Government Policy and Export Production in the Nigerian Oil Palm Industry, 1906-1965.

Essential to the study of economic development in developing countries is the influence of government policy on the export production of primary products. This policy affects such growth determinants as capital accumulation, foreign exchange earnings, and resource use. Palm Products are one of the major exports upon which Nigeria depends for development funds. Government policies affecting this rural industry have achieved only a limited success in inducing export output increases. The thesis attempts to examine and explain export output trends against the background of these policies and other factors such as demand and production organisation. The objective is to suggest, from the analysis that emerges, a future policy capable of inducing greater increases in export output, earnings and improvement in producers' income, taking into account world production, external demand and recent development in other sectors. The main finding is that the introduction of policy measures able to improve production organisation within the rural producing sector as opposed to the present plantation organisation has a greater prospect of stimulating production at less cost. The study extends over 63 years divided into three periods of historical significance - 1906/38; 1939/54 and 1955/65. The first period commences when Southern Nigeria was created. The second covers the war and post-war years, while the third extends from the introduction of self-government until the 1966 military coup. The study is analytical. Materials used include available colonial documents, annual reports and other sources supplemented by estimates. The central theme is contained in Chapters 2 to 7. Chapter 2 examines the demand factors influencing early production. This is followed in Chapters 3, 4 and 5 by a discussion of early policy measures affecting production and producers' responses to economic incentives. Chapter 6 discusses post-war policies and export production while Chapter 7 examines production in the context of economic planning. Some general conclusions and recommendations are presented in Chapter 8

An Assessment of Vegetal Cover Transition in the Zugurma Sector of Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria

In Nigeria, National Parks and other categories of protected areas have played a major role in modern systems of biodiversity conservation and it is likely to be an important component of national biodiversity conservation strategies in the future.  This research work aimed at assessing the vegetal cover transition in Zugurma Sector of Kainji Lake National Park using satellite-derived data. Satellite imageries of 1986, 2000 and 2010 were downloaded from GLCF and classified using ArcGIS, while evaluation of the agricultural resource in the study area was done using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI); to comprehend the socioeconomic and human impact on the flora dynamics, questionnaires and interviews were used; and mathematical modeling was used to project the study area to the year 2020.  Various softwares (ArcGIS 10.1, SPSS 10.0, Microsoft Office Excel, 2007 and Microsoft Office Word, 2007) were used.  The results show that there is significant decrease in the forest cover between 1986 – 2010, while farmlands around the forest experienced an increase in year 2000 but reduced again in 2010.  As for settlements, we have more cases of immigration, while the bare lands in and around the forests reduce or increase based on climatic aberrations, soil erosion and human activities. NDVI maps were used to show the changes in the vegetation indices for Zugurma in 1986, 2000 and 2010 derived from the classified satellite imageries.  These changes ranged from 0.473684 to 0.503106 then to 0.491525 respectively (for high NDVI values); this suggests that the forest had degraded probably caused by deforestation or climatic factors.  The low NDVI values as shown by the maps are -0.0616327, -0.386773 and -0.118644 for 1986, 2000 and 2010 respectively. It is projected that by the year 2020, Forests will have a percentage of 32.878% (from70.52%), while farmlands are expected to increase to 25.815% (from11.34%), Settlements to 29.259% (from 12.85%), and Bare lands will be the least with about 12.048% (from 5.29%).In order to reduce the human pressure on the KLNP, there is a need for constant dialogue and collaboration between the Park authority and the communities around the study area. This constant interaction will facilitate mutual understanding and guarantee sustainable park management.  The Nigerian government should enhance biodiversity protection by incorporating biodiversity concerns into development planning, expand and consolidate protected area networks. Keywords: Biodiversity, National Park, Geographic Information System, Vegetation Inde

Preservation of Library Resources in Nigeria Universities: a Study of Collections in Cross River State Universities

Preservation is the appropriate housing, protection, care and maintenance of archives, records and manuscripts. It should be taken seriously in order to preserve the cultural, social and technical context of our heritage. This study investigates the preservation of library resources in Nigerian universities via a study of collections in Cross River State universities. Through descriptive survey research design, the study adopts Ruskin’s theory of preservation (Ruskin, 1989) with an emphasis on the seven lamps of architecture. The application of the theory is used to assess the form of the resources, understand the preservation problems encountered in the libraries and determine if the libraries were insured against disaster. To achieve this, census sampling technique identified twenty-eight academic librarians to participate in the study. Questionnaires, interviews and direct observation of the collections in the libraries were used to collect data. The result of the analysis revealed that paper was the major form of resources stocked in the libraries. This meant that the library encountered some preservation problems. The results also revealed that rodents, insects, gaseous pollutants and many more were some of the preservation problems encountered in the libraries. The libraries were not insured against disaster. It was recommended that adequate storage facilities should be provided for appropriate housing, care, protection and maintenance of collections in the libraries. There should be, among other things, a disaster management plan in order to preserve library resources in Nigerian universities

Care Intervention and Reduction of Emergency Department Utilization in Medicaid Populations

Expansion of Medicaid and private health insurance coverage through passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 was expected to increase primary care access and reduce emergency department (ED) use by reducing financial burden and improving affordability of care. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in utilization patterns that exist among the Medicaid population that participated in an optimal level of care (OLC) intervention inclusive of appointments scheduled to primary care providers. Using the integrated behavior model as a theoretical framework, the key research question focused on determining if there was a difference in ED use among Medicaid individuals who scheduled follow-up appointments compared to those that did not schedule follow-up appointments. The sample population consisted of 176 Medicaid enrollees who presented to the ED for treatment of nonurgent conditions and participated in an OLC intervention from June 2016 to July 2017. The results showed that there were no differences in ED utilization between the population that had scheduled appointments compared to the population that did not have scheduled appointments. A bivariate analysis on demographic variables also showed no differences in ED utilization among the variables. The social change implications of this study are that the practice of scheduling appointments with primary care providers does not reduce or affect ED utilization in the Medicaid population. This study contributes to positive social change through the findings that reducing ED utilization requires more than follow-up appointment scheduling with primary care providers. Further studies are warranted to understand the potential barriers and factors that affect ED utilization

The Persistence of Herbicide Residues in Fadama and Upland Soils in Plateau State, Nigeria

Fadama and upland soil in Plateau State, Nigeria were monitored for the residues of five herbicides widely used for farming within the areas under investigation from June 2010 to June 2012. The average concentration in mg/kg of the residues in the soils were; atrazine (0.123), 2,4-D (0.013), paraquat (0.020), oxadiazon (0.100) and pendimethalin (0.020) for fadama soils. While the concentration of the atrazine, 2,4-D, paraquat, oxadiazon and pendimethalin in upland soils were 0.180, 0.023, 0.030, 0.0130 and 0.010 mg/kg respectively, suggesting the herbicide residues persist at considerably high concentration. Physicochemical factors such as pH, Low Organic matter and textural characteristics of the soils were the factors identified to contribute to the persistence of the herbicides. Other factors like microbial activities were also suggested to play significant roles in the degradation or the persistence of the herbicide residues. The distributions of the residues were monitored seasonally over a period of time within the study area. This was sampled for laboratory analysis during the farming seasons covering planting to harvesting time where most of these herbicides and other chemical farm inputs are still believed to be active in the soils within the study area. The herbicides under investigation were observed to persist more in fadama soils which is characterized by high water holding capacity and low organic matter content.   Keywords: Persistence, herbicide residues, fadama, upland, soil

From sick kids to SicKids!

This report outlines the varied activities undertaken by SicKids in Cambodia up to and including the April 2017 visit by Dr Joan Livesley and Professor Andrew Rowland. Both the November 2016 and April 2017 visits were part-funded by a Humanitarian Grant from the British Medical Association. SicKids is a children’s health charity currently working in the North West of England and Cambodia. It believes every child deserves the right to grow up healthy, and safe from abuse, exploitation and trafficking. The charity raises funds and work on projects to support children and young people

Summary of the Very Large Hadron Collider Physics and Detector Workshop

One of the options for an accelerator beyond the LHC is a hadron collider with higher energy. Work is going on to explore accelerator technologies that would make such a machine feasible. This workshop concentrated on the physics and detector issues associated with a hadron collider with an energy in the center of mass of the order of 100 to 200 TeV