Improving Students’ Academic Achievement in Biology, Using Information and Communication Technology Aided Instruction

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have changed the pedagogy in education from teacher-centered approach to student-centered approach and also enhance teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate how students’ academic achievement in Biology can be improved using information and communication technology aided instruction. The moderating effect of gender was also examined. The study adapted pre-test, post-test, control group quasi-experimental design, involving 2x2 factorial matrix. The sample consisted of sixty four (64) SS 2 students offering Biology selected using purposive sampling technique from two out of thirty six schools in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State. Randomization was used to place the schools into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using ICT aided instruction powered by computer applications and while conventional method was used for control group. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. A validated Biology Achievement Test (r=0.67) was used to measure students’ achievement in Biology. Data were analyzed inferentially by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and also multiple classification analysis (MCA) was used to explain the magnitude of the mean post test achievement scores across the different levels of instructional strategy and gender. Findings indicated that there was significant effect of ICT aided instruction on students’ achievement in Biology (F(1,59)=183.103, P< 0.05). However, no significant main effect of gender was found on students’ achievement in Biology (F(1,59)= 0.052, P>0.05). No significant 2-way interaction effect of gender was found in students’ achievement in Biology (F(1,59)= 0.190, P>0.05). In view of the findings, it was recommended that government should provide ICT resources to secondary schools in Nigeria and also educational authorities should lay more emphasis on modern educational resources that promote effectiveness in teaching and learning process. Keywords: Information and Communication Technology, ICT- aided Instruction, Students’ Academic Achievement, Gender, Achievement in Biolog

Mycotoxins in food in West Africa: current situation and possibilities of controlling it

This review presents the different mycotoxins (aflatoxins, fumonisins and ochratoxin A) produced in agricultural crops in the West African sub-region. The acute and chronic toxic effects of the various mycotoxins are presented. Maize and groundnuts have been found to be excellent substrate for aflatoxin contamination, while fumonisins are widely distributed in maize. Other food products for which mycotoxin contamination has been reported in the sub-region include dried yam chips, tiger nut, melon seeds and stored herbal plants. Mycotoxin contamination is favoured by stress factors during plant growth, late harvesting of crops, high ambient humidity preventing thorough drying, unscientific storage practices and lack of awareness. Control measures include education of the populace on the danger of mycotoxin contaminated diet, early harvesting, rapid drying, sorting, sanitation, use of improved storage structures, smoking, insect control, the use of botanicals and synthetic chemicals as storage protectants, fumigation, biological control, the use of resistant varieties and detoxification of mycotoxin contaminated grains. Key words: Mycotoxins, aflatoxins, food, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, surveillance, toxicology, prevention, control, West Africa. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.2(9) 2003: 254-26

The state of the art development of AHP (1979-2017): A literature review with a social network analysis

Although many papers describe the evolution of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), most adopt a subjective approach. This paper examines the pattern of development of the AHP research field using social network analysis and scientometrics, and identifies its intellectual structure. The objectives are: (i) to trace the pattern of development of AHP research; (ii) to identify the patterns of collaboration among authors; (iii) to identify the most important papers underpinning the development of AHP; and (iv) to discover recent areas of interest. We analyse two types of networks: social networks, that is, co-authorship networks, and cognitive mapping or the network of disciplines affected by AHP. Our analyses are based on 8441 papers published between 1979 and 2017, retrieved from the ISI Web of Science database. To provide a longitudinal perspective on the pattern of evolution of AHP, we analyse these two types of networks during the three periods 1979?1990, 1991?2001 and 2002?2017. We provide some basic statistics on AHP journals and researchers, review the main topics and applications of integrated AHPs and provide direction for future research by highlighting some open questions

Assessing the suitability of green concrete using waste glass as partial replacement for cement

Green construction reduces the impact of the built environment on the natural environment and human health. The study of partial replacement of cement with waste glass powder and fire resistivity of concrete was investigated in two stages using quantitative approach, the first stage involved collection of waste glass samples, crushing and milling of the glass samples into powder less than 75μm, casting of concrete cubes at ratio 1:2:4 for concrete grade M15 (according to IS 456:2000) using 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% and 60% replacement of cement with waste glass powder. Compressive strength tests were carried out on the concrete cubes after curing ages (days) of 7, 14, 28, and 35.A total of 72 cubes were tested. The second stage involved testing for the strength of the concrete with 0% and 10% waste glass powder content obtained from the first stage as the optimum percentage replacement after heating to a temperature of 600℃ for 5 hours in a furnace. Result showed with 0% cement replacement with waste glass powder being the control, had the highest strength of all the samples, 10% had the second highest strength which exhibited a normal increased strength behaviour with increase in curing ages unlike all other percentage replacements making 10% replacement of cement with waste glass powder milled to a particle size of 75μmto be satisfactory. Fire resistivity at 5 hours gave 50% reduction in strength and the concrete was non-flammable. Use of waste glass could reduce cement content in concrete, suitable for green construction.Keywords: Concrete, Compressive strength, fire resistivity, environmen

Supplier qualification for high value goods and services in Nigeria: A comparison of qualified and non-qualified suppliers

This study set out to understand the capabilities of suppliers of high value products and services in Nigeria. Supplier capability data was collected from almost 500 potential suppliers across 28 product categories. The findings indicate that only a small minority of potential suppliers achieved the required levels of performance and that very few companies have suitable operational capabilities or corporate citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, significant differences were found between service suppliers and product suppliers with regard to performance. The findings suggest that the majority of suppliers of products and services in Nigeria need to improve their operational capabilities and corporate citizenship behaviours or else risk losing their ability to compete in a changing market place with new barriers to entry

Enhancing Students’ Academic Achievement in Biology using Projected Instructional Media

This study investigated how projected instructional media could enhanced students’ academic achievement in biology. It also determined whether the performance of the students would vary with gender when exposed to projected instructional media. It employed pre-test, post-test, control group quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of sixty five students offering biology. Two schools were purposively selected in Ijebu East Local Government Area based on certain criteria. Two schools were randomly selected to form experimental and control groups. Two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Two instruments were used for the study. Analysis of Covariance and t-test were used for data analysis. Findings indicated that students taught biology using projected instructional media performed better than those taught using conventional method of teaching. In addition, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of male and female students taught biology using projected instructional media. Based on the findings, it was recommended among other that secondary school biology teachers should effectively make use of projected instructional media in teaching the students the abstract and difficult concepts in biology irrespective of gender. Keywords: Projected Instructional Media, Biology, Students’ Academic Achievement, Gender

IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICATION DELIVERY TRICOPTER STABILITY USING ACKERMAN METHOD

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been a subject of interest across many areas of study. Tricopter is a multirotor with three rotors in Y or T configuration for flight operations; capable of tilting with the aid of a servo motor. The study designed stability controller for a developed medication delivery tricopter to enhanced community-based healthcare system in Nigeria. The study adopted a control law based on Ackerman’s method to improve the tricopter’s settling time, maximum overshoot and damping factor; through a linearizedmathematical model. Desired poles were implemented in MATLAB simulink environment to design a suitable controller for the system in accordance with predefined parameters. The output revealed no overshoots along X and Y axes at settling time of 3s, but overshoot along Z axis by 50% at settling time of 2s. Conclusively, the steady state error was zero and it was observed that the medication delivery tricopter response was made stable with the aid of a controller. The result shows that the tricopter model can be made effectively stable and reliable in operation with the use of a controller&nbsp

Brown rot and die-back disease induced by a cucurlionid (Lixus camerunus Klobe) in amaranth (Amaranthus hyhridus L.) in Nigeria

No abstract

A survey of headache among nursing students in a Nigerian university

Objectives: Headache is a common neurological disorder associated with a significant disease burden particularly among young people. Data on headache among undergraduate students in Nigeria are still scanty. The main objectives were to determine the 1-year prevalence of headache and headache subtypes among a cohort of nursing undergraduate students, to identify trigger factors and assess mode of treatment of acute attacks among the affected students.Methods: This was a cross– sectional descriptive study carried out over a 2-month period from September to October 2011 among nursing students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo Nigeria, who had recurrent headaches (unrelated to febrile illness or any underlying disease) in the past one year. Data were collected using a self – administered questionnaire. Demographic variables, age of onset of headache, past medical, family and social histories were obtained.Results: A total of 213 out of 289 nursing students returned completed questionnaires giving a participation rate of 73.7%. Headache was reported by 90 students (42.3%) with higher prevalence in men (44.8%) compared to women (41.8%). Migraine headache was the commonest headache subtype constituting 26.8% .Common triggers of headache attacks included sleep deprivation (65.6%), physical and mental fatigue (53.3%). Only 8.9% of students affected by headache sought medical assistance during acute attack.Conclusions: Our study found a relatively high proportion of migraine headache among nursing students with headache in this Nigerian University. Awareness of appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic medications was dismally low.Keywords: Prevalence, Headache, Nursing students & trigger factor

Exploring <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>:Ecology, biotechnological applications, and future prospects

From its early identification by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg to its current prominence in scientific research, Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) has emerged as a foundational model organism in microbiology. This comprehensive review delves deep into its genetic, physiological, and biochemical intricacies, revealing a sophisticated cellular blueprint. With the incorporation of advanced techniques such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 and integrative computational methodologies, the potential applications of B. subtilis span diverse sectors. These encompass its significant contributions to biotechnology, agriculture, and medical fields and its potential for aiding environmental cleanup efforts. Yet, as we move forward, we must grapple with concerns related to safety, ethics, and the practical implementation of our lab findings in everyday scenarios. As our understanding of B. subtilis deepens, it is evident that its contributions will be central to pioneering sustainable solutions for global challenges in the years to come