Rethinking The Architectural Literacy Of Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study Of University Of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College

Universities campuses are composed of buildings with emotional, practical, functional and even spiritual meanings. The physical environment of a university campus is a place with distinct character. Apart from their functional requirements as places of learning and knowledge production, buildings and landscapes form a textual lens through which to examine higher education provisioning across time. This article discusses the chronological history of the Howard College campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal through the lens of architecture. This article also argues that architecture can be viewed as a ‘text’ which can be a form of language that can be comprehended and interpreted through various architectural styles, elements, form and layouts. It discusses how university campus buildings are illuminating reflections of the political, cultural and educational landscape contexts of different periods within the physical development of a higher education institution. Four campus buildings established in different periods with different architectural styles and features were analysed in this article with a particular focus on colonial architecture and its influence on campus buildings. The article proposes “architectural literacy” as a construct to inform a qualitative historical insight into the changing landscape of the higher education system in South Africa and the university of KwaZulu-Natal. It also provides insight into the various transformations in the built environment of the university campus from its colonial inception to its evolving decolonised state through the campus buildings

ICT Literacy Skill and Electronic Resources Utilization Among Lecturers in the Faculty of Education, Oou, Nigeria

This study examined ICT literacy skills and electronic resources utilization among lecturers in the Faculty of Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design where 56 academic staff  been all academic staff in the Faculty of Education were purposively selected  to participate in the study.  In all, 49 were retrieved valid which accounted for 87.5% rate of returned. The  questionnaire termed” Information Literacy skill Scale” (ILSS) Electronic resources utilization scale” (ERUS) and reason for using electronic resources scale (RUES)  instrument were validated by five (5) expert in the Faculty of Education and three (3) other lecturers outside the faculty. The reliability of the instrument was determined by using Cronbach’s’ co-efficient alpha (α) values with the following α scores: ICT literacy skill = 0.81, electronic resources utilization = 0.87, Purpose of using electronic resources = 0.76. Data gathered were analyzed  using  descriptive statistics (simple percentage, mean & standard deviation)  and regression analysis . Findings from the study revealed a high level of ICT literacy skill  and a high level of electronic resources utilization. The top notable purposes of electronic resources utilization as indicated by the sampled audience were to update knowledge/research purposes, to share knowledge, for publication of journal/ articles, for writing of thesis /dissertation among many others. Besides, the findings also revealed a significant relative influence of ICT literacy skill on electronic resources utilization. It is hereby recommended that special notice board through the library should be created across faculties  in the university on lists of electronic resources and how to assess them. Not only that, the university management should made fund necessarily available either through TETFUND intervention or other means for subscription of more scholarly electronic information resources and databases  in order to build a strong collection of e-resources in the library for the usage among its clientele including the academic staffs. Keywords: ICT Literacy Skill, Electronic Resources Utilization, Lecturers, OOU, Nigeria. DOI: 10.7176/JIEA/11-1-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG RETIRED ELITE ATHLETES IN NIGERIA

Retirement from sport is inevitable and unavoidable. It is a major source of threat to the health-related quality of life of retired elite athletes especially among who refute involvement in adequate planning and preparation for life after sports. The purpose of this study was to examine psychological characteristics of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among retired elite athletes in Oyo State, Nigeria. Two hypotheses were tested. The study employed descriptive survey research design. Purposive sampling technique was used to select one hundred (100) (Male = 63, Female = 37) retired elite athletes. The standardized questionnaires of Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-DS) and the Short-Form 8 (SF-8) Health Survey were used for collection of data from the respondents. The reliability coefficient of the instrument used are 0.86, 0.84 and 0.88 respectively. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics of frequency counts, percentages and multiple regression. The result of the study showed that, there is significant joint contributions of psychological characteristics on HRQoL (F(2, 97) = 107.581, R = .74, R2 = .686, Adj R2 = .686, p<0.05) with 68.6% of degree of variance. Also, there is significant relative contributions of psychological characteristics [athletic-identity (β = -0.079, t = 0.41, p < .05) and depression (β = -.297, t = -1.521, p<0.05)] on HRQoL. Based on the findings, it was concluded that psychological intervention programme that promotes HRQoL and prepares retired elite athletes for life after sports should be developed and inculcated into the elite athletes’ programme before retirement, while regular visitation to psychological and mental health care centres for optimum advise on health-related wellbeing should carried out by the retired elite athletes.   Article visualizations

Relationship between Creativity and Academic Achievement of Business Administration Students in South Western Polytechnics, Nigeria (

This study investigated relationship between students’ creativity and academic achievement as measured by the CGPA scores. Two instruments; Nicolas Holt Creativity Test (NHCT) and Student CGPA Information Format (SCIF) were respectively used to collect data on creativity and students’ CGPA scores of a sample of randomly selected 235 HNDII business administration students of Polytechnics in the South Western States of Nigeria. There was a very low negative insignificant relationship between creativity and CGPA scores (r=-0.004, p>0.05).Thus, the higher the students’ creativity, the lower the CGPA score. A creative person may not necessarily be a high achiever in school. In searching for people to carry out tasks that involve high creativity, level of academic achievement should not be the only requirement for selection.Keywords: Creativity, Academic Achievement, Business AdministrationStudents, Polytechnics, CGPA scores

CONSTRUCTION OF EROTIC NUANCES ON WHATSAPP AND BBM BY NIGERIAN STUDENTS

WhatsApp and BBM are popular instant messengers among Nigerian youths, particularly those of tertiary education age. Both applications are used by different shades of people across both genders as means to achieve different end. This study investigates how both apps are used in the construction of erotic conversations. The study is exploratory in nature and is intended to sketch initial understanding from different pictures painted by individual participants. Consequently, semi-structured interview of the qualitative method was used to extract responses from 20 participants, 10 each from both genders. All participants were drawn randomly from National Diploma (NDI) students of Mass Communication Department of Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo Campus, Nigeria and year three and four students of Mass Communication Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria. Findings revealed that for technical, operational and financial reasons, participants prefer WhatsApp to BBM. Majority of their erotic experiences occur on WhatsApp, involving, largely, chat buddies they have physical familiarity with. Also, most of the participants received more of nude, sexually explicit pictures of a chat buddy at some point in their erotic chat experiences in addition to pornographic films and sexually charged voice notes.   &nbsp

Influence of alloying elements, testing solution and surface roughness on corrosion behaviour of stainless steel reinforcing bars

The province of Ontario has moved from applying rock salt crystals, predominantly impure sodium chloride, to locally available anti-icing brine solutions with chloride amounts as high as 21%. At the same time, the specified design service life of highway structures has increased from 50 years to 75 years. The exposure to aggressive chloride brines has increased the need for more corrosion resistant reinforcing bar (rebar) than the traditional carbon steel rebar. However, the high cost of many stainless steel rebar alloys made them a last resort when concrete reinforcement options are considered. A major factor for their high cost is the price of their major alloying elements. Therefore, the contributions of these elements towards passive film properties, pitting corrosion resistance, critical chloride threshold (CCRIT) values and overall corrosion performance in the presence of deleterious species in concrete, such as chlorides, must be ascertained. This research aimed to provide a critical evaluation of the various parameters affecting long term corrosion performance of different grades of stainless steel rebar in concrete exposed to anti-icing brines. The first step to achieving this was to determine the variation in pore solution compositions of different concrete mixes so that bars can be tested in a similar environment. To do this, cement pastes of varying admixed chloride content, cementitious materials and water-to-cementitious ratio (w/cm) were cast and their pore solutions were analyzed for ionic composition and pH. The results revealed increasing dissolution of sulphate ions with increasing admixed chloride ions in the pore solution. These actual solutions were used in subsequent assessment procedures involving electrochemical techniques such as Mott-Schottky analysis, potentiostatic linear and non-linear polarization resistance and cyclic potentiodynamic polarization techniques. The goal was to determine the passive film properties, pitting characteristics, critical chloride threshold (CCRIT) and relative corrosion performance of carbon steel and five grades stainless steel rebar. Results showed the addition of sulphates to testing solutions suppressed the damage from chloride ions on steel passive films, by forming iron and nickel sulphides in passive films that provided additional protection. Results also showed that testing in lower pH solution, as done by many researchers, is conservative and underestimates corrosion resistance. The influence of the expensive stainless steel alloying elements (Cr, Ni, Mo, Mn) on the corrosion parameters listed above were then investigated. Chromium significantly improved these properties by decreasing passive film defects and increasing CCRIT values of the rebar. Molybdenum did not improve the corrosion resistance in the austenitic alloys but was beneficial in duplex alloys by concentrating in the ferritic component. Nickel was found to improve the outer layer of passive films properties by forming an Fe-Ni spinel, while manganese improved the inner passive layer. It is necessary for these observations in corrosion behaviour of rebar to be consistent. Consequently, other factors potentially leading to variations in corrosion performance of stainless steel rebar alloys were examined. These included the influence of variability in composition, microstructure and surface roughness between batches of stainless steel alloys from different manufacturers, and results showed surface roughness to be the major and overwhelming factor in corrosion resistance. The most important observation has been that, for the particular concrete mixture used in this research, the critical chloride threshold concentration, found by extrapolation of the experimental data, was greater than the solubility limit of chlorides in cement pores. This implies that chloride induced corrosion of the stainless alloys would not be possible in this concrete in the absence of cracks or major flaws

Optimization and Characterization of Tyrosinases from Multi-enzyme Producing Fusarium solani and Fumago sp.

Tyrosinase is a copper-containing metalloprotein that catalyzes the oxidation of tyrosine, in particular, L-DOPA to L-Dopaquinone, which are precursors of brown pigments in some wounded eukaryotic tissues. The present study focused on screening, production and characterization of tyrosinase from multi-enzyme producing Fusarium solani B1 and Fumago sp. A total of 25 strains were isolated from rotting wood samples and screened for hydrolytic and oxidative multi-enzyme potentials using different polymeric substrates. The two most consistent strains: Fusarium solani B1 and Fumago sp. B13 were further evaluated for tyrosinase production. Some media cultural parameters and physiological conditions were optimized in order to maximize tyrosinase production. Incubation of Fumago sp. B13 and Fusarium solani B1 for 96 and 144 h in medium containing 2 % and 0.2 % ratios of Glucose and NaNO3 with pH 6 and 7, respectively, was most suitable for tyrosinase production. Characterization of the partially purified tyrosinase from Fumago sp. B13 and Fusarium solani B1 exhibited optimal activities at pH 6-7, 30 °C, and 1 mM Cu2+, respectively, thereby suggesting their potentials for novel biotechnological applications

Malaria parasite distribution and knowledge among students of Federal University Of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

Malaria remains a major challenging infectious disease across the globe particularly in sub-Sahara Africa and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Management strategy depends majorly on reliable epidemiological information. Thus, this study is to investigate the malaria parasite distribution and knowledge among students of Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. Blood samples were obtained from volunteered subjects. Thick and thin blood films stained with Giemsa were prepared and viewed under the x100 objective lens of the light microscope to determine the presence or absence of malaria parasite. A well-structured questionnaire was employed to collect relevant epidemiological information such as demographic, socioeconomic, environmental variables and their knowledge regarding malaria. Of the total 203 participants examined, three-quarter (84.20 %) tested positive to malaria infection, while 80.30 % had moderate parasitaemia level. All the participants (100.00 %)  identified mosquito as the malaria parasite vector. Age group (χ2 = 11.88, p = 0.01), marital status (χ2 = 21.81, p = 0.01), income (χ2 = 27.52, p = 0.01) and environmental sanitation (χ2 = 6.25, p = 0.04) were predisposing factors (p<0.05) associated with malaria infection among participants.  Meanwhile, female participants are 0.92 times (CI: 0.42 - 2.02) less prone to malaria infection compare to male and monthly environmental sanitation was 3.62 times (CI: 1.21 - 10.87) prone to malaria infection than those who observed environmental sanitation weekly. The present study has revealed high prevalence of malaria infection among the students. School management and government should implement malaria control strategies among tertiary students. Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum, Malaria, Parasitaemia, Knowledge, Predisposing factor

Exploring Citizen Security in the Nigeria Federated State: Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency in Perspective

AbstractThe research problem of this study was centered on the state of insecurity in Lagos State and the intervention of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency. Evidence from previous studies supported the use of community policing, police reform, training of security personnel, and collaboration amongst security agencies as measures to address issues of insecurity in Lagos State. The purpose of this qualitative research was to examine the impact of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Agency on the security challenges of the state and generate additional discourse. Institutional theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this research with a purposive sampling strategy for data collection. The key research question focused on the experiences of Lagos State residents on the impact of the Neighbourhood Safety Agency on security and how to improve the measures currently adopted. A purposive sample of 20 participants was selected from both Lagos Mainland and Lagos Island locations for primary data collection. Relevant themes were coded during data analysis to address areas of interest in the research question. The result of the study indicated that the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency has not been adequately equipped to combat insecurity in the state due to lack of proper recruitment process, inadequate training of security personnel, misplaced priority of personnel of the agency, and dearth of modern security equipment. The study drives positive social change through recommendations on effective recruitment process of personnel into the agency, training and re-orientation on operational processes, and adequate funding for modern security appliances to promote a more secured community from the grassroots in Lagos state

Microbial Rotting and Preservation of Banana Fruits (Musa Sapientum L.) in Nigeria

The bacterial and fungal pathogens associated with the watery rot of banana fruits were isolated and identified. The bacterial pathogens were Pediococcus sp., Propionibacterium sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The fungal pathogens which also showed cellulolytic activities were Botryodiplodia theobromae, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus sp. These organisms caused rot at room temperature but were unable to cause rot at 5 oC and 10 oC. Banana fruit rot was generally prevented at relative humidities of 10, 50, 80, 90 and 100 %, except that Botryodiplodia theobromae caused rot at 10, 50, and 80% RH. Microbial infection of healthy fruit resulted in a depletion of the total carbohydrate, crude protein, reducing sugar, free fatty acid and ascorbic acid contents. There was an increase in the total lipid and moisture contents of spoilt fruits. Preservation of banana fruits with fungicides and chemical preservatives was investigated. The use of fungicidal wax emulsion was observed to delay fruit ripening and prevented moisture loss thereby controlling the onset of rot