Assessing Instructional Sensitivity Using the Pre-Post Difference Index: A Nontechnical Tool for Extension Educators

This article provides an illustrative description of the pre-post difference index (PPDI), a simple, nontechnical yet robust tool for examining the instructional sensitivity of assessment items. Extension educators often design pretest-posttest instruments to assess the impact of their curricula on participants\u27 knowledge and understanding of the concepts taught. Although the use of pretests and posttests is common in Extension evaluation, the validity and reliability of these tests are rarely reported or discussed, mostly due to many Extension educators\u27 limited knowledge of various statistical methods. The PPDI method described in this article should be a useful addition to Extension educators\u27 evaluation toolboxes

Teachers Perceptions and Demographics on Technology Integration in Ibadan Metropolis Secondary Schools

In the educational sector, technology cannot stand alone without the involvement of teachers. The competency of any teacher, in technology integration makes technology itself a valuable tool in the educational setting. Teacher is the main actor in the success of technology use and integration. Many factors connected to the use of technology generally. However, until these factors were fulfilled technology integration in education will be meaningless. If technology is not used rightly in advancing teaching and learning, its impact cannot be felt. Now that technology has gained attention in all spheres of life, especially in education, using technology positively will always make a difference in both teachers and learners. In this study, Nigeria secondary school teachers’ technology integration perception was the main focus, and how they perceived the use in a classroom setting. A correlational design method was used in analyzing data collected to determined the relationship between the variables used in the study. Keywords: Competency, technology, integration, perception, teachers’ involvement

Development of a Modified East-West Interface for Distributed Control Plane Network

The East-West Interface is important in achieving communication in a distributed control plane network such as a Wide Area Network (WAN); to enable scalability and distribution of the control plane. In this paper, a Modified Communication Interface for Distributed Control Plane (mCIDC) was developed to ensure communication in WANs. The mCIDC interface allows the synchronization of different modules in the controller to enable consistent high availability and efficient communication among controllers in the East-West Interface needed for Software Defined Network (SDN) to scale in a WAN environment. The modified-CIDC (mCIDC) is developed based on the Communication Interface for Distributed Control Plane (CIDC) and implemented on top of Floodlight Controller using the ISyncService module. The performance of the mCIDC and CIDC was compared using captured Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) packets, TCP errors and inter-controller communication overload (ICO). The results indicated that for Claranet_2; mCIDC showed a better performance in minimizing number of Captured TCP Packets, TCP Errors and ICO by 26.55%, 17.89%, and 19.35% respectively when compared with CIDC, while for Claranet_3; 15.82%, 21.60% and 29.25%   for Captured TCP Packets, TCP Errors and ICO respectively, when compared with CIDC. This shows that the mCIDC ensures communication by transmitting the necessary required packets (information) among controllers with reduced TCP errors and fewer overloads

Individual and contextual correlates of mosquito net use among women in Nigeria

Background: Malaria has been described as an urgent public health priority with almost half of the world’s population being at risk. Use of insecticide-treated nets is considered one of the effective ways of preventing malaria. Nigeria, which is ranked among the five countries that are responsible for almost half of the global malaria cases, has less than half of its women population using mosquito nets. This study examined the effects of individual and contextual factors on the use of mosquito nets among women of reproductive age in Nigeria. Methods: This study used data obtained from 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS) which involved 6048 women aged 15–49 who possessed at least one mosquito net. Multilevel binary logistic regression models were applied in the multivariable analysis. Results: About 53% of the women used mosquito nets with more than 60% of uneducated and poor women in this category. The use of mosquito nets was significantly associated with being from poor households, having knowledge about the cause of malaria, having access to malaria messages, possessing knowledge about the efficacy of malaria prevention drugs during pregnancy, having knowledge about the importance of tests to detect malaria, maintaining small household size and living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and states. Conclusions: The study revealed that mosquito net use among women in Nigeria is affected by individual and contextual factors. It is important for policy makers to design a mosquito-net-use model which would take individual and contextual factors into consideration

Gender Revolution Prospects in Nigeria: Implications for Marriage Timing and Fertility

We hypothesise that the prospects of gender revolution (GR) is rising in Nigeria and may be swaying marriage timing and fertility. The 1990 and 2013 NDHS data and 45 in-depth interviews were analysed. The analysis suggests that the prospects for the emergence of GR increased between 1990 and 2013. Women with high GR status positively predicted marriage timing in 2013 as against the inconsistent association observed in 1990. Similarly, high GR status negatively predicted children ever born (CEB) in 2013. Also, qualitative data suggest a general preference for completing education and participating in labour market before marriage among women. The findings suggest that as the proportion of women with improved GR status increases across Nigeria, delayed marriage is likely to soar and sustainable fertility decline achieved. Social policy to accelerate female education and labour force participation along with realistic economic recovery strategies are therefore of critical importance.Keywords: Female education, Labour force participation, Age at marriage and Children ever bor

Regression-Derived Ileal Endogenous Amino Acid Losses in Broiler Chickens and Cannulated Pigs Fed Corn Fiber, Wheat Bran, and Pectin

The objective of these studies was to determine the effect corn fiber (CF), wheat bran (WB) and pectin (PEC) on basal ileal endogenous amino acid (EAA) losses in broiler chickens (Exp. 1) and cannulated pigs (Exp. 2) using the regression method. Semi-purified diets containing 100 g/kg of CF, WB, or PEC (broiler chickens) and CF or PEC (pigs) were fed to replicate cages consisting of eight birds per cage of 21-d-old broiler chickens and six replicates of pigs consisting of one pig per pen. Ileal endogenous His, Glu, and Pro losses were higher (p \u3c 0.05) for CF and WB compared with birds fed diets containing PEC. Contrasts between CF and WB showed higher (p \u3c 0.05) ileal endogenous nitrogen, total amino acid, His, Ile, Met, Glu, Pro, and Tyr losses in birds fed the CF diets (Exp. 1). Contrasts of EAA losses between birds fed the WB and PEC diets showed higher (p \u3c 0.05) losses for His, Glu, and Pro. In the cannulated pigs, CF resulted in higher (p \u3c 0.05) ileal endogenous His, Leu, and Tyr losses. In summary, CF induced higher ileal EAA losses in broiler chickens and cannulated pigs

Relationship between Hydraulic Conductivity of Rock and Rock Quality Designation of Itisi Multi-Purpose Dam

The relationship between hydraulic conductivity/permeability of rocks and rock quality designation (RQD) index of cored rock specimens from the dam axis of the proposed Itisi Multipurpose Dam in Kaduna State was established in this work. The research involved conducting packer/lugeon test in ten (10) borehole locations at two (2) different depths in the 30 m deep boreholes and at 3 different depths in the 60 m deep boreholes. RQD index of the tested zone was measured and ranged from 0 to 100 %. In situ permeability of the site ranged from 0 -5.69 LU. Non-linear analysis approach was adopted to determine the relationship between the variables. The result of the correlation coefficient was -0.77. There was an inverse relationship between all the variables considered. Furthermore, the coefficient of determination was 0.61 for the RQD versus lugeon, which suggests that there is a moderate relationship among the variables

Community Social Interactive Processes and Rural Adolescents’ Educational Outcomes: What We Know and What We Need to Know

The low educational outcomes of rural adolescents have long been a subject of research among educational and social researchers. In particular, extant studies have explained the high rates of high school dropout and low rates of college completion among rural adolescents mainly in terms of the structural and economic disadvantages associated with rural life. However, more recent research have employed social capital theory to show that rural adolescents‟ educational outcomes are shaped not only by the structural elements of their communities, but, also importantly by the dynamics of the social interactive processes taking place within this social environment. The present article provides a synthesis and review of literature on the relationship between community social interactive processes and rural adolescents‟ educational outcomes. The article is divided into four sections; the first section is an introduction to the study. The second section is a review of literature on what is known about the relationship between community social capital and educational outcomes in general. The third section is a discussion on the dynamics of the relationship between community social capital and adolescents‟ educational outcomes within the context of rural communities, while the fourth section discusses some identified research gaps and the need for further studies on the influence of community social interactive forces on rural adolescents‟ educational outcomes

Are Rural 4-Hers More Connected to Their Communities Than Their Non-4-H Counterparts?

The purpose of the research described in this article was to determine if membership in 4-H enhances rural 11th graders\u27 sense of belonging or social connection with their communities. Specifically, the study compared the levels of social connections of 4-Hers with those of their non-4-H counterparts. The results revealed that participation in 4-H programs is an avenue for young people to develop a sense of belonging in their communities. The 4-Hers were more socially connected with their communities than their non-4-H peers. The implications of the results for practice in the field of youth development are discussed