AN ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF INTRA-URBAN BUS SERVICES IN THE CITY OF ENUGU, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

Despite the vital role that buses are able to play in any urban area, their services are frequently insufficient to meet demand and the services that are provided suffer from low output. This paper assesses the quality of intra-urban bus services that are provided by government agencies and private bus operators in the city of Enugu as perceived by bus commuters. In the 31 sample centers selected for this study 310 bus commuters were randomly interviewed to illicit information about their lengths of waiting time for the arrival of buses at the bus stops and their lengths of walking distances to the nearest bus stops. Using hourly bus frequency arrival count proforma, the number of buses arriving in each of the 31 sampled centres to carry passengers to different places in the city were collected by the stationed investigators between 6.00am and 6.00pm each day for one week. Descriptive statistic of mean and maps were employed to analyze the data collected. The analysis revealed that the quality of bus service indicators-passengers waiting time, walking distance to the nearest bus stops and bus service frequency varied from one centre to another, indicating variations in the level of bus services in different part of the city. The study recommends that the three Local Government Areas that make up the city in conjuction with the state government should construct new urban link roads and maintain the old ones especially in the peripheries to enhance accessibility; partnership with private bus operators to increase the number of buses in circulation and relocation of some socio-economic facilities from the city centre to the city peripheries to spread demand for and services of buses in the city.quality, bus service, transport.

PENINGKATAN TATA KRAMA MELALUI LAYANAN BIMBINGAN KELOMPOK DENGAN TEKNIK PERMAINAN SIMULASI SISWA KELAS IV SEKOLAH DASAR KANISIUS DELANGGU KLATEN TAHUN PELAJARAN 2011/2012

ABSTRAK Alphonsus Dananjaya. PENINGKATAN TATA KRAMA MELALUI LAYANAN BIMBINGAN KELOMPOK DENGAN TEKNIK PERMAINAN SIMULASI SISWA KELAS IV SEKOLAH DASAR KANISIUS DELANGGU KLATEN TAHUN PELAJARAN 2011/ 2012. Skripsi, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta. Desember 2012. Tujuan yang ingin dicapai dalam penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan tata krama pada siswa kelas IV SD Kanisisus Delanggu dengan layanan bimbingan kelompok melalui teknik permainan simulasi. Penelitian ini merupakan jenis penelitian tindakan bimbingan dan konseling. Variabel yang diteliti dalam penelitian ini adalah variabel input : Tata krama siswa sebelum mendapatkan Layanan Bimbingan Kelompok melalui teknik permainan simulasi, variabel proses : Layanan Bimbingan Kelompok melalui teknik permainan simulasi, sedangkan variabel output : Tata krama siswa setelah mendapatkan Layanan Bimbingan Kelompok melalui teknik permainan simulasi. Subjek penelitian ini adalah empat siswa yang tata kramanya kurang baik dengan ciri-ciri; 1) membuat gaduh/ ramai di kelas, 2) membuat gaduh/ ramai di kelas, 3) tidak santun ketika berbicara dengan Guru, 4) tidak santun ketika berbicara dengan teman. Data dikumpulkan dengan metode observasi dan metode wawancara. Analisis data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan analisis kuantitatif. Lebih tepatnya menggunakan analisis pengubahan tingkah laku dari Godwin & Coates. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan tiga siklus diperoleh hasil perhitungan rata-rata perubahan sebesar 69,23%. Karena nilai perhitungan rata-rata perubahan sebesar 69,23% lebih besar dari standard minimum 50%, artinya perilaku tata krama pada siswa mengalami peningkatan sebesar 69,23%. Hal tersebut bermakna bahwa hipotesis tindakan pada penelitian tindakan ini terbukti kebenarannya yaitu layanan bimbingan kelompok dengan teknik permainan simulasi efektif untuk meningkatkan tata krama pada siswa kelas IV SD Kanisius Delanggu , Klaten, Tahun Pelajaran 2011/ 2012. Kata kunci: tata krama, layanan bimbingan kelompok, permainan simulasi ABSTRACT Alphonsus Dananjaya. IMPROVED MANNERS COUNSELING SERVICES GROUP THROUGH THE SIMULATION GAMES TECHNIQUE FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OF KANISIUS DELANGGU KLATEN IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2011/2012. Thesis, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education Sebelas Maret University Surakarta. December 2012. The aim of this research is to improve etiquette in the fourth grade students Kanisisus Delanggu using group counseling services through the game simulation technique. This study is an action research guidance and counseling. The variables studied in this research are input variables: Students etiquette before getting Tutoring Services Group through simulation game technique, process variables: Tutoring Services Group through simulation game technique, while the output variables: students etiquette after getting Tutoring Services Group through simulation game technique. The subjects were four students etiquette poor characterized by: 1) making noisy / crowded in the classroom, 2) make a noisy / crowded in the classroom, 3) no etiquette when talking to teachers, 4) no etiquette when talking to friends. Data collected by observation method and interview method. Data analysis in this study using quantitative analysis. More precisely using analysis of behavioral changes post rate-base rate. This research was done with three cycles obtained result calculation of the average change of 69.23%. Because the value of the calculation of the average changes of 69.23% greater than the minimum standard of 50%, it means behavior of the students manners have an increase by 69.23%. This means that the action hypothesis in this action research proved the truth proven that counseling services group with simulation games technique effectively to improve manners in the fourth grade students elementary school of Kanisius Delanggu, Klaten, in the Academic Year 2011/2012. Keywords: etiquette, group counseling services, simulation gam

Preoperative testing and medical therapy intervention to improve perioperative outcomes in noncardiac surgical patients.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and a growing concern in low-and-middle income countries, including those in Africa. Patients with cardiovascular disease often have poorly managed chronic conditions in the African setting, which impacts their outcome when they present for non-cardiac surgery. This cohort has an increased risk of perioperative cardiovascular complications. This series of studies explored evidence-based perioperative cardiovascular management strategies in patients with high-risk cardiac comorbidities presenting for non-cardiac surgery. Methods: This was achieved through five objectives which formed five separate but interconnected research studies. The first objective was to study the approach of natriuretic peptide-directed medical therapy in non-surgical patients to inform development of a preoperative protocol in surgical patients through a systematic review. The second objective was to conduct systematic review on exercise therapy in nonsurgical patients to inform development of a preoperative protocol in surgical patients. The third objective was to define the population who would need optimisation before surgery in the Western Cape, South Africa through a prospective observational study of risk stratification. The fourth objective was to explore the broader applicability of perioperative cardiovascular management of high-risk patients by examining cardiovascular outcomes after surgery on the African continent (a sub-study of a larger African cohort study). The fifth objective was to produce national guidelines on cardiovascular risk stratification in a South African and African surgical population. Main results: The systematic reviews showed potential utility for exercise therapy in the optimisation of cardiac patients for non-cardiac surgery. Medical therapy optimisation guided by natriuretic peptide testing did not demonstrate a consistent reduction in natriuretic peptides, but did support a potential mortality benefit in non-surgical patients. The cohort of cardiac patients presenting for non-cardiac surgery in the Western Cape carries significant cardiac risk and needs perioperative cardiovascular management. This was confirmed by the rate of adverse cardiovascular outcomes reported on the African continent. These data supported the development of context-specific national cardiovascular risk stratification guidelines. Conclusion: The cardiovascular burden and risk for perioperative cardiovascular complications presents a challenge in low- and middle-income countries like South Africa, and more broadly Africa. This is a growing phenomenon which needs the collaborative effort of perioperative physicians and the implementation of evidence-based strategies in perioperative cardiovascular management

Studies on the ecology, behaviour and physiology of the infective larvae of Ancylostoma tubaeforme (Zeder 1800)

Imperial Users onl

Weathering the Storm Together: How Emergency Nursing is an Interpretive Practice

This paper was written for a hermeneutic research course in response to the statement: Emergency nursing is an interpretive practice. In it, I share from my own experience as an emergency department nurse, sharing deeply reflective and profound examples illustrating how I have come to understand the practice of interpretation. Drawing on other works within philosophical hermeneutics, I explore how emergency nurses bring our backgrounds and prejudices to work, and how we create meaning together with our patients. Gadamer’s description of the hermeneutic circle is used to explore how nurses move back and forth between the part and the whole, both as ourselves as nurses and how we care for our patients. The importance of emergency nurses remaining vulnerable, despite the acuity and chaos in which we are often surrounded, is emphasized, as well as supporting emergency nurses in our work, in our care for our fellow humans. Keywords Interpretive practice, philosophical hermeneutics, emergency nursing, hermeneutic circle, prejudices, vulnerability, compassio

Twin birth order, birthweight and discordance birthweight: any relationship?

Background: It is widely believed that in twin pairs, at birth, the first-born weigh more than the second-born but this concept has been challenged. Objective: To assess the truthfulness of this common concept that first-born twins are usually heavier than their second-born siblings at birth. Methods: In a series of 104 sets of live-born twins, the birth weights of first-born twins were compared with those of their second-born siblings, after controlling for gender. Their intra-pair birthweight differences were determined and twin pairs whose birthweight difference was 15% or more were designated as discordant. Results: Twin I was heavier than Twin II in 61.5% of cases while Twin II was heavier than Twin I in 28.9% of cases. Twins I and II had equal birthweights in 9.6% of cases. Comparing the mean birthweight of the first-born-male twin with that of second-born- male twin, it was 2515 + 427g[95 % Confidence Interval, CI = 2402 - 2628) versus 2432 + 435g (95% C I = 2321 - 2543) p > 0.05. The mean birthweight of first-born-female twin was 2326 + 445g (95% CI = 2214 - 2439) while that of the second-born-female twin was 2325 + 501g (95% CI = 2197 - 2453) p > 0.05. When the birthweight difference exceeded 750g, the probability that Twin I will be heavier than Twin II was 83.3% (5 of 6). Conclusion: It is concluded that the first-born twin is usually heavier than the second one, especially when the difference in birth weight is greater than 750 g

Affective Computing for Emotion Detection using Vision and Wearable Sensors

The research explores the opportunities, challenges, limitations, and presents advancements in computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotions (Picard, 1997). The field is referred to as Affective Computing (AC) and is expected to play a major role in the engineering and development of computationally and cognitively intelligent systems, processors and applications in the future. Today the field of AC is bolstered by the emergence of multiple sources of affective data and is fuelled on by developments under various Internet of Things (IoTs) projects and the fusion potential of multiple sensory affective data streams. The core focus of this thesis involves investigation into whether the sensitivity and specificity (predictive performance) of AC, based on the fusion of multi-sensor data streams, is fit for purpose? Can such AC powered technologies and techniques truly deliver increasingly accurate emotion predictions of subjects in the real world? The thesis begins by presenting a number of research justifications and AC research questions that are used to formulate the original thesis hypothesis and thesis objectives. As part of the research conducted, a detailed state of the art investigations explored many aspects of AC from both a scientific and technological perspective. The complexity of AC as a multi-sensor, multi-modality, data fusion problem unfolded during the state of the art research and this ultimately led to novel thinking and origination in the form of the creation of an AC conceptualised architecture that will act as a practical and theoretical foundation for the engineering of future AC platforms and solutions. The AC conceptual architecture developed as a result of this research, was applied to the engineering of a series of software artifacts that were combined to create a prototypical AC multi-sensor platform known as the Emotion Fusion Server (EFS) to be used in the thesis hypothesis AC experimentation phases of the research. The thesis research used the EFS platform to conduct a detailed series of AC experiments to investigate if the fusion of multiple sensory sources of affective data from sensory devices can significantly increase the accuracy of emotion prediction by computationally intelligent means. The research involved conducting numerous controlled experiments along with the statistical analysis of the performance of sensors for the purposes of AC, the findings of which serve to assess the feasibility of AC in various domains and points to future directions for the AC field. The AC experiments data investigations conducted in relation to the thesis hypothesis used applied statistical methods and techniques, and the results, analytics and evaluations are presented throughout the two thesis research volumes. The thesis concludes by providing a detailed set of formal findings, conclusions and decisions in relation to the overarching research hypothesis on the sensitivity and specificity of the fusion of vision and wearables sensor modalities and offers foresights and guidance into the many problems, challenges and projections for the AC field into the future

The importance of information goods abstraction levels for information commerce process models

A process model, in the context of e-commerce, is an organized set of activities for the creation, (re-)production, trade and delivery of goods. Electronic commerce studies have created important process models for the trade of physical goods via Internet. These models are not easily suitable for the trade of information goods. Lowly codified information goods are hard to represent unambiguously among trading partners, their property rights are hard to secure, and the determination of volume and price is difficult. Highly codified information goods are easier traded by markets but have varying levels of abstraction that have specific requirements for their process models. This article defines process model requirements for more codified information goods. These requirements have substantial consequences for the realization of information goods business models