Search results for: South African Public Protector.

Authors: Mutshinye Manguvhewa, Maria Florence, Mansoo Yu

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Substance use among pregnant women is a perennial problem in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. There are many influential elements related with substance use among women of childbearing-age. Factors associated with substance use during pregnancy were explored using qualitative research approach and bio-ecological theoretical framework was utilised to guide the study. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Participants accessed from the Department of Social Development who met the inclusion criteria of the study were interviewed using semi structured interviews. Participants were referred for psychological intervention during the interview if deemed necessary. Braun and Clarke’s six phases of thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. The study adhered to ethical measures for the participants’ protection. Participants had been knowledgeable about the study earlier than the initiation of the interviews and the important points of their voluntary participation had been explained. The key findings from this study illustrate that social factors, individual area and romantic relationship are the major contributing factors to substance use among pregnant ladies in this sample. Recommendations arising from the study encompass that the stakeholders, rehabilitation centers, Department of Health and future researchers ought to act proactively against substance use all through pregnancy.

Keywords: Bio-ecological factors, pregnancy risk awareness, antenatal care, substance use.

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Authors: Babanyara Y. Y., Ibrahim D. B., Garba T., Bogoro A. G., Abubakar, M. Y.

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Medical care is vital for our life, health and well-being. But the waste generated from medical activities can be hazardous, toxic and even lethal because of their high potential for diseases transmission. The hazardous and toxic parts of waste from healthcare establishments comprising infectious, medical and radioactive material as well as sharps constitute a grave risks to mankind and the environment, if these are not properly treated / disposed or are allowed to be mixed with other municipal waste. In Nigeria, practical information on this aspect is inadequate and research on the public health implications of poor management of medical wastes is few and limited in scope. Findings drawn from Literature particularly in the third world countries highlights financial problems, lack of awareness of risks involved in MWM, lack of appropriate legislation and lack of specialized MWM staff. The paper recommends how MWM practices can be improved in medical facilities.

Keywords: Environmental pollution, infectious, management, medical waste, public health.

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Authors: Bruno Félix, André Vasconcelos, José Tribolet

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Nowadays increasingly the population makes use of Information Technology (IT). As such, in recent year the Portuguese government increased its focus on using the IT for improving people-s life and began to develop a set of measures to enable the modernization of the Public Administration, and so reducing the gap between Public Administration and citizens.Thus the Portuguese Government launched the Simplex Program. However these SIMPLEX eGov measures, which have been implemented over the years, present a serious challenge: how to forecast its impact on existing Information Systems Architecture (ISA). Thus, this research is focus in addressing the problem of automating the evaluation of the actual impact of implementation an eGovSimplification and Modernization measures in the Information Systems Architecture. To realize the evaluation we proposes a Framework, which is supported by some key concepts as: Quality Factors, ISA modeling, Multicriteria Approach, Polarity Profile and Quality Metrics

Keywords: Information System Architecture, Evaluation, eGov Simplification measure, Multicriteria Evaluation

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Authors: Jandot Aurélia

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As the nuclear power is a sensitive field leading to controversy, the quality of the communication about it is important. Between 1965 and 1981, in France, this one had gradually changed. This change is studied here in the main French news magazine L’Express, in connection with several parameters. As this represents a huge number of copies and occurrences, thus a considerable amount of information; this paper is focused on the main articles as well as the main “mental images”. These ones are important, as their aim is to direct the thought of the readers, and as they have led the public awareness to evolve. Over this 17 years, two trends are in confrontation: The first one is promoting the perception of the nuclear power, while the second one is discrediting it. These trends are organized in two axes: the evolution of engineering, and the risks. In both cases, the changes in the language allow discerning the deepest intentions of the magazine editing, over a period when the nuclear technology, to there a laboratory object accompanied with mystery and secret, has become a social issue seemingly open to all.

Keywords: French news magazine, mental images, nuclear power, public awareness.

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Authors: H. Djaara, M. Yahia, H. Bousselsela, N Khelif, A. Zidani, S. Benbia.

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Von Willebrand-s disease is the most common inherited bleeding disorder in humans, it caused by qualitative abnormalities of the von Willebrand factor (vWF). Our objective is to determine the prevalence of this disease at part of the Algerian population in the East and the South by a biological diagnosis based on specific biological tests (automated platelet count, the bleeding time (TS), the time of cephalin + activator (TCA), measure of the prothrombin rate (TP), vWF rate and factor VIII rate, Molecular electrophoresis of vWF multimers in agarose gel in the presence of SDS). Four patients of type III or severe Willebrand-s disease were found on 200 suspect cases. All cases are showed a deficit in vWF rate (< 5%), and factor VIII (P<0, 0001), and lengthening very significantly high of the TCA (P<0, 0001) and of the bleeding time (P<0,0001), with a normal blood platelet rate (P=0,7433) and a normal prothrombin rate (P=0,5808), an absence of all the multimers of vWF in plasma patients. The severe Willebrand-s disease is not only one pathology of primary haemostasis, but it can be accompanied by coagulation-s anomaly due to deficit in factor VIII. At this studied population, von Willebrand-s disease is less frequent (2%) than other hemorrhagic syndromes identified by the differential diagnosis like the thrombocytopenia (36%).

Keywords: Von Willebrand's disease, differential diagnosis, von Willebrand factor, factor VIII, biological diagnosis, thrombocytopenia.

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Authors: Antonio Estache, Atsushi Iimi

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Limited competition has been a serious concern in infrastructure procurement. Importantly, however, there are normally a number of potential bidders initially showing interest in proposed projects. This paper focuses on tackling the question why these initially interested bidders fade out. An empirical problem is that no bids of fading-out firms are observable. They could decide not to enter the process at the beginning of the tendering or may be technically disqualified at any point in the selection process. The paper applies the double selection model to procurement data from road development projects in developing countries and shows that competition ends up restricted, because bidders are self-selective and auctioneers also tend to limit participation depending on the size of contracts.Limited competition would likely lead to high infrastructure procurement costs, threatening fiscal sustainability and economic growth.

Keywords: Auction theory, endogenous bidder entry, infrastructure development, public procurement.

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Authors: K. Puren, H. Coetzee, V. Roos

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Uniqueness and distinctiveness of localities (referred to as genius loci or sense of place) are important to ensure people-s identification with their locality. Existing frameworks reveals that the affective dimension of environments is rarely mentioned or explored and limited public participation was used in constructing the frameworks. This research argues that the complexity of sense of place would be recognised and appropriate planning guidelines formulated by exploring and integrating the affective dimension of a site. Aims of the research therefore are to (i) explore relational dimensions between people and a natural rural landscape, (ii) to implement a participatory approach to obtain insight into different relational dimensions, and (ii) to concretise socio-affective relational dimensions into site planning guidelines. A qualitative, interdisciplinary research approach was followed and conducted on the farm Kromdraai, Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site. In essence the first phase of the study reveals various affective responses and projections of personal meanings. The findings in phase 1 informed the second phase, to involve people from various disciplines and different involvement with the area to make visual presentations of appropriate planning and design of the site in order to capture meanings of the interactions between people and their environment. Final site planning and design guidelines were formulated, based on these. This research contributed to provide planners with new possibilities of exploring the dimensions between people and places as well as to develop appropriate methods for participation to obtain insight into the underlying meanings of sites.

Keywords: Affective dimension, Sense of place, spatialplanning, Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site.

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Authors: Mirjana Jeleč Raguž, Barbara Pisker

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Development of knowledge based society carries multiple challenges to the higher education system. Some of the challenges laid before the higher education sector of countries which aspire to become knowledge based societies are: the entrepreneurial leadership of the higher education institutions, finding new sources of financing in order to minimize dependence on public resources, creating connections with the labor market, commercial utilization of R&D results, promotion of innovations as well as the overall promotion of science excellence relevant to the economic sector. Within a framework of this paper and its main subject of research, the challenge which is being put before the higher education institutions is an effort of establishing regional mission of higher education through the open collaboration with regional key factors, both private and public. Development of the mentioned collaboration and its contribution to the overall regional development in Croatia is the main subject of empirical research in this paper.

Keywords: Croatia, Higher Education Institutions, Regional Role, Science-Industry Interaction

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Authors: D. I. De Souza, G. P. Azevedo, R. Rocha

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The State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will hold two important events in the nearby future. In 2014 it will have the final game of the Football World Cup, and in 2016 it will be holding the Olympic Games. Therefore, the public transportation system (mainly buses) is of a major concern to the Rio de Janeiro State authorities-. The main objective of this work is to compare the quality of service of the bus companies operating in the cities of ItaperunaandCampos, both cities situated in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The outcome of thiscomparison, based on the opinion of the bus users, has shownthemdispleased with the quality of the service provided by the bus companies operating in both cities. It is urgent the need to find possible practical alternatives to minimize the consequences of the main problems detected in this work. With these practical alternatives available, we will be able to offer to the Rio de Janeiro State authorities- suggestions about possible solutions to the main problems identified in this survey, as well as the time of implantation and costs of these solutions.

Keywords: Public Transportation, Quality of Service, Riders' Opinion, Bus Companies, Practical Alternatives.

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Authors: N. Mpofu, M. Sears

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In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for delineating the endocardial wall from a human heart ultrasound scan. We assume that the gray levels in the ultrasound images are independent and identically distributed random variables with different Rician Inverse Gaussian (RiIG) distributions. Both synthetic and real clinical data will be used for testing the algorithm. Algorithm performance will be evaluated using the expert radiologist evaluation of a soft copy of an ultrasound scan during the scanning process and secondly, doctor’s conclusion after going through a printed copy of the same scan. Successful implementation of this algorithm should make it possible to differentiate normal from abnormal soft tissue and help disease identification, what stage the disease is in and how best to treat the patient. We hope that an automated system that uses this algorithm will be useful in public hospitals especially in Third World countries where problems such as shortage of skilled radiologists and shortage of ultrasound machines are common. These public hospitals are usually the first and last stop for most patients in these countries.

Keywords: Endorcardial Wall, Rician Inverse Distributions, Segmentation, Ultrasound Images.

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Authors: Nina Bijedic, Drazena Gaspar, Mirsad Hadzikadic

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Corruption is an influential and widespread problem. One part of it is so-called petty corruption, related to large-scale bribe giving by ordinary citizens trying to influence the works of public administration or public services. As it is with all means of corruption, petty corruption is related to the level of democracy (or administration efficiency) in a society. The developed model captures some of the factors related to corruptive behavior, as well as people’s attitude towards petty corruption. It has four basic elements: user’s perception of corruption in the society of interest, the influence of social interactions, the influence of penalizing mechanism, and influence of campaigns against petty corruption. The model is agent-based, developed in NetLogo, with a lot of random settings that provide a wider scope of responses. Interactions of different settings for variables of elements provide insight into the influence of each element on attitude towards petty corruption, as well as petty corruptive behavior.

Keywords: Agent based model, attitude, influence, petty corruption, society.

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Authors: Makkia, Ahmad, Al-Falahi, Abdullah Abdelaziz Muharram

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Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Yemen are exposed to a myriad of occupational health hazards, including biological, physical, ergonomic, chemical and psychosocial hazards. HCWs operate in an environment that is considered to be one of the most hazardous occupational settings. The current study aimed to assess sng the prevalence of ‎occupational health hazards among Health care workers and associated ‎risk factors in public hospitals in Sana'a City, Yemen. Descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized; out of 5443 totals of HCWs 396 were selected by multistage sampling technique was carried out in the public hospitals in Sana'a city, Yemen. More the half (60.6%) of HCWs were aged between 20-30 years, 50.8% were males, 56.3% were married, and 45.5% had a diploma qualification, while 65.2% of HCWs had less than 6 years of experience. The results show a high prevalence of occupational hazards (99%); ergonomic hazards (93.4%), biological hazards (87.6%), psychosocial (86.65%), physical hazards (83.3%), and chemical hazards (73.5%). There were no statistically significant differences between demographic characteristics and the prevalence of occupational hazards (p > 0.05). The study revealed that occupational hazards were highly prevalent among the participants. The most common biological hazard was exposure to sharp-related injuries, while the predominant physical hazard was slip, trip, and fall incidents. Ergonomic hazards manifested as back or neck pain during work. Chemical hazards were represented by allergic reactions to medical gloves powder. Psychosocial hazards included experiencing verbal and physical harassment. In conclusion, the study emphasized the importance of raising awareness among HCWs and conducting training courses to prevent occupational hazards.

Keywords: Health workers, occupational hazard, prevalence, risk factors.

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Authors: Vincent A. Adzika, Franklin N. Glozah, Collins S. K. Ahorlu

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Background: Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is of major public-health concern globally, with majority of patients living in Africa. Despite its relevance, there is a dearth of research to determine the socio-demographic distribution and psychosocial impact of SCD in Africa. The objective of this study therefore was to examine the socio-demographic distribution and psychosocial consequences of SCD among patients in Ghana and to assess their quality of life and coping mechanisms. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used, involving the completion of questionnaires on socio-demographic characteristics, quality of life of individuals, anxiety and depression. Participants were 387 male and female patients attending a sickle cell clinic in a public hospital. Results: Results showed no gender and marital status differences in anxiety and depression. However, there were age and level of education variances in depression but not in anxiety. In terms of quality of life, patients were more satisfied by the presence of love, friends, relatives as well as home, community and neighbourhood environment. While pains of varied nature and severity were the major reasons for attending hospital in SCD condition, going to the hospital as well as having Faith in God was the frequently reported mechanisms for coping with an unbearable SCD attacks. Multiple regression analysis showed that some socio-demographic and quality of life indicators had strong associations with anxiety and/or depression. Conclusion: It is recommended that a multi-dimensional intervention strategy incorporating psychosocial dimensions should be considered in the treatment and management of SCD.

Keywords: Sickle cell disease, quality of life, anxiety, depression, socio-demographic characteristics, Ghana.

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Authors: Worachat Wannawong, Usa W. Humphries, Prungchan Wongwises, Suphat Vongvisessomjai

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The three steps of the standard one-way nested grid for a regional scale of the third generation WAve Model Cycle 4 (WAMC4) is scrutinized. The model application is enabled to solve the energy balance equation on a coarse resolution grid in order to produce boundary conditions for a smaller area by the nested grid technique. In the present study, the model takes a full advantage of the fine resolution of wind fields in space and time produced by the available U.S. Navy Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) model with 1 degree resolution. The nested grid application of the model is developed in order to gradually increase the resolution from the open ocean towards the South China Sea (SCS) and the Gulf of Thailand (GoT) respectively. The model results were compared with buoy observations at Ko Chang, Rayong and Huahin locations which were obtained from the Seawatch project. In addition, the results were also compared with Satun based weather station which was provided from Department of Meteorology, Thailand. The data collected from this station presented the significant wave height (Hs) reached 12.85 m. The results indicated that the tendency of the Hs from the model in the spherical coordinate propagation with deep water condition in the fine grid domain agreed well with the Hs from the observations.

Keywords: energy balance equation, Gulf of Thailand, nested gridapplication, South China Sea, wave model.

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Authors: Chidera G. Eze, Kennedy K. Abrokwa, Chimaobi V. Okolo

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This paper empirically examines the dynamic relationship between financial deepening and economic growth in a monetary union. We find positive but weak evidence of impacts of financial deepening on growth for Gambia, Gabon and Sierra Leone. There is no evidence of any positive significant impact for Ghana and Nigeria. We argue that, the weak evidence between financial deepening and economic growth can be a consequence of the inability of assessing credit (long-term loans), credit worthiness, lack of information and low level of bank deposits by the private sector despite the improvement in the financial sector.

Keywords: Financial deepening, economic growth, dynamics, innovation accounting.

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Authors: Saleh Komies, Mona Alharbi, Razan Alhayyani, Mozah Almulhim, Roseanne Khawaja, Ahmed Alradhi

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One of the proposed solutions that face some challenges is encouraging sustainable energy consumption across Saudi Arabia through crowdfunding platforms. To address these challenges, we need to determine the level of awareness of crowdfunding and green projects, as well as the preferences and willingness of Saudis to utilize crowdfunding as an alternative funding source for green projects in Saudi Arabia. In this study, we aim to determine the influence of environmental awareness and concern on the propensity to crowdfund green projects. The survey is being conducted as part of environmental initiatives to assess public perceptions and opinions on crowdfunding green projects in Saudi Arabia. A total of 450 responses to an online questionnaire distributed via convenience and snowball sampling were utilized for data analysis. The survey reveals that Saudis have a low understanding of crowdfunding concepts and a relatively high understanding of implementing green projects. The public is interested in crowdfunding green projects if there is a return on investment.

Keywords: Crowdfunding, green projects, renewable energy, Saudi Arabia, solar farms, wind resources.

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Authors: Rodrigo Barreiros Leal, Aracéli Cristina de Sousa Ferreira

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This study examines the possibility to apply the theory of multidimensional accounting (momentum accounting) in a Brazilian Navy-s Services Provider Military Organization (Organização Militar Prestadora de Serviços - OMPS). In general, the core of the said theory is the fact that Accounting does not recognize the inertia of transactions occurring in an entity, and that occur repeatedly in some cases, regardless of the implementation of new actions by its managers. The study evaluates the possibility of greater use of information recorded in the financial statements of the unit of analysis, within the strategic decisions of the organization. As a research strategy, we adopted the case study. The results infer that it is possible to use the theory in the context of a multidimensional OMPS, promoting useful information for decision-making and thereby contributing to the strengthening of the necessary alignment of its administration with the current desires of the Brazilian society.

Keywords: Multidimensional Accounting, Public Management, Decision Making.

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Authors: He YuanYan

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In recent years, China has implemented the reform of land and space planning. As an important public policy, land and space planning plays a vital role in the construction and development of cities. Land and space planning throughout the country is in full swing, but there are still many disputes from all walks of life. The content, scope, and specific implementation process of land and space planning are also ambiguous, leading to the integration of multiple regulation problems such as unclear authority, unclear responsibilities, and poor planning results during the implementation of land and space planning. Therefore, it is necessary to sort out the development and evolution of domestic and foreign land space planning, clarify the problems and cruxes from the current situation of China's land space planning, and sort out the obstacles and countermeasures to the implementation of this policy, so as to deepen the understanding of the connotation of land space planning. It is of great practical significance for all planners to correctly understand and clarify the specific contents and methods of land space planning and to smoothly promote the implementation of land space planning at all levels.

Keywords: Territorial spatial planning, public policy, land space, overall planning.

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Authors: Charru Malhotra, Girija Krishnaswamy

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Setting up of rural telecentres, popularly referred to as Common Service Centres (CSCs), are considered one of the initial forerunners of rural e-Governance initiatives under the Government of India-s National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). CSCs are implemented on public-private partnership (PPP) – where State governments play a major role in facilitating the establishment of CSCs and investments are made by private companies referred to as Service Centre Agencies (SCAs). CSC implementation is expected to help in improving public service delivery in a transparent and efficient manner. However, there is very little research undertaken to study the actual impact of CSC implementation at the grassroots level. This paper addresses the gap by identifying the circumstances, concerns and expectations from the point-of-view of citizens and examining the finer aspects of social processes in the context of rural e-Governance.

Keywords: Capacity Building, Citizens' Participation, e- Government, NeGP, PPP, Rural Telecentres

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Authors: Alloysius C. Ogodo, Ositadinma C. Ugbogu, Uzochukwu G. Ekeleme

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Food poisoning and infection by bacteria are of public health significance to both developing and developed countries. Samples of ogi (akamu) prepared from white and yellow variety of maize sold in Uturu and Okigwe were analyzed together with the laboratory prepared ogi for bacterial quality using the standard microbiological methods. The analyses showed that both white and yellow variety had total bacterial counts (cfu/g) of 4.0 ×107 and 3.9 x 107 for the laboratory prepared ogi while the commercial ogi had 5.2 x 107 and 4.9 x107, 4.9 x107 and 4.5 x107, 5.4 x107 and 5.0 x107 for Eke-Okigwe, Up-gate and Nkwo-Achara market respectively. The Staphylococcal counts ranged from 2.0 x 102 to 5.0 x102 and 1.0 x 102 to 4.0 x102 for the white and yellow variety from the different markets while Staphylococcal growth was not recorded on the laboratory prepared ogi. The laboratory prepared ogi had no Coliform growth while the commercially prepared ogi had counts of 0.5 x103 to 1.6 x 103 for white variety and 0.3 x 103 to 1.1 x103 for yellow variety respectively. The Lactic acid bacterial count of 3.5x106 and 3.0x106 was recorded for the laboratory ogi while the commercially prepared ogi ranged from 3.2x106 to 4.2x106 (white variety) and 3.0 x106 to 3.9 x106 (yellow). The presence of bacteria isolates from the commercial and laboratory fermented ogi showed that Lactobacillus sp, Leuconostoc sp and Citrobacter sp were present in all the samples, Micrococcus sp and Klebsiella sp were isolated from Eke- Okigwe and ABSU-up-gate markets varieties respectively, E. coli and Staphylococcus sp were present in Eke-Okigwe and Nkwo- Achara markets while Salmonella sp were isolated from the three markets. Hence, there are chances of contracting food borne diseases from commercially prepared ogi. Therefore, there is the need for sanitary measures in the production of fermented cereals so as to minimize the rate of food borne pathogens during processing and storage.

Keywords: Bacterial quality, fermentation, maize, Ogi.

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Authors: S. K. Lujara, M. M. Kissaka, L. Trojer, N. H. Mvungi

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The concept of e-Learning is now emerging in Sub Saharan African countries like Tanzania. Due to economic constraints and other social and cultural factors faced by these countries, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasing at a very low pace. The digital divide threat has propelled the Government of Tanzania to put in place the national ICT Policy in 2003 which defines the direction of all ICT activities nationally. Among the main focused areas is the use of ICT in education, since for the development of any country, there is a need of creating knowledge based society. This paper discusses the initiatives made so far to introduce the use of ICT tools to some secondary schools using open source software in e-content development to facilitate a self-learning environment

Keywords: e-content, e-Learning, ICT, Open Source Software.

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Authors: Iqbalur Rahman, Miftahur Rahman, Abul L Haque, Mostafizur Rahman,

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In this paper, RSA encryption algorithm and its hardware implementation in Xilinx-s Virtex Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) is analyzed. The issues of scalability, flexible performance, and silicon efficiency for the hardware acceleration of public key crypto systems are being explored in the present work. Using techniques based on the interleaved math for exponentiation, the proposed RSA calculation architecture is compared to existing FPGA-based solutions for speed, FPGA utilization, and scalability. The paper covers the RSA encryption algorithm, interleaved multiplication, Miller Rabin algorithm for primality test, extended Euclidean math, basic FPGA technology, and the implementation details of the proposed RSA calculation architecture. Performance of several alternative hardware architectures is discussed and compared. Finally, conclusion is drawn, highlighting the advantages of a fully flexible & parameterized design.

Keywords: Crypto Accelerator, FPGA, Public Key Cryptography, RSA.

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Authors: Chanokporn Angsuviriya

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The objective of the study is to analyze linguistic devices reflecting the violence in the south border provinces; namely Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkla on 1,344 front pages of three local newspapers; namely ChaoTai, Focus PhakTai and Samila Time and of two national newspapers, including ThaiRath and Matichon, between 2004 and 2005, and 2011 and 2012. The study shows that there are two important linguistic devices: 1) lexical choices consisting of the use of verbs describing violence, the use of quantitative words and the use of words naming someone who committed violent acts, and 2) metaphors consisting of “A VIOLENT PROBLEM IS HEAT”, “A VICTIM IS A LEAF”, and “A TERRORIST IS A DOG”. Comparing linguistic devices between two types of newspapers, national newspapers choose to use words more violently than local newspapers do. Moreover, they create more negative images of the south of Thailand by using stative verbs. In addition, in term of metaphors “A TERRORIST IS A FOX.” is only found in national newspapers. As regards naming terrorists “southern insurgents”, this noun phrase which is collectively called by national newspapers has strongly negative meaning. Moreover, “southern insurgents” have been perceived by the Thais in the whole country while “insurgents” that are not modified have been only used by local newspapers.

Keywords: Linguistic Devices, Local Newspapers, National Newspapers, Violence.

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Authors: Denise Levy, Anna Lucia C. H. Villavicencio

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Food irradiation is a processing and preservation technique to eliminate insects and parasites and reduce disease-causing microorganisms. Moreover, the process helps to inhibit sprouting and delay ripening, extending fresh fruits and vegetables shelf-life. Nevertheless, most Brazilian consumers seem to misunderstand the difference between irradiated food and radioactive food and the general public has major concerns about the negative health effects and environmental contamination. Society´s judgment and decision making are directly linked to perceived benefits and risks. The web-based project entitled ‘Scientific information about food irradiation: Internet as a tool to approach science and society’ was created by the Nuclear and Energetic Research Institute (IPEN), in order to offer an interdisciplinary approach to science education, integrating economic, ethical, social and political aspects of food irradiation. This project takes into account that, misinformation and unfounded preconceived ideas impact heavily on the acceptance of irradiated food and purchase intention by the Brazilian consumer. Taking advantage of the potential value of the Internet to enhance communication and education among general public, a research study was carried out regarding the possibilities and trends of Information and Communication Technologies among the Brazilian population. The content includes concepts, definitions and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about processes, safety, advantages, limitations and the possibilities of food irradiation, including health issues, as well as its impacts on the environment. The project counts on eight self-instructional interactive web courses, situating scientific content in relevant social contexts in order to encourage self-learning and further reflections. Communication is a must to improve public understanding of science. The use of information technology for quality scientific divulgation shall contribute greatly to provide information throughout the country, spreading information to as many people as possible, minimizing geographic distances and stimulating communication and development.

Keywords: Food irradiation, multimedia learning tools, nuclear science, society and education.

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Authors: N. Mirzaei Varzeghani, M. Saffarzadeh, A. Naderan, A. Taheri

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Countries are progressing, and the world's busiest airports see year-on-year increases in travel demand. Passenger acceptability of an airport depends on the airport's appeals, which may include one of these routes between the city and the airport, as well as the facilities to reach them. One of the critical roles of transportation planners is to predict future transportation demand so that an integrated, multi-purpose system can be provided and diverse modes of transportation (rail, air, and land) can be delivered to a destination like an airport. In this study, 356 questionnaires were filled out in person over six days. First, the attraction of business and non-business trips was studied using data and a linear regression model. Lower travel costs, more passengers aged 55 and older using this airport, and other factors are essential for business trips. Non-business travelers, on the other hand, have prioritized using personal vehicles to get to the airport and ensuring convenient access to the airport. Business travelers are also less price-sensitive than non-business travelers regarding airport travel. Furthermore, carrying additional luggage (for example, more than one suitcase per person) undoubtedly decreases the attractiveness of public transit. Afterward, based on the manner and purpose of the trip, the locations with the highest trip generation to the airport were identified. The most famous district in Tehran was District 2, with 23 visits, while the most popular mode of transportation was an online taxi, with 12 trips from that location. Then, significant variables in separation and behavior of travel methods to access the airport were investigated for all systems. In this scenario, the most crucial factor is the time it takes to get to the airport, followed by the method's user-friendliness as a component of passenger preference. It has also been demonstrated that enhancing public transportation trip times reduces private transportation's market share, including taxicabs. Based on the responses of personal and semi-public vehicles, the desire of passengers to approach the airport via public transportation systems was explored to enhance present techniques and develop new strategies for providing the most efficient modes of transportation. Using the binary model, it was clear that business travelers and people who had already driven to the airport were the least likely to change.

Keywords: Multimodal transportation, travel behavior, demand modeling, statistical models.

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Authors: J. Jenefa, E. A. Mary Anita

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Vehicular Ad hoc NETwork (VANET) is a kind of Mobile Ad hoc NETwork (MANET). It allows the vehicles to communicate with one another as well as with nearby Road Side Units (RSU) and Regional Trusted Authorities (RTA). Vehicles communicate through On-Board Units (OBU) in which privacy has to be assured which will avoid the misuse of private data. A secure authentication framework for VANETs is proposed in which Public Key Cryptography (PKC) based adaptive pseudonym scheme is used to generate self-generated pseudonyms. Self-generated pseudonyms are used instead of real IDs for privacy preservation and non-repudiation. The ID-Based Signature (IBS) and ID-Based Online/Offline Signature (IBOOS) schemes are used for authentication. IBS is used to authenticate between vehicle and RSU whereas IBOOS provides authentication among vehicles. Security attacks like impersonation attack in the network are resolved and the attacking nodes are rejected from the network, thereby ensuring secure communication among the vehicles in the network. Simulation results shows that the proposed system provides better authentication in VANET environment.

Keywords: Non-repudiation, privacy preservation, public key cryptography, self- generated pseudonym.

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Authors: Evan Hajani, Ataur Rahman, Khaled Haddad

Abstract:

Climate change will affect the hydrological cycle in many different ways such as increase in evaporation and rainfalls. There have been growing interests among researchers to identify the nature of trends in historical rainfall data in many different parts of the world. This paper examines the trends in annual maximum rainfall data from 30 stations in New South Wales, Australia by using two non-parametric tests, Mann-Kendall (MK) and Spearman’s Rho (SR). Rainfall data were analyzed for fifteen different durations ranging from 6 min to 3 days. It is found that the sub-hourly durations (6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 48 minutes) show statistically significant positive (upward) trends whereas longer duration (subdaily and daily) events generally show a statistically significant negative (downward) trend. It is also found that the MK test and SR test provide notably different results for some rainfall event durations considered in this study. Since shorter duration sub-hourly rainfall events show positive trends at many stations, the design rainfall data based on stationary frequency analysis for these durations need to be adjusted to account for the impact of climate change. These shorter durations are more relevant to many urban development projects based on smaller catchments having a much shorter response time.

Keywords: Climate change, Mann-Kendall test, Spearman’s Rho test, trends, design rainfall.

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Authors: Mohammed A. Gharawi, Majed M. Khoja

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This paper is a report on the findings of a study conducted at the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) in Saudi Arabia. The paper applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess the levels of basic computer applications’ skills among students enrolled in the preparatory programs of the institution. Qualitative data have been collected from semi-structured interviews with the instructors who have previously been assigned to teach Introduction to information technology courses. Quantitative data were collected by executing a self-report questionnaire and a written statistical test. Three hundred eighty enrolled students responded to the questionnaire and one hundred forty two accomplished the statistical test. The results indicate the lack of necessary skills to deal with computer applications among most of the students who are enrolled in the IPA’s preparatory programs.

Keywords: Assessment, Computer Applications, Computer Literacy, Institute of Public Administration, Saudi Arabia.

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Authors: Aya Maher, Pakinam Youssef

Abstract:

The objective of this theoretical study is to explore in depth the role of leaders in managing employees’ dysfunctional behavior at workplace in an effort to recommend strategies and solutions for these destructive behaviors that affect employees’ performance. The significance of the study lies in the fact that dysfunctional behavior has been widely spread in almost all organizations, public and private, with its very destructive manifestations. Dysfunctional behavior may be classified into thefts, sabotage, sexual harassment, jealousy, envy, revenge, vulgarity all of which affect employees’ moral, self-esteem and satisfaction level drastically which will be reflected negatively on their performance and productivity. The main research question will focus on the role of leaders in managing employees’ dysfunctional behavior effectively at the workplace through the different strategies and control measures. In this study, the data will be collected from different academic literature and through some primary data by conducting interviews with some public and private employees from different managerial levels and fields.

Keywords: Dysfunctional behavior, employees’ deviant behavior, employees moral, leaders’ role.

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Authors: Aqsa Akbar, Waheed Akhter

Abstract:

Job stress is one of the most important concepts for the today-s corporate as well as institutional world. The current study is conducted to identify the causes of faculty stress at Higher Education in Pakistan. For the purpose, Public & Private Business Schools of Punjab is selected as representative of Pakistan. A sample of 300 faculty members (214 males, 86 females) responded to the survey. Regression analysis shows that the Workload, Student Related issues and Role Conflicts are the major sources contributing significantly towards producing stress. The study also revealed that Private sector faculty members experienced more stress as compared to faculty in Public sector Business Schools. Moreover, females, younger ages, lower designation & low qualification faculty members experience more stress as compared to males, older ages, higher designation and high qualification. The study yield many significant results for the policy makers of Business Institutions.

Keywords: Faculty Stress, Higher Education, Stress Coping Strategies, Work Load

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