Design and simulation of 1.28 Tbps dense wavelength division multiplex system suitable for long haul backbone

Wavelength division multiplex (WDM) system with on / off keying (OOK) modulation and direct detection (DD) is generally simple to implement, less expensive and energy efficient. The determination of the possible design capacity limit, in terms of the bit rate-distance product in WDM-OOK-DD systems is therefore crucial, considering transmitter / receiver simplicity, as well as energy and cost efficiency. A 32-channel wavelength division multiplex system is designed and simulated over 1000 km fiber length using Optsim commercial simulation software. The standard channel spacing of 0.4 nm was used in the C-band range from 1.5436-1.556 nm. Each channel used the simple non return to zero - on / off keying (NRZ-OOK) modulation format to modulate a continuous wave (CW) laser source at 40 Gbps using an external modulator, while the receiver uses a DD scheme. It is proposed that the design will be suitable for long haul mobile backbone in a national network, since up to 1.28 Tbps data rates can be transmitted over 1000 km. A bit rate-length product of 1.28 Pbps.km was obtained as the optimum capacity limit in 32 channel dispersion managed WDM-OOK-DD system.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Optical Communications - De Gruyte

Pricing Algorithms For a Two-sided Internet Advertisement Market

The Google AdSense Program is a successful internet advertisement program where Google places contextual adverts on third-party websites and shares the resulting revenue with each publisher. Advertisers have budgets and bid on ad slots while publishers set reserve prices for the ad slots on their websites. Following previous modelling efforts, we model the program as a two-sided market with advertisers on one side and publishers on the other. We show a reduction from the Generalised Assignment Problem (GAP) to the problem of computing the revenue maximising allocation and pricing of publisher slots under a first-price auction. GAP is APX-hard but a (1-1/e) approximation is known. We compute truthful and revenue-maximizing prices and allocation of ad slots to advertisers under a second-price auction. The auctioneer's revenue is within (1-1/e) second-price optimal

Influence of Nitrate Contamination on the Swell and Compressibility Characteristics of a Tropical Clayey Soil

This research work assessed the influence contaminated groundwater chemistry (especially nitrate contamination) on the volume change behavior during consolidation for a southwestern Nigerian clayey soil. 1-D Consolidation tests using deionized water and various concentrations of nitrate solution as the saturation/inundation liquid were performed on undisturbed clayey soil samples collected from Odi- Olowo Street (nitrate contamination prone area) in Akure, the capital of Ondo state, Nigeria. The compressibility/swell characteristics of the soil are influenced by nitrate contamination, as shown by the variation in the values of the coefficient of permeability, coefficient of consolidation, compression and swell indices (k, cv, Cc and Cs). This implies that the swell potential, magnitude and rate of settlement are affected. These properties directly influence the performance of shallow structural foundations. It was concluded that lack of chemical analysis for soil and groundwater in a nitrate contamination prone area before construction could lead to an overestimation of the swell and compressibility indices for the site. Permeability of the clayey soil increased significantly with increase in nitrate contamination, this portends the danger of emerging breakthrough of contaminants in the shallow contaminated zone through the underlying clayey layer to deeper confined aquifers being relied upon for portable drinking water

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea—Towards Access to Justice for Local Communities in Investor-state Arbitration or Business and Human Rights Arbitration

This article focuses on the proposal to adapt international arbitration to business disputes involving human rights. The Business and Human Rights arbitration (BHR arbitration) proposal seeks to give local communities who are victims of multinational corporations’ human rights and environmental abuses access to justice in a specialized international BHR arbitration tribunal. Through a comparison between investor-state arbitration (ISA) and BHR arbitration, this article contends that it would be more efficient to reform ISA than to create a BHR arbitration tribunal. Reforming ISA would avoid the possible parallel arbitration systems that may arise from the duplication of international governance efforts. It would also reduce local communities’ need to resort to transnational litigation, which is procedurally complex and often unsuccessful. Therefore, the possibility of ISA reform makes the BHR arbitration proposal superfluous or, at best, limited in its potential application. Creating a new arbitral structure that is untested and fraught with procedural and substantive complexities may not be worth the trouble. Considering the parallels between the ISA and proposed BHR arbitration, and the prospect of creating a one-stop shop for business and human rights abuse, this article suggests that BHR arbitration is an unnecessary governance effort in international arbitration and a distraction from necessary ISA reform

Princes as highway men

This paper examines the phenomenon of armed banditry in precolonial Borgu history. The paper considers armed banditry in Borgu as a reaction to the change from agrarianism to mercantilism in the fifteenth century. lt attributes the involvement of Borgu princes in banditry to the socio-political situation in the country. The paper concludes that armed banditry, which became well pronounced in the nineteenth century, affected the main source of Borgu's economy, the caravan trade, and consequently led to the fall of many of the Borgu states. Indeed, one could say that the shift of the trade route from one area to another, and eventual boycott of Borgu routes, laid the foundation for its impoverishment at the beginning of the century.Les princes comme bandits de grand chemin : une analyse du phénomène de banditisme armé dans le Borgu précolonial. -- Cet article analyse le banditisme armé dans l'histoire précoloniale du Borgu. Ce phénomène qui s'est produit au XVe siècle est vu comme une réaction au passage d'une économie agraire à une économie mercantile. L'entrée des princes du Borgu dans le banditisme est liée à la situation sociopolitique du pays à cette époque. Il en résulte que le banditisme armé, qui atteint son apogée au XIXe siècle, affecta la source principale de l'économie, le commerce caravanier, et entraîna l'effondrement de nombreux états du Borgu. On peut même aller jusqu'à dire que le déplacement de la route commerciale d'une région à une autre, ainsi que le boycott effectif des routes commerciales du Borgu, ont conduit à son appauvrissement au début du XXe siècle

Effect of Forensic Accounting on the Detection of Fraud Risk Indicators in Public Enterprises in Ondo State, Nigeria

This study is on effect of Forensic Accounting on the Detection of Fraud Risk Indicators in Public Enterprises in Ondo State, Nigeria; the main objective of this research is to examine the effects of forensic accounting on detecting fraud risk indicators in the public enterprises in Ondo State. The study population comprised of the entire staff of the public enterprises in Ondo State with a sampled population of 238 purposively targeted two groups of respondents. The study sourced primary data through the use of questionnaire, while secondary sources were text books, published materials like journals and internet facility. The study made use of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 21) software to present the data. The z–test research techniques were used to analyze and interpret collected data with reference to stated hypotheses. The study results revealed that Forensic Accounting does have significant effect with regards to detection of fraud risk indicators in Public Enterprises. That is, effective use of the forensic accounting could help in the detection of fraud risk indicators that often leads to continuous perpetration of fraud in the Public Enterprises in Ondo State. Therefore, the study recommend that: Government should endeavour to increase the use of forensic accounting in other government parastatals and agencies; there is need for value re-orientation training and seminar to renew the mindset of the employees towards integrity and upright living style; and establishment of risk control department and workable risk management framework will reduce fraudulent activities in the public enterprises. Keywords: Forensic Account; Fraud Theory; Fraud Risk Indicators; Public Enterprises. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-14-06 Publication date:July 31st 201

Effects of Gender and School Location on the Ekiti State Secondary Schools Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension in English Language

The purpose of this study was to find out the effects of gender and school location on the Ekiti State secondary school students achievement in reading comprehension in English language. The study adopted pre-test, post-test and control quasi-experimental research using two experimental groups and one control group. The sample for the study comprised 270 Senior Secondary class two students (SSSII) selected from nine public senior secondary schools  across the three senatorial district of the State using multi-stage sampling procedure that incorporated stratified random sampling and purposive sampling (with sex and location of school as stratification variables). The selected schools were assigned into three major groups, with each group made up of three schools of 30 students per school (two experimental groups and one control group). The instruments adapted for the study were: Morphological Production Task on Students’ Academic Ability (r = 0.74), Morphological Analysis Task of Students’ Academic Ability    (r = 0.83) and Achievement Test in Comprehension (0.75). Experimental group 1 and 2 were taught with (Problem-Solving and Eclectic methods) with Morphological Instructional Packages respectively; while Conventional Teaching Method Guide was used by the research assistants to teach the control group.  Data collected were analysed using Mean, Standard Deviation, Analysis of Covariance, (ANCOVA), Scheffe post-hoc and Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA). The study showed that there was no significant difference in the achievement of males and females between the experimental and control group. The study found that students in urban schools performed better than the rural schools in reading comprehension, inferring word meanings between the experimental and control groups. Based on the research findings, it was recommended that rural schools should be improved upon in terms of social facilities that could aid teaching. Also, students should be encouraged to read wide irrespective of school location and gender. Keywords: Morphological Instructional Packages, Inferring Word Meanings, Reading Comprehension, Gender, School Location

Soil Modification by the Application of Steel Slag

This paper provides experimental insights on the modification of a soil using electric arc furnace (EAF) steel slag, which is limitedly used as a construction material because of its volumetric instability. Various percentages of pulverized steel slag were applied to a soil, having poor engineering properties, with the aim of improving the engineering properties of the soil. Sieve analysis, consistency limits, specific gravity, compaction, California bearing ratio (CBR), unconfined compression and permeability tests were performed on the soil and each of the soil-slag mixtures. The plasticity and the uncured strength of the soil were reduced and increased, respectively, by the addition of an optimal steel slag content of 8%. Pulverized steel slag is therefore recommended as a low-cost modifier or stabilizer of lateritic soils with poor engineering properties, because it made the soil sample in this study better suited for use as a road pavement layer material

Activist Leadership: A Grounded Theory Study Of Leadership And Effective Public-Sector Performance In A Young Democracy

Problem The problem this study investigated is the phenomenon of a small but growing group of activist political leaders who are redefining public sector governance by reshaping the organizations they lead, thereby improving the institutional environments of hitherto moribund public agencies. The study explored the unique dispositions, skills, values, and/or behaviors of this class of leaders in order to provide an understanding of their emergence in terms of their development, decision-making and other personal leadership characteristics that evolved into their \u27activist\u27 nature. The purpose of this research was to develop a grounded theory regarding how the leadership competencies/qualities exhibited by this new breed of public sector leaders support the achievement of ‘above-the-norm’ organizational performance in the public sector, despite the constraints of weak governance institutions within their specified contexts. The study has its conceptual framework drawn from the notions of effective leadership from a personal leadership perspective, as described in the works of Greenstein (1979) and, Mumford (2006). Method The method of investigation adopted for this study was a ‘grounded theory’ approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1994, p. 273), a general methodology of qualitative research designed to build substantive theory based on the systematic collection and analysis of data. Data collection was primarily by open ended narrative interviews with a purposive sample of seven public sector leaders who had been (a) identified by perceived improvement in organizational performance during their tenure in public office (b) their leadership activism as demonstrated in their use of public office to effect social change within their leadership context (c) held public sector leadership role for a minimum of three years (d) in leadership at national and/or sub-national levels and (e) validated by a subject matter expert. In addition, four (4) key informants were interviewed – who is either a past/present associate/subordinate of five (5) of the leader(s) interviewed in the study. Results Three major themes emerged from my interviews with the leaders: (a) their managerial and personal approach; (b.) their cognitive disposition to achieving good governance outcomes; and (c.) their pragmatic leadership approach to resolving leadership challenges of weak institutional contexts. These leaders are able to deliver effective leadership despite weak institutional/governance frameworks, not by using a specific leadership technique; but rather by manifesting their own personal convictions for achieving results —convictions that emerges from a matured conceptualization of their self-integration process. Conclusion The study concludes that leaders’ personal characteristics, understanding of self-concepts, and a pragmatic approach empower them to successfully create a compelling personal vision that has a clear ethical framework. They combine these with the capacity to use their social and emotional competencies to achieve results. The study further claims that producing leaders who successfully lead public organizations effectively is the responsibility of many parts of the “ecosystem” of public leadership