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Estimating radio-frequency radiation absorbed by humans around selected base transceiver stations within Kaduna Metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria
No full textThis paper is aimed at estimating Radio Frequency (RF) radiation absorbed by humans around Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) within Kaduna metropolis. RF radiation absorbed by humans from forty two (42) selected (BTS) tagged M1 to M42 of the four major network providers (MTN, 9mobile, Airtel and Globacom) within Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria within radial distance intervals of 20 to 100 from the foot of each BTS were estimated. The Average Power Density (.) and Specific Absorption Rate (.) of data obtained from these BTS were computed, and the results indicated that the average amount of SAR for the selected forty two (42) base transceiver BTS facilities were within the range of 16.9−331.7×10−9 / and 0.648– 10.659×10−6 /2 respectively. These values are lower than the recommended limit by International Commission on Non Ionization Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) which is 0.08 / for the human body. This study has shown that RF radiation absorbed by people either residing or transiting the study area has negligible effect on their health
Public and environmental health implications of artisanal petroleum refining and risk reduction strategies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria
Get PDFArtisanal petroleum refining (APR) is often the use of rudimentary equipment to process crude oil into different products. APR is rampant in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria and is often outside the boundaries of the state law. Some typical products of the process include gasoline, automated gas oil, and kerosene. Despite the socioeconomic advantages, which include creating jobs, it poses significant environmental and public health concerns. This review focuses on the environmental and human health effects of APR in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. According to the research findings, these actions have resulted in the loss of arable farmland, plant cover, household and drinking water supplies, and human food sources. In addition, these activities lead to the emission of harmful particles and gases. These pollutants have adverse health effects, including loss of respiratory and cardiovascular functioning, irritation of the sensory organs, and congenital disabilities. In addition, food safety concerns may ensue from improper management of the APR's effects. It is, therefore, necessary to mitigate the dangers linked to APR in Nigeria's Niger Delta area, i.e., through institutional strengthening and licensing of the artisanal petroleum operatives in the region and applying the environmental and petroleum-related laws in Nigeria. Furthermore, the enlightenment of the populace on the dangers of the long-term impact of APR is crucial
The world is a bar: Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s writing beyond ‘Africa’
Get PDFTaking recent debates on ‘How to write Africa’ in general and the allegations of sexism in Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s novel Tram 83 in particular as a starting point, I analyze three texts by the Austria-based Congolese author in this article. Considering the scope of each text, namely Tram 83 (2014), the play Zu der Zeit der Königinmutter (The Times of the Queen Mother, 2018), and the latest novel La danse du vilain (The Dance of the Villain, 2020), shifting images and meanings of gender dichotomies are explored alongside Mujila’s aesthetic literary devices. The article is structured around the omnipresent setting of bars that develop from a disputable ‘African’ bar in Tram 83 to a radically global bar in Zu der Zeit der Königinmutter and to referentially set bars of Central Africa’s postcolonial history in La danse du vilain. I argue that recurrence of the bar as a focal lieu of mingling people in Mujila’s writing underlines its function as satirical microcosm that goes beyond a realistic representation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Multilayered cultural references in Tram 83 and Zu der Zeit der Königinmutter construct the setting into a worldly space whereas La danse du vilain privileges a historical approach. As further pointed out, the metatextual level that is woven into the texts comments on the difficulty of the adequate representation of ‘Africa’ and the pitfalls of the global literary market place. 
Allan Anderson’s African Pentecostalism theology and the ‘othering’
No full textAllan Heaton Anderson is one of the few white South Africans who succeeded in getting out of the entrapment of racial prejudices when it came to the written history of African-initiated churches. He became aware of the fact that an authentic theology can only be examined within context, and thus his theological analysis of African independent churches (AICs) reflects his status in the margins. Anderson not only conducted research among the poor and the downtrodden, where he challenged assumptions made by his white contemporaries, but he also identified with the ‘othering’, those who were powerless and marginalised – contributing immensely to African theology of inclusivity. This article comprised three sections: firstly, it traced Anderson’s journey within and his contribution to the theology of African Pentecostalism; secondly, it explored the notion of typology of AICs using the lens of ‘othering’; and thirdly, it concluded with recent trends in neo-Pentecostalism. Following the philosophical axiom of critical theory, the article was involved in dialogue with Anderson, interrogated European missionary typologies of African-initiated churches and, finally, critiqued the convergence of ‘progressive Pentecostals’ and ‘globalisation’ in shaping a new mission paradigm.
Contribution: This article paid closer attention to intersectionality of historiography and hybrid theological subjects such as practical theology and African theology. The contribution of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research by white African scholars on African theology was appraised. The article further appreciated the contribution by a white theologian who had mastered African epistemology of being and living by critiquing the theory of paternalistic ‘othering’
African Indigenous knowledge versus Western science in the Mbeere Mission of Kenya
No full textThis article sets out to explore the way in which Western science and technology was received in the Mbeere Mission of central Kenya since August 1912 when a medical missionary, Dr T.W.W. Crawford, visited the area. In his dalliance with ecclesiastical matters, Crawford, a highly trained Canadian medical doctor, was sent by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) at Kigari-Embu, in 1910, to pioneer the Anglican mission in the vast area that included Mbeereland, where Mbeere Mission is situated. Contending with the African indigenous knowledge in medicine, environmental conservation, agriculture and other forms of indigenous science, the introduction of Western science and technology, 1912 to 1952, the article argues, did not erase the former; rather, it complimented it. Pockets of general resistance were evident, though Mbeereland, unlike its neighbouring Mutira Mission of 1912, did not offer elaborate opposition to the Western science and technology, partly because the locals could have learnt about it from their neighbours who had experienced it much earlier. Through a historico-narrative design, the research article endeavours to primarily review the coming of Western medicine in Mbeereland: Did it conflict with the African medicine? Methodologically, the data have been collected via archival sources, oral interviews and by reviewing applicable literature.
Contribution: The input of this research article to the HTS Journal’s vision and scope is seen by appreciating its focus on the interface between African indigenous knowledge and the European science and technology. Although the main focus is African versus western medicine, and how it was historically received in Mbeere Mission of Central Kenya, it largely speaks for the tropical Africa. The article is within the multidisciplinary areas in missiology and historiography. 
From the ‘naked Spirit’ to a Nusantara contextual theology formula
No full textMany contextual theology models have been shared, but no formula applies to all contexts, because each culture has specific and unique features. Indonesia shares a complex context and requires a proper approach for precise landing. This study aimed to formulate a contextual theology model on the Spirit suitable for Indonesians. It moves from the ‘naked Spirit’, a term provided by Vincent Donovan, originally ‘naked gospel’, highlighting the essence of the scripture or Spirit itself, to the Nusantara contextual formula. The Nusantara model is a promising formula that could contribute inputs to the tension. The local contextual model is a bright sketch that could help Indonesians to engage with pneumatology in the church traditions. This study analysed and described articles, journals and other related sources with a sensitive approach. Additionally, it proposed argumentations and provided a prospective contextual theology model for the Spirit. The findings showed that the Nusantara formula is a significant model for the Spirit to engage in an Indonesian context.
Contribution: Through the examination of contextual theology model globally, and especially speaking of the ‘naked Spirit’ insight, the study provided an alternative contribution to the contextual theology model. The result showed that the Nusantara contextual theology formula offers an alternative contribution to an Indonesian context
Financial Sector Development and Industrialization in Tanzania
No full textThis paper examines the causal relationship between financial sector development and industrialization in Tanzania from 1990 to 2020 using Granger causality and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimation. Granger causality results showed domestic credit to the private sector, and broad money Granger-caused industry value-added. The joint effect of financial sector development Granger-causes industry and manufacturing value-added. Moreover, industry value-added Granger-causes financial sector development. Therefore, a bidirectional causal relationship exists between domestic credit to the private sector, and industry value-added. On the other hand, there is a unidirectional causal relationship moving from financial sector development to manufacturing value-added. The causality results support the supply-leading hypothesis. The ARDL estimation results showed a significant negative short-run effect of broad money on manufacturing and industry value-added. Furthermore, domestic credit to the private sector significantly positively affected manufacturing value-added in the short-run. In the long-run, there is a significant positive effect of domestic credit to the private sector on industry value-added, and a significant negative effect of broad money on industry value-added. The results imply the need for the government and financial sector players to address financial sector challenges to enhance credit provision to the industry and manufacturing sector, and transform the economy through the industrial and manufacturing sub-sector of the economy
Production and characterization of biodiesel from hybrid feedstock of Jatropha curcas and Thevetia peruviana seeds oil
No full textThis study elucidates one possible alternative to first generation feedstock used for biodiesel synthesis. The various conventional feedstock for biodiesel production have the conflict of competition as food sources which poses serious food security risks. Jatropha curcas and yellow oleander seed oils were subjected to in-situ hybridization process at different percentage blend compositions tagged: Y90J10, Y80J20, Y70J30, Y60J40 and Y50J50 before trans esterified to biodiesel. Biodiesel yields were found to be as high as 90.0, 86.1, 90.7, 92.2 and 88.2% for the hybrid blends Y50J50, Y90J10, Y80J20, Y70J30 and Y60J40 respectively. The optimal reaction temperature was 60°C, reaction time of 60 minutes, using 1% (w/w) KOH catalyst. Characterization of all synthesized biodiesel samples indicates fuel properties that are within the stipulated ASTM limits for fuel-grade biodiesels, except that high cloud points were observed in Y100 and J100. The least cloud point was observed for biodiesel from hybrid oil blend Y50J50. The FTIR spectra of the fatty acid methyl esters of both oils and of their various blends confirms the presence of the major functional groups characteristics of bio-based diesel fuel
Green roofs: An alternative for the reduction of surface runoff in the city of Recife, PE
No full textConstant flooding during periods of intense rain, aggravated by the impermeabilization of the soil, is a recurrent problem in many Brazilian cities, such as Recife, located in the state of Pernambuco. An efficient alternative that can mitigate this problem is the use of compensatory techniques such as green roofs. Adding a plant layer on the roof of buildings can serve to reduce atmospheric pollution, contribute to an improvement in thermal sensation, and absorb rainwater, reducing the intensity of flooding. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the reduction in the volume of water drained from the surface in cities, through the implementation of green roofs. To carry out this evaluation, a green roof and a Pluviometer prototype were installed to collect data on the volume of water precipitated, drained, and absorbed by the prototypes. The results show that the volume of water drained by the green roofs can vary significantly, from over 100% down to complete absorption of the precipitation, i.e., 0% of the water volume, as occurred on some days in May, which is the month that presented the lowest rainfall of the analyzed period. In addition, the analyses also show that as well as the prototypes, the real green roof significantly reduces the flow of water from precipitation. The mean reduction of the total volume in the study was 50%, however, at longer intervals without precipitation, this reduction reached 78%. These results show that the impact of the implementation of compensatory techniques such as green roofs significantly reduces runoff, especially in a city that is flooded. Therefore, this study can serve as an incentive for public and private institutions to adopt the compensatory techniques of urban drainage for future or existing constructions, due to the aggregated social benefits, although they are not currently mandatory for all new constructions. The authors proposed the implementation of compensatory techniques, such as green roofs, in urban centers with high percentages of impermeable soil
Drama and The Nigerian Economic Recession Question: A case study of Felicia Onyewadume’s Echoes of Hard Times
No full textIt is no news that Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa and the largest producer of oil amongst African countries, is currently experiencing economic recession. While the reason for this phenomenon may be global and may be attributed so such factors as: high inflation caused by a rise in the prices of goods and service, a fall in the price and demand for oil, poor economic planning, high interest rate and many others. The purpose of this essay is not to cast blames on anyone or glorify the already identified causes of the recession in Nigeria, but to advance a solution to this problem. Admittedly, drama has served a veritable tool for social reconstruction and redirection. By this, drama does not only entertain, but in doing this it also informs and educates society for good. Drama, thus, has proven a potent tool to solve the problems of man as he interacts with the social forces around him. The foregoing is the aim of this study as this research demonstrates how Nigerians can deal with as well as surmount the current challenges they face in this period of recession, using Felicia Onyewadume’s Echoes of Hard Times as its case study. The study employs the case study and content analysis research approaches of the qualitative research method to realise set objectives. It observed observes that studies bordering on the role of drama in dealing with economic recession are limited, and therefore calls for more studies to be carried out in this area