The Place of Technological Application in Entrepreneurship: A Study of the Use of Computers by the Quantity Surveyors in Nigeria

Independent Quantity surveyor, professional and opting to set up an organization of his own is a manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative hence an entrepreneur. This study focus on the characteristic of an entrepreneur to access outside help to supplement their skills (technology) by examining the usage of computers in quantity surveying practices of southwest-Nigeria. Exploring this detailed knowledge of the technology relevant to skills expected of quantity surveyors will enhance project success in the construction industry hence the economy. The method adopted was questionnaire survey administered to a population of sixty-eight (68) practicing firms’ staff using purposive sampling technique The data analysis included the determination of mean item score (MIS) of the responses from the respondents. The result of the study showed that about 80% of respondents QSs have been using computer for quantity surveying services as at the year 2005 with more use of computer in Microsoft software. This is a good indication that the coming generation of Quantity Surveyors in Nigeria will take advantage of the benefits of information technology thus having positive implication in their competing with other professionals and confirming the characteristic of entrepreneur by contributing to the ever-desirable efficiency in project management service delivery. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurs, Quantity Surveying, Technology

An Assessment of the Effect of Remuneration on the Construction Performances of the Professionals in the Nigerian Building Industry

Construction professionals are the authors on one hand and co-executors of construction projects on the other, therefore, the quality of the services expected of them in construction project delivery as environmental resource manager is key. This paper investigated whether quality of service of the construction professionals in Nigeria is influenced by the level of professional fees receivable for services rendered hence their resource management role. The determinants of service quality are identified and their means of evaluation examined using the SERVQUAL; instrument used for measurement of the service quality on responses got from a set of questionnaires administered on the construction stakeholders comprising of the construction clients on one hand and the construction professionals on the other hand in Lagos, Nigeria with a view to assessing the perception of the clients regarding the quality of services being received from their construction professionals vis-a-vis clients expectations. The study revealed that there was no significant relationship between the level of fees paid and the quality of service rendered by the construction professionals as the result of the analysis of variance between service quality gap and the various methods of fees paid is not reflected in the service quality of construction professional

A Study of Risk Management Practice of Highway Projects in Nigeria

Construction Risk Management must be given adequate attention in order to ensure a successful project that meets the expectation of project goals and objectives thus risk management practice in Nigeria with respect to highway projects is explored in this study. Questionnaire survey was adopted for a population of 82 professionals (highway engineers, quantity surveyors and land surveyors) in clients, consultants and contracting organisations, using stratified random sampling techniques. The data collected were analysed by determination of the mean of the responses from the respondents and one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Result of the analysis showed that; lack of accepted industry model for analysis of risk is rated as the most influencing factor in the implementation of risk management practice in Nigeria, followed by human/ organizational resistance. There is no significant difference at 5% level of significance between the responses of the clients, consultants and contractors on risk identification tools usage and risks response tools usage, risks analysis techniques usage of all the respondents except algorithms and Monte Carlo simulation. The result further showed that risk management practice is low in Nigeria, as all the respondents agreed that the use of rule of thumbs in managing construction risks associated with highways is prevalent as against modern techniques that are widely in use in developed countries. The study recommended adequate training for all stakeholders in highway construction sector to improve management of risks thus meeting project goals of time, approved budgets, and quality, imbibing the health and safety culture,  and in an environmentally acceptable manner. Keywords: Development, Highways, Risk management

Exploring the lived experiences of community members involved in a community conversation programme to promote mental health in a community in EThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal.

Master of Nursing. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2016.Aim The aim of the study was to explore the lived experiences of participants of a CC programme in a community within eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and to describe the positive and negative contributions of the CC programme towards community life and mental health among participants who attended the programme. Methodology The researcher adopted a descriptive phenomenological approach, using eight focus group discussions and one individual interview with fifteen participants divided into three groups. The selection of the setting was based on the researcher’s prior involvement in two community conversations in the community, and, ultimately, on the participants who were on the attendance list, met the inclusion criteria and were willing to participate. The focus group discussions and interview consisted of questions about participants’ demographics, experiences and probes into the areas of feelings, relationships, change, personal decisions and group belonging. Data transcription was done manually. Data was gathered and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method of data analysis. Results Significant statements were extracted and grouped to form larger units or clusters. The clusters were then organised into six themes, with associated significant statements made by the community members: Theme 1: Mixed feelings: hope, anger, fear and empathy. The participants express differing emotional impact during their participation in the CC programme. Theme 2: The reality of the power differential. Evident throughout the interview and focus group discussions were issues of how community members perceived themselves as powerless in providing solutions to the education and drug abuse problems in the community. This is due to the resultant tension between community members and other major stakeholders including their non-involvement. Theme 3: Learning from others. Details emerged from the interview and focus group discussions about how community members have learned from the experiences of others particularly those that are directly affected. Community members become less judgemental and developed empathy. Theme 4: Community resolve. This involves change that affects the community’s living experience rather than individual behavioral change. The participants expressed thoughts related to change that was expected to have occurred as a result of the CC programme and the feeling of needing to be part of the change. Some believed they, as individuals, can make a change to affect the whole. However, others felt that the ability to effect change was dependent upon the willingness of other members in the community to participate as a collective, a group. Theme 5: Theme 5: Community identity. Various implications emerged in the study such that there was a collective ownership and responsibility regarding issues affecting the community. Emphasis was placed on areas where they could make a difference without necessarily waiting on other stakeholders. Theme 6: The reality of not being the only one. Emerging topic in this theme is the safe space that the CC provided. This safe space provides an opportunity to appreciate and identify with other people’s stories. It allows the individual to meet with others going through the same situation. Also through the CC programme people who felt judged based on their circumstances were given the opportunity to clarify their situation. Conclusion and Recommendations It was notable that participation and commitment, including power-sharing among all stakeholders, is essential for visible change to occur within the community. The recommendations focus around key factors for ensuring increased participation, commitment and collaboration among all stakeholders for sustained change in promoting community life and mental health. These include clarifying the roles of each stakeholder, providing additional training for the programme facilitators to develop their capacity to deal with conflict, the use of multiple strategies when tackling prevalent issues in the community, good communication skills, extensive training in the community conversation process, and up-to-date documentation and evaluation

The profile and frequency of known risk factors or comorbidities for deep vein thrombosis in an urban district hospital in KwaZulu-Natal

Background: Although deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a preventable disease, it increases the morbidity and mortality in hospitalised, patients, resulting in considerable economic health impact. The identification and primary prevention of risk factors using risk assessment and stratification with subsequent anti-thrombotic prophylaxis in moderate- to severe-risk categories is the most rational means of reducing morbidity and mortality. Aim and setting: The aim of the study was to describe the profile and frequency of known risk factors or comorbidities of hospitalised medical patients with ultrasound-diagnosed DVT in an urban district hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. Methods: A retrospective review of clinical notes of all medical patients (age ≥ 13 years) admitted to the hospital with ultrasound-diagnosed DVT between July and December 2013. Results: The median age was 40 years (interquartile range 32–60 years) and female preponderance was 72.84%. HIV and tuberculosis emerged as the prevalent risk factors, accounting for 51.85% and 35.80%, respectively. Other risk factors observed were recent hospitalisation (34.57%), smoking (25.93%), previous DVT (19.75%) and congestive cardiac failure (18.52%). Conclusion: DVT in our study occurred predominantly in young female patients unlike previous studies where patients were generally older. Furthermore, HIV and tuberculosis were the two most common known risk factors or comorbidities observed. Clinicians should have a heightened awareness of venous thromboembolism in patients with either condition or where both conditions occur together and appropriate thromboprophylaxis should be administered. Keywords: Deep Vein Thrombosis; risk factors; profil

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Parvovirus B19 Infection among Blood Donors: A Hospital‑Based Study in South‑West, Nigeria

Background: Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a transfusion transmissible infection that can result in severe consequences in vulnerable population that includes pregnant women, immunocompromised and chronic hemolytic anemia patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with B19V infection amongst blood donors in South–West Nigeria. Materials and Methods: We conducted a comparative cross‑sectional study to determine the seroprevalence of B19V immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody among 183 blood donors at the blood bank of a tertiary hospital. The results were analyzed with SPSS 23 software, prevalence and associated factors were determined using frequencies and logistic regression, respectively. Results: The prevalence of B19V IgM was 7.1% (95% confidence interval: 4–11) with a higher prevalence among male donors compared to females (84.6% vs. 15.4%, P = 0.54). There was a statistically significant difference in the seropositivity of B19V IgM amongst the ethnic groups with the Yoruba ethnic group having a higher proportion of B19V IgM‑positive participants P = 0.04. Ethnicity, gender, and steady employment were also associated with increased odds of infection, while increasing age appeared to be protective; though none of these factors were statistically significant. Conclusion: This study has shown that there is still high exposure to transfusion transmissible B19V infection. Keywords: Blood donor, parvovirus immunoglobulin M antibody, sickle cell anaemi

Police Brutality, Human Rights Violations and the 2020 #EndSARS Protests in Lagos, Nigeria.

This study examines the factors responsible for the outbreak of the #EndSARS protest in Lagos, Nigeria. Relying on primary sources of data (questionnaires and Focus Group Discussions), correlation, regression and content analysis were employed to establish (i) relationship between human rights violations and protest outbreak; (ii) relationship between repressive response of government to protest and protest transformation from peaceful to violent one as well as manifestation of criminality. The results show that there exist a strong positive relationship between human rights violations and protest outbreak and between repressive response of state’s security agencies and protest transformation

Combined aerobic and resistance exercise training decreases peripheral but not central artery wall thickness in subjects with type 2 diabetes

Objective Little is known about the impact of exercise training on conduit artery wall thickness in type 2 diabetes. We examined the local and systemic impact of exercise training on superficial femoral (SFA), brachial (BA), and carotid artery (CA) wall thickness in type 2 diabetes patients and controls. Methods Twenty patients with type 2 diabetes and 10 age- and sex-matched controls performed an 8-week training study involving lower limb-based combined aerobic and resistance exercise training. We examined the SFA to study the local effect of exercise, and also the systemic impact of lower limb-based exercise training on peripheral (i.e. BA) and central (i.e. CA) arteries. Wall thickness (WT), diameter and wall:lumen(W:L)-ratios were examined using automated edge detection of ultrasound images. Results Exercise training did not alter SFA or CA diameter in type 2 diabetes or controls (all P > 0.05). BA diameter was increased after training in type 2 diabetes, but not in controls. Exercise training decreased WT and W:L ratio in the SFA and BA, but not in CA in type 2 diabetes. Training did not alter WT or W:L ratio in controls (P > 0.05). Conclusion Lower limb-dominant exercise training causes remodelling of peripheral arteries, supplying active and inactive vascular beds, but not central arteries in type 2 diabetes

Whole Body Periodic Acceleration Is an Effective Therapy to Ameliorate Muscular Dystrophy in mdx Mice

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of dystrophin in both skeletal and cardiac muscles. This leads to severe muscle degeneration, and dilated cardiomyopathy that produces patient death, which in most cases occurs before the end of the second decade. Several lines of evidence have shown that modulators of nitric oxide (NO) pathway can improve skeletal muscle and cardiac function in the mdx mouse, a mouse model for DMD. Whole body periodic acceleration (pGz) is produced by applying sinusoidal motion to supine humans and in standing conscious rodents in a headward-footward direction using a motion platform. It adds small pulses as a function of movement frequency to the circulation thereby increasing pulsatile shear stress to the vascular endothelium, which in turn increases production of NO. In this study, we examined the potential therapeutic properties of pGz for the treatment of skeletal muscle pathology observed in the mdx mouse. We found that pGz (480 cpm, 8 days, 1 hr per day) decreased intracellular Ca2+ and Na+ overload, diminished serum levels of creatine kinase (CK) and reduced intracellular accumulation of Evans Blue. Furthermore, pGz increased muscle force generation and expression of both utrophin and the carboxy-terminal PDZ ligand of nNOS (CAPON). Likewise, pGz (120 cpm, 12 h) applied in vitro to skeletal muscle myotubes reduced Ca2+ and Na+ overload, diminished abnormal sarcolemmal Ca2+ entry and increased phosphorylation of endothelial NOS. Overall, this study provides new insights into the potential therapeutic efficacy of pGz as a non-invasive and non-pharmacological approach for the treatment of DMD patients through activation of the NO pathway

Effects of fluoxetine on functional outcomes after acute stroke (FOCUS): a pragmatic, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial

Background Results of small trials indicate that fluoxetine might improve functional outcomes after stroke. The FOCUS trial aimed to provide a precise estimate of these effects. Methods FOCUS was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial done at 103 hospitals in the UK. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had a clinical stroke diagnosis, were enrolled and randomly assigned between 2 days and 15 days after onset, and had focal neurological deficits. Patients were randomly allocated fluoxetine 20 mg or matching placebo orally once daily for 6 months via a web-based system by use of a minimisation algorithm. The primary outcome was functional status, measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), at 6 months. Patients, carers, health-care staff, and the trial team were masked to treatment allocation. Functional status was assessed at 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. Patients were analysed according to their treatment allocation. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN83290762. Findings Between Sept 10, 2012, and March 31, 2017, 3127 patients were recruited. 1564 patients were allocated fluoxetine and 1563 allocated placebo. mRS data at 6 months were available for 1553 (99·3%) patients in each treatment group. The distribution across mRS categories at 6 months was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (common odds ratio adjusted for minimisation variables 0·951 [95% CI 0·839–1·079]; p=0·439). Patients allocated fluoxetine were less likely than those allocated placebo to develop new depression by 6 months (210 [13·43%] patients vs 269 [17·21%]; difference 3·78% [95% CI 1·26–6·30]; p=0·0033), but they had more bone fractures (45 [2·88%] vs 23 [1·47%]; difference 1·41% [95% CI 0·38–2·43]; p=0·0070). There were no significant differences in any other event at 6 or 12 months. Interpretation Fluoxetine 20 mg given daily for 6 months after acute stroke does not seem to improve functional outcomes. Although the treatment reduced the occurrence of depression, it increased the frequency of bone fractures. These results do not support the routine use of fluoxetine either for the prevention of post-stroke depression or to promote recovery of function. Funding UK Stroke Association and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme