Plantation agriculture has a long history of establishment in Cameroon and is increasing at an unprecedented rate with detrimental impacts on coastal estuarine forest landscape. Remote sensing data from Landsat imageries and geographic information system (GIS) techniques were used to analyse changes in the areal extent of plantations within the coastal Atlantic estuarine forest complex area of Cameroon between the periods 1986, 2000 and 2011 to ascertain the extent of deforestation due to plantation agriculture. Given the base year of 1986(67,792 ha of plantation), the results showed a 67 and 47 % decrease in the dense coastal estuarine forest coverage in 2000 (14,032 ha) and 2011 (24,564 ha), respectively, in the area and an increase in the area occupied by plantations (51,295 ha in 2000 and 68,340 ha in 2011) giving an annual loss of 3.4 % estuarine forest complex and an increase in plantation area of 0.03 % from the periods 1986 to 2011. There is need for better plantation management practices and policies to curb further loss in estuarine forest cover with consequent implications on the Wouri estuary.

Objective: To develop and validate practical prognostic models for death at 14 days and for death or severe disability six months after traumatic brain injury. Design: Multivariable logistic regression to select variables that were independently associated with two patient outcomes. Two models designed: "basic" model (demographic and clinical variables only) and "CT" model (basic model plus results of computed tomography). The models were subsequently developed for high and low-middle income countries separately. Setting: Medical Research Council (MRC) CRASH Trial. Subjects: 10 008 patients with traumatic brain injury. Models externally validated in a cohort of 8509. Results: The basic model included four predictors: age, Glasgow coma scale, pupil reactivity, and the presence of major extracranial injury. The CT model also included the presence of petechial haemorrhages, obliteration of the third ventricle or basal cisterns, subarachnoid bleeding, midline shift, and non-evacuated haematoma. In the derivation sample the models showed excellent discrimination (C statistic above 0.80). The models showed good calibration graphically. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test also indicated good calibration, except for the CT model in low-middle income countries. External validation for unfavourable outcome at six months in high income countries showed that basic and CT models had good discrimination (C statistic 0.77 for both models) but poorer calibration. Conclusion: Simple prognostic models can be used to obtain valid predictions of relevant outcomes in patients with traumatic brain injury.

(SDLC) using appropriate methodology. The SDLC consists of phases varying from author to author. However, an in-formation systems project can only be successful with intense interaction amongst project manager, systems analyst, system designers and the end users. Viewed from the project manager’s perspective, the SDLC lacks the essence of project management activities. Similarly, end users involvement is not clearly specified. The main aim of this paper is to propose a framework for information systems management and development process which accommodates the views of the different participants. Furthermore, the paper sharpens the concept of conventional SDLC, on the basis of the pro-posed framework. In addition, tools and methods that are appropriate for the implementation of the framework are herein discussed.

The foundation for any software system is its architecture. Software architecture is a view of the system that includes the system’s major components, the behaviour of those components as visible to the rest of the system, and the ways in which the components interact and coordinate to achieve the overall system’s goal. Every efficient software system arises as a result of sound architectural basement. This requires the use of good architecture engineering practices and methods. This paper recognizes software architecture practice as a discipline pervading all phases of software devel-opment and also presents an enhanced model for software engineering process which provides an avenue for speedy, efficient and timely delivery of software products to their intended users. The integration of software architecture into the phases of software development process in a generic software life cycle is also contained in this research report. This is to enable software engineers and system analysts to use effective software architecture practices and to employ appropriate methodology during the software engineering process.