Transformation of teaching quality in secondary school education: Teachers’ conception

Teaching is a versatile and valued exercise that is geared towards bringing about achievement in students’ learning. In view of the importance of teaching, there is need for it to be effective and of good quality. Education in secondary school within South Africa is seen as an imperative sub-sector in the educational system that aids the growth of the economic system through transformation. Although, there are various transformational systems to improve teaching quality in education, it is generally believed that there is no common agreement on what transformation systems entail in secondary school education in developing nations. This study investigates the perceptions of teachers in the transformation of teaching quality education in secondary schools. Eight teachers were selected from four secondary schools in the East London Education District in South Africa. The respondents varied in gender, age, years of teaching experience, academic qualifications and professional qualifications. The study used semi-structured interviews to gather data. A thematic approach was used for data analysis while trustworthiness was adopted for the validity of the instrument. The findings revealed that some of the teachers were aware of the need for transformation to improve the secondary school education system in South Africa. However, it was noticed that there was no adequate training and monitoring on the use of infrastructure. In addition, the findings further indicated that some teachers have a negative perception toward any additional role in transforming and improving the quality of teaching. Furthermore, the findings also indicated that transformation in teaching should be the responsibility of the government and head of schools. In light of this, the study recommended that policy makers should increase the budget on secondary school education as well as monitor the process of implementation to achieve the desired goal. Moreover, there should be regular effective training and workshops for teachers in secondary schools to remind them of their roles and responsibilities in teaching

Factors Influencing Aged Preferences for Healthcare Services in Selected Rural Communities of Ayedaade Local Government Area, Osun State

Over the years, there has been a growing recognition of the challenges of aged healthcare and care preferences especially the rural aged and the need for it to be addressed. Hence, this study examined factors influencing aged preferences for healthcare services in three rural communities of Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State by adopting combinations of methods. A total of 127 structured questionnaires were administered to the elderly (60 years and older) in the designated localities. In addition to this, nine people were interviewed in the three communities studied. It was revealed that health personnel such as doctors, nurses, among others were rarely available and those available were not responsive at the healthcare facilities. Also, the healthcare facilities had limited number of rooms and the available roomsand beds were in poor conditions. The study further revealed traditional care as the aged most preferred healthcare in the three communities and factors such as distance to the health, long waiting time and literacy level were found to be influencing their preferences. The study suggested the need to put into consideration aged preferences in planning choices connected to health care services especially those in the rural areas. Also, there is the need for health care services provided to be monitored appropriately by the relevant government agencies.&nbsp

AN EFFECTIVE HEALTH CARE INSURANCE FRAUD AND ABUSE DETECTION SYSTEM

Due to the complexity of the processes within healthcare insurance systems and the large number of participants involved, it is very difficult to supervise the systems for fraud. The healthcare service providers’ fraud and abuse has become a serious problem. The practices such as billing for services that were never rendered, performing unnecessary medical services and misrepresenting non-covered treatment as covered treatments etc. not only contribute to the problem of rising health care expenditure but also affect the health of the patients. Traditional methods of detecting health care fraud and abuse are time-consuming and inefficient. In this paper, the health care insurance fraud and abuse detection system (HECIFADES) was proposed. The HECIFADES consist of six modules namely: claim, augment claim, claim database, profile database, profile updater and updated profiles. The system was implemented using Visual Studio 2010 and SQL. After testing, it was observed that HECIFADES was indeed an effective system for detecting fraudulent activities and yet very secured way for generating medical claims. It also improves the quality and mitigates potential payment risks and program vulnerabilities.

SUSTAINING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN A DEREGULATED ECONOMY

This paper reuiews the policy framework for Nlgelian agriculture and gauges Its Impact plior to and since the commencement of economic deregulation. It investigates the prospects, analyses tile constraints and ouUlnes a feasible strategy for sustaining ag~icultural growth In a deregulated enabling environment. The paper notes that In the period, 1970 to 1982, the deterioration In ag~icultural pe1jormance In Nlge1ia was the result not only of extemal shocks and erwironmental and/or edaphfc foctors, but of distorted policy pursuits which created clislncentiues for farming. Howeuer, following attemptS to deregulate the economy with the adopUon of the Structural Adjustment Pl:o!P·amme In 1986 and the consequent eff01t to get price lncenUues right for agriculture, there was some Improvement in ag~icultural performance. It Is noted that agricultural sector growth has recently been lwmpered by increased costs 01ising mainly from genera/deregulation. An lnuestlgatlon of the resource base and prospects shows that ag~kulture can contlibute more to g~·owth than In recent years. But success wlll require engendering a conducive enabling environment and Incentives, avaliC!bility of technology and Inputs as well as Infrastructure. This calls for an oction plan which glues the prluate and Informal sectors bigger roles In the execution of development prog~·ammes. In addition, the public section would need to refocus current policies and priolitles with more uigorous implementation of known successful approoches based on factor endowments for stimulating growth

Integrating Resistivity Techniques for Optimum Groundwater Exploration and Development within a Hotel Facility in Osogbo, Southwestern Nigeria

This work is an attempt to combine dipole-dipole profiling and vertical electrical sounding techniques of electrical resistivity methods to investigate the groundwater potential within the premises of a 3-star hotel facility in Osogbo, Nigeria by delineating the geoelectric layers, delineating the low resistivity layers, determining the lithologies and hence, delineating the groundwater bearing zones. The five vertical electrical sounding data were collected along two pre-surveyed dipole-dipole traverses at right angle to each other beside the fences of the premises using the ABEM SAS 300c terrameter. The observed data were interpreted quantitatively using curve matching and computer-assisted iteration method using the WinResist and Dipro software. The results of the inversion show that the lithology comprises of the top soil and an intermittent sequence of sand and lateritic clay having varying resistivity and thickness. The aquiferous layer was observed to be located at a depth of 23 m to 25 m due to the low resistivity and high thickness of the aquiferous layer. The result of the 2-D imaging closely correlates with the result of the vertical electrical sounding. Thus, combining these techniques in groundwater investigation has achieved similar result as the Werner technique and has reduced ambiguity and error in positioning for drilling. Keywords: Resistivity, Groundwater Exploration, Dipole-Dipol

Evaluation of Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Profiling of Wara (White Soft Cheese) in Oyo-State, South-West, Nigeria

Fresh milk from healthy cows contains few bacteria but contamination during handling and processing can rapidly increase bacterial population and subsequently depreciate it quality. This study evaluated the presence of bacteria and their antibiotic resistance profiles in white soft cheese (Wara) in three major producing local Government areas in Oyo-State, Nigeria. The cheese samples were collected in sterile universal bottles immediately after production. Samples were immediately transported to the laboratory for bacteria isolation, identification and antibiotic susceptibility test of the isolates. A total of one hundred and sixty-five (165) bacterial isolates of ten different bacterial genera were identified from 102 cheese samples. The isolation rates of different species/genera were Lactobacillus spp (39.8%), E. coli (32.5%), Klebsiella spp (9%), Citrobacter spp (2.4%), Acinetobacter spp (3.6%), Pseudomonas spp (6.6%), Bordetella spp (0.6%), Proteus spp (1.2%), Staphylococcus spp (3.6%) and Streptococcus agalactiae (0.6%). Results demonstrated substantial differences in their resistance patterns to various antibiotics. The isolates were tested against ten different antibiotics. The Gram negative isolates showed twenty-five resistance patterns while Gram positive isolates revealed fifty-four distinct resistance groups. In all, Gram positive isolates showed resistance to ceftriaxone (61.1%), gentamicin (51.4%), chloramphenicol (51.1%), amoxicillin (48.6%), ciprofloxacin (44.4%), cotrimoxazole (43.1%), perfloxacin (40.3%), streptomycin (40.3%) Erythromycin (31.9) and ofloxacin (30.6%) while Gram positive showed resistance to chloramphenicol (22.6%), trimethoprim /sulfamethoxazole (20.4%), amoxillin/clavulanic acid. (10.8%), streptomycin (9.7%), gentamicin (8.6%), sparfloxacin (6.5%), amoxicilin (5.4%), Perfloxacin (5.4%), ofloxacin (4.3%) and ciprofloxacin (3.2%). Multi-drug resistance to three or more antibiotics was observed in 69 isolates, 56 Gram positive and 13 Gram negative bacteria. This study confirmed that white soft cheese “wara” can be a source of bacteria with multidrug resistant phenotypes.Key words: Bacteria, Antibiotic resistance, White soft cheese, Oyo-State, Nigeria

E-Health Technologies in Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals for Africa Healthcare System

The challenge of quality and equitable health services provisioning in Africa is daunting. Advances in e-health technologies hold great potential to revolutionalize health systems in Africa. This paper examines the African health systems challenges and the potential in e-health technologies in enabling the attainment of the African health Millennium Development Goals. An e-health research, innovation and partnership strategy is proposed towards this end. Some implications are posited and conclusion drawn

Conservation and Biodiversity Erosion in Ondo State, Nigeria: (2). Assessing Botanicals Used in the Storage of Farm Produce in Akure region

Semi-structured questionnaire matrix was used to identify plant species used for storage purposes in five communities situated within 5kilometre radius from Akure, the Ondo State capital, south-western Nigeria. A total of 32 botanical species were found to be commonly used in the preservation of farm produce in the study area. The leaves constituted the major part of the botanical that were widely utilised while the major farm produce common in the study area were kola nuts and bitter kola The descriptions of the indigenous knowledge of the various methods of application of the botanicals were identified and documented. Only nine of the botanicals were cultivated abundantly in the study area. The household farm, forest and common area constituted the major primary sources of the storage botanicals. Strategies that could ensure the continuous supply of the storage botanicals were proposed

Investigative study of seasonal changes in Quality Parameters of Oluwa River Water, Agbabu area of Nigeria

Physico-chemical parameters of River Oluwa water in Agbabu, Nigeria were investigated to determine its quality characteristics and establish seasonal effects on the water. Water from the river was collected at five different points in dry season (March, 2008 and 2009) and rainy season (July, 2008 and 2009). Insitu parameters (pH, EC and Turbidity) were measured using Horiba Water Checker Model U-10 while TDS was by Lovibond CM – 21 Tintometer. Subsequently in the Laboratory, Na+ and K+ were determined using flame photometric methods while Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-, SO42-, Cl-, PO42- and NO3- were determined by wet analysis. River Oluwa water was alkaline with average pH of 7.41 and 7.53 in dry and rainy seasons respectively. Electrical conductivity (EC) was high during dry season (av. 630.44 µS/cm), but low in the rainy season (av. 317.58 µS/cm) due to long residence time in dry season allowing more water-rock interaction. Turbidity's average values of 0.14 NTU and 2.29 NTU in dry and rainy seasons respectively suggested moderate pollution with particulate matter. The order of average cations concentrations in the dry and rainy seasons was Ca2+ K+ Na+ Mg2+ while that of the anions was HCO3- Cl- SO42- NO3-. The ions concentrations though lower in rainy season, Ca2+-HCO3- water was dominant in both seasons. Quality evaluation for irrigation revealed that the water was suitable for all irrigation purposes. River Oluwa water was soft, low mineralized, chemically potable, suitable for irrigation but with lower ionic concentrations in rainy season