The adoption of some counselling techniques in teaching practice supervision

The trend in primary and secondary education, as specified by the national educational objectives of the federal government of Nigeria, is to have a balanced education; education embracing the cognitive, affective and the psychomotor. For too long, teachers have been trained well to handle the cognitive domain of education and to some degree the psychomotor is given to them in the affective area. In this regard counsellors can make some contributions. One such contribution is where counselling techniques can be adopted in teaching practice supervision. Thus, this paper describes three techniques such as acceptance, feedback modelling and how they can be used profitably in teaching practice supervision. Key words; counselling techniques, teaching practice, supervision

Scalable and Energy Efficient Software Architecture for Human Behavioral Measurements

Understanding human behavior is central to many professions including engineering, health and the social sciences, and has typically been measured through surveys, direct observation and interviews. However, these methods are known to have drawbacks, including bias, problems with recall accuracy, and low temporal fidelity. Modern mobile phones have a variety of sensors that can be used to find activity patterns and infer the underlying human behaviors, placing a heavy load on the phone's battery. Social science researchers hoping to leverage this new technology must carefully balance the fidelity of the data with the cost in phone performance. Crucially, many of the data collected are of limited utility because they are redundant or unnecessary for a particular study question. Previous researchers have attempted to address this problem by modifying the measurement schedule based on sensed context, but a complete solution remains elusive. In the approach described here, measurement is made contingent on sensed context and measurement objectives through extensions to a configuration language, allowing significant improvement to flexibility and reliability. Empirical studies indicate a significant improvement in energy efficiency with acceptable losses in data fidelity

Educational Expenditure and Economic Growth Nexus in Nigeria (1987-2016)

This study empirically investigated educational expenditure and economic growth nexus in Nigeria using secondary and times series data from 1987 to 2016, sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and other agencies and sources. Relevant statistical tools were employed in exploring the relationships between these variables. The random characteristics of the variables were tested using the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) technique. The links among educational expenditure, education sectoral output and economic growth were tested via the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and bound test approach developed by Pesaran and Shin. Four research hypotheses were tested. The literature reviewed guided the interpretation of the results. The population for the study was Nigeria. The findings show that educational expenditure was inconsistent with education sectoral output. On the other hand, while recurrent educational expenditure exhibited significant relationship with real gross domestic product (economic growth), in contrast, capital expenditure on education was insignificant. Generally, the study concluded that the impact of educational expenditure on real GDP is mainly a function of the expenditure type in Nigeria. This is premised on the fact that only recurrent educational expenditure had both positive and significant long-run impact on economic growth within the period of study. The study attributed these findings to the fact that educational expenditure within the period of study was distorted by extraneous factors such as policy mismatch, inadequate funding, less priority placed on capital expenditure, fund misappropriation, etc. The study recommends that in line with international standards, the educational system of Nigeria requires an institutional transformation in terms of policy formulation, implementation and monitoring as well as funding. Also, priority must be given to capital expenditures to translate to economic growth

Teacher Education: A Panacea for National Development in Nigeria

The teacher is an indispensable tool for national development. It is in realization of this fact that teacher education occupies a position of prominence in the educational enterprise. In the light of the above, this paper discusses the concept of teacher education and national development. Also, a number of challenges confronting teacher education are examined. The paper concludes by drawing the importance of teacher education for the development of a nation and relevant recommendations were proffered to reposition teacher education and the teaching profession.Key Words: Teacher, Education, Profession, Teacher Education and National Developmen

Risk Management In Developing Countries: Evidence From Multinational And Country Financial Risk Analysis

Much better access to international financial markets has granted many benefits to developing countries, but at the same time this approach has also exposed them to the unpredictable changes of these markets.  However, the amount that can be hedged is limited because the other parties are usually given a ceiling to the total debt that they can get into with another country.  Unlike borrowers, developing countries have limited possibilities of exploiting market niches to develop their investor base. The objective of this research paper is to look at different countries such as Russia and Mexico, and also realize how economic, political, and social risks account for these developing countries foreign and public debts; and how the management of these risks are necessary to combat the overall exposures these countries come across. With a fiscal view the primary cause of monetary growth in developing economies is usually found in large financial imbalances.  The effect of inflation itself on the actual value of these countries financial deficits indicates the link between fiscal deficits, money growth, and inflation

Enterocutaneous fistula and internal hernia: unusual complications of peritoneal catheter migration into the ileum in a patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt

The aim of the present study was to report the treatment of an unusual association of ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS). Although a commonly performed paediatric neurosurgical procedure, a VPS is associated with several complications. There are reports on gut perforation by the peritoneal catheter, but an enterocutaneous fistula is very rare. Only two have been previously reported in literature. We report, here, the first case seen in Nigeria involving a 3-year old boy, at our teaching hospital setting, with a history of a fall 18 months after VPS; this was followed by purulent, and, later, faeculent discharge from the right subcoastal region and abdominal wound. He underwent detailed neurological examination. Preoperative evaluation with a fistulogram (as a barium meal and follow-through because the superficial opening was not clearly visible to allow direct injection of contrast) showed a connection between the intestine and the skin over the shunt tunnel. He underwent a laparotomy with thorough antiseptic irrigation and repositioning of the VPS in peritoneal cavity. Postoperatively, the faeculent discharge from the upper anterior abdominal wall ceased.  He was discharged home in 2 weeks. There was complete resolution after 6 months. We conclude that there should be a high index of suspicion of an enterocutaneous fistula, although very rare, when faecal discharge is noticed following a VPS and should necessitate a fistulogram. Effective surgical treatment of the intraluminal migration and other possible complications, should involve a multidisciplinary team.Keywords: complications, enterocutaneous fistula, internal hernia, intraluminal migration, multispecialty treatment, ventriculoperitoneal shun

Optimization of multiple performance responses of a fish feed pelletizer machine

This study details the assembling of a prefabricated fish feed pelletizing machine and optimization of some operational parameters such as die thickness, number of die holes, shaft speed and feed rate to produce high-grade fish pellets. The Taguchi methodology and Grey relational analysis (GRA) have been utilized to evaluate the multi-objective functions of interest such as pelletizing efficiency, throughput, energy requirements and pellets bulk density (g/cm3). The pelletizer machine performance evaluation test was carried at 3 levels of die thickness (8, 6 and 12 mm), number of die holes (30, 25, and 35), and feed rates (145, 130 and 160 g/h). The test for the performance indicators was conducted using L9 orthogonal array experimental design. The test data were analyzed using the Taguchi scheme employing the signal-to-noise ratio response with effects deduced. The GRA was utilized to assess multiple responses by fusing the Taguchi technique with the GRA. Thus the multi-objective optimization was transformed to a single equivalent objective function. The results of Taguchi optimization revealed that die thickness was the most influential parameter for the various control factors. In addition, optimum parameter combination was obtainable at medium die thickness (8mm), medium number of die holes (30), low shaft speed (200rpm) and medium feed rate of 145g/h. Analysis of variance for grey relational grade (GRG) reveals that die thickness and feed rate are the dominant parameters. The confirmation test performed shows that the GRG is enhanced by 2.19%

The influence of family factors on delinquent adolescents in secondary schools in Edo South Senatorial District of Edo State

This study was carried out with the aim of finding out the influence of family factors on delinquent adolescents in secondary schools in Edo South Senatorial District of Edo State. This study ascertained the extents to which family factors such as parent child rearing style, family type and parent socio economic background could encourage and influence delinquent activities. A total of two hundred (200) adolescents were used as sample for the study. This sample size was drawn from ten (10) secondary schools through stratified random sampling. Three research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.5 level of significant. A questionnaire was designed by the researcher and was validated by three experts in the field of measurement and evaluation. The point bi serial statistic was used to analysis data gathered from the field. The major findings revealed that family factors such as parent child rearing style, family type and socio-economic status (the variable of the study) do not significantly account for delinquent behaviour among secondary school students in Edo South Senatorial District. Other factors such as assault from mass media, cultural and ethnic beliefs could be responsible for delinquent acts. It was recommended that federal, state and local government should embark on intensive and massive campaign against unwholesome programmes in our media. Parents should be assisted by guidance counsellors to stress the need for adequate value orientation in their children.Keywords: Family, Adolescent, Delinquenc