Library Professionals and Social Network Sites: Use, Relevance and Challenges from University Libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria

The use of social network sites among library professionals in university libraries in Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria is investigated. The study population consisted of seventy-eight librarians in four universities in the state. Questionnaires (which was the instrument for data collection) were administered to the entire population, out of which 55 (representing 70.5 % response rate) were filled, returned and analysed for the study. The study revealed that library professionals do make use of SNS. The most frequently visited SNS was Linkedln (58.2 %). The respondents also indicated that they visited SNS for the purpose of connecting and collaborating with friends and colleagues, carrying out current awareness and reference services to library users, etc. Majority of the respondents (94.5 %) in the study further revealed that the greatest challenge to the use of social network sites was lack of social media skills. The first hypothesis tested in the study indicated that there was moderate positive significant relationship between device used for internet access and use of social network sites (r=.408**, N= 55, p.05). The study was concluded with recommendations that library professionals should undergo training in social media skills

Towards Curbing Plagiarism in Higher Institutions of Learning: The Strategic Role of the Library

Lack of academic integrity has frustrated the attainment of educational objectives especially in tertiary institutions in recent times. Perhaps, one of the most prevalent fraudulent practice among students, academics and researchers today is plagiarism. This paper examines the concept, nature and intricacies of plagiarism. It notes the devastating effects of plagiarism on the individual, academic institutions and the society at large. The paper argues that libraries by their assigned and inherent functions have a strategic role to play in curbing plagiarism. The roles include awareness creation, teaching of referencing and citation skills, information literacy programmes among others. The paper concludes with further recommendations for dealing with the menace of plagiarism

Towards Curbing Plagiarism in Higher Institutions of Learning: The Strategic Role of the Library

Lack of academic integrity has frustrated the attainment of educational objectives especially in tertiary institutions in recent times. Perhaps, one of the most prevalent fraudulent practice among students, academics and researchers today is plagiarism. This paper examines the concept, nature and intricacies of plagiarism. It notes the devastating effects of plagiarism on the individual, academic institutions and the society at large. The paper argues that libraries by their assigned and inherent functions have a strategic role to play in curbing plagiarism. The roles include awareness creation, teaching of referencing and citation skills, information literacy programmes among others. The paper concludes with further recommendations for dealing with the menace of plagiarism

Effect of digitalization on the performance of commercial banks in Nigeria

This study investigates how digitalization enhances the performance of commercial banks adopting the purposive method and simple random sampling selecting 370 nonmanagerial employees from a commercial bank. A self-structured questionnaire was used as the major instrument for data collection and was analysed using SPSS version 25. From the result, it was discovered that there was a mild significant and positive relationship between the digitalization process and commercial bank performance (r = 0.114*; p< .05). Also, there is a positive significant relationship between product innovation and performance of commercial banks in Nigeria (r = 0.186; p< 0.001). The study recommends that digitalization processes if adequately and correctly implemented, will have a significant positive relationship on the performance of commercial banks in Nigeria ceteris paribus

Effect of digitalization on the performance of commercial banks in Nigeria

This study investigates how digitalization enhances the performance of commercial banks adopting the purposive method and simple random sampling selecting 370 nonmanagerial employees from a commercial bank. A self-structured questionnaire was used as the major instrument for data collection and was analysed using SPSS version 25. From the result, it was discovered that there was a mild significant and positive relationship between the digitalization process and commercial bank performance (r = 0.114*; p< .05). Also, there is a positive significant relationship between product innovation and performance of commercial banks in Nigeria (r = 0.186; p< 0.001). The study recommends that digitalization processes if adequately and correctly implemented, will have a significant positive relationship on the performance of commercial banks in Nigeria ceteris paribus

Distribution of radionuclides and assessment of risk exposure to the miners on a kaolin field

Mining of kaolin deposits are common in Nigeria without considering the background radiation in such environment and the health risks it might pose on the miners. In this study, in-situ measurements of the naturally occurring radionuclides were carried out with the aim of determining the distribution of these radionuclides on the mining field and estimation of the hazard indices exposure risks (γ- and α-radiation risks) to the miners. The study was achieved with the aid of gamma ray detector Super-Spec (RS-125) and global positioning system. The detector used has ability to measure activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K and gamma doses. For the purpose of this study, only the concentrations of the three radionuclides were considered. For each location, measurements were taken four times, while its mean value was estimated for better accuracy. In all, nineteen locations were occupied in order to cover the study area. Basic kriging method was adopted for the production of spatial distribution of these radionuclides and their corresponding γ- and α-radiation hazard indices. The mean values of 238U, 232Th and 40K are 46.7, 71.8 and 108.7 Bq kg-1 , respectively. When compared to the global standard, it was revealed that 238U and 232Th are greater than the global standard, while 40K fall below the permissible limit. The γ- and α-radiation exposure risks estimated revealed that the mean values of Iγ and Iα are 0.6 and 0.2 respectively. Though the estimated γ- and α-radiation indices showed that the kaolin field is safe for the miners, periodic check is required in order to monitor the rate at which these natural primordial radionuclides (238U and 232Th and their progenies) are being enhanced

Вихровий насоc

Вихровий насос, що включає корпус з кільцевим та всмоктувальним і напірним каналами, в корпусі розташоване робоче колесо з привідним валом і перемичкою, яка поділяє всмоктувальний і напірний канали, який відрізняється тим, що кільцевий канал виконаний з двох симетричних частин, кожна з яких являє собою тор, відносно меридіального перерізу

Balancing Selection at the Tomato RCR3 Guardee Gene Family Maintains Variation in Strength of Pathogen Defense

Coevolution between hosts and pathogens is thought to occur between interacting molecules of both species. This results in the maintenance of genetic diversity at pathogen antigens (or so-called effectors) and host resistance genes such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in mammals or resistance (R) genes in plants. In plant-pathogen interactions, the current paradigm posits that a specific defense response is activated upon recognition of pathogen effectors via interaction with their corresponding R proteins. According to the''Guard-Hypothesis,'' R proteins (the ``guards'') can sense modification of target molecules in the host (the ``guardees'') by pathogen effectors and subsequently trigger the defense response. Multiple studies have reported high genetic diversity at R genes maintained by balancing selection. In contrast, little is known about the evolutionary mechanisms shaping the guardee, which may be subject to contrasting evolutionary forces. Here we show that the evolution of the guardee RCR3 is characterized by gene duplication, frequent gene conversion, and balancing selection in the wild tomato species Solanum peruvianum. Investigating the functional characteristics of 54 natural variants through in vitro and in planta assays, we detected differences in recognition of the pathogen effector through interaction with the guardee, as well as substantial variation in the strength of the defense response. This variation is maintained by balancing selection at each copy of the RCR3 gene. Our analyses pinpoint three amino acid polymorphisms with key functional consequences for the coevolution between the guardee (RCR3) and its guard (Cf-2). We conclude that, in addition to coevolution at the ``guardee-effector'' interface for pathogen recognition, natural selection acts on the ``guard-guardee'' interface. Guardee evolution may be governed by a counterbalance between improved activation in the presence and prevention of auto-immune responses in the absence of the corresponding pathogen