Paul and Hard Work (2 Thessalonians 3:6-10): A Christian Approach to Social and Economic Development

Hard work though misconstrued, misrepresented and misappropriated in some quarters, is a sine qua non to development. Wherever or whenever the concept of development is talked about, whether social, economic, or biological, hard work of any sort is always implied. In this work which attention is essentially drawn to Christian approach to social and economic development, Paul’s model is the standard of consideration in the deliberation. As has always been the case with all biblical writings which this work will not be an exception, the selected passage will be critically analysed as some related terms will be explained prior to the analysis. The results of these will be basis for appraisal of the Nigerian society as regards its developmental programmes in the nation as to evaluate and ascertain the extent to which Pauline model and Christianity, in particular, has affected the nation. The result shall also be used as tool for recommendation where lapses are observed.Keywords: Paul, Hard work, Christian, Social and Economic, Developmen

ADOPTION OF SYNCHRONOUS INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ACCOUNTING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

The main purpose of the study was to determine the effect of adoption of synchronous instructional strategies on students’ academic performance in Accounting in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. This study adopted a quasi-experimental research design using the post-test only static-group comparison. The population of the study was 1250 senior secondary two (SS2) students offering Accounting in public secondary schools in Uyo Metropolis, Akwa Ibom State. The sample of the study was 90 students grouped into 3 intact classes without randomization. In order to measure and compare students’ levels of academic performance, achievement test in Accounting was used. The instrument was face validated by three experts in Department of Business Education, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The internal consistency reliability of the instrument was determined using test-retest method. A reliability figure was calculated using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient which gave a reliability index of 0.82. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while independent t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that students taught Accounting using traditional (face-to-face) method perform better than those taught using synchronous (video conferencing or virtual classroom) instructional strategies. The findings also revealed that there is a significant difference in academic performance of students taught Accounting using synchronous (video conferencing or virtual classroom) instructional strategies and those taught using traditional method in public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. It is therefore recommended that school administrators and stakeholders should provide functional technologies that would enable teachers to adopt video conferencing and virtual classroom in teaching and learning in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State.  Article visualizations

Mammographic classification of breast lesions amongst women in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Objectives: The study was to classify lesions identified on mammograms using Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) grading method. This was in view of ascertaining the rate of occurrence of breast malignancy of the studied population.Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 416 mammographic reports of women was undertaken. The reports were written by consultant radiologists of 10 years’ experience and above. The reports were evaluated and characterised using Breast Imaging Reporting and Data system (BIRADS). Demographic data of patients were sourced from the request cards. The data was entered into a proforma and analysed using SPSS version 17. All request cards with incomplete data were excluded from the study.Results: Using the BI-RADS Classification, the mammographic reports shows that 29.57% of the lesions were benign, and 4.57% were suspicious and biopsy recommended, while 3.60% were highly suggestive of malignancy. The right breast was predominantly affected with 42.7% of the patients (P<0.05).Conclusion: Classification of breast lesion using BI-RADS grading system is a veritable tool in the diagnosis of the breast lesion. The present study shows that 3.6% of the population has a high index of malignancy.Keywords: Mammography, breast, lesion, BI-RADS classificatio

Onesimus, Philemon’s runaway slave boy : a brief liberation-theological exegesis of Philemon vv. 8–18 in the Nigerian context

Slavery is one of the life’s most odious vices ever experienced in human history. Its abhorrent nature is such that even those involved in the enslavement of others often detest the cruel phenomenon. The Nigerian ruling elite seems to feign ignorance of the hidden agenda of some modern slavers in their employment, but the Nigerian Christian population has come to acknowledge the ignoble policies that are slavery in disguise. Their cry for redemption has been by praying for Nigeria in distress, numerous crusades, and praising and worshiping sessions dedicated to the Lord of peace and salvation. However, many people have become frustrated, as they feel these activities are tedious, outlandish and irrelevant. For them, action is the master key to solving this national ordeal or hardship. This situation is exacerbated by the ever-increasing tension and sour relationship between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, where it is becoming apparent that there is no political will on the part of the ruling class to promote harmonious living, but that they would rather prefer to gloss over and pay lip service to the enslavement and oppression of the Christian population. The letter of Paul to Philemon, especially verses 8–18, is a relevant biblical resource that we find useful to address the situation. In order to do so, to the best of our ability, we have examined and outlined the undisputed and underlying sensitive levels of religious intolerance, which are making Nigerian Christians to become an endangered species in their fatherland. Indeed, the situation calls for an urgent deployment of the biblical principles that are rooted in, and derived from, the liberationtheological approach to doing contextual biblical exegesis. This study makes use of the liberation-theological approach to argue that liberation is ad rem and considered a relevant tool for this study. It was observed in this study that the current situation in Nigeria is nothing less than slavery and can hardly be described otherwise. If slavery or enslavement of any person, group or ethnic or indigenous people include the overt denial of their God-given freedom, accountability, good governance and social justice that make up the hallmarks of a democracy, then there is enslavement. CONTRIBUTION : This study contributes to authentic Christian existence and enhancement of principles such of love, justice and solidarity in the Nigerian public domain, as that would render enslavement agenda existing in Nigeria a contradiction. It endorses the values of peace, justice and maintenance of strong institutions.Special Collection: Africa Platform for NT Scholars, sub-edited by Ernest van Eck (University of Pretoria).http://www.hts.org.zaam2022New Testament Studie

COVAD survey 2 long-term outcomes: unmet need and protocol

Vaccine hesitancy is considered a major barrier to achieving herd immunity against COVID-19. While multiple alternative and synergistic approaches including heterologous vaccination, booster doses, and antiviral drugs have been developed, equitable vaccine uptake remains the foremost strategy to manage pandemic. Although none of the currently approved vaccines are live-attenuated, several reports of disease flares, waning protection, and acute-onset syndromes have emerged as short-term adverse events after vaccination. Hence, scientific literature falls short when discussing potential long-term effects in vulnerable cohorts. The COVAD-2 survey follows on from the baseline COVAD-1 survey with the aim to collect patient-reported data on the long-term safety and tolerability of COVID-19 vaccines in immune modulation. The e-survey has been extensively pilot-tested and validated with translations into multiple languages. Anticipated results will help improve vaccination efforts and reduce the imminent risks of COVID-19 infection, especially in understudied vulnerable groups

Feed intake and growth rate of finisher broilers fed diets containing raw and cooked Napoleona imperialis seed meals

A thirty-five day feeding trial was carried out to determine the effect of dietary raw and cooked Napoleona imperialis seed meals (NISM) on feed intake and weight gain of finisher broilers. Four treatment diets were formulated to contain 0% (control) or 5% raw NISM and 5% or 10% cooked, respectively. One hundred and twenty Hubbard broilers of 4 weeks of age were divided into 4 treatment groups of 30 birds, which were further subdivided into subgroups of ten birds each to represent the 3 replicates per treatment group. The treatment groups were, randomly, assigned to the four dietary treatments. The daily weight gains (DWG) (g) of the control group (29.14) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the group fed 5% raw NISM (15.14) but similar (p>0.05) to the groups fed 5% (20.57) or 10% (20.86) cooked NISM. Feed conversion ratio (g feed/g gain) of birds on control diet (3.88) was significantly lower (better) (p<0.05) than that of the birds on 10% (5.08) cooked NISM diets. The daily feed intake (DFI) (g) of the control birds (113.00) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of the 5% raw NISM birds (68.00), but similar (p>0.05) to that of the birds on cooked NISM. The results suggest that cooked NISM could replace maize up to 10% in finisher broiler ration without any visible deleterious effectSe realizó un experimento de alimentación de 35 días para determinar el efecto de la dieta de harinas de semillas crudas y cocidas de Napoleona imperialis sobre el comportamiento de pollos de engorde en fase de acabado. Se formularon cuatro dietas de tratamientos conteniendo 0% (control) y 5% de harina de semillas crudas de N. imperialis (HSCNI) y 5% y 10% de harina de semillas cocidas de N. imperialis (HScNI). Se dividieron 124 pollos de engorde Hubbard de cuatro semanas de edad en cuatro grupos de tratamiento de 30 pollos y cada grupo fue porteriormente sub-dividido en tres repeticiones de 10 pollos cada una. Los grupos de tratamientos se asignaron al azar a los cuatro tratamientos de dietas. La ganancia diaria de peso del grupo control fue significativamente mayor (p<0,05) que la del grupo alimentado con 5% HSCNI pero similar (p>0,05) a los grupos con 5 y 10% deHScNI. La relación de conversión de alimentos de los pollos de engorde en la dieta control fue signifcativamente menor (mejor) (p<0,05) que aquella de los pollos de engorde con la dieta de 10% HScSM. El consumo diario de alimento de los pollos de engorde en el control fue significativamente mayor (p<0,05) que aquella de los pollos alimentados con 5% HSCNI, pero similar (p>0,05) a aquella de los pollos con HScSM. Los resultados sugieren que el HScSM pudiera reemplazar el maíz hasta 10% en la ración de pollos de engorde en fase de acabado sin efectos deleterios