The Impact of Man-Environment Relationship on Health in Nigeria

Man has been relating with the environment since the beginning of time. However, this man/environment relationship has been more beneficial to man with detrimental effect on the environment. Over the last four centuries, human activities have transformed the Earth’s chemistry, water, soil and air, alter the face of the earth and changed the earth’s physical and biological characteristics. These changes have led to massive environmental pollution which has tremendous health implications on the lives of the people. This study examines the impact of man/environment relationship on the health of the Nigerian population. Analysis of data collected mainly from secondary sources show that so many diseases which affects the health of man is a result of environmental pollution triggered by anthropogenic activities. In the light of these observations, ways and means of environmental resources utilization with preservative tendencies have been advocated

Workplace performance monitoring: analysing the combination of physiological and environmental sensory inputs

The intent of this study was to investigate the combination of body physiological monitoring and the monitoring of the physical workplace as well as measuring worker/workplace performance through a questionnaire and activity log. We believed that these three data streams can be analyzed to reveal a strong correlation among them. The introduction of body physiological monitoring represents a new initiative in our quest for understanding the complex man-environment relationship

Le analisi archeobotaniche in Italia settentrionale tra Neolitico ed età del bronzo: ruolo delle piante infestanti nell'economia dell'Italia pre-protostorica

- In the picture of an ever-increasing interdisciplinary approach in the study of the archaeological data, archeobotanic research has had, in the last decade, a considerable development that has allowed us to outline with ever-increasing clearness, in a picture however full of gaps and incomplete, the main aspects connected to the subsistence and to the relative management of the territory by human and proto-historical communities. Among the multifarious directions that archeobotany examines, it was decided in this work to direct the research on so-called weeds: reported only in the more detailed works, constantly excluded from an interpretative point of view of the man-environment relationship, in fact we think that such vegetable assences can supply, if studied in the specific, useful information on this subject since they themselves, like “nobler” cultivated or picked plants, highly dependent on the environmental in witch they developed and that led them to be an integral part of the archaeological record that has survived to the present day

Recent excavations along the Yobe valley

The Yobe valley is one of the many refugia that dotted the Chad basin after the commencement of the desiccation of the Sahara. It hypothetically must have been attractive to the population that had to move away from the aridized zone in search of favourable ecotones. As the Mega Chad receded from its Bama ridge shores, new lands were progressively made available for human occupation along the valley. It is one of the principal goals of the Yobe Valley Archaeological project to investigate how and when this new valley was occupied. This paper has been divided into three principal sections. The first section deals with the search for the earliest settlements of the Yobe valley. The excavations conducted at Garingada and Damakarwa were aimed at tackling this problem. The second section deals with the development of complexity. The excavation at Gambaru was directed towards this problem. The third section seeks to discuss on the bases of the excavations at the three sites, manenvironment relationship. The concluding part of the paper focuses attention on the problems and prospects of the Yobe Valley Archaeological Project

Political Ecology in Merbeel: A Power Play Around Past and Present Wetland Resource Management

The interrelationship between human society and nature is multifarious. Indeed, interrelationship involves different power plays either in explicit or implicit forms. In different indigenous societies of the world, different actors have been influencing the natural resource management process. With time, the power plays commenced by such actors have been altering their forms with different actors at the zenith of hierarchical man-environment relationship. This research is an attempt to explore a succession of such power plays around a historically famous wetland Merbeel and its island of Upper Assam. The research methods followed here is qualitative. A participatory research approach is used to explore different local dynamics. The research shows that the wetland and its island have perceivably been under a through hegemonic control of different groups, from time to time. Due to natural resource availability, Merbeel and its island have always been in the epicentre of these hegemonic power plays. This study provides a brief explanation of this succession process of these power plays dividing it into three periods

Environmental Education And Social Ethics

The interdependence of man and the environment in its holistic form needs a better understanding. This is necessary for the protection and improvement of the environment and the survival of man. There is undoubtedly a balanced relationship between man and the environment, this has to be maintained. For a long time, man cherished the concept that he was the master of the environment. This has been the most erroneous and damaging concept developed in respect to man-environment relationship. Environmental education is a necessary tool for taking appropriate decisions concerning the solution and prevention of environmental problems which are considered disequilibrium caused by certain factors in the established relationship between man, animals, plants and others. For a very long time, man’s activities on the environment have become more pronounced in different spheres, culminating in serious environmental problems. Man therefore needs to be educated for the understanding, solution and prevention of these problems. This paper examines the need for environmental education and social ethics for the survival of man and understanding and improvement of the environment. Keywords: Environment, Ethics, Man environment, Education, Social ethics

Environmental design studies on perception and simulation: an urban design approach

Perceptual simulation represents an attempt to anticipate physical reality, whereby people can experience and interpret future environments from a subjective perspective. Working on experiential simulation for urban and landscape design requires an understanding of the relationship between man and the environment from a perceptual and cognitive standpoint. In fact, only by investigating the sensing and cognitive processes behind perception can we establish an informed approach to simulation of places and their ambiances. In particular, we propose a parallelism between man/environment and man/simulation relationships, aiming at giving back a framework for replicating in simulation the multisensory aspects that occur in the perception of the physical world. Hence, the objective of this article is to present how we approach the dimension of perceptual simulation within our research and professional work as urban designers. From a methodological point of view, we explored the topic through two main tasks, namely the selection and reconstruction of the research context and the key issues of perceptual simulation finalized in the second task, i.e. the construction of a set of simulation tools for urban design, intended as a matrix of possible practical applications. In particular, the theoretical framework presented in this work consists of a selection and overview of references relevant to urban design, comprehension of the research context and delivery of the set of tools implemented within our research unit. This matrix of tools represents the novelty of this work and is intended as a practical reference for orienting the choice among different simulation tools within the urban design practice. For instance, it is important to highlight the efficacy of each type of simulation in mimicking the man/environment relationship

BOUNDARY ORGANIZATIONS: AN EFFICIENT STRUCTURE FOR MANAGING KNOWLEDGE IN DECISION-MAKING UNDER UNCERTAINTY

Modern environmental issues imply that decision-makers take into account opinions from experts of different spheres. Boundary organizations are institutions able to cross the gap between different areas of expertise and to act beyond the boundaries while remaining accountable to each side: by encouraging a flow of useful information, they permit an exchange to take place while maintaining the authority of each side, in order to provide a better knowledge and understanding of a situation characterized by uncertainty. Though never formally proved, this hypothesis is widely accepted based on the observation of existing boundary organizations. Through a multi-agent simulation, it is possible to assess their impact on the diffusion of opinions among experts. This virtual interaction of heterogeneous agents based on a model of continuous opinion dynamics over two dimensions, shows that boundary organizations have a significant quantitative impact on the diversity of opinions expressed and the number of experts agreeing to each emerging position.boundary organization, opinion, knowledge diffusion, multi-agent system, Agribusiness, Labor and Human Capital, Public Economics,

Environmental information and cognitive needs

Contemporary architectural and urban design have been vigorously criticized for being monotonous, impersonal and poor in content. The discussion which has subsequently developed on the question of the man - environment relationship has succeeded in elucidating certain aspects of the issue and in influencing the work of many designers. Still, it has up to now failed to produce the distinct paradigmatic guidelines needed for a drastic change in the way designers approach design problems.For this reason, the environment's potential content (ie. the object of cognition) is firstly examined. Our surroundings are found to be exceptionally rich in information that is stored in them in the process of their shaping. This content is ordered and represented in a model.The exploration of the nature of man's cognitive needs, on the other hand, shows that man often decodes more environmental messages than what is usually assumed. Such cognitive activity, which may be independent of the primary functions performed in space and may even refer to the entirety of the environment's content, is complementary to man's overall understanding of the world.To rephrase the functionalist dictum, not only "form follows function" but also form itself functions through cognition. Designers, who can thus be seen as the editors of environmental messages, must acquire a deep understanding of this function and its qualities. They must constantly try to make the best out of an environment's own potential content so as to meet the demands of the users'cognitive needs for the given setting. This content should be transmitted legibly and in an organized manner following the afore-mentioned model.By examining the requirements set by cognition both in a holistic sense as well as in terms of their particular complexities and varieties, it is believed that the present study will contribute substantially to the theory and practice of design