Silent voices : the role of Somali women's poetry in social and political life

In this paper women's poetry will be examined. Somali classical poetry--the type of poetry best suited to address issues of serious interest--is divided into four main styles: Gabay, Geeraar, Jiifto, and Buranbur. According to this classification, based on the way the poem is chanted and the rhythmic pattern of words, the Gabay, Geeraar, and Jiifto are seen as male genres while Buranbur is considered the female style (Andrzejewski and Lewis 1974).Issue title; "African Oral Traditions.

Relationship between Stock Markets in Africa: A Case of Five Selected Countries

It is aimed in this study to analyze the relationship between the stock markets in Africa (Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa). The sample used in the study is beginning from 2009 to 2018 in a weekly data range. The main findings in the study are: (1) price indices of Casablanca stock exchange are not influenced by other stock markets in the long run (2) Egyptian stock market can be used to predict the Kenyan stock market but not Morocco, South Africa, or Nigeria, (3) South African stock market can be used to predict the Egyptian, Nigerian, and Kenya stock markets, and (4) Johannesburg stock exchange plays a vital role in effecting the stock prices of other African countries

Effect of Working Capital Management Practices on Financial Performance of Retail Firms in Garowe, Puntland State of Somalia

This study adapts a cross sectional survey method to establish the effect of working capital management practices on the performance of retail firms in Puntland State of Somalia with specific reference to retail firms located in Garowe, the Headquarters of the Puntland State of Somalia. It covers a five-year period 2012-2015. It relies on four theories namely agency theory, and corporate governance theory to help explain how the financial management practices affect financial performance. A descriptive research design is used in the study. The target population of the study are 61 medium to large scale retail firms located in Garowe as at June 2017. Accordingly, purposive sampling based on the firms that prepare financial accounts is used to study a sample of 53 retail firms determined based on Slovin’s formula. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are used in the evaluation. Descriptive findings show that retail firms in Puntland State of Somalia generally have a poor financial performance as indicated by a low mean return on assets. The performance however varies widely across the firms as indicated by a very high coefficient of variation. Inferential statistics indicate that the null hypothesis that working capital management practices have no effect on financial performance is rejected as it is found to have a positive effect on financial performance. The study covered only retail firms in Puntland State hence it is recommended that a similar study be carried out not only for other types of firms like financial institutions, but also adapts a wider geographical scope to cover the whole of Somalia

A framework of science and technology in higher education for sustainable development for Somaliland

The integration of science and technology (S&T) in higher education institutions (HEIs) is significant for economic growth and sustainable development goals (SDGs). HEIs in Somaliland have not yet stressed the need to integrate S&T in education in their planning to achieve their national SDGs. Also, the government did not put a concrete plan in place towards building S&T capacities in education which play an important factor in the economic growth. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop an indigenous and comprehensive framework to ensure sustainable development goals in Somaliland. It is an integrated framework for SD of Somaliland that incorporates S&T, HEIs and human capital. This study used a mixed method (survey and interview) to collect the data from six HEIs in Somaliland and document reviews. Questionnaires were distributed to 350 respondents ranging from faculty deans/head of department of S&T related programs and senior lecturers, and 215 responded. Also, interviews were conducted with six top managements of the HEIs. The findings indicated that insufficient of S&T, research and development (R&D) and community engagement (CE) at institutional and program levels. It can be concluded that the S&T capacity in HEIs in Somaliland is not capable of advancing the progress for SDGs. In addition, the findings also show an ineffective and a lack of collaboration among HEIs, industries and public sectors within the national framework. The findings were used to develop the proposed (i) guidelines to incorporate capacities (S&T, R&D and CE) in HEIs into SDGs and (ii) the framework. The framework incorporates S&T in HEIs into Somaliland SDGs and other stakeholders including the business sector. The framework was validated by experts in education and development sectors. The framework is aligned to the SDG of Somaliland Vision 2030 as well as Higher Education Sector Plan. Future research, particularly in under-developed countries, should focus on specific industrial clusters as well as thematic measures of sustainability, policy implementation and HEIs leadership towards SDGs

Existence and stability analysis of ferroresonance using the generalized state-space averaging technique

Thesis (Sc.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-200).Ferroresonance can induce an undesired over-voltage often accompanied with a phase reversal which can damage power distribution transformers and motors and cause injury to the system operators. Similarly, under some conditions, power distribution transformers can excite subharmonic frequencies which in turn can damage the transformer winding and loads connected to the grid lines. While present analysis tools are based on analytical or experimental investigations, no rigorous systematic way exists to analyze ferroresonance and subharmonic problems in power distribution transformers. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a systematic methodology to study ferroresonance and subharmonic problems in power distribution transformers, particularly, their existence, stability, and bifurcations. The methodology proposed for studying the ferroresonance problem is the generalized state-space averaging technique. Both single-phase and three-phase ferroresonance are considered. Appropriate models are developed for the single phase and three-phase power distribution transformers which are suitable for the study of the ferroresonance problem, i.e, low frequency models. The theory of the incremental-input describing function is revisited and a subtle flaw in the formulation of the theory is modified to address the stability of general systems, particularly at synchronous frequency. A generalized Nyquist criterion is presented to assess the stability of the periodic solutions. The modified incremental-input describing function theory is applied to single-phase ferroresonance systems.by Jama A Mohamed.Sc.D

The use of Uberpool and its Relationship with Public Transport -A London case study

The growth of novel forms of shared and non-shared ridesourcing services such as Uberpool and UberX, are nowadays a common feature of transport options in many cities globally (i.e., London). The rapid growth of these new services is creating challenges and opportunities for transport authorities and policymakers who so far have been slow to respond to policy and operational demands. There has been much publicity about the possible effects of Uber services in London and ongoing debates among the transport authorities and other key stakeholders on how or if these services should be managed or regulated. However, with the absence of empirical data and a clear understanding of the current and future implications for traditional PT modes, the consequences of ridesourcing services on London’s transport system are not evident. This study provides insights about the usage and user characteristics of ridesourcing services and how such services work with PT modes and explores the implications of Uberpool on conventional PT in terms of policy and operations. The literature review for this study revealed that empirical research on shared ridesourcing has been limited, mostly because of limited data availability and as a result, effects on other modes such as PT are less understood. Current literature indicates some of the key factors in ridesourcing adoption, include the socio-demographic of users, convenience, cost, and general changing attitudes towards sharing. The current literature on ridesourcing shows that most of the existing research the topic was primarily undertaken in a North American (i.e., the USA) perspective and the findings do not fully capture the policy, and operational issues that relate specifically to a European or UK context. Furthermore, shared ridesourcing is not adequately addressed in the current literature, particularly its impact and relationship with PT services. As such, it is not fully understood, and there is no consensus on how transport authorities and policymakers should deal with these new services. In addition, previous research mainly used a singular approach or considered only one stakeholder (i.e., the users or drivers) and thus did not fully consider the perspectives from all interested parties such as the users, drivers, service providers (TNCs), policymakers and transport authorities and other transport mode operators. To achieve the study objectives and address the research gaps, the following three primary research questions were established. 1. How are UberX and Uberpool currently used in a city like London? 2. What attracts people to Uberpool in a city like London? 3. How do transport authorities and the conventional public transport industry deal with Uberpool in a city like London? For this study, a mixed-methods approach involving the collection of quantitative and qualitative data was used. The quantitative data were collected using a survey of UberX and Uberpool users in London, which yielded 907 responses. The qualitative data were collected using a combination of interviews with 31 different transport policymakers, PT operators and other key stakeholders and focus groups with 28 London Uber drivers. The interview and focus group data were analysed using a thematic approach to find meaningful themes in the data. The survey data was initially analysed using descriptive statistical analysis and cross-tabulation. Moreover, several categorical regression (CATREG) models were developed for the survey data to investigate a greater understanding of the key factors that influenced how and why Uberpool services were used in London. The results indicated that most Uberpool users in London were employed (77.4% of respondents) and educated to degree level (89.5%), with 60% of respondents using PT (i.e., Buses, Trains/Tube) for same or similar trips before Uber and 49.9% of trip purposes were going to “work, college/school, or PT station/stop”. The key factors which influenced a passengers’ decision to use Uberpool instead of PT modes included “perception on safety, compared to PT modes”, “employment status”, “age group”, “trip purpose”, and “car ownership at present”. The results revealed that Uberpool was popular with students, travellers making social (i.e., night out) or long-distance trips. The findings highlight that transport authorities were currently poorly equipped (for various reasons) to deal with these new on-demand services, and there was a need to develop specific transport policy measures and regulations for ridesourcing services which considered input from all key stakeholders, including service providers, PT operators, the users, and ridesourcing drivers. At the time of completion, this was the first study in the UK that used empirical data collected from key stakeholders (i.e., users, Uber drivers and policymakers) to investigate how shared (Uberpool) and non-shared (UberX) ridesourcing services are used and its relationship with traditional PT modes. The findings present important insights into the implications of ridesourcing services for traditional PT, active mode, and the influencing factors on why users adopt ridesourcing instead of other modes and the findings can support policymakers and transport authorities during policy and regulation development. In this study, several key recommendations are offered, including the need to integrate ridesourcing services with other modes of transport in London (e.g., the PT) and providing guidance to ridesourcing and PT operators on how best these services should be integrated (e.g., payment systems) to complement one another and reduce negative impacts the city’s PT network. Furthermore, suggestions on ridesourcing data collection and monitoring methods are presented to address the lack of ridesourcing data, which remains a significant issue in London. In addition, suggestions are made for developing specific regulations for ridesourcing, since there are currently no specific regulations covering ridesourcing in London, and these services are operating under the PHV regulations, which was not developed for these types of services and thus did not address the challenges brought forth by shared and non-shared ridesourcing services. The development of new ridesourcing regulations should involve consultations with all key stakeholders and should aim to maximise the opportunities offered by ridesourcing services whilst addressing the existing regulatory gaps in the taxi and PHV legislation, including driver standards, welfare (i.e., maximum working hours and sick pay) and defining clear responsibilities for all those who are involved in providing ridesourcing. Considering this study’s scope, several opportunities for future research are identified, including future research to understand inequalities in accessing and using ridesourcing services, particularly for the elderly and those who do not have access to the internet or smartphones. Moreover, additional studies are suggested to clarify the role of Uberpool services in fulfilling first and last-mile trips, including how often PT passengers used shared ridesourcing to connect to/from PT modes (i.e., the tube, trains, or buses). Further research is recommended to investigate the broader effects of all the different ridesourcing services on London’s traffic congestion and the wider economic implications from these services, including benefits, disbenefits and the total costs of these services for the city, users, and the drivers

UberPOOL Services – Approaches from Transport Operators and Policymakers in London

Ridesourcing services such as Uber provide a segment of the total daily trips in Urban cities, for instance, its reported that Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) mode share were 1.3% of total daily trips in London in 2014 (GLA, 2016) - which includes Ridesourcing - however the adoption of Ridesourcing services is growing rapidly – with Uber reporting 3.5 million users of its services in London – thereby disrupting traditional travel habits in urban areas. The number of PHVs in London has increased by 58% since 2008/09 to over 77,000 in 2016, meanwhile, the number of licensed PHV drivers has increased by 81% over the same period, (TFL, 2017) - these include Uber drivers. However, it is not well known, how much of recent changes in people’s travel habits, is attributed to Ridesourcing or other tech-driven habits.Conventional transport systems have a limited capacity and are becoming increasingly overloaded in urban areas, creating increasing disruption, congestion and emissions in cities around the world. However, new technology-driven, on-demand Ridesourcing business models that provide low-cost alternative transport to car ownership and public transport - such as those provided by Uber and Lyft – are causing unprecedented disruption to the way urban mobility services are provided and used in urban cities around the world. Ridesourcing is part of the wider phenomenon of the ‘sharing economy’ that is making people re-think, how they avail services from different sectors such as the Transport (i.e. Uber) and Hotel (i.e. Airbnb) industries. As a result, new types of on-demand shared mobility services (i.e. UberPOOL), which use advanced mobile technologies and Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) are becoming popular in cities such as London, UK. Shared Ridesourcing services have the potential to increase positive transport behaviours, including reduced single car occupancy and decreased car ownership. This has triggered debate among policymakers, transport planners and transport authorities; however, the impacts for and consequences of these services on conventional public transport are not well understood.This research provides insights about shared ridesourcing services (i.e. UberPOOL) and potential implications on traditional transport services in an urban context, using Uber operations in London (U.K) as the case study. This paper discusses the current literature on this topic and the key findings from the first phase of multi-phased research that investigates the impacts of shared ridesourcing services on transport policy and operations. Extensive qualitative interview data were collected from policymakers and operators and key findings from the analysed data are discussed in this paper. The results help to answer key research questions and provide a broad appreciation of these new disruptive mobility service

Operational and policy implications of ridesourcing services: a case of Uber in London, UK

New technologically driven, on-demand ridesourcing business models that provide low-cost alternative transport to car ownership and public transport – such as those provided by Uber and Lyft – are causing unprecedented disruption to the way urban mobility services are provided and used in cities around the world. Ridesourcing is part of the wider phenomenon of the ‘sharing economy’ that is making people re-think how they obtain services from different sectors such as the Transport (i.e. Uber) and Hotel (i.e. Airbnb) industries. New types of on-demand shared mobility services based on advanced ICTs (such as UberPOOL) are becoming popular in cities like London, UK. This has triggered debates among policymakers, transport planners and transport authorities; however, the impacts and consequences of these services on conventional public transport are still not well understood.This research aims to provide insights into whether transport authorities and operators in London (UK) fully understand the impact of Uber services and more specifically UberPOOL. It presents empirical evidence on the effects, challenges and opportunities resulting from UberPOOL operations. We draw a picture of the situation from a comprehensive set of interviews with 31 different policymakers, experts, researchers and operators, complemented by feedback from 3 focus group sessions involving 28 different Uber drivers from across London. The findings show that UberPOOL is popular with students, those making social trips and long-distance journeys. It further highlights the need to develop specific transport policy measures and regulations for ridesourcing services which take into account input from all relevant stakeholders (for example, service providers, transport operators, users and drivers), as transport authorities are still poorly equipped (for various reasons) to manage and regulate such disruptive services. These findings help to answer some key research questions and provide a broad understanding of ridesourcing (and more specifically UberPOOL) operations in London

Institutionalisation is a Vital Element for Fairness of Priority Setting in the Package Design if the Target is Universal Health Coverage; Comment on "Evidence-Informed Deliberative Processes for Health Benefits Package Design – Part II: A Practical Guide"

The Evidence-Informed Deliberative Processes (EDPs) guide provides a practical framework for fair priority setting of the Health Benefits Package (HBP) that countries can reasonably use. The steps presented in the EDPs are applicable for prioritising health services in designing HBP and are consistent with practical experience in countries. However, institutionalisation must be considered an element of fairness in the priority-setting process if the aim is to reach broader goals of a health system, such as universal health coverage (UHC). Otherwise, the EDPs for priority setting might not be integrated into the formal health system or impactful, resulting in a waste of time and resources, which is unfair. Institutionalisation means formalising the desired change as an embedded and integrated system so that the change lasts over time. For the institutionalisation of EPDs, four stages are suggested, which are (1) establishing a supportive legal framework, (2) designating governance and institutional structure, (3) stipulating the EDPs processes and (4) individual and institutional capacity building