The Power and Purpose of Instructional Objectives in Social Studies Education

Argument on the need for objectives in education is on the rise with divergent views of teachers over the matter. Some see objectives as vital to teaching learning process and should be clearly stated and made known to students prior to instruction while others see objectives as not necessary; yet many are undecided. The importance of objectives in the entire educative process cannot be overemphasized. This paper explores the power and purpose of instructional objectives in social studies instruction. Keywords: Social studies, general objectives, specific objectives, teacher, student and academic achievement

Utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and library operations in state university libraries in south-south Nigeria

This study examined utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) and library job operations in state university libraries in South-South Nigeria. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was used. The population for the study constituted 143 librarians (professionals and paraprofessionals). A sample of 93 librarians was selected using purposive sampling technique. The instrument was validated by experts. The research data was analyzed with descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (One-Way ANOVA). All hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there was a significant influence of online databases services on library job operations, (f=4.447*, P<.05, df=2,728, F-critical=3.00) and there was a significant influence of CD-ROM services on library job operations, (f=2.671*, P<.05, df=2,728, Fcritical= 3.00).From the result of the study, it was recommended among others that librarians should utilize more ICT tools to facilitate their job operations in the library.Keywords: Utilization of ICT, Online databases Service, CD-ROM Service, Library job operations, State University, Libraries, South-South Nigeri

Gender, Socio-economic status, Teacher qualification and their Interaction on Students' Retention Ability in Social Studies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria

This work sought to find out the effect of gender, socio-economic status, teacher qualification and their interaction on students' retention ability in Social Studies in Akwa Ibom State schools of Nigeria. Literature review was carried out on the variables directing the study. A total of 270 Upper Basic students were used for the study. The instrument consisted of thirty multiple choice objective questions and a questionnaire. The research design used for the study was a pretest post-test control group experimental design. One hypothesis was postulated for the study and tested at 0.5 level of significance using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The result of the analysis indicated that students' socio-economic status, teacher qualification and the interaction of teacher qualification with treatment significantly influenced students' retention ability in Social Studies. Specifically, the retention ability of higher SES students is significantly greater than that of medium SES students who in turn had significantly higher retention ability than low SES students. Based on these findings, recommendations were made. Keywords: Gender, Socio-economic status, Teacher qualification, Students' retention ability, Social Studies

Relative Effectiveness of Inquiry and Expository Methods of Teaching Social Studies on Academic Performance of Secondary Students in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The aim of this work was to find out the relative effectiveness of inquiry and expository methods of teaching social studies on the academic achievement of secondary school students in Akwa Ibom State. Related literature was reviewed. The research design was pretest-post-test experimental design. Two hypotheses were raised to guide the study. The independent t-test statistical instrument was used in analyzing the data at .05 level of significance. The sample of the study was made up of 300 randomly sampled students from six public secondary schools in the state. The result revealed that students taught with the expository method. Based on this finding, it was recommended that inquiry method of teaching social studies be encouraged in the secondary school setting. Keywords: Inquiry, Expository, Social Studies, Performance

Environmental Consequences of Solar Energy Development and Other Sources of Energy

In recent years, scientists are increasingly raising the question of the huge impact of solar energy on the ecology of our world. This study attempts to unveil the relationship between the development of solar energy and the threat of growth of environmental problems. Thus, the stream of solar energy simply has to be taken under the control of people and used as much as possible, but with the preservation of the unique earth's climate. At the moment, it is no secret that carbon resources are being depleted very rapidly, and if the search for alternative sources of energy in the near future will not succeed, then the prospects for our civilization are absolutely small. So, among the possible successors that are able to pick up the baton of traditional energy, the most attractive among alternative energy sources is solar energy, which is considered environmentally friendly. Keywords: Solar energy, energy, ecology, ecological problems, climate, environment

Permutation of UTME multiple-choice test items on performance in use of English and mathematics among prospective higher education students

In an attempt to curtail examination malpractice, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been generating different paper types with a different order of test items in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). However, the permutation of test items may compromise students’ performance unintentionally because constructive suggestions in theory and practice recommend that test items be sequenced in ascending order of difficulty. This study used data collected from a random sample of 1,226 SSIII students to ascertain whether the permutation of test items has any effect on the performance of students in two different subjects (Use of English and Mathematics). The study adopted the Equivalent Groups Quasi-Experimental Research Design with three independent groups. Findings emerged, amongst others, that there is a significant difference in the performance scores of prospective university students' in use of English and Mathematics examintaions arranged in three different orders (ED, DE, R). There are no significant gender differences in the performance of students in Use of English and Mathematics based on test item permutation. However female students perform better than male students when test items are arranged in ascending order of difficulty while males perform better when test items are arranged in descending order of difficulty. It was concluded that the permutation of test items in UTME examination tends to affect the performance of students in Use of English and Mathematics. This finding has implications for the future conduct of UTME examinations and enrolment into higher education as the randomization of UTME test items changes the difficulty order of different paper types. It was recommended that other measures of curtailing examination malpractices that would not affect students’ academic performance should be adopted

Microsatellite association with seed protein content and flowering time in Nigerian cowpea cultivars

Cowpea microsatellites were evaluated for their potential to be used as markers associated with seed protein content and plant flowering time. Seeds with high and low protein content as well as plants with early and late flowering time were selected from 104 Nigerian cowpea accessions. Fifteen (15) microsatellite primer pairs were tested for amplification of microsatellite sequences using PCR and seven pairs amplified a single-locus. Sequence analysis showed a high level of diversity between the analysed genotypes. Although, none of the microsatellites allowed clustering for protein content, one primer pair, VM68, detected a (AG)12-repeat microsatellite allele, which was present only in plants with late flowering. This microsatellite might possibly be useful as a marker associated with late-flowering time.http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBRnf201

Nigeria Root Vegetables: Production, Utilization, Breeding, Biotechnology and Constraints

This chapter describes the various facets, from agronomy to marketing, of Nigerian root vegetables including garlic, onion, turmeric, ginger and carrot being the world’s most significant and vital root vegetables which have high culinary and medicinal value. The chapter commences with their origin and history, universal spread, production figures, areas under cultivation and goes on to explain the botany, diversity, conservation, production practices, pests and diseases management, utilization, post-harvest technology and their uses as nutraceuticals. This chapter also presents the socio-economic, market analyses, export potential of these crops in Nigeria. It would be an important reference material for researchers, agricultural and food science students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and policy makers; and be of great interest to experts and industries involved in root vegetables and spices trade. The in-depth information and knowledge about the genetic conservation, socio-economics, production, pests and diseases management and post-harvest technology of root vegetables in Nigeria provided in this chapter would greatly help in efforts towards improving their production and utilization for enhanced nutrition and healthy living