CHILDREN LITERATURE: BEDROCK OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEN

Education is the bedrock of any nation, and Nigeria is no exception. It is a critical pillar of sustainable human development without which we stagnate, flounder, and become inert. Education can also be referred to as the bedrock of social, economic and political development. It is important for creating enabling conditions for sustaining change. A well educated populace (which begins with a child) is necessary to bring about technological innovations and to adapt and modify it in the context of local conditions and realities. Only education can equip children with the confidence to make the most of their abilities. Quality education and basic literacy will open doors to information technology and the “new economyâ€. According to Jegede (2006), effective national development depends on education whose bedrock is the acquisition of knowledge. A learning society is a knowledgeable and wise society. What a person imbibes from childhood forms the basis of his attitude in life hence in Yoruba culture, a child is taught the norms and values of the society right from childhood through diverse means, one of which is children poems. These poems are didactic and they cover a wide range of themes. The language is very simple and they are easy to remember. They mould children’s attitude as they journey through life. This paper discussed educating children through poems. The poems of Olatubosun and Odunjo were used as case study

Estimating the uptake of maternal syphilis screening and other antenatal interventions before and after national rollout of syphilis point-of-care testing in Ghana.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the uptake of maternal syphilis and HIV screening, intermittent preventive treatment for malaria, and tetanus toxoid administration in three regions of Ghana, before and after the rollout of syphilis point-of-care tests (POCTs). METHODS: Antenatal register records were reviewed in 15 selected health facilities over an eight-month period, 16 months apart. Register records had been evaluated using the maternal record booklets as a gold standard in a separate prior survey. RESULTS: In the evaluation study, the sensitivity of register data was low, ranging from 33.3% for tetanus toxoid administration to 53.8% for syphilis serology. In total, 8282 antenatal client records (4141 in each period) were reviewed. Less than a third of pregnant women received any single intervention at either period (ranging from 17.8% for tetanus toxoid to 29.8% for HIV testing). Overall, HIV screening had a marginal absolute increase of about 2% while the remaining interventions experienced non-significant absolute decreases of 4.1 to 11.1%. When adjusting for under-recording, syphilis screening uptake was 50% before and 33.6% after the introduction of POCTs. CONCLUSION: Use of POCTs for syphilis did not result in increased uptake. Routine monitoring of antenatal interventions using the antenatal register may result in underestimation of their uptake

Building Sustainable Business Clusters towards Global Competitiveness: Case Study of Furniture Making along Owode-Ajegunle Axis of Lagos State

To countries like Brazil, Pakistan, India, China and many more, business clustering is not new as it has contributed a lot to their economic development. Agglomeration economies as it is otherwise called by some economists have been identified as one of the ways companies bring out innovative products. Because of its potential to affect competition by increasing business productivity, driving innovation and stimulating new businesses, business cluster is a useful tool to create global competitiveness. Currently at Owode-Ajegunle axis along Ikorodu road, Lagos, Nigeria, small uncoordinated groups of furniture makers can be seen producing their wares along both sides of a long stretch of the road. This paper therefore looks at the current position of this natural occurring, disorganized, identified cluster and what can be done for its improvement and sustainability. As a theoretical paper, theories, past works and experiences from other countries of the world will be explored to see how this proposed cluster can be properly established towards creating global competitiveness in this sector. The paper concludes that since industrial clusters have the capacity to rejuvenate local economies, provide competitiveness and create wealth, the formation of these small roadside enterprises into an organized business cluster will significantly improve efficiency, innovation and quality of products in the furniture industry and that the concerned Government institutions, agencies and parastatals must make collaborative effort by creating a synergy among the enterprises of the identified cluster, towards its sustainability for increased global standards. Keywords: Business cluster, Global competitiveness, Furniture

Protein Enhancement of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) Peels with Single-or Co-Inoculation of Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem and Trichoderma viride Pers Ex Fr. Under Solid-State Fermentation

This study assessed the protein enrichment of sterilized and non-sterilised yam peels substrates fermented for 21 days at 25°C with mono- and co-cultures of Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride. Yam substrates were harvested at 0, 7, 14, and 21 days intervals for protein content and other chemical composition analyses. Results showed an overall percentage increase in protein contents of sterilised yam peels by 71.80% for A. niger, 58.03% for T. viride, and 80.60% for co-culture of A. niger and T. viride. Protein contents in non-sterilised yam peels increased by 113.30%, 95.00%, and 96.45% for A. niger, T. viride and co-culture of the test fungi, respectively. The significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher protein contents of the fermented, non-sterilised yam peels suggest possible successional microbial colonization of the substrate, and their combined, cumulative contributions to protein enhancement, unlike the sterilised yam peels. Ash content significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased in both sterilised and non-sterilised yam peels. These findings underscore the fact that, through fungal bioprocessing, protein contents of yam peels can be significantly enriched for value-addition. The practical implications of the findings are discusse

Development and evaluation of a drill re-grinding fixture

Generally, manual method of re-grinding drills poses the dangers of damage and accidents. This paper reports the method used in the design, fabrication and testing of the drill re-grinding fixture. The fabricated fixture can withstand maximum normal and tangential forces of 121.34 N and 87.76 N respectively. The developed fixture shows it is suitable as work holding device for re-grinding drills bits with diameter of at least 4.5 mm and above without breakage and difficulty. The average time for complete re-grinding is about six minutes (loading and unloading time inclusive) and no injuries were recorded. The grinded surfaces conform to the standard tool geometry for a twist drill. Hence, the use of this drill re-grinding fixture in the engineering workshops obviates the rigor of manual handling of drills during grinding.Keywords: design, evaluation, drill, fixture, grinding, cost

An Evaluation of Teaching Practice Performance among Regular and Sandwich Students in Ekiti State, Nigeria

This study investigated the teaching practice performance between regular and sandwich student-teachers in Ekiti State. The population for the study comprised of student-teachers on teaching practice exercise undergoing NCE  sandwich programme at the College of Education,Ikere Ekiti, Ikere Ekiti study Centre and NCE regular students of the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti. Random sampling technique was used to select 100 regular and 80 sandwich teachers. The data were collected and analysed using percentages and student t – test. Two hypotheses were raised and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that there was significant difference in the performance of regular and sandwich teachers, but there was no significance different in the teaching practice preparatory level of regular and sandwich teachers Key notes: Training, In-service, Pre-service, Teaching practice and Performance

Assessment and Impacts of Metal Recycling on Groundwater Quality in Ogijo, Ogun State, Nigeria

Groundwater is an essential source of water supply globally. Recently, however, the groundwater environment is being threatened due to heavy metal contamination resulting from the indiscriminate use, storage, and disposal of toxic metal elements. This study evaluates heavy metals concentrations in groundwater systems close to a metal recycling industry in Ogun State, Nigeria. In the study, thirty-six (36) water samples were collected from boreholes within the vicinity of a metal recycling industry and analysed using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Water samples collected had trace concentrations of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni); metal concentrations were highest in the borehole closest to the industry. Pb, Cr, and Mn concentrations were above the acceptable standards. The findings showed that the activities within metal recycling industries can potentially elevate toxic metal concentrations in groundwater water sources close to it if proper mitigation measures are not put in place

A Simplified Overview of Text-To-Speech Synthesis

Computer-based Text-To-Speech systems render text into an audible form, with the aim of sounding as natural as possible. This paper seeks to explain Text-To-Speech synthesis in a simplified manner. Emphasis is placed on the Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) components of Text-To-Speech Systems. Applications and limitations of speech synthesis are also explore

Pedagogies for critical thinking at universities in Kenya, Ghana and Botswana: the importance of a collective 'teaching culture'

While critical thinking is widely regarded as a key outcome of higher education, research has shown that in practice it is only developed when certain conditions are in place, relating to the pedagogical approach, the nature of the curriculum and the level of challenge, amongst other factors. This article reports on findings from a four-year mixed methods study in Botswana, Ghana and Kenya, aiming to investigate the factors underpinning the successful development of critical thinking amongst undergraduate students. A two-stage critical thinking assessment was conducted with students in 15 sites, showing that only some of the institutions were ensuring significant gains in students’ critical thinking, even when endorsing learner-centred methods. The study points to the central importance of teaching orientations amongst lecturers, involving a deep shift in approaches to knowledge, and a facilitation rather than a transmission approach