54 Physiochemical Analysis of Fresh Water Sources in District Bhimber, Azad Jammu Kashmir

The present study investigates the physiochemical parameters of drinking water quality in district Bhimber of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The drinking water supplies in the area come from four main sources, streams, springs, hand pumps and boreholes. A total of seventy one (71) samples from all four water sources were taken for determination of physiochemical parameters. The results show considerable variation in water quality parameters of different water sources. However, the data analyses indicate that physiochemical parameters of water samples are well within the permissible limits of drinking water quality. Stream water samples show slightly higher pH values, while two samples from hand-pump have shown marginally higher content of TDS. The mean values of dissolved oxygen in borehole and hand-pump water samples are also slightly below the water quality standard limits. The correlation studies show that pH has a strong negative correlation with calcium and positive relation with sodium in water samples of all four sources. Similarly, the dissolved oxygen has shown negative relationship with temperature and a weak to moderate positive relationship with pH of water. No evidence of pollution and industrial contamination of water was found. The study found that water from all four sources is safe for drinking purpose

Risk mitigation of poor power quality issues of standalone wind turbines:An efficacy study of synchronous reference frame (SRF) control

This paper validates and presents the efficiency and performance of Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) control as a mitigating control in managing risks of high volatility of electric current flows from the wind turbine generator to the distributed load. High volatility/fluctuations of electricity (high current, voltage disturbance) and frequency are hazards that can trip off or, in extreme cases, burn down a whole wind turbine generator. An advanced control scheme is used to control a Voltage Source Converter (VSC)-based three-phase induction generator with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). For the purpose of risk mitigation of harmonics, this scheme converts three-phase input quantity to two-phase Direct Current (DC) quantity (dq) so that the reactive power compensation decreases the harmonics level. Thus, no other analog filters are required to produce the reconstructed signal of fundamental frequency. In this paper, the values of Proportional Integral (PI) regulators are calculated through the “MONTE CARLO” optimization tool. Furthermore, risk analysis is carried out using bowtie, risk matrix and ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) methods, which is the novelty based on the parametric study of this research work. The results reveal that by inducting proposed SRF control into the Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS), the risks of high fluctuations and disturbances in signals are reduced to an acceptable level as per the standards of IEEE 519-2014 and EN 50160. The proposed work is validated through running simulations in MATLAB/Simulink with and without controls

The Influence of Customer Orientation on Customer Relationship in Telecom Services

In this study, an effort has been made to disclose the influence of customer orientation on customer retention. It has also revealed that customer orientation influences on customer satisfaction and customer trust and their ultimate effect on customer Retention. Primary data was collected through questionnaire survey.290 questionnaires were distributed out of which 219 were received and supposed for analysis purpose, 75.51% which is considered as a serious response rate of our respondents. Customer orientation has positive effect on customer satisfaction as well as on customer trust, which shows significant relationship of customer orientation on customer satisfaction and customer trust. Moreover, satisfaction and trust of customer has effect on customer retention. Satisfaction of customer has negative effect due to one or more reason, whereas, customer trust has positive and significant effect on customer retention. Customer orientated organizations earn more profit and can control customer retention. Findings of this study can also be used to control the customer retention. While customer orientation is under discussion then it has two major factors i.e. customer satisfaction and customer trust, organizations should more focus on these factors. Sometime when customer retention takes place even focusing these factors then current competitor’s strategies can also be kept in mind. This study is done in a developing country where there is a very tough competition among service providers to enhance their market share. The focus of this research is to control the switching customer, which is the one of the important problems facing by the service providers

RENDIMIENTO DEL MOTOR Y ANÁLISIS DE EMISIONES UTILIZANDO BIODIÉSEL DE NEEM Y JATROPHA

Este documento analiza la producción de biodiésel a partir de especies autóctonas de aceites de Jatropha curcas y Neem (Azadirachta indica), junto con el rendimiento del motor y las características de emisión de mezclas B10 a 1000 rpm. Los rendimientos de la producción de biodiésel fueron 90% y 68% en peso de Jatropha curcas y Neem (Azadirachta indica), respectivamente. Las tres mezclas preparadas de biodiésel fueron 10% Biodiésel de Neem (NB10), 10% de biodiésel de Jatropha (JB10) y 5% de Jatropha + 5% de Biodiésel de Neem (NJB10). La prueba de emisiones del motor mostró menos producción de monóxido de carbono con NB10 (94 2,15 ppm), seguida de JB10 (100 2,44 ppm) y NJB10 (121 3,65 ppm) en comparación con el diésel (135 2,18 ppm). Sin embargo, las emisiones de dióxido de carbono fueron más altas debido a las mejores características de combustión de las mezclas de biodiésel como NB10 (3,21%), JB10 (3,06%) y NJB10 (2,53%) comparado con el diésel (2,13%) por volumen. Las cantidades más bajas de emisiones de dióxido de azufre (SO2) se observaron con el combustible de biodiésel mezclado, en comparación con el diésel mineral. Las emisiones de dióxido de nitrógeno (NO2) fueron de 5 ppm de diésel a 73 C de temperatura de escape, mientras que se incrementó a 8 ppm mediante el uso de biodiésel mezclado con NB10 debido a las altas temperaturas de escape de 85;33 C. La potencia y la carga del motor producidos a partir de las muestras de biodiésel mezclado fueron ligeramente inferiores al diésel convencional en un 12% y un 7;7%, respectivamente. Los resultados experimentales mostraron que el rendimiento del motor y la emisión del biodiésel de Neem (NB10) era mejor en comparación con otras mezclas de biodiésel.//This paper presents the production of biodiesel from indigenous species of Jatropha curcas and Neem (Azadirachta indica) oils, then its engine performance and emission characteristics of B10 blends measured at 1000 rpm. Biodiesel production yields were found 90% and 68% by weight from Jatropha curcas and Neem (Azadirachta indica), respectively. Three prepared biodiesel blends were 10% Neem biodiesel (NB10), 10% Jatropha biodiesel (JB10) and 5% Jatropha + 5% Neem biodiesels (NJB10). The engine emission test showed less carbon monoxide production from NB10 (94 2.15 ppm), followed by JB10 (100 2.44ppm) and NJB10 (121 3.65ppm) as compared to diesel (135 2.18ppm). However, the carbon dioxide emissions were found higher due to the better combustion characteristics of biodiesel blends as NB10 (3.21%), JB10 (3.06%) and NJB10 (2.53%) than diesel (2.13%) by volume. The reduced amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions were found with blended biodiesel fuel in comparison to mineral diesel. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions were 5 ppm from diesel at 73 C exhaust temperature, while it was increased by using blended biodiesel, to 8 ppm with NB10 due to higher exhaust temperatures 85;33 C. The measured engine power and torque produced from the blended biodiesel samples were slightly lower than the conventional diesel by 12% and 7.7%, respectively. The experimental results showed that an engine performance and emission characteristic of Neem biodiesel (NB10) was better as compared to other biodiesel blends

Determinants of corporate hedging policies and derivatives usage in risk management practices of non-financial firms

Derivatives are the major icon among risk management practices. Firms usually use derivatives to hedge their foreign exchange and interest rate risk. This study aims to examine the determinants’ of corporate hedging policies and derivative usage in risk management particularly with respect to Pakistan, as the political and economic conditions in Pakistan are highly volatile which intends the corporations to handle and mitigate their risk through channelizing the derivatives. Secondary data of 75 non financial firms listed in Karachi Stock Exchange was collected over the period 2007-2011 – to regress empirically – for achieving the aim of this study. Mann-Whitney U test was used to distinguish the derivative user and non user. Findings of this test characterize users as large size, higher growth opportunities, cash flow volatility, foreign exchange and interest rate exposure. Moreover this study finds that there is a significant relationship between the use of derivatives and foreign purchase, liquidity, firm growth and size. Our findings suggest that derivative users have competitive edge over the non user, as they get economies of scale and proper risk management through using these kinds of derivative instruments

Determinants of corporate hedging policies and derivatives usage in risk management practices of non-financial firms

Derivatives are the major icon among risk management practices. Firms usually use derivatives to hedge their foreign exchange and interest rate risk. This study aims to examine the determinants’ of corporate hedging policies and derivative usage in risk management particularly with respect to Pakistan, as the political and economic conditions in Pakistan are highly volatile which intends the corporations to handle and mitigate their risk through channelizing the derivatives. Secondary data of 75 non financial firms listed in Karachi Stock Exchange was collected over the period 2007-2011 – to regress empirically – for achieving the aim of this study. Mann-Whitney U test was used to distinguish the derivative user and non user. Findings of this test characterize users as large size, higher growth opportunities, cash flow volatility, foreign exchange and interest rate exposure. Moreover this study finds that there is a significant relationship between the use of derivatives and foreign purchase, liquidity, firm growth and size. Our findings suggest that derivative users have competitive edge over the non user, as they get economies of scale and proper risk management through using these kinds of derivative instruments

Non-cascaded short-term pumped-storage hydro-thermal scheduling using accelerated particle swarm optimization

© 2018 IEEE. This paper presents the implementation of a variant of the famous particle swarm optimization, known as Accelerated Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO), on a non-cascaded or a two-unit hydro-thermal system with consideration of hydal pumping in light loading intervals of hydro-thermal scheduling period. APSO is an easy to program and easy to implement variant of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) that has the ability to converge to a good approximate to global optimum within a few iterations. A standard pumped-storage hydrothermal scheduling problem, discussed in existing literature, is considered for the implementation of APSO. A comparison of this implementation is also given with the previously existing implementations of other algorithms

Empirical Examination for Operational and Credit Risk Perspective – A Case of Commercial Banks of Pakistan

The objective of this study is to evaluate the factors that influence credit and operational risk in commercial banks. Financial data was collected from 11 commercial banks of Pakistan listed in Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) over the period of 2009-2014. Different statistical tools and techniques are applied to find the cause and effect relationship for the underconsideration issue.The banking sector have faced the rivalry with other financial institutions to grab the attention of the customers and having a considerable competition with other banks. The result has shown that operational risk had significant but negative relation with NPL and operating efficiency but positive and highly significant relationship with bank size. Credit risk had significant and positive regression values with gearing ratio. NPL, operating efficiency and bank size had negative and insignificant relation with credit risk. There was no relationship between gearing ratio and operational risk. However the bottomline of this research suggests that banks play an important role in providing the finance for many of the businesses. Moreover these institutions need more managerial grip and vigilant attitude towards the risk management

Dealing with high talent turnover through talent engagement strategies:a study of the hotel sector in Thailand

The hotel sector faces high team member turnover, incredibly talented workers who can contribute to outstanding performance and levelling world-class standards. Hotels need strategies to engage their talent effectively to maintain competitiveness. This paper used qualitative research, of which (38) semi-structured interviews were accompanied by key informants at the management level and supplemented by documentation and observation. The research revealed that effective talent engagement is linked directly to the well-known theory of effective talent management. Thus, the national culture influences talent engagement strategies. Within Thai culture, managers act as ‘parents’ and build strong interpersonal relationships