Investment in the training of technologists for commercial aquaculture

The protein shortage in Nigeria is noted and the role of aquaculture (=fish farming) as a complement in increasing the dwindling food supply is registered. In addition, the manpower shortage especially in the technology cadre is noted and attributed to the lack of co-ordination and standard curricula especially in aquaculture. An inventory of tasks performed in the aquaculture industry was taken and these were classified and validated, then their final priority level was used to assess which ones were critical, important or desirable and which ones would result in disaster or not with inadequate mastery. Based on the above, recommendations are made that all critical and important tasks be included in the teaching curriculum for aquaculture in both theory and practicals: while it is advocated that all tasks listed be undertaken in fish farm operations. This will raise the competence of technologists to run the commercial aquaculture project

Tailoring persuasive health games to gamer type

Persuasive games are an effective approach for motivating health behavior, and recent years have seen an increase in games designed for changing human behaviors or attitudes. However, these games are limited in two major ways: first, they are not based on theories of what motivates healthy behavior change. This makes it difficult to evaluate why a persuasive approach works. Second, most persuasive games treat players as a monolithic group. As an attempt to resolve these weaknesses, we conducted a large-scale survey of 642 gamers' eating habits and their associated determinants of healthy behavior to understand how health behavior relates to gamer type. We developed seven different models of healthy eating behavior for the gamer types identified by BrainHex. We then explored the differences between the models and created two approaches for effective persuasive game design based on our results. The first is a one-size-fits-all approach that will motivate the majority of the population, while not demotivating any players. The second is a personalized approach that will best motivate a particular type of gamer. Finally, to make our approaches actionable in persuasive game design, we map common game mechanics to the determinants of healthy behavior

#NigeriaDecides 2015: What Does the Emerging Opposition Challenge Mean for Democracy?

Nkwachukwu Orji argues that Nigeria’s 2015 general elections are set to leave a lasting legacy on party politics in the country. This post is part of our African Elections series

Governing ‘Ethnicised’ Public Sphere: Insights from Nigeria

This article explores the way in which ethnically diverse societies govern their public sphere. It shows that the public sphere in multiethnic societies is an arena of conflict where cultural and ideological contest or negotiation among a variety of groups takes place. Drawing from Nigeria’s experience, the article examines the conflict management arrangement devised to regulate hostile inter-group relations in the public sphere. It identifies power-sharing as the most fundamental conflict management strategy adopted to govern Nigeria’s public sphere. The article argues that although power-sharing features as the most acceptable modality for moderating inter-group conflicts in Nigeria, its usefulness is limited by the fact that it widens the asymmetrical and oligarchic power of the dominant groups and hampers the growth of democracy

Revolutionary Pressures and Social Movements in Nigeria: The Niger Delta Experience

More often than not, social movements by their very nature are predicated ona penchant for change from below which embodies a revolution. An x-ray ofthe peculiar experience of the Nigerian polity with specific reference to theNiger Delta reveals deep-seated discontent whether expressed or otherwise.Right from the pre to post-independence era, the manifestations of grossmarginalization have formed the pivot on which revolutionary pressures andsocial movements revolve in the Niger Delta Region. Another dimension ofthis paper is a critique which adopts the political economy model insubjecting the variegated agitations in our study area to the crucibles ofscholarly analysis. There is an ethnic bias in the struggle for redress which,if not checkmated, might signal the emissary of national disintegration. In the light of ‘failed states’ our discourse will be incisively posited

National Security and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Challenges from the Niger Delta

The symbiotic relationship between national security and sustainable development cannot be undermined. The Niger Delta Region occupies a strategic position in the political economy of the Nigerian nation in view of its oil-bearing status and dividends accruing from the explorations of multinational corporations to the detriment of host communities. The exploitation of crude oil and gas poses debilitating environmental consequences compounded by the wanton neglect of past administrations vis-à-vis sustainable development. An x-ray of palliative measures in the past leaves much to be desired. Statistical data on the toll of insecurity in our study area has reached an alarming proportion. The concept of violence and militancy both as an instrument of disempowerment on the one hand and as a tool of emancipation on the other, will be examined. The way out of this quagmire is the main focus of this paper

Does the Theory of Uncovered Interest Parity Hold for Nigeria?

This study employs the conventional Uncovered Interest Parity (UIP) equation to test the validity of the theory for Nigeria vis-à-vis the United States of America. The study also examine the causality relationship existing between the variables in the UIP model.  The results reveal the invalidity of the UIP theory for Nigerian Naira/ United States dollar exchange rates. We hereby conclude that the existence of abnormal profits from interest arbitrage means that the Uncovered Interest Parity between Nigeria and the U.S.A did not hold in reality at some points in time within the period under review. However, the reasons for the failure of UIP theory for Nigeria might be that the capital mobility between the countries is not perfect, or the risk premium in Nigeria is high as perceived by the potential investors. Country risk, which includes political risk and economic risk remain higher for developing countries including Nigeria, than for the developed countries. JEL Classification:  E4, E42, E43, F3, F31 Key Words: Uncovered Interest Parity, international finance, foreign exchange market, Interest rate Differentia

Semantic information retrieval for geoscience resources : results and analysis of an online questionnaire of current web search experiences

An online questionnaire “Semantic web searches for geoscience resources” was completed by 35 staff of British Geological Survey (BGS) between 28th July 2015 and 28th August 2015. The questionnaire was designed to better understand current web search habits, preferences, and the reception of semantic search features in order to inform PhD research into the use of domain ontologies for semantic information retrieval. The key findings were that relevance ranking is important in focussed searches that seeks the answer to a specific question, because 50% of people only look at the first 10 results. Relevance ranking is important but not so critical for broad reaching literature and data gathering searches because 88% of respondents would typically assess more than 10 results in this case. A large majority of respondents usually or sometimes had to perform multiple searches or construct advanced searches in order to include all relevant variations in terminology, and an optional feature in the search engine that expanded the search terms for them would be beneficial and desirable. All respondents reported that their search results were at some point, dominated by irrelevant result entries. Asked how a feature that disambiguates terms in search queries should be implemented, 81% will like to be able to specify intended context/meaning of search terms but only when such terms are ambiguous. The conclusion was that the collected responses, though a small sample, indicated vast support for the implementation of semantic search features to add narrower or equivalent terms to original search intent and to specify the context/meaning of ambiguous search terms, but the respondents preferred to be in control of whether or not those features were implemented on each search

Millennium Development Goals and the Nigerian Stock Exchange: Regulatory Imperatives, Challenges and Prospects

The paper examines the relationship between the Millennium Development Goals and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It highlighted the significance of having a robust business community (private sector), which is paramount in achieving sustainable national development and the MDGs