Things Fall Apart and Chinua Achebe’s Postcolonial Discourse

Chinua Achebe, the contemporary Nigerian novelist, is considered as one of the prominent figures in African anti-colonial literature. What makes his works specific is the way he approaches the issues of colonization of Africa in an objective manner and through an innovative language which aims at providing a pathology; a pathological reading meant to draw on the pre-colonial and colonial history without any presumptions so as to present the readers with possible alternative African discourses in future. His first novel Things Fall Apart can be taken as the best representative of such a penchant in Achebe. The present study seeks to approach Things Fall apart by reflecting on those discursive features which have provided the ground for constructing such a pathological reading and an alternative to the colonial discourse. To this end, some key terms introduced by Homi Bhabha and Mikhail Bakhtin such as ‘hybridity’, ‘otherness’ and ‘polyphony’, constitute the cornerstone of this study. Presumably, such an innovative reading of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is to lead to a better understanding of his discourse and the efforts made by him to help the African readers figure out how to piece together what once fell apart; what they can rely on for building an independent future in the so-called postcolonial era

Mathematical Model to Investigate the Temperature Distribution for Photovoltaic Panels

تتغير درجة حرارة الخلية الكهروضوئية (الفوتوفولتائية) اعتمادا على شدة الشعاع الساقط عليها، تم عمل انموذج رياضي للتنبؤ بتوزيع درجات الحرارة في كافة أسطح الخلية الكهروضوئية بتغير الزمن. تم الاخذ بنظر الاعتبار الخواص الحرارية والبصرية للمواد المكونة للخلية وكذلك الظروف المحيطة والمؤثرة كذلك طريقة وضع الخلية الكهروضوئية، اتضح ان درجة حرارة الخلية الكهروضوئية لها دور اساسي في السيطرة على كفاءة الخلية. ان الانموذج الرياضي الجديد مناسب لنمذجة كافة انواع الخلايا الكهروضوئية، تم توثيق نتائج الموديل الرياضي وذلك بقياس درجة حرارة السطح الخلفي للخلية وشدة الشعاع الشمسي خلال مدة محددة. تم حساب الحرارة المفقودة بواسطة الحمل الحر.The response of photovoltaic (PV) panel temperature is change with respect to the altering in the arriving solar radiation. A transient thermal model is predicted to investigate the temperature distribution of a solar panel, which includes the materials composition of panel, by effecting thermal and the optical properties of these materials. A new thermal model is propounded that desegregates conditions of atmospheric, impacts of panel materials behavior and mounting structure. Also, it is observed solar cell temperature has a decisive role in ruling the parameters produce. The results are indicated that the created model compatible with different types of (PV) module. The model has been advocated by measurements of the cell back surface temperature and solar irradiation through a period of time. A free convective heat transfer loss from the rear surface is analyzed.&nbsp

Preserving the Spatial Information of Accessible UML Class Diagrams for the Visually Impaired

One of the aspects that still needs to be fully accessible to persons with Visual Impairments or Blindness is programming and software engineering as a profession. UML diagrams are still an area to be improved when it comes to accessibility: How to make these diagrams more available? What kind of representation is more proper and efficient? This exploratory research suggests a scheme to navigate UML class diagram, with focus on presenting spatial information with related alternative text. In this research we try to find whether the suggested methodology is helping programmers and students with visual impairment in identifying and reading class diagrams more efficiently, and if they can build a cognitive map of the diagram. For testing and improving the suggested navigation scheme, we built a prototype and designed a study. We found that the navigational scheme is helping to find different connections and relations easily, but reaching a specific point with a jump or search function is needed. Also the participant were able to build a cognitive map of the class components. This research is targeting a very specific user demography which includes persons with visual impairment who want to pursue Software Engineering as a profession, or persons who would have some classes in programming

Adaptation of housing design to culture change in Syria : concepts and practices in the city of Lattakia

Rapid cultural change in contemporary life is affecting housing use and design in Syria, with these becoming more ‘out of line’. This study investigates the nature of cultural change and its impact on housing use in general as a way to explore to what extent it is affecting the appropriateness of housing design in Syria. The study is theoretically based on a social constructionist approach due to the complexity and multidimensionality of the study, especially in understanding how people interpret their housing use and cultural identity. The academic literature review focuses on the links between culture and housing design and reviews the changing nature of these in Syria in the face of modernization, westernization and globalization. Based on a case study approach, the research focuses on one of the cities in Syria most affected by such changes (the coastal tourist city of Lattakia). The research investigates the contextual nature of cultural issues in relation to built environment in the city, drawing on qualitative research methods at both macro and micro levels considering the holistic yet individual implications of the subject of study. Empirical investigations were conducted with appropriate samples of representative households in two formal ‘generically designed’ housing areas - i.e. those not designed for a specific client and not self-designed/built, but designed by either government or private sector architects for a general population. The first housing area was developed by the state with subsidised housing (Youth Housing), which represents a lower middle class group. The second area was the university area (Tishreen University Area), which represents a middle class group with houses designed speculatively by the private sector. In these two areas, research methods included: 39 household interviews using face-to-face questionnaires, photographic documentation, analysis of documented licensed housing design plans, and direct observation. Semi-structured interviews with 11 actors involved in generic housing design (academic architects, professional architects and developers) were also conducted. Two key housing use/design issues were chosen to be investigated as key cultural indicators in housing and also very changeable in the pre-war Syrian context: concepts and practices of privacy in the home (family privacy, intra-family privacy, and women’s privacy) and trends in food preparation and consumption. The study provides detailed social and cultural information on actual house use and residents’ aspirations on a number of implications arising from these factors, as yet unavailable for Syria. One outcome of this research is to recommend design approaches more attuned to current cultural change through a deeper understanding of inhabitants’ actual social patterns and needs - through e.g. guidelines for bigger kitchens with dining space, which reflects the change in food preparation and consumption, increasing the number of bedrooms to provide more intra-family privacy, and providing study/work space in the dwellings

Effect of Reactive Metakaolin Prepaird by Thermal Shock on Some Mechnical Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete

يعتبر الميتاكؤولين من المواد البوزولانية ( الومينوسيليكات) العالية الفعالية التي شاع استخدامها مؤخرا ًفي العديد من التطبيقات الخرسانية. في هذا البحث استخدم الميتاكؤولين في انتاج الخرسانة ذاتية الرص بنسبة استبدال (20 %) من وزن الاسمنت حيث تم تحضير الميتاكؤولين من اطيان الكاؤولين الطبيعية بحرقها بدرجات حرارة مختلفة (700، 750، 850) درجة سيليزية وباستخدام اسلوب الصدمة الحرارية وبفترات زمنية (0.5، 1، 2) ساعة.  تم فحص الخواص الطرية للخرسانة ذاتية الرص ومقاومة الانضغاط والموجات فوق الصوتية ومقاومة الانثناء للأعمار (28، 56، 90) يوم ودراسة تأثير الميتاكؤولين المحضر بالمتغيرات المذكورة اعلاه على هذه الخواص. اظهرت النتائج ان الخواص الطرية للخرسانة ذاتية الرص تتأثر بصورة طفيفة بتغير درجة الحرارة وفتره الحرق اما فيما يتعلق بمقاومة الخرسانة ذاتية الرص فإنها تزداد مع زيادة درجة حرارة ومدة الحرق وان أفضل نتيجة تم الحصول عليها كان بدرجة حرارة 850 م0 ومدة حرق مقدارها ساعة، حيث بلغ تطور المقاومة بعمر 56 يوم (15,6 %) وبعمر 90 يوم (26,7 %).  كذلك أفضل نتائج في مقاومة الانثناء والموجات فوق الصوتية تم الحصول عليها في نفس درجة الحرارة ومده الحرق حيث بلغ التطور في مقاومة الانثناء بعمر 56 يوم (7 %) وبعمر 90 يوم (15,5%)، وبلغت سرعة الموجات الصوتية بعمر 28 يوم (4,52 (كم/ثا.Metakaolin is a very active alumino-silicate pozzolan commonly used recently in many applications of concrete. In this research Metakaolin was used in production of self-compaction concrete with (20%) replacement of cement by weight. It was prepared by burning natural kaolin Clays at different temperatures (700, 750 , 850) Co  using thermal shock  method and for periods of time ( 0.5 , 1 , 2 ) hours. Fresh self-compacting concrete (SCC) properties, some of mechanical properties were tested at age (28, 56, 90) day.  The findings demonstrate that the fresh properties of SCC are affect by the change of temperature and duration of calcining slightly, while the compressive strength enhanced with increasing of temperature and duration of calcining. The best result is obtained at degree of 850 Co and one-hour calcining duration, while the strength development at (56 day) age was (15.6%) and at (90 day) age was (26.7%). A better enhancement outcome in flexural strength and ultra-sonic plus velocity were at the same temperature and duration of calcining, the development of modulus of rupture at (56 days) was (7%) and at (90 days) it was (15.5 %), while the ultra-sonic plus velocity reached at the age of (28 days ) (4.52 km\sec)

Notes on Traces of a Symmetric Generalized (?, ?)-Biderivations and Commutativity in Prime Rings

Let R be a 2-torision free prime ring and ?, ?? Aut(R). Furthermore, G: R×R?R is a symmetric generalized (?, ?)-Biderivation associated with a nonzero (?, ?)-Biderivation D. In this paper some certain identities are presented satisfying by the traces of G and D on an ideal of R which forces R to be commutativ

Appendicite aigue et grossesse extra utérine simultanée: a propos d’un cas rare

L'association d'une appendicite aigue et une grossesse extra utérine est rare, seulement une vingtaine de cas ont été rapportés dans la littérature. Nous présentons un cas d'une patiente de 27 ans opérée pour suspicion de grossesse extra utérine droite, le diagnostic d'appendicite aigue a été fait en peropératoire devant la constatation d'un appendice enflé accolé à la masse latéroutérine. A travers ce cas rapporté et une revue de la littérature, nous mettons le point sur la nécessité de penser à l'appendicite aigue associée devant un tableau évoquant une grossesse extra utérine surtout à droite en raison de la relation étiopathogénique entre ces deux pathologies responsables de douleurs aigues bien que leur association reste rare.Pan African Medical Journal 2013; 14:3

Development of probiotic fruit juices using lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 fortified with short chain and long chain inulin fiber

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Typically, probiotics are consumed in dairy based products such as yogurt. However, given the rise in various diet types, non-dairy alternatives have been developed, such as inoculating fruit juices with probiotics. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 is a probiotic strain exerting a number of human health benefits such as the prevention of urinary tract infections. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1 in apple cider, orange, and grape juice when fortified with either 4% short chain or 4% long chain inulin fiber over 72 h of fermentation and 30 days of refrigerated storage. The secondary objective was to determine consumer acceptability of apple cider and orange juice samples using the hedonic scale. All of the fruit juice samples achieved a mean viable count of at least 10 7 CFU/mL during 72 h of fermentation and 30 days of refrigerated storage. According to the sensory evaluation, which evaluated samples according to appearance, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability, apple cider juice with long chain inulin fiber proved to have the highest score for all characteristics except appearance. Therefore, this study indicated a potential for probiotic fruit juices as a valid alternative to dairy based probiotic products

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 in fermented rice pudding supplemented with short Chain Inulin, Long Chain Inulin, and Oat as a novel functional food

© 2017 by the authors. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 is a probiotic that has been shown to reduce the risk of urogenital problems and urinary tract infections. Rice pudding is a popular gluten-free dairy product, and could be a vehicle to deliver L. rhamnosus GR-1 to a broader population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the growth and viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1 in six fermented rice pudding samples, each one supplemented with one type of prebiotic (short-chain inulin-2% w/w, 4% w/w; long-chain inulin-2% w/w, 4% w/w) and oat-0.5% w/w, 1% w/w, along with control, over a 21-day storage period. The objective was to determine if the supplementation would have a positive effect on the microbial viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1, and to evaluate the sensory properties of the samples. All of the samples had viable levels of L. rhamnosus GR-1. Bacterial counts were at least 1 × 10 8 CFU/mL over the 21-day storage period. The probiotic rice pudding sample supplemented with 4% w/w short-chain inulin had the highest hedonic score for flavour, sweetness, texture, and overall acceptability. This study shows that the addition of short-chain inulin, long-chain inulin, and oat had no adverse supplementation effects on the viability of L. Rhamnosus GR-1. There is the potential for the production of a novel functional food

Philosophical Study of Third War between Afghan and British

The Third war between Anglo-Afghan started on 6th May 1919 and finally ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. While it was essentially the minority of tactical victory for the British in so much as they were able to repel the regular Afghan forces, but in many ways, it was a strategic victory for the Afghanistan and Shah Amanullah khan. In fact, the beginning of the 20th century is the beginning of the strengthening of the reformist spirit of the governments. Influenced by the libertarian revolutions of the countries of the region, the intellectuals formed rescue groups against the intervention and colonial aggressions and tried to collect the secrets of the rulers in the affairs of the country. The first and second constitutionalists and the zealous youth of Afghanistan rose for the welfare of all from social justice to the formation of a non-authoritarian government. Even they sacrificed their lives for the purpose of realizing all this and were torn apart by the oppressors. They shed blood, sacrificed and left, but the history of the country never forgot them