Entrepreneurial Activities in Rural Forest Communities in Nigeria: Case Study of Onigambari Forest Area, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Entrepreneurship has been identified as a vehicle for rural development and overall economic growth in Nigeria. This paper examines the nature of entrepreneurial ventures in rural forest communities as well as the roles of forest resources in these ventures and the challenges they face. The study was based on a survey of 120 respondents from three communities in the Onigambari Forest Area in Oyo State using multistage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics as well as the Chi – square was used to analyse the results. The results showed that the farming (agribusiness) form the major entrepreneurial venture in these communities and these ventures are faced with a vicious cycle of low income and productivity. The results also show that these entrepreneurial ventures are faced with several challenges affecting their productivity. This study recommends that the government should encourage financial institutions to increase their presence in rural areas, that members in forest communities should be adequately trained on how to make proper use of forest resources and the overall standard of living in rural areas should be improved so that entrepreneurship can have the desired effect and forest resources can be a productive asset for development in these communities. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, forest resources, rural areas DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-11-08 Publication date:June 30th 201

Effect of COVID-19 on Academic Performance in Four CORE Subjects of selected Senior Secondary School Students in Upper West Region of Ghana

COVID-19 created lots of distortions in the world. This study investigated effect of COVID-19 on academic performance among selected senior secondary school students from Ghana. WASSCE results from 2017/2018 through 2021/2022 academic sessions were considered to determine order in academic performance before, during and after COVID-19. Two research questions and hypotheses were stated, while a descriptive correlational survey was adopted, and convenience sampling technique employed to select needed sample for the study. WASSCE results of five (5) academic sessions were extracted for core subjects in senior high schools for pre-, during, and after COVID-19. Data used are standardized scores with reliability coefficients of 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 respectively at p=0.01 (2-tailed). Data collected were analyzed using frequency and percentages. Results revealed that highest and lowest mean scores recorded occurred in 2017/2018 and 2021/2022 academic sessions respectively. Also, the relationship between academic performance after COVID-19 was established to be significant and stronger than the relationship between academic performance before COVID-19 which was weak but, not significant. Models introduced into the school system during COVID-19 should continue since academic performance in the core subjects is improving as desired by stakeholders in education

BARRIERS TO ICT DEPLOYMENT IN THE NIGERIAN REAL ESTATE PRACTICE

The introduction of computer and the advent of internet has changed how man lives in the modern world. The versatility of ICT has led to its adoption in real estate services as property market is imperfect in nature. This makes information about the property not to be well disseminated. This study seeks to investigate the barriers to the deployment of ICT in Nigerian real estate practice. Lagos state was chosen as the case study and delineated based on locational pattern to ascertain the central business districts where the agglomeration of the professional practice of real estate lies. Questionnaires were administered to 172 real estate firms and516 patrons of the firms within the metropolis. The stratified random and snowballing sampling technique was adopted for questionnaire administration on the population respectively. The data collected was analyzed using the weighted mean score and one sample t-test analysis. Findings revealed that the most salient barrier to the deployment of ICT in real estate practice is the rapid changes in ICT technologies. Recommendations were that practitioners should improve their learning culture on the use all forms of ICT software for real estate practice in the bid to build their level of expertise and also put the profession on a global scale amongits contemporaries.&nbsp

PRODUCTION OF PAVING BLOCK FROM RECYCLED POLYETHYLENE

The production of paving block from sand and cement is becoming of immense and popular in Nigeria and is being used as finishing material in landscaping. Presently the cost of cement is becoming high and polythene waste is increasing daily causing pollution all over the land. This project researched into recycling of the polyethene and using it as binding agent in the production of paving blocks. The pure water sachet nylon was collected, washed and dried. It was cut and melted in a machine fabricated to recycled the sachet water nylon. The recyclate was collected and mixed with sand at different temperature range of 200 – 300 OC. The condensate was mixed with sand poured in a mould and allowed to cool. Compression and hardness test were performed on the paving block produced. The result shows that increase in temperature increases the compressive test of pave block and the more the content of the sand the higher the compressive strength of the paving block. The hardness test revealed that the pave block produced at 300 OC has a higher value than that at 200 OC while the pave block with higher sand content has greater hardness value

Production of Ductile Iron from Waste Sleeve Scraps for Automobile Applications

There is continuous demand for local production of quality automobile spare parts in the country nowadays. The current economic condition of the nation has placed more challenges on the indigenous foundry to improve on their technology to make automobile spare components accessible and affordable to the nation. This study examined the possibility of converting the indiscriminately dumped sleeve scraps from state of waste to ductile iron useful products thereby adding value to it. The mechanical properties of ductile iron produced from the sleeve scraps using local technology were determined and found comparable to that of international standard (ISO). Sleeve scraps were charged with graphite and FeSi into a rotary furnace and melted. Nodularization was achieved ising MgFeSi as an indigenous technology of the production process. The hypotheses of the study were tested and compared with the ISO standard of the grade of ductile iron and the findings revealed that Ductile iron that corresponds with the standard was successfully produced from solid waste (automobile sleeves scraps). It was recommended among others that the effort be made towards the conversion of sleeve scraps to ductile iron automobile components, in order to minimize the menace of environmental pollution which leads to numerous health hazards and mortality. Also, making automobile spare parts available to the end users and reduce its importatio

Physiological and cultural factors affecting VA mycorrhizae infection and responsiveness in various cassava clones

Degree of VAM colonization and clonal responsiveness are useful selection criteria for improving the clonal adaptation of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) for managing sustainable crop production systems in the tropics. Cultivated clones of cassava were shown to vary in their levels of colonization by different vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM fungi) species in controlled sterile- pot cultures using low-P soils. Physiological factors of host plants which significantly influenced the VAM responsiveness were fibrous root growth rate and weight, leaf area, water use efficiency, and photosynthetic photochemical efficiency. Host plant cultural factors that influenced VAM infection rates were soil P level, irrigation frequency, and age of the host plant. The VAM fungal species (Glomus clarum and G. mossae) effect on clonal responsiveness was not significant. Efficient and desirable host clones of cassava need to be selected for those environments where VAM could be beneficial for improved nutrient and water resource use

Viral Transport Medium produced for Covid-19 swab samples collection in Nigeria

Accuracy in viral diagnosis depends both on the technology employed for the Assay and the medium used for preservation during transportation to the laboratory. SARS CoV-2 virus causes coronal virus disease (COVID-19) and it spreads from an infected person's mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe. Hence, swabs collected from nostril and throat are used for its definite diagnosis, by using molecular technique. The challenge to prepare in-country viral transport medium (VTM) to preserve samples collected for COVID-19 testing starred Nigeria Scientists at the face, when the imported VTMs were exhausted shortly after the pronounced global lock-down in the second quarter of 2020. As a way of responding to this challenge, VTM was produced and validated using amino acid substrates, fungizone, gentamycin and phosphate buffer saline. The products were subjected to sterility test using Chocolate agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar. The following bacteria viz: E. coli, Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp. and Klebsiella sp, were also inoculated into the VTM vials and incubated for 34 consecutive days from which the wire-loop filled inoculums were sub-cultured on Chocolate agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar at 24 hours interval.  No growth was recorded in both situations. Two thousand five hundred vials of the VTM produced were tested in parallel in the NCDC accredited laboratories in Oyo, Lagos, Imo, Ekiti and Osun States; alongside the few imported VTMs in circulation and the performance was 100% the same. This interventional study clearly showed in comparison with imported brands of VTMs, the possibility of using cheap readily sourced materials in low-income setting for the production on in-house VTMs, giving engagement of skillful personnel for the purpose

Operability of Mobile Agent Applications in a Protected Environment

There is a shift toward increasingly heterogeneous networks in today�s communications environment. Such diversity requires that network operators have greater experience and increased training. Managing these diverse networks especially in institutions requires the collection of large quantities of data from a dependable network that must be analyzed before management of any activity can be comenced. In this research, we have identified the operability of mobile Agents in a protected network environment

Hindrance and Benefits to Green Building Implementation:Evidence from Benin City, Nigeria

The clamour for sustainable development and reduction of greenhouse gases led to the green concept which in recent times has gained significant momentum. To encourage the widespread development of green buildings, an understanding of the awareness, benefits, and hindrances for its adoption is necessary. This is relevant now that concerns over climate change have led to an increasing global demand for sustainability within the built environment. While the discourse is still rather muted in Nigeria, this study will contribute to the ongoing effort to raise public awareness about green building and its benefits by evaluating the opinion of professionals regarding the subject matter. Structured questionnaires were distributed among five different professionals in the built environment and information sourced includes the level/mode of awareness, benefits and bottleneck, and support for its development. The survey results showed that 43.48% of the professionals advocated for its development in Nigeria. The benefits and bottlenecks were ranked according to their perceived importance. The study recommends the creation of public enlightenment on green education, enforcement of mandatory training, formulation and implementation of policies directed towards green building acceptability. This will help promote and protect the built environment and reduces health hazards posed by conventional developments

Roles of local leaders on wildlife conservation effort in Old Oyo National Park, Nigeria

Active involvement of local communities has become an integral part of approaches to sustainable biodiversity conservation. This study assessed the roles local leaders play in the management of Old Oyo National Park. It also assessed the level of interaction and perception of people within the host community on the park. A well-structured self-administered questionnaire was used to obtained information from 100 leaders randomly selected in the study area. Twenty leaders were randomly sampled from each of the five ranges in the park. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Majority (85%) of the respondents were males, reflecting the fact that male play a major role as leaders in the study area compared with female. Many (65%) leaders were involved in Decision making while 30% were occasionally engaged in protection exercise. Provision of jobs (70%) is the most appreciated form of help easily recognised by respondents. However, training of community members on self-reliance job is less popular (10%). Most (70%) respondents have one or more of their relative working with the park. All (100%) respondents agree to support the establishment of the park in their communities. Illegal arrest of leaders’ subjects (50%) and lack of recognition of some communities are the leading causes of conflicts. Half (50%) of misunderstanding between the park and host community were resolved out of court. This study shows that Old Oyo National park management is in good touch with the leaders of the host communities. However, constant assessment of leaders understanding and loyalty is highly recommended in order to strengthen the current relationship.Keywords: Biodiversity Conservation, leaders, local communities, park managemen