Search results for: Paul Wright

Authors: Paul Dallyn, Ashraf El-Hamalawi, Alessandro Palmeri, Bob Knight

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In order to better understand the long term implications of the grout wear failure mode in large-diameter plain-sided grouted connections, a numerical model has been developed and calibrated that can take advantage of existing operational plant data to predict the wear accumulation for the actual load conditions experienced over a given period, thus limiting the need for expensive monitoring systems. This model has been derived and calibrated based on site structural condition monitoring (SCM) data and supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA) data for two operational wind turbine generator substructures afflicted with this challenge, along with experimentally derived wear rates.

Keywords: grouted connection, numerical model, offshore structure, wear, wind energy

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Authors: Gianna Zou

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Propensity score matching (PSM), introduced by Paul R. Rosenbaum and Donald Rubin in 1983, is a popular statistical matching technique which tries to estimate the treatment effects by taking into account covariates that could impact the efficacy of study medication in clinical trials. PSM can be used to reduce the bias due to confounding variables. However, PSM assumes that the response values are normally distributed. In some cases, this assumption may not be held. In this paper, a machine learning method - Bayesian Additive Regression Tree (BART), is used as a more robust method of matching. BART can work well when models are misspecified since it can be used to model heterogeneous treatment effects. Moreover, it has the capability to handle non-linear main effects and multiway interactions. In this research, a BART Matching Method (BMM) is proposed to provide a more reliable matching method over PSM. By comparing the analysis results from PSM and BMM, BMM can perform well and has better prediction capability when the response values are not normally distributed.

Keywords: BART, Bayesian, matching, regression

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Authors: Subha D. Puthankattil, Paul K. Joseph

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Analyzing brain signals of the patients suffering from the state of depression may lead to interesting observations in the signal parameters that is quite different from a normal control. The present study adopts two different methods: Time frequency domain and nonlinear method for the analysis of EEG signals acquired from depression patients and age and sex matched normal controls. The time frequency domain analysis is realized using wavelet entropy and approximate entropy is employed for the nonlinear method of analysis. The ability of the signal processing technique and the nonlinear method in differentiating the physiological aspects of the brain state are revealed using Wavelet entropy and Approximate entropy.

Keywords: EEG, depression, wavelet entropy, approximate entropy, relative wavelet energy, multiresolution decomposition

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Authors: Raúl González Muñoz, Essam Shehab, Martin Weinitzke, Chris Fowler, Paul Baguley

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Software applications have become crucial for the aerospace industry, providing a wide range of functionalities and capabilities. However, due to the considerable time difference between aircraft and software life cycles, obsolescence has turned into a major challenge for industry in last decades. This paper aims to provide a view on the different causes of software obsolescence within aerospace industry, as well as a perception on the importance of each of them. The key research question addressed is what drives software obsolescence in the aerospace industry, managing large software application portfolios. This question has been addressed by conducting firstly an in depth review of current literature and secondly by arranging an industry workshop with professionals from aerospace and consulting companies. The result is a set of drivers of software obsolescence, distributed among three different environments and several domains. By incorporating monitoring methodologies to assess those software obsolescence drivers, benefits in maintenance efforts and operations disruption avoidance are expected.

Keywords: aerospace industry, obsolescence drivers, software lifecycle, software obsolescence

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Authors: Tokuei Sako, Paul-Antoine Hervieux

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The energy-level structure of a pair of electron and positron confined in a quasi-one-dimensional nano-scale potential well has been investigated focusing on its trend in the small limit of confinement strength ω, namely, the Wigner molecular regime. An anisotropic Gaussian-type basis functions supplemented by high angular momentum functions as large as l = 19 has been used to obtain reliable full configuration interaction (FCI) wave functions. The resultant energy spectrum shows a band structure characterized by ω for the large ω regime whereas for the small ω regime it shows an energy-level pattern dominated by excitation into the in-phase motion of the two particles. The observed trend has been rationalized on the basis of the nodal patterns of the FCI wave functions.

Keywords: confined systems, positron, wave function, Wigner molecule, quantum dots

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Authors: Siddhant Yadav, Ann Vincent, Sanjeev Nanda, Karen M. Fischer, Jessica A. Wright

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Statement of the Problem: Despite the growing popularity of cannabis in the general population, there are several unknowns regarding its use, specific reasons for use, patient’s choice of products, health benefits, and adverse effects. The aim of our study was to evaluate patient-reported information related to cannabis use that was recorded in the electronic medical records. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: We manually reviewed the electronic medical records of cannabis users who were part of a large pharmacogenomic study. Data abstracted included demographics, level of education, concurrent alcohol and tobacco use, type of cannabis utilized, formulation, indication, symptomatic improvement, or adverse effects reported. Following this, we did a descriptive statistical analysis. Findings: Our sample of 164 cannabis users were predominantly female (73.2%); 66% of users reported using cannabis for medical indications. Of the 109 patients who recorded information pertaining to alcohol/tobacco use, two-thirds of cannabis users reported concurrent use of alcohol, and about half of them were former or current tobacco users. The mean age of cannabis use was 66 years. Regarding the type of cannabis, 34.1% reported using marijuana, 32.3% reported CBD use, 1.8% reported using THC, and 1.2% reported using Marinol. Oral formulations (capsules, oils, suspensions, brownies, cakes, and tea) were the most common route (44 %). Indications for use included chronic pain (n=76), anxiety (n=9), counteracting side effects of chemotherapy (n=4), and palliative reasons (n=2). Fifty-eight of the 76 users endorsed improvement in chronic pain (80%), 5 users reported improvement in anxiety, and 2 reported improvement in side effects of chemotherapy. Conclusion & Significance: The majority of our cannabis users were Caucasian females, and there was a high likelihood of coinciding use of alcohol/tobacco in patients using cannabis. Most of our patients used the oral formulation for chronic pain. Importantly, a considerable number of patients reported improvements in chronic pain, anxiety, and side effects of chemotherapy.

Keywords: cannabis use, adverse effects, medical practice, indications

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Authors: Nihal Esam Abuzinadah, Areej Abbas Malibari, Arwa Abdulaziz Allinjawi, Paul Krause

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Deaf and hearing-impaired students face many obstacles throughout their education, especially with learning applied sciences such as computer programming. In addition, there is no clear signs in the Arabic Sign Language that can be used to identify programming logic terminologies such as while, for, case, switch etc. However, hearing disabilities should not be a barrier for studying purpose nowadays, especially with the rapid growth in educational technology. In this paper, we develop an Avatar based system to teach computer programming to deaf and hearing-impaired students using Arabic Signed language with new signs vocabulary that is been developed for computer programming education. The system is tested on a number of high school students and results showed the importance of visualization in increasing the comprehension or understanding of concepts for deaf students through the avatar.

Keywords: hearing-impaired students, isolation, self-esteem, learning difficulties

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Authors: Enes Gunaltili, Burak Dam

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The airplane history started with the Wright brothers' aircraft and improved day by day. With the help of this advancements, big aircrafts replace with small and unmanned air vehicles, so in this study we design this type of air vehicles. First of all, aircrafts mainly divided into two main parts in our day as a rotary and fixed wing aircrafts. The fixed wing aircraft generally use for transport, cargo, military and etc. The rotary wing aircrafts use for same area but there are some superiorities from each other. The rotary wing aircraft can take off vertically from the ground, and it can use restricted area. On the other hand, rotary wing aircrafts generally can fly lower range than fixed wing aircraft. There are one kind of aircraft consist of this two types specifications. It is named as VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) type aircraft. VTOLs are able to takeoff and land vertically and fly horizontally. The VTOL aircrafts generally can fly higher range from the rotary wings but can fly lower range from the fixed wing aircraft but it gives beneficial range between them. There are many other advantages of VTOL aircraft from the rotary and fixed wing aircraft. Because of that, VTOLs began to use for generally military, cargo, search, rescue and mapping areas. Within this framework, this study answers the question that how can we design VTOL as a small unmanned aircraft systems for search and rescue application for benefiting the advantages of fixed wing and rotary wing aircrafts by eliminating the disadvantages of them. To answer that question and design VTOL aircraft, multidisciplinary design optimizations (MDO), some theoretical terminologies, formulations, simulations and modelling systems based on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) is used in same time as design methodology to determine design parameters and steps. As a conclusion, based on tests and simulations depend on design steps, suggestions on how the VTOL aircraft designed and advantages, disadvantages, and observations for design parameters are listed, then VTOL is designed and presented with the design parameters, advantages, and usage areas.

Keywords: airplane, rotary, fixed, VTOL, CFD

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Authors: K. Brince Paul, Nagendra Pratap Singh, Shiv Govind Singh, Siva Rama Krishna Vanjari

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In this paper, we report optimized procedure for synthesizing highly oriented, horizontally aligned, Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires targeted towards developing highly sensitive piezoelectric transduction elements. The synthesis was carried out using Electrospinning technique, a facile, robust, low cost technique for producing nanowires. The as-synthesized ZnO nanowires were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).The Piezoelectric behavior of these nanowires was characterized using Peizoelectric Force microscopy (PFM). A very high d33 coefficient of 23.1 pm/V obtained through the PFM measurements is an indicative of its potential application towards developing miniaturized piezoelectric transduction elements for nanoscale devices.

Keywords: electrospinning, piezoelectric, technique, zinc oxide

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Authors: Paul Ihuoma Oluikpe

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The purpose of this paper is to explore and highlight the process of creating value for strategy management by embedding knowledge management in the business process. Knowledge management can be seen from a three-dimensional perspective of content, connections and competencies. These dimensions can be embedded in the knowledge processes (create, capture, share, and apply) and operationalized within a business process to effectively create a scenario where knowledge can be focused on enabling a process and the process in turn generates outcomes. The application of knowledge management on business processes of organizations is rare and underreported. Few researches have explored this paradigm although researches have tended to reinforce the notion that competitive advantage sits within the internal aspects of the firm. Given this notion, it is surprising that knowledge management research and practice have not focused sufficiently on the business process which is the basic unit of organizational decision implementation. This research serves to generate understanding on applying KM in business process using a large multinational in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: knowledge management, business process, strategy, multinational

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Authors: Sandeep Reddy, Sonia Allan, Simon Coghlan, Paul Cooper

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its application in medicine has generated ample interest amongst policymakers and clinicians. Successes with AI in medical imaging interpretation and clinical decision support are paving the way for its incorporation into routine healthcare delivery. While there has been a focus on the development of ethical principles to guide its application in healthcare, challenges of this application go beyond what ethics principles can address thus requiring robust governance frameworks. Also, while ethical challenges of medical artificial intelligence are being discussed, the ethics of deploying AI in lower-income countries receive less attention than in other developed economies. This creates an imperative not only for sound ethical guidelines but also for robust governance frameworks to regulate AI in medicine around the world. In this article, we discuss what components need to be considered in developing these governance frameworks and who should lead this worldwide effort.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, global health, governance, ethics

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Authors: Iris Käppler, Paul Matthäi, Chokri Cherif

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In the scope of application of technical textiles, Non-Crimp Fabrics are increasingly used. In general, NCF exhibit excellent load bearing properties, but caused by the manufacturing process, there are some remaining disadvantages which have to be reduced. Regarding to this, a novel technique of processing NCF was developed substituting the binding-thread by an adhesive. This stitch-free method requires new manufacturing concept as well as new basic methods to prove adhesion of glue at fibres and textiles. To improve adhesion properties and the wettability of carbon-fibres by the adhesive, oxyfluorination was used. The modification of carbon-fibres by oxyfluorination was investigated via scanning electron microscope, X-ray photo electron spectroscopy and single fibre tensiometry. Special tensile tests were developed to determine the maximum force required for detachment.

Keywords: non-crimp fabric, adhesive, stitch-free, high-performance fibre

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Authors: Mohammad Salah Abdullatif, Salam Hajjar, Paul Khanna

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The development of instrument grade mmWave transceivers comes with many challenges. A general rule of thumb is that the performance of the instrument must be higher than the performance of the unit under test in terms of accuracy and stability. The calibration and characterizing of mmWave transceivers are important pillars for testing commercial products. Using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) with a mixer option has proven a high performance as an approach to calibrate mmWave transceivers. However, this approach comes with a high cost. In this work, a reduced-cost method to calibrate mmWave transceivers is proposed. A comparison between the proposed method and the VNA technology is provided. A demonstration of significant challenges is discussed, and an approach to meet the requirements is proposed.

Keywords: mmWave transceiver, scalar characterization, coupler connection, magic tee connection, calibration, VNA, vector network analyzer

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Authors: Okolie Chukwulozie Paul, Iwenofu Chinwe Onyedika, Sinebe Jude Ebieladoh, M. C. Nwosu

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The research work is based on the statistical analysis of the processing data. The essence is to analyze the data statistically and to generate a design model for the production mix of soap manufacturing products in Bejoy manufacturing company Nkpologwu, Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra state, Nigeria. The statistical analysis shows the statistical analysis and the correlation of the data. T test, Partial correlation and bi-variate correlation were used to understand what the data portrays. The design model developed was used to model the data production yield and the correlation of the variables show that the R2 is 98.7%. However, the results confirm that the data is fit for further analysis and modeling. This was proved by the correlation and the R-squared.

Keywords: General Linear Model, correlation, variables, pearson, significance, T-test, soap, production mix and statistic

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Authors: Paul W. Murray, Marco Barajas

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Recent changes in supply chains, especially globalization and collaboration, have created new risks for enterprises of all sizes. A variety of complex frameworks, often based on enterprise risk management strategies have been presented under the heading of Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM). The literature on promotes the benefits of a robust SCRM strategy; however, implementing SCRM is difficult and resource demanding for Large Enterprises (LEs), and essentially out of reach for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This research debunks the idea that SCRM is necessary for all enterprises and instead proposes a simple and effective Vendor Selection Template (VST). Empirical testing and a survey of supply chain practitioners provide a measure of validation to the VST. The resulting VSTis a valuable contribution because is easy to use, provides practical results, and is sufficiently flexible to be universally applied to SMEs.

Keywords: multiple regression analysis, supply chain management, risk assessment, vendor selection

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Authors: Mohammad Zavid Parvez, Manoranjan Paul

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Epilepsy is a common neurological disorders characterized by sudden recurrent seizures. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is widely used to diagnose possible epileptic seizure. Many research works have been devoted to predict epileptic seizure by analyzing EEG signal. Seizure prediction by analyzing EEG signals are challenging task due to variations of brain signals of different patients. In this paper, we propose a new approach for feature extraction based on phase correlation in EEG signals. In phase correlation, we calculate relative change between two consecutive segments of an EEG signal and then combine the changes with neighboring signals to extract features. These features are then used to classify preictal/ictal and interictal EEG signals for seizure prediction. Experiment results show that the proposed method carries good prediction rate with greater consistence for the benchmark data set in different brain locations compared to the existing state-of-the-art methods.

Keywords: EEG, epilepsy, phase correlation, seizure

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Authors: Lozano Paul

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Coupled Membrane Separation Technology (CMST), including Cross Flow Microfiltration (CFM) and Reverse Osmosis (RO), are used to concentrate microalgae biomass or/and to extract and concentrate water-soluble metabolites produced during micro-algae production cycle, as well as water recycling. Micro-algae biomass was produced using different feeding mixtures of ingredients: pure chemical origin compounds and natural/ecological water-extracted components from available local plants. Micro-algae was grown either in conventional plastic bags (100L/unit) or in small-scale innovative bioreactors (75L). Biomass was concentrated as CFM retentate using a P19-60 ceramic membrane (0.2μm pore size), and water-soluble micro-algae metabolites left in the CFM filtrate were concentrated by RO. Large volumes of water (micro-algae culture media) of were recycled by the CMTS for another biomass production cycle.

Keywords: extraction, membrane process, microalgae, natural compound

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Authors: S. Maddi Muhammed, Paul Davis, John Geraghty, Mabruk Derbesh

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This study discusses the probability of using electronic management in higher education institutions in Libya. This could be as sampled by creating an electronic gate at the faculties of Engineering and Computing "Information Technology" at Zaytuna University or any other university in Libya. As we all know, the competitive advantage amongst universities is based on their ability to use information technology efficiently and broadly. Universities today value information technology as part of the quality control and assurance and a ranking criterion for a range of services including e-learning and e-Registration. This could be done by developing email systems, electronic or virtual libraries, electronic cards, and other services provided to all students, faculty or staff. This paper discusses a range of important topics that explain how to apply the gate "E" with the faculties at Zaytuna University, Bani Walid colleges in Libya.

Keywords: e-management, educational institutions (EI), Libya, Zaytuna, information technology

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Authors: Paul Okonkwo, Howard Smith

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A study to estimate the size of the cabin and major aircraft components as well as detect and avoid interference between internally placed components and the external surface, during the conceptual design synthesis and optimisation to explore the design space of a BWB, was conducted. Sizing of components follows the Bradley cabin sizing and rubber engine scaling procedures to size the cabin and engine respectively. The interference detection and avoidance algorithm relies on the ability of the Class Shape Transform parameterisation technique to generate polynomial functions of the surfaces of a BWB aircraft configuration from the sizes of the cabin and internal objects using few variables. Interference detection is essential in packaging of non-conventional configuration like the BWB because of the non-uniform airfoil-shaped sections and resultant varying internal space. The unique configuration increases the need for a methodology to prevent objects from being placed in locations that do not sufficiently enclose them within the geometry.

Keywords: packaging, optimisation, BWB, parameterisation, aircraft conceptual design

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Authors: Felix Damilola Ajibade, Opeyemi O. Enoch, Taiwo Paul Fajusigbe

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This paper is centered on conducting an inquiry into the stability of the F* iterative algorithm to the fixed point of a strongly pseudo-contractive mapping in the framework of uniformly convex Banach spaces. To achieve the desired result, certain existing inequalities in convex Banach spaces were utilized, as well as the stability criteria of Harder and Hicks. Other necessary conditions for the stability of the F* algorithm on strong pseudo-contractive mapping were also obtained. Through a numerical approach, we prove that the F* iterative algorithm is H-stable for strongly pseudo-contractive mapping. Finally, the solution of the mixed-type Volterra-Fredholm functional non-linear integral equation is estimated using our results.

Keywords: stability, F* -iterative algorithm, pseudo-contractive mappings, uniformly convex Banach space, mixed-type Volterra-Fredholm integral equation

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Authors: F. G Okibe, C. E Gimba, V. O Ajibola, I. G Ndukwe, E. D. Paul

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A full factorial experimental design technique at two levels and four factors (24) was used to optimize the adsorption at 615 nm of Xylene Cyanol ff in aqueous solutions onto activated carbon prepared from brachystegia eurycoma seed hulls by chemical carbonization method. The effect of pH (3 and 5), initial dye concentration (20 and 60 mg/l), adsorbent dosage (0.01 and 0.05 g), and contact time (30 and 60 min) on removal efficiency of the adsorbent for the dye were investigated at 298K. From the analysis of variance, response surface and cube plot, adsorbent dosage was observed to be the most significant factor affecting the adsorption process. However, from the interaction between the variables studied, the optimum removal efficiency was 96.80 % achieved with adsorbent dosage of 0.05 g, contact time 45 minutes, pH 3, and initial dye concentration 60 mg/l.

Keywords: factorial experimental design, adsorption, optimization, brachystegia eurycoma, xylene cyanol ff

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Authors: Stepan Grebeniuk, Ersi Hodo, Henri Ruotsalainen, Paul Tavolato

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Substation security plays an important role in the power delivery system. During the past years, there has been an increase in number of attacks on automation networks of the substations. In spite of that, there hasn’t been enough focus dedicated to the protection of such networks. Aiming to design a specialized anomaly detection system based on machine learning, in this paper we will discuss the IEC 60870-5-104 protocol that is used for communication between substation and control station and focus on the simulation of the substation traffic. Firstly, we will simulate the communication between substation slave and server. Secondly, we will compare the system's normal behavior and its behavior under the attack, in order to extract the right features which will be needed for building an anomaly detection system. Lastly, based on the features we will suggest the anomaly detection system for the asynchronous protocol IEC 60870-5-104.

Keywords: Anomaly detection, IEC-60870-5-104, Machine learning, Man-in-the-Middle attacks, Substation security

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Authors: Sunantha Teyarachakul

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We consider the worker-learning Newsvendor Model, under the case of lost-sales for unmet demand, with the research objective of proposing the cost-minimization order policy and lot size, scheduled to arrive at the beginning of the selling-period. In general, the New Vendor Model is used to find the optimal order quantity for the perishable items such as fashionable products or those with seasonal demand or short-life cycles. Technically, it is used when the product demand is stochastic and available for the single selling-season, and when there is only a one time opportunity for the vendor to purchase, with possibly of long ordering lead-times. Our work differs from the classical Newsvendor Model in that we incorporate the human factor (specifically worker learning) and its influence over the costs of processing units into the model. We describe this by using the well-known Wright’s Learning Curve. Most of the assumptions of the classical New Vendor Model are still maintained in our work, such as the constant per-unit cost of leftover and shortage, the zero initial inventory, as well as the continuous time. Our problem is challenging in the way that the best order quantity in the classical model, which is balancing the over-stocking and under-stocking costs, is no longer optimal. Specifically, when adding the cost-saving from worker learning to such expected total cost, the convexity of the cost function will likely not be maintained. This has called for a new way in determining the optimal order policy. In response to such challenges, we found a number of characteristics related to the expected cost function and its derivatives, which we then used in formulating the optimal ordering policy. Examples of such characteristics are; the optimal order quantity exists and is unique if the demand follows a Uniform Distribution; if the demand follows the Beta Distribution with some specific properties of its parameters, the second derivative of the expected cost function has at most two roots; and there exists the specific level of lot size that satisfies the first order condition. Our research results could be helpful for analysis of supply chain coordination and of the periodic review system for similar problems.

Keywords: inventory management, Newsvendor model, order policy, worker learning

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Authors: Paul Henshall, Philip Eames, Roger Moss, Stan Shire, Farid Arya, Trevor Hyde

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Encapsulating the absorber of a flat plate solar thermal collector in vacuum by an enclosure that can be evacuated can result in a significant increase in collector performance and achievable operating temperatures. This is a result of the thermal insulation effectiveness of the vacuum layer surrounding the absorber, as less heat is lost during collector operation. This work describes experimental thermal insulation characterization tests of prototype vacuum flat plate solar thermal collectors that demonstrate the improvement in absorber heat loss coefficients. Furthermore, this work describes the selection and sizing of a getter, suitable for maintaining the vacuum inside the enclosure for the lifetime of the collector, which can be activated at low temperatures.

Keywords: vacuum, thermal, flat-plate solar collector, insulation

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Authors: Dilip K. Paul

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The most popular mesoporous molecular sieves, Mobil Composition of Matter (MCM) are keenly studied by researchers because of these materials possess amorphous silica wall and have a long range of ordered framework with uniform mesopores. These materials also possess large surface area, which can be up to more than 1000 m2g−1. Herein the investigation is focused upon the synthesis and characterization of chromium and aluminum doped MCM-41 using XRD and FTIR. Acid-base properties of Cr-Al-MCM 41 was investigated by molecularly sensitive transmission FT-IR spectroscopy by adsorbing pyridine. In addition, these MCM nanomaterial was used to catalyze C-C bond formation from acetaldehyde adsorption. The assignment of all infrared peaks during adsorption of pyridine provided detail information on the presence of acid-base sites which in turn helped us to explain the roles of these in the condensation reaction of aldehyde. Reaction mechanisms of C-C bond formation is therefore explored to shed some light on this elusive reaction detail.

Keywords: mesoporous nanomaterial, MCM 41, FTIR studies, acid-base studies

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Authors: Delio I. Castaneda, Paul Toulson

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge sharing effectiveness of two types of knowledge, tacit and explicit, depending on two channels: face to face or digital. Participants were 217 knowledge workers in New Zealand and researchers who attended a knowledge management conference in the United Kingdom. In the study, it was found that digital tools are effective to share explicit knowledge. In addition, digital tools that facilitated dialogue were effective to share tacit knowledge. It was also found that face to face communication was an effective way to share tacit and explicit knowledge. Results of this study contribute to clarify in what cases digital tools are effective to share tacit knowledge. Additionally, even though explicit knowledge can be easily shared using digital tools, this type of knowledge is also possible to be shared through dialogue. Result of this study may support practitioners to redesign programs and activities based on knowledge sharing to make strategies more effective.

Keywords: digital knowledge, explicit knowledge, knowledge sharing, tacit knowledge

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Authors: Olusegun Paul Adesanya, Oluwatomilade Olominu, Olusegun Idowu

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This study investigates new dangers that West African migrants travelling through the Sahara Desert to Europe contend with. COVID-19 has left an unprecedented impact on all aspects of global politics, migration inclusive. In turn, limitations to migration have drastically increased, especially the stricter visa application measures set by European countries. This intensified attempts at crisscrossing the desert to Europe. In turn, several migrants used the Sahara as the highway to Europe. While some persons successfully travelled through the desert-scape, several others were unsuccessful. Notwithstanding the negative experiences of previous migrants, several other nationals across the region have plans to travel through the desert to Europe. As such, this study employs a mixed method of research reliant on qualitative and quantitative methods of data gathering and analysis. The study holds that there are new dangers to the aspirations of West Africans travelling to Europe through the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea.

Keywords: migrants, Sahara Desert, West Africa, crisscrossing, dangers, irregular migration

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Authors: Kerry Hull, Mark Wright

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This paper brings light to ethnobotanical medicines used by the Maya of Belize to treat snake bites. The varying ecological zones of Belize boast over fifty species of snakes, nine of which are poisonous and dangerous to humans. Two distinct Maya groups occupy neighboring regions of Belize, the Q’eqchi’ and the Mopan. With Western medical care often far from their villages, what traditional methods are used to treat poisonous snake bites? Based primarily on data gathered with native consultants during the authors’ fieldwork with both groups, this paper details the ethnobotanical resources used by the Q’eqchi’ and Mopan traditional healers. The Q’eqchi’ and Mopan most commonly rely on traditional ‘bush doctors’ (ilmaj in Mopan), both male and female, and specialized ‘snake doctors’ to heal bites from venomous snakes. First, this paper presents each plant employed by healers for bites for the nine poisonous snakes in Belize along with the specific botanical recipes and methods of application for each remedy. Individual chemical and therapeutic qualities of some of those plants are investigated in an effort to explain their possible medicinal value for different toxins or the symptoms caused by those toxins. In addition, this paper explores mythological associations with certain snakes that inform local understanding regarding which plants are considered efficacious in each case, arguing that numerous oral traditions (recorded by the authors) help to link botanical medicines to episodes within their mythic traditions. Finally, the use of plants to counteract snakebites brought about through sorcery is discussed inasmuch as some snakes are seen as ‘helpers’ of sorcerers. Snake bites given under these circumstances can only be cured by those who know both the proper corresponding plant(s) and ritual prayer(s). This paper provides detailed documentation of traditional ethnomedicines and practices from the dying art of traditional Maya healers and argues for multi-faceted diagnostic techniques to determine toxin severity, the presence or absence of sorcery, and the appropriate botanical remedy.

Keywords: ethnobotany, Maya, medicine, snake bites

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Authors: Paul Bigala, Samuel Oladipo, Steven Adebowale

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This study examines factors influencing knowledge of HIV/AIDS Prevention Practices and Transmission (KHAPPT) among young undergraduate students (15-24 years). Knowledge composite index was computed for 820 randomly selected students. Chi-square, ANOVA, and multinomial logistic regression were used for the analyses (α=.05). The overall mean knowledge score was 16.5±3.4 out of a possible score of 28. About 83% of the students have undergone HIV test, 21.0% have high KHAPPT, 18% said there is cure for the disease, 23% believed that asking for condom is embarrassing and 11.7% said it is safe to share unsterilized sharp objects with friends or family members. The likelihood of high KHAPPT was higher among students who have had HIV test (OR=3.314; C.I=1.787-6.145, p<0.001) even when other variables were used as control. The identified predictors of high KHAPPT were; ever had HIV test, faculty, and ever used any HIV/AIDS prevention services. North-West University Mafikeng should intensify efforts on the HIV/AIDS awareness program on the campus.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS knowledge, undergraduate students, HIV testing, Mafikeng

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Authors: Luisa Unda, Kamran Ahmed, Paul Mather

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We examine the effect of board characteristics on the performance and asset quality of credit unions in Australia, using a large sample covering the period 2004-2012. Credit unions are unique in that they are customer-owned financial institutions and directors are democratically elected by members, which is distinctly different from other financial institutions, such as commercial banks. We find that board remuneration, board expertise, and attendance at board meetings have significantly positive impacts on credit union performance and asset quality, while board members who hold multiple directorships (busy directors), have a significant negative impact on credit union performance. Financial performance also improves with larger boards and long-tenured directors in credit unions. All of these relations hold after we control for alternative measures of performance, credit union characteristics and endogeneity problem.

Keywords: credit unions, corporate governance, board of directors, financial performance, Australia, asset quality

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