A Paradigm Shift for Innovation and Creativity in Africa in the 21st Century

Innovation has for many years been associated with growth and development of organizations and nations. Creativity is closely associated with innovativeness and indeed, without creativity there can be no meaningful innovativeness. The developed world has been associated with innovativeness for many decades, long before there was anything meaningful in the Developing world such as the African Continent .Thus, most inventions that we know today came from the developed world. Using a narrative and descriptive approach of the past and the present trends in both the developed and the African continent, the author seeks to demonstrate that in spite of the myriad of challenges, innovation and creativity are driving economic development in Africa and will continue to do so in the 21st century. Africa is on the rise and holds the future in terms of innovation and creativity, and will shape the 21st century as far as innovation and creativity is concerned. Africa has the potential and the capacity to host the innovations of the 21st century and beyond, just as Europe hosted the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The author argues that with a young growing population with a huge untapped natural resources, Africa presents the best opportunity for creativity and innovativeness in the 21st century. The author is cognizant to the fact that Africa is very diverse and cannot be lumped together as one big entity, but recognizes that a majority of the countries therein suffer the same challenges, which will be the main triggers to creativity and innovation in the 21st century Keywords: innovativeness, Creativity, economic development, African continent DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-21-01 Publication date:July 31st 201

Improvements in the perturbation simulations of the global reference atmospheric model

The Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) program includes the capability for simulating pseudo-random perturbations in density, temperature, pressure, or wind components along a simulated reentry trajectory or other path through the atmosphere. Some concerns were expressed by GRAM users, however, that the mean-square perturbation gradients may be too large for small values of the vertical separation Delta z. The present GRAM perturbation simulations, based on a one-step autoregressive model, yield a power spectrum versus wavenumber k which is proportional to k sup -2 at high wavenumbers. This feature also produces mean-square perturbation differences which are directly proportional to Delta z, and mean-square perturbation gradients which are inversely proportional to Delta z. Thus, root-mean-square gradients, (Delta f/Delta z) sub rms, increase with decreasing Delta a as Delta z sup -1/2. A simple modification to GRAM is suggested which overcomes this problem, i.e., which produce root-mean-square gradient that remain bound as Delta z approaches zero. Possible applications of more sophisticated simulation approaches, e.g., second order autoregressive models, or fractal model techniques, were also explored briefly but found to yield improvements which appear too small to justify their considerable added complexity for use in the GRAM programs

Optimal decision making for sperm chemotaxis in the presence of noise

For navigation, microscopic agents such as biological cells rely on noisy sensory input. In cells performing chemotaxis, such noise arises from the stochastic binding of signaling molecules at low concentrations. Using chemotaxis of sperm cells as application example, we address the classic problem of chemotaxis towards a single target. We reveal a fundamental relationship between the speed of chemotactic steering and the strength of directional fluctuations that result from the amplification of noise in the chemical input signal. This relation implies a trade-off between slow, but reliable, and fast, but less reliable, steering. By formulating the problem of optimal navigation in the presence of noise as a Markov decision process, we show that dynamic switching between reliable and fast steering substantially increases the probability to find a target, such as the egg. Intriguingly, this decision making would provide no benefit in the absence of noise. Instead, decision making is most beneficial, if chemical signals are above detection threshold, yet signal-to-noise ratios of gradient measurements are low. This situation generically arises at intermediate distances from a target, where signaling molecules emitted by the target are diluted, thus defining a `noise zone' that cells have to cross. Our work addresses the intermediate case between well-studied perfect chemotaxis at high signal-to-noise ratios close to a target, and random search strategies in the absence of navigation cues, e.g. far away from a target. Our specific results provide a rational for the surprising observation of decision making in recent experiments on sea urchin sperm chemotaxis. The general theory demonstrates how decision making enables chemotactic agents to cope with high levels of noise in gradient measurements by dynamically adjusting the persistence length of a biased persistent random walk.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Energy from sugarcane by-products : analysis for Kenya

Bibliography: leaves 68-71.The Kenyan sugar industry continues to face the task of being competitive in a liberalized global economy that has witnessed a trend in declining sugar prices and increasing local production costs. This dissertation attempts to investigate possible options that could assist Kenyan sugar industry to cope with the crisis. One such option is the diversification of the sugar industry's product base. Expanding their business to energy as a co-product to sugar processing, sugar companies could generate additional revenue from surplus electricity sales to the national utility. In Mauritius, gross revenue of USD 50 million, equivalent to 90% of that accruing to the miller for cane processing is generated from bagasse-based energy sales. On the basis of the Mauritian and other experiences the research concludes that Kenya sugar industries have the potential to export 43, 258, and 306 GWh of electricity to the national grid, depending on the mode of operation of the power plant. Thus the potential for revenue expansion through power sales for the Kenyan sugar industry is substantial. Power sector reforms have seen the entry into the electricity market of independent power producers (IPPs), and so this presents a good opportunity for sugar companies to enter into power purchase agreements with the national utility for the supply of power. Anaerobic digestion systems, used in the treatment and management of industrial effluent provide an additional benefit of generating boiler fuel in the form of biogas in sugar industries of Kenya. This technology and its application to the sugarcane industry are reviewed as part of this thesis

Improvements in the Global Reference Atmospheric Model and comparisons with a global 3-D numerical model

The status of the Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) and the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model (MARS-GRAM) is reviewed. The wavelike perturbations observed in the Viking 1 and 2 surface pressure data, in the Mariner 9 IR spectroscopy data, and in the Viking 1 and 2 lander entry profiles were studied and the results interpreted

Le Vietnam au Kampuchéa : La stratégie de consolidation

Despite intense diplomatic activity between Vietnam and her Southeast Asian neighbors to reach a compromise in their conflict resulting from the Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea, the Hanoi government shows every indication of seeking to secure a permanent military and political presence in Kampuchea. Also because of the devastation brought by four years of the Pol Pot regime (1975-79), and the extermination of much of the skilled and educated social strata in Kampuchea, the Hanoi government has sent some 40,000 Vietnamese party cadres, civil officials and professionally trained to direct public affairs. Additionally, some 100,000 Vietnamese farmer s have migrated into Kampuchea, settling in such key provinces as Kompong Speu, Takeo, and Kompong Cham. Additional tens of thousands of Vietnamese settlers have moved into cities and the disputed frontier area. As fighting between the Vietnamese and resistance groups affiliated with the ''Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea" intensifies, the Hanoi regime also has been expanding its logistical-military network. This includes the construction of a new road network — popularly called the "New Ho CM Minh Trail" — linking the Vietnamese cities of Hue and Vinh, across Southern Laos, with Northwestern Kampuchea. Additionally, during the early weeks of 1983, a twenty-five kilometres long trench, studded with landmines and bamboo spikes has been constructed just inside the Kampuchean frontier, running from the village of Kop beyond the village of Yeang Dangkum — a region of frequent guerilla clashes. Al on g with the 180,000 man force of regular military maintained by Vietnam in Kampuchea, these measures indicate intentions of Hanoi's consolidation of power. Especially in Southeast Asia fears have arisen of a permanent Vietnamese "colonization" process in Kampuchea

Clients, mandataires et partenaires silencieux : Configurations du conflit américano-soviétique en Asie du Sud-Est

In the Southeast Asian area modalities of political dependence have developed which involve the distinctive typology of clients, silent partners, and proxies. These modalities govern the relationship between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Laos, and the People's Republic of Kampuchea. They also are operative in the international interaction between the members of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (Asean) and the Western major powers. A set of strategic cooperative arrangements, as well as direct military assistance between Asean, the Commonwealth and the U.S., has its counterpart in similar relations between the U.S.S.R. and the Hanoi dominated lndo-China alliance. As a result, the U.S.-Soviet confrontation in Southeast Asia is expressed politically and strategically primarily through the proxy relationships with the lndo-China states and key Asean members respectively. In turn, there are strong undercurrents in Asean seeking an accommodation with Hanoi, in order to minimize the conflict potential in the region generated by opposing U.S. and Soviet strategic interests. Particularly the relatively warming relationship between the U.S. and People's China has strengthened the Asean fears of China s long-term intentions in the region. An independent Vietnam, free from its proxy-client status toward the Soviet Union, could act as a buffer between China and the Southeast Asian region. Since Hanoi, if only for long-standing nationalistic reasons, wishes to be free from its currently necessary dependence on Moscow, Asean's accommodationist interests may well meet with appreciation in Hanoi in the future. This would tend to lessen the effect of the American-Soviet confrontation in the area