Teacher Attitude and Student Performance in Indigenous Language Learning in Lagos

When the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1987 introduced the educational policy that required study of one of the three national languages, i.e., Hausa, Igbo and Yorùbá, at the West African School Certificate / General Certificate in Education [WASC / GCE] level, Nigerians and especially advocates for the survival of the indigenous languages embraced the idea with great enthusiasm. The primary aim was to make more Nigerians speak indigenous languages in addition to the language of their immediate environment. However, this purpose was frustrated when students opted for, and indeed registered for, their mother tongues rather than a non-familiar indigenous language. If the policy had been actually followed, the country would have generated citizens, who not only speak their own indigenous languages, but also citizens who have a practical knowledge of all of their country’s traditional languages. But this did not happen. In this paper, we look at the attitudes of private school teachers to the teaching of the indigenous languages vis-a-vis the competence and performance of students in these indigenous languages. The study is not only comparative but also correlative. The methodological instruments included a questionnaire, interview, a quasi-test and examination of junior / senior secondary school leaving certificates. Our findings revealed that students’ performances, as reflected in their results, do not demonstrate their competence in the indigenous languages in question. Similarly, we observed that both the teachers and the learners are instrumentally and not integratively motivate

Computer-aided Melody Note Transcription Using the Tony Software: Accuracy and Efficiency

accepteddate-added: 2015-05-24 19:18:46 +0000 date-modified: 2017-12-28 10:36:36 +0000 keywords: Tony, melody, note, transcription, open source software bdsk-url-1: https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/attachments/download/1423/tony-paper_preprint.pdfdate-added: 2015-05-24 19:18:46 +0000 date-modified: 2017-12-28 10:36:36 +0000 keywords: Tony, melody, note, transcription, open source software bdsk-url-1: https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/attachments/download/1423/tony-paper_preprint.pdfWe present Tony, a software tool for the interactive an- notation of melodies from monophonic audio recordings, and evaluate its usability and the accuracy of its note extraction method. The scientific study of acoustic performances of melodies, whether sung or played, requires the accurate transcription of notes and pitches. To achieve the desired transcription accuracy for a particular application, researchers manually correct results obtained by automatic methods. Tony is an interactive tool directly aimed at making this correction task efficient. It provides (a) state-of-the art algorithms for pitch and note estimation, (b) visual and auditory feedback for easy error-spotting, (c) an intelligent graphical user interface through which the user can rapidly correct estimation errors, (d) extensive export functions enabling further processing in other applications. We show that Tony’s built in automatic note transcription method compares favourably with existing tools. We report how long it takes to annotate recordings on a set of 96 solo vocal recordings and study the effect of piece, the number of edits made and the annotator’s increasing mastery of the software. Tony is Open Source software, with source code and compiled binaries for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux available from https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/tony/

Assessment of injuries in small scale sawmill industry of south western Nigeria

Body injuries sustained in sawmill industry during the milling activities in Ondo, Oyo and Osun states in the Western part of Nigeria were investigated.  Nigeria Sawmill Industries are essentially distributed between small, medium and large scale in the proportion of 81%: 13%: 6% respectively (RMRDC, 2003).   A survey involving the use of questionnaire, participatory approaches, on-the-spot assessments and interviews were used as tools for investigation.  A total of 140 injury cases were recorded among 64 workers from investigated sawmills.  The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics.  Results indicated that mill workers suffers highest injury rate of 83% while moving logs to mill from log yard or stack while timber stacking accident is the least at 36%.  Other accident cases recorded during the investigation include; log transport to the mill is 22%, milling operation 41% and maintenance accident 38%.  Injuries occurring to body parts include upper limb injuries (Neck and head, arm, wrist, hand and shoulder) 68%, back and lower back injuries 58%, and less prominent lower limb (Legs, knees and ankle) injuries at 13%. Keywords: hazards, injuries, overexertion, sawmill Citation: Bello S. R., and Y. Mijinyawa.  Assessment of injuries in small scale sawmill industry of south western Nigeria.  Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal, 2010, 12(1): 151-157.&nbsp

VCSim3 - a VR Simulator for Cardiovascular Interventions

Purpose: Effective and safe performance of cardiovascular interventions requires excellent catheter / guidewire manipulation skills. These skills are currently mainly gained through an apprenticeship on real patients, which may not be safe or cost-effective. Computer simulation offers an alternative for core skills training. However, replicating the physical behaviour of real instruments navigated through blood vessels is a challenging task. Methods: We have developed VCSim3 – a virtual reality simulator for cardiovascular interventions. The simulator leverages an inextensible Cosserat rod to model virtual catheters and guidewires. Their mechanical properties were optimized with respect to their real counterparts scanned in a silicone phantom using x-ray CT imaging. The instruments are manipulated via a VSP haptic device. Supporting solutions such as fluoroscopic visualization, contrast flow propagation, cardiac motion, balloon inflation and stent deployment, enable performing a complete angioplasty procedure. Results: We present detailed results of simulation accuracy of the virtual instruments, along with their computational performance. In addition, the results of a preliminary face and content validation study conveyed on a group of 17 interventional radiologists are given. Conclusions: VR simulation of cardiovascular procedure can contribute to surgical training and improve the educational experience without putting patients at risk, raising ethical issues or requiring expensive animal or cadaver facilities. VCSim3 is still a prototype, yet the initial results indicate that it provides promising foundations for further development

Acoustic Events in the Solar Atmosphere from Hinode/SOT NFI observations

We investigate the properties of acoustic events (AEs), defined as spatially concentrated and short duration energy flux, in the quiet sun using observations of a 2D field of view (FOV) with high spatial and temporal resolution provided by the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) onboard \textit{Hinode}. Line profiles of Fe \textsc{i} 557.6 nm were recorded by the Narrow band Filter Imager (NFI) on a $82" \times 82"$ FOV during 75 min with a time step of 28.75 s and 0.08$"$ pixel size. Vertical velocities were computed at three atmospheric levels (80, 130 and 180 km) using the bisector technique allowing the determination of energy flux in the range 3-10 mHz using two complementary methods (Hilbert transform and Fourier power spectra). Horizontal velocities were computed using local correlation tracking (LCT) of continuum intensities providing divergences. The net energy flux is upward. In the range 3-10 mHz, a full FOV space and time averaged flux of 2700 W m$^{-2}$ (lower layer 80-130 km) and 2000 W m$^{-2}$ (upper layer 130-180 km) is concentrated in less than 1% of the solar surface in the form of narrow (0.3$"$) AE. Their total duration (including rise and decay) is of the order of $10^{3}$ s. Inside each AE, the mean flux is $1.6 10^{5}$ W m$^{-2}$ (lower layer) and $1.2 10^{5}$ W m$^{-2}$ (upper). Each event carries an average energy (flux integrated over space and time) of $2.5 10^{19}$ J (lower layer) to $1.9 10^{19}$ J (upper). More than $10^{6}$ events could exist permanently on the Sun, with a birth and decay rate of 3500 s$^{-1}$. Most events occur in intergranular lanes, downward velocity regions, and areas of converging motions.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure

On Some Properties of a Class of Analytic Functions Defined by Salagean Differential Operator

In this work,the upper bounds for Fekete-Szego functional and Second Hankel Determinant are obtained for a class of analytic functions definedby Salagean Differential Operator.The estimates obtained are sharp. &nbsp