The Skills Acquisition Programme and Youth Empowerment in Ondo State of Nigeria: An Empirical Study

Youths are said to be the future leaders of any country in the world Nigeria inclusive It is also a general belief that government all over the world try to invest strategically in her youth for them to be able to assume the position of leadership when the time comes In spite of this it appears that the training the investment of the Nigerian governments as well as the socialization of youth in Nigeria and Ondo State in particular seem to be inadequate because many of them instead of contributing meaningfully to the development of the society they are doing otherwise The Ondo State government in one of its spirited effort to combat this problem introduced the Skills Acquisition Programme to develop empower and engage the youth in the State This empirical study therefore assessed the level of impact this programme has on Youth empowerment and development in the State 27 copies of the questionnaire were administered on the trainers at the skill acquisition centers while 557 copies were given to the beneficiaries of the skills acquisition programme in Ondo State Thirteen members of the coordinating departments were chosen for an in-depth interview Findings revealed that the skills acquisition programme has been able to provide employment opportunities for youth beneficiaries reduce their involvement in social vices improved their standard of livin

Entrepreneurial action as an antecedent to new venture creation among business students in South Africa

Article published in the 4th Annual International Conference on Public Administration and Development AlternativesThe objectives of this study were (1) to assess the level of entrepreneurial action (EA) among business students, (2) to determine the obstacles towards entrepreneurial action among the business students (3) to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial action and new venture creation. The study utilized a quantitative research design. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data in a survey. Ninety university business students were conveniently sought to participate in the study. The Cronbach's Alpha was used to measure reliability. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The results showed that the level of new venture creation among the participants was unsatisfactorily low which explains that their entrepreneurial action is also low. Factors such as lack of capital, lack of mentorship and incubation facilities from the university, fear of failure, lack of experience and lack of self-confidence were identified as key obstacles hindering the entrepreneurial action of the students. The regression analysis established a significant and positive relationship between entrepreneurial action and new venture creation. Recommendations were made for the students to take bold steps and launch their businesses and attain their entrepreneurial aspirations. The ministry of small business development was recommended to offer entrepreneurship bursaries to young entrepreneurs who have brilliant business ideas that can easily be commercialised

Effect of formaldehyde on the upper respiratory tract _ormal flora of humans and rabbits

Background: Formaldehyde is a chemical that is used to fix a tissue after death or removal from the body to prevent autolysis and putrefaction. Exposure to formaldehyde can occur as a result of occupation. Objective: To determine the effect of the formaldehyde on the throat and nasal flora of upper respiratory tract of rabbits and humans were examined in this study. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the College of Health Sciences (Mercylandcampus) and Teaching Hospital of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo. Ten rabbits and 25 human subjects were used. Throat and nasal swabs were taken from these rabbits exposed todifferent concentrations of formaldehyde and human subjects exposed to formaldehyde as a result of occupational exposure and non exposed individuals. Bacterial count was done using Miles and Mistral method. Microbial culture was done using the traditional cultural techniques.Results: Culture yielded growth of different species of microorganisms, majority of which were bacterial species. Bacterial counts showed reductions both in normal flora of upper respiratory tract of rabbits and humans. The reduction in the normal flora of humans was found to be statistically significant. While reduction in the normal flora of rabbits was significant when compared between controls and those exposed to 10% formaldehyde, but were not significant between controls andthose exposed to 100% formaldehyde. Conclusion: This study concluded that there was significant reduction in the normal flora ofhumans and rabbits exposed to formaldehyde compared to non-exposed humans and rabbits.Key words: Formalin, formaldehyde, normal flora, Upper respiratory trac

The possible effect of the bioaccumulation of disinfectant by-products on crops irrigated with treated wastewater

The shortage of potable water for irrigation of food crops in semi-arid developing countries led to the use of alternative sources of water. Wastewater is gaining importance for productive use in agriculturethroughout the world. A widely used and efficient method to reduce the occurrence of waterborne diseases in numerous wastewater plants is water chlorination. In early 1970s, some volatile halogenated organic compounds such as chloroform were identified in chlorinated surface waters containing high levels of natural organic material. Generally, the trihalomethanes (THMs), including chloroform, bromodicholoromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform were the most prevalent in chlorinated surface water. Predominant research studies focused on the carcinogenic and mutagenic properties of these compounds in treated wastewater. But little attention was paid to how these compounds in treatedwastewater could affect crop performance in agriculture, physiological changes amongst crop varieties and the build-up of these organic compounds in edible plant tissues with persistent use of treated waste-water. A probable reason for this was the absence of the practice of wastewater irrigation in food crop agriculture in the past. Current knowledge on the trihalomethanes and possible plant interactions with this group of volatile organic compounds are assessed in this review

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BUSHMEAT TRADE IN ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE

This paper examines bushmeat trade in Abeokuta comprising of Abeokuta north and south LG areas of Ogun State. Forty-five (45) respondents were accidentally selected across the two local government areas. The respondents were involved in bushmeat trade at three different levels. There were hunters (31%), ethno-medicine sellers (49%) and bushmeat sellers (20%). The result of the study revealed that majority (69%) of the traders were female. Also, 87% of the respondents had poor education. Therefore respondents could not keep record of their transactions, but from qualitative and quantitative analysis of the profitability of the business, the trade may be described as profitable (89%). An estimate of average annual profit of the trade in the study area was N453,004.  Other benefit though insignificant is that of protein supplement of the family (8%) derived from the trade. Major constraint of the business is the seasonal fluctuation of supply (85%) which affects income of respondents. However, a total of  11 common species of wild animals were traded, therefore it is recommended that conservation policy in terms of educational programme that target hunters and sellers, in order to sensitize them on the danger of indiscriminate harvesting of the animals must be put in place along with improved domestication effort.Â

An evaluation of metal removal during wastewater treatment: The potential to achieve more stringent final effluent standards

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & Francis.Metals are of particular importance in relation to water quality, and concern regarding the impact of these contaminants on biodiversity is being encapsulated within the latest water-related legislation such as the Water Framework Directive in Europe and criteria revisions to the Clean Water Act in the United States. This review undertakes an evaluation of the potential of 2-stage wastewater treatment consisting of primary sedimentation and biological treatment in the form of activated sludge processes, to meet more stringent discharge consents that are likely to be introduced as a consequence. The legislation, sources of metals, and mechanisms responsible for their removal are discussed, to elucidate possible pathways by which the performance of conventional processes may be optimized or enhanced. Improvements in effluent quality, achievable by reducing concentrations of suspended solids or biochemical oxygen demand, may also reduce metal concentrations although meeting possible requirements for the removal of copper my be challenging

The Impact of Black Economic Empowerment Policy on Turnover and Profitability of Businesses in Polokwane Area of Limpopo Province, South Africa

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy on turnover and profitability of businesses in Polokwane area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaires in a survey. The study focused on businesses that have benefitted from BEE deals over the past 5 years. Because of the difficulty in obtaining the population of businesses that have benefitted from BEE deals over the past 5 years in the study area, purposive and snowball sampling methods were used. The questionnaires were distributed to a sample of business owners (N=38) to respond on the impact of BEE policy on turnover and profitability of businesses in the Polokwane area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that BEE positively impacted on the turnover and profitability of businesses.95% of the respondents indicated that their annual turnover increased over the past 5 years because of the BEE tender deals and 5% indicated that BEE policy did not impact on their turnover. Furthermore, 92% of the respondents indicated that their annual profit increased over the past 5 years because of the BEE tender deal and 8% indicated that BEE policy did not impact on their profit. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that the South African Government should continue to support businesses using BEE policy to stimulate employment and economic growth. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p88