Assessment of Community Banks in Nigeria

This study on community banks in Nigeria was undertaken in June 2004 by the FAO Investment Centre, with financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Department for International Development (DFID), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Ford Foundation (FF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank (WB), and in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The objective of the study was to assess the past and present performance of community banks, in particular rural-based banks, and to propose a first framework for their support. --

Hacia el modelado 3d de tumores cerebrales mediante endoneurosonografía y redes neuronales

Las cirugías mínimamente invasivas se han vuelto populares debido a que implican menos riesgos con respecto a las intervenciones tradicionales. En neurocirugía, las tendencias recientes sugieren el uso conjunto de la endoscopia y el ultrasonido, técnica llamada endoneurosonografía (ENS), para la virtualización 3D de las estructuras del cerebro en tiempo real. La información ENS se puede utilizar para generar modelos 3D de los tumores del cerebro durante la cirugía. En este trabajo, presentamos una metodología para el modelado 3D de tumores cerebrales con ENS y redes neuronales. Específicamente, se estudió el uso de mapas auto-organizados (SOM) y de redes neuronales tipo gas (NGN). En comparación con otras técnicas, el modelado 3D usando redes neuronales ofrece ventajas debido a que la morfología del tumor se codifica directamente sobre los pesos sinápticos de la red, no requiere ningún conocimiento a priori y la representación puede ser desarrollada en dos etapas: entrenamiento fuera de línea y adaptación en línea. Se realizan pruebas experimentales con maniquíes médicos de tumores cerebrales. Al final del documento, se presentan los resultados del modelado 3D a partir de una base de datos ENS.Minimally invasive surgeries have become popular because they reduce the typical risks of traditional interventions. In neurosurgery, recent trends suggest the combined use of endoscopy and ultrasound (endoneurosonography or ENS) for 3D virtualization of brain structures in real time. The ENS information can be used to generate 3D models of brain tumors during a surgery. This paper introduces a methodology for 3D modeling of brain tumors using ENS and unsupervised neural networks. The use of self-organizing maps (SOM) and neural gas networks (NGN) is particularly studied. Compared to other techniques, 3D modeling using neural networks offers advantages, since tumor morphology is directly encoded in synaptic weights of the network, no a priori knowledge is required, and the representation can be developed in two stages: off-line training and on-line adaptation. Experimental tests were performed using virtualized phantom brain tumors. At the end of the paper, the results of 3D modeling from an ENS database are presented

Analysis and implementation of the Large Scale Video-on-Demand System

Next Generation Network (NGN) provides multimedia services over broadband based networks, which supports high definition TV (HDTV), and DVD quality video-on-demand content. The video services are thus seen as merging mainly three areas such as computing, communication, and broadcasting. It has numerous advantages and more exploration for the large-scale deployment of video-on-demand system is still needed. This is due to its economic and design constraints. It's need significant initial investments for full service provision. This paper presents different estimation for the different topologies and it require efficient planning for a VOD system network. The methodology investigates the network bandwidth requirements of a VOD system based on centralized servers, and distributed local proxies. Network traffic models are developed to evaluate the VOD system's operational bandwidth requirements for these two network architectures. This paper present an efficient estimation of the of the bandwidth requirement for the different architectures.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Compensation for expropriated community farmland in Nigeria: An in-depth analysis of the laws and practices related to land expropriation for the lekki free trade zone in lagos

In Nigeria, the recurring impoverishment and other negative socioeconomic impacts endured by landholders affected by expropriation are well-documented and call into question the Land Use Act’s (LUA) effectiveness in protecting local land rights. The World Bank’s Land Governance Assessment Framework found that, in Nigeria, “a large number of acquisitions occurs without prompt and adequate compensation, thus leaving those losing land worse off, with no mechanism for independent appeal even though the land is often not utilized for a public purpose”. Such negative outcomes may be due to a number of factors, including corruption, limited capacity, and insufficient financing as well as Nigeria’s weak legal framework. According to a recent study of compensation procedures established in national laws of 50 countries, Nigeria’s compensation procedure lags behind many of the countries assessed because the LUA mostly fails to adopt international standards on the valuation of compensation. This article examines Nigerian expropriation and compensation procedures in more detail by combining both an in-depth legal analysis of Nigeria’s expropriation laws as well as survey and qualitative research that indicates, to some extent, how expropriation laws function in practice in Nigeria. Based on our legal assessment, surveys, and interviews with both government and private sector officials involved in the LFTZ, we found that the Nigerian government failed to comply with international standards on expropriation and compensation, both in terms of its laws and its practices in the LFTZ case. This article expands our conference paper written for the UN Economic Commission of Africa Conference on Land Policy in Africa, which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November of 2017. Under Nigeria’s LUA, affected landholders are not granted the right to participate in expropriation and compensation decision-making or otherwise be consulted on matters affecting their land and livelihoods. In 2004, the LUA enabled the Lagos State government to set aside 16,500 hectares of expropriated agricultural land from Lagos coastal communities to develop the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ). Following the expropriation, the Lagos State Government (LSG) and Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited signed a Memorandum of Understand (MOU) with nine affected communities in 2007. The MOU is a legally binding document that promises compensation, alternative land, jobs, healthcare, and educational opportunities to the communities affected by expropriation. However, our research suggests that the MOU has not been fully honored. According to a survey of 140 affected households conducted in August 2017, the government still had not paid sufficient compensation to all affected communities or had not yet provided them with suitable alternative land, jobs, equity shares and other entitlements promised by the MOU. While there are several reasons why the MOU has not been honored, this article mainly focuses on the failure of the LUA to establish binding obligations on government officials to compensation, resettle, and reconstruct the livelihoods of affected landholders. This article argues that the LUA must be reformed so that, whenever land is expropriated for development projects, the government and private sector entities (i.e., acquiring bodies) have a legal obligation to provide sufficient and prompt compensation, alternative land, jobs, equity shares, and other entitlements to affected landholders. Moreover, the LUA should obligate the government and acquiring bodies to follow a transparent and participatory process when expropriating land and compensating communities so that, if properly enforced, the reformed LUA can mitigate the risks commonly associated with expropriation, including landholder impoverishment, displacement, food insecurity, and conflict

A Case Study for Business Integration as a Service

This paper presents Business Integration as a Service (BIaaS) to allow two services to work together in the Cloud to achieve a streamline process. We illustrate this integration using two services; Return on Investment (ROI) Measurement as a Service (RMaaS) and Risk Analysis as a Service (RAaaS) in the case study at the University of Southampton. The case study demonstrates the cost-savings and the risk analysis achieved, so two services can work as a single service. Advanced techniques are used to demonstrate statistical services and 3D Visualisation services under the remit of RMaaS and Monte Carlo Simulation as a Service behind the design of RAaaS. Computational results are presented with their implications discussed. Different types of risks associated with Cloud adoption can be calculated easily, rapidly and accurately with the use of BIaaS. This case study confirms the benefits of BIaaS adoption, including cost reduction and improvements in efficiency and risk analysis. Implementation of BIaaS in other organisations is also discussed. Important data arising from the integration of RMaaS and RAaaS are useful for management and stakeholders of University of Southampton

Optimizing Low Speed VoIP Network for Rural Next Generation Network (R-NGN)

In this paper, we identify some impairments in the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networks and quantify the levels of voice quality. We propose an optimization model to maximize number of calls in low speed network for Rural Next Generation Network (R-NGN) while maintaining a minimum level of voice quality. The model is based-on Extended E-model to select parameters like voice coder, packet loss level, jitter buffer size, and network utilization. The optimum VoIP access network is achieved by applying G.723.1 5.3 kbps voice coder, packet loss level less than 1%, jitter buffer 50 ms, and network utilization less than 85%