Tourism Policy of a Sub-Region of the Niger Delta of Nigeria: An Evaluation

This study evaluates the tourism policy of a sub-region of the Niger Delta of Nigeria on the basis of international standards for tourism development.  Attempt was made to highlight the tourism potentials and activities in the region.  The findings have revealed omissions of crucial issues in the available “tourism charter” of the region to include; role of the private sector, incentives to private participation, guidelines for investors and environmental conservation among others.  The paper recommends specialized institutional participation such as universities in the process of developing complete tourism policy for the region in order to ensure effective and sustainable tourism development. Key words: Tourism policy, Tourism development, Niger Delta Region,  Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Inter-Urban Trip Generation Models for the Urban Centers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

  Abstract The study was conducted in Akwa Ibom State, a fast emerging State in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The aim of the study was to model future patterns of trips in the study region. To achieve this, types and volumes of trips generated weekly on the inter-city roads of the region were determined; the influence of the socio-economic development factors on the various trips generated was analyzed.  Data on trip were obtained from travel survey while data on the socio-economic development factors were derived from existing records.  Multiple regression analysis was used. Eleven types of trips were identified namely; work, school, recreation, religious, medical, wedding, burial, market, personal business, visit to friends/relations and other trips. Models for future estimate of the trips were generated. Establishment of Surveillance Transportation Programme to constantly generate and maintain trip data for update was recommended. Keywords: Inter-urban, Trip generation, Models, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Spatial Variation and Determinants of Interaction among Urban Centres in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The aim of the study was to determine the volume of interaction among the urban centers in the study region and to assess the relationship between the observed volume of interaction and the expected volume of interaction in the study region..   Six urban centres were selected from the thirty-one urban centres in the study region using random number table.   Data collection was by travel survey conducted from Monday – Saturday simultaneously in the six urban public motor parks between the hours of 7 – 9 am, 12 – 2 pm and 4 – 6 pm. The Chi-square technique ‘goodness of fit’ test was used to analyze the difference between the observed volume of interaction and the expected volume of interaction among the urban centers.  The study revealed a significant difference between the observed volume of interaction and the expected volume of interaction in the region.  The conclusion was that the determinants of inter – urban interaction in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria are not just population and distance as postulated in the gravity model, other socio-economic variables such as number of industries, number of tertiary educational institutions,  number of major markets, number of tourism sites and  number of hospitals also contribute to inter-urban interaction in the region.  This is a contribution to modifying gravity model for wider use.  These findings will assist in the urban transportation planning of the region. Keywords: Spatial variation, inter-urban interaction, gravity model, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeri

Land Degradation: A Threat to Food Security: A Global Assessment

Ever since mankind started agriculture, land degradation has been a single largest threat to soil productivity and has remained so till date. This has been a major global issue during the 20th century and will remain high on the international agenda in the 21st century. The study is basically the assessment of the impact of land degradation on soil loss through productivity loss and hence it effect on global food security. A major problem confronting many countries today is the inadequacy of food supply in the face of rapidly growing population. In many countries, the task of producing enough food for the teeming population has received considerable policy attention. Nevertheless, the growth rate of food production is still far below the population growth rate. This is brought about by land degradation. Experts in the field of economics, geography, soil science and agricultural development, as well as environmental management have a duty to draw the attention of policy makers to soil degradation problem and work with them to set priorities for public investment in land degradation problems. A policy framework to mitigate land degradation problems can be tackled at the national, regional and international levels, and also by the land users (the farmers) themselves and by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Keywords: Land degradation, food security,  global threa

Exxon-Mobil and Corporate Social Responsibility in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria: Past and Present

The main aim of this study was to assess the up to date role of Exxonmobil in the development of host State, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. As the company’s policy is that of being a good corporate citizen, it has identified, supported and operated a planned and sustainable programme of community development in the State. Through quantitative facts, the study has revealed that in the past (Mobil) has made great contributions in the area of physical infrastructure namely; road construction, water, electricity, health facilities etc. However, following the merger between Exxon and Mobil now Exxonmobil, the company’s policy shifted from physical infrastructure to capacity building and economic empowerment. This is evident in various training and support programmes embarked upon by the company. The study has further revealed that there will always be a difference between State/Community expectations and what Exxonmobil can provide. Based on this, the work has recommended that Exxonmobil should keep on discussing ways to close such gap. Moreso, Exxonmobil should balance infrastructural provision with capacity building. One should not be made to suffer. Keywords: Exxon-Mobil, Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State, Corporate responsibilit

State-of-the-art review on relevance of genetic algorithm to internet web search

People use search engines to find information they desire with the aim that their information needs will be met. Information retrieval (IR) is a field that is concerned primarily with the searching and retrieving of information in the documents and also searching the search engine, online databases, and Internet. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are robust, efficient, and optimizated methods in a wide area of search problems motivated by Darwin’s principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest. This paper describes information retrieval systems (IRS) components. This paper looks at how GAs can be applied in the field of IR and specifically the relevance of genetic algorithms to internet web search. Finally, from the proposals surveyed it turns out that GA is applied to diverse problem fields of internet web search

AGENT-BASED CONTEXT-AWARE HEALTHCARE INFORMATION RETRIEVAL USING DROPT APPROACH

As the volume of information available on the Web information systems is growing continuously, browsing this content becomes a tedious task given the presentation of data that does meet user's aims and needs. In this paper, to satisfy user needs, an agent-based paradigm is an appropriate solution which gives outputs suitable to the user in the form of highly ranked documents. Conversely, patient care and a health condition commonly require collaboration between healthcare providers. The emergence of agent's technology motivates radical changes of how information is obtained. This paper addresses this problem by proposing a novel DROPT (Document Ranking OPTimization) measure for information retrieval results to validate the effectiveness of the information management tasks. We propose information retrieval system architecture, which main components are contextaware agent’s technology to meet users' information needs

Agent-based context-aware healthcare information retrieval using DROPT approach

As the volume of information available on the Web information systems is growing continuously, browsing this content becomes a tedious task given the presentation of data that does meet user's aims and needs. In this paper, to satisfy user needs, an agent-based paradigm is an appropriate solution which gives outputs suitable to the user in the form of highly ranked documents. Conversely, patient care and a health condition commonly require collaboration between healthcare providers. The emergence of agent's technology motivates radical changes of how information is obtained. This paper addresses this problem by proposing a novel DROPT (Document Ranking OPTimization) measure for information retrieval results to validate the effectiveness of the information management tasks. We propose information retrieval system architecture, which main components are context aware agent’s technology to meet users' information needs

Engaging ICTs as a “Tool” for eHealth prioritization on human development and poverty reduction in the African region

The association connecting information and communication technologies (ICTs) and well-being or poverty remains vague and research today has resulted to divergent conclusions. This paper defines ICTs as “tools” that facilitate communication and the processing and transmission of information and the sharing of knowledge by electronic means. In the African region context, we examine ICTs utilization that aims to improve the provision, access and information management in the health sector. This paper considers access to information as very important benefits that can be achieved in many areas including economic growth, education and healthcare. In healthcare, the roles that ICT plays in ensuring that health information is provided to healthcare providers and consumers to support improving the health of individuals and strengthening health systems, disease detection and prevention are crucial to development and poverty reduction as stated in the UN’s MDGs. For example, access to appropriate information can minimise visits to physicians and periods of hospitalisation for patients suffering from chronic conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS. This will in turn reduce the cost of healthcare provision. ICTs have the potential to impact almost every aspect of health sector. The paper then proposed how ICTs can be used to reduce poverty and ensure that health information is well administered and reaches the right people, at the right time and in the right form

Evaluation of the antibacterial properties of the extracts and fractions of Ipomoea triloba l. (Convolvulaceae) on selected enteric diarrheagenic bacteria

Diarrhoea is a leading killer of young children accounting for approximately 8% of all deaths among children ˂ 5 years worldwide and causes neonatal mortality and hospitalization in geriatrics. Ipomoea triloba L. has been claimed to have antidiarrheal properties. This study evaluated antibacterial properties of the ethanol / aqueous extracts and fractions of I. triloba on diarrheagenic bacteria to validate its use in trado-medical treatment of diarrhoea. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of pulverized I. triloba were prepared by cold maceration and phytochemical screening was performed using standard procedures. Diarrheagenic bacteria were isolated from twenty (20) composite diarrhoeal stool samples by community bioprospecting using appropriate selective and differential media. In vitro antibacterial activity of extracts and fractions of I. triloba was determined by the modified agar-well diffusion technique, while minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was determined by reference standard agar-dilution technique (ADT) after re-incubation of MIC samples at 37o C for 24 h. A total of 74 isolates, belonging to six genera, were identified with their numbers and percentages of occurrence as follows: Escherichia coli, 26 (35.1%), Staphylococcus aureus, 4 (5.4 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 9 (12.2%), Shigella dysenteriae, 18 (24.3%), Salmonella typhi, 8 (10.8%) and Vibrio cholera, 9 (12.2%). Flavonoids, saponins, terpenes, carbohydrates and steroids were detected in both extracts. Ethanol extracts (≥30 mm) showed more potent broad-spectrum antibacterial activity than aqueous extract (≥18 mm). The MIC and MBC values ranged from 250 to 500 mg/mL and 500 to 1000 mg/mL respectively, thus establishing a time-dependent bactericidal mode of antibacterial activity. The best antibacterial activity was elicited by dichloromethane fraction. From the study, I. triloba possesses antibacterial potentials and may be exploited in the chemotherapy of bacterial diarrhoea