A bird’s eye view of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge occupation: Nonhuman agency and entangled species

In January 2016, armed militants occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, demanding an end to government control of the Refuge and other similarly protected public lands. Public discourse about the occupation highlights ongoing tensions around land use, property rights, and government overreach. The discourse foregrounds human animal concerns and all but erases nonhuman animal agency. This essay considers nonhuman animal agency and the entanglement of humans, nonhumans, and the land as seen in the occupation and surrounding discourse. We draw from critical animal studies and feminist posthuman theory to examine how discourses of the occupation produce and reinforce a sense of human exceptionalism that elides a more useful and nuanced understanding of human–nonhuman–land relatedness and agency. The analysis shows how, in the case of the Malheur occupation, occupiers and critics alike rely on discourses of “othering” towards both nonhuman animals and other humans. We take a “birding” perspective on the occupation to show how the webs of relationality that connect humans, nonhumans, and the land might be activated as an antidote to destructive discourses of human exceptionalism

Proficiency And Capacity Building Of Human Capital in Architectural Firms in Nigeria

Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) are essential design technologies for the production of services by architectural firms and indeed the architects that work for them. These architects are CAD/BIM personnel if they are literate and proficient in the use of these technologies. The study examines the availability/proficiency levels of CAD/BIM personnel in architectural firms in Nigeria; the existence of training programmes for these personnel; and the relationship between availability of personnel and existence of training programmes. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews, giving a good blend of quantitative and qualitative research methods. A response rate of 74.21% from the survey was achieved, with responses from 118 out of 159 firms sampled from six cities: Abuja, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Enugu, Lagos and Port Harcourt. In-depth interviews of ten principals of firms were conducted and analyzed using content analysis. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations and tests of associations. Reasonable levels of proficiency in the use of CAD, BIM, Renderers and the Internet were revealed. However, the study found no significant association between the availability of CAD/BIM proficient personnel in architectural firms in Nigeria and the existence of training programmes within the firms. It is recommended that concerted efforts to improve existing training programmes and support schools of architecture be championed by the firms and professional bodies. Keywords: Availability, BIM, CAD, Design, Personnel, Proficiency, Training, Technologie

Patriotism in Nation-Building: A Study of Brigadier-General Benjamin Adekunle, also Known as the Black Scorpion

This article used data from descriptive background to examine the person of late Brigadier-General Benjamin Adekunle, the icon of the Nigerian civil war on the subject of patriotism in nation-building. Also, it delved into his life history. The study equally explored his unbeatable military strategies that granted victory to Nigeria during the civil war. Further to that, the study examined various criticisms levied against him on humanitarian grounds, mostly by the secessionists, using some of the existing literature on patriotism and on nation-building. The study concluded that The Back Scorpion was not a wicked person but a patriot par excellence

Curtailing Academic Dishonesty Using Student Affairs Personnel:The Case of a Private Faith-Based Higher Institution, South-West Nigeria

This study explored the usefulness of Student Affairs Personnel in ensuring academic honesty in a private Faith-Based higher institution, South-West Nigeria, between 2011 and 2014. Using data from descriptive source, the study investigated categories of academic dishonesty and the number of students involved. Moreover, it examined gender composition of these students and disciplinary action given to them. Furthermore, it tried to find out measures which Student Affairs Personnel used to ensure academic integrity and their effectiveness. Relying on raw data retrieved from records, the study came up with nine categories of academic dishonesty that involved ninety-nine students, out of which male students represent the majority (61.6%) while their female counterparts represent the minority (38.4%). The result indicated ten measures which Student Affairs Personnel engage in curtailing academic dishonesty. Nevertheless students in the sample, based on questionnaires distributed, submitted that these Personnel were effective in nine out of ten measures. Finally, the study revealed expulsion as disciplinary action placed on culprits

Accelerating Rural Growth Through Collective Action: Groups\u27 Activities and Determinants of Participation in Southwestern Nigeria

This study was conducted to investigate the types of activities promoted by cooperative groups and the determinants of participation intensity of members in cooperative activities in southwestern Nigeria. A multistage sampling approach was used to select 326 cooperators (45 groups). Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, difference of means test, and Tobit regression.Cooperative groups engaged in farm and off-farm activities such as arable crop production, fish farming, agricultural products processing, and produce marketing, among others. Farm input procurements and access to market information (74 percent), cooperative credits and thrift (53 percent), social networking (37 percent), multipurpose commercial activities (21.6 percent), and political influence (17 percent) were given as reasons for interest and participation in groups\u27 activities. Income realized by cooperators was significantly and consistently higher than income of non-cooperators who engaged in the same economic activity. Participation intensity was influenced by gender, farm size cultivated, and the social status of members

Synthesis of polyol based Ag/Pd nanocomposites for applications in catalysis

The synthesis of polyvinylpyrrolidone seed mediated Ag/Pd allied nanobimetallic particles was successfully carried out by the simultaneous reduction of the metal ions in ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, glycerol, pentaerythritol and sodium borohydride solution. The optical measurement revealed the existence of peak broadening that causes diffusion processes of the metal sols to decrease making it possible to monitor the changes spectrophotometrically. This, together with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM measurements strongly support the conclusion that intimately alloyed clusters were formed and the particle growth anisotropy is diffusion limited. Finally, the catalytic potential of the nanocomposites was investigated using 4-nitrophenol in the presence of sodium borohydride at 299 K; a good linear fitting of ln (A/A0) versus the reaction time was obtained, indicating pseudo-first-order kinetic

Influence of Personality Types and Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Work-Study Students at a Private University, Southwest Nigeria

This study examined the influence of personality types and socio-demographic characteristics on work-study of students at Covenant University, Ota. The study used questionnaires to collect information from 100 students who participated in the programme in 2014/2015 academic session. The chi-x2 result of 12.30 for the variable responses showed that the age and the sex of students influenced their participation in work study programme with chi-x2 (29.80), degree of freedom 4 and significance level of 1 % of the combined result respectively. The finding of investigation also show that birth order influenced students participation in work study initiative with chi-x2 distribution of 19.70, degree of freedom of 4 and asymptotic significance of 1 %. Also, the result of the T-statistics (28.23) with the degree of freedom 99 revealed significance among the Personality Type “A” and “B” compositions at 1% level of significance. The estimated correlation coefficient indicates a significant strong correlation (0.630) between the response variables “Personality Type” and influence on student participation in work study programme

Development of oil-in-water (o/w) nanoemulsion formulations for spontaneous transdermal delivery of ciprofloxacin

Nanoemulsions have attracted attention in delivery of therapeutically active agents since most of the new chemical entities are hydrophobic in nature and the delivery of poor water soluble drugs is a challenge. This study was carried out to adopt nanoemulsion as a means of entrapping ciprofloxacin in the oil phase of the emulsion for transdermal drug delivery. Nanoemulsions were formulated as oil in water (O/W) type and prepared by self-mild mechanical nanoemulsification method. The formulation consisted of Sandbox (Huracrepitan) and Sesame seed (Sesamumindicum) as the organic phase of the emulsion, Polyethylene (20) sorbitanmonooleate (Tween 80) and Polyethylene (20) sorbitanmonolaurate (Tween 20) as the surfactants and Polyehtylene glycol (PEG 400) as co-surfactant. The formulations were tested and characterized. Ciprofloxacin (0.075 g) was incorporated into the oil phase of the most stable nanoemulsion formulation prior emulsification and tested on Escherichia coli. Transdermal application was done on male Wister rats (R) followed by biopsification. The result showed the zones of inhibition of HCa3+Ciprofloxacin (Ciprofloxacin-loaded, Huracrpitan oil based nanoemulsion) and SSA3+Ciprofloxacin (Ciprofloxacin-loaded, Sesame oil based nanoemulsion) to be 26.00 and 25.00 mm respectively. The HPLC results showed that, out of 75000 µg of ciprofloxacin loaded in the oil phases of HCa3 and SSA3 formulations, 6.0076 (R2), 0.4112 (R3) and 6.7241 µg (R6) were absorbed in HCa3 while 1.9519 (R1), 1.2631 (R4) and 2.1801 µg (R5) were absorbed in SSA3. The SEM images revealed an encapsulation with globule size diameter of 94 and 63 nm respectively. The findings of this work showed that sandbox and Sesame seedoil based nanoemulsions are effective for transdermal drug delivery

Trends in The Residential and Commercial Property Rental Values in Ikeja Metropolis of Lagos State, Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis

Both residential and commercial properties are germane and basic needs of man. While residential properties are needed for man’s occupation and resident, commercial properties are needed for business and commercial purposes. This study is basically set out to compare the developments in leasing or rental values of housing and profitable assets in Ikeja metropolitan axis of Lagos State, Nigeria. The study examined the trends in the rental values of residential and commercial properties in Ikeja from 2009 to 2018 with a view to comparing the trends of the two purposes of property use. The study used questionnaires to collect information from respondents in the area of study while some residents/landlords were selected for the purposes of personal interview. Information retrieved was evaluated via simple percentage and revealed general upward movement in the development of rent payment values of both residential and commercial properties in Ikeja metropolis even though the rate of increase is higher with the commercial properties