Social Economic Responsibility and Financial Performance of Saccos in Mitooma District, Uganda

This study was set out to find out the effect of social economic responsibility activities  on financial performance of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Uganda, using a case study of Mitooma District, Western Uganda. A cross section and survey research design were used and data was collected from 150 respondents. The findings on the effect of social economic activities and financial performance revealed a significant relationship. In conclusion the results showed that corporate social responsibility (economic activities) was a significant predictor of financial performance. The recommendations were made which included the SACCOs to continue helping its members in resource mobilization so as to help members achieve their needs with easy, the SACCOs to make more attractive dividends to shareholders so as attract new members and retain old ones and the SACCOs to improve on the paying of  attractive interest rates to savers to mobilize more savings Keywords: corporate social responsibility, financial performance, social economic activities DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-21-02 Publication date: November 30th 202

Active fault tolerant control applied to REPOINT, a novel railway track switch

Railway networks are fitted with switches and crossings that enable trains to move from one track to another however they present a single point of failure. Existing track switches actuation is performed in the open loop presenting a research gap where closed-loop fault tolerant control can be applied to track switch actuation in order to improve railway network performance. A new railway track switch, REPOINT has been developed at Loughborough University with a new electromechanical design that incorporates actuator redundancy to improve the reliability of track switch operation. This paper looks at the development and validation of a sensor fault detection, identfication and accomodation scheme applied to a detailed non-linear model representing the laboratory scale demonstrator of the REPOINT concept. A residual-based fault diagnosis scheme is developed from the comparison of estimates generated by a bank of observers and output measurements. In the presence of sensor faults, a reconstructed signal from the fault detection algorithm is used to replace the measured signal for feedback control and thus safe switching position control is achieved. The results demonstrate that using a reliable fault tolerant control configuration could increase the availability and reliability of the REPOINT track switch

Targeting IDPS with food aid: WFP assistance in northern Uganda

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations (UN) agency responding to humanitarian emergencies by delivering food aid to vulnerable populations worldwide. The protracted insurgency in northern Uganda resulted in the displacement of up to 1,619,807 people, largely women and children. The humanitarian situation among displaced persons in northern and eastern Uganda led to diminished coping abilities and increased food aid needs. Access to food through productive means varies but, on average, households can only access about 0.5\u2013 0.75 acres of land. Recent nutrition and health assessments conducted in Pader District, in Feb 2004 and in Gulu District, in June 2004, highlight high mortality rates of more than 1 death/10,000 people/day. While Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates appear to fall within the normal range expected within African populations (<5% GAM), high mortality rates consistently highlight the severity of the health situation in the camps. The WFP Uganda Country Office currently implements a Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) and a Country Programme (CP). The PRRO targets Internally Displaced Persons in Northern Uganda through General Food Distribution (GFD) activities, school children, HIV/AIDS infected and affected households and other vulnerable groups. In partnership with the Government of Uganda (GOU), sister UN agencies, international and national NGOs and Community Based Organisations, WFP currently assists the 1,619,807 Internally Displaced Persons, (IDPs), including 178,741 school children in the Gulu and Kitgum, 19,900 people infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS in Gulu and Kitgum and more than 750 food insecure persons involved in asset creation. Whilst WFP and other humanitarian actors continue to provide relief support to the displaced communities of northern Uganda, it is clear that without increased security the crisis will continue

Model-based controller design for a lift-and-drop railway track switch actuator

Track switches are essential in order to enable railway vehicles to change routes however they are also the largest single cause of failure on the railway network. A new generation of switching concepts are emerging from projects like In2Rail, REPOINT and S-Code that promise to improve rail network performance through the use of new mechanisms, monitoring and control systems. This paper focusses on modelling and control of a lab-demonstrator from the REPOINT project. Unlike conventional track switch machines, this actuator needs closed loop feedback control. First, a detailed simulation model of the actuator is developed and validated against experimental results. Two model-based control designs are then developed and tested: a classical cascaded P/PI controller and a modern state feedback controller. The two controllers are compared and it is found that, whilst there are some performance differences, both meet the requirements for use in a redundantly actuated REPOINT switch

Fault-Tolerant Control (FTC) applied to an inherently redundant electromechanical railway track switch

Track switches are essential in order to enable railway vehicles to change routes however they are also the largest single cause of failure on the railway network and remain a single point of failure. This thesis focusses on modelling and fault tolerant control of a new type of electromechanical railway track switch. Unlike conventional track switch machines, this switch needs closed loop feedback control. Firstly, a detailed simulation model of the switch is developed and validated against experimental results. Two model-based control designs are then developed and tested: a classical cascaded P/PI controller and a modern state feedback LQR controller. The two controllers are compared and it is found that, whilst there are some performance differences, both meet the requirements for use in a redundantly actuated track switch. Following this, a fault tolerant control scheme for sensor faults is developed and validated using fault detection, identification and accommodation methods applied to a detailed non-linear simulation model and then validated on the experimental test rig. The results demonstrate that using a reliable fault tolerant control configuration could increase the availability and reliability of the switch in the presence of sensor faults. Finally, a fault tolerant control approach to actuator faults on the switch with triplex redundancy is developed and validated. In order to achieve this, a dynamic model of a railway track is developed in simulation as the basis for load application to the system. Three parallel actuators with their associated controllers are used to actuate the switch showing good performance in meeting the position control requirements. Different actuator faults are applied and their control performance results are shown. A summary of the control performance is also presented highlighting the differences in performance with different permutations of actuator faults. Overall, it is shown that redundancy in actuation with a suitable control scheme provides benefits in achieving post-fault availability of a redundantly actuated electromechanical railway track switch in the presence of actuator faults.</div

Targeting IDPS with food aid: WFP assistance in northern Uganda

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations (UN) agency responding to humanitarian emergencies by delivering food aid to vulnerable populations worldwide. The protracted insurgency in northern Uganda resulted in the displacement of up to 1,619,807 people, largely women and children. The humanitarian situation among displaced persons in northern and eastern Uganda led to diminished coping abilities and increased food aid needs. Access to food through productive means varies but, on average, households can only access about 0.5– 0.75 acres of land. Recent nutrition and health assessments conducted in Pader District, in Feb 2004 and in Gulu District, in June 2004, highlight high mortality rates of more than 1 death/10,000 people/day. While Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates appear to fall within the normal range expected within African populations (<5% GAM), high mortality rates consistently highlight the severity of the health situation in the camps. The WFP Uganda Country Office currently implements a Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) and a Country Programme (CP). The PRRO targets Internally Displaced Persons in Northern Uganda through General Food Distribution (GFD) activities, school children, HIV/AIDS infected and affected households and other vulnerable groups. In partnership with the Government of Uganda (GOU), sister UN agencies, international and national NGOs and Community Based Organisations, WFP currently assists the 1,619,807 Internally Displaced Persons, (IDPs), including 178,741 school children in the Gulu and Kitgum, 19,900 people infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS in Gulu and Kitgum and more than 750 food insecure persons involved in asset creation. Whilst WFP and other humanitarian actors continue to provide relief support to the displaced communities of northern Uganda, it is clear that without increased security the crisis will continue