The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of business environment on the relationship between Entrepreneurial Skills (ES) and business performance of Small Business (SB) in Iraq, Baghdad. This study aims to resolve the inconsistencies found in the contemporary literature regarding the relationship between ES and business performance. Questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was adopted from previous work to ascertain the responses of the respondents. Survey research design was adopted, and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data from small business owners in 9 districts in Baghdad the capital of Iraq. The analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23.0. The direct relationship and hierarchical regression analysis were spent to exam the hypothesis with moderating influence of Business Environment on the Relationship between Entrepreneurial Skills and Small Business Performance. The major findings reveal that that business environment moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial skills and small business performance. The study has useful recommendations for Iraqi Government and policy making institutions.
This research aims to improve the radiation shielding properties of polymer-based materials by mixing PVC with locally available building materials. Specifically, two key parameters of fast neutron attenuation (removal cross-section and half-value layer) were studied for composite materials comprising PVC reinforced with common building materials (cement, sand, gypsum and marble) in different proportions (10%, 30% and 50% by weight). To assess their effectiveness as protection against fast neutrons, the macroscopic neutron cross-section was calculated for each composite. Results show that neutron cross-section values are significantly affected by the reinforcement ratios, and that the composite material PVC + 50% gypsum is an effect
... Show MoreThe laminar fluid flow of water through the annulus duct was investigated numerically by ANSYS fluent version 15.0 with height (2.5, 5, 7.5) cm and constant length (L=60cm). With constant heat flux applied to the outer duct. The heat flux at the range (500,1000,1500,2000) w/m2 and Reynolds number values were ≤ 2300. The problem was 2-D investigated. Results revealed that Nusselt number decrease and the wall temperature increase with the increase of heat flux. Also, the average Nusselt number increase as Re increases. And as the height of the annulus increase, the values of the temperature and the local and average Nusselt number increase.
In this work, PAni nanofibers (NFs) are successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method. The structural, surface morphological, optical, electrical and H2S gas sensing properties have been investigated for PAni thin films deposited by spin coating technique. The XRD pattern reveals crystalline nature of PAni NFs with crystallite size of 9.2 nm. The SEM image of Polyaniline clearly indicates that the polymer possesses nanofiber like structure. The optical properties show that the optical energy gap follows allowed direct electronic transition calculated using Tauc’s equation. Intense hotoluminescence (PL) peaks at 309, 340 and 605 nm are observed. The electrical properties such as D.C. conductivity and Hall effect have been studied wher
... Show MoreRandom throwing of industrial waste has a significant impact on the environment unless it takes into account the conditions of engineered destroying and/or re-used. Taking the advantage of re-using waste materials in engineering projects represents a well-planned project in order to resolve a lot of engineering problems for some difficult soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capability and effects of Rubber Shreds (RS) from scrap torn belts towards improving the shear strength of soft clay. A direct shear tests were conducted on soft clay-RS mixture. The following parameters were investigated to study the influence of RS content, water content, normal stress, and dilation ratio. From experimental test results it was fou
... Show MoreIn this paper, we derived an estimator of reliability function for Laplace distribution with two parameters using Bayes method with square error loss function, Jeffery’s formula and conditional probability random variable of observation. The main objective of this study is to find the efficiency of the derived Bayesian estimator compared to the maximum likelihood of this function and moment method using simulation technique by Monte Carlo method under different Laplace distribution parameters and sample sizes. The consequences have shown that Bayes estimator has been more efficient than the maximum likelihood estimator and moment estimator in all samples sizes
ABSTRACT
Critical buckling temperature of angle-ply laminated plate is developed using a higher-order displacement field. This displacement field used by Mantari et al based on a constant ‘‘m’’, which is determined to give results closest to the three dimensions elasticity (3-D) theory. Equations of motion based on higher-order theory angle ply plates are derived through Hamilton, s principle, and solved using Navier-type solution to obtain critical buckling temperature for simply supported laminated plates. Changing (α2/ α1) ratios, number of layers, aspect ratios, E1/E2 ratios for thick and thin plates and their effect on thermal
... Show MoreIn this work, a novel biocatalytic process for the production of 7-methylxanthines from theobromine, an economic feedstock has been developed. Bench scale production of 7-methlxanthine has been demonstrated. The biocatalytic process used in this work operates at 30 OC and atmospheric pressure, and is environmentally friendly. The biocatalyst was E. coli BL21(DE3) engineered with ndmB/D genes combinations. These modifications enabled specific N7- demethylation of theobromine to 7-methylxanthine. This production process consists of uniform fermentation conditions with a specific metabolically engineered strain, uniform induction of specific enzymes for 7-methylxanthine production, uniform recovery an
... Show MoreIndustrial wastewater containing nickel, lead, and copper can be produced by many industries. The reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technologies are very efficient for the treatment of industrial wastewater containing nickel, lead, and copper ions to reduce water consumption and preserving the environment. Synthetic industrial wastewater samples containing Ni(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II) ions at various concentrations (50 to 200 ppm), pressures (1 to 4 bar), temperatures (10 to 40 oC), pH (2 to 5.5), and flow rates (10 to 40 L/hr), were prepared and subjected to treatment by RO system in the laboratory. The results showed that high removal efficiency of the heavy metals could be achieved by RO process (98.5%, 97.5% and 96% for Ni(II),
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