The Influence of seed treatments and growing media on seedling growth and development of African walnut, Plukenetia conophorum

A nursery trial was conducted to investigate the effects of seed treatments and soil type growing media on the germination and growth of Plukenetia conophorum. The factors considered included seed treatments with hot water at 90&#176C, warm water at 60&#176C, overnight soaking in cold water and scarification. Soil type media were humus&#43manure and topsoil&#43manure at a 2:1 ratio. The results showed that the types of nursery media used were significant only on seedling growth but not on germination. However, the seed treatments have significant effects on germination and growth of the crop. Topsoil produced superior plant growth in terms of plant height, collar girth and leaf number. Scarification and overnight soaking in cold water produced best quality seedlings.Key words: Plukenetia conophorum, seed treatment, growing media, top soil, humus, under-exploited fruit.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (8), pp. 808-81

Cross-examining the effectiveness of e-advocacy as a tool for advancing women’s rights in Nigeria

Following the alleged success of social media in the Arab Spring and other social change activities around the world, there has been increasing interest in the capacity of electronic advocacy also known as digital activism to translate to social change. Yet, scholars remain divided about the effectiveness of electronic advocacy in driving social change. Does electronic advocacy promote social change, or does it result in slacktivism? Using the survey method for data obtained from a convenient sample of residents of Lagos and Ogun states in Southwestern Nigeria, this study examined effectiveness electronic advocacy on women-centred issues and the extent to which it leads to social change or mere slacktivism. This study revealed that digital activism is capable of leading to the promotion of women-centred issues but is not helpful in the protection of women’s issues and in driving social change

'Just open your eyes a bit more': The methodological challenges of researching black and minority ethnic students' experiences of physical education teacher education

In this paper we discuss some of the challenges of centralising 'race' and ethnicity in Physical Education (PE) research, through reflecting on the design and implementation of a study exploring Black and minority ethnic students' experiences of their teacher education. Our aim in the paper is to contribute to ongoing theoretical and methodological debates about intersectionality, and specifically about difference and power in the research process. As McCorkel and Myers notes, the 'researchers' backstage'-the assumptions, motivations, narratives and relations-that underpin any research are not always made visible and yet are highly significant in judging the quality and substance of the resulting project. As feminists, we argue that the invisibility of 'race' and ethnicity within Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE), and PE research more widely, is untenable; however, we also show how centralising 'race' and ethnicity raised significant methodological and epistemological questions, particularly given our position as White researchers and lecturers. In this paper, we reflect on a number of aspects of our research 'journey': the theoretical and methodological challenges of operationalising concepts of 'race' and ethnicity, the practical issues and dilemmas involved in recruiting participants for the study, the difficulties of 'talking race' personally and professionally and challenges of representing the experiences of 'others'. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Access and utilisation of primary health care services comparing urban and rural areas of Riyadh Providence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has seen an increase in chronic diseases. International evidence suggests that early intervention is the best approach to reduce the burden of chronic disease. However, the limited research available suggests that health care access remains unequal, with rural populations having the poorest access to and utilisation of primary health care centres and, consequently, the poorest health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the access to and utilisation of primary health care centres in urban and rural areas of Riyadh province of the KSA

Impact of mothers’ socio-demographic factors and antenatal clinic attendance on neonatal mortality in Nigeria

Neonatal death is often referred to maternal complications during pregnancy, and other exogenous factors that exist around the time of birth or shortly after birth. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG)-Goal 3, Targets 3.2 aimed at ending preventable deaths of newborns by demanding that all countries should reduce neonatal mortality to 12 per 1000 live births by 2030. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between mothers’ socioeconomic and demographic factors on neonatal deaths in Nigeria. The study used quantitative data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS). The data analyzed consisted of 26,826 women aged 15–49 years who had a live or dead birth within the 5 years preceding the survey. STATA 12 computer software was used to carry out data analyses. Data analyses were at univariate (frequency distribution), bivariate (chi-square) and due to the dichotomous nature of the outcome variable (i.e., whether a child was born alive or dead during the delivery; coded as (1, 0), a binary logistic regression was carried out to examine the relationships between various socio-demographic factors, antenatal clinic attendance and neonatal mortality in Nigeria. The results, among others, revealed that background factors of the women such as age, region, residence, education, and wealth status have a significant association with neonatal mortality (P < 0.05). The study also found that adequate antenatal clinic attendance helps to reduce neonatal deaths. The study recommended that women should be encouraged to observe regular antenatal clinic visits during pregnancy and also go for institutional delivery for possible reduction of neonates and infant deaths in Nigeria