Capacity and Quality Assessment of Awba River Basin

This study aims at determining the feasibility of a Mini Water Supply Scheme to meet the growing water needs of The Polytechnic, Ibadan community. The assessment focused on determination of population of the subject community vis-à-vis the location, discharge capacity and quality status of Oba river basin, being the only perennial stream within the community, seeking possible opportunities for capacity building in the areas water based developmental activities. The entire population of the community was obtained by enumeration method with 10years projection considered at a growth of 4 percent on yearly basis. Water budget was arrived at on the basis of per capita per day, in accordance with the United State specification. Raw water supply was obtained through impounding system of reinforced concrete chamber, which serves as an alternative to costly dam construction. Grid survey was carried out to determine the topographical nature along the stream axis at proposed location of the impounding house. Hydrological studies were carried out on the river to obtain its rate of flow and the harvestable volume of raw water at each month of a year. This was used to determine the size of chamber and the impounding hours before pumping. Physico-chemical analysis of the raw water was carried out and the results compared with that of W.H.O’s 1996 guide line for drinking water as to dictate the design of treatment plant and the recommendable chemical dosage. The study thus reveals that the available perennial stream within the community is a resource that could be utilized to alleviate the problem of acute water shortage and create better environment for research and other developmental activities of the institution. Key Words: Population, Raw Water, Capacity and Quality Assessment, Treatment

The Effect Of Processing And Preservation Methods On The Oxalate Levels Of Some Nigerian Leafy Vegetables

Titrimetric analysis was used to estimate the level of oxalate in some Nigerian leafy vegetables treated in different ways in two sets of experiments. The treatments were boiling with retention of the water used for boiling, and freezing followed by boiling without retention of the water used for boiling. Results obtained showed that the former in which five different vegetables were used led to significant increases (p<0.05) in the oxalate content of the vegetable preparations. The exception was Vernonia amygdalina in which there was a significant decrease in the oxalate content after boiling. The latter in which three selected vegetables were used however led to significant decrease (p<0.05) in the level of oxalate of the vegetable preparation, a significant amount having been lost in the decanted water. Boiling and then discarding the water used for boiling vegetables provides a good means of reducing the oxalate content of leafy vegetables and consequently the associated food safety problems

Attitudes toward Computer, Computer Anxiety and Gender as determinants of Pre-service Science, Technology and Mathematics Teachers’ Computer Self-efficacy

The study investigated attitudes towards computer and computer anxiety as determinants of computer self-efficacy among 2100 pre-service science, technology and mathematics (STM) teachers from the University of Lagos of Nigeria using the quantitative research method within the blueprint of the descriptive survey design. Data collected were analysed using the descriptive statistics of percentages, mean, and standard deviation and inferential statistics of independent samples t-test, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Finding revealed significant correlations between computer attitudes, computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy. Gender differences in attitude toward computer, computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety among pre-service STM teachers were significant. Affective component, perceived control component, and perceived usefulness component, behavioural intention component, gender, and computer anxiety made statistically significant contributions to the variance in pre-service STM teachers’ computer self-efficacy. The study recommended among others that academic institutions should pay more attention to this computer anxiety and adopt proper ways of reducing the computer anxiety, so that positive e-learning experiences can be created for pre-service STM teachers

Appraising the maintenance practices in shopping malls across Lagos metropolis

Like other types of buildings, shopping mall buildings in Nigeria receive insufficient maintenance attention. The vast majority of shopping malls exhibit awful structural and aesthetic conditions of deterioration. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the maintenance practices of shopping malls with a view to addressing issues that arise from factors responsible for the deterioration of the building fabrics and components. Data from 97 building maintenance stakeholders from Lagos Island and Mainland malls were gathered using a cross-sectional survey utilizing two sets of structured self-administered questionnaires. The results revealed 31 maintenance practices implemented in shopping malls. The study also uncovered 21 key factors influencing the sourcing decision of maintenance practices in shopping malls. Besides, the results further revealed 22 causative factors that lead to the deterioration of shopping mall building fabrics and components. The study comes to the conclusion that regardless of the sourcing decision, other factors, such as quality and frequency of maintenance, have a significant impact on how quickly a shopping mall deteriorates. It is recommended that maintenance stakeholders should play active roles in ensuring shopping malls are adequately maintained. This may be achieved by developing a defined strategy for routine and preventive maintenance

PropTech Education Integration Framework (PEIF) : integrating innovation and digital technology in real estate higher education

The accelerated growth of digitisation in real estate operations and practice has led to the emergence of a contemporary real estate specialist area commonly referred to as “PropTech”. Despite the tremendous growth in the deployment of digital technologies and IT systems to solve real estate problems, there has been a disproportionate growth in scholarly work, particularly in PropTech education

Examining regional asymmetries in drivers of international migration flows

Migration is key to economic development, with varying implications and uneven impacts on origin and destination regions. This paper examines the variation in the major drivers of migration within and across continental blocs and the OECD in a gravity framework. The empirical model uses bilateral migration flow data for 182 countries over a 25-year period (1990–2015) while controlling for push and pull drivers of migration. The novelty of the study rests in the added dimension of the variation in the impact of migration drivers that is based on the direction of migration flow. The results suggest that migration drivers vary significantly across several economic blocs based in different regions and OECD countries. We find that the weight and significance of the impact of migration drivers vary significantly based on the direction of flow across continental blocs and the OECD, although some similarities exist in some regions regardless of the direction of migration flow. The results specifically show that economic and socio-cultural drivers of migration are strongest when migration originates in continents dominated by developing countries and terminates in other continents, compared to migration that originates and terminates within the continents. This raises some anomalies and several issues of potential policy intervention

Instructional materials as determinants of students’ academic performance at the secondary school level In Ikorodu local government, Lagos State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to find out the effects of instructional resources on the academic achievement of secondary school students. The study is descriptive in nature and it adopted a survey design. Stratified random sampling technique was used for the selection. This therefore gives 29.8 respondents from teachers and 251.2 students making a total of 281 respondents. Teachers and students in the sampled schools were administered, an investigator – constructed questionnaire. Two research questions were raised for the study. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentages. The findings showed that instructional resources play a significant role in enhancing performance of students in schools. Furthermore, the results revealed that schools with adequate quality of teachers and enough instructional material resources showed superiority in academic achievements test than schools without adequate teacher quality and instructional material resources. As seen in the findings from this research, it could be easily concluded that the main reason for lack of proper use of instructional materials in the secondary schools is the lack of users’ education. The study therefore concludes that if authorities and staff should take this up as an urgent responsibility to build the expected capacity by orientating the users of the available instructional materials properly, improper use of available instructional materials will be curbed in Nigerian especially in the secondary schools setting.Keywords: Education, instructional resources, instructional materials, academic qualit

Nutrient, antinutrient composition and potential contribution of Amaranthus cruentus grain and Amaranthus hybridus leaf to micronutrient intake of consumers

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the nutrient and antinutrient composition of Amaranthus cruentus grain and Amaranthus hybridus leaf as possible sources of micronutrients for combating  malnutrition.Methods: Fresh sample of Amaranthus cruentus grain and Amaranthus hybridus leaf were purchased from NIHORT and Bodija market in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria respectively. The grain was washed and drained. The drained grain and vegetable leaf were dried at 600C for six hours before milling into flour and powder respectively. Proximate, mineral, ascorbic acid and antinutrient content of the samples were  determined in triplicate using AOAC standard methods of analyses.Results: One hundred grammes of the grain sample contained 4.3g moisture, 24.5g crude protein, 7.3g crude fat, 1.5g crude fibre, 2.1g ash, 61.8g carbohydrate, 9.6mg vitamin C, 374.5mg potassium, 30.7mg sodium, 120.9mg calcium, 187.52mg magnesium, 41.1mg phosphorous, 7.9mg iron, 4.7mg manganese, 0.1mg phytate, 0.08mg tannins, 0.1mg saponins; and yielded 410.0 kcal of energy; while the leaf contained 81.5g moisture, 5.2g crude protein, 0.6g fat, 0.9g fibre, 1.3g ash, 6.8g carbohydrate, 63.9Kcal, 25.2 mg vitamin C, 719.48mg potassium, 27.74mg sodium, 282.61mg calcium, 135.28mg magnesium, 61.90mg phosphorous, 1.89mg manganese, 7.72mg iron, 0.28mg phytate, 0.14mg tannins, and 0.63mg saponins /100g sample.Conclusion and Recommendation: The grain and leaf are rich in essential minerals and ascorbic acid, low in sodium and antinutrients, hence, they can contribute significantly to micronutrient intake of consumers and reduce micronutrient malnutrition. Their consumption should therefore be encouraged. Key words: Amaranthus cruentus grain, Amaranthus hybridus leaf, Proximate composition, Micronutrient contributio