The differences in the socio-economic outcomes of majorities and minorities have been well studied in sociology. This article breaks new ground by investigating the effect on religiosity of ...majority/minority status in two Muslim-majority and two Muslim-minority countries of South and Southeast Asia. Religiosity is conceptualised as a multidimensional phenomenon. The article critically discusses this conceptualisation through an analysis of survey data. The findings show significant differences in the sociological profiles of religiosity in Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries. The architecture of religiosity is significantly more orthodox in Muslim-majority countries. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for understanding the nature and dynamics of religious orthodoxy, the nature of civil society, religious reform and the role of collective religious social movements.
Ultraviolet radiation, oxidation, temperature, moisture, and traffic loads produce degradation and brittleness in the asphalt pavement. Microcracks develop into macrocracks, which eventually lead to ...pavement failure. Although asphalt has an inherent capacity for self-healing, it is constricted. As a result, damages build beyond the ability of asphalt to repair themselves. This research employs the in-situ crack healing method of encapsulated rejuvenator technology to enhance the insufficient self-healing capability of roads. This allows the extrinsically induced healing in asphalt to assist it in recovering from damage sustained during service life. Optical microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and the compressive load test of capsules were done to characterise their properties. We measured the self-healing behaviour of encapsulated rejuvenator-induced asphalt utilising the three-point bending beam tests on unaged, short-term aged and long-term aged asphalt beams. The rate of oil release before and after healing was quantified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results of these tests were utilised to explain the link between healing time, temperature, asphalt ageing, and healing level. Overall, it was determined that the encapsulated rejuvenator was acceptable for mending asphalt mixes because it increased healing temperature and duration, resulting in an up to 80% healing index.
Using specially generated tabulations of Muslim and non-Muslim Australians from the 2006 Census, this paper examines the social and economic position of Muslims in Australia and implications for ...their social inclusion. Although Australian Muslims come from more than 130 countries, the largest number, 38%, are Australian-born and almost 40% are younger than 20 years of age. Educationally they are high-achievers but on all indicators of socioeconomic well-being they fall into a very disadvantaged category. Twenty-one% of adult Muslim men have a university degree compared with 15% of non-Muslim Australians, yet their age-specific unemployment rates are two to four times higher than those of non-Muslim Australian; their rate of home ownership is half the national average; 40% of Muslim children are living in poverty and only 25% of Muslim households have above-average household. Thus, a significant proportion of Muslim Australians occupy a relatively marginal position both socially and economically in Australian society. This marginalisation fosters intergenerational transfer of disadvantage and may also contribute to their alienation from Australian society and its values which makes them vulnerable to religious and non-religious radicalism. The paper will argue that socioeconomic marginalisation and a sense of relative deprivation are often breeding grounds for religious and non-religious radicalisation. Theological and ideological impulses only further galvanise those who are socially and economically disadvantaged.
Maintaining quality in construction projects is paramount to project success, achieved through techniques such as Total Quality Management (TQM). However, the key factors of TQM implementation in the ...construction industry of developing countries are not well explored. Accordingly, this paper evaluated the causative relationship and intricacies of TQM implementation in the construction sector of developing countries. A total of 28 key factors of TQM were captured through a literature review. Thereafter, 12 significant key factors were shortlisted. Lack of top management commitment, poor customer/client satisfaction, inadequate quality of education regarding TQM, and ineffective organizational quality culture emerged as impediments to implementing TQM in the construction sector. A Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) was developed to represent interrelations between the 12 shortlisted factors. In addition, a system dynamics model (SDM) was developed. The simulation results of the developed SDM indicated an increase in TQM implementation over the period under the defined system.
In an age when the Western world is preoccupied with worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, terrorists across many parts of the globe are using a more basic device as a weapon ...- life itself.
Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and unrivalled ability to cause mayhem and fear, but what is the real driving force behind these attacks? For the first time, Suicide Bombings analyzes concrete data from The Suicide Terrorism Database at Flinders University, Australia, to explain what motivates the perpetrators. The results serve to largely discredit common wisdom that religion and an impressionable personality are the principal causes, and show rather that a cocktail of motivations fuel these attacks which include politics, humiliation, revenge, retaliation, and altruism.
Suicide Bombings provides a short but incisive insight into this much publicized form of terrorism, and as such is an informative and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in this topic.
The authors investigate the relationship between Muslim minority size and inequality using a new cross-sectional dataset of 599 Indian districts. The authors review existing studies, propose a new ...population growth inequality theory, and develop three hypotheses. A newly constructed multidimensional index of social well-being is used as a proxy for intergroup inequality. A multi-level mixed effects regression analysis with controls for urbanization and state-level effects is applied. The authors find a U-shaped relationship between the size of the Muslim minority and its absolute and relative well-being. Well-being reaches the lowest point when minority reaches approximately 50% of the population in a district. The average gap in well-being tends to be larger in the districts with lower socio-economic development.
Kanamycin is a widely used selection agent in dicot-plant genetic transformation systems. In monocots, however, it does not seem to be effective as it has no or minimal effect on the normal growth of ...non-transformed plants. Kanamycin was previously demonstrated to bleach the pigments of the non-transgenic plants. This may yield the idea that kanamycin can be used as an effective screening marker rather than a selectable marker in monocots. Copyright (c) 2021 Malik Nawaz Shuja, Hasan Riaz, Muhsin Jamal, Muhammad Imran
The enrichment of natural gas with hydrogen has been identified as a promising pathway for power-to-gas technology with the potential to reduce emissions while achieving feasible return on ...investment. The evolving regulatory market in the province of Ontario motivates the analysis of business cases for hydrogen on the industrial microgrid scale. This paper aims to investigate the financial and environmental returns associated with producing and storing electrolytic hydrogen for injection into the natural gas feed of a manufacturer’s combined heat and power plants (CHPs). A mathematical methodology was developed for investigating the optimal operation of the integrated system (power-to-gas along with the current system) by considering hydrogen-enriched natural gas. The result of this simulation is an operation plan that delivers optimal economics and an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions. The simulation was implemented across an entire year for each combination of generation price limit and storage coefficient. Because the provincial grid imposes a lesser carbon footprint than that of a pure natural gas turbine, any offset of natural gas by hydrogen reduces the carbon intensity of the system. From an environmental perspective, the amount of carbon abated by the model fell within a range of 3000 ton CO2/year. From a policy perspective, this suggests that a minimum feasible carbon price of $60/ton CO2e must be set by applicable regulatory bodies. Lastly, a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis was performed for the proposed system to validate the safety of the design.
Phosphorous is an essential micronutrient of plants and involved in critical biological functions. In nature, phosphorous is mostly present in immobilized inorganic mineral and in the fixed organic ...form including phytic acid and phosphoesteric compounds. However, the bioavailability of bound phosphorous could be enhanced by the use of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. The phytases are widespread in an environment and have been isolated from different sources comprising bacteria and fungi.
In current studies, we show the successful use of gamma rays and EMS (Ethyl Methane Sulphonate) mutagenesis for enhanced activity of phytases in a fungal strain Sporotrichum thermophile.
We report an improved strain ST2 that could produce a clear halo zone around the colony, up to 24 mm. The maximum enzymatic activity was found of 382 U/mL on pH 5.5. However, the phytase activity was improved to 387 U/ml at 45 °C. We also report that the mutants produced through EMS showed the greater potential for phytase production.
The current study highlights the potential of EMS mutagenesis for strain improvement over physical mutagens.
Elevated body mass index has been identified as a potential risk factor for complications in operatively treated pelvic trauma. Although obesity is an independent risk factor for morbidity and ...mortality following high-energy blunt force trauma, there is little information on the immediate complications following isolated pelvic and acetabular fractures in obese patients with trauma. The authors hypothesized that obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m(2)) is a risk factor for complications in both operative and nonoperative pelvic and acetabular fractures. The authors conducted a 5-year retrospective data collection of all patients with isolated pelvic and acetabular fractures presenting to a Level I trauma center, excluding pediatric (age <18 years) patients, those with ballistic injuries, and those with concomitant long bone fractures or an Abbreviated Injury Scale score of greater than 2 in any other body region. Complications during the immediate hospitalization period were identified by the institution's Trauma Registry of the American College of Surgeons database, including wound infection, dehiscence, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, pneumonia, and development of decubitus ulcers. Mean body mass index was 27.4 ± 6.8 kg/m(2), with 68 (27.0%) obese patients. Mean body mass index of patients with complications was significantly higher (31.9 ± 9.5 vs 27.0 ± 6.5 kg/m(2); P=.001). Logistic regression showed that obesity was a significant risk factor for complications (odds ratio, 2.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-8.04), after adjusting for age (odds ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.06) and Injury Severity Score (odds ratio, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.32). Obesity is associated with increasing complications following operative fixation of pelvic and acetabular fractures. However, it is important to recognize that even nonoperative management of pelvic and acetabular fractures in obese patients can have early complications. This study showed a significant obesity-related risk of complications after trauma in both operative and nonoperative pelvic injuries.
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