The effect of mentoring on beginning teacher retention in Bossier Parish (Louisiana) school system

This study examined the effect of mentoring on beginning teacher retention in the Bossier Parish Schools, a northwest Louisiana parish school system. The sample consisted of complete responses from 161 participants out of a population of 499 Pre-K through 12th grade teachers who had participated in the Louisiana Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program (LaTAAP) between August 1998 and May 2007. Participants completed a 28-item questionnaire that was posted on the internet via SurveyMonkey. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: (a) general information, (b) appraisal of mentoring and professional development activities, and (c) background information. Statistical analyses were performed according to data type: correlated t-test for pre- and post-measures; Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA for between-group differences. Statistical analysis indicated a significant relationship between the mentor\u27s assistance and the mentee\u27s competency in the following areas: (a) teaching students with special needs, (b) classroom management and student discipline skills, and (c) communicating school and district culture. A significant relationship was found between gender and retention. Additional findings indicated the following: (a) 66% of the participants rated their skill levels higher, post-mentoring; (b) participants rated observations of certified teachers as the most helpful professional development activity; and (c) 77% of the participants indicated satisfaction with the teaching profession. Conversely, no significant relationship was found between teacher retention and the following variables: (a) students\u27 socio-economic status; (b) teachers\u27 age bracket; (c) race; (d) initial mode of certification; (e) grade-level taught; and (f) duration of mentoring. Additionally, no significant relationship was found between the mentor\u27s assistance and the mentee\u27s competency with regard to the following variables: (a) executing content standards; (b) planning effective classroom instruction skills; (c) communicating with parents; and (d) assessing student progress. Implications for practice and recommendations for further study were presented

Migraine with Prolonged Aura: Correlation of Clinical and EEG Features

Migraine with prolonged aura has rarely been examined with regard to the sequence of the neurological symptoms and the associated EEG changes. This report describes five patients who underwent clinical assessment and EEG recordings during attacks of migraine with prolonged aura. CT scan of the brain was obtained in four of them. Follow-up EEG was also obtained. The aura symptoms either preceded the headache or were coincident with it. The aura symptoms evolved in a manner consistent with posterior-to-anterior dysfunction of the cerebral cortex. The EEG abnormalities were non-epileptiform and consisted of focal delta slow waves or theta slow waves. The EEG abnormalities showed good correlation with the patients' aura symptoms and resolved when the patients became symptom free. The posterior-to-anterior sequence of the aura symptoms is in accord with the findings during cerebral blood flow studies in patients having migraine with aura. Also the symptoms and EEG changes in our patients indicate dysfunction of the cerebral cortex, consistent with the notion that spreading cortical depression may be the underlying pathophysiological event in migraine with aura

Effect of Storage Containers on Quality of Household Drinking Water in Urban Communities in Ibadan, Nigeria

The method of storage is essential in maintaining water purity and safety for drinking purposes. This study assessed the effect of various storage containers on household drinking water quality in a resource-limited setting. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. Four communities using protected springs as household drinking water sources were purposively selected. Forty-four households were selected and randomly assigned to four treatment groups; namely Covered Buckets with Taps (CBT), Covered Buckets without Tap (CB), Covered Kegs with Taps (CKT) and Covered Kegs without Tap (CK). Physicochemical analysis and bacteriological analysis were carried out on the water samples before and after they were put in the containers. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 12. At baseline, mean pH values of water samples from the springs and RSC were 6.4±0.6 and 7.1±0.7 respectively which were above the recommended. Mean chloride concentration of springs (14.3±7.4mg/l) and RSC (19.3±10.0 mg/l) samples were below recommended. Mean Total Coliform Count (TCC) of the springs in the four communities was 18.0±4.0 and mean TCC of RSC was 12.7±4.9. Five percent of water samples from RSC had mean E.coli count of 100/100ml. The mean TCC after introducing CB, CBT, CK and CKT in all the communities were 10.0±4.0, 8.5±4.2, 6.9±2.8 and 7.3±3.7 respectively (p<0.05). The use of covered kegs without tap was best in reducing contaminants in drinking water. Education on appropriate household drinking water storage and handling practices is recommended

Influence of Employees’ Attitudinal Variables on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour and Organisational Commitment

This study investigates the influence of employees’ attitudinal variables (perceived organisational justice, organisational support, organisational attachment, and mental strain) on organizational citizenship behaviour and organisational commitment among employees in Nigerian private university. Ex-post facto research design was adopted. Non-proportional stratified and simple random sample techniques were used to select six hundred participants from different departments of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. Six self-report questionnaires were used to generate data. Two hypotheses were raised and answered using multiple regression (stepwise) and T-test statistics. Findings revealed among other, that the four predictor variables (perceived organisational justice, organisational support, organisational attachment, and mental strain) combined and individually predicted the criterion variables (organisational citizenship behaviour and organisational commitment). Based on the findings, the paper recommended among others, that employers’ of labour should pay great attention to factors that have significant effect on employees’ commitment; in this case, organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour. Keywords: perceived organisational justice, organisational support, organisational attachment, mental strain, organisational commitment, organisational citizenship behaviou

Innovative Strategies to Grow Sales of Women-Owned SMEs in Emerging Countries

This paper is a discussion of a 2020 multiple case study research involving five female owners of retail small and medium enterprise (SME) companies in Lagos State, Nigeria. Multiple data collection methods employed included semistructured interviews, direct observations, review of company documents, and keeping a reflective journal. We established reliability, validity, and data saturation through triangulation. One major finding was that by deploying innovative ideas, business owners were able to overcome challenges and grow sales. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide both existing and emerging women owned SMEs with the strategies to increase patronage to grow their businesses, thereby contributing to the economic growth of their business, employees, local communities, and the Nigerian national economy

Response of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) to weed control by mulching

The effects of mulching material on okra performance during the rainy seasons of 1999 and 2000 were evaluated at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Three mulch types–plastic mulch, grass mulch (Panicum maximum) and wood shavings (of Tectonia grandis)– were compared with hand weeding and no weeding control in a randomized complete block experiment with three replications. Growth and yield characteristics of okra were assessed together with weed control efficiency under the five treatments. Okra growth and yield were significantly (P hoe weeding > wood shavings > grass mulch.Les expériences se sont déroulées au champ d'enseignement et de recherche de l'Université de Technology de Ladoke Akintola à Ogbomoso pour évaluer les effets de matériel de paillis sur le rendement de gombo pendant les saisons des pluies de 1999 et 2000. Trois types de paillis-paillis en plastique, paillis en herbe (Panicum maximum) et paillis en copeaux de bois (de Tectonia grandis) étaient comparés avec le désherbage à la main et le contrôle de non désherbage dans une expérience de bloc complet choisi au hasard avec trois reproductions. Les paramètres de croissance et de rendement de gombo étaient évalués ensemble avec l'efficacité du contrôle de mauvaise herbe sous les cinq traitements. La croissance et le rendement de gombo étaient considérablement (P sarclage > copeaux de bois > paillis en herbe. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 39 (1) 2006: pp. 35-4

Cereals and grain legumes supply chain: implications for food and feed availability in Nigeria

Cereals and grain legume are of benefits for human consumption and the feed industry. Grain merchants and market speculators are involved in their distribution across the country. Their low production outputs with imports restriction made their supply grossly inadequate to meet the demand. This paper examined selected grains output in Nigeria from 2010 to 2022, analysed grain supply chain and examined the implications of the activities of grains merchants on grains hoarding. The study used secondary data on output of maize, millet, sorghum, soybean, groundnut and cowpea. Data was presented using table and graph with the aid of Stata software. Conceptual analysis was adopted for the demonstration of grains supply flow. In 1,000 metric tonnes, output of millet reduced from 5,170 in 2010 to 2,000 in 2022. That of maize increased from 7,677 in 2010 to 12,745 in 2021; sorghum’s output reduced from 7,141 to 7,000 while that of soybean increased from 142 in 2010 to 680 in 2022. Outputs of millet and sorghum dipped between 2011 and 2013. Grain merchants and speculators hoard grains and sell at higher prices to households and feeds industry due to yearly excess demand over supply. Households buy grains and livestock products at higher prices, households in turn makes labour available to farmers at higher prices with concurrent general price increases. This affects food and feed availability. The paper recommended that Government should purchase grains directly from farmers. Industrial users should also be encouraged to be off-takers of grains through contract farmin

Variation of interception loss with different plant species at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

Interception studies of six plants groups were carried out at the campus of University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in Nigeria, using three different sample sites. These sites were the Arborea plantation, cashew plantation and College of Environmental Resources Management premises of the University. The field work was carried out between 15th June and 28th September, 2009. Of the 22 rainfall events recorded for each plant species, at least 13 produced measurable through fall and stem flow and a maximum of 18 measurable records. Through fall showed a very strong linear correlation against daily rainfall for different plant species. The r2 values varied between 0.841 (Teak) to 0.963 (Gmelina). This trend also followed for stem flow since without rainfall no stem flow. This was not the case for interception loss which showed only a moderate correlation against rainfall amount for each plant species with r2 value ranging from 0.058 (Teak) to 0.716 (Neem). This implied an inverse relationship between interception rate and rainfall amount. Interception ratio for coniferous plants was more than deciduous plants, both having average values of 32.01 and 26.54% respectively when interception loss was considered per storm or event. But when considered at the end of observation, deciduous plants had more interception ratio than the coniferous plants with average interception values of 26.54 and 32.01% respectively. At the end of the observation, the interception loss for each plant, Pinus leuceana sp, cashew, Neem, Gmelina and Teak were 18.77, 21.04, 31.96, 26.16, 11.1 and 38.05% respectively. The values changed when considering average interception loss per storm and the values for the plants species as arranged above were 28.60, 30.18, 31.96, 37.26, 17.78 and 29.89% respectively. This showed that interception loss varied from one plant species to another. With these, one will know which can best be used for conservation purpose.Key words: Through fall, stem flow, canopy

Isolation and characterisation of nitrilase producing Aspergillus species recovered from solid waste leachates at two dump sites in Lagos, Nigeria

Aims: Nitrile compounds are cyanogenic intermediates, products, byproducts and waste products of agriculture, chemical and pharmaceutical industries and fossil fuels degradation. The enzymatic hydrolysis of nitriles to non-toxic carboxylic acids or amides plays an increasingly important role in environment remediation. This study aimed at exploring the potential of Aspergilli in the detoxification nitrile compounds at two selected dump sites in Lagos, Nigeria. Methodology and results: Decomposing solid waste leachate samples (SWL) were randomly collected at two selected dump sites namely Olusosun (Ojota) and Isolo (Oke-Afa). Samples per site were pooled, processed by selective enrichment and screened for the presence of Aspergilli by culture technique and intergenic spacer sequencing (ITS). Biomass generation and pH changes in the culture fluids were monitored at 4-days interval by dry weight measurements. Nitrilase production was determined spectrophotometrically. Two nitrilase producing Aspergillus strains: Aspergillus fumigatus strain WO2 with accession number MF78882 and Aspergillus niger strain WO7 with accession number MH542673 were identified. Growth investigation revealed biomass generations of 17.8 g and 23.8 g dry weight per one liter media for A. fumigatus strain WO2 and A. niger strain WO7 respectively. Progressive pH monitoring showed decline from 7.2 to 4.5 and 7.2 to 6.2 was obtained for strains WO2 and WO7 respectively, during nitrilase production at different yields of 0.0150 and 0.0161 mg/mL/min respectively. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: This study supports the studied dump sites as important sources of nitrilase-producing A. fumigatus and A niger strains with potentials as cost-effective environmental bioremediation agents in Nigeria