An Investigation into Communication Climate and Staff Efficiency in South-Western Nigeria Tertiary Institutions

This study examined the relationship between communication climate and staff efficiency in selected tertiary institutions in south-western Nigeria. Using the stratified random sampling technique, 1500 workers were drawn from public and private tertiary institutions i.e Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education). The descriptive survey research design was adopted while data were collected via questionnaire tagged Communication Climate and Staff Efficiency Questionnaire (CCSEQ). This questionnaire was also complemented with an interview schedule. Five null hypotheses were generated while the Pearson's product moment correlation and t-test statistics were employed in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 error margins. Plausible recommendations were posited as a result of the findings. Keywords: Communication Climate, Staff, Staff Efficiency, Tertiary Institutions, Organization.African Research Review Vol. 2 (3) 2008: pp. 173-18

Driving Policy of Higher Education in Nigeria Towards Relevance

The educational system of a country remains the main source of human resources that when combined in the right quantity and quality would bring about the development of a nation (Nelson, 2002; Saint, 2002; Tettey, 2002; Nunn, 2005; Mouton, Boshoff, Kulati & Teng-Zeng, 2007). The implication of this is that the level of national development depends upon the quantity and quality of its human resources which in turn depend on the type of the educational system in operation

A Survey of Teacher-Student Relations in Secondary Schools.

This paper examined teacher-student relationship in selected secondary schools in Yewa North, Yewa South, Ifo, Abeokuta North, Sagamu, Remo North, Ijebu-Ode and Ijebu- East local governments. The local governments were selected based on the four geo-political zones into which Ogun state has been divided. Using a total of 80 secondary schools (private schools inclusive), 10 teachers were drawn per school totaling 800 respondents. A self-constructed questionnaire titled: Teacher-Student Relations (TSR) with a reliability coefficient (r= 0.79) was used to collect data. Five null hypotheses were generated and analysed via Z-test at 0.05 level of significance. While hypotheses 1, 2, 3 and 5 established significant differences and therefore rejected, only hypothesis 4 indicated a non-significant difference and hence accepted. It was recommended among others that teacherstudents relations must be cordial always if the teaching learning process is to yield fruitful results. African Research Review Vol. 1 (3) 2007: pp. 65-7

Pattern of ear diseases among older people

Background: The ageing process and the last stage of life is fulfilling for some and disappointing for others there is scarcity of information about the pattern of ear diseases in the older black African people, especially in Nigeria being the largest black African nation. This study aims to highlight the pattern of ear diseases among the older people to provide an objective basis for cost-effective health care planning for the increasing geriatric population in a developing country.Methods: A ten year hospital-based retrospective study at the ENT Department of University College Hospital, Ibadan. All patients aged 65 years or older were enrolled into the study. The biodata, clinical history and examination findings were retrieved.Results: A total of 507 older patients were included in the study. The male to female sex ratio was 1.1:1. Traders accounted for 200 (39.5%) of cases, 167 (32.9%) were pensioners, 100 (19.7%) were farmers and 40 (7.9%) being full-time housewives. The commonest ear disease was impacted cerumen with bilateral less than unilateral hearing loss (Presbycusis) in 93 (18.2%) of the patients. Among cases with infective ear diseases, chronic suppurative otitis media was diagnozed in 33 (6.5%) of which 26 (78.8%) were unilateral and 7 (21.2%) were bilateral. Other conditions included otomycosis in 27 (5.4%), Tinnitus in 58 (11.5%) and foreign body impaction in 2 (0.4%) of the casesConclusion: Impacted cerumen, hearing loss, and CSOM are the common diseases of the ear in elderly, thus regular Otoscopy should be part of general medical check up. Continuing medical education is recommended for the general practitioners for early recognition and referral

AC Loss and Thickness Dependence of Critical Currents in Coated Conductors

This program of research is directed toward understanding the physical properties of certain materials in superconductive “coated conductors.” Specifically investigated were Ni1−xWx alloys for use as substrate and thin films of YBa 2Cu3O7, a high- Tc superconductor with many attractive features. A study has been conducted on the magnetic properties of a series of biaxially textured Ni1−xWx materials with compositions x = 0, 3, 5, 6, and 9 at.% W. These materials are important as substrates for “RABiTS”-type coated conductors that incorporate high temperature superconductors for current transport. The quasi-static dc and ac hysteretic loss W was determined to support estimates of the ferromagnetic contribution to the overall ac loss in potential ac applications. The alloys were prepared by either vacuum casting or powder metallurgy methods, and the hysteretic loss tended to be lower in materials that were recrystallized at higher temperatures. Some samples were progressively deformed to simulate winding operations; this increased the hysteretic loss, as did sample cutting operations that create localized damage. In ac magnetization measurements, the effects of ac frequency and dc bias field on the ferromagnetic loss were determined. Furthermore, in order to better understand the complex problem of vortex pinning and the identification of defects that support the critical current density Jc in these “RABiTS”-type coated conductors, we have made magnetometric studies of the Jc flowing in thin YBa2Cu3O7−d (YBCO) films of various thicknesses d, both as a function of applied field and temperature T. The films, grown by a BaF2 ex - situ process and deposited on buffered“RABiTS” substrates of Ni-5%W, have thicknesses d ranging from 28 nm to1.5μm. Isothermal magnetization loops M(H; T) and remanent magnetization Mrem(T) in zero applied field H = 0, were measured with H c-axis (i.e., normal to film plane). The Jc(d) values, which were obtained from a modified critical state model, increase with thickness, peak near a particular thickness, and thereafter decrease as the films get thicker. For a wide range of temperatures and intermediate fields, we find a power law falloff Jc ∝ H−β with β ∼ (0.56 - 0.69) for all materials. This feature compares well with the power-law exponent β = 5/8 obtained theoretically by Ovchinnikov and Ivlev for pinning by large random defects, as are observed by TEM. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with experimental Jc(H, T, d) yields a mostly consistent picture, using values for the size and density of defects that are comparable with those deduced from TEM images. Finally, for higher temperatures approaching the irreversibility line, we find J(T, sf) ∝ (1 − T/Tc)n with n ∼ 1.1 - 1.3. This points to “δTc inning” (pinning that suppresses Tc locally) in all of these YBCO materials, as expected for the observed large, non-superconducting defects

Acanthosis nigricans in the head and neck region

Background: The sudden appearance of acanthosis nigricans on the skin of an individual is highly suggestive of an underlying clinical disease. However, there is no information on its possible association with head and neck disease in our environment. Objective: To determine the prevalence of acanthosis nigricans and identifying the underlying associated medical and oncologic factor in an Otorhinolaryngologic, head and neck practice.Method: This was a 12-month prospective study of patients seen at Otorhinolaryngology department of University College Hospital, Ibadan. Relevant clinical, anthropometric and biochemical information were obtained with an interviewer assisted questionnaire and data analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Of 764 patients, 85(11.13%) had head and neck malignancies, 15(1.96%) had diabetes mellitus in addition to the Otorhinolaryngologic, head and neck diseases. The body massindex values for male and female ranged from 18.26 – 25.68kg/m² and 17.94 – 30.25kg/m² respectively. Only two patients, one with nasopharyngeal cancer and the other with obesity in addition tochronic rhinosinusitis had acanthosis nigricans.Conclusion: Acanthosis nigricans is not common among Otorhinolaryngologic patients in our clinical setting with a prevalence of 0.003. Nevertheless, its presence should herald the suspicion of an underlying metabolic or oncologic disease.Keywords: Acanthosis Nigricans, Otorhinolaryngology, Head, Nec

Management and Leadership in The Contemporary University: Strategies For A Rescue Operation.

Universities will continue to require professional specialists to deal with increasingly rigorous legislative and audit requirements relating to, for instance, finance, academic excellence, the estate, and equal opportunities; and a proportion or these roles are likely to be filled by strategic institutional managers and leaders. However, universities also require experts to work across internal boundaries and to interpret and contextualize the obligations placed on them by different constituencies. In the same vein, another professionals may be an expanding group who facilitate institutional adaptation to more fluid internal and external environments, as systematic, evidence-based approaches to planning and decision. The object of this write-up therefore is to evolve an improved leadership and management strategies within the context of the contemporary universities. Keywords: Management. Leadership, University, Administratio

Empirical Analysis of School Plant Planning as a Determinant of Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance

The school could be viewed as an organized environment where educational curricular are interpreted. It is a formal structured organization which serves as a transitional stage in life between family and the society (Olabode, 2002; Musa, 2004; Tabir, 2004). Conversely, the school plant according to Nwokafor and others (2001), is the totality of all things that make up a school system. It involves the physical and material facilities in form of buildings, school site and the environment that embody the school

Aerobic bacteria and fungal isolates in maxillary sinusitis of adults in a resource poor environment

Background: Infective rhinosinusitis is a common clinical condition which if left unattended to could result in various degrees of both morbidity and mortality. We aimed to identify aerobic and fungal organisms implicated in acute and chronic maxillary sinusitis and determine their antibiotic sensitivity patterns among adults in South Western Nigeria.Materials and methods: This was a cross sectional study of adults with clinical and radiological diagnosis of maxillary sinusitis treated at the University College Hospital, Ibadan over a period of one-year. Semi- structured questionnaire was administered to each consented adult to obtain relevant demographic and clinical data. Maxillary antral proof puncture was done to obtain specimen for microscopy, culture and sensitivity for aerobic bacterial and fungal isolates. Descriptive statistics was used in the data analysis.Results: Seventy-nine patients (49.4% males and 50.6% females) with acute maxillary sinusitis (17.7%), and chronic maxillary sinusitis (82.3%) were recruited into the study. The mean age of the patients was 32.9 years (SD=12.78; Range: 19- 59). All patients presented with rhinorrhea while 92.8% had nasal obstruction. Fifty eight (73.4%) patients had history of antibiotic usage before presentation. Eight (57.1%) of the specimens from acute maxillary sinusitis cases and 40 (61.5%) of the specimens from chronic maxillary sinusitis yielded significant growth of bacteria and fungi respectively while 2 (3.5%) yielded mixed bacterial growth. Organisms commonly isolated from these specimens were Streptococcus pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, and Aspergillus spp. The bacteria isolates were sensitive to Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Perfloxacin, Sparfloxacin and Ceftriaxone.Conclusion: The leading aerobic bacterial isolates from acute and chronic maxillary sinusitis were Streptococcus pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. Fungal infections are seen only in chronic cases. It is recommended that where there are no microbiologic laboratory facilities, any of Ciprofloxacin, Perfloxacin, Sparfloxacin, and Amoxicillin can be administered empirically to treat infective maxillary sinusitis.Keywords: Aerobic bacteria, Fungus, Maxillary sinus, Rhinosinusiti

Tracheostomy Decannulation: Suprastomal Granulation Tissue in Perspective

Background: Suprastomal granulation tissue is a complication of tracheostomy which may make decannulation difficult and presents a therapeutic challenge to the Otorhinolaryngologists. The aims of this study therefore were to evaluate tracheostomy in black African population, determine the prevalence of suprastomal granulation tissue and provide updated information on it that will enable the otorhinolaryngologists to better understand and manage the lesion.Methods: We reviewed case files of patients who had tracheostomy between 1993 and 2007 at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria for essential clinical data.Results: Of the 256 patients who had tracheostomy, 133(51.95%) had prior orotracheal intubation for 10 – 21days. Suprastomal granulation tissue complicated 16 (6.25%) cases, this accounted for 88.89% of cases of failed decannulation. Indications for tracheostomy in these patients included severe head injury in 12 (75%), tetanus in 3 (18.75%)] and intubation granuloma in 1(6.25%) of these cases. Sixteen (4.3%) cases had stomal infection.Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of suprastomal granulation is high among our patients. There is a need for good surgical tracheostomy technique to prevent this complication and stomal infection should be promptly treated while cuffed orotracheal intubation for more than two weeks in unconscious and tetanus patients should be avoided