Public relations perspectives on electoral reforms as a panacea for consolidating Nigeria’s democracy

Abstract. Electoral reforms have been considered as sustainable means of improving on the quality of elections in Nigeria, this is especially as it avails the country, tremendous opportunities in admitting new policies such as new techniques, technologies and improved systems of protecting the welfare of electorates. It is evident from the literature that, public relations overtime has been a unifying factor in accelerating Nigeria’s democracy and sustaining its need for periodic elections and encouraging the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).  Based on the level of malpractices and issues associated with the conduct of elections in Nigeria, it was concluded in this paper that, there are several benefits attached to the process of electoral reforms in Nigeria, hence, it gives government the opportunity to revamp its electoral policies through campaigns, introduction of new technologies, voting and more importantly, the nature of conducting elections bearing in mind that, poorly adopted electoral policies normally lead to the outbreak of crisis from aggrieved parties.  It is recommended amongst others that, government at all levels should consider periodic electoral reforms as a strategy for development and as such; they should ensure that only people with credibility are charged with the mandate of presiding over electoral reform committees (ERC).Keywords. Electoral reforms, Public relations, Democracy and elections.JEL. D72, D73, D78

Fungating scrotal mass with facial nerve palsy in an advanced testicular embryonal germ cell tumour: unusual occurrence.

Fungating scrotal mass and lower motor neuron facial nerve palsy (LMN-FNP) are unusual traits of testicular cancer. A 49-year-old farmer with recurrent right hemi-scrotal swelling that expeditiously grew to involve the whole scrotum. He had a nick on the swelling and the resultant ulcer extended rapidly over the mass and right groin. There were associated peniledeformity and right lower leg swelling. The angle of his mouth became inclined to the left side with inability to close the right eye. He had right orchidectomy five years earlier for righttesticular mass throughthe scrotal approach but no histology was done. On examination, he had a huge fungating scrotal mass that extends to the right groin with saxophone penile deformity. There were multiple left inguinal lymphadenopathies with right pedal oedema. There was grade III right LMN-FNP, tympanometry showed an absent acoustic reflex and pure tone audiometry revealed right sensorineural hearing loss. His α-fetal protein was elevated and the tissue biopsy confirmed embryonal testicular germ cell tumor. The Computerized tomography (CT) scan of the abdominopelvic and temporomastoid regions showed metastatic deposits in the retroperitoneal group of lymph nodes and fallopian canal respectively. The patient was optimized and commenced on cytotoxic chemotherapy but five days after completing the first course he developed sudden inability to swallow, lapsed into unconsciousness and ceased breathing despite resuscitation effort. Conclusion: Fungating scrotal mass and facial nerve palsy from an advanced testicular germ cell tumour are unusual. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is essential for the diagnosis testicular tumour secondaries as the cause of facial nerves palsy and the tumour invasion the cause of the fungating mass. It has a negative impact on patient's body image plus the quality of life and probably presagedpoor outcome

A Literature Review of Salam Contract for Agricultural Development in Gombe State, Nigeria

Agriculture is essential to a country's economic development as seen in many advanced and developed nations who have valued and viewed agriculture as a catalyst for national prosperity and major source of food security. Bay’ Salam can be directly translated to ‘a forward sale or contract whereby a buyer purchases specific commodities that will be delivered by a seller in a future date which is more relevant to agricultural development. Although little has been accomplished in Nigeria, successive governments have placed a strong emphasis on the need to give the agricultural sector top priority to achieve both local and export food sufficiency. It's interesting to note that Gombe is recognized as one of the Nigerian states that have prioritized food and cash crop production as a vital endeavor that can improve both the state's and the nation's fortunes. However, agriculture must be integrated into modern society through Salam contract as suggested by this research to simplify agricultural endeavors, have a positive economic impact on the lives of farmers and rural communities, and to meet its demands and overcome its obstacles in Gombe state, Nigeria. The work used a qualitative research method that includes interview with relevant people on the subject matter and literature review to gather data. The study suggests that, if adopted, managed, and effectively used, the opportunities provided by Salam contract will strengthen the agricultural sector, lessen the frequent conflicts between farmers and herders, and ensure food security in Gombe State, Nigeri

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPERANCY IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR NATION BUILDING: An Expository Analysis from Islamic Thought

Sustainable development for nation building is not a new concept to Islam, sustainable development principles have existed for centuries in the Glorious Qur'an and the Hadith. However, sustainable development concept may have been recently adopted for government and civic society in Islamic world. The Islamic thought embraces that everything on earth is created for humanity and Allah's award to people. Islam allows the consumption of the natural environment without involving unnecessary destruction. Islamic thought views that human activities should support environment, and protection of people’s rights, and needs ensuring that human activities do not compromise the essentials of social, economic and natural systems either now or in the future. The aim of this study is to discover the application of Islam in sustainable development debate. Sustainable development in the context of Islamic concept is taken as an opportunity to refresh the relationship between human being and the nation building. This paper will also discuss the role of transparency and accountability in building good governance. With Iḥsan and Taqwa based on Iman, people can control, manage and report their actions, although there are no punishments or responsibility questions from others. The principles of transparency and accountability in the Qur’an guarantee social control and report, wide public participation, kind public service, self-honest, self-control and self-responsibility so that various forms of distortion such as corruption or discrimination can be avoided and controlled

STUDY MODE DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT’S PERCEPTION OF EDUCATION SERVICE QUALITY IN SELECTED POLYTECHNICS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

This investigation was designed to determine student perception of Polytechnic education service quality dimensions in relation to their mode of study in Northern Nigeria. Six null hypotheses were constructed to guide the study. The quantitative research adopted the descriptive survey design method. The target population are all Polytechnic students studying different programs in Northern Nigeria. A sample size of 441 respondents were determined based Krejice and Morgan Table, and sampled using stratified random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire (SERVPERF) was adopted consisting of 27 items used in similar studies (Brochado, 2009; Cronin & Taylor, 1994, etc.) as tool for data collection. The tool was structured on five point Likert ratting pattern ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The composite reliability of the tool was .980 coefficient determined using Cronbach alpha method. Copies of the instrument were personally administered during classes and data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential; statistics with the help of SPSS. The findings reveal that the level of students’ satisfaction was negative and insignificant, while the perceived level of loyalty was significant. There was significant relationship between each of the service quality dimension and student’s satisfaction, student satisfaction and loyalty. Students in evening/weekend and distance learning mode of study are more satisfied compared to their counterparts on full-time basis. Equally, older students who are more matured and experienced complain less than the younger ones. Based on all these, recommendations were made towards improving the service quality and customer satisfaction in Polytechnic education by the institution’s managers, administrators and policy makers and implementers

Effect of Processing on Amino Acid Profile of Balanites aegyptiaca Kernel

Balanites aegyptiaca kernel has been shown to have high nutritional quality as it is rich in both essential and non-essential amino acids. However, little is known on the effects of different processing methods on amino acid profile of the kernel. This research work therefore evaluates the effect of processing (boiling and soaking) on amino acid profile of the kernel using standard analytical methods. A significant (p<0.05) difference in amino acid contents between the raw and processed kernel was observed. Between the processed samples, boiled sample shows a higher amino acid contents than the soaked sample. Boiling retains the most nutritive value and therefore it should be encouraged as a means of processing for consumption. Keywords: Amino acid profile; Boiling; Soaking; Balanites aegyptiaca; and Kernel DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/11-22-04 Publication date: November 30th 2020

Serum Glucose Level of Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats Treated With Glutathione Complex

Antioxidant plays an important role in preventing the progression of diabetes mellitus (DM) complications. This study was undertaken to evaluate the hypoglycemic effect of glutathione complex in Alloxan induced diabetic rats. Thirty albino rats (weighing 120-130g) were divided into six groups of five rats each: Group one serves as normal control, group two served as diabetic control while Group three, four and five were diabetic and administered with 2.4mg/kg body weight, 3.6mg/kg body weight and 4.8mg/kg body weight respectively. All treatments were administered orally for 4 weeks on daily basis. Serum glucose level was measured at an interval of three days throughout the period of the experiment. Results obtained showed that administration of Glutathione Complex to diabetic rats caused a significant decrease (p<0.05) in serum glucose level compared to diabetic control. These results suggest that administration of Glutathione Complex to diabetic rats may help reverse the complications of diabetes mellitus. Keywords: Alloxan, Diabetes, Glucose and Glutathione Complex DOI: 10.7176/ALST/84-03 Publication date: December 31st 202

Effects of Soda Lime Silica Glass Content on the Dielectric Properties of Polytetrafluoroethylene Matrix at Microwave Frequencies

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based composites are widely in demand for microwave substrate application due to their excellent dielectric properties and low power loss. In this work, PTFE matrix filled with different contents (5 wt.% – 25 wt.%) of soda lime silica (SLS) glass powder were prepared and fabricated via dry powder processing technique. The SLS glass powder was acquired through milling process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterise the composites for phase identification. In addition, dielectric properties of the composites were measured using open-ended coaxial probe (OCP) technique at 1 GHz to 12 GHz microwave frequencies. The XRD pattern of the composites confirmed the phase of PTFE and highlighted the interaction between the PTFE and SLS phases. The results, also, revealed that relative permittivity (ε') and loss tangent (tanδ) decrease with frequency, while they appreciate with the SLS filler content. Furthermore, the composites exhibited optimum dielectric properties at 10 GHz for 10 wt.% SLS filler with ε' and tanδ values of 2.23 and 0.0011, respectively. This result was favourably compared with some reported PTFE-based composites characterised using other methods, thereby, indicating the suitability of OCP technique for characterising solid dielectric materials for microwave substrate application

Entrepreneurship Education, Environmental Support and Entrepreneurial Intention: Do Innovativeness and Pro-activeness matter?

Despite the introduction of Entrepreneurship Education in Nigerian Universities system still the country experience low level of entrepreneurial intention and high unemployment among youth graduate. It is in view of these and quests for understanding of the causes underlying Entrepreneurial Intention formation, this study investigate the relationship between Entrepreneurship Education and Environmental support and how they interact with Innovativeness as well as Pro-activeness to form Entrepreneurial Intention. The study randomly selects 284 final year university students to serve as respondent in collecting the primary data.  The study is anchored on Aldrich Howard (1990) Ecological Approach theory to understand the students’ awareness of Entrepreneurship Education, Environmental Support and Entrepreneurial Intention and how the relationship is mediated by Innovativeness and Pro-activeness. The study further employed the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Partial Least Square (PLS) version 3, to analyze the data. The results showed that Innovativeness and Pro-activeness simplify how Entrepreneurship Education forms Entrepreneurial Intention. However the result revealed that Environmental support is not directly or indirectly through Innovativeness as well as Pro-activeness related to Entrepreneurial Intention. Based on these result the study recommended that other researchers should employ this proposition with other antecedent of entrepreneurial intention for further proof. The study is further recommend Educators and key members of the society including friends and family should encourage the advancement of an entrepreneurially helpful culture that permits cooperation and exchange of ideas

Studies of action of heavy metals on caffeine degradation by immobilised Leifsonia sp. strain SIU

Caffeine is an important naturally occurring compound that can be degraded by bacteria. Excessive caffeine consumption is known to have some adverse problems. Previously, Leifsonia sp. strain SIU capable of degrading caffeine was isolated from agricultural soil. The bacterium was tested for its ability to degrade caffeine as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. The isolate was encapsulated in gellan gum and its ability to degrade caffeine in the presence of heavy metals was determined. Out of the nine heavy metals tested, Copper (Cu), Mercury (Hg), and Silver (Ag) had significant effects on caffeine degradation at 1mg/L. Therefore, the concentration of these heavy metals was varied from 0 - 1 mg/L to see at what concentration each metal it has effect. Ag and Hg showed effect at 0.1 mg/L with caffeine degradation of 64.05 and 52.17% respectively, while Cu showed effect at 0.8 mg/L with caffeine degradation of 64.74%. These bacterium features make it an ultimate means for caffeine bioremediation. This is the first report of effect of heavy metals on caffeine degradation by immobilised Leifsonia sp. strain SIU.Keywords: Caffeine, Degradation, Heavy metals, Immobilisation, Leifsonia sp