Nonprofit Fundraising Study: Covering Charitable Receipts At Nonprofit Organizations in the United States and Canada in 2013

Findings from a survey of more than 500 nonprofit organizations examining changes in charitable receipt amounts and types of fundraising methods used

The ‘Narod’ in Narodnjaci: Perceptions of Turbo Folk in Contemporary Sarajevo

Turbo Folk is often associated with the ultranationalism and violence of the Wars of Yugoslav Succession in the nineties. Working from the perspective of people who enjoy this music and/or frequent establishments where Turbo Folk is played in contemporary Sarajevo, I investigate the narratives employed by both listeners and detractors of Turbo Folk. What attributes or values are projected on the genre, in present day Sarajevo? Have these values changed from how the genre was perceived during the war in the 1990s? Is Turbo Folk political or politicized? Based on ethnographic field research conducted over the course of one month in Sarajevo, my project seeks to explore political aspects of cultural life in contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina. I frame my research in the context of post-socialist post-conflict cultural studies, and post-conflict transformation issues; specifically if and how behaviors in consumption of culture are affected by the past. Findings suggest that the division between admirers of Turbo Folk and the genre\u27s opponents is not as definitively demarcated as academic literature presents. Instead, the division between listeners and non-listeners is often dependent on the social context in which an individual finds him or herself

DIFFERENTIAL ITEM FUNCTIONING OF 2020-2021 NIGERIAN BASIC EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS IN MATHEMATICS IN ABIA STATE

The study identified the Mathematics multiple choice test items of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) administered by the Nigerian National Examination Council (NECO) in 2020-2021 that exhibited Differential Item Functioning (DIF) with respect to gender and socio-economic status, using ex-post facto research design. Participants of the study consists of three hundred and fifty (350) Junior Secondary School year three (JSS 3) students selected from two coeducational schools in Abia state of Nigeria. Data collected from the responses of students to the 120 Mathematics multiplechoice questions were analyzed using Scheuneman modified chi-square test statistic, chi square statistic and independent sample t-test to answer the four research questions and test the four hypotheses that guided the study. Result showed that Mathematics multiple-choice test items administered by NECO for BECE in 2020 and 2021 contain items that functioned differentially for examinees based on gender and socio economic status (SES). Whereas no significant difference exist in the percentage of items that functioned differentially in favour of both gender, the examination contain test items that significantly functioned differentially for examinees based on SES in favour of the high SES. The research recommends continual conduct of pilot study to analyze DIF for possible modification, replacement or equitable distribution of bias items among notable subgroup, especially socio economic status. In addition, the researcher advocates for the use of very simple English while setting mathematics BECE questions to avoid misinterpretation2

Citizens’ Perception of the Effectiveness of the Various Projects in Ogun State, Nigeria

The Government of Nigeria in its bid to better the lives of its citizens have through its numerous institutions established several projects. The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Ogun State is one of such institutions which plan and implement projects aimed at improving the economic and social standard of women and children considered to be the most vulnerable groups in society. This study therefore examined citizens’ perception of the effectiveness of the various projects of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Ogun State. With structured questions as the research instrument, a total of 1500 copies of questionnaire were administered to 250 respondents each from six Local Governments randomly selected from Ogun State. Findings revealed that although 75.3% of the citizens were aware of the presence of the Ministry in the State, many are yet to benefit from their programmes. Citizens’ perception of the effectiveness of the various programmes of the Ministry was moderately low at a mean of 11.7400 with standard error of 0.1978 on a 25 point scale. The Ministry did not consistently survey the opinions of the citizens on proposed programmes. The study concluded that the programmes of the Ministry have limited impact and need more publicity in order to meet their stated objectives and recommended that the Ministry survey the opinions of the citizens about proposed and implemented programmes so as to improve citizens’ perception of its programmes and create awareness of its programmes to citizens through publicity and workshops organized especially at the grassroot level. Keywords: Citizens’ Perception, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Projects

Guided Scoring: A Panacea for Effective Implementation of Continuous Assessment Programme and Enhancing Students’ Academic Achievements on Mathematics.

This study investigates the effect of guided scoring instructional strategy on performance of secondary school students in mathematics. Also the differences in the number of assessments administered and marked with the use of guided scoring and without its use were examined. The design of the study is quasi-experimental utilizing pre-test post –test non equivalent group. A sample of three hundred and thirty six senior secondary class one students were selected from three school types in Umuahia education zone of Abia State with experimental and control groups constituted in each school. Data obtained from pre-test and post –test were statistically analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). With gain scores of -1.99 and 20.26 (40.8%) for Control and Experimental groups respectively, the work indicates that Guided Scoring improved the problem solving skills of students and enhanced their performance in Mathematics. The F-ratio of 398.808 is shown to be significant at 1% level, further confirming that students exposed to guided scoring instructional strategy significantly out performed those who were not exposed to the strategy. Also the teacher administered and marked more continuous assessments with the use of guided scoring with a total score of 12 for control group and 20 for experimental group. The findings of this study will help lessen the burden of continuous assessment on teachers, increase the frequency of continuous assessment and thereby improve efficiency in teaching and learning of mathematics. This study will also help to expose students to the criteria by which they are judged and in the development of their judgment skills. The researcher recommends the adoption of guided scoring in secondary school systems and tertiary institutions as an efficient way of implementing the continuous assessment programme and enhancing the performance of students in Science, Technology and Mathematics. Keywords: Guided Scoring, Instructional Strategy, Implementation, Continuous Assessment, Enhancing, Academic Achievement, Mathematics

Routine immunization status and its socioeconomic determinants among children attending the federal medical centre, Owerri, Nigeria.

Magister Public Health - MPHImmunization has been proven a safe and cost effective means of protecting children from vaccine preventable diseases. Attaining optimal immunization coverage rests on having a good understanding of the factors that constitute barriers to the full immunization of children. Immunization coverage is historically low in Nigeria and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the efforts of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and its local successor, the National Programme on Immunization (NPI), the vaccine coverage in many parts of Nigeria is very much below the World Health Organization (WHO) target. Reports from different parts of the country show widely varying coverage levels, probably a reflection of the socio-economic circumstances of the inhabitants and the strength of their health systems. Thus, a local assessment remains the best way to determine the strength of the immunization programme in a given setting in Nigeria. The aim of this study was to determine the immunization coverage rates of children attending the outpatient clinic of the Federal Medical Centre Owerri, Nigeria, and to ascertain the socioeconomic factors associated with incomplete immunization among them

ASSESSMENT OF DISCIPLINARY PROBLEMS OF STUDENTS AND MEASURES ADOPTED BY TEACHERS IN CURBING INDISCIPLINE IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The study assessed the perception of teachers on the disciplinary problems faced by secondary school students and the measures adopted by teachers in disciplining erring students. Research design adopted was descriptive survey. Participants of the study consists of 684 teachers (189 males and 495 females) from public secondary schools in Enugu state of Nigeria selected through disproportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The researcher used self-constructed questionnaire captioned disciplinary problems and measures of secondary school students (DPMSSS) to collect data for the study. Three experts validated the instrument. Reliability co-efficient of the instrument is .79, obtained using Cronbach alpha method. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation.Result indicated that disciplinary problems of students in secondary schools are examination malpractice, stealing, lateness to school, absenteeism, and bullying/fighting, wrong use of cell phones, vandalism, truancy, sexual harassments and insulting of teachers. The disciplinary measures adopted by teachers in secondary schools include verbal warning, referral to principal, referral to disciplinary committee, written warning, and suspension, loss of privileges, manual labour, counseling/therapy, and flogging, discussion, kneeling down and reporting to parents. Gender of the teacher influences disciplinary measures adopted in secondary schools. Whereas the male teachers adopt verbal warning, manual labour and flogging to a very high extent, the female teachers adopt counselling to a very high extent. The research recommends that teachers should adopt a combination of the above measures, melt appropriate and commensurate punishment out to erring students to serve as deterrent to other students

Acrolein-Induced Epigenetic Modification of DNA Methylation in Rat Kidney Disease Tissue

Acrolein, an alpha-beta unsaturated aldehyde, and a very reactive and toxic compound is released into the environment from different sources. As a pervasive environmental pollutant, acrolein poses a serious environmental health threat acknowledged by investigators, health, and environmental government agencies. Acrolein is released into the environment through the burning of organic compounds. The main sources of acrolein pertinent to human health and toxicity include cooked foods, combustion of fossil fuels, cigarette smoke, overheating of frying oil, endogenously produced via lipid peroxidation, metabolism of polyamine, and anticancer drug cyclophosphamide. Exposure of humans to acrolein is mainly through inhalation of contaminated air, ingestion of contaminated food, and water and dermal contact. Exposure and buildup of acrolein in the biological system have been linked to different disease conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer’s diseases. Several mechanisms have been proposed for the toxicity of acrolein including inflammation, protein abduction, oxidative stress, DNA abduction, and membrane disruption. Some studies have linked acrolein-induced toxicity to epigenetic modifications. Epigenetics is the modifications in gene expression that do not alter the DNA sequence of a gene. This alteration could occur naturally or by factors such as age, environmental exposure, individual lifestyle, and disease condition. DNA methylation is an epigenetic process that ensues via the addition of a methyl (CH3) group to DNA and frequently alter the role of the gene and transcription factor and as such influence gene manifestation. DNA methyltransferases ( DNMTs) are a group of enzymes that control the addition of methyl groups at different levels in cells. There are three major types of DNMTs; DNMT1 is the methylation enzyme responsible for the maintenance of established patterns of DNA methylation while DNMT3A and DNMT3B mediate the establishment of new or de novo DNA methylation patterns. On the other hand, Ten Eleven Translocation (TET) enzymes counter the activities of DNA methyltransferases via stepwise biochemical conversion of 5- methylcytosine to 5-carboxyl cytosine, which is then modified by thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) making it a basic cytosine which allows the regeneration of unmethylated cytosine through base excision repair thereby abolishing DNA methylation. N- Acetylcysteine (NAC) is an antioxidant that is vital for the reduction of oxidative stress and the downstream negative effects that are associated with it. NAC has shown potency in the inhibition of acrolein-induced toxicity based on the recent studies done in our laboratory and other investigators. NAC beneficial effects are through improvement in the production of cellular glutathione, a natural antioxidant enzyme known to defend the body against the invasion of xenobiotics such as acrolein. Our earlier work using Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (VSMCs) has indicated that acrolein induces cytotoxicity and modifies histones specifically histone H3, through epigenetic modification via methylation and acetylation and NAC blocks the toxicity and inhibits histone modification. Based on current information, we are hypothesizing that acrolein toxicity is through changes in DNA methylation and NAC prevents this toxicity by inhibiting DNA methylation. Specific aims of the study are: Demonstrate that acrolein induces toxicity in rats is through DNA methylation, Evaluate the activities of DNA methylation/demethylation enzymes, Evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on the prevention of DNA methylation and subsequent changes. To investigate our hypothesis, male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 2mg/kg/day of acrolein for seven days (i.p) in the presence or absence of 600mg/kg/day of NAC (i.p). The dose and duration of exposure were selected based on our previous studies. At the end of the study period, kidney tissue was collected, nuclear protein and DNA samples were extracted for biochemical analysis. Lipid peroxidation was measured using MDA (Malondialdehyde)- based colorimetric assay. 5-mC hydroxylase TET activity, DNMT activity, Thymine DNA glycosylase activity, DNA Demethylase activity, and DNA Damage Quantification (8-OHdG) were measured by ELISA-based colorimetric and fluorometric assay from Epigentek. Global DNA methylation and global DNA hydroxymethylation were measured by ELISA-based colorimetric assay from Abcam and protein expression by western blotting. Our results revealed that acrolein-treated rats showed about a 169% increase in lipid peroxide level when compared to control. The addition of NAC decreases lipid peroxidation level to about 52% compared to the acrolein group. There was about a 67% decrease in 5-mC TET Hydroxylase activity in the acrolein treated group compared to control, the addition of NAC increased 5-mC TET Hydroxylase activity by 28% compared to the acrolein group. Consistently, there was about a 14% decrease in demethylase activity in the acrolein group compared to the control group and the addition of NAC increased demethylase activity to about 20% compared to the acrolein group. Similarly, there was about a 22% decrease in TDG activity in the acrolein treated group compared to the control and the addition of NAC showed an approximately 15% increase in TDG activity compared to the acrolein group. On the contrary, there was about a 30% increase in DNMT activity in the acrolein group compared to the control. The addition of NAC indicated about 32% increase compared to the acrolein group. The reason behind the increase in DNMT activity after the addition of NAC is yet to be understood since NAC is known to repeal acrolein toxicity. There was up to 16% increase in the global 5-mC level in the acrolein treated group compared to the control and the addition of NAC increased it by 16% when compared to the control. The same trend was observed in global 5-HmC where there was a 22% decrease in 5-HmC activity in the acrolein group compared to the control. The addition of NAC increased the level of 5-HmC approximately to 130% compared to the acrolein group. The decrease in global 5-mC and 5-HmC agrees with many investigators’ reports (hypomethylation) as the prognosis of different cancer development. Finally, there was about an 18% decrease in the 8-OHdG level in the acrolein group compared to the control and NAC addition increased the 8-OHdG level by 167% compared to the acrolein group. Based on the present data, we are concluding that epigenetic changes observed in acrolein-treated rats are the results of increased generation of ROS, which contribute to increasing oxidation level, alteration of TET enzymes and their products, and increased DNA methylation and subsequent DNA damage

New Media and the Overlapping Roles of Content Providers and Content Consumers

In the new media and communications context audiences are more empowered than ever to make their voices heard. Audiences, consumers are actively influencing the production of media contents. The rise of digitally networked technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones is reshaping journalistic practice across the world. This change is technological with social media platforms enabling new forms of publishing, receiving, and discussing of stories. This article is a contribution to the debate on audience participation in online media with a twofold aim:  making conceptual sense of the phenomenon of participatory journalism in the framework of journalism research, and determining the forms that it is taking in media organizations. This paper   suggests that news organisations are interpreting online user participation mainly as an opportunity for their readers to debate current events, while other stages of the news production process are closed to citizen involvement or controlled by professional journalists when participation is allowed. However, different strategies exist among the studied sample, and contextual factors should be considered in further research. Keywords: Audience Participation; New Media, Participatory Journalism; User-Generated Conten