Sustainable tourism and cultural landscape management: the case of Idanre Hill, Ondo State, Nigeria

Idanre rural community has increasingly attracted both domestic and international tourists be- cause of the natural and cultural landscape, and the historic heritage found in the area of Ondo state, Nigeria. This is in part due to the development projects in the form of building and maintaining tourists’ facilities at Idanre Hill supported by the Ondo state government. Managing tourism development in a sustainable way in Idanre becomes imperative in order to maintain the cultural and natural environment. The paper aims to understand how issues of sustainability are being conceptualised by the tourism officials responsible for managing the attraction, and how they incorporate sustainability issues into their tourism development and management plans. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were used to gain insights into these issues. The research suggests ways in which the Ministry of Tourism in the state can improve their strategic plans for the sustainable management of Idanre Hill

Governance and community participation in the Nigerian tourism sector: a stakeholder analysis.

The efficacy of the governance processes by which tourism policies and plans are made is vital to tourism development. Tourism governance has, for some time now, been conceptualised as a participatory process that should involve a meaningful dialogue amongst a diverse group of stakeholders. However, empirical research that investigates the institutional contexts within which community participation and empowerment practices play out in tourism development is limited. This thesis set out to examine the process of tourism governance, and consequently local community participation and empowerment, in tourism planning. It examines how stakeholders in the tourism governance process communicate and interact. The research adopts a mixed methods approach. It first established a general picture of the current situation in tourism policy and planning through an extensive Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA). After that, interviews were conducted to explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the extent to which tourism governance processes allow local community participation and empowerment. From this, key constraints were identified. The results from the IPA revealed that the problem in tourism policy and planning in Nigeria is pervasive and relates to governance in general rather than to specific features or policies only. It was found that the decision-making is driven mainly by the federal and state governments. The communication and interaction among stakeholders at all levels was limited. The local level institutions are not empowered to function as participating partners in any meaningful sense. As a result, limited empowerment (political, economic, psychological and social) was experienced by community members. This thesis reveals that certain principles of governance – trust, awareness, transparency and accountability - related to political culture, are critical to the question at hand. Based on these findings, the research made some broad and provisional strategic recommendations related to: creating awareness amongst the local community of the industry and its possibilities; and empowering the Local Government Tourism institutions to play a proactive, and substantial role in tourism governance. The thesis, therefore, seeks to contribute towards the discussion on tourism governance, community participation and empowerment. It makes conceptual, methodological and policy related contributions

DEMOGRAPHIC VARAIBLES AS THE DETERMINANT OF HOME CHORES AMONG MARRIED COUPLES IN SELECTED TOWNS IN EKITI STATE

This research focuses on the demographic variables as the determinant of home chores among married couples in selected towns in Ekiti state. The main objective of the study is to primarily investigate if demographic characteristics of couples are strong enough to determine carrying out home chores among the people of Ekiti. This study is exploratory in nature and was carried out purposively in selected urban areas like Ado-Ekiti, Ikere, Aramoko and Igede. A total number of 400 respondents were drawn. However, only 394 (98.5%) of the questionnaires were dully filled and it was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. The quantitative data was presented in tables, frequency and percentages. The results showed that most of the respondents (29.9%) were between the age of 37-47 years, (50.3%) were female, (45.2%) had B.Sc/HND, (32.0%) were civil servants, (55.8%) earn between N20,000-N60,000 monthly, (44.2%) of the respondents had family size of 4-6 members, (74.1%) of the couples were monogamy while (49.2%) had between 3-4 children. On home chores respondents were familiar with, laundry work which was mostly known (69.5%) while (39.6%) respondents had little familiarity with babysitting. In respect to home chores statistics shows that (71.6%) respondents basically arrange and organize home while (48.2%) rarely babysit. In respect to whether demographic variables of the respondents determine a set of home chores which married couples engage in, there was a thin line between the responses provided by the respondents. About 45.7% of the respondents said yes while 45.2% said no to the above assertion. This research recommends that married couples should help themselves in doing or carrying out any form of home chores irrespective of their religion or cultural differences. This would invariably foster and sustain peace among the couples. The study concluded that socio-demographic variables do not determine the type, set and volume of home chores couples in Ekiti state engage in at any point in time

Community empowerment in Nigeria’s tourism industry: An analysis of stakeholders’ perceptions

This paper explores community empowerment in tourism development in Nigeria through an analysis of the perceptions of key stakeholders. Community empowerment is essential to ensure local community members benefit from tourism development. The study uses a qualitative approach to evaluate the degree of local community participation and empowerment in tourism in South-West Nigeria. Findings suggest that when community members have a sense of their political agency, they feel empowered psychologically. Community empowerment was found to be experienced differently by different stakeholders within the communities—some were more positive than others. The variability of experience suggests the potential for some cross—institutional/project learning. Local Government Tourism Committees (LGTCs) can facilitate empowerment at the community level—should be supported, and their role cultivated, to address the dearth of meaningful community empowerment. This in turn will require Nigerian governance structures to be willing to devolve a degree of power and authority over decisions to these bodies and the communities they serve

Investigation on Pleurotus ferulae potential for the sorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution

Pleurotus ferulae obtained from rotten tree was collected, washed, dried, ground and sieved to appropriate particle size. Infra-red spectrometry was used to determine functional groups on the biomass while biosorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution was studied using the biomass in a batch system. The effect of pH (1-7.5), temperature (30-50 oC), biomass dosage of 0.5-4 g and initial metal concentration (20-300 mg/L) was studied. Equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics consideration were evaluated from the studied parameters to evaluate the adsorption potential of the biomass. The functional groups on the dried P. ferulae were:  –OH, –NH, –COO− and –C–O. In the batch experiments maximum biosorption was observed at initial pH of 3.0, temperature of 30 oC and at the initial metal concentration of 100 mg/L. A contact time 20 min was sufficient for quantitative sorption of lead. It was observed that pseudo second order rate expression fit the experimental data and equilibrium analysis showed that the biosorption process followed Langmuir model. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the process was exothermic and ∆Go was negative showing spontaneity of the process within the studied temperature. KEY WORDS: Biosorption, Pb(II), Pleurotus ferulae, Biomass Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2013, 27(1), 25-34.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v27i1.

EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT RATES OF JATHROPHA (Jathropha curcas) SEED CAKE ON THE GROWTH OF AMARANTHUS CAUDATUS

A field experiment was conducted at Kwara State University Teaching and Research Farm, Malete, Kwara State, Nigeria to evaluate the performance of different rates of Jathropha seed cake on the growth and yield of Amaranthus caudatus. The five treatments tested were; 3 Jathropha seed cake application rates (2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 t/ha), NPK at 100kg N/ha and control. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Growth and yield parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, stem girth and fresh weight were taken. The results (p<0.05) indicated that application of Jathropha seed cake at 2.5 t/ha produced taller plants more profuse leaves and higher shoot fresh weight compared to NPK or the control treatment. In conclusion, Jathropha seed cake at 2.5 t/ha could be good alternatives to NPK fertilizer in raising leafy vegetable

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections

There are established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the &ldquo;Tuskegee Study&rdquo; in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values.Key Words: Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, moralityThought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK)New Series, Vol.3 No.2, December 2011, pp.75-9

Improving Effective Pain Assessment and Management in Elderly Patients

Inadequate management of pain is common in the elderly, and the negative implications are often profound. Untreated pain has been associated with negative consequences such as depression, anxiety, sleep disruption, weight loss, and limitations in the performance of daily activities and functions. The purpose of this educational project was to improve the assessment and management of pain of elderly patients residing in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The project question examined the effects of staff education on the nursing staff’s knowledge of pain assessment and management. Nonlicensed personnel are at the forefront of providing direct patient care in LTCFs. Knowles’s theory of adult learning was used to guide the educational strategies for this project. A convenience sample of 24 nursing staff participated in a 30-minute interactive discussion about pain assessment and management training. A pre- and post-knowledge assessment was conducted using a 17-question, 5-point Likert scale survey on self-assessment of knowledge in assessing pain in elderly patients. Data analysis was conducted using a paired t test to compare pre- and post-intervention outcomes for participants. The t test revealed that the mean pretest (M=52.98) was significantly different from that of posttest (M=80.83), t (23) = -6.570, p \u3c 0.001. These data suggested that the intervention significantly increased the knowledge. A need for pain management continuing education was identified. Implications for positive social change for nursing staff include an increase in knowledge in the area of pain assessment and management. This project can help improve the quality of life of elderly patients by preventing the negative consequences of untreated pain