Soil micromorphology of the sedimentary samples from Anta 1 de Vale da Lage, Tomar, Portugal

This master thesis is based on the soil micromorphological study of the sedimentary samples from Anta 1 de Vale da Laje site, located in Tomar, Portugal. The site of Anta 1 de Vale da Laje is one of the sites currently under study within the research framework of the projects Landscape occupation strategies during the Holocene in the Middle Tagus (Es.Ter.Tejo) and Moving tasks across shapes: the agro-pastoralists spread from and into the Alto Ribatejo (MTAS). Asides the stratigraphic problems of the site, it remained unclear the modification successions in time, of the monument and the processes that can be attributed to their sequencing, which were scopes of the abovementioned projects. Micromorphological study of human impact and natural processes on the environment has been reliant on the interpretation from the study of the undisturbed palaeosols. This study applied the methodological approach of soil micromorphological analyses to understand both the stratigraphic sequence and the evolution of the megalithic tomb of Anta 1 de Vale da Laje site where stratigraphic continuity and discontinuity were observed. The result of the analyses recognized six (6) periods of activities and three (3) phases of site evolution, as well as identification of human activities relating to agricultural practices, constructions and natural processes such as weathering, leaching, and erosion resulting from impact of rainfall

Food and feeding habits of Clarias gariepinus (burchell 1822) in Egbe Reservoir, Ekiti State, Nigeria

The food and feeding habit of the catfish Clarias gariepinus in Egbe Reservoir in Ekiti State, Nigeria was studied using 450 Clarias samples collected between January 2010 and November, 2010. Analysis of the stomach contents was done using numerical, frequency of occurrence and volumetric methods. The fish fed mostly on phytoplankton (Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Euglenophyceae) constituting 97.10% by numerical method. Other food items found in the stomach include insects, zooplankton, arthropod parts, detritus and crustaceans which were of secondary importance. Clarias gariepinus in Egbe Reservoir is an omnivore and females had more empty stomachs (55.60%) than the males (44.40%). This gender bias could be due to intra-specific competition for the available food in the habitat. The information gathered from this present study serves as a guideline for further research on the reservoir.Keywords: Food and feeding habits, Clarias gariepinus, Stomach contents, Omnivore, Insects, Egbe Reservoir, Nigeri

Unemployment in Nigeria; A Challenge of Demographic Change?

With the current population of approximately 182million people (PRB, 2015); Nigeria is the most populous Black Country in the world. Arguments are ripe whether her ever-growing population is the sole factor responsible also for her continuous growth of unemployment. To answer this question, this paper extracted secondary data from Population Reference Bureau (PRB, 2003-2015), United Nations Annex Table (2012), International Monetary Fund (IMF, 2002-2015) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, 2003-2015) to prove whether unemployment is mainly caused by demographic change in Nigeria or there are other intrinsic factors responsible for this social challenge. A comparative analysis of the population and unemployment structure of three purposively selected and heavily populated countries in three different continents-Nigeria, China and USA were undertaken. Results show that population growth is not the SOLE factor responsible for increase in unemployment in Nigeria as unemployment statistics is stable for U.S. and China while their populations are growing, but the reverse is the case for Nigeria as both population and unemployment are growing. Recommendations were thereafter made to address other likely factors identified

Determinants of adoption of vitamin A bio-fortified cassava variety among farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria

The success of any agricultural innovation depends on its adoption by farmers. The study evaluates the determinants of adoption of vitamin A bio-fortified cassava variety among farmers by investigating the level of adoption and determinants of adoption among farmers. Three stages of random sampling procedure were used to select 240 cassava farmers. The data obtained were analyzed with descriptive statistics and a logit regression model. The study revealed that the level of adoption of vitamin A bio-fortified cassava variety is low (38.72%). The study also revealed that access to media, contact with extension agents, access to vitamin A bio-fortified cassava stem, amongst others, are the determinants of adoption of vitamin A bio-fortified cassava variety in the study area. It is therefore recommended that awareness about the new cassava technology should be prioritized to sensitize the farmers, and stems of these cassava varieties should be readily made available to farmers to take advantage of the benefit of the innovation

PERCEPTION AND WILLINGNESS TO THE UPTAKE OF COVID-19 VACCINE AMONG HOUSEHOLD-HEADS IN A RURAL COMMUNITY OF SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its vaccine have been met with varying perceptions that may have both negative and positive effects on the willingness to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine. The study is set to determine the perception and willingness of the household heads to the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine in a rural community in Southwestern, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 409 household heads selected through a multistage sampling technique. The instrument of data collection was a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire using the Health Belief model constructs. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 21.0 and Pearson's Chi-square test was used to determine the association between perception and willingness to uptake vaccine. P<0.05 was taken as significant at 95% confidence interval. Results: The majority of the unvaccinated respondents in the study were not willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine (60.1%). There was a poor perception of the susceptibility/severity of unvaccinated respondents to COVID-19 infection and a poor perception of the benefit/barrier to the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Perception of susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 infection were statistically related to the willingness to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: There should be an increase in awareness campaigns to change the perception of people positively to COVID-19 infection and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine

Reliability assessment of BS 8110 (1997) ultimate limit state design requirements for reinforced concrete columns

This paper describes the reliability assessment of reinforced concrete columns designed according to the BS 81I0 (1997) ultimate limit state requirements. A typical cross-section (400 mm× 400 mm) for three different commonly used columns was adopted and probabilistically assessed when all variables relating to the loading geometry and material properties are randomly distributed. First-Order Reliability Method (FORM) was employed to estimate the implied probability of failure for simulated loading and reinforcement quantities. The results showed that the cross-section (400 mm× 400 mm) assessed could not sustain more than 40% of the expected ultimate design load before the violation of the limit state. In addition, the performance of reinforced concrete columns depends more on the applied load than on the amount of reinforcement used. The general inference from these results is that most of these types of columns designed according to BS 8110 (1997) have not failed, because they were carrying far less than their ultimate design loads

DETERMINANTS OF TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY AND VARIETAL-GAP OF RICE PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA: A META-FRONTIER MODEL APPROACH

This study uses the concept of meta-frontier function to examine the technical efficiency and varietal-gap of rice production in Nigeria. A random sample of 675 farmers was selected from three out six geographical zones in Nigeria. The farmers in this study were classified into three groups according to the variety of rice they planted. The three main varieties of rice planted are local (Ofada), improved (Mai-Nasara) and New Rice for African (NERICA). The technical efficiency indices were computed using the meta-frontier approach because production varieties and technologies were expected to differ between the three varieties. This method allows the measure of the varietal-differences which is the Technology Gap Ratio (TGR). Estimates of the frontier were obtained assuming a translog functional form. Results revealed mean technical efficiency of 55%, 58% and 57% for Ofada, Mai-Nasara and NERICA varieties, respectively. Farm size, hired labour, fertilizer, seed, age, gender, household size and amount of credit are the determinants of technical efficiency of farmers in Nigeria rice production. The average values of varietal technology gap are more than 0.83 in all the varieties. This suggests high differences between the varieties and a need for application of frontiers that accommodate such differences. To increase efficiency in rice production in Nigeria, farm size, fertilizer usage, seed quantity and credit need to be increased

A DISAGGREGATED MEASURES APPROACH OF POVERTY STATUS OF FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

In a bid to strengthen the agricultural sector in Nigeria, the Kwara State Government invited thirteen Zimbabwean farmers to participate in agricultural production in Kwara State in 2004. The main objective of this study therefore was to examine the effect of the activities of these foreign farmers on local farmers’ poverty status. A questionnaire was administered on the heads of farming households. A total of 240 respondents were used for the study, which was comprised of 120 contact and 120 non-contact heads of farming households. The analytical tools employed included descriptive statistics and the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke method. The result indicated that the non-contact farming households are poorer than the contact farming households. Using the disaggregated poverty profile, poverty is most severe among the age group of above 60 years. The intensity of poverty is also higher among the married group than the singles. Based on the education level, poverty seems to be most severe among those without any formal education. It is therefore recommended that a minimum of secondary school education should be encouraged among the farming households to prevent higher incidence of poverty in the study area