Unleashing the Power of the Global Web

Today's economy is characterized by increased connectivity of global markets, resource mobility, shifts in global production, unfettered global competition and turbo charging of emerging economies like China, India and Brazil. To thrive in this volatile and dynamic global economy people need high-end knowledge skills which can prepare them to respond to these changes in a global economy. One way to envision and then acquire skills for the future marketplace is to understand the emerging global megatrends

Effect of stacking sequence of bi-directional jute/flax fibre on tensile strength, water absorption and tribological behavior of epoxy based hybrid composites

500-504Effect of different stacking sequence of jute and flax fabrics on the tensile, water absorption and wear properties of hybrid composite laminate has been studied. The composites have been manufactured by hand lay-up technique. The stacking sequence configurations are set as JJJJJ (jute-jute-jute-jute-jute), JFJFJ (jute-flax-jute-flax-jute), JFFFJ (jute-flax-flax-flax-jute), FJJJF (flax-jute-jute-jute-flax) and FJFJF (flax-jute-flax-jute-flax). It is found that the specimen with FJFJF sequence has highest tensile strength (149.12 MPa), less water absorption and better wear resistance than that of the other sequences

A Framework to Localize International Business to Business Web Sites

The main purpose of this study is to propose and apply an analytical framework to help B2B marketers assess and develop web sites that are localized not only for the B2B marketplace but also for international markets. This study deals with an area that has not received much attention in academic research as previous studies have mainly focused on B2C web sites. The study focuses on B2B web sites and provides a framework to assess web site localization. A content analysis of American and Korean web sites was conducted to analyze the proposed framework. The overall results show that U.S. companies have not accomplished a high degree of localization for B2B markets. The study results indicate that most U.S. companies focus primarily on the translation of web content from English to Korean to create web sites.While it is true that globalization has brought us closer than ever to Mcluhan\u27s (1964) idea of a global village, major differences across countries and regions exist and play a significant role in how consumers react to web site designs and content. Therefore, this framework is vital to business seeking consumers globally. Using this framework should allow businesses to localize their B2B web sites and included key areas that appeal to local consumers.The study concludes by providing marketers insights into factors that can help them better localize their international B2B web sites

A Framework to Localize International Business to Business Web Sites

The main purpose of this study is to propose and apply an analytical framework to help B2B marketers assess and develop web sites that are localized not only for the B2B marketplace but also for international markets. This study deals with an area that has not received much attention in academic research as previous studies have mainly focused on B2C web sites. The study focuses on B2B web sites and provides a framework to assess web site localization. A content analysis of American and Korean web sites was conducted to analyze the proposed framework. The overall results show that U.S. companies have not accomplished a high degree of localization for B2B markets. The study results indicate that most U.S. companies focus primarily on the translation of web content from English to Korean to create web sites.While it is true that globalization has brought us closer than ever to Mcluhan\u27s (1964) idea of a global village, major differences across countries and regions exist and play a significant role in how consumers react to web site designs and content. Therefore, this framework is vital to business seeking consumers globally. Using this framework should allow businesses to localize their B2B web sites and included key areas that appeal to local consumers.The study concludes by providing marketers insights into factors that can help them better localize their international B2B web sites

Effect of stacking sequence of bi-directionaljute/flax fibre on tensile strength, water absorption and tribological behavior of epoxybased hybrid composites

Effect of different stacking sequence of jute and flax fabrics onthe tensile, water absorption and wear properties of hybridcomposite laminate has been studied. The composites have beenmanufactured by hand lay-up technique. The stacking sequenceconfigurations are set as JJJJJ (jute-jute-jute-jute-jute), JFJFJ(jute-flax-jute-flax-jute), JFFFJ (jute-flax-flax-flax-jute), FJJJF(flax-jute-jute-jute-flax) and FJFJF (flax-jute-flax-jute-flax). It isfound that the specimen with FJFJF sequence has highest tensilestrength (149.12 MPa), less water absorption and better wearresistance than that of the other sequences

ASSISTANT AUTOMATIC MULTIMODAL SUGGESTIONS

A computing device (e.g., a smartphone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smartwatch, etc.) may provide a user with multimodal suggestions in response to an ambiguous user request. The computing device may evaluate a user request to an assistant and determine that the request is ambiguous as to the user’s intent. The computing device may determine, based on the evaluation, multimodal suggestions to prompt the user to clarify the intent of the user request. The computing device may output the suggestions to the user via various combinations of graphical user interface elements, text displayed via a user interface, and spoken indications. The user may provide an input (e.g., touch, stylus, mouse, keyboard, voice, etc.) to select one of the suggestions. Based on the selected suggestion, the computing device may perform the desired action and may train a user-specific machine learning model to perform the desired action when the user provides the same or similar ambiguous user request in the future

Small Wins Approach to Changing Minds about Blended Learning

Although blended learning offers many potential benefits to students and institutions, there is still some resistance from faculty. Change management is especially difficult in university settings due to issues related to faculty governance. The small-wins approach to change management advocates undertaking a series of limited, concrete projects that bring about moderately-important outcomes. The small wins approach maps well to a number of strategies for overcoming resistance. This paper discusses the small wins approach to overcoming resistance to blended learning in a university setting

Evaluation of contact spermicidal potential of Lantana camara leaf extracts on human spermatozooa

Background: The Present study was designed to evaluate the spermicidal potential of various Lantana camara leaf extracts on healthy human spermatozoa.Methods: Four different extracts viz. Petroleum ether, Chloroform, Methanol and Water were prepared and diluted to various concentrations. These were then treated with suitably diluted human semen samples. Various parameters like sperm motility, sperm viability, sperm count, hypoosmotic swelling, acrosomal status and function were noted.Results: The results showed that methanolic and aqueous extracts possessed maximum spermicidal potential in terms of above mentioned sperm health and function parameters. Therefore, methanolic and aqueous extracts were further studied for In-vitro evaluation of pro-oxidant activity by detection of ROS generation using fluorescent probe detection method.Conclusions: The results revealed that both methanolic and aqueous extracts of Lantana camara possessed pro-oxidant potential which could be attributed for its observed contact spermicidal activity