MICRO CLIMATIC HOUSE DESIGN: A WAY TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE? THE CASE OF GHAR KUMARPUR VILLAGE IN BANGLADESH

Doubt on global warming is over in the presence of firm scientific evidence supporting this phenomenon. There is not enough room to indefinitely explore the discourses on climate change; rather it is the time to act together in local and global scale for the common future of this planet. This, then, raises the question of what actions should be taken by the communities within their respective nation states and larger multi-national and global associations. Especially, in the case of developing countries, which are worst affected being in the forefront of global climate change, actions at the community level becomes paramount. One of the poorest nations- Bangladesh is worst hit by the recurrent floods and cyclones that are caused by increased global warming. The recent cyclone Sidr, which caused around 3,000 deaths and several million dollars of property loss, is an example of the devastating consequences of climatic change. Coastal areas of this country are in danger and highly vulnerable to cyclones and floods. This paper is based on the study carried out on the south-western coastal areas adjacent to the Sundarbans and such adjacency makes them unique in relation to dependency on resources. Prime focus of this paper is on the micro-climatic design of houses in response to frequent cyclone and the ways they should be designed in a more sustainable way, with available resources affordable to the community habitants. In the end, this paper raises some general questions about urban design and climate change.global warming, climate change, micro-climatic design, urban design

Milt quality determination of a critically endangered fish, olive barb (Puntius sarana, Ham.) in Bangladesh

The present study was aimed to evaluate the characteristics of the olive barb sperm. Milt was collected fortnightly from 49 male fish (mean weight 90.8 g and length 18.64 cm) from April to July in 2008. In the olive barb ejaculated milt, volume (µl/g), motility (%), duration of motility (s), concentration (x 10 super(10)/ml) and pH values were found to be 6.06±0.32, 88.27±0.71, 171.41±7.41, 5.16±0.05 and 7.75±0.04, respectively. Milt volume was significantly (P<0.05) correlated with sperm concentration. Milt volume, sperm concentration, motility and duration of motility significantly varied (P<0.05) during spawning season

THz band multipath measurements and analysis

The THz band is now becoming the core interest for many researchers as it offers massive bandwidth and high transmission rates. It is expected to be a solution to ongoing spectrum scarcity in the wireless communication world. Wave propagating through a channel is affected by various phenomena, especially in the case of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) condition. In this thesis work, measurement results on several NLOS propagation mechanisms such as reflection, diffraction, and penetration have been reported in the terahertz band ranging from 0.1 THz to 3 THz. Here, the primary focus is to measure the possible NLOS multipath, such as reflected, diffracted, and penetrated paths or a combination of multiple NLOS components. The goal is to evaluate and analyze the feasibility of those multipath in order to estimate the possibility to establish a communication link via such paths. The measurements have been conducted by using TeraView TeraPulse 4000, a measurement device that is based on THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Measurements were made under various NLOS propagation scenarios with several common indoor materials. Characteristics of the measured materials have also been reported. The results have been given as a function of frequency and measurement angles. Corresponding background theories and comparisons with the measurement results have also been investigated with subsequent analysis to check the relevance of the measurement results. The idea was to find possible multipath signals after various NLOS events while traveling through a channel and behavioural changes of the transmitted signal with the change of measurement scenarios. The measurement results agreed with the corresponding theories as expected. The THz band offers overall a decent NLOS wireless communication link between the receiver and transmitter at the lower angles

THz band multipath measurements and analysis

Abstract. The THz band is now becoming the core interest for many researchers as it offers massive bandwidth and high transmission rates. It is expected to be a solution to ongoing spectrum scarcity in the wireless communication world. Wave propagating through a channel is affected by various phenomena, especially in the case of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) condition. In this thesis work, measurement results on several NLOS propagation mechanisms such as reflection, diffraction, and penetration have been reported in the terahertz band ranging from 0.1 THz to 3 THz. Here, the primary focus is to measure the possible NLOS multipath, such as reflected, diffracted, and penetrated paths or a combination of multiple NLOS components. The goal is to evaluate and analyze the feasibility of those multipath in order to estimate the possibility to establish a communication link via such paths. The measurements have been conducted by using TeraView TeraPulse 4000, a measurement device that is based on THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Measurements were made under various NLOS propagation scenarios with several common indoor materials. Characteristics of the measured materials have also been reported. The results have been given as a function of frequency and measurement angles. Corresponding background theories and comparisons with the measurement results have also been investigated with subsequent analysis to check the relevance of the measurement results. The idea was to find possible multipath signals after various NLOS events while traveling through a channel and behavioural changes of the transmitted signal with the change of measurement scenarios. The measurement results agreed with the corresponding theories as expected. The THz band offers overall a decent NLOS wireless communication link between the receiver and transmitter at the lower angles

Housing the Urban Poor: Planning, Business and Politics: A Case Study of Duaripara Slum, Dhaka city, Bangladesh

This study is conducted on Duripara slum of Dhaka city which is one of the fastest growing megalopolis and primate cities not only among the developing but also among the developed countries. The high rate of urbanization has posed a challenging dimension to the central, local govt. and concerned development authority. In Dhaka about 50% of the total urban population is poor and in the urbanization process the poor are the major contributors which can be characterized as urbanization of poverty. In response to the emerging urban problems, the development authority makes plan to solve those problems as well as to manage the urban growth. By focusing on the housing issue for the urban poor in Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP), this study is aimed to find out the distortion between plan and reality through making a connection between such planning practice, political connections and business dealings. Knowledge gained from the reviewed literature, structuration theory, actors oriented approach, controversies of urban growth and theoretical framework were used as interpretative guide for the study. The data set for this study were collected both from primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include data collected through semi-structure questionnaire survey administered to 60 households using non-random judgmental sampling method. Moreover, interview guides, group discussion and personal observation were also used to synergize the study objectives. In addition to primary sources, secondary sources were used when relevant. The study used both qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative methods like descriptive statistics to summarize the results of the study. In DMDP, it was recommended that the urban poor will be relocated to the urban fringe areas with tenure security. This study found that these recommendations are not practical and implementable, at all, in relation to current socio-economic characteristics of the slum dwellers, land management system, transport facilities and political practice. The slum dwellers are highly mobile in choosing their place of residence and their choice is determined, to a greater content, by close proximity to work place and travel cost. This study discovered that a patron-client relationship has been existing in the study area where the political leaders play the major role to control over the slum and thereby their lives. Under the feudalistic social structure the poor are only able to use their limited form of agency for the survival. Whilst, in the urban fringe, almost all the lands are in the grip of private land developers, local elites etc. who have strong relation with the powerful political leaders and where land acquisition cost by the development authority is fairly high. In general, in and around Dhaka public transport system is very poor and costly which eventually discourages people to live away from their work places. From the findings of this study it is revealed that there is a clear pattern of urban pockets of small scale industries and small scale slum and squatter settlements. There is as such no direction and guideline regarding the development of transport infrastructure facilities commensurate with the recommendations. The politicians are most pervasive actors in all spheres of development activities. They misuse the power to influence any decision of the public agencies in favor of their business interests. They are the well known businessmen and the other businessmen have to keep a good relation with them in order to gain financial benefits. From the findings of this study it was discovered that many of the owners of the private land developers and private consulting firms are politicians. Moreover, these political elites have strong influence on the officials of different public agencies as those officials have been appointed by the recommendations of those national elites. All over, there is a business relationship between these politicians, officials of public agencies and businessmen themselves where plan like DMDP is a mean for business. Under such structure and practice, the poor are the victims who are becoming aliens in the urban social geography

Measuring Customers’ Satisfaction of the Agrani Bank Ltd: A Study on Amin Court Corporate Branch, Motijheel

An Internship Report Submitted to the Faculty of Agribusiness Management Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONNow the banks constitute the core of the country’s organized financial system in Bangladesh. Banks are now-a-days the most trusted financial organizations to the people all over the world and they satisfied their customer by offering different banking services. Ensuring the maximum level of customer satisfaction is an aim for each financial institution. Agrani Bank Limited, a leading commercial bank with 935 outlets strategically located in almost all the commercial areas throughout Bangladesh, overseas exchange houses and hundreds of overseas Correspondents, came into being as a Public Limited Company on May 17, 2007 with a view to take over the business, assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of the Agrani Bank which emerged as a nationalized commercial bank in 1972 immediately after the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent state. Agrani Bank Limited started functioning as a going concern basis through a Vendors Agreement signed between the Ministry of Finance, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on behalf of the former Agrani Bank and the Board of Directors of Agrani Bank Limited on November 15, 2007 with retrospective effect from July 01, 2007. The objective of the report is to assess the level of importance, the customer of Agrani Bank put across various service attributes and also to determine how well Agrani Bank is satisfying their customers of those service grounds and different service quality dimensions. The survey is conducted on 50 respondent

First record of important biological parameters of Badis badis: A small indigenous species in Bangladesh

A total of 286 Badis badis were collected from the Sutiyahali Reservoir in Mymensingh from January to December 2022, and their sex ratios, first sexual maturity, length-weight relationships and condition factors were evaluated. The weight and length of B. badis varied from 0.81 to 1.01g (0.89±0.30) and 4.08 to 4.60cm (4.36±0.31), respectively. Logistic curves depicting a sex ratio and 50% maturity (L50) estimated at 4.5cm for females and 4.05cm for males, as well as males reaching first sexual maturity with a shorter length than females. Regression coefficients in every month differ significantly (p&lt;0.05), according to the regression equations. Each month, the values of the exponent b were less than 3 (b&lt;3), with the highest value of b recorded in August (2.80) and the lowest value recorded in January (2.33). This led to a monthly negative allometric growth being seen. A strong positive relationship is evident from the coefficient of determination (r2) values, which ranged from 0.92-0.98 with an average of 0.961. During the study, the average condition factor (Kn) value for B. badis was found to be 1.02±0.13, which is a positive indicator of the fish's physical well-being. The condition factor values varied between 0.84 to 1.39, making it abundantly clear that B. badis are in good health and the waterbody is an ideal habitat for their survival. Relative condition factor (Kr) values, which varied between studies and ranged from 0.78 to 1.01, also exhibited a noteworthy difference (p&lt;0.05). For its long-term management, the above findings will be very helpful

Examining the Walking Accessibility, Willingness, and Travel Conditions of Residents in Saudi Cities

Rapid urban expansion and population growth in Saudi cities over the past four decades have increased vehicular accidents and traffic congestion and have impacted the daily walking conditions of the residents. Walking has various health and environmental benefits. In North American and European countries, three factors have been found to motivate a resident to walk within their community: their accessibility to community social and business facilities, their perception and willingness, and the safety conditions of the roads and sidewalks within their community for walking. This study examined these factors and their role in the walking habits of the residents in the neighborhoods of Doha and Dana districts in Saudi Arabia&rsquo s eastern city of Dhahran. Data were collected through field observations and by randomly sampling and interviewing 200 residents. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and SPSS statistical software were used for data analysis. The results show that most of the community facilities are randomly placed in the districts. Mosques are the closest facility to each resident with an average accessibility distance of 242m. Almost 43% of the respondents prefer daily walking while the rest are hesitant due to hot weather during summer and narrow and poorly designed sidewalks. The sidewalks were also found to be blocked by trees, street signals, and illegally parked vehicles. Future studies should explore the accessibility to facilities, willingness, climate, and health conditions of the residents, and the road and sidewalk conditions for walking in other cities of the Kingdom. Document type: Articl

Hybrid CNN-SVD Based Prominent Feature Extraction and Selection for Grading Diabetic Retinopathy Using Extreme Learning Machine Algorithm

Funding Information: This work was supported in part by the National Research Foundation of Korea-Grant funded by the Government of Korea (Ministry of Science and ICT) under Grant NRF-2020R1A2B5B02002478, and in part by Sejong University through the Faculty Research Program under Grant 20212023Peer reviewedPublisher PD