Adaptive control of a cloud simulation chamber expansion system

This dissertation describes the design and construction of a closed-loop computer controlled expansion system for a cloud simulation chamber. The chamber is used to simulate atmospheric phenomena for the study of microphysical processes. In order to accomplish this, the sample gas inside the chamber must be expanded adiabatically. This means the wall temperature and the gas temperature must be made to agree as closely as possible. The wall is cooled by thermoelectric modules, and the temperature is controlled by analog controllers. The gas is cooled by the adiabatic expansion, and the corresponding pressure is controlled by a laboratory minicomputer, a NOVA 840. The range of operation of the expansion system is specified to be 20.7 kPa (3 psi) change in pressure. The accuracy and the rms error must be better than ±0.0207 kPa (±0.003 psi) and 0.0414 kPa (0.006 psi), respectively. This range of operation is large enough that an analog controller can not obtain an adequate result. The error arises due to the fact that the input function is a ramp and the expansion system has multiple non-linearities. In order to obtain zero steady state error, the time- optimal control is implemented by the minicomputer. Table look-up and on-line identification schemes for the system parameters have been investigated. An adaptive control algorithm using on-line identification outperforms the table look-up method due the flexibility of the identification scheme. Special efforts are made to adjust the identification scheme so that the model parameters converge close to the system parameters within one step. The results indicate that the closed-loop computer controlled expansion system yields the desired specification --Abstract, pages ii-iii

Analyzing The Effects Of The Health BPJS Regulation On The Insurance Companies Performance And Efficiency

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the presence of BPJS Kesehatan regulations on the level of efficiency of insurance companies and to determine the effect of the level of efficiency of insurance companies on company performance in the period 2009 (before the implementation of the BPJS Kesehatan regulations) to 2019 (after the implementation of the BPJS Kesehatan regulations). The method used in this study is the analysis of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), calculation of Return on Assets (ROA), and calculation of Return on Equity (ROE) by testing 12 insurance company samples. The results showed that the company's efficiency had a significant positive change in the period before compared to after implementing the BPJS Kesehatan regulation. The tests of ROA and ROE showed that the company's performance did not significantly differ before and after implementing the BPJS Kesehatan regulation

\u27We Are Radical\u27: The Right to the City Alliance and the Future of Community Organizing

This paper seeks to situate current efforts of The Right to the City Alliance and selected member groups in a longitudinal and cross-sectional qualitative study of the limits and potential of contemporary organizing. For three decades politicians, policy makers, advocates, academics, and even activists have promoted community-based efforts as the primary vehicle for contemporary social change. Local organizing has been seen as the best site and strategy for initiatives as diverse as community economic development, public school reform, social service delivery, and challenging the powers that be. In almost all cases these efforts have been constrained and moderated by a global political economy of neoliberalism, which promotes community initiatives at the same time as it foists additional burdens on local communities and community organizations. An overview of the Right to the City Alliance and selected member organizations reveals its relatively unique, alternative model of organizing. Study of the organization and its model enables us to look at some of the limits of this nascent effort, including how well the alliance model accomplishes the need for greater scale and power. It also enables us to compare it to other community organizing efforts and see how it fits with and informs contemporary mobilizations since 2010

The Contribution of Islamic and Conventional Banks to Financial Stability in Indonesia

This study aims to examine an asymmetric relationship between Islamic and conventional bank contributions to financial stability in Indonesia. Adopting non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL), the study utilizes time-series data from 2004m1-2021m9, consisting of financial stability as a dependent variable, proxied by non-performing loans (NPLs) and ZSCORE. Islamic and conventional banks as independent variables were measured by total financing and total assets. Furthermore, we used interest rates and inflation as complementary variables. The findings reveal that Islamic and conventional banks affect financial stability in the short and long run. However, conventional banks contribute to financial stability more than Islamic banks. The asymmetric relationship explains that an increase/decrease in the independent variables to the same degree does not have the same impact on the dependent variable. This research implies that the financial authorities need to increase their awareness of the presence of asymmetric relationships when designing monetary policy to achieve and maintain financial stability. Finally, the study also fills the current research gap by measuring the contribution of Islamic and conventional banks to financial stability from an asymmetric relationship viewpoint.JEL Classification: E60, G20, G21How to Cite:Fakhrunnas, F., Nahda, K., Chowdhury, M.A.M. (2023). The Contribution of Islamic and Conventional Banks to Financial Stability in Indonesia. Etikonomi, 22(1), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v22i2.26656

Creating Hegemony: Montreal’s cultural development policies and the rise of cultural actors as entrepreneurial political elites.

Culture-led regeneration and creativity policies appear to have achieved broad societal acceptance in many cities in North America and Europe. This research explores how a discursive articulation of culture with entrepreneurial notions of ―creativity has contributed to a new set of policies, forms of policy coordination, sectoral partnerships and growth coalitions. This is illustrated by the case of Montréal, Canada, a city that places culture and creativity at the heart of its local accumulation strategy, and has secured a soft hegemonic presence. This research largely draws on geographical political economy literature that views urban neoliberalism as a contingent process that requires consent from disparate constituencies, and not as something predeterminedby changes in the economy. The first line of inquiry traces key events and policy documents i.e. ―key moments of conjuncture that have helped to repackage culture as a competitive asset. Supplemented with analysis derived from speeches, media, official documents and online sources, the case demonstrates how the creative cities discourse has fuelled a new policy network that allows for the rapprochement of cultural actors with traditional urban elites. Using the creation of the Quartier des Spectacles as a case study, the second line of inquiry examines how the intertwining of culture, creativity and economic development have come to shape urban planning. Finally, in line with neo-Gramscian perspectives on urban politics, this research concludes by exploring instances of counter hegemony, particularly within the local artistic community

An investigation on the effectiveness of lifestyle modification interventions for hypertensive patients in a public health clinic, in the Eastern Cape Province

The continued increase in morbidity and mortality of hypertensive patients in Alice in the Eastern Cape Province, prompted the researcher to investigate the effectiveness of lifestyle modification intervention on hypertensive patients. High morbidity and mortality rates of hypertensive patients are occuring in spite of hypertensive patients being taught about lifestyle modification (De Haan, 2006:55). According to the fifth South African Guidelines (2011:60), hypertension is a global health burden affecting developed and developing countries including South Africa. In 2003, the South African District Health Statistics showed that in the Eastern Cape, 221 females over 15 years of age and 101 males over 15 years of age had moderate hypertension and 92 males over 15 years had severe hypertension. Hypertension is a `silent killer` because it seldom gives rise to any symptoms (De Haan, 2006:66). The objectives of the study were to: investigate the effectiveness of lifestyle modification intervention on hypertensive patients, and to determine the strategies used in order to ensure the effectiveness of lifestyle modification by hypertensive patients. The research question was: what is the level of effectiveness of lifestyle modification on hypertensive patients in Alice? A descriptive quantitative research design was used in this study. This design allowed the researcher to investigate the effectiveness of lifestyle modification of hypertensive patients in Alice area. A convenience sample was used to sample the target population for the study on the criteria and a total of 169 respondents served as a size of the sample. A pre-test of the tool was carried out on 16 participants to validate the tool before the actual data collection commenced. Ethical approval was obtained from University of Fort Hare, the Department of Health, as well as Victoria Hospital and clinics. Data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21.0 software for windows reference was used to analyse the data. The results were presented in tables, graphs and pie charts. The results revealed that 77% (n=125) reported to know nothing about hypertension. Twenty three percent of the participants (n=37) knew about hypertension, they mentioned that it is when the heart has too much blood that is overloading the heart due to problems of the heart, then the blood flow through the heart is disturbed. Furthermore participants stated that it is important that every hypertensive patient engage in lifestyle modification. The study recommended that the Department of Health should emphasise the use of Hypertension Guidelines where all nurses in public clinics should be trained in educating and doing counselling to all hypertensive patients, including those who are pre-hypertensive that are visiting the clinics. Health education about risk factors and complications of hypertension must be done. All patients visiting public clinics must be educated regardless of their problems

Multilingualism and (bi)literacy development for epistemological access: Exploring students experience in the use of multilingual glossaries at a South African university

This paper reports on the findings of a research project that investigated first-year students’ experiences in using multilingual glossaries. They were enrolled in an electrical engineering course at a higher education institution in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and focus group interviews with isiXhosa-speaking students to gain an insight into how the glossaries facilitated or constrained their epistemological access to concepts in the field of engineering. Drawing on the concepts of epistemological access, multilingualism, and biliteracy to establish a framework, we argue that the use of multilingual resources (e.g., glossaries) does not necessarily guarantee students’ epistemological access to knowledge if their biliteracy skills (reading and writing) are underdeveloped in one of the targeted resource languages. This paper concludes that multilingualism is a necessary transformative approach, but that students’ (bi)literacy development in African languages as targeted languages for transformation should also be prioritised and strengthened to facilitate better learning all round

The study of conceptual metaphors in ESAP L2 writing: range and variability

The article presents the study of the influence of professional competence of EFL learners on their academic writing. The task was approached through analyzing learners’ competence in specific knowledge domains - knowledge of terms and specific concepts, represented as conceptual metaphors. Conceptual metaphor models were analyzed in the English written texts produced by Russian students with different competences in economics – at both non-professional and professional levels of academic discourse (NPAD and PAD respectively). Metaphor Identification Procedure VU University Amsterdam (MIPVU) was applied to metaphor identification, and alternative metaphor and preferential conceptualization analysis was performed to compare the scope of source and the range of target in NPAD and PAD. Findings highlight the areas of commonality as well as divergence in terms of students’ professional competence represented in conceptual metaphors in L2 writing. The main differences in the scope of the source analysis are quantitative rather than qualitative. The range of target comparison between NPAD and PAD indicates a significantly larger range of targets for the professional level students, a lower level of metaphorization for the non-professional level, and inclusive strategies across the two levels. Practical recommendations suggest an improved research methodology for studying metaphor production in EAP and ESP as well as a deeper understanding of ESP content and its structure

Prevalence of Health-Risk Behaviors and Mental Well-Being of ASEAN University Students in COVID-19 Pandemic

The prevalence of epidemiological health-risk behaviors and mental well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic, stratified by sociodemographic factors in Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) university students, were examined in the research. Data were collected in March–June 2021 via an online survey from 15,366 university students from 17 universities in seven ASEAN countries. Analyzed data comprised results on physical activity, health-related behaviors, mental well-being, and sociodemographic information. A large proportion of university students consumed sugar-sweetened beverages (82.0%; 95%CI: 81.4, 82.6) and snacks/fast food daily (65.2%; 95%CI: 64.4, 66.0). About half (52.2%; 95%CI: 51.4, 53.0) consumed less than the recommended daily amounts of fruit/vegetable and had high salt intake (54%; 95%CI: 53.3, 54.8). Physical inactivity was estimated at 39.7% (95%CI: 38.9, 40.5). A minority (16.7%; 95%CI: 16.1, 17.3) had low mental well-being, smoked (8.9%; 95%CI: 8.4, 9.3), and drank alcohol (13.4%; 95%CI: 12.8, 13.9). Country and body mass index had a significant correlation with many health-risk behaviors and mental well-being. The research provided important baseline data for guidance and for the monitoring of health outcomes among ASEAN university students and concludes that healthy diet, physical activity, and mental well-being should be key priority health areas for promotion among university students