An Evaluation of the use of Igbo Language for Communication Among Residents of South-East Nigeria

There is no doubt about the fact that the most fundamental avenue to sustain a language and save it from extinction is by using it as a language of communication. This implies that one needs to be speaking such language in his/her daily interactions with fellow speakers. The refusal to speak a given language jeopardizes or threatens the continuous existence of such language. It was on the above premise that this study was carried out to investigate Igbo language usage as a means of communication with focus on the residents of South-East Nigeria. The survey research method was utilised for the study while questionnaire was employed as data collection instrument. A sample of 381 was drawn from the total population while the multi stage sampling technique was as well deployed for the study. It was found that the Igbo language is going into extinction as the Igbos now prefer to interact in English language even among themselves. It was consequently recommended that parents, Igbo traditional leaders, Igbo cultural institutions and organisations as well as the governments of the states in the South-East, should take concrete actions in preserving and promoting the Igbo language which is one of the major indicators of the Igbo identity

Influence of the New Media on the Watchdog Role of the Press in Nigeria

Section 22 of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution indicates that the watchdog role is a constitutional duty of the press to ensure that government is responsible and accountable to the people. However, one major approach deployed by the press to enforce this crucial watchdog role is through investigative journalism. Investigative journalism provides a very potent platform for the press to unravel what is known as “facts behind the facts” particularly in governance. More so, the press is no doubt a beneficiary of the advantages of the new media. The rapidity and ubiquity of the new media is now very visible in journalism practice. The question however is, what is the impact of the new media in the enforcement of the watchdog role of the press? Consequent upon the above question, the researchers assert that the new media have fundamentally aided the execution of the watchdog function of the press. This was premised on the fact that the press now utilise the new media to add depth and context to the coverage of events and issues. The new media now provide wider platforms for not just the press but also the citizens to hold government accountable. With the new media, both the citizens and media professionals now hold government at all levels accountable based on their activities. The new media are now massively used to oppose and criticize government policies and programmes as well as expose government misdeeds such as bribery and corruption with a view to engendering improved government performance

OWERRI IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR 1967-1970

The town of Owerri was inadvertently so important to the Federal and Biafran forces during the civil war so much so that the battle of Owerri has been acknowledged as one of deadliest in the civil war. This was evident in the way the town changed hands between the Federal and the Biafran forces as many as three times. While the Biafran forces saw Owerri as the last major town under their control, they believed that its effective defence would go a long way to ensure the safety of the Uli airport. They were therefore ready to defend it to the last man. The Federal army on the other hand though initially did not consider the town important but when they were committed to attack the town by Colonel Adekunle, they saw it as the key that held their victory. They hoped also to enter Uli, where the last major airstrip under Biafran control was cited, through Owerri to prevent ColonelOjukwu from escaping. They therefore fought with vigour. The study reveals that the Federal 3rd Marine Commando Division which almost conveniently overwhelmed the Biafra forces in the South East met its waterloo at Owerri and this led to removal and replacement of its commander. It further reveals that the recapture of Owerri by the Biafran forces reinvigorated the already waning fighting spirit of the Biafran army. It concludes that the recapture of Owerri by the Federal forces gave a fatal and irrecoverable blow on the strength of the Biafran army hence the Republic of Biafra ceased to exist barely five days after the conquest of Owerri. Key Words: Biafra, Owerri, OgbugoKalu, Benjamin Adekunle, Third Marine Commando, Utuk, Obasanj

AUDIENCE ASSESSMENT OF BROADCAST MEDIA SURVEILLANCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA

Amongst the many functions of the media, the surveillance function is no doubt, a very fundamental role. This function places a demand on the media to scan the environment and report dangers, especially impending dangers, which largely contribute to the insecurity of lives and property. In line with the sensitive nature of this function and the current insecurity situation in Nigeria, it becomes pertinent to assess how far the Nigeria’s broadcast industry has fared in fulfilling the surveillance function and how the industry’s audiences perceive its performance. The residents of six selected cities from the six geo-political zones of Nigeria were sampled. Questionnaire served as the measuring instrument. Using survey research method, we found out, amongst others, that the broadcast media are not effective in the discharge of their surveillance function. In line with the findings, the paper recommends amongst others that the Nigerian broadcast media must, as a matter of necessity, contribute to the security of the country by effectively playing the surveillance role.KEY WORDS: Surveillance function, Security, Broadcast media, Audience, Assessment, Nigeri

Achebe’s There Was A Country In The Court Of Public Opinion: 43 Years After The Nigerian Civil War

The Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970 ended with the then military government of Gen. Gowon maintaining the“No Victor, No Vanquished” posture. This was despite the fact that the defunct Biafra, as it were, clearly lost outwith millions of casualties, mostly women and children. This posture, with all its criticisms from those whoinsisted that Biafrans should be treated as prisoners of war, was maintained by the then Head of State whobelieved it was a reconciliatory take off point. Ever since, several policies, and programmes have been put inplace to reduce the hostility between the then Biafrans (now mainly South- Easterners and a few South-Southerners) and the rest of the country. At the point when available evidence was suggesting that the hostilitywas reducing, late Prof. Chinua Achebe published a controversial book, “There was a Country: A PersonalHistory of Biafra,” in 2012. This book, with a detailed account of the war, analysts argue, has reengineeredhostility, “thereby bringing to naught all reconciliatory moves made in the last forty-two years.” ConsideringAchebe’s intellectual capacity, world status and what he represented, especially to the Igbo nation, one istempted to agree with these analysts. However, such conclusion could be hasty without empirical proof.Therefore, the obvious questions are: has the book in any way influenced Nigerians to construct or reconstructtheir memories of the war? Is it leading to fresh hostility, considering the fact that he accused prominentNigerians of genocide? Qualitative and quantitative data generated through interview, questionnaire and focusgroup discussion revealed that the book has influenced Nigerians to construct and reconstruct negative memoriesof the war.Keywords: Nigerian Civil War, Memory Construction, Reengineering Hostilit

Social Media Usage in Gathering and Transmission of News among Broadcast Journalists in South-East Nigeria

The study was aimed at ascertaining the level at which broadcast journalists in South-East Nigeria deploy the social media in news gathering and transmission. The survey research method was used while the questionnaire served as the measuring instrument. The entire 867 broadcast journalists in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria constituted the population of the study from where a sample of 274 was drawn using the Taro Yamane's formula. Using the purposive sampling technique, the researchers found that broadcast journalists in SouthEast Nigeria have not significantly embraced the social media in the news gathering and transmission. It was therefore recommended among others that broadcast journalists in South-East Nigeria should embrace the social media platforms as the platforms represent potent tools for the practice of modern day journalism

Evaluation of Gender Difference Influence: Effects of Games on Acquisition of Science Process Skills in Junior Secondary School South East Nigeria

The relevance of instructional games has made it an important instructional approach for the teaching and learning of science especially at junior secondary level. The present study was focused on gender difference influence: effects of games on acquisition of science process skills in junior secondary school south east Nigeria. The quasi-experimental design was used for this study. The population of this study consisted of the entire Junior Secondary School, Basic Science students one (JSS 1) of the thirty-five (35) public secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone. The sample for the study was one hundred and sixty (160) Basic Science students and four Basic Science teachers from co-education secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu state. Stratified random sampling was employed to obtain the schools used for the study. The instruments used for the study was the Test of Science Process Skills Acquisition Test (TOSPSAT). The instruments were given to four (4) experts in science education, two (2) science educators (measurement and evaluators) and two (2) experienced integrated teachers for face and content validation.  The reliability of TOSPSAT was done using Kuder-Richardson formula 20 (K-R 20). The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for testing hypotheses at P<0.05 level of significance.  The students taught using game teaching approach had higher mean science process skills acquisition scores in all the skills studied than those taught using conventional method. There was a significant difference in the mean science process skills acquisition scores of subjects exposed to games than those exposed to conventional method. Male and female students exposed to games scored higher in all the science process skills studied. There was no significant difference found in the mean science process skills acquisition scores of male and female students exposed to games. The interaction effect of instructional methods and gender on mean science process skills acquisition scores was not significant. The findings of this implies that students, teachers and curriculum planners should adopt the use of games in teaching and learning processes. Keywords: games, science process skills, gender difference DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-15-06 Publication date:May 31st 202

Influence of Location: Application of Games as a Teaching Method for Science Process Skills Acquisition in Junior Secondary School South East Nigeria

The present study was designed to evaluate the influenced of location on using game-based teaching method in acquisition of science process skills in junior secondary school south east Nigeria. The quasi-experimental design was used for this study. The population of this study consisted of the entire Junior Secondary School, Basic Science students one (JSS 1) of the thirty-five (35) public secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone. The sample for the study was one hundred and sixty (160) Basic Science students and four Basic Science teachers from co-education secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu state. Stratified random sampling was employed to obtain the schools used for the study. The instruments used for the study was the Test of Science Process Skills Acquisition Test (TOSPSAT). The instruments were given to four (4) experts in science education, two (2) science educators (measurement and evaluators) and two (2) experienced integrated teachers for face and content validation.  The reliability of TOSPSAT was done using Kuder-Richardson formula 20 (K-R 20). The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for testing hypotheses at P<0.05 level of significance.  The students taught using game teaching approach had higher mean science process skills acquisition scores in all the skills studied than those taught using conventional method. There was a significant difference in the mean science process skills acquisition scores of subjects exposed to games than those exposed to conventional method. Location of school had no significant effect on the mean science process skills acquisition scores of students exposed to treatment and conventional method. The interaction effect of instructional methods and location on mean science process skills acquisition scores was not significance. The findings of this implies that students, teachers and curriculum planners should adopt the use of games in teaching and learning processes. Keywords: games, science process skills, location influence DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-18-13 Publication date:June 30th 202

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

THE CLINICAL AND PARASITOLOGIC COURSES OF PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM AND PLASMODIUM VIVAX INFECTIONS IN HUMANS: AN ANALYSIS OF 432 EPISODES OF INDUCED MALARIA IN THE JESSUP VOLUNTEER STUDIES, 1966-1975

The clinical records of 432 P. falciparum and P. vivax infected volunteer male inmates of the Maryland House of Corrections in Jessup, Maryland, were studied to determine (1) the clinical and parasitologic courses of infections in both parasite species, and (2) the influence of previous homologous and/or heterologous strain exposures on subsequent infections. The clinical and parasitologic courses of infection with both P. falciparum and P. vivax species indicated that: (a) there were characteristic strain related differences between P. falciparum and P. vivax. P. falciparum strains were more apt to cause severe infections than P. vivax strains. (b) Blood-induced infections produced significantly shorter prepatent and incubation periods than mosquito-induced. (c) Blacks tolerated the infections better than whites and, (d) homologous and heterologous strain immunities persisted with previous malaria history. In previously exposed cases, clinical manifestations were moderate, peak fever lowered, and peak parasitemias limited. (e) Anti-malarial drugs were effective in reducing sexual and asexual forms of the malaria parasite, and limiting peak fevers, irrespective of method of induction, race, parasite strain and species, and drug type used. Given these findings, and the current worldwide resurgence of malaria, this study has major implications in terms of setting malaria control and public health policies in both developed and developing countries