Search results for: welfare state

Authors: Monalisa Pradhan, Ajana Dutta, Irshad Kariyattuparamb Abbas, Boby Joseph, T. N. Guru Row, Diptikanta Swain, Gopal K. Pradhan

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Compounds with the Vanthoffite crystal structure having general formula Na6M(SO₄)₄ (M= Mg, Mn, Ni , Co, Fe, Cu and Zn) display a variety of intriguing physical properties intimately related to their structural arrangements. The compound Na6Mn(SO4)4 shows antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperature where the in-plane Mn-O•••O-Mn interactions facilitates antiferromagnetic ordering via a super-exchange interaction between the Mn atoms through the oxygen atoms . The inter-atomic bond distances and angles can easily be tuned by applying external pressure and can be probed using high resolution X-ray diffraction. Moreover, because the magnetic interaction among the Mn atoms are super-exchange type via Mn-O•••O-Mn path, the variation of the Mn-O•••O-Mn dihedral angle and Mn-O bond distances under high pressure inevitably affects the magnetic properties. Therefore, it is evident that high pressure studies on the magnetically ordered materials would shed light on the interplay between their structural properties and magnetic ordering. This will indeed confirm the role of buckling of the Mn-O polyhedral in understanding the origin of anti-ferromagnetism. In this context, we carried out the pressure dependent X-ray diffraction measurement in a diamond anvil cell (DAC) up to a maximum pressure of 17 GPa to study the phase transition and determine equation of state from the volume compression data. Upon increasing the pressure, we didn’t observe any new diffraction peaks or sudden discontinuity in the pressure dependences of the d values up to the maximum achieved pressure of ~17 GPa. However, it is noticed that beyond 12 GPa the a and b lattice parameters become identical while there is a discontinuity in the β value around the same pressure. This indicates a subtle transition to a pseudo-monoclinic phase. Using the third order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state (EOS) to fit the volume compression data for the entire range, we found the bulk modulus (B0) to be 44 GPa. If we consider the subtle transition at 12 GPa, we tried to fit another equation state for the volume beyond 12 GPa using the second order Birch-Murnaghan EOS. This gives a bulk modulus of ~ 34 GPa for this phase.

Keywords: mineral, structural phase transition, high pressure XRD, spectroscopy

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Authors: Sulaem Musaddiq Laskar, Sudip Talukdar

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Sustainable supplementary cementitious material is the prime need in the construction industry. Geopolymer has strong potential for replacing the conventional Portland cement used in mortar and concrete in the industry. This study deals with experimental investigations performed on geopolymer mixes prepared from both ultra-fine ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash in a certain proportion. Geopolymer mixes were prepared with alkali activator composed of sodium hydroxide solution and varying amount of superplasticizer. The mixes were tested to study fresh and hardened state properties such as setting time, workability and compressive strength. Influence of concentration of alkali activator on effectiveness of superplasticizer in modifying the properties of geopolymer mixes was also investigated. Results indicated that addition of superplasticizer to ultra-fine slag-fly ash based geopolymer is advantageous in terms of setting time, workability and strength performance but up to certain dosage level. Higher concentration of alkali activator renders ineffectiveness in superplasticizer in improving the fresh and hardened state properties of geopolymer mixes.

Keywords: ultra-fine slag, fly ash, superplasticizer, setting time, workability, compressive strength

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Authors: Adebayo Adewumi

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Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae the second largest bird in the world started its domestication in the United States in the early 1980's and the present trend in the production of emu in the U.S can be compared with cattle industry. As the population of many wildlife species in Nigeria declined due to unsustainable harvest of bush meat, animals like snails, antelopes,Ostrich, Emu and rodents have been domesticated. Although this improved livestock production in Nigeria, the basic physiological parameters of these mini- livestock are not known. Especially the intra-erythrocyte trace elements of domesticated emu, For this study, emu blood was obtained from Ajanla farms, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. There, 16 emus at age of 20 months were bled through jugular vein in a semi-intensive system for a period of 12 months. The intra-erythrocyte trace elements Cu, Zn, and Mg in healthy Emu were measured. The influences of sex and age on these parameters were investigated. No age or sex differences were observed in intra-erythrocytic Cu levels. Intra-erythrocytic Zn and Mg levels were significantly higher (P<0.05) in young Emu than in adults while males used significantly (P<0.05) higher intra erythrocytic Mg than females. intra-erythrocyte trace elements Cu, Zn and Mg is a good pointer to haemoglobin concentration which determines the state of wellness of an animal. The information from this work has provided a baseline data for further understanding of erythrocyte biochemistry of Emu in Nigeria.

Keywords: intra erythrocyte, trace elements, Emu, biochemistry

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Authors: Yashasvi Thakur, Vikas K. Sharma

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The fragile Himalayan ecosystems are sensitive to environmental stresses, including direct and indirect impacts of climate stresses. A total of 297 naturalized alien plant species belonging to 65 families in the IHR have already been reported. Of the total 297 naturalized alien plant species in IHR, the maximum species occur in Himachal Pradesh (232; 78.1%), followed by Jammu & Kashmir (192; 64.6%) and Uttarakhand (181; 60.90%). The present study reports the spread of some invasive and existing weed species like Ageratum conyzoides, Bidens pilosa, Chromolaena odorata, Lantana camara, Brossnetia papyrifera, Oxalis corniculata, Galinsoga parviflora, Panicum maximum at an extent that they are not only invading the agricultural fields but are also replacing the native plant species and degrading the existing grassland quality. Moreover, the degradation of grassland has led to the dry fodder shortage for livestock in the lower Shivalik ranges of the state of Himachal Pradesh and has also encouraged the use of herbicides at an extensive scale. This article provides a mapping of the current spread of some of these species at the block level to allow the development of appropriate management strategies and policy planning for addressing issues pertaining to plant invasion, agricultural fields, and grasslands across the IHR states.

Keywords: climate change, invasive alien species, agriculture, grassland, IHR

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Authors: Risikat Oladoyin S. Dauda, Onyebuchi Iwegbu

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This study investigates the response of human development outcomes to selected macroeconomic indicators in Nigeria. Human development outcomes is measured by human development index while the selected macroeconomic variables are inflation rate, real interest rate, government capital expenditure, real exchange rate, current account balance, and savings. Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) technique is employed in examining the response of human development index to the macroeconomic shocks. The result from the forecast error variance decomposition and Impulse-Response analysis reveals that fiscal policy (government capital expenditure) shock is the greatest determinant of human development outcomes. This result reiterates the role which the government plays in improving the welfare of the citizenry. The fiscal policy tool is pivotal in human development which comes in the form of investment in education, health, housing, and infrastructure. Further conclusion drawn from this study is that human development outcome positively and significantly responds to shocks from real interest rate, a monetary policy transmission variable and is felt greatly in the short run period. The policy implication of this study is that if capital budget implementation falls below expectations, human development will be engendered. Hence, efforts should be made to ensure that full implementation and appraisal of government capital expenditure is taken sacrosanct as any shock from such plan, engenders human development outcome.

Keywords: human development outcome, macroeconomic outcomes, structural vector autoregression, SVAR

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Authors: Dmytro Symak

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The experience in other countries shows that, the role of accreditation of higher education as one of the types of quality assurance process for providing educational services increases. This was the experience of highly developed countries such as USA, Canada, France, Germany, because without proper quality assurance process is impossible to achieve a successful future of the nation and the state. In most countries, the function of Higher Education Accreditation performs public authorities, in particular, such as the Ministry of Education. In the US, however, the quality assurance process is independent on the government and implemented by private non-governmental organization - the Council of Higher Education Accreditation. In France, the main body that carries out accreditation of higher education is the Ministry of National Education. As part of the Bologna process is the mutual recognition and accreditation of degrees. While higher education institutions issue diplomas, but the ministry could award the title. This is the main level of accreditation awarded automatically by state universities. In total, there are in France next major level of accreditation of higher education: - accreditation for a visa: Accreditation second level; - recognition of accreditation: accreditation of third level. In some areas of education to accreditation ministry should adopt formal recommendations on specific organs. But there are also some exceptions. Thus, the French educational institutions, mainly large Business School, looking for non-French accreditation. These include, for example, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Association of MBAs, the European Foundation for Management Development, the European Quality Improvement System, a prestigious EFMD Programme accreditation system. Noteworthy also German accreditation system of education. The primary here is a Conference of Ministers of Education and Culture of land in the Federal Republic of Germany (Kultusministerkonferenz or CCM) was established in 1948 by agreement between the States of the Federal Republic of Germany. Among its main responsibilities is to ensure quality and continuity of development in higher education. In Germany, the program of bachelors and masters must be accredited in accordance with Resolution Kultusministerkonerenz. In Ukraine Higher Education Accreditation carried out the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Ukraine under four main levels. Ukraine's legislation on higher education based on the Constitution Ukraine consists of the laws of Ukraine ‘On osvititu’ ‘On scientific and technical activity’, ‘On Higher osvititu’ and other legal acts and is entirely within the competence of the state. This leads to considerable centralization and bureaucratization of the process. Thus, analysis of expertise shined can conclude that reforming the system of accreditation and quality of higher education in Ukraine to its integration into the global space requires solving a number of problems in the following areas: improving the system of state certification and licensing; optimizing the network of higher education institutions; creating both governmental and non-governmental organizations to monitor the process of higher education in Ukraine and so on.

Keywords: higher education, accreditation, decentralization, education institutions

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Authors: Mohammed Habchi, Sidi Mohammed Mesli, Rafik Benallal, Mohammed Kotbi

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On the basis of four partial correlation functions and some geometric constraints obtained from neutron scattering experiments, a Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulation has been performed in the study of the aqueous electrolyte LiCl6H2O at the glassy state. The obtained 3-dimensional model allows computing pair radial and orientational distribution functions in order to explore the structural features of the system. Unrealistic features appeared in some coordination peaks. To remedy to this, we use the Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo (HRMC), incorporating an additional energy constraint in addition to the usual constraints derived from experiments. The energy of the system is calculated using an Environment Dependence Interaction Potential (EDIP). Ions effects is studied by comparing correlations between water molecules in the solution and in pure water at room temperature Our results show a good agreement between experimental and computed partial distribution functions (PDFs) as well as a significant improvement in orientational distribution curves.

Keywords: LiCl6H2O, glassy state, RMC, HRMC

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Authors: Audu Aly Fada, Adejoh Apeh Matthew

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This research assesses the effects of social conflicts on tourism products in Plateau State. It was specifically set out to find out the major causes of social conflicts in Jos, evaluate the effects of social conflicts on the influx of tourists to Hill station hotel Jos, and the impact on revenue generation of the hotel. To achieve these objectives research questions were formulated and a sample of 30 hotel staff was selected as the respondents. Data collected were organized and analyzed using tables, percentages and mean statistics. It was found that the hospitality and tourism industry was adversely affected. The crisis brought about a decline in the number of tourist arrivals, increase in cancelled bookings, a decrease in the average length of stay of tourists and the average room occupancy. Peace is the best friend of travel and tourism, while war and insecurity are among its worst enemies. It is recommended that all stakeholders involved in tourism administration should device safer environment that supports continued patronage by providing modern security apparatus. In the same spirit, government as the main stake-holder in security provision should do more than paying lip service to guarantee security and safety of lives and properties.

Keywords: social conflict, crisis, security, tourism development

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Authors: Hakan Gungunes, Ismail A. Auwal, Abdulhadi Baykal, Sagar E. Shirsath

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Barium hexaferrite, BaFe₁₂O₁₉, substituted by Bi³⁺ and La³⁺ (BaBiₓLaₓFe₁₂₋₂ₓO₁₉ where 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) were prepared by solid state synthesis route. The effect of substituted Bi³⁺ and La³⁺ ions on the structure, morphology, magnetic and cation distributions of barium hexaferrite were investigated by X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Mössbauer spectroscopy. XRD powder patterns were refined by the Rietveld analysis method which confirmed the formation of single phase magneto-plumbite structure and the substitution of La³⁺ and Bi³⁺ ions into the lattice of barium ferrite. These results show that both La³⁺ and Bi³⁺ ions completely enter into barium hexaferrite lattice without disturbing the hexagonal ferrite structure. The EDX spectra confirmed the presence of all the constituents in expected elemental percentage. From 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy data, the variation in line width, isomer shift, quadrupole splitting and hyperfine magnetic field values on Bi and La substitutions have been determined. Cation distribution in the presently investigated hexaferrite system was estimated using the relative area of Mössbauer spectroscopy.

Keywords: hexaferrite, mössbauer, cation distribution, solid state synthesis

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Authors: Ibitoye Olabode Clement

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The huge amount of grants for infrastructures development in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria calls for transparency and accountability in the procurement process. However, questions have been raised concerning the judicious and appropriate use of the funds, and it was doubtful if the institutions complied with due process. This paper examined the causes of non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement of Goods, Works, and Services through either direct or indirect processes of procurement, mostly in Tertiary Institutions of State government subvention institutions in Nigeria. Nigeria has over 120 public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of Education. This paper will take samples of some selected Institutions in southwest Nigeria. The institutions comprise 5 Universities, 5 Polytechnics, and 5 Colleges of Education / Health and Technology. The opinions of the institutions’ Procurement Officers on the tremendous investment through grants and interventions for infrastructure development in Tertiary Education Institutions (TEI) in Nigeria call for transparency and accountability in the procurement process. However, there are a lot of questions have been raised as to the judicious use of the funds, and it was doubtful if the institutions complied with due process. This study examined the causes of non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement of Goods, Works, and Services in most State Government Public Institutions in Southwest Nigeria. Over, 120 public institutions comprising 5 Universities, 5 Polytechnics, and 5 Colleges of Education / Health and Technology were used for the study. The opinions of the institutions’ Procurement Officers on the causes of non-compliance with the Act in their procurement process were sought using a structured questionnaire. The results revealed that non-independent of Procurement Officers, non-compliance with the Act by some at the managerial level, claiming inadequate knowledge of the Act, non-employment of qualified and experienced Procurement officers, insufficient publicity of the Act, and non-existence of corporate governance led to poor management of procurement record and non-provision of incentive, Inability to separate the duties of Internal Auditors and Procurement Officers, Inability to translate procurement entity at large which makes nearly all at departmental level believe they procurement officers. Conclusively, on taking the Procurement Officers through interviewing having it that: the right educational and professional qualifications, understanding of the Act, sufficient cognate working experience, recruiting most professionals needed if not all, and occupying management position will enhance compliance. Hence, in addition, adopting an external empowered department from the Bureau should raise for monitoring the compliance mostly in State Government Tertiary Education Institution. Also, an organizational culture with a corporate governance structure that supports the engagement of the right and qualified personnel to handle procurement, encourages them to perform at their best and rewards excellent service by giving incentives, and operates within an administrative environment devoid of corruption.

Keywords: non compliance of procurement act, tertiary education institution, university, polytechnic and college of education/ health science and technology, Nigeria

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Authors: Angela Obose Oriazowanlan

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Despite the introduction of Entrepreneurship education into the Nigerian University curriculum to prepare graduates for self-employment roles in order to abate employment challenges, their unemployment rate still soars high. The study, therefore, examined the relevance of the curriculum contents and its delivery mechanism to equip graduates with appropriate entrepreneurial skills prior to graduation. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The survey research design was adopted for the study. An infinite population of graduates of a period of five years with 200 sample representatives using the simple random sampling technique was adopted. A 45-item structured questionnaire was used for data gathering. The gathered data thereof was anlysed using the descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, while the formulated hypotheses were tested with Z-score at 0.5 level of significance. The findings revealed, among others, that graduates acquisition of appropriate entrepreneurial skills for self-employment generation is low due to curriculum deficiencies, insufficient time allotment, and the delivery mechanism. It was recommended, among others, that the curriculum should be reviewed to improve its relevancy and that sufficient time should be allotted to enable adequate teaching and learning process.

Keywords: evaluation of entrepreneurship education (EE) curriculum, self-employment generation, graduates of tertiary institutions, Edo state, Nigeria

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Authors: Murtala Aminu, Salisu Adamu Aliero, Adamu Muhammed

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Records are a vital asset in ensuring that the institution is governed effectively and efficiently, and is accountable to its staff, students and the community that it serves. The major purpose of this study was to assess record management of the registry department of Kebbi state University of science and technology Aliero. To be able to achieve this objective, research questions were formulated and answers obtained, which centered on records creation, record management policy, challenges facing records management. The review of related literature revealed that there is need for records to be properly managed and in doing so there is need for good records management policy that clearly spells out the various programs required for effective records management. Survey research method was used involving questionnaire, and observation. The findings revealed that the registry department of the University still has a long way to go with respect to day-today records management. The study recommended provision for adequate, modern, safe and functional storage facilities, sufficient and regular funding, recruitment of trained personnel, on the job training for existing staff, computerization of all units records, and uninterrupted power supply to all parts of the unit as a means of ensuring proper records management.

Keywords: records, management, records management policy, registry

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Authors: Fasanmi Samuel Sunday, Awosusi Omojola

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of abusive supervision, interactional justice and supportive workplace supervision burnout among health workers in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Three hundred and twenty (320) health workers were sampled within Makurdi metropolis, Benue State, Nigeria. Standardized questionnaire on abusive supervision scale, interactional justice scale, supportive workplace supervision scale and employee burnout scale were used in the study. The research was a 2x2x2 factorial design. Four hypotheses were generated and were tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Scheffe’s post-hoc analysis was used to know the direction of the findings. Results revealed that there was a significant main effect of perceived abusive supervision on employee burnout among health workers. Also, there was a significant main effect of interactional justice on employee burnout among health workers. It was also found out that there was a significant interaction effect of supportive workplace supervision, interactional justice, and abusive supervision on employee burnout among health workers. Results were discussed in line with hypotheses; and recommendations on how to reduce employee burnout were suggested.

Keywords: employee burnout, abusive supervision, interactional justice, supportive workplace supervision

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Authors: Tianyue Wan

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Building a child-friendly city (CFC) contributes to improving the quality of urbanization. It also forms a local system committed to fulfilling children's rights and development. Yet, the work related to CFC is still at the initial stage in China. Therefore, taking Wuhan, the most populous city in central China, as the pilot city would offer some reference for other cities. Based on the analysis of theories and practice examples, this study puts forward the challenges of building a child-friendly city under the particularity of China's national conditions. To handle these challenges, this study uses four methods to collect status data: literature research, site observation, research inquiry, and semantic differential (SD). And it adopts three data analysis methods: case analysis, geographic information system (GIS) analysis, and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Through data analysis, this study identifies the evaluation system and appraises the current situation of Wuhan. According to the status of Wuhan's child-friendly city, this study proposes three strategies: 1) construct the evaluation system; 2) establish a child-friendly space system integrating 'point-line-surface'; 3) build a digitalized service platform. At the same time, this study suggests building a long-term mechanism for children's participation and multi-subject supervision from laws, medical treatment, education, safety protection, social welfare, and other aspects. Finally, some conclusions of strategies about CFC are tried to be drawn to promote the highest quality of life for all citizens in Wuhan.

Keywords: action plan, child friendly city, construction strategy, urban space

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Authors: Christian Perrin, Nicholas Blagden, Louise Allen, Sarah Impey

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Social workers in the UK and professionals globally are faced with a particular challenge when dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse (CSA) in the community. In the absence of a conviction or incontestable evidence, staff can often find themselves unable to take decisive action to remove a child from harm, even though there may be a credible threat to their welfare. Conversely, practitioners may over-calculate risk through fear of being accountable for harm. This is, in part, due to the absence of a structured and evidence-based risk assessment tool which can predict the likelihood of a person committing child sexual abuse. Such assessments are often conducted by forensic professionals who utilise offence-specific data and personal history information to calculate risk. In situations where only allegations underpin a case, this mode of assessment is not viable. There are further ethical issues surrounding the assessment of risk in this area which require expert consideration and sensitive planning. This paper explores this entangled problem extant in the wider call to prevent sexual and child sexual abuse in the community. To this end, 32 qualitative interviews were undertaken with social workers dealing with CSA cases. Results were analysed using thematic analysis and operationalised to formulate a risk and protection protocol for use in case management. This paper reports on the early findings associated with the initial indications of protocol reliability. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Keywords: sexual offending, child sexual offence, offender rehabilitation, risk assessment, offence prevention

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Authors: Amrita Sen

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In the face of a growing insurgent movement and the perceived failure of the state and the market towards sustainable resource management, a range of decentralized forest management policies was formulated in the last two decades, which recognized the need for community representations within the statutory methods of forest management. The recognition conceded on the virtues of ecological sustainability and traditional environmental knowledge, which were considered to be the principal repositories of the forest dependent communities. The present study, in the light of empirical insights, reflects on the contemporary disjunctions between the preconceived communitarian ethic in environmentalism and the lived reality of forest based life-worlds. Many of the popular as well as dominant ideologies, which have historically shaped the conceptual and theoretical understanding of sociology, needs further perusal in the context of the emerging contours of empirical knowledge, which lends opportunities for substantive reworking and analysis. The image of the community appears to be one of those concepts, an identity which has for long defined perspectives and processes associated with people living together harmoniously in small physical spaces. Through an ethnographic account of the implementation of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in a forest fringe village in Sundarban, the study explores the ways in which the idea of ‘community’ gets transformed through the process of state-making, rendering the necessity of its departure from the standard, conventional definition of homogeneity and internal equity. The study necessitates an attention towards the anthropology of micro-politics, disaggregating an essentially constructivist anthropology of ‘collective identities’, which can render the visibility of political mobilizations plausible within the seemingly culturalist production of communities. The two critical questions that the paper seeks to ask in this context are: how the ‘local’ is constituted within community based conservation practices? Within the efforts of collaborative forest management, how accurately does the depiction of ‘indigenous environmental knowledge’, subscribe to its role of sustainable conservation practices? Reflecting on the execution of JFM in Sundarban, the study critically explores the ways in which the state ceases to be ‘trans-national’ and interacts with the rural life-worlds through its local factions. Simultaneously, the study attempts to articulate the scope of constructing a competing representation of community, shaped by increasing political negotiations and bureaucratic alignments which strains against the usual preoccupations with tradition primordiality and non material culture as well as the amorous construction of indigeneity.

Keywords: community, environmentalism, JFM, state-making, identities, indigenous

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Authors: Karin Schoenpflug, Christine M. Klapeer

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In a large study for the Vienna City Council’s Antidiscrimination unit (WASt) an interdisciplinary team (in the fields of economics, sociology and political science) working with urban economics, critical citizenship studies, the sociology of work & inequality and urban political/human geography conducted an online survey asking LGBTIs (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people) in Vienna detailed questions on their quality-of-life, happiness and well-being. 3.161 persons responded and provided us with a rich data set concerning: 1) Labor market structures, discrimination, working conditions and employment practices (economic citizenship); 2) access to health care, welfare, education and safety in public spaces (social citizenship); 3) political participation as well as access to legal institutions (political citizenship). All those fields are important dimensions in regards to “full” citizenship and the well-being of the LGBTI population, but are also constitutive for the inclusion of sexual and gender minorities into the city population(s) of Vienna. Our data also allows us to map the sexual geography of Vienna as LGBTI communities are more likely to live in certain districts; some places are considered safe(r) and “friendlier”. In this way our work helps to fill a research gap connecting (urban) spaces and sexuality, and it produces new data and insights on the quality-of-life of this subpopulation. Our findings allow for urban (policy) planning and limiting violence and discrimination and improving the collective wellbeing and social cohesion.

Keywords: urban sexual geographies, LGBTI, socio-economic status, Vienna, sitizenship status

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Authors: Rachid Belhachemi, Pierre Rostan, Alexandra Rostan

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This paper develops a discrete-time option pricing model for index options. The model consists of two key ingredients. First, daily stock return innovations are driven by a continuous hidden threshold mixed skew-normal (HTSN) distribution which generates conditional non-normality that is needed to fit daily index return. The most important feature of the HTSN is the inclusion of a latent state variable with a continuum of states, unlike the traditional mixture distributions where the state variable is discrete with little number of states. The HTSN distribution belongs to the class of univariate probability distributions where parameters of the distribution capture the dependence between the variable of interest and the continuous latent state variable (the regime). The distribution has an interpretation in terms of a mixture distribution with time-varying mixing probabilities. It has been shown empirically that this distribution outperforms its main competitor, the mixed normal (MN) distribution, in terms of capturing the stylized facts known for stock returns, namely, volatility clustering, leverage effect, skewness, kurtosis and regime dependence. Second, heteroscedasticity in the model is captured by a threeexogenous-factor GARCH model (GARCHX), where the factors are taken from the principal components analysis of various world indices and presents an application to option pricing. The factors of the GARCHX model are extracted from a matrix of world indices applying principal component analysis (PCA). The empirically determined factors are uncorrelated and represent truly different common components driving the returns. Both factors and the eight parameters inherent to the HTSN distribution aim at capturing the impact of the state of the economy on price levels since distribution parameters have economic interpretations in terms of conditional volatilities and correlations of the returns with the hidden continuous state. The PCA identifies statistically independent factors affecting the random evolution of a given pool of assets -in our paper a pool of international stock indices- and sorting them by order of relative importance. The PCA computes a historical cross asset covariance matrix and identifies principal components representing independent factors. In our paper, factors are used to calibrate the HTSN-GARCHX model and are ultimately responsible for the nature of the distribution of random variables being generated. We benchmark our model to the MN-GARCHX model following the same PCA methodology and the standard Black-Scholes model. We show that our model outperforms the benchmark in terms of RMSE in dollar losses for put and call options, which in turn outperforms the analytical Black-Scholes by capturing the stylized facts known for index returns, namely, volatility clustering, leverage effect, skewness, kurtosis and regime dependence.

Keywords: continuous hidden threshold, factor models, GARCHX models, option pricing, risk-premium

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Authors: Jean Patrick Mve

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The increasing quest for efficiency, accountability, and transparency has led to the implementation of massive governance reforms among higher education systems worldwide. This is causing many changes in the governance of higher education institutions. Governments over the world are trying to adopt business-like organizational strategies to enhance the performance of higher education institutions. This study explores the changes that have taken place in the Cameroonian higher education sector. It also attempts to draw a picture of the likely future of higher education governance and the actions to be taken for the promotion of institutional effectiveness among higher education institutions. The “governance equalizer” is used as an analytical tool to this end. It covers the five dimensions of the New Public Management (NPM), namely: state regulation, stakeholder guidance, academic self-governance, managerial self-governance, and competition. Qualitative data are used, including semi-structured interviews with key informants at the organizational level and other academic stakeholders, documents and archival data from the university and from the ministry of higher education. It has been found that state regulation among higher education institutions in Cameroon is excessively high, causing the institutional autonomy to be very low, especially at the level of financial management, staffing and promotion, and other internal administrative affairs; at the level of stakeholder guidance there is a higher degree of stakeholders consideration in the academic and research activities among universities, though the government’s interest to keep its hands in most management activities is still high; academic self-governance is also very weak as the assignment of academics is done more on the basis of political considerations than competence; there is no real managerial self-governance among higher education institutions due to the lack of institutional capacity and insufficient autonomy at the level of decision making; there is a plan to promote competition among universities but a real competitive environment is not yet put into place. The study concludes that the government’s policy should make state control more relaxed and concentrate on steering and supervision. As well, real institutional autonomy, professional competence building for top management and stakeholder participation should be considered to guarantee competition and institutional effectiveness.

Keywords: Cameroon higher education, effective institutional governance, governance equalizer, institutional autonomy, institutional effectiveness

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Authors: Beng Zhen Yeow

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In most work that involves children, the voice of the children is often not heard. This is ironic since a lot of discussions might involve their welfare and safety. It might seem natural that the professionals should hear from them about what they wish for instead of deciding what is best for them. However, this, unfortunately, might be more the exception than the norm in most case and hence in many instances, children are merely 'subjects' in conversations about safety instead of active participants in the construction or creation of safety in the family. There might be many reasons why it does not happen in our work. Firstly, professionals have learnt how to 'socialise' into their professional roles and hence in the process become 'un-childlike'. Secondly, there is also a lack of professional training with regards to how to talk with children. Finally, there might be also a lack of concrete tools and techniques that are developed to facilitate the process. In this paper, the case study method is used to show how the idea of safety could be concretised and discussed with children and their family members, and hence making them active participants and co-creators of their own safety. Specific skills and techniques are highlighted through the case study. In this case, there was improvement in outcomes like no repeated offence or abuse. In addition, children were also able to advocate for their own safety after six months of intervention and how the family members were able to explicitly say what they can do to improve safety. The professionals in the safety network reported significant improvements. On top of that, the abused child who was removed due to child protection concerns, had verbalized observations of change in mother’s parenting abilities, and has requested for home leave to begin due to ownership of safety planning and having confidence to co-create safety for her siblings and herself together with the professionals in the safety network. Children becoming active participants in the co-creation of safety not only serve the purpose in allowing them to own a 'voice' but at the same time, give them greater confidence to protect themselves at home and in other contexts outside of home.

Keywords: partnering for safety, collaborative social work, family and systemic psychotherapy, child protection

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Authors: Chew Zhao Hong

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Since the transition of power in 2018, the Malaysian political landscape has experienced substantial shifts and complexities. The decline of the longstanding ruling party, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), following the party rotation, has given rise to splinter parties such as the Indigenous Unity Party (Bersatu), along with the enduring presence of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) in the northern region of the Malay Peninsula. However, the "Sheraton Move" in 2020 led to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government and the emergence of Perikatan Nasional, signifying the ascent of a third political force. The 2022 general elections marked Malaysia's entry into a hung parliament, culminating in an intricate negotiation that resulted in a coalition government formed by Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, and the Sarawak parties alliance (GPS), collectively governing the Malaysian federal administration. During the 2023 state elections, Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional formed an unprecedented alliance, yet the media framing benefited Perikatan Nasional, even securing substantial support from UMNO's traditional constituencies. In the era of converging new media, Malaysia’s democratization faces new challenges: first, political leaders leveraging media to cultivate unfiltered personas risk inducing populism; second, under the influence of agenda-setting and two-step flow theories, media contributes to polarization; lastly, Malaysia's multi-party system is no longer effectively moderate extreme ideologies into the political center. This study examines the role of media framing and its impact on the democratization process within Malaysia's consociational democracy under a multi-party system and analyzes media discourse before and after the 2023 Malaysian state elections to explore how different parties shape public opinion and political discourse, and how political messages may be amplified or distorted in the process.

Keywords: multi-party system, democratization, elections, political polarization, Malaysia, media framing

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Authors: Marieta Safta

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The separation and balance of state powers constitute the basis of the rule of law. Observance of this principle requires framing of public authorities within the limits of competence established by the Constitution and the law, as well as loyal cooperation between them. From this perspective, the attribution of the constitutional courts for settling legal conflicts of a constitutional nature is an important tool for correcting the tendencies of violation of these limits, as well as for identifying solutions for situations that do not find an explicit regulation in the constitutional texts. The present study analyzes the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of Romania in the field of legal conflicts of a constitutional nature, revealing, together with the presentation of conflict situations, the vulnerabilities of the constitutional reference texts. It is also highlighted the role of the constitutional courts in the evolution of constitutional law institutions, even in terms of defining and redefining the regime of the forms of government. The conclusion of the study, beyond the subject of legal conflicts of a constitutional nature, bears on the necessity, even more so in this matter, of the certainty of jurisdictional interpretation. This certainty cannot be achieved as long as the interpretation is not authoritative; consequently, the assurance of the effectiveness of constitutional justice constitute a key issue of the rule of law.

Keywords: legal conflicts of constitutional nature, the Constitutional Court of Romania, the separation and balance of powers in the state, the effectiveness of constitutional justice

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Authors: Deniz Guven, Wil Ward, Jinming Duan, Li Bai

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Over the past two decades or so, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been used to diagnose retina and optic nerve diseases. The retinal nerve fibre layer, for example, is a powerful diagnostic marker for detecting and staging glaucoma. With the advances in optical imaging hardware, the adoption of OCT is now commonplace in clinics. More and more OCT images are being generated, and for these OCT images to have clinical applicability, accurate automated OCT image segmentation software is needed. Oct image segmentation is still an active research area, as OCT images are inherently noisy, with the multiplicative speckling noise. Simple edge detection algorithms are unsuitable for detecting retinal layer boundaries in OCT images. Intensity fluctuation, motion artefact, and the presence of blood vessels also decrease further OCT image quality. In this paper, we introduce a new method for segmenting three-dimensional (3D) OCT images. This involves the use of a Kalman filter, which is commonly used in computer vision for object tracking. The Kalman filter is applied to the 3D OCT image volume to track the retinal layer boundaries through the slices within the volume and thus segmenting the 3D image. Specifically, after some pre-processing of the OCT images, points on the retinal layer boundaries in the first image are identified, and curve fitting is applied to them such that the layer boundaries can be represented by the coefficients of the curve equations. These coefficients then form the state space for the Kalman Filter. The filter then produces an optimal estimate of the current state of the system by updating its previous state using the measurements available in the form of a feedback control loop. The results show that the algorithm can be used to segment the retinal layers in OCT images. One of the limitations of the current algorithm is that the curve representation of the retinal layer boundary does not work well when the layer boundary is split into two, e.g., at the optic nerve, the layer boundary split into two. This maybe resolved by using a different approach to representing the boundaries, such as b-splines or level sets. The use of a Kalman filter shows promise to developing accurate and effective 3D OCT segmentation methods.

Keywords: optical coherence tomography, image segmentation, Kalman filter, object tracking

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Authors: Musa Galadima Toro

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The study focused on the impact of teaching critical reading strategies on students’ performance in English and communication skills at the college of education Azare Bauchi state, Nigeria. It adopted a pre-test, post-test experimental group design. A sample of two hundred and forty (240) students was randomly selected from four departments within the school. The students were randomized into two groups: experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught critical reading strategies as a form of treatment, while the control group involved in normal reading comprehension exercises. The findings of the study showed a significant difference in the performance of students who were taught critical reading strategies at the post- test level. Recommendations based on the findings of the study were proffered such as placing more emphasis on teaching critical reading strategies in order to improve students’ creative thinking skills and also encouraging students to read articles in science and humanities to improve their reading skills among others.

Keywords: English, communication skill, critical reading, strategies

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Authors: Hamid Sharif, Nazish Saleem Abbas, Muhammad Haris Jamil

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Visible light communication is an emerging technology for almost a decade now; there is a growing need for VLC systems to overcome the challenges faced by radio frequency RF communication systems. With the advancement in the development of solid-state sources, in the future would replace incandescent and fluorescent light sources. These solid-state devices are not only to be used for illumination but can also be employed for communication and navigational purposes. The replacement of conventional illumination sources with highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LED's) (generally white light) will reduce energy consumption as well as environmental pollution. White LEDs dissipate very less power as compared to conventional light sources. The use of LED's is not only beneficial in terms of power consumption, but it also has an intrinsic capability for indoor wireless communication as compared to indoor RF communication. It is considerably low in cost to operate than the RF systems such as Wi-Fi routers, allows convenient means of reusing the bandwidth, and there is a huge potential for high data rate transmissions with enhanced data security. This paper provides an overview of some of the current challenges with VLC and proposes a possible solution to deal with these challenges; it also examines some joint protocols to optimize the joint illumination and communication functionality.

Keywords: visible light communication, line of sight, root mean square delay spread, light emitting diodes

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Authors: Sofia Lazareva, Artem Smolentsev

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Fluorescent photochromic materials collect strong interest due to their possible application in organic photonics such as optical logic systems, optical memory, visualizing sensors, as well as characterization of polymers and biological systems. In photochromic fluorescence switching systems the emission of fluorophore is modulated between ‘on’ and ‘off’ via the photoisomerization of photochromic moieties resulting in effective resonance energy transfer (FRET). In current work, we have studied both photochromic and fluorescent properties of several diarylethenes. It was found that coloured forms of these compounds are not fluorescent because of the efficient intramolecular energy transfer. Spectral and photochromic parameters of investigated substances have been measured in five solvents having different polarity. Quantum yields of photochromic transformation A↔B ΦA→B and ΦB→A as well as B isomer extinction coefficients were determined by kinetic method. It was found that the photocyclization reaction quantum yield of all compounds decreases with the increase of solvent polarity. In addition, the solvent polarity is revealed to affect fluorescence significantly. Increasing of the solvent dielectric constant was found to result in a strong shift of emission band position from 450 nm (nhexane) to 550 nm (DMSO and ethanol) for all three compounds. Moreover, the emission intensive in polar solvents becomes weak and hardly detectable in n-hexane. The only one exception in the described dependence is abnormally low fluorescence quantum yield in ethanol presumably caused by the loss of electron-donating properties of nitrogen atom due to the protonation. An effect of the protonation was also confirmed by the addition of concentrated HCl in solution resulting in a complete disappearance of the fluorescent band. Excited state dynamics were investigated by ultrafast optical spectroscopy methods. Kinetic curves of excited states absorption and fluorescence decays were measured. Lifetimes of transient states were calculated from the data measured. The mechanism of ring opening reaction was found to be polarity dependent. Comparative analysis of kinetics measured in acetonitrile and hexane reveals differences in relaxation dynamics after the laser pulse. The most important fact is the presence of two decay processes in acetonitrile, whereas only one is present in hexane. This fact supports an assumption made on the basis of steady-state preliminary experiments that in polar solvents occur stabilization of TICT state. Thus, results achieved prove the hypothesis of two channel mechanism of energy relaxation of compounds studied.

Keywords: diarylethenes, fluorescence switching, FRET, photochromism, TICT state

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Authors: Ibrahim Yerima Gwalem, Jamila Ahmed Buhari

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In recent years, there has been an alarming rate of increase in the costs of building materials in Nigeria, and this ugly phenomenon threatens the contributions of the construction industry in national development. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the rising cost of building materials in Adamawa State Nigeria. Four research questions in line with the purpose of the study were raised to guide the study. Two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a survey research design. The population of the study comprises registered contractors, registered builders, selected merchants, and consultants in Adamawa state. Data were collected using researcher designed instrument tagged effects of the rising cost of building materials questionnaire (ERCBMQ). The instrument was subjected to face and content validation by two experts, one from Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola and the other from Federal Polytechnic Mubi. The reliability of the instrument was determined by the Cronbach Alpha method and yielded a reliability index of 0.85 high enough to ascertain the reliability. Data collected from a field survey of 2019 was analyzed using mean and percentage. The means of the prices were used in the calculations of price indices and rates of inflation on building materials. Findings revealed that factors responsible for the rising cost of building materials are the exchange rate of the Nigeria Naira with a mean rating (MR) = 4.4; cost of fuel and power supply, MR = 4.3; and changes in government policies and legislation, MR = 4.2, while fluctuations in the construction cost with MR = 2.8; reduced volume of construction output, MR = 2.52; and risk of project abandonment, MRA = 2.51, were the three effects. The study concluded that adverse effects could result in a downward effect on the contributions of the construction industries on the gross domestic product (GDP) in the nation’s economy. Among the recommendations proffered include that the government should formulate a policy that will play down the agitations on the use of imported building materials by encouraging research in the production of local building materials.

Keywords: effects, rising, cost, building, materials

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Authors: Eduwin Eko Franjaya, Yesi Hendriani Supartoyo

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Integrated farming with LEISA concept as one of the systems or sustainable farming techniques in agriculture has provided opportunities to increase farmers' income. This system also has a positive impact on the environment. However, the development of integrated farming is still on a small scale/site scale. Development on a larger scale is necessary considering to the number of potential resources in the village that can be integrated each other. The aim of this research is to develop an integrated farming landscape on small scale that has been done in previous study, into the village scale. The method used in this study follows the rules of scientific planning in landscape architecture. The initial phase begins with an inventory of the existing condition of the village, by conducting a survey. The second stage is analysis of potential and constraints in the village based on the results of a survey that has been done before. The next stage is concept-making that consists of basic concept, design concept, and development concept. The basic concept is integrated farming based on LEISA. The design concept is based on commodities that are developed in the village. The development concept consists of space concept, circulation concept, the concept of vegetation and commodities, and the concept of the production system. The last stage is planning process which produces Site Plan based on LEISA on village scale. Site Plan is also the end product of this research. The results of this research are expected to increase the income and welfare of the farmers in the village, and can be develop into a tourism area of integrated farming.

Keywords: integrated farming, LEISA, site plan, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: S. S. Patil, Sachidanand Kini

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Classification of land use patterns is compelling in complexity and variability of remote sensing imageries data. An imperative research in remote sensing application exploited to mine some of the significant spatially variable factors as land cover and land use from satellite images for remote arid areas in Karnataka State, India. The diverse classification techniques, unsupervised and supervised consisting of maximum likelihood, Mahalanobis distance, and minimum distance are applied in Bellary District in Karnataka State, India for the classification of the raw satellite images. The accuracy evaluations of results are compared visually with the standard maps with ground-truths. We initiated with the maximum likelihood technique that gave the finest results and both minimum distance and Mahalanobis distance methods over valued agriculture land areas. In meanness of mislaid few irrelevant features due to the low resolution of the satellite images, high-quality accord between parameters extracted automatically from the developed maps and field observations was found.

Keywords: Mahalanobis distance, minimum distance, supervised, unsupervised, user classification accuracy, producer's classification accuracy, maximum likelihood, kappa coefficient

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Authors: M. Kang'ethe Simon, Nomngcoyiya Thanduxolo

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The aim of this article is to explore the role of selected cultural practices and assess how they can be a panacea in mitigating the state of social vices in South Africa. The article uses a review of literature methodology. Findings indicate that Africans were hoodwinked by white people to abandon their cultures for western based cultures. African cultures continue to weaken as they succumb to forces of westernization, eurocentrism, modernization, civilization, and globalization. Africans have realised that their cultures abandoned such as virginity testing, sexual mores and taboos and circumcision could be a panacea in mitigating some of the societal ills such as moral decadence and HIV/AIDS. The article urges for a resuscitation of cultural practices such as virginity testing, thigh sex (ukumetsha), circumcision and teachings that accompanied initiation schools; and societies to undergo an attitudinal and cultural paradigm shift that will consider the invaluable aspects of cultures that can effectuate and facilitate mitigation of social ills in African countries such as South Africa.

Keywords: virginity testing (reed dance), circumcision, initiation schools, African Renaissance, thigh sex, moral decadence, cultural custodians, state of anomie

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