stress responses were observed. The result showed that exposure to pH 5.0 and 10.0 on zebrafish exerted stresses with reference to seasons. Higher values of blood glucose content observed in the month of summer than the month of winter and females showed higher values than males. Chronic effects of pH on the hematological parameters were also significant between these seasons. In conclusion, exposure to pH at sub-lethal concentrations induced biochemical and hematological alterations in zebrafish and offers a simple tool to evaluate the potential risk of polluted water (acid and base) to fish

Influence of anions on the adsorption kinetics of salicylate onto alpha aluminium in aqueous medium

Kinetics of adsorption of p-hydroxy benzoate and phthalate on hematite–electrolyte interface were investigated at a constant ionic strength, I =5×10−4 moldm−3,pH5andatthreedifferenttemperatures.Thestateofequilibriumfortheadsorptionofp-hydroxybenzoateontohematite surfaces was attained at 70 h, whereas it was 30 h for phthalate–hematite system. None of the three kinetics models (Bajpai, pseudo first order and pseudo second order) is applicable in the entire experimental time period; however, the pseudo second order kinetics model is considered to be better than the pseudo first order kinetics model in estimating the equilibrium concentration both the p-hydroxy benzoate–hematite and phthalate–hematite systems. The variation of adsorption density of p-hydroxy benzoate and phthalate onto hematite surfaces as a function of concentration of adsorbate was studied over pH range 5–9 at a constant ionic strength, I = 5×10−4 moldm−3 and at constant temperature. The adsorption isotherms for both the systems were Langmuir in nature and the maximum adsorption density (Γmax)ofp-hydroxy benzoate is ∼1.5timesmorethanthatofphthalateonhematiteatpH5and30◦Cinspiteofanadditionalcarboxylicgroupatorthopositioninphthalate.This is due to the more surface area coverage by phthalate than that ofp-hydroxy benzoate on hematite surface. The activation energy was calculated using Arrhenius equation and the activation energy for adsorption of p-hydroxy benzoate at hematite–electrolyte interface is∼1.8 times more than that of phthalate–hematite system. The negative Gibbs free energy indicates that the adsorption of p-hydroxy benzoate and phthalate on hematite surfaces is favourable. The FTIR spectra of p-hydroxy benzoate and phthalate after adsorption on hematite surfaces were recorded for obtaining the bonding properties of adsorbates. The phenolic νC–O appears at∼1271 cm−1 after adsorption of p-hydroxy benzoate on hematite surfaces, which shifted by 10 cm−1 to higher frequency region. The phenolic group is not deprotonated and is not participating in the surface complexation. The shifting of theνas(–COO−)andνs(–COO−) bands and non-dissolution of hematite suggest that thep-hydroxy benzoate and phthalate form outer-sphere surface complexwith hematite surfaces in the pH range of 5–7

Adsorption comparison at the á-alumina/water interface: 3,4- dihydroxybenzoic acid vs catechol

Adsorption kinetics and isotherms and the surface complexation of 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4DHBA) and catechol at the -alumina/electrolyte interface were investigated. The state of equilibrium for adsorption of 3,4-DHBA onto -alumina surface at pH 5 was attained at 120 min, whereas it was 90 min for catechol, but at pH 10 the state of equilibrium for the both the systems was same ( ∼60 min). The pseudo-second-order kinetic equation of nonlinear form (Eq. (3)) fits the experimental kinetic data significantly better than the linear form (Eq. (2)) in the entire time duration. The adsorption density of 3,4-DHBA onto the -alumina surfaces at pH 10 and at similar experimental conditions is equivalent to catechol. DRIFT spectra indicate that 3,4-DHBA forms both outer- and inner-sphere complexes and catechol forms bidentate mononuclear complex with the -alumina surface

Selection of cemented carbide turning tools using EMF and optimization criteria

Tool life and quality of surface finish of the workpiece influence production rate and production cost. Cemented carbide tools have found wide application in the production arena of Bangladesh. In the absence of any testing facility in the country for the selection of cost-effective tools, poor quality carbide tools are frequently imported. A testing method and a selection criteria were developed for testing carbide tools of different shapes and sizes and for selecting the most cost-effective tool. For each tool cutting tests were performed to generate tool life data under different cutting conditions. Mild steel served as the work material. The relationship between tool life and cutting speed was developed using a curve-fitting software on a PC. From these relationships the values of the constants of the Taylor’s equation were determined. The cost equation was then derived for each tool for a given amount of work in a cutting speed range. Finally, the most cost-effective tool was selected on the basis of the relative location of the cost curves of the tools tested