280 research outputs found
Archiving Yoruba liturgical choruses through art music compositions: A survey of some selected art music compositions
No full textVolume 8 Issue 4 December 31, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org//10.63102/jaac.v8i4.202518
https://jaac-sca.org ISSN 2637-3610
Abstract
In the last over one and a half centuries of the growth and development of
African Art Music Compositions, composers have depended on a number
of preexisting materials as thematic materials in their syncretic
compositions. Some of these materials are African folk music, traditional
songs, rhythm and melodies that recalls traditional scenes, African
hymnodies and common liturgical choruses. Most of the liturgical
choruses used by these composers have been passed down through the
ages by rote method, which is largely due to the inability of the composers
to notate their ideas. Some of these art music composers who have
depended on common liturgical choruses in their compositions, apart from
producing artistic works that their audience can easily comprehend with,
breaking barriers of musical cultures, they also succeeded in documenting
and archiving these choruses unknowingly through using one of the best
means of documentation, which is the staff notation (scoreography). This
research is premised on the framework of Archival science theory. The
work will be focused on some Choral Art music compositions of Sunday
Olawuwo, Kayode Oguntade and Gbenga Obagbemi. The primary
materials used in the three compositions are some common Yoruba
liturgical choruses. In other to achieve the goal of this qualitative research,
I depended largely on the staff notation of those music under focus, I also
depended on direct interviews, interview through social media devices
such as WhatsApp and Facebook as primary sources of eliciting
information. My secondary sources of eliciting materials are
bibliographical materials such as textbooks, journals, magazines and some
internet sources. The work looked into some of the compositional tools used in achieving African authenticity of the intercultural liturgical
choral composition. This research recommends a furtherance of
African compositional musicology through artistic rebranding,
archiving and documentation of preexisting liturgical choruses
Wellbore Stability in Ultra-Deep Formations of the Gulf of Mexico
No full textThis thesis work looks into Horizontal wellbore integrity or stability in the Mars Ursa Basin of the Gulf of Mexico using different geo-mechanical properties of this highly producing formation in analyzing stress build up both around the producing wells as well as the producing formations. Different cases were analyzed using the CMG simulator where consideration was given to cases of single as well as multiple producing horizontal wells. The model built considered both the basic reservoir model as well as geo-mechanical models. The individual cases considered included different geomechanical properties of the producing formation these properties however include frictional angle, cohesion factor, Young Modulus as well as Poison ratio. Models analyzed involved the effect of these different geo-mechanical properties on the maximum stress in the producing formations as well as salty formations. However for the stress analysis, Mohr Coulomb model was used.;Factors that majorly affected maximum stress mostly were found to be frictional angle and the cohesion factors, formation with higher porosity and permeability having higher production developed higher maximum stress compared to low producing zones also high frictional angle at producing formation resulted averagely into lower maximum stress build up while low frictional angle resulted into higher maximum stress build up. Also formation with high cohesion factor shows higher maximum stress build up while those with low cohesion factor shows lower maximum stress build up.;A general trend however observed in all the cases indicated that whatever geomechanical factor or combination of these factors satisfy high production rate will generate higher stress build up both around the wellbore and the producing formation
TEACHING CURRENCY: LEVERAGING ON PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (INDUSTRY 4.0) IN THE COLLEGES OF TECHNOLOGY IN UNITED KINGDOM
No full textASSESSMENT OF TAPIOCA STARCHES OBTAINED AFTER DIFFERENT STEEPING PERIODS AS BINDERS IN A PARACETAMOL TABLET FORMULATION
No full textAbstract Starches obtained after steeping Tapioca tubers for different periods were each evaluated as a binding agent in paracetamol tablet formulations in comparison with corn starch British Pharmacopoeia (BP). Compressional properties were analyzed using density measurements and the compression equations of Heckel and Kawakita as assessment parameters, while the mechanical properties of the tablets were assessed with the use of the tensile strength (TS) and the brittle fracture index (BFI) of the tablets. Formulations containing longer steeping period starches as binding agent showed a slower onset of plastic deformation -high value of P Y , and a higher amount of deformation during compression-low value of P K . Both P Y and P K were affected by the concentration of the starch binders. The TS of the paracetamol tablets increased with the increase in the binder concentration and with the subsequent increase in starch steeping period while the BFI of the tablets decreased accordingly. Starch obtained after 72 h steeping of Tapioca tubers showed a similar result with corn starch BP. The results generally suggest that the steeping period would influence the activity of a starch binder in a formulation. Rezumat Lucrarea prezintă studii efectuate asupra amidonului de Tapioca, utilizat ca şi agent de aglutinare în formularea tabletelor cu paracetamol. Proprietăţile de compresie au fost analizate cu ajutorul ecuaţiilor Heckel şi Kawakita. Proprietăţile mecanice ale tabletelor au fost evaluate prin determinarea rezistenţei la "tensile strength" şi "brittle fracture index"
Effect of Correlations on Type 1 Error Rates of Some Multivariate Normality Tests
No full textNormality assumption of multivariate data is a prerequisite to the use of multivariate statistical data analysis methods before inference could be valid and reliable. Tests developed to validate this assumption including Doornik-Harsen (DH), Shapiro-Francia (SF), Mardia Skewness (MS), Mardia Skewness for small sample (MSS) and Kurtosis (MK), Skewness (S) and Kurtosis(K), Shapiro-Wilk(SW), Royston (R), Desgagne-Micheaux (DM), Henze-Zirkler (HZ), Energy (E), Gel-Gastwirth (GG) and Bontemps-Meddahi (BM) tests often result into different conclusions. These differences can be misleading. Consequently, this paper examined the effect of correlations on the Type 1 error rates of multivariate tests of normality. Monte Carlo experiments were conducted one thousand (1000) times taking into consideration the dimensions, correlations and sample sizes of the multivariate data. A test is affected by correlation if its estimated Type 1 error rate changes as correlation changes. A test is considered good if its estimated error rate approximates the true error rate and best if the number of times it approximates the estimated error rate when counted over the levels of correlations, sample sizes and levels of significance is the highest, the mode. Results show that Type 1 error rates of DH, SF, SW, R, DM, GG and BM tests are affected by correlations and are relatively not good; where as the Type 1 error rates of HZ, MS, MK, MSS, S, K and E tests are not only unaffected by correlations but are also relatively good. Consequently, MS, R, MSS, HZ and E tests have good Type 1 error rates but that of E and HZ tests are best. They are therefore recommended for practitioners
Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
No full textBackground: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
ANALYTICAL STRUCTURE OF NIGERIAN EURO-BOND UNDER SVENSSON’S MODEL
No full textThe term structure is a pointer to market expectations concerning interest rates through expected variations captured by the projected yield curve where the yield curve is a plot of the closing prices of bonds against their corresponding terms to maturity. This paper aims to forecast the term structure of interest rate on Nigerian Eurobond and then estimate the yield curve as a tool for the measurement of economic growth using the Svensson model to allow flexibility in the model to fit observed data. The statistical tool employed for the analysis of data collected are the Ordinary Least Square method, Spearman rho’s method and an adjusted for segmenting the data into four quarters with the aim of generating an aggregate yield curve to prove that the gradient of the yield curve, relative to its time to maturity moves proportionally and has a significant effect on the term structure. The approximating yield curve on Nigeria Euro-bond recommends that Nigerian regulatory authorities should monitor the operations of all financial institutions to hedge against uncertainties in the capital market prices which could discourage investors
MATHEMATICAL SURVEY OF THE TERM STRUCTURE OF INTEREST RATE: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIAN EUROBOND
No full textTerm structure of interest rate describes the relationship between the yields on default-free securities which only differ in their term to maturity which mirrors the market future expectation for interest rates having consequences on fiscal policies with such factors such as interest rates and yield. The short-term yield and the long-term yield react sharply to fresh market information which makes modeling and forecasting the term structure challenging. The paper aims to (i) determine how to predict the in-sample yield of time to maturity (ii) investigate how to use the parameters to determine the long-term and short-term yield. (iii) examine how the model fits into the observed data.(iv) determine the level, slope and curvature of Nigerian Eurobond. The statistical tools used for the analysis of data collected include ad-in Excel, SPSS 23 and the ordinary least square method. A linear regression was conducted and the results showed that the Nelson-Siegel model fits well into the observed data with R2 adjusted of 90.8%
THE FINANCIAL CALCULUS OF THE TERM STRUCTURE OF INTEREST RATE: ASYMPTOTIC COMPARISONS OF NELSON–SIEGEL AND DIEBOLD AND LI
No full textThis paper explains the rationale behind the yield curve together with its applications and information content. It goes further to explain the spot and forward yield curves. This is achieved by developing the main theories which tend to describe the functional structure and behavior using continuity assumptions. We start with an introduction to the development of forward rate function using the Laplace transform and the yield curve specifically. The spot rate is then constructed to arrive at a non-linear polynomial whose coefficients can be estimated by ordinary Least Squares method and Nelson‐Siegel family techniques. The Nelson family technique is applied by financial institutions which have a lot of activities in financial markets. Though it seems to be influential, It is not the only determinant of consumer prices in financial institutions and consequently it is advisable that market operators understand the functional behaviour of the curve and how to interpret it in analysis. An appraisal of yield curve is significant for both market players and financial institutions for efficient business decision. The curvature of yield function demonstrates the market expectation of future growth of financial market. The objective of this paper is to theoretically compare spot rates under the conditions of Diebold and Li with that of Nelson-Siegel in asymptotic values and derive an approximating curvature which possibly estimates spot rates when corresponding time varying parameters have been obtained. In this work we have used non-constraint optimization to estimate the parameteremploying time to maturities 24 months
WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT IN TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR
No full textABSTRACT Title: Working Capital Management in Telecommunication sector: A case study of VGC telecoms Author: Gbenga Segun Akinwande Supervisor: Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Master’s thesis in business administration, 15 credits (ECTS). Background and Problem Discussion: The efficient management of working capital is very vital for a business survival. This is premised on the fact having too much working capital signifies inefficiency, whereas too little cash at hand signifies that the survival of business is shaky. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to study the working capital management in the small and medium scale businesses, using VGC Telecoms Company as a case study, so as to establish factors influencing working capital performance; examine how cash management, inventory management and trade credit management affects working capital management; company effectiveness in converting working capital to ready money; how working capital management impacts on the problem of slow development and to offer recommendations on possible ways of improving working capital management Method: Literatures bordering on different areas of working capital management were reviewed. Thus, this research employed qualitative and quantitative analysis; and semi- structured questions were drafted based on the issues raised from the review of various literatures. In addition, materials from journal articles, textbooks, working papers and industry practitioners are put into consideration. The use of internet and e-mails to send out questions were explored where appropriate. Analysis on the company’s financial statement was carried out in order to verify my findings. Theory: In this research, the theory section looks at various concepts that come up when analyzing the consequences of working capital management for company value and the factors that influence a company’s working capital management performance. I have therefore chosen the most common concept for the theory section. I have also tried to create a theoretical understanding for the company’s sensitivity to a workable WCM policy Analysis: In the analysis of the research findings, I employed qualitative approach to the data analysis whereby the impacts of the poor WCM on the company were discussed in depth. Conclusion: The findings corroborate the postulation of Weston et al that a company’s investment in working capital is a substantial percentage of its total investment. In case of VGC Telecoms, it is as high as 65 percent. An inefficient and ineffective management of this investment will result in slow pace of development and ultimately to the business failure. The performances of the company in the different spheres of working capital management were scored as follows:- • Cash management – 65.4 percent • Inventory management - 78.6 percent • Trade credit management and financing decisions - 60.0 percent This is an average performance of 68 percent. That is, the company’s performance is above average. This is a good performance. The financial statements as interpreted reinforce the validity of this result. The liquidity ratios are high; the collection period is short; and the cash cycle is not quite expansive. This makes it possible to sustain sufficient cash flow for the smooth running of the business. The management of working capital impacts on liquidity, investment portfolio and profitability. All these three factors are decisive in the growth or failure of a business. Hence, good performances in working capital management affects these decisive factors favourably and thus, contribute to growth and success of the business
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