Awareness and adoption levels of improved smoking oven among fish processors in Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria

This paper investigated awareness and adoption levels of improved smoking oven among fish processors in four fishing communities along Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 153 respondents who were engaged in fish smoking. Data collected using structured interview guides were subjected to descriptive and inferential analyses. Results revealed that majority of the respondents were young, married women with average fish smoking experience of 22.6 years. Majority (90.8%) of them were solely engaged in fish smoking while 9.2% combined fish smoking with other income-generating activities. All the processors used traditional smoking oven (drum, box and mud ovens). More than 66.0% of the fish processors were not aware of improved fish smoking equipment. Lack of awareness, inadequate access to the technologies, low relative advantage and lack of maintenance services and high cost of procurement were responsible for low adoption levels of improved smoking oven. Irregular visits of extension agents to the study area had negative impact on the adoption of improved traditional smoking ovens. Proper dissemination of innovations developed on improved fish processing equipment to the active fish processors in Lagos State using available communication channels is hereby advocated. &nbsp

Development and Validation of Web-based Courseware for Junior Secondary School Basic Technology Students in Nigeria

This research aimed to develop and validate a web-based courseware for junior secondary school basic technology students in Nigeria. In this study, a mixed method quantitative pilot study design with qualitative components was used to test and ascertain the ease of development and validation of the web-based courseware. Dick and Carey instructional system design model was adopted for developing the courseware. Convenience sampling technique was used in selecting the three content, computer and educational technology experts to validate the web-based courseware. Non-randomized and non-equivalent Junior secondary school students from two schools were used for field trial validation. Four validating instruments were employed in conducting this study: (i) Content Validation Assessment Report (CVAR); (ii) Computer Expert Validation Assessment Report (CEAR); (iii) Educational Technology Experts Validation Assessment Report (ETEVAR); and (iv) Students Validation Questionnaire (SVQ). All the instruments were face and content validated. SVQ was pilot tested and reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha. CVAR, CEAR, ETEVAR were administered on content specialists, computer experts, and educational technology experts, while SVQ was administered on 83 JSS students from two selected secondary schools in Minna. The findings revealed that the process of developing web-based courseware using Dick and Carey Instructional System Design was successful. In addition, the report from the validating team revealed that the web-based courseware is valuable for learning basic technology. It is therefore recommended that web-based courseware should be produced to teach basic technology concepts on large scale

Development and Validation of Web-based Courseware for Junior Secondary School Basic Technology Students in Nigeria

This research aimed to develop and validate a web-based courseware for junior secondary school basic technology students in Nigeria. In this study, a mixed method quantitative pilot study design with qualitative components was used to test and ascertain the ease of development and validation of the web-based courseware. Dick and Carey instructional system design model was adopted for developing the courseware. Convenience sampling technique was used in selecting the three content, computer and educational technology experts to validate the web-based courseware. Non-randomized and non-equivalent Junior secondary school students from two schools were used for field trial validation. Four validating instruments were employed in conducting this study: (i) Content Validation Assessment Report (CVAR); (ii) Computer Expert Validation Assessment Report (CEAR); (iii) Educational Technology Experts Validation Assessment Report (ETEVAR); and (iv) Students Validation Questionnaire (SVQ). All the instruments were face and content validated. SVQ was pilot tested and reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha. CVAR, CEAR, ETEVAR were administered on content specialists, computer experts, and educational technology experts, while SVQ was administered on 83 JSS students from two selected secondary schools in Minna. The findings revealed that the process of developing web-based courseware using Dick and Carey Instructional System Design was successful. In addition, the report from the validating team revealed that the web-based courseware is valuable for learning basic technology. It is therefore recommended that web-based courseware should be produced to teach basic technology concepts on large scale

Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction on Secondary School Mathematics Students\u27 Spatial Ability, Achievement and Attitude in Niger State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of computer assisted instruction on secondary school mathematics students\u27 spatial visualization ability, achievement and attitude in Niger State. Three (3) research questions and their corresponding hypotheses guide the study. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design using pretest posttest non-equivalent, non randomized control group. The instruments for data collection were Geometry Achievement Test (GAT), Spatial Ability Test (SAT), and Mathematics and Technology Attitude Scale (MTAS) validated by six senior lecturers. The target population were all SS II mathematics students in the 150 senior Secondary Schools in three educational zones of Niger State. The sample consisted of 330 SS II (178 males and 152 females) from nine secondary schools. In each school, a stream (arm) of SS II class was randomly selected and used for the study. The three groups were pretested using GAT and SAT to determine their entry-level equivalence, while the post-test instruments are SAT and MTAS administered after six (6) weeks of instruction. The finding of the study revealed that the males outperform than females in spatial ability tasks and had higher positive attitude towards learning mathematics with technology. The study recommend mathematics teachers and instructors should adopt modern teaching pedagogies that are learner-centred and provides platform the development of spatial skills in children and adult a likes

Does Tribolium brevicornis Cuticular Chemistry Deter Cannibalism and Predation of Pupae?

The cuticular hydrocarbons of insects are species-specific and often function as semiochemicals. The activity of Tribolium brevicornis cuticular hydrocarbons as feeding deterrents that ostensibly function to prevent pupal cannibalism and predation was evaluated. The cuticular hydrocarbons of T. brevicornis pupae were characterized and flour disk bioassays conducted with individual and combined extract components incorporated into artificial diets on which Tribolium adults fed for six days. Feeding by T. brevicornis and T. castaneum on flour disks containing cuticular extracts of T. brevicornis pupae resulted in reduced consumption and weight loss relative to feeding on control flour disks. In both cases, feeding deterrence indices exceeded 80% suggesting that T. brevicornis cuticular hydrocarbons could function to deter cannibalism and predation of pupae by larvae and adult beetles. Sixteen different cuticular hydrocarbons were identified in T. brevicornis pupal extracts. Eight of the commercially available linear alkanes were tested individually in feeding trials with eight Tribolium species. One compound (C28) significantly reduced the amount of food consumed by three species compared to control disks, whereas the compounds C25, C26, and C27 elicited increased feeding in some species. Four other compounds had no effect on consumption for any species. When four hydrocarbon mixtures were tested for synergistic deterrence on T. brevicornis and T. castaneum, none significantly influenced consumption. Our results indicate that the cuticular chemistry of T. brevicornis pupae could serve to deter predation by conspecific and congeneric beetles

Investigation and Comparison of Heat Generated by Coloured Metallic Plates in Response to the Emissive and Absobtion Power of the Surfaces of the Coloured Plate

A colour test was carried out to determine the rates of absorption and emission of infrared radiation by coloured hollowed metallic plates which result in increase in temprature of the holllowed plates at maximum radiation of 750 Wm-2 at Abeokuta 7.198305 and Longitude 3.439533 during the month of March 2013. Five hollow metallic plates of different paint colours (black, green, red, blue and white) were exposed to sunlight simultaneously and the temperature generated in each plate was recorded using a data logger. A wooden box that was divided into five cavities was constructed and lagged with wood shavings to provide insulation and the five coloured hollowed metallic plates of dimension d=4h were inserted in it. The choice dimension d=4h is to minimise shading of the inside of the plate (d is the diameter of each of the plates and h is the height) the top of the plates were covered with a 5 mm thick glass. The top cover plates were securely laid tightly to both the wooden box and the tip of the plates to prevent heat loss to the surrounding and also from crossing from one plate to another.  This arraignment is similar to that of a flat plate collector and calorimeter experiment. The centre of each of the plate was connected to five probes of a data logger and the temperature of changes inside the plates are logged and recorded

Area balance and strain in an extensional fault system: Strategies for improved oil recovery in fractured chalk, Gilbertown Field, southwestern Alabama. Annual report, March 1996--March 1997

Gilbertown Field is the oldest oil field in Alabama and produces oil from chalk of the Upper Cretaceous Selma Group and from sandstone of the Eutaw Formation along the southern margin of the Gilbertown fault system. Most of the field has been in primary recovery since establishment, but production has declined to marginally economic levels. This investigation applies advanced geologic concepts designed to aid implementation of improved recovery programs. The Gilbertown fault system is detached at the base of Jurassic salt. The fault system began forming as a half graben and evolved in to a full graben by the Late Cretaceous. Conventional trapping mechanisms are effective in Eutaw sandstone, whereas oil in Selma chalk is trapped in faults and fault-related fractures. Burial modeling establishes that the subsidence history of the Gilbertown area is typical of extensional basins and includes a major component of sediment loading and compaction. Surface mapping and fracture analysis indicate that faults offset strata as young as Miocene and that joints may be related to regional uplift postdating fault movement. Preliminary balanced structural models of the Gilbertown fault system indicate that synsedimentary growth factors need to be incorporated into the basic equations of area balance to model strain and predict fractures in Selma and Eutaw reservoirs

A manual for large-scale sample collection, preservation, tracking, DNA extraction, and variety identification analysis

Several alternative options have been used for varietal identification. However most of the traditional methods have inherent uncertainty levels and estimates often have wide confidence intervals. In an attempt to circumvent traditional survey-based measurement errors in varietal identification, DNA-based varietal identification has been implemented in the Cassava Monitoring Survey (CMS) of Nigeria — a large adoption study involving 2500 cassava farming households. The DNA fingerprinting technique offers a reliable method to accurately identify varieties grown by farmers and increases accuracy and credibility in the interpretation of adoption rates and associated economic and policy analyses. Unlike phenotype-based methods, DNA is not affected by environmental conditions or plant growth stage and is more abundant than morphological descriptors. However, undertaking a credible DNA-based varietal identification is not a trivial matter because of the logistical challenges involving sample collection and tracking by a large team of field enumerators. This manual presents the detailed steps required for undertaking reliable DNA-fingerprinting-based identification of cassava varieties. In particular, the manual gives detailed information on the establishment of a sample tracking system, preparation of a readily available and cheap sample collection kit, field sample collection methodology, preparation of samples for DNA isolation, and development of a pipeline for variety identification analysis. This manual is part of the outputs of the CMS project funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

Impacts des vers de terre sur les composants et la dynamique du sol (synthèse bibliographique)

Impacts of earthworms on soil components and dynamics. A review. Earthworm populations are important decomposers contributing to aggregate formation and nutrient cycling processes involving nitrogen cycles, phosphorus and carbon. They are known to influence soil fertility by participating to important processes in soil such as soil structure regulation and organic matter dynamics. Earthworms also modify the microbial communities through digestion, stimulation and dispersion in casts. Consequently, changes in the activities of earthworm communities, as a result of soil management practices, can also be used as indicators of soil fertility and quality. It is therefore important to understand how earthworm communities affect soil dynamics. This review adresses the current state of knowledge on earthworm's impacts on soil structure and soil organic matter (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) dynamics, with special emphasis on the effects of land management practices on earthworm communities

Area balance and strain in an extensional fault system: Strategies for improved oil recovery in fractured chalk, Gilbertown Field, southwestern Alabama. Final report, March 1996--September 1998

This project was designed to analyze the structure of Mesozoic and Tertiary strata in Gilbertown Field and adjacent areas to suggest ways in which oil recovery can be improved. The Eutaw Formation comprises 7 major flow units and is dominated by low-resistivity, low-contrast play that is difficult to characterize quantitatively. Selma chalk produces strictly from fault-related fractures that were mineralized as warm fluid migrated from deep sources. Resistivity, dipmeter, and fracture identification logs corroborate that deformation is concentrated in the hanging-wall drag zones. New area balancing techniques were developed to characterize growth strata and confirm that strain is concentrated in hanging-wall drag zones. Curvature analysis indicates that the faults contain numerous fault bends that influence fracture distribution. Eutaw oil is produced strictly from footwall uplifts, whereas Selma oil is produced from fault-related fractures. Clay smear and mineralization may be significant trapping mechanisms in the Eutaw Formation. The critical seal for Selma reservoirs, by contrast, is where Tertiary clay in the hanging wall is juxtaposed with poorly fractured Selma chalk in the footwall. Gilbertown Field can be revitalized by infill drilling and recompletion of existing wells. Directional drilling may be a viable technique for recovering untapped oil from Selma chalk. Revitalization is now underway, and the first new production wells since 1985 are being drilled in the western part of the field