Digital Literacy Initiative as a Transformational Tool for the Delivery of Teacher Education Programs for Professional Development in Nigeria

To make teaching creative and effective in the 21st century, the role of teacher as an organizer cannot be overemphasized. Digital literacy has blossomed in the nation with its popularity among the youth. However, sweeping and abrupt the changes are, most teachers have absorbed them with dispatch. The information tsunamis have made the teachers to have hard time monitoring the student to use the technology to promote teaching and learning. Without digital literacy, our teachers will be at a major disadvantage, both economically. The population of the study consisted of Basic and Post Basic School Teachers in Ekiti State of Nigeria. Data was collected with the aid of a Digital Literacy and Web Based Instruction Analysis (DLWBIA). Instrument was analyzed with Correlation and Regression Statistics. It was found that digital literacy is a necessity for all stakeholders in education and teachers in particular should be giving adequate computer training to facilitate teaching in schools.  Therefore, it was recommended that government, and education stakeholders should empower teachers, for effective delivery of education programmes in schools. Keywords: Digital Literacy, Basic and Post Basic Education, Web Based Instruction, stakeholders

The Challenges Militating Against the Adoption of Pre-retirement Training of Retirees in Nigeria

The main thrust of this paper is to give an overview of the challenges faced by retirees in in selected Federal Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria after retirement. Data for this study were collected from both primary and secondary sources. A total number of 337 questionnaire were administered representing 20% of the total population of 1684 using probability proportion to size technique was used in order to have balanced views of the respondents and the data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results from the study showed that Nine (9) possible challenges which were presented to the respondents in the questionnaire. These challenges are: Poor funding of the training programme; apathy on the part of trainees; corruption/ mismanagement of funds for the training programme; inadequacy of data on retirees fot the training programme; inadequate Civil Society Organisations’ participation in the programme; absence of managerial skills by retirees to cope with the demands of entrepreneurship; poor coordination of the training programme; and misappropriation of funds from gratuities into other uses by retirees. This study therefore recommends that government should provide more funds; be more committed to the programme; intending retirees should be well informed about the treining programme; timing of pre-retirement training should come should come early at least twice between 7-10 years as against 3-5 years before retirement. All these will enable the intending retirees to prepare for obvious eventuality after retirement

Assessing Pre-retirement Training Methods: A Case Study of Federal Teaching Hospitals in Southwestern Nigeria

The Nigerian public service has undergone several reforms pension reforms monetisation reforms restructuring and repositioning of ministries anti corruption pre-retirement training among others The conditions of many retirees in Nigeria and the problems they are facing have attracted attention of late Among others the problems being faced by retirees include loss of the usual monthly salary anxiety about a residential home lack of occupation dwindling status decreased strength and deteriorated health condition physical disabilities aging and sudden loss of life The Nigerian economy is facing serious challenges hence there is need for pre-retirement planning strategies to combat and manage the impending pains and stress in retirement It is important to note from the onset that among the different categories of workers in the labour force in Nigeria the workers approaching retirement and the retired workers should be a great concern Agnew 2013 Even those who are looking forward to retirement usually feel a deep sense of los

Samba Openldap: An Evolution And Insight

Directory services facilitate access to information organized under a variety of frameworks and applications. The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is a promising technology that provides access to directory information using a data structure similar to that of the X.500 protocol. IBM Tivoli, Novell, Sun, Oracle, Microsoft, and many other vendor features LDAP-based implementations. The technology’s increasing popularity is due both to its flexibility and its compatibility with existing applications. A directory service is a searchable database repository that lets authorized users and services find information related to people, computers, network devices, and applications. Given the increasing need for information — particularly over the Internet — directory popularity has grown over the last decade and is now a common choice for distributed applications. Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) accommodates the need of high level of security, single sign-on, and centralized user management. This protocol offers security services and integrated directory with capability of storage management user information in a directory. Therefore at the same time the user can determine application, service, server to be accessed, and user privileges. It is necessary to realize files sharing between different operating systems in local area network. Samba software package, as the bridge across Windows and Linux, can help us resolve the problem. In this paper, we try to explore previous literature on this topic and also consider current authors work then come out with our views on the subject matter of discussion based on our understanding

POLLEN STUDIES ON FOUR SPECIES OF CRASSOCEPHALUM (MOENCH.) S. MOORE (ASTERACEAE) IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Twenty-three accessions of four species of the genus Crassocephalum were investigated on their pollen size, pollen morphological structure and fertility. Pollen sizes were obtained from polar and equatorial diameter measurements. Pollen fertility was accessed through the staining property in cotton blue in lactophenol reagent. The structural form of pollen grains was examined by means of a light microscope (X100 magnification). There was no significant difference in pollen size, structure and fertility among species investigated. C. crepidioides had relatively the largest size of pollen grains (28.10±1.67 µm) (media), while C. rubens pollen were relatively most fertile (98.7%). However, pollen grains of the species were tricolporate with three germ pores except in C. crepidioides which had up to six germ pores (multiporate). All pollens in the species were fenestrate type with high fertility. The study suggests that number of germ pores in addition to pollen morphology be used in species separation

The relative importance of the channels of monetary policy transmission in a developing country: the case of Zambia

This study sought to examine relative importance of the different channels of the monetary transmission mechanism in Zambia. Vector Autoregressive Methods are used to examine the strength of each channel of monetary policy, namely interest rate, Exchange rate, credit and asset price channels. Results indicate that the exchange rate and credit are effective channels of monetary policy transmission in Zambia. Further, the study shows that although the interest channel is working it is weak while the equity or asset price channel is not important. From a policy perspective, these results imply that Central Bank is required to continuously monitor developments in the credit and conditions in foreign exchange markets in order to design effective monetary policies. In addition, concerted efforts are needed towards enhancing the asset/equity price channel in Zambia to make monetary policy to be more effective.Keywords: Monetary Policy;, Transmission Channel, Central Bank, Zambia, VA

Perforation of the appendix and the sigmoid colon by an ectopic IUD

The perforation of both appendix and sigmoid colon by an ectopic Intrauterine device (IUD) by an intrauterine device is a rare occurrence. We present a case of a patient is a 47- year- old hispanic woman who presented at the Gynaecology clinic with complaints of chronic right sided pelvic pain. She had an intrauterine device inserted 10 years prior with no recent gynaecological follow-up. The device was identified by ultrasonography and she was planned for a hysterectomy and IUD retrieval by the gynaecology team. An intra-operative finding of sigmoid colon and appendiceal perforation by an IUD during a total abdominal hysterectomy and emergent involvement of the general surgery team. She underwent a segmental resection of the involved sigmoid colon, appendectomy and removal of the IUD.  All missing Intrauterine devices should be accurately localized by tomographic or magnetic imaging preoperatively

Public Participation in Local Government Planning and Development: Evidence from Lagos State, Nigeria

When members of the public are given the opportunity to participate in local governance, the benefits are immeasurable. Unfortunately, the structure and mechanisms for promoting public participation, especially in the context of a developing country, is underexplored. In this paper, we examine the structure and mechanisms for public participation in two randomly selected communities within Lagos Mainland Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Specifically, we measure public participation in terms of the quality of interaction among the members of the community, as well as the interaction between the community and the Local Government Council. Selected Heads of Traditional Councils in these communities were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings show that “face-toface” relationship is a dominant strategy for promoting public participation within t he Makoko/Iwaya communities. Consequently, we established that the potential of ICT in the promoting of public participation is far from being explored in these communities. The corresponding policy implications are discussed and recommendations to enhancethe use of ICT for promoting public participation are suggested

Impact of Processing on Physical, Chemical and Pasting Properties of Tamarind (T. indica) Seed Flour

Tamarind seed is a discarded waste material from the tamarind pulp industry. The seed contains plethora of nutrients, however its application as food ingredient in Nigeria is limited. This study investigated the impact of processing techniques on physical (colour), proximate, mineral, anti-nutrient and pasting properties of tamarind seed flour using standard methods. Unprocessed seeds (sample A) served as the control, soaked seeds (sample B), roasted seeds (sample C) and autoclaved seeds (sample D). The obtained flour samples were analysed for the physical (colour), proximate, mineral, anti-nutrient and pasting properties using standard methods. Colour values (L*) of seed flour decreased whereas a* and b* values increased in processed flours compared to the control. Raw and processed tamarind seed flours are composed mainly of carbohydrate (65.0-75.2%) and protein (2.3-12.7%) with minuscule quantities of dietary fibre (3.50-7.10%), fat (5.4-6.8%) and ash (1.25-2.08%). The results revealed the following ranges in mineral concentrations: calcium (11.72-18.76mg/100g), magnesium (125.48-152.55mg/100g), potassium (224.49-487.37mg/100g) and iron (22.34-31.04mg/100g). Boiling, autoclaving and roasting significantly (p≤0.05) altered the anti-nutritional contents of tamarind seeds. There exist variation in the pasting viscosities with the control and processed tamarind flours being significantly different (p≤0.05).  The study highlighted that roasting of the seeds could eliminate the anti-nutrients and improved the quality of seeds compared to soaking and autoclaving processes. Exploring the potential of tamarind seeds for human consumption will clearly reduce the over-dependence on common legumes as protein source in marginalised communities

Greater Aid as the Panacea to Third World Development Challenges: a Critical Analysis

The effectiveness of the aid programs in developing countries have been questioned by development scholars and researchers leading to debates on the plausibility of the view that grater aid is the panacea to third world development challenges. While a few scholars have argued for the relevance of aid in the process of development, dissident economist such as Bauer and Friedman have argued against the ineffectiveness of these development aid programs. In their opinion, what aid really translates to is “…an excellent method for transferring money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries”. The main trust of this paper therefore, is to critically analyze all contending debates and arguments on the subject of aid / grater aid debate, with the view to determining the plausibility of the greater aid argument via traditional methods of rational critical analysis in philosophy and the conceptual clarification of relevant literature and arguments in related library and archival materials. In adopting the two gap model and the poverty-trap model as major frameworks of analysis for the study, the paper identified reasons why there is still no consensus on whether greater aid can indeed fuel growth at the macroeconomic level. All models employed for studies on aid tend to turn out different results. The various methods used for their analysis were also found wanting when subjected to sensitivity tests. This study therefore recommends that contemporary researchers subscribe to current trends of research geared towards identifying country specific factors responsible for the success or failure of aid in promoting growth