[Review of] St. Clair Drake. Black Folk Here and There , vol. I

St. Clair Drake, the recently deceased anthropologist, has written an elaborate summary essay on the black experience as it relates to the continent of Africa. In his latter years at Stanford University, Drake was head of the University\u27s Black Studies program. It appears obvious that Drake\u27s consciousness was raised during this particular time span. The research and writing of this book is far different from his seminal work with Clayton (Black Metropolis, 1945). In his emeritus years, Drake decided to seek the high ground of an historical anthropological-philosopher and address certain issues that W.E.B. DuBois considered paramount to the study of black people throughout the diaspora

Critiques [of Black or African American ; What\u27s In a Name? by Johnny Washington]

Aside from examining the ways people ascribe meaning to the terms Black and African-American and possible underlying social dynamics impeding or precipitating ethnic label changes, Washington concludes that these above mentioned sign-posts may be justifiable periodic changes which an ethnic group should constantly re-interpret on its ever evolving cosmic journey. Washington presents an interesting case from a philosophical/metaphysical standpoint. From a social scientific perspective, however, there is much to be determined

Statistical approach to optimization of the transesterification reaction from sorrel (hibiscus sabdariffa) oil

In an effort to optimize the reaction conditions of biodiesel production from Sorrel seed oil, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied and the effects of reaction temperature, catalyst amount, reaction time and methanol/oil molar ratio, and their reciprocal interactions were ascertained. A total of 30 experimental runs were designed by Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) and carried out. A quadratic polynomial was obtained for predicting the Transesterification process and the ANOVA test showed the model to be significant (p<0.05). The validity of the predicted model was confirmed by carrying out three independent replicates experiments. The actual maximum biodiesel yield obtained was 99.23% (w/w) at methanol/oil molar ratio 6.21, catalyst amount 1.03 (% wt.), reaction temperature 51 oC, and reaction time 63 min. The fuel properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa methylester (HSME) produced were found to be within the ASTM D6751 and DIN EN 14214 biodiesel standards. The fatty acid profile of the HSME revealed that the dominant fatty acids were oleic (58.34%), arachidic (1.55%), palmitic (18.28%) and linoleic (21.19%). Emission assessment revealed 70% reduction of CO at B80, 80% reduction of NO concentration at B40

Review of Sustainability in Self Compacting Concrete: the use of waste and mineral additives as supplementary cementitious material and aggregate.

Concrete is one of the commonly used construction materials, but there is a need to develop a new and sustainable technology to make concrete more affordable. With the advancement in technology, concrete was no longer seen as a three entity (binder, aggregate, and water). The unique workability properties of SCC make it unique in the concrete industry. This review assessed the materials, strength, rheological properties of agricultural waste, industrial waste and mineral additives in SCC production. The effect of the utilization of these additives and replacements on structural, mechanical and rheological properties of SCC was espoused. The review revealed that the use of both industrial and agricultural waste enhances the strength properties of SCC. Additionally, the use of agricultural waste improves the rheological properties of fresh concrete. The utilization of expansive material should be discouraged in SCC production. The review revealed that SCC developments ensure a good balance between deformability and stability. It was therefore recommended that SCC should be utilized in pavement construction, particularly when high axle load is expected

Assessing the Effectiveness of Mobile Learning Devices in Tertiary Institutions: The Experience of Undergraduates in a Nigerian Private University

Over the years, technology appears to be making life easier and better. However, in some instances, it appears technology is counterproductive. Mobile learning devices, as the name suggests, have been developed to facilitate learning on the move. The questions are: Are these devices truly facilitating learning? If they are truly facilitating learning, are they facilitating learning positively or negatively? To answer these questions, the survey research design was adopted on a sample of 215 randomly selected students. In the process, questionnaire and focused group discussion guideline were used to collect relevant data. Data analysis was both qualitative and quantitative. Some of the core findings from this investigation were that majority of the respondents, and by extension the target population, were barely using the tablets and free internet browsing megabytes [10Gb monthly] given to all students for the intended purpose of learning. Some were pre-occupied with downloading videos, films and music while some spend endless hours playing computer games or chatting on social networks with the attendant consequence of poor learning, dwindling academic performance and productivity. Relevant recommendations to redress this unwholesome trend were proffere

Impact of Job Stress on the Job Performance of Nigeria Security And Civil Defence Corps Members.

This study assessed the impact of job stress on job performance among workers of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC). Job stress was measured by the Job-Related Tension Index (JTI) developed by Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek and Rosenthal (1964) and job performance was measured by the Role Based Performance Scale (RBPS) developed by Welbourne, Johnson and Erez (1998).The sample for the study consisted of 300 participants, comprising of 185 males and 115 females. Participants were selected using the convenience sampling method from the population of NSCDC workers. And results of the analyses of data collected indicated that job stress positively influenced job performance. Additionally, it was found that age, gender and years of experience neither independently not interactively influenced job performance. Discussion of results was in line with previous literature and it was recommended that organizations should foster functional stress to trigger moderate anxiety for higher performance while simultaneously avoiding over stressing workers to guide against redundancy and lower job performance. Keywords: Job stress, job performance, NSCDC workers, Ekiti State, Nigeria

THE CONTENT AND PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF PNEUMA ENGINEERING APTITUDE TEST

It is apparent that engineering is applied science. It can also be argued that knowledge that is not applied is virtually wasted knowledge. The real essence of education is learning to accumulate and apply knowledge for solving life’s problems and so make the world a better place to live. Engineering is one of the formidable fields fulfilling this role. However, admitting students into tertiary institutions without professionally screening them for aptitude in requisite engineering skills is apt to frustrate the achievement of this laudable aspiration. Engineering Aptitude tests are promising assessment tools designed for this purpose. However, psychological tools are of little value, and could even prove fatal, if un-validated. This study, therefore, made an attempt at validating the Pneuma Engineering Aptitude Test [PEAT] for admitting students into tertiary institutions using Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro in Nigeria as case study. For the Ordinary National Diploma [OND] students, PEAT’s predictive power was 51% [R = .507 and r = .507 at p = .001]. For the Higher National Diploma [HND] students, however, PEAT’s predictive power was 18% [R = .181 and r = .181 at p = .271]. This suggests that the predictive validity of PEAT tends to wan with passage of time in tertiary institutions. The implication of this finding was discussed and recommendation for further studies was made in the light of limited data

Religious and existential well-being among nursing students in anambra state, nigeria

Spirituality is a significant concept for the discipline of nursing with substantial influence on holistic care of patients. The purpose of the study was to investigate the status of Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) among nursing students in public Schools of Nursing in Anambra State, Nigeria. &nbsp;A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 228 nursing students based in three government Schools of Nursing in Anambra State, Nigeria.&nbsp; A 20 item Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWS) comprising of 10 questions each on religious and existential wellbeing sub-scales was adapted for the study. Internal consistency reliability of the instrument using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was 0.93. Ethical approval was obtained from Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) ethical committee. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi-Square and Pearson correlation analysis were done to verify association between variables using SPSS version 21 for Windows.&nbsp; Probability value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean age of respondents was 22 years. Overall, 55.1% reported moderate level of spirituality compared with 44.9% who had high level of spirituality. Nursing students’ average spiritual well-being (SWB) score was 97.7. SWB was significantly related to the level of study of respondents (p= 0.001). A significant strong positive correlation was found between Religious Well-Being (RWB) and Existential Well-Being (p=0.001; r=.697). The study has shown that nursing students in public Schools of Nursing in Anambra State, self-reported moderate level of spiritual wellbeing (SWB). Educational interventions are required to improve nursing students’ religious and existential well-being for the ultimate purpose of promoting holistic nursing care

THE CONTENT AND PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF PNEUMA ENGINEERING APTITUDE TEST

It is apparent that engineering is applied science. It can also be argued that knowledge that is not applied is virtually wasted knowledge. The real essence of education is learning to accumulate and apply knowledge for solving life’s problems and so make the world a better place to live. Engineering is one of the formidable fields fulfilling this role. However, admitting students into tertiary institutions without professionally screening them for aptitude in requisite engineering skills is apt to frustrate the achievement of this laudable aspiration. Engineering Aptitude tests are promising assessment tools designed for this purpose. However, psychological tools are of little value, and could even prove fatal, if un-validated. This study, therefore, made an attempt at validating the Pneuma Engineering Aptitude Test [PEAT] for admitting students into tertiary institutions using Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro in Nigeria as case study. For the Ordinary National Diploma [OND] students, PEAT’s predictive power was 51% [R = .507 and r = .507 at p = .001]. For the Higher National Diploma [HND] students, however, PEAT’s predictive power was 18% [R = .181 and r = .181 at p = .271]. This suggests that the predictive validity of PEAT tends to wan with passage of time in tertiary institutions. The implication of this finding was discussed and recommendation for further studies was made in the light of limited data

Well Placement Optimization Using a Basic Genetic Search Heuristics Algorithm and a Black Oil Simulator

In petroleum reservoir management, the essence of well placement is to develop and maintain reservoir pressure in order to achieve maximum production for economic benefits. Large production can be achieved with the placement of multiple wells but this approach is capital intensive and inefficient for the development of a reservoir. A preferable option is the optimal placement of production and injection wells so as to fully capitalize on the imbedded hydrocarbons at a relatively decreased capital investment. The aim of this study is to use developed algorithm and a black oil simulator to place wells in the zones for optimal recovery in the reservoir. Optimal production was determined out of eight scenarios created from well placement in a hypothetical reservoir (finch reservoir) using a black oil simulator, alongside an algorithm developed with java for determining the best possible locations for well placement, taking into consideration the reservoir permeability, fluid saturation, and pay zone thickness. The results of this study reveal that well placement using the engineering judgment coupled with the application of the algorithm using a black oil simulator results in better production compared to other scenarios which consider the combined effect of algorithm and black oil simulator alone