An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the MCA Rural Banks Computerization and Interconnectivity Project Implementation: A Comparative Case Study of Amanano and Odotobri Rural Bank Limited

The aim of this research project is to addresses the effectiveness of the MCA Rural Banks Computerization and Interconnectivity project to the rural banks. This study will provide an exploratory look at the challenges surrounding the computerization project implementation and how the system administrators, Managers and staff of Amanano and Odotobri Rural Bank in particular perceive them.Collation of the relevant data is followed by a discussion of the challenges emanating from the computerization project that impedes on the effectiveness of the process. After analyzing the relevant information, it became apparent that there are three primary results, which are shown here. The first is that, strategic planning for the computerization project is fundamental and key to the ultimate effectiveness of MCA computerization project. Planning with regard to the acquisition of equipment for the computerization project has proven to be a difficult accomplishment regardless of the type of rural bank. Secondly, training and sensitization of the staff on information technology has proven to be a major factor in effective implementation of the project. This trend speaks directly to the lack of training and the difficulties rural banks face during the computerization of their banks. Finally, it is shown that the expertise level of staff with regard to Information Technology has proven to be a contributing factor to the effectiveness of the computerization implementation process. Keywords: Information and Communication Technology, IT Planning, Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), IT Procurement, IT implementation, RCB, ARP Apex Ban

Mesozoic detrital zircon provenance of Central Africa: implications for Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonics, paleogeography and landscape evolution

Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonics, paleogeography and sedimentary provenance of central Africa are poorly constrained and continue to be debated. The lack of constraints on the timing and controls on late Mesozoic sedimentary basin development, drainage evolution and paleoenvironments is problematic because central Africa is well endowed with natural resources, and good understanding of these issues is fundamental to a better assessment of hydrocarbon and alluvial diamond exploration targeting. Moreover, by improving our understanding of Mesozoic strata across this vast region, we can also help to contextualise the ecological and evolutionary relationships of floras and faunas from central Africa with contemporary floras and faunas from different parts of Africa and throughout Gondwana. In particular, refining the depositional age of late Mesozoic units is key to understanding and reconstructing regional paleogeography and drainage patterns during this poorly resolved time period in Africa, which also furthers our understanding of the origins and dispersal pathways for Mesozoic, Cenozoic and modern African floras and faunas, as well as economically significant alluvial mineral resources, such as diamonds, that are important to the economies of this part of the world. To address these issues a detailed and multifaceted sedimentary provenance analysis of 14 late Mesozoic units from seven sedimentary basins across central Africa (spanning seven different countries) was conducted. This integrated sedimentological approach incorporated sandstone petrography, paleocurrent analysis, U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology, Lu-Hf isotope and trace element geochemistry to investigate Jurassic and Cretaceous continental deposits from central Africa. The main objective was to investigate late Mesozoic sedimentary basin development, drainage evolution and provide constraints on the age of deposition, sediment source and paleofluvial drainage patterns, using core and outcrop samples from across the region; including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Angola, Sudan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Sandstone petrography and paleocurrent data indicate mixed sediment sources mainly to the south of study areas. Maximum depositional age analyses performed on U-Pb detrital zircon sample results demonstrate that most of the late Mesozoic units in central Africa are younger than previously accepted. Detrital zircon provenance analysis points to primary contributions from Neoproterozoic Pan-African Mobile Belts (e.g., Mozambique and Zambezi belts), which were probably exposed at this time are the dominant (>75%). The Lu-Hf isotope geochemistry results also show a mixed sediment provenance consisting of juvenile mantle and reworked crustal sources, which corroborates the sandstone petrography results. Western areas of central Africa (e.g. DRC and Angola) are dominated by sediments from reworked crustal sources, whereas eastern parts of central Africa (e.g. Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania) are dominated by sediments of juvenile mantle sources. The results further suggest a pattern of large ephemeral lakes in the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous in the Congo and Zambezi basins, followed by the development of a large, dominantly north directed fluvial systems across central Africa in the middle Cretaceous. The results are supportive of a uniform northward continental drainage pattern throughout late Mesozoic, which supports the assertion that the paleo-Congo drainage system was likely north flowing, rather than east flowing out of the Congo Basin and into Indian Ocean as previously suggested. The results of this thesis are also supportive of the hypothesis of a major drainage divide between southern and central Africa during the late Mesozoic and the concept of a major NW trending fluvial drainage pattern into the shear zones within the Central African Rift System, although the ultimate depocentre still remains uncertain. The maximum depositional age of three Cretaceous sedimentary units, including the dinosaur-bearing Wadi Milk Formation of Sudan has been constrained. The new ages shows a generally much younger age of deposition than previous assignations, calling into question the reliability of these overly broad biostratigraphic age for these important sedimentary units

The State of Rural Northeast Ohio

This research brief focuses on industries in eight rural NEO counties: Ashland, Ashtabula, Columbiana, Erie, Huron, Richland, Tuscarawas, and Wayne. These counted produced $30 billion of output and employed 300,000 people in 2018. Output growth in rural NEO counties has outperformed urban NEO and Ohio – much of this growth can be attributed to the Utica Shale development. Tuscarawas county surpassed output growth in all other counties in NEO

The Performance Consequences of Board Structure Changes:Evidence from Ghana

This paper analyses the performance consequences of board structure changes in Ghana for the study period 2000 to 2009. In 2003, the Ghanaian listed firms adopted the Ghanaian Corporate Governance Code on comply or explain basis but no study to date has analysed the pre-2003 and post-2003 board structure changes impact on firm performance in the Ghanaian environment. We predict that board structure changes prompted by the introduction of the Ghanaian Code in 2003 should lead to better firm performance. Using a panel regression model, our results show that duality decreases firm performance pre-2003, but those firms that separate the two posts in line with the recommendations of the Ghanaian Code did not perform better than those that combined the two post-2003. While we find no relationship between board committees and firm performance pre-2003, the relationship switched to positive and statistically significant post-2003. The most consistent result we find concerns board size. However, the non-executive director representation on the board appears to have no impact on firm performance. These results show that not all board structure recommendations introduced by the Ghanaian Code are effective in achieving superior performance in Ghana.</jats:p

Drivers of Smallholder Plantation Forestry in the Tano North District of Ghana

Adoption of smallholder plantations in off-forest reserve among farmers has always been a challenge. Using the qualitative methods and survey among 193 smallholder plantations farmers through simple random sampling from six communities in the Tano North District, the study aimed at exploring the drivers for smallholder plantation forestry in the Tano North District of the Brong-Ahafo Forest Region of Ghana. The findings showed that as age of farmers increased, the number of plantations owned reduced. Surprisingly, all the plantations owned by farmers were teak. In addition, a significant relationship between gender of farmers and factors that motivated them to establish smallholder plantations was identified. Furthermore, the relationship between gender and land tenure systems was significant. The study identified low price for teak wood, absence of standard price for teak wood, decline in food crop yield due to canopy closure of teak stands, lack of capital to invest in teak plantation, lack of extension services from Forest Services Division and wildfire as the factors that militate against smallholder plantation forestry. The motivating factors for smallholder plantation forestry were financial returns, plantation as collateral to secure loans, hobby and construction material for subsistence use.  The identified drivers if taken into account during the implementation of smallholder forestry could enhance its viability and adoption. Keywords: gender, land tenure, land size, age, militating factors, relationship DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-6-04 Publication date:March 31st 202

Shale Investment Dashboard in Ohio Q3 and Q4 2022

This report presents findings from an investigation into shale-related investment in Ohio, looking at up, mid and downstream activities. The investment estimates are for July through December of 2022. The report also includes an estimate of cumulative investment in shale in Ohio from 2012 through December 2022. Prior biannual investments are included in previously posted reports that are available from Cleveland State University

Shale Investment Dashboard in Ohio Q3 and Q4 2020

This report presents findings from an investigation into shale-related investment in Ohio, looking at up, mid and downstream activities. The investment estimates are from July through December of 2020. The report also includes an estimate of cumulative investment in shale in Ohio from 2012 through December 2020. Prior biannual investments are included in previously posted reports that are available from Cleveland State University

Detecting End-Point (EP) Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) Attack based on ARP Analysis: A Machine Learning Approach

End-Point (EP) Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attack is a well-known threat in computer security. This attack targets the flow of information between endpoints. An attacker is able to eavesdrop on the communication between two targets and can either perform active or passive monitoring; this affects the confidentiality and integrity of the data flow. Several techniques have been developed by researchers to address this kind of attack. With the current emergence of machine learning (ML) models, we explore the possibility of applying ML in EP MITM detection. Our detection technique is based on Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) analysis. The technique combines signal processing and machine learning in detecting EP MITM attack. We evaluated the accuracy of the proposed technique using linear-based ML classification models. The technique proved itself to be efficient by producing a detection accuracy of 99.72%

CSR communication : a study of multinational mining companies in Southern Ghana

In recent years, there has been significant interest in communication on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (Tehemar, 2012; Bortree, 2014). Yet, it is impractical to assume a onesize- fits-all definition for CSR (Crane and Matten, 2007; Walter, 2014). Therefore, this becomes an important area for research as CSR communications play a vital role in any CSR strategy in the business world, more especially in Ghana. Consequently, a good CSR communication can address the increasing cynicism about CSR when it is done effectively (Du et al., 2010; Kim and Ferguson, 2014). While a body of research exists about CSR communication at a theoretical level (Brugger, 2010; Schmeltz, 2012), there is a lack of empirical research investigating the topic in a particular policy and cultural content (Emel et al., 2012). The aim of this study was to address the limited research on CSR communication in Ghana. It empirically investigated whether the CSR dimensions (Triple Bottom Line) and effective CSR message components are positively linked with CSR stakeholder’ approval. The effects of individual characteristics including education and gender were also tested on the relationships. The study integrates insights from stakeholder theory (Vaaland et al., 2008; Wang, 2008) supported by both legitimacy theory (Perk et al., 2013) and institutional theory (Suddaby, 2013) to explain the planned base for CSR communication. A cross-sectional survey with 817 responses was used. This consisted of government-local-authority officials, mining company employees and host community officials from multinational mining companies (AngloGold Ashanti Limited, Ghana Bauxite Company Limited and Ghana Manganese Company Limited) operating in areas of southern Ghana. A quantitative survey analysis was employed to test the relationships through multiple regression analysis. One of the contributions pertains to the introduction of constructs of social, environmental and economic bottom lines to form a new, easy-to-remember acronym, the ‘SEE’ element in the CSR message contents. The results also make a contribution to knowledge by indicating that CSR message dimensions positively affect the way stakeholders approve mining companies’ CSR communications. Additionally, there were clear education and gender differences amongst stakeholders in accepting and approving companies’ CSR messages in Ghana. Furthermore, divergent stakeholders prefer different CSR message channels, and that certain CSR message contents are important for a particular stakeholder group