Water for Cities in Nigeria:The Governance Dimension

This work assesses the state of water resources in Nigeria in the light of the global state of the affairs of water management. The study takes an in-depth survey of water availability globally on a regional per capita basis. The study further exposes contemporary trends in water management with particular focus on efforts at privatisation. The study goes further to expatiate the concept of water governance with a view to furnishing sound knowledge of the political, economic, social and administrative variables involved before it proceeds to assess the state of the affair in Nigeria, with the Niger Delta in perspective. The study concludes by drawing up the emerging issues in water governance in Nigeria for policy and practice

The roles of nicotine dependence and demographic variables on internet gambling addiction among youths in a Nigerian City

This study investigated the relationship among nicotine dependence, demographic variables and Internet gambling addiction. It was a  survey, utilizing ex-post facto design. A total of 291 youths (156 males and 135 females) were purposively selected from major joints and sit-outs in the Metropolis of the ancient city of Ikot Ekpene. Simple Screening Instrument for Internet Gambling Test Adopted from South Oaks Gambling Screen (Gainsbury & Blaszczynski, 2014) and The Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale (Shiffman, Waters & Hickcox, 2004) were used to collect data. Pearson r results [r= .71; df = 289; p<.05] showed that the higher the nicotine dependence the higher the Internet gambling addiction among youths selected. The results further showed that demographic factors jointly predicted Internet  gambling addiction among youths [R=0.356; R2=.031; F(5, 189)=.34, p<.05] accounting for 31% of the variance observed. It was concluded that a good understanding of the relationship between nicotine intake and Internet gambling is important for developing regulatory  initiatives, awareness, and prevention programmes for responsible Internet use

Between Hope and Hype: Traditional Knowledge(s) Held by Marginal Communities

Traditional Knowledge (TK) systems have always been integral to the survival and adaptation of human societies. Yet, they enjoy a fairly recent recognition and popularization by scientists, the media, politicians, corporates and the wider public. In this paper we present a typology of key driving forces behind the popularization of TK held by marginal communities: an equality preference motive, a value motive, a compliance motive, a scarcity motive and a strategic motive. Secondly, through the use of a simple model, we discuss the hype's impact on marginal communities. Moreover, we critically assess the outcome of a number of policy instruments that intend, in part, to protect traditional knowledge bases of such communities. Our analysis primarily draws upon secondary literature; policy documents and case studies within economics, the social sciences, conservation biology and legal studies. We argue that whilst the public and institutional hype around TK may have resulted in its prioritization within international conventions and frameworks, its institutionalization may have adversely impacted marginalized communities, and in particular contexts, unintentionally led to the creation of 'new' marginals. We purport that the traditional innovation incentive motive does not hold for protecting TK within a private property regime. Instead we identify a conservation incentive motive and a distribution motive that justify deriving policy instruments that focus on TK to protect marginal communities

Food and Nutrition Security Indicators: A Review

In this paper, we review existing food and nutrition security indicators, discuss some of their advantages and disadvantages, and finally classify them and describe their relationships and overlaps. In order to achieve this, the paper makes reference to the existing definitions of food and nutrition security (FNS), in particular as they have been agreed upon and implemented in the FoodSecure project (www.foodsecure.eu). The main existing conceptual frameworks of FNS predating the present paper are also used as guidelines and briefly discussed. Finally, we make recommendations in terms of the most appropriate FNS indicators to quantify the impacts of various shocks and interventions on food and nutrition security outcomes

Negotiating hygiene and sanitary behaviors in transnational contexts:examples of Nigerians in the UK

The paper seeks to understand the extent to which hygiene and sanitary attitudes/practices are reproduced in transnational contexts using examples of Nigerians in the UK. In-depth and semi-structured interviews, participant interaction, secondary resources, follow-up interviews and informant discussions were important data sources. Issues discussed in this paper incorporate hand, body, dental, food and domestic hygiene and sanitary matters. The results show that not much has changed in hygiene and sanitary behaviors of the respondents despite having changed the environment and contexts of livelihood activities. The modest, recorded improvements in some behaviors can be attributed to the presence of basic infrastructures and services that unavoidably influence their utilization for some respondents. The paper argues that people do not necessarily aim for good hygiene and sanitary behaviors for health reasons as much as moral, social and certain cultural values. The desire to look good, be clean, eliminate discomfort, avoid bad bodily odor and gain social acceptance were the underlying driving reasons for sustaining good hygiene and sanitary living; health concerns were less important. Key elements of these findings hold practical prospects for addressing the hygiene and sanitary behavioral challenges for developing countries.</jats:p