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No / The degree of insecurity occasioned by fraudulent practices in Nigeria has been of great concern economically, especially as it relates to overseas transactions. This paper was designed to mitigate this problem for Nigeria and countries with similar dispositions. Based on a survey involving field trip to Nigeria, the paper examines the general security situation in Nigeria and its mutual impacts with computerisation, miniaturisation and Location-Based Authentication (LBA). It was discovered that both computerisation and miniaturisation had some negative effects on cybersecurity, as these were being exploited by fraudsters, especially using ‘advance fee fraud;’ popularly called 419. As a countermeasure, the research examined the possibility of using LBA and further digitisation of the GSM Mobile country codes down to City/Area codes along with GSM Mobile/Global Positioning System (GPS) authentications. Where necessary, these could be combined with the use of a web-based Secret Sharing Scheme for services with very high security demands. The anticipated challenges were also examined and considered to be of negligible impacts; especially roaming. / Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)

Yes / The state of insecurity occasioned by fraudulent practices in Africa has been of concern economically, both at home and abroad. In this paper, we propose ways to mitigate this problem, using Nigeria as a case study. Based on surveys in West Africa, the paper examines the security situation in the continent and its mutual impacts with computerisation, miniaturisation and Location-Based Authentication (LBA). It was discovered that computerisation and miniaturisation had negative effects on cyber-security, as these were being exploited by fraudsters, using advance fee fraud; called 419. As a countermeasure, the paper examines the possibility of using LBA and digitisation of the GSM Mobile country codes down to city/area codes along with GSM/GPS authentications. These could also be combined with the use of a web-based Secret Sharing Scheme for services with very high security demands. The challenges of roaming were also examined and considered to be of negligible impact. / Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)

Grid computing provides the necessary infrastructure to pool together diverse and distributed resources interconnected by networks to provide a unified virtual computing resource view to the user. One of the important responsibilities of the grid software is resource management and techniques to allow the user to make optimal use of the resources for executing applications. In addition to the goals of minimizing job completion time and achieving good throughput there are other minimum requirements such as minimum memory and cpu requirements, choice of operating system, fine grained file access permissions etc. Currently such requirements are being fulfilled by resource brokers, which act as mediating agents between users and resource owners. In this thesis we approach the resource brokering architectural issue in a different manner. Instead of a monolithic broker, which performs all the superscheduling functions we propose a Modular Framework based Architecture for Task Initiation and Scheduling (MFATIC) based on the three main stages in the superscheduling process. There are three major goals of this research. The first aim is to develop a decoupled architectural model that not only provides a clear distinction in the responsibilities of each of the components but also provides the user the flexibility to replace one component with another functionally equivalent component. Secondly each of these components should be configurable and extensible to be able to accommodate user requirements. Finally, the design should enable the user to plug in modules within components of different deployments of the resource broker and thus promoting software reuse. / Master of Science

The majority of soils in the Mississippi Delta are vertisols, which are prone to waterlogging and can negatively affect crop production. Thus, our goal was to investigate whether widening the spacing of irrigated furrows will relieve waterlogging and improve corn productivity. The effects of furrow irrigation spacing on corn grain yield and quality were investigated for three years at a research station and a commercial farm. Widening furrow irrigation spacing up to 8 m never decreased corn grain yield, and higher corn yields were documented in 8 m furrow spacing compared to narrower irrigation spacing. Irrigation water was found to spread underground at least 4 m perpendicular to the irrigated furrow and refill the soil from the bottom up. As irrigation spacing widened, water flow accelerated through the field and infiltration was reduced, especially for the soil away from the irrigated furrow. This suggests irrigation water savings of up to 30 % from adopting wide-spaced furrow irrigation in vertisols.

The successful regeneration of mature oak (<i>Quercus</i> spp.) forests is thought to be dependent on the presence of oak advance regeneration. However, the advance regeneration must be of sufficient size and density for oak to be competitive and become a dominant species after harvest. The presence of a dense midstory canopy of shade tolerant species has been implicated with the poor development of oak advance regeneration. Understory Vegetation Control was conducted in 1994 in average quality (SI₅₀ 17.7 - 21.9 m for upland oak) southern Appalachian forest stands to determine the effects on oak (<i>Quercus</i> spp.) and maple (<i>Acer</i> spp.) advance seedling abundance, growth, and development. Three study sites were located in southwest Virginia, and the following two treatments were implemented at each site: Understory Vegetation Control (UVC) and Control. Permanent sampling plots and individual seedlings were located to quantify the density, recruitment, and growth of advance regeneration. Competing vegetation was significantly reduced after one year by the UVC treatment, where the mean relative change in the sum of the heights of competing stems between 1 and 5 m in height was -15.9 percent for the UVC plots vs. 22.8 percent for the Control plots. Neither oak seedling recruitment nor height growth was enhanced by the UVC treatment after one year. Insufficient time has elapsed to allow for a growth response, or to determine if seedling recruitment will be enhanced by UVC. Several years may be required to determine if the UVC treatment can enhance the growth and competitive status of oak regeneration. / Master of Science

Yes / The uptake of advance care planning (ACP) is particularly low among people with dementia. This may reflect barriers to communication between professionals, patients and families in the face of lack of consensus about the process. This study aimed to methodically investigate consensus views of how ACP should be explained and carried out with people with dementia. A three-round Delphi study explored views of how and when ACP should be addressed, what should be covered, who should be involved and why rates of ACP are low. Seventeen participants took part comprising family members, old age psychiatrists and policy makers. Thirty-two items reached consensus. The panel agreed on 11 different areas for discussion. They concurred that ACP was best addressed after the person has come to terms with the diagnosis when the individual feels ready to do so. There was a consensus view that the process should be couched in terms of ‘certain possibilities’. Consensus items emphasised personal choice and autonomy, while also prioritising the need to discuss financial aspects and to include spouses. There was no consensus that professionals should be involved, although the panel viewed them as carrying some responsibility for low uptake. It is suggested that ACP should include general discussion of values as well as coverage of specific points. Professionals need to offer discussion and information on ACP, but also make clear that the patient has the right to choose whether to pursue ACP or not.

Yes / perinatal palliative care services are increasingly available globally, offering a range of clinical and psychological support services to families during pregnancy, in the neonatal period and following the death of a baby with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition. Little is understood about the role of children’s hospice care and how it contributes to effective perinatal palliative care. Design: The study aims to answer the question ‘what is the role of children’s hospices in the provision of perinatal palliative care and advance care planning in the United Kingdom?’ Methods: An electronic survey was sent to all 54 children’s hospices in the United Kingdom between May and June 2022. Results: 30 hospices responded, representing 54% of the sector. All regions of all four counties are represented. Numbers of referrals to hospices for perinatal palliative care have increased significantly over the last five years. Hospices provide a range of services for families and babies, usually from the point of diagnosis or recognition of a life-limiting or life-threatening condition, underpinned with counselling and emotional support. Hospices worked with a range of professionals and services, most commonly fetal medicine and neonatal services. Advance care plans were an important element of effective perinatal palliative care, strengthening parent-professional and interprofessional relationships. Conclusion: Children’s hospice services play an important and growing role in the perinatal care of babies and families following the diagnosis or recognition of a life limiting or life-threatening condition. The family centred approach to care, from a broad, biopsychosocial perspective means that hospices make a unique and meaningful contribution to both the clinical and psychological needs of families. / University of Bradford. Grant Number: DA5151. SURE Research Project

The course of endstage renal disease (ESRD) and receiving hemodialysis (HD) treatment is complex and filled with uncertainty. Part of this illness experience includes making end-of-life (EOL) care decisions. Many families are unprepared to make such decisions. Advance care planning (ACP) creates an excellent context for laying the groundwork for these emotionally charged conversations. Hemodialysis patients, their families and healthcare providers (HCPs) are in a unique position to begin the ACP process early in the illness trajectory, revisiting it when the patient’s health status, prognosis and treatment modality changes. To date, little research has focused directly on how families experience ACP conversations in the context of ESRD or HD. The purpose of this study was to explore family members’ experiences of participating in a facilitated ACP conversation with the HD patient. This approach recognizes and privileges the family’s role in the illness trajectory of ESRD and validates that they too are HCPs’ clients. Five families, consisting of the HD patient and one family member, who went through the ACP process were interviewed along with an ACP facilitator from the nephrology program. This focused ethnographic study applied the theoretical perspective of postmodernist critical theory to derive and analyze data from in-depth semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed a detailed description of the ACP process that included timing, readiness to acknowledge the potentiality of death, facing mortality, and finding meaning in the illness experience. As families started to deconstruct their experiences, they shared stories of communication breakdown, highlighting the complexities of their relationships with HCPs. Understanding the factors that potentially contribute to HD patients’, their families’ and the renal staff’s discomfort with death were analyzed. The study findings provide important direction for HCPs about how families make ACP decisions, how they perceive the ACP process, and what they identify as their EOL care needs and wishes. Failure to implement ACP as part of an EOL care program means that death will continue to be denied and clients’ EOL care needs will remain un-addressed. In order for ACP to be effective on HD units, sustainable resources are essential for patients, their families and HCPs.

The course of endstage renal disease (ESRD) and receiving hemodialysis (HD) treatment is complex and filled with uncertainty. Part of this illness experience includes making end-of-life (EOL) care decisions. Many families are unprepared to make such decisions. Advance care planning (ACP) creates an excellent context for laying the groundwork for these emotionally charged conversations. Hemodialysis patients, their families and healthcare providers (HCPs) are in a unique position to begin the ACP process early in the illness trajectory, revisiting it when the patient’s health status, prognosis and treatment modality changes. To date, little research has focused directly on how families experience ACP conversations in the context of ESRD or HD. The purpose of this study was to explore family members’ experiences of participating in a facilitated ACP conversation with the HD patient. This approach recognizes and privileges the family’s role in the illness trajectory of ESRD and validates that they too are HCPs’ clients. Five families, consisting of the HD patient and one family member, who went through the ACP process were interviewed along with an ACP facilitator from the nephrology program. This focused ethnographic study applied the theoretical perspective of postmodernist critical theory to derive and analyze data from in-depth semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed a detailed description of the ACP process that included timing, readiness to acknowledge the potentiality of death, facing mortality, and finding meaning in the illness experience. As families started to deconstruct their experiences, they shared stories of communication breakdown, highlighting the complexities of their relationships with HCPs. Understanding the factors that potentially contribute to HD patients’, their families’ and the renal staff’s discomfort with death were analyzed. The study findings provide important direction for HCPs about how families make ACP decisions, how they perceive the ACP process, and what they identify as their EOL care needs and wishes. Failure to implement ACP as part of an EOL care program means that death will continue to be denied and clients’ EOL care needs will remain un-addressed. In order for ACP to be effective on HD units, sustainable resources are essential for patients, their families and HCPs.