New concept of solar-powered catamaran fishing vessel

It has been considered that the availability of fossil fuels is getting rare and hence becoming more\ud expensive. Its exploration has moved from onshore to offshore together with advanced technology involved thus\ud causing higher cost to the fuels to be ready to use. This fact has caused (in particulars) the fishermen cannot afford to\ud buy the fuel so that they are vulnerable to live in poverty. Recent survey shows that more than 50% of fishing boats,\ud owned by traditional and low economic income of Indonesian fishermen, has been grounded. In addition, the use of\ud fossil fuels has caused the increase of green house gas (GHG) effects thus its continuous use is not environmentally\ud friendly. The current paper describes the development of catamaran fishing vessel as a part of academic contribution to\ud help the Indonesian fishermen. Earlier work proposed the design of catamaran fishing (cat-fish) vessel using the\ud conventional diesel engine, whilst the new design introduces the use of combination of diesel engine together with the\ud use of solar power. Discussion includes the explanation of lay out arrangement, ship stability and seakeeping\ud characteristics, and energy index due to the use of two power system. The later item has now become a serious matter\ud under IMO (International Maritime Organization) regulation in order to reduce GHG effect. Economic review of the\ud possible development of the novel concept is also taken into consideration because the investment cost of the solar\ud powered boat is predicted to be more expensive than the diesel powered vessel but its operational cost is cheaper hence\ud it is promising in long-term use

Gender Differences in Student Motivation and Self-Regulation in Science Learning: A Multi-Group Structural Equation Structural Modelling Analysis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of students' motivational beliefs (learning goal orientation, task value and self-efficacy) in science learning on students' self-regulation in the science classroom. The study also examines the moderating effect of gender on the proposed relationships. Data were collected from 719 boys and 641 girls across grades 8, 9 and 10 in 5 public schools in Perth, Western Australia. Results from structural equation modeling analysis indicated that all 3 motivational constructs were strong predictors of students' self-regulation in science learning. The multi-group analysis to examine gender differences revealed that the influence of task value on self-regulation was statistically significant for boys only. The findings present possible opportunities for educators to plan, and to put into practice, effective intervention strategies aimed at increasing students' self-regulation in science learning. The core feature would be to target and develop students' motivational beliefs of learning goal orientation and self•efficacy in science learning. Additionally, for boys, the intervention strategies would be to elevate boys' perspectives of science task value

Radio frequency identification (RFID) adoption: a cross-sectional comparison of voluntary and mandatory contexts

Understanding the adoption factors of a technological innovation is crucial. However, it is a wild assumption that these factors are of similar importance for mandatory and voluntary adoption. Hence, understanding the distinction is critical because, more than often an innovation is adopted with different organizational objectives—though operate in a same industry for a same application. The purpose of this study is to compare the organizational adoption factors of a technological innovation in mandatory and voluntary setting, taking Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology as the case innovation. The results indicate that perceptions of the adopters differ significantly on technological, organizational, and environmental characteristics and expectation when the contexts are different. Multi-group analysis confirms that, among the technological factors, compatibility is the major concern in amandatory setting whereas cost and expected-benefits are the main for voluntary adoption; organization’s attitude is more important than organizational resources—in both contexts;and, external pressure is important both in mandatory as well as voluntary environment