Debating Diversity in Provision of Universal Primary Education in Bangladesh

Multiple providers (including state, quasi-state and non-state ones) have contributed to raising initial enrolment and improving gender balance in Bangladesh. The critical question is how multiplicity and diversity of provision can contribute to achieving truly universal primary education with high completion rates and acceptable levels of learning. In this paper, these questions are addressed in the context of history and circumstances of educational development in Bangladesh, as the Government attempts to put into effect a new national education policy and design a five year (2011-15) national development plan

Pakistani Feminist Fiction and the Empowerment of Women

It has been claimed that feminism is the movement for the achievement of equal status of women with that of men. Sometime it may even let the women excel more than men. Benefit of Feminism has gone to the women from the poor as well as rich strata of society. The fiction writers of Pakistan have also portrayed the same because they mostly try to give an ideal picture of women enjoying equal right with their men. While doing so, they indicate the psychological development of women which can be traced in the development of various women characters. Pakistani women writers have done this more vigorously as compared to the men writers. This paper aims at discovering the undercurrent idea behind this scenario that psychological development of women character in Pakistani fiction creates a source for the emancipation and empowerment of women in Pakistani society. This psychological development is reflected in the portrayals of women characters in Pakistani fiction

Comparative Analysis of Parallel vs Series Hybrid Electric Powertrains

In the United States, more than a quarter of greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions (27%) are attributed to the transportation sector which comprises mainly of vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (ICE). To reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and the resulting GHG emissions associated with conventional ICE vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles are being promoted as a viable near-term vehicle technology. This paper is a comparative experimental study of two types of hybrid systems: parallel (also known as plug-in hybrid) and series (also known as extended-range electric) hybrid systems. The two hybrid systems are modelled on an electric bicycle platform and field tested to analyze their performance. The fuel economy was measured and compared in L/100km and the electric powertrain efficiency of the system was measured and compared in watt-hours per kilometer (Wh/km). A sensitivity analysis is carried out in terms of different transmission gear ratios and the variable setpoints in the hybrid control logic to access the impact these factors have on the performance of the hybrid system. This paper focuses only on the technological aspect of the hybrid system and any social and policy aspects associated are not considered. The constructive modeling of the hybrid system, the limitations faced during the process and the results of the field tests are presented

MOBILE ADVERTISING: A USER’S PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore the preferences of mobile users when it comes to mobile advertising, what they perceive are the main characteristics and functions of mobile advertising messages. Qualitative approach was used in this data was collected through focus group discussions. Qualitative thematic analysis with the help of Nvivo has been used to evaluate the texts collected from the participants of the focus groups. The findings of the study revealed that the main functions of mobile phone are personal communication, advertising and information. Moreover, mobility, immediacy and personalization have been identified as the main characteristics of mobile communication and lastly, product centred messages and customer centred messages are identified as the main categories as far as the content of mobile communication is concerned

Evaluation of Traffic Speed Deflectometer for Pavement Structural Evaluation in Louisiana

Many state agencies have recognized the importance of incorporating pavement structural conditions in the selection of maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) strategies along with functional indices. To measure in-service pavement structural capacity, surface deflection under a defined load has been typically used. The Rolling Wheel Deflectometer (RWD) and Traffic Speed Deflectometer (TSD) have emerged as continuous pavement deflection-measuring devices as they operate at traffic speed and reduces lane closure and user delays. The research objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using TSD measurements at the network-level for pavement conditions structural evaluation in Louisiana. To achieve the objectives of the study, TSD and Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) measurements were collected in District 05 of Louisiana and data were available from experimental programs conducted at the MnROAD research test facility and in Idaho. TSD measurements were compared with FWD deflection measurements to evaluate the level of agreement and difference between the two devices. Based on this evaluation, an SN predictive model was developed and validated to assess the structural conditions of in-service pavements based on TSD measurements. The model was then used to identify structurally sound and structurally deficient in-service pavements. This study also assessed whether the use of surface indices only or the declining rates of these indices to identify structurally damaged sections is feasible instead of relying on RWD and TSD estimated pavement structural indices. Based on the results of the analysis, it is concluded that the deflection reported by both FWD and TSD for the same locations are statistically different, which was expected given the differences in loading characteristics and load type between the two devices. It is also concluded that surface roughness has a notable effect on the TSD field measured deflections. The present study successfully developed and validated a model to predict in-service SN based on TSD deflections at 0.01-mile intervals of a road section. Core samples showed that the sections that were predicted to be structurally deficient from the model suffered from asphalt stripping and debonding problems. Yet, some of these sections were in very good conditions according to their functional indices. Findings suggest that structural deficiency, rates of deterioration, and surface indices were correlated to a certain extent. Yet, surface indices cannot be used as a reliable predictor of structural capacity. For RWD tested sections, the most accurate surface index, which was the alligator cracking surface index, erroneously identified 35% of structurally sound sections as structurally deficient and 51.5% of structurally deficient sections as structurally sound. Similar results were also obtained for the TSD tested sections. The cost implication associated with misinterpreted sections from functional indices was investigated. The incorporation of structural indices is expected to provide significant savings to state agencies

Detection of Electromagnetic Inclusions using Topological Sensitivity

In this article a topological sensitivity framework for far field detection of a diametrically small electromagnetic inclusion is established. The cases of single and multiple measurements of the electric far field scattering amplitude at a fixed frequency are taken into account. The performance of the algorithm is analyzed theoretically in terms of its resolution and sensitivity for locating an inclusion. The stability of the framework with respect to measurement and medium noises is discussed. Moreover, the quantitative results for signal-to-noise ratio are presented. A few numerical results are presented to illustrate the detection capabilities of the proposed framework with single and multiple measurements.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figure

NEGOTIATING MANICHEAN ALLEGORY IN MORRISON’S PARADISE

The colonialist mind is full of binary thinking. Their literature is abounding in nothing other than racial thinking in their deep structure. There are varieties of binary thinking that set a single outlook towards the colonial power: an ideology of self and other. The following descriptive study is a kind of confirmation of this ideology. Abdullah JanMuhammad has discussed in detail the colonialist literature and the impact of European values on indigenous mind through the pieces of literature. He asserts that the colonialist literature depicts a stereotypical mindset of colonizers towards colonized, which is a product of social and cultural difference. Toni Morrison being a spokesperson of different racial issue is portraying the same stereotypical attitude on moral and intellectual grounds. She is making her novel Paradise, a device to articulate that there is no phase in-between their self and the colonized’s other and there cannot be any reconciliation and settlement between the colonizer and the colonized