Students and Teachers’ Views of Difficult Areas in Mathematics Syllabus: Basic Requirement for Science and Engineering Education

The research investigates teachers and students’ views of difficult areas of mathematics syllabus which is a special requirement for engineering education in Nigeria using Ogbomosho South Secondary Schools in Oyo State as case study. The population of the study consisted of all the mathematics teachers and all the senior secondary III students in all the 18 Secondary schools in the Local Government Area. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 15 mathematics teachers and 180 Senior Secondary school III Students. Two self designed questionnaires were developed to elicit information for the research questions. Appropriate hypotheses were raised based on the research questions. These questionnaires were validated and their reliability ensured. The data gathered were analyzed using frequency count, percentage, t-test and Chi-square. The results of the analyses revealed that both teachers and students, qualified and unqualified, experienced and less experienced teachers have the same views of difficult areas in teaching and learning of mathematics in the secondary schools. Based on the findings, it was therefore recommended that for engineering education to advance, teachers should endeavour to improve themselves academically, be more committed, proactive in their dealings, and see their job as service to humanity; school authorities should have more time schedule for mathematics on the time table, qualified mathematics teachers should be posted to all schools, appointment of mathematics teachers should be purely on merit and should not be politicized. Curriculum planners should be up and doing in planning for teaching of mathematics with appropriate instructional materials. Keywords: Teachers, students, perceptions, mathematics, curriculum, hypotheses, T-test, Chi-square, Evaluation, Recommendation

Practices of Child Labour Among Parents in Ekiti State, Nigeria: Implication for School Administrators

The study investigated the practices of child labour among parents in Ekiti State, Nigeria.  The descriptive research design of the survey type was used for the study.  Multistage random sampling technique was used to select four hundred (400) parents living in Ekiti State.  A self-designed questionnaire was used as instrument for the study.  The face and content validity of the instrument was ensured by experts while the reliability of the instrument was ensured using test-retest method.  The reliability coefficient of 0.84 was obtained.  The data collected was analyzed using t – test, one way ANOVA and scheffe post hoc analysis. One general question and four hypotheses were generated for the study. The study confirmed the existence of child labour practice in the state and that it is predominant in the domestic sector. The study revealed that there was significant difference in the practice of child labour by male and female parents; there was also significant difference in the practice in terms of marital status and employment status of parents.  There was no difference in the practice of child labour among parents of different religions.  It was recommended among others that parents should be economically empowered to reduce poverty and urge to involve their children in labour.  Laws on child labour should be enforced by relevant agencies with a view to reducing incidence of child labour on our streets.  School administrators should implore various organisations like the media, religious bodies and others to campaign against the practice of Child Labour. Key words: Child  labour, school administrators, parents, prevalence, practice

INFORMATION DISSEMINATION AND DECISION MAKING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OYO STATE

The study investigated the relationship between information dissemination and decision making in secondary schools. The studyexamined the predominant mode of information dissemination, level of decision making participation of teachers, the influence of school location and experience of teachers on information dissemination and decision making. The descriptive research design of the survey type was used. The population of the study consisted of all the teachers in all the public secondary schools in OyoState. The multistage random sampling technique was used to select 300 respondents consisting of teachers from 15 secondary schools in the state. Two research questions and two hypotheses were generated. A self designed questionnaire titled Information Dissemination and Decision making Questionnaire†(IDDMQ) was used to collect data from the respondents. The data was analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and t-test Statistics. The hypotheses was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that the predominant mode of disseminating information is by the school principal and heads of department while the level of decision making participation of teachers is moderately high to certain extents.There was positive relationship between information dissemination and decision making. It was also found that there was difference in the dissemination of information and decision making in schools located in rural and urban areas while there was no difference in the information and decision making of teacher based on their years of experience at work. It was recommended that all bottlenecks hindering information dissemination and decision making in schools should be dealt with. All teachers should be carried along while taking decisions regardless of experience and location of schools. All schools should be supplied with necessary infrastructures by the government that can aid information dissemination no matter the location of the school

Seasonal evaluation of groundwater quality around Igando dumpsites in Lagos metropolis using correlation and regression analysis.

Correlation and Multiple linear regression analysis was used to establish the degree of relationship and variability of groundwater quality parameters around Solous 1 and 2 Dumpsites, in Igando, Lagos, for the wet and the dry seasons. The correlation between TDS and other hydrochemical parameters which constituted the independent variables were positive, with significantly high positive correlation exhibited between TDS and EC for the wet season. For the dry season, the correlation between TDS and other groundwater quality parameters (EC, NO3- and Cl- ) was positive, while its correlation with Zn2+ and Fe2+ was negative. The results of the multiple linear regressions for the wet and the dry seasons indicate that the model accounts for 96.8 percent and 93.9 percent, respectively of the variance of TDS concentration of groundwater around the dumpsites.@JASE

Analysis Of Rainfall Distribution In Owerri And Enugu, Nigeria Using Precipitation Concentration Index

The precipitation concentration index (PCI) of Owerri and Enugu for 1974 to 2011 was computed to characterise the rainfall distribution for both locations. The PCI was estimated on an annual and seasonal scale. The seasonal estimation was based on the categorisation of the seasons in eastern Nigeria into long wet season, short wet season, short dry season and dry season. The results of the PCI computed for Owerri showed that 87% of the years for which annual PCI was computed fell within the moderate concentration category range, while for Enugu 71% of the years fell within the moderate concentration category. For the long wet season for the study period, 74% and 66% of the years fell within the uniform precipitation concentration category at Owerri and Enugu, respectively, while 13% of the years at Owerri, and 16% of the years at Enugu fell within the moderate precipitation category. The varying degrees of precipitation concentration as indicated by the study implies that effective management of water resources and agriculture, and the control of erosion in the study locations might be more difficult to achieve under the prevailing climatic conditions.Key Words: Precipitation Concentration Index; Owerri, Enugu, Rainfall; Variabilit

Sustainable Urban Housing: A Systematic Review of Low-Carbon Design Practices

Low-carbon design practices for sustainable urban housing are essential for mitigating climate change and enhancing urban resilience. However, a comprehensive and consistent overview of this field's state-of-the-art, best practices, challenges, and gaps is lacking. This paper aims to fill this gap by conducting a systematic review of existing literature on low-carbon design practices for sustainable urban housing in Nigeria and other countries. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines and used various analytical methods to synthesize data from 48 articles selected from 219 articles downloaded from Scopus and Web of Science databases, covering a period of 24 years (1997–2021). The results revealed four main themes of low-carbon design practices: energy efficiency, renewable energy, low-carbon materials, and sustainability assessment. The review also identified positive impacts, trade-offs, challenges, opportunities, and trends related to these practices. The paper discusses the implications, limitations, and recommendations for theory, practice, policy, and research on low-carbon design practices for sustainable urban housing. The paper contributes valuable insights for advancing knowledge in this area and guiding the development of sustainable urban housing solutions with low-carbon design practices. Keywords: Sustainable Urban Housing, Low-Carbon Design Practices, Best Practices, Challenges, Practitioners. DOI: 10.7176/ADS/106-03 Publication date:August 31st 2023

Effectiveness of Library Service and Resources in an African University

This paper examined the effectiveness of library service and resources in an African university. To elicit the necessary information, a questionnaire was randomly administered to 500 students from 100 – 500 level of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo-state, Nigeria. A response rate of 100% was achieved. Using frequency and simple percentage to analyze the data, the results showed that majority 73% of the respondents find the university library service effective and (53%) agree that its resources are adequate for their various information needs. The study concluded by noting that there were inadequacies which emanated from short fall in acquisitions, but the library resources provided were easily accessible and fairly adequate to meet the information needs of the users. Based on the findings, recommendations were made in order to boost the library services and resources provided to meet more of the demands of the teeming population of users. Keywords: Effectiveness of library, Library service, Library resources, African universit

Development and performance evaluation of locally fabricated thermal conductivity apparatus

This paper presents the design and construction of a Guarded Hot Plate (GHP) apparatus for the accurate assessment of thermal conductivities of some Nigerian local building materials. The GHP apparatus is a steady-state measurement device. This apparatus is designed to measure the thermal conductivities of masonry building materials of different compositions. The design features included hot and cold plates fabricated with aluminum plates of 6 mm thickness and varying dimensions; the guard plates also made of aluminum, but of 6.35 mm thickness, forms a rigid enclosure for the specimen all encased in a mild steel housing. The operating measuring temperature range is from -20 for varying specimen thickness up to 60mm. Results are presented for concrete, laterite, and a mixture of cement with laterite, clay, and sand respectively, and it covers a range of thermal conductivities of 0.77W/mK to 1.80 W/mK. Moisture effect on concrete was recorded for the lightweight concrete as the thermal conductivity value reduced from 1.80W/m.K to 1.32W/m.K for the oven-dried concrete sample over a 1.5% (by weight) reduction in water content. The performance evaluation of the locally fabricated GHP apparatus showed a 3.03% percentage difference over ASHRAE’s published data on oven-baked concrete thermal conductivitie

Evaluation of herbal leaf meal as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics on haematological parameter and serum biochemical indices of growing sexed pigs

This study was conducted at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in September 2019 to evaluate the influence of sex and sole or combined herbal leaf meal as alternative in-feed antibiotics on serum biochemical indices. A total of thirty large white sexed pigs of eight weeks were allotted into five (5) dietary treatments for 12 weeks. Dietary treatments had no significant effect on haematological parameters and serum biochemical indices. Sex did not influence the haematological and serum biochemical profile of pigs except for monocyte, albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, and cholesterol respectively. Dietary supplementation did not influence the haematological serum biochemical profile of pigs. This indicates that the haematological indices were not influenced by sex and diet except the significant values which were within the normal range for sexed pigs which reveals that sex and diet does not compromise the immune system of the sexed pigs