Development and Validation of Teacher-made Instructional Software Package for Teaching Chemical Bonding in Secondary Schools

Teachers using traditional lecture method find it difficult to communicate the concept of chemical bonding to students; and students find it difficult to learn the concept. The trend in the 21st century learning is the use of computer and software packages to facilitate  teaching-learning process. This study set out to develop and validate a software package for teaching chemical bonding in secondary schools. The study produced chemical bonding instructional software package (CBISP), adopting the procedure suggested in FTCESP-model for teacher-made computer educational software package. It also produced an instrument for validation of the software package. The internal consistency (?) of the Chemical Bonding Instructional Software Package (CBISP) has a value of 0.781, obtained by Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance method used in determining it. The author asserts that the procedure adopted in the development and validation of the CBISP is a veritable way of ensuring sustainable supply of relevant software packages in the school system. Keywords: Development, validation, teacher-made, instructional software package, chemical bondin

A Conceptual Framework for Construction of Teacher-made Computer Educational Software Package for Communicating Chemical Concepts to Secondary School Students

The 21st century society requires special skills and knowledge from individuals to be relevant to the society and participate actively in the economy of nations. To acquire these special skills and knowledge, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) comes to the fore to drive the education system. In Nigeria, the National Policy on Education recognises the importance and place of ICT in ‘advancing knowledge and skills in the modern world’, but serious effort to provide ‘necessary infrastructure and training for the integration of ICT in the school system’ as stated in the policy is yet to be seen. Most public and private primary and secondary schools lack the basic infrastructure, and teachers are yet to be ICT literate. Relevant educational software packages, especially for education in chemistry are scarce. There is need, as part of the chemistry teacher education programme, to include courses in ICT that will enable the chemistry teachers to construct teacher-made educational software packages for teaching specific chemistry concepts. This is necessary in order to fill the gap created by lack of relevant software packages in the school system for teaching and learning of such concepts. This paper proposes a framework for the construction of teacher-made educational software packages for teaching specific chemical concepts

Sustainability of Tertiary Education through Quality Assurance and Development in Nigeria

Tertiary education in Nigeria has witnessed rising and falling within the past three decades with the attendant loss of status both within the sub-Saharan Africa and the world at large. This paper is focused on sustainability of tertiary education through quality assurance and development. It examined the dwindling status and challenges facing higher education in Nigeria. It also identified critical areas for quality assurance and development, and suggested the need for adoption of technology-based teaching and learning as a way of improving the quality of higher education in Nigeria. Keywords: Sustainability, tertiary-education, quality assurance, development

Synergistic combination effect of clove essential oil extract with basil andatlas cedar oil on the corrosion inhibition of low carbon steel

Clove essential oil extracts was separately admixed with basil oil extract (CLB) and atlas cedar oil extract (CLA),and studied for their corrosion inhibition properties on low carbon steel in 0.5 M H2SO4and HCl solutions bycoupon analysis, potentiodynamic polarization, open circuit potential measurement and optical microscopy.Results showed the two admixed inhibitor compounds performed effectively at most concentrations with optimalinhibition efficiencies of 95.48% and 95.32% in H2SO4solution while in HCl the corresponding values are 92.7%and 97.98%. CLB and CLA showed mixed inhibiting properties though shift in corrosion potential and Tafel slopevalues indicates dominant cathodic inhibition and higher cathodic exchange current density. Severe generaldeterioration was visible on the morphology of control (no inhibitor) steels in H2SO4while the morphology ofthe control steel from HCl showed extensive localized deterioration. Addition of CLB and CLA significantlyimproved the morphology of the steel in both acid solutions signifying effective corrosion inhibition. The opencircuit potential plots of the carbon steel in both acids showed significant potential transients due to thermo-dynamic instability in the presence of the inhibitors. However, the corrosion potential plots were significantlyelectropositive relative to the plot of the control specimen withfinal values−0.448V and−0.452V in H2SO4,and -0.476V in HCl (CLA)

Reading Readiness Deficiency in Children: Causes and Ways of Improvement

Reading is one of the important skills of language. It is a basic tool of education whether formal or informal. Reading is a receptive skill, which involves the ability to meaningfully interpret or decode written or graphic symbols of language. Through reading, the hidden treasure of knowledge is unfolded; knowledge is gained thereby empowering individuals to share and also participate in the world’s universal culture and civilization. It is, therefore, of paramount importance that every one including children imbibe reading culture so as to unlock the world, treasure of knowledge. This study is of great importance as today's children spend hours trapped under derivative distractions such a television, computers, and associated technologies targeted to children. It becomes then imperative to reawaken reading culture among the children who are faced with competing leisure time choices. One of the ways of helping children to imbibe reading culture is to get them reading ready. This paper focused on the causes of reading readiness deficiency and ways of improving reading readiness in children. The paper identified factors such as socio-economic background, physical abnormalities, mental imbalance, lack of interest, and unfamiliarity with symbols and teachers’ inability to help children as causes of reading readiness deficiency in children. The paper also suggested ways of improving reading readiness and recommended that parents should provide books and stimulating reading environments for their children and helps them cultivate the habit of using their leisure to read for pleasure. It was also recommended among others that teachers must acknowledge the indispensability of reading skills and as such plan an effective programme of reading instruction which should focus on promoting reading culture among children in their schools. Keywords: Reading, Reading culture, Reading skills, Reading deficiency, Socio-emotional Factors, Physical abnormalities

[e-poster] White-coat hypertension: size of the white-coat effect is strongly associated with central arterial stiffness

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the systolic/diastolic white-coat effect (sWCE and dWCE), defined by the difference between clinic BP and mean daytime ambulatory BP, and central arterial stiffness. DESIGN AND METHOD: The Brighton and Verona Seniors Study (BRAVES) recruited 184 healthy older adults aged 65-85 from primary care. Participants were not eligible for recruitment if they had known: cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, malignancy, smoking, statin therapy, or hormone therapy. Each participant was evaluated for office BP, anthropometrics, and cardiovascular risk factors. 24-hour ambulatory BP was measured using Diasys Integra II (Novacor, France). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (crPWV) was measured using Complior (Alam Medical, France). 101 participants, not on antihypertensive therapy and with complete ambulatory readings, were selected for analysis. Participants were grouped by BP phenotype: normotension (NT), white-coat hypertension (WCH), masked hypertension (MH), and sustained hypertension (SH). RESULTS: The 101 participants (mean age ± standard deviation: 72 ± 5 years) consisted of 32 NT, 34 WCH, 9 MH, and 26 SH. A positive correlation was seen between both sWCE (r = 0.21; p = 0.03) and dWCE (r = 0.34; p < 0.001) with cfPWV. The WCH subgroup analysis (n = 34) revealed a stronger association between sWCE (r = 0.44; p = 0.01) and dWCE (r = 0.74; p < 0.001) with cfPWV. There was no association in the other BP phenotypes. There was no association of crPWV with either sWCE or dWCE. Multivariable linear regression was conducted on sWCE and dWCE as dependent variables and age, gender, BMI and cfPWV as independent variables (sWCE model: R2 = 0.19; p = 0.23; dWCE model: R2 = 0.61, p < 0.001). After adjustment, a significant association remained between cfPWV and sWCE (B = 2.72, 95% CI 0.32-5.13, p = 0.03) and cfPWV and dWCE (B = 2.70, 95% CI 1.60-3.79, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In healthy older adults with WCH, sWCE and dWCE are independently associated with central arterial stiffness. Central arterial stiffness accounts for a greater proportion of the overall variance of dWCE than sWCE. The WCE is not associated with peripheral arterial stiffness. In WCH, a large WCE may identify individuals at a higher risk of cardiovascular events