Book review: green planet blues: critical perspectives on global environmental politics (5th Edition) by Ken Conca and Geoffrey D Dabelko

The contributors to the 33 chapters of this book show that the field is in desperate need of further study and essential action by social scientists. Awareness of the degradation of our planet and the need for urgent international action should be the top priority of us all, writes Michael Bassey, who earnestly commends Green Planet Blues. Keep it on your bookshelf and dip into it regularly

Book review: neighborhood as refuge: community reconstruction, place remaking, and environment justice in the city by Isabelle Anguelovski

Michael Bassey is currently embroiled in a community fight with a developer trying to open a massive gravel and sand quarry within a kilometre of his home village in Nottinghamshire. He ruefully admits that concern about dust, noise and traffic affecting an English village is embarrassingly trivial compared to the immense problems of the urban communities described in Isabelle Anguelovski’s book. But the common ground is community solidarity – perhaps the most powerful of all weapons against oppression of any sort

Book review: climate change and human development by Hannah Reid

Climate Change and Human Development offers a compendium of real life scenarios and brings home the realities of how poor people are suffering from and coping with climate change impacts today. Michael Bassey recommends this book to all who worry about the global future

Book review: towards a better global economy: policy implications for Citizens Worldwide in the 21st Century by Franklin Allen et al.

This collection aims to consider how improvements in official global governance, coupled with and reinforced by rising activism of ‘global citizens’ can lead to welfare-enhancing and more equitable results for global citizens through better national and international policies. Michael Bassey finds that this is an important book that deserves to be widely, and critically, read

The current enthusiasm for evidenced-based policy needs to be met with a greater degree of methodological caution

Michael Bassey encourages the government’s foray into evidence-based policy-making, yet with a note of methodological caution: good research only provides an indication of what may work, rather than a definitive solution. Instead of expecting policy to be evidence-based, it should be seen as evidence-informed

CHILD LABOUR IN NIGERIA AND ITS ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS-A CASE STUDY OF CALABAR MUNICIPALITY

This study, “Child Labour in Nigeria, and its economic implication”, is aimed at investigating the existence of child labour, its causes, constraints and economic implications and how to eradicate it with particular interest in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. Calabar Municipality is a tourist center and has witnessed massive population growth since 1999. This increase in population has forced many families to be engaged in inhuman activities to avoid destitution, scavenge for existence that could best be described as child labour. A stratified random sampling method was carried out in 500 respondents who are found to be involved in child labour through interviews, issuance of questionnaires and focused group discussions. The data obtained from the field were analyzed using Simple Percentages (%) and Chi-square (X2) to test the level of significant difference. The analyses revealed that 52% child labour is currently practiced in Calabar Municipality. The study also showed that there is a significant relationship between child labour and the following variables; poverty, unemployment and school dropout at 0.05 level of significant. This indicates a negative effect on economic growth in Nigeria as the future of the country is at risk. I therefore recommend that government should come up with legislations that will tackle the problem of poverty and unemployment in Nigeria, effective implementation of policy that would outlaw all forms of child labour, establish a compulsory, quantitative and qualitative free or minimal cost education for all Nigerians and finally, the National, State and Local Government Orientation Agencies should be mobilized to carryout extensive inspections in schools to reduce the number of school drop-out. Keywords: Child Labour, Child Abuse, Calabar Municipality and Economic Growth

Evaluation of the IDRC project on Capacity Building in Resource Mobilization

The Capacity Building in Resource Mobilization (CBRM) project helped research institutions to obtain increased funding from donors, diversify their donor base, and become more self-sufficient. The main activities for the evaluation study were: a literature review; development and implementation of questionnaires; attending workshops and meetings; structured interviews by telephone and in person; analysis of data, and preparation of the report. Training tools were developed for pilot workshops conducted in Asia. These were refined for use in training activities in Africa and Latin America. IDRC initiated the CBRM Project in 2003. It was implemented in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East

SOCIAL CAPITAL, CORRUPTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF SOME CONTRACTS AWARDED BY NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IN AKWA IBOM AND CROSS RIVER STATE

Social capital is acquired through goodwill which a person poses over time. It is a very vital tool for mutual trust. It creates wealth since confidence is reposed on whoever has it. However, due to generational change, this vital societal instrument has begun to fade off as people now use this opportunity for selfish gain. It has paved way for corruption be it political or any other form. The resultant effect is that this social deficit has translate into infrastructural decay as people who are trusted to handle vital project defines it immoral to render moral justice to the obligations of the society, hence, a fall in total productivity and a tin relay on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The overall result is a negative impact on economic growth. To effectively carry out this study, the researcher collates all contracts awarded by NDDC from 2004 to 2011; assess the level of completion by using simple percentages. It was discovered that contracts were poorly executed due to high leveled corruption by government officials who sometimes award the said contract to ‘trusted’ persons’. Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is set by Nigerian government to empower and provide infrastructural facilities to the people living within the Niger Delta region.   Keyword: Social Capital, Corruption, Economic Growth, Gross Domestic Product and Niger Delta Development Commission

Evaluation of follow-up committees of the workshop series of IDRC’s WARO Council of Regional Advisors

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Évaluation des comités de suivi du cycle d’ateliers de la commission des conseillers régionaux du Bureau régional du CRDI pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centr