The role of women in marketing of frozen fish in Lagos State of Nigeria

The involvement of women in the marketing of frozen fish in Lagos State (Nigeria) was examined in this study. Two hundred questionnaires were administered to fish marketers in five markets randomly selected within the Lagos metropolis based on their storage capacities. These markets were Balogun (500 tones), Idumagbo and Idumota (250 tonnes each) Obalende and Epetedo (37.5 tonnes each). From the study results, a greater percentage of women (64.2%) are actively involved in marketing of frozen fish in the study areas. Over 56% of these traders are retailers while about 33% are wholesalers. More than 91% of the marketers were found to be literate. A high percentage of the frozen fish are imported (68%), 27% from coastal fishing and 5% from riverine fishing. The commonest fish in the markets were titus (34%), sardine (32%), hake 19%, catfish 10% and argentine 5%. Catfish has the highest profit margin. The greatest problem of these traders is the lack of modern storage facilities and where available, the erratic power supply constitutes a proble

Nutritional Qualities of Three Medicinal Plant Parts (Xylopia aethiopica, Blighia sapida and Parinari polyandra) commonly used by Pregnant Women in the Western Part of Nigeria

The nutritional potentials of three medicinal plant parts used by pregnant women in the western part of Nigeria Parinari polyandra, Blighia sapida and Xylopia aethiopica were evaluated through their proximate compositions as well as percentage mineral elements composition. Blighia sapida was high in crude fibre (44.09±2.20%) compared with Parinari polyandra and Xylopia aethiopica that were 4.21±1.10% and 12.14±0.70% respectively. Moisture contents of Xylopia aethiopica and Blighia sapida were 16.04±1.25% and 10.17±2.60% respectively while that of Parinari polyandra was 30.65±5.02%. The total ash contents of Parinari polyandra, Blighia sapida and Xylopia aethiopica were 2.53±1.20%, 3.66±1.20% and 4.37±0.85% respectively. The total fat of Xylopia aethiopica, Blighia sapida and Parinari polyandra were 9.55±2.10%, 1.25±0.20% and 0.53±0.15% respectively while the total protein of Blighia sapida, Xylopia aethiopica and Parinari polyandra were 2.1±0.25%, 2.1±0.20% and 7.09±0.20% respectively. The total carbohydrate of Xylopia aethiopica was 55.80±4.26%, that of Parinari polyandra was 54.27±3.20% and that of Blighia sapida was 39.45±2.20%. Xylopia aethiopica can be a good source of magnesium (2.236±0.095), phosphorus (0.620±0.04) and potassium (0.510±0.04) as the amount of these mineral elements were higher than that of the other plant parts with the exception of Parinari polyandra having 0.690±0.11% phosphorus. Blighia sapida is also a good source of phosphorus (0.400±0.20), magnesium (0.430±0.20) and calcium (0.348±0.15). Other mineral elements detected in reasonable amounts were calcium, zinc and sodium. Further tests revealed that heavy metals such as lead, chromium and cadmium were not detected. The results of this research indicated that the three plants parts have nutritional qualities that could provide the users with additional nutrients

Food Safety and Hygienic Practices Among Food Vendors in Egbeda Local Government Area, Ibadan Oyo State

The aim of the study is to analyse food safety and hygiene practices among food vendors in Egbeda local government area of Oyo state. Well-structured questionnaire was used with an interview schedule to obtain relevant information from 120 respondents. The respondents were selected through purposive sampling technique. The data for this study were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics that were used include frequency counts, percentage, mean. The inferential statistics include Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC).The results that 80% of the respondents were female with mean years of 37. Also their highest literacy level was secondary education. Majority (80%) are married with household size of 5 members, majority prepare ready to eat food, majority(57.5%) are experienced and above average(55.8%) had training in food service, majority of the respondent(95.8%) had personal savings as their major source of income and 55% of the respondents are Christians. The results showed that 66.7% of the respondents were involved in food trade as their primary occupation. The result also revealed that some of the selected socio-economic variables such as age(x=0.248**; p 16??/m:t>"> 0.06), years of experience (x=0.349**;p 16??.000) "> respectively exhibited significant relationship with the respondent knowledge of food safety and hygiene practices. It was recommended that food vendors should use personal protective equipment (like nose/face mask, apron) during food preparation, Government should provide water source (tap water) to solve the inadequacy of water supply faced by the respondents. The study concluded that majority had knowledge of food safety and hygiene and practice good food safety and hygiene. Keywords: food safety, Hygiene, Analysis, vendor DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/109-02 Publication date:June 30th 202

Length-Weight Relationship And Condition Factor Of The Elephant Fish, Mormyrus rume (Valenciennes, 1846) In River Ose, Southwestern Nigeria

A total of 791 elephant fish, Mormyrus rume specimens of various sizes were sampled from River Ose, southwestern Ngera. Length-weight relationship and condition factor of the M rume specimens were studied. Their standard lengths ranged from 15.0 to 45.0 cm. Mean standard lengthfor males, females and combined sex were 27.86 cm, 3008 cm and 28.97 cm, respectvely. The body weight ranged from 75.5 to 610.0 g Mean body weight for males, females and combinedsex were 167.57 g 237.38 g and 202.48 g respectvely. Lengh-weight relatonship for males, emales andcombined sex were 1.699, 2.134 and 1990, respectively. The fsh exhibited alometrcgrowth in the river. The predictive equation was log W = -0.636 + 199 log L. The mean condition factor varied between seasons. The mean condition for males, females and combined sex were 0.787, 0.859 and 0.823, respectvely. The condtion factor decreased with increase in ndvidual sizes. Keywords: Length-weight relationship, Condition factor, Mormyrus rume, River Ose, NigeriaAnimal Research International Vol. 4 (1) 2007 pp. 617-62

Construction Innovation: The Implementation of Lean Construction towards Sustainable Innovation

The prevalent theory of construction has been seen as a hindrance to construction innovation. The concept of lean construction is concerned with the application of lean thinking to the construction industry. However, in lean construction there are many arguments supporting the view that ‘the prevalent theory of production (or specifically, theory of construction) is counterproductive, and leads to added costs and reduced overall performance through the deficient production control principles based on the theory’. Presently, the construction industry and all other organisations face various problems as a result of the uncertainties of the global economic climate; including labour redundancies, delayed projects and zero margin contract bids. The construction industry is seen as one of the worst performing industry as regards innovation. This calls for concern about the poor state of construction innovation. The emergence of lean construction is to bring significant reform to the construction industry to achieve the objectives of sustainability within the built environment in the critical social, economic and environmental aspects. Increasingly, lean construction offers new techniques of constructing sustainable projects. It is about reducing costs by cutting waste, innovating by engaging people and organising the work-place to be more efficient. Hence, the aim of this paper is to highlight the cost and benefits of the potential contribution of lean construction to the attainment of sustainable innovation in construction. An exploratory method of investigation is adopted in achieving the aim of this paper by critically reviewing, exploring, and synthesising literature and industry case studies related to the subject matter. Evidence from the literature reveals that innovation through lean improvement in construction processes has provided proof of sustainability outcomes in terms of reduced waste, effort and time. Hence, lean construction impacts significantly on innovation by enhancing competitiveness, innovativeness, and resource efficiency within the construction industry. Keywords: Construction industry, Construction innovation, Lean construction, Sustainabilit

Mass Media Exposure and Intention to use Contraceptives in North-West Geo-Political Zone, Nigeria

The population has been increasing and is expected to continue to increase rapidly.  This increases is projected to be due to the population growth in the less developed countries.  The rapidly the population of a country grows, the more the stress on the economy to keep up with the pace of needed infrastructure that enhances quality of life of the citizenry.  The main driver of population growth is the use of contraceptives especially among currently married women.  The data for this paper is from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.  A subset of currently married women age 15-49 was extracted.  The paper set to find out the factors affecting mass media exposure; how exposure to mass media effect a woman’s intention to use contraceptives; as well as the correlates of a woman’s intention to use contraceptive.  The level of education, religion, occupation, place of residence, ownership of radio, and television as well as household access to electricity have significant effect on the likelihood of married women being exposed to mass media.  The level of education of a woman also have significant effect on intention to use any contraceptive. The effective use of the mass media will increase the proportion of married women who will want to use any contraceptive in the future as such on the long run there will be an improvement in the contraceptive prevalence rate for the zone and indeed the country. Keywords: Mass Media, Intention, Contraceptive, Currently Married women

Investigation on Pleurotus ferulae potential for the sorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution

Pleurotus ferulae obtained from rotten tree was collected, washed, dried, ground and sieved to appropriate particle size. Infra-red spectrometry was used to determine functional groups on the biomass while biosorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution was studied using the biomass in a batch system. The effect of pH (1-7.5), temperature (30-50 oC), biomass dosage of 0.5-4 g and initial metal concentration (20-300 mg/L) was studied. Equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics consideration were evaluated from the studied parameters to evaluate the adsorption potential of the biomass. The functional groups on the dried P. ferulae were:  –OH, –NH, –COO− and –C–O. In the batch experiments maximum biosorption was observed at initial pH of 3.0, temperature of 30 oC and at the initial metal concentration of 100 mg/L. A contact time 20 min was sufficient for quantitative sorption of lead. It was observed that pseudo second order rate expression fit the experimental data and equilibrium analysis showed that the biosorption process followed Langmuir model. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the process was exothermic and ∆Go was negative showing spontaneity of the process within the studied temperature. KEY WORDS: Biosorption, Pb(II), Pleurotus ferulae, Biomass Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2013, 27(1), 25-34.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v27i1.

In Search of Maximal Citizenship in Educational Policy for Young People: Analysing Citizenship in Finnish Religious Education in View of the “Maximal” Conception

The place of religion and how it should be employed in education for citizenship is currently an issue in Europe. The challenges of increasing diversity are the underlying factors. The conception of maximal citizenship (a critical model of citizenship) gives a significant framework for analysis and scholarly perspectives about several European contexts on this matter. However, there is hardly maximal citizenship in Finnish contexts in scholarship. Hence, this work searches for the elements of maximal citizenship in educational policy for young people by employing the policy relating to citizenship in Finnish religious education (RE). Focusing on grades 7–9 of basic education, its primary data is based on selected national policy documents. The data were analysed using critical discourse analysis. The main findings suggest that citizenship in Finnish RE is only somewhat compatible with the characteristics of maximal citizenship. This reveals some policy shortcomings that could negatively affect the potential of critical-mindedness of young people and equal opportunities in a democracy. Hence, some suggestions that could improve the situation are embedded in the paper. Nevertheless, a linguistic conception of citizenship in Finland vis-à-vis a recent development in national educational policy seems to push the conception of maximal citizenship in a relatively new direction. Furthermore, an explicit use of the “Convention on the Rights of the Child” in Finnish curriculum broadens our conception of maximal citizenship in general. Moreover, while scholars generally agree that maximal citizenship is essentially “critical”, this piece suggests that every “critical” approach to citizenship education is not necessarily “maximal”

Factors associated with teenage pregnancy and fertility in Nigeria

Teenage pregnancy and fertility are often debated in literature as reasons of health concern and as a social problem. In understanding the issues that are related to teenage fertility and pregnancy in Nigeria, the paper uses the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey Data. A subset of women age 15 to 19 is extracted from the women data. The article sets to find out the variables that predict the odds of a teenager being currently pregnant, have borne a child in the five years preceding the survey as well as either currently pregnant as at the time of survey or having had a child in the last five years before the survey.  The results show that apart from the age of the teenager, marital status is another strong predictor of the likelihood of being currently pregnant or having a child in the 5 years preceding the survey. An increase in age was associated with increase in the odds of being pregnant and of having born a child. Ensuring that female teenagers remain in school is vital to mitigating the negative outcomes of teenage pregnancy and child bearing.  The treatise in this paper shows that teenage pregnancy and childbearing is a severe policy mediation area if the trend of population growth rate will be curtailed. Keywords: Teenage Pregnancy, Fertility, Nigeria, Demographic, Health Surve

TOWARDS A THEOLOGY OF CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION IN CHURCHES THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

The society we live in cannot avoid conflict. The church in particular is not devoid of conflict of all kinds. Church leaders and other stakeholders in the church have not only to resolve these conflicts, they have to also transform the conflicts and ensure that people live in peaceful co-existence as much as it is possible. The advent of the Internet in general and social media in particular has affected the way people are doing things tremendously. This includes conflict transformation in the church as well. This paper gives a brief introduction to conflict transformation in general and conflict transformation specifically in the church. It gives a brief biblical basis on conflict transformation. Furthermore, it delves extensively on the biblical basis for conflict transformation in churches through social media. It concludes that stakeholders in the church should blend theology together with technology, especially the social media, in transforming conflicts that are arising within the church