A Review on Effectiveness of Marine Pollution Control and Management in Nigeria

This study reviews the successes and limitations of agencies saddled with marine pollution control and management in Nigeria using secondary data. The agencies investigated include Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). The study shows that NIMASA has been at the frontline of marine pollution control and has been dynamic and effective in marine pollution control and management in Nigeria. Port reception facilities by NPA for ship waste collection within stipulated time to encourage turn-around time of vessels is encouraging. For NOSDRA, the review highlights some statutory impediments affecting the effective functioning of the agency. It is important to de-bottleneck all statutory issues threatening the smart performance of NOSDRA. Delay in attending to oil pollution, for instance, is a huge control failure with multiplying consequences for the environment. The effort in the development of an action plan referred to as National Oil Spill Compensation Rate (NOSCR) which stipulates compensation to affected or host communities from facility operators is not a control measure and may even be misused by criminal minds to intentionally cause spills and pollution in other to seek financial gain. Grassroots operators should be sensitized to more effective ways to control and handle marine pollutants. This can be achieved with the simple truth that harms to the marine environment are an invitation to the end of the existentialism of life itself. It is believed that once the attitudinal change by the marine operators and especially the grassroots is achieved, marine pollution control and management can be made more effective. &nbsp

Shear Thickening and Scaling of the Elastic Modulus in a Fractal Colloidal System with Attractive Interactions

Dilute oil dispersions of fractal carbon black particles with attractive Van der Waals interactions display continuous shear thickening followed by shear thinning at high shear rates. The shear thickening transition occurs at $\dot\gamma_{c}\approx 10^{2}-10^{3}s^{-1}$ and is driven by hydrodynamic breakup of clusters. Pre-shearing dispersions at shear rates $\dot\gamma>\dot\gamma_{c}$ produces enhanced-modulus gels where $G' \sim \sigma_{pre-shear}^{1.5-2}$ and is directly proportional to the residual stress in the gel measured at a fixed sample age. The observed data can be accounted for using a simple scaling model for the breakup of fractal clusters under shear stress.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures; v2: treating low shear rate date separately; edited title; reworked figure

EVALUATING MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES IN THE MOTIVATION OF EMPLOYEE-CONSULTANTS IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT:Management is faced with the task of motivating employee-consultants and creating high job satisfaction among them. Creating programs and policies that develop job satisfaction and serve to motivate employee-consultants takes time and money to create. When the management understands the benefits of job satisfaction and motivation in the workplace, then the investment in employee-related policies can be justified. The purpose of any motivation programme is to motivate the organization's employees to enable them work effectively. However, motivating employees is not an easy thing as what motivates employees differs among people. This paper is intended to establish management challenges in the motivation of Employee-Consultant in the Nigerian construction industry with a view to improving the motivation of employee-consultants. A calculated sample size of 108 construction and consultancy firms were randomly selected within Kaduna and Abuja metropolis. The research used the relative importance index (RII) to rank the challenges in order of importance. Amount of Fee paid (workers' wages) was identified to be the most significant factor that challenges the motivation of employee-consultants. Low availability of income generated was also identified as a major challenge. The research therefore suggest that management should seek other forms of motivating employee consultants such as New incentive schemes, such as flexible working hours, subsidies, loans and others, should be developed and implemented. Further research should be conducted to harness these important factors identified for the growth and development in the construction and consultancy firms.Keywords: Employee-Consultant, Motivation, Nigerian, Construction Industry, challenge

Comparison Of Canonical Correlation Analysis And The Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis Using The Lognormal And Cauchy Distributed Data

This work compares the Canonical Correlation Analysis and Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis for two data sets using Lognormal and Cauchy distributions. Data of different sample sizes (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50) were simulated and used to perform the analysis. Their relative efficiencies were calculated and it was discovered to be the same for two data sets except for scaling. Keywords: Relative efficiency, Scaling, Canonical Correlation Analysis, Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis, Lognormal, Cauch

Determinants of savings among small-scale food crop farmers in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria

The study on the Determinants of savings among small scale farmers was conducted in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 110 small scale farmers. Data were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics and the multiple linear regression analysis. The study showed that the mean age of farmers in the study area was 47.7years and that majority (78%) of the farmers were married with mean household size of 6 persons. Majority (45.4%) of the farmers had attained primary education and had mean farm sizes of 1.57 hectares. The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that farm size and income had a significant positive influence on the farmers volume of savings while, household size and distance to financial institutions had a significant negative influence on the farmers volume of savings. The main constraints to the small scale farmer’s inability to save are inadequate income, lack of access to credit facilities and delays and congestion in bank halls. The study recommended that Government, stakeholders and policy makers should provide incentives in the form of short and medium term loans to enhance the productivity and income levels of the small scale food crop farmers.Keywords: Savings, Small scale farmers and Incom

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE THREE PHASES ANALYSIS OF FACTOR

In this study, we examine factor analysis as a multivariate statistical tool, starting from the origin of factor analysis with regards to Spearman’s approach of 1904 to the three phases of factor analysis. This is done with a view of determining the similarities and individual contributions of each of the three phases of factor analysis. This was achieved by examining the algorithms used in parameter estimations of the three phases of factor analysis. By inputting data into the algorithms and examining their outcomes and proffering recommendations based on the respective findings. Keywords: generalized linear models, factor analysis, EM algorithm, generalized linear latent variable models DOI: 10.7176/MTM/11-3-01 Publication date:May 31st 2021

A decade study of the incidence and clinical analysis of ectopic pregnancy at a tertiary hospital in Eastern Nigeria

Background: Ectopic pregnancy (EP), a condition where a fertilized egg grows outside a woman’s uterus, is a fertility- and life-threatening gynecological condition. This study aimed at determining the incidence of EP, clinical presentation, gestational age at presentation, risk factors and treatment modalities.Methods: This study was conducted at St. Charles Borromeo specialist hospital, Onitsha, Nigeria (January 2009 to December 2018). Information were obtained from the hospital’s medical records as retrieved from various wards. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS, version 23, then presented as percentage in tables and figure.Results: Out of 13,402 pregnancies recorded in this study, 119 were EPs giving an incidence of 0.89%. 105 case notes were included in this study since they met the inclusion criteria. Majority of the women belonged to the age group of 26-30 years. Patients with EP presented more between 7-8 weeks of gestational age (40%), though 7.6% were unsure of their last menstrual period. 80 EP cases (76.2%) were ruptured while 25 (23.8%) were unruptured. The ectopic gestation occurred most at the ampulla (51.4%) and more at the right side (66.6%) than the left (33.4%). Pelvic inflammatory disease (30.4%) followed by prior abortion (20.0%) were major predisposing risk factors. The most common clinical presentations were abdominal pain (92.38%), amenorrhea (57.14%) and vaginal bleeding (51.42%). 85.7% had salpingectomy, 9.5% were medically managed.Conclusions: EP remains a major gynecological emergency. Diagnosis before rupture could offer an opportunity for a successful medical management, thereby; minimizing morbidity and mortality