REFLECTIVE PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COSMOSES IN THE INDIGENOUS PSYCHOTHERAPY MODEL, HARMONY RESTORATION THERAPY

African indigenous psychotherapy methods have largely been undocumented because almost everything an African does, including greeting, attending social rites and settling disputes, is psychotherapeutic. Hence, attempting to percolate habitual practices into coherent wholes to form an organized system of treatment procedures is arduous. This article examines an indigenous psychotherapy model, Harmony Restoration Theory and its therapy, the Harmony Restoration Therapy, and some of its applications. The Harmony Restoration Therapy is a treatment method of African origin based on the existential tradition of Africans.  The Harmony Restoration Therapy hinges on the fact that health or ill-health for an African depends on the individual’s level of harmony or disharmony with the components of their cosmos (world).  In Harmony Restoration Therapy, the individual’s cosmos is compartmentalised, the endocosmos, mesocosmos, and exocosmos representing the relationship between the individual and him/herself, their significant others and the higher beings/things that they revere. The article begins with a synopsis of the concepts and why restoring harmony in African clients is necessary. Major Concepts in Harmony Restoration Therapy were highlighted. The author’s reflective perspective on the development of the Endocosmos, Mesocosmos and Exocosmos were examined. The Concept of Cosmos Incorporation and the Concept of Cosmos Information Incorporation were discussed. The article concludes with an introduction to the process of measuring an individual’s level of harmony or disharmony with the Harmony – Disharmony (H-D) Scale.&nbsp

EXAMINING THE INDIGENOUS PSYCHOTHERAPY MODEL MESERON THERAPY AND SOME OF ITS THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS

This article examines the indigenous psychotherapy model Meseron Therapy and chronicles some of its applications. The Meseron Therapy was developed by Professor Alfred Awaritefe in 1995. Meseron means “I refuse” in the Urhobo language. The therapy focuses on the power of the spoken word and how it is able to effectively change a person and a person’s condition by encouraging the person to think, say, and do things that will cause a change in the person’s condition. The origin of Meseron therapy was discussed, Meseron as a motivational theory and cognitive therapy was examined. The Practice of Meseron Therapy, the basic assumptions, aims and goals, therapeutic implications, and the techniques and tools of Meseron therapy were highlighted, with the therapeutic implications of Meseron Therapy further discussed. The article concluded with a call for clinical and counselling psychologists to integrate indigenous psychotherapy methods into their practice. Research endeavors and publications in indigenous psychotherapy methods were also encouraged

REFLECTIVE PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COSMOSES IN THE INDIGENOUS PSYCHOTHERAPY MODEL, HARMONY RESTORATION THERAPY

African indigenous psychotherapy methods have largely been undocumented because almost everything an African does, including greeting, attending social rites and settling disputes, is psychotherapeutic. Hence, attempting to percolate habitual practices into coherent wholes to form an organized system of treatment procedures is arduous. This article examines an indigenous psychotherapy model, Harmony Restoration Theory and its therapy, the Harmony Restoration Therapy, and some of its applications. The Harmony Restoration Therapy is a treatment method of African origin based on the existential tradition of Africans.  The Harmony Restoration Therapy hinges on the fact that health or ill-health for an African depends on the individual’s level of harmony or disharmony with the components of their cosmos (world).  In Harmony Restoration Therapy, the individual’s cosmos is compartmentalised, the endocosmos, mesocosmos, and exocosmos representing the relationship between the individual and him/herself, their significant others and the higher beings/things that they revere. The article begins with a synopsis of the concepts and why restoring harmony in African clients is necessary. Major Concepts in Harmony Restoration Therapy were highlighted. The author’s reflective perspective on the development of the Endocosmos, Mesocosmos and Exocosmos were examined. The Concept of Cosmos Incorporation and the Concept of Cosmos Information Incorporation were discussed. The article concludes with an introduction to the process of measuring an individual’s level of harmony or disharmony with the Harmony – Disharmony (H-D) Scale.&nbsp

Food Security and Coping Strategies among Ethnic Groups in North Central Nigeria

A study was conducted to identify the factors influencing food security and the coping strategies utilized during food shortage among ethnic groups in rural North Central Nigeria in 2011. A random sample of 120 Tiv, 108 Igala and 112 Eggon households were interviewed to find out the quantities of every food item consumed in the household in the past 24 hours and the coping strategies employed during food stress. The analysis was done using frequency, percentage, mean scores and logit regression. The findings indicated that while the majority (68%) of the Tiv households were food secure, only 45% of the Eggon and 42% of the Igala were food secure.  In all, 51.8% of the households were food secure. Socio-economic factors such as output from own production (t= 2.89; p ? 0.05), farm income (t= 2.21), annual income (t=2.79; p ? 0.05) and household size (t= -7.64; p ? 0.05) were found to be important correlates which affect food security. The study also showed that the mean coping strategy index for Igala, Eggon and Tiv ethnic groups were 44.8, 37.5 and 34.4 respectively and 38.5 for the entire population. The commonly adopted coping strategies for the entire population were reliance on less preferred food (95.8%) and limiting food portions at meal times (83.5%). Although slightly above half of the households were food secure, calorie consumption was just at the threshold of adequacy while the use of coping strategies is a reflection of the poor access to food by households. Thus, food remained an issue in North Central Nigeria. Therefore, it is imperative for policy makers to plan to improve food availability and to increase family income to enhance quality of rural life. Keywords: factors, food security, coping strategies, rural households, ethnic groups, North Central Nigeri

Antimicrobial activities and the Bactericidal Kinetics of Allium ascalonicum Linn. (Whole plant) against standard and clinical strains of Helicobacter pylori: Support for Ethnomedical Use

Helicobacter pylori are the causative agents of gastroduodenal disorders, such as peptic ulcer, acute gastritis and even stomach cancer. It is believed to infect over half the world’s population. Recently, there have been cases of chemotherapy – failures and emergence of resistant strains. This necessitated the search for more active drugs. Crude n-hexane and methanol extracts were used to screen Helicobacter pylori ATCC 43504 and forty-two other clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori, using the agar diffusion method in Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 5% defibrinated horse blood. The strains were incubated in a microaerophilic incubator, and it was observed that the standard strain and twenty-eight out of the forty-two clinical strains were susceptible to the methanol extract with the diameter of zone of inhibition ranging from 10 + 0.00 to 20 + 0.00 mm at test concentrations of 100 mg/mL to 200 mg/mL. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of susceptible strains ranged between 100 mg/mL to 200 mg/mL. The kill kinetics showed that at 4×MIC, equivalent to the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), the methanol extract of Allium ascalonicum gave 96-98% and 100% kill of the organisms within the contact time of 6 and 24 hours respectively. The n-hexane fraction did not show any inhibitory potential against any of the strains. Phytochemical screening of the extract showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, essential oil and cardiac glycosides. Anthraquinones, tannins and terpenoids were not detected. The presence of these secondary metabolites and the observed activity of Allium ascalonicum provide a scientific rationale for the use of this plant in folk medicine in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Keywords: Allium ascalonicum, Helicobacter pylori, antimicrobial activities, bactericidal kinetic

Optimization of the Adsorptive Dehydration of Ethanol –Water System

This work has explored the use of enzyme modified corn starch for the dehydration of ethanol – water mixtures. The X - RD analysis revealed that the enzyme modified corn starch is amorphous in nature while the Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed that the enzyme modified corn starch particles are spherical and irregular in shape with the existence of pores in the starch molecule. Optimization and modelling of the process variables was carried out using the RSM (BBD) design of experiment. The optimum process variables obtained were 2.75mm, 61.69min, and 49.99oC for particle size, time, and temperature respectively at an initial concentration of 90wt% with predicted value of 95.4065wt%. The model was validated at the optimum conditions which gave an experimental value of 95.00wt% ethanol concentration. The experimentally result obtained is 99.574% close to the result obtained from the predicted optimum value. Keywords: Response surface methodology, Enzyme Modified Corn starch, X – RD, SEM, Optimization, Ethanol – water mixtures, Box – Behnken design

Trend Analysis of Landcover/ Landuse Change in Patani L.G.A, Delta State Nigeria

This study examines the use of GIS and Remote Sensing in trend analysis of landcover/landuse change in Patani L.G.A, Delta State Nigeria from 2005 to 2015. Thus the study is to carry out a multi-temporal analysis of development trends, thereby detecting the changes that have taken place between these periods. Two Landsat images, Landsat 7ETM+ (2005) and Landsat 8OLI (2015) were acquired, classified and change detection analysis was performed to determine the multi-temporal landcover/landuse changes between the years. The results showed that vegetation decreased from 16673.73 hectares in 2005 to 15973.9 hectares in 2015 covering 75.45% of landcover/landuse class in the study area, built up area gained from 3684.03 hectares in 2005 to 4346.37 hectares in 2015 covering 20.53 % in the study area, while water bodies also increased from 812.29 hectares in 2005 to 849.78 hectares in 2015 covering 4% of the study area. The study also indicated that the annual growth rate of Built up area has increased at 0.82% from 2005 to 2015, vegetation decreasing significantly at the rate of -0.21% from 2005 to 2015, and water bodies also increasing at a rate of 0.22% from 2005 to 2015. The results from this study can serve as a base for decision making and planning for urban planning and regional developments in Patani L.G.A

The Need for Ethnic Integration in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Focus of Western Niger Delta

This paper examines the ethnical crisis ravaging the Niger Delta region of Nigeria with particular emphasis on the Western Niger Delta, specifically focusing on Warri. With this examination, the study intends to proffer solution on how to remedize future tribal/ethnical crisis with a view to bringing about unity and integration of the various ethnic groups in the region. Given the focus of this study, the paper adopts the primordialist, instrumentalist and constructivist accounts as the theoretical frameworks in analyzing ethnical crisis in the Niger Delta Region. Academic explanations of ethnic conflict generally fall into one of these three schools of thought. The paper evaluates the various claims, literatures and assertions made particularly on the original position or placement of the headquarters of Warri South local government and repudiates claims that it was initially located in Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw community instead of Ogidigben, an Itsekiri village as gazetted by the federal government of Nigeria. The study advocates and recommends inter alia, the needs to uphold meritocracy and de-emphasize favoritism, nepotism and ethnicity/tribalism as a basis for gaining or obtaining supports, employment, promotion, infrastructural development and development attention either from government, individuals or groups. The paper thus advocates the need for the introduction of socio-cultural recreational centers, specifically created for socio-cultural activities for the Niger Deltans with immense and profound support from government with a view to breeding unity and integration amongst the various ethnic groups in the Niger Delta Region. Keywords: western niger delta, ethnic, tribes, conflict, crisis, unity and integration

Relatıonshıp Between School Clımate And Prıncıpals’ Job Performance In Secondary Schools

This study investigated the relationship between school climate and principals’ job performance in secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria. It adopted a correlational study design. Five research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study embraced all the principals from 283 secondary schools in the six education zones of Enugu State. Out of the population, a sample of 177 principals was selected through simple random sampling technique. The instruments used to collect data were Organizational Climate Index and Principal Self-Assessment Questionnaire, adapted and developed by the researcher, respectively. The two sets of questionnaires were duly validated by experts in Measurement and Evaluation, and Educational Management and Policy. Cronbach Alpha method was used to determine the reliability coefficient of the instruments which yielded 0.83 for the Organizational Climate Index and 0.94 for the Principal Self-Assessment Questionnaire. . Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient was used for data analysis. The findings showed among others that: there was a moderate positive relationship existing between the two variables- school climate and principal’s job performance. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that principals should embrace the collaborative and collegial style of administration where teachers are included and free to share ideas and concepts for managerial and school effectiveness. It was also recommended that principals should create an atmosphere that is supportive, comfortable, friendly, productive, and relaxed, to motivate students’ greater participation in learning and achieving educational goals

Appraisal of Chicken Production with Associated Biosecurity Practices in Commercial Poultry Farms Located in Jos, Nigeria

A questionnaire-based study of chicken production system with on-farm biosecurity practices was carried out in commercial poultry farms located in Jos, Nigeria. Commercial and semicommercial farms had 75.3% and 24.5% of 95,393 birds on 80 farms, respectively. Farms using deep litter and battery cage systems were 69 (86.3%) and 10 (12.5%), respectively. In our biosecurity scoring system, a correct practice of each indicator of an event scored 1.00 and biosecurity score (BS) of each farm was the average of the scores of biosecurity indicators for the farm, giving BS of zero and 1.00 as absence of biosecurity and optimal biosecurity, respectively. Semicommercial farms had higher BS than commercial farms. The flock size did not significantly (p>0.05) affect the mean BS. Disease outbreaks correlated (r=-0.97) with BS, showing a tendency of reduction of disease outbreaks with increasing BS. Outbreaks were significantly (p<0.05) associated with deep litter system. In conclusion, the chicken production system requires increased drive for excellent biosecurity practices and weak points in the biosecurity could be ameliorated by extension of information to farmers in order to support expansion of chicken production with robust biosecurity measures that drastically reduce risk of disease outbreak