Hasil untuk "History of Africa"

Jonathan Terhorst, J. Kamm, Yun S. Song

Cédric Manouan, Miquilina Anagbah, N'guessan Yves-Roland Douha et al.

Africa's participation in modern AI development is constrained by severe infrastructural and policy gaps. Important barriers include limited access to high-performance computing (HPC), restricted cloud access due to payment system mismatches, volatile exchange rates, and strict data sovereignty laws that fragment regional collaboration between African Union (AU) member states. Although initiatives such as Cassava AI's network of AI factories to be deployed across the continent signal the growing interest in adopting AI in Africa, these projects remain very targeted, while continental adoption still requires better coordination between African stakeholders. Drawing on official declarations on AI adoption across the continent, this paper offers both qualitative and quantitative evidence that sustainable AI adoption requires robust digital foundations through balanced access to compute, data, and the energy that makes it possible. We refer to these foundations as the "right enablers", considering them as crucial components for success within the current context of the global AI race. We also introduce the \textit{Africa AI Compute Tracker (ACT)}, an interactive map to monitor the availability of AI-ready HPC systems throughout the continent. This tool represents the first open-source effort to consolidate data on Africa's evolving HPC landscape, and aims to encourage more transparency from local AI stakeholders while facilitating broader access for AI developers. The work presented in this paper underscores the urgency of tangible actions aimed at closing the AI divide and allowing Africa to actively shape its AI future.

G. Lusztig

The history of the canonical basis and crystal basis of a quantized enveloping algebra and its representations is presented

Ernest Udalla

Samar Fares, Suhel F. Batarseh, Saeed Soliman

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains one of the biggest health challenges facing the world, with approximately 39 million people reported to be living with the virus. Despite low prevalence rates in the Middle East and North Africa region, Jordan faces a growing trend of new infections driven by factors such as refugees, migration, and socioeconomic status. Premarital examination is a requirement for Jordanian couples to get married and would play a role in sexually transmitted disease (STD) awareness and prevention, including HIV. Objectives: The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of premarital examinations on HIV knowledge, attitudes, and stigma in ever-married women aged 15–49 in Jordan. Design: Cross-sectional design. Methods: Data were retrieved from the most recent Jordan Population and Family Health Survey, a nationally representative survey of health dynamics. Premarital examinations and comprehensive HIV knowledge were assessed by survey modules covering history of premarital examination and tests performed and respondents’ understanding of HIV transmission and prevention. Participants were categorized based on their responses to five key statements about HIV/AIDS. Results: In this study, there were 14,689 respondents. The mean age (±SD) of the participants was 34.5 (±8.5) years. Most of them (92%) were currently married. More than half of the respondents underwent premarital medical checkups. However, discriminatory attitudes toward people living with HIV were high among respondents. Only 8.7% of the respondents showed adequate comprehensive HIV knowledge; their level of understanding regarding modes of transmission and misconceptions about prevention also varied. The adjusted model showed that there was no significant difference in HIV knowledge between those who had a premarital exam and those who had not. However, higher education levels were associated with better HIV knowledge. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the level of HIV knowledge among Jordanian women is poor and was not associated with undergoing premarital examination and counseling. This suggests redesigning the mandatory premarital examination and counseling to have stronger STDs and HIV awareness and prevention components. This change may improve knowledge and encourage safer health behaviors, thus helping to combat stigma and misinformed views about HIV in Jordan.

George Boateng, Victor Kumbol

Recent AI advancements offer transformative potential for global education, yet their application often overlooks Africa's unique educational landscape. AfricAIED 2024 will address this gap, spotlighting efforts to develop AI in Education (AIED) systems tailored to Africa's needs. Building on the success of the inaugural workshop, AfricAIED 2024 will feature an online AI Hackathon focused on democratizing preparation for Ghana's National Science & Maths Quiz (NSMQ). Participants will create open-source AI tools leveraging resources from the Brilla AI project to level the academic playing field and enhance science and math education across Africa. The workshop will showcase top competitors' solutions, invite discussions on AIED opportunities and challenges in Africa, and highlight the latest advancements in AI education integration. AfricAIED 2024 aims to foster collaboration and innovation, amplifying African voices in the AIED community and driving positive change in African education through AI.

Mohamed El Louadi

This paper explores the complex relationship between demographics and artificial intelligence (AI) advances in Europe and Africa, projecting into the year 2050. The advancement of AI technologies has occurred at diverse rates, with Africa lagging behind Europe. Moreover, the imminent economic consequences of demographic shifts require a more careful examination of immigration patterns, with Africa emerging as a viable labor pool for European countries. However, within these dynamics, questions are raised about the differences in AI proficiency between African immigrants and Europeans by 2050. This paper examines demographic trends and AI developments to unravel insights into the multifaceted challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the realms of technology, the economy, and society as we look ahead to 2050.

Rui Bai, Di Lu, Shihao Ran et al.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) of news articles can play an important role in understanding the dynamics and causes of violent conflict. Despite the availability of datasets categorizing various conflict events, the existing labels often do not cover all of the fine-grained violent conflict event types relevant to areas like the Horn of Africa. In this paper, we introduce a new benchmark dataset Conflict Events in the Horn of Africa region (CEHA) and propose a new task for identifying violent conflict events using online resources with this dataset. The dataset consists of 500 English event descriptions regarding conflict events in the Horn of Africa region with fine-grained event-type definitions that emphasize the cause of the conflict. This dataset categorizes the key types of conflict risk according to specific areas required by stakeholders in the Humanitarian-Peace-Development Nexus. Additionally, we conduct extensive experiments on two tasks supported by this dataset: Event-relevance Classification and Event-type Classification. Our baseline models demonstrate the challenging nature of these tasks and the usefulness of our dataset for model evaluations in low-resource settings with limited number of training data.

Godwin Danjuma Kwalbe, Ubaka Cosmas Molokwu

This paper interrogates the role of the British colonial enterprise in the evolution and development of Kafanchan town. The research employs content analysis of both primary and secondary sources in order to reconstruct the history of the town. Findings from the study trace the evolution and development of Kafanchan town to the construction of the railway line from Southern to Northern Nigeria that culminated in a station at an unsettled area of land: Kafanchan. The town evolved in response to the temporary sheds erected as quarters for construction workers and staff of the Nigerian Railways who belonged to diverse ethnic groups. Due to the strategic nature of this railway station, the population grew. This triggered the emergence of a settlement that was cosmopolitan right from its foundation.

Pierre Debeaudrap, Nadine Etoundi, Joseph Tegbe et al.

Abstract Introduction People living with HIV (PLWH) live longer and face new health challenges resulting from the confluence of chronic HIV infection and the natural effect of aging and comorbidities. However, there is a dearth of information on the long-term impact of HIV infection on the health and wellbeing of PLWH in sub-Saharan Africa. This research aimed to fill this gap by reporting on physical, functional and social outcomes among PLWH treated at a referral center in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and comparing them with those of a control group. Methods Body composition, functional capacity, sarcopenia, limitations in daily activities and social participation were assessed among 300 PLWH (aged ≥ 30 years) and 200 uninfected adults of similar age and sex. The associations between these outcomes and participants’ socioeconomic characteristics, HIV history and physical activity level were assessed using generalized additive models adjusted for age and sex. Results The median age was 51 years, and the median antiretroviral therapy duration was 15 years. Compared to controls, PLWH reported higher levels of physical activity (p < 0.0001). They had a lower muscle index (adjusted p < 0.0001) and grip strength (adjusted p < 0.0001) but achieved similar performance on the 6-min walk test (6MWT, p = 0.2). Among PLWH, physical activity level was positively associated with better performance in the 6MWT (p = 0.006) and greater hand grip strength (p = 0.04). The difference in physical performance according to the level of physical activity appeared mainly after the age of 60. PLWH reported similar rates of activity limitations (p = 0.8), lower depression levels and greater scores for social functioning (p = 0.02). Conclusion In this study, PLWH achieved high levels of physical activity, which may explain why they maintained good physical performance and social functioning despite having a higher risk of sarcopenia. These results have important implications for resource-limited health systems and show avenues for chronic care models. Trial registration This study was registered on the ClinicalTrials.gov website (NCT05199831, first registration the 20/01/2022).

Habtamu Endashaw Hareru, Zemachu Ashuro, Berhanu Gidisa Debela et al.

<h4>Background</h4>Obstetric fistula repair failure can result in increased depression, social isolation, financial burden for the woman, and fistula care programs. However, there is limited, comprehensive evidence on obstetric fistula repair failure in Sub-Saharan African countries. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of obstetric fistula repair failure and associated factors among women who underwent surgical repair in Sub-Saharan African countries.<h4>Methods</h4>To identify potential articles, a systematic search was done utilizing online databases (PubMed, Hinari, and Google Scholar). The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Statement (PRISMA) guideline was used to report the review's findings. I2 test statistics were employed to examine study heterogeneity. A random-effects model was used to assess the pooled prevalence of obstetric fistula repair failure, and the association was determined using the log odds ratio. Publication bias was investigated using the funnel plot and Egger's statistical test at the 5% level of significance. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis were done to identify potential sources of heterogeneity. The data were analyzed using STATA version 17 statistical software.<h4>Results</h4>A total of 24 articles with 9866 study participants from 13 Sub-Saharan African countries were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of obstetric fistula repair failure in sub-Saharan Africa was 24.92% [95% CI: 20.34-29.50%]. The sub-group analysis by country revealed that the highest prevalence was in Angola (58%, 95% CI: 53.20-62.80%) and the lowest in Rwanda (13.9, 95% CI: 9.79-18.01%). Total urethral damage [OR  =  3.50, 95% CI: 2.09, 4.91], large fistula [OR = 3.09, 95% CI: (2.00, 4.10)], duration of labor [OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.76], and previous fistula repair [OR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.94, 3.45] were factors associated with obstetric fistula repair failure.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Women who received surgical treatment for obstetric fistulas in Sub-Saharan African countries experienced more repair failures than the WHO standards. Obstetric fistula repair failure was affected by urethral damage, fistula size, duration of labor, types of fistula, and history of previous repairs. Therefore, we suggest policy measures specific to each country to provide special attention to the prevention of all risk factors, including poor nutrition, multiparty, obstructed labor, and maternal age, which can result in conditions like large fistulas, urethral damage, and repeat repair, in order to reduce obstetric fistula repair failure.

Stephane Kenmoe, Obinna Abah

We present the status of the research in the field of atomic and molecular physics in Africa as well as some challenges hindering the efforts being made by the African scientists. We further report the discussions and progress of the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics (ASFAP) working group on Atomic and Molecular physics with the view of providing the continent research direction for next decade.

Mookgo Solomon Kgatle, Mokone Bruno Lephoto

There are undoubtedly differences between Roman Catholic and African Pentecostalism such as doctrinal issues and salvific conceptualisations. Besides non-Catholics, specifically Pentecostal churches have always been perceived as non-churches and lacking the real salvation by Roman Catholics. Thus, Roman Catholics have looked at Pentecostals with the eye of suspicion regardless of ecumenical efforts made to bring the two together. Similarly, Pentecostals have perceived Catholics as carrying a non-transformative doctrine, lacking the Spirit, and leaning towards political institutions and systems. Hence, the relationship between these two movements has been perceived as irreconcilable and incompatible with some leaders giving up on ecumenical engagements. However, a literature review on the relationship between Roman Catholic and African Pentecostalism reveals some similarities between the two movements through the ecumenical dialogue model. In other words, as much as the two movements do not see eye to eye, they have commonalities such as the use of sacramentals, common foundational beliefs, and salvation through Jesus. These similarities can be used as a starting point toward ecumenism and helping the two movements to move towards unity.

Sirijit Sunanta, Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot

The interview with Mrs. Chongcharoen Sornkaew Grimsmann, a long-term member and former president of Thai Women Network in Europe (TWNE), was originally conducted in English over email by Sirijit Sunanta and Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot in July 2022. It was supplemented by an online interview (via WebEx) in Thai by Sirijit Sunanta in November 2022. Mrs. Grimsmann served as the President of TWNE from 2019 to 2022. TWNE is well-established and one of the most active organizations of Thai migrant women with individual and organizational members in 16 European countries, the US, and Thailand. TWNE seeks to collaborate with governmental and non-governmental organizations, both in Thailand and the destination countries, to improve the welfare of Thai migrant women. They organize annual general meetings to discuss topics relevant to Thai migrant women’s lives in destination countries and publish an annual newsletter Sarn Satree (สารสตรี) to circulate information. Mrs. Grimsmann has extensive experience of providing community service as a social volunteer and working with international organizations, particularly in the area of women and children’s welfare. She is now based in France and Thailand.

Mikhail G. Katz

We compare several approaches to the history of mathematics recently proposed by Blasjo, Fraser--Schroter, Fried, and others. We argue that tools from both mathematics and history are essential for a meaningful history of the discipline. In an extension of the Unguru-Weil controversy over the concept of geometric algebra, Michael Fried presents a case against both Andre Weil the "privileged observer" and Pierre de Fermat the "mathematical conqueror." We analyze Fried's version of Unguru's alleged polarity between a historian's and a mathematician's history. We identify some axioms of Friedian historiographic ideology, and propose a thought experiment to gauge its pertinence. Unguru and his disciples Corry, Fried, and Rowe have described Freudenthal, van der Waerden, and Weil as Platonists but provided no evidence; we provide evidence to the contrary. We analyze how the various historiographic approaches play themselves out in the study of the pioneers of mathematical analysis including Fermat, Leibniz, Euler, and Cauchy.

Galina I. Sinkevich

The history of the development of the concept of complex numbers from the 16th to 19th centuries. The origin and refinement of the geometric and physical meaning of complex numbers, the emergence of vectoral analysis.

Odile Mackett

South Africa is challenged by poverty and unemployment, as is characteristic of many developing countries. For those who cannot engage in wage labour, the government has a social assistance (grants) program which provides cash transfers for children, pensioners, and persons with disabilities. However, with persistently high unemployment rates and scarcity of jobs, the household structures of some grant recipients are often affected in an attempt to accommodate unemployed individuals who do not qualify for government assistance. The purpose of this research was to study the difference in labour market and poverty outcomes of individuals in grant receiving and non-grant receiving households. Using the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), this research found that individuals in grant receiving households have less favourable labour market outcomes than those in non-grant receiving households. Furthermore, individuals living in a household with an old-age pension recipient had better labour market and poverty outcomes compared to those living with a child support grant recipient. This suggests that the characteristics of households with old-age pension recipients may be more conducive to labour market and poverty outcomes over time compared to other households. Not only do the recipients of this grant receive a greater nominal amount of grant income each month, compared to child support grant recipients, but having pensioners in the household also provides the potential for working-age adults to benefit from ‘free’ childcare.

Şule Şahin, Shaun Levitan

In this paper, we propose a stochastic investment model for actuarial use in South Africa by modelling price inflation rates, share dividends, long term and short-term interest rates for the period 1960-2018 and inflation-linked bonds for the period 2000-2018. Possible bi-directional relations between the economic series have been considered, the parameters and their confidence intervals have been estimated recursively to examine their stability and the model validation has been tested. The model is designed to provide long-term forecasts that should find application in long-term modelling for institutions such as pension funds and life insurance companies in South Africa

Kamel Chachoua

Vincent Geisser

The recent rise of anti-Shia discourse in the Islamic field in France seems paradoxical, in a country where Shii Muslims can hardly be seen, let alone at the level of local or national Islamic institutions. In this article, I try and unravel the sociological enigma of such an “anti-Shiism without Shias.” Although it is related to the activity of traditional, hanbali-wahhabi preachers and theologians, one cannot solely look at this phenomenon as the expression of an “imported anti-Shiism” that would reflect the religious and political controversies which dominate the Islamic scenes in the Middle East. For these new forms of anti-Shiism also prove largely informed by the very stakes and cleavages of the French Islamic field. No longer simply conveyed by Salafist circles traditionally hostile to Shiism, it is now being reinvented by younger, “reformist” Muslim leaders who grew up in France and use anti-Shiism as a way of asserting their spiritual and communal authority.