Black Lives Matter: Decrypting Encrypted Racism

The agitation of the Black Lives Matter movement has dominated the public discourse in the United States. Mobilized against the killing of unarmed black people, the movement and their sympathizers have made a series of demands for justice and dignity for the black people. However, many critics have raised concern over the legitimacy of the phrase, black lives matter since all lives irrespective of race, should matter. This article does not intend to pursue the ongoing debate over the semantic use of black lives or all lives. Instead, the paper seeks to study, through the lenses of the African American critical theories (Tyson, 2015) and other relevant social conflict theories, the often neglected but important shift that has occurred in race relations in America, a shift from overt structural racism to its covert form - encrypted racism. It is the contention of this article that just as the Civil Rights Movement was instrumental in ending overt structural racism, open discrimination and segregation, the Black Lives Matter movement has been bravely instrumental in decrypting encrypted racism in the United States

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership - the development of a Bespoke Enterprise Resource Planning System in the UK

Abstract. A Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is a UK-wide programme designed to enable businesses to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance. A KTP achieves this through the forming of a Partnership between a business and an academic institution. The aim is to enable businesses to access skills and expertise from academics and embed this knowledge in their businesses in order to develop the business. The knowledge sought is embedded into the business through a project, or projects, undertaken by a recently qualified person (known as the Associate). Part funding is provided by the government towards the Associate’s salary and towards the release of an Academic supervisor who works a half a day a week at the company. KTPs can vary in length from 6 months to three years, depending on the needs of the business and the desired outcomes. Therefore a KTP enables new capability to be embedded into the business and has benefited and continues to benefit a wide range of businesses across many sectors in the UK, including micro sized, small and large businesses across many sectors. This paper describes a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project between the University of Hertfordshire and a small and medium sized enterprise (SME) based in Cambridgeshire, UK.Final Accepted Versio

The Design and Implementation of a bespoke Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) for an acoustical engineering company

This paper will describe the tasks completed so far as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between the University of Hertfordshire and Acoustical Control Engineers (ACE) a ‘small and medium sized enterprise’ (SME) based in Cambridgeshire, UK. ACE’s 25 personnel design, manufacture and install noise and vibration control systems to solve a wide range of acoustic problems. The projects undertaken include acoustic enclosures for supermarket refrigeration plant and for generators used in many situations, together with other more diverse applications such as controlling noise in the workplace and even on a luxury boat. Before the current KTP project the company used some partially computerised systems consisting of spreadsheets to perform acoustic analyses, pricing and project management functions supplemented with a paper based system to ‘fill the gaps’. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems provide an integrated database for all parts of the organisation allowing decisions to be based on a complete understanding of the organisation’s information, avoiding the problems due to duplication of data and ensuring that the consequences of decisions in one part of the organisation are reflected in the planning and control systems of the rest of the organisation. ERP systems became popular from the 1990’s mainly in relatively large organisations due to the complexity and cost of these systems. This project is unusual in that rather than adapting an off-the-shelf ERP solution to ACE’s very specific and specialised requirements we are taking an ERP development approach in an SME whose legacy systems are made up of spreadsheet and paper based systems. For the software development an Agile approach has been used. Agile involves software development methods based on iterative and incremental development. The initial attempt was to start developing the ERP from an Open Source ERP Source Code; however this effort was futile as a result of the bespoke nature of ACE’s business and product lines. Mapping ACE’s data model to the database which any existing ERP system could be adapted to, proved to be a very difficult problem. Therefore, developing the ERP from first principles was inevitable. Several of the ERP modules have been developed, user training has taken place and the core modules have been signed off. The project is due to complete in September 2014 and by this time we will have further information on how the ERP system has increased the competitiveness of the company, as well as experience of introducing an ERP into an SME. However, as would be expected the work undertaken developing the system so far has had several significant effects on ACE and acted as a catalyst for change in various parts of ACE’s business.Non peer reviewe

Cloud Security : A Review of Recent Threats and Solution Models

The most significant barrier to the wide adoption of cloud services has been attributed to perceived cloud insecurity (Smitha, Anna and Dan, 2012). In an attempt to review this subject, this paper will explore some of the major security threats to the cloud and the security models employed in tackling them. Access control violations, message integrity violations, data leakages, inability to guarantee complete data deletion, code injection, malwares and lack of expertise in cloud technology rank the major threats. The European Union invested €3m in City University London to research into the certification of Cloud security services. This and more recent developments are significant in addressing increasing public concerns regarding the confidentiality, integrity and privacy of data held in cloud environments. Some of the current cloud security models adopted in addressing cloud security threats were – Encryption of all data at storage and during transmission. The Cisco IronPort S-Series web security appliance was among security solutions to solve cloud access control issues. 2-factor Authentication with RSA SecurID and close monitoring appeared to be the most popular solutions to authentication and access control issues in the cloud. Database Active Monitoring, File Active Monitoring, URL Filters and Data Loss Prevention were solutions for detecting and preventing unauthorised data migration into and within clouds. There is yet no guarantee for a complete deletion of data by cloud providers on client requests however; FADE may be a solution (Yang et al., 2012)

Nigeria-Biafra War and the Politics of Oblivion: Implications of Revealing the Hidden Narratives through Transformative Learning

Ignited by the secession of Biafra from Nigeria on May 30, 1967, the Nigeria-Biafra War (1967- 1970) with an estimated death toll of 3 million was followed by decades of silence and a ban of history education. However, the advent of democracy in 1999 catalyzed the return of repressed memories to public consciousness accompanied by renewed agitation for the secession of Biafra from Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a transformative learning of the Nigeria-Biafra War history will have a significant effect on conflict management styles of Nigerian citizens of Biafran origin regarding ongoing agitation for secession. Drawing on theories of knowledge, memory, forgetting, history, and transformative learning, and employing ex post facto research design, 320 participants were randomly selected from the Igbo ethnic group in the southeastern states of Nigeria to participate in transformative learning activities that focused on the Nigeria-Biafra War as well as complete both the Transformative Learning Survey (TLS) and Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). Data collected were analyzed using descriptive analysis and inferential statistical tests. The results indicated that as transformative learning of the Nigeria-Biafra War history increased, collaboration also increased, while aggression decreased. From these findings, two effects emerged: transformative learning acted as a booster of collaboration and a reducer of aggression. This new understanding of transformative learning could help in conceptualizing a theory of transformative history education within the broader field of conflict resolution. The study therefore recommends that transformative learning of the Nigeria-Biafra War history should be implemented in Nigerian schools

The Columbus Monument: A Hermeneutical Analysis

Christopher Columbus, a historically revered European hero to whom the dominant European narrative attributes the discovery of America, but whose image and legacy symbolize silenced genocide of the Indigenous Peoples of America and the Caribbean, has become a controversial figure. This paper explores the symbolic representation of the statue of Christopher Columbus for both sides of the conflict – the Italian Americans who erected it at the Columbus Circle in New York City and in other places on the one hand, and the Indigenous Peoples of America and the Caribbean whose ancestors were slaughtered by the European invaders, on the other. Through the lenses of historical memory and conflict resolution theories, the paper is guided by the hermeneutics – critical interpretation and understanding – of the statue of Christopher Columbus as I experienced it during my research at this site of memory. In addition, the controversies and current debates that its public presence in the heart of Manhattan evokes are critically analyzed. In doing this hermeneutical cum critical analysis, three main questions are explored. 1) How could the statue of Christopher Columbus as a controversial historical monument be interpreted and understood? 2) What do the theories of historical memory tell us about the monument of Christopher Columbus? 3) What lessons can we learn from this controversial historical memory to better prevent or resolve similar conflicts in the future and build a more inclusive, equitable and tolerant New York City and America? The paper concludes with a gaze into the future of New York City as an example of a multicultural, diverse city in America

Renal biomarkers and histomorphological alterations in Rattus norvegicus Wistar strain exposed to hematite

Hematite (iron ore) is one of the heavy metals causing environmental hazards and damage to the body. This study examined the effect of iron ore on renal function biomarkers and histo architecture in Wistar Rats. A total of 20 male albino Wistar rats subdivided into four groups of 5 rats each were used. Group A served as control while B, C and D were experimental groups. B and C received 3mg/kg b.wt and 4.5mg/kg bwt of iron ore while D received 4.5mg/kg b.wt of iron ore and Vitamin E for 28 days respectively, after which the animals were sacrificed to harvest the kidneys for histological analysis. Blood samples were also collected in plain bottles for renal function biomarker analysis. Data obtained were expressed as mean + SEM while One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare means, with level of significance accepted at p<0.05. Results showed significant increase of Urea, Creatinine, Sodium ion and Bicarbonate ion (p<0.05) in a dose dependent manner, but a decrease of potassium ion and chloride ion in like  manner. A dose dependent histo-architectural distortion of the kidney was also observed. However, cconcomitant administration of Vitamin E modulated the renotoxic potentials of the iron ore.Keywords: Hematite, Heavy metals, Renal biomarkers, Renal histomorpholog

Primary school pre-service teachers’ solutions to pattern problem-solving tasks based on three components of creativity

Education stakeholders and researchers in South Africa have emphasised the need to enhance teachers’ creativity through problem-solving tasks. Teachers’ creativity entails using new ideas of creative devices to solve problems, implement solutions, and make learning more effective. In the research reported on here, Guilford’s theory was used to explore primary school pre-service teachers’ solutions to pattern problem-solving tasks based on 3 components of creativity. The data for this research were produced from primary school pre-service teachers’ written responses to the pattern problem-solving tasks, and an extract from participants’ semi-structured interviews. The research involved a qualitative design using convenient purposive sampling to sample 62 pre-service teachers enrolled for a primary mathematics module at a selected higher education institution. Participants’ responses to the written tasks were analysed using content analysis, while the semistructured interviews were analysed thematically. The result shows that 35 participants were able to draw patterns and express patterns in nth form, while 27 failed to do so. The most common method used to draw a new pattern was counting in 2s and 4s. Furthermore, the result shows that half of the pre-service teachers who participated in the study were not capable of producing varied solutions to pattern tasks. An indication that they did not have the creative potential to prepare learners even after they had been exposed to advanced mathematics content as part of their training process. We recommend that pre-service teacher education programmes should include academic activities that could help pre-service teachers enhance creativity through tasks with divergent thinking

Arterial Pulse Waveform under the watch of Left Ventricular Ejection time: A physiological outlook

The behavior of arterial pulse waves was studied in connection with time interval at different phases of propagation. The essence of the study was to have a clue about the incidence of the time of pulse wave propagation on cardio-vascular parameters. Model analysis shows that arterial waveforms behave like solitons. It was seen, from the soliton solution of the arterial pulse waveform, that time interval between the phases of propagation, which corresponds with left ventricular ejection time (LVET), could supply some information about apparent pathogenesis. Keywords: pressure; waveform; soliton; incompressible; mathematical; physiology

The influence of teachers' background, professional development and teaching practices on students' achievement in mathematics in Lesotho

The main purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between students' achievement in mathematics and teachers' background, professional development and teaching practices. A self report instrument - Mathematics Teaching Opinionate Scale (MaTOS) was used to collect data from Form C (Grade 10) mathematics teachers in the Maseru District in Lesotho, Southern Africa. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted for the study in the selection of participants screened on the basis of type of ownership of schools. The simple random format was subsequently utilized to pick 40 teachers on the basis of school population. Out of the total participants of 40 teachers, 18 (45.0%) were males while 22(55.0%) were female. Simple correlation and regression statistics at the 0.01 and 0.05 significance levels were utilized for data analysis. Findings indicated a significant positive relationship between students' academic achievement in mathematics and teachers' background (i.e. teachers' qualifications, subject majors and years of experience especially from six years of teaching) with r = 0.552, P < 0.01. Furthermore, regression analysis showed that teachers' qualifications (&#946; = 0.77, P < 0.05), subject majors (&#946; = 0.35, P < 0.05) and experience (&#946; = 0.16, P < 0.05) were predictors of students' achievement in mathematics [F(3,39) = 4.321; P < 0.05)]. The findings therefore suggest that if all mathematics teachers have a degree, are specialized in mathematics or mathematics education and have more than five years teaching experience the students' achievement in mathematics would likely improve.MATH, SCIENCE and TECH EDUMSC (MATHS,SCIENCE OR T/EDU