Conflict Management Strategies and Administrative Effectiveness among Tertiary Institutions in Sokoto Metropolis

This paper examined conflict management strategies and administrative effectiveness in tertiary institutions in Sokoto metropolis. The study employed a correlational survey research design with questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. The population comprised all the eight tertiary institutions in the area. A sample of 168 lecturers were selected as respondents across four tertiary institutions. Two researcher developed instruments titled “Conflict Management Strategies Questionnaire” (CMSQ) and “Administrative Effectives Scale” (AES), with reliability indices of 0.82 and 0.85 respectively, were used for data collection. Data were analysed using Multiple Regression Analysis. The study established a significant relationship between dialogue, competition, prevention, and communication on one hand and administrative effectiveness on the other hand. It is recommended that tertiary institutions institutionalize dialogue as a conflict management strategy because through dialogue, team members develop skills to think together and to accept differences, thereby avoiding crises and improving performance

Evolution and interfacial dynamics of thin electrolyte films in oil-brine-carbonate rock systems due to chemical equilibrium disruptions

Open Access through the ACS Agreement. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Nigeria for funding this project.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Selected Nigerian Magazines’ Patterns of Cervical Cancer Coverage

This paper examined two magazines’ pattern of covering cervical cancer. Purposively selected were Tell and The News magazines. Eighteen (18) editions randomly selected from the first quarter of 2013 (January – March) were qualitatively content-analysed. The study used agenda setting and social responsibility theories, believing that the more the emphasis placed on cervical cancer by the magazines through their coverage – part of their social responsibility role – the more awareness they would create about it. Cervical cancer reportedly triggers about 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deaths annually, with about 80 per cent of cases occurring in low-income countries. The study found that these two magazines featured no report on the disease in the period under study. Therefore, the study recommends that The News media should pay attention to fulfilling their social responsibility mandate to Nigerian society. Keywords: cervical cancer, mass media, agenda-settin

Press Reportage of 2012 Fuel Subsidy Removal Crisis in Nigeria

Increases in the pump price of petroleum have been incessant in Nigeria. It first took off at 15.3 Kobo per litre in 1978, when General Olusegun Obasanjo was Military Head of State, to 70 Naira in 2007 when same Obasanjo presided over Nigeria’s civil rule. Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan reviewed it upward to 141 Naira in 2012, thus sparking nationwide protests that reversed the price per litre of petrol to its current price of 97 Naira. A further increase appears imminent, as the central government still intends to ensure a total removal of petroleum subsidy. This study is an addition to other studies on mass media’s power to influence and reinforce the relative importance of issues in the psyche of news audiences. With the fuel subsidy crisis of 2012 as its focus, the study examined the reportage of the issue by The Punch and Vanguard newspapers, in terms of their frequency of reports, prominence given, direction of editorial contents, and the tone used in reporting the issue. Inference drawn from the findings is that there was an interaction between the priority accorded the fuel subsidy removal crisis by the press (media agenda), and the importance attached to it by the public through their reaction (public agenda), as well as subsequent government policy reversal (policy agenda). Keywords: Price variation, crisis, media agenda, public agenda, and policy agend

Presentation and outcomes of early and late onset neonatal sepsis in a Nigerian Hospital

Background: Neonatal Sepsis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates despite great advances in antimicrobial therapy and life support measures.Objectives: To compare the aetiology, risk factors, presentation and outcomes of care between early onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) and late onset neonatal sepsis (LOS).Methods: Bacterial isolates were identified using blood cultures and antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using disc diffusion method. The risk factors, clinical presentation, laboratory findings and neonatal outcomes of the babies with EOS were compared with LOS. Statistical significance was set at P <0.05.Results: Neonatal Sepsis was responsible for 16% of Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) admissions. Of the 72 babies with sepsis, 56 (77.8%) had EOS as against 16 (22.2%) who had late-onset sepsis. Low birth weight (p=0.01) and perinatal asphyxia (p=0.01) were significantly associated with EOS while for LOS, delivery outside the health facility (p=0.01) was the only significant risk factor. Respiratory distress was more significantly observed in EOS (p = 0.01). Neonatal deaths occurred in 32% of babies with EOS while all babies with culture positive LOS survived.Conclusion: Early onset neonatal sepsis is associated with high likelihood of neonatal mortality. Unsupervised delivery, birth asphyxia and low birth weight are risk factors associated with neonatal sepsis. Efforts to ensure supervised hospital delivery and improvement in neonatal resuscitation may reduce the incidence of neonatal sepsis and its attendant complications.Keywords: Onset neonatal , Nigerian Hospital

Rise of the ‘homo erotica’? Portrayal of women and gender role stereotyping in movies: analysis of two Nigerian movies

Over time, the role of mass media as agents of socialization has attracted an array of criticisms from different segments of the society. To social psychologists, the images portrayed in the mass media, often times, alter people’s perception of social realities and are believed to play significant roles in stimulating anti-social behaviours such as crime, delinquency and violence. To critical feminists, the mass media are seen as agents of male chauvinism, systematically deployed for the perpetuation of a male dominated socio-cultural, political and economic order through the portrayal and continuous reinforcement of negative gender role stereotypes of women. This study is therefore designed to analyse the forms and pattern of portrayal of women and gender role stereotypes in selected Nollywood movies. Two movies – Ije (2012) and Mr. and Mrs. (2012) were selected using purposive sampling technique and content-analysed. Findings revealed that women were generally portrayed in the movies as sex objects and objects of erotic gaze for men, domestic servants, “the weaker sex”, “the wicked mother-in-laws” and working class women as insubordinate wives and uncaring mothers, among other negative forms of portrayals. It also found that the forms of portrayal and stereotypes of women in the movies reviewed fit into and can reinforce widely held social beliefs and gender role expectations from women in the larger Nigerian socio-cultural environment. Keywords: women, portrayal, stereotyping, framing, social cue

Comparative Biodiversity Assessment of Weed Species in Monocropping Plantations of University of Ilorin, Nigeria

The present study investigates the weed species diversity in four plantations of university of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria using quadrat method. The survey revealed two major life cycles (annual and perennial) and recorded a total of 88 weed species belonging to 32 families. Four species (Azadirachta indica, Daniellia oliveri, Desmodium tortuosum, and Tridax procumbens) were common in all the surveyed plantations while the family Fabaceae was the most dominant. The abundant weed species analysis showed a high importance value index and were more adapted to the plantations. Diversity analysis revealed high species richness in the sugarcane plantation. The non-canopy nature of the plantation, soil structure as well as ability to coexist with many other species may underscore the reasons for this pattern of diversity. The evenness and similarity indices between and across the plantations were generally low, thus, indicating varying diversity. As a result of the recorded variation in weed composition between and across the plantations, the study has provided an insight on the pattern of weed diversity in the studied plantations. The study recommended that the most abundant weed species populations be checked for the plantations to thrive. Finally, there is an urgent need to conserve weed species that are not only rare in abundance but also showed great social and economic values

Presentation and outcomes of early and late onset neonatal sepsis in a Nigerian Hospital

Background: Neonatal Sepsis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates despite great advances in antimicrobial therapy and life support measures. Objectives: To compare the aetiology, risk factors, presentation and outcomes of care between early onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) and late onset neonatal sepsis (LOS). Methods: Bacterial isolates were identified using blood cultures and antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using disc diffusion method. The risk factors, clinical presentation, laboratory findings and neonatal outcomes of the babies with EOS were compared with LOS. Statistical significance was set at P <0.05. Results: Neonatal Sepsis was responsible for 16% of Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) admissions. Of the 72 babies with sepsis, 56 (77.8%) had EOS as against 16 (22.2%) who had late-onset sepsis. Low birth weight (p=0.01) and perinatal asphyxia (p=0.01) were significantly associated with EOS while for LOS, delivery outside the health facility (p=0.01) was the only significant risk factor. Respiratory distress was more significantly observed in EOS (p = 0.01). Neonatal deaths occurred in 32% of babies with EOS while all babies with culture positive LOS survived. Conclusion: Early onset neonatal sepsis is associated with high likelihood of neonatal mortality. Unsupervised delivery, birth asphyxia and low birth weight are risk factors associated with neonatal sepsis. Efforts to ensure supervised hospital delivery and improvement in neonatal resuscitation may reduce the incidence of neonatal sepsis and its attendant complications

Molecular Characterization of Potential Crop Pathogens Associated with Weeds as Endophytes in Uniilorin Plantations, Nigeria

عادة ما تحدث أمراض المحاصيل عن طريق لقاح من مسببات الأمراض التي قد توجد على عوائل بديلة أو حشائش مثل عائل نباتي داخلي. عادة ما تمنح هذه العوائل النباتية الداخلية ، مسببات الأمراض ، بعض السمات المفيدة لهذه الأعشاب أو المضيفات البديلة من الحماية ضد العواشب ، ومقاومة الأمراض ، وتحمل الإجهاد لإنتاج مركبات الايض الثانوية. لذلك أجريت هذه الدراسة لعزل مسببات الأمراض المحتملة التي توجد كعوائل نباتية داخلية في أنواع الادغال في مزارع جامعة إيلورين. جمعت الأوراق الخضراء عديمة الأعراض من 10 أنواع من الادغال عبر المزارع ، وتم معالجتها لعزل الفطريات من العائل النباتي الداخلي. تم تنقية العزلات إلى مستنبتات نقية واستخدمت في التعريف الجزيئي باستخدام منطقة المباعد المنسوخة الداخلية (ITS) للحمض النووي الريبوسومي. كشف التحليل الوراثي للتسلسل الفطري باستخدام برنامج MEGA عن 9 أجناس فطرية تنتمي إلى 13 نوعًا ، مع وجود أنواع في الأجناس Curvularia و Epicoccum و Daldinia في أكثر من نوع واحد من الادغال ، بينما توجد أجناس أخرى مثل Alternaria و Fusarium و Chaetomium و Macrophomina و Arthrinium و Phomopsis في نوع واحد فقط من الادغال لكل منهما. تم عزل Daldinia eschscholtzii في هذه الدراسة باعتباره عائل نباتي داخلي من Loudetia arundinacea لأول مرة. هذا النبات متوفر بكثرة في نيجيريا وإفريقيا حيث يتم استخدامه بشكل رئيسي بتغطية السقوف بالقش وتغذية المواشي. يمثل هذا أيضًا أول فطريات في عائل نباتي داخلي من جنس Loudetia.. تمت مناقشة العلاقة المحتملة بين حدوث هذه الفطريات باعتبارها عائل نباتي داخلي ومسببات الأمراض. تمثل هذه الاكتشافات أول تحديد جزيئي واسع النطاق والعديد من التقارير الأولية عن عوائل نباتات داخلية من هذه الأنواع من الادغال. تمثل هذه النتائج أيضًا التسجيل الأولي لبعض هذه الفطريات في نيجيريا.Crop diseases are usually caused by inoculum of pathogens which might exist on alternate hosts or weeds as endophytes. These endophytes, cum pathogens, usually confer some beneficial attributes to these weeds or alternate hosts from protection against herbivores, disease resistance, stress tolerance to secondary metabolites production. This study was therefore carried out to isolate potential crop pathogens which exist as endophytes on weed species in the University of Ilorin plantations. Green asymptomatic leaves were collected from 10 weed species across the plantations, and processed for their endophytic fungi isolation. Isolates were purified into pure cultures and used for molecular identification using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA. Phylogenetic analysis of the fungal sequences using MEGA software revealed 9 fungal genera belonging to 13 species, with species in the genera Curvularia, Epicoccum and Daldinia occurring in more than one weed species, while other genera such as Alternaria, Fusarium, Chaetomium, Macrophomina, Arthrinium and Phomopsis occurred in just one weed species each. Daldinia eschscholtzii was isolated in this study as an endophyte from Loudetia arundinacea for the first time. This plant is very abundant in Nigeria and Africa where it is used majorly for thatching and feeding livestocks. This also represents the first endophytic fungi from the genus Loudetia. Potential relationship between the occurrences of these fungi as endophytes and as pathogens are discussed. These discoveries represent the first large-scale molecular identification and several first reports of endophytes from these weed species. These results also represent the first records of some of these fungi in Nigeria