Combatting the Menace of Youth Restiveness in Nigeria Through Citizenship Education

Peaceful coexistence, tolerance, perseverance and security are looking more elusive in Nigeria today due to the activities of the youth. The rate of involvement of youth in violent crimes is giving the government and every patriotic Nigerians serious concern. The common maxim that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow seems more elusive than real. The youth are at the centre of all the violent crimes in Nigeria. The writer identifies poor family upbringing, bad governance and unemployment are the major causes of restiveness in Nigeria. The paper examines citizenship education as a veritable means of curbing the menace and recommend job creation, proactive value re-orientation and public enlightenment as a way out of the wood. Keywords: Youth; Youth Restiveness; Citizen; Citizenship Education DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-8-01 Publication date:March 31st 201

Investigating public sector client performance in South African construction procurement

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Building to the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg, 2017This study proceeds from the premise that the dissatisfaction of the clients with the outcomes of the construction projects stems from their objectives not being met by the industry. The study aimed at investigating public sector clients’ performance in the South African construction procurement with a view to establishing how their efficiency and effectiveness could be improved during procurement processes. The specific research objectives are to: identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) for public sector clients in their procurement process; assess and analyse the weaknesses and strengths associated with public sector clients’ performance in the construction procurement process; develop a methodical approach to the measurement of public sector clients’ performance in their procurement processes; and recommend implementable approaches to improving client performance in the public sector procurement process. A qualitative and quantitative mixed method research design was adopted in carrying out the study. This involved the use of interviews and structured questionnaire survey. Data were collected from National and Provincial Departments of Public Works as public sector client representatives in South Africa. Based on the analysis of the organogram, a total of six functional units involved in the procurement process were identified and targeted for the purpose of data collection. The purposive sampling technique was adopted for the study. These are Heads of Departments, Deputy Directors General responsible for construction projects, Chief financial officers, Heads of supply chain management, Heads of human resources management, and senior project managers. Information collected included issues leading to uncovering of public sector key performance indicators (KPIs) and strengths and weaknesses associated with public sector clients’ performance. Data collected were analysed using content analysis to determine the themes and constructs leading to the identification of public key performance indicators. Further analysis was carried out using mean ranking analysis of factors associated with the strengths and weaknesses associated with public sector clients’ performance. The results of the research show project delivery process as good, not excellent; no detailed template for clarifying project briefs; legislative and administrative procedures lead to time and cost overruns; lack of adequate capabilities within in-house trained professionals and technical expertise to supervise all projects, insufficient in-house professionals to be represented on each project site; lack of mechanism to monitor in-house professionals’ participation on project sites; low participation of end users’ agents due to high incapacitation of User Department organisation; DPW are highly incapacitated because of lack of standard documentations; lack of professional training and short courses to enhance the skills and expertise of technical professionals. Other results show that delayed/late payment to contractors and end user agents due to cash flow challenges; weak or neglect of project monitoring and supervision; disputes between project managers and consultants as a result of quality of work done by contractors; bureaucratic bottlenecks and long decision making processes; design changes and variation due to contingent events, unforeseen circumstances due to weather, earthworks, disasters, changes in User Department briefs and challenges due to administration and political issues. The findings could also be drawn from challenges in descending order of importance from the human resources management units, the financial management units, the supply chain management units, project management units, decision making processes, planning units, design, briefing, documentation and policy issues. The study concluded that 137 public sector key performance indicators are identifiable for assessing public sector client performance in South African procurement. It also concluded that out of several challenges, the human resources, financial management, supply chain management, and project management challenges are the most severe challenges that beset the National and Provincial Department of Public Works, while the documentation and policy issues are less severe. Implementable recommendations were made to specific user departments. The human resources management units in the South African National and Provincial Departments of Public Works should adopt the recommendation suggested in this study to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of professionals during their project delivery process.XL201

Choosing a Better Delay Line Medium between Single-Mode and Multi-Mode Optical Fibers: the Effect of Bending

Optical fiber cables are materials whose core is made of silica and other materials such as chalcogenide glasses; they transmit a digital signal via light pulses through an extremely thin strand of glass. The light propagates and is being guided by the core which is surrounded by the cladding. Light travels in the optical fiber in the form of total internal reflection in the core of the fibers. The flexibility, low tensile strength, low signal loss, high bandwidth and other characteristics of optical fibers favors it for use as a delay medium in many applications. Another favorable characteristic of optical fiber delay lines is are their relative insensitivities to environmental effects and electromagnetic interferences. The immunity of optical fibers to interferences and their less weight added advantages to it for use as delay medium. Single-mode and multi-mode are the two most popular types of optical fibers. Single-mode fibers have good propagation and delay properties with a minimal loss that allows the signal to propagate in a large distance with insignificant distortion or attenuation. The percentage of power transmission of single-mode fibers is found to be higher than that of the multi-mode fibers. It is, therefore, a preferred type for use as a delay line. In this paper, relative studies of the two optical fibers modes, and the results of power input/output measurement of the two modes are presented with a view to coming up with a better type for use as a delay medium

English to Arabic machine translation of mathematical documents

This paper is about the development of a machine translation system tailored specifically for LATEX mathematical documents. The system focuses on translating English LATEX mathematical documents into Arabic LATEX, catering to the growing demand for multilingual accessibility in scientific and mathematical literature. With the vast proliferation of LATEX mathematical documents the need for an efficient and accurate translation system has become increasingly essential. This paper addresses the necessity for a robust translation tool that enables seamless communication and comprehension of complex mathematical content across language barriers. The proposed system leverages a Transformer model as the core of the translation system, ensuring enhanced accuracy and fluency in the translated Arabic LATEX documents. Furthermore, the integration of RyDArab, an Arabic mathematical TEX extension, along with a rule-based translator for Arabic mathematical expressions, contributes to the precise rendering of complex mathematical symbols and equations in the translated output. The paper discusses the architecture, methodology, of the developed system, highlighting its efficacy in bridging the language gap in the domain of mathematical documentatio

DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN MOROCCO: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY.

Like several developing countries, Morocco considers FDI as a source of economic growth, technology transfer, human capital development, job creation etc. From this perspective, the country is committed to a policy of FDI attractiveness in order to improve its general investment climate and offer the necessary conditions and incentives entitled to attract more and more foreign firms to its territory. Thus, Morocco has implemented a set of measures and reforms that cover several aspects, be they economic, fiscal, financial, commercial or institutional. The objective of this paper is to empirically analyse the factors that determine FDI flows in Morocco. In so doing, we have conducted an empirical study using the cointegration approach and the VECM model with theory macroeconomic data of Morocco over the period 1980-2019. The results of the study show that the infrastructure, human capital, trade openness, labour cost, political stability and financial system development are factors that favour Morocco's FDI inflows. However, the market size does not show any significant effect

The Challenges Of Boko Haram Insurgency: Implications For Nigeria’S National Security, 2009-2017

This research examines challenges of Boko Haram insurgency and implications for Nigeria’s national security, with the scope covering the period from 2009 until 2017. The scope is purposely chosen to start from when the BH terrorist group became more violent. This period witnessed consistent and ruthless attacks by the BH terror group in northeastern Nigeria, with devastating consequences on the national security architecture of Nigeria. The theoretical basis of this study lays emphasis on Emile Durkheim and Robert K. Merton's Anomie Theory. Qualitative methods of research inquiry were used to generate data and Content Analysis as methodology. The data were collected using the key informant interview (KII) and focus group discussion (FGD). A total of 210 respondents participated in this study, 30 in-depth interviews for the KII, and 18 group discussions of 10 participants in each cluster of both Adamawa and Borno states. The participants are selected using the purposive and criterion sampling techniques of those who played active roles in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency and those directly affected by Boko Haram terrorism. Data collected were analysed using content analysis and coding