Unveiling Modernity: Post-Colonial Islamic Reforms in Ghana and Burkina Faso, 1950-2000

Research project funded in academic year 2008-09The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.The end of European colonialism was a watershed moment in West Africa. Throughout the region, a new group of reformers challenged the political, social, and religious dominance of mystical Islam. The reformers condemned the belief in supernatural forces as superstitious and tried to suppress local customs as contrary to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. By the 1970s, these reformers had a large following among urban dwellers, especially the younger generation of elites educated in European institutions. Why did these reformers have such mass appeal? By tracing developments in Ghana and Burkina Faso from 1950 to 2000, Kobo argues that Wahhabism, the doctrine promoted by 18th century Arab reformer Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, gave the reformers a way to reconcile Western modernity with Islamic faith.Mershon Center for International Security StudiesProject summar

A womanist exposition of pseudo-spirituality and the cry of an oppressed African woman

Women have for centuries suffered different forms of oppression and arguably continue to suffer in subtle forms in the 21st century. Marion Young points to five types of oppression, namely, violence, exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness and cultural imperialism. For South African black women, all of these types of oppression have manifested three times more as they have suffered triple oppression of race, class and gender to employ the widely used notion of triple jeopardy in the womanist discourses and Black Theology of Liberation. The struggle of women to challenge the patriarchal culture of subordination is still pertinent for our context today. Patriarchy is a reality that has been inscribed in the minds, souls and bodies of these women. It arguably continues to be inscribed in subtle forms. Patriarchy and the oppression of women have been justified and perpetuated by a complex interplay of Christian teachings and practices fused with culture and the use of the Bible. Yet, for these women, church and the Bible continue to be central in their lives. This article looks at the cries of African women in juxtaposition to their prayers, faith and thus spirituality, and to argue that theirs is a pseudo-spirituality. This article is thus a womanist exposition of the pseudo-spirituality of an African woman in a quest for liberation of her spirituality

LOCATION IDENTIFICATION FOR NETWORK DEVICES

Information Technology (IT) managers and administrators often need to correlate the actual physical location of device (e.g., within a closet at address X, building 5, 2nd floor, east side) with an identity of the device that is shown within an IT management system. Such device identification is typically provided via device configuration or through the use of add-on tags that can be located on a device. However, many network devices or other types of virtual constructs (e.g., many devices acting as a single virtual box), particularly virtual systems can be located far apart from each other (e.g., across different floors, etc.). For example, two devices could be provided as a virtual system pair that is configured as one device within a management system, yet the physical location of each half of the system needs to be known. However, current IT management systems do not provide for identifying the actual location of each device of a virtual system, as the location configuration for the virtual system is a common configuration element for the virtual system itself. In order to address such issues, techniques are presented herein that provide for the ability to uniquely identify the physical location of each member of a virtual system

Volatile fatty acids production in ruminants and the role of monocarboxylate transporters: A review

Monocarboxylates commonly referred to as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are metabolized to different extents by the epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract. They are absorbed along different segments of the gastrointestinal tract and constitute a significant amount of energy in ruminants. Monocarboxylates play a central role in cellular metabolism and metabolic communication between tissues. Essential to these roles is their rapid transport across the plasma membrane, which is catalyzed by a recently identified family of proton-linked monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). Monocarboxylate transporter-1 and 4 have been shown to interact specifically with OX-47 (CD147), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily with a single transmembrane helix. This interaction appears to assist MCT expression at the cell surface. Despite the importance of short-chain fatty acids in being the main energy source in ruminant animals, the mechanism of SCFAs transport and absorption is still not fully studied. The aim of this review is to critically discuss short-chain fatty acids production and the functional role of monocarboxylate transporters in relation to the transport and absorption of these nutrients along the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants. Two major functions of monocarboxylate transporter proteins, namely the facilitation of the absorption of SCFAs in the gastrointestinal tract and the regulation of cell pH in skeletal muscles, are clearly very important for physiological homeostasis, animal welfare and productivity.Key words: Ruminants, monocarboxylates, monocarboxylate transporters, CD147

Effect of fraction iv portion of Ximenia americana stem bark on Trypanosoma congolense - induced serum enzymes changes in rats

The current study investigates the effect of fraction IV portion of Ximenia americana stem bark on Trypanosoma congolense induced serum enzymes changes in rats. Following infection with trypanosomes, the rats were monitored for levels of some serum enzymes. The results revealed that there was significant (P<0.05) elevation of serum enzymes Aspartate AminoTransferase (AST), Alanine AminoTransferase (ALT), Alkaline Phosphatase (AP), Gamma GlutamylTransferase (GGT) and Creatine Kinase (CK) in the infected animals. Treatment with 25 mg/Kg body weight fraction IV portion of Ximenia americana led to significant (P<0.05) reduction in levels of the enzymes. It is concluded that treatment with fraction IV portion of Ximenia americana was able to modulate the effect of trypanosomosis induced serum enzyme levels of the infected rats.Key words: Fraction IV, serum enzymes, Trypanosoma congolense, Ximenia american

Situation-aware routing for wireless mesh networks with mobile nodes

This paper describes a situation-aware algorithm based on the current situation of a mesh network with mobile nodes that improves quality of service. After running laboratory performance tests, we concluded that a situation-aware mesh routing protocol offers potential to address issues pertaining to mobility, congestion and scalability in dynamic mesh networks with mobile nodes. Such networks appear promising to provide connectivity to people living in rural areas in developing regions of Africa, and can be easily interconnected to telco-styled networks through gateways for voice and Internet services. Such services can remain free in the mesh, yet can also be billed for interconnection. Our vision offers an attractive business model for up scaling a rural customer base for telcos, while at the same time offering increased quality of service for mobile users on rural mesh networks.Telkom, Cisco, Aria Technologies, THRI

Islamic Extremism in Northern Africa, Case Study: Nigeria and Boko Haram

This event will feature three panelists: Christopher Preble of the CATO Institute, and Kelechi Kalu and Ousman M. Kobo of The Ohio State University, who will discuss the rise of Islamic extremism in Northern Africa, with an emphasis on Nigeria and Boko Haram.Ohio State UniversityMershon Center for International Security StudiesAlexander Hamilton SocietyEvent Web page, event photo

Antioxidant properties of Ximenia americana

Ximenia americana, a medicinal plant, was evaluated for free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity. The extracts from the stem bark was obtained using methanol. The methanol portion was again fractionated into flavonoid and saponnin portions. The antioxidant activity of the portions was assessed by the 2, 2 diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The flavonoid portion revealed a significant (P < 0.05) antioxidant activity with the Rc50 value of 8. The study reveals that X. americana could be used as a potential antioxidant.Key words: Ximenia americana, flavonoid, antioxidant activity