Does My Skin Tone Really Matter? A Socioeconomic Analysis in Nigeria.

Abstract: Does my skin tone really matter? If it does, to what extent and direction does skin tone predict socioeconomic outcomes, especially amongst people of color who have experienced colonial rule with its white supremacy agenda? In this research, we examined if skin tone measured in individual typology angle (ITA) does not affect employability, income, partner selection, and political representativeness. With a focus on Nigeria, the most populous black nation, a former British colony, we addressed this broad question through a survey. Using the iterative capability of Qualtrics which randomly picks a set of three pictures with known ITA and randomly assigns each with age, work experience, education level, and expected salary, we obtained 386 data points delineated across different gender, sexual orientation, age, and skin tones. Our results showed that male respondents are biased towards lighter skin and younger employees; darker skinned respondents prefer lighter skin, younger, and less educated partners; and respondents 45+ years prefer darker skinned political representatives. Quantitatively, we found that generally, 1 Skin tone approximates +2.5pp of employability, 0.11 education years, 0.2 years of relevant work experience, 0.4 Age in years and –0.27 in expected salary ($4,500pa). For male employers: 1 Skin tone approximated +11.3pp employability, 0.50 formal years of education, 0.8 years in relevant work experience, –2.0 Age in years, and –1.3 in expected salary ($21,600pa). In partner selection, 1 Skin tone approximated +1.3pp in the general population, +5.4pp for dark skinned respondents, –9.86pp in Southeastern Nigeria, –37.1pp in South-South region of Nigeria. In political representativeness, 1 Skin tone approximates –3.79pp amongst the general respondents, and –24.2pp for respondents 45+ years

An investigation into the implementation issues and challenges of service oriented architecture

Several literatures have been published about the semantic web services being the solution to interoperability challenges within the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework. The aim of this dissertation was to find out, if the introduction of the semantic layer into the SOA infrastructure will actually solve these challenges. In order to determine the existence of these challenges, a traditional web service built on XML technology was developed; first to understand the technology behind web services and secondly to demonstrate the limitations of the original SOA framework especially in the area of automatic service discovery and automatic service composition. To further investigate how the Semantic layer could solve these limitations; a semantic web service was developed, to explore the tools and models available to develop semantic web services and the possible challenges that could arise from the inclusion of the semantic layer into the SOA infrastructure. These two applications were evaluated and compared in terms of their capabilities and underlying technologies to find out if truly, the semantic web services could solve the interoperability challenges within the SOA infrastructure. Since semantic web services are built using ontologies, they have well described interfaces that allow for automatic web service discovery and invocation; it was found out that truly, they can solve the interoperability challenges in the SOA framework. However, there are a number of challenges that could impede the development of the Semantic SOA; such challenges were discussed in this paper. Finally, this paper concludes by highlighting areas in which the work in this research could be extended

SNACH a new framework to support business process improvement.

Business processes are central to any organisation. They coordinate activities, roles, resources, systems and constraints within and across organisational boundaries to achieve predefined business goals. The demand for dynamic business environments, customer satisfaction, global competition, system integration, operational efficiency, innovation and adaptation to market changes necessitates the need for continuous process improvement. In order to adequately respond to these demands, business processes are designed in two approaches: Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and Business Process Improvement (BPI). This thesis follows the BPI approach which considers existing infrastructure in an organization to improve operational efficiency and achieve organisational goals. Many methodologies have been developed for conducting BPI projects, but they provide little support for the actual act of systematically improving a business process. We adopted case study as the research strategy to examine a collaborative business process, specifically the UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI) admission process. The design science research methodology was used to answer the research questions and satisfy the research objectives. The Map technique was employed to construct the new BPI artefact based on the Mandatory Elements of Method (MEM) from Method Engineering. The new BPI framework comprises of a number of elements to support analysts and practitioners in process improvement activities. We present a novel approach to BPI, the SNACH (Simulation Network Analysis Control flow complexity and Heuristics) framework that supports the actual act of process improvement using a combination of process analysis techniques with integrated quantitative measurable concepts to measure and visualize improvement in four dimensions: cost, cycle time, flexibility and complexity. A simulation technique was employed to analyse the process models in terms of time and cost; and Control Flow Complexity was used to calculate the logical complexity of the process model. A complex network analysis approach was used to provide information about the structural relationship and information exchange between process activities. Using a complex network analysis approach to reduce a process model to a network of nodes and links so that its structural properties are analysed to provide information about the structural complexity and flexibility of the network. To achieve this higher level of abstraction, an algorithm was defined and validated using four disparate process models. The complex network analysis technique is integrated into the SNACH framework and its significance lies in the study of the nature of the individual nodes and the pattern of connections in the network. These characteristics are assessed using network metrics to quantitatively analyse the structure of the network, thereby providing insight into the interaction and behavioural structure of the business process activities. To conclude the design science research process phases, the artefact was evaluated in terms of its effectiveness and efficiency to systematically improve a business process by conducting an experiment using another use case

Making the Extra-ordinary ordinary

The web has completely changed the way business is done in our present world. Communication has been made faster, easier and more effective. Business processes are simplified and standardized. People are able to socialize and entertain themselves on-line via social websites. Even though many people don't care about the underlying technologies of the web, the interface they interact with seem very ordinary. There are many limitations of the current web; the semantic web has the promise of solving these problems. The semantic web is not just about people communicating but about machines communicating - that is extraordinary. The promise of the future web appears extraordinary, however, they are applicable to our everyday life

Electronic Prescription System for Pediatricians

This paper presents the development of an electronic prescription system for pediatricians that considered the factors that influence a child’s prescription. The system implements a knowledge base which contains drug information and formulary. It allows the pediatrician to have access to the electronic health record of patients before prescription writing. The resulting prescription is marked with verifiable randomly generated prescription ID before it is sent to the dispensing pharmacy and this accounts for the security feature of the prescription system. Microsoft Office Visio 2007, PHP and My SQL database server were used to present and develop the system. Implementation results showed the system is capable of reducing common prescription error as the most informed prescription is being generated for the child electronically

EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTRO-COAGULATION TREATMENT METHOD ON THE PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND HEAVY METALS IN RUBBER LATEX WASTEWATER

Electrocoagulation has been employed as a treatment technique for treating various wastewaters. This study focuses on the performance of the electrocoagulation process for the treatment of rubber latex wastewater (RW) using Aluminum-Aluminum (AL-AL) and Aluminum-Carbon (AL-C) electrodes. Rubber latex wastewater (RW) was obtained locally from the plastic industry in Araromi-Obu, Ondo State of Nigeria with an initial concentration of 7.30, 28°C, 65.53mg/L and 785.23mg/L for pH, Temperature, BOD, and COD respectively and subjected to electrocoagulation using (AL-AL) and (AL-C) electrodes. Effects of electrocoagulation time and electrode types were studied and achieved under the following initial conditions of 30V, current density of 15mA, inter-distance electrodes of 1.5cm. The results revealed that this process could reduce the concentration of BOD, COD and Lead in RW. The highest removal efficiencies of 98.74% and 98.47% (COD); 82.02% and 79.12 (BOD); 90% and 83.33% (Lead), were obtained for AL-AL and AL-C electrodes respectively. From this study, it can be concluded that electrocoagulation is effective in the treatment of RW. It is recommended that Rubber producing industries could adopt this treatment method to treat their wastewater rather than disposal into the environment without treatment. &nbsp

Biodiesel Production and Characterization from Used Vegetable Oil

Biodiesel is a fuel produced from renewable resources; it is a clean alternative fuel, which has drawn the attention of energy researchers for the last two decades due to the disturbing effect of climate change caused by diesel fuel. This paper focuses on showcasing the qualities of biodiesel produced from used vegetable oil and the positive impact on the alarming change in climate today. This paper presents an experimental investigation on production of biodiesel from used vegetable oil (UVO) gotten from a road side bean cake (akara) seller. The oil that was intended to be thrown out was de-odoured and filtered to remove impurities. The filtered oil was then used for biodiesel production and characterized with physical and fuel properties such as density, viscosity, cloud point, refractive index, specific gravity, ash content, moisture content, flash point and cloud point. The results obtained were afterwards compared to ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and EN (Europe’s) international standards. Two biodiesels samples were produced at different temperatures but the same timings. The biodiesel were produced at 700C at 40mins (biodiesel A) and 1000C at 40mins (biodiesel B) with values of specific gravity (0.98 kg/m3; 0.90 kg/m3), density (936kg/m3; 882kg/m3), kinematic viscosity (1.5mm/s2; 5.5 mm/s2), cloud point (150C; 20C), flash point (2600C min; 2000C min), moisture content (0.07%; 0.04%), refractive index (1.4609; 1.4398) and ash point (0.24%; 0.01%) respectively. On comparison, biodiesel A couldn’t match up to the international standards while biodiesel matched up to the standards given

Correlated responses to recurrent selection for grain yield in maize

Experiments were conducted in three field environments with the following objectives: (1) to evaluate the progress from seven cycles of reciprocal recurrent selection in Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic (BSSS(R)] and Iowa Corn Borer Synthetic #1 (BSCBl(R)] and six cycles of half-sib family selection in \u27Alph\u27 (i.e., BS12) maize (Zea mays L.) populations, (2) to compare the response of unimproved and improved maize variety hybrids to different levels of nitrogen fertilizer and plant density, and (3) to evaluate the influence of nitrogen and plant density on the morphological and physiological traits associated with recurrent selection for grain yield in maize. Each experiment was grown in randomized complete blocks with a split-split-plot arrangement and two replications. Nitrogen fertilizer levels (0, 90, 180, and 270 kg N/ha) were main plots, plant densities (39,500; 59,300; 79,000; and 98,800 plants/ha) were subplots, and five variety hybrids, BSSS(R)CO x BSCBl(R)CO, BSSS(R)C5 x BSCB1(R)C5, BSSS(R)C7 x BSCB1(R)C7, BS12CO x B14A, and BS12C6 x B14A, were randomized as sub-subplots. We obtained data on grain yield and grain-yield components, flowering traits, plant traits, leaf area, leaf orientation, lodging, dry-matter productivity, and harvest index

Agronomic traits associated with genetic gains in maize yield during three breeding eras in West Africa

Studies on genetic gains in grain yield in maize (Zea mays L) is crucial to identify traits of potential value and the necessary modifications in breeding methodologies and strategies for increased progress in future breeding ef-forts. Fifty early-maturing maize cultivars developed during three breeding eras were evaluated for 2 yr in two field experiments involving 16 multiple stress (drought, Striga-infested, and low soil nitrogen) environments and 35 optimum environments to determine the changes in agronomic traits associated with the genetic gains in grain yield over three breeding eras. The average rate of increase in grain yield was 30 kg ha–1 yr-1 corresponding to 1.59% annual genetic gain across multiple stresses. Among the agronomic traits under stress, only ears per plant (0.32% year-1), ear aspect (-0.51% year-1), plant aspect (-0.24% year-1) and days to anthesis (0.11% year-1) changed significantly (P<0.05 or <0.01) during the three eras. The increase in grain yield from the first to the third generation cultivars across stress environments was associated with significant improvements in plant and ear aspects, increased ears per plant and stay green characteristic. Under optimal growing environments, the increase in grain yield from the first to the third generation cultivars was 1.24% per annum and the gain was associated with significant improvements in plant and ear heights, plant and ear aspects, husk cover, and increased ears per plant. The results indicated that substantial progress has been made in breeding for cultivars with combined tolerance/resistance to the three stresses during the past 22 years

Human Settlements Interactions and Deforestation in Gambari Forest Reserve located in Oluyole Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria

This study was designed to examine changes in land cover types and the interaction of human settlements with the forest and impact of such interaction on the reserve. Community leaders and randomly selected community dwellers in each of the selected settlements were sampled for group discussion to obtain information on population and services of the forest that attract them to the reserve. Landsat images of 1984 and 2019 were used to extract land cover types using maximum likelihood classifier in Idrisi environment. The level of attractiveness and Interactions of the communities with the reserve were determined employing gravitational model. Results show that there was an increase in the size and number of settlements within the study area and decrease in in forest cover by 34% and 6.02% respectively. It was also revealed from the study that about 39% of the total area was taken over by development (building, roads and other classes) within the forest reserve, while 3% of the developed area gave way to forest cover. The degraded parts of the reserve in recent time was about 16% of the total reserve area and about 78% remained forest cover. From the results it is obvious that the level of interaction and imparts of such interaction depends on the community’s population size rather than distance. It is therefore imperative to regulate the activities of adjoining communities and those within the Gambari forest reserve by appropriate authorities