HOW UNINTENTIONAL INJURIES ON THE NATION’S HIGHWAYS CAN BE AVOIDED OR REDUCED TO THE BEAREST MINIMUM

Hayatu Abba Ibrahim

Department of Physics

University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

E-mails: Hayatu@ymail.com, Hayatuabbaibrahim@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Death and injury on the nation’s highways is a public health crisis, especially for youth and members of selected minority groups. The objective of this paper is to review the literature on behavioral and environmental factors that increase risk for traffic morbidity and mortality in populations at high risk. Each of the following is a risky traffic-related behavior : not wearing seat belts , not  using  child safety seats , not wearing bicycle or motorcycle helmets , driving after drinking , driving while fatigued or distracted , speeding ,running red lights , and aggressive driving . Environmental factors that modify risk include urban sprawl , highway design , public policy , racism and economic inequality .High risk groups include youths , males , pickup truck drivers , urban dwellers , the elderly , African American , American Indians , Alaska Natives, and Nigeria .  A comprehensive approach must be developed for reducing traffic related risk of death and injury, especially in high risk populations.

Keywords: Safety, traffic, injury, mortality, environment, behavior, disparities.

EROSION PROBLEM IN IKA ENVIRONS: CAUSES AND FORMS

Ogboi, E and Odeh, H

Department of Agricultural Technology

Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro.

E-mail: Ogboied@gmail.Com.

ABSTRACT

This work was carried out with the aim of identifying the causes of erosion problems and the forms of soil erosion existing in Ika environs. Data were collected through reconnaisance survey and questionnaires between 2009 and 2010. Man was identified to be majorly responsible for the erosion problem in IKa envious through his devices activities such as poor constructional works and bad farming practices that exposed the soil to agent of erosion. Twenty eight gully sites were identified and these ranged between 1-300 meters long, 1-20 meters deep and 1-5 meters wide and these were common on steep slopes and exposed area. Though sheet erosion sites were also identified but very normal in all the areas of study. It was therefore suggested that practices that will continually ensure proper protective cover of the soil should be adopted.

Keywords: Erosion, Gully, Sites, Steep.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT CLASSIFICATION OF AKWA-IBOM STATE, NIGERIA USING KMEANS ALGORITHM

¹Beulah Ofem, Onuwa Okwuashi², Mfon Isong², Okey Nwanekezie⁴, and Aniekan Eyoh²

¹Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

^2,Department of Geoinformatics & Surveying, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

⁴Department of Estate Management, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

E-mail: onuwaokwuashi@yahoo.com,

ABSTRACT

K-means algorithm presents a less cumbersome technique for easy classification of urban centres based on empirical causal factors. The user of the algorithm has no influence over the classification result of the algorithm. Instead, the algorithm delineates urban centres by using cluster characteristics of the variables to define soft separation boundaries between or amongst k-classes. No training of the k-means algorithm is required since k-means is an unsupervised classifier. The k cluster centroid locations and sums of point-to-centroid distances are first computed, and thereafter the distances from each point to every centroid. The classification solution for each pixel is found by determining the class that yields the least computed distance from each point to every centroid; such that the successful class wins the classification for that pixel. This study presents the application of an unsupervised kmeans algorithm to the delineation of urban development centres in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria. Using 21 variables, 82 settlements drawn from 25 out of 31 local government areas of Akwa-Ibom State are classified into three levels of urban development: high, medium, and low. Eighty-two settlements experimented in this research are classified into eight high, twenty-two medium, and fifty-two low level development centres respectively.

Keywords: Classification; Kmeans; Urban Development

ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS LIMITING PERFORMANCE IN THE LOWER RIVER NIGER DREDGING PROJECT, NIGERIA

 Obeta M. C., Ubuoh E. A. and Akande S.O

Department of Geography

University of Nigeria, Nsukka

E-mail: attahubuoh@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Inland water transport has, prior to the 1980s, received little attention from the Nigerian government. Very little investment was made to develop inland water transport facilities. Conversely, land and air transport received priority attention. However, due to rapid growth of urbanization, population, commercial units, institutions and vehicular traffic leading to congestions and stress on the nations roads, inland water transport is now receiving more attention from both the government and the private sector. This growing awareness motivated the federal government to embark on the Lower Niger River dredging to boost the movement of goods and services from the coast to the interior. Meanwhile, this popular initiative has contrary to earlier proposals, targets and expectations, progressed very slowly. This paper investigates the physical and socio-economic factors militating against the dredging project using primary and secondary data collected from diverse sources, including the inland waterways department of the Federal Ministry of Transport. Analysis of the factors constraining the performance of the dredging activities is presented. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduced the 28 respondents identified constraining variables to four underlying components, which explained 73.74% of the variance leaving 26.26% to other variables not used in the analysis. The underlying components are; non-use of professional studies, inadequate resource base, physical or environmental constraints and technical difficulties. Based on the finding of the study, strategies which can facilitate the development of the dredging project and enhance planning procedure in the water transport sector were advanced.

KEY WORDS: Constraints, Impact, Lower Niger River, Inland water transport, Nigeria, River dredging.

IMPROVISING MUNICIPAL WASTE DISPOSAL THROUGH INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT: THE SOUTHERN NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE

¹Ndinwa, Chuks Chukwuka Gabriel, ¹Akpafun, A. Solomon, ¹Chukuma, Charity, ²Osubor-Ndinwa, Nwakaego Praise

¹Department of Industrial Safety and Environmental Management Technology

Delta State School of Marine Technology, Burutu, Nigeria

E-mail: gndinwa@yahoo.com, chuksgabriel@ymail.com

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND THE DILEMMA OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: IMPLICATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION

¹Jonathan Sagay; ²Zephaniah Osuyi Edo; and ³Lucky Avweromre

Department of Political Science,

Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

E-mail:  joesagay_ng@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

The study takes a critical look at the concept of environmental security in the light of massive environmental degradation and damage in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where the bulk of the nation’s wealth is derived. It examines the concept of sustainable development and uses it as a yardstick in measuring the activities of operating oil Multinational Corporations in the region. Using historical method of analysis, this study observes that most internal conflicts in the country today have strong environmental root and that the inability of the government to address such environmental problems have had great effects on the security problem currently facing the Nigerian State today. The study therefore recommends that there is the need for government to begin seeing environmental degradation in more conventional terms that is, in conventional political instability as environmental degradation is the basis of many insecurity problems besetting the country today. This will enable it to use the existing security systems to monitor and manage environmental resources thereby reducing tension in the polity

Keywords: Environmental Degradation, Environmental Security, Sustainable Development, Conflicts, Oil Multinational Corporations. 

ORGANIC CARBON AND TOTAL NITROGEN STATUS OF SOILS UNDER RUBBER PLANTATION OF VARIOUS AGES, SOUTH-SOUTHERN NIGERIA

¹Njar, G.N.; ²Iwara, A. I.; ²Ekukinam U. E.; ³Deekor, T. N. and ²Amiolemen, S. O.

¹Department Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Calabar, Nigeria

²Deparment of Geography, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

³Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

E-mail: iwaradream2008@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

In the tropics, the continuous destruction of the forest mostly for food crop cultivation accompanied with high rainfall in the region has resulted in the rapid loss of soil nutrient, thereby making most soil infertile. The need to restore and conserve soil fertility for agricultural productivity has led to the planting of forest trees/plantation with the sole aim of improving the nutrient bal­ance of soil by reducing unproductive nutrient losses from erosion and leaching. The study examined the trend of organic matter and total nitrogen in rubber plantation plots of 7, 16, 39 and 41 years. The grid system of sampling was employed to collect soil samples from five quadrats of 10m x 10m in each of the plantation plots.  Result showed that pH of the soils decreased with the age of plantation, while the content of organic matter (OM) and total nitrogen (TN) increased with the age of trees probably as a result of the increase in vegetation cover and tree size. This is so, as mature rubber trees have a large biomass which not only affords the ground adequate cover, but also acts as a huge reservoir of nutrients, thereby preventing them from being leached away from the plantation. The study revealed that rubber trees had no adverse effect on the depletion of OM and TN status in the soil. However, for sustainable rubber production, mature rubber trees in plantation plots should be properly managed through routine treatment, as well as selectively replaced with new ones.

Keywords: Rubber Plantation, Organic Matter, Total Nitrogen, Age of Plantation, Tree Size, Vegetation Cover, Biomass