Micro-credit Facility for Graduates of Vocational and Technical Institutions as a Panacea to Unemployment in Nigeria

Over the time, lack of adequate start-up finance has been identified as one of the most significant barriers to young people seeking to create their own businesses. Infact, it has been observed that the bulk of the problem being encountered by young entrepreneurs is the impaired access to micro credit that can promote establishment of new enterprises and supporting existing ones. Due to their lack of resources, credibility, credit history or collateral, young people are often seen as particularly risky potential clients and therefore face difficulties in accessing finance. The methodological approach adopted in writing this paper was content analysis and after reviewing the prevailing situation, the author observed that vocational and entrepreneurial training alone has not led to and cannot lead to establishment of own business after graduation because it is not only the lack of investable skills and entrepreneurial spirit that is preventing graduates of vocational schools from starting own business after graduation but also unavailability or difficult to access start-up capital. It is therefore suggested that micro lending should be incorporated into vocational education program in order to provide easy to access micro credits for these graduates through micro finance banks for microenterprise development. This will not only ensure that qualified youths with requisite qualification (investable skills and entrepreneurial spirits) have access to such micro credits but also prevent usage of such money for consumption purposes that will lead to no long term benefits. Keywords: Micro-credit Facility, Unemployment, Vocational Institutions Graduate

The Role of State and Professional Bodies in Developing Code for Structural Concrete – Learning from other Nations

In order to arrest the rampant structural failures of buildings, there have been call for the development and adoption of structural design codes that will capture all relevant environmental issues that are peculiar to Nigeria.  This paper presents the results of analysis of data collected from the public domain (libraries and internet sources) on Nations with acceptable structural design codes in concrete and allied materials. Some of the findings are that: (i) Code or Standard does not necessarily need to be a legal document or backed by the state to enjoy wider acceptance or be recognized, (ii) it is possible for people in the same professions to form professional association and regulate the operation of the profession by setting standard of practice which can be recognized, not only by people, but also acceptable to the State and (iii) whether a standard developed as a legal document or recommendations of professional association, openness and consideration for the inputs for all are necessary. This is to ensure that the operation of the standard will not run contrary to the public good, or in violation of the common law, or infringe the rights of a subject/citizen. Keywords — Building failures, Codes, Concrete, Legal document, Professional bodies, Structures

Dyslipidaemia in hypertension - are we treating enough?

Introduction: The coexistence of dyslipidaemia and hypertension results in enhanced atherosclerosis. Adequate treatment of dyslipidaemia in hypertensive patients is thus essential for reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases.Objective: To determine the prevalence of dyslipidaemia among hypertensives and evaluate lipid treatment status of patients with dyslipidaemia in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was done between May, 2015 and June, 2016 in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. The serum lipid levels of adult patients with hypertension and controls without hypertension were determined. Lipid treatment status of patients with dyslipidaemia were also reviewed. Serum lipid levels were analyzed using spectrophotometric methods.Results: The study included 200 adult hypertensive patients and 100 control participants. The mean age (SD) was 56.3 (6.9) years and 54.9 (8.3) years with range 41-68 and 44-69 years for patients and controls respectively. Eighty-eight (44.0%) hypertensive patients and 23(23.5%) of the control group were found to have dyslipidaemia. Out of the 60(68.2%) patients with elevated LDL-C, 32(53.3%) had LDL-C >4.1mmol/L, out of which only 8(25%) were on antilipid medication.Conclusion: Over one-third of studied hypertensive patients had dyslipidaemia and only a quarter of those who needed antilipids were on the medication. Greater awareness is needed both in the medical and patient communities in order to effectively manage dyslipidaemic hypertension, and hence aid in ameliorating the burden of cardiovascular diseases

SANDCRETE BLOCK AND BRICK PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA - PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

Sandcrete blocks comprise of natural sand, water and binder. Cement, as a binder, is the most expensive input in to the production of sandcrete blocks. This has necessitated producers of sandcrete blocks to produce blocks with low OPC content that will be affordable to people and with much gain. The poverty level amongst West African Countries and particularly Nigerian has made these blocks widely acceptable among the populace so as to minimize the cost of construction works. Despite the cost benefit of sandcrete cost, the improper use of these blocks leads to microcracks on the walls after construction and this result to incessant collapse of buildings which has turned out to be a worrisome problem facing the construction industry in Nigeria. The main aim of this research is to evaluate how sandcrete blocks and bricks are produced for use in Nigeria, the laws and regulations guiding their production and the prospects and challenges facing the block production industry in Nigeria. A case study survey of about 15 block production factories was conducted to find out how block manufacturers produce sandcrete blocks and bricks for use in Nigeria. Three types of investigations, namely field survey (participant observation), literature review and interviews were carried out. This study found several factors are responsible for the collapse of buildings one of which is the use of poor quality of building materials such as blocks and bricks. It is therefore important to ensure that the production of this major masonry unit is not only standardized but regulated and adequately monitored to ensure qualit

TUTORING: THE PLACE OF PERSONALITY AND GENDER

The issue of tutoring in places of learning is becoming significant to study as students tend to prefer a particular personality irrespective of the gender (male or female) among teachers. This choice appears to have effect on the academic performance of students. However, it is perceived that interest in a subject could be a function of attraction to the subject tutor. Therefore, this study captures the role of personality and gender in the selection of tutor and its effect on student’s performance in engineering. Additionally, other factors that could lead to these issues, such as: method of teaching, mentoring ability, communication skills were looked into. This was achieved through the use of a well-structured questionnaire and personal interviews for proper conclusion on the subject matter. The data collected was statistically analyzed with SPSS 21 and results shows that there is dire need for places of higher learning to increase or encourage good personality in tutoring as it will improve academic performance in return. Also, there should be continuity and proper monitoring of mentoring as well as teaching pedagogy. Inclusive learning should be encouraged to harvest good performance of students

British Colonial Administration and Inter-group Relations in Yorubaland: The Case of Remo Groups in Sagamu, Southwestern Nigeria

The appearance of the Europeans on the West African coasts as well as the establishment of colonial rule is one of the defining moments in Nigerian history. This has brought about a profound impact on the socio-economic and political development of the people of Nigeria. Beyond this, the indirect rule policy, and its attendant elevation of some traditional chiefs, altered in a very fundamental way how many different groups in Nigeria had interacted with one another for centuries. The consequence of this was the incessant inter-group conflicts and confrontations during the colonial and post-colonial periods. This is particularly the case with the Remo groups in Sagamu, a town that owed its establishment to the nineteenth-century warfare that engulfed Yorubaland. The general insecurity of the period forced many Remo towns to come together for defence and survival between 1862 and 1872. Politically, each confederating town in Sagamu maintained its identity and independence. However, this arrangement was altered with the conferment of paramountcy on the Akarigbo of Ofin over other traditional rulers in the town by the British colonial government on August 4, 1894. This has often generated intra-group conflicts and crises which have been prevalent in the town since that time. It is against this background that this paper seeks to examine the impact of British policies and administration on the often-confrontational intra-group relations in Sagamu, particularly between the Ofin and Makun groups. This paper argues that British colonial policies did a lot to strain intra-group relations in Sagamu. The paper adopts historical research methods. Given this, both primary and secondary data constitute the main sources of information for the study

Itaconic Acid Production from Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera L) Using Fungi in Solid State Fermentation

This study evaluates the potentials of Phoenix dactylifera L (Date fruits) as possible alternative raw materials for itaconic acid production using naturally occurring fungi. Date fruit (pulp) was used as a substrate in solid state fermentation for the production of itaconic acid using naturally occurring fungus.The date fruit (pulp) was de-capped from its seed manually with the aid of a knife and dried in an oven at 60 0C and was grounded using an Excella Mixer grinder. The fungus used was naturally isolated by fermentation of substrate (date pulp) and was identified as Aspergillus niger. Proximate analysis was carried out on the substrate using standard methods. Parameters such as substrate concentration, inoculum size and fermentation period were varied using standard methods to determine its effect on itaconic acid production. Assay for itaconic acid production was carried out using standard methods at a wavelength of 385nm. Amount of itaconic acid produced was derived by translation of absorbance values on the itaconic acid curve. The substrate had a high carbohydrate content of 72.29%. The fermentation results showed maximum production of itaconic acid of 20.75±0.25mg/ml using 40g substrate, 15.13±1.13mg/ml using 2 ml inoculums size of spore suspension (2×105 spores/ml) and a maximum yield of 16.88±0.13mg/ml at day 1 of fermentation period. On optimization with 40g substrate and 2 ml inoculums for 3 days a maximum yield was observed at day 2 of fermentation with a maximum yield of 25.00±1.00mg/ml. The highest acidic level throughout the fermentation period was observed to be at pH 4.2. From the study it was concluded that date pulp is a promising substrate and could be utilized by Aspergillus niger for the production of itaconic acid

Dynamics of vertical profile of Radio Refractivity in Akure South-Western Nigeria.

This research investigated fractal and chaotic dynamics in the vertical profile radio refractivity in the atmosphere using Tsallis Entropy, Hurst Exponent and Largest Lyapunov Exponent (LLE). Daily temperature, relative humidity and radio refractivity data obtained from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis Project at thirty seven (37) different atmospheric pressure level from 1979-2014 were used in this study. The Hurst Exponent parameter obtained, using the method of Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, in the radio refractivity profile studied showed that there is persistence across all levels. Tsallis entropy did not reveal any structure or significant variations from the tropopause to the surface. To determine if any of the radio refractivity is chaotic at any of the studied level, the Largest Lyapunov Exponent (LLE) was computed. Positive values were obtained at all levels for radio refractivity, indicating deterministic chaos in the profile of radio refractivity

The Kumaraswamy-Power Distribution: A Generalization of the Power Distribution

We introduce a generalization referred to as the Kumaraswamy Power distribution. The proposed model serves as a generalization of the two-parameter Power distribution using the Kumaraswamy Generalized family of distributions. We investigate some of its statistical properties; the Generalized Power distribution, Exponentiated Power distribution and the Power distribution are found to be sub-models of the proposed distribution. The method of maximum likelihood estimation is proposed in estimating the parameters of the mode

TUTORING AND PARENTING INFLUENCE ENGINEERING: IMPACT ON FEMALE TEENAGERS

Tutoring and parenting to great extent assist in harmonizing the capabilities of students, both play key roles in influencing the career choice of teenagers especially the female. This research assessed the influence of parenting and tutoring on the career path (CP) of female teenagers with special focus on the selection of engineering as a course. This was achieved with the distribution of 1000 questionnaires to girls in the senior form (SS1 – SS2) of some selected secondary school in Southwestern Nigeria, using face to face approach. Besides, focus group discussion approach was also employed in the data collection. Data on tutoring, parenting, subject mastery, counselling and individual factors were collected, sorted and analyzed. Statistical software SPSS Version 21 was employed in the analysis of the data. The result showed that parenting and tutoring had a pronounced impact on the academic performance of the girl child and to a large extent influenced the selection of Engineering as a course. The most effective mode of tutorship are the appointment based and drop-in tutoring with 30% and 35%. The analysis of the result revealed that 30% of the tutored students picked interest in engineering as a course while only 16% of the non-tutored showed interest engineering. The result of this research will be of tremendous help to school owners both private and government on the strategies to adopt in encouraging tutorship in secondary schools in an attempt to encourage girl child into the engineering profession