Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy for Rural Community Development in Nigeria: A Blue Print Formulation without Implementation

Rural communities in Nigeria are suffering from lack of access to better information for their development. Lack of access to adequate and right information at the right time to the rural communities undermines theefforts at improving the living conditions of rural dwellers. However, not only infrastructures and information technologies are absent in the rural communities but even health care facilities, educational facilities and libraryand information services are all a thing of the past in most of the rural areas in Nigeria. It is against this background that the Nigerian Government has formulated Information and Communication Technology policy that will bridge the digital and information gap that hitherto exist in the rural areas of Nigeria through National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). As stated in the IT policy, by 2005 Nigeria was to become “an IT capable country in Africa.” We are now already in year 2013; can we say that Nigeria is a capable IT country? To put it plainly, Nigeria is not yet an average ICT country in Africa. The desire is there, the awareness has been created but the will power to budget sufficient funds to propel the ICT wheel of progress has been lacking. Up till today, eight years after the policy formulation, rural communities in Nigeria are yet to feel the impact of the implementation. Nothing has changed; neither a single infrastructure was deployed to rural communities nor the IT infrastructures. The information, digital and development gap that exists within rural and urban communities continues to be widening every single minutes of the day

Understanding How Plant Diversity Impacts Wildlife Species Richness in Chicago Area Forested Greenspaces

Factors related to urbanization have altered the pre-settlement landscape of Chicago from native prairie and woodland, to one dominated by non-native plant species. This study examined how the plant community influences urban wildlife by investigating how vegetation structure (as measured by three indices) relates to the wildlife richness of 24 forested sites in the Chicago region. We found negative relationships between both Floristic Quality Index (FQI) and native plant diversity with wildlife richness. We propose that the generalist mammal species that were detected using the camera trap method do not require high quality forested habitat and seem to prefer lower quality forests that have fewer native plants, most likely dominated by dense invasive shrubs such as buckthorn. Habitat structure and landscape level parameters are likely stronger predictors of wildlife species richness in this highly urbanized landscape

Information-Seeking Behaviour of Extension Workers and Specialists in Nigerian Rural Communities with Special Reference to Job Satisfaction

The paper examined the information-seeking behaviour of extension workers and specialist in the context of their use and non-use of job-related information in Nigeria, and also in relation to their job  satisfaction. The objectives of the study are to identify the types of information sources, resources and communication channels used by extension workers and specialists in discharging their responsibilities. The paper also identifies the factors that inhibit their behaviour towards information seeking and use with special reference to their job satisfaction.Survey research method was used for the study. A questionnaire was  distributed to 38 public extension specialists across Nigeria, and 190 public extension workers. The findings of the study show that the main motivation for seeking job-related information by both public extension works and specialists was interest in developing their own job-related information. The findings also show that the most used information sources by extension workers and specialists were books, magazines and technical reports and both groups used non-Nigerian scientific magazines least frequently. The paper concludes that in both groups, there was a significant positive correlation between individuals' information seeking motivation and the extent to which they used information sources and communication channels. It is hoped that the paper will help in understanding the information seeking behaviour of extension workers and specialist in relation to their job satisfaction, it will also help libraries to be more costeffective by providing services that would satisfy the needs of the  extension workers and specialist leading to more job satisfaction. The paper would also enhance the role of rural libraries in providing information services to the rural communities this will lead to the development of rural communities and Nigeria at large. Finally, it will contribute to the existing knowledge, open new doors for further researches and serve as spring board for further researches in information seeking behaviour in Nigeria and world at large

An Overview of the Provision of Information for Rural Development in Nigeria

Information is universally viewed as essential commodity for development, it is important to the social, political, educational and economic development processes of any given community. Not only does it expands the possibilities of community development, it creates awareness among the members of such communities. The paper viewed Information as an asset and resources utilized for the development of general populace in any given community. It highlighted different methods through which information resources can be disseminated to rural community especially in this digital age. The paper also looked particularly at the technology infrastructure in Nigeria to determine whether CD-Rom technology, Internet connectivity and proper awareness could serve as a new strategy that is viable for disseminating information resources to rural communities in Nigeria, so as to drastically reduce the level of illiteracy and keep them abreast of all the development processes taking place inthe country

Drone Control Using Electroencephalogram Signals

In this project, we present the development of a system that can control a drone using a headset sensor that detects electroencephalographic (EEG) waves from the drone’s pilot when he/she performs facial gestures. The drone is controlled using specific facial expressions which are recorded using a commercial EEG headband, the OpenBCI EEG headband (fig. 2). The EEG headband uses electrodes to read the electric potentials from the brain. The EEG signals were recorded and analyzed using the OpenBCI GUI software. The data files recorded from the EEG headband were exported to Matlab to perform the signal conditioning, feature extraction, and design and training of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) that was used to classify the facial gestures. For each data recording, three statistical values were computed: the standard deviation, root mean squared and mode. These values were used as the features for each facial gesture. The feature extraction data were used as the inputs to the ANN. The input to train an ANN consisted of a 9x45 array generated from the pilot performing fifteen recordings of each facial gesture. The target matrix was a 3x45 size, this is 3 classes and 45 recordings. The Neural Net Pattern Recognition tool from Matlab was used for the implementation of the ANN. After the ANN was trained to classify the 3 facial gestures, the output of the ANN was used to control the drone. The drone used in this project was a palm sized DJI Tello drone. Three facial gestures were selected to control the motion of the drone as follows: raising eyebrows, hard blinking and looking right. Results of the ANN training yielded a 97% accuracy in the classification of the facial gestures

Information use pattern of school teachers in rural areas of Nigeria: A mixed method approach

This paper has investigated the information use of pattern of school teachers in rural areas of Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to identify the type of information sources and resources that school teachers used for their teaching and learning. Mixed research methodology was used; questionnaire, interview and observation were the only instrument used for the study. The population of the study comprises all the school teachers in public primary schools of Nigeria. The findings of the study showed that majority of the school teachers used different types of information sources and resources. School teachers in this study had used the information found for reference purposes. They photocopy the area of interest, jot down the main points, read the article directly and print a copy. The findings also showed that there was over dependence on headmaster/school authorities, library and information centres and printed source/resources category. Books were the most popular resources needed and consulted by the school teachers in this study. Barriers to information were identified and the following were the recommendations made. The management should create more awareness on the use of library and information resources to both the school teachers and students. That the management should also provide more current information resources which are relevant to the needs of school teachers in rural areas of Nigeria; That the management should strengthen the use of the existing materials and resources available in school libraries by educating the school teachers to other available information sources and resources that they were unaware with, and could be very important to them.Keywords: information, school teachers, rural areas, Nigeria

IMPACT OF MONETARY POLICY OF THE CENTRAL BANK ON THE RATE OF INFLATION IN THE DRC: INSTRUMENTS, IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULTS

Demokratyczna Republika Konga jest krajem, który zajmuje powierzchnię 2.345.410 kilometrów kwadratowych i obecnie zamieszkuje ją ponad 72 mln mieszkańców. Od czasu zmiany reżimu politycznego w 1997 r. kongijski system walutowy bez powodzenia był poddawany wielu zmianom i reformom w związku z niestabilnością waluty, dolaryzacja gospodarki, brakiem płynności pieniądza w gospodarce. Rząd Demokratycznej Republiki Konga postanowił od maja 1997 r. powierzyć bankowi centralnemu misję reformy monetarnej, w tym zmiany jednostki walutowej. Analiza empiryczna potwierdza, że Bank Centralny Kongo pomimo szybkiej reakcji na inflacyjne szoki w słabym stopniu ograniczył inflację. Wzmocnienie obecnych ram polityki pieniężnej nadal pozostaje najlepszym rozwiązaniem, bowiem kraj jest narażony na częste wstrząsy podyktowane warunkami handlowymi. Wprowadzenie do obrotu w czerwcu 1998 r. franka kongijskiego stało się symbolem nie tylko obalenia rządów Mobutu, ale przede wszystkim porażki systemu.Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country which it has an area of 2,345,410 square kilometres and currently resides it more than 72 million inhabitants. Since the change the political regime in 1997 the Congolese monetary system without success it has undergone many changes and reforms in connection with the volatility of the currency, economy dollarization, the lack of liquidity of money in the economy. The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 1997 decided to entrust to the Central Bank of Congo monetary reform mission, including changes monetary unit. Empirical analysis confirms that Central Bank Congo despite rapid response to inflationary shocks in low degree limited inflation. Strengthening the current framework of monetary policy remains the best solution, because the country is exposed to frequent shocks dictated by trading conditions. The placing on the market in June 1998 frank Congolese became a symbol not only disprove government Mobutu, but first of all system failures

Assessment of middle-class Libyans on the quality of good governance

The purpose of this study to assess the level of Good Governance Indicators (Political stability, government effectiveness, and control of corruption) in Libya, to analyze the differences between perception‘s of each of (Job Categories, Job Positions, and Job Experience) of Middle-Class Libyans on these Indicators in Libya, and to recommend some improvements of Good Governance in Libya. Numerous hypotheses and questions were adopted for achieving to the study objectives. Survey instrument were distributed to the respondents (N = 400) comprising of Middle-Class in the governmental sector, private sector, civil society, and academics. Data analysis started with evaluating data reliability, and ANOVA test to assess the hypotheses. For the assessment the Good Governance level, the respondent‘s answers on the questions of each of Good Governance Indicators which assessed by the mean for aiming to reach to assessment the level of Good Governance in Libya. Besides used the interviews with some of who are responsible in the Libyan government, private sector, and civil society for getting their perceptions about Good Governance situation in Libya. World Bank reports about Good Governance in Libya during (1996-2010) also used for supporting the findings which obtained by the survey and the interviews. However, the study found that, there is agreement on the weakness of Good Governance of adopted indicators of this study in Libya, and there are some differences in the perceptions of respondents about the application of indicators of Good Governance in Libya. Finally, several recommendations and implications were drawn from the study

Central mode and soft mode behavior in PbMg1/Nb2/3O3 relaxor ferroelectric

The relaxor ferroelectric PbMg1/Nb2/3O3 was investigated by means of broad-band dielectric and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) transmission spectroscopy in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 15 THz at temperatures between 20 and 900 K using PMN films on infrared transparent sapphire substrates. While thin film relaxors display reduced dielectric permittivity at low frequencies, their high frequency intrinsic or lattice response is shown to be the same as single crystal/ceramic specemins. It was observed that in contrast to the results of inelastic neutron scattering, the optic soft mode was underdamped at all temperatures. On heating, the TO1 soft phonon followed the Cochran law with an extrapolated critical temperature equal to the Burns temperature of 670 K and softened down to 50 cm-1. Above 450 K the soft mode frequency leveled off and slightly increased above the Burns temperature. A central mode, describing the dynamics of polar nanoclusters appeared below the Burns temperature at frequencies near the optic soft mode and dramatically slowed down below 1 MHz on cooling below room temperature. It broadened on cooling, giving rise to frequency independent losses in microwave and lower frequency range below the freezing temperature of 200 K. In addition, a new heavily damped mode appeared in the FTIR spectra below the soft mode frequency at room temperature and below. The origin of this mode as well as the discrepancy between the soft mode damping in neutron and infrared spectra is discussed.Comment: 7 pages with 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.