Rawls In The African Predicament: Some Theoretical Considerations

The colonial experience in Africa is an epochal phenomenon. This is because the postcolonial conditions became crippling enough to determine the direction that Africa would take. The colonial logic through series of socio-cultural, economic and political “pre-texts” ensured the disruption of the African psyche and societies. One of the ways in which the Africa is coming to term with its disrupted existence is the attempt to recreate a democratic community on demotic principles. The people are essential because they were crucial to the decolonisation process. However, because the colonial structures remained largely uninterrogated by the nationalists, the African state lost its legitimacy and the disenchanted Africans discovered meaningfulness in their ethnic enclaves. How then can African achieve a liberating democratic community? How does liberal democracy, and its arch-advocate Rawls, feature in this attempt at legitimating the postcolonial African state? How meaningful is the idea of an African liberal democracy? Journal of Philosophy and Culture Vol. 3 (1) 2006: pp. 22-5

Postcolonialism and the Two Publics in Nigeria: Rethinking the Idea of the Sceptical Public

The concept of the public occupies a unique place in the understanding of democratic governance in Africa. However, its uniqueness is mediated by the fact that it is a transconceptual notion with theoretical ties to many other concepts—nationalism, globalisation, popular culture, modernity, civil society, the political, democracy and so on. This trans-conceptual character is further interjected by the fact of the colonial intrusion in the conceptual history of African societies. The implication is therefore that any attempt at understanding the manifestation of this concept in its African context must be ready to follow it through its often convoluted path. Ekeh’s (1975) and Mbembe’s (2001) analyses constitute a firm grasp of the historical legacy of the notion of the public in Africa. However, Lawuyi’s (2012) recent attempt to ground an understanding of the public as the core of a “proposal to a new understanding of our [Nigerian] society” actually undermines that proposal rather than contribute to it. And it does this basically because it flouts the essential conceptual necessity underlying any application of that term

Documentary Perspective of Bibliotherapy in Education

Implemented correctly, bibliotherapy may prove one of the better techniques in dealing with emotional conflicts among children and adolescents, as research reminds us that periods of development are critically contingent upon self-concepts and how individuals believe they are perceived by significant others. Because many individuals (children and adolescents) are reluctant to verbalize emotions such as fear, rejection, and depression openly, carefully selected books allow these individuals to understand themselves better, learn from the experiences of others and contemplate possible solutions to problems (Schrank, 1982). The purpose of this article is to provide knowledge and understanding of the history, concept and intent of the bibliotherapeutical processes

Implications of Community Infrastructure Provision in the Development of Medium-Sized Towns in Kwara State Nigeria

Infrastructure has been recognized as the crux of human settlement development. This paper therefore examines the implications of community provision of infrastructure in the development of medium – sized towns in Nigeria. Medium-sized towns are settlements with population size of between 5,000 and 20,000. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The findings generally revealed a high level of community participation in the provision of such infrastructure as schools, electricity, roads, water, market stalls, health facilities, and town halls. However, variations exist among the medium – sized towns in the type and number of infrastructure provided by community action. Kendall’s Coefficient Concordance (W) used to test the degree of variations in ranks revealed a significant agreement in the ranking. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis used to classify the medium – sized towns based on infrastructure provision produced three classes. The general implication of this study is that, infrastructure provision by community action can lead to a balanced regional development as other smaller towns around the study emulate the action. Recognizing the role of small – sized towns in a balanced regional development process, government should encourage the people through the provision of financial support, machineries and technical know-how in the provision of infrastructure. This paper recommends the integration of community development plans with those of the local government towards achieving even development.Keywords: Infrastructure, Medium-Sized, Towns, Community, Participatio

Alepidea amatymbica

Alepidea amatymbica is an important medicinal plant in Southern Africa with a long history of traditional use for the management of conditions like colds, coughs, sore throat, influenza, asthma, and abdominal cramps. Despite the much acclaimed traditional uses of the plant, there is a dearth of scientific information on the review of this plant. Hence, this review is aimed at providing information on the botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of A. amatymbica. This review uses all the synonyms of the plant obtained from the plant list. Google scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and Scopus were made use of in addition to the University of Fort Hare’s online databases. All the phytochemical studies on Alepidea amatymbica obtained from the literature reported the presence of kaurene-type diterpenoids and their derivatives. Pharmacological areas identified on A. amatymbica fresh and dried extract include antibacterial, antifungal, sedative, astringent, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antihelminthes, antihypertensive, anti-HIV, and diuretic activities. Literature search on A. amatymbica revealed the use of cell line, brine shrimps, and rats for the determination of the toxicity in the plant. Clinical trials and product development to fully exploit the medicinal value are also required to validate its folklore use in traditional medicine

Evaluation of the polyphenolic contents and antioxidant properties of aqueous extracts of garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper and their mixture

Garlic (Allium sativum), Ginger (Zingiber officinale), and Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum fructences) are common culinary spices that are used singly or combined in the diet of many populations of the world and there is a long-held belief of their health-enhancing properties.  This study investigated the aqueous extracts each of garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper and a combination of the three for polyphenolic and antioxidant properties that might justify such claims. Aqueous extracts of garlic, ginger, pepper and a combination of the three was evaluated for polyphenolic and antioxidant activities using DPPH, ABTS, nitric oxide radical scavenging activities and reducing power assay. Each of the spice extracts showed high content of phenolics, flavonoids, flavonols and proanthocyanidin, with the pepper extract exhibiting the highest concentration of each polyphenol investigated. The antioxidant activities of the spices and their mixture was concentration dependent, though positively comparable with the standards used. Among the extracts, the mixture exhibited the highest antioxidant activity compared to the individual spices and standards probably due to a synergistic effect of combining the spices. The present study confirmed that the aqueous extracts of garlic, ginger and pepper exhibited significant polyphenolic content and antioxidant potentials. Also, that a mixture of the three spices potentially exhibits more powerful synergistic antioxidant activity than the individual spices, making a strong case for their combined use

Subtropical rain attenuation statistics on 12.6 GHZ Ku-band satellite link using synthetic storm technique

Abstract: In this work, measured subtropical rain attenuation was compared with rain attenuation generated theoretically by the Synthetic Storm Technique (SST). The rain attenuation data was obtained from a Ku-band satellite TV link collocated at the site of a rain rate measurement system in Durban, South Africa (2887S, 3098E). A mathematical model developed from the measurement campaign was used to generate measured data for four years of rainfall. Annual cumulative distribution functions of SST prediction results are compared with the results of the measurement-based model. The results show SST to be a fair approximation of actual measurements. This was established by error analysis carried out to compare the error margins in SST prediction and the error margins in the in-force ITU-R prediction method. While the SST approach was shown to conform slightly less accurately to measurements than the ITU-R model, it still yields highly acceptable results in the 0 to 11 dB margin in which the said link experiences most of the measured attenuation before total channel squelching occurs

AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND FREQUENCY OF USE OF ICT TOOLS BY HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN ILORIN METROPOLIS

This research explores the availability, accessibility and the extent of ICT usage by health professionals in Ilorin metropolis. Data was collected using a sample size of 174 health service providers in 34 public and private hospitals by means of a structured questionnaire. Findings from this study indicate that the ICTs that were commonly available and used by the health professionals are the older ICTs. These include TV set, DSTV, photocopiers, fax machines, and convergent technologies like mobile phones and computers. Although, Internet driven facilities like video-conferencing, teleconferencing, web discussion forums and email among others, were not readily available to the health professionals, a comparative analysis reveals that there was superior availability and use of computers, projectors, e-mails and Internet by health professionals in private hospitals than those in public hospitals. This is as a result of the financial implications of procurement and installation of these facilities. Interestingly, the level of awareness of users on the numerous benefits of ICTs on their job and productivity is quite impressive. It is therefore, concluded that hospitals’ regulatory agencies should collaborate with International agencies such as World Health Organization (WHO),United Nations Organization (UNO) and the European Union, among others, to aid in the successful implementation and funding for the procurement of sophisticated ICTs to facilitate the dissemination of up to date health information to public and private hospitals

In vitro anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activities of crude saponins extracted from Albuca bracteataJacq. Bulb.

Background: Albuca bracteata is a medicinal plant traditionally used in the management of diabetes mellitus in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of saponins extracted from the bulb of Albuca bracteata and compared with the crude methanolic extract.Methods: In vitro antioxidant activity was determined using free radical scavenging assays such as DPPH, ABTS and NO2. The antiinflammatory potential was carried out using inhibition of protein denaturation of egg albumin as a model of anti-inflammatory capacity.Results: Both the crude methanolic extract and saponins showed inhibition of DPPH, ABTS and NO2 scavenging activity. However, the free radical scavenging activity of isolated saponin compared favourably with Rutin and BHT. The crude methanolic extract showed higher inhibition percentage of protein denaturation compared with the saponins at the concentration investigated.Conclusion: This study indicates that saponin from Albuca bracteata bulb possess potent anti-inflammatory activity and is also a good source of natural antioxidant.Key words: anti-inflammatory, Albuca bracteata, free radicals, antioxidant

Comparative Analysis of Path Loss Prediction Models for Urban Macrocellular Environments

A comparative analysis of path loss prediction models for urban macrocellular environments is presented in this paper. Specifically, three path loss prediction models namely free space, Hata and Egli were used to predict path losses. The calculated path loss values were compared with practical measured data obtained from a Visafone base station located in Uyo, Nigeria. The comparative analysis reveals that the mean square error (MSE) for free space, Hata and Egli were 16.24dB, 2.37dB and 8.40dB respectively. The results showed that Hata’s model is the most accurate and reliable path loss prediction model for macrocellular urban propagation environments, since its MSE value of 2.37dB is smaller than the acceptable minimum MSE value of 6dB for good signal propagation