Review of medicine registration system in Tanzania

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDRegistration of medicines is an essential function of the national medicine regulatory system of any country. Since the start of the medicine registration system in Tanzania in early 2000s, no systematic review has been carried out to document the status of the system and its impact on availability and access to quality assured medicines to the people of Tanzania

Perceived Effects of Prevalent Errors in Contract Documents on Construction Projects

One of the highly rated causes of poor performance is errors in contract documents. The objectives of this study are to investigate the prevalent errors in contract documents and their effects on construction projects. Questionnaire survey and 51 case study projects (mixed method) were adopted for the study. The study also involved the use of Delphi technique to extract the possible errors that may be contained in contract documents; it did not however constitute the empirical data for the study. The sample of the study consists of 985 consulting and 275 contracting firms that engaged in the construction of building projects that were completed between 2013 and 2016 and were above the ground floor. The two-stage stratified random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The data for the study were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics (based on Shapiro-Wilk’s test). The results of the study indicate that errors in contract documents were moderately prevalent. However, overmeasurement in bill of quantities was prevalent in private, institutional and management procured projects. Traditionally procured projects contain 68% of the errors in contract documents among the procurement methods. Drawings contain the highest number of errors, followed by bill of quantities and specifications. The severe effects of errors in contract documents were structural collapse, deterioration of buildings and contractors’ claims among others. The result of the study implies that, management procurement method is the route to error minimization in developing countries, but it may need to be backed by law and guarded against overmeasurement

Evaluation and analysis of noise levels in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria

Evaluation and analysis of noise pollution levels have been carried out to determine the level of noise and its sources in Ilorin metropolis. Noise measurements have been done in the morning, at noon, in the evening, and at night to determine noise pollution all over the city. The selected areas of study are commercial centers, road junctions/busy roads, passenger loading parks, and high-density and low-density residential areas. The road junctions had the highest noise pollution levels, followed by commercial centers. The results of this study show that the noise levels in Ilorin metropolis exceeded allowed values at 30 of 42 measurements points. There is a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the noise pollution levels and traffic noise index in all the locations. From the measured noise values, a map of noise pollution was developed for Ilorin. Many solutions proposed for noise abatement in the city are set out

Proceedings of the Conference on Human and Economic Resources

Most developing nations have embarked on various reforms that foster the use of ICTs in their economies. These reforms tend to yield little or minimal benefits to economic growth and development, especially when compared with the developed countries of the world. Technological advancement is known to impact fast rate of economic development. In Nigeria, policy on adoption of Information and Communication Technologies was initiated in 1999, when the civilian regime came into power of government. The operations of the licensed telecommunication service providers in the country has created some well-felt macroeconomic effects in terms of job creation, faster delivery services, reduced transport costs, greater security and higher national output. This study intends to investigate the emerging roles of ICTs on Nigerian economy, and to evaluate the factors that influence the decisions of investors in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. Ordinary Least Square Method of Regression for the period 1999 – 2004, shall be employed. This period is considered appropriate in that, it was the time that policy on ICTs was adopted. The paucity of data prior to this time also poses restriction on meaningful econometric analysis. Significant and positive relationship between ICTs and economic growth is expected as it is portrayed in some economic literature. While telecommunication service providers receive commensurate profit on their investment efforts, the regulation from the government should ensure competitiveness. This strategy will increase the quality of the services offered, and possibly at cheaper price.developing countries, Nigerian economy, information technology, communication technology

Experts’ Opinion on the Validation of Socio-Environmental Design Factors (SEDeF) Model as a Residential Neighbourhood Crime Prevention Technique in Nigeria

This article centres on validating a proposed model, socio-environmental design factors (SEDeF) meant to complement the penal system in the area of combating residential neighbourhood crime within the Nigerian residential estates. The research sought experts’ opinion on the desirability and sustainability of the model. Purposive and snow-ball sampling methods were adopted to administer 100 sets of questionnaire out of which 62 were considered usable for the analysis after data screening. SPSS and SEM-AMOS were the key analytical tools adopted to conduct the reliability test, normality test, cumulative mean, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the measurement model. The results of the analysis showed that, from the perspectives of the experts, the model is desirable and sustainable for the purpose for which it is proposed (Neighbourhood crime control). The model, if tenaciously implemented is capable of boosting housing values/investment, improve national economy and ensure civic and serene residential neighbourhood

Foreign direct investment (FDI) and the global food crisis. A study of the Windward Islands' agricultural sector.

Using panel data unit root tests and Johansen Co-integration tests, as well as the Engle-Granger -correction model to test for causality, this study examines the effect of FDI on agriculture sector productivity (x6), market size (x2), macroeconomic performance (x3), infrastructure (x4), competitiveness (x5), financial performance (x7) and governance (x8), in a sample of five Caribbean countries over the period 1970-2006. According to UNCTAD (2008), FDI is defined as investment made from outside of the economy of the investor with the objective of acquiring a lasting interest in or effective control over an enterprise. The results suggest that in general when evidence of causality is observed it runs from FDI to (x4). No causality was detected in either direction for (x2), (x5), (x6) and (x8). However, causality runs from FDI to (x3). A major policy implication of the findings is that the agriculture sector does not impact significantly on the attraction of FDI in these countries.FDI

Education and development in the caribbean: a cointegration and causality approach

This paper uses cointegration and vector error-correction models to analyse the causal relationship between education and development in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago using annual time series data from 1964 to 1998. Expenditure on education per capita is used as the proxy for education, while gross national income (GNI) per capita is the proxy for development. The empirical results provide some evidence of bi-directional causality in the short in Jamaica. There is no evidence of causation running from per capita expenditure on education to per capita gross national income in either the short or long run in Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. A major policy implication of the findings is that countries with higher per capita gross national income (GNI) seem to be spending more per capita on education.

Microwave-assisted and conventional hydrothermal carbonization of lignocellulosic waste material: comparison of the chemical and structural properties of the hydrochars

This study compares the chemical and structural properties of the hydrochars prepared from microwave-assisted and conventional hydrothermal carbonizations of Prosopis africana shell, a waste plant material. The preparation involved heating the raw material in de-ionized water at 200 °C for 5-20 min, and 120-240 min in the microwave and conventional oven respectively. The prepared hydrochars were characterized using the scanning electron microscope, nitrogen sorption measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, CHN analyzer, thermogravimetric analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The results showed that the microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization process is fast in the carbonization of the Prosopis africana shell as shown by the level of conversion attained within the short time. This study presents new data on the comparison of the hydrochars from microwave-assisted and conventional hydrothermal carbonization processes of the same lignocellulosic material in terms of their properties

REGULATING URBANISATION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA THROUGH CLUSTER SETTLEMENTS: LESSONS FOR URBAN MANGERS IN ETHIOPIA

Against the backdrop that urbanization in sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries, including Ethiopia, has occurred without the attendant growth and development spillovers; and that the inherent benefits of urbanization are threatened by the fast pace of urbanization, unparalleled speed and the uneven spatial spread, This paper posits that this challenge and indeed urban management can be address through a proxy regional planning tool; cluster formation. Settlement cluster formation that focuses on the potentials of small and medium towns. Small and Medium towns are supposed to represent a necessary link between the complex, sophisticated urban life and the simple, undiluted rural existence. They tend to combine the attributes of the two space-economies (Urban and Rural). They are, therefore, instruments through which the much desired rural-urban linkages can be strengthened for sustainable urbanization. The focus of the paper is on Regulating Urbanization in Ethiopia through Clustering of Settlements as a tool in Urbanization and Urban Management. Information and data assemblage was carried out through a review of urbanization issues; such as trends, local economic development opportunities, and urbanization options amongst others. This was further strengthened with a desktop analysis of pertinent government documents. The findings reveal that economic and settlement clusters within the framework of existing urban dynamism (small and medium town) can be formed in Ethiopia. It can serve as a reliable instrument for settlement stabilization and consequently sustainable urbanization. The paper recommends deliberate dispersal of mini-industrial and commercial corridors via Cluster formation as a major instrument for deflecting the army of migrantsRural, Urban, Linkages, Settlements, Cluster Urbanization and Ethiopia