Cooperative Stakeholding: Optimising Students’ Educational Practice through Need-Centred Self-Determination, Connectedness with Learning Environment and Passion

The paper offers social-psychological options to solving the growing problems of educational decline in Nigeria. It takes a holistic view of educational practice in the country and asserts that quality education is achievable in Nigeria if everyone takes a position to contribute meaningfully to our presumably ailing educational system. The discourse explores three social-psychological strategies towards optimizing educational quality in the country. These include: engendering self-determination of educational practitioners and learners based on education as a felt need; feeling renewed and luscious connection with the educational environment, which goes beyond the physical environment; and creating opportunities for people to cultivate new sets of passionate behaviours towards educational activities. The paper also illustrates the beauty of Aron, Aron and Smollan’s (1992) Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and how it can be adapted for self-expansion into the educational environment. In support of these strategies, seven salient principles for good practice in undergraduate education were also presented to ginger students’ in-school and out-school alliances towards excellence in learning. The paper concludes that selective internalization of autonomous, self-directed learning experiences; psychological expansion of self into the learning environment, and careful selection of harmonious rather than obsessive impulses when exercising passion for learning materials, will greatly impact educational performance and quality positively. As these, in consonance with responsible networking, academic sessility, time discipline, respect for individual differences and quality of expectations interact to brighten the paths of academic excellence, students have unlimited choices and orientations to achieve all round excellence in their academic explorations. Keywords: Optimal educational practice, social-psychological strategies, need-centred self-determination, learning environment, passion, connectedness

Survey of drug use and crime in Nigerian libraries: a study of public and academic libraries in Akwa Ibom state.

Drug use is a menacing problem currently affecting every aspect of Nigeria's national life. The clandestine nature of many drug use behaviours-may provide suitable conditions for the development of relative ethnographies, and one of such is the library environment as a secret hideout for drug abuse. Considering the seclusive nature of every library complex, the present study investigated, through a survey, the possible existence and prevalence of drug use network in selected public libraries in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Participants were library users and patrons, including students, library workers and other public users. Results indicate that negligible (low) level of drug use was reported in the library with corresponding low level of related crime. There were also other indicators of drug use comparing respondents‟ reports under several demographic factors including gender, education, marital status of users, residential status of users, recent history of drug use in the library, estimated age of users, estimated financial cost of drug use as well as indices of crimes committed in the library. It was however not clear if reported crimes, which are usual day to day occurrences associated with the library, could in any way be linked to library drug use. Recommendations were made concerning the need and urgency to provide public sensitization on the dangers of drug use not only in the library but also in general, and the need to prevent its consequences through improved security measures in our academic and public facilities. Keywords: Drug use, academic and public libraries, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, investigative survey

Marital Closeness: Psychological Differences among Ibibios and Yorubas of Nigeria

The paper investigated marital closeness between two Nigerian socio-lingual groups: the Ibibios and the Yorubas, using a number of psychosocial factors as independent variables. Two comparative studies with 129 and 91 participants respectively, were carried out using the survey design. Correlation analysis indicated that attachment style and attitude towards marriage, as psychosocial variables, showed no relationship with marital closeness in the two cultural settings. However, there was a significant relationship between marriage work with friends and marriage work with spouse and marital closeness in the Yoruba and Ibibio cultural groups respectively. A test of prediction in the direction of marriage work was then performed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in the two cultural settings. Results indicate that though marriage work was important within the two groups, marital closeness was more significantly enhanced by marriage work with friends in the Yoruba group than with marriage work with spouse. On the other hand, marriage work with spouse significantly promoted marital closeness among the Ibibios more than marriage work with friends. Further analysis using hierarchical regression confirmed these results, with an additional explanation that marital closeness was independent of the length of marriage and age of marital partners. It was recommended that couples’ routine promotion of balance in honest exchanges between their friends and spouses will serve as a reservoir of wellness in their union

Influence of Self-Perception of Alcohol Use on Differential Relationship Maintenance Among Married Persons

Throughout evolutionary history, the maintenance of long-term mating relationships has played an important role in human reproductive processes (Maner, Rouby & Gonzaga, 2008). Maintaining commitment to a current long-term partner has a lot of benefits (Gonzaga, Keltner, Londabl & Smith, 2001). For example, compared to the offspring of many other mammals, human offspring have benefited from high levels of investment from both parents (Daly & Wilson, 1983) which usually requires some degree of long-term relationship investment and commitment. Also, children living with two biological parents continue to be healthier compared to children growing up in other family arrangements and when they reach adulthood, surveys show that they will have better physical health and a longer lifespan (Wood, Goesling & Avellar, 2007). Successfully maintaining relationships has also been linked to several positive outcomes including relational satisfaction and longevity (Guerrero, Eloy, and Wabnik, 1993). Moreover, staying committed to a long-term mating relationship can provide benefits through engagement in continued social alliances associated with the relationship (e.g. the presence of extended family and automatic interaction with social groups of one’s spouse) (Maner, et. al., 2008)

Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Personality Profiles of Patients with Substance Use Disorders

Substance abuse remains one of the leading anti-social behaviours the world over. In many societies it is viewed as a leading cause of violence among individuals and groups. To the respective individuals, it has been a major cause of physiological illnesses such as liver, cardiovascular and cranial problems (Kazimir, 2010). It has exposed many to the risk of auto accidents (Bob, 2011), leading to physical deformity, loss of property, and even loss of lives. In addition, substance abuse is known to have a causal relationship with many psychological disorders including mental and behavioural disorders (Larsen, 2011). Indeed, the dangers of taking drugs are far greater than its short-term illusory pleasures (Agrawal, Puliyel, Chansoria, Mukerejee & Kaul, 2007). Being more specific, Obedunmi (2008), explains that the harmful effect of smoking outweighs the presumed warmth and comfort. Use of these drugs may lead to criminal penalty in addition to possible physical, social and psychological harms (Wikipedia, 2010). Yet drinking is woven into the fabric of many societies as often experienced when sharing a bottle of wine over a meal, going out for drinks with friends, celebrating special occasions with champagne etc. But because alcohol is such a common, popular element in many activities, it can be hard to see when one’s drinking has crossed the line from moderate or social use to problem drinking (Smith, Segal & Robinson, 2010)