An experiment in spaced recall as a technique for learning to spell at the ninth grade (college) level.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

A Laboratory Bioassay of the Potential Effect of Rubber Extract (Hevea brasiliensis) on the Survival of Fingerlings of Oreochromis niloticus

The potential effects of Hevea brasiliensis on the survival of fingerlings of Oreochromis niloticus were investigated in duplicate (A and B) using the water soluble fraction of the latex under laboratory conditions for 96 hours. The WSF of Hevea brasiliensis was tested against Oreochromis niloticus at 0, 8, 16, 24, 32 and 40mg/l in glass aquaria stocked with ten animals for 96 hours under observation for changes. Behavioural pattern exhibited by the fish include, loss of balance, restlessness, attempt at jumping out and hemorrhaged gills, respiratory difficulties and mortalities were observed in the WSF exposure groups, but not in the controls. LC50 values were estimated at 28. 50 ± 0.2mg/l. There was significant difference in mortalities between the replicate group (p < 0.05), leading to conclusion that the organism in each batch responded differently to the toxic effect of WSF of Hevea brasiliensis latex

A comparative analysis of hurricane evacuation traffic conditions using static and dynamic traffic assignments

This study compares link flows of evacuation traffic using Static Traffic Assignment (STA) with those obtained from Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) and observed traffic counts. The analysis is conducted on a sample of households from South Carolina who evacuated in the face of hurricane Floyd in 1999. The results indicate that traditional static models have the potential to significantly underestimate congestion levels in the network, and DTA models account for nonuniform demand and traffic dynamics in hurricane evacuation much more realistically. From observed traffic counts, traffic volumes vary considerably during an evacuation and the DTA flow estimates generally reproduced these variations. More importantly, DTA was able to capture the delay caused by such peaking since the total vehicle hours of travel estimated by DTA was 3.3 million vehilcle hours while it was only 2.5 million vehicle hours estimated by STA. From the survey data, the estimated total vehicle hours of travel was 2.9 million, suggesting that the DTA procedure may have overestimated the delay. Speed calculated using STA and DTA was 23.3 and 30.9 miles per hour during evacuation from hurricane Floyd. The average speed during evacuation calculated from reported travel time and distance was 25 miles per hour. The clearance time calculated using STA and the traditional method of a response curve and the time taken to pass through critical links was 27 hours. On the other hand, the observed time between the issuing of the evacuation order and the last vehicle from the survey clearing the danger area was 56 hours. Using the loading behavior (i.e. time-dependent evacuation demand) shown in the survey data, the DTA process estimated a clearance time of 58 hours

Perceived influence of relationship communication on insurance service quality and customer satisfaction

Extant literature in marketing and communications has long recognized the importance of effective communication as the essential link for sustainable relationship between organizations and their customers. In spite of its importance, many studies have revealed that practices of communication in relationship marketing in some service firms are fraught with problems, which influence the perceptions of customers about the commitment of those organizations to service quality and customer value. This exploratory study was undertaken to analyze how insurance customers perceive their relationships with insurers through received messages. The study also sought to identify the inherent differences in the perception of relational messages received from insurers by the customers based on gender. A simple random sample of 145 insurance customers were drawn for the study from three insurance agencies. Useful responses were received from 120 automobile insurance policyholders, which represented 82.76% of the sample. Four hypotheses were tested with Pearson Correlation, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis. The results of the study suggested significant relationship between relational messages, service quality, and customer satisfaction. In terms of differences in the perceptions of male and female respondents, the study indicated significant differences in the perception of personal values and perceived quality through received messages. Similarly, significant differences were recorded in the perception of message credibility by the female participants as compared with those of the males.  The study also revealed the need for insurance companies to fully imbibe relationship communication with their customers, through assessment of the internal and external situations which surround the information needs of individual customers

Managing Reputation Risk and Situational Crisis in Higher Institutions of Learning

Extant literature on crisis and corporate reputation management has presented the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) model as a valid and reliable framework for managing crisis and predicting stakeholders’perceptions of organizations’ reputation in times of crisis. In order to verifythe applicability of the model in higher institutions of learning in adeveloping country context, a study was conducted in September, 2011 in twopublic universities in Nigeria. The findings of the study revealed thatalthough the institutions did not fully implement the core tenets of SCCT, thestrategies adopted in each of the two crisis situations were similar to some ofthe recommendations of the SCCT in different ways. While one institutionfocused on a strategy similar to what the SCCT model describes as “rebuildcrisis response strategy” with informing and adjusting tactics, the secondinstitution utilized a victimization or “Victimage” strategy with strongattribution of blames; and frequent reminder of the stakeholders of the extentof losses that the institution would incur from the crisis. The outcome wasthat the institution with high emphasis on rebuilding and informationadjustment strategy recorded very little damage to its reputation capital, duringand after the crises. Conversely, the second institution which believed invictimization and high attribution recorded significant losses in reputation assets,which included withdrawal of key stakeholders and loss of recognition ofprograms by some professional agencies. The implication for crisis managers in thetwo institutions includes the need to always approach situational crises in aholistic manner. Such holistic approach would involve a refocus, critical analysis,planning and implementation of crisis response strategies based on the relevantsituations, events, and the people concerned. The research was designed as acase study with focus group discussions as the data collection method.Altogether, 16 officers including eight top and senior administrative staff whowere actively involved in the negotiation and communication programs during the crises in the two institutions participated in the focus group discussions.Keywords: situational crisis, reputation risk, stakeholders’perceptions, stakeholders’ value, reputation capital, reputation asset

Effect of Lethal Concentrations of Rubber Extract (Hevea brasiliensis) on the Survival on Fingerlings of Clarias gariepinus under Laboratory Condition.

The water soluble fraction (WSF) of Hevea brasiliensis was tested against Clarias garienpinus, at 0, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70mg/l in glass aquaria stocked with ten animals for 96 hours under observation for changes. Moribund swimming, restlessness, respiratory difficulties, depigmentation and mortalities were observed in the WSF exposure groups, but not in the controls. LC50 values were estimated at 50.12mg/l. There was no significant difference in mortalities between the replicate group (P>0.05), leading to the conclusion that the WSF of Hevea brasiliensis had same toxic effects on both batches of the test organism

ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES AND ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ICHTHYOFAUNA ASSEMBLAGES IN THE CALABAR RIVER, NIGERIA: PRESENT AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Studije o varijabilnosti okoliša i ekološkoj distribuciji ihtiofaune provedene su u rijeci Kalabar. Uzorkovane su površinske vode i ihtiofauna s ciljem da se dobiju osnovni podaci o postojećem stanju rijeke Kalabar, te buduća stanja rijeke. Sezonske varijacije pokazuju značajne razlike u temperaturi površinske vode, pH-u, DO-u, BPK-u, vodljivosti, TDS-u i TSS-u između uzorkovanih postaja, te neznatne razlike u sadržaju teških metala poput kadmija, kroma, željeza i bakra. Identificirano je dvadeset i šest ribljih vrsta koje spadaju u dvadeset dvije obitelji. Mugilidae, Clariidae, Cichlidae, Gobiidae i Sciaenidae su bile najviše zastupljene i za vrijeme kišne i suhe sezone, dok su Clupeidae, Bathyclupeidae, Carangidae i Sphyraenidae bile manje zastupljene u kišnoj sezoni, ali visoko zastupljene u suhoj sezoni. Krom, bakar, površinska temperatura vode i DO značajno su korelirali s prisutnošću vrsta E. fimbriata, B. soporator, M. sebae, C. gariepinus, M. loennbergii, C. guentheri i P. babarus. Ukupna vrijednost biotičkih indeksa raznolikosti se kretala u rasponu od 0,0504-0,0745 za Simpsonov indeks, 2,770-3,095 za Shannonov indeks, 2,821-3,105 za Margalef indeks i 0,8606-0,9498 za nepristranost. Međutim, prisutnost određenih ribljih vrsta u zagađenim i nezagađenim dijelovima rijeke ukazuje na to da bi se mogle koristiti kao mogući bioindikatori u procjeni i biomonitoringu rijeke. Metode koje se koriste u određivanju raznolikosti riba potvrdile su da se mogu primjenjivati i u budućim istraživanjima.Studies on environmental variables and ecological distribution of ichthyofauna assemblages were conducted in the Calabar River. Surface water and ichthyofauna were sampled in order to provide baseline or reference data on the Calabar River at present as regard its future prospects. Seasonal variation shows significant differences in surface water temperature, pH, DO, BOD, conductivity, TDS and TSS between sampling stations and insignificant differences in heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, iron and copper between sampling stations. Twenty six species of fish fauna were identified belonging to twenty two families. Mugilidae, Clariidae, Cichlidae, Gobiidae and Sciaenidae were the most abundant for both wet and dry season, while Clupeidae, Bathyclupeidae, Carangidae and Sphyraenidae were low in the wet season but high in the dry season. Chromium, copper, surface water temperature, DO correlate significantly with the presence of E. fimbriata, B. soporator, M. sebae, C. gariepinus, M. loennbergii, C. guentheri and P. babarus. The overall values of biotic diversity indices ranged from 0.0504-0.0745 for Simpson’s Index, 2.770-3.095 for Shannon Index, 2.821-3.105 for Margalef’s Index and 0.8606-0.9498 for equitability. However, the presence of certain fish fauna in polluted and non-polluted parts of the river indicates that they could be used as potential bioindicators in assessment and biomonitoring of the river. The methods used in identifying fish diversity proved their applicability for future studies

Food and Feeding Habits of the Brackish River Prawn (Macrobrachium macrobrachion, Herklots, 1857) from Great Kwa River, Obufa Esuk Beach, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

The study investigated the stomach contents of Macrobrachium macrobrachion from the commercial artisanal catches in Obufa Esuk Beach along Great Kwa River, Cross River, Nigeria. Samples were collected for a period of six months from February, 2006 to July, 2006. The stomach analysis was carried out using frequency of occurrence and numeric methods. It was observed that the prawn fed on a variety of food items such as detritus; diatoms, sand, mud particle fish bone, insect part and flagellate which were consistent. In terms of percentage frequency of occurrence detritus topped the list of food items with 19.58% while unidentified invertebrates were the least food component 0.74% by number. Detritus, diatoms, unidentified algae, mud particles, sand were not numerically quantified. Fish bones were only counted in stomach where no fish remain occurred. The results indicated that M. macrobrachion can be considered as an omnivorous detritivore. Keywords: Stomach analysis, Food items, Macrobrachium macrobrachion, Obufa Esuk Beach, Nigeri

The Fecundity of Brackish River Prawn (Macrobrachium macrobrachion, Herklots, 1851) from Great Kwa River, Obufa Esuk Beach, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria

The fecundity of Macrobrachium macrobrachion Herklots, 1851 from Great Kwa River, Obufa Esuk Beach, Cross River State, Nigeria. Shrimp were sample for a period of six months (February, 2006 - July, 2006). A total of 200 berried female shrimp were examined. The results show that the number of eggs ranged from 63 to 14,531. The mean number of eggs per female was 4,420.58. The eggs were spherical in shape; on the long axis the egg diameter ranged from 0.26 to 0.38mm with a mean of 0.33mm while on the short axis, the egg diameter ranged from 0.25 to 0.38mm with a mean of 0.31mm. There was a positive relationship between body weight, standard length, total length, carapace length and the number of eggs: Y = 155.7-1107x and r2 = 0.986, Y = 1148.4- 9353x and r2= 0.949, Y = 809.69-7578.8x and r2 = 0.949, Y = 848.39-8567x and r2 = 0.934 respectively. There was high correlation between female body weight, standard length, total length, carapace length and the number of eggs. Fecundity increases with the standard length, total length and carapace length. The number of eggs also increases with increase in body weight, standard length, total length and carapace length. Generally, fecundity was linear and a function of the body weight and body length. The study shows that the fecundity of the prawn was low when compared to other studies. Keywords: Egg diameters, Macrobrachium macrobrachion, Great Kwa River, Obufa Esuk Beach, Nigeria