Overcrowding, Age and Gender Differences in the Manifestation of state Anxiety among Undergraduate Students in a Nigerian Public University

Most students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria have a hard time procuring adequate accommodation. Hence, they are usually left with the option of having to share a room with many people resulting inover-crowded hostels. This study sought to examine the effect of over-crowding, age and gender on the state anxiety levels of undergraduates in a Nigerian public university. 192 participants were selected from male and female students residing in the hostels and off-campus with age range of 16 – 30 (mean age = 22.80; SD = 2.70). Average person per room was used to determine how crowded the room was and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y – 1 (STAI – Y1) was administered on the participants. A three-way ANOVA showed a non significant interaction effect between overcrowding, age and gender on the manifestation of anxiety among university undergraduates, F(2, 180) = 2.22, p = 0.11. The result also revealed a significant main effect of gender on the manifestation of state anxiety among undergraduates, F(1, 180) = 18.212, p = 0.00, where males manifested more anxiety than female undergraduates. There was also a significant interaction effect of overcrowding and gender F(1, 180) = 5.67, p = 0.02. It was concluded that university undergraduates should be provided with adequate accommodation in higher institutions they attend in order to reduce overcrowding and state anxiety among undergraduates

The Effect of Colour on the Perception of Taste, Quality and Preference of Fruit Flavoured Drinks

The effect of colour conditioning on taste, quality and liking perception of fruit flavoured drinks was investigated in this study using a Between-Subjects Experimental Design. This study utilized twenty four (24) psychology students of Covenant University as participants. The colour of the fruit drink served as the independent variable while dependent variables such as taste, quality and liking perception were measured. Six research hypotheses were stated and tested. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the association of colour with taste based on gender (t =. 29, p>0.05). Colour was observed to have a significant effect on taste and quality perception (t=2.10, p<0.05) and (t=3.0, p<0.05) respectively. Relationships between colour and the three dependent variables were observed. There was a negative but not significant relationship between colour and taste perception as well as colour and liking perception, while a positive but not significant relationship was observed between colour and quality perception. A significant positive relationship between quality and liking perception was observed (r=.63, p<0.01). From the findings, it was concluded that colour has an effect on taste and quality perceptions although the result seemed inconclusive concerning the effect of colour on how much participants liked the drink. It is therefore recommended that food designers put into consideration the colour of food products as it would have an effect on consumers. decision making and buying behaviour

THE EFFECT OF STEREOTYPE ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FEMALE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

This study investigated the effect stereotypes have on cognitive performance. A between-subjects experimental design was utilized in the study. Forty participants from the senior secondary two (SS2) of Chapel Secondary School Ilorin took part in the study, and their cognitive performance in the light of exposure to a stereotype was measured. Four hypotheses were tested. Using the t-test for independent samples, the findings of the experiment showed that males performed better than females on a mathematics test when exposed to stereotype (t=2.688, df=l8, p<O.OS). The study also found that males who were exposed to stereotype performed better than males who were not exposed to stereotype (t=2.998, df=l8, p< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the performance of females who were exposed to stereotype and those who were not (t=2.740, df=l8, p>O.OS). Stereotypes have been identified to affect the way people see things and the way they interpret certain behaviours of other individuals or groups. Therefore understanding the nature of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination is the first step in combating these practices

Students' Opinion on Substance Use,Violent Behavior and Possible Intervention Strategies in a Nigerian Public University

This study investigated students’ opinion on substance use, violent behavior and possible intervention strategies in a Nigerian public university. Two hundred and ninety three participants consisting of 147 males and 146 females with the mean age of 23.67 (SD=3.77) were sampled. A questionnaire designed to elicit student’s opinion on substance use prevalence and proclivity for violent behavior as a result of substance use was administered on the participants using a descriptive cross-sectional research design for data collection. Analysis revealed that majority of the students saw substance abuse as a problem in the university (80.5%), and majority have witnessed violence resulting from substance use (61.4%). Alcohol and marijuana were the top two on the list of substances abused by male and female students and it was reported that violent behaviors like sexual assault, physical assault and violent crimes were common to students after they had abused substance. It was suggested by the respondents that the university authority should use regulation and enlightenment to control substance abuse and use punishment and counseling among others to control violent behavior among student

Factors Influencing the Optimal Selection of Suppliers in the Telecommunication Sector in Ghana

The selection of an optimal supplier has a positive impact on business performance, help reduce costs and promote innovation. With few studies especially in the study of services on the selection of optimal suppliers in Ghana, this paper examines the determinants of vendor selection among the four largest telecommunication companies in Ghana. These companies are MTN, Tigo, Vodafone and Airtel. The paper applied quantitative and qualitative methods based on primary and secondary data. Purposive sampling technique was used in order to segment the study population. A descriptive analysis was performed to examine the factors and their impact on the choice of suppliers. The results indicated that the quality, experience, price, safety and time affect the selection of suppliers. The study recommends that if the cost element should be taken seriously, the quality should not be sacrificed for cost reduction. Keywords: Telecommunication, Optimum, Selection, Sampling

Harmony-disharmony therapy: a treatment method of African origin

The harmony restoration theory of health (HRT) is an existential phenomenological theory of health and ill health from an African perspective. The theory emanated from years of clinical practice of Peter Ebigbo in the mid 90s has its basic tenet, "he who is at peace with his world does not fall sick" and this is the root from which all other tenets of the harmony restoration theory stems. The harmony restoration theory of health was borne out of the African concept of illness. In Africa, the mind, the body and the society interact to produce health and ill-health. From clinical practice, it was observed that the African personality has three components, namely: the endocosmos, which is the relationship between the individual and himself; the mesocosmos, the relationship between the individual and the significant others in his environment; and the exocosmos, the relationship between the individual and his God or gods. This paper examines the HRT, traces its origin from the African traditional and contemporary religion, the sociocultural, personological aspect of its derivation, its development and how it is applied in the treatment of psychological disturbances as well as in maintaining positive health. It also examines two case studies where the harmony restoration therapy was used and lastly, makes a case for its further exploration by other health care practitioners

Séroprévalence du virus de l’herpès humain-8 chez des patients VIH positif à l’hôpital général de Yaoundé – Cameroun

L'épidémiologie de l'infection par le virus herpès humain de type 8 (HHV8) associée à celle à VIH, reste encore méconnue au Cameroun, bien quele pays soit considéré comme une zone endémique pour ces deux virus. L’objectif de ce travail était de ressortir le profil de la séroprévalence duHHV8 au sein de notre population d'étude. 57 personnes ont été recrutées à l'Hôpital Général de Yaoundé et suivies sur une durée 12 mois. Desanticorps IgG anti-HHV8 ont été déterminés par ELISA. Des paramètres autres, tels que l'âge, le sexe, le stade des maladies (SK et VIH/SIDA), leprotocole ARV, ainsi que les taux de CD4 ont été utilisés pour déterminer les variables associées à la séropositivité au HHV8. Cette association aété évaluée par le test khi carré. La séroprévalence du HHV8 était de 90% dans notre population en début d'étude et de 74% douze mois plustard, une séroprévalence qui restait élevée quelque soit le profil clinique, la tranche d'âge, le sexe ou le taux de CD4+ de l'individu. Aucune variable de l'étude n'était significativement associée à la séropositivité du HHV8. Le virus HHV8 semblait circuler au sein de notre population d'étude. Cependant l'on constate, douze mois plus tard, l'absence de  manifestations cliniques du SK chez les patients VIH+ positifs, malgré destitres très élevés en IgG anti-HHV8

Fungal contamination of eye lenses and frames of patients attending optometry clinic at Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria.

Fungal contamination of eye lenses of eye patients attending the Optometry Clinic in Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria, was investigated using culture technique. Of the four hundred and fiftypatients’ lenses screened between March 2003 – February 2004, sixty-eight (15.11%) had fungal contamination. Aspergillus species (41.1%) was the most prevalent, followed by Penicillium species(30.9%) while Microsporium species was the least (14.7%). Candida and Trichophyton species prevalence were 26.4 and 19.1%, respectively. Lenses used by the males were slightly, though notstatistically significant (P < 0.05), more contaminated (16.04%) than those from their female counterparts (13.02%). Age significantly affected the level of eye lenses contamination, as individualsbetween 21 - 30 years had the highest level of lenses contamination (30.97%), followed by those of 31 -40 years (15.47%), 41 - 50 years (15.68%), and above 50 years had (11.0%). Individuals of 0 - 10 and 11 -20 years had only 2 and 5.0% contamination, respectively. The presence of these fungal species could be significant, as some of them are well-known dermatophyes. Occupational influences showed thatindividuals in contact with soil have the most contaminated lenses

TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH A FOURIER SERIES APPROACH IN FORECASTING SOLID WASTE GENERATION IN A TVET INSTITUTION: A CASE STUDY OF ACCRA TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Globally, waste volumes are increasing quickly, even faster than the rate of urbanization. According to the World Bank Report (2012), there is a direct correlation between the per capita level of income in cities and the amount of waste per capita that is generated. As the world moves towards an urban future, the amount of solid waste being generated continues to compound. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, we are to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation. TVET institutions in Africa must be strategically involved in the attainment of this goal. Management of solid waste in our municipalities continues to be a major challenge for local governments in urban areas across the world. Accra Polytechnic, like other TVET institutions, has a concentration of thousands of students who generate solid waste on a daily basis, which if not managed properly could have dire consequence on our environment. Due to the lack of available adequate data on solid waste generation and the waste characteristics in our institutions, integrated solid waste management is always a challenge. The prediction of students’ solid waste generation will play an important role in solid waste management in our institutions. Traditional forecasting models for solid waste generation rely on demographic and socioeconomic factors on a per capita basis. Most of these models are designed based on the configuration of semi-empirical mathematical models. This paper looks at the determination of the solid waste generated per capita per day by students on Accra Polytechnic campus using a Fourier series approach. Keywords: Solid Waste, SDG, TVET, Fourier Series, per capita

Prevalence and Scanning Electron Microscopic Identification of Anoplocephalid Cestodes among Small Ruminants in Senegal

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of anoplocephalid cestodes in sheep and goats in Senegal. Intestines of 462 sheep and 48 goats were examined; 47.4% of sheep and 6.2% of goats were infected. The species identified and their prevalence were, among sheep, Avitellina centripunctata 38.7%, Moniezia expansa 15.4%, Stilesia globipunctata 16.7%, and Thysaniezia ovilla 0.4%. Among goats, they were M. expansa 6.2% and T. ovilla 2.1%. The prevalence of all species was not statistically different between dry and rainy seasons. The infections were single or multiple. Indeed, 56.2% of sheep were infected by a single species, 37.4% by two species, and 6.4% by three species. For goats, 66.7% were infected by M. expansa and 33.3% by both M. expansa and T. ovilla. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observations of tapeworms show the general diagnosis characters of these species