Suicide bombing: a geopolitical perspective

Suicide bombing is a very complex phenomenon. It has been a focus of research in recent times. However inherent biases of researchers muddle the picture: researchers from western countries focus the issue around political liberty and notion of democracy, while those from Islamic countries tend to take the afterlife-reward notion as an incentive for suicide bombing. However in order to understand this complex phenomenon it is important to consider the contextual factors. In this review we have attempted to highlight various geopolitical factors which contribute to increased incidence of suicide bombing in South East Asia

The impact of sexual harassment on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and absenteeism: findings from Pakistan compared to the United States

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast how differences in perceptions of sexual harassment impact productive work environments for employees in Pakistan as compared to the US; in particular, how it affects job satisfaction, turnover, and/or absenteeism. This study analyzed employee responses in Pakistan (n = 146) and the United States (n = 102, 76) using questionnaire data. Significant results indicated that employees who were sexually harassed reported (a) a decrease in job satisfaction (b) greater turnover intentions and (c) a higher rate of absenteeism. Cross-cultural comparisons indicated that (a) Pakistani employees who were sexually harassed had greater job dissatisfaction and higher overall absenteeism than did their US counterparts and (b) Pakistani women were more likely to use indirect strategies to manage sexual harassment than were US targets

Scale Model Experiments on Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

This research focuses on studying the feasibility of placing large wind turbines on deep-ocean platforms. Water tank studies have been conducted using the facilities at Alden Research Laboratories (ARL) on 100:1 scale Tension Leg Platform (TLP) and Spar Buoy (SB) models. Froude scaling was used for modeling the offshore wind turbine designs. Primary components of the platform turbine, tower, and cable attachments were fabricated in ABS plastic using rapid prototyping. A wireless data acquisition system was installed to prevent umbilical data cables from affecting the behavior of the platform when exposed to wave loading. In Phase I testing, Froude-scaled TLP and Spar Buoy models at a 100:1 scale were placed in a water flume and exposed to periodic waves at amplitudes ranging from 0.5 cm – 7.5 cm and frequencies ranging from 0.25 Hz – 1.5 Hz. The testing was conducted on simple tower and turbine models that only accounted for turbine weight at the nacelle. In Phase II testing, emphasis was placed on further testing of the tension leg platform as a more viable design for floating offshore wind turbines. The tension leg platform scale model was improved by adding a disc to simulate drag force incident at the top of the tower, as well as a rotor and blades to simulate the gyroscopic force due to turbine blade rotation at the top of the tower. Periodic wave motions of known amplitude and frequency were imposed on the model to study pitch, heave, roll, surge, sway motions and mooring cable tensions (in Phase II only) using accelerometers, inclinometers, capacitance wave gage, and load cells. Signal analysis and filtering techniques were used to refine the obtained data, and a Fourier analysis was conducted to study the dominant frequencies. Finally, Response Amplitude Operators (RAO’s) were plotted for each data set to standardize the results and study the overall trend with respect to changes in wave amplitude and frequency. For Phase I testing, it is shown that surge motion of the platform dominates other motions for both the tension leg platform and spar buoy, and varying tether pretension has little effect on response amplitude operator values. For phase II testing, it was found that the introduction of thrust and gyroscopic forces increases sway and pitch motions as well as upstream tether forces. Coupling effects of pitch motion with roll and sway due to the presence of gyroscopic forces were also seen. The present experimental results can be used to validate the hydrodynamic kernels of linear frequency-domain models, time-domain dynamics models, and computational simulations on floating wind turbines. Numerical analysis and simulations have been conducted in a separate study at WPI. These simulations are comparable to the experimental results

Impact of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles on the Local Electric Grid

The following document has been prepared in partial fulfillment of the requirements as a Bachelor of Science at WPI. The authors, Kazim Naqvi and Timothy Yee, are submitting this document as an IQP/MQP in lieu of the above mentioned requirements. The authors will address the possible impact of the advent of Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles in Massachusetts for National Grid. The authors will be utilizing Systems Dynamics Modeling as the basis for experimentation. The results of various modeling, research, and sensitivity exercises conducted during the course of this project show that PHEV's do take off and attain a sustainable value, as was the desired outcome. The impact on National Grid is minimal and the daily electric demand variation does not change significantly

Unraveling Degradation Processes and Strategies for Enhancing Reliability in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have emerged as a promising technology for various applications owing to their advantages, including low-cost fabrication, flexibility, and compatibility. However, a limited lifetime hinders the practical application of OLEDs in electronic devices. OLEDs are prone to degradation effects during operation, resulting in a decrease in device lifetime and performance. This review article aims to provide an exciting overview of OLED degradation effects, highlighting the various degradation mechanisms. Subsequently, an in-depth exploration of OLEDs degradation mechanisms and failure modes is presented. Internal and external processes of degradation, as well as the reactions and impacts of some compounds on OLED performance, are then elucidated. To overcome degradation challenges, the review emphasizes the importance of utilizing state-of-the-art analytical techniques and the role of these techniques in enhancing the performance and reliability of OLEDs. Furthermore, the review addresses the critical challenges of lifetime and device stability, which are crucial for the commercialization of OLEDs. This study also explores strategies to improve OLEDs’ lifetime and stability, such as using barrier layers and encapsulation techniques. Overall, this article aims to contribute to the advancement of OLED technology and its successful integration into diverse electronic applications

Evolutionary Analysis of Dengue Serotype 2 Viruses Using Phylogenetic and Bayesian Methods from New Delhi, India.

Dengue fever is the most important arboviral disease in the tropical and sub-tropical countries of the world. Delhi, the metropolitan capital state of India, has reported many dengue outbreaks, with the last outbreak occurring in 2013. We have recently reported predominance of dengue virus serotype 2 during 2011-2014 in Delhi. In the present study, we report molecular characterization and evolutionary analysis of dengue serotype 2 viruses which were detected in 2011-2014 in Delhi. Envelope genes of 42 DENV-2 strains were sequenced in the study. All DENV-2 strains grouped within the Cosmopolitan genotype and further clustered into three lineages; Lineage I, II and III. Lineage III replaced lineage I during dengue fever outbreak of 2013. Further, a novel mutation Thr404Ile was detected in the stem region of the envelope protein of a single DENV-2 strain in 2014. Nucleotide substitution rate and time to the most recent common ancestor were determined by molecular clock analysis using Bayesian methods. A change in effective population size of Indian DENV-2 viruses was investigated through Bayesian skyline plot. The study will be a vital road map for investigation of epidemiology and evolutionary pattern of dengue viruses in India

Attitudes toward suicide bombing in Pakistan.

Although suicide bombing is a historical phenomenon, there has been a recent upsurge in such incidents. In Pakistan, over the last year, more than 1,000 people have been killed in suicide bombing incidents. Assessing the attitudes and perceptions of people toward suicide bombing can help understand some of the root causes of this phenomenon. In this pilot study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of people (N = 215) in Karachi, Pakistan, to assess their attitudes and perceptions toward suicide bombing. The majority of the respondents condemned suicide bombing and disagreed with the notion that Islam or any other religion supports it. Belonging to the Sunni Muslim sect and strong adherence to religion predicted support for suicide bombing. The majority believed suicide bombing to be a result of religious fundamentalism. Opinion was divided as to whether suicide bombers have an underlying psychiatric illness. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine the attitudes and perceptions of the Pakistani population regarding this important issue