Vehicle Classification Algorithm using Size and Shape

Automatic classification of vehicles into different classes based on their sizes and shapes is very useful for traffic control and toll collection process. Effective intelligent transportation system that incorporates vehicle classification technique is needed in many cities to prevent road accident and traffic congestion caused by illegal movement of vehicles. This work presents method of getting structural information from detected vehicle images and then uses it to classify vehicles into different classes. The technique involves extraction of contour features from vehicle images side view using morphological operations. The extracted features were combined and used to generate feature vector that serve as input data to vehicle classification algorithm based on Euclidean distance measure. Impressive result was achieved from the proposed vehicle classification method

Evaluation of Some Microbiological and Physico-chemical Composition of Domestic Wastewater in Rivers and Bayelsa States

Aims: This research study aims at ascertaining the inhibitive contributions of these domestic effluents even as they flow from drains into the rivers. Study Design: The microbiological and physico-chemical composition of domestic wastewater in Rivers and Bayelsa States was achieved experimentally. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Rivers and Bayelsa states, Nigeria, between August 20016 and January 2017. Methodology: The waste water samples were aseptically collected from domestic points using 1 litre sterile polyethylene bottles filled with ice and was immediately taken to the laboratory for analysis to improve reliability of data and they were stored at 4°C for further analysis. Results: The physicochemical analysis of wastewater collected from 20 stations were investigated. These parameters were analyzed by standard methods. The color of the collected sewage water was pale yellow to black and was turbid in some selected stations. Unpleasant odor was observed in all selected stations. The pH of the wastewater varied from 6.0 to 7.3, while the water conductivity ranges from 650 to 2390 μScm-1. The maximum total suspended solid was 182 mg/l, and the maximum biological oxygen demand was 569.5 mg/l. The chemical oxygen demand of the selected stations varied widely (507.1 – 602.9 mg/l), and the dissolved oxygen content varied from 0.01 to 0.242 mg/l. The nitrate content was found to be maximum in station G (18.5 ppm), and the samples show high content of bacteria in all the stations. Conclusion: This study anchors on the need for effective sewage treatment of domestic, industrial and municipal effluent before they are discharged into the environment. This will help to meet up with the long-term challenges of environmental pollution, improve standard of living and health, and also enhance economic opportunities and good sustainable development

Effect of Employee Participation in Decision Making On Performance of Selected Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria

This study examined the effect of employee participation in decision making on   performance of selected SMEs in Lagos, South Western Nigeria. Data was sourced from one hundred and twenty nine (129) employees and twenty seven (27) owner/managers of the randomly selected SMEs, with the aid of questionnaire. The data generated were statistically analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Results showed that, overall, employee participation in decision making had significant  positive impact on organizational performance  in the SMEs, with (? = 0.597, t = 6.572, P<.01).The implication of this finding  is that Nigerian SMEs should pay attention to human resource management  practices which, they have hitherto, largely ignored, in the course of running their businesses. Increasing employee participation in decision making will impact positively on their growth and potential for survival. Key words: Employee participation, Decision making, Performance, SMEs and Nigeria

Environmental Awareness and Attitude towards Environmental Sustainability among Students of Federal College of Education, Obudu, cross River State-Nigeria

The study is titled Environmental Awareness and Attitude towards Environmental Sustainability among students of FCE Obudu, Cross River State - Nigeria. The following research questions were formulated to guide the study: What is the level of environmental awareness towards environmental sustainability among students of FCE Obudu? What is the attitude of students of FCE Obudu towards environmental sustainability? Descriptive survey research design was employed and a questionnaire titled Environmental Awareness and Attitudes Towards Environmental Sustainability Questionnaire (EAATESQ) was used to obtain information from 100 respondents who were randomly sampled from the study population. The data obtained were analysed using simple mean and standard deviation. Findings from the study revealed above average level of environmental awareness among students of FCE Obudu by a mean score of 2.95 and standard deviation of 0.06and, below average/poor attitude towards environmental sustainability among students of FCE Obuduas indicated by a mean score of 2.45 and a standard deviation of 0.35

Youths and non-consensual sex: exploring the experiences of rape and attempted rape survivors in a tertiary institution in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background: Non-consensual Sex (NCS) is a worldwide problem with far reaching effects on the survivors. This study explored the experiences of rape and attempted rape (AR) survivors in a tertiary institution in Nigeria.Methods: In-depth interviews with fourteen survivors of rape and AR were used to explore the context of experience of NCS, its consequences and help-seeking. Interviewees consisted two males and five females for each form of NCS who were identified during the quantitative aspect of the study. Interviews were subjected to content analysis.Results: Mean age of the respondents was 22.3±2.5 years. Context of non-consensual sexual experiences varied with sex. Female survivors reported use of physical violence on them by their perpetrators while males reported verbal threats, nudity, forceful hugging and kissing. Means of escape adopted by survivors of AR varied between the sexes. Female AR survivors used physical force as a means of escape while males employed deception/plea. Perpetrators were majorly acquaintances of the survivors. Consequences of the experiences reported include physical injuries and pregnancy among females and psychological disturbances among males. Majority, both males and females did not report, nor seek help due to shame and did not know appropriate methods of preventing future experience.Conclusion: Although both males and females reported they have experienced rape and AR, the context of the experiences and consequences reported varied between both sexes and most did not know how to prevent future experience. This call for urgent development of gender sensitive sexual violence prevention programmes to address this phenomenon.Keywords: rape, perpetrators, attempted rape, Students, non-consensual sexFunding: The study received grant support from The Gates Institute, John Hopkins University Baltimore, USA through The Centre for Population and Reproductive Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Investigation of Suitable Foundation for Storey Building in Surcharged Swampy Soil (A Case Study of Lagos State)

In Lagos, Southwestern Nigeria, the land area has been developed such that there are insufficient land spaces for building construction. It therefore becomes imperative that construction of storey buildings is inevitable to accommodate buildings within the limited land spaces. The percentage of swampy – land is high, thus restricting people to build on the little available land with little or no convenience and to effectively utilize the available land, there is need to improve the large percentage of swampy–land for construction of storey building with suitable foundation. This study therefore focused on determination of soil properties for building foundations at 1.5km South of Lagos – Epe Expressway Oloja, Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State.Soil samples were collected from open pits in five different locations within the study area. The undisturbed samples were obtained at depths of  3m and  were carefully transported by putting each of the samples in polythene bag and then kept in sealed container before being transported.The particle size distribution analysis of selected soil samples from the study area was carried out in accordance with the provision of BS1377: Part 2, 1990. Compaction test, Unconfined compression Strength (UCS) test and bearing capacity test  were all carried out on the collected soil samples.The results of the tests carried out on the selected soil samples showed that the soil in the study area was largely made up of silty-clay material with OMC and MDD ranging from 9.60-12.5% and 1.82-1.91 g/cm3 respectively; UCS values between 22.24 – 56.67 kN/m2 and allowable soil bearing capacity ranging from 90.95 to 106.26 kN/m2. It is recommended that Raft foundation be used for bungalows while beam/slab raft should be used for structures that have 2-5 storeys and pile foundation for structures above 5 storeys in order to cater for silt-clay nature of the soil and to prevent differential settlement in future. Keywords: Swampy Soil, consolidation, foundation, storey building

Efficient Item Image Retrieval System

Content based image retrieval system is a very effective means of searching and retrieving similar images from large database. This method is faster and easy to implement compare to text based image retrieval method. Ability to extract discriminative low level feature from these images and use them with appropriate classifier is factor in determining retrieval result. In this work efficient item image retrieval system is proposed. The system utilizes Haar wavelet transform, Phase Congruency and Support Vector Machine. Haar wavelet transform acted on image to form four sub-images. Texture feature is extracted from smaller image blocks from detailed bands and it was combined with shape feature from approximation band to form feature vector. Feature distance margin is achieved between query image and images in the database using Support Vector Machine (SVM). The effectiveness of the system is confirmed from output retrieval results

Response of Maize to Soil Amended with Oil Palm Effluent, Fibre and N.P.K Fertilizer

Palm oil mill effluent (POME), the liquid waste from oil palm processing industries was collected and filtered through the soil, the filtered effluent, waste fibre and N.P.K were used to amend soil at the rate of 0, (control), 10Kgha-1, and 20Kgha-l, with the possibility of using them as supplement to inorganic fertilizer. The results of the soil analysis shows a considerable increased in available Nitrogen, Phosphorus, organic carbon and organic matter, potassium and other essential nutrient. Performance characteristics of the maize used as biomonitor shows that there is an increased in stem girth, leaf length and yield per hectare, therefore result of the study shows that POME and oil palm fibre could be used to improve productivity of soil and create alternative waste management in oil palm processing industries. Keywords: palm oil mill effluent, soil fertility, waste management

The Institutional and Policy Environment and the Quest for Industrialization in Nigeria

The paper empirically investigates the impact of the institutional and policy environment on Nigeria’s industrialization, using annual data for the period 1981 to 2013. The institutional environment was proxied by quality of service delivery while government expenditure as a percentage of GDP and real exchange rate were used to reflect the policy environment. Foreign direct investment as percentage of GDP was employed to reflect technological transfer and diffusion. Using the technique of cointegration, a long run relationship was found between industrialization and associated variables. Government expenditure was found to be positively related to industrialization and statistically significant in the long and short run. In the short run, real exchange rate is positively related to industrialization and statistically significant, while a negative and statistically significant relationship was found in the long run. In the long and short run, technological transfer indicates a negative relationship with industrialization. Quality of service delivery was found to influence industrialization positively and significantly in the long and short run. A bilateral causality was found between industrialization and the associated variables. Based on the empirical findings, it is concluded that the institutional and policy environments are critical to industrialization in Nigeria and that pragmatic efforts should be made to initiate and implement policies that promote industrial growth, while enhancing the quality of institutions