GENDER ANALYSIS OF ASSET INEQUALITIES WITHIN RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA.

This article examines the evidence available on the distribution of assets by gender in rural households in Ogun State, Nigeria. One of the contributions of feminist economics has been to demonstrate that household and individual welfare are not necessarily the same. Relatively very little work has been done to show gender disparity in ownership of assets in rural Nigeria though gender asset distribution have been found to impact household decisions, women’s wellbeing and poverty alleviation. Primary data was collected from a total of 260 households selected through a multistage sampling procedure. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study finds that an average rural household in the sample was made up of six persons and households were predominantly headed by males (88%). The mean worth of households’ physical assets was ₦ 1,218,308.20, about 15% of which was owned by women. Based on these findings the study recommends that the economic situation of women should be enhanced by promoting their access to productive assets through indigenous savings, credit associations and micro financing. This will enable our society attain the sustainable development goals of gender equality and maternal wellbeing.     &nbsp

PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS OF OFADA RICE PRODUCTION IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

The paper undertook an economic analysis of Ofada rice production in five prominent rice growing areas of Ogun State.  A two stage purposive sampling technique was employed to select a total of 120 rice farmers from five local government areas which are major areas known for Ofada rice production in the state. Primary data were collected for the study through structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) among rice farmers groups in the study area. Analytical tools adopted for the study included frequency, percentages, gross margin analysis and profitability ratios. Results of the analysis showed that majority of Ofada rice producers in the study area are male (73.33%). In terms of age, more than half of the respondents fell within the age range of 41 -50 years (63.33%) these farmers were young and within their active productive lives. Results of the distribution of respondents by annual income in the study area revealed that majority of the respondents (60.83%) obtained an income of between ₦201,000 and ₦400,000.00 per hectare.  However, 22.50% of the respondents obtained an income of less than ₦200,000.00 per hectare. The gross ratio, operating ratio, return per naira invested and profitability index were calculated to be 0.95, 0.80, 1.90 and 1.80 respectively. The gross margin of rice production per hectare was also estimated to be ₦222,020.00. All these indicate overall profitability of the enterprise. However, an average low yield of 2.5 tonnes per hectare was recorded due to constraints encountered during production. Some of the identified constraints in the study area are lack of capital (25.83%), lack of tractor for land clearing (10.83%), lack of good farm roads (16.67%), and inadequate processing and storage facilities (11.67%). It is then recommended that access to adequate capital, mechanical equipment and other incentives through farmers’ cooperatives and government aid for construction of farm roads could help increase rice production in the area and this will in turn help Nigeria to achieve a much desired self-sufficiency in rice production.     &nbsp

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK FOR EXCELLENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF COVENANT UNIVERSITY, NIGERIA

For every world-class university emphasizing student learning as a core principle, students and their parents expect campuses provide: safe and secure environments for student learning; high-quality facilities and services responsive to student needs in a technological and “instant” environment; and beyond classroom experiences to facilitate opportunities for student growth and development toward successful careers and life post graduation. Nigeria has 129 approved universities (40 Federal, 39 State, and 50 Private). Her undergraduates are confronted with inadequate structures and facilities;inadequate housing; overcrowded classrooms; and a dearth of reading materials. Researchers based any education system’s success on principles of excellent learning and teaching material, high quality student support services, and efficient logistical systems. Student Support Services and Strategies (SSS) are approaches to enhancing students’ success through services to resolutely meet all learners’ needs

GENDER ANALYSIS OF ASSET DISTRIBUTION AND CHILDREN’S SCHOOLING AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

There is growing evidence that the gender distribution of wealth matters especially considering the fact that asset ownership is related to wellbeing, women empowerment and poverty alleviation. Not much is known about the gender distribution of wealth in the rural areas in Ogun state, Nigeria. This study assessed gender and asset distribution in Ogun State, South-west Nigeria using cross-sectional data collected from a total of 260 households selected through a five stage sampling procedure. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis. The findings from the study shows that an average rural household in the sample was made up of six persons and households were predominantly headed by males (88%). The mean worth of households’ physical assets was ₦1,402,791.00, about 15% of which was owned by women. The ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis revealed that women’s share of assets had a positive influence (P<0.05) on the number of years of formal education completed by children below eighteen years. The education of father and mother were also significant at (P < 0.05) and (P < 0.01) respectively and these show that children have longer access to education when parents have at least secondary school education. Some identified constraints to women asset ownership in the study area were lack of capital (67%), domestic challenges (65%), cultural barriers to female inheritance (56%), and unemployment (52%). Based on these findings it is recommended that women should be encouraged to own more assets so as to be able to positively affect their children’s welfare in terms of education. The economic situation of women can be enhanced by promoting their access to productive assets through indigenous savings and credit associations. The rural households should further be exposed to awareness talks through extension agents stressing the values of education to all in our contemporary world.   &nbsp

Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Potentials of Lemon Juice and Sorghum Ogi (lemon-ogi) Mixture against Paracetamol-Induced Liver Damage in Rats

This study is aimed to determine the hepatoprotective activity and antioxidant properties of aqeous extract of Sorghum porridge (Ogi), a Sorghum fermentation product, mixed with lemon to form Lemon-Ogi mixture at various concentrations after inducing liver injury in rats. Rats were divided into 9 groups (n=4) the positive control group, negative control group, normal control and the treated groups (which include extracts at varying concentrations between 0-50% v/v). Hepatotoxicity was induced in rats by oral administration of paracetamol (1 g/kg body weight) suspended in normal saline on the first day of the experiment. After 7 days of post-treatment with the test mixture (Lemon-Ogi), biochemical markers such as L-aspartate aminotransferase (AST), L-alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Gamma Glutamyl transferase (GGT) were estimated. This was followed by the measurement of liver cytosolic antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan post hoc test. The test mixture at concentrations of 30-50%v/v significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the elevated levels of AST, ALT, GGT when compared with the negative control animals. The Lemon-Ogi mixture also showed a significant (P ≤ 0.05) increase in the reduced levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and peroxidase when compared with the negative control. The effects of the Lemon-Ogi mixture on these parameters were comparable with those of the standard drug, Vitamin E at 50% (v/v) concentration. The findings of this study indicate that Lemon-Ogi mixture showed a potential hepatoprotective activity and the protective action might have manifested by restoring the hepatic SOD, catalase, and peroxidase levels. The results of this study validate the traditional use of Sorghum porridge steep water as a strong antioxidant. Keywords: Paracetamol-Hepatotoxicity, Biochemical Marker Enzymes, Antioxidant Enzymes, Lemon, Og

ADOPTING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES IN TEACHING COMMUNICATION AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: LESSONS FROM SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

This study sought to determine the potential place of Afrikaans and IsiXhosa as indigenous languages to promote communication education in South African Universities. This study examined the approaches and curriculum development of the use of Afrikaans and IsiXhosa to teach journalism trainees in Rhodes and North-West Universities. For the purpose of this study, uses and gratification theory was employed to examine how communication and engineering instructors have adopted Afrikaans and IsiXhosa to teach and train students in the field of engineering and journalism. The method adopted for this study was a mixed method approach combining qualitative content analysis, observation and interviews. Furthermore, a review of previous studies on the adoption of Afrikaans and IsiXhosa for communication and engineering education was examined. The result showed that many of communication and engineering trainers believed that the use of Afrikaans for communication and engineering education aids socio-cultural development among white South Africans. From the findings, it was observed that the idea of integrating Afrikaans and IsiXhosa to teach journalism was premised on promoting local identities. Interestingly, the result indicated that Rhodes School of Journalism has a course focused on IsiXhosa for Journalism, which is a compulsory course for first year undergraduate students to understand the application of IsiXhosa in journalism practice for creating community based solutions. The study, therefore, recommends that communication educators can adopt indigenous languages for teaching communication and engineering education in Nigeria and other African countries. The adoption of indigenous languages in teaching communication education would facilitate social integration and multicultural development

A comparative analysis of the chemical composition and compliance level to established standards of concrete reinforcement steel rods rolled in Nigeria

Nigeria is presently facing the challenges of collapsing buildings and bridges due to substandard materials used as reinforcement products. The increasing use of scraps as feedstock for the production of reinforcing steel bars by steel rolling mill companies has adversely affected the quality of rebars in Nigeria. This research study aimed to appraise the chemical properties of selected brands of steel rebars of Nigeria. Thirty selected brands of rebars were sourced from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, and their chemical compositions were analysed for level of compliance with five selected standards (SON, BSI, ASTM, AISI, ISO). The chemical composition test was performed using Optical Light Spectrometric methods. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was performed using SPSS version 20 to examine whether significant differences exist or not in mean chemical composition for the different categories of selected steel rods. Statistical analysis shows a significant difference (P < 0.05) in chemical composition and compliance level between the different types of selected steel rods. The imported steel rods recorded the highest mean (μ = 101.4) in terms of chemical composition and compliance, followed by locally rolled from imported billets (μ = 101.2), TMT steel rods (μ = 101.0), and ordinary steel rods (μ = 100.6). Concerning CEV1 and CEV2, it was observed that all the brands were fully compliant within the maximum permissible ranges given in the local, foreign and international standards except an ordinary steel bar of Brand 16, which has value beyond the specified limits of CEV1. This study also shows that all imported and 77.8% of locally-rolled steel bars are low-carbon steel as specified by the selected standards

WITHDRAWN: Dataset on performance of solar dryer for scotch bonnet pepper drying

The use of solar drying systems to preserve agricultural products has been proven to be cheap, reliable, and environmentally friendly. Solar dryers offer advantages of shorter periods of drying, reduced loss of raw materials and larger scale of production. This paper presents method followed in evaluating the performance of three different solar dryers with different materials used for solar collectors in order to determine the best among the three. The evaluation was performed twice, and each evaluation was done for three weeks. The parameters recorded in these experiments are drying chamber temperature and humidity, solar collector temperature, ambient temperature and humidity and the weight loss of the pepper. It was observed that the temperature of all drying chambers was higher than ambient temperature during most hours of the day. While three different metals were used as solar collectors in dryers and attained significant different temperature through radiation from the sun, the energy transmitted through natural convection to the drying chambers of the dryers was not significantly different (at p ≤ 0.05) from one dryer to the other. The efficiency of the dryers was an average of 29.7%, 29.1% and 30.3% for stainless steel, mild steel and galvanized steel solar collectors respectively

Highly Improved Thermionic Energy Converter

Thermionic energy converter (TEC) has recently received significant attention, for it holds potential for clean energy generation with a very high theoretical conversion efficiency (60%). For the latter to be achieved, some of the key hurdles are to be overcome. This paper discusses all these key hurdles along with modelling of solar energy conversion using a TEC with nano-materials and metals, using the modified Richardson-Dushman equation, which best describes the thermionic emission current density from these materials. Using two scenarios: allowing natural heat radiation from the back surface of the collector and using controlled heat collection from the collector to maintain it at a fixed temperature. We then discuss results of simulation of the conversion efficiency as a function of temperatures of emitter and collector, work functions and Fermi energy of emitter and collector at absolute zero temperature, solar insolation, the radius of parabolic concentrator and emissivity of radiating surfaces. We discuss the impact of neglecting the radiation losses on the efficiency evaluation as has been done by other workers recently. We suggest some innovative ways to reduce significantly the space charge effect to make a solar TEC a reality