Does Government Expenditure Spur Growth In ECOWAS?

The paper attempts to investigate the relationship between government expenditure and economic growth in fifteen ECOWAS countries for the period of 2000-2010. The study adopts a panel data framework using the fixed and random effect model; the Hausman test employed in the model emphasized the appropriateness of the fixed effect model. The study found the indicator of government expenditure to induce a positive inelastic variation on economic growth; while the growth rates of government expenditure induce a nearly perfect inelastic negative variation on the GDP growth rates, this would not be unconnected with the weak fiscal discipline in the Nigerian economy. Our finding from estimation of growth rates is more pertinent to this study since the inclusion of rates would have accounted for the periodic effect. Prominent policy recommendation is the need to develop institutions that would ensure realistic, transparent and appropriate channelling of government expenditure towards productive economic activities

Electricity Consumption and Economic Growth in Nigeria

The paper seeks to examine the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in Nigeria using the Johansen and Juselius Co-integration technique based on the Cobb-Douglas growth model covering the period 1980-2008. The study adopted also conducted the Vector Error Correction Modelling and the Pairwise Granger Causality test in order to empirically ascertain the error correction adjustment and direction of causality between electricity consumption and economic growth. The study found the existence of a unique co-integrating relationship among the variables in the model with the indicator of electricity consumption impacting significantly on growth. Also, the study shows an evidence of bi-directional causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. Prominent among the policy recommendation, is the need to strengthen the effectiveness of energy generating agencies by ensuring periodic replacement of worn-out equipment in order to drastically curtail transmission power losses

Climate models miss most of the coarse dust in the atmosphere.

Coarse mineral dust (diameter, ≥5 μm) is an important component of the Earth system that affects clouds, ocean ecosystems, and climate. Despite their significance, climate models consistently underestimate the amount of coarse dust in the atmosphere when compared to measurements. Here, we estimate the global load of coarse dust using a framework that leverages dozens of measurements of atmospheric dust size distributions. We find that the atmosphere contains 17 Tg of coarse dust, which is four times more than current climate models simulate. Our findings indicate that models deposit coarse dust out of the atmosphere too quickly. Accounting for this missing coarse dust adds a warming effect of 0.15 W·m-2 and increases the likelihood that dust net warms the climate system. We conclude that to properly represent the impact of dust on the Earth system, climate models must include an accurate treatment of coarse dust in the atmosphere

The abiotic ecology of breeding ground of Palaemonid prawns in the Ilaje Estuary, Ondo State, Nigeria

In situ ecological assessment of the breeding grounds of palaemonid prawns was conducted in some selected locations around Ondo state coastal area between the months of April and September. Data obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. Three species of Palaemonid prawns were identified in four different locations within the study area with relative abundance ratio of 4:3:1. Macrobrachium macrobrachion, Nematopalaemon hastatus and Palaemon maculatus respectively. Sex ratio of 1 male to 5 females for M. macrobrachion, and 1 male to 2 females for N. hastatus and P. maculatus were observed with result showing significant relationships (P < 0.05) in distribution patterns across collection sites. Population distribution within the water column showed that palaemons are sub-lithoral prawns inhabiting maximum mean depth of 0.67m ± 0.025. Surface macro-phytes such as Eichhornia crassipies, Paspalum vaginatum, and Pistia stratiotes are common providing hiding spots for the prawn at the breeding ground. The mean soil pH across the sites stands at 6.67± 0.399 with the soil textural class that range from silty-loam to silty-clay. Also, the water quality parameters of study areas suggest that captive culture and rearing of Palaemons may be feasible outside the breeding areas

A Comparative study of secondary school students’ performance in English and Social Studies in Junior Secondary Schools in Osun State, Nigeria

The study sought to ascertain the relationship between the performance of students in English language and Social Studies.  This was with a view of ensuring better performance in the two subjects.  The study employed the survey research design.  The population for the study consisted of all the Junior Senior Secondary School Students in Osun State, Nigeria. Stratified sampling technique was employed in selecting 800 students that were purposively selected in five local governments in Osun State using school types i.e. public and private schools, school locations i.e. rural and urban and gender i.e. male and female as stratum.  Two instruments were used to collect data for the study. They are: English Achievement Test (EAT) and Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT).  The reliability of the instruments yielded 0.74 and 0.86 respectively using Cronbach alpha.  The instruments were analyzed using descriptive and t-test statistics.   The results showed that there is a significant difference in students’ performance in English and Social Studies (t=13.809, P&lt;0.05).  Also, there is a significant difference in the performance in English and Social Studies across the 10 schools. (English X = 25.36, SD= 10.699; Social Studies X = 32.21, SD= 9.969).  However, other variables in the study were found not to be significant.  It is therefore recommended among others that there should be consistent training and retraining of teachers for functional educational system in Nigeria.  Opportunities should be given to teachers for professional training on their subject disciplines, teaching techniques and organizational techniques which could be achieved through workshops, seminars, internet browsing and extensive reading for personal development. Keywords: students’ performance, English Language, Social Studies

Facilities improvement for sustainability of existing public office buildings in Nigeria

The study examined the building design features of a cosmopolitan public office building in Abuja. The features were classified into Spatial Plan, Structure and Facilities, to determine which of the 3 variables requires urgent sustainable improvement from end-users' perspective in existing public office buildings in developing countries. A quantitative approach was adopted while the research strategy involved survey and direct observation. Post-Occupancy Evaluation was used to collect the survey data on a massive public office building in Nigeria, which reflected the quota system and federal character of the nation, as study area. A total of 339 useable questionnaires were retrieved from the respondents, and the analysis conducted revealed that facilities requires the most urgent improvement for sustainability. It was therefore recommended that facilities should be given priority for successful sustainable improvement of public office buildings above other design features.Keywords: Existing buildings, Facilities, Performance indicators, Sustainable improvement, Users' requiremen

Determination of physiological maturity in corn

Ten corn hybrids differing in maturity were planted in the summer of 1978 in order to predict and determine the time of physiological maturity and the rate of moisture loss following maturity. The design of the experiment was a randomized complete block. Observation and measurements of maturity factors included leaf number per plant, dates of tasseling and silking, dates of dead leaf and brown husk formation, dates of kernel denting and of black layer formation, percent moisture of grain and cobs, and the yield of grain. Leaf number varied from 15 to 19, while tasseling and silking occurred from 55 to 66 and 61 to 69 days after planting. There was a positive correlation between the number of leaves and the number of days from planting to silking. Kernel denting occurred in 109 to 116 days after planting and 40 to 51 days after silking. Black layer formation ranged from 57 to 64 days after silking, and the moisture level at this stage varied from 21.8 to 33.3% in grain and 26.8 to 54.6% in cobs. Correlation of leaf number and number of days to silking to number of days to black layer after silking was low. However, moisture percentage was negatively correlated to number of days to black layer formation. The rate of drying (percent moisture loss) was found to be faster in cobs than in the grain but equilibrium was reached in the two at about 19 to 23% among the hybrids. Yields generally varied inversely according to the length of the physiological periods. Based on the data from maturity factors enunciated earlier on, Princeton SX910, Pioneer brand 3184, Funk G-4507, DeKalb XL72B, Funk G-4525, DeKalb XL80 and FFR707C were classified as early maturing, while Pioneer brand 3147, Funk G-4848 and DeKalb XL394 were late maturing. No single factor measured proved to be an accurate prediction of the date of physiological maturity as indicated by black layer formation. The moisture content of various hybrids at maturity varied by as much as 11% among hybrids

Psycho-Socio Variables as Correlates of Junior Secondary School Students’ Self Efficacy in Social Studies in Southwestern, Nigeria

The study sought to establish the level of relationship between students’ self-efficacy in Social Studies and eight predictor variables (State, school location, school type, parent education, number of sibling per parent, family income and gender), it equally determined the combined contributions of the eight predictor variables to Social Studies self-efficacy and determined the individual contribution of each of the eight predictor variables to Social Studies self-efficacy. This was with a view of determining students’ future ability in Social Studies.  The study is a descriptive research of the correlational type.  The population for the study comprises of all Junior Secondary School Students in Southwestern, Nigeria.  The sample consisted of 600 JSS 3 students drawn from six geographical zones in Southwestern, Nigeria using stratified sampling technique. An instrument titled “Social Studies Self-Efficacy Scale” (SSSES) was used to collect data.  Three research questions were raised and answered.  Multiple Regression Analysis was employed in analyzing the results.  The results showed that all the identified eight psycho-socio variables with the exemption of state, have no significant relationship with students’ self-efficacy in Social Studies.  Based on the above findings, the study recommended that teachers should design evaluation model that will encourage better performance in learners in order to bring about their self-efficacy. Keywords: psycho-socio variables, students’ self-efficacy, Social Studie

TEAM COLLABORATION IN LANGUAGE TEACHING: ARABIC PERSPECTIVE

Arabic language is one of the international languages in the world today. This language has contrib- uted immensely to the development of human lives such as economy, education, politics, sociology and a host of others. The language has been used in the past to bring light of knowledge from other tribes and cultures such as Greco and Persian knowledge through translation. Today, it seems that the language is dwindling in our society in terms of speaking, writing and learning. There are many meth- ods to be used to improve in learning the language to regain its glory. The method suggested in this paper to teach the language effectively is team collaboration approach. The major findings to resusci- tate the learning/teaching of Arabic as a language to become a more interesting language to learn in the society include learning outcome and improve the behaviour. There will be quality control and as- sured evaluation reports being produced as evidence of best value. More hands of professionals on the field will be involved