An investigation into contemporary tobacco smoking behaviour in Nigeria: the impact of cultural transference on consumer behaviour and usage intentions.

Tobacco has continued to be a global threat, particularly in developing countries. While it appears that the demands for tobacco products have continued to fall in many developed countries, tobacco growing and consumption is posited to become increasingly concentrated in developing countries. Studies have consistently linked the increase to its commercialisation by the tobacco industry and globalisation is acknowledged to play a vital role in its evolution. Although the emerging area of study to understand this phenomenon has focused on the economic, policy implementation and health behavioural aspects, behavioural issues such as the impact of the change in the global environment on tobacco use behaviour is unclear. This relatively unexplored issue is therefore the subject of this research. This thesis investigates the effect of the current anti-tobacco regime in major developed countries on the usage of tobacco products in developing countries. The research argues that the change in tobacco use behaviour on a global level - where tobacco is increasingly becoming less socially acceptable - is capable of influencing tobacco use behaviour in developing countries. The core theoretical focus is on consumer behaviour, particularly cultural values and personality traits, and the impact of cultural transference on tobacco usage intention. The study adopted an interdisciplinary approach for rigorous review and integration of a body of texts critical to current knowledge on contemporary tobacco use behaviour. It deployed the research technique in a single setting in a focused attempt to draw parallels with existing theories and models, and to extend the theory within the field of consumer behaviour through triangulation. The data collection methods for the study consisted of a combination of mixed-method research. The first method for this research is an in-depth interview in the form of a series of focus groups, followed by the use of a questionnaire. The justification for this is the richness and depth of information gained from the analysis of multiple sources of data available to the researcher within a single setting. The findings from the research show a subtle link between tobacco use behaviour in Nigeria and the ongoing events in the global environment. It demonstrated that while the global environment may influence individual tobacco use behaviour, individuals make decisions against the backdrop of interpretation of the global environment, within the constraints of their local environment. This study contributes to the utilisation of global consumer culture to advance tobacco use control. It also identifies and recommends areas for future studies

Remuneration of Casual Workers in Selected foreign-owned Manufacturing Industries in Southwest, Nigeria

As many African countries takes steps into becoming self-sufficient economically viable entities, the Nigerian governments have taken steps to ensure attractive, investor-friendly policies which to a large extent has yielded Foreign Direct Investment thus, revenue for the country. As unemployment looms large in Nigeria, it is not surprising that employers of labour have brought a new twist to employment in the name of casualization of labour. Evidences have showed that casual workers perform many of the same technical and professional duties as regulars, but are not receiving the welfare benefits expected of them. The paper examined the category and remuneration of casual workers in manufacturing industries vis-à-vis the Nigerian Labour Laws. The Police theory of welfare was adopted to explain issues raised in the study. The research was descriptive in nature. It adopted survey and qualitative research designs. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select respondents. Questionnaire and In-depth interviews were used to gather relevant data. While SPSS 20.0 was used to analyze the former, Nvivo 8 software was used to analyze the latter. 225 questionnaires were completely filled by casual workers from three foreign-owned manufacturing industries, thus valid for data analysis. The study revealed that aside the mode of recruiting casual and permanent staffs is similar, casual workers remuneration was against the Nigerian Labour law. This outright disobedience prevailed mostly in Indian and Chinese owned industries, as British employers have better remuneration for casual workers. The study concludes that workers dignity has come under heavy attack by foreign industrialists even at the face of the local and international norms. The study recommends that all foreign employers must regularize the status of casual worker within an agreed time frame or as spelled out by the Nigerian Labour Act. Casual workers are to acquire more education as it might determine the remuneration that would accrue to them. Lastly, government and other policy makers should ensure that labour laws are carefully implemented and evaluated to protect, casual workers from the exploitation of foreign employers. Keywords: Casual Workers, Foreign employers, Law, Manufacturing industries, Remuneration

Evaluation of the effect of Pelargonium reniforme Curtis extract on alcohol induced liver damage in Nkonkobe Municipality Eastern Cape Province South Africa

Alcohol abuse is a very common practice (just like in many other parts of the world) in Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. This is associated with liver disease. An ethnobotanical survey of plants used for the treatment of alcohol-induced liver damage in Nkonkobe Municipality was conducted. During the survey and also from information gathered in the literature, Pelargonium reniforme Curtis, was prominently mentioned, among other plants, as the species used generally for the treatment of alcohol-induced liver damage. This project was designed to evaluate the effects of the plant on alcohol-induced liver damage, including its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. It also involves safety evaluation studies to determine if the plant is safe for consumption. Studies using rats of the Wistar strain were carried out to determine the protective and curative effects of P. reniforme on alcohol-induced liver damage. Results obtained showed that the plant extract can protect the liver cells as well as enhance recovery from tissue damage. The plant also showed good antimicrobial and antioxidant activity and this further validates its use in the treatment of liver diseases. Safety evaluation studies of the extract were carried out by investigating the effects of the oral administration on some haematological and biochemical parameters in male Wistar rats. The results obtained from the study suggest that the plant extract is not toxic at the doses used and is therefore safe for medicinal uses. The results of the various bioassays carried out in this project have justified the traditional uses of P. reniforme for the treatment of alcohol-induced liver damage

Building Effective Public Relations in University Libraries in Nigeria

Library is one of the strongest pillars that hold the universities. Its role in the overall improvement and success in the intellectual development climate of universities cannot be overemphasized. However, as important as it is, it has a challenge of competing with other agencies and departments in the academic community for scarce resources. This is so, because, many in the university community perceive that internet and the mega-book stores are better place to find information that they need. Defending the university libraries existence becomes a serious challenge today thus the need to get the word out to draw people into their doors. To learn how they can better do this, a strategy such as public relations needs to be employed. This article therefore attempts to discuss building effective public relations in university libraries in Nigeria. It listed some techniques as regard making public relations effective in the libraries and concluded by advising libraries to be proactive in building positive relations as to structure and improve library service, so that they may make maximum contribution to survival through learning. Keywords: Public Relations, University Libraries, Effective, University Community, Librarians

Traditional Governance System in Nigeria: Lessons for Neoliberal Democracies

The pre-colonial Nigerian state had a well-organized system of administration where law and social order were provided and maintained respectively. Despite the country’s independence, Nigeria had been unable to install rights-based political and economic systems of governance that would encouragestate-building and development. The attendant societal woes paved way for neoliberalism; an economic ideology that licensed the Bretton Woods institutions to limit the political powers of the state and promote the ideas of the free market economic system.This paper examined neoliberal governance system with the aim of identifying the lessons for a “democratic”state like Nigeria. The theoretical assumptions of the World Systems theory were used to explain issues of interest. As a desk study, this paper found, amongst others, that “every foreign favour comes with a price tag.” This was because the aidprovided bythe Bretton Woods institutions such as the World Bank and IMF to the then government has subjected Nigeria to the dictates of the aforementioned donors, which the country is dearly paying for till date. Also, the adoption of neoliberal policies denied the indigenous people of Nigeria the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to dignity of human person. Therefore, it was recommended that the Nigerian government embraces an autarkic form of governance. This is highly possible by first de-westernizing the mind of Nigerians and her leaders to begin to see the need to stick to a self-sufficient and a truly democratic form of government

Exploring coping strategies of retired elderly persons in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria: implication for counselling

Retirement involves the transition from one stage in life to another. This transition has some implications which require coping strategies to survive the occurrences. This study, therefore, investigated coping strategies of retired elderly persons in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria. The research design is a descriptive survey. The population of the study comprised elderly persons in Kwara State and the target population consisted of retired elderly persons in selected local government areas in Ilorin Metropolis. 300 retired elderly persons were purposively selected through snowball sampling, with the assistance of the pension office. Questionnaires were used for data collection. The data was analysed using mean and analysis of variance. The results show that retired  people adopted the coping strategies of having regular contact with people, spending time in nature (sleeping), performing regular exercise, seeking spiritual comfort, engaging in pleasurable hobbies and receiving support from family. However, there were significant differences in the coping strategies of retired persons in Ilorin Metropolis on the basis of gender, marital status and educational qualifications. The study recommended that male and female retirees should be encouraged to attend retirement counselling regularly, to adjust to the challenges of retirement. This implies that retirement counselling should be arranged for the elderly to ensure better health, emotional stability and physical functioning. This study has  provided fresh information regarding coping with retirement that can be used for comparative studies as well as for informing retirement education and management within and outside employment in Nigeria, and perhaps elsewhere

The Impact of Community Information Centres on Community Development in Akoko North West Local Government of Ondo State, Nigeria

This study discussed the impact of community information centres on community development in four communities in Akoko North West Local Government, Ondo State, Nigeria. The study employed survey research method, using mainly questionnaire. Copies of questionnaire were distributed to a total of 200 respondents. The entire questionnaire were effectively completed and retrieved. Teachers, traders, farmers, fish sellers, civil servants, students among others were respondents. At the end of the study, it was discovered that availability of community information services were rare in the communities, thus the dwellers were unaware of the great potentials inherent in the utilization of the centres. It was further discovered that the communities yearn for provision of well stocked community information centres  with a view to empowering, changing and transforming their life socially, economically, technologically, educationally, politically  for the better. Keywords: Impact, Community Information Centre, Community Development, Empowerment

Antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activity of the roots and leaves of Pelargonium reniforme Curtis (Geraniaceae)

Pathogens such as bacteria and fungi and oxidative stress induce the progression of alcoholic liver disease. The antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of extracts from the roots and leaves of Pelargoniumreniforme Curtis (Geraniaceae) were assessed in an effort to validate the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of liver diseases. Methanol, acetone and water extracts of the plant were investigated forantimicrobial activity against ten bacterial and five fungal species using the dilution method on solid agar medium. With the exception of Streptococcus faecalis, the extracts showed significant activity against all the gram-positive and three of the gram-negative bacteria tested in this study. Although not completely fungicidal, these extracts showed significant growth inhibition against all the fungi tested. The concentrations of the different classes of phenolic compounds were higher in the methanol extracts when compared with the water extracts. Antioxidant activities of the methanol and water extracts as assessed by three established in vitro methods, namely, 2,2´-azinobis-(3-methylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric ion reducing power showed that the extract possessed strong scavenging activity and moderate reducingpower. Results obtained in this study show that P. reniforme has good antimicrobial and antioxidant activity and this validates its traditional use in the treatment of liver diseases. Also, a comparative studyof the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of both the leaves and root showed that both parts had similar activity. The choice of the root by the traditional healers over the leaves may be arbitrary or due to easy collection. The leaves of P. reniforme may, as well, substitute for its roots in medicinal formulations

School Libraries as Panaceas for Mass Failure in West African Senior School Certificate Examinations in Nigeria

This paper attempted to explain school libraries as reliable and dependable panaceas for mass failure in West African Examination Council Senior School Certificate Examinations (WAEC SSCE). The paper began with an introduction highlighting various comments and views on reports of mass failure in SSCE in recent years in Nigeria. This was followed by providing a brief on the concept of West African Examination Council. Percentages of students that passed SSCE from 2008 to 2012 with five credits including English Language and Mathematics were obtained from newspapers and online reports and shown in tables to confirm the claim of mass failure of students in the WAEC examinations in recent years. School libraries and their capacity to improve student performance were discussed. Some recommendations were made as regards putting in place world class school libraries in Nigerian schools and committing them to regular use by the students for success in examinations. Keywords: School library, panacea, mass failure, examination