Traditional/Alternative Medicine: An Investigation into Identification, Knowledge and Consumption Practices of Herbal Medicine among Students with Hearing Impairment in Ibadan, South-Western Nigeria

The use of traditional medicine as alternative or complimentary therapy is gaining prominence in primary health care worldwide. This is because of the efficacy in the management of mild, chronic seemingly incurable ailments/diseases. Though the publicity is on the increase from country to country in the world, however, one cannot conclude that the information has reached all classes of people. This study therefore investigated identification, knowledge and consumption practice of herbal medicine among the hearing-impaired. The study adopted survey research design. A total of 50 students with hearing impairment were selected from different locations in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Traditional medicinal inventory was used to collect data with reliabilities of 0.72, 0.80 and 0.67 respectively based on perception, knowledge and consumption practices. Two research questions were answered and two hypotheses tested. Result revealed wrong perception and low knowledge of traditional/alternative therapy. Also, there was no significant difference in the identification and consumption practice and no significant influence of religion on consumption practice among the respondents. Based on the results, it is recommended that proper education should be given to students with hearing impairment about traditional medicine. Keywords: Alternative medicine, Students, Hearing-impaired, Cultural belief, Nigeri

Power Generation from Melon Seed Husk Biochar Using Fuel Cell

Melon seed husk (MSH) biochar was used in a single cell direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) as an alternative biofuel. The DCFCs belong to a generation of energy conversion devices that are characterised with higher efficiencies, lower emission of pollutants and MSH biochar as the fuel. Several analytical techniques (proximate, ultimate and thermo-chemical analysis) were employed to analyse the characteristics of the biomass fuel, their effects on the cell’s performance, and the electrochemical reactions between the fuel and the electrolyte in the system. High carbon content and calorific values are some of the parameters responsible for good performances. The performance of a lab-scale DCFC made of ceramic tubes using molten carbonate electrolyte was investigated. Binary carbonates mixture (Na2CO3-K2CO3, 38-62 mol.%) was used as electrolyte and the waste MSH carbonised at 450oC as biofuel. A practical evaluation of the fuel used in the DCFC system was conducted, for varying temperature of 100 - 800oC. The maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) was 0.71 V. With an applied load resistance and active surface area of 5.73 cm2 the maximum power density was 5.50 mWcm-2 and the current density was 29.67 mAcm-2 at 800oC

Exploring Nigeria’s Public Projects Prospects for the Good of Nigerians

Public projects that should facilitate wellbeing of Nigerians have suffered setbacks and not been able to do so. This study is a descriptive type and discussed the forces of projects failure, intrigues of public officers that subvert project outcomes, the expected roles of state actors in project pursuits, and prospects for public projects in Nigeria. The study found that paucity of funds, policy summersault, and inflation of projects costs, poor delivery of projects or outright abandonment by contractors, attitudes of the ruling regime, its successor and beneficiaries are some of the forces that obstruct public projects. The study also found that corruption, use of direct labor, connivance; party politics, poor focus and maintenance, personalization of public project, misplaced priority are some of the intrigues of project initiators that subvert project outcomes in Nigeria. The study also found that numerous skilled bureaucrats, due process, procurement system, and supremacy of the constitution, multi-party politics, and the presidential system of government with democratic system that Nigeria practices are some of the opportunities open to the country on its public projects fortune. This study made use of secondary data that was sourced from journal articles, online materials, government gazettes, policy documents, and other publications. The data was content analyzed thematically. The study concluded that members of the public need to make attainable gains from numerous public project opportunities. Keywords: project initiator, opportunities, public projects, masses, wellbeing of Nigerians DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/13-3-01 Publication date: April 30th 202

What Drives Innovation?: Inferences from an Industry-Wide Survey in Nigeria

This chapter seeks to make some contributions to the literature on firm-level innovation in Africa by attempting to identify the significant factors that explain the capability of firms in Nigeria to innovate using the results of an industry-wide study. We focused on the product and process innovation activities of firms between 2003 and 2006 and found differences in the factors that drive them at the firm level. Our results further show that interactions matter more than most innovation-related variables and that the most important actors that influence a firm’s innovation efforts are its customers and suppliers. We conclude that product and process innovations are not mutually exclusive and that a major key to successful innovation is how and with whom a firm collaborates. The implication of this for firms and policy makers is that an effectively wired innovation system where all stakeholders are active is critical for firm-level innovation capability.innovation; drivers; manufacturing industry; Nigeria; determinants

Prediction of Bank Failure Using Camel and Market Information: Comparative Appraisal of Some Selected Banks in Nigeria.

This paper attempted to predict bank failure using CAMEL and stock market information. The study reviewed journal, seminal papers, articles, websites and banks’ annual financial statement. The study covered five accounting years between 2006 and 2010. Multiple discriminant model was used to predict bank failure and the status of Nigerian banks. It was discovered that almost all the banks used for the study had their Z score fall within bankruptcy region. An attempt was further made to thoroughly evaluate managerial quality because experience has shown that bank failure in Nigeria was largely due to managerial inefficiency . Managerial quality were evaluated using variable such as total loan to total deposit, interest expenses to total deposit and operating expenses to total deposit. We concluded that bank failure is as a result of  poor CAMEL rating as well as excessive risk taking and the end results are credit crunch, unemployment, illiquidity etc . we suggested that the only way to contain bank failure is by ensuring regular and transparent on site and off site examination by CBN and NDIC. Keywords: bank failure, CAMEL, stock market informatio

Evaluation of land surface temperature parameterization approaches using surface- layer observations

Surface temperature (Ts) is vital to the study of land-atmosphere interactions and climate variabilities. However, observed Ts data are still very scarce in humid tropical region. There is therefore a need to parameterize and improve the representation of Ts in Global Climate Models using available meteorological data. Six land surface temperature parameterization approaches (Force restored, Liebethal, Holtslag, Equilibrium Gradient, Tracy and Gottsche approaches) were validated with actual measurements using the Nigeria Micrometeorological Experiment (NIMEX) surface layer observations. The Liebethal approach showed the best agreement with the measured data with average coefficient of determination, mean bias error and root mean square error of 0.96 ± 0.01, 0.08 ± 0.04oC and 0.85 ± 0.14oC, respectively, in simulated Ts. The results also showed that the Force restored and Tracy approaches are applicable for land surface temperature parameterization in this region.Keywords: Surface Temperature, Climate Change, Humid, Parameterization, Mean Bias Erro

Neuromusculoskeletal disorders in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Outcome of a twelve-week Therapeutic exercise programme

Usual line of management of diabetes patients is drug and diet with theirphysical needs usually receiving minimal attention. Among the physical needs, requiring attention is their neuromusculoskeletal disorders. This study was designed to investigate the effect of a twelve-week therapeuticexercise on neuromusculoskeletal disorders ofType 2 Diabetes (T2D) patients. Forty-three participants from the Diabetes Specialty Clinic ofAminu KanoTeaching Hospital, Kano completed the study. Selected neuromusculoskeletal disorders including pain, dermatological foot grades,disorders of ranges of motion and strength of selected joints and muscles were assessed before and after a period of twelve weeks of therapeutic exercises. Participants were followed up for another twelve weekswithout therapeutic exercises. Baseline assessment revealed poor neuromusculoskeletal status. Significant improvements (P0.05). T2D patients presented with neuromusculoskeletal disorders at baseline. Therapeutic exercises however assisted in the improvement of these disorders but relapsed when exercises were suspended. Engagement in therapeutic exercises enhanced neuromusculoskeletal health, while withdrawal from the exercise contributed to a decline. T2D patients should be encouraged to participate in therapeutic exercises in order to promote their health and function

Understanding the queuing theory for improved service delivery: an entrepreneurial-mindset approach

Queuing theory plays a huge role in solving and preventing operational bottlenecks and service failures in the organization. But, observations show that Queuing analysis may become extremely complex and cumbersome. Therefore, most entrepreneurs, having realized its usefulness in managing their much earned successes achieved in relation to customer’s patronage and service delivery now desire its simplified applications in normal day to day running of operations. The methodology adopted in this paper, therefore is to describe queuing theory and its associated terminologies in relation to service delivery. In view of this, the paper presented a simplified exposition of queuing theory and management of waiting lines as it affects entrepreneurial drive for more business growth and opportunities with its attendant implications to customers’ service delivery and satisfaction. The paper concluded that if appropriately delivered and applied, queuing theory goes a long way in achieving and maintaining customer satisfaction. It recommended that entrepreneurs should seek the opportunity of gaining better understanding and application of queuing theory to practically reduce or eliminate boredom, irritation, breakdown and frustration to customers without much ado.Keywords: queues, customer, waiting line, entrepreneurs, servic

Knowledge Sharing Attitudes of Library and Information Science Professionals in Nigeria

Knowledge sharing in an organization nowadays has been a strong force toward attaining organizational goals. Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals are at the forefront of information gathering and dissemination, and at such, knowledge sharing among such professionals needs to be investigated.  The study examined the attitudes of LIS professionals in Nigeria toward knowledge sharing; and they comprised the population of the study in this research. The responses were collated through online survey using Google forms; the link was posted on Nigerian Library Association online platform and WhatsApp groups of all the library professionals in Nigeria, given a timeframe of two weeks for data collection.  Descriptive statistics was employed for data analysis. Ninety-four responses were recorded within a space of two weeks.  The results revealed that the attitudes of LIS professionals to knowledge sharing with a grand mean score of 4.5, which indicated positive attitudes. The avenue for knowledge sharing varies significantly from Conferences, Seminars, Face-to-face with social media platforms. Also, years of work experience was found to have significant influence on intrinsic motivational factors to sustain knowledge sharing attitudes of the professionals in library and information science specialty in Nigeria. The second hypothesis was also rejected for the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis that states that extrinsic motivation has significant influence on knowledge sharing attitudes of library and information science professionals in Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommends, among, others that a mentoring programme be established for peer-to-peer and promotion of knowledge sharing should further be strengthened. Keywords: Extrinsic motivation, Intrinsic motivational factors, Knowledge sharing attitudes, Knowledge sharing, Library and Information Science Professionals, Nigeria. DOI: 10.7176/IKM/11-1-01 Publication date: January 31st 202