Advances in Research

Ambon Island is famous for its natural resources, especially in the Central Maluku Regency such as Hunimua Beach in Liang Village and Natsepa Beach in Suli Village which is famous for its white sand along the coast. Unlike the two beaches, there is a beach in the western part of Ambon Island, precisely in the village of Lilibooi, namely Batu Kapal Beach or Batu Lobang. This beach has the potential to be developed as a tourist attraction. But besides its huge potential, this place still has several obstacles or challenges as a tourist destination. This research was conducted with the aim of identifying opportunities and challenges for developing the tourist attraction of Batu Kapal Beach. This study adopts a descriptive qualitative research method by observing tourism potential and supporting elements of tourism products at Batu Kapal Beach. In addition, the researchers also conducted interviews with the management of Batu Kapal Beach, the local community and the Lilibooi Village Chief regarding their views on the existence of Batu Kapal Beach attractions. Distribution of questionnaires to tourists was also carried out by involving 100 respondents who were randomly selected. The data collected is then processed and analyzed using the SWOT method. The results of this study are that based on calculations from the EFAS and IFAS Matrix, Batu Kapal Beach is in the quadrant point of 0.18 and 0.65 to be precisely in the quadrant I position, which is an aggressive strategy. Where the Batu Kapal Beach can utilize strengths and opportunities to progress, grow and develop in a better direction. Such as cooperating with the government and involving local communities to assist in the process of managing and developing Batu Kapal Beach.

The stresses caused by the traffic load on the canal embankments were investigated. Conventional methods of slope stability provide a constant value of safety factor for the slope, providing no information of slope displacements and possible variations of safety margins along the potential failure surface. The design model admits the idea of a homogeneous, isotropic, continuous and linear space that can be deformed. (Plaxis 2D) finite element program was applied to analyze the slope stability of canals outer curve under traffic load. In this study four different conditions were tested; Condition No 1: Dry condition, when there is no ground water in embankment and canal is running at full supply level; Condition No 2: Dry condition, when there is no ground water in embankment and canal is running at lowest water level; Condition No 3: Wet condition, at fully ground water level in embankment and canal is running at full supply level; and Condition No 4: Wet condition, at full supply ground water level in embankment and canal is running at lowest water level. The embankment material tested for in-situ properties to clay and sand. And additional traffic load above embankment is considered to estimate the worst case.

Aflatoxin contamination is a qualitative problem in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) occurring at both pre-and post-harvest stages. These aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and have carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic and immuno-suppressive effects. Use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a viable and sustainable option in managing aflatoxin problem in groundnut. Our present study is aimed at identifying a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strain with superior antagonistic abilities on A. flavus infection, aflatoxin contamination and to determine its mode of action. Ten native P. fluorescens isolates were isolated from groundnut rhizosphere and screened against A. flavus by dual culture and in vitro seed colonization (IVSC) assays. In dual culture and IVSC studies, Pf7 exhibited higher degree of antagonism on A. flavus (54% inhibition), inhibited its colonization and reduced aflatoxin contamination (27.8 µg kg^-1) in kernels.

Akiki Nyabongo’s novel, “Africa answers back”, reveals that religious syncretism in Africa is a reality that has persistently painted Christianity as an offshoot of traditional African religions. Using qualitative content analysis that looks at the text for themes, meaning and underlying values, the study critically analyses the two major religious thoughts of African Traditional Religions and Christianity in the context of the rite of passage – pregnancy, naming, baptism, marriage, death and burial. The study found out that religious syncretism as portrayed in Africa Answers Back is evident in all the major rites of passage. The conflict portrayed between the two religious beliefs shows that syncretism is a major issue today among African Christians and it is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. I conclude that most African Christians will take long to detach themselves from traditional African religious beliefs, because their way of life and practices are rooted in African traditional religion. I recommend continuous negotiations between African traditional religions and Christianity as each has something to offer to enrich their respective faiths.

In this paper, we introduce a new kind of closed sets called α^* -closed sets in a topological space and investigate their properties. These closed sets are compared with the closed sets and the generalized closed sets. We also introduce the α^* -homeomorphisms and develop their properties by using the α^* -closed maps and α^* -continuous maps.