Teachers’ Attitude and Gender Factor as Determinant of Pupils’ performance in Primary Science

Teachers are regarded as the basic tools in education and curriculumimplementations. The quality of any nation’s education is determined by the qualities of the teachers and their attitude to the profession. This paper seeks to examine the influence of the teachers’ attitude and gender factor on the academic performance of the primary schools pupils. Fifty science teachers were randomly selected from seventy (70) primary schools out of the ninetyseven (97) primary schools in ondo west local Government in ondo state and two hundred pupils were randomly selected and used for the same study. Two instruments were used to collect data, the Teachers’ attitude questionnaire (TAQ) and Primary science achievement test (PSAT) .The research design adopted for this study was survey design. The reliability of the instrument was 0.78 and 0.84 by using crombach alpha and k-21 respectively. Pearson moment product correlation coefficient was used to analyze the instruments. The result indicated that there exists a significant relationship between teachers’ attitude and pupils’ performance in primary science. The result also indicated that there exists no significant relationship between the performance of pupils taught by male and female teachers inprimary science. Recommendations were made on how to promote furtherdevelopment of primary science teaching and learning in Nigeria.Key words: Attitude, Gender, Performance, Nigeri

Trend Analysis of Teenage Pregnancy in Nigeria (1961-2013): How Effective is the Contraceptive Use Campaign

Teenage pregnancy (TP) is a recurrent global and public health problem. It poses both social and health challenges. Considering the massive campaign on the use of modern contraceptives to prevent TP in recent decades, we assessed trends in TP in Nigeria between 1961 and 2013. Pregnancy and contraception history of 70,811 women who were at least 20 years old when the Nigerian DHS was conducted in 1990, 2003, 2008, and 2013 respectively were used for the study, and descriptive statistics, time analysis techniques and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data at 5% significance level. The overall prevalence of TP between 1961 and 2013 was 49.5% which fluctuated insignificantly during the studied period. The TP prevalence among women who entered adulthood in 1961 was 39.2%; it peaked in 1978 at 58.9% before its unsteady decline to 39.6% in 2012, and then rose sharply to 55.6% in 2013. We predicted TP prevalence as 49.0%, 49.9% and 51.0% in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. The odds of TP were over 4 times higher in the North East and 5 times higher in the North West than in the South West. Teenagers with no education had higher odds of TP and it was higher among teenagers from the poorest households (OR=5.64, 95% CI: 5.36-5.94). Rather than reducing with the worldwide acknowledged increase in contraceptive campaigns, TP increased over the years studied. As far as TP is concerned in Nigeria, the impact of the campaign on MC use is far from being effective. To achieve the objective of fewer TPs, fewer resources should be spent on access to contraception and instead diverted to areas more likely to achieve results such as improvements in educational achievement amongst girls

An In-Depth Study of Multimedia Elements for Programme Production in Television Stations in Lagos State, Nigeria

Multimedia refers to access of information by a variety of display media elements: text, graphics (vector), images (bitmap), audio (sound), motion pictures (animation) and video. They are weaved into a computer based presentation or TV programmes. Multimedia graphics has played a significant role in design and visual communication; while television is a medium for accessing those designs for disseminating information. Multimedia elements are experienced in day to day activities and also have a critical impact in television programming. This paper therefore aims to examine multimedia elements and its features for the production of programmes in television stations. The area of study is Lagos State, Nigeria. A concise survey was carried out in the study area which uncovers the problems of multimedia production for television; hence, adequate measures to resolve the challenges were proposed. Keywords: Multimedia Content, Media Elements, Linear Mode, Programmes, Visuals DOI: 10.7176/ADS/71-05 Publication date:March 31st 201

Aphrodisiac Plant Pausinystalia yohimbe Induces Myocardiac Histological Normalcy in Wistar Rats

The root of Pausinystalia yohimbe (k. Schum.) Pierre ex Beille, is commonly used by traditional herbal practitioners in Nigeria and around the globe without a safe dose regimen to treat erectile dysfunction and other related reproductive disorders. The present study examines some histological indices in male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) treated orally with P. yohimbe methanol root using twenty five Wistar rats divided into five groups (n=5) of four treatment groups and one control group. The control group was administered 10 mL/kg distilled water only, while treatment groups received 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg b.w of P. yohimbe root extract by oral cannula for 14 days. On day 15, animals in all group were anaesthetized, their heart were isolated and processed histologically. The results showed normal histological indices of the hearts examined, which were resemblance of, and significantly not different from the control. Therefore, the present study provides support for the safety profile of P. yohimbe herbal preparation in a concentration of doses administered to male Wistar rats. However, further studies may attempt to look at higher doses under similar circumstances

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DRIVERS OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN MEGACITIES

The exponential growth in the world population, coupled with the high ruralurban migration is leading to the graduation of ordinary cities to Megacities. With the status of mega-cities comes their special need in terms of housing and other urban development infrastructures. The study aimed to carry out a quantitative analysis of socio-economic drivers of housing and urban development projects in Megacities. The research design used a cross-sectional survey through a questionnaire instrument.Out of two hundred (200) questionnaires distributed to policy makers and construction professionals employed in government agencies, a total of one hundred and fifty seven (157) questionnaires were retrieved. Using Statistical tools of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Categorical Regression the Housing and Urban Development project crucial for the sustenance of Megacities were grouped while the socio-economic drivers that engender investment towards housing and urban development projects were identified. It is important that population growth in megacities are properly controlled as to forestall pressure on available infrastructures. Politics and the supply of necessary housing and urban development projects should not mix, as they are separate entities. In project financing, government should intensify adequate taxation policies to effectively fund different classes of housing and urban development projects in megacities

Vertical Architecture Construction: Prospects and Barriers in solving Lagos’ Housing Deficit

The population of Lagos State is projected to double by 2050 to 32.6 million people. This is estimated to be the 6th largest city in the world. However, the land mass area of the state remains relatively constant at 3,577 Km2. There is need to identify sustainable housing solutions to reduce the level of homelessness within the megacity. Therefore, this study was aimed at examining the prospects and barriers in the use of vertical architecture construction in solving Lagos city’s housing deficit. The study utilized content analysis of literature on the subject matter which were obtained from major online databases. The study identified the prospects in the use of vertical architecture construction such as reducing housing deficit, adequate land management, engender sustainable practices, improved innovation and proper planning within the state. Nevertheless, some barriers are encountered in the actualization of a comprehensive vertical architecture in Lagos megacity. The barriers include cultural bias to high rise, lack of technology, epileptic power supply, poor maintenance culture, poor fire service delivery, inadequate policies and investment funding. In conclusion, preparedness towards a sustainable housing solution of vertical architecture construction requires a public-private partnership approach in public housing delivery

Effect of drying conditions on energy utilization during cocoyam drying

Cocoyam samples soaked in sodium metabisulphite (SM) and water blanched (WB) were oven dried at 50, 60 and 70° C and microwave power levels of 385, 540 and 700 W while untreated samples were sun dried. The effect of drying on selected properties of cocoyam was studied. The drying time generally reduced with increase in drying temperature and power level used. The use of SM pretreatment resulted in lower drying times compared with WB pretreatment. Effective moisture diffusivity values (Deff) for all the drying conditions varied from 5.27 x 10-8 to 2.07 x 10-6 m2/s and SM samples had higher values than WB samples.  Activation energy values for oven drying were 37.41 KJ/mol and 61.79 KJ/mol and that for microwave drying were 38.59 and 41.91W/g for SM and WB samples respectively.  The energy consumption varied from 125.1 to 142.8 kWh and 308 to 396.7 Wh while that of specific energy requirement varied from 86.2 to 106.5 kWh/kg and 1.49 to 2.03 KJ/kg water for oven drying and microwave drying respectively

Survey dataset on occupational hazards on construction sites

The construction site provides an unfriendly working conditions, exposing workers to one of the harshest environments at a workplace. In this dataset, a structured questionnaire was design directed to thirty-five (35) craftsmen selected through a purposive sampling technique on various construction sites in one of the most populous cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The set of descriptive statistics is presented with tables, stacked bar chats and pie charts. Common occupational health conditions affecting the cardiovascular, respiratory and musculoskeletal systems of craftsmen on construction sites were identified. The effects of occupational health hazards on craftsmen and on construction project performance can be determined when the data is analyzed. Moreover, contractors’ commitment to occupational health and safety (OHS) can be obtained from the analysis of the survey data

The Untold Story of Africa: What Advertising from Africa Reveals to the Rest of the World About the Continent

Images of skyscrapers, well-built roads, and deluxe model cars are often absent in the mindset of Western audiences when it comes to Africa. This is because the popular image of Africa in the western world is that of a backward and impoverished continent. Western media is largely responsible for this image. On the other hand, African advertising and advertising produced in Africa reveal a different image of the continent. This image focuses on the technological changes, social improvement, and modernization that are taking place in many African countries. This paper examines television and print advertising produced in different African countries for this rarely seen aspect of the continent they reveal. This examination is done using the “Reflective Hypothesis” which postulates that advertising mirrors the target community in terms of values, culture, beliefs and lifestyle. I argue that businesses in other to sell their product or services market a more sophisticated image of contemporary Africa. What western media representation of Africa does not take into account is the presence of a consumer market in the continent. This consumer market is the target of businesses both foreign and local, who traffic a more appealing image of the continent. Although it is evident that poverty is a serious issue in the continent, a study of advertising opens up the possibilities of seeing the continent in a different light