Environmental Factors and Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria

The interface between entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial environment has been given attention in entrepreneurship literature. This paper starts by placing the issue of entrepreneurial environment in theoretical context, with particular reference to Nigeria. Two major theoretical perspectives were considered; however, the work dwelt extensively on the demand side perspective, which gives primacy to the compelling influence of environment on entrepreneurial practice. Using resources from academic publications, reports and publications of government agencies and other stakeholders in the field of entrepreneurship in Nigeria, some policy programmes of government were examined with a view to understanding their relevance and states in entrepreneurship development initiatives in the country. It was found that most of the programmes considered were moribund either due to discontinuation by succeeding governments or lack of adequate resources, both human and material, for their operations. In few cases where the programmes were in place, a skewed spread was observed,which was capable of hampering the success of these programmes. The paper recommends the following: an auditing of all the policy programmes to avoid duplication and clashes in spheres of operation; continuity in programme implementation; commitment from credit institutions to spread their activities beyond the “comfort zones” in which they currently operate;and sustained education and enlightenment programmes on the opportunities that abound in the environment amongst other

Inclusive Teaching Strategies: An Evaluation of Course Structure and Summative Assessment in Introductory Biology

Several active learning strategies have been used when increasing the structure of a course as increasing course structure has been known to improve student learning in introductory STEM courses. Much has been studied on the value of frequent formative assessment; however, few studies have evaluated the effective modes of delivering summative assessment. This study examines the use of summative assessment as an inclusive teaching practice to improve first generation college student success in introductory biology and also uses faculty surveys to find out how instructors structure their introductory biology course and why they are structured that way. Final exams were evaluated by Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning. Survey results showed that many instructors used online activities most of the time to supplement face-to-face courses. However, student and faculty viewpoints on assessments offer many interesting insights into how instructors may modify teaching strategies to increase the success of diverse student populations

Buoyancy and thermal radiation effects for the Blasius and Sakiadis flows with a convective surface boundary condition

This study is devoted to investigate the Buoyancy and thermal radiation effects on the laminar boundary layer about a flat-plate in a uniform stream of fluid (Blasius flow), and about a moving plate in a quiescent ambient fluid (Sakiadis flow) both under a convective surface boundary condition. Using a similarity variable, the governing nonlinear partial differential equations have been transformed into a set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which are solved numerically by using shooting technique along side with the sixth order of Runge-Kutta integration scheme and the variations of dimensionless surface temperature and fluid-solid interface characteristics for different values of Prandtl number Pr, radiation parameter NR, parameter a and the local Grashof number Grx, which characterizes our convection processes are graphed and tabulated. Quite different and interesting behaviours were encountered for Blasius flow compared with a Sakiadis flow. A comparison with previously published results on special cases of the problem shows excellent agreement

Radiation and viscous dissipation effects for the Blasius and Sakiadis flows with a convective surface boundary condition

This study is devoted to investigate the radiation and viscous dissipation effects on the laminar boundary layer about a flat-plate in a uniform stream of fluid (Blasius flow), and about a moving plate in a quiescent ambient fluid (Sakiadis flow) both under a convective surface boundary condition. Using a similarity variable, the governing nonlinear partial differential equations have been transformed into a set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which are solved numerically by using shooting technique along side with the sixth order of Runge-Kutta integration scheme and the variations of dimensionless surface temperature and fluid-solid interface characteristics for different values of Prandtl number Pr, radiation parameter NR, parameter a and the Eckert number Ec, which characterizes our convection processes are graphed and tabulated. Quite different and interesting behaviours were encountered for Blasius flow compared with a Sakiadis flow. A comparison with previously published results on special cases of the problem shows excellent agreement

Chronic Toxicity of Pharmaceutical Effluent to Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

The aim of this study was to investigate the chronic toxicity of pharmaceutical effluent on Clarias gariepinus gills and liver as biomarkers of environmental quality in toxicity testing of pharmaceutical effluent. The chronic toxicity test of pharmaceutical effluent was carried out on the histopathology of the gill and liver of juvenile African catfish (C. gariepinus) with mean weight of 10 ± 0.2g and standard length of 6.3 ± 0.3 cm. A range finding test was conducted prior to the experiment. The fish were later exposed to 0%, 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 50% and 100% concentrations of the effluent for 21 days in a static renewal bioassay procedure. The median lethal concentration (LC50) value was 12.16%. Respiratory disturbance, erratic swimming, loss of equilibrium, lethargies and sudden death were observed in the exposed fish and these varied greatly with increase in concentration of the toxicant. This shows that mortality increases with increase in concentration. The differences observed in the mortalities of C. gariepinus at varying concentrations were significant (p < 0.05). The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of C. gariepinus as potential biomarkers of environmental quality with respect to pharmaceutical effluent toxicity testing. The gill histopathological changes observed were epithelial lifting, interstitial oedema, leucocyte infiltration, hyperplasia of the epithelial cells, lamellar fusion, vasodilatation and necrosis. Abnormalies observed in the liver tissues of the treated fish were congestion of the central vein, vacoulation of hepatocyte, oedema, cellular infiltration and cellular necrosis (i.e cell death). Occurrence of the gill and liver anomalies in the test fish show their suitability for use in toxicity testing of pharmaceutical effluent.Keywords: Gill histopathology, liver histopathology, chronic toxicity, pharmaceutical effluent, Clarias gariepinu

Studies of behavioural and analgesic properties of Treculia africana in mice

Treculia africana was claimed to be useful in the treatment of mental illness. The present work was carried out to evaluate the neurobiology and analgesic properties of Treculia africana in mice. The neurobiology and analgesic properties of Treculia africana was investigated by using head dip, elevated plus maze, Y-maze, tail immersion and acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction tests in mice. The results showed that Treculia africana reduced head dips, produced anxiogenic effect, reduced locomotor activity without effect on learning and memory and produced analgesic effect peripherally. It was concluded that Treculia africana possessed sedative and strong analgesic properties. © 2010 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Head dip, elevated plus maze, Y-Maze, tail immersion, abdominal constrictio

Central Nervous System Depressant Properties of Treculia africana Decne

The study was carried out to investigate the central nervous system activity of Treculia africana. The central nervous system depressant properties of Treculia africana were determined using: Novelty –Induced Rearing and Grooming, Locomotor activity, Ketamine-induced sleeping time and effect on rectal body temperature. The crude extract produced decrease in rearing, grooming and locomotor activity. It also potentiated ketamineinduced sleeping time and produced hypothermic effect in mice. The crude extract possessed sedative effect, which may be through increase in the activity of GABA in the brain

Organizational Culture: Creating, Changing, Measuring and Consolidating for Performance

The Culture of an organization starts with the leadership of the organization. The culture of an organization is seen as a DNA that is not visible to the eye, but a very powerful tool that shapes what happens in an organization. Therefore, organizational culture is the personality of the organization. The main thrust of this paper examines how an organization can create, change and strengthen culture as it affects her performance. Furthermore, it examines how organizational culture dynamically creates structures and frameworks for the operations of an organization. This paper further suggests that it is central to comprehend the environmental setting of an organization in order to delineate the cultural standards, values and beliefs to implement. Employees with beliefs and values that are compatible with the organizations’ culture must be recruited from the inception of an organization operation and throughout her life span. Organizations must inspire socialization and incorporation of individual employees’ goals with the organizations’ goals and objectives to sustain her culture. An organization’s Management should implement the development of interconnecting culture through the use of unambiguous statements of single-mindedness, core values and cultural standards. Actively, top management should appraise various cultural elements, as this will help to manage and take necessary actions in strengthening culture

CLASSIFICATION MODEL FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS

Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems.  Although, Learning Disability cannot be cured medically, there exist several methods for detecting learning disabilities in a child. Existing methods of classification of learning disabilities in children are binary classification – either a child is normal or learning disabled. The focus of this paper is to extend the binary classification to multi-label classification of learning disabilities. This paper formulated and simulated a classification model for learning disabilities in primary school pupils. Information containing the symptoms of learning disabilities in pupils were elicited by administering five hundred (500) questionnaire to teachers of Primary One to Four pupils in fifteen government owned elementary schools within Ife Central Local Government Area, Ile-Ife of Osun State. The classification model was formulated using Principal Component Analysis, rule based system and back propagation algorithm. The formulated model was simulated using Waikatto Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) version 3.7.2. The performance of the model was evaluated using precision and accuracy. The classification model of primary one, primary two, primary three and primary four yielded precision rate of 95%, 91.18%, 93.10% and 93.60% respectively while the accuracy results were 95.00%, 91.18%, 93.10% and 93.60% respectively. The results obtained showed that the developed model proved to be accurate and precise in classifying pupils with learning disabilities in primary schools. The model can be adopted for the management of pupils with learning disabilities. &nbsp

Predicting Performance through the Elements of Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is shaped by the leaders and by the purpose for which the organization exist. There are many cultures and subHcultures, which may be of different strengths and which may have different levels of influence. The main aim of this paper was to determine what elements of organizational culture predict the performance of an organization. The objectives of the study were to determine if the different elements of organizational culture has significant contribution on the performances of Universities and to reveal which of the different elements of organizational culture has the most significant contribution in predicting the performances of Universities. To determine what elements of organizational culture predict the performance of an organization, a sample of 100 staff (academic and nonHacademic)each of Covenant University, Ota, Olabisi Onabanjo University, AgoHIwoye, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, all in Ogun State were drawn. Data was collected with the use of a Likert type questionnaire and were analyzed using multiple regressions with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The finding shows that Quality Consciousness, Role Clarity, Employee Concern, Customer Care and Code of Conduct made the most significant contribution in predicting performances of organizations. Conclusively, there is no such thing as a ‘right’ or ‘best’ culture for all organizations. The most appropriate culture for an organization is the one that best helps it cope with the exigencies of its business environment. The most appropriate culture for an organization is the one that best helps it cope with the exigencies of its business environment