Intra-urban traffic and parking demand in Uyo Urban Area

In Nigeria, the dominant mode of intra-urban mobility is the automobile motor vehicle. However, parking facilities as element of urban transportation development seems to be neglected in the face of increasing car ownership on the hand and increasing activities which generate enormous parking demand on the other. The aim of this study is to examine the intra-urban circulation and parking demand against the background of noticeable problems of parking in Uyo metropolis. An empirical design approach was employed in the investigation and vehicular trip generation count at designated activity areas was carried out between the hours of Bam 11am from Monday to Friday. Regression models were employed to measure the relationship between parking demand and parking space capacity per activity area. The result shows that while parking space demand is very high, the activity areas with less parking facilities, receives less patronage. The study recommends a comprehensive parking programme for Uyo metropoli

Power control in cognitive radios, Internet-of Things (IoT) for factories and industrial automation

Cognitive radio (CR) is fast emerging as a promising technology that can meet the machine-to machine (M2M) communication requirements for spectrum utilization and power control for large number of machines/devices expected to be connected to the Internet-of Things (IoT). Power control in CR as a secondary user can been modelled as a non-cooperative game cost function to quantify and reduce its effects of interference while occupying the same spectrum as primary user without adversely affecting the required quality of service (QoS) in the network. In this paper a power loss exponent that factors in diverse operating environments for IoT is employed in the non-cooperative game cost function to quantify the required power of transmission in the network. The approach would enable various CRs to transmit with lesser power thereby saving battery consumption or increasing the number of secondary users thereby optimizing the network resources efficiently

Petroleum profits tax, company income tax and economic growth in Nigeria 1980–2018

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the long run relationship existing between petroleum profit and companies’ income taxes and economic growth in Nigeria in the period of 1980 to 2018. This is premised on realizing the role of taxation as a critical aspect of an economy’s fiscal policy framework. -- Design/Methodology/Approach: The secondary data for 39 years period. The analytical tools were Augmented DickeyFuller (ADF) unit root-test, Engle Granger Procedure Cointegration test, Parsimonious Error Correction Mechanism (ECM), Durbin-Watson statistic and over parameterized model. -- Findings: The results of the analysis reveal a positively significant association of studied variables with (0.9844) and (0.9471) co-efficients for petroleum profit tax and companies income tax respectively in relation independent variables integrate with the dependent variable at first order. This indicates long run relationship. Also, the parsimonious results shows a positive co-efficients of (3.6344) and (2.7644) and (2.7629) for t-values of CIT and PPT on economic growth. -- Originality/Value: In view of the results, government’s tactful handling of issues that are tax related was recommended so as to stimulate additional investments, entrepreneurial activities and innovations. The study contributes to the taxation and fiscal policy research by increasing our knowledge and understanding on the relationship subsisting between taxation revenue and economic growth.peer-reviewe

Mediated Instruction and Redundancy Remediation in Sciences in Secondary Schools in Uyo Urban

The study was on Mediated Instruction and Redundancy Remediation in sciences in secondary schools in Uyo urban. Two hypotheses were postulated. Quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study with a total of 200 students purposively sampled from two secondary schools. 50 students each were used as experimental and control groups in the two schools selected. A computer designed instruction on circulatory system developed on power point projection was used in treating the experimental group, while the expository pedagogical strategy was used to teach the control groups on the same lesson. Redundancy remediation achievement test (RRAT) was developed to test the ability levels of students in both the experimental and control groups. The RRAT‟ had a reliability coefficient of .85. The data were analyzed using t-test statistics. Data analysis revealed that use of mediated instruction significantly removed redundancy for science students also the use of mediated instruction influenced academic achievement of science students in secondary schools. Some of the recommendations include that science teachers should be trained to use ICT facilities in order to integrate it into the teaching learning situation and also that Internet facilities should be provided in all schools to ensure its utilization by both science teachers and students

Effect of Blended Instructional Strategy on Commerce Students Academic Performance in Secondary Schools in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria

Teaching and learning are dynamic activities that are predicated on a number of factors. The pedagogical strategy used determines the effectiveness of the teacher and students’ academic performance. This study was therefore on the effect of blended instructional strategy on Commerce students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were raised to direct the study. The study adopted the pretest- postest non randomized quasi experimental design. Diffusion of Innovative theory and the Material-First-Rationale-Model were used to develop Commerce Instructional Package for experimentation. Two schools out of the 13 secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area met the requirement for selection and were used for the study. The sample size of 240 students in both the urban and rural schools were selected and used for the study using the simple random sampling technique. An instructional package on Commerce was developed and used in treating the experimental groups while the control groups were taught using the expository teaching strategy. Both the control and the experimental groups were pretested before treatment. Commerce Performance Test was used to examine the effect of the package and the difference in students’ performance. All the students in both control and the experimental groups were post-tested. Their scripts were marked and their scores used for analysis with the help of mean and Analysis of Co-variance. Results of the analysis showed a significant difference in academic performance of Commerce students taught with blended instructional strategy and those taught with expository method. There was also a significant difference in academic performance of male and female students as well as those students in urban and rural school location. Based on these results, the following recommendations were made to improve the teaching of Commerce and academic performance of students namely that blended instruction should be adopted in teaching Commerce and that in-service training, seminars and workshops should be organised by Government and other stake holders in Education to update the knowledge of teachers in the use of ICTs and web-based instructional strategies among other recommendations. 

Coconut Coir Dust Ion Exchange Resins for Removal of Ni2+ ion from Aqueous Solution

The ability of coconut coir dust, a natural adsorbent made from dried coconut husk as a non conventional and low cost sorbent for the removal of Ni2+ from aqueous solution was examined. The adsorption capacity was found to be dependent on the contact time and initial concentration which increased along with contact time and initial ion concentration but latter decreased with 15mg/L for the three resins (coconut coir dust (CCD), carboxylated toluene resin (CTR), and sulphonated toluene resin (STR)). Maximum adsorption was obtained after a contact time of 90minutes at an initial concentration of 15mg/L. The results were analyzed by Langmuir and Flory-Huggins isotherm. The sorption process was best described by Langmuir isotherm which indicates monolayered adsorption and chemisorption. Adsorption was found to follow pseudo-second order kinetics with average rate constant of 1.3287g/mg min. Adsorbents obtained from coconut can be used as sorbent for removing metal ions from aqueous solution. Keywords: Adsorption, coir dust, ion exchange, Ni2+ions, kinetics, isotherm

Mediated Instruction and Redundancy Mediation

The study was on Mediated Instruction and Redundancy Remediation in sciences in secondary schools in Uyo urban. Two hypotheses were postulated. A survey and quasi-experimental designs were adopted in the study. A total of 200 students were selected from two secondary schools purposively sampled for the study. 50 students each were used as experimental and control groups in the two schools selected. A computer designed instruction on circulatory system developed on power point projection was used in treating the experimental group, while the expository pedagogical strategy was used to teach the control groups on the same lesson. A fifteen item structures questionnaire developed on a four point rating scale was used to elicit information on availability of ICT facilities in schools and their influence on redundancy remediated during science lessons. Equally redundancy remediation achievement test (RRAT) was developed to test the ability levels of students in both the experimental and control groups. The questionnaire had a reliability coefficient of .72 while the ‘RRAT’ had .85 respectively. The data were analyzed using t-test statistics. The result of the analysis revealed that use of mediated instruction significantly removed redundancy for science students also the use of mediated instruction influenced academic achievement of science students in secondary schools. Some recommendations were made to encourage the teaching and learning of science subjects in secondary schools. Some of the recommendations include that science teachers should be trained to use ICT facilities in order to integrate it into the teaching learning situation and also that Internet facilities should be provided in all schools to ensure its utilization by both science teachers and students

Agricultural Co-Operatives and Training of Male and Female Farmers on Improved Rice (Oryza sativa) Production Techniques in Ini Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study assessed the extent to which agricultural cooperatives carryout the training of male and female farmers on improved rice (Oryza sativa) production techniques in Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria using research questions for 2,500 (male and female) rice farmer cooperative members in the study Area. Data analysis for 1600 completed questionnaire collected revealed that male and female farmers were not efficiently trained by agricultural cooperatives on improved rice production techniques. Moreso, there were no significant difference on the extent of carrying out the training of male and female farmers by agricultural cooperatives on improved rice production techniques in Ini Local Government Area. It is recommended among others that Agricultural cooperatives should organize periodic training sessions for rice farmers through the use of facilities and demonstration in the farm. The Government, through The Ministry of Agriculture should encourage and support agricultural cooperatives by providing materials and adequate funding to enable them perform their primary assignment creditably

The Challenges of Human Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Way Forward

The increased interaction of societies on a global dimension evidently provides for the overall need for human security especially in the African continent where the number of conflicts is still overwhelming. This paper examined the challenges of human security in Sub-Saharan Africa with a view to suggesting the way forward. Anchored on a qualitative method and with reliance on secondary sources of data, it argued that there is need to better understand the nature of the rapidly evolving large-scale challenges that can have a major impact on individuals and populations. The paper further observed that it is imperative to strengthen the mobilization of wide range of actors involved in policy formulation that affects the unfolding dangers of human security in order to curtail them. It recommended the promotion of human capacity building in African states, assistance to states in the region to tackle HIV/AIDs and other contagious diseases, promoting the active participation of communities and representatives of civil society in the planning and implementation of development programs among others and concluded that though the challenges of human security in the continent are overwhelming, a proper implementation of these measures could ensure security for the vulnerable populations in the region

Households’ Decision to Participate in Cooperative Organizations: Evidence from Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria

Farmer organizations are effective mechanisms for increasing agricultural production, income and reducing poverty. Regrettably, farmers have not taken advantage of the lofty benefits accruable to those who voluntarily join these organizations. The study estimated the factors influencing household’s decision to participate in cooperative organizations and also tested the level of agreement among identified constraints linked with participation. Multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 120 farmers for the study. Primary data were obtained using questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Probit model and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. Results of analyses revealed that the mean age, years of educational attainment household size and years of farming experience were 32, 15, 5 and 7 respectively. Result of probit analysis further indicate that age of the farmer, farm income, household size, participation in meeting, major decision maker, distance of farm to the nearest road and farmers social status were the most critical factors influencing household’s decision to participate in cooperative organizations. Result of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance revealed that there was 0.42 (moderate agreement) between the ranking of constraints associated with farmers' participation in cooperative organizations. Furthermore, findings showed that the top five factors limiting households’ decision to participate in cooperative organizations were inadequate capital accumulation, high embezzlement of funds, poor leadership, recurring internal crises and lack of initiative. Policies to provide good and accessible roads, increase farmers incomes and encourage youths are rational options that will enhance effective participation in cooperative organizations