Variation of Microwave Radio Refractivity Profiles with Temperature over Akure, Nigeria.

A Preliminary result of the measurement of radio meteorological parameters for the profiling of radio refractivity over Akure Nigeria is presented One year January-December 2018 data of temperature pressure and relative humidity were collected for ground surface and heights of 50 100 150 and 200 m respectively from the ongoing measurement of the parameters by Communication Physics Research Group of the Federal University of Technology Akure Nigeria From the data collected radio refractivity N were computed and correlation of N with temperature was evaluated Results showed that the mean value of surface refractivity obtained during this period of study is 365 N-units while that at the elevated altitudes are 362 359 357 and 354 N-units respectively It was also deduced that radio refractivity decrease with an increase in height and its values were generally higher during the rainy season April - October than in the dry season months November -March Correlation between N and temperature was high during the wet season and low during the dry seaso

Designing An Instrument For Gauging Equity Literacy

Equity literacy refers to the skills and mindsets needed to recognize, respond to, and redress conditions that deny equitable access to education. It involves understanding how identities such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, immigration status, and disability intersect and contribute to class inequities. More than mere awareness, equity literacy demands a commitment to deepening individual and institutional understandings of the dynamics of equity and injustice within organizations and communities. Its goal is to pinpoint disparities, eradicate inequities, and actively foster a culture of equity. Evaluating equity literacy is essential to understand how educational disparities impact access to equitable opportunities free from bias and discrimination. Considering the existing deficiency in tools for assessing equity literacy, this study introduces a survey instrument designed to assess equity literacy in educational institutions. This survey was developed based on Gorski's equity literacy framework (2016). To establish its validity, the survey was reviewed by experts and refined using Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio (CVR). Items with CVR scores below the established threshold were removed. The revised 20-item survey was administered to 34 individuals to assess reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. The survey demonstrated robust reliability with an alpha of 0.87. Additionally, the survey categorizes total scores into four rubric levels of equity literacy: exceptional, fair, developing, and little/none. This survey serves as a foundational tool for implementing this framework,  thus empowering educators to challenge prevailing mindsets and cultural deficits

Designing An Instrument For Gauging Equity Literacy

Equity literacy refers to the skills and mindsets needed to recognize, respond to, and redress conditions that deny equitable access to education. It involves understanding how identities such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, immigration status, and disability intersect and contribute to class inequities. More than mere awareness, equity literacy demands a commitment to deepening individual and institutional understandings of the dynamics of equity and injustice within organizations and communities. Its goal is to pinpoint disparities, eradicate inequities, and actively foster a culture of equity. Evaluating equity literacy is essential to understand how educational disparities impact access to equitable opportunities free from bias and discrimination. Considering the existing deficiency in tools for assessing equity literacy, this study introduces a survey instrument designed to assess equity literacy in educational institutions. This survey was developed based on Gorski's equity literacy framework (2016). To establish its validity, the survey was reviewed by experts and refined using Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio (CVR). Items with CVR scores below the established threshold were removed. The revised 20-item survey was administered to 34 individuals to assess reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. The survey demonstrated robust reliability with an alpha of 0.87. Additionally, the survey categorizes total scores into four rubric levels of equity literacy: exceptional, fair, developing, and little/none. This survey serves as a foundational tool for implementing this framework, thus empowering educators to challenge prevailing mindsets and cultural deficits. &nbsp

COVID-19 mortality rate and its associated factors during the first and second waves in Nigeria

COVID-19 mortality rate has not been formally assessed in Nigeria. Thus, we aimed to address this gap and identify associated mortality risk factors during the first and second waves in Nigeria. This was a retrospective analysis of national surveillance data from all 37 States in Nigeria between February 27, 2020, and April 3, 2021. The outcome variable was mortality amongst persons who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by Reverse-Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction. Incidence rates of COVID-19 mortality was calculated by dividing the number of deaths by total person-time (in days) contributed by the entire study population and presented per 100,000 person-days with 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI). Adjusted negative binomial regression was used to identify factors associated with COVID-19 mortality. Findings are presented as adjusted Incidence Rate Ratios (aIRR) with 95% CI. The first wave included 65,790 COVID-19 patients, of whom 994 (1∙51%) died; the second wave included 91,089 patients, of whom 513 (0∙56%) died. The incidence rate of COVID-19 mortality was higher in the first wave [54∙25 (95% CI: 50∙98–57∙73)] than in the second wave [19∙19 (17∙60–20∙93)]. Factors independently associated with increased risk of COVID-19 mortality in both waves were: age ≥45 years, male gender [first wave aIRR 1∙65 (1∙35–2∙02) and second wave 1∙52 (1∙11–2∙06)], being symptomatic [aIRR 3∙17 (2∙59–3∙89) and 3∙04 (2∙20–4∙21)], and being hospitalised [aIRR 4∙19 (3∙26–5∙39) and 7∙84 (4∙90–12∙54)]. Relative to South-West, residency in the South-South and North-West was associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 mortality in both waves. In conclusion, the rate of COVID-19 mortality in Nigeria was higher in the first wave than in the second wave, suggesting an improvement in public health response and clinical care in the second wave. However, this needs to be interpreted with caution given the inherent limitations of the country’s surveillance system during the study

Responding to linguistic and cultural differences in a multicultural classroom

Language and culture have been identified as important factors when one is considering school-based literacy. They become more important when issues relating to multicultural classrooms are discussed. In this situation, teachers are faced with the challenge of teaching linguistically and culturally diverse student populations. In such classrooms, students who differ in culture and/or language often do not enjoy equal educational opportunities, and as a result they fail or drop out of school for reasons not entirely of their own, but rather from those related to schools not accommodating their differences. In a pluralistic society, this situation is undesirable and demands informed change. This study, therefore, attempts to document the efforts of a teacher to accommodate linguistic and cultural differences in his multicultural classroom and how his students respond to his strategy. A fifth grade multicultural classroom in the Philadelphia School District was used for the purpose of the study. Data was generated through participant observation, interview, and document analysis. The data was analyzed using motivation, purpose, text and interaction Hornberger\u27s (1990a) framework. The findings confirm that the ecological environment, in which teaching and learning occurs, influences the quality and quantity of learning achieved by students. The teacher of the study was able to create a successful learning context for his multicultural students through an environment which was responsive to the differences in his classroom. The students, on the other hand, became active participants while teaching and learning became shared responsibilities between the teacher and his students. It is hoped that the findings will provide an alternative to dealing with the existing problem of diversity in multicultural classrooms, such as in Nigeria, the place of my future involvement. The implication of the findings of the study is that teachers can make a difference in the struggle to correct inequality of educational opportunities in schools. Their teaching strategies can empower their students if they are responsive to their needs

Designing An Instrument For Gauging Equity Literacy

Equity literacy refers to the skills and mindsets needed to recognize, respond to, and redress conditions that deny equitable access to education. It involves understanding how identities such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, immigration status, and disability intersect and contribute to class inequities. More than mere awareness, equity literacy demands a commitment to deepening individual and institutional understandings of the dynamics of equity and injustice within organizations and communities. Its goal is to pinpoint disparities, eradicate inequities, and actively foster a culture of equity. Evaluating equity literacy is essential to understand how educational disparities impact access to equitable opportunities free from bias and discrimination. Considering the existing deficiency in tools for assessing equity literacy, this study introduces a survey instrument designed to assess equity literacy in educational institutions. This survey was developed based on Gorski's equity literacy framework (2016). To establish its validity, the survey was reviewed by experts and refined using Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio (CVR). Items with CVR scores below the established threshold were removed. The revised 20-item survey was administered to 34 individuals to assess reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. The survey demonstrated robust reliability with an alpha of 0.87. Additionally, the survey categorizes total scores into four rubric levels of equity literacy: exceptional, fair, developing, and little/none. This survey serves as a foundational tool for implementing this framework,  thus empowering educators to challenge prevailing mindsets and cultural deficits

0°C isotherm height Distribution for Earth-space communication satellite links in Nigeria

For an optimum performance of Earth-space satellite communication links, a number of meteorological parameters along the Earth-space path for specific locations are needed to be put into consideration; among such factors is the height of the 0°C isotherm (freezing level height). Information regarding this parameter is always based on the Recommendation ITU-R P.839 in the form of contour maps. Since the meteorological parameters are location dependent; there is a need for the establishment of these parameters to specific locations. In addition, ITU-R model uses a yearly averaged constant rain height for the attenuation estimation which may not be appropriate for tropical regions. In this work, the 0°C Isotherm (ZDI) height has been established using two years of data collected on-board the Precipitation radar of the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The result shows the seasonal dependence of the 0°C isotherm height. It was observed among other things that the height is higher during the wet season as compared to the dry seasons. Rain-induced attenuation at frequencies above 10 GHz was also estimated using the 0°C isotherm height derived for each of the locations over the elevation angle of the NIGCOMSAT-1R in Nigeri