Impact of job satisfaction, job attitude and equity on the performance of non-academic staff of Bauchi State University Nigeria: The moderating role of physical working environment

Creating motivational measures that are capable of enhancing employee job satisfaction is paramount to every organisation due to the fact that is brings about positive job attitude and also bring about perceived equity among employees in the workplace. However, the physical environment at which employee work is also believed to have a great deal on determining the level of employee job satisfaction, job attitude and perceived equity on performance of an employee. Therefore providing a conducive physical working environment is critical to organisations as it will further enhance job satisfaction, job attitude and equity which will result to higher employee performance. This study examines the impact of job satisfaction, job attitude and job equity on the performance of non-academic staff of Bauchi state University Gadau Nigeria with physical working environment as the moderator variable. Therefore, a total number of two hundred and seventy questionnaires were given out non- academic staff of BASUG using systematic random sampling and data collected is analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The result of the study finds that there is positive and significant relationship between job satisfaction, job attitude and job equity on the performance of non- academic staff of the University. The findings further suggest that physical environment negatively moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and employee performance while it positively moderate the relationship between job attitude and job equity on performance of the non- academic staff of the University. Therefore, the study will serve as a policy guide to the management of the University in areas relating to employee performance improvement and it will also further make an impetus the field of organisational behaviour and human resource managemen

Serum sodium and potassium levels in pregnant women from Minjibir local government, Kano – Nigeria

Blood samples collected from one hundred and twenty(120) pregnant women attending ante-natal care services in Minjibir General Hospital, Minjibir local government of Kano State and fourty(40) non-pregnant women as control were analysed for serum Na and K levels. The level of sodium in the blood samples range from 122mmol/L to 151mmol/L. The amount of potassium varied from 2.4mmol/L to 5.2mmol/L. The results show disturbance in the electrolytes in some of the pregnant women as the levels were not within the normal range (Na: 135mmol/L - 145mmol/L and K: 3.5 – 5.0mmol/L). The disturbance may be due to some reasons such as vomitting, low fluid intake, drugs and malnutrition

Determination of serum chloride ion concentration in pregnant women from Minjibir local government area, Kano State Nigeria

Serum chloride ion level in blood samples of pregnant women attending ante-natal care clinic in Minjibir was investigated. The mean and standard deviation of the ion in the samples is 100.51± 4.89mmol/L. The distribution is skewed towards high frequency of low concentrations and could be attributed to electrolyte disturbance in some of these women. This disturbance may be due to vomitting, low fluid intake, drugs and malnutrition.Keywords: Chloride ion, pregnant women, ante-nata

Islamic Leadership Accountability Of Umar Bin Abdulaziz: A Lessons Towards A Good Governance In Nigeria

 There is no doubt leadership has been given a tremendous place and a key positioning in Islam, Qur’an, Sunnah and the consensus of Ulama’u (Muslim scholars) have made it apparent about the necessity of leadership among the Muslim community. Most recently, the issue of leadership in Nigeria has become a major concern to the Nigerians. Whilst some research has been conducted to examine the solutions to Nigerian leadership, little attention has been paid to Islamic approaches of accountability which is the vital pillar of governance as the key towards sustainable leadership in Nigeria. This study therefore seeks to explore the lessons from leadership and accountability during the caliphate of Umar bin Abdulaziz (R.A) as a panacea to Nigerian Leaders.The methodology of the study relies on critical and comprehensive analysis of the existing published literature related to the topic. Hence, data collection is effected through the qualitative method. The findings of this study revealed that there are lots of lessons and wisdoms that Nigerian government could acquire from the history of caliphate Umar such as his reformations and innovations in governing the state as reflected in siyasah shar’iyyah which can be solution for practicing good governance in Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended that fear of Allah and believing in accountability is the best option for leaders.Key words: Leadership, Islam, Model, Accountability, Good Governance

Dynamic Relationship among Education, Poverty and Economic

This study examined the dynamic relationship among education, poverty and economic growth in Nigeria from 1986 to 2011. The study employed secondary data sourced from World Bank World Development Indicators, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) annual reports and statement of accounts and statistical bulletin. The data were analyzed using Unit Root Test, Co-integration, Error Correction Mechanism, and Granger Causality Test. There is long run relationship among education, poverty and economic growth in Nigeria. There is a unidirectional causality from poverty to economic growth at 5 percent level of significance; but there is no causal relationship between education and poverty, education and economic growth and between poverty and economic growth at 5 percent level of significance. The study recommends among others that policies that can improve literacy rate such as acquisition of skills, entrepreneurship education or development, small scale enterprise that can reduce the level of poverty in Nigeria should be adopted

Literature as a chronicle of social history: The historical antecedents of the Ikemefuna story in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

Few critical works have been produced aimed at discovering the sources for Achebe’s novels and how he has adapted the factual materials to create his fiction. Understandably, it is difficult to do a source study of works of an iconic writer such as Achebe. The present study sets out to re-examine the story of Okonkwo and Ikemefuna in view of a similar incident that happened about the same period and in the same area in which Things Fall Apart is set. The objective is to underscore the relevance of literature in chronicling and disseminating the socio-cultural values and ideals of the societies that were confronted with the challenges of colonialism in the wake of the twentieth century. Consequently, an actual incident that took place between two neighbouring communities to Achebe’s home community is here analyzed as the possible source for the Okonkwo and Ikemefuna narrative in Things Fall Apart. The two incidents are analyzed along the lines of the location and period of the action; the key characters involved; the murder and the reparation process. Explanations are based on some aspects of Igbo customs and traditions. The historical incident provides some details that are missing from the novel. The task in Ngozi Udengwu & Mohammed Umar-Buratai: Literature as a Chronicle of Social History...... 110 this essay is to identify the parallels between the historical incident and the recreation in the story but with a particular focus on history, location/setting and characterization. However, the names of the historical actors are masked because their descendants are still alive and related to one of the researchers

The Dynamic Impacts of Idle Cash on Economic Growth in Nigeria (1985 – 2018)

The study investigated the dynamic effect of idle cash on economic growth in Nigeria from 1985 to 2018 employing a mixed methodology.  The qualitative result revealed that political affluence, social status, treasury single account, asset declaration, biometric verification number, whistle-blower programme, and the empowering operation of economic and financial crime commission for anti-corruption crusade determine idle cash in Nigeria. On the other hand, the quantitative result revealed that idle cash has an inverse effect on economic growth in the short run. However, the long run result revealed a positive, and statistically significant effect on the economic growth, and it was found that idle cash Granger causes economic growth. We recommend that the government should provide a policy regulation framework that will regulate, track and checkmate the superfluousness of idle cash

Purification, Characterization and De-Staining Potentials of a Thermotolerant Protease Produced by Fusarium oxysporum

Proteases are important industrial enzymes and fungi prove to be good sources of such enzymes. Purification techniques are however necessary for increased specificity in activity and better industrial value. Based on this, a protease produced by a Fusarium oxysporum was purified to homogeneity by Sephadex G-200 column and α–casein agarose chromatography. The enzyme had a molecular weight of 70 kDa in SDS-PAGE. Purified Fusarium oxysporum protease had a specific activity of 93.88 U/mg protein. The purification magnitude was 7.7 and the total yield was 20 %. Purified protease had an optimum pH of 5.0 while the optimum temperature was 40 °C. The enzyme was also thermotolerant (approximately 100 % at 40 °C for 2 h). The enzyme activity was stimulated by surfactants and metal ions like, Tween-20 and Mg2+. Enzyme activity was inhibited in presence of PMSF and EDTA. Casein was found to be the best substrate for protease activity of Fusarium oxysporum FWT1. Protease were tested upon blood stain for de-clotting of blood and was found to exhibit good de-clotting and de-staining activity after 15 minutes treatment time

Mechanical and flammability properties of poly(lactic acid)/ poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blends and nanocomposites: effects of compatibilizer and graphene

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/polybutylene adipate co-terephthalate (PBAT) blends were prepared by melt blending and compatibilized by glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The effect of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) on these compatibilized blends were investigated by incorporating GNP at different content. The formulated blend and nanocomposites were characterized for mechanical, morphological, thermal and flammability properties by using universal testing machine, impact tester, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), limiting oxygen index (LOI) and UL-94 respectively. The incorporation of 8 phr GMA into PLA/PBAT (75:25) blend as a compatibilizer results in a significant increase in impact strength (more than 14 times higher) compared to the uncompatibilized blend. Young's modulus and tensile strength of compatibilized PLA/PBAT nanocomposites increased upon addition of GNP and reached maximum values at 4 phr before decreasing slightly. However, impact strength decreased with increasing GNP contents. The thermal stability and the flame retardancy of the GNP reinforced blend nanocomposites were also improved with an increase in nanofiller content and the maximum values for the nanocomposites were achieved at 6 phr. Interestingly, the nanocomposites samples showed a UL-94 rating of V0 at 4 and 6 phr of GNP. Morphological studies using FESEM showed the GNP were evenly distributed and dispersed in the PLA/PBAT nanocomposites. The current methodology to prepare PLA/PBAT blend nanocomposite is an economical way to produce high strength biodegradable polymer which also has good flame retardancy

Synthesis of activated carbon from spent tea leaves for aspirin removal

Adsorption capacity of activated carbon prepared from spent tea leaves (STL-AC) for the removal of aspirin from aqueous solution was investigated in this study. Preliminary studies have shown that treatment with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) increased removal efficiency of STL-AC. Characterizations on STL-AC revealed excellent textural properties (1200 m2·g− 1, 51% mesoporosity), as well as distinctive surface chemistry (1.08 mmol·g− 1 and 0.54 mmol·g− 1 for acidic and basic oxygenated groups, pHpzc = 2.02). Maximum removal efficiency of aspirin observed was 94.28% after 60 min when the initial concentration was 100 mg·L− 1, 0.5 g of adsorbent used, pH 3 and at a temperature of 30 °C. The adsorption data were well fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model and obeyed the pseudo-second order kinetics model. The adsorption of aspirin onto STL-AC was exothermic in nature (ΔHϴ = − 13.808 kJ·mol− 1) and had a negative entropy change, ΔSϴ (− 41.444 J·mol− 1). A negative Gibbs free energy, ΔGϴ was obtained indicating feasibility and spontaneity of the adsorption process. The adsorption capacity of AC-STL (178.57 mg·g− 1) is considerably high compared to most adsorbents synthesized from various sources, due to the well-defined textural properties coupled with surface chemistry of STL-AC which favors aspirin adsorption. The results demonstrate the potential of STL-AC as aspirin adsorbent