scholarly journals Recommendations for Effective and Sustainable Regulation of Biopesticides in Nigeria

Author(s):  
Christine Abey Ashaolu ◽  
Chibuzor Okonkwo ◽  
Elizabeth Njuguna ◽  
Dennis Ndolo

The global trend towards increased demand for organic food, greener environments, and the integration of biological control agents into pest management strategies has greatly enhanced the need for biological pesticides (biopesticides). Biopesticides are generally environmentally friendly and are made from micro-organisms or other natural substances. Despite their great potential, relatively few have been registered and commercialised in Nigeria compared to other African countries such as South Africa and Kenya. Biological active agents are so diverse such that ap-plying the same safety standards or environmental conditions to all of them is almost impossible. A review of risk assessment processes and comparative assessments of Nigeria's biopesticide regulations with other developing African countries and developed regions was conducted. Prolonged field testing, lack of bridged risk assessments and technical checklists have been identified as key factors hampering the timely development and commercialisation of biopesti-cides in Nigeria. Recommendations on necessary changes to the existing Nigeria biopesticide regulations have been made. Risk assessment matrices for microbial and biochemical biopesti-cides and a scientific/technical checklist have also been developed. Harmonisation and data ex-change among other countries in the region will also enhance the advancement of scientific and technical knowledge for sustainable regulation and cross-border trade.

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ncamsile Nombulelo Dlamini ◽  
Maritha Snyman

The purpose of this paper is to assess the current status of institutional repositories (IRs) in Swaziland’s academic institutions. The factors under discussion are the number of IRs in Swaziland, their usage, the level of awareness of these IRs, and the challenges that prevent the implementation of IRs in Swaziland’s academic institutions. A webometric approach, interviews and semi-structured questionnaires completed by IR managers or librarians working for the Swaziland’s academic institutions were used to collect data for this study. Responses were received from 11 respondents. The findings indicated that there is one IR in Swaziland that is accessible to the institution’s community via the intranet. This IR was, at the time when this study took place, not registered in any of the international registries of repositories, such as the Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR) and the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR). Currently, this IR faces problems of insufficient content, a low level of IR awareness, limited knowledge of effective and appropriate IR advocacy strategies and limited knowledge of effective IR implementation and management strategies. Based on the findings and information gained from a literature review of IRs, the paper recommends strategies to academic institutions in Swaziland that may enable them to increase their number of IRs, the awareness level of IRs and consequently the use of IRs. The findings and recommendations may also benefit other African countries in similar situations.  


2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122098834
Author(s):  
Kirk R. Williams ◽  
Richard Stansfield ◽  
Jacquelyn Campbell

This study seeks to determine the concurrent and predictive validity of a dual risk assessment protocol. It combines the risk of persistence in intimate partner violence (IPV) measured via the Domestic Violence Screening Instrument–Revised (DVSI-R) with supplemental items from the Danger Risk Assessment (DRA) bearing on the risk of potential lethality. We further test whether this assessment protocol reproduces disparities by race and ethnicity found in the larger population. Using a sample of 4,665 IPV male defendants with a female victim, analyses support both types of criterion validity. The DRA risk score is associated with felony charges, incarceration at the initial arrest, and the frequency of subsequent dangerous behavior. Results also suggest minimal predictive bias or disparate impact by race and ethnicity. Incorporating supplemental items bearing on potential lethality risk adds important information concerning the risk management strategies of those involved in IPV.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Xuan Han ◽  
Min-Yuan Ma

With the rapid development of online courses, digital learning has become a global trend. In this context, this study analyzed the high intake population of online courses for online affective cognition, and explored what the user’s attraction factors for online courses are. The key factors that affect consumers’ usage of online courses and the weights of impact relations are presented, aiming to provide guidance for future improvement of online courses. This study was conducted through the evaluation grid method of Miryoku engineering. In order to make the charm factors more accurate and representative, this study summarized the charm elements using the Kawakita Jiro (KJ) method, and then quantified the factors in the form of a questionnaire. Through the statistical analysis of the questionnaire and quantification theory type I, the correlation between the charm feeling and the online course as well as the weight of each item (original evaluation item) and category (specific evaluation item) were calculated. Through the research and discussion on the charm factors of online teaching, the results analyzed and integrated in this paper could give more substantive suggestions and help to the education industry.


Author(s):  
Michael D. Ladd

Worker safety is an issue of major concern worldwide. Evidence to this fact is noted with recent efforts to harmonize US machine safety standards with that of the European Machinery Directive. Changes to the US standards have a dramatic affect on new equipment design. Additionally, older machinery that is still in use must now be upgraded to meet these new requirements. In other words, the end user must now follow the same standards as new equipment manufacturers. Paper published with permission.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Ying Yu Du ◽  
Jun Bin Zhong ◽  
Zi Yue Su ◽  
Xin Peng Yang ◽  
Yi Lan Yao

As an effective way of enterprises financing, supply chain finance has attracted much attention in recent years. However, since supply chain finance has some problems like long financing period, numerous stakeholders and complex effects, banks are at a higher risk carrying out this kind of service. The purpose of this paper is to explore the key factors in supply chain finance risk assessment and study the effective mode of risk elevation. Based on the existing literature and research, this paper uses Z-score to standardize the financial index of 344 medium-sized enterprises in automotive industry chain from October, 2016 to October, 2017 and build a model of supply chain risk assessment and control basing on analytic hierarchy process, principal components analysis and logistic regression analysis. Finally, we summarize how each index affects risk assessment and then analyze the reasons.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document