Perceived Organizational Support and Organizational Identification in Construction Firms in Port Harcourt

This study examines the relationship between fair treatment and organizational identification in some selected construction firms in Port Harcourt. Two null hypotheses were drawn from the measures of organizational identification. A sample size of 186 was drawn using the Krejcie and Morgan 1970 table, while the population allocation was done using the Bowley’s population allocation formula. Spearman’s rank correction coefficient was used for analyzing the null hypotheses, while the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used as the statistical tool at 5% level of significance. All the null hypotheses were rejected; hence there is a significant relationship between fair treatment and organizational identification. It was therefore recommended that management of the construction firm should formulate and implement policies that will encourage fair treatment for all workers and ensure that benefits are distributed fairly so as to enhance employees’ sense of belongingness and commitment, and employees’ option should be heard and their well being should be considered by the firm in decision making. Keywords: Fair treatment, Organizational identification, Cognitive identification, Affective identificatio

Analysis of upland farm households’ vulnerability to climate variability in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Analysis of upland farm households’ vulnerability - Gabriel, Edet, *Valerie, Glory, Godwin, Clement, Nkoyo, E. Bassey and Obot Analysis of upland farm households’ vulnerability to climate variability in the Niger Delta, Nigeria The study analysed the vulnerability of upland farm households to climate variability in the Niger Delta. Three states - Akwa Ibom, Ondo and Rivers were selected from the nine states that make up the Niger Delta region. A total of 120 respondents from upland communities of the Niger delta were used for analysis. Household questionnaire and vulnerability questionnaire using Cost Route method were the instruments used for data collection and analysed using Vulnerability Profile and Vulner-ability / Risk Framework. The results of the analysis show that both male and female headed house-holds in all the upland communities were vulnerable to flooding, windstorm, erosion and drying up of streams. Important factors that made households vulnerable to climate hazards were low agricultural output and income, non-availability of irrigation facilities, insufficient farm labour and lack of storage facilities. Technical capacities of household members were assessed using both science-based knowledge as well as indigenous knowledge of climate change as indicators to adaptation to climate variability. It was assumed that the adaptive capacity of households could be enhanced by the number of persons with either science-based knowledge or indigenous knowledge across the re-gion. Expenditure on carbohydrate was higher across the region during disaster time, followed by expenditure in protein, vitamin/minerals and fat and oil and other classes of food, implying that more carbohydrate food is consumed during disaster period than any other class of food. Certain geo-graphical factors such as distance to coastline and population have direct impact on climate variability in the Niger Delta Region. Recommendations include establishment of emergency evacuation systems, income opportunities and support programmes as well as capacity building on climate change knowledge, enterprise development and management. Key words: Farm households, Nigeria, poverty, rural areas, smallholder farmer

Tooth brushing, tongue cleaning and snacking behaviour of dental technology and therapist students

Objective: To determine the tooth brushing, tongue cleaning and snacking behaviour of dental technology and therapist students. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of students of Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology Enugu, Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on demography, frequency, duration and technique of tooth brushing and tongue cleaning as well as information on consumption of snacks. Results: A total of 242 students responded. Dental technology students made up 52.5% of the respondents and dental therapist in training made up 47.5%. Majority (63.2%) of the respondents considered the strength of tooth brush when purchasing a tooth brush and 78.9% use tooth brushes with medium strength. Seven-tenth (71.9%) of the respondents brush their teeth twice daily and 52.1% brush for 3–5 minutes. About one-third (30.2%) brush their teeth in front of a mirror. Chewing stick was used by 51.7% of respondents in addition to the use of tooth brush. Tongue cleaning was done by 94.2% with only 9.5% using a tongue cleaner. Only 20.2% reported regular snacks consumption. Nine-tenth (90.4%) of respondents were previously involved in educating others, apart from their colleagues, on tooth brushing. Conclusion: This survey revealed that most of the dental therapy and technology students had satisfactory tooth-brushing behaviour. The zeal to educate others about proper tooth brushing revealed in this study suggests that the students may be helpful in oral health promotion

Evaluation of sesamum gum as an excipient in matrix tablets

In developing countries modern medicines are often beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. This is due to the reliance on expensive imported raw materials despite the abundance of natural resources which could provide an equivalent or even an improved function. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of sesamum gum (SG) extracted from the leaves of Sesamum radiatum (readily cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa) as a matrix former. Directly compressed matrix tablets were prepared from the extract and compared with similar matrices of HPMC (K4M) using theophylline as a model water soluble drug. The compaction, swelling, erosion and drug release from the matrices were studied in deionized water, 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) using USP apparatus II. The data from the swelling, erosion and drug release studies were also fitted into the respective mathematical models. Results showed that the matrices underwent a combination of swelling and erosion, with the swelling action being controlled by the rate of hydration in the medium. SG also controlled the release of theophylline similar to the HPMC and therefore may have use as an alternative excipient in regions where Sesamum radiatum can be easily cultivated

Drivers of diversification and pluriactivity among smallholder farmers—evidence from Nigeria

Diversification and pluriactivity have become a norm among farm business owners (FBOs) due to persistent low farm income. This study applies the resource-based theory to examine drivers of diversification and livelihood income-oriented towards a sustainable livelihood. Our framework develops hypotheses about the impact of internal and external resources on livelihood choices at the household level. We use a survey of 480 rural Nigerian farmers (agripreneurs), applying a Multivariate Tobit to test our framework. We find that education plays the most significant role in all types of employment options. The more FBOs are educated, the more the likelihood that they will choose non-farm or wage employment. This study revealed that while the agriculture sector’s share of rural employment is declining, non-farm is on the increase. More so, there is a decline in farming among the young generation, marital status bias and gender influence in resource allocation. The socioeconomic (income and food security) and socio-cultural (employment and rural-urban migration) implications of rural sustainability linked to UN Development Goals have been highlighted and analysed in this article

An unusual presentation of Burkitt's lymphoma in a Nigerian adolescent

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Durational exposure dependent effect of carbamate treated net on haematological indices in wistar rat

The present study was undertaken to investigate the duration of exposure dependent effect of carbamate treated net on haematological indices in Wistar rats. Eighteen (18) Wistar rats were used in this study and designated into three (3) study groups of six rats each. Group 1 was the control group while groups 2 and 3 constituted the experimental groups containing rats exposed to carbamate treated net for 30 and 60 days respectively. At the end of the exposure period, the animals were sacrificed and blood sample were removed for haematological analysis. The result of the study shows that there was a significant increase in the body weight of exposed rats compared to rats in the control group at (P<0.05). Relative organ weight of the exposed rats increased significantly (p<0.05) when compared to rats in the control group. The PCV, Hb, RBC’s, PLT, MCV, MCH, and MCHC levels all increased insignificantly in the exposed rats when compared to rats in the control group at (p<0.05). The study also revealed that the total White Blood Cell (WBC) counts in the exposed groups was significantly elevated when compared to the control group at (P<0.05). Finally, the result of the study shows a significant increase (p<0.05) in the levels of neutrophil of the exposed rats when compared with the control group, while the level of lymphocytes, eosinophils and monocytes increased insignificantly (p>0.05) in rats exposed for 30 days but increased significantly (p<0.05) in rats exposed for 60 days when compared to rats in their control group. Therefore, the observation from this study suggests that long-term exposure to carbamate treated net may alter the haematological indices and hence lead to various health problem. Keywords: Body Weight, Carbamate, Organs Weight and Heamatological Indice

Comparative nutritional studies on three varieties of Heinsia crinita

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