EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF BOUNDARY STRENGTH AT HOME ON WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT-OUTCOME RELATIONSHIP

The research will evaluate the relationship of work-family conflict (WFC) with some of the work and family-related outcomes (i.e., life satisfaction, job satisfaction, marital satisfaction) that were derived from a thorough literature review. I will collect data from human subjects along with the evaluation of some secondary data sources. The study expects that boundary strength at home will help dual role players (e.g. work role, family role) to reduce the adverse effect of WFC. Data will be collected in early Spring 2019 and the thesis will be completed by mid-April 2019. Contributions to the literature and directions for future research will be offered

ACUE Cumulative Reflections - Effective Teaching Practices

The following reflections emerged after completing the Association of College and University Educators Training on Effective Teaching Practices. Reflections span a wide array of topics from valuing student diversity to conducting interactive class sessions in large lecture halls. The practice and reflect pieces in these selections identify the techniques chosen to be implemented in an actual classroom setting and the reason why they were selected. These reflections also share the success and challenges associated with implementing this techniques in the classroom; and provide some strategies on how to improve their future implementation

Neoliberal Reading Interventions and Student Needs

This article discusses reading programs within the context of Neoliberalism and the extent to which they address student needs. The rise of such reading programs in the market economy has come at the expense of placing the burden of reading development solely on the shoulders of students after restricting their academic and personal growth. The article explores how this has been done without any consideration regarding the needs of ethnically and culturally diverse students; and without taking into account the relationship between poverty and educational outcomes. Without a doubt, this has affected the ability of students to think critically about their school curriculum and their position in society

Assessing Financial Soundness of Tannery Industry in Bangladesh: An Empirical Investigation Using Z-Score

There are lots of techniques available for measuring the financial health of a business firm. But the Altman’s Z-score has been proven to be a reliable tool across contexts. Bangladesh tannery industry is a unique one because the industry earns $1 billion-a-year by exporting leather. The main objective of the study is to assess the fundamental financial health of this industry using Z-score model. All listed tannery firms are considered in this study and the observed period is from 2010 to 2014. The required information has been collected from the annual reports of the selected companies and from other sources. The study revealed that two firms, Apex tannery and Bata Shoe, are financially sound whereas other three are not in a good position. The findings of the study can be useful for the managers to take financial decision, the stockholders to choose investment options and others to look after their interest in the leather manufacturers of the country. Keywords: Tannery industry, Financial soundness, Prediction, Z-scor

Resilience in the Face of Adversity: An analysis of the refugee entrepreneurial population and their resources in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

This study presents an overview and analysis of refugee entrepreneurship in the United States\u27 Mid-Atlantic region for refugee entrepreneurship by interviewing three refugee entrepreneurs and two professional individuals who actively work with refugee entrepreneurs. It introduces the refugee population and climate in the United States, and examines the connections between forced migration and entrepreneurship in the present literature along with factors that affect access and viability of entrepreneurship due to economic and social barriers, cultural and familial influences and financial hurdles. Through the interviews and examination of existing literature, three different traits distinguished refugee entrepreneurs in the region, according to the data. These characteristics included a risk tolerance, a family-community orientation, and an openness, willingness, and ability to adapt to changing/new circumstances, illustrating how refugees use entrepreneurship to maximize the pool of opportunities in their host countries and eventually become self-sufficient and a long-term economic asset

Investigations of the Tribological Effects of Engine Oil Dilution by Vegetable and Animal Fat Feedstock Biodiesel on Selected Surfaces

Biodiesels have become attractive alternative fuel to replace traditional fossil fuels. Biodiesels can be used in diesel engines with no major modification, but its use leads to some degree of engine oil dilution because of biodiesel leaking and scrapping to engine oil pan. Biodiesels can be made from vegetable and animal fat feedstocks. Therefore, the fatty acid methyl ester components of biodiesel may vary upon these sources of feedstock. In this thesis work, engine oil is diluted with vegetable (canola oil, peanut oil and soybean oil biodiesel) and animal (chicken fat) feedstock biodiesels at known percentages and these mixtures are tested in a pinon-disk tribometer. In-process friction force and temperature changes are observed and specific wear on the tested surface and dilution effects on viscosity are measured. The oxidative stability of diluted engine oils is also assessed by observation. Experimental results suggest that a higher fraction of palmitic and a lower fraction of linoleic acid contents of the biodiesel play a role for providing good lubricity when mixed with the engine oil in the tested condition and animal feedstock biodiesel perform better than that of vegetable feedstock biodiesel

Deterioration of Soybean [Glycine Max (L.) Merr.] Seed by Colletotrichum Truncatum and its Control Through Bio-priming

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Colletotrichum truncatum infection on soybean seed quality and its control through bio-priming. A total of 11 genera comprising of 17 species of seed-borne fungi were found to be associated with soybean var. Palmetto. The prominent fungus isolated externally and internally was C. truncatum with the frequency values of 12.75 and 9.75%, respectively, followed by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. glycines and Diaporthe phaseolorum var. sojae based on moist blotter and agar plate methods. The typical symptoms of C. truncatum on the infected seeds appeared as brown to black speckled lesions, producing numerous acervuli with black setae and conidia over the seed surface. Seed infection by C. truncatum in soybean seed caused pre and post-emergence damping-off, resulting in reduced seed germination and seedling survivability by 62.35 and 88.24%, respectively. Histopathological studies of naturally infected soybean seeds confirmed the presence of C. truncatum predominantly both intra- and inter-cellularly in the seed coat, cotyledon and embryonic axes of seed. The fungi were also detected on and in the seed coat, cotyledon and embryonic axes of artificially infected seeds. Seed viability and vigour were also reduced in C. truncatum infected seeds as determined by tetrazolium (TZ) and electrical conductivity (EC) tests. Seed volume of infected seeds was reduced, with an increase in soluble protein and oleic acid and a decrease in linoleic acid content as compared with healthy seeds. Two fungal biocontrol agents (BCAs), Trichoderma virens (UPM23) and T. harzianum (UPM40) were found to inhibit strongly the growth of C. truncatum through mycoparasitism, competition and antibiosis based on PIRG (Percent Inhibition of Radial Growth) values. However, one bacterial BCA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (UPM13B8) gave the highest PIRG values of 100% in the culture filtrate test, suggesting that antibiosis could be the main mechanism of antagonism. No phytotoxic effect was observed on soybean seeds and seedlings, when treated with suspensions of UPM23, UPM40 and UPM13B8. Therefore, the efficacy of bio-priming was conducted for controlling C. truncatum infection in soybean seeds using UPM23, UPM40 and UPM13B8. Artificially infected seeds by C. truncatum were bio-primed for 12 hours as this was determined as the safe time limit for soybean. Treatments included were chemo-primed, Benlate® (T1); bio-primed, UPM13B8 (T2); bio-primed, UPM40 (T3); bio-primed, UPM23 (T4); bio-primed, UPM23+40 (T5) and the controls as hydro- primed (T6) and non- primed seeds (T7). Trichoderma isolates used either singly (UPM 23 and UPM40) or as a mixture (UPM23+40) colonized the seed surface with germinating hyphae after 12 hours of bio-priming. Bacterial isolate, P. aeruginosa was also detected to colonize the seed surface with increase in the colony forming unit (CFU) from 1.2 × 109 to 5.1 × 109 seed-1 after the bio-priming period. Bio-priming was effective to control pre and post-emergence damping-off and promote seed germination, seedling establishment and growth in the presence of C. truncatum in soybean seeds. Under the glass house conditions, Trichoderma isolates however, gave better control of pre and post-emergence damping-off and enhancement of growth followed by bio-priming with UPM13B8 and chemo-priming with Benlate®. Under the field conditions, UPM13B8 was better in controlling pre and post-emergence damping-off ranging from 48.64 to 51.85% and 65.0 to 97.20%, respectively and also enhanced seed germination, final seedling stand and increase in shoot length and dry weight of seedling. However, the biocontrol efficacy and subsequent growth enhancement of UPM13B8 were not significantly (P≤0.05) different from UPM40 or UPM23+40 or the fungicide ‘Benlate®’. Bio-priming with Malaysian isolates of P. aeruginosa and T. harzianum offered an effective biological seed treatment system and an alternative to chemo-priming with Benlate® to control seed-borne infection by C. truncatum in seeds and seedlings of soybean. Besides, they also improve seed germination, seedling establishment and vegetative growth. This study has explored up new dimension of biological control for preventive as well as remedial of seed-borne infection by C. truncatum. Thus, bio-priming can be exploited by seed companies and organic farmers in the sustainable agriculture, which would be more economical and environmental friendly