Structural Behaviour of Load-Bearing Interlocking Hollow Block Masonry

The structural behaviour of an interlocking block system has been investigated in this research. The interlocking blocks developed by the Housing Research Center, Universiti Putra Malaysia have been used to assemble a number of prisms and wall panels. This interlocking block system has been filed for a patent. Three types of individual blocks are utilized in this research, these are stretcher, comer and half block units. I The research covers the production of the block using a manually controlled machine which has been developed for the production of the three different types of block. The test program includes testing of individual blocks, prisms and different wall panels. Forty individual blocks have been tested under axial compression. Ten prisms have been tested under axial1oad. The failure mechanism were recorded for each type of specimen. Sixteen wall specimens having different height (slenderness ratio), subjected to load applied at different eccentricities, have been tested. The selected heights of the tested walls are 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0m. The eccentricity of the applied load is another important parameter considered in testing the wall specimens to simulate the actual nature of the applied load in construction. The values are 0, 20, 40 and 55mm measured from the centerline of the wall panels. The structural behaviour of the wall panel specimens were studied in terms of the load-deflection characteristic, strain-stress distribution, efficiency of the wall and the failure mode of the interlocking walls. The study focuses on the differences and similarities of the behaviour of interlocking walls compared to bonded walls. BS 5628: Part 1: 1978 was used to explore the behaviour of the bonded walls. The study showed that the strength of the interlocking block and its interlocking mechanism were sufficient and that the block can be used for construction of load bearing walls. Based on the test results, a number of mathematical equations have been proposed to predict the reduction in the wall efficiency with the increases of the eccentricity of the applied load and the slenderness ratio of the wall. A design procedure has also been proposed to be used in the design of load bearing interlocking hollow block system

Strategical thinking of elite soccer coaches in Palestine: impact of competitive divisions, qualification, and experience

263 p.The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the rationale of elite soccer coaches in Palestine when designing and selecting practice in the pre-season period of season 2019/2020. Coaching is a decision-making process of continuous modification of the internal logic of the institutionalized game. By looking into the internal logic of the activities proposed in their diaries coaching sessions, it has been possible describe the overall pre-season coaching strategy and try and find de diversions from this general strategy due to the competitive division (professional, first and second), the coaches characteristics: qualification (such as specialization in physical education and the level of their coaching certificate), and experience (as a former player and as a coach).The participants in this study were 36 Palestinian coaches belonging to the 36 clubs in the top three divisions. We analyzed the internal logic of practice from, the perspective of the motor praxeology by describing the relationships between the players, relationships to space, relationships to time, and relationships to objects, of a total 2,342 motor tasks with a time of 31, 980 minutes distributed over 360 sessions.The general strategy was only and slightly affected by the competition level, in a non-progressive way. Personal characteristics do not impact on the practice proposed to players and teams. Besides the traits used to characterize Palestinian coaches do not match the competitive structures: no profile associated could be found

Listening to Unheard Voices: Exploring Salespeople’s Perspective on The Value of Corporate Heritage

Purpose This study aims to examine salespeople’s perspectives on the value of corporate heritage to relationship selling and the issue of trust in personal selling situations in the context of emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive approach was adopted, and 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior salespeople in heritage institutions operating in Jordan. Findings This study reveals that corporate heritage is a valuable organizational resource for relationship selling. Reflecting the values of “trust” and “affinity,” corporate heritage confers trust to salespeople and their products in personal selling situations. Sales managers are advised to use corporate heritage to strengthen sales activities and empower salespeople. Originality/value While previous research has explained the significance of corporate heritage to relationship marketing, the significance of corporate heritage to relationship selling and the issue of trust in personal selling situations remain unexplored. Jordan represents a context that has been largely neglected despite being typical of the corporate heritage phenomenon

Self-esteem, narcissism, and aggression: different types of self-esteem predict different types of aggression

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between self-esteem, narcissism, and measures of proactive and reactive aggression in two large community samples of young adults from two countries (the United Kingdom and Malaysia). Self-esteem and narcissism were measured through the Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, whereas aggression was measured by the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire in 501 young adults with approximately equal numbers of men and women. In both countries, low levels of self-esteem were associated with reactive aggression while high levels of narcissism were associated with proactive aggression. Although this pattern was similar for both genders, the associations between both types of self-evaluation and proactive aggression were greater for men. The results suggest that people with low self-esteem are prone to greater reactive aggression due to anger and hostility, whereas those with high levels of narcissism can act with deliberate, planned aggression to achieve a goal. These effects appear stable across gender and culture

THE OCCURRENCE OF INSECTS, FUNGI AND ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS IN STORED COFFEE BEANS IN LAMPUNG

A survey on postharvest handling and technology processing of coffee beans at farmer, trader and exporter levels was conducted in West Lampung and Tanggamus regencies of Lampung province during harvest time (July 1998). Interviews and sampling of coffee beans were carried out during the survey. The number of respondents at farmer, trader and exporter  levels was 22, 20 and 4, respectively, while the number of samples collected from each level was 20. All samples were analyzed for moisture content, physical quality, insect and fungal infestation, reducing sugar content, and coffee cupping. The results of the interviews indicated that postharvest handling and technology processing became better from farmers to exporters. Moisture contents of coffee beans collected from farmers and traders were higher than the tolerable limit recommended by SNI (13%). Physical quality of coffee beans collected from exporters was higher than that collected from farmers and traders. Insects were found on coffee beans collected from farmers, traders and exporters, but the number of species and the percentage of samples infested by insects from each level were relatively low. The predominant species was Liposcelis entomophila. The number of fungal species on coffee beans collected from farmers was higher than  that collected from traders and exporters. The predominant species at the three levels was Aspergillus niger, but the lowest percentage of beans infected by this fungus was found on coffee beans collected from exporters. The lowest percentage of samples infected by all fungi was also found on coffee beans collected from exporters. Reducing sugar content of coffee beans collected from exporters was lower than that from farmers and traders. Aroma and flavor values tended to increase from farmers through traders to exporters, while the body decreased. Some off-flavors (i.e. earthy, mouldy, fermented and woody) were encountered in a few coffee samples from farmers as well as from traders. There was no off-flavor encountered in the coffee samples from exporters. Key words:    Stored products pests/Postharvest handling/Technology processing/Moisture content Physical quality/Insect/Fungi/Reducing sugars/Coffee cupping/Coffee/ Lampung

The Occurrence of Insects, Fungi and Organoleptic Characteristics in Stored Coffee Beans in Lampung

A survey on postharvest handling and technology processing of coffee beans at farmer, trader and exporter levels was conducted in West Lampung and Tanggamus regencies of Lampung province during harvest time (July 1998). Interviews and sampling of coffee beans were carried out during the survey. The number of respondents at farmer, trader and exporter levels was 22, 20 and 4, respectively, while the number of samples collected from each level was 20. All samples were analyzed for moisture content, physical quality, insect and fungal infestation, reducing sugar content, and coffee cupping. The results of the interviews indicated that postharvest handling and technology processing became better from farmers to exporters. Moisture contents of coffee beans collected from farmers and traders were higher than the tolerable limit recommended by SNI (13%). Physical quality of coffee beans collected from exporters was higher than that collected from farmers and traders. Insects were found on coffee beans collected from farmers, traders and exporters, but the number of species and the percentage of samples infested by insects from each level were relatively low. The predominant species was Liposcelis entomophila. The number of fungal species on coffee beans collected from farmers was higher than that collected from traders and exporters. The predominant species at the three levels was Aspergillus Niger, but the lowest percentage of beans infected by this fungus was found on coffee beans collected from exporters. The lowest percentage of samples infected by all fungi was also found on coffee beans collected from exporters. Reducing sugar content of coffee beans collected from exporters was lower than that from farmers and traders. Aroma and flavor values tended to increase from farmers through traders to exporters, while the body decreased. Some off-flavors (i.e. earthy, mouldy, fermented and woody) were encountered in a few coffee samples from farmers as well as from traders. There was no off-flavor encountered in the coffee samples from exporters

Characterisation of hidden objects in electrical impedance tomography using adaptive boundary elements

Electromagnetic inverse problems involve determining the location and identifying the shape and parameters of hidden conducting objects. Low-frequency, low-conductivity applications, range from geophysical applications, such as electric resistivity imaging (ERI), including groundwater detection or minerals and oil identification, to medical imaging problems using electrical impedance tomography (EIT). EIT consists of finding the conductivity contrast between an anomaly and a healthy tissue from voltage measurements around the patient body. For EIT, the perturbed electrical potential field (which is related to the voltage measurements) can be described by an asymptotic expansion as the size of an isolated inclusion goes to 0, which the leading order term separating into the gradient of a free-space Green's function, the gradient of the background potential field at the position of the object and the polarization tensor. In this work, we present an adaptive boundary element mesh algorithm to compute the polarization tensor accurately using BEM++. Moreover, the relationship of the computational discretisation of the object is investigated through a series of numerical experiments

The formation of [M–H]+ ions in N-alkyl-substituted thieno[3,4-c]-pyrrole-4,6-dione derivatives during atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry

RATIONALE The formation of ions during atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) mass spectrometry in the positive mode usually provides radical cations and/or protonated species. Intriguingly, during the analysis of some N-alkyl-substituted thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione (TPD) derivatives synthesized in our laboratory, unusual [M–H]+ ion peaks were observed. In this work we investigate the formation of [M–H]+ ions observed under APPI conditions. METHODS Multiple experimental parameters, including the type of ionization source, the composition of the solvent, the type of dopant, the infusion flow rate, and the length of the alkyl side chain were investigated to determine their effects on the formation of [M–H]+ ions. In addition, a comparison study of the gas-phase tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) fragmentation of [M + H]+ vs [M–H]+ ions and computational approaches were used. RESULTS [M–H]+ ions were observed under APPI conditions. The type of dopant and the length of the alkyl chain affected the formation of these ions. MS/MS fragmentation of [M–H]+ and [M + H]+ ions exhibited completely different patterns. Theoretical calculations revealed that the loss of hydrogen molecules from the [M + H]+ ions is the most favourable condition under which to form [M–H]+ ions. CONCLUSIONS [M–H]+ ions were detected in all the TPD derivatives studied here under the special experimental conditions during APPI, using a halogenated benzene dopant, and TPD containing substituted N-alkyl side chains with a minimum of four carbon atoms. Density functional theory calculations showed that for [M–H]+ ions to be formed under these conditions, the loss of hydrogen molecules from the [M + H]+ ions is proposed to be necessary