European Scientific Journal, ESJ
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Enhancing E-Government Proactive Services Through Advanced Data Processing Technologies
Get PDFThe approach of citizens to the digital world allows the public sector to provide services that cross the frontiers of traditional citizen-administration relationships. Anticipating consumer needs, fostering more satisfying relationships, and reducing resolution times are some of the goals for a new era of electronic public sector services. A concise set of proactive systems is compiled to illustrate and analyse these options. This paper focuses on analysing the key role of Big Data and Digital Twin in public administrations as tools for providing Proactive Services (PAS). It is common for government administration to consider the use of disruptive technologies to enhance services designed to improve relationships with citizens. This paper explores the use of innovative technologies to increase the number of proactive services available within public administration (Proactive Public Services - PPS), the challenges they face, and the technical limitations that arise. A change in mindset is necessary. Paraphrasing an illustrious United States president in his inaugural address: “Ask not what citizens can do for administration – ask what administration can do for its citizens.
Encouraging Rural Engagement Among Students: Building Career Pathways in the Agricultural Sector
Get PDFThis study explores the factors influencing the career decisions of students at the Agricultural University of Tirana (AUT), focusing on their motivations, attitudes, and willingness to engage in the agricultural sector. Albania faces significant challenges due to migration, aging farmers, and declining interest in agricultural fields, exacerbating workforce shortages in this critical sector. Using a structured questionnaire administered to 307 students from the Faculty of Economics and Agribusiness at AUT, the study identifies key motivators and barriers that affect students’ career choices. The results show that employment opportunities, personal interest in the field, and financial prospects are the main factors that motivate students to choose a study program in agriculture and related fields. However, a multinomial logistic regression model identifies factors such as year of study, perception, internship, extracurricular activities, career consulting, and level of information about the field as significant determinants of students’ willingness to pursue a career in the agricultural sector after graduation. Factors such as a positive perception of agriculture, participation in internship programs and extracurricular activities, or career consulting from the university influence students to engage and retain within the sector. This study provides valuable data to formulate and develop strategies for attracting students in the agricultural sector. It recommends improving career counseling, providing more practical experiences, and addressing stereotypes to attract and keep young people in agriculture, ensuring the sector’s sustainability in the future
Dynamiques des changements environnementaux des réserves forestières transfrontalières sous l’emprise des groupes terroristes : cas du complexe W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) entre le Bénin, le Burkina Faso et le Niger
Get PDFDepuis le début des attaques terroristes entre 2010 et 2012, au nord du Nigeria et au Mali, les massifs forestiers sont transformés en des espaces d’intérêt stratégique des groupes terroristes. En favorisant la mobilité transfrontalière, ces réserves forestières ont servi de bases à l’extension des foyers terroristes du Sahel vers les pays côtiers. L’occupation d’une partie du complexe W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) entre le Bénin, le Burkina Faso et le Niger permet aux groupes armés terroristes de contrôler les accès aux parcs, les mobilités (des personnes et des biens), la transhumance transfrontalière et le commerce du bétail entre les pays sahéliens et côtiers. L’installation des bases terroristes dans le WAP et les attaques dans les localités environnantes ont des répercussions sur les efforts de conservation de la faune et de la flore, ainsi que sur les conditions d’existence des populations locales. Quels sont l’ampleur et le sens des changements environnementaux induits par l’occupation du WAP par les groupes armés ? Cet article a pour objet de faire une analyse quantitative des changements environnementaux sur les unités d’occupation et d’utilisation des terres dans le WAP et la mobilité des populations des localités riveraines. Pour la collecte et l’analyse des données, l’approche méthodologique est basée sur une exploitation d’images satellites comme source d’analyse diachronique (2002-2022) des changements environnementaux et leur corrélation avec la localisation, l’évolution des attaques terroristes et de l’indice de végétation (NDVI) dans le WAP et ses localités riveraines. En termes de résultats, sur les zones contrôlées par les terroristes, il y a une augmentation de la dégradation environnementale à l’intérieur du WAP tandis que dans les villages riverains, le déplacement des populations entraine une régénération naturelle de la végétation.
Since the beginning of the terrorist attacks between 2010 and 2012, respectively in northern Nigeria and Mali, forest have been areas of strategic interest for armed groups. By providing cross-border mobility facilities for armed terrorist groups, these forest reserves have served as bases for the extension of terrorist hotbeds from the Sahel to coastal countries. The occupation of part of the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) complex between Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger allows armed terrorist groups to control access to parks, mobility (of people and goods), cross-border transhumance and livestock trade between Sahelian and coastal countries. The establishment of terrorist bases in the WAP and attacks in the riparian communities have repercussions on efforts to conserve fauna and flora, as well as on the living conditions of local populations. What is the extent and magnitude of the environmental changes caused by the occupation of the WAP by armed groups? The purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative analysis of environmental changes on land occupancy and land use in the WAP and riparian localities. For data collection and analysis, the methodological approach is based on the use of satellite images as source of diachronic analysis (2002-2022) of environmental changes and their correlation with the location, evolution of terrorist attacks and the vegetation index (NDVI) in the WAP and its surrounding localities. The results show that in the areas controlled by the terrorists, there has been an increase in environmental degradation within the WAP, while in the neighbouring villages, the departure of the population has led to a strong recovery of the vegetation
Dynamique spatio-temporelle du couvert forestier dans le bassin de la rivière Kara au Nord Togo (Afrique de l’Ouest)
Get PDFCette étude examine l'évolution de l'occupation des sols dans le bassin de la Kara sur 50 ans, de 1972 à 2021, en utilisant des images Landsat. Ce bassin, affecté par l'augmentation de la population, subit des changements notables au niveau de son couvert forestier. L'objectif est d'évaluer la dynamique à travers l'analyse de données de télédétection. Les étapes incluent la cartographie de l'occupation du sol pour les années 1972, 1987, 2005 et 2021, ainsi qu'une prédiction pour 2050 basée sur un scénario tendanciel. Le VHI a été calculé pour suivre la santé de la végétation et sa corrélation avec les paramètres météorologiques. Les résultats montrent une diminution significative des forêts de 1972 à 2005, suivie d'une légère augmentation jusqu'en 2021, indiquant une tendance positive vers la conservation. Cependant, la conversion des savanes en terres agricoles est préoccupante, avec une dégradation rapide de 9,22 % entre 2005 et 2021. L'analyse de la matrice de Markov a permis d'évaluer les probabilités de transition entre les classes d'occupation du sol pour la période 2021-2050, révélant une tendance à une conversion des savanes en forêts. L'analyse de l'indice VHI montre une variabilité interannuelle de la santé de la végétation, avec des conditions humides et sèches alternant entre 1972 et 2005, et une variabilité réduite entre 2005 et 2021. Ces résultats fournissent des bases pour comprendre et anticiper l'évolution des paysages face aux migrations des populations et au développement agricole.
This study examines land use changes in the Kara basin over a 50-year period, from 1972 to 2021, using Landsat imagery. This basin, impacted by population growth, is experiencing notable changes in its forest cover. The aim is to assess this dynamic through remote sensing data analysis. The steps include mapping land use for the years 1972, 1987, 2005, and 2021, as well as making a prediction for 2050 based on a trend scenario. The Vegetation Health Index (VHI) was calculated to track vegetation health and its correlation with meteorological parameters. The results show a significant decrease in forests from 1972 to 2005, followed by a slight increase until 2021, indicating a positive trend towards conservation. However, the conversion of savannas to agricultural land is concerning, with a rapid degradation of 9.22% between 2005 and 2021. The Markov matrix analysis assessed the probabilities of transition between land use classes for the period 2021-2050, revealing a trend towards the conversion of savannas into forests. The VHI analysis indicates interannual variability in vegetation health, with alternating wet and dry conditions between 1972 and 2005, and reduced variability between 2005 and 2021. These results provide a foundation for understanding and anticipating the evolution of landscapes in response to population migrations and agricultural development
Bias correction of CORDEX-Africa regional climate model simulations for climate change projections in northeastern Lake Chad: Comparative analysis of three bias correction methods
Get PDFClimate model simulations are frequently affected by biases, which makes it difficult to incorporate them directly into analyses of the impact of climate change. It is therefore essential to use bias correction methods to minimize discrepancies between real data and that generated by Regional Climate Models (RCMs). This study aims to analyze the results of three bias correction methods (LS, MQE, and MQG) applied to the processing of mean rainfall and temperature data from CORDEX-Africa's Regional Climate Models (RCMs), specifically in the north-eastern region of Lake Chad. Four statistical measures (bias, RMSE, r2, and MEA) were used to assess the effectiveness of each bias correction method. In addition, adjusted Mann-Kendall analysis and the Sen slope estimation method were applied to study trends and their magnitude over the recent (1975-2020) and future (2021-2050) periods, using a 5% significance level. The results highlight the existence of significant biases between the uncorrected RCM outputs and the observed data. After applying the bias correction, significant reductions in bias and comparable performance between the different bias correction methods were observed, with the LS method performing slightly better in correcting biases in monthly mean precipitation and temperature. Consequently, the LS method was selectively applied to correct the biases in the RCM monthly mean precipitation and temperature projections for the 2021-2050 period under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios using the 1975-2004 reference period. The results of multi-model averaging of RCMs under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios indicate a significant increase in mean annual temperatures over the period 2021-2050. As far as annual precipitation is concerned, only an increase is forecast under the RCP4.5 scenario. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, the absence of a precipitation trend is predominant, with the exception of the south of the zone, where an increasing trend has been observed. In light of these results, it is clear that the impact of climate change will intensify in the study area in the future. It is imperative to develop strategies to adapt and reduce the impacts in order to manage the availability of water resources efficiently
Diversite et Degre d’Infestation de la Flore Adventice dans les Parcelles Rizicoles du Departement de Man (Cote d’Ivoire)
Get PDFDans la plupart des zones productrices de riz pluvial de la Côte d’Ivoire notamment le département de Man, les producteurs de riz pluvial sont confrontés aux difficultés telles que l’enherbement. La présente étude vise à contribuer à la connaissance des communautés des adventices et leur degré d’infestation en vue d’une gestion efficiente de ces dernières. La méthode d’approche est une enquête réalisée auprès des riziculteurs et des relevés floristiques sur leurs parcelles ont été réalisés. Ces derniers ont permis d’évaluer les paramètres tels que les fréquences et l’indice d’abondance-dominance. Ainsi, grâce à ces paramètres, le diagramme d’infestation a pu identifier les adventices les plus abondantes. L’inventaire a permis de recenser 88 espèces réparties en 72 genres et 37 familles avec 72,72 % de Dicotylédones. Les familles les mieux représentées sont les Poaceae, les Cyperaceae et les Asteraceae. Les plus régulières et abondantes selon nos relevés sont Ageratum conyzoides Linn. et Calopogonium mucunoides Desv. Les riziculteurs ont identifié, Calopogonium mucunoides Desv. comme étant récurrente et nuisible lorsqu’elle n’est pas maitrisée assez tôt.
The disturbance of the environment is at the origin of the destruction of the habitats, it contributes to the loss of the biodiversity and is one of the causes of the change of the flora in a locality. It therefore leads to the transformation of plant associations. The main objective of this study is to research the plant associations in the Banco National Park following village plantations and silvicultural trials due to the search for a methodology specific to African silviculture. To do this, the phytosociological characterization of the former treatment sites and the forest reserve was carried out. The method used is that of synusial phytosociology. The 91 surveys (82 in the former silvicultural treatment sites and 9 in the forest reserve) made it possible to identify 337 species of plants divided into 65 families and 268 genera. The dendrogram resulting from the ascending hierarchical classification of the readings revealed three syntaxa, two of which essentially consist of the readings of the old treatment sites and one of the readings of the forest reserve. No syntaxon contains all the characteristic species of the Turraeantho-Heisterietum association. However, in two syntaxa, the proportion of characteristic species of this association is greater than 50%. 70.59% in the syntaxon to Tarrietia utilis and Cola heterophylla (syntaxon from secondary forests), 52.94% in the syntaxon to Cola chlamydantha and Drypetes chevalieri (syntaxon from the forest reserve). While in the Dacryodes klaineana and Pleiocarpa mutica syntaxon (secondary forest syntaxon), 41% of these characteristic species were recorded. Species characteristic of other forest formations are also poorly represented in the syntaxa (less than 40%). It therefore emerges from this study that Banco National Park remains a forest with Turraeanthus africanus and Heisteria parvifolia
Test de Germination des Graines de Ricin (Ricinus communis L.) Sous Différentes Contrainte Abiotiques
Get PDFRicinus communis L., est utilisé comme biocarburant et possède de nombreuses vertus. Cependant, les récentes recherches menées en Afrique de l’Ouest fournissent peu d’information sur ses potentialités encore moins sur sa croissance. L’objectif de cette étude est d’évaluer la réponse des graines de ricin à différentes méthodes de prétraitement. Le dispositif utilisé est un bloc complètement randomisé à quatre répétitions et neuf traitements. Les traitements ont été constitués de graines témoins ; de graines scarifiées à la main (SM) ; de graines trempées dans l’eau de robinet à la température ambiante pendant 12 heures (ER12h), pendant 24 heures (ER24h), pendant 48 heures (ER48h) ; de graines trempées dans l’eau préalablement portée à ébullition ( ̴ 100°C) pendant 20 minutes (EC20min), pendant 40 minutes (EC40min) ; de graines trempées dans l’eau à la température ambiante après scarification de celles-ci, pendant 24 heures (SM24h), pendant 48 heures (SM48h). Vingt graines ont été semées par traitement et les observations ont porté d’une part, sur la capacité de germination, le temps moyen de germination, le délai de germination et le coefficient de vélocité de germination ; et d’autre part sur la croissance des jeunes plants. Les résultats ont montré que les graines de ricin ne présentent pas réellement de résistance mécanique, ce qui s’est traduit par une capacité de germination élevée après un trempage à l’eau pendant 12 heures. La scarification appliquée uniquement et le traitement thermique des graines n’ont pas favorisé une bonne germination des graines. Le temps de germination moyen a été plus court au niveau de la graine scarifiée avec un temps d’imbibition plus long. Un pré trempage des graines à l’eau chaude pendant 20 minutes n’a pas permis la germination des graines, contrairement à celui qui a duré 40 minutes. La croissance des plantes et le rythme d’apparition des feuilles ont été plus rapide avec les graines scarifiées et trempées à l’eau. Cette étude a montré que la multiplication par graine de cette espèce pourrait être limitée par un prétraitement à la chaleur.
Ricinus communis L. is used as a biofuel and has many virtues. In recent research conducted in West Africa, little information exists on its potential and even less about its growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate methods of breaking seed dormancy and stimulating the growth of R. communis. The device used is a completely randomized block in four repetitions and nine treatments. The treatments consist of control seeds, hand-scarified seeds (SM), seeds soaked in tap water at ambient temperature for 12 hours (ER12h), for 24 hours (ER24h), for 48 hours (ER48h); seeds soaked in water previously boiled ( ̴ 100°C) for 20 minutes (EC20min), for 40 minutes (EC40min); seeds soaked in water at ambient temperature after scarifying the seeds for 24 hours (SM24h), for 48 hours (SM48h). Twenty seeds of R. communis were sown per treatment and observations were made on the one hand on germination capacity, mean germination time, germination time and velocity coefficient; and on the other hand, on the growth of young plants. The results showed that the castor seeds did not really show any mechanical resistance which resulted in a high germination capacity after soaking in water for 12 hours. Scarification alone and heat treatment of the seeds does not promote good seed germination. The average germination time is shorter when the seed is scarified with a longer soaking time. Soaking in hot water for 20 minutes did not allow the seeds to germinate, unlike 40 minutes. Plant growth was faster with scarified and water-soaked seeds. This study showed that multiplication by seed of this species could be limited by heat pretreatment
Factors Shapping the Adoption of Mobile Marketing in Rural Areas of Tanzania: The Case of South Region in Unguja
Get PDFThe explosive use of mobile phones facilitates the introduction of different mobile app services which become an essential part of daily life. This forces the business vendors to place individually targeted marketing messages through mobile phones to ensure easy access to the service since the mobile phone is in the hands of owner all the day long. Most of the studies in mobile marketing adoption focused on urban and university consumers. This study aims to investigate the perception of consumers in rural areas on their intention to adopt mobile phone applications such as mobile marketing. The TAM model extended with the UTAUT2 model to achieve the study objective. a cross-sectional survey conducted to collect data through self-administered questionnaires to 500 villages owning mobile phones, through a stratified sampling design in the South district of Unguja. SEM technique was employed to analyze the collected data. The analysis was aided by SPSS version 25. The results showed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and facilitating conditions were the significant determinants of behavioral intention to adopt mobile marketing to consumers of rural areas. Furthermore, the attitude partially mediates the relationship between consumers’ perception and behavioral intention. The finding of this study is vital to business entities in the extension of mobile marketing coverage together with rural consumers to improve the way of life in the current mobile phone era. The Implications and limitations of the research were discussed.