Motorway development and the conservation of traditional third world cities
Abstract Many Third World countries with pre-colonial backgrounds have traditional residential communities at the core of cities which differ from rings of modern development towards the outskirts. Some of the cities also have unique traditional social set-ups and suburbs of colonial and post-Independence development. The ideology of contemporary planning, founded on rational, impersonal layouts of districts and borrowed largely from the West, demonstrates little sensitivity to such traditional city communities, many of which are in danger of complete destruction. This article examines problems faced by such cities and the global prospects for conservation.
‘Go-slow’: the political economy of urban transport in Nigeria with an emphasis on Ado-Ekiti
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine urban transport issues in Nigeria. These issues hinge on a state-led bias for the private car that negatively affects the transport needs of the majority. Three underrepresented themes in Third World urban transport research are developed: transport in medium-sized cities, and transport from political-economy and gender perspectives. These themes are related to Nigerian cities in general, and to Ado-Ekiti, a rapidly growing administrative and agricultural centre of 150,000 people, in particular. As in many Third World countries, a conventional wisdom has developed in Nigeria, in which urban transport policies and spending measures favour car-owning elites at the expense of the poor. An unconventional approach to urban transport policy, that of the World Bank, is critically assessed. The evaluation of transport in Ado-Ekiti relies upon the author's observations and survey results. High population densities and an efficient housing market help limit the urban sprawl that would seriously exacerbate transport problems, but there are class and gender inequalities in access to and conditions of travel. Ado-Ekiti's women have achieved a measure of economic independence that work outside the home makes possible, but they use less prestigious modes of transport. Additionally, accident rates are very high in Ado-Ekiti and Nigeria, and shrinking vehicle fleets are reducing the use of motorized transport. These and other transport problems in Nigeria generate various forms of popular resistance. A variety of measures can improve transport for the popular classes, but a change from the present practice will not come easily.
Habituation Protocols Improve Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Beef Cattle Exposed to Students in an Animal Handling Class
Simple Summary Students in agricultural programs have the opportunity to interact with animals during different teaching activities. However, students’ interactions with livestock may be distressing to the animals and can affect the students’ and animals’ safety. We investigate whether two human-animal habituation strategies, one with positive tactile stimulation and one without, would improve behavioral and physiological responses of beef heifers during a livestock handling class. Overall, heifers that received a habituation treatment had more positive behavior responses, and decreased physiological stress responses in comparison to heifers that were not exposed to habituation. Furthermore, the heifers exposed to the habituation with a positive tactile stimulation had the greatest improvements in behavior in comparison to control and non-stimulated heifers, exhibiting more positive behaviors when interacting with humans. Strategies to habituate cattle to human interaction with positive stimulation aligned with training humans that handle and interact with cattle on best practices and cattle behavior can improve behavior, reduce stress-related physiological responses and enhance safety for both humans and animals. Abstract Our objective was to determine the impact of different habituation protocols on beef cattle behavior, physiology, and temperament in response to human handling. Beef heifers were exposed to three habituation strategies: (1) tactile stimulation (brushing) in the working chute for seven consecutive days (STI; n = 18); (2) passage through the working chute for seven consecutive days (CHU; n = 19) and; (3) no habituation (CON; n = 19). Individual heifer respiratory rate (RR; n/min), internal vaginal temperature (VAGT; °C), and blood cortisol were measured. Further, behavior parameters were observed to generate a behavior score, and heifer interaction with students and their behavioral responses were recorded. Habituation with STI and CHU resulted in improved numerical behavioral scores compared to CON, and greater (p ≤ 0.05) handling latencies. Vaginal temperature was decreased in STI compared to CHU and CONT (p ≤ 0.05). Cortisol concentration did not differ among treatments, but decreased (p ≤ 0.05) from the start of the experiment to 14 days after treatment initiation. Both habituation protocols showed benefits, but heifers that received the positive tactile stimulation in the chute had the greatest behavior improvements. Furthermore, these heifers responded more calmly during student-animal interactions in class, which is beneficial for the students’ and animals’ safety.