Participation of women in grassroots development interventions: reflections on the experiences of development projects in Sudan

This paper is based on an empirical study, conducted in 2005/06. It provides reflections on gender and development approaches employed in development projects in Sudan and identifies the challenges that development providers need to address when they plan for future interventions. It argues that addressing gender issues requires an in depth understanding of local values, and women’s needs and interests

Pengaruh Produk dan Promosi Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Rumah Graha Taman Bunga pada PT. Karyadeka Alam Lestari Kota BSB – Semarang

Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui apakah ada pengaruh antara produk dan promosi terhadap keputusan pembelian pada responden Perumahan Graha Taman Bunga Pada PT. Karyadeka Alam Lestari Kota BSB - Semarang. Dimana variabel produk real estate terdiri dari harga, lokasi perumahan, fasilitas perumahan dan kualitas bangunan. Masalah pokok dalam penelitian ini adalah masih belum tercapainya target developer perumahan Graha Taman Bunga untuk menjual semua tipe rumah yang dibangun. Penelitian ini menggunakan tipe eksplanatory research terhadap 78 responden dengan menggunakan teknik metode stratified random sampling, yaitu teknik pengambilan sample secara acak dalam populasi yang sudah dikelompokkan (berdasarkan tipe rumah secara proporsional) dari setiap tipe rumah pada populasi. Teknik pengumpulan data melalui kuesioner. Data di analisis secara kualitas dan kualitatif dengan alat analisis table silang, regresi linier berganda dan pengujian hipotesis menggunakan rumus Thitung. Hasil analisa dengan perhitungan SPSS dapat dijelaskan sebagai berikut: 1. Terdapat pengaruh yang positif dan signifikan antara Produk terhadap keputusan pembelian rumah Graha Taman Bunga dimana t hitung (3,486) > t tabel (1,665) dan terdapat pengaruh yang positif dan signifikan antara Promosi terhadap keputusan pembelian rumah Graha Taman Bunga dimana t hitung (3,283) > t tabel (1,665). 2. Terdapat pengaruh yang positif dan signifikan antara Produk dan Promosi terhadap keputusan pembelian rumah Graha Taman Bunga Bukit Semarang Baru Semarang dimana F hitung (14,854) > F tabel (3,12). Koefisien determinasi untuk variabel Produk (X1) dan Promosi (X2) menyumbang sebesar 28,4% untuk keputusan pembelian rumah Graha Taman Bunga Bukit Semarang Baru sedangkan 71,6% disebabkan oleh sebab-sebab lain diluar variabel yang diteliti. Dari hasil penelitian diketahui bahwa produk dan promosi berpengaruh terhadap keputusan pembelian. Disarankan pihak developer perlu memperhatikan peningkatan kualitas produknya baik dalam meningkatkan kualitas bangunan, lokasi dan fasilitas perumahan serta harganya. Untuk promosi disarankan pihak developer melakukan promosi yang menarik dengan intensitas yang tinggi dan dengan media iklan yang lebih luas

Groundwater overexploitation and seawater intrusion in coastal areas of arid and semi-arid regions

The exploitation of groundwater resources is of high importance and has become very crucial in the last decades, especially in coastal areas of arid and semi-arid regions. The coastal aquifers in these regions are particularly at risk due to intrusion of salty marine water. One example is the case of Tripoli city at the Mediterranean coast of Jifarah Plain, North West Libya. Libya has experienced progressive seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifers since the 1930s because of its ever increasing water demand from underground water resources. Tripoli city is a typical area where the contamination of the aquifer in the form of saltwater intrusion is very developed. Sixty-four groundwater samples were collected from the study area and analyzed for certain parameters that indicate salinization and pollution of the aquifer. The results demonstrate high values of the parameters Electrical Conductivity, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Cl- and SO42-, which can be attributed to seawater intrusion, where Cl is the major pollutant of the aquifer. The water types according to the Stuyfzand groundwater classification are mostly CaCl, NaCl and Ca/MgMix. These water types indicate that groundwater chemistry is changed by cation exchange reactions during the mixing process between freshwater and seawater. The intensive extraction of groundwater from the aquifer reduces freshwater outflow to the sea, creates drawdown cones and lowering of the water table to as much as 25 m below mean sea level. Irrigation with nitrogen fertilizers and domestic sewage and movement of contaminants in areas of high hydraulic gradients within the drawdown cones probably are responsible for the high NO3- concentration in the region

Commodity Price Insurance:A Keynesian Idea Revisited

Keynes proposed that a ‘Commod Control’ agency be created after the Second World War to stabilise spot prices of key internationally traded commodities by systematically buying and selling physical buffer stocks. In this paper, the creation of a new Global Commodity Insurer (GCI) is discussed that would operate an international Commodity Price Insurance (CPI) scheme with the objective of protecting national government revenues, spending and investment against the adverse impact of short- term deviations in commodity prices, and especially oil prices, from their long-run equilibrium level. Crude oil is the core commodity in this scheme because energy represents 50% of world commodity exports, and oil price shocks have historically had a significant macroeconomic impact. In effect the GCI would develop a new international market, which is currently missing, designed to protect governments against the risk of declines in their fiscal revenue, and increases in the level of claims on that income especially from social programmes, brought about by short-term commodity price shocks. GCI would take advantage of the rapid growth of trading in derivative securities in the global capital market since the 1980s by selling CPI insurance contracts tailored to the specific commodity price exposure faced by national government, and offsetting the resulting price risk with a portfolio of derivative contracts of five-year or longer maturities, supplied by banks, insurers, reinsurers, investment institutions, and commodity trading companies, with investment grade credit ratings. The difference between the CPI and a buffer stock or export/import control scheme is that it would mitigate the macro-economic shocks posed by commodity price volatility, but not attempt to control commodity prices. The cost of the CPI scheme is estimated by simulating 5-year commodity price paths using a standard log price mean reverting model parameterised from an econometric analysis of commodity price time series.Commodity Price Insurance

The development of a competence framework for engineering analysis and simulation

Engineering analysis and simulation has always played a significant role in the nuclear sector and its use continues to increase across all branches of industry. To remain competitive in an increasingly global environment and to ensure the safety and reliability of products, companies must prepare effectively for the challenges that new engineering simulation technologies will bring. Concerns surrounding the inappropriate use of simulation by staff without the appropriate competences persist, as analyses become more advanced, increasingly embracing more complex physical phenomena and interactions, often in an effort to model reality more faithfully. These trends and the associated competencies required, emphasize the need for life-long learning and continual staff development. Organisations clearly require a sufficient and ongoing supply of well-qualified engineers and the recently funded EASIT2 project is directly aimed at addressing and managing these issues

Study of Carbon Dioxide Corrosion on Carbon Steel at Different Salt Concentrations

CO2 corrosion is a major threat in the oil and gas industry. Several possible mitigation methods have been developed to reduce the corrosion rate in these pipelines to acceptable levels. In order to reduce the corrosion of carbon steel pipelines in CO2 environment, inhibitors are added to control corrosion rate to an acceptable level. The usage of the corrosion inhibitor is an economical and flexible method while being widely used in various applications. Corrosion inhibitor is a chemical compound which is added to the fluid phase and has an effect on the metal surface. The effectiveness of the corrosion inhibitor does not only depend on the inhibitor formulation but also on operational parameters such as temperature, pH and flow conditions. Pipelines in the oil and gas industry are located in seawater environment which is a natural corrosive environment. The objective of this project is to investigate the influence of salt concentration towards the corrosion rate of carbon steel in CO2 environment that has been added with corrosion inhibitor. The temperature and pH used for this study is 60°C and 4.0pH. The NaCl solution concentration are varied to 1%, 3%, 5%, 10% and 20%. The test medium is saturated with carbon dioxide gas at 1bar. The concentration of the corrosion inhibitor is also applied to see the effect of corrosion inhibitor concentration to the corrosion rate. The inhibitor used is AMTECH and of dosages 25ppm and 50ppm. The material used for this study is carbon steel X52. Results of the inhibited corrosion tests reveals at 25ppm the corrosion rate of X52 is the lowest. Meanwhile the corrosion rate of X52 at 50ppm dosage yields an inverse result in comparison to the results of uninhibited and 25ppm CI corrosion test. It is concluded that the corrosion rate of X52 increases with NaCl concentration and 25ppm is the optimum working dosage of the corrosion inhibitor

Paths of the vocational training graduates: Estimation of a multi-state model using a stationary Markov chain.

Located at the hinge of education and employment, vocational training is supposed to provide profiles adapted to the labour market requirements. However, Moroccan graduates of vocational training often find it difficult to fit into the labour market. Indeed, according to the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, only 63% of the graduates in 2006 succeeded in integrating the working environment. Yet, this rate hides several realities and is likely to overestimate integration since it does not take into account some crucial variables in the analysis of professional integration, namely the duration of employment, the precariousness of employment, etc. Studies about the paths of vocational training graduates realized periodically (every two years) since 1987 by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training aim, by virtue of their longitudinal aspect, to analyze the stability and the evolution of these graduates employment as well as their behaviour. In other words, these studies seek to answer some questions about the dynamics of youth employment in the labour market. This work aims to model the transitions of vocational training graduates using a retrospective calendar recalling their professional situation starting from the date of obtaining the diploma (2002) until the date of the survey (2006). Our model uses a transition process generated by a homogeneous, stationary and ergodic Markov chain for the graduates state space. We propose to explain the transitions from one state to another, via a multivariate logistic link, through variables which can influence between-state transitions. This leads that the processual variables explain these transitions. To estimate the parameters of our model, we use an iterative method of unconstrained nonlinear optimization: Conjugate Gradient "CG”. The stationarity of the Markov chain and the estimation of the transition matrix allow us to compute labour market indicators used to describe the behaviour of young graduates as well as their professional mobility.llabour market, transitions, vocational training, Markov chain, "CG” Method, Morocco

Transferring simulation skills from other industries to nuclear

Engineering analysis and simulation has always played a significant role in the nuclear sector and its use continues to increase across all branches of industry. To remain competitive in an increasingly global environment and to ensure the safety and reliability of designs, the nuclear industry must take advantage of the new engineering simulation technologies. Concerns surrounding the inappropriate use of simulation by staff without the appropriate competency persist, as analyses become more advanced, increasingly embracing more complex physical phenomena, often in an effort to model reality more faithfully. Furthermore, the age profile of the skilled staff in the nuclear sector in the UK is such that the skills shortage is likely to increase in future. These trends emphasize the need for life-long learning and continual staff development along with transfer of skills from other industry sectors to the nuclear sector. The nuclear industry has taken some initiatives to address skill shortages through the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and Nuclear Energy Skills Alliance (NESA) but these are mostly focused on manufacturing and R&D skills. The recently completed EU funded EASIT2 project is directly aimed at addressing the engineering analysis and simulation skills. This paper gives a brief overview of the EASIT2 project and its deliverables and points out how it can help the skills issues being faced by the nuclear industry. INTRODUCTIO

Toward Word Embedding for Personalized Information Retrieval

This paper presents preliminary works on using Word Embedding (word2vec) for query expansion in the context of Personalized Information Retrieval. Traditionally, word embeddings are learned on a general corpus, like Wikipedia. In this work we try to personalize the word embeddings learning, by achieving the learning on the user's profile. The word embeddings are then in the same context than the user interests. Our proposal is evaluated on the CLEF Social Book Search 2016 collection. The results obtained show that some efforts should be made in the way to apply Word Embedding in the context of Personalized Information Retrieval