Circular Economy strategies of social enterprises in Lagos: a case study approach

The circular economy (CE) framework has the potential to play a vital role in facilitating a different kind of development in low and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts, due to its promise of improving resource productivity, creating jobs and minimizing environmental degradation from human and economic activities. This thesis addresses how the CE is conceptualized and how its principles can be established in an African context, such as Lagos Nigeria, focusing on social enterprises (SEs) as the object of study, thereby responding to calls that links SEs to sustainable development and that explores the socio-institutional or behavioral changes necessary for achieving circularity. It explores the overarching research question: How are social enterprises establishing a circular economy in Lagos? Following a case study strategy, nine SEs operating in the waste sector in Lagos were studied by triangulating the data obtained from in-depth interviews, documents, and archival records. This study demonstrates practical CE implementation examples as findings from the data analysis shows how SEs are organizing differently to collect, aggregate and upcycle waste materials, while also engaging in clean-up and advocacy programs to retrieve more recyclables from the environment. It highlights volume-drivers, core-transformers, and clean-advocates as examples of new circular models that can be advanced and adapted to make a living from waste in low-income and resource scarce environments. By demonstrating how commercial, social, and environmental objectives are being pursued, this thesis contributes to the understanding of hybrid organizing in a LMIC context and shows how the CE embraces the social dimension of sustainable development beyond only job creation. Additionally, this thesis shows how institutional logics and institutional work can be combined to study the CE, contributing to calls on the concept’s underexplored institutional perspectives. It highlights institutional work in an African context by showing that establishing the CE in Lagos requires disrupting the logic of waste mostly seen as a thing to be thrown away. By changing existing and legitimating new waste practices, while maintaining a formal organizational structure, SEs are disrupting the logic of waste and establishing the CE in Lagos. The effect of their purposive activities on informal waste pickers in Lagos were discussed, while also drawing out policy and practice implications of the findings for advancing CE initiatives in Lagos and Nigeria, as well as in other LMICs

Investigation of ethanol productivity of cassava crop as a sustainable source of biofuel in tropical countries

The ethanol productivity of cassava crop was investigated in a laboratory experiment by correlating volumes and masses of ethanol produced to the masses of samples used. Cassava tubers (variety TMS 30555) were peeled, cut and washed. 5, 15, 25 and 35 kg samples of the tubers were weighed in three replicates, soaked in water for a period of a day, after which each sample was dried, crushed and the mash mixed with 500 ml of N-hexane (C6H14). This crushed mash was then allowed to ferment for a period of 8 days and afterwards pressed on a 0.6 mm aperture size and sieved to yield the alcohol contained in it. The alcohol was heated at 79°C for 10 h at intervals of 2 h followed by an h cooling. Ethanol yield was at average volumes of 0.31, 0.96, 1.61 and 2.21 litres, respectively, for the selected masses of cassava samples. Quantitative relationships were obtained to relate the masses of cassava used to the masses and volumes of ethanol produced. These were used to relate known production values of cassava from tropical countries to ethanol that can be potentially produced. The ethanol had boiling point of 78.5°C and relative density of 0.791. The dried mash was found to contain 61.8 calories of food energy per 100 g. This study found that a total of 6.77 million tonnes or 1338.77 million gallons of ethanol are available from total cassava production from tropical countries. The production and use of ethanol from cassava crop is recommended in the cassava-growing tropical countries of the world.Keywords: Cassava, ethanol, fermentationAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(35), pp. 5643-5650, 30 August, 201

IMPACT OF TEACHERS’ INCENTIVE ON PERFORMANCE OF PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION TEACHERS

Poor academic achievement of pupils in Nigerian primary schools together with its attendant problems has been worrisome to stakeholders in education system such that several factors like teachers’ incentives and other perennial problems has been pointed to as the cause of its occurrence. This study investigates the impact of teachers’ incentive on teachers’ performance in primary schools in Ogun State. A descriptive survey research design and simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 teachers from both private and public schools for the study. A self-developed questionnaire was used to collect data for the study while collected data analyzed using ANOVA statistics. The findings showed that (i) there is significant difference in teachers’ condition of service and teachers performance in primary school (F (1,98) = 10.245, P < 0.05), (ii) there is significant difference between teachers’ fringe benefit and teachers performance (F (1,98) = 8.133, P < 0.05), (iii) the relationship between teachers’ incentive and teachers’ performance in primary school is positive and significant (r = 0.146* at p < 0.05). It was suggested that government should improve welfare packages, condition of service and other benefits of teachers.  Article visualizations

Impact of Decadence of Education on the National Security and Sustainable Governance in Nigeria

This paper investigates the causes for the decadence and continuous decline of education and its impact on the national security and sustainable governance in Nigeria. The paper with the use of descriptive design along with the secondary data collection, analyses the various negative ways the continuous and incessant closure of the public educational institutions in Nigeria can have on the national security and sustainable democratic governance in Nigeria state. The finding of this paper is that the government has not done enough to arrest the situation, and that the country is therefore heading toward total disintegration. The paper also believes that the inadequate budgeting for the educational sector has contributed greatly to the inefficiency of Nigeria’s educational institutions at all levels. The paper therefore recommends that the governments should revisit their budget provisions by voting more funds for this important sector and as a matter of urgency, the government at the central levels should speedily resolve the ongoing strike of public university staff, while those closed institutions since February 2022 be opened within a shortest period in order to return the students back to their schools

Characterization of the Germania Spraberry unit from analog studies and cased-hole neutron log data

The need for characterization of the Germania unit has emerged as a first step in the review, understanding and enhancement of the production practices applicable within the unit and the trend area in general. Petrophysical characterization of the Germania Spraberry units requires a unique approach for a number of reasons ?? limited core data, lack of modern log data and absence of directed studies within the unit. In the absence of the afore mentioned resources, an approach that will rely heavily on previous petrophysical work carried out in the neighboring ET O??Daniel unit (6.2 miles away), and normalization of the old log data prior to conventional interpretation techniques will be used. A log-based rock model has been able to guide successfully the prediction of pay and non-pay intervals within the ET O??Daniel unit, and will be useful if found applicable within the Germania unit. A novel multiple regression technique utilizing non-parametric transformations to achieve better correlations in predicting a dependent variable (permeability) from multiple independent variables (rock type, shale volume and porosity) will also be investigated in this study. A log data base includes digitized formats of gamma ray, cased hole neutron, limited resistivity and neutron/density/sonic porosity logs over a considerable wide area

Collaborative digitally-enabled business models for a circular economy: Sustaining, managing and protecting value in the UK plastics sector

Designing circular business models requires a combination of systems-level and company-level approaches, highlighting the importance of collaboration. While digital technologies can enable such business models, studies that shed light on the creation of multiple types of value in collaborative and digital technology-driven environments are currently limited. This paper, therefore, aims to explore the process of designing digitally enabled collaborative business models, using the UK plastics sector as a context that has seen a rise in new digital technology applications to plastics mandated by new regulations. To this end, we have worked with fifteen plastics sector organisations as part of an empirical qualitative study aiming to develop collaborative business models for a future plastics circular economy system in the UK. Together with the stakeholders, we have co-designed the value-retention and data-as-a-service business models that could be enabled by digital technologies such as tags. We show that the main stakeholder tensions relate to digital technology investments, access to recyclate and data, and digital asset management. We argue that such tensions might be the key cause of delaying experimentation with circular business models and enacting collaborations at the systems level. We suggest that future research could draw on quantitative data, such as investment costs to test these circular business models, in order to inform the discourse on infrastructural investments for sustainability.<br/

Effect of coconut (Cocos nucifera) flakes substitution on some quality parameters of wheat bread

Coconut has a unique taste and aroma and excellent dietary fibre which has potential application in baked products and human nutrition. Bread&nbsp; was baked using wheat flour and coconut flakes at different substitution levels 100% wheat flour (AWB), 80% wheat and 20% coconut flakes (CWB8),&nbsp; 85% wheat flour and 15% coconut flakes (CWB8.5) and 90% wheat flour and 10% coconut flakes (CWB9). Some quality parameters such as&nbsp; proximate, mineral, pasting, sensory and microbiological analyses were determined to find out the most appropriate substitution level that can give&nbsp; better acceptability. The results showed that proximate contents of samples increased with substitution level. Protein content ranged from 12.63%&nbsp; to 10.26%, fat from 2.23% to 6.13% and fibre from 0.23% to 0.29% respectively. There was a significant difference (p&lt; 0.05) in the Calcium content of&nbsp; the flour blends with 20% coconut flakes (CWB8) having the highest value of 16.94m/kg while the control had the lowest value of 10.93mg/kg. Same&nbsp; trend was observed in the magnesium and potassium contents. The pasting properties revealed that 20% blends (CWB8) had the highest peak&nbsp; viscosity, through breakdown and final viscosity. The peak viscosity ranged from 1681 RVU to 2580 RVU and final viscosity from 1689 RVU to 2645&nbsp; RVU when compared with the control which has 1814 RVU. Sensory evaluation results showed that CWB8 is the most preferred for all attributes&nbsp; determined when compared with other samples. Microbiological study showed that microbial counts of CWB8 had the highest value of 2.66 x 105&nbsp; cfu/g at ambient temperature which was higher than the permissible limit within one week while samples stored in the fridge and freezer had low&nbsp; microbial counts. From this study, enrichment with coconut flakes increased the nutritional benefits of the bread because of the increased protein&nbsp; and dietary fibre contents which acts as a prebiotic that helps probiotic bacteria thrive and encourages optimal digestion helping to prevent&nbsp; constipation

Production of Ogi from germinated sorghum supplemented with soybeans

Three varieties of sorghum grains were germinated before fermentation to Ogi. The protein and ash contents of Sorghum vulgare, Sorghum guineensis and Sorghum bicolor increased by 7.20 and 40.20%; 5.44 and 29.20%; and 4.00 and 42.18% respectively. Fermentation of the germinated grains however caused decreases in the protein, ash, fibre and fat contents. Supplementation of oven-dried (60%) powder with treated 30% (w/w) soyabeans flour yielded products of higher protein contents which ranges from 284% for Ogi made from S. vulgare, 270% for Ogi made from S. guineensis and 271% for Ogi made from S. bicolor. Similarly, supplementation of Ogi with 30% (w/w) soya-flour generally resulted in increase in fat contents (approx. 130%), ash (approx. 54.9%) and fibre (approx. 217%). A panel of evaluators showed greatest preference for soya- supplemented Ogi porridge made from S. vulgare, while soya-supplemented Ogi porridge from S. guineensis was the least acceptable. The soyasupplemented Ogi flour (moisture content 10%) kept well and retained their original flow- properties after twenty-one days of storage.Key words: Sorghum, germination, fermentation, soya-supplementation