Downscaling approach to develop future sub-daily IDF relations for Canberra Airport Region, Australia

Downscaling of climate projections is the most adopted method to assess the impacts of climate change at regional and local scale. In the last decade, downscaling techniques which provide reasonable improvement to resolution of General Circulation Models' (GCMs) output are developed in notable manner. Most of these techniques are limited to spatial downscaling of GCMs' output and still there is a high demand to develop temporal downscaling approaches. As the main objective of this study, combined approach of spatial and temporal downscaling is developed to improve the resolution of rainfall predicted by GCMs. Canberra airport region is subjected to this study and the applicability of proposed downscaling approach is evaluated for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin regions. Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) is used to spatial downscaling and numerical model based on scaling invariant concept is used to temporal downscaling of rainfalls. National Centre of Environmental Prediction (NCEP) data is used in SDSM model calibration and validation. Regression based bias correction function is used to improve the accuracy of downscaled annual maximum rainfalls using HadCM3-A2. By analysing the non-central moments of observed rainfalls, single time regime (from 30 min to 24 h) is identified which exist scaling behaviour and it is used to estimate the sub daily extreme rainfall depths from daily downscaled rainfalls. Finally, as the major output of this study, Intensity Duration Frequency (IDF) relations are developed for the future periods of 2020s, 2050s and 2080s in the context of climate change

Determinants of Institutional Success for Water in India: Results from a Study across Three States

There has been substantial focus on water resource development in India, but with emphasis mainly on the technical side. Development of institutions to manage the interactions and arrangements necessary has received little attention. The study uses the new institutional economics framework and governance theories to probe local institutions in water resource management. 29 institutions and 450 households are covered and the data analysed through univariate Anova and multivariate Tobit regressions. The results show the importance of technical, organizational and political governance provided by the institutions. Achievement of efficiency, equity, environment and finance objectives depends substantially on lowering transaction costs through advancing means such as clarity of objectives, good interaction, adaptability, appropriate scale, and compliance.Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Impact of Organizational Factors on Sales Force Unethical Behavior in the Sri Lankan Life Insurance Industry

As a service providing company the image and the success of the insurance industry vastly depend on the ethical behavior patterns of their salesperson as they are the persons who have direct relationships with customers which in turn build up the customer’s satisfaction and trust towards the organization. Therefore, the managers must have the knowledge of the key determinant of the unethical behavior of their salespersons if they want to ensure the ethical behavior among the salespersons. Different factors contribute to these behavior patterns and organizational factors are more important among them. The main purpose of this research was to identify the organizational factors affecting the unethical behavior patterns of salespersons in the Sri Lankan life insurance industry. An extensive literature review was conducted, and five organizational factors were identified as impacting on unethical behaviour of salespersons in the Sri Lankan life insurance industry. Namely, they were supervisory role, sales targets, organizational culture, code of ethics and a rewarding system. Data were collected from 200 individual salespersons from 10 life insurance companies through structured questionnaires. The stratified random sampling method was used for the selection of the respondents to the sample and data were analyzed using multiple regression. The findings of the research indicated that the supervisory role, sales targets and rewarding system significantly predict the unethical behavior of salespersons. Further, it revealed that sales targets predicted unethical behavior strongly, compared to the rewarding system and the supervisory role. Findings of this research also gave some implications on the code of ethics. It was found that there is no code of ethics in the companies or if exists they are not practiced or enforced. Accordingly, the research provides recommendations that can be used to minimize the unethical behavior patterns of the salespersons. To improve the generalization of the findings, future research should broaden the sample by including general insurance companies and finance companies. Continuing research is needed to analyze the other factors in addition to organizational factors and future research could also look at the customer perspective rather than the salesperson perspective. KeywordsBusiness Ethics; Life Insurance Industry; Organizational Factors; Salesperson; Unethical Behavior Patter

Natural ventilation in insect screened single span greenhouses under warm weather

The ventilation rates of different types of ridge vents in combination with insect-screened side vents were assessed in single greenhouses in terms of the difference in temperature and humidity inside and outside under tropical conditions. The A-frame (slanted roof) was comparatively advantageous over the conventional arch frame (curved roof) for keeping daytime temperature lower in single span greenhouse with insect-screenedside vents (mesh size: 1 by 1 mm) and without roof vents. The inclusion of ridge vents further reduced the internal temperature and relative humidity (RH) in the A-frame greenhouse during the daytime. The openingarea of the ridge vent within the range between 9.3% and 14% (of the floor area) did not significantly change the ventilation based internal temperature and RH when operated under low wind speeds (0.5±0.5 m s-1). Meanwhile the effect of ridge orientation, with respect to wind direction, on greenhouse ventilation was not obvious in terms of temperature or RH under inconsistent wind directions and low wind speeds. Greenhouse ventilation positively responded to low winds (0.25 m s-1) by reducing internal temperature as well as RH. However, the response to a further increase in wind speed from 0.25 to 0.5 m s-1 was not significant. Based on climate control characteristics an A-frame single-span greenhouse design with double sided alternate ridge vents and insect-screened side vents could be appropriate for tropical climates under low wind speeds and inconsistent wind directions as a cost effective and user-friendly greenhouse design. Particularly, it is highly applicable for the small-scale controlled environment vegetable production in mid and low elevations in the wet zone of Sri Lanka. Keywords: Alternate ridge vent, curved roof, continuous ridge vent, ridge orientation, wind effect

A Comparative Study on Post-Harvest Losses Associated with Upcountry Vegetable before and During COVID -19 Pandemic Situation: A Case of The Welimada Divisional Secretariat Area

Vegetables are essential food items that provide daily nutritional requirements to maintain healthy life for human beings. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain continuous production and supply. The unexpected Covid-19 plague disrupted the production, sale and distribution of vegetables so that producers, traders as well as consumers happened to face unexpected problems. Accordingly, a study was conducted with the main objective to investigate the post harvesting losses associated with upcountry vegetable before and under COVID-19 pandemic situation comparatively. To achieve the main objectives a field survey was carried out by collecting primary data from 16 traders from the Economic Center and 50 farmers from 05 Grama Niladhari Divisions of Welimada divisional secretariat area using stratified sampling technique. Additional information was collected by using interviews with farmers and traders and secondary data. Data was analyzed using quantitative, qualitative methods and paired T tests were performed to confirm the difference between the variables associated with before and during the COVID-19 pandemic statistically. Results reviled that, there was a significant difference (p <0.05) in post-harvest losses coursed at farm, transport and wholesale lelves in marketing of vegetables before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several factors affected to increase post-harvest losses and there are the harvesting was delayed, number of barriers were faced during transportation, the economic center has been closed for several days, vegetable prices have fallen and wholesales have declined. It can be concluded that the post-harvest damage to upcountry vegetable has been affected by the covid-19 pandemic. DOI: http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v07i01.0

Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka thirty species of cetaceans have been recorded to date. The canyon at Trincomalee bay is a multiple submarine canyon complex and anecdotal reports suggest that the Trincomalee bay and its adjacent waters are utilised by a number of cetacean species. Though Cetaceans are known to be abundant in the waters off Trincomalee there is a dearth of research and data pertaining to the abundance and species frequenting the Trincomalee bay and its adjacent waters. As such the current study was initiated, to get a consensus of the abundance and occurrences of species in Trincomalee Bay and its adjacent waters. Field surveys were carried out for 19 months and the research platform was a 35-foot commercial fishing vessel. 177 cetacean encounters were recorded on 67 of the 75 field days. Remarkably a total of 11 species of cetaceans which composed of two species of Baleen Whales and nine species of Toothed Whales were recorded. Delphinidae was the most common family recorded, followed by Balaenopteridae, Ziphiidae, Physeteridae, and Kogiidae. Spinner Dolphins were the most abundant cetacean owing to the large pods observed and the regularity of the sightings. They were the only species seen feeding/traveling with birds and fish (tuna). Sperm Whales, Blue Whales, and Bryde’s Whales were also relatively common. Two records of interspecific association between cetaceans were recorded. The increase in the human population in the study area has resulted in the overexploitation of marine resources which has dire repercussions on the marine mammal communities found in these waters

Artificially Disordered Birefringent Optical Fibers

We develop and experimentally verify a theory of evolution of polarization in artificially-disordered multi-mode optical fibers. Starting with a microscopic model of photo-induced index change, we obtain the first and second order statistics of the dielectric tensor in a Ge-doped fiber, where a volume disorder is intentionally inscribed via UV radiation transmitted through a diffuser. A hybrid coupled-power & coupled-mode theory is developed to describe the transient process of de-polarization of light launched into such a fiber. After certain characteristic distance, the power is predicted to be equally distributed over all co-propagating modes of the fiber regardless of their polarization. Polarization-resolved experiments, confirm the predicted evolution of the state of polarization. Complete mode mixing in a segment of fiber as short as ~ 10cm after 3.6dB insertion loss is experimentally observed. Equal excitation of all modes in such a multi-mode fiber creates the conditions to maximize the information capacity of the system under e.g. multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) transmission setup

Étude comparative des pratiques d’enseignement de la lecture en 4e primaire : des questions de didactique pointées par l’étude internationale PIRLS 2011

Cette étude vise à mettre en lumière des pratiques d‘enseignement de la lecture susceptibles de rendre compte des disparités de performances observées dans différents systèmes éducatifs. Les comparaisons portent sur les pratiques d’enseignement de la lecture déclarées par les enseignant.e.s de huit systèmes éducatifs contrastés tant au plan de la langue enseignée (français, anglais, allemand) qu’au plan des performances moyennes obtenues à l’épreuve PIRLS 2011. Les résultats mettent en évidence des différences parfois importantes dans la fréquence à laquelle sont mises en place certaines facettes de l’enseignement de la lecture et plus spécifiquement de la compréhension. Ces pratiques témoignent de visions contrastées, parfois éloignées de ce que l’on pourrait attendre d’un enseignement de la lecture experte.Peer reviewe

Biodiversity of the human oral mycobiome in health and disease

The organisms that colonize the human body over a lifetime are diverse, extensive and gargantuan. A fair proportion of the microbiota that constitutes this human microbiome live within our oral cavities mostly as harmonious associates causing only sporadic disease. An important core constituent of the microbiome is the mycobiome, representing various fungal genera. Up until recently, only a few species of fungi, mainly Candida species, were thought to constitute the human oral mycobiome. The reasons for this are manifold, although the uncultivable nature of many fungi in conventional laboratory media, and their complex genetic composition seem to be the major factors which eluded their detection over the years. Nevertheless, recent advances in computing and high‐throughput sequencing such as next‐generation sequencing (NGS) platforms have provided us a panoramic view of a totally new world of fungi that are human oral cohabitués. Their diversity is perplexing, and functionality yet to be deciphered. Here, we provide a glimpse of what is currently known of the oral mycobiome, in health and disease, with some future perspectives