Archives-February 2018

PPP contracts are contracts with special nature that tend to have longer contract durations compared to other conventional procurement methods; hence, contract re-equilibrium becomes an inevitable need. The objective of the re-equilibrium process is to maintain the IRR of the private sector constant. In this paper, a framework is established to calculate the different re-equilibrium scenarios. The framework proposed in this paper, in addition to addressing a constant IRR, can also be customized to work with any other contractual financial ratio such as ROE. A spreadsheet model is developed with the aid of Microsoft Excel and VBA programming language.

To speed up the process of detection of tamper in an image it is withheld to segment the image, embed segment with watermark and key as to trace the tamper segment in which key is not found rather than tracing for entire image for tamper detection. Tamper detection algorithm based on superpixel segment level key encryption with svd based watermarking scheme is proposed. This method finds tamper location from watermarked superpixel segments of watermarked image. Secrete key embedded in each segment of watermarked image for finding tamper segment first. If keys not found from any of the segment that segment shows tamper segment of image then find area which is tampered from that segment. To improve the efficiency of the proposed tamper detection against various security attacks such as collage attacks, VQ attacks and content removal attacks. The experimental results shown that proposed tamper detection scheme is shows better performance in terms of efficiency of tamper detection rate higher than 99% in average complex attacks, 100% in common attack and tamper finding speed is 0.02 to 0.04 sec. in various attacks.

In the current paper, firstly literature is reviewed and various Evaluation of personal disposition level of technology adoption models in different industries are studied and finally, an assessment model selected that it was divided into 7 main classes with 46 indexes. So questionnaires were distributed among 30 experts in Iran Khodro Co. working in technical departments. Then, scores were given to 46 indexes by experts and final score of 46 indexes and 7 main components were evaluated. Considering obtained scores it was specified that the experts of this company has highest capability in habits capability (84.83%) and social influence capability (79%), compared to other components. Also, it has lowest capability in risk taking capability (55.73%) and Psychological resilience capability (64.58%). In addition, innovativeness (78.72%), optimism (76.39%), self efficacy (72.78%), are in average level compared to other components. Finally, some recommendations are made regarding components and indexes with lower score in the organization.

In any democratic society, rule of law is a crucial tool to maintain good governance. Ethiopia is striving to build democracy and rule of law .To that effect; it has promulgated different laws and policies in the past decades. It has enacted its first federal constitution in 1995. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) constitution in its preamble clearly provides that maintaining rule of law is one of the basic goals that the Ethiopian Nation Nationalities and Peoples strive to pursue. Even if different factors (for example such as culture and level of development) explain democratic and rule of law based society, role of vibrant judiciary (judiciary that actively supervise public authorities) is paramount. Conventionally, judicial organ is one of the three organs of government to which the power of interpreting the law is given. In Ethiopia too, the judiciary is made the ultimate law interpreter thereby maintain rule of law and good governance. So as to perform such an act, the judiciary should exercise its inherent power of judicial review.

In developing countries, 60% of project management professionals appear to lack knowledge that timely completion, budget fidelity, and high quality are critical success factors for completion of construction initiatives. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between project budget and the independent variables of safety, environmental impact, and site disputes in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, using the underpinning of the theories of accident causation, scientific management, and strategic management. One hundred and sixteen project managers, randomly selected from the population of construction professionals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, completed the survey entitled the Six Key Performance Indicators developed by Ngacho and Das (2014). The application of multiple linear regression for the analysis of data, indicated a weak positive correlation between the independent variables (safety, environmental impact, and site disputes) and project budget, F(1, 114) = 37.08, p < 0.001. Site dispute recorded the highest beta (? = .29) followed by environment (? = .22), quality (? = .06), and safety (? = .04). Attention to key performance indicators associated with dispute and environmental impact could improve project outcomes in the Ghanaian construction sector. The study findings could be useful to improve the quality of projects and may benefit the lives of professionals and community members in the area.

Solanum nigrum Linn. (Solanaceae) has been extensively used in traditional medicine and other parts of the world to cure liver disorders, chronic skin ailments (psoriasis and ringworm), inflammatory conditions, painful periods, fevers, diarrhea, eye diseases etc.Present study showed that the ethanolic extract of Solanum nigrum which contain highest amount of flavonoids and phenolic compounds so can exhibit the greatest antioxidant activity and among other extract used for the study. Solanum nigrum species contain the highest phenol and Flavonoids, thus can be used to explore new drugs. The results revealed that there is relation between phenol and flavonoids content with antioxidant activities.

Immigrants in the United States often display a propensity to start new ventures. The aim is to overcome the challenges of economic hardship during the initial years of arriving in a new country. The failure rate of immigrant-owned businesses, however, is high within the first 5 years of business start-up. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies U.S.-based Togolese small business immigrant owners use in entrepreneurship, leveraging African roots, and seeking opportunities with Togo. The Schumpeterian entrepreneurship theory constituted an important lens to ground the study. The holistic analysis entailed the analysis and triangulation of data collected using qualitative thematic analysis and theoretical entrepreneurship postulations. The interview data from 20 successful Togolese small business owners residing in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area served the objectives of this study. Key criteria required participants to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities from the US, involving Togo, and operation of the business for at least 5 years. The key themes emerging from the coding and thematic analysis of interviews included corruption, lack of physical presence in Togo, linguistic barriers, and discrimination in the United States faced by immigrant entrepreneurs. The findings of the study may make a worthwhile contribution to improving the economic standing and business success of immigrant business owners. Entrepreneurs may use the knowledge to formulate entrepreneurship strategies, which could lead to the creation of jobs improvement in the standard of living of U.S.-based Togolese entrepreneurs. The discoveries from the research may contribute to the economic prosperity of local communities in Togo. ?

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of behavioural activation (BA) in reducing depression symptoms in a sample of 186 children and adolescents from selected children’s homes in Kajiado County. This study was quasi-experimental and used the operant conditioning theory. This theory was ideal because children and adolescents are subject to various positive consequences that subtly shape their behaviour. The participants were purposively sampled and were between ages 9-17 both males and females with a mean age of 13. Participants with scores of 11 or higher on the depression subscale were randomly assigned into either experimental or control arms. The experimental arm received 10 sessions of BA with the control arm receiving treatment as usual (TAU). The participants completed a demographic questionnaire as well as CDI to assess for depression symptoms. Multiple linear regression analysis using SPSS Version 20 was used to identify factors independently associated with levels of depression symptoms. The mean score for the levels of depression was 18.6 (±5.6SD). The CDI scores reduction among the participants was significantly associated with time of follow-up (Estimate= -5.86; 95% CI: -8.91 to -2.81; p<0.001) and the intervention (Estimate= -1.86; 95% CI: -3.22 to -0.50; p=0.012). Based on these findings, BA is recommended for children and adolescents presenting with symptoms of depression. Further, this study will help curriculum developers to integrate mental health into the school curriculum. This will help in arresting the symptoms of depression among children and adolescents appropriately and timely.

In an effort to improve feed utilization efficiency, promote growth, and reduce production cost Clarias gariepinus fingerlings were subjected to five feeding frequencies: 2 times every day, 3 times every day, 3 times every other day, 8 times every day and 8 times every day (weekend off) for 56 days. Ten fingerlings of mean weight 1.3±0.2g were stocked into each of the fifteen 45L aquaria with 3 replicates per treatment. Fish were fed on commercial diet containing 56% crude protein at 5% body weight per day. The highest percentage weight gain and specific growth rate were observed in fish fed 8 times every day which were significantly higher (p<0.05) than all treatments except fish fed 8 times every day (weekend off). The best feed conversion ratio (FCR) was recorded for fish fed 8 times every day (weekend off) and 3 times every other day with values of 0.67±0.05 and 0.67±0.01 respectively. The best protein efficiency ratio (PER) was also observed in fish fed 8 times every day (weekend off) and 3 times every other day with similar values of 2.69±0.22 and 2.68±0.03 respectively. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in the proximate composition of fish carcasses among the treatments. This study indicates that Clarias gariepinus fingerlings could be fed 8 times everyday weekend off.

The primary responsibility of the principal in a school set up is to facilitate effective teaching and learning with the overall mission of enhancing students’ achievement. Instructional leadership provided by the principal has been identified as a contributing factor to higher student achievement. This study was guided by the following objective: to establish the principals’ role in supervision of curriculum and its effect on academic performance. This study was anchored on Hackman and Walton’s Functional Leadership Theory (1986) which addresses how specific leader behaviors contribute to organizational and leadership effectiveness. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methodology. The researchers sampled 20 (67 %) out of the total thirty schools in the region. Census sampling technique was used to select one extra county boys’ school, one extra county girls’ school, one county girls’ boarding school, one sub county girls’ day school and purposive sampling technique was used to pick sixteen other secondary schools from the categories of county mixed day/boarding and sub-county mixed day schools. The findings indicated that Most principals believed that the instructional practices of the principals impacted positively on academic performance of their schools. Most of them also facilitated acquisition of instructional materials, and helped in organizing the teaching timetable and school routine, which qualified them as instructional leaders.