Studies on excess molar volumes and viscosity deviations of binary mixtures of household kerosene and premium motor spirit at 303K

Density and viscosity of binary liquid mixtures of household kerosene (HHK) and premium motor spirit (PMS) were determined over the entire range of mole fraction at 303K. Excess molar volume (VE), molar volume (Vm), Excess Viscosity (ηE), Viscosity deviations (Δη) and excess Gibbs free energies of activation of viscous flow (ΔGE) were calculated. The results obtained shows that excess free energy of activation were all positive over the entire mole fraction. The viscosity deviation shows both negative and positive values. The positive VE obtained in this study shows increase in volume in the binary mixture. This work will help in effective monitoring, detection of adulterated kerosene and subsequent enforcement of severe penalty on such adulteration.

A study of receiving money by issuing defective deposit receipts

Purpose This paper aims to convict the offender of real concurrence offenses of the most severe offense and applying the most severe penalty will result in no distinction between the perpetrator who conducted more than one act and the one who conducted only one act. This approach deviates from the purpose of criminal law. The real concurrence of offenses means several offenses, the perpetrator’s dangerousness and culpability are much higher than the perpetrator who commits just one crime, so combined punishments for several offenses should be applied to the real concurrence of offenses. Design/methodology/approach If the depositors are acquaintances or relatives and friends, the relationship can be explained by “personality trust.” If the depositors are strangers, but they have complied with their duties of care, the deposit relationship can be explained by “system trust.” Findings The real concurrence of offenses means several offenses, the perpetrator’s dangerousness and culpability are much higher than the perpetrator who commits just one crime, so combined punishments for several offenses should be applied to the real concurrence of offenses. Originality/value The principle of choosing the most severe punishment applied to the real concurrence of offense should be abolished. As the perpetrator separately conducts two acts at different times, these acts infringe on different legal interests. Although these acts exist closely, the authors cannot deny that these acts constitute more than one offense.

Taxation Income, Graft and Informal Sector Operations in Nigeria in Relation to Other African Countries

This study investigates the influence of the informal sector and graft on income accruing to the government through taxation in Nigeria. Informal economy and graft are the two critical activities that inhibit government tax revenue collection and negatively affect the performance of an effective government. The study employs secondary data that cover a period from 2000 to 2018.This period is the millennium period which the country is expected to overcome corruption and curtail the level of informal economic activities prevailing in the nation, but it appears that all efforts seem not to be yielding the required results. In order to achieve the objective of this study, the multi-regression analysis is performed and the results indicate that corruption is very harmful to tax revenue collection while the informal economy has no significant impact on tax revenue within the millennium period covered by this study. Thus, the study suggests formalization of legal unofficial economy activities and total eradication of corruption in Nigeria through the strengthening of the anti-graft agencies, reinforcement of the legal structure and introduction of a more severe penalty for the perpetrators.

BREVES COMENTARIOS A RESPEITO DOS IMPACTOS NORMATIVOS DA LEI 13.546/2017 - HOMICÍDIO CULPOSO

This study aims to understand the legal modifications included on the brazilian legal order by the Federal Law nº 13.546 of december 2017, specifically to the Brazilian Transit Code, regulated by the Federal Law nº 9.053/1997. The study was originated by the yearning to analyze the possible impacts arising from the inclusion of the qualified form of the manslaughter crime during the driving of a motor vehicle, due alcohol or analogous substances intake, in the terms of the §3º article 302 of the Brazilian Transit Code. The legal deduction method was applied along with the doctrinal analysis, national legislation and the jurisprudence relevant to the case. It is concluded that, even with a severe penalty applied to those defaulter, it is possible to exist a feel of impunity in the community, particularities aside, hardly the offender driver will face a closed penalty

Technical and Non-Technical Programme Students’ Attitudes and Reasons for Plagiarism

To date, plagiarism continues to be a widespread problem in higher education. Deemed to be endemic, researchers continue to examine various aspects of plagiarism, including students’ perception, practices, attitudes and reasons for plagiarism, in addressing this growing concern. Most studies, however, tend to examine these aspects independently. This paper reports on a study that examined both the students’ attitudes and reasons for plagiarism, particularly among the Technical and Non-Technical programme students. A questionnaire was administered to 120 students, i.e. 60 each from each programme to gather quantitative data on their attitudes and reasons for plagiarising. The study found that students in both groups hold negative attitudes towards plagiarism. They deem it synonymous to cheating in final examinations and advocate severe penalty to offenders who submit free downloaded or purchased articles. However, they disagree on being penalised for permitting their peers to plagiarise their work. Significant differences were found for the latter two attitudes between the groups. Albeit, disfavouring plagiarism, the two most cited reasons that compel students in both groups to plagiarise are their self-inadequacy in writing skills and poor time management, followed by the temptation and opportunity to plagiarise from the internet and to cope with the institutional load. With an understanding of these variables, all parties will be able to make more informed decisions in addressing this malpractice and upholding academic integrity.

Opium) in the CCP’s Northwestern Shanxi Base Area during the War of Resistance against Japan (晋西北抗日根据地的特货贸易

Opium cultivation and trading in the CCP-controlled base areas during the War of Resistance against Japan (1937–1945) has been a subject of historical research in recent years, thanks to the availability of a large amount of original documents from Shanxi Provincial Archives, published compilations of source material, the memoirs of relevant individuals, and other documents, which reveal the facts about the “special commodity” or opium in the Northwestern Shanxi (or Shanxi-Suiyuan) base area. This article argues that the organized and planned opium cultivation and trading, as the last resort to solving its fiscal crisis in a particular circumstance, was subject to the base area government’s strict policies of the separation of cultivation from smoking prohibition, unified procurement and sales, and severe penalty on opium smuggling. These policies worked to safeguard the solvency of the base area’s entire fiscal and financial system while protecting the people of the base area from the harm caused by opium.近些年来抗日根据地及解放区特货（又称“鸦片”）种植与贸易问题受到学界关注，而山西省档案馆所藏大量原始档案资料及先前出版的某些资料汇编、个人回忆文本等历史文献，均证明了晋西北（晋绥）抗日根据地特货存在的基本事实。不过，这种有组织有计划的种植与贸易是特定生存环境下的无奈选择，边区政府在此过程中严格执行“种禁”（即种植与禁止吸食）分离、统购统销、重惩走私的政策，既保障了整个财政金融体系得以运行又使根据地境内百姓免遭烟毒之害。 (This article is in Chinese.)

Disciplinary Actions by State Boards of Accountancy 2008–2014: Causes and Outcomes

ABSTRACT This study examined the 775 disciplinary actions taken against individual CPAs by the boards of accountancy in the four states with the largest number of CPAs between 2008 and 2014. It was determined that monetary penalties were imposed in 68 percent of individual CPA disciplinary cases, with a median penalty of less than $5,000. Non-monetary sanctions were imposed in nearly all the cases. The most severe penalty—permanent revocation or surrender of the professional license—was less likely in actions involving attest issues than for most other causes, but was invoked in a large percent of disciplinary actions based on felonies and misdemeanors including “social” crimes such as DUI. Disciplinary actions against CPA firms in the same states during the same time period were analyzed, and it was determined that only 13 of those cases were separable from the actions against individual CPAs, suggesting that firms are not disciplined in lieu of taking action against individuals. Questions are raised about the effectiveness of state board sanctions in punishing and deterring professional misconduct, and the legality and wisdom of licensure sanctions for conduct outside the scope of professional responsibility. Data Availability: Data herein are available from public sources, and will be shared upon request.

Fatigue in Railway Components - Understanding vs. Resolution

The consequences of surface finish and decarburization on the fatigue performance of cast and forged steel components in the railway industry is substantial, and means that fatigue cracking is an ongoing issue across the industry. Examples of loading spectra for coupler forces and track loads are presented, along with data from past investigations showing the severe penalty in terms of fatigue life caused by inadequate surface finish at critical locations of components under fatigue loads. Managers in railway industry need to understand the technical case for increased manufacturing requirements, as costs from operational losses may well have made the economic case for increased requirements more compelling. Various options for improving the surface finish at critical locations that are prone to fatigue are available, and should be explored to reduce the vulnerability of these components to failure via fatigue cracking.

Allometric scaling of foraging rate with trail dimensions in leaf-cutting ants

Leaf-cutting ants ( Atta spp.) create physical pathways to support the transport of resources on which colony growth and reproduction depend. We determined the scaling relationship between the rate of resource acquisition and the size of the trail system and foraging workforce for 18 colonies of Atta colombica and Atta cephalotes . We examined conventional power-law scaling patterns, but did so in a multivariate analysis that reveals the simultaneous effects of forager number, trail length and trail width. Foraging rate (number of resource-laden ants returning to the nest per unit time) scaled at the 0.93 power of worker numbers, the –1.02 power of total trail length and the 0.65 power of trail width. These scaling exponents indicate that individual performance declines only slightly as more foragers are recruited to the workforce, but that trail length imposes a severe penalty on the foraging rate. A model of mass traffic flow predicts the allometric patterns for workforce and trail length, although the effect of trail width is unexpected and points to the importance of the little-known mechanisms that regulate a colony's investment in trail clearance. These results provide a point of comparison for the role that resource flows may play in allometric scaling patterns in other transport-dependent entities, such as human cities.