The Skills Acquisition Programme and Youth Empowerment in Ondo State of Nigeria: An Empirical Study

Youths are said to be the future leaders of any country in the world Nigeria inclusive It is also a general belief that government all over the world try to invest strategically in her youth for them to be able to assume the position of leadership when the time comes In spite of this it appears that the training the investment of the Nigerian governments as well as the socialization of youth in Nigeria and Ondo State in particular seem to be inadequate because many of them instead of contributing meaningfully to the development of the society they are doing otherwise The Ondo State government in one of its spirited effort to combat this problem introduced the Skills Acquisition Programme to develop empower and engage the youth in the State This empirical study therefore assessed the level of impact this programme has on Youth empowerment and development in the State 27 copies of the questionnaire were administered on the trainers at the skill acquisition centers while 557 copies were given to the beneficiaries of the skills acquisition programme in Ondo State Thirteen members of the coordinating departments were chosen for an in-depth interview Findings revealed that the skills acquisition programme has been able to provide employment opportunities for youth beneficiaries reduce their involvement in social vices improved their standard of livin

A community-based intervention for improving utilization of medical services by rape survivors in refugee camps in Zambia

Background: Rape is the most common form of violence in conflict and refugee situations but because of the associated stigma few cases are reported. This study assessed the outcome of an intervention targeted at women groups on the utilization of medical services by rape survivors in refugee camps in Zambia.Methods: A prospective quasi-experimental community-based intervention study was carried out in two refugee camps allocated into intervention and comparison areas. The intervention was participatory education sessions for women groups. Data was collected using the clinic records and the main outcome was the number of rape survivors who utilized and completed medical services provided at the camp clinics. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were carried out with level of significance set at 5%.Results: The proportion of the rape survivors who accessed medical care within 72 hours increased significantly from 41.2% to 84.8% in the intervention area but from 31.1% to 38.9% in the comparison area, (p=0.005). Those who completed their medical treatment and the follow-up visits increased significantly from 42.8% to 94.8% in intervention area but reduced from 38.5% to 21.4% in the comparison area, (p=0.002). Being resident in the intervention area predicted the utilization of medical services, [OR: 3.15; 95%CI: 1.955-5.681], p=0.002.Conclusion: Community-based intervention using participatory women’s group discussion had a significant impact on increasing the utilization of medical services by rape survivors and should be considered for scaling up as a key intervention for increasing utilization of medical services for rape survivors especially in refugee situations.Keywords: Rape survivors, Participatory group discussion, Medical services, Zambi

Effects of Precipitation Hardening Variables on Al–Zn–Mg-Sn Alloy as Sacrificial Anode in Seawater: Experimental and Statistical Analysis

This research investigated the effects of tin composition and heat treatment variables on the Al-Zn-Mg alloy as sacrificial anode in seawater using gravimetric technique and statistical analysis. Tin was alloyed with Al-Zn-Mg in varied proportions (0%, 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1%) to determine the optimum anode efficiency in the marine environment. Precipitation heat treatment was performed by first subjecting the samples to solution treatment at 5380C for 2 hours and later subjected to varying hardening temperatures and times. The samples were hardened for 4, 8 and 12 hours at each of the hardening temperatures of 1300, 1600 and 1900 centigrade. The anode efficiency increases as the tin concentration increases. The experimental result of this study showed that the Al-Zn-Mg alloy with 0.1% tin gives the optimum anode efficiency. It was revealed that the Al-Zn-Mg alloy without tin composition exhibited high output current capacity when hardened at 1900C for 4 hours. Predictive model developed in this work was in consonance with experimental observation except the following; at hardening temperature of 1600C, the model recommended 12 hours as against 4 hours of laboratory experiment and at hardening temperature of 1300C it advocated 8 hours as against 12 hours

Statistical Evaluation of Influence of Hydrochemical Parameters on Public Water Supply in Ibadan, Nigeria

The recent trends in the global socio-economic and technological developments have exerted undue pressure on water quality and supply. A robust model that predicts water supply from hydrochemical parameters could be useful in water resources management. Most of the existing models used bivariate analysis or simple multivariate analysis that treats each variable separately, but combined parameters could be better at capturing many related water properties and hence have stronger predictive value. In this work, exploratory factor analysis was used to investigate the relationships between fourteen measured hydrochemical parameters and the volume of water pumped for public water supply from Asejire waterworks in Ibadan. Representative monthly samples of raw water were collected and analyzed for their physical and chemical properties. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to derive five novel latent variables which represent combined properties of water. The results showed that, with the exception of colour, no other single hydrochemical parameter was significantly associated with the amount of water pumped for public supply. Interestingly, one of the novel latent variables ‘Opaque Index’ was significantly associated with water supply. Additionally, though colour as a single parameter had a predictive value, but it explained only 6.7 % of the variation in the amount of water pumped, whereas the Opaque Index explained 25.5 % of the variation in the amount of water pumped. This therefore suggests that the Opaque Index latent variable has a stronger predictive power than any of the individual measured parameters and hence could a useful metric for effective water resources management. Keywords: Hydrochemical, Latent variable, Prediction, Structural equation modellin

Wear and corrosion of wrought a6061 aluminium alloy in dot3 brake fluid

Abstract: The twofold impact of wear and corrosion on wrought A6061 alloy in hydraulic DOT3 brake fluid environment was studied. The wear studies were performed on the samples using a developed wear-jig. Weight loss corrosion test method was used to determine the corrosion rate of the wrought A6061 alloy samples immersed in the brake fluid for a total of 1680 hours. From the results of wear tests carried out on the A6061 alloy sample with brake oil, the highest wear value of 5.24x10-7 mg/mm2/cycle (approx.) was obtained from 6 N (approx) force after 130 minutes. The wrought A6061 alloy material demonstrated the highest corrosion rates nearly 3.0 x10-2 mg/mm2/yr within the early 168 hours of immersion in brake fluid. The result is practically lower than the corrosion rate of cast specimen in DOT3 brake oil or some other alloys immersed in other corrosive media that were previously reported in the literature. The results show that small amount of chemical corrosion is sufficient to cause and accelerate mechanical wear of the material in usage

An Empirical Analysis of Capital Structure on Performance of Firms in the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria

The capital structure decision of a firm is very paramount to its successful operation. The objective of the study was to analyse the impact of capital structure on firm performance in Nigeria from 2003 to 2012. Using data from six petroleum companies in Nigeria namely: Chevron Plc, Conoil Plc, Eterna Oil plc, Mobil Oil Plc, Oando Plc and Total Nigeria Plc. The study carried out a panel data analysis by using fixed effect estimation. The study found that a negative relationship exists between leverage and firm performance and the study established that a positive a relationship exists between three of the explanatory variables (firm’s size, tax and lagged return of asset) and firm performance. The study therefore recommended that the management of the industry should rely more on equity financing as a way of funding their business

SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND APPLICATION DURING COVID-19 BY SPECIAL LIBRARIES IN NIGERIA: CASE STUDY OF JUSTICE BABASOLA OGUNADE LAW LIBRARY, NIGERIA

Abstract This study examines the use of social media during covid-19 by the Justice Babasola Ogunade Law Library of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State, Nigeria. In achieving the set objectives for this study, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted among the six staff of the Hon. Justice Babasola Ogunade Law Library, Ajayi Crowther University, Nigeria. For the purpose of ensuring that the discussion revolved round the intended construct. The researchers made use of prepared structured questions and checklists that made the process of data collection easier. Findings from the study (95% of the respondents) revealed that the law library had over the years embraced the use of social media in the marketing of its services to the library users. More so, the study further observed that even though social media is very useful in the dissemination of information, 60% of the respondents agreed that only few of the social media platforms are currently in use by the law library. Equally, the deployment of social media is confronted by a number of inhibiting factors mostly during the pandemic including but not limited to erratic electricity and internet supplies; lack of experience in the use of social media and poor internet connectivity in Oyo environs. In the light of the problems identified, solutions were proffered. It is believed that with access to trainings on social media usage by the library staff, the services rendered in the library might be more effectively utilized. The study also recommended that libraries should develop social pages for maximum exploitation of library services

Examining the Impact of Teachers’ Attitudes on College Students’ Attitudes in a Mathematics Classroom

This paper discusses the relationship between teachers\u27 attitudes and students\u27 attitudes toward mathematics in the classroom. Through a review of more than twenty relevant pieces of literature, the paper analyzes the impact of teachers\u27 attitudes on students\u27 achievement, performance, confidence, and motivation in mathematics. The study concludes that positive attitudes displayed by teachers can enhance students\u27 positive feelings toward mathematics and increase their engagement in the subject. On the other hand, negative attitudes displayed by teachers can hinder students\u27 motivation and engagement in mathematics. The paper suggests that teacher training programs should prioritize the development of positive attitudes toward mathematics and the incorporation of technology in the classroom to increase student engagement. The findings emphasize the importance of addressing teachers\u27 attitudes in secondary and post-secondary education and the need for ongoing professional development to improve student outcomes in mathematics

Application of Dynamic Programming Model to Production Planning, in an Animal Feedmills.

The problem of this study is that of determining the quantity of products to produce and inventory level to carry from one period to the other, with the objective of minimizing the total costs of production and the annual inventory, while at the same time meeting the customer’s demand. A mathematical model was formulated for a multi-product problem using Dynamic Programming approach. The model was solved using the solution procedure proposed by Wagner and Whitin. The results show that the minimum total cost will be achieved with production in periods 1, 2, and 4. While demand for period 3 are satisfied with inventory from period 2. The total cost of this plan is N225, 704, 210.00, which is N6, 155, 765.00 less than the existing plan. Keywords: Inventory, Model, Periods, Plan, Cost

A Comprehensive Review of Biomass Pyrolysis as a Process of Renewable Energy Generation

Energy is considered the basis for the progress and prosperity of nations and societies. It is also the cornerstone of economic and social development. The limited availability of fossil fuels and the growing awareness of the detrimental environmental consequences resulting from greenhouse gas emissions have reinforced the importance of biomass as an energy resource in developed and developing countries. This review presents the summary of biomass for energy generation, the fundamental principles and application of biomass pyrolysis as well as some of the factors that can affect pyrolysis of biomass to produce bio-fuel. Some of the factors examined were biomass type, types of pyrolysis as well as pyrolysis conditions such as temperature and particle size. Other factors examined were retention time, biomass moisture content and the use of catalyst. Also included in the clusters were heating rate and the pyrolysis environment. The study concluded that most biomass residues lend themselves easily to process of pyrolysis and all the factors and variables examined in one way or the other had effects on biomass pyrolysis and there exists optimum or threshold value for each feedstock depending on the operating conditions Keywords: Biomass, bio-fuel, char, chemical composition, energy, factor, pyrolysi