Gender and Language Acquisition

Opinions have been divergent concerning the rate of language acquisition between male and female learners. This paper examined the claims that male learners acquire language better and faster than their female counterparts using phonology of English as a unit of language study. The scores of forty students (twenty males and twenty females) of the Federal College of Education Yola in phonology-related courses were examined. One research question and a null hypothesis were posed. A t-test of the scores gave a verdict of no significant difference in the mean scores of the two groups. The study recommended that equal educational opportunities should be provided to all students irrespective of their gender differences

Evaluating Students’ Plagiarism in Higher Education Institutions

Plagiarism is a threat to students’ empowerment in higher education in aknowledge economy. In this paper the phenomenon of students’ plagiarism in higher education institutions and how it disempowers the advancement ofglobal knowledge by students, are discussed. The paper begins with adescription of the meaning, forms and reasons for plagiarism amongstudents. It goes further to discuss some strategies for evaluating anddetecting plagiarism in students’ works using Information technology.Finally some knowledge empowerment strategies are presented to show how lecturers could tackle plagiarism by empowering students to be genuine in receiving and producing information for constructing new knowledge

Determinants of Level of Engagement in Oil Palm Processing among Rural Households in Southeast Nigeria

The study provided empirical evidence of the determinants of level of engagement in oil palm processing among rural households in Southeast Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents, ascertain the level of household’s engagement in processing of oil palm produce, and estimate the costs and returns from processing oil palm produce. The study made use of multi-stage random sampling procedure in selecting 540 respondents. Data for the study were collected with the use of structured questionnaire and analyzed with the use of both descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean and gross margin) and inferential statistics (regression model). Results show evidence of high level engagement in the processing of oil palm (3.67). F–statistics was significant at 1% indicating goodness of fit of the model used. The coefficients of household size (5%), level of education (5%), processing experience (5%), income (1%) and labour cost (1%) significantly influenced level of engagement in the processing of oil palm in Southeast Nigeria. The study concludes that rural households in the study area were highly engaged in the processing of oil palm processing as a profitable livelihood activity. It was therefore recommended that young and educated youths should be encouraged by government at all levels to engage in oil palm processing since the enterprise was dominated by rural households who were relatively young, active, experienced and educated

Impact of Talent Management Strategies on Organizational Performance in Selected Deposit Money Banks in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study critically examined the Impact of Talent Management Strategies on Organizational Performance in Selected Deposit Money Banks (DMB) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to; (i) determine the extent succession planning relates to sustainability; (ii) ascertain to what extent human capital development impacts on innovative capabilities of employees; and, (iii) examine the degree compensation impacts on employee engagement, in selected DMBs under study. The study adopted the survey design. The population of the study was 3126 comprising management and junior staff drawn from the selected DMBs in Lagos state, Nigeria. These include First Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and Ecobank Plc. The sample size of 359 was obtained from the population using Bill Godden\u27s formula at 5% error margin and 90% level of confidence. Data were collected using the questionnaire research instrument and interview guide which was designed in a 5-point Likert Scale and was manually administered to the respondents. The validity of the instrument was measured using content validity, and this was done by three management experts from both the industry and the academia

A Survey of Studies on Money Demand and Inflation Amidst Banking Crisis

The paper is borne out of the necessity to create a repository of information on monetary effects of banking crisis with a focus on money demand and inflation. To this end, the paper selectively reviews some empirical studies on money demand and inflation in the face of banking crisis. Overwhelming evidence reveals that money demand does not only increase during banking crisis but is also largely stable. The studies also suggest that long-run cointegrating relationship exists between money demand and its determining variables during banking crisis. However, evidence indicates that banking crisis makes inflation to decline or increase. These pattern of results were evident in developed and developing countries and from different methodologies applied. One policy implication from the survey is that during banking crisis monetary policy would be ineffective. The policy recommendation that can make monetary policy effective is to expand money supply and reduce interest rate for the productive sectors, particularly agricultural and manufacturing sectors

Understanding Customer Complaint Behaviour for Sustainable Business Development

This study investigates the nature and strength of key factors influencing customer complaint behavior (CCB) in the organized road transport industry in Imo State, Nigeria. Using questionnaire in a survey, 348 respondents drawn from the customers of seven organized road transport firms. The study reveals, principally, that all the six hypothetical constructs (situational, demographic, psychological, service-provider, purchased-service factors, and industry condition) have a significant impact on customer complaint behavior. Further, among the twenty-three antecedents evaluated, a gender of respondents and the size of the company are not significant predictors of customer complaint behavior. A new model of customer complaint behavior for sustainable business development in capacity building is proposed with critical attention to the customers’ identified critical areas of service failure while consolidating on the identified factors influencing patronage of the organized road transporters. The role of government in providing and enforcing effective regulation is also emphasized

Analysis of Savings and Private Capital Formation in Nigeria

The study investigates the relationship between private capital formation and savings in Nigeria between 1982 - 2014. It employs the ordinary least squares technique, cointegration and the error correction mechanism which minimizes the possibility of estimating spurious relations while retaining vital long run information. Research findings show that capital expenditure and inflation rate exhibit negative and insignificant effects on gross fixed private capital formation, with savings having a negative and significant effect. FDI, RGDP and Prime lending rate all revealed to have a positive and significant effect on gross fixed private capital formation with the previous value(s) of gross fixed private capital formation having a positive and significant effect on the present value(s). The study recommends, among other things, the encouragement of savings culture and creation of an enabling environment for investment to thrive. Keywords: Savings, Investment, Growth, Inflation

Perceptions of malaria and the utilisation of long lasting insecticide treated nets in a rural Niger delta community in Nigeria

Malaria represents a heavy disease burden with high death tolls in sub-Saharan countries, particularly among children less than five years of age and pregnant women. Misconceptions about the disease are reported to still exist in malaria endemic countries. Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) have since been advocated as effective control measures against malaria, but how well are they utilised? Objectives: To explore and ascertain the perception of malaria and the utilisation of ITNs in a rural community in the swampy areas of Nigeria's Niger Delta region. Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted using simple random sampling technique. Data were collected from household heads with the aid of pre-tested, semistructured, interviewer-administered questionnaires and analysed using SPSS version 17.0 Results: A good perception of the cause (86.9%), mode of transmission (92.8) and preventive measures of malaria were demonstrated. Although, the awareness of ITNs was high (75.6%) with health facilities (35.5%) and radios (33.5%) being the major sources of information, the utilisation rate of ITNs was poor (29%). Conclusion: Intensified efforts by government agencies and diverse stakeholders are recommended to increase the availability and access to ITNs, in order to improve their utilisation rate in rural communities, with adequate priority given to groups at higher risk. Such interventions when implemented consistently and comprehensively are likely to contribute to moving the nation further from malaria control and elimination, towards the possibilities of malaria vaccines and ultimate eradication