Evolution of small reservoirs in Burkina Faso

Small reservoirs (SRs) are important infrastructures for providing water for a wide range of activities in Burkina Faso and other semiarid environments. In recent years, SRs have become even more important, considering the effects of climate change and variability such as erratic rainfall patterns, recurrent droughts and floods, delays in the onset of the rains (Laux et al. 2008), increased incidence of in-season dry spells (Lacombe et al. 2012), and high evapotranspiration rates. SRs provide vulnerable rural communities with water for multiple purposes, including domestic and agricultural uses (McCartney et al. 2012; Venot et al. 2012). However, a number of external factors are negatively influencing the sustainable uses of SRs. Rapid population growth (Zuberi and Thomas 2012) and its attendant human-induced activities are a threat to the quality of water in SRs, as are agricultural extensification and intensification around SRs, including the increased use of inorganic fertilizers

Characterization of small reservoirs in Burkina Faso

Small reservoirs (SRs) are used for multiple purposes in Burkina Faso and West African agroecological landscapes (Venot et al. 2012). These SRs are used for domestic (drinking, bathing and washing) and agricultural (crop, livestock and fishery) purposes, among others (McCartney et al. 2012). However, natural processes and human-induced activities in the surrounding landscapes can be a threat to the water quality and sustainable use of SRs. In order to reduce negative effects, several projects have been designed to study different aspects of how SRs are used and impacted by natural and human-induced activities. But the number of SRs in Burkina Faso (about 1,450) (Cecchi et al. 2009) makes it practically impossible to study every single one of them. A possible solution to this is to categorize the SRs into groups in terms of their responses to the aforementioned natural and anthropogenic influences. Such categorization can provide the basis for site selection in subsequent research programs and further permit generalization (upscaling) of results obtained for selected SRs (at local scale) to many other SRs (at national scale)

Informal irrigation in urban West Africa: An overview

Irrigated farming / Urban agriculture / Suburban agriculture / Farm size / Farming systems / Health hazards / Water pollution / Farm income

Discrimination against seafarers post 11th September 2001 (United States) and post 7th July 2005 (United Kingdom)

The significance of this study derives from the fact that the United States, with the support of the United Kingdom approached the IMO with new domestic legislation for the US maritime industry. This legislation, the MTSA, was to be introduced to regulate the maritime industry for fear that if the aviation industry has been compromised for acts of terror to be committed (11th September), it must be assumed that the maritime sector may be used by terrorists for the same ends It is an established fact that shipping is the oldest transport industry, in existence long before the invention of aircraft. The modern maritime sector is the most highly regulated industry by the IMO and ILO, and has, to date, not been compromised by terrorists to launch an attack on any sovereign State. The thesis addresses the violation of seafarer’s human rights in post- 11th September 2001 (USA), and post-7th July 2005 (UK). The research identifies the problems that affect seafarers’ rights, welfare and well-being which are embedded in the US Homeland Security Act, Patriot Act, and UK Home Office Anti-terrorism Act respectively. The most influential Resolution which gave the US and the UK the all clear to override international law is the United Nation’s Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1373. UNSCR 1373 is a mandatory order with no time limit, and it is not confined to a particular conflict but rather aimed at an undefined, yet expected, threat of global terrorism. The US and the UK declared seafarers potential terrorists in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. However, the importance of maintaining strong respect for human rights while ensuring national security was missing in the content of the UNSCR 1373 after 9/11. The UNSCR 1373 paved the way for the US to introduce their domestic legislation, MTSA, to the IMO which overrides seafarers’ Treaties, Conventions, State sovereignty and freedom of movement. The thesis investigated the denial of seafarers’ shore leave to seek welfare support as the central focus of the research to determine if a powerful State can override other sovereign States’ domestic law without considering the effect it will have on the rights of people. The US and the UK are sovereign States where terrorists used aviation and terrestrial transport objects to attack their infrastructures and kill civilians. However, both transport sectors have no common grounds with the maritime transport sector and yet seafarers are the group being victimised for the failings of the aviation and terrestrial transport industries. The author dentified the security Code which saw seafarers being declared as potential terrorists by the US and the UK. It has to be understood that there must be a proper balance struck between the needs of maritime security, and the protection of seafarers’ rights to maintain the safety and operations of the ship. The research demonstrated how the domestic legislations contained within the MTSA 2002, the HSA 2002 and the UKBA (Home Office) conflict with the ILO’s Convention No.185 post- 11th September 2001 and 7th July 2005, hence delaying the ratification of the latter by the US and the UK

Relationships Between Transformational Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Ghanaian Organizations

The recent global financial crisis prompted organizations to search for effective ways to minimize loss of revenue due to settlement of organizational scandals. Transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) are known to affect employees and subsequently organizational productivity. However, little is known about the relationship between transformational leadership and the OCB of employees of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Ghana. The purpose of this quantitative study was to bridge the gap in knowledge by examining the relationships between transformational leadership and the OCB of employees of MNCs in Ghana. The theoretical frameworks for this study were Bass\u27 transformational leadership theory and Organ\u27s OCB theory. A random sample of 180 employees, who had worked with MNCs in Ghana for at least 5 years, were surveyed on transformational leadership using a 40-item transformational leadership scale and OCB using a 24-item OCB scale. A correlation coefficient test and a regression analysis revealed statistically no significant correlational relationship between transformational leadership and OCB, and statistically no significant multiple regression relation between the4 dimensions of transformational leadership and OCB. The implication for social change includes importance to theory, business managers, and the society, that there is no relationship between transformational leadership and OCB of employees in MNCs in Ghana. Apprising individuals of this lack of relationship would inspire future researchers to search for other types of ethical leadership or non-financial incentives that could influence positive behavior of employees to enhance the organization\u27s productivity, and produce ethical citizens for society

Expression & Purification of Recombinant Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte-binding Ligands

Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent malarial parasite, is capable of invading all known human blood types. Erythrocyte invasion depends on specific parasite ligand and erythrocyte receptor interactions. These interactions are mediated by Region II of the P. falciparum erythrocyte binding ligands. Although invasion does not seem dependent upon a singular ligand, their individual contributions to the invasion process are yet to be explained. In this study, Region II of P. falciparum binding ligands BAEBL and JESEBL were transiently expressed as hexahistidyl recombinant proteins in COS-1 cells. Purification by column chromatography yielded 0.52 mg of BAEBL and 0.433 mg of JESEBL. The production and purification of these recombinant hexahistidyl proteins can allow for future binding affinity and kinetic analysis that may eventually define the contributive roles of each ligand during erythrocyte invasion

Mechanical properties of tree roots for soil reinforcement models

Evidence from forestry has shown that part of the forest floor bearing capacity is delivered by tree roots. The beneficial effect however varies and diminishes with increasing number of vehicle passes. Roots potential for reinforcing the soil is known to depend among others on root mechanical properties, distribution, morphology, etc. Rooting intensity and root patterns of forest trees are complicated, but some information is available. The objectives of this study are therefore as follows: (1) addressing the occurrence of field traffic on forest soils, (2) identifying root mechanical properties that play a role in soil reinforcement, (3) measuring root stress-strain relationships, root failure stress and strain and root behaviour under repeated loading and (4) simulating root reinforcement effect using a FEM (Finite Element Method) code capable of accounting for root properties in reinforcement simulations.The repeated loading experiments included repeated loading of tree roots to different loading levels and loading with different loading rates or elongation rates. These studies revealed that tree roots possess stiffness and failure strengths. They show elastic as well as plastic behaviour. They also show fatigue phenomena in repeated loading. Available FEM codes were studied with respect to their capability in dealing with soil reinforcement by roots. PLAXIS which is a commercially available FEM code was used due to its ability to calculate stresses, strains and failure states of soil mechanical problems. It can also cope with unsaturated reinforced soil. The finite element calculations conducted with PLAXIS are intended for soils loaded by forestry vehicles. These involved situations with and without reinforcement by tree roots. The reinforcement effects are, among others, decrease of wheel rut depth and rolling resistance, decrease of damage to soil structure by the wheel load and as a negative effect, physiological damage to the tree root system. The magnitude of these effects depends on a number of parameters: stiffness and strength of the tree roots, soil mechanical properties like cohesion, angle of internal friction, compression index, preconsolidation stress, depth of a hard sublayer (if present), distance between vehicle and tree, rooting patterns, adhesive and frictional properties of the soil-root interface, wheel load and contact surface. The presented simulation results, which are based on realistic input data, show the sensitivity of the reinforcement effect to the listed variables.</p

Ghana’s Population Policy Implementation: Past, Present and Future

The effective implementation of population policies is critical in addressing development challenges particularly for developing countries. Ghana’s experience at population policy implementation spans a period over four decades. There have been successes, failures and challenges as new issues which hitherto were non-existent at the inception of the policy, emerge in the course of implementation. This paper assesses Ghana’s efforts at implementing its national population policy and brings out deep insights on lessons learnt and makes proposals for the way forward. The assessment shows that while some successes have been achieved in the area of fertility transition, increasing life expectancy at birth, etc., there are still critical challenges which are socio cultural and political in character. Institutional structures for coordinating the implementation are undermined by poor resource in-flow from the state resulting in loss of trained human resources for effective implementation. The functional integration of population variables into development planning at the district level is consequently virtually non-existent. It is, therefore, just not enough to have a population policy as a document if the state does not attach the highest level of importance to population dynamics as a development planning priority in the country.