Legal responsibility for IHL and human rights violations committed by United Nations peacekeeping missions

The question as to the relationship between International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights Law in armed conflict and their application to peacekeeping operations is a very cardinal one. Another more challenging issue is the increasing allegations of violations of the rights of persons living within areas of armed conflict or disturbances by peacekeepers and absolute disregard to IHL rules. This research is laid out in sections to critically evaluate the laws concerning legal responsibility by States and troops in cases of armed conflict. Thus, the legal personality of the United Nations and other international organisations in general is appraised. Among the findings of this research are the facts that it is difficult to hold the United Nations responsible for violations committed by their peacekeeping troops because of the controversy as to the legal personality of the UN; the fact that individual peacekeepers can be criminally responsible for such actions. The research draws on judicial authorities and statutes to reach its conclusions.Keywords: Legal responsibility, Peacekeeping, Human rights, IHL

Microbial survey of fish ponds and mineral composition of Clarias gariepinus in Ilorin metropolis

This work reports on the microbial composition of stagnant fish ponds and mineral & metal composition of Clarias gariepinus from the fish ponds in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The fishes apparently thrived well in the fish ponds. Microbiological analysis of the different fish ponds as well as the mineral composition of the fish samples were carried out. Results revealed bacterial counts ranging from 1.0-2.0 x 104 cfu/ml of the stagnant ponds water, 9.0 x 103-1.2 x 104cfu/ml of water from fish ponds whose water was changed daily and 3-10 x 103 cfu/ml of water from borehole. Total coliform count ranged from 6 x 103-1.5 x 104 cfu/ml of the stagnant pond water, 6-18 cfu/100ml of water from ponds whose water was changed daily and 1-6 cfu/100ml of water from borehole. Pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus niger) was isolated from the stagnant pond water while none was isolated from fish ponds whose water was changed daily. Faecal coliforms were not isolated from any of the water samples. Analysis of the mineral composition of the fish samples showed that phosphorus and potassium were highest in fish from ponds that the water is changed daily. Metal concentration in the fish showed that Cd ,Pb, Co and Cr did not exceed the maximum acceptable concentration for humans. Proper cooking before consumption of fish is therefore advocated to prevent transmission of the bacteria and fungi to the consumers.Keywords: Clarias gariepinus, microbial survey, mineral composition, Ilorin, Nigeri

A GIS-Based Watershed Impact Management Model

Assessment of land use changes on hydrological processes is essential for the planning and development of sustainable land management practices and water resources. Understanding how land management practices influence hydrological components is essential for the prediction of hydrological consequences of changes in land use. Given the plethora of hydrological models, digital data sources, and the limited availability of observed data, it is difficult to quantify the impacts of land use changes on hydrology. In this study, a Watershed Impact Management (WIM) model framework was conceptualized. A case study of the Yocona River basin, Mississippi, was implemented with the soil and water assessment tool (swat) using the arcgis extension and interface. The objective of this study was to quantify the impacts of three different land use change scenarios. These scenarios were developed based on projected future land use planning for the city of Oxford and Lafayette County. Expanded urbanization in scenario was the strongest contributor to increased runoff and water yield. Incorporation of best management practices (BMPS) in scenario b resulted in a significant reduction of sediment yield and nutrient load. However, no changes were evident in groundwater nitrate loading despite the addition of BMPS. The replacement of all non-urban areas with forest trees in the Yocona river basin, (scenario c) resulted in decreased runoff and sediment yield. The WIM modeling approach in the quantification and assessment of impacts of land use change can be applied to all watersheds, even those with limited data availability and will provide quantitative information in planning and decision-making for land and water resource management

AUDIENCE ASSESSMENT OF BROADCAST MEDIA SURVEILLANCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA

Amongst the many functions of the media, the surveillance function is no doubt, a very fundamental role. This function places a demand on the media to scan the environment and report dangers, especially impending dangers, which largely contribute to the insecurity of lives and property. In line with the sensitive nature of this function and the current insecurity situation in Nigeria, it becomes pertinent to assess how far the Nigeria’s broadcast industry has fared in fulfilling the surveillance function and how the industry’s audiences perceive its performance. The residents of six selected cities from the six geo-political zones of Nigeria were sampled. Questionnaire served as the measuring instrument. Using survey research method, we found out, amongst others, that the broadcast media are not effective in the discharge of their surveillance function. In line with the findings, the paper recommends amongst others that the Nigerian broadcast media must, as a matter of necessity, contribute to the security of the country by effectively playing the surveillance role.KEY WORDS: Surveillance function, Security, Broadcast media, Audience, Assessment, Nigeri

The Contribution of the Broadcast Media to Public Policy Formulation in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria

The study set out to investigate the contribution of the broadcast media to public policy formulation in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. The broadcast media selected for the study were Radio Akwa Ibom and NTA Uyo, both based in the State. Five programmes of the broadcast media were selected for the study. The work employed content analysis and survey as the research design.  A purposive sample of respondents was drawn from a population of members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and higher civil servants, comprising permanent secretaries and heads of directorates in 17 ministries and two bureaus. It was found out that the broadcast media made input that was incorporated into public policy, and such input was incorporated to the extent that it tended to agree with the proposals already made by public policy formulators. Incorporation of policy input from the broadcast media also depended on the attitude of the public policy formulators to such media organisations. The policy makers also considered policy input from the broadcast media as reliable and representative of public opinion. Hence when policies succeed or fail, the accolades or blame should not be restricted to policy makers alone. Key words: policy actors, policy input, agenda-setting model, opinion-management proces

The Use of Strategic Silence in Interpersonal Communication

For over a century now, the attention of communication scholars has shifted from strategic communication to strategic silence with an open invitation for experts to investigate the potency of the latter in the line of communication. As an honour to this invitation, this study investigates the use of strategic silence in interpersonal communication among residents of Enugu Metropolis in Enugu State Nigeria. In conducting this survey, explanatory mixed method research design was used to generate both qualitative and quantitative data using questionnaire and interview. After a thorough analysis, both quantitative and qualitative data revealed that residents of Enugu metropolis use strategic silence in interpersonal communication. Finding also revealed that the respondents use strategic silence both negatively and positively to influence others in the line of communication. Based on these findings, it is recommended that users of strategic silence should always deploy it for positive reasons

Antimicrobial Activity of Carica Papaya (Pawpaw Leaf) on Some Pathogenic Organisms of Clinical Origin from South-Western Nigeria

The bioactive compound of leaf and root extracts of Carica papaya was extracted, using water and organic solvents, and were investigated for antibacterial activity against some human pathogenic bacteria using the agar diffusion method. The aqueous extracts of the root extracts did not show significant activity, but the organic extracts had significant activity with the methanol extracts demonstrating the highest activity against the test bacteria. The root extracts demonstrated higher activities against all the gram-positive bacteria than the gram-negative bacteria tested, with the highest activity (14 mm zone of inhibition) demonstrated against Pseudomonas aeruginosa while the aqueous leaf extract showed pronounced inhibition demonstrating higher activities against the test bacteria than the organic solvents. The extracts demonstrated higher activities against all the gram-positive bacteria than the gram-negative bacteria tested, with the highest activity (4.2 mm zone of inhibition) demonstrated against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Increase in temperature enhanced the activity of the extracts, while alkaline pH decreased the activity. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the root extracts ranged between 50-200 mg/ml. Preliminary phytochemical analyses showed that the extracts contain alkaloids, tannins, saponins, glycosides and phenols. Carica papaya may be used for the treatment of gastroenteritis, uretritis, otitis media and wound infections

Dysfunctional Trends in Nigeria’s Broadcast Content and Slide towards Educational Paucity of the Nigerian Child

The broadcast media exist to cater for all segments of the audience including the youths. They strive to achieve this by offering fresh information and trendy entertainment. Their offering, however, could and sometimes do have negative, unintended consequences. This discourse examines how programming by the broadcast media, driven largely by the desire for returns on investment, has had dysfunction of effects on the youths. The discourse encourages the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to live up to its duty of pushing broadcast stations to comply with the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code. The paper also encourages the broadcast media to reinvent their programming to address the needs of the youths and to ensure that their programming has a human face, driven less by economics but more by service to their audience. Key words: Programming, curriculum, young ones, responsibilities, influence, obligation

Book Review: Elisabeth O. Selkirk, The syntax of words

The Syntax of Words provides a new insight into the study of the structure of words and the system for generating that structure. This treatment is a firm departure from the hitherto traditional notion in the study of morphology which considers words as part of a language’s syntax or grammar and not having its own syntax. But as the author argues, the categories involved in word structure are distinct from those of syntactic structure, and that these two types of structures combine in significant ways. This study thus focuses on the word structure rules along with the structures they define. She presents a general theory of word structure which she exemplifies and defends by the application of facts about compounding and affixation. Her analysis centers solely on English