An Assessment of Google Classroom Reception and Usage among Pre-service Science, Technology and Mathematics Teachers in South-West Nigeria

Abstract: An Assessment of Google Classroom Reception and Usage among Pre-service Science, Technology and Mathematics Teachers in South-West Nigeria. Objectives: The present study assessed google classroom reception and usage among preservice Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STM) teachers in south-west Nigeria. Methods: The participants were 480 preservice STM teachers purposively selected from four universities in south-west Nigeria within the blueprint of a correlational survey research design. Data analysis was carried out using mean, standard deviation, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis at 5% level of significance. Findings: Results showed that 94.1% of the variance in preservice STM teachers’ actual use of google classroom was accounted for by a combination of attitude towards use, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioural intention to use google classroom. Conclusion: Conclusively, STM teachers’ educator should promote the adoption and utilization of google classroom among the preservice STM teachers to increase their reception of google classroom for instructional purposes. Keywords: reception, google classroom, Technology Acceptance Model, preservice teachers. Abstrak: Asesmen Penerimaan dan Penggunaan Google Classroom di antara Calon Guru Sains, Teknologi, dan Matematika di Nigeria Barat Daya. Tujuan: Penelitian ini menilai penerimaan dan penggunaan kelas google di antara calon guru Sains, Teknologi, dan Matematika (STM) di Nigeria Barat Daya. Metode: Para peserta adalah 480 calon guru STM yang dipilih secara purposive dari empat universitas di Nigeria Barat Daya dalam cetak biru desain penelitian survei korelasional. Analisis data dilakukan dengan menggunakan mean, standar deviasi, koefisien korelasi product moment Pearson dan analisis regresi berganda pada taraf signifikansi 5%. Temuan: Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 94,1% variansi penggunaan aktual google classroom oleh calon guru STM disebabkan oleh kombinasi attitude towards use, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioural intention untuk menggunakan google classroom. Kesimpulan: Secara konklusif, pendidik guru STM harus mempromosikan adopsi dan pemanfaatan google classroom di antara calon guru STM untuk meningkatkan penerimaan mereka terhadap google classroom untuk tujuan pengajaran. Kata kunci: penerimaan, google classroom, Model Penerimaan Teknologi, calon guru. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23960/jpp.v12.i2.20223

COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria and Attitudes towards Mathematics Homeschooling among Pre-Tertiary Students

The emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, the Peoples Republic of China in December 2019 and it spread to Nigeria on February 27, 2020, has made the closure of educational institutions in the country a must and homeschooling inevitable. Aside from social distancing and putting on of the armour of basic health hygiene and using nose masks, COVID-19 pandemic has no curative vaccine to stop its further spread. This study investigated Nigerian pre-tertiary students' attitudes towards mathematics homeschooling during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. Deploying instrumentation survey research design, three research questions were answered and the sample consisted of 342 pre-tertiary students in South-West, Nigeria. Data collected through an internet-based questionnaire created using Google forms and loaded on the WhatsApp social media for the dissemination to the target sample were analysed using frequency, mean, standard deviation, independent samples t-test, and exploratory factor analysis. Results showed that attitudes towards mathematics homeschooling scale was a multi-dimensional construct consisting of four interpretable factor structure of distraction and parent negative attitude, home enjoyment, school enjoyment, and competition and parent positive attitude. Gender was not a factor in the attitudes towards mathematics homeschooling. Besides, pre-tertiary students recorded a high level of attitudes towards mathematics homeschooling during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. In line with these results, it was recommended that researchers and mathematics educators could adopt this assessment tool in exploring the background predictors and educational imports of attitudes towards mathematics homeschooling in mathematics learning milieu during the period of any pandemi

An overview of anti-diabetic plants used in Gabon: Pharmacology and Toxicology

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ethnopharmacological relevance: The management of diabetes mellitus management in African communities, especially in Gabon, is not well established as more than 60% of population rely on traditional treatments as primary healthcare. The aim of this review was to collect and present the scientific evidence for the use of medicinal plants that are in currect by Gabonese traditional healers to manage diabetes or hyperglycaemia based here on the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of plants with anti-diabetic activity. There are presented in order to promote their therapeutic value, ensure a safer use by population and provide some bases for further study on high potential plants reviewed. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical studies were sourced using databases such as Online Wiley library, Pubmed, Google Scholar, PROTA, books and unpublished data including Ph.D. and Master thesis, African and Asian journals. Keywords including ‘Diabetes’ ‘Gabon’ ‘Toxicity’ ‘Constituents’ ‘hyperglycaemia’ were used. Results: A total of 69 plants currently used in Gabon with potential anti-diabetic activity have been identified in the literature, all of which have been used in in vivo or in vitro studies. Most of the plants have been studied in human or animal models for their ability to reduce blood glucose, stimulate insulin secretion or inhibit carbohydrates enzymes. Active substances have been identified in 12 out of 69 plants outlined in this review, these include Allium cepa and Tabernanthe iboga. Only eight plants have their active substances tested for anti-diabetic activity and are suitables for further investigation. Toxicological data is scarce and is dose-related to the functional parameters of major organs such as kidney and liver. Conclusion: An in-depth understanding on the pharmacology and toxicology of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is lacking yet there is a great scope for new treatments. With further research, the use of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is important to ensure the safety of the diabetic patients in Gabon.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Predictors of linkage to care following community-based HIV counseling and testing in rural Kenya

Despite innovations in HIV counseling and testing (HCT), important gaps remain in understanding linkage to care. We followed a cohort diagnosed with HIV through a community-based HCT campaign that trained persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) as navigators. Individual, interpersonal, and institutional predictors of linkage were assessed using survival analysis of self-reported time to enrollment. Of 483 persons consenting to follow-up, 305 (63.2%) enrolled in HIV care within 3 months. Proportions linking to care were similar across sexes, barring a sub-sample of men aged 18–25 years who were highly unlikely to enroll. Men were more likely to enroll if they had disclosed to their spouse, and women if they had disclosed to family. Women who anticipated violence or relationship breakup were less likely to link to care. Enrolment rates were significantly higher among participants receiving a PLHA visit, suggesting that a navigator approach may improve linkage from community-based HCT campaigns.Vestergaard Frandse

Evaluation of the toxicological profile of the leaves and young twigs of Caesalpinia bonduc (Linn) Roxb.

Acute and sub-acute toxicological effects of ethanolic extract of the leaves and young twigs of Caesalpinia bonduc were carried out on albino rats. Single extract doses from 2000 to 5000 mg/kg body weight were administered orally and monitored for 14 days in acute study, while extract doses from 200 to 1600 mg/kg body weight were orally administered daily for 28 days in sub-acute study and recovery was assessed 14 days after dosing. Biochemical, haematological and histopathological examinations were carried out. There was no mortality in the experimental animals in all acute treatment doses. However, there were significant alterations in the biomarkers and induced cellular damage to the liver in all acute treatment doses. In the sub-acute toxicity treatment, the assessed biomarkers were unaffected at extract dose of 200 mg/kg body weight compared to control, while significant changes were observed in rats administered with extract doses of 400 mg/kg body weight and above. No significant difference was observed between the tested groups and the recovery groups in the sub-acute toxicity study. In conclusion, the ethanolic extract of C. bonduc could be toxic to selected organs of the rat body in acute and sub-acute treatments

The pattern of infection and in vivo response to Chloroquine by uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in northwestern Nigeria

The pattern of infection and in vivo response of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria to Chloroquine as first line drug and Quinine, Halofantrine or Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine as second line medications was evaluated at nested sentinel points, including Government and Private Practices, for three consecutive months. 559 cases were evaluated of which 22.5% failed on Chloroquine therapy. The age range of P. falciparum malaria cases was 4 months to 48 years, with a mean and median age of 9.2 and 3 years, respectively. There were significantly more female patients than male. Also, ages 5 years and below accounted for 63.2% of cases and as a group had an increased risk of treatment failure with Chloroquine compared to older patients. In general, male patients also had a higher relative risk of treatment failure on Chloroquine. Patients treated in Government practices were more likely to fail than those treated in Private practices. All cases of failure to Chloroquine treatment responded to Quinine, Halofantrine or Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine