Human systems integration of agricultural machinery in developing economy countries: Sudan as a case study

Includes bibliographical references.2022 Fall.Widespread adoption of agricultural machinery for developing economy countries is commonly regarded as a fundamental component of pro-poor growth and sustainable intensification. Mechanized farming can also improve perceptions of farming and mitigate rural-out migration. However, many traditional farmers do not have access to machinery and/or the machinery is cost prohibitive. This study applies the systems engineering approach to identify human-systems integration (HSI) solutions in agricultural practices to more effectively adapt technologies to satisfy traditional farmers' needs. A treatment control study was conducted on 36 farms in Sudan, Africa, over three farming seasons: 2019 (baseline), 2020, and 2021. The treatment group farmers (N = 6) were provided with agricultural machinery (i.e., tractor, cultivator, planter, and harvester), fuel for the machinery, and training to use the machinery. Farmers were interviewed at the beginning of the study and then after each planting and harvesting season during the study. Findings show that the most significant barriers for technology adoption were culture, security, and maintenance costs. However, they also reported that the most significant challenges in their nonmechanized farming practices were related to labor, safety, and profit margins, all of which could be addressed with machinery. Moreover, the results show that all farmers had similar net profits in 2019, when farming without machinery, while mechanized farming yielded significantly higher net profits ($16.61 per acre more in 2020 and$27.10 per acre more in 2021). Farmers also provided needs and rationales of various design options in tractors and attachments. The findings of this dissertation suggest that, despite the initial resistance to using agricultural machinery, the farmers were pleased by their experience after using farming machinery and expressed an even more accepting attitude from their children towards this new farming process. These results demonstrate the importance of developing effective solutions for integrating farming technology into rural farming practices in developing economy countries. More broadly, this study can be used as an HSI framework for identifying design needs and integrating technology into users' lifestyle. The results presented in this dissertation provide a quantified difference between farming with and without machinery, which can provide a financial basis for purchasing and borrowing models, machinery design requirements, and educational value to farmers. Further, the financial values and design requirements can help inform farmers regarding expected costs, returns, and payoffs from tractor adoption. Manufacturers and policymakers can utilize this to promote technology adoption more effectively to farmers in developing economy countries

Effect of sulfur and Nano- carbon black on the mechanical properties of hard rubber

لتحسين خصائص المطاط الصلب (ايبونايت) من المطاط الطبيعي، تم اضافة اسود الكربون النانوي وتم قياس خصائص الشد والكثافة والصلابة وخصائص الفلكنة لمجموعة من العينات مع كميات مختلفة من الكبريت من 18-36 pphr و كميات مختلفه من اسود الكاربون (18-26-30)pphr . وأظهرت النتائج أن أفضل نسبة للكاربون هي 30 pphr، حيث يعطي التوازن بين خصائص الشد من ناحية والمتانة والمرونة من ناحية أخرى وتقليل هشاشة في المطاط الصلب.To improve the properties of hard rubber(Ebonite) from natural rubber, added Nano-Carbon black, where measured the properties of tensile, density, hardness and the properties of the vulcanization of a group of samples with different amount of sulfur from 18-36 pphr and different of carbon black (18-26-30) pphr. The results showed that the best carbon black ratio is 30 pphr, where it gives a balance between tensile properties of hand and toughness and flexibility of on the other hand and reduce brittleness in hard rubber

Strategic Planning Practices: A Key Success of Organization Growth and Development (A Case Study of Dal Group Company Ltd)

This paper asks to what extend strategic planning can have effects on organizations growth and development. Taking in consideration the issues that been raised by some researchers; that the strategic planning process tended to be inflexible since it operates in hyperactive changing environment and poorly  adapted to changing environment usually affected organization adversely. The main object of the study was to evaluate the impact of strategic planning on growth and development of manufacturing organizations in Sudan; a country marked by political and economic instability, due to multiple wars and USA economic sanctions, which extended for almost twenty years. More precisely the study focused on Dal Group Company Limited (DGCL).The study has formulated three hypotheses that have more effects on organization growth and development; setting objectives, organization structure, and budget allocations. Data has conducted through questionnaire, interviews, records and observation. Statistical Package of Social Studies (SPSS) has used to test the hypotheses and get results. The findings confirmed that, strategic planning has significant impact on the company growth and development. Therefore, the study revealed that, well implemented strategic planning is effective in an organization growth and development. This underscores the importance roles of strategic management, especially in light of volatile and turbulent environment. Keywords: Strategic planning, objectives, structure, budget, organization growth

The Impact of Human Recourses Management Practices on Organizational Performance: Assessing the Mediating Role of Employee Productivity

Organizational innovative performance considered as an essential weapon for organizations to compete in current hyperactive competitive business environment. One of the ways to achieve innovative performance is through effective human resources management practices (HRMP). This study aimed to examine the impact of human resources management practices on organizational performance, and testing the effective role of individual employee as a mediator between HRM practices and organizational performance. The study conducted exclusively on the Sudanese commercial banking sector. More precisely the study concentrated on practices effect on employee’s productivity, attitude and satisfaction. The study awarded on seven variables of human resources management practices; employment security, performance appraisal, career management, extensive training, employee empowerment, reward system and recruitment system. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire, to analyze the effect of these seven variables, using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results showed that all seven variables of human resource management practices are positively correlate with organizational performance in banking sector in Sudan, and significantly training and reward system. Findings also supported the mediation role of individual productivity between HRM practices and Sudan banking sector performance. Keywords: human resource management practices, Performance, Banking sector

Monopolism versus Competition: Assessing Impacts on Export Capability (Comparative Study on Gum Arabic Export Merit)

This study aims to examine the impact of key policy changes on the gum Arabic sector after Gum Arabic Company concession withdrawn. Focusing on attitude of production and export performance. It is an attempt to contribute to solve the problem of huge decline and fluctuation of Gum Arabic production and exports in last decay. This decline had led to drop in revenues. Many factors were behind this problem ; part of them are naturally as drought, and mainly are human made as lack of policies and strategies of both government and the Gum Arabic Company (GAC),which was monopolized gum Arabic exports till recent years. The main object of the study was to evaluate the impact of de-monopolism policy on gum export performance, and generally, the paper intended to conduct comparative study between monopolism and competition. The study has formulated some hypotheses, concluded to that; monopolism policy of gum export is ineffective. Data has conducted through questionnaire, personal meeting, records and observation. Statistical Package of Social Studies (SPSS) has used to test the hypotheses and get results. The results confirmed that, monopolism policy is ineffective and mainly caused in the drop of the exports revenue and lowered Sudan world market share. Keywords: Gum Arabic, competition, monopolism, capability

Health Workers Compliance to Infection Prevention and Control Measures at public Hospitals, Khartoum, Sudan, 2019

يتم تعريف العدوى على أنها غزو عن طريق مضاعفة الكائنات الحية الدقيقة المسببة للأمراض في جزء أو نسيج جسدي ، مما قد ينتج عنه إصابة الأنسجة اللاحقة والتقدم في التغلب على الأمراض من خلال مجموعة متنوعة من الآليات الخلوية أو السامة. عرف عدوى المستشفيات باسم الالتهابات المستشفوية (NI). المصطلح مشتق من الكلمة اليونانية "Nosokomeion" وهذا يعني "المستشفى تعتني بالتهابات" الناتجة عن العلاج في المستشفى أو في وحدة خدمات الرعاية الصحية. عدوى المستشفى المعروفة باسم العدوى المرتبطة بالرعاية الصحية (HCAIs) ، ولكنها ليست ثانوية للحالة الأصلية للمريض. تُعتبر الالتهابات "مستشفوية" إذا ظهرت بعد 48 ساعة أو أكثر من دخول المستشفى أو في غضون 30 يومًا بعد الخروج منه. يختلف انتشار HCAI على نطاق واسع في جميع أنحاء العالم. عالميا، يقدر أن ما يقرب من 10 ٪ من المرضى في المستشفى يكتسبون HCAI واحد على الأقل. يمكن أن يصل معدل انتشار HCAI في البلدان النامية إلى 30-50 ٪. الهدف من هذه الدراسة هو تحديد المعرفة وتحديد موقف وممارسات العاملين في مجال الصحة لتدابير الوقاية من العدوى ومكافحتها في المستشفيات العامة في ولاية الخرطوم. الهدف من هذه الدراسة هو تحديد المعرفة وتحديد موقف وممارسات العاملين في مجال الصحة لتدابير الوقاية من العدوى ومكافحتها في المستشفيات العامة في ولاية الخرطوم. هذه الدراسة وصفية ، مستعرضة ، مستندة إلى دراسة ، أجريت في المستشفيات العامة في ولاية الخرطوم ، السودان. تم جمع البيانات عن طريق استبيان تم توزيعه على 270 و 250 استبيان تم استكماله للتحليل. حيث تم تحليل البيانات بواسطة برنامج SPSS. وفقًا لتأثير معظم المشاركين ، فإن مستوى تنفيذ ممارسات مكافحة العدوى والاحتياطات القياسية في هذه الدراسة كان مستوى دون المستوى القياسي لضمان سلامة العدوى في العاملين الصحيين والمرضى. بشكل عام ، كان لدى العاملين في مجال الصحة معرفة وممارسات متوسطة ، وممارسات سيئة بشأن الوقاية من الفيروسات المرتبطة بالرعاية الصحية والسيطرة عليها، من نتائج هذه الدراسة يتم تحديد 62 ٪ (الشكل 4.1) من العاملين في مجال الصحة لديهم معرفة جيدة و 38 ٪ لديهم معرفة ضعيفة في حين أن كان 62.8 ٪ (الشكل 4.2) من العاملين في مجال صحة المرأة مواقف جيد و 37.2 ٪ لديهم موقف سيئ ، وكذلك 42.8 ٪ (الشكل 4.3) لديهم ممارسات جيدة و 57.2 ٪ لديهم ممارسات سيئة. عد نظافة اليدين الخطوة الأولى الأولى نحو النجاح في السيطرة على العدوى في أي مؤسسة للرعاية الصحية. لقد وجدت أنه في العاملين الصحيين ، كانت المعرفة المتعلقة بصحة اليدين مرتفعة (86.3٪) لكن الالتزام الفعلي كان أقل (52.1٪) مقارنة بمعرفتهم. أخيرًا ، يمثل عبء العمل عائقًا أمام التنفيذ الملائم لممارسات مكافحة العدوى ولا يشعر غالبية العاملين الصحيين في المستشفيات العامة بالارتياح لعملهم

Non-profit Organizations in Saudi Arabia: Reforming to Achieve the Kingdom Vision-2030 Goals

Non-profit organizations at global level play a distinctive social and developmental role via providing many social and humanitarian services. At the state level, Saudi nonprofit organizations receive significant financial support from the government, individuals and corporations to enable them to play a vital and active role in the service of Saudi society. However, this role seems to be weak and this weakness is due to insufficient performance of these organizations. Therefore, this study aims to identify the reasons behind insufficient performance of Saudi nonprofit organizations, in order to contribute in solving this problem, in addition to develop the current role of these nonprofit organizations to fit with international best practices to meet the objectives of Saudi Arabia vision 2030. The study has formulated three hypotheses that cause organizations insufficient performance, management practices, funding, and legalization. Data has conducted through questionnaire, interviews, records and observation. Statistical Package of Social Studies (SPSS) has used to test the hypotheses and get results. The results confirmed that, insufficient performance of Saudi nonprofit organization mainly caused by poor management practices, lack of funding, and inadequate legalization. In order to ascertain the real reasons for the insufficient performance of Saudi nonprofit organizations, the study used two methods, the questionnaire and Delphi method. Methods findings confirmed that the causes were identical, and this, in turn, confirms the credibility of the results and thus the importance of research. Keywords: - Nonprofit, Organizations, Vision, Performance, Management. Reforming

Web service quality-dased profiling and selection

Guaranteeing quality of service has been recently labeled as one of multiple major research challenges in the service oriented architecture. In effect, Web service selection from a set of matched services offering the same functional requirements, and ultimately claiming certain quality of service guarantees about themselves is not enough. A need emerges for the existence of a trusted third party that monitors Web service quality indicators, yet in a way that does not interfere with the normal operation of the Web service itself. The third party will eventually provide consumers with guarantees about Web service quality. In this research we propose a policy-based third party system for dynamically measuring relevant QoS metrics of a Web service, maintaining these measures for subsequent look-up requests and responding to QoS-aware service requests initiated by the clients. The system relies on a QoS-based architecture and a scheduling policy

Feature-based generation of pervasive systems architectures utilizing software product line concepts

As the need for pervasive systems tends to increase and to dominate the computing discipline, software engineering approaches must evolve at a similar pace to facilitate the construction of such systems in an efficient manner. In this thesis, we provide a vision of a framework that will help in the construction of software product lines for pervasive systems by devising an approach to automatically generate architectures for this domain. Using this framework, designers of pervasive systems will be able to select a set of desired system features, and the framework will automatically generate architectures that support the presence of these features. Our approach will not compromise the quality of the architecture especially as we have verified that by comparing the generated architectures to those manually designed by human architects. As an initial step, and in order to determine the most commonly required features that comprise the widely most known pervasive systems, we surveyed more than fifty existing architectures for pervasive systems in various domains. We captured the most essential features along with the commonalities and variabilities between them. The features were categorized according to the domain and the environment that they target. Those categories are: General pervasive systems, domain-specific, privacy, bridging, fault-tolerance and context-awareness. We coupled the identified features with well-designed components, and connected the components based on the initial features selected by a system designer to generate an architecture. We evaluated our generated architectures against architectures designed by human architects. When metrics such as coupling, cohesion, complexity, reusability, adaptability, modularity, modifiability, packing density, and average interaction density were used to test our framework, our generated architectures were found comparable, if not better than the human generated architectures