Democracy, Development and Industrial Policy in Nigeria

The article places Nigeria’s political and economic challenges in historical and global context. As opposed to viewing democracy or development emerging simply as the ‘will of the people’ or ‘political will’, it encourages a historical and structural view of the phenomena. Sustained democratic institutions and intensive economic growth emerge under particular conditions where the continued maintenance of hegemony and gate-keeping extractive states are no longer viable. A diversified capitalist class and economic power among a strong middle class are needed to demand greater democratic accountability. Industrial policy is essential to creating the structural change required for their emergence. Yet the dispersed and ethno-religiously fragmented distribution of power makes industrial policy implementation difficult. Given the salience of such historical and structural forces, postcolonial Nigerians should be seen as formative generations. Students and practitioners of development economics, policy and politics should be more creative in producing politically informed policies for the country.

Forgotten Integration: An investigation into the integration of Post-Olympic Parks

<p>The Summer Olympics occur every four years, capturing the hearts of the world for a nite period of time. During this time, the eyes of the world are set on the host city of whom provide a facility and an infrastructure to accommodate not only the athletes, but the millions of spectators that attend the events and the memorable moments that ensue. While the Summer Olympics and it’s park are focused heavily upon during the games, integration of the site into the host city has become largely forgotten post-Olympics. Ultimately, these once vast locations have now become deserted and dystopia environments within the host city. This thesis addresses the problem of integrating Olympic parks back into the context of the host city by enabling new and diverse spaces. The work of Charles Waldheim, Rem Koolhaas, Alex Wall, Tricia Cusack and Dennis Saunders are employed over five main ideas: wetland urbanism, urban grid, edge extension, fragmented distribution and landscape occupation. Strategic integration of post-Olympic Sites into the existing host city can arguably be done so by creating a multi-programmatic system that adapts and transforms to respond to the dynamic needs of both the Olympic Site and the local urban context of the surrounding city. This thesis considers the task of integrating the Sydney Olympic Park back into Sydney’s context, transforming its current form into a state of integration with the host city that is successful. The thesis produces a design, based on five key design principles which have been created through conclusions of research: wetlands, extension, grid, distribution and occupation.</p>

Forgotten Integration: An investigation into the integration of Post-Olympic Parks

<p>The Summer Olympics occur every four years, capturing the hearts of the world for a nite period of time. During this time, the eyes of the world are set on the host city of whom provide a facility and an infrastructure to accommodate not only the athletes, but the millions of spectators that attend the events and the memorable moments that ensue. While the Summer Olympics and it’s park are focused heavily upon during the games, integration of the site into the host city has become largely forgotten post-Olympics. Ultimately, these once vast locations have now become deserted and dystopia environments within the host city. This thesis addresses the problem of integrating Olympic parks back into the context of the host city by enabling new and diverse spaces. The work of Charles Waldheim, Rem Koolhaas, Alex Wall, Tricia Cusack and Dennis Saunders are employed over five main ideas: wetland urbanism, urban grid, edge extension, fragmented distribution and landscape occupation. Strategic integration of post-Olympic Sites into the existing host city can arguably be done so by creating a multi-programmatic system that adapts and transforms to respond to the dynamic needs of both the Olympic Site and the local urban context of the surrounding city. This thesis considers the task of integrating the Sydney Olympic Park back into Sydney’s context, transforming its current form into a state of integration with the host city that is successful. The thesis produces a design, based on five key design principles which have been created through conclusions of research: wetlands, extension, grid, distribution and occupation.</p>

Nicotiana rupicola sp. nov and Nicotiana knightiana (Paniculatae, Solanaceae), a new endemic and a new record for the flora of Chile

Nicotiana knightiana is recorded for the first time for the flora of Chile. A new species of Nicotiana, endemic to the coast of the Coquimbo region is described and illustrated. Molecular analysis placed the new species within the section Paniculatae, as sister to Nicotiana cordifolia, endemic to Juan Fernandez islands. The new species can be considered critically endangered (CR) according to the IUCN categories for its restricted and fragmented distribution, small population number, and the threat that urbanization and mining activities represent for the conservation of the biodiversity of the area.

Wolfberry genomes and the evolution of Lycium (Solanaceae)

Wolfberry Lycium, an economically important genus of the Solanaceae family, contains approximately 80 species and shows a fragmented distribution pattern among the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Although several herbaceous species of Solanaceae have been subjected to genome sequencing, thus far, no genome sequences of woody representatives have been available. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 13 perennial woody species of Lycium, with a focus on Lycium barbarum. Integration with other genomes provides clear evidence supporting a whole-genome triplication (WGT) event shared by all hitherto sequenced solanaceous plants, which occurred shortly after the divergence of Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae. We identified new gene families and gene family expansions and contractions that first appeared in Solanaceae. Based on the identification of self-incompatibility related-gene families, we inferred that hybridization hotspots are enriched for genes that might be functioning in gametophytic self-incompatibility pathways in wolfberry. Extremely low expression of LOCULE NUBER (LC) and COLORLESS NON-RIPENING (CNR) orthologous genes during Lycium fruit development and ripening processes suggests functional diversification of these two genes between Lycium and tomato. The existence of additional flowering locus C-like MADS-box genes might correlate with the perennial flowering cycle of Lycium. Differential gene expression involved in the lignin biosynthetic pathway between Lycium and tomato likely illustrates woody and herbaceous differentiation. We also provide evidence that Lycium migrated from Africa into Asia, and subsequently from Asia into North America. Our results provide functional insights into Solanaceae origins, evolution and diversification.

Areas for the connectivity of Chaco peccary (Catagonus wagneri) populations at the southern limit of their distribution in the Argentine Chaco / Áreas para a conectividade de populações de pecari do Chaco (Catagonus wagneri) no limite sul de sua distribuição no Chaco Argentino

The area of geographical distribution of mammal populations in the Argentine Chaco ecoregion is being increasingly reduced and this is mainly due to the progressive destruction of habitats. In this context, several species have been affected, among which is the endemic Catagonus wagneri (Tayassuidae), currently classified as "endangered" and with a trend of population decline. In this work, the predictions estimated by three algorithms were compared to establish the potential geographic distribution of this species at the southern limit of its natural distribution. Priority locations for landscape connectivity were identified by comparing intrinsic variations in the PC index based on data classification methods. With the use of foot transects, trap cameras and surveys with the local population, the presence of chacoan peccary was recorded on 25 occasions. From the GLM, Random Forest and Maxent algorithms (mean AUC 0.74), a reference model was obtained. Using it as an input and the PC index, the variation in the importance of the connectivity surfaces of the landscape was evaluated using three classification methods: quantile, equal interval and natural breaks. The consensus model (SDM) occupies 55,674 km2 of Argentina, representing 10% of the Chaco Seco ecoregion. The distribution occupies not only forest ecosystems, but also environments with less tree coverage. Coefficients of variation of 170% were recorded between the classification methods for the number of patches of classes 9 and 10 of the priority habitat for landscape connectivity. The SDM shows a fragmented distribution in line with the Chaco's land use change process.The results suggest a great variability of the PC index depending on the method of classifying data in class intervals, an aspect that was not discussed in previous studies.

New strandings of True’s beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus, in Mozambique and their destiny as marine bushmeat

True’s beaked whales have a uniquely fragmented distribution of sightings recorded, mostly from stranding reports. The species is assumed to be associated with deep oceanic waters, occurring in both the northern and southern hemispheres. A hotspot for strandings in the southern hemisphere is South Africa. The third and fourth reported stranding of True’s beaked whales for Mozambique is presented, and the first for Tofo Beach, Inhambane Province. This stranding event resulted in the carcasses being butchered and the bushmeat taken for human consumption. This report develops and discusses strategies for mitigation of future risk to public health from aquatic bushmeat consumption in Mozambique.

Genomic evidence for the Old divergence of Southern European wolf populations

The grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) is one of the most widely distributed mammals in which a variety of distinct populations have been described. However, given their currently fragmented distribution and recent history of human-induced population decline, little is known about the events that led to their differentiation. Based on the analysis of whole canid genomes, we examined the divergence times between Southern European wolf populations and their ancient demographic history. We found that all present-day Eurasian wolves share a common ancestor ca 36 000 years ago, supporting the hypothesis that all extant wolves derive from a single population that subsequently expanded after the Last Glacial Maximum. We also estimated that the currently isolated European populations of the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and the Dinarics-Balkans diverged very closely in time, ca 10 500 years ago, and maintained negligible gene flow ever since. This indicates that the current genetic and morphological distinctiveness of Iberian and Italian wolves can be attributed to their isolation dating back to the end of the Pleistocene, predating the recent human-induced extinction of wolves in Central Europe by several millennia.