29 research outputs found
The Factors Influencing Purchase Intention by Students to Buy Counterfeit Products
No full textSince there are many people in Indonesia that know and buy counterfeit products of CROCS and since this product is famous enough in society, the author wants to know the factors that can influence purchase intention by students to buy counterfeit products. The title of this research is The Factors Influencing Purchase Intention by Students to buy counterfeit products. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of brand personality, perceived product attributes, perceived benefits, product involvement and product knowledge toward purchase intention by students to buy counterfeit products. 125 respondents in this research are students of Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta. Technique sampling of research used was convenience sampling. The data in this research have fulfilled the normal distribution. The analysis results brand personality, product involvement and product knowledge were significant and supported while perceived product attributes and perceived benefits were not significant and not supported.
Key words: Brand personality, Perceived product attributes, Perceived benefits, product involvement, Product knowledge and Purchase Intention.
Surakarta, 04 November 2014
Author,
(Riffat Verlila Ponto
Competency-based integrated practical examinations: Bringing relevance to basic science laboratory examinations
No full textExploring the trustworthiness and reliability of focus groups for obtaining useful feedback for evaluation of academic programs
No full textThe positive impact of introducing modified directed self-learning using pre–small group discussion worksheets as an active learning strategy in undergraduate medical education
No full textABSTRACTBackground Directed self-learning (DSL) is an active learning approach where the learners are provided with predefined learning objectives and some facilitation through the learning process in the form of guidance and supervision. It can help establish a strong foundation for autonomous and deep learning.Objective The aim of this study was to introduce a modified form of DSL to second-year undergraduate medical students using pre–small group discussion (pre-SGD) worksheets. The authors intended to evaluate its effectiveness through theme assessment and investigate students’ perceptions using a feedback questionnaire.Methods This was an analytical cross-sectional study. Modified DSL (MDSL) was introduced to 96 second-year undergraduate medical students in two themes. Students were divided randomly into two groups. One group was exposed to traditional DSL (TDSL), and the other was introduced to MDSL using pre-SGD worksheets for the first theme. Groups were reversed for the second theme. The activity was followed by a theme assessment, which was scored for research purpose only. The scores of this assessment were compared, and perceptions of the students were gathered using a validated questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM’s statistical package of social sciences (SPSS) version 22.Results The comparison of theme assessment scores revealed statistically significant difference (P = 0.002) in median scores between control TDSL and experimental MDSL groups. The percentage of students scoring ≥80% in theme assessment was significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group (P = 0.029). This strategy was well perceived by the students in terms of acceptability and effectiveness as depicted by a high degree of agreement on the Likert-scale.Conclusion Modified DSL resulted in significant improvement in academic performance of undergraduate medical students. MDSL was also well perceived as an active learning strategy in terms of acceptability, effectiveness, and comparison with TDSL. [Figure: see text
Fundamental studies of anaerobic biosorption in wastewater treatment
No full textThe potential for sorption of soluble organic matter on anaerobic biomass is currently under investigation by the author and coworkers at Iowa State University. Biosorption is defined as the uptake or accumulation of particulates and chemicals by microbial biomass. The anaerobic biosorption process utilizes the sorption capabilities of active biomass for the treatment of wastewater. Biosorption is a rapid process. About 40% removal of organic matter was obtained in only 15 minutes after the substrate was brought in contact with the biomass;This dissertation presents the results of preliminary investigations on the effects of various factors on the biosorption process. The primary objective of this research was to determine the applicability of anaerobic biomass as a potential sorbent for organic matter and to quantify the results in terms of isotherms. The effects of mixing times, temperature, substrate concentration, biomass concentration, and granular biomass particle size were also studied;Anaerobic biomass was grown at 35°C in 10-liter source reactors, operated as anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBR). Biosorption experiments were performed with active biomass in two liter batch reactors on a synthetic milk waste. The particle size distributions of the granular biomass were determined using an Automatic Image Analysis system. Temperature studies were significant. Better removals were obtained at higher temperature than at lower temperature. It was observed that wastes at temperatures as low as 7°C could be treated without the application of external heat;Higher removals were obtained with the small granular biomass than with the large granules. Increasing the biomass concentration resulted in a significant increase in the percentage removal of organic matter. Another method of improving biosorption was to operate a number of sorption reactors in series. High overall COD removals were obtained in a series of three reactors. The results were expressed in terms of adsorption isotherms. The data conformed well to both the Freundlich and the Langmuir adsorption models.</p
Preliminary Performance Test of a Combined Solar Thermal Roof System with Heat Pump for Buildings
No full textAbstractIn the present study, a novel solar thermal roof collector was developed by primarily exploiting components and techniques widely available on the market and coupled with a commercial heat pump unit. The proposed indirect series solar-assisted heat pump system was experimentally tested and preliminary system performance was investigated. Yet, the analysis based on indoor and outdoor testing predominantly focuses on the solar thermal roof collector. A detailed thermal model was developed to describe the system operation. Also, a computer model was set-up by using Engineering Equation Solver (EES) to carry out the numerical computations of the governing equations. Preliminary analyses show that the difference in water temperature could reach up to 18°C while maximum thermal efficiency found to be 26%. Data processing of the series covering the test period represents that Coefficient Performance of the heat pump (COPHP) and overall system (COPSYS) averages were attained as COPHP=3.01 and COPSYS=2.29, respectively
Performance Analysis of a Combined Building Integrated PV/T Collector with a Liquid Desiccant Enhanced Dew Point Cooler
No full textAbstractThis study introduces a new concept on solar thermal energy driven liquid desiccant based dew point cooling system that integrates several green technologies; including photovoltaic modules, polyethylene heat exchanger loop and a combined liquid desiccant dehumidification-indirect evaporative air conditioning unit. A small scale experimental prototype was developed and tested to investigate the performance of the proposed system and influence of the various parameters such as weather condition, air flow and regeneration temperature. A cost effective, easy-to-make polyethylene heat exchanger loop was employed underneath PV panels for heat generation. In addition, a liquid desiccant enhanced dew point cooling unit was utilized to provide air conditioning through dehumidification of humid air and indirect evaporative cooling. The experimental results show that the proposed tri-generation system is capable of providing about 3kW of heating, 5kW of cooling power and 10 MWh/year power generation, respectively
China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Global Politics and Implications
No full textBelt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a global infrastructure development project that ambitiously aims to connect Asia with European and African continents through land and sea corridors. China adopted this gigantic game-changing master plan in 2013 and spurred much speculation among scholars and policymakers worldwide. This article investigates the development of the project through the lens of global political geography and economy. From an international relations perspective, the author consults relevant pieces of literature and focuses on the international issues and events concerning the development of the project using concepts of ideas, interests, and institutions within the scope of geopolitics and political economy. The analysis is performed by reviewing critical events and arguments related to the ideas, interests and institutions evolving around the implementation of BRI. Drawing from the analysis, the author argues that the rise of China as a dominant global superpower largely depends on the success of the BRI, and this initiative will continue to generate politics among the international actors, multinational entities, and institutions. Despite widespread speculations, the project poses a substantive threat to the USA’s global dominance and is likely to create more global development cooperation under Chinese leadership and vision
Pressure drop of HFC refrigerants inside evaporator and condenser coils as determined by CFD
No full textSmith was a PhD student supervised by Shao and was lead author.
The work enabled the authors to secure, through highly competitive tendering, project (963-TRP) on HVAC Flow Resistance from the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
China’s belt and road initiative: global politics and implications
No full textBelt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a global infrastructure development project that ambitiously aims to connect Asia with European and African continents through land and sea corridors. China adopted this gigantic game-changing master plan in 2013 and spurred much speculation among scholars and policymakers worldwide. This article investigates the development of the project through the lens of global political geography and economy. From an international relations perspective, the author consults relevant pieces of literature and focuses on the international issues and events concerning the development of the project using concepts of ideas, interests, and institutions within the scope of geopolitics and political economy. The analysis is performed by reviewing critical events and arguments related to the ideas, interests and institutions evolving around the implementation of BRI. Drawing from the analysis, the author argues that the rise of China as a dominant global superpower largely depends on the success of the BRI, and this initiative will continue to generate politics among the international actors, multinational entities, and institutions. Despite widespread speculations, the project poses a substantive threat to the USA’s global dominance and is likely to create more global development cooperation under Chinese leadership and vision
