362 research outputs found
Enhancing Election Monitoring and Observation using E-Messaging Tools
Election monitoring and observation are an integral part of an electoral process. They
help to enhance the transparency and credibility of elections as well as the acceptance of
results. Challenges faced by election monitoring and observation organizations include:
the need for coordination and cooperation among observer groups; the need for follow-up
on recommendations made after an election; the need to develop technologies appropriate
for assessing e-voting technologies; and the need to develop commonly shared criteria for
assessing democratic elections. In addition, challenges peculiar to Nigeria include:
difficult terrain, poor Internet coverage, poor electricity and political instability bringing
about insecurity. In this paper, we present contemporary e-messaging tools and initiatives
that will help to address these challenges and thereby enhance the efficiency of election
monitoring and observation missions
An Architectural Framework for Collaboration of Heterogeneous Communication Devices Using WAP and Mobile Device Augmented(MDA)Gateway Integration
Within the last couple of years, the challenge of displaying collaborative multimedia
information has become very important with the large diversity of communication devices
such as Personal Computers, laptops, notebooks and handheld devices. The shared data
and information may be presented with different views depending on the communication
device used by a particular collaborator. The use of various web tools (HTML, WML etc)
offers some solutions to the problem but if the target application requires more complex
features such as rich multimedia data than is manageable using HTML or WML format,
something else need to be done. In this paper, we propose a framework that integrates WAP
and MDA Gateway to support collaboration among virtual teams and nomadic workers
using heterogeneous communication devices. We then discuss an approach for augmenting
mobile device small screen capabilities with surrounding large screen display device
Critical Review of Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) for Asset Management in Electric Power Distribution System
The purpose of maintenance is to extend equipment lifetime or at least the mean time to the next failure. Maintenance too incurs expenditures that result in very costly consequences when not performed or performed too little, and it may not even be economical to perform it too frequently. Therefore the two costs must be balanced.
In the past, this balance had been estimated by extrapolating the experience obtained from existing systems and using the rule - of – thumb methods. Nowadays, the tempo of advanced and softiscated research in that direction has rendered such rule – of – thumb methods obsolete. The literature works describing the reliability centred maintenance methods for managing distribution assets have grown until the papers can now be numbered in thousands. This paper presents critical review of the various existing methods that have been developed by different reseachers and proposes a probabilistic model that will provide a quantitative connection between reliability and maintenance, a link missing in all the heuristic approaches
Defining Language and/or Communication
All the attempts that I have made to request some definitions of language from a few students in a lecture situation as anentry behaviour to an undergraduate introductory course on language or linguistics have met with some difficulty. This is owing to the fact that such definitions of language do not just have much in common with, but also differ from communication. Yet, there is no line of distinction, more often than not, that is drawn between the two major concepts. As a linguist and a lecturer, I have been very worried quite often concerning not just the content of what I lecture, but also how what I lecture is received and understood by students. In this paper, I examined a number of definitions of language and communication. Firstly, I made an attempt to set apart the characteristics of each of the two concepts. Secondly, and by drawing upon the individual characteristics, I drew the required differences between them. Such a necessary distinction assists the learner, pedagogically, to see each concept clearly as well as set them apart from each other
Vehicle Classification Algorithm using Size and Shape
Automatic classification of vehicles into different
classes based on their sizes and shapes is very useful for traffic
control and toll collection process. Effective intelligent
transportation system that incorporates vehicle classification
technique is needed in many cities to prevent road accident and
traffic congestion caused by illegal movement of vehicles. This
work presents method of getting structural information from
detected vehicle images and then uses it to classify vehicles into
different classes. The technique involves extraction of contour
features from vehicle images side view using morphological
operations. The extracted features were combined and used to
generate feature vector that serve as input data to vehicle
classification algorithm based on Euclidean distance measure.
Impressive result was achieved from the proposed vehicle
classification method
TEXT CONTENT DEPENDENT WRITER IDENTIFICATION
Text content based personal Identification system is vital in resolving problem of identifying unknown document’s writer using a
set of handwritten samples from alleged known writers. Text written on paper document is usually captured as image by scanner
or camera for computer processing. The most challenging problem encounter in text image processing is extraction of robust
feature vector from a set of inconstant handwritten text images obtained from the same writer at different time. In this work new
feature extraction method is engaged to produce active text features for developing an effective personal identification system.
The feature formed feature vector which is fed as input data into classification algorithm based on Support Vector Machine
(SVM). Experiment was conducted to identify writers of query handwritten texts. Result show satisfactory performance of the
proposed system, it was able to identify writers of query handwritten texts
A Neural-CBR System for Real Property Valuation
In recent times, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for real property valuation has been on the
increase. Some expert systems that leveraged on machine intelligence concepts include rule-based reasoning, case-based
reasoning and artificial neural networks. These approaches have proved reliable thus far and in certain cases outperformed
the use of statistical predictive models such as hedonic regression, logistic regression, and discriminant analysis. However,
individual artificial intelligence approaches have their inherent limitations. These limitations hamper the quality of
decision support they proffer when used alone for real property valuation. In this paper, we present a Neural-CBR system
for real property valuation, which is based on a hybrid architecture that combines Artificial Neural Networks and Case-
Based Reasoning techniques. An evaluation of the system was conducted and the experimental results revealed that the
system has higher satisfactory level of performance when compared with individual Artificial Neural Network and Case-
Based Reasoning systems
Estimating An Optimal Backpropagation Algorithm for Training An ANN with the EGFR Exon 19 Nucleotide Sequence: An Electronic Diagnostic Basis for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer(NSCLC)
One of the most common forms of medical malpractices globally is an error in diagnosis. An improper
diagnosis occurs when a doctor fails to identify a disease or report a disease when the patient is actually
healthy. A disease that is commonly misdiagnosed is lung cancer. This cancer type is a major health problem
internationally because it is responsible for 15% of all cancer diagnosis and 29% of all cancer deaths. The two
major sub-types of lung cancer are; small cell lung cancer (about 13%) and non-small cell lung cancer
(%SCLC- about 87%). The chance of surviving lung cancer depends on its correct diagnosis and/or the stage at
the time it is diagnosed. However, recent studies have identified somatic mutations in the epidermal growth
factor receptor (EGFR) gene in a subset of non-small cell lung cancer (%SCLC) tumors. These mutations occur
in the tyrosine kinase domain of the gene. The most predominant of the mutations in all %SCLC patients
examined is deletion mutation in exon 19 and it accounts for approximately 90% of the EGFR-activating
mutations. This makes EGFR genomic sequence a good candidate for implementing an electronic diagnostic
system for %SCLC. In this study aimed at estimating an optimum backpropagation training algorithm for a
genomic based A%% system for %SCLC diagnosis, the nucleotide sequences of EGFR’s exon 19 of a noncancerous
cell were used to train an artificial neural network (A%%). Several A%% back propagation training
algorithms were tested in MATLAB R2008a to obtain an optimal algorithm for training the network. Of the nine
different algorithms tested, we achieved the best performance (i.e. the least mean square error) with the
minimum epoch (training iterations) and training time using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm
CHANGES IN SPERMIOGRAMS, BIOCHEMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICES FOLLOWING SUCCESSIVE ELECTROEJACULATION DURING DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE DAY IN WEST AFRICAN DWARF BUCKS
This study was conducted to investigate the changes that might occur in spermiograms, blood andphysiological indices following successive electroejaculation (EE) during different periods of the day.Twenty (20) West African Dwarf (WAD) bucks were grouped into four consisting of five bucks eachand ejaculated at 0900, 1200, 0300 and 0600Hrs for 3 successive days in a completely randomizeddesign. The results showed that progressive sperm motility, sperm concentration and mass activityfollowed similar trend and the values deteriorated with respect to elevated temperatures during semencollection periods (p<0.05). Also, primary abnormality increased with respect to elevated temperaturesduring semen collection periods (p<0.05). The results also showed that Testosterone, Na+,K+,GlucoseAlanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and Aspartate Aminotransferase(AST) were similar irrespective of the periods of semen collection except cortisol that increased withrespect to the semen collection periods (p<0.05). The rectal temperature and pulse rate were not affected,irrespective of the period of the day bucks were ejaculated. The findings of this study indicatethat reduced ejaculate quality probably reflects stress stimuli arising from increased ambient temperature.Physiological traits in WAD goat is probably the adaptive mechanism evolved to cope with stressarising from elevated temperature
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