Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2023-01"
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Item SERVICE RECOVERY STRATEGIES, RECOVERY SATISFACTION AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN NEPALESE INTERNET SERVICE COMPANIES(2023-01) LUITEL, ANKITSince the internet boom the number of users of the internet and its popularity has been growing significantly in recent years. As per Nepal Telecommunication Authority (2022)around 90% of the people of Nepal have access to the internet and there are around 58 internet service companies in Nepal. The wider reach of the internet service also means that the internet service companies need to develop themselves in such a way that the service failure happens at minimum. Nonetheless, service failure is inevitable.Item PAST BEHAVIOUR, FINANCIAL LITERACY AND INVESTMENT DECISION AMONG INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS IN NEPAL(2023-01) TIWARI, SUJANIn the context of Nepal various study have been conducted to study the investors decision making process. Karmacharya et al. (2022) concluded that the Nepalese investors decision are influenced by the advice and the suggestion of other. Similarly, Shrestha (2020) also concluded similar to Karmacharya et. al (2022) and reported that the Nepalese investor decision are influenced by the family and friends and explored that the Nepalese investor individual investment decision are guided and influenced by the company related and the market related variables along with the risk and return related variables. Further Vaidya (2021) concluded that the Nepalese investors decision are heavily influenced by the fundamentals of the company and individual involves in the technical and the market trend for the short-term trading.Item INVESTOR COGNITION AND NEUROPLASTICITY AMONG NEPALESE INVESTORS(2023-01) POKHREL, ASIMWengrzyn (2020) asserted that human decisions about the acquisition of any good or service depend on psychological traits, which can be influenced by a variety of factors including the cognitive, conative, and emotional components. The Author concluded that belief, emotional attachment to the product, and behaviors taken in reaction to stimuli caused by the product's characteristics all have an impact on the choice to purchase the product. Also in other hand, Nepal exhibits the low level of the financial literacy. (Kumar Thapa & Kc, 2020) asserts that the degree of basic and advanced financial literacy among investors is not adequate. Diversification of risk and understanding of investment alternatives (stock, bond, or mutual fund) are crucial for investors, but regrettably, Nepalese investors have a relatively poor degree of awareness in these areas. Even many of them are unaware of the primary functions of stock markets.Item " Study of the Thermodynamic and Structural Behaviour of Binary Liquid AIIoys of Tlpe ApBu(Institute of Science & Technology, 2023-01) Panthi, NarayanDue to the numerous commercial applications and anomalous concentration-dependent thermo-physical properties of binary alloys, physicists, chemists, and metallurgists have long been interested in understanding the mixing behavior of two metals that form alloys. Most alloys have different interaction energies between like and unlike atoms. Therefore, the mixing property cannot be described as the concentration average of the properties of constituent metals. The study focuses on the thermodynamic properties of four different binary liquid alloys (Na-Hg, Pb-Mg, Bi-Tl and Cu-Al) of type 𝐴𝜇𝐵𝜈 by assuming NaHg2, PbMg2, BiTl3 and Cu3Al2 as their most stable intermetallic compound respectively using the ‘Quasi-Chemical Approximation’ model given by Bhatia & Singh (1982). The Gibbs free energy of mixing, enthalpy of mixing, entropy of mixing, chemical activity, concentration fluctuation in long wavelength limit and chemical short range order parameter are among the properties that are the subject of study of this thesis. For this purpose, the interaction energy parameters are optimized at the melting temperatures of the aforementioned alloys. The study shows that the free energy of mixing is minimum at about compound forming concentration for all the alloys. Similarly, the theoretical analysis of structural properties indicate that all the preferred liquid alloys have ordering tendency at their melting temperature, which is found more near the vicinity of the compound forming concentration. Next, the viscosity of preferred alloys is studied by using Kaptay model (Kaptay, 2003). The computed viscosities for Na-Hg, Pb-Mg and Bi-Tl liquid alloys are positively deviated whereas it is negatively deviated for Cu-Al liquid alloy from ideal behavior at their melting temperatures. The surface properties of the aforementioned liquid alloys have been studied by the refined Butler model (Kaptay, 2019). Surface tension and surface concentration calculations have been used to analyze the patterns of surface segregations in these liquid binary alloys. The segregation of the alloy component having a lower surface tension is confirmed by theoretical analyses. Finally, the Quasi-Chemical Approximation model has been extended to study the thermo-physical properties of preferred liquid alloys at different temperatures. For this purpose, the interaction energy parameters for each of the alloy system have been computed at different temperatures by making the assumption that the concentrations or mole fractions and the temperature derivative interaction energy parameters are independent on temperature. The study shows that as temperature rises above melting point, the Gibbs free energy and the enthalpy of mixing of alloys gradually become less negative. Further, the ordering tendency of these alloy systems gradually decreases. These findings are supported by increase in concentration fluctuation in long wavelength limit at higher temperatures. The viscosity and the surface tension both decrease with increase in temperature. The liquid alloys thus show the maximum tendency towards complex formation as well as maximum values of viscosity and surface tension at their respective melting temperatures.Item STUDY ON ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF ZINC OXIDE SEMICONDUCTOR FOR GAS SENSOR APPLICATION(Institute of Science & Technology, 2023-01) Chaudhary, Dinesh KumarAmmonia, ethanol, acetone, etc. are commonly found as toxic gases in most places. The real-time monitoring of these gases is essential because their excessive exposure may produce serious health problems. In recent times, several metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) have been exploited for gas detection. In this context, zinc oxide (ZnO) is considered one of the potential materials for its interesting properties such as non-toxicity, high thermal & chemical stability, and easy tunable electrical & optical behavior. High working temperature (>300 °C ), poor selectivity, and low sensitivity are some of its shortcomings. The operation at high temperatures degrades the sensor’s stability and consumes power. This study aims to enhance the sensing characteristics of ZnO-based sensors after utilizing strategies like metal and metal-metal doping into it. Herein, the ZnO and metal-doped films were prepared by using spin coating, spray pyrolysis, and doctor blade methods for an in-depth understanding of gas sensing. Its optical and structural characterizations were done by ultra violet visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer and X-ray diffraction (XRD) respectively. Surface morphology and elemental composition were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The gas sensing performances of ZnO-based sensors were measured using a homemade gas sensor setup. At first, spin-coated ZnO was tested for the detection of traces of ammonia, ethanol, acetone, methanol, and isopropanol at room temperature. Its XRD and SEM micrographs demonstrated the polycrystalline wurtzite phase with a grainy surface. The band gap was found to be 3.202 ± 0.023 eV. The sensitivity measurements revealed the highest response of 38.5 ± 0.6 with an exposure of 400 ppm of ammonia vapour, indicating its selectivity among the tested gases. The results of sensitivity measurements over multiple cycles showed the device’s good stability. The sensing capability here was found to be better than other similar works. Hence, the results obtained here will be helpful in the development of a low-cost, effective room temperature MOS gas sensor with a lower detection limit of 20 ppm which is below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) approved threshold. For acetone sensing, ZnO deposited on a fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate prepared by doctor blade was used. XRD and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used for phase purity and optical characterization of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONPs) prepared from the co-precipitation method prior to deposit on the FTO substrate. The sensing measurements demonstrated the maximum value of gas response of 25.697 ± 0.012 at an operating temperature of 285 ± 7 °C for exposure of 800 ppm of acetone along with the rapid response and recovery. This operating temperature was found to be lower than the published values that were prepared by different methods. The response & recovery times were measured to be 39 sec and 79 sec, respectively. Sequentially, in other sets of experiments, the undoped ZnO, Fe-doped ZnO (Fe-ZnO), and Sn-doped ZnO (Sn-ZnO) films were used to detect ethanol vapours in the temperature range of 100-300 °C. The sensitivity measurements for 2% Fe-ZnO film showed the highest response of 40.91 ± 0.23 at the exposure of 400 ppm of ethanol at 260 ± 7 °C. The comparison with similar reported values confirmed its goodness. And 2% Sn-ZnO film showed the highest response of only 17.659 ± 0.011 for 400 ppm exposure at 220 ± 5 °C. This working temperature was found to be slightly lower than the published value. Interestingly, this also reports that 2% Sn-ZnO film was able to detect as small as 0.5 ppm of ethanol. The spin-coated Fe-Al co-doped ZnO sensors were also tested to monitor ethanol in the temperature range of 120 − 360 °C. The 1%Fe-1%Al-ZnO sample showed a very high value of the response, 152.304 ± 0.003 at the exposure of 400 ppm at 290 ± 7 °C. It is due to an increase in specific surface area which occurs due to the reduction of grain size after Fe-Al co-doping. The observed values of response and recovery times were 33 sec and 201 sec respectively at an operating temperature of 290 ± 7 °C. Hence, metal-metal co-doping is found to be a good strategy to improve the sensitivity of ZnO-based gas sensors. Finally, the effect of gate electrode potential on the ammonia sensing ability of ZnO at ambient temperature was also reported here. Required films were prepared by the spray pyrolysis method. The gas response of ZnO for 400 ppm of ammonia was increased from 30.292 ± 0.042 to 54.581 ± 0.062 on increasing the gate electrode potential from 0 to 24V. Hence, this will be a new finding to improve the gas response of future ZnO-based gas sensors.Item Connecting Vedic and Ethno Science with School Science Curriculum of Nepal(Graduate School of Education, PhD, 2023-01) Koirala, Kamal PrasadN/AItem Species Diversity and Ilabitat Preference of Herpetofauna in Lumbini Region, Nepal(Institute of Science & Technology, 2023-01) Nepali, Pit BahadurThe herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) are diverse and poikilothermic vertebrates that serve as excellent bio-indicators of stressed ecosystems. There is little information on the taxonomy, diversity, abundance, and distribution of herpetofauna in the Lumbini region. The aim of this study is to explore the species diversity and habitat preferences of herpetofauna in this region. The study was conducted from March 2016 to July 2020, in six districts. A total of 36 stations were chosen in these districts. From each station, sampling was done in five different habitats, namely agricultural fields, forests, riparian habitats, wetlands, and human habitats. Five transects, each of 200 m, were fixed in each habitat. In each transect, four quadrats of 20 m x 20 m were used for searching specimens using raking and digging methods. Additionally, pitfall, visual encounters, and opportunistic surveys were used to maximize the collections. The morphometric measurements and the use of specified keys, all species were classified at the species level. The abundance, species richness, diversity, and habitat preference were analyzed in Microsoft Excel, PAST (4.11 version), and R (version 3.6). Arc GIS was used to prepare a distribution map of herpetofauna. A total of 4,589 and 2,629 individuals of amphibians and reptiles were observed, respectively. There were 58 species of herpetofauna that included 17 species of amphibians and 41 species of reptiles. Amphibians included 12 genera and 6 families: Bufonidae, Megophryidae, Microhylidae, Ranidae, Rhacophoridae, and Ichthyophidae. Reptiles included 30 genera and 12 families: Crocodylidae, Trionychidae, Bataguridae, Agamidae, Gekkonidae, Varanidae, Scincidae, Typhlopidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Elapidae, and Viperidae. Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis, Minervarya nepalensis, Minervarya teraienesis, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, and Microhyla ornate were highly observed individuals among amphibians, whereas Ichthyophis sikkimensis, Uperodon taprobanicus, Sphaerotheca breviceps, and Nanorana liebigii were least observed individuals among amphibians. The habitat-wise species richness of amphibians was 14, seven, 11, 16, and seven in agricultural fields, forests, human habitats, riparian areas, and wetland areas, respectively. D. melanostictus, D. stomaticus, E. cyanophlyctis, Hoplobatrachus, Minervarya species, and M. ornata were common species found in every study site. I. sikkimensis was a new distributional record among amphibians in the Lumbini region. Polypedates leucomystax was distributed in both the Terai and mountainous regions. Simpson's Index, Shannon index (H), and Pilou’s evenness (J) of amphibians were found to be the highest in riparian areas, whereas it was found the lowest in wetlands. Among reptiles, Calotes versicolor, Ptyas mucosa, and Xenochrophis piscator were the most observed species, whereas Crocodylus platuris was the only species observed throughout the survey period. C. versicolor is a widely distributed species, Laudakia tuberculata was found in the mountains, and turtles were found in the Terai region. Snakes were prevalent in human habitats and forests, while geckos dominated the lowlands, and skinks inhabited the forests only. C. palustris is a new distributional record of this region. The Simpson index, Shannon indices (H'), and Pilou’s evenness were recorded high in forests while low in wetlands. Among the 27 identified snakes, eight were venomous, and 19 were non-venomous. Three species of Boiga among non-venomous were semi-venomous. The present study shows that herpetofauna utilized more than two habitats and are also species-specific. Amphibians preferred riparian areas, while reptiles preferred the forest. These habitats were protected for the conservation of amphibians and reptiles. This area has a taxonomically rich herpetofauna, but C. palustris, Varanus flavescens, Python species, Oligodon erythrogaster, Trachischium tenuiceps, and Ophiophagus hannah were the least observed species and also marked as threatened species in the IUCN Red List of threatened species. The protection of these species is essential.Item IMPACT OF COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN INFORMATION ON PURCHASE INTENTION OF FAST-MOVING CONSUMER GOODS IN KATHMANDU(2023-01) KHADKA, UPASHANOnly a small number of studies have been conducted on the impact that product’s country-origin information has on consumers’ perceptions and their attitudes towards products/brands and purchase intentions. Rosenbloom and Haefner (2009)explored whether product’s country-origin information affects brand trust in twenty two different product categories (which included both durable goods and FMCG), by collecting a total of 292 samples from six different countries including 27% samples from Nepal and found that: perceived global brands function as a quality surrogate for consumers and helps build brand trust in case of durable, high-involvement goods (i.e., goods accounting for a higher portion of household budget). The researchers also found that a perceived global brand that was from the consumers’ home country or region had a higher preference.Item Factors Affecting Online Knowledge Sharing Behavior Using Social Media in Kathmandu Valley among Youth of Gen Z(2023-01) LAMICHHANE, SUSHANTAfter the US developed the World Wide Web in 1992, internet usage has risen. In Nepal, there really are 27.76 million people with internet connection. People's lives had been drastically altered by social media. People may now observe, converse, exchange information, ideas, and contacts with only one click. Social networking can be used to get jobs and get news about what's happening in the world. Users of social media are becoming more prevalent. During the COVID outbreak, it was the most effective means for kids and young people to spread information (Lamichhane, 2021).