Proceedings of the Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC) 2011

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2011 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference(SPARC). It includes papers from PhD students in the arts and social sciences, business, computing, science and engineering, education, environment, built environment and health sciences. Contributions from Salford researchers are published here alongside papers from students at the Universities of Anglia Ruskin, Birmingham City, Chester,De Montfort, Exeter, Leeds, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores and Manchester

Theodicy and End-of-Life Care

Acknowledgments The section on Islamic perspective is contributed by information provided by Imranali Panjwani, Tutor in Theology & Religious Studies, King's College London.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The impact of human resource management practices in innovation culture Case Study: Bank of Palestine in Gaza strip

The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of correlation between HRM practices and innovation culture and the degree of the impact of each HRM practice on the innovation culture. Data of this study are obtained from Bank Of Palestine (BoP), triangulation mixed method is used in this study, by using quantitative and qualitative analysis in order to get three points upon the factors being studied through questionnaires distributed to BoPs' employees in different branches in Gaza strip, and interview with the HR manager of BoP and a focus group with BoP's HR team. The results of this study concluded that there is a correlation between HRM practices and innovation culture. The HRM practices, which include staffing process, compensation, employee and labor relations, training and development, safety and health and communication, and participation, should be implemented in a holistic system and not in isolation in order to best stimulate innovation culture. The study recommended the pre-evaluation tests should be changed to better measure employees' creativity, flexibility and ability to take risks which all lead to a better innovation culture

Understanding new religion-compliant product adoption (NRCPA) in Islamic markets

This study examines the relationships between religious beliefs, brand personality, and new religion-compliant product adoption (NRCPA) in Islamic markets. Findings confirm that religious consumers tend to behave in accordance with a society or group that follows the same beliefs, and that these consumers’ behavior and lifestyle are influenced by similar religious groups and social relationships. In addition, the more religious the consumer, the more likely they will adopt or favour/disfavour a new product in accordance with his/her religious beliefs. Finally, the three constructs–relative advantages, compatibility and complexity–are found to partially mediate the influential relationship between religious beliefs and new religion-compliant product adoption. International firms that target Muslim markets, with an aim to profit and fit in these markets, must take into account the Islamic values, standards and guidelines

Cone Penetration Testing For Field Density Prediction

This paper summarizes an experimental program for developing a pilot procedure to check and predict field densities of compacted soils using static cone penetration tests. Three sandy soils were tested. The testing program included both laboratory and field tests. On the basis of laboratory tests, density prediction curves were developed while field results were used to find a correlation to predict densities on the basis of measured penetration resistances. The results are rather encouraging and promising. It is anticipated that the presented methodology would be very effective for compaction quality control in large areas of sandy soils because it is fast, simple and causes minimum disturbance to the compacted soil

Medicinal plants used by women in Mecca: urban, Muslim and gendered knowledge

Background: This study explores medicinal plant knowledge and use among Muslim women in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Ethnobotanical research in the region has focused on rural populations and male herbal healers in cities, and based on these few studies, it is suggested that medicinal plant knowledge may be eroding. Here, we document lay, female knowledge of medicinal plants in an urban centre, interpreting findings in the light of the growing field of urban ethnobotany and gendered knowledge and in an Islamic context. Methods: Free-listing, structured and semi-structured interviews were used to document the extent of medicinal plant knowledge among 32 Meccan women. Vernacular names, modes of preparation and application, intended therapeutic use and emic toxicological remarks were recorded. Women were asked where they learnt about medicinal plants and if and when they preferred using medicinal plants over biomedical resources. Prior informed consent was always obtained. We compared the list of medicinal plants used by these Meccan women with medicinal plants previously documented in published literature. Results: One hundred eighteen vernacular names were collected, corresponding to approximately 110 plants, including one algae. Of these, 95 were identified at the species level and 39 (41%) had not been previously cited in Saudi Arabian medicinal plant literature. Almost one half of the plants cited are food and flavouring plants. Meccan women interviewed learn about medicinal plants from their social network, mass media and written sources, and combine biomedical and medicinal plant health care. However, younger women more often prefer biomedical resources and learn from written sources and mass media. Conclusions: The fairly small number of interviews conducted in this study was sufficient to reveal the singular body of medicinal plant knowledge held by women in Mecca and applied to treat common ailments. Plant availability in local shops and markets and inclusion in religious texts seem to shape the botanical diversity used by the Meccan women interviewed, and the use of foods and spices medicinally could be a global feature of urban ethnobotany. Ethnobotanical knowledge among women in Islamic communities may be changing due to access to mass media and biomedicine. We recognise the lack of documentation of the diversity of medicinal plant knowledge in the Arabian Peninsula and an opportunity to better understand gendered urban and rural knowledge

The mechanical performance of sugar palm fibres (Ijuk) reinforced phenolic composites

Sugar palm fibres are one of the natural fibres which have many features and need further study to understand their properties. The aim of this work is to investigate the flexural, compressive and impact properties of sugar palm fibres reinforced phenolic composites. Sugar palm fibres were used as a filler (particle size 150 μm) and with loading of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 vol.%. The fibres were treated by sea water and then fabricated into composites by hot press technique. Flexural, compressive, and impact tests were carried out as per ASTM D790, ASTM D695-08a, and ASTM D256 standards, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology and the interfacial bonding of the fibres-matrix in composites. The results show that the mechanical properties of the composites improve with the incorporation of fibres. The composite of 30 vol.% particle loading exhibit optimum values which are 32.23 MPa, 61.66 MPa, and 4.12 kJ/m2 for flexural, compressive, and impact strength, respectively. This was because good compatibility of fibre-matrix bonding. Consequently, sugar palm fibre is one of the prospective fibres and could be used as a potential resource to reinforcement polymer composite

Soy protein–gum karaya conjugate: emulsifying activity and rheological behavior in aqueous system and oil in water emulsion

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of mixing and conjugation of soy protein isolate (SPI) with gum karaya on the characteristics of the hybrid polymer (protein–gum) in both aqueous systems and oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. It was hypothesized that the covalent linkage of gum karaya with SPI would improve the emulsifying activity and rheological properties of both polymers. Conjugation occurred under controlled conditions (i.e., 60 °C and 75 % relative humidity, 3 days). The conjugated hybrid polymer produced smaller droplet with better uniformity, higher viscosity and stronger emulsifying activity than native gum karaya, suggesting the conjugated polymer provided a bulkier secondary layer with more efficient coverage around oil droplets, thereby inducing stronger resistance against droplet aggregation and flocculation. Emulsions containing the native gum karaya produced the largest droplet size among all prepared emulsions (D 3,2 = 8.6 μm; D 4,3 = 22.4 μm); while the emulsion containing protein–gum conjugate (1:1 g/g) had the smallest droplet size (D 3,2 = 0.2 μm; D 4,3 = 0.7 μm) with lower polydispersity. The protein–gum conjugate (1:1 g/g) also showed the highest elastic and viscous modulus, the lowest polydispersity (span) and the highest emulsifying activity among all native, mixed and conjugated polymers. Therefore, the percentage of gum karaya used for production of O/W emulsion can be decreased by partially replacing it with the conjugated gum

SISTEM PEMANTAUAN DAN PENGENDALIAN ENERGI BERBASIS IOT UNTUK MENINGKATKAN EFISIENSI ENERGI DALAM LINGKUNGAN CERDAS

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan sistem pemantauan dan pengendalian energi listrik berbasis Internet of Things (IoT) menggunakan mikrokontroler ESP32 dan sensor PZEM-004T. Sistem dirancang untuk meningkatkan efisiensi energi melalui pemantauan real-time dan pengendalian perangkat listrik secara otomatis menggunakan aplikasi Blynk. Hasil pengujian menunjukkan bahwa sistem mampu memberikan akurasi pengukuran daya yang baik, dengan selisih kecil antara daya aktual dan teoretis. Faktor seperti fluktuasi tegangan dan efisiensi perangkat berkontribusi terhadap perbedaan tersebut. Implementasi sistem ini tidak hanya memungkinkan optimalisasi konsumsi daya, tetapi juga mendukung pengelolaan energi yang hemat dan terukur, sehingga berpotensi diterapkan dalam berbagai lingkungan cerda