Convicted without Evidence: Elderly Women and Witchcraft Accusations in Contemporary Nigeria

Concern about persecution of person(s) accused of witchcraft practices has long been recognized as a major issue in sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, the persecution of elderly women suspected to be witches is predominantly widespread, and has been identified as one of the most important obstacle to the attainment of the December, 1993 Declaration of the UN General Assembly on elimination of violence against women on the continent. Torturing and various forms of violence against elderly women accused of witchcraft without evidence against them implies major infringements of their fundamental Human Rights as enshrined in Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which stipulates that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Despite this and other similar instruments, persecution of elderly women suspected of witchcraft remains unabated in Nigeria. Furthermore, there is little scholarly work and insufficient government policies in Nigeria to address this issue. This paper is an attempt to bridge this gap

Writing portfolios in a first grade classroom

Much attention has been given to the authentic assessment of children\u27s involvement in the writing process. Such assessment entails descriptive, or qualitative techniques. One descriptive technique is portfolios. In developing portfolios, students can become actively involved in their own learning and in establishing goals for future learning. Thus, instruction can be more closely related to assessment. How writing portfolios were implemented in a first grade classroom is discussed. Two reluctant writers were particularly focused on as they developed their writing portfolios. These children selected exhibits for their portfolios with support from their teacher. As they developed their collections, the students began to examine their progress and instructional needs and then to reflect on setting future goals for writing

Are you sitting uncomfortably?:A tale of comfort, energy and productivity

Maintaining a consistent indoor temperature causes one of the largest energy demands in UK. UK buildings are famously poorly insulated and expensive to heat and cool. This is set to become ever more challenging in a warming and rapidly changing climate. What if we allowed ourselves to be more uncomfortable and took more charge of our thermal comfort? Wouldn’t we then be healthier, more thermally delighted, more productive? Would we not also save energy and related carbon emissions? We offer this provocation, and set the challenge to identify how this should change the role of future ubiquitous environments

Lady Gaga as (dis)simulacrum of monstrosity

Lady Gaga’s celebrity DNA revolves around the notion of monstrosity, an extensively researched concept in postmodern cultural studies. The analysis that is offered in this paper is largely informed by Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of monstrosity, as well as by their approach to the study of sign-systems that was deployed in A Thousand Plateaus. By drawing on biographical and archival visual data, with a focus on the relatively underexplored live show, an elucidation is afforded of what is really monstrous about Lady Gaga. The main argument put forward is that monstrosity as sign seeks to appropriate the horizon of unlimited semiosis as radical alterity and openness to signifying possibilities. In this context it is held that Gaga effectively delimits her unique semioscape; however, any claims to monstrosity are undercut by the inherent limits of a representationalist approach in sufficiently engulfing this concept. Gaga is monstrous for her community insofar as she demands of her fans to project their semiosic horizon onto her as a simulacrum of infinite semiosis. However, this simulacrum may only be evinced in a feigned manner as a (dis)simulacrum. The analysis of imagery from seminal live shows during 2011–2012 shows that Gaga’s presumed monstrosity is more akin to hyperdifferentiation as simultaneous employment of heterogeneous and potentially dissonant inter pares cultural representations. The article concludes with a problematisation of audience effects in the light of Gaga’s adoption of a schematic and post-representationalist strategy in the event of her strategy’s emulation by competitive artists

Observing Remote Prescription of AT

A lack of widely accepted guidelines/protocols for remote prescription of assistive technology is noted. This paper reports observations from attempts to use web based videoconferencing with embedded tools for the provision of assistive technology to children with complex needs

Stage interpretation of Spencer Okoroafor’s “Battle of Wit and Will”: An Adaptation of Achebe’s Arrow of God

This paper is an appraisal of the power of adaptation in literary text. It is motivated by the need to critically assess the impact of the act of  adaptation in play productions. The study used the historical method to reveal the power of drama in vividly exposing themes originally in the work of the first writer. The researchers discovered that the act of adaptation consistently helps to promote and popularize the work, the author, and  ultimately the culture in focus as in the prose being studied. The paper  recommended that more attention should be given to the act of adaptation of literary works from poetry and prose to drama. The excise helped to  foreground the thematic thrust of the original text, while expanding the target audience. This particular adaptation further projected the Igbo  culture depicted in the prose which forms the corpus of this research.Key Words: Adaptation, playwriting, production elements, betrayal, performance

Rights versus Responsibilities of Health Care Workers in Nigeria: Changing the Narrative in the COVID-19 Era

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in December 2019 and its spread to 216 countries within the first eight months has created a huge strain on health systems across the world. Health care workers (HCWs) at the fore-front of combating the pandemic are largely at risk of infection with the number of infected HCWs increasing daily in many countries. Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, focus of laws and policies have largely been on the responsibilities of HCWs with little or no attention paid to their rights and protection. The increased rate of infection among health workers and the inadequate conditions under which HCWs have carried out their lifesaving responsibilities during the pandemic has created the need to change the narrative by focusing on policy formulation and implementation to ensure that HCWs rights are protected. We endorse the widespread use of the WHO recommendations on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak: Rights, Roles and Responsibilities of Health workers, including key considerations for occupational safety and health. Keywords: Coronavirus, health policies, protection of health care workers, rights of health care workers L'épidémie de la maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19) en décembre 2019 et sa propagation dans 216 pays au cours des huit premiers mois ont créé une énorme pression sur les systèmes de santé à travers le monde. Les agents de santé (TS) à l'avant -garde de la lutte contre la pandémie sont largement exposés au risque d'infection, le nombre de TS infectés augmentant chaque jour dans de nombreux pays. Avant l'épidémie de COVID-19, les lois et les politiques se concentraient largement sur les responsabilités des travailleurs de la santé avec peu ou pas d'attention accordée à leurs droits et à leur protection. L'augmentation du taux d'infection parmi les agents de santé et les conditions inadéquates dans lesquelles les agents de santé ont assumé leurs responsabilités vitales pendant la pandémie ont créé le besoin de changer le discours en se concentrant sur la formulation et la mise en oeuvre de politiques pour garantir la protection des droits des agents de santé. l'utilisation généralisée des recommandations de l'OMS sur l'épidémie de maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19): droits, rôles et responsabilités des agents de santé, y compris des considérations clés pour la sécurité et la santé au travail. Mots-clés: Coronavirus, politiques de santé, protection des travailleurs de la santé, droits des travailleurs de la sant

Impact of road safety education on commercial drivers’ knowledge and behaviour towards road traffic codes and safety driving in Delta State

The propensity of increase in road traffic accidents and injuries poses a serious public health problem for Nigeria as a low-income country. Without sustained action, road traffic crashes may become one of the major cause of death. Consequently, this study seeks to assess the impact of road safety education of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on commercial drivers’ knowledge and behaviour towards road traffic codes and safety driving. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all commercial drivers in Delta State. A sample size of 320 respondents was selected for the study using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Three research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The Drivers’ Road Safety Knowledge and Attitudinal Questionnaire (DRSKAQ) was used to collect relevant data. The data were analysed using Analysis of Variance and Multiple Regression. It was found out that the FRSC education programme influence commercial drivers’ behaviour towards road traffic codes and safety driving. In addition, a joint impact of commercial drivers’ educational background, duration of learning road safety, behaviour and knowledge was observed on the attitude towards road safety education programme. But, the safety education programme had no influence on drivers’ knowledge of road traffic codes and safety driving. It was recommended that other non-governmental agencies should support the FRSC in giving intermittent road safety education programmes to commercial drivers.Keywords: Road Safety Education, Attitude, Federal Road Safety Commission, Behaviour Driver Educatio

Assessment of commercial drivers’ perception of road safety education on compliance to road traffic rules and regulations in Delta State

The Global strategic plan to reduce worldwide deaths from traffic injuries recognizes the driver as the key element in its approach. Hence drivers’ education has been accorded the highest priority in Nigeria by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). Thus, this study seeks to assess the perception of commercial drivers’ on Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) education on compliance on road traffic rules and regulations in Delta state. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all commercial drivers in Delta State. A sample size of 320 respondents was selected for the study using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Two research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The Drivers’ Compliance on Road Traffic Rules and Regulations Questionnaire (DCRTRRQ) was used to collect relevant data. The data were analysed using Two-way Analysis of Variance Statistics. It was found out that …Road traffic safety education programme influenced drivers’ compliance to road traffic rules and regulations. Drivers’ experience was observed to affect their level of compliance to road traffic rules and regulations.Keywords: Driver Education, Perception, Federal Road Safety Commission, Complianc

Mixed Methods Study of Designated Pilot Examiners Experiences with Advanced Display Technology and Technology Advanced Aircraft

This study is a mixed methods investigation into the experiences of FAA Flight Examiners with the certification of private pilots in technology advanced general aviation aircraft. The study sampled 100 examiners from across the US and then performed a follow-up telephone interview with 10 examiners that were highly experienced with advanced technology in general aviation aircraft. This research indicates there are incidents where safety is being negatively impacted as a result of the current certification process for new airmen. Surprisingly, the DPEs perceived little need for changes to the FAA's rules and regulations with the exception of a need for a technology endorsement. Rather, the greatest need is for more structure and standardization in the pilot training curriculum with advanced technology and the monitoring/enforcement of training objectives. To that end, instructors and examiners must be proficient in the technology that they are teaching and certifying pilots in. This research re-enforces the fSchool of Teaching and Curriculum Leadershi