Counselling Therapy and Determinants of Organizational Performance

A holistic integrative and synergistic performance model is defined by inter-firm variables represented as economic rates of returns for both economic and organizational factors. These are used to examine performance variance and their economic contribution to firm probability. An extensive literature review has been conducted to discover the commonality of underlying constructs and themes within the research stream on organizational performance. An analysis of the data suggests that there exists a set of common variables to explain organizational performance variance. Organizational factors explain almost twice as much variance in profit rates as to economic factor. Counselling therapy is admired as an aspect of technicality used for treating economic mishaps. It was counseling therapy that proposes a systemic framework on which to partition the economic contribution of these interdependent factors of organizational performance. Through counselling therapy the strategic management research stream would be identified to discover underlying constructs that frame performance model of the organizational and economic determinants. Keywords: Organisational behavior, counseling, organizational performanc

Purchase Decisions in Urban Homes among Middle Aged Consumers with Grown Children in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

The study evaluated purchase decisions in urban homes among middle aged consumers with grown children in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The objectives were to evaluate the level of participation of children in family purchases and identify the factors that contributed to children purchase participation. There averagely four children per household. The various products purchased by households for investigation were foodstuff, household items, automobile, and accommodation. The factors responsible for children participation in purchases were leisure time (81.13%), age (71.96%), gender (63.09%), family income (60.65%), class of commodity (54.18%), education of children (64.67%) as well as stage of life of children (66.03%). Despite children participation in purchase decision, the result revealed that most purchases for home makersrsquo responsibility were done by female children while the most of investment related purchases and high involving purchases were carried out by male children.nbsp Upon the significance of children in household purchase decision, the result still portends that a limit exists into the level of participation because some products are user sensitive and thus purchase sensitive. Lastly, the study also points to the fact that a limit exists to the level of participation of children in high involving purchases. Criteria that may step up children (male) in involving purchases may be by way of supervisory role as it is expected in building construction through input use supervision and intermittent purchases

Staff Performance Management in the Nigerian Banking Industry: Focusing on Employees’ Appraisal System

2014 dissertation for MA in International Human Resources Management. Selected by academic staff as a good example of a masters level dissertation. The study is based on employee performance management in the Nigerian banking industry, especially focusing on performance appraisal. The main objective of the research is to review the process of performance appraisal in Nigerian banks. Through the finding, it was revealed that performance management and appraisal is perceived as a process of significant importance but it is coordinated for its evaluative form rather than its purpose for promotion of organisational growth and development through feedback, training, coaching and counselling. The design of the research was qualitative and a bit of quantitative and the questionnaire contained both open and close ended questions which were used in gathering the primary information. The investigation technique was applied for bank employees in Abeokuta Ogun state which includes; subordinates (bank officers, cashier, marketers), managers (branch managers, operations manager or head of operation), and also bank HR consultants. One hundred and eighty (120) questionnaires were administered to all intended participants and a relatively high response rate of 83.3% was obtained. The crucial findings showed that participation of bankers in Nigeria in performance management and appraisal is relatively high and, it was revealed that subordinate employees most times feel managers are usually not objective because their superiors maintain a warm relationship which can render the appraisal a bit partial or probably boost performance of employees. At the end of the research, suggestions were made on how performance management and appraisal could be more effective and beneficial to both employees and the organisation as whole

Physicochemical Analysis of a Soil near Microbiology Laboratory at The University of Ilorin, Main Campus

In this study the physico-chemical analysis of a soil near microbiology laboratory at the University of Ilorin, main campus was carried out. The objectives of the study were to determine the soil parameters such as pH, moisture content, organic matter content, water holding capacity, temperature and soil texture in consideration of the soil’s suitability for microbial growth and plant development. Six soil samples were collected with interval of two weeks between two samples. pH range value was 7.10 to 7.82, the range of water holding capacity was from 0.28 ml per gram to 0.53 ml per gram of soil. The organic matter content of the soil samples ranged from 3.42% to 4.70%. The moisture content was discovered to range from 2.10% to 5.23%. The texture was discovered to be loamy sand with average composition of 89% sand, 7% silt and 4% clay. Keywords: soil texture, Organic Matter Content, Water Holding Capacity, Moisture content, Sand, Silt, Cla

BACTERIAL QUALITY AND CYTOTOXICITY SCREENING OF FRESH VEGETABLES IRRIGATED WITH POLLUTED WATERS

The mutagenic effects of raw vegetables irrigated with polluted water and their bacterial quality were studied. Two vegetables, lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and fluted pumpkin (Telfaria occidentalis) were planted in sterile soil and irrigated with sewage-polluted stream, rain, tap and well waters, and harvested. The presence of pathogenic bacteria on the vegetable leaf surfaces was determined. The Allium cepa assay was then used to evaluate the genetic and acute effects of the vegetable leaf extracts. The heavy metal concentrations of the vegetables were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Pathogenic bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella paratyphii, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterobacter aerogenes. In A. cepa assay, none of the treatments induced chromosome aberration at the tested concentrations, but retardation of growth and suppression of mitotic activity occurred. The concentrations of heavy metals in the vegetables were lead (0.261-0.531mg/kg), zinc (0.142-1.618mg/kg), cadmium (0.00-0.13mg/kg), copper (0.021-0.057mg/kg), iron (0.711-1.122mg/kg) and chromium (0.00-0.14mg/kg). This study shows that irrigation waters could have effects on the quality of edible vegetables.Â

Host Suitability of Crops under Yam Intercrop to Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita Race 2) in South-Western Nigeria

Twelve crops commonly grown in association with yam in South-Western Nigeria were evaluated for resistance to root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White 1919) Chitwood 1949, race 2 infection using the quantitative modification by Sasser et al. (1984) of host suitability designations of Canto-Saenz (1983) for plants infected with root-knot nematode in 1998 and 1999 planting seasons. Observations, based on gall indices and recovery of the juvenile larvae from the roots and soil indicated that Abelmoschus esculentus, Corchorus olitoris cv Angbadu and Sphenostylis stenocarpa cv Nsukka Brown were highly susceptible, while Arachis hypogaea cv UGA 4, Cajanus cajan cv Cita-2, Cucumis melo cv Bara To139, Manihot esculenta cv TMS 30572, Sorghum bicolor and Zea mays cv DMR-LSR-Y were hyper-susceptible to Meloidogyne incognita race 2 with reproductive factor and gall index of ≤1 and ≥2 respectively. Crotalaria juncea, Mucuna cochinchinensis and Stylosanthes gracilis were resistant to Meloidogyne incognita race 2 with reproductive factor and gall index of ≤1, ≤2 and ≥2 respectively. These intercrops if planted on yam mounds will play a prominent role in altering the populations of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita race 2

Normal Aerobic Vaginal Bacterial Flora of The African Giant Rats (AGR) Captured from Their Natural Habitat in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

The genital tract of female animals, especially the caudal region, is known to habour non specific bacteria that are sometimes called the normal bacterial flora. In this study, we examined 12 apparently healthy female African giant rats (Cricetomys gambianus, Waterhouse) (AGR) to determine their vaginal bacterial flora. Swab collected from the vagina of each rat after previous chloroform anaesthesia was seeded onto blood and MacConkey agar plates and incubated aerobically at 370C for up to 48hours. Isolates were then characterized using various character parameters. The results indicated that 7 bacterial genera inhabit the vagina of the 12 African giant rats that were studied. The distribution of the bacteria species in the AGR were highlighted in the text. It is inferred from the results that under stress condition, these bacteria could cause disease in the African giant rats

Comparative Effects of Silver Nanoparticles, Sucrose and Sodium Chloride as Osmotic Solutions for Tomato Slices: Antioxidant Activity, Microbial Quality and Modelling with Polynomial Regression Model

This study has reported comparative effects of silver nanoparticles  (AgNPs),  sucrose and sodium chloride as osmotic solutions on antioxidant activity and microbial quality of 10 mm tomato slices. 40 g of tomato slices were dehydrated osmotically (OD) at different temperatures (60, 70 and 80 °C) and time (30, 60, 90, 120 150 and 180 min).Water loss, solid  impregnation, water and solid diffusivities of tomato slices were found to increase with increase in solution temperatures and concentrations with AgNPs having the greatest influence. Antioxidant activities using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl increased with increase in solution concentrations but decreased with increase in temperature. Three-wayANOVA(R2=0.998) revealed additive statistically significant effects of osmotic agents,  concentrations and temperatures on antioxidant activity;   F(8,54)=67.854,P=0.00. Polynomial regression analysis with response surface methodology validated experiments such that for each unit increase in concentration and temperature, antioxidant activity increased with good coefficients of determination; sucrose (R2 = 0.87), NaCl, (R2 = 0.89) andAgNPs (R2 = 0.91). Potato dextrose and nutrient agars were used for isolating and identifying microorganisms in OD tomato slices. Tomato slices dehydrated with AgNPs had the highest microbial inhibition of fungi with growth occurring after 7 days, unlike in treatments with sucrose and NaCl where fungal growth appeared after 2 and 5 days, respectively. Aspergillus niger was the most prevalent fungus. It can be concluded that AgNPs may serve as a viable means to dehydrate and preserve tomatoes without loss of antioxidant activity.Keywords: Osmotic dehydration, polynomial regression, response surface, antioxidant activity, three-way ANOVA, silver nanoparticles

Assessing the Risk of Birth Defects Associated with Exposure to Fixed-Dose Combined Antituberculous Agents during Pregnancy in Rats

Due to the risks of disease progression and transmission to the newborn, treatment of tuberculosis is often pursued during pregnancy and fixed-dose combined antituberculous agents have been found to be beneficial. Unfortunately, there is paucity of data on the safety of the fixed-dose combined antituberculous drugs during pregnancy. This study intends to assess the teratogenic effect of fixed-dose combined antituberculous drugs on the organogenesis stage of fetal development and also investigate the possible roles of vitamin C in modulating the teratogenic effects of these agents on the fetus using animal model. Pregnant rats were divided into 3 groups with 12 animals per group: group 1 received distilled water (10 mL/kg) orally; group 2 received 51.4 mg/kg/day of fixed-dose combined antituberculous agents orally; group 3 received 51.4 mg/kg/day of fixed-dose combined antituberculous agents plus vitamin C (10 mg/kg/day) orally. Six rats in each group were randomly selected and sacrificed on day 20 by cervical dislocation prior to day 21 of gestation, and the foetuses were harvested through abdominal incision for physical examination. Blood samples were collected from the 1st filial rats of the remaining six animals for biochemical and hematological examination. The liver, kidney, heart, and brain of all the sacrificed animals were used for histopathological examination. There were significant (P ≤ 0.05) low birth weights of the foetuses of the animals that were treated with fixed-dose combined antituberculous agents. The haematological parameters also revealed a reduction in the platelets counts and neutrophiles at the first filial generation. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) elevations in the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the foetuses of the animals treated with fixed-dose combined antituberculous agents were also observed. However, the combination of vitamin C with fixed-dose combined antituberculous agents significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the level of AST. Fixed-dose combined antituberculous agents have teratogenic potential as shown in low birth weight and mild liver damage in the first filial of the treated animals. As much as it is imminent to treat TB patients in pregnancy, there is need to always exercise caution and clinically weigh the risk-benefit ratio

Managing Urban Crimes with Geoinformatics: A Case Study of Benin City, Nigeria

In recent time, the increase in rural-urban migration has continued to have both positive and negative impact on the receiving urban environment. Social vices such as terrorism, urban crimes, prostitution, drug cartel and urban slums are on the increase and as a result, most infrastructural facilities are been overused resulting to urban blight. In most developing countries like Nigeria, the impact of corruption and act of criminality has equally added to this menace and effort by security organisations to restore urban sanity has yielded little or no result due largely to the use of mundane policing methods. Using Geoinformatics methodologies (ArcGIS and ILWIS software), results of buffering; network, proximity, and crime service area analyses on crime hotspots in Benin City reveals that some areas are more vulnerable than others. Base on statistical analysis of administered questionnaire, the study shows that perceived higher income (33%), employment opportunities (24%), basic infrastructures (15%), quality of life (10%), change of environment (9%) and other reasons  put together (9%) are mainly responsible for migration and consequent urban growth. The location of police stations vis-à-vis police-public relations was observed to be very poor. The study also revealed that the major crimes in the city are armed robbery (29%), burglary (22%), rape (19%), pick pocket (15%), murder/assassination (4%) and other petty crimes put together (11%). Combating crime requires intelligent ICT system and a pragmatic intelligent synergy between the public and well-prepared police force. Reducing indiscriminate rural-urban migration through rural infrastructure and police welfare/logistics improvements are recommended. Keywords: Crime, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geoinformatics, Remote Sensing, Urban Environment