Teachers’ attitude towards education for sustainable development: A descriptive research

Teachers are the torch bearers of sustainable development, promoting social change and maintaining balance between two important concepts development and sustainability. They have a pivotal role in promoting education for sustainable development (ESD) perpetuating social change leading to progressive development and a futuristic growth in the society. ESD is one of the millennium development goals acknowledged globally and need to get practiced widely. Teachers play prominent role in inculcating the knowledge, spreading values, and enriching skills that are needed for sustainability to cope with the change in attributes of workplace. The central theme of the study was to determine the attitude of high school teachers concerning ESD. For this, the normative survey method (N=150) was used to collect data. The data were collected by an attitude scale entitled “ESD attitude scale”. This investigation examined teachers’ attitude towards ESD based on teachers’ gender, subject of teaching, and type of management of the institution. To achieve the objectives of the study, item-based assessment with percentage analysis, t-values and F-values were calculated. Research findings showed that teachers have a favorable attitude towards ESD. Gender and management of the institution were not found to change attitudes towards ESD of high school teachers, whereas the subject of teaching was found to change the same. With these pieces of evidence from the present study, educationalists can reform the existing high school education system for sustainable development

RECURRENCE QUANTIFICATION ANALYSIS OF SYSTEM SIGNALS FOR DETECTING TOOL WEAR IN A LATHE

ABSTRACT The work investigates applicability of recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) in metal cutting with an objective to detect tool wear. The effectiveness of applying a system input signal; the drive motor current, in relation to a system output signal; the tool vibration, for the analysis is also explored. The work establishes conclusively that three of the RQA variables, percent determinism, percent recurrence and entropy are sensitive to tool wear

Multi-period Project Portfolio Selection under Risk considerations and Stochastic Income

This paper deals with multi-period project portfolio selection problem. In this problem, the available budget is invested on the best portfolio of projects in each period such that the net profit is maximized. We also consider more realistic assumptions to cover wider range of applications than those reported in previous studies. A novel mathematical model is presented to solve the problem, considering risks, stochastic incomes, and possibility of investing extra budget in each time period. Due to the complexity of the problem, an effective meta-heuristic method hybridized with a local search procedure is presented to solve the problem. The algorithm is based on genetic algorithm (GA), which is a prominent method to solve this type of problems. The GA is enhanced by a new solution representation and well selected operators. It also is hybridized with a local search mechanism to gain better solution in shorter time. The performance of the proposed algorithm is then compared with well-known algorithms, like basic genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and electromagnetism-like algorithm (EM-like) by means of some prominent indicators. The computation results show the superiority of the proposed algorithm in terms of accuracy, robustness and computation time. At last, the proposed algorithm is wisely combined with PSO to improve the computing time considerably

Maintenance Initiation Prediction Incorporating Vibrations and System Availability

As per ISO-10816, electric motors up to 15 kW are classified as Class I machines, and the major reason for their failure is that the vibrations in them are above the alert limit. This study presents a new model for predicting the condition-based maintenance (CBM) initiation points through vibration measurement in a system of Class I machines. The proposed model follows the accelerated life testing (ALT) procedure. ALT includes the formation of an artificial wear environment in bearings to analyze the resultant system vibrations on system availability. The artificial wear environment created is close to the real industrial situation. The results show that the prediction of the CBM initiation points is based on the established relation between the system availability and vibrations. Furthermore, a relation between the available time for maintenance initiation and different vibration velocities is demonstrated

Copenhagen commitments and implications: A comparative analysis of India and China

Dynamic targets have been long advocated as a participatory tool for developing countries in climate change mitigation. Copenhagen commitments of India and China resume this trend after the unsuccessful attempt of Argentina a decade ago. However, linear intensity targets are prone to 'hot air' problems or non-compliance risks. Intensity targets of India and China are analyzed using their elasticity parameters. The relationship of these parameters to the structural nature of emissions and GDP profiles has been demonstrated and a method of comparing the probability indices of target achievement has been formulated in this paper, showing a lower probability for China compared to India. Similarly, a method of defining stringency factor for linear targets has been suggested and stringency factors evaluated for India (40%) and China (90%), which shows the relative stability of India's targets. This paper evaluates an energy-GDP-emissions index (EYE index) to indicate the extent of coupling/decoupling of economic growth from emissions. The three indices developed in this paper, namely, elasticity parameter, stringency factor and EYE index can be effectively used to analyze the economy-emissions relationships for policy making and target setting.Analysis of India and China Intensity targets Stringency factor

Rapid detection of malaria parasite by toluidine blue method: A new staining method

Background: Malaria is a commonest mosquito-borne infectious disease worldwide. Early identification and management of malaria prevents complications and mortality. Identification of the malaria mainly relies on detection of the parasite on blood smears. The present study was conducted to compare Toluidine blue method with Leishman method for detection of malaria parasite and also to study the efficacy and advantages of using Toluidine blue method. Materials and Methods: In 540 consecutive patients with clinical suspicion of malaria, peripheral smears were prepared. Smears were processed for both conventional Leishman method and Toluidine blue method simultaneously. The significance of Toluidine blue method over Leishman method was analyzed using Chi-square (χ2 ) test. Results: Out of 540 smears, 28.3% (153/540) were positive for malaria parasite on conventional Leishman method, while the smear positivity was more by Toluidine blue method to 33.3% (180/540) [P value < 0.01]. The remaining 66.67% (360/540) were negative by both Toluidine blue method and conventional Leishman method. Conclusion: The Toluidine blue method is simple, rapid, inexpensive, and easily available. The implementation of Toluidine blue method clearly improves microscopic detection of malaria parasite and can be a useful contribution to routine hematology even at rural health sectors