Arsenicosis in rural areas of Bangladesh: Socio-demographic correlation
September 2009
The aim of this study is to identify the impacts of socio-demographic variables on arsenicosis affected rural areas in Chapainawbabganj district, Bangladesh. For this, a total number of 200 respondents have been interviewed through a structured questionnaire by purposive sampling technique. In this study, logistic regression model is used to identify the risk factors on arsenicosis. In this analysis, it is indicated...
Accuracy and cost comparison of spatial data-acquisition methods for the development of geographical information systems
September 2009
One of the main components of a Geographic Information System (GIS) is the formation of the database. More than 70% of the time and cost is spent on developing this database. The success of a GIS project depends on the accuracy and currentness of the obtained spatial data required for development of the GIS project. This study presents analyses of the accuracy and costs of several methods of obtaining spatial data for a...
Housing stress and urban renewal imperatives in Diobu, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
August 2009
Using a 5% probability sample of 1,118 households (hence dwelling units) drawn from 3,816 residential buildings, this study profiled the residential housing stock in Diobu, a run-down part of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Information was obtained primarily through direct observation and administration of a largely pre-coded questionnaire, administered face-to-face by trained interviewers. Data transformation...
Irrigation agriculture: An option for achieving the millennium development goals in Nigeria
July 2009
This paper reports the prospect of irrigation agriculture in transforming the dream of attaining the Millennium Development Goals to reality in Nigeria. Efforts of government at revitalizing agriculture before and after 2000 were highlighted. It identifies the poor attitude of Nigerian government towards productive agricultural system and the continuous importation of consumer goods that could otherwise be...
Analysis of rainfall distribution over Enugu during the little dry season (1990-2005)
July 2009
Rainfall is highly variable in both time and space, particularly in sub-humid tropical regions like West-Africa. This paper examines the variations in rainfall distributions over Enugu metropolis during the “little dry season” from 1990-2005 for the months of June, July, August and September. Statistical techniques like Time Series charts with Trend line analysis and standard deviation were used to depict...
Rural water utilization: Factors affecting aquaculture in Owo local government area of Ondo State, Nigeria
July 2009
The study was on factors affecting aquaculture in Owo local government area of Ondo state, Nigeria. Despite the challenges being faced by the rural people of the study area in accessing water for various uses, they still had a very good utilization of the available water for aquaculture. However, several factors of which the major ones were number of ponds owned, size of farm, years of aquaculture experience...
Rural policy and multifunctionality in eligible areas under objective 1: Points of convergence?
June 2009
The expression multifunctionality has synthesized the interest shown in themes such as food safety, production and sustainability. In the International literature, the concept of multifunctionality does not have had an unequivocal meaning. In the European Union documents, the acknowledging of multifunctionality has been assimilated with the “European Agricultural Model”. In the course of the...
The study of urban growth impact in tourism area using remote sensing and GIS technique for north part of the UAE
June 2009
Due to the complex nature of tourism resources of the Northern part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the potential of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) in resolving these issues was used. The study was an attempt to use existing GIS data layers to identify sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources that may be threatened by increased urban growth and...
Infrastructural distribution of healthcare services in Nigeria: An overview
May 2009
Discussions of health-care infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa in general and in Nigeria in particular have recognized the existence of different types and practices. This paper examines the biomedical or western orthodox healthcare with its expansive bureaucratic ethos within the context of hospital structures in Nigeria. The study observed that from the colonial period, the distribution of medical care...
Emerging cities and sustainable global environmental management: Livelihood implications in the OIC countries
May 2009
It is a fact that the majority of the world’s settlements are burgeoning into cities; especially at the turn of the 21st century, an era witnessing the emergence of new economies. Undoubtedly, cities play a pivotal role in the socio-economic, cultural and scientific development of all nations as chunk of global human development activities is planned and executed in the cities. In the same vein,...
Mapping as a complement of statistical/graphical approach to climate data analysis: Example from rainfall variability over the western Nigeria
May 2009
The challenge of insufficient network of meteorological data collection centre has been an age old problem in Africa. It is therefore necessary to encourage a technique that will ensure that data are generated for areas without them. This study is in this regard. 20 years rainfall data were collected from 5 stations in the Western region of Nigeria and analyses were carried out to detect the monthly...
Hierarchy of service centres in Ijesaland, Nigeria
May 2009
This study identified and analyzed the order of service centres in Ijesaland, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary data types were used. The primary data were obtained through household and management questionnaires, field observations and in-depth interviews. Only 199 out of 488 settlements in Ijesaland were selected for the study based on the availability of any one of the identified 27 Central Place...
Geostatistical calculation for clay reserve in Azraq Basin in Jordan
May 2009
Industrial minerals in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan are vital to both economical and industrial development and this is true as far as the estimation of the reserves is carried out appropriately. The aim of this study was to geostatistically investigate the clay spatial behavior and geological reserve in Qa' Al-Azraq area in north east Jordan through known seventy four random drilled boreholes....
The geography of informal sector operations (ISOs): A perspective of urban Zimbabwe
April 2009
Informal sector operations in the urban sphere of Zimbabwe, like in any other developing countries, continue to rise astronomically. The chief reason for the growth of this sector is nothing but the plummeting economy explained in terms high urban unemployment rates and consequential urban poverty. By way of a qualitative methodology, this paper gives a geographical description and explication of the ISO...
Challenges of water resource management and food production in a changing climate in Kenya
April 2009
The tropics depend upon rain as the main source of water supply for agriculture. Concerns of food security and water scarcity in the wake of climate change are global and real particularly in the sub-Saharan Africa. As communities struggle to adapt to the challenges of food insecurity caused by climate change, they are also sensitive to the diminishing and management problems of water resources. Kenya with an...
Urban agriculture and urban land use planning: Need for a synthesis in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria
March 2009
The role of agriculture in an agrarian economy like Nigeria as a pathfinder to understanding the sustainability of the environment cannot be over emphasized, rapid, largely unchecked, urbanization is common in many urban centres such as the Lagos metropolis. Associated with these are the key problems of urban poverty and food security, urban land market, and issues related to sustainable urban...
Revitalizing urban public open spaces, through vegetative enclaves in Lokoja, Nigeria
March 2009
The rapid increase in population, in conjunction with increase in the rate of urbanization, had led to unplanned and uncontrolled expansion of Lokoja town, these have also resulted in the gradual loss of open spaces in the city, due to quest for built up area. Land uses were classified using I.L.WIS 3.2, from acquired land sat E.T.M images for 1987 and Niger sat images for 2007. It was found that the loss of...
An assessment of malaria risk in Koton Karfe watershed catchment, Nigeria
March 2009
This study adopts ground survey and questionnaire administration to determine environmental and socio-economic factors contributing to malaria risk in Koton Karfe watershed catchment. A health facilty-based survey is carried out to assess tbe ratio of population to health facility. The study reveals that poverty is the overriding risk factor determining the high malaria incidence rate which...
Assessment of urban heat island and possible adaptations in Enugu urban using landsat-ETM
February 2009
Urban heat Island (UHI) is the name given to the characteristic warmth of both the atmosphere and the lithosphere in cities (urban) compared to their rural (non-urbanized) surroundings. This study investi-gates the application of Landsat-ETM in the study of UHI. The study employed the normalized difference method to estimate Land Surface temperature (LST). The research assessed the...
Managing efficiency of an urban road toward better transport system
February 2009
Increased traffic volume introduces congestion on road affecting efficiency of road. Efficiency assessment could be defined as the comparison between current status of roads in terms of road capacity, traffic volume, geometric design, etc. and standard of roads prescribed for well-functioning of roads. A new Bridge on Rupsha River causes increased traffic on the study road. The study road is a link road...
Mass transport modeling of an industrial belt using visual MODFLOW and MODPATH: A case study
January 2009
Groundwater in an industrial belt (namely Upper Kodaganar River basin, Tamilnadu, India) is polluted due to discharge of untreated effluents from 80 operating tanneries. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) measurements vary in and around the clusters of tanneries from 2,000 mg/l to 30,573 mg/l in open wells. A mass transport model was constructed to study the contaminant migration using Visual MODFLOW and MODPATH....
Here today, gone tomorrow? Targeting conservation investment in the face of climate change
January 2009
To optimize the use of scarce resources, it is imperative to target conservation investment wisely. We discuss the impact assessment of potential climate-driven shifts in species distributions on the future conservation utility of a present-day reserve design. We provide examples using breeding bird survey data for 150 species in the eastern USA, and two predicted future species distributions models. Using...
Is the wind of change blowing? A Study of Socio-cultural Context of Access to a Place to Sell in Zaria, Nigeria
December 2008
This paper examines the relationship between urban governance structures, traders and their organisation in accessing a place to sell as well as the traders’ role in market management and provisioning. The report further analysed female economic activities and space. The female economic activities basically remain within the household compound spaces in keeping with restricted contact between men and...
Characterisation of gully formed in built up area in southwestern Nigeria
December 2008
This study was carried out in one of the local government areas in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Its aim is to highlight the causes and characteristics of gullies, and their effects in the area. Gullies in the local government headquarter; the most developed area, and three other rural areas; with varying degree of rurality were studied. Measurements were done in the dry season, at intervals of 10 m...
Indigenous people’s perception on climate change and adaptation strategies in Jema’a local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria
November 2008
This study examines the way indigenous people in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State perceive climate change and their adaptation strategies to climate change. The paper also asks indigenous people of the impacts of climate change on their various activities and any perceive hindrance to its adaptation. A total of 225 questionnaires were administered in five settlements within the study area,...
Constraints militating against effectiveness of community development projects in Ilesa
November 2008
The rapid growth of urban population in developing countries led to a corresponding increase in the demand for basic urban services. Community members generally participate in development projects because of the realization that contemporary governments can no longer single handedly meet most of these community needs. In view of the above, this study was aimed to examine the efforts of Community Base...
Planning education (PE) in Nigeria: Strategies for improvement
October 2008
This paper traces the origin of planning Education in Nigeria. The paper shows that planning education in Nigeria follows her colonial history in the sense that most of the earlier planners in the country were trained abroad until University of Ibadan was established as a college of University of London in 1948. Earlier planners were trained as geographers before their training in planning. Many Universities...
Gender differentials, vulnerability and mobility stress coping strategies in Nigeria
October 2008
The exploding rate of growth of vulnerable groups and transport insecurity in developing cities poses great challenges to planners and policy makers. In the light of this, the paper examined vulnerability and mobility stress coping strategies differentials among male and female in a developing city-Lagos, Nigeria. The study used primary data, which were obtained through a questionnaire survey of 356...
The change detection of major dams in Osun State, Nigeria using remote sensing (RS) and GIS techniques
September 2008
The assessment of the dynamics of major dams (Ede-Erinle and Eko-Ende reservoirs) in Osun State, Nigeria was investigated using Landsat-TM (1986) and Landsat-ETM+ (2002). The images were processed, interpreted and classified using ILWIS 3.3 software. The results of the study showed a sharp decline in the surface area of the study reservoirs as indicated by per cent of reduction from 1986 to 37.49 and 45.42%...
How can traditional small cities contribute to sustainable development?
September 2008
In this article the author intends to examine the relationship between development and population growth, land use and local planning in small cities in Iran. The main local challenges in Iran, such as the overuse of space and natural resources, unsustainable human settlement and the lack of due attention to cultural-historical heritage, are often the results of the imbalance between development and the above...
Land use changes and environmental stress accounting (case study from northwestern part of the Czech-German borderland)
July 2008
The authors assess the long-term changes in utilisation of the territory (1845 - 2005). They apply a new methodology called environmental stress accounting. They notice qualitative changes in how utilisation of the territory develops. They assess the stress-causing effects on both the natural subsystem (ecological stress) as well as on the social subsystem (social stress). The aggregate result is a...
Spatial and socio-economic dimensions of clients of microfinance institutions in Ghana
July 2008
In applying microfinance as a strategy to create wealth and reduce poverty, developing countries have had to contend with individual and spatial dimensions of interventions. This paper contributes to the debate on spatial and socio-economic dimensions by examining the backgrounds of clients and non-clients of microfinance institutions in Ghana. Data were collected from 1,628 client households from 17...
Heavy metal contamination in groundwater due to mining activities in Sukinda valley, Orissa - A case study
June 2008
Sukinda Valley, Orissa is known for its chromite ore deposits. The open cast mining for chromium is being carried out since 1950. The extraction of chromite has mostly been carried out by open cast and at few places by under ground mining methods. The possibility of leaching contaminants from the ore material kept in the open ground or from the wastages or degraded ore material produced during the mining...
Land-cover change on the southern Kenai Peninsula lowlands, Alaska using USGS land cover trends methodology
June 2008
This brief communication demonstrates land cover change on the southern Kenai Peninsula Lowlands (sKPL), Alaska, using U.S. Geological Survey, Land Cover Trends protocols. The Trends project seeks to understand the rates, causes, and consequences of land cover change for the United States between 1973 and 2000 using Landsat Multi-spectral Scanner (MSS), Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and...
Federal government assistance for web-based secondary education under poor socio-economic development conditions in Nigeria: Geodemographic and qualitative analyses
June 2008
Within barely 15 to 20 years, information and communication technologies (ICTs)-driven new digital economy and high competition for global market share has engendered hunger for knowledge as one of the main drivers of economic development factor for cities, states, nations and organizations in advanced nations. For Nigeria, presenting scandalous poverty, afflicting 70 to 89% of its mostly rural and...
gvSIG: A GIS desktop solution for an open SDI
May 2008
This paper describes gvSIG project, from its beginning until the current status. This open source project, started as a first approach to become the open source geographic information system of the administration in Valencia region and has become a reference project within the GIS world from the proprietary level applications until open source projects. gvSIG has cross many country borders and chase to reach...
Geospatial analysis of potential impacts of climate change on coastal urban settlements in Nigeria for the 21st century
May 2008
At present, there are substantial scientific uncertainties about the nature and magnitude of climate change impacts that might result from an effective doubling of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere of the coastal urban settlements of Nigeria. This is because large percentage of Nigeria's urban population lives in coastal cities. This study examines the potential impact of climate change on the...
A review on the ecology and management of the Samaria Gorge, a Greek biosphere reserve
April 2008
This paper refers to ecological values of one of the famous Greek national parks. It concerns the White Mountains (2,453 m altitude) including a world biosphere reserve, that situated in western Crete. The area includes extensive cave systems and flat internal upland plains encircled by mountains. The typical landscape consists of deep gorges, steep and imposing vertical rocks forming narrow openings. The...
Evolution of Harare as Zimbabwe’s Capital City and a major Central Place in Southern Africa in the context of by Byland’s model of settlement evolution
April 2008
Settlement evolution of most global cities follows certain settlement patterns and by land’s Model is one model that explains the general evolution of such settlements. Harare is no exception in this general pattern of settlement evolution, yet to a greater extent by land’s Model is rather too simplistic to fully account for the evolution of this city. It should be noted that as a Model, it lacks...
Chongming Island ecological conservation project
March 2008
Chongming Island is under the framework of Shanghai administration. It is an alluvial Island in the mouth of the Yangtze River. The area is 1041 km 2 and the population is about 700,000 inhabitance. An expected tunnel will combine the island to the main land in the future. The local population will increase and the island is becoming very attractive to tourists. The island could be regarded as a Peri Urban system...
Foreign investors and their perceptions of socioinstitutional and entrepreneurial environment in the Czech Republic: A pilot study
March 2008
The paper examines the role of a favourable milieu in the region and the notion of social capital, work ethics and mutual confidence. Results of an empirical survey conducted among the foreign entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic are presented in the paper. The survey revealed opinions of foreign investors on cooperation and communication with various institutions in their environment. It also answered...
Vulnerability of traditional beef sector to drought and the challenges of climate change: The case of Kgatleng District, Botswana
March 2008
Cattle’s rearing in Botswana is undertaken in two sectors: the communal and commercial. The communal sector is exclusively free range and therefore depends on biomass production. This makes the systems highly susceptible to drought. One strategy that has been devised by farmers to adapt to drought has been to overstock. However, this strategy may not be the best adaptation strategy as it leads to...
An overview of land cover changes in Nigeria, 1975 - 2005
April 2007
The pattern of land cover changes between 1975 and 2005 strongly indicated loss of prime arable lands which is in turn leading to the opening up of new virgin land towards the south. In the northern and the middle parts of the country, the cereal productive Sudan Savannah ecology is transiting to pure Sahel and the influence of the Sahara is increasing southwards. In the same vein, the root and the tuber...
Towards an innovative approach to integrated wetland management in Rupa Lake Area of Nepal
April 2007
The common property resource management would be tragedy of common or would lead to better management dependent on the existence of institutions governing access, utilization, managements, exclusion, ownership and transfer of ownership. However, recently the concept of integrated management and environment payment system has emerged as a new paradigm in common property management. The civil society is now...
Comparison of object-based and pixel based infrared airborne image classification methods using DEM thematic layer
April 2007
An airborne infrared image was used to produce a map of land cover types in the Eastern shore of Lake Huron, Ontario province of Canada. Maximum likelihood pixel-based and nearest neighbor object-based methods were used in this approach. Land cover classes that obtained traditional pixel-based classification approaches showed a salt-and-pepper effect having the lowest producer accuracy (59.5%). Overall...
Page 8 of 8, showing 45 records out of 395 total, starting on record 351, ending on 395
