Concept of crime in the administration of penal justice in Nigeria: an appraisal

There are various definitions of crime from the perspectives of moralists, libertarians, positivists, etc. This research covers Criminal Code, Penal Code as well as Shariah Penal Code. The doctrinal method of research was adopted to analytically study the concept of crime. It was found that the moralist sees crime from the perspectives of morality. The libertarian views crime from the perspective of any act that restricts the liberty of citizen. On the other hand, the positivist holds the view that crime is whatever act or omission the ruler of the day prescribed by a threat of penal consequences. It was found that the view of the libertarians, also called the utilitarian view, dominated western jurisprudence while the positivist views pervade modern thinking in both the domestic and international arena. It was finally discovered that the uniqueness of the different views is that crimes must attract punishment for its breach. It is submitted that crime is a human conduct that is proscribed with penal consequences that may give rise to criminal proceedings and criminal punishment2.Keywords: Analysis, Appraisal, Crimes, Libertarian, Moralist, Positivis

Assessment of Open Grown Trees Composition and Diversity in Selected Research Institutes in Peri-Urban Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria

Urban green spaces are rapidly deteriorating in most parts of Nigeria. The study assessed open grown trees composition and diversity in selected Research Institutes within Ibadan Region with the aim of comparing the ecological diversity in the study locations. This was achieved through species identification and mensuration of all open grown trees species that were accessible in the study areas. Open grown trees with Diameter at breast height ≥ 10cm were assessed for growth characteristics of total height and diameter at breast height. Basal area and volume were estimated from measured growth characteristics. Tree species were identified by a taxonomist at Federal Herbarium in Ibadan. Biodiversity indices of Shannon diversity index, species evenness and species dominance were computed to see variation in tree community of the areas. The Shannon diversity index calculated was higher in IITA with a value of 3.04 compared to that of CRIN with a value of 2.36. A dominance value of 0.15 and 0.05 was obtained for CRIN and IITA respectively. The study concludes that both institutes are repository of large diversity of tree species thereby, helping in the conservation of biodiversity while ameliorating weather. It is recommended that educational institutions from all levels located within the region as well as private organizations and individuals should plant trees within their domains in order to create conducive green environments that would promote sustainable environment in the region. This is possible when government provide adequate incentive and annual rewards for establishments with the best green environments

Internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Attitude toward Muslim Proximity Index (AMPI): a measure of social distance

The Attitude toward Muslim Proximity Index (AMPI) is a six-item scale that uses tolerance to different degrees of social distance to assess prejudice towards Muslims. It was tested on 1777 teenage school children from northern England who indicated their religion as either 'Christian' or 'no religion', and demonstrated good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .81). The index was higher among pupils who supported the views of the British National Party and among those who believed that British Muslims should adopt Western culture; but lower among those who knew Muslims or had Muslim friends. The AMPI is a useful measure of Islamophobic attitudes that does not rely on responses to specific events or on detailed knowledge of the Muslim religion

Contribution of Agroforestry to Farmers Wellbeing in Forest Enclave, Edo State, Nigeria

Agroforestry has recently been experiencing a surge in interest as a cost-effective means to enhance food security and well-being. Thus there is a need to assess its contribution of to farmer’s wellbeing. Primary data needed for the study were collected through the administration of  questionnaires to agroforestry farmers. Purposive random sampling technique was used to select three forest enclaves in Edo state. A simple random sampling technic was used in the selection of respondents and a total number of 120 copies of questionnaires were administered. Datawere analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages and inferential statistics such as Chi-square, Pearson Product Moment correlations (PPMC). The study revealed that the mean age of the farmers in the area was 45.6years. Majorities (85.8 %) were male and 78.3% were married. with 54.2% having household size of between 4 - 6 persons. Majority (84.2%) had formal education. Also, 65.8% engage in agroforestry farming as their primary occupation. The results showed that there was positive and significant relationship between farmers’involvement in agroforestry and their economic wellbeing (χ2 = 76.27, P ≤ 0.001), material wellbeing (χ2 = 93.77, P ≤ 0.001), social wellbeing (χ2 = 73.00, P ≤ 0.001) and psychological wellbeing (χ2 = 132.63, P ≤ 0.001), respectively. It is therefore recommended that farmers should be encouraged to increase their farm holding and also organized themselves into association for them to have access to mechanized equipment  Keyword: Contribution, Agroforestry, Wellbeing, Farmer

Investigation of the perception of climate change among arable crop farmers in Akinyele Local Government area of Oyo State, Nigeria

This study was designed to investigate the perception of climate change among arable crop farmers in Akinyele local government area of Oyo state, Nigeria using a well-structured questionnaire for data acquisition. Descriptive and inferential (chi-square) statistics were used to analyze the data.. The study revealed that majority of the respondents (50.8%) were between the ages of 40-49years and majority of them (85.8%) are married with household size of 7-10 persons. The study further revealed that (33.3%) of the respondents had no formal education while, (42.5%) of the respondents had a farming experience of 16years and above. However, it also shows that majority of the respondents are aware of the effect and causes of climate change. Significant association exists between marital status (x2=68.426, P=0.000), family size (X2=25.777, P=0.012) and perceived effect of climate change. The study therefore recommended that the government and extension agents should enlighten the women farmers more about climate change and should also help in making them adapt excellently to climate change

Fish farmers’ perceived environmental effects on dam operation and coping strategies used in Ikere George Dam of Iseyin, Oyo State

The study examined the fish farmers‟ perceived environmental effects of dam operation and coping strategies among fish farmers in Ikere George dam, Iseyin Oyo state. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select 102 respondents in the study area. Data were collected through the use of interview schedule and were analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and frequency, while chi-square and PPMC were used to analyse hypotheses at p < 0.05. The result revealed that majority (54%) of the respondents below 40 years, with males predominantly higher than females. Also, 71.6% were married and 58.8% had educational attainment below secondary school. Challenges identified were disruption of movement of aquatic animals (137), blockage of migrations of aquatic species (135) and problem of overcrowding in the community (129) were prominent perceived effects of dam operation. The result further showed that migration (99) and planting of trees (146) were the most commonly used coping strategies. Chi-square showed that there was significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and perceived effects of dam operation except religion which was not significant (p>0.05). PPMC analysis revealed that there was significant relationship between coping strategies used (r=0.687, p=0.000). It is therefore recommended that proper training and adequate facilities should be given to fish farmers to ensure sustainability of the dam

Cosmic Strings Lens Phenomenology: Model of Poisson Energy Distribution

We present a novel approach for investigating lens phenomenology of cosmic strings in order to elaborate detection strategies in galaxy deep field images. To account for the complexity of the projected energy distribution of string networks we assume their lens effects to be similar to those of a straight string carrying a {\em random} lineic energy distribution. In such a model we show that, unlike the case of uniform strings, critical phenomena naturally appear. We explore the properties of the critical lines and caustics. In particular, assuming that the energy coherence length along the string is much smaller than the observation scale, we succeeded in computing the total length of critical lines per unit string length and found it to be $4/\sqrt{3} {\bf E}(3/4)$. The length of the associated caustic lines can also be computed to be $16/(\pi \sqrt{3}) {\bf E}(3/4)$. The picture we obtain here for the phenomenology of cosmic string detection is clearly at variance with common lore.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Minor correction

Growth Performance of Tetrapleura Tetraptera (Schum and Thonn) Seedlings to Green Manure and Inorganic Fertilizer

The use, types and method of fertilizers for agricultural and forest plants should be sustainable, ecofriendly and natural to the environment. Application of green manure is being used nowadays for soil nutrient management, growth and plant yields because of their natural effects. This study investigated the use of green manure andinorganicfertilizer on the growth performance of Tetrapleura tetraptera. Topsoil, leucaenana leucoephala (leave powder) and inorganic fertilizer (NPK 15: 15:15) were used. The fertilizer were weighed and applied to the 5kg of soils at 0g, 10g and 20g each and were replicated six times. Growth parameters such as seedling heights, number of leaf and stem diameter were assessed weekly for aperiod of three months. The application leucaenana leucoephala’s leave powder as green manure showed significantly high effects on the growth parametersof Tetrapleura tetraptera seedlings at p ≤ 0.05. This study has shown the efficacy of leucaenana leucoephala’s leave powder as green manure for optimum growth of Tetrapleura tetraptera seedlings

Abundance and Habitat Preference of the Genus Euplectes in Protected and Non protected Habitats of Jos East Plateau State, Nigeria

The knowledge on the factors influencing habitat selection is of uttermost importance because it guides the development of conservation action plan for species. Till date, there is no baseline study on the genus Euplectes in Northern Nigeria thus, an attempt to investigate the habitat preference of the genus was carried out in Amurum Forest Reserve and the nonprotected habitats of Fobur. Line transects of 200m were randomly laid across the study sites. The abundance of Bishop species was highest in farmland compared to grassland and rocky outcrop. Therefore, the number of the species was significantly different between habitats (F2, 573 = 5.454, P = 0.0015). There was a significant relationship between flock size and number of seeds across habitat types. Number of individual birds increased with increase in seed number (F1, 57 = 21687.786, P < 0.001). With the exception of grass height, there was a highly significant difference in relation to vegetation variables taken between plots where Bishop species were sighted and the random points where they were not seen (P < 0.001). The finding suggests that farmlands should be integrated into conservation plan in the nonprotected area based on the high population of the genus recorded

History biases reveal novel dissociations between perceptual and metacognitive decision-making

Human decision-making and self-reflection often depend on context and internal biases. For instance, decisions are often influenced by preceding choices, regardless of their relevance. It remains unclear how choice history influences different levels of the decision-making hierarchy. We used analyses grounded in information and detection theories to estimate the relative strength of perceptual and metacognitive history biases and to investigate whether they emerge from common/unique mechanisms. Although both perception and metacognition tended to be biased toward previous responses, we observed novel dissociations that challenge normative theories of confidence. Different evidence levels often informed perceptual and metacognitive decisions within observers, and response history distinctly influenced first- (perceptual) and second- (metacognitive) order decision-parameters, with the metacognitive bias likely to be strongest and most prevalent in the general population. We propose that recent choices and subjective confidence represent heuristics, which inform first- and second-order decisions in the absence of more relevant evidence