African Migrants In Spite Of “Fortress” Europe: An Essay In Philosophy Of Popular Culture

No Abstrac

From Uneven Bars to Uneven Barriers: The Marginalization of Black Women in Gymnastics

Especially in sports that are societally regarded as feminine, such as gymnastics and figure skating, Eurocentric beauty standards are an unspoken feature of the game. Undergirded in ethnic disparities within gymnastics are financial and aesthetic barriers for black women, specifically. This essay will explore the sport of gymnastics as a case study to demonstrate the ways in which black women have historically been excluded from ‘feminine sports.’ I argue that black female gymnasts have been historically marginalized from mainstream gymnastics on the basis of finances and white conceptions of femininity, both two components crucial to success in the gymnastics realm

RECREATION AND JOB SATISFACTION OF LECTURERS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT

Lack of job satisfaction threatens university education in Nigeria. It is a criticalfeature of their overall well-being and performance within an academic institution. Recreation on the other hand has been identified as a factor that enhances overall well-being. This study was undertaken to determine the associations between recreational activitiesand job satisfaction of lectures in university of Port Harcourt. The study utilized a cross-sectional survey involving an online distribution of questionnaire and interview methods to collect data on recreational activities of 299 academic staff in University of Port Harcourt using a pretested questionnaire. Data was collected on the demographic characteristics of the lecturers, their level of participation in recreational activities and job satisfaction. A construct of six items was used to measure job satisfaction. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results showed that a good proportion of lecturers (76.9%) reported to indulge in some form of recreational activities while only about 23.1% did not. Walking (38.5%) was found to be a common activity among the lecturers.Observing break hour significantly correlated with recreational participation of lecturers (r = 0.822**). Job satisfaction correlated positively with lecturers’ age (r = 0.481**). Participation in recreation, age and rank accounted for about 40% variation in job satisfaction.However, recreational participation alone was found not to correlate with job satisfaction (r = 0.080). It was thus concluded that lecturers’ participation in recreational activities was commendable but can be improvedby encouraging observance of break time

Rituals in Nollywood films: a discourse in ideology

Nollywood films are replete with themes and scenes of ritual murder, magical and spiritual powers. This has been attributed to the prevailing belief system and mind-set of the Nigerian society. Interestingly, this has received so much attention from scholars locally and internationally. However, film is a cultural product, which thrives within the culture of a film’s origin. As such, the cultural background provides the scenarios and thematic preoccupations which form the predominant ideas in films. This paper examines rituals in Nollywood films as statements on the life patterns of the Nigerian society. This research involves a textual analysis of the video film text, Issakaba 1. The choice of this film narrative is informed by the thematic content in relation to the ideologies of the Nigerian society. The findings reveal that rituals are part of the culture and belief systems of the Nigerian society. In that case, Nollywood films can only present their narratives against the backdrop of culture by relating content to existing situations within the society. This paper therefore recommends that for proper critical assessment of rituals in Nollywood films, an understanding of the culture and belief system of the Nigerian society is important

CFD modelling of flow-induced vibration under multiphase flow regimes.

Internal multiphase flow-induced vibration (MFIV) in pipe bends poses serious problems in oil and gas, nuclear and chemical flow systems. The problems include: high amplitude displacement of the pipe structure due to resonance; fatigue failure due to excessive cyclic stress, induced by fluctuating forces; and structural wear, due to the relative motion of the pipe and its support. Current industry guidelines are based on single phase flows, while the few existing MFIV models in literature are based on small scale laboratory experiments, which do not completely address the complexities in multiphase flows, or the differing multiphase flow mechanisms between small and large pipes. Therefore, numerical simulations of two-phase flow induced fluctuating forces, stresses, displacements and natural frequencies at 900 bends have been carried out, in order to investigate the characteristics of MFIV in pipes of 0.0525m, 0.1016m and 0.2032m internal diameters (I.D.). An integrated high-fidelity CFD and FEA-based numerical-analytical modelling framework was applied, to predict the defining characteristics of MFIV in the pipes. The CFD simulations of thirty-five cases of slug, cap bubbly and churn turbulent flow-induced fluctuations at the bends were carried out using the volume of fluid (VOF) model for the two-phase flows, and th

Influence of cutting frequency and fertilizer-N application on tiller production and herbage yield distribution over time in a guinea grass (Panicum maximum) sown pasture

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of cutting frequency and nitrogen rates on guinea grass (Panicum maximum) tiller production and herbage yield distribution over time. Plants were grown in the Department of Crop Science Research and Teaching Farm, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A 4 × 4 factorial experiment replicated three times was set in a randomized complete block design. Treatments comprised four levels of nitrogen fertilizer at 0, 150, 300 and 450 kg ha-1 and four harvesting frequencies of three-, six-, nine- and 12-weekly intervals. Tiller number per square meter of ground significantly (P < 0.05) decreased with increasing interval of cuts, but significantly (P < 0.05) increased with incremental application of fertilizer N in all the years. The three-weeks interval of cuts significantly produced the highest tiller number when combined with the highest N rate of 450 kg N ha-1 in 2003 compared with six- , nine- or 12-week intervals of cut. Grass tiller number significantly (P < 0.05) increased with frequent cutting of intervals earlier in the 2001 season (June to August) than later (September to November) when compared with the infrequent cutting intervals. In most periods of the years, dry matter yields of grass herbage and crop fractions were significantly increased with increase in interval between cuts and with incremental application of nitrogen. However, grass dry matter yields were significantly reduced with longer intervals, relative to the shorter intervals late in the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons.Key words: Nitrogen fertilizer, crop fractions, interval between cuts, seasons

Contemporary African philosophy: emergent issues and challenges

In the opinion of some philosophers, African philosophy, vis-à-vis Western philosophy, African philosophy depicts no more than a particularist exemplar of the universal (Western) philosophy. This paper questions this assumption and demonstrates that, as a human undertaking, all philosophies remain context-dependent and cultureoriented. A contrary view ignores the proper nature of philosophy. A new phenomenon confronts currently confronts all comers to contemporary African philosophy: an expansive vision of African philosophical discourse. Contemporary African philosophers attempt to rethink the initial problems that confronted their pioneer counterparts. Whereas the pioneer African philosophers disputed one another on meta-philosophical issues about African philosophy, their successors, in their bid to give a novel response to those problems, end up introducing innovative frameworks, entirely fresh perspectives, new themes and solutions. As a consequence, they face new challenges. This paper underlines, in broad outline, some of the challenges and urges possible ways to their resolution.Keywords: African identity, hermeneutics and culture, ethnocentric commitment, epistemic impass

Preliminary study of the contribution of native legumes to the nitrogen economy of natural grasslands

The need to discover suitable native legumes of high nitrogen fixing ability was pinpointed. Potential native legumes growing in the wild in Nsukka, Nigeria were identified and the seeds were collected. Desmodium ramisissimon was found to be the common legume species in the University area and was used for germination and nodulation studies. D. ramisissimon showed good potentiality with regards to nodulation ability and was recommended for further investigation.Key words: Nodulation, germination, nitrogen fixation, Desmodium ramisissimon

Promotion-Focused Inclinations and University Academic Staff Patronage of Deposit Money Banks in Rivers State

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Promotion-focused inclinations and University academic staff patronage of Deposit Money Banks in Rivers State. Drawing on the Self-Regulatory Focus Theory, the paper argues that Promotion-focused inclinations can influence customer patronage of these banks’ products. Primary data collected with structured questionnaire from seven hundred and ninety-two (792) academic staff of three Universities in Rivers State, were analyzed using the Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient, as obtained in SPSS version 20.0. The study found a significant and positive relationship between Promotion-focused orientations of the University academic staff and their patronage of the Deposit Money Bank. The paper, therefore, recommends that Deposit Money Banks in Rivers State soliciting for patronage from these University Academic Staff should offer bank products that are in tandem with promotion orientations of their value customers. Keywords: Accomplishment Inclination, Advancement Inclination, Customer Patronage, Personal Development Inclination, Promotion-focused inclinations, Self-Regulatory focus

Forces and Flaws in Flora Nwapa’s Efuru and Idu

Considering her unique position as the premier African woman to publish a novel in English, given, also, her relatively artistic delineation of the African woman’s experience at a time when there is a dearth of female voice on that topic; when works of the male authors generally denigrate women, Flora Nwapa receives a commendable level of attention from critics all over the world. While most of the critics appreciate her for drawing attention to the strength and challenges of the African woman, others fault her for the absence of literary dexterity in her narrative. But for some critics’ romance with Uhamiri, not enough attention, relatively, has been given to the intrinsic and extrinsic forces surrounding Nwapa as a writer and how she manages these forces in plot development. Thus, this paper addresses this concern through the analysis of her foremost works, Efuru andIdu. Certain oversights are, also, noted some of which result from her deliberate or unconscious attempt to handle the forces that influence her. This is to draw attention to a writer’s conscious or unconscious struggle with forces, natural or supernatural, and, also, point to certain flaws, in Nwapa’s narrative, for the advancement of scholarship. The choice of Nwapa and her first two novels derives from the need to approach a relatively new topic from the beginning. Key Words: Forces, flaws, tradition, love, muse, influence