The Canada Catholic Church and the Indigenous Canadians of African Descent, 1867–1900

The invisibility or near absence of peoples of African descent in the Canadian Catholic Church remains a curiosity that needs exploring. There is hardly any information on why this is the case. As a matter of fact, little or no studies have been done, not even by Canadian Catholic historians, to address this concern. Furthermore, the religious experience of indigenous African Canadians is often, if not always, discussed within the context of non-Catholic, especially Baptist, religious affiliation. It is as if African Canadians are allergic to Catholicism or never existed on the Canadian soil or, if they existed, their presence and experience are not worth the attention and mention in the historical consciousness of Canadians and Canadian Catholic Church. The paper, therefore, is a precursory enquiry into this anomaly. Also it is a modest attempt to sensitize and create, in the Canadian Catholic Church and society, the necessary awareness of the anomaly and then suggest possible ways of redressing the anomaly

A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Stigma, Discrimination, And Sleep Among Those On Medication For Opioid Use Disorder

Insomnia occurs in as many as 75% of people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). The prevalence of insomnia is attributable to concurrent factors such as mental health disorders, chronic pain, and medication use; however the contribution of social factors is not well understood. Persistent social factors and concerns within this population include stigma and discrimination. People who use prescribed medication for OUD (MOUD) report stigma and discrimination related to OUD, MOUD, and possibly other characteristics (e.g., race, gender, socioeconomic status, and incarceration history). However, the relationship between OUD-related stigma and discrimination with insomnia and between intersectional experiences, perceptions of stigma, and discrimination among patients on MOUD are not well understood. This dissertation research is nested within the NIH HEAL funded mechanistic study (CLOUDS STUDY: Collaboration Linking Opioid Use Disorder and Sleep) whose primary goal is understanding the contributions of sleep deficiency to relapse and retention in MOUD. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the association between OUD-related stigma, and intersectional discrimination with insomnia among individuals on MOUD. Using a convergent mixed methods design, we addressed the following aims: Aim 1: Examine the associations between OUD-related stigma and intersectional discrimination with insomnia among individuals on MOUD [quantitative]. Hypothesis: OUD-related stigma and intersectional discrimination are positively correlated with insomnia severity among individuals on MOUD. Aim 2: Describe (1) how individuals perceive issues of stigma, discrimination, and sleep; (2) the intersectional phenomena of stigma and discrimination; (3) how experiences and perceptions associate with sleep [qualitative]. Aim 3: Gain a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between stigma and discrimination with insomnia among individuals on MOUD through integration of quantitative and qualitative data from Aims 1 and 2 [mixed methods].Informed by the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework, manuscript #1 was a systematic review of original research describing associations between dimensions of stigma and sleep deficiency. There was consistent evidence that stigma, whether internalized, perceived, or anticipated, is associated with self-reported characteristics of sleep deficiency. This review highlighted important gaps in the literature which included, but were not limited to, the lack of exploration of this association among highly stigmatized populations, including those on MOUD. In manuscript #2, I report qualitative findings from 25 diverse participants on MOUD who described how they experienced intersectional stigma and discrimination and identified supports and resources that could be used to better understand and cope with the cumulative experiences of multiple forms of disadvantage. Five themes with supporting subthemes highlighted several identities that intersected with OUD. The intersection of multiple marginalized identities, which often led to discriminatory experiences, internalization of negative feelings, anticipated stigma, and shifts in self-perception. Participants also commented on recommendations for care to address the cumulative intersecting experiences of OUD. In manuscript #3, I explored (1) the relationships among OUD-related stigma, intersectional discrimination and insomnia among participants on MOUD, (2) how individuals perceived stigma, discrimination, and sleep. and (3) how individuals believed their experiences with discrimination and stigma were linked to sleep. The integration of quantitative and qualitative data led to a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between stigma, discrimination, and sleep and the intersectional phenomena of stigma and discrimination experienced by this population. Analysis revealed moderate correlations between intersectional discrimination, physical symptoms and psychological distress with insomnia severity. Participants’ descriptions of their sleep illustrated how they connected discriminatory and stigmatizing experiences to sleep. Overall, the findings of this dissertation underscore that OUD-related stigma is a complex and nuanced concept. Study findings add to the growing body of literature linking intersectional discrimination, physical symptoms, and psychological distress with insomnia in people on MOUD. These findings may help to inform future intervention development aimed at advancing anti-discrimination efforts to improve sleep outcomes among those with OUD

African Catholicism and the Diaspora Phenomenon: A Socio-Political Analysis of African Priests in the Diaspora

Religious agents, including Catholic priests, are no exception with regards to involvement in the diaspora phenomenon. Among them, especially in the most recent time, are those who, for the purposes of this paper, are identified as African Catholic priest-diasporas (African priest diasporas, for short); that is, those Catholic priests from Africa who, for a variety of reasons, relocated from the continent to reside in a foreign country where they exercise their priestly ministry. This new and growing group of diasporas obviously forms part of the African Diasporas -a group African Union (AU) considers as Africa\u27s sixth region (Auma, 2009). The paper argues that the specificity of the African priest-diasporas cannot be told and understood outside of a context, namely: the situation of African Catholicism in the face of the continent\u27s socio-political and economic predicaments

Optimal Controller Tuning Technique for a First-Order Process with Time Delay

We present a controller tuning strategy for first-order plus time delay (FOPTD) processes, where the time delay in the model is approximated using the Pad\'e function. Using Routh-Hurwitz stability analysis, we derive the gain that gives rise to desirable PID controller settings. The resulting PID controller, now correctly tuned, produces satisfactory closed-loop behavior and stabilizes the first-order plant. Our proposed technique eliminates the dead-time component in the model and results in a minimum-phase system with all of its poles and zeros in the left-half $s$-plane. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we present control simulation results from an in-depth performance comparison between our technique and other established model-based strategies used for the control of time-delayed systems. These results prove that, for the FOPTD model, Pad\'e approximation eliminates the undesirable effects of the time delay and promises a faster tracking performance superior to conventional model-based controllers.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, and 7 table

redistribution of pains and gains

Nigeria’s peasant cattle production is based in its semi-arid north. The area’s aridity becomes a major problem to cattle in the dry season. Herds are protected by bringing them down to the southern parts that are usually wetter at such times. Presence of tsetse fly in the south, particularly in the rainy season precludes sustained all year round grazing in the south. This sets the stage for migration back to the north at the onset of rains in the south. A number of social events has been observed that suggest possible change in the way this transhumance is conducted. The Fulani herders from northern Nigeria appear to be staying longer in the south. They are also turning sedentary and pressurizing local resources and farmlands more intensely leading to violent and deadly conflicts with their local farming hosts in the south. On the other hand, some southern farmers now have successful cattle production enterprises based on the tsetse fly prone Fulani cattle breeds. This study seeks to find out if these trends indicate a negatively changed northern environment that is turning more hostile to peasant cattle production and promoting greater pressures on the south. It also seeks to finds out if the trends show a positive change in the environment of southern Nigeria in terms of a changed tsetse fly habitat and decline in its populations. The study is approached through surveys involving the Fulani herdsmen operating in southern Nigeria and their host communities. Results indicate a paradigm shift in understanding of ethnic clashes in Nigeria in the light of environmental change; some positive effects of environmental change; that positive environmental change may lead to negative social impacts. They also show that internal migration in Nigeria is largely environment dependent

Preliminary phytochemical and antimicrobial screening of 50 medicinal plants from Nigeria

Ethanolic extracts of 50 plant species were screened for their antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The results indicated that of the 50 plant extracts, 28 plant extracts inhibited the growth of one or more test pathogens. Four plant extracts showed a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids and essential oils

Awareness and Diffusion of TSA as Creative Governance Tool among Lagosians

This study examined public awareness, and of Treasury Single Account (TSA) a creative and innovative governance tool among Nigerians. Many previous studies on TSA have focused mainly on assessing the negative and positive effects and implications of the initiative, while little has been done to address the awareness and diffusion of the innovation among the people during and after its introduction. This study therefore sought to examine how the public became aware of the policy and how the innovation was diffused within the time of review. Survey was adopted to generate primary data while structured questionnaire was administered to 120 respondents randomly selected from among postgraduate students and lecturers of University of Lagos (with 96% return rate). Random sampling was informed by the need to give every member of the target group a chance to be selected while the choice of University of Lagos was informed by the need to involve educated and knowledgeable individuals with sufficient knowledge of the subject matter; university environment was selected purposively to simplify the process of reaching the respondents at one place without sacrificing adequate representation. Data was analysed using simple frequency and percentages. Findings show that the citizens’ knowledge of the introduction of the governance instruments was slow but steady within the first three months; many of the citizens were positively disposed to TSA based on their belief that it would bring transparency and curb financial corruption. The paper recommends that the introduction of new ideas into governance, particularly technologically driven initiatives, needs to be adequately publicised through the media to enable a good majority of the citizens to understand and buy into it as citizens’ acceptance and adoption are paramount

Investigation of the Effects of Some Statistical Data Components on the Selection of Optimum Smoothing Constant

Simple exponential smoothing is one of the best forecast methods, especially for time series data. Its efficacy depends on a parameter called smoothing constant (α) which, if optimally determined, minimises the mean square error (MSE), the mean absolute error (MAE) and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The widely used method for selecting the optimum smoothing constant is to conduct a grid search within a wide range of possible values of α using the trial-and-error method. Not only that this method involves the knowledge of advanced statistical processes, but it is also time-consuming, and its results are limited to the data being analysed. In order to eliminate these limitations, there is a need to develop a benchmark that will guide the users of simple exponential smoothing to select the optimum α without necessarily repeating the trial-and-error method once a value has been established for data of similar statistical components. This study investigated some statistical components (mean, standard deviation, range, number of observations and pattern) of data to determine which components could aid in the quick and easy determination of optimum smoothing constant. The study determined the optimum smoothing constants for 16 different data of varying statistical components, and found that mean, standard deviation, range and the number of data observations are not related to the optimum smoothing constants. However, the demand pattern is an excellent precursor to determining the optimum smoothing constant. The study recommends further study in developing a classification model for demand patterns in job shops. Keywords: Simple exponential smoothing; optimum smoothing constant; trial and error; demand pattern; number of observations

Pharmacological justification for the ethnomedicinal use of Amblygonocarpus andongensis stem bark in pain relief

Amblygonocarpus andongensis (family: Mimosaceae) is ethnomedicinally used in Northern Nigeria for the relief of pain. The methanolic extract of the plant stem bark was evaluated for anti-nociceptive activity using acetic acid-induced writhing model and formalin test in mice. Anti-inflammatory property was tested on egg albumin-induced oedema in rats while agar dilution method was used for antimicrobial effect. The acute toxicity effect (LD50) was also determined via intraperitoneal route. The results showed the LD50 value to be 547.7 mg/kg i.p. There was a significant (P < 0.05) dose-dependent reduction of acetic acid-induced pain at 50, 100, 200 mg/kg i.p. The extract at the same doses significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited pains in both early and late phases of the formalin test. However, the extract showed neither anti-inflammatory nor anti-microbial effects. The results corroborate the folkloric use of the plant