The teaching and learning of word problems in beginning algebra : a Nigerian (Lagos State) study

At both the junior and senior secondary school levels in Nigeria, student performance in mathematics examinations has been poor. Within the context of large classes, with inadequate facilities, and teaching and learning in a second language, algebra and algebra word problems are introduced to students during their first year of junior secondary school. The transition from primary school arithmetic to the use of the algebraic letter is challenging to students and it is important that teachers should know the likely difficulties and misconceptions students may have as they begin algebra (Welder, 2012). In this study, the impact of a teacher professional learning program on teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and practice was examined. The impact on students’ ability to solve word problems in beginning algebra was also investigated. To do this, a multiple case study was designed and data were collected using quantitative and qualitative methods. Thirty teachers of first year junior secondary students completed a questionnaire and this provided general information about the teachers’ beliefs and algebra teaching practice. After this, 12 of the teachers actively participated and collaborated in a professional learning workshop designed as an intervention program. The program focused on enhancing the teachers’ knowledge of student misconceptions about variables, expressions and equations, and language-based teaching strategies. Four teachers and their classes, two each from public and private schools, served as case studies and provided further data about the impact of the intervention program. Before and after the intervention program, lessons were observed, students completed algebra tests and some of them were interviewed using the Newman interview protocol. The data for each case study were analysed and the key findings generated from each of them were used for a cross-case analysis. The study revealed that these Nigerian teachers had mainly traditional beliefs about mathematics teaching and that teacher-talk dominated the classroom practice. Prior to the intervention, the teachers had limited knowledge of students’ algebra misconceptions and the students’ main difficulty was that they did not understand the questions. The professional learning increased the teachers’ knowledge of algebra, their pedagogical content knowledge and their awareness of algebra misconceptions. The teachers used more student-centred and language-based teaching strategies when working on algebra problems. There was a significant improvement in students’ problem-solving success on the post-test because more students were able to understand the word problems and displayed fewer misconceptions. The incidences of ignoring the algebraic letter, believing that the algebraic letters cannot have the same value and confusing product and sum reduced. However, the use of the letter as an object or a label and a belief that the algebraic letter had alphabetical positioning persisted. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of the professional learning model used in this study and it should be considered for more widespread implementation with in-service teachers. There is also an implication for pre-service teacher education. Mathematics education programs should ensure that student teachers are aware of common algebra misconceptions and the language-based strategies needed to support school students’ transition from arithmetic to algebra

Attitudes and Perception of Corrupt Practices among Public Officials in the Agricultural Sector in Southwestern Nigeria

Corruption constitutes greater challenge threatening the wellbeing of our economy more than other social malaise, yet it has not been a major focus of social research. Attitudes and perception of corrupt practices among public officers in the agricultural sector in southwestern Nigeria was therefore investigated. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 174 public officers from Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MANR) from Oyo, Ekiti and Osun States. Data was collected using structured questionnaire on respondents’ perception and attitude to different forms of corruption. Data were summarized using frequency counts, percentages, mean and charts. Majority (89.0%) of respondents indicated favourable attitude to influence peddling, patronage (78.0%), pork barreling (70.0%), private use of government resources (65.0%) and bureaucratic conflict of interest (56.0%). At least 50.0% of respondents from each of ADP and MANR showed favourable attitude to corrupt practices. More than half (52.3%) of the respondents had favourable perception of corruption. Majority of the respondents from ADP (52.4%) and MANR (52.2%) indicated a favourable perception of corruption. No significant difference existed in attitude (t=0.954; p>0.05) and perception (t=0.787; p>0.05) of corruption between respondents from the ADP and MANR. A veritable culture of corruption and a high level of tolerance for most forms of corruption prevailed among the public officials in the agricultural sector in southwestern Nigeria. Public orientation using the media and other public enlightenment strategies in order to engender attitudinal change among corrupt public officials should be pursued as a matter of national emergency. Keywords: Perception of corruption, corrupt attitudes, agricultural sector, southwestern Nigeria

Comparative analysis of the role of for-profit and non-profit private organizations in agricultural extension

The increasing private sector\'s participation in agricultural extension delivery is, complimenting significantly contributing to the public sector\'s effort. It is essential to understand how different private organizations with nuances and goals set about their extension service delivery to the mutual benefit of both the service provider and the clientele. This study investigated and compared the roles of for-profit the British American Tobacco Company and non-profit private organizations of the Farmers Development Union and the Diocesan Agricultural Development Programme in agricultural extension service delivery in South-western Nigeria. Data were collected using interview schedule from 218 for-profit and 304 non-profit organizations\' clientele selected by multistage random sampling technique, totalling 522 respondents. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Mean ages of respondents varied between 49.6 years and 47.1 years for profit-oriented and non-profit private organizations, respectively. At least 95% for-profit participants were married compared with 74.6% of the non-profit private organizations\' clientele. In the case of non-profit organizations there were significant relationships between the level of achievement and gender (x2 = 13.74, p < .01), land tenure status (x2 = 22.33,

Understanding the Support for Municipal Green Bin Programs

As food waste increases globally, many cities have implemented curbside collection of food waste (aka green bin programs) to divert food waste from landfills. However, not all municipalities in Ontario have green bin programs. A factor responsible for the adoption of green bin programs is the community support for the program. The study results are based on 407 completed surveys from randomly selected households in London, Ontario (a municipality without a green bin program) and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario (a municipality with a green bin program). Surveys were used to collect data to understand: i) the predictors of household green bin support and, ii) the difference in green bin support between both cities. Household food wasting and waste diversion variables were used to predict green bin support. As hypothesized, food wasting, and waste diversion variables were able to predict green bin support and Kitchener-Waterloo respondents were more supportive than those from London. Concern for environmental impact, convenience and norms favouring green bin use were the strongest predictors of green bin support in all three models (Kitchener-Waterloo, London and pooled sample). Composting, amount of food wasted, good provider identity, personal norms against food wasting, and food waste education were predictors in two models (London and pooled sample) while age was only a predictor one model (pooled sample). Municipalities looking to improve green bin support should consider educating their residents on food waste reduction and future research should investigate whether green bin support translates to green bin behaviour

Who Is Afraid Of Ẹfúnṣetán Aníwúrà? Performing Power in Yoruba Masculinist Oligarchy

The iconic Yoruba female personage of Ẹfúnṣetán Aníwúrà has, in several studies, been vilified; and at a first glance, it would seem that Akinwunmi Isola’s eponymous protagonist and heroine of that play reinforces the image of a villainous, wicked and self-centred woman. Contextualized within the Yoruba socio-political and economic national narratives of the late18th and early 19th centuries, this image appears both problematic and complexly contradictory. It is therefore useful to appropriately recuperate and verify the status of Ẹfúnṣetán Aníwúrà within the backdrop of Yoruba cultural context. This is illustrated through a feminist re-reading of Ẹfúnṣetán’s actions and character against the grain of the Yoruba masculinist cultural backcloth and the uneven devolution of powers of her time. In this essay, we make the argument that Isola’s heroine astutely resists and rejects the cultural prescriptivism and master narratives of the powerful masculinist oligarchy of that period. We therefore suggest that in spite of Isola’s seeming pejorative representation of Ẹfúnṣetán, the chieftain adumbrates possibilities for more equitable gender relations in her time

Extents of sharp practices in credit allocation and utilization among staff and beneficiaries of the Bank of Agriculture in Oyo State

One of the strategies employed in the implementation of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) is to harness the roles of major stakeholders along the nodes of agricultural value chain. Pivotal among these are the financial institutions, one of which is the Bank of Agriculture (BOA). However, financial institutions are not immune to the widespread incidence of sharp practices (SPs) and corruption that have crumbled similar laudable programmes. Thus,the extent of SPs in credit allocation and utilization among staff and beneficiaries of BOAin Oyo State was examined.Simple random sampling technique was employed to select 135 respondents comprising 110 beneficiaries and 25 officers of the BOA for the study from the total number of registered BOA beneficiaries and staff. Primary data were obtained through questionnaires and interview schedules and analysedusing descriptive statistics - frequencies and percentages.Of the beneficiaries, 39.7% and 52% of the credit officers were between the ages of 41 and 50 and 51.8% of the beneficiaries were livestock farmers. Credit diversion and breach of contractual agreement were major forms of SPs respondents engaged in. High rate of default as well as lateness in the disbursement of farm credit were major problems in credit allocation and utilization. In conclusion, most of the respondents had unfavourable perception towards SPs, showing that they know it is counter-productive. Ironically, they engaged in it. The study recommends appropriate mechanisms including thorough monitoring, reward and sanction should be used to curb the SPs.Keywords: Credit allocation and utilisation, Sharp practices, Bank of Agriculture

Migration and Identities in Chika Unigwe’s Novels

Monumental dispersals caused by the phenomenon of migration greatly affect the identities of people. Much like the process of globalization, migration is highly sexualized and gendered. To this extent, it is necessary to centralize women and their peculiar experiences in migration discourses and theories. Beyond the usual focus on the economics, politics and sociology of migration, which at any rate do not often adequately address gender-specific migratory experiences; this study takes a literary route that considers the fictional representations of migrant women in two of the novels of Chika Unigwe: The Phoenix (2005) and On Black Sisters’ Street (2008). The focus here is to underscore the validity and significance of gender as an imperative analytical premise in contemporary literary debates particularly by African migrants. In demonstrating how the inflections of gender portend different outcomes for men and women, the study significantly uncovers how the woman’s body is simultaneously the site of physical and symbolic migration. The essay traces the movement in transition and the impact of these and new environment on the bodies of female migrants and how the embodied motifs of migration ultimately alter the identities and realities of migrant African women in particular. In all, the essay hopes to expand some of the current theorizations on the new directions in the development of the fictional representations of Nigerian women as well as to contextualize the role of the émigré author in these developments.

Perceptions of academic staff about mentoring in a Faculty of Dentistry in a public university in South Africa

Mentoring programs contribute to the development and retention of academics in dental education. To describe the perceptions of academic staff of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of the Western Cape, South Africa, about a funded pilot mentoring process. Cross-sectional, purposive sampling qualitative design. Twenty mentees who had engaged in the funded mentoring process were targeted for semi-structured interviews, to describe their perceptions about the ongoing mentorship process, experiences in other mentoring processes, and expectations about future formal mentoring in the faculty. Quantitative data was analysed descriptively, while content analysis of the qualitative data was performed to identify themes. Perceptions of eight mentees, aged 37 to 59 years and spent between 3 and over 20 years in the faculty, were categorized into two themes - ‘A welcome initiative’ and ‘Mentorship seen as a holistic experience’. The program provided the much-needed space where mentees felt they could seek guidance for their development. Expectations from a future formal program included assistance in meeting institutional and personal demands. Participants’ expectations were broader than what the pilot program offered, thoug