Generally, construction of dams is regarded as means of economic progress in many countries. However, major consequences of such projects are the inundation of upstream areas and the resettlement of entire communities in newly built environments where they experience dramatic transformation in their lifestyles. The present study takes the Nubian resettlement experience after the creation of Lake Nasser that submerged their old settlements, along the river Nile. Following their resettlement, the design of the newly-built environment disrupted the Nubian traditional lifestyles and patterns of privacy mechanisms, territoriality and social interaction. However, the inadequacy of the newly-built environment was mainly attributed to the Nubians' transfer from spacious homes in the old village...

The telecommunications industry has evolved into a very competitive industry since 1980. Aggressive competition is the norm in the long distance, equipment, operator services and many other segments of the industry. The remaining segment of the market without widespread meaningful competition is the “last-mile” wireline service to the customer premise. Incumbent local exchange carriers enjoy a monopoly to serve nearly all residences and most business customers, collecting over 99% of all local exchange service revenues. Using their monopoly status, incumbents have developed a cross-subsidy system which uses the rates paid by some customers to lower the rates paid by others to support a policy known as “universal service.” This policy has resulted in telephone service reaching ...

Little is known about student success in online learning environments, especially how the predisposing characteristics that the learner brings to the learning environment may differentially affect student outcomes. This study explored the question of whether a student's "readiness" to be a self-directed learner is a predictor of student success in an online community college curriculum. The specific goal of this investigation was to determine whether there was a significant relationship between self-directed learning readiness-as measured by Guglielmino's (1977) Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS)- and student success-as measured by course completion, grade point average (GPA) and student satisfaction, the latter assessed by student responses to an opinion poll. The subject...

The effects of a communications protocol in a synchronous on-line chat environment on the satisfaction of students in a Web-based computer science course was studied. Two undergraduate faculty members who teach Web-based courses, and 42 students in four separate computer science courses participated in the study. Students completed a pretest that measured their prior experience, current attitudes, and expectations with regards to synchronous chats in a Web-based course. Two classes of students were introduced to a communications protocol by the instructors that was used throughout the course while in synchronous chat. The other two classes did not use a protocol. A posttest was administe...

This study attempts to develop a conceptual frame work to deal with operations and management in a foreign business environment. The study develops a measure for business financial performance by employing factor analysis methods to integrate three profit-related ratios, derived from Modified DuPont Model, utilizing financial performance data from 630 multinational companies ranked in Business Week's Global 1000 report between years 1994-1997. In the analysis of multinational companies cases, approximately 400 sets of financial data (Return/Assets, Return/Revenues, Return/Equity), were categorized and computed for intercorrelations and development of the financial performance index. A new financial performance measure was derived and termed the Financial Performance Index or FPI. Indices...

The style of leadership in an interdisciplinary collaboration is an existing gap in collaborative literature. Studying the leaders in an existing interdisciplinary collaboration provided a description of the leadership style of the collaborative leaders of three behavioral health teams in New York City. This qualitative phenomenological study used structured interviews of interdisciplinary disciplines to describe the leadership style of the collaborative leaders within a team environment. The data collection and analysis were conducted using codes to identify dominant themes. The themes presented perceptions and experiences of three teams interacting collaboratively. The coding process identified five major themes that are unique components of leadership that suggests new methods of buildi...

The book focuses on the cultural aspect of the author’s published PhD thesis entitled “The Role of Multinational Companies in the Middle East: The Case of Saudi Arabia”, which he has carried out at the University of Westminster. It explores the success of multinational enterprises doing business in Saudi Arabia vis-à-vis their cultural awareness and responsiveness. The empirical findings discussed in this book reveal that international business success in a strange cultural environment depends partly on the ability of multinational managers to understand the local culture. The cultural subject in this book pertains to Islam in its entirety. The findings may seem strange to many readers who are not familiar with Islamic culture, in its purest form. Many newcomers to Saudi Arabia --...

The study examined the effects of rural and urban orientations on pupils’ performance on WISC-R (a standardised intelligence test). The study made use of an experimental method. The data were collected on a sample of 100 primary school pupils (50 rural and 50 urban). The participants were from grade 5 and had an average age of 10 years. The independent variable was the environment in which the pupil was raised. The dependant variable was the performance of the pupils on the WISC-R intelligence test. The control group of the study was the rural pupils, whilst the urban based pupils were the experimental group. Participants from the two backgrounds were each tested on WISC-R’s 10 subtests. The results showed a significant difference in performance on WISC-R between the two groups. The ur...

Current and future managers are regularly confronted with decisions that create risk in the legal environment of business. This book provides a framework for qualifying legal risk and then determining if the legal risk is worth taking. This framework begins by looking at the relationship between the firm, its suppliers, customers, owners, agents, and others in society as a whole to understand specific risks in personal injury, agreements, products, borrowing money, employees, independent contractors, and business entity selection. When the manager is aware of the magnitude of the risk and the likelihood of the risk, the manager is in a strong position to determine if the risk is worth taking. This book uses numerous applications from Game Theory to determine how risks of the firm compare t...

This study investigated whether known international business theories available in the literature are meaningful enough to explain the role of international companies in Nigeria. The research examines factors that are likely to influence Nigeria's cultural and ethical values, or contributes to Nigeria's socio-economic development and prosperity. Questionnaires were distributed in four major cities of Nigeria to 600 international companies' customers in four separate shopping malls; all the questionnaires were collected back. This represents a total response rate of 100 percent, which is adequate for this study. The study found that critical factors such as socio-economic development and cultural issues impede the contributions of international companies in Nigeria. The study found that in...

The dissertation presents the results of a multi-epoch very long baseline interferometric study of water masers located in the extended atmospheres of evolved stars. The research was performed using the Very Long Baseline Array and Very Large Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Optical monitoring of the stars was provided by the American Association of Variable Star Observers, the Variable Star Network and Dr. Bill Neely of the NF/Observatory. Water masers of found to exist in a region where a population inversion of the rotation transition of 22 GHz can be maintained by collisional pumping. The masers are identified as individual pockets of gas, which have the good velocity coherence and may be imaged using radio interferometry. Stellar winds are initiated in these sources...

The results of previous investigations have revealed very sparse information concerning the real life effects of treating patients in a traditional pri-mary care facility. These patients were violent, hallucinatory, boisterous, and manipulative. In addition, the majority sought to avoid primary medical care on every occasion. The process by which they were admitted and treated has been observed and reported in detail. Two hundred and fifty-six patients were enrolled over a period of five months in an integrated medical facility design. This facility provided both primary medical care and behavioral healthcare services. All patients were diagnosed as Mentally Ill Chemically Addicted (MICA). These patients consisted of schizophrenics, heroin addicts and patients with a myriad of addictions. ...

While "e-learning" has proliferated in our society, the problem exists that many corporations are delving into e-learning without fully understanding end users’ self-reported computer competence or attitudes toward e-learning or computers in general, which could ultimately impact the success of e-learning at an organization. Studies have been done to examine these phenomena, but the vast majority center around the academic environment, and many are deemed archaic due to advances in technology. To examine this problem, this research study’s goal was to develop a valid and reliable instrument that measures self-reported computer competence, overall attitudes toward computers, and attitudes toward e-learning appropriate for the corporate, adult learner. The author reviewed various inve...

This book introduces the idea of sustainability and its aesthetic dimension, suggesting that the role of the aesthetic is an active one in developing an ecologically, economically and culturally healthy society. With an introduction by Christopher Crouch and an afterword by John Thackara, the book gathers together a range of essays that address the issue of the aesthetics of sustainability from a multitude of disciplinary and cultural perspectives.

Multi-Agent Geo-Simulation (MAGS) is a modelling paradigm which has attracted a growing interest from researchers and practitioners for the study of various phenomena in a variety of domains such as traffic simulation, urban dynamics, environment monitoring, as well as changes of land use and cover, to name a few. These phenomena usually involve a large number of simulated actors (implemented as software agents) evolving in, and interacting with, an explicit spatial environment representation commonly called Virtual Geographic Environment (VGE). Since a geographic environment may be complex and large-scale, the creation of a VGE is difficult and needs large quantities of geometrical data originating from the environment characteristics (terrain elevation, location of objects and agents, et...

This dissertation compares the learning environment of elite military academies in the U.S. and Malaysia, namely the United States Military Academy, New York (West Point) and the Military Academy of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (MAM). The dissertation began as an investigation of the place of e-learning and simulation technologies in educating future military officers. It was assumed that as modern technologies for war and defence have changed, so too must the military academies accommodate to that – especially in producing the right kind of officers who will lead the defence of the nation. Research in West Point and the MAM, however, revealed much more significant and deeper differences between the two learning environments. These are also analysed in this dissertation on the basis of in-dept...

The impetus for this study was the need to gain a better understanding of what interaction activities in the virtual classroom affect student outcomes. The purpose was to determine which perceptions of interactions contributed to predicting student outcomes of satisfaction and future enrollment in Web-based courses, while controlling for student characteristics. The problem is that the interaction that occurs in the Web-based classroom is markedly different than what occurs in the traditional classroom setting. The study was a secondary analysis using data from 388 student evaluations of Web-based courses. Using Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) conceptual framework, influences of student characteristics [inputs] and virtual classroom interactions [environment] on student outcom...

The goal of this dissertation is to provide research on the educational and societal needs of incarcerated youth by examining teachers' perceptions, both academically and socially, which will result in successful student transition into the traditional environment. Many of the educational approaches within incarceration school settings are instituted using the traditional school model, which is not conducive to the needs of incarcerated youth. Within incarceration educational pedagogy, youths also need socio-emotional skills when faced with the transition into the traditional environment in order to avoid recidivism. Community-based support and prevention-oriented collaboration are also required in their quest for a successful transition to mainstream society. Students' progress should be ...

This thesis is concerned with the theoretical and practical development of reliable and robust localisation algorithms for autonomous land vehicles operating at high speeds in unstructured, expansive and harsh environments. Localisation is the ability of a vehicle to determine its position and orientation within an operating environment. The need for such a localisation system is motivated by the requirement of developing autonomous vehicles in applications such as mining, agriculture and cargo handling. The main drivers in these applications are for safety, efficiency and productivity. The approach taken to the localisation problem in this thesis guarantees that the safety and reliability requirements imposed by such applications are achieved. The ...

This book examines issues between natural environment and urban ecosystem in Malaysia. The interface between urban geography and environmental studies is a very interesting one as it links the interrelationship between environment and development processes. Urban geographers provide methods of research, information and knowledge of urban environment, its theory and application. Such knowledge is important for managing our urban land use in a sustainable and systematic manner. Urban related issues such as land use, planning, urban governance and environmental degradation are among the topics discussed by the authors of this book through a multi-discipline approach. This book highlights latest research and studies cases and then discusses them based on Malaysian experiences.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the way and extend to which the elementary school is meeting special needs of students of gay and lesbian parents, in regard to school environment that provides support, protection, inclusive curriculum, principal and assistant principal involvement, and involvement of parents of these children in the life of the school. Methodology: The student consists of two types of research: a descriptive study and a qualitative case study. Questionnaires and semi structured interviews were conducted with elementary principals enrolled in the University of La Verne doctoral program and working in school districts throughout California. The survey instrument included five categories of the role of the elementary school with...

Today's business environment requires more effective leadership than ever. In the constantly changing business environment, the leader has the central responsibility of keeping people motivated and productive. Many companies have been downsizing and laying off employees, and leaving behind employees with a wounded morale. To lift this morale, the leader needs to possess characteristics and qualities that cannot be learned from courses taken in business schools alone. These characteristics and qualities can only be learned from life itself in an individual journey of individuation. The leader needs to undergo an initiation process from immature psychology to mature psychology. Traditionally, this process is what makes "men out of boys" and "women out of girls." In analytical psycholo...

This thesis provides a detailed analysis of UK Aid policy over the period 1974-90. Its focus is primarily upon the extent to which official aid was concerned with poverty alleviation. This theme permitted a comparison to be made between the records of the Labour administration of 1974-79 and the Conservative administration of 1979-90. A quantitative comparison is made of the two aid programmes. The philosophical, moral and ideological aspects of the British aid programme are explored. Two themes in particular are studied in depth: aid and gender and aid and the environment. The influence of lobby groups is considered, including those representing political, commercial, gender, environmental and "human development" interests. The implications of conditionality are also considered. Asses...

Economics demonstrates how markets can serve as remarkably efficient institutions in allocating scarce resources. At the same time, incomplete information generates prices that can lead to a mis-allocation, producing in some cases too little while in others too much of a good. Matters become more complicated when striking a balance is influenced by our perceptions of risk. Here, neuroscience provides insights into which, and what kind of public sector interventions one should consider. While there are many types of risk – political, economic, financial, and environmental as individuals confront any crisis, our perceptions of risk can alter significantly the extent to which we look to public sector intervention as a response. In the short run, crises many be managed through greater pu...

Exploratory activities carried out in the Anambra Basin have revealed that the basin has the potential of generating hydrocarbon. Subsurface core samples obtained from Enugu 1325 and 1331 wells within the Anambra Basin were utilized in this study with the aims of characterizing the organic matter as well as determining the maturity in order to deduce the hydrocarbon potential of the basin. The study was also aimed at determining the palaeo-depositional environment as well as highlighting the source input of the organic matter. The analytical procedure for total organic matter and rock eval pyrolysis was achieved by the use of LECO 600 analyzer. Soluble organic matter (SOM) was determined by the use of Soxhlet Extractor while whole rock analysis and biomarker distributions were determin...

Lack of effective leadership strategies contributes to a reduction in employee engagement and productivity. Managers are concerned about the lack of effective leadership strategies because it negatively affects employee engagement and productivity, reducing organizational growth. Grounded in Bass's transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore effective leadership strategies used to enhance employee engagement and increase productivity. Five managers from an electric cooperative in Northwest Florida who implemented effective leadership strategies participated in the study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a review of organizational documents. Data were analyzed using Yin's five-step approach. The four emergent th...

Simulation modeling is arguably the most versatile scientific tool for predicting the future environment. However, the reliability of model-based predictions is limited to the behavior domain defined by the historical data employed for conceptualizing and calibrating the model. Future changes in external inputs and internal structure tend to produce system behavior significantly different from prior predictions. To abate this seeming lack of credibility, it is now customary to qualify model predictions with uncertainty estimates. This dissertation explores the complementary approach of back-casting future scenarios. Centered on the analysis of uncertainty, a methodological framework is developed for the computational evaluation of environmental futures, driven by stakeholder participation ...

Introduction to Quantum Computation is an introduction to a new rapidly developing theory of quantum computing. The book is a comprehensive introduction to the main ideas and techniques of quantum computation. It begins with the basics of classical theory of computation: NP-complete problems, Boolean circuits, Finite state machine, Turing machine and the idea of complexity of an algorithm. The general quantum formalism (pure states, qubit, superposition, evolution of quantum system, entanglement, multi-qubit system ...) and complex algorithm examples are also presented. Matlab is a well known in engineer academia as matrix computing environment, which makes it well suited for simulating quantum algorithms. The (Quantum Computer Toolbox) QCT is written entirely in the Matlab and m-files ar...

Facilitating the transition of elderly patients from the hospital setting to their pre-hospital environment is a major challenge for health care providers. Adequate discharge planning has been mandated by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organization (JCAHO) and the American Hospital Association (AHA). However, reports from the literature indicate that some elderly patients on Medicare may be discharged "quicker and sicker" than in the past and that care-giving family members are often not included in the discharge planning process.The problem is that elderly patients may be discharged from the hospital before appropriate discharge planning is complete. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine elderly patients' and their family members' level of satisfaction ...

In this era of advanced technology keeping students' attention often becomes difficult. Teachers need to find new ways to create interest. In writing classes, choosing a topic that involves students is a priority. A new genre, Tourism Writing, is an innovative and effective means of teaching students composition. It can fill this need.Tourism Writing focuses on a particular place or event, provides photos and information on nearby points of interest, and directly invites visitors. This book provides an understanding of how Tourism Writing benefits people in all areas of life. This transfers to classroom assignments when students are asked to write a poem in this genre and they are given lists of possible topics, but they also have the option to choose their own place or event. It becomes a...