Innovation in Rural Development in Bangladesh: A Case of Some Rural Development Institutions

The conceptual basis for this study can be briefly stated as follows. Any innovation in rural development does not happen simply through the introduction of new technologies and new policies, though they are often quite valuable. It is now argued that the circumstances that lead to innovation are often unplanned, serendipitous, path dependent and as a result, specific to the location. This idea places a lot of emphasis on the ingenuity of entrepreneurs and the like in adapting new and existing ideas to suit their need. These innovations are often part of informal networks that are sources of different ideas and expertise and used in often novel and unexpected ways

Adopted Community Strategies to Offset Utility Crises in a Middle Income Locality of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Because of the spontaneous growth of Dhaka city, the utility crisis is increasing day by day. Therefore problems in utilities are considered centrally with respect to the economy and environment of Dhaka. But the local aspects are totally different from the central viewpoint. In this paper, two most prominent utility crises in Dhaka (i.e. the supply of gas and water) have been explored with their impacts and people’s coping mechanism with these problems has been documented.  The local people have been found adopting various alternative measures, even compromising their daily life cycle to make an adjustment with these problems. Keywords: Dhaka, utility service, gas, water, coping, daily routine

English Proficiency Assessments of Primary and Secondary Teachers and Students Participating in English in Action: Third Cohort (2014)

The purpose of the study was to assess the student learning outcomes of English in Action’s (EIA’s) school-based teacher development programme, in terms of improved English language competence (ELC),1 against recognised international frameworks (specifically, the Graded Examinations in Spoken English2 [GESE)]; Trinity College London 2013), which map onto the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)3. Measurably improved student learning outcomes are the ultimate test of success of a teacher development programme. English Proficiency Assessments 2014 is a repeat of the study on the pilot EIA programme (Cohort 14) (EIA 2012), but focusing only on student ELC. The teachers and hence the students of Cohort 3 are substantially greater in number than in the pilot phase (347,000 primary students and almost 1.7 million secondary students compared with around 700 teachers, 35,000 primary students and over 83,000 secondary students in 2011). To enable this increase in scale, the programme has been delivered through a more decentralised model, with much less direct contact with English language teaching (ELT) experts, a greater embedding of expertise within teacher development materials (especially video), and a greater dependence upon localised peer support. This report addresses the following research question: "To what extent do the students of Cohort 3 show improved post-intervention EL proficiencies, in speaking and listening, compared with the Cohort 1 2010 pre-intervention baseline?

Classroom Practices of Primary and Secondary Teachers Participating in English in Action: Third Cohort (2014)

This study reports on the third cohort of teachers and students to participate in EIA (2013–14). While the students and teachers in Cohort 3 underwent an essentially similar programme to those in Cohorts 1 and 2, they are much greater in number (there are over 8,000 teachers and 1.7 million students in Cohort 3, compared to 751 teachers and 118,000 students in Cohort 1). To enable ongoing increases in scale, the SBTD programme became increasingly decentralised, with less direct contact with English language teaching (ELT) experts, a greater embedding of expertise within teacher development materials (especially video) and a greater dependence upon localised peer support. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether there had been changes in the classroom practice of teachers and students participating in EIA Cohort 3 (2013–14). Previous research in language teaching has established that when teachers take up most of the lesson time talking, this can severely limit students’ opportunities to develop proficiency in the target language (Cook 2008); a general goal of English language (EL) teachers is to motivate their students to speak – and to practise using the target language (Nunan 1991). This study therefore focuses upon the extent of teacher and student talk, the use of the target language by both, and the forms of classroom organisation (individual, pair, group or choral work) in which student talk is situated. The study addresses two research questions: 1. To what extent do the teachers of Cohort 3 show classroom practice comparable to the teachers of Cohort 1, particularly in relation to the amount of student talk and the use of the target language by teachers and students, post-intervention? 2. In what ways do the teachers of Cohort 3 show improved classroom practice (particularly in relation to the amount of student talk and use of the target language by teachers and students) in contrast to the pre-intervention baseline? This study is a repeat of studies on Cohorts 1 & 2 (EIA 2011a, 2012a & 2014)

English Proficiency Assessments of Primary and Secondary Students Participating in English in Action: Third Cohort (2014) Large-Scale Quantitative Study

The purpose of the study was to assess the student learning outcomes of English in Action’s (EIA’s) school-based teacher development programme, in terms of improved English language competence (ELC), against recognised international frameworks (specifically, the Graded Examinations in Spoken English [GESE)]; Trinity College London 2013), which map onto the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Measurably improved student learning outcomes are the ultimate test of success of a teacher development programme. English Proficiency Assessments 2014 is a repeat of the study on the pilot EIA programme (Cohort 14) (EIA 2012), but focusing only on student ELC. The teachers and hence the students of Cohort 3 are substantially greater in number than in the pilot phase (347,000 primary students and almost 1.7 million secondary students compared with around 700 teachers, 35,000 primary students and over 83,000 secondary students in 2011). To enable this increase in scale, the programme has been delivered through a more decentralised model, with much less direct contact with English language teaching (ELT) experts, a greater embedding of expertise within teacher development materials (especially video), and a greater dependence upon localised peer support. This report addresses the following research question: To what extent do the students of Cohort 3 show improved post-intervention EL proficiencies, in speaking and listening, compared with the Cohort 1 2010 preintervention baseline

Cloud Forensic: Issues, Challenges and Solution Models

Cloud computing is a web-based utility model that is becoming popular every day with the emergence of 4th Industrial Revolution, therefore, cybercrimes that affect web-based systems are also relevant to cloud computing. In order to conduct a forensic investigation into a cyber-attack, it is necessary to identify and locate the source of the attack as soon as possible. Although significant study has been done in this domain on obstacles and its solutions, research on approaches and strategies is still in its development stage. There are barriers at every stage of cloud forensics, therefore, before we can come up with a comprehensive way to deal with these problems, we must first comprehend the cloud technology and its forensics environment. Although there are articles that are linked to cloud forensics, there is not yet a paper that accumulated the contemporary concerns and solutions related to cloud forensic. Throughout this chapter, we have looked at the cloud environment, as well as the threats and attacks that it may be subjected to. We have also looked at the approaches that cloud forensics may take, as well as the various frameworks and the practical challenges and limitations they may face when dealing with cloud forensic investigations.Comment: 23 pages; 6 figures; 4 tables. Book chapter of the book titled "A Practical Guide on Security and Privacy in Cyber Physical Systems Foundations, Applications and Limitations", World Scientific Series in Digital Forensics and Cybersecurit

Development of Durability Performance Related Test Methods for Pervious Concrete Pavement

Sustainability has become one of the most important design factors for pavement engineers over the last several years. Much of this focus has been on reducing material costs for pavement infrastructure by using innovative materials into traditional pavement design. Pervious concrete pavement has the ability to offset the typical requirement for stormwater management ponds for large paved areas. It can be considered as an alternative to impervious pavement systems as the open void structure of pervious concrete pavement allows water to infiltrate very quickly through it and join the natural ground water table. As a result, it does not disturb the natural hydrological cycle or increase the demand on the local stormwater management. Besides stormwater management, pervious concrete can also provide environmental and economic benefits such as removing water pollutants, reducing noise pollution, lowering the heat island effect, lowering light demand, and increasing driver safety through improved visibility. Pervious concrete pavement is receiving more and more interest recently due to the pressure by environmental agencies and environmental acts to reduce the quantity of stormwater runoff from urban areas. The introduction of pervious concrete pavements in cold weather climatic regions, specifically Canada, was driven by their sustainable benefits. However, there has been caution in the pavement industry to use pervious concrete in climates that experience freeze-thaw cycles. Literature shows that there is no dedicated test method to assess the performance of pervious concrete, which is structurally substantially different from conventional concrete pavements. The increased use of pervious concrete in roads, walkways, and parking lots demands improved specifications, performance criteria, and acceptance test methods for evaluating structural performance and durability of this innovative concrete product. The main objective of this research is to recommend specifications and performance criteria for pervious concrete based on the results of experimental investigations and field experience in Ontario, Canada. Above all, this study attempts to establish test procedures for evaluation of durability and performance of pervious concrete pavement. Initially the test methods available for conventional concrete were performed, the gaps were identified and the test methods were modified. Field samples were also collected and the modified test methods were performed on the field cores to define correlation between the laboratory and the field samples. Several pervious concrete field sites were constructed by the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) at the University of Waterloo, the Cement Association of Canada, and several other industry members from 2007 to 2011. Initial results from this work have been published previously. This research described herein involved continued collection of drainage data from instruments such as the moisture gauge measurements, strain gauge at three sites that are still being monitored. This field/laboratory study provides insight into the longer term drainage performance of pervious concrete pavement. This study has also involved an evaluation of the latest mix design, which has also built upon previous research. In addition new test methods have been evaluated and now that the pervious test sections are more than seven years old, the longer term drainage monitoring has been assessed. Barriers to implementing this technology are being solved, as the research is assisting designers on the various functional and structural design aspects. In this research, a framework is also developed to identify how pervious concrete can be integrated into low-volume infrastructure for cold climate such as Canada

Idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis presenting as severe iron deficiency anaemia--a case from Pakistan

Idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis is an uncommon disorder, which is characterized by iron deficiency, recurrent haemoptysis and diffuse parenchymal infiltration on chest radiograph. We report an 8 year old child who had past history of multiple blood transfusions with diagnosis of iron deficiency anaemia and recurrent chest infection since the age of 21/2 year. At the age of 8 years, the child presented with fever and severe respiratory distress requiring intubation and ventilation. On Chest X-ray, bilateral white out was found and CT scan lung showed diffuse alveolar involvement. Lung biopsy confirmed haemosiderin-laden macrophages. Child was put on steroids and despite severe anaemia (Hb 3.2 g/dl), he showed improvement and survived. To our knowledge, this is the first case of idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis reported from Pakistan

Knowledge of Arsenic in Drinking-water: Risks and Avoidance in Matlab, Bangladesh

Widespread contamination of arsenic in Bangladesh has been jeopardizing the health of millions of people. Residents of Matlab, Bangladesh, are among the millions at risk. Using bivariate models in the analysis of survey data, knowledge of health risks and avoidance of arsenic exposure in response to widespread contamination of arsenic for residents of Matlab were estimated. The models examined individuals' knowledge of an arsenic problem in the household and knowledge of specific illnesses caused by arsenic exposure. The likelihood of avoiding exposure to arsenic contamination was further examined. Results of the estimation showed that individual's knowledge of arsenic problems in the household was gathered through awareness campaigns and by word of mouth and that knowledge of illnesses was predicated on education, health, presence of children, elderly and young women. Adoption of avoidance measures was not affected by exposure to arsenic-information sources, but level of education had a statistically significant positive effect on the decision to avoid arsenic exposure. Lack of convenience of safe drinking-water practices lead people to persist in drinking arsenic-contaminated water