The Role of Public Libraries on Reading Culture

The study assessed the role of public libraries on reading culture in Calabar municipality. To achieve this, four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The sample of the study was made up of 160 respondents randomly selected from the public library in Calabar Municipality. The major instrument used for collection of data was the questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation at .05 level of significance. The findings of the analysis showed that: library services, information resources, attitude of librarians and availability of libraries facilities in public library are significantly related to reading culture of the users. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made among others: programmes that encourage reading should be made part of their user services; relevant information resources that cut across all stages of the society should be acquired

Financing Libraries and Information Centres for Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria: The Bakassi Case

In February 2008 a unique community library and information centre was established in Ikang - a rural area designated as a camp for persons displaced by the ceding of Bakassi, This paper summarizes and analyzes sources and trends of funds ensued to the centre and provides suggestions on ways of sustaining the funds. There has been a decline in frequency of funds ensued to the centre over the years and government funding has been precarious. The centre is tapping into all areas of private funding sources ranging from endowment, NGOs, donation, gifts to fund raising activities.  The latter has have become a mainstay in the budget mix of the centre. Through these integrated creative approach the centre has been able to provide superior services to its community of users Keywords: Nigeria. Bakassi, internally displaced persons, information centre, library, fundin

Examining the Attitude of Library and Information Science (LIS) Students in University of Calabar (Unical) towards Entrepreneurship

The study was designed to investigate the attitude of LIS students towards entrepreneurship. Fifty-four students were sampled in connection with entrepreneurial attitude ( inclinations,feelings, competence, intentions and desirability) of business start -up. The questionnaire was used to measure students’ attitude based on their opinion and response about their entrepreneurial behaviour. Simple percentage method was adopted for the analysis of the study. Findings revealed that  library and information science students are enterprising and have positive attitude towards entrepreneurship; 40% of students have the intention to become enterprenuers; 58% of students possess entrepreneurial competence and 37% of students have desirability positive  feelings  about entrepreneurship. This shows that Library and Information Science students in university of Calabar  possess positive attitude towards entrepreneurship. Keywords: Attitude, Entrepreneurship, Library and information science Students, University of Calabar

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War on Nature: How the Russian Invasion of Ukraine is Devastating the Environment

This article examines the environmental impacts of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has caused extensive damage to critical ecosystems, the release of pollutants, and the displacement of people and wildlife. The destruction of forests and wetlands contributes to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, while the burning of oil fields and release of pollutants pose significant health risks to both humans and wildlife. The decline in biodiversity affects the functioning of ecosystems and has economic implications for the region. The long-term effects of the conflict on the environment are likely to be severe, with global implications. It is crucial to recognize the role of this conflict in exacerbating the climate and biodiversity crises and prioritize peaceful solutions to address these urgent challenges

The Administrative Process as a Determinant of Secondary School Teachers’ Professional Development: The Experience of Anglophones in Upper-Nkam Division

The main objective of this study was to examine the influence of secondary school administrative process on the professional development of Anglophone teachers in a francophone zone. Specifically, this work sought answers to questions such as; what influence does policy-making have on teachers’ professional growth?; is there any relationship between decision-making and teachers’ professional development?; how does checking/control affect teachers’ professional growth?; and what impact does supervision have on teachers’ professional development?.  The descriptive survey research design was used. A self-constructed questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection, but was backed up with an interview guide. The simple random sampling (to select schools) and accidental sampling (to select teachers) techniques were used to obtain a sample of 95 teachers of the secondary schools in the Upper-Nkam Division of the Western Region of Cameroon. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and results presented in the form frequency and percentages with the help of SPSS. The Chi-Square test of independence was used to verify the hypotheses. It was found that at a 0.05 level of significance, there is statistically significant relationship between policy-making and teachers’ professional growth; decision making has a statistically significant effect on teachers’ professional growth; statistically checking/control significantly affect teachers’ professional growth; supervision significantly has an effect teachers’ professional growth. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended amongst others that school principals should involve teachers in the policy and decision-making processes. Keywords: Administrative Process, Teachers, Professional Development, Anglophone and Cameroo

CRISPR/Cas9 editing of endogenous banana streak virus in the B genome of Musa spp. overcomes a major challenge in banana breeding

Open Access Journal; Published online: 31 Jan 2019Presence of the integrated endogenous banana streak virus (eBSV) in the B genome of plantain (AAB) is a major challenge for breeding and dissemination of hybrids. As the eBSV activates into infectious viral particles under stress, the progenitor Musa balbisiana and its derivants, having at least one B genome, cannot be used as parents for crop improvement. Here, we report a strategy to inactivate the eBSV by editing the virus sequences. The regenerated genome-edited events of Gonja Manjaya showed mutations in the targeted sites with the potential to prevent proper transcription or/and translational into functional viral proteins. Seventy-five percent of the edited events remained asymptomatic in comparison to the non-edited control plants under water stress conditions, confirming inactivation of eBSV into infectious viral particles. This study paves the way for the improvement of B genome germplasm and its use in breeding programs to produce hybrids that can be globally disseminated

Utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Resources and Job Effectiveness among Library Staff in the University of Calabar and Cross River University of Technology, Nigeria

This study investigated utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources and job effectiveness among library staff in the University of Calabar and Cross River University of Technology, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of this study, four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study. A sample of two hundred and twenty five (225) respondents was randomly selected for the study. The selection was done through the stratified random sampling technique. The questionnaire was the main instruments used for data collection. The reliability estimate of the instruments was established through the test-retest reliability method. Pearson product moment correlation analysis was employed to test the hypotheses under study. Each hypothesis was tested at .05 level of significance. The results of the analysis revealed that, staff use of internet, use of e-mail, use of PowerPoint and use of computer significantly related with library staff job effectiveness. Based on the findings, it was recommended that  library managers should organized workshop to educate library staff on the use of ICT Keywords: Utilization, ICT Resource, Job Effectiveness, Library Staff, Nigeria Universitie

Social media and its credibility as a source of news

This study is an investigation into social media as sources of news and the question of credibility. Its advent and huge patronage daily by those who forage for news and consumers have generated a lot of concern for either its source credibility or medium credibility of this social media platform. However, we will beam our searchlight on medium credibility, using 150 students and lecturers of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Calabar, Unical, and Cross River University of Technology, Crutech, Nigeria. The survey method and questionnaire were used to gather data, which was collated, analyzed and presented in tables, yielding related percentages. The theoretical frame work adopted is the Technological Determinism theory. The theory is apt for this study as it relates to Lievrouw and Livingstone (2006) explanation about the theory’s belief that technologies have an overwhelming power to drive human actions and social change. The findings, among others show that social media have attracted more patronage and have become a potent tool to gather news sources and stories with less difficulty, enhancing medium credibility. We therefore recommend for its continuous use by people who source for news.Keywords: Social media, medium credibility, source credibilit

Determinants of accounting methods choice in Tanzania: a positive accounting theory approach

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors which influence the choices of accounting policies by managers of companies in Tanzania. Previous studies show that managers may choose income increasing or income decreasing accounting policies in reporting financial results (Beattie et al., 1994; Astami & Tower, 2006; Bowen & Shores, 1995).These studies also examine a number of factors that influence the managers' incentives for accounting choice. However, there are reasons to suggest that more research is required. First, most of these studies have tended to focus on firms in the developed countries (see Inoue & Thomas, 1996; Cullinan, 1999; Lin & Peasnell, 2000) and in countries in the Asia- Pacific region (Rahman & Scapens, 1988; Tawfik &, 2006; Astami & Tower, 2009). Consequently, there are no studies that have examined managerial accounting methods choices in the context of Africa. The findings from developed countries and the Asia-Pacific region may not be relevant to Africa because the environment is different, for example, the stage of economic development is very low, financial markets are inefficient and underdeveloped, and regulatory framework for accounting is weak and compliance with accounting rules is low (see Okeahalam, 2004). This study is the first attempt to examine what motivates managers to choose one accounting method over another in an African country- Tanzania