A model of case implementation and an experience of unsuccessful case adoption

Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) is a revolutionary technology that seeks to automate the software development process. Current literature reports on many successes of CASE adoption Despite of such successes, many organisations are experiencing difficulties in implementing CASE technology . Even many powerful CASE tools have become 'shelfware'. It is argued that the benefits of CASE are unlikely to be realised, unless it is introduced based on a sound implementation plan This article presents a conceptual model to introduce CASE technology within a MIS department Such a plan faciliiaus change in software culture and management practice and enables management to deal with confusion and skepticism prior to its occurrence. Furthermore, a case study is described that focuses on a CASE implementation that failed to achieve its purpose The reasons for the failure are critically examined and explained in the light of the model

Zinc containing dental fixative causing copper deficiency myelopathy

A 62-year-old male, previously well, was referred to neurology clinic following 6 months history of worsening lower limbs instability, paraesthesia, pain and weakness rendering him housebound. Examination revealed upper motor neuron pattern of weakness of the lower limbs and loss of proprioception. Serum analysis revealed reduced caeruloplasmin and copper levels with raised zinc. Spinal imaging revealed subtle dorsal column intensity changes in C2-C7, confirmed with 3T MRI. A copper deficiency myeloneuropathy was diagnosed secondary to chronic use of a zinc-containing dental fixative paste. The paste was discontinued and a copper supplementation was started. Resolution of symptoms was not achieved with intensive physiotherapy. The patient remains a wheelchair user though progression of symptoms has halted. Prompt recognition and treatment of hyperzincaemia-induced hypocupraemia earlier in the disease course may have prevented any irreversible neurological deficit

Economic Incentives for Entry and Exit in Gum Arabic Agroforestry System in Sudan

The gum tree (Acacia senegal) in the Sahel-Sudan zone has many environmental benign functions. An important function is to control desertification. In this paper we analyze farmers' economic incentives to preserve the existing gum trees and their incentives to create new plantations using a real options approach. Results indicate that agricultural crops provide higher economic benefits as compared to gum agroforestry system. However, on the one hand, as gum arabic is produced during the dry period and land is abundant, there are low incentives for deforestation. Instead, farmers' tend to leave the land idle and let the tree growing. On the other hand, our results suggest that an increase in the prices of gum arabic of about 330 per cent is needed to induce entry and a shift in land use system from continuous agricultural production to gum agroforestry system.gum arabic, deforestation, entry and exit, real options, Sudan, Crop Production/Industries, D4, N5, O13, Q12, Q23,

Does education engender cultural values that matter for economic growth?

Empirical research has shown that cultural values matter for economic growth and has specifically identified the achievement motivation as an aspect of culture that engenders economic growth. If specific cultural values engender economic growth, how then can societies promote them? This paper attempts to answer this question using the 2005 wave of the World Values Survey data for 43 countries. We test the contention that education significantly impacts the relative importance an individual places on economic achievement vis-à-vis traditional social norms. Results suggest that individuals with higher education levels attach higher importance to values related to autonomy and economic achievement as compared to conformity to traditional social norms. The results have an important implication for efforts to promote economic development; institutions and specifically public policy on education could be used to encourage people to adopt values that are considered important for economic development.Cultural Values, Education, Ordered Probit, Semi-Nonparametric Estimation

What determines workers’ preferences for efficiency over equity wages?

What makes workers consider it fair for wages to be indexed on job performance or efficiency? In this paper we attempt to answer this question using the 2005 wave of the World Values Survey data for 43 countries to investigate what socio-economic characteristics condition employees’ preference for efficiency over equity wages. Our results suggest that employees’ preference for efficiency wages increases with education and globalization while it decreases with unemployment, income inequality and income tax rates. Given that conventional economic theory demonstrates the importance of labour efficiency, which improves when workers are remunerated according to their efficiency, for economic growth; our results suggest that institutions and specifically public policies that promote education, and globalization, along with policies that reduce unemployment, income inequality and income tax rates could be used to promote efficiency-based wages.

Single-, Dual- and Triple-band Frequency Reconfigurable Antenna

The paper presents a frequency reconfigurable slot dipole antenna. The antenna is capable of being switched between single-band, dual-band or triple-band operation. The antenna incorporates three pairs of pin-diodes which are located within the dipole arms. The antenna was designed to operate at 2.4 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5.2 GHz using the aid of CST Microwave Studio. The average measured gains are 1.54, 2.92 and 1.89 dBi for low, mid and high band respectively. A prototype was then constructed in order to verify the performance of the device. A good level of agreement was observed between simulation and measurement

A study of the effect of palm oil as MQL lubricant on high speed drilling of titanium alloys

The main objective was to study the potency of MQL palm oil (MQLPO) as a lubricant in the high speed drilling of Ti–6Al–4V. For the comparison, MQL synthetic ester (MQLSE), air blow and flood conditions were selected. Uniform flank wear, micro-chipping, thermal cracking and flaking were the dominant tool failure modes. It was found that MQLSE and MQLPO gave comparable performance with the flood conditions. In addition, MQLPO outperformed MQLSE on the cutting forces, temperature, power and specific cutting energy. This shows that palm oil can be used as a viable alternative to synthetic ester for MQL lubricant

First derivative prediction of raw broiler shear force using visible short wave near infrared spectroscopy

A non-destructive,fast, reliable and low cost technique which is Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is required to replace conventional destructive texture analyser in shear force measurement. The combination of visible and shortwave near infrared (VIS-SWNIR) spectrometer and principal component regression (PCR) to assess the quality attribute of raw broiler meat texture (shear force value (kg)) was investigated. Wavelength region of visible and shortwave 662-1005 nm was selected for prediction after pre-processing. Absorbance spectra was pre-processed using the optimal Savitzky-Golay smoothing mode with 1st order derivative, 2nd degree polynomial and 31 filter points to remove the baseline shift effect. Potential outliers were identified through externally studentised residual approach. The PCR model were trained with 90 samples in calibration and validated with 44 samples in prediction datasets. From the PCR analysis, correlation coefficient of calibration (RC), the root mean square calibration (RMSEC), correlation coefficient of prediction (RP) and the root mean square prediction (RMSEP) of visible and shortwave (662-1005 nm) with 4 principal components were 0.4645,0.0898, 0.4231 and 0.0945. The predicted results can be improved by applying the 2nd order derivative and the non-linear model

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) applications in medical: non-invasive and invasive leukemia screening

Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) has been applied as analytical tool in numerous field of study due to its ability in non-invasive application. NIRS with the ability in providing the information on biological molecules shows a high potential as a diagnosis tool in medical as diseased related to biochemistry changes of the cell and tissue. This paper reviewed the application of NIR spectroscopy in leukemia screening and in other medical application. General comparison between invasive and non-invasive NIR spectroscopy method is provided. The author also proposed a new non-invasive NIRS method in leukemia screening and compared it with the previous invasive NIRS method

The use of visualization for learning and teaching mathematics

In this article, based on Dissection-Motion-Operations, DMO (decomposing a figure into several pieces and composing the resulting pieces into a new figure of equal area), a set of visual representations (models) of mathematical concepts will be introduced. The visual models are producible through manipulation and computer GSP/Cabri software. They are based on the van Hiele’s Levels (van Hiele, 1989) of Thought Development; in particular, Level 2 (Informal Deductive Reasoning) and level 3 (Deductive Reasoning). The basic theme for these models has been visual learning and understanding through manipulatives and computer representations of mathematical concepts vs. rote learning and memorization. The three geometric transformations or motions: Translation, Rotation, Reflection and their possible combinations were used; they are illustrated in several texts. As well, a set of three commonly used dissections or decompositions (Eves, 1972) of objects was utilized