INTEGRATION OF GIS, GPS, GSM AND REMOTE SENSING, (3GR) FOR ROAD ACCIDENT REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT

Abeokuta metropolis is gradually developing into a mega city in Nigeria. At the moment the municipality spans 4 local government areas and the sprawl has just started. Along with the city expansion is the increase of vehicular movements and concomitant vehicular accidents. There is therefore a need for development of an accident, reporting data collection, referencing, management and analysis system, for Abeokuta city. Consequently, the paper looks at a GIS based integration of spatial technologies for near real time reporting and management of road traffic accident in the city. In the study, an accident database management system was developed  to store urban traffic accident data, and analyze these data in terms of their attribute and spatial characteristics in order to exploit the reasons for accidents, the hot spots and rank the urban area with various degrees of danger. Foremost, the study established a road network in ArcGIS for Abeokuta metropolis. Next, locations of fatal and minor road traffic accidents data within the metropolis in the last five years were geo-referenced with the aid of GPS and the attributes were developed into a database. Reasons for road accidents were analysed in order to summarize major factors related to the accidents. Finally a hazard map was created to show the accident hot spots and degree of danger with respect to road accident in the city. The paper particularly explains the method of using Mobile phones to report accidents by eye witnesses while using the GPS to reference the accident locations. The incorporation of GIS map along with some monitoring systems like the Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) was identified as pedestal for the development of  real-time or near-real time accident reporting and management system.Â

AN ASSESSMENT OF URBAN ENCROACHMENT ON OGUN RIVER BANK PROTECTION ZONE IN ABEOKUTA CITY, NIGERIA

An assessment of urban sprawl in Abeokuta city, Nigeria from 1964 to 2008 was conducted. The study investigated the rate of encroachment of buildings on the Ogun River bank using Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing techniques. Topographic map of the city was scanned, imported into GIS, and digitized. Series of multi-date remote sensing satellite imageries were also acquired, processed, classified (where necessary) and vectorized to enable full assessment of the spread of built up area into the River bank Protection zone (RBPZ). A recent, high resolution satellite (Ikonos) image was utilized to assess the situation at present.  Results of the assessment revealed progressive spatial expansion in the city and progressive encroachment on Ogun river right of way. Particularly, gross encroachments were pronounced in the aboriginal part of the city. A total of 34.1ha of built up area are completely within the protection zone as at 1964, this increased to 50ha in 1974, 77 ha in 1984 and 90 ha in 1994. In the year 2008, the encroachment was almost four times (123 ha) what it was in 1964. The study demonstrated that use of remote sensing and GIS is very useful and effective for the monitoring of urban sprawl. It provides a tool of the quantitative measurement that is needed for rapidly growing regions in identifying internal variations and temporal change of urban sprawl patterns in different periods. Â

INDIGENOUS POULTRY PRODUCTION IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA: A CASE OF YEWA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

A study was conducted to determine the types and spatial distribution of Indigenous Poultry (IP) in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State. Five locations (Idofoi, Ibese, Imasai, Eggua and Ayetoro) were randomly selected across the geographical distribution of the Local Government Area. Data were collected from 75 respondents comprised of 15 each from the locations using a well structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result revealed that women were more involved (57.3%) in indigenous poultry production in the area. Fowl (chicken) population dominated (57.3%) and was widely distributed followed by duck (24.5%) and guinea fowl (8.60%) while turkey recorded the least population (2.4%). Eggua recorded the highest (27.3%) chicken population whereas Ayetoro had the least (15%). However, Imasai had the overall highest (22.90%) indigenous poultry in the study area while the least was recorded in Ibese (16.2%). Major challenges militating against IP in the area were disease (33.3%), pilfering (14.6%), and socio-taboo (8.0%). Only 2.7% respondents indicated feeding as a problem militating against IP. The study concluded that female and the aged were major indigenous poultry farmers in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State and the prevailing indigenous poultry were chickens, ducks and guinea fowls with turkey having the least population. Imasai had the highest poultry population followed by Eggua while Ibese had the least population. Majority of the people in Yewa North Local Government Area reared indigenous poultry for income and domestic use.Â

Thermal energy assessment of oil bean stalk as a novel additive to building ceilings

The thermal properties of oil bean stalk, an agro-waste, are inadequately studied; thus this research seeks to assess its property suitability as a prospective material for ceiling tile production. The material was cut to 50mm diameter with jig saw to fit into brass profile of the automatic Lee's disc thermal conductivity apparatus. This profile was also used to conduct the specific heat capacity test by employing the method of mixtures. The specific heat capacity, density, thermal conductivity, thermal resistivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal effusivity and cooling rate are 1563J/kgK, 158kg/m3, 0.12 Wm−1K−1, 8.68mKW−1, 4.86 x 10−7 m2s−1, 172.15 Jm−2K−1s−1/2 and 0.0014 °C/sec. The high energy values of specific heat and thermal effusivity shows the reluctance of the material to dissipate energy to the surrounding which approves it as a building material insulator. The values are within the class of insulating material required in building technology such as building ceiling tiles. This potential insulating material can be explored in the building industries as the material is readily available in the environment

Trip pattern of low density residential area in semi urban industrial cluster: predictive modeling

This research elucidates the trip pattern of the low-density residential zone in a semi-urban industrial cluster of southwestern Nigeria. These sets of dwellers are often times neglected in the transportation planning process. To achieve the aim of this research, domiciliary information gathering procedure was employed with 0.82 return rates. It was backed up with the focus group discussion method. Data on frequency of trips, per capita trip, modal choice, and socioeconomic and demographic data were collected, collated, and analysed. Accordingly, a predictive model was formulated for the trip pattern of the low-density area. This was achieved with the aid of statistical software SPSS version 21.Consequently, the results of the multiple regression models showed that both monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip while only car ownership positively influences non-work trip. R2 values of 0.729 and 0.739 were obtained for the descriptive model at 95% confidence level. This established the robustness of the model, the analysis showed that monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip with an Rsquare value of 0.729 and 0.739 for work and non-work trip respectively. This indicated that household will embark on more trips with an increase in car ownership and monthly income. However, effective transportation planning and traffic infrastructural development were recommended to meet the demands of the increased number of trips daily

Performance assessment of the firefighting personal protective tunic

Although there have been reported cases of rapid improvement in the research and development of materials used for the betterment of firefighting tunics in developed countries, however, in developing countries, especially in Nigeria, the dearth of such research and development has led to the loss of lives and properties on numerous occasions due to the use of substandard firefighting tunics when combating fire. Hence, it is necessary to carry out a performance assessment on the firefighting tunic available in Nigeria. The safety of the firefighters is important as it is only then that they can fully carry out their duties and tasks. Of all the products that make up a complete assemble of the firefighters’ Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), it is their personal protective tunic that was employed for this research. The city of Ota in Nigeria was used as a case study due to the high concentration of industries and teeming population which makes it a target for pipeline explosions amongst others. Having a single fire station in the city, a sample of the firefighters’ personal protective tunic was obtained and specified experiments were carried out to determine its thermophysical and elemental properties with a goal to understand its quality and standard. The research seeks to provide useful information to stakeholders in the firefighting industry on the standard of protective tunics used in fire stations

Asbestos-Free Aluminium Dross Brake Pad: A Mini Review

Asbestos-related materials are avoided due to cancer-causing asbestosis that is a health risk to users. A brake pad that is eco-friendly with the use of aluminium dross industrial waste and epoxy binder is therefore proposed. Various applications of aluminium dross have been explored by researchers with the view of reducing hazardous waste from the environment. Compressive strength, hardness, specific gravity, microstructural analysis, flame resistance, oil, and water absorption, and wear characteristics are significant tests carried out on the brake pad. Waste materials such as banana peel, bagasse, periwinkle shell, palm kernel shell, amongst others, were employed as common additives in the production of the brake pad. Exploring utilizing industrial and agro-waste in the development of a viable brake pad as an alternative to the existing brake pad is therefore reviewed

Progresses on Green and Smart Materials for Multifaceted Applications

Sustainable development is widely known as a critical issue for the future growth and well-being of our society. Technological advancement has provided smart material development opportunities for multifunctional applications in energy, construction, infrastructure, electronics, and building. Green materials are proficient, safe, economically viable, and reliable because of their eco-friendliness and renewable prowess. This chapter looks into the progress of natural and resource-efficient materials for smart manufacturing processes that could be used for intelligent application and address contemporary materials’ challenges

Progresses on Green and Smart Materials for Multifaceted Applications

Sustainable development is widely known as a critical issue for the future growth and well-being of our society. Technological advancement has provided smart material development opportunities for multifunctional applications in energy, construction, infrastructure, electronics, and building. Green materials are proficient, safe, economically viable, and reliable because of their eco-friendliness and renewable prowess. This paper looks into the progress of natural and resource-efficient materials for smart manufacturing processes that could be used for intelligent application and address contemporary materials’ challenges