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This study undertakes a critical assessment of the legal protection of foreign direct investments (FDI) in South Africa and Zimbabwe by determining their compliance with the international minimum standards, norms and/or best practices on the legal protection of FDI by host states. Firstly, the study argues that foreign investment is much needed in South Africa and Zimbabwe to improve economic growth and development, to create jobs, and to increase their competitiveness. However, these benefits are not accrued automatically but rather host states need to create an enabling environment to receive such benefits. Thus, host states need to put an investment scheme into operation to guarantee the legal protection of foreign investments. South Africa and Zimbabwe have at large crafted and implemented investment laws and related policies which tend to be hostile towards foreign investments. Therefore, similar investment laws and related policies in both jurisdictions are analysed. This study will also offer recommendations for a legal investment which is not only flexible, friendly, and favourable to foreign investment in South Africa and Zimbabwe but also advances their local economic policies.

This book illustrates various components of Distributed Computing Environment and the importance of distributed scheduling using Dynamic Load Balancing. It describes load balancing algorithms for better resource utilization, increasing throughput and improving user's response time. Various theoretical concepts, experiments, and examples enable students to understand the process of load balancing in computing cluster and server cluster. The book is suitable for students of Advance Operating Systems, High Performance Computing, Distributed Computing in B.E., M.C.A., M. Tech. and Ph.D courses.

The influence of insects on human life - destructive and beneficial - can be traced back to prehistoric days until now. Agricultural entomology concerns itself with the study of insects associated with various aspects of agriculture. It deals with the study of both beneficial and detrimental insects. Insects that are detrimental to agriculture are commonly known as insect pests. The bulk of agricultural entomology deals with the control of those. Insect pest control is now conducted through integrated pest management (IPM) principles that aim to be sustainable in the use of resources and environmentally friendly. IPM requires plenty of experience and knowledge and combines all available methods of control. Prevention is also an important component of IPM programs. In India, agriculture is the main occupation of the majority of people. The most important natural enemies of agricultural crops are insects, plant diseases, weeds and weather conditions. Out of this, insects are the greatest competitors of man in the struggle for existence. In the present topic the various kinds of pest will be studied in broad sense/view.

The increased industrialization and motorization has led to a steep rise for the demand of petroleum products. Petroleum based fuels are obtained from limited reserves. It is estimated that the known crude oil reserves could be depleted in less than 50 years at the present rate of consumption. Hence, it is necessary to look for alternative fuels. An entire branch of biotechnology, referred to as "e;white biotechnology"e;, centers on the bio production of fuels and chemicals from renewable sources. About 90% of the current biofuel market is represented by biodiesel and bioethanol. Biodiesel is an efficient, non-toxic, biodegradable and clean burning fuel alternative to petroleum fuels which runs in unmodified diesel engines. This paper reviews approaches to microbial synthesis of biodiesel, focusing on the role of synthetic biology as an enabling technology in the design of optimal cell factories.

This study examines factors influencing homeownership amongst civil servants in Ibadan metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria. For this purpose, it identifies the socio-economic characteristics of civil servants in Ibadan, investigates their housing preferences and identifies and examines factors affecting homeownership amongst them. This happens with a view to promote homeownership. The study uses self-administered questionnaires to obtain relevant data. A total number of 113 participants were used. This was generated by taking 15% of the staff capacity of each of the reviewed ministries in the Oyo State government secretariat, Ibadan, Oyo State. Out of this number, 95 valid participants were retrieved and used for the analysis, indicating a response rate of 84.07%. Data were analysed with the use of frequencies, percentages and weighted mean analysis.

Nowadays, many companies should not only discuss about how to obtain profits from their products. They should also be forced to use any other aspect that has the ability to increase the impact for their long-term success. Examples are: discussing about the quality of their products, the relationship between them and their customers and employees, the production process as well as marketing. Those are the challenges for all managers who are not only struggling to achieve their company's targets - high profits - but also to achieve customers', employees' and stakeholders' satisfaction. Therefore, managers need to seek out an approach which is able to help them finishing their tasks and involves all the aspects mentioned. Nevertheless, it is not easy to reconcile conflicting demands of individual interest groups. The concept of the balanced scorecard (BSC) is one of the modern approaches to handle these challenges. The balanced scorecard is the main topic of this book. More precisely, it explains the benefits of introducing the indicators-based balanced scorecard as a strategic controlling instrument for implementation of a corporate strategy from four different perspectives: financial, customer, internal business process as well as learning and growth perspective.

Gears are essential parts of many precision power transmitting machines such as automobiles. The major functions of a gearbox are to transform speed and torque in a given ratio and to change the axis of rotation. Planetary gears yield several advantages over conventional parallel shaft gear systems: They produce high speed reductions in compact spaces, a greater load sharing, a higher torque to weight ratio, diminished bearing loads, and reduced noise and vibration. They are used in automobiles, helicopters, aircraft engines, heavy machinery, and a variety of other applications. Despite their advantages, the noise induced by the vibration of planetary gear systems remains a key concern. Planetary gears have received considerably less research attention than single mesh gear pairs. There is a particular scarcity of analysis of two planetary gear systems and their dynamic response. Hence, this book focuses on the study of two PGTs with different phasing (angular positions) while every individual set remains unchanged.

This book comprises seven chapters. In chapter 1 an overview of chemistry, biological functions and literature studies of hydroxamic acids (HA) and its isosteres is presented. The principles of quantum mechanics underlying the computational methods employed to study HAs are given in brief. Chapter 2 describes intra- and intermolecular H-bonding interactions between formohydoxamic acid (FHA) and single water molecule and the dimerization among the isomeric forms. Chapter 3 involves the comparative study of H-bonding abilities of thioformohydoxamic acid (TFHA) and FHA. The deprotonation enthalpies of different sites of FHA and TFHA, probable pathways for interconversion among anions and their H-bonding with water are explored in chapter 4. The Effect of aqueous medium on deprotonation by using solvation methods is also discussed. Further insight into H-bonded aggregates and dimers of HAs is gained through the analysis of calculated stabilization energies and their comparison to similar H-bonded functionalities. The reasons behind the H-bond cooperativity in the aggregates and dimers are explored in chapter 5. Chapter 6 deals with the study of properties of formylphosphinous acid (FPA) isostere of FHA and a comparative study is carried out. In chapter 7, the aggregation of the most stable keto and enol conformer of FHA and TFHA with five amino acid side chain groups occurring at active sites of enzymes is studied.

For decades, multinational corporations benefited from developing countries mainly as a source of cheap labour and weak regulations. Even when corporate social responsibility (CSR) was embraced it has been tailored to customers in the developed world. With the rise of the middle class in emerging economies and social media driven scrutiny of corporate conduct around the globe, CSR increasingly requires an international outlook. Adopting strategic CSR in international business provides multinational corporations with a competitive edge. An emerging field of research around international CSR points to global, local and transnational strategies as viable options. Considering impacting variables such as cultural distance, industry features and brand visibility, recommendations are derived for managers that advance the concept of shared value for business and society. In addition, a set of future research questions is outlined to further the academic discussion around this important aspect of business in the 21th century.

The use of social networking sites (SNS) has been adopted by and integrated into the daily lives of an increasing number of adolescents. Young people are amongst the most prolific and substantial users. This study discusses a number of issues related to the use of social media and social networking sites, such as: Why do such masses of young people use such sites? What do young people express on these SNS? And lastly, how do these sites enhance or fit into the lives of young people?Much has already been said about the risk management paradigm with regards to social media use by young people. Therefore, this study attempts to readdress this imbalance and focus on the perceived benefits. However, it does not ignore the potential contents and contact risks which are also explored.

A long time, periodontitis was believed to be an inevitable consequence of aging and uniformly distributed in population. This age old belief was again supported by another belief that disease severity was directly proportional to plaque levels. But in the mid 1990's early insight about complex diseases like periodontitis, led to new conceptual models of pathogenesis. In recent years, the role of microorganisms as the principle etiologic factor in periodontal diseases has gained new perspectives. Periodontal disease is a multifactorial and complex disease which is characterized by an upregulated or maladapted immune inflammatory response to bacterial plaque which predisposes to periodontal breakdown. Although periodontal disease is initiated by bacteria colonizing the tooth surface and gingival sulcus, the host response is believed to play an important role in the breakdown of connective tissue and bone. Thus, it can be summarized that periodontopathogens are necessary to cause periodontal disease but they are not sufficient to cause the disease. In response to infectious or inflammatory disease, two distinct yet intricately linked immune responses occur - innate & adaptive. The immune system is essential and the body has to marshal the innate and adaptive responses in order to stave off infection. However, in inflammatory disease the response becomes chronic and tissues do not return to homeostasis. The development of an immune inflammatory response during periodontitis in susceptible individuals results in the local production of a variety of inflammatory mediators. The development of an immune inflammatory response during periodontitis in susceptible individuals results in the local production of a variety of inflammatory mediators. Pro-inflammatory cytokines molecules and the cytokine network play an essential role in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide comprehensive information and an update on various therapeutic methods to modify the host response as an adjunctive treatment for periodontitis.

The present book has been written with two clear objectives in mind - to enable researchers, irrespective of their discipline, to develop the most appropriate methodology for their research studies; and to make them familiar with the art of using different research methods and techniques. It is hoped that the humble efforts made in the form of this book will assist in the accomplishment of exploratory as well as result-oriented research studies. The book is primarily targeted to serve as text book to Post Graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.d students of research methodology in all disciplines of various universities. The book seems to be designed specifically for those students who are newcomers to research, and who may have a basic barrier with regard to the subject. The areas covered in the book follow a simple-to-complex approach in terms of their discussion. Overall, this book clearly reflects the teaching experience of the author with this subject. The book can be of value to researchers by introducing some information on how to carry out reviews of literature and its importance in research. All possible efforts have been made to further enhance the usefulness of the book. The feedback received from different sources has been incorporated.

Following the horse meat scandal of 2012 the concept of the meat paradox was created: engaging in the consumption of meat whilst simultaneously disliking hurting animals. The theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that farm animals are denied mind in order to relieve negative feelings associated with eating animals. The present study explores the hypothesis that animals will be attributed mind based on their category. The effect of the presentation of the respective animal (e.g. text/image) on the attribution of animal mind is also tested, as well as association between mind attitudes toward animals. 69 participants recruited using the Hanover social research website and University of Worcester research scheme completed this study. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire followed by the "e;attitudes towards animals scale"e; (ATAS) and an animal mental capacity rating task in either the control (text) or experimental condition (image) conditions. The animals formed a number of categories, including food and companion animals.

After a decade, internet now reaches the Asian region as well as African countries intensively while USA, Canada and Europe are focusing newer inventions. Within the Asian region it exists considerably another technological gap among countries. The countries with higher income such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea has succeeded in implementing ICT in all social and economic areas. The rest of the countries, including China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, are far behind in information technology. Nevertheless, it's necessary for all nations, weather developed or developing, to keep on nurturing ICT development to be a part of connected world. The question is how a nation can successfully adopt ICT and benefit from all advantages at best. Unfortunately, there is no common guideline for all countries. Without identifying specific factors of each country and a lot of effort made by government, no country can achieve high ICT performance in the long run. The purpose of this paper is three-fold:To identify the characteristics and political options of a country, that would affect the success of ist ICT adoption. To identify clusters of nations upon the international ICT indices and GNI per capita To provide an overall guideline that incorporates these nations toward developing higher ICT indices. This paper shows income level and social background can play very important roles in countrys ICT development.