Human Capital Investment in the Developing World: An Analysis of Praxis

Human capital has been identified as a key stimulus of economic development. This paper evaluates the efficacy of human capital development (HCD) practices in the developing world. Drawing predominantly from classical human capital theory, I developed a tentative framework to evaluate national skills development efforts. It determines the efficacy of HCD practices, by matching workforce skills to the level of technological development and national training objectives. A look at national training policies in Singapore, South Africa and India, suggests that developing countries need to adopt a nuanced approach to HCD to be competitive in the global market. This study questions the long term viability of current practices in some developing countries, and draws attention to the need to modify current HCD practice. Emphasizing the strategic role, basic education, collaboration, coordination and targeting, play in the emergence of country-specific HCD practices, which develops workforce from lower skills to higher skills equilibrium (HSE). The paper shows that when these strategic approaches are adopted in developing countries, they can efficiently harness human capital to create competitive advantages and surplus value, which could be used to upgrade technology and diversify economic activity, facilitating economic growth

Collaborative Learning Indicators as Determinants of Social Well-being among Female Undergraduates in North-Central, Nigeria

This study investigated collaborative learning indicators as predictors of social well-being among female undergraduates in the University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria. The study employed correlational research design. A sample of 250 female students was randomly selected within Faculty of Education. Three reliable instruments were used for data collection. Three research questions were generated and tested with Pearson’s’ Product Moment Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The research discovered that there was a significant relationship between social acceptance, information-seeking behaviour and social well-being. At prediction level, it was discovered that social acceptance and information-seeking behaviour jointly predicted 30% increase in female undergraduates’ social well-being. Social acceptance was the strongest predictor of female students’ social well-being, followed by information-seeking behaviour. The research recommended that students should always make effort to consult lecturers or the library for any information needed rather than keeping quiet. The counselling units in various universities need to improve on their campaigns within the school premises so that students will be aware that they can help in meeting their information needs. Students’ affairs office is to intensify their orientation programmes so that fresh female undergraduates will develop the mind-set of social acceptance.Key Words: Social acceptance, Information-seeking behaviour, Social well-being, Female undergraduates

Exothermicity and oxidative kinetics of light crude oils for air injection improved oil recovery (IOR) processes

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN041289 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Error control in the GCF: An information-theoretic model for error analysis and coding

The structure of data-transmission errors within the Ground Communications Facility is analyzed in order to provide error control (both forward error correction and feedback retransmission) for improved communication. Emphasis is placed on constructing a theoretical model of errors and obtaining from it all the relevant statistics for error control. No specific coding strategy is analyzed, but references to the significance of certain error pattern distributions, as predicted by the model, to error correction are made

The Performance of Traditional contract procurement on Housing projects in Nigeria.

The traditional contract procurement has been widely criticized as an ineffective procurement method because it often involves time and cost overrun on construction projects. Yet the method is still being widely used in Nigeria most especially for the procurement of housing projects. It is suspected that this procurement method may not be ineffective in all cost categories of housing projects. Therefore time and cost performances of the procurement method on 57 housing projects of varying cost categories initiated by the Nigerian government between 1993 and 1999 were studied. The category of one to five million naira (US$1.00 ≈ 92 Nigerian Naira in 1999) showed the least time overrun of 18.98% while the highest time overrun of 99.64 % was shown in the five to ten million naira. The over ten million naira category had the least cost overrun of 9.13% while the highest cost overrun of 34.55 % was shown in the less than one million naira. The one to five million naira cost category exhibited weak correlation between time and cost overruns but the five million naira and above categories showed strong correlation. It was concluded that one to five million naira cost category is quite suitable for traditional contract procurement on housing projects in Nigeria

Nitrogen and weed management in transplanted tomato in the Nigerian forest-savanna transition zone

Weed infestation and inherent low soil fertility are among primary reasons for low yields of tomato in Nigeria. Field trials were carried out during the wet season of 2015 and 2016 to evaluate yield response of tomato to nitrogen (N) application and weed control methods in the forest-savanna transition zone of Abeokuta, Nigeria. Positive relationship exists between growth of weed species and increase in N application. Across the years of study, increase in N up to 90 kg/ha increased weed density by 11–25%, however, the increased N gave the transplanted tomato competitive advantage and thus enhanced weed smothering. Pre-transplant application of butachlor (50% w/v) or probaben® (metolachlor 20% w/v+prometryn 20% w/v) each at 2.0 kg a.i/ha followed by supplementary hoe weeding at 6 weeks after transplanting (WAT) significantly reduced weed density by at least 15% and increased fruit yield of tomato by at least 32%, compared to use of the pre-transplant herbicides alone, across both years of study. The greatest tomato fruit yield of 12.2 t/ha was obtained with pre-transplant application of butachlor at 2.0 kg a.i/ha followed by supplementary hoe weeding at 6 WAT, averaged for both years. In general, this study suggests that increased application of N up to 90 kg/ha, and complementary weed control by pre-transplant herbicide and hoe weeding at 6 WAT would improve yield of tomato in the forestsavanna transition zone of Nigeria

Helminth parasites of Synodontis nigrita at lower Niger (IDAH), Nigeria

The isolation and identification of helminth parasites of Synodontis nigrita and length–weight relationship of the fish in the lower Niger (Idah), Kogi State, Nigeria were carried out in order to describe the pattern of occurrence of the helminth and to establish the well-being of the host fish. A total of 102 randomly sampled fish were studied and three genera of helminths were recovered; 39.1, 48.7 and 12.2% respectively, and were harboured in the fish’ intestine. The three genera of helminths isolates identified include two nematodes (Capillaria and Contracaecum species), Acanthocephala (Acanthocephalus species) and Trematode (Posthodiplostomum spp.). Of the 102 fish studied, 16 were infected with 80 helminth parasite giving a prevalence rate of 15.7%. The overall mean intensity and mean abundance of helminth parasite occurrence for the sampled fish were 13.6 and 1.5, respectively. The mean standard length of the fish was 7.45 ± 2.59 cm. The need for fish seeds from the wild to be examined for the helminth parasites during culture practice and the socio-economic and human health implications of eating infected fish is also recommended.Key words: Acanthocephala, nematode, isolation, trematode, intestine

Prevalence, Correction Coverage, Unmet Need and Impact on the Quality of Life of Presbyopia among Market Traders in Ibadan, Nigeria

Presbyopia is an age-related condition that results from the gradual decline in accommodation leading to inability to focus at near distances. This study sought to determine the prevalence, correction coverage, unmet need and impact on the quality of life of presbyopia among Bodija market traders in Ibadan, Nigeria. A cross sectional study was conducted on 314 participants aged 35 years and older selected by a non-probability sampling method. Their near vision was tested and corrected to the nearest diopter. Presbyopia was defined as being able to read the N8 optotype at a distance of 40 cm after correction with plus lens of at least one diopter. The prevalence of presbyopia was 46.8% (95% CI: 41.20, 52.5). The prevalence was significantly higher in those aged 50 years or more (95% CI: 2.98, 7.77), in females (95% CI: 1.45, 3.64) and in individuals with no formal education (95%CI: 3.32, 10.91). The presbyopia correction coverage was 29.9% and unmet need was = 70.1%. The major barriers reported as reasons for not obtaining near vision spectacles were lack of money and spectacles not being a priority. Presbyopes reported more difficulty with near work (p<0.001). The prevalence of presbyopia in Bodija market is relatively low compared to other reports with major risk factors being increasing age, female gender and no formal education. Presbyopia correction coverage is low with high unmet need it is important to create awareness and provide affordable and accessible near vision spectacles for those in need