Predictors of Career Adaptability Skill among Higher Education Students in Nigeria

This paper examined predictors of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. A sample of 603 higher education students randomly selected from six colleges of education in Nigeria participated in this study. A set of self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that 33.3% of career adaptability skill was explained by the model. Four out of the five predictor variables significantly predicted career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. Among the four predictors, career self-efficacy sources was the most statistically significant predictor of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria, followed by personal goal orientation, career future concern, and perceived social support respectively. Vocational identity did not statistically predict career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. The study suggested that similar study should be replicated in other parts of the world in view of the importance of career adaptability skill to the smooth transition of graduates from school to the labor market. The study concluded by requesting stakeholders of higher institutions in Nigeria to provide career exploration database for the students, and encourage career intervention program in order to enhance career adaptability skill among the students

Penyelenggaraan fasiliti stadium

Penyelenggaraan adalah kerja yang dilakukan untuk memelihara, menjaga, mengendali, memperbaiki dan mengawalselia struktur bangunan, kemudahan, kelengkapan, perkhidmatan bangunan dan persekitaran bagi memastikan bangunan sentiasa berada pada tahap piawaian yang telah ditetapkan. Selain itu, penyelenggaraan juga dapat mempertahankan utiliti dan nilai fasiliti kemudahan serta berada dalam keadaan selamat digunakan

Extent of mobile phone technology use in marketing agricultural products in Ankpa L.G.A Kogi State, Nigeria

This study examined the extent of use of mobile phone technology in marketing agricultural products in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State. The study specifically described the socioeconomic characteristics of agricultural products marketers, extent of mobile phones usage in marketing agricultural product and the challenges associated with the use of mobile phones by the marketers. Two-stage random sampling technique was employed to select 120 agricultural products marketers and questionnaires were administered to them. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics and mean score from a Likert - type scale. Results from the study revealed that the marketers were dominated by (76.67%). Also, majority (70.8%) of the respondents were married, and had between male 1 to 10 years of experience in marketing. The results on extent of mobile phone usage revealed that it was used in obtaining prevailing market price ( = 3.91), getting updates on market situations ( = 3.78), level of demand of products ( = 3.25) to a great extent. The major challenges faced by the respondents in using the mobile device to market their products were lack of electricity (=3.75), network failure (=3.50), high tariff charges by operators (=3.38), and the high cost of mobile phones (=3.22). It is recommended that concerted efforts should be made by the government in stabilizing power supply in the country, so that the problem of power supply associated with the used of mobile phones in marketing of agricultural products can be resolved, and that the network service providers should make available toll-free lines where exchange of information related strictly to agriculture could be exchanged. &nbsp

Predictors of Career Adaptability Skill among Higher Education Students in Nigeria

This paper examined predictors of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. A sample of 603 higher education students randomly selected from six colleges of education in Nigeria participated in this study. A set of self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that 33.3% of career adaptability skill was explained by the model. Four out of the ve predictor variables signi cantly predicted career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. Among the four predictors, career self-e cacy sources was the most statistically signi cant pre-dictor of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria, followed by personal goal orientation, career future concern, and perceived social support respectively. Vocational identity did not statistically predict career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. The study suggested that similar study should be replicated in other parts of the world in view of the importance of career adaptability skill to the smooth transition of graduates from school to the labor market. The study concluded by requesting stakeholders of higher institutions in Nigeria to provide career exploration database for the students, and encourage career intervention program in order to enhance career adaptability skill among the students

Assessing the Effectiveness of Post-disaster Housing Reconstruction from the Flood Victims' Perspective: A Pilot Study

In any flooding, houses are the component that is most extensively damaged, and repeatedly represents the greatest portion of the loss in the overall impact of a disaster on the national economy. In October 2012, a flood devastated 14 States in Nigeria that included Kogi where safe actions on victims' rehabilitation, recovery and risk vulnerability reduction were swiftly taken through post-disaster housing reconstruction developments. However, the implementation of some of the resolutions was inadequately done due to non-availability of basic guidelines for the reconstruction processes. This research aims to develop a post-disaster housing reconstruction framework for flood victims in Nigeria. Fifty questionnaires were administered to the 2012 flood victims out of which 43 constituting 86% was valid for analysis using SPSS. This report reveals the results of the pilot study conducted before carrying out the main survey to collect information from target respondents. The pilot study shall help to minimise errors in the questionnaire, warrants the smooth running of the survey, ease the response rate, and offer a useful and valuable inquiry. The results include the descriptive statistics, reliability test, content and construct validity, the normality test, and factorability. The values of skewness and kurtosis were all within the recommended limit of -/+2, which indicates the normal distribution of all the constructs of the study. The summary of the reliability test for each construct of the post-disaster housing reconstructionquestionnaire, are Effectiveness of reconstruction strategies, 0.966; Resource mobilisation strategies, 0.772; Resilience strategies, 0.866, Reconstruction approaches, 0.816, Issues experienced, 0.944, and the Community satisfaction with reconstruction strategies have a value 0.902 for Cronbach alpha coefficient. The results are a positive indicator to use the instrument for the main survey. Keywords:Floods impact, Flood victims, Housing, Post-disaster housing reconstruction, Pilot study, Nigeri

An exploration of confirmatory factor analysis of career adaptability skill among technical and vocational education students in Nigeria

This paper explored confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the measurement scales of vocational identity, career future concern, personal goal orientation, perceived social support, career self-efficacy, in relation to career adaptability skill among technical and vocational education (TVE) students in colleges of education in Nigeria. This enabled the researchers to understand how well the theoretical specifications of these key career-related factors match the reality of actual data of the study. The participants were 603 TVE students selected from six colleges of education in Nigeria. The selected students were from all the three levels of agricultural, business, and technical education programs of the colleges in the second semester of 2014/2015 academic session. A total of 353 were males representing 58.5%, and 250 were females. A set of structured self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection, and CFA aspect of structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. Results indicated that the measurement model fits the data. For absolute fit, the relative chi-square (CMIN/DF) was 1.338, which is 0.90 needed to meet the requirement, for parsimony fit, CFI = 0.960 which is > 0.90, and RMSEA = 0.023 which is .50 showing strong convergent validity. The requirement for discriminant validity was met, and both construct and Cronbach alpha internal consistency reliabilities were > .70.Conclusion was drawn, and a suggestion for further studies covering polytechnics and university students in Nigeria was offered

Fire safety education and training in architecture: an exploratory study

Studies have shown that building designs contribute greatly to the magnitude of fire in building with severe consequences on safety of life and property. Hence, fire safety is an important consideration in building design which architects seek to fulfil at the early stage of design. Knowledge of fire safety amongst architects can aid the design of safer buildings in terms of fire protection. Fire safety designs are expected to meet the provisions in Approved document B of the UK Building Regulations which specifies basic fire safety requirements. The main objective of this paper is to explore the educational underpinning of architects with respect to designing fire safe buildings. This paper is based on literature review and interviews conducted among architects both in academia and in practice to ascertain the need for fire safety education in architecture, and as a working knowledge for practicing architects. Findings show that architects undergo fire safety education under different modules, but not as a distinct course. Fire safety education provides architects with basic understanding of fire safety principles, and to determine when to consult fire experts. Recommendations include creating a separate course on fire safety and if taught as part of other modules, more time/ depth should be allocated to its contents

Assessing the Effectiveness of Fire Safety Management from the FSM Stakeholders' Perspective: A Pilot Study

Malaysian education sector of the economy, particularly the higher education, had been making huge investments towards fulfilling a target of producing an attractive environment, conducive to learning and academic excellence. Building facilities account for a significant portion of investments in the sector. It has become imperative to research ways of ensuring the safety of built facilities and users from fire disaster since no building has immunity against fire. This research aims to develop a framework for effective fire safety management (FSM) for buildings in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions. This report displays the results of the pilot study conducted among staff from the facilities management, occupational safety health and environment (OSHE) and security departments from selected universities in Johor Malaysia prior to carrying out the core survey to collect information from target respondents. The pilot study shall help to minimise errors in the questionnaire, ensures the smooth running of the survey, facilitate the response rate, and provide a useful and valuable inquiry. The results include the descriptive statistics, reliability test, content and construct validity, the normality test, and factorability. The summary of the reliability test for each construct of the FSM Stakeholders' questionnaire, are Management and maintenance, 0.962; fire safety equipment/system, 0.921; building components safety design, 0.965, and the effectiveness of fire safety management have a value 0.916 for Cronbach alpha coefficient. The aggregate Descriptive Statistics results for the stakeholders' questionnaire show mean values between the ranges of 3.08 to 4.07. The questionnaire had low dispersion and standard deviation values of less than 1. The values of skewness and kurtosis were all within the recommended limit of -/+2, which indicates the normal distribution of all the constructs of the study. The results are a positive indicator to use the instrument for the primary survey

TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: A SOLUTION TO PRECARIOUS YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

Unemployment is one of the most serious problems facing Nigeria like many other countries in the world. Nigeria is becoming a predominantly youth society with high rate of unemployment. The development of youth is critical to economic survival and vibrancy of any nation. In order for a country to achieve her development aspiration, the youths need to have access to education that will enable them to enhance their standard of living and gain competitive skills that will be in high demand in the labour market. Young people that lack skills that are valued in global and local economies face limited job opportunities and income growth. The changing nature of work today is placing increased pressure on the youths to acquire technical and vocational education skills. With the youths among the big losers of the recent economic crisis, technical and vocational education is often seen as the silver bullet to the problem of youth joblessness.  Article visualizations

Perceived Benefits of Adoption of Improved Rice Production Technologies Among Small – Scale Farmers in Kogi state, Nigeria.

The study examined the benefits of adoption of improved rice technologies among small – scale rice farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; describe the socio – economic characteristics of the rice farmers, assessed farmers' level of adoption of improved rice technologies, identify the rice farmers’ sources of agricultural information and source of information preferred, identify the benefits derived from adoption and identify the constraints to rice production in the area. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaire from 212 rice farmers. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results show that 59.9% of the respondents were male, and within the ages of 40 – 49 years. Majorities (58.0%) of the respondents were married and 60.8% of the farmers depend on extension agents for agricultural information while 63.7% preferred extension agents as source of information and all the improved technologies were adopted except processing technologies that were adopted below average with grand mean of 0.37. Increased output, acquisition of skills, expansion of farm land and increase in income were the major benefits derived by the farmers from adoption of the technologies. It is recommended that the extension agents should encourage the farmers to re-invest their income for more output and income. Government should assist in provision of storage and processing facilities to improve the quality of processed rice and available processing and storage facilities should be renovated