Activities Of Women In Home Gardening In Ovia North-East Local Government Area Of Edo State, Nigeria

The study investigated the activities of women in home gardening in Ovia North-East L.G.A. of Edo state. A total of 80 respondents were sampled using the snowball sampling technique. Data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, means and chi-square analysis. Results revealed that 36.0% of the women were mainly between 41 to 50 years of age. About 74.7% were married and 64.0% had passed through tertiary institutions. The major crops cultivated were pumpkin (93.3%), bitter leaf (90.7%), pepper (88.0%) and green vegetables (84.0%). Some of the activities carried out by the women themselves in the garden include planting (X=3.37) and weeding (X=2.91). The reasons adduced for establishing home garden were ready supply of food for the household (88.0%) and income generation (66.7%). A significant association exist between the respondents’ years of farming experience and the activities carried out in the garden (χ2 = 9.10; p < 0.05). It was recommended that more women should be encouraged to establish home gardens around their house and those that already do should be reached with extension services on how to tackle problems such as pest and disease infestations.     &nbsp

State-Level Electricity Generation Efficiency: Do Restructuring and Regulatory Institutions Matter in the US?

This paper examines the impact of deregulation and the political support for it on the electric power industry using a consistent state-level electricity generation dataset for the US contiguous states from 1997-2014. Recent analyses of productivity growth suggests that institutional factors are important and we wish to study the role of deregulation as a statelevel institutional change through two measures: (a) restructuring and (b) the political support for it, measured by the majority political affiliation of public utility commissions. We find evidence of positive impacts of deregulation (both restructuring and the political support for it) on technical efficiency across the models estimated. Our preferred model which allows for the control for deregulation variables on the mean and variance of the inefficiency shows an average technical efficiency of 73.1 percent. The results of the marginal effects reveal that the impact of deregulation including its political support on inefficiency is negative and monotonic, with the potential reduction of 8.4 percent in the mean of technical inefficiency, thereby suggesting a compelling evidence for generation efficiency improvement via deregulation

Predicting Sanding Potential Using Empirical Method in “Ebendo” Field, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Sand formations represent a large fraction of oil and/or gas reservoirs in the world, hence it becomes imperative to determine the competency of the reservoirs to produce sand-free hydrocarbon. This informed the empirical technique adopted in this study to evaluate elastic parameters such as shear modulus (G), bulk compressibility (Cb), shear modulus to bulk compressibility (G/Cb) ratio and Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) to determine sand influx in the “Ebendo” Field, Niger Delta, Nigeria. To achieve this goal, seven (7) hydrocarbon-bearing sand units with thicknesses ranging from 12.51 to 48.63 m were identified at depth range of 1884.79 - 3350.15 m across the four (4) wells. These elastic parameters were estimated at the interval of interest. The range of values obtained for G/Cb ratio in EBD (01 and 02) is 1.49 × 1012 - 5.40 × 1012 psi2 while the range of values for G/Cb ratio in EBD (04 and 06) is 0.06 × 1012 - 0.41 × 1012 psi2. This result suggests that EBD (01 and 02) have no potential to sanding while EBD (04 and 06) have a high probability of sanding when compared to the threshold value of 0.8 × 1012 psi2. The production history of the “Ebendo” Field also correlates with the findings of this study. The low values of UCS in EBD (04 and 06) also agrees with the observation. Thus, this study has shown the efficacy of using empirical method as a quick approach to predicting sand production in the “Ebendo” Field and this technique could be used in other fields with similar geological setting

Rauvolfia vormitoria Effect on the Degradation of Aluminium Alloy in 2.5 M Hydrochloric Acid Solution

The deterioration of aluminium alloy in 2.5 M hydrochloric acid in the presence Rauvolfia vormitoria extract was examined using both gasometric and gravimetric techniques. Aluminium coupons measuring 4 cm by 1 cm were introduced into test solutions of uninhibited acid and also those containing extract quantities of 10, 20, 30 and 40 cm3 at ambient temperature of 250C for a total cumulative period of 117 minutes. The volumes of hydrogen gas evolved and weight loss readings were recorded and analyzed to obtain weight loss and corrosion rate for each coupon at specific time intervals. The results however, showed that while extract quantity was increasing; weight loss measurements increased but inhibitor efficiency decreased. Also, the metal surface-phytoconstituent interaction mechanism was consistent with the Temkin adsorption isotherm and the 3 minutes curve showed the best exposure time for phytochemicals to adsorb to alloy surface. Furthermore, microstructural studies showed an indirect relationship between metallic degradation and extract quantity, while uniformity of the irregular intermetallic phases increased with increasing extract quantity

Revisiting Family Values: A Pathway towards Societal Stability

The family can be regarded as society's oldest and most important social institution. Family responsibilities may include providing guidance, support and a sense of belonging to its members. This was basically the case with the traditional family where children learnt the values of discipline, hardwork, respect for elders and constitpted authority, responsibility, integrity and credibility. Indeed, a good family guarantees a good society and a good society would guarantee a good and stable nation. With modemity and industrialisation the role of the family seemed to have waned considerably as majority of parents have had less time for their children and seemed to have delegated most of their responsibilities to nannies and househelps due to work commitment. The end result have been an increase in juvenile delinquency, high levels of criminality, drug abuse and addiction, high rate of promiscuity, disregard for elders and constituted authority, the get rich quick syndrome, disregard for hardwork, corruption and a lack of responsibility, integrity and credibility. This paper therefore examines the situation critically and proffers solutions on how best to revert the situation before the society derails completely

Cost efficiency and electricity market structure: A case study of OECD countries

The OECD electricity sector has witnessed significant institutional restructuring over the past three decades. As a consequence, many power generation utilities now act as unregulated companies that technically compete to sell power on an open market. This paper analyses the performance in term of cost efficiency for electricity generation in OECD power sector while accounting for the impact of electricity market structures. We employ the short-run cost function in which capital stock is treated as a quasi-fixed factor input. Empirical models are developed for the cost function as a translog form and analysed using panel data of 25 countries during the period 1980 to 2009. We show that it is necessary to model latent country-specific heterogeneity in addition to time-varying inefficiency. The estimated economies of scale are adjusted to take account of the importance of the quasi-fixed capital input in determining cost behaviour, and long run constant returns to scale are verified for the OECD generation sector. The research findings suggest there is a significant impact of electricity market regulatory indicators on cost. In particular, public ownership and vertical integration are found to have significant and sizable increasing impacts on cost, thereby indicating policy lessons on the desirable ways to implement structural electricity generation reforms

Small Scale Oil Palm Farmers’ Preference For Training In South West, Nigeria

The study assessed small-scale oil palm farmers’ farm situations and their preferences for training in South Western Nigeria. Both purposive and random selection techniques were used in selecting the 331 respondents for the study. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire and  analyzed using both cc (93.6%) with a mean age of 53 years; married (93.6%) and possessed an average farm size of 3.1 hectare. Acquisition of farm lands was mainly through inheritance (47.9%) and self-acquisition through purchases (44.4%). The plantations are located at a range of 100 metres and 55 kilometres away from farmers’ home. Farmer workshop (? = 2.3; s = 1.46), field training with extension agents (? = 2.8; s = 1.78), and proficiency courses (? = 3.2; s = 1.77), respectively were most preferred types of training on oil palm production. Similarly, farmers (84.9%) preferred trainings conducted in the morning hours, Mondays to Wednesdays of the week (59.8%) and January to April of the year (54.7%). Level of education (χ2 = 17.18; p < 0.05), farm size (χ2 = 12.79; p < 0.05), type of oil palm plantation (χ2 = 27.20; p < 0.05) and age of plantation (χ2 = 29.79; p < 0.05) have significant association with respondents preferences for training situation. There was no significant difference between respondents’ preferences for training across the sampled states. It was recommended that adequate training needs and situation analyses should be carried out before organizing training for farmers. &nbsp

Tourists’ Choice For Tour Guides In Enhancing Site Experience At Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos State

The use of appropriate mechanisms for the interpretation and dissemination of information plays a fundamental role in improving the visitor’s experience. This study thus aimed to find out tourists’ preference for tour guides as well as their perception on the services of tour guides at Lekki Conservation Center, Lagos State. Well-structured questionnaire; purposively directed at 100 tourists were used to obtain primary data at the site. Data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Results revealed that the tourists preferred the use of tour guides over touring alone at the site and they were satisfied with the services of the tour guides. Results further revealed that tour guides interact well and answer questions raised during tours, the tour guides also make the site interesting through their good communication skills. Inferentially, there are statistical significant differences in the tourists’ perceived effectiveness of tour guides based on all their socio-demographic characteristics. This study concludes that tour guides are important in enhancing tourists’ satisfaction and their services should therefore be encouraged in tourism destinations globally

Dermatoglyphic appraisal of multiple births women in Igbo-Ora and Ogbomosho, South west, Nigeria

The scientific study of epidermal ridges on the palms and toes is termed dermatoglyphics. Multiple births occur when more than one fetus results  from a single pregnancy. This study is aimed at determining the relationship if any between multiple births and palmar flexion creases. Two  hundred Igbo-Ora and one hundred Ogbomosho healthy and consenting adult female indigenes aged between 25-50 years were recruited and grouped into 4; group I consisted of multiple births women in Igbo-Ora; group II consisted of single births women in Igbo-Ora; group III consisted of multiple births women in Ogbomosho; and group IV consisted of single births women in Ogbomosho. A total of 600 palms (Igbo-Ora n=400; Ogbomosho n=200) comprising of both hands were used in the study. Palm prints samples were obtained by asking the participants to wash their hands, towel dry them, after which they were stained with stamp ink pad and prints made on A4 paper in duplicates. Palm print patterns of 105 (Igbo-Ora) and 50 (Ogbomosho) women with multiple births were compared with 95 (Igbo-Ora) and 50 (Ogbomosho) women with single births. The percentage number of primary, P and intersection, I of palmar creases with complete transverse creases, C (PIC) 300 bilaterally was significantly  greater (p < 0.005) in the hands of Igbo-Ora multiple births women (52.4 %) than their single births women (37.4%) while same trend was observed for Ogbomosho women although difference was statistically insignificant,(p > 0.005). In both Igbo-Ora and Ogbomosho women, PIC 310 bilaterally was found to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) in both hands of single births women than the multiple births women. Hence, dermatoglyphics can be said to have relationship with a woman’s tendency to giving birth to multiples. Keywords: Multiple births, dermatoglyphics, palmar flexion creases, Ogbomosho, Igbo-Or