Levels of some physiochemical parameters in leachates from open dumpsites in Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria

Leachates from selected dumpsites and control site in Lokoja municipal were analyzed for physiochemical properties. These parameters were compared with control samples and established international standards FEPA and WHO. Dumpsite leachates contained very high concentration of TDS which ranges between 5180.60±46.51mg/L - 3071.80±38.96mg/L, BOD 1085.60±7.44mg/L - 885.80±5.41mg/L, Alkalinity  2396.20±10.35mg/L - 1271.00±14.61mg/L. COD 4062.04±32.81mg/L - 2926.80±15.65mg/L, Chloride 1912.42±6.32mg/L - 1071.70±16.10mg/L while Ammonia ranges between 711.33±12.15 - 633.00±5.80mg/L. The study revealed that the dumpsite is a major polluting source in the surrounding environment. This underlines the need for appropriate government agency of Kogi State, Nigeria to initiate active remediation process such as phytoremediation in combination with physiochemical methods to recover the dumpsite from contaminants and reduce the level of pollution in the surrounding environment.Keywords: Dumpsite, Leachates, Physicochemical parameters, Phytoremediation

The Emergence of Resources Seeking Chinese Firms’ Specific Advantages in Emerging Market

It is argued that the role of the Chinese government to support the cross-border operations of Chinese firms is to assist these firms in overcoming their limited established brands, and their disadvantages in technology and managerial resources, which were also the reasons why such firms decided to enter emerging markets instead of developed markets. This strategic choice is preferred to avoid direct confrontation with established firms from developed countries endowed with superior ownership advantages. Therefore, Chinese resources seeking firms innovate by increasing investment in developing and emerging markets to develop unique ownership advantages for sustainable market development and competitive advantage. This research investigates the ownership advantages of resources seeking Chinese firms in these markets using the OLI theory. The paper contributes to explaining the specific advantages of Chinese MNEs when entering emerging markets. The study applied a two-stage qualitative methodology to examine Chinese firms operating in Nigeria. The first stage included an exploratory study based on interviews with key informants and experts while the second stage included a case study methodology. The study focused on resources seeking Chinese MNEs operating in Nigeria

ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WILDLIFE TO BUSHMEAT MARKETS IN IBADAN, OYO STATE

This paper examined the economic contribution of wild animals to bushmeat trade in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Five prominent bush meat markets in Ibadan and its suburb were used for the study. The selection was based on the high intensity of bush meat marketing operations identified with the markets. All sellers in each market visited were interviewed which sum up to forty four respondents. Data were collected using structured questionnaire. Budgetary analysis was done to calculate costs and return of the bushmeat sellers. Income on mammals had the highest (₦5,755,600) per annum followed by the income on birds (₦858,000) per annum and reptiles (₦182,000). In the same pattern, percentage contribution indicates that mammals contributed 84% of the total income, while wild birds contributed 12% of the total income and reptile 3%. The net profit realized from the sales of mammals was ₦4,979,000 and ₦180,900 for wild birds. Cost and return analysis showed that sale of bushmeat is a profitable venture. In addition, mammals contributed more to the economy of the market than other two classes of animal found in the bushmeat market

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

New venture evolution of migrants under institutional voids: Lessons from Shonga Farms in Nigeria

This article inductively builds theory on how transaction costs may be alleviated and institutional voids bridged in developing economies, based on the case study of successful migrant entrepreneurial involvement in Nigerian agriculture: Shonga Farms. We argue that the iterative process of building conditions of trust through long-term commitment, involvement of regional government, appropriate modes of financial contracts and the gradual transitioning of controlling interests to private actors are factors of success. We draw additional lessons by contrasting our case study with other similar migrant schemes that have failed

What Are You Looking At? Team Fight Prediction Through Player Camera

Esport is a large and still growing industry with vast audiences. Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs), a sub-genre of esports, possess a very complex environment, which often leads to experts missing important coverage while broadcasting live competitions. One common game event that holds significant importance for broadcasting is referred to as a team fight engagement. Professional player's own knowledge and understanding of the game may provide a solution to this problem. This paper suggests a model that predicts and detects ongoing team fights in a live scenario. This approach outlines a novel technique of deriving representations of a complex game environment by relying on player knowledge. This is done by analysing the positions of the in-game characters and their associated cameras, utilising this data to train a neural network. The proposed model is able to both assist in the production of live esport coverage as well as provide a live, expert-derived, analysis of the game without the need of relying on outside sources

The eEF1γ Subunit Contacts RNA Polymerase II and Binds Vimentin Promoter Region

Here, we show that the eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 gamma (eEF1γ) physically interacts with the RNA polymerase II (pol II) core subunit 3 (RPB3), both in isolation and in the context of the holo-enzyme. Importantly, eEF1γ has been recently shown to bind Vimentin mRNA. By chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments, we demonstrate, for the first time, that eEF1γ is also physically present on the genomic locus corresponding to the promoter region of human Vimentin gene. The eEF1γ depletion causes the Vimentin protein to be incorrectly compartmentalised and to severely compromise cellular shape and mitochondria localisation. We demonstrate that eEF1γ partially colocalises with the mitochondrial marker Tom20 and that eEF1γ depletion increases mitochondrial superoxide generation as well as the total levels of carbonylated proteins. Finally, we hypothesise that eEF1γ, in addition to its role in translation elongation complex, is involved in regulating Vimentin gene by contacting both pol II and the Vimentin promoter region and then shuttling/nursing the Vimentin mRNA from its gene locus to its appropriate cellular compartment for translation