7 smart city innovations you need to know about.

How the Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting up our cities in real-time.Smart cities are on their way – and this time they're for real. Disparate aspects of cities are beginning to connect with internet of things (IoT) devices. "Projects look at a single system – like transport – but don't link it with say, health," says Steve Turner, head of the Future City programme at Manchester City Council. "The next big challenge for the IoT is to link all the city systems." Manchester City Council launched its CityVerve project in July to connect the city's health, transport, environment and services with 20 kinds of sensors. The data from the initiative – funded by a £10 million prize from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – will be used to make city planning more responsive. Some of the innovations are outlined below; 1) Bus stops Manchester's CityVerve project plans to install smart bus stops which will be able to let drivers know when people are waiting, and smart lighting that comes on when needed, so it is more efficient with using energy. 2) Vehicles Portuguese company Veniam wants to turn all vehicles into Wi-Fi hotspots using mesh networks. Porto is the first city to trial this "internet of moving things", with bin lorries and buses broadcasting Wi-Fi. 3)Waste Helping waste and recycling companies operate more efficiently, Finnish startup Enevo's sensors can tell when a bin is full and then plan a route for the collection lorries that takes traffic into account.

How to handle a frightened pet.

Manhandling a scared patient will cause its anxiety to increase and will potentially put you in danger. Watch this video for alternatives to this risky practice. More

Mental health in the work place.

If you're concerned someone you know might hurt themselves because of depression and suicidal thoughts, encourage them to get help. But what if someone just seems really down and you don't know what they're thinking and feeling? The way people react shows what they are really dwelling on,so if someone is irrational or towing the wrong path,help them dont get angry.credits

Job Center established to boost youth employment in Osun .

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola launched the Osun Job Centre, stressing that there will be no going back in his government’s human development policies.The scheme tagged the Osun Youth Empowerment , O-YES policy, brought great micro-economic impact on the state with N200 million monthly allowances given to the youth under the programme. The Osun Job Centre is a State Government-funded programme and its services are provided at no cost to the users of its facilities. It will serve as an intermediary between job seekers and employers, with the goal of matching the company’s needs and requirements with a job seeker’s skills, experiences and interests. The Job Centre would provide employment support services such as career counseling for job seekers; employability skills training; verification of certificates; job fairs to connect individuals to employers of labor and seminars to be given by experts from all fields of the economy.

Lagos unveils mega infrastructural projects to boost security, unlock traffic gridlock.

Lagos State Government, unfolded fresh projects aimed at boosting security and revenue generation in the state. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, who led other colleagues at an inter-ministerial briefing in Alausa, Ikeja, said the mega projects were designed to enhance investments as well as improve the living standards of residents in particular and Nigeria in general. The projects include: Approval for the construction of Fly-over Bridge at Pen Cinema, installation of 13, 000 Closed Circuit Television, CCTV, Cameras and security sensors, removal of three roundabouts in Lekki axis. Ayorinde, said government was set to decongest traffic along the Lekki-Epe Expressway through the removal of three roundabouts namely the 4th Roundabout (Elegushi); 5th Roundabout (Jakande) and the 8th Roundabout (VGC). The affected roundabouts would be replaced by traffic lights, expansion of the roads and provision of dedicated turning lanes and additional lay-bys. Ayorinde noted that the state government had commenced the implementation of the Lagos Enterprise, Geographical Information System, GIS, upgrade and the Integrated Land Administration Automation System, which when implemented, would ensure proper monitoring of government infrastructure for optimum benefit, fast-track the ease of doing business and improve government-citizen relationship. A flyover bridge on pen cinema is a 700 meter bridge that would span from Oba Ogunji Road into Agunbiade. The idea is that at Oba Ogunji, the road will be expanded to create a barrier that will discourage motorists from parking indiscriminately on the road. The bridge will help easy traffic in that axis and complement the ongoing flyover bridge in Abule-Egba axis. The project is part of the Smart City project, projected by the state government to boost security in the state. The project involves installing 6, 000 streetlights to support the light Lagos initiative and also providing 13, 000 CCTV cameras across the state, the deployment of the CCTV would start at the last quarter (September) of this year.more

Agriculture in the news; green alternative.

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Monday inaugurated a roadmap for the agriculture sector, tagged: “The Green Alternative: Agriculture Promotion Policy, 2016-2020.’’The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the vision was to revive agric sector to boost food production in the country. According to Ogbeh, the policy will serve as the new fulcrum for economic diversification, inclusive growth and sustainable development in agric sector.The minister explained further that the emphasis on ‘’Green” would capture the essence, spirit and orientation of the new policy/strategy document. “The emphasis on green is deliberate; it is to underscore, not only the imperative of building a strong, vibrant and resilient economy, but also a green refreshing, generating, transformative-agriculture-led economy. He stated that the policy had five major strategic driving forces namely, achievement of self-sufficiency and sustainable food security, reduction in import dependence and economic losses, particularly through value addition. Other, he said, were stimulation of agro-exports for enhanced foreign exchange earnings, enhancement of wealth and job creation, especially provision of employment opportunities for the teeming youths. Start here The minister also said achievement of economic diversification to make the economy less oil-dependent was among the driving forces of the green policy. Ogbeh said that through the policy, farmers would have access to land, soil fertility, information and knowledge, inputs, production management, storage, processing, marketing and trade, including access to finance. The policy also include promoting agribusiness and ensuring investment development, institutional setting and roles, youth and women, infrastructure, research and innovation and nutrition security. continue.

Lagos,the smart city.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode declared right from the outset of his administration that he was looking beyond Lagos being a megacity, but to build and project the state as a Smart City, the import of that profound aspiration was probably lost on many people. However, it became clear in June when the governor, in company with a few members of his cabinet, signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Dubai towards a plan to build Africa’s first Smart City in Lagos. A smart city, is a growing concept that draws from the success of Dubai’s innovative knowledge-based industry clusters to empower business growth for companies and knowledge workers all over the world. Technology drives a smart city and Dubai itself, with its enviable wonder-clusters like the Media City, Internet City and Financial City all within the Dubai megalopolis, is testimony to how something close to an el dorado can emerge in modern urban planning. Governor Ambode,makes a deliberate attempt “to establish a strong convergence between technology, economic development and governance,” he spoke excitedly in Dubai when the first step to making the Lagos Smart City dream a reality was taken. To him, the vision is clear. “A smart city Lagos will be the pride of all Lagosians. We are encouraged by the fact that we do not, as a government, need to develop at a slow pace but take full advantage of the digital age and fast-track development of Lagos to a real megalopolis that we can all be proud of.” Lagos was chosen from more than 325 applicants on the basis of willingness, ability and need to become resilient in the face of future challenges. And it does say something about the arrival of Lagos on the main global arena when the President of 100 Resilient Cities, Michael Berkowitz said: “We are so proud to welcome Lagos to 100 Resilient Cities Network. We selected Lagos because of its leaders’ commitment to resilience-building and the innovative and proactive way they have been thinking about the challenges the city faces.” “For us,” Berkowitz remarked thoughtfully, “a resilient city has good emergency response and meets citizens’ needs. It has diverse economies and takes care of both its built and natural infrastructure. It has effective leadership, empowered stakeholders and an integrated planning system. All those things are essential for a resilient city,” he stated. What the 100Rc boss has described is indeed the story of Lagos and the hit-the-ground running approach adopted by Governor Ambode to tackle the myriads of challenges that confront Lagos as a megacity with the highest population in the country but with the smallest landmass. Innovative thinking that comes with courageous execution and prudent management of resources, therefore, are two essential elements that Lagos State government has adopted in approaching its ‘continuity with improvement’ policy. The good news about Lagos joining the league of resilient cities is that it is not a mere jamboree. The gains are enormous. “As a member of 100RC, Lagos will gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century,” Berkowitz said. In other words, Lagos will now be eligible to receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilient Officer who will lead the city-wide resilience building process and engage stakeholders from across different government agencies, public and private sectors and various communities “to incorporate diverse perspectives and knowledge.” Lagos will also receive technical support to develop a Resilient Strategy that reflects the city’s distinct needs and the support and services they need as they work towards implementing the strategy. In the class of 2016 Resilient Cities are Capetown, Addis Ababa, Luxor and Nairobi from Africa as well as Atlanta, Washington DC, Toronto, Kyoto, Seoul, Tel Aviv, The Hague and Salvador.continue