Education for citizenship: measuring the impact on learners of the community-based learning program in Palestine

The community-based learning (CBL) methodology was introduced at An-Najah University, Palestine for the first time through an initiative led by the Center for Excellence in Learning in 2013. The initial objectives for the CBL scheme were set at three different, yet interrelated aspects. On one hand, the learning environment was expanded to include direct engagement with the Palestinian community organizations through implementing need based projects for these organizations. On the other hand, through such engagement the learners were expected to develop key critical thinking skills which included self-learning, decision making, and testing theoretical models as they relate to community problems. Additionally, and as a direct impact for this initiative, it was hoped that the community work will prepare the learners for their responsibilities as Palestinian citizens. This research project is intended to measure the direct impact that the CBL program had on the learners’ skills on all three levels. This will be done by interviewing a representative sample from CBL participant groups. To measure the indirect impact on the CBL participants, the research will report on any unanticipated outcomes resulting from the CBL experience. In other words, this research will highlight the snowballing effect for the CBL program – aspects of growth in the learners experience beyond the originally planned objectives

Organisational Transformation of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad

This study was to identify the organisational transformation of BIMB since its establishment in 1983. It also identified the elements that contribute positively or negatively towards this change and the intervention techniques being practiced. The sources of data were in-depth interviews with three BIMB management officers (human resource manager, marketing manager and retail banking manager) in the Head Office in Kuala Lumpur and a field survey covered 15 randomly selected branches in KL and Selangor State. A sample of 122 BIMB staff members filled in the questionnaire in this survey. BIMB documents were also employed as a secondary source. The in-depth interviews concerned about the organisational transformation of BIMB, external elements motivate to change, intervention techniques being practised and organisation resistance to change Staff questionnaire was close-ended aimed at identifying staff resistance to change BIMB documents were employed to support the interviews The data analysis included descriptive statistics in terms of mean and frequency counts, categoristation of interviews, and a content analysis of documents were used to answer the objectives The findings of this study revealed that BIMB has experienced different intervention techniques to cope with the changing environment in terms of liquidity, market competition, macroeconomics trends and crisis, technological innovation and globalisation and liberalisation As a result of its transformation, BIMB witnessed a great development and change, in terms of capital, size and functions. Also the results showed that BIMB capabilities in terms of capital and infrastructure support any change plans In contrast, the study showed that staff resist change because it threats their social environment, old routine and values

QoE-Based Low-Delay Live Streaming Using Throughput Predictions

Recently, HTTP-based adaptive streaming has become the de facto standard for video streaming over the Internet. It allows clients to dynamically adapt media characteristics to network conditions in order to ensure a high quality of experience, that is, minimize playback interruptions, while maximizing video quality at a reasonable level of quality changes. In the case of live streaming, this task becomes particularly challenging due to the latency constraints. The challenge further increases if a client uses a wireless network, where the throughput is subject to considerable fluctuations. Consequently, live streams often exhibit latencies of up to 30 seconds. In the present work, we introduce an adaptation algorithm for HTTP-based live streaming called LOLYPOP (Low-Latency Prediction-Based Adaptation) that is designed to operate with a transport latency of few seconds. To reach this goal, LOLYPOP leverages TCP throughput predictions on multiple time scales, from 1 to 10 seconds, along with an estimate of the prediction error distribution. In addition to satisfying the latency constraint, the algorithm heuristically maximizes the quality of experience by maximizing the average video quality as a function of the number of skipped segments and quality transitions. In order to select an efficient prediction method, we studied the performance of several time series prediction methods in IEEE 802.11 wireless access networks. We evaluated LOLYPOP under a large set of experimental conditions limiting the transport latency to 3 seconds, against a state-of-the-art adaptation algorithm from the literature, called FESTIVE. We observed that the average video quality is by up to a factor of 3 higher than with FESTIVE. We also observed that LOLYPOP is able to reach a broader region in the quality of experience space, and thus it is better adjustable to the user profile or service provider requirements.Comment: Technical Report TKN-16-001, Telecommunication Networks Group, Technische Universitaet Berlin. This TR updated TR TKN-15-00

Sevilla en las obras de autores andalusíes y orientales.

Sin resume

The Implications of World Trade Liberalization on Agricultural Trade and Food Security: A Case Study of Sudan

This paper assesses and quantifies the consequences of world trade liberalization in agriculture on trade and food security of Sudan. Sudan, with the agricultural sector as the main sector of economy, is characterized by its small open economy, and is classified as one of the least developed countries. Thus, Sudan becomes more vulnerable to any changes in international agricultural markets. The liberalization of international agricultural trade has a great influence on Sudan's food security and on the whole economy. An extended form of a multi-market model for Sudan is developed and used for the analysis. The model embodies important characteristics of agriculture in Sudan like substitution effects and stages of production. As agriculture is the main sector of Sudan's economy, the model is extended to explicitly integrate some of the key important macroeconomic linkages, and to establish certain feedback effects between agriculture and the macro-economy. The model simulations reveal that a higher world market price would overall lead to measurable gains in food security and agricultural trade of the country. However, when the effect of a higher cost of production is considered, the positive results are reversed. Furthermore, the results of the model simulations show that the domestic policy environment matters very much with respect to the potential impact of world trade liberalization of agriculture. The paper concludes that Sudan should reorient its national policies towards export promotion in order to benefit from the new emerging trading opportunities in world markets. However, to capture a greater benefit from the new environment in the international markets, Sudan should consider and manage carefully all factors, domestically or internationally - e.g. quality standard, loss of preference, dumping effects - that hinder its economic and trade growth.International Relations/Trade,

Electrochemical Synthesis of Nanocomposites

This chapter presents an overview of research efforts focused on both fabrication and properties of nanocomposites prepared by electrodeposition. The nanoparticles can improve the base material in terms of wear resistance, damping properties, and mechanical strength as well as electrical properties. Different kinds of matrix, such as metals, polymers, and ceramic matrix, have been employed for the production of composites reinforced by nano-ceramic particles such as carbides, nitrides, and oxides as well as carbon nanotubes. Theoretical aspects and mechanisms related to the electrodeposition process of nanocomposite films, from aqueous solutions, are discussed

The characterisation and provenance of ammunition components

© Cranfield University, 2018The objective was to create a comprehensive data set of analytical results relating to the physical construction and chemical composition of ammunition components; to be used to determine the provenance of ammunition. The study focusses on 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition due to its ubiquitous nature in crime and conflict zones around the world. Ammunition identification and classification currently relies heavily on the information provided on cartridge case headstamps and packaging. In the absence of this information, there is no definitive method to ascertain the potential origin of ammunition. The aim of this study was to examine the physical and chemical composition of ammunition components from different origins in an attempt to establish if the construction and elemental composition of these components could be used to differentiate between sources of ammunition. Initially, various physical and chemical techniques were employed to analyse samples of ammunition from known sources. Currently, there are 24 known countries and 42 known manufacturers who produced 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition (Ness and William, 2011). This study aimed to analyse a representative sample of 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition to determine if differentiation between the manufacturers is feasible. A further temporal study was explored to establish if differences in the materials and manufacturing techniques occurred in a single manufacturing plant over a period of time. A detailed analysis of ammunition components generated information pertaining to differences particular to each manufacturer’s ammunition. It is reported that there are sufficient distinguishing features between the 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition analysed, and can be said with a degree of certainty that a particular round of 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition could have originated from a particular manufacturer. This research was conducted with the ambition of creating a publication to be used by professionals and academics in relation to identification of ammunition origin. Working with Cranfield University to contribute to work conducted by national and international organisations it is presented as a database set; to be used as a reference where standard forensic techniques currently provide no information of the provenance ammunition origin. Promising results provide avenues for further research to be continued temporally or even into other calibres – ultimately comprising of a resource that is invaluable to many