The Place of Library and Information Services in Open and Distance Learning in Nigerian Universities

This paper emphasises about open and distance learning and the objectives as well as the rationale behind the establishment of open and distance learning. The characteristics of ODL as flexible, portable, transferable, relevant…, and identified the Universities that operate ODL programmes in Nigeria. It also analyses the important role played by library and information services in the open and distance learning in Nigeria. It aids information services in open and distance learning in the dissemination of information to distant learners such as registration of users, orientation/ user education, charging and discharging services, reference services, photocopying services, inter- library loan services, document delivery services, library automation, current awareness services, library guide, selective dissemination of information (SDI) and provision of library website/ links. Challenges such as lack of workout standard rules, lack of consistency of ICTs e – learning centres within the library, no laid down template from the National Universities Commission, lack of information literacy programme among ODL institutions and problem of electricity. The paper proffer remedies for effective services ranging from technical support, technological infrastructural facilities, virtual support programmes, partnership and collaboration and funding, since everything connected to open and distance learning is virtual online delivery and benefit to the distance learners - the library, its resources / information, facilities and services are made virtual for easy dissemination and retrieval of information, so the need for technical support cannot be over emphasised, fully equipped technological infrastructural facilities and resources, virtual supports programmes to enhance the library services to distant learners, partnership and collaborations from other libraries, and above all funding

A Time Series Analysis of Effect of Tax Revenue on Economic Development of Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of tax revenue on the Economic development of Nigeria for the period of 1995-2014, with the purpose of finding out if tax revenue represented by Value Added Tax, Company Income Tax and Customs and Excise Duties could affect economic development proxied by Human Development Index for the period of the study. The data which are secondary in nature were analysed using Multiple Regression Analyses for the three research questions and three hypotheses in the study. The findings reveal that revenues collected by the federal government through CIT, VAT and CED have a positive relationship with Human Development Index. Based on the findings, it was concluded as follows: That revenues collected by the federal government through company income tax, value added tax, customs and excise duties help to improve the human development index of Nigeria. Based on the findings and conclusions, we make the following recommendations: The federal government should sensitize tax payers on the need for tax payment and punishment for non-compliance. Furthermore, it was recommended that incentives be provided to tax payers to encourage them (especially corporate bodies) to pay their taxes. Finally, we recommend that tax authorities should encourage tax education for its workforce in order to achieve the desired revenue drive. Keywords: Company income tax, value added tax, customs and excise duty, human development index

Reliability of Two Alternative Methods for the Standard Mid-thigh Isometric Pull

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of two new alternative portable methods for measuring maximal isometric force measures while performing the standard mid-thigh pull. One method, the bar grip method, required the use of the trunk and upper extremity muscles, while the second method, the pelvic belt method, did not. Both methods demonstrated good test-retest reliability via randomized repeated measures over 24-36 hours. Interestingly, the pelvic belt method generally demonstrated average maximal forces up to 65% higher than the bar method. There was a good relationship between both methods. These new alternative methods could provide strength coaches an option for a more efficient, cost-effective, portable means for the mid-thigh pull test

Language rights, intercultural communication and the law in South Africa

This article seeks to explore the present language scenario in courts of law. The article makes use of section 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), as a point of departure. At face value this section seems to entrench the language rights of individuals. This would mean that individuals could request trials to be held in their mother tongues, with fluent and competent speakers of that mother tongue sitting on the bench. However, this has not materialised. Contrary to popular opinion, the article argues that individual language rights are to some extent entrenched in the Constitution, but there are no mechanisms to secure such rights in the public domain. The article argues that it is often only language privileges that are preserved in institutions such as the justice system. Legally speaking, there is an obligation on the State to provide interpreters to facilitate access to all eleven official languages in courts of law. This in itself presents numerous challenges. The article argues further that the corollary to this is that there is very little space for intercultural communication in courts of law (as defined by Ting-Toomey, 1999, and Gibson, 2002). There has been little or no capacity building in this regard. It is English, to some extent Afrikaans, and the western cultural paradigm, which prevails. The result is further communication breakdown and language intolerance. In this article, the notion of language rights in courts of law is explored against the backdrop of existing theories of intercultural communication

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Place of Library and Information Services in Open and Distance Learning in Nigerian Universities

This paper emphasises about open and distance learning and the objectives as well as the rationale behind the establishment of open and distance learning. The characteristics of ODL as flexible, portable, transferable, relevant…, and identified the Universities that operate ODL programmes in Nigeria. It also analyses the important role played by library and information services in the open and distance learning in Nigeria. It aids information services in open and distance learning in the dissemination of information to distant learners such as registration of users, orientation/ user education, charging and discharging services, reference services, photocopying services, inter- library loan services, document delivery services, library automation, current awareness services, library guide, selective dissemination of information (SDI) and provision of library website/ links. Challenges such as lack of workout standard rules, lack of consistency of ICTs e – learning centres within the library, no laid down template from the National Universities Commission, lack of information literacy programme among ODL institutions and problem of electricity. The paper proffer remedies for effective services ranging from technical support, technological infrastructural facilities, virtual support programmes, partnership and collaboration and funding, since everything connected to open and distance learning is virtual online delivery and benefit to the distance learners - the library, its resources / information, facilities and services are made virtual for easy dissemination and retrieval of information, so the need for technical support cannot be over emphasised, fully equipped technological infrastructural facilities and resources, virtual supports programmes to enhance the library services to distant learners, partnership and collaborations from other libraries, and above all funding

Physical Format and Users’ Satisfaction with the Information Resources in University Libraries in the South-South Zone of Nigeria

The study was conducted to determine the influence of physical format on users’ satisfaction with information resources in university libraries in South-South zone of Nigeria. Survey research method was adopted for the study. The population of this study consists of 83 library staff and 7426 lecturers in the 11 university libraries in the zone during the 2011/2012 academic session. A sample of 36 library staff and 4627 lecturers from 6 of the universities in the zone was used. The researcher made questionnaire, Physical Format and Users’ Satisfaction with Information Resources (PFUSIRQ), was used to collect data. Means and standard deviations were used in answering the research question while the hypothesis was tested using t-Test in IBM SPSS for Window version 20 at p = 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there was no significant influence of physical format on users’ satisfaction with information resources in university libraries in the South-South zone of Nigeria. There is a strong indication that users were satisfied with physical format of the information resources acquired in the university libraries studied. It is therefore recommended that librarians should continue to take cognizance of the variable, physical format when acquiring information resources for the libraries.Keywords: Physical Format; Users’ Satisfaction; Information Resource