A Spatial Analytical Framework for Examining Road Traffic Crashes

A number of different modeling techniques have been used to examine road traffic crashes for analytic and predictive purposes. Map-based spatial analysis is introduced. Applications are given which show the power in a combination of existing exploratory and statistical methods

Spatial dependence in agricultural employment

The past decade has been one of agro-pessimism. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of participation of males and females in crop farming and examine whether there is any spatial dependence (spill over effect) in the level of participation within geographical locations. Data on employment in crop farming by sex and category of workers was obtained from www.nigerianstat.gov.ng. The simple trend line and multiple bar charts were used for comparative analysis, while Moran's Index, Getis and Ord Statistic were used for spatial analysis. Generally, participation in crop farming is highly dominated by males in the 3 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. At less than 1% level of significance the Moran's Index showed high male participation in two states Bauchi and Jigawa, while, female participation was found to be high in Anambra and Ebonyi states. The Getis and Ord Statistic equal 0.08, 0.18 with Z score equal -1.48, 3.07 for male and female farmers respectively. While there is some clustering, the pattern may be due to random chance for male farmers. There was less than 1% likelihood that the clustering of high values could be the result of random chance for female farmers. This suggests employment distribution in crop farming is relatively clustered for male farmers and strongly clustered for female farmers. This study advocates for increased female labour force participation to be addressed as a key component of pro-poor agricultural growth which could translate to higher productivity and poverty reduction in Nigeria.Keywords: Crop Farming, Labor Force Participation, Productivity, Spatial Dependence, Statistic

Information Communication Technology and the African Student

To engage students, improve learning and become a cutting edge educator, it becomes necessary to combine traditional classroom instruction with online or mobile learning activities through the technological world which moves so fast and changes so rapidly. The objective of this study was to build an evidence-based framework that explains the challenge of the developing countries’ students in respect of maximizing the full potentials of the computer for educational activities. Questionnaires were administered to 213 students of the University of Ibadan and the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo state of Nigeria. A major limitation to maximizing the full potentials of the computer is poor power energy supply. 62.9% of the population understudied pay to use computer for academic purposes. The cost per hour ranged between #50 to #100 plus. The benefits of collaborative learning and teaching with multiple instructors; integration of external expertise and video conferencing system to create geographically distributed discussion of panels of experts is visibly not maximized. Ultimately, the significant gain in economic productivity as a result of education which may be the most promising way to stimulate general economic growth is lost. This study strongly recommends improved access to computers for the African students.Keywords: Information communication technology, education, challenges, development, statistic

Survivorship of Cancer Patients in Nigeria: An Evidence for Aggressive Measures against Cancer in Developing Countries

More than 60% of the world’s total new annual cancer cases occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. The aim of this study was to build a predictive model for the two possible outcomes of cancer patients and to examine which of the several types of cancer was more deadly. Secondary data of 335 patients aged 11 to 90 years who received treatment for liver, lung, colon, colorectal, prostate, breast or skin cancer at LAUTECH teaching hospital between 2004 and 2010 was used for this analysis. Logistic regression analysis was conducted. The Hosmer and Lemeshow and Likelihood Ratio tests were used to determine the fit and significance of parameters of the model. Only the type of cancer suffered by patients contributed significantly to the prediction model. The odds of dying for patients with lung cancer were about 4 times that of other types of cancer. However, the incidence of liver, lung, colon, colorectal, prostate, breast and skin cancer was prevalent across patients aged 11 and 90 years, irrespective of sex. Lung cancer was found to be more deadly than other types of cancer observed in the sample

Spatio - Temporal Analysis of Characteristics and Causes of Road Traffic Crashes in Oyo State of Nigeria

Background Millions of people each year will spend long weeks in hospital after severe crashes. The  WHO estimated that 1.3million people were killed by road traffic crashes (RTC) and 50 million injured on the worlds road annually, adding that over 80 percent of the figure occurred in developing countries, with Africa having the highest death rate. Also, WHO predicted that if nothing is done by countries to stem the tide death by RTC would increase by 65% by 2015 t~ 2020, overtaking malaria and tuberculosis. This paper is aimed at investigating the characteristics, causes and spill over effects of RTC in Oyo state for two periods, namely years 2011 and2012.Methods The total number of RTC cases and causes recorded in Oyo state where observed for the two periods under study. The total number of persons killed, number injured, sex and age of victims on each RTC incident was obtained. The causes were classified under four headings: dangero.u s driving, speed limit violation ' mechamcal fault and human factors. The multiple bar chart was used for comparative purposes. The Moran's Index and a complimenting statistic; the Getis and Ord statistic was used to ascertain spill over effects.Result Number of RTC varied over the two periods. RTC is characterized by deaths and injuries of adult males. The causes vary from one LGA to another, but similar within contiguous LGAs.Conclusion The results should enable the orientation of deaths and injury prevention policies targeted on the adult males in the state.Keywords: Spatial Hotspots; Road Traffic Crashes; Injuries and Deaths; Nigeria

Concomitant polymorphism and the martensitic-like transformation of an organic crystal.

Crystalline polymorphism is a phenomenon that occurs in many molecular solids, resulting in a diverse range of possible bulk structures. Temperature and pressure can often be used to thermodynamically control which crystal form is preferred, and the associated transitions between polymorphic phases are often discontinuous and complete. N-Methyl-4-carboxypyridinium chloride is a solid that undergoes an apparent continuous temperature-dependent phase transition from an orthorhombic to a monoclinic polymorph. However, a hybrid characterization approach using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, and solid-state density functional theory reveals the transformation to be actually a slowly changing ratio of the two discrete polymorphic forms. The potential energy surface of this process can be directly accessed using terahertz radiation, and the data show that a very low barrier (43.3 J mol-1) exists along the polymorph transformation coordinate

Methyl-Rotation Dynamics in Metal-Organic Frameworks Probed with Terahertz Spectroscopy

In ZIF-8 and its cobalt analogue ZIF-67, the imidazolate methyl-groups, which point directly into the void space, have been shown to freely rotate - even down to cryogenic temperatures. Using a combination of experimental terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, low-frequency Raman spectroscopy, and state-of-the-art ab initio simulations, the methyl-rotor dynamics in ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 are fully characterized within the context of a quantum-mechanical hindered-rotor model. The results lend insight into the fundamental origins of the experimentally observed methyl rotor dynamics, and provide valuable insight into the nature of the weak interactions present within this important class of materials

MODELLING ROAD TRAFFIC CRASHES USING SPATIAL AUTOREGRESSIVE MODEL WITH ADDITIONAL ENDOGENOUS VARIABLE

Road traffic crashes have become a global issue of concern because of the number of deaths and injuries. The model of interest is a linear cross sectional Spatial Autoregressive (SAR) model with additional endogenous variables, exogenous variables and SAR disturbances. The focus is on RTC in Oyo state, Nigeria. The number of RTC in each LGA of the state is the dependent variable. A 33×33 weights matrix; travel density; land area and major road length of each LGA were used as exogenous variables and population was the IV. The objective is to determine the hotspots and examine whether the number of RTC cases in a given LGA is affected by the number of RTC cases of neighbouring LGAs and an instrumental variable. The hotspots include Oluyole, Ido, Akinyele, Egbeda, Atiba, Oyo East, and Ogbomosho South LGAs. The study concludes that the number of RTC in a given LGA is affected by the number of RTC in contiguous LGAs. The policy implication is that road safety and security measures must be administered simultaneously to LGAs with high concentration of RTC and their neighbours to achieve significant remedial effect