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E-business adoption in supply chain as a source of competitive advantage: a case of WFP Malawi.
No full textE-business has transformed many organizations on how business is conducted by streamlining processes, reducing time in operations, accessing global markets, fast sharing of information within and outside the organizations and increasing efficiency and transparency. E-business further, has the capability to improve access to information and transparency and accountability (Ndou, 2004). Many organizations have not fully exploited the use of e-business technologies, hence this research. The research looked at the enablers, benefits, challenges and the role of government in e-business adoption using available literature and applying it on WFP Malawi case analysis. The research utilized epistemological paradigm and data was collected using primary and secondary data sources such as questionnaires and in-depth interviews and journals, reports and books. Fifteen questionnaires were sent to participants for the study but only 12 were received and analysed. The study reveals the available of several technologies in WFP Malawi supply chain which need to be evaluated and standardized, while at the same time there is need for leadership role in enhancing e-business adoption. The researcher recommends participatory leadership, standardization of technologies in procurement for both non-food and food items procurement and training of staff in using various supply chain software. Small traders and FOs must also be considered to get relevant software to trade efficiently with the agency. These findings have an implication on WFP Malawi to achieve competitive advantage. Efficient procurement, logistics and distribution of food commodities to the vulnerable communities will be achieved once the recommendations above have been taken on board
Drug-releasing textiles
No full textThe design and development of drug-releasing textiles require a judicial selection of textile structure and materials and a thorough understanding of the drug-delivery mechanisms that are involved. This chapter focuses on the mechanisms and kinetics of controlled drug delivery. The chapter also highlights examples of the use of smart polymer-based carriers that are suitable for the development of smart textiles for controlled drug-release applications. Progress in fabrication, characterisation, and application of drug-releasing textiles is also discussed. In the first part of the chapter various drug-delivery mechanisms and kinetics are reviewed. This is followed by a discussion of the various types of drug carriers and coating techniques that are currently available for the preparation of drug-releasing textiles
Collaborative leadership among security actors to achieve sustainable national security and prosperity in Malawi : a practical framework
No full textCollaborative leadership (CL) is a managerial concept that entails full inter-agency coordination in order to achieve enhanced security goals. The problem in Malawi, however, is limited collaboration among security actors (SAs), which has resulted in breakdown of some security issues such as border disputes, illegal migration, internal crime, violent demonstrations, corruption and political intolerance. Using a combination of both in-depth comparative security case studies and surveys of fifteen security organisations and 100 individual respondents, this study examined the effectiveness of CL among SAs for achieving sustainable NS and prosperity (SNS) in Malawi. The empirical findings show that while SAs are working together and making Malawi one of the most peaceful countries in Africa, adoption of CL approach for SNS management is still limited. In turn, these issues have affected economic development of Malawi. Based on the research findings, the study recommends a practical policy framework (PPF) called “NACUSSEPA” which is an inter-agency collaborative model for CL, SNS, and hence prosperity in Malawi. The recommended PPF is rooted in the strategic focus on SNS priorities, promotion of national cultural practices and mind-set change, sharing power, information and training security officers together for effective decision making and establishment of collaborative structures with legal mandate. Others include evaluation measures and parliamentary approval of the practical NS policy framework
Higher Education Data & Information Improvement Programme -HEDIIP NSCS Project Governance Model
No full textThe New Subject Coding Scheme Project was commissioned by HEDIIP under the Standards and Understanding theme. The project aimed to develop a replacement for the Joint Academic Coding Scheme that met the needs of a broad group of stakeholders and reflected the diverse and dynamic nature of Higher Education in the twenty first century. The New Subject Coding Scheme project was undertaken by the Centre for Educational Technology, Interoperability and Standards (Cetis) with partners APS Ltd and Aspire Ltd. The project undertook extensive stakeholder engagement to identify the requirements for the new coding system and developed a coding structure that aims to meet these requirements. The new coding scheme is referred to as HECoS – the Higher Education Classification of Subjects. The project ran from May 2014 to October 2015
PRACTICAL APPLICATION AND ANALYSIS OF MICRO CHP
No full textIn this paper, a case study has been performed and analysed on a Narrow boat as practical application of Micro CHP. The Narrow boat system comprises a diesel engine and various other ancillary equipment. The engine was tested using a standard test procedure and the corresponding engine torque and power, thermal efficiency, fuel input energy and fuel consumption figures were obtained for the range of engine speeds and loads. The results showed that, the thermal efficiency at various speed and different power output not greatly affected and the engine is most efficient between 1000 and 1100 rpm
Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Humidity Sensor with on Chip Temperature Compensation
No full textThis paper reports the development of flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) based humidity sensors on polyimide substrate. The SAW devices have two resonant peaks, named the A0 and S0 Lamb modes, which have different temperature coefficients of frequency. Graphene oxide (GO) is used as the sensing layer owing to its large surface area and hydrophilcity to water. The sensors show high sensitivity up to 145.83ppm/%RH, comparable to those on rigid substrates, and fast response time of 4.4s. The sensitivity increases with the increase of GO thickness and resonant frequency. By utilizing the S0 mode as the temperature reference, a SAW Humidity-sensor with an on chip temperature compensation capability is demonstrated. The humidity sensors also show the ability to work under severe bending condition, demonstrated its great potential for flexible/wearable applications
Precise determination of nonlinear function of ion mobility for explosives and drugs at high electric fields for microchip FAIMS
No full textHigh-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) separates ions by utilizing the characteristics of nonlinear ion mobility at high and low electric fields. Accurate ion discrimination depends on the precise solution of nonlinear relationships and is essential for accurate identification of ion species for applications. So far, all the nonlinear relationships of ion mobility obtained are based at low electric fields (E/N <65 Td). Microchip FAIMS (-FAIMS) with small dimensions has high electric field up to E/N=250 Td, making the approximation methods and conclusions for nonlinear relationships inappropriate for these systems. In this paper, we deduced nonlinear functions based on the first principle and a general model. Furthermore we considered the hydrodynamics of gas flow through microchannels. We then calculated the specific alpha coefficients for cocaine, morphine, HMX, TNT and RDX, respectively, based on their FAIMS spectra measured by -FAIMS system at ultra-high fields up to 250 Td. The results show that there is no difference in nonlinear alpha functions obtained by the approximation and new method at low field (<120 Td), but the error induced by using approximation method increases monotonically with the increase in field, and could be as much as 30% at a field of 250 Td. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Comment on A.-M. Schultz' Socrates and Socrates: 'Looking back to Bring Philosophy Forward'
No full textThe paper, although polemical for the most part, also presents a substantive thesis. The polemical part is directed at the claim that the Platonic Socrates held that philosophy as a practice is to be devoted to the care of self and others, and that the expression of emotion is an important aspect of the philosophic life. To undermine that claim, counter-examples from the autobiographical narrative in the Phaedo and the speeches of Diotima and Alcibiades in the Symposium are brought in. Once analysed at the required depth, those passages show that, on the contrary, Plato's Socrates remains consistently dispassionate both in his life, as he narrates it, and in the views he is made to express in the two dialogues. Rather than promoting self-expression, Socrates never ceased to warn us against misology.
The impact of outsourcing in the tobacco industry in Malawi (A case of Alliance One Tobacco Malawi Limited)
No full textOutsourcing concept is not very old concept in the Malawi Tobacco Industry, however outsourcing practice was adopted in the late 2000 hence it‟s not fully develop in the Tobacco Industry in Malawi although most of the organizations already embarked on the strategy but not fully fragged. Outsourcing implemented by AOTM as one of their strategic choices in order to concentrate on its core activities which include growing, processing and shipping of tobacco among other activities and this applies to other tobacco companies in the industry who are striving to serve their customers beyond their expectations. AOTM through outsourcing they expected a number of benefits which include cost savings and better quality products and services when it contracted out.Data collected by the researcher was in form of qualitative and quantitative means which was collected through the use of triangulation that‟s questionnaires, interviews, structure and unstructured, observation, AOTM employees and internal reports such as memo and newsletters. Therefore data sources were both from primary and secondary sources. AOTM was the main case study under investigation where most of the data was collected from and also from other four tobacco companies, suppliers and contractors of AOTM. The data collected was qualitative in nature and analyzed through qualitative which was descriptive and in quantitative manner. Thereafter the research had drawn the findings and conclusions whereby it used charts, graphs and tables in order to present the findings in the meaningful manner.The main purpose of conducting this research study was to find out what impact the outsourcing practice had brought to the Malawi Tobacco Industry in Malawi and in particular AOTM since its implementation. The major reasons that caused the organizations to advocate for outsourcing include focusing much on the core competences, saving costs, lack of capacity and to attain expertise services. However the concept had brought some positive implications on the cost savings, effectiveness and efficiency, capacity levels and quality whereby contributes to the profit margins of the organization.The main objectives of this research was to establish whether outsourcing practice has improved effectiveness and efficiency at AOTM and its overall performance as whole.The research objectives also include benefits of outsourcing from the time of its implementation, drivers, challenges and critical success factors, procurement methods used and outsourcing methods adopted when contracting out their activities to the service providers. However, to some extend it has failed to fully achieve these objectives.The significance of this study was that some critical areas have been analyzed concerning outsourcing in relation to the problem investigated which was why there was escalation of costs and poor delivery performance of the outsourced activities