Challenges in public housing provision in the post independence era in Nigeria

This study investigated the contextual and organizational challenges in public housing provision in Nigeria in the post independence era. It was motivated by dearth of empirical studies on organizational challenges in public housing in this country. Using data derived from a survey of fifteen public housing agencies in southern Nigeria, the study found that scarcity of housing finance, lack of consistency and continuity in housing policy formulation and poor implementation strategies, unfavorable political environment and declining population of tradesmen in the construction industry were key contextual challenges militating against public housing provision. In addition, low level of inter-agencies collaborations, poor staff motivation and rewarding system as well as inadequate operational equipment and vehicles were responsible for the inability of public housing agencies to deliver on their housing mandate in the study area. The paper suggests that stable polity, consistency in housing policies and programs and capacity building in public housing agencies through public-private partnerships are needed to improve on the quantity and quality of public housing in Nigeri

Work Stress among Professionals in the Building Construction Industry in Nigeria

This study was undertaken to identify key stress factors among professionals in the building construction industry in Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that to date, very little is known about work stress among professionals in the building construction industry in this country. The study involved the administration of a questionnaire to 107 professionals including architects, builders, civil/structural engineers and quantity surveyors randomly selected from 60 ongoing building projects in Anambra, Ogun and Kaduna States, Nigeria. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and findings show that the principal sources of stress were high volume of work, uncomfortable site offices, lack of feedback on previous and ongoing building projects, and variations in the scope of work in ongoing building projects. The paper suggests that taking responsibility for work which one has adequate capacity to handle, establishing realistic budgets and time frames for project delivery, provision of spatially adequate, visually and thermally comfortable site offices, adoption of appropriate job design practices and education of professionals in stress management will reduce the incidence of stress among professionals in the building industry in Nigeria

Expert System-Based Exploratory Approach to Cost Modeling of Reinforced Concrete Office Building

Expert system is a conventional method that is in use in cost modeling, considering its advantage over traditional regression method. It is based on this fact, that this study aimed at deploying neural network in cost modeling of reinforced concrete office building. One hundred (100) samples were selected at random and divided into two; one part was used to develop network algorithm while the second part was used for model validation. Neural network was used to generate the model algorithm; the model is divided into 3 modules: the data optimization module, criteria selection with initializing and terminating modules. Regression analysis was carried out and model validated with Jackknife re-sampling technique. The colinearity analysis indicates high level of tolerance and -0.07403 lowest variation prediction quotients to 0.66639 highest variation quotients. Also the Regression coefficient (R-square) value for determining the model fitness is 0.034 with standard error of 0.048 this attest to the fitness of the model generated. The model is flexible in accommodating new data and variables, thus, it allows for regular updating

Cost Entropy and Expert System Approach to Modeling Cost Smoothing System in Reinforced Concrete Office Building Projects Procurement

The main aim of this research work is to develop an expert system approach to cost smoothing model in reinforced concrete office building project procurement. An econometric model which incorporates exigency escalator and inflation buffer, with entropy threshold for a typical reinforced concrete office building, useful at tendering and construction stages of building projects was developed in this study. As built and bill of quantity value of twenty (20) building projects initiated and completed within 2008 and 2009 were used at random. Elemental dichotomies within the context of early and late constructible elements with speculated prediction period was used, taken into consideration the present value of cost. This attributes would enable a builder or contactor load cost implication of an unseen circumstance even on occasion of deferred cost reimbursement with the aid of average entropy index developed for each project elements. The model was further validated with new samples and discovered to be of high Eigen and contingency coefficient values. The model could help in cost smoothing at different stages of reinforced concrete office building which could further aid cost overrun prevention

Assessment of the Perception of Tourist and Community Development of Olumirin Erin Ijesha Waterfall, Osun State, Nigeria

This study assesses the perception of tourist and community development of Olumirin Erin-Ijesha waterfall, Osun state, Nigeria using Semi-structured questionnaire to collect information from one hundred and fifty (150) respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the demographic characteristics of the respondents reveals that 85% of the respondents in Olumirin Waterfalls are male and 60% of the respondents are married and those with secondary education has the highest representation 90% The age distributions with the higher percentages are 32 – 38 with 75%. Category of the tourist showed that 94% of respondents are Nigerians (local/regional tourism or inbound tourism). Those staying for less than 24 hours have the higher percentage 94% indicating that tourists are mainly excursionist. Visitors’ control and management that charging of entrance fees has a higher representation (90%) as indicated by the employees. The table further revealed the visitors and site management in which visitors’ influx into the site has been on the increase as claimed by all the employees. Table 4 revealed the tourists appreciation, participation and sensitivity to the site, it was revealed that 54% of the respondents claimed they do not patronise the wares sold in the site and community while 38% does. All the respondents indicated that they would like to re-visit the site. The tourist perception towards ecotourism in the study area showed that 78% of the respondents indicated that ecotourism does more good than harm while 12% gave no answer to the question. Self-assessment by Tourists on their knowledge about ecotourism shows that 38% have excellent knowledge about what ecotourism is. The contribution of Olumirin waterfall to community development revealed that 84% of respondents believed that the development of facilities/infrastructures is due to the presence of the waterfall in the community while 16% indicated otherwise

MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES: DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

The use of antibodies in immunohistochemistry and therapeutics is an important tool in science. Monoclonal antibodies are used due to their characteristic high epitope specificity and sensitivity, target identification at the protein level, and localization at the cellular and subcellular scale

Improving the Quantity Surveyor Practice: The Case of In-situ Concrete Work Valuation in Nigeria

Presence of deleterious substances in concrete is believed to contribute to structural building failures in Nigeria. To ensure that only quality works produced b contractors are valued, approved and paid for, materials of concrete were sampled among ‘on going’ concrete production sites. Sampled concrete aggregate materials and cement were taken to the laboratory for investigations on presence of deleterious substances and compressive strength. Some parts of the aggregates were washed in clean water and the liquid contents determined

A longitudinal survey of African animal trypanosomiasis in domestic cattle on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria:prevalence, distribution and risk factors

BACKGROUND: Trypanosomiasis is a widespread disease of livestock in Nigeria and a major constraint to the rural economy. The Jos Plateau, Nigeria was free from tsetse flies and the trypanosomes they transmit due to its high altitude and the absence of animal trypanosomiasis attracted large numbers of cattle-keeping pastoralists to inhabit the plateau. The Jos Plateau now plays a significant role in the national cattle industry, accommodating approximately 7% of the national herd and supporting 300,000 pastoralists and over one million cattle. However, during the past two decades tsetse flies have invaded the Jos Plateau and animal trypanosomiasis has become a significant problem for livestock keepers. METHODS: In 2008 a longitudinal two-stage cluster survey on the Jos Plateau. Cattle were sampled in the dry, early wet and late wet seasons. Parasite identification was undertaken using species-specific polymerase chain reactions to determine the prevalence and distribution bovine trypanosomiasis. Logistic regression was performed to determine risk factors for disease. RESULTS: The prevalence of bovine trypanosomiasis (Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Trypanosoma congolense savannah, Trypanosoma vivax) across the Jos Plateau was found to be high at 46.8% (39.0 – 54.5%) and significant, seasonal variation was observed between the dry season and the end of the wet season. T. b. brucei was observed at a prevalence of 3.2% (1% – 5.5%); T. congolense at 27.7% (21.8% - 33.6%) and T. vivax at 26.7% (18.2% - 35.3%). High individual variation was observed in trypanosomiasis prevalence between individual villages on the Plateau, ranging from 8.8% to 95.6%. Altitude was found to be a significant risk factor for trypanosomiasis whilst migration also influenced risk for animal trypanosomiasis. CONCLUSIONS: Trypanosomiasis is now endemic on the Jos Plateau showing high prevalence in cattle and is influenced by seasonality, altitude and migration practices. Attempts to successfully control animal trypanosomiasis on the Plateau will need to take into account the large variability in trypanosomiasis infection rates between villages, the influence of land use, and husbandry and management practices of the pastoralists, all of which affect the epidemiology of the disease