The effects of foreign direct investment on economic growth: evidence for Togo

The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth. I use data running over 33 years from 1975 to 2008. Generally, the results, obtained by using the ordinary least squares (OLS) methods show foreign direct investment (FDI), Trade volume, and Human capital to have a positive impact on economic growth. There is some evidence that inflation and Government consumption to found to have a negative impact on economic growth. The empirical analysis shows that FDI alone plays an ambiguous role in contributing to economic growth.foreign direct investment, Togo, economic growth.

Causality tests between stock market development and economic growth in West African Monetary Union

This paper examines the causal relationship between stock market development and economic growth for the West African Monetary Union economy over the last decade or so. By applying the techniques of unit–root tests and the long–run Granger non-causality test proposed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995), the causal relationships between the real GDP growth rate and two stock market development proxies are tested. The results are in line with the supply leading hypothesis in the sense that there is strong causal flow from the stock market development to economic growth. A unidirectional causal relationship is also observed between real market capitalization ratio and economic growth.stock market development; economic growth; Toda and Yamamoto causality test; West African Monetary Union

Integrated water and soil conservation for food security in Niger, preliminary results

As a result of growing population pressure and limited fertile land availability, Nigerien farmers increasingly rely on marginal lands for food crops production. These degraded lands, however, generally provide poor millet yields due to their low soil nutrient content and imbalanced partitioning of water in the root-zone. This study evaluates the agronomical, hydrological and soil quality parameters of water and soil conservation techniques (i.e. zaï, demi-lunes and no-till with scarification) which tackle these two major crop growth limitations by means of an in situ root-zone water balance experiment. Preliminary results from the first cropping season from June to October 2011 show overall low yields. The 2011 season was characterised by erratic rainfall with a severe dry spell during flowering stage. The control and manure treatment did not yield grain, but simply applying manure did increase dry matter production with a factor of 20. The highest grain yield was produced by the zaï, 134 kg/ha, which was 3 and 9 times better than respectively the grain yield of demi-lunes and no-till with scarification treatments. The zaï treatment moreover reduced cumulative actual evaporation as measured using mini-lysimeters during a 10 day drying cycle. In conclusion, until now the synergistic effect of the water-harvesting practices and the supply of manure show promising potential to rehabilitate and to increase the agronomic efficiency of marginal land in Niger. Future work will focus on the impact of the treatments on yield, soil quality properties and on the root-zone water balance

The Effectiveness of the Al-Baghdadi Method in Reciting the Muqatha'ah Letters at the Beginning of the Surah with the Ahkamus Shaut approach

This study aims to explore al-Baghdadi's method of reciting the harfu muqatha'ah at the beginning of the letter. Literature study is the method in this study. The data obtained came from primary and secondary references, such as books and journals of national and international repute that studied the ahkamus shaut, harfu muqatha'ah, and the al-Baghdadi method. The data collection method used content analysis techniques. The study steps taken include editing, organizing, and inference. The results of the study show that the al-Baghdadi method is empirically able to have a significant impact on the students' ability to read the Qur'an, and the pronunciation of the muqatha'ah letters at the beginning of the letter is also an inseparable part of the effectiveness of the use of the al-Baghdadi method. The study recommends that teachers use the al-Baghdadi method in teaching their students how to read the Qur'an

SASTRA, MEDIA MASSA, DAN LITERASI MEMBACA SISWAINDONESIA

Artikel ini berisi gambaran mengenai hubungan antara sastra dan media massa dengan literasi membaca. Sebagai dasar penggambaran dikemukakan fenomena teoretis dan empiris mengenai sastra dan literasi serta implikasinya bagi pengembangan karakter bangsa. Secara umum diperoleh gambaran bahwa siswa Indonesia berada dalam kurva berkemampuan membaca sastra yang rendah, cenderung menjawab soal sastra berdasarkan tebakan. butir-butir soal ujian nasional, baik stem maupun pilihan, tidak dikonstruksi dengan sempurna dan cenderung bersifat tunggal dengan kata kunci pertanyaan kurang spesifik, wacana sastratidak diperhatikan dari segi kualitas isi dan masalahnya, pembelajaran membaca sastra di kelas belum mengutamakan pengembangan kompetensi membaca, dan kebiasaan membaca sastra belum dikembangkan secara memadai, termasuk masih rendahnya akses siswa terhadap media massa. Kata Kunci: sastra, literasi, dan karakter bangs

Target Strength and School Size Assessment of Scads Using Hydroacoustic

The study has been conducted with two phases. The first phase involving laboratory experiment on fish target strength measurements of three commercially important pelagic fish species of the scads namely Round scad (Decapterus maruadsi), Ox-eye scad (Selar boops) and Yellow-banded scad (selaroides leptolepis). The second phase include both in situ side aspect target strength and fish schools estimation attracted around fish aggregating light. Fish physical characteristics such as total length, fork length, standard length, and weight were recorded in order to study relationship of TS to fish size. The samples sizes of Round scad, Ox-eye scad and Yellow-banded scad ranged from 1 1 .40 to 20.50 em, 1 0.0 to 20.7 em and 7.0 to 1 5 .6 cm (standard length), respectively. The data for each angle of insonification at 0°, 30° (side aspect), 60° (in between dorsal and side aspect), 900 (dorsal aspect), 1200 (in between dorsal and broad side aspect), 1500 and 1800 (broad side aspect) were recorded by running the data acquisition software. Six hundred and sixteen target strength experiments were performed in the controlled tank (4.0 x 2.0 x 1.4 m) by using a scientific digital acoustic system (BioSonic DT6000) equipped with a 200 kHZ digital split beam transducer. Results of the average side and dorsal aspects target strength of Round scad, measured in the controlled tank was observed to be nearly similar. The average of side aspect TS was -41.4 ±2.3 dB and dorsal aspect TS was -42.5 ±2.4 dB. While for Ox-eye scad there was small variation with side aspect which was - 42.3 ±3.5 dB being stronger than dorsal aspect, -43.2 ±3.7 dB. However the side aspect target strength of Yellow-banded scad showed larger variations compared to the average target strength characteristic of Round scad with the value of -45.4 ±3.0 dB and -49.8 ±2.ldB for side and dorsal aspect, respectively. Results of this study showed that the average all aspects target strength of the three fish species of scad increases as fish length increases. The target strength characteristics of the three species when expressed in term of target strength equation (TS = a log L - b), showed that the constant 'a' value vary between 15 to 36. While, the 'b' is - 86.99 to - 68.44 and tends to be species specific. This study showed that Ox-eye Scad gave lower 'b' constant than Yellow-banded Scad. The second phase of the study have been done with the purpose to apply side aspect target strength for quantifying the size of fish schools gathered around and bellow fish aggregating light by comparing them with the actual catch. The in situ side aspect target strength values was found varied from -3 8 . 1 to -47.5 dB with the average of -44.7 ±3 .3 dB. From the seven attempts the target strength was computed to be -2.4 dB lower than that found under laboratory conditions. However, volume back scattering strength varied from -43 .8 to -5 1 .2 dB with the average of -47.9 ±3 . 1 dB. It was found that the average schooling density ranged between 0. 1 9 to 3 . 1 8 fishlm3• The acoustic estimate of fish quantity ranged from 28.6 to 497 .3 kg with the actual catch ranged from 26.4 to 4 1 8. 1 kg. The results of analysis on the true catch showed that Ox-eye scad was the dominant species (80% of the true catch)

A Critical Reading of Arabic Internet Memes against Patriarchal Systems

In the wake of numerous protests in the Spring of 2011, memes have taken Arab internet culture by storm. Social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have mainly been studied in the Arab world for their apparent aid in mass uprisings in several countries. This article explores what these Arabic internet memes reveal about the patriarchal system. The data used in this analysis are memes available on the Internet that are in Arabic. To investigate this problem, this article discusses the form and content of several internet memes about patriarchy, the language and rhetoric used, humorous elements, and their overall messages. This article uses qualitative methods and approaches to analyze these memes. The semiotic structuralism method examines the internal elements, such as images and texts, their relationships, as well as linguistics, rhetoric, humor, and semiotics theories. From the analysis results, it was found that, on the one hand, when it comes to their form, memes are very useful in conveying issues about the patriarchal system. On the other hand, internet memes are rather difficult for everyday people to digest because they use many connotative signs and phrases that need to be observed beforehand. This is what distinguishes Arabic internet memes about patriarchal systems from other memes. The issue of patriarchy in Arabia is very diverse and complex, requiring a critical reading to understand it

Use of Cartoons as A Tool for Giving Instructions in The Library

This article aims to show cartoon memes on the internet that contain about libraries to see the possibilities for using such forms of instruction in the library, so as to make the atmosphere in the library more comfortable and not boring, both for users and for students. library managers. The methods used in this research are qualitative methods, library, and descriptive analysis, namely collecting data in the form of cartoons containing images and texts about libraries on the internet, then analyzing them using theories about cartoons and informative texts, to get the meaning and messages conveyed. contained in it, then draw conclusions which cartoon models can be used as examples for making cartoons that can be used in the library. From the analysis of cartoon memes about libraries on the internet, both from the aspect of images and the text contained in them, it was found that it seems that these memes can be used as an alternative to giving instructions in the library rather than just the usual instructions which are only in the form of writing, because the images and the text in these memes attracts the attention of visitors and librarian more, so that they can not only entertain, but also give the message that library managers want to library users. Research on humor in libraries has been widely carried out by researchers, but specifically discussing the use of cartoons as a tool for conveying instructions in libraries seems to have been done recently. This can be traced from the writings found on the internet, both in the form of e-books, e-journals and other scientific writings, both academic and non-academic