61 research outputs found
Impact of field visits on students’ knowledge towards rural development: an empirical study on Brac University
No full textThe education system of the 21st century mainly accentuates on pragmatic and collaborative learning where field trip is one of the most prominent methods of learning. Considering this, Brac University arranges a lot of experiential learning activities. Visiting different programs of BRAC is one of them where every student of the university is taken to observe the development trends in rural areas of Bangladesh. This study explores the impact of those visits. The methodology of this research includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A survey was conducted where 200 students were selected who visited programs of BRAC. Subsequently, a focus group discussion was arranged where 40 students had taken part. The study shows that this field visit helps students becoming more attached to villages, and it inhibits a sense of responsibility among many of them. This research may help policymakers to design their curriculum more effectively in the future
Impact of field visits on students’ knowledge towards rural development: an empirical study on Brac University
No full textThe education system of the 21st century mainly accentuates on pragmatic and collaborative learning where field trip is one of the most prominent methods of learning. Considering this, Brac University arranges a lot of experiential learning activities. Visiting different programs of BRAC is one of them where every student of the university is taken to observe the development trends in rural areas of Bangladesh. This study explores the impact of those visits. The methodology of this research includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A survey was conducted where 200 students were selected who visited programs of BRAC. Subsequently, a focus group discussion was arranged where 40 students had taken part. The study shows that this field visit helps students becoming more attached to villages, and it inhibits a sense of responsibility among many of them. This research may help policymakers to design their curriculum more effectively in the future
The Political Economy of UNFCCC's Bali Climate Conference: A roadmap to climate commercialization
No full textMd Shamsuddoha and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury critically review the key elements of the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007, which was intended to formulate a climate action roadmap to replace the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. They argue that the transition plan for replacing the Kyoto Protocol aims to engage big business and the global financial institutions without committing any parties to tangible emissions cuts. They counter the concept of ‘climate commercialization’ on which Bali climate talks eventually fell, and argue the urgency of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Development (2008) 51, 397–402. doi:10.1057/dev.2008.43
Supply and Value Chain Analysis in the Marketing of Marine Dried Fish in Bangladesh and Non Tariff Measures (NTMs) in International Trading
No full textIn Bangladesh 7.3 million people live in the coastal fishing villages whose livelihood someway depends on marine fishing. About 20 percent of total marine catch dried round the year and marketed both in domestic and international market. In the supply chain of marine dried fish marketing four intermediary stakeholders are involved between producers and consumers. Besides, involvement of backward stakeholders with the primary producer is considerably high that results 22 percent value addition to raw fish. The value addition is found highest 105 percent from wholesaler to retailer, followed by 90 percent from wholesaler to exporter. In long supply chain profitability is not as high as the value added. In contrary both the profit maximization and profit distribution are considerably higher in a short supply chain. Supermarket secure as high as 150 percent profit. In all cases, primary producers secure less profit, only 5 to 8 percent whereas their involvement in terms of labor, time etc. is the highest. The major cause of price exploitation is dadan (non institutional money lending) that make producers bound to go for 'conditional engagement' in fish drying business. In relation to dry fish export, the increasing non-tariff measures (NTMs) acts as critical barrier despite having huge international market demand. The WTO SPS and TBT agreements impose a bound obligation to the exporting member countries to improve food quality as per set international standard, but the compliance cost related to SPS obligation is too high, and the government is reluctant, otherwise unable to meet the set criteria. The study recommends appropriate policy intervention for financing dry fish producers and to strengthen domestic technical regulations to overcome technical barriers to dry fish trading in international market.International Relations/Trade,
Behaviour of infilled rehabilitation system with composites for steel pipe
No full textFibre-reinforced polymer-based composites are found effective and suitable for steel pipe repairs because of their unique advantages such as high strength, lightweight, non-corrosive, and fast and easy to handle. In this study, the behaviour of a new type of composite repair system for steel pipelines underwater, which is the grouted composite sleeve, was investigated. This type of repair system relies on the effective transfer of stresses from the steel pipe to the encircling composite sleeve through the grout infill. Research was therefore necessary in optimising the material and geometric properties of each component of this system in order to have a betterunderstanding on its overall behaviour and its effectiveness in repairing steel pipelines.
An experimental study on the mechanical, thermal and shrinkage properties of five epoxy-based grouts commonly used for structural repair was conducted. Three grouts have compressive strength of more than 80 MPa and total shrinkages of only 2.77%, which were deemed applicable for structural repair of steel pipelines. Moreover, the glass transition temperature of these grouts ranges from 50 to 90oC. The inclusion of coarse filler significantly increased the modulus and compressive strength, and reduced the shrinkage, but also reduced the tensile strength. There was considerable reduction in mechanical properties due to hot-wet conditioning at 70oC. This is because of the plasticisation and weakening of the aggregate matrix debonding at a temperature close to the glass transition temperature.
The glass fibre – vinyl ester composites considered in this study have strength and modulus suitable for sleeve in the grouted sleeve repair system. The tensile strength, modulus and interlaminar shear strength of this composite was 427 MPa, 25 GPa and 30 MPa, respectively and its glass transition temperature was 110oC. It absorbed only 0.22% of moisture after hot-wet conditioning of 3000 hours. More importantly, there was almost no change in the modulus and it retained sufficient tensile and interlaminar shear strength needed for a composite sleeve repair system even after exposure to moisture and elevated temperature of 80°C. The glass transition temperature decreased to 97°C after conditioning and reached saturation indicating that, the composite was suitable for pipeline repair in continuous service at higher temperature.
A finite element analysis using a simplified 2D model was conducted to determine the effect of critical parameters on the behaviour of a grouted composite sleeve repair system. Grout modulus and thickness, and sleeve thickness were considered for the analysis. The results of the analyses indicated that the thinner and higher modulus grouts are more effective to transfer load from the steel to the sleeve than the thicker and lower modulus grouts. Similarly, a thicker sleeve reduced the level of stresses and strains in all the components of the repair. Based on the results of the analysis, it was recommended that a grout thickness of 20 mm with a modulus of at least 5 GPa was appropriate for an effective grouted repair system and for practical application.
A full-scale 3D analysis was carried out to determine the effectiveness of the repair system for steel pipelines with a range of localised metal loss. The results of the analyses indicated that the modulus of the infill grout governs the load transfer between the steel and the sleeve, but the tensile strength governs the functionality of the system. The cracking of the grout resulted in a significant increase in the stress level in the steel pipeline and composite sleeve. The repair system using grout with a higher tensile strength provided a higher pipe capacity by utilising the plasticity of the steel, while the grout with a lower tensile strength cracks even before yielding of the yielding at a low applied internal pressure. Moreover, a thicker sleeve provided higher capacity in the repaired pipe, and both the carbon and glass fibre composites were found effective for composite sleeve repair system. Most importantly, it was determined that the considered grouted composite sleeve repair system can effectively reinstate the capacity of the pipelines with a localised defect of up to 70% metal loss.
An improved understanding on the behaviour of the grouted composite sleeve repair system for pipeline with metal loss was achieved in this study, providing a base knowledge from which further research could continue. The results obtained provided important information on the optimal material properties of the infill grout and the composite sleeve for an effective repair system and the effect of different operating conditions on the overall behaviour of the repaired steel pipelines. These results are very valuable and will help researchers, engineers and stakeholders to consider the actual application and implementation of this new composite system in repairing steel pipeline
The Speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 7th March 1971: A Historical Analysis
No full textThe 20th century witnessed a lot of nationalist movements which gave the birth of many independent states. All these nationalist movements were led by some charismatic leaders who could convince, organize and motivate people by their character, speech, and wonderful leadership. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mojibur Rahman was one of them. He was such a leader who opened the eyes of the East Pakistani people about their right, and led them towards independence. He could ignite the light of the nationalist spirit among the people by his public speaking capacity and heart-rending speech. His historic speech of 7th March 1971 is often considered as one of the most influential speeches over the world. UNESCO recognized the 7th March speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as part of the world’s documentary heritage in 2017. This study sheds light on the historical importance of that speech. An extensive historical background of this speech will also be demonstrated based on the documents of the liberation war of Bangladesh and other reliable sources. This study shows that the 7th March speech of Bangabandhu paved the way for independent Bangladesh in 1971
Superplasticizer and shrinkage reducing admixture dosages for microfine cement in grout systems
No full textGrouts have numerous applications including crack repair as maintenance in construction industries. Microfine cements are intensively used for high strength mortar and grout products. They are ideal for injection grouting in structural repair. Such grouts should have suitable rheological properties to be injectable, especially those used in repair and rehabilitation. The use of superplasticizers (SP) in these products is thus becoming increasingly crucial to achieve favorable workability and viscosity properties. A difficulty in such grouts is the plastic shrinkage due to finer particles used. It is thus necessary to determine optimum SP and shrinkage reducing admixture (SRA) dosages for a microfine cement based grout. In this study, a saturation dosage was decided from two Polycarboxylate ether (PCE) based SPs in relation to neat cement using slump flow and rheological parameters. A range of grout mixtures was formulated containing micro silica (MS) and fly ash (FA), and tested for suitable rheological and mechanical parameters. Based on the results, a grout mixture with MS and FA was selected to determine optimum SRA content. According to the results, a SP dosage of 3% by weight of neat cement is sufficient to achieve saturation. The grout material including MS and FA can produce comparable properties to neat cement grout. MS is found to improve compressive strength within the range considered, whereas a higher FA content provides favourable rheological properties. Finally, a SRA dosage of 4%, which could reduce the shrinkage by about 43% after 28d days, is determined for the grout system
Supply and Value Chain Analysis in the Marketing of Marine Dried Fish in Bangladesh and Non Tariff Measures (NTMs) in International Trading
No full textIn Bangladesh 7.3 million people live in the coastal fishing villages whose livelihood someway depends on marine fishing. About 20 percent of total marine catch dried round the year and marketed both in domestic and international market. In the supply chain of marine dried fish marketing four intermediary stakeholders are involved between producers and consumers. Besides, involvement of backward stakeholders with the primary producer is considerably high that results 22 percent value addition to raw fish. The value addition is found highest 105 percent from wholesaler to retailer, followed by 90 percent from wholesaler to exporter. In long supply chain profitability is not as high as the value added. In contrary both the profit maximization and profit distribution are considerably higher in a short supply chain. Supermarket secure as high as 150 percent profit. In all cases, primary producers secure less profit, only 5 to 8 percent whereas their involvement in terms of labor, time etc. is the highest. The major cause of price exploitation is dadan (non institutional money lending) that make producers bound to go for 'conditional engagement' in fish drying business. In relation to dry fish export, the increasing non-tariff measures (NTMs) acts as critical barrier despite having huge international market demand. The WTO SPS and TBT agreements impose a bound obligation to the exporting member countries to improve food quality as per set international standard, but the compliance cost related to SPS obligation is too high, and the government is reluctant, otherwise unable to meet the set criteria. The study recommends appropriate policy intervention for financing dry fish producers and to strengthen domestic technical regulations to overcome technical barriers to dry fish trading in international market
Remediation of Cracks Formed in Grouted Connections of Offshore Energy Structures under Static Loads
No full textThe future energy demand necessitates the exploration of all potential energy sources both onshore and offshore. Global trend has shifted towards offshore energy, which can be obtained from either carbon intensive or renewable options, hence requiring structures such as rigs, platforms, and monopiles. Most of these structures adopt easily installable construction techniques, where lower foundation need to be connected with the super structure by mean of grouted composite joints. Generally, these composite connections have exterior sleeve, interior pile and infill grout. Being located in remote offshore conditions, connections can experience considerable adverse loading during their lifetimes. Degradations were reported inside similar connections, which were installed in last three decades. Besides, grouting in the offshore sites may often be proven difficult, which eventually leads to reduced capacity of connections in the long run. Thus, repair and rehabilitation of such connections should be planned ahead to minimize operational delays and costs in the future. This study aims at characterizing the nature of crack generation in grouted connections and thereby identifying the potential of repair using suitable repair material. Scaled grouted joints were manufactured using a novel mold, and connections were loaded under static load to visualize the main failure pattern. The failure mechanism and loading capacity are found compatible to previous results from earlier literature. Grouted connection was then repaired using cementitious injectable grout. The effectiveness of the repair system is also discussed
Space Discrimination in Public Universities in Bangladesh : Investigating How Secularism Contributes to the Social Exclusion of Students of Different Religions.
No full textThis thesis explores the experiences of five public university students from three different religions in Bangladesh. It examines their experience regarding religious identities and practices at institutions that are secular but politically controlled. Based on qualitative interviews, it examines students' perspectives at a time when scholars questioned whether Bangladesh, under the secular and democratic party, the Awami League, was becoming a one-party state. Universities, as institutions, traditionally serve as secular spaces for the practice of free thought and diverse beliefs. However, political control influences how secular institutions regulate space to practice different beliefs on campuses.
In this backdrop, this thesis analyzes how students of different religions experience their religious identities and practices on secular but politically controlled campuses. It discusses secularism and social exclusion as forms of capability deprivation through the theoretical lenses of Talal Asad and Amartya Sen. The findings indicate that students' perspectives on secularism are ambiguous and inconsistent. Despite their definition of respecting all religions, their practical experiences demonstrate a different reality. Their experiences show that space discrimination manifests in all three dimensions—physical, social, and symbolic. There is also an indication of social exclusion limiting their ability to perform what they value
- …
