Strategies for meeting the fishing input requirements of small scale artisanal fisheries

An examination is made of the socio-economic factors associated with the failure of existing approaches to the fishing input requirements of small-scale fisheries in Nigeria. The fishermen and secretaries of the fishermen cooperative societies in three major settlements (Uta-Ewa, Okoroete and Iko) were selected for interviews. The survey showed that the idealogy of the fishermen of the role of cooperative society is wrong and specific programmes need to be directed towards correcting this perception. Thus, for any meaningful support programme for the artisanal small-scale fishermen, the perception of the fishermen about the cooperative organization must first be aligned rightly. It is suggested that the fishing input be determined by type and specification as a preliminary step in the delivery of inputs to the fishermen. Social, economic and cultural variabilities should be related to the requirement by the fishermen. The price level of fishermen will determine the direction and level of government support require

An economic overview of the fish and shrimp production of the Nigeria fish trawling industry under the structural adjustment programme

Over the years, Nigeria have witnessed different government with different policy measures. Against the negative consequences of the past policies, the structural adjustment was initiated in 1986. Its aims is to effectively altar and restructure the consumption patterns of the economy as well as to eliminate price distortions and heavy dependence on the oil and the imports of consumer goods and services. Within the period of implementation, there has been a decreasing trend in yearly fish catch landings and sizes but the reverse in shrimping. There is also a gradual shift from fishing to shrimping, from the vessels purchased with 83.3% increase of shrimpers from 1985 to 1989. Decreasing fish catch sizes and quantity aggravated by the present high cost of fishing coupled with the favourable export market for Nigeria shrimp tend to influence the sift. This economic situation is the result of the supply measures of SAP through the devaluation of the Naira. There is also overconcentration of vessels on the inshore waters as majority of the vessels are old and low powers hence incapable of fishing on the deep sea. Rotterdam price being paid for automotive gas oil (AGO) by fishing industries is observed to be discriminating and unhealthy to the growth of the industry as it is exceedingly high and unstable thus affecting planning for fishing operation. Fuel alone takes 43% of the total cost of operation. The overall consequences is that fishing days are loss and therefore higher overhead cost. It was concluded that for a healthy growth and sustainable resources of our marine fishery under the structural adjustment programme licensing of new fishing vessels should be stopped immediately and the demand side of SAP should be employed by subsidizing high powered fishing vessels which can operate effectively on the deep se

Using Latency to Evaluate Computer System Performance

Building high performance computer systems requires an understanding of the behaviour of systems and what makes them fast or slow. In addition to our file system performance analysis, we have a number of projects in measuring, evaluating, and understanding system performances. The conventional methodology for system performance measurement, which relies primarily on throughput-sensitive benchmarks and throughput metrics, has major limitations when analyzing the behaviour and performance of interactive workloads. The increasingly interactive character of personal computing demands new ways of measuring and analyzing system performance. In this paper, we present a combination of measurement techniques and benchmark methodologies that address these problems. We use some simple methods for making direct and precise measurements of event handling latency in the context of a realistic interactive application. We analyze how results from such measurements can be used to understand the detailed behaviour of latency-critical events. We demonstrate our techniques in an analysis of the performance of two releases of Windows 9x and Windows XP Professional. Our experience indicates that latency can be measured for a class of interactive workloads, providing a substantial improvement in the accuracy and detail of performance information over measurements based strictly on throughput

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Structural classification using aeromagnetic data and pseudogravity transforms: a case study of Pategi area of Bida basin, Nigeria

The structural classification with 3D Euler deconvolution method in the Pategi area, a transition environment between the Basement complex rocks of the southwestern Nigeria and the Sedimentary rocks of the Nupe Basin was carried out. It was aimed at identification of the structural features responsible for the hydrogeology and mineralization potentials of the area. This work involves the qualitative and quantitative analysis of aeromagnetic data and pseudogravity transforms using Oasis MontajTM. The 3-D Euler deconvolution of the acquired aeromagnetic data and pseudogravity transforms using Oasis montajTM software and the geologic information on this area was employed in the structural classification work. The extracted faults and lineament features are mostly trending in the NW/SE and NE/SW directions. Earlier workers have recorded oil seepage within this Sheet (204), which is adjacent to the pegmatite rich Lafiagi area. Also, the abundance of 2D and 3D structures that are commonly associated with gemstones and precious minerals explain why the study area is a prospective mineralized zone.Key words: Euler Deconvolution, Transition, Hydrogeology, Mineralization, Lineament

Compressive Strength of Volcanic Ash/Ordinary Portland Cement Laterized Concrete

This study investigates the effect of partial replacement of cement with volcanic ash (VA) on the compressive strength of laterized concrete. A total of 192 cubes of 150mm dimensions were cast and cured in water for 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of hydration with cement replacement by VA and sand replacement by laterite both ranging from 0 to 30% respectively, while a control mix of 28-day target strength of 25 N/mm2 was adopted. The results show that the density and compressive strength of concrete decreased with increase in volcanic ash content. The 28-day, density dropped from 2390 kg/m3 to 2285 kg/m3 (i.e. 4.4% loss) and the compressive strength from 25.08 N/mm2 to 17.98 N/mm2 (i.e. 28% loss) for 0-30% variation of VA content with no laterite introduced. The compressive strength also decreased with increase in laterite content; the strength of the laterized concrete however increases as the curing age progresses

Geo-electrical exploration for groundwater within the premises of university of Ilorin teaching hospital, Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria

Schlumberger Vertical Electrical Soundings for groundwater search within the premises ofUniversity ofllorin Teaching Hospital(UITH) situated along Ilorin-Jebba road in Kwara state, were carried out with a view to establishing the different subsurface geoelectric layers, the aquifer units· and their hydrogeologic properties. Data were collected from 12 VES stations over· an area of about 500m x 650m. From the quantitative interpretation of the data collected, using the usual method of' curve matching with the Orellana-Mooney Master curves and 1-D forward modeling with WinResist 1.0 version software, four Iithologic units were identified. These include: the topsoil, the lateritic layer, the weathered layer/fractured layer and the fresh basement. The weathered and fractured basement constitutes the main aquifer units. The 2-D resistivity structure has elicited 2 lobes oflow resistivity which constitutes the prospective zone for water in the area. The first lobe exists.below stations 3 and 4 at about 5-15 m depth, with resistivity between 80- 14 7 ohm-m and over 300m wide, while the other lobe oflow resistivity which also signifies a possible borehole location exists below stations 7, 8 and 9 at a depth of about 2-14 m, with resistivity between 141 ~200 ohm-m and over 550m wide. The study concluded· that the area investigated contains two lobes of low resistivity whi~h could be explored for water supply.Keywords: Aquifer, Lobe, Resistivity, lithology, geo-electric, borehole

Illegal activities in Ago-Owu Forest Reserve in Osun Sate and its implication on sustainable forest management

This study aimed at assessing illegal activities with a view to enhancing sustainable forest management (SFM) in Ago-Owu reserve. Purposive sampling was used to select four communities from eight communities around the reserves. The major targets were the households. Based on this, 162 respondents (48, 27, 45, and 42) were selected from 480, 266, 447 and 420 households in Mokore, Ejemu, Abaoba and Famuyiwu respectively using 10% sampling intensity. Primary data were collected using questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and logistic regression. Majority of the respondents were male (62.9%), 51-60years (33.3%), married (50.6%), had secondary education (48.1%), had 16-30 years of residency (67.9%), with household size of 4 (32.7%), farmers (58.6%) and indigenes (77.2%). Majority (18.5%) generated income/annum of ₦310000 - ₦400000. Major illegal activities were; collection of fuelwood (96.3%), trespass (96.3%) and illegal felling of trees (89.5%). Illegal activities were dependent on communities (χ2 =19.30); sex (χ2 = 6.33); education (χ2 = 11.59), nativity (χ2 = 12.30), years of residency (χ2 = 45.13) and occupation (χ2 =13.09). Major socio-economic impacts include; damaging of NTFPs (90.1%), loss of revenue (90.1%) and climate change (84.5%). High population was the most significant factor contributing to illegal activities with odds-ratio of 1249218286570. Methods mostly used in monitoring illegal activities include; Use of law enforcement agency (100%), Forest guards (88.3%) and Community vigilante (75.3%). Illegal activities in forest reserves are a major threat to forest conservation. Therefore, strategies aimed at reducing dependence on forest should be established thereby enhancing SFM.Keywords: Illegal activities, Forest reserve, Households, Conservation, Sustainable forest managemen

Influence of Curing Age and Mix Composition on Compressive Strength of Volcanic Ash Blended Cement Laterized Concrete

This study investigates the influence of curing age and mix proportions on the compressive strength of volcanic ash (VA) blended cement laterized concrete. A total of 288 cubes of 100mm dimensions were cast and cured in water for 3, 7, 28, 56, 90 and 120 days of hydration with cement replacement by VA and sand replacement by laterite both ranging from 0 to 30% respectively while a control mix of 28-day target strength of 25N/mm2 (using British Method) was adopted. The results show that the compressive strength of the VA-blended cement laterized concrete increased with the increase in curing age but decreased as the VA and laterite (LAT) contents increased. The optimum replacement level was 20%LAT/20%VA. At this level the compressive strength increased with curing age at a decreasing rate beyond 28 days. The target compressive strength of 25N/mm2 was achieved for this mixture at 90 days of curing. VA content and curing age was noted to have significant effect (α 0.5) on the compressive strength of the VA-blended cement laterized concrete