Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Assessment of the Energy Sector: Enhancing Social Sustainability of Energy Development in Nepal

In Nepal, deeply embedded structural conditions determined by gender, caste or ethnicity, religion, language, and even geography have made access to and benefits from energy resources highly uneven. Women, the poor, and excluded groups experience energy poverty more severely. To address this imbalance, the government and other stakeholders have introduced measures to achieve greater gender equality and social inclusion. This study is an attempt to understand the factors affecting the outcomes and extent to which the initiatives have fostered gender equality and social inclusion. The study recommends measures to facilitate the distributive impact of energy sector development if Nepal is to meet its target of ensuring energy access to all

Special Theme of Research in Information Systems Analysis and Design -II. Data Modeling or Functional Modeling - Which Comes First? An Experimental Comparison

The software analysis process consists of two main activities: data modeling and functional modeling. While traditional development methodologies usually emphasize functional modeling via dataflow diagrams (DFDs), object-oriented (OO) methodologies emphasize data modeling via class diagrams. UML includes techniques for both data and functional modeling which are used in different methodologies in different ways and orders. This article is concerned with the ordering of modeling activities in the analysis stage. The main issue we address is whether it is better to create a functional model first and then a data model, or vice versa. We conduct a comparative experiment in which the two opposing orders are examined. We use the FOOM methodology as a platform for the experiment as it enables the creation of both a data model (a class diagram) and a functional model (hierarchical OO-DFDs), which are synchronized. The results of the experiment show that an analysis process that begins with data modeling provides better specifications than one that begins with functional modeling

Maarja ja Maarjamaa – ambivalentne diskursus Eesti kultuuriruumis

St Mary and St Mary´s Land - Ambivalent Discourse in the Estonian Cultural Space St Mary (Maarja) and St Mary´s Land (Maarjamaa) play an important role in one way or another as  ambivalent examples of cultural and religious syncretism. Estonians, on the one hand, consider themselves to be a relatively non-Christian (non-religious) nation or country. On the other hand, the insignia of St Mary´s  is used for important national badges of honour, to represent various local identities (e.g parish insignia), to construct a visual identity (e.g “St Mary´s Land” calendars illustrated using photos), in patriotic songs and stem texts, and in other contemporary celebrations of traditional calendar holidays etc. The author provides a short overview of the discourse about St Mary and St Mary´s Land using examples of the development of the names for Estonia and St Mary´s Land, places related to St Mary, traditional and clerical St Mary’ Days, plants named after Mary and national badges of honour etc

Distinguishing Bots from Human Callers

Telephone users frequently receive unwanted calls from sales, advertising, or spam callers. Such calls may be made by automated agents or bots of such sophistication that they are often difficult to distinguish from human callers. This disclosure presents machine-learning techniques that enable differentiation of bots from human callers. Machine-learning models are trained to recognize artifacts that distinguish bot callers. Users can report callers as bots or humans, thereby enabling federated learning of differences between human callers and bots. A suspected bot caller is challenged with audio or visual captchas to further filter out bots. An incoming call that is confirmed as bot-initiated is either not delivered to the user, or the call recipient is alerted that the caller is likely a bot

Symmetries, Cluster Synchronization, and Isolated Desynchronization in Complex Networks

Synchronization is of central importance in power distribution, telecommunication, neuronal, and biological networks. Many networks are observed to produce patterns of synchronized clusters, but it has been difficult to predict these clusters or understand the conditions under which they form, except for in the simplest of networks. In this article, we shed light on the intimate connection between network symmetry and cluster synchronization. We introduce general techniques that use network symmetries to reveal the patterns of synchronized clusters and determine the conditions under which they persist. The connection between symmetry and cluster synchronization is experimentally explored using an electro-optic network. We experimentally observe and theoretically predict a surprising phenomenon in which some clusters lose synchrony while leaving others synchronized. The results could guide the design of new power grid systems or lead to new understanding of the dynamical behavior of networks ranging from neural to social

Određivanje kvalitete mlijeka na prijemnom peronu mljekare pH instrumentom (nastavak)

Za mjerenje Hauptner-elektracid pH mjernim instrumentima za kontrolu mlijeka na prijemnom peronu upotrebljavaju se visokoomski mjerni kabeli. Oni imaju osjetljivu cilindričnu staklenu membranu za opseg mjerenja od 0-11 pH i temperature između 0 i +70 °C

Higher education export service delivery by the University of Stellenbosch

International trade in higher education services provides opportunities for stimulating economic development and fostering the mobility of knowledge, leading to increased intellectual capital, which is vital for a country to remain competitive in a globalising world. The aim of this paper is to explore the nature and scope of the delivery of higher education export services at the University of Stellenbosch. To this end, a questionnaire was constructed and distributed among 109 international students at the University of Stellenbosch during 2009. This pilot study investigates the factors that motivate international students to further their studies at the University of Stellenbosch. In addition, it provides an estimate of the associated economic impact on the hosting country of exporting higher education services.Trade in Education Services, Comparative Advantage, Higher Education Services

Calculating Risk, Denying Uncertainty: Seismicity and Hydropower Development in Nepal

If Ulrich Beck’s definition of ‘risk society’ describes societies increasingly structured by preoccupations with future environmental threats and related insecurities created by modernization, then Nepal’s hydropower community would appear to be quite the opposite, propelled into environmental denial by twin demands for domestic electricity and revenue earned through hydroelectric export. Our research reveals that prior to the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the hydropower community was engaging in what Eviatar Zerubavel calls ‘socially organized denial,’ largely ignoring the uncertainties associated with seismic activity. Earthquakes and tremors were viewed as unavoidable realities that should not impede hydropower development. This denial, we argue, was shaped not only by local political realities and demand for electricity, but also by a larger desire to capitalize on available funds from international finance, which are highly contingent upon Nepal presenting itself as a ‘safe’ zone for investment. Our study focuses on the elites of Nepal’s hydro community: the developers, investors, water experts, and government officials who occupy the ‘upstream’ positions at which scientific knowledge is produced and adjudicated. On one hand, the denial or omission of earthquake potential that we witnessed seems to identify the ineluctable challenges that Nepal faces in attempting to integrate its economy into global markets; on the other hand, it indicates the desire of the private sector to reap profits from hydropower in spite of obvious geophysical dangers. These dangers, we argue, are a bankable risk for these elites. However, for the people directly affected by new hydropower infrastructures, these are risks and uncertainties threatening already vulnerable livelihoods