Education for life

Uddannelse for livet: det nigerianske perspektiv.Af Kachi E. OzumbaArtiklen beskriver, hvorledes Grundtvigs skoletanker f.res ud i livet p. en moderne nigeriansk skole, The Grundtvig Institute i Onitsha, ledet og grundlagt af dr. Kachi Ozumba. Artiklen tager udgangspunkt i den grundtvigske modstilling af skolen for livet og skolen for døden. I nigeriansk sammenhæng finder man på den tid, hvor Grundtvig begyndte at tale om skolen for livet, undervisningsformer, der tager udgangspunkt i menneskelivet. Således svarer den mundtlige undervisning i folkets traditioner og praktiske liv til elevernes alderstrin, og således brydes forbindelsen mellem skolen og samfundslivet aldrig.Denne traditionelle undervisning er i overensstemmelse med Grundtvigs skoletanker, der jo netop betoner undervisningen på modersmålet, udgangspunktet i folkets traditioner og forbindelsen mellem undervisningen og livet, som det leves.For Grundtvig var latinskolen skolen for døden. For den nigerianske opdragelse er skolen for døden den vesteuropæiske opdragelse, som måske er det mest dybtgående levn fra kolonitidens undertrykkelse. Nigeria - der trods militærstyre er i besiddelse af en forholdsvis fri offentlighed - er i henseende til areal, befolkning og økonomi et meget stort land, og selv om uddannelsessektoren har udviklet sig stærkt siden Nigerias uafhængighed i 1960, dækkes kun 2-25 % af landets uddannelsesmæssige behov. Når Grundtvigs skoletanker introduceres i en nigeriansk sammenhæng, er det vigtigt, at dette sker ud fra en nigeriansk tankegang. Baggrunden for skolen i Onitsha skal søges i Nigeria-Biafra-krigen, hvor de medlemmer af Igbo-Stammen, der levede i Biafra-området, ikke blot mistede materiel ejendom men også mistede selvtilliden. For dem giver uddannelse hflb om en ændring af denne situation. Men den traditionelle college uddannelse, der sædvanligvis vælges, er ikke brugbar, eftersom der ikke er arbejde til de højtuddannede unge, og eftersom deres ambitioner efter studiet umuliggør en tilbagevenden til landsbylivet. Det er i den sammenhæng, Grundtvigs højskoletanker har kunnet udnyttes til skabelse af en alternativ uddannelsesform. Da dr. Ozumba planlagde en sådan nigeriansk skoleform, nægtede det officielle uddannelsessystem og erhvervslivet ham støtte, og i stedet fik han støtte af en græsrodsbevægelse for kvinder. I dag består halvdelen af eleverne af studenter, der har forladt de vestligt inspirerede skoler uden at tage eksamen, kvinder, hvis fremtidsmuligheder i kraft af deres kulturelle, traditionelle position ofte synes begrænsede. Disse kvinder har derfor behov for skolens støtte, og som bærere af familien og dens liv er deres samfundsmæssige betydning meget stor. Grundtvig instituttets undervisning sigter da dels mod at give de enkelte individer selvtillid, dels mod at lade dem indgå. i en samfundsmæssig sammenhæng, hvor de støtter samfundslivet, den nigerianske kultur og arbejdet for national enhed. Grundtvig instituttets arbejde for at n. disse mål hæmmes af det kolonialistiske, bogligt orienterede undervisningssystem, men samtidig er det nødvendigt for skolen ikke helt at bryde med dette system, al den stund skolen af hensyn til det konventionelle tankesæt ikke kan fremstå som alt for radikal.Skolens utraditionelle, nyskabende initiativer bliver derfor til i tilknytning til mere konventionelle uddannelsesforløb som tekstil design, restaurant-og hoteldrift og sekretæruddannelse. I tilknytning til denne erhvervsorienterede undervisning gives der undervisning i eksempelvis udviklingsproblematik, nigeriansk historie, traditionel kunst, nigeriansk sprog og kultur. Den enkelte elevs erhvervsorienterede uddannelse følges således op af en mere værdi- og holdningsorienteret undervisning. Gennem fællesarrangementet ’Grundtvig timen’ og gennem studiegrupper virkeliggøres skolen for livet yderligere. I 1993 flytter skolen ind i nye bygninger, finansieret b.de fra Nigeria og Danmark, og i årene derefter vil den nigerianske folkehøjskole blive virkelighed. En række problemer knytter sig hertil: hvilket af de 395 nigerianske sprog skal vælges til det levende ords undervisning, og hvilken identitet skal genfindes og opbygges: den før-kolonialistiske, den kolonialistiske eller en blanding? Medens disse problemer lyses, fortsattes skolens arbejde med at sprede grundtvigske idealer i Nigeria

Integrative humanism and complementary reflection: A comparative analysis

No Abstrac

Reducing the barriers to the attainment of the millenium development goals for maternal health in Nigeria

No Abstract

Revisiting Pan-Africanism, The Rallying Point of the Contemporary African

dr Michael Chukwuemeka Ozumba, Department of Philosophy, Anambra State University, Igbariam, NigeriaPan-Africanism was a movement developed by the African people in the wake of their struggle for recognition of their humanity, dignity and equality with the rest of the world that had battered them. This movement had among other objectives the unification of Africa, a return to Africa by people of African descent living in the Diaspora and universal expression of black pride and achievement. It was also seen as the harbinger of liberation. The onus of this research work is to assess the success or not of this movement of the African by the African and for the African with a view to showing if appreciable success has been recorded especially as it affects the objective of ensuring a return of the Africans in Diaspora to the continent. This paper seeks to highlight areas where the African of today needs to address in order to bring to fruition the benefits expected of the Pan African Movement. It also seeks to establish in very clear terms that the African has a lot of work to do or else he will more than ever before be swallowed up by the West through an unbridled acceptance without scrutiny of the agents of globalization

Administrative Leadership Styles and Teacher Job Satisfaction: A Study of Secondary Schools in Imo State, Nigeria.

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Static-Threshold-Limited on-Demand Guaranteed Service for Asynchronous Traffic in Timely-Token Protocol

In this paper, an improved Timely-Token protocol with enhanced best-effort service for improved capacity allocation to the asynchronous (that is, non real-time) traffic is proposed. Through analytical approach and the use of computer simulations, the improved Timely-Token protocol is compared with the existing Timely-Token protocol. In particular, if AT denotes a threshold value, then, when compared to the existing Timely-Token protocol, the improved protocol will allocate additional average of AT time units to the asynchronous traffic in every cycle

The association between medication adherence and blood pressure control among hypertensive patients attending a tertiary hospital in south-south Nigeria

Background: Hypertension is a common disease among adults. It is a global health condition that requires drugs and lifestyle changes for its management and control. Despite this, the rate of hypertension related deaths has been increasing in prevalence across the world. The purpose of this paper is to determine the association between medication adherence and blood pressure control among hypertensive patients in Family Medicine Clinic, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State, Nigeria.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in Family Medicine Clinic, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Systematic sampling method was used to select 400 participants. A structured questionnaire namely Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-4 was adapted and used for data collection in this study. Bivariate analysis was done using Chi square test and odd ratio.Results: A total of 400 (118 males and 282 females) adult hypertensive patients participated in this study. Majority of the participants had poor adherence to medication treatment 71.2% (n=285), whereas the remaining ones 28.8% (n=115) had good adherence. Similarly, most of the participants, 77.2% (n=309) had poor blood pressure control while the remainder 22.8% (n=91) experienced the opposite. The bivariate analysis showed that good medication adherence was significantly associated with good blood pressure control.Conclusions: Medication adherence was low especially among those with poor blood pressure control. This link was statistically significant therefore doctor-patient interaction with emphasis on medication adherence is advocated.

Accessibility Experience Design (AxD): A Bi-directional Accessibility Perspective for e-Business Services

This chapter proposes the idea of accessibility experience design for e-business services, as a bi-directional accessibility perspective for e-business growth in market share. The study is based on the needs for social justice, inclusion, and access on one hand, and business profit on the other. e-Business services have continued to grow with advancement of web and mobile business applications, which give better access to customers and influence the public. Awareness of the need for universal accessibility, to the services which are progressively being offered online, has also increased. Recently, accessibility policies and regulations have become more visible. However, even with the current COVID-19 situation and the shift to online mode, e-business services still lag in web and document accessibility. The resultant loss of access to the sub-population of impaired people results in missed business and market expansion opportunities. Therefore, this chapter explores the current drivers of accessibility practices, adoption by e-business services, and their market implications. The bi-directional accessibility perspective is proposed through the notion of accessibility experience design. The chapter is based on secondary research, which is complimented with demographic analysis of existing population data sets

The Use Of Rectal Temperature Fluctuations In The Study Of Circadian Rhythm In Three Adult Vertebrate Species In Awka, Nigeria

Biological clocks allow organisms to assess and respond to the oscillating environmental rhythms that result from the earths movements via the generation of biological rhythms. Circadian clocks are also assumed to enhance survival and reproductive fitness in part by promoting optional timingof behaviour and physiology in relation to regular cycles in the environment. Temperature fluctuations were studied in three different vertebrate species – Sylvilagus floridanus, Rattus norvegicus and Columba livia in relation to the rhythmicity of rectal temperature. Clinical digital thermometer was used to record the core temperatue by inserting it 2 – 3 cm deep from the anal sphincter before taking readings 3 minutes after. The highest recorded mean rectal temperature for R. norvegicus and S. floridanus were 38.85 ± 0.40 0C and 39.83 ± 0.32 0C respectively with the lowest being 36.58 ± 0.74 0C and 36.63 ± 0.18 0C respectively. C. livia failed to exhibit core temperature fluctuation. There were not significant differences in the mean rectal temperature for both sexes for S. floridanus in relation to time of day. Differences in the circadian temperature fluctuations were traced to variation among the animals, of preferred temperature arising from differential behavioural and physiologcal regulation, in relation to environmental cues. It is also possible that daily changes in illuminaton were secondary to C. lvia. The results also suggest thatcircadian rhythmicity persists even in artificially imposed selective environment. Rectal temperatures are adequate for monitoring the biorhythms, with each species exhibiting endogenous peculiarities in the various circadian phases.Keywords: Circadian temperature, Rectal temperature, Vertebrate species, Physiological regulatio

Pay satisfaction among doctors and nurses in a tertiary hospital in South-South Nigeria

Background: Employee pay is an important area in human resources management which influences individual behaviour including absenteeism in organizations. Pay satisfaction is a primary concern to employees because of its importance in satisfying their economic needs. The research was conducted to determine the occurrence and factors affecting employee pay satisfaction among doctors and nurses working in a tertiary hospital. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was used for this research on a sample of 320 doctors and nurses in a tertiary hospital that were selected using stratified sampling technique. An interviewer-administered questionnaire containing pay satisfaction details amongst others was used to collect data from the respondents. The data was analysed using statistical package for social sciences version 22 and statistical significance was set at 0.05. The results were presented in tables.Results: The prevalence of pay satisfaction in this study was 16.9%. Specifically, monthly earning (p=0.003) and job category (p=0.008) were found to be significantly associated with pay satisfaction.Conclusions: This study showed that the prevalence of respondents that were satisfied with their pay was low. There is need to apply practical measures that will improve pay satisfaction among doctors and nurses so as to improve productivity in the health sector