Internet Privacy

The benefits of the Internet have come at some cost, one of which is a loss of privacy, which is often regarded as a moral right or a legal right. Internet privacy is primarily concerned with protecting user information. It is widely acknowledged as the top consideration in any online interaction. New threats to privacy and civil liberties are emerging daily and privacy practices are not one size fits all. This paper provides a brief introduction to online privacy

Urban growth assessment and its impact on deforestation in Bauchi metropolis, Nigeria using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Urban areas are rapidly expanding due to population growth and development, leading to deforestation and land degradation. This study employed remote sensing and GIS techniques to assess urban growth and its impact on deforestation in Bauchi metropolis, Nigeria within the last three decades (1986-2016). The study made use of Land sat images of four epochs; Thematic Mapper (TM) of 1986 and 1996, Enhanced Thematic Mapper of 2006, and Operational Land Imager (OLI) of 2016. Color compositions were made after which the images were geometrically and radio metrically restituted. The images were classified using maximum likelihood algorithm and the accuracy of the classification was assessed by cross-validation using confusion matrices and ground truthing by the use of a hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS). The classified images with their kappa indexes were TM of 1986 (0.83%) and 1996 (0.87%), ETM+ of 2006 (0.90%) and OLI of 2016 (0.92%), respectively. Post-classification comparisons and analyses were performed and the results revealed that changes have taken place in bare surface (+32.43%), built-up area (+565.24%), farm land (+66.42%), forest (-91.80%) and rock outcrop (-49.21%) in the metropolis between 1986 and 2016. The land cover features of the metropolis were reclassified into forest and non-forest for cross-tabulation analysis and the result of the analysis indicates a change-over of 14965.97Ha (39.68%) form forest to non-forest (deforestation) and that of 467.69Ha (1.24%) form non-forest to forest (afforestation) between 1986 and 2016. This shows a rapid increase in built-up area (urban growth) and rapid decrease in forest (deforestation), which may be attributed to lack of improper environmental protection strategy in place in the metropolis. The study demonstrates the potentialities of remote sensing and GIS in assessing urban growth and its impacts on deforestation. The outcome of the study can serve as input into a relationship model for predicting the impact of urban growth on deforestation

Pengaruh Penerapan Konsep Good Corporate Governance Terhadap Kinerja Non-Keuangan Di Kantor Pusat PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia

Good corporate governance defines the correlation among corporate\u27s elements which can determine the performance of the corporation. By implementing GCG within the corporates, it is expected to increase corporate performance improvement in both financial and non-financial sector. The purposes of this research is to analyze how the implementation of GCG and the performance of PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia and how the GCG\u27s influence towards corporate performance. The analytical method used in this research is multiple linear regression analysis. The analysis result shows that the GCG implementation was not significantly effect PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia performance. Accountability has significantly effect to PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia performance. The coefficient determination (R2) was 0,187 (18,7%) showed that GCG implementation was still has small contribution to PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia performance

Finite Element Approach of Shielded, Suspended and Inverted Microstrip Lines

In this paper, we present finite element method (FEM) to investigate the electromagnetic analysis of two-dimensional (2D) shielded, suspended and inverted microstrip lines for microwave applications. In the proposed method, we specifically determine the values of capacitance per unit length, inductance per unit length, and characteristic impedance of the microstrip lines. Extensive simulation results are presented and some comparative results are given with other methods and found them to be in excellent agreement. We extend the analysis by designing our new model of shielded, inverted microstrip lines and compared it with shielded, suspended microstrip lines; we found them to be very close. Also, we determine the quasi-TEM spectral for the potential distribution of these microstrip lines

Assessment of length-weight relationship and condition factor of Synodontics omias (Cuvier, 1816) in River Komadougou, Northeast, Nigeria

Length-weight relationship and condition factor of Synodontics omias (Cuvier, 1816) was studied between June to November 2020 in River Komadougou, Northeast, Nigeria. A total of 350 fish species were collected from artisanal fishermen at selected landing sites within the study area. The morphometric and meristic characteristics examined varies whereas some meristic features such as pelvic and dorsal fin spine had a constant value of 1 each. The mean condition factor shows no significant difference (P 0.05) throughout the sampling period. A linear relationship was established W = -0.82L1.91 and significant at P 0.01 with b value indicating a negative allometric growth pattern.  The correlation coefficient (r2 = 0.7904) indicated that LWR model is reliable. This study provides baselines on length-weight relationship and condition factor of Synodontics omias in River Komadougou, thus further research should be encouraged on the water body for sustainable utilization, decision making and policy formulation

Reconocimiento óptico de fuentes en inglés en documentos de imágenes utilizando eigenfaces

Introduction: In this paper, a system for recognizing fonts has been designed and implemented. The system is based on the Eigenfaces method. Because font recognition works in conjunction with other methods like Optical Character Recognition (OCR), we used Decapod and OCRopus software as a framework to present the method. Materials and Methods: In our experiments, text typeset with three English fonts (Comic Sans MS, DejaVu Sans Condensed,Times New Roman) have been used. Results and Discussion: The system is tested thoroughly using synthetic and degraded data. The experimental results show that Eigenfaces algorithm is very good at recognizing fonts of synthetic clean data as well as degraded data. The correct recognition rate for synthetic data for Eigenfaces is 99% based on Euclidean Distance. The overall accuracy of Eigenfaces is 97% based on 6144 degraded samples and considering Euclidean Distance performance criterion. Conclusions: It is concluded from the experimental results that the Eigenfaces method is suitable for font recognition of degraded documents. The three percentage incorrect classification can be mediated by relying on intra-word font information

RESPONSE OF COWPEA (Vigna unguiculata L.Walp) VARIETIES TO PHOSPHORUS LEVELS IN SUDAN SAVANNA OF NIGERIA

Field trials were conducted during the 2015 rainy season at the Bayero University Kano Teaching and Research Farm (110 58’N, 8025’E and 475m above sea level) and National Institute of Horticulture (NIHORT) Bagauda (lat. 120 08'N, long. 80 32'E, 500m above sea level). The study was conducted to determine the response of cowpea varieties to phosphorus levels in the Sudan savannah of Nigeria. The treatments consisted of four cowpea varieties (UAM-09-1051-1, IT99K-573-2-1, IT99K-573-1-1, and TVX 3236) and phosphorus fertilizer (SSP) (0, 20, and 40kg/ha) which were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The result revealed that application of 40 kg/ha P2O5 statistically recorded the highest grain yield/ha at BUK. No significant phosphorus effect was recorded on grain yield/ha at Bagauda. The findings of the study also revealed that there was significant varietal effect on cowpea growth and yield at both study locations. Higher grain yield was recorded from variety IT99k-573-2-1 (1193.400 kg/ha), followed by variety TVX 3236 (950.900 kg/ha) and IT99k-573-1-1 (776.500 kg/ha) at BUK while no significant effect of variety was recorded at Bagauda. The result of the simple correlation analysis revealed significant negative and positive association between growth and yield parameters. Thus based on this findings, application of 40 kg/ha P2O5 can be recommended for better cowpea growth and yield. Similarly, variety IT99k-573-2-1 can be recommended for both locations

Economic Analysis of Crop Production under Jibiya Irrigation Project, Katsina State, Nigeria

The study examined costs and returns of crop production under Jibiya Irrigation Project as well as problems that were militating against the achievement of the Project objectives. 120 farmers were randomly sampled and interviewed. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and farm budgeting model. The average age and land holding of the farmers were 42 years and 0.8ha, respectively. Majority of the farmers were married and can read and write. Most of them had between 0 - 5 and 0 - 3 children and dependants, respectively. Their average costs of crop production were N 94,513.61, N 90,969.20 and N 3,544.41 per hectare of total, variable and fixed cost, respectively. Whereas the total revenue, gross margin and net farm income they obtained were N 190,329.36, N 99,360.16 and N 95,815.75 per hectare, respectively. They enjoyed a net return on investment of N 1.01. There were many problems facing the farmers, which if not addressed adequately, will not only significantly reduce the productivity of crop production but will also discourage farmers from farming under the Project. The performance of the farmers, though good, could be improved if there is adequate funding of the Project; inputs are made readily available to farmers at subsidized rate and in good time and the farmers offer hands in ensuring the safety and security of the Project’s facilities.Keywords: Economic analysis, Crop production, Jibiya irrigation project

Synthesis, characterisation and Pickering emulsifier performance of poly(stearyl methacrylate)–poly(N-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl pyrrolidone) diblock copolymer nano-objects via RAFT dispersion polymerisation in n-dodecane

A near-monodisperse poly(stearyl methacrylate) macromolecular chain transfer agent (PSMA macro-CTA) was prepared via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) solution polymerisation in toluene. This PSMA macro-CTA was then utilised as a stabiliser block for the RAFT dispersion polymerisation of a highly polar monomer, N-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl pyrrolidone (NMEP), in n-dodecane at 90 °C. 1H NMR studies confirmed that the rate of NMEP polymerisation was significantly faster than that of a non-polar monomer (benzyl methacrylate, BzMA) under the same conditions. For example, when targeting a PSMA14–PNMEP100 diblock copolymer, more than 99% NMEP conversion was achieved within 30 min, whereas only 19% BzMA conversion was obtained on the same time scale for the corresponding PSMA14–PBzMA100 synthesis. The resulting PSMA–PNMEP diblock copolymer chains underwent polymerisation-induced self-assembly (PISA) during growth of the insoluble PNMEP block to form either spherical micelles, highly anisotropic worms or polydisperse vesicles, depending on the target DP of the PNMEP chains. Systematic variation of this latter parameter, along with the solids content, allowed the construction of a phase diagram which enabled pure morphologies to be reproducibly targeted. Syntheses conducted at 10% w/w solids led to the formation of kinetically-trapped spheres. A monotonic increase in particle diameter with PNMEP DP was observed for such PISA syntheses, with particle diameters of up to 462 nm being obtained for PSMA14–PNMEP960. Increasing the copolymer concentration to 15% w/w solids led to worm-like micelles, while vesicles were obtained at 27.5% w/w solids. High (≥95%) NMEP conversions were achieved in all cases and 3[thin space (1/6-em)]:[thin space (1/6-em)]1 chloroform/methanol GPC analysis indicated relatively high blocking efficiencies. However, relatively broad molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn > 1.50) were observed when targeting PNMEP DPs greater than 150. This indicates light branching caused by the presence of a low level of dimethacrylate impurity. Finally, PSMA14–PNMEP49 spheres were evaluated as Pickering emulsifiers. Unexpectedly, it was found that either water-in-oil or oil-in-water Pickering emulsions could be obtained depending on the shear rate employed for homogenisation. Further investigation suggested that high shear rates lead to in situ inversion of the initial hydrophobic PSMA14–PNMEP49 spheres to form hydrophilic PNMEP49–PSMA14 spheres

Kepuasan Nasabah Dan Strategi Pengembangan Usaha BNI Kantor Cabang Utama Harmoni Jakarta

Industri perbankan di Indonesia berkembang dengan cepat, ditunjukkan dengan banyaknya bank dan produknya yang menyebabkan persaingan semakin ketat. Disamping itu, terjadinya Perubahan pola pikir konsumen yang ditandai dengan semakin banyaknya faktor yang menjadi pertimbangan dalam memilih bank, antara lain akses yang mudah, rasa aman, produk bersaing dan pelayanan memuaskan. Tujuan kajian untuk mengidentifikasi karakteristik nasabah, menganalisis hubungan tingkat kinerja mutu jasa yang diberikan dengan karakteristik nasabah, menganalisis tingkat kepentingan nasabah dengan atribut-atribut mutu pelayanan, menganalisis kesesuaian antara tingkat kepentingan dengan atribut-atribut mutu pelayanan menurut nasabah dengan kinerja dan menyusun strategi yang tepat untuk pengembangan Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) Kantor Cabang Utama (KCU) Harmoni dalam menghadapi persaingan. Metode yang digunakan dalam kajian ini adalah analisis deskriptif, keandalan dan uji validitas, khi-kuadrat (chi-square), tabulasi silang, Importance Performance Analysis (IPA), Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) dan Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Karakteristik nasabah BNI KCU Harmoni sebagian besar adalah wanita berusia 36-55 tahun dan bekerja sebagai karyawati dengan penghasilan di atas Rp 8 juta lebih. Secara umum, nasabah mendapatkan informasi dari spanduk yang dipasang di depan kantor BNI KCU Harmoni. Berdasarkan hubungan antara karakteristik nasabah dan tingkat kinerja, dapat disimpulkan bahwa pelanggan wanita, terutama berusia 36-55 tahun membutuhkan pelayanan sesuai dengan yang dibutuhkan. Karyawan membutuhkan pelayanan menurut standar layanan. Nasabah dengan penghasilan Rp 5-8 juta mengharapkan transaksi keuangan dilakukan dengan aman. Nasabah melakukan transaksi sekali dalam satu bulan, karena merasa percaya dan nyaman dengan pelayanan yang diberikan. Sumber informasi berupa spanduk yang dipasang di depan BNI KCU Harmoni sangat membantu petugas dalam memberikan informasi. Prioritas utama perbaikan perlu dilakukan tentang pelayanan parkir dengan melakukan koordinasi keamanan operasional gedung dan melakukan pemasaran secara agresif, lebih informatif dan fokus dengan lingkungan di sekitar kantor. Secara keseluruhan dari hasil integrasi IPA, CSI dan SWOT menunjukkan bahwa nasabah telah merasa puas dengan pelayanan yang telah diberikan BNI KCU Harmoni. Kepuasan ini harus dibandingkan (benchmarking) dengan pelayanan yang diberikan oleh bank-bank pesaing di sekitar BNI KCU Harmoni agar pelayanan dapat lebih ditingkatkan menjadi lebih baik