277 research outputs found
Use of Information and Communication Technologies among Extension Agents In Kano State, Nigeria
The study assessed the use of ICTs among extension agents in Kano State Nigeria. Two hundred and twenty-one (221) extension agents were randomly selected from the 44 local government areas. Data for the study were obtained with the aid of structured questionnaire administered to extension agents. Majority of extension agents were in the age range of 41-50 years. Majority (87.3%) of them were males and married (100%), with family sizes of 5-14 (53.95%). The entire extension agents had formal education including HND (35.8%), OND (33.3%) and secondary school certificate (27.2%). Most of the extension agents had an annual income of N100,000- N300,000, with N376,984 as mean. They were aware and had access to radio, television, telephone, DVD, video, camera, computer, satellite and printer. They however recorded a low usage of the Web, satellite, e-mail, CD-ROM, search engines, scanner, fax and Web publishing. The result also indicates a positive correlation between ICT use and socio-economic characteristics of the agents; including age, work experience, membership of agricultural associations (p<0.05). It was concluded that the benefits of the ICTs were not fully utilized by extension
workers in the state due to some factors associated with low income, ICTs training, awareness and access
Use of Information and Communication Technologies among Extension Agents In Kano State, Nigeria
The study assessed the use of ICTs among extension agents in Kano State Nigeria. Two hundred and twenty-one (221) extension agents were randomly selected from the 44 local government areas. Data for the study were obtained with the aid of structured questionnaire administered to extension agents. Majority of extension agents were in the age range of 41-50 years. Majority (87.3%) of them were males and married (100%), with family sizes of 5-14 (53.95%). The entire extension agents had formal education including HND (35.8%), OND (33.3%) and secondary school certificate (27.2%). Most of the extension agents had an annual income of N100,000- N300,000, with N376,984 as mean. They were aware and had access to radio, television, telephone, DVD, video, camera, computer, satellite and printer. They however recorded a low usage of the Web, satellite, e-mail, CD-ROM, search engines, scanner, fax and Web publishing. The result also indicates a positive correlation between ICT use and socio-economic characteristics of the agents; including age, work experience, membership of agricultural associations (p<0.05). It was concluded that the benefits of the ICTs were not fully utilized by extension
workers in the state due to some factors associated with low income, ICTs training, awareness and access
Adoption of Recommended Agrochemical Practices among Crop Farmers in Kaduna and Ondo States, Nigeria
This study assessed the level of adoption of recommended practices of agrochemicals among crop farers in Kaduna and Ondo States of Nigeria. It measured the perception of farmers on pesticides and their knowledge on the harmful effects of pesticides. A total of 260 crop farmers who have sustained the use of agrochemicals for at least five years were selected for the study using multi-stage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics (mean and percentages) was used for data analysis. Data was collected using pretested, structured interview schedule. The results obtained revealed that the perception of 33.1% of the farmers was considering pesticides as always good whereas 30% of the farmers perceived pesticides as sometimes harmful. All (100%) respondents indicated that pesticides cause damage to human health. Furthermore, the level of adoption of recommended agrochemical practices (RAPs) was generally low (weighted mean =1.49) despite high level of awareness (weighted mean =2.24). This study therefore, recommends that campaign for attitudinal changes on the use of agrochemical should be mounted by extension agencies in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
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Adoption of Recommended Agrochemical Practices among Crop Farmers in Kaduna and Ondo States, Nigeria
This study assessed the level of adoption of recommended practices of agrochemicals among crop farers in Kaduna and Ondo States of Nigeria. It measured the perception of farmers on pesticides and their knowledge on the harmful effects of pesticides. A total of 260 crop farmers who have sustained the use of agrochemicals for at least five years were selected for the study using multi-stage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics (mean and percentages) was used for data analysis. Data was collected using pretested, structured interview schedule. The results obtained revealed that the perception of 33.1% of the farmers was considering pesticides as always good whereas 30% of the farmers perceived pesticides as sometimes harmful. All (100%) respondents indicated that pesticides cause damage to human health. Furthermore, the level of adoption of recommended agrochemical practices (RAPs) was generally low (weighted mean =1.49) despite high level of awareness (weighted mean =2.24). This study therefore, recommends that campaign for attitudinal changes on the use of agrochemical should be mounted by extension agencies in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
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Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers Participation in IFAD-Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Project in Katsina State
This study assessed smallholder farmers’ participation in IFAD-Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Project in Katsina State. Data for the study were obtained by the use of structured questionnaire. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select the 698 respondents. In the first stage, a purposive sampling technique was used to select one village area that had the highest participating farmers out of the three village areas in each LGA. The second stage involved the use of systematic random sampling technique to select 12% of the population. This gave a total of three hundred and fourty nine (349) participating farmers from the twelve participating village areas. Also, 349 non-participating farmers were selected from neighbouring communities using systematic random sampling. Descriptive statistics and logit regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The result shows that 23% of the participating farmers were between the ages of 46-50 years and 91% were males. The result also shows that level of education with coefficient value of (-0.309), household size (-0.041), farm size (0.801), membership of cooperative (0.547) and extension contact (-0.283) were the factors influencingsmallholder farmers participation in the project. The result further shows that inadequate capital, inadequate agricultural credits and inadequate storage facilities were the major constraints to participation in the programme. The study recommends that extension workers should assist farmers to form viable co-operatives associations and where they are in existence, efforts should be made to strengthen them for easy access to credit, farm inputs and markets for their agricultural products
Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers Participation in IFAD-Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Project in Katsina State
This study assessed smallholder farmers’ participation in IFAD-Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Project in Katsina State. Data for the study were obtained by the use of structured questionnaire. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select the 698 respondents. In the first stage, a purposive sampling technique was used to select one village area that had the highest participating farmers out of the three village areas in each LGA. The second stage involved the use of systematic random sampling technique to select 12% of the population. This gave a total of three hundred and fourty nine (349) participating farmers from the twelve participating village areas. Also, 349 non-participating farmers were selected from neighbouring communities using systematic random sampling. Descriptive statistics and logit regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The result shows that 23% of the participating farmers were between the ages of 46-50 years and 91% were males. The result also shows that level of education with coefficient value of (-0.309), household size (-0.041), farm size (0.801), membership of cooperative (0.547) and extension contact (-0.283) were the factors influencingsmallholder farmers participation in the project. The result further shows that inadequate capital, inadequate agricultural credits and inadequate storage facilities were the major constraints to participation in the programme. The study recommends that extension workers should assist farmers to form viable co-operatives associations and where they are in existence, efforts should be made to strengthen them for easy access to credit, farm inputs and markets for their agricultural products
Observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Strong Synthetic Magnetic Field
Extensions of Berry's phase and the quantum Hall effect have led to the
discovery of new states of matter with topological properties. Traditionally,
this has been achieved using gauge fields created by magnetic fields or spin
orbit interactions which couple only to charged particles. For neutral
ultracold atoms, synthetic magnetic fields have been created which are strong
enough to realize the Harper-Hofstadter model. Despite many proposals and major
experimental efforts, so far it has not been possible to prepare the ground
state of this system. Here we report the observation of Bose-Einstein
condensation for the Harper-Hofstadter Hamiltonian with one-half flux quantum
per lattice unit cell. The diffraction pattern of the superfluid state directly
shows the momentum distribution on the wavefuction, which is gauge-dependent.
It reveals both the reduced symmetry of the vector potential and the twofold
degeneracy of the ground state. We explore an adiabatic many-body state
preparation protocol via the Mott insulating phase and observe the superfluid
ground state in a three-dimensional lattice with strong interactions.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Supplement: 6 pages, 4 figure
Abelian gauge potentials on cubic lattices
The study of the properties of quantum particles in a periodic potential
subject to a magnetic field is an active area of research both in physics and
mathematics; it has been and it is still deeply investigated. In this review we
discuss how to implement and describe tunable Abelian magnetic fields in a
system of ultracold atoms in optical lattices. After discussing two of the main
experimental schemes for the physical realization of synthetic gauge potentials
in ultracold set-ups, we study cubic lattice tight-binding models with
commensurate flux. We finally examine applications of gauge potentials in
one-dimensional rings.Comment: To appear on: "Advances in Quantum Mechanics: Contemporary Trends and
Open Problems", G. Dell'Antonio and A. Michelangeli eds., Springer-INdAM
series 201
Quantum transport in ultracold atoms
Ultracold atoms confined by engineered magnetic or optical potentials are
ideal systems for studying phenomena otherwise difficult to realize or probe in
the solid state because their atomic interaction strength, number of species,
density, and geometry can be independently controlled. This review focuses on
quantum transport phenomena in atomic gases that mirror and oftentimes either
better elucidate or show fundamental differences with those observed in
mesoscopic and nanoscopic systems. We discuss significant progress in
performing transport experiments in atomic gases, contrast similarities and
differences between transport in cold atoms and in condensed matter systems,
and survey inspiring theoretical predictions that are difficult to verify in
conventional setups. These results further demonstrate the versatility offered
by atomic systems in the study of nonequilibrium phenomena and their promise
for novel applications.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures. A revie
Transforming healthcare through regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine therapies, underpinned by the core principles of rejuvenation, regeneration and replacement, are shifting the paradigm in healthcare from symptomatic treatment in the 20th century to curative treatment in the 21st century. By addressing the reasons behind the rapid expansion of regenerative medicine research and presenting an overview of current clinical trials, we explore the potential of regenerative medicine to reshape modern healthcare
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