Is this the end of the OPEC cartel?

In looking at various circumstances surrounding the OPEC and the present economic crisis, one can come to a conclusion that this is the end of OPEC. This hypothesis could be supported by such factors as, falling OPEC share in the oil market, President Barack Obama's new energy policy for the United States, depleting oil reserves and the increasing worries about environmental protection. Despite these factors, it seems that the most possible scenario would be the continued strong influence of OPEC on oil prices, albeit weakened. The above hypothesis is supported by fluctuation in oil prices, rising oil demands in emerging economies like China, the dominating influence of the automobile lobby, the negative effect of bio-fuel on agriculture and finally, the underdeveloped nature of many developing countries, which in turn mean dependent on oil for years to come

The synthesis of monomers with pendent ethynyl group for modified high performance thermoplastics

The objectives of this project were to develop synthetic schemes for the following classes of modified monomers: (1) difunctional triarylethanes with pendent acetylenic groups; and (2) tertiary aspartimides with terminal acetylene groups at the two ends. Our efforts have resulted in the successful development of high yield schemes for the syntheses of several diamino and bisphenolic analogs of difunctional triarylethanes with pendent ethynyl group. A scheme for one new tertiary aspartimide was also established. Multi-gram samples of all prepared new monomers were provided to our technical contact at NASA-LaRC and preliminary polymerization studies were encouraging. Details of the accomplished work within the last four years are described

Using ODL and ICT to develop the skills of the unreached: a contribution to the ADEA triennial of the Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning

Innovation in technology is occurring at rapid pace thus shrinking the distances and making information and knowledge more than ever accessible to everyone irrespective of where the person resides. This paper consists of four main articles. The first one deals with technological trends. The second one focuses on the deployment and use of open and distance education mode in rural areas by documenting initiatives that embrace information and communication technologies (ICTs). Due to challenges faced in rural areas only a few success stories/cases currently exist and some of these are cited in this article. The challenges faced in the deployment of ICT enhanced ODL have been highlighted as well as the potential of developing and delivering effective and relevant ODL programmes in rural areas in order to ensure that issues of educational equity and social exclusion rural communities are adequately addressed. ICTs in ODL are perhaps the greatest tool to date for self-education and value addition to any community’s development efforts, yet poor rural communities particularly in Africa do not have the necessary awareness, skills or facilities to enable themselves to develop using ICTs. Inadequate ICT infrastructures in rural areas remain a major source for the digital divide in Africa and for under-performance of distance learners. The third one analyses the support provided to ODL learners who often encounter difficulties in completing their studies through the distance education mode due to loneliness, uncertainties and de-motivation. ICT has not been able to sufficiently support distance learners in overcoming those obstacles efficiently. An investigation regarding those learning supports has been conducted in ten distance learning institutions, along with an intensive literature review with the aim of understanding the high percentage of dropout rates of distant learners. The learners’ interactions have been scrutinized through content analysis of their synchronous exchanges, during a completely online course. After taking into account the limited technical and human resources in Africa, a technological virtual environment along with a pedagogical framework has been proposed with the aim of giving adequate educational support to them. The fourth article has explored The Open University (UK) and its efforts to use new technologies to deliver online courses to difficult-to- reach learners in prison environments. The case study analysed here is an international course (called, B201- Business Organisations and their environments) which also touches an African cohort of learners. The implications for designing and delivering online ODL to the complex unreachable environments of prisons anywhere, and particularly in Africa, have been discussed

Constructing a cardinal measure of democratic development in a transition polity: the Nigerian example

Existing measures of the level of democracy present in a given state treat democracy as a product and therefore place undue emphasis on actual freedoms enjoyed by the citizens of the country. In transition polities where the actual levels of freedom are low despite continuing efforts to democratize, democracy should be seen as a process rather than a product. A measure that dilutes the end product to capture today's struggles against undemocratic structures and policies does so in order to recognize the foundations these inputs lay for future democratic development. Nigeria exemplifies the many polities in transition on the African continent. This essay looks at the major political events that typify the processes of power change, quality of governance, political environment and democratic dividends, and uses them to construct democratization indices to determine the pattern and level of democratization in Nigeria since political independence. This exercise sets the stage for assessing the impacts of various dimensions of democratization on the performance of the Nigerian economy

Male Gender Roles and Sexuality: Implications for University Girls’ HIV/AIDS Awareness in a Nigerian University

This study was conducted to examine the implications of male gender roles and sexuality for University girls’ HIV/AIDS awareness. Information was elicited from 2399 randomly selected undergraduate students, from the nine faculties of the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Results indicate moderate levels of HIV/AIDS awareness and that of the hypothesis testing showed a no significant difference at p\u3e 0.05, as a result of male gender roles. The paper draws the conclusion that the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS was on the increase, and that University undergraduate girls are more vulnerable because of high risks of sexual behaviour for monetary gains. The paper also concludes that intervention strategies cannot be achieved without addressing the issue of male gender roles and sexuality in the spread of HIV/AIDS infection

Multilingual immersive communication technology: repurposing virtual reality for Italian teaching

This paper will report on a pilot Virtual Reality (VR) projectwhich repurposes an existing scenario-based VR asset for healthsciences. The original scenario aims to prepare health care students for home visits by allowing them to experience a semi-linear conversation with a virtual Non-Player Character (NPC). This provides a safe, non-threatening environment for students to hone the necessary skills they will need once they begin their professional careers. The NPC’s simulated emotional state and reactions are changed based on the student’s choice of responses. The original scenario was written in English but the opportunity to convert it into an Italian language learningresource by changing the audio files was identified and implemented. The scenario involves learners to be recurrently selecting from a number of possible responses in order to help the virtual character with his grievances regarding his father’s care package

Chemical Speciation and Health Risk Assessment of Fine Particulate Bound Trace Metals Emitted from Ota Industrial Estate, Nigeria

In this study carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk due to exposure to PM2.5-bound trace metals from an industrial area in Southwestern Nigeria was estimated. A four-step chemical sequential extraction procedure was employed for the chemical extraction of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn). Samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Results reveal Cr and Cu as the most dominant exchangeable fraction metals, indicating possibility of their being readily soluble once PM2.5 is inhaled. Cd and Cr record the highest bioavailability index of 0.7. The cumulative lifetime cancer risks due to inhalation exposure for adults (4.25×10-2), children 1-6 years old (4.87×10-3), and children 6-18 years old (1.46×10-2) were found above Environmental Protection Agency’s acceptable range of 1×10-6 to 1×10-4. The hazard index values for all studied trace metals suggest significant potential for noncarcinogenic health risks to adults and children. The choice of chemical speciation as an essential tool in facilitating a better predictive insight on metal bioavailability and toxicity for immediate remediation action has been highlighted