Leadership Styles and Job Productivity of University Library Staff: Interrogating the Nexus

The main objective of the study was to ascertain through existing literature the relationship between various existing leadership styles and the job productivity of university library staff. The library as an organisation in any institution is made up of different categories of individuals decked with diverse responsibilities which are all tailored towards providing the varying information needs of library clientele or users. This unique information providing organisation- the library, is headed by the University Librarian who makes use of preferable and suitable leadership skill(s) as the circumstances warrant, to drive the speedy achievement of laid down organisational goals and objective. It is however paramount that the appropriate leadership style be employed not just by the University Librarian who is placed at the topmost helm on the library’s hierarchical structure, but also the unit heads or heads of various departments in the library. Leadership revolves around affecting a group of people to act in a particular way in order to achieve an organizational goal; this is because humans are highly instrumental to the level of productivity in any organisation and productivity is hinged on efficiency and effectiveness. Various factors influence productivity in the 21st century work place such as motivation, regular training and re-trainings of employees, working infrastructure, etc and the most influential of these factors is the leadership style. Some vital steps that could affect productivity includes: employee ownership and accountability, project definition, employee satisfaction, communication, etc

Availability of Electronic Resources for Service Provision in University Libraries in Ogun State Nigeria

This study evaluates the availability of electronic resources for service provision in university libraries in Ogun State Nigeria and how they affect the effective provision of electronic information resources in selected University libraries South West Nigeria. The research design used for the study was the survey (descriptive) research design; the stratified random sampling was used to collect data from the study population which was a total of one thousand and thirty-eight (1038) academic staff and librarians from Federal University of Agriculture, Covenant, and Babcock universities. The instruments used to collect data were questionnaire and structured interview; the retrieved data was also analyzed through the use of frequency distribution and correlation analysis. Findings revealed that the university libraries have electronic databases; however, the most common of the databases was AGORA while IEE was the least common. The study also revealed that majority of the University libraries have adequate basic infrastructure for effective electronic information services. The major challenge involved in the provision of electronic resources among the university libraries was electricity power outage; Findings further showed that there was no significant relationship between the availability of databases and effective electronic resources provision (r = .071, N= 414, P > .05) and also it revealed that there is a significant relationship between the availability of basic infrastructures and effective electronic resources provision (r = .523**, N= 414, P < .01). The study recommended that the provision of basic infrastructure that support the effective use of electronic resources should therefore be made readily available, this will help to ensure that the electronic resources acquired by the library are put into maximal use by the library clientele, thereby ensuring the achievement of the library’s objective which is satisfying the users, information needs

Organic Acid Metabolism and the Impact of Fermentation Practices on Wine Acidity - A Review

The conversion of grape sugar to ethanol and carbon dioxide is the primary biochemical reaction in alcoholic wine fermentation, but microbial interactions, as well as complex secondary metabolic reactions, are equally relevant in terms of the composition of the final wine produced. The chemical composition of a wine determines the taste, flavour and aroma of the product, and is determined by many factors such as grape variety, geographical and viticultural conditions, microbial ecology of the grapes and of the fermentation processes, and the winemaking practices. Through the years, major advances have been made in understanding the biochemistry, ecology, physiology and molecular biology of the variousyeast strains involved in wine production, and how these yeasts affect wine chemistry and wine sensory properties. However, many important aspects of the impact of yeast on specific wine-relevant sensoryparameters remain little understood. One of these areas of limited knowledge is the contribution of individual wine yeast strains to the total organic acid profile of wine. Wine quality is indeed very directly linked to what wine tasters frequently refer to as the sugar–acid balance. The total acidity of a wine is therefore of prime sensory importance, and acidity adjustments are a frequent and legal practice in many wineries. However, the total acidity is the result of the sum of all the individual organic acids that are present in wine. Importantly, each of these acids has its own sensory attributes, with descriptors ranging from fresh to sour to metallic. It is therefore important not only to consider total acidity, but also thecontribution of each individual acid to the overall acid profile of the wine. This review will summarise the current knowledge about the origin, synthesis and analysis of organic acids in wine, as well as on themanagement of wine acidity

The Impact of Changes in Environmental Conditions on Organic Acid Production by Commercial Wine Yeast Strains

Acidity is one of the primary sensory elements in wine, and the balance of sugar and acidity is probably the strongest element affecting wine appreciation. However, little is known about how yeast strains and fermentation conditions will affect the production of fermentation-derived acids, including acetic, succinic and pyruvic acid. This study employs a multifactorial experimental design to provide a better understanding of how individual or simultaneous changes in environmental parameters such as pH, sugar and temperature influence the production of individual organic acids during fermentation in several yeast strains in synthetic must. Certain changes in environmental factors led to conserved trends between strains and treatments. Strains produced higher succinic acid levels when temperature was increased. Significant strain-dependent differences were observed when sugar concentrations were varied for both strains: the combinatorial impact of high initial sugars and fermentation temperature was more pronounced when increased pyruvic acid production was observed in yeast strain VIN13. On the other hand, while combinatorial influences are evident, higher sugar fermentation settings were largely characterised by high acetic acid concentrations for both strains. It is clear that simultaneous changes in sugar, pH andtemperature affect organic acid trends in a variable manner, depending on the particular combination of environmental parameters and yeast strain. The study provides valuable information regarding the mannerin which initial must parameters and environmental conditions throughout fermentation may affect wine acidity. Since many of these parameters can be controlled at least in part during the winemaking process,the data provide important background information for oenological strategies that aim to optimise the acid balance of wines

Curtailing Harmful Widowhood Practices in Nigeria: The Librarian's Information Tool as a Veritable Strategy

This study examined the librarian and use of information as a tool in curtailing various harmful widowhood practices· in Nigeria. Prominent among these practices are sitting and sleeping on the floor, shaving of hair, drinking the water used in washing corpse, sleeping with corpse and jumping over corpse among others. Widows adhere to these practices to preserve tradition, as a proof of innocence and to attract love from dead husband and relations. Effects on widows range from psychological to health challenges, poverty and death. The paper further discusses information as a tool that the librarian can implore to bring such harm fit! practices to the fur, inform widows about their rights, including various non-governmental organizations interested in their affairs and to educate the perpetrators on the evil effects of such practices. It concludes by advising the Ministry of Women Affairs to encourage the formation of Widows' Association as a way of creating widows' visibility. The Government is also enjoined to use its position to protect Nigerian widows from molestation in the name oftraditional practice

Imperatives and Challenges of Resource Description and Access (RDA) Implementation in Libraries in a Developing Country

In recent times, information products are becoming more often packaged and repackaged in electronic formats. Cataloguing these resources is a core responsibility of libraries and librarians. A major emerging standardization tool for cataloguing electronic resources is the “resource description and access” (RDA). This article examined the imperatives of RDA implementation among libraries in a developing country—Nigeria. It reviewed global trends and observed the poor RDA implementation level among libraries in Nigeria. It also identified challenges of RDA implementation peculiar to a developing country like Nigeria. The article further outlined strategies that would help to deal with the identified challenges. It concluded that the implementation of RDA is not optional, but mandatory for Nigerian libraries if they must be and remain relevant in the competitive world of librarianship

Determining the Impact of Industrial Wine Yeast Strains on Organic Acid Production Under White and Red Wine-like Fermentation Conditions

Organic acids are a major contributor to wine flavour and aroma. In the past, the scientific focus hasmostly been on organic acids derived from grapes or on the transformation of malic acid to lactic acid bylactic acid bacteria, since these acids contribute significantly to the final total acidity of wine. However,the organic acid concentration and composition also change significantly during alcoholic fermentation,yet only limited information regarding the impact of different yeast strains on these changes has beenpublished. Here we report on changes in organic acid (malic, tartaric, citric, succinic, acetic and pyruvic)composition during fermentation by five widely used industrial wine yeast strains in a synthetic grape must(MS300) reflecting two very different, but both wine-like, fermentation conditions. Samples were obtainedfrom three physiological stages during fermentation, namely the exponential growth phase (day 2), earlystationary phase (day 5) and late stationary phase (day 14). These different stages were selected to providemore information on acid evolution throughout fermentation, as well as on the impact of nutritional andenvironmental conditions during aerobic and anaerobic fermentation. Among other observations, somestrains (such as VIN13 and 285) were shown to be generally higher producers of most acids in white and/or red wine fermentation settings, while other strains (such as DV10) were generally lower acid producers.The data clearly demonstrate that different strains have different acid consumption and productionpatterns, and this presents a first step towards enabling winemakers to appropriately select strains foracid management during fermentation