The use of TRAO to manage evolution risks in e-government

The need to develop and provide more efficient ways of providing Electronic Government Services to key stakeholders in government has brought about varying degrees of evolution in government. This evolution is seen in different ways like the merging of government departments, the merging of assets or its components with legacy assets etc. This has involved the incorporation of several practices that are geared towards the elimination of processes that are repetitive and manual while attempting to progressively encourage the interaction that exists between the different stakeholders. However, some of these practices have further complicated processes in government thus creating avenues for vulnerabilities which if exploited expose government and government assets to risks and threats. Focusing on ways to manage the issues accompanied with evolution can better prepare governments for manging the associated vulnerabilities, risks and threats. The basis of a conceptual framework is provided to establish the relationships that exist between the E-Government, asset and security domains. Thus, this thesis presents a design research project used in the management of evolution-related risks. The first part of the project focusses on the development of a generic ontology known as TRAO and a scenario ontology TRAOSc made up of different hypothetical scenarios. The resulting efficiency of the development of these ontologies have facilitated the development of an intelligent tool TRAOSearch that supports high-level semantically enriched queries. Results from the use of a case study prove that there are existing evolution-related issues which governments may not be fully prepared for. Furthermore, an ontological approach in the management of evolution-related risks showed that government stakeholders were interested in the use of intelligent processes that could improve government effectiveness while analysing the risks associated with doing this. Of more importance to this research was the ability to make inferences from the ontology on existing complex relationships that exist in the form of dependencies and interdependencies between Stakeholders and Assets. Thus, this thesis presents contributions in the aspect of advancing stakeholders understanding on the types of relationships that exist in government and the effect these relationships may have on service provisioning. Another novel contribution can be seen in the correction of the ambiguity associated with the terms Service, IT Service and E-Government. Furthermore, the feedback obtained from the use of an ontology-based tool during the evaluation phase of the project provides insights on whether governments must always be at par with technological evolution

Development of an e-government ontology to support risk analysis

The complexity of governments is one of the biggest problems citizens face in engaging with them. This complexity is seen in the growing number of departments and services that a government is made up of and the need for citizens to interact with these departments or services independently. This research shows a lack of efficiency in the E-Government domain due to the vertical alignment of services and the need for complex collaboration across the departments, which all too often does not exist. We propose that an ontology could potentially help to foster interactions between departments and services, and thereby manage this complexity more efficiently. Although ontologies exist for different subject domains, the quality and suitability of these ontologies in the government domain at the present time gives rise for concern. Ontologies have the potential to play an important role in the design and development of government services. The key reason behind the development and design of an ontology for the E-Government domain is to use knowledge that is resident in the domain of governments to reduce risks associated with the delivery, combination and dependencies that exist amongst services so that the resilience of the E-Government domain can be improved throughout government. This paper addresses the issue of identifying and analysing risk in the development and deployment of E-Government services. Relevant information on risks that may occur with respect to services can be collected, compiled and disseminated which can serve as prediction tools for future governments as well as enable service providers make choices that would enable them fulfil service requirements adequately. The aim of this research is to contribute by constructing an ontology that is aimed at gauging the risks associated with using solutions across departments and even governments. Further, we also document how we have made use of queries to validate this ontology

Evaluation of the fertility status of selected soils in Mbaise, Imo State southeastern Nigeria using nutrient index method

This study was carried out to evaluate the fertility status of soils in Ahiazu Mbaise, Imo State under three land use types using nutrient index method and fertility rating. Soil samples were collected from five sampling points each from three land use types at the depth of 0 – 20 cm. Samples were prepared and analysed for physical properties such as particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture content, total porosity and also soil chemical properties such as soil pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable bases and base saturation . Data generated from laboratory analysis were subjected to statistical analysis. Results obtained showed that irrespective of the land use, soils of the study area were moderately acidic with high sand fraction (> 70%) resulting to poor physical condition such as poor moisture retention and total porosity. The chemical properties showed low organic matter content (15.8 – 29.1 g/kg), low total nitrogen (0.7 – 1.5 g/kg) and available phosphorus (3.1 – 5.6 mg/kg). The exchangeable bases were low and below the critical limits with predominant exchangeable H and Al. Soil nutrient depletion followed this order: fallow land > palm plantation > cassava cultivated land. Results also showed little variability in soil physicochemical properties in the three land use types. Results of the nutrient index and fertility rating also showed that soils of the study locations were extremely poor in fertility with a fertility rating of 1 and nutrient index of 1 in the three land uses signifying poor fertility status when compared to standard ratings. Therefore, to improve the quality and fertility level of soils in these locations, there is urgent need to adopt strategic management measures and agronomic principles that will improve the fertility levels.Keywords: Soil fertility, Nutrient index, Organic matter, land use, Ultiso

Quantification of Heavy Metals using Contamination and Pollution Index in Selected Refuse Dumpsites in Owerri, Imo State Southeast Nigeria

Many sites in urban cities are used for dumping of domestic, industrial and municipal wastes because of high human population density in the area. Most often, people use these dumpsites for growing of crops without knowing the level of heavy metal contamination in soils of these areas. This study evaluated the quantification and contamination level of heavy metals in some refuse dumpsites in communities of the State Nigeria. Three replicate soil samples were collected from the dumpsites and at 20 m away from the non - dumpsite which do not receive sewage water within the root zone of 0 – 40 cm depth using soil auger sampler. Samples were analysed for soil properties and heavy metal concentrations using standard methods. The concentrations of the studied heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd) were compared with the permissible limits of other countries. Results showed that in the three studied locations, soil pH at dumpsites were 40 .6%, 39.4% and 38.9% higher than the values in the control sites while soil organic carbon were higher in the dumpsites by 50.1%, 31.3% and 41.1% as compared to the control sites. Cu concentrations at the three locations were below the standard limits of United Kingdom, European Union (EU), USA and WHO. The concentrations of the studied heavy metals passed the contamination stage and therefore will pose negative effect on plant and soil environment. Use of the dumpsite for crop cultivation or as compost materials should be avoided and construction of shallow wells near these areas should be discouraged

Soil Degradation and the Human Condition, Including the Pandemic, Interactions, Causes, Impacts, Control Measures and Likely Future Prospects

The global spread of soil degradation threatens the sustainability of human life. The review focused on soil degradation beyond global pandemic, causes, impacts, control and prospects. The work majorly concentrated on developing countries like Nigeria while giving a global view of soil degradation. In this work we attempted to show the critical nature of soil degradation, requiring serious attention like the current global pandemic known as corona virus or covid 19. We show that the causes of soil erosion are associated with the degradation of key physical and chemical soil properties. Notable physical soil property reductions are caused by water and wind erosion, including surface crust formation, and the chemical soil property reductions are associated with soil fertility decline, salinization, sodification, and other processes. Each cause of soil degradation may be traced to land management. This review notes that addressing soil degradation is important to meeting the 2015 United Nation sustainable development goals