The New African Diaspora: Engaging the Question of Brain Drain-Brain Gain

The literature on the New African Diaspora is growing. One of the latest is the volume co-edited by Isidore Okpewho and Nkiru Nzegwu, published by Indiana University Press in 2009. A common thread in the literature is the identification of the brain drain as a major consequence of the establishment of the New African Diaspora. Another common postulation is that the brain drain can be turned into brain gain through the concerted efforts of African governments, international organizations, and members of the diaspora themselves. This paper interrogates popular and intellectual assumptions about diaspora, brain drain, and brain gain. The paper is divided into four parts. The first reviews the literature and data on the New African Diaspora; the second analyzes the brain drain and its effects on and implications for Africa\u27s development; the third evaluates the brain gain hypothesis; and the final part introduces a few recommendations to transform brain drain to brain gain

New Yoruba Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions: A New Mode of Expression in Political Arena

New idioms and idiomatic expressions, which are modern stock expressions, constitute communicative clogs in Yorùbá routine discourses because of their semantic complexity and deviant nature. Existing studies have established their scope of usage in Yorùbá music but have hardly addressed their communicative adaptability in politics. This paper investigated issues expressed with these idioms, context and strategies for using them in political arena. This is with a view to establishing their communicative and stylistic relevance in Yorùbá discourses. The paper adopted Mukarovsky’s theory of Standard Language because of its capacity to explain the “differential specifica” between the language of everyday interaction and literary language.  Data were collected from different routine communicative discourses of  politicians and party members on radio, during political rallies or campaigns and were subjected to pragmatic and stylistic analysis. Political issues were expressed using new idioms and idiomatic expressions in the following sociopolitical contexts: Eté for corruption/stealing; Ojúyọbọ́ for under achiever; Yóó wọlé ẹ̀ẹ̀ken si for deceit; Ó bọ̀jẹ́ tì for collective support; Oyin ni o for a successful tenure; Ajímọ̀bi for collective responsibility; Nàìjá for affection/disappointment and Kárí go/Kárí kọọ̀mù for continuity and discontinuity. Nominalisation, Pidginisation and dialect expressions were the strategies employed for the formation of new idioms in this paper. These strategies were used to express different political happenings contextualized in underachievement, sloganeering for support, deceit,  and acceptance/rejection for second term in office respectively. New idioms and idiomatic expressions, used to express sociopolitical issues in Yorùbá routine communication, occurred in mediated and non-mediated contexts  and were conveyed through nominalization, pidginisation, and dialect expressions.  These idioms reflect dynamism and modernity-constrained stylistic choices in Yorùbá. Key words: New idioms, Yorùbá, strategies, politics. stylistics. Academic discipline -  Yoruba,  Subject -  Stylistic,  Method -  Stylistic analysi

Hybrid Power Systems To Provide Uninterrupted Power Supply At The Federal University Of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria

The integration of renewables such as solar and wind energy is becoming increasing attractive and is being widely used in substitution to fossil fuel-produced energy which also leads to great reduction in atmospheric degradation. Literature shows that commercial/residential buildings in Nigeria consume an estimated 55 – 65% of the total electric energy generated. In the present study, hourly mean wind-speed and solar radiation data for the period 2005 – 2016 recorded at the meteorological monitoring station, Minna (26o 32’ N, 50o 13’ E), Nigeria, were analyzed to investigate/examine the potential of utilizing hybrid (wind + solar) energy conversion systems and grid back-up to meet the load requirements of the Gidan-Kwanu campus of the University (with daily electrical energy demand currently at 8,450.5 kWh/day). The monthly average wind speeds for Minna range 4.1 to 6.4 m/s and the monthly average daily values of solar radiation for Minna ranges from 3.6 kWh/sq.m to 7.96 kWh/sq.m. The hybrid system considered in the present analysis consist of different combinations of commercial 10 kW Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS), Photovoltaic (PV) panels supplemented with battery storage unit and National grid back-up. The study shows that with thirty 10 kW WECS together with 150 sq.m PV, and three days of battery storage, the grid back-up system has to provide 17% of load demand. However, in the absence of battery storage, about 38% of the load needs to be provided for by the grid system. Keywords: - Battery storage, Hybrid, Photovoltaic (PV) panels, Power Systems, Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS)

Conceptual design framework for information visualization to support multidimensional datasets in higher education institutions

Information Visualization (InfoVis) enjoys diverse adoption and applicability because of its strength in solving the problem of information overload inherent in institutional data. Policy and decision makers of higher education institutions (HEIs) are also experiencing information overload while interacting with students‟ data, because of its multidimensionality. This constraints decision making processes, and therefore requires a domain-specific InfoVis conceptual design framework which will birth the domain‟s InfoVis tool. This study therefore aims to design HEI Students‟ data-focused InfoVis (HSDI) conceptual design framework which addresses the content delivery techniques and the systematic processes in actualizing the domain specific InfoVis. The study involved four phases: 1) a users‟ study to investigate, elicit and prioritize the students‟ data-related explicit knowledge preferences of HEI domain policy. The corresponding students‟ data dimensions are then categorised, 2) exploratory study through content analysis of InfoVis design literatures, and subsequent mapping with findings from the users‟ study, to propose the appropriate visualization, interaction and distortion techniques for delivering the domain‟s explicit knowledge preferences, 3) conceptual development of the design framework which integrates the techniques‟ model with its design process–as identified from adaptation of software engineering and InfoVis design models, 4) evaluation of the proposed framework through expert review, prototyping, heuristics evaluation, and users‟ experience evaluation. For an InfoVis that will appropriately present and represent the domain explicit knowledge preferences, support the students‟ data multidimensionality and the decision making processes, the study found that: 1) mouse-on, mouse-on-click, mouse on-drag, drop down menu, push button, check boxes, and dynamics cursor hinting are the appropriate interaction techniques, 2) zooming, overview with details, scrolling, and exploration are the appropriate distortion techniques, and 3) line chart, scatter plot, map view, bar chart and pie chart are the appropriate visualization techniques. The theoretical support to the proposed framework suggests that dictates of preattentive processing theory, cognitive-fit theory, and normative and descriptive theories must be followed for InfoVis to aid perception, cognition and decision making respectively. This study contributes to the area of InfoVis, data-driven decision making process, and HEI students‟ data usage process

Effects of think-pair-share on senior school students’ performance in mathematics in Ilorin, Nigeria

The performance of Nigerian students in the Senior School Certificate Mathematics Examinations over the years has not been encouraging. Studies have indicated that this is partly due to students’ lack of in-depth knowledge of some selected topics in mathematics. Pieces of evidence abound in literature and WAEC Chief examiner’s reports indicating that students performed poorly in set theory with Venn diagram. Therefore, this study examined the effects of think-pair-share on senior school students’ performance in mathematics in Ilorin, Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to examine: (i) the performance of students’ taught set theory using think-pair-share cooperative instructional strategy; (ii) the difference in the performance of students taught using think-pair-share instructional strategy based on gender and score level; (iii) the influence of think-pair-share instructional strategy on students’ retention in set theory. The researcher employed a quasi-experimental design for the study. The sample consisted of 118 SS II students. The instruments used for the study was Mathematics Performance Test (MPT). The instruments yielded reliability values of 0.78 using Pearson Product Moment Correlation procedure. The data collected were analyzed using independent sample t-test, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Findings of the study showed: (i)  a statistically significant difference in the performance of students taught set theory using think-pair-share compared with their counterparts in the control group in favour of think-pair-share group, (ii) no statistically significant difference in the performance of male and female students taught set theory in Mathematics using think-pair-share; (iii) no statistically significant difference in the performance of students taught set theory in Mathematics using think-pair-share based on scoring levels; and (iv) a statistically significant difference in the knowledge retained by students taught set theory in Mathematics using think-pair-share compared with their counterparts in the control group in favour of think-pair-share group. The study concluded that the use of think-pair-share improved students’ performance in Mathematics, gender of a student does not affect his or her performance in Mathematics, and the use of think-pair-share improved the retention ability of the students. It was recommended among others that the use of think-pair-share be encouraged for teaching and learning of Mathematics at all levels of education

Communicative and Stylistic Potential of New Yoruba Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions on The Label of Alcoholic Drinks

This paper investigated issues expressed with these idioms as well as the strategy for using them for various modern alcoholic drinks in Yoruba land. The paper adopted Mukarovsky's theory of Standard Language based on its ability to explain the deviant nature of the new Yoruba idioms as well as explaining 'differencia specifica' between the language of everyday conversation and Literary Language. Data were collected from different beer joints in Lagos State and Ògùn State respectively as States where most of these drinks are produced. Eventually, data were subjected to stylistic analysis. In all, sex is the only issue that was expressed. Sex, which was peculiar to all the alcoholic drinks, occurred in the context of 'eroticism', 'vulgarity', 'sexual style', and 'sexual positioning'. Only the metaphorisation linguistic strategy was employed for the coining of the idioms and was differentially derived from nominalizations, phonaesthetic coinages, and compositions. Nominalisations, compositions, and phonaesthetic coinages occurred in almost all the labels, and they were contextualized in eroticism ('Ọ̀ṣọmọ', 'Alọmọ', 'Ògidigà' and 'Ọ́ríjìn (ọ rí i jìn?); sexual style (Kòbókò, Kerewa, Pakurumo) while Dadubule revealed sexual positioning. New Yorùbá idioms, used to express-socio economic and emotive issues in routine communication, occurred in mediated and non-mediated contexts and were conveyed through metaphorisations. These idioms rethe flect dynamism and modernity-constrained stylistic choices in Yorùbá discourses

Book Review: Religion Crossing Boundaries: Transnational Religious and Social Dynamics in Africa and the New African Diaspora

Review of Religion Crossing Boundaries: Transnational Religious and Social Dynamics in Africa and the New African Diaspora, by James Spickard and Afe Adogame. (2010). Leiden: E.J. Brill; ISBN-I0: 90-04-18730-