Price Determination for Residential Properties in Lagos State, Nigeria: The Principal-Agent Dilemma

Arbitrary house pricing by property owners based on existing or expected economic situation partly explain the glut and proliferation of vacant properties in the housing market awash with demand for same. This study takes a look at the process and strategy of house pricing, the factors considered in determining housing price and the factors that prolong listing period in the residential property market. Primary and secondary data were gathered for the study. Primary data was collected with structured close-ended questionnaires administered to three groups of respondents, property owners, professional property managers and real estate developers in Lagos State. A total of 240 questionnaires were administered to senior management staff of these organizations and another 113 to property owners accessed through the estate agents involved in this survey. Secondary data was also obtained from existing journal articles, online resources, dailies and books. Data from the questionnaire survey was collated and analysed with the aides of descriptive tools such as percentages, 5-point likert scales and ranking. Findings showed amongst others that house prices in the residential property market are largely fixed and reserved by the sellers. It was also found that these sellers do not consider many of the determinants of housing price. Moreover, the doldrums in the housing market is caused by the speculative investors, resale, overpricing, lack of adequate knowledge of the housing market and lack of trust in the competence of the professional agents to fix price acceptable to the seller. It was therefore recommended that sellers undertake the valuation of their property before putting it in the market and that they should trust in the competence of the agent to advise on price deemed optimal for the property

Makna Anak Tuna Daksa Bagi Ibu the Meaning of Children with Physical Disability for a Mother

Anak adalah anugerah yang diberikan oleh Tuhan kepada sepasang suami istri. Tidak semua anak lahir dan dibesarkan dengan kondisi yang sama, misalnya anak-anak yang terlahir dengan kekurangan atau hambatan fisik. Penelitian kualitatif ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan makna anak bagi Ibu yang memiliki anak tuna daksa.Pendekatan kualitatif yang dipilih adalah fenomenologis deskriptif.Subjek pada penelitian ini adalah tiga orang Ibu yang memiliki anak tuna daksa.Pemilihan subjek dilakukan secara purposive dan snowball.Metode pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan wawancara mendalam.Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa terjadi pergeseran makna anak tuna daksa bagi Ibu dari makna yang negatif menjadi positif.Awalnya anak tuna daksa dimaknai sebagai pembawa beban psikologis untuk Ibu.Ibu merasa sedih, kecewa, khawatir, dan memiliki perasaan bersalah saat pertama kali mengetahui kondisi anak tuna daksa.Namun, seiring berjalannya waktu, pemaknaan anak sebagai beban semakin menghilang.Penerimaan diri Ibu, dukungan-dukungan dari orang-orang sekitar dan kasih sayang yang didapat dari kebersamaan antara Ibu dengan anak perlahan merubah persepsi Ibu terkait makna anak.Pada akhirnya anak memberikan makna yang positif bagi Ibu.Terdapat harapan-harapan Ibu pada anak tuna daksa.Harapan utama ketiga subjek adalah anak tuna daksa dapat menjadi normal seperti teman-teman seusianya. Perbedaan usia anak tuna daksa membentuk harapan yang berbeda pula pada tiap-tiap subjek. Harapan dari subjek petama dan ketiga adalah anak tuna daksa dapat terus bersekolah untuk masa depan, sedangkan pada subjek kedua, anak tuna daksa dapat hidup mandiri dan bisa memiliki pasangan hidup

Peningkatan Hasil Belajar Siswa Menggunakan Model Bangun Datar dalam Pembelajaran Matematika di Sekolah Dasar

Classroom Action Research aims to describe the ability of teachers preparing lesson plans using the flat wake in identifying lessons wake properties flat in fifth grade Elementary School District 11 downstream Mempawah Kab. Pontianak Kab. Describe the ability of teachers to implement the lesson plan using a flat wake in identifying lessons wake properties flat in fifth grade Elementary School District 11 Mempawah downstream. Pontianak. This research method is descriptive. This research forms a Classroom Action Research ( CAR). This class uses action research data collection techniques using direct observation techniques and techniques of research that studies the subject dokumenter.Adapun fifth grade students of SDN 11 Mempawah downstream. This study was designed using two cycles. Implementation to apply the learning to use a flat wake models . The use of flat wake models can improve student learning outcomes Elementary School fifth grade 11 Mempawah downstream. In the first cycle of students who have achieved mastery criterion reaches 17 students or 80.95 % and increased in the second cycle to 100 %. Increase from cycle I to cycle II 19.05 %

Kemampuan Constructed Wetland Jenis Aliran Bawah Permukaan (SSF - Wetland) dalam Mengolah Air Limbah Kawasan Komersial

Wastewater of commercial areas such as hotels, shops, restaurants, offices, and shopping centers relatively contain high pollutant concentrations, they caused the imbalance of drainage ecological quality, health problems, and the water pollution itself. The effective technology in treating waste wateris The Sub Surface Flow Constructed Wetland (SSF-Wetland) that maximize either the impact or the potentcy of the plants in treating waste waterin the physical, chemical and biological wayby using plants/vegetation, water and microorganisms to reduce the level of pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and the level of Total Suspended Solid (TSS) contained in waste water by slowly flowing them through the inlet hole to the surface covered by the living plants. The experimental result shows by using bamboo water plant (Equisetum hyemale) in artificial wetland system, the content of pollutants in wastewater can be eliminated. The highest average value of COD reduction efficiency is 61.9 %, 92.6 % of TSS and the decreasing of pH reaches 29.4%. The advantage of wastewater treatment using this system enables us to produce the appropriate water quality of the domestic wastewater based on the quality standards

Views of patients about sickle cell disease management in primary care: a questionnaire-based pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine how patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) perceive the quality of care that they receive from their primary healthcare providers. DESIGN: A questionnaire-based pilot study was used to elicit the views of patients about the quality of care they have been receiving from their primary healthcare providers and what they thought was the role of primary care in SCD management. SETTING: Sickle Cell Society and Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre, in the London Borough of Brent. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred questionnaires were distributed to potential participants with SCD between November 2010 and July 2011 of which 40 participants responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Analysis of 40 patient questionnaires collected over a nine-month period. RESULTS: Most patients are generally not satisfied with the quality of care that they are receiving from their primary healthcare providers for SCD. Most do not make use of general practitioner (GP) services for management of their SCD. Collecting prescriptions was the reason most cited for visiting the GP. CONCLUSION: GPs could help improve the day-to-day management of patients with SCD. This could be facilitated by local quality improvement schemes in areas with high disease prevalence. The results of the survey have been used to help develop a GP education intervention and a local enhanced service to support primary healthcare clinicians with SCDs ongoing management

DRY MATTER AND PROTEIN DEGRADABILITIES OF SOME FEED INGREDIENTS SOLD IN ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

A study was carried out to determine the chemical composition and evaluate the dry matter and crude protein degradabilities of some commercial feed ingredients sold in Abeokuta, Nigeria, viz corn offal, brewers dried grain, soybean meal, wheat offal, groundnut meal and maize meal. The feed samples as obtained from different sources were incubated in triplicates for 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 hours in 3 rumen-fistulated goats. The incubation was used to estimate the in sacco dry matter (DM) and N degradation characteristics. The dry matter contents of the feedstuffs ranged from 799.3 – 956.0 g/kg. All the feedstuffs recorded low crude protein contents and high washing loss at 0 hour. They recorded more than 70% dry matter degradability at 48 hours, which implied that they were all highly degradable in the rumen. Feeding these feedstuffs in large quantities terminants may lead to diarrhea and bloat due to the accumulation of methane and ammonia gases in the rumen. However, their incorporation into high fibre diets may be advantageous in supplying rumen degradable nutrients to complement the undegradable dietary nutrients from fibrous feeds.Â

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH): higher sensitivity and validity in diagnosis and serial monitoring by flow cytometric analysis of reticulocytes

Flow cytometric analysis of GPI-anchored proteins (GPI-AP) is the gold standard for diagnosis of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). Due to therapy options and the relevance of GPI-deficient clones for prognosis in aplastic anaemia detection of PNH is gaining importance. However, no generally accepted standard has been established. This study analysed the usefulness of a flow cytometric panel with CD58, CD59 on reticulocytes and erythrocytes, CD24/CD66b and CD16, FLAER on granulocytes and CD14, and CD48 on monocytes. Actual cut-off (mean + 2 SD) for GPI-deficient cells was established in healthy blood donors. We studied 1,296 flow cytometric results of 803 patients. Serial monitoring was analysed during a median follow-up of 1,039 days in 155 patients. Of all, 22% and 48% of 155 follow-up patients. showed significant GPI-AP-deficiency at time of initial analyses. During follow-up in 9%, a new PNH diagnosis, and in 28%, a significant change of size or lineage involvement was demonstrated. Highly significant correlations for GPI-AP deficiency were found within one cell lineage (r2 = 0.61–0.95, p < 0.0001) and between the different cell lineages (r2 = 0.49–0.88, p < 0.0001). Especially for detection of small GPI-deficient populations, reticulocytes and monocytes proved to be sensitive diagnostic tools. Our data showed superiority of reticulocyte analyses compared with erythrocyte analyses due to transfusion and hemolysis independency especially in cases with small GPI-deficient populations. In conclusion, a screening panel of at least two different GPI-AP markers on granulocytes, erythrocytes, and reticulocytes provides a simple and rapid method to detect even small GPI-deficient populations. Among the markers in our panel, CD58 and CD59 on reticulocytes, CD24/66b, and eventually FLAER on granulocytes as well as CD14 on monocytes were most effective for flow cytometric diagnosis of GPI deficiency

The IceCube Realtime Alert System

Following the detection of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos in 2013, their origin is still unknown. Aiming for the identification of an electromagnetic counterpart of a rapidly fading source, we have implemented a realtime analysis framework for the IceCube neutrino observatory. Several analyses selecting neutrinos of astrophysical origin are now operating in realtime at the detector site in Antarctica and are producing alerts to the community to enable rapid follow-up observations. The goal of these observations is to locate the astrophysical objects responsible for these neutrino signals. This paper highlights the infrastructure in place both at the South Pole detector site and at IceCube facilities in the north that have enabled this fast follow-up program to be developed. Additionally, this paper presents the first realtime analyses to be activated within this framework, highlights their sensitivities to astrophysical neutrinos and background event rates, and presents an outlook for future discoveries.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures, Published in Astroparticle Physic

Multitasking, but for what benefit? The dilemma facing Nigerian university students regarding part-time working.

Students working part-time while studying for a full-time university degree are commonplace in many Western countries. This paper however, examines the historically uncommon part-time working activities and career aspirations among Nigerian university students. In particular, how working is perceived to contribute to developing employability skills, and whether it is influenced by their self-efficacy. Survey data from 324 questionnaires was collected from a federal university, although the data analysis used a mixed-method. The findings indicate that despite low levels of part-time working generally among students, older, more experienced, higher level and female students, place a premium on the skills that part-time work can develop. Moreover, self-efficacy and being female, is a significant predictor in understanding part-time work and career aspirations. This study offers originality by focusing on students’ part-time work, the value working provides, and its link with career aspirations, within a relatively unexplored context of Nigeria

Challenges and opportunities in the design and construction of a GIS-based emission inventory infrastructure for the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

© 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Environmental monitoring in middle- and low-income countries is hampered by many factors which include enactment and enforcement of legislations; deficiencies in environmental data reporting and documentation; inconsistent, incomplete and unverifiable data; a lack of access to data; and technical expertise. This paper describes the processes undertaken and the major challenges encountered in the construction of the first Niger Delta Emission Inventory (NDEI) for criteria air pollutants and CO2 released from the anthropogenic activities in the region. This study focused on using publicly available government and research data. The NDEI has been designed to provide a Geographic Information System-based component of an air quality and carbon management framework. The NDEI infrastructure was designed and constructed at 1-, 10- and 20-km grid resolutions for point, line and area sources using industry standard processes and emission factors derived from activities similar to those in the Niger Delta. Due to inadequate, incomplete, potentially inaccurate and unavailable data, the infrastructure was populated with data based on a series of best possible assumptions for key emission sources. This produces outputs with variable levels of certainty, which also highlights the critical challenges in the estimation of emissions from a developing country. However, the infrastructure is functional and has the ability to produce spatially resolved emission estimates