Volume 12, Issue 1, January 2024 Edition - GSJ Journal Publication

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De la dramaturgie de la violence à la banalité du crime dans quelques nouvelles de Guy de Maupassant []


Résumé La mise en scène du crime est souvent violente chez Maupassant. Nous avons en effet, dans les nouvelles de Maupassant des criminels d’habitude, des criminels d’occasion, des criminels passionnels etc. Ces criminels tuent de façon souvent violente et dans n’importe quelle circonstance de telle sorte que le crime devient banal. Il y a la de la violence dans les actes criminels perpétrés par les différents héros. La banalité du crime chez Maupassant se trouve dans son exécution très facile. Le crime se commet de façon spontanée à cause des détails banals à cela s’ajoute l’engrenage du crime qui est très fréquent dans les nouvelles maupassantiennes. Mots clés : banal, crime, dramaturgie, Maupassant, violence. Abstract The staging of the crime is often violent in Maupassant. In fact, in Maupassant's short stories we have habitual criminals, second-hand criminals, criminals of passion, etc. These criminals kill often violently and in any circumstance so that the crime becomes commonplace. There is violence in the criminal acts perpetrated by the different heroes. The banality of Maupassant's crime is found in its very easy execution. The crime is committed spontaneously because of the banal details. Added to this is the spiral of crime which is very frequent in Maupassantian short stories. Keywords: banal, crime, dramaturgy, Maupassant, violence.

STRATEGIES OF IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF GIRLS IN MATHEMATICS AT SECONDARY SCHOOL: A CASE OF LUSAKA DISTRICT SCHOOLS []


In Zambia it has generally accepted that good performance in mathematics has become a prerequisite for one entry into tertiary education regardless of one’s sex. In a bid to find themselves places in colleges and universities, many more girls are victim of rejection because of poor grades in mathematics compared to boys. The study looked on strategies of improving the performance of girls in Mathematics at secondary school. The study adopted a descriptive design Approach, which will employ research methods, questionnaires and interviews. The target population comprised learners, mathematics teachers, Heads of Department and School managers at secondary level. Probability sampling techniques were used to select pupils and teachers from Secondary Schools. The total study sample was 50. Two instruments were used for data collection in the study: the questionnaire and interviews. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed on an on-going process as themes and sub-themes that emerged through thematic analysis. The findings showed that quality of instruction, teacher motivation, teacher qualification, learners’ attitude, low parental involvement had bearing on girls’ poor academic performance in mathematics. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that, the barriers to improving learning outcomes in Zambia are many and cut across both the demand and supply side, and interact across the school, district, provincial and national levels. The study recommended that parents should get involved in pupil’s education in order to help monitor children’s performance through homework as well as monitoring the time spent on social media and other vices. With regard to parental support to girls ‘mathematics education, the study established that many parents believe that girls were poor performers in mathematics hence they do not help them. In order to improve teaching and learning practices secondary school, the study recommends that the school management sensitize mathematics teachers not to be gender biased in their lessons by involving both boys and girls equally in mathematics lessons. Secondary School mathematics teachers need to present to girls’ scientific theories that suggest that mathematics performance is the result of experience and not genetics as well as guidance teachers ‘need to work in collaboration with teachers of mathematics and the school head teacher in secondary schools must provide girls with many efficacy-building experiences in mathematics.

FACTORS INFLUENCING STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AGIANST FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS IN ZAMBIA POLICE SERVICE. A CASE STUDY OF MONZE POLICE STATION []


The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing structural violence against women in Zambia police taking particular interest Monze police station. The study endevoured to achieve the two (2) objectives namely; to establish factors behind structural violence against women in the police service the at Monze Police station and; to examine measures to address the causes of structural violence in the police service at Monze police station. In this study, a qualitative descriptive research design was used. The study population was drawn from among police officers based at Monze police station. Monze police station has a total population of sixty (60) police officers. Among these 35 (59%) are male officers while 25 (41%) are female officers. In this study, purposive sampling technique was used to identify respondents from the targeted population. Data was collected until a saturation point was reached. 30 in-depth interviews were conducted on a one on one in this study with police officers drawn from Monze Police station both males and females. The data was analyzed thematically. Thematic approach was used where data was grouped according to common themes and patterns as well as differences in the participants’ responses. Thematic analysis was done after verbatim transcription of the interviews. It study revealed that structural violence against female officers in the Zambia police service has been in existence for a long time now. This has been necessitated by gender inequality which exist between men and women in most Zambian communities. Others include culture and belief that women are not ready to take risks and do not work throughout the month or year. Measures to address these from the study were found to come up with steps such as empower women, support community level transformations of social norms and practices, formulate laws and policies that will deal with the inequality between men and women and increase knowledge and sensitizations on gender equality and equity. The study recommended that measures must be taken to ensure that African cultural practices must have no influence in the Zambia police service administration and that Laws and Policies must be established to support the current pieces of legislature to address structural violence against female police officers in Zambia police service.

Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Masonry Building Thapathali Hostel []


This study explains how to assess brick structure vulnerabilities using the FEA software E-tabs v21. The chosen structure is a masonry structure constructed using cement-sand mortar in the Kathmandu Valley. The Gorkha Earthquake in 2015 resulted in damages to the structural and non-structural systems, which have been tabulated and recorded for the purpose of model validation. E-tabs v21 software was used to create a finite element model that, for the most part, matches the conditions at the actual site. In accordance with NBC105-2020 and IS875-Part2:1987, loading conditions were applied while material attributes were chosen from a variety of literature sources. The structure was examined for several performance elements, such as time period, base shear, story displacement, joint displacement, etc., to perform vulnerability assessment, and the resulting results were compared with the values recommended by seismic codal provision in NBC 105-2020. Seven separate earthquakes’ linear time history data has been matched to the target response spectrum according to NBC105-2020. Using HAZUS principles, fragility curves for the four damage states of minor, moderate, extensive, and complete states has been determined. For the PGA of the site in Kathmandu as suggested by NBC with 0.35g and return period of 475 years, Probability of failure for slight moderate Extensive and Heavy damage states has been determined as 99.42%, 90.87%, 44.39%, and 15.70% respectively.

Evaluation of Nutrient Composition and Organoleptic Properties of Biscuits Produced from Wheat and African Breadfruit (Treculia Africana) Flours []


This study was aimed at evaluating the nutrient composition and organoleptic properties of biscuits produced from wheat and African breadfruit composite flours. The wheat/ African breadfruit composite flours was mixed in the ratio of 100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, 20:80 and 50:50 respectively and used to produce biscuits. Proximate analysis, mineral composition and sensory evaluation were carried out on the biscuits samples using standard methods. Proximate analysis showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in moisture (7.49-8.01) %, Ash (1.41-2.07) %, crude fibre (4.67-5.19) %, Fat (4.69-5.19) %, Crude protein (8.18-17.22) % and significant decrease in carbohydrate content (73.62-62.30) % and energy value (366.51-365.09)kg/100g with increase in African bread fruit flour in the biscuits. In the mineral composition, there was significant increase (p<0.05) in calcium (22.86-50.02) %, magnesium (12.53-17.54) %, phosphorus (121.01-167.76) %, potassium (117.97-164.22) %, Iron (2.55-2.94) % and zinc (1.42-2.05) % with increase in African breadfruit flours. Sensory evaluation results shows significant decrease in colour (8.257.75) %, flavor (7.90-7.30) % and overall acceptance (7.70-7.05) % and significant increase in the texture (6.85-7.05)% because the moisture content is less than the maximum of 14%.

ENHANCING EXPLAIN ABILITY IN AI-POWERED CYBER ATTACK DETEC-TION SYSTEMS []


In the modern world of Cybersecurity, the inevitable role of AI-powered systems seems glaringly obvious, an absolute necessity amid the escalating complexity of cyber threats. However, there is a formidable obstacle to widespread trust – the inherent ambiguity of these systems that underscores the urgent need for transparent AI systems, and explains the limitations of black box technologies. The research presents explanatory methods for machine learning, from rule extraction to feature importance analysis and model introspection. By proposing rule-based systems for interpretable decision making, the study works to enhance transparency in understanding cyber threats. She calls for continued progress in artificial intelligence, and advocates hybrid models to raise the level of transparency without compromising detection accuracy. It emphasizes how hybrid models, which combine rule-based systems and AI algorithms, this study represents a vital guide that enables Cybersecurity experts to deal with dynamic digital threats with agility and flexibility.

Implication of Quality Management in Government Sector []


Abstract The aim of this study is to focus on the implication of quality management in Consumer Protection Authority, presenting different views of studies which discussed the concept of quality management and the benefits gained from adopting such program. This paper also identifies ‘total quality management system’ and what is the difference from quality management. This study is giving example of organizations which adopted the quality system. Addressing three questions, the study explores: 1- How quality management affected the performance of the organization. 2- What are the benefits gained from quality program. 3- What are the challenges the organization may face. Through detailed analysis of all processes of the sampled organization and how the quality management adoption fits to their practices. Furthermore, the study presents the significant points in the annual report gathered by the organization to measure the effectiveness of the Quality Management system and the satisfaction of the targeted customer and presenting the department experience after the adoption of Quality Management program. This research is implemented based on a literature review, a questioner, Heads of departments interviews, and the survey targeted 100 employees from different government entities. At the end of the study, the researcher is offering valuable recommendations and ensure any modification required to achieve the targeted quality standards done through the decision makers. Key words: Consumer Protection Authority, quality management, performance, case study

Stray Current Mitigation Strategy in Overhead Electrical Systems []


Stray currents can cause very rapid degradation and material loss at the points where the current leaves the metal and enters the electrolyte. Nowadays, many resources are invested in the protection of jeopardized structures, such as buried pipelines, from stray current corrosion. This paper describes the measures that need to be considered in the design and construction of track structures to ensure high rail-to-ground resistance and consequently reduce stray currents. The main conclusions from existing guidelines and standards for reducing and controlling stray currents that are applied by various track operators are presented in the paper. Rail-to-ground resistance in different types of tracks structures and rail fastening systems is analyzed, and the optimal type of the track and type of the fastening system is defined. The grounding schemes used on the tracks and their influence on stray current values are described, as well as the influence of traction power stations (TPS) and rail cross bonding on stray current. Since it is not necessary to apply all the measures described to the same track structure, the paper gives recommendations on which measures to apply when building tracks with continuously fastened rails and which to apply when building tracks with discretely supported and fastened rails. Keywords: urban railway track; DC power system; stray current mitigation; corrosion; stray current

Lipase Production by Bacillus cereus Isolated from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Polluted Soil. []


Hydrolytic enzymes occupied major industrial share such as esterases, lipases, amylases and proteases. Applications of these enzymes are varied in medical, cosmetics, food, dairy, pharmaceutical, leather, detergents, bioremediations and paper industries. So, lipases are gaining more attention now a day. The present study investigated the effects of culture conditions on lipase production by pure culture of Bacillus species isolated from palm oil mill effluent polluted soil. A total of 28 different lipolytic microorganisms were isolated from soil and POME samples. Micoorganisms producing lipases were selected on the basis of clear zone formation in rhodamine B agar medium. One of these strains that expressed the highest relative activity, was biochemically identified as Bacillus cereus. The fermentation growth kinetic indicated that the maximum extracellular lipase activity was at 48h of cultivation. Lipase activity in the presence of lipidic substrates increased in the following order of olive oil > soybean oil = cottonseed oil > palm oil. Palm oil at 1.5 % of concentration was found to be the most suitable concentration to increase lipase production (43,68 micromol/min/ml). The highest lipase activity was observed at an optimum temperature and pH of 25°C and 5.0, respectively.

THE ROLE OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN EXPANDING AND MANAGING INTERNATIONAL BRAND EQUITY: THE CASE OF COCA-COLA COMPANY IN NIGERIA []


THE ROLE OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN EXPANDING AND MANAGING INTERNATIONAL BRAND EQUITY: THE CASE OF COCA-COLA COMPANY IN NIGERIA ABSTRACT This study analyzes Coca-Cola's digital marketing strategies to drive brand equity across awareness, quality, loyalty and market performance dimensions within Africa's largest economy, Nigeria. Using a descriptive quantitative approach, survey data was gathered from 90 marketing managers of consumer goods firms rating the brand building effectiveness of key components like social media, online ads, search marketing and mobile apps. Results showed 32.4% variance explanation from the regression model with online display and social elements displaying statistically significant predictive capacities. Findings confirm existing knowledge that interactive digital channels aid brands transcend international borders embedding themselves into youth lifestyles if communication strategies balance global customization with local adaptation. Study implications highlight investment needs in consumer-centric personalization and cultural nuances for sustainability. Updating analytics across wider segments and competing sets can enrich monitoring systems for practitioners tracking digital's branding impact over market transformations. Keywords: Digital marketing, brand equity, social media, mobile marketing, developing economy

ROLES OF BUILDING PROFESSIONALS IN PROMOTING BUILDING COLLAPSE MITIGATION STRATEGIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA []


Building collapses pose a significant threat to human lives and property, and their prevention demands a comprehensive understanding of the roles of building professionals in implementing mitigation strategies. This study investigates the perceptions of building professionals in Port Harcourt, Yenegoa, and Uyo regarding their roles in mitigating building collapses in the South-South region of Nigeria. The findings reveal that adherence to soil bearing capacity in plan and building development, adequate supervision throughout stages of building construction, adherence to building specifications, proper site inspection and soil tests, enforcement of building codes, inspection of building throughout the construction process, and public awareness campaigns are crucial roles identified by building professionals in the mitigation of building collapses. These roles reflect the professionals' commitment to ensuring construction quality and safety. Keywords: Building collapses, building professionals, mitigation strategies, South-South Nigeria, Disaster management, Building resilience

Adsorption of Copper(II) Ions and Indigo Carmine Dye by Optimized Activated Carbon from Cocoa Pods []


The optimization of the preparation of activated carbon from cacao pods was done according to Box-Behnken plan and the optimal conditions were resident time, impregnation ratio and temperature of 1hour, 1,3 and 333°C respectively. The activate d carbon was characterized using several methods such as SEM, TGA-DSC, FTIR. The result obtained in batch mode show that the maximum adsorption capacity was observed at pH 2 and 4,5 for Indigo carmine dye and copper(II) ions. The adsorption capacity increases with increased concentration and decreases with increasing mass. The nonlinear regression plot of Indigo carmine and copper (II) ions show none of the model describe best the adsorption mechanism due to their low R2 value. The kinetic model that describe the adsorption is Elovich for the two adsorbents with correlation coefficients of 0,98 and 0,99 close to unity for Indigo carmine dye and copper (II) ions respectively. The Fourier infra-red spectra (FTIR) before and after adsorption confirmed that the predominant mechanism for our adsorbent is chemisorption. Keywords: optimization, cocoa pod, activated carbon, indigo carmine, copper(II) ions

IMPACTS DES TRANSFERTS DE FONDS DES MIGRANTS SUR LA PRODUCTION DES CEREALES AU MALI []


La présente recherche analyse leffet des transferts de fonds des migrants sur la production des céréales au Mali. Nous utilisons l approche ARDL située sur un horizon temporel allant de 1988 à 2019. Pour plus de robustesse, des tests de diagnostic ont été effectués, notamment, le Test de Breusch-Godfrey pour l autocorrélation des résidus, le test de forme fonctionnelle de Ramsey pour la spécification des modèles, le test de Jarque-Bera pour la normalité des résidus, le tests d hétéroscedasticité de Breuch-Pagan-Godfrey et enfin les tests de Cusum et Cusum square dans le but d étudier la stabilité de nos modèles. Les résultats montrent que les transferts de fonds des migrants ont une influence positive et significative sur le riz et le sorgho et négatif sur le mil sur le long terme.

An Improved heart disease prediction system comparing machine learning Algorithm []


This project is an intelligent decision system for heart disease prediction using machine learning algorithm. The problems associated with the current process of heart disease diagnosis for healthcare shows the clinical decisions are often made based on the doctor’s intuition and experience rather than utilizing the knowledge filled data hidden in the healthcare database, There is also inconsistency in dataset arrangements and this gives rise to potential inaccuracy in healthcare decisions. This system is designed to process the open source data stored in healthcare centers by importing the datasets and loading the datasets to the python environment to evaluate them for diagnosis purposes and machine learning analysis. The software methodology used in this system is the agile methodology with constant Iteration throughout the development cycle. This system was created with the use of python language as the machine learning language. This is a system designed to give function of efficiency and accuracy to the prediction process of heart disease by developing an improved Naïve bayes Algorithm. This machine learning system helps even the healthcare centers in prediction analysis process by using evaluation metrics like box plot, ROC curve, Confusion matrix, F1 score, precision and recall graphs to compare the accuracy of the evaluation metrics with other machine learning algorithms to specify the best accuracy and identify the most accurate prediction for heart disease patients, The modified naïve bayes algorithm model provides the best classification report with f1score 0.97, precision 0.95, recall 1.0, AUC 0.96 and overall accuracy of 97% in machine learning analysis compared to the other models making it very easy for the probability of heart disease to be observed and analyzed properly for diagnosis purposes to the benefit of the efficient Healthcare System.

A Review on Algorithm Based Techniques used for Heart disease Prediction. []


Reviewing Algorithm-based Techniques is crucial for predicting heart disease, given its global significance as one of the most fatal issues that remains invisible until it abruptly manifests upon reaching its limits. Accurate and timely diagnosis is imperative in addressing this condition. Although the healthcare industry generates vast amounts of data daily, its efficient utilization by researchers and practitioners is lacking. Despite the wealth of data, the healthcare industry is characterized by a knowledge deficit. Various data mining and machine learning techniques and tools are available to extract valuable insights from databases, facilitating more precise diagnosis and decision-making. As research on predicting heart disease advances, there is a growing need to consolidate the incomplete body of work in this field. This research paper aims to summarize recent studies, presenting comparative results on proposed heart disease prediction systems and drawing analytical conclusions. The investigation reveals that Naive Bayes with Genetic Algorithm, Decision Trees, and Artificial Neural Networks demonstrate effectiveness. However, the enhanced Naïve Bayes Algorithm developed in this study stands out for improving the accuracy of the heart disease prediction system across different scenarios. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of commonly used data mining and machine learning techniques, along with their complexities in the context of heart disease prediction.

IMPACT OF UMURENGE SACCO TO THE PROMOTION OF FINANCIAL SAVING IN RWANDA A Case study of Umurenge Sacco Murama in Ngoma District (2011-2013) []


The focus of this study was on the impact of umurenge Sacco to the promotion of financial saving in Rwanda; A Case study of Umurenge Sacco Murama in Ngoma District (2011-2013). The specific objectives of this study were to analyze the financial saving in UMURENGE SACCO MURAMA and to analyze the role of UMURENGE SACCO MURAMA in the promotion of financial saving. The related literatures were reviewed and harmonized with the findings. Data were collected to achieve the stated objectives. Questionnaires, documentation and interview were the techniques used to obtain the necessary data. Historical, comparative, statistical, and analytical methods were also used as methods to collect data. The project is automatically of advantage for different parts, the first one is Umurenge Sacco MURAMA as it shows its role in promoting financial saving. Another part is customers of this bank. It is also of advantage for the researcher himself in that, it is a partial fulfillment for the award of Bachelor’s degree of Arts in economics with Education at INATEK. It will also serve as future reference in the same field to the future researchers in addition to the existing literature. The data collected was analyzed using simple statistical methods, frequency tables showing the frequency of responses to particular questions that were constructed and percentages responses to the questions calculated. Interpretation of findings was based on the percentage response to the questions. Findings indicated that UMURENGE SACCO MURAMA contributed to the promotion of financial saving during 2011-2013 through mobilizing people to save and making their deposit and withdrawals. Therefore, some suggestions for Umurenge SACCO MURAMA, for its customers and for further researches were recommended and elaborated.

QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF WATER FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES IN LAFIA TOWNSHIP, NIGERIA []


The role water plays in the survival of plants and animals makes it relevant to investigate its physicochemical facets. This study assessed the physicochemical parameters of different water sources in different locations in the four areas that make up Lafia Township (Shabu, Gandu, Tudun-Amba and Akurba). Water samples were collected and evaluated from sachets, boreholes, hand-dug wells and river water during the dry and rainy seasons for their suitability for human consumption using the weighted arithmetic Water Quality Index (WQI) technique. Some physicochemical parameters like temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen; pH, total hardness, total dissolved solids, chlorides, total alkalinity, phosphate, biochemical oxygen demand and turbidity were measured using standard methods. The results revealed that all the physicochemical parameters were below the permissible limits for drinking water set by the WHO and NESREA. The water quality indices showed that all the water sources were good in both seasons and could be used for drinking, irrigation, and in industries except river water which was poor and could be used only when treated.