Human Security and Developmental Crisis in the Contemporary West Africa

The last two decades were characterized by severe conflicts in the West Africa subregion. The era of conflict resolution, management and peace building thus came to define theregion. The destruction left by long years of protracted conflicts and the present state of devel opment is reason enough to warrant attention both from within and beyond. The study expounds, operationalizes and clarifies the concept of human security and development, and how human security issues lead to underdevelopment. The paper investigates the human security concerns in the post-conflict period and also looks at the crisis of development in the sub-region. It highlights details on the developmental crises that have bedevilled the sub-region and at the same time exposes the threats these crises pose on national security and peace in the subregion. This paper concludes that there is no appreciable effort in operationalizing human security in West Africa and this will lead to instability. The paper maintains that human security issues now complicate the developmental crisis in the sub-region due to its ambiguity. The paper suggests that policy makers should address human security issues in order to tackle developmental crisis in the sub-region

Human Security and Developmental Crisis in the Contemporary West Africa

The last two decades were characterized by severe conflicts in the West Africa subregion. The era of conflict resolution, management and peace building thus came to define theregion. The destruction left by long years of protracted conflicts and the present state of devel opment is reason enough to warrant attention both from within and beyond. The study expounds, operationalizes and clarifies the concept of human security and development, and how human security issues lead to underdevelopment. The paper investigates the human security concerns in the post-conflict period and also looks at the crisis of development in the sub-region. It highlights details on the developmental crises that have bedevilled the sub-region and at the same time exposes the threats these crises pose on national security and peace in the subregion. This paper concludes that there is no appreciable effort in operationalizing human security in West Africa and this will lead to instability. The paper maintains that human security issues now complicate the developmental crisis in the sub-region due to its ambiguity. The paper suggests that policy makers should address human security issues in order to tackle developmental crisis in the sub-region

Development of a Refrigerant Recovery and Recycling Machine

Indiscriminate discharge of refrigerants into the atmosphere during servicing or overhauling of refrigerating systems by Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) Practitioners is one of the major contributing factors to ozone depletion and climate change. The objectives of this study are to: design, fabricate and evaluate the performance of refrigerants recovery and recycling machine. The machine with 19.44 kg/hr rated capacity produced at cost of N106, 503.00 (about USD 500) with locally sourced materials comprises: compressor, drier, capillary tube, solenoid valves, two (2) pressure gauges and heat exchanger as functional parts. In order to evaluate the performance of  this machine, R-12 and R-22 refrigerants were considered for its analysis and results showed that for every 1 kg refrigerant recovered and recycled it has average recovery and recycling efficiencies of 88.5 % and 85.68 % whilst recycling used refrigerant to 99.9 % of its original purity. Keywords: Refrigerants, Ozone Depletion, Global Warming, Recovery, Recycling, Performance evaluatio

Socioeconomic impacts of Households’ Vulnerability during COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa: Application of Tobit and Probit Models

Coronavirus is a public health issue with socioeconomic and livelihood dimensions. The World Health Organization declared the current novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020, and a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. The South African government has implemented different strategies, ranging from total lockdown in certain locations and provision of palliatives in some provinces across the country. This study, therefore, investigated the correlates of vulnerability and responsiveness to the adverse impacts of COVID-19 in South Africa. The study utilized primary data collected among 477 respondents. Descriptive statistical tools, Tobit and Probit regression models, were used to analyze the data. The study found different levels of vulnerability (low, medium, and high) and responsiveness among households, including stocking up of food items, remote working, reliance on palliatives, and social grant provision, among others. Some of the correlates of responsiveness to the COVID-19 pandemic include being employed, the type of community, and the income of respondents. The study, therefore, recommends increased investments in welfare programmes (safety nets, palliative measures and economic stimulus packages) as well as capacity building of households through education to reduce vulnerability. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2022-03-04-02 Full Text: PD

Adoption of Good Agronomic Practices (GAP) Among Smallholder Rice Farmers in Nigeria Agricultural Transformation Agenda

This study assessed the adoption rate and identified factors influencing adoption of rice technologies among participants of Agricultural Transformation Agenda across the targeted implementation zones of Adani-Omor, Bida-Badeggi, Kano-Jigawa and Kebbi-Sokoto. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used in selecting eighty respondents for the study. The data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Tobit regression model were employed in the analysis of data. The study revealed that majority of farmers participating in Agricultural Transformation Agenda Project (ATASP-1) are youths and still in their active age as indicated by the average age of 42 years. About 62% have secondary and tertiary education. On the gender distribution of the people engaged in ATASP-1 project, it was revealed that about 92% were male while only 8% were female. Substantial numbers of technologies were disseminated on rice being promoted under ATASP-1 project and the adoption rate of these technologies was very high. More than three-quarter of the respondents have adopted technologies introduced to them. Adoption of rice technologies among participating farmers is largely depends on socioeconomic characteristics of farmers such as age, education and gender of the respondents. The study recommends that there should be continuous training of farmers on the importance of these technologies as well as techniques behind their utilization to ensure continuous usage of the adopted technologies. Women should be encouraged to participate more in the project and to take up farming as a business. Also, adequate attention should be given to farmers socioeconomic characteristics as these are the determinants of technology adoption. Keywords: Adoption, GAP, Rice Farmers, Agricultural Transformation Agenda DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-15-02 Publication date: August 31st 201

Empirical Assessment of Success Rate of Co-operative Societies’ Housing Provision in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study empirically assessed the success of co-operative societies’ housing provision for their members in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study was based on questionnaire survey conducted on institution-based co-operative societies that engage in housing procurement for members using different methods such as land acquisition, housing development, grant of loan, purchase of building materials or purchase of complete housing. Data were collected from members and principal officers of 97 institution-based co-operative societies in Ikeja, Lagos State. Data were analyzed with basic descriptive statistical tools, 5-Point Likert scale and presented with tables and percentages. The overall success rate was found by finding the average of the success rate of each method. This is compared with the impression of the stakeholders with the achievement of co-operative societies in providing housing for their members over the years. It was found contrary to popular believe that co-operative societies had performed well, the success rate had not been impressive and this is evidenced by the aggregate 38.3% of success rate of the different approaches put together. The analysis also showed that grant of loan and private project development were considered to be more successful amongst other strategies adopted by the co-operative societies. The study therefore concluded that the overall success of co-operative societies in housing provision can be improved by evolving a collaborative model that synergize co-operative institution with government institutions, parent institutions and the financial institutions

Burden, psychological well-being and quality of life of caregivers of end stage renal disease patients

BACKGROUND: Caregivers of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients play an important role in the management of the patients. Their psychological needs are often overlooked and unmet by the managing team. This study assessed the psychosocial well-being and quality of life (QoL) of caregivers of CKD patients in two hospitals in Southern Nigeria.METHODS: Burden of caregiving, QoL, depression, and anxiety were assessed using standardized instruments; modified Zarit questionnaire, modified SF-12 questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) respectively among caregivers of CKD patients on maintenance haemodialysis and controls.RESULTS: Fifty-seven caregivers of CKD patients and aged and sex-matched controls participated in the study.Anxiety was significantly higher in caregivers compared to control (31.6% vs 5.3%, p = 0.004). Also, depression was significantly higher in caregivers (31.6% vs 3.5%, p= <0.001). Twenty-eight (49.1%) of the caregivers had mild to moderate burden and 19 (33.3%) had a high burden. The mean Zarit burden score was higher in female caregivers compared to male caregivers (18.30±8.11 vs 14.83±6.70, p = 0.09). The mean depression score was higher in female caregivers compared to male caregivers (8.58±3.83 vs 6.75±3.80, p= 0.08). There was significant positive correlation between Zarit burden and hospital anxiety score (r = 0.539, p= < 0.001) and depression score (r = 0.472, p = 0.005).CONCLUSION: Depression, anxiety and burden were common among caregivers of CKD patients especially females compared to controls. Supportive interventions for these caregivers should be included in treatment guidelines in order to improve overall patients’ outcome.Keywords: caregiver, chronic kidney disease, burden, anxiety, depressionFunding: Self-funde

Perspectives of health care professionals on artificial insemination of donor semen: appraising their knowledge and perceptions: a single institution study in Nigeria

Background: Artificial inseminations of donor semen (AID) involve use of heterologous donated semen for conception in infertile couple when indicated or in a single woman desirous of pregnancy. Its practice often requires regulation to address possible ethical and legal issues which may arise. In formulating acceptable guidelines/policies, the perspectives of health professionals and the participants should be considered. Therefore, we sought to explore the knowledge and perception of semen donation for artificial insemination among health professionals.Methods: A cross sectional study conducted on consenting health workers in a single health institution using a structured questionnaire to assess their knowledge and perception on artificial insemination of donor semen (AID). Descriptive and analytical statistics were applied to the data collected with a statistically significant value of <0.05.Results: One hundred and twenty-one health professionals completed the questionnaires. The mean age of the respondents was 27.58±5.5years. Sixty of the respondents were males while 61 were females. Eighty-four of the respondents (69.4%) demonstrated good knowledge of AID while 37 (30.6%) had poor knowledge. Cadre of health professionals and marital status influenced the knowledge of respondents. Perceptions on AID varied among the respondents mostly influenced by psycho-social factors and possible legal disputes on third party reproductive process. None of the male respondents has ever donated semen and willingness to donate semen was low; with anonymity preferred by the willing donors.Conclusions: Substantial knowledge gap of AIDS existed among health professionals which were influenced by cadre and marital status. Psycho-social factors and possible legal disputes influenced their perceptions of AID

CHALLENGES CONFRONTING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: PROFESSIONALS PERSPECTIVES (A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA)

The success of the Nigerian construction industry can be aligned with the use of construction project management systems, although, the industry has been maligned by issues such as building collapse, incessant delays, abandonment and cost overrun. It is therefore imperative to examine the challenges confronting construction project management system in Nigeria. In this study the descriptive survey method was adopted and data were obtained by means of inquiries using questionnaires. A sample size of fifty nine (59) construction professionals was used for the study. The study reveals that location of a project majorly influences Project Manager’s decision making on project planning. It asserted the crucial importance of Management skills required in practicing construction project management. In conclusion, the result identified that passive participation from Project Manager, lack of client involvement in making decisions, provision of substandard materials, design error, lack of effective communication and poor treatment of workforce are challenges hampering the use of construction project management. The study recommends the institutionalization of construction project management practice, compulsion of adequate training and skill modification programs for construction professionals to aid the sustainability of construction project management systems in Nigeria