Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Fire Outbreaks in Markets of Kano Metropolis, Kano State, Nigeria.

Recurrent fire outbreaks in market places have been a major threat to commercial activities within Kano metropolis. This necessitated the need to examine the spatio-temporal pattern of the outbreaks in relation to the nature and importance of the markets with a view to mitigating its consequences for sustainable commercial development. Fire incidence records (1974-2017) comprising of incidence dates, time, year, location, causes and consequences was obtained from the Kano State Fire Service Department. Electronic and GPS surveying was conducted to determine the absolute locations for spatial and temporal analyses. The result from spatial analysis indicated a clustered pattern of fire outbreaks within the major markets with Nearest Neighbor Ratio of 0.179. Temporally, there were more fire incidence recurrence (about 20.9%) and property damage between 2007and 2017, thereby making it the most devastating period of market fire outbreaks in Kano. Based on the nature of markets, the overall result depicted that mixed markets and single commodity market experienced 76.5% and 23.5% fire incidence respectively. This was attributed to the extent of commercial activities, the use of electricity, and the flammability of the products. The study thus recommends fire safety education and fire prevention practices throughout the markets for risk reduction and sustainable economic development. Les incendies récurrents sur les marchés ont constitué une menace majeure pour les activités commerciales dans la métropole de Kano. Cela a nécessité la nécessité d'examiner le schéma spatio-temporel des incendies en relation avec la nature et l'importance des marchés en vue d'atténuer ses conséquences sur le développement commercial durable. Les dossiers des incendies (1974-2017) y compris les dates, l'heure, l'année, le lieu, les causes et les conséquences des incendies ont été obtenus auprès du service d'incendie de l'État de Kano. Des levés électroniques et GPS ont été effectués pour déterminer les emplacements absolus pour les analyses spatiales et temporelles. Le résultat de l'analyse spatiale a indiqué un modèle groupé d'incendies dans les principaux marchés avec une proportion de voisin le plus proche de 0,179. Temporellement, il y a eu plus de récurrence d'incendie (environ 20,9%) et de dommages matériels entre 2007 et 2017, ce qui fait de cette période, la plus dévastatrice d'incendies de marché à Kano. Sur la base de la nature des marchés, le résultat global a montré que les marchés à produits mixtes et le marché a produit unique ont connu respectivement 76,5% et 23,5% des incendies. Cela a été attribué à l'étendue des activités commerciales, à l'utilisation de l'électricité et à l'inflammabilité des produits. L'étude recommande ainsi une éducation à la sécurité incendie et des pratiques de prévention des incendies sur l'ensemble des marchés pour la réduction des risques et le développement économique durable. Mots clés : Arpentage GPS, Marchés à produits mixtes, proportion de voisin le plus proche, marchés durables.

Challenges of education in Low Income Countries (LICs)

As globalization is increasingly affecting both Low Income Countries (LICs) and high income countries (HICs), the formation of mixed markets emphasizes the importance of private education. Functionalists, for example, highlight privately owned institutions as higher quality ones, as the competitive market forces them to innovate and follow the rapid technological improvements, to respond to customers’ demand. Higher education is becoming a necessity in LICs, as well. This is because it is much easier nowadays to “import” the workforce from another country. On the other hand, factories of transnational corporations are getting established in LICs. In this case, higher knowledge is not required, as the emphasis is placed on repetitive tasks and division of labor. The aim of this work is to provide a relevant analysis of scientific approach of various stand points in regards to different functions and applicability of knowledge, while considering the external factors, such as economic status of the country, to define the key challenges. Still, as the country progresses economically, the sector of production is likely to shift from primary (fishing, farming, agriculture) to the third one (services). As a result, LICs who aim to progress in an economical sense, must place greater emphasis on higher education, and align the educational process with the economic demand.

Absence of Envy among “Neighbors” Can Be Enough

We assume that the set of agents is decomposed into several classes containing individuals related each other in some way, for example groups of neighbors. We propose a new definition of fairness by requiring efficiency and envy-freeness only within each group. We identify conditions under which absence of envy among “neighbors” is enough to ensure fairness in the entire society. We also show that equal-income Walrasian equilibria are the only fair allocations according to our notion, deriving as corollaries the equivalence theorems of Zhou (1992) and Cato (2010). The analysis is conducted in atomless economies as well as in mixed markets.

Constructive ambiguity, market imaginaries and the penal voluntary sector in England and Wales

This chapter draws on research findings relating to voluntary sector adaptation to mixed markets in penal services, which coincided with the disruptions of austerity and dislocation in the wider social economy. Based on interviews with senior personnel in the voluntary sector, we demonstrate that they both share and hold divergent views (or ‘imaginaries’) of the ‘rules of engagement’ that pertain to market competition in offender resettlement. The chapter explores three broad strategic responses: (i) a greater tendency towards service diversification and commoditisation; (ii) mergers, acquisitions and seeking a place in larger consortia; (iii) varied dispositions towards market adaptive strategies. We codify the latter along the lines of Hirschman’s options of ‘exit, voice and loyalty’(1970). However, it is shown that individual organisations often combine elements of all three dispositions, and that the overall picture of adaptation in the sector is greatly more complex and nuanced than some commentators have claimed.

Sino-Russian negotiation styles: A cross-cultural analysis of situated patterns

China and Russia have transitioned from centralised economies to mixed markets, they have developed institutions and economic sectors and they joined hands in the strategic partnership in economic and political paths through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Most writers compare or contrast their political and economic powers and preferences vis-a-vis Western cultures and countries; none assess the cultural and contextual styles between the two partners. We build on this question to assess whether and how the two neighbours differ in negotiation style rather than how their institutions shape their behaviour. Based on the behavioural negotiation framework proposed in the early 1990s, we gathered evidence through two surveys: one in Russia and the other in China. We received 988 responses from China and 708 responses from Russia, which we analysed in correlational statistics. The statistical analysis shows negative correlations for four styles of negotiation and positive correlations for six styles of negotiation. We interpreted the negative correlation as divergence between the two cultures and positive correlation as convergence between the two cultures on those styles. The magnitude of the correlation further supports the competing positions of the two cultures on the semantic spectrums. We offer theoretical and policy suggestions at the end of the article. In concluding remarks, we draw attention to multiple gaps which can be filled in future research.