The historical underinvestment in power infrastructure and the poor performance of power delivery has resulted in extensive and regular power shortages in Nigeria. As Nigeria aims to bridge its power supply gap, the recent deregulation of its electricity market has seen the privatisation of its generation and distribution companies. Ambitious plans have also been put in place to expand the transmission network and the total power generation capacity. However, these plans have been developed with essentially arbitrary estimates for prevailing demand levels as the network and generation limits mean actual demand cannot be measured directly due to a programme of almost constant load shedding; the managed and intermittent distribution of inadequate energy allocation from the system operator. Network expansion planning and system reliability analysis require time series demand data to assess generation adequacy and to evaluate the impact of daily and seasonal influences on the energy supply-demand balance. To facilitate such analysis this thesis describes efforts to develop a credible time series electricity demand model for Nigeria. The focus of the approach has been to develop a fundamental bottom-up model of individual households accounting for a range of dwelling characteristics, socioeconomic factors, appliance use and household activities. A householder survey was conducted to provide essential inputs to allow a portfolio of household demand models which can account for weather-dependence and other factors. A range of national and regional socioeconomic and weather datasets have been employed to create a regionally disaggregated time series demand model. The generated demand estimates are validated against metered data obtained from Nigeria. The value of the approach is highlighted by using the model to investigate the potential for future load growth as well as analyse the impact of renewable energy generation on the Nigerian grid.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

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As the oil sources continue to become depleted and global oil prices continue to drop, there are concerns that the current pattern of growth and development in Nigeria, a country that is heavily dependent on natural resources such as oil as drivers of economic growth, is neither inclusive nor sustainable. In order to shift its focus from the natural resource dependency dynamic, create employment and most importantly, stimulate sustainable economic growth; there is an urgent need for the Nigerian economy to begin harnessing and cultivate their underutilized resources and industries such as the fashion industry. In economics, entrepreneurship is considered as one of the key drivers of economic growth and development. However, the existing empirical and theoretical evidence show the institutional asymmetry and lack of alignment between formal and the informal institutions hinders the social and economic development of productive entrepreneurship. This study aims at exploring the role of institutions in promoting entrepreneurship in the Nigerian fashion industry by identifying the uncertainties and obstacles that existing and emerging entrepreneurs face while trying to start or run a viable business within the Nigerian fashion industry and then analysing how the existing institutions can be used to foster entrepreneurship in the industry. The findings show that there is high potential and diversity in the entrepreneurs’ experiences within the Nigerian fashion industry, which is in line with neoclassical economists that argue that the main challenge in developing countries is not the lack of skills, technology or knowledge, but rather, the lack of proper institutions. The overview of the current status of institutions within the Nigerian fashion industry identifies various regulatory, financial, social, cultural and educational institutions which are both encouraging and discouraging entrepreneurship in the industry, which is in line with the institutional theory. Thus, this study recommends an alignment in the formal and informal institutions in the economy as a way of solving the existing institutional asymmetries that are causing the poor performance of entrepreneurship in the country.

Traditionally, in Nigeria women play a subservient role in relation to men. While a man can practice polygamy by marrying many wives, women cannot marry more than one husband at a time. Although researchers have documented the effects of polygamy on the spread of HIV/AIDS, little is known about the experiences of polygamy by Nigerian women who stopped practicing polygamy by immigrating to the United States without their husbands. It is important to know the experiences of these women as they pertain specifically to the spread of HIV/AIDS so as to develop a preventive intervention for HIV/AIDS among Nigerian women in polygamy. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perspectives on HIV/AIDS held by 10 Nigerian women who practiced polygamy in Nigeria before immigrating to the United States. Recruitment was done through purposive sampling at a faith-based organization. Guided by the health belief model, interview transcripts from the 10 women were analyzed to reveal recurrent themes that expressed the women's lived experiences in polygamy with their perspectives on HIV/AIDS. Findings revealed that these women had a basic knowledge of the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS by engaging in polygamy but needed to comply with the terms of sexual encounters as dictated by their husbands; therefore, they were at risk for HIV/AIDS. The results of this study can be used to increase awareness among Nigerian women in polygamy and Nigerian health policy makers regarding the transmission of HIV/AIDS and the preventive measures available for HIV/AIDS. Understanding the experiences of women in polygamy may lead to greater understanding of the impact of polygamy on HIV/AIDS and may help to decrease the prevalence of this disease.

Dental discoloration from fluorosis is a global public health problem. In Nigeria, 11.4% of the population is impacted by this disorder. Dental discoloration is caused by successive exposures to high fluoride concentrations during tooth development in utero and it is linked to the development of a variety of psychological and physiological problems, from dental aesthetics to a reduction in intelligence and skeletal changes. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to examine the cultural and environmental determinants of dental fluorosis in children in a rural community in Nigeria. A multilevel theoretical model was used to develop possible fluoride exposure pathways, such as good social services and dental care, as well as factors in the environment. The study was guided by 2 main research questions: What is the prevalence of fluorosis among Nigerian school-aged children? What is the severity of this fluorosis, and is it associated with the fluoride content of the soil, the water or the food? Data was collected by administering three surveys, on children aged 5 to15 years, their parent/guardian, and on community leaders. Chi-square and regression analysis tests were used to test for possible associations. The study findings showed a fluorosis prevalence rate of 86.6% in the 269 school children surveyed, with majority of these children between the ages of 8 to 13 years. The severity of children fluorosis was associated with the length of stay in the study area and the fluoride content in water, soil, and food. This study's possible impact on social change include raising awareness to the problem and the possible ways to resolve it, such as through, improved dental care services and a supportive social environment like flocculation of community water sources.

There is poor oral health awareness in Nigeria. This is mainly attributed to limited access to correct information on oral health as well as a lack of oral health care providers. The impact of the poor oral health awareness is worse in Northern Nigeria due to the uneven distribution of oral health care workers and training facilities. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the roles of community pharmacists (CPs) in Plateau State, Nigeria as sources of oral health information. Theoretical framework for this study was the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Background knowledge and practices of oral health care by CPs were assessed as related to their demographic characteristics. A 1 sample t-test was used to assess CPs' knowledge of oral health. A binary logistic regression model was conducted to evaluate if some demographic variables could predict Plateau State CPs' interest in becoming more involved in provision of services on oral health problems. According to the study findings, the CPs had a good disposition towards engaging in oral health prevention services by providing some oral health services to patients with oral health problems. In addition, 94.7% of the CPs were willing to advance the cause of oral health care. The disposition of CPs towards oral health could serve as a platform to help propagate oral health care and awareness in their communities. Engaging the CPs might help reduce oral health disparities by increasing oral health awareness, improving oral health-seeking behavior and oral hygiene practices, and improving quality of life via cost effective delivery of pharmacy-based oral health care services.

Maternal health services (MHS) provide primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention to achieve better pregnancy outcomes. However, use of prenatal and natal services among Nigerian women has been ranked among the lowest in the world and, consequently, the country is among the 10 countries with the highest maternal mortality ratio. Moreover, nationwide community-based studies on the use of maternal health services in Nigeria are limited. To address this gap, this quantitative, cross-sectional study analyzed the 2008 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data to identify whether Nigerian women's biological, cultural, and socioeconomic characteristics are associated with their use of MHS and pregnancy outcome as measured by number of antenatal visits, place of delivery, and fetal outcome. The Anderson's health behavior model was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Respondents were women aged 15 - 49 years (N= 31,985), who had given birth between January 2003 and December 2008. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were conducted. The results indicated that religion, education, income, and availability of skilled health workers showed consistent significant statistical association with both the number of ante natal care (ANC) visits and place of delivery even after controlling for covariates. Overall, these findings have potential for social change on the choice of public health interventions with collaboration with social services such as education, community, and labor sectors. Further, a systematic involvement of local communities is needed to drive specific culturally-sensitive interventions.

Einleitung: Im Norden Nigerias fanden sich in der Region um Kaduna zahlreiche Kinder mit den klinischen Symptomen einer nutritiven kalziumdefizienten Rachitis. Ein Großteil dieser Kinder konnte mittels medikamentöser Kalziumsubstitution erfolgreich therapiert werden. Bei circa 10% wurde jedoch eine orthopädische Intervention notwendig, um therapierefraktären Beindeformitäten zu korrigieren. Patienten und Methoden: Es konnten im Zeitraum von 2007 bis 2009 insgesamt 27 Kinder an 45 massiv deformierten, rachitischen Beinen operativ versorgt werden. Es waren 22 Mädchen mit 38 Beinen und 5 Jungen mit 7 Beinen betroffen. Es fanden sich 28 Genua valga, 15 Genua vara, ein- und beidseitig oder kombiniert als sogenannte wind-swept Deformität bei 8 Patienten, und 7 Beine mit tibialer Antekurvation. Unter Letzteren waren 5 Beine mit einem Genu valgum kombiniert. Das Durchschnittsalter zum Zeitpunkt der Operation betrug 12,1 Jahre. Die Patienten wurden vor der Operation 2,4 Jahre im Mittel mit Kalzium substituiert. Ergebnisse: Es zeigte sich eine durchweg positive Veränderung der Lebensqualitätsparameter hinsichtlich täglicher Wegstrecke, Gehen, Spielen, häuslicher Arbeit, Tragen von Gegenständen auf dem Kopf und Schmerzzuständen. In der klinischorthopädischen Untersuchung zeigten sich deutliche Verbesserungen beim intermalleolaren/interkondylären Abstand, der Kaselbandlaxizität und der Fußstellung sowie eine positive Beeinflussung auf skoliotische Fehlhaltungen und auf Beckenschiefstände. Kein Einfluss konnte auf die asymmetrische Hüftrotation und Genua recurvata genommen werden. Genua valga konnten - anhand der nativen Stehendbilder gemessen - von 52,6° auf 7,3° korrigiert werden. Der TFA konnte von durchschnittlich 39,4° auf 4,9° gesenkt werden. Bei Genua vara fand sich bei den nativen Stehendaufnahmen ein Rückgang von 41,6° auf 5° im Mittel. Der TFA konnte von 31,2° auf 3,3° (10 Beine mit einem postoperativem physiologischen Genu valgum) und 5,8° (5 eine mit einen postoperativem residuellen Genu varum) korrigiert werden. Die tibiale Antekurvation wurde in Röntgenbildern um 90,8% von 79,3° auf 7,4° im Mittel begradigt. Innen- oder Außenrotationsfehlstellungen des Fußes konnten von 30,1° im Mittel auf ein eine Außenrotation von 6,24° unter allen Patientenbeinen umgestellt werden. Die restlichen Kniewinkel nach Paley zeigten allesamt eine deutliche Annäherung an den Normbereich, wenn auch eine exakte physiologische Wiederherstellung nicht möglich war. Unter den 88 vorgenommenen Osteotomien traten 2 Komplikationen, eine tiefe intramedulläre Infektion und eine Peroneusläsion, auf. Diskussion: Bei dem vorliegenden Patientenkollektiv mit kalziumdefizienter Rachitis und noch unreifer Knochenstruktur (durchschnittliches Alter 12 Jahre) konnte nach präoperativ mittlerer medikamentöser Therapiedauer von 2,4 Jahren kein Wiederauftreten der Deformität im Rahmen der Nachuntersuchung festgestellt werden. Die Komplikationsrate lag bei 4,4%. Andere Arbeitsgruppen beschrieben ein Wiederauftreten der Deformität bei Knochenstoffwechselkrankheiten in bis zu 90% der Fälle sowie zahlreiche Osteosyntheseverfahren-assoziierte Kompliaktionen [63]. Die Einteilung der Korrekturergebnisse erfolgte entsprechend der Klassifikation nach Fraser. Die Ergebnisse der Achskorrektur bei 28 Genua valga konnten zum Zeitpunkt der Gipsabnahme in 21 Fällen als „exzellent“ 6 als „gut“ und nur 2 als „mangelhaft“ eingestuft werden. Bei 15 Genua vara fanden sich 3 „exzellente“, 7 „gute“ und 5 „mangelhafte“ Ergebnisse. Alle Patienten waren mit dem Operationsergebnis sehr zufrieden. Die vorgestellte operative Intervention kann somit als erfolgreich eingeschätzt werden. / Desciption and Evaluation of operative treatment by corrective osteotomies in 45 lower extremity deformities in 27 patients suffering from rickets in the north of Nigeria, Kaduna.

Indigenous African shifting cultivation production systems, that were developed over many generations and took into account production potential as well as the constraints imposed by natural resources, are no longer practicable for Nigerian smallholder farmers. These systems relied on long fallow for fertility restoration after a period of cropping. Overpopulation has resulted in lower per capita land availability, necessitating a shift to sedentary cultivation systems. In such systems, fallow is short term (months) compared to shifting systems, where it lasted several years. This shift has resulted in overexploitation of land resources and despite intensification of agricultural production methods, non-sustainable demand on the natural resource base has increased and crop and animal production has declined. This study examined the performance of five maize-based cropping systems consisting of cereal-legume, cereal-cereal and cereal bare fallow rotations, to identify systems that have potential for increased agricultural production in the subhumid and mid-altitude zones of Nigeria. The study was conducted at Richmond, near Sydney, in NSW, Australia from 2000 to 2003. The trial investigated the effects of the combined use of legumes and N fertilizer in CSs to maintain or improve soil fertility, maize crop and maize storage silage production and yield and quality of all crop residues. This study showed that inclusion of a legume in the rotation is an important production and income generating strategy. Owing to their potential for increased maize productivity, to build up N-rich systems and to improve small holder levels of farm income, cropping systems with legumes should therefore be given more research attention in Nigeria / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)