The meaning of home in Yoruba culture

This study examined the meaning of home in Yoruba culture in Ogbomoso Nigeria Africa. Ogbomoso is one of Yoruba cities that reveals the innate social and cultural tendencies of traditional Yoruba cities. Data for the studies were collected from residents of houses categorised into five types of family house, single family dwelling, apartment, duplex and rooming houses Purposive sampling technique was utilised to obtain information from head of these houses. Subjecting the data collected from residents toanalysis, the study provided information that 40.3 %, 22.8%, 17.3%, 12.5% and 5.3% choose the single family dwelling, duplex, apartment, family house, rooming house or “face me i face you” in descendingorder as the house that respondent readily think of as home, Furthermore the result of a factor analysis also provided information that 16.95%, 8.33% and 7.13% of variances refers to availability of functional spaces, emotional factor and privacy respectively out of nine factors which define the meaning of home in Ogbomosho. Data was also collected using an in-depth interview, the result of the analysis provided information that the home means the cradle, a place of comfort, shelter, a place of abode and safety, and a house with facilities that gives comfortable living. The study found that there is significant relationship between private nature of conveniences in houses which directly influence comfort and privacy and this could explain why the single family dwelling, duplex and apartment were rated as homes to the respondent. Generally home means a shelter and a place of abode, a single family dwelling. This is because premium is set on ownership of a house in Yoruba culture. This meaning of home as the cradle and source of origin is supported by the general cultural belief of the Yoruba..Key words: Meaning, House, Home, Yoruba culture, Cradle, Premiu

Architectural Firms in Nigeria: A Study of Organizational Culture and Determinants

Culture of organizations has received increasing attention in recent years. The questions that remain unanswered are however: what are the dominant cultural values of architectural firms and which characteristics of the firms determined the dominant culture of firms? To answer these questions, we carried out a survey of 92 architectural firms in Nigeria. The factor which best described the cultural values of the firms was innovation and staff orientation dimension, while the factor which least described the cultural values of the firms was the businessorientation dimension. The cultural value dimensions were explained by factors both internal and external to the firms. The results show that the age, size and legal ownership form of the firms were the firm characteristics which determined the dominant cultural values of the firms. The leadership style of the principal was also a major cultural value determinant. This suggests that each firm may need to adapt cultural values to their unique characteristics. The value of this study lies in its empirical nature in investigating the dominant cultural values of architectural firms, an area that hitherto had received little attention from scholar

Role of actors in informal settlements real estate market

Literature suggests that majority of the urban housing in cities of many developing countries is provided in informal settlements through informal housing delivery systems. Due to their clandestine nature, their activities and modes of operation are often not well understood. This paper examines the role played by both the government agencies and other market actors in the functioning and regulation of informal real estate land markets, especially in Lagos, Nigeria. A survey was carried out with the use of questionnaires and interviews. The analysis of the data reveals that there is a thriving property market, which appears to have some form of social regulation. The role of each of the actors, varying from informants, buyers, sellers, financiers, witnesses and government, are discussed. The paper concludes that the thriving informal real estate market needs to be strengthened to effectively cater for the housing needs of urban residents.This paper contributes to discussions on informal real estate markets in developing countries by examining the structure and mechanisms that govern urban real estate markets in informal settlements through a case study of Ayobo community in Lagos, Nigeria, an area where empirical work has been sparse

Fate of ingested linamarin in malnourished rats

Pure linamarin at a dose level of 30 g per 100 g body weight was administered in food to a group of Wistar rats maintained on vitamin B2-deficient, sufficient and excess diets for 5 weeks and to another group of kwashiorkor rats. Free and total cyanide, intact linamarin and thiocyanate levels were estimated in urine and faeces obtained at 0-, 24-, 48- and 72-h periods and in blood samples obtained in the seventy-second hour after the drug had been administered. There was no detectable cyanide or intact linamarin in the faecal samples. Vitamin B2-sufficient and excess groups of rats excreted higher total and free cyanide than the respective vitamin B2-deficient groups. Most of the linamarin was degraded after the first 24h. The rate of breakdown of the glucoside within the first 24 h was slowest for the zero and half normal vitamin B2 status, respectively, as evidenced by its appearance in large quantities in the urine. The kwashiorkor rats, on the other hand, excreted less thiocyanate than the controls. In addition, their control group excreted most of the thiocyanate (SCN−) in the first 24 h whilst the kwashiorkor rats excreted theirs in the first 48 h. Dietary protein deficiency prolongs the time of metabolism and hence increases the toxicity of cyanogenic glycoside in the body. It is also suggested that excessive exposure of malnourished humans to cyanide could be a contributory factor in the rampant cases of tropical ataxic neuropathy (TAN)

Antihydrogen studies in ALPHA

he ALPHA experiment studies antihydrogen as a means to investigate the symmetry of matter and antimatter. Spectroscopic studies of the anti-atom hold the promise of the most precise direct comparisons of matter and antimatter possible. ALPHA was the first to trap antihydrogen in a magnetic trap, allowing the first ever detection of atomic transitions in an anti-atom. More recently, through stochastic heating, we have also been able to put a new limit on the charge neutrality of antihydrogen. ALPHA is currently preparing to perform the first laser-spectroscopy of antihydrogen, hoping to excite the 2s state using a two-photon transition from the 1s state. We discuss the recent results as well as the key developments that led to these successes and discuss how we are preparing to perform the first laser-spectroscopy. We will also discuss plans to use our novel technique for gravitational tests on antihydrogen for a direct measurement of the sign of the gravitational force on antihydrogen

Comparative efficacy of visual inspection with acetic acid versus cytology for cervical cancer screening in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Background: Screening test for cervical cancer using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) has been advocated by World Health Organization as a suitable, low cost and feasible alternative modality for control of cervical cancer in resource-poor settings as compared to cytological and colposcopic screening. The need for reproducibility, accuracy and comparable efficacy will influence the acceptability of VIA as primary screening modalities for cervical cancer.Methods: A cross–sectional comparative study conducted at BUTH. Data were obtained from 318 consenting women aged 30–65 years using a systematic random sampling method and an interviewer–administered structured questionnaire. Pap smear samples were taken followed by visual inspection with acetic acid. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0, Frequencies were obtained and Chi-square test (X2) was used to compare rates and proportions with the level of statistical significance set at less than 0.05.Results: Positive results for premalignant cervical lesion was 1.3% and 4.1% for VIA and Pap smear respectively (X2=4.52; p=0.034). The sensitivity of VIA was 7.7% with positive predictive value of 25% while specificity was 99.0% with a negative predictive value of 96.2%. The prevalence of abnormal cervical lesion in the population studied was 4.1% (95% CI 2.2% – 6.9%).Conclusions: The detection rate for pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix using VIA was significantly lower than that of Pap smear in this study. There may be needed to exercise caution in adopting VIA as primary screening modality for cervical cancer

Variational calculations for the hydrogen-antihydrogen system with a mass-scaled Born-Oppenheimer potential

The problem of proton-antiproton motion in the ${\rm H}$--${\rm \bar{H}}$ system is investigated by means of the variational method. We introduce a modified nuclear interaction through mass-scaling of the Born-Oppenheimer potential. This improved treatment of the interaction includes the nondivergent part of the otherwise divergent adiabatic correction and shows the correct threshold behavior. Using this potential we calculate the vibrational energy levels with angular momentum 0 and 1 and the corresponding nuclear wave functions, as well as the S-wave scattering length. We obtain a full set of all bound states together with a large number of discretized continuum states that might be utilized in variational four-body calculations. The results of our calculations gives an indication of resonance states in the hydrogen-antihydrogen system

Besides Zaha or Adenowo: Investigating the Visibility Status of Female Architects as Role Models for Students of Architectu

Recent glimpses and revelations from the education and practice of architectural profession suggested that the visibility status of Female Architects as role models for students under tutelage is still hazy [1]. Highly worthy of note is that increasing numbers of female students are enrolled into architecture programs on a yearly basis but when juxtaposed with the high rate of attrition recorded at the point of exit from Nigerian universities, it significantly varies. As stated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations, the fifth objective is to ensure the attainment of gender equality among people in the societies of the world [2]. This paper investigated and reported the findings of a study on the visibility status of female architects as role models for architecture students. Using a sample of 378 (101 females and 277 males) students drawn from 3 private universities in South-west Nigeria, a survey was carried out to find out how visible female architects were as role models to students of architecture. The data were analysed using univariate analysis like proportions and percentages and results were presented in tables. Findings indicated that only 2 female architects popularised by media were cited as role models by more than half of the respondents indicating poor or hazy visibility of other successful women in the field. This paper recommended that pragmatic steps should be taken by stakeholders of the architecture profession at different levels using the more effective visibility windows of media to showcase the high-stake achievements and personalities of successful female architects as role models to inspire both the female architects in practice and same categories under tutelage

Besides Zaha or Adenowo: Investigating the Visibility Status of Female Architects as Role Models for Students of Architecture

Recent glimpses and revelations from the education and practice of architectural profession suggested that the visibility status of Female Architects as role models for students under tutelage is still hazy [1]. Highly worthy of note is that increasing numbers of female students are enrolled into architecture programs on a yearly basis but when juxtaposed with the high rate of attrition recorded at the point of exit from Nigerian universities, it significantly varies. As stated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations, the fifth objective is to ensure the attainment of gender equality among people in the societies of the world [2]. This paper investigated and reported the findings of a study on the visibility status of female architects as role models for architecture students. Using a sample of 378 (101 females and 277 males) students drawn from 3 private universities in South-west Nigeria, a survey was carried out to find out how visible female architects were as role models to students of architecture. The data were analysed using univariate analysis like proportions and percentages and results were presented in tables. Findings indicated that only 2 female architects popularised by media were cited as role models by more than half of the respondents indicating poor or hazy visibility of other successful women in the field. This paper recommended that pragmatic steps should be taken by stakeholders of the architecture profession at different levels using the more effective visibility windows of media to showcase the high-stake achievements and personalities of successful female architects as role models to inspire both the female architects in practice and same categories under tutelage