Special Scheme Research Articles

Entrepreneurship Skills needed by Youths for Entry into Oil Palm Production for Self-Employment and Job Creation in Delta State, Nigeria

This study focused on entrepreneurship skills needed by youths for entry into oil palm production in Delta State. Three research questions and two hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study was one thousand five hundred(1500) youth farmers located in the three (3) senatorial districts in Delta State. The study adopted the use of descriptive survey method. Data was analyzed using frequency distribution, percentages, mean and standard deviation. The findings revealed that more males are involved in oil palm production than females. Also, that the combination of agricultural expertise, business skills, adaptability, and networking can empower youths in Delta State, Nigeria, to engage in oil palm production for self-employment, even while balancing other jobs. Findings also showed that combination of processing knowledge, operational skills, quality control, safety measures, resource management, and environmental considerations are needed. Findings from the research revealed that youth entrepreneurs in oil palm production have strong understanding of agronomy, including soil management, pest control and crop maintenance. The study recommended that Delta State youths can benefit from entrepreneurial education through formal programs and vocational trainings, focusing on oil palm production and self-employment. Special loan schemes and financial literacy training was also recommended.

Double Resonance of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency of Rydberg Atom in Counter-Propagating Configuration

The double resonance phenomenon of EIT is studied through the ladder three-level Rydberg system. A probe laser with the wavelength λp=852.35 nm is used to coupling the ground state 6S1/2 to the middle state 6P3/2, and a coupling laser with the wavelength λc=509.08 nm is implemented to couple the state 6P3/2 to the Rydberg state 62D5/2. A special optical scheme is designed, in which the co-propagating and counter-propagating configurations are both used. As a result, the double resonance of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with the Rydberg atom is observed. By comparing the distance between the double peaks, it is found that the double resonance phenomenon comes from the Doppler effect, and the distance between the two resonance peaks in the absorption spectrum is related to the detuning of the resonant lasers.

Determinants of Microfinance Demand (Evidence from Chiredzi Smallholder Resettled Sugarcane Farmers in Zimbabwe)

Despite the MFI insurgency, agricultural financing remains critically low, even though microcredit is widely accepted as both a substitute and compliment to formal credit. Zimbabwe is an agro-based economy and very little is known about the determinants of microcredit demand and microcredit size in smallholder resettled sugarcane farmers. Research is concentrated in short-term agriculture activities. Thus, this study aims to fill the unattended gap in lagged returns agriculture activities such as sugarcane production which takes at least a year to mature, hence, the greater need for agriculture financing alternatives such as microfinance. The study examined the determinants of both microcredit demand and loan size (magnitude of microcredit participation) by smallholder resettled A2 sugarcane farmers in Chiredzi. Primary data from 370 smallholder resettled sugarcane farmers (214 borrower participants and 156 non-borrower participants) were used. Probit and Tobit regression models were used for data analysis in STATA. Operational costs, interest rate, grace period, and land size significantly affect both the demand for microcredit and microcredit size, while education, household farming assets, extension services, and payback period significantly affect microfinance demand, and risk attitude/perception additionally determine microcredit size. Special microfinance schemes best suitable for the agriculture sector and crop/plant-specific agriculture financing schemes, currency, and macroeconomic stability are the major policy recommendations.

SHAC Special ICHC14 Award Scheme – grants to support attendance at ICHC14 in Valencia, Spain, 11–14 June 2025

SHAC Special ICHC14 Award Scheme – grants to support attendance at ICHC14 in Valencia, Spain, 11–14 June 2025

Incorporating familial risk, lifestyle factors, and pharmacogenomic insights into personalized noncommunicable disease (NCD) reports for healthcare funder beneficiaries participating in the Open Genome Project.

An ethics-guided decision-making framework was developed for applying pathology-supported genetic testing, a multifaceted pharmacodiagnostic approach that translates population risk stratification into clinical utility. We introduce this service, supported by the Open Genome Project, which aligns with the beneficence principle in personalized medicine. Genetic testing of six noncommunicable disease pathways was conducted as part of a pilot program, benchmarked against a readiness checklist for implementation of genomic medicine in Africa. Patient referral criteria were determined using healthcare funder claims data, employing the Adjusted Clinical Groupers and Resource Utilization Band risk rating structure to identify potential nonresponders to treatment. Three of the 135 doctors (2.2%) invited expressed immediate disinterest in the pilot, while 24 (17.8%) actively participated. Inherited, lifestyle-triggered, and therapy-related pathologies were simultaneously assessed in case reports, with special medical scheme reimbursement tariff codes applied to 25 patient referrals. The findings were used by the participating genetic counselor to select three patients for whole exome sequencing, utilizing a novel, level-up data processing algorithm for adaptive reporting. This study demonstrated the implementation of genomics into an evolving workflow for patients with a history of frequent clinic visits. Eliminating the cost barrier provided valuable insights to guide future reimbursement policy decisions.

Adaptive control of magnetic levitation system based on fuzzy inversion

A novel adaptive tracking controller for magnetic levitation systems (MLS) is developed. The controller is based on a special adaptive control scheme incorporating fuzzy model of electromagnetic acceleration enabling fast and accurate fuzzy inversion. The controller ensures accurate tracking of any smooth desired position signal, despite unknown MLS parameters. The closed-loop system stability, in the sense of uniform ultimate boundedness (UUB) of error trajectories, is proved using Lyapunov approach. The closed-loop system performance is investigated during numerical experiments. Finally the proposed controller is verified by successful implementation on a DSP board controlling a typical magnetic levitation ball system. Performed tests and experiments demonstrate that the proposed control technique is robust against discretization and unknown MLS model parameters, provides high tracking accuracy, is easily implementable, and simple to tune.

χ (2)-induced artifact overwhelming the third-order signal in 2D Raman-THz spectroscopy of non-centrosymmetric materials.

Through comprehensive data analysis, we demonstrate that a χ(2)-induced artifact, arising from imperfect balancing in the conventional electro-optic sampling detection scheme, contributes significantly to the measured signal in 2D Raman-THz spectroscopy of non-centrosymmetric materials. The artifact is a product of two 1D responses, overwhelming the desired 2D response. We confirm that by analyzing the 2D Raman-THz response of an x-cut beta barium borate crystal. We furthermore show that this artifact can be effectively suppressed by implementing a special detection scheme. We successfully isolate the desired third-order 2D Raman-THz response, revealing a distinct cross-peak feature, whose frequency position suggests the coupling between two crystal phonons.

Everyday Dishes from Corn Flour and Groats in the Nutrition of Ukrainians of East Podolian Prydnistrovia in the Late 19th – Early 21st Centuries

The article is devoted to the consideration of an integral component of the traditional daily ration of Ukrainians of East PodolianPrydnistrovia – dishes from corn flour and grits, known as a mandatory food for every day during the late 19th – mid 20th centuries, and some of them (for food variety) are still cooked. The work is based on the analysis of ethnographic works, published sources and the corpus of own field materials (interviews with respondents), recorded during the expeditions to the border settlements of Vinnytsia and the north of Odesa regions in 2013–2016. The author is describing the features of cooking the most common corn products – mamalyha and malai. The gastronomic difficulties of life support under extreme circumstances are considered partially. In particular, attention is focused on the consumption in the region of baderevka and badevka, those are rather modest in terms of nutrition boiled liquid soups with corn flour, and which saved Ukrainians during the difficult times of the post-war famine of 1946–1947. The materials of the conducted research have made it possible to confirm the generalizations of ethnologists-researchers of the Ukrainian-Moldovan borderlands and our preliminary conclusions (based on the study of other components of the life-support system) that in the space of the ethno-contact zone (in particular, in the Transdnistrian territories of Eastern Podillia) a typical ethno-specific food complex partially loses its differentiating function and acquires a special format that combines similar or jointly created ethnocultural practices of both Ukrainians and Moldovans. The analysis of the author’s expedition materials, in addition to the factual disclosure of the subject, also serves as a basis for the spatial characterization of the names and realities of this block of ethnoculture, visualized with the help of a special map scheme introduced into scientific circulation. The concluding remarks outline the prospects for implementing the results for modern cultural preservation practices, primarily in the Vinnytsia and Odesa regions.

Development a risk assessment method for dimensional stone quarries

Over the last 20 years, the global production of dimension stones has grown rapidly. Today, seven countries—China, India, Turkey, Iran, Italy, Brazil, and Spain—account for around two-thirds of the world's output of dimension stones. Each one has annual production levels of nine to over twenty-two million tons. Mining operation in general is one of the most hazardous fields of engineering. A large amount of dimensional stone quarries require a special scheme of risk assessment. Risk Breakdown Structure is one of the major stages of risk assessment. In this paper, a detailed structure of risks of the dimension stone quarrying is formed, and divided into 17 main levels and 128 sublevels. The complexity of identifying different parameters made it requisite to use multi-attribute decision-making methods for prioritizing associated risks. As a case study, the main risks of the Ghasre Dasht marble mine are evaluated using the VIKOR method considering 10 major parameters under a Fuzzy environment. The results showed that the economic, Management, and Schedule risks are the most threatening risks of dimensional stone quarrying.

Cabotage Law Coordinately Applied Based on ‘One Country, Two Systems’ in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao gba

Abstract In order to promote the internal cooperation and coordinated development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (gba), it is necessary to coordinate and unify the distinct legal systems involved, especially to provide uniform transportation laws and regulations between ports. However, if the gba wants to establish a coordinated and unified shipping legal system, there are challenges due to interregional legal differences. These differences are rooted in legal systems of the three regions under the basic national policy of ‘one country, two systems’ and apply differently, leading the difficulties in balancing different interests. To achieve the strategic position and target of the gba, a key area to improve is freight among the ports in the gba which form an international shipping hub. There are many ports with large throughput in the gba, and they are also big ports for cargos import and export or transit. However, the cargoes are without deregulated movement among them. Therefore, the problems of different cabotage laws in the three places need to be solved to make the positive effects of cargoes’ free movement be realized in the gba. A coordinated and unified special shipping scheme can be established in gba by application of the regional cabotage law. This has the potential to deliver consistency in cabotage law, thereby eliminating restrictions and thresholds, simplifying procedures and reducing costs, so as to enhance the overall strength of the gba and help it to become an international shipping super zone.

Distribution of control during bimanual movement and stabilization

In two-handed actions like baseball batting, the brain can allocate the control to each arm in an infinite number of ways. According to hemispheric specialization theory, the dominant hemisphere is adept at ballistic control, while the non-dominant hemisphere is specialized at postural stabilization, so the brain should divide the control between the arms according to their respective specialization. Here, we tested this prediction by examining how the brain shares the control between the dominant and non-dominant arms during bimanual reaching and postural stabilization. Participants reached with both hands, which were tied together by a stiff virtual spring, to a target surrounded by an unstable repulsive force field. If the brain exploits each hemisphere’s specialization, then the dominant arm should be responsible for acceleration early in the movement, and the non-dominant arm will be the prime actor at the end when holding steady against the force field. The power grasp force, which signifies the postural stability of each arm, peaked at movement termination but was equally large in both arms. Furthermore, the brain predominantly used the arm that could use the stronger flexor muscles to mainly accelerate the movement. These results point to the brain flexibly allocating the control to each arm according to the task goal without adhering to a strict specialization scheme.

Size-dependent finite element analysis of FGMs in thermal environment based on the modified couple stress theory

PurposeThe paper aims to the size-dependent analysis of functionally graded materials in thermal environment based on the modified couple stress theory using finite element method.Design/methodology/approachThe element formulation is developed within the framework of the penalty unsymmetric finite element method (FEM) in that the C1 continuity requirement is satisfied in weak sense and thus, C0 continuous interpolation enhanced by independent nodal rotation is employed as the test function. Meanwhile, the trial function is designed based on the stress functions and the weighted residual method. Besides, the special Gauss quadrature scheme is employed for integrals of matrices in accordance with the graded variation of the material properties.FindingsThe numerical results reveal that in thermal environment, functionally graded materials exhibit better bending performance compared to homogeneous materials, Moreover, the findings also indicate that with an increase in MLSP, the natural frequencies of out-of-plane modes gradually increase, while the natural frequencies of in-plane modes show much less variation, leading to a mode switch phenomenon.Originality/valueThe work provides an efficient numerical tool for analyzing and designing the functionally graded structures in thermal environment in practical engineering applications.

Tor Trace in Images: A Novel Multi-Tab Website Fingerprinting Attack With Object Detection

AbstractWebsite fingerprinting (WF) attacks on Tor enable a passive adversary to predict the encrypted web browsing activity of a victim by matching the eavesdropped traffic with pretrained classifiers. Nowadays, deep learning-based methods have led to significant achievements in the single-tab Tor WF attack. However, the practical implementation of these single-tab methods is challenging due to most real-world Tor traffic involving multiple tabs. Existing single-tab methods hardly identify multi-tab WF due to the overlapping areas of the traffic trace confusing the original features. In this paper, we propose a Trace Image-based Object Detection model named TIOD as a novel multi-tab attacking model. Specifically, we model the traffic overlap in Tor as the object overlap in object detection tasks from the computer vision field. Besides, we propose a special S-matrix scheme to convert a trace into an image: (i) Retaining the original features by keeping the direction and order of the cells and (ii) Bringing cells of the same page closer together in space. We then utilize a specially designed object detection model for trace images, WF R-CNN, to extract features and identify potential destination websites within multi-tab traces. Comparative analysis with other multi-tab attacks is conducted, and the empirical results consistently underscore the superior performance of the proposed trace image model across diverse datasets. In the two-tab setting, TIOD achieves the best accuracy with more than 85% on both the first and second tabs.

The mitigating role of financial development on renewable energy in Ghana

The generation of electricity in Ghana has seen an unimpressive decline in the component of renewable energy (hydro) in favor of the use of thermal plants powered by hydrocarbon fuels. Given the importance of renewable energy and its daily discussion on the global scale in relation to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 by 2030, it is important to understand how a key influencing factor like financial development among others can shed light on the current situation and guide in policy implications. Using annual series data from 1972 to 2021, results from the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and the canonical cointegration (CCR) methods reveal that, a robust financial system seems to be counterproductive for renewable energy generation due to perceived risks. The study recommends a specialized green financing scheme designed to handle renewable energy generation's risks.

Dynamic Event-Triggered Synchronization of Markov Jump Neural Networks via Sliding Mode Control.

This article proposes an asynchronous and dynamic event-based sliding mode control strategy to efficiently address the synchronization problem of Markov jump neural networks. By designing an adaptive law, and a triggered threshold in the form of a diagonal matrix, a special dynamic event-triggered scheme is applied to send the control signals only at triggered moments. An asynchronous sliding mode controller with gain uncertainty is designed by constructing a specified sliding manifold. Then, linear matrix inequalities are used to represent sufficient conditions for guaranteeing system synchronization. The error system trajectories are pushed onto the sliding surface by the controller. Eventually, the availability of the presented control strategy is demonstrated by an illustrative example.

Implementing Post-Pandemic Economic Parity: A Potential Restoration Through Distributive Justice

Abstract This paper explores the economic disparities created and augmented by the Pandemic and implores the state to adopt redistribution schemes based on the philosophy of distributive justice. The pandemic created and augmented gaping class inequalities, by pushing some into unemployment and poverty, while catalysing others’ prosperity. This may or may not have involved a fault element on the part of those that profited from the pandemic, which is to say, while some may have actively exploited the situation to increase their profits at the cost of general interests, others may have simply gained profits while retaining ethical practices in their conduct of business. This Paper argues that, irrespective of the fault element, States must implement a special financial scheme that necessitates companies that gained enormous profits from the pandemic to contribute towards assisting those who were financially crushed by the pandemic. The paper will build this on the philosophy of distributive justice, examining the ‘difference principle’ as well as ‘luck and responsibility egalitarianism’. Simply put, this means that States must enforce a system that neutralizes the ‘luck’ element that the pandemic induced in the society, through a financial scheme best suited for its situation. This may be achieved through levying a special tax for a period of time on particular business entities and/or by requiring companies to include a special corporate social responsibility project in line with the quantum of additional profits owing to the pandemic. Arguably, corporate houses that exploited the pandemic must not be placed at par with those that merely happened to profit from it (say, for instance, a pharmaceutical company that may have manipulated the drug market to increase prices and limit supply of an important drug, as opposed to a food/essentials delivery chain that naturally saw an increase in the number of consumers ordering deliveries online). But the obligation to carve out a part of their profits for social redistribution is not founded on whether they are at fault or not. Any fault may, of course, be used as a basis for levying a higher penalty or other legal measure, apart and distinct from the obligation that this paper builds on. The scheme that is proposed by the Paper is not to penalize but is based on the philosophy of distributive justice and thus does not require that the company was ever in violation of laws, but merely that the pandemic that devastated most people happened to be a profitable enterprise for others in contrast. It is in the State’s interests to negate the widened gap of economic disparities thus created, and this justifies that the Government would require such corporate houses to carve out a fraction of their fortunes for those who suffered severely. The Paper builds primarily on the philosophical foundations of distributive justice, urging its practical implementation in post-pandemic the economy. States must adopt creative measures to restructure patterns of privileges created or amplified by such unprecedented (at least in recent history) circumstances, as the pandemic.

Present and Future Challenges of the Special VAT Scheme for Travel Agents

The special scheme for travel agents and tour operators was designed as a simplification measure to avoid multiple registration obligations for businesses in this sector and to allocate VAT revenues to the Member State of consumption. However, the scheme raises a number of practical difficulties, largely due to the different interpretations of the scheme in the Member States, which makes it difficult for taxable persons to manage. In this article, the author discusses some of these practical difficulties and points out what he believes may be possible future solutions.

Organizational and methodological principles of orienteering competitions within the framework of the Shoulder-to-Shoulder All-Ukrainian School Leagues project

The article systematizes materials related to the organization and conduct of orienteering competitions in the conditions of a modern school. The authors focus on the fact that orienteering has a wide range of applications in various spheres of activity: sports, education, travel, military affairs. Special emphasis is placed on the practicality and accessibility of the use of this sport in competitions among schoolchildren. For the first time, an algorithm for organizing and conducting school orienteering competitions was developed.
 It is noted that the organization and conduct of orienteering competitions in wartime conditions has a number of peculiarities. Observance of safety measures, lack of methodical materials, as well as insufficient level of material and technical support of schools made it necessary to find available forms of organization of orienteering competitions. The result of the search was the development and approval of unified tasks that can be used at any location, even in the absence of a special map or scheme for orienteering. In addition, the authors suggested using the existing infrastructure (sports hall, school building, school yard) for orienteering competitions.
 Thanks to this research, a wide range of possibilities regarding the organization of trainings and competitions of the participants of the Shoulder-to-Shoulder All-Ukrainian School Leagues project was revealed. In addition, the developed methodical materials became the foundation of the educational and methodical film “Orienteering. The elementary level of education”, which was released in the second half of February 2024. This made it possible to expand access to methodological materials for a wide audience of specialists in the field of orienteering and physical education teachers.

Article: A Change in the Law or A Guideline from the EU VAT Committee? Evaluating Soft Law Instruments for Clarifying EU VAT Law Through the Lens of Legitimacy

In addition to amendments to the European Union (EU) value added tax (VAT) statutory law and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), various types of soft law have increasingly been used in recent years to elucidate the essence of EU VAT provisions. These include the guidelines issued by the EU VAT Committee which is a body explicitly enshrined in the EU VAT Directive. This article is aimed at discussing the significance of the EU VAT Committee guidelines from a legitimacy perspective. It will be demonstrated that they do not correspond to the ideals of inclusive governance that have long been advocated at the Union level and thus generally show deficits in input legitimacy. Some recent examples relating to the amended special scheme for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be utilized to argue that the EU VAT Committee guidelines can only be considered to have a certain level of output legitimacy. They can thus be useful as a legal opinion that national authorities and courts should take into account when interpreting and applying EU VAT law. However, they must therefore comply with the mandate of the EU legislature enshrined in Article 398 paragraph 4 of the EU VAT Directive. Value added tax (VAT), EU VAT law, EU VAT Committee, soft law, legitimacy, rule of law, interpretation of law, SME scheme, Amending Directive (EU) 2020/285

Microgrid-Based Small Modular Reactor for a High-Renewable-Energy Penetration Grid in Ghana

Achieving the necessary energy balance entails the capacity to adapt both power supply and demand, which is known as flexible operation. At present, the Ghana National Commission on Culture depends on a combination of well-coordinated measures designed to uphold the system’s integrity when confronted with abnormal system conditions stemming from significant disturbances within the system. The set of coordinated measures comprises manual (controlled load shedding) and automatic (Special Protection Schemes, Under-Frequency Load Shedding, Over-Frequency Control Scheme, scheme against voltage collapse, etc.) steps to control important system parameters to keep the power system stable and cascading effects leading to major blackouts. Ghana’s system suffers from voltage and frequency degradation as a result of a mismatch of power supply and demand; to maintain grid stability and avoid power outages, a flexible operation is required for real-time supply and demand balancing. SMRs, with their load-following capability, can adjust their output to match the change in demand. This research proposes a microgrid-based design for a high-renewable-energy penetration grid in Ghana with the inclusion of an SMR for voltage stability.