A Multi-channel Application Framework for Customer Care Service Using Best-First Search Technique

It has become imperative to find a solution to the dissatisfaction in response by mobile service providers when interacting with their customer care centres. Problems faced with Human to Human Interaction (H2H) between customer care centres and their customers include delayed response time, inconsistent solutions to questions or enquires and lack of dedicated access channels for interaction with customer care centres in some cases. This paper presents a framework and development techniques for a multi-channel application providing Human to System (H2S) interaction for customer care centre of a mobile telecommunication provider. The proposed solution is called Interactive Customer Service Agent (ICSA). Based on single-authoring, it will provide three media of interaction with the customer care centre of a mobile telecommunication operator: voice, phone and web browsing. A mathematical search technique called Best-First Search to generate accurate results in a search environmen

Improving Accessibility of Nigerian Newspaper Websites Through RSS Feeds

Really Simply Syndication or Rich Site Summary (RSS) now becomes common way of summarizing content of an information website.- This is based on Resource Description Format ( RDF), which is an extensible markup language(XML) standard for analyzing information. Many an organization such as CNN, YAHOO generates summary of the content of her website in this xml format called rss feed, which can be read by news aggregators such as rss reader and feed reader or processed by some programming languages. News aggregators make it poss.ible to get updated information. from various websites simultaneously without visiting the websites. Today in Nigeria .. there are over twenty national dailies. While few are online. yet it is mandatory to visit these websites individually to get latest information. To improve on the usability of these sites, it becomes necessary to generate rss feeds for those who prefer getting information from these websites using news aggregators

VIRTUAL LEARNING IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: A Panacea for Enhanced Academic Standards

Currently, local area network (LAN) is commonplace in the Nigerian tertiary institutions and can be a good platform for distributing and disseminating instructional materials. Thus, this paper proposes to improve the quality of academics through online provision of learning resources based on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS); wired and wireless access to contents; and availability of the system 24/7. The system is based on third party software or FOSS called phpBB and Windows 2003 Server Active Directory Services. Both are installed and configured on an intranet. It has a discussion forum which is accessed through Hypertext Transfer Protocol using a web browser; and directory services for files/folders upload and download based on a set of privilege levels in Discretionary Access Control List (DACL) as a way of improving security. The system leads to the development of a virtual campus in Covenant University. Also, it has helped improve the quality of teaching by making lecture notes availably on the intranet, lecturer/student interaction, accessibility to teaching materials and reduce student’s idle time. The system helps in no small measure to correct the problems plaguing the educational sector such as examination malpractice, decline standards of education and cultism, as students are gainfully engaged in academic and social activities. The creation of a virtual campus would enhance the level of e-participation, and e-readiness of the graduate for the employment market. In particular, it bridges the divide between the developed and the developing nations

Growth performance, carcass traits and cost benefits of feeding weaner rabbits with leafy multinutrient miniblock

Study on the formulation and production of leafy multi-nutrient blocks ((control, MNB1, MNB 2 and MNB 3) for feeding rabbits using Pawpaw and Tridax leaves at ratios 0:0, 1:1, 3:2, 7:3 was conducted. Ninety-six, 7-week-old weaner rabbits with average body weight of 406.67+ 0.01 g were divided into four treatments. Treatments were replicated twelve times. Experimental treatments were arranged in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) and the feeding trial lasted 10 weeks. Result revealed that final live weight, weight gains, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly influenced by the dietary treatments.The lowest feed conversion ratio (4.79) was observed in the group fed MNB 3. Significantly (P<0.05) highest carcass dress weight percentage was observed among the rabbits fed MNB 3. Diets significantly influenced legs, loin, thigh and gastrointestinal weights with MNB3 rabbits having the highest values except the GIT. The cost benefits revealed that N661.02 were incurred on MNB3 and N1344 on control. Furthermore N149.21 and N309.55 were the costs saved on MNB1 and MNB2 respectively as against control (N682.98) which is higher than MNB1 and MNB2 mini block. Feeding MNB formulation favoured rabbits fed MNB 3. It was evident in this study that inclusion of pawpaw and tridax leaves at ratio 7:3 in MNB diets encouraged better performance and carcass yield in rabbits

Substance Use: Prevalence, Pattern and Risk Factors among Undergraduate Students in a Tertiary Institution in Southwest Nigeria

Background: Substance use is a global public health problem with increasing burden among university students. This study assessed the prevalence, pattern and risk factors of substance use among undergraduate students of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of undergraduate students of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data collection tool was a structured self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Statistical significance was set at p value <0.05Results: The respondents’ mean age was 19.5 ± 2.0 years and all 416 (100.0%) were aware of substance abuse. The prevalence of substance use was 299 (71.9%). Alcohol 133 (32.0%) and over-the-counter drugs (29.9%) were the two most commonly used substance. Being male (p=0.017) and in 400 level (p=0.047) were associated with substance use while curiosity 112 (37.5%), peer pressure 95 (31.8%) and school stress 85 (28.4%) were reasons given. Predictors of substance use were being a female (aOR: 2.54; 95% CI=1.89-3.66; p=0.011), civil servant mother (aOR: 5.75; 95% CI=1.90-17.4; p=0.002) and mother with secondary education (aOR: 5.27; 95% CI= 2.20- 12.65; p<0.001).Conclusion: There was high prevalence of substance use with curiosity, peer pressure and school stress being influencers of substance use among the study population. Predictors of substance use were being a female, civil servant mother and mother with secondary education. The University authority should institute measures to prevent access to alcohol and other substances by the students

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries