GAN Augmented Text Anomaly Detection with Sequences of Deep Statistics

Anomaly detection is the process of finding data points that deviate from a baseline. In a real-life setting, anomalies are usually unknown or extremely rare. Moreover, the detection must be accomplished in a timely manner or the risk of corrupting the system might grow exponentially. In this work, we propose a two level framework for detecting anomalies in sequences of discrete elements. First, we assess whether we can obtain enough information from the statistics collected from the discriminator's layers to discriminate between out of distribution and in distribution samples. We then build an unsupervised anomaly detection module based on these statistics. As to augment the data and keep track of classes of known data, we lean toward a semi-supervised adversarial learning applied to discrete elements.Comment: 5 pages, 53rd Annual Conference on Information Sciences and Systems, CISS 201

Floodplain wetland-river flow synergy in the White Volta River basin, Ghana

The Upper East Region of Ghana is characterized by an unreliable mono-modal rainfall pattern making rain-fed agriculture a risky business. Therefore, farmers along the White Volta River cultivate on the floodplain to make use of residual moisture. This has prompted the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to encourage dry season floodplain wetland cultivation, using pumped river water as a source of irrigation. The increasing use of floodplains for dry season cultivation has placed pressures on land allocation practices and floodplain wetlands resources. To ensure good management and sustainable water resource use, the role of floodplain-wetlands in regulating stream flow needs to be recognized, understood and taken into account when modeling hydrological processes within the basin. This study examines floodplain wetland-river flow synergy within the White Volta River basin. The methods applied in this study involve generating a floodplain wetland probability map and selection of floodplain wetlands, the use of HYDRUS-1D to model floodplain hydrodynamics, the result served as an input into the MODFLOW model to simulate interaction between floodplain wetland and the White Volta River; and applying isotopic tracers δ18O and δ2H to derive a water balance. The mapping process used a combination of geographic information system, remote sensing and statistical techniques. Logistic regression, a statistical technique used within the GIS platform, identified distance, texture, log transformation of ETM- band4 and evapotranspiration as the parameters having the greatest predictive power in wetland mapping, at 95 per cent confidence level. The map generated enabled the selection of Pwalugu and Tindama wetland sites as suitable for detailed hydrological analysis. Applied to the Pwalugu floodplain wetland as a test site, the HYDRUS-1D model indicated that the infiltration contribution to sub-surface storage over 16 months was 444 mm. The period of highest contribution occurred between July and September. In addition, the estimated vertical gradient indicates a low upwelling of sub-surface water in areas close to the river. The results of the isotope analysis of Oxygen-18 and deuterium showed that the trajectory of the tropical continental and tropical maritime air masses influenced isotopic composition of the rainfall over the Pwalugu and Tindama wetlands. Using the Rayleigh equation, evaporative fractions from Pwalugu wetland and Tindama were estimated to be 53.25% and 16.79%. However, to verify surface and sub-surface water interaction for the Pwalugu wetland, within August and September, the isotope signatures showed a similar ratio and plot around the local meteoric water line indicating some form of interaction. To determine wetland-river flow interaction, HYDRUS-1D bottom flux was used as groundwater recharge, an input into PW-WIN (MODFLOW). The PW-WIN (MODFLOW) simulation showed a systematic variation in hydraulic head of the wetland to changes in rainfall pattern, the observed interaction between floodplain wetlands and the White Volta River was bidirectional in terms of horizontal direction. Sensitivity analysis was performed using the dimensionless and dimension scaled methods, and model outputs were found to be highly sensitive to the parameters such as horizontal hydraulic conductivity, specific storage and specific yield. The study assisted to understand the relationship between recurrent spatial and temporal patterns of water table response within the floodplain and their controlling factors. Additionally, the study showed that a combination of methods such as tracers and hydrological models can be successful used to understand the dynamics of floodplain wetlands in White Volta River basin.Wechselwirkung zwischen einem Feuchtgebiet und dem Flusssystem im White Volta River basin, Ghana Ghanas Upper East Region ist durch ein unzuverlässiges monomodales Regenfallmuster gekennzeichnet, das Regenfeldbau zu einem riskanten Unternehmen macht. Darum kultivieren Bauern Felder in den Auengebieten entlang des White Volta Flusses, um von deren Bodenfeuchte zu profitieren. Dies bewog die Ghanaische Regierung, repräsentiert durch das Ministry of Food and Agriculture, den Feldbau in Auengebieten durch gepumptes Flusswasser während der Trockenzeit zu fördern. Die verstärkte Nutzung der Feuchtgebiete in der Trockenzeit hatte Auswirkungen auf Praktiken der Landvergabe sowie anderer Ressourcen dieser Feuchtgebiete. Um ein gutes Management und die nachhaltige Wassernutzung sicherzustellen, bedarf es der Anerkennung und des Verständnisses der Rolle der Feuchtgebiete für die Regulation des Abflusses, um hydrologische Prozesse im Volta Flussbecken modellieren zu können. Diese Studie befasst sich mit der der Synergie von Feuchtgebieten und Abfluss innerhalb des Becken des White Volta. Zu den angewandten Methoden zählen die Erstellung einer Auenwahrscheinlichkeitskarte und die Auswahl von Feuchtgebieten sowie die Nutzung des HYDRUS_1D zur Modellierung der Hydrodynamik des Feuchtgebietes. Das Ergebnis dient als Input für das MODFLOW-Modell zur Simulierung der Interaktion zwischen Feuchtgebiet und dem White Volta Fluss. Die isotopischen Tracer δ18O und δ2H wurden angewandt, um die Wasserbilanz zu ermitteln. Die Kartierung basierte auf einer Kombination von GIS (geographic information system), Fernerkundung und statistischen Techniken. Eine logistische Regression, eine im GIS verwendete Technik, identifiziert Distanzen, B4-Beschaffenheit, die logistische Transformation von ETM-band4 und Evapotranspiration als Parameter, die die größte Vorhersagekraft für Feuchtgebietskartierung haben, bei einem Konfidenzintervall von 95%. Die erhaltene Karte ermöglicht die Selektion der Orte Pwalugu und Tindama, deren Feuchtgebiete detailliert untersucht und hydrologisch analysiert wurden. Auf das Pwalugu Feuchtgebiet angewandt, zeigte das HYDRUS-1D-Modell, dass die Infiltration in 16 Monaten zu 444mm unterirdischer Speicherung beitrug. Der höchste Beitrag wurde zwischen Juli und September gemessen. Außerdem zeigt der geschätzte vertikale Gradient einen geringen Auftrieb des Grundwassers in flussnahen Gebieten. Das Ergebnis der Isotopenanalyse mit den Tracern δ18O und δ2H zeigt, dass die Bewegung der tropischen, kontinentalen sowie tropischen maritimen Luftmassen die isotopische Zusammensetzung des Regenfalls über den Feuchtgebieten von Pwalugu und Tindama beeinflussten. Unter Verwendung der Rayleigh- Gleichung wird der evaporative Anteil der Feuchtgebiete von Pwalugu und Tindama auf 53,25% und 16,79% geschätzt. Um die Interaktion von Oberflächen- und Grundwasser in Pwalugu während August und September zu verifizieren, zeigen die isotopischen signatures eine ähnliches ratio und plot um die meteorische Wasserlinie, was auf eine Interaktion hindeutet. Um diese Interaktion zu bestimmen, wurde HYDRUS-1D bottom flux für Grundwasserrecharge, ein Input für PW-WIN (MODFLOW, genutzt). Die PW-WIN (MODFLOW)– Simulation zeigt eine systematische Variation der Piezometerhöhe des Feuchtgebietes aufgrund von Änderungen im Regelfallmuster an. Die beobachtete Interaktion zwischen Feuchtgebiet und White Volta verlief horizontal bidirektional. Eine Sensitivitätsanalyse wurde ausgeführt, in der dimensionslose sowie die durch Dimensionen skalierte Methoden genutzt wurden. Die modellierten Ergebnisse waren sehr sensitiv im Hinblick auf die Parameter horizontale hydraulische Durchlässigkeit, spezifischer Speicher und spezifisches Wasserdargebot. Die Studie trägt zum Verständnis der Beziehung zwischen periodischen, räumlichen und zeitlichen Mustern des Grundwasserstandes in Abhängigkeit zu den Feuchtgebieten und den sie bestimmenden Faktoren bei. Außerdem belegt die Studie, dass eine Kombination von Methoden, wie Tracern und hydrologischen Modelle, erfolgreich eingesetzt werden können, um die Dynamik der Feuchtgebiete des White Volta Becken zu verstehen

Ensuring Harmonious Relations among Investors and Communities in an Emerging Oil and Gas Industry in Ghana

The development of mining has been in Ghana since the 1880s with the mining of gold, diamonds, bauxite, manganese etc. This has brought both development of social infrastructure, road improvement, growth of villages into towns and provision of housing facilities to workers of mining communities to live better. However, this has not been done without much controversy and conflict among the communities where the exploitation of the minerals occurs. In most cases conflict arises among the chiefs or traditional rulers and the subjects or the investors and the communities concerned. Thus, the procedures for determining the beneficiaries for royalties and unequal developments sometimes stall the successful operations of the industry. Other potential conflicts involve environmental concerns. This paper therefore seeks to examine the implications of the emerging oil and gas industry in reducing conflicts among investors and the communities in which the oil and gas industry is developed. It draws evidence from mining areas across the world and the effects previous experiences of mining had on Ghana. Key words: Investors –Community relations, emerging oil and gas industry in Ghana, Environmental impact assessmen

Lithological responses to sea erosion along selected coastlines between Komenda and Saltpond, Ghana

Understanding the processes of coastal erosion calls for several methods to assess its extent and impact. Geomorphological investigation into coastal erosion is based on the shape and size of particles. Its importance is manifested in its ability to interpret past and recent geological forms and processes and to envision paleogeographical environments. This study examined how the lithological makeup of the coastline responds to erosion. It focused on the coastline between Gold Hill (Komenda) and Amisano (Saltpond) in the Central Region of Ghana. Cailleaux’s Indices of Roundness and Flatness were used to ascertain the responses of lithology to erosion along the coastline.  Abrasion and attrition were the major erosional processes that left evidence for observation. Through these processes, the characteristic behaviour of rock types was established. It was observed that the roundness of schist is short-lived although it is attained quickly, while quartzite sustains its roundness for a longer time. Though the same erosional processes prevail, the shoreline retreats at different rates due to differences in lithology

Credit referencing, bank lending methodologies and SME access to finance in Ghana.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Academic as well as policymakers acknowledge the importance that access to credit to entrepreneurs plays in stirring the economic growth and development in both developed and developing countries. Despite the increasing use of use different lending methodologies in their dealings with Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), a significant segment of SMEs are yet to benefit from these methodologies. This study examined the association between bank lending methodologies, Credit Reference Information (CRI), and SMEs ' access to credit in Ghana. This study adopted a mixed-methods research approach characterised by the quantitative (cross-sectional) approach and qualitative technique. The accessible population of SMEs was 2,354, out of which a sample of 1,061 SMEs was determined using the simple random sampling method. The sample applied to the qualitative aspect of the study was eight managers who were selected using the purposive sampling method. A survey questionnaire and interview were used to gather data. Quantitative data were analysed using Pearson’s correlation test, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse qualitative data from interviews. Data analysis revealed that two domains of methodologies, namely Collateral Based Records (CBRs) and Personal Business Characteristics (PBCs), were applied to the participants to a great extent. The average scores associated with these dimensions were significantly higher than the median of the measurement scale. Furthermore, responses from the qualitative analysis suggest that CBRs as a methodology were more applied, but financial institutions also applied PBCs. Applying the two methodologies is necessary as they play unique roles in lending, though CBRs better cushions banks against default. This implies that both transaction-based and relationship-based lending methodologies are applied mainly by banks in Ghana though transaction-based lending is the most applied. The study contributed to the literature by proposing a framework of steps that SMEs in Ghana can take towards successful loan applications

Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning among Female Basic School Teachers in the City of Accra, Ghana

Family planning has been practiced in Ghana since time immemorial but modern practices were adopted in 1969 when the Ghana government launched the program. Since then efforts had been made to publicize and establish family planning clinics across the country aimed at assisting couples to space births, prevent unwanted pregnancies, promote and highlight the acceptability and adoption of contraceptives as well as help infertile families. However, studies on them in relation to the working class have been limited. This study tended to find out the gap between knowledge and practice among female basic school teachers in a selected community in an urban setting in Accra. The study found out that knowledge and awareness about family planning is associated with the practice of family planning (r = 0.747: p < 0.05). It further showed that 77.6% were aware of family planning of which 71.3% are practicing one method or the other. Knowledge also correlates with the likeness of family planning among the female teachers (r=0.712; p < 0.05). It concluded that the level of knowledge and practice of family planning was high among the teachers and that the gap between knowledge and practice was insignificant. However, some respondents still mistake family planning for contraception. It recommended that education on family planning must not be limited to only women and female teachers but to their spouses as well

Modeling Land-Cover using Bio-Climate Variables

MODELING LAND-COVER USING BIO-CLIMATE VARIABLES Vegetation (land-cover) is an inherent part of the climate system (M.-J. Gaillard et al. 2010). Natural, primarily climate-driven, vegetation and ecosystem processes interact with human land-use to determine vegetation patterns, stand structure and their development through time (e.g. Vitousek et al., 1997). The resulting land surface properties feedback on climate by modulating exchanges of energy, water vapour and greenhouse gases with the atmosphere. Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) was introduced by M.-J. et al., (2010) as a new method to discuss issues related to pollenbased reconstruction of the past land-cover. REVEALS requires raw pollen counts, site radius, pollen productivity estimates (PPEs), and fall speed of pollen (FS) to estimate vegetation cover in percentages, (M.-J. et al., (2010)). The REVEALS model-based landcover reconstruction has been demonstrated to provide better estimates of regional vegetation/land-cover changes than the traditional use of pollen percentages. The LPJ (Lund Potsdam Jena) – GUESS (General Ecosystem Simulator) model (LPJGUESS, Smith et al., 2001) is a dynamic, process-based vegetation model optimized for application across a regional grid that simulates vegetation dynamics based on climate data input. From both REVEALS and LPJ-GUESS datasets, we have Plant Functional Types (PFTs) and Bio-climate variables. The aim is to use multiple linear regressions to find the relationship between these PFTs and the Bio-climate variables using the REVEALS dataset. Further, we will predict PFT values using the regression models and the REVEALS dataset and compare them to those in the LPJ-GUESS dataset. The PFTs will then be grouped into three different land-cover types: Ever-green canopy, Summer-green canopy and Open-land. Then these land-covers will be modelled using the bio-climate variables to provide a new way of modeling landcover or vegetation of the past. Conclusions It has been seen that bio-climate variables are important to the growth of plants thereby helping plants to produce pollens. Naturally, one should expect plants to grow well when they have their favourable climatic conditions. These include, soil water content, temperature, precipitation among others. Given a reliable and well-measured data of bioclimate variables and plant functional types, it is possible to use regression analysis to obtain a linear relationship between these plant functional types and the bio-climate variables. Consequently, it is feasible to model land-cover when we have bio-climate variables and plant functional types using multiple linear regressions

Competitor Analysis in Strategic Management: Is it a Worthwhile Managerial Practice in Contemporary Times?

Studying the actions and behavior of close competitors is essential. Unless a company pays attention to what competitors are doing, it ends up ‘flying blind’ into battle. Managers need competitive information to understand the industry and its competitors; to identify areas in which the competitors are weak and to evaluate the impact of strategic actions on competitors. The purpose of this study is to establish the relevance or otherwise of competitor analysis as a strategic management practice in modern business competition. An integrative literature review approach was adopted for the study. This involved reviews, critiques, and synthesis of representative literature on the topic in an integrated way for generating new perspectives on competitor analysis. Personal interpretations of the issues addressed were the bases upon which the authors drew their conclusions. The study revealed that identifying competitors and how they operate helps managers to tackle industry issues that are detrimental to their companies’ health and also helps managers to learn from competitors. It also revealed that firms that pay attention to competitors’ actions have been found to achieve better business performance. Keywords: strategic management, managerial practice, competitor analysis, competitio

Is Billboard Advertising an Effective Tool in The Marketing of Home Appliances?

In an attempt to create awareness, inform, educate and persuade marketing audience to patronize products, retail companies adopt diverse forms marketing communication to send messages across to their targets. Billboard ads are not left out of the mix of above-the-line communication tools used by home appliance marketers to achieve the above objectives. The aim of this study is to explore the importance of billboards advertisements in the marketing of home appliances. Many researchers have studied and reported widely on Billboards ads but none has so far addressed the importance of this creative form of marketing promotion is the marketing of home appliances. This study will help pull out some of the unique ways that billboard can help advertise home appliances to a wide audience with its ripple effects of increased sales revenue. Data for the study was collected with questionnaires administered on 500 respondents in the study area. Simple frequency tables and bar graphs were used to analyze and report the findings of the study. Findings of the study revealed that most respondents are of the view that billboard advertising is a good tool for creating awareness and persuading customer to choose appliances of their choice