Health Implications of Feeding Habits as Perceived by Upper Basic Education Students in Ona-Ara Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

Eating a healthy diet is the cornerstone of all round growth and development for infants, children and adolescents therefore; too much intake of foods that contain large amounts of saturated fats, sugars and salt, combined with a low intake of fruits, vegetables and cereal foods lead can result to health problems. This study examined health implications of feeding habits as perceived by upper basic education students in Ona-Ara Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. The descriptive research design of the survey method was used for this study. The population used for the study comprised all upper basic education students (public mixed schools) in Ona-Ara Local Government, Oyo State. Multi-stage sampling technique, consisting of simple, proportionate and systematic sampling technique was used to select 439 respondents in upper basic education schools (public mixed schools) in Ona-Ara Local Government, Oyo State. Researcher-designed questionnaire validated by 3 experts drawn from the Department of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Education, University of Ilorin, Nigeria, was used for data collection. A reliability co-efficient of .84r was obtained through Split-half method using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). Data collection was conducted by the researcher and three trained research assistants. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentage for demographic information as well as inferential statistics of Chi-square (X2) to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study showed that: i.            Eating habits have significant influence on diseases as perceived by upper basic education students because calculated X2 value (70.05)  > critical value (12.59); ii.            Eating habits have significant influence on body weight as perceived by upper basic education students because calculated X2 value (68.05)  > critical value (12.59); and iii.            Eating habits have significant influence on body posture as perceived by upper basic education students because calculated X2 value (496.63) > critical value (12.59). The study concluded that eating habits have significant influence on diseases, body weight and body posture among upper basic education students in Ona-Ara Local Government, Oyo State. The findings implied that food intake can determine the overall wellbeing of the students, excessive intake and preference of some classes of food can lead to weight gain and intake of poor diet can result to bad posture. It was recommended that upper basic education students in Ona-Ara Local Government area of Oyo State should be given more enlightenment by health educators on diseases associated with poor feeding habits and proper orientation on exercises and food rich in calcium to avoid bad posture should be given to them. Keywords: eating habits, diseases, body weight and body posture

Social Studies Education: An Imperative for the Promotion of Cultural Values for National Integration in Nigeria.

Nigeria is a nation of many ethnic groups with diverse cultures. Such cultures could be seen in the aspects of religion, languages, dressing, types of food consumed, marriages, housing, occupation and so on. The cultural values of the country have become a matter of concern since the development of any society is rooted in what the members of such a society cherished or frown at. For instance, the cultural values   which are cherished in the country are basically focused on enhancing human dignity. Such values include discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism. These cultural values are clearly spelt out in the National Philosophy as a measure to ensure rapid integration of the nation. It is believed that any group of people that could not promote their values will surely have a problem of development. In Nigeria, Social Studies Education was conceived as a subject to help heal the wounds of the civil war, ethnicity, ethnocentrism, social and political problems, and to promote culture and national integration, co-operation, good citizenship, among others using the instrument of school(Ezegbe,1988). This paper therefore examines the concept of culture and cultural values, national integration, concept of Social Studies Education. It also highlighted the place of Social Studies Education in the promotion of cultural values and national integration. The paper concluded by stating that, Nigerian’s respect for each other’s cultural characteristics will foster national integration in the country. Recommendations were made with a view to making Nigerian cultural values to be properly imparted to the learners through Social Studies Education

Evaluation of some Heavy Metals in Soils along a Major Road in Ogbomoso, South West Nigeria

Evaluation of the concentration of soils metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe, and Ni) from selected sites (Odo Oba, Sabo and General Areas) along a major road in Ogbomoso was made in comparison with control site, LAUTECH Campus (LC) based on contamination factor and pollution indices. The metal levels in the sites revealed that: General > Sabo > Odo Oba > LC for the analyzed metals except Fe of which highest value was obtained in the control site. Contamination indices showed that Sabo and general were considerably polluted while Odo Oba was moderately polluted relative to control. The values of pollution level index obtained for these three sites (PLI >1) indicates deterioration of site quality. Significant correlation between some of the metals (Pb, Cr and Ni) studied and average daily traffic volume showed that the contamination could be from automobile emissions. The accumulation of these metals in soil especially in the residential areas may add to the body burden of the residents. Further investigation is highly necessary to study the concentrations and health implications of these metals in residents of the linear settlements along this major road in Ogbomoso. Key words: Heavy metal, Traffic volume, Pollution, Soil, Ogbomos

Correlation Effects of Gender and Entry Qualifications on the Performance of Undergraduate Engineering Students in Universities

Enrollment into engineering disciplines in tertiary institutions has always been identified for gender bias, higher population favoring the masculine. However, reports on the standard ratio of this bias nor the issue of whether it has any significant impact on academic performance of engineering students (POES) scarcely exist. Meanwhile, Nigerian Universities still enjoy autonomy and their admission policies on entry requirements vary. Hence, this study examined the possible influence of gender and entry qualification (EQ) on POES. Data collected from 491 undergraduate engineering students from two universities were statistically analyzed. The study revealed female to male population ratio of 1:9. The result of statistical analysis showed that EQ has a significant effect on POES (p0.05). Therefore, a more critical priority must be given to entry qualification and not the gender of the students intending to study engineering during admission and screening. However, female students need to be more encourage since they can competitively perform as their male counterpart in engineering lest the profession becomes a male affair

Modification of A Locally Made Electric Crop Dryer

Physic nut is a biomaterial that litters villages during the seasonal period which requires effective drying for oil and bio-fuel production. However, the natural method of drying and the existing dryer are found ineffective due to prolonged drying time leading to poor quality control. Processing of dried physic nut is required to ensure preservation, availability throughout the year, easy shelling and extraction. The main objectives of this study were to improve on the design of an existing electric crop dryer with a view to optimize its efficiency, reduce the drying time and produce hygienic and quality dried physic nuts. The improvements on the design of the existing dryer were achieved by increasing the throughput on the capacity by improving the material selection for the various key component parts. An adequate size of electrical heating element with thermo-sensor which regulates the drying temperature and a centrifugal fan to blow hot air from the heat supply unit to the drying chamber were installed in the dryer. The results of the improvements carried out on the design of this dryer show that maintenance cost is reduced, since the fan is the only moving part which may rarely be faulty, drying time of physic nut was reduced, operation of the dryer does not require any specialization, the dryer is safer to operate, the energy required for loading and unloading have reduced since the trays provided are removable. Higher production rate and quality of dried physic nuts are achieved because drying temperature and air velocity can be regulated. The throughput capacity, efficiency and drying capacity of the modified crop dryer are 20 kg/batch, 79.84 % and 0.73 kg/h, respectively. This dryer is recommended for medium and large scale processors and dried products can be used for further application. Keywords: physic nut, electric crop dryer, improvement on the existing design, temperature, drying  time

COTTON FARMERS’ PERCEPTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Climate change has been a major threat to agriculture in Nigeria. This study was carried out in Imeko Afon Local Government Area. Purposive selection of all practicing cotton farmers (54) at the time of survey was made from the study area. The mean age of respondents is 56years. The household size is 7persons and the average annual income is N9, 972.00k. The mean score of famers’ perception about the climate change and its effects on cotton production is 2.62. Farmers’ stated that there is an increase temperature due to change in climatic condition (Ẍ= 3.45, S.D ± 1.152), and fluctuation in rainfall pattern (Ẍ= 4.04, S.D ± 0.999). Adopted coping strategies to cushion effects of climate change include; increase use of agro-chemicals (Ẍ = 3.35, S.D ± 0.677), integrated weed pest management (Ẍ = 3.44, S.D ± 0.839) and application of fertilizer to improve the depleted soil nutrients (Ẍ = 3.19, S.D ± 0.646). Results indicates a significant relationship between respondents perceived effects on climate change and coping strategies (r =0.890**, P< 0.05). The study recommends that government agricultural and meteorological agencies should provide timely information to farmers on the climate and means of ameliorating the effects of climate change.     &nbsp

Communication: An Effective Tool for Employee Performance in Lever Brothers Nigeria PLC.

Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study and the total population of the study were 142 respondents. The simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants. Data gathered were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The result of the analysis revealed that there was significant relationship between communication and employee performance. It was therefore concluded that organizations should endeavour to make effective communication an essential strategy in achieving high employee performance. Keywords: Communication Completeness, Communication Courtesy, Employee Performance

Impact of Class Size on Learning, Behavioral and General Attitudes of Students in Secondary Schools in Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria

Poor performance of university undergraduate students has been traced to their poor academic performance and attitudes in secondary schools. There was concern over whether class size was responsible for this. Researches on the effect of class size on academic performance and achievement exist. The study was carried out to investigate the impact of class size on students’ attitude to studies using four (4) selected secondary schools in Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria. Possible effect of class size on the general, learning and behavioral attitudes were considered. Its impact was also correlated with effect of other possible factors. Questionnaires were administered to three hundred and sixty students selected evenly from JSS1-SS2 classes in each of the schools. Two of the schools were private while the other two were owned by government. Ten (10) hypotheses were tested in the study. It was found that class size has a highly significant impact on students’ attitudes to studies in secondary school (p\u3c 0.05). It affects students’ attention most strongly, then punctuality, motivation and participation but not the rate of participation and asking or answering questions. The result also revealed that excessive noise is the most common behavioral attitude associated with large classes. Hence, a serious attention should be paid to class size in every educational setting for optimum learning achievement