Comparative Analysis of Microsoft Package (MSP) Competence among Teacher Trainee Students in Botswana and Nigeria: Implications for Curriculum Practices.

Most school curriculum is thwarted at the implementation level as a result of poor utilization of innovative Microsoft packages (MSP) for learning. The purpose of this study therefore is to determine the extent of utilization of innovative MSP for learning between teacher trainee students (TTSs) from Botswana and Nigeria, as well as their hindrances towards usage of these skills. Data was collected from 373 Higher education students’ from two institutions in Botswana (193) and Nigeria (180). Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results indicate a significant competency difference between Botswana and Nigerian TTSs in various MSP skills, with Botswana being more competent than Nigeria in two MSP skills (MS-excel & PPT). It also showed that TTSs’ from both countries were faced with many challenges ranging from lack of ICT knowledge, technical staff, computers, training, interest, time,  and constant power outage among others. Implications for global best practices towards professional growth and development were discussed and recommendations made based on findings. Keywords: Botswana, Competence, Microsoft package skill, Nigeria

Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Ischaemic Heart Disease in Chinese Cities: A narrative review

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between fine particulate matter and ischaemic heart disease. A literature search was conducted using six electronic databases (Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Web of Science) and the University of Queensland’s online library. A list of important sources was compiled and reviewed, and the ten best resources selected, based on their focus on Chinese cities and the administrative city of Hong Kong. The other criterion used to select the articles was that they must address and contain at least one outcome of the relationship between particulate matter and ischaemic heart disease. The result of the review indicates that both types of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) have a strong association with ischaemic heart disease. Low and high concentrations of particulate matter have unhealthy effects on ischaemic heart disease mortality, morbidity, emergency visits and hospital admissions. Elderly subjects appear more susceptible to the harmful effects of particulate matter. In this narrative review, particulate air pollution manifests higher ischaemic heart disease risk in male, this can be attributed to high exposure level of air pollution and tobacco smoking in men than women in China. Staying at home or using a face mask during low and elevated levels of particulate matter concentration will help improve the cardiovascular health of vulnerable people. The health consequences of particulate matter cannot be ignored in the prevention of ischaemic heart disease. Policy makers in China and Hong Kong should target the implementation of appropriate measures that will reduce particulate matter exposure

Effects of Indole-3-Acetic Acid on the Growth Parameters of Citrullus lanatus (Thunberg) Matsum and Nakai

Effects of Indole-3-Acid (IAA) on Citrullus lanatus plant height, leaf number, branching and flower production were studied in order to evaluate the optimum concentrations required for growth and development. Foliar application using five different concentrations [1, 5, 10, 20 and 0 ppm IAA] was conducted twice at two weeks interval. The results suggest that as IAA concentration increases, plant height decreases with an optimum concentration of 5 ppm IAA. Mean plant height was also significantly different. More so, optimum concentration for leaf production and branching varied with varietal difference. Results obtained for number of branching suggest that 1 ppm IAA is optimum for variety A and 10 ppm is optimum for varieties B, C and D. Although flower production was poor during the study, high flower production is recorded for plants in 20 ppm IAA at 6 weeks after planting for all the varieties. This work establishes the inducing effects of different IAA concentration, which may be exploited for the commercial production of C. lanatus.Keywords: Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), Indole-3-Acetic acid, Growth parameters, Leaf production, Plant Physiology

Value of <em>Amaranthus</em> [L.] Species in Nigeria

This chapter addresses the value of different Amaranthus [L.] species that have been recorded in Nigeria. These are Amaranthus blitum, A. dubius, A. caudatus, A. cruentus, A. deflexus, A. graecizans, A. hybridus, A. hypochondriacus, A. retroflexus, A. spinosus, A. thunbergii, A. tricolor and A. viridis. Although they are mostly cultivated, some are present as weeds and others are valued for their ornamental roles. Amaranthus species are the most important vegetables in some parts of Nigeria because of their leaves, succulent stem and cereal-like grains. The chapter describes their socio-cultural (ethnobotanical), ecological, economic, food and income security values as well as their production requirements. Although amaranths are stress tolerant, mesic condition and soil enrichment can increase output and nutrient composition, respectively. This work revealed that a gap exists in annual production amounts and foreign exchange earning from amaranths. It also compared the 13 species based on their proximate and phytochemical composition. Amaranths are already contributing to sustainable development and livelihood in Nigeria without established institutional support. There is a need for Nigeria to establish a vegetable centre (with the proposed name: Nigerian Vegetable Center) to maximise the potential and actual values of amaranths and other vegetable species in Nigeria

An exploratory study of the application of mindsight in virtual communication: the case of email

Virtual communication is powerful because it gives the ability to communicate with one another instantly: overcoming time and distance barriers. As well as providing such opportunities as immediacy and reachability, it poses challenges such as articulation and discernment of content, issues relating to frequency of use, as well as the emotional and social intelligence of users. Many scholars have documented the problems encountered when people engage with virtual communication. These problems may include misunderstanding and information overload. Such problems can disrupt workflow and cause stress among workers. These problems are common in both the corporate and academic world, especially among people who have to use email communication continuously due to the nature of their jobs and activities. It is believed that every work environment utilizes one form of email communication or another on several levels and for different purposes. Researchers have suggested technical and policy-related solutions to virtual communication problems. They have not, however, taken into cognisance the holistic views of issues such as sensory, bodily, mental and social states of individuals. Therefore, recent research has attempted to gain an in depth understanding of human issues which are connected with virtual communication and have explored what it means to address the challenges mention above (such as emotional, environmental issues and self-awareness of users). In order to address this gap, Mindsight Theory (Siegel 1999 to 2016) has been suggested. The Mindsight Theory centres around mental health issues but has not yet been applied to virtual communication. This approach has used the combination of mindfultech email observation developed by David Levy and Mindsight Theory formulated by Daniel Siegel. The combined practise and theory were adopted to form the Mindsight utility for virtual communication. The crux of the exercise was to encourage people to cultivate empathy, compassion, emotional intelligence and self-reflection on virtual communication in particular on email communication. This was developed to engage users in experiencing self-awareness and awareness of others. It allowed them to develop their guidelines for virtual communication. The email observation practice is a set of exercises that has been developed to enable people to identify their email habits over a duration of time to establish a change of attitude towards electronic communication. In this research, an exploratory study has been conducted using an interpretive paradigm to understand the implications of the theory of Mindsight on self-awareness and awareness of others on virtual communication. A pilot study was conducted to streamline the exercise. Three case studies were completed: two with university students and one with a social entrepreneurship organisation. The findings suggest that heightened awareness of sensory, bodily, mental activities and social awareness were experienced among the participants. The findings correlate with the personal guidelines formulated by the participants. The outcomes of the research addressed the gaps identified

The role of odd chain fatty acids on hepatocyte and monocyte function

Lipid-induced dysfunction of the liver is becoming increasingly prevalent and may be an essential link between obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Elevated circulating saturated fatty acids (FA) like palmitate have been shown to contribute to hepatic insulin resistance and chronic low-grade inflammation leading to T2DM while other plasma unsaturated FA appear protective. Strong emerging evidence point to the potentially protective effect of odd chain FA (OCSFA) on T2DM disease development; however, no study has looked at the cellular mechanisms underpinning its effect. The transcription factor PPAR alpha is involved in regulating hepatic lipid accumulation by upregulating genes responsible for FA transport and has been shown to alter hepatic insulin sensitivity, as well as an anti-inflammatory effect on monocytes. Therefore, the hypothesis that OCSFA predict fasting plasma glucose and their role in modulating hepatocyte and monocyte function (by activating PPAR alpha) has been examined. Analysis of the FA profile of a healthy and T2DM cohort showed that C15:0 occurred in higher proportions in healthy controls compared to T2DM (median difference 0.07%, p = 0.05) and was found to be negatively correlated with fasting blood glucose (p = 0.002). In a model of terminally differentiated HepG2 cells, the data showed that C15:0 ameliorated palmitate-induced dysfunction of glucose output (p < 0.001) and glycogen production (p < 0.001); and increased PPAR alpha transcriptional activity by 20% (p < 0.01). Furthermore, there was a 72% reduction in TNFα production in monocytes pre-exposed to C15:0 before LPS stimulation compared to controls (p < 0.01). Taken together, the potentially protective effect of C15:0 regarding T2DM development may be due to PPAR alpha-related attenuation of chronic inflammation and improvement of hepatocyte metabolism

Influence of gender and learned helplessness on some mathematics-related affective behaviour of Lesotho senior secondary school student

Given that mathematics is the core subject for the development of science and technology, the problem of poor and deteriorating performance in the subject among African children demands more effort by researchers than is currently the case. Several factors combine to adversely influence mathematics-related affective behaviour of and hence the performance by students in the subject. This study examines the hypotheses that gender and level of learned helplessness (LLH) significantly influences such behaviour among senior secondary school students in the Kingdom of Lesotho. Three hundred and ten students from 12 randomly selected senior secondary schools in Lesotho completed questionnaires assessing their LLH in mathematics and some other mathematics-related affective variables. Data analysis using two-way ANOVA indicated that gender and the LLH in mathematics significantly influences students’ attitude towards mathematics. Students with high LLH showed poor attitude towards  mathematics, attach less value to mathematics and have high tendency to cheat in mathematics exam. However, students with low LLH showed more positive attitude and value towards mathematics and a low tendency to cheat during mathematics examination. These findings were discussed and recommendations were made.KEYWORDS: Gender; learned helplessness; attitude towards mathematics; value attached to mathematic

Ethnobotany and Germplasm Collection of Two Genera of Cocoyam (Colocasia [Schott] and Xanthosoma [Schott], Araceae) in Edo State Nigeria

Ethnobotany describes the realm between human interactions with plant in their environment. Colocasia [Schott] and Xanthosoma [Schott] (Araceae) are important staples in Nigeria. This study aims to document the traditional knowledge base of these crops amongst tribes in Edo state. Using random stratified sampling technique, fifty respondents were selected and primary data obtained through semi structured questionnaire. Fifty-four cocoyam (61.11 % Xanthosomaand and 38.89 % Colocasia) germplasm were collected and documented. Respondents were mostly between 41-50 years (29.63 %) while farming (33.33 %) is the dominant occupation. The dominant ethnic groups encountered were Bini (22.22 %) and Esan (25.93 %). Status of cocoyam collected was 94.44 % and 5.55 % for cultivated and wild respectively. Local names were significant with over twenty recorded. Food use (94.26 %) is higher than non-food use (5.74 %). Use for medicine is the dominant non-food use. Preference is related to uses, adaptation and palatability. More study is recommended to characterize these germplasm.Keywords: Ethnobotany Colocasia and Xanthosoma Plant Germplasm Traditional Knowledge Plant Genetic Resources Edo stat

The role of information technology innovations on organisational performance: a case study of selected SMEs

Information technologies have been widely recognised for their capability to add certain value to organisations in terms of strategy and operation. Studies regarding SMEs and IT in different contexts across the nations of the world have shown that SMEs are confronted with technological issues leading to a low adoption rate of IT. This research propounds that IT innovation is an indispensable tool for gaining a competitive edge over business rivals. This research presents empirical evidence to validate the existence of a positive influence of adopting IT innovations to improve organisational performance. This will be achieved by measuring variables, such as organisational performance and information technology using the balanced scorecard. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used with multiple case study designs to attain the study objectives. Convenience sampling was used to select the participating SMEs, while purpose sampling was used to select the 47 participants that were interviewed. An interview guide was designed to have a semi-structured questionnaire. Data was transcribed, coded, analysed and interpreted using content analysis to provide transparency to the findings. The findings of the study showed that SMEs rely on some IT innovations to manage and market their products and/or services. IT innovations bring about speed delivery and efficient communication, propagated by digital technologies The role of IT innovations on organisational performance should not be discarded because non-usage of IT is tantamount to poor organisational growt